Fallout Equestria: Dance of the Orthrus

by Dice Warwick

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Sex, Fallout, Profanity, Violence, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 692879

The islands of Marewaii have been cut off from the world for over two hundred years, a solitude that has just ended.

Cover Art by MylittleSheepy

When the war came to it's end, the destruction of Equestria was overwhelming. Entire cities were wiped off the map in but a flash, the once beautiful lands became poisoned and twisted. However, life still went on, only with a new war to fight. An unending war for survival against the wasteland itself. And war? War never changed.

Amidst the worst hit during the apocalypse, the Islands of Marewaii were left as shadows of their former selves. Being the center port for Equestria’s naval campaigns, when the bombs flew, the Islands were a priority target for the Zebras. Megaspells of Balefire mostly bombarded the big island, and the magical fallout that followed covered each of the others. The magical destruction was so great that the air itself became poisoned, a poison that has persisted for over two hundred years.

But like with the rest of Equestria, life continued to go on. Deep under the cities during the war, a vast metro system had been made. It was constructed both for transportation, and for emergency shelter in case the war ended in a balefire rain. Tens of thousands of ponies had fled underground, unsure if they would even survive the end of the world at all. Many closer to the surface didn't, but the ones that did, went on to rebuild society in their new underground home.

Over two hundred years later, our story picks up. A mirage pony mare, named Vibraphone Echo, received a message about a job. This "search and rescue" job will give a year's worth of bits as payment. A simple job, one that gave her a bad feeling, but was worth too many bits to pass up.

They say that war never changes, but ponies do, through the paths they chose to walk.

Published 2015-06-24 09:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2019-08-02 22:48:38 UTC

Prologue

"Not long now, soon we will be sitting on warm sands and be sipping on wild Pegasus whiskey." Wild Winds, was nothing but chipper the entire time that she’d been flying us. She had nearly jumped out of her power armor when she heard that we would be on a recon mission to the Marewaii Islands. "I can see it now, beachfront property."

"And what if there's locals around?" South Breeze was ever the pessimist, but he was one damn good markspony. "And what if they hate us just like every pony in Equestria does?" Like the shots he took, his remarks were normally spot on.

"Naw, it's more likely they will be just be tribals banging rocks together. You know, maybe they’ll think we’re gods or something! That’d be awesome." Wild Winds nickered at her own comment.

A whistle came from Warm Gale. As always, he had to chime in. "If we're seen as gods, I wouldn't mind being the god of love." It didn’t help that his favorite topic was mares, but he always forced the point that he wasn’t too picky about gender.

"CAN IT, YOU LOT!" Our fearless leader, Light Turbulence, was only on edge because she was still technically getting used to her new rank of 'captain'. She had always been the youngest of the whole squad, and so we all treated her like a younger sister. Of course she hated that, and compensated for it by yelling at us all the time. She liked to overplay the whole 'I'm in charge so listen to me' sort of thing, and we all just kinda went along with it."THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MISSION. SO NO BOOZING, NO STARTING A WAR, AND NO TAIL CHASING! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" She wasn't a bad leader, she just made it easy for us to have some fun at her expense.

"YES, SIS!" We all yelled in unison. That started her fuming. A little more teasing, and she would retreat and pout.

"Do you want a candy?" I took out a lemon drop from a pocket and passed it to her. "Here, have a candy."

She slapped the lemon drop from my hoof. "DO YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY, MERIT CROSS!? DO YOU WANT TO BE COURT MARTIALED!?" She was absolutely fuming now, but the trip back home would be a long one. She’d have had plenty of time to have cooled off by the time we got back.

I rolled my eyes. "If you didn't want the candy, you could have just said so." She raised her hoof to strike me. It was going to hurt, but I've had captains who could and would strike me harder to just prove to the other soldiers that they were in charge. Light Turbulence was more of a product of bureaucracy than military dictatorship.

"Captain! Marewaii is in sight... and something else too." Wild winds called out.

Light glared at me. "We will finish this later." putting her hoof down, she trotted to the front of the vertabuck "What's this ‘something else’?"

"Don't know, but there's two of them, and they’re following us." Wild Winds responded. “They just showed up out of nowhere...”

I could see the confused and worried look on both South Breeze and Warm Gale’s faces. I waved at them to stay buckled up, as I unbuckled myself from the seat. Walking up to the front, I could see the two blips on the radar display.

"Might be vertibucks. Maybe there's another Enclave outpost out here on the water?" Light said as she rubbed her chin. "We’ll attempt to initiate contact." She glared at me, and I got to working at the radio knobs, switching to an open frequency. "This is a recon unit from the New Cloudsdale Enclave. Pursuit craft, state your business. I repeat, this is a recon unit from the New Cloudsdale Enclave. Pursuit craft, state your business."

There was no immediate response to Lights broadcast, not even one ten or twenty seconds later. We waited for over a minute in silence, before we got a response from a gravelly sounding stallion.

"Surrender or die."

We were once more in silence, stunned really. Even if the Enclave has been aggressive about controlling the airspace of Equestria in the past, we never jumped straight to threats like that. To have a threat directed at us so clearly felt more like it was grounders with a vertibuck, and not fellow pegasi.

"What should we do, Captain?" Wild Winds asked, but received no answer.

Light Turbulence was running through all the proper procedures in her head, I could see it on her face. I've seen it before, when untested soldiers are put in command, and have to make a hard decision. It either took a hardened heart to quickly make such a decision, or simply knowing that ‘surrender or die’ simply meant ‘die later, or die now.’

I jumped into the gunner's seat, "Take evasive action, Wub Wub. I’ve got the guns."

Wild Winds saluted. "On it, Hoof Shiner." The vertibuck banked left speeding up as the two behind chased after us. I’d always hated that callsign, so many years of kissing flank and it’s that only thing I ever got out of it.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CROSS!" Light screamed at me. "DO YOU WANT ME TO EXECUTE YOU RIGHT HERE AND..."

Light was cut off by the sound of gunfire peppering the right side of the vertibuck. Wild Winds dove, and turned the thrusters on full to escape the gunfire. "Dammit! I can't make an attempt to flank them, as soon as I dodge one, the other compensates." I could see the worry on Wild Winds face.

Banking right, the vertibuck just barely avoided a energy beam. The stream of magical energy racing towards the island. Light, not being buckled in, slammed into the wall.

"The Island!" I pointed out. “We might be able to shake them if we use the terrain down there.”

Wild Winds B-lined it for the Island, dropping us down to where we were skimming just above the surface of the water. The bright sun shimmering on the crisp blue water felt unreal compared to what was happening. The Island’s immensity came sharply into focus as we raced to it, the stress on the arcano-engines now louder than I’d ever heard it before.

Gunfire rained down all around us. Whoever was manning their guns was not the best shot. With how many rounds they were firing, however, it was not like they needed to be. They’d hit us through sheer volume eventually!

I could feel a hoof pull back my seat. "What the fuck is going on!" I looked back at captain Light Turbulence. She’d lost her composure, and panic had set in on her face. “This was suppose to be as simple recon mission, no air battles!"

The sound of pinging metal caught our attention as one of the enemy craft hit us with machine gun fire. The outside air rushed in as holes punched through the side of us. Worse yet, the gunfire was followed by the sound of a pained cry.

"FUCK! LOVER BOY IS HIT!" South Breeze shouted, and started to unbuckle himself, but in his panic failed to.

Light Turbulence pushed herself off my seat and jumped to Warm Gale. "STAY SEATED EYESHADOW!" She pulled out a healing potion from Warm’s medic bag. Quickly, she uncorked it and shoved the potion into his mouth. "Just hold on, Just hold on!"

He coughed as the last of the potion went down his throat, pushing the empty bottle away. "Is that an order, sis?" Warm Gale choked out, trying to keep the potion down.

"YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT IT’S AN ORDER!" Light shouted.

Refocusing on our weapons, I noticed on a sensor panel that the radiation levels were increasing. Along with that, our air toxicity detector was having a hayday with whatever was ahead. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, as Light cursed under her breath.

"EVERYONE, PUT ON YOUR FILTERS! WERE GOING THROUGH A CLOUD OF SHIT!" She said, pulling one of the safety rebreathers off the wall. Like the safety briefing most recruits slept through instructed, I secured my own filter first before I helped Wild Winds get her filter over her muzzle. Seeing as she was too busy dodging gunfire and keeping us all alive, it’s understandable why she didn’t rush to put it on herself.

The two other craft were relentless with their pursuit, countering every attempt Wild Winds made to evade them. Our only advantage was that they were still too far behind to be able to get an easy shot on us. Reaching land, Wild Wind lifted up the vertibuck ever so slightly and skimmed along the top of the treeline. To our luck, we were heading straight to the ruins of an overgrown, old and dead city. Like much of Equestria’s architecture, it was somehow still standing after two hundred years.

Dramatically dropping speed, I could hear Light Turbulence’s hooves grind on the floor as she did her best to prevent herself from flying into the front console of the vertibuck. Wild Winds quickly banked and turned again. She was using the ruins as cover, and preventing the second enemy craft from countering her moves. With more grace than a vertibuck should be capable of, Wild Winds performed a loop-de-loop. It was a hell of a maneuver, but it got us to come back down behind the first craft that had been closely chasing us.

Now able to see the enemy craft, it was a vertibuck. Yet, it was clearly not an enclave vertibuck. Painted red with green trim, it was far outside regulation colors. Where the Enclave emblem would have been, instead was the image of a green circle of thorns. There were other details of it’s design, but I lost them as they tried to evade our persuit. I pulled the trigger to all of our guns, while Wild Winds guided the nose of our Vertibuck. The enemy vertibuck practically disintegrated under the barrage of fire. It burst into flames as it tumbled down toward the ground. There was a tremendous blast as it struck, shaking the air itself as we flew over it.

"One down, one to go!" I called out. Looking at the radar, everything was a haze. For some reason, I couldn’t locate the other vertibuck now. With all this toxic shit clogging the air, every sensor we had was somehow now useless.

"Do you see it?" Wild Winds asked as she focused on flying our craft through the ruined city.

“No,” I shook my head. “Sensors are completely dead. Looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way and actually use our eyes for once."

"So much for spending time at the beach.” Wild Winds groaned. “And what the fuck is up with this place? The radiation is everywhere, but why’s everything covered in plants? I can honestly say I’ve never seen so much green before," She whipped us to the side, narrowly avoiding a length of vine stretched between two of the decrepit skyscrapers. "and it's starting to piss me off!"

I could feel some weight on my seat again. Taking a glance back, Light Turbulence stood behind us. Her uniform was all scuffed up from bouncing all over the vertibuck, but she looked fine otherwise. "Report!" she huffed.

"Who ever has been attacking us is definitely not Enclave. On top of that, the island is incapable of supporting pony life… abundant greenery notwithstanding." I tapped my hoof on the radar. "Also were flying blind right now. Whatever is in the air is jamming all of our sensors."

Light leaned in, taking a better look of the greenery covered ruins. It was a strange sight to see compared to Equestria, with all the gray and brown being replaced by blues and greens. The building themselves looked almost ready to fall over, only being held up by the absurd amount of vines that webbed in between the brick and steel. Trees poked out of long vanished windows, and flowers of all colors dotted all over like stars in the night sky.

Light looked enamored with the sight, and I couldn't blame her, we all were. "Shame really... Let's gather our data and get the hell out of here."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Did you forget that we're still under a..."

Bullets rained down on us again without warning. Wild Winds banked right sharply to get us out of the fire. The chattering fire from the other vertibuck pinged off us again. The vertibuck shook violently as the left engine whined. Alarms were going off all over the cockpit now, and Wild struggled to pull us away from getting hit again.

"Fucking hell, the asshole hit the left propeller” Wild Winds cried. “Brace yourselves, we're going down!" Her attempts to keep the vertibuck stable as we rapidly lost control gave me the time to spot somewhere we might be able to crashland.

"Ahead of us, there's a tunnel!" It wasn’t much, but it was something we could use to get away from those assholes chasing us, if at least for a moment.

Grinning, Wild Winds did her best to roll the vertibuck onto its right side. The right propeller pulled us as we drifted sideways through the air toward the tunnel entrance. Throwing the throttle to max, Wild intended to get us in as deep as possible. I really didn't plan on being pancaked on the side of this island today. All I could do was sit and trust that she could make us fit in there on the first try.

"HOLD ON EVERYPONY!" Hitting the ground, the sound of metal scraping on rock became a roar in our ears. Wild Winds did her best to keep the vertibuck from rolling over completely. The glass cracked as rocks bounced off the vertibuck, and the right engine burst into flames as we skid along on it.

I don't know how far we'd slid into the tunnel when the vertibuck finally came to a stop, but I was just glad that we stopped in one piece. Smoke wafted about the cockpit, as no less than a dozen ringing alarms filled the air. Wild groaned and slammed her hoof at some switches on the control panel, hoping to turn them off. When she did, sparks shot from the control panel and everything in the vertibuck went dark as the power died. The crackling engine fire was all that met our ears as we sat there in semi-darkness.

"Is anypony dead?" I called out.

"I'm alive." said South Breeze

"Looks like little sis ith out cold." Warm Gale called out with an odd slur. “An’ I’m fine.” I looked at Wild Winds, noting that a little blood came from his mouth. Probably bit his tongue in the crash, but not too bad it seemed.

"Let's get moving, were sitting ducks here.” I said as both her and I unbuckled ourselves. My legs felt stiff, and protested at the idea of moving after a crash like that. Pointing, it was on me to take charge in the captain’s absence. “Lover Boy, you take the captain and see if you can wake her up. The rest of us, gather supplies and get ready to disembark."

Opening the door of the vertibuck, we were all hit by a wall of thick, humid air. As all of us froze with the odd sensation, the sounds of wildlife echoed in from the dead city. Despite the heavy radiation, this island was somehow still teeming with life. It was like a juicy looking fruit, tempting bait that made me want to get out and explore it. Too bad that fruit was more than likely full of poison.

"Hoof Shiner, you're going to want to see this!" South Breeze called out to me.

"We don't have time for sightseeing,” I said, turning to him. “We need to get supplies and find shelter as soon..." My eyes followed his, looking down to find a Mangled and half crushed pony under the vertibuck. IT wasn’t a body, or a skeleton, but the form of a pony covered in tattered clothes and still leaking blood. The pony had what looked like a enviromental suit on, as well a gas mask. Clamped securely to the one leg of the pony that wasn’t completely destroyed by our crash, was a pipbuck.

"I think we killed a local." South Breeze pointed out unnecessarily. A familiar whine grew in my ears as we stared at the odd sight.

Without any warning, Wild Winds jumped over me. Her bruised wings struggled to flap, but she turned around quick enough to get our attention. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that asshole is back!"

At the end of the tunnel, the enemy vertibuck was now flying at just above ground level. It had slowed to squeeze into the tunnel after us, but it was still approaching. Two energy beams shot out from it at our vertibuck. The bright beams struck and blasted off the other propeller. Their next shot shattered the cockpit window and melted my gunner's seat.

Looking around, we needed to find a place it couldn’t maneuver to hit us at. A bright yellow sign on the wall ten feet from us caught my eye, hanging as if it had been placed just yesterday. It depicted a stairwell going down, and sat over the rusted open door of an entrance.

Without any idea where it lead, I made a judgement call. "Everypony follow me, we’re going underground!" Another shot from the enemy vertibuck lanced off the hull of our own, boiling away it’s paint and melting the metal plate it hit to slag. “now!”

Wild Winds saw were we were going, and was the first into the stairwell. She held her energy weapon up as she did, ready to take out any more hostiles that met us. I was next, but a hail of bullets and energy beams followed me, cutting off the others. Using our ruined vertibuck as cover, the two stallions looked at me with worry. Fuck, I was going have to make a hard choice.

"EYESHADOW, COVER LOVER PONY!" I ordered to him.

They nodded. South Breeze readied his energy rifle, and began attempting suppression fire at the vertibuck. The vertibuck retaliated against South Breeze, and Warm Gale took the opportunity to run to the stairwell. Without much of a problem, Warm made it inside before the enemy could adjust to hit him.

It had worked, and now South was all alone fighting a vertibuck. No greenfeather to combat, he was good enough to avoid the bullets. However, when the energy beam cut through his cover, we all saw him panic and change cover. Thankfully he hadn't been hit directly. With a quick hiss, something zipped toward our virtibuck. A rocket slammed into where he’d been taking cover before, blasting half the vertibuck apart. As the smoke cleared, we could see South on the ground and crawling up against the wreck. He was alive, but the blast had left him with some deep cuts.

"I'm going to go get him." Warm spoke up as he turned around.

I raised a hoof in objection, but I could see the determination in his eyes. He and South were best friends, and Warm was not about to leave his buddy behind. I didn't have the cold heart to hold him back, because right now we really didn’t have a choice. Passing the captain to me along with his medic bag, he flared his wings. With a quick push into the air, he shot out to South.

To his credit, he got to South fast. The virtibuck resumed shooting with it's energy weapons as he reached his friend. South screamed in agony as Warm pulled him up and slung him across his back. He spread his wings and took a deep breath, ready to try to make the return trip. Another loud hiss filled the tunnel, and another rocket zipped by. In a flash, both of them were gone.

My hooves fell out from under me. Wild looked away with her eyes shut tight, letting out a quiet "No." that even to me was just barely audible. All I could do was close my eyes and bow my head. Warm and south weren't just two soldiers or comrades to us. We had just lost two friends, and that hurt us all.

Closing the old door, we turned and quickly headed down the stairwell. The captain was still on my back out cold, and we had no idea what we’d find ahead. We needed to get somewhere safe, come up with a plan to get our hooves on their vertibuck, and head back to New Cloudsdale. It wasn’t the most rock solid idea I could have come up with, but it was the only one we had for now.

"Hay Hoof Shiner, you hear that?" Wild Winds whispered. I stopped and concentrated on the sounds around me. Unlike the greenery above, the stairwell was dark and eerily silent. Ever so silently, I could here something, something like... "crying, I think?" Wild pointed out.

As quietly as we could, we moved forward to investigate the sound. A few feet past the next corner, we came upon an old tarp that had been pinned up like a tent against the wall. Holding a hoof out to the others, I crept up to it. Slowly, I reached my hoof up and hooked it around the old plastic. As I pulled it back, I revealed a pony mare inside.

She had a soft pink coat, and a sky blue mane and tail. Strangely, she had stripes much like a zebra, although much more faded than any I’d ever seen. Along with a shockingly diminutive horn, a pair of just as diminutive wings sat curled on her back. The mare looked at us through her cracked face mask, her vibrant blue eyes shimmering as they went wide.

The mare stared into my eyes for a moment, gasped, and fainted right at my hooves.

______________________________________

Fallout Equestria: Dance of the Orthrus

______________________________________

I let out a grunt as My vertibuck landed with less grace as I would have liked. Either we needed to fix these hunks of junk up again, or we needed better pilots. Both ends of it made me glad that I’d been holding my drink in my magic. Using magic for every little task felt weak and without any real grace, but it did keep me clean at times like this. As the doors opened up, I was forced to feel the foul humid air of this wretched Island. The air filter I was using was less than comfy, but it did keep me from breathing this toxic air.

Stepping out from the vertibuck, my red overcoat flapped in the rogue winds that came through here. I stomped at the ground, trying to knock off the dirt that had collected on my red shoes. Without any luck, I was about to wipe them off on the griffin holding the door. Hesitating, I decided to wait until I was getting back onto the craft.

"Admiral Flintlock Hook! What a surprise t' see you here. What's t' occasion?" Blackspot was an odd stallion. How he’d ever made first mate to the ship he served aboard was a mystery to me. I didn't trust him, or Captain Carving Doll. I could see the evil in their eyes, but without proper cause, I could not purge them from the fleet.

"Shut your trap Black Spot, and show me t' recording.” I snapped, not wanting to have my time wasted.

He bowed, and two twin unicorn mares stepped up from his sides. One approached holding a pipbuck in her magic. They both had the same twisted green eyes as Black Spot and Carving Doll, like it was some kind of disease a pony could catch. The other mare not holding the pipbuck, turned on the notes screen and pressed play on an audio file with her magic.

"Payment will be sent to the dead drop upon completion of the contract. Any deviation or errors on this job will result in reduction of your pay. You will lead the princess as far from Charon’s Stop as you can, to the surface would be best. Feed her wanderlust as much as possible, make sure she’s enjoying herself. Then when your are where you’re certain that nopony will find the body, dispose of her. The story if you are caught on return was that she is to be considered lost to the outside due to her own foolishness. What happened to her must be a mystery, and under no circumstances should you ever reveal where her body could be found. Your success in this job will help ensure peace in the Orphic Kingdom for years to come."

Black Spot stepped up to me once again. “We only found three bodies, t' two others belonged to t' vertibuck that was shot down in a separate incident.” He waved his hoof, and the twins walked off out of sight.

I smiled. "Now isn't this an interesting' treat." Beckoning Black Spot closer with my hoof, I wiped some of the mud off my shoe on his vest. “I’ll give you permission to chase this ‘princess’ down into this toxic no ponies island. Goddess speed, Savvy.” Waving the first mate off, I turned my attention to one of my pegasus holding a metal briefcase. Black Spot looking more then willing to put some distance between him and me as he returned to his crew.

“We recovered the black box from the unknown virtibuck, ma’am.” The pegasus called out, quickly flying to me.

Taking hold of the briefcase in my magic, I opened it to take a quick look. The cloud tech flight data recorder was still in pristine condition. Shutting the briefcase, I passed it to my griffin guard. “You can return to you crew sailor.” The pegasus saluted, flying off to rejoin Black Spot.

Returning to my vertibuck, I took the care to properly wipe my hoof shoes off before entering. I didn’t know why some ponies loved walking on dirt, and leaving a mess everywhere, so uncivilized. Taking a seat, the engine whirred to life, and the vertibuck quickly lifted off. Taking me away from these goddesses forsaken islands, and back to my ship.

Pulling out my pocket watch, it looked like I would get back in time for tea. That, and see how Captain Carving Doll’s new cyber wings turned out. I know that they will make quite the buzz.

______________________________________

Start New Game? [Y/N]

[Y]

Chapter 1 - Red Flags

*BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ*

With my head pounding from a hangover, my heavy eyelids struggled to open up. One thought ran through my mind, asking 'Why did I forget to turn the fucking alarm off?'. Reaching my left foreleg out to turn it off, I found that my left prosthetic leg was not attached anymore. Annoyingly, the leg wasn’t actually anywhere in sight.

“Where did that damn leg go?” I grumbled.

*ZZZZZZZZZZZZ, click*

The radio switched itself from the normal morning alarm, to music. To my dismay, it was a fast paced electronic style, which didn't help with my headache. Mercifully, the music died down, being replaced with the raspy voice of a familiar mare.

"Good morning Marewaii. This is DJ Cerberus, bow-wow. Broadcasting to you with love from club Three-Dog, here under Pineapple Isle. Now, if you've just woken up, or have been partying all night without a care in the world, then I have some news for you. The Ponies Republic of Valley isle is once again, surprise surprise, trying to bully it's neighboring stations into joining there collective cult. If you want to hear more about it, just tune in to radio station two for your daily dose of propaganda, I'm sure president Garmon Keys will love to know that more ponies are tuning into him being a windbag. The Trade Union is practically arguing over what the definition of 'is' is, as they siphon the bits from our coin purses. Radio station one has most the political asshattary covered there, so if that flots your boat, tune into them. In other news, Gatherings isle's Orphic kingdom had been strangely quiet. Now, I'm with you all with saying good riddance to bad rubbish, but we all know that if the deep dwellers aren't yapping, then they are up to something. I'm hoping that's it's just an extended tea party. I have one more bit of news, and it’s about the increased amount of Orthrus regulars seen about the various stations. They say that there running drills, but I don't kn...."

I finally gathered the strength to roll over and hit the snooze button with my right hoof. That's when I discovered that something long and hard was nestled down between my legs and my marehood. Quickly throwing the covers off, I discovered the culprit was my missing left foreleg.

"I’ve got to stop doing that." I grumbled as I rolled my tired eyes.

Feeling to lazy to put it on with one hoof, I moved the wayward leg into a position near my shoulder. In a less than graceful attempt to fit it in, I simply rolled my left shoulder onto it. Of course, it didn't attach and save me a bunch of effort this morning. Instead, after a little nudging with my right forehoof, I finally heard the click of success.

Focusing my innate magic into the mechanical left foreleg, I started to charge it. It always felt like a liquid passing through me, warming my left shoulder as the leg came to life. The screen on my pipleg flickered on, and from it, the logo for the Orthrus popped up as part of the boot-up process. The projection it made in my head aggravated my hangover, reminding me of why I’d probably taken the leg off in the first place. Twisting my leg a little to the left turned off the mental projection, replacing it with a smaller logo at the bottom right of my vision.

After my pipleg finished booting up, the blue heads up display dimmed in the sides of my vision for a few seconds before fading out like it always did. It left my vision clear of any icons until a point where I needed them, and that was how I liked it. On the other hoof, what I actually needed was some sort of painkiller, because my head was still pounding. Damn hangovers...

Rolling out of bed, I kicked open a panel at the base of my mattress, revealing a small, inset button. I pressed it haphazardly with another kick or two, grunting with my attempts. The room lit up as the bed rose up and folded neatly away into the wall. My closet took it's place as it rose up out of the floor.

Ignoring it for now, I took a step toward my fridge. Opening the small thing up, I looked at what remained of last night's dinner. A half eaten green vegetable wrap. It wasn’t bad, but I could still only really taste the bland recycled plant matter they used for the wrap part. The filler was made of beans, cabbage and carrots. Just the kind of food to help with a hangover.

"Minerva?" I asked, my pipleg beeping in confirmation. "Use the holding spell on the green wrap."

"Hold where?" Minerva responded with its synthetic mare-like voice. The assistant V.I. in my pipbuck was useful for everyday tasks, but it did get irritating that I had to specify exactly what I wanted it to do half the time.

"Above my head for now." I responded. The pipleg beeped again, and the green wrap levitated, covered in the blue glow of the pipleg's magic. With the wrap just above my head, I took a step back and closed the fridge. Turning my attention to the Microwave, I took a step to my left and opened it's door.

"Minerva, Place the green wrap in the Microwave." I sighed, giving the pipbuck yet another command. Unicorns have it damn easy, what with their horns that actually work and whatnot.

The pipleg beeped in confirmation again, and the wrap levitated down into the microwave oven. Closing it, the door secured with a click and I turned the timer knob with my right hoof to cook for forty five seconds. The microwave oven lit up, and the wrap slowly spun around as it started to cook.

Taking a step back and turning around, I faced my room’s flat, wall terminal. I hoofed at it, turning it on with a tap of it’s power button. The screen lit up with it’s classic Stable-Tec green glow, and displayed that I had two video messages, and one audio only message. In playing the first video message, my mother appeared on screen.

"Vibraphone, dear, sorry we couldn't meet up yesterday. You understand, I know, but still it was rude of me to cancel on such short notice.” I inherited her peach color coat, but lucky not her fizzy green mane. “But good news, Anechoic is fine. I know he'd love to see his big sis again."

The oven beeped, signaling that it finished cooking the green wrap. Turning around, I waited for the message to conclude before grabbing it.

"Also, if you are planning to do any more of that escort guard work, keep an eye out for Rototom. I know she's been busy with her work in Orthrus, but it's been over a week since the last time she called. I fear I may get gray hair from worry." Mother took a fainting pose before the message cut out. I should have expected that from her, being she’s the dramatic one of the family.

I'd considered visiting over the last month, but things had just grown awkward over the years. The ten year age gap between me and Anechoic was weird enough, but he was born sickly and mute, so much of my parents attention back in the day had gone to him. It wasn't until after both Rototom and I left home to join Orthrus that mom began to give us more attention. She would never say it outright, hiding behind Anechoic, but she regretted not spending time with us over those years. Both my sis and I knew it, but it didn’t make things any less awkward for us.

Opening up the microwave, the smell of warm green wrap hit my nose. It was nothing glorious, and barely something one could label as ‘food’, but I was hungover and hungry. The sacrifices we make for booze filled nights, as they say.

Grumbling, I issued a new command. "Minerva, I want to eat the wrap."

Minerva beeped, and the green wrap levitated near my face. Opening my mouth, it floated in close enough that I took a small bite. Like it always did, it tasted like recooked, reprocessed food.

Turning around again, I selected the next video and pressed play. This time, it was my Father. He had a straight golden and gray striped mane, a bit longer than I remembered it being from last time. His coat however, was just as light a brown as always. We both shared the same mane and tail, right down to similar striping, and it always made me smile…

"Vibraphone, dear..."

I shut down the message knowing what he was going to say. As much as I smiled, messages from him these days killed them. He took it personally when I left Orthrus, and ever since, has been trying to get me to re-enlist. Most of the messages now consist of him talking about how successful Rototom had gotten, and how I could be too. Some times it turned into a guilt trip, mostly if he had been drinking before making the message. At one point, he’d tried to get Rototom to get me to re-enlist. That had ended with the two of them fighting until he gave up.

The last audio message was a little over an hour old, and listed as being 'From your money mare.' Rolling my eyes, I selected play. I was expecting one of two things. It was either being asked for a loan of bit's, or I finally had a real job offer for once.

"Hay Vibraphone!" The sultry voice of Sweet Sax Solo filled the room. "I got a big job for us. I know, I know, you’re probably still mad about how that last one went weird on you. But you gotta trust me that I didn't know that she was a filly fooler. Or, that she had mistaken our services for the more... private kind." I was still adamant that the mare was just making up an excuse and thought she could throw bits at us. She did have two nice rear legs, I’d give her that, but I wasn’t into mares.

"But this one checks out. Best yet, we're getting paid ten thousand bits for the job. That isn’t total, that’s each.” Who the hell would offer to pay that much to ponies like us unless there was one hell of a catch? “All we have to do is help a pony go into the big Island, track his brothers pipbuck tag, and then get them both back to Charon's Stop alive. If it turns out that the brother is already dead, we still get paid for bringing back the body.” This much on an offer for a simple retrieval job? “I'm at the normal meeting place, so get your shiny metal flank over here Asap, and we can be in and out before the day is over."

Processing this information, I finished eating the wrap, slowly chewing on the last bite before gulping it down. Ten thousand bits for just one job that seemed too good to be true. One problem, is that Sweet Sax doesn’t lie about money. The pony has got to have the bits to offer, or she wouldn’t have even mentioned it to me.

"Sweet, you better not be lying about this!" I whined, hoping that for once this would be a straightforward job.

Stepping into my washroom, which was almost half the size of my small, one room home, I turned on the shower. Steam jetted out from the top of the shower as I stepped in. Not wanting to waste time or pay a high water bill, I set the shower for a quick wash. Standing in the proper position, the shower hit me with steam from above and below, and two robotic arms came out to scrub me with soap. It took less than a minute to get me soaped up before the water came out to wash it off. The shower turned into a wind tunnel after that, as the robotic arms patted me off with a towel.

Jumping out of the shower, my mane and tail almost fizzed out as much as my mothers tended to. Willing to let my mane and tail flatten on it's own, I got right to brushing my teeth. Well, it was more having my pipleg brush my teeth for me. Thankfully, telling it to use my toothbrush was a simple program. For something as basic as this, having full unicorn magic would have been nice. At least I didn’t have to tell the V.I. when to brush side to side...

Feeling clean, I walked out of the wash room and back to my closet. Sliding open one of the doors, I revealed my large gun case that took up most of this side’s interior space. Slamming that door shut and opening the other side to were my cloths were. Looking over my somewhat over-stuffed selection of shirts, I threw on a plain white button down shirt. Looking down, I opened the undergarment drawer. From it, I pulled out a clean pair of white panties and put them on. Simple yet stylish.

Returning to the gun case on the other side of my closet, I placed my hoof on the small panel built into it. A red light flickered on and off for three seconds before turning green, prompting me to speak the password.

"When Orpheus turned around, Eurydice was gone." I stated plainly. With a click, the case unlocked and opened. Sitting inside where I left it, was all of my gear.

The first thing to go on was my tactical barding. It was pretty much standard issue, but mine had been re-enforced with rad-boar leather and alloy plates. Strapping it on, I made sure that I didn't pull any feathers out from my small wings as I carefully pushed them through the two wing holes in the back. The barding lightly covered me from neck to flank, with my shirt and panties there to keeping it from chafing uncomfortably against my coat. Without them, I was always taking some of the fur with it when ever I took it off.

Next were my tactical saddle bags. Though having less space than normal bags, its armor plating more than made up for it in protection. I had previously loaded them with the necessary supplies, just in case I had to run out to a job without any notice. You know, like today, which was more common than one might initially think. Inside the bags were two healing potions, one super healing potion, four bundle's of healing bandages, two rad-aways, two rad-X’s, two med-X’s, a small screwdriver box, rations of food and water for a day, and fifty bits. When I’d resupplied last, I’d also dropped in a flash bang, and a frag grenade for good measure.

Last but not least were my weapons and ammo. Pulling out my gun’s travel case from the gun closet, I hoofed it down to the floor and opened it up. First I pulled out my air powered hunting rifle from the closet. Still attached to it was the low light scope I had for it. Along with that, and it took over a month to get it calibrated just right, was the levitation talisman inset into the grip. It had been annoying to get set up, but now I could use the rifle with absolute precision without the need of a battle saddle. Also replacing the gun’s frame with carbon fiber helped reduce the stress on the talisman, though made it impossible to rapidly fire the rifle with any amount of accuracy.

Placing the rifle in the case, I hoofed out five cartridges of 15mm ball bearings from the floor of the closet. Each of the cylindrical cartridges held ten silvery metal balls. Who knew why there were so many down here! I was just thankful because it made them a relatively inexpensive type of ammo to replace.

Next, I pulled out my enforcer, a simple but reliably effective .357 magnum revolver. Everypony in Orthrus is given one when they become official members, and I never left home for a job without it. It's short barrel also made it easy to keep concealed on me. I loaded the gun, and shoved it into the space between my shirt and barding. I also dropped a 24 round box of .357 into the case. Last, I pulled out my combat knife, drawing the blade to look over it’s condition. It was getting old, and could use a polish, but it looked good enough for continued use. Sliding it back into its sheath, I set it down into the case.

Closing the case, and locking it with a firm click, I placed it onto my back. My own magic wasn’t strong, but with a bit of effort, I managed to get it attached to my saddlebags. Going into my closet once more, I pulled out my rebreather mask. Hanging it securely on my saddle bag, I closed my closet up and locked it.

Turning around, I adjusted my barding until I was good and comfortable. Mostly until it wasn’t riding up on my flank as much as it had been. Walking to the door, I picked up my key card, ID, and coin purse. The coin purse currently had fifty three bits in it… or at least there was before I blacked out last night. I’d have to check into that later.

Opening the door, I turned off the lights and stepped out. Leaving my small home behind, I quickly trotted out of my apartment complex and down to the nearby monorail station. It was just one trip from the monorail over to the train station. From there, I could ride all the way to Charon's Stop without another tram change.

Outside the monorail stop, some foals were playing jump rope. The small courtyard they occupied had just enough space for the foals to run and play in. The courtyard itself had posters plastered all over the walls of political elections long passed, with no pony caring to take them down. Everypony had other, more important things to worry about than cleaning these old walls.

"HEY! IT'S MISS ECHO!" A chipper little mirage colt bound up to me, trying to match my pace. His prosthetic legs awkwardly stumbled as he trotted. "So, where ya going?"

"Got work." I responded. "Why aren't you at school?" I looked down at the kid with a raised eyebrow.

"School's out early today" A Mirage filly trotted up on the other side, her gait was at more of a prance, but still awkward like the colt. "Are you off to shoot some pony? My papa says all you Orthrus types shoot first and ask question never."

"Nu-uh." The colt spat. "Your papa only says that cuss he's with the trade union. My Mom said that all they care about is bits, and want to take over the metro for themselves." The colt blew a raspberry at the filly to solidify his point.

I picked up my pace, leaving the two foals behind. There were better things to do rather than get caught in a childish ideological battle. At least they didn't have guns. Or worse yet... lawyers.

Luck was on my side as I trotted into the station and found that the monorail was still here. Placing my ID card into a nearby terminal, I fed one bit into the machine. Promptly, a ticket popped out. Taking both my ID and the ticket, I made my way to the monorail cart. I only slowed down so I could give my ticket to the local ponytron, which gave me me a ‘have a good day’ as I left.

It wasn't long until the monorail was on the move. The electric hum of the motor filled the cart, with only me and a ponytron security attendant as the only passengers. Now that I was on my way, I could finally sit and wonder just how Sax had gotten her hooves on a job worth 10k bits for us each...

______________________________________

Transferring from the monorail to the train only took a few minutes. When I got to it, I still had five more minutes until the train was scheduled to actually leave. I’d actually made good time leaving when I did, and that made me happy. So much so, that with no need to rush, I decided to get something to drink before hopping onto the train.

The nearby vending machines looked like a good choice, one being an old sparkle-cola machine, still in good shape even after being over two hundred years old. It was funny how there was still a Sparkle-Cola, but sadly the drinks they made didn't taste as good as the irradiated stuff I could find out in the wild. Next to it was a metro-cola machine. It's yellow, orange and silver popping out better then the sparkle-cola's red and purple. The company making them was still quite young, but in a few short years they exploded in popularity. I still remember when it was first being sold, Rototom and I made a habit of collecting the bottle caps, seeing who had more at the end of the week. We still collected them today, and last I knew, I was up by ten.

My decision was made, and I trotted to the metro-cola machine. I had three options to pick from, first being metro-cola itself. The drink was good, not too sweet, and had a refreshing aftertaste to it. The second was metro-fusion, far sweeter and carbonated than the normal stuff. Fusion felt more like a celebration drink, something I could sip on for an hour. Last was Lurker-Blue, the energy cola. The stuff had an odd taste to it, more chemically than sweet, but the stuff was excellent at waking me up and keeping going.

Pulling out my coin purse, I found that I only had six bits in it. With some sadness I put two bits into the vending machine, and hit the lurker-blue button twice, it dropping two blue glowing bottles. That was the other thing about metro-cola, all the drinks glow. It was a secret how they did it, probably magic, but you knew if a bottle was flat or out of date if the glowing stopped.

Placing both in my saddle bag, I trotted onto the train with a minute to spare.

"Now leaving Valley Isle for Charon's Stop, please stand clear of the yellow line."

The doors hissed before they closed, and the train thumped before it moved. I watched as the mostly empty platform moved to the side slowly, soon replaced with a gray wall, and the occasional yellow light.

"Bing Bong Bing. Thank you choosing the Orthrus rail line, if you have any complaints please take them too your closest Orthrus official. Have a nice day."

In the train cart with me were two mirage ponies, who were loudly conversing, and laughing with each other. Both were like me, with diminutive wings, horns, and light gray stripes that extended from their backs, and thru their manes and tales. They both stood on four prosthetic legs that were connected to cybernetic stumps. The front legs were more complex, though only to a small extent, and the back were simply built for sturdiness. My own legs were of higher quality, with most of the bits I saved up in Orthrus having gone into getting the legs. But my sister got me the pipleg as a gift. It being the only full cyber leg I had on, the rest ending in high grade prosthetics.

Looking at myself in the reflection of the train cart window, I could see that my mane had flattened out, though a few parts stuck out. Using my hoof to brush my mane a bit out of the way, I took another look at my legs to see if anything was out of place. I already knew my front legs were just fine, but checking the back was a bit more difficult. Getting a tail stuck in the back legs was an annoyingly common problem, and painful if it snagged on something when running. Right now I didn't have that problem, and everything looked in place. Quickly shifting my weight to the back legs a few times told me that the they were fine, not even making a squeak.

"Bing Bong Bing. The Orthrus rail line would like to remind you that in case of an emergency, all windows can be opened for easy exit. Just pull down on the red lever at the top of the window to unlock, and push open the window with your hooves. If needed, pull further down to detach the window. Remember your safety is Orthrus top priority, but safe always starts with you, so keep yourself safe, and Orthrus will handle the rest."

The train cart picked up speed, at this point hitting the straight part of the tunnel to the next island. It was hard to hear, but after riding this train for so many years I could tell when the tunnel went underwater. It was subtle, but the sound of the cart moving had more of a lower tone to it now, not as flat a sound as when we were underground. It was because they built the tunnel out of different materials when underwater, then the rock the normal lines were cut through.

Maintenance on the tunnel was a pain in the flank, at least, so I’d heard. Though I never properly worked on it, I did help guard the maintenance crew on a few occasions when I was part of Orthrus. Mainly it was to haul gear, and secondly to act as a guard. It was one of the naturally coldest places you could be in the metro, and water always found a way to get in. The tunnel was never at risk of collapse with how well it was maintained, but the maintenance ponies would often complain about how these tunnels were never meant to last over two hundred years.

"Bing Bong Bing. The Orthrus rail line is brought to you by our sponsors." The low tone mare voice was cut off by the sound a soft polka music and the smooth voice of a stallion. "Are you looking to start a family, and have a foal on your own. Are you unable to afford to live in the deep tunnels, and are worried about birth defects. Well New Gen Genetics has the solution for you. With our improved gene therapy system, we can insure that your new foal is not just alive, but is healthy. Call New Gen today for more information."

One of the mirage ponies, a mare, huffed. "What they don't tell you is that you'll be in debt for the rest of your life after using them."

The stallion mirage pony nodded. "True, my ma and pa are still paying off New Gen. My sister may have all her legs, but they barely have the bits to feed her. I send them money to help, but unless I get that promotion they will be living off scraps soon."

Some more music came up, this time it was electronic club music. The husky voice of a mare spoke up with a voice full of energy and rhythm, it was hard to ignore her, not that I wanted to. " This is DJ Cerberus, here to tell you about the best drink on the market, Lurker-Blue. Are you having trouble staying awake as you study for that test, need to keep focused as you're working late at night, or just partying until morning? Well Metro-Cola has you covered with Lurker-Blue, the best energy cola on the market, and the only one that glows. Drink Lurker-Blue and fly."

The stallion mirage pony chuckled. "You know, I've heard that DJ Cerberus is actually a stallion, and uses some voice changing talisman to make him sound like the original DJ Cerberus."

The mirage pony mare shook her. "No, DJ Cerberus is a mare, I met her once at the club... I think. It was crowded and I may have been drinking a lot. But I did meet her I know that, and she was a mare."

Scratching his chin with the prosthetic hoof, the stallion nodded. "Well if you say you met her, then you met her. Maybe I was just thinking of the last DJ Cerberus."

More music began to play. This time it was to the sound of drums and brass instruments, along with the voice of a stern stallion. "Even with Orthrus giving their all, the Metro is still a dangerous place to live. If you want to protect your life, and the lives of those you care about, you’d better get armed. Ironshod Firearms has you covered! From the latest in weaponry, right back to the classic’s of the old world. If you need a gun, we have it. If you need ammunition for the guns you already own, we sell it. And body armor, well we got that too! Order your equipment today, and be ready to fight tomorrow!"

"Be ready tomorrow my ass." the stallion mirage pony huffed "I'm still waiting for the pistol I ordered, and it's been over a week."

The mirage pony mare shook her head. "You bought another one? Here I thought you were saving up your bits."

"I am, I am." the stallion stammered. "But Ironshod was selling the old .45 Stable-Tec pistols, and they only sell them once a year!"

The mare face hoofed. "Well I heard that Ironshod got a big order from one of the communities on the main island. That's probably why it's taking so long."

The stallion shrugged. "Makes sense I guess. I just hope it's not because of more paradise dragons showing up. Those things are terrifying."

Cello music began to play, and the soft voice of a mare spoke up. "Home is where the heart is, but sadly in our time home is not always the healthiest of places to live. With pollution still everywhere, it's hard to avoid the many diseases that plague us. But Crystal Synthetics has a solution to this problem. Here at Crystal Synthetics we make the cutting edge in medical supplies, and the best in synthetic organs. If you believe that sickness should be a thing of the past, Crystal Synthetics is here for you."

The stallion looked at the mare. “You think…”

“No! Your lungs are just fine, you're hyperventilating is neurological.” The mare quickly responded.

The Stallion looked down. “Yeah, I remember what the doc said.”

“Bing Bong Bing, Thank you for listening to our sponsors, we will be arriving at Charon's End shortly. Have a nice day.”

The quiet rhythm of the train cart returned, and I found myself yawning. I didn't know how much sleep I had gotten last night, but it didn't seem like it had been enough. pulling out one of the lurker-blue bottles, I popped open the cap with my hoof and tossed the cap in my bag. The blue glowing liquid poured down my throat, its artificial flavoring barely covering the chemical taste to the cola. It made me wonder how this was Metro-Cola's best selling product, but then again I had gotten two for myself. We ponies needed to get more sleep.

Finishing the bottle, I placed it in my bag, not wanting to just litter. That, or get fined for littering. The effects of the energy drink was slow to kick in, but I could feel myself becoming more and more awake.

The feeling of the train slowing down signified that we had reached the other island, and we were almost at Charon's end. I decided to check my pipleg quickly, the display made a 3D image above the screen when I activated it. It was less annoying now with the brunt of the hangover having passed. The images from the pipbuck could only be seen by me of course, with display being used as a reference point, and everything else in the image being formed in my own head. I've seen a few ponies try to show off images to others, only confusing their friends as they forget that they are the only ones who can see it. I used to have that problem, but my friends aren’t really the kind you’d show anything too anyway.

Looking into the settings, nothing had been changed from the night before, and only one thing had been added. It was a picture of a stallion's flank, with one normal leg, and one prosthetic. The photo was listed as ‘not into mares’. I must have had less than a fun night. Shame.

“Bing Bong Bing, welcome to Charon’s Stop. Please secure all belongings, and exit in an orderly fashion.”

The train came to a stop, and the doors hissed open. Exiting into the station, To my left were a few pony sized boxes. Coffins, here to take the dead back home for burial. It was one of the main reasons few ponies ever came out here willingly, many ponies never come back alive. The hooves of the other two passengers echoed as they trotted past me, still chipper as ever. Cracking my neck, I made made way to the stairs out of the station.

Charon’s Stop was, for a lack of a better analogy, like if somepony had designed a town with a radroach nest in mind. The main street was more of a straight line of market stalls, and behind them a maze of shanty homes. The place was at least clean in the litter sense, as most trash could be rescued and recycled into something useful. The things that were nothing more than actual junk could just be thrown out in no ponies land. Even here at the edge of civilization, nopony wanted to get sick by living in their own filth. Even so, everything here still had that fine film of dust, dirt, and grime.

The markets most common commodity was wild punga fruit and cave fungus. They were plentiful enough on the island, but as the picking season went on, the further out into the island ponies had to go to gather more. Rad Boar meat and leather was a less common commodity here in the market, with it being dangerous to hunt all year round. There were a few market stalls that sold trinkets, mostly made from old junk, but it was always worth checking out for that rare piece of art among all the junk.

Further down into this place was where the normal meeting place was, a pub called the Two Tailed Pony. It didn’t take to long to get to it, as the place was right in the middle of the street, splitting it into two. The building extended all the way to the ceiling, and out in front was a sign with an image of a two tailed pony painted onto it. The pony on the sign was a mare with her flank in full view, and the two tales curving different ways up and over her, forming a heart. The side of the mare's face could be seen looking back with a sultry look.

The pub was protected by two armed guards playing cards, and a cyberdog sitting at the front of the entrance. Both Mirage ponies, they were armed with older varant air rifles than mine, and a steel baton each. These rifles looked to be one of the early attempts to make an air powered assault rifle. It sort of worked, but doesn't have the same punch as it’s gunpowder counterpart. The rifles can be modified to have more power to it to compensate, but that can get expensive fast. The batons on the other hoof, were simple steel hollow tubes with a levitation talisman mod at the base. With those talismans, the guards could probably swing the batons as hard as any normal unicorn out there.

The cyberdog, who I knew was named Rufus, looked as mean as ever. However, in my many times here, I’ve come to know him as a gentle sweetheart. As long as I didn’t start trouble, he was one of the friendliest creatures I could meet here.

Passing the guards with little more than a glance in my direction, I entered the pub. The inside was a wealth of finely recrafted junk, all the way from the floor to the ceiling, and all the places between. Drinking glasses were made from old cola bottles, tables made out of old skywagons, and even a chandelier made out of small crystal shards surrounding a bird cage. The place had a far more upper class feeling then it should have.

The bartender gave me a little wave, and pointed upstairs. Sweet Sax must have already informed him that I was going to arrive, so I made my way to the more reserved area of the pub.

At the other end of the bar, I could see the pub owner cleaning one of the glasses. Shamisen Tuning had a pearl white coat, and a long black mane and tail that she kept tied up with two sticks. Along with that, she had it decorated with bottle caps made to look like a large flower. Her prosthetic legs were made of finer materials than mine, and had brass flowers embossed on them from hoof to the shoulder. She had a little grin on her face, and though her eyes seemed closed, I knew she was looking my way.

Stepping up the stairs, I could hear Sweet Sax before I could see her. The mare was singing an old Orthrus tune to keep herself distracted. She didn’t like the quiet much, and always made an effort to chat with me when we worked for Orthrus. When she could not find another pony to talk to, she would simply sing.

Walking in, I found that she had on the same barding as I did. Under it however, was an old stable-tec jumpsuit with the legs cut off. Her pale yellow coat and burgundy mane didn’t stand out much, even with the barding. What did stood out, were the metal studs in her ears. Five on each side, her little way of being ‘different’ without making noise all the time.

Sitting not far from Sweet was a white unicorn with a gray mane and tail, unsurprisingly, he still had all his legs. The stallion looked like he had a better place to be with how he stared down at his pocket watch. The deep dweller, or Orphic as they called themselves, wore clothes that looked to easy to ruin. A clean gray vest over a pristine white shirt all under a dark gray trenchcoat, and to top it off, a genuine pre-war tophat. The Orphic kingdom was very fussy about how they dressed, and this pony was no exception.

Sweet Sax saw me, and trotted in my direction.

“Vibraphone! My friend, my comrade, the butter to my toast.” She called out with a smile, getting up close. Once she was, she leaned over and whispered into my ear. “About time. I was about to strangle the life out of this asshole, bit’s or no.” Pushing herself away, she trotted to the table with the annoyed looking deep dweller. “Now that we’re all here, perhaps we can get down to business?”

Following, I joined the other two at the table. Our ‘employer’ huffed as he put his pocket watch away with a grumble. “Finally, any longer and I would have taken my bit’s elsewhere. I expected a professional group to be more timely than this.” With the prospect of ten thousand bits on the line, I avoided rolling my eyes.

Sweet Sax on the other hoof let her eyes show her irritation by rolling them. “Like I said, unless you schedule ahead of time, you're just going to have to wait until we're prepared for the job.” She lightly tapped on the table. “No matter how many bits you throw around, we're not going in until we know we can get back.”

“Fine.” The Unicorn said as he pulled out a map and unfolded it on the table. He pointed his hoof on the north east part of the island where one of the old world city ruins still stood. “My brother went out hunting here. Rad boars are in season, so he thought he could get a trophy for himself. He was supposed to have contacted me last night, but he never did, and still hasn’t returned home. If something has happened to him, I know he'd get himself somewhere safe.” He pulled back the sleeve on his right hoof, revealing a decorated pipbuck. “We just need to locate him and bring him back here. I have his pipbuck tag, so once were close, I can take you to him without much effort.”

This situation struck me as odd. Rad boars tended to be further south this time of year, so if he was going after one, he would have gone to the old city on the south end of the island. I raised a hoof, but saw Sweet Sax give me a ‘not yet’ sort of glance. Trusting her, I put my hoof down.

“Got something to add, miss?” The unicorn snorted. Damnit, the unicorn saw my hoof.

“Vibraphone Echo, and yes. If your brother is stuck out there, he is probably in one of the hunters safe rooms. The boars are known to chase a pony to one, and trap them there. Sometimes the radio’s in there aren’t well enough maintained and they short out.” I stated rather matter-of-factly. Good save.

The Unicorn scratched his chin. “Huh. I didn’t know that.” He took off his hat and bowed. “As you have probably observed, going above ground isn’t really my forte. The names Silver Relief. I’ll be relying on you and your partner from here on out.”

Sweet Sax placed a hoof on one of the tunnel lines on the map. “To make the most of our time, we should take this tunnel. Shouldn’t be too many things lurking in it this time of year, so we may be able to use it as a shortcut.” She got out of her seat, and placed her gun case on the table. “We just need to get ourselves fully equipped, and we’ll be ready to move out.”

Silver got up, and nodded. “The sooner, the better. I’ll just go get my things in order, and then with your all clear, we can be off.” The stallion walked off, giving me a brief look at his flank.

“Vibraphone.” Sweet Sax placed a telepathy talasman down on the table. “You're going to want to install this.”

It was a bit odd, as I already had one installed in by back left leg. “Why?”

Sweet Sax rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask, and give me your flank!” She waved her hoof at me in urgency as I sighed, getting out of my chair and turning around. “Good, this will only take a second.” I felt her press on my cyber hindleg, opening it’s upgrade panel. My old telepathy talisman was removed and placed on the table. Just as promptly, the new one disappeared behind me and into my leg. “Good, now let’s talk in private.”

I focused on the talisman, and made contact with Sweet. Of course, she was on the same frequency as she’d always been. ‘So what’s going on Sweet? Is this stallion for real?’ I asked as I put my own gun case on the table alongside hers. Nearly in sync, we both opened them up.

Sweet Sax chuckled. ‘This deal is as rotten as a year old pineapple.’ She pulled out her air assault rifle, one of the standard issued ones in Orthrus, and attached it to her battle saddle.

‘Then why are we working for him?’ I put as much irritation into the thought as possible. I took out my own rifle, attaching it to my saddle bag. With a soft click, I knew it was secured.

‘Oh, we’re not.’ She pulled out a hatchet, and looped it through a retention ring on her saddle bag. ‘We’re working for Shamisen Tuning.’

I pulled out my combat knife, fastening the sheath to the underside of my barding. ‘What!? Why are we working for that crazy sneak of a pony? She has been nothing but a pain in our flank.’

‘Um, Vibraphone?’ She thought, beginning to attach her cartridges of 15mm ball bearings to her barding. Her calm demeanor gave an irritated tick when she thought that.

‘Shit, is she on this frequency?’ I took out my ammunition with a frustrated huff, facehoofing as a still silence hung between us.

‘Hello girls.’ Shamisen Tuning’s voice rang in my head. ‘It’s so good to see you again, and might I add that it’s such a wonderful day.’

‘You know sarcasm is the lowest form of comedy.’ Sweet Sax retorted.

‘I don’t know, I think it suits her.’ I added.

‘Enough banter, It’s time for business.' Shamisen snapped at us. ‘First off, I have a little goodwill gift for you. Sweet already collected it, and I trust that you two will make good use of it.’ Sweet Sax looked at me as she placed two leather cartridge holders out on the table. Both looked brand new, and they looked to hold twelve .357 rounds each. ‘It’s made from Rad boar leather, high quality and stylish for established gunslinging girls like yourselves.’

If Shamisen Tuning was giving a gift, no matter how small, it was unwise to turn it down. One reason was because the mare was known to have some serious rejection issues. The other reason to keep it was to show that this was a serious topic, and we were seriously interested.

‘So what’s this job?’ I asked, as I loaded my .357 bullets into the two leather cartridge holders.

‘To follow along with mister Silver Relief. You will help him to find this... quote unquote, brother of his.’ Shamisen said with more sarcasm in her voice.

‘The catch?’ Smooth Sax asked.

‘The catch is that you may not only find this brother of his.’ Shamisen answers. ‘It’s highly likely that the orphic kingdom’s unwanted princess may have been with this brother.’

‘Fuck, really?’ Sweet Sax nearly fell over onto the table. ‘That’s the youngest of them, right? The mirage pony princess, Harp Melody?’

‘Well we don’t see many full legged mirage ponies out here, much less one with a deep dweller guard.’ Shamisen gave a little chuckle through the telepathic link. ‘He tried his best to keep the young princess unseen, but ultimately failed to trick any keen eyes.’

I finished equipping myself, and closed my gun case. ‘So why is she even out there?’

‘There's a lot of rumors coming out of the Gathering Isle, whispers that the Orphic Kingdom may soon have a new queen is one of them.’ Shamisen paused for a moment. ‘My sister has her own pub on that island, and has some reliable contacts. It seems that one of the heirs has up and vanished, and the the rest of the queen's brood are highly agitated. This all started after the queen didn’t appear for her daily duties, and has not been seen for over a week now.’

Sweet shook her head. ‘So those tight asses are about to have a war of succession. Not a problem of mine, but I have to ask. Where does the mirage princess play into this? I thought she had no claim to the throne. ’

‘True, but most of the nobility think she's a disgrace to their pureblood ideology. So any of them would love to see her removed.’ Sweet closed her gun case as Shamisen continued. ‘The problem for them is that she is immensely popular among the citizens, who are majority mirage ponies. If she dies they will riot. but... if she were to become lost? You would see lines of volunteers willing to go looking for her. A simple but effective way to pacify any pony that might try to revolt, as well as to reduce the population a bit as well.’

‘But something went wrong, right?’ I asked.

‘Yes, it seems so.’ Shamisen agreed. ‘Like Silver said, this brother of his never came back. But, I doubt that’s what he is worried about. It’s highly likely that Harp Melody is still alive, and hiding. If she turns out to be dead, bring me any and all information about it. Knowing the truth will be worth more than your weight in bits.’

‘And if she’s alive?’ I again asked.

The conversation paused for a few seconds before Shamisen answered. ‘Bring her to me, and I’ll rain bits over you until the end of time.’

The telepathic link cut off, removing the feeling of other ponies thoughts in my head. It had ended just in time too, as Silver rejoined us at the table. His cloths hadn’t changed much, but now he had a saddle bag, a lever action rifle, and some impractically nice looking boots. Why it took him so long to prepared, I don’t think I wanted know.

“I see that we are all ready?” Silver said as he looked us over. “Poor attire notwithstanding.” The stallion was a bit insufferable, but it did ease my annoyance that I was not actually working for him. Even if that meant that I was actually working for Shamisen.

We made our way out of the Two Tailed Mare, leaving our gun cases with Shamisen. Rufus did come up to me with a whine, and I patted him on the head.

“Sorry I can’t stick around and play, I got work to do.” I said with a frown. The cyber dog barked once, and returned to the two guards. Such a good dog.

Taking the left street from the pub, we headed down the way out of this shithole. The closer to the exit we got, the more scattered the market became. Soon, the shanty homes were replaced by small community farms, most using old or dying hydroponic equipment to grow what meager crops they could. Crud covered water purifiers dotted the area, converting the salt water that leaked in down here into somewhat potable water. Small mounds of salt sat in boxes to be sold further into the metro, but more likely it will simply be thrown out.

At the end of the street was an Orthrus checkpoint. The logo of a two headed hound in front of the stable-tec symbol was proudly displayed above the checkpoint. The Orthrus regulars were simply the grunts of the Orthrus group, a job that even I’d once held. It wasn't the most exciting job to have, but every now and then we did see some combat.

The checkpoint was there to keep anything dangerous out, be it monsters, insane survivors. Or even somepony with a scavenged undetonated balefire bomb that somehow remained hidden for over two hundred years. Some materials for making narcotics were also banned from entry, being materials like flux, corrosive acids, and the more common punga tree sap from the surface. Smugglers had always been a problem that came up now and then, but while dangerous, it tended to spice up guard duty a bit.

Stepping into the checkpoint, we were met by a Orthrus regular in her dress uniform. The uniform nowadays didn’t look much more advanced than the old stable jumpsuits they’d used over two hundred years ago. A simple blue suit with a yellow accent, the zipper had been replaced with simple buttons to save on metal, and the R&D patch had been replaced with the Orthrus logo. The normal guard uniform hadn’t changed much over the centuries either, simply being stable-tec security barding with a few extra armored padding segments.

“One bit per pony.” The regular spoke to us, holding out a can in her fetlock. The tunnel tax was how Orthrus made most of it’s money. They never go over one bit, so nopony gets too upset over it, but because Orthrus owns most of the tunnels, they get bits from nearly every pony, every day.

“Pay up Silver, we’re here working for you.” Sweet Sax chimed. The Unicorn grumbled in response, dropping the three bits into the can.

The Orthrus mare gave a properly rehearsed smile. “Just sign out, and you can be on your way.” With a tap of her hooves, she returned to her comrades. Immediately, she’d re-joined a conversation they were having, forgetting all about us.

“Even here we have to give Orthrus our bits, shameful.” Silver muttered under his breath.

Stopping at the checkout stand, each of us wrote down our names. Along with my signature, I added a note section that I was leaving on bodyguard work. Once we were done, the regulars let us through to the other side.

The other side of the entrance made Charon's Stop look positively clean. The grim was layers deep, and trash rolled about everywhere in the tunnel. Hunters and gatherers were standing around, all armed, and some twitchy. Most of them were probably forming parties before heading out into the big island’s metro. Safety in numbers was a common belief down here, while I tended to side with small and fast groups keep you unnoticed and alive.

Sweet Sax stepped forward. “Okay Silver, Just follow us untill we get to the city area, then we will follow that pipbuck tag you have.” She then pointed at the lever action rifle he had. “Also refrain from using that gun unless your life is in clear danger. I know the temptation to shoot first, but it’s more likely to attract bigger monsters than it is to kill the smaller ones.”

So, forward we pressed. Our objective was set, and we left the civilized world behind. Sadly the problems of the civilized world came with us, as it always does. However, I was less concerned with the safety of Silver here, than the fate of this ‘princess’ we might find. Sax had stumbled us into one hell of an opportunity, and if this went well, we’d never have to worry about anything ever again. At least, that had been my hope as we left the safety of the station, unsure of what lay ahead.

______________________________________

Footnote:

New Quest - My Kingdom for a Pony

Chapter 2 - Blood Hound

Between the light of my pipleg, and Sweet’s light talisman, we could barely see past ten yards. Everything outside of that space, faded into pitch darkness. The old tunnel was a decrepit mess. There had been some attempts to reclaim the big island’s metro system over the last hundred years, but signs of failure were all around us. Among all the islands, the big island was home to some of the most vicious of the mutated beasts. Many of these are known to chase down a pony all the way from one end of the island to the next. Sure, most of them lived on the surface, but it was not uncommon for them to find their way down into the metros.

Part of the problem was that the big island's metro was closer to the surface than each of the other islands. Even if we could keep the monsters back, the plant life insured that we could never keep a stable community here. The tree roots covered the walls, and anywhere there was any artificial light, poisonous plants would sprout out and ruin the air around it. Worse yet, seed pods were all over the metro. The damn plants spit their seeds and any poor pony who haphazardly wandered into it's range. I don’t like to think about what happens if one of the seeds gets into your skin...

Continuing on our way, we passed the ruins of some old fortification built into the tunnel itself. Might have been only ten years ago they'd used it, or a hundred. Either way, it had fallen to the dangers of the metro, and since been reclaimed by the island. Charon's End was the only safe settlement on the big island because of it's depth. Being at the bottom made it easy to defend, as well as the fact that almost nothing ventured down this deep. Almost isn't never, and goddesses forbid the day something big enough to take the city out makes it down this far.

Grave markers were strewn about sporadically, showing where some hunters had died attempting to get back to safety. Others marked where some ponies had tried to expand Charon's end and failed. Living outside the walls was a risk rarely taken, and so far nopony had ever lasted that long.

The tunnel we took proved fairly clear of aggressive critters. Most of what we ran into being small rad roaches that were easily killed with our melee weapons. The dead roaches would soon attract slightly bigger creatures, so the three of us picked up our paces. Every now and then we would come across some rodents of unusual size, and a few other mutated insects there were larger than would be normally possible. Still, they were all just as easily killed by us. Weak as they were, the lower critters were still highly dangerous to those who lived in the tunnels. Mostly in spreading diseases, but if you were injured or defenceless, you might as well have rung the dinner bell. Some old ponies call the critters 'death by a thousand cuts', but I just figured that if you died to them, you shouldn’t have left in the first place.

Silver, predictably, had not been enjoying himself the entire time. His trench coat had already gotten muck on it, which he attempted to remove with a handkerchief. This only smeared the sticky muck around, and ruined his handkerchief. Both Sweet and I held onto our laughter, more concentrated on keeping an eye out for bigger critters.

"How long is it until we get to this ruined city?" Silver asked abruptly. I could hear some impatience in his voice.

Sweet looked at Silver. "On hoof, another two hours or so and we should be there. Just keep your eyes open for anything dangerous."

Silver nodded, keeping up the pace. "You would think there are faster ways to get through this tunnel. The tracks themselves look in good condition."

I shook my head. "There is, but it costs a lot of bits, and you need to set up a deal ahead of time. You aren’t the only pony to suggest it, and there's a waiting list for the service."

The lever carts were treasured among the ponies who owned them. All were fiercely guarded, made so that they can be broken down and packed away to be stored someplace safe. We had at one point been paid to retrieve a cart, the ponies who had rented it had died half way back to Charon's End. They had been shot and killed by another group, who were still dismantling the cart when we had arrived. I didn't like killing other ponies, but when they went for their guns, we had to act.

One advantage of working for Orthrus, they made sure you were trained for such situations. It was amazing how many bullets a pony could take before going down, and how one rushed us in a last ditch effort to take us down. I still had nightmares from that fight. Sweet denies she’s had any bad dreams from that job, but for a month after it, I could see it clearly on her face. Monsters were much easier to kill.

"It also attracts attention,” I continued, “unless you can get a cart in under the radar, it's more likely to attract bandits, or worse."

Silver's head drooped just a bit. "A shame. I don't see why Orthrus doesn’t just get rid of all the savages. They do have the guns and pony power to do it, so what’s the problem?"

Both Sweet and I glanced at each other knowingly. It was a topic that came up now and then in Orthrus. No one liked to talk about how to get rid of the more unwanted ponies of our society. It wasn’t like we had room for a bigger population than we already have. The problem we all knew was that all the islands populations were still growing.

The simple answer to the question was that keeping our population ‘clean’ was impossible. A society, no matter how well off it’s citizens, will always have unwanted ponies. The more problems a society has, the more unwanted ponies existed. It was why Orthrus had such a hooves-off approach to any pony or party not part of their group. They’d taken a back seat to trying to solve the problem of bandit ponies, and only seemed to encourage the ranks of bandits to grow.

Not giving Silver a response was thankfully followed by him not talking anymore. The further we went in, the less we could even excuse talking at all. At times, we’d even started to dim our lights, only having enough so to see where our hooves were stepping.

Sweet Sax chimed in on the telepathy frequency. 'So what are you going to do with your ten thousand bits after we do the job, Vibraphone?'

I thought about it for a moment. It was a lot of bits, but not enough to do all that much. If I used it sparingly, I could use it to eat well, and stay healthy. A better home was always an option, someplace closer to mom and dad would be good. Though I might want to fix the current problems I had, first. If I wanted to, I could get full cyber legs, the ones with digits on the end of their hooves were popular. No need to use levitation, or specify endless commands when you can just pick up things on your own.

'I might just put it in the bank for now, save it for later.’ I replied. ‘You?'

'Have a kid!' Her abrupt and random response made me nearly trip over my own hooves. 'No seriously, you remember Acoustic Guitar right?'

I raised my eyebrow. 'The stallion you have been seeing on and off for six years now?' It was an odd relationship, of which they kept breaking up to only get back together. He was an okay stallion, a pacifist who was trying to make it big playing music. Sadly, I only ever saw him as a homeless bum. 'Seriously, why start a family with him?'

Sweet Sax sighed. 'He's great in bed and sticks around.’ She looked at me with a downcast look. ‘There's what, one stallion for every three mares in most of the metro? Every other stallion I've dated had another mare waiting for him when they dumped me. Acoustic is a one mare stallion, and well, I've regretted it every time I’ve let him go.'

Okay, Sweet had a point there, we did have a low stallion population problem. As it turned out, the toxins that seep in from the surface can affect the development of males. About half the mare friends I had were mentally male, but physically female.

'Alright I'll give you that, but he barely gets enough bits to support himself.’ I mean, he might be loyal to her, but he’s still a bum. ‘How is he going to support a foal?'

Smiling, Sweet Sax gave me a knowing look. 'Because he will get a real job if he knows he has a kid of his own to take care of.'

I wanted to face hoof. 'So then, what’s the ten thousand bits going to be used for?'

'New Gen, naturally. We will have a healthy foal who walks on normal legs.' She was positively beaming.

I shook my head. 'Next you're going to tell me that Shamisen is going to be the kid's godmother.'

Sweet nearly gagged at the thought. 'That’s too far, even for a joke. You know what, let's just cut the chatter and get to the city.'

I nodded, and the telepathic link cut off. We continued on our way in silence, only broken by silver quietly whining about getting dirty. He would adamantly defend himself stating that he was 'not whining, but merely complaining.'. I just called it what it was. Whining.

_____________________________________

The metro under the old city was a different beast altogether. The thick, twisted roots of enormous trees clinging to the ceiling ran around the numerous spikes of lime deposits that hung down across the enormous old station. Old, broken bones of long dead ponies and their pets littered the tunnels all over. Mixed in with them, where the newer bones of dead ponies and monsters from more recent years. Graffiti was everywhere, most marking where to find a safe house, or a hunter’s lodge. Others were faded messages left by ponies long dead. Some desperate plea’s for help, others of ranting madness. One message pointed to a small enclosed room, simply stating 'I raped, murdered, and ate ten ponies here'. Not something I’d be proud of enough to write.

“Welcome to the ass end of Marewaii, everypony.” Sweet Sax commented, keeping her voice to a forced whisper. “Safety is our top priority, so don’t go wandering off with strange ponies into any strange rooms.” Turning her attention to Silver, she gave him a nod. “You’re up boss. Just lead the way and we’ll keep you safe.”

Silver pulled up his sleeve and tapped at his pipbuck. “Right. I’ve got the signal, we just need to go east for now.”

Following a pipbuck tag was not as easy as it sounded, and ended up being just about as accurate as the E.F.S. life detection spell was. We would get the direction of the tags signal, but it was nothing more than a marker on the compass wheel. Rumors had always circulated about how the E.F.S. could tell you if a target is higher or lower than you if you laid on your side, though this was a myth. The compass was always level with the ground, no orientation could change that. So even if we get to the same area as the tag, we still would not know if we needed to go up or down. I prayed it wasn’t up.

Checking my pipleg, I set it’s settings to include Silver as a friendly pony in my identification - friend or foe screen. Of course, being my business partner, Sweet Sax was already on my IFF., appearing as a blue bar in my E.F.S. This helped me to keep track of her and our clients when in dangerous places, or in crowds of ponies.

I focused my magic, tapping into the telepathy talisman and tuned it into Sweet Sax’s frequency. 'Sweet, what talismans are you using?'

'The norm. I did an upgrade on my levitation talismans after the last job.' Sweet Sax answered. 'The magic armor and teleportation talismans are still a potent combination, so I doubt I'll be changing them out any time soon. What about you?'

'Levitation, Muffle, and Amplify Ambiance.' I answered.

'So, we’ll use our normal strategy than?' Sweet Sax nodded, trotting up to Silver. "Stick with me, Silver. Vibraphone will be our short range scout."

Taking the forward position, I activated the muffle talisman in my back leg, and the amplify ambiance talisman in my left foreleg. The spells made all the noise coming from me completely silent, and increased my ability to hear everything else making noise around me.

Along with a mask scent talisman, the three talismans made a great scouting and hunting combination. Used for avoiding the dangers on the big island, and getting the drop on some of the mutant animals that lived here. Invisibility talismans were rare, and highly sought after by hunters.

Sweet Sax's combination was useful for getting around an enemy's defenses and striking them where it hurts. It gave us a tactical advantage if we were ever in a shootout, complementing my own combination well. Sadly, Sax had a tendency to boast, often only using her teleportation to make an entrance. Once she’s done showboating, we’ve lost our chance for a surprise attack.

Pushing onwards, the darkness of the metro persisted, and the sounds of mutated critters scurrying all about. Now and then I caught the sound of something bigger moving about, and it’s low toned, rhythmic growling reverberated in the still air.

My rifle floated at the ready, acting like it was part of me. The combination of the spell matrix programs in my pipleg, and the spell matrix program for my levitation talisman in my right foreleg, allowed me to use the rifle much in the same way a unicorn could. If I wanted to, I could have an auto-targeting talisman installed on the rifle, turning it into a floating turret that could possibly keep going even if I was rendered unconscious. I had seen many mirage ponies over the years do this with mixed results. The only truly successful operators were usually Orthrus engineers who knew the ins and outs of arceno tech.

Laying on the ground ahead of us, was a small pack of mutant hounds. Their mutation had made them nearly as big as a pony. Their mouths were large with many sharp teeth, some even still poking out when their mouths were closed. We called them stalkers, mostly because of how they were known to track ponies, only attacking when the pony was alone, injured, or simply outnumbered by them.

I counted four of them, all ugly with thin sickly black fur. The normal compliment of scars and injuries covered their bodies. 'I got four stalkers Sweet. I can probably.. no, I can definitely kill two of them before they scatter. Be ready for them to run our way.'

'I hear you. Kill what you can, I'll get the rest.'

Getting the biggest stalker in my sights and going for a clear head shot, I fired. My rifle made a soft 'puff' sound, it not being affected at all by the muffling talisman. Down went the stalker, it's skull shattering, and the ball bearing flying further off into the distance. The other three stalkers didn't react to the sound of my rifle, instead turning their attention to where the ball bearing fell, it clanking against the concrete further down the tunnel.

Taking careful aim at one stalker who turned it's attention to it's dead friend, I smirked as it gave me a clear line on it's head. 'puff' the ball bearing found it's target, and once again another stalkers skull was shattered, the ball flew off towards the other one and clacked loudly against concrete.

The two remaining stalkers looked in our direction, and bolted right at us. Slipping into S.A.T.S. I lined up a shot for the head of the next stalker, it giving me a good 85% on the stalker’s head. Taking the shot, S.A.T.S. took over for my motions. With it’s help, I fired on the hound. The ball flew true, striking it square in the head with the same effect as my last two shots. The body tumbled over itself as S.A.T.S. ended, sliding to a dead stop on the floor.

The last stalker had charged in close, and even through the spells, it had seen me. It bared its fangs, and charged faster as it growled. Sweet's rifle rained ball bearings onto the stalker, the beast collapsing as the steel balls pulverized it’s way through. The splattered gore that shot out its other side marked the end of the last of them. The stalker slid to a stop roughly four yards from me, any closer and it would have lunged if it were still living.

"I hate those things." Sweet Sax stated as she stepped toward the stalker. "You think I should recover the balls?"

I shrugged. "Unless they passed all the way through, I wouldn't bother recovering them. We don't have the time to open it up."

Silver stepped over. "Do you normally open up the beasts you kill to recover your ammunition?" The dapper Stallion looked appalled.

Kicking the dead stalker, Sweet continued down the tunnel. "It's always a good idea to recover what ammo you can. You never know, it could save your life." She stopped walking and reached out a hoof ahead of her. "Ah, found two!" Levitating the two ball bearings into her bag, she returned to walking down the tunnel.

Both Silver and I quickly caught up with Sweet Sax, and I returned to the forward position.

_____________________________________

Following the tag, we found ourselves in an underground office. It was not uncommon for the metro areas directly under the cities to have old wartime buildings basements connected to them. From what I knew about the wartime generation, many of them were already working and living underground before the bombs dropped.

As interesting as places like this were, they were often home to feral ghouls. Over the last hundred years, feral ghouls had become less of a problem in the metro. Their numbers whittled down to only a tenth of what it use to be by the monsters that lurked in the dark. However, they were still around, hidden away in closed off rooms, or still lost in forgotten tunnels.

“This place has been looted thoroughly, even scrappers have been here.” Sweet Sax said quietly.

Every drawer here had been either opened, or ripped off and left on the ground. Some of the steel desks were missing outright, the only evidence they were here was the ripped off legs left in piles on floor.

I nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out for traps.”

Silver cleared his throat quietly. “What’s going on, what's a scrapper?”

I kept my focus ahead as Sweet Sax explained. “Scrappers collect scrap metal from wherever they can get it. The problem is that looters already grabbed anything easy to get, so scrappers work on the harder to get stuff.”

“So are they the ones with the traps?” Silver asked.

Looking back for a moment, I saw Sweet Sax nod. “The scrappers big target is copper, so they rip it out of the walls, and cut out pipes to get to it. It all takes time, and can make a lot of noise, which can attract unwanted attention. So scrappers will leave traps all over a place they work on, the only problem is that they often leave those traps behind. It not uncommon to see an innocent pony killed by a scrapper trap.”

“I see, that is tragic to hear.” Silver responded.

It didn’t take long for me to find one, a rusted old boar trap chained to the floor. The metal trap was made to clamp down on a leg and never let go. Even in its degraded condition, it had enough power in it to damage an artificial leg that wasn’t up-armored. It would not be a problem getting my hoof out of one, even though the leg would be hell to repair. Silver on the other hoof, he would be fucked if his normal flesh and bone legs caught in that thing.

Disabling the boar trap, I waved for the others to slowly follow me. It didn’t take long to find a few more traps: a trip wire connected to a small boulder on a rope, and a covered hole with some spikes under it.

Past the traps, and further into the offices, the signs of scrappers died off. The place was still looted, but other than the mess, it didn’t look like anything was cut apart.

Dust and mold took over as the main danger here, with it brushing up after every hoofstep. Worse of all, it was obscuring our vision. We all put on or rebreathers to save our mouth and noses from drying up, and for protections from possible chemical dangers. Though the construction from the wartime was exceedingly good, it turned out that some of the materials used were... quite toxic. Asbestos was a common problem here, used in nearly everything. It made a good flame retardant material, but turned out to be the leading cause of many respiratory illnesses among the islands.

Eventually we came closer to the other side of the offices, the long dark and decayed halls giving way to more concrete and pipes. As I walked, a buzzing sound could be heard from one of the rooms, the door to it hanging open enough for me to look in.

The room was just another office, but Twittermites buzzed all over inside. The blue bugs were a unyielding annoyance in the metro. With how they innately produced electricity, they often shorted out anything with a spell matrix. Worse yet, they were exceedingly deadly in high numbers.

In the middle of the swarm I could see a ghoul, it’s flesh charred, and Twittermites crawling all over it. It’s belly was bloated, and had holes were the bugs would crawl in and out of. Who ever the ghoul had been, they were no longer living alone. The pony was now a walking hive for the wretched glowing bugs.

Carefully closing the door, I waved at the Sweet Sax, and connected to her with the telepathy talasman. ‘There's a twittermite infestation behind this door, so be careful. It’s a hive.’

Sweet Sax nodded. ‘Really, I knew I should have taken a bug bomb with me.’

I shook my head. ‘Be glad you didn’t.’

Rolling her eyes, Sweet Sax sighd. ‘It can never be simple can it.’ She motioned for Silver to be careful here, and followed me. ‘Let’s hope that poor soul doesn't up deciding to follow us.’

‘Don’t jinx us, will you!?’ I quickly retorted, leaving the room behind me.

Further in, found what was the entrance to the offices. It was a simple wooden door with a glass window, surprisingly still intact and in good condition. The words on the door on my side were backwards, but still easy enough to read. ‘Solaris Inc. Metro Management Office.’ Above the words was the image of a white male alicorn, with the phrase ‘Try the Alternative’ next to it.

From what I learned in Orthrus, anything that came from Solaris Inc. was often bad news. Something about them making a vacuum cleaner that accidentally doubled as a sonic weapon. Shaking off the thought, I opened the door and took a peek around. We were at another metro station, possibly still an underground only one. No big monsters here, nor any death bots, which was a good sign in my book. I signaled to the others that it was safe, and we left the office.

_____________________________________

Closer now to the heart of the city, the tunnels twisted and turned in a near sickly fashion. The rusted pipes would rumble periodically, making us uneasy as we passed. The walls were covered in a fine layer of mold, making it look black and rotted even with light on it. Roots sprouted out of every crack, and was home to insects of a much smaller size compared to the rad roches. I didn’t like the look of it, but the objective marker pushed us forward.

If memory served me right, nearby was a supply road that ran underground. It was where much of the toxic world above had entered into the metro here, making it home to some of the larger monsters that lived here. To solidify that danger, the bones of dead ponies could be found, new and old. Some bones came with prosthetics, rusted and bent.

This was the kind of place horror stories were born. It was the graveyard for the foolish, the unprepared, and the simply unlucky. Though there were many places to hide down here, sanctuary from most threats this place had to offer, without any help on the way, death would eventually find a pony. Dehydration was common, followed by death when the desperate turned to drinking the toxic water found here.

Silver Relief had lead us here so our target was in the area. Now we simply had to figure out if his so called ‘brother’ was above or below us. The likely answer to that was that he was in all probability, further below us. Staying above would be suicide without any support coming to help. Checking the map on my pipleg, the direction we were heading was the sewers. Logical choice if you were to flee, seeing as they should connect to a few of the lower tunnels.

“This place only seems to get worse and worse.” Silver quietly commented. “And to think, ponies willingly come out here.”

“As long as there is a demand for what’s out here, there are ponies willing to supply it.” Sweet Sax responded.

“And so the truth of the world is revealed.” Silver said with a slight uplifted tone. “That’s why ponies like myself rarely leave the kingdom.”

I shook my head. His kind had been dropping in number, and becoming more inbred with every passing generation. The Orphic Kingdom still had a lot of old world ponies living there, but with each generation, less and less of them were seen as pure. I didn’t know much about the royal family, but rumorwas that most of them were born sickly. The princess, Harp Melody, seemed to be the telltale sign that things were going badly for the pure breeds. If the queen was accepting treatments that would give her a mirage pony foal, it could mean that even she might not be as ‘pure’ as everypony thinks.

“Were moving to the sewers, so mind your step.” I warned them. The service door opened with a squeak. Nothing too loud, but enough to make me nervous. I was glad that I had the rebreather on, as I could almost feel the rancid humid air hit my skin as I stepped into the sewer tunnel.

The sewers here were only barely considered underground. Much of the ceilings were either in an advanced state of decay, or just gone altogether. Through the holes, beams of unfiltered, natural sunlight shot inside, warming the concrete tube itself. The sun was high above, undeniably making the humidity worse, but providing us with more light than we could ever need. Grass and flowers sprouted wherever they could, and tree roots snaked around the walls to get to the toxic water.

Stepping into the sewers after us, Silver paused for a moment to look around. “Sight’s like this never cease to amaze me.”

Sweet Sax closed the door behind her. “Too bad everything here is out to kill us ponies, even the fucking air.”

“On that point, let’s not stay out here too long, another service door is not far away.” My eyes scanned the area, I didn’t like being out in the open like this. “So let’s move before something sees us.”

The other two nodded, and followed me through the swamp like sewers. Slick moss made it hard to walk, but luckily some other ponies had come this way, and there hoof prints showed us where it was safe to tread. Also whoever was down this way before had cut away at the fungus and vines that once were in the way, giving us a clear view of where we were headed.

Birds were everywhere, somehow taking to this toxic world far better than we had. Mutated versions of what they descended from, most of them were still quite beautiful, and fortunately still friendly.

Nearly to the other service door, I could hear a distinctive engine sound in the air. It was like the trams engines in the tunnels, but something that was unnatural to the surface of the islands. Not wanting to find out what it was, I pushed onward faster, minding my step as I did. The ground in front of the service hatch had signs of being used recently. Mostly, it was the fact that the moss on the floor had been scraped up from when the door had been opened. Reaching out and opening the door, I was greeted once again by the darkness of the metro. The light from the outside only risked going in far enough to reveal the top of the stairwell.

Closing the door, everything was once more wrapped in darkness. Turning on our lamps, we continued down making our way to the lower metro. Each step we took was as soft as possible, but of course we still managed to find the one squeaky metal plate that would give us away. It was always that, or a wayward piece of garbage that banged its way all the way down.

At the bottom, we entered into another service tunnel. This one’s maintenance supplies had been piled in corners long ago to make room for doomed survivors. The messages left behind by slowly dieing ponies had been scribed all over the walls. It’s too bad that they were only to be read so long after they had died.

At the end of the service tunnel was a heavy metal door, which of course, happened to be locked. Pulling out my small screwdriver box, I got to work. I’d never invested in a lockpicking spell matrix. I could still try my hoof at picking without it if I needed to, but not when I usually had a more logical way to open doors. I used the screwdriver to remove the lock panel on the side of the door itself. One screw at a time, I removed the whole thing. Most of the screws were badly corroded, but not stuck enough to never come out. Once the faceplate was all the way off, the door was as good as unlocked. It didn’t take a mechanical genius to do this, or even be really skilled. I just needed to manipulate one or two parts and the door was ready to open.

On the other side of the door was another metro service station. Row upon row of degrading train carts sat idly. If the metro here was a safer place, this would have made an excellent spot for a community, or at least a forward outpost for hunters and scrappers.

I could see parts of the station lit up by small lamps that were spread about all over. The lamps didn’t provide much light, but they did give me enough to see a pony standing in a watch tower. The mirage pony had black leather armor, studded with spikes, and the painted images of skulls. The ponies face was covered with a gas mask, but it’s mane was out in the open, and spiked up in a mohawk. Luckily, the pony was not looking in our direction, so we had gotten in undetected.

Whispering to the others, I crouched down low. “Everypony keep low. We’ve got bandits.” The others followed my lead, heeding my words as they crouched.

Silver looked confused, and whispered back to me. “Why are they all the way out here?”

I had to think about it for a second, but an answer was easy to think up. “Probably to collect materials to sell to smugglers, or out here to capture any pony that would come out here. Maybe both?”

Sweet Sax chimed in. “What does your pipbuck say Silver. Does the tag point down there?”

Silver sighed and nodded. This was not something I’d wanted to do, but it looked like we were going to pass through the bandit camp. Still, we’d been having it easy enough so far. It was only a matter of time before some problem cropped up.

“Okay Silver, just stay with us, and we should be able to get through without huge firefight.” Aiming my rifle, I scanned the area for other bandits. From what I could see, I counted a total of three. There was the mohawk one standing on the makeshift watch tower, and two more under the tower, seemingly more interested in eachother. If it was possible, I’d avoid killing them outright.

I was able to creep in close, with Sweet Sax keeping an eye out for any bandits I might have missed, and Silver not far behind her in the shadows. The two bandits below the tower were both mare's. They has the same over the top spiked mohawk as the first pony had, both relaxing with inhalers between them. The two would giggle now and then, and sometimes a leg would move, but they were definitely out of it. There was no mistake, they both were taking the chem called chill.

Chill was basically just refined punga tree sap aerosolized into a gas, sometimes with a few extra ingredient. It acted both as a relaxant, and a hallucinogenic, making it popular among the more down on their luck ponies. If this stuff was enough to take out a bandit, it might be useful in helping me get pass the other bandits without resorting to killing every pony I see.

Looking at the inhaler, and how the two bandits were knocked out, I had an Idea. Stepping up to the two out cold bandits, I quickly rummaging through their pockets looking for more chill inhalers. I found three more full inhalers of the chem, and put them in a pocket on the side of my saddle bag. I still had one bandit here to take out, so I slowly stepped onto the ramp up, careful not to knock anything over. Switching from my rifle to my combat knife, I made sure that the spell was set to less-lethal, its pommel now being the part for attack. Creeping up to the bandit's level, he hadn’t seen me, the gas mask was probably restricting the ponies senses..

With a careful step, and a sweeping of the knife's pommel to the side of his head, the bandit went down. The pony was stunned, but only momentarily. So, I jumped on him. Knocking his mask off, I placed the chill inhaler in his mouth and forced him to use it. The confused bandit attempted to struggle at first, but the chill quickly took effect and he relaxed. With the bandit now uninterested with what was going on, I looked through his pockets.

Sadly, he only had ten ball bearings to an old air rifle that wasn’t even in sight of me. This pony must have been low on the pecking order, which meant there might be more around here. I also found another chill inhaler and bottle of fresh water, both of which I took. Descending from the tower, I found Sweet Sax rummaging through the other Bandits stuff. Quickly, she put a few assorted items in her saddle bag.

"Find anything useful?" I asked .

She nodded, pulling down her rebreather. "Some ammo, some water, and I found three tin-can grenades. So if all else fails, we got more explosives."

Silver came quietly trotting to us, giving the two bandits a look of disgust. "Why don't you just kill them? They can't bother any pony if their dead."

Sweet Sax answered. "First off, we're not here to root out bandits, that's liable to get us killed without backup. Second, were not murders, and we don't work for murders."

I tapped on Sweet Sax shoulder, getting her attention. "I'll look for a way around, so stay hidden.” I hoofed her one of the chill inhalers. “Also take this. If another bandit comes around, use this to put them to sleep."

Sweet Sax nodded, and I began looking for a safe way through the bandit camp. The direct route through the bandit camp was a no go, looking thru a makeshift door to the bandit camp, I could see over a dozen bandits ether standing around, or working on their guns. There was going to be more I could not see, so even attempting to weave through the camp was too dangerous.

There was maintenance ditch that would take me under the trains, and possibly to the other side. Scouting the ditch to about half way, it turned out it was were they were dumping their trash. Empty bottles and cans were everywhere, making it impossible to pass without making a lot of noise.

There was still one way we could go that would get us past the bandit camp undetected, and that was by going over the top of the camp. An old crane system was still hanging above the trains in the station, three of them in total, making a thin bridge over the camp. Looking around, I found a maintenance ladder that went up to the first crane. It was solid, and in a nice concealed spot, the only problem was that one of the bandits was currently using it to hang her panties.

Returning to the others, Sweet Sax had placed the two bandits in suggestive poses. "What, it's a good plan! If another bandit comes looking for them, they would be too distracted to see me coming." She explained smugly.

I wasn't going to start arguing, not now. "I found a way past them." I pointed up. "We can go over them by walking on the crane. As long as we're careful, and quiet, they won't know we were even here."

"Is that the only way in?" Silver asked nervously. I really hoped that he didn't have vertigo.

I shook my head. "It's the only way that can get us through without a fire fight."

Silver sighed. "Blast, I hate heights. But if I must, I must."

Sweet Sax patted him on the back. "Don't worry, it's not that high up. And besides, it's not that far of a walk anyway."

The two followed me to the ladder. I went up first, followed by Silver, while Sweet Sax took the flank position. The first crane was quite sturdy, with only a minor amount of rust to it. What ever paint had been used on the crane, it must have been strong stuff to have held up this well for over two hundred years. Walking along the supports, It didn't take long to get to the neck of the crane.

Walking along, I’d noticed that much of the bandit camp was obstructed by the train carts. I was glad, because it was helping us stay just a bit more hidden as we moved across. The crane was not entirely unused by the bandits, as I had to step over a rope at two different times, both holding up lanterns. The light thankfully didn't reveal our position, but it gave me a good look down at the bandit's operation. It looked like they were cooking chems here. From the cases and vials, rage, dash, med-x, and chill looked to be the most common of the chems there.

Shortly, we’d reached the end of the crane. Getting to the next one was a simple hop, which was foal's play for me to do with my muffle spell on. The other two were much more careful hopping across, waiting for some noise to pick up so to mask the noise they would make with the hop. The neck of the second crane was in the middle of the station this time. This would leave us exposed, taking us over an empty platform. We would be still in the shadows as we crossed, but any curious or wayward glance from a bandit, and they would see us with even the smallest amount of light.

I was first to cross to the other end. It had been just as easy as before, but I was a lot more weary of the bandits below me as I went. Through empty at the moment, the bandits would regularly cross the platform. Each time felt like a disaster waiting to happen, as all they need to do was look up to see any pony crossing.

The weapons the bandits were using were simple old varant air guns, each modified differently with new or scrap parts. Most of the guns looking like they were taped together haphazardly, others looked sleek much like my own rifle. The guns I was worried about most of all were the fat bulky rifles, I didn’t know what they did outside of shooting ball bearings, but I bet it was something nasty.

Next was Silver. With ginger steps, he slowly walked over toward me. Without cause, Silver just stopped and looked around, right in the middle of the crane.

Sweet Sax contacted me with over the telepathy talisman. 'what is he doing?'

'Don't know.' I responded. 'Go push him along, were dead if he gets spotted.'

She quietly walked up to Silver, and they exchanged whispered words. After a moment, she looked up at me. 'Bad news Vibraphone' Sweet Sax thought at me. 'The pipbuck tag suddenly moved.'

Shit! that meant that the pipbuck was here, or we went too low. 'Just get him across before somepony sees us.'

The two of them quickly crossed to the other side, and regrouped with me. Silver looked back in the direction I could only guess was where the pipbuck tag was pointing. Looking in the same direction, I couldn’t see anything except the train carts.

"So what do we do?" Silver asked.

I looked to Sweet Sax, and she nodded. "We will have to go down and see if your brother is here." She pointed in the direction of the train carts. "If not, we at least know we’re close."

"I'll go down on my own, the rest of you stay hidden." I said. "It will be easier for me then for you too." I was looking for a deep dweller with a pipbuck, not easy to miss.

They didn't argue, and we walked to the end of the crane closest to where the tag pointed. It had a good amount of cover, so the others were safe from being seen for the moment. Carefully descending without a ladder, I had to jump onto the top of a train cart and climb down from there. This section of the station was even darker than the rest, which was good for me.

One bandit came around to where I was, and began taking a piss unaware I was just a few hoof-steps away. My position was bad for a sneak attack unless I wanted to go for a kill, so I waited. The bandit began to choff and wheeze a bit, her breath now sounding sickly flemmy.

The mare bandit began patting herself down. “Where's my damn inhaler.” her voice strained under her wheezing.

The opportunity was too good to pass up. “Here use this.” I said to the bandit, passing her a chill inhaler.

“Thanks.” The bandit took it, and breathed the chem in deep. She looked at me, her eyes dilating, and a slight smile on her face. “This is the wrong kind of inhaler silly.” She wheezed.

Not wanting the poor mare to suffocate, I patted her down and found the inhaler she was looking for. It was on the opposite side from where she was checking. Helping her breath it in, the bandit stopped wheezing. She smiled and found a place to sit before falling asleep.

Further in, It didn't take me long to find were the pipbuck tag was probably pointing at. Among the train carts was one armored cart. It didn’t seem constructed to keep ponies out, but rather to keep them in like some sort of prison cart. Metal bars and plates had been welded to the windows, and a sheet metal access door had been constructed in a way that I could not just pop it open like any other doors normally do. Looking in, I could barely make out two ponies laying down inside.

The door may be welded together, but the lock keeping it closed looked simple enough and would probably be easily broken with a bolt cutter. Sadly my lock picking skills were again not going to help me here, so I returned to the pony I knocked out. she was still fast asleep, a leg would periodically kick out. Looking for a key on her, I quickly found one. When I took it back to the prison cart, I was surprised when it didn't work.

Looking around, there were a few boxes with locks on them, most I could open by unscrewing the locks from the box. There was a metal tool case nearby, I didn’t know what was in it, but it might have tools I could use. Without issue, it opened up using the key, and Inside was a whole collection of stolen prosthetic legs. Some of the legs had the blood of their previous owners still on them.

Pulling out the legs quietly, the haphazard collection of different models making me feel uneasy. Under them I found some of the old tools still inside. A hammer and a box of nails sat next to an instruction book for building a gazebo. Opening it, I found that the box of nails happen to be empty. I found a hacksaw, as useful as it would be, it was too rusted to be used. Unknown why it was in here, I found a harpoon gun, the thing was a bit too big for me to just take, so I put it to the side. A bolt cutter was at the very bottom of the case, a bit rusted, but still in working condition. It was exactly what I needed, so I took it and quietly trotted back to the cage.

Breaking the lock, I opened the door and got a better look at the captive ponies inside. There were two mirage ponies inside. One was a mare who looked at me with tearful eyes, and the other, a stallion who had a look of worry on his face.

"Shhh, I'm here to help." I whispered to them. They didn't have her legs, so all the two could do was nod. I doubted that the stallion was the brother that Silver was looking for, so I contacted Sweet Sax over telepathy. 'I found two captives, neither one of them is this brother, or the princesses. I'm going to help them out, and then rejoin you two.’

'The job can never be easy, can it.' Sweet Sax responded.

Turning my attention to the two ponies in need of help, I left the cart and collected the legs for them. It didn't take long for them to get back on their hooves, which filled their faces with hope, and a fearful eagerness to leave.

The mare looked around before looking back too me, worried. "How are we going to get out? How did you get in?" She whispered softly.

"Just follow me, I have a way out." I advised her. The two nodded. "So how did you two end up here?" I asked.

The stallion answered. "Were scrappers. We got ambushed on our way back. We don't know how long it's been, but I thought we were going to starve in there."

The mare picked up the harpoon gun, and a few of the other legs. Scrappers were going to do what they did best, so I didn’t say anything about it. Also, if they were going to get to Charon’s Stop, they will need that gun.

Taking them to where I had climbed down, I helped the two take off the bandit's armor. The bandit mare didn’t resist, and giggled at our attempt. This gave me a chill down my spine, and I made a mental note to never take the chem. The two scrappers didn't take the armor for themselves, draping it over the bandit. They did take the bandit’s saddle bag, gas mask, and weapon. Helping them up onto the train cart, they returned the favor by helping me up. Sweet Sax was already waiting to pull the ponies up onto the crane.

When we were all safely up, they all made room for me to take the lead position again. Silver looked quite unhappy with our two new companions, but they gave him a smile, and Silver simply looked away. The animosity between the deep dwellers and the mirage ponies was thick, but at least the two scrappers were willing to look past the issues that split the groups. Silver on the other hoof, I wasn’t sure would ever change.

"You do know they are going to slow us down right?" Silver spoke with a forcefull, yet hushed tone.

"Don't worry." Sweet Sax calmly interjected. "Once we're out of here, they will go their own way, and we will go ours." While Sax had a good point, I didn’t like risking it, but it was the right thing to do. Silver of course, just huffed his annoyance.

*Crack*

Everything stopped, and the camp went silent.

*Crack*

The sound came from the ceiling, near the center of the station. Lights beams flickered on, illuminating the ceiling, revealing a large crack above the station. The Bandits began to panic, and calls of a tunnel collapse went out among them.

*Crack*

Parts of the ceiling broke off, crashing down onto the station. Now the bandits were really moving it, grabbing what they could, and running for the exit. With a roar, the ceiling gave way, and the station filled with dust. The two scrappers began sharing the gas mask they took from the bandit, as the rest of us sat dumbfounded.

"GO! GO! GO! THIS IS OUR WAY OUT!" The voice of a mare yelled from the dust cloud, as more of the ceiling began to collapse.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Sweet Sax yelled, and the rest didn’t need to be told twice.

No longer worried about stealth, we jumped down, bouncing off a train cart. Quite roughly we landed on the dusty ground. We took off as fast as we could, but had been slowed down by the maze like layout of the camp. I watched as a piece of the ceiling fell down in front of me, catching a fleeing bandit under it as she ran. With a resounding crack, it crushed her back half and killing the mare outright. Unphased by the event, I ran forward and hopped over the debris as best I could. The stallion scrapper stumbled into my flank, nearly knocking me down. Taking a look, I saw that he had taken the dead bandits gas mask for himself, and was struggling to get it on. The risky maneuver forced me to slow down. He gave me an apologetic look through the mask. I couldn’t blame him, without the mask he would be a dead pony walking the second we got back outside this tunnel.

We ran into a panicked bandit, who was shocked and confused to see us. Wisely, she turned the other direction and ran. With the thunderous cracking and smashing of the rocks falling around us, nopony had time for a firefight now. The falling ceiling had also started a roaring chemical fire in the drug cooking area, blocking one of our ways through and filling the area with thick, choking smoke. Having a hard time keeping up with Sweet Sax, who was now too far ahead to properly see, I made sure the two scrappers stuck close to me. They needed my help more than Sweet did.

A loud explosion went off nearby, I could feel the heat of the shockwave, and my ears rang like I was next to a siren. "THIS WAY! FOLLOW ME!" I yelled as loudly as I could. With how bad the visibility had gotten, yelling was the only way I knew they knew where I was. "DON'T FALL BEHIND, AND WE WILL GET OUT OF HERE."

“Right behind you sis!” The stallion responded, the gas mask muffling his voice.

Trotting, I had to make my way through a train cart. "TAKE A LEFT, AND THEN THE FIRST RIGHT." around another dead body. "WATCH YOUR STEP, WE GOT BODIES HERE." I ran into a table, nearly taking the wind out of me, I quickly recovered my bearings and jumped on and over the table. "DON'T STOP HERE, WE’RE GOING OVER." Just in the distance I could see a yellow flashing light, an open emergency exit was ahead of us. "JUST AHEAD NOW, I FOUND AN EXIT."

Getting up to a gallop now, I rushed through the doorway and exited the dust cloud right into two bandits. The three of us didn't waste time, the two bandits pulled out their rifles, and I entered S.A.T.S.

The spell slowed everything to an absolute crawl, allowing me to assess my situation. The tunnel we were in was too tight to use my rifle, so my enforcer was my best choice. Selecting the first bandit, I only had a 50% chance to hit. Sadly, I would need to be a lot closer to get a better chance to hit.

Exiting S.A.T.S. I dodge rolled into them. The two bandits were quick to draw their guns. Thankfully, they weren’t as quick with aiming at me as I rolled at them. The move put me too close for them to compensate. Their shots missed me by a hair as I activated S.A.T.S.

Selecting the first bandit's head, I had a 86% chance to hit, good odds. The second bandit gave me an 80% chance to hit, not as good, but I’ll take it. Letting S.A.T.S. do it’s work, my revolver levitated up to my mouth, and I bit onto the handle all in one motion. With a firm pull of the trigger, I fired.

My shot hit it's mark, sending gray matter flying as the bullet passed through the first bandit’s skull in slow motion. I hated how S.A.T.S. had to show me everything in it's gory detail. Seriously, centuries of time, and nopony coded a way for me to skip it.

The second bandit caught me off guard. She dropped her rifle and quickly deflected my revolver. My second shot went off, just missing the side of her head. The mare took a hoof-to-hoof combat stance, and lunged at me. She clipped me in the jaw with her steel plated hooves. The hit was enough to knock my gun from my mouth, but not to knock me over.

"Minerva, knife now!" My combat knife floated out and slashed at the bandit. She just laughed as the knife cut a line across her chest. Unphased, she jumped straight at me. The hit knocked me over, sending my combat knife flipping out of Minerva's grip.

"I don't know who you are, but after I'm finished shoving a bottle up your ass, I'm going to kick you until you shit blood and glass!" The mare reared up for one more hoof strike, and...

...and simply vaporized.

She suddenly turned red orange, and the look on her face was of shock and confusion. Her body turned to dust and her legs fell off. With a clatter, the prosthetics landed to the side of the dust pile that was once her.

Looking back at the door, I saw two ponies. They were not the two scrappers I had freed, but one was a pegasus stallion in armor I had never seen before, and welding a beam rifle. The other was a dainty looking mirage pony mare with all of her legs intact.

"Uhm... hi?" The stallion said as they looked at me in confusion, then to themselves, and back to me.

The mare gasped, ran to me, and gave me a hug. "You must be an Orthrus pony, oh lucky day! You must help me get home, mother must be worried about me." She was holding me a bit too tight, but I was a bit too confused to resist.

"Miss Harp, you might want to let the poor mare go, she's running out of air." The pegasus bluntly stated. Wait, did he just call her miss Harp?

As she let me go, I took a deep breath and looked at the mare. "Harp, as in Harp Melody, princess Harp Melody?" I asked.

The mare scooted back, and looked away shyly. "Maybe."

I got on my hooves. "Just a moment." I attempted to connect to Sweet Sax through telepathy. 'Sweet come in, I found the princess, I repeat I found the princess!'

'Wh-t!--hat's-gr--e,---t's-me---up-on---r-wa-------t--Ch--on's---op.---so-I---st-Sil--r,-so--ad.' The link was garbled and warped, we were too far apart to properly communicate now. I didn't know if Sweet got my message, but I knew I needed to get the princess back to Charon's Stop. Sweet Sax would be heading that way if she got the message or not, it was our standard procedure if we ever got separated.

Patting some of the dust off me, I looked at my temporary Pegasus companion. "So, what's your name?"

“Names Merit Cross,” He smiled, and took a deep breath, but was interrupted by a sudden burst of loud gunfire. It sounded like a machine gun of a large caliber, something that would attract every monster for miles. He quickly turned around and looked out at the door. “I need to get my comrades out of here, can you help?"

I nodded. "Then follow me.” Another loud explosion rocked the tunnel, and debris fell from the station, blocking the door. “Fuck, this is bad. We need to get out of here now! We can look for your friends later."

The pegasus huffed, and begrudgingly agreed. The three of us ran down the tunnel, my pipleg the only source of light for them to see. I could only hope that we could get this whole mess sorted out once I met up with Sax and Silver back at Charon's Stop.

______________________________________

Footnote:

New Quest - Who Dares, Wins

Chapter 3 - Predator and Prey

Chapter 3 - Predator and Prey

The old tunnel was so caked in calcium that it was hard to tell if we were in a pony made structure or a natural cave that was repurposed by ponies. The culprit was leaking water coming from cracks in the ceiling, depositing the minerals all over the walls and the floor. This made it hard to walk without slipping, something that would be amusing if our situation wasn't so dangerous.

My two new companions were chatty at first, full of questions, some demands, but they were quickly silenced. I simply told them 'Be quiet until we get to a safe room' and the roar of a large monster punctuated my point. Fortunately, both ponies were surprisingly good at keeping quiet, and far better at watching their step than Silver was.

It didn't take me too long to find a sign pointing to a safe room. Made from an old stop sign, it had a detailed map painted on it, directing us to a shelter. Minerva was able to analyze the map, and update my own with the shelter's location. A blue beam of light extended out from Minerva’s screen, and shot out down the path I needed to take. Shaking my head, I turned off the heavy hoofed guide setting, and switched it to an arrow in my compass.

"Alright everypony," I whispered to the others, "I have the location of a safe house, so just stay quiet, and follow me." The other two nodded, and we were on our way.

Following the arrow on my compass, the other two stuck real close, staying in the small amount of light that came from my pipleg. This prevented me from scouting ahead, forcing us to move much slower so to not just walk into a large monster. Rad-roaches were a different problem, as I would periodically step on one without knowing they were there until I heard the crunch from under my leg. My rifle helped finish off any other roach that crawled near us, but the rest scurried away into the darkness. The little beasts were probably following us, in hopes to get a meal when one of us gets separated, or dies.

Every now and then we could hear the sounds of something bigger lurking around. I didn't know how far away it was, but it was close enough to hear it roar. The roar was followed by the sounds of gunfire, and some yelling. After a few seconds, the monster roared once more, its voice alone in the tunnel.

Soon we arrived at the safe room, its outer door made from two desks welded together with an eye slit. Luckily for us the door was unlocked allowing us to quickly jump inside and lock it. The other side of the door was an actual metal door, with three sliding bars as the main locking mechanism to keep the door closed.

Locking the door and flipping a light switch, I saw that it was an old maintenance room, which fared far better than the tunnel outside. Though not clean by any standard, being caked with dust and grime, it made for an excellent place to stop and rest.

The place had cots on one side and boxes on the other. On the wall in-between the boxes and cots was a small water purification machine. This place was made to help keep a pony alive long enough for anything on the other side of the door to leave, be it a day or weeks. Other shelters were not like this, some being a lot smaller. I had the bad luck of having to use what was simply an armored closet, forcing Sweet and I to be very close for nearly a whole day. She had forgotten to take a shower the day before, so it was not a fun time.

Harp Melody quickly familiarized herself with a cot, taking a seat on it in a particular way. Her back hooves dangled off the side of the cot, as she rested on her flank, and her front legs were free to move in the air. Her clothes looked a lot like what Silver had, but embroidered with gold flowers along the trim, and a little skirt covering her flank. The rest of her was as dainty as I would expect, thin from a lack of exercise and not from a lack of food. Her blue mane and pink coat, though dirty from being out here, still looked far better kept then anypony’s I had seen, other than Shamisen Tuning. Overall the mare was quite cute looking.

The pegasus stallion, Merit Cross, checked out one of the boxes and pulled out an empty bottle of sparkle cola before putting it back in. He had a bronze colored coat with a black mane and tail that had a red and white streak going through it. The barding that he had on was strange, nothing like I had ever seen a deep dweller use before. Black and brown in color, only being lightly armored. Stranger yet his clothes sported the symbol of a cloud and a star on it with an 'E' in front of it. The pony himself was quite attractive, looking strong and a bit rugged, nothing like the prim and groomed Silver.

"Is there something wrong...? Miss?" Merit asked, forcing my eyes away from his flank and to his bronze colored eyes.

"No, nothing...” Other than being separated from my partner, and the high probability of every big monster in the area now on the hunt for ponies. ".. Well a few things are wrong. Name’s Vibraphone Echo." I took a deep breath and turned Minerva's map function on. "Right, first things first, we will need to plan our trip back to Charon's Stop. If we can get to a main tunnel we should be fine, the problem is finding a way around any monsters that have been attracted here by that tunnel collapse."

Merit closed the box and trotted up to me. "Woah, hold it there miss, but I'm not going anywhere without my comrades." He stomped on the ground to punctuate what he said.

I sighed. "I understand and all, but unless you know exactly where they are, it's going to be a lot easier to wait back at Charon's Stop than to look for them." I tapped Minerva. "So tell me, does one of them have a pipbuck, and do you have its tag"

"Miss Vibraphone was it." Merit took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "You’re going to need to trust me when I say this. I, and my comrades are not from here. We only arrived here recently, and without a guide my comrades are going to be completely lost down here."

I walked over to one of the cots, and sat on it. "Okay, please explain to me what you’re going on about."

Merit sat on a cot next to mine, but before he could say a word Harp interrupted. "He came from the sky. I saw it myself." We both turned our attention to the princesses. "You see my guide turned out to be... less than friendly. He got it in his head that I shouldn't return home, wanted me to stay here on the big island with him. When I said no, he pulled his gun and threatened to kill me. That’s when a big metal... craft came roaring down, and killed my guide. I was so shocked and scared when it happened that I ran and hid. After that he, and his friends found me."

"From the sky?" I asked, and the Pegasus nodded. "From where in the sky?" I asked him.

He looked uncomfortable for a moment as he shifted on his cot. "I'm breaking a whole lot of rules by telling you this... but I'm betting that it's not going to matter. I'm from New Cloudsdale, a cloud city. Possibly one of the only remaining cloud cities that hasn't fallen to ruin. We came here to see if Marewaii could be inhabited, but we were shot down soon after getting here."

I crossed my front hooves, and pondered what he was saying. "So you’re saying that you’re not from Marewaii?" He nodded. "And from this cloud city, New Cloudsdale?" he nodded again. "And you expect me to believe this?"

Merit groaned and put his hooves in his face. "No, I'm not expecting anything. I just want you to help my friends. They're still out there, and I need to get to them." He looked up with his bronze eyes, and sighed. "I already lost two friends, I don't want to lose any more."

Shit. Now I'm feeling like the bad pony here. Everypony knew that there was no mercy out there, just survival. We try to help ponies when we can, but wandering back into a hot zone to look for ponies who may not be even in the same area, or even alive, was suicidal at best. "Damn it... here, we can swing around the area. With luck they are hold up in another safe room like us. But when I say we need to go, we need to go. This place is going to be flooded with monsters, and I don't feel like being food today."

Exhaling, Merit relaxed. "Thanks."

I nodded, and got off the cot. "Right. You two look for anything useful here, I'll check my map." I stepped over to the door and tapped on my pipleg. "Minerva, show me the route we took to get here."

The map projected into my vision, giving me a good look at where we were, and where we had come from. We hadn't traveled too far, so going back the way we came was a valid option. Not far from where we left the station was a maintenance hatch. It should take us to another tunnel, and from there we could look for the others. Another option was to go further out and change tunnels at a station. It’d take more time, but was probably the safest route. Last option was to go up and over. There was a ladder up to the surface nearby, and it would make the fastest way there. The only problem was that it was also the most dangerous route to take.

Looking back at the others, Harp had taken one of the empty bottles and poured herself some purified water. Merit had dug through all the boxes, finding mostly junk. Surprisingly he found a few full sparkle-cola bottles and a package of apple pie bites. Both were probably tainted with radiation, and the pies were most likely made more of preservatives than apples.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The heavy knocking on the door drew all of our attention. Opening the slit, I saw a scared bandit pulling at the door. Our eyes made contact, and I could see the pleading on her face. "Let me in, let me in dammit!"

It was only one bandit, so there was no need to be cruel. "Just step back." Reaching out, I pulled open one of the locks. The bandit gave a sigh of relief and scooted back.

*BLAM*

The bandit’s neck ripped open and her blood splattered all over the ground, quickly draining like a popped water balloon. I stood there stunned, trying to get a look at who had killed the mare.

Holding a lantern above them, two ponies came into view. One was a large earth pony, and the other was the one holding the lantern. The other one was a... zebra! He had a battle rifle rigged onto a battle saddle. Both had the same outfit on, which looked like old tattered uniforms, red with green trim, and had different symbols sown on the fabric. I shut the slit, and enhanced my hearing.

"Good shot, you got that freak real good." The earth pony said.

"It was easy, t' fool though they could hide in t' shadows." The zebra spoke with a boasting tone. "Now it is dead, and my brother gets a new leg."

The earth pony snorted as their voices got closer. "That's why we chased after t' moppet, so that your dumb ass brother can have a new leg. Eatin' more fruits was all he needed t' do, but no, had t' go get scurvy didn't he."

"What do you expect, mother dropped him on his head as a little foal." The zebra said, and the two laughed.

I could hear the two walk closer, one having to step over the bandits corps, and right up to the door.

*Tap Tap Tap*

"Open up, we know you’re in thar." The earth pony demanded. "If you don't, we have other ways t’ open doors."

"Why even ask mate." The Zebra spoke up. "Just blow t' door open, not like we got t' time t' fool around. Fuckin' Black Spot's bein' a real tight ass over this mission."

Opening the eye slit, the two looked right at me. Up close, I could see scars and tattoos crudely decorating their faces. Both were adorn with gold rings piercing on their ears, lips, and the Zebra had one through his eyebrow. They looked like pirates from the old movies from before the war. "Just wait a moment, can we negotiate?"

The two pirates sneered, and then laughed. The earth pony raised a hoof and spoke. "You know what, I think we can. How about you open that door, come out, and let us fuck ya. If ya real good at it, we will let you go."

'They can't be serious.' The two stallions held onto their grin, showing off their rotten teeth. 'They were serious about it!' I turned away from the slit and gagged. Merit and Harp were standing behind me, concern on their faces. "Not going to happen." I whispered to them. Looking back through the slit, I shook my head. "Anything else I could give you? You can have two bottles of sparkle-cola."

The two pirates chuckled, and this time the Zebra spoke up. "Remember what t' captain said, when in doubt, take it all." The Zebra pulled out a box, and I had a gut feeling that it was full of explosives.

"You better stand back girly." The earth pony called out. "I’d rather not fuck another mangled corpse." Now my gut feeling was really telling me that they were going to use explosives.

I looked back. There was nothing in here for us to hid behind, the boxes maybe, but i doubted they would do much to shield us. Looking back through the slit, the two pirates had backed up, and behind them something caught my eye. Two eyes behind the pirates reflected the light from the lamp. I didn't know to laugh or cringe, as I knew what was about to happen.

With monstrous speed, the Zebra was bit in the back legs, lifted up, and smashed against the wall. Blood smeared along the wall, and quickly drained from the Zebras mangled face. The earth pony barely had time to react before the monster was on him. A great claw held the pony to the ground, and it clamped down on his head, separating it from the pony's body.

With the pirates dead, the monster lumbered to the door, and I quickly pushed the one open lock back in place. It was a Paradise Dragon, tall with razor sharp claws and dagger like teeth. The monster was covered in green feathers of different shades from nose to tail, giving it a deceptively beautiful look. Though it walked on all four legs, the beast had the ability to stand and run on its two back legs when attacking. Another thing was that its skin was like armor, and we would need some big guns to hope to even hurt it enough to drive the monster away.

It lumbered over to the bandits’ corpses, and looked right at me. Shutting the eye slit, I stumbled back as the monster thrashed against the door. It held firm against the paradise dragon’s assault, but it knew we were here. It knew that more food was just inside.

With the pirates gone I didn’t have to worry about the doors being blown open, but we had only exchanged one big problem for another. I could only hope that the paradise dragon would take the bodies and go away. Something I knew didn’t happen often.

“What’s going on? What just happened?” Merit asked, staying near the cot with his boxy looking rifle at the ready.

If what he said earlier was true, and he was really not from the islands, then I had an idea to prove it. “Merit, come here and take a look.” It wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but everyone on the islands knew about paradise dragons, so I just had to see his reaction. “Just don’t put your face close to the door, trust me.”

Merit trotted over, looking unsure, but confidant. I opened the eye slit, and moved out the way as he stepped up to the door. “What am I looking at?” he asked as he looked through the slit, keeping some distance like I suggested.

Suddenly a razor sharp claw jammed through the slit, nearly nicking Merit as he fell back onto his flank. “THE FUCK IS THAT!?” he shouted.

Harp had walked up next to me, looking a little frightened. “It’s a paradise dragon isn’t it?” she asked me, and I nodded.

“Okay, so that’s a paradise dragon.” Merit huffed in annoyance. “ what the fuck is a paradise dragon?” The look of shock and confusion on his face was authentic. Along with how much he didn’t look the part of a deep dweller, I was starting to believe that he was not from around here.

The monster’s claw retracted from the slit. “Take another look, and I’ll explain.” Merit got back onto his hooves, and looked out the slit again. His head a little further back. “It’s the apex predator here on the Marewaii Islands. Fast, strong, smart, and so viciously aggressive that only a few ponies have tangled with one and lived to tell the tale.”

Merit closed the eye slit, and looked at me with an eyebrow raised. “That. That is no dragon. I’ve seen dragons before. Horns, covered in scales, breathing fire. That is a feather covered lizard.” He elaborated his statement by moving his hooves around, drawing shapes in the air.

“You’ve seen real dragons before, like in the old stories?” Harp asked, looking a little curious now.

Merit nodded. “Every now and then a dragon would threaten the peace, flying up over the cloud layer and attacking the citizens. I never fought one myself, but I saw one as a colt, and later as a recruit with the Enclave.” He looked proud as he talked, reminding me of my dad a little. “So what is that thing?” he pointed at the door.

“Probably a wartime weapon that got out, and started breeding.” I said casually. “There’s a lot of theories, but that’s the most common. We do know that it is a kind of lizard, probably an iguana.”

“Do I need to ask what an iguana is?” Merit asked with an eyebrow raised.

I waved a hoof. “An aquatic lizard. They all died out over two hundred years ago. But that’s not important.”

Merit slumped his shoulders. “So I take it that that thing is not going away?” I nodded, answering his question. “That’s fucking fantastic.”

I looked at the map again, and mentally crossed out the two tunnel routes. Even if we could get past the monster, we were not going to be fast enough to outrun it. So the only valid option was the ladder up, and that was assuming that the ladder was still there in the first place.

Looking in my bag, I still had the flashbang for emergencies. This would be considered an emergency. “I have a plan.” I called out, and the other two looked in my direction. Pulling out the flashbang I took a deep breath. “We've got one shot at this, so you’re going to need to follow my instructions to the letter.”

The plan was simple. Stun the paradise dragon and run for it. Merit was in charge of keeping Harp from falling behind, and I was to follow. I had a frag grenade ready if the monster recovered faster than I expected. The big problem, other than the monster, was making sure that the others knew where to go. Dark tunnels were hard to navigate, even when you have a map.

“So there’s a maintenance hatch to the right, which should take us to a surface station.” Merit commented, as he used his hoof to trace along the map on my pipleg screen. “From there if we head west, we can get back to where we were separated, and track down the others.” He had gotten in real close to me to properly look at the map, sitting beside me as my pipleg was stretched out to him. His larger wing rubbing against my smaller wing, and his head a bit closer then I was comfortable with.

It was a bad time to think about being so close to a stallion, so I shoved any dirty thoughts to the back of my mind, and focused on the task at hoof. We were about to run to the surface, and I didn’t need the distraction.

Pulling my leg away from him, I got up and walked to one of the cots. “Now that you've got all the information you need, just make sure that Miss Harp makes it up the ladder safely. I’ll be right behind you.”

Looking over to my side, Harp Melody was sorting through the boxes for more useful stuff, but having no better luck then when Merit did. I had shared my own supplies with them to help keep our energy up, two days’ worth of rations now reduced to a snack between the three us. We still had water, so dehydration was not a worry right now, but we did recap a few cola bottles with the purified water just to be safe.

Merit and I were set. He had his magical energy rifle, an effective weapon, if a bit flashy. I had my air rifle and revolver. Harp was given my combat knife. With her combat skills being next to nonexistent, I figured it would at least help her stay calm if she had something.

The energy rifle that Merit was using, I had seen a few before as collector’s items. The old rifles were not the most durable guns of the Old World, so most ponies who owned them kept them behind glass. The Ponies Republic of the Valley did make their own energy rifles, calling them energy muskets. They worked in the same way as the modern air and railguns, needing to be charged before use. Their magical fusion breeder was able to hold a charge for a good one or two shots, with higher end models able to fire four, or even six shots.

“Miss Vibraphone?” Merit caught me looking at his rifle. “Something the matter?”

“Just thinking.” I responded. “So, are you ready?”

Merit, looked unsure for a moment. “As ready as we will ever be.”

“Good. Just take your position, and on the count of three, we start.” It was easy enough for me to say, it always was. My biggest worry was that the Paradise dragon will go straight for the door as soon as it opens, or that the flash bang is a dud. There was a hundred other ways this could fail, I did my best to keep them to the back of my mind, but they just kept coming back.

Merit and Harp had taken position, with Merit ready to carry the mare in the air to the ladder. Harp had been doing her best to not look worried as we were planning this out, but the chew marks on her hoof betrayed her nervousness. Merit on the other hoof, though looking a bit worried, was focused and ready to go.

“One...” I had the flash bang held under my wing, ready for me to arm and throw out.

“Two...” I unlocked the door as quietly as I could, hoping that the monster would not make its move too soon.

“Three!” I opened the door just enough to fit the flash bang through. Biting onto the trigger mechanism, I tossed it outside before shutting the door.

A second went by and I heard a thump from the other side. A bead of sweat fell off my brow as I held my breath.

*POP*

The beast screeched, and I threw open the door, jumping out. Merit and Harp zoomed passed me as I pulled out my frag grenade.

Holding its massive claws over its ears, the monster’s eyes were looking around, blinded by the flash.

Tossing my frag grenade at it, I couldn’t help but make a quip. “Here, have an apple!” It landed near its face, and I ran as fast as I could.

*BANG*

It screeched once more, but this time it was far louder than before. I was not going to check if I had killed it or not, it was safer to assume that it was alive, and real pissed off.

Arriving at the maintenance hatch, Merit and Harp were already there. They were struggling to get the hatch open. “What’s the hold up?” I asked as I slid to a stop.

Merit raised an eyebrow. “Cut us some slack here, we’re running in the dark, and I almost slammed right into the wall.” Okay, he had a point.

Using my piplegs lamp, I illuminated the hatch. The fucking thing was chained shut. “Who fucking chains up a maintenance hatch!?” Pulling out the bolt cutters from before, I snapped the lock on the chain, freeing the hatch. “That settles it, the bolt cutters stay in my bug out bag.” Merit gave me a look, eyebrow raised, mouth slightly open. “Ask later, we need to go now.”

Almost as though right on cue, the monster roared. So my assumption was correct, it was still alive, and pissed. Opening the hatch I shoved the two in, Merit going first, followed by Harp. The sound of trash being thrown around echoed through the tunnel, as a rhythmic like-thumping got closer and louder. Jumping into the hatch, I quickly pushed myself up the ladder, bumping into Harps Flank.

Harp stopped to look down at me. “Is everything ok Miss Vib…”

*Crash*

The maintenance hatch door folded inward, just barely missing my prosthetic back legs. I could see the Paradise Dragon’s monstrous snout poking through the now broken hatch door. Its face was like shredded meat, bleeding all over the hatch, and some bone was visible. Its rapid breathing sounded forced, angry, and directed at me.

Looking up, my vision was obscured by a few yellow drops of water as Harp was now moving twice as fast as she was before. Looking back down, the monster wasn’t making much progress in getting into the ladder tunnel. It was too small for the monster to fit, so I started climbing, sure that it could not follow. The Paradise Dragon snarled and roared for over a minute, but it eventually gave up, leaving us in silence.

_________________________________

The old station had long ago lost its roof, and the jungle took over. Most of the old world relic had crumbled away, replaced by trees, vines, and moss. Some parts of the station stood strong, as though the stubbornness of our ancestors had been imprinted into the stone and mortar.

With the sun starting to get low, the light came in at an angle, giving the overgrown station an almost mystical feel to it. Dew drops from fresh rain sparkled in the light, and water pooled on the ground, bouncing the light on to the walls and trees.

Harp was standing at one of the small pools of water, looking at her reflection. Dipping my pipleg into the water, the reflection rippled, and Minerva started clicking. “Thought so. Best to avoid any water here, the radiation is strong in it.” Harp looked up at me and nodded in confirmation.

Looking around I noticed the lack of our pegasus companion. “Where’s Merit?”

Brushing her tangled mane away from her face, Harp took a more dignified pose. “Sir Merit is scouting the surroundings. He said it will only be a few minutes.” Her voice had that dignified tone to it, but felt more forced. Trying to get a better look at the girl, her eyes would dart around, avoiding eye contact with me.

I sighed. If she was hiding something, this was not the time for it. “Okay, spit it out. What’s wrong?” I calmly asked, hoping that was all I needed to do.

Her face flushed red, and she looked away. “No… nothing’s wrong.”

She couldn’t be any more obvious that something was wrong. “We’re not in any position to be messing about, so tell me and we can move on.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” she responded quickly. Looking at her, her hips were shaking, and she was rubbing one of her back legs against the other. I got the picture now.

It was a little too good to simply let go. “Is this about how you pissed yourself, and onto m…”

Two hooves attached to the princess held my mouth shut, her face now next to mine was beet red. She opened her mouth, but no words came out, just a whimper.

A moment passed with her holding my mouth shut, no words spoken. Glaring at her, she let me go, and backed away a few scoots. “S…sorry.”

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “It’s fine. The situation was something you were not use too.” Harp seemed to relax, but was still squirming a bit. “If you need to go pee, just do it…“ I quickly looked around. If there was a toilet around here, it was probably now a flower pot. “Do it anywhere.”

“But... But it’s undignified just to relieve myself on the floor.” Harp meekly responded.

I didn’t have time to get into a debate about what is dignified or not. “It’s undignified to give yourself a urinary tract infection.” Walking up to the mare, I pushed her over to some bushes. “Just get it over with, and we can stop talking about it.” I glared at her until she meekly nodded, and I gave her some space.

The sound of clothes shuffled for a minute, followed by that of a small stream of water hitting cement. I did my best to ignore it, but with the birds being distant, her urinating was the loudest sound in the station.

Thankfully it ended shortly after she started, the embarrassed looking princess walking up next to me, not saying a word. Taking a quick look at the young mare, her skirt had been removed, revealing her cutie mark. Her cutie mark was of a silver harp with golden musical notes forming a crown around the harp. I was a little jealous, I never had a cutie mark because of my flank being made of metal.

“So, umm.” Harp broke the awkward silence. “Do you have an, well, ahh. I could use an extra pair of panties.” Her face flushed a little, and I could see that her tail was tightly pushing between her legs.

Yet another thing I should start keeping in my bug out bag. “Sorry, I only have survival gear.”

She groaned. “Is there anything i can use? I can’t be left exposed like this.”

“Can’t you just use the ones you already have?” I asked, and she shook her head. “Fine, but you better not complain.”

I unhooked the barding at my flank, and pulled off my panties. My rear was going to chafe a little, but at least neither of us were going to be flashing anypony. Harp took the tangled cloth and quickly put it on, breathing a sigh of relief. I re-hooked my barding, and the princess slipped her skirt back on. “Can we, well like, never speak of this, ever?” Harp asked, sounding a little embarrassed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I responded.

Harp looked to her left and right with suspicion, before relaxing. “Neither do I.”

We spent a few minutes in silence. Using that time, I made sure that the air pressure on my rifle was up. Simply adding some of the magic stored in me to the rifles air pressure talisman, and watched as the pressure gage went up. My revolver was still in good shape, but had a scuff on it from when it fell on the ground.

Catching a glimpse of something moving from the roof, I quickly had my rifle aimed at whatever it was. Merit was looking down at us, with a small tree branch hanging over him as makeshift camouflage. Lowering my rifle, the pegasus flew down, and quietly landed in front of us.

“I got good news, and bad news.” He said as he removed the branch from his back.

“Did you find your friends? I wonder if Light is okay.” Harp said with some worry in her voice.

Merit smiled, which had to be a yes. “That’s the good news. I was able to get a signal on my radio, it was weak, but I did get in contact with Wild Winds. She said they're going to hold up at a place called Future Park.”

“The ancient theme park,” I remarked. The other two looked at me, with Harp looking a little excited. “Interesting place from what I was told. Orthrus cleaned out the place of anything valuable around a hundred years ago, so it’s mostly a hollowed out shell now.”

“So you can take us there?” Merit asked.

“Yes, but can’t you just fly over there?” I asked back.

Merit shifted a little, giving me a bad feeling. “Right, the bad news. The group that shot my team down, well there’s more of them, and they are patrolling the sky. I’ve spotted two pegasi, a griffin, and three vertabucks. Whoever they are, they are as well-equipped as the Enclave.”

Just great. The local wildlife is bad enough, but now we had some sort of foreign military moving in. At the very least this meant that the monsters will have other targets than just us.

“Did you say a griffin?” Harp asked as she got closer to Merit.

He looked a little uncomfortable as the young mare got into his personal space. “Yes, I saw one out there.”

Harp did a little excitable gasp. “Oh I hope I get to see one. I’ve never seen a griffin before.”

Merit scooted back a little as I interjected. “Right now, I don’t think you want to. I have a strong feeling that it will shoot on sight.” Harp’s ears drooped. “Well, at least it will be easy to avoid any air patrols, unless they have a way to see us through the ruins and trees.”

With a destination set, we were off. Merit with the advantage of flight, took the forward position, conducting aerial recon from under the jungle layer. I took up the guardian position, keeping Harp close to me. My Muffle, and Amplify Ambiance Talisman were ineffective in this situation, forcing me to be hyper vigilant until we got somewhere safer.

_________________________________

The sun was now setting, and only the faintest hint of light was coming through the trees and buildings. We had made good time thanks to Merit, being able to lure most of the local predators out of our path. Most of them didn’t know what to do with a pegasus, simply chasing after him until he flew up and into a hiding spot. Later he would safely return to us without being followed.

The few dangerous critters that he missed, or didn’t fall for his ploy, met their end by my rifle. Mostly being roaches and rodents, I made quick work of the pests. It was a simple tactic, and as long as we didn’t run into anything real nasty, we should get to our destination in an hour.

Harp had been taking our travel better than I expected, but still far worse than Merit and I. It was probably because she was walking through the forest with real legs, and could feel every squishy step. For me it felt more like a little nudge whenever I stepped, or when something touched my pipleg. The rest of my legs had no sensors for me to feel. Harp had also silently freaked out when a large spider was on my leg. It did scare me a little, but spiders can’t poison a synthetic leg.

Her dainty steps avoided every little pool of mud, and thorny plant. It was slowing us down a little, but not enough to be a real problem. I did try to avoid any muddy water, not wanting to splash any of the radioactive muck onto me. Harp was at least thankful for that, with her being next to me.

Merit flew down to us, now looking more like a flying plant with large leaves attached to his uniform, mane, and tail. He had been doing quite well, but the signs of exhaustion were becoming strikingly visible. Everyone in the group was getting tired, but he looked the worst of all.

“I swear I might start eating bacon just out of spite.” Merit took a seat on a half crumbled cement bench, taking a quick breather. “Why are there so many hogs on this island?”

It was a mystery to why they lived on this island. We knew that they were not native, so we could only guess. The common belief was that some idiot thought it was a bright idea to bring their pets over, and let them run wild. As for the bores, that was an even more perplexing question. Most blame the Zebras out of convenience.

“Just be glad we’re not further south, the rad-bores are even worse.” My response seemed to be enough to give Merit a chill.

The pegasus slumped where he sat, trying to keep his eyes open.I rummaged through my saddlebag, and pulled out my spare bottle of lurker blue. It was no longer ice cold, but it still had its blue glow to it. “Drink this, It should wake you up.” I hoofed over the bottle to him.

Looking over the bottle in his hooves, he raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, this stuff is irradiated.”

I almost laughed. “No, not at all. The glow is magical, made to show how fresh the drink is. Now the drink is liable to give you a heart attack if you drink a shit ton of it, but one bottle is completely safe.”

Merit sighed. “If my piss starts glowing, I know who to blame.” Gulping the cola down, the stuff vanished down his throat in one go. “Yuck, what the hell is in this stuff? It tastes like, like, something I should never be drinking again!”

I smiled. “Yeah, that drink has a distinctive chemical taste to it. But it works, so everypony drinks it.”

He lifted the bottle up, and shook his head. “And here I thought a population of zonies was strange enough. But this stuff might go to the top of what’s wrong with you zonies.”

“It’s Mirage Pony.” I corrected.

Merit looked up at me. “Mirage what now?”

I sighed. “We’re called mirage ponies. We’re not zonies, close, but were not some simple crossbreed.”

“Right, I’ll remember that.” Merit put the now empty bottle on the ground. He himself now looking a lot more awake than before. “So why mirage pony, if it’s okay to ask?”

“It’s fine, but once we get moving, I’ll show you.” He nodded and I proceeded to gather magic into myself. “It’s a simple little thing we can do, but it’s allowed us to survive for this long.” The sensation of warm liquid began to fill me up, from my head to my tail. All over I felt warm, like a blanket was now wrapping itself over me. “We can gather, and store magic in ourselves. When we hit our limit, we..”

“Shimmer” Merit interrupted. His eyes were wide open, mouth slightly agape, and was leaning forward a little.

“Uhhh, yes, we can shimmer. But at a distance we tend to look like a mirage, thus the name mirage ponies.”

Merit straightened himself up, regaining his poster. “Right, so you can store magical energy in yourselves.” He tilted his head a little. “What can you do with it?”

“I know this one.” Harp interjected. “We can use our ability to charge spark batteries!” Merit didn’t look all that impressed, but Harp was not done. “Oh, and we can use the ability to make and charge spell talismans. Also weapons, I think.”

I stepped in, waving a hoof in front of Harp. “What she means is, if there is something that runs on magical energy, we can naturally charge it.” I levitated my rifle out. “This rifle here uses a levitation talisman, and an air pressure talisman. A unicorn could use this rifle, but unless they specialize in charging magic, and transferring it onto spark batteries, it simply becomes a club.” Putting the rifle away, I tapped on my shoulder. “Many of us have cybernetic implants due to birth defects. We use this to its full advantage, and install spell talismans into said cybernetics. Because of this, I can use levitation, and any other spell that can be made.”

Merit seemed more interested now.Scratching his chin, the Pegasus smirked a little. “So, and this is just a hypothesis, but let’s say there’s an old airship that ran on an arcano tech engine, but it ran out of power long ago. If it still had its old power cells, could it be recharged by a mirage pony?”

That was a really specific question. “By one pony, unlikely. If their was a team of them, over time they could get it running again. But unless you were able to access a more consistent source of power, the engine would only run for a short period of time.” I didn’t know where he was going with that question, but I hoped I defused any thought of using my people as batteries. “Our power works best on smaller, more personal things...”

“Right, well it was an interesting thought.” Merit stretched out his wings, and trotted in place. The Lurker Blue cola must have been more effective then I thought. “If we hurry up, we should get to the park by the time the sun's gone. Let’s go.” The pegasus was practically shaking, the energy cola was way too effective.

Merit froze in mid jump, landing right back on his hooves. “Oh, almost forgot. There's a bunch of strange plants in the way. When I got near them, they started spitting at me. You know what they are, right?”

“Fucking seed pods.” I said under my breath. “Their called seed pods. They spread their seeds by shooting it at other critters. You don’t want to know what happens to a pony that gets hit by one.”

“What did you ponies do to this island to make even the plants want to reach out and kill you.” Merit retorted with a mocking tone. I responded by lifting a hoof, and stretching it out as to present the ruined city. “Point taken.”

It didn’t take us long to get to where the seed pods were. Passed them we could see Future Park, marked with a large banner of a younger ministry mare of the Ministry of Morale in a pink space suit. Her grin promised much science fiction fun.

We were still too far away from the seed pods for them to start attacking us, so we kept our distance. We counted thirteen seedpods all clustered together, and one dead rad hog with two small seed pods growing out of it. Going around them was an option, but we were quickly losing daylight, and this was a threat I could deal with.

The two small seed pods were not yet a threat, not yet able to spit at us, so I was not going to waste ammo on them.

“I got radio contact.” Merit held a hoof to his ear, blocking the sound of the jungle away from his earboom. “Good to hear you Wub Wub, how’s Little Sis doing?” He sighed, looking relieved. “Good, good. Were just a few clicks away, we just need to clear some weeds and we can meet up.” Merit nodded at me, and I pulled out my rifle.

Killing the seed pods was a simple matter. As long as you were out of their range, or simply in a position where they could not get to you, a pony could take their time in dealing with them. From our position I could make every shot count, aiming at the plants’ weak points.

I was able to snap the stem on two of the pods, the heavy top parts hitting the ground lifelessly. One seed pod I shot right in its oversize sack, causing it to explode with a pop. Three I didn’t get as lucky with, having to take two shots to kill them.

Merit continued his radio chatter, talking quietly to his comrade on the other end. I focused on shooting the seven remaining seed pods, trying my best to not waste any more ammo. With a puff I sent a ball bearing right into the stem of another seed pod, rendering it harmless. Six to go.

“Vibraphone, do you know a Sweet Sax?” Merit asked.

That snapped me out of my concentration, turning my attention to Merit, and leaving my rifle hovering in the air. “Sweet Sax is my partner, we got separated when the tunnel caved in.” If she was with Merit’s comrades, she must have had a similar problem as I did, and was forced topside. “Is she with your friends?”

Merit nodded. “Yeah, but they seemed to have a disagreement between your partner, and our captain. Their fine, but it seems that she knocked out our captain, and is now being held at gunpoint.”

I face hoofed, which hurt a little due to a metal hoof. “Can you tell your comrade to not shoot my partner until we get there? I have six more seed pods to shoot, and we can be on our way.” I returned to the task at hand, with the situation getting worse by the moment, I needed to get to Sweet Sax soon, and get the princess back to Charon's Stop.

Ignoring the radio chatter, I focused on the seed pods. With another puff, I sent a ball bearing at one of the plants, and it missed.

I had to stop and take a deep breath. My eyes were getting heavy now, and Sweet Sax was now running through my head. “Fuck” I breathed. Going for more easy shots, I took two shots per plant. Using twelve shots, the way was now clear, and I was down twenty one ball bearings. Counting what I had left, I had six of the shiny little balls. I could only hope Sweet had some to spare.

Putting my rifle away, I motioned to the others “All clear, let’s get moving.” As I got up, Merit motioned for me to stay put.

“Bad news.” Merit said. “Let’s just hope it’s only passing by.”

I was about to ask what he was talking about, but my ears catching an unusual sound answered my question before I even got to ask. The chopping sound of an engine slowly grew louder from above, as an aircraft passed over us, flying to the theme park. Spot lights shot out of the craft, as it slowly hovered in front of the entrance, lighting up the area.

Pulling out my rifle once more, I looked through the scope to get a better look at the craft. The craft looked like an old vertabuck that was used in the great war, but painted red with green trim. Painted on the side was a green circle of thorns with a red teardrop in the middle. To my surprise, and disgust, two mutilated ponies had been tied to the vertabuck, held up by their tattered wings to swing around.

The vertabuck circled around for a minute before moving on, flying off deeper into the theme park. We could still hear it echo in the distance, but it was no longer in our way.

With the way now clear once more, I put away my rifle again, and looked to the others. Merit was ready to go, still on the energy high of the cola I gave him. Harp yawned, seemingly having a difficult battle keeping her eyes open. “Merit,” I called to the Pegasus, gaining his attention, “if you could, can you help miss harp to the theme park. I’ll lead the way from here.”

The sun was now gone, leaving a slowly dimming silhouette of the park. As quickly as we could, we ran to the opening to the park, hoping to find our friends before something else found them first. The echoing sound of the vertabuck in the distance was an ever present reminder that we had more than the wildlife to worry about.

_________________________________

Footnote:

New Quest - Are you having fun yet?

Author's Note

I want to thank C8002 for editing this chapter for me, the friend has more important things to do, so hat's off for the help.

Also thanks to McDronePone for pre-reading the story. There is a lot that get's missed even after editing, so much thanks for that.

Chapter 4 - Sleepover

I had only been told about the old theme park before, but never had gone there myself. Everything in the place was made of hardened plastic, and metal that had stood against the test of time. From the oddly designed shopping stalls to the mannequins, everything was still standing, though time had worn on them over the last two centuries. The paint that had long peeled off, the colors only now a stain, running down like tears. I had to agree with what other ponies had said about this place, it was one of the creepiest places on Marewaii.

The moonlight only made the unnerving feeling of this place worse. It's silver glow only giving us enough light to see, and anything that was not illuminated looked as if it was covered in a jet black sheet. Having to stick to the shadows, the contrast of the silver glow, and the deep black shadows were ever present every step of the way.

Sweet Sax and the others were holding up in a place called "Tomorrow Hotel", which was fortunately not far from where we entered. We could see the building from where we started, the hotel standing at least twenty stories high, with what glass that was still on the building reflecting the moonlight.

Our main problem was the damn Vertabuck flying around, lighting up whole areas of the park with its searchlights. It hadn’t seen us, and was currently on the other side of the park near the water, so we made our way to the hotel with haste.

On our way to the hotel, we passed through what was a foal’s zone. Everything here was made for ponies much smaller than ourselves. Each ride and little activity had a height chart with Pinkie Pie stating that “You have to be this small to ride” or “Sharing is caring, but this is for the little fillies and colts only.” The Pinkie Pie here was younger then the ministry of moral images of her, lacking the gray stripe in her mane.

As we walked, a high pitched, mechanical voice spoke loudly, backed by a light musical tune. “Cotton Candy! Ice cream! Shugary sweets! I know you can’t resist, but ask your mom or dad first if you want some.” I felt soft legs wrap around me as Harp hid behind me in fright. The voice belonged to a robot pony sitting behind a candy stall, the candy on display having long vanished. The robot pony, like everything in the park was in surprisingly good condition, but also had the same paint problem making it look like it was crying.

Nervously, we passed the robot pony by, not wanting to trigger any more dialogue, and attract anything dangerous. Now knowing that at least some of the attractions were still active, we actively avoided anything relatively pony shaped, or anything that looked like it had a speaker attached to it.

Reaching the hotel, we were greeted by the sight of a tree growing in front of the front door, blocking the entrance. It was an odd sight, the tree almost looking like it was intently blocking the doors as it spread out across the building.

A little looking around and we found a restaurant attached to the hotel, which gave us an entrance into the hotel. The restaurant had its own creepy feeling to it, like the rest of the park, with all the tables set for patrons who would never come.

Not wanting to linger, we quickly stepped inside, where I had to turn my pipleg's light back on. The inside of the hotel was in all states of disrepair, but otherwise clean. No garbage on the floor, every chair and table in their place, and the few plants that were in here were in pots.

“Okay, now I’m creeped out completely.” Merit spoke up. “Why is everything here so well preserved? I’ve seen things still work after two hundred years! I mean, my rifle is a good two hundred and eleven years old. But that’s because it's been well cared for, and fixed repeatedly.”

He had a point, it was like somepony was taking care of everything here. Robots maybe.

Harp ran a hoof along a table, and then waved the dust off. “Maybe there are ghouls here, I heard that they like to maintain all the old tech.”

Point goes to the princess, why didn’t I think of that. “Let’s go with that idea and get moving. If we come across any ghouls, let’s ask questions before shooting.” I looked down at Minerva, and activated my map function. Unlike the tunnels, I had nothing on the park, and the pipbuck could only map out where I had been. Turning it off, I turned to Merit. “So which floor are they on?”

Merit went to check his radio, but a loud bang and a crash caught our attention. We both shared a knowing look, and we were off.

Rushing to the sound with the other two right behind me, we entered what looked like a meeting hall. Rows of chairs aimed at the stage, on which laid a sleeping pegasus. In the middle of the chairs were two ponies wrestling with each other, the metal chairs being tossed aside as the two jumped around at each other. Above one pony was a small ball of light, illuminating the room as the only source of light.

It was easy to conclude that the pony with the light above her was Sweet Sax, being the only other mirage pony in the room. The other pony being a pegasus, I assumed she was Wub Wub, the pony that Merit was talking to over the radio.

The two broke off their hold on each other, jumping back, and ready to charge at each other. Merit jumped in and dove between the two. In mid charge the two skidded to a stop, nearly colliding with Merit.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Merit quietly demanded.

The pegasus mare looked relieved at the sight of Merit, and pointed at Sweet. “That bitch poisoned little sis.”

Sweet Sax dismissively waved a hoof. “I didn’t poison her, I just gave her something to chill the fuck out. If she kept on yelling like she was, she was going to get us killed.” Sweet crossed her front hooves, took a seat, and crossed her back hooves. Her posture in the chair was a bit odd, but did well to show her annoyance.

Stepping in closer, the princess close behind me, I had to facehoof at the realization of what Sweet must have done. “The chill I gave you, you used it on that pony didn’t you.”

Sweet Sax’s eyes winded a little when she saw me. Hopping out of her seat, she quickly trotted over to me, and gave me a hug. “I won’t lie, if you asked me right now, I so totally would have a threesome with you.”

“Bu, Wha…” I blurted out, caught off guard by Sweet's words.

She blinked for a moment before letting me go. “Sorry, sorry.” Sweet apologized. “It’s been a crazy few hours, but ya, I had to give queen bitch here the chill. We’ve been chased by those… pirates from the moment we left the bandit’s station. The captain there seemed to not understand the concept of shutting the fuck up, so I had to knock her out.” Sweet looked over my shoulder, and gave Harp a smile before returning her attention to me. “So that’s her, at least we got the first half of the job done.”

I nodded, though she was a bit crude about it, Sweet was being kind in her own way. In Orthrus, we were given a metro survival hoof book. Among the many tips for survival, knocking out a panicked companion took up four pages. Most of them involving blunt force trauma to the head, so that Pegasus got off lucky, and will be fine in another hour or two. “Ya, we also ran into the pirates as well… and a paradise dragon. We had to go topside to get away.” Taking a look around, it was clear that Silver and the two scrappers were not here. “I take it that you got separated from Silver as well?”

Rolling her eyes, Sweet took a deep breath and sighed. “The asshole ran off to the pipbuck tag, so it’s safe to say he’s dead now. His fault, not mine.” She backed off a scooch, and watched as Harp passed her, and to the stage. Lightly tapping her ear, Sweet’s stare followed the princess. I activated my telepathy talisman, connecting to Sweet. ‘Good riddance I say, he was probably going to backstab us. It saves us the trouble of having to kill him ourselves.’ Sweets telepathic voice sounded off key, what ever was causing the interference was strong here, which made me worry a bit.

‘I wonder.’ Responding to Sweet. ‘Was it really going to come to that? I don’t want to sound naive, but what if he was actually looking for his brother?’

Sweet Sax snorted softly. ‘Shamisen may be a capital C cunt, but she's not one to give bad information. Remember when she got you those frilly purple panties for your birthday. Even I didn’t know purple was your favorite color, or that you like cutesy undies.' She covered her mouth as she chuckled, and I felt myself blush. ‘By the way, a paradise dragon. That must have been rough. I take it that the scrappers didn’t make it.’

I shook my head. ‘Don’t know, got separated from them at the station. Oddly, the dragon may have been more good luck than bad. Two pirates found us in a safe room, and were going to blow it open. Oh, another thing, one of them was a Zebra.’ Sweet turned to look at me, before looking back at the others.

‘Fuck really, a Zebra. So that make six different kinds now.’ This time I gave Sweet a look. ‘Ya, six. Other than the normal three; Earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn. I also saw a Griffin and a Donkey. With the Zebra, that makes six different tribes. All of them assholes.’

We both watched as Harp got on stage and trotted to the sleeping pony. The two other Pegasus’s were still talking among each other, but were looking in the direction of the stage. ‘We probably need to stay close to the little princess, I don’t trust these enclave ponies.’ Sweet stated, and I nodded.

Harp sat next to the sleeping pony, and started to giggle to herself, as she stoked the Pegasus’s mane. Merit walked up to us with Wub Wub, both keeping an eye on the stage. “So Wild here will agree to a cease fire if we get an explanation about what your partner did to Light.” Merit stated.

Sweet rolled her eyes again, so not wanting another fight, I spoke for her. “She gave, Light was it?” Merit nodded. “Well she gave Light a narcotic called Chill. It’s both a relaxant, and a hallucinogenic. Its effects last only few hours, so she should be fine in a bit.” Looking at the stage, Harp was still lightly stroking Light’s mane. “Also, don’t worry about addiction. Unless she gets easily addicted, it only happens when used regularly.”

“That’s good to know.” Merit took his eyes of the stage, and refocused on us. “Now that we're all together, introductions are in order.” He pointed to himself, flaring his wings a little. “I’m Merit Cross, Master Sergeant and co-pilot.” He sung his hoof over to the mare next to him, she was dark gray, with a silver mane and tail. “This is Second Lieutenant Wild Winds, our pilot.” He looked over to Harp and Light. Light had a powder blue coat, and a dark blue mane and tail. “That’s Light Turbulence, Captain of this operation.” Sweet squinted at Merit, and he sighed. “Yes, she is much younger then the two of us, and no, I rather not talk about it.”

Now I had their names, but one was missing. “So if she’s not this Wub Wub, than who is?” Wild Winds smirked at my question.

“That would be my call sign.” Wild answered. “Merit here is Hoof Shiner, and Light is Little Sis. We mostly used call signs for when we are on duty, mostly as an inside joke, but it helps keeps our civilian life separate from our military life.” She waved a hoof as she talked, being more animated than Merit. Locking her eyes with mine, she poked me with her hoof. “Now your turn. Who are you ponies, and what the hell is wrong with this island?”

Sweet Sax surged. ‘You’re up, I’m not interested in talking to her first, ask questions later.’

“Right” I pointed to myself. “My name is Vibraphone Echo.” I tilted my head in the direction of Sweet, who gave a little wave with her hoof. “And this is Sweet Sax Solo. We're former members of Orthrus, working as freelance bodyguards. As for the islands, they got bombed to Tartarus and back, and never recovered as you can tell. Satisfied?”

Wild Winds huffed. “Ya, no. That’s not nearly enough information to explain what in Tartarus is going on here. First off, you three look like nopony we have ever seen. Second, what’s with the cyber legs? And three, what’s up with her?” Wild pointed at Harp. “I get she wants to fuck our captain and all, but she acts like she’s some sort of princess who just found her knight in shining armor.”

Merit put a hoof on her shoulder, and Wild calmed down. “Why don’t we get to a more secure location, and they can tell us on the way.” He winked at me, which made me glad that we were mostly still in the dark, as I felt my face heat up a little. “Why don’t you start by telling us about your people?”

I nodded. “Agreed. And now that I think about it, there’s a lot we need to discuss.” If they were from outside the islands, from a floating city like he said before, this would be big news back home. If we could contact this New Cloudsdale, it would cause an extreme paradigm shift. “So.” I took out a bottle of water, and drank the whole thing, this explanation was going to dry out my throat. “If I'm going to tell you about my people, you must first understand our history…”

______________________________________

The six of us sat in the lounge of the princess suite, other than a thick layer of dust, the place looked like the end of our world never happened. We had taken the elevator that we didn’t expect to be working, but after walking through some of the park, we weren’t surprised that it did. Our plan was to keep an eye on the pirate vertabuck from the top floor, not at all expecting to find the room intact.

The door to the suite was locked, but luckily it opened outwards, so we simply removed the hinges and moved the door to the side. Inside everything was covered in white sheets, of which we could only assume the sheets had some magic to them, with everything under them still in pristine condition.

The most amazing part was that the suite was sealed off from the outside, and had an air purifier talisman. The air purifier had long ran out of power, something quickly fixed with a charge from myself, and soon we were able to take our masks off. It was good to have my face free again, the purified air was cool as I breathed it in.

Sweet had quickly checked the suite's kitchen, but found that it was empty, only coming back with a menu for the ground floor restaurant. Food was something we were going to need to scavenge before we made our way back to Charon’s Stop, the restaurant looking like our best option.

When we were sure everything was safe, and there was nothing to scavenge, we had all returned to the lounge. It was the two pegasus’s turn to tell us about their people, something they spent the time checking the suite discussing with each other.

Harp yawned. “Sorry, I think I’m going to turn in for the night, I’ll take Light with me.” Getting up, Harp guided Light behind her. The effects of the Chill had lessened on the Pegasus, but the captain was still a little out of it and didn’t struggle with the princess.

Wild Winds gave a shiver as Light passed her. “Looks fun, but remind me to never take that stuff. At least with other chems you stay relatively in control.”

Merit cleared his throat, and opened a bottle of sparkle-cola he had on him. “Right, you want to know about New Cloudsdale. Here’s what we can tell you. When the war ended, all the Pegasi fled to the sky to keep themselves safe from the fallout, and sealed up the sky to protect the cloud cities from attack. The Enclave was simply a political group at the time, but had been gaining power as the war went on.” Merit took a sip of the cola. “You see, the Enclave was a Pegasus first kind of group, and when Cloudsdale was destroyed, no pony felt like opposing them. Well in time they became the Grand Pegasus Enclave, a democracy that kept all the Pegasus, and some unicorns together up above the clouds. That said, in truth it was a full on military dictatorship, not that most ponies minded at all. We were all safe from the horrors below the clouds, and we wanted it to stay that way. You could say that the Enclave had one job, and they did that job well, so no pony minded it that much when a dissenter went missing, or a controversial Politician was assassinated. What matters most was that we were safe, you understand,right.”

Pausing for a moment, Merit took another sip of his cola. I could sense a bit of bitterness in his voice, and looking over at Wild Winds. She looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Well during that time the Grand Pegasus Enclave decided to remake Cloudsdale.” Merit stretched out his wings, ruffling his feathers a little. “New Cloudsdale was to be their shining jewel, the example of their power. In the end they just made a resort city for the wealthy, protected by a larger than needed military base.” He chuckled to himself. “You could say that they accidentally made a reflection of what the Enclave really was. Rich, fat, and has a lot of guns that they like to use.”

Taking another sip of his cola, he continued “The city remained an inside joke up until ten years ago, when the Grand Pegasus Enclave decided to finally go below the clouds and help.” Finishing off the sparkle-cola, Merit threw the bottle into the trash. “That was a mistake. First being that every soldier was trained to see the world below as a place full of enemies and monsters. It was not uncommon to hear that some pony got a medal for making judgment call to shoot first before they had even seen who they were shooting at.“ I was taken aback by that statement, but Merit continued to talk, so I held it in. “So you can imagine that this help involved a lot of shooting, some accidental, a lot intentional.”

Merit looked away ever so slightly. The moment only lasted for a second, maybe two, but I thought I saw some regret there.

“Second, the wastelanders were waiting for us. Well not specifically all the wasteland, but as it turned out, they had a hero who was. It’s a bit of a long story, so I’ll just cut to the important part. The hero, Stable dweller I think they called the pony, was able to get into, and take over a weather control tower. With the help of a dragon at that. Well the pony parted the clouds, and forced us Pegasus back down onto the ground. It was, not a good time for us, to say the least.”

I took a look over at Sweet Sax, who was enthralled in the story as she sipped on a bottle of Metro-Cola. Looking back at Merit, I couldn’t help but ask. “So what you’re saying is that there’s still ponies on the mainland?”

Merit nodded. “The cities are gone, but ponies survived the war.” He paused for a moment, and took a deep breath. “Well as you can guess, this ruined the Grand Pegasus Enclave, with them unable to keep the citizens blind to the world anymore. This also meant that political heads were going to roll. All the local politicians were not going to sit back and play nice anymore. Even the military top brass, the ones who were still alive that is, were on the cutting block. So they all fled to where they knew they would be safe, New Cloudsdale.”

Sweet Sax almost spat up her cola. “So you're saying that this New Cloudsdale is full of political assholes?” Sweet glanced over at me. “Reminds me of a little republic we know.” I nodded, and she let Merit continue.

“Yes and no. Ten years is a long time, and when nopony believes the bullshit, it can be long ten years.” Merit paused as Wild Wind snickered. “They, in the end, bickered among each other. And after a few assassinations every pony had enough of it, and that’s when the executions started. In the end our new president is a Miss Pillow Features, who was a simple maid who loved gossip.”

Sweet Sax this time did spit out her cola, trying to keep herself from laughing, but failing entirely. “How the fuck did that happen?” she asked as she was choking on the cola.

Both Wild Winds and Merit shrugged. “It was a crazy time.” Was his answer. “But as things are presently, the city is starting to fall apart. Physically I mean. That’s why we’re here, we’re looking for a place to send the city, give it a home. From the last ten years, New Cloudsdale has been floating around, and sadly it was never made for that. Nopony wanted to return to equestria, so President Pillow Feathers thought it be best to send out scouts to look for a new home.”

Merit and Wild looked at each other, and back to us. Their eyes had hope in them, like a foal given their first prosthetic legs. I looked at Sweet, her eyes met mine, and we nodded in conformation.

Sweet Sax was the one to respond. “We can’t speak for our people, but I know that many ponies have been waiting for a time to leave the metro. Well leave the metro and not get eaten by monsters that is. There’s even an old skyport that the Orpheus kingdom maintains. It’s still full of toxic air, but they maintain it in the hopes of using it again one day.”

The two Pegasus blinked, and Wild opened her mouth. “Seriously, you ponies have a working skyport! Next thing you will tell us is that you’re all open for trade or something, and New Cloudsdale can move right in.”

Shrugging again, Sweet answers with a “Probably.” She finished her cola, and also placed it in the trash. “I don't know what's with all the politics going on, but a cloud city, and knowledge that the outside world does still exist. Saying that it will bring in a new age for our people would be an understatement.”

Things went quiet for a while, it was a lot to take in, but Sweet’s and my decision to stick with the Pegasus proved to be a good idea, and probably profitable if we could get them into the right hooves.

A yawn marked the end of any more of the discussion. We all had been moving nearly nonstop, and if things had gone by the plan, we should have been home by now. Not feeling like moving around, and finding the dark blue velvet couches immensely comfortable, we decided to sleep here. We as in everypony else, as I took the first watch, keeping an eye on the pirates in case they decided to come back over here.

The windows had seen better days, the inside was still in good condition, but the outside was covered in a milky translucent stain. Not all the windows were in such a state, and all I needed was one to see through. One window had a little spot that was free from the stain, so I pulled out my rifle, the scope being powerful enough to get a good look at the park.

Looking out the window through my rifle scope, I could see that the pirate’s vertabuck was still near the water, lighting up the docks. I didn’t know what they were doing, but I didn’t like it. I could also see the rest of the park in the moonlight. There was a collapsed roller-coaster near the docks, a part of the park that looked like a goofy village, and a large funhouse with the words ‘Captain Andromeda’s Space Adventure’ boldly attached to the building. Other than that, everything else was too shrouded in darkness to tell what was there.

“You’re a diligent one.” Merit spoke as he sat next to me. “I can take over, you should get some sleep.”

I glanced at him before returning my attention to the scope. “You can have the second shift then.” Shadows danced in the moonlight, making it look as though ponies were moving about down there. With our luck, it was probably a pack of stalkers on the hunt. “So get some sleep.”

I felt a little pressure on my side. Merit had scooted a little closer to me, and his shoulder had lightly bumped up onto mine. “At least let me see first.”

“Fine, but stop getting so close. It’s distracting.” I had Minerva levitate the rifle to Merit. Not waiting for the rifle to move over to him, he pushed his head next to mine to look through the scope.

I was a little surprised at how close he moved in, but held my ground. Watching as his mouth opens ever so slightly, and he licked his lips, I couldn't help but feel that the pony was being a bit too close.

“Amazing, I bet this place could be fixed up and be up and running in a year. That is if the air was not so toxic.” His mouth moved quickly as he spoke, and as I listened I could hear a slight accent to it. “That roller-coaster is scrap, but I bet whatever is in that big building is in good condition. What do you think?”

I pulled my eyes away from his mouth to see him looking at me. “I uhhh.” Ya, this was embarrassing. “I don’t like it. The plants alone should have taken over, I mean you saw that tree in the front. I doubt that only the trees were moving in, there should be a lot more plants everywhere.”

Merit had a smirk on his face, it made me feel a little bonkers. “Maybe what Harp said is true, and there are ghouls removing the plants.” It was the most logical explanation, and there were plenty of old story’s about ghouls who had been found still working in the tunnels, not knowing that they had been down there for over a hundred years. I felt something soft rub on the back of my wings, Looking to see, I found that Merit had put his wing around my shoulder. I could feel my face heat up… aw fuck, I was blushing. “Well I hope its ghouls, this place is more than a bit weird, and some sound explanation would go a long way.”

I kept my wings tight to my body, not wanting to rub up on his, and my eyes straight. “I much rather keep it a mystery for now. As soon as the day brakes, were out of here.” Looking the stallion in the eye, he was so close I could feel his breath. “Also, I bet you have a special somepony who would not like you cozying up to another mare.”

He blinked and smiled. “Had one, but things didn’t work out.” Shit, I was hoping that would distract him, but it was not effective at all. I had to think of something else rather than get distracted by a handsome stallion.

“Well, we just met, and don’t you think it’s a…” He kissed me, and damn, he was a good kisser. My small wings went limp, and I let myself loosen up. I could feel my heart thump, and it felt good. I knew it was nothing like love, that was a sucker’s game, but right now I was loving this, this attention. He let me free from his mouths succulent grip, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Umm… Well, if you put it that way, there is a guest room.”

______________________________________

So I had only known the stallion for less than a day, and we had sex, but it was worth it. It was not like It was my first time, or that I was not on birth control, so not a big deal at all. Looking over at him, Merit was fast asleep, and defenseless. It wouldn’t hurt if I took one little sniff of his mane.

Stopping myself, I was ready to kick myself for that thought. I still sniffed his mane, it felt weird to do it, but it also reminded me of what we just did. It smelt like sex, the good fun kind.

Slipping out of the bed, I quietly walked over to my barding. I may have been okay with the encounter, but I was not going to give Sweet material to tease me with. At least everypony was asleep, so covering this up was as simple as getting back to the lounge with all my stuff.

I slipped my white shirt back on, along with my panties before putting on my barding. It felt a little tight around my waist, so I had to struggle a little to get the barding to hook together. Last was my saddle bag, and guns, momma was not going to leave it with papa… the fuck did I just call myself... and Merit?

Feeling weirded out, I shook my head and open the door. Stepping through, I quietly closed the door behind me.

“Surprise!”

I nearly had a heart attack as a pink pony threw confetti at my face. The pony was an earth pony mare, pink on pink in color, and had strikingly golden eyes. She had the happiest looking smile on her face, which made me feel more uncomfortable.

Looking around, I was in a brightly lit, and very large tunnel. One end of the tunnel was bricked off, and had a big, red ‘X’ painted on it. The other end of the tunnel was covered by a big white sheet, and a pony was sitting in front of it, staring at it.

In the middle of the tunnel was a party table, like when I was a foal. Brightly colored cloth adorned the table, with party hats and plates. A big pink cake was the centerpiece, looking so delicious that I wanted to take a bite out of it.

“Congratulations Vibraphone, you have been chosen, you get to save the world!” The pink pony, who I felt looked a lot like the pictures of ministry mare Pinkie Pie, but not as old. She was still throwing confetti around, making it look like it was raining the stuff.

“What’s going on, where am I?” This was considerably confusing, and I needed answers. Also the tightness in my stomach was getting worse, I could only hope I was not sick.

“What’s going on, well you have been chosen, that’s what! You’re where you can save the world, and be a hero.” The pink pony blew on a balloon that grew into a balloon pony. The balloon pony looked a lot like me, other than being made of a balloon. Pushing it to the side, I looked her in her golden eyes.

“Tell me the truth.” I said as flatly as possible.

The pink pony tilted her head with a wide smile. “You have been chosen, mongrel, to save the world.”

“Save it from what!” I demanded.

She bopped me on the nose, and giggled. “From itself silly, you must save the world from itself.” Stepping back, the pink pony trotted over to the other pony.

Following her, I got a better look at the other pony. It was a white unicorn stallion, both in mane and coat with a big black spot on his face. He had on a green vest, with a red frilly shirt underneath, and a sword on his side.

The pink pony stopped at the stallion, still with that wide smile on her face. “He understands, he has also been chosen, a hero who will save the world.”

The stallion turned to look at me, his eyes a piercing green that felt wrong to me. “Yes, Luna has chosen me to be her champion. I'll save this rotten world, and be the father of its new ruler.” His eyes looked hungrily at me, like a predator looking at prey. What he did next made my skin crawl. He prayed. Putting his hooves together, he opened his mouth. “Thank you Luna for blessing me with this opportunity, I will do as you wish, and free you from your prison.” He opened an eye and looked at me. “And I thank you for this mare, who will be the mother of our next king and savior.”

I took a step back, my heart pounding, and my breath shallow. “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.”

The pink pony’s color seemed to fade, but her golden eyes still as vibrant as before. She laughed, but the laughter seemed to echo all around me. Lifting the me shaped balloon, she popped it, blasting red confetti everywhere. Suddenly the tightness on my belly got worse, and I felt… Oh fuck, there was something inside of me. I fell over onto my side in pain, my stomach stretched as my barding ripped along the side. I could hear a sudden splattering of water on the ground, and in looking I saw that it was blood. Looking down at myself, I saw that my belly had split open, and in the pool of blood sat a hairless foal. The foal looked at me and laughed.

I tried to scream, but my mouth would not open, I couldn’t even breath no matter how hard I tried. The pink pony came walking around, but now she was all black. Looking at me with her golden eyes, she smiled. “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

______________________________________

I sat up in a bed, almost screaming, but a hoof shoved into my mouth kept me quiet. “The fuck kind of nightmare did you just have!” Looking from the hoof up to the pony it was attached to, all I could see was a green visor looking back at me. The pony struggling to keep me still as I tried to push away. “Will you settle down Vibraphone? It’s me!”

I stopped struggling, still a little wary, but the pony knew my name. Calming down, It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks, that visor was used by Orthrus Specters. Specters being independent agents of Orthrus, often working alone to root out threats to the metro. They kept mostly to themselves, so few ponies knew one personally, but I did, my sister Rototom. Seeing that I had calmed down, the specter removed her hoof from my mouth, letting me speak. “Sis, Is that you?” I asked quietly.

The specter chuckled, and brought her hooves to her helmet. With a soft hiss of air, the helmet came off, revealing the light brown coat and fizzy green mane of my older sister. She looked a bit like the trees we had seen in the old books, and would often speculate about her having a tree cutiemark, if she didn’t have metal legs like myself. Her eyes were as green as her hair, and always felt quite soothing to me.

“Alright, there’s a few things I have to say, and a lot of questions you have to ask, but first thing's first. Who is this winged slab of meat you got there?” She wiped off a little bit of drool from her mouth, and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “You should let me know about such a specimen, as sisters we should always share.”

“First off, ewe. Second, ewe. And third, why are you here?” Getting out of the bed, I hopped onto the floor, where my hips gave out on me. A shiver ran up my spine, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from moaning. “ahh… that can’t be normal?”

Rototom hopped right next to me, grinning all the while. “Did you forget to turn off the sensors in your back legs?” She slapped me in the flank, and I almost yelped as my nethers felt like they were vibrating. I shot her a glare as she snickered under her breath. “Thought so, Orthrus standards cybernetics are good quality and all, but not without flaws, like being a bit too close to our lovely bits.” She got in closer, still with that smile on her face, and whispered. “But it only pops up after a real good rutting.”

Embarrassed, I grabbed my shirt and barding, rushing to put them on. Rototom started snickering again. “What?” I said with loud whisper.

She dug into her bag, and threw out at me frilly purple panties. “Take 'em, they're your yours anyways.”

I sat there shocked, with the panties on my face, if my embarrassment was any higher the underwire would catch fire. “Why?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “After the tantrum you threw at your birthday party last month, you left most of your gifts behind at my place. So I’m giving them back.”

Merit turned overs, and groaned. Worried that he'd see me in such a state, I quickly put on the panties, and got my barding fastened. Strangely I stopped to check my waist, feeling relieved that everything was normal. “Fine, but you better tell me why you’re here first.”

“Right, right. Let’s just move to the lounge, don’t want to wake your coltfriend.” She trotted to the door, and I followed.

“He’s not my coltfriend” I whispered at her. She just chuckled, and left the room. I went to step out of the room as well, but all the sudden the hairs on my spine all shot up, like they were protesting. Stepping out of the room slowly, and I don’t know why, I expected something to jump out at me.

In the lounge, Wild Winds was fast asleep, but Sweet was sitting up. She did a little wave, and tapped at her ear. Telepathy it was then.

Sweets voice entered my head as I found a seat near, but not next to my sister. ‘Now I was thinking to myself; why the illustrious Shamisen Tuning would pick us, out of all the ponies she knows, to look for a lost princess.’ She looked over at my sister. ‘Then I remembered, Orthrus has a terrible retirement policy.’

I had to face hoof. ‘This is an Orthrus job. Is that who’s paying the ten thousand bits?’

Rototom nodded. ‘You remember what grandpa said about being in Orthrus right?’

‘That you never retire from Orthrus, you just get put on standby until they have a need for you.’ Grandpa was a lifelong member of Orthrus, always telling us how we were a direct descendants of the old R&D security team. He actually cried when sis had joined Orthrus, and again when I did. It was a good memory.

‘Yep’ Rototom responded. ‘Anything dealing with the Orpheus kingdom is a sensitive subject. You know, have as much plausible deniability as possible in case something goes wrong. So when the mirage pony princess passed through one of our tunnels, and I was assigned to track her, I had to have a backup plan in mind.’ I glared at her, I glared at her as hard as I could, hoping her mane would suddenly catch on fire.

My sister waved a hoof at me dismissively. ‘So when the princess arrived at Charon’s Stop I knew it meant bad news. Of course I could have stuck with them, but if it was Orthrus that saved the princess from her inevitable fate, it would have ended badly.’

‘How so?’ Sweet asked, as she cocked an eyebrow.

Rototom rotated her hoof as she looked away. ‘It was only a hunch, but I felt that I was being baited into following the princess. If they were going to just assassinate her, then they would have brought more ponies, make it all dramatic. But just one guard, it was a setup if I ever saw one. If they could pin an Orthrus specter near their lost princess, they could accuse Orthrus of assassinating her. It’s not the first time something like that had happened.’

‘But wait, what about Silver?’ I interjected.

She smiled at me. ‘I had almost missed the unicorn who was trailing them. He was much better at staying under the radar, if you call a well-dressed unicorn surrounded by mirage ponies being under the radar. That’s when I contacted Shamisen Tuning, and set up a backup plan. If the unicorn made a move, Shamisen would get him to hire you two for a job. I even convinced her to work her magic, and make him think that his plan might have failed dramatically. All subtlety of course, didn’t want him catching on.’

‘Okay, so then why are you here?’ I asked.

“DON’T YOU MOVE!” we all turned to see Light Turbulence pointing her magical energy rifle at us. “WHO ARE YOU, AND WHERE AM I.”

Rototom looked at the Pegasus, and sighed. “You might want to stop yelling, bad time for that and all.”

She pointed her rifle at my sister, and fired. My heart felt like it stopped as everything seemed to slow. The beam of pink magical energy flew from Lights rifle, and through my sister. It hit the wall, leaving a scorch mark. My sister flickered and vanished.

We all stared stunned, and Wild had shot up, awakened by the commotion. Appearing next to Light as though she was a ghost, Rototom pulled the magical energy rifle off of Lights battle saddle, and jumped on her. The Pegasus was too stunned to fight back, and Rototom quickly had her in a hold. Light flapped her wings, but was firmly pinned to the ground.

“THE FUCK ARE YOU DO… murfff, mufff!” Light attempted to protest, but her mouth was firmly held shut by Rototom.

Wild stepped off her seat, and rubbed her eyes. “Ok, I know she can be a bitch, but what’s going on, and who is she?” she pointed at Rototom.

Sweet looked at me, and I rolled my eyes. “That’s my sister, and we were about to find out before your captain tried to kill her.”

Wild cringed. “I see, maybe we should have told you that she can be a bit cranky when she wakes up.”

Both Harp and Merit had stepped out of their rooms, Merit having sloppily thrown on his uniform.

Rototom looked around the room, and back down at Light. “I’m going to let you go, but you’re going to have to be quiet. You understand don’t you?” Light looked away. “Seriously, were you trained by the most incompetent drill Sergeant? Let’s put it this way, if you keep yelling, you’re going to get everypony here killed. You understand that, right.” This time, after a long few seconds, Light nodded. “Good, I’ll explain the situation, so just stay calm.”

Rototom Jumped off of Light, who sat up and grabbed her rifle. The younger Pegasus scooted away from Rototom, taking a defensive position, not taking her eyes off her. The mare was scared of my sister, it was easy to see.

Harp trotted over to Light, giving her a hug. Light Blushed at the sudden contact, weakly pushing away. “Are you okay, did she hurt you anywhere?” Harp asked. Light attempted to talk, but only trip over her own words and looked away blushing.

Merit joined us, sitting next to me. “So, who's that?” He asked as he leaned in and pointed at Rototom.

“My sister, Rototom.” I answered. “She’s an Orthrus specter. Think Special Forces, but acting as an independent agent.”

Rototom winked at Merit, and he looked back at me nervously. ”Does she know?”

I sighed. “Yes she does, and let’s not talk about… that.”

“Talk about what, how he fucked you unconscious.” Sweet whispered into the conversation.

“It reminded me of my first time with my husband.” Wild joined in.

I buried my face into my hooves. I just knew that this was going to make its way back to my mother, and she’ll start the grandchildren talk again.

Rototom tapped on a coffee table in the middle of the lounge, gaining all of our attention. “Attention everypony, I know my little sister’s sex life is quite interesting, but I have very important information.” I don’t know how much more embarrassed I could feel. “Right now we have an invading force in the hotel, and they're making their way up here at this moment.”

Everypony had her in their full attention now. The pirates had gotten here, and if I was not fucking, I would have seen them coming here sooner. I don’t know if I could be angrier at myself.

“Don’t worry, I disabled the elevator after I got up here. So they are taking the stairs, and checking each floor on their way up. It won’t be long until they get here, but we still have time to prepare.”

Light spoke up. “How do they know we're here? And where are we?”

Shaking her head, Rototom answered. “You’re in the Future Hotel, in Future Park. They know you’re here because they’ve been listening in on your radio chatter. Guessing by your uniforms, they must have gotten the frequency from the two Pegasi that they strapped to that vertabuck”

Light took a step back. "You don’t mean… South, Warm, not them.” She looked away as tears formed in her eyes, a hoof visibly shaking.

Merit slammed his hoof on an end table, breaking it. Wild looked down at the floor, glaring at it.

Rototom looked at the Pegasus, and sighed “Ya, whoever this group is, they're the most fucked up group of bandits I have ever seen.”

“Not bandits.” Merit answered. “Their nothing but raider scum.”

“Right, raider, I’ll remember that.” Rototom commented. “But I need to know if you’re all ready to fight. I have a plan, but it’s going to involve all of us fighting through them.”

Clicking on Minerva, I brought up the map page. “What’s the plan?” I asked.

Rototom tapped at her own pipleg, and looked at me. “Other than fighting our way out of here. We need to head to the Captain Andromeda’s Space Adventure building. There's a maintenance tunnel under it, you should be able to get to a main metro tunnel from there.”

Minerva marked the direction on my map. I still didn’t have a map of the park, but at least I’ll know which direction the Andromeda building was at all times. A little notification appeared in the side of my vision, stating ‘Quest updated: Are you having fun yet.’ I never liked the quest system piplegs had, making missions, and simple tasks into some sort of big quest to be had. I could only guess that Applebloom had some sort of whimsical sense of humor to have that programed in.

“Oh, miss Echo.” Sweet had straightened up, like she was back in Orthrus. I couldn’t blame her, even if it was in a roundabout way, we were working for Orthrus again. “I’m low on ammo, do you have any to spare?”

I spoke up as well. “I’m down to six ball bearings myself.”

Nodding, Rototom tossed Sweet two canisters of the ball bearings. “I got plenty, so let me know if you need any more.” She looked over to me, and waved me over. “I got some for you to, but we need to do something first.”

Stepping up to her, I asked “What is it?”

She pulled out a cable, and a box from her saddle bag. “First I need to give you grandpas gift.” Opening the box, she pulled out a big red scarf. It was grandpa’s old scarf he wore all the time. Along the edge was a Zebra print, I didn’t read zebra well but I knew the words that appeared on the scarf: Courage, Wisdom, and Love. Attached to the scarf was an old medallion made into a pin, on it was the symbol of a shield with Celestia and Luna ruling in harmony on it.

I looked up at my sister confused. “I know what you’re thinking, why are you being given it, and not me. Well you will have to ask grandpa that.” Wrapping the scarf around my neck, it fit snugly onto me, the medallion holding it in place. “Now give me Minerva.”

I held out my pipleg, and she plugged the cable into it, and into her own pipleg. “Athena, download the specter program into Minerva.” Rototom’s pipeg beeped. “Don’t argue with me and just do it.”

“What are you do…” My HUD display in my vision suddenly turned on, and became distorted for a second. Shaking my head, I looked at Rototom.

‘This is an emergency situation, so I have the authority to do this.’ Her voice bounced into my head and she winked at me. ‘I hereby deputise you into the Specter Corp.’

My vision began to spin, no wait, it was My HUD display that made everything feel like it was spinning. I felt a bit sick, and if I had any food in my stomach, it would be on the floor by now.

Catching me before I fell over, Rototom propped me back up. “It’s okay, just let it pass.”

I pushed her away. ‘The fuck sis, why did you do that? You know I failed that test. You can’t just force me into the specters because I’m your sister.’ Glaring at her, she looked away. ‘What are you not telling me?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘You think you can take a simple test and become a specter. Play it safe and expect to just get what you want.’ her words bound around in my head. ‘You failed because you were too risk averse, too scared of messing up to be what Orthrus wanted you to be.’

‘And how was I supposed to prove myself?’ I shot back at her.

She laughed. ‘You had all the opportunity to prove yourself. But you never took it. Tunnel guard, engineer’s guard, paperwork courier for fuck's sake. You were playing things so safe, I had to force you out of Orthrus just so you would come out of your…’ she stopped, looking away suddenly.

‘It was you who wrote those reports about me.’ I was shaking, my last year in Orthrus had been hell. One report after another. All about how I was slacking off at my job, mouthing off about the managers, and threatening civilian ponies. All lies, it was all her lies. I contested every one of them, but the only pony to believe me was Sweet Sax. ‘It was all for what, to test me.’

She glared back at me. ‘Yes, and look at you now, all the way out here fighting off monsters, and raiders. It may have been a harsh test, but you passed, and now my superiors are actually interested in you.’

Something in me snapped, my face became hot, my body shaking. “I NEVER WANTED TO BE A FUCKING SPECTER DAMNIT!”

Rototom froze, like her words had been stolen from her mouth. This was good, because I had plenty to say. “Did you ever think I just wanted a simple life, you know, like mom. You’re the adventurer, the one who likes to get shot at, I’m not. But no, you can never let that be, always dragging me around to every one of your cunt waving contests, and pulling me into your fights.” I shoved my hoof into her chest in hopes to drive my anger right into her. “You know what I wanted to be before joining Orthrus, I wanted to be a teacher, like mom. Then maybe we would actually have more to talk about.”

“I, I didn’t…” Rototom stammered, but I cut her off before she could finish.

“Think? No of course not. If you did, then maybe I would still be able to talk to dad without him going on about rejoining Orthrus. But no, you didn’t think, you never did, unless it’s about dragging me into your stupid schemes!”

Looking around, everypony was looking at us.

“Wow, and here I thought your family had issues, Merit.” Wild commented.

Merit glared at her. “We don’t talk about them, ever.”

Having had said my piece, I loaded my rifle. Rototom had left me two canisters of ball bearings, giving me twenty six shots. My enforcer went back under my barding, snugly hidden from sight.

Rototom had gathered her guns, not saying a word. She had a M3 railgun, and a ten gauge double barrel shotgun. The railgun, knowns as the Zeus, was the most advanced rifle in Orthrus: quiet, powerful, and turned the cheap ball bearing into devastating armor piercing sniper rounds. Rumor was that it could kill a paradise dragon in one shot when fully charged. The shotgun on the other hoof was an oldie, but a goody. It was what most ponies used to take out monsters here on the big island, It was loud as fuck, but it tended to kill whatever was in front of it. Most ponies made their own ammo for it, often shooting steel slugs for the extra penetration power.

Everypony was ready, filtration masks on, prepared to run. It was going to be a nasty fight out of the hotel, but they had lost the element of surprise, with ushaving the first strike.

Rototom stepped in front of everypony. “Okay everypony, I’ll take point, the rest of you follow. Once we're out of the hotel, it’s just a clear run to the Space Adventure building. Vibraphone…” she paused for a moment. “You will be in charge of team Alpha, The princess and Miss Light will go with you. Sweet Sax, you’re in charge of team Beta, Merit and Wild are with you.” She looked at me and Sweet. “Get them safely to Orthrus.”

Sweet raised her hoof but Merit cut her off. “I know where to go, I’ll take point until we're there.”

I looked at Light, and nodded my head. “Trust me, they’re in good hooves.”

As it turned out, there were two stairwells down, probably in case of fire. Beta team was going down one side alone, where as my team had Rototom spearheading the decent. The pirates were well armed, had a vertabuck, and had numbers on their side. But they had never fought Orthrus. As bitter as I was about my new rank, I was going to show them how ill equipped they truly were when fighting an Orthrus agent.

The sound of a wiring engine slowly got louder from the outside, and we all froze. From the window we could make out the Vertabuck suddenly hovering outside. With a roar, bullets flew through the window, and we all ducked as the gunfire flew overhead.

The gunfire stopped, and I looked over at the vertabuck. Hanging out from the inside of the vertabuck, looking at us was a white unicorn with a big black spot on his face. He had on a green vest over a red frilly shirt. My blood ran cold as he pointed his hoof at us, no, at me. “BRING HER TO ME, ALIVE AND UNHARMED. KILL THE REST!” A Griffin and a Pegasus jumped out of the vertabuck, and into the suite, rifles at the ready.

Not wasting time, we slipped into the stairwell, knowing full well we lost our first strike advantage long before we even had it.

With a shot of her magical energy rifle, Light had sealed the door behind us, and tuned to Harp. “Don’t worry, we won’t let the raiders touch a hair on your head.”

I didn’t know why, but my gut told me that she was talking to the wrong pony.

“No time to waste, get moving!” Rototom commanded as she rushed down the stairs.

“Congratulations” slipped from my mouth, Before following.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Progression -

- My Kingdom for a Pony – 25%

- Who Dares, Win – 25%

- Are you having fun yet? – 33%

Chapter 5 - Corps Brigade

We hadn’t gotten far before running into the pirates, only a few floors down the stairwell. They had two earth ponies in the front armed with long rifles, and a unicorn in the back holding a revolver with her magic. They spotted us just as we spotted them, guns aimed, words yelled, and bullets flew with the intent to kill.

*CRACK* A chunk of concrete on the wall fragmented when a bullet ricocheted off it. The pirate’s rifles were no joke, as each shot was deafeningly loud.

We didn’t have time to carefully fight off the three ponies, so my sister and I synchronized our timing, and entered S.A.T.S. as we peeked over the stairs. I found that I could only take two shots with S.A.T.S. but had a whole host of other options to choose from. I only needed to shoot the three ponies, so I didn’t investigate, choosing to go for a headshot on the two earth ponies.

The two ponies took defensive actions almost as soon as we peeked out to shoot, the unicorn dove back down the stairs. I hit the first pony, scoring a headshot, but missed the second one as the pony fell to the ground limp. Rototom had finished off the other, but the third pony had gotten away.

‘What’s going on with my S.A.T.S.?’ I asked Rototom through my telepathic link. I didn’t feel like talking to her at all, but the situation did not call for a family dispute, and I still had an overwhelming feeling of dread.

Rototom took a look down the stairs, and began walking down. “Let’s go before our window closes.” We all followed, with me keeping an eye on our flank. ‘It’s updated to tactical programing.’ She thought to me.

‘Tactical?’ I asked a little confused.

Stopping to quickly loot the two ponies we had killed, we quickly took their rifles off their battle saddles, and what ammo we could find on them. Minerva labeled the rifles as naval battle rifles, the one in my hooves looked to be in moderately good condition, looking as though it had been fixed up many times do to use. The second rifle was passed over to Light, her fumbling with it before strapping it to her back.

Sweet took one of the pirate’s uniforms, quickly looking it over. I could see the same symbol on its leg that I had seen on the vertabuck; a green ring of thorns with a red teardrop in the middle. It was safe to say that it was their symbol, though I couldn’t understand its meaning. Before stuffing it in her bag, Sweet pulled out a pipe bomb from a pocket, and smiled. “Crud, but probably better than a tin can grenade.”

‘It’s an alternative variation on the spell.’ Rototom responded. ‘S.A.T.S. simply helps a pony target an attack. Very useful to those with or without combat experience. The Arcane Tactical Spell takes that concept, and expands it to a wider range of actions. You only got two actions before the spell needs to be recharged, but you can use it to run, dodge, reload a gun, or even combine actions to run to cover as you shoot a gun.’

We hit the bottom of the stairwell, which was odd, as we had not gone that far down. On the door leading out of the stairwell were the words ‘First Class Dining Hall’, and I could see two red bars on the other side.

Rototom continued explaining the new S.A.T.S. I was now using. ‘The program has the ability to learn new actions as you use it, sometimes attacks, other times things like running in a way that’s better for you.’ She peeked through the door, and was greeted by gunfire, another pony had a battle rifle. ‘It also recharges fast’

Opening the door, more gunfire came from the pirates on the other side. As soon as the gunfire stopped Rototom became invisible. We waited for a moment, and the two red bars vanished. I waved at Harp and Light, letting them know it was safe now. Stepping in, dead on the floor was another earth pony, and what was probably a donkey, it at least looked like the ones from some old books I had read as a foal.

“Sis, where did the unicorn go?” I asked, feeling a little concerned about what the missing pony might be up to.

Reappearing, Rototom scanned the room. “She’s on the other side of the hall, with two others, and it looks like they set up a barrier with the tables.” Her helmet had some of the best sensors built into it, I never had one on myself, but I bet she could see as though the room was light up.

A door to our side burst open, and we raised our guns to it, only to lower them as it was the others. Merit, Wild, and Sweet had jumped through the door, a little dinged up, but overall okay. I could see that they had picked up some battle rifles as well, of which Sweet had already strapped onto her battle saddle.

'Shit, and here I was hoping to get down here first. What’s the situation?' Sweet asked as she kept her guns pointed at the other end of the hall.

‘We got three hostiles.’ Rototom responded. ‘Currently not moving.’

‘Probably stalling us until reinforcements get here’ I added. It was a standard tactic we would use in Orthrus when dealing with an armed and dangerous group. Personally I never been in that kind of situation, not until Sweet and I had left Orthrus, and we didn’t have the safety of having backup.

‘I agree, we need to move before we’re cornered.’ Rototom took charge of the situation with one sentence. ‘You two take your teams and move in the shadows, I’ll surprise them.’ With that, she became invisible again.

I turned to Light and Harp, who looked concerned, and a little confused. “Here’s the plan, we will move to the other side of the room, sticking to the shadows and regroup with the others there.”

“It can’t be that simple!” Light quietly retorted. “And what about the others, do they know this plan?”

I sighed, understanding why she was confused. “We have telepathic talismans on, so the others know the plan.” I looked at the princess and back to the Enclave captain. “We use it to talk to each other without alerting the monsters out here.”

The two had an ‘ahh’ look on their face, now understanding what I was talking about. I couldn’t help but feel that these two were made for each other. Following my lead, we headed to the other end of the dining hall, ducking behind the tables, out of what little moonlight there was.

The moonlight was luckily not shining directly into the building, so there was plenty of shadows for us to stick to. Though the pirates knew we were out here, they didn’t know where to fire, and didn’t know we had a bead on them. We just needed to get close enough to get a clean shot on them, and move on out of here.

‘So Viby, what happened to your panties?’ Rototoms voice jumped into my head.

‘Something happened to her panties?’ Sweet chimed in.

‘Well she didn’t have any when I found her with the Pegasus.’ Answered Rototom.

I had to hold back a groan, and kept myself from shouting at them. ‘This is not the best time!’

‘True, but I’m asking right now. You’re not the kind to go commando, so what happened?’ Rototom pushed the question.

‘Damn it, fine. I gave it to the princess. Her panties got ruined on our way here, so I gave her mine!’ I answered hoping to end this conversation.

Sweet chimed in. ‘So wait. You’re going commando right now?’

‘No, I gave her Shamisens gift from her birthday.’ Rototom answered.

‘You mean the frilly purple ones! I wondered what happened to those, I was hoping to steal them after she stomped out.’ Sweet responded, and I had to hold back from face hoofing myself.

‘Can we get back to the task at hoof.’ We were getting close, and I was getting distracted. ‘it’s not like we're in a life or death situation here.’

‘Right.’ Rototom responded. ‘When were close enough, Vibe will take the first shot.’

Now closer, I could see that all the tables were set; plates, silverware, and glasses. It was not something too out of the ordinary, as it was a common tale of discovery. Some far off forgotten rooms sometimes still had food on the table, long petrified after a hundred years. Half the time it was some pony’s last meal that they didn’t have the strength to eat, or they had rushed out of the room as their world came to an end, remembering to lock the door before never returning.

What was out of place was that, like with the rest of the park, it looked like it had been maintained. Everything was in its proper place, and in the moonlight I could see that it all looked cleaner than it should be.

*Crack*

From behind us, the sound of liquid splattered to the ground. Taking a quick look, what I could only guess was a wine bottle had been shot, and the liquid from inside was now dripping to the floor.

Harp had managed to keep herself from making any noise, but the sudden rifle shot sent her to the floor and she started shaking. It took a few seconds, but she managed to pull herself together, and we continued on.

‘A bit premature shot don’t you think.’ Rototoms voice kicked in, though it was slightly off, having a faint echo to it. ‘At least we know they haven’t seen us yet, so keep your heads down.’

‘We know what we’re doing Rototom’ I thought back at her.

‘On the topic of doing thing, so how was he? ’ I abruptly stopped, the other two behind me nearly bumped into my flank. ‘Does he talk dirty?’

‘Not the time for this!’ I thought back at my sister. I continued forward, making sure that the other two were following.

‘Must have been real rough, you practically came on the floor when you jumped out of bed.’ Rototom continued.

Sweet chuckled through the telepathy, her amusement bounced around in my skull. ‘Oh I hate it when that happens, fun at first, but one time it was so bad I couldn’t come in for work.’ I was not interested in having this conversation right now, or ever to tell the truth. But Sweet likes to feed the beast, so she continued. ‘After that I went and got a modification for my hips. A little pricy, but it was worth widening my hips just to get it to stop.’

‘So that’s why you had to get new armor a few years ago. Here I though you just had too many snack cakes.’ Rototom said in a joking tone. Being Sweets friend, I had known about the surgery, and it having more to do with a pregnancy scare than to do with sex. She had actually gone in to have a sterility implant put in, and payed extra to widen her hips at the same time. She talked about her rump for months after.

We finally got in close, my E.F.S. showed four hostiles, not three. As I looked over at the pirates, the unicorn’s horn glowed, and suddenly another pirate pony appeared before her. That answered were the reinforcements were coming from, and gave us a whole new problem.

‘I’m taking out the Unicorn. Cover me.’ I asked. As I levitated my rifle out, and aimed down the sights. Getting the mare in my sights, one shot was all I needed. Her attention suddenly turned to the side, one of her companions must have been taken out. Not wanting to miss the shot, I pulled the trigger, and with a soft ‘puff’ the ball bearing flew at her head.

The ball bounced harmlessly off the metal plate of a heavily armored pony. Taking a moment to process what had just happened, I took my eye off the scope to get a full view at what I was seeing. In front of where the unicorn was standing, was a large armored pony. It had to be power armor, no mistaking it. Unlike the power armor in Orpheus this one had a horn on its head, and what looked like lightbulbs along its side. Its head turned towards me, and the heavy table levitated up above the armored pony. I took a step back, knowing what was about to happen.

“TAKE COVER!” I yelled as the three of us jumped to the side, dodging the table as it flew at us. The table practically bounced on the floor before flying out the window. Beam and gunfire followed, most of it falling onto the pirates as Sweets group caught them by surprise.

A few pirates were killed outright, but none of them was the unicorn, who had already summoned in another pirate. The power armored pony hadn’t flinched, from Sweets attack, countering with a minigun it levitated. The roar of the gun filled the room, and I knew that we had missed our window.

My team was quickly pinned down before we could regroup. Harp had luckly gotten behind an overturned table, and was flat on the ground looking terrified. The tables were thick, so I doubt the gunfire could simply go through it. Light on the other hoof was in a real bad spot, simply hiding behind a chair. The only saving grace in her position was that she was in the shadows, keeping herself hidden. My position was no better, taking shelter behind an old food cart, it already had a bullet hole in it that ripped off its top.

“LIGHT!” I yelled out, getting her attention. The minigun was loud, so I felt confident that the pirates could not hear me as it was firing. “I WILL GIVE YOU COVERING FIRE, MAKE YOUR WAY TO HARP WHEN I DO.” She nodded, and I began to count in my head, going backwards from five.

Five, I placed my revolver in my mouth, my tongue right on the trigger.

Four, I pulled out the battle rifle, holding it in my hooves.

Three, I position the rifle in a way that I could fire it with my chin.

Two, levitating my hunting rifle I positioned my rear hooves on the ground, putting me in a squatting position.

One, I stood up on my rear legs, turning to the pirates as I did.

All three guns fired, it was a difficult thing to do, and lacked any accuracy, but the pirates all ducked for cover as the bullets flew over their heads. I had actually hit one, but he went down too fast for me to see if it was a kill shot. It all lasted a few seconds before I dropped back under cover, but it was enough time for Light to regroup with Harp. The princess clutching onto Light, tears in her eyes.

A bullet blasting through the food cart I was crouched behind made my heart stop for a second. The bullet didn’t hit me, but the shredded metal folded outward and cut my cheek. I needed to change positions or I was going to die.

“HEY! CRAZY CYBER PONY” It was Light, trying to get my attention. I nodded back at her, and she sighed. Harp said something to her that I could not hear, but the Pegasus nodded and turned back to me. “GET READY TO RUN, WE’LL PROVIDE THE COVERING FIRE!” Light hoofed the battle rifle she had over to harp, and the two poked out from behind the table and fired. Harp fell over after shooting once, the rifle falling to the floor.

I bolted, but despite the covering fire from Light, I could see that the pirates were not ducking for cover this time. I quickly activated S.A.T.S. slowing time to a crawl just in time to see a bullet pass in front of my face. It was so close I could have kissed it, and if I could, I would have jumped back in surprise.

Remembering Rototoms quick lesson, I quickly looked through the extra options I now had, and found the running option. It was one action point to move, and two to sprint. I chose sprint, and suddenly before me was a grid board that laid on the floor, and an arrow pointing at a square lighting it up blue. It took me a short moment to understand that this was the option of where to move, I selected behind Light and Harp, and selected enter.

All four of my hooves hit the ground, and with a sudden burst of speed it felt like I had just threw myself forward. I nearly crashed into the table before coming to a stop. “Right, sprinting moves fast.” I blurted out, my voice muffled by the roar of the minigun.

Gunfire smashed against the table, some bullets breaking through, some getting stuck in the wood. Both Light and I attempted to counter the attack, but another pirate pony had joined them, armed with an SMG, and kept us pinned down. That unicorn was really starting to piss me off, making me regret not shooting her first in the stairwell.

A loud explosion rocked the floor, and blew out what windows were still intact. The ringing in my ears had deafened me, but I could tell the gunfire had stopped. Peeking over, the barricade the pirates had built was in shambles, and the ponies that were behind it were either heavily injured, or dead. Rototom stood closer to the ruined barricade, the obvious perpetrator of the explosion.

The explosion did not take out the power armored pony, though it did knock the minigun out of its magic. The power armored pony had turned its attention to Rototom, and I could only guess the pony inside was scowling, contorting its face to look like the face of its helmet. I’d bet bits that Rototom was smirking under her helmet, her body posture looking ready for a fight.

“I GOT THIS, YOU ALL GO ON AHEAD!” Rototom yelled out, not turning her head away from the power armored pony.

Both my and Merits groups bolted, Light and Harp right behind my flank as we gave Rototom and the power armored pony a wide berth. The power armored pony attempted to grab Harp with telekinesis, but was interrupted by a shot from Rototoms railgun, shattering one of the glass bulbs on its back.

Rushing through a doorway, we entered what was a kitchen. The doors closed behind us, and the report of a ten gage shotgun blast shook the air, followed by the sound of wood being smashed on wood. Rototom could handle herself, but I couldn’t help but feel worried.

Like with the dining hall, everything in the kitchen was in its proper place, as though it was waiting for the staff to return. Knives, pots, and pans hanged from hooks, swinging ever so lightly. Plates and cups were stacked on top of each other, waiting to be filled and sent out into the hall. And other then some dust, the room was considerably clean.

“I’ve seen this setup before!” Exclaimed Sweet, as she ran to what looked like a small closet.

“Setup?” Merit asked.

She opened up the closet and a pile of canned food came tumbling out. Stepping closer, I could see that it was all canned Sweet Potatoes. “I hope you have an idea Sweet.”

“Yep!” Sweet pushed out the cans from the small closet and looked back at us. “Remember when we were working for that cook with a stalker. The kitchen he worked in kept all their supplies a floor below.” She aimed her rifle at the roof of the closet and fired, and to my surprise, the inside of the closet dropped. “They used an elevator to bring their supplies up.”

Walking up to the small elevator closet, I looked inside, and could not see the bottom. “How are we going to get down?” I asked, giving her my best ‘this better be good’ look.

“I was thinking we fly down.” She looked inside. “But now that I think about it, it’s a bit too small for them to use their wings.” Sweet looked back at me and shrugged. “Climb down I guess”

I faced hoofed. We didn’t have time for mane brained ideas. Taking my hoof off my face, I gave Sweet a glare and opened my mouth to chastise her. Before I could say a word, Merit stepped in-between us and stuck the front half of his body into the shaft. Sweet and I turned our attention to the stallion's flank that was now close to our faces.

“Looks like Sweet is right, there's a ladder in here.” Merit pushed himself and this time went flank first into the shaft. “Let’s go!”

Sweet looked at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “I see why you tapped that.”

I shook my head and picked up three cans of the canned food, placing them in my bag. “One more word about it, and I’ll tell Shamisen that you’re the one walking out with her beer glasses.”

“Fine, I get it, I get it.” She picked up a few cans as well, and stepped into the shaft.

Tuning my telepathy spell, I reached out and connected with Rototom. ‘We found a safe way down, a service shaft in the kitchen.’

‘Go on ahead, this bastard will take a few minutes to put down.’ Rototom responded, with a slight interference giving her a slight echo.

I let the rest go on ahead of me before going in myself. The shaft had a strong draft that riffled up my mane and tail, as well as sending a chill up my spine. The shaft itself was solid, and I wasn’t worried about the ladder failing on us, but I could see how worn out the inside of the shaft looked. It looked like we were in a two hundred year old shaft, which gave me the feeling that this shaft had been overlooked by whoever was maintaining the park.

_____________________________________________

The shaft went all the way down into the basement, which had seen better days. It was flooded, making Minerva click with radiation warnings, and was covered in dead plants. If any of us had hopes of stocking up on food and water here, the advanced levels of decay dashed any of that. The building construction was still solid, definitely earth pony construction, so there was no worry about the place coming down anytime soon.

There were signs that there was once a stalker down here, the bones of the mutated hound having long been picked clean by some bigger beast.

The shelves were mostly clear, with most of the items scattered on the floor. Even the most preserved food had fallen to the rot, or had been fed upon by animals.

After we had pushed our way to the stair well, we had seen nothing of any value, only more junk. If there were ghouls still living here, the basement was their dumping ground. We could only hope that we don’t run into them, ghouls this far out tend to be both insane, and infested with something nasty.

Out of the water, we all took a moment to dry off. Sweet and I simply shook the irradiated water off of our metal legs. The other four had to wipe it off onto their cloths, with Harp looking less than happy about doing so.

I took a step up ahead of the others, and turned around to look at them. “Right everypony, same plan as before. We head out through the restaurant, and make our way to the Andromeda building.” Everyone nodded, and we were off.

The basement was actually a few floors deep, with us only on the second basement floor. Anything below level two must have been under water. We quickly checked level one, hoping to find a tunnel system we could use, but only found more storage. It was hotel storage, mostly cleaner and spare sheets.

As we were looking around, Harp found a saddle bag. The bag was made of a red velvet like cloth, and had a big ‘FH’ printed on it. Quickly running around, she put two towels, a bottle of soap, and a small bag of hooficure supplies in it before regrouping with us.

“What? A lady must take care of herself. I say I earned this after all the muck I’ve been in.” Harp pointed her nose up a little as she spoke. I rolled my eyes, and got moving again.

The lobby floor was quiet, our best guess was that the pirates were moving upstairs in hope of trapping us there. If we’re lucky, we’ll sneak out of here before they know we’re gone. Like before, I took point, muffling my movement, and amplifying my ability to hear the sound around me.

A drip of water, the movement of wind, I could clearly hear the vertabuck outside keeping watch. There was a second vertabuck outside, flying over the other side of the building. Sneaking was still our best option, but it was not going to be easy.

I could hear something else, faint, but much closer. It was the sound of humming, just a little further ahead of me. A sign near me pointed in the direction of the humming, letting me know that we were heading to the Reception Desk.

As I rounded a corner I could see the reception desk. Faintly, the humming formed words. From the voice I knew I was dealing with a mare, soft, yet unnerving at the same time.

Saint Roseland protect me

Hold your Rifle for all to see

Thundering loudly through Luna's night

Keep me safe till Celestia's light

The empty room help to carry the song, and its slight echo made it feel even more out of place. I pulled out my rifle to get a better look through the scope before moving in.

In noble battle did she fall

Protecting us from evil's wrath

Now she leads us all

keeping us from sinful fall

In my scope sights, another unicorn… no, it was the first one from the stairwell. “How the fuck” Her outfit was similar to the other pirates, red and green, but in reverse, having more green than red. She had a tan coat, and a dark gray mane and tail, both of which were well kept and had small braids weaved into them. She even has some of the same accessories as the other pirates, with a gold stud on her nose, and gold rings in her ears. On her shoulder was the same symbol the other pirates had, a green ring of thorns with a red teardrop in the middle, but she had a second symbol under the first. The second was a green eye with red were the whites would be, and a line of red going down from the eye. The pirates loved their red, black, and green color coordination.

She turned my way, looking right at me. Her eyes were green, but some sort of wrong kind of green. I couldn’t place it, but her stare felt wrong, it made me feel wrong.

I couldn’t pull the trigger, I wanted to, but nothing in me moved, or even willed movement. I simply watched the unicorn as she got up onto all four hooves and slowly walked to me, never breaking contact. She pulled out a sword from her belt, but with our eyes locked, I couldn’t follow it.

‘Stop’

‘Stay back’

‘Somepony help me’

‘Anypony’

She was right on me, nose to nose, eyes locked.

The sword pressed against my side, she was toying with me, like she fed off of fear. The sword went in, and I could feel every inch. I couldn’t look away, not scream, not even call for help. The unicorn giggled and gave me a kiss, her tongue rolling in my mouth as she twisted the blade in my chest.

‘VIBRAPHONE!’ Sweet Sax’s voice rattled through my head. Surprised I fired my rifle, only missing the unicorn by an inch. She was back at reception, glaring at me. Looking away, I saw Sweet, she had a look of worry on her face. She was also holding me, her front legs tightly wrapping around me. “Good, your back.”

Looking around, everypony looked worried. “What just happened?”

Sweet shook her head. “You were lining up your shot, and then suddenly you were calling for help over telepathy. Before I could do anything, you were screaming bloody murder through the telepathy.”

I looked over at the Unicorn, avoiding eye contact, she was still sitting there, waiting for us. Turning my attention back to Sweet, I gently pushed her off of me. “Ya, I remember, she was killing me, and I couldn’t move. Something's wrong with her eyes, magic maybe.”

“Right, let’s pop her, and get out of here.” Sweet still looked worried, but in nudging me, made me feel better.

I looked through the scope, this time going for a body shot. Whoever, or whatever this bitch was, I didn’t have the time to find out.

I didn’t have the time to fire as she teleported from her position, and into the middle of the lobby’s main room. She was closer now, and I didn’t need the scope to see the smirk on her face. “Ahoy! ma chérie. I’m a little surprised t' see you down here so soon, naughty little rascals. It looks like I will have t' hold you here until the others come aft dovn.” Everypony already had their guns at the ready, so it was unlikely she was going to hold anypony. “Oh no no, zis vill not do, six agents moi. Well five.” She pointed at Harp. “zat one’s not much o' a fighter.”

Teleporting again, she had moved back to the reception desk, and pulled out an SMG with her magic. Sweet and I fired at her, but she took cover, and the ball bearings just bounced off the metal desk. Her SMG floated over the desk and blasted at us, forcing us to take cover as bullets flew wildly around the room.

‘Shit, she got me.!’ Sweet nearly shouting into my mind.

I looked over at her, Sweet was ducking behind a chair, and a small amount of blood was dripping onto the floor from her. ‘How bad?’ I asked.

‘Nothing that can’t be fixed, I’ll live.’ She pulled out a healing potion and sipped at it. ‘I’ll be charging your sister for therapy when this is over.’

‘Not before I get at her first.’ I responded.

I could hear the sound of metal scraping against metal, which I guessed was the pirate reloading her gun. Sweet looked over at me. ‘So got a plan?’

“YOUR ALL DAMN QUIET OVER THERE. VAT ARE YOU PANNING?” The pirate shouted, following her statement with another burst from her SMG.

Looking around, luckily nopony got hit this time. We couldn’t sit here and play bullet tag, we had to move. ‘Just run for it, I’ll go for the pirate. She can’t shoot all of us with me on her.’

Sweet looked over at the reception desk, and back at me. ‘Okay, but you better be right behind us. On your mark.’

Taking a moment to calm myself, I took a deep breath. The moment was ruined by another burst of bullets from the pirate. “Alright, on three we all charge for the kitchen and make a run for it.” The others looked at me concerned, but I knew this was going to work.

Activating my muffle once more, I charged. Without any old world garbage littering the floor, it was easy for me to close the distance without making any noise. “YOU'RE GOING NOVERE MY LITTLE PONY’S” her SMG burst again, and I ducked behind the desk. My ears screamed. My talisman was still on, and being this close boosted the noise to an extreme.

I held my breath, and holding my ears shut. It wasn’t much, but enough to keep myself from passing out. Waiting, I watched for when the SMG retreated back behind the desk. Seizing the opportunity, I jump up to the counter and shouted. “THREE!”

The unicorn mare looked up at me, and mouthed two words. ‘Clever girl.’ My hearing was shot, and everything sounded muffled, but it didn’t matter as I had the advantage. Tackling the mare, my metal hooves crushed her under me. The pain was easy to read on her face, I had hurt her good, and I hoped I broke a bone. With one more strike, I brought a hoof to her head, slamming her head between my hoof and the hard floor. All movement from the pirate mare stopped, eyes rolled back into her head. She was out cold.

I had time to see the rest make their exit, Sweet stood by the door waiting for me. ‘Go on ahead, I need to fix my ears.’

‘Do that and catch up to us. If I have to come back and save your flank than you owe me big.’ She thought at me before running out.

Everything sounded like I was under water, but luckily with the help from Minerva applying a little bit of healing potion to my ears was a simple task. Slowly but surely my hearing came back. Not that there was much to hear, other than the sounds of a vertabuck, it was all quiet. “Hearing check…” I flopped my ears around as I tested hearing myself talk “all good.”

*pop* something bounced off the back of my head.

I froze. It sounded like a bottle had been just opened, the kind of sound only a cork from a bottle could make. Turning around slowly, I saw another pony right behind me. It was another unicorn mare in the green on red uniform, symbols of Luna and Celestia adorned her cloths all over. She had a carrot red mane and tail, curly all over. Her coat was a vibrant green which blended well with her uniform, making the red even more striking. Her eyes stared at me with a hunger, with an unnatural looking green. In her magic was a Champagne bottle, bubbles pouring out of it, and onto the other pirate I had knocked out.

“Good that you can hear again lassie, cuss I got good news for you t’ hear.” She took a long pull from the Champaign bottle, gulping half of it down. “Ahhhh... And with the goddesses as my witness, I’ll preach it.”

“What?” I said as I backed away from the pirate slowly.

With a swift motion, the pirate swung the bottle of Champagne at me. I managed to hop backward in time to doge. Glass and bubbles flew everywhere as the Champagne bottle shattered on to desk. “I said I was going to preach lassie, now stop fidgeting and open your heathen ears.”

I had no time for this madness. Jumping back, I spun around and bolted for the door. As I ran, I heard a heavy click, my amplify sound talisman was still on. Jumping to the side, a burst of bullets flew into the kitchen, just barely missing me. My ears rang again, but not as bad as before, so to save me from anymore pain, I turned the talisman off.

“OY! Did I say you can run? What are you, some godless cunt?” The SMG levitated at her side, matching the anger on her face. “I got to make you a goddesses fearing pony, and then send you t’ them. Yes, that’s what I ot t’ do. May the goddess have mercy on your soul?”

The SMG pointed at me, and I had no cover to take. Activating S.A.T.S. time nearly halted completely. I was not going to outrun bullets, so I needed to out maneuver the pony shooting them. Looking through my movement options, I found a dash option. The distance was shorter, but it cost one point and was faster than running. My first dash I selected to move to the side and closer to the pirate, and for the second dash I picked straight at the mare. Pressing enter, the feeling of time returned to me.

I jolted right before the pony fired at me, the dash having me just avoiding the bullets as I got closer. The second dash took me right under the SMG, the pirate unable to aim the gun fast enough to hit me. Now close enough, I brought my hoof up at her face, using my back legs to push me at her, hoping to take her down in one strike.

The bitch dodged, not enough to get out of the way of my hoof, but I only managed to clip her jaw. Stumbling back, the pirate just glared at me, gun at her side. If she aimed her gun at me I would go for a tackle, and stay too close for her to properly use the gun. The tactic was better for countering rifles, but most ponies had a hard time aiming even a pistol when the opponent is right on them. I just had to move before she could pull the trigger, and I would be able to avoid getting shot.

“Not bad lassie.” The pirate rubbed her chin and adjusted her air filter. “Not bad at all.” Dropping the SMG, she took a step to the side, and placed herself between the way out and me. “Names Shamrock Bayonet.” She smirked. “Now tell me yours before I rip your heathen throat out.”

Times like this I’m glad I keep my enforcer hidden, putting me at an advantage when my enemy thinks we're on a level playing field. “I’m Vibraphone Echo. Now tell me why you’re here.”

Her smirk became a grin, nearly ear to ear. “Lassie… exactly what I’m going t’ tell you.”

A leg wrapped around my neck, and my own legs were kicked out from under me. With a thud I hit the ground, finding the unicorn mare I had taken out before on top of me, holding me down, with a sword to my neck. “If we were all introducing ourselves, names Couteau Duel” Looking up at the mare, her green eyes were surrounded by red, which leaked onto her coat. Her eyes were bleeding.

“Duel keep her there, I’ll explain our mission, our crusade.” A book levitated out of Shamrocks bag, and opened up in front of her. ”Witness heathen, for I have the perfect book here, written by our saint t’ the followers of the goddesses. Listen well and be in awe.”

Something fell on my neck. Looking at Duel, the blood from her eyes was now falling from her air filter, and onto my neck. My stomach churned at the thought of it touching me.

“Long ago we were lost, faith less, and easily fooled. We turned from the true path, and placed our faith into six false saints. In war they came, offing lies and gold. With our loyalty they promised victory, but in the end we received only damnation.” Shamrocks motion her legs in wide motions, looking overly dramatic. “Their true motives was t’ take the right to rule from the goddesses, and in the war they did just that, taking them away from us. We are the ponies who know the truth of this, and have devoted ourselves to the true path. Lady Thorns showed us the path two hundred years ago, and today we follow her still, the true Prophet of the goddesses.”

So a pirate and a cultist, next she’s going to tell me that there is a prophecy that is soon at hoof. I was going to say something, but the blade at my neck was way too close for comfort.

Shamrock continued “The way of thorns, the true path to know the goddesses. Now join me as we sing in her honor”

I felt something rubbing onto my lower body, just going up and down. Taking a glance, I saw that Duel was grinding on me. Looking back at her face, she was fixated on Shamrock, and grinding on me. The bad situation turned humiliating.

Saint Roseland saw coming of ponies fall

Her might saving us from the end of all

Duel pushed into me harder, making me glad that I had the extra layer of the panties on so that my barding didn’t rub into me.

Her wisdom to guide us through the end of days

Those that survived the end sang Saint Roselands praise

I could hear Duel breath heavily as she started grinding faster, my own body being rocked as she got off on me.

With cannons raised they would never fall

From all the lands the heathens they would cull

She arched her back, and moaned. The humiliation was complete, and all I could feel was the blood rushing to my face. Shame, rage, it all mixed together.

With Saint Roseland and our mighty fleet

With our end we shall not meet

The grinding slowed down, and Duel was now panting heavily. Her grip on the sword weakened and dropped, and she pushed her air filter to the side. “I like you.”

Everything came boiling out all at once, and I screamed, right in her face. With my free hoof i struck her in the face, sending a few teeth flying.

She rolled over, and back on her hooves, looking shocked. “Vas it somethin' I said ma chérie? Is it me, do you not want me?” She put her air filter back on after spitting out a bloody tooth, and pulled out a second sword. “If I cannot have you, then nopony should, NOPONY!” She charged.

I rolled back onto my hooves and entered S.T.A.S. Selecting my revolver, and having it fire at Duel took up two points, the option was called quick draw. Entering it in, time returned to normal, and in one simple motion I pulled my revolver out and shot Duel in the chest. The unicorn tripped over her own hooves and fell to the ground. She was not getting back up from that hit.

I turned to aim my enforcer at Shamrock, but she was already on me, a hoof striking the side of my face, knocking the revolver to the ground.

Shamrock sneered at me. “She offered you salvation lassie, and like t' heathen you are, struck her down. Typical o' your kind.”

“Like I give a fuck” I spat back at her. My hoof fell onto the sword that was once at my neck, and I smiled. “Minerva! Sword! Attack!” I lifted my hoof, and the sword jolted up and slashed at Shamrock. The pony rolled out of the way, and onto the SMG. Not wasting time, I pulled out my hunting rifle, and fired it at her. Scoring three shots into her, two to her center mass, and one into a leg.

She ignored the bullet holes in her side and lifted the SMG at me. I jumped, and she fired.

Screaming in pain, a few bullets hit me in the soft parts of my flank. I was able to avoid getting hit somewhere vital, but I now had lead in me.

Ducking to the side of the Reception desk, I quickly pulled out a Med-X and plunged it into me, and took a quick swig of a healing potion. It was a quick fix, but I was going to need to get a doctor to pull the lead out of me soon.

“We be here t' cleanse this world o' t' faithless, and brin' about a new golden age. Convert or die, CONVERT OR DIE!” Shamrocks shouting made my hair stand up.

*Clank*

Something had pulled on my lower leg. Looking down at it, I saw Duel chewing on my metal leg, drooling all over it. Pulling my leg away, I kicked her in the face. “Why the fuck won’t you stay down!”

“BECAUSE I VANT YOU IN ME, I VANT TO KNOW HOW YOU TASTE, AND TO SATISFY THIS HUNGER!” Duel screamed back at me, blood flying from her mouth, the kick having broken her snout. Her eyes were now darting back and forth, like a pony on a drug binge. Looking closer, her bullet hole was gone, blood still there, but her wound was gone.

She swiped at me with her sword, and I rolled out of her reach.

*Clack Clack Clack*

A burst of bullets flew from Shamrock, and I managed to just dodge them. Seeing my revolver not far from me, I ran for it, and entered S.A.T.S. once more. I selected to roll at it, and then pick up the gun. Returning time to normal, the roll managed to help me dodgemore SMG fire. I got the revolver firmly into my mouth and aimed it at Shamrock.

*Clack Clack Clack*

*Blam Blam Blam*

We exchanged fire. We stood in place for what felt like a minute, but only a second passed. Shamrock fell to the ground.

“FEED MY HUNGER!” Duel jumped out, only to stumble. Splattering blood from her face to the floor.

*Blam Blam*

Two more shots into the sick bitch. I would have put one more into her head, but I was all out of bullets. These two had cost me too much time, and I needed to catch up to the others. Putting away my revolver, and picking up the sword, I walked to the door. On my way I almost slipped on some blood, not once, but twice.

I entered into the restaurant's kitchen, as the door was closer. My breath was short, and my body dull all over, from my nose to my flank. The med-x did its job, and the bullets In my flank didn’t make it feel much different from the rest of my body. Though I could do without the lightheadedness.

Something gleaming caught my eye, and I trotted over to it. It was a silver looking frying pan hanging on a hook. Tapping it with my hoof, I smeared some blood on it, my hoof was covered in blood. The frying pan turned ever so slowly, its shiny surface crudely revealing my reflection, presenting me with my bloodied face.

I had a long gash traveling from my nose to my mane, and another along my neck, both leaking blood. Grabbing the pan, I used it to check the rest of me. My barding was slick and wet, and the white shirt I had underneath was a dark red. All four of my legs had blood leaking onto them, and my tail was stained red at the base, and at the end. The med-x had worked too well, and I hadn’t even noticed getting hit after the first time. I didn’t even know I was bleeding out.

Through the pan I saw a figure enter the kitchen and charge at me. Rolling to the side, I Just managed to get out of the way of Shamrock, who slammed into a stove. “Now I’m not into mare’s lassie, but I’ll make an exception for you.” Shamrock glared at me, her green eyes were now surrounded by the same blood red as Duel’s, and was now bleeding like Duel’s was. “I’ll make it a three way, Duel can peg ya with t' hilt o' her cutlas, and I’ll peg ya with a grog bottle.”

Backing away, I slipped again. The blood loss was making me uncoordinated, and weak, but Shamrock seemed to be just as healthy as before I shot her. Attempting to stand back up I slipped again. Shamrock was hovering over me before I could recover, grinning at me.

Shamrock chuckled. “You'd be amazed how many fights I’ve won like this.” She bent her head down and whispered “Lassie.” Lifting her head back up, she chuckled again. “It t' gift o' our saint and savor. We followed her as t' message o' her might, her corpse brigade.” A hoof slammed my face into a cupboard, imprinting my face on it in my blood. The hit made my head spin and I fell to my side. “Good good, you should sleep, a pony as strong as you needs their sleep.” She stroked my mane, which made me cringe. “Though you’re a heathen, I can tell that you will see the light. You just need a little push.” She pulled out a syringe from a little bag on her uniform, the liquid inside it had a green glow to it that sent a shiver down my spine.

I struggled to get back on my hooves and back away, but Shamrock just slammed her hoof down on my side. The pain could be felt through the med-x. I glanced around looking for a way to save myself, but the needle slowly came closer, and I was not getting away. “MINERVA!, S.A.T.S.!” I shouted, and time slowed to a crawl.

Without the beating of my heart, the panic in my breath, and the dull pain leaking through the med-x, I was able to properly think. Opening up my options, almost everything was in red, telling me that it was a non-actionable move. Any action available to me was for pulling things out of my bag, useless with Shamrock over me. Looking at her, somehow S.A.T.S. allowed me to look at whatever was in front of me. I could only guess that my eyes were moving at an extremely fast rate, like with my mind. In Shamrocks jacket, just under her leg, was a knife. Scanning the actions for S.A.T.S. I found what might help me, a target selection mode.

I had seen it in a movie once, were the hero, with the super special pipbuck, was able to use it to pull the bad pony’s gun from its holster, and shoot it. I was hoping to do that, but with the knife.

Push, no. Swing, no. Grab with my mouth, the option was predictably in red, so no. Pulling out the knife was not quite the option I wanted, if Shamrock could get up after getting shot, the knife was not going to keep her down. Swing back was an option, and the one I needed, the blue outline of the blade brought the knife’s point right under her head. Next was to get it in her, sadly the pipbuck was not going to have the strength to do it, but thinking about it, I knew what would. The Dash was in red, but only for landing back on my hooves, but I just needed to move, not land on my hooves. Selecting right at Shamrock, Minerva gave me a 0% to a successful Dash, but still let me do it.

Time resumed, and Shamrock had brought her hoof up, ready to strike me. My body jolted, and I could see the knife in the pipbucks magic swing out. My body moved awkwardly, but still right at Shamrock, my head making contact with the knife’s back end. We connected with a thump, and I hit the ground almost as fast as I had got up.

Looking at Shamrock, she had backed up, her flank hitting a stove. The knife had plunged deep up into her jaw, and must have entered her brain. The crazed pirates looked shocked, glaring at me with hateful scorn.

I didn’t wasting time, using Minerva to guzzle the first healing potion, and picked myself up. My body felt more compliant now, and my head didn’t feel as light. So I ran right out of the Kitchen, and to the exit. I took one more glance back at the kitchen, to see that Shamrock was pulling the knife out of her slowly, blood dripping down her chest. She glanced back at me, and grinned a bloody grin. I ran, not caring if I was going the wrong direction, I just had to get away.

_____________________________________________

Before I could orientate myself, I found a hiding spot, somewhere between a little foal’s space ship ride, and its older pony’s counterpart. With how I felt, the foals ride looked like too much for me. Due to my blood loss, my head was still feeling fuzzy, and would stumble a little from time to time.

I guzzled another healing potion, trying to get my strength back up. I had been hurt far worse than I thought I was during the fight, and the only thing that had saved me was my barding, and my saddlebag. Checking it over, I picked out a few lead balls that had gotten stuck in the armored padding and plates, the little metal lumps thudding on the ground.

A vertabuck flew overhead, its searchlight illuminating the area around me. I was underneath an old tarp, so it didn’t see me. Waiting for it to leave, I checked the map on Minerva, keeping its light off and using the hologram. I had definitely gone the wrong direction, but not so far that I had to pass the hotel to get to our destination.

The vertabuck moved on, the searchlight beaming at another section of the park. Feeling that it was my time, I ran out of cover and to the Captain Andromeda’s Space Adventure building. Sticking to cover I didn’t want to risk running into another pirate, and drawing the attention of a vertabuck.

An explosion came from the hotel, and looking back I could see fire bellowing out of one of the rooms. The place had actually withstood the test of time, and felt like it was waiting for the princesses to return. Now it was on fire, a fire that was sure to spread and consume the building. I couldn’t help but feel a little sad for it,only if I could have come here under better conditions.

Suddenly I remember Rototom was still in there, and I had to stop myself from running in for her. She could handle herself, and was far better geared than I was, so I had to have faith that she was okay. But it didn’t stop me from being worried about her.

“No time to waste.” I softly spoke to myself, and ran to where Sweet and the others were waiting.

I had to pass through what looked like a little village, though all the homes were of a round shape, and had mannequins inside. I could only just barely make out the figures inside, all in happy looking poses, but with the paint long faded off of them.

I had to cross the street, and I was free. Only problem was that there was a pony standing in the middle of the street, motionless. I stared at it for what was probably a minute, motionless. Light reflected off of a building, revealing that it was another mannequin. Letting go a breath I didn’t know I was holding, I trotted across the street.

As I passed the mannequin I could see that it was in far worse condition than the ones inside. It was covered in holes,charred black. On it was a sign dangling from its neck. The writing looked crude, but I could still read it clearly enough in the moonlight.

I am bad pony.

I lie like ponies

I stay outside like ponies.

It was probably the ramblings of a mad pony, or a ghoul going feral. But still, the sign didn’t look like it’s been here for a very long time, so whoever placed it here might still be around.

Holding the sign, I could hear the faint sound of an engine roaring back to life. The mannequin's head suddenly turned to me “Welcome to Captain Andromeda’s Space Adventure! Just stand in line and you will be inside in no time at all!” It’s voice was loud and scratchy, echoing past me.

The hair on my neck stood up, and I nearly tripped over myself. I was sure this thing just gave away my position, so I ran, ran as fast as I could to the Space Adventure building. I had a bad feeling down in the pit of my stomach, and I had to get to the others, and get to them fast.

_____________________________________________

Quest Progression -

- My Kingdom for a Pony – 50%

- Who Dares, Win – 50%

- Are you having fun yet? – 66%

Chapter 6 - The Void

Getting to the Space Adventure building didn’t take long, though between the fighting and having to take the long way around, the others were going to be far ahead of me. Sweet would not simply wait at the entrance, the inside would be safer, out of sight of anything hunting us. I just had to get in, pick up their trail, and regroup.

I just needed to get in…

Find a door…

There were steel shutters blocking the entrance, the sides, and the back. “The fuck!” I spat under my breath. This was going to be a problem, bigger once the pirates catch wind to where I am.

Even with the two vertabucks in the air, and a hotel on fire, the park was still quiet. If I tried to open the shutters the noise alone would reveal my position, and with so much around here was still working, I’d bet a hoof that the alarm was still active.

Activating my telepathy talisman, I hoped to contact Sweet. ‘Sweet are you there! The building is locked off.’ I waited for a moment, but got no response. “Shit!” I spat a little louder then I should.

Looking for another way in, the windows the building had were small, and too high for me to get to. There was a ladder to the roof, but it had long since rusted away and fallen apart. There were no sewer entrances nearby so I’d have to travel out into the park find a way underground.

Across from the Space Adventure building was what looked like the parks shopping mall. The front was bare, scavs having taken anything not bolted down. A bit daring for scavs to come out this far, but not unheard of. If the worse came, it would make a good hiding place until Sweet came out, or Rototom found me.

‘Sweet answer me!’ I attempted to contact her one more time.

Static bounced around my head. ‘Vibe!’ It was Rototom. ‘What’s going on, what happened?’

Looking around, my sister dropped her invisibility on my left. She looked good and well thrashed. Her back left hoof was missing, wires dangling from what was left of the leg, forcing her to hop as she trotted. The specter visor she wore had a fat crack in it, and her cloak was now torn up, and had a few holes in it.

Rototom poked me, balancing on two hooves. “What the fuck happened to you?” I was taken aback by her question for a moment, but remembered that I was covered in my own blood, and had dents and holes in my barding.

I waited for her to put her hoof down before opening my mouth. “Had a two on one fight, I kept putting bullets into them, but they just kept on coming. And you?”

She sighed. “You remember when I’d spin you around as a foal, so fast that you’d lifted off the ground.” I nodded. “Ya, that happened to me, but I was holding onto a minigun, as it was firing.” Rototom trotted hopped over to the Space Adventure building. “The stunt cost me the leg, and ended with me doing a face plant into the kitchen.” She tapped her visor. “These things absorb shock real well, so I should just count myself as lucky that I didn’t break my neck.”

I trotted up to her, and offered her my shoulder to help her balance herself. “So how’d you get away?”

She chuckled. “I set the kitchen on fire. I had gotten a few shots in, my Zeus punching right through the fuckers leg. Eye for an eye. So the pony was limping after me, which gave me time to turn on all the gas in the kitchen. After playing a little cat and mouse, I jumped down the shoot, tossing a grenade behind me. After that, I trotted the rest of the way here.” I gave my sister a hug, I was still pissed at her, and wanted to knock her around myself, but I was glad she was okay.

I looked back at the Space Adventure building. “And now you’re trapped out here with me.”

Rototom’s head scanned the building. Shifting her weight onto me, she lifted a hoof and tapped the metal shutters. “You think this place still has its alarms working?”

“I do.”

She put her hoof back down, taking some of her weight off of me. “Right, lend me some magic, and I’ll get us in.”

“How?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Just do it!” She responded with more authority in her voice.

Sighing, I gathered magic into myself. “You do remember that you drove me out of Orthrus, right?” Minerva clicked as the ambient magical radiation increased around us, a side effect of drawing magic into ourselves when in irradiated areas. It wasn’t anything our bodies couldn’t handle, but it could easily make a bad situation deadly.

“Here, when we get back, I’ll have your record cleared, and get you a nice safe job in Orthrus. Dad has been needing an assistant lately.” That was not going to fix things, and she knew it. I didn’t know what she was thinking at the time, but right now I just wanted to drop her, kick her, and scream my lungs out at her. But I knew that would not fix things either, and I’d only feel worse afterwards.

My entire body felt warm as the magic started to vent off me and shimmer. Rototom was also shimmering, her body now filled with magical energy. “Ready to transfer the magic to you. Oh, and when we're out of, this, we're going to have a long talk.”

Rototom chuckled. “I missed our long talks.” The magic flowed from me to her, feeling a bit like my blood draining, leaving me feeling a little cold.

Suddenly I was engulfed in a bright light, and then darkness. “What just happened?”

“Were inside.” My sister said, and with a click, the light on her pipbuck Athena lighted up the area around us.

I turned on Minerva’s light too, giving us a little more range of sight.

*Pop*

“Fuck!” my sister yelped as the remains of her back left leg smoked.

I trotted over to it, placing a hoof on the mechanical part of her flank. The hatch on the leg opened up with no effort at all, and I could see that the talisman inside had cracked. “Let me guess, your teleportation talisman?”

She nodded.

I threw out the broken talisman, and removed the broken leg. At this point it was just junk that was going to slow her down. “How much did that leg cost?”

“Me, nothing, Orthrus will flip the bill for it. But I may need to pull a few favors for a new one.” I cringed a little, full cybernetic legs cost a ton of bits.

Turning around, I offered my shoulder to Rototom again. “Right. Well let’s go looking for the others. The sooner we're out of here the better, I got a bad feeling about this place.”

Rototom nodded. “Agreed.”

_____________________________________________

The place was spotless, still with the rust and rot from age, but the place was as clean as the two tailed mare was. I think the walls even had a fresh coat of paint on it, covering a large crack. I was half expecting to see a ghoul mopping the floor like the old world had never died, the other half was expecting a robot.

“So strange.” My sister said outloud, sending a chill up my spine.

“Ya.” I responded. “You’d expect this place to be worse off than the metro, like the rest of the surface.”

“E’yep” She shifted her weight, pushing off of me to walk on her own. She was still doing the trot hop, but with less strain than before. “I understand the princess suite. A place like that must have had been reinforced.” She shook her head. “A place like this is not.”

We continued down the hall, and deeper into the building. Looking at a few signs pointing in the direction we were going, it looked like this place held a ride in it. Images of foals sitting in two pony seats with safety warnings were clearly visible. There were a few faded pictures as well, mostly ponies with a foal on the ride. There were three pictures that were still in good condition, and above all the others. Each one had two ministry mares in them.

The first picture had a much excited looking Pinkie Pie, and not as excited, but still having fun. Rainbow Dash. The mares of the Ministry of Moral, and the Ministry of Awesome. Everypony knew about the MoM and how it went from keeping everypony happy, to spying on everypony. Orthrus found feral ghouls of the MoM employees here in the park a hundred years back. On the other hoof, nopony knew much about the Ministry of Awesome. The leading theory was that it was a black ops group, and whatever they were up to, only Luna knew. Orthrus did find an MoA base a hundred years back, but all documents had been destroyed when the war ended.

The second picture had a bored looking Rarity and a sleeping Applejack. The mares of the Ministry of Image, and the Ministry of Wartime Technology. The MI was the propaganda branch, what’s left of the posters they printed out by the thousands were considered collector’s items now. Anypony associated with them had died when the war ended, or simply blended into the crowd, never speaking of their employment. The MWT did survive the end of the war, and their members were absorbed into Orthrus a hundred and twenty years ago. A few ponies still follow the steel ranger tradition, but it’s more out of tradition than anything else.

The third picture had a cowering Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle reading a book. The mares of the Ministry of Peace, and the Ministry of Arcane Science. For the MoP’s credit, they did their best as healers when everypony fled into the metro, and many of them died in the chaos. When Stable-Tec stepped up to help, the MoP were the first join with them, and get things under control. The MAS on the other hoof never saw the aftermath of the war. Their base of operation was a crater, of which the official statement was that their own megaspell went off there when the war ended. It's what probably turned the air bad, or at least that’s the leading theory.

“Done Vibey?” Pulling my eyes away from the pictures, Rototom was sitting at the end of the hall waiting for me.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming,” I snidely remarked, and trotted over to her.

We were at where the line for the ride would start, with a worn out velvet rope blocking our path. Rototom unhooked the rope and let me go first. It was a short walk to the ride, the hall filled with crude drawings of foals in space suit, obviously not postwar.

As we got closer, I could hear the sound of some pony crying, faint at first, but it grew more distinct. We reached where the ride was, and could hear the crying clearly. “Hello, who’s there?” I asked out loud.

Lifting my pipleg to get more light, I saw the distinctive blue mane and pink face of Harp behind the ride. Her eyes were red, and she shaking a little. “Vi…Vibraphone…” She slowly walked out from behind the ride, and trotted over to me. “Th…thank Celestia” Bringing her face into my chest, she cried like a little lost foal.

All I could do was put a hoof around her and pat her head. “It’s okay, we're here now.” We stayed like this for a long moment, waiting for her to calm down.

“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked.

She sniffled and pulled herself away from me. “Sorry, and here I call myself an adult, sorry” Harp took a deep breath, calming herself down. “Yes, you see the others went to scout ahead, looking for the lower level Rototom mentioned. When they walked into the ride’s area all the shutters closed, separating me and them.”

Rototom hopped over to where the ride would move to, and it was closed off by a large shutter.

Harp pulled her face back into my chest. “I don’t like being alone in the dark, I just sat down. And I kept hearing things all around me, just moving around.” I could feel her start to shake again, so I stroked her mane to help her calm down. “The others said they were going to look for a way around, but they never came back.”

I didn’t like this, not at all. “See anything Sis?” I shouted.

Rototom sat where she was for a moment, rubbing her chin. After the moment was done she turned her head slowly to me. “I got an idea!” She hopped off the rides tracks, and over to a nearby podium. “Get on the ride you two.”

With no plan of my own, I simply did what my sister told me, taking Harp with me. “What are you going to do?” I asked, hoping she had a good answer. I was doubtful.

“Simple, we’re going to ride the ride.” She smiled, hitting something on the podium. “No, not that, how about this!” The lights turned on, hurting my eyes. “Close but not right.” She hit another thing on the podium and music started to play. “Okay, this it is.” She lifted up a leg, and brought her hoof down in a dramatic fashion.

The shutters rolled up, and the ride began to move. Rototom ran past the podium, and jumped over a safety rail. Seating herself in the ride, we had Harp nestled between us. The princess was still holding onto me tightly, but having the lights on seemed to help her calm down.

“Welcome space cadet, are you ready for adventure?” The voice of a mare came out from behind us. As it turned out, what we were sitting in was fitted with a stereo. Taking a quick look behind me, a door closed us off from where we started.

The ride abruptly stopped and the room we were in lit up with lights everywhere. On our left was what looked like a wonderbolts poster, but there were no pegasi, there were rockets in flight. A single pony holding a space helmet was saluting in front of the rockets. It looked all patriotic. On our right was a large image of a space station, with the letters E.S.F.

“E.S.F. what’s that?” I asked.

“Welcome to the Equestrian Space Federation, Cadet!” The disembodied voice of a mare said, answering my question.

“Oh.” Was the only thing I had to say. Rototom chuckled. I felt a little embarrassed that an over two hundred year old recording had answered my question.

“Now before we get to the adventure, a few rules. First is to stay seated and keep all your hooves in at all times. We don’t want you getting captured by the aliens from Planet Z. How are you to help Andromeda if the nasty aliens capture you. Second, be mindful of your other cadets and keep your space clean. A cleanly cadet is a strong cadet. And last but not least, if you see any stripy aliens about, report them! A cadet’s job is to stay vigilant, and protect the federation from those who wish to see it destroyed!”

The door in front of us opened up, and the ride began to move slowly.

“What was that last part all about?” Harp asked looking confused.

“Propaganda.” Rototom answered plainly. “Prepare for lots of anti-zebra shit from here on out.”

“Oh, I see” Harp said meekly. She lifted a leg, and pushed the boot back with a hoof”, revealing a gray stripe on pink coat. She quickly pulled the boot back up, and took a deep breath.

“Must be difficult.” I said to the younger mare. She just nodded, not saying anything.

Pass the door was a long corridor packed with imagery of ponies going into space, along with what sounded like inspirational music. The first image looked more like a photo than a drawing. The pony was clad in a silver suit, and behind the pony was the flag of equestria, and a big blue ball on a black backdrop. Text under the large imaged stated “Astromare Marigold, first pony on the moon” The rest of the images were more artwork of ponies in space, building a space station and space ships. Most of them had faded due to age, so it was not all that impressive.

“You know Harp.” Rototom spoke up. “Me and Vibey here have Zebra heritage.” Harp perked up a little, looking at my sister. “If I remember right, they were farmers in equestria. Before the war started zebras were uncommon, but they were around.”

“How did they end up on Marewaii?” Harp asked, looking more interested.

Rototom chuckled. “Love!”

“Love?” the princess responded.

“E’yep.” Rototom answered. “How the family story goes, our great-great-great-great grandfather fell in love with a member of the royal guard. And she fell in love with him.”

Now she really had Harps attention. I’d heard the story before, so I concentrated on the ride.

The room we entered was made to look like we were in space, and it was done very well. To our right was a mannequin of a pony mare in a fancy space suit. I made an educated guess that it was Captain Andromeda.

“Good day to you cadets, I’m Captain Andromeda, and I’ve been looking for brave ponies to aid me on an adventure.” The elegant sound of a mare came from the direction of the mannequin, confirming my guess. “We’re heading to the research station Love and Tolerance off in sector ten. I heard that there’s going to be a star shower there, something I’d love to see!” Music began to play, but it was off tune, and soon fizzled out. "To tell you the truth, I've gotten reports of suspicious activity out there, and I mean to investigate it. Sector ten happens to be at the edge of federation space, so we have to be careful out there."

The lights went out and the ride began to shake as the sound of rockets filled the room. The ride began to ascend a slope, to our left the image of a rocket appeared moving alongside us, inside was Andromeda waving. All around us were the images of stars, making it look like we were traveling through the night sky.

My sister and Harp had taken a look at the scenery, but quickly returned to Rototom telling our family’s history. “Our family was the first to have cybernetics too. Underbrush, our great, great, great, grandmother, from before the war ended, had lost both of her back legs, so the tec’s back then just made her new ones. The legs are actually in the Orthrus museum if you ever want to take a look.” Harp nodded her head excitedly.

We reached the top of the incline, and my jaw dropped. Before all the stars just looked like little light tricks, nothing all that new. Here it looked like we were in a sea of stars that reached out forever. All around us were stars, I even looked over the side to see that even the floor looked like it was gone. If I didn’t know better I’d think we had just entered a vast void.

“Seems bigger on the inside right.” Rototom spoke up, catching my attention. “I’ve seen this before, it’s a mirror trick and some magic. The blue box in the orphic kingdom is better known, it’s still just a box, but inside it looks like you’re in a big room. There was a haunted house that did something like this on Nightmare Night, it freaked the fuck out of me when I walked into what looked like an endless desert.”

“If it’s mirrors, then shouldn’t we see our reflection?” Harp asked.

Rototom nodded. “That’s where the magic comes in. The mirrors are enchanted to hide the viewer’s reflection and anything that break the illusion. From what I’m told it’s a bit tricky to do, and bigger the room, the harder it is to keep the illusion working right.”

The ride slowly moved forward, giving me a feeling of drifting. It was strange, I knew it was all a trick, but my mind was still doing flips trying to grasp what I was seeing. My eyes started to dart back and forth, my breath was shallow and fast, and my jaw was clamping tight.

I was having a fucking panic attack.

I needed to find something to anchor my eyes on, a tear in the illusion, that would calm me down. I didn’t find anything, and only managed to make things worse, as now the stars looked like they were moving around. I held onto the side of the ride with my metal fetlocks, trying not to fall out as the ride tumbled through the void. My eyes could not focus on anything as the stars raised about around me. If I let go, I was gone, to forever be helpless in this void.

“Vibey!” Rototom’s voice whispered in my ear, and I could feel a hoof on my back. “It’s ok Vibey, just breathe, you need to breathe.”

Breathe? I opened my mouth and gasped for air. Clamping my mouth shut again, my body trembled as I forcefully sucked the air in through my teeth.

“That’s good Vibey, now close your eyes, think back to home.” My sisters hoof was rubbing my back gently. It helped calm me down enough to listen to her some more.

I closed my eyes, and thought back to home, to my bed, to… mom.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

“Now Viber just sit still, if you keep wiggling you’re going to fall over and hurt yourself” Mama had propped me up on the toilet, next to the bathtub, so she could undress before stepping into the water. She also undid the bun she had her mane in, letting her mess of a mane poof out.

I always found it funny how her mane would do that, and when I could I’d get Rototoms hair to do the same. My favorite thing was to put a bit on Rototom, and see how far her mane would throw it.

“Mama, why can’t we get a shower, Pianos family’s got one.” Baths always took so much time, and mama and papa always had to take off my legs and help me bathing. I didn’t like not being able to move around, and baths were no fun when you can’t play in them. “You know, the really cool shower. You don’t even need to take your legs off to use it.”

Mama sighed. “They’re expensive Viber, and we don’t have the bits for something like that.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a lot of things that need to be done before one of those showers can be installed.”

“Why?”

Mama rolled her eyes, and turned to the door. “Dear, can you tell out inquisitive daughter why we can’t have a mister helper shower?”

Papa’s voice shouted back to us. “Well we can have one, but we would need to sell her to afford one.”

Turning around, mama had a smile on her face. “There you go.”

I stuck my tongue out at her, they always did this to me, teasing me whenever I had a good idea.

“Where’s the shampoo?” Mama asked nopony in particular. “it's ahh… oh who put it up there?” The shampoo was on top of the drug cabinet. Standing on her back legs, she reached out and picked the shampoo up in her hooves.

*Snap*

Mama suddenly fell to her side, hitting the lightswitch on her way down, turning the bathroom dark.

“MAMA!” I yelled. Without my legs on, I could do nothing but squirm. If I could get on my belly, than I could inch my way to mama, and see if she was okay. I tried to push myself forward, but only found myself falling back against the toilet.

I then began to slip, I could barely see where I was slipping to, but I didn’t need to. “MAMA!” my body fell to the side and I slipped into the bath.

I thrashed the best I could, but only managed a wiggle. Each attempt to get my head above the water failed. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t call out for mama. It hurt, I held my breath, but it hurt. It hurt so much I coughed, and bubbles came out of my mouth. More bubbles came out, and I couldn’t hold my breath anymore.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

My eyes shot open, and I was still tumbling in the void. I knew it was all fake, but I couldn’t get a hold of myself. Pushing myself up, my back hit my sister, and I heard a ‘eep’ from Harp.

“Vibey calm down.” My sister cooed.

I couldn’t stay here any longer, and the ride was moving too slow. It was tumbling in the void. No it was just moving slowly through this illusion. “I’m getting off.” I huffed. “I’ll look for the others on hoof.”

I jumped off the ride, and fell. “ouf!” I puffed as I hit the ground. The ride was actually suspended above the ground by a good four hooves. From my position I could see the room for what it really was, mirrors and bits of lights. It still had that extending off for eternity feel, but now I could see the floor and ceiling, which were more mirrors, but I could see myself in them. My eyes were red from crying.

“Vibey! Are you okay?” My sister asked as she climbed down from the ride. She helped Harp get down as well, the dainty princess landing into my sister’s hooves before being let down onto the ground. It reminded me of the old breeze tale I read as a foal, except the missing leg forced my sister to sit as she caught the princess. It made me chuckle a little.

“Ya, just give me a minute.” I said, still shaking a little. “I’ll be fine.”

“Lady Echo, what happened to you?” Harp asked softly.

My sister raised a hoof. “It’s related to something that happened a long time ago, let’s leave it at that.” Turning her pipbuck lamp back on, Rototom cleared her throat. “So, let’s look for them on hoof, I’ll lead the wa…” Rototom froze for a moment, and then aimed her rifle at me. ‘Vibey, get ready to move.’

Her voice bounced around in my head, echoing. ‘Where to.’ I thought back.

‘Your left… no my left, you're right.’

I nodded.

‘Now!’

I rolled to my right, and Rototom fired her Zeus, making a zap noise. It was followed by a high pitched cry that hurt my ears.

Turning on my pipbuck lamp, I looked over at what had made the sound. It looked like a pony, but only that, other than its shape, it was anything but a pony. A shell covered everything but its face, of which was pony shaped, but when it opened its mouth to cry again, it revealed no teeth inside, just more of that red glow. The things eyes, and its joints glowed red, much like a Sparkle Cola Rad. Blue blood leaked from its back leg, the shot from the Zeus had only grazed it, but had shattered the shell covering its leg. It was also wearing a red jumpsuit the theme parks logo on it. The jumpsuit had a name on it, ‘Turnip Soup’

“Hold it down.” My sister commanded, as she hopped over to it. I did as she said, and put Turnip into a hold. Whatever it was, it was strong, almost breaking my hold. My sister quickly pulled some bindings from her bag, and let her pipbuck wrap them around Turnip’s legs. When it was good and tied up, Rototom gave it a healing potion. The cracks along its leg healed until the only evidence that it was hurt was the blue blood that had leaked out.

“So… What the fuck is that?” I asked my sister.

She looked at me, the green glow of her visor giving her an unpony-like feeling. “Like i fucking know.” She motioned for me to let it go, and sat down in front of it. “Let’s find out. Hmmm, I doubt Turnip is its real name, but oh well.”

Letting go of the thing, Turnip started to squirm for a bit, eventually giving up, and looking at my sister. “Go, let, let, go.” It spoke in a garbled wet voice.

My sister looked up at me, and back down to Turnip. “Well we know it can talk, that should make it easier. Turnip, or whatever your name is, were looking for four ponies, one like me, and three with wings. Have you seen them?”

Turnip remained silent for a few seconds, blinked once, and opened its mouth. “Let go.”

Rototom sighed. “If you answer a few questions, then I might consider it.”

“Con-sider?” Turnip said and it tilted its head.

“Right, easier, but not easy at all.” Rototom took a deep breath. “Let go if questions answered, yes.”

“No, no, not seen. Heard new, yes. Queen knows, Queen sent other, get new” Turnip answered.

It answered our question, but gave us a new problem. Rototom undid one of the bindings on Turnip’s leg. “Take us to them.” She paused for a moment, scratching her chin. “Take us to your leader.”

Turnip looked around, down to its still bound legs, and back up to Rototom. Nodded. “Yes, can do. Queen deals with new. Will take. See queen.” Freeing the other legs, Rototom hopped back, keeping her gun aimed at Turnip. The shelled pony like thing got up onto all fours, standing around the same height as Harp, but shorter then me and my sister. Headed to the ramp we had come up from. “Come, follow. Queen is down lower.”

Following Turnip, I checked the E.F.S. Nothing. Other than my sister, and Harp, no others appeared on the E.F.S. Whatever Turnip was, it didn’t appear on my E.F.S. ‘Sis, is Turnip on your E.F.S?’ I asked, hoping Minerva just had a glitch.

‘No.’ My sister answered. ‘But now that I think about it, I might know what it is.’ I gave her a look, raising an eyebrow. Rototom continued. ‘Its blood was blue right, just like a lurker. I’ve only heard stories, but if DJ Cerberus is to be believed, there were some pony shaped lurkers living in the Sparkle-cola plant years ago.’

‘Strange’ I responded. ‘Let’s go with that, and hope this queen is not just some hungry brood mother.’

We reached the room we were in before, but without the lights on Captain Andromeda felt a lot creepier. In the faint light she looked more like a shadow that stood upright, unnatural and eerier. Turnip opened a hidden door that was disguised as prop door. Weirdly clever.

“So, Mister, or Miss Turnip was it?” Harp asked the lurker. “What do you do here? You do look like a engineer.”

Turnip made a few clicking sounds. “I Fix, I clean, I gather.”

Harp suddenly trotted a little faster, getting closer to the lurker. “So it’s your kind that’s been maintaining the park. This is so fascinating! Tell me, why did you pick the park, was it your queen's orders?” The princess seemed a bit too excited, which even seemed to surprise Turnip

“Queen Yes, queen decided to move, felt that stripy ponies would come, hurt the eggs. Here farther away, here queen is happy.” A few more clicks came from Turnip. “Queen says this is queendom, says we must make it strong.”

“Oh I’d love to meet this queen, she sounds fascinating.” Harps tail swished a little, reminding me a bit of a dog. “You know I’m a princess myself, my mother’s the queen of my people.”

The lurker stopped in its tracks. “Princess!” Turnip scooted a step away from Harp. “Yes, talk to queen.” Turnip started trotting faster than before. Harp looked back at us with a confused look on her face.

_____________________________________________

We soon found ourselves going down a stairwell. Unlike the rest of the old-world stairs, this looked in to be in excellent condition, like it had only been built in the last few years. I also noted that walls were decorated with seashells, nothing fancy, just every now and then it had a bunch of them glued to the wall.

At the bottom, Turnip opened a blast door. If this place was connected to the metro, it would not be a surprise to see such heavy duty doors down here. Two things struck me when the door opened, first was that the humidity was like a wall, and second, the sounds of life were unmissable. It sounded a bit like a busy substation, though with more clicking than pony chatter.

Stepping inside I saw the familiar sight of a wooden and glass door. ‘Solaris Inc. PR Office.’ The door cracked open, and a glowing red eye looked at us. Turnip stepped up to the door, clicking a few times. “Here to see queen. Let in. Kindly.” The door opened up, and the lurker waved us in.

Passing the door was like entering into another world. Lights illuminating the painted walls, which were in different bright colors, and decorated with shells. There was little order to the decoration, and color, everything looking more like somepony was using a color until the paint ran out, and moved onto the next.

The Lurker that let us in was a little taller than Turnip. It's purple carapace was splashed with green paint, and it had an old torn up yellow sun dress on. It clicked a few times, and closed the door behind us. She seemed a little scared with how she was avoiding eye contact with us.

Further in, the PR office had been turned into a recycling center. Lurkers walked about sorting through, and separating junk. Each thing was being broken down to its base parts, and placed into old metal crates. To a scrapper this would be a grand treasure hoard.

Every now and then one of the workers would look up at us, and immediately back down, continuing their work. Most of them had the same red jumpsuits as Turnip, all in different states of decay. Some of them had paint splashed on them, like with the one at the door, others were decorated in seashells.

Some doors were shut, and had a guard in front of it. Nothing about them was too different from the other lurkers, except it had what looked like a space suit on, and some nasty looking hoof claws. There was another guard armed with a riot shotgun, the gun looking old, but still in relatively good condition.

We walked to the end of the hall, to a set of closed doors. Above the doors were the words ‘Recording Studio’. Blocking our path were two very intimidating lurker guards. They both had the space suits on, but they were reinforced with scrap metal and pony bones. One of them had a flamer attached to its side, and the other had a gatling gun.

Harp had moved back between me and my sister.

Turnip stopped at the two guards. “See queen, pony princess asks, let in, kindly.”

The guards looked at each other, and back down at Turnip, clicking at him. “No go. Queen busy. Playing with food. Not now, Later.”

Turnip turned around and walked up to us. “No see, kindly wait.”

Looking at my E.F.S. I could see four blue bars pass the two guards. Looking at Rototom, she gave me a knowing nod, and turned her attention to Turnip.

My sister pointed at the door. “No, we must go in. Our friends are there, and we must see them.”

The lurker looked back at the door, and back at us. “No, we wait. Queen play with food first.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, and from the looks of it neither did Rototom. Clearing her voice, Rototom took a deep breath. “MY FRIENDS ARE NOT FOOD! LET US IN NOW!” I held my ears shut, with them still being a little sensitive from the fight before.

Turnip cowered back, and all the guards got ready for a fight. If we started a firefight here, we were not going to win it. I was still shaking from my panic attack, Rototom was missing a leg, and Harp was the farthest thing from a fighter. Add that the two door guards had just the right weapons to destroy the hallway before we could even find cover.

The guard with the flamer stepped forward. “Queen does what queen wants. You wait. Queen might not be hungry when sees you. Queen might be. You wait, you find out.”

It was a standoff, Rototom had her guns aimed at the guards blocking the Recording Studio, and I had mine aimed on the guards we had passed. Turnip laid flat on the ground, his hooves over his head. Every little twitch was met by another. Sweat fell from my brow, and my slight shaking threaten to have me accidentally shoot first. I was scared that I was about to kill us all.

“ENOUGH!” Harps voice resonated with authority, but lacked the aggression that Rototom had. “We are here to have a civilized discussion, not to devolve into senseless violence.” She stepped up to Turnip, and pointed at him. “You get up, as our guide show some self-respect. You are in the presence of royalty.” She stomped her hoof, and Turnip sat up straight. Turning her attention to the two guards, she pointed at them with her hoof. “You two, open these doors, and let us through.”

“No.” said the gatling gun guard.

“You no command us.” Spoke the Flamer guard.

Harp tilted her head. “I may not be of your royalty, but you will stand aside, and we will see your queen. Do you want to know why that is?”

“Do not care.” The flamer guard retorted.

“Not at all.” The gatling gun guard added.

Harp chuckled. “As a princess of the Orphic Kingdom, I have more authority than you. When I do see your queen, I’ll let her know of this insult, and she will see that it never happens again.” Harp lifted up a hoof, and looked at it with a smug smile on her face. “I’ve heard that severed heads on a silver platter are popular this year. A shame that two dedicated guards like yourselves would have to be made an example of for others. Such a shame.”

Everything went quiet, and nobody moved. Harp herself locked frozen in her pose, her tail tucked between her legs, but still holding firm.

“Fine. Go.” Spoke the flamer guard, stepping out of the way. The gatling gun guard also stepped out of the way, but didn’t say anything.

Turnip quickly trotted to the doors, and opened it for us. Stepping over to it, Harp nearly fell over when I patted her on the back. She looked at me, her eyes watering, and ready to cry. Rototom hopped in behind us, grumbling about stupid thick headed lurkers.

The inside of the Recording Studio was far different than the rest of the office. The lights were much dimmer, and bottles of sparkle-cola Rad decorated the walls. In the center was a long table, sitting at the table closer to us, was or friends. Light and Wild were on one side, and Merit and Sweet on the other. At the far end was a very tall Lurker, with a glowing red fin coming from her head and down one side like a pony mane. She had a golden crown on her head, decorated with shells, and on her right leg was a pipbuck. To either side of her were a two lurkers that looked like smaller versions of her. One had a headdress made of shells that flowed down to her shoulders, and the other had a tiara made of glass.

The tall lurker spoke “So there were more of your kind here. My hunters will need to be reprimanded for this oversight.” There was no denying it, she had to be this Queen. “Now sit, and I do hope you have some more stories for me to hear. Good for building up an appetite.”

Looking around some more, there were more guards inside, a good six to each side. Doing what the queen asked, I took my seat next to Merit, and my sister took the seat next to me. Harp Sat next to Light, switching places with Wild. Turnip, turned around and trotted to the door.

“You sit as well worker.” The Queen’s voice boomed unnervingly. Turnip, quickly turned back around, running over to taking a seat near Wild. One of the smaller lurkers with the head dress, a lurker princess maybe, had leaned in as she looked at Turnip, only to sit back into her seat when the queen’s head moved to scan us all. “Now that you're done making a racket, continue with the story.” Her eyes were looking right at Merit.

We looked at each other, but Merit suddenly broke eye contact, and avoided my gaze. I looked over at the two other pegasi, Light was distracted by Harp, but Wild was looking down at the table, looking a bit upset.

Merit spoke up, sounding less then sure with himself “The bombing run... it was a success.”

_____________________________________________

Quest Progression -

My Kingdom for a Pony – 75%

Who Dares, Win – 75%

Quest Completed.

Are you having fun yet?

Quest perk gained.

-Pinkie sense- Your frightful trip through Tomorrow Park has left you more aware of the world around you, for better or worse. +1 to perception, and sometimes your tail will twitch when something falls.

Chapter 7 - Pound of Flesh

All of the anti-air defenses in and around Oatland had been taken out, and command had ordered for all available strike forces to land and sweep for threats. Operation Cauterize was to be carried out as clean and quickly as possible. Unlike other enclave companies we didn’t have raptors to hold down the sky, but the commander was clever, and planned a one-two punch with bombers and vertabucks.

The vertabuck dropped low, nearly hitting the road as it flew between two semi intact buildings. “We’re heading to the target. No sign of ground threats on the road. Good job bombing team.” Captain Chuckles reported. Patting me on the shoulder I got up and took my position at the gunner’s seat, the captain taking the copilot seat. “Shoot anything that moves hoof shiner, we don’t need a rocket up our flank.”

“YES MA’AM!” I shouted, taking the mounted energy gatling gun in my hooves. Turning the thing on, it started vibrating and making a whining sound. I don’t know how the captain got approval to do it, but she had modified the thing into a beast.

The vertabuck shook as a payload of rockets flew off to our target, followed by two blasts of its energy cannon. Wub Wub was trying to take out the targets before I could get a chance, the greedy mare.

“On my mark.” The captain spoke, as the vertabuck lurched to its side, and quickly dropped in speed. The back door slowly opened, and I could see the targeted building come into view. Whatever it was, it wasn’t much of anything now. I aimed the gatling gun down center, waiting for the door to finish opening. “Hold” Eyeshadow and Lover pony took their positions next to me, magical energy rifles at the ready. In the rubble I could see moment, insurgents running between cover, taking position. One popped their head out, and aimed a rusty looking rifle at us. “FIRE” the captain shouted.

If I didn’t have my helmet on, the light from the gatling gun would have blinded me. It spewed a torrent of energy bolts that rained down onto the targets. The insurgents returned fired, but I didn’t even need to worry about aiming, I just pushed the barrel at them and the pony was dust in the wind. Lover Pony suppressed a few of them, calling them out for me to dust, and Eyeshadow picked off some snipers before they could take me out.

After what felt like a minute of nonstop fire, the target building had more scorch marks than ever, and the air was full of dust. “Let’s move out, Wub Wub, cover us from the sky.” Chuckles orders, as she jumped out of the vertabuck. Eyeshadow, Lover Pony and I followed.

As a team we landed right where we had been firing, scanning for any insurgents still hiding. The dust in the air was thick, making me glad that I had my air filter on, and a little sorry for the insurgents. Breathing in your own friend has got to suck.

Three shots slammed into my armor, not hitting anything vital. Looking over to my side was a earth pony mare in combat armor, welding a low caliber SMG in her mouth. She fired at me again, and I dodge, blasting at her with my rifle. Two shots were all it took, and she vaporized into dust. “Got one,” I shouted.

The zap sound of a magical energy rifle went off. “Got one too” shouted Eyeshadow.

Another zap went off. “Got one three” Lover pony spoke, sounding smug.

“That was so terrible you might get executed for that pun.” I retorted, trying to not snicker.

“Can it all of you.” The captain spoke sternly. An explosion of plasma followed, and we all looked in it’s direction. "Move in, and clear the place out.” She ordered.

The fighting wasn’t too heavy inside, A few big guns, many small, and even one energy weapon. Their main defensive force must have been taken out at the start of the assault. I worked side by side with the captain, as the other two brought up our flank, taking out any stragglers. Not that Chuckles left any.

The captain didn’t bother with fighting with her plasma pistol half the time, choosing to just throw a plasma grenade into the defended rooms if it looked too heavily defended. Her favorite trick was to cook the grenade so that when a unicorn attempted to throw it back, it just blew up in the air, doing more damage than if it was on the ground. She even had some on a remote trigger, so when it was thrown back at us, she'd just picked it up and kicked it back in, triggering it when it landed. Like a deadly game of hot potato.

We made our way to the insurgents command center, their leader waiting for us with heavy machine gun mounted on his desk. I didn’t know what looked more like an old piece of junk, the gun, or the old stallion using it. Blasting it at us, Chuckles and I dove out of the way, and returned fire. The old pony didn’t stand a chance.

“Command, this is team charlie. We’ve captured the insurgent’s command center. Now sweeping the area for leftovers, will contact when done.” The captain reported on her radio. Sweeping off the dust at the insurgent’s commander's desk, Chuckles began looking over documents that were there. “Hoof Shiner, go sweep the area.”

I saluted. “YES MA’AM!” and began sweeping the area.

The sounds of the battle echoed in the distance. Explosions, energy blasts, and the crack of surface weapons where a constant. It all felt surreal, all my training bringing me to this battle. Retake the surface and begin life anew.

The insurgents command center felt more like an abandoned home that a bunch of squatters lived in. Well worse than that, at least in the clouds there wasn’t so much trash everywhere. I found where all their weapons would have been kept, only a stray magazine of ammo left behind as evidence. Food rations were left on a table, all two hundred years old, and probably irradiated. Most of the surface ponies were probably mutated beyond salvation from consuming such tainted food.

Eyeshadow and Lover Pony joined us shortly after, reporting that the rest of the building was clear. I had nearly finished my sweep, finding next to nothing, and having only one more place to check. I found it during my sweep, a hidden door on the floor under an old rotten rug, with a few boxes placed on top.

Opening the door, a terrible smell of rot hit my nose from the darkness. Turning on my head lamp, I peered in, seeing nothing at first. The sound of something scraping on the floor below caught my ear, and I slowly leaned in to get a better look as I turned my head to see what it was.

Small little hooves came into sight, it was a unicorn colt. Next to him was a mare wrapped up in bandaging, and there was a stallion who was so thin I could see his ribs. Scanning the walls of the room, it was lined with foals, the injured, and the sick. All of them gauging the walls, staring at me with wide open eyes, and trembling in fear.

“See anything?” Captain Chuckles asked.

Pulling my head out I nodded to her, the captain now next to me. “Civilians ma’am, Foals, sick and injured.”

“I see.” Chuckles responded. “Good job.” With a movement as leisurely as a hoof bump, the captain tossed a plasma grenade into the hidden room, and shut the door. A sharp explosion came with a flash of green through the crack of the hidden door. “Objective complete, Regroup at the vertabuck.”

I stood there looking at the door, trying to process what had happened. “Ma’am, there were civilians down there.”

“Yes, and our orders were to clear the place out. Now move it soldier!” She spread her wings, and hopped out a nearby window, flying to our vertabuck.

Taking my eyes away from the hidden door, I straightened up and saluted. “YES MA’AM.” And followed her.

We all reconvened on the vertabuck, a few scuffs on the armor, and no injuries to send a letter home about. “We got new orders!” Wub Wub reported. “Heavy resistance at the old hospital, we’re the reinforcement.”

“Take us there!” The captain ordered.

With a dip in altitude, and a boost in speed, we were off. Taking a good look at the city below me, it was on fire. If the city was a near complete ruin, we had finished the job this day.

“Shit!” Cried out Wub Wub as she banked the vertabuck to the side sharply. “Who throws a sky wagon?” Before anyone could ask about what she just said, the right propeller blew up. “AW FUCK, ABANDON SHIP!” She screamed, jumping out of her seat.

We all jumped from the vertabuck as it fell from the sky, our wings catching the air. “What in Tartarus just happened Wub?” The captain sounding furious and confused.

Wub Wub pulled out her energy rifle, putting it at the ready. “Like I said, somepony threw a fucking sky cart at us!”

The captain crossed her hooves, her helmet staring at Wub Wub. “Who throws a skywagon.” A pop and a flash of purple suddenly came from behind the captain. Behind her a purple pony had appeared, twice the height of a normal pony, with gigantic wings, and a horn that looked like it could go right through a pony. It was a fucking Alicorn. Around her neck was a thick chain, and held in her magic was pole made of three pieces of rebar twisted together. “Oh…” Was the only thing the captain could say, right before the Alicorn brought the pole down onto her helmet.

We all hovered there in shock as the captain fell. Her body had gone limp, and just tumbled to the ground. Looking back up to the alicorn, we all drew our rifles, and fired. The Alicorn just glared at us, not making a move as the beams of energy bounced off a shield she had up

‘Murderers.’ She spoke to us, her lips not moving as hate filled eyes passed over each of us. ‘All of you.’ The Alicorn flared her wings and charged at me, the rebar pole winding back for another swing. With our shots having no effect, all I could do was dodge.

With each swing she would clip me, me never fast enough to fully avoid each attack. I attempt to flee, but she just teleported in front of me, and the dance would begin again. The others held their fire, more at risk of hitting me then stopping this monster. With no other direction to go, I kicked off the air, and dropped down to the ground. If I could get a wall between myself and the monster, I could have enough time to think of a way to kill it. Not skipping a beat, the alicorn teleported onto the ground with her pole at the ready. This time she didn’t miss.

Taking the hit and rolling with it, I managed to lessen the damage to the armor, but as I slid on the ground like a ragdoll, my air filter got ripped off. The smoke, I could taste it in the air, so thick and vile. Getting up, my vision was fractured, in the tumble my visor had also been damaged. Needing to see properly, I threw off my helmet, and saw the alicorn slowly walking to me.

‘We have seen your crimes, and judged you guilty.’ She swung the pole, smashing a piece of a brick wall like it was nothing. ‘Your sentence is death, and I will be your executioner.’ She teleported from where she stood to stand right over me. ‘Die’

I had no time to think, or make a plan, so I just moved. Jumping between her legs, this time she missed me completely, the pavement cracking under her heavy strike. Using the terrain to my advantage, I turned corners, and flew through ruined buildings. She was fast, and could teleport, but she was also too big to follow everywhere I went. It had become a game of cat and mouse, with my comrades as the only warning to where she would be waiting for me. They helplessly firing down at the alicorn, doing nothing but annoying her.

As I darted through the ruins, choking on smog and dust, I finally found what I was looking for. Captain Chuckles body laid out on some rubble, blood pooled beneath her, and her helmet caved in. I could only be thankful that her death was quick and painless. I quickly grabbed one of her remote triggered grenades, and the remote for it. I had one shot at this.

On que, the alicorn appeared above me, and used her falling momentum to bring her pole down at me with even more force. By a hairs breath I dodged, the pole coming down onto the captain's body, breaking her in half, and sending blood everywhere.

Whipping her pole to the side, sending the blood on it off onto the ground as a splattered line. ‘Fitting. You can die with your kind. After we dispose of you, we shall drag each of your own here and crush them under hoof. We are pleased by this.’ I would not be lying if I ever say that this bitch scared the shit out of me.

“EAT THIS” I armed the plasma grenade and threw it at her, it harmlessly bounced off her shield and fell to the ground in front of her. She looked at it for a few long seconds before looking back up to me, a fat smile on her face.

‘Accept your fate and despair.’ Her voice mockingly echoed in my head.

She stepped towards me slowly, her pole high above her head. I watched as the grenade passed under her shield, and smiled myself. “Accept yours and die!” I hit the switch. The inside of the alicorn’s shield filled with green flames and burst. There was nothing left where she stood but green goo.

My comrades flew down to me, stopping in horror at the sight of what became of our captain. We all stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, the battle could wait, for now we mourned the loss of a friend.

The moment ended when Wub Wub trotted up to me and saluted. “As the next link in the chain of command, what are our orders s.. sir.” I couldn’t see her face through the helmet, but I knew she was crying. I looked around us, smelt the air, and heard the sounds of battle.

“We are to provide backup at the hospital, correct.” Wub Wub nodded. I picked up the captains ID tag from her armor, and placed it in a storage pocket in mine. “Then what are we standing here for, MOVE OUT!” Jumping to the sky, we still had a duty to do, and comrades that needed backup. The Enclave did not train us to be cowards.

______________________________________

The look on Merits face was a mix of pride, and shame. It was the same for Wild, the two veterans reminding me of an old hunter who had outlived his friends and now retold their story to the next generation. Light on the other hoof has a confused look on her face, ranging from disgust to worry. It had the feeling of a pony from the Orphic Kingdom hearing a hunter’s story for the first time. The room itself felt tense as the story was told, with the Lurker Queen looking enthralled by it all.

The story itself had me filled with mixed emotions. In Orthrus we were trained to be ready for violence. If hostilities broke out between the Orphic Kingdom and the Republic, we were expected to either quell the violence, or protect the fleeing refugees. We also had to be ready if violence was directed at us, and ready to defend ourselves. But the sheer disregard for the lives of civilians churned my stomach. It was something expected of bandits, not of an established military. Well, as far as I knew.

‘Sounds like the world outside our islands is no better off.’ My sister thought to me, her voice crystal clear now, no echo, or fussy interference.

‘At least they can go around the surface without a rebreather.’ Sweet chimed in, also without interference.

‘Which is why we need to get them to civilization.’ I added.

The three of us nodded, Merit being left out simply raised an eyebrow. “So what are you three talking about?” He whispered as he leaned close to me. “Also it’s good to see that you’re ok.”

I couldn’t help it, I leaned closer to him, our heads nearly touching. It was a common joke that a mare always trotted after a pony who was like their father, but I never liked that prim and proper look. It was all about that ‘I can take care of myself’ look for me. “Same here. And it was about getting you three back to civilization alive. That’s all.”

He nodded, and we both returned to our seats. Light had leaned into Harp, and was taken off guard when Harp hugged her head and cuddled it. The princess had it bad for the enclave captain.

“Are you all done?” The Lurker Queen spoke up. Her tone demanded our attention, mixing fear with aww. She was as tall as Celestia, but had no horn or wings, just thick carapace that looked like it could stop small arms fire. It was like looking at a monster from an old horror movie, but as frightening as the book the movie was based on. “Good, now that your story is finished… is it?”

Merit nodded. “Yes ma’am.” The Lurker queen tilted her head ever so slightly, looking like she was raising an eyebrow without having eyebrows. “Yes my queen.” Merit spoke out quickly.

“Good, good. But what to do with the new ones here. And I had my heart set on one of you so dearly.” Her eyes seemed to look over at Light, the pegasus seemingly shrinking back into her chair. “But no matter, three more ponies, three more choices.”

“You mean three more ponies to eat, right?” Rototom spoke up.

The queen smiled and nodded. “Yes you are correct. A price to pay for trespassing on my territory.” She looked us over, her red glowing eyes unnerved me, making it hard to sit firm. Harp seemed to cower the most, almost disappearing behind the table. “But first introduction are to be made. Though I hate to repeat myself, Standards of education demand that I make myself known to my guests.” A Lurker came from behind the queen, holding a kazoo in its mouth, blowing into it much like a trumpet. “I am Queen Andromeda, first queen of the Lurkers, and ruler of Future land.” She lifted a hoof on her left, and motioned to the smaller lurker with the glass crown. “This is my eldest Berenices, she ensures that any trouble that befalls our queendom is swiftly dealt with.” Berenices tilted her head up, practically sticking her nose at us. Andromeda lowered her right hoof, and raised her left hoof, motioning to the lurker with the seashell vale. “This is my youngest Mayall, who leads our reconstruction of our home.” Mayall waved at us, though it was more at turnip then the rest of us. “Now who are you three?”

‘Be careful you two, the bitch is looking to eat one of us as an example.’ Sweet warned over telepathy. ‘Make yourself seem important, but not annoying to her. Or you end up in the hot seat like Light is.’

My sister was the first to speak up. “I’m Rototom Echo, Specter of Orthrus. My job is to covertly maintain the peace of the metro. Keeping to the shadows, and making deals on behalf of my ponies.” The queen nodded slightly, and shifted her eyes over to me.

“Vibraphone Echo, mercenary and bodyguard. I was hired to find and bring the princess back to civilization.” The queen slowly sat up straight in her seat, and smiled.

“A Princess?” She looked over to Harp. “Would that be you?”

Harp nodded softly. “Ye… Yes.” She stuttered. “My name is Harp Melody. Youngest of Queen Goldbrand Katana. And only Mirage Pony among the royal court.” The lurker queen nodded at Harp, a hoof to her chin.

“Tell me about this court of yours?” The Queen inquired, looking quite interested.

Looking to all of us, I gave her a nod. “Yes. Well the court is made up of three official groups. There is the crown’s council, which is made up of my mother, her advisor, and her successor. She is the highest authority, but is only the last to speak in any ruling. Then there is the counsel of defiance, their job is to shore up our border, and root out any threat. Our military is under their jurisdiction, and is made up of out five best generals. Last is the pony’s council, whose job involves taxes and public service. They balance our budget, and insure that our country does not collapse from the inside.”

I learned about the Orphic Kingdom’s political system in school. It was straightforward and efficient, but with the deep dweller population shrinking every generation, now a days it served itself more than its growing mirage pony population. A few scholars in the Republic predict that the royal council will collapse in on itself in another generation or two.

The Lurker Queen motioned to her daughters with her head, smiling. “Oh such things to learn. So similar, yet so different. It’s so sad we must still eat, our law is clear, and one of you must come forth.” She eyed Light, and she shrunk back into her seat again.

Harp saw this, and stepped onto the table. “No!” She looked at the queen, even standing on all fours on the table, she only came up to eye level to the queen as she sat. “There must be a way to negotiate the peacefully?”

The Queen eyed Harp, her carapace face preventing any emotion from showing. “Agreed, but our laws must be obeyed all the same. The Statute of Alpha III may protect those that are ignorant of our laws, but alas we are not a federation, but a nest. As Queen of this nest, I have a duty to provide for it. We have food, but not never nearly enough, allowing but one of you to feed my people is a generosity. My people would benefit more from all of you becoming food for our young and old. How would you negotiate that?” The queen’s head rose a bit, giving her a confident stare as she looked down at Harp. “Is it not the sacrifice for the many not a noble act, truly worthy of praise.”

“I…I.” Harp took a step back, looking unsure of herself. Taking a deep breath, and raising a hoof up as she exhaled. She took a step forward. “It is a noble act, I agree. But is it not a short-sighted judgment, to simply die to become food, when one can work to feed others over ten times one’s own weight?” The lurker queen rotated her hoof in a way that asked for the princess to explain. “You’re in a unique opportunity where you can earn your nest far more than one pony, far more than seven. I saw your workshop on my way here, seen your queendom. The resources you have at hoof, you can use them to trade, bring in more food for your people then the sacrifice of one pony could ever do.”

“And what pony would trade with us.” The queen retorted.

The princess opened her mouth, but no words came out. She stood there for a long moment, trying to find the words. “Somepony would.” Whimpered out.

Andromeda let out a bellowing laugh, somehow hurting my ears. “There is no somepony, never has been, never will be. Delusions is all you have, food is all you are to me.”

“We have food to give!” Sweet spoke up. We all turned our attention to her. “The canned goods, we picked them all up in the hotel. There has to be enough food in them to feed plenty. Food problem solved.” She punctuated her point by placing a can of beans on the table. “Open em up, cook em, and slurp em down. Problem solved.”

“Problem not solved, its food yes, but not a sacrifice.” The queen retorted. “A sacrifice must be made for your intrusion.”

The Queen seemed angry at Sweets outburst, her eyes on her. Harp stepped to her left, blocking the Queen's view of her. “We collected plenty of cans, see.” She pulled out four. I pulled out six. And all together we all pulled out thirty two cans of beans, trying to please the queen. “See, it’s food for us, but we are willing to sacrifice it all to you. We are sorry for trespassing, and wish to leave as soon as we can.”

Mayall leaned to her mother, whispering. The queen seemed to relax, leaning back into her seat. “Fine, we shall accept the food.” Berenices then leaned in, whispering as well, slanting her eyes as she looked at sweet. “You need not remind me my child. It is a sacrifice, but only half of what my people will accept.”

Harp straightened her back, trying to look taller. “Are you not queen, is not your word law here?”

Andromeda nodded. “Yes it is, but I have already set the law, my word carved into the stone wall for all to see. To change the law would break it, crumble it, and make it worth nothing but the rantings of a mad queen. My ideal, my queendom would crumble over but one broken law.”

“I… we…” Harp attempted to say something, but even I could not think of a counter argument.

‘If we weren’t outnumbered, and outgunned. I’d shoot the monster and fight our way out.’ Rototom thought to me.

‘Last I looked we were evenly matched. We just need to shoot all the armed lurkers, or hold the queen hostage.’ I added.

Sweet chimed in. ‘Not going to happen. The queen has some sort of sonic attack. Used it to shut Light up. They got us outnumbered, that’s for sure.’

Harp backed away, looking unsure. Andromeda laughed again. “Don’t feel sad, you did find a way to keep all of you together, we accepted the cans, no need to eat one of you. Worthy of praise even.”

“So what do you want sacrificed?” Harp asked, having lost any sense of confidence.

“A leg” The queen said nonchalantly.

“What!?” Harp spat out in surprise.

Queen Andromeda’s eyes scanned over us and smirked. “No, no. a leg will not do.” Her eyes fell onto Light. “A wing. No. Two wings will do. A reminder to why you ponies should never trespass.”

“WHAT!” Light shouted.

“It is fair.” The Queen said softly. You all live, we get food, and send a message. Fair is fair.”

Light slammed her hoof on the table, her body shaking. “THAT’S FAR FROM FAIR!”

The queen smirked, like she was gloating.

“I’ll do it!” Sweet spoke up. All eyes were on her. She herself had her own eyes closed. “I’ll sacrifice my wings.”

“What wings, I don’t see wings on you?” The queen asked, sounding a little confused and angry.

Sweet Sax responded by removing her vest. It falling to the ground with a thud. After that, she unzipped her jumpsuit, leaving the part covering her flank on, and exposing her small wings. The wings flapped a little, and stretched out. “These wings.” She stated.

I sat up in my seat, placing two hooves on the table. “Sweet!” She raised a hoof and shook her head.

‘It’s fine. We can’t risk any of the pegasus, or the princess coming to harm. Just… just trust me.’ Sweet sounded scared, bracing herself for the worst.

“Fine!” The Queen called out, and smirked. “But I’ll take her eyes as well.”

Sweet looked stunned, slowly looking over at me. “What…” One of the guards had stepped up behind her, placed a hoof onto her back, and pushed her into the table. “Why?”

The Queen giggled. “Your wings are just too small, I must have something else to balance the sacrifice.” I got onto the table, aiming my weapon. A sharp pain hit my ear and bounced into my head, causing me to fall over. “No I don’t think you should be standing right now. Stupid little pony.”

I laid there, my head pounding in pain, staring at Sweet as she looked at me in terror. Other lurkers came out of the shadows, swarming our table, and holding sweet down. I was a fool to think there were only ten lurkers in this room, the number was probably around thirty or more. My damn E.F.S. too useless to detect them.

I felt a lurker on me, rummaging through my bag. “What are you doing?” I cried out.

Queen Andromeda rolled her eyes. “Looking for useful tools. You stripy ponies always have something useful on you.” The bolt cutters fell in front of me, and I gasped. The queen giggled. “And I am proven right again you silly pony.”

“STOP THIS!” I yelled out. But as I got up, the weight of two lurkers came down one me, holding me down.

“The deal has been made. Unless you want her eaten, we can do that too?” Andromeda asked.

I looked at Sweet, the bolt cutters ready at one wing. She was breathing heavy, trying not to panic more than she was.

“Do you wish for us to eat her, it will be a painless death? Unlike what she agreed to.” I didn’t know what to do, darting my eyes between Sweet and Andromeda. “If you can’t make up your mind, I will for you!” She stated.

Looking at Sweet, she had steeled herself, controlling her breathing, and stared at me. “Fine, do it!” I said, feeling meek and helpless. All I could so was close my eye as hard as I could.

*Crunch*

Sweet screamed. It pierced my ears, and shook my soul. I could not move my hooves to cover my ears, all I could do was shut my eyes.

“Hey… Vibe…” It was Sweet’s voice. Opening up my eyes, I saw one of her wings on the table, no longer part of her. Blood was starting to pool on the table, and the lurker with the bolt cutters had moved to the next wing. “It’s going to be alright. Just get me home okay.”

“Okay, even if it kills me.” I answered.

“No, we get home together, or not at all.” She looked into my eyes, a dead serious look on her face.

“Together or not at all.” I agreed.

*Crunch*

Sweet screamed again, and her other wing fell to the table. A line of blood followed, forming a small pool next to the wing.

I was horrified by the sight, My best friend being hurt in such a way. I wanted to hurt them, kill them. I didn’t care if I was outnumbered, I would find a way to turn them to ash.

“Quickly now, we don’t want her to die before we’re done!” The queen spoke up, and a lurker stepped over with a spoon.

I could see the horror on Sweets face. We both knew what was about to happen. “STOP!” I shouted.

“A bit late for that.” Andromeda responded.

I sighed. “There’s some Med-X in my bag, use that first. It should dull the pain.” Why didn’t I ask for this earlier?

“No” The queen answered. “It’s no sacrifice without the pain. Now take her eyes!”

The lurker stepped in front of me, and Sweet began to scream like I never heard a pony scream before. All I could do was weep, and wish it was over. It felt like an eternity, but had to have been less than a minute, the lurker stood up and stepped out of the way. Right in front of me was Sweets eyes, laying on the table, still connected to her, and looking at me. It was too much, and bile fought its way up my throat.

As the bile seeped from my mouth, a blade came down and separated Sweets eyes from Sweet. A lurker picked up the eyes by their strands in its mouth, and took them to the queen. She had a smirk on her face as she held them in her hoof.

“Now that you know the price, never return. Not without approval first.” She put the eyes in her mouth and swallowed. “You may leave now. Through the tunnels was it. Yes, the worker here may take you to the tunnels.” She pointed at Turnip, who was hiding his face from the scene. “Take you all the way home.”

The lurkers on me let me go, and I jumped to Sweet. I rummaged through her bag, finding only one healing potion. Forcing it down her throat, and watched as her opened wounds closed up, stopping the bleeding. She didn’t move, so I pulled her close, my ear to her neck, hoping to hear a pulse.

*Thmp*

“Oh thank Celestia!” I held her close, hugging her neck, letting tears fall freely. “I’m so sorry, so, so sorry.”

A hoof rested on my shoulder. Looking over, it was Rototom. “Let’s get her out of here. The sooner we can get her to a hospital, the easier it will be for them to help her.” I nodded.

Merit came over and helped me hold Sweet up, as well as Wild. “We got her.” Merit said. “You take point, get us to civilization as fast as you can.” I nodded again. If we were to help Sweet, we were going to need to move fast.

“If he goes, i goeth, mother! I will not standeth f'r thou to separate us but yea a day.” We all looked to see that Mayall had her hooves around Turnip, the Lurker princess holding onto the confused lurker with all her might. “Send any worker but him ,mother. Can you not do that?

Looking at the three royal Lurkers, Berenices had a huge smirk on her face, and Andromeda looked angry. “So you did pair bond with a lowly worker. After I warned you so many times not to.”

Mayall pointed at her mother. “It's call'd loveth mother, loveth. Hast thou nay heart, nay cubiculo f'r loveth!” She then pointed at Berenices in a more accusingly faction. “'twas thy idea, thou betray'd me sister. I trusted thou and thou sendeth mine loveth to his death. wherefore?”

Berenices grumbled, and looked down at Mayall. “Always the drama my sister mine. I warned you as well my sister mine. But you prattle about love, and talk with the gibberish from book that hold no meaning my sister mine.” She lifted her head up, and ran her hoof over her neck, like she was slitting her own throat. “It’s time to grow up and let such ideas die. My. Sister. Mine.”

“Thou''r a bitch that deserves a thousand needles in the eyes!” Mayall spat out at her sister, still holding a still confused looking Turnip. Andromeda waved a hoof, and two Lurkers came and forced the two apart. “I will not standeth for this, I will not! Thou heareth me, i'll getteth thou f'r this sister.” The two Lurkers proceeded to drag Mayall away through a doorway to the side, and out of sight.

Andromeda held two hooves to her head, rubbing the side. “Now that’s over. Go, get out of my Queendom. Worker, go with them and find a place to die. Now go.”

Turnip got out of his seat. “Yes queen, I go, I not come back.” He turned to us and motioned for us to follow. “Come, follow. I take you away.”

______________________________________

Large blast doors closed behind us, leaving us in darkness. A Lurker with yellow paint dotted on it, and old relax wear over its chitin, waived us off before closing the door. Our encounter with the Lurkers left me with a mixed feeling, like they would be the friendliest people I ever met, and in the end they would kill me and eat me. It was strange, no malice or trickery, just it being what they were.

Light had chosen to carry Sweet, adamant that she was the one to do it. Wild held onto Sweets legs, lessening the burden on Light, and insuring we could all keep up the pace. My sister had attached Sweets back left leg to herself, allowing her to move smoothly once again. Sweet herself was still out cold, and the med-X we gave her probably contributed to her staying asleep.

I took point, with Merit right behind me to provide backup. My sister and Wild held the rear. Unless we were being hunted by a lurker we were not going to be caught by surprise. Harp, Light and Turnip were in the middle, being protected by the group.

We were unsure what to do with Turnip. Turning him over to Orthrus was probably the best move, as it was unlikely they would harm him, even if they wanted to check his insides. But that was something we would have to worry about when the time comes.

Overall I was glad to be back in familiar territory. The service tunnel looked like it was going to go on for miles, and with how well they were constructed, it was unlikely we would have to detour until we had to transfer to one of the main metro tunnels. From there, it was a straight shot to Charon's Stop. Still, the journey would take half of the day without interruption, so we marched on.

‘Vibey?’ Rototom thought over to me.

‘See anything on your E.F.S.’ I responded.

‘No.’ she answered.

‘Good, but keep an eye out for the lurkers.’ I asked.

‘I know. But well, Vibey?’ She thought to me some more.

‘If you see anything on the E.F.S. just let me know.’ I responded.

‘Fine, if you’re going to be like that, I can wait.’ Rototom spat through the telepathy.

I wasn’t in the mood for talking, I had just seen my best friend have her wings clipped, and her eyes ripped out. Talking can wait, getting Sweet help came first.

Stagnant air and rot filled my lungs as we walked, and roots from plants alive and dead poked through the ceiling, as though threatening to reach out to grab us. In the few stops we made, my pipbuck map showed that we had made good time, and we were to pass under the city soon. The tunnel itself was not in the preloaded map I had, but that was more of an annoyance than a problem. As long as we were not directly going into the city’s underground, and sticking to the metro, there was no way we would get lost.

Along our way were signs of the ponies who once lived over two hundred years ago. It was a small camp, with an aged tire used for a fire pit, and tents scattered about, all in shambles. On the other side of the track were the bones of a good twelve ponies, all lined up next to each other, and covered with a tarp each. Near the fire pit was one more skeleton, half covered in a tent, and holding a rotten plushie pony.

Lifting the tent to cover the skeleton fully, I saw one more thing on it. A pipbuck. Taking the old pipbuck, I covered the long dead pony with the tent, and gave the poor pony a silent prayer. Minerva silently beeped, and a notification popped up in the upper right of my vision. Survivor logs downloaded.

“Looks like they had a go at it, and the tunnel is clean of most radiation. Must have been dehydration or starvation.” My sister spoke up, looking at the camp.

“More reasons to keep going.” I responded. Merit put a hoof on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off.

“We’re not saying we need to stop, only slow down.” Merit spoke in a soft, in a too gentle tone. “You and your sister are the only ones with E.F.S. the rest of us are blind down here.” I didn’t care, he was right, but I just didn’t care.

I shoved the old pipbuck into Merits chest, forcing him to hold it in his fetlock. “Here, problem solved. Now get moving!” He dropped the pipbuck, and stepped up close, and hugged me. “Wha… what are you doing!”

“I want to help your friend as much as you do, but you need to relax.” He whispered in my ear. “Sweet is bandaged up and stabilized. We just need to get her to a doctor, rushing headlong into a monster is not going to help.” He held onto me a little tighter. “I’ve seen too much death here already, let’s just slow down and be careful.”

When Merit loosened his grip on me, I shoved him the rest of the way off. “Fine. We can slow down, but no stopping.” I turned around and began to move. “Stable or not, I’m not leaving Sweet like that longer then I can help it.”

With a pipbuck on his hoof, Merit took point, and was joined with Rototom. I pulled back and joined Wild at our flank. Harp and Light were quietly having a conversation. Turnip had remained quiet, sticking to the formation like we told him to.

I tapped at my pipbuck for a second, bringing up the logs Minerva had downloaded in the holographic screen. I switched the text to speech on, and had it go through my telepathy talisman. The setup would allow me to remain vigilant, but help distract my mind from wandering to Sweet.

- Day 0 log 1.

Well, Marbles was right, it’s too bad he was on the other side of the island when the bombs hit. He’s either better off, or worse off than us. Sprout and Sticks cried the whole way here, dragging Poppy along the way. Poor girl, in the panic she got knocked over and some dumbass guest stepped on her head. Really the whole thing was a clusterfuck even before the sirens went off. A Gala event for the kids, fuck me that was a bad idea. Every uptight parent and their brats was here, none wanting to spend a damn bit more than the entrance fee.

Luckily we were able to break away from the main group, like Marble said. Still think we should have locked the door shut behind us. But we found Marbles cache, enough food for the five of us. We will save Marbles rations in case he shows up, you never know. I’ll take the first watch. Fiddlesticks, she has the second. Brussel Sprout, has third. Mint Tea is too busy looking over Poppy Seed to take watch.

Apple Seed, out.

- Day 1 log 2

Poppy Seed is doing much better now, thank Celestia. Remind me to kiss Loose Marbles for storing all those healing potions here. But she’s has amnesia now. She was asking for mom and dad when she woke up, and nearly fainted when she saw me. My best guess is that she’s reverted back to when she was eight or nine, ten years all gone. I’m just glad she recognizes me, even though her brother is not as scrawny as I use to be.

The others are also relieved to see her up, though Mint took it hard when she didn’t remember him. I know I would if Fiddlesticks suddenly forgot about me. We can only hope Poppy will regain the rest of her memory soon.

Apple Seed, out.

- Day 2 log 3

We almost lost Brussel Sprouts, That idiot had forgotten to take her medication, and had a seizure right in front of Poppy. Luckily we kept her from swallowing her own tongue before the seizure passed. She had left her epilepsy medication back in the locker room, and didn’t want to worry anypony. Ya, making us panic is a lot better than worry. Stick, on a hunch rummaged through our stash and found three bottles of epilepsy medication. Sprout cried when she saw the medication, If Marbles was here, she'd mount him right then and there.

- Day 2 Log 4

Well, we’re fucked. Somepony came looking for us, and stumbled onto our camp. I don’t think they were planning on coming this far in, but must have heard Poppy scream and came to investigate. We’re moving camp, but in case that takes too long, me and Mint are moving our supplies first. There's a little hidey hole further down the tracks.

- Day 2 Log 5

And yes, we’re fucked, ram a train up my ass, we’re fucked. The fucking manager Haystack is here, acting like he is the fucking king of Equestria. Worse yet, he has a fucking revolver. He’s waving the gun around and spouting teamwork and shit. Scared my sister half to death. I don’t know what he wants, but I know I don’t like it. Right now he left his goons here to keep an eye on us. The worst part of it all, was when Haystack patted me on the shoulder like we were buddies, I fucking hate that so much, my pipbuck ticked. The asshole was irritated.

- Day 3 Log 6

Well, bust goes our plan to get away. Haystack’s goons have guns now. I don’t know where they got them, but my pipbuck ticked when they were delivered. Mint also told me that he caught Haystack leering at the girls. Ya, bad vibes. We got to get out of here, and soon. Marbles did mention that the Tran’s Island Station is our best bet if this spot fails.

Apple Seed, out.

- Team leaders Log one.

Pipbucks are the best, with this I will keep everypony alive. Now to send one of my ponies to go and bring back the slackers, trying to hide important supplies from me! No, no, they will get what’s coming to them, I’ll see to it.

- King’s log 2

The two ponies I sent after the slackers never came back, No matter. I have plenty of ponies to send!

- Sky Singer log one.

Haystacks is dead. Stuck that monster with a stick, sharpened it myself. AppleSeed mentioned the T.I.S. as a safe place. Talked with the others, and we’re heading there, this place is dead.

- Log fuck the log

Convinced the turp to give up his pipbuck, fucking Pegasus, let their whole group go, no need for pussies here, we got things going good.

- ^_^

Pipbuck’s mine now, asshole threw away the tools, so I had to saw it off the stallions leg to get it. Never felt so alive, never, never, never, never! Fuck selling flowers, sooooooo boring. All the hoity toity ponies looking down on me, fuck em, fuck em fuck em fuck em! Ohhh that felt good, so good. I think the asshole has a few more rounds in him, the med-x helps keep him up… maybe I should let him breathe… now I think I can find a way to keep him up after he's dead. I wonder what my coltfriend would think if he saw me now, too bad he’s dead, I’d love to see the look on his face.

- No food left.

Mama passed away last night, got her pipbuck as my pound of flesh. Told the rest no eating her, it just make ‘em sicker. Told em not to eat the ghouls too, didn’t listen, three died choking on their own puke. Can’t eat the roaches no more, they glow now, not good eats. We tried to go away, but ghouls block the end of the tunnel, ate one of us. Sad mamas gone, love to hear about flowers, never seen one, or sky, or clean water.

- All dead

Gave me last of good food, and went to sleep, never woke up. My job to give last rights, send them to Celestia, hope she forgives us. I know she will not.

Tunnel Tunnel out, Tunnel Tunnel sleep.

The Logs ended there, ending my distraction, and leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn’t a new kind of story, Charon's Stop had plenty like that. But most were passed down from one generation to the next, not recorded on a pipbuck.

Even as I pondered about the Logs, I still kept an eye on my E.F.S. not seeing any red bars. My mind wandered, imagining a small army of lurkers following us, just out sight, waiting for our guard to drop.

Wild nudged me with her wing, getting my attention. “I think I saw Sweet move, she might be waking up.” My ears perked up. “Go, I got the flank covered.”

I trotted up to Light, she eyed me with some worry. “Is everything okay Vibraphone?”

I nodded, “Everything’s fine, It’s just Wild thought she sat Sweet move. I’m just checking.” Light nodded back to me, turning her attention over to Harp. “Are you awake Sweet?” I asked hopefully.

A grumble came from Sweets lips, “I could use some med-X.” She spoke suddenly. “And please tell me you have my eyes in a jar or something.”

I felt my heart grew heavy, my lips trembled. “No, she… she ate them.”

“Oh” Sweet said, futilely looking around. “What a bitch.” She rested her head back down. “So about that med-x?” I pulled a syringe from her pack, and applied it in her shoulder, sweet twitching from the needle, but soon relaxed.

“Sounds like she’s going to be okay.” Light commented, sounding sure of herself.

Sweet chuckled. “So you guys are having little miss yells a lot carry me. Not that I’m complaining, but I’d rather be riding the stallion.” I saw Merits wings pop out slightly at her comment. “But if you’re doing this, now I feel like I owe ya. How about I take you to my favorite hooficure salon, if you pay extra they give you some special treatment.” This time Lights wings flared out a little. “You know what, we all should go, what do you think Wild? It be fun.”

Wild chuckled. “I don’t think my husband would like that much, but a normal hooficure would be nice.”

“Hoof An Cure?” Turnip said, sounding, and looking confused.

“Who’s that, and why do I already not like them.” Sweet responded.

I sighed. “That’s Turnip Soup. Well that’s the name on his jumpsuit, so that’s what we’re calling him. It’s a bit hard to explain, but the lurker is part of our group now. It just kind of happened.”

Sweet huffed. “Thats… awesome.” She sarcastically said. “Just keep that thing away from me, okay.”

“Done, now get back to sleep, we’re already more than half way to Charon's Stop. Were almost to the main metro tunnel right now.” Sweet nodded, and let her head hang down. “We’ll get you home Sweets, so don’t worry.”

She chuckled. “If you’re leading the charge, then I know we will.” Her body relaxed, and she quickly fell asleep.

We came to the main tunnel not long after, the door to where we came from was locked tight, but with the door control pad on my side, it was not hard to force it open. It felt good to rip off the face plate, and manipulate the internal mechanics. With a soft hiss the door opened, and we all entered the underground station.

The first thing that greeted us was the chewed up corpse of a mirage pony. It had probably been here a month, with it mostly being broken bones and torn up barding. The pony’s metal legs also look chewed up, and showed signs of rust. I counted our blessings, the tunnel from the theme park was so closed off that we didn’t have much more then rad roaches to deal with. From here on out, I expected our guns to be used a lot more.

It didn’t take long to come across one of the more common threats down here. A pack of stalkers were in our way, eating a fresh corpse. It looked to be one of the bandits by what was left of the mane. Both Rototom and I took the first shot, taking out some of the bigger stalkers in the pack. We had fitted Harp with Sweets battle saddle and air rifle, so she got a few shots in. When the monsters got closer, Wild and Merit turned them into ash with their energy rifles. If we had time to stop, cooking the stalkers for meat would have been a good idea, but we pressed on.

Unlike when Sweet and I first passed through here, the tunnel was now buzzing with pests. The rad roaches were everywhere, and every now and then was another pack of stalkers. It didn’t take long to find out why. Every mile or so was another body, bandit normally, but scavs too. I half expected to see one of the scrappers along the way, with how many bodies we came across.

The roaches were an easy problem to deal with, even Turnip killed a few. The stalkers, and oversized flying insects were becoming a drain on our ammo. We still made good time, and after a while it looked like we were not the only ones heading back to Charon's Stop. Dead animals were becoming a common sight, as well as the odd ball bearing, which I would add to my ammo.

“Come on, let’s go!” The voice echoed around the corner. “This is bad news, so stop looting and move!”

“Now, it’s good, it’s good.” We rounded a corner to see two disheveled bandits standing over three bodies, and a shit ton of dead roaches. “Here it is, I told ya the cunt held out on us. And here you just wanted to cut and run, now we got shit to sell!” The bandit held a box over his head.

“Give me that!” The other bandit yanked it away, and looked inside. After a moment she just dropped it to the ground. “Fuck, this is not chill, it’s respiratory medicine.”

The other bandit kicked the body he got the box from, it looked like another bandit. “Fucking cunt, why become a bandit when you can’t even breathe right!”

*Crunch*

I looked over to see that Harp had stepped on a rad roach, so had the two bandits. “WHO DA FUCK IS OUT TH…” Rototom shot him in the head, blood and gore few off, as the bandits body fell to the ground spasming.

“Fuck this!” The other bandit bolted, vanishing into the darkness.

Harp looked around nervously, and scratched her head. “Sorry.”

We trotted over to the three bodies, now four. All of them were bandits, in different stages of death. We hadn’t stopped to check before, but something was bugging me that I needed to take a look. Two of them had been ripped apart, the third looked intact, though she was dirty and covered in blood. Looking at the box that was looted from her, it held four inhalers. Something clicked in my mind, and I remembered the bandit with the respiratory problem. Getting a closer look, I saw an eye looking back at me. The mare blinked.

My head shot up, and I looked around. With how the rad roaches had been in force, there had been a ton of red bars all around from the time we entered the tunnel. “What wrong Vibey?” My sister asked.

“This one’s still alive.” My head swiveled, back and forth slowly.

She stepped up to the downed bandit. “So, not like any pony is going to give a shit. I thought you didn’t want to stop?”

My tail began to twitch, and I looked over at my sister. With a slam, the large form of a Paradise dragon landed behind her. It must have been clinging to the ceiling the entire time, watching us. “Sis.” Rototom slowly looked behind her. “RUN!” Before she should react, the Monster swiped its claws at her, sending my sister flying into the wall with a crunch. The rest of us opened fire, but it didn’t even flinch.

Jumping over me, everyone scattered, as it lashed its tail at them. Harp stumbled, and Turnip took the hit protecting her. Merit and Wild took to the air, firing bolts of energy at the beast. Light managed to get out of the way, not letting Sweet fall from her back.

Over charging my rifle, I fired a shot, getting a satisfying thunk on the monster. The paradise dragon stopped its advancement on my friends, and turn to look at me. Its face was mangled, some bone showing, its eyes looked at me with hatred. It was the same goddess damn one I chucked the grenade at, and it looked like it had a score to settle with me.

“So you remember me right.” I said as I backed up, charging my rifle. The paradise dragon snarled at me. I took that as a yes. It charged, and I activated S.A.T.S. Even in the nearly stopped time, the huge beast was still moving. I selected to dodge it, and fire at its neck. The move proved successful as I managed to dodge the dragon’s teeth by a hair's breath, and sent a ball bearing into its neck with another thunk. It countered by swinging its tail at me. The large meaty whip slammed into me, sending me sliding further down the tunnel.

A warning popped into the upper left of my vision, telling me that my back left leg was heavily damaged, and I had two broken ribs. Getting back onto my hooves, the dragon was already on me, and swiped at me with its claw, sending me flying back in the other direction. It was not as bad as the tail, but Minerva warned me that I broke another rib. Lifting my rifle, I fired another shot at the dragon, only to have its air canister burst. The others fired onto the beast, but it didn’t even bat an eye, and slowly stomped towards me.

“Vibey!” Rototom stumbled over. “Take my rifle.” She had unhooked it from her battle saddle, and tossed it over to me. I caught it in my fetlock and aimed it at the dragon, firing the railgun. It made a quiet zap sound, and the ball bearing bounced off the dragon's face. “Charge it little sis, all the way!”

I didn’t have time, the beast was almost on me, and it's drool sloping on the ground as it looked at me. Merit, and Wild flew in, and landed on its head, energy rifles pushed into its eye sockets. The paradise dragon was quick to shove them off of itself, and managed to avoid getting an eye full of energy bolts. It bought me the time I needed to charge the rifle, and it lashed out at the two pegasi.

Magic shimmered around me as I focused on gather the ambient magical energy around me into myself, and from me into the rail gun. Merit and Wild were quick, but the lack of room in the tunnel quickly put them at a disadvantage. Merit managed to dodge being crushed when the paradise dragon jumped up, slamming into the ceiling. But the pressure wave sent him crashing into the ground and made him an easy target for a tail swipe. He took the hit better than I had, but it was easy to see that he had the wind knocked out of him. Wild nearly lost a hoof when the beast lunged at her. It was able to get her with its claw, but she was able to get away before it could slam her to the ground.

The rifle was fully charged, and I took aim. “If you’re so hungry, then eat this!” The dragon looked right at me, and I fired.

It.

Fucking.

Dodged.

I managed to take out a claw, only a fucking claw. The paradise dragon had jumped to the side as I fired, the ball bearing only hitting a claw on its back leg. It sneered at me, and huffed. I was being mocked, the monster was mocking me before it would kill me. It lumbered in close slowly, as though each step had purpose. Wild tried to get its attention, but her rifle had run dry and she had resorted to aerial kicks, of which the monster ignored. Merit fired at it as well, but after a few beams of energy, his rifle just clicked empty.

The paradise dragon opened its massive maw. I could see rows of massive teeth with drool lacing between them. Its breath was foul, making me wish it could breathe fire, just to get this over with quicker.

It was only a few hoof steps away from me when it stopped, and roared. It was like having the SMG near my ears again, but more hair razing. “YOU GOT THAT BIG GUN THERE, USE IT BEFORE IT BREAKS FREE!” Looking down under the dragon, blood splattered on the floor, and I could see what looked like a harpoon sticking through its back leg, connected by a chain.

The dragon snapped at me, but I was still far enough away for it not too reach me. Aiming the rifle, I once again focused magic into myself, and it into the rifle. A hoof placed itself on my shoulder, and another on my other side. Looking it was my sister and Harp, shimmering with magic.

Electricity sparked between the two magnets of the rail gun and random junk began to slide to us. I smiled as the rifle started to shake, it aimed at the dragon's head. “This time, you die.” I motioned at the trigger, and the dragon jumped back and to the side dodging, but this time I was onto it and didn’t fire. As the beast landed, getting into position to charge, I entered S.A.T.S. and aimed for it’s head. It gave me a 95% chance to hit, selecting the target, and executed the program, and fired the railgun.

This time the beast didn’t dodge, the ball bearing hit it between the eyes. It caved in its skull, sending bits of bone, brain, and blood flying onto the wall, decorating it with gore. Its massive body twitched on the ground for a few seconds before going limp, blood flowing from what was left of its head, pooling onto the ground.

I collapsed, Harp caching me before my head hit the ground. “Vibraphone, are you okay?” she said, in a squeaky voice. Tears fell onto my face as she looked down on me, her eyes puffy and red. “Please tell me you’re alright.”

I chuckled. “You better not have ruined my panties, I don’t want to give you the ones I have on.” Harp laughed as she rubbed her eyes.

“No, this time I held it together.” She said, smiling.

“SHIT, TALK ABOUT DEAD, YOU BLEW IT’S FUCKING HEAD OFF!” the voice from before echoed, sounding much closer than before. “You all alight?”

I looked over to see an old ragged looking mirage pony stallion, behind him were five others, all with makeshift armor on. “Ya, I think.” I responded, “The dragon got the drop on us, but we’re alive.”

“Hey pops, that’s her, the mare that got us out of the bandit camp!” It was a mare with a harpoon gun at her side, the harpoon long gone, with only a chain from her to the paradise dragon as the only clue of who shot the beast. On her other side was a large pressure tank that connected to the harpoon gun, which must have given it the power to punch through the dragon’s leg like it did.

The old stallion stepped up to me, looking down at me with tired eyes. “It seems fate has decided that I should repay a debt. Missy you must have gathered a shit ton of good karma to get out of this like you did.” He turned around looking at his group. “GRAB WHAT YOU CAN FROM THE CORPSE, WERE EATING DRAGON TONIGHT!” A cheer shouted out from the scrapper group, and they descended onto the corpse of the paradise dragon. Looking back at us, the old stallion winked. “The rest of the way is clear, best get going, looks like your group won’t last much longer down here if ya linger.” I nodded and attempted to get up, nearly falling over.

Merit came and helped me up, providing me with a pony to lean on. Wild helped my sister move, but another one of her legs was wrecked. Harp was helping Turnip, though he seemed just fine, despite having cracks all over his chitin. Light was still holding Sweet on her back, having kept her safe in the fight.

As we continued down the tunnel, signs of life became more and more common, until we came to the checkpoint. Groups of mirage ponies stared at us, whispering. We had put a gas mask on Turnip in hopes that he just looked like he had odd looking armor on, but it wouldn’t take long before word got around that a pony shaped lurker was in Charon's Stop. At this point I didn’t care, we just had to get to the Two Tailed Mare and rest.

“Signing in?” An Orthrus mare stopped us, and I nodded. “Should I bring the clipboard to you, or can you come under your own power?” I stared at her in annoyance. Even I was not this flippant when working at a checkpoint.

“Skip the bullshit.” My sister called out. “I’m an Orthrus specter, and require aid. I’ll see that the paperwork is filled out later, right now we need an escort.”

The mare looked confused, looking my sister over. After what felt like minutes, the mare trotted off, saying she would see her superior. After a few seconds three heavily armed and armored Orthrus troopers came running over.

They saluted my sister, and the closest one spoke up “We’ve been expecting you ma'am, how can we help?”

“My sister looked at the three and groaned. “Looks like subtlety is out the window.” She shook her head. “Take us to the Two Tailed Mare, we need rest and medical attention. Also a mechanic, we got a few busted up legs.”

The trooper laughed. “You’re in luck ma'am. Just follow us, and we’ll get you patched up.”

The trip to the Two Tailed Mare was luckily uneventful, a lot of ponies staring at us, but nothing out of the normal. Rufus greeted us at the door, sounding happy and concerned. Such a good dog. Shamisen happened to be out, so her employees provided us with rooms.

One of the troopers happened to be a medic, and looked us over, setting my ribs back in place before giving me a healing potion. Same for the others. He was shocked to see the condition Sweet was in, and let us know that he would call in a full team to pick her up. The mechanic of the three was actually a drone specialist, but knew enough about cyber legs to fix one up. So my damaged leg was popped off so that he could take a look at it.

Merit helped me to bed, I pulled him in with me. I didn’t have the energy to fool around, I just wanted some pony close to me as I slept. He responded by putting his hooves around my waist, holding me gently. It felt nice, whatever madness was going on, it could wait. Right now I had a fine stallion holding me, my best friend was going to be all right, and when I get my pay, I can leave this mess behind me. “Sweet dreams.” Merit whispered into my ear, and I smiled.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Completed.

- My Kingdom for a Pony

- Who Dares, Win

Quest perk gained.

-The pony everypony should know- Your time with the mirage pony princess Harp Melody has given you a peek into the lives of royalty. +1 to endurance. Dialogue options are now available when talking to a member of the orphic royal family, and their servants.

-20% cooler- You helped the three wayward enclave scouts regroup and get to safety, seeing their loyalty to each other first hoof. +1 to agility. Don’t be surprised when a little filly starts following you around, cause you're awesome now.

New Quest - I like to lurk.

Chapter 8 - Parting Ways

The bed seemed to lurch upwards, dumping me onto the floor, as though it was telling me that sleep was over. I have actually fallen out of it, my head on the cold metal floor, and my plot in the air. My plot also felt cold, which was odd. Getting onto my hooves, I found myself naked. A little note seemed to glint, drawing my attention.

‘Sorry for the inconvenience, but we had to remove your gear as you slept. We left you with a complementary stable jumpsuit. Your gear will be returned after being washed and fixed.’

- Shamisen

I was unsure if this was an act of good generosity, or that the mare planned to do something with me. She was not so crash as to force a pony into a job they didn’t want to do, but it was unwise not paying her back. I just hoped that whatever she had planned did not involve a lifelong contract.

The jumpsuit must have been old, but well kept. On the shoulder was a patch with ‘R&D’ on it, not uncommon, but not normally hoofed out do to their history. I put the jumpsuit on, not wanting to leave the room with my bare plot hanging out.

Exiting the room, I found many ponies looking over the balcony. I tried to see what they were looking at, but none of them would let me through. The stair looked free of ponies, so I trotted over to it, to get a look. To my shock and horror, it was Sweet who was the center of attention. She was on a cot, had a bunch of tubes sticking out of her and into some metal box. Three medical ponies in white coats stood over her, focused on the box, or on Sweet.

Nearly falling down the stairs, I rushed over to Sweet, only to be stopped by Rototom, who held me back with a hug. “Calm down, everything is going to be fine.” My sister said in a calm tone. I didn’t want to be calm, I wanted to know that Sweet was going to be okay. It was her fault Sweat was like this in the first place.

Pushing my sister to the side, I trotted over to Sweet, one of the medical ponies giving me some space. She had two tubes going through her nose, two more sting into her neck, and a clear mask over her muzzle helping her to breath.

“Hey Vibraphone, you’re not looking so well, so what’s up.” Sweet rasped weakly.

I forced a smile. “I should be asking that of you.”

She blinked slowly, seemingly trying to process what I just said. “Naw, I’m good, I’m good. The doc’s gave me some medicine, so everything’s fine now.” She slowly blinked again. “So when did you turn purple?”

Taking a closer look at her eyes, they were glazed over, and unfocused. One eye was actually looking in a different direction from the other. Turning to one of the medical ponies, I cleared my throat to catch the mares attention. Her uniform covered her nearly completely, so I could only see that she had a black coat, and gold eyes. “What’s wrong with Sweet?”

The mare looked down at a clipboard. “Let's see.” She ran her hoof down along the paper, reading a list. “She has a lead slug in her left lung, a fracture in her skull that was healed before being properly set, same with two ribs. A parasite was located in her intestates, and five more were found hiding under her jumpsuit, drinking her blood. She has a blood born virus attacking her liver, and a massive internal infection.” She put the clipboard to the side. “We have her on an antibiotic cocktail, which is being done through a saline solution blood transfusion.”

I held a hoof up to my mouth in shock. “Will she be okay, will she recover.”

The medical mare looked over at Sweet for a moment before looking back to me. “The truth. If it was one or two problem than she would be fine, in time. But there is just too much going wrong with her, and if we try to move her, she would only get much worse before we got her to a hospital. We’ve done what we can, but at this point, she’s not going to pull through. The pain killers will at least make her comfortable before she passes on.”

My flank hit the ground as my back legs gave out from under me. “That’s a lie.” I weakly pointed my hoof at her. “Tell me that’s a cruel lie.”

She just shook her head. “If you have anything to say to her, now’s the time.”

I looked back at Sweet, one of her eyes rolling over to look at me. “Sweet, I’m… I’m so sorry.” This couldn’t be happening, I got her back to civilization, so she should be fine now. The doctors know anything and everything about saving ponies lives, yet they can’t do anything.

“For what.” Sweet said in her strained raspy voice. “Everything’s fine.”

I didn’t like this, backing away slowly, I just couldn’t see her like this, it was just too much. “I’m, sorry, but I need some air.” Turning away, I headed to the door.

“Vibey wait!” Rototom called out to me, stopping me before I opened the door. “You okay?” I just glared at her. She knew I was not okay, how could I be, my best friend was dying, I was far from okay. “I mean, if you want to talk about it.” She reached out with a hoof, but I just slapped it away.

“Ya talk. Like how this is all your fault, how you sent us on this clusterfuck of a job.” I looked her in the eyes, locking our gaze. “So let’s talk.”

Rototom sighed. “Shit happens okay. How was I to know there was were going to be pirates, how was anypony going to see that coming. The Lurkers too, until recently we both thought it was DJ Cerberus making up a story.” She looked away. “It’s just… It’s just that, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn't fix Sweet.” I spat back at her. She looked ashamed, and she should be. After all of this, manipulating, I just wished she would find some deep hole and stay there. “She’s dying, and all you can say is sorry!”

She glanced back at me. “It’s all I got, it’s all I can do.”

I used my hoof to force her to look me in the eyes, I wanted her to not just hear what I was going to say, but see me say it. “Then stop doing things. Stop interfering with my life. Stop thinking that you know the best for me. Princesses know, you only fuck up everything you touch.” I glared at her in the eyes until she looked away. I wanted to know she felt ashamed for this, that this was her fault. “If you wanted to do something, you should have taken her place.”

Rototom turned away, and walked off deeper into the bar, head low to the ground. I didn’t wait to see where she went, or if she just got a drink, I didn’t care.

Outside of the bar, everything was quiet, all but a low rustling of wind. My eyes welled up, and my nose began to run. I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and collapsed onto the ground and bawled like a foal. The tears ran freely, soaking the fur under my eyes and falling to the ground.

I had no right to say what I just said, in the way I said it. I might as well have just stabbed my sister with a dagger. I knew that every time we traversed the big island metro that we might not come back. One false step, turn around the wrong corner, or simply run out of supplies. Death was a way of life in those tunnels. I should have stepped up, and taken Sweets place. We could have shared the punishment, any pain would be work saving her. I would’ve survived, I know I would.

I don’t know how long I sat there on the floor, seconds, minutes, hours, not that it mattered. What was I going to do, Sweet was the one who got the jobs, last time I did it, we ended up foal sitting for a day. Work as one of Shamisen lackey, I didn’t know any other ways to get good work. I could join back with Orthrus, but I didn’t don’t like the idea of returning to them with my tail between my legs. “Just tell me this is a nightmare.”

“I say it's a sad dream, one I wish t' make happy.” The voice of a stallion surprised me.

Finding the strength to get up, I figured I had enough strength to deck the asshole. It was an all-white unicorn, with a black spot on his face, and piercing green eyes. The hoof I was going to deck him with went limp. “How?” Was all I could mutter.

He laughed, rubbing a hoof on his green vest, cleaning it of dirt. He gently place a hoof under my chin, smiling at me. “My dear lady, no distance can separate you and I. T' goddesses themselves have chosen us, we have a destiny t' fulfill.”

I backed away, getting his hoof away from my face. “Who are you?”

“Oh my, where be me manners.” The stallion bowed. “Thy names Black Spot, first mate o' t' ship T' Weepin' Pegasi.”

“So it was your ponies who attack us in the metro, and at the hotel?” I readied myself to attack, regretting leaving my enforcer behind.

Black Spot raised his head. “Regrettably aye, t' crew be not known for their delicate work. T' captain you see,... she be one for t' quick and effective approach, and t' crew follows in hoof step.”

“Let me guess, you’re different.” My comment seemed to make him beam with pride.

Winking at me, he took a step closer. “Of course I am, I was taught under Victoria herself. I understandin' t' art o' delegation, interrogation, and subduction. T' captain be only me captain for she has seniority over me. So in time, I’ll captain me own ship, free on t' waters.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And let me guess, other than you, the ship would only be ponies by mares.”

“HA!” His head tipped up, and chest puffed out. “And why not, it would be my right.”

I had enough, this stallion was both full of himself, and insane. “Well you go do that, without me.” I turned around, and wiped my tail at him as I walked away. My path was blocked by an oversized stable door. Clearly painted on it was ‘R&D’ and right in front of me was the controls to open it.

Black spot laughed. “Luna has chosen us, and we must obey t' word o' t' goddess. So me lady, me love, me empress. I’ll be seein' you, count on it.” His voice was like a whisper on the wind, eerie and foreboding.

Turning around, he was gone, so was the two tailed mare. Everything was dark, a pitch black inkiness. Across from me, two golden eyes stared back at me, doing nothing, just staring at me. I was frozen in place, me and the eyes, locked.

*Clang*

The sound of rusted metal scraping on rusted metal filled the room, and a flood of light broke my gaze with the two eyes. Looking up, some pony had opened up a door on the sealing, flooding light down, and banishing the darkness. I could see a head poking out, but do to the light, I could not make out who it was.

The head slowly pulled out. “I found a civilian Mam!” Merits voice called out.

“Good job.” The voice of a gruff mare spoke up. “We can move on now.”

Something fell through the hole, and landed at my hooves. Looking down, it was a small metal sphere with small green bulbs on it. It would flash green every second with a beep. Looking back up, the door was pushed closed, the grinding sound filling the air, and returning me back to darkness.

The only source of light was that of the plasma grenade, which would flash green ones a second.

“I’m sorry.” A week voice whimpered out. In the short flash of green light, I could make out Merit, whose wings were drooping weakly on the ground. “I’m so sorry.”

Another flash of green light revealed that we were surrounded by ponies: tall, short, young, old. All of them looking back at us, hollow expressions all of them.

“Merit.” I spoke. He turned his head, and had the look of shock on his face.

The plasma grenade went off, and everything burned in a flash.

__________________________

My eyes shot open, the only thing keeping me from rolling off the bed in a panic was that I was being held onto it by another pony. Merit’s hooves were lightly wrapped around me. Odd, because we were both still fully dressed, so it couldn’t have been comfortable. But it made me feel calm, just knowing that some pony was with me, it was a good feeling.

Merit had been woken up by my sudden jolt, he letting go of me to rub his eyes. Taking the opportunity, I rolled off the bed, and hit the floor. I had forgotten that my front right leg had been removed for repairs.

“You okay Vibraphone?” Merit peeked over the bed, looking like he was ready to laugh at me.

I got up on all three, and stabilized myself. “Ya, just forgot I’m missing a leg right now. Let’s go down to the bar and get a drink.”

He hopped out of the bed and sat next to me. “What time is it?”

Checking Minerva, it was early morning. “Looks like we slept for the rest of the day, and all night. Time for breakfast.”

“Morning ehy. Haven’t slept that long in a… well a long time.” His stomach growled. “Ya, breakfast sounds nice.”

I checked my gear fist. My trusty hunting air rifle was still broken, its air container had blown open, the barrel was bent, and a valve was loose. My revolver was still good, just needed some polish, but my knife was bent. I still had that battle rifle from before, and a few bullets for it, so if worse comes to worse I could rupture a few eardrums with the thing. My scarf had been scuffed up, but nothing a quick wash couldn’t fix. My tactical barding had seen better days, the alloy plates where my knife was had been bent, that hit was probably what damaged my leg as well. The rad-boar leather was still intact, aside from a few bullet holes, but the stitching had come loose. Tailoring to fix the barding was not going to be too expensive, so it was not a big of a loss is it was for the rifle. My medical supplies was all gone, mostly used on Sweet to help her pull through. I still had my screwdriver, and even the bolt cutter, which made me shiver a little.

“Can you help me down the stairs Merit?” I could walk just fine, it just involved some hopping, it was just that I didn’t feel like hopping around. The stallion offered me a shoulder, and we made our way out of the room.

The two tailed mare was all quiet, and waiting for us outside the door was an Orthrus regular in dress uniform. The regular was a mare, her mechanical legs painted blue to match her uniform, and was reading a comic book to pass the time. ‘Drum Tablature’ a classic detective comic from the republic. The pony took note of us, putting the book down, and saluting. “Morning ma’am, I’m here as your escort.”

I exchanged glances with Merit. “Could you rephrase that?”

The mare looked at us confused for a moment, before her face turned red. “Oh, sorry, sorry. I.. I mean that, I’m to… Oh this is embarrassing.”

“She’s here to make sure you come downstairs and talk with somepony important.” Shamisen spoke up from the top of the stairs. The very zebra looking mare gently trotted over to us, each step having a sense of elegance to it. “But I can’t have that yet. Not with you looking…” she sniffed the air. “And smelling like that.”

A drone came out from behind Shamisen. It looked like an oversized Twittermite, a bit bigger than Shamisen’s head, and had a camera lens for a face. “Agreed, I can smell them from here” It’s mechanical voice chuckled out. “Did you to sleep with your armor on? Kinky, but not my kind.”

The stupid remark reminded me of somepony I knew well. “Sweet, is that you?”

The drone bobbed. “E’yup! The trooper hooked me up to her drone so that I can see. Makes me want to go back to Orthrus so that I can play with this cool stuff.”

I sighed. “It’s good to know you’re okay. I actually had a bit of a nightmare where you didn’t pull through.”

“Ehh, it comes with the job. Oh they told me that you killed a paradise dragon while I was out, wished I’d seen it.” The two of us were silent for a moment. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. “Oh sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“No, no. I just wished you saw it too. It’s just that I should have…” The drone flew up to my face, cutting off what I was going to say.

“Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve” Sweet-bot backed up. “I made my decision, and payed the price for it. You just made sure that that I lived to talk about it. When I get patched up we can have a few drinks. I’m thinking of getting lasers eyes, and rippers for wings. What do you think?”

I chuckled, the tears fell from my eyes, but no new ones followed. “I think you should just stick with the standard. I don’t even think you can get laser eyes, not without risking burning your brain. As for ripper wings, you would have to be somewhere beyond crazy to do that to yourself.”

The Drone bobbed. “Ya, that is a bit much. But there is a market for ponies with augmented eyes. And the wings, that opens a lot of options.”

I trotted up to the drone, and hugged it. “Sweet, please just don’t go overboard. I don’t want to see you catch cyber-sickness. I you want the options, go for it, but don’t forget yourself. I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”

Sweet-Bot hovered out of my grip. “I know, I know. I don’t want to turn into an emotionally dead rapist. By Tartarus I don’t want to lose the ability to get drunk, or have foals of my own.” The drone hovered over the edge of the balcony. “So don’t worry, after I’m done getting fixed up, it’ll be like nothing ever happened. Though I’ll still need to see a therapist for all of this. Had a fucked up nightmare while I was out.” The drone shivered before floating down into the bar, and out of sight.

That was a huge weight off my shoulders. Knowing that Sweet will be back to her normal self, if with a few new metal bits, put my mind at easy. Shamisen had been waiting patiently, but when I looked at her, she just pointed at Merit, who was standing in place looking confused.

“What just happened, what was that?” He said with a worried tone.

I cocked an eyebrow. “You mean the drone. You don’t have them back where you’re from?” he shook his head.

“We don’t have cyber ponies where I’m from.” He shook his head, removing the confused look on his face. “Actually were almost back to banging rocks together at this point. Our tech has only lasted over two hundred years due to diligent maintenance. Unless it is made out of clouds, we just didn’t have the materials to make anything new, or fix some of the old stuff.”

I almost face hoofed. Worrying about Sweet must have made us forget to explain to the pegasi about our world. Culture shock would be expected. “We’ll explain in due time. But in short, we have drones, and can control them with our minds. We just need the right talismans to do it, limits what we can do physically, but very useful for a weak bodied pony. It’s also a common tool for lazy ponies, if they can afford it.” Merit nodded, and took a deep breath before sighing. I took that as a confirmation that he understood.

Shamisen cleared her throat, catching our attention. “Good, now that that’s done, we can move onto the task at hoof. Everypony else has already gotten cleaned up, so I expect you two to do the same.” Two boxes that were sitting on a nearby table were levitated over to us by Shamisen, placing them at our hooves. "Take these, it’s a change of clothes for you both. I also set up a hamper for the both of you to leave your things in. My staff will pick them up for you, so don’t worry if you can’t find them after washing up. Now go, I don’t want to keep my guest waiting too long. It’s most impolite.”

Merit picked up the box with a wing, and balanced it on his back, I activated my telekinesis talisman, it flickered to life slowly, and had difficulty holding the box steady at first. The talisman must have gotten damaged in the fight with the dragon, which meant I was going to spend bits replacing it. The Orthrus Regular had gone back to reading her comic, probably avoiding gaining any more attention.

The wash room was much like the rest of the Two Tailed Mare: made from old salvage, and polished to a smooth shine. But unlike the rest of the place, it had a coating of paint and wax that gave it an extra shine. Preventing rust was probably the main idea, but it gave it a calming charm to it. The room had a main showing spot, big enough for a group of ponies to wash themselves, but not for relaxing. The showers themselves were push button that only gave you a few seconds of water before turning off, common for those trying to save water. There was a drying station too, which would blast a pony with hot air, this was set up with less concern over conservation, and more on effectiveness. Next to the dryer was a box for cleaning cyber legs, and prosthetics, it was a simple automatic cleaner, allowing a Mirage pony to get some of the dirt and sand out of their joints without needing to scrub.

Near the entrance were the two hampers in question, both with our names on a paper stuck on them. Merit walked up to his, and began undressing. “I gotta say I’m impressed. When I first entered this station I was worried. So many sickly ponies cramped together, with homes made out of junk. But here, it feels like a real peace of civilization. Nothing like the clouds, but then nothing is.” He looked back at me. “Um, Vibraphone, is something wrong.” He caught me staring at his plot.

Quickly looking away, I cleared my throat. “Nothing, I was just thinking.” I trotted up next to him, in front of my hamper. “Charon’s Stop is just not the best example of our people. It’s in the name, Charon’s Stop, it’s superstition, but many ponies believe that the grim reaper makes regular stops here before going back to the afterlife. It’s a place were down on their luck ponies make one last effort to improve their lives, though most only finding their death.”

“I… See.” Merit finished taking off his uniform, and placed all of his gear into the hamper. His face and hooves were covered with grime, but the parts of him that were hidden under his uniform were still clean, aside from being sweaty. His cutie mark was of a metal cross with two ribbons coming from the top of the cross and forming a heart around it. It was charming to say the least, and made me a little jealous. “Oh, one other thing. It’s not cold down here, but every one of you I have see are fully clothed, why’s that?”

I had only detached my barding when he had said that. My mind did a backflip thinking about what he just asked. “You mean your people don’t get dressed before leaving the house””

“Some do, mostly military, but most don’t see the need outside of special events.” He said with a shrug.

I let my barding, and saddle bag fall to the ground with a thud, the drop of weight on my back felt nice. “Well here it’s a matter of decency. Not to offend or anything, but ponies going out in public in the nude are seen as savage. It’s what separates us from those who lost their way, shows that we are a civilized society. Order, culture, and decency. That’s what makes us who we are, and keeps our civilization from collapsing from the inside.” I attempted to stop, but without another leg to keep me balanced I had to sit down before I fell over.

Merit chuckled. “I get it, it’s just the thing you ponies do down here. It’s just that up in the sky we can’t make new clothes, so everything we have is passed down from our parents.” He patted down his uniform. “This was once worn by my grandmother Grand Cross. She wore it when doing recon missions over the ocean.” He opened up the uniform to reveal a few symbols on the inside, and pointed to one that looked like a cross shaped medal. It looked a little like his cutie-mark, but rounded on the ends, where his had two points. “This is her cutie-mark, proof she once owned this uniform.” He placed it into the hamper gently. “Because of that, most pegasi tend to not go out with their clothes every day, they don’t want to accidentally damage a family heirloom.”

I started to get it, why they were going out so far to look for a new home. A shirt was not meant to last generations, it was meant to be used until it was worn out, and then replaced. But the pegasus must have managed to maintain everything they own for over two hundred years. It was hard to imagine how they were able to maintain most of what they had passed the first hundred.

Taking off my shit, the thing was once a clean white, but now stained with sweat and blood. It was torn in a few places, and a button was missing. Life in the metro was rough, and fragile things never lasted long, but at least I knew that I could still replace things like this shirt at the end of the day. I tossed it into the hamper, along with the rest of my gear, making sure that my scarf was gently on top of the pile. Last was my panties, it did feel embarrassing to have a stallion in the room with me, but I could grin and bear it. The panties went under my scarf.

Leaning on Merit for support, I pointed for us to go to the automatic cleaner so that I can get my legs cleaned off first. The box only took one leg at a time, but it was easy to see it was of good quality. Detaching one of my back legs, I placed it in the box and turned it on.

“I’ve been wondering.” Merit said, looking at me, I made me feel a little embarrassing being seen in the nude by a stallion. “You said that most of your kind, the Mirage ponies I mean, are born without legs. It must make life difficult, not being able to move around as a foal.”

I nodded. “It is, even after were old enough for our first prosthetics, things don’t get much easier. But we learn how dependent we are of others at an early age, the most rambunctious of us often find themselves stuck, their legs getting away from them. Outside the very lucky, every one of us has a story where as a foal we found ourselves in serious trouble. Some story’s they look back on and laugh, other it’s a scare they carry with them.”

“And you have such a story?”

The box dinged, and I popped my leg out, putting it to the side, and placing other back leg in. “Ya, and it’s not one of the funny ones. My sister has three stories, all involving her attempting to do a stunt, and accidentally sending her legs flying. I learned from her about what not to do.” Pressing the button, the box hummed as it cleaned the leg. “Unfortunately for me, it’s one of those nightmare moments that catch you off guard. My mother was about to give me a bath, so I didn’t have my legs on. She had to grab something up high, and a wire in one of her back legs snapped, causing her to fall and hit her head. As a filly, I panicked, and fell into the bath tub. The water was not deep, just deep enough that I couldn’t get my head above water. I nearly drowned, but dad pulled me out before I did, sis said she never saw him so scared.”

Another ding from the box, and I popped out the leg, putting it next to the other. This was going to be the most difficult, and most embarrassing part, I was going to need help. “I’m going to leave my pip leg in the cleaning box. So can you help me wash up?”

Merit saluted. “Yes ma’am!” I rolled my eyes. Typical stallion, at his best when a mare is at her weakest. Charming, and I did like the attention, but I didn’t like being so helpless around another pony. I popped the leg off, and it fell into the box. Merit caught me before I fell over, and placed me on his back. “If you need to take your legs off to shower, how do you even wash yourselves?”

“I put in the extra bits to have an automatic shower, so I don’t have to take my legs off.” Merit gently placed me under the shower. “But most legs are made to be waterproof, I just need to clean the connectors, and I rather not have to dry off my legs afterwards.”

Water came down on me, socking me before stopping. Merit applied soap to my mane, and began scrubbing. I was held in place by his two back legs, my back on his chest. The feeling of gentle hooves on my head was relaxing, almost helping me ignore the poke I got on my lower back. “Sorry” he said.””

I shook my head. “Don’t be. Why don’t you tell me about yourself, get your mind off of me?” I couldn’t help but tease, it was too easy. “How about how you got into the Enclave?”

Merit chuckled. “I admired my grandmother, Grand Cross. So I followed her hoof-steps and enlisted as soon as I was old enough. My mother wanted me to go to college, and become a doctor, so she was right angry when she found out. You see being in the Enclave was a family tradition, one that my mom broke, turning her relationship with my grandmother sour.” He hit the shower button, and the water rinsed off all the soap, and grime out of my mane and coat. “I was actually patching things up between my mom and I when the big operation happened. Haven’t seen her in ten years.”

“Sorry” I squeaked out. Merit had used a rag to wipe off my connectors, which pressed on a few nerves sending a chill down my spine.

“It’s fine. I have a good feeling that she doing well for herself back in equestria. She’s a nurse you see, worked in a maternity ward, loves little foals. Somepony like that is never without a place.”

He finished washing me off, and helped me out of the shower, and onto my belly. The stallion proceeded to wash himself, keeping his back to me, hiding his half erection. “So what about you, was there more to the story you told back in the metro?”

Water showered down onto Merit, and he applied the soap to his mane. “Oh, that. Ya, more happened. We finally got to the backup, and it turned out the hospital was still intact. Ministry of peace made sure the building would survive most disasters. And Talon company had turned it into their base of operations. So we had a huge flock of griffins to deal with, and they were pissed.” Merit was covered in soap bubbles before he turned on the water, washing it off. “We were joined by a few other strike teams and with vertabuck air support, eliminated the threat. Three other teams had taken heavy losses, so I absorbed them into my team, and continued our mission. In the end, we won the battle, but lost the war. With clear skies, every civilian could see what we had done, so we ran.”

He finished getting all the bubbles and dirt out of his coat and mane. Putting me on his back, he took me to the dryer. “I said that the Enclave didn’t train us to be cowards, but by the end of that day, I was proven wrong.” The dryer was switched on, and warm air surrounded us. “So, do we just stand here?”

“E’yup.” I responded. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

It was like a warm vortex, the air turning around us. Merit held me in place as the dampness slowly evaporated off of me. It only took a minute, but we were mostly dry. Our manes and tails still held some of the water, but that would dry on its own in time.

Helping me put my pipleg back on, Merit seemed to enjoy carrying me around. Supplying some magic to the leg, the hud display appeared in my vision, doing its routine checks before disappearing. With the leg back on, I used the telekinesis talisman to attach my two back legs. I tested the legs out, the back legs were made for reliability, nothing all the specialized, so all I had to do was move them a little to see if they worked right. They required only a little magic to move, the more complex spell matrix programing was in my hips, so it took only a few seconds for them to calibrate.

Standing on three legs, it felt good to be up under my own power. I just needed to get my fourth leg back and I could leave all this behind me. Though I had one more question. “What happened after the war, to you I mean, in new Cloudsdale.” The hamper holding our stuff was already gone, and the boxes Shamisen gave us were in their place.

Merit opened up his, pulling out a standard stable barding. It had no marking on it, meaning it was surplus, and the wing holes were a little larger. “Not much really, I stood by my commander, it was what I was trained to do. Things went smoothly for a year, and I found myself ranking up quickly.” He slid on the jumpsuit, his wings popping out of the back almost comically. “Then the commander got assassinated, the new commander didn’t like me much, and so I found myself in the brig for a year. The new commander later got assassinated, along with his three successors. They all happened to be family members.”

“Sounds bloody.” I added. In my box was what looked like another stable barding, but far more customized. It had no sleeves, something that never went well with metal legs, and was a little thicker than normal stable barding. On top of it were purple frilly panties, something I quickly put on.

Merit continued. “After I got out, I found myself a head away from being the next commander. So I did the smart thing and vanished. Wild took me in, she had retired from the enclave and gotten a job teaching foals how to fly, that’s it where she met her husband.” He patted down the jumpsuit, zipping it up so that it was snug on him. “I worked as a laborer for a few years after that, helping to keep the city together as I waited for things to cool down.”

Placing the barding on, and zipped it up. It was more snug then tighten, and the tab for the zipper was hidden under a button down collar. It was nowhere near as protective as my tactical barding, or had as many pockets, but it was nice and comfortable. The hem and trim were heavily done, its gold color was bright on the navy blue barding. “But you did get back with the Enclave.”

“Yes, but it’s only been two years since the team was put back together. Were more law enforcement now then a real military. The ponies need us, but they still don’t want us.”

I nodded. “I can understand that. Well I can only hope things work out well. I know that once New Cloudsdale is publicly known, it’s going to be all that anypony can talk about.”

Merit chuckled. “It will be nice to be popular.” He offered me a shoulder, and I used him to keep myself stabilized. Clean and dressed, we left the wash room.

__________________________

The Orthrus Regular guided us downstairs, and to one of the game tables that the Two Tailed Mare had. Light and Wild were sitting at the table, playing a game of cards, along with a third pony. The pony was an Orthrus officer, her uniform having more decoration than the regular, and a few medals displayed on her blue jacket. She had a tan coat with a cream colored mane, both accented with gray stripes. Her brown eyes sized Merit and I up, and smirked. She had a normal right foreleg, which had an Orthrus pipbuck attached, the Orthrus symbol boldly imprinted in it, another sign of her importance.

“Good, good. Now that you’re here we can get to business. Besting these two at cards was starting to get a bit repetitive.” Her voice had a bit of a deep tone to it, not close to that of a stallion, but deeper than a mare commonly has. The mare motioned with her foreleg to two empty seats at the table. “The names Mandolin Clef, of Orthrus Pony Relations department. Now please, sit.”

Taking a seat, I quickly took a look around. Sweet was on a cot, covered in clean bandages, and the drone hovering above her. Next to Sweet were the three troopers, the four of them were talking among each other. Harp, Turnip, and Rototom were nowhere to be seen, and other than two employees of the bar, the place was empty.

Mandolin gathered the cards and chips, neatly placing them to the side. She also call over one of the staff to clear away a few drink glasses that sat empty on the table, along with the coasters that kept the table clean of water stains. When everything was clear, and both Merit and I were settled in, Mandolin placed two small boxes on the table and spoke.

“Now I don’t think need to explain why I’m here, not completely, so I’ll just go over the cliff notes of what’s going on. First off, the princess will be taken under our protective custody. With her safely out of danger, it’s all a matter of treating her as a pony of her station before returning her home.” She pushed one box over to me. “As a mercenary under the employ of Shamisen, we are simply offering a rewarded for locating Harp Melody, and bring her into our protection. Any talk about Orthrus being directly involved passed your return will be seen as slander, not that such a thing would get public acknowledgment.”

Pulling the box to myself, I opened it to find it full of Orthrus minted bits. One Orthrus bit was worth ten Republic bits, of which was more commonly used. Quickly counting them, the box had twenty of the Orthrus bits, making it a payment of two hundred bits. Not a big payday, but I still had the big payment coming my way, so I accepted the hush money.

Clearing her thought, Mandolin continued. “On the subject of Orthrus involvement.” She pushed a second box to me, another twenty Orthrus bits. “For your assistance of an Orthrus specter, who was in an investigation of the unknown vertabucks seen flying around the islands. A second reward is due.” I nodded, accepting the second hush money. “Good, good. Now that that’s over, we can move onto the issue at hoof.”

I cleared my throat, catch a glance from Mandolin. “My partner Sweet.”

“Your employer will have her taken care of.” Mandolin answered. “Now about our three outlanders, they will be coming with us.”

Merit glanced about, his eyes falling on Light.

Light sighed. “We had a long talk, and Mandolin has guaranteed our safety, and eventual return home. We are to lead a delegation to New Cloudsdale, so that Orthrus can establish peaceful communication between our ponies, and theirs. Until then we must remain in their protective custody.”

“So what’s the catch?” Merit asked, turning head over to Mandolin.

“This will not be an immediate action.” Mandolin answered with a straight flat tone. “Between internal politics and outside events, we dare not risk the few vertabucks we have until we know it’s safe for such a mission. Contacting this New Cloudsdale is useless if it only leaves us open to an attack. So until this storm passes, you three will have to stay in our custody.”

He leaned back in his seat, and looked over to Light. “And you agreed to these terms?”

Light nodded. “I don’t like the idea of waiting anymore then you, but if it insures that our mission is a success, then we will have to wait.”

Merit sat back up in his seat. “So we got our marching orders, but can we at least have breakfast first.”

“Afraid not” Mandolin spoke up, answering Merit. “With our top priority to the princess’s safety, we will be moving out as soon as possible. Allowing all of you a rest has drained what little time there is to spare.” She got up out of her seat, and trotted past me and to the door. “Oh, and don’t worry about food. The mess hall serves a fantastic pineapple pie all day, I’ll send an order to hold one for you three.”

The three pegasi shrugged and got up. Merit gave me a less than happy look, and I nodded back at him. It was sad that I was not going with them, well mostly him, but not being part of Orthrus meant I had to stay put. I was of course, no pony of importance. One of Shamisen’s staff gave a bag to one of the regulars, probably the pegasus stuff. And as though they were never here, they were gone, the door shut, and I was sitting alone at the game table.

The three troopers were still around, keeping sweet company, I could only guess that they were under a different command.

The door from the kitchen opened up, and Shamisen came walking through with a plate of grilled pineapples and a potato patty. The smell was absolutely divine. Placing the plate in front of me, one of her staff also placed a pint of lager. Looking from the lovely breakfast, and up at Shamisen, who now had taken a seat. “A bit early for a beer don’t you think?” raising an eyebrow as I spoke.

Shamisen covered her mouth with a hoof and chuckled. “In my line of work, it’s never too early for a drink. It can be too early to become inebriated, but not for a simple drink.” One of her staff dropped off a cocktail glass filled with a blue glowing drink. “I find it calming for the nerves, and a good pick-me-up for what might be a busy day.”

Sighing, I took the beer and gulped half of it down. Holding in a belch, not wanting to be unmannerly, I gave Shamisen another look, this time with my brow lowered. “Can’t I just get paid and go home. I did what you ask, and Sweet lost her eyes because of it, so whatever you have planned, leave us out of it.”

She just put her elbows on the table, and held her head up with her hooves. “Darling, I’m sorry to tell you this, but were in it deep. The recovery of the princess was one thing, all you would have gotten was a few knocks on the door, and a few ponies asking about her. But not long after you left, ponies started coming back from the surface, talking about vertabucks flying about. One said they saw a griffin, and another saw a Zebra.” Shamisen sat back and took a sip of her drink. “It’s all any pony can talk about around here, and then you come through after killing a paradise dragon, with three strange pegasi, a specter, and a pony who looks a lot like the mirage pony princess Harp Melody.”

She didn’t need to spell it out for me. Even if I had no importance to all this, there was going to be ponies who think I did. “And you want to use this to your advantage, right?”

Shamisen smiled. “I’m so glad you’re not some simple brute. Though a bleeding heart intellectual would probably be worse.” She sipped her drink. “But yes. This is a unique opportunity where doors that are normally closed to ponies like you and I, are now cracked open. Out of simple curiosity of course, but just open enough that we can get our hoof in.”

“Okay, I understand that, but why would I even want to do, whatever it is you want me to do?” I already had a huge payday coming my way, so going in for more bits was just playing into my sense of greed, something that had little power over me.

The door from the kitchen opened up again, and Rototom stepped out with a bag on her back. “Because why not, that’s why.” She dumped the bag on the table, smiling.

“That’s not a good answer.” I responded.

“Okay fine, I get it. You just want to get paid, go home, and wait for Sweet to get her new eyes. I understand that, and if things were different, I wouldn’t stop you. By Tartarus, I’d join you if things were different.” Rototom took a seat and opened the bag.

The first object to come out was a cyber leg, it pushed over to me. “So what makes the situation so different that I, not Orthrus, have to do this?” I used Minerva to help me attach the leg. It was easy to tell that the leg was not the one I was using before, it looking more armored, and the hoof was a little odd looking.

“Because right now Orthrus command has a stick up their plot, and think this is going to be another political shitstorm, that they can wait out.” Checking the bag, I found my revolver, now polished clean, along with the leather cartridge holders for it.

“So what are you not telling me?” I was still not convinced, but my interest was peaked.

Rototom pulled out my scarf, and medallion from the bag, hoofing them over to me. “Before I joined up with your group I went to investigate the pirates myself. I didn’t get much information, but I did get enough to set off a few alarms so to say.” A pint of beer was dropped off for Rototom, I dug into my food as she took her first sip. “You see the ship they came off of, is but one of a fleet of ships. I don’t know how many, but from the sound of things, there are a lot of them.”

Putting the scarf and medallion aside, I pulled out a black jacket. It looked like the kind that the bandits used, but with all the spikes removed, patched up, and reinforced. “So they’re here to stay, not a big problem. Between the three big factions here, I don’t see them fighting their way in.”

My sister tapped on her pipbuck, and selected a recording. “True, and that’s what I thought. But this changed my mind.” She pressed play on Athena, and the recording crackled on.

“This be first mate Blackspot too Weepin' Pegasi, reportin' in. I repeat, this be first mate Blackspot too Weepin' Pegasi, reportin' in.” I cringed, that was the stallion from my dream, it was hard to remember, but I knew he was in the dream I had earlier.

A regal sounding voice of a mare spoke up “Ahh good, good. Been takin' your time welp, now report.”

“Madam Admiral! Aye, at once.” Black Spot’s voice was filled with surprise and worry. “T' hunt continues Madam, they managed t' stay just out o' reach, but have made a fatal error. T' foals got separated and have started usin' their radio t' communicate. Their meetin' up at a ruined hotel at some theme park.”

“Anything else” The admiral inquired.

“Aye, interestin' news.” He whistled, showing that he was excited. “In our chase we broke through t' what looked like a drug manufacturin' facility, like what t' zebras tend t' have, but with more tech and less cast iron pots. Here’s t' real interestin' part, t' ponies runnin' t' place were like no ponies I ever seen”

“How so.”

“T' ponies have little horns, little win's, all t' colors o' t' rainbow, and gray stripes. Strange no? Well stranger still they were all cyber ponies, and not like t' kind that come out o' Caledonia, it’s like their legs came off an assembly line. Also, one we capture also happened t' be pregnant, so not a zonie, unless they can get preggers now.”

“I see.” An odd silence followed with no pony talking for at least half a minute. “It’s confirmed, t' dead islands be in truth, alive. Take your captives to t' Weepin' Pegasi, I’ll personally see t' their interrogation.”

“And what about t' enclave?”

“Continue your hunt, but by mornin' return t' your ship.” I could hear a soft chuckle from the admiral. “choices, choices.”

“What be it, me admiral?”

“Oh just thinkin'. Should I send t' fleet after a mobile target, or a stationary one?”

“A stationary target would be easiest, would it not?”

The Admiral laughed, sending a chill down my spine. “And so you show t' difference between you and I. You’re a sgrog who knows nothin', and I’m a true pony burdened with knowledge beyond your understandin'.” A loud sigh came from the admiral. “Remember, you have until Celestia’s first light, may Luna favor your hunt.”

“Yes My Admiral, Madam Flintlock Hook.”

The recording cut off, and Rototom lowered her pipleg Athena.

I had attached the new leg during the recording, and tested it out a little. The leg was a sturdy piece of tech, and the hoof could turn into three digest in which I could grab objects. It made drinking the beer much easier. “So how did this change your mind?”

Rototom emptied the rest of the bag, my air rifle had been broken down to parts, and a new knife was in my old knife sheath. The battle rifle I had pilfered was also broken down to parts, it’s ammunition in a box. I placed them all to the side neatly. “She said where to send her fleet” Rototom huffed. “Not where to attack. Whoever this Flintlock Hook is, she is a thinker, I’m sure of that.”

I raised an eyebrow, showing my skepticism. Shamisen cleared her throat drawing our attention. “Sorry love, but your dear sister may have the right intuition, but just lacks the proper way to communicate it.” She finished off her drink and put the glass to the side. “What she is trying to say is that this Admiral does not sound like a pony who chooses brute force to solve a problem, but her own intelligence. On top of that, they have captured a few bandits, which means it won’t be long until pirates start leaking into Charon’s Stop. From there, they can learn of other points of entry to the other Islands, remember, smuggling makes a quarter of Charon’s Stop’s economy.”

I let my head hit the table. “Show how do we stop this from happening?”

Shamisen sighed. “Not a damn thing I’m afraid. With Orthrus’s hoof off approach to the bandit problem, the pirates are going to find allies among our own population. Even I will have to change how I do business to deal with this new faction.”

“So we can’t stop them from coming in, then what do you want me to do.?” I understood the situation, but the rest just flew over my head.

“Simple really.” Shamisen said with confidence. “We need you to help the rest of the metro get ready for them.”

Rototom patted me on the shoulder. “Shamisen is going to call all of her contacts for this, get them to prepare for trouble. Your job will be to help convince them that the oncoming storm is going to be the biggest one in our history, and they need to get ready. You can say that the personal touch is best for this situation.”

“Okay, I get it. Things are going to get bad, and you want me to warn the rest of the islands.” I checked the knife: it was another combat knife, but new and polished. “How am I going to do that?”

Shamisen answered. “Simple, you just need to meet with a few key figures, and help them with a problem. I’ll reimburse you for the job, but past that, this is a favor for a favor job. You do something for them, and they do something for me.”

I nodded.

“I’ll be contacting the Orthrus council, and see if I can get them to put more resources into the issue.” Rototom pulled out a holster from her saddle bag. “Until then, take this. I meant to give you it a few months ago, but well you know.”

It was a rad boar leather gun holster, fine crafted, and looked like it fit my enforcer nicely. It had leather straps attached to it, which looked like it was meant to go over my shoulder, and around my waist.

“I’m sorry that I have to do this, but there’s no pony in this world who I trust more than you.” My sister spoke with a worried tone, and hopeful eyes.

I sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Shamisen chuckled softly. “That’s good to hear. And don’t worry, you will not do this on your own. That lurker you had with you.” She clapped her hooves and one of her staff went to the back, and soon returned with Turnip. He had leather barding on that covered him from hoof to neck, and a reinforced gas mask sat under his head. The barding had a large hood, and a few metal plates on it, along with two large saddle bags. “He will be joining you. With him at your side, it will be easier to convince others of our situation. That and he can carry any extra supplies you might pick up.”

Thinking about it, a pony shaped lurker was as farfetched of an idea as one could think of. So having him with me would give me the benefit of a doubt. He would also scare the shit out of any pony that saw him, which was something useful I could use. Turnip himself looked a little confused but said nothing.

“You will have one other companion.” Shamisen clapped her hooves again, and the other member of her staff opened the front door. Rufus ran in, his metal paws clapping on the floor. “I know you like him, and he has been needing to get out. It’s bad for his brain to stay in one place for too long. He’s a carrier dog, made for hauling supplies, but his real use is sniffing out trouble. I’m going to have to double my guards with him gone, but I feel he is better use to you right now, than as a guard.”

Rufus ran up to me and put his paws in the chair I sat on, giving me a lick on the face. I responded by petting him. “Aren’t you a good boy, yes you are!” He barked one time and sat on the floor. I turned my attention back to Shamisen and my sister. “So that’s the team, me, a lurker, and a cyber dog. You think this is a good idea?”

Shamisen laughed “Darling, in my line of work, first impressions are a must. Everypony is going to expect ponies in suits, acting like they own the place. They will see you coming, but will not know what to do with you, and that’s how you win this dear.” One of her staff came in and took our empty glasses away. “They need to know that I’m not playing some simple game. It’s a dangerous gamble, and will draw my enemies to come after you and I, but I know this will pay off in the end.”

“When I’m done with the council, I’ll join you as soon as I can. They will listen to what I have to say, but no guarantee they will move.” Rototom find her sentence with a sight. “If things go right, even if the council refuses to move, they will be forced to.” She then pulled out a card, and passed it to me. “One last little help from me. She’s a gunsmith on Pineapple Island, best I have ever seen. Tell her I sent you, and she’ll show you her best stock.” Rototom winked. “Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.”

The card read ‘Cornet’s guns and Knives’ it was a business card, and on the back it stated ‘Best custom weapons in all of the metro.’

Rototom hoofed over three spell talismans “Also take these, Sweet felt that you'd need them more than her.” it was Sweets Telekinesis, Teleportation, and her magic armor talismans. At the very least I could use the Telekinesis talisman, with mine damaged, so I changed it out. I also changed out the telepath, and amplify sound talismans, putting them away in a pocket.

I looked over the rest of my gear, and began placing them on my barding. The gun holster fit nicely on my left side, strapped down, and the knife had a spot next to it. The bullet holders found a place on my right. The sleeveless black jacket fit easily over me, and my weapons nicely, and I found that I had extra pockets on the inside, which would allow me to hold more bullets for my revolver. Turnip took the gun parts, still not saying anything.

“So where do I head to first?” Both Shamisen and Rototom snickered.

“You’re to head to the pineapple islands, and talk with DJ Cerberus.” Shamisen answered.

“While you're there, go see Cornet, and get some new guns.” Rototom got up out of her seat “Also give her your enforcer, she knows some useful modifications for it.” She moved to the door, looking back at me. “I’ll contact you as soon as I can, so stay strong.”

I could only nod as she left, behind her were the three troopers, one with sweet on their back. Sweet waved at me, but in the wrong direction. “Take care, we’ll be back to being a team in no time flat, I know it.” Her voice was rough, but calm. The trooper with her on his back was the last to leave, as the other two passed him as Sweet talked to me.

I looked over to Shamisen, and she nodded. “Finished your breakfast first dear. You have a long road ahead of you.”

Sent the next few minutes was spent in silence, Turnip and Rufus both also got some food and water. When we were done, we were sent our way, and Shamisen informing us that DJ Cerberus will be expecting us, so it was best to not let her wait too long. Outside the Two Tailed Mare, I felt a lot more eyes on me, but no pony approached. It was not out of fear, mostly, but felt more out of curiosity.

__________________________

“Good morning Marewaii! This is radio station 5-O, deep in the heart of Pineapple Island, here in club Three-dog. That’s three, not one, or two, but three-dog. Baucus the first head is too busy sniffing its own plot, and the other can’t decide what’s left or right. So it’s up to the third to tell you the news.”

“First on in the news, if you heard stories about vertabuck in the sky, well interesting fact, it’s true. We don’t know who has been buzzing about in the sky, but we know it’s not Orthrus flying about. That is unless they have griffins jumping out and attacking scavengers. Yep that’s right, Griffins, as in half cat thing, half bird thing. If you see one, expect hostility, whoever it is, they are less than friendly, and more than willing to shoot on sight.”

“Next on the news feed, The Orphic Queen has made an appearance, and any of you who tuned in may have heard the sad end to her speech. Now I’ not a big fan of the deep dwellers and their bigotry, but queen Gilded Gold has been as far as I know, the most accepting ruler in the Orphic kingdom. So it was sad to see her unable to finish her speech due to illness. I just hope whomever she pick as her successor will be as open as their mother. Somehow I don't see that happening.”

“Last and certainly not least, some good news. That paradise dragon who moved into a main tunnel near Charon’s Stop last night, well it’s dead. Yep, and it wasn’t even the volunteers who killed it, though they helped. A mercenary on her way back from a job killed the monster, took off its head if the report is to be believed. The Dragon Slayer had been on a recovery mission from what I’m told, looking for a lost noble who went off hunting on their own, stupid I know. Well on her return to Charon’s Stop, she had Harp Melody, the Mirage pony princess, three unknown pegasi, and a specter following her. The leader of the Scrappers who went after the Dragon said, and I quote. That mare saved my filly from bandits, and killed a dragon, a hero type if I ever saw one. Take it as you will, but looks like Charon’s Stop has a new celebrity, and who knows, maybe yours truly will have an interview with her.”

“That’s all the news I have for this morning, and I’ll keep you posted in events as they happen, so stay tuned. But in the meantime, some music. What we have is a pony my scouts found in some far off corner of the metro, Acoustic Guitar is his name, and he will be singing his rendition of ‘Queendom of dirt’ now I don’t know about you, but I think he has the potential to be something great, so give the stallion your ears, and open up your feels.”

__________________________

We had gotten on the train, the next cart over was filled with the dead who were on their way home to be buried. The cart we were in had few ponies in it, three to count to be exact. Me, a mare, and a filly. Rufus and Turnip did not count as ponies, so I had to think of a new word. People maybe?

The mare in our cart look on guard, her large traveling bag was kept close at hoof at all time. The filly on the other hoof was more unguarded, hobbling around on the train, practicing walking on her prosthetics. She looked at me with with eyes so wide I thought they were going to pop out of her head.

“You’re the dragon slayer! Right?” she said with exuberance and suspension. I just nodded, knowing no other who would be called by that. “OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH.” She ran around in circles, as though she was not hobbling on prosthetics. It made me smile. “Ca... can I have an autograph?” I nodded again, and the filly ran over to her mother. Pinging her mother with her hoof, the mare gave her a doll, trying to ignore the pleading.

She trotted over and passed me a small statue. It was of the ministry mare of peace Fluttershy, on the base was the Words ‘Be Pleasant.’ And on the bottom it had writing already on it. ‘To my good friend Healing Herbs, I miss you, and wish you the best of luck.’ The statute made me feel warm, but I politely hoofed it back to the filly. "Best, not ruin such a treasure.” I thought for a moment, and had an Idea. Pulling out one of my .357 rounds and gave it to the filly. “Think of this as your lucky bullet. If you ever have a gun that can use it, only use it when you need it most. It might save your life.” It felt like a cop out, but the look on her face was all I needed. She placed the bullet in her pocket, and skipped away to her mother. It was strange having that statute in my hoof, like it was important. But it felt better to give it back.

“Next stop, Curtius Station, Pineapple Islands. Keep all your belongings at hoof reach.” We had arrived at our first stop. I didn’t worry about who the next target was, seeing the DJ was top priority. Once the job was done, the next one was sure to follow. But my mind wandered, to the dream I had, and what I said to my sister. I didn’t want her hurt, or dead, did I?

__________________________

Footnote-

New Quest - Family Matters.

Author's Note

Well this one took it's time to come out. I lost the original rough draft when I saved over it, and had to re-wight the hole thing. A good thing too, as I was just not happy with the original, probably powered through it a bit too hard. After that, life got in the way for my editor, so much waiting time.

So some advice t all you who want to wright a story. re-writing can be your friend.

Chapter 10 - Disco Panic

I was worried that they were going to shoot Rufus, but thanks to him being well trained, and the bandit not wanting to draw attention, I just needed to call him over to me to ease the tension. Turnip on the other hoof nearly passed out when a blade was brought to his face, and was unceremoniously thrown over to me. We were placed in the corner of the club, making it easier to keep an eye on us, and left with a guard to loom over us.

The club was mostly a large empty room, it had lights of different colors all over, but right now it was just the white ceiling lights. The walls were as if a rainbow had been splashed all over, and along the walls were black cutouts of ponies, the size of a normal pony with dim lights behind them. The ceiling had a big glass disco ball, currently still, and the floor was messy with hoof steppes all over, only a quarter clean. There was a second floor which connected to the DJ booth, currently dark and empty, but I could see a lot of tech blinking inside. The bar was closed down, except for one of the cabinets, which had been smashed open, and the contents on the bar table. A big sign above the bar read, “Party Hour, 10pm-2am, drink responsibly.”

Our guard, a bandit mare with obviously dyed bright blue mane, which was matted back, and ending in some ugly spikes. It was easy to tell her mane normally was done up in a mohawk, but was pushed back and down, to make her less easy to pick out for being a bandit. Her coat was greenish brown, and sported some nasty looking scars, a few looked recent, along with a burn mark that looked fresh. Brandishing a customized AG-3, the air powered shotgun had a shortened barrel, a bigger air tank, and a reinforced frame. It looked ridiculous, and absolutely deadly.

She spat at my hooves. “Bad timing girly, don’t cha know, no clubbing in the morn.” She had taken a seat, her shotgun lazily swaying at us on her battle saddle. “But good news for us, we got hostages now. The bitch better give herself up or have blood on the dance floor.”

I dared not to make any sudden moves, I got lucky that they missed my combat knife when checking me for guns, so I was not completely helpless.I had to think of a plan fast before I lose my usefulness. The thought of jumping behind the bar, getting smashed drunk, and winging it came to my mind. But remembered that alcohol is not some super drug that makes a pony a badass. I’d be killed as soon as I become imbalanced. My best bet was to wait for my guard to get close, slit her throat, and run for safety. Not as simple as it sounds, but my best bet.

I could feel Rufus tense up, so I lightly petted his head to keep him calm. “Risky don’t you think, I thought your kind avoided acting in such a populated place. What are, too…” the bandit whistled loudly, cutting me off mid-sentence.

“Ya think you're smart don’t ya. But I know what you’re going to say, that I’m too shit to work in the shit.” She laughed. “Sorry to tell ya this, but we're moving up in the world. Privileged folk like you will soon be kissing my hooves, groveling for me to fuck ya and not kill ya.”

I shut my mouth. The bandit was waiting for me to do something stupid, waiting for enough justification to shoot me. She was drug addicted, but not stupid. If I insult her, she shoots me. If I let her know I want her to get in close, she will suspect that I have a weapon, and shoot me. If I do nothing, she is going to shoot me when they no longer need me.

“So what cha doing going to the club at this time. My bits on you being a whore, but Drum Sticks says yous look the slugger kind.” She grinned, showing some of her rotten teeth. “So show me the goods. Or the goods.”

Turnip tilted his head. “What goods?” I sighed.

A nearly empty glass bottle of vodka smashed on the wall neared Turnips head. “Give me goods, or she show me her plot!” the bandit mare shouted out.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit demoralized, and scared now. Others always warned of male bandits being rapists, but having seen the aftermath of a bandit raid on a scave group myself, at least the male bandit leave survivors. Victims of female bandits would be raped with objects, often glass bottle, and later break the bottles inside their victims. Buy what the survivors told me, death having broken glass inside you is among the worst ways to die.

“Come on now pretty, take off that suit, and wiggle your plot for me.” The bandit was drooling now, her eyes jittered from withdraw, and she reeked of alcohol.

Compliance was my best option for survival right now, but I had a grim feeling about what waited for me if I didn’t get out of this situation. Standing up, I removed my scarf and jacket carefully, so not to tip her off to the gun holster and combat knife on the inside. Placing them on a nearby chair. Rufus gave me a little whimper, so I patted him on the head. “Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright.”

Unzipping my jumpsuit I slowly peeled it off of me. I could hear a slurp from the bandit, she probably sucking in her own drool. Dropping the jumpsuit to the ground, I put the jacket back on.

“Hay! Did I say you can put clothes back on?” She shouted at me.

Taking a deep breath, I managed to keep myself calm, but I felt myself ready to crack. “Isn’t it more erotic id something is left on?”

The bandit pushed for a moment, scratching her chin. “Fine, keep it on, but the panties have to go. I want to see all the way inside you when you spread your legs.” I shivered, but with the shotgun trained on me, I complied, placing my frilly purple panties on top of my jumpsuit. I felt exposed, my body shaking, and my face struggling to keep myself stoic. Sweet and I always worried about a situation like this, but we had each other's back, and she was good at fighting up close, here I was on my own. Rufus and Turnip could help, but they were no gun support. “Now come here, give me a dance.” The bandit ordered.

I attempted to sway my hips as I walked over to her, but tripped over my own hooves. She bellowed in laughter as I struggled to get back up to my hooves. The fur under my eyes was starting to feel wet, my composer was almost lost. She directed me closer, and closer, until I was almost next to her. I just needed to get a little closer, and I could strike.

“Turn around!” She commanded, and I hesitated. “Turn around or I will make you spin with one shot of my gun.” This time I complied. “Now dance, shake your plot, give me a show.” I fought to hold in a whimper, trying to keep it together. Moving my back end side to side, I hoped that was enough.

*SMACK* A metal hoof hit me between my cyberlegs, right under my tail, and on a sensitive spot.

She kicked me in the cunt with her metal hoof, and I fell face first into the floor. As the bandit laughed, tears fell freely from my eyes, and my nose ran. “Now get the fuck up, and I’ll show you how to shake ya hips bitch.” I pushed up, getting back on all fours, I felt two hooves hold onto my waist. Instinctively I flattened my tail, covering myself. Another hoof strike hit me on the back. “Lift that fucking tail bitch!” complying I felt the mare press right up onto me, making me feel sick. “Now move like you’re getting fucked by a big meaty cock.” She used her own body to force me to thrust, further humiliating me.

It went on for over a minute, her drooling on my back as she forced me to move my hips. It reminded me of the pirate Duel, being as sickly twisted. When she was done, she pushed me down, and rolled me over, putting her legs between my own. In her TK spell was a full bottle of alcohol. “Now I’m going to make you feel real good, but you must do the same for me.”

I couldn’t take it anymore, having the digest in my right hoof come out, I pulled out my combat knife, and slashed at the mare. She leaned back, and dodged the blade. Falling on her back, she pushed her flank up and over, landing back onto all fours. “Now that was not very nice!”

I had managed to get myself back on all fours, at the same time she had. Not caring what she had to say, I lunged. She fired her shotgun, but without the time to aim it, I only caught the shrapnel on the side of my face. With tears flowing from my eyes, I didn’t care that I almost had the side of my face blasted off, I wanted to kill this bitch.

I got in close, and brought my knife down at her head. She lunged forward, having my knife go into her back, and head butting me. Pushing me off of her, the knife carved a gash from her back to her shoulder, stopping at her metal connection. I fell into my flank, and she talked me, stomping my stomach. I counter bat stabbing at her, again and again. Again and again. Again and again. Again and again. Again and again. Again and again.

The bandit fell over in a bloody mess, her neck nearly hacked all the way through. I was covered in her blood, and the knife in my hooves was bent.

“THE FUCK!” another bandit had come to check one the commotion. Luckily he didn’t get a chance to call his friends, as Rufus was on him in a second, lunging at the bandit’s throat, and tearing it out and she jerked the bandit to the ground.

Turnip quickly trotted over to me, helping me up. “You okay.”

I shook my head, holding onto the lurker. “No, no I’m not. Just give me a minute.”

“THE FUCK!” Another bandit showed up, but this time on a balcony above us. He reached over to talk on a radio, but before he could speak, one of his eyes was pushed back into his skull, and the combination of blood, bone, and gray matter splattered on the wall behind him.

“That’s three down.” Looking over to the voice, I saw the gangster looking pony from the show room. He had a guitar case on his side, aimed like it was a rifle “If my information is right, we got four more at least.” He pulled out a towel from a saddle bag, and threw it to me. “Fine work there, I can see why the syndicate is all abuzz about you.”

I quickly wiped the blood from my body, lots of it stayed in my coat, but the towel helped dry the rest, dry me enough to put my cloths back on. “Who are you?”

“Guitarrón, a shadowrunner.” He said with a bow.

I raised an eyebrow “So a criminal mercenary.” I knew of shadowrunners, whenever something goes wrong in a big way, an assimilation, or a factory is set on fire, it’s often done by a shadowrunner. They are often skilled ponies who had changed their names, and faces, taking on mercenary work for rich ponies who want illegal work done. Reaching over for my panties, I quickly slip them on. “What’s your kind doing here?”

He trotted past me, eyeing me. “A job, same job as you.”

“Hogshit!”

Seeing him look over at me, I quickly put my jumpsuit on, forgetting to take my jacket off first. “Okay, not exactly the same job. You can say, that were two rails on the same track.” I was able to get the vest on after throwing off my jacket.

Putting my jacket back on, the last peace was my scarf, of which I took extra care to put on. “Fine, just help me kill the bandits. But if I see you try to harm any innocents, I will end you.”

“Fair enough. I’m not some gun nut idiot. Harming civs is more trouble than it’s worth anyways,” Guitarrón trotted over to a door leading to the backroom, opening up his guitar case, and pulling out an AG-5 air rifle. It was painted black, with a shortened barrel, and two air tanks. “Their bound to know something up, so move fast,”

I picked up the AG-3, and five shrapnel shells the bandit had on her. “I know what I’m doing.” Looking at the case, it was actually half gun, half gun case. An air rifle was built into the thicker part of the case. The other part of the case held an SMG, and two heavy looking revolvers.

“I can tell.” He closed the guitar case and put it to its side. “Most ponies in your situation crack, often losing the will to fight, or attacking too soon and end up dying.” The rifle attached to what was probably a hidden battle saddle. “Takes some grit to hold out like that.”

I wiped my face, still feeling sick about being molested like that. “Do you know why they’re in here?”

Guitarrón shook his head. “All I know is that they were spotted coming in from a back tunnel, shot the lookout.” One of his wings fluttered a little, and slid into a slot on his suit, probably the firing mechanism. “My employer is mighty pissed, Orthrus was all over the tunnel after some pony saw the body. Now they have to pay a rival for use of their tunnel.”

“Let me play my hoof sized violin to show how much I care.” I placed the shotgun on my back, its strap over my shoulder, and sheathed my knife.

Slowly Guitarrón opened the door, taking a peek in. “I get it, you’re an Orthrus freelancer. All by the book, no braking the law, and maintain as a reliably clean reputation as you can.” He slowly pushed back from the door, and looked back at me. “Are you sure you’re good, you can sit this out.”

I shook my head. “No I’m not, and I’m not going to. Now is the way clear?”

He nodded. “Looks like the bandit your dog took out was the guard here. So we have a clear path to the DJ’s room, that’s where the rest of the bandits should be.” He opened through and trotted through. Signaling for the other two to stay behind, I followed the stallion in.

The hallway were far more muted in color, still an overall rainbow of colors, but far more dulled and easy on the eyes. A mop was left on the floor, the handle broken, and still visibly wet. In the distance we could hear shouting and banging, both sounding angry.

“Open the fucking door bitch, I ain’t playing around!” A red bandit mare spat at a metal door. A stallion bucked the door, not even putting a dent into it. A third bandit mare had her head in a box, digging out some random junk.

The stallion bucked the door again and the mare with her head in the box pulled back and chuckled. “You think we should just use the bomb Drumsticks? They didn’t say we needed her alive.”

The red mare, I presumed was Drumsticks, kicked the other mare in the face. “You don’t fucking think that I already considered that option. We need that bomb to distract Orthrus, not to call them right to us.” She walked over to the mare, and helped her up. “We need to gas them out, so keep looking for the shit we need.”

Guitarrón readied his rifle. “I’ll take out the leader, you take out one of the lackeys.” I nodded, and the stallion took aim. I readied myself, but with how this AG-3 had been modified, I had limited range with the gun. “On three.”

“One” The other mare knocked over a metal box, its contents spilling over the floor.

“Two” The stallion bucked the door again, only scuffing it.

“Three” Guitarrón fired his shot.

Drum Sticks kicked the metal box up in time to deflect the ball bearing, her eyes locking with Guitarrón, and she snarled. “Fucking shit, should have known you’d be here.” The bandit signaled to her subordinates, and they rushed out of the line of fire, around a corner.

We gave chase, following them up some stairs to the second floor of the club. The bandits had barreled through the doors, and taken defensive positions on what looked like the lounge area of the club.

*Pop, pop, pop,* Guitarrón and I had to dive to the side, avoiding the bandits shots from their air guns. I held up behind a couch, and my companion took shelter behind an overturned table.

“What the fuck are you doing Drumsticks?” Guitarrón shouted. “Last I heard you were fucking around on the big island.”

I heard a chuckle over from where the bandits were. “Give me back my foals, and I might tell you!” Drumsticks spat back, followed by a bandit taking a potshot at him.

Guitarrón shot back “They’re not you foals anymore, and never will be.”

“FUCK YOU!” Drumsticks jumped from her cover to another spot, taking another shot at him. “I’LL KILL YOU LIKE YOUR DIP SHIT BROTHER.”

I rolled from the couch, to cover that was closer. The bandits had spread themselves out, the leader, and the stallion were going after Guitarrón, and the mare with the black eye was looking for me. The mare had an AG-1, the old air gun looked over modified, and topped with a bayonet.

“Sorry, already have a wife.” Guitarrón retorted, taking a shot at Drum Sticks.

Lurking around a booth, I quietly attempted to flank the bandit, she trying to do the same to me. It was a cat and mouse game, but with the both of us being the cat.

Knocking over a table for cover, Drum Sticks shouted again “I’LL FUCKING KILL THE WHORE TOO.” Guitarrón took a shot at her, sadly missing.

I rounded a corner, and came face to face with the bandit. Pulling the shotgun out into my hooves, I fired at her face. Unfortunately the short few seconds it took to aim was a few seconds too long, and the bandit was able to knock the barrel away from her face as I fired. Some luck was at least on my side, and the bandit’s rifle got stuck on a chair, preventing her from making a counter attack. Not wasting time, I talked the mare and pulled out my knife. The fucking bandit was quick on the defense, and held back the strike with her fetlock, the blade but an inch from her face.

“Hay, let’s say you let me go. Not like I liked the bitch anyways.” The bandit pleaded with a smile.

“Okay.” I responded.

“Really?!” She said in surmise.

“After the shit your friend put me through.” The color on her face seemed to drain, she must have known the pony left to guard the prisoners was a rapist. I used my left hoof to punch her in the stomach. “Fuck no!”

Her block weekend, and the blade went down. The bandit managed to regain control, but I was able to cut her neck before being pushed back. It was a small cut, but the blood streamed out of her, I managed to nick an artery.

“Common, not all of us are that bad. I’m only doing it because I got no other place to go.” She looked me in the eyes, scared. “Honest really, I was starving and they had food.” Tears welled up in her eyes and I pushed down on her. “You don’t need to do this.” I rolled off of her, and she quickly covered her neck with her hooves, trying to stop the bleeding. “Thank yo…”

I slit her throat, giving her a quick death. Blood bubbled from the slit throat as the bandit mare attempted to speak. “You should have just yourself starve.”

“DRAGON SLAYER, A LITTLE HELP HERE!” Guitarrón was pinned down, Drum Sticks was on the other side of the overturned table, and the bandit stallion had picked up the rifle of the pony Guitarrón had killed earlier, and was not trying to flank him.

Placing my combat knife in my mouth, I slipped into S.A.T.S. giving myself time to plan my attack. The shadowrunner was only a few short seconds from getting killed, so I was going to need to act fast. Grabbing the bandit mare’s rifle would take too long to unstrap from her, and the shotgun was a pain to reload. Among the option for my actions was to use my spell talismans. I had stupidly forgotten that I had them, and the bandits probably didn’t think I had anything but basic spell talismans. I didn’t like the idea of just going at the bandit Vanguard style, but it was my best option.

The teleportation talisman would not be able to take me far, about half way to the bandit stallion, but if I galloped, I should be right on him before he knew what to do. The magic armor should provide me with enough protection to endure any hit I took, presuming I avoid taking a direct hit.

With a flash, I was on top of a table, plates of green magic covering me. Dashing, I pulled myself into a sprint at the bandit. He didn’t have time to aim at me, giving me the opportunity to tackle him. The bandit rolled hoof overhead, but quickly recovered. I spat the combat knife into my right cyberhoof, catching it in the digests. Leaping at him, he had time to fire off a shot at me, it deflecting on the magic armor. My knife came down on the bandit's head, right in one of his eye.

Time seemed to have frozen, the bandit looking at me eye to eye. He knew he was fucked, I had closed in on him hard and fast, and now he had a knife in his head. I twisted the blade, and the bandit collapsed, his body twitched as blood spouted from the eye socket.

A ball bearing bounced off the side of my head, the magic armored saving me from losing an ear, and possibly some skull. It was enough to make me stumble a bit, but not to do any damage to my brain. Drum Sticks had shot me, but in doing so opened herself up to Guitarrón’s attack. He tackling her to the ground, and restrained her by pounding her head to the ground a few times, and proceeding to remove her legs.

The now legless Drum Sticks looked around, now having trouble concentrating on me or Guitarrón, her head wobbling. “Fuck…. You.”

Guitarrón spat at her. “Not even with a ten hoof pole Sticks.” Trotting over to me, he offered another towel. “You alright?”

“I am.” Taking the towel, I wiped off some of the blood on my hooves. It felt surreal. The act of cleaning blood off my hooves gave me a feeling of dread, not because of who I killed, but just that I had, and three times now, with a knife. Sighing, I gave the towel back. “Why do you have two towels?”

“Three actually.” He said in a matter-o-fact tone. “Their super useful, so I never leave home without one.” He put away the towel, and trotted back to Drum Sticks.

Trotting over to them, I looked down on the legless mare. “So a friend of yours?”

The Shadowrunner spat on her again. “Sister in law sadly, drove my brother to suicide.” Drum Sticks laughed, and Guitarrón kicked her in the stomach. “Somehow convinced his doctor to give my brother antidepressants, and would switch them with narcotics when she was pissed off at him. The chemical imbalance was too much for him.”

Looking at the mare, I felt disgusted. “So that’s why she became a bandit?”

“No, she got away with that. It wasn’t until she dropped my nephew in hot oil when the law came down on her, and she ran.” I cringed, and he kicked her again. “Turns out she had relatives and friends who were bandits. Former equality death squad to be correct. She fell off the raider up until today.”

“Like you’re no better! I know…” Guitarrón kicked Drum Sticks again, and she puked on the floor.

Aiming his gun down at her, Guitarrón spat on her one more time. “Speak when spoken to you peace of hog shit!” He placed the barrel on her head. “Now tell us why you’re here, why are you attacking the DJ, what’s compelling you to do act so brazenly?”

The bandit laughed. “You’re all fucked. We’re going to tear down your fucking system, and make a new one. The age of the metro is over!”

She got another kick from Guitarrón. “What does that mean, explain”

“It means when we're done, you will beg to be my sex slave!” She said with a mocking tone

Guitarrón went in for another kick, but I stopped him. “ Does the name Flintlock Hook mean anything to you?” The bandit paused, no longer laughing. “I see. What can you tell us about their ship?” Her face scrunched up, and she looked. “No matter, I know Orthrus will be able to get the information out of you.”

“The syndicate has first dibs on this.” Guitarrón said, placing a hoof on Drum Stick’s neck, and looked over at me. “Any problems with that?”

Before I could respond, Drum Sticks started convulsing violently. Guitarrón took his hoof off of her, and her face exploded. Blood splattered everywhere, getting on everything.

Guitarrón looked shocked, I knew I was. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!” he shouted.

Looking over at the body, if there was still anything in my stomach, I would have lost it. The Drum Sticks head was hollowed out, her face now missing, with the back of her head the only thing still attached. The inside were scorched, some of it still burning, she was as dead as dead could be.

Pulling out the towel Guitarrón had given me originally, I wiped off the pieces of Drumsticks off of me. Guitarrón was doing the same, having walked a bit away from the body. Trotting over to him, I gave him a knowing nod, confirming how disturbing that was. “My guess, must have some information protecting countermeasures.”

He nodded, “That makes sense.” Finally cleaned up, he put the towel away. “I’m betting you know who is behind this?”

I nodded. “Vaguely. Had a run in with them on the big island. They’re from outside the islands, have ships and vertabucks. They captured a bunch of bandits two days ago, probably these ones.”

Guitarrón paused for a moment, thinking about what I just said. Sighing, he trotted over to the stairwell. “Sounds like shits going down. Let’s get to the DJ, so I can report this to my broker.” I nodded, and followed him down the stairs.

____________________________________

DJ Cerberus didn’t respond to us at first, but after talking to the door for a few minutes, the DJ opened up. The DJ was a golden colored mirage pony mare with a flesh and blood front left leg, a pipbuck attached to the leg, and her hoof was painted purple. Her glowing red mane was branded back, tied to a glow stick on the end. She was also pregnant, her stomach bulging at the sides bigger than I had ever seen a pregnant mare’s stomach bulge before. She had forgone on most cloths, only wearing rainbow colored panties, and a thin torn up rainbow color shirt. Dark Red tinted glasses hid her eyes from me, It was hard to tell if it was perception or simply for style, not that I was going to ask of she was colorblind or not. Overall, she looked excessively unusual, making me feel a little wherry about associating with her.

In the room with her as a far more plain looking mirage pony mare. A bit small, she had a grayish green cote, same with the mane, and her cloths were a gray jumpsuit, identifying her as a janitor.

The room itself was also toned down, with the walls a simple powder blue, the ceiling a concrete gray, and the floor a soft pink. The walls were sparsely decorated, mostly photos, but also a shelf full of trophies, and some metro cola promotional items. She had one large bed with a rainbow colored sheet, and next to it were two baby cribs. The door was a beast to look at, thick, and with five locks on it. A pony would have to cut through the door to get in.

The DJ waddled over to the bed and laid down, bags under her eyes. With a wide mouth she loudly yawned. “The assholes are gone, good, I can finally get back to sleep.”

Guitarrón and I looked at each other and back to the DJ. I cleared my throat getting her attention. “Sorry, but I was sent to see you, by Shamisen.”

Nodding, Guitarrón spoke up after me. “I to have dealing with you mam. It should be quick, and then I’ll be out of your mane.” She sighed, and waved at the janitor to leave. The scared janitor mare was stopped by Guitarrón before she could leave, and given a coin. “Give this to your boss, and don’t ask questions.” Nodding, the janitor galloped off, stumbling along the way.

Eyeing us, DJ Cerberus nodded. “I remember now, the syndicate’ trying to pull strings, and get information. So they sent their two best agents to ensure my support.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry, but syndicate agent? I don’t do busses with any crime organization.”

Guitarrón laughed. “Sorry to burst your bubble miss, but you do. You just do all the legal jobs, I’m the one who does the real dirty work.”

Cerberus whistled, catching our attention. “You two may care about who works with what, but I don’t. Now if I remember correctly-“ She pointed at Guitarrón. “Your owner wants to set up deal in my club, and keep any equalist spies from finding out. I can do that, but it’s going to cost extra, the pricks have been more active lately. I don’t know what’s going on, but if a shootout happens on my dance floor, the cost doubles.”

He bowed. “Trust that our best will be there, and on their best behavior.”

Her hoof then pointed at me. “Now for you, your employer was vague on the details. Something about getting the old radio station up and running. I don’t know why she needs it, or how she knows I have it, but I know she is good for the bits.” She pointed at one of the cribs. “The items is under that, it’s the pink box with the party balloons painted on it.”

I trotted over, finding a small odd pink box under the crib. A small rock was on top of it. Pacing it on the bed I poked at it. “What’s it do?”

Lifting it up, Cerberus pointed at two ports on the box. “Well the rock’s name is bolder, right now he protects the box. As for box itself, it’s a Ministry of Moral bux. One that was oddly made to be super durable. It also works as a signal booster, so everything tends to come in loud and clear. “

So it was an M.o.M. artifact. “How did you come across it?”

She took bolder off the box, and onto her head. “Been in the family for generations, same with bolder. My mom gave them to me for good luck when she found out I was going to have foals. It’s a family tradition, you understand.”

I lightly patted my scarf, and nodded.

She passed the M.o.M. bug over to me. “Good, then you know to be careful with it. Now what you’re going to want to do is head over to the old radio tower on the surface. It’s a historic sight, so the path there will be clear. There, you just need to get the tower up and running, and install the bug into the broadcasting booth. You will be looking for a big boxy computer that sends and receives radio signals.”

I placed the box in my pocket. “Anything else I might need to know. Not to be suspicious, but I’ve been running into one surprise after another lately.”

The DJ chuckled. “Smart mare. If it was a week ago, I’d tell you to watch out for the scouts. The adults like using the tower for a camp ground when taking the foals to the surface.”

I nodded. “Ya, I remember. Got my surface expedition badge from that. Went up there a few more times as a senior scout.”

DJ sighed. “I was one of the foals who pissed ourselves scared, and chose not to go all the way.” I held back laughing, it was actually quite common. Living underground your whole life, and being told about how horrible the surface can be, most foals were terrified of leaving the metro. “But sadly that’s not going on this week.”

I had a feeling that I was not going to like this. “What’s up there?”

“Short answer, the republic. Well the equalists to be exact. Don’t know why, but they’ve been really active for months now, and in the last week have been getting aggressive. They’ve been staying out of the way of the island's normal activities, so your best bet is to wait until a maintenance crew goes up to check on the tower. But that’s in a month or two.”

I sighed. “I don’t think I can wait more than a day.”

She nodded. “Then I suggest going in at night, and stay as below the raider as you can.”

“That should work for me. I still need to pick up my guns later.” I was not going to the surface with just a knife, or some air rifle cobbled together by a bandit. “Guess I’ll be going then. Thanks for the advice.”

Guitarrón and I turned to leave, but the DJ whistling caught our attention. “The stallion can go, but if you would be so kind miss, and help me out for a minute.” Guitarrón chuckled, and winked at me before trotting off. I turned around to look at the mare, who was struggling to get onto her hooves. “Sorry, my brother had been looking after me, but right now he’s out working. Good thing too, the stallion can’t stand violence.”

I helped her up. “What about the father?”

She shrugged. “Don’t know who the father is. Orgies tend to do that.”

I almost tripped over myself. “Well do you have any suitors, some pony who wants to be the father?”

She laughed. “You sound like my friends. But ya, I have a few. Being as well-known as I am finding suitors easy. But I’m not ready to settle down and do the family thing.” I cocked an eyebrow, and furled her eyebrow at me. “Yes I know I’m bolted up with two healthy foals, no need to get eye snippy with me. Just take me to the back parlor room, it’s just next door.”

She was able to walk on her own, if a bit with a waddle. I mostly moved the random bits and pieces that were left by the bandits, out of her way. The parlor room was about as toned down as her bedroom, but much bigger. It had its own bar, game table, and a big puffy couch sitting in front of a monitor.

I helped her onto the couch, she sinking into it with a satisfying sigh. “So if you’re not interested in starting a family, why have the foals?” I couldn’t but help to ask, or it would bug me.

She sad there for a few seconds, relaxing, with her eyes closed. “It’s for my brother. Him and his wife are sterile, so I asked them about it, and I was stuck in a hug for over a minute. Just didn’t expect it to be twins.”

“Oh,” was all I could bring myself to say.

She chuckled. “Ya, life’s little surprises, the names Cabrette Pieper.” She reached out a hoof.

“Vibraphone Echo.” I shook hooves with her.

“The foals will be in good hooves, and I can see them whenever I want. It’s the best thing I can do for them, which is what matters the most.” Cabrette placed a hoof on her stomach, looking satisfied. “Can’t say I’m not growing attached to the troublemakers, despite all their kicking.”

“Kicking?”

Cabrette smiled. “E’yep, last I checked, they have all their legs. The club is not the cleanest environment, but I’ve managed to keep myself clear of toxins for years. So after a quick stop at New Gen, and nearly half my savings, I now have two very healthy foals inside me.”

I couldn’t help but feel warm, like the events of just a few minutes ago were washing away. Making the humiliation feel worth it, knowing that I helped save Cabrette and her unborn foals. “So what can I help you with Cabrette?”

“Yes, can you grab a box from the fridge at the bar? It’s on the bottom.”

I trotted over, and opened the fridge. It was full of food sticks, and vegetable juice. Despite her outward appearance, Cabrette was a very health conscious pony. Picking up the box, I trotted back over to the couch, and placed in on the floor near her.

“Thanks.” She said with a smile. “Lately I’ve been getting cravings for my mother’s soup, so she’s been making extra batches for me. Never thought I’d crave rock soup.” I cocked an eyebrow at the last statement, and Cabrette chuckled. “It’s a family thing.”

I chuckled back. “Ya, my family has a few zebra recipes passed down through the generations. I even know how to speak a little bit of zebra.”

“Zebra, that’s rare.” She scratched her chin. “You know, I have a friend who told me that she had a griffin as an ancestor. Had an old photo to prove it. You think that the line was at zebras, but turns out ponies can mate with griffins too. Strange.”

I nodded. “Orthrus has a whole record on family histories. Mostly to help keep inbreeding from happening, but also to track the different birth defects in some families.”

Cabrette rolled her eyes. “let’s not talk about Orthrus. I got nothing against the group, but my family’s not on good terms with them. Something about a family heirloom no being given back.”

“Right, well is there anything else I can do for you?”

She thought for moment. “I could do with a cuddle partner.”

I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m into stallions.”

Cabrette sighed. “A shame. Well I’m covered here. If you come back later, I’ll have the VIP booth open to you, so just hit me up the next time you're over. Oh and before you go, take one of my hats as a reward, the ones above the bar. My employee’s will see it as your VIP pass.”

“A hat?” I asked.

She nodded. “Their good hats, custom made too.”

I sighed, and trotted over to the bar and looked for the hats. There were six hats on display above me. One was an old Sparkle-Cola cap, the front having a metal plate advertising Sparkle-Cola rad. I left that one alone. Two were for club Three Dog, and the last three were from Metro-Cola. I picked a red Metro-Cola cap, it was thick in material, had a flat top, and a stout and thick metal plate above the bill that was a matted silver and yellow. On the metal plate was ‘M-C’ which was simple enough for my liking.

The hat fitted nicely onto my head, it made to accommodate for a mirage pony’s horn. Trotting back over to Cabrette, she gave me a smile and nod. “Now that one brings back memories. The Metro-Cola’s emergency rush race. A pony would drink a Lurker-Blue and then try to run an obstacle cores. The hat was given to whoever got to the end, and the winner was the one with the shortest time. Only three ponies got the hat.

Saying our goodbyes, we parted ways. Making my way to the club’s dance floor, Guitarrón was waiting with Turnip and Rufus. My two companions were happy to see me, Rufus quick to jump on me and give me a lick.

Guitarrón trotted over, a slick smile on his face. “Nice hat, it goes well with your scarf.”

“Thanks.” I gave a little glare. “So I’m guessing you want something else?”

He nodded. “There’s some pony who would like to talk to you at the Lucky Rabbit's Foot. A free lunch, and show is included.”

I pushed Rufus off of me. “And what’s it about? And if it involves me dancing on a pole, you will be the fourth pony I stabbed today.”

Chuckling, Guitarrón trotted to the door. “No worry, this pony may work with the syndicate, but it’s all legal stuff. She just needs a pony with a clean record to do a job for her. Actually she’s the reason I’m here in the first place.”

Thinking about it, my real job started after nightfall, so I at least had time for a free lunch. “Fine, I’ll go see what that mare wants.”

______________________________________

The red light district doubled at the gray market of the station. Nothing sold here was illegal, but most of the stuff couldn’t leave the island, some couldn’t even leave the station.It was the drugs that had the restrictions, but there were services as well that were mostly illegal off the island.

One shop was for Cybernetic modifications, a pony outside the shop had altered wings that were three times bigger than normal, and in a rainbow of colors. Another pony had her back hooves end in wheels, and her horn extended.

A tattoo parlors specialized in risky inking, and even advertised using magic ink. The artist inside the shop had glowing blue eyes, and strips. Only the stripes in his mane did not glow, hinting that it was inked in, which means he inked his eyes.

There were a few less extreme stores, mostly porn shops. I had little interest in most of them, not being into BDSM, or other kind of roleplay, but an underwear store did catch my eyes. It sold cloths done in the Orphic kingdoms style, with lots of frills and lace. The clothes themselves were simply short paradise of the real thing, as sex was still the team of the shop, but I didn’t mind browsing the store. The mare who ran the store was also very friendly, and did let me try on a few outfits the last time I was over. Made me want to get socking friendly legs just so I could where some of the other outfits.

At the end of the street was the Lucky Rabbit's Foot, It reached to the ceiling, and was covered in lights. Next to the neon sign was the image of a mare in a red piece and rabbit ears, she looked down onto the street with a surly stare, almost beckoning every pony to come in.

On the ground, escort mares and stallions called out to other ponies, offering their company for the day. They weren’t prostitutes, though it was known that sex did happen from time to time, their main talent was stroking a ponies ego, and helping them have a good time. Most ponies who hire them tend to lose all their bits, but rarely seemed upset about it.

Guitarrón stopped at the entrance. “Just follow me, I’ll take you the place.” Nodding, I followed the Shadowrunner in, Rufus and Turnip behind me.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Item Obtained:

‘M-C’ Cap. A strong Mirage pony cap reinforced with a metal plate. The M-C stands for Metro-Cola, a popular soft drink in the Marewaii Metro system. +1 Per, +1 DT, +5 Survival

Chapter 11 - The White Rabbit

Taking up a long stretch of a tunnel, the inside of the casino was just as flamboyant as the outside, bright lights pointing the way to game tables, slot machines, and one big arrow pointing at a big wheel. The sound were nonstop clicks, beeps, and laughter, with an odd moan now and then. Most ponies here had their best clothes on, trying to live the life of the wetly as they make themselves poorer, though the odd pony dose trot away richer, they were the exception.

As I followed Guitarrón further into the casino, I had to keep my eye on Turnip. I wasn't sure which was distracting the lurker more, the ponies in skimpy one piece bunny suites, the games, or simply sensory overload. I was a bit worried about him, and if he was going to be okay after all of this.

We wanted the next section of the casino, and the thick humid air smelled sickly sweet. Unlike the game floor, this part of the casino offered no hope of getting your bits back. Known as the pony auction, it had a stage in the middle of the room, a bunch of private rooms off to the side with their own small stage. A glorified brothel, the pony on the main stage would commonly auction themselves off to the heist bidder.

One of the private rooms was left open, and I could see the ponies inside. The working mare straddled a pole, bending over with flexibility that made me a little jealous, and was wrapped up with ribbon like a present. Upside down, she was giving one of the patrons a long kiss.

Not wanting to get caught staring, I pushed along, ignoring the debauchery, sadly Guitarrón had stopped to watch one of the strippers instead of moving to the next room. Irritated, I looked up at the mare, she had a glossy teal coat, dark blue mane, and she had what I would describe as a slutty stable pony outfit. The barding was basically just a corset, panties, and leggings. All of it held together with leather belts.

I poked Guitarrón. “I get you like this stuff, but I have things to do.”

He waved me off. “Just wait a moment, it’s almost at the good part.”

Sighing, I decided to humor the shadowrunner, though I couldn’t understand the appeal. Now it it was a stallion with a little extra fur on his face, maybe I’d be more inclined to enjoy this. The mare herself maneuvered on the pole with the kind of agility expected of an acrobat, twisting all the while in seductive poses. The mare suddenly sped up, climbing higher on the pole, and kicked off of it, right at us.

Guitarrón caught her in midair, spun around once, and finished with a kiss as she led back. Pulling her back onto her hooves, the stripper hugged Guitarrón, and he nuzzled her back. “Miss Echo, this is my wife Conga Pulse.”

Conga sized me up with her eyes, looking a bit unshared of me. “You don’t look like another floosy.” She tilted her nose up at me. “Just so you know, I can and will knock out a few teeth if you’re after my husband.”

I sighed. “No, thrice no. I’m here for a job, you can keep him.”

The look on Congas face went a blank for a moment. “So you’re here for that.” Her eyes shifted about. “Well don’t let me keep you from it.” She tugged on Guitarrón shirt. “Now come on sexy, there’s an empty room on the other side.”

Being dragged away by his wife, Guitarrón waved at me. “Just go to the far back room, you’re looking for the mare from Ironshod, the one in the red dress.” I nodded, and went on my way, not wanting to hear the two get close to each other.

The next area was a bunch of private rooms, of which I quickly passed. At the end of the casino was where the real business took place, as scantily clad ponies were replaced with ones in suits. There was a small cafeteria, with a few employees on break, one only with a pair of bunny ears on. A few of the desks were covered in paper, and busy ponies sorted through them, or scribbled on them.

As I looked around, a mare in a tight fitting black bunny suit stepped up to me. Surprisingly her front legs were natural, and decorated with cuffs near the hoof. Her back cyber legs were made smooth and were a matted grayish black, making it look like she had stockings on. The mare’s coat was a solid white, and her mane a carrot orange. The bunny mare look fit her a bit too perfectly. “Miss, are you lost? Unless you have business back here, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” She had a firm but gentle voice, which commanded my attention without feeling threatening.

“Yes, I was asked to come. Something about your boss having a job for me. Name’s Vibraphone Echo, but some ponies have been calling me dragon slayer.”

The mare scratched her chin, looking me up and down like Conga did. “Hmm… Must be for the bodyguard work.” She reached out a hoof, and I reciprocated, shaking it.” I’m the head manager of this place, Citole Serenaded.” She pointed to a door at the back. You will find my mother there, but you might want to wait a few minutes, she’s currently training a new higher.”

I looked at the time on my pipbuck, it was nearly noon now, about lunch time. “Sorry but I have things to do later today, so the sooner this is done the better.”

Citole stepped out of my way. “Just remember that I warned you.” That gave me a bad feeling.

Opening the door, my nose was assaulted with smoke and incenses. The smoke had a pungent smell to it, tobacco to be sure, but mixed with something else. The incense on the other off was a more pleasant smell of flowers, mint, and a few other herbal smells.

Inside was a colorfully decorated room, with the walls covered by tapestries, the ceiling having curtains draping from it, and pillows everywhere. In the middle was a large round bed, the inside blocked by a thick red curtain. Stepping closer, the sound of a moan made me regret not waiting a few more minutes.

Opening the curtain, my eyes were assaulted with the sight of a mare mounting a stallion. It was the mare from Ironshod, still in her red dress, and slowly moving her hips as she arched her back. Clearing my throat to get her attention, I also hoped to end the sound of two bodies of flesh rubbing up on each other.

The mare didn’t stop her mounting, instead leaned backwards, a move that got a moan from the stallion, and looked at me upside down. “Oh, hello there!” she said without an ounce of shame.

Pushing back the feeling of just walking away, and swallowing it down. “I was told you have a job for me?”

She smiled, and giggled. Leaning back forward, she lifted a leg and spun around, something that made the stallion go limp. “Miss Echo, it’s good to see you.” She reached out and picked up a long pipe that was sitting in a stand on the bead near her with her cyber hoof, the digits looking more fine-tuned than my own. Sucking in the smoke, she held onto it for a few seconds before tilting her head up, and letting out a stream of smoke. “We never were formally introduced were we. My names Vielle Serenaded. I’m the owner of this establishment, and a representative in the Capital Group of the Trade Union.”

My ears drooped. Not only was she a nympho business mare, but a Politician too. “Just so you know, involving me in political battles triples my cost.”

Vielle pointed at me with the pipe. “Smart mare. You’d be surprised how much more a Politician will pay just for the sake of paying more.” She placed the pipe back in her mouth, berthing it in. “But no, I have other more reliable ponies for that.” The smoke escaped from her mouth as she talked, sending a small part of the cloud to me. It finally hit me to what was one of the other smells in the smoke, Cannabis.

Not interested in getting high, I took a step back. “Citole said it was bodyguard work. Just so you know, I have other work later in the day, so I can’t do an all day job.”

Smiling, she pulled herself off the stallion. I looked away, trying to ignore the sound of seeming flopping over. “That’s fine, I just need you to look after one of my ponies for a short job.” She got off the bed and trotted to a cupboard, I could see some liquid stuck to one of her back legs, making me shiver a little. Pulling out an envelope, she trotted over to me, the pipe still in her mouth. “Take this.” She hoofed over the envelope.

Taking it, I looked back at the mare. “And this is for?”

“A simple package you will be delivering” She said in a sing song way. “The bodyguard part is just half of the job I want you to do. The poor, poor stallion does need some pony to look after him, you know mares right, some them need a black eye to learn not to touch unless given perdition.”

Remembering one of my last times here, a mare did jump up onto the stage and got real close to the stallion. She got dragged out of the casino by her hooves. “Right, and the envelope? Or is this a blindfold deal?”

Vielle shook her head. “Don’t worry, if I was going to send a pony over there uninformed, I would have higher the syndicate for the job. Something that would be counterproductive to my business.” She took a long breath of her pipe, blowing the smoke into the air. “The envelope has the video evidence of a client doing something real stupid, scandal level stupidity. You're delivering the envelope to that client's mother, it will be up to her to decide on what to do with it.”

I almost face hoofed. “So this is what, blackmail material for family to use on each other?”

Chuckling, Vielle took another puff on her pipe. “Quite certainly. It’s the sign of good parenting when the parent will go out of their way to correct their child’s bad behavior. Uncorrected children grow up to be damaged adults, and damaged adults are bad for business.”

“Wait, but you have to be an adult to even come here in the first place?”

She sighed. “True, but said client is still young enough to learn. And their family is wealthy, so I’m willing to give a little help in hopes to not have more trouble down the tracks. It also help keep my business's reputation from getting slandered, something that’s a full time job on it’s own.” She placed her pip down on the desk. “And that’s why I want you, and not some syndicate lackey to deliver this. They only know how to threaten and extort, not the best way to deliver a friendly message from one mother to the next. But sending the Dragon slayer, it would be like getting a movie start to do it, something a pony does not simply ignore.”

Thinking about it, it did make sense. Vielle wanted to maintain a healthy relationship with her clientele, or at least with her wetly patrons. My job was to help resolve an issue that could poetically get worse if not dealt with carefully. “Ok I understand. I protect your employee, deliver the envelope to the appropriate mare, and let them know who I am.” I placed the envelope in an inside pocket of my jacket. “Is that correct.”

Vielle smiled. “This is why I love working with professionals, always to the point. My daughter will fill you in on where you’re going, and who you will be looking after. She will also discuss your payment.” She took a step back and trotted back to the bed. “Now if you ever want a good bump and grind, come see me, I’m sure I can teach you a few new tricks.” Daughter winked at me, and I shook my head. “A shame.”

Not wanting to stick around to see her mount the stallion again, I left. Turnip was sitting in the cafeteria with Citole, whom looked a little confused. The lurker had his mask off, and was eating a donut. As I stepped closer, Citole saw me and waved me over.

“What’s the matter?” I damn well knew what the matter was.

She glanced at Turnip, and back at me. “I’ve never seen somepony with cybernetics like that before, it looks too organic.” She whispered to me.

At this point I didn’t feel like playing along, the sight of cum on her mother’s leg was still stuck in my mind. “That’s because it’s not cybernetics. Turnip here is a Lurker, blue blood and all.”

Citole cocked an eyebrow at me. Her head slowly turned to Turnip, seeing him nibble on the donut, carefully eyeing. After what seemed like a minute, she slowly turned her head to me. “How?”

“They live on the big island, Future Park. That’s about all I can really say.” I sat down at the table, pulling an unopened bottle of Metri-Cola to me. “They weren’t very interested in talking about themselves too much. Still talkative, just suspicions of us.”

She scratched her chin, still looking confused about the lurker. “Strange times. Well whatever he is, I thinking it’s best to not let my mother know about him, She a mare of many tastes.” It took me a moment to understand what she had suggested, sending a shiver up my spine.

I waved Turnip over, and he gave me a nod, trotting over. “So about this job, I’ve got around six hours before I have to pick up my guns. Cornett was adamant that I stop over for dinner.” Turnip sat at the table like it was perfectly normal for him to be here, His face looking satisfied, covered in frosting. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing that he was simply a harmless silly Lurker. “I rather not upset the ponies tuning up my guns.”

Citole paused for a moment, obviously thinking. “Cornett, as in Cornett’s guns and knives?” I nodded, and she smiled. “Interesting.” The smile grew bigger. “You know what, if you can get me in on that dinner, I might have something better then bits to pay you.”

I didn’t know to be concerned, or be interested. I picked the middle ground of cautiously interested. “Why, and what’s better than bits?”

The mare waved at one of her coworkers. “Can you bring over some soda, and soup?” A bunny mare nervously gathered, and delivered what her manager asked for. Metro-cola, and Punga soup. I was not going to complain about the soda, and the soup was far harder than what I normally would have, so not going to complain about that either. “Just a quick question, what do you think of Flugelhorn?” Citole blushed as she asked the question.

The question almost killed my appetite. It was easy to see what she wanted me to do, I’ve seen it many times, and it was the look of a mare who wanted a stallion. “He’s an ass.” Was my response.

“Ah, what?” Her face contorted in confusion.

I had to take a deep breath before explaining. “Sorry, but I don’t know much about him. He’s a hard worker, that’s for sure. A bit vindictive, but from what he has to deal with, that’s natural. Other than that, well, I don’t know, he’s not my type.”

“I see” Citole scratched her chin. “Well… if you do this job, and get me in on this dinner. I can give you something you can get real use out of. Like a new pair of back legs. The kind that has no cut corners, or cheap internals. I know we have a few spare ones we can give out, what do you say?”

I had to pause and think about it. I did like my back legs, though they were the bare bones skeletal type, strong and reliable. But it never felt like it was me, I liked rugged stallions, but I liked to be pretty, something I couldn’t really do with my current back legs. “Hmm, fine. I’ll do your job, and get you in on the dinner. But you better have the legs ready for me.”

Citole smiled. “Not a problem. I’ll be waiting for you at Cornett” She pulled out a bag, and a sixteen dice fell out. They were four different colors, blue, green, red, and yellow. “Now that that’s over with, let’s play a game until Bagpipe gets here.”

Dice games were a specialty of the Lucky Rabbit's foot. The games were simple, but addictive. I looked at the dice and knew what kind of game she wanted to play. “Twenty one dots is it.” Citole nodded.

“What’s that?” Turnip spoke up, having finished drinking his metro-cola. “I like games, can I play, Kindly?”

I almost faced hoofed. “Do you have any bits Turnip?”

He looked at me, yes, but do you?”

I paused at his question, and relished he had all my bits in his bag.

“Then I play” Turnip opened up his saddlebag, and pulled out all of our bits. And then some. There was seventy eight bits in total, turnip kept forty four bits, a lent me thirty four bits. The asshole was mocking me with my own bits. “What twenty one dots?” he asked, all too cheerful.

Citole chuckled. “It’s a simple game. We all get four six sided dice, and try to roll twenty one. At the start of the game we all put bits into the pile, and make a role. Whoever has twenty one, or the heist number without going over twenty one wins, but any pony can pay for a reroll. Every reroll cost at least a bit, and can be raised every turn, with whom raising the amount up to a different pony every turn. The game ends when no pony is willing to add more to the pot, and the winnings are divide the bits among winners.”

Turnip nodded. “Get twenty one dots and win, have to pay in bits to play. I can do it.”

The game started, and went on for a few minutes. 1, 5, 5, 6 for Turnip. 2, 3, 4, 6 for me, and 1, 4, 4, 6 for Citole. Turnip payed in for his 1 to be re rolled, getting a 6, ending his game at 22. I played in for the 2, 3, and 4 to be re rolled, getting a 1, 3, 6, only raiding my number by one, bringing it to 16. Citole payed in to re-rolled her 1, getting a 4, putting her on top with 18. I raided the pot by a bit, and re rolled my 1, and 3, getting a 4, and 4, giving me a 20. Citole pushed for a moment, and played in, playing two of her 4’s, getting a 3, and a 2. Dropping her to 15.

I smiled at her, and she frowned. “Giving up?” I mockingly asked, and she shook her head and placed a bit.

The 2, and 3 were re-rolled, getting a 2, and 4, giving her a 16. I held, and she played in, rolling the 2, getting a 5. A 19 was a good number, but I still had 20, so I held. She rolled another 4, getting a 1. I raided the pot all the way, every bit turnip gave me, she met it, rolling a 5.

I was a little annoyed, even breaking even I still lost some of my bits. We played a few more games, Citole winning mostly, but never getting more than few bits from me. I’d be a fool to think I could win against a casino boss in the long run, so I didn’t gave her the opportunity to clean me out after the first game.

Bagpipes eventually showed up, ending the game of twenty one. The pony was not what I expected, with the best word to describe was being cute. The pony had a light pink mane and tail that was a little longer than what most ponies normally had, and the coat which was a creamy light green. On the pony was a tight fitting red bunny outfit that hugged to every curve, and their face had the right mix of embarrassment and resolve. Short, the pony was not a runt, but significantly smaller then me, just a bit taller then Turnip. Cute was the capital word to describe bagpipe, so was stallion.

“This is bagpipe, one of our more desirable employees. Also one that needed extra protection from the mares.” Citole said in an annoyed tone. “I can see why other mares would like him, but I swear, the fuck is wrong with them. Just because he is cute does not give them listens to try to molest him. Seriously some self-respect.” Citole eyed me. “What about you, thinking about jumping the bone with him?”

I ferruled my brow at her, and sighed. “I like the more rugged type, thank you.” Waving my hoof dismissively, and trotted up to Bagpipes. “So you’re my ward for the day. Just let me know if there's trouble, and I’ll make it go away.”

Bagpipes nodded. “Thank you miss...” His voice even sounded like a small mare, almost made me want to give him hug, of which I resisted.

“Vibraphone Echo.” I responded.

He nodded. “I feel it will be a pleasure working with you.”

Citole cleared her throat. “Now that you know each other, time to inform you about where you’re going?” She took a deep berth. “You too will be visiting ‘Free Mare’ plantation. The owner’s son has requested special serves, of which my mother has denied. Instead she has scheduled a counseling service to help the boy through his issues.” She pointed at Bagpipe. “This is a very important job, so you will receive triple pay upon receiving a request for your return.” Her hoof then pointed at me. “Your job is to make sure he arrives at his destination, and the section goes smoothly. This is not some escort job, so if he starts getting touchy, shut it down.” We both nodded. “Good. Now that that’s over, I have work to get back to.” She gave us a glance. “Also be careful, lately I’ve been hearing about muggings in that part of the island, so keep an eye out for them.”

Turnip smiled. “I’ll keep an eye out for mugs.” The cyber dog looked up at him and rolled his eyes.

Nodding, Bagpipes and I left the casino, and trotted to the train. Turnip and Rufus stayed back, to not crowd our new companion, and draw even more attention to ourselves. It was odd escorting a very mare looking stallion in a bunny suit, but this was the job, and I hoped the reward will be worth it.

____________________________________

On our way to the train we did get a few looks, mostly at Bagpipe, which didn’t bother me, but the petite stallion didn’t seemed to like it too much. Most didn’t do more then look, and any that attempted to get too close were meant with my glare, which seemed to do the trick in keeping the ponies back.

After passing through the checkpoint, and paying them their bit, we were off to the next station. I didn’t like the idea of going to another station without a gun on me, I already had to deal with bandits once. ‘

“Th… thanks for agreeing to this.” Bagpipes spoke up. “It’s been difficult for me to get work lately.”

Looking at him, the way he was sitting was cute, though all he was doing was hiding his bulge with his front hooves, it gave him a venerable look to him. No, he was not my type, but just looking at him made me want to give him a hug. “Why’s that? I’m sure that most mares would want to spend some alone time with you.”

He shook his head, the bunny ears flopped around almost hitting me. “No, well yes, I’ve gotten some offers, but I can’t. You see, I’m married, and have two adorable foals. I don’t want to ruin things for them, not even if it meant getting every bit we need faster.”

Well that answers one question, yes, the overly adorable male that many mares want to molest, is in fact, already taken. “So I’m guessing your family has money troubles?”

“Yes. You see, my wife got sick, so it’s going to be another month before she can get back to work, mostly so she doesn’t spread the illness.” Bagpipe shuffled a bit, having a hard time getting comfortable. “The problems is that we rely on her income to get through the time when I’m not working. I would have gotten a normal job, but you know how Pineapple Island is.”

I nodded. It was a working ponies island, were if you didn’t have a job, you didn’t live on the island. Because of that, every job has heavy competition for it. “So how did you end up as a bunny pony?”

Bagpipe looked around nervously. “It kind of happened fast, a bit of a blur really. I had stopped by the job placement office, to you know, and bumped into Citole. She told me that I could get an excellent short term job if I went with her. Manageable hours, for pay plus benefits, and a good looking uniform.”

I had to hold back a laugh. “Let me guess, then you found yourself in a bunny suit, and thrown into a room with a stallion?”

He paused. “Not quite, I was put into a bunny suit, and then given an evaluation.” He tipped his head up a bit, looking a little proud of himself. “Turns out they had been looking for a pony with my skill set, so they were not going to simply use me as eye candy.”

“Skill set?” I asked.

Bagpipe lifted a hoof up to his mouth in surprise. Even his mannerisms he was feminine. “Oh sorry, I didn’t tell you. My real job is a teacher, my subject is pony psychology. After finding that out, Citole wanted me to work as an in house psychologist.”

“And the bunny outfit?”

He sighed. “They told me that it was the casinos work uniform, so I had to keep wearing it.”

I had to keep myself from laughing even more, poor Bagpipe, he was too cute looking for his own good. “So it’s a safe guess that you’re going to the Free Mare Plantation to give a pony some consoling?”

Bagpipe nodded. “If things go well, yes. From what I’m told, the plantations owner’s son has been developing a drinking problem, something that can easily get worse.”

“Ya, I was told something scandalous happened.”

He leaned in, and whispered to me. “Well as it turns out he’s gay, and it seems the presser for him to take a mare is what’s fueling his drinking habit.”

Thinking about it, it made sense. As far as most of the islands are concerned, there are no gay stallions. We all knew they exist, but the general though was that they should still take a mare and have foals. Orthrus, like with most things, had a hoof off policy when it came to how ponies wished to make a family, but the rest of the islands tended to look down on homosexuality.

“Well, if he gets too grabby with you, just let me know.” I clasped my hooves together. “You know how most stallions are, thinking with the wrong head and all that.”

Bagpiped sighed. “You’re not wrong, but you’re not right either.”

____________________________________

We arrived at Free Mares Station, obviously home to Free Mares Plantation. The atmosphere at this station was completely different, though the artistic style was still the same, from the first step inside I could feel how much more laid back everything felt.

There were no bustling crowds of ponies with places to be, or ponies at the corner, shouting for your attention. What was here were a few small stalls for placing orders for large quantities of food, and just as few ponies sitting around. I had heard about how slow passed the food production stations were, where the work was hard, but spread out over the entire day. It made everything here look so peaceful, but from knowing our history, when something goes wrong, their first ones to be burned. Something we learn time, and time again.

A mare in a sun hat and overalls trotted over to us, she had the biggest grin on her face. “Hello ladies, are you lost? Got off the wrong train?”

Bagpipes shook his head. “No, were just on our way to the Free Mares Plantation.”

The mare’s smile persisted. “I see, then would you like an escort? It’s a mighty distance from here on hoof.”

“Sorry, but we will be fine.” Bagpipe answered.

The mare got closer, and was now creeping me out. “I don’t know, things have been getting dangerous lately. You know, been hearing about robberies.”

I stepped between them, and stared down the mare. “I think you should go.”

She backed off. “I get it, you're both strong mares, need no help.” Trotting away, I could hear her grumble something, probably the word ‘cunt’

Looking back to Bagpipe, he looked a little concerned, but overall fine. “Let’s go before more creepers show up.” He nodded, and we were off.

The humidity went up the closer we got to the plantation, as well as the number of busy ponies. At first it was just ponies involved in shipping products from or to the plantation, but further we went in, more and more general labor ponies were around us. They gave us a few looks, some even whistled at Bagpipe, but none broke away from their work.

I wasn’t worried about anypony here doing anything stupid, as it would cost them their job. On this island, if you don’t have a means to support yourself, you didn’t live on this island. It’s why I didn’t live on this island, the rent was a pain in the flank, and my line of work was not stable enough in pay.

Passed the ponies, we entered the main area of the plantation, and into were much of the plants were being grown. Walls and walls of pineapples, tomatoes, and cucumbers were being grown here. The system had them all hanging on racks, which would slowly rotate, and allowed all the plants to get light and water evenly. It was all tightly compact as possible, growing the maximum amount of food in the smallest space, making the plantation was a wall of green all around.

The labor ponies would moves along the rows, picking the ripe fruit, or trimming overgrown plants back. Everything was moving, creating a constant hum of noise that surrounded me.

Pass all the plants, the main office was a lot calmer, with the radio playing in the background, and more space to relax. A mare behind a desk, looked over some paperwork, reminding me a bit of Flugalhorn. Stepping up to her, my shadow caught her attention. “Excuse me, I believe that were expected.”

The mare pulled a book over to her, and flipping through the pages. She looked up for a moment, eyeing Bagpipe. “Yes, you're here.” her voice was a bit nasally, and had a hint of hint of strain to it. “You’re here on behalf of the Lucky Rabbit's Foot, right?” We nodded. “Proceed on the door to your left, I’ll contact the mistress.”

We entered another waiting room, but this one was far better decorated. Mainly with plants growing in the corner, a fresh cucumber teased me in the distance, but also artwork hung from the wall. One painting caught my eye, it being of a pony holding a curved sword, facing off a wave of water as the pony stands on a cliff. I knew it was meant to be symbolic, but the meaning escaped me.

The music on the radio, a soft piano and saxophone duo, slowly faded out. ‘Hello, you are listening to radio channel one, music and news. I’m your host Domra Oakwood.’ The voice was that of a stallion, one of the common voices on radio one. The station rarely had anything interesting to say, but did keep the public informed about trade law, and the goings on between the Orphic Kingdom and the trade union. The music was not so bad either, mostly being Jazz and Swing, it was a good alternative to Club Three Dog's station, which focused on dance and electronic.

‘The Orphic royal court still has no common of the current state of Queen Gilded Gold. My fear that she has fallen to serious illness, but others have suggested that it is but a simple illness, and she simply refuses to have the public see her in a weakened state.’ I’d be inclined to believe the latter, but with everything I have been hearing about her lately, it was more likely the former. ‘The Orphic ponies are restless nonetheless, though princess Rare Pearl is next in line to take the thrown, many are unsure that is a transition takes place, that it will be a smooth one.’

My thoughts drifted to Golden Rule, and how he was getting ready for the worst. Didn’t know much about Rare Pearl, but it didn’t sound like she everything under control.

‘In other news, the Republic has once more partitioned for more stations to join them. One station did take their offer, but the rest remained skeptical. Though the republic’s reputation has slowly improved over the years, many ponies are still suspicious, as passed the border stations, it’s still an information blackout. The republic's president Garmon Keys still states that the blackout is for the citizen’s privacy, and protection. He also added that it was us to his citizen to lift the blackout, and that it continues because the public wishes for it.’

I was not all that interested in the politics involving the republic, but it was hard to avoid where I lived. The republic’s border stations were a nice enough place to live, with low income housing, proper law enforcement, and enough room to install an automatic shower, there was little I’d complain about. The one big complaint, I did have was how the republic's propaganda was everywhere, sometimes it made me wish Orthrus would stop it with their natural game, and start running stations directly.

‘One more bit of news, and this one’s about our rival Marewaii station 5-0.’ my ears perked up. ‘It seems that there was a disturbance at the station, not enough to take them off the air, but six body bags were seen being taken out of the club. When asked for comment, DJ Cerberus was mostly tight lipped. She did tell us that the club was being robbed, and a pony known as the Dragonslayer intervened. An Orthrus investigator at the scene supported the DJ’s statement, and added that the deaths are seen as self defense. Now we at station one do not condone violence, but we also understand that if you have the right to defend yourself, so to this Dragonslayer, good job.’

And the new nick-name continues to grow fame. Not that I didn’t like the name, far better than being named after the cloths I where, it just felt a little too much.

‘And that’s it for the news, tune in in two hours, and I’ll be interviewing minister Komabue Whisper, and her recent push for the Trade Union to work more closely to Orthrus. Her actions have divided the Union, and she will be here today to explain why.’

Music once more filled the room, this time swing. The sound of trumpets played alongside a guitar, with an energetic rhythm. I could see Bagpipe tap his hooves to the rhythm, it almost feeling contagious.

The peace was broken by the entrance of an older mare holding a small case, of which I assumed was the plantation owner, and two assistants that reminded me a bit of the maids with Golden Rule. They had a uniform on, but it was more business casual then the adorable outfits that the maids had on. The older mare looked all business in her gray suit, short cut main. She had a yellow cote any green making, reminding me a bit of a pineapple. But among the most distinct features she had, two cables came out of her neck and attached to a head terminal that she wore like glasses. The terminal simply looked like large blue tinted glasses, but I could see text scrolling in them, something almost impossible to read unless a pony was plugged into it.

She lifted the terminal and her eyes scanned the two of us. “You must be the mares sent by Vielle… you’re late.” The terminal fell back over her eyes. “Never the matter.” she pointed to Bagpipe. “I have a room ready, full privacy, just follow my assistances.”

Bagpipe got up, and bowed. “Thanks for your time mama.” The two assistants led him out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Alone in the room with the plantation owner, I watched as she trotted over and sat next to me. She pushed her terminal up and over her ears, and sighed. “What a mess.” she shook her head and looked over at me. “Names Khlui Rapping” She extended a hoof, and I shook it.

“Vibraphone Echo, also known as Dragonslayer.” I pulled out the envelope, and passed it to her.

Khlui smiled, taking the envelope. “Vielle never disappoints. In and out of bed.” She opened up the envelope, sliding out a compact holotype, and looked at it for a moment before putting it back inside. a letter was underneath, of which Khlui opened up and read. “You know I was fully expecting her to sell this to a rival of mine, not use it as an excuse to ask me out on a date.” She sighed once more, placing a letter in her pocket.

“From what I’ve seen, she's going to want more than a date.” I couldn't help but make a comment on the situation. I’ve only know Vielle for a short time, and I had a feeling that she was on the nympho side.

“Naturally.” Khlui responded. “I wonder if she is as flexible as she was when we were young?”

I face hoofed. “Please don’t, just no.”

Khlui chuckled. “Hey, you could learn a thing or two.” looking away from me, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “But thanks for seeing Vielles little physiatrist here. My boy’s been nothing but a pain this year, I hope this might help get him to calm down.” She shifted her eyes over at me, not moving her head. “I’m sure you didn’t have a problem getting here?”

I shook my head. “Other than a creepy mare, no, no problem at all.”

She relaxed. “Good, good. Lately some ponies have been harassing my workers. It’s been getting a lot worse lately.” She placed the small case in front of her, and smiled. “I’ve heard you're a mare who can get things done.”

I shook my head. “Sorry, but I’m no hit pony, you're going to have to look elsewhere for that.”

“A hit pony, I’d never.” Khlui opened the box, and pulled out what was a retractable baton. “I just need somepony to deliver a message for me. Some pony I can trust to do the job right. Can’t use my own ponies, that just make them a target, and can't hire a mercenary from a broker, they may use it as an opportunity to screw me over. So you Miss Dragonslayer are my best bet at resolving this issue while I still have some control over the situation.”

It was starting to click with me, this was probably the real job. Vielle sent me here because I’m both below the radar, and above it. If I do this job, it’s unlikely any of the tugs will come after me later, as they don’t know who I am, and even if they know me as Dragonslayer, they don’t have my real name. But the reputation I do have would pin me with Orthrus at the most, and with Orthrus have a hooved off stance on most things, most ponies feel safe that they will not suddenly turn into a tyrannical state.

I had to ask one more question. “Why not call Orthrus, they do run security on this island?”

Khlui waited for a moment before answering, as though picking her words carefully. “Orthrus is… good at what they do, I do agree with this. But in this situation, there not going to be much help. You're going to have to trust me on this.”

I was now feeling a little curious about the situation. “And what is this message?” I gave into her request, and hoped I was not making a mistake.

A bolt of electricity arced from the tip of the baton as Khlui glanced at me. “Get off my lawn. Mess with the rad board, get the tusks. Play with fire and get burned.” She retracted the baton, and hoofed it over to me. “You can choose, I just need them to not come back”

I took the baton, and placing it under my jacket. “Fine, I’ll have a little talk with them, see if we can avoid a seen.”

Khlui nodded. “That would be for the best.” She hoofed over compacted hollow tape over to me. “This will allow you to get to where the ruffians hang out without having to take the long way. I’ve been locking all the non-essential doors to slow them done, but they have a skilled hacker with them, so it didn’t do much.”

“I have one more thing to ask, what did your son do?”

She sighed. “Same thing I did at his age, got involved with a stripper.” She laughed. “Now that I think about it, my mother did something similar. Actually, I don’t think there is one strait pony in my family, I know my husband like to pretend he is.”

I had to chuckle. “You should tell me about it later.” Khlui gave me a smile and nod, and I was off. I normally didn’t get too friendly with a client, but being on friendly terms with a plantation owner tended to have really good benefits. If I played my cards right, I could easily move out of my old place, onto this island, and have and easy going job. Could even bring sweet with me

____________________________________

After regrouping with Turnip and Rufus, we followed the nav point set by Minerva. The two had been trailing us the whole time, but were prevented from going further into the plantation. As it turned out, Turnip is good at making friends, and they played a game of dice until I arrived. None of them were beating any bits, but simply having a friendly game. Rufus won most of the rounds.

We ended up in an older less used part of the metro. From the looks of it, it was a Stable-Tec construction warehouse, converted into storage by the plantation. When the metro was first being made, this was where much of the supplies, and machinery entered, and later sealed up tight, and converted for other uses. The place still had the large drill machine used to dig out the tunnel, though it had long been striped for parts. Other skeletons of old machine sat around this place, doing nothing more than rust.

Five ponies sat around a lamp, playing cards, and smoking cigarettes, drinking what looked like bottles of booze, and being quite loud about it. I made the assumption that these were the ponies I was looking for, and trotted over to them.

One of the group got up and trotted over to me, keeping me at the edge of the light. The pony had a creepy grin on her face, and a sun hat on. No doubt, it was the pony who offered to give me directions. “Now you must be lost if all are down here. Ya see this is what happens when you turn down a friendly strangers offer to help. You make a right fool of yourself.” Definitely the mare from before. “Here, why don’t you come sit with us, we're almost done with our game here.”

I signaled to Rufus and Turnip to stay where they were before following the mare. I was going to follow along for now, and see if this situation could be resolved peacefully. The group were all mares, no surprise there, and had that delinquent look to them. Their manes had neon colors added to them, and their tails looked like they were assaulted with a blender filled with paint. They all had jumpsuits on, but modified with the kind of patches I would see in trendy shops, lots of skills and heart. One mare even had a spiked dog collar on, even had a ring for a leash. If I didn’t know better, I say that they were bandits, but they lacked that wild look in their eyes, the kind a pony gets from living like a savage.

Sitting among the group, I could see that they were much younger then I was, probably between seventeen and nineteen. I could also see that they were all armed with Digger Guns, the cheap 12 gauge shotgun pistols could only fire one before needing to be reloaded, but that didn’t make them any less deadly. One Ganger had her digger gun modified with a stock and extended barrel, probably making her the sniper of the group. The rest had unmodified guns, though all the guns were decorated with pink hearts. I was now worried I was at a gun slinging sleepover party, where we paint out hooves before shooting at each other.

The mare in the sunhat sat next to me, her grin still creepy as fuck. “So what happened to the tramp? Let me guess, Taphon showing her the Rapping family fucking.”

That escalated quickly. “Ah... no.” The gang of mares all looked agitated, their eyes on us two. “That’s not why she's there.”

Sun Hat tilted her head in the way when you know someone is hog shitting you, or at least you think they are. But her smile didn't fade, actually her whole face started to look forced in place. “Don’t lie to me!” I decided I needed to get a closer look, so I leaned closer to her face. “What!” her face flushed, but nothing on it moved. “Hey I’m not into that.”

It was faint, but I could see the slight signs of scars under her coat, all over her face. She was not smiling, her face was paralyzed into looking like that. I pulled back, and furrowed my brow. “What happened, who did that to you?” No pony made a noise, they all looked at us disquietly.

Sun Hat scooted back and pointed her hoof at me. “SHUT UP, WHAT DO Y’ALL KNOW?”

I hit a nerve. I had a few ideas of my own, but I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “Not much as it turns out. So why don’t you tell me about it.”

She seemed to relax a little. “And what should I tell y’all anything?”

I pulled out the baton, extending it. One of the mares jumped when it extended. I then turned on the power, bolts of electricity sparking of the baton. The made the rest jump. It was confirmed for me, they were just a bunch of kids. “First off, I want to know, were you the one harassing the plantation?”

The mares looked among each other, and one seemed to puff herself up. “Ya, why the fuck do you care.” Sun Hat tossed an empty can at the loud mare, pulling the attention back to herself.

“What she means is fuck you.” Sun Hat said, placing a hoof in a pocket.

I turned off the baton, and dropped it. “I’m not here for a fight, I just needed to know.”

Sun Hat took her hoof from her pocket, and relaxed again. “Fine, whatever.” she huffed.

I pulled out my combat knife, it still covered in the dried blood of the bandits, and dropped it. “Good, because I already killed three ponies today, and I think the blood is starting to make my skin isch.” The five mares were taken aback, one falling from the box she was sitting on, and hiding behind it.

Sun Hat nodded. “Yes mam.” Everything about her had tensed up. I could imagine what she must have been thinking; to her I was a killer, who did not fear them, and purposely dropped my weapons. I must have his a primal fear.

“You see.” Sun Hat continued. “I use to date Taphon, the plantations owners oldest, we dated for a long time.” I can already see how that ended. “I well wanted it to be more, told him I wanted to be with him, yakow, forever. But the damn fool freaked out, said he was not ready, that he needed space. I don’t know why.” Answer, he’s gay. “Well I was heartbroken, but my papa talk me that if the saddle falls of, you just have to put it back on again, so I didn’t give up. Well, news of him being single got around, and the mares came running, depart whores.”

I had a good idea what happened next in the story, when a lot of mares gather for the attention of a stallion, it can get ugly, especially for the mares closest to the stallion. “So a fight happened I guess?”

Sun Hat shook her head. “No, Taphon formally turned them all down, said the same thing he told me, but calmer. They all went away, but they didn’t give up, sending him letter, their underwear.” I shivered at the last part. “I tried to tell him that if he didn’t take me back, then they would not stop. But the damn fool turned stubborn. Well, not long after that, som… some..” tears started to fall from her face. “I ah, don’t want to talk about it.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.” I didn’t think I wanted to know how her face got paralyzed.

“FUCK YOU!” Sun Hat spat on the ground. “What do you know, nothing that’s what!” She put her hoof into her pocket, and pulled out an enforcer, placing the revolver in her mouth, and pointed it at me.

Now I was taken aback. The Digger guns I understood, but to have a enforcer, she would have had stolen it, or be part of Orthrus. I face hoofed. “Your part of Orthrus. Fuck me, this is getting stupid.”

Sun Hat growled. “uck yaa, a ar o ortis.” The idiot spoke through her gun.

The mare who fluffed up her chest before, took a step forward, looking more confident. “What sis is saying is, fuck you, you dumb ass bitch.” I wanted to smack her, I wanted to smack her good.

The pony who was behind the small box whimpered before raising her head and speaking up. “Dollu!” now I had a real name for Sun Hat. “Stop this, ma and pa will be mighty pissed if they knew you pulled a gun on a pony.” She looked over at the other two, and glared at them.

One of the two spoke up first. “We don’t want to get ma’s bet again.”

“Ya, our backsides still red from the last time.” The second finished.

And this got a whole lot dumber, this was not a gang, this was a family. This changed the dynamics a lot, like that they weren't going to abandon their sister no matter what I do. Family’s family.

I kept my hooves up, trying to not be threatening. “You need to calm down… Dollu was it. I’m not here for a fight.”

“Wll, ob bg!” She was preparing herself to shoot the gun, anything I do now could get me shot.

“Dollu, listen to me.” Her more reasonable sister spoke up. “She’s not one of them, you don’t need to do this.”

I had to act fast. “Minerva, S.A.T.S.” Time slowed to a crawl. Having time to think, I quickly figured out what I needed to do. “Selecting for me to roll forward, and pick up the stun baton, it put me right up next to Dollu. I doubted she was all that skilled with the gun, so it was likely she would not easily shoot a moving target.

Time slowly returned to normal speed, and my back legs moved on their own, propelling me forward into a role. The baton entered the grip of my cyber hoof, assisted with the Minerva's TK spell. I seemed to move in a blink of an eye, catching Dollu off guard, and allowing me to get right up on her before she even fired a shot. I held the baton under her chin, and she didn’t move an inch, her eyes looking at me in terror. Not feeling like she would even listen to me, it would be better if I took her out and talked with one of her sisters.

I pushed the baton into her coat, and turned on the power. The mare immediately tensed up, and the gun fired harmlessly into the wall on the other side of the room. The bullet still flew past my ear, sending a sharp and painful ringing into it. Dollu fell to the ground, this time her whole body paralyzed, the gun falling from her mouth when she hit the ground.

The rest of the sisters were stunned, mouths agape. Sighing, I put the stun baton away, and picked up the gun.

“Don't you dare touch ma sister gun!” The more aggressive sister jumped forward at me as she spoke. Her intent was clear, and she was definitely a strong mare, a bit bigger than me, but she lacked proper combat training, or any conditioning. I sidestepped the mare, piston wiping her face, and she stumbled, but quickly regained composure. So I bucked her, and she hit the ground.

I looked at the other sisters, and none of them looked ready to fight me, which was good, because they are all still armed with their digger guns. Dollu had also recovered from being shocked, slowly getting, and then curling up into a tight ball. The more reasonable sister jumped over to her eldest, and began comforting her.

I dropped the enforcer at Dollu hooves, looking down at the mare. “I don’t know what you went through, but I can tell you I know that I know how it feels to have a pony look after you.” I pointed my hoof at the more reasonable sister, “If I was a lesser pony, I would have killed the lot of you.” I pointed back down at Dollu. “You, and the sisters that love you, and it would have been your fault. From one regulator to the next, grow a pair, and get over yourself. You got bigger things to worry about.”

The reasonable sister petted her sister mane as she looked up at me. “You’re Orthrus too.”

I shrugged. “Was, things weren’t going will for me, turns out it was my sister's fault. You know how sisters can be, they think they know the best for you, and it just makes you angry.” she smiled and nodded. “Well she's a specter, and wanted me to be one too, but I didn’t have the same ambitions. So she had me pushed out of Orthrus so that I could be secretly put into specter training or something.” I stomped at the ground. “Now I’m stuck doing this shit.”

Dollu sat up, visibly shaking, and tears were staining her coat under her eyes. “Specter, that’s just my luck.” She sniffled as she rubbed her eyes, and a little chuckle came from her “You know, that’s my goal. That and fixing my face. When I become a specter, I’ll make them pay, each one will get it slowly. You see, they beat my face in with hot iron rods, trying to make me too ugly for Taphon to take back, violated me too. Dimdi found me-” She motioned to the more reasonable sister “dragged me to a medical pony. They saved my life, but most of the nerves in my face were dead.”

“So you joined Orthrus to earn the bits to fix your face.” I pointed out, and Dollu nodded.

She pointed at her more aggressive sister. “Dholak went hunting for the mares that did this to me, but they all had ran off. Every now and then, one would appear, and we set them start.” I had the feeling this was the harassment I was sent to stop.

I trotted over to my knife, and put it away. “Okay, I get it now, this is a revenge job. But you need to stop this. The next pony that comes out here is not going to be nice, and some pony is going to die.” Dimdi seemed to shrink at the idea, the mare seemed a bit too fragile to be doing this kind of thing. “Any who, you're going to have bigger problems soon.”

“What are ya’ll talking about?” Dollu asked as she got up.

I cracked my neck, making a popping sound. “You didn’t hear this from me, but the islands are being attacked by outsiders. Just this morning Club Three Dog was attacked by bandits who had been taken by the outsiders. Whoever they are, they have an army, and they are not friendly.”

The sisters looked among each other a bit confused. “Hog Shit!” Dollu spat out, putting her enforcer back into her pocket.

“It’s all true. Saw then myself. Even got chased by a vertibuck.” I didn’t have anything as proof, but I did have the next best thing. “Turnip, can you come here and take off your mask?” Turnip stepped into the light with Rufus behind him, his dark purple chitin made him almost seem black in the darkness, and his glowing red eyes felt far more menacing too. “I picked up this fella along the way, he's a Sparkle Lurker. Turns out there's a whole mess of them on the big Island.”

One of the sisters in the back, fell over, her hooves slipping out from under her. Turnip raised a hoof and waved. “Hello, kindly don’t shoot, I friend… Friendly.” He smiled, but the glowing red inside of his mouth only made it even creepier than Dollu.

“So cute.” the words escaped from Dimdi’s mouth, and we all looked at her. She shrunk back. “Well, I.. um... sorry.”

I started to snicker, and the other sisters started laughing, making me laugh as well. It felt contagious. We all stood there, laughing until we were all out of breath. The atmosphere in the room had changed to something much warmer, as though the laughing had banished any ill will from the room. I told them about my run in with the pirates, and they all listened intently at my story. Dimdi sat next to Turnip during the story, the lurker looking a little uncomfortable next to the mare.

“So no shitting, were going to war with outsiders.” Dollu asked me, now much friendly, and less inclined to shoot me.

I nodded. “Looks like it. Whoever these pirates are, they don’t seem like the kind to just leave us alone. Orthrus is probably going to be the first line of defense.”

Dollu looked around at her sisters, and back to me, saluting. “Then I can’t be fucking around here, I need to get ready. I’d be damned if I let same pirates kill me before I get my payback.” She pulled Dimdi into a headlock, holding her sister in place. “I’m counting on you to keep the family safe. I better have a home to come back to when this is over.”

Dimdi started to cry, and Dollu let her go. In a blink of an eye, Dimdi had Dollu in a vice grip like hug, still crying. “But I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to lose you.”

Dollu patte her younger sister on the head. “It’s fine, I’ll be back, by Celestia as my witness I’ll be back, and better than ever.” Dimdi let her sister go, and smiled.

Confident that the sister will no longer harass the plantation workers, I made my way back. Dollu went with me half of the way, hoping to get a few tips from me. I only had two tips, dedication to her duty, and making friends. If she could to that, she was going to be just fine in Orthrus. It’s not like she had an older sister to mess everything up for her.

____________________________________

Back at the Plantation I informed Khlui about the situation, and though she seemed happy about the sisters no longer bothering her workers, she was upset about what had happened to Dollu.

“Such a sweet girl, her family owns one of the smaller farms on the island. Specializing in potatoes. If there was a mare I would feel safe in entrusting my son to, it was Dollu.” I attempted to give the baton back to Khlui, but she pushed it back to me. “I’m just glad everything ended the way it did. Somehow I think my son already knew, he didn’t drink so much before, cider here and there, but rarely rum. It was not long after he broke up with her that he started drinking more.” She sighed. “The stupid boy, he does love her, I can see that. But he just doesn't know himself.” I couldn't help but feel that was a common problem here in the metro.

Bagpipe later joined us, and Khlui took us to her dining room. She wanted to treat us a little herself for helping out her son. I asked if I could shower first, and one of her assistants led me to a wash room so that I could clean up. The table was set with fresh vegetables cut into sticks, and juice made from the same vegetable. There was even an avocado dip for us to use. Tunip and Rufus were invited, the cyber dog happy to have something to eat, but did look a little disappointed that it was all vegetables. Tunip on the other hoof enjoyed the mean, sticking to all the softer food do to him not having any teeth.

We sat around for over an hour, mostly talking about gossip. Khlui was quite interested in hearing about the dinner that was going to happen at Cornett’s, and she cringed when I mention the Flugelhorn already had a special somepony. I could imagine, poor Citole was probably going to hit on a stallion who was already taken.

Turnip also talked a little about his home, most of it was what he already told me, the rest was little day to day thing he helps his princess with. Khlui talk about the time she dated Vielle, at the time Vielle was just a stripper, and Khlui wanted to piss off her parents. They were together for three years before Khlui gave into her parents nagging, and took a stallion. Vielle later married the owner of the Lucky Rabbit's foot, a stallion thirty years older than her.

Bagpipe had a few stories of his own. He had actually met his wife through her brother who was trying to court him, thinking he was a mare. It was both funny, and romantic.

When it was time for us to go, Khlui let us know that she already sent a letter to Vielle about how pleased she was. We said our goodbyes, and I escorted Bagpipes back to the train station, he still stuck in the bunny suit. Turnip still didn’t like taking the train, but had gotten better at holding in his sickness. It was probably because this train moved slower, not going from one island to the next.

Taking the stallion back to the casino, the crowds had died down a bit, being between the time for daytime shopping, and nightlife parties. At the casino, I didn’t see Citole, and didn’t go looking for Vielle. It was safe to assume that Citole was at Cornett’s. Bagpipe left to go get changed, though I got used to seeing him in a bunny suit, I wished him well, and left.

It was a little bit early for dinner, but I felt that it was better than being late. The district was even quieter now, than it was in the morning. Ironshod was still showing off their new rail gun, advertising to ponies who wanted to give it a try at a shooting range. Most of the smaller stalls were closed down, their business concluded for the day.

Outside of Cornett’s sat two ponies with hoods on. The both had their backs to each other, sitting as far from the other as possible while still being in front of the door.

One of the ponies turned to look at me, the yellow ringlets of Kantele main bounced out. “Vibraphone, Darling!” She trotted over to me. “I was almost worried that you might not show up.”

Citole trotted in front of her and gave me a hug. I had to hold back a cringe, really not interested in being touched by another mare right now. “Love and kisses and all that.” She let me go, and her bunny ears flopped out of her hoody. “So how did things go, did Bagpipe get back with little trouble?”

I took a step back, feeling the tension in the air. “Bagpipe is fine, he also seemed real happy to be out of the bunny suit.” I looked over and passed Citole, at Kantele. “Good to see your here. To tell the truth, I wasn’t sure you would show up.”

Kantele gave me her best business pony smiles. “I’m a mare of my word, and you made it quite clear I should do this.”

Citole backed off, and gave me some room. Looking at the two mares, I couldn't help but feel that this was at best, going to end weirdly. I was just glad that it was only two extra mares, things could always be worse, Rototom taught me that well.

Stepping inside the gun shop, Flugelhorn was still at his desk, like he lived there, working through paperwork. Looking up at me, and smiled a little. “You're a little early, but that's fine…” The others walked in, and he sighed. “Seriously… well there's enough food to go around... also bullets.”

Kantele leaned in. “Bullets are good… right?”

Citole also leaned in. “Ya, he works with bullets, so it has to be a good thing.”

Fuck me ten ways to next year, this dinner was going to be painful.

____________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Progression:

No Goddesses, or Princesses, Only Mares. %50

Family Matters. %25

I like to lurk. %25

Chapter 12 - Dinner and a Show

The two mares, Kantele and Citole, had both dragged in a large case behind them, almost fighting over who got their first. I defused the situation by dragging luggage in myself, and pushing the two mares inside. Kantele had forgone her business suit, now in a black dress with silver trim, a very striking look. Citole was still in a bunny outfit, but this one being a suit, and not a one piece.

“So… I’m guessing Citole is on top?” I couldn’t help but make a joke, the two did look like they were going out for a date.

“Oh please, I’m the one on top.” Kantele blabbed out. Citole face hoofed, and I had to hold back from laughing. “What? Was it something I said?”

Citole and I decided not to explain it to her, and processed to the dining room. The setup left me both impressed, and a bit baffled. A lot of it was normal dining room stuff: table, seats, plates. What was odd about this was the decorations; pink hearts were on everything, along with ribbons and bows. It was like they gave the decorating over to a little filly whose life goal was to get married and play house.

“How lovely!” Kantele gushed as she skipped over to the table.

Flugelhorn stepped out, holding a plate of bread rolls on his back, and placed it on the table. “Nice that you think so, Mother decorated.” He seemed as dreary as ever, looking over at Kantele and sighing.

“Don’t worry, I have an explanation for this.” I assured him, and he nodded before returning to the kitchen.

The sound of metal banging on metal caught me by surprise as Citole bumped her hip into mine. I gave gave her an irritated look, but she just smiled. “I got the legs as promised, you want to try them on?”

She didn’t need to bump my hip to ask me, what was she going to do next, slap my flank? Calming down a bit, I nodded, and Citole trotted over to her case.

Inside the case were two full cybernetic back legs, their color was a matted black similar to the dark blue leg covers given to members of Orthrus. On the flank, where a cutie mark would go was what looked like a cutie mark engraved in brass. The symbol was that of a cat-bell, with a bow, and ribbon behind it. It looked like the cat-bell had cat ears and a tail. Looked up at Citole, I raised an eyebrow. “Who gambled this leg away?”

Citole sighed. “Mother felt like we should give you something special after you resolved that situation so well. So we're giving you my sisters back legs.”

“Wait, what?” why would they give me something like that. “And what did she have to say about it?”

She shook her head. “My sister passed away a year ago, caught something from the surface.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Citole said with a weak smile. “She was an Orthrus vanguard, so we were expecting that something would happen. At least the illness allowed us all to say our goodbyes, far better than a letter about how she was lost.”

I lifted one of the legs up, it was a little heavy, but I could get used to it. “So she was part of the first response troopers. My best friend was aiming for that, they're some of the bravest ponies I’ve ever met.”

Citole took the leg, and moved behind me. I balanced myself as she began to detach my old leg, and install the new one. “Ya, she’d come home with stories about how she helped clear a tunnel infestation, or help stomp out a bandit incursion.” The new leg attached, and I focused my magical energy into it, getting the leg to balance so that she can attached the next one. “My brother is going to be a bit pissed over this, but mother said that the Chime’s legs were made for a warrior, so they have to go to a warrior.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yes, two actually, and three sisters.” She spoke with some pride in her voice. “And before you ask, joke, or snidely suggest, no we don’t have different fathers. Though my two older sisters were from father’s previous marriage.” It was a bit surprising, how I already caught her mother cheating. “You were just thinking about my mother’s stupid hobby weren’t you?” I froze. “Well father's old age has caught up with him, and mother… you know what, let’s not talk about my parent’s sex lives.” She slapped the second leg in, nearly tipping me over.

Getting myself balanced, I activated the second leg, and began to test them out. I almost fell on my face at first, I was used to the prosthetic legs, so I was not used to actually having some power behind the legs. When I finally got the hang of them, I found the legs very pleasant to use, as they allowed me to move with a lot more care. “They’re real nice. I’ll be sure to take extra care of them.”

Citole dropped my old legs into the case. “You better, I’m expecting you to return them if you find anything better to replace them with.”

We both returned to the dinner table, my back legs moving with a bit more of a wide step, causing my hips to sway almost dramatically. Full cyber legs were defiantly different from the cyber prosthetics I was used to using, so it was going to take a little longer to get them to move normally.

Kantele had been fiddling with the decorations, attaching one of the paper hearts in her mane, and giggling to herself. Yes it was cute, but not what you expect of a CEO of a major company, she was acting more like a distracted filly. Flugelhorn seemed less than amused by her, having taken a seat himself, and putting jam on his roll.

The seat was comfortable enough, large enough for all of my leg to rest on, with a little cushion for my nonmetal parts to rest upon. “So, I never got to ask you, how long have you been in the gunsmithing business?” my question directed at Flugelhorn, in hopes of getting the atmosphere a little friendlier.

Flugelhorn took a bite of his jam roll, slowly chewing before swallowing the piece. “Family business, so all my life.” He was being as pleasant as always. “This shop use to be the original Ironshod Firearms, long before the Brass Apple family moved in and took the name.” He glared at Kantele, and she cowered a bit, using one of the paper hearts to hide behind.

Clearing my throat, I brought the attention to myself. “So, about my guns, I’m curious to see what your mother built?” Though it was fun to see the rich mare be looked down on, it was my idea that she come here, so I felt I might as well look after her until she said what she wanted to say.

Mister grumpy had stopped glaring at Kantele, and gave me his best business pony smile, which needed a lot of work. Seriously, what kind of mare would like this jackass? “Yes, mother had plenty ideas on what to build for you, but we all decided on an older build. For the most part It was already built, we just needed to forge a few new parts, and add in a new talisman to it.”

I took a roll, and added some jam to it. The jam looked like pineapple, a bit old fashioned, but still good. “I’m just happy to know I’ll get my guns back. I’ve not been having the best time without them.” Biting into the roll, it was quite good, and was still warm from the oven.

“Really?” Flugelhorn asked, looking a little concerned. “What happened?”

I sighed. “The worst of it, I got molested by a bandit, almost raped. But I managed to get out of that situation. Thank Celestia that your mother left me my knife.”

Everypony at the table had their mouth open from what was likely shock. Flugelhorn was the one to break the silence. “I’m glad you were able to get out of that situation. I would hate to hear you come to harm.”

Hooves came from behind me, and wrapped around me into a hug. “Oh it must have been horrible!” it was Cornett. “You must have been so scared.”

The sudden hug took me by surprise, causing me to be stunned for a few seconds. “It's alright, I’m…” My eyes watered, and tears escaped my eyes. “I’m fine.” Damn my emotions, now she had me crying.

“I can see that.” She squeezed me tightly, putting me at ease. “But still, something like that must have been horrible.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “It was. I had my knife, so I just played along until I could strike.” Opening my eyes, I looked at everyone, now feeling calmer. “When I saw what she was going to do, I panicked. Almost lost my life because of it. Rufus here saw that the bandit was not alone, and got her before she could shoot me.”

Cornett let me go, and trotted to the side of the room, over to Rufus. “He’s a good boy. A pony’s best friend.” She petted his head, and he barked once. “Well, now you won’t need to go unarmed.” She quickly trotted to the side, and pulled out a case, dragging it over to the table. “Because I have your guns right here.”

I looked down at the metal case, exited to see what she had made. She opened it and placed my revolver on the table, it now sporting brass ornamentation of a crescent moon. “Now when I worked on your sisters enforcer, I named it the ‘Solar Eclipse’ so I felt it was only right to name your gun something similar. This here is the ‘Lunar Eclipse’ a fine revolver, better than what it was before.” Taking the revolver into my hooves, it felt a little heavier, but overall the same revolver I had for years. Cornett smiled, “I’ve added a heavy frame to it, and rebalanced it. You should find that the recoil is more manageable now.”

Activating my TK talisman, the revolver lifted without delay, its own TK talisman matching mine, like with my old hunting rifle. This was going to make shooting the revolver much smoother, and make it less likely that it would just get knock out of my hold. Placing the revolver into my holster, switching out the stun baton, and placing it onto the table.

Cornett trotted over to my side, and picked up the baton. Now that I had a better view of her, she was wearing a frilly heart shaped apron, and a chef’s hat decorated with a big red heart on it. Now I did like my frills, and hearts, but Cornett was going overboard with it all. “Oh! this is fun.” she said with a grin, as she extended the baton, and sending sparks jolting out of the tip. “Where did you get it?”

“From the owner of Free Mare Plantation.” I answered.

She nodded, and smiled. “Well that’s nice of her, something like this can save your life. You should keep it in your hidden compartment.” she retracted the baton.

“My what?” I asked, feeling a bit confused.

“Give me your hoof, the right one” I complied and extended the leg I got from Shamisen. Cornett took it in her hoof, messing with it until a panel opened up, just above the hoof. Like she said, it was a hidden compartment, just big enough to hide a grenade or a small gun. Cornett placed the baton in the leg and closed it. “There, next time something bad happens, you can surprise them with a shock.”

I twisted the leg around, articulating the hoof, checking to see if it moved any differently. When everything checked out, I relaxed the leg. “Learn something new every day.” I bit into a roll I had, the jam was very sweet, and a bit sticky. Flugelhorn passed me a glass of juice, and I used it to down the roll. “Thanks. So, about my new rifle?”

Cornett took a seat at the table, and whistled loudly. “About that, I had to scrap most of the parts. if they weren't damaged, they were made from low quality materials. No good for a high powered weapon.” Two ponies came out, and placed a short gun case on the table. The ponies had forge worker overalls on, and were quite dirty looking. “Thanks, did you make the replacements?” On of the two nodded. “How about the crack?” the other nodded. “Oh I love you two so much!” Cornett jumped out to hug them, but they dodged.

Flugelhorn got out of his seat, and picked his mother up. “It’s not the best idea for you to go hugging them when their still dirty, Let them wash up first.” He helped his mother back to her seat, and returned to his own. “As my mother was saying, she has most of the low quality parts scrapped, and the rest used to make the new rifle.”

I took a sip of my juice “What did you make? It’s still an air gun right?”

Cornett opened up the case, revealing the parts of a rifle I’d never seen befor. “This is the Lelantos, my newest masterpiece!”

It looked interesting enough, but was hard to tell what I was looking at with it in parts. There was a large air tank, a stock, a barrel, the frame, a bayonet, and oddly a large revolver cylinder. “If that’s an air rifle, then what’s with the cylinder, wouldn’t it be better if It had a magazine?”

Smiling, Cornett took the parts out, and began putting them together. “Magazines tend to be a weak point in most guns made today. Good for automatics, Something this is not.” The rifle started to take shape, with the air tank going between the frame and the stock. “What you want is something with power and range, so I scrapped the old idea of what an air rifle should be, and went with a different idea.” after attaching the barrel, she picked up what looked like a metal stick with a sharpened tip, and placed it in the cylinder. “Ball bearings are good and all, but just lack any penetration unless fired from a railgun.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “So you made me a rifle that shoots crossbow bolts?”

“Precisely!” Cornett said with exuberance. “It’s a modern version of an old idea. You get the reliability of a revolver, with the sheer power and penetration of a crossbow. Lelantos will be the envy of all air gun user's, trust me.”

Before I could respond Flugelhorn cleared his throat, getting our attention. “What my mother is trying to say is that this is an updated version of the Hellsing rifle.”

I had to think about it for a moment before it hit me. The Hellsing was an arrow shooting air rifle, a common weapon among hunters, long before the AG5 came along. The hunting air rifle had the advantage of being cheaper, and easier to maintain, along with cheaper ammunition. I still saw the Hellsing used from time to time, mostly by older more experienced hunters.

Flugelhorn continued. “The hellsing had the advantage of being very powerful, with ammunition that could be easily retrieved and reused. Same concept here, but this rifle is even more powerful, as well as being compact, and moddable.”

“Moddable?” I had to ask.

“Yes,” he continued. “You can add a barrel extension to extend the range and accuracy, or remove it to make it a close quarters rifle. If you can find a pony who can enchant the ammunition, or barrel, well the possibilities are endless. And that’s just the barrel, the enter rifle can have interchangeable parts, so if you can find a pony who can make them, you can turn this into a different kind of rifle at your discretion.”

Cornett had attached the bayonet to the barrel of the rifle. “But as is, you could kill a Paradise Dragon with this!”

I looked at the rifle, and to me it was no railgun. “Really?”

“E’yep.” She aimed the rifle above my head and fired, the rifle making a puff sound, and the bolt making a loud clang as it collided with the metal wall. I turned to look, and saw it half way through the metal plate. Tuning back to Cornett, she had a huge grin on her face. “I added one of my vortex talismans to the cylinder, gives a strong spin to the bolts.”

“Vortex talismans?”

She nodded. “I use them in my forge, feeds air into it to keep the coals real hot when I’m making my knives” She pointed to the bayonet. It was a thick knife, around a quarter of an inch thick, curving at the tip to make a fine point. Above the grind was rough with a black finish, giving it a stone like look to it. Overall the bayonet blade look like it was made to kill monsters, of which it probably was. The handle was made from a nice piece of wood, but lacked any kind of wrap to help keep a firm grip when mouth welding it, something I’ll add later.

“So why a revolver cylinder?”

Flugelhorn answered. “It’s where the vortex talisman is held, and when the cylinder in place, it makes an airtight seal as it fires. Most air rifles have multiple moving parts, and must maintain an airtight seal to keep from losing pressure. Here the only moving part is at the cylinder, so less parts are needed to maintain pressure. When the air is shot through the cylinder, the talisman forces it to spin, and it does not lose pressure until it leaves the barrel.

I had to think about it for a moment. “So what you have is a high powered crossbow bolt shooting air rifle, with a six shooter cylinder that spins the bolt to increase the power and range. On top of that, it comes with a hoof forged bayonet, and is fully customizable, to match the situation I need it for.”

“E’yep!” Cornett answered. “I see that you like it.”

I had a big grin on my face, which was a little embarrassing, but this rifle was just too cool. At first the rifle seemed a bit impractical, but now that I had a better understanding of it, it was exactly the kind of rifle I was looking for. Ya, I was at a bit of a loss for ammunition, but I could simply stockpile the bolts, and any I used in the tunnels could easily be recovered as long as I shoot carefully. Anything this thing hit was definitely going to get hurt, even if the target has armor on.

“Here” Cornett tossed me the Lelantos, and I caught it in my hooves. The rifle was a bit weighty, it’s parts definitely not made of lighter material, or cut down. Holding it, I was sure I could do damage with this as a simple bludgeoning weapon, which may be why it comes with a bayonet. Looking down the sights, it was basic, but it did have railing for a scope to be attached. Placing the stock on my shoulder, it held firm in my hooves, reminding me of some of the old zebra rifles used in Orthrus gun training. Definitely not the best rifle for sudden, and sporadic fighting, but in a more controlled situation this could be death incarnate in the right hooves.

“It feels real nice.” I hoofed at the cylinder, and it slowly spun, clicking silently. “I’ll have to get short to mid range gun to compensate. Maybe see if I can get my hooves on an surplus AG6, or a shotgun. But overall,” I lifted the rifle up, and took a good look at it’s trigger. “I know that Lelantos will serve me well, and I’ll look after him in return.”

“Him?” Citole eyebrow cocked up a little. “Sorry, but I never understood the him and her references to guns you Orthus types keep using.”

I felt the heat hit my face at the question, how does she not know?

“I know this!” Kantele spoke up. “It refers to automatic guns, versus single action, double action, and bolt action.” I felt my face get a little redder. “I don’t know the origins, but it’s a refrence to orgasim. Automatic guns are often called she, because you pull the trigger and they keep shooting until you stop, or it’s out of ammo. And he is for the rest, as you need to pull the trigger for each shot, and only skilled ponies can effectively fire them in quick succession.” Kantele had said it all in a matter-of-fact tone, which didn’t help my embarrassment.

Citole smiled, giving me a snide look. “I see that you like your guns on the stallion side.”

I glared at Citole, and hoofed the Lelantos back to Cornett, whom began dismantling the rifle, and putting it back in the case. “They’re just more reliable, that’s all.” Not wanting to continue this dialogue, I turned my attention to Flugelhorn. “Is there a way I could get a scope, and a barrel extension? I was thinking of using the rifle as an effective sniper rifle.”

Flugelhorn scratched his chin, for a moment. “I know we still have the scope from your AG5, so we can just give you a similar one that can fit on the railing. As for the extended barrel, you wouldn't need anything special, so we could get you a cheap and light one right off the floor in a matter of minutes.” He nodded. “We can do that, I’ll just add it to your credit, but it’s not going to cost you much at all.

When the Lelantos was packed away, Flugelhorn picked up the case, and trotted it to the back. I could see why this shop came highly recommended.

“Excuse me.” Kantele spoke up. “Before dinner is served, I... I’d like say a few things.” She looked over to me nervously, and I gave her a nod. She turned her attention back to Cornett, and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry for what my mother did, I’m so, so sorry. It was under hoofed, disrespectful, and out of line with what Ironshod Firearms is meant to be.” Her eyes shifted away. “It’s not that being cutthroat is not part of business, I mean getting the exclusive deal is a big goal and all.” She looked Cornett in the eyes. “But to hurt a business partner in such a way is entirely shortsighted, and bound to hurt the business in the long run.”

She opened up her case, and pulled out a bunch of papers, and to my surprise, the IF-155, which she struggled with a little to get on the table. The Bad Seed as a big as ever, but this one looked a little bigger, and had a lot more welding.

At this moment Flugelhorn had trotted back in, and looked entirely displeased. “What’s all this?” He was glaring Daggers at Kantele, whom began hiding behind her LMG. “What are you planning?”

“S.. Sorry. I’m not planning on doing anything bad, honest.” She reached out for the paperwork, but found it missing. Cornett was reading through them quite thoroughly, her eyes practically glued to the paper.

Flugelhorn trotted over to his mother, looking concerned. “That better no be another trick deal.” Cornett hoofed over the papers to her son, and he scanned them. “Wait… this is the patent to the railgun design that mom made.” He flipped to the next page. “And this is it’s copy, and the other copy.” He looked up at Kantele with a baffled expression. “How… no, why?”

Kantele peek out from behind her LMG. “I felt a simple apology was not enough. So I’m returning the patent to your mother.”

With an eyebrow cocked, Flugelhorn placed the patents on the table. “What’s your angle, no way you'd do this over a simple apology.”

Kantele meekly nodded, and fiddled with her LMG. “Well I was hoping to work with your mother, make a business deal, and co-design a new rifle.” She pushed the Bad Seed forward. “I tried to make a rail gun from your mother's design, but couldn't get it to work. So I made this.”

Before Flugelhorn could respond, His mother had hopped onto the table, and was looking the LMG over. She fiddled with the trigger, removed and checked the spark battery, checked the cables, and looked down the barrel. “Not bad.” Cornett said with a grin. “A bit crude, but definitely the work of an a grade engineer. Oh, a port for a plug to go into, that will definitely get around the battery problem, whose idea was that?”

Kantele raised a hoof. “Well the IF-155 works best as a stationary weapon, so if figured that having a plug port would be a advantage.”

Cornett hopped over the LMG, and scrunched Kantele’s face. “How did you get around the power distribution problem, or the magnetic pulse when firing?”

Kantele’s eyes darted about. “I… I had a charge dissipator added along the barrel, and a feedback loop to the body.”

The older mare let the younger go, and smiled. “Not bad, dangerous for anypony that touches the barrel, but I can see how that works.” Cornett paused for a moment, and then her eyes popped wide open. “That’s it.” she hugged Kantele, whom let out a surprised squeak. “If I use two batteries, and set up a feedback loop, and add a charge dissipator to the end of the barrel…”

“It should keep the batteries from exploding!” Kantele finished the statement with a big smile on her face.

Cornett, still holding Kantele, looked over to her son. “Can we keep her?”

Flugelhorn looked dumbfounded, slowly turning his attention down at the patent and sighed. “One, you can't just take ponies in because you like them. Two, she has her own place to return to. And three, after what her mother pulled, I’m against working with Ironshod.” He hoofed at the patent. “But It’s up to my mother who she works with, not me.”

Cornett let go of the younger mare, her ringlets bouncing as she fell back into her seat. “Would you like to work with me?” she asked Kantele.

Tears formed in Kantele’s eyes, and she sniffled. “Yes… I really would love to.” the mare shifted her eyes, and suddenly looked real meek. “Also, well. Ca...can…” she looked away. “nevermind.”

Looking a little annoyed, Cornett, got nose to nose with Kantele. “No nevermind, what is is?”

Her face turned red, and Kantele shrinked back a little. “Well, could I get, I mean if it’s not to rude. a.. a hug, could you do that again.”

The older mare looked a little shocked, but Cornetts face softened, and then looked a bit sad. “Oh my.” She hugged Kantele in a strong vice like hug. “Hugs are free, all you need to do is ask.” I could hear Kantele sniffle a little, but nothing more then that.

Flugelhorn looked more annoyed, than surprised by the scene. Ignoring the scene, he pulled the LMG off the table, and into it’s case, as well as taking the patent into his pocket. “Dinner will be ready in a minute, so no more guns on the table.

Cornett returned to her seat, and soon were were joined by the two other ponies from before, now clean, and in clean cloths. Flugelhorn returned with plates, and silverware, followed by two more ponies with dinner. Altogether there was ten of us at the table, with Rufus sitting on the ground, the others gave Turnip a few looks, but everypony quickly got use to him, and got down to chatting.

The dinner was a casserole and soup. The Casserole was made with mashed potatos, diced carrots, tomatoes, corn, a plethora of green veggies, and to my surprise a sprinkling of rad-boar meat. I was not a fan of eating meat, it was the food of savage ponies who can’t grow real food, but I was okay with a little meat being used to add to the flavor. As for the soup, it was a simple rice and pineapple soup, a little sweet, but complemented the casserole as a side dish.

The dinner went on with everyone talking about everything but business, some gossip, some day to day stuff. Kantele didn’t have much to talk about, other than some engineering talk that Turnip, Citole, and I didn’t understand, but it got a good laugh out of the others. Citole was the biggest gossip of us all, as well as the flirt, but Flugelhorn was pretty much immune to her advances, which seemed to only make her more driven. It was amusing to everypony but Citole and Flugelhorn. lucky Citole gave up, and simply enjoyed the dinner, sharing some gossip with the other mares.

Unsurprisingly a few politicians visit the Lucky Rabbit's Foot in disguise, but one interesting tidbit was that a Orphic princess secretly visits the casino too. Citole wouldn't say who it was, everypony understood and didn’t pry, but the princess seemed to have a major gambling addiction, and was a huge masochist. At one point she ended up in debt to the casino, and sold herself for a night before the casino found out who she was. Luckily it was all under a mask, and all evidence of it was easily destroyed. But after that event, Citole now acted as the princess's personal mistress, and keeps her from getting into that kind of trouble again.

I was getting the feeling that the Casino was where rich ponies go to royally fuck up, and half of Citole’s job was to clean up after them. It wouldn’t surprise me if Vielle main source of influence came from having blackmail on all the other politicians.

Strangely enough Flugelhorn asked me about my sister, A simple “How's she doing.” but seemed odd for mister grumps. My best guess was that they were friends, she was always good at making them. I told him that she was doing fine, also got a leg thrashed, and is on my bad side, but that was nothing new.

I got to learn a bit more about the shop, like that my new rifle was put together by everypony in the shop, not just Cornett, she was better at design, and starting a project. The others, eight employees, not including Flugelhorn had their own specialization, from forging the metal, to making and attaching all the smaller fine parts. As it turns out, the former owner of this place, Cornett’s father, still works here as the main inspector, giving all the finished guns his stamp of approval. The only item made by Cornett from start to finish was the knife, a specialty of hers. Which answered the question to why most of the guns had bayonets.

The employees at the shop left one by one as they finished their dinner, heading home. Even Cornett had to turn in, having used up her energy for the day. Seeing us out, Flugelhorn let me know that If I needed any repairs for my guns, their shop was always open. Citole seemed a little defeated, but nothing she couldn't get over. Kantele on the other hoof was upbeat, having had a good time chatting with Cornett. Turnip ended up carrying my new rifle, the case firmly attached to his back, along with a box of bolts for it.

“So, any of you got plans?” Citole asked, obviously looking for something to get her mind off of being rejected by Flugelhorn.

Kantele shook her head, but sadly I did have plans. “Sorry, I got work to do.” Looking at my rifle, I still needed to get a short to medium range gun, sadly the shops would be closed at this time. “Kantele, could I make an order for an AG6, and some ammo.”

“Right now? Well, ya. I can call the armory to send one over.” She pulled out a com and ear bloom, turning it on. “What kind of job are you doing?”

“Heading to the surface. I’m just doing a scouting job, but I was told that it was best to go at night to avoid trouble.” All mostly true. “So any mid or short range weapon will do. Also grenades if you can spare them.”

Nodding, Kantele pulled out a com and earbloom from a pocket. Not a common device, as they were just wireless pocket terminals, most ponies prefer a pipbuck. “I see, well if you return the rifle, we will just charge you for renting.” I nodded in agreement, and she put her hoof to her ear. “Hello Madal, It’s Kantele, are you at the armory? I’m just renting out a rifle to a friend, she needs some gear for a surface job.” Kantele put her com down. “I’ll just send a message for her to bring what light arms we have on hoof, you can pick out what you like.”

It sounded good to me. “I’ll be sure to return whatever I take, even the grenades if I could help it.”

Kantele’s com beeped, and she picked it up. “Madal just pick up some of the guns, plenty of ammo, and a few explosives... No the IF-155 is not to be touched, the whole stock has already been sold.” Kantele’s face scrunched up. “Like fuck I did! Check again… how many, HOW?”

“Is everything okay?” Citole asked.

“Just make sure nopony takes any more out, I’ll go investigate.” Kantele put her earbloom and com away, looking quite irritated. “No I’m not okay, somepony stole my guns and used my name to do it.”

“That’s bad, but wouldn't you call, you know, Orthrus about this?” I asked.

She sighed. “My employee is taking care of that. I’m going to identify the thief.”

“How?” I understood that corporate ponies hated being stolen from, but I doubt there was anything she could do.

She smiled. “All the IF-155’s have a tracker on them, we don’t remove it until it has been sold. So if it’s anywhere on this island, I’ll know where to find it.” She pulled out her com, and tapped at it a few time. “Got it! Looks like it’s in the red light district.” We both looked at Citole.

Citole frowned. “Hey, my family deals in entertainment, not guns.”

Kantele sighed, and looked at me. I knew what was coming. “Can you come with me, once we have the thief's identity, we can hoof this over to Orthrus to deal with.”

Looking at the wealthy mare, the ringlets in her mane had drooped considerably, losing their bounce. She was willing to go and repair the bridge her mother burnt, so it couldn't hurt to help her out here. “Fine, but only because you asked nicely.”

“Oh, okay. thanks.” she meekly responded.

Okay, that was an odd response. “What?”

She looked away. “Well I was hoping you'd say that you'd help because were friends.”

Citole laughed, and I sighed. “Sure, why not. I’ll do this because were friends.”

____________________________________

The four of us, and Rufus stood outside the doors to Club Three Dog, Kantele’s tracker leading us here. The club itself was busy, as though it was never raided by bandits, having a long line of ponies trying to get in.

“Well that’s fantastic, Looks like Three Dog is on reservation tonight.” Citole said with a sigh.

Kantele’s ears dropped. “Seriously, the thieves will be gone by the time we get in.” She checked her com. “Maybe we should just wait out here, she if we can catch them when they exit.”

I shook my head. “At best you will just get the buyer, not the thief. And that’s if they don’t find your tracker before the deals done.”

“So it’s a dead end.” Kantele kicked the floor. “Of all the days for the club to be on reservation.”

I looked up at the bill of my hat, and smirked. “Naw, we got a reservation.” The other two looked at me a bit confused. “Well it’s more of a VIP pass, it sould get us in.”

I motioned for the others to follow me, but asking Rufus to stay, and keep watch. Trotting right up to the bouncer, a large mare with some mean cybernetics. To be accurate, the cybernetics made the mare look large, with heavy looking legs, and in place of wings were two cyber limbs, one holding a baton, the other an ID scanner. Her shades were a micro terminal that was plugged into her head. overall, not the kind of pony I would ever want to fight.

“Unless you have a reservation, get in line.” The bouncers voice was synthetic, artificially low and intimidating sounding.

“VIP” I tapped at the hat. “Cabrette has a table for me.”

A beep came from the bouncer. “Right, you check out.” another beep. “Second floor, the booth with the Metro-Cola decoration.” The bouncer opened the door, letting us in.

Inside it was like we were being assaulted with pounding electronic dance music, Lights shot at the disco ball shined all around the floor, and the black pony outlines on the wall now made the club feel even more crowded in a fun kind of way. The floor was filled with ponies dancing to the music, many with far less clothes than I was comfortable with. At the bar drinkers took up every seat as bartenders worked quickly to serve them. one of the cabinets was still broken from this morning. Looking up, a younger DJ worked the booth, probably fill in for Cerberus do to her condition.

“Vibe, miss.” Turnip caught my attention. “Why is going on? Many ponies, why?”

I almost laughed. Being told about such a place is no substitute to seeing it first hoof, so I wasn’t surprised that he was a little confused. “Remember, this is a place ponies come to have fun. You know, drink, dance, get to know others.”

He looked out at the dance floor and nodded. “Kindly, could try?”

“Kindly do.” at this point I was not worried about him freaking anypony out. Somehow everypony had rationalised him being a cyberpony, and at a place like this, nopony would bat an eye. I took the saddlebags off his back, and let him have his fun.

The rest of us made our way up to the second floor’s VIP section. The area was less crowded, but no less active. A few booths had stallions at them, who were surrounded by at least three mares. It reminded me of when I was in my teens, fighting to have have the biggest catch, and getting a few black eyes from the aftermath.

We found the Metro-Cola booth easily enough, it even had some complementary cola waiting for us, and some glasses to pour it into. At the center was a note addressed to me, I hoped it was just a ‘good to see you again’ note. Sitting at the table, I placed the saddlebags and my hat under the table, getting myself comfortable. “let's Identify the thief and, share a drink. After that I have to get moving.”

Kantele looked over the edge, into the crowd. “Even when on reservation this place get’s packed.” she checked her com. “It’s hard to tell, the gun cases must be hidden.”

Citole got comfortable, properly relaxing. “If I were to guess. They’re going to make the deal up here. The guns are just being held down there.” Kantele sat back down, her ears turned to the bunny mare. “It happens now and then at the casino. The syndicate likes to use our place to do business, despite our objection. Normally the ponies trading goods for bits will meet somewhere private, their thugs will be in the public area holding onto the product. It keeps a smash and grab from happening, as involving civilians will lead to the involvement of Orthrus.”

Nodding, Kantele poured herself a drink. “Sounds stupid to me.” She moved her eyes to look at me. “What do you think?”

I pulled the note over to myself, feeling that there was something in it. Opening it, there was one word inside ‘telepathy’. Somehow I was not at all that surprised. “I mostly did business at Charon's Stop through brokers. There the best thing to do is to make it look like no deal is going on but the deal itself you want others to see.” I poured myself a drink, and took a sip. The fizzy drink tickled my nose and bubbled on my tongue. “The best thing to look for, that is in my opinion, is for something that does not belong.” I scanned the other booths, most were different variations of a stallion and mares, some were just a group of mares getting drunk, and one had two ponies sharing a glass of wine. “Like two ponies having a date at a dance club.” The other two looked over where I was looking, not understanding subtly.

Distracted, I used that opportunity to switch out my teleportation talisman with the telepathy. Clearing my throat, I got the others attention. “It’s a bad idea to stare at others, if you want to get a look at who they are, you should go order some drinks at the bar.” I pointed a hoof at the smaller bar that was up here. Though smaller, it had a wider selection of drinks to order, catering to ponies with a lot more bits to spend then the normal guests. “Citole, you should go with her as well, it’s easier to go unnoticed in a group, I’ll stay here.”

The two got up and left, heading over to the bar. I concentrated my magic into the talisman, opening myself up for a telepathy link. ‘What’s going on Cabrette?’ I waited for a moment, taking another sip from my drink.

‘Vibraphone, you have the best timing, do you know that.’ It was Cabrette, her voice felt a bit strained, but nothing out of the norm. ‘And here I thought you would be off planting that bug. I don’t know if it is a good thing or a bad thing that you're here, but I’ll take it.’

I groaned. ‘I take it that something's gone wrong?’

‘Well that’s the thing, everything is fine. No problems whatsoever, and it’s bugging me.’ I took another sip of my cola, feeling a bit irritated for a telepathy chat over nothing.

‘Here, I can go down to the bar and punch somepony in the face, will that make you feel better.’ Not that I would, but I was not planning to stay long.

‘Well I know this one stallion who's claiming to be the father of the twins, and I know he is not. but sadly he is not here tonight.’ There was a brief pause before she continued. ‘But seriously, that’s not what i’m talking about. I put my ponies out to get a reading on the Equalist movements, and set up the club tonight to filter them out, but they've disappeared.’

‘So they all scurried off, not all that out of the ordinary for them. They're probably going to pop up tomorrow at one of the plantations, protesting about the unequal treatment of the workers.’ The protests rarely did anything, other then keep the Trade Union in a state of worry. They did try to kill off the Trade Union over two generations ago, so it was understandable that there was tension about their movement. The Equalities at least understood the position of Orthrus on violent mobs, that being a eye for an eye, so they at least play nice here.

‘True’ Cabrette answered. ‘But this is different. Normally they just gather in one place, so finding them just involves following the hoof traffic. Not this time, they just upped and just vanished.’

This was odd, but I didn’t see what it had to do with me, unless they were going to be where I was going… ‘Let me guess, you think they all went topside?’

‘It’s the best guess I got. I sent a pony to look into it, but she should have been back here over six hours ago.’ I could feel a sigh through the telepathy. ‘That’s why I’m glad you're here. because you're going up there already, can you look for her?’

It was a fair request, though I doubt I could find this maire easily. ‘I’ll keep my eyes out for her. What does she look like?’

‘Green coat, red mane. Look for a green hood, and leather armor. The girl has a thing for the classic.’

I deactivated the talisman, not wanting to transmit my thoughts by accident to anypony wanting to listen in. If anything, coming back to the club gave me another heads up to what I might have to deal with topside. At least the equalists were pushovers, so getting around them was not going to be a problem. My biggest worry was them attracting a paradise dragon, or the pirates.

“Hello miss.” a deep voice spoke up.

I nearly jumped, between the telepathy call, and looking out into the club, I didn't see the stallion take a seat at the booth. “Sorry, but that seats taken.” He was a burgundy red mirage pony stallion with a dark blue mane, and blue eyes. He had green military fatigues on, common among the republic, and a green military beret. “My friends will be back soon.”

The republic stallion looked over at the bar for a moment before looking back at me. “Can’t we at least introduce ourselves, be friendly and all. The names Theremin Synthesizer.” He gave a little bow.

Not planning on sticking around, I felt I could at least humor the stallion. “Vibraphone Echo.”

“A lovely name for a lovely mare.” He complimented. If I had a few drinks in me, and was planning to stick around, I’m sure i would feel more flattered, interested even. Sadly I had things to do, and he was a bit too clean cut for me. “So, how about we talk until your friends get back, then I’ll be on my way.”

He didn’t seem to be the problematic type, and was a bit odd to be flirted with by a stallion, so playing along a little wouldn’t hurt. “Alright, but only until they get back.”

“Honored.” Theremin smiled. “So is this a normal hangout for you?, you don’t look it.”

“Now and then, ya. today I’m just passing through, If I was planning to dance I would have come in a dress.” And maybe a few glow sticks, it was that kind of club.

“I see.” The stallion said, looking deep in thought for a moment. “Sorry, it’s just that this is just not the normal haunt for ponies like me, kind of feel real out of place here.”

“You and most others. I tend to work in and around Charon’s Stop, most ponies around there don’t have the bits to rub together to make it worth come to a place like this. Sad, really.” Not that they can’t make their own clubs, though it tends to be more drugs than alcohol over there.

Theremin frowned a little. “So true. It feels shameful how ponies can throw their bits around here when it could be better used helping those in need.” He words had passion to them, making me a little worried that he might break out into a speech. The frown disappeared and a smile returned. “I can see that you're a pony who understands that. Your eyes have that look about them, a beautiful brilliance you could say.”

“Thanks.” He was flattering, but it was not making me feel comfortable.

“It’s what drew me to you.” He leaned in closer “You seemed to have look of purpose about you, not like the other mares here. They all seem lost, disconnected from the world, forcing themselves into another ponies world.”

“I.. I, think you're mistaken.” kay, this was confusing. I’ve heard of flirting but this was odd.

He leaned back. “No, I don’t think I am.” He had a lot of confidence in his voice. “I can tell, Your the kind who get’s things done. The kind of pony who's a benefit to all those around them. The kind one like myself can't help but be drawn to.”

I took another sip of my drink, putting on my best poker face. “Next your going to say I’m the hero of legend, who is going to save the world.”

He laughed. “If you want to be, well anything is possible.” He pulled out a card, placing it on the table, and sliding it to me. “I’m part of a group whose goal is the unification of the metro, and returning to the surface.” I picked up the card, one side had a big ‘=’ on it, the other side had the directions to an equalist recruitment center on this island. “We've been slowly bringing the metro to our side, but sadly there are many who resist, many who see that the way things are not as things should be..”

“I see. But if I remember correctly, the equalist revolt twenty years ago was not see as a positive event.” From what I know, it was a downright slaughter.

“True, but as the saying goes, ‘If peaceful protest is prevented, then violent outburst is inevitable.’ Our enemies are the corrupt, ponies who seek to dominate others for their own wealth. The group I belong to seek to stop them from abusing others, and to bring everypony to the ideals of equality through understanding, not through force.” Theremin smiled once more. “I know that a pony as beautiful as you would do well as a member. Maybe we could even team up, help bring equality to others, together.”

I put my cup down, having finished most of it off. I had to give him an ‘A’ for the effort, but he was barking up the wrong tree here. I was still feeling a little upset over getting molested by a bandit, so I didn’t have any interest in a one night stand right now, and his attempt to convert me to his ideology was off putting. If he would drop the Equalist angle, and ask me another day, I might give him a shot.

“Sorry, but I’ll give it some thought.” No need to burn bridges, so I slipped the card into my pocket. “Maybe we can talk another time.” He may not be my type, but he was close, less rugged, and more rough around the edges.

“Ya I’d…” He was cut off by the sound of a glass smashing on the floor.

Kantele stood at one of the booths, a broken bottle of wine at her hooves, and the look of sheer anger on her face. Sighing, I pushed myself out of the seat. “Sorry, looks like my friend’s an idiot.” I trotted away from the booth over to Kantele, near her was a confused looking Citole. “If you're going to drink, do it at the booth.” Looking at the two sitting down, they were an old stallion and a mare, both sharply dressed, and less than happy looking. “Sorry for the trouble.”

I attempted to pull Kantele away, but she shrugged me off. “Vibraphone.” She looked me in the eyes, and motioned to the mare. She had a golden mane with curls that didn’t quite fit her age, and cream coat that looked too bright to be her real color. “This is my mother, Guzheng Brass Apple.” I mentally face hoofed, “Also the one who stole my product.” The situation just went from bad to fucked up in less than ten seconds flat.

“My daughter, I do not steal.” Guzheng spoke up, her voice held a calm irritation to it, something I could understand. “Are there any more accusations you wish to spout out from that worthless mouth of yours.”

I had to mentally collect myself, taking a deep breath and exhaling, before saying anything more. “Ma'am… It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I gave a little bow,. “Miss Kantele was worried about a corporate spy stealing her new product. Now that we know it’s just you, any misunderstanding can be cleared up.”

“Yes, I’m sure the matter can be cleared up later.” Citole added, catching on that a scene here was a bad idea. “Isn’t that right Kantele?”

Kantele didn’t let her glare go, but she allowed us to pull her away, and to the booth. Theremin had left, so it was just the three of us, and two bottles of cola. I pulled out my second telepathy talasman, sliding it to Kantele. She was still glaring at her mother, so I practically had to poke her with the talisman for her to see it. Getting her attention, she looked down at the talisman and nodded.

Replacing her light talasman with the telepathy, we both activated them, opening up a telepathic link.

‘The fuck Kantele, I said identify the thief, not jump down their throat.’ I gave Citole a nod, and she proceeded to pour us the remaining soda.

It was easy enough to hide my emotions as I was talking through telepathy, It was part of Orthrus training, Kantele on the other hoof had neither the control or training, and it showed. Her face was scrunched up, and she was holding back tears. ‘Sorry, I’m sorry, sorry.’

‘Stop apologizing.’ I really hoped that dealing with overly emotional ponies was not going to be a thing, ponies with better self control were much easier to deal with. ‘Now that we’ve found the thief, we can leave. When I’m done with my current job, I’ll come back here and help you out.’

‘Promise?’ She looked at me with watery eyes.

I took a long sip of the soda. ‘What are friends for.’

Kantele smiled. ‘Thanks, I’ll gather the evidence, and wait for you.’

‘Well that warms my heart.’ DJ Cerberus chimed in, nearly making me jump. ‘It’s like that old saying goes, about magic and friendship.’

‘Oh, sorry. Didn’t know your talisman was still on.’ I looked at Kantele and whispered. “It’s DJ Cerberus, She must be scanning the telepathy waves.”

Kantele’s eyes widened. ‘Oh miss DJ, I’m Kantele Brass Apple, a pleasure to meet you… well I mean, you know.’

‘Ahh, a rich mare. Well just keep the chatter to a minimum, No other ponies may be tapping in on the wavelink right now, but that doesn't mean it’s safe.’ Cabrette must have been having trouble with ponies trying to tap into private conversations, or she was expecting a message soon, and didn't want us in on it. Probably about the Equalists… oh shit.

‘Cabrette, about the Equalists, I found one.’ Theremin sudden appearance had caught me off guard, almost making me forget about the fact that all the equalist had up and vanished.

‘WHAT! You mean here, at the club?’ Cabrette’s surprised response was all I needed to know that she didn’t know. ‘Can you give me a description?’

I took another sip. ‘Easy, the stallion was hitting on me just a moment ago. Just look for the one with republic military fatigues on. Blue mane, red coat, and a bit scruffy.’

I felt a poke on my side, Kantele had gotten my attention, pointing at the booth her mother was at. “You mean that stallion?”

There he was, Theremin was sitting at the booth, next to the stallion who was already there, across from Kantele’s mother. I face hoofed, my synthetic hoof banging onto my face in a less than gentle manner. ‘That’s him, with Guzheng Brass Apple.’

‘Well shit…’ Cabrette paused for a moment, and I took the time to quickly fill Citole in on the situation. ‘...right. Kantele, you got a good look at the stallion at the booth right?’

Kantele nodded. I rolled my eyes and poked her, and she suddenly remember that the DJ could not see her. ‘Ye… yes.’

‘Okay dear, can you describe what you saw?’ Cabrette asked. ‘Anything out of the ordinary?’

‘Right, well they were just staring at each other.’ She scratched her chin. ‘It was really odd, they didn’t even seem to know I was there until I accidentally broke the bottle of wine. I think they were plugged into something under the table. They both had a cable in them, you know in the part for connecting to a terminal.’

‘Anything else?’ Cabrette pryed. ‘What did the stallion look like?’

‘Black coat, green mane. had a black trenchcoat, and a black hat like Vibraphones.’ Her eyes lit up for a moment ‘The hat even had a badge on it, a star with a pickaxe and shovel I think.’ She scratched her head. ‘That’s all I think.’

‘A badge depicting a star with a pickaxe and shovel on it. Sounds familiar…’ I looked at Kantele, who looked nervous. ‘Right, I remember now, the workers collective.’

‘The what?’ I asked. ‘whos the workers collective?’

‘Not surprised you don’t know them, they disappeared over a hundred years ago.’ Cabrette answered. ‘In a way, it was a lot like what the Labor Union is now, but formed in a much more unstable time. From what the historical texts say, they butted heads with the republic over ideology, and were pushed out. Later they turned terrorist, claiming that the republic was a tyrannical government that oppressed the workers. Though small in numbers, they posed a huge threat. the texts says that they used early cybernetics to link themselves together, sharing experiences and allowing them to fight as a cohesive unit. They were eventually destroyed by the republic, it was do to their use of cybernetics, their linking brains up to each other festered mental instability, and left them vulnerable.’

‘Committing acts of atrocity in the name of the greater good. Sounds like the Equalities.’ I added.

‘Agree, but the workers collective came from the lower class, the equalities are a upper and middle class moment.’ The DJ continued. ‘Anywho, I doubt he is workers collective, it could refer to something, like fostering a rebellion.’

‘Or plugging brains together!’ Kantele added, her eyes going wide, slowly turning her head to the booth. “Mother…”

I reached out to grab her, and keep her from doing anything stupid, but before I could get a hold of her, she was already on the move. She bolted from the table and over to her mother, tripping along the way. I got up and looked at Citole. “Go get Turnip, we might have a huge problem on our hooves.” She nodded, and I ran after Kantele.

She had quickly gotten to her mother's booth, hooves on the table. “Mother, you must remove yourself from this pony immediately, he's dangerous!” I stopped right before the edge of the booth, not wanting to alarm the others in the booth to my presence, unlike the idiot ahead of me. “Mother listens to me!”

Guzheng slowly turned her head to Kantele with a glare on her face. “Have you lost your mind? Insulting a business partner in such a way, I know I raised you better!” Her eyes shifted around locking with my own. I cursed under my breath. “And you, you must be the one filling her head with this nonsense.”

Shit, It’s going to be far harder to defuse the situation when I’m the target of the mares anger. “No ma'am, your daughter is just stressed. She did just lead the unveiling of your company's new railgun.” I hoped that would be enough the calm the situation enough for all of us to leave before a shouting match started. I reach out with the telepathy once more. ‘Kantele! the fuck is wrong with you.’

‘I can’t let somepony use my mother like this!’ She responded, a look of determination on her face.

Guzheng lifted a wineglass, it half full of it’s dark red contents. “I doubt it, I raised my filly to be obidant. She would never raise her voice to me, not unless some outside ruffian is taking advantage of her.” Her eyes glared with a knowing cunning. I doubt she understood the situation, more that she was sure of her own conclusion. “A scoundrel like you would love to have my dear girl in her pocket. You filthy lowlife’s are all the same, every one of you!”

“NO!” Kantele got right in her mother's face. “you're wrong, can't you see that?” The two glared at each other. “Fine, I’ll show you!” She reached out for the cable connected to her mother neck, and vanished.

CRACK

My head turned to the noise. Kantele laid on the table of another booth, her back half unnaturally dangling off the table, and her face covered in blood. My head snapped back to the booth, Theremin stood on the table, his flank pointed at us, and his back hooves with blood on them.

He turned around and cringed. “Shit, I think I broke her back.” his face relaxed, and all emotion drained from it. His eye scanned around, settling on me. “Sorry about your friend, you should get her to a hospital immediately, or she will die.”

Everything felt like it slowed down, like with S.A.T.S. but without all the programs. Even with the music pounding away, I could hear that everyone in the VIP section had stopped talking, and were looking in our direction. In the corner of my eye the bartender was ducking behind the bar, probably calling security. Guzheng had not moved, maybe stunned, or something worse.

I drew the Lunar Eclipse from it’s holster from under my jacket, and aimed it at… Air? Theremin had rolled down onto the ground, and was coming in with a hoof strike from below. I managed to dodge by rearing back, and standing on my rear legs, the cyberlegs holding me up far better than my old ones. He went in for another strike, as i drew my combat knife with my right foreleg to block it, giving me the opportunity to aim Lunar Eclipse eclipse at him. His punch contacted the blade, and pressed into my chest.

CRACK

Intense pain filled my chest as I found myself skidding backwards. Falling back to all fours, dropping the combat knife, breathing was suddenly hard to do. Looking at the blade, it was bent, almost forming a crescent shape. My Lunar Eclipse was still at my side, the extra TK talisman allowed it to stay by my side, instead of just dropping.

Theremin stood in front of me, still with the emotionless look on his face. “Just take your friend and go, neither of you need to die.”

blood pooled in my mouth, and I had to spit it out. “And you didn't need to attack my friend.”

“That he did.” The older stallion from the booth got up, unplugging himself as he stepped out onto the floor. “Your friend was pushing herself into business where she did not belong. She was making herself a threat, and so she had to be dealt with swiftly and firmly.”

I glared. “That’s not firmly, that brutality!”

The older stallion tipped his hat. “And I’m sorry, something that will not happen again.”

“Too late for that.” I pointed my enforcer at him. “Who are you and what are you after?” Citole arrived with Turnip, the look on her face was of pure shock when she saw Kantele. I pushed her to the side gently. “Go get a stretcher, Kanteles back might be broken.” She just nodded, and galloped down stairs

The old stallion smiled. “How rude have I been, never introducing myself. My names Waterphone Inharmonicity. As for what we are after, that’s simple, to bring true equality to all.” I didn’t buy the hogshit for a second, if they wanted to act the innocent, then they wouldn't have hurt Kantele like that.

“Well you can take that equality and shove it.” I activated my magical armor talisman, forming thin plates of magical energy around me.

“A shame.” Waterphone, said in a disappointed tone. “Clear the way Theremin.”

Theremin charged, and I aimed my revolver at him and fired. He managed to dodge, and was now closing in too quickly so I entered S.A.T.S. I selected to side step him, and fire another round. A simple tactic that was difficult to do when in a sporadic fight like this, all made easier through arcane science. I managed to dodge his attack, his hoof crashing into the metal support of one of the booth seats, and I fired.

He rolled, dodging my shot, and was now right on me. Hitting me with the back of his hoof, I found myself crashing into another booth. The ponies in the booth jumped over the other side and ran to the stairs. Getting up, I spat out a tooth onto the floor. Even with the magical armor, this stallion hits like dragon.

He closed in for another attack, and just in time S.A.T.S. was ready for another go. This time I chose to roll into him, and try to knock him off balance with a kick. The maneuver was successful, as my body jumped into a roll, putting me right under him, and with a strong kick my back hooves made contact with his most sensitive part. A dirty kick I know, but this ponies strength and speed was beyond me. But a stallion is still a stallion.

To my shock, Theremin hadn't flinched even a little, instead he just gave me a smile. Rolling away from him, I found the balcony at my back. “The fuck, don’t tell me you castrated yourself.”

Theremin rolled his eyes. “Decided not to bring them today, I just had a feeling that they be trouble.” I didn’t know if it was the cracked ribs in my chest, or that what he just said just now made my stomach churn. probably both. But I was not feeling well. It was likely the hit to my head earlier, probably a concussion. I needed to end this fast, whatever cybernetics Theremin had in him, it put me at a distinct disadvantage.

S.A.T.S. had not charged all the way yet and he was already going in for another attack. Popping open the compartment in my right leg, I pulled out and extended the baton with my mouth. Hitting the power button, the electrical charge crackled as his body collided with me, sending me over the railings. I managed to grab hold of the railing with my right hoof, the digits just barely holding on. Below me, a loud thump hit the floor, Theremin having been stunned mid jump, just twitched on the floor.

Turning off the baton, I proceeded to pull myself up, only to find Waterphone standing in front of me. “Not bad, but a futile effort.” He stepped closer. “I do see potential. We can make you the pony you deserve to be. Stronger, faster, smarter. All you need to do is join us, and help bring true equality.” I spat in his face. “Truly a shame.” Waterphone pulled out a small pistol, pointing it at my head, but before he could finish me off I let go of the railing, letting myself fall to the ground.

Pain enveloped my body, from where the connectors met flesh, to my entire skull, it all hurt. Looking around, my vision blurred, but I could see Theremin look down at me. “Sorry for the trouble Vibraphone, nothing personal you know.” I could only managed a groan. “Better to not move.” He placed a healing potion in my mouth, and I gulped it down. “That a girl. You know were a lot alike, nothing like the other mares. Were different, we see the world like it really is, unfair, flawed, in need of change.” He threw the empty healing potion to the side. “The world deemed me to be born in the wrong body, but I managed to right that wrong. Whatever wrong the world has done to you we can fix it, you only need to join us. Trust me, we seek to make the world better, give everypony what they deserve.” Theremin trotted off out of view, the healing potion did the trick to make some of the pain stop, or at least stop the blood from filling my mouth.

I saw Citole running over to me, her bunny ears missing from her head, and two medical boxes on her side like saddle bags. “Shit, just hold on, drink this and you’ll be just fine.” The pain was much less than before, but I felt weaker now. I tried to drink the healing potion, but I struggled at every gulp.

Everything went black.

____________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Progression:

No Goddesses, or Princesses, Only Mares. 75%

Family Matters. 50%

I like to lurk. 50%

Chapter 13 - Storm of Troubles (pt 1)

“You alright?” The voice sounded familiar, but muffled. “Hey Viby, you alright?”

I waved my hoof at whoever was talking. “Just help me up.” I felt a pull on my leg, helping me up onto all fours. “Thanks, just give me a moment, my vision’s still blurry.”

“That’s probably a good thing.” I finally pinned down the voice, it was Rototom. “You’re not going to like what you see.”

“Why, what happened.” Rubbing my eyes, I could feel something wet and sticky smear onto my face. My vision now recovering, my sister came into view. She was back in full specter gear, with new goggles, and advanced all-environmental combat armor. “Is everypony alright?”

Rototom shook her head. “Sorry, but it’s quite grim.”

My eyes drifted down, the floor was a mess of red, like someone had been throwing paint around. Snapping my head around, I saw Orthrus regulars moving body bags, so many body bags. The blood was everywhere, not just on the wall. “How many?”

My sister sighed, “We’re still counting, but it’s a lot.” She pulled out a pair of blood stained bunny ears. “A pony wearing this was laying over you, did you know her.” I just nodded in shock. “I see… Sorry.” An Orthrus medical pony came up to my sister, whispering something in her ear. “Right, I’m on it.” She looked in my direction and sighed. “Sorry, but… Just hold it together, I’ll be back soon.”

Rototom quickly trotted off, her hoof steps making a sickly wet sound with each step. I was left in the bloodied club room, the regulars at work removing the bodies. I know there had to be other survivors, at least Cabrette had to be all right. Bolting for the back room, I through the door, and found myself still on the dance floor, but everything was clean. A lone mare sat at the bar, stepping closer she had a white lab coat on, which made her black mane pop out. Other than her lab coat, she was all black.

She felt too familiar, way too familiar. Slamming my hoof on the bar I yelled. “WHO ARE YOU?”

She looked at me, her golden eyes seem to look right through me. “In time.” Slipped from her mouth.

____________________________________

I bolted up, finding myself gasping for air.

“Told you that would wake her up, nothing beats minor suffocation to wake a pony up.” The voice sounded familiar, but a bit off.

“I don’t know, I still think we should have gotten smelling salts.” That was… Citole!

Shaking off the drowsiness, I got up on all fours to look around. Citole, and Cabrette stood next to me. In the distance were a few Orthrus medical ponies, nothing like actual doctor’s, but they had enough training to keep a pony alive long enough to get them to a hospital.

“Where’s Kantele? Is she alright?” The panic in my voice was apparent, even to me.

“She’s going to be alright… we hope.” Citole looked away. “She got hurt real bad, but Turnip was able to stabilize her with a healing potion, and Orthrus just took her to a hospital. But it still looked bad.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, if she was going to get proper medical attention then she was going to be alright. I felt a hoof lightly smack me on the top of my head. “Ow!”

“What were you thinking?” Cabrette’s hoof was back in the air, looking ready to come back down on me. “Firing your gun in my club like that. If that reaver didn’t smack some sense into you, i sure as Tartarus will.”

“Reaver?” That word escaped me, but sounded familiar.

“Oh dear…” Cabrette looked at the others, and motioned for them to give us some space. “Come here.” I followed Cabrette over to the bar, where we sat down. “First off, I’m glad you’re fine. Somepony must have slipped you a super healing potion, must have been what put you out. But sorry about the rude wake up.”

I checked my chest, pushing down but not feeling any pain other than from the pressure of my hoof. My head felt well too, no ringing or blurriness. “Feels like I’m all better.”

“Still, don’t go getting any major injuries anytime soon.” Cabrette poked me on the nose. “Healing potions only do so much, so whatever damage was done to you, those parts are still healing. I don’t need to tell you this, but they can be easily damaged again, so until you get some proper rest, just be careful.”

“Ya, I don’t plan on getting in another hoof fight with him… so what’s a Reaver?”

Cabrette scratched her chin. “Truthfully, I don’t really know. I only have rumours to work off of, but they seem to be the republic's version of a Specter. How the rumors go, they are cybernetically enhanced to surpass a pony in all ways. Faster, stronger, smarter. their meant to protect the republic from its enemies.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And why do you think he’s a Reaver?”

She smiled, and lifted up her pipbuck. Pressing a few buttons on it, a holographic image appeared in my vision. It was that of a comic book cover, a bit old and tattered, but still clear to see. On it was the image of an burgundy red mirage pony stallion with a dark blue mane, and blue eyes. He had green military fatigues on, and was dodging gunfire from ponies in the distance. At the top of the image were the words The Reaver.

“Seriously?” I only felt more confused.

“Dead serious.” Cabrette responded. “I took a snapshot of the stallion, and this is what my contacts sent back to me. They were laughing about it at first, then I showed them the fight. Let’s just say that whoever this pony is, they are at least emulating a comic book hero.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m more of a Drum Tablature fan myself. But that strength and speed, it was unreal. I just could not get a bead on him at all. The one hit I did get on him was just a lucky strike.”

“Ya, whoever he and his partner was, they had us marked from the start.” Cabrette said and she rested her head on the bar table. “I could so use a stiff drink right now.”

“What do you mean, how were they expecting us?”

Sighing, Cabrette picked herself up. “Well not so much expecting, your movements have been too erratic to predict. They must have had a contingency plan, you know, probably had a photo of you, and orders to check you out or something.” She waved her hoof slowly in the air dismissively. “Just check your pockets.”

I patted myself down, finding nothing on me… “Fuck, the bug’s gone!”

“Yep, the fuckers swiped it after you hit the ground. They looked pleasantly surprised when they pulled it off of you.”

This was going to put a dampener on my job. “Anyway can I go on without it?”

Cabrette shrugged. “That bug is not just a piece of sophisticated technology, but has some old magic enchanting it. Probably not a megaspell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if is within the same family of magic.”

“Wait, so that thing is a magical device, and a powerful one too?”

She nodded. “My family only used it a few times over the generations, each time it scared the shit out of them. Basically, it is a super bug, pulls in all signals when it's active. All gibberish without a terminal made for decoding, but if you can tap into it, you can see every message and conversation that passes through.” Cabrette took a deep breath and sighed. “For a normal pony, it could mean learning about something more powerful ponies would kill to keep hidden, for an information broker it puts the world at her hoof tips.”

“And in the situation of an upcoming war, it puts the listener at an advantage.” I added.

Cabrette gave me a look of concern. “You’re talking about the vertabucks right?” I nodded. “Well that explains why she’s willing to pay for it. And that makes another problem to deal with.”

I groaned. “I got to get the bug back from the Reaver.” Cabrette nodded. “So how long was I out?”

“Half an hour, so the trail is far from cold.” Cabrette whistled loudly, and a short mirage pony mare came trotting up to us, dragging a large box behind her. She had a light brown coat, dark brown mane, and hazel eyes that were framed with thick red rimmed glasses. “Luckily Madal here arrived with a box full of guns and ammo a few minutes ago.” Looking closer at the Madal, her eyes were a little red, and the fur under them was damp.

Getting out of the seat, I trotted up to the mare, and gave her a hug. “I’m sure Kantele will be fine.”

Madal sniffled. “Thanks.”

Cabrette had slowly gotten up, trotting over to us. “If you want to back out and let Orthrus take care of this mess, nopony would blame you.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Not true, I got a client who’s going to be pissed about this, and a sister who’s egging me on. And sadly, if your bug is as powerful as you say it is, I can’t let that jackass run off with it.”

Smiling, Cabrette trotted over and opened the large case Madal was dragging. Madal moved to stop her, but Cabrette simply raised her hoof, halting her. “Like I told you, your boss was lending out these guns to Vibraphone. The culprits who harmed her now have an important item, Vibraphone here is going to get it back, and if things go right, get some justice.”

Madal nodded, and opened the case herself. “I just grabbed some light arms, and ammo, a few grenades too.”

She was not kidding, inside was a nice selection of guns. An AG-6 was there, the air powered assault rifle would cover most basic combat roles. There was an IF-152, The Firebug would be my best intimidation gun, as no pony liked the idea of being set on fire. There was a digger gun, not a useful gun for me, but if all else fails I could throw it at an enemy. She even had a .357 revolver in the case, I already had one, so I could at least use the ammo. I also found a battle saddle, though not my style, it would still be useful.

I patted myself down, not finding my revolver. “Shit, anyone seen my gun?”

“I think one of your friends picked it up, the odd looking stallion I think.” Cabrette answered.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and looked around for him. He was standing next to Citole, who was holding a towel. “Turnip, can you come over here for a moment?”

The lurker trotted over… and he was covered in glow sticks and glowing paint. He looked like a ravers spirit animal, all glowing and shit. “Not hurt badly?” I shook my head. “Rad! Was worried you not wake up, worried more for other pony.”

“I know, but she’s seeing ponies who can help her.” On him was his saddle bag, along with the case holding my rifle, so no worries about that being missing. “So turnip, did you pick up my revolver?”

He nodded. “Bad pony had taken it, I took it back. Tried to stop me, didn’t even crack shell. Bad pony ran, called I monster, but no matter, bad pony didn’t take gun.” Turnip rummaged through his bag and pulled out the Lunar Eclipse and hoofed it over to me. The gun was unharmed, and seemed to shimmer a little in the dim light. Placing it in its holster, I gave Turnip a pat on the shoulders.

Well at least one of those assholes was shown up, though I doubt Turnip would have stood a chance against Theremin. That pony’s strength and speed was unreal. “Thanks, that means a lot to me.” He smiled, which was a little creepy do to how stiff his face was.

Cabrette trotted closer to me, looking worried. “What’s wrong with your friend?”

Well best to make this quick. “Nothing’s wrong with him, well I hope not. He’s a Sparkle-Lurker, ran into a bunch of them on the big island… Didn’t you talk about them in one of your story’s?”

The DJ took a nervous step back. “Oh, hehehe… I see it now.” She gave me a worried look. “How?”

I didn’t have time to go over this in detail. “Long story short, his queen is a bitch, and he travels with me now.”

“Queen won’t be pleased with me not dead yet.” Turnip added. “But no care, having fun with dance and food.”

“He’s also harmless, unless being a mechanic is dangerous to you?” I added.

Cabrette nodded, but maintained her distance. “Well if he pulls out a rainbow glowing bottle, I’m shooting him.” That was good enough for me.

I sighed, and turned my attention back to the gun case, first pulling out the ammunition for my Lunar Eclipse. .357 Ironshod special was what it said on the box. Lifting up the ammo, I looked over at Madal. “What’s this?”

Madal’s eyes lit up. “Oh those are Armor piercing shredder rounds, made to punch through armor, and shred the soft tissue under it. It was meant to be sold to Orthrus, but sadly they never sold beyond a few private buyers.”

“Nice.” I pulled out Lunar Eclipse, and loaded the ammo inside, and replaced the bullets on my two cartridge holders. “I’m taking it all.”

“All of it?” Madal look worried.

“E’yep, I’m going to need a lot of firepower with me on this. So, can you help me put on the battle saddle?” She just looked at me before nodding.

The battle saddle went on easily over my jacket, and the AG-6 was attached to it. My wing lightly pressed on the trigger, the safety was on so there was no worry of misfire, not that the rifle could fire without air pressure. This would help me deal with any general threats quickly and quietly.

The gun case for my Lelantos was attached to the other side, a bit heavy, but nothing I couldn’t deal with. The Firebug was placed in a holster at my flank, just behind the AG-6, and the digger gun was given to Turnip to hold onto. With the case clear I could now see the grenades, three apple shaped frags, and three thin flash bombs. I gave two of each to Turnip, placing a frag in a pocket in my jacket, and the flash I put in the hidden compartment of my right foreleg.

My new stun baton was missing. “Let me guess, the stun baton was taken.” Cabrette nodded. “No matter.” I opened up my gun case, and pulled out the knife Cornett had made, it had its own holster with it, nothing as fancy as the one for my gun, but it easily replaced my old knife holster.

After checking the ammunition, most going to Turnip to hold, and I kept two tubes of the ball bearings, I was ready.

“Before you go, take these.” Cabrette hoofed over four healing potions and four Radaways. I put two of each in the gun case, and the rest in Turnips bag. “So how are you going to track them? I know it’s not a big island, but still, they do have a lead on you.”

The answer to that was simple. “I’ll let Rufus lead the way. I left him outside to keep a nose out for trouble, so he may already have the trail.”

Cabrette smiled, and lifted her tinted glasses. “Seriously, if that asshole was not a cybernetically overpowered monster, I’d say he was a dead pony walking.” Her eyes were like rubies, literally like rubies! I’d heard of it, but had never seen it before, where some ponies had some of the characteristics of other equines that normally didn’t surface. Normally this was in the form of floppy ears, or an elongated tail, but very rarely did crystal pony show up. “What?”

I shook myself out from staring. “Sorry, Just your eyes, there, well you know, beautiful.”

She chuckled. “Ya, it shows up in my family from time to time. I might have some crystal pony heritage, but I like to think it’s due to my family’s affinity with rocks.”

“Rocks?” I said cocking an eyebrow. Cabrette just shrugged, and put her glasses back on. “Anywho, the sooner I get on their trail, the better.”

It was time for me to go, and I said my goodbye’s to everyone. Before I left, Citole informed me that Kantele’s mother had simply left without a word. Worried about Kantele, she was going to keep an eye on her at the hospital. If worse came to worse, Cornett would likely take her in. It was good to know that when Kantele recovers, she would at least have someone waiting for her.

____________________________________

Outside Rufus was waiting for me, the cyberdog being given some friendly attention by an Orthrus Regular with neon colors in her mane. “Well it's good to see that you’re doing some honest work Dollu.”

She had a face mask on, hiding her paralyzed face, and her sun hat had been traded for a ballistic helmet. “Good to see you’re still a bitch.” She gave Rufus another scratch before letting him go. “So what happened, did you stab more ponies?”

“Sadly, I wish that’s what happened.” I gave Rufus a scratch behind the ears. “I ran into some sort of equalist special agent, I was completely outclassed.”

“Sucks for you?” Dollu spat out. Her eyes moved from my face, to what I guess was the guns on me. “So you’re going out hunting then?”

“You could say that. The asshole took something from me, and I’m going to get it back.” Pulling out the card that Theremin gave me, I presented it to Rufus. “So I don’t have time to chat, got to get on the trail before it goes cold.”

Rufus sniffed the card, and began walking around the area, sniffing the ground. Dollu chuckled. “Seriously, well good hunting.” Rufus stopped in place and barked. “Looks like your hounds got the scent, better not die out there.”

“Don’t plan to.” I trotted after Rufus, with Turnip following right behind me.

The station started to feel like a maze as we went in deeper as the old wartime tunnels gave way to the old post war tunnels, which gave way to newer tunnels. The wartime tunnels had the advantage of a surplus of supplies in their construction, so even now they were still solid over two hundred years later. The newer tunnels didn’t have this advantage, so even with advanced digging practices, the stability of the tunnel could vary wildly. I was not worried about a collapse, but the likelihood of running into a Rad-Roach was much higher here.

I could feel eyes peering at me from the small homes built into the tunnels themselves, weary of my presence here. I could only guess that this was where all the unskilled labor lived, ponies who could be easily replaced and shipped off the island. So an outsider probably meant more bad things then good. An optimal place for the equalists to find allies.

Rufus kept going into a darker part of the tunnel, leading us to a sad looking door. The frame was badly put together, leaving it uneven, and the door itself was likely over two hundred years old, and had been cracked for half that time. I knocked, switching off the safety to the battle saddle.

“One moment!” call a voice on the other side, followed by the sound of cans being knocked over. “Just a moment!” The door creaked open, revealing a dirty silver mare with a bright red mane. To my dismay she was naked, the only thing she had on that could be considered cloths was a rag holding her mane up. “If you’re looking for Chill, Dash, or actual respiratory medication, my stock is all out.”

Great, she’s a drug dealer. “Sorry I’m not here for that. Have you seen a red stallion in military fatigues?”

“Oh Theremin. Sorry but you just missed him.” She paused for a moment, looking like she just remembered something important. “You’re not a cop right, you have to tell me if you are, that’s the law.”

I face hoofed. “I’ll bring down the law if you don’t tell me where he went.” She attempted to slam the door on me, but I already had a hoof in. Though I doubted that I needed to, the door didn’t look like it could close. “Just tell me where he went.”

She backed away from the door, and nodded. “I was sure some ex-girlfriend would show up, they always show up.” She trotted to the back of her hobble slowly. “Sell some drugs Bawu, then you’d have the bits to attract a stallion. That’s what they told me.” The nude mare, Bawu I guess, started digging through a trunk. “Next thing I know I’m licking cunt to get the next shipment.” I heard the familiar sounds of metal clanking on metal. “Oh there were stallions, but they just wanted the chill. Free fuck for chill.”

Sighing I got ready to strike her, and predictably she turned around with a digger gun in her mouth. She didn’t know what hit her, getting a hoof to the face before she could even lock eyes with me. She had dropped her gun, and looked around confused, so I hit her a second time, knocking her out. “Fucking addict.”

I waved the others in, and let Rufus do his work, and It didn’t take the cyber dog long to find a smuggler tunnel. Throwing a blanket over Buwa, the mare needed to learn some decency, I was off through the tunnel.

The narrow tunnel went on for a fair distance, the rocks and dirt sometimes giving way to brick and plaster. We passed by a few hidden doors, but Rufus pressed onward, so the doors were ignored. I could only guess that this tunnel was relatively new, and Orthrus had yet to seal it up.

The tunnel came to an end after steeply rising up, leaving me in an empty room. Putting on my gasmask, I slowly opening the door, and could see a pony on the other side, standing guard. Black jacket, rags, spikes, and spiky Mohawk. It was a bandit. Not wanting to waste time playing nice, I aimed the AG-6 for a headshot, and began charging the air tank. I felt a little stupid for not doing this sooner, but right now all I could do is hope she did not look my way. The bandit remained still, up till the AG-6 was fully pressurised, and I fired, dropping the bandit, sending her down with a soft thud.

Opening the door the rest of the way, the cost was clear, so I waved the others through. We were in a long hallway, much of the building was decayed, and roots from invading plants were everywhere. In the distance was the sound of wind blowing, probably another storm outside.

“Vibby?” Turnip quietly called to me. Looking at the lurker, he was checking the bandit’s body. “Do metal balls cut pony’s throats?”

The forehead of the bandit was blown out, reminding me how powerful an air gun could be. Her neck had been gashed open, and dried blood stained the bandit’s shirt. I had just shot a pony who was already dead. My only guess was that Theremin was the one who did this.

“Well at least this means that the equalists are not working with Bandits.” I checked the body for anything useful, but she had nothing on her. “Right, we need to remain quiet, who knows who or what is out here.” Turnip nodded slowly, and Rufus gave a soft growl.

Following Rufus, it looked like we were in an office building, though anything that could tell me for what had long vanished. The bandits had cleaned the place up as best as one could, with much of the junk swept to the corners. A box full of empty inhaler cartridges further proved what this place was being used for. But everything else I’d expect from a bandit smuggling den was missing, the guns, the labs, even the bandits. Not to say we didn’t see some, but all the bandits on this floor were dead, a few with their faces caved in, others shot or stabbed to death.

The next floor was more of the same, but with more bandit bodies, and this time it looked like they were able to fight back. Also unlike the floor below, the equalists had left guns and ammo behind, though most of it was not useful to me, but I was able to find two more healing potions.

The sound of tapping, and scraping came from ahead. Rufus sniffing the air and the fur on his back stood straight up. Whatever was ahead, the cyber dog didn’t like it, and knowing what could be up here, neither did I.

“Check mate! Are you even trying'?” The tapping suddenly became rapping and loud for a moment. “Maybe you need another buck to t' head, might knock your IQ up..”

“Fuck you, you self-loathing' cunt.” There was the sudden sound of glass shattering, and small metal objects rattling on the ground. “Next time you tell me t' fight a cybernetic scurvy dog freak, moi’s goin' t' save time and just stab you.”

The two voices were sounding all too familiar. Between the distinct accent, and the aggression, I was getting a bad feeling that they were pirates. Staying low, I took point. It was easy to keep hidden, with how dark everything was, making me regret not looking for some night vision goggles before coming up here.

Further down a hall, around a corner, and over another dead bandit, I could see who it was that we're talking. To my dismay, not only were they pirates, the two were the pirates that I fought at the hotel. The two were covered in blood, and surrounded by cans of food rations, many cans of food rations. Another pirate stood nearby, along with six bandits, all looking like they just jumped through a meat grinder.

At the hooves of Shamrock and Couteau was an old chess board, its game pieces spread all around the room, and a broken bottle of Metro-Cola simmered in the light of a hanging lantern. “That scurvey dog shot a fuckin' magical bolt from her fuckin' hoof for fuck sakes. Disintegrated Choppy Waters with a hoof shake.” Couteau barked out.

Shamrock laughed. “That was awesome. If not for bein' an ignorant heathen, I’d have bought her a drink for that one.” She leant back in her chair and put her hooves up, I couldn’t read her face do to the gas mask, but her body posture felt smug to me. “I know, I know. Choppy was a good comrade, but fuck was he stupid. That pony freak defiantly had some sort o' trickery at hoof, and he went right up t' her and let t' scurvy dog make t' first move.”

Rufus pointed at the dangerous group, meaning the trail went right through them, something that I was not going to do. I knew that places like this always had alternate paths, either by design or by nature, I just needed to find one.

The wind and rain sounded like it was getting worse, something I was going to hate once I was outside, but right now it helped keep any noise we made muffled. The windows for the ground floor had been blocked off entirely, so getting out that way would cause a lot of noise, and take too long to get out before the pirates found us. Some parts had collapsed in on itself, which looked like a dead end, but meant that the second floor was open up here, I just had to find another door. After nearly knocking over a bunch of bottles all bunched together, I found the other side, and to my good fortune, a way up to the next floor.

There was a shambled of a pathway going up, made of old doors and filing cabinets, the walkway was as unstable as it looked. Luckily the sound of the storm was much louder here, so the rattling sounds we made on every step was not out of place with how the wind was knocking many objects around. At the top we found what looked like a lookout post. Empty bottles and cans littered a small nest of moldy pillows, the lookout long ago abandoned their post. Among the things that were worth anything left behind, was a large long barreled air gun that was held in place on a swivel mount. The high powered sniper rifle was made mostly of junk, and could probably kill or scare off most of the beasts around here.

On one of the pillows was an old pair of equestrian military binoculars. Aside from a few scratches on the sides, they were in relatively good condition. Quickly looking around i found the case, though a bit rusted, it still had all the extra parts for the binoculars. Though it didn’t have night vision, or any other sensory equipment, it would still be a useful tool to have. So I packed it away, and put it in Turnips saddle bag.

The second floor for the office building was in bad shape. What was left of the floors were rotten and covered in mold, fungus, and grass. Everything was wet, though the bandits had managed to patch up the holes in the ceiling with tarps, the rain still got through. Every now and then Minerva give me a radiation warning in my vision, nothing severe, a click every five seconds, but the outside was going to be far worse.

Below me were the pirates and bandits, still sitting around, and looking very irritated. Spark batteries powered a few lanterns, bathing the room in a white glow. We stuck to the shadows, the storm providing everything we need to keep from being detected.

“What you think happened to those assholes?” The bandits catted among themselves, keeping an eye on the pirates.

“Who? Wait, you mean Drumsticks and her mind fucked friends.” The bandit spat on the ground. “I hope their dead, it does us all a favor.”

Another bandit chugged a beer, and finished off with a burp. “What’s your problem, they were cool.”

That bandit got hit in the head with an empty can. “Didn’t we tell you before dumbfuck. About the rumours.” The bandit sighed. “Her crew is chock full of rapists, cannibals, and drug fiends. You know, the real messed up kind.”

“Gees, you don’t have to go hitting me now.” The bandit rubbed the spot the can had hit. “But seriously, The Big Island bandits are something else.”

“I heard that it’s because the Big Island's cursed. Anypony that lives there for too long eventually goes insane.”

One of the bandits nervously eyed Shamrock. “You know what’s insane, how they are still alive. I know I saw her get her face caved in, and the other one got her legs snapped.”

Another bandit threw a can at the one eyeing the pirates. “Shut your trap! I don’t like it any more than you do, but who or whatever they are, they’re our ticket to the big leagues. So don’t go blowing it by pissing them off.”

It was troubling to see Shamisens fears be realized. The bandits knew most of the hidden ways into the islands metro, giving them a way to strike at the heart of our civilization. I could only hope Orthrus was already working on a plan to deal with them. I just needed to get that bug back, set it up, and then we can tap into the pirate’s communications. Something easier said than done, but if I could catch the equalists unaware, I might be able to steal back the bug without a fight.

We all managed to get passed the bandits without being seen, the storm providing us with everything we needed to keep from being detected. Though my biggest worry was the pirates, as they were still an unknown factor.

Looking down pass the room the bandits were in, it was not much different from the rest of the place. There were a few more bodies, and bloody hoof prints all the way to the exit. We stuck to the second floor, quietly trotting to the exit, weary of any enemy that might be lurking in the shadows below. The storm was getting inside from this side, dampening the floor as the raindrops pattered on the cracked concrete floor.

Nearby were some stairs, covered in garbage, but clear enough for us to walk down without much trouble. Letting Rufus take the lead, he ran for the door outside, and we followed. Nopony spotted us on our way out, and now in the rain It would be exceedingly difficult to spot us.

The rain was heavy, and my pipbuck clicked once a second now. The radiation in the rain was not strong, but prolonged exposure would eventually kill me. Rufus was starting to have trouble holding onto the scent, the rain may help keep us hidden, it was washing away the only lead we had. When he would catch the scent again, we would gallop onward, as time was not on our side.

We eventually passed by a flagpole, the old flag was torn to shreds, and next to the pole was a sign with a map on it. The path split here, so I looked at the sign to get a look at where we were. It had all the landmarks on it, and listed where the nearby metro entrances were. Looking at Rufus, he was pointing down one of the paths, and comparing it to the map, I knew were Theremin was going. The path lead straight to the old radio tower, which meant I might be able to kill two rad-roaches with one bullet.

____________________________________

The warm rain had soaked me to the bone, making me shiver, and forcing me to suck down a radaway to stave of radiation sickness. The inside of my gasmask now had the sickly sweet smell of pineapple that the radaway off, and its taste lingered in my mouth. It was not the worst thing I’ve had to drink, but the flavor was so strong that I could never get used to it.

We had stopped in an old camping post. Made for the surface scouts, the structure was strong, raised off the ground, and kept the rain out. It was also a dark spot with a clear line of sight of the Radio Tower.

My new binoculars proved useful here, though not as strong as the gun scope I had for my Lelantos, they gave me a wider view of what I was looking at. My assumption proved correct when I saw two ponies on guard, both with Magical Energy Muskets over their raincoats. The favorite weapon of the Republic, they had to be equalists, or at least working with them.

Studying them for a good ten minutes, they had a movement pattern that was easy to track, and both regularly separated. The only issue I would have with them was that they had their light talismans on, which foolishly reduced how far they could see, but lit up the area around them well enough that I could not simply sneak around them. The plan was simple, sneak in and take out the two guards, take their raincoats and possibly their uniforms. Once I can blend in, I sneak inside, steal the bug, plant it in the broadcasting booth, and if luck is on my side I’ll simply walk my way back underground.

Getting in close was easy enough, between the wind and rain, the two equalists were deaf and blind pass were their lights reached. Turnip was surprisingly good at staying quiet, matching me step for step. It was either something natural for lurkers, or they had to learn it quickly or be prey for monsters. Rufus did well enough himself, though in a situation like this a large cyber-cat would be more well suited.

Moving only when the wind picked up, we made our way to an old rusty stairway, it was held up more by the vines that wrapped around it, then its own supports. Keeping low, one of the guards passed by right on cue. The wind picked up, and I rushed the pony, tackling her into a submission hold. It was a simple move taught by Orthrus, and drilled into me until I could do it sleep walking, so the pony didn’t see it coming. One hoof wrapped around her neck, and the other around a leg, I used the force of my momentum, and her own body weight to slam her to the ground. She was knocked out quickly, the leg around her neck cutting off the blood flow to her brain, and the force of the tackle keeping her from struggling.

Pulling the pony under shelter, I quickly disrobed her. She had a Republic military jumpsuit, and a raincoat that I threw on. Taking off the battle saddle and gun case, the jumpsuit easily fitting over my barding, but forcing me to abandon my jacket. Turnip helped me put the battle saddle back on, it was close in appearance to what the pony was using, and I didn’t feel like taking hers. Replacing the AG-6 with the energy musket, I threw on the raincoat, and now I should bend in. I placed the AG-6 into turnips bag, it only sticking out a little.

Dragging the half-naked pony over to a dumpster, we placed her inside. She wasn’t a bad looking mare, and looked like she actually took care of herself, so I left her my jacket, as a fair trade. It wasn’t enough to hide her blue striped panties, but at least it was something.

The next guard was going to be tricky, the two guards were to meet up again soon, so I would have to fill the role. This made a good opportunity to test if my disguise worked, and hopefully catch the pony off guard. Switching out the telepathy talisman, with the light talisman I took, I lit up the area around me. This was definitely a dumb way to keep guard, as my range of vision fell to where only the light touched, telling me how inexperienced these ponies must be at guard work.

Turnip ran ahead, taking a hiding spot that would be just out of sight of the other guard, and Rufus stayed behind me. I took my position, and walked along the same route as the guard I took out. Turning a corner, the other guard came into sight, though all I could see was his glowing ball of light. My knife was ready in case this failed, but I was betting on Turnip to knock the pony out with his heavy hoof.

We closed in until we were standing in each other’s light. It was hard to see the pony with the hood of the raincoat pulled over my face, but I could see well enough that the other guard was doing the same. Neither of us said a word, just nodded. The guard hadn’t seen Turnip, the lurker doing pretty well blending into the background, and hiding his glowing bits. Swiftly and quietly turnip snuck up behind the guard, raising a hoof up, and swinging it hard.

He missed, no, the guard dodged. With a swift and agile movement, the guard bucked him in the chest, catching Turnip off guard. I rushed in, pulling my knife, but the guard grabbed turnip by the hoof, and threw him over his shoulder, and into me. The force of Turnips body knocked the wind out of me, and sent us sliding on the slick ground.

“Now unless the equalists employ monsters to attack their own, I don’t think you're who you appear to be. Who are you and what faction do you belong to.” The ponies voice was that of a stallion, and had some age to it. “And don’t think I won’t vaporize you, because I will.”

My knife was still in my right hoof, but it was useless in this situation, so I put it away. Turnip was stunned, so I had to roll him off of me, something easier said than done do to how heavy he was. Getting up, i cleared my thought. I was going to say something witty at him, but the light from the energy musket didn’t fill me with confidence that he would not shoot me. “Vibraphone Echo, I’m self-employed, and giving out the names of my clients would be extremely unprofessional, so don’t ask.”

Seconds passed in silence, and I felt my heart tighten as the tension grew thicker. With just a flick of his wing, I would be ash, and I doubt I could dodge at the right time to avoid the first shot. I did have the magical armor, but the time it would take to activate it, and for him to sense me gathering the magic was not enough to ensure my safety. I did have the advantage of two companions, so if he became distracted by one of them, then I had a opportunity to activate the armor.

A red light passed over my eye, making me flinch. It was a red dot, which now rested on my nose. “fuck me.” He had a sniper for support, throwing out any plan I had at fighting this pony. I dropped my defensive posture and raised my hooves into the air. “Luna fuck me with moon beams, I surrender.”

I sat there with my hooves up for a few more seconds. The stallion sat down, aiming his musket away from me, and lit up a cigarette. “So you’re the younger Echo, now I’m real glad I didn’t take you out as you came up here. Call me Old Song, I’m a Specter.”

I relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.” Looking at the stallion, he was actually smoking his cigarette through the drinking port of his gasmask, the smoke puffing out of the port periodically. “This should make my job easier.”

“And what job is that?” Old Songs voice sounded skeptical.

I didn’t want to give too much away, and now that I think about it, He never gave any proof to actually being a specter. “I’ll tell you, but only if you have proof that you are a specter.” He nodded, and zipped open the jumpsuit, underneath was a modified enforcer and dog-tags with the emblem of Orthrus on it. It was not much proof, but I was just going to have to go on faith for this. “Right, I’m to install a bug on the radio tower, a simple job, but with one big problem.”

“The equalists.” Old Song answered.

“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.” I replied. “The bug was stolen before I headed out. The pony who has it is called a Reaver, not something I want to fight up close.”

Old Song tilted his head. “Reaver, what, as in the comic book?”

I sighed. “Strangely yes. The pony is some sort of cybernetic powerhouse, and has modeled his… herself after the comic hero. I don’t know how good his range of skills is, but his hoof to hoof strikes are deadly.”

“A stallion…” Old song groaned. “I got bad news, there’s a mare as well. Shooting energy bolts from her hoof, and overkilling everything in her way.”

I nodded. “I heard the pirates talking about a mare that could do that.”

He cocked his head again. “We have pirates now too!?”

“Yaaaaa… That’s why I’m here. As of late, we have outsiders invading the islands. They’ve already made contact with the bandits, so unless we can at least intercept their communications, things are going to go bad fast.” I pulled the jumpsuits leg up, and showed him Minerva, the screen lit up, turning to the Tactical S.A.T.S. page. “It’s mostly my sister’s idea. She plans to meet up with me after convincing the council of the danger the pirate pose.”

Old Song nodded. “I see. I was only here to observe the situation. But I can offer my assistance.” He pulled out a bomb from under his raincoat. “You go in, and I’ll cause a distraction, you can take my disguise for your… friend.”

“Thanks, if all goes well, we’ll have a leg up on the pirates when they make their move.” Old Song removed the jumpsuit and raincoat, revealing his sleek black tactical barding. He had the same goggles my sister was using, so when he vanished into the darkness, I knew he could see everything.

Getting Turnip dressed up was easy enough, and between the raincoat and gasmask on, it would be impossible to tell that he was not a pony without taking them off. We headed to the door inside, luckily it was not guarded itself so we slipped inside without a problem. When the cost was clear, we had Rufus follow us in.

Rufus sniffed the floor, and softly growled, He was back on the scent. Unfortunately, two equalists were coming our way, so Rufus went and hid, as I stepped up to deal with the two equalists.

They were in the same jumpsuits as us, their gas masks on, and raincoats hanging over their back. “Hey, isn’t it a bit early for you to be leaving your post?”

I cleared my throat, forcing it to strain a bit. “Sorry, but the storms gotten a lot worse. I think we’re going to need to shorten the shifts or risk radiation poisoning.”

The two guards looked at each other, and back to me, their heads drifting down to the large puddle forming under me. “Shit, your soaked! Ya, I think we should do that.” The guards looked back up at me. “You also don’t sound too good… Fuck, I’m going to hate it out there.”

I chuckled. “Ya, and also think I saw a rad-hog out there, so good luck.”

The two guards passed us, mumbling to themselves, not giving us a second look. It felt a bit too easy, but with how the guards were using light talismans, I don’t think they were all that well trained. Thinking about it, I replaced the light talisman for my muffle talisman. Rufus would point the way, but I was going to take the lead. I decided not to install the amplify sound talisman, with how the storm was still raging outside, all it would do was make the storm louder to me.

When the two guards had vanished into the darkness of the outside, I called Rufus out. His nose trained on the floor, his ears up and twitched about. I may not be able to filter out the sound of the storm, but cyber-dogs could, still not as good as cyber-cats, but far better than what I could do. He kept low, and would stop at doorways, letting me pass first so that I could signal to him if it was safe to pass.

The equalists were in force here, whatever they were up to, I could only hope it didn’t involve violence. Most of them mulled around in the hollowed out rooms, either chatting with each other or resting in shifts. My only guess is that they were moving out soon, so they had to be ready when given the order. I counted over twenty of them, and if I had to guess, there was probably a good hundred here. Luckily none of them gave me much trouble, probably do to the gas masks making it hard to see, or spot anything out of the ordinary. I didn’t want to push my luck, so I kept most, if any socializing to head nods and shakes. It was better for them to think I was dumb or mute, than to open my mouth and reveal that I was not one of them.

We reached the second level of the radio building with no problems, and we had a clear shot at the broadcasting booth. Rufus pointed us in the direction of the lounge, which was guarded. The guards, unlike the ones from the outside had body armor on, and were armed with a magical energy musket and an older model air rifle each. The republic always had a problem of quantity over quality, but with their numbers it didn’t matter, they could overwhelm a station with just sharpened sticks if they were crazy enough to try.

Taking note of where we need to go, we first headed to the broadcasting booth. The room was as clean as you could expect out here, no junk on the floor, and the windows boarded up. To my dismay, there was already a pony here, working under the broadcaster.

“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” I had to give off a sense of authority, but keep to a level of ignorance. “If that thing turns on it may signal our position.”

“Oh sorry.” The pony responded. “The ch.. chief wanted me to check for a… um, a sound flux transistor.” whatever the fuck that is. “What are you doing in here.” She pushed herself out from under the broadcaster, and slid along the floor. “OH A DOGGY!”

I was taken aback by her sudden outburst. “Ahh, yes. He is here to help… with security. You never know when the damn trade union is sneaking about!”

“Right, trade union… don’t want them doing bad things.” She stepped closer to Rufus, and he backed away growling.

I stepped between her and Rufus. “Sorry, but he’s working, so no touching.” I needed to get her out of the room so I could get the booth ready to be turned on.

“Aww, not even a little?” I shook my head. “Damnit, I never get to play with the dogs.” She got up close to me, and I could see her green eyes through the mask. “What do you say I help you out. And when your shift is over, I can play with the doggy!”

“I don’t think that’s a good Idea.” I backed away from the mare. “And don’t you have to get that… whatever it is.”

“Oh that, naww, well ya… but it’s not there, it's gone.” She rotated her hoof as she spoke, making me suspicious, but with the gasmask on, I could not properly read her. “I just need to head to the lounge to check one more thing. But the guards are being a pain in the ass, but your with security, so help a mare out?”

If I went with her, it would get her out of here, but if I brought Rufus along I doubt I could just play it off. “I’ll go with you, but my partner will stay here with the dog.”

The mare's head dipped. “Oh, that’s a shame, a real shame.” She trotted past me, and motioned for me to follow. “Oh well, let’s just get this over with.”

I sighed, and whispered to Turnip. “Do what you can to get the broadcaster working, just don’t turn it on until I come back with the bug.” He nodded, and we separated.

The two guards simply pointed their guns at us, and told us to go away. So this was going to be tricky at best. “Oy, fuckers, get the wax out of your ears, I got an order to pick up in that room. I even went and got a security escort too.” Or the mare could just act like a bitch.

I cleared my throat. “What our comrade means is that she has an order to pick up, and I’m to make sure that’s all she does.”

The two guards looked at each other, and shook their heads. “Still no entry. Reaver Blaster Beam is currently in a foul mood. So you will just have to wait until we get the all clear.”

“She’s already vaporized one comrade who barged in.” The other guard added. “Though I might be willing to let your undisciplined friend in, just to see what happens.”

I was starting to feel like I was back at the lurkers nest, which was a really bad feeling. “I see; do you know how long it will be?” If I could get a timeframe, I might be able to come up with a plan around the reavers. The more distance between me and them, the better.

The guard just shook his head, and we backed off. Looking at the mare, everything was off about her. But I was not willing to point it out, as it would risk me being found out. When we were far enough away, I felt like it was safe enough to pry “Say, what’s your name… Comrade.”

“Graceful Gust.” She said hitting her chest with her hoof. Said hoof lacking any metal parts. “And what’s your name miss not who she says she is.”

I was right about not opening my mouth, it only marked me as not one of the equalists. “Vibraphone Echo. Freelancer. I’m guessing you’re with the Orphic Kingdom?”

Graceful paused for a moment before nodding. “Ya, doing reconnaissance. Seeing what these assholes are up to.” With the turmoil at their home, it was not surprising that they would be looking into the threats around them. “So any idea how to get pass the guards?”

“Not really, but I did meet a friendly on my way here, he said he would provide a distraction for me.” Almost as though on cue, a siren went off, echoing in the building.

We kept out of the way, as a pony ran up the stairs, and right to the lounge. Before the guards could even stop the pony, the doors flung open, revealing a green mare with a bright red mane. Unlike the others, she didn’t have on a jumpsuit, but cut down fatigues, with a ballistic vest over it. The most striking thing about her was that her tail and wings were cybernetic. The tail long and slender, with what looked like a coil at the end. Her wings had what looked like a magical energy pistols attached to them. Over all, she looked incredibly dangerous.

The Equalist looked like he was going to piss himself, his back legs collapsing under him. “Miss Blaster Beam Sir!” the pony saluted. “Were under attack by an unknown enemy, we have injuries, but no fatalities.”

Blaster Beam growled, and furiously started scratching her head. “It must be those demand bandits; I knew we should have hunted them down to the last.” Her voice had a synthetic tone to it, and the guns on her back twitched around as though looking for something to shoot. “Were going out there, and we're going to kill them.”

“Blaster wait!” Theremin stepped out, and I had keep myself from grinding my teeth. “Let them take their pot shots, we got a schedule to keep to.”

The mare slapped her tail on the floor, still growling. “NO! They mess with one of us, they mess with us all. That’s what we stand for.” Blaster trotted off, with the equalist soldier following right behind her.

The older stallion, Waterphone had also stepped out. “I’ll keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t burn down the forest to get at one bandit.” Two heavily armed drones followed him, one hovering in the air, the other walking on six bladed legs.

Theremin kicked the wall, putting a hole in it. “FINE! But were moving out as soon as this is over, no more stalling.” He trotted off after the other two, mumbling to himself. The two guards followed him, one giving us a nod as they passed by.

I didn’t need to see Graceful’s face through the gasmask to know she was giving me a happy look, or even say anything, we just nodded and trotted into the lounge.

The lounge was as run down as the rest of the building, but having two large sofas, which didn’t look all that comfortable. There was a small kitchen area in the corner, which had an old Sparkle-Cola machine. There was a bathroom too, and what use to be large windows, now covered up with scrap and tarps.

“Let’s be quick about this, who knows how long the reavers will be out.” There were a few metal cases on a coffee table, so I began looking into them.

“Ya, I don’t want to end up like Choppy.” Graceful commented. “So what are you looking for?”

It was inevitable she was going to pry, luckily I had an easy half-truth to use. “I’m recovering a client’s family heirloom that got stolen.” She was from the orphic kingdom, so it was unlikely she would question too much into it. They loved their heritage, so the recovery of an heirloom would be something they hire a mercenary to do. “What about you, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“Me, I’m just doing reconnaissance, and some subterfuge.” She snickered to herself. “So what does this heirloom look like?”

“It’s a MoM bug!” Theremin spoke up, standing in the doorway. In his hoof was the bug, like he was teasing me with it. “I thought this was important, figured you would come looking for it. and bring you right to me.” He put the bug in a pocket, and trotted into the room. “It’s good to see you again Vibraphone, now we can continue our talk.”

Graceful lunged at him with a knife, I didn’t make any move to stop her, it being a futile effort at this point. Theremin simply deflected the attack, hit her in the stomach, and threw her at the window. Knocking off her gasmask, Graceful ungracefully puked as she flew through the air bleeding, bouncing off the window, and knocking it open. The storm roared into the room, blowing paper about, and spraying raindrops inside.

“How?” It wasn’t a farfetched idea that he would be expecting me, but this too quick, like he knew I was coming here.

Theremin chuckled. “The right leg is good for more than just hiding a stun baton.” He tapped his temple. “I’ve been tracking your movements, and I have to say, I was not disappointed.”

I cursed under my breath. “So what’s going to happen now.” I still had the flash bang, it would give me the opportunity to run, but I’d have to abandon my leg. Or I could use it to give me an opening to attack, but I still didn’t know what he was capable of, so that would probably be a bad idea. If I was going to take him out, I would have to do it at range, keep him from closing the distance. Meaning I’d have to run.

He slowly trotted up to me. “You’re going to come with us. Having the Dragonslayer of Charon’s Stop on our side would be a boon to the republics morale.”

I huffed. “And why would I join you?”

He was now close enough for us to properly see eye to eye through our gas masks. “Why wouldn’t you join us. We seek to unify the islands, and break free of the prison we call the metro.” He pointed at the window. “There is a whole world out there, just waiting for us to rediscover it. But we stay in our tunnels and bicker over scraps. Pony kind was not meant to live like this, we were born to run in open fields of grass, bathe in the sun, and be in harmony with each other.” He lowered his leg, and picked up some gravel from the floor. “Not this, not this slow death.”

“And what about the ponies who don’t see it your way, or don’t agree with your methods?”

Theremin sighed. “Sacrifices must be made for the greater good. Trust me, history will prove us right.”

I was not convinced, but I now knew he believed it himself, which made him real dangerous. One wrong move, or one wrong word, and I’d become his enemy. My death would soon follow. “Fuck, I surrender.” I still had a trick, but I needed him to lower his guard.

“Smart move. You may be angry now, but in time, I know you will see this as the best decision in your life. A turning point where everything gets better. Trust me.” I doubted it, but I just needed an opening, and out the window I’d go. After that, I’ll ditch the leg, and go meet up with Turnip and Rufus. “Now for your friend. I may have cracked her rib cage so I doubt she will be getting up any time soon.” He trotted up to her, picking up her gasmask.

Graceful was still on the ground, not moving, blood and bile seeping from her mouth. Getting a good look at her, she actually had five golden earrings on, and a tattoo of a skull on her left cheek… and was bleeding from her eyes. I was starting to feel like an oblivious idiot.

“Strange.” Theremin commented. “Never seen head trauma do that before. Normally they need an orbital fracture for the eyes to bleed. And no horn, you must be from the Orphic Kin…”

Graceful had opened her eyes, and they were now locked with Theremin’s. I knew exactly what was going on, as she slowly got up on all fours, and began removing her jumpsuit, never breaking eye contact. “You know fate is a funny thing right. For use to meet like this, it makes me want to laugh.” Graceful was a light gray Pegasus, with a two toned mane of light blue and dark blue. “Black Spot been talking about you nonstop. Destiny this, fate that.” On her flank was a not a cutie mark, but what looked like a large branding in the shape of a cloud and a lightning bolt. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark had been burned over her own, in what looked like a extremely painful manner. “To bad I can’t stay and chat.” She jumped back, breaking eye contact with Theremin. “But I’ve got to blow this joint.”

Theremin wobbled for a second, but quickly recovered his composure, and attempted to rush Graceful. She easily dodged by jumping out the window and hovering in place. “Who and what are you!” Theremin demanded.

She just laughed loudly, the storm winds not seeming to move her one bit. She pulled out what looked like a trigger… no it was a trigger! “Wouldn’t you like to know Asshole.” She triggered the device, and the building shook with a loud boom. Graceful laughed again and flew off.

Another explosion shook the building, this one closer than before. Remembering where I met Graceful, I almost panicked. Turnip and Rufus were likely sitting next to a bomb. “Theremin get your ponies out of here! We can continue this later.” I didn’t wait for him to respond, I just bolted out the lounge and to the broadcasting room.

To my surprise, Turnip was holding a box with a bunch of cables sticking out of it. He looked at me as he turned it around to show a timer. “I don’t think it counts to party time.” We only had thirty seconds before it went off.

The building shook again, so with little time to act, I grabbed the bomb and threw it into the hallway. “We need to get somewhere safe!”

“Small room has thick walls!” he pointed at what was likely a soundproof recording booth. I didn’t have time to argue, so we rushed into the room and shut the door. Getting low on the ground, we waited for the inevitable.

____________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Progression:

No Goddesses, or Princesses, Only Mares. 90%

I like to lurk. 75%

Chapter 14 - Storm of Troubles (pt 2)

My vision blurred, and my ears rang, which meant I was alive, in a lot of pain, but alive. Turnip was right about the walls being thick, so we were able to avoid the worst of the blast. Sadly, the building collapsed soon after, it sounding like the roar of a beast, and spewing dust everywhere.

A liquid touched my lips, tasting of sickly sweet grapes, and making me feel better. “Kindly we give up now? Rather sleep, eat, dance. Not hide, shoot, hurt.”

Getting up on all fours, i looked at turnip. His disguise was torn to shreds, and his purple chitin was covered in scratches. He was covered in dust, which mixed with the rain turning into a muddy gray on him. “You know what, that’s probably a good idea. This is way above my pay grade.” Rufus limped over to me, one of his metal legs was messed up, and would need to see a professional to properly fix it. “Oh hey boy, good to see you in one peace. Me and Turnip were just talking, and what do you think about just going home and letting some other pony finish this.” Rufus whimpered, and nuzzled my leg. “I knew you’d agree.”

Without the building to shelter us, the storms full force was on us, the warm water soaking me to the bone. There was a little piece of the building still standing, offering a small amount of shelter from the rain. Trotting over, it was nice to not be pelted with the toxic rain drops, my pipbuck’s ticking dropping to more manageable level of radiation exposure. Rufus shook the water off his cot, a futile effort, but I knew how he felt right now. Turnip was unfazed by the rain, I doubted he was alright, but it didn’t look like he sustained any serious damage from the collapse.

Taking the opportunity, I checked our equipment. The two magical energy muskets were busted, though I could probably use one to fix the other. One raincoat survived mostly intact, so I threw it on to help keep the rain off of me. The rest of our gear was still good, so after sucking down a Rad-Away, I got geared up. The AG-6 went back on the battle saddle, and I put together Lelantos. I placed on my back, a thick strap holding it in place, ready for me to pull it out. With two reavers about, I was going to need the extra firepower.

Turnip had taken the digger gun, placing it on his saddlebag in a way so he can quickly grab it. At this point, the rain had washed away all the mud, and he took his torn up raincoat and wore it like a cape.

“Your friend looks dashing, for a monster I mean.” Theremin came into view, a badly hurt pony on his back. I pointed the AG-6 at him, but he didn’t flinch. He stepped into the small shelter we had, laying the equalist mare on the ground gently. Two pieces of rebar had pierced her chest and waist. “Now would you be so kind as to not aim that gun at me, we are civil ponies aren’t we?”

I complied, less to do with me really wanting to, and more knowing that he was just too close for me to hit him. Whatever cybernetics he had put him at an advantage, I also didn’t know what kind of talismans he had on him, which made him even more dangerous. I suspected magical armor, and possibly a spell to increase his strength and speed. Once more, I still had that tracer in my leg, so running and hiding was not going to happen unless I abandoned the leg, which would slow me down.

The mare Theremin rescued whimpered, gasping for air every few seconds. “You have some healing potions?” Theremin asked me, and I nodded, taking a potion from Turnip’s pack. “Thanks.” He positioned the mare so that she was on her stomach, and placed a piece of wood in her mouth. “This is going to hurt, probably the worst pain in your life, but I need you to be strong.” He spoke calmly to the mare. She nodded, tears in her eyes, and her breath fast and shallow. Taking one of the pieces of rebar in his mouth, Theremin pull it out like she was butter, and the mare gave a deep painful moan. He quickly moved onto the second bar, but this time the mare passed out.

I quickly administered the healing potion, tilting the mare's head up as I poured the potion down her throat. It was likely not enough to fix most of the damage done to her, but it did stop her bleeding, and closed up the wounds.

Theremin gave the mare a look over, checking for any other injuries, finding plenty of flesh wounds that the healing potion had already taken care of. The mare was going to come out of this scarred, but alive. Satisfied, he turned his attention to me. “Thanks. I’ve already lost too many of my own, I’m glad that I’m not going to lose one more.”

It was hard not to like him, all the strength and compassion, he was like a comic book hero. But the image of Kanteles broken face made it easy for me to hate him. Whoever this pony truly was, he was dangerous, and one wrong move, and the three of us were dead. “Turnip, take Rufus back to Club Three Dog, I’ll be right behind you.”

Turnip looked at me, at Rufus, and then back to me. “No!” He stepped between me and Theremin. “You not fight alone. You lose. So I help.”

I shook my head. “You're not fighter Turnip. Just head to safety.”

He looked away from me, and at Theremin. “Ready.” Theremin didn’t waste time, and met Turnip with a jumping hoof strike. Turnip countered with his own, their hooves colliding with a slap. Turnip slid back a few inches, but was able to hold his ground, and when Theremin struck with his other hoof, he countered it as well.

The two were locked hoof to hoof, and Theremin laughed. “I’ve not met another pony who could meet me in strength, so what the fuck are you?”

Turnip held firm. “I Lurker, known as Turnip by ponies, I serve my princess!” He began pushing Theremin back. Turnip never took me for a strong Lurker, but he was still a lurker, and even a weak lurker could overpower a strong pony. But I doubt Turnip could do more than this, the reaver was most likely meeting strength with strength like it was a game.

“A princess?” Theremin rolled his eyes. “I expect no less from monster taking pony form. Latching onto the worst aspect of pony society.” He sneered as he dug into the ground and pushed Turnip back an inch. “What makes this princess better then you, better than any of your kind.”

I took the opportunity to flank Theremin, jumping into the rain and aiming my AG-6 at his side.

Turnip snarled. “Know nothing! She is our heart, our light. Without the queen, without the princesses, we are no more than beasts. You say the worst of ponies, but I read history. If ponies had listened to their princess, this world would never be!”

Firing, the rain made it hard to properly aim, and I just grazed Theremin’s side. He glared at me and took a step back, as Turnip lurched forward, Theremin twisted his body and crouched. Turnip fell onto the reaver, who then used his strength to throw the lurker at me. My hooves slipped on the slick ground, preventing me from dodging.

Turnips body hit me hard enough to knock the wind out of me. If I didn’t have my gasmask on, I’d be drinking radioactive mud. We both got up, Theremin standing above us on the rubble.

“Are you done now?” His voice was a mix of annoyance, and concern. “My word can go a long way, so if you both surrender now, I’ll see to it that your cells are properly furnished.” Theremin paused for a moment and scratched his chin. “I’ll even make sure you can have legs during your stay.”

He was asking nicely, but all the niceties were gone now. I could surrender, but Turnip seemed adamant that we fight, which was making things worse. Not that he was wrong, I didn’t know what Theremin wanted to do with me, but I knew I was not going to like it. If I could at least drive him off, we might be able to escape.

I did have one trick up my sleeve. “Sorry, but not today.” I activated S.A.T.S. Selecting to retrieve the flashbang from my leg, and tossed it right at him. Time moved slowly as the grenade flew from my leg, and at the reaver. Theremin moved slowly, but much faster than the grenade. He lifted up one of his legs, and swatted the flashbang away from him, and up into the air. To my horror, my eyes stayed locked on the flashbang, S.A.T.S. not allowing me to look away, or even close my eyes. Like what my drill sergeant told me so many years ago, she lost her eyes because she mixed grenade’s and S.A.T.S. Something I never truly understood until right at this moment.

The flash blinded me, but luckily the storm muffled the bang. I could only hope Theremin had been blinded as well, so I blind fired my AG-6. The forceful puffs of my rifle were followed by the sound of steel hitting rocks and wood. A sign that I missed my target.

My vision recovered, and to my horror, Theremin stood face to face with me. “My eyes are cybernetic; flashbangs don’t work on me.” He struck the AG-6 with his hoof, ripping it off its straps. The battle saddles safety’s allowing the rifle to come off without dragging me with it. “As is most of me, now if you please simply surrender, then I won’t be forced to make you.” Turnip quickly turned around, but before he could do anything Theremin bucked him, sending the lurker sliding through the mud. “This is not a fight you can win. So stop trying.”

I just needed an opening, a clear shot, and this fight would turn to my advantage. Theremin hit me in chest, sending pain through my body, and sending me sliding back a few hoof steps. “Can’t you see, you lost!” he spat out at me. Luckily the hit didn’t feel like it did as much damage as he had before, probably do to me moving with the hit instead of resisting it. “So stop, stop before this gets any worse.”

Above Theremin on the rubble, Rufus positioned himself to attack. The cyber dog was about to give me the opportunity I needed, I just needed to keep Theremin’s focus on me. “And why can’t you just let us go?”

“Because we need ponies like you!” His voice seemed to plead to me.

“Why me, killing a Paradise Dragon can’t be that important?” I was legitimately curious about this. I understood the political connections with saving Harp, but the equalists were unlikely to care about that.

He laughed. Not a happy laugh, or a nervous laugh, but the kind of laugh you have when know something the other person does not know, like an inside joke. “Killing the dragon just put you on the top of the list.” His voice crackled, almost as though another voice was taking over.

Theremin stepped closer to me, and I stepped back. “What List?”

Before Theremin could answer, Rufus attacked, jumping onto his back and surprising the reaver. Hopping back, I entered S.A.T.S. again and used it to pull out the IF-152, and only that. I needed more control then the tactical spell gave me, so not to hit Rufus.

Predictably, Theremin threw Rufus off his back, and in that moment I fired. The stream of napalm set Theremin on fire, and I didn’t let go of the trigger until it’s fuel tank was spent. The heat from the fire threatened to burn my face, as I watched the Cyberpony burn. Oddly he didn’t make a move to defend himself, he only stood there, as I burned him alive.

The flames didn’t last long, as the rain doused them, leaving behind a charred black pony. Turnip and Rufus got up and joined me, the Lurker nudging me to leave. But I couldn’t take my eyes off of Theremin. And as though answering a worrisome thought, his eyes opened up.

“You know; I saw this coming” His mouth didn’t move, simply stayed open. His voice was that of a mare, though artificial and a bit high pitched. “Though I was hoping you’d use the revolver first, then I’d grab it from its levitation, and pistol whip you with it.” Theremin chuckled, though it sounded more like a mare’s gleeful giggle. “Or that strange rifle, so I could bend it right in your face.”

He stepped forward, some of his skin flaking off revealing the cybernetics underneath. He was more machine than pony, like in the horror movies about cybernetics gone wrong. Theremin took a step forward, and I took three back.

“What’s the matter little missy. scared, I know, perfection is a frightening thing, but it does not have to be.” He tilted his head, his voice still like a mare’s. “Just give up, and accept your fate.” Before I could react, Theremin launched himself at me, and sent me rolling with one hit. All I could do was cover my head with my legs, protecting my head and gasmask.

The pain was far worse this time, and I contemplated just laying on my back and giving up. The pained cries of Rufus brought me back from my daze, and I rushed onto my hooves. Turnip was right next to me, sporting a crack on his chitin. Rufus was unfortunately under the hoof of Theremin, who had an ear to ear grin on his face. If this continued, Rufus was going to die. “STOP IT! I SURRENDER, JUST LET HIM GO.”

Theremin slowly tilted his head to me, not blinking once. “You, my dear, must learn what happens when you disobey.” He reared up, and I knew what was going to happen next. Entering S.A.T.S. I selected my revolver, and prepared to fire. whis this I had more luck, and the maneuver went off smoothly, Lunar Eclipse hitting it mark on Theremins chest. But the Cyberpony didn’t flinch, or falter, his hooves coming down.

Everything seemed still, the rain pelted me, but it didn’t matter. The wind roared, but I didn’t care. All I could see was Rufus, his head limp, unnaturally dangling from his head. Kanteles fractured face. Sweet screaming in pain.

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF HOG SHIT!” I fired my revolver at him, no control, all I needed was one bullet to connect with something vital. Everything became a blur as once more I found myself sliding in the mud.

Theremin was just too fast, too strong, and a far more skilled fighter than I was. Getting up, I saw Turnip staring at Theremin, placing himself between him and I. If I didn’t think fast, Turnip was going to die as well. I entered S.A.T.S. slowing down time for me, and allowing me to think of a proper plan.

Lunar Eclipse still floated next to me, but i needed to reload. Theremin would be expecting me to reload and fire, and Turnip would make a good shield from it. My rifle was still an unknown to him, but like before, he would be expecting me to it. I had a frag grenade on me, but he’d be fast enough to counter it.

Conventional tactics were not going to work, and with this bug somewhere in my leg, trying to slip away from him and get a surprise attack at range was not going to work. The other problem was keeping Turnip alive, which meant that I was going to have to close in just to support the Lurker. If only I had the element of surprise, this would have been easy. Surprise… Something unexpected… something not me…

From what Theremin was saying, it sounded like he, or who he works for has been keeping an eye on me. Professional was how I liked to portray myself, someone who my clients could rely on, which in essence meant predictable… Could that be what Theremins owners saw in me… what he saw in me… What everypony has seen in me…

What Rototom didn’t want me to be…

It was not like i didn’t like to be predictable, it meant I lived an easy life, a good life, and right now a short life. I wanted to live, and not as some pawn. Throwing safety out the window, I used S.A.T.S. to get the one frag grenade I had on me and placed it into my front right leg, pulling the pin and closing the hidden compartment with the safety lever still in place. It was reckless, but the leg was a liability to me, so why not turn it into a shrapnel bomb.

Time returned to normal, and I charged. My new back legs dug into the ground far better than any legs I had ever had before, launching me forward. Theremin kicked Turnip away, sending him rolling in the mud, which was good for me, as I didn’t want him to get hurt by what I was going to do. Close in now, I leaped at Theremin, and he dodged, which was fine by me, I had another target. His tail was still mostly intact, and with my fingers extended, I grabbed it.

“What do you think this will accomplish?” Theremin barked out in a creepy mare like voice.

I simply smiled as I hit the mud. “Just being reckless” I activated tactical S.A.T.S. once more, entering in for it to open the compartment on my leg, and detaching the leg itself. As time slowly returned, I then used my back legs to jump out of the blast range, but only managing to sip on the ground… this was going to hurt.

Turning to look at me, he still had the creepy smile “Well you fa..” Theremin was cut off with by an explosion. His back end was pelted with red hot shrapnel, shielding me from the deadlier part of the blast. But I was still hit by the shockwave, making my ears feeling like a spike had been driven through them.

Everything hurt all over, but not at bad as my ears, but it still hurt. It took me a few seconds to regain my balance, and look at my surrounding. Theremins back half had been blown open, revealing more cybernetics… no, it was only cybernetics. At this point I felt safe to assume that he was just a brain in a mechanical body. Such a thing was not unheard of, but ponies who lose even a part of themselves tend to suffer major psychological problems. Theremin was far too lively for the level of modification he had.

I trotted over to Rufus, the poor cyberdog just lying there. I didn’t know what to expect, maybe I could save him somehow, but with his neck broken his body was useless. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” My hoof reached out, and cradled the hound. He was hard to hold with one leg, so I just pressed him against my chest. “You were a good dog, a very good dog. If only I was faster… stronger… smarter.”

“You can be.” The voice was of a mare, garbled a bit in static. It came from Theremin who lay on the ground, motionless, with his mouth open. “We can make you all those things, and more. We can even save the dog.” His voice crackled and popped as he talked. “The brain could still be recovered, changing a cyber dogs brain or body is nothing new.”

I glared at the cyberpony. “At what cost.” I asked. his mangled body just laid there unmoving. But it felt that he could just get up at any moment, dashing any hope of victory.

“True equality…” he said. “Become one of us, and take part in the purest form of equality.” I didn’t know what he was hinting at, but it made my skin crawl. “You have seen what the Orphic kingdom did done here, such unnecessary violence, destroying a landmark, and for what? Fear that we may help their peasants throw off the shackles of their oppression, that in the end history will prove us right, and them the savages.”

Theremin was as mistaken as I had been about Graceful Gust. The actions of the pirates being seen as an attack by the orphic kingdom. If Old Song was seen here, they’d blamed this on Orthrus as well, I at least had an excuse of recovering the bug… “Where’s the bug!” I had almost forgotten about it.

He just laughed, it was an artificial sounding laugh, made all the creepier with him not moving. “Gave it to Waterphone, the pony is better with tech then I am. I’m sure he will make good use of it.”

The old stallion didn’t look like he would be as much of a challenge when I saw him, but he was likely to have a team of equalists guarding him, and then there were the two oversized drones. With me missing a leg, it was defiantly time to give up, and pass the job onto somepony who is better equipped. There was just one thing I could do, even if Theremin didn’t listen, I could say that I tried. “The pony that blew up the building, she was not from the Orphic Kingdom. She was an outsider, part of some fleet on the water. If the republic goes to war with the Orphic Kingdom, these outsiders, they will sweep in like vultures and destroy your equality. It’s why I was out here, why I need that bug.”

Theremin didn’t respond, I couldn’t tell if he was dead or simply thinking, but if he was alive, I hoped the little information I gave him was enough to keep a lid on any saber rattling. Not feeling like waiting around for a response, i placed Rufus on the ground. If he could really be saved, I didn’t see how, the cover to the cyberdogs brain case had been knocked off, and the liquid inside had become cloudy. I was no cyber doc, but even I knew that was bad. He deserved better, but we needed to move quickly, so we had to leave him behind.

Turnip came up right next to me, offering support as we walked away. My eyes stayed on Theremin as long as possible, until he was too far behind me for my head to turn. Even with him unable to come after us, my mind could not stop imagining him still doing that, dragging me away into the darkness.

____________________________________

We took a back road to avoid running into any Equalists that may have gotten away. I was going by the fact that I didn’t see the other Reaver, so I was sure they were out there. My map program guiding us thru the route, which was for the most part, gone. Unless any of them had a pipbuck, were not going to be found easily.

The tropical rain, partnered with the radiation, made it sickly warm. Whenever the tree line thinned out, the wind made the hateful drops of water pelt me sideways, and threatened to steal the tattered raincoat off of me. the only part of me that was saved from this maddening weather was my face, but the inside of the gasmask was starting to fog up, meaning that my filter was reaching its limit. This also meant that my warm breath had turned the inside of the mask into a little sauna. Overall I was miserably wet and warm, yet I felt cold. It was like my heart was cold, and that coldness spread through my bloodstream, reaching every part of me. Was it the guilt of not saving Rufus, I was sure it was. It could also be that I would have to tell Cabrette that her family heirloom was unlikely to return, I did dread telling her that. But I knew where this feeling of coldness truly came from, the knowledge that I had truly failed.

I had thrown everything I had at Theremin, and came out of it battered and beaten. I didn’t know how many more ribs were cracked, or if my ears would ever stop hurting. I had to sacrifice my own leg just to stop him, and before that Rufus. Luckily I still had Lunar Eclipse and Lelantos, the only consolation to this mess.

Turnip looked worse, as his chitin was cracked in a few places, and his blue blood stained his jumpsuit. It was strange to see, as the worst fracture’s glowed red from underneath, making him look like he was going to explode like a volcano.

“Do we still have any healing potions?” I asked. The pain was nearly unbearable, and with my adrenaline coming down, it was only getting worse.

The Lurker rummaged thru his bag, and then my case, pulling out one vial of healing potion, and a bunch of broken shards. “Just this, you drink.”

I tried to protest as he shoved it in my mouth, but missing a leg made it hard. Taking a gulp, I managed to keep myself from drinking all of the potion, leaving the other half for Turnip. When he pulled the vial away from my mouth, he looked at it, and then at me. “You drink the rest. We both need our strength.” He nodded, and finished off the potion. I felt a little better, and a few of the cracks on Turnip closed up. We were far from being healed, but it did bring some of the worst pain down to more manageable levels. I did wish we had some med-x with us, that and more healing potions. “Okay, let's…” Tunip shoved the last Rad-Away in my mouth, and I glared at him.

I slowly sucked on the Rad-Away as we continued down the back road. At this point It was simply me making waypoint markers, and hoping we didn’t fall into an exposed ancient sewer.

Faintly, as we moved, I could see a light in the distance, and the sound of somepony talking. We slowed to a crawl, not wanting to give away our position, and checked to see who it was. Turnip pulled out the digger gun, and I pulled out my revolver.

” I will not stayeth putteth 'r be quiet thou untrusw'rthy pony!” It came from a mare in a drenched dress. Her outfit looked like it was made from other dresses all stitched together, and covered her from head to hoof. A gas mask and hood hid her head, and some old boots sunk into the mud. Overall she was a strange sight to see. “I careth not f'r thy petty squabbles.”

There were other ponies in the small clearing. One layed on the ground hiding under a rain coat, another wore a camouflage raincoat, and held an AG-5 with an extended barrel. A fourth pony was also covered in a rain coat, but the same kind the equalists were using.

The pony in the equalist raincoat spoke up. “Lessen up nag, if you go out there now, you’re going to die. And when you do, you’ll bring that Cybernetic freak right to us.” The voice was that of an older stallion, the same voice of the one I met outside the radio tower.

Sighing, I stepped out into the open, both Old Song and the sniper aiming their guns at us. “Don’t shoot, I’m friendly.” Leaning on Turnip, I raised Minerva up for them to see.

Old Song checked his pipleg, and a few seconds later, waved at the sniper to lower their rifle. I could hear a groan come from him as he trotted up. “Tell me what the fuck just happened?!”

“Long or short?” I responded.

“Both, I need details, no fluff.” His head scanned the two us, his ears moving about. “But the shorter the better.”

“Right, well I entered the radio tower no problem, the equalists didn’t seem to be up to anything, just waiting around for a move order. I ran into another infiltrator there, made a mistake thinking the pony was orphic.”

“Bandit, or anti-equalist?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Pirate, a Pegasus Pirate to be exact.” I answered, and Old Song nodded. I quickly explained the rest of what happened, including our fight with Theremin, and he just listened. After the explanation was done, we were taken over to the rest in the group, who were all doing their best to keep the rain off of them, except for the mare in the dress.

“At least that’s one of the freaks down, but we still have the other two hunting us.” Old Song explained. “It seemed that half the equalists left the building to go after me and my partner.” The sniper nodded. “The one leading the hunt was the mare, Blaster Beam. The other just slowly followed her with his drones, had this creepy as fuck look on his face. Well seeing what was after us, we fell back. That’s when we came across these two.”

The mare on the ground just groaned, and the one in the dress ignored us, scooting closer to Turnip. Turnip looked a bit worried by the attention. Old Song continued. “We were able to avoid detection by hiding under a rusted bus, but that trick won’t work a second time. And that’s when you came stumbling in.”

I nodded. “So it’s safe to assume that the equalists are now all over the place, and probably doubling back.” I looked at the map on Minerva. “There is a substation not too far away from here, if we can get to it, we’ll be able to get back to the metro.”

Old Song sighed. “I’m sure you already know it’s not that easy.” I nodded again. “Likely they sent a few ponies to check it out, so we're probably going to have to fight our way back underground.” He pointed at my rifle. “Can you use that with one hoof?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Ya, but I doubt I’d be all that good without my other leg” The levitation talisman I had could hold it up, but without the targeting program calibrated for it, my accuracy was not going to be the best.

Old Song looked at his pipleg one more, tapping a button. “Prometheus, show me the last known locations of all hostiles, movement speed, and trajectory.” He tapped the pipleg a few more times before putting it down. “Right, we have a window opening up in a few minutes. The path won’t be free of equalists, but they should be thinned out enough to cut through them without alerting the rest of them.”

We had a plan, and now we just had to wait for Old Song to signal for us to move. This gave me time to get to know the others in the group, partially to just get to know them, but mostly to make sure I was not going to get surprised by another pirate infiltrator.

I skipped the mare bothering Turnip, she gave me a bad feeling, but in more of a creeper way. The sniper was not interested in talking, just motioning that I move along with a hoof. Last was a mare cowering under her raincoat. She had a bright green coat, and a dull red mane poking out of a green hood. I thought for a moment, and remembered, she’s probably the one Cabrette wanted me to keep an eye out for. “Excuse me miss, would you happen to be one of Cabrette’s contacts?”

She looked up at me for a moment before nodding her head. “Did Cerberus send you?”

“She wanted me to keep an eye out for you. She was, well, worried.”

The mare got up, and I could see why she hadn’t returned. There were two large holes in her leather barding, both clean and burnt. Under the holes was exposed skin, milady bunt, but healed over. She had been hit twice with a magical energy musket, probably lucky to be alive. “Ya, I need to apologize about that.” She held her fetlock in her mouth as she began suppressing a few coughs. When it was over, I could see a little blood on her leg as she put it down. “I kind of fucked up, and got too close.” She extended her other hoof to me. “Names Shawm, and you are.”

“Vibraphone.” We shook hooves. “Are you going to be okay?”

Shawm shook her head. “Radiation poisoning, I ran out of Rad-Away three hours ago, and the two Orthrus ponies only had enough to keep me out of the red.” She had to suppress another coughing fit before continuing. “Even if we get to safety, and I get the radiation out of me, I’m going to be bedridden for weeks.”

Her bloodshot eyes were all I need to see to get that she was telling the truth. Radiation poisoning was not a pretty sight to see. “Well at least I’ll have some good news to come back with. So just hold on, we’ll get back to the metro soon.” She nodded, and I trotted off back to Turnip. The strange mare was now shoulder to shoulder with him, and he didn’t look comfortable with it. I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing. “What’s up with her?”

Turnip looked away. “Can’t say.”

I was about to pry, but Old Song whistled for our attention, and we gathered close. “Let’s move, just follow my partners lead. If you have a gun, keep it ready, but don’t shoot unless i say so, do you all understand?” We all nodded. “Good, let’s get moving.”

The stallion put Shawm onto his back, and I had Turnip help me along. Lelantos rested between Turnip and I, ready for me to use it if the need arises. The digger gun turnip had been using was now with the strange mare. I asked him about it, and Tunip told me he gave her it. When we were safe, I was going to have a few questions.

____________________________________

We ended up abandoning the trail, not that there was much trail to abandon. The equalists had been doubling back, and at one point nearly running into us by a hair's breath. The forest may be easy to get lost in, but it was also easy to keep hidden.

The storm was not letting up either, and was now joined by thunder and lighting. Everypony jumped at the sound when it first started, the thunder luckily muffling Shawm’s surprised scream. The rest of us managed to keep our cool, but by how everypony's head was on a swivel, the tension was thick.

The Sniper, who I got a better look at, was in all likelihood an Orthrus trooper. It was hard to tell under her thick camouflage raincoat, but I was able to get a glimpse of her combat barding. Actually, I was getting a few glances of her plot whenever she had to get through some brush, or over a log. She wore camouflage panties, and I was getting the feeling that she was silently flirting with me. If she was, it was going to be an awkward goodbye. But if worst comes to worse, and we have to bunker down in a dry spot until daylight, I’m not going to complain if she starts spooning me. It probably be no different from when Rototom and Sweet would do it to me. The cunts knew I didn’t like it, and did it anyways.

Our momentum was halted when a rad-boar crossed our path in a sprint. The beast was small, probably an adolescent, but would have still done any of us great harm if it had collided with any of us. From behind us, another rad-boar ran passed our group. I made eye contact with Old Song, and he immediately picked up the pace.

Pushing us from behind Old Song shouted. “GO GO GO!” Panic was in his voice, and I pushed forward, not needing him to tell me why. He threw Shawm from his back, and onto the stage mares. “I’ll try to keep them off of us, you get to the Metro!” Pulling out a shotgun, he fired it at an oncoming rad-boar, sending it sliding, and stopping right before colliding with us.

The sniper joined Old Song, firing their guns at more oncoming red-boars as we threw caution to the storm and ran for our lives. I’d seen herds of rad-boars before, but never this big. Were they would normally number in the tens, this was more like the hundreds. The only thing keeping us from being trampled by this stamped was the forest, which forced the massive herd to break up enough for us to find pockets where we could avoid being crushed beneath them.

it was an odd sound, the wind, rain, and thunder now mixed with the sound of hooves stomping, and loud squeals as the board ran passed. But there was one more sound, it was getting closer, and sounded familiar, like thunder but unending. After a few seconds it became abundantly clear what was making that noise when the sound of a minigun went off in the sky. The fucking pirates were back, and were chasing the stamped with a vertabuck.

Searchlights lit up large sections of the forest, as the minigun wildly shot through the forest. Keeping out of sight was easy enough, but now we had to worry about being hit by stray gunfire. As the Vertabuck flew overhead, a lightning bolt struck it, revealing three pegasi, and two griffins escorting it.

With the trees blocking most of the view to the sky, the vertabuck went in and out of our sight, but we could tell it was circling the area, the searchlight threatening to reveal us each time it came near. We pushed on, as we were no safer standing around then we were on the move, and if we could get to the metro we would be home free.

The trees both became what protected us, and blocked us from our goal. As closer we got to our goal, the more we had to detour around a grouping of trees, or branch that acted like a fence. If It would have helped us, I’d set the whole place on fire.

A loud squeal marked bad news, as a huge rat-boar meandered through a bush and into our path. The beast was covered in scars, and one of its tusks was chipped and rotten. With help from Minerva, I awkwardly held Lelantos in my left hoof, using Turnip to hold myself steady. The rad-boar squealed loudly again, and charged. I fired, and despite my less than stable aiming, I managed to hit the boar in the head. But, either do to the Lelantos not being fully pressurized, or the fact that the beasts have thick skulls, I only managed to cut the boar's face.

The rad-boar simply ignored me, going after the ponies closer to it, Shawm and the mare carrying her. I focused to charge more magic into myself, and into the rifle. Trusting that they could dodge the rad-boar long enough for me to get another, better shot on it.

They managed to get out of the way, but the rad-boar did rip the strange mares dress, revealing one of her legs. A purple leg with red glowing joints. Before I could say anything, Turnip ran over to the mares, leaving me to fall into the mud. The rad-boar turned around, stomping the ground and squealing loudly again. It charged, but this time Turnip intercepted it, hitting it low, and sending both of them tumbling.

Lelantos was now fully charged, and being prone on the ground kept my aim stable. As the rad-boar got up, I fired. The bolt went through the beast's neck, getting logged into a tree on the other side. Its squeal was more like a scream as blood shot out of its neck like a sack full of tomato juice, eventually dropping down to a trickle as the beast stumbled back and fell over.

Getting back up, I placed Lelantos back onto my back, and trotted to the others. I helped Shawm up, who had fallen off the female lurkers back, much of her was hard to recognized now, the mud now covering her all over. Looking at my own mechanical hoof, I probably didn’t look much better.

Turnip was tending to the female lurker, who was relatively unharmed, other than an exposed leg. “Running away from home, Mayall?”

The lurker mare looked at me, and removed her gasmask revealing her face. Shawm gasped apon seeing the Lurkers face, but was too weak to do any more. There was nothing I could pick out that would make her distinguishable from the other sparkle-lurkers I’ve seen, but her chitin did seem to have more of a shine to it then Turnips.

“Don't needeth to explaineth myself to thou!” Mayall spoke, her metaphorical nose up in the air. "I hast only cometh to claimeth what is mineth."

The pirate vertabuck flew overhead, it’s searchlight shining on the ground only a few yards away from us. “Fine, I don’t care, we just need to move.” Shawm helped me stand, and we weakly began to move.

"I don't taketh ord'rs from ponies!" She spoke, sounding insulted. Turnip began pushing her to follow us.

We made good time, the trees now being spread out enough that we didn’t have to take any detours. The rad-boars had also cleared out, making our path clear.

To our side, the sound of a shotgun went off, and we all stopped. Then a red beam shot above our heads, it making a loud twang sound as it bathed the area in red light.

Old Song jumped over a bush, and into our group. His raincoat was nothing more than a chard rag now, and his armor had three scorch marks on it. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, NOW!”

The two lurkers were already gone, and me and Shawm did our best to move faster, but neither of us were in any condition to run.

“Oh why don’t you stay” Blaster Beam’s synthetic voice hit my ears, daring me to look back. I failed to resist, and looked. She had come out from behind a bush, both her forelegs and the guns that replaced her wings had a deep red glow coming off of them. “The night is still long, and you murderers have not yet been punished.”

Shawm pushed forward, her teeth chattering, forcing me to return my attention on running. A red beam of magical energy hit the tree ahead of us, causing Shawm to freeze.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, noooooooo. You don’t get to run. Unless I want you to. But I don’t” Blaster Beam laughed, her artificial voice making her sound like somepony had corrupted the sound file for laugher, and never bothered to fix it. The wing that had fired slowly regain its glow, going from pink to red. “First I’ll turn the stallion to ash, then you two, and THE BITCH THAT’S HIDING OUT THERE.” She screamed at the sky. “AND THEN I’LL SHOOT THOSE FUCKERS OUT OF THE SKY!” As she looked back at us, her left eye twitched. “Sorry, it’s been a long day.”

Old Song stepped between us, keeping his eyes on Blaster Beam. “You two get going, I’ll hold her off.”

I nodded and dug my back hooves into the ground. “Shawm, hold on to me.” She looked at me confused, as I positioned myself under her, and stood up on my two back legs. Gasping, Shawm slipped a little, but managed to hold onto my back. I galloped… ran off, not much faster than before, but still faster. A red beam shot passed us, only missing me by a hoof. I didn’t stop, stopping would be our death, if I could get to the metro, we will be safe.

My efforts paid off, as we entered a clearing, and across from that was the metro station. “You still with me, were almost out of here.”

Shawm grunted. “Thank goodness.” She said weakly. “I got a date tomorrow, don’t want to miss it.”

“Mare or stallion?” I asked.

“A bath.” She answered. “A long, warm bath.”

I chuckled. “Same here. I have a shower waiting for me.”

I pressed forward, the twang sound of a magical energy musket going off was not far behind us, and salvation before us. I trusted the specter to hold his own, and the sniper was still out there, so he had support.

We made it halfway to the station when everything lit up like it was daylight. “HEY THERE FRIEND!” I looked up to see Graceful Gust hovering above us. “Wow, you freaks do act like zebras sometimes. Probably should just shoot you now, save you the embarrassment.”

I let Shawm off of me. “Go on ahead, I’ll deal with them.”

“How?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I just will, so get going.”

Shawm slowly trotted to the metro station, as my eyes stayed locked onto Graceful. She landed on the ground in front of me, taking a glance at Shawm before looking back at me.

“ehh, we’ll let her go.” She smiled. “You’re a better prize. Like a week's’ worth of rations prize!” She began tapping her hooves together. “If I sell three days’ worth of rations, I can by some psycho and med-x. Then I can sell another day’s rations to get the chemists to make me some stampede.” The pegasus shivered with excitement. “And you just need to come with us.”

A griffin landed next to us, holding a dead piglet in one it’s talons. “I marked another big kill. We got a shit ton o' pork now. Not more fuckin' seaweed.”

“I know right, if we knew this place had pork, We'd have been over years ago.” She said excitedly.

The griffin flew up to the vertabuck, and I could hear a cheer come from the cockpit. Somehow, I was not surprised that these pirates enjoyed eating meat. They had the look of savages about them, and if it weren’t for the enclave, I’d think the outside world had gone insane.

“Why me, and how did you know?” I at least need that answer before making a run for it.

Graceful giggled. “Ultraviolet paint. Tagged you when you weren’t looking.” She pulled out a small spray bottle. “It’s a great way for marking targets for a night raid, or ponies who might be of interest to us.”

Talk about being marked, for once I’d like to be the one who has some other pony marked. “You do know I’m not going quietly, right?”

She laughed again. “I was hoping you wouldn’t, more fun this way. “

With a flap of her wings, she jumped into the air, circling around, and dive bombing at me. Without the fourth leg I didn’t have the agility, but Graceful made it easy to read her attack, and I rolled to the side, dodging her kick. She slid along the ground, all four hooves holding firm until she stopped. With a stomp of a hoof, she charged, and this time I attacked.

Entering S.A.T.S. I pulled out Lunar Eclipse and fired a shot at her leg. Blood and tissue flew off her leg as she tumbled to the ground. Her tumble became a roll, and the roll became a hoof strike to my face. I hit the mud, and got a close look at the leg I just shot. It had already stopped bleeding, and she stood on the leg like it was never shot in the first place.

I aimed my revolver again, but she kicked it out of Minerva's hold, sending it flying into the grass. “Not bad. Need more hoof to hoof training. But I bet you’d make an excellent member of the corpse brigade.” She scratched her chin. “ I bet it’s because you're good looking under that mask, and that Blakey Spotty can’t keep his dick in check. You know how annoying it is when there’s not enough stallions to go around. I wouldn’t be so bad if Spotty didn’t always have his dick in an earth pony, stupid unicorn.”

Great, I lost a fight, and now had to hear about stupid whore problems. I’d rather be shot.

She looked down on me, and smirked. “I bet you’re the kind that keeps saying no, but deep down in the far reaches of your mind, you're saying yes.”

I wanted to brain bleach that statement out of my mind. Shaking off that thought, I got back up on all three legs. “How about you shut the fuck up and get this over with.” I’d have to find a way out of this, but right now I was beat.

She removed her rebreather just to stick her tongue out at me, before putting it back on. “You’re not being any fun, you know.

“Well I’m not in a fun mood. Maybe if you let me go, and come back later, I’ll be in a better mood.”

Graceful trotted over to me, but suddenly stopped to look down at something. “Well fuck.”

With an ear splitting pop, everything went white, making me blind and deaf. Something hit me on the side, and lifted me off the ground, holding me up.

My vision slowly returned, along with my hearing, that was now filled with just a mild ringing. I found myself on the back of Mayall, with Turnip right next to her.

"Be grateful, I only doeth this because he ask'd me to. " Mayall said with a annoyed tone to her voice.

I waved at Turnip. “Thanks, I Owe you another one.”

“No counting, but you could take me back to dance club, with Mayall.” I nodded at Turnip in agreement.

The minigun from the vertabuck went off above us, sending a spray of bullets ahead of us, splattering mud everywhere. Mayall and Turnip slid to a stop right as Graceful landed in our way. “You fucking freaks, I will boil you and suck your meat out from your legs!”

*BAM*

Mayall fired the digger gun at Graceful’s face, sending the pegasus reeling back, screaming in pain. The Vertabuck moved in to intercept us, but Turnip threw another flashbang, letting it cook for a few seconds before throwing it in the air. The airship banked to its side when it went off, buying us precious time as we ran.

Graceful one again attacked, hitting Mayall with a kick, but it was not enough to knock her off her hooves. Sliding along the ground, Graceful rubbed the leg she kicked Mayall with. “What the fuck are you made out of!” Her face was covered in small holes, and one of her eyes was all red, the other bloodshot and bleeding.

The Lurker princess just huffed, and a screeching sound came from her. The pirate held her head and screamed, not stopping Mayall as she trotted over her.

The Vertabuck once more cut us off, but this time when Turnip threw a grenade, it backed off, avoiding the concussive blast. “Go, I distract it!” he ran off holding another grenade in his mouth, and the Vertabuck followed. He managed to dodge the fire from its minigun, the low flying airship not able to properly maneuver enough to hit him.

Mayall and I managed to get inside the Metro Station, Shawm just to the side of us struggling to catch her breath. The lurker turned her attention back to the outside, and so did I. Turnip had managed to dodge the vertabucks attack, and despite having a red glow coming off of him, was actually hard to see in the dark. With another toss of a grenade, he managed to hit it, forcing the thing to make a hard landing. The airship sliding along the ground, one of its propellers almost hitting the ground.

The sight of Turnip filled me with relief and he galloped over to us, the Lurker doing an amazing job. It would be the kind of story I could tell the others about, not that they believe me, a sparkle-lurker taking out a vertabuck with a grenade. but It would be a better story then taking one out with a megaspell gun or something. Everypony seemed to have a story like that, but somehow seemed to lose the gun.

Turnip got closer to us, and tripped, the next thing I knew he was lit up with a flare, and Graceful flew into the sky. He got up and looked at us, and at the flare stuck to him… and back at the vertabuck… He bolted away from us, and Mayall went after him. I looked at the vertabuck, which was still grounded, but managed to turn.

With a loud twang sound, the Vertabuck shot a beam of magical energy, bathing everything in a red light. Turnip was gone, just gone. A line of burning grass went from the vertabuck, to were Turnip was, quickly being doused by the rain.

I stumbled back onto my flank, feeling numb. The door slammed shut, Shawm placing a metal beam in the slots so to keep the door closed.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THERE STILL OUT THERE!”

She started coughing, deep painful coughs. “The others can find a way around, but we need to move.”

My anger was quickly overtaken by the numbness, and I just nodded. “Ya, they’re going to be just fine, we’ll meet up later.”

Shawm nodded, and slowly trotted to the underground. The way down was by escalator, though they had long stopped working, most of them falling in on themselves do to rust. Luckily this tunnel down still had some normal stone stairs. Shawm and I took the stone stairs down, she was already far ahead of me. my three legs making it hard to go down at any speed other than slow.

There were still a few wartime posters in here, faded, but intact. Pinkie Pie is watching you, and recruitment posters were the only ones left, pinkie's eyes still seemed like they were actually looking at me. There were a few others, one being an old Stable-Tec poster from after the war, The Overstallion with his two first generation mirage pony foals, and his pet Orthrus. They never knew how everypony was going to latch onto that image and rename us to that.

*Splat!*

Red droplets hit the glass of my gasmask. Looking down at my hoof, Shawm's body lay broken on the steps. Slowly I looked up, seeing Waterphone, two drones, and the two guards from the radio tower.

Waterphone pulled out a handkerchief and wiped a bit of blood off his suit. “Such dirty business, but now that the roach is dead, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me.”

My numbness left me, and I felt hot, angry, scared, impotent, useless. I stumbled to climb up the steps, but was cut off by the flying drone.

“I can’t have you leaving now, not after you killed our ponies. Good show with the explosives I have to say, but they were overall expendable.” Waterphone slowly trotted up to us. “Missing a leg, then you must me the one who fought Theremin right. Found pieces of your leg lodged in his flank, and the dog too.” The two guards trained their guns at me, and the older equalist leaned on the safety rail. “Sorry to say that the cyberdog is unsaveable, no cure for a broken brain.”

I was done, and let myself go limp. “His name was Rufus.” I choked, trying to hold back my tears. “Rufus.”

Waterphone sighed. “I know how you feel, had one as a foal, loved her more than the world itself, but like with all things, she got old, and eventually died.” He put a hoof on my shoulder. “But trust me, this will be for the best. Just come with us, we only want to ask you a few questions. You can start with telling me your name?”

I shook my head. I’d given up, but I didn’t want to give them anything.

“Is that so, a shame.” Waterphone said with a disappointed tone. “Well you won’t be the first spy I’ve captured, and far from the first I cracked.” The flying drone came closer, and two prongs poked out from its front. An electrical bolt shot from one prong, then the second. “I’ll just need you knock you out for a bit, and…”

And explosion rocked the stairway, and dust flooded the tunnel from the surface.

I felt a hoof hit me on the side of the head, knocking me over. “The bitch must have had more explosives!”

*BLAM* *PING*

Everything became still and quiet for a moment, Waterphone looking up the tunnel with an intense stare.

“KILL EM ALL BUT THE THREE LEGGED MARE!” Graceful Gust yelled, and the tunnel was filled with the sound of high caliber gunfire.

“RETURN FIRE, SHOW NO MERCY!” Waterphone retorted as the two drones and guards fired up the tunnel. The ballistic fire was now joined with bolts of magical energy, drowning out any and all noise with that of gunfire.

I didn’t know what to do, or where to go. I was trapped, and whoever won this fight would claim me as a prize. And I didn’t want to imagine what would happen to me. All I could do was futility attempt to cover my ears with one hoof, leaving the other to be doomed to go deaf.

Suddenly I felt something grab the back of my neck, piercing the raincoat, and finding a hold within my barding. “EAT LED YOU CHROME FREAKS” The pirate poured automatic fire down the tunnel, hitting one of the drones, forcing it to back off. With a powerful tug, I was dragged up the stairs, the pirate still firing his gun along the way.

The next thing I knew I was feeling the rain and wind on me again. “Good job mate, now let’s get out of here!” Graceful Gust spoke happily, and as soon as she flew up, she was nearly hit with a red beam.

Synthetic maniacal laughter could be heard, as more red beams fired off. Looking over, Blaster Beam was charging at us, with at least four equalists right behind her.

“Oh Luna, you must be testing us.” Graceful sighed. “Long Flight, take her and get to the ship, we’ll provide covering fire.”

The pirates opened fire, one was still holding the stairs, and Graceful and two more were firing at Blaster Beam. One of the pirates was hit, and turned to ash before my eyes.

With a great leap the griffin took me to the sky, the wind only getting stronger the higher we went. I got a good look at the battlefield from above. The vertabuck was slowly leaving, just hovering above the tree line. The Metro Stations front had been blown open, the front of the building was now just rubble. I could see no sight of Turnip or Mayall, but I held out hope to see a glint of glowing red.

The griffin left the battlefield, flying the tree line. I attempted to struggle, but found that I lacked the energy to try anything. I reached for my rifle, to only find it missing. The only thing I did have was my knife, which meant I had a plan. A plan that involved stabbing, but it worked before, so why not now.

“Don’t be stupid pony. If I drop you here, you will die.” The griffin spoke, looking me in the eyes as he flew. It surprised me so much that I froze. “Good, I rather not go ripping off your legs. Personally I find them cute.” Great I was being hit on by my….

Everything went white with a tremendous crackling roar.

____________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Completed

- No Goddesses, or Princesses, Only Mares.

- I like to lurk.

Quest perk gained.

- Sometimes we all need to be shown a little kindness - As it turns out, not all the sparkle-lurkers are all that bad, aside the ones who mutilated your best friend, you could actually call them good. +1 to charisma, and a new companion is now open to you.

Chapter 15 - Sleeping Giants

“This is radio 5-0 straight from Club Three Dog. Now I know from recent events it sounds like we will soon be off the air, but fear not, we’ve just been having extra troublemakers as of late. But order has been restored, and there is no sign that the music will ever die.”

“Now on the topic of troublemakers, the equalists seem to have all packed up and left. No seriously, we have not seen hide nor hare of them for half a day. No recruiters about, no protesters being pests, and no fights breaking out between them and members of the trade union. I say take the good with the bad, but what’s the bad side to this, we may just have to wait and see. Personally I hope they are just pulling another stunt, and everything will be back to normal soon.”

“Now for the weather. A tropical storm has made landfall, and it is unknown how long it will take to pass. This storm comes with a hefty dose of radiation, so it’s ill-advised for anypony to venture out at this time. Not that anypony has plans to go anywhere, but damn it makes you wish we still had some control over the weather. Maybe then we could get some clean clouds to help wash away the toxins and radiation.”

“Well that’s it for now. I wish all a good day, and to anypony up there in the storm, stay safe out there, there's ponies down here waiting for you.”

The music turned on, playing a soft, but energetic dance track. It was interesting to listen to, but the boredom of waiting was really starting to grind on me. The gray walls, doors, and ceiling were all starting to blur together into some sort of boring gray haze. If I knew we would be here for so long, I’d have asked for them to let us wait outside their base. At least out there had a lot more going on, even if most of the mirage ponies looked at us with suspicion.

“Hey Hoof-Shiner!” Wild Winds called out. “Hoof-Shiner, get up! Looks like our wait is over.”

Sitting up straight, one of my legs had fallen asleep, so it was all pins and needles. Who knew sitting in a waiting room for hours on end could hurt like this. It was not like I’ve never had to do this before, but clouds were far more comfortable than a steel bench.

“Good, I had almost come up with a plan for us to just break in, steal a vertibird, and fly us home.” I stretched my wings out, and cracked my back. Almost thirty years old, and starting to feel like an old stallion, what I wouldn’t do to be back in my prime again. But then again, I was a sloppy lover at that age, so it’s not all bad.

“You, you, you can’t be serious!” Light Turbulence puffed up.

I waved a hoof at her dismissive words. “Naw, but I bet I could. Grounders tend to have a poor ability to aim up. We’d just need to keep the high ground until we make our escape.”

The door to the waiting room opened, and a mirage pony mare in a very clean security uniform trotted in giving me a smile. Her blue coat and even bluer mane blended into her uniform, making the yellow of the uniform really pop out. Next to her was Mandolin, Orthrus PR pony. And on the other side of the security pony was an older stallion in a white Orthrus uniform marked with a red cross.

He was the first stallion I’d seen we got to charon's stop, other than the old scrapper that helped us with the big feathery monster. It was something I was still getting use to, not that getting all the attention from the mares was displeasing, but the sheer frequency that I got hit on was a bit much. It actually made me feel a bit sad thinking about it, as Warm Gale would have loved it here, aside from being underground.

“This is true; my security has little training with flying opponent’s.” The security mare spoke with confidence in her voice. “But we have other ways to fight that would counter your natural abilities.”

Getting off the bench, I trotted over to the mare and shook her hoof. She too had cyber legs like almost all the mirage ponies I’d seen. “I don’t know; you’ve never fought an enclave strike team before. Names Merit Cross”

She laughed. “Too true. But that fact goes both ways. Captain Djembe Tapper, head of security.” She motioned her hoof to her left, presenting the stallion. “This is Doctor Dizi, he is here on behalf of our medical team. And you already know Mandolin.”

Light and Wild both got up and greeted the mirage pones. I could tell that their spirits were high, though mostly because we were actually doing something and not just sitting around. From what the pipbuck showed me, we had been here for six hours, the mirage ponies having had taken our photos, blood, and a feather each. Before we were mulling around outside the station, were a few shops had been set up for ponies waiting to get in. Mandolin had provided us with some bits to use, but we only had enough to by some MRE’s and soda. Though I had to admit, Metro-cola was some good stuff. It probably had to do with it actually being fresh, and not over two hundred years old.

“Now take these, it will be important that you keep them on you at all times.” Djembe gave us each an envelope Inside was an ID card with a clip attached to it, a second ID card, and a more advanced looking ear bloom. “The ID will allow you in all low security areas, and access the rooms you will be staying at for the time being. The ear bloom has a telepathic talisman built into it, allowing you silently communicate. It has a charge that will last for an hour, so only use it in emergencies.”

Light stepped up, putting the ID and ear bloom on. “Ma'am, why did you take some of our blood and a feather earlier. Not to be rude, but nopony has told us anything.”

Dizi this time spoke up. “Checking for diseases, and other pathogens. We have a few nasty bugs on this island, and we wanted to make sure you didn’t bring some with you.” He pulled out a clipboard, flipping through a few pages on it. “Miss Light, your clean. Mister Merit, you might want to have a physical exam during your stay here.” I didn’t like the sound of that. “As for you miss Wild, why are you even exploring in your condition?”

Both Light and I gave Wild a worried look. She herself look worried, but also confused. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her wings dropping.

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Where do I begin. First your blood chemistry is all off, clear signs of a long standing addiction. Second you have a nasty virus in your bloodstream, It doesn't seem to be able to affect you, but who knows what could happen if it was transmitted to our population. And third, you're pregnant.”

“Wait what!” Wild yelp in surprise. “No, no, no, nooo. I can’t be pregnant, it’s not possible.”

We both Looked at her in shock. Dizi simply cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. “If you don’t get yourself treated soon, you won’t be for long. I’ve not seen this strain before, but it looks similar to one that exists in Zebra Lands. It should be easy enough to suppress with medication, maybe even flush out of your system, but left untreated it could harm the unborn foal. If we conduct the treatment before the zygote can be effected, it should be able to resist the virus.”

Wild trotted up to the doctor, her body visibly shaking. “What’s this treatment!”

Dizi looked over at Djembe and she nodded. “It’s the mirage pony treatment.” Dizi explained. “It’s a genome modification to help the unborn to resist radiation and toxins. It should give the foal enough strength to resist the virus, but it will not be born a pegasus. But with your low exposure to the islands toxins, the foal should be healthier than most.”

There was a long pause before Wiled said anything. “My husband and I have been wanting a foal for a long time now. We tried so hard for so long that I’d given up… hope.” Wiled hugged the doctor and cried. We all stood there, silent, waiting for her to let it all out.

When it was all over, Wild left with the doctor, and Light and I stayed with Djembe and Mandolin. It all felt strange at first, but Wild was a smart mare who had learned many of her life lessons the hard way. From firefights to bar brawls, she learned that she wanted a quiet life, something that took me too long to figure out. So I trusted that she was making the right decision, and I hoped that Orthrus didn’t betray ours.

“Did you know Wild was sick?” Light asked quietly.

I sighed. “Ya, we think she picked up something during Operation Cauterize. Our best guess is when we were fighting in the hospital. South also got infected with something. Nearly died from it.”

Light shivered. “Sounds like the old propaganda had some truth to it.”

“You know how it goes.” I responded. “The best lies have some truth to it.”

The four of us walked down a long and wide corridor, passing by mirage ponies riding small vehicles that were hauling crates. The HQ has a busy flow to it, with nopony simply standing around, unless that was their job. From cleaning to hauling, somepony was doing some sort of work.

At the end of the corridor we stopped at yet another checkpoint. “Hello Captain.” The guard greeted Djembe, passing her a clipboard. “Other than a specter rushing through, it’s all quiet here.”

Djembe groaned as she looked over the paper on the clipboard before giving it back. “I swear; those specters never follow protocol.” She passed over her ID card and the guard placed it in a machine for a second before hoofing it back. “We should just discontinue the specter corps, and replace them with recon troopers.”

“Oh they’re not all that bad, at the very least they are good for moral, and the civilians love them.” Mandolin spoke up, adding her opinion. Her ID was taken, scanned, and given back “To them, having a specter come and help is as though the Counsel are personally helping them. Make them think we're personally invested in their station”

Light was next to have her ID scanned. “Aren't you invested in the other stations. From what we were told, Orthrus is the main peacekeeping force here.”

Mandolin chuckled. “True, true. But were more invested in the stability of the metro, not in any station specifically. By keeping control over the tunnels, we keep any conflict in one station, from spreading to the others. But as for the individual stations, if they can’t survive on their own four hooves, we have no obligation to prop them up. We find that a bitter medicine is better than a slow death.”

I hoofed over my ID to the guard. “Back in the enclave, Ideas like that could get you into political office, and a bullet to the head.” The ID was given back to me, and I joined the others at the blast door.

“Isn’t it how it always is with strong political beliefs” Djembe said with pride in her voice. “Mandolin told me a little of what you told her. A fake democracy, to hide a military dictatorship. A brilliant, but overall brittle form of rule. It’s not too dissimilar from what we have, but I like to think we managed a more enlightened form of that.”

“What!” Light blurted out, looking nervous. I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as well, to step into another Grand Pegasus Enclave after ten years of dissolution.

Djembe laughed. “Don’t worry, Orthrus is not some blotted hound drunk off its own power, we would not have lasted as long as we have if we were.” The blast doors slowly began to open, and Djembe continued. “It’s a mix of a Technocracy and a Stratocracy, all held together by bureaucrats. Simply put, to gain a political office in Orthrus, you need the rank and the education befitting the position.”

It was a bit hard to wrap my head around what she was talking about, but if it involved bureaucrats, I don’t think I wanted to know. The blast doors opened and we all stepped inside. To my surprise, we had entered a large hangar, which was bigger than it had any right to be. In the center, as though it was a trophy, was an airship.

The airship was as big as a Thunderhead cloud ship, defiantly longer, and more solid. The ship had six cannons on one side, and armor plating alongside it. Painted in bold Dark Pink letters was ‘Scootaloo’s Resolve’

“How?!” Light blurted out, as she pointed at the airship.

Giving us a smirk, Djembe trotted in front of us, and lifted up a hoof, as though to present the airship. “This here is the pride and joy of Typhon Station, the Scootaloo’s Resolve. This baby has been here since the war, stored here for safekeeping.” She took a deep breath, and switched hooves. “She’s a heavy cargo airship, made by and for Stable-Tec for the construction of stables that cannot be access through normal transportation. Over the last hundred years we have been remodeling the ship with the latest of our technology. When in flight it uses a combination of ten cloud talismans in the gas sack, and six levitation thrusters on the hull to swiftly move through the air, and hover in place. Its armor is made up of layers of fiberglass and polymer for strength and lightness. And for offense, the ship is armed with twelve auto rail cannons, to fend off threats above and below.”

I was shocked. The Enclave would have killed to get their hooves on something like this. They’ve killed for less. It didn’t have the same elegance as a Thunderhead, looking a bit like an oversized balloon, but it also looked like it could easily hold it’s own in a fight. “Amazing, to think you have an airship here. Do you ever take it out and fly it?”

Mandolin stepped in before Djembe could answer. “First off, we have two, and second, yes. Once a year we do a trial run for the ships, and test out their weapons.”

Light trotted up to them. “You have two! Two massive airships, and you're still underground?”

Mandolin calmly waved her off. “The topic of sending an expedition is nothing new. But sadly we lack the resources to spare for such an endeavor. There is also a lack of support for venturing out into the unknown, as we have many duties here at home to tend to. Also, cutting our forces thin will only destabilize the metro, possibly sparking a war over our bases. ”

Light scratched her chin, turning her head away from the airship and to Mandolin. “I think I understand. It took over a year to get the approval for our own scouting mission.”

“And we at least knew something would be here, even if all we found were ruins.” I added.

“Well enough gawking, we have places to go.” Djembe said cheerfully as she pushed us along. “you have an appointment with the council, so let's not keep them waiting.”

The hanger was just as busy as the corridor, though far more spread out. With the space the hanger provided, Orthrus used the ground floor for running drills, and the floor above that was a mess hall. It all made me feel like I was back in the Enclave, all it needed was some clouds, and I’d be back home.

The airship itself has a few ponies on it, mostly adding a new coat of paint. As we trotted along, I could see a bridge connecting from the hanger to the airship, and another larger bridge, obviously used for moving cargo.

“HEY CAPTAIN!” the voice came out from above, and a Pegasus swooped down, landing in front of us. It was a relatively short Pegasus mare, light-brown coat, and rust red mane, she also had white dots on her face that looked similar to a mirage pony’s stripes, making her a very unusual looking pegasus. Her blue jumpsuit had a few tools hanging on it, and was covered in grease. She saluted Djembe with a big smile on her face. “Sonnet Trill, Engineering corps. Are these the outsiders everypony’s been talking about?”

“At ease miss Trill.” Djembe didn’t seem upset about being stopped like this, but she didn’t look happy about it either. “Yes they are, but we're busy right now. So unless you have been assigned to assist us, I’d advise that you get back to work.”

“Aww.” The pegasus groaned. “Well when you’re done, send them over to the mess hall, we all want to hear about the outside world.” Sonnet lifted into the air, and gave me a wink before flying off.

“So you have pegasi working for you.” Light asked.

“A few, some earth ponies and unicorns too.” Mandolin answered. “Used to have lots more, but most of them just stick to the orphic kingdom now a days. The deep dwellers give special treatment to non-modified ponies, so there’s less incentive for them to work for us.”

Light looked over the railing, watching Sonnet fly onto the airship. “What about her?”

“She has a mirage pony father, or grandfather. It’s a bit of a coin toss of which parent they take after, but the mirage pony genes still come out.” Mandolin motioned for us to continue moving. “It’s a sad state of affairs really, with tribalism on the rise, ponies like her have no place to go but Orthrus.” She sighed. “But that’s our problem, and you have your own to worry about.”

We arrived at what was called the Mission Hall, not much from the outside, just some steel benches on either side of a wide hallway that had two doors at the end.

Djembe went on ahead, and Mandolin had us stay put. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to wait for a few minutes. Djembe needs to do a security sweep before anything can start, standard operations and all that.”

“What will happen in there?” Light nervously asked.

Mandolin brushed herself off, getting rid of some dust on her uniform. “You’ll be talking directly to the council. Luckily we managed to get them to appear, not physically mind you, but you will have their ears.”

Light nodded. “I see, should we expect anything?”

“Lots of silent judging.” Mandolin responded. “The council members got to where they are for being smart and capable, they’re not going to start stating their opinion until they have all the facts available to them. Your role in this will simply be to clarify any questions they have, so just stay calm, and be a clear as possible.”

We both nodded, and sat down on the bench. Mandolin left us to go inside, leaving us alone. Members of Orthrus would stare as they passed, but none came near, making me feel like I was a curiosity, which I probably was.

Light looked extra fidgety now, her eyes glancing at the Scootaloo’s Resolve every now and then. I couldn’t blame her, a ship like that could help re-stabilize New Cloudsdale, and Orthrus had two of them. It’s sad to think about it, but ten years ago, if the Grand Pegasus Enclave had known about these ships, we would have abandoned Operation Cauterize and taken them by force. But now, I can see our government groveling for help, willing to throw their dignity away for another few years of survival.

“So that’s when she started to do pushups with her forelegs alone.” A Stallion rounded a corner, and turned in our direction. He was an older mirage pony, younger than Dizi, with a lime green coat, and dark green mane. His dress uniform was more decorated than any other Orthrus Member I’d seen before, making him a high ranking officer if I was guessing right. “She literally had me by the balls for a week, If I hadn’t gotten reassigned to a different Island, she probably would have found a way to get me to marry her. And that’s why I don’t gamble with lonely mares, it never ends well.”

Next to him was Rototom, in her combat armor, and a new pair of the strange goggles she uses on her head. “Tell me about it. Did I ever tell you about the partner I had that went under cyber surgery to give herself a synthetic dick? We she tried to court me after, thinking that because we worked together, we had a more romantic connection. It was cute at first, but eventually she had to be sent away for a physiological evaluation. We stayed in contact, and she’s got herself a cute marefriend, but damn it was an awkward few weeks before she left.”

Laughing, they trotted over to us, the stallion giving me a wink when they stopped. “You must be the Enclave pegasi I’ve heard all about. Though I thought there was three of you?”

“She went with one of your doctors to medical.” Light answered.

“Oh, I hope it’s nothing serious. But we do have the best medical staff here in the islands, so I’m sure she will be okay.” The stallion was very expressive, his hoof moving about with nearly every word. He reached out to give us a hoof shake. “My names Biwa Tablature, council representative of culture and education.”

We both shook his hoof, he shaking my hoof for a bit longer than he did for light. “Sorry, but does that mean you’re on the council, or just represent it?” I asked.

“On the council.” Biwa answered. “I’m most excited to hear about New Cloudsdale. It’s not every day that one can be part of such a historic event. To think, after so long we finally get to find out what happened to the outside world.”

“So mister Biwa.” Light had regained some composure. “What should we expect from the council, we were told only a little?”

The stallion sighed. “Sorry about that. Despite our role of peacekeepers, we of Orthrus can be a bit paranoid. Talking about the organization is often discouraged, so if somepony asks, we didn't talk.” Biwa cleared his throat. “As for the council, including me there are six of us. Miss Kaval is the council representative of Research and Development, she’s a busy body, and only feigns interest to anything that does not benefit her work. Miss Naqara is the council representative of Security and Law, not the friendliest of mares, but is very patient, and unlikely to simply dismiss you as long as the facts are on your side. Miss Dutar who’s the council representative of Treasury and Infrastructure, her main concern is the upkeep of the metro, so it’s a bit toss if she will be supportive. Miss Kakko is the council representative of Health and Safety, she comes across as a bitter old nag much of the time, but she’s saved more lives with her hooves alone than anypony in the metro. Last is mister Phorminx, who is the council representative of Information and Investigation, a real charmer, but also very intimidating.”

Light was listening intently. “So they’re going to help us, right?”

Biwa frowned, and Rototom stepped in. “It’s hard to tell which way the council will go. It’s one thing to allocate resources to assist a tunnel, but helping you three will likely involve sending lives and resources into the unknown. At worst, the situation with the Orphic Kingdom will take priority. But even then, they should be willing to send an expedition team. Becoming the home to a cloud city is not something they're likely to pass up.”

Mandolin came out of the meeting hall, looking at us. “Were ready for… Oh council member Biwa, good to know you’ve arrived in person. Well if you all come in, we can start.

The four of us walked down the wide hall, and entered the room. It was dimly lit, and a table was set up for us. Rototom took what was likely Wilds seat and Biwa sat on a seat on a stage. Four other seats were lit up with a holographic projection, showing four mares, and the last seat was empty,

At the base of councils seats were their names and titles, though it looked like it was only a recent addition, most likely for our convenience. Kakko had a short cut mane, glasses, and seemed disinterested with what was going on as she was reading a book. Kaval had a long braided mane, and was tapping away at some sort of small terminal she held with one hoof, she took a glance at us briefly before returning to what she was doing. Dutar had her mane tied up in the back, her coat was covered in dark smudges, and was currently polishing some metal object. Naqara was the only one of the four paying attention to our arrival, she had a long dark straight mane, and somehow reminded me of my drill Sergeant from when I joined the Enclave.

The atmosphere of the room felt cold, not an unfriendly or threatening cold, not even an emotionless cold. It was more like a controlled cold, the kind used to keep food fresh in storage, but on a sociological level. We were on display, and being sized up for our worth.

Naqara was first to break the silence, after checking a screen on her cyberleg “If Phorminx is not here, he’s not showing up.” She spoke with authority, and the rest of them dropped what they were doing and looked at us. “Now that this meeting has begun, we shall go over the current situation.”

She pulled up some papers and flipped through them. “As the report goes, Specter Echo and company, has made contact with outsiders. The outsiders are a Light Turbulence, Wild Wind, and Merit Cross… Of only two have shown up.” I went to raise my hoof to explain, but Rototom stopped me, shaking her head. “These three are described as friendly, members of a New Cloudsdale Enclave. Specter Echo had also come in contact with other outsiders, currently called the pirates, they have been reported as a military level threat.” Naqara eyed us once more before looking back down at the paperwork. “As reported, these pirates have three ships off the cost of the island, at least four vertibird type aircraft, and infantry that consists of earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, gryphons, zebras, donkey’s, and possibly other races.” She put the paperwork down. “Are there any errors in this miss echo?”

Rototom shook her head. “No ma’am , the information is accurate. As you can see in the report, I have included photographic, and audio evidence. Based on what I’ve seen, this threat is armed with great war era weaponry, possibly modified, and improved over the last two hundred years.”

“One more thing.” Biwa spoke up. “The symbol that the pirates decorate themselves with, the green circle of thorns with a red drop, do you know the significance of it.”

Rototom paused for a few seconds, and then shook her head. “Sorry Sir. I do not.”

“Do you know professor Tablature?” Naqara asked, not even looking his way.

He nodded. “This symbol is likely the cutie mark of one Thorn Roseland, a naval war hero during the great war, and was the admiral of Equestria's largest fleet. She’s also the one who likely fired the first shot to bring about the end, and abandoned Marewaii to take the full force of the zebra’s retribution.”

“That’s not right, the zebras stuck first” Light blurted out. “They wiped Cloudsdale off the map.”

Biwa smiled. “If you could, we would like to hear your account of events. We have a good grasp of history, mostly from a few pre war books that slipped pass the ministry of image, but anything from during the great war is marred with propaganda and censorship.” Biwa caught a few glances from the other council members. “But it’s best if you start from more recent events, can you do that for us.”

We both nodded, and started from a week ago. From the problems New Cloudsdale was having, to the order to find the city a new home. It felt like a needle in my heart to go over the loss of two comrades after our crash. Our discovery of the princess, and the how we got separated in a tunnel collapse. I felt a little at ease talking about how Vibraphone aided us in getting reunited, but I skipped over the more personal parts. The council seemed a little confused about our run in with the Sparkle-Lurkers, and that one had left with us, Rototom looked the most worried. When we were done, there was a long pause.

Kakko was the first to speak up. “Your account and the report do line up, mostly. The DNA check we did does not match anypony on this island, so I’m inclined to believe that they are in fact outsiders. They also show no signs of genetic degradation, nor signs of inbreeding.” That last part made me more glad that my grandmother was the sane one among her sisters, then wondering if incest was a problem here.

“At least it’s not another hoax.” Dutar spoke up. “The last one hit our budget with the crowd control alone.”

“We’ve had an extensive examination of their weapons.” Kaval chimed in “Going by their serial number, and a few other tests, the rifles are literally over two hundred years old, but are still in relatively good condition. The same thing can be said about their armor. Sadly, this also means that nothing new can be learned from their technology, but it does add credibility to their story.”

Naqara eyed everypony, and took a deep breath. “So then, about the matter of offering them aid, and establishing contact with this New Cloudsdale?”

“If we do make contact, then we're going to need to re-allocate resources,” Dutar commented. “for both the integration of a new population, and the security for keeping our own population from wreaking havoc from the excitement it will bring.”

“Not only that, but there's the potential for the spreading of new diseases, for both populations.” Kakko added. “Not just that, but if what they were saying is true, their population should be roughly fifty/fifty male and female. I already caught my staff planning on finding a reason to remove the stallion from this group. I had to pull Dizi away from his work to relay the medical information.”

Kaval physically shivered. “It be like being back at a Wild Bunch concert.”

Dutar gasped. “You were a wild bunch fan too!”

Kaval groaned. “Don’t remind me. Who ever thought having an all stallion band was a good idea should be shot. I broke three ribs from the stamped of mares, and somehow lost a leg.”

“Ya, their concerts were the best.” Kaval said as she hugged the metal object she was polishing.

Biwa sighed, shaking his head.

“Are you two done.” Naqara had said sternly, getting every ponies attention. “It’s safe to say that such an event would be taxing to the organization, and would cause unrest within the islands. But the long term benefit is also undeniable, as well as being a huge boost to moral.” She sighed, putting her papers down. “With that all said, I still have to bring up a few more issues before coming to a vote.”

The rest of the council looked uncomfortable as Naqara continued. “We still have the very possible destabilization of the Orphic Kingdom to keep an eye on. There’s the long standing concerns with the republic, and their recent mass pullout. Also we have these pirates now trampling around on the surface, hostile and dangerous.” She looked the both of us in the eye, and I knew I was not going to like what she was about to say. “Do to the current security concerns in the metro, I will have to vote no on establishing negotiations with New Cloudsdale. When more information is available about our current situation, we can reconvene to put this at another vote.”

“Sadly I will have to agree.” Dutar added. “The current environment is not favorable for such a paradigm shift.”

Kakko shook her head. “I understand that your kin are in need of help, but if we can’t properly manage the integration, disease could easily spread through your population, and devastate it. Sorry but I will have to vote no.”

“I vote no.” Kaval said, not giving an explanation.

“Let it be known, I support the negotiations with New Cloudsdale.” Biwa spoke up. “I’ll be constructing an argument in favor of it for our next meeting. I hope the situation improves by then.

The four mares nodded, and one by one their holograms turned off, until only Naqara sat there. She looked at us, her eyes studying our less than pleased reactions. “It’s an interesting time to be in the role of leadership.” She spoke up. “In my youth I’d be first in line to rush out into the unknown, to discover what had happened to equestria. Now that I’m in a position to have that happen, I find myself more concerned with how it could affect my grandchildren. The oldest has just enlisted in Orthrus and is currently in basic training, just as brash and headstrong as I was.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I hate to admit it, but our current situation scares me, with one wrong move I may end up burying my grandchild. I do support establishing negotiations, but until the metro stabilizes, the vote will remain no. Until such time, you three will be confined to the base, and be assigned a guard to ensure your safety and compliance.”

Naqara’s hologram shut off, leaving us in the dim room, feeling shocked, and helpless.

Biwa stepped down from his seat, and up to us. “Sorry. I’ll do my best to get them to support you, but if Naqara says no, the rest are likely to follow her.”

I shook my head. “No need to apologize, it’s just bad timing, that’s all. How long do you think it could take for the situation to improve?”

He sighed. “At best, a month, at worst, years.”

A thud came from my side; Light had let her head hit the table. “We can’t wait even a month; we should have been heading back by now. If we wait any longer, New Cloudsdale could move, and we will never get home.” Her voice started to crack. “I miss my mom.” She was crying, and all I could do was pat her on the back.

Rototom got up. “Here, let’s go to the mess hall and get something to eat. You will feel better with some carrot sticks in your stomach.” She said, helping Light up. “And it’s not like you’re out of options. If I can get in contact with councilor Phorminx, there may still be a way to help you.”

A loud cough draws our attention, and drawing our gaze to Djembe. “I advise you stay out of this specter, Naqara has made her decision, so don’t go getting them in trouble.”

Rototom sighed. “I don’t plan to, so just do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

Following Rototom, we left for the mess hall. Up close, it was no different from a mess hall in the enclave, just without the clouds. We were given extra food, well I was given extra food, and I shared. The fresh fruit and vegetables did make me feel better, if at least physically.

Light didn’t eat much, she held onto her composure, but it was easy to see that she was depressed. I think it was less of a blow to me, Unlike with Light and Wild, I didn’t have anyone to return to, nor did I have much of a life there. But the look on Lights face did remind me how I had felt ten years ago, when I knew that I was never going to go home again.

“ROTOTOM!” a shout came from behind us. We all looked, and a mare in a torn camouflage rain coat, cut through a small crowd, and slammed her hooves on the table. Her face was painted green and brown like her rain coat, except for a long cut on it, that had just missed her eye.

“Tamboril!” Rototom sat up straight in her seat. “What happened to you, you look like a wreck?”

The mare shook her head. “No time for that,Phorminx, your sister. Sorry things got real messed up”

Rototom jumped over the table and to Tamboril’s side. “What happened!”

Tamboril pushed off the table. “No time, just follow me.”

The camouflage covered pony ran off, and we followed, rushing through Orthrus HQ. We arrived at one of the blast doors, where five medical ponies fussed over an old stallion. He was covered in mud, and one of his ears was missing, showing signs that it had been hit with a magical beam rifle. Seeing us, he waved off the medical staff, and motion for Rototom to come closer.

The Specters movements suddenly became that of a nervous pony, all her confidence seemingly drained away. “Council representative Phorminx, what happened, and Tamboril mention my sister?”

Phorminx shook his head. “I’m sorry. We ran into your sister on the surface, and were making our way back to the metro. But we were attacked, got separated. Our rendezvous point was crawling with angry equalists.” He took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “But I was able to gather some information before I left, and from what I gathered, she was captured by the pirates.” He looked down, and away from Rototom. “Sorry, there was nothing I could do.”

Rototom stood there for what seemed like a minute, and then, collapsed. I was able to catch her in time, keeping her from hurting her head. I cursed under my breath, Having two thoughts. first, if things continue like this, we may never get back to New Cloudsdale. And second, getting some revenge was sounding real nice right now.

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Finding a fine red wine in this era was harder than pulling a sailor out of the sea before a shark pulled them under. It why I savored each drop, letting the vapor tickle my nose, the flavor rolled over my tongue, and i savored the aftertaste. It was a full body experience, of which took discipline to truly enjoy.

I poured the bottle over Black Spots head.

“You sent one o' our gull's hog huntin', in t' middle o' a storm.” In the grasp of my magic, I brought the bottle down on his head, shattering it on his horn. The stupid unicorns face was covered in shards of green glass, red wine, and I hoped, his own blood. “And you're surprised that it got damaged! We even lost four sailors in a skirmish with t' locals.” He kept his head low, which was good, I’d have the miserable worm’s eyes plucked out if he even dared look back at me.

“I’m sorry admiral, it will never happen again.” I didn’t care much for his groveling, I knew it was all an act, an attempt to lessen his punishment.

“Will it?” I pushed his head down with my hoof, forcing him to kiss the floor. “T' only way t' be sure that it won’t be t' have you walk t' plank, and replace you with somepony better.”

“I’m sure that be true me admiral, but think o' t' time it takes t' find a replacement, and t' damage t' moral that it could cause.” Now he was pleading for his life, that I liked.

“Both minor inconveniences” I pushed down on his head a little harder. “Pawns only become more important when they have met their goal, not before. So don’t go thinking you're any more than that.” I stepped off of Back Spot, and kicked him in the side, sending the pathetic fool rolling away. “Now get back t' your post, and if you give me any more trouble, I’ll just cut me losses.”

Black Spot got u on his hooves, keeping his head low. “Aye me admiral, nothin' but perfection from me, me admiral” He rushed out of the cabin, tail between his legs.

That stallion was a right cock up, easy to manipulate if I was willing to lower myself, but a bit off. He was like the rest of the Corpse Brigade gang, competent enough to keep around, but never quite right in the head. I’ve dealt with my share of invalids, addicts, and the downright insane, but the corpse brigade just felt wrong to me. But that’s a problem for another time, right now I have more pressing matters to attend to.

Trotting over to the back door, I opened them to the balcony, where I had a good view of Marewaii. Carving Doll sat in her seat, looking at the island. A plain mare by all standards, cream coat, brown mane. The only thing she had on was her green hat, decorated with red feathers, and a white frilled collar. Her jacket and shirt were hanging on the hat rack behind her, fluttering in the wind.

The Pegasus mare looked at me, dark rings under her sickly green eyes. “I did tell you before, you know, fuck you.” She leaned forwarded to poke at me, exposing her back. Her wings had been removed, and in their place were cybernetic ports. “Also you’re a bitch, cunt, and overall bitch.”

I swatted away her hoof. “You used bitch twice, you drunk.” Taking a seat, I levitated a bottle of rum that was on the floor, two bottles were already empty, and the one I had was halfway there. “Now about your new wings.”

“ABOUT MY OLD WINGS CUNT!” She yelled as she pointed a hoof at me.

“If you wanted t' keep them, then you shouldn’t have killed me bird. It took a year t' train t' thin' t' insult others on me behalf.” She retracted her hoof, but continued to glare at me. “As for your new wings, they should be delivered shortly, don’t expect t' be doin' any flyin' tricks with them, but I know you will like them”

I took a swig of the rum, and passed it to the captain. She grabbed it, and took a long pull before passing it back to me. “Was t' lack o' pain killers necessary?”

“No” I responded. Taking a pull from the rum bottle myself. “Didn’t feel like wastin' them on you. It also made a good warnin' t' your crew, get them t' understand why I’m above them.”

Carving Doll slumped back in her chair. “Did they even clean their fuckin' hooves; I feel sick as fuck”

I put the bottle of rum back on the ground. “Didn’t care t' check, and you’ll recover, not like we’re goin' t' let you die just yet. So stop whinin' about it.”

“I’m not whinin', I’m com…”.

“I don’t care!” I cut her off. “Now to t' matter at hoof. I have a job for you and your jack tars. I expect t' utmost discretion durin' this operation, and t’ be sure that this happens, I’ll have one o' me most trusted subordinates be a supervisor.”

Carving grumbled for a moment before opening her mouth. “Fine, but I better get those new win's soon, and time t' sleep this fuckin' infection off.”

I lifted a two-way radio from my coat pocket. “That can be arranged, now rest up, for we have plenty o' work t' do.” Turning on the radio, the white noise crackled, and silenced when I pressed the talk button. “Red Steel, meet me in the captain’s cabin.” Letting go of the button, the white noise returned, along with a confirming beep. Turning the two-way off and placing it back in my coat I got up and out of my seat. Carving Doll was already dozing off, understandably, as cybernetic surgery can take a lot out of a pony.

Back inside the cabin, Red Steel teleported inside. A deep red unicorn mare with a silver mane and eyes. She looked like she was ready to go to a ballroom dance, with a frilled red dress accented with silver ribbons weaved into the hem. Her hat was just as ornate, the leather cap dyed red, embroidered with silver thread, and a large poofy green feather adorned the top.

She looked about the less then clean cabin, and shivered. “How dreadful, if Captain Storm was still alive, thar be plenty o' hangin's over lettin' his ship become like this.” Her eyes darted around, locking onto me. Trotting over she gave me a hug. “Mother why must you be among these low class jack tars, t' Queen o' Knives be a much better ship, and Captain Razor Coral be far better company then t' captain o' this ship.”

With one hoof, I pushed her off of me. “Are you tryin' t' hook me up with t' old stallion.”

Red Steel shifted her eye away and sighed. “Father’s been gone for nearly ten years now, and you still haven’t found a new somepony. I’m not tellin' you t' forget him, just t' move on.”

“Fine, I’ll spend some time with t' captain, I’m aye he will at least be charmin'. But let’s not talk about t' past right now, okay?” Red Steel gave me a smile and nod. “Good, as I have a job for you.”

My daughter's face beamed. “Please tell me that you’re finally purgin' t' corpse brigade, that Blackwater scum been gettin' the way for too long.”

I sighed. “There will be no purgin', not as o' yet. As long as they have the support o' t' Followers o' Thorn, it be our head at t' gallows if we ever make a move on them. We must bide our time, and wait for them t' loos favor.” Fishing out a broch from a pocket, I pined it to Read Steels dress. It was an ornate symbol of Saint Roseland, the green of the broch was striking on the red dress. “What I want you t' do is supervise an important operation.”

“Me! supervising an important operation!” Red Steel looked around the room, and frowned. “Wait, on this ship, no, no way, never”

I grabbed her face and pulled it to mine, forcing her to look me in the eye. “This is an order, not a request.” She nodded, and I let her go, patting her on the cheek. “Now, Carvin' Doll and her crew will be infiltratin' t' islands metro. From t' intel weave gathard thar be three factions capable o' fightin' us off, so simply forcin' our way in be ill advised.”

“So subterfuge, mother?”

I chuckled a little. “Yes and no my dear.” I trotted past her, and to the front door. “I have something better in mind.”

“Like what, tactical megaspell. Dose t' fleet have any left?” Red Steel followed me out of the cabin.

The deck was busy with ponies at work, and unlike the cabin, everything had been scrubbed down clean. By my orders. The ship had also managed to replace some of the lost sailors with the Mirage ponies our raids had been picking up. They made poor sailors, but were far better than raiders, if only by a stone’s throw. At least they had gotten rid of the ghastly black jackets and spiky manes for a more proper look.

“A megaspell would be nice, but t' monarchy be unlikely t' let go o' their precious hoard” Stepping out onto the deck, the crew quickly got out of our way. “But truth be told, I doubt they have one, and if they did, if you think it be worth two shits, you’re pissin' in t' wind.”

“Shame.” Red Steel daintily stepped next to me. “Then what’s t' plan, because if it just becomes a firefight, this crew needs no supervision for that.”

We made our way to the front of the ship, were the landing pad was. On it was my personal Gull, the vertabuck being looked over by the ship's mechanic, and its floats getting a fresh coat of paint. Next to the landing pad was a white unicorn stallion with a silvery gray mane. He was well dressed and groomed, making him easy to spot among the rough around the edges crew.

I turned my direction to the stallion, giving him a grin. “Sir Silver Relief, good t' see you in good health.”

Silver bowed his head, tipping his top hat. “It’s good to feel better. And is this gorgeous lady the daughter you’ve spoken of?”

Red Steel gave me a concerned look. “Mother, what’s this?”

“Sir Silver, this be Red Steel. She will be t' advisor for t' operation.” I gave my daughter a stern look. “Red Steel, this be Silver Relief, he will be your guide, and a keystone for t' operation.”

My daughter took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled before putting on a smile and speaking. “A pleasure t' meet you Sir Silver, I’m sure we will work wonderfully together.” She reached out to shake hooves.

“No, no. The pleasure is all mine.” Silver took the hoof and gave it a kiss. “To think that not only civilization had survived outside the metro, but it has maidens such high quality leading it. My Mistress will most pleased to meet you.”

I left the two, trotting my way to my Gull. The mechanic stepping away, signaling to the pilot that my aircraft was all green. “Mother Wait!” Red called out to me. “If were only usin' this one ship for t' operation, what about t' rest o' t' fleet?”

I stepped into the gull, looking back to give my daughter a smile. “I’m taking them cloud hunting.” Closing the door, I took my seat. The sound of the engines roared to life, and in seconds I was lifted into the air. Looking out the window, I could see Red and Silver making their way back to the cabin.

There were two things I knew my daughter could do hooves down, that was politics, and killing those she didn’t like. If all things go down well, we will have a hoof hold in the islands, and she will have found a way to have all the corpse brigadiers killed off discreetly.

Opening up a cooler across from me, I pulled out a bottle of red wine, and a wine glass. The wine was from a fifteen-year-old stock, from a dried out vineyard in Prance. It’s dry metallic taste paired well with a pungent cheese, and dried fruit. One bottle was around two Doubloons in cost, but worth it for the satisfaction of being the one who drinks it.

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Footnote

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Chapter 16 - Out of the fire, into the frying pan

Light shimmered from above me, rippling and dancing. Most would find it fascinating, beautiful even, but not me. I hated it, I feared it, I wanted to get up and run from it. Yet I couldn’t move, my legs were unresponsive, or not there, I didn’t know. Without them I couldn’t get the leverage to pull myself up, I couldn’t even flail in panic. All I could do was hold my breath, and look up. Hoping dad would pull me out.

A shadow loomed over me, blocking the light, and just sitting there. It didn’t move, like it was fascinated by my horror. Like it was waiting for me to die.

‘I could make your fear go away, but all good things come at a price.’

I opened my mouth to respond, but water flowed into it.

‘I could make you free of it, make you a stronger you.'

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see it.

‘A secret for a secret is the deal. I shall bestow upon you what you don’t know, and in return you will seek what belongs to me.’

I didn’t care, I just wanted to be out of the water, I didn’t want to die. I’d take it, just help me.

‘Then so shall it be my little pony. Like or not the deal is struck, you will seek out a secret I desire. You are already on the path to it, a marvelous secret that could topple the civilization it had built.’

My chest burned so much, I couldn’t hold it in any more, I was going to breath water. That’s when the shadow dove in, the black mare from my dreams, her deep golden eyes looking into me, through me. With an embrace she forced her lips onto mine, and breathed life giving air into my lungs. With the air delivered, she pressed her muzzle to my ear, and whispered.

‘The knowledge and secrets to your survival will be yours, and I’ll throw in something more.’ She pushed away from me, and blended into the darkness of the water. ‘That night, when you fell into the water as a filly, how the wire in your mother’s leg snapped. It was no accident, just ask your sister.’ The water around me bubbled and vanished, and now I found myself in a black void, with no light but from mare’s golden eyes. ‘Thy name is Phobetor, and I ensure you that our partnership will be most beneficial.'

______________________________________

I jolted awake, trying to cough up water that was not there. Everything hurt, both inside and out, and the distinct smell of burnt… everything was in my nose. Looking around, everything was a blur, my eyes too sensitive to look at even dim light. My body convulsed, and I threw up what food I still had in my stomach, along with some blood. I could tell because of all the red that was with it, and because of the rancid metallic smell it gave off.

“OH! This one’s awake!” the voice of a mare called, sounding far too chipper for my liking right now.

“Good, give her a healing potion, we can’t wait any longer out here.” This voice was of a synthetic mare.

A vial was stuck in my mouth, and the content was forced down my throat. I was also sprayed in my face, which made it feel a little better, and helped my eyes recover.

Blinking a few times, I could see properly again. Not that I could see much with a mare right in my face. She was a purple coated mare with a medium length pink mane that was a mess. Her smile was as wide as a pony could physically manage, possibly a little bigger.

“Oh plusgood, you’re awake! I had thought you were going to unlive.” She pulled out a rag, and wiped some of the muck off of me, before helping me up. She placed the rag back into a bag, along with the used healing potion vial and the small spray bottle. “I had to give you a bunch of chems to help you pull through, but I don’t know how it’s going to help with your pain, so does it still hurt anywhere?”

“Everything still hurts.” But the pain had dulled, if only a little. Some Med-X would help a lot, along with some more healing potions. “But I’ll be just fine.”

She smiled. “Good, it would have ungood if you had not woken up. Reaver Blaster Beam said we have to leave soon. If anypony has not gotten up, we have to leave them behind.”

“Wait, Blaster Beam is here?” I looked around, and my eyes were rewarded with finding that I was face to face with the mare.

“Yes, I’m here.” She said with her synthetic voice. “Now I need you to pack up and get moving, our ride won’t wait forever.” She backed off, and pointed to a pair of saddle bags. “You can get yourself cleaned up once we’re on board.” The reaver trotted off to another pony who was coughing up blood, offering the mare a small amount of healing potion.

I was baffled for a few seconds; all I could do was look around. We were all in what looked like an old recon post, from before the forest had completely took over, the plant life having long forced themselves in. But the place was secured, and the air, though foul smelling, was breathable. Equalists were packed inside the building, around twenty of them, with more than half looking like they just ran through a meat grinder, and six of them looking like they fell into one. Next to me was a pony covered in a sheet, same for the next one down the line.

Looking at myself, I still had the equalist jumpsuit on, though now dirty, blooded, and burnt. It then hit me what was going on, they had mistaken me for one of their own. Now grasping the situation, I figured that I might as well go along until I had an opportunity to get away. Lifting my right foreleg, I distinctly remember not having one before, this one looking like it was made from scrap parts. Complaining about having full mobility was probably a bad idea, so I bit my tongue and trotted over to the saddlebag. My legs gave out, and I hit the floor. I also puked again.

My head felt light, and it was hard to focus on one spot. If I didn’t know better I’d say I was drunk, but I knew it was the radiation poisoning. Getting back up, I took slow and careful steps, finally reaching the saddle bags, only stumbling a few times.

Inside the bag was a bunch of spark batteries, both older and newer variations, as well as mechanical and electrical parts. It was a heavy load, which I had trouble just getting it on my back, and even more trouble standing up with it on.

My left four leg felt off, not being as stable as it normally was. sitting down, I held my breath as I pulled back the sleeve of the jumpsuit. Minerva was gone, in it’s place was the same kind of scrap leg as I had on the right. Checking my back legs, luckily they were the same as before, so at least I knew I still had something I could rely on.

“Here’s your radaway ration!” The pineapple flavored radaway was forced into my mouth. The purple and pink mare pulled out a three small jars, and dropped out a few pills into her hoof. The levitation talisman she had must have been old, as everything she moved with the magic was slow to start, and jerky in motion. “Alright what we have here is some Rad-Safe to help fend of radiation. Some Med-Chill in pill form to dull the pain. And my plusgood choice, Rush, to help you stay awake long enough to get home free. Ungood recommended to take them together, but you look like you're going to need them.”

I looked at the pills, and sighed. I felt like shit, and was in no position to argue, so I opened my mouth. The pills didn’t go down easy, but I managed. I was fine with the Rad-Safe, but the other two from what I knew, were heavy duty medications. Med-Chill was an alternative for Med-X, refined Chill made into strong sedative, only used in small doses. Rush on the other hoof was strong stimulant originally made on the big Island. It allowing a pony to stay awake and aware for hours, if not over a day. Both started out as an inhalants, and is still used that way, but the modern powdered stuff is far stronger, with a high over dose rate. So I prayed that I didn’t just fall over and start convulsing.

“Feeling better?” the purple and pink pony asked. I was feeling a little better, as the pain started to melt away, and I no longer had trouble keeping my eyes open. So I nodded. “Good! And here, I’ll take a few batteries off of you.” Two of the spark batteries jerked out of the saddle bag, and into hers. “There, you should be ready to move out.”

Pushing up, I didn’t even feel the weight of the saddle bag, I also didn’t feel anything at all really. But I could hear the blood pulsing through my ears, which could get annoying. “Thanks, I thought I was a goner. Though I can’t for the life of me remember what happened.”

She nodded. “Ya, that was a doubleplusungood scene. You were cut up all over, and burnt. It looked like one of those ungood attackers must have hit you with a spark grenade, and thrown you into a thorn bush. If I hadn’t found you, you would have unlived.”

“So you saved…” I hacked up what seemed like a piece of my lung, I didn’t feel any pain, but the coughing was quite violent. “Saved me, thank you.” My voice raspy in a bad way, sounding like a smoke addicts.

She cringed, pulling out a vial of healing potion, which only had a minuscule amount in it. “This should help your voice.” I drank the small amount of healing potion. She looked at me, scratching her chin. “Now that I think about it, are you one of our new recruits?”

I almost shit myself, that or I already did and didn’t have any more in me. At least she gave me an out, but I knew I was not going to be able to simply play it off. So I could only hope she didn’t dig deeper. “Yes, but everything is hazy. I had my card with my right hoof, but it seems to be missing” Card, what card!?

“Oh, that’s ungood. You were missing that leg when I found you, both front legs actually. One of our comrades donated hers after… after she unlived.” The look on the mare’s face drooped, and some tears formed in her eyes. She wiped the tears away, and forced a smile. “Even if we few must sacrifice for the good of the many, it’s still sad to lose a comrade. The bed will feel much unwarm without her.”

It was too much sad information then what I wanted to hear, though I didn’t feel all that affected by it, probably do to the drug cocktail I had in me. “Sorry to hear. Was she your marefriend?”

She shook her head. “We just shared beds, and she didn’t mind my sleeping habits.” The mare straightened herself up. “But her sacrifice was not wasted, I was able to save two of our other comrades with her supplies.” She looked proud, sad, but proud. “Had to replace your jumpsuit too, it was in a ungood shape, even your clothes under it had to be thrown out. But your panties were okay, they’re adorable by the way.” I blushed a little, but was at least glad that I was not in tattered clothing.

Blaster Beam stomped on the floor, getting every ponies attention. “Alright comrades, move out, we have an hour to get to the ship, and another hour before daylight. Anypony who drags their hooves will not survive the trek, so keep your steps high, and quick. I’ll handle any of the nasty beasts out here.”

Everypony put on their gasmask, leaving me fumbling around, looking for one. The purple pink mare jammed a gas mask onto my face, and I quickly affixed the straps. With everyone ready, we all shuffled out of the cabin, following Blaster Beam.

The purple pink mare trotted alongside of me, helping me stay up when I stumbled out of the doorway. “Here, I’ll sponsor for you when we get to Valley Island, that way you don’t have to go through interrogation. My names Clarinet Reed, what’s yours?”

I opened my mouth, but caught myself before giving out my real name. Even if Blaster Beam didn’t know who I was, she might know my name. I had to think fast, and what came to me was “Chime.” Citole’s older sister. “Chime Catbell.” I could only hope nopony figured out that it was a fake name.

“Oh, what a lovely name.” Clarinet gushed. “I know we're going to get along just plusgood. I have a nice place you can stay at while you housing arrangements are sorted, one bed though, so I hope you don’t mind cuddling up.”

Clarinet was hard to read, both bubbly happy, and stoically sad at the same time, I didn’t know if I wanted to hug her, or be hugged by her. Truthfully I didn’t know what to think right now, I was glad to be alive, but it was a bittersweet feeling. I had failed in every way possible, and now was marching to what might be the heart of the equalists. Clarinet was both my savior, and probably my jailor, as I could tell she was not going to let me just wander off.

“So did you own any cats? I love cats.” Clarinet asked excitedly. “They’re the cutest thing ever.”

I shook my head. “My family was more into dogs.”

“Dogs are awesome too!” she was just too excitable, probably just distracting herself. In a way, she was doing a good job for me, as thinking about how I had failed was just too damned depressing, and painful.

The storm was still raging outside, so two equalists stood by the door, passing out raincoats. Most of them had seen better days, but it would be better than just getting drenched. Into the forest we went, looking back, the cabin we were using looked like one of the ones set up a hundred years back, when the forest was just starting to reclaim the islands, and the toxins in the air were thicker. Even if it was run down, it probably still had a few years left in it. Lucky break for the equalists.

The march through the forest was mostly uneventful, with the chems in my system keeping me from feeling the pain of moving around. The local wild life did pester us at a few points, but Blaster Beam made short work of them. The guns that had replaced her wings were automatic beam pistols, and her two forelegs had the equivalent to a magical energy musket built in. Small windows in her forelegs would glow red as she charged them up, and the beams would make that distinctive twang sound, tuning anything they hit into ash. What really caught me off guard was the built in flamer she had in her mouth, allowing her to breath fire. Overall, she was like a one pony beam platform, like how Theremin was a melee powerhouse.

Clarinet kept talking, though now keeping her voice low. Mostly it was about what she was doing on Pineapple island. It seemed that she was part of a group that set up a soup kitchen for the working poor, trying to get others to consider their ideology through good will. I never seen it myself, but I was told that aside from the free food, they spout anti-capitalistic propaganda almost nonstop as they pass out the food.

Then the big question came my way. “What were you doing, you know, before you joined up with us?”

I opened up my mouth, only to mumble a little before shutting it. I had to think fast, so I took a deep breath. “Most of my work… it’s on the big island… so I… only barely got by.” Vague, but I hoped that was enough.

“I see.” Clarinet looked up, as though in thought. “Haven’t been to the big island for a long time, it was an unfun place.”

I Nodded my head. “I know what you mean.”

The small talk thankfully remind light, so I wasn’t worried about getting stuck in a lie. Instead the conversation moved onto what life is like in the inner stations of the republic. From what Clarinet told me, everypony has a place to live, food to eat, and a job. It sounded nice, but from my time in Orthrus, having something for everypony never meant equality. A place to sleep could mean an old cot, or some sheets on the hard floor. Food for all could mean mass produced rations. And jobs, as my drill instructor would say, ‘We have job’s for everypony, do you want to stand guard for ten hours, or clean toilets for eight?’ so the concept of a job for everypony didn’t fill me with any hope of something dignified.

Which was fine for me, I just needed to slip away when the opportunity arises. I did think about pretending to be hurt, falling over and telling the others to forget about me. Though beaten and bruised, the equalists didn’t look stupid, and it would take just one of them to point out that I have Med-Chill in me to know I was faking. I just needed an opportunity, some place I could just slip away. Just bolting into the forest would be tempting, but I’d make a lot of noise, and from seeing Blaster Beam work, I’d not make it far. My best bet is in the metro, just find some dark corner, and sneak away when nopony is looking. Easier said than done, but these equalist troops didn’t look like a well-trained military, so it was a possibility.

Our trek went on a little while longer, stopping at a cove. Looking around, I didn’t see any kind of entrance to the metro, not even a structure from the old world. It was just a natural cove.

“Aren’t we going back to the metro?” I had to ask.

Blaster Beam laughed. “And let those bit grubbing hogs know our movements.” She lifted a leg up, pointing above the water, and fired a beam of magical energy. “We have other ways to get around.”

Nopony moved, or made a sound, the only sound was that of the rain and wind. That and a light from the water. A light that grew brighter, accompanied by the sound of an engine. The ship quickly got closer, showing no sign of slowing down.

Some of the other ponies began to panic, tripping over themselves as to get out of its way. Blaster Beam, Clarinet, and some of the others didn’t move, staying with the group. I chose not to move, trusting that they knew what was coming.

To my surprise, what I thought was a boat turned out to be a hovercraft, it hit the ground and circled around us. Some of the panicked ponies dove for cover so to avoid it. The hovercraft looked like it was made of scrap, had a thick cloth skirt along the bottom, and had two of what looked like a vertibuck propellers at the back.

The craft came to a stop, only dropping a little as the propellers slowed down. A pony looked over at us from a window, same raincoat, gasmask, and jumpsuit as everypony else. “Oy comrades, better late than never, but you're cutting it close don’t you think.” The pony opened a door, sending some steep stairs down to the ground.

First on was Blaster Beam, who then began helping others on. The same thing happened on the other side, Clarinet taking on the role to help the others, allowing us to quickly board the hovercraft. There was less room than in the building I awoke in, but everypony managed to squeeze in. The only seats were for the pilot and twelve others, six seats on either side of the hovercraft. Five others packed themselves in what was likely the cargo hold, a secure spot at the back. The three remaining without a seat were Blaster Beam, Clarinet, and me.

I had been distracted by the fact that I never even heard of this vehicle before. It looked a bit like the inside of a train, but with less space, and thicker metal. “What is this?” I couldn’t help but let the question slip from my lips.

The pilot got into her seat, and the engine revved up. Blaster Beam trotted up next to the pilot, sitting with her back to the wall, and looking at us all. “Alright, to all new recruits, this has been a true clusterfuck of a night, but this is where things change. What you are standing in here is a military transport hovercraft, called a M.T.H. for short. It uses cloud talismans to provide the hover, and high powered propellers to move it. This here beauty will help us unify the islands, allowing us to be free from Orthrus’ greedy control.”

There were a few ‘ooo’s’ and ‘ahhh’ from the other ponies. But with the rain pounding on the ceiling, I didn’t feel at ease. “Excuse me, but how does this craft keep from tipping in the storm?”

My question got a few worried mumbles from the others, but Blaster Beam stood firm. “The cloud talismans will allow us enough clearance to stay above the water. It takes more power, so our speed will be at a slower rate, but we will make it to our destination safely. We just need every pony to play their part and provide some power to the engines.” She pointed at the two groups sitting in the seats. “Attached to your seats are a magical connection cable. You can help supply this ship with extra power by simply feeding it the magic you can gather.”

The ponies in the seats did as they were told, pulling out the cable and holding it in their hooves. The hovercraft moved out, hitting the water, and shaking at first, but the movement quickly smoothed out. Much of the shaking came from the wind, but were high enough above the water that it didn’t affect us all that much.

“Hey, miss asks-a-lot-of-questions.” Blaster Beam threw a pair of binoculars to me, it was so sudden I almost dropped them. “Since you seem so lively, keep an eye out. I don’t want any of those flying doodads sneaking up on us.”

I was glad she could not see me glare at her through my gasmask.

“No, let me take care of that, she's still very much in ungood condition.” Clarinet interjected.

Blaster Beam Shook her head. “I need you to check the others. You’re the only one with medical training among us here.” Clarinet backed down. “And don’t worry, I have an extra Rad-Away for her.”

Clarinet stomped her hoof. “That Radaway was for you, just because you have a higher radiation tolerance does not mean you’re not cooking on the inside.”

The cyberpony laughed, waving her hoof at Clarinet. “I’ll be fine. You should have seen Theremin, that bastard got a bullet in his lung, and his two back legs blasted off, along with his flank. If he can survive that, I can survive a little extra radiation.”

Clarinet sighed and began taking a look at the others. I on the other hoof, trotted to one of the windows, but couldn’t find a latch to open it. Blaster Beam cleared her throat, getting my attention, and pointed to the ceiling. There was a retractable ladder with a door above it, meaning that I wasn’t going to stay in here.

The wind was worse here, with no trees to break it up, I was getting everything this storm could throw at me. I looked around, but there was simply nothing for me to see in the dark rain.

“Interesting turn of events, don’t you think.” A voice came out of nowhere, so clear that it surprised me so much that I almost dropped the binoculars. Looking around, I found a black earth pony mare lying down on the top of the hovercraft. She didn’t look wet, and her mane acted as though it was in a light breeze. The only thing not black about her was a white lab coat she had on, and her golden eyes that seem to look right through me. “Now, now, don’t do anything to embarrass yourself. I’d rather get this little chat out of the way as soon as possible.”

It was the mare that had been in my dreams, always the same, always unnerving. “Who are you?”

She laughed. “To be forgotten is such a wonderful thing. To have a secret that no others even know to look for, even if it is but a name. You can call me Phobetor, and I’ll be your ever present guide into this mad world.”

“Phobetor… right, so what do you want? Nothing's for free.”

The dark mare got up, and trotted to the other side of the hovercraft, unaffected by the wind. “A deal has been struck, and I seek my reward. A secret for a secret, I bestow onto you the knowledge you need to survive, and in return you seek out what is hidden from me.” Phobetor turned around and smiled. “I gave you the little things, like knowledge about the Republics ID’s, so that you can slip in without any suspicion falling onto you, and a few other little things. With that knowledge, you will go to the heart of the republic, and learn the secret to their power.”

I didn’t like this, not at all. But I was trapped with no way out. I know if I played nice, eventually I would have my opportunity to free myself.

Phobetor trotted up to me. “I know what you’re thinking, tricky ones like you always think the same.” Her hoof was gently placed under my chin. “Know this, if you break the deal, I will find a fate worse than death for you. Those Reavers for one, I don’t know what their plan is for you, but I’m betting you don’t want to find out first hoof.” She removed the hoof from my chin. “But if you insist on resisting, I’ll let you know this. If you do as I say, you will find your way home, very much alive, and free from the control of others. But only if you do as I say.”

I looked at her in the eyes. “And how do I know you’re not lying. Fuck, how do I know you're even real?”

Phobetor laughed even louder. “You don’t, but nor do you have the real choice to doubt me.” She turned her back on me. “It’s your faith in me, or be thrown to the wolves. You can choose, but I don’t see the point in suicide.”

She had me, I didn’t know what to do. Theremin said I was on a list, which meant they knew who I was, and actively kept tabs on me. I could fake it, but it was only a matter of time before they found me out. If what Phobetor said was true, at least I had some hope through her, even if she made my skin crawl. “Fine, I will find this secret you want, and you help me get out of this mess. That’s the deal.”

“That’s the deal, a secret for a secret.” Phobetor pointed to the right with her hoof. “You should stick with that mare, Clarinet was it, she will make good camouflage for you.” I looked to where she was pointing, and could see a dim light in the distance.

“What’s that?” I looked back at Phobetor, but she was gone. Turning back to the dim light, I looked through the binoculars. It slowly focused into view, the lights revealing themselves to be part of a large ship. Closer, I could see writing along the side. It spelled out “The Queen of Knives” in big bold letters. I could see what was likely cannons, along the side, big enough to blow us out of the water.

Dropping myself from the ladder, and back into the less wet, and warmer inside of the hovercraft, I took a deep breath as eyes fell to me. “We’ve got trouble, there's a large ship to our right, heavily armed.”

Blaster Beam trotted up to me, and took the binoculars, jumping up the ladder. She was up there for all but a few seconds before dropping back down. “Everypony hold on tight!” she quickly trotted over to the pilot. “Turn up the speed, I doubt they don’t know where here.”

The engine revved up, and the speed picked up. I could hear some of the others quietly mumbling to themselves, scared and just hoping to live through this. Suddenly the hovercraft shook violently, but didn’t stop. “Lucky break, if we didn’t pick up speed, we would be dead in the water.” The pilot called out.

I had managed to stay upright by holding onto the ladder, But Clarinet and Blaster both got knocked around in the shaking. Getting up, Blaster Beam looked at me. “You got a steady head on your shoulder there. Do you know how to handle a gun?” I just nodded. “Good, climb to the roof, were going to shoot back at this asshole.”

I didn’t argue, I just climbed up the ladder, this time stepping onto the roof of the Hovercraft. Blaster Beam followed, pointing to the front of the craft, as she went to the back. Complying, I used the railing along the side to keep myself from being knocked off the hovercraft, until I found what was likely a turret mount. The thing was in a cage that allowed 360 degree aiming, and the gun itself had a cover on it. Looking back, Blaster Beam was in another gun cage herself, pulling at the cover of the gun. This was not just a troop transport; the Hovercraft was a gunship. Pulling off the cover, I could feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach, it was as a IF-155 ‘Bad Seed’ attached to the turret mount. The hovercraft was armed with two .50 caliber LMG railguns, something that was overkill with just one.

Powering up the IF-155, I held onto it as another shell from the bigger ship landed near us, shaking the hovercraft. The pirate ship beamed lights on us, though bright, they were too far away to blind us. Our guns had a flood light attached to them as well, and in turning it on, I could see a few little specks flying off the pirate ship, and at us. Both Blaster Beam and I fired, in short bursts, as the attackers were too far away to hit with any accuracy. The pirates fired back, one shot landing near my back hooves, and ricocheting off into the storm. As the attackers got closer, I could see that they were griffins and pegasi.

We both fired another volley of steel balls at the pirates, talking down two of them, and forcing the rest to fall back. They returned fire, but the storm prevented them from properly aiming at us, and only rarely hitting the hovercraft.

The hovercraft shook again as shells landed near us, but the shots didn’t come from ‘the Queen of Knives’, but another ship we didn’t see. Shining some light on the other ship, I found another name ‘Bones of Sand’ it spelled out.

The hovercraft raced between the two pirate ships, our guns firing off to keep their troops from getting closer to us then we were comfortable with. A beam of energy cut the water next to the hovercraft, and another beam glanced off the side. A Vertabuck had positioned itself behind us. Luckily for us, we were armed with .50 caliber LMG Railguns, attached to an external power source. Blaster beam let her gun loose, and the Vertabuck quickly pulled back and away, smoke now billowing from it. A few more shells fell near us, shaking the hovercraft but nothing more. I could only guess that the shells were meant for blowing up boats, and we were in a hovercraft, unaffected by the explosions in the water.

I was able to knock a few more pirates out of the sky before they fell back, and we were too far away to give chase. The two pirate ships fired at us, but none of the shells connected. Soon the two ships were out of sight, only a quickly dimming glow to show where they were. I couldn’t help but feel that we got lucky, be it the storm, the cover of night, or that we were in a hovercraft and not a normal boat. We managed to avoided the jaws of death entirely.

Returning to the inside the Hovercraft, Blaster Beam and I were soaked. The raincoats providing us with only a small amount of protection. Blaster Beam hoofed over a packet of radaway to me, and I took it. “Good shooting out there, what did you do before joining up?”

I didn’t have to think too hard for a lie, as little bit of truth can go far. “Did a lot of work on the big island. Had to defend myself many times. Some bandits, but mostly the wildlife.”

Blaster Beam chuckled. “Well It’s good to have you in the family, we can always use more defenders in our ranks.” She shook off some of the water on her, much like a dog. “But fuck, who were those assholes. First vertibucks, and now, what… warships?”

I sighed, “Not only that, but griffins two.”

“WHAAAT!” Clarinet gasped. “You mean those bird-cat things from the cartoons! You saw one, a real one!?”

“Well, I think I did.” I know I did. “It didn’t look like a Pegasus.”

“I think that’s the least of our problems.” Blaster Beam slumped down onto the ground. “Whoever they are, they have vertibucks, warships, and what looks like a lot of troops to throw out. The general is going flip her shit over this. So much for unifying the islands when they’re around.”

Clarinet trotted up to Blaster Beam. “Oh don’t be that way, and this might be a good thing. If these big meanies threaten the metro, we just need to answer the call, and send them back to wherever they came from. If the ponies of the metro see that we’re there for them, they will see that we're right.”

Blaster Beam laughed. “That sounds like a good idea, I’ll run it by… by… the general.” The cyber mare collapsed onto the floor, Clarinet there to keep her head from hitting the floor.

“Oh no, she’s really burning up. Why didn’t you take the radaway like I told you!” Clarinet emptied her bag, but it didn’t have anything that would help with radiation sickness. “Please, just hold on.”

Nopony had anything to help. We were all out of any medical chems, other than ones for combat, which would likely make her condition worse. All we could do was give Blaster Beam some space, and hope she doesn’t take in more radiation before we get to our destination.

The rest of us took turns providing extra power to the engines, though the small amount of magical energy wouldn’t be enough to power the engine long enough to get to our destination, it did help provide it with the extra power to push through the storm. The hovercraft had the ability to get us where we were going, but without the power, it would have taken us twice as long.

After some time, the pilot let everyone know we were about to hit land. It only felt like a little bump, but the scenery through the window changed from a gray squall, to that of green. We didn’t stop, continuing down what I guessed was a road constructed by the Republic, the tall trees bearing over us, and probably hiding the road itself.

The ride was much smoother than when we were over the water, with the wind now being weakened by the surrounding forest. I could only guess that we had gone deep into the island, as we entered what was the ruins of a long dead city, and soon after, inside a large building.

The hovercraft slowly came to a stop, and looking out the window, there was a crew waiting for us. Clarinet and I both opened the doors on the side of the Hovercraft, and began helping every pony out. Last, we both helped hold Blaster Beam up as we exited the hovercraft, and a medical team took over as soon as our hooves were on the ground.

“So feeling any better?” Clarinet asked me cheerfully.

I paused for a moment. I was still wide awake, and numb. “I don’t know, maybe, I’ll find out when this medication wears off.”

Clarinet laughed, and leaned against me. “Well that’s better than ungood. Just let me know when you need more.”

I shook my head. “It’s best if I let it where off, last thing I need is an addiction.”

“Lucky you.” Clarinet became limp, forcing me to hold her up.

“Hey” I let her slide onto the ground, keeping her head from just dropping. “This is not the place to sleep.”

A medical pony came over and took Clarinet off my hooves, and another came to me, leading me to where some of the others were. We all entered a sealed enclosure, allowing us to take our masks off. It was for a medical checkup, the medical ponies checking our eyes, tongue, and blood. Seeing if we were safe to re-enter the population. With most of the islands vaccinated for most known pathogens, checkups were less common now, but some places still do it for the extra security.

After a half hour, I was cleared to move onto the next room. This time it was a security checkpoint, as everypony was hoofing over their ID’s, along with another card. Patting myself down, I was missing everything I owned, so all I could do was sigh.

“You there!” one of the security ponies called out to me. “Why have you not presented your papers?”

I took a deep breath and opened up my forelegs as I slowly exhaled. “They got lost in the chaos.”

The security pony didn’t look happy with my reply, and motioned with her hoof to another pony. “Then we're going to have to take you into custody.” This was exactly not what I wanted, but not something I couldn’t resist. “Do you comply”

“Yes, yes. I’ve had a long day, so please just give me a minute.”

The security pony squinted at me. “You got quite the mouth on you.” She levitated a baton up. “You should learn to shut it.”

I rolled my eyes. “I said I’m complying, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Sighing, I trotted up to the mare. “Listen, I know you have a job to do…”

The bitch stuck the baton in my mouth. “No you listen here, I say comply, and you respond with yes ma’am. You don’t look me in the eyes, swish your tail, or smack your lips. You do as I say, and nothing more. Do you comply?” she didn’t remove the baton.

I wanted to knock the thing away from me, and give her face a close greeting with my hoof. I backed up, but she just pushed, keeping the baton in my mouth, a grin on her face. I was really not in the mood for this shit, and glared at her.

“What did I say about looking me in the eyes.” She pulled the baton out, and hit me in the face.

I was still numb all over from the Med-Chill, so I didn’t even flinch. “As I was saying, you have a job to do, so sooner we get this over with, the less trouble you’re going to have with Blaster Beam.”

The security mare looked shocked, but soon started laughing. “Me in trouble with that freak. I’m so terrified.” She turned around and whipped her tail at me. “Come this way.”

______________________________________

Unsurprisingly I entered an interrogation room, the solid gray walls only accented by a mirror on one side, and a metal table in the middle. It was like out of the old detective comics, even having a lamp to shine in my face.

Another security mare took over the interrogation, predictably aiming the lamp so that the light was directed right at me. “Now we're going to ask you a few questions, and you’re going to answer. You understand.”

“Yes.” I raised a hoof to block the annoyingly bright lamp. “Is this necessary?”

“Is, this, necessary?” The mare chuckled. “You’re the only one to come without papers, or ID. We had reports of spies among your group, and everypony checks out but you. So yes, this is necessary!”

I suddenly felt strange, my head dizzy. Another pony trotted out from behind me, in medical attire. She was holding a few empty syringes with her levitation. “What did you do?”

The security mare lowered the lamp. “Just something to help you relax, and be more compliant. Memory extraction is a delicate art, and we can’t have you making fake memories on us as we sift through them.” The security mare pulled out a strange helmet from under the table. “So we're going to ask a few questions, and you’re going to tell us everything.” The medical pony lifted up the helmet and brought it over to me.

I felt well and truly fucked. Between the room starting to spin, and the feeling of weightlessness, I almost didn’t see the mare standing on the table.

“How barbaric.” Phobetor said, as she held my head in place. “Trying to steal what is mine. And in such a forceful manner. Not even a care to the damage that could be done in the process. They might as well try to steal a dragon’s horde by blowing up the mountain.”

“What…?” I felt numb and sick all at the same time. “is…” other than Phobetor, everything was spinning. “going…” The room itself looked like it was melting away, or flaking away. “...on.”

Phobetor smiled. “Don’t worry, this will be over soon.”

______________________________________

I was in some sort of void, everything was dark, and I was floating.

“Now, tell me, who are you?” The voice of the security pony echoed throughout my head.

Images popped up all around me, they looked familiar at first, but were all blurry beyond recognition. One image came in clear, it was of me and Clarinet. “Chime Catbell” the image spoke.

“Who are you” the security mare's voice was a little more forceful.

The other images shook, but didn’t become any clearer.

“WHO ARE YOU!” her voice made everything shake.

The images didn’t budge, but this time one of them warped, Phobetor seeped out like a black puss. She turned around, and tapped the image. It warped again, this time becoming clearer. It showed me as a filly, alone, in the dark. “Mommy! Where are you?” the image called out in a squeaky voice.

Phobetor seeped back into the image, becoming part of it. “I’m here Chime, just follow momma.” She took on the look of a scrapper, and the filly version of me hauling scrap metal. “Don’t fall behind or the rad-roaches will get you.”

The image began to repeat, without the sound. Next to it another image came into view, Phobetor jumping from the image she was in, and into the new one. It depicted me much older, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Hanging outside the lucky rabbit’s foot, dressed in what was a mock bunny mare one piece. I had a bad feeling about this, but couldn’t even turn my head. “CHIME CATBELL! I thought I raised you better!” It was Phobetor again. “Come home right now!”

The mock me looked away. “If I don’t do this, we're just going to be right back at Charon’s Stop.” Chime snorted at Phobetor. “And what about you, you’re not doing anything different. At least I can get a better price.”

The image slowed down and began to repeat itself. I didn’t like where it was going, but whatever Phobetor was, she weaved in and out of this memory scape quite easily. I just didn’t like the idea of pretending that I whored myself out in my youth.

“Why are you here?” the sultry mare's voice once more bounced into my head.

Phobetor jumped out of the image, as it faded away, and a bunch of blurrier images replaced them. The black mare touched one of them, and it warped. The scene was once more in the dark, but I could see some scenery, familiar scenery. It was the bandit camp that I met Merit outside of. Chime was pulling a dead bandit into the shadows, the pony's head half missing. Striping the pony of her cloths, Chime disguise herself as one of the bandits, and nervously trotted into the camp.

The bandits didn’t pay her much mind as she made her way through. Her destination was the prisoner cage. Phobetor seeped into it, and appeared in the cage, looking beaten and bruised. Chime got up close to the cage, and whispered. “mom, I’m going to get you out of here.”

Phobetor weakly sat up. “Chime, what are you doing here, you must leave.”

“No, I’m going to get you out, no buts about it.” Chime pulled out a screwdriver and a bobby pin, but dropped them when Phobetor moved into the light.

Her back half was burnt, the legs missing much of its mass. “I had a nasty run-in with some twittermight’s before the bandits found me. I think they're hoping I’m worth a ransom, that’s why I’m still alive.” She weakly trotted up to the cages bars. “Now go, I’m dead already.”

Chime backed away, shaking her head. “I hate you.” And with tears in her eyes, she ran off, surprising some of the bandits, but not raising any alarms.

The image came to its end, and Phobetor jumped from it, to another. It opened up outside of the Lucky Rabbit’s foot, Chime drunk on the floor. “You don’t look so good.” A mare said, looking down at Chime.

“Well I feel like shit, so I must look like shit.” Chime responded.

The mare smiled. “Why don’t you come with me, I can help you feel better.”

Chime grunted. “I’m not some two-bit whore.”

She giggled. “How about ten bits and a drink?”

Chime paused for a moment, and got up off the ground. “Fuck it, I got nothing better to do.”

The image came to an end, and Phobetor jumped to the next one. Chime was in bed with the mare, her face buried in the mare’s chest, and crying. The mare patted her on the back. “If you hate your life so much, you could always start a new one.” The mare spoke. “The republic is open to everypony. You can just throw this life away, and start one with them.”

“I…” Chime sniffled. “I don’t know; how can it change anything?”

She giggled. “First off, you’ll be joining one big family. Second, you can be with me, and teach me that trick you did.” She pulled Chimes head up, and gave her a kiss.

Chime smiled. “I think I might like that.”

The image came to an end, and Phobetor seeped out, trotting over to me.

“Now tell me where you got those cyber legs?” once more the words of the security mare forced images to pop up in my mind, but as soon as they appeared, everything went white.

“What’s going on, who gave you authorization to use the memory extractor?” it was the voice of a mare, squeaky in tone.

The security mare almost flat on the wall, saluting. “Captain!”

I wobbled my head over to the side to take a look, only seeing what looked a looked like a filly. Small for a pony, but definitely a full grown mare.

“So, who was it.” The mare jumped up onto the table, her coat was teal, and mane bronze. Her green fatigues showing little sign of a rank. “I know I didn’t”

The security mare looked away, and the medical mare cowered.

“Thought so. And what useful information did you get from this recruit?”

The security mare gulped. “She has an earth pony mother that worked as a scrapper, and joined up with us after she died. The pony who recruited her looks like one of the ponies who died on Pineapple Island.”

“Anything else” The Captain asked, and the security mare shook her head. “Such a waste of time.” She did an about face, tuning in a flash. “Now you… you don’t look good.” She got up closer. “How many chems did this idiot put into you?”

I had to wait for a moment for the room to stop spinning so much. “I have... Rad-Safe, and… Med-Chill… Rush… and, whatever they put into me… can you stop wobbling, you’re starting to look like jelly.” I had to shake off the dizziness.

The mare face hoofed. “Fucking seriously, you two drugged up a drugged up mare… I don’t even know where to begin. Your job was simply to detain suspected spies, not press them for information.” She put a hoof to her mouth and whistled, and a another pony came trotting in. “Go take that mare to medical for detox, she’s going to have a rough withdraw soon.”

The new pony tried to lead me out, but I couldn’t get my footing right, and just tripped over myself. Luckily another pony brought a wheelchair over, and soon I was being pushed to medical. It didn’t feel like I was drunk or high, I was simply numb, and very aware. The problem I was having felt strange, I had a hard time keeping myself straight, as though I was lacking the ability to move my legs and neck, but I felt entirely calm, relaxed even. It was strange, even when things would begin to spin, they’d quickly pass, and I remained calm.

______________________________________

Medical was what I expected it to be, sterile, white, and smelling of blood. It wasn’t a big room, so it looked crowded with all the beds hidden behind curtains.

“Who’s this?” A medical pony walked up to me, her white scrubs covered in blood.

The pony that was pushing me stepped to the side of me. “Security got overzealous in their hunt for spies, and this mare got truth serum injected into her.”

“I see.” The medical mare looked at me closer, her glasses had two specks of blood on it, on the right side. “Dilated pupils, Short and fast breathing.” She pulled up her stethoscope plugging it in her ears, and placing it on my chest. “Irregular heartbeat that’s too rapid.” A little metal stick was pulled out of her pocket, and she used it to open my mouth. “Dry mouth, with some foam forming.” Last she put her head to mine. “And she is heating up. This is not something that stupid truth serum can do, what else is in her?”

“Med-Chill, and Rush.” The other pony spoke quickly.

She face hoofed. “Of all the fucked up chems to have in her system. What’s her name?”

“Chime Catbell”

The medical mare trotted behind me. “Okay, your job’s done here, I’ll take care of the rest.”

I was pushed over to a bed, and helped onto it. On the next bed over was where Clarinet was sleeping, and on the other side of the room was Blaster Beam. The medical mare pushed a machine over to my bed, and a IV stand. A needle was inserted into my neck, it attached to the IV, and the IV was attached to the machine. “Alright miss Catbell, this will start flushing your system of the chems. I’m going to put you under so to prevent you from panicking when the chems wear off, and hurting yourself. Do you understand?” I nodded. “Good, now just close your eyes and count backwards from ten.”

Ten. I felt nothing, everything was muted and gray.

Nine. Color appeared in my vision, feeling warm and inviting.

Eight. The colors formed ponies, dancing in a ring, with soft music.

Seven. The ponies became more defined, having fancy dresses, suits and masks. The music was of the classical variety, that the ponies were dancing the waltz.

Six. Stepping into the crowed, I could see that they were dancing around something, giggling and laughing.

Five. Pushing through I saw what it was… Rototom, on the floor, blood pooling under her.

Four. The warmth became heat, giggles became screams, and the music tuned into the sound of fighting.

Three. Looking around, all the ponies were on the ground, dead, brutally shredded. So much blood surrounded me it was the only color I could see.

Two. One of the dead ponies got up, and looked at me. then another, and another. All their eyes a sickly green.

One. Rototom got up, a gash in her neck still pouring blood. She stepped towards me, and I could not move. “It’s fine sis, It’s fine.” She hugged me, and whispered in my ear. “I never wanted to hurt you.” Rototom let me go, and I fell, the dance floor above me quickly becoming nothing but a speck. It felt like I hit water, but it felt wrong. Looking around, I couldn’t see anything, nothing but two large golden orbs. No not orbs, eyes, and they were staring at me.

Whatever it was, it was big, bigger than any monster I had ever seen. It opened its mouth, showing me rows of dagger like teeth. I began to be pulled toward it, and unable to move, I helplessly watched as I moved closer to its mouth. With a snap It closed its maw around me, and everything became truly dark.

______________________________________

Footnote

New Quest: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.

Chapter 17 - Orientation

Chapter 17 - Orientation

A dull aching pain, that’s what I felt all over. Below that of an injury that I needed to take pain killers for, but above something ignorable that I could walk off and forget. Overall I didn’t want to get up out of bed, it was comfy here, and warm. Though the bed had something left to be desired, feeling a bit stiff, and the pillow was a bit too flat for my likening. At least I was warm, more so on the back of my neck, like somepony was breathing on it.

Ya, something was wrong here.

Opening my eyes, the room was too dark to properly see, but in moving around I felt the feeling of somepony pressing on my back. “Minerva, light on.” My pipbuck leg didn’t respond. “Minerva!” still nothing. The pony behind me shifted a little, almost making me jump.

Giving up on Minerva for now, I reached out with my hooves in search for some sort of light switch. My hoof hit a wall, which meant I was on the inside of the bed, putting me on the opposite side of where a light switch would be. Most housing was set up in a way where one would put a bed near a light switch, this room could not have been more different.

The pony next to me sat up and yawned. I held my breath, and steeled myself for a fight. The pony moved around a little, but it was too dark to see, that was until the lights turned on, blinding me for a second.

“Oh good, I thought you might be awake. You were asleep for so long, I was worried that you may need to see medical again.” It was… was… Clarinet… ya that’s the name. “But it’s good that you’re up, I can at least show you around before everything closes!” She had this excitable smile on her face.

I sat up, annoyingly enough, I was naked. “I have so many questions… where’s my panties?”

Clarinet laughed. “Sorry about that, but most of your things had to be thrown away.”

I reached for my neck. “My scarf, what happened to my scarf!”

She cocked her head. “What scarf?”

“The one I was wearing, it’s bright red.” My heart was pounding.

Clarinet rubbed her chin, and shook her head. “Sorry, but I never saw one…” Her eyes became wide. “That monster had one.”

“Had what… what monster?”

She smiled, and raised her hooves above her head. “Some monster pony, I’m sure I saw it. It was dark as night, red glowing eyes, and trying to drag you away.” She put her hooves down. “It scampered away when It saw me, it must have ungiven your stuff. probably ungiven your legs as well.”

“Oh…” from the sounds of her description, it could only have been Turnip. I looked at my front legs, seeing only two cheap prosthetic cyber legs on me. Now I remembered that Minerva was already missing since the last time I woke. Frustratingly this meant no S.A.T.S. no auto mapping, no item sorting, and support programs for using talismans. I was going to have to make do with what I had until I can get home, Then find Turnip to recover my stuff.

“Well, no use dwelling on what’s unfound, it’s better to focus on what we have.” Clarinet hopped out of the bed, almost taking the covers with her. Now able to get a better look at the mare, more than I cared for, I could see that she was clearly younger than me, probably a good five or more years younger than me. Defiantly in her late teens, if not early twenty’s. She was slender, if a bit underweight, but her coat was bright and healthy. Her pink mane had a straight clean look to it, hanging just above her shoulders, and her tail was cut a little short and tied off on the end. It all had this prim and proper look common among ponies who work in factories, or in office buildings.

I would have pinned her as an innocent young mare, except for two things that stood out. First, her ears were all chewed up, and had holes in them. A clear sign of excessive piercings without proper sanitation, and also having them be ripped out. Second, the whites of her eyes were yellow, which is common among drug addicts, combat chems tend to be a big contributor to yellowing of the eyes.

The signs pointed to one thing, but I didn’t want to assume, yet I had to ask. “Clarinet, if it’s not too much, can I ask you a question?”

She was cheerfully pulling out some clothes. “Ya, ask away.”

“Okay.” I thought about it for a moment, but I felt that beating around the bush would be a poor idea. “Were you a bandit?”

She stopped for a moment, and then picked up some of the clothes and trotted over to me. “Yep, born and raised. Lived a uncivilized and unfriend wise life before finding Equality. But now I’m a civilized pony, helping others find happiness through equality.”

I didn’t know what surprised me more, how she answered that without shame, or how little like a bandit she acted. “So how did it happen? If it’s not too much to ask?”

“No, no. Ask away.” She opened a door and turned on the lights to a wash room. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll tell you all about it. I’ll even help you wash your mane.”

Getting up, I decided to take her up on the offer, as I found it a bit hard to move my legs, or even turn my body without my spine feeling like pins and needless. But first I had to have some privacy as I took care of private business. We may both be mares, but she didn’t need to see me use a toilet.

Having relieved myself I let Clarinet in, and got into the bath tub. She trotted over to the tap, but I stopped her before she turned it on. “Sorry, I don’t do baths, do you have a bucket or something I can pour over myself.”

“Oh… yes, I actually do.” She trotted out of the washroom, and not much long after trotted back in with a metal bucket in her mouth, placing it into the tub. “If I tell you my story, maybe you can tell me yours?”

I thought about it for a moment, and Phobetor’s words bounced into my head, my mother's accident not being an accident. Shaking it off, I decided to tell Clarinet and altered version of why I don’t take baths, replacing the bathtub with a shallow pool of water. Clarinet seemed to take it in at face value, and began to fill the bucket with water.

Dousing me with water, she applied some soap to my mane and tail. The water and soap stung all over, not enough to real hurt, but it did make me flinch. “Well I got discovered by the republic a few years ago when they found our camp. Most of my family had gone off to raid near one of the stations on the outskirts of the Republic’s control.” Her way of washing was a bit rough, which made me glad that rubber bottoms for prosthetics was standard. She also had readied another bucket of water, I tried to not look at it, but the full bucket made me feel uneasy. “Well myself and two of my sisters stayed behind to look after the foals, and I was the only one who could act as nursemaid to the youngest, so they were put on guard. Well the republic caught onto our scheme, and wiped us out before we could retreat. Because of how merciful the equalists were, they took me and the foals in, and helped reeducate us.” I was doused with water again, washing the soap out of my mane and tail.

So she was not actively banditing, just feeding the babies… “Wait, what? You were a nursemaid, how old were you? I mean you would have to have, you know.”

She doused me with another bucket of water, and began to rub me with a towel. The pain had dulled, the rubbing of the towel made it flare up. “Of course. I was fifteen at the time, so my goal was only one-year-old, and a big drinker she was. Had my second about six months later.”

I was shocked, utterly shocked. I knew that the ponies who lived on the edge of civilization were on the savage side, but I haven’t thought about having foals yet, and I’m twenty-five. I quickly looked around the room, looking for signs of foals, but saw nothing. “So, where are they?”

Clarinet smiled, putting the towel away and motioning for me to step out. “There living at the nursery with all the other foals.” She placed me in front of a mirror, and began brushing my mane. I cringed when I saw my reflection. It wasn’t all that bad, but I had a nasty looking black eye that shown through my fur, a clear sign that I had an orbital skull fracture. They can be healed with magic and potions, but the swelling tended to take a few days to go away. My lower lip had a scar on it, looking like it had been ripped open, and looking on the inside side, ya, my lip had literally been split apart. I was sure I had other cuts and bruises under my fur, but I decided to not check for them.

“I see, so you gave them up for adoption, I can respect that.” Though it did seem sad they weren’t being raised by their mother, and Clarinet did seem to have a good head on her shoulders. As far as I had seen, I mean. but she was too young to have even been having foals.

She laughed. “Adoption, no. I simply lack the equality credits to raise them, so the republic raises them for me until I’m a truly respectable citizen.”

“What?” I got out of the tub feeling dry.

Clarinet trotted of the wash room, and over to her nightstand, lifted up a card. It looked like an advanced ID, the kind used by corporate CEO’s made of metal over a crystal core. “This here is my Equality Credit Score Passcard. It shows my Equality Credit Score, that’s ECS for short, with this card.”

“What?” I responded, following her out of the wash room.

She put down the card. “Sorry, it all must be new to you.” She picked up a second card in her jerky magic, and passed it over to me. “You ECS represents how well you’re doing in the republic. The better your doing as a citizen, the more the republic can support you in your life. Ponies with high EC scores can not only can raise their own foals, but get bigger homes to raise them in. Better food, clothes, and jobs too.”

Feeling a little cold I began to put on some clothes Clarinet had left out for me. Picking the skirt, shirt, and jacket, I began to feel a little more myself again. The gray panties left for me were alright, if a bit rough on my fur. “So what’s your score, and how do you rise it?” Personally I didn’t like this whole ECS thing, it already smelled rotten to me.

“Oh that’s simple, you just need to show how willing you are to being equal with everypony, and put in the effort to help others be equal. My score is at 437 right now. Not the best, but with your help I know I can get it up higher.” She held onto a big smile as she put on some shorts and a sweater that was a bit too big for her.

“How do I help?” The hole being equal and helping others be equal was flying over my head, and now I was involved… of course I was involved.

“By being equal silly.” She smiled as she pulled me out of bed. “We got a few hours left until the shops close, so let’s get you all equal.” She stopped for a moment, tapping a hoof. “Food too, you must be starving.”

As she dragged me, I got a good look at the room. Much of it was bare, except for pro republic posters, one of them showing a pony holding an equalist flag, standing above another pony in a top hat. At the top it said “Stand above the capitalists,’ and on the bottom, ‘Or be crushed by their greed.’ Somehow that poster filled me with dread.

______________________________________

I had to say, Trust Town station was positively spotless, almost polished to a shine even. Not that cleanliness was anything new, but it had a freshly cleaned like feel to it, like it was just recently done. Not just that, but how new everything felt. From the cement below my feet, to the lamps on the ceiling, nothing looked older than ten years old, twenty at the most.

The ponies who were sitting around, which were quite a few, were all reading either the newspaper, or a book. It all being the same paper was not strange to me, but I only counted three different books between everypony I saw.

It was not only that, but we all had practically the same outfit on, the only things standing out were the brighter colored ponies, or my back legs. It actually made me feel a bit self-conscious about having full cyber legs in the back, like it was something out of the norm. I know that the other ponies were looking at us, but none would look at us directly, as though they were using a mirror to look at us, and not with their own eyes.

Clarinet went over a few things I should know, like how it is not equal to try to stand out above others, or that being polite is more important than being right. It sounded a lot like basic common sense, but with forced conformity integrated into it. Not that I didn’t understand it all, in Charon’s Stop ponies didn’t like to be treated like they were inferior, and you rarely proved you were right by insulting others. It was all the same kind of social rules but with an equality spin to it. A pain in the neck to be sure, but not hard to understand.

We arrived in what was the market district of the station, like any other station, it was the center of where everypony got the things they needed. You could always go outside the station to pick up the same thing at a cheaper price, but most merchants bought up everything before anypony could wake up.

The shop we stopped at was the local stylist. It called itself ‘Perfect Mane and Tail’ with a big neon Open sign above the door. The inside was not much different from that of any hair salon, being clean, covered in mirrors, and a wall dedicated to hair products. What looked off to me was the stylist, not strange, but just out of place for where I was, which was normal anywhere else. She had a distinctive bandit look, though similar to everypony else, still like a bandit. Her jacket was black cloth, her pants were blue, and her mane was done in a blue Pompadour.

The stylist put on a big smile and trotted over to us and gave Clarinet a hug. “Clarinet, so good to see you, and you brought a friend, always nice.” She let go of her and gave me a hug as well. The touching did not make me feel comfortable at all. “I know my sister has strange tastes, but I’m sure you will love her like we all do.

Clarinet blushed as red as a radish. “Bass Don’t tease me, you know I’m trying to raise my score.”

Bass the stylist chuckled. “I know, sorry. But you should really just cut us off if you want to raise your score. Were just dragging you down, making you not square. Ya dig.”

She puffed up. “I do dig, dig better than you. Our family is going to be big you see, even if I have to lift every one of you up, we're going to be the most equal family that any equal family has ever seen. And I’m going to make Pompadour’s be seen as an equal mane style to prove it.” Clarinet spoke with conviction, almost making me want to cheer her on. Except for the question on how one could be more equal than any other.

Bass laughed. “I dig, I dig. Now that mare’s got lots of mane and tail. So she must be new. Which haircut should I give her, the equal kind, or the not equal kind?”

I sighed. “Do I need a haircut, I kind of like it long. The Stallions I like, like it that way.”

Clarinet shook her head. “Sorry, but you’re not going to have a fun time if you don't get with the others. And first on the list is a haircut, the tail too.”

I lifted my mane up with a hoof and sighed. “It can always grow back I guess.”

Bass, who during my haircut told me her full name was Bass Clarinet Reed, and that the name of the Clarinet I knew was actually Alto Clarinet Reed, of the Reed bandit family. There were two others of the Reed family in this station, including a male from another bandit group, who was also the father of their foals. The Reed foals numbered at sixteen, which helped explain why the bandits were such a problem in the metro, they breed like Rad-Roches. Bass also let it slip that her sister was gay, though she had two foals already, it was more to do with her devotion to her family then her own sexuality. A strangely charming quirk for a bandit.

In the end, my main and tail looked exactly like Clarinet’s, short and tied up. Bass looked a bit depressed about it, and I did too, but I knew I was not going to get out of here by being a bright light in a dark room.

Before leaving we said our goodbye’s, and Bass hoofed over some mane jell to me in case I ever wanted to rebel a little. Remove the rape, murder, and chems, the Bandit look had its own charm. Making me a bit sad that Bass was another mare, as I could dig her if she was a stallion, and somehow I knew she felt the same about me. I almost brought up about how I'd rather stay with Bass, but I didn’t want to hurt Clarinet’s feelings, because any attention would be forced onto me.

Next Clarinet brought me to a local food dispensary. The place was set up like it was a diner, but it only gave out rations. Luckily it still had five rations left, and my ECS pass card allowed me three meals a day. Of which I still had three to use, and Clarinet had one. So we ordered four meals to eat. What we got was pink nutrition paste and water, the water being free. Clarinet’s ECS allowed her to order a food supplement powder which she could mix in water for a better tasting drink. So we both had a meal and a half of tasteless paste, and watered down pineapple flavored water.

It was a tasteless meal, but i had worse, like when Sweet dared me to eat a immature wild punga fruit raw off the vine. The sourness was intense enough I had almost puked. But this was simply nothing with a hint of pineapple. Even Orthrus Rations had flavor to it, my favorite being ration R-29 that having a strong apple flavor, with a hint of cranberries. Sadly, they stopped making it, so R-29 was a gray market deal now.

“Sorry about my sister, she talks too much.” Clarinet spoke up as she slowly ate her paste.

I waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. If all bandits were like her, my life would have been much easier.”

She shook her head. “Not five years ago. I bet you would have shot her on sight.”

I didn’t answer that.

“You see, only me and my sisters at the camp survived. Flumpet our male, he was the only one spared in the raiding party…”

I raised my hoof up catching her attention, and cutting her off. “Right now I don’t care. And truth be told, I might never care about it. You’re helping me, and that’s all that matters. So why don’t you take me to see your foals, I’m sure they're adorable. What do you say?”

Clarinet rubbed a tear from her eye, and smiled. “Ya, lets.”

The nursery was a large place, probably taking up a two tunnels, we started at a reception desk. The mare at the desk gave Clarinet an annoyed look, and proceeded to ignore her. I felt this was a rude thing for a social worker, but Clarinet didn’t seem to care, so I decided that neither would I. This was Clarinet’s world, so I was not going to mess things up for her.

“Just remember to not do anything to upset the foals, it’s the fastest way to lose your privilege to see them.” Clarinet advised me, and I nodded.

“Why isn’t Bass coming. She’s a mother too, right.”

Clarinet’s head seemed to droop a little. “her score is too low, and last time she was here, she took it upon herself to discipline her foal, instead of letting the nursery do it. So she can’t come here until her credit is back up.” It felt wrong to me, not just that Bass was not allowed here, but at place itself. Foals should be with their parents, not locked away in some permanent school. Looking around, I could see many of foals looking at us, futility trying to stay out of sight, and with the look of disappointment on their face’s. What hit me the worst was the posters that were plastered everywhere, an image of a pony standing tall, with the word ‘The Republic Made Me Strong, The Republic Made Me Equal, The Republic is the only Family I Need.’ It sent a shiver down my spine.

We entered what looked like a playroom, and in the center was a larger group of foals and two full grown ponies, a mare and stallion. Clarinet brightened up and trotted over to them, the other mare stepping over the foals to give her a hug.

“Sopranino! You're allowed to read to the foals again. This is wonderful.” The two mares held onto each other for a minute before letting go.

Sopranino had a bunch of scars covering her face, and a burn that covered the area around her right eye. She kissed Clarinet on the cheek on both sides. “It seems like a little sis of mine went and did really good, enough to bump my ECS back up over 400.”

The two hugged again, and I turned my attention to the lone male. He looked a bit out of place here, scowling, and covered in scars that clearly extended under his clothes. I would have been more intimidated by him if he was not covered in foals. Two of the braver foal adventurer’s were two colts fighting for the position on the top of the stallion’s head. The stallion simply glared at me, not moving his head. The youngest of the foals were snuggling themselves under his chest, hiding their faces.

“Um, what’s the problem with big daddy there.” I pointed at the stallion. Now I liked rugged stallions, but there was such a thing as too much of a good thing, and he was too much rugged for my likening, a bit scary even.

Sopranino laughed. “My husband is just overly protective of his kids. He’s actually just a softy on the inside.” I’d be willing to believe that, but I already knew that they were bandits, and he had probably raped and murdered his way into the Reed family.

Two fillies separated themselves from the group and jumped onto Clarinet, one much older than the other. My bet was that they were her fillies. The older one had deeper colors, a purple coat that was almost black, and a pink mane was almost just red. The younger one had two normal back legs, but was much more muted in color, her coat a grayish purple, and a mane that was a light rosy pink. Both cuddled Clarinet, and she cuddled them back.

The older foal jumped around, tripping on one her prosthetic legs. “Who did you bring Mommy, can I wrestle her?”

Clarinet laughed. “Her, no. She’s needs to recover her strength before she can take you on.” Patting the filly on the head, she gave her a hug. “Her name is Chime Catbell, and she’s going to help me raise my score so that we can live together.”

The filly jumped out of her mother’s hold and bounced over to me. To my shock, she had the same yellowed eyes as her mother, but luckily that was it. The six-year-old was bursting with confidence as she stared me down. “Don’t go hurting my momma!”

I glared down back at her. “Don’t assume that I will.” We glared at each other for what felt like a minute, I didn’t want to lose to a six-year-old. Somehow I felt that if I did, this kid would come back to torment me.

The other filly had curled up onto her mother’s chest and had fallen asleep. It was a real cute scene, almost heart attack worthy. The rest of the foals had gotten curious about me, and were straying from their father to get a better look at me.

Clarinet explained to me that the foal’s names were Recorder Reed, with Clarinets oldest being Descant Recorder Reed, and her youngest Garklein Recorder Reed. It also turns out that Bass’s foal was one of the Colts, the one proudly standing on his father’s head. His name was Treble Recorder Reed, looking a lot like his mother, but with the face of his father.

After a short time of letting the foals simply run around us, Clarinet announced that it was time for us to go. They all seemed a bit upset about it, but none of them got difficult about it. It was strange, as they were definably upset about us leaving, but they were forcing themselves to remain quiet about it. I still remember when I latched myself onto my dad’s leg so he wouldn’t have to go to work, and how he had to shake me off. I’d imagine Bandit foals being far more demanding, and loud.

______________________________________

Leaving the nursery, I could feel an air of sadness around Clarinet, but i didn’t want to push the issue. It was obvious that she wanted to be with her kids, which made me feel angry that she wasn’t. I had seen bad parents before, but Clarinet felt like a parent who at least cared, and was trying. Not the best parent, but at least trying to be a decent one.

We stopped at what was called a worker’s outlet, and the smile on Clarinets face had returned. “Now let’s get you set up as the hard working member of the republic that you are… well, will be.” The inside did not disappoint. Everything in here was geared towards doing a job, mostly unskilled labor work, but also military, and a few engineering jobs. “Right first things first, we need to get you a new jumpsuit, and fatigues. Also a dress suit for classy work, and some cleaning tools for helping keep the station clean.”

I stopped her. “How much of this is necessary?”

Clarinet laughed, and snorted. “All of it. You can’t show how willing you are to work for the republic until you have the gear to do the job. The jumpsuits for all basic labor, the fatigues are in case you're called to fight, that kind of stuff.”

“Wait, there is a military draft?”

She waved her hoof at me like I told a joke. “Draft, no. everypony is expected to defend the republic, if they don’t, they’re not a citizen.”

I had to think about it for a moment, and it hit me, this meant everypony here is part of the republic's military. I remember learning in school that the republic, before the equalists took over, had a large military. But it would have only amounted to 10% of the population at most. The republic today, if what Clarinet said was true, has a near 100% military population, not counting those too lame or sick to fight.

“What happens to the ponies who are not a citizen?” I had to ask, if such ponies existed, they could help me get out of here

She rolled her eyes. “There around, not doing anything to help anypony. Lazy I say, they just want to drag the rest of us down. I don’t know why the Pinks even pick them up. Work camps are so capitalistic, just sending them to Carrion’s Stop would be for the best.”

“I see.” I eyed the cashier, who was pretending to not look at us, and returned my gaze back to Clarinet. “Well I guess we should get this shopping done. No need for the pinks to pay us a visit.”

Clarinet smiled, and quickly grabbed everything I needed, and a few things for herself. From what she told me, she had earned a lot of bits with the republic in her work on pineapple island. To her the best way to spend the bits was to show how committed she was to the republic by getting me set up as a model citizen.

As it turned out. Buying work clothes added to a pony’s ECS, same thing for spending the rations on the tasteless paste. The paste was free, but you only get three a day. Choosing to eat it over less processed food was considered helping the republic avoid a food shortage, those adding to the ECS for being a good citizen. The work clothes were seen as a willingness to help maintain the republic, and keep it strong, same for military clothes, as It showed a willingness to fight for the republic. All of it added to the ECS, of which the higher the ECS, the more benefits a pony would earn.

It sounded simple, with a pony working to raise their ECS, the better their life in the republic would be. The fastest way to raise the score was to actively volunteer for the military, in which Clarinet was a medic. What felt wrong to me was how your social connections affected your score. From the sounds of it, If Clarinet had cut off her sisters, her score would have been in the five hundreds, allowing her to raise her two fillies. Her big hope was to make me a counter balance, by making me a model citizen I would help her raise her score. Though it was not me alone she was helping, but two others, I was simply the one that needed the most help right now.

When we were done shopping, I had all the basic stuff for working in the republic. Unsurprisingly, the only clothes that didn’t feel utterly cheap were the green military fatigues, which was a bit rough, but thick and strong. I placed the cap on my head, and hauled the stuff out. Even if I didn’t plan on staying long, I felt like it was a good Idea to play along the best I could.

On our trot back to Clarinets pace, everything had gone dark. The only light coming from the lamps on the ceiling, all of which had dimmed. “So I’m guessing this is lights out time?” I asked nervously.

“Yep!” Clarinet responded. “Everypony should be hurrying home now. It be rude to be out and about when everypony is asleep.”

“What about ponies who work overnight?” I felt that it was A fair question.

She scratched her chin. “I guess they get special permission. I know some places have cots for overnight workers, like at the factory’s. I’ve even heard that some factories are lived in by the workers.” With that answer she trotted ahead, and I chased after her.

The room was no different from before we left, a bit bleak, with a spare gray shirt on the floor. Clarinet gave out a long sigh, and undressed. I on the other hoof found a place for my new stuff. I didn’t know which I was going to use, so I just kept it all in a neat pile in the corner of the room.

“I know you haven't been up long, but come to bed.” She was already nude, looking a bit too excited for me.

“Sorry, I’m just not feeling all that sleepy.”

Clarinet scratched her chin and smiled. “You could always play with me, I’m sure you know a few tricks I don’t.”

I nervously laughed. “I’m sure I do. But sorry, not into mares.”

She frowned. “That’s fine. But you’re going to want to get some sleep, and the best way is to sweat yourself to it. But if you’re not interested, I do have something in my desk to help. It’s a good stress reliever, but I try to use it sparingly.”

I trotted over to her desk, hoping it was not a dildo she was talking about. Opening the drawer inside was a few small air canisters, and an inhaler. It was chill, enough to put one's self to sleep for a week. “Is this legal?”

“With permission.” She said looking unashamed. “It’s a perk for working with the Ministry of peace, as long as the chems stay in my house I have free range in their use. But I can only get more from the ministry.

“Ministry of peace, I thought the equalists dismantled the ministry system?”

She shook her head. “Cut down, but the ministry’s still have their place. I owe the ministry of peace everything that I am today, and acted as a representative of it when the ministry of awesome went out to the pineapple islands. I plan to be become a nurse in the next few years, and have my daughters follow my hoof steps.”

Clarinet had a glow to her, everything she said had conviction behind it. But the glow, though it felt warm, it also felt wrong. Despite all that innocence, respect, and hard work, I felt like she should have been cursing up a storm. Or at least being as much of a bitch as Dollu was. I could see the damage on her, in her. Everything about her was damaged, and I wanted to hear her scream and cry until it was all out.

I looked at the inhaler, and knew I was at a crossroads. Sleep with Clarinet and maybe convince her that this was a life she didn’t want. Or breathe in the chill, and play along.

…

…

…

What right did I have to impose my morals onto another. “For the Republic.” I put the inhaler to my lips, and pressed down, breathing in the chem.

Putting down the inhaler, I trotted over to the bed, removing my clothes. Everything became slow, my movements, sound, even the light was slow. Don’t ask me how, it just was. Clarinet helped me undress the rest of the way before helping me to bed.

In the bed, she lay next to me, only cuddling, and nothing more. The room was dark, and I tried to close my eyes, but she just would not stop staring at me. Phobetor’s golden eyes looks at me from the shadows on the wall, like there was another space beyond it, threatening to pull me in. The shadows formed into a hoof, reaching out to me and placing it on my face.

‘sleep’ she told me, and I complied.

The world melted away into darkness as my aching body became numb.

______________________________________

Swirling colors and I was standing on the ceiling. Even though I knew it was a dream, wrapping my head around it was no easy task. The only thing that remained a constant was the oversized stable door below me, with a pony pacing back and forth in front of it.

It was probably black spot, trying to get in. I still didn’t know why, something I wanted to ask Phobetor, but when I tried, my mouth was missing, and she walked away.

Not knowing what to do, I let myself float away to the overly blue rainbow, which tasted like carrots. My mouth was still missing, but my hoof did well as a substitute. If only I didn’t leave my bag of hammers behind, I could have finished the terminal.

______________________________________

I woke up, my body still felt sore all over, and I had a slight headache. I also felt confused. Not as to where I was, I knew I was at Clarinets place, but just confused kind of confused. The headache got a little worse.

Looking around a little, a small cup of pills and a glass of water sat next to the clock, with a piece of paper next to it that had my ‘name’ on it. Pulling the paper to me, it had a short note on it that read. “If you're still feeling unwell, just take the painkillers, they should last you for most of the day.” I didn’t hurt enough to warrant the taking of pills, and I’d seen plenty of strung out addicts to convince me that power through the pain was better than taking pills to ignore it.

Not wanting to dwell on it, I got out of bed, and was pleased to find that I still had some underwear on. Clarinet on the other hoof was still bare, setting up two pairs of clothes as she hummed along to a marching song that was playing over the radio.

The music died down, and the very monotone voice of a mare spoke up “Good morning to all the wonderful citizens of the Republic. I have some good news, bad news, and music. But first a message from our president, Garmon Keys.”

The stallion spoke, his voice was deep, confident, and had an air of sophistication about it. “Good day citizens. I am pleased to announce that we had another station join our case, it may be only one, but even the smallest victory brings us closer to unification. This is all thanks to you, the citizens, for without your support it would not have been possible to separate the station from the lies they have been fed, and bring them into the truth that is equality. Like the great heroes of old, our victory does not come from anyone ponies action alone, but from when we all act together as one in harmony. So rejoice, because of your efforts we grow stronger every day. A small step by one pony is nothing more than that, but together we make a stampede.”

“I’ve also been hearing about the possibility that I might have lost my way, and I’d like to dash these rumors. I choose to step out there so that you may not need to, be exposed to everything that is wrong, see it with my own eyes, and bring back to you with the knowledge that yes, you are right to stay here, far from their corruption. I’ve seen as the gluttons produce and hoard vast amounts of food as they leave their sisters and brothers to starve. Parading the food around in private rooms, as though it were more trophy than food. The Greedy force workers to be in slave like conditions, earning great wealth for them, but never sharing it, not even with the ones who had truly earned that wealth. The eyes of the workers are a void of hope, only knowing that if they don’t work, they will be treated as trash to be thrown out. I’ve even seen the crimes of the flesh, the top hats engaging in incest over a false sense of purity. So have I been led astray? No! I have only been shown why the metro needs you, needs us. There is a cancer out there, a cancer called the capitalist, is it’s up to us to save the metro.”

“Slowly but surely we are saving the metro, one station at a time. My comrades, my brothers, and sisters, this is not a time for doubt. It’s a time of joy. For the Capitalists know we are winning, and grow more desperate at every loss they suffer. I am but one pony, flawed and powerless, but you, you all are the many. Against your might the capitalists will fall, and history will prove you to be the victors.”

Finally, the blowhard was done talking, and the monotone voice of the DJ returned. “That was Garmon Keys everypony, and as passionate as always. Now for the news. In the good, the food surplus has hit its goal for the year, meaning that our daily rations may be getting some extra flavor soon. Everypony has been really pulling their weight out there, and it shows. So if you find yourself enjoying your rations a little more than the norm, remember that it’s thanks to your comrades and yourself.”

“Now for the bad news. One of the north side tunnels has collapsed. It was one of the lesser used old tunnels, so the movement of supplies will not be slowed down. But as the reports show, one pony has become lost, and yet to be found. There are also worries that the surface wild life might be able to get into the metro if the tunnel is damaged enough. Worker groups are being formed to clear and secure the tunnel, but it may be months before the tunnel is opened up for public use.”

“Now that’s all I have for you, for now. Stay tuned for updates, and more messages from our good president Garmon Keys. But until then, more music.” The old equestrian marching band music returned, a bit easier on the ears then what DJ Cerberus would play, but it made me feel uneasy.

The next thing I knew; some clothes were thrown on the bed next to me. “Isn’t he good plus?” Clarinet excitedly said. “The capitalists think they can drag him down, but no, he always comes back to us.”

I looked at the clothes, they being what we purchased the night before. A dress shirt, vest, skirt, stockings, shoes, and even a cute little hat. The stockings and shoes seemed weird to me, do to nearly everypony I knew having cybernetic prosthetics, but I didn’t’ argue, and put them on, with some difficulty. “So I’m guessing he is real popular then?”

Clarinet nodded. “Yep, successfully negotiated for five stations to join the republic, and keeps most of the outsider’s attention on him and away from us.” She was putting on the same outfit as I was, though having a much easier time. Her vest had two pins on the chest like they were badges of honor, both looking similar to the old ministry's. They were recognizable enough to me: First was a cross with a butterfly for the M.o.P. and the second had three diamonds which would be the M.o.I. Clarinet fill out her cloths real well, hugging her hips ever so nicely, making jealousy and self-loathing stab at me. That or I needed to take some more painkillers.

Sighing, I trotted over to the nightstand, and took the pills. The pain was slowly getting worse, but didn’t feel like it would get unbarable. But I didn’t want to risk it right now. Just trying to not get found out was going to be bad enough, I didn’t want to be in pain the whole time on top of it.

The shirt and skirt went on easy enough, and I was glad to have something cover my plot other than a thin piece of cloth. “Sounds like a damn good politician.” I put on the shoes, which clacked on the floor. “My mom always told me to not trust politicians, their job was to be the best liar.” The last to go on was the hat, which turned out to stay on by pinning itself to our mane. I put it at an angle, feeling that it was cuter that way.

“I don’t know. If it’s the politics ran by the capitalists, then I’m sure it’s all about lies. But what do you expect from a capitalist? Here in the republic it’s different.” She finished adjusting her outfit, and trotted over to a terminal on her desk. “Alright, orientation will begin in an hour and a half, so we have time to eat first.”

“Orientation?” I asked, as I looked at what was on the screen. She was going over her mail, one message being from her sister Bass. Another message was something about ECS opportunities.

“YEP!” She said happily. “You and the other new ponies get to learn about your job here, and how wonderful your life is going to be. The others have a bit of a head start, as I got to spend more time with them, but orientation will help put you on equal hoofing.” Turning off the terminal, she trotted over to the door. “Let’s go get something to eat, and then I’ll take you to orientation.”

______________________________________

The food was just as bland as it was before, just with more ponies around me to share the atmosphere. It all had a military feel to it, but a bit more relaxed, and friendly. The only real problem was the feeling of somepony’s eyes being on me, which never stopped.

Everypony had similar cloths on, with gray being the main color. Clarinet and I had the better looking clothes, along with a few others, most of the rest had a jumpsuits on, and a small few had overalls. Overall it looked like we were civilians organized to be like a military. No uniforms, just the same colors, and a mess hall replaced by a food court. It was very surreal.

After picking up our pink mush, and something that looked like bread sticks, Clarinet took me to a table with two sickly looking mares sitting at it. They both had the same outfits as we did, though it hanged loosely onto their thin bodies.

“This is Paixiao.” She motioned to a dark gray mare, with a blue mane and tail. She had a lot of small cuts on her lip, a common thing among scavs who had no levitation talasman. “I met her in the soup kitchen back on Pineapple Island, say hello Paixiao.”

The mare weekly waved. “hello.” her voice quiet, and a bit squeaky. “I’m Paixiao… as you already know. I um… I’m really thankful for your help. But are you sure this is okay?” She had the look about her of a pony not use to getting attention, the kind you just want to hug.

Clarinet playfully waved her off dismissively. “You're in the republic now, we share and share alike. Like family. There's no better way to spend your bits then helping out your fellow pony.” She turned her attention to the second pony. “This is Ruan.” The mare didn’t look much better off than Paixiao did, but had less of the wear and tear about her. Her lime green coat had a bit of shine to it, and her tan mane and tail had less frizzle to it, meaning they were probably longer and well maintained. “I also met her at the soup kitchen”

Ruan nodded. “Charmed.”

Something seemed off about her, and before I knew I was doing it, everypony saw me staring at her. “Oh sorry.” I pulled back and sighed. “So why did you join the republic?”

Her eyes darted about for a second before focusing back onto me, and glaring. “Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”

Before I could respond, Clarinet cut in. “This is Chime! I met her topside, where I saved her life.”

The other two raised an eyebrow, and I relaxed. “That’s true. Me and the pony I was with got ambushed by the whoever was attacking us. I think, it’s all still fuzzy. But when I came too, Clarinet had dragged me to safety, and helped me the rest of the way here. I owe her my life.” I gave Ruan another look. “What about you?”

Ruan lowered her head. “I… I have a gambling addiction. All my bits had dried up, and all the money I earned went to just keeping me from getting kicked out of the island.”

“So running away from loan sharks?” I had to ask, and she nodded.

Clarinet banged on the table angrily. “You see, that’s the problem with the capitalist! They make a system where your only option is to be their wage-slave. And when they take all your bits, they send ungood ponies to take your legs so that they can sell them off too.”

“No, it was not like that.” Ruan attempted to calm Clarinet down, with fair amount of success. “I was a fool, and fell into a trap. My momma always told me to accept my fault when things go wrong. That’s why I’m going to turn my life around, no gambling, no taking loans for gambling.”

Clamped down, Clarinet smiled. “Well, if you want your life to get better, I’m here for you. I’ll even give you some helpful advice for orientation.” Clarinet went on to explained a few things about the orientation which we were going to, one being that she was going to help instruct it. It was simply going to go over the do’s and don’ts we needed to know as a member of the republic, and what was expected of us. Nothing seemed strange about her explanation, except that I was expecting there to be more, or at least some supervision going on. The orientation was just going to be a group of new citizens, and three speakers, somehow I doubted that no pony was spying in.

______________________________________

It was a little unnerving how open everything was, even though the inner stations of the republic were cut off from the rest of the metro. There were no armed guards at every corner, just simple patrols with only batons to defend themselves. I did see camera’s everywhere, but they were more strategically placed at entrances and exits, and not watching our every move. It felt like a real peaceful civil society, if a bit overly gray.

The only things really popping out were posters that were all over. Many being like the ones I had seen before. ‘pro equality, anti-capitalist.’ But others were a lot more uplifting, like ‘Remember to share, for sharing is caring.’ And ‘We are in this together, so don’t leave a comrade behind.’ But there were some that made me confused, the main one being ‘Don’t be a slave to Individuality, your freedom is in Conformity.’ The posters were all over the place, but evenly spaced enough to not feel oppressive, and it broke up the monotony of gray that was almost everything else.

Clarinet told me that the posters were made and maintained by the Ministry of Image, and they would give a small version of the posters out as gifts to good citizens. A pony could buy their own, but the posters the M.o.I. gave out were of higher quality, and given a stamp of approval. It seemed that collecting the posters was a big thing in the station, and Clarinet had seven she safely kept in her closet. She also told me that if I made a good impression at orientation, I’d probably get my own poster. I personally didn’t care, at all, so if I got one, she could have it.

The building where the orientation was being held was the job placement office. Everypony had practically the same outfit, other than a few pins to designate their job. “Oh one more thing.” Clarinet stopped me, and adjusted the hat I had on. “You’ve got to show them how committed you are, and you can’t do that by standing out.” It was a bit confusing, but I decided to not argue. I still had that feeling of eyes on me, so I didn’t want to risk standing out.

When orientation started, I found myself in a room sitting with a bunch of other mares all wearing the same outfit. All of them looked younger than me, and a lot more ragged. One mare had clear signs of being burnt, her fur still not have regrown over the damaged part of her skin. Another mare looked severely malnourished, her bones visible under the skin. One other mare looked mostly normal, but was missing an eye, she smiled at me, showing that most of her teeth were missing or broken.

Clarinet and two other mares stood at the front of the room, Clarinet was fumbling with a pin she was putting on. The other two stood tall and proud, though looking a bit thin like clarinet. One of the mares step forward and spoke, her voice louder than what it should be, probably enhanced through a talisman. “Hello and Welcome. We are part of the M.o.M.’s Happier Citizen project, so please sit tight as we explain everything you will need to know.”

The speaking mare strutted the center of the stage. “Now I know you all must be wondering about what your future will be here, how you’ll fit into such a wonderful society like this. Well, you’ve already taken your first step to being a proud member of the republic, and we are here to guide you into your happy role.” The mare gave a bright, if a bit off smile. “Among the things we will be explaining will be the nature of equality, how your equality credit score will work, and the dangers of hurtful thinking. If you have any questions, we will be here to help.”

The second mare, and Clarinet rolled a video projector out into the back of the group. The thing had seen better days, probably a good twenty or thirty years old, which meant it was still in better condition than the old stable-tec projectors. The lights dimmed, the projector turned on, and the sound of crackling video filled the room.

Some popcorn and soda would hit the spot right now.

Trumpets blasted as the republic's seal appeared on screen. I had forgotten how much valley island liked the color pink, as the Seal consisted of one bright pink Lokelani Rose bordered by a green laurel, with a light blue background. It was a much brighter symbol than that of Orthrus’s blue and gold two headed dog.

The music faded along with the republics seal, and the first scene opened up with a mirage pony mare standing in front of a desk. “What is equality? If you answered that it is when we treat all others as equals, and they treat us as equals, then you’d be right. But how does that happen, how do you know you are equal? To know this, we must first know what is not equal. So let’s take a look.” The mare trots off screen, only for her to poke her head out. “Come on, don't be shy.”

The scene changes to that of a school classroom, with many little foals sitting behind their desks. The video pony trots in with a smile on her face, nopony in the room paying her any mind. “The classroom, an example of an equal environment, where every student is the same, with the teacher placed as their advisor, parting the knowledge she has onto them. But even here inequality can happen.” One foal trots into the room, her nose in the air, and an elderly pony in a suit following here. “This is the little capitalist, her parents are wealthy, and love to throw their bits around. One of the ways they do this is by making their own foal better than all the others. Now we are all equal, so how does one pony do that is simple, they push everypony down to make themselves look better.”

The elderly butler pulled out a bag of bits and gave it to the teacher. The teacher nodded, and waved at the other students, who then pushed their desks backward, forcing them to be crowded. The one desk that didn’t get moved was of the wealthy filly, who sat behind the desk with a fat grin. “Now not all will be subjected to the crowd, the capitalist does like to pick their favorites to sit next to them.” The wealthy filly pointed at the crowd, and one filly pushed her desk happily forward. Then the wealthy filly pointed at the ground, and the other filly simply nodded happily, and placed herself under the wealthy filly to be used as a hoof rest. “But remember, you are never their equal, just a tool to make life easier for them.”

The teacher passed back and forth in the room, instructing the class, and when the foals had a question, all raising a hoof, the only one picked was the wealthy filly. “As you can see, the little capitalist has taken what was an equal environment, and turned it into something that serves only their needs. But that’s not the only place inequality shows up.”

The scene changes to that of a factory floor, with ponies at a conveyer belt, adding parts to what looked like an engine. The video pony once more trotted in, “Here we have another equal place, where everypony works together for the same goal, and are paid equally.” Another pony trots in, and sits at their workstation. But after they put on the part like all the others, they held onto the engine, and started putting other parts on. The other ponies, confused, stop to look at what was going on up the line. “Once more we have another capitalist, this one competitive to all around them. To them it’s more important that they are seen doing a job better than others, that they are willing to steal work of other ponies.

The capitalist pony began working on the next engine, as the others sat around doing nothing. A portly pony in a top hat than trotted into the scene. Top hat smiled at the one pony working on the engine, and scowled at the others. “Here comes another capitalist, this one the owner of the factory, and always looking to pay their workers less, and charge more for their product. Here the owner is pleased to see a pony willing to do all the work, as it gives him an idea.” The top hat pony, shews the other workers off screen, and passes the other capitalist pony a piece of paper. “The capitalist worker finds themselves with a raise, twice the pay as they were getting before, but all the other workers, they are now out of the job. Meaning that the capitalist owner is now paying one worker the wage of two workers to do the job of ten. As for the rest of the workers now out of work, the capitalist worker would say that they were just not working hard enough.”

The scene changed once more to what looked like a battlefield. The video pony cautiously trotted out, with a green helmet on her head. “Here is a place equality should win out, but rarely does.” Three young adult ponies run out in with helmets and fatigues on, only to all jump down and go prone on the ground as animated explosions go on overhead. “These ponies here are all equal, they’ve come from diverse backgrounds, and have been trained to treat each other with respect, like they were family. Except for a few ponies.”

The video pony trotted to the side, and the camera panned to follow her. The camera settled onto a pony with a fancy hat on, covered in pins, and sitting at a table eating some food. “The capitalist finds wealth to be made in everything, even war. Not that they would ever fight in it, that’s a job they leave for others to do.” Three more young ponies run in, and the commanding officer waves them off, and they ran onto the battlefield. “For them, war is simply another business, where the currency is the bodies of others, and the winner is the one who has the most bodies to throw at their enemies.”

“They get other ponies to fight for them through bribes and lies. Parading around what makes us different, and hiding what makes us the same. Convincing others that it is better to simply take what they want, and not talk with them, not to share. They tell the fighting ponies that if they fight and win, wealth will follow, but when the fighting is over, they spit on them and lock their doors.”

“So what is equality?”

The camera panned back to where it started, and the three young ponies were now shaking hooves with three other young ponies. “Equality is the ability is to look past what makes us different, and find what makes us the same. To embrace each other as sisters, not as enemies. To not be manipulated by the capitalist, not to feed their greed with our blood.”

The scene changed to that of the factory, where all the workers were working with smiles on their faces “Equality is to share the burden so that we may all have a place. To not give into the tricks of the capitalist, or our own pride.”

The scene changed again, this time to the classroom. All the foals were sitting at their desks, not cramped or unhappy. “Equality is a fair opportunity for all the young, nopony is treated better than others, nopony is brought down so that others can be lifted up.”

The scene changed one more time, back to the desk where this video started. The video pony trotted into the scene, a smile on her face. “So what is equality? It’s many things, but most importantly it is to respect your fellow pony, to see them lifted up with you. But you must always remember that equality is always under attack, as the capitalists seek to tear it down, and profit off its shattered pieces.”

Trumpets blast again as the video fades to white and ends. As the lights turns back on the projector is slowly carted away, and the speaker pony returned to the center of the stage.

“Any Questions?” she asked with a smile. I had quite a few, like in a system based on merit, much like a factory or a military, doesn’t forcing equality retard the ability of those most capable from getting into a position in which fits their skill level the best. It had to be hard to pick who should take the manager role when everyone is forced to be the same, and in the end it must be a popularity contest, not simply picking the one worthiest of the position.

One of the mares in my group raised a hoof, the one that was all skin and bones. “How does one be equal if there is not enough supplies to go around?”

The speaker did not hesitate at all. “Then we must all suffer together, as we should all feast together. As the saying goes, Sharing is caring. In the republic we make sure nopony goes hungry. I mean, sure the rations aren’t the best tasting stuff you have ever eaten, but that’s not the point, as it feeds everypony in the republic. The same goes for clothes, homes, and work. Everypony has a place here, for everypony is equal, and we all love you.”

Another pony nervously raised her hoof, the mare with the broken teeth and missing eye. “What about finding a stallion. Surely you can’t have solved that?”

Sighing, the speaker took a deep breath. “Yes, this is still an issue that needs to be resolved. The republic is working on one, but it’s something that’s another generation down the line. In time the republic will have a gender balance of 50/50, but until then you all must bear with us.” The smile returned to her face. “But if your worry is about becoming a mother, we do have a solution to that. We have a program called the Stronger Generation Project, where you help the republic by ushering in the next generation. The republic will handle all the more problematic parts of raising a foal, so you can concentrate on being a happy mother.”

I had a strong feeling that the speaker simply meant that the foal will live at the nursery, and the mother can visit them whenever she has free time. No thanks, If I’d ever had a foal of my own, they live with me.

The speaker’s eyes scanned the room, surveying us intently. She was either looking for dissenters, or ponies lacking the confidence to ask any more questions, maybe both, I didn’t know. I did get the strong feeling that I should play the part, not as an eager to be equal mare, but as someone who has given it some thought and is looking to be convinced. I raised my hoof, and asked a question. “In a situation involving the distribution of scrap and other salvage, equal distribution is normal, but what if there is a pony hiding some of that they recovered so that they can claim it all for themselves later? How do we keep that from happening?”

For a moment, the speaker paused to think. “Yes, that can be a problem, and it’s so not equal.” She smiled. “Hoarding is a sickness of the capitalist, of which the Republic will do what it can to cure from the pony, but if all else fails, such a pony must be excluded.”

“Excluded?” I had to ask.

She nodded. “Excluded. Such behavior must not be tolerated, so the kindest thing to do is to not associate yourself with them. We ponies are social creatures, so if the pony wishes to return to us again, they will simply have to fix their problems, return to equality.”

After that, nopony had any more questions, and the speaker took a step back and let the second pony take the stage. Behind her, Clarinet pushed a black board into view, on it was “E.C.S.” in big bold letters.

“Hello everypony! I’m going to quickly go over the Equality Credit Score with you.” She had the same kind of upbeat feel to her as the last speaker. It was a mix of genuine excitement, and forcing yourself to be happy. It was weird. “Now, I know you’re asking yourself ‘what does this E.C.S. have to do with me being a happy citizen’? Well it has everything to do with you being a happy citizen!”

Clarinet wrote down on the blackboard, ‘High E.C.S. = citizen of high regard’ and ‘Low E.C.S. = citizen of low regard’

The speaker continued. “How it works is that the score represents how equal you are being in the Republic. Good citizens can and will quickly raise up their score, where irresponsible citizens will see it drop. The benefits of having a high E.C.S. are many, but nothing that would make you unequal to others, just things that would help you be a happier citizen.”

On the blackboard, clarinet drew a present with a tag that said ‘High E.C.S.’

“Some of the benefits do include gifts, such as collectible postcards, flavor additives for your food and drinks, and even pins that you can put on your clothes to show the pride you have for the republic. But the most important part about having a high E.C.S. is that it shows that you’re a responsible citizen who can be trusted to guide others in being equal. What this means is that new opportunities will open up to you, both for work, and family. The more you show your willingness to be equal, and help others to be equal, the more responsibilities the republic can grant you.”

Once more Clarinet drew on the blackboard. This time it was a pony standing above others, with a word bubble saying “Follow me!”

“You can raise your E.C.S. by focusing your effort on helping the republic and your fellow pony. Buying work clothes is a small way to do it, even if it’s not for yourself. Volunteer work is a big plus for equality, as is public speaking to show how equality has helped change your life for the better. Any effort you can put into benefit the republic, and your fellow pony, can raise your E.C.S.”

Clarinet turned the blackboard around, showing a bunch of ponies having a party.

“Your social connections are also important, as we are in this together. The more ponies you have in your group, the better you will do. Your score will affect them, and their score will affect you. This means it is much easier to spot a pony who may be in trouble, and allow you to help them back up. As you see, with the E.C.S. Nopony is alone, and nopony is left behind.” With a smile, the speaker looked around the room. “Any questions?”

I figured that it was best to show that I was engaged, so I raised my hoof. The system sounded good and all, but that last bit felt like an excuse for other ponies to inject themselves into my business. “How do I know what my score is, or any other ponies?”

The speaker’s eye’s widened as though in shock. “Oh my, how could I have forgotten. Sorry about that. You can access the information through any terminal connected to the Republics Network. There is a terminal in every home, and public terminals all over the republic. You simply need to place your E.C.S. passcard into the terminal, and your information will appear on the screen. You can also view the information of ponies you have selected as your friends and family, and send them messages. The network is also a great place to view the news, and comment on it. The network is also a great place to make new friends that you might never get to meet in person.”

A few of the others had their own questions, but mainly about the benefits they can get for raising their E.C.S. It was information I’d be interested in if I planned on sticking around, but I wasn’t, so I only feigned interest.

The two speakers pushed the blackboard off stage, and Clarinet took the center, with a big grin on her face. “Now I know this has been a lot to take in, but we have one more thing to go over. And that’s how to avoid hurtful words. Now I know, I know. Words are just words, and they can’t actually hurt you. But that’s only physically. The improper use of words can have an effect on another pony’s feelings, which could lead to them having problems with socializing with others, which could lead to depression.”

I had a feeling i knew what this was going to be about, but still it was a mental loop and a half. Manners were important, everypony but savages knew that, but hurtful words were still just words, nothing that needed to be told to adults.

Clarinet continued. “Now we know most of the aggressive words that ponies tend to use. Most ponies use them out of anger, or because they are hurt themselves. They're mean and hurtful, but easy to recognize and avoid. What we’re going to talk about is the minor aggressive words that we use every day, but don’t know about. Word’s such as bad, ill, or even dark. These words just muck up our ability to communicate and could unintentionally do harm. Alternatives words that get to the point are ungood, unhealthy, and unlight. Or to emphasise a positive word, good plus, healthy plus, and light plus. By using words this way, we can avoid miscommunication, which would help us avoid hurtful words.”

This… explained a lot about Clarinet, but the mental gymnastics to just understand this gave me a headache. Among the group I was with was a mix of confused stares, and nodding. The two other speakers trotted among us, with big smiles on their faces, and hoofing out small books titled ‘Equal Speak and you.’

“Now you should all have a quick reference guide in your hooves.” Clarinet holding up one of the books herself. “Now equal speak is not required to be seen as a good citizen, but to anypony who wishes to quickly raise their E.C.S. being able to equal speak will help you from saying anything that would take away from your E.C.S. as well as raise it if doing public speaking.” She put down the book. “Another advantage to equal speak is its focus on positive words. Many ponies, like myself, have felt the positive aspect of equal speak. It helps improve your mood, ushering away negative thoughts, and helping clear your mind. It has also shown to help improve the mood of other ponies around you, meaning that you can cut through the negativity though the positive power of equal speak.”

Clarinet seemed more energized the more she talked, more passionate as she went on. “Trust me, if you truly want to turn your life around, make it truly better, equal speak is the best way to start. When I first joined the republic, I was a mess, and everything I did and said was unright. I felt lost, confused, and alone. But when I started using equal speak, that all changed. I found that through it, I was avoiding hurtful words completely. Soon after, other ponies became more accepting of me, and through them, I learned what other things I was doing unright. Because of equal speak, I found a new family, and I love them as they love me. That’s why I want you to at least try equal speak. I want you all to find your new family in the republic, be loved, and love in return.” She took a deep breath. “So any questions?”

At this point about nearly all the other ponies were nodding along. I couldn’t blame them, they all looked like they had gotten out of a bad situation, some worse than others. Finding a new family, loving, and being loved in return, it all sounded nice. But I had a family I loved, and I wanted to return to them. So I had to play the part, be Chime Catbell until the time I can escape. Raising my hoof, I cleared my throat, ready to ask one last question. Clarinet looked positively ecstatic that I was engaging in her Q&A “About equal speak, if it’s so positive, are their plans on having it spread outside of the republic?”

Clarinets smile held firm. “Not yet. Equal speak is still newly widespread enough within the republic. So if it goes out into the metro as it is, there is a risk of it getting corrupted by those who do not understand it.” Sounded reasonable enough to me, in a crazy weird sort of way.

The rest of the questions from the others went on about little things, such as if equal speak could help them get a good job, or other ways to improve their lives. Some even asked the same question, just with different wording, which to me felt like a justification for equal speak.

The other two speakers joined the stage with Clarinet, and one played a little tune on a harmonica before Clarinet spoke again. “And so that concludes your orientation, we’ve left a guide book at the door for anypony who wishes to review what we went over today. Also if you have any other questions, don’t be afraid to ask you fellow citizens, were here to help.”

We all quietly shuffled out of the room, almost everyone taking a book with them on their way out. Playing the part of a good citizen of the republic, I took one as well. Out in the hall, everypony looked a bit at a loss, which was understandable, as we were all new here, we didn’t know this place very well.

Ruan and Paixiao followed me out. Ruan looked the most baffled out of all the mares here, and I felt that she may have a lot of trouble adjusting to her new life. Paixiao on the other hoof was flipping through the equal speak booklet, so I felt that she was going to do just fine.

Almost bouncing out of the room, Clarinet stopped at a few of the other mares, giving them hugs. The last ponies she went up to was us, hugging the two other mares but I got a sly look and a wink. “I’m glad you were interested in the orientation.” I swear that the metro had too many lesbians for its own good. “So you want me to show you around some more. I still have a few hours until I need to go to medical for work.”

“Sorry, but I’m going to check out the job placement office.” Ruan said scratching her head. “I think as soon as I get situated here, the easier it will be to understand this all.”

Paixiao closed the booklet. “Uhh, yes, That sounds good. I’ll just come back here later, or study the books.”

“That sounds fine.” There shouldn’t be much left to look at. Sub stations like this one were not known for being big. My real concern right now was to blend in as much as possible, and mulling around with nothing to do was not a way to do it. “Maybe I could help you out at medical, if it’s not too much of a problem.”

Clarinet almost jumped. “Yes, that be wonderful. I don’t think you will get paid for it, but volunteer work is the best way to raise your E.C.S.”

The three of us left the job placement office, passing some of the mares who were now gathering at one of the open desks, looking for work. They all had a look of hope about them, not the kind that said that everything was going to be alright, but a small fragile hope that their lives were going to at least a little better. I didn’t know what lives they were living up until now, but I wished them the best of luck.

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Footnote:

Quest progression: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.(20%)

Chapter 18 - Equality, More or Less

Clarinet’s room was just as dark as before, but this time I was on the side next to the light switch. I didn’t feel like waking her up just yet by turning on the light, and from the look of her digital clock on the nightstand, it was a few hours too early to be awake. So I simply stayed in bed and tried to go back to sleep.

It was odd having to share a bed like this, not once, but three times now. My biggest problem with this setup was Clarinet’s habit of cuddling in her sleep. It probably only became a problem for me now because I didn’t medicate myself before going to sleep. Some painkillers, yes, but I wanted to avoid taking anything hard again. Sadly, it was not enough to make some of the pain go away, leaving this dull ache that was keeping me up.

It all made me frustrated, and helping out at medical didn’t help. Mostly sitting around in one spot, taking down the names of the ponies needing some help. But it did give me time to look through the books I was given. It was all a bit mind numbing.

The books were less about how to be a happy citizen, and more about avoiding what the republic considered offensive behavior. Vulgarity was out, which meant that the next time a pony pisses me off I’ll have to be creative with my insults. The books just went on, and on about the do’s and don’ts. I ended up having to reread them to just wrap my brain around them.

In my time at medical, I did learn about how bad things had gotten for me before I had arrived among the equalists, as well as talked to a few ponies that came over to medical. Sadly, most ponies were tight lipped about anything past their daily lives and how they loved the republic. I think I had this new girl smell about me, as very few ponies would talk to me for very long, and didn’t seem to like it whenever I tried to ask a question. It all made me want to go home even more, and spend some time with mom.

______________________________________

Medical here was less a hospital, and more a clinic with a large ward. Not that many beds had been filled, but the place was busy nonetheless. Clarinet had left me at the reception desk to go get changed, with only another mare across the room from me waiting for care. She had a bad cough that sounded like she had something in her lungs.

The reception room was a sterile white and light gray, with the only colors coming from the republic’s seal above the desk, and the posters on the walls. They were similar to the old Ministry of Peace posters that can be found topside, but none of these ones had the Ministry Mare Fluttershy on them, or anything referring to Zebras. One was of two ponies that looked alike, one clean and the other sickly, it showed the clean pony holding one pill in her hoof, the sickly pony holding five. The poster had a message at the bottom, “Abusing your medication is abusing yourself. Remember to always follow proper dosage.”

The rest of the posters followed the same theme, with varied levels of propaganda. One showing a pony in a tophat with their back to a sick pony, and another pony with an equalist leg band helping the pony up. It supported the public healthcare of the republic as they portrayed the capitalists as heartless. Another poster encourages the citizens to learn first aid, and a fourth pushed the importance of clean living. Despite how sterile the room was, the posters gave enough life to it to be pleasant.

When Clarinet got back, she was in scrubs, which came with cute little white cloth shoes. Another pony in a white lab coat followed her, looking a little in need of sleep. “Chime, this is doctor Repique Click. She runs the medical ward here." She reached out her hoof and pointed to me. “And this is Chime, she’s new here and has offered to volunteer. Isn’t that doubleplusgood!?”

Doctor Repique Click was a plain looking older mare, with a faded greenish gray coat, and dirty blond mane. One thing that did stand out was that her prosthetic cyber legs were milky white, and smooth. It was similar to some of the medical ponies in Orthrus, were they had legs made for use in surgeries and other medical procedures that tended to come in contact with lot of blood.

She looked me up and down, pulling out a clipboard and looked through the paperwork. “Yes, here you are. Despite the injuries, and being heavily drugged, you were the healthiest pony to be sent to this station. Being nearly dead notwithstanding.” She paused for a time, looking intently at her notes. I exchange looks with Clarinet, but she simply motioned for me to stay calm. “Right, here it is. You had to have a complete synthetic blood transplant do to a complication in detox, and were claimed legally dead two times before recovering.”

“What?”

Repique sighed. “Sorry, let me explain. The amount of drugs in your system, though not enough to overload your body, did become a toxic cocktail. It was to the point that your own blood was starting to break apart, and had to be replaced. Lucky that the cocktail didn’t involve flux, or they might have had to start cutting out tumors as well. In the end your body had shut down twice, luckily you were already in a medical facility, and they just had to jumpstart your heart and lungs until your brain regained control”

“Twice?”

She sighed. “Yes, this happened twice. In the notes it says that there was a mechanical malfunction. Which to me means that somepony unplugged your life support system before you were ready to come off of it.

I shook my head, and took a deep breath, processing what I was just told. “I remember three drugs being put in me, strong stuff, but nothing that I heard that could do that.”

Repique looked at her clipboard. “Let’s see. There were four chemical compounds we didn’t recognize, probably newer bandit chems, so they were likely the culprit. There were also high traces of chill, and rush in your system, along with some buck, and Mint-als.” She put the clipboard away, and glared at Clarinet. “Care to explain.”

Clarinets eyes darted about before she sighed. “It was a ungood situation. The Buck, and Mint-als I had were crushed and mix in a few bottles of water. We used the mixtures to keep everypony awake, aware, and able to push onward. The Chill and rush were just for Chime, she was still in a super ungood shape, and needed to be numb and awake.”

I nodded at her explanation. “True, everything hurt at the time. I don’t think I could have moved far without the stuff.”

“And the four other compounds?” Repique asked.

“Well I was taking back some new chems for our ponies to study.” She said sheepishly. “One of my friends managed to get three medical chems from the capitalists. From what she told me, the drugs were used in regenerative treatments, so I figured that it could help her. The fourth was a bandit chem I got from a local dealer. They told me that it helps resist radiation and boost the physical body.”

Repique face hoofed. “And you just gave them all to her?”

Clarinet stomped her hoof down. “She was going to unlive, so I took a risk, and she is alive.”

We all paused for a long moment. Repique was first to break the silence. “So she is, but next time you may not be so lucky.”

The tension in the room slowly faded, and the doctor turned her attention the other pony who had started coughing and wheezing. Her and Clarinet took the sickly pony to the ward, and I was told to sit behind the reception desk, and to do reception things.

It was a simple enough job, but with little to do, and it didn’t help that half way through it I got a migraine that lasted around an hour. I could only guess it was from my body getting fuck up two days ago, or from the sheer blandness that was everything.

______________________________________

Opening my eyes, and saw that only an hour had passed on the clock. I regretted not taking the chill like before, but if I wanted to get better I needed to stay clean. But still, if sleeping only an hour or two at a time becomes a regular thing, I might as well give in and save my sanity.

Closing my eyes, I focused on getting back to sleep. Back home, if I was having a night like this I’d just go to the bar, get drunk, and trot on home to sleep. Sadly, to my annoyance, alcohol was not something that was easy to get here, and even the places that sold some were closed after lights out. Alcohol was around, but buying a bottle had a three-day waiting period at the soonest, and the only bar in the station had only one drink. Mushroom vodka. Something I had never tried before, and wish I never did.

Paixiao, Clarinet, and I decided to meet up there later. Paixiao also said that she’d bring Ruan if possible. Under different circumstances, I would have enjoyed this simpler kind of life, but I knew if I didn’t get moving, something would move me. I knew this because that’s what Phobetor’s eyes were telling me, every time I open them, she’d be staring back at me from the other end of the room.

______________________________________

When the shift was over, I couldn’t get away from that desk fast enough. The volunteer work didn’t stress me out, physically or mentally, but it was boring. I just needed a change of scenery, and something to dull my aching body. It also didn’t help that I wasn’t getting paid for this, but that was a minor concern right now.

The station’s bar was nothing all that fantastic, not having a name, or much in the way of booze. One thing that gave the place some personality was that the posters were being used as wall paper, both republic posters, and even some old world posters. Pinkie Pie watching us from across the room, her eyes somehow following us.

The four of us met up at a table, each one of us having a bowl of pink mush, food sticks, and a glass of water. I had also ordered a shot of mushroom vodka, which got me worried looks from the others. I didn’t really care, and Clarinet already paid for the shot, so I was not going to waste it.

“You should…” Paixiao spoke up, but was stopped by Ruan.

I shrugged and downed the vodka. It burned... it burned really bad. “What the fuck is in this stuff?” My body shivered as it hit my stomach, and the burning sensation reversed course. “It’s coming back up.” Ruan and Clarinet both laughed, as one of them patted me on the back.

“Mushroom vodka, kicks everypony’s flank.” Clarinet said with a laugh.

I shivered one more time before the feeling subsided. “Ya, that was strong stuff.”

“One hundred and twenty proof strong. Most ponies cut it with water first.” Clarinet explained. “Most alcohol that is made goes into medical equipment, so the alcohol that’s for consumption tends to be strong.”

“Ya.” Ruan sighed. “It’d probably make for a good martini, but no syrups or juice here. Such a waste.”

Clarinet smirked “Well from what I’ve been told, ponies with a good E.C.S. can order outside supplies.” She scratched her chin, holding up the leg with her other hoof. “There are rules, like no weapons or subversive materials. I’ve seen one pony with a whole bar setup, it was small, but pluscool.”

Ruan paused for a moment. “So what you're saying is that as long as I play nice, and be the good citizen, I can still have the things I want.” Clarinet nodded, and Ruan sighed. “I don’t know, still feels weird to me.”

“I…” Paixiao spoke up. “I like it. We all get food, and clean water. Even though Ruan snores, the beds are real beds, which is nice.” She sipped her water. “I also like being able to trot around without having to worry about getting robbed.”

“I can agree with that.” I spoke up. Food and water was never that big of a worry for me, though there were days after leaving Orthrus that I had to skip a meal. But Sweet had a knack for finding jobs. As for getting robbed, ponies that could rob an armed pony were rarely brave enough to try, and the ones stupid enough to actually do it, were dead long before I knew about them. But remembering that I was Chime right now, I needed to act like I had more in common with Paixiao for the moment.

Our get together continued on, mostly small talk, but with a few interesting bits. Ruan had been given a job assisting with the train depot. From what she told us, she will be helping with safety checks and general maintenance. As it turns out, the trains here did not run all the time, and turn in after lights out. Each station had an extra train, which they would switch out every day as the other train is checked over by the maintenance crew. This meant that no trains move at night, making a good opportunity for me to slip out.

Paixiao on the other hoof got a job with waste management and recycling. She was tasked with gathering up the garbage, so nothing all that interesting. But one thing that did catch my attention, was the disposal process. Simply, the garbage is taken to another station for processing, meaning all the other stations take their garbage to that one station. This gave me another option to slip away disguised as a garbage hauler.

Having two options to move to another station under the radar helped put me ease. So right now I just needed to bide my time, and prepare to move out. I didn’t know how well guarded the republic had this station, but I’d be a fool to think that they weren’t prepared for at least one of their new citizens to change their mind and try to run away. The fact that I never heard about the conditions here was a good indicator that nopony had ever left to tell about it.

______________________________________

Once more my eyes opened up to find that less than an hour had passed. Phobetor had not moved, still staring at me from the corner of the room, I knew she had something to say, but I was not ready to hear it yet. Closing my eyes, thoughts of escape galloped in my head. Nothing came up involving me getting to one of the outer stations, only being able to move within the republic controlled stations. I needed more information, I needed to find a hole in their security, or at least a way to get a message out. If Rototom knew I was here, she’d get me out.

I just couldn’t put my hoof on it, but something felt seriously wrong here. Like the longer I was here, the harder it would get to leave. I understood all the regulations, programs, and even what the happier citizen project really was. It was something Orthrus trained us in, not a big part of our training, but something that we had to do every year. Public pacification.

Simply it was about getting the public at large to act in a more favorable way, and how to lessen the feeling of resistance towards the government. It was why Orthrus was so hooves off with almost everything, it kept most complaints being about how they needed us, and less complaints about wanting us to go away. The places we did have a presence were seen as our territory, of which we charge a tax to pass through, and anypony who chose to take a different path ran the risk of running into bandits or having to fend off rad-roaches. This meant that anypony who didn’t want to deal with Orthrus, didn’t, and the ponies who wanted to have safer lives were much politer to us and paid the tax.

The republic seemed to have something similar going on, but in a far more direct and extreme way. The E.C.S. was frightening enough, not the idea of it, something like that would not fly on the other islands. Well I hoped it would not catch on with the other islands. What frightened me was how celebrated it was here. Almost everything Clarinet did was to raise her score, and she didn’t see that it was keeping her from her kids. It was not just her, but it seemed that almost everypony here was more concerned with their E.C.S. then just being ponies.

But that’s not what bugged me, not completely. It was something that I was not seeing, something that was unspoken. Everything else was out in the open, where my mind can challenge it, and be understood for what it was. But I knew there was something else here that was trying to get at me, I could feel it in my gut.

I think I started getting this feeling after we had left the bar, and I joined Clarinet with some more volunteer work. This time we were cleaning sheets and military uniforms. The ponies whose job it was to do this did most of the work, we simply made things easier for them by pushing carts, and cleaning the area.

______________________________________

We had stopped by our place to change into more comfortable work clothes, Clarinet didn’t want me ruining my nicer clothes so soon after getting them, so jumpsuits it was. Despite the grayness of the dress uniform, I did like the look of it, even the little hat. It all had a lady like feel to it, unlike the rest of the clothes.

From our room, it didn’t take us long to get to the laundry facility. The humidity in this place was as bad as it was on the surface, even had its own bad smell to it. When Clarinet told me that we were going to push things around, she literally meant that we were going to push things around. The laundry facility we were at held about fifty/fifty volunteers and workers, and was where the republic got a lot of sheets, uniforms, and other things cleaned. The volunteers job here was to simply keep things moving, nothing complex or all that labor intensive. It was the same kind of job that new recruits in Orthrus would do, just that we were choosing to do it.

Everypony here worked as a team, not one of them were alone, not even on breaks. I simply followed Clarinets lead, and soon we were transferring a large basket of sheets over to get sorted. The large baskets rested on a cart that had been made to have a pony strapped to a harness so that they could easily pull it. The job of the second pony was to make sure nothing fell out of the basket, and to clear the way for the pony pulling. I chose to have the harness attached, pulling meant I didn’t have to put myself out there all that much as we did this.

Pulling the large basket proved to be simple enough, even with how loaded it was, others around me seemed to struggle a little more than I was. It was probably because of the back legs I had, the full cybernetics had more power behind them, and griped the floor better than my old ones did.

Sorting was a mess of full baskets as ponies walked over them. They would throw the contents into a large pile, as more ponies pulled out clothes, sheets, and other stuff into different baskets. “We got another load!” A mare shouted as the others groaned. The mare trotted over to us, and pointed to the group of baskets that some ponies were standing on. “Get that unloaded, we got a freshly sorted basket ready to be taken to the wash.”

Trotting the basket over to the bunch, two workers helped pull it off, and directed us to where we were to pick up the next one. “Thanks for the help.” One of the workers said as she trotted alongside us. “It seems that it’s been one load after another today.” The mare didn’t look the best, with dark shadows under her eyes, and a slightly unfocused stare.

“Doing overtime?” I asked.

The mare shook her head. “No, same shift as everypony else. Just not been feeling well, that’s all.”

“I know how you feel.” I sighed. “Went through a grinder before getting here, and owe the pony I’m partnered with, my life. So I’m on some painkillers right now, though a bowl of vegetable soup would probably help just as good.”

The worker mare laughed. “Ya, I think I know what you’re getting at. I try not to eat that pink crap when I can, just doesn’t go down well with me. When you start earning bits, I suggest putting in an order for dried fruits and vegetables. It doesn’t hurt your E.C.S. and you can skip the pink mush.”

She helped push a new basket onto our cart, this one almost completely overfilled with military uniforms. When the basket was locked in place one of the fatigues fell onto my head. I simply stood there as Clarinet threw the pants back onto the basket, and so we were off.

Leaving sorting, I couldn’t help but linger on what the mare had been talking about. “Hey, Clarinet?”

“Yes?” She singsonged the word.

“Do you eat anything other then that pink stuff? Or other than the food sticks that come with it?”

She looked up and away from me for a moment before looking back and nodding. “Sometimes.” She turned her head forward to see another basket coming the opposite way. She backed away to avoid a collision, and when it had passed, she quickly trotted back up to me. “But not often. It’s easier to just save up my bits for more important things. But they didn’t have any of the stuff on the other island, so I had to make do with the stuff we were giving out. It gave me a bit of a headache though.”

“Important stuff?” I didn’t see much of the way of stuff at her place, and I was a bit worried that she spent her bits on me, and the other two mares.

She nodded. “Yep, I’ve been making sure my little fillies are getting good food and books to read. There’s no way they're not going to become important ponies in the republic.”

Looking at her, she had a smile on her face, not the eerie one she normally had, but something more relaxed and natural. I think that’s why I never felt uneasy around Clarinet, she had this honest care about her. Not that she was some pony I could trust, she had drunk the rad-roach poison tainted fruit drink that the equalists had been giving her. But I knew she would be honest with me about it, right up to my execution.

Shaking off the thought, we arrived at the washers and dropped off the basket. We picked up another basket, and took it to the dyers. From the dryers, we took another basket to where the clothes were folded up and packed away. This continued for a few hours, until there were no more baskets to move.

______________________________________

Still a little early, but this time much closer to the time I needed to get up, so this time I sat up and stretched a little. My spine popped as I flexed back, and were my flesh met my cybernetic connections I felt sore. After all the thrashing I had been giving them in the fights before I got here, I probably needed to get the connections looked at. I had seen a few infections that happened because of stress put on the connections, and while it was rare nowadays, it’s only because most ponies get it regularly checked out.

Looking down at Clarinet, it was too dark to properly see her, but I could make out her outline. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. Before the day was over, we had visited her foals again, the two fillies bouncing around like they were last time. The other foals were also happy to see her, and they all had quickly overpowered her in a large pile.

She had read them all a story, sang a lullaby, and kissed them goodnight.

That was why she made me feel sad, she should be raising her foals herself. She had gone from a young bandit to a productive member of society, all thanks to the republic. But then the republic tells her that she is still not a perfect enough citizen for her to live with her foals. Every positive I see from the republic is met with a bigger negative.

“Not bad for first impressions, you’re a real work pony.” Phobetor sat at the desk, poking at the terminal. She faded into the darkness, almost all the way, but her golden eyes were still barely visible. “I’d give you a nine. It be a ten, but you’re not as nearly worn out as all the other ponies. That and the back legs, if they saw it, you’d stick out like a unicorn horn in an earth pony lineup.

“It’s not like I have control over what’s happening.” I quietly spat back at the dream mare. “I just want to go home.”

“Try it, and the next thing you know, you're digging out a new tunnel deep underground.” She said with a calm, knowing voice. “I think they call it… Fun Camp.” She pushed back on the desk, stretching over the chair, yet making no noise whatsoever. “Plus, it’s not in the deal. My secrets have kept you safe, but now you must repay me.”

I sighed. “How?”

“Go to the heart of the republic, Persephone Station. There is something there far beyond my current reach, and you will find it for me.” Phobetor got out of the seat and trotted over to me. “And yes, from there is the way home.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” The mare creeped me out, making the fur on my neck stand up.

Phobetor wrapped her hooves around my neck, forcing me to be nose to nose with her. “Simple. You’re going to walk out the front door, and a pony you know will pick you up. A pegasus that you've had your mind on.”

Before I could respond, the clock buzzed, and the radio turned on.

“Good morning to all the wonderful citizens of the Republic.” It was the radio mare, who seemed to have spot on timing. “I have a few topics today to talk about, and another message from president Garmon Keys. First on the list is more information about the tunnel collapse that happened the other day. Due to big efforts of the citizens living in the area who volunteered, an opening to the tunnel has been made. Not long after, the lost pony was found and is said to soon make a quick recovery. Now that a life is out of danger, the tunnel has been closed off from any more digging, all citizens are advised to keep away until the extent of the damage is known, and any breaches to the surface have been closed up. So stay safe citizens, your government is here to help.”

“In other news, the rumors of the theater shutting down have proven false. The rumors started when the Tremolo sisters were talking about taking their act to the other stations. It seemed that one overzealous fan mistook it as though the theater was shutting down. As it turns out, the singing sisters are staying at the theater, though it be nice hear about the joy they could spread, but there is no stage better than the theater here in Persephone Station.”

The sound of papers shifted around. “So that’s it for the news, I’ll be letting you know when there is more to know, but now a word from president Garmon Keys.”

The voice of Garmon Keys spoke up, same as before. “Hello good citizens of the republic. I’m happy to hear that the lost pony was found. It goes to show just how good the citizens of the republic are, and making me even prouder to serve you all. That’s why this morning I bring you a story, an old one told to me by my grandma, and one I hold dear to my heart.”

It was hard to tell if he was sincere, or just full of it. Either way I had to give him credit, he was good. But as politicians were, I knew he was lying through his teeth, it was what politicians do. It just seemed that the role Garmon played was of the caring father, where most played up the strong mare. It was different, of that I was sure, but he was probably doing the same song and dance as all other politicians.

“Long ago, before the revolution, when the capitalists still lorded over the working ponies. There was a group of mares who had started a contest to choose who was most beautiful, and a crowd had gathered to watch.”

“The first mare was a unicorn noble from the Orphic Kingdom, born protected from the toxins. In fact, she almost glistened in the light of the stations lamps. Her coat was without dirt, her mane and tail were long, lustrous, and fluffy. The dress she wore was made of the finest cloth, decorated with gems. She was clearly the crowd favorite, with many seeing the visage of the princesses in her.”

“The second was a Mirage Pony, the heiress of a corporation. Clean, straight, and all business, the mare had an air of intelligence and authority about her. Lacking the glitz and glamor of the unicorn, this mare made up for it with style. Her clothes were finely tailored to both be stylish and practical, her mane and tail were not as long, but had a wave to it, and bleached at the tips. Covering her eyes were blue shades with white rimes, making her look like the famous stars of old Applewood.”

“The last mare held her chest out proud, but only got sneers and laughter. She was a simple factory worker, her mane and tail were greasy and tied back. Her coat covered in dirt and grease. The clothes she wore where simple work clothes, torn and dirtied from her work. And last, her legs were of old and worn cybernetics, having long lost their shine from the grueling and thankless job she does.”

“The first two mares simply ignored the third mare, and continued with their contest, flaunting their beauty. That is, until one voice shouted from the back of the crowd. It was an old stallion, his mane had long turned white, and coat began to sag. ‘You should be ashamed at yourselves!’ the old stallion shouted. With a weak hoof, he pointed at the third mare. ‘Don’t you see that she is the most beautiful?’ The rest of the ponies paused to stare, confused by the sudden outburst."

“The old stallion went onto explain why. Pointing out that her legs were worn because of how much work she dedicated herself to. Her mane and tail lacked the same bounce as the other two because she values her own family over being better looking. The torn up clothes, and oil smudges on her coat were because she was not afraid to get dirty to get her job done. He stated that she was a ‘beautiful for being a working mare, and the only mare a stallion would truly want. “

“The crowd paused for a moment more, and then all changed their minds, now favoring the third mare. The two other mares simply left, holding their heads in shame as they knew no matter how beautiful they could make themselves, they could never be as beautiful on the inside as the working mare was.”

Garmon Keys gave a little laugh. “And that’s the story I’d always been told. It has a lesson I take to heart, myself. You can make yourself look beautiful, but what truly matters is what’s on the inside. That’s where it counts. Ponies who know what it means to work hard, understand their fellow pony, and help all to be equal with each other, they are who is most beautiful to me. Now I’d love to share my wisdom with you some more, but like everypony, I too have a job to do, along with ponies to help. So have a wonderful morning, and never forget that happiness comes from what you can do for others.”

The radio crackled, and the familiar, somewhat monotone mare's voice returned. “As wonderful as always, that was Garmon Keys, making our morning a little happier with his presence. But sadly, like all good things, that time has come to pass. But stay tuned. We will hear from him again later on, as he is if anything, always able to return.”

I felt Clarinet reach over me to turn on the light, the sudden brightness blinding me for a moment. “Good morning Chime, ready for another day?” She didn’t have that upbeat feel to her, probably do to her still being half asleep.

“Ya… are you going to be doing the same thing as yesterday?” If she was, I had a few plans. Mostly it was to gather more information that could help me. If at all possible, something for a plan on getting to Persephone Station without raising suspicion. If Phobetor was right, not that I trusted some shadowy dream mare completely, it was my ticket out of here.

Clarinet got out of bed, moving past me, naked again. It didn’t bother me too much, as we were both mares. But I had to sleep next to her, making it a bit weird for me. “Yep… well no. There’s no Orientation, you already did that. But I do plan on working at medical, and some volunteer work. What about you?”

“Another day helping you out sounds like a good plan, this all still feels a bit odd to me.” I also didn’t want to go to the job placement office, I had a strong feeling that it was not going to help me.

“Good plus. It’s always good to have another helping hoof at medical.” She trotted over to the bathroom. “I’m going to get washed up, you can use the tub next.”

The door closed, and I was left alone in the room. There were some clothes haphazardly thrown around the room, mine were in a nice pile. Somehow Clarinets panties were hanging on her terminal monitor, making me sigh and shake my head.

In front of the door was some mail, two letters addressed to Clarinet, and one to me. Taking them to the desk, I placed Clarinet’s mail on the side. Opening the one to me, out dropped a large card, a note, and a pin. The card was one of the miniature posters that ponies here collected. It depicted three ponies standing side by side all holding tools, above them was the Republic's symbol, and printed on the bottom was the words, “Together we are strong.” The pin looked a lot like the symbol for the ministry of awesome, a cloud with a thunderbolt, and two wings. Putting the pin to the side, I picked up the note.

Opening up the note, it read:

“Dear miss Chime Catbell.

We are pleased that you decided to join our family, and wish you the best of luck. The republic is a professional and fair organization which focuses on what’s best for our citizens. That’s why we were disappointed to learn of your treatment at the hooves of our security after your brave assistance to insure the safe arrival of your comrades. Because of that, it is our obligation to offer you a suitable compensation.

We are also interested in offering you a potential job within our ministry. We respect those who have the will to survive, and the strength to act. With us, your talents will find a greater use, and your limitations will be surpassed. All members within our ministry are well rewarded for their work, and you will not be an exception.

To obtain your compensation, and if you’re interested in working for us, come to the job placement center wearing our pin.

Sincerely, the Ministry of Awesome. “

I folded up the note, and put it over the pin, pushed the two to the back of the desk were some junk was. The ministry of awesome was as well-known as it was in the old world, so I knew fuck all about them. It also didn’t help that the republic's version of the ministries were just shadows of the old world ministries, mostly just a name used to help keep order. But it was an interesting offer, and possibly what I was looking for to get where I want.

Sitting at the desk, I pulled off Clarinets loaned underwear and threw it onto the bed. Turning on the terminal, I plugged in my E.C.S. pass card, the screen flashed as numbers scrolled across the screen. it went blank for a second, and than words popped up on screen.

Chime Catbell

Status: probationary citizen

------------

Equality Credit Score – N/A

Last earnings – N/A

Contacts – 1

Claimable benefits – 1

Special Offers. – 1

------------

It made sense that I didn’t have a score yet, they probably had ponies keeping an eye on me to see if I did anything suspicious. I did get a feeling that I was being watched most of the time. It was not much different then whenever I entered a station I was a stranger in, but it was more intense.

The contact was predictably Clarinet, it showing me her own E.C.S. and associations. Her score was 414+, the ‘+’ meaning that it had gone up. And her associations were the M.o.I. and the M.o.P. From what she told me, she just did a lot of busy work for the other ministry’s, so her main association was mostly with the M.o.P.

Checking the Claimable benefits, it showed that I had earned an extra ration. It stated that due to my volunteer work and attending orientation, I can claim an M.R.E. pack at the ration dispensary. It didn’t sound all that appetizing, but I was betting that it was going to be better tasting than the normal stuff. If there was one thing I can say about the republic's system, it was that nopony was going hungry here.

The special offer was about doing volunteer work, but with a guarantee for getting a prize. There was cleaning out train carts and the area around the rail lines, with the prize being a postcard and a M.R.E. It didn’t seem like much of a prize, but the card was a collector’s item, so I can see how it would draw in volunteers.

With nothing else to see, I logged out of the terminal and put my card to the side. Thinking about it, the whole system the republic had was not all that bad, but I just couldn’t bring myself to like it. The guarantee that nopony goes hungry, incentives for volunteer work, and a culture based around cooperation had its positives to it. And I like the idea about it. But everything seemed to lack color, even when I did volunteer work. Nopony said or did anything interesting at all. It all made me miss Sweet, and I knew this place would drive her up the wall.

I chuckled to myself, remembering one time during basic training when Sweet got bored and started stacking the chairs in the mess hall. Somehow I got roped into it, and we managed to make a pyramid with chairs. We both spent the rest of the week cleaning the bathrooms because of it. Good times.

“Enjoying yourself?” Clarinet trotted into the room, clean and smiling.

“Just remembering a good time I had with a friend awhile back.” I got out of the seat, and trotted past her.

She picked up some of her clothes, and a clean pair of panties from an open drawer. “Oh where’s this friend of yours?”

I sighed. “Hospitalized. We ran into a monster in the big island tunnels, and she got hurt really bad. Lost her eyes.”

Clarinets ears drooped. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I shook my head. “She’s a strong mare, I’m just glad she’s still alive.”

In the washroom the bucket was left by the tub, and so I washed yesterday’s grime away. I didn’t bother soaping up, as I didn’t get that dirty, I just needed the water to get a little grime off of me. The warm water felt nice on me, though I wished Clarinet had a shower. Showers were probably for ponies more equal than others. Damnit, If I had to actually stay here, I’d make it so showers were available for everypony. Say something about it being not equal for ponies who can't simply take a bath, biased against the aquatically unable.

I chuckled to myself as it hit me. The ‘equality’ here was a joke. The E.C.S. was simply about separating loyal ponies, from ones who would be dissenters. It was hard to tell how many ponies understood this, or how many were playing it like a game. Clarinet seemed to be a true believer, but Ruan and Paixiao were still new here, so they were unlikely to buy into the equalist propaganda. But the two mares also had a good enough reason to stay and play along, even if they saw right through it.

The two mares obviously did not have good lives going for them outside of the republic. Clarinet as well. It seems that the republic offered them everything they needed, no, it was giving them everything they needed. Food, water, shelter, work, and safety. I was raised to understand that I had to earn those things, but I also saw many ponies who couldn’t, and slowly wasted away because of it.

Shaking my head, I understood that relying on anypony here would be a big mistake. Just trying to get a scrapper to let go of their pile of junk is liable to give you a black eye, but putting the safety of their new lives at risk? That’d get me shot.

As I dried off, I looked in the mirror and saw that I was starting to look more like my old self. The dark black and red ring around my eye had faded a little, and the fur around the scar on my lip was getting a little thicker. Small blessings I guess.

Feeling clean I trotted out of the wash room, and looked for my clothes. I was greeted by a happy looking Clarinet, holding the card I got in the mail. “I knew you made a good impression at orientation!”

Picking out my spare pair of gray underwear from my gray saddlebag, and slipped it on. “What do you mean?”

“Well, not everypony gets their first poster card so soon! Only the ponies that show good understanding about being equal tend to get them so quickly.”

I chose to put more casual work clothes on, a button down shirt and overall shorts. Not my style, but after being in a skirt all day yesterday I like the idea of not having my plot exposed. The shirt was also white, which was a nice change from all the gray. “That’s good, I guess. But I think you should keep the card, you were the one helping me.”

Clarinet waved her hoof playfully. “No you did goodplus. Anywho I already have this poster card, so it’s yours.”

“I guess I’ll hold onto it then.” Looking at her, she had put on a simple Jumpsuit that fit snugly on her. “So did you read about the special offer they're having for helping clean the train?”

She sighed. “Ya, I’d love to go, but work-work is more important than volunteer-work.” Shrugging She trotted over to the door. “It’s fine, the card they're giving out is probably just the extras from this month. So I probably already have what their hoofing out.”

“Right, I guess I’ll stick with you then.” I pulled out the military cap, and placed it on my head. “You know more than me around here. Oh, also one other thing, if it’s not too much to ask?”

“What is it?” Clarinet responded with a raised eyebrow.

“I think we should get a cot. That bed just barely fits two ponies.”

She waved her hoof dismissively. “Don’t be silly, it’s plenty comfortable. We just have to snuggle closer.”

“Into stallion’s Clarinet.” I sighed. “Into stallions.”

She laughed and trotted to the front door. “Can’t blame a mare for trying. Well, we can look into it later. Right now we need our first meal of the day.”

“Super bland pink paste, the best way to start the day, yay.” I pulled the pin and the note from the back of the desk and dropped them in one of my pockets. I was still uncertain about what they wanted with me, but getting in good with one of the powers-that-be sounded like the best way to open more doors, and get closer to getting home.

______________________________________

“One M.R.E. pack” I asked as I hoofed over my E.C.S. pass card.

The mare at the food dispensary pushed the card into a port and tapped at the terminal before nodding and hoofing back my card. “One M.R.E. meal pack. I’m sure you want the breakfast pack, but we do also have a lunch and dinner pack available.”

I thought about it for a moment, but I was too curious about what was in these packs to not ask. “Can you tell me what’s in them?”

“Sure, let me see.” She tapped at her terminal. “Well we have the pineapple pancakes pack for breakfast, the carrot and cabbage pack for lunch, and a full garden salad for the dinner pack.”

I felt my mouth start to drool, after having to spent a whole day eating pink paste, I could not skip on this opportunity. “I’ll just take the breakfast pack”

The mare smiled. “I’ll just be a moment.” She turned around and trotted off into a side room.

“Not bad, getting an M.R.E. after your first day.” Clarinet piped up. “I tend to just send them to my foals.”

I was sure she did. Behind the bandit past and the chem damage, Clarinet was clearly a loving mother. “I’m just doing what I can.” And doing my best to not look like a pony who the equalists would like to shoot. “It’s nice that the republic gives a little back.” The nicer things I say about the republic, the less it seems that other ponies keep an eye on me.

Clarinet giggled. “I know, right? That’s how I got a job outside of the republic. The ministry of Awesome said I’d be perfect for a recruiting job, and set me up in a soup kitchen.” She had a proud look on her face. “It’s sad that they didn’t want to officially hire me, but I did get to act as a representative of the M.o.P. and the M.o.I.”

The mare inside the food dispensary came back holding a gray packet, placing it on the counter in front of me. “Here you go miss, enjoy your meal.”

I took the M.R.E. and we left, going to a table where Paixiao and Ruan were waiting for us. Everypony but me were still eating the pink paste, and food sticks. Opening the packet, the sweet smell of pineapples hit my nose, making me drool a little more.

“What!? How did you get that?” Ruan whined. “Clarinet, did you by that for her? What cunt do I have to lick to get one?”

Clarinet’s face went red. “No… no. She earned it with the volunteer work she did yesterday.” She shifted her eyes around and slowly opened her mouth, but I cleared my throat, getting everyone's attention.

“Now, I’m one not to care about what ponies do in their free time, but I don’t think this is the best place for a discussion like this.” I already shared a bed with one pony, I didn’t need to share it with a second.

Ruan and Clarinet looked away, both looking a bit Embarrassed. Paixiao looked unfazed by the little exchange, and was already half done with her breakfast. Licking the pink stuff off her lips, she saw the two embarrassed mares and giggled. “If you two come to our place tonight, I can show you a few tricks.”

Rolling my eyes, I waved her off dismissively. “Sorry, into stallions.”

“Same here.” Ruan said with a sigh.

Paixiao shrugged. “So am I, but It never hurts to expand your skill set.”

Clarinet looked a bit flustered, opening her mouth, but only to close it again. It was easy to see that the lesbian pony was interested in Paixiao’s offer, but didn’t want to ask out in the open. Feeling pity on my roommate, I decided to change the conversation. “Now I know we all like to talk about a good pole to ride, but I think we can save it for later. What I’d like to talk about is the pins that Clarinet has. I thought we were all equal?”

Clarinets ears perked up, and she looked down at her three pins. “These, there not all that special.”

“That’s a fucking lie.” Ruan blurted out. “Other than the pins, I’ve seen nopony with any accessories. Other than of the pink flower that’s printed everywhere.”

“Well, okay.” Clarinet said as she puffed up her chest. “There markers of a pony who’s been given official training by a ministry.” She pointed at the M.o.P. pin. “Trained under the Ministry of Peace, I know first aid, and have other basic medical training.” She lowered her hoof to the M.o.I. pin. “The Ministry of image officially educated me in equal speak, and proper equal edict.”

Ruan raised an eyebrow. “So what, the pins just mean you’re an official on some stuff?”

Clarinet nodded. “Yes, if a pony is in need of medical care, I can provide the necessary medical assistance to keep them alive until the proper medical ponies arrive. Or if a pony is unsure if that there not being equal, I can advise them on what they’re doing right or unright.”

It was simple enough, but seemed a bit too basic to be a ministry thing. “On the subject of the ministries, how much power do they have. I know they were somewhat powerful in the old republic, but they don’t seem to have that much of a presence here?”

Giggling, Clarinet playfully waved her hoof at me. “Of course they don’t. The old ministries were what was dividing the republic, like how it divided equestria. Today, their role is to help organize the citizens and help make a more equal republic. The real power is the Institution of Equality.”

“The Institution of Equality?” I had to ask. With much of the republic hidden from the rest of the metro, I barely even knew what the old ministries were at all. “What do they do?”

Clarinet had a big smile on her face. “Well, they help to make everypony more equal.” Her smile faded, and scrunched up. “I mean, well, it’s hard to explain. But it’s the only ministry with a leader. That’s who Garmon Keys is, he’s the head of the Institution of Equality, and the president of the Republic.” She scratched her chin for a moment. “From what I remember, other than the leadership of the republic, their role is of historical accuracy, and education.”

Ruan snorted almost spitting up her water as she laughed. “So you're saying that the republic is led by a bunch of eggheads?”

Pausing for a moment to think, Clarinet nodded. “Ya, I do remember a few times when Garmon Keys talked about his time as a professor. Some of his favorite stories are about his own students. Just listen to the radio, he will eventually talk about it sooner or later.”

I didn’t think I’d get more information out of Clarinet. She didn’t seem well educated on the topic, so it would be unnecessary to push the subject further. “Enough about politics, never been a good dining subject. How about that stallion? You know, the father of your foals? I know you’ve got to have a few stories to tell about him.”

It seemed that the one pony least interested in talking about stallions was Clarinet, but she did decide to tell us a few things. One was that her eldest sister was the one still in a relationship with the stallion, Clarinets involvement was more out of family obligation, same for her other sister. She also told us that Sopranino was the real vicious one in the family, and one of the few things that kept her in check was her almost content pregnant state. She also had the nicknames of the Brood Mother by the rest of the station. I got a feeling of disappointment from Clarinet when she talked about her sister Sopranino, unlike the rest of the ponies in her family.

The conversation shifted subjects a few times before we were done. Ruan didn’t have much in the way of story’s. Her life consisting mostly of working, and gambling. Paixiao on the other hoof lead a much more colorful life, both as scavenger, and as a cheap prostitute. We asked if she was ever worried about getting pregnant during that time, and she simply shook her head and told us with a sigh that she was sterile.

When it was my turn to talk, I used my words very carefully, so not to give away that I was not who I said I was. Though I still mentioned my time with Merit, and how my back legs didn’t work right after. Paixiao gave me a few looks, but never said anything. I could only guess she didn’t believe everything I said, but didn’t want to stir up trouble.

Soon it was time for us to part ways, and we wrapped up our conversation. On our way to medical, I suggested that Clarinet spend some extra time with Paixiao later, and her face turned a shade redder. If anything, Clarinet deserved a little fun.

______________________________________

The time in medical went on same as before, but I did have myself checked out by the doc when there was time. I was recovering quite well, and so far there were no signs of addiction in my system. But Doctor Click did warn me that my system was still vulnerable to addiction right now.

I did have one pony who was willing to talk with me, though after some time I’d wish she would stop. It was as though she just wanted to hear her own voice, and I was the poor soul who gave her the opportunity. It would have been different if she had something relevant to talk about, but it was all about her daily life, which was boring and incredibly dull.

When it was all over, I was overjoyed to leave, dead set at doing something that would get me out of this station. The first thing I needed to do was get away from Clarinet. It was simple enough, but I didn’t want to just slip away. I wanted to give something back, I owed her too much as it was.

“Hey Clarinet?” I called out.

“Yes, Chime?” She said my name in her sing-songy voice.

I got in close to her and smiled. “I’m betting you want some alone time with Paixiao, right?”

She blushed. “Well… I don’t think it’d be appropriate.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not the point. She said that she’s willing, so why not take her up on it?”

Clarinet sighed. “but, she said she’s not into mares.”

Trotting up ahead a little, I turned to look her in the eyes. “Neither am I, the difference is that she’s willing to entertain your interest, and I’m not.”

Her ears drooped, and she hoofed at the ground. “I see, well, it’s okay.”

Stepping up to her, so that we were almost muzzle to muzzle. “So what’s the problem, you're both adults.”

She looked away. “It’s not that, it’s just, you know...”

“I don’t, so tell me.” I said calmly.

Looking me in the eye, she sighed. “You're more my type. You have this feeling for you, like everything’s going to be just fine as long as I trust you. You’re like somepony I knew, long ago, before the republic.” Her cheeks flushed brighter. “I… I… I really like you.”

I put my head to hers. “Clarinet, you’re a good mare, and I like you too, but not in the same way.” I took a deep breath. “I’m sure there’s a pony out there just for you, but you can’t just sit around and wait for them to find you. It never works that way.” Taking a step back, I looked her in the eyes. “You already do so much for others, why don’t you do something for yourself and go get laid?”

She back away. “No, I don’t think…”

Cutting her off with one solid laugh, I put a hoof on her shoulder “Then stop thinking, stop caring about what’s proper, and just ask her. Other ponies are looking up to you, so show them a bit of happiness they can have here. Share your happiness with them.”

Clarinet wiped a tear from her eye. “Ya, I should at least ask. I do know a few stallions that I can introduce the others to. We can make it a party.” Okay, that I didn’t see coming. “You want to join?” Some time with a stallion sounded like fun, but I had other goals in mind.

I shook my head. “Sorry, but I’m thinking of getting a job. I can’t just keep relying on you.”

She shrugged. “Well let me know if you ever change your mind. I know we would make a good couple.” Trotting pass me, I watched as she entered into the food court, and joined up with the other two. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Ruan looked a bit flustered from where I was standing.

Pulling out the M.o.A. Pin, I placed it on the chest of my shirt. It gave me this feeling, nothing magical, but a sense of importance. Straightening myself up a little, I made my way to the job placement office.

______________________________________

There were very few ponies at the job placement office, and two desks open, one for general job placement, and a second for ministry placement. All the other ponies here were waiting or in line for general job placement, leaving the other desk completely free.

The mare at the ministry placement desk took a long look at me, sizing me up. “I see, just a moment.” She tapped at a terminal for a moment, and nodded. “Go to room 3B off to the left. A representative will be with you shortly.”

The room was no different than the one from orientation, just dimly lit and empty. Finding a seat, I just picked one at random and relaxed as I waited. The air was stale, and definitely had some dust floating about. Though not as bad as some of the old abandoned tunnels that you can find in the metro. But still, this room felt like it had been unused for some time.

A cold sensation came from behind me, sending a chill up my spine. It was the distinct feeling of being watched, not the normal feeling of being watched, like when trotting around this station. No, this made me feel more uneasy, more worries. I didn’t like it at all. “I made my choice, Phobetor.”

“What makes you sure that this is the right path?” Phobetor’s voice was like a whisper in my ear. “You still have two other paths to choose from.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but she put her hoof over it, cutting me off as she sat next to me, phasing thru the chair. “I’d advise on not talking, don't need other ponies thinking you’ve gone insane. Just let me take care of your side of the conversation”

I glared at her, and she simply smiled, looking at me with her golden eyes. “Yes my little pony, there are ears hearing what you say, and eyes that are following what you do.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “Don’t despair, I doubt they caught on. That unfortunate episode with the memory magic, it turned any suspicion of you to ash. They seem more interested in you as a pony it seems. Would you be interested in my educated guess to why?”

I stretched my back and wings, getting a few pops from the bones. Relaxing in my seat, I gave Phobetor a nod.

She rubbed her hooves together, and giggled. “Now sadly what I know is limited, so this is an educated guess in all things. But I would have to say that your performance back on Pineapple Island was a big boon. You managed to act sober, and capable enough to help defend the other pony’s, though you were far too drugged to be doing anything but mumble and trot.” Phobetor winked at me. “Don’t forget to thank me.”

I didn’t know if that explained my survival, or just made it more confusing. I still didn’t even know what Phobetor was, but I did know that she did scare me a bit. Something about her was just wrong, other than her being some creepy dream pony.

Phobetor tapped her chin, still smiling. “So it’s safe to assume that they think you may be special, or at least worth giving extra attention to.” She relaxed her hooves, silently tapping on the floor. “Maybe they're interested in seeing if you have a mutation that they could use, and want you as a lab rat.” She shrugged. “What does it matter now, you’ve made your choice.”

Smirking, Phobetor looked me in the eyes. “On the topic of choice, you did make the right one, not that there was any other. This places secrets are sealed tight, I doubt they’d let a pony roam free, or sneak out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were waiting for a pony to try. Some pony they can pin as a spy, use as scapegoat for all they see wrong with the world.”

Sighing, I slumped back into my seat. “So where do i go from here?” I mumbled.

“Forward, until you get to your destination.” Phobetor’s voice became a faint whisper, and looking over she was gone.

Brightness. Everything became bright, so I lifted a hoof up to block it, and realized my eyes were closed. Opening them, the room came into focus, and two ponies stood on the little stage. One was a very gray looking Mirage pony mare, with a dark gray coat, and lighter gray mane and tail, she seemed to blend in with her gray dress uniform. The other pony was Blaster Beam, looking as gung ho as before.

The gun platform of a mare gave me a coy look. “Sleep well?” Blaster Beam said, chuckling to herself as she did. Her voice was still as eerily synthetic as always. “I’m glad you decided to come around, makes things easier for us.” She chuckled again, and pointed at me. “But before we get started, you probably want to wipe that drool off, it’s a bit distracting.”

Sitting up straight, I quickly wiped my mouth, feeling a little embarrassed by it. “Sorry about that.”

Blaster Beam shrugged. “Ehh, if it was a problem, I’d turn you to ash in your sleep.” The gray pony cleared her throat, making Blaster Beam cringe a little. “I mean I would have filed a report on your unbecoming behavior.”

Giving the cyberpony a nod, the gray mare stepped forward. “Miss Chime, now for the first order of business. For your assistance on the gunboat, despite your condition, and your treatment after the fact, you are to receive compensation. Now, we cannot simply give out bits or raise you E.C.S., as that would unbalance the equality of the station by showing such favorable support for one pony.” The mare trotted over to a gray box that was sitting near her, no not a box, but a hard case saddlebag. Picking it up, she passed it over to me. “The saddlebag, and the contents inside are your compensation.”

Looking at the saddlebag, it was the kind used by ponies working construction. Plenty strong, and distributed its weight a better than most saddlebags. Opening one side, I pulled out a box of food supplement bars, made with fresh oats, grains, and dried fruit. The other side had a few more boxes of the same stuff. Looking up at the gray mare, I simply raised an eyebrow.

“Ahh yes, an explanation would be required.” The gray mare stated. “First off, before you ask, call me Miss Shade. Now as for the compensation, as you may have noticed already, food is a bit limited in variety around here. Even if you can get an M.R.E. there is no guarantee it will be in stock. So any extra food is considered highly valuable, and giving some out is a good way to expand your social connections.”

Closing the saddlebag, I placed it on the seat next to me. “So Miss Shade… what your saying is that my compensation is a boost to my E.C.S. by having me giving out free food supplement bars, and making friends.”

Miss Shade nodded. “Good. I’d thought you’d understand. Getting integrated can be a bit of a challenge for some ponies. It could be years before they make enough connections and raise their E.C.S. to move to one of our main stations. Something like this can dramatically reduce the time it takes to make such connections.”

Nodding, I didn’t quite understand it all, but I could understand that this gift was more about me becoming more under their control then actually rewarding me. “I guess I’ll just put it to good use.”

Blaster Beam huffed. “I got a better idea. Come with me tomorrow, I got a job that needs a pony not squeamish about pulling a trigger. Sadly, I can’t just pull ponies from active duty. It messes with our system, you see. But having a pony who doesn’t have a designated job, a pony like yourself, won’t be a problem for the system.”

“So what do you want me to do, shoot something?” I had to ask.

She shrugged. “Hope not. There’s just a few rumors going around, bad ones, and I’ve been assigned to check them out. But I’m not going without backup, I ain’t going down like Theremin did.” Blaster Beam’s suddenly lit up, like she remembered something important. “Oh, if you do this, I’ll introduce you to some very important ponies. Even get you a choice of places to stay, just pick a station. Trust me, the Ministry of Awesome looks after their own.”

“I see.” I had already decided to go with the M.o.A. but it seemed that there would be some work to do before I got were I wanted to go. That, and working with Blaster Beam didn’t sound like the best idea ever. “I’ll consider it.”

Blaster Beam rolled her eyes. “Of course you will, and after you decide to join me, meet me at the north subway after you’ve had your morning meal. I’ll be waiting. Now go, I’m sure you got a few things to do, ponies to meet.”

With nothing more to say, and out of not wanting to irritate Blaster Beam, I got out of my seat. Taking the saddle bag with me, I trotted to the door. Looking back, I could see that the two mares were looking at each other, even moving their heads a bit, but not talking. I knew the mannerisms of ponies talking through telepathy talismans. I didn’t know what they had planned for me, but I had definitely left a mark. It was either a good thing, or a bad thing, but it would only be revealed in time. Stepping out of the room, I felt it would be a good idea to meet up with the others to see if they would like a food supplement bar or two.

______________________________________

Footnote.

Quest progression: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.(40%)

Chapter 19 - Equality, Door to Door

Eating one of the food supplement bars, I found it not too bad. Not as good as a home cooked meal, or even the M.R.E. I had earlier, but far better than the pink crap the republic fed everypony. And with me skipping lunch, it did well as a light meal. Including the one I had eaten, I had sixty of the bars, ten in each box. Quite enough to share around and get in good with ponies that would be beneficial to my life here.

Luckily, I didn’t plan on staying long, so trying to make friends here and raise my E.C.S. was not a thing that I needed to worry about. If I wanted, I could probably hoard all the supplement bars, then I wouldn’t have to eat that pink crap for over two weeks.

Arriving at Clarinets place, I was surprised to find Paixiao and Ruan there. Luckily it didn’t look like they were doing anything real private, though they were in lighter clothes then normal. “Hey, come in Chime!” Clarinet called from the back of the room, waving her hoof.

Trotting in, I saw that a few things had been moved around, and a cot had been placed next to the bed, with its own bedding. “What’s going on?”

Clarinet had a sheepish grin on her face. “Well I went to ask Paixiao if she wanted to hang out later, Ruan too, and they said yes. So were hanging out here, maybe having a sleepover.” She chickened out, she totally chickened out.

Paixiao trotted over, and sat on the cot. “For a moment there, I thought she was propositioning me. It was a little funny.”

Clarinet had a scrunchy look on her face, like she was desperately trying not to look embarrassed. With a sigh, I dropped the saddle bag, and got out of the overalls I had on. Having less clothes on sometimes felt nice, and we were all mares, so I didn’t mind it as much. “So what are you planning for this sleepover?”

Clarinet’s eyes darted back and forth, looking a little confused. She definitely didn’t think that far ahead. “you said you were getting a job, what did you get?” oh, so that’s how it is, throwing the attention back onto me.

“Ministry of Awesome, looks like I’ll be working with Blaster Beam.” Opening up my saddlebag, I pulled out the boxes of supplement bars. “I also go these as a reward for helping fend off the attackers, and as an apology over interrogating me.”

Ruan trotted over and looked over the box. “Nice, how many did you get?”

I pushed a box into her hooves. “Sixty, ten to a box. So I have plenty to share”

Ruan looked at the box, and then at me. “You sure, it’s yours?”

Shrugging, I picked up to other boxes, and trotted to the Clarinet and Paixiao. “I plan to just keep two boxes for myself, the rest you girls can have.” Passing each of them a box, I could see that Paixiao was salivating. “Just remember to only eat one.”

Paixiao looked at me a bit confused. “Only one?”

“Yep.” I said with a smile. “The rest are for you to make a few friends with. You know, bribe them with some food, and get a dialogue going.” I looked at Clarinet, who looked a little happy embarrassed. “And you, why don’t you use this as an opportunity to get a special somepony. I’m sure there’s a few mares here that have shown some interest.” Now her happy embarrassment turned into just embarrassment.

Laughing, Paixiao patted Clarinet on the shoulder. “Here, I’ll ask around my work, see if there’s any single mares who are into mares. There’s got to be at least one or two.”

Ruan trotted over, already eating one of her food supplement bars. “I can do the same. I don’t know about this one mare, I think she may just be a slut, but she does seem to be into other mares.” Her eyes moved from Clarinet, and over to me. “So do you know what you will be doing in the M.o.A. frankly I don’t know shit about them, just that the do… things?”

Now all eyes were on me, and I felt a little embarrassed. “Well, I’m not quite sure yet, but I’m going to be working with Blaster Beam. You know mare that guided us off the island, So I don’t think it will be paper pushing.” I pulled out the pin from the shirt pocket I had put it into. Paixiao and Ruan looked at the pin with some awe, but Clarinet looked a little disappointed. “Is everything okay Clarinet?”

She nodded. “Ya, but it means you will probably be leaving. Ponies who work with the M.o.A. tend to not stay in one place for long. But I’m glad you got an important job, I knew you were something special.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not all the special, I’m just useful to more powerful ponies, that’s all. Frankly, it feels like I’m just an available pony in the right place at the right time.” If there was anything I learned from being here, it was to not get a big head, and downplay everything I do. The sooner other ponies think I’m not equal with them, the sooner I start getting unwanted attention from ponies that could pin me as a spy. “If any of you would like to switch places with me, I’d be willing to, but I’m not sure how Blaster Beam would feel about that.”

Paixiao and Ruan both shook their heads at the idea of working with Blaster Beam, and Clarinet laughed. “Sorry, but I’m needed at medical.” Clarinet said through her chuckling. “A M.o.P. representative will be coming around soon to check the clinic, so Doctor Click needs me to help keep the place up to standard.” Clarinet put her box of supplement bars to the side, and got off the bed, trotting to her terminal. “Here, let me show you how set up new contacts, so that we can stay connected with each other over the network.”

Setting new contacts through my E.C.S. was no different than it was on the network at home, but I had to use the pass card to access my contacts. Shortly, Paixiao and Ruan were added to my contact list, and I was to theirs. This made it so that we could send messages to each other from within the republic, All I needed to do was access any terminal with my E.C.S. pass card.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, as we shared a little bit about ourselves. With myself having to be careful to not let slip about being with Orthrus, but my time after it gave me a lot to work with, so it was easy enough to do. Clarinet avoided talking about her time as a raider kid, which was understandable, and Ruan didn’t have too much to say, as she lived a relatively normal life. Paixiao was the one with a lot of stories to tell, though timid looking, she had definitely been through a lot. And she had ended up on pineapple island as a cheap escort for a pony who later put themselves in a drug coma. She managed to stay on the island working with a locale drug dealer, probably the one I knocked out.

Later, after we had our dinner, more supplement bars, we went to visit clarinets foals. I took a box with me, and hoofed out the bars, of which the foals gleefully took. I still didn’t like this place, it felt like a school that the foal wasn’t allowed to leave. It just didn’t sit well with me, with all the foals living here, away from their parents, like a big carrot and stick wrapped together.

At the end of the day we retired to Clarinets place, the cot giving us enough room to all comfortably lay down. Ruan and I pushed Clarinet and Paixiao together, the two ponies having a habit of sleeping nude, even when sharing a bed with other ponies. Not to say I never did, but not when sharing the bed like that, it just sent the wrong message. It was a bit odd to sleep as a group, but still a bit comforting having other ponies around me like this. I just wished that I didn’t have to lie to them about myself, or that I was not in a place I didn’t belong.

______________________________________

Feeling a little groggy, I opened up my eyes, and saw that I was an hour ahead of the alarm. I could barely make out the others, but I could tell that Ruan’s hoof was poking me in the back, so I rolled off the cot I was on. Stretching my back and little wings, I couldn’t help but feel a bit better after the night’s sleep.

Searching for my stuff didn’t take long, as I had already packed what I’d be taking with me anyway. As it turned out I had room to spare in my new saddlebag, even fitting the old saddlebag. It was just something about how they made the bags, always being able to hold far more than you think it should.

Putting on my gray jumpsuit, and military cap, I quietly slipped out before anypony woke up. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to say goodbye. I had only known them a short time, but I knew there would be tears, probably from Clarinet, and that’s probably why. If a pony started crying, I might. From Rufus and Turnip, I know I’d start crying.

Very few ponies were up and about at this time, and most of them gave me suspicious glances. I didn’t care all that much, I had better things to worry about then when the ponies here thought about me. The food court was mostly empty, and I didn’t feel like eating pink mush, so I trotted on past it, and made my way to where I was meeting Blaster Beam.

Biting down on the supplement bar, I now had seventeen left, I took a good look at the station. It had a lot in common with the station at Charon’s Stop, but cleaner, and without the boxes of dead ponies. The place was a whole lot of gray, with a few thick lines of color as guides for ponies to get to the trains, and more propaganda posters framed up like they were advertising a movie.

It didn’t take long for me to find who I was looking for, the reaver Blaster Beam was sitting by an old ticket stand, drinking a bottle of blue glowing Metro-Cola. Trotting up to her, I smiled. “And here I was worried that we couldn’t get any Metro-Cola here.”

“You’d think right.” Blaster Beam dug into her bag, and tossed me a bottle of Lurker-Blue. Popping the cap off the Metro-Cola bottle I chugged the wonderfully stupid drink, it’s chemical flavor washing down my throat, making me shiver. The cyber mare chuckled. “Careful there, you can drink yourself sick on that stuff.”

Putting the now empty bottle down, I gave a relaxed sigh. “But it be worth it after all the crap I’ve been through.”

“Like what?” Blaster Beam said dismissively. I pointed at the scar on my lip, and she paused for a moment. “Okay, I’ll give you that. Now hoof over the bottle, I can’t get a refill if I break em.”

I gave her back the bottle, even picking up the bottle cap to give back to her. “So I’m guessing it’s a ministry thing, the cola I mean?”

Blaster Beam looked like she was giving some serious thought into it. “Not quite… It’s more that Metro-Cola made a deal with the republic, allowing them to sell their cola to us, but the I.o.E. control where the soda is sent to. So you can find a few vending machines here and there, but they run out of supplies fast. If you want a more consistent supply, you need to know a pony who’s in good with the I.o.E.” A big grin formed on her face. “If you impress me, I’ll introduce you to a pony I know who can hook you up.”

It was a tempting offer, but I rather go home where I could get cola whenever I wanted. “I guess I’ll just have to give it my all… say, what are we doing?”

The cyber mare motioned with her hoof for me to follow her. We walked over to where the boarding section of the station was, with bright yellow lines signifying were ponies should not stand. “You’re going to help me root out a few spies. If we’re lucky it will be nothing more than some fool who gotten a little greedy, and needs some re-education.”

“And at worst?”

She lifted up a hoof, and it glowed a little red from the inside. “You make sure none get away as I clean house.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant. “So the M.o.A. hunt’s spies, good to know.”

Blaster Beam laughed, her synthetic voice almost squeaking. “We do more than that, far more than just that.” She gave me a you’ll see look, which made me a bit worried.

A railway cart appeared not long after, the pony driving it also having a M.o.A. pin on. As it turned out, we were going to use a more private rail line, not used by the common citizens. The other pony didn’t talk much, not that she needed to as Blaster Beam talked for the three of us through the whole trip.

Most of what Blaster Beam had to talk about where her interests, mostly boring to me. A lot of it had to do with her favorite show she saw as a filly, Pony Town, which I remember watching when I was younger. It was about six friends solving friendships problems, not a bad show, but after a long and slow decline in its popularity, the shows eleventh season marked when it went downhill hard. Blaster Beam’s hobby was collecting the figurines from the show, but dropped it after joining the republic. Now, from what she said, she just makes her own, including plush dolls.

She did talk about something that was interesting, and that was about her cybernetics. She didn’t say much, but she did say that they were prototypes. Her, Theremin, and Waterphone had experimental cybernetics, which was meant to give them an edge in combat. From seeing her and Theremin in action myself, I could attest to this fact. I was disconcerting that the Republic was planning on making more, but not surprising.

______________________________________

We arrived at our destination after some time, the driver simply leaving after dropping us off. Looking around, I saw a large sign that let me know I was at Friendly Town Station. “Why Friendly Town?” I asked mainly to myself.

“because the old name gave ponies the creeps.” Blaster Beam answered.

I chuckled. “Like what, dead pony station?”

She just shrugged. “Castle Rock, same as the ruins of the town above. I only know the name because I’ve been up there. It’s an odd looking town, from what’s left of it, something like the old east coast equestrian villages from a few old horror, and period movies.”

“So why the name change?”

She huffed. “Nopony knows, the history all went up in smoke about a hundred to a hundred and fifty years ago. Something about an old ghoul going nuts or something, before chewing on the electrical wires.”

I sighed. “You know; I don’t think I want to know more anymore. So where to… boss.”

Blaster Beam smiled. “That’s a good mare. Our first stop is to talk with the local security, see if they got a pony in lockup.”

Friendly Town Station had a lot in common with Trust Town Station, both were clean, had the propaganda posters everywhere, and had a pony population that would give us less then friendly glances when they thought we were not looking. Stable-Tec was good at what they did, but I wished they would add some variety to their underground constructions, all the gray made me depressed sometimes.

There was one thing that was different about this place, all the ponies here had piplegs. Not as well built as Minerva was, the legs were more of an old pipbuck attached to the prosthetic leg. Observing the locals as we passed, the pipbucks seemed to act a lot like an ID, or the E.C.S. pass card. They would use it to get food, pass through checkpoints, and even access terminals. I’d seen similar thing before, mostly involving high security in Orthrus, or sometimes with wealthy ponies who used pipbucks for extra security.

Using pipbucks for ID’s was nothing new at all, and was common practice in Orthrus over fifty years back. But like with all security method’s, the syndicate had cracked it, and had been using it to get around Orthrus. There was a big scandal because of that, and the general use of pipbucks as ID fell out of practice outside of controlled environments where the pipbucks can easily be tracked. Minerva itself was an old refurbished Orthrus pipleg from that time, probably how my sister could have even afforded it.

“Does everypony here have one of those?” I asked, pointing at one of the crude piplegs.

Blaster Beam looked over at what I was pointing at, back to me, and nodded. “Yep, citizens who have properly settled in get one as a sign that they have come closer to equality. It makes it much easier to use your E.C.S. pass card, as you install it into the leg, and it allows you to wirelessly access any terminal nearby. With it, if you are hurt it will call for a medical team, if you're lost it helps us find you, and if you’re in danger it will let ponies like me know, so we can come and help. Cool, right?”

I just nodded, keeping my expression neutral. To me it simply sounded like a tracking device, a very advanced, and intrusive tracking device. Not that most pipbucks weren’t like that, the older models were notorious with how easy it was to track and extract information from. Newer models, like the Orthrus pipbucks, were a lot more secure with the information it held, having their own encryption algorithms for private information. It could still be cracked, but the time and effort it took cracking just one Orthrus pipbuck made it an expensive endeavor.

I missed having Minerva on me.

Arriving at the security station, it was just as I thought it would be, but with more gray than blue. The ponies here had light padded armor, most had riot helmets, and were armed with batons, some with magical energy muskets. Their muskets were shorter, and had what looked like a scattershot lens at the end. It was not the most efficient way to set up a one shot rifle like that, but when dealing with a civilian population, intimidation was far more useful than efficiency.

The station itself had a less is more feel to it, with far fewer posters around here then anywhere else we had passed by. Deeper into the security station, we came to a spot where there were a few private offices’, and Blaster Beam began poking her head into them one by one, stopping at the third one down.

A mirage pony stallion sat behind the desk, reading some paperwork. Clean cut mane, and even cleaner uniform, he reminded me a bit of my father. Blaster Beam stepped in, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the stallion raised his hoof, cutting her off.

“Just a moment, miss.” He said, looking a little red in the face. “You can stop now lieutenant, we have company.” A loud thud came from under the desk , as though something had hit it.

More noise could be heard, it sounding like somepony shuffling under the desk, in small frantic movements. Soon a head poked up from under the desk, it was a strawberry pink mirage pony mare, with a lime green mane. Her uniform was disheveled, and had not been properly buttoned up, making her look like a mess. It didn’t help that she had some white fluid on her cheek. Standing up, the mare saluted “Lieutenant Kendang!” I pointed on my cheek where the fluid still stuck to her, and seeing me do this, she scraped it off her cheek, and licked it off her hoof, acting like nothing was wrong.

The stallion face hoofed. “Sorry you had to see that ladies, but why are you here?”

Blaster Beam took a few steps forward. “Detective Timpani, my name is Blaster Beam, of the M.o.A. and this is-“ She pointed at me. “-my assistant, Chime. We’re here to see the trouble maker you apprehended a few days ago.”

Timpani, raised an eyebrow. “Fife? If there was anything more to interrogate out of her, we would have already done it.”

Blaster waved her hoof dismissively, and smiled. “Oh no, no. We just have a few questions. I doubt she would know anything about what we're after.”

Sighing, the detective rummaged through his desk pulling out some keys. “You know what, I don’t care. Just don’t leave a mess or anything, and bring back the keys. You M.o.A. are all just bad luck for us regular folk.”

Sliding the keys to her, Blaster Beam placed them in her pocket. “Good stallion, now go back to getting your staff waxed, I’ll just throw the keys back in on my way out.”

We left the two, and made our way to another part of the security station. The few guards that were on duty, simply got out of Blaster Beams way. Truth be told, I’d do the same, the guns coming out of her back were pure intimidation.

Finding, and entering the cell of Fife, the mare was a cream yellow pony, with a purple and light blue mane. Overall on the cute side. “Can I go yet?” her voice was a little squeaky, adding to her cute demeanor. “I swear I didn’t know, not at all.”

Blaster Beam rolled her eyes. “Kid, from the information I got, you damn well knew whoring yourself out like that would get you in trouble.”

The mare snorted. “I was not; it’s called the marefriend experience. There was no whoring involved.”

“Ya ya, whatever. That’s not what I’m here for.” She stepped up to the younger mare, and Fife backed up onto the wall. “I want to know about your friend Quena, and where to find her?”

Fife looked away from Blaster Beam. “I… I don’t know, we haven’t talked in like years. Not after she met somepony new. A stallion I think, never met the pony.”

“Anything else?” Blaster pressed.

“Ahh…” Fife looked over at me, and I just shook my head. “Yes, there is one thing. She took me to where she was meeting the stallion once, the residential tunnels behind the water processing plant. I think he lived there, or at least close.”

Blaster backed away. “Good, that's enough for me.”

Fife sat up on her bed. “So, am I getting out of here?”

Chuckling, Blaster stepped out of the cell. “I’ll talk to somepony about it.”

Blaster Beam didn’t mention it to anypony, and simply tossed the keys into the detective’s office, and left. From the sounds coming from the room, the two security officers were probably having rough sex, of which I was glad not to see.

“Wait, if everypony has a pipleg, then why do you need to ask about the mare’s location?” I felt it was a fair question. And possibly something I could use if I ever needed to slip away.

“Her signal went offline a few days ago, security was sent to check on her last known location, but she was missing. The I.o.E. thinks foul play, the M.o.A. thinks she’s in contact with a spy.” She gave me a confident look, the kind that a pony gives when they know their right. “I’ve seen it before, ponies suddenly dropping off the grid, only to reappear a few days later. In many case it’s just the pipbuck acting up, but sometimes it’s spies.”

Thinking about it, it didn’t add up for me. “How do you know she is involved with spies?”

Blaster Beam laughed. “They all are. My theory is that the malfunctions are just false flags meant to throw us off, so to get security lazy about checking up on the ponies who fall of the network. When the spies are sure security is no longer looking for them, that’s when they take the pony to their hideout. We just need to find Quena, and get her to take us to the spy.”

“That… makes sense.” I said, thinking that it made sense in a paranoid kind of way. But I had to ask. “Any proof?”

She shrugged. “None yet, But I know that those piplegs aren’t some cheap knockoff. I asked a contact of mine in the M.o.A.S. and they told me that even striped down, the pipbuck legs that the republic makes don’t malfunction unless damaged or tampered.”

“I’m guessing that they weren’t damaged?”

Blaster shook her head side to side. “Nope, barely even a scratch from what I’ve heard.”

We practically had to walk to the other side of Friendly Town Station, which was not that far distance wise, but over two hundred years of it being lived in, most stations were a maze to get around if they didn’t have a main street, this station didn’t. So after having to pass through two separate residential tunnels, and the market place, we arrived at the water processing plant. Providing clean water for the rest of the station, it was easy to recognize with all the pipes poking out of the old tunnel. I didn’t poke my head inside, so there was no way for me to know how the place was being powered. If I had to guess, it was probably pony powered.

Like what we were told, behind the plant was another residential tunnel. The small homes were neatly built in parallel lines and stacked on top of each other. On one side of the tunnel was were ponies used to wait for the train, now turned into an extended housing zone, making the area feel bigger than it really was. Looking at the whole place made me appreciate living in a newer tunnel, where they made more room for housing then what these ponies had. Though it was still far better than the shanty town of Charon’s Stop.

Blaster Beam hoofed me a paper wrapped box. “Okay. You get looking, I’ll keep an eye out.”

“And The box?”

She rolled her eyes. “Right, need to explain the plan more. You're delivering the box to this Quena, but can’t seem to find her, and need to ask the ponies here if they know her. Mail ponies are known for their determination, so it shouldn’t raise too much suspicion.”

I shook the box, finding it light as a feather and probably empty. “So why not use a mail pony for this?”

“We did, but they can’t spend all day on one package, and no clue. So I’m using you.” She pushed me into the tunnel. “Now stop asking questions, and get to work.”

The plan seemed solid enough, except for the fact that most ponies were not at home, and I was not a mail pony. The first few doors I knocked at remained silent, the lack of light coming from under the door was probably a good sign that nopony was home. Skipping the homes that were probably empty, I when straight for the ones that were obviously occupied.

The first pony was a very thin mare, who looked at first hopeful, but annoyed when I told her what I was there for. The mare didn’t know a Quena, and slammed the door on me, when I tried to press for more questions.

The second was another mare, Mostly dark gray on light gray, and very tired looking. I had to admit that she had lovely blue eyes, too bad they were a bit red, and had heavy bags under them. She didn’t know a Quena either, and promptly fell asleep standing up. Feeling neighborly, I helped the mare back into bed, tucking her in. On my way out I could see she had a fair collection of the poster cards that Clarinet obsessed a bit about.

Third was a stallion with a filly on his head. He was friendly and polite, talking much like Clarinet did. Sadly, he hadn’t heard of a pony named Quena either, But he did point me in the direction of a pony who might, telling me that she “knew” everypony worth knowing about.

I knocked on the door that the stallion directed me too, and from behind it came the sound of rustling, and the sound of bottles falling over. The door opened to reveal an odd sight, A mirage pony mare dressed up in scanty nightwear, with a lab coat over it, and a bottle of what I could guess was alcohol on her head. “Heeey, *hic* are you here for a checkup, abit *hic* of a bad time… and place.” The drunk mare had a dark brown coat, and a golden blond mane. Red fishnet stockings covered her back legs, with a translucent black veil draped over her body, and red panties almost too thin to cover anything. I was glad that she had the white lab coat on, or I would have mistaken her for a prostitute.

“No, no.” I dismissively waved my hoof. “I’m here delivering a package for a miss Quena, but can’t seem to find her current residence, the most recent information on her states that she may have lived here. I was wondering if you knew where I could find her.”

The mare looked a little disappointed. “That’s no fun. *hic* I was half expending you to say that you have a big package for *Hic* me, and yada, yada.” She scratched her chin, before her eyes opened wide. “The name rings a bell, but I doubt I could *Hic* remember off the top of my head.” The bottle fell off her head and into her hooves. “Oh that’s where you have been! You bad *Hic* boy.”

A poor lead was better than no lead, that was what I hoped. “Well is there anything you can tell me?”

The mare paused for a moment, and shook her head. “*Hic* no, not here. But I may have a file on the mare. *Hic* at my office.”

I sighed, knowing what I had to do next. “Can you take me to your office, the sooner I get this delivered, the better.”

She squinted her eyes at me, and wobbled a little. “I don’t know, it’s my day off, and I’m a little tipsy.”

Scratching my chin, I had an idea that seemed real stupid, but I was in fuck it mode at this point. “I have some food supplement bars I can give you in return.”

The mare raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

I pulled out three of the bars, and hoofed them over to her. “Really.”

She looked at the supplement bars and shrugged, taking them, she threw them into her room. “Good enough” stepping out of her small house, shutting the door behind her. “Let’s go! *Hic*”

I face hoofed. “Names Vi… Chime, Chime Catbell.”

“Charmed.” The mare said with a wobbly bow, “My names Viola d'amore, the Obstetrician and Gynecologist, here in this station.”

______________________________________

Miss Viola was a confusing pony, and somehow though our walk she never once dropped the bottle of alcohol from her head, except when she was going to drink from it. She also didn’t bat an eye when Blaster Beam joined us, simply offering her a drink. Luckily for me, Blaster didn’t drink, having to do with her being mostly cybernetic, so getting drunk was something she simply couldn’t do, even if she wanted too. Supposably it was possible, but it takes ten times the amount of booze just to get her there, so it would be a waste of her bits.

The medical clinic this station had was a bit bigger than the one in Trust Town Station, with a few extra ponies working there. I saw at least two face hoofs from the staff as Viola trotted to her office, and one pony rise a hoof to say something to her, but dropped it and ignored her. I had a feeling that Viola’s outfit was nothing new, but still a bit out of the norm for a member of the medical staff.

“So walk around in your underwear often?” Blaster Beam asked Viola.

The medical pony smirked. “Every day, it’s just on my days off I go without the second layer. Not to sound like a nag, but most of the available clothes tend to be rough on my fur”

Blaster just shook her head. “And what you got on is so much better?”

“Oh don’t be that way, we all like to look a bit sexy now and then.” Viola said as she gave us a wink.

I wasn’t going to lie, even I had my own pair of black panties that I keep for special occasions. “But, don’t you normally dress sexy so that some other pony can see you that way. Not for getting drunk by yourself.”

Viola d'amore just stopped in her place, frozen in mid step.

I felt like I just hit the wrong button, no, I did just hit the wrong button “Ah… I mean it’s totally normal, nothing wrong with it whatsoever.”

She relaxed for a moment, and continued on. A short time later, we got to where her office was, though it looked more like the storage end of the clinic. Blaster Beam and I had to sit outside of her office, patient privacy and all that.

Looking back into the ward we passed, there were quite a few ponies laying down on the beds. None of them looked all that bad, but some had a hefty layer of bandages on. One pony had an IV drip attached to their neck, but still not looking all that bad.

“So did something happen?” I asked pointing at the ponies.

Blaster looked over at the group of injured ponies, and nodded. “Probably the tunnel collapse from a few days ago. It did happen near here, so it’s no surprise that the survivors are recovering here.”

“Oh, I remember hearing about that. Tunnel collapses are never fun, got caught up in one myself.”

“Sounds shocking.” She put up a fake gasp on her face. “So how’d you get out?”

“I got to an exit in time.” I rubbed my chin. “But got clocked in the jaw by a bandit soon after.”

Blaster Beam chuckled “Sounds like how my momma would say welcome home.” I raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. “you know what, let’s not talk about our personal lives right now.”

I agreed, though mostly because if I gave out too much, I could screw myself over.

A little later Doctor Viola came out holding a folder. “I think this is the mare you're looking for.” She opened up the folder, showing a picture of a meek looking mare. She had a brownish gray coat, and a dull pink mane. “She went by the name Cajón, but I got a quick look at her E.C.S. pass card, and the name Quena came up.” She pulled back the folder to herself, closing it. “It was all strange, not just the fake name. She had come to me, thinking she was pregnant, of which she was not. Also she seemed quite drained of energy. I told her that she should rest up for a few days, and sent her home.”

Blaster Beam had a smile on her face as she stepped up to Viola. “Any information on where she lived?”

She shook her head. “Nothing I know for sure.” Flipping through the folders documents, Viola stopped on one page. “But I did test her fertility, and it was normal. So if she thought she was pregnant, she might have been spending time with a transsexual that hasn’t told her about themselves yet. I’ve seen it happen before, never ends well.”

Blaster huffed with an annoyed tone. “And where can we find this tranny?”

Viola rolled her eyes at Blaster Beam. “Don’t be testy, you’re looking for Uilleann Pipes. She used to live near me, but moved a few months ago. Last I heard, her place is near the old stairs to the surface.”

Giving me a wicked look, Blaster turned around and trotted off. I looked at Viola, who had a look of irritation and dissatisfaction on her face. “Sorry about that, maybe we can meet up later for drinks.”

“Rather not.” She said with a less than pleasant tone. “Your new right? Just a bit of advice, get away from the M.o.A. as soon as you can.”

I sighed. “You didn’t need to tell me that. For me, if I don’t get away… it’s not if, but when I’ll be a dead mare.” Trotting off, I picked up the pace to catch up to Blaster Beam.

______________________________________

“Good day dear citizens of our republic, this is Garmon Keys, here to bring you a message. No stories this time, though I do have one I’d love to tell, but no, a message. It’s about the dangers that the capitalists bring and the secrets and lies they use like a dagger, ready for your back or throat. You and I are but a knife's edge from being nothing more than livestock for the capitalists to trade among each other.

They go by many names; the impoverished, the low income worker, the peasant, and the wage slave. All of them are the same, all suffer the same, and we can all become them. They are the property of the capitalistic system, never to be nothing more than a slave without a color, and a nicer sounding name. If they do not do what their superiors tell them to, then they do not get paid. And without pay, death soon follows.

It’s a cruel system, that’s for sure. None say that disobedience is rewarded with death, but that’s what comes in the end. Be it banishment to the station Charon’s Stop, or starvation in an old abandoned tunnel, that’s the fate of those within the capitalistic system, who do not submit themselves.

The Capitalists use the idea of freedom, and the feeling of independence to place ponies under their control. They inspire competition to trick ponies into placing gilded chains around their neck, as they compete to be the most well-groomed slave among them all. The ponies who live under the rule of capitalists believe themselves to be different, expressing themselves in all manners of colors, skills, and artistry, but it’s all an illusion, as they are trapped in a lie.

There is no hope for them, not for the delusional ponies who live under the capitalists. Not without help. That’s where you, my little ponies, come in. You who know the world for what it truly is. You who understand that freedom is not truly freedom, that self-expression is but selfishness and lies. You who understand that alone you are weak, unable to do much but whimper. But we as a group, as a nation, are unstoppable.

You can save them; we can save them. But only if we remain strong, if we remain unified. Every one of us are but a small part of something greater. It is great that the capitalists fear us so, and wish to tear us down, piece by piece. This is why we must remain vigilant. We have not yet made it there, the strength to unify the metro, but it comes soon. Until then, the capitalists remain our biggest threat, seeking to enslave us all. To brainwash our foals into their ideals, and turn our mares into breeding stock for their ever disposable workforce.

So I remind you, stay vigilant. The capitalists are out there, but together we remain strong. This is your president Garmon Keys, wishing you good luck out there.

______________________________________

The old stairs. It was a general term among most stations referring to the stairway to the surface. After the end of the war, they were the most guarded and feared part of the station. Ponies trying to stay as far away from the toxic air as possible. The blast door keeping everything out, even the ponies trapped outside. And if the door malfunctioned, it meant a slow death for the station as it slowly became poisoned.

It would have been impressive to see back in those troubled times, with ponies on guard twenty-four-seven. It would have been the gathering spot for scavengers, as they geared up before leaving, or selling what they had found. I had seen a few old photos of it, showing a dark time were ponies still found joy in life.

But today, the old stairs are rarely such a place. Having been sealed off up at the surface, the worry of toxins getting in was minor now. Most salvage had been found long ago, and the large groups of adventurous ponies had been replaced by wild punga fruit farmers. Friendly Town Station was no different, except that it provided space for more homes, just like the ones I had been at earlier.

Once more Blaster had me go door to door looking for Uilleann Pipes. Luckily this time the first pony who opened their door knew who I was talking about, and pointed to the right door. Trotting up to the door, I felt a little apprehensive about knocking on it, but with Blaster Beam staring a hole through my head, there was no going back.

I knocked twice, and waited.

“Excuse me, just give me a moment.” It was the voice of a mare, semi-sweet in tone. The door opened, revealing a brownish gray mirage pony mare, with a dull pink mane. She was without a doubt the pony Quena. Her cyber prosthetics looked like they needed some cleaning, rusting a little near the joints, and a few exposed wires. Her pipleg looked just fine, though the screen was all black, unlike the rest I had seen. “How can I help you?”

Clearing my throat, I pulled out the package. “Miss, I’m delivering this to a Uilleann Pipes, is this pony home?”

Quena looked uneasy for a moment before looking me in the eyes. “S…sorry, Uilleann is not here right now, can you come back later?”

I nodded my head, and stepped back. “Good day miss-“

With a heavy hoof, Blaster Beam cut herself between us, making a loud bang on the door. Surprising myself, and Quena, the mare fell back onto her flank. “You must be the elusive Quena, Not checking in your pipbuck when it is broken is not something a good citizen would do.”

Quena looked panicked, her eyes darting about, setting them back on me. All I could do was shake my head, as Blaster Beam invited herself in. Knowing what to do next, I stepped in, closing the door behind myself. “Really, did you have to scare the poor mare like that?” Though I was more annoyed at getting startled myself.

She just rolled her eyes. “Don’t give me lip newbie, it may not look like it, but I’m a busy mare. The sooner we get this mystery done, the sooner I can move onto the next job.” Turning her head to the cowering Quena, Blaster smiled. “Now for you. Don’t worry, we just have a few questions to ask. Once it’s all over, we're just going to turn you over to security to get that pipbuck fixed. Do you understand?”

Quena nodded.

“Good.” Blaster found a nice chair to sit down on, and motioned for Quena to sit as well. “Now first off, why have you not gone and had that pipbuck of yours fixed?”

The thin mare was jittery to say the least, looking between me and blaster, quivering a little. I saw that Blaster was getting irritated, at her silence, grinding her teeth. Sighing, I stepped in, pulling out a supplement bar, and passing it over to Quena. “Here, eat this, you’ll feel better.”

Quena stared at the bar for a moment before she bit into it. We both waited for the mare to finished, Blaster looking more annoyed by the second. After what felt like almost a moment too long, Quena spoke. “It’s the headaches. Like somepony was trying to get into my head.”

Blaster Beam huffed. “And what does that have to do with your pipbuck?”

“I don’t know, but it stopped when the pipbuck stopped. I just wanted it to stop. I... I hurt myself to make it stop. But one day I took off my pipleg, and the pain stopped. But I needed the leg to move around, so... so...” Quena looked away.

“So you tampered with the pipbuck part of your leg.” Blaster asked, and Quena nodded. “Okay, Defective pipbuck. I’ve heard of that problem before, I’ll just put in an order for a new one. Now for my second question, who disabled the pipbuck for you? Who had the tools to even open it up?”

Quena froze. “I... I don’t know.”

“That’s hogshit, and you know it.” Blaster responded with a tone of irritation. “Now tell me the truth.”

The mare looked away in a slow jerky motion. “I... I don’t want to.”

Before Blaster Beam could explode on her, I raised my hoof up between them. “It’s okay, we're just trying to find the tools.” I gave Blaster a nod, hoping she would play along. “You do know pipbuck tools are not something a pony can easily get. Isn’t that right, Blaster?”

The cybernetic mare smirked. “Not easy to get is an understatement. We're here to just retrieve the tools, nothing more.” Quena slowly looked back at us. “Still you and this other pony are in trouble, but it’s only a minor offence. A slap on the hoof kind of trouble, that is as long as you work with us. So, who had the pipbuck tools?”

Quena sighed, and rubbed a tear from her cheek. “Uilleann. He said that he found the tools, and was going to try to return them as soon as he fixed my pipbuck. Until then, he told me to wait here, he’ll be back with something to help me.”

“Last question.” Blaster Beams face looked like it was holding back a huge grin, her mouth almost twitching whenever closed. “Can you take us to him.”

She looks at Blaster, and then to me, with a look of distress on her face. “I... I don’t… I… I can take you to where I last saw him.” She said the last part with a sigh.

The grin seemed to overpower Blasters face. “Good.” The cybernetic mare pulled up her saddlebag and hoofed out six talismans, passing three to me and three to Quena. “Install these first, for your safety.”

I looked at the talismans and sighed. “What do they do?” asking as I installed them into my right foreleg, and my two back legs.

“Simple really, one is for a telepathic link between you two, the other records the memories of what currently happening, and the third is a chameleon stealth unit, not as good as invisibility, but if things go wrong, you two can hide as I shoot the assholes that challenge me.”

So simply we were to record and protect any information we saw, simple enough. “Understood.” Looking over at Quena, she was slow at first, but eventually complied, installing the talismans.

It was like something throbbed inside my head, not enough to be painful, but too much to be ignored. ‘Can you hear me?’

‘ah… yes… why are you doing this?’ Quena thoughts had a waviness to it, the mare was trembling not just in body, but in mind.

‘Just stay calm, I have no doubt that once this is all over you will just have that pipbuck fixed, and you can return to normal life.’ The thought I sent her seemed to calm her down a little. Looking over at Blaster Beam, I gave her a nod. “looks like everything is working.”

The grin on Blasters face receded, but didn’t stop being unnerving. “Good, let’s move out.” She motioned for Quena to lead the way. “Miss, if you may, show us where you parted ways.”

Quena looked over at me for a moment, and then at the ground. “yes… yes, it’s not far from here.”

______________________________________

The tunnel we entered was darkened, to few lights to make it conformable for a pony to traverse through. To many places for a bandit or monster to hide in ambush. There were even places where the lights have gone out, making spaces of utter darkness. It was the one thing I liked about the surface, at this time of day there were little to no true dark spots, as the sun lit up everything it touched. Here, it felt like the sun had abandoned it, and darkness ruled.

“It’s just ahead, that’s where we parted ways.” Quena pointed out.

Blaster Beam trotted ahead of us, and motioned for us to stay put. “I’ll go scout it out, if things go well, there will just be a dead drop. So stay where you are.” She moved on, throwing on a cloak from her saddlebag, and disappeared into the darkness.

“She won’t hurt him will she?” Quena meekly spoke up.

Knowing as much about Blaster Beam as I have had come to know, she was probably going to kill Uilleann. Not out of any duty, or order, but because it was easy. Blaster Beam came off as rash and blood thirsty. So anypony who stepped out of line with her was endangered, even myself. “No, Uilleann will be just fine. So don’t worry.”

‘Oh thank Luna’ her though hit me with a wave of relief, something not normal with a telepathy talisman.

Something did not feel right about all this, and the pit of my stomach felt as low as it ever had been. Shaking off the feeling, I had no place to show doubt, or risk revealing that I’m not who I say I was. “We just need to wait here for her to return. If all goes well, she would have found the pipbuck tools, and we can move on.” Quena nodded, and we continued to watch the tunnel for Blaster Beam’s return.

Being next to Quena felt odd, like the blood vessels in my brain were pulsing. Not enough to be called a headache, but the feeling was hard to ignore. Not only that but my body tingled, like it was being poked by needles that didn’t hurt, just felt strange.

She looked over at me, raising an eyebrow. “Are you okay, you don’t look so well.”

I shook my head. “No, I think I might be ill. Might have been something I ran into a few days ago.”

Quena took a step back from me. “Oh I hope It’s not contagious, that would be terrible.”

I chuckled at her response. “Me too. I hate to be patient zero to a new plague.”

We took to either side of the tunnel keeping a bit of distance from each other, not wanting whatever had hit me to spread to her. With how easily a sickness can spread down here, it was common courtesy to keep your distance from others when sick.

Feeling a bit bored., I sent a thought out to Quena. ‘So, how did you meet Uilleann, he sounds real special to you.’

Luckily for me, she responded. ‘At first he was a client. I normally didn’t get stallions; it was so easy for them to get a mare that it was a bit strange to me. It started as a date, the next day we became more intimate. After a week I lost my virginity to him, it was the most magical night ever.’

Even from the other side of the dark tunnel, I could see that she was blushing. ‘Sounds romantic.’

I could hear her giggle in her mind. It felt wrong to me. ‘He was like no pony I had ever met. Everypony here is so concerned with their E.C.S. that they have no time to get to know a pony, not even my parents knew me. But Uilleann took time to get to know me, every part of me.’

‘Sounds like you love him.’ I added.

She held onto herself, almost like she was expecting an embrace. ‘I truly love him, love him more than the republic itself. If the republic fell tomorrow, it would not matter as long as I had my Uilleann!’

It was a bit much to take in, but somehow I could understand what she felt. To want another pony so close to you that it hurt, there was no feeling like it. ‘Then why lead us to him?’

A cold dread washed over me as she tried to answer. ‘I, I…’

‘you lead us away from him. Didn’t you’ I thought to her, and she nodded. All I could do was face hoof at her action. ‘You do know Blaster Beam will take exception to this.’

Quena nodded again. ‘But she will never find him, never.’

‘Then you do know what will come of this.’

She nodded for a third time.

We just stared at each other for what felt like hours, our thoughts bouncing between use, but neither of us sending anything worth remembering. It all made my head hurt, far more than it should.

The sound of hoof steps broke our mental deadlock, and Baster Beam trotted in with a smile on her face. “I found them!”

Quena mentally yelped, her mind holding in a panicked reaction. Blaster Beam slowly moving up to her, if strutting. The fearful mare backed away a little, but got stuck on the wall.

Face to face, Blaster Beam was almost close enough to kiss her. “You my little pony did well to share what you know. So do you know that that means.”

“N… No.” she said as she shook her head.

With an irritated sigh, Blaster pushed the mare back with her hoof. “It means you go free. Just turn yourself into security and hoof over the talismans. If you do that, and get that pipbuck fixed, then there is no reason for us to ever meet a second time. You understand?”

Quena nodded, and scurried away. Tripping as she started to gallop away, she was confused at what had happened, and so was I. Her thoughts were only of Uilleann, and she hoped that she had not just sold him out.

Trotting over to Blaster Beam, something felt off about this. “Did you really find our target back there?”

The grin on her face was fierce. “It would have been boring if I had. But no matter, we know where to find them now.”

I raised a eyebrow, but before I could ask a question to how, I saw Quena stop in her tracks. The mare looking back at us. ‘Tricked, but how?’ her feeling of worry became overpowering, and both of us realized right then and there. It was the talisman’s.

A scream of pain hit my skull as Quena fell to the ground, she tried to scream but nothing came from her, only a lick of pink flames. Even from this distance I could see her skin crack, and burn from within, engulfing her in magical flames. In the end there was nothing more than ash, and the death wail burned into my mind.

Feeling enraged, I turned to Blaster Beam, going face to face with her. “Was that necessary! Did she need to die!?”

She just chuckled at me, a chuckle that became a deep guttural laugh. “She didn’t need to live either, and this makes things easier for us. How else are you going to sneak into their little hidey hole?” her laughter cooled down, and so did my rage, only replaced with confusion.

“What do you…” Something was wrong, my voice, it was... different. “What did you do?”

Rummaging through her saddlebag, Blaster Beam pulled out a mirror, pointing it at me.

I didn’t see myself, I saw a brownish gray mirage pony mare with a dull pink mane, I saw Quena in my reflection. “What is this?”

“It’s transformation magic.” Blaster Beam said with a smile. “One talisman copied the other pony’s physical characteristics, the other copies the pony’s memories, and mannerisms. It takes some time for it to properly copy the other pony, but when it’s done, it’s hard to tell the differences.”

It all made me feel a little sick. “But why kill her?”

She groaned in annoyance. “Because we can’t have two Quena trotting around, get with the program!”

Almost on cue, my body took a step back and cowered at Blaster. “S… Sorry.”

With a sigh, Blaster Beam walked up to me, and put a hoof on my shoulder. “You’re doing well Chime, and Welcome to the Ministry of Awesome.”

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest progression: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship. (60%)

Chapter 20 - A Game of Deception

Chapter 20 - A Game of Deception

It all felt wrong to me, like somepony had replaced my skin with that of another pony. Not just my skin, but eyes, tongue, heartbeat, my everything. It was not just my body that had changed, but my mind felt scattered a bit, with small flashes of memories that were not my own, and feelings of fear that were not normal for me. The feeling of fear I had for Blaster Beam was far different than that of Quena, as I feared being found out and executed, her fear was for the ponies she loved getting hurt.

The magic involved in the transformation was extensive, and the talisman must have been expensive to make. It couldn’t have been a mere prototype either. To give it to me would have been too much of a risk, so it must be part of a test batch at best, or at worst part of a series of new talisman’s that the republic now uses. Something like this would be of huge value to any interested party.

Sadly, the biggest thing on my mind was the third talisman given to me, which was the same one given to Quena. The only thing left of her was her poorly maintained prosthetic legs, except for the one that got the third talisman, it was half melted to where the talisman was installed. It was without a doubt a kill switch, and I had one too, and I doubted I could take it out without it triggering. Not that there were ways to prevent that talisman from killing me, detaching my back leg would do the trick, but it would put me in the bad position of being under suspicion.

Blaster Beam had me by the metaphorical balls, and she was enjoying every minute. It was the look on her face, and the skip in her step that told me everything I needed to know. She was like a mare who had four aces at the poker table, and another player just went all in. I on the other hoof felt uneasy, and the bit of Quena that was in my head made the feeling even worse.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

The smell from the kitchen was a bit overpowering, as though the cook was purposely burning the punga fruit, giving the place a bit of a sickly sweet smell. Not that I would openly complain about it. This bar was the only place a pony could go to get some alcohol that was not made from mushrooms, and the best place to get an easy mark.

Fife and I tried to work the normal bar, but the ponies who would drink mushroom vodka were only interested in getting drunk before going to sleep. Here they were more willing to have some fun, and were willing to give a young mare their time.

Two ponies trotted in, both stallions, or at least they looked like stallions. Androgyny was annoyingly common, so we often had to play ‘who has a dick’. Fife and I stepped out to greet the two ponies, hoping that they were interested in spending some time with a young pretty mare.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Shaking my head, I returned to reality. Whatever this talisman had done, it made me feel dirty. I have had heard of memory orbs, but from what I had been told about them, it was like looking through the eyes of the pony the memory belonged to. This memory talisman felt more like I was Quena, and it felt... wrong.

Other than the random memories, I also knew things I didn’t before. The station itself now felt familiar to me, and some of the ponies we passed, I knew their names. I also knew were Quena last met Uilleann Pipes, and even what he looked like.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

What luck, the Stallions agreed to hang with us, even buy us drinks. They didn’t even ask if we were old enough to drink, unlike the other asshats. The stallion next to me had this vibrant green coat, and a fiery red mane, almost too good looking to be real.

“So, what’s your name stud?”

The stallion chuckled. “My name, is Uilleann Pipes, what about yours.”

I couldn't help but giggle. “That name is doubleplusgood… I’m Quena.”

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Ya, the random memories were not going to be fun. Luckily Quenas memories felt a bit fuzzy and jerky, so I doubted that I was going to have a piece of Quena stuck within me. Though the old mare’s tales still bugged me, like viewing a memory orb too long can imprint the piece of that pony onto you for good. There were even a few horror movies about it, but the science said that it couldn’t happen. It didn’t stop me from feeling a bit worried.

Shaking it off I continued on to my new destination, Blaster Beam now keeping far back, possibly just sitting back and relaxing. She had activated the ID tag of the pipleg on me, so now as long as I had the leg, she and everypony in the M.o.A. knew where I was. So I went from having a feeling of isolation, to having hundreds of eyes on me. Oh joy.

It didn’t take me too long to get to where I was going. Shortcuts were everywhere if a pony knew where to find them, and Quena knew a lot of them. I found myself just outside of the entrance to tunnel that had collapsed a few days before. The ponies on guard were armed with Magical Energy Muskets, and had them at the ready which kept a constant humming coming off of them. Other than the guards, there was a rusty chain-link fence haphazardly put up in front of tunnel held up by a few barrels, and probably the hopes and dreams of the guards.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

I stood at the entrance of the old service tunnel, Uilleann embracing me in a hug and kiss. The old light bulb from the tunnel gave off a dull yellowish hue, and seemed to drown out almost all the color here, making everything look like it was in black and white. It made me feel like we were in that old romance movie that he had found for me.

Uilleann broke it off, and took a step back “Just stay at my place for now, I should have a solution by the time i get back.”

I shook my head, not wanting him to go. “But can’t we just go and get the pipbuck replaced, it’s just a headache.”

Sighing, Uilleann turned away from me. “You had a seizure last time Quena, and that was from your replacement pipbuck leg. No, I need to do this or you’re going to die.”

“But… but what if they find me before you get back. Shutting down the pipleg is plusungood.” I took a step toward him, but Uilleann simply raised a hoof in my way.

“Just do as they say, don’t worry about me, I’ll deal with them when the time comes.” Uilleann trotted off into the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

“Fuck.” I whispered to myself. If I was going to get through this without Blaster Beam flipping her shit at me I needed to find Uilleann or at least a clue to where he was. I doubt I’d find anything by rushing into an unstable tunnel, except my death. But sitting here doing nothing was not helping either.

Sighing, I decided to do the one thing I could actually do. And that was to ask the guards if they knew anything. Having had done guard duty myself, I knew that it was a boring and thankless job. When their job came to seeing other ponies, it ranged from seeing almost nopony, to seeing so many ponies that their faces tended to blend together. But I also knew that a lot of gossip did pass through them, so I just needed to be nice enough for them to share.

Quena meekness seemed to overpower my own confidence as I stepped up to the guards. No, not overpower, it was more like I was suppressing myself, and letting the memories of Quena fill in the void. “excuse me… so…sorry to bother you, but can I ask you a question?”

The mare on duty was covered up completely, her head in an old gas mask that seemed to be a bit too bulky to be comfortable. The reason why was easy to understand. If the air suddenly became poisonous, they can respond to it, instead of being the first victims. “Go ahead ma’am.” The guard said with a muffled voice.

“Thank you.” I said with Quenas meek voce. “You see, my special somepony left through this tunnel a few days before it collapsed, and I was wondering if you might have heard of him. You see, he’s a stallion, so you can’t miss him, name’s Uilleann Pipes?”

The guard looked to her partner, exchanging looks for a moment before looking back took me. “A stallion you say… We might have. What did he look like?”

“Green coat, red mane. You can’t miss him.”

The guard chuckled for a moment. “Sounds like a catch, but sorry, no I have not seen him. I can put a call out, see if another guard has.”

“Yes, that would be doubleplusgood.”

“Right and your name miss?” The guard asked.

“Quena.” I answered, making me wonder just how many names I will go through before this was over.

“Now sit tight, I’ll put a call out.” The guard hoofed out her radio and made a call.

Carefully observing the guard, though trying to avoid appearing to doing so, I saw that she had switched the frequency of the radio before putting a call out. It was subtle, but it was something I had seen done before. Commonly done when fucking with civilians, or sending a message to a different pony then the other guards. The thing was, you never did it when dealing with another guard pony, as we all knew the trick. A voice called back on the radio, so I at least knew she was not talking to dead air.

I did as the guard told me too, but with the knowledge that it didn’t go to another guard. I wasn’t being sent away, which was good, but something was up. Despite my worry I had to follow through with this, I was probably a dead mare otherwise.

Fiddling with the pipleg that I had, it made me miss Minerva. Though a bit old fashioned, the cyberleg was sturdy and reliable. This leg I could walk on at least, so that was good. With a crackle, the radio turned on, and marching band music began to play. I was having a hard time telling what song this was, as most of the music here sounded the same, all marching band music.

The music died down, and the unexcitable DJ of the republic began to talk. “Hello citizens of the republic! I’ll have more music for you later, but right now I have a public service announcement. Beware of capitalist spies, they are as cunning as they are cruel. They seek to infest your mind with their poison, to get you to not see yourself as equal. To get you to put yourself above others, and be more like them.”

“One method is the cocktail party. Seemingly innocent at first, a get-together with food and drink, talking about what interests you. But when your guard is down, they will whisper doubts into your ears, never outright questioning the republic, just voicing small complaints. But that’s how it always starts. The small complaints will only grow, until they have you wondering if the republic should be burnt down, it’s people killed. That’s how a cocktail party works, you go in as respectful citizens, and walk out as terrorists.”

“If you see this happening, don’t be afraid to report it to your local security officer. Vigilance is what keeps us safe in these troubling times, and will be rewarded. The capitalists may try to tear us down, but together we are strong, stronger than they could ever imagine.” Music slowly faded in, and I felt even more paranoid now. What was the equalist word for all this, Untrue, doubleplusuntrue. Though I would rather call it a hog shit fucking lie. As far I knew, Pineapple Island and Orthrus didn’t even want to touch the republic, or at least they were more interested in letting the republic collapse in on itself.

After a while had passed I turned off the radio, the marching band music was starting to blend together, and become background noise. That’s when I saw a guard pony come out of the old damaged tunnel, covered in dust, and armed with a modified digger gun. The pony was still in full gear like the others, but it was easy to tell that the guard was looking at me.

“Miss, can you come with me for a moment?” The dusty guard pony called to me, as he turned to a nearby shack. Getting up, I trailed behind him, the shack we were trotting too look like a simple rest spot for guards. Inside was a cot, and a radio, but nothing more than that, so yeah, a rest spot for the guards. “If you take a seat ma’am.”

Taking a seat on the cot, my hooves just about reaching over the edge, I looked at the guard who sat next to me. I could hear a sigh from the guard, and she took off her gasmask.

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Uilleann and I wrapped ourselves in an embrace, the smell of his….

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Shaking my head to bring me back to reality, my heart thumped. Sitting next to me was Uilleann Pipes, the stallion Quena loved. So much it made my heart hurt. “It’s you.”

“It’s me.” He said, his voice a bit raspy, probably from working in the tunnel. “Why are you here?”

Now it was time to put this disguise to use, and hopefully move on from here as soon as possible. “They’re after me!” my voice quivered, and my body shivered. Quena’s feelings of fear and loneliness washed over me, my own knowledge of her death fueled the fear. It was almost as though Quena was still alive in me, and didn’t know that she was but a memory. “Take me with you, I just know they’re going to kill me.” Hugging Uilleann, it was like a dam had burst as I started crying into his chest.

A gentle hoof patted me on the head, and another held me tight. “It’s alright, stop crying, I’m here for you.”

“What am I going to do? They’re going to find me, and… and.”

Uilleann held me a little tighter. “It’s okay now, I know a place where you can stay. Just come with me and everything will be alright.” He got up, and pulled out a box from under the cot. Inside was another large gasmask, and the uniform that went with it. “Put this on, we need to go as soon as possible.”

Doing as he said, I slid on the uniform and followed Uilleann out of the shack. The two guards that were at the tunnel entrance were waiting for us, and two more guards had shown up in the normal uniform.

“Thanks for giving us a heads up.” One of the new guards said with a smile on his face. It was one of the more forced smiles I tended to see on most ponies around here. “It’s uncool that you have to go back in there, but plusgood that you're willing to do it.”

One of the gasmask guards chuckled. “We're just glad you can cover us, can’t have some foal wandering in and getting hurt.”

“Too true, if another colt falls down a well, it will be too soon. Thank goodness for the dog, or that kid would have died.” The replacement guard stated. “I hope the I.o.E. send us another, Lady is getting old.”

The gasmask guard rubbed his mask. “I don’t know if it’s true, but I heard that the I.o.E. is investing in advanced cybernetics. Maybe they can give Lady a new body.”

“Enough chatting, we need to move out.” Uilleann called out, and the two other gasmask ponies straightened up. “Sorry about how abrupt this is, but we need to check for a possible hole to the surface.”

Everypony saluted each other, and we were off. The old dark tunnel reminded me a lot of the tunnels on the big island. Luckily our masks all had torches attached to them, so our combined light held the darkness at bay, and allowed us to see most of the tunnel. Unlike on the big island, most of the vegetation around here came from fungus and not from tree roots. It also looked more like the tunnel was set up to have lights in it, but the collapse must have damaged the power line, making the lights stay dark.

Nopony said anything as I walked next to Uilleann. Any anxiety I was getting from Quena was easier to manage the closer I was to Uilleann. I would say that I didn’t understand what was wrong with Quena, but the fact that Blaster Beam killed her, I had methodically took her skin, and was with the pony she loved, this all made my brain hurt.

Looking up, I could see where some cracks had formed in the roof. The tunnel was defiantly reaching the end of its lifespan, even if it was probably made by Solaris. Centuries old paint, and some not as old paint had flaked off, adding to the dusty floor along with small bits of concrete. There was even garbage here and there. The very clean citizens obviously feeling that the old tunnel was not worth cleaning like their station. What surprised me the most, no not me, Quena, was a dead lurker hatchling. Unlike the sparkle-lurkers, this was one of the classic eight legged monsters. It looked like it took an energy blast, and almost half of it was burnt black. Around it was a few ash piles, some much bigger than others.

“What happened?” I said, pointing at the ash piles.

“Lurker infestation.” One of the guard ponies answered. “But we cleared it out.”

Uilleann got a little closer to me. “It must have happened after the collapse, and a connecting sewer tunnel must have opened up. The sewer tunnel looked like a lurker nest, so when the door broke open, the lurkers moved in to hunt for food.”

“Oh, does this happen often?”

Uilleann shook his head. “No… well not back a few years ago. The lurkers tended to stay along the coastline, but lately we have been finding more of them inland. They’re starting to become a bit of a pest.”

We continued further down the tunnel until we came to a blast door. It had survived the tunnel collapse relatively well, and opened up without much problem when Uilleann turned the switch. It was mostly dark inside, so we entering one by one, with Uilleann closing the door behind us.

“Just a little further around the corner. There’s a safe place there.” One of the guards instructed. I just nodded and followed them. Turning the corner, we entered a hallway that wasn’t too long, and at the end was a closed door. Knocking on it, the guard pony spoke up. “One pony seeks truth, two ponies seek love, and three ponies seek hate. We are the one’s who are like two, but seen as the three.”

I just raised an eyebrow as there was a long pause. With a clunk, the door opened and the dark hallway was bathed in light. Entering, I saw something I have never seen before… no, something Quena had never seen before I think. Past a bright hallway, was a bunch of hanging lines of beads, and some loud music, I found myself at a strip joint, much smaller than the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot, but very active.

“What is this?” I had to ask. This was definitely not something that the Republic would condone, so it had to be an illegal club.

“This is the Rad-Den, and your new home.” Uilleann said, as he took off his gasmask. I took off mine, and the smell of smoke in the room hit my nose hard. Tobacco was hard enough to get on the other islands, but here it felt like they were smoking it like it was going out of style. “Let’s keep going. You need to talk to the boss first.”

I just meekly complied, still a bit shocked to see what I was seeing. In the center of the stage was a stallion dancing on a pole, with almost everything on display, and a hat on. Ponies who were sitting down almost all had a partner leaning onto them, and there was a bar, with what I hoped was real liquor

As I moved along, the smoke, pounding music, and light faded to a less disorienting level until we entered a dim room. The room had little in it. Some photos, a painting, and a pony behind a desk. The pony wore a brown suit, and had a dark pink coat, with light pink mane, her brown eyes were enlarged by thick glasses. Something about her was familiar, but I just could not place it.

The mare took a long look at me, and as though the air deflated from her, her head hit the table. “Why is she here. Why did you bring her here?”

Uilleann ears drooped. “But she said she needed help.”

“And you bring her here, at this time? Did you not think that you could be followed?” The mare stated flatly, banging on the table as she talked.

Uilleann took a step back. “But I was thinking that-”

“No, you weren’t thinking, that was the problem.” Her eyes turned to me, and softened. “I’m sorry that it had to come to this. I will set you up with a room for now. And also, does your head still hurt?”

I shook my head. “It’s all fine.”

“Good, how about the rest of you?”

“I’m feeling okay, maybe a bit hungry.”

“Okay, one last question.” The mare’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

“I’m Quena.” A chill ran down my spine, like somepony was looking through me. “Why do you ask?”

The mare got up out of her desk, and trotted over to me. “I know a lot of things, like how to run a business, and why the Republic should have collapsed in on itself a generation back. But there is one thing I know the best.”

My eyes darted over to Uilleann, but he simply backed up out of my vision, forcing me to look at the mare in charge. “Is it about breeding dogs. I like dogs.”

With a silver flash of light, the mare burst into silver flames, it was only for a second, but it when it was over, another pony stood before me… Quena was standing before me. “I know how to disguise myself as another pony, better than most.” Her voive matching that of the fearful mare.

I held my mouth agape, and couldn’t find the words. The pony who became Quena motioned her head, and before I knew what it was about, something poked me in the neck. Stumbling about in shock, I managed to not trip over my hooves, no thanks to the cheap forelegs I had now. “What did you…” my head started to spin, and I felt fuzzy. Next thing I knew I was on the floor looking up, and then everything went dark.

______________________________________

Music played in the background, the old classical kind. Deep Dwellers played the music all the time, often claiming it was from a better time, a time before Mirage ponies. I like to think it was from a time before they fucked up the world. But I mostly thought it was a shame to use such lovely music as a propaganda tool for racism. It felt unfair.

Opening my eyes, everything was dark because i had been blindfolded. Sniffing lightly, wherever I was had a musty smell to it. Old, but lived in.

“Who are you?” A voice spoke up behind me. It had a cold feeling to it, like the pony had no life to them.

“I’m… Chime.” It was best to keep up the act, I didn’t know who I was dealing with. Likely the ponies who knocked me out. But that transformation, it was possible that it was another republic group. So a test maybe.

“Is that so. You are not lying are you?” Not the line of questioning I wanted at all, so I shook my head and hoped that they moved on. “A shame, here I was hoping to find a mare by the name of Vibraphone, such a shame.”

Shit, this was not good. “Sorry, but I don’t know who you're talking about.” Bluffing was all I had, I just hoped that this pony was not into torture.

“Well you look a lot like her, sound like her too. Care to explain?” The voice whispered in my ear, feeling as cold as they sounded.

I was just being toyed with now, but I did have one thing on my side, the fake memory. I just needed to bullshit my way through this, maybe. “Not that uncommon, I’ve seen plenty of ponies who look alike. We could have the same father, happens all the time.” Sorry dad. “I knew two ponies who got in a relationship, only to find out they were related.”

The other pony chuckled, not that they sounded amused, more like they were mimicking some pony who was amused. “Is that so. Then if you could, if you see her. Send miss Vibraphone a message for me.”

The blindfold came off, and I found myself in a large cavernous room. Surrounding me were books, parchment, and stone tablets. Slowy turning, I saw nothing but a black wall. “What is this?”

“Look up my little pony.” Slowly, I tilted my head up, the black wall went up high, turning into what was a large reptilian body. It was a gigantic black… Dragon, like in the old story books. Nothing like the the paradise dragons here on the island. This thing could crush a paradise dragon under one claw. “Let miss Vibraphone know this; Her time grows short, and soon her mask will fall. Move swiftly to your destination, or be dragged there. The one you bested in battle will soon return, stronger, more driven.”

The dragon's golden eyes gared at me, and it’s mouth open, showing rows of dagger like teeth. A gout of black fire poured out, surrounding me, engulfing me. It was not hot, nor did it burn, it only covered me in darkness, as though feeding on the light itself.

______________________________________

“Wake up thee!” a voice loudly spoke into my ear, making me flinch. “Valorous, we must discuss our plan to escape this lodging.”

“Don’t talk right in my fucking ear, you’re too loud.” I responded as I screeched out. Everything felt a bit numb, and my head felt a bit light. “What’s going on?”

Getting up, and rubbing my eyes, I was met by red eyes… glowing red eyes. “We has't beest imprisoned by shapeshifting ruffians. That’s what’s going on.” Taking my time to clear my head and understand what was going on, it came to me slowly at first, but soon became a flood of understanding. “wherefore doth thee behold at me that way?” Mayall’s face, despite it being made of chitin contorted into a look a look of confusion. “Doth I has't something on mine visage?”

I shook my head, and gave her a hug. “No, you’re fine… and I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” It was then that I found that I only had one foreleg again, and the hug was more me pushing my chest into hers. “If I didn’t take Turnip with me… if I’d just gone on my own.”

Mayall pushed me off of her. “Don’t taketh responsibility for mine subjects, those gents art mine, and mine responsibility. His actions art mine to shoulder, and to grieve.” She held herself firm, but tears formed from her eyes, and ran down her purple chitin. It was like a dam had burst, yet she held firm. “that gent kneweth what he wast doing, he always knew what to do to keep me safe.”

The Sparkle-Lurker princess collapsed into me, though smaller, she was decently heavier than me. All I could do was hold her as she kept crying, I didn’t know how to console the grieving, so offering a lap to cry into was all I could do. I myself couldn’t help but cry a little as well, but my connection to Turnip was not as strong or old as hers was, though losing him still hit me hard.

We stayed like this for a few minutes, though it felt like it was a lot longer. Mayall’s sobbing slowly stopped, and she just laid there in my lap for a bit longer. After some time, she got up and straightened herself out. “My apologies, the last few days have been… Stressful.

I chuckled. “You and me both. You would not believe how much of an ungood time I had.” Pain hit my cheek, making a loud smacking noise.

Mayall had slapped me, her face looking serious. “Don’t use such degraded words, it only limits your ability to think, and prevents you from questioning authority.” I stared at her blankly, and she frowned, well tried to as she scrunched up her face. “It’s from an old book by Boxer Orange, called Era forty two. It’s a fictional book about a pony living in a dictatorship that is pretending to be a democracy. One of the tools that the fictional government uses is betterspeek, which just removed words to the point that a pony could not express themselves. Some of the words their society reinforced was plusgood and ungood, so don’t use them!”

Sighing, I once again chuckled. “Ya, this place has been a real head-trip for me. I’m even seeing some black mare with golden eyes everywhere. So ya, it’s just shoot me in the head, bad for me right now.” Stretching out my back a little more, I now just noticed that I was in a cell, iron bars on one side, and concrete walls covering everywhere else. Checking myself, along with the pipleg, the rest of the talismans were gone, and I was naked, even striped of my underwear. “Great… I hope they give us some cloths soon.”

Mayall groaned. “I hope they give us some real food soon. I can’t eat that pink slime they give me. It has some kind of chem in it.”

“Chem?” I had to ask.

She nodded. “Like the kind made from punga trees. Chill I think. The amount is small, but I can still taste it.”

Finding a nice spot in the cell, one without a stain on it, I laid down. “So, you’re allergic to it or something?”

Shaking her head Mayall sat next to me. “No, it’s more that we just don’t like the flavor of the sap. We can eat the fruit, but the sap is no good. Mother says that we were born of an old punga tree, so eating the sap is like drinking the blood of our kin. That is why it tastes bad to us.”

It sounded like an old mare's tale, but I was willing to entertain the idea. “So you’re born from a tree?”

Mayall flicked her rubbery tail. “No, we are born from eggs. I am born from mother, making me a princess.”

“Wait, so most lurkers are born from eggs. But your mother carried you in her womb?”

“Yes” she nodded. “Mother says that it makes us stronger, and smarter. Other lurkers do the same, not all live after new lurker is born, so most just lay eggs.”

With a loud clack, our attention was drawn to the door to the room we were in as it opened. Out trotted the leader of the ponies of this establishment, still with her too thick glasses on. Two ponies stood at her side, one of which was Uilleann, who luckily no longer affected me. The mare stepped up to the cell we were in, close to the bars, and looked down at me.

With a sigh, she spoke up. “Why the fuck are you working with the Ministry of Awesome Miss Vibraphone?”

I raised a hoof to answer, but suddenly felt dumbstruck. “You know who I am?”

She rolled her eyes. “I was there at the fucking gun show, over at Ironshod Firearms.”

I face hoofed, only now remembering her face. “Ya, I recognize your face,”

“Good” she huffed. “Now tell me why you’re with the M.o.A.?”

“Long or short story?” I asked.

“Make it short, time is not a comfort we have right now.” The mare responded.

Taking a deep breath, I went over the events that led me here, keeping to more simplified explanations. Starting with how my mission to the radio tower blew up in my face, and eventually ended up among the equalists. I didn’t need to go over in detail about my time with Clarinet. What interested the mare the most was my search for Quena, and her later death, Uilleann didn’t respond, but the mare did show some sorrow on her face over the news.

“Thanks for sharing, it’s troubling that they have developed such talisman’s, we will have to develop a counter for them soon.” The mare motioned to Uilleann, and he opened up the cell door, it making a grinding noise as it slid open. “Both of you out. We need to take you somewhere safe. Longer we’re here, the worse things will be.”

Mayall stepped out with me, not looking all that happy. “So fake ponies now treat me with respect. I should feel so blessed.” Her head was held high, but the pompous attitude was soon ruined by a gurgling noise coming from her stomach.

I face hoofed. “I got some snacks in my saddle bag, you can eat them.”

My heart skipped a beat when we entered the next room. In an open box was all my stuff that I thought was lost after being found by the equalists. My scarf and hat were still in good condition, and my guns were safe inside their gun case. The Fire Bug was even still here to my amazement. It just filled me with hope, not just that I can get home, but to stay sane as well.

My pipleg was there as well, oh fuck ya my pipleg was here. “That better be in good condition!” I said, pointing at the leg.

The leader nodded. “We had to check it for any tracking devices. We didn’t find any, so take it and go.”

With a wobbly skip to my step, I picked up the leg and shoved it into my side. Bracing myself for the feeling, I concentrated my magic into it, it flowing through me like warm water, into the empty space that the leg was attached too. Opening my eyes, the hud display was back, only appearing for a few seconds before fading away until I needed it. “Minerva, do a quick diagnostic.”

The pipleg beeped, and some data scrolled in my vision for a second. “Bioscan shows that you have trace amounts of chems in your system, and are at risk of minor addiction. Several hairline fractures in your skull, which have healed. You are advised to still seek proper medical attention at your earliest convenience. That is all.” Better than I thought it would be, but still not all that good.

Moving the leg around until I felt satisfied that it was working properly, I then turned my attention to my other stuff. Sadly, there was one big problem. By having all this stuff on me, I’d stick out like a loose nail anywhere I went. I was still going to have to keep it all hidden until I was out of here, or risk finding myself executed for espionage. With a heavy sigh, I pushed it all away and threw on my gray jumpsuit and the overalls I had gotten from Clarinet. I was going to least keep one thing on me, and that was my Lunar Eclipse. Putting it under the denim overalls it would stay fairly unnoticed. Placing the two cartridge holders next to it as well gave me eighteen bullets to use if this ever turned ugly.

I let Mayall hold onto the rest of my stuff. Though she had been less than happy about it at first, after shoving a supplement bar into her mouth, she was a lot more compliant. The next problem was passing the Sparkle-Lurker off as a pony. Pineapple Island may not have cared about Turnip all that much, but here in equalist territory that was going to be a problem. Luckily, it was not too hard of a problem with all the clothes Clarinet had gotten for me. The thigh high socks, a turtle neck shirt in the bunch along with some pants, along with a jacket over all of it, now she could pass for a pony. An odd looking pony, sure, but still a pony at the very least.

Her fin like mane and tail had a slight glow to them, but they could pass off for a normal mane and tail as long as nopony took a closer look at them. However her eyes, they also had the red glow, and would probably be a problem. Luckily, the ponies here had a pair of welding goggles which fit nicely around her head.

“How do you feel, Mayall?” I asked in a polite tone.

“Overly dressed. Why do you ponies wear so many clothes?” She threw a question back at me.

I had to think about it for a moment. Knowing our history, clothing was never such a big thing before the great war, and a lot of old picture’s showed ponies wearing not much more than a hat and a scrap of cloth. “Tradition mostly.” I said with a shrug. “But it does separate us from the more savage ponies.”

“I see. Back at the nest, back home, I let others use clothes to help separate ourselves.” Mayall said with a bit of a quiver in her voice. “It’s not that we can’t tell who is who, even if most of us look the same, we still know how to tell each other apart. But, I want everyone to be their own, to express themselves and not all be just the same.”

“Let me guess, your sister does not think so?” Remembering what Turnip had told me, the older sister was a tyrant, so it would make sense.

Mayall nodded. “Yes, she sees that individuality only weakens the nest, but mother lets it happen. They argue about it regularly, and mother has been slowly giving up ground.” Sounded like a bad situation. No wonder Mayall had ran away, the writing was on the wall for the Sparkle-Lurker’s.

“I guess your only option is to split off then.” I thought out loud. “And take anypony who would follow you with you.”

Mayall huffed as we stuffed the rest of my stuff into the gun case. Luckily my more important items didn’t take too much room, and everything else would not be all that suspicious for her to have. To top it off, her having the firebug on her out in the open might just keep ponies from getting too close. “But where would I go? Home is the only place I know.”

Thinking about it for a second, I remembered something important. “Turnip did mention that he and a few other Lurkers were fixing up an old submarine, if you can find it, you could go to what’s left of Equestria.”

Mayall looked dumbstruck by my statement. The Sparkle-Lurker was frozen in place, I even waved a hoof in front of her, but got no response. Before I could get her to move, a pony galloped in, sliding on the floor, and colliding with a locker. “We’ve got to go right now. Security is conducting a raid!”

“Let me guess, Blaster Beam is with them.” The pony looked at me a bit confused. “The pony with guns for wings and a gun for a tail.” The pony nodded franticly.

Another pony trotted in calmly, the leader of the group. “This could not be any more of a disaster then it could be.” She pointed at the pony who had ran in. “You, go get that monster pony to the extraction point, I’ll take miss Vibraphone with me.”

Mayall stomped her hoof like leg. “I’m no monster!”

The leader rolled her eyes, “Whatever you are, I’d rather the republic not to get a hold of you, so get moving!” The other pony lead Mayall away, closing a blast door behind them. “Now for you, we need to put on a show. Come with me.”

Putting on my gray saddlebags, I followed the leader to another room. “A show? I hope you don’t intend for me to sing, it’s not really a talent of mine...”

She sighed. “If only. No, sadly I have to have you play the good M.o.A. agent. Keep up the charade you’ve been doing. You understand, right miss Chime Catbell?” The mare pulled out my E.C.S. Passcard, and hoofed it to me.

I nodded. “Playing along is my only way out of here, unless of course, you have a way?”

She shook her head. “Normally, yes. However, it would be too dangerous right now, and the routes we use would be too difficult for a normal pony to pass through.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And what, you’re not a normal pony?”

She nodded, and was engulfed in a flash of silvery flames. Before me stood something closer to what Mayall was, but completely different. The not-a-pony was mostly brown with black dots and circles. She actually looked a lot like a moth with a fluffy chest, she had large brown wings that looked like they had eyes on it along with a white stripe going through it, and solid blue eyes. On the top of her head were two horn like things, which almost look like antenna’s. I was as in awe as I was shocked.

The not-a-pony sighed. “I am... we are known as changelings, though we call ourselves Ascalapha. As you have seen, and as the name implies, we were shapeshifters and can fly. So the places we can go, you cannot. My name is Sorrow Witch.”

“I… I… What?” I said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m sorry, but this is a bit much.”

Sorrow sighed. “Well, get it together because I need you to do something terrible.”

Something cold trickled down my spine. “what do you mean?”

She trotted over to the side of the room and hit a button, it opened a window that had a few ponies waiting in it, guns at the ready. “You’re going to need to kill a few of us in front of the security team that’s coming.”

I froze, trying to process what she had just told me, but it was just not clicking in my head.

“You’re going to stage your own escape, but to make it believable, some of us need to die.” Sorrow open up a box, and hoofed out a magical energy musket. “Don’t worry about us, we’ve sadly had to do this before. The plan is to have them see you before we start blowing the supports, this will force them to retreat, but keep you in good with the M.o.A. so that you can join back with them later.”

Taking the musket into my hooves, I couldn't help but feel uncertain. “Are you sure this will work?”

Sorrow nodded. “The republic of today is about collective thought, not independent inquiry. Even their brightest are easily taken in by a flashy show. Good for keeping order, not so much for the making of a smart citizen.”

“But killing one of your own?” It just felt wrong that she was ordering me to do such a thing. “Is there another way?”

The moth like changeling simply shook her head. “Not without more time. So just sit tight, I’ll be in the next room. If it all goes well, then we may both be of help to each other.”

Holding onto the musket, and checking to see if everything was in the right place. Though bit crude looking, a lot of care went into these guns. “So anything else I need to know; like anything I should say?”

Sorrow nodded. “Just tell them to get you out of there, if they inquire more, tell them that you got away, but trapped yourself in this room. After that is when you need to use that musket.” With that she backed out of the room, and closed the door.

Alone now, I figured that I should test the musket out first, and focused my magic into it. The musket was simple just four parts, with the rigging, the focus lens, the generator, and beam case. The rigging was the simple part, holding it together, my hooves on the shaft and trigger. The generator took in the magical energy I was sending through it, converting it for weaponized use. Aiming the musket at the window, I pulled the trigger. In a second, the energy from the generator flowed into the beam case, powering the beam talismans inside. Busting out of the case, hitting the focus lens, keeping the beam from simply dispersing after a short distance. With the musket having two lenses, it would have a good distance, but still not the best accuracy. So with a twangy sound, the beam hit the blast window, leaving a blackened dent in the heavy glass.

The musket was powerful enough, easily disintegrating most ponies it hit. but it’s power relied on the generator, and the beam case, so rarely were there any small enough to be a side arm like my revolver. They existed, I knew that much, but they were considerably expensive. It had to do with higher quality talisman’s, and parts to make a small generator. The full muskets on the other hoof were cheap, and easily mass produced, so they were almost as common as the air guns. Air guns were just more popular due to how quiet they were.

My attention was drawn away by the sound of an explosion. Muffled, but it was definitely a boom. Focusing my magic into the musket, I inched toward the window, where I saw the door to the other room open up. Two ponies jumped out from a cloud of smoke, but one was hit by a beam and turned to ash before she hit the ground. The other fell into a defensive position at the side of the door, firing back with a digger gun from cover.

Her attempts to hide from return fire proved useless. Blaster Beam dashed out from the smoke, and as she skidded to a stop, she spun around and fired a pink beam from her foreleg, turning the second pony to ash. Her wings flicked around, one spotting me and fired. The glass protected me, but the sudden burst of light right at me was enough to startle me back onto my flank.

“Fucking shit Blaster, you could have killed me!” I shouted at her.

Blaster Beam turned her head to me, and smiled. “So there you are!” Stepping up to the glass, she pressed her face up on it. “What are you doing in there, Chime?”

Remembering what Sorrow had said, It wasn’t going to be hard to form a simple lie. So with a sigh, I opened my mouth. “To make a long story short, your plan sucked. I was marked as soon as I got here. Luckily this raid gave me an opening to get away, but I only managed to trap myself in here. Any chance you can get me out, I already tried on my end.”

She backed off from the window. “Impressive that you’re still alive.” Her eyes drifted to the blackened spot. “Must be blast proof glass, we would need a circular saw to get you out.” Two security ponies stepped out from the smoky doorway, and saluted Blaster Beam. “Looks like you’re just going to have to just sit there and be pretty. We will have to clear out this place first.”

There was a small tremor, flakes of concrete fell from the ceiling, and the lights flickered. “I don’t like the looks of that.” I commented. “You think you can work fast?”

Blaster Beam had a look of pure annoyance on her face. “No it doesn’t. I guess it just means that we have to work fast.”

The room shook again, and a crack formed on the ceiling. That’s when the door to my room opened up and Uilleann ran out. “You!” he shouted. For a moment I could see the look of fear on his face, but he quickly forced it to that of anger. “You murderer. I’ll kill you for what you did to Quena!” It did look like he was forcing the anger, yet it seemed that there was some hate in his voice.

I lifted the musket at him. “Sorry.” He charged, and with one blast, I turned him to ash. Even as he disintegrated, he was looking me in the eyes. Fear, Despair, Hate, I think I could feel them all from the look he was giving me.

There was another tremor, bigger than the last. One of the security ponies pressed the lever on the door but it didn’t open. “Mam, it’s locked, or jammed. Don’t know which, but it’s not going to open.”

Blaster Beam rolled her eyes. “It’s just one of those days.” She looked me in the eyes, and motioned to the open door on my side. “Chime, you get moving and save yourself. If you get out alive I’ll be expecting a message on the network, I’ll add you as a contact, now get moving before this place collapses.” There was another tremor. “Now!”

Not feeling like waiting around until this place became my tomb, I ran out the door. There was so much dust in the air now, that it felt like I was back in the big island's tunnels. Luckily, Sorrow was waiting for me in another doorway, throwing me a gas mask when I got close.

“let’s move, we have a few minutes at best.” She told me as she slipped a gas mask over her own face.

Putting on the mask, I followed her down a hallway. “Why cut it so close?”

“Stupid question.” She spat back at me. “We simply have no time to spare, not with that mad mare out there. If we give them any time, they'd kill us all, so stop asking and gallop.” We rounded a corner, and through the next room. The doors were all open, probably to make it easier for others to escape. There were two other ponies ahead of us, hauling two very packed saddlebags, which luckily were not slowing them down.

With another ferocious tremor, the room behind us caved in, spewing a cloud of dust that we now had to outrun.

It was as if the entire facility was now trying to swallow us up. Cracks forming all around like it was breaking itself just so it can move the insides like a mouth, the dust cloud behind us like sick bile being spewed up at us. There was even water bursting through pipes and cracks like saliva, obviously salivating at the idea of eating us alive. The most mane raising thing was the noise the tremors were making, a combination of a groan and a roar. In the short time we ran for our lives, this whole place seemed to come alive like a massive, hungry monster.

With a crash, the two of us managed to make it out and into what looked like a service tunnel. Behind us became nothing more than a wall of rubble with some water seeping through. Trotting up to the mess, my heart pounding with adrenaline, I kicked the rubble. “Didn’t get me, ass hat!” The rubble shifted, and I was startle by it enough that I hopped back. It still had some life to it, the cunning beast.

“You’re gloating at a pile of rubble.” Mayall spoke up, her voice a bit muffled. Turning to see the Sparkle-Lurker, reality finally set back in, and I felt a little embarrassed. “Did you hit your head?”

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath. “I hope not, but I haven’t felt normal for days now.” Looking around, the tunnel we were in looked a bit cruder than the last, but still sturdy. It didn’t have the ancient call signs of Stable-Tec, or Solaris. It didn’t even look like the newer tunnels made by the Republic. “Where are we?”

Sorrow Witch placed a hoof… appendage… whatever it was at the end of her leg that looks like a hoof, but is not a hoof, on the wall. “It is a tunnel dug out by my people. We call it a migration tunnel.”

Looking at it, it was not as wide as most other tunnels, at most three ponies could walk side by side without touching the walls or each other. The ceiling had many supports to help hold it up, made of stone, and looking like it came from castles I’ve seen in old story books. It also had some internal lighting, though it was spread very far apart, with long stretches of darkness in-between.

“Can I get out of the republic through here?” I couldn’t help but ask, just skipping all this bullshit, and going home to a warm shower was well worth every bit I had right now.

Sorrow shook her head. “Sorry, but this tunnel only goes to another republic station. We had one tunnel that connected a free station to a republic station, but recently the station has been annexed by the republic.”

I felt some of the air deflate from me. “Never a lucky break. So where are we going?”

“Fishery station?” She stated. “Not one of the best stations, but the republic’s presence is not as strong there as it is in other stations, so we can relax there for a day or two.”

“Fish!” Mayall spoke up. “I could go for some fish. And here I thought ponies only ate food from a package.”

Sorrow looked a bit confused by the Sparkle-Lurkers response. “Ah… no. No, Fishery station is connected to an old aquarium and oceanic life research station. Simply, it’s for ponies to look at fish, not eat them.”

Mayall looked a bit annoyed. “Of course pones would just look at fish. Actually doing something productive or interesting would be too much for them.”

Feeling a bit irritated now, I put a hoof on Mayall’s flank, and pushed her along. “Let’s just get moving before some mole pony pops up, and we form a merry band of freaks.”

“Mole ponies? Like the kind in the Captain Andromeda comic? Surely they are not real… right?” Mayall sounded a bit concerned.

I just shook my head. “Let’s not tempt fate.”

The two of us followed Sorrow down the tunnel, being the last in what might be a long line of ponies. Though dark, eerie, and cold, I felt a lot more comfortable now. Like, for the first time in days I could let my guard down. Still, we were only trotting along to another equalist station, but for now, I could take in the freedom to be myself.

Strange that freedom came in the form of a long, dark, and narrow tunnel. I must be losing my mind...

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest progression: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship. (80%)

Chapter 21 - Reef Front Property

Chapter 21 - Reef Front Property

The tunnel came to a end in another shady looking joint. This one looked like a bar, but with large booths, in which the few ponies that were here sat close to each other. The bar looked like it offered a choice of drinks, but from what they had on the wall, there was at best two kinds of alcohol, and the rest were flavoring. Seeing one of their Daiquiri’s made my mouth water a little.

“Mayall, one moment.” The Sparkle-Lurker dutifully stopped, her head slowly looking around, eyes bouncing from one spot to the next. “I need to recover a few of my bits”

Mayall dropped the gun case on the ground, letting me open it and look through. “Why need the bit’s. Should we get moving?”

“Yes, yes we should. I agreed with her. “But first I need a Daiquiri.” It was good to see that my air rifle was still in good condition, and the knife that went with it was there too. Leaving them alone for now, I rummaged through the packed gun case, the case was fuller than it should ever be. “There we go.” I pulled out a small bag, the bits making a clinking noise as I moved it.

Opening the bag, I pulled out a bunch of bits. They were old standard republic bits, so not worth all that much, but they should get me a Daiquiri or two. Looking back at Mayall, I closed the case. “Hey princess, you want a drink?”

The Sparkle-Lurker looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. “I am thirsty; drink would do nicely.”

I had to give bits to the bartender, so he would make a Daiquiri. The punga fruit rum didn’t sound like it would work, but it did. I was a bit worried when he added an artificial lime juice flavoring to the mix, but I was not going to complain. So the rum, juice, and syrup mixture was poured into the ice filled glass. One for me, and one for Mayall.

After taking the first sip, I wanted to kiss the bartender. but he was not my type, attractive yes, but a bit too prim for me, and the probability that he was probably not a he, or a pony, that did give him a few negative points. But still, i would give him a kiss if it was proper.

“What is this, the taste, not good… not bad?” Mayall’s face was scrunched up, looking at the Daiquiri with an intense stare. The poor dear probably never had alcohol before, if I was back home, I’d treat her to some more drinks, see how drunk I could get a Lurker. “Why?”

Rolling my eyes, I just took another sip of my Daiquiri. “Drink it and find out.” She lifted the glass and sipped it, this time looking less revolted then before. “Good job, Cheers to our health.”

As it turned out, she was a lightweight. The Daiquiri was barely enough to get a buzz going for me, but Mayall, she was not drunk, but she was halfway there. It was funny to see that her face could actually get redder, though it also meant that her face glowed more too.

“What are you two still doing here?” Sorrow trotted by in her mirage pony form, her thick glasses sitting on top of her head. “I’m sorry to sound pushy, but you can’t stay here.”

I sighed, “We’re just enjoying a Daiquiri before getting back out there.” I gave the Sparkle-Lurker a glance before looking back at the changeling. “And I know she should be just fine as long as she doesn’t draw any attention to herself, but you really think it’s okay to send her out there?”

Sorrow took a seat next to me. “Look, it’d be one thing if we were in the heart of the republic, that’d be a death sentence for her. But here ponies have busy lives to live, so they're more likely to just ignore anything that does not involve them. Looking strange, and being suspicious are two different things. As long as this Lurker does not go sneaking around, messing with anypony’s stuff, or throwing off her clothes, then just about everypony is going to ignore her.”

I chuckled a little. “You know what, it was the same thing with Turnip. I think most ponies thought he just had cybernetics done to his face. I mean, when they saw it.”

Nodding, Sorrow gave me a knowing look. “Life is like that, the things that are out of the norm in life get a glance, but rarely does a pony do anything unless it defies their reality, or seems wrong to them. As long as it stays safely in the odd category, nopony bothers with it, and nopony reports it.” She motioned to the door out of here, getting out of her seat. “We're closing this place down, so finish your drink, and I’ll be waiting for you out there.”

I downed the rest of my Daiquiri, and got out of my seat. Mayall on the other hoof moved at a slug's pace. “Is everything okay?” I asked her as she slumped out of her seat.

The Sparkle-Lurker was crying, not so much to be sobbing, but I could clearly see her eyes tearing up, and one side of her face having already let a tear run down her cheek. It was strange to see, as she had no fur to soak it up, so it had just ran down her cheek, clinging onto the edge of her muzzle. “He’s… he’s...”

Fuck me, Celestia just come down and ram me with your horn, I’m an asshole. “I’m sorry.” Was all I could say as I hugged Mayall. She just buried her head into my chest, and let it all out, using me to muffle her sobbing.

We sat like this for about a minute until she let me go, Mayall slowly walking to the exit without saying a word. I felt like she just wanted to move on and talk about it later. Though, it was probably just me, as that was how I felt. I knew Turnip for about a day, she knew him much longer than that. So much longer.

Outside of the bar was another long, dark, run down tunnel connected to Fishery Station. Not much of a station at first glance, but most stations looked the same. Sorrow waited for us next to the door, now having changed into a plain jumpsuit instead of staying in her normal business suit.

“Good. Took you long enough.” She motioned for us to follow her. “I’ve already talked with the rest of my clan, and we all agree that it’s time to move on. Your appearance just showed that we have been getting lazy, so we need you to help keep the Republic off our scent.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How so? When I ended up among them, the first thing they fucking did was scan my memories.” I shook my head in frustration. “I only got out of that alive because something weird happened.”

She gave me a confused look. “You got past a memory scan? That should be impossible. Well not without some tech to counter it.” She sighed, sounding frustrated herself. “If we had the time, I would look into that. Unfortunately, we need to get the gears moving quickly, or we risk the republic starting a purge.”

“A what?” in any context that never sounded good.

“A purge.” Sorrow huffed. “From how the current republic goes on about the revolution, you think that it was popular, and only a few greedy troublemakers had to be thrown out. In truth, whole stations were slaughtered.” She gave me a worried glance. “The opinions of the equalists were actually very unpopular, but they managed to worm their way into power, and get the support of a very vocal minority.” A little chuckle came from Sorrows mouth. “When I read about how it all started, it sounded funny at first, just a bunch of spoiled foals talking about things they know nothing about. But as it turned out, you don’t need to know how the world works to burn it all down.”

We reached the end of the tunnel, and now the sounds of ponies could be faintly heard. “Why have I not heard of any of this?” I had to ask.

With a sigh, Sorrow was engulfed in silvery flames, turning herself into a mirage pony mare with a gray coat and a dusty blue mane. “I’ll tell you more later. First, I need to take you to your room. Even if the ponies here mind their own business, talking openly about the truth will not end well for us.”

We trotted further into the station, which quickly became something different. Much of the structure was the same as other stations at first, but further in it completely threw the sameness out on its head. Fishery Station was not just underground, but it was underwater. The long hallway we trotted down even had a window to the outside.

I had to stop in awe of it all. The window I looked out was clean, besides a few scratches on the inside, but still clean. Some algae patches were on the outside, and a starfish firmly rested on the outer edge of the glass. The water itself was clear, and I could see a school of fish in the distance, and even a shark. It was mesmerizing, if a bit frightening to look out on.

Lowering my gaze, I could see the coral reef that sat along the bottom with us. It was teeming with just as much, if not more life in it than I’d ever seen outside the metro. The Reef was like a jungle of rock’s, with fish swimming from one to the other like birds. Strangely enough, though not seemingly out of place was a group of Lurkers. The oversized crabs simply walking through the coral reef, seemingly unaware of us.

Mayall waved at the Lurker’s, but unsurprisingly they didn’t pay her any mind. “They never wave back.”

“I don’t think they can see you?” I told her.

“They can see us.” Sorrow spoke up. “They just can’t get to us, so they ignore us.”

Mayall looked out the window and sighed. “They never wave back.”

Tapping at the goggles, I got Mayall’s attention back on me. “You should put those on, and get moving.” With a nod, the Sparkle-Lurker lowered the welding goggles over her eyes. Looking out at the ocean one more time, a robot drone flew in, and began to scrub the outside window. “So that’s how it’s so clean...”

______________________________________

The trip to the room Sorrow was having us stay at was as uneventful as we hoped it would be. At most, ponies we passed gave us a glance and moved on, and even the few security ponies around this station didn’t pay us much mind. What did concern me was the higher amount of robots in use here. Though not entirely out of place to see in some stations, they would make it hard to get around undetected.

Mostly I was worried about the old sprite-bots turned into security drones. They follow the security ponies around providing them with extra light, the ability to scan a pony, and probably an extra eye like the one did for Sweet. Though there were fewer security ponies, the sprite-bots would give them an extra edge.

There were other bots around to. Like the ones cleaning the windows from in the water, but this place also had plenty of ponytrons walking around. They all look like they had been reconstructed to do a new job, mostly for cleaning, but there was one other built up with extra armor as it guarded a door.

It didn’t take us long to get to our destination. With how adamant Sorrow was, we didn’t dare slow down to take a closer look at anything. The room itself was remarkable, though still small. It was far bigger than Clarinets place and felt like a real living space, not just some box that we pretended was a living space. Other than the central living space, it had a separate bedroom and bathroom. Most importantly, it had a shower! To top it off, it even had its own window to the outside, mostly clean like all the others. Through it, I could even get a view of the station.

From what I could see, the Fishery Station was half underground and half underwater. It looked like that this station, unlike most others, was made for ponies to live in it. The residential blocks were at most three stories high, with the bottom half submerged into the seafloor. Dotted around the reef, these structures stuck up out of the bottom all over. Over the two hundred years the reef had simply grown over the metal structure, making it hard to see the other blocks in detail. Connected by a large and long pipe was a building that sat on the edge of the ocean shelf, probably even over it too. And along the stone wall, and sticking out of the water was another building. It was all so much to take in.

A hoof rested on my shoulder. “impressive…”

I swatted the hoof away, pushing myself away from the window. My heart beat was moving too fast, my breath shallow. I had to collect myself.

“Are you okay?” Sorrow asked.

I took a moment to bring myself back down. The two just staring at me. “Sorry, I just… I just don’t do wide open water very well.” I looked at the window again, and winced. “just remind me not to look out the window for too long.”

Sorrow let out a long sigh. “Great. You’re going to have problems. I should be able to get some anti-anxiety medication, it’s not all that strong, but it lacks most side-effects.” Her eyes then moved from me and over to Mayall. “And you. Other than the obvious, will you have any problems here?”

Mayall tapped her chin for a moment, and shook her head. “Nothing I can think of.”

“Right, I’ll make an order for our supplies, and then we can talk.” Sorrow turned around and made her way to the terminal. Plugging in a pipbuck she had on her leg into the terminal. At first glance it looked like her legs were cybernetic, but the more I looked at it, the more it was apparent that they were simply covered in a metal bracing. It seemed so simple, yet I didn’t even see it until I took a closer look. It made me a bit worried to what else I was not seeing.

Feeling like it was best to just relax for a bit, I took a seat on the couch in the room. It was of classic Stable-Tec make, though the cushion was likely something more recent. Even if Stable-Tec made things to last, after a hundred years most of their stuff tended to start falling apart without extensive maintenance.

Mayall took a seat on the other side of the couch, letting a foreleg hang off the side as she looked at the window. The Sparkle-Lurker was both easy and hard to read. She was not a pony, and could live underwater, yet she was every bit a mare. The loss of Turnip must have hit her hard, yet she was here.

“You miss him, don’t you?” I asked, and she simply stared at me through the warped reflection on the glass. “If there was anything I could have done, I would have done it. I’m sorry.”

Mayall shook her head. “No, I was at fault. You were simply caught in mine own tragedy.” She took a deep breath, and gave a long sigh. “I dragged him and the others into it, full well knowing mine sister would not approve. Mother may be more tolerable, but she does not get in sisters way. Sees it as stifling her growth as a leader, as next queen.”

“I remember Turnip telling me about that. It sounded terrible.” The idea of Rototom ever hurting me was unthinkable, well not intentionally. “Why would she do that? She is your sister.”

“Berenices hates ponies. No, not that... fears ponies, yes. Ponies made the world we live in, destroyed the world before our creation. The piece’s left behind was what made us.” Mayall shifted her body so to lay down more. “We know this to be true, we are an accident, not meant to be. Berenices fears that ponies will come to understand that, seek to fix the mistake. So from fear, she hates. Feels that it makes her stronger, more right in her actions.”

I was a little confused. “Wait. So she hurts you because she hates and fears ponies?”

Mayall seemed to sink into the couch a little more. “We are young, and have no culture of our own. Mother, our queen, embraces the space captain. I found the old books in a vault, all the old books were from before the great war. My sister, she rejected everything pony, wanted Sparkle-Lurkers to be free from ponies. She could not challenge mother, but she could challenge me.”

I think I was starting to understand. “It was a cultural purge then, so that your sister could maintain her own order.” Mayall simply nodded, not saying anything more.

“All done.” Sorrow called out. “I guess it’s time I told you the plan.”

I sighed. “I just hope it involves getting me out of the republic, the longer I’m here, the harder it will probably get for me.”

Sorrow took a seat on a chair facing the couch we were on. “Will this get you out? No, not yet. But make things easier for you, yes it should. The basic idea is that we need you to throw the republic a red herring. As they follow the false lead you feed them, my clan will relocate to a new safe house. Of course, we will give them a win in the process, otherwise they might just do a purge just to make sure they get something. That’s why you will be leading them to a drug den, and help wipe out the pushers. And just for your information, no, they are not related to us. We may manage the speakeasy’s, but we have no interest in the drug trade.”

It was a bunch to take in, but I managed to understand most of it. “Okay, I got it. But can you explain two things for me? One is how does this help me. And two, a Purge? You think they would jump right to that?”

“How it helps you is that it scores you points with the M.o.A. higher ups. Be sure that as long as you’re on the wrong side of their radar, there is no way for you to get away from them. Not yet, anyhow, so it’s best to stay on their good side.” Sorrow took a long deep breath and slowly exhaled as she relaxed into her puffy seat. “As for the purge, it’s a worst case scenario. But from what my clan has recorded over the existence of the current Republic, it has happened enough to make it a realistic fear. Simply, the republic will wipe out an entire station just to root out any serious decent. To the powers at be, the loss of life is an acceptable loss, and frees up space for new, more loyal citizens.”

“So…” it all sounded bad, really bad. “You want me to simply give them a win, so that they don’t even have the inkling to go crazy looking for you.”

Sorrow nodded. “Putting it simply, yes. We didn’t think that the M.o.A. would simply stumble on us like that, but it seems that we were wrong. So gone are the days when the M.o.A. just did loyalty checks. That Baster Beam is something new. It’s going to force us to change our own approach.”

“So then you really think that I can throw her off your trail?” I wasn’t even sure Blaster Beam trusted me. Worse, if Theremin ever recovered, or that older pony ever saw me, I was royally fucked. “I don’t think I have that kind of pull.”

“You’re their only lead, so they're likely to jump at whatever you point your hoof at. We just need to make sure that you point them at something that will make them satisfied.”

I was still unsure, but at this point, I didn’t have much choice but to follow along. I could turn my back on them, but then what? Get shot and have Blaster Beam turn me to ash? I just wanted to go home, not play this stupid act any longer. When this is all over, I’m going to get drunk, get fucked, and lay in bed for a week. “Fine. Where do I start?”

Sorrow smiled, relaxing a little in her spot. “One of my kin is constructing a letter for you to send, you will just have to fill in the blank spots. The idea being that you were able to tail us to the drug den, and then scampered away. We just need to verify if our information is still up to date, and pick the right timing. So just relax for now.”

That was good enough for me. Looking over to my side, at the Sparkle-Lurker, I had another question. “So what are we to do about her? She can’t move about as simply as you can?”

“Yes, that problem...” Sorrow held onto the last word for an extra second, and waited for a moment before answering. “Well if she’s fine with it, we can just shove her out into the water. This place does have the airlocks to do it.” Mayall frowned, not amused by the changeling’s joshing. “But truthfully, we don’t know. One thing is for sure, we can’t let the republic have her. The ramifications of letting that happen is unknown, and potentially dangerous.”

“Her, Dangerous?”

Sorrow nodded. “Aquatic, a natural protective chitin, and that she does not appear on any magical sensor. If the republic knew of her kind, they would use the sparkle-lurkers as a new, devastating weapon.”

I sat up a little, cocking an eyebrow. “It can’t be that bad.”

She sighed. “No, they may not be. But any sensor that uses magic as more than a power source to work is not going to detect them. We’ve checked. Our pipbucks don’t see her, half our scanners don’t know what it’s looking at, including the ones used for turrets.” She rolled her hoof a little as she talked. “It’s not like we can’t recalibrate our systems to detect her, but with how reliant we are on magical systems, there is still going to be blind spots. The turret systems alone are going to have a delay in their targeting, even with recalibration.”

Checking my E.F.S. I had almost forgotten that the Sparkle-Lurkers never showed up on it. Even now I only got one green bar that pointed at Sorrow. “So then what, just keep her here?”

“Until we have a better plan, yes.” Sorrow answered. “We were already in the middle of figuring that out when you trotted right into our speakeasy. So we’re putting her on ice until the more pressing issue has been dealt with.” She put her head down on the arm of the chair she was on, and closed her eyes. “But right now, let’s just relax.”

Relaxing like she suggested, time went by quickly enough. Mostly with Sorrow sleeping, Mayall looking out the window, and me zoning out. At first my mind was ablaze with thoughts, and worries. But the sheer silence of the room quickly allowed me to focus, and my thoughts slowly drifted to Sweet. Last I saw of my good friend, she was pumped full of painkillers, and seeing through a drone. Getting new eyes was not something that came easy, or fast, so at best she was probably still in the hospital getting her optic nerves set up. I really could use one of her bad jokes about now, maybe even a show of bravado. If she was with me, I knew I would have not have ended up in this situation, we would have been back at home, getting drunk.

A buzz at the door announce the end of our quiet time. Sorrow quickly got out of her seat and trotted to the door with light and quiet steps. Looking through the peep hole in the door, she carefully opened it. Some chatter between her and the pony on the other side was too quiet for me to hear. When it was over, a package was slid through the doorway and she quietly shut the door again.

Trotting back, she placed the package in front of Mayall and I. “Okay you two, I’ve got what you need to survive out there, if only for a few more days.” Not the best way to put it, but I don’t think Sorrow cared about sugarcoating anything with us right now. From the box, she pulled out a holotape. “Here’s the mission report, you just need to copy what it tells you, and send your version to Blaster Beam. I’d advise sticking to what it says as much as possible, we don’t want her misinterpreting anything, and end up killing an innocent family.”

She then pulled out a small bottle, and tossed it to me. “Take this if you’re about to have a panic attack, it’s no cure, but it should help you not freak out as badly as you can.” I looked down at the bottle, it didn’t have a label on it or anything, just a bunch of pills inside, so I cocked my eyebrow at her. Sorrow just rolled her eyes. “It’s a mild form of chill made as pills. Most of you Mirage ponies have some form of phobia or tick, it’s amazing that your race gets anything done at all. If you’re going to do something that involves your trigger, just pop one of those and it should help you relax enough to deal with whatever problem you have.”

She turned her attention to Mayall, pulling out a pipbuck and a E.C.S. passcard. The pipbuck looked like the classic 3000 model, though it was clear that it had a few parts replaced. “With this, you will be able to interact outside of the safe house without drawing any dangerous attention to yourself. Just be sure to keep your mouth shut most of the time, and don’t let anypony get too good of a look at you.”

Mayall picked up the pipbuck, and put it on her wrist, the thing clamping down without a problem. The Sparkle-Lurker spent a moment looking about the room, her eyes looking at things we could not see. It was a little funny to see, though I hoped she had the fade out hud display option so that she didn’t get too distracted.

Looking back to me, Sorrow stretched out and relaxed. “You should go familiarize yourself with the holotape, and maybe practice a few lines before sending the message.”

With nothing better to do, I opened up Minerva, and placed the holotape into the reader. Activating the holographic settings, a screen appeared in my vision as though it was a terminal screen floating in air. The script was pretty basic, but didn’t feel forced. At first I wondered why they don’t just send the text, but then again, having me say it would add to its authenticity. For the most part, all the script was about how I got out alive and trotted down a tunnel, being completely lost. It went on about how I found myself at Fishery station, following the trail of a pony who had been seen in the club. And without drawing attention to myself, tailing the pony to their hideout in the station. I just had to read this all out, and not make it sound like I was reading from a script, simple enough.

I read it over a few times, first in my head, then out loud. The lines had a bit of a stilted report feeling to it, but I think that was the point. I just had to make it sound like it was coming from notes I did myself. After a bit, I felt confident enough to send the message, and trotted over to the terminal. Inserting my E.C.S. pass card, which I luckily still had, the screen scrolled down. It showed the information I had seen before, except my contacts were now at four, and I had two messages. Figuring it would not hurt to read my network mail first, I clicked on the messages button.

:: Where did you go? ::

-Clarinet-

Did you really have to sneak out like that? You made us all worry that something had happened to you. Well we're still worried, but we know you’re in good hooves, but next time you should let us know you’re leaving. Oh, and thanks for the snack bars, they’re doubleplusgood! Not to complain about the normal food I eat, but it does get boring after a bit. But still, send me a message when you get this, I know you're fine, but it be nice if you told me you are.

::end::

I couldn’t blame Clarinet for being worried. She does seem the kind that would, and I did leave without saying goodbye. I scrolled down to the next message on the list, and pressed enter.

::If you’re still alive::

-Blaster Beam-

Just reply to this message, I’ll send somepony to pick you up later.

::end::

Talk about short and sweet, I guess Blaster Beam really did have other things to do. Well that was probably lucky for me. Whoever she sends would have to be less insane than she is. Hitting the reply button, and selecting audio recording I prepared myself to send the message. It made me nervous, enough to shake a little, like I was a young mare asking a stallion if he wanted to go out with me. The difference here was that I was sending the message to a trigger-happy cybernetic mare, who’ favorite things seemed to be her job, her lasers, and killing with said lasers for her job.

Composing myself, I started the massage, keeping some of the nervousness as I felt it would help with its authenticity. It took me three tries before I felt that it was just right, the first time I repeated a few words, and the second time Mayall dropped a glass behind me. Pressing send, I had a strong feeling that this plan was just not going to work out, and that we were all going to die. Nothing ever went to plan, I could only hope that the M.o.A. fails to find me out long enough for me to get away.

I needed to get my mind off of my eventual doom. Scrolling back up to Clarinets letter, it only felt right that I reply to her. Though I wish I could also send one to my sister, or well anyone who could and would help me.

::I’m fine::

Sorry to make you worry. Miss Cranky Lasers didn’t seem like the kind who likes to wait around, and I didn’t want to do the long goodbye. I don’t know if I’ll be around to visit anytime soon, the job ended up being more complicated than I thought. Right now I’m at Fishery Station, if you haven’t been here, you should visit. It has windows here that let you see the ocean. Sadly, I have a thing about open water, and being under it, so the sooner I get to move onto the next station the better.

Tell the others I said hi, and don’t have too much fun. If I pick up anything interesting, I’ll be sure to send it to you.

::end::

Sending the message, I exited out of the program and pulled out my E.C.S. card. Looking at the terminal, I couldn’t help but feel that mine back home probably had a few messages from mom and dad, wondering where I had gone. I probably had one from Sweet too, letting me know about her recovery. Wiping away a tear, I trotted away from the terminal and sat back onto the couch.

“You’re done. Good.” Sorrow stated. “The day’s almost done, so I suggest you either do some shopping, or just turn in for the night. I don’t know how much time you have until the M.o.A. comes about to take down that drug lab, so it’s best to enjoy yourself a little.”

“Shopping? We don’t even have the bits for shopping.” I pointed out.

Sorrow scratched her chin. “Ahh, sorry about that. My kin should be cleared out by this morning, so if you pass me a list of what you would like, I’ll have someone grab a few things. Within reason of course.” She motioned to the door. “Clothing, food, and drink will be fine. But don’t ask for anything that could get you in trouble. I also suggest asking about the dress shop. No we will not buy you a dress, just let the owner know about our leaving.”

Not feeling like I had anything better to do, I popped one of the mellowed chill pills, and trotted out the door, Mayall tagging along behind me.

______________________________________

Now with time to take things easy, Mayall and I slowly made our way to the marketplace. The clean hallways really brought out the stable-tec feel to the place, the only real difference being the windows. It made me wonder how it would work if they built something like this on the surface. Orthrus had built a few structures topside, but nothing on a large scale like the metro. The vegetation, wildlife, and the toxic air made it difficult to build anything bigger than a large shack. It also seemed that the Rad-Boars loved to attack working crews, and some projects were abandoned due to a herd of rad-boars taking up residence at the construction site.

A drop of water on my head brought me out of my thinking. “Should I be surprised that this place is leaking?”

“Seawater hasth a corrosive effect.” Mayall spoke up. “It’s why anything made of metal along the coastline is beyond recovery. Future Land had a few water based attractions, but only rust remained when I started my reconstruction project.”

“Sounds about right, never saw anything standing along the coastline. Well other than the normal lurkers.” I looked over at her, she was definitely a little smaller than me like Turnip was. Yet, their queen seemed much bigger by comparison. “Quick question, how big do Sparkle-Lurkers get?”

Mayall cocked an eyebrow at me. “How tall? Well, I’m average for females. Male’s art a little bit smaller. Mother looks tall, but that’s because she hath platforms on her hooves.”

I had to keep myself from snickering. “Platform hooves. So, what, is she just like any other Sparkle-Lurker?”

She didn’t respond for a moment, taking a deep breath before responding. “Mother is smarter, and more eloquent when talking. The nest followed her at our old home, followed her to our current home. She is what unifies us all. But yes, she is a normal Sparkle-Lurker.”

This was something I had two wrap my brain around. “So your mother was not some monster with dark magical powers or something, she was just a, what… Politician?”

Mayall nodded. “Mother not only follows the laws; she must be the example of us all. If pony trespass on our home, pony must become food. Mother changed law to pony giving us food, after that, ponies started having more food on them when passing through our territory, even leaving it in baskets for us.”

I don’t remember hearing about that. Some stories of Bandits that will leave you be if you leave some food for them, but nothing about giving monsters food. “So then why did my best friend have to be hurt?”

Mayall looked down. “My sister wants to go back to older law, says it protected us better. Other Lurkers agree with her.”

Great, my best friend got maimed because of Xenophobia. “So then what’s your mother's opinion of ponies?”

“She doesn’t like the striped ponies, says they blew up the old world, so she seeks to kill the ones with stripes.” Mayall told me as she trotted along. “As for other ponies, she does not trust them, forbid us from interacting with them. Says that ponies are dangerous, ponies would not understand us.”

“And what is your opinion on ponies?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Was her response. “From the books, ponies are not all the same. Nice ponies may take the time to understand us, but ponies who are not so nice will seek to hurt us, maybe put us in a cage to show us off like a pet.” She shook her head. “I understand why mother and sister wish for us to stay away from ponies, and I agree. But I also understand that if we don’t make friends, we will only have enemies.”

I think I was starting to get what the situation was for the Sparkle-Lurker’s. “So is that why you left?”

She looked at me, a bit confused. “I… maybe. Heard sister fighting with mother, so much yelling. Sister was angry, very angry. Berenices is… not nice to me when angry, so I went outside, thought that she would be less angry after some time had passed. That’s when ponies showed up, something about them was wrong, so I hid. Berenices came for me, with other lurkers, armed with weapons. She saw the ponies, killed them all, so much gunfire. After, she called for me, it made me go cold, so I ran.”

“So, you thought she was going to what, kill you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, I just wanted to get away from her. I was scared.”

That was understandable. “One last question, how did you end up on Pineapple Island?”

“Later I founded some old pony clothes, though that I could pretend to be pony, hide among ponies.” Mayall stiffened her walk, as though mimicking me a little. “Found somepony who said they were lost, so took pony to pony home. Was going to leave, but other ponies talked about some ponies that came true, said one didn’t take off mask, had a red glow inside.”

“I see, so you followed Turnip then.”

She nodded. “Went to next island, the moving box… the train made me not feel well, but I stayed strong. There, I looked, got hungry, and ate food. Pony said I needed bits for food I ate, made me clean floors to pay back small bit of food. One stupid pony started touching me, so I kicked the pony, pony was angry, called other ponies. I got scared again and ran, a smaller pony helped me, guided me outside. Angry ponies followed, but I get away by hiding in a pond where they could not see me.”

“Well that was an adventure.”

“yes, too much adventure.” Mayall agreed. “I stayed outside till it turned dark, but could not find my way back. It’s where I found a hurt pony, helped her up, came across another pony who told me to stay put. Then you and him showed up. He… Turnip told me I could trust you, you were good pony, you knew good ponies.”

It felt like a stab in the heart to hear that. I didn’t know Turnip for long, but I liked the guy too. I just wish he was around so that I could buy him a drink, goddess knows, he earned it. Looking at the Mayall, she was getting depressed again, and not wanting to go all teary, I pushed for us to get to the market. “You know what you need a pretty dress.”

Pushing her from behind, we picked up our pace and arrived at the market shortly after. Sadly, the market was less than impressive, looking like they only had the scraps of the scraps to sell. There were a few things to look at, but nothing that stood out, at least not from first glance.

Trotting up to one of the merchants, I gave her my best fake smile, and she gave one back. “Hello, I’m looking to cheer up my friend. Is there anything here that would be considered doubleplusgood?”

The fake smile faded from the merchants face. “We got what we got, everything made with equality in mind.”

Super, so everything is made to be equally disappointing. Looking over the products, it was mostly raw supply’s. Gray cloth, thread, a few tools that looked older then my grandmother. I could swear that this whole equality thing was starting to make me go insane. I shook my head. “Sorry, I guess I was not thinking equal enough, I was just hoping for something with a bit more color to it. Know anything about a dress shop?”

The merchant nodded, her mouth formed a small smile. “I don’t know about any dress shop, but there is a rumor about a shop. Can’t say if it’s real though. But let’s just say it’s around the corner, just behind me. It may have what you’re looking for. But don’t go telling anypony I told you about this, it’s bad luck.”

Giving the cloth merchant a nod, I quickly took a glance at the other stalls, all selling basic stuff, nothing that makes a good gift. Figuring it was worth a try, I motioned for Mayall to follow me, and we trotted around the corner.

We had to buzz our way in, but what was inside was interesting to say the least. The pony running the shop was far too well-groomed to be from the republic, her light green coat, complementing the red dress she had on, and her orange mane was accented with a blue cloth flower. The shop itself had a bunch of dresses hanging up, and along the walls were rolls of fabric in different colors. At the front desk was a bunch of jewelry on displays, that glistened and sparkled in the yellow light. “Wow, how do you even make these, much less sell them?”

The shopkeeper smiled. “Trade secret, but let's just say I have a few private buyers. So what interests you? Need a dress for a private dance, some undergarments to impress a special somepony. Or do you just want to look like a pretty mare?”

It all looked so lovely, but then I had to frown. “I don’t think I could wear any of this, much less afford it right now. Not with the M.o.A. coming in to pick me up.”

“What!” The shopkeeper shouted.

Looking over at the shop keeper, I suddenly felt a little bad. “Let me guess, you not equal enough for them.”

She huffed. “I’m as equaled as equality can get. Everything I have here I made myself. The M.o.A. and the I.o.E. their equality means everypony is equally poor, miserable, and unfashionable.”

Thinking for a moment, it hit me. “Are you connected with that bar that sells Daiquiris?”

She laughed. “Dear, I’m friends with anypony who can make a good Daiquiri.”

“Well they are packing up their stuff, and moving. The M.o.A. is onto them.”

She looked shocked for a moment, and then relaxed. “I see, so how long till their gone?”

“The morning.” I answered.

She rubbed her chin. “That should give me the time to pack up, no... more than enough time. Having to being where the business is means having to move out at any moment.” She looked over at me, and Mayall. “I should thank you for the information… I say a more discreet garment would suit the situation, would you be interested in some undergarments as payment.”

Mayall looked confused, and I bet I did a little as well. “I don’t think that’s necessary...”

The seamstress waved a hoof dismissively. “Oh don’t be so nitpicky. A mare’s secret is what makes her more alluring. Just get in the changing booth and I’ll pick a few numbers for you two.”

______________________________________

So we checked out the rest of the market, but found it overall disappointing. Mayall looked a bit uncomfortable for the rest of our little trip, as it seemed that she had never worn underwear before. The Seamstress had managed to get the Sparkle-Lurker into white lace panties, with white stockings and a garter belt. It was a bit funny to see the Lurker be embarrassed, it was also kind of cute too. I on the other hoof, managed to just get a pair of purple panties, which were much less rough on my fur then the standard ones that the republic had.

Before turning back, we decided to check out one last place of interest on the station, the aquatic research biome. I had to take two more pills as we trotted to the facility, as half of the long tunnel looked like it was made of just glass. It made me regret the decision, but the pills of chill mellowed me enough that I could fight through it. Though it didn’t help that I saw no reason to come here, it was Mayall who wanted to take a look.

Finally reaching the inside of the biome, we were met with what looked like a small jungle. Instinctively I reached for my gasmask, finding that I didn’t bring it with me. Closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath, I smelt something a bit off. The air felt… clean, and wet.

“Amazing, it’s like they built a jungle under the water!” Mayall said out loud, trotting onto the dirt filled floor.

“That’s because our ancestors did.” A nasally green Mirage pony mare in a dirty white lab coat spoke up as she trotted over to us. “May I ask to why you are visiting?” Surprisingly, the mare had all her legs. Though, she seemed lacking in other areas; thick glasses, skinny as a rail, and her brown mane, though cut short, was still considerably frizzy.

“Oh, sorry, we're here to just take a look. My friend here wanted to see what this place was before moving off to the next station.”

“I see. Well the forest ground is open to visitors, but you will need supervision to see any of the other areas. We may be a minor priority among the Ministry of Arcane Science, but our work is still important.” She rubbed some dirt off her lab coat, revealing a pin, one that looked similar to the old M.o.A.S. logo. “Do you have any other questions?”

Looking around, I had to say that this place was amazing, even the roof looked like a clear day topside. “How long has the M.o.A.S. been here?”

The lab mare giggled. “From the time of the war, though the records are spotty at best, it clearly states that this was a joint project between the M.o.A.S. and Stable-Tec. Centering around food production, and the possibility of building an underwater stable.”

“Wait, so you ponies have been here for over two hundred years, how did you make it through the revolution?”

Her overall happy demeanor dropped a little. “You know it’s impolite to talk about the revolution like that.” She sighed. “But back then this was an Orthrus controlled station, and shut its doors during the revolution. When the fires died down, Orthrus made a deal with the current republic, giving them the station in exchange for the safe passage of their ponies. Some ponies stayed behind, and joined the republic. And that’s what you see today, loyal members of the republic.” The tone in her voice didn’t hint at any deception, just a mixture of truth with neutrality. The best I could describe it, was if tomorrow, Orthrus toppled the republic and took charge, she would not have a problem with it at all.

The sound of rustling trees drew our attention to the greenery. Hopping out of a bush, Mayall had a big smile on her face. “It feels so nice here!”

The Lab mare laughed a little. “I can second that, I think it’s the trees, it just makes this place so relaxing.”

Trotting over, Mayall had a coy look on her face. “You’re a smart pony, do you have any books I can read?”

This time I chuckled. “Sorry, my friend is quite the bookworm.”

“Well we do have plenty of scientific journals.” The lab mare stated. “And I don’t think it would hurt to open up our library for you, but it’s getting late.”

“Could I borrow a book?” Mayall asked excitedly.

The lab mare though about it for a moment, and then nodded.

We ended up leaving with six books, it seemed that the biome had to get rid of them anyways, and was glad to give them to a pony who would read them. The books were actually two different sets of study, three of the books being about Seaweed and its different uses and health benefits. The other three about the mutations of the marine life over two hundred years. Mayall didn’t seem all that excited about the books, but she also didn’t want to hurt the lab mare’s feelings, so now She had some reading materials to keep her occupied.

The rest of the station was starting to wind down, with far less ponies moving about. The robots were still at their jobs, with a ponytron announcing how long until the curfew. So not wanting to cause problems, we made our way back to our room, not stopping to look at anything else.

______________________________________

Having a bed to myself was the best. No metal hooves in my back, unwanted cuddling, and the ability to stretch out and relax. Though it did feel colder sleeping by myself, not that I mind, but I don’t think I have had a bed to myself since this mess started.

Pushing myself up, I found that my left foreleg was detached, and on the floor. Shaking my head, I leaned down and pick Minerva up with my mouth, placing the pipleg on my lap, and slowly reattaching it. The hud and everything came back into my vision, and slowly faded out, not needed at this time. Now with four legs attached, I hopped off the bed, and stretched my back, getting a few pops.

It was odd entering the living room, with the big window to the outside, a small amount of natural light beamed in, making a rippling effect of light that started on the floor, and went up the ceiling. The room itself was decorated with old world artwork, though being both simple copies, and faded with time, It still gave the room a feeling of culture that seemed to be hard to find in the republic. All I ever remember seeing was propaganda posters, so this was a nice refreshing feeling.

As I took in the good energy of the room, I think I had zoned out for a few minutes. That is, until Mayall stepped in from the other bedroom. She, despite being a crustacean pony, actually looked like she had a bit of the bed head. Her floppy fin like mane wearily stuck up a little, and curled at the end, making it look like she got a bad perm. “Need me to brush your mane, sunshine?”

She shot me a dirty look, and trotted over to our bags. Rummaging through them, she pulled out a bottle of Sparkle-Cola, popped the cap off with her pipbuck, and chugged the drink. “Why you ponies not have any rad? As good as regular sparkle-cola is, it does not have the same kick!”

Great, she’s a caffeine addict. “It’s mostly outlawed in the metro due to it containing Flux as an ingredient. If you need a wake up, try Metro-Cola’s Lurker-Blue. The stuff has more than enough kick to it, to wake you up.”

She rummaged through the saddlebag some more, only pulling out another sparkle-cola bottle. I could only guess that she had collected them in her own journey. “Don’t see any.”

I sighed. “Then I’ll see if I can get a few later, maybe Sorrow could get some for us.” An audible grumbling came from my stomach. “Here, let's see if this place has any food I can cook up.”

Trotting over to the small kitchen setup, I looked through the cupboards. Predictably it was mostly empty. I did find some old world treats that expired over a hundred years ago. Powdered eggs, powdered potatoes, powdered milk, and even powered tomato soup. Just add water, and let the magic happen. Feeling like I could do far worse, I decided to make up a small feast for us, with some extra for Sorrow, whenever she returned. The instructions were simple enough, adding water to the powder, heat and stir it, after a bit of time we would have some food.

I was expecting something limp, and a bit bland looking, what I got was, well, food. I had only ever had eggs twice before in my life, and the powdered stuff looked almost spot on, the potatoes too, looking like thick mashed potatoes. I mixed the powdered milk and tomato soup together so that we would have a creamy sauce. All together I had made scrambled eggs, with mashed potatoes and creamy tomato sauce.

I think making the tomato soup into a creamy sauce was the best idea for the breakfast, as both the eggs and potatoes were a bit bland without it. Mayall looked like she enjoyed herself sipping on her sparkle-cola now and then, I also getting a bottle of the cola to drink. Sadly, the drink had long gone flat, so it didn’t have the same kick as Metro-Cola did, but it still tasted good.

Not long into our meal, Sorrow showed up all dressed up in a mechanic’s jumpsuit and hat. Pausing to look at us, she slowly opened her mouth, and then sighed. “What are you eating?”

Swallowing the eggs and mashed potatoes, then washing it down with some sparkle-cola, I gave her an answer. “over two-hundred-year old powdered food. Would you like some?”

She faced hoofed. “That’s my over two-hundred-year old powdered food.” She lowered her hoof to the floor, and huffed. “Fuck it, I’m hungry.”

The radio played the normal marching band music for a few more minutes, and as it faded out, the DJ spoke up. It was a bit odd how she never told us her name, I could only guess it was an equality thing. “Good morning citizens of the republic, and how fine of a morning it is. We have some good news today, and I am happy to report it to you now. Late yesterday, our good troops raided a nest of capitalist spies, who had been trying to corrupt the local population. And where was this capitalist hiding hole? Well right in that collapsed tunnel that fell apart a few days back. Though not confirmed, it is clear the tunnel collapse was done by the capitalists, probably to separate us from each other. But once more they have underestimated our strength and resolve. And for their misdeeds, security forces have tracked them down, and destroyed their base of operations.”

“Next up, President Garmon Keys is here in the studio right now to talk about the current events. Do you feel lucky? I know I do!” The DJ cleared her voice. “So mister President, what do you think about this latest clash with the capitalists?”

A sigh came from the radio, and Garmon spoke up. “Truly tragic. There were citizens lost this time, ones tricked into believing the lies of the capitalists. I do mourn for them, they were simply misguided, and could have been lead back to us. Now, they are lost to us, so we can only mourn their passing.”

“I see mister president; all our hearts go out to them.” The DJ added. “And about the collapsed tunnel, how soon will it be until it can be used again?”

“I’m sorry to say, but the damage seems to be extensive. Most likely irreversible.” Garmon answered. “From the looks of it, the capitalists made sure that the tunnel may never be used again. I’ve already signed the paperwork to have the tunnel sealed off to prevent any toxins from seeping in.”

“Though it’s sad to hear that we have also lost a tunnel, It’s good to know that your quick response will prevent anypony else from getting hurt.” The DJ’s voice sounded a bit more upbeat. “Another question, if it’s not too much. Do you have any response to this latest incursion by the capitalist’s? Surely they will not get away with this crime?”

A light chuckle came from Garmon. “Worry not, your government is working on a plan to insure the safety of the Republic’s citizens. The capitalists may think they can bring us down, but time and time again we have proven ourselves stronger. As long as we all stand together as one, there is nothing they can do to bring us down.”

Sorrow turned off the radio, looking a little irritated. “Always going on about the capitalists this, the capitalists that. I swear, everything that goes wrong for them, he blames it on capitalism.”

Getting out of my seat, I collected the dirty dishes, and took them to the sink. “I know Orthrus does not give too shits about them. If worse comes to worse, they’ll just seal off the republic for a few more years.”

“Like that worked the last time.” Sorrow huffed. “The equalists feed on isolation, it’s how they got so powerful in the first place. If Orthrus had allowed the revolution to spread out, yes the damage would have been more severe, but the equalists would have crumbled. But no, Orthrus put up their walls, and allowed the equalists to solidify their power, and now we have this cluster fuck of a mess.”

I didn’t have a response to what she had just said, so I just huffed and proceeded to wash the dishes. It was no secret that the methods of Orthrus, though effective at keeping order, never seemed to make things better. But that was never what Orthrus was about, and I think it was something that Orthrus tried to avoid doing. Not that Orthrus didn’t try to help, but it was easy to see that maintaining the peace and order was more important than uplifting civilization.

“So what are we going to be doing today?” Mayall asked, still sitting at her seat.

Sorrow trotted over to the tale with a rag, and started wiping it down. “You are going to come with me. My kin have a rail cart ready on an old line, and we will be taking you somewhere safer than here. Given a few days, an opening should show itself, and we can then smuggle you out of the republic. Your natural stealth versus magic sensors should make it easier for us.” Her attention, then turned to me. “Now for you, miss Echo, you should check if you have any new messages. If there are any from the M.o.A., do as it says. We will try to get in contact with you later, but for now play the part of the good citizen.”

I sighed. “Just don’t take too long. I know two ponies who know who I really am, and they are friends of Blaster Beam.”

Sorrow threw the rag she was using into a basket. “We thought as much, and already sent a pony ahead to M.o.A. HQ. If all goes well, you should sould be safe for a few more days. But it all depends on you playing along.”

“Right, I got it. I just wish I didn’t have such a pendulum over me.”

“Better than a guillotine.” Sorrow responded. “Now I just need to grab a few things before heading out. You to go on ahead, I’ll catch up later.”

Checking the terminal, and sliding in the E.C.S. card, I did have two new messages.

::Lucky!::

-Clarinet-

Fishery Station sounds doubleplusgood, I’d love to visit it one day. It’s good to hear that you’re doing good, and I hope you can stop by soon. My oldest was a little unhappy to not see you there yesterday. She wanted to know where the cool mare went, and I had to tell her that you were off working. Just let me know when you can visit, then I can set up a party for you.

::End::

::Report Received::

-M.o.A.-

Miss Chime Catbell. We have reviewed, and processed your mission report. And are now sending the proper response team to deal with the situation. Avoid interfering with operations, and an agent will come to collect you,

::End::

______________________________________

“To all of you my brothers and sisters, I have one clear message for you. We have nothing to lose but our chains! That’s right, the capitalists have once, and will try again to chain us down. They will take everything that is good about us, and denounce it as ungood. Lie to our faces about how the world really is, make us believe that they are the only ones who can be trusted. And when we are enraptured by their words, that’s when they will chain us down and take everything away from us, making us glad to have any of their scraps at all. So I tell you this, we have nothing to lose but our chains!” The pony sat on top of a box, shouting their little speech for everypony to hear. She was young, about around the same age as Harp would be, probably fresh out of school.

Sorrow came trotting up from behind us, joining us as we watched the speaker rant.

The pony on the makeshift podium continued their rant. “We have seen the true face of greed and hate. That’s right, greed and hate. The capitalists greed drives them to take all for themselves, and none for us. For you or you or even you, ma’am, nothing is given. And what do they do with their horde of goods? They sit on it like a dragon, not giving a damn to the damage they do to all around them. No, they do care, but only because they hate us. To them, we deserve to be poor, we deserve to be hungry. To them, we are but pests that must be killed off by their poison. Starve us, shoot us, drop the tunnels onto our head. To them this is not just an acceptable way to treat us, to them it is the right way to treat us. Their greed drives them to take all for themselves, but their hate for the common pony is what truly fuels their bloodlust.”

“That got… Dark.” Mayall pointed out.

Looking over at Sorrow, she looked a little irritated at the pony on stage. “So Sorrow, you seem well informed about the republic's history. How did this all happen in the first place?”

“Bombs fell.” What her answer.

“I know that part.” I retorted.

Sorrow sighed. “The rise of the equalists is just a repeat of how the world ended.” She motioned with her head for us to walk away from the small crowd of ponies who had gathered to hear the rant. “What that pony was saying was not wrong, not right either, but not entirely wrong. Greed and hate was the downfall of the world, both ponies and zebras didn’t stop, even when they knew it would end in fire. The same happened on this island.”

“So ponies are still blowing up each other. Makes my sister sound right.” Mayall commented.

Sorrow and I both gave her a confused look, but Sorrow cleared her throat and continued talking. “No, no bombs this time. What happened was that the corporations didn’t know when to just stop, when to get their fat hooves out of the public's business. By the time the equalists came onto the scene, the corporations had already taken over the government. So when the leader of the equalists ran for the presidency on the platform of restricting the powers of the corporations, they were met with massive resistance.”

“Mess with those in power, don’t be surprised if they use that power against you.” I added.

Sorrow nodded. “And that’s what happened. Except for one problem, the equalists had massive support from the working class ponies. So no matter what the corporations did to denounce and smear the equalist leader, she just stayed on top. It was like fighting a rising tide, and they knew it. So they had her assassinated.”

“Something I don’t remember reading in the history books.” I commented.

“Not surprising.” Sorrow agreed “Well this did quell the rising tide, for a short time. About two years later, a new equalist leader took the stage, a Livenka Fortissimo, who was far more radical than her predecessor. She would lead the Equalists to goad the republic to violence, calming that they were the voice of the public as the republic would attempt to silence them. Eventually Livenka did not just get the public on her side, she had wiped them up into an angry and armed mob. Soon after the revolution happened, and Livenka took control of the republic. The rest is what you see here.”

“So in short, the republic fell because it didn’t let the equalists win?” I asked.

Sighing, Sorrow gave me a little nod. “In a way, yes. The equalists only had the power they had because the working poor felt like they had none. So when the first equalist leader was shot down in the way she was, the ponies of the republic felt like not only didn’t they have power, but that their own government was holding them down. In a way, they were right. The corporations just couldn’t let go of any of their power, and in the end, they turned their customers and employees into their executioners. It was as simple as that.”

What Sorrow was telling me was not hard to understand, and made me glad I grew up under Orthrus. But it was a bit disturbing to know that all this anti-capitalist madness had some truth to it, even if it was used to control the population, not free them.

“Bouzouki!” A somewhat nasally voice shouted from the distance, Stopping Sorrow in her tracks. Looking over at the source, it came from the Lab mare I had talked with yesterday. “Long time no see.” She said wheezing a little. Even though she has galloped a short distance, it seemed a bit too much for the mare. Behind her floated a white painted sprite bot, Its mechanical eyes looking us over.

“It has, hasn’t it Tungso. Still working in the bio labs?” Sorrow calmly responded.

“Ya, we have had a few minor breakthroughs this year, but nothing significant. At least the robot lab pitched in and repurposed me an assistant.” She motioned to the sprite bot, and it beeped in a cheery tone. “Though it still a little disorienting having a floating third eye.”

Sorrow gave out a little sigh. “They really are mechanizing this station aren’t they. Makes me feel that ponies like me will soon be left behind.”

Tungso waved her hoof dismissively. “Don’t be that way, even if they do digitize all the books, the I.o.E. will have a place for you, I mean, the bookish ponies are their favorite.” She looked past Sorrow and at us. “I remember you two. So you were here with Bouzouki, that’s wonderful, we should all go to the biome together.”

Sorrow stepped in the way. “Sorry, maybe another time.” She motioned to Mayall. “This one needs to catch a train soon, and the other is getting picked up for ministry business. But maybe another day.”

The Lab mare looked a little disappointed, but then perked up a little. “Well, if it’s just you that’s available, we could meet up for lunch.”

Sorrow nodded. “Yes, let’s.”

Two security ponies galloped past us, their sprite bots following with flashing lights. If I had to guess, they were heading to the biome. “So what’s up with them? Did somepony start saying nice things about capitalism?”

“One, that was unfunny. And two, it’s not our business.” Sorrow said with a serious tone, almost like she was telling me that jokes were a very bad idea.

Tungso looked a little worried. “Oh I hope nothing happened at the lab. Last thing we need is for any of the experiments to get damaged.”

“Move along citizens.” A ponytron came trotting passed us. “This is official police business.”

Tungso looked even more worried, chewing on her hoof. “Oh I really hope it’s nothing.”

Click

The lights went out, leaving the only source of illumination coming from the window to the ocean. Sorrow remained calm, tapping her hoof on the floor to get our attention. “Now nopony panic, this station has backup power, and it should kick in soon.”

“What do you think is the problem?” I asked nopony in particular. “Most of these stations are so old that it could be anything really.”

“Well last time it was because sea water got into the generator room, it might be that.” Tungso answered. “But why would security be running to the biome?”

“Could be lurkers.” Mayall spoke up.

“I don’t think Lurkers would…” Sorrow stopped mid-sentence, looking over at Mayall, who was looking out the window. “Well fuck.”

Trotting to see what they were looking at, the biome was covered in Lurkers. Closer to us were a few more lurkers walking along the reef, and some were on top of the structure, just standing there.

“This is... very unheard of!” Tungso stated. “I know that Lurkers travel in packs, but never of this size. It’s fascinating.”

One of the Lurkers came into view, walking right in front of the window. Popping one of the pills of chill, I took a closer look, something about the large lurker seemingly odd. I didn’t see it at first, but it quickly became apparent, the lurker had leather straps on it. “Mayall, what’s your kin’s relationship with the regular lurkers?”

“We use them to guard the nests, so most ways in and out of our home are through wild lurker nests.” She answered. “But sister likes using them for hunting.”

“Hunting them, or using them to hunt?” Sorrow asked this time.

“Yes.” Not the answer I wanted to here.

A loud crash from behind us made me and the others jump. Looking around, it was too dark to properly see much, the downside of living underground. “What was that?”

“Sounded like something metal hitting the floor.” Sorrow noted. “Light, thin, with an opening, like a small gate, or a-”

“A vent.” I finished. The light from the window was not helping my vision adapt to the dark, so I could not see what it was. At the edge of my vision was Tungso, the mare looking quite scared, and confused. The rules of surviving in the big Island's tunnels kicked in, one of them being to stay close to each other. “Tungso, come here!” I whispered at her.

She just shook her head, quivering. “I… I can’t”

“Yes you can!” I motioned my hoof at her to come over.”

She just shook her head again. “I” with a sudden loud pop, blood bust from Tungso’s eye, sending the spray of gore next to us. Tungso herself stood there for a few more seconds, with a look of shock on her face before falling over, blood pooling onto the ground from her now empty socket.

The emergency lights flickered on, giving us just enough light to see what had just killed Tungso. Standing before us was a pony like figure, holding what looked like a crudely made pistol in its mouth. The figure was dressed in Lurker chitin that covered it all over, and had been dyed a dark gray, all held in place by leather straps. On its side were what looked like a few crude but dangerous looking large knives, their rusted metal giving off little to no light.

We both stared at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up. “Minerva, S.A.T.S.” The attacker dropped its pistol and charged, as I entered into my tactical S.A.T.S. Time came to a near standstill, the attacker now slowly moving at me. I selected to draw my revolver, the act costing one action, the second action I chose to shoot the attacker in the face, it giving me a 86% chance to hit, which was slowly going up. Feeling good with my chances, I accepted the actions, and my body began to move on its own. In one fluid motion, the Lunar Eclipse was drawn into my mouth, and I fired the gun, sending a bullet right into the attacker’s head. The bullet ripped through the attacker’s chitin, and blasted a hole far bigger on the other side then the hole that went in, completely hollowing out the skull. I knew this because I saw it all happen in slow motion, sending a large spray of blue blood and gore off onto the floor and wall behind it.

When time returned to normal, I took a quick look at my gun, remembering the specialty bullets I had gotten before. Armor piercing shredder rounds. Frighteningly effective. Trotting over to the body of the attacker, I didn’t need to check it to know it was a Sparkle-Lurker. The pony shape and blue blood was all I needed to see. But looking at its weapons, crude was an understatement. The pistol was nothing more than a one shot zip gun, and the knives were just sharpened pieces of sheet metal. The only thing of quality on the lurker was its armor, as somehow they had managed to mold the Lurkers chitin to be placed over their own. I expected it to be brittle or flimsy, but the molded chitin was considerably sturdy, probably more than hard leather.

Looking back, Sorrow was standing over Tungso, crying. “She didn’t deserve this, not this.”

A crackling sound filled the room, and an automated message began to play. “Citizens please remain calm, professionals are currently working on the problem, and will have the station back up and running soon. Stay in your homes until an all clear is given, and sorry for the inconvenience. Message repeats. Citizens please remain-” The automated suddenly cut out with a crackling noise, followed by silence.

“Sister Mine! It’s time to stop running and come home sister mine. This game of hide and seek is over sister mine.” Berenices voice reverberated through the room, and the halls. “Maybe we should play a game of seek and kill sister mine.”

I looked over at Mayall, who’s face told me everything we needed to know, fear. This situation was bad, and it was only going to get worse.

______________________________________

Footnote.

Quest completed: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.

New Quest: They Came From the Deep!

Chapter 22 - Blue Blood

Loud pops could be heard down the halls, followed by the screams and shouting of ponies. I had no doubt that other Sparkle-Lurkers had managed to get into the station and were attacking ponies. Though their weapons were crude, they would be effective enough on a civilian population.

This was not to say that they could not defend themselves, between the robots and security, they should be safe enough. What had me worried was the armor the Sparkle-Lurkers were using, and their natural invisibility to magical sensors. The Armor was both primitive, and extremely impressive. The outer layer was made from that of the regular lurkers, of which were hard to penetrate on a living lurker. It also had a second layer of what was likely hardened Rad-Boar hide, both glued and tied together.

Looking at the damage I had done to the Sparkle-Lurker, it became quite clear that I had killed it due to using the right weapon, and luck. My bullet had penetrated a thin spot on its helmet, and the blast had knocked it off. I was sure if I had gone for center mass, even the AP shredder rounds would fail to be effective, due to their chitin acting as a third layer of armor.

Looking over at Mayall, I was about to ask a question that I knew the answer to. Why was Berenices here. Simple, she was here for her. So now I had a better question to ask. “Mayall, what do you know about your sister’s troops?”

She slowly walked over to me, cringing at the dead Sparkle-Lurker. “Her hunters, unlike mother’s guards, they don’t use pony weapon’s. Or anything made by ponies. They do manage to provide food for the nest, sometimes plants they gathered, or meat they killed.” She rubbed her chin. “They are quite aggressive, like using weapons that look like the claws of the big feathery beast, and spears.”

So no automatic weapons, silver linings and all that. With little trouble I took off an armoire peace from the lurker’s leg, I tried it on, finding it a little too small on me. “Shame, could use the protection.” At this point, I felt it was safe to guess that all the sparkle-lurkers were smaller than ponies, not that it made them any less dangerous.

Sorrow came trotting over, her eyes red and puffy. “Your… you’re not planning on fighting those things, are you?”

I shook my head. “Not if we can avoid it. But as long as Mayall is with us, Berenices is going to hunt us down.” I hoofed the armor piece over to Mayall. “Are you going to be okay, Sorrow?”

She sighed. “I’ll... be fine. I just need another minute or two. It’s just that Tungso was a loving mare, liked to just sit and watch the fish for hours. She was like a sanity break here in the republic, still brainwashed like the rest, but had other interests than just playing the good citizen.” I placed my hoof on her shoulder, not knowing what to say. Everything that popped into my head felt like the wrong answer, and anything I could say would likely not help. Sorrow just rested her head on my hoof for a moment, taking a step back not long after. “Thanks.”

Looking back to Mayall, she had attached the armor piece to her hoof. Trotting over to her, I raised an eyebrow. “You sure that’s wise?”

She nodded. “Sister’s unlikely to stop. Even if I give myself to her, her hunters are already here, already hunting. If I get in a fight, this armor will help.”

“So you're suggesting what, we make her go away?”

Mayall shook her head. “We make her chase me elsewhere. The surface. Up there she is likely to do less damage.”

Sorrow joined us. “You sure we can’t just put her out of our misery.” I rolled my eyes, and Mayall looked unsure. “Sorry, just a little upset. Here, I know a few ways up to the surface from this station, If you can locate your sister, I’ll guide you to the nearest exit.”

I trotted over to the dead Lurker, and began detaching the armor. “So where do you think your sister would be Mayall?”

She trotted over to the window, placing her hoof on the glass. “Likely the biome, I saw that one of the rooms connects out into the water, she and the others could have gotten in from there. It would also make a good place for defense from ponies, and would have an easy way out.”

Sorrow nodded. “Makes sense if your kind can travel underwater. I remember reading about old equestria being worried about such an attack, the log book talked about a submarine that patrolled the waters here to prevent that from happening.” She looked out the window, and smiled. “Also, the biome still has an old research sub, don’t think it can go far, but a simple trip to the surface? That it should be able to do.”

I loudly cleared out my throat. “Not to be the buzz kill here, but I don’t think running right into Berenices hooves is the best idea. Just having some of her hunters see us leaving should send a message.”

Myall shook her head. “Sister is unlikely to be lead away unless personally involved. She will likely stay here and send a hunter pack after us. We need her to be leading the hunt, then rest of the hunters will follow her.”

Damn, so no easy way out. “Why would she even stay?”

“Directing the hunt.” She said flatly. “Like with mother, she would not be able to do as she likes and keep the hunters under her control. So unless directly provoked, she will hold her position until the hunt is over.”

I took two more of the pills Sorrow gave me, being next to the window like this was not doing my mental state any good. “Okay, I get it. To get them to go away, we need personally piss of your sister, and then quickly escape, after that the rest of the Sparkle-Lurkers should follow her lead. So one more question, why can’t we just leave, you know evacuate the station?”

Sorrow spoke up. “I’d be inclined to agree, and let the security forces take care of this. But, this attack will put the republic on high alert, cutting the power automatically locks the doors, and I’m itching for some revenge.”

I face hoofed. “Fan-fucking-tastic. And I have to stick around for a pickup. What about you Mayall, you don’t have to stick around here?”

“No I don’t. But Berenices can’t be allowed to do this.” She shook her head. “She will make ponies know and hate us. She want’s ponies to fear and hate us. It’s wrong, she’s wrong.”

I think I understood what this was about. “You know, if it weren’t for her, Sweet might have gotten to keep her eyes.” I looked at the two of them, and nodded. “First let’s get this armor on you, can’t have you getting hurt before we get to your sister.”

With Sorrow and I attaching the armor, it didn’t take long for Mayall to look, well, impressive. The Lurker armor looked primal, and intimidating, but with her long fin like mane hanging off on the side, she gave it a bit of a noble feel.

Opening up my gun case, I pulled out Lelantos, putting it together, I left the extended barrel off and attached the bayonet. Six steel bolts went inside easily enough, and the rifle hummed to life as I supplied it with magic so it would began compressing the air inside it. Due to the short corridors, I left the scope off, choosing to just use the iron sights.

Mayall, and Sorrow both got their own guns as well. Mayall getting the digger gun, with plenty of ammo. Sorrow on the other hoof got the mouth fired flamethrower I had, it only having one tank of fuel left.

The dark station, only illuminated by red emergency lights felt ominous to me. It was like the station was rapidly decaying, time finally catching up to it. As we trotted along, staying as a close group, the sounds of fighting echoed through the halls. Mostly in short bursts of shouting and gunfire, but nothing ever too prolonged. This made us keep our pace slow, so to not attract unwanted attention.

“Locked” Sorrow stated, as she stood in front of a door blocking our path. “Were going to have to go through the market to get to the biome.”

“No way to force it open, I’ve done it plenty of times before.” I stated.

Sorrow just shook her head. “The blast doors here are made to hold water back; the locking mechanism is pressurized. To get pass it right now, you would need to cut it open.”

“Wouldn’t the market have the same problem?” Mayall chimed in with a good question. “I mean, most of the blast doors are shut now.”

“Luckily for us, no.” Sorrow said with confidence “The market used to be two different show rooms, with a blast door separating them. But a long time ago the rooms were combined to make the market. even if the door to the market is locked, we should be able to bypass it.”

The sound of metallic hooves hitting the concrete floor could be heard coming our way, they were frantic and fast. A half dressed and panicked pony rushed into view, skidding to a stop right before she nearly collided with us. “Oh thank the republic, your armed. We need help, the foals need help!” she had a nasty gash on her side, which had ripped some of her clothes off, and stained her belly red.

“Where at?” I responded, my Orthrus training kicking in.

“In Block C, we managed to seal the foals in the classroom, but I don’t know how long it will keep that maniac out.”

I placed my hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we'll go save them, you just get yourself somewhere safe.” Looking back at the other two, they nodded back at me. “Sorrow lead us to block C”

____________________________________

We had reached Block C fairly quickly, Sorrow leading the way. Greeting us was the dead body of a mare, her throat was slashed, and she had bled to death on the floor. A trail of blood splatter, and bloody hoof prints told me that she had managed to get way after having had been dealt the fatal blow. Another trail of bloody hoof prints continued past her, likely from the other mare who had told us about the emergency.

From what Sorrow had told us, the blocks were simple residential zones for the more equal ponies in the station. So they were less cramped, and held a more important position in the station. It was hard to tell how nice the block was due to it being dark… and splattered with blood.

There were a few other dead bodies lying on the floor, some of the ponies having been gutted, others looked like they had their skulls crushed in. The blood practically coated the floor, leaving few place to walk without stepping in it. I placed my rifle at the ready, the telekinesis from Minerva allowing me to talk with it out and ready to fire. “Now where are you?” I whispered. Checking my E.F.S. there were a bunch of green markers ahead of me. A few by themselves in the different rooms, and one group all bunched together, probably the foals. Not surprisingly I couldn’t see the lurker on the E.F.S. So I had to keep my ears up, and eyes open.

A loud bang came from around the corner, were the foals probably were. It sounded like some pony was kicking a door, the bangs being low and loud. Taking a glance around the corner, I saw our target, one armored Sparkle-Lurker. The hunter was bucking at the door, it having had cracked open, and the hunter getting it a little more open with each kick. Not the best way to open a door, but that was not stopping the lurker.

“Found it, I’ll take it out quietly, then we can move one.” I whispered to the others. Taking Lelantos into my hooves, and getting into a prone position, I carefully aimed at the lurker. It was moving around quite a bit, so I had to make the shot count. The situation was probably similar to shooting at a Rad-Boar, the damned beasts had thick slanted skulls, so scoring a headshot sometimes only pissed them off. One shot, one kill.

“Vibraphone.” Mayall whispered to me.

“Not now.” I whispered back.

“It’s just you might want to look down the other hall.” She whispered. “Soon.”

Taking the shot, the steel bolt flew through the air, and nailed the Sparkle Lurker in the side of the head. Releasing a breath, I was holding, I sat up and looked at the others. “So what is it.” Mayall lifted up a hoof, and pointed down another hall. Looking I spotted another Lurker, making eye contact with it. “Fuck!” the lurker charged, and I fired a bolt at it.

The sparkle-lurker hunter strafed side to side as it charged at me, my first shot missing, and my second just deflecting off its armor. I got a third shot off onto the lurker as it barreled into me. Rolling with the hit, I slid through a puddle of blood before getting back onto my hooves. Looking around Mayall and Sorrow had gotten out of the way in time to not get hit as well. My attacker, had also gotten back on their hooves, having had slipped on the blood as well. Aiming my rifle, I quickly fired another shot, missing its head, and sticking the bolt into its shoulder.

The bolt didn’t even slow the Lurker down as it charged at me again. This time I braced myself, with my rifle low and outstretched like spear. When the lurker made another jump at me, I lifted my rifle up, the blade catching onto the Lurkers underbelly, and lifting the lurker over me. As quickly as I could, I fired the two remaining shots into the lurkers belly, and let it drop behind me.

Rolling over, I was now covered in blood, making me shiver in disgust. To my shock, the lurker I had been fighting was also getting up, two metal spikes poking out the back of its armor. I had unfortunately missed any vital spot on the lurker. Prepared to use my revolver again, we both locked eyes for a moment. I was sure the Lurker was sizing me up, trying to gage my next move.

Staring at the Lurker, the air around its face seemed to wobbled before a loud ringing hit my ear, making me feel like my head was in a vice, and my vision blurred. Losing my balance, I struggled to keep myself from falling over for a second, Mayall caching me first. “The fuck was that” I shouted.

“A Sonic screech, we can do that.” Mayall informed me. “The hunter did it so that we could not follow.”

“What do you mean follow.” My vision came back into focus, and I could see that the Lurker was no longer here. “Fuck, the hunter got away.”

“Just be glad that it didn’t go for a third attack.” Sorrow added. “I’m going to check up on the Foals, you stay there, don’t want you two scaring the poor dears more than they already have been.

The first thing I did was reload, and repower my rifle, the second was to go to a water fountain, and wash some of the blood of my face. Sadly the water was far from good enough to wash the blood off. Taking a look around, though hard to see, I could see that some of the doors to the rooms had been opened, the two lurkers likely going door to door, killing the ponies inside.

Stepping inside one of the rooms, it was no different from what I had stayed at the night before. The living room had plenty of the posters framed up on the walls, there was even the smaller collector posters framed up on the walls. On a dining table was another frame standing up, taking a closer look at it, it was a family photo, a mirage pony mare and a stallion, with a colt between them. Pushing myself away from the photo, I totted over to the sink, where I could dip my head under. The cool water washed the blood away, it all draining down into the sink, into the red just stopped coming from my head.

Trotting out of the room, Sorrow was waiting for me. “Good news, the foals are safe, bad news, I can’t get them out. We will have to send a member of security to go and finish the job.”

I nodded and turned to leave, stepping over a dead mare, who looked a lot like the mare from the family photo. “Let’s drive these fuckers out of the station.”

____________________________________

We arrived at the doors to the market without running into any other sparkle-lurkers, but the dead were starting to pile up. The civilian population was entirely unprepared for this, and so many found themselves slaughtered before they understood the situation.

The sounds of combat could be heard coming from the market, mainly shouting and the twangy sound for the magical energy muskets going off. Also coming from the market was the smell of smoke and burnt flesh, which was never a good sign.

So when I entered the market, I did it alone, having the other two hang back to wait for me to signal them over. First taking some cover, I scanned the situation from a safe position. The security forces had taken up defensible positions behind hastily made barricades, backed up by ponytrons and sprite bots. The lurkers look to be holding their position, two of them firing their zip guns at the security forces. Wondering why security did not just rush them, the answer came charging out of the doorway to the biome, a regular lurker, the kind seen along the beaches on all the islands. It was armored, even covering its face, and with blades attached to its claws. The monster charged at the security forces, brushing off the beams of energy, with its claws held high. An unfortunate security pony who was closest to the monster, managed to fire their rifle at it, the beam avoided the armor, but simply bounced off the chitin. Within a short few seconds the pony was eviscerated by the reinforced sand lurker.

Another security pony near the one who had died, had obviously lost their nerve as the pony began scooting backwards, trying and failing to get up and run. The sand lurker turned to the panicked pony, this time slowly moving to its prey.

Luckily that lined up the large lurker for me to take a shot at its face. A scope would have been nice this time around, but I had no time to run over to Mayall to get it. So I entered S.A.T.S. putting two actions into shooting at the sand lurker, my chance to hit was not the best, but far from being bad. Accepting the action, my body got into firing position, and pulled the trigger. The bolt sored through the air, and at the Lurker. My quick action paid off, and the bolt slid past the armored face mask, and plunged itself into the lurkers soft face. Time returned to normal, and I watched as the lurker reared back in plain, my shot doing some real damage this time.

The Sand lurker was finished off by a ponytron armed with welding tool that shot out bolts of electricity. Jumping out of my safe zone, I rushed over to the panicked security pony, and dragged her back under cover. “I’m Chime Catbell, with the M.o.A. and I’m here to help.”

The security pony looked up at me for a moment, she looking a bit bewildered by what had just happened. “Te…Tenor Cleft, equality inspector. Th… thanks for th… the help. I th… thought I was going to die.” The mare’s eyes were watering, probably ready to cry in fear and relief.

I waved over my two companions to join us, they quickly rushing over to the cover. Tenor saw Mayall, and opened her mouth, making a whimpering cry before I blocked it with my leg. “She’s with us, so don’t panic.” I held my leg in her mouth until she gave me a look and nodded. Lowering my leg, I made sure to talk to the mare calmly. “Can you tell me the situation?”

Tenor nodded. “Th…there was a report of a situation in th…the biome, so th…the security chief and about half of security went to investigate. Th..they never came back. So we came to investigate, but when we got here, Lurkers rushed the market, being led by some armored ponies. We managed to hold them off, but th…there are less th…then half of us now th…then when th…this started.”

Talk about not being prepared for this, the Sparkle-Lurkers had managed to cripple security here far too quickly. Something that would have never happened if Orthrus was here. “That bad… Here I have a job for you, can you run?” Tenor nodded again. “Good, I need you to go to C block, it got attacked by two lurkers, lots dead, but still plenty of survivors. Help them get to a safer part of the station, can you do this?”

“I… I can do th…that.” With that, I pushed her away, and she ran off out of the market.

Some of the other security ponies looked down at us from a more defendable position, looking worried. Waving, I shouted up at them. “Were going to make a push to the Biome, cut the monsters off at the source. There's more of the monsters in the station, if you don’t follow me, then go hunt them down.”

One of the security ponies pulled out of sight for a moment, probably to talk with another pony. Popping their head back out, the pony had a less than confident look on their face. “We can’t spare anypony here, there’s just not enough of us.”

“Another one incoming! No two more!” One of the security ponies shouted. Two sand lurkers scuttled in and were met by energy blasts from the security team. They managed to kill one with enough shots to the shell to disintegrate it, but the other managed to resist the blasts and rush at me. With how it ran with its head low, and claws up over its face, getting a shot at it's soft spot was not possible, so I had to get a little risky. Waiting for the sand lurker to get in close, I entered S.A.T.S. and waited for it to pull back its claws for an attack. With its face exposed, I selected it, and entered for the attack. Before it could bring its claws down onto me, I got two shots into its face, and the sand lurker collapsed. This was why everypony hated fighting sand lurkers. Their hard shells, and the way they ran often forced you to fight up close just to get a shot at a weak spot.

Looking back up at the security ponies in the nicer position, they still didn’t look confident. I could only guess it was because their chain of command had been severed so suddenly. “Hey, which of you is in charge?” I called out to them.

The security ponies looked around nervously. “We… we all are… we're all equal here.”

Fucking great, so no pony was in charge, talk about a breakdown in command. “Is there anypony of authority I can talk to?”

For a moment the security pony pulled out to talk with another security pony before popping back out. “Theirs the mayor, Thavil, she went to restore power with a few of us before the sand lurker attacked. Who are you anyways.”

“Chime Catbell, I’m with the M.o.A.” I called back to them, though it didn’t seem to put them at ease. We could rush the biome, but without the support of the security team, I doubted we would make it far without getting overrun. So getting the mayor was likely the best way to convince these ponies to fight with me. I turned my gaze to Sorrow. “Let’s go get the Mayor.”

The changeling nodded. “I’ll lead the way.”

____________________________________

We entered the less seen backrooms of the station. Unlike the public areas, everything here was far more dark, dirty, and rusted. The constant hum of the machinery, and the whooshing of water through pipes was loud here, and I could even feel the vibration through my metal legs. Ponytrons were far more common here too, providing round the clock maintenance for the plumbing and electronics, stomping past us in the narrow hallways. It all just reminded me how unnatural this all was, how we had to spend so much time just keeping everything from collapsing in on us. If it weren’t for our ability to charge all the old tech and keep it running, it’s hard not to imagine that most stations like this wouldn’t simply become uninhabitable.

Along the way we found the engineer's break room. Looking in we saw a mare sitting at a table, sadly her face was smashed in, blood dripping off the metal table. She likely didn’t see what killed her coming, and had died quickly. Not wanting to see any more, we moved on, the generator room not much further.

“So much needless violence.” Mayall spoke up. “I don’t understand why my sister is doing this if she just wanted me.”

“Clearly she’s sees this as an opportunity to just kill ponies.” Sorrow commented.

Mayall sighed. “I don’t know; this is just too extreme. My sister loathed the idea of ponies knowing of our existence.”

“Maybe she is getting rid of potential witnesses.” I added.

“That might be it.” Sorrow agreed. “A bit savage, but the stations are so easily cut off from each other, that it’s possible to do it.”

“So, this is my fault?” Mayall, asked, sounding depressed.

I shook my head. “No, it’s your sister's fault for being such a cunt. She also sounds like the kind of pony… lurker, that has been waiting to do something like this. She is probably just using you as an excuse. I’ve known ponies like that, just waiting for someone to get out of line just so that they can legally beat the shit out of them. I’ve even know one pony who joined Orthrus so that they could have the opportunity to legally kill another pony.” I stopped for a moment to give Mayall a hug. “It’s not your fault for what others do, remember that. All you really can do is just be a better pony… or a better lurker.”

I let go of the hug, Mayall letting a tear go. Strange, somehow I was surprised that it was a normal tear, I thought it would glow. “Thanks, I think we should continue, I have a bad feeling about what’s ahead.” I nodded in agreement, and continued through the backroom’s.

Reaching the generator room, unsurprisingly it was dark. Mayall, Sorrow, and I turned on our pipbuck lamps, providing us with a small amount of light. What we saw didn’t surprise us, which was sad. Dead ponies were scattered about on the floor, the blood pooling around them. From the look of where the bodies were, they were taken by surprise, some of the security ponies with energy muskets still charged and ready to fire. Among the bodies was what was probably the mayor, the mare had on a nice gray suit, now stained with blood.

Checking the body, the pony had little on her other than her suit. I decided to go straight to what would tell me what I needed to know, and pulled out her E.C.S. pass card, and placed it into Minerva. My pipleg quickly read the information and displayed it for me. Arghul was her name, mayor of Fishery Station, and she had an equality score of 852, still didn’t understand what made a good score, but if she was mayor, that had to be one.

“Found the mayor, looks like this was a bust.” I called out. Mayall and Sorrow were standing at the window to the generator, the sparkle-lurker looking in, as the changeling just stood at the side. I trotted over to them to see what they found, careful to not step on the bodies. “What did you find?”

“Nothing you want to see.” Sorrow said as she avoided eye contact.

Stepping over to Mayall, I looked through the window, and recoiled. Through the faint red light, I could see that countless mirage ponies were strapped in harnesses, lying on shelves as though they were nothing more than parts of a machine. No, that’s exactly what they were, each one with cables coming out of their neck, snakeing onto the floor, becoming on large cable that plugging into the generator. “That’s a...”

“A slave generator, yes it is.” Sorrow stated. “What do you think the republic does with all their undesirables? Criminals, the lame, political opponents, and anypony thought to be a capitalist. If they can’t be reformed, or put to work in the ‘fun’ camps, they end up like this.”

“But why this? Nopony should be treated like a power cell.” It was disgusting, a pony simply reduced to just a piece of a machine.

“What are you talking about?” Mayall spoke up, sounding worried. “What happened to these ponies?”

Sorrow took a deep breath, and sighed, before answering. “Early on when the mirage ponies started to become more common, after it was discovered that they could produce magical energy, there were other ponies who abused that ability. At first it was a practice that started out as simply using mirage ponies as backup power for tools, lights, and charging spark batteries. But it didn’t take long before it devolved into a horrific punishment.”

Stepping over to the window, Sorrow placed her hoof on the thick glass and continued. “The Slave Generator is simply a steam engine that can be powered by the magical energy of a mirage pony with the help of a few heating talismans. It takes a few mirage ponies to get the water boiling, but once the engine starts moving, for each addition mirage pony providing power, the efficiency of the engine greatly increases. But there is one flaw to this setup, the slave generator needs a constant source of power, so unless you have mirage ponies taking shifts, the engine will slow down as the water cools. That is, unless you chain them to the generator, and force them to produce magical energy. And so, some stations started taking mirage pony slaves, mostly criminals at first, but it didn’t take long for stations to start foal napping mirage ponies for their slave generator.”

“Orthrus found the practice abhorrent, and made it their policy to shut down any slave generator in use, and punish the ponies running them.” I added. “I though the practice had died out, why would the republic bring it back?”

“Because it’s for the greater good, you know, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Sorrow said with a disappointed tone.

I shook my head. “If Orthrus found out about this, there may be a war.”

Sorrow then laughed. “Sadly, I doubt that Orthrus would ever admit that this existed here.”

My eyebrow cocked up at her. “What are you talking about?”

She sighed. “This slave generator existed here long before the republic took over. That’s right, this slave generator was once owned, and used by your proud Orthrus. Hypocrisy at its finest, don’t you think?”

I felt sick to my stomach, to know that something like this still existed, and seeing it, it was sickening. “Yeah, I have a few ponies to talk to when I get home.” I know that after the shit I’m going through, getting in contact with a member of the council should be possible. Turning my gaze back to the window. “Mayall, let’s get them out of there.”

“That’s too late for them.” Mayall spoke as she peeled herself off the window. “They’re all dead.”

“What!” Looking closer, I saw what she was talking about. It was faint, but there it was, each of the ponies had a line of blood coming from their neck. Looks like each one of them had been bled out, as though they were strapped down for slaughter. Following the trail from their neck, and down to the floor, I could see a solid red. So many ponies had been killed that it made one big pool of dark red. My stomach recoiled at the sight, and my breakfast came back up to be spilt on the floor, leaving a bile taste in my mouth. “Fucking why? Why all the killing, what is Berenices trying to prove? They posed no threat to them at all!”

Mayall gave me a worried look. “I don’t think she’s going to stop, not unless we drive her away.”

I wiped my mouth, the smell of what I had eaten was now less than appealing. “Yeah, let’s stop messing around and go straight to the bitch.” I took one of the dead security ponies magical energy muskets, and with the one I already had, attached them to a battle saddle. Slipping the battle saddle on, I made sure the straps were on tight, luckily both muskets had the stock cut short, so I just had to push my saddlebags back to my flank to get them out of the way.

We left the generator room, the smell of death thick in the air. Our blood covered hooves leaving a trail behind us, mixing with the grime of the backrooms.

____________________________________

The station had fallen eerily quiet on our way back to the market. I could only guess that the ponies who had avoided getting attacked were now in hiding, the rest dead. This was far too efficient to just be a spur of the moment attack, I had a strong feeling that Berenices had this planned out. From the infiltration, to the assault with the sand-lurkers, I had my doubts that she would even diverge from her move, even if we slapped her in the face.

The three of us trotted through the dark hallway, I couldn’t help but feel that we were being watched. With my EFS being useless at detecting the Sparkle-Lurkers, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that they were stalking us. The sight of a dead pony as we trotted past it was just another reminder of the danger we were in, and the sooner we stopped this madness the better.

As we entered the market, cautiously at first, we were greeted by a charging sand-lurker. Entering S.A.T.S. I used both of my fully charged magical energy muskets to shoot at the lurker. Giving me the twang sound in stereo as the two bolts of energy blasted right into the large sand-lurker, turning one of its legs into dust. The beast tumbled to the ground, struggling to get back up. Pulling my air rifle off my back, I put a bolt into its face, killing it.

Carefully going from cover to cover, we made it under one of the defense points of the security team. “You okay up there?” I shouted.

There was a pause for a few seconds, and a coldness in the air. “We fine, not dead yet.” The voice was a bit off, like some stallion was trying to sound like a mare, but failing to sound even like a pony.

I looked at the others, and they both gave me a worried glance back. Looking back up at the defensive nest, I focused my magical charge, letting it flow to my guns. “You’re not a sparkle-lurker are you?”

“We… they prefer Sparkle-lurk, no need to add the -er- at the end” the not a security pony stated at us.

Sighing, I looked back at Mayall. “Is this true?”

She shrugged. “Some do. Mother wanted us to be called the space cadets. I suggested that we should be called the elegant inheritors of the deep. One wanted us to be all called cola-kin, I think my sister killed the lurk for that idea.”

“No remind me.” The not a security pony called out. “Slick Shell never stopped whining, on how different he was, on how nopony understood him. Berenices put him out of our misery.”

“Ok, enough stupidity!” Sorrow yelled. “You up there, come down before we shoot you down!”

The sound of hooves rapidly moving around came from above us, and the head of a sparkle-lurker poked out. “No shoot, I surrender.” The lurker tumbled out of the defensive nest, and scrambled before us. “I here, kindly no shoot.”

The lurker looked a bit like Turnip, but more scratched up, and a small fin on its head painted white. He, like the other lurkers before, had chitin armor on, though this one had seen some combat, scorched with energy bolt marks on its side. Specks of blood dotted the lurkers armor, and on a belt were some rusted knives. The lurker also had a long pipe rifle, which looked like it had a revolver system to it, and a crude bayonet hanging off the end of the barrel.

Clearing my throat, I made sure my voice sounded strong and in command. “You will take us to Berenices!”

“Of course!” the lurker said with a smile. “That’s our plan.”

It took me a moment to process what he had just said. “Shit!” Quickly looking around, Sparkle-Lurkers came out of their hiding spots, armed with zip-guns, old fire axes, pipes turned into maces, and lots of spears.

The Lurker pointed his rifle at me. “Doubt you kill all us. Do as we say, and Berenices will decide what to do with you. Don’t, we kill you. Clear.” His tone was far too jovial for what he was telling me, which only made me more worried about our situation. The lurker then turned his attention to Mayall. “So happy to see the runaway princess safe, though concerned to see you with our armor. You killed for it. Disappointing.”

Mayall glared at the lurker. “And what of thee hunters, this slaughter, how does it keepeth the nest safe, keepeth the workers fed? doth thee seek war with the ponies?”

“You want answer from me?” with a grin, he lifted his head back, and brought it down onto Mayall. The head-butt was enough to make Mayall fall back on her own legs, and as she got back up, a line of blue blood came out of her noise. “Save questions for future queen, or we give more answers.”

As we were herded to the biome, I saw a few more lurkers trot into the market from where we entered. One lurker carried another on their back, a significant amount of blue staining their armor, and the lurker on his back had to thin metal spikes sticking out of their armor, looking quite painful. The rest of the lurkers were stained with red blood, mainly around their hooves, and many were dragging loot.

Going through the passageway to the biome only made me feel worse, the only thing I could do was look down and keep walking. Stripped of our gear, the fucking lurkers had also taken the pills I was using to keep calm, and they were starting to wear off. Luckily I still had Lunar Eclipse, so if it became too much, I could just shoot myself to put me out of my own misery. It also didn’t help that my shitty right front leg was starting to squeak, making me glad I had Minerva back, as if I had the squeaking in stereo, I’d have shot myself by now.

Entering the biome, we were greeted by more lurkers, the miniature forest, a very wet floor, and our pipbucks giving us a tick every few seconds. Sorrow looked quite distressed at this point, but with the prodding of the lurkers, she couldn’t stop and say anything without getting hurt. They continued to push us, taking us to what I could only guess was a meeting room.

Sitting at the end of an oval shaped table was Berenices, looking far more menacing than she had before. She had on the same armor as the rest of the lurkers here, but unlike the others her armor had a tattered red shawl, probably held in place by the pony skull on her shoulder. Sitting on the table next to her was what was likely her helmet, the same as the others, but painted red around the sides, and a fake red fin on the top.

The table had other things on it that made me concerned. Maps were a big thing that worried me, as it looked like she had maps to the valley island metro system, as well as a few stations, including fishery. Other things were explosives, most of wartime vintage, but there were a few metro made fire bombs, and two pipe bombs. There was also a bunch of piplegs, all of which had been ripped apart leaving mostly the pipbuck part.

Berenices pulled out a book, and opened it up before glancing at us, looking more annoyed than anything. The book was red with four bold words on it, “The Art of War” which didn’t surprise me that she was reading a book about war. I could only hope it was a picture book. “It’s good to see you again sister mine.”

Mayall curtsied. “I’m sorry I cannot say the same, sister.”

She flipped through a page of the book. “Do you know how much trouble you caused by leaving like that, leaving a door to the nest open for vile ponies to find, sister mine. Were you trying to get the nest killed, sister mine?”

Mayall’s proud demeanor seemed to slowly crumble under her sister’s words. “I maketh no excuses, but that does not explain why you’re here.”

“I’m here because you are here, sister mine!” Berenices voice was loud and angry. “Gallivanting with ponies like nothing would go wrong, sister mine.” With a growl she looked in my direction. “And this pony, I recognize that face. I should have known that you’d go running into the hooves of one that trespassed onto our land. I should have told mother to take her eyes as well. No, I should have told her to take all of their eyes.”

Mayall glared back at her sister. “How does such violence solve anything?”

“It reminds them that they are not wanted, that there are consequences for trampling on our land!” Berenices snarled back.

“So, then what consequences will you face?” Sorrow spoke up. “This is not your territory Lurker, do you think this will go unpunished?”

Berenices body posture relaxed as she turned her attention to sorrow. “And you are?”

She smiled. “You can call me Sorrow, a representative of my kin.” As she spoke, a silvery flames engulfed her in a wave of magic, revealing the pony disguise she had before. “And this station is our territory, of which you're trampling on.” The silver flames engulfed her once more, her form now that of a Sparkle-Lurker. “Of which we are not pleased with.”

The book slipped from Berenices hooves, falling flat on the table. “Amazing.” Berenices shook her head, and picked up her book. “Not like ponies are you. Maybe we could come to an agreement. We are only here because ponies. What is your… kin, called.

“Changelings, that is what we’re called.” Sorrow responded. “And if were to come to an agreement, we first must ask you to leave this place. The republic may have been caught off guard, but their retaliation will be swift and brutal. Last we need is the republic capturing your kind, and gaining a new weapon.”

Berenices chuckled. “Doubt that is a problem. No, no problem at all.” She flipped through another page. “But rest assured that you will be spared, for now. If your kin, and mine can come to an agreement, you shall remain unharmed.” Her eyes scanned over us, stopping on me. “But you, no guarantee.”

“What do you mean no problem?” I asked calmly, trying to not tip my hoof on how panicked I felt. “If the republic floods this tunnel with their soldiers, there’s no way you can win”

“Noted, an army of ponies in this station.” She said notionally, flipping through another page of the book. “Have you read the chapter about fire, most fascinating.”

“Don’t you care; your hunters will die.” I felt more irritated now, Berenices was too smug to not be mocking me, not unless she had a trick up her sleeves. “What are you planning?”

She smiled. “I do so love this book. Taught me to play to my strengths, and strike at my enemy’s weaknesses.” Berenices closed the book and gently put it on the table. “Know yourself and your enemy, you needn’t fear the results of a hundred battles. Is one of my favorite quotes.”

“I don’t know the quote, but I know the concept.” I still didn’t know what she was getting at, but I was getting a really bad feeling about this. “What are you getting at?”

She clapped her hooves, and two lurkers placed an empty glass, and an opened bottle of sparkle-cola-rad in front of her. The bottle of cola gave off a red glow that made me feel uneasy. “You see, we lurks have a few advantages, and disadvantages to you ponies.” She pounded her own chest. “One is that we're are hard to hurt, so by adding more armor to ourselves, we become harder to kill. Another is that your magical instruments can’t seem to see us, allowing us to move about the shadows unhindered. Because of that, all my hunters are trained to be silent, quick, and hard to see.” She picked up the bottle and slowly poured it into the glass. “Also we can stay underwater for hours, where ponies can only stay for a few fleeting minutes.” She glanced at me, her gaze was devious and wicked.

My heart thumped, as though it knew the answer before it clicked in my mind. “No, you wouldn’t.” Her gaze didn’t falter. “You would wouldn’t you. You’re going to flood the station! Why?”

She chuckled again. “The one who strikes first wins. It’s as simple as that.” Taking a sip of the sparkle-cola-rad, I could see a grin on her face. “It’s why I’ve been studying this place for over a year, finding it’s weak points, and how to most efficiently drown the population without a full on fight happening. I’d call this operation a success, wouldn’t you pony?”

“That’s dreadful!” Mayall spoke up. “War is about armies, territory, and resources. But what you're condoning is murder, it’s genocide!”

Berenices didn’t show any remorse as she sighed. “War is about genocide, sister mine. Why do you think this world is so dead? The first to strike has the advantage of decimating their enemy before they can attack you. I choose to start and end a war within less than a day, far better than what the ponies chose to do with this world. Far better than they deserve.”

“You will fail.” Sorrow spoke up. “Do you know why you will fail?” Berenices eyes glanced over to the changeling, still calm and collective. “Because the ponies of Marewaii have survived worse. You are but one more mad-mare to add to the history books. Another tyrant who will die soon enough.”

“If you think so, that’s fine.” Berenices finished of her drink, and wiped her mouth. “But your history books will prove me right. The evil nature of ponies cannot be contained, they will lash out at the likes of you and I for simply not being like them. The old ponies did it to the mirage, and the mirage did it back to the old ponies. It’s in their nature, and so they must be put down.”

“That’s untrue! Ponies are not as evil as you think!” Mayall argued

But Berenices laughed at her statement. “Not as evil is still evil. Do you hear what you’re saying? You know it to be as true as I do, but you cling to the ponies ideas of romance, and chivalry. Simple excuses to justify doing evil.”

“And what you think what you're doing is not evil, committing murder on such a grand scale.” I shot back at her, more irritated than ever before. “What do you even think to accomplish with this?”

She just looked at me with disgust. “I do what I must to protect my nest, my kin. That is what I seek to accomplish. If ponies must drown, then I shall do it a hundred times until there is nopony able to threaten the nest.”

I don’t know why, but her statement to drown all ponies, it was insane, but also funny to me. Just a week ago it would have been a terrifying though, the possibility all too real. But now, it was an absurd thought, horrifying, but absurd. I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea.

“What’s so funny, pony.” Berenices didn’t seem to like how I saw the humor in her words. “Shut up!” She got up onto the table, trotting over and slapping me hard enough that I fell over onto my side. The pain, it hurt enough that that I smelt blood again. “Why you laugh at me! answer me pony?”

I got back up, wiping some blood from my nose. “Simple, there are far more ponies then there are on the island. Drown us all, you’d need to drown the world. But even then you’re not going to get us all. Not even close.” Berenices narrowed her gaze at me, squinting with anger. “You want to know why?”

The lurker snorted at me. “Tell me pony.”

“Because some days ago, I found out that the rest of the world still exists.” It was true, the forlorn hope of us ever leaving the island had been rekindled, and threats like the metro flooding no longer seemed like the end of the world. “Pegasi from a cloud city recently arrived on the islands, looking for a new home. They told us about Equestria, and how it still lives, how ponies have managed to survive the end of the world. And not just them, but there are the pirates too. Marauding and cruel, but diverse and terrifyingly hardy. If you flood the world, they will simply ride the waves.”

Berenices took a step back, looking worried, but then tilted her head up and laughed. “Lies, more lies from lying ponies.” Taking a step forward, she poked me in the chest. “What you talk is but a pipedream. Trying to pretend that you didn’t kill everything, didn’t poison the air, didn’t make the world want to kill you for what you have done.” She turned around and returned to her seat, signaling to the other lurkers. “Take them away, and execute the pony. Also burn their garbage, we need not the ponies cursed tools.”

We were escorted back to the forest area of the biomes, and into a clearing. The area was a pleasant little space with two benches next to each other, and a little low fountain. If it wasn’t for the glass ceiling that I did my best to not look up at, I’d say this place was pleasant. In the distance was another sand-lurker, it had a sparkle-lurker on its back, poking it with a stick. As far as I knew, taming the sand-lurkers was next to impossible, and farming them was more trouble than it was worth, so it was a mystery to me how they were even able to control the monsters.

“What do with the two captives?” one of the lurkers asked out loud, it’s head looking about to the other lurkers. I was starting to tell the little differences, this one being a bit taller than the others, and a more pronounced fin on its head, much like Mayall, so it was probably female.

“We not have place to put them, no strong rooms like nest.” The second lurker a little shorter, with a shorter fin that looked like it had been cut. I was going to guess that it was male.

The other Lurkers shrugged, none of them seemed to know what to do with us. It seemed that we had caught a break, and the group were currently confused to where to put Mayall, and Sorrow. Making eye contact with Sorrow, I lightly tapped my chest, and she gave a faint nod, and smiled.

“How about the sub bay?” Sorrow threw her voice, sounding like one of the other lurkers. The Lurkers all paused to look around, not knowing who just talked.

The female lurker scratched her chin. “Don’t know, big metal pony pod makes me uneasy.”

Sorrow smirked. “We could just shove all three in pod, like stupid canned pony food.” Her voice sounded a little different as she threw it.

The male lurker snickered. “I like that idea, then we can just drag them to base, far from other ponies.” He then kicked one of our saddle bags that another lurker had on. “We burn this; anypony has bomb fire?” They all looked at each other, and shook their head. The lurker looked irritated by the lack of firebombs. “If we not burn it, Berenices well throw a fit.”

“Just stash it with prisoners.” Sorrow was at it again. “One of us can go get bomb fire.”

All the lurkers looked at each other, and shrugged. The one female pony shook her head. “Not good idea, keep prisoners separate from pony stuff. Throw prisoners in pod, keep their stuff outside of pod.” The other lurkers nodded their heads in agreement.

“Wait!” the other male lurker shouted. “What about the pony?”

“In the pod.” Sorrow blurted out, do in her best to keep the lurkers fooled. But seeing how they were looking from one to each other, I doubt she could keep it up.

The lurker snorted. “No, Berenices said execute. I can do that.”

The female nodded. “I will help, two of you go get fire bomb, the rest take prisoners to the pod.”

Fuck, they wised up. I looked over at Sorrow and Mayall, giving them a nod. Unlike them, I was still armed, so it was best to have them go ahead of me. I’d be able to catch up with them soon, I just needed to wait for the lurkers numbers to thin out a bit.

Leading my two new friends away, the number of lurkers around me dropped to two, though I could see that there were a few more just in the area. If I were to guess, I had at least three Sparkle-Lurkers, a sand-lurker, to deal with, give or take two or three Sparkle-Lurkers I’m not seeing. Surprisingly enough, even with their red glow, they were hard to spot.

“Now we to end pony?” The female lurk spoke as she circled me.

“We could just bleed the pony out” The male lurk said, joining with the female as they trotted around me.

“Bullets for the head.” She said with glee. “That would do it.”

The male huffed. “It’s too good for pony, I say we stomp pony.”

“And get dirty again, I just washed up.” The female bemoaned.

“There’s always the wild lurks.” The male said with a mocking tone.

As the female passed in front of me, she had a cruel smile on her lips. “Yes, it can pound pony dead, and eat pony. Like one spear for two fish.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, not at all. I watched as the male lurk ran off to where the sand lurker was, the female keeping a close eye on me. I could make my move now, with only one lurker watching over me, but that be too soon. The four other lurkers were still with my friends, so I had to stall for more time, enough to see that they were safe enough for me to cause some havoc.

Luckily for me, it seemed that the male lurk was having little luck getting the sand-lurker to come over here, and was now arguing with the Sparkle-Lurker on its back. Or at least that’s what it looked like, they were both raising their hooves at each other, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Looking back at the female lurker, she was looking a bit impatient. I figured I’d mess with her a bit before drawing my gun, and buy myself some more time. They were going to kill me, so at this point I didn’t feel bad about being a little cruel. “So you and that other lurker, are you to a thing?”

“Pony should not talk!” She spat at me.

I rolled my eyes. “But are you?”

The lurker actually broke eye contact with me. “Does it look that way?”

“Well you two have good chemistry, I wouldn’t be surprised if you two were a thing.” Mares like to feel loved, I know I did, so she had to have similar feelings at least. Or whatever abominations felt.

The female lurker lightly stomped at the grounds, splashing a little water around. “Well we have been hunting together for some time now.” Well I just learned something new, the Sparkle-Lurkers can blush, though it’s more that the red parts of their faces glow more.

I was now regretting that I went down this line of dialog, as I was going to have to shoot her soon. “Well then you should ask him, I’m sure you’d make a cute couple.” My eyes caught two lurkers coming from where my friends were sent, the two that had our stuff, my stuff. I could only guess they were the ones getting the firebombs to burn my stuff, which meant my opportunity was coming up.

The male lurker trotted over to us, with the sand-lurker slowly stomping behind him with the other Sparkle-Lurker riding it’s back. The sand lurker was partially armored with metal plates, and decorated with cloth and shells. “Got fool to agree to let his lurker execute pony.”

The Sparkle-Lurker on the sand-lurkers back petted the large beast. “Mi-Mi is a delicate girl, I only let her do this because she needs to eat. If she chips her chitin, I will chip yours.”

I was unsure what to say about that, the sand-lurker had a name, and was being cared for like it was a prized cat. If they weren’t going to execute me soon, I’d probably enjoy the spectacle more. If they hadn’t just committed mass murder, and planned on flooding the tunnel, I’d probably not have my stomach churning right now.

I watched as the female lurk trotted over the male, her face still glowing a little brighter. “So um. Chirp, Can I ask you question?”

The male lurk looked at the female lurk. “Yes, ask away.” It was kind of funny how much smaller the male lurker was, not a huge difference, but enough that it just didn’t look right. The female was about the size of a slightly short mare, so the male looked like a runt if he were a stallion.

The female lurker rubbed one of her back legs on the other. “So, was wondering, if you, and I. If you could ever see us as a, well partners?”

The male lurker stood there for a few seconds, probably processing the question. When he came thru, the lurk took a deep breath and sighed. “Sorry, I have mate. Soft Shell, from the nursery, she and I been together for some time.”

The female lurk took a step back, and turned around to look at me. Her face was far redder now, but not in that mare with a crush kind of way, and more of the mare who is going to crush a pony way. “Let’s kill pony.” Ya, now she wanted me dead, not because of some orders out of misguided fear, she was going to take her embarrassment fueled rage out on me, with a sand-lurker.

If I was trying to make peace, or weasel out of this fight, then it would be a catastrophic failure. Luckily all I was doing was stalling, and maybe, rustling a few feathers. As a rule, to fighting that is, is never fight mad, makes you easy to manipulate into mistakes. One mistake was that both male lurkers were now looking at the female a bit perplexed over the outburst. The second mistake was that when nothing had happened, the female turned to the others to angrily glare at them to kill me right now. This meant that the only eyes on me was the sand-lurker, the poor dumb beast wouldn’t understand what was coming.

Carefully and quietly I had Minerva take hold of my revolver, the gun sliding out of it hiding spot on my chest, and I took aim. Straight at the face of the over decorated sand-lurker. The other lurkers saw what I was going, but were too late to stop anything.

-Blam-

The bullet hit the sand-lurkers face, and the beast thrashed in pain, throwing its rider off. As the two other Sparkle-Lurkers pushed to intercept me, I entered S.A.T.S. both were close enough for clear head shots. They didn’t stand a chance. As time returned to normal, and the two lurkers fell to the ground with their heads hollowed out, I trotted to the third lurker.

The lurker slowly got to his hooves, only to find my gun poking into his eye. “Why?” was all he got out as I pulled the trigger.

“Like your leader said, this is war.” I said to the dead lurker. Checking Lunar Eclipse, I had one live round left, with twelve more under my clothes. Unloading the spent cartridges, I reloaded the revolver. I doubted I could get this lucky with normal .357, If I got stuck in a drawn out fight, I’d be dead as soon as I ran out of the bullets.

Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly made my way to wear my new friends were. As I got to the door, I could hear shouting from behind me, meaning that we had to work quickly, or we’d have for too many lurkers to deal with. Stepping through, I saw that my two friends were in the old research submarine, the thing just big enough to fit them comfortably, but probably a tight squeeze if I added myself. The two lurkers who were guarding them, were standing next to our stuff.

“Hey, your supposed to be de…” My revolver interrupted the lurker, the stabilizing levitation talisman in its handle made it so much easier to aim and shoot. The other lurker looked at his partner, and at me. Before I could get the crosshairs properly on him, the lurker dove for the water, and vanished into it. Cowardly or smart, that lurker had avoided his death.

Putting the revolver away, I quickly ran over to my friends, grabbing one of the saddle bags along the way. “Get that damned sub going, we have no time to waste!” I shouted as I threw the saddlebag into the sub.

“Were going to need more time then no time at all.” Sorrow bemoaned.

Skidding along the floor, I picked up the second saddle bag. “How much more time?”

“At least a few minutes, I should be able to figure out how to get this going by then.” She said with a nervous grin on her face.

Hopping onto the sub, Sorrow go a face full of saddle bag. “You suggested this plan without knowing how to pilot this thing!”

The sub hummed to life, all the lights inside began to blink. Mayall was at the controls, with a thick book opened on a stand. The lurker looked up at us and smiled. “Research book they gave me was real detailed. Included how to use their sub.” She flipped a few switches, and the sub jerked, trying to turn in the pool. “Ahh, I think we're still docked. Can’t go anywhere until it’s released.”

Taking a step back, I saw the docking clamp, it looking like a much smaller clamp used for the airship back at Orthris HQ. “I can do that, you to just get ready to go as soon as I’m in.” Hopping off the sub, I rushed over to where the clamp connected to the Biome facility, a terminal sat on a table next to it, so that had to be where the release was. The terminal was locked, needing a authorized ponies ID to get into it. Hoping that the republic actually gave their officials some real power, I popped the mayor's E.C.S. out of Minerva, and into the terminal. Like it was the golden ticket, the terminal unlocked. Quickly looking it over, the terminal had a shit ton of logs, but also the docking clamp release option.

The damned thing was loud, rust and lack of lubrication made it squeak and clunk. But we were good to go, and I’d be home free.

A loud pop signaled a pain in my cheek and the terminal blowing up on me. Luckily I had backed away from it, so I didn’t get a face full of glass and steel, but the explosion was enough to make me stumble. Placing a hoof on my now bleeding check, it was hard to tell how bad it was, but it really stung, and was oozing blood. Looking to see what did this, I saw the Lurker from the market standing in the doorway, his six shooter rifle trained on me.

“You stay right th…there pony.” His stuttering didn’t help make me not want to run, and the sight of the other lurkers behind him only urged me on to get moving. Pushing off the table, I bolted for the walkway to the sub, my metal hooves loudly clanking on the metal flooring. Another shot popped from stutters, and with a loud ping I lost my footing. Attempting to get up as fast as I can, I found that my right foreleg had gone limp, the plate covering the upper part had been blown off, and two steel cables had been snapped. The only silver lining was that the bullet had not gone all the way thru, the led ball rolling about in the leg. “Next shot kills you, pony!”

I had lost the precious time I needed to do this, and with how good stutters was with his rifle, I was a dead mare trotting. Gritting my teeth, I entered S.A.T.S. I selected Lunar Eclipse, and picked an odd option S.A.T.S. normally didn’t have, to throw my gun. I even picked a trajectory to which to throw it at, and luckily for me the accuracy was not bad for the distance. Exiting S.A.T.S. with a magical lock from Minerva, my revolver flew out of its hiding spot, over to and hitting the door to the sub, and falling in. “Find my Sister, she will know what to do!”

I saw Sorrow quickly jump up and grab hold of the hatch, shutting and sealing the sub just in time to prevent a lurker from blocking the hatch. I could see Mayall, she was hitting the glass and shouting something, though all I could hear was a soft thump. I just nodded my head at her, and turned to face Stutters with a grin. “I didn’t mo-“

A sharp left hook hit me in the jaw, sending me to the floor. I was at least glad I didn’t fall into the water, it only inches away from me. “You think they can get away, pony!” Stutters voice was a bit more feminine than I remember, and didn’t have the stutter. Getting up, I found myself face to face with Berenices, whom had her helmet on now. “We’ve seen it used, too slow to get away. For trying to take my sister mine away from me, you only manage to make me angry. Death, the will be too good for you, not a quick one that is.” She chuckled loudly, a fat grin on her face. “I read once in an old book about griffins, and a execution called the blood eagle. You see, it involves opening up the chest while the victim is still alive, and letting their lungs expand until it looks like a pair of bloody wing. Sounds painful, I hope you scream until your throat is raw.”

“How about you try it first, see which one of us can scream louder.” I spat back at her. Bravado aside, I was ready to piss myself. I had no doubt that she would actually do it, and make it slow.

Berenices sighed loudly. “A brave front for such a dead mare. I’ll have fun seeing how long that will last.”

“Wow, that sounds, well doubleplusungood.” An overly chipper voice came out of thin air. “You know what sounds better, a party, well a party with explosives!”

The whole facility shook, and the roof cracked, sending streams of water down all around us. Berenices took a few steps backwards, looking confused and panicked. “Who was that, the fuck just happened!?” Her eyes darted around, not seeing anything. “Show yourself coward!”

A giggle came from the side of me, sounding too happy for the situation. “Coward, that’s silly. All’s fair in the destruction of the republic's enemies.” A stream of water passed by me, it hitting, and revealing an invisible pony. The pony, a mare, had on a jet black wetsuit, that had boldly on the side the symbol of the M.o.A. She was silver in color, and her mane and tail was yellow, and made of braided electric wires. Her artificial eyes were a glowing red, of which she stared at Berenices with an intense Glare. “Be glad that my orders are to recover our new agent, or I’d be your unlife.”

She turned to face me, and smiled. “Hi, I’m Synthesis Harmony, newest reaver of the M.o.A. Glad to meet you.”

I looked back at the sub, seeing it bob underwater. With them out of danger, I turned my attention back to the reaver. “Yes, I was told to expect somepony. Though this is a bit of a bad situation.” The room was taking on water fast, and my heart felt like it pounded harder the higher it crept up my leg. “Could we get out of here?”

“Most certainly.” She was far too perky for the situation. It was a bit unnerving. “It will be just a moment.”

I saw Berenices scowled at us, and point her hoof. “Shoot, stab, I don’t’ care, but kill them now!” Stutters immediately had his rifle at the ready, and fired.

I hit the ground, my legs crumbling beneath me. “There we go, out of danger.” I got back up on my hooves, and looked around. We were no longer at the biome, but at the train station part of the station. With many ponies standing around, some looking torn up.

“What just happened?” I asked, as the other ponies gathered around us.

“Teleport!” Synthesis answered with a smile. “My specially is invisibility and teleportation.” She pulled back the wetsuit on her right leg, revealing a pipleg. “Oh shoot, were at the public tunnel, we should have been sent to the private military tunnel. Just a moment, I’m going to contact the other M.o.A. agents to come pick us up.”

Took me a few seconds to process what she was talking about, and soon I remembered something important. “We need to seal off the station, they’re going to flood it!”

“Wow, thats real ungood of them. Good thing we were going to lock down the station in the first place.” Yellow lights suddenly turned on and spun around, along with a loud and low buzzing noise turned on and off. Blast doors, one by one, closed and separated us from the rest of the station. When the last door closed, making a hiss and a clunk, the lights and buzzing stopped. Synthesis Looked over at me in the red light, and smiled. “There, the republic is all safe now.”

“But the ponies still inside?” It felt cruel to just abandoned them to that fate. “We can’t just leave them there?”

“It’s sad, that’s true.” She expression didn’t change from its look of joy. “But the needs of the republic outway the needs of the few. But we will see that their loss is avenged, I assure you that.” She patted me on the shoulder and trotted to the train tracks. “But more importantly, we need to get you to H.Q. and throw you a party. I’ve asked everypony to join.”

“Everypony, as in everypony in the M.o.A?” I felt a knot in my stomach.

“Oh yes.” She bounced. “After I got the report from Blaster Beam, I sent the invitations out to everyone. I even got a message to relay to you.” She tapped on her pipleg for a few seconds. “Here it is. It says; I’ll be waiting for you, Slayer.”

Yeah, I didn’t like this at all. “Do you know who it’s from?”

She nodded. “It’s from Reaver Theremin. Have you met him before?”

If there was any hope of getting out of this, I didn’t see it. “Yeah, we’ve met.”

____________________________________

Footnote:

Quest completed: They Came from the Deep!

New Quest: The Secret to True Equality

Chapter 24 - Clockwork Apple

So I was feeling numb, which was good, because I didn’t feel well at all. It was like that feeling you get when you’ve had too much to drink, but so much that you were away, just numb to everything. It was a relaxing feeling, so I dared not open my eyes until the feeling had left. But things only got stranger. Sitting in front of me was a purple earth pony stallion bobbing his head to a strange song playing on his pipbuck.

Ouga Chaka ouga! Ouga Chaka ouga! Ouga Chaka ouga! Ouga Chaka ouga!

It kept playing, and he just sat there with his head bobbing to it. His pale blue mane had a green streak in it, it all bouncing with every bob and tilt of his head.

I can't stop this feeling

Deep inside of me.

Girl, you just don't realize

What you do to me.

When you hold me

In your arms so tight,

You let me know,

Everything's alright, ahahah

The stallion held up a sign, a pink sign with blue sparkly letters on it. “It’s going to be fine.”

I'm hooked on a feeling,

I'm high on believing,

That you're in love with me.

Dropping the sign, another was behind it. “It’s always darkest before dawn.”

Lips as sweet as candy.

Their taste stays on my mind.

Girl, you keep me thirsty for another cup of wine.

The second sign dropped, and a third was there. “You’re not alone, you have friends.”

I got it bad for you girl,

But I don't need a cure,

I'll just stay addicted, If I can endure

All the good love, when we're all alone

Keep it up girl, yeah you turn me on.

“She wants you to break, so stay strong.”

I'm, Hooked on a feeling.

I'm high on believing that you're in love with me.

All the good love, when we're all alone

Keep it up girl, yeah you turn me on.

“They’re on their way, so you must not give up.”

Ahaha I'm hooked on a feeling,

I'm high on believing,

That you're in love with me.

“You’re not the first to be entranced by her, and will not be the last”

I'm hooked on a feeling,

I'm high on believing,

That you're in love with me.

“So when the darkness is at its peak, hold onto the light of hope, and don’t let go.”

I say I'm hooked on a feeling,

And I'm high on believing,

That you're in love with me.

I'm hooked on a feeling.

The music faded, and I began to feel again. Still numb, but the back of my neck and my head felt unnaturally warm, the skin a tad too tight.

______________________________________

“Have you lost your fucking mind!” The voice was of a stallion, old, and authoritative.

“Don’t blow an oil leak, I know what I’m doing. She’s going to be a valuable asset.” The other voice, it was hard to place. Too androgynous to put my hoof down on gender, but it was very familiar.

“She’s going to damage the C.C.N. there’s a reason we only let the most loyal of ponies in it!” The old stallion huffed.

Opening my eyes, blurry at first, but they quickly came into focus.

A silver mare, Theremin, I remember now. “We have plenty of ponies connected to the network, one mare is not going to cause a problem. And if she was too, it’s not like we don’t have ways to disconnect her from the C.C.N.”

“My first option is a bullet in her head.” The old stallion said without hesitation. He was black, with a green mane and tail, some gray could be seen in it. His outfit was a black trench coat, and a black hat. Waterphone was his name, if I was remembering correctly. “Trust me, if she becomes even a small problem in the network, I’m personally removing her from it.” Waterphone stepped out of the room, the doors softly hissing as they closed.

Theremin was sticking his tongue out at the stallion, up until the door closed. Looking over at me, he saw me looking back at him. Still odd because he was in a mare’s body. “Oh good, you’re awake miss Echo, sit up and tell me how you feel.”

Sitting up, I found that I only had a medical gown on, which was enough to cover me, so I didn’t feel that naked. “A little dizzy, a bit bolted, and my neck is stiff. I also had a weird dream.”

Nodding his head, Theremin took a seat next to me. “That’s natural, just a side effect of the sedative we gave you.” He passed me a bottle and smiled. “Take two of these, and you should start feeling better in no time.”

Looking at the bottle, it was for moderate pain relief, and minor anti-anxiety. Chill and Med-X combined in pill form. “Thanks.” Opening the jar, I placed two pills into my right forehoof, and popped them into my mouth. Theremin hoofed over a glass of water, of which I drank it all. “What happened to me?”

“Well…” Theremin fidgeted a little, and sighed. “So we had a data jack installed into your neck, and connected you to the C.C.N. For your own good, trust me on that. Otherwise you have eventually done something reckless, and hurt yourself.”

I stretched back and placed my hoof on the back of my neck, metal hit metal with a soft clank, and I could feel the pressure of something artificial on and under the back of my neck. “Oh.” Pulling my leg back in front of me, I could see that my right fore leg was different. Fully cybernetic, and not like one I’d seen before. I lifted the leg in front of Theremin and raised my eyebrow. “And this?”

He chuckled. “I thought I might as well give you something fun. You know, as a sorry gift for tricking you. It’s one of our new cyber legs, just out of the prototype phase. The LACL-03, aka the light assault combat leg. Sturdy, quick, and can send millions of volts of electricity into anypony you hit with it.”

I concentrated on the leg, and pointed it at Theremin. A small spark of electricity flicked from the hoof, and a message popped up in my E.F.S. hud, telling me that the stun hoof was at 0% charge. “Plusgood.” My thoughts then trailed from the leg, and to my new cybernetic part. “Why the data Jack, and what’s the C.C.N?”

“The jack, that’s so that you can connect with everypony here. Almost all of Persephone Station is hooked up to the network, and requires you to be connected to it just to interact with anything. Not that we don’t have manual switches for things like doors and lights, but by being part of the network, you can access all that and more with just your thoughts.” Theremin leaned back and took a deep breath. “Which leads me to explain the C.C.N. the Collective Consciousness Network. I’m no egghead, as I told you, so I don’t understand the more complex parts of it all, but I do know the more important parts. The C.C.N. is simply the pinnacle of pony and machine combined to bring us into a unified group. We have a super computer the likes nopony has ever seen crunching numbers, as we all act as its eyes and ears, as well as adding our own knowledge to it. Through this, we have created the perfect civilization, no crime, no poverty, and no unhappiness. It’s the ultimate freedom, something I hope we can share with the rest of the metro.”

I sat there, soaking in what he was saying, understanding it all. “And I’m part of it?”

He nodded. “It was a risk, due to you not being properly conditioned, but I pulled a few strings.” Placing his hooves onto mine, Theremin looked into my eyes. “You’re okay with this aren’t you?”

I felt, I should feel violated. Angry at what he had done to me, ready to puke out my guts at the idea of some cables being shoved into my head without my permission. They might as well have just raped me in my sleep, placed a slave collar around my neck, and lobotomized me. But “I feel fine.” Worse than that. “I actually feel happy.” It was wrong, I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t feel wronged, I felt fixed. I knew that this should scare me, but it didn’t, not at all. “Umm, can I get some clothes, I’d like to look around, see more of the station.”

Theremin was more than happy to help me out, trotting off to get my clothes. I used the short time to myself to check Minerva, see what my status was. “Minerva.” Nothing, not even a beep. “Minerva?” my pipleg still didn’t respond. Looking at it, the screen was blank. I pressed and held the reboot button, and the screen came to life. After waiting for a long moment, the pipleg was back to its old self, or so I thought. Minerva had entered lockdown mode, and needed three passwords to unlock all the systems, until I did that, most of my pipbuck was heavily encrypted. The basic systems remained open to me, working like any other standard pipbuck, but all my personal logs, and programs were unavailable to me. Rolling my eyes I entered my three passwords; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle. The default passwords for most of Orthrus’s pipbucks, and of which I was too lazy to ever change. I had a feeling that this was Rototom’s fault.

Giving up on the pipbuck, I at least still had the basic functions on, so no Biggy. Theremin soon came back into the room with my clothes, and was insistent that he help me get dressed. “Mares like you shouldn’t have to do everything by yourself.” Came out of his mouth. I found myself unable to object, which I thought would worry me, but it didn’t, he was simply helping me, what was wrong with that. With my black suit on, and new leg working wonderfully, I couldn’t help but skip a little as I left the room.

It was, well, if I was impressed by Persephone Station before, I was blown away by it now. It was clear to me that a lot of the beauty of the station was hidden behind the C.C.N. of which was now revealed to me. Every part of the station was lit up in lights, guiding ponies to where they wanted to be, all the posters now had moving parts in them, showing the ponies working together, and not just standing still. Shops, and other places where I can pick up the things I need had interactive menu’s, giving me all the information I need, and then some. We even passed by the theater and restaurant I was at before, yesterday I think, and I could see when the next show was happening, or what was the special I could order from the restaurant.

It was not just that, but somehow I knew everypony here. Their names, their family, and even their friends, I saw a pony and knew who they were like we were old friends passing each other on the street. Theremin too, I knew that she grew up here in Persephone Station as an orphan, her name was Fiscorn at the time, joining up with the republic when she was old enough, and became part of the M.o.A. as an agent. Nothing about her becoming a reaver, but she was able to track down and eliminate a Bandit Raiding band before they could hurt one pony, which we were all grateful for. It seemed that some point a few years ago, she switched to a he, and took on the name Theremin. “So do you know everything about me?” I didn’t feel disturbed by the idea of that, but felt like I should.

“Yep!” Theremin said unabashedly. “There are no secrets among us, all of us. Here, were one big family. Share and share alike, that’s how we formed this perfect society.”

Thinking about it, it didn’t seem right, but I felt content, like I was part of this big family. I know it was all wrong, but couldn’t bear myself to feel wronged by it all, which worried me, which comforted me. “Why has this not been spread to the other stations? I’m sure they’d love to be connected to the C.C.N.”

Theremin nodded. “True, I’m sure they would, but there are others who would be left confused, and thus confuse others. Mental disorders, twisted ideology, and never forget the capitalists, they would take the C.C.S. and pervert it into something that would enslave ponies, not set them free.”

“True, I know a few businesses that got in trouble for running sweatshops.” Nasty business every time they pop up. True as it was that the business’s gave the ponies working their a place to live and eat, but the ponies might as well have been slaves. “You can tell that if slavery could be legal, they’d would do everything they could to support it.”

“Ugly, truly and completely.” He said with a sigh. “It’s why we need to condition ponies into the republic, it keeps the capitalists from sneaking their toxic ideology in. But slowly, and surely, they will lose. Trust me, history will prove us all right.”

It all didn’t sit well with me, but that was probably because it was still all new to me. I was new to it, so it would take time, like with all things.

Theremin looked over at me, concerned, and smiled. “You must be thirsty. Metro-cola, right? Let me go get a few bottles.” He trotted off, and I found a bench to sit at. A drone floated by me, stopping to take a look at me. It was not as advanced as the ones used by Orthrus, it being not much more than an upgraded spirit bot. But still, through the C.C.N. interface augmenting my vision like E.F.S. the spirit bot drone wafted off color, and a screen of text appeared. ‘Vibraphone Echo, is this you?’

Strange, even if everything felt all warm and friendly, I was not about to answer some random drone that happened to pass by, that’s how foals are foalnapped. “Why, yes I am.” Phobetor spoke, she was sitting next to me on the bench “Is this about the letter I sent?”

The sprite bot nodded. ‘Oh it’s good to find you, even with the C.C.N. having us all connected, the white noise can be a problem at times.’ The text screen flickered, and was replaced by an image of an envelope. The envelope opening up and showing us a letter. ‘You are invited to the capitol building for a private party. The Tremolo Sisters performing their famous songs, and a tasting of the newest foods and drinks for the citizens will be given out, along with some of the more popular classics.’

‘Joy’ was all I could think to myself. “What a joyous invite, and with a show to entertain our souls, how could I turn this down. A stallion after my own heart.” Phobetor talked, not at the sprite-bot, but through me at the sprite-bot. It felt chilling that she could do this, like I had lost control over myself, and she was filling in the role.

‘Show starts soon, you can bring one guest, and dress sharp. Everything will be provided at the party, and directions will be sent to your pipbuck.’ The screen on the sprite-bot flickered off, and the bot floated off, bumping into Theremin on its way.

Theremin gave off a confused look as he passed me a metro-cola bottle, popping off the cap first. “What was that about?”

I smiled, or was it Phobetor, or the C.C.N.? I didn’t know anymore. “Looks like we’re going to a party. I know you will love it, the Tremolo Sisters will be there.” He was confused at first, but soon went with it after, a party was a party, and he was a fan of the Tremolo Sisters.

______________________________________

The capitol building was a different kind of impressive, the lights and color of the rest of the station was replaced with a more relaxed tone. There was still the holographic interface all about, but much more tucked out of the way, only coming into view when needed. This allowed me to see the building for it’s more classical appearance, though under the wood and carpet, I knew there was metal and concrete. But still, with the light from the outside, and the warm feeling I had from the inside, it was like I had stepped into the old world, before the time when the air had become poisonous.

The elevator gave off much of the same feeling, playing soft music, the mirrors reflecting my now repaired face. I couldn’t help but take a closer look at myself, the orbital fracture around my eye was almost invisible, same for the scar where my lip was split open. I couldn’t help but feel relieved, though my own looks were not on the top of the list of things that were important to me, it still worried me that I would never look right in a dress if my face was all cut up.

“You look fine. Better then fine, you look beautiful.” Theremins words were comforting, if a bit thick. It made me glad that he had no dick right now, as I was sure the gender confused pony wanted to fuck me.

Looking back in the mirror, Phobetor stared back at me, her golden eyes seemingly glowing next to her black coat. “You should just let the transvestite have his way with you, not like she has the balls to get you pregnant.” I glared at the shadowed reflection. ‘one, that’s never a guarantee with the kind of technology we have, two, he is not my type, end of story.’ Phobetor rolled her eyes. “You ponies have become such prudes, I remember a time when mares gallivanted around, rarely knowing who the father was.” It was a confusing statement. ‘What do you mean, a time?’

“Is everything okay Vibraphone?” Theremin sounded concerned, her… his voice showing some of it synthetic static as he asked. He actually tapped at his own throat, looking a bit confused. “Strange, something maybe I should go get checked out.”

“It’s probably just some security check point we passed through, strong magnets could affect the cybernetics, or even a magical field.” Phobetor spoke through me. ‘Will you stop that, this is my body, you have no right to do this.’ Phobetor laughed, not with my body, inside where nopony but me could see or hear it. “I think you lost all your rights to your own body as soon as you were plugged into this C.C.N. So just let me work, our deal will soon be done.” ‘What are you?’ “That answer is not part of the deal, but it will be revealed soon enough.”

Relaxing, Theremin rubbed his throat. “You might be right, if there is any place that has the best security on this island, it’s here. But it’s never messed with my systems before, strange.”

With a chime and a thump, the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. We entered a small waiting room, which had portraits and posters on the walls, the same I’ve seen around the station. At the end of the room the doors were opened and a sign leaned against one of them with an arrow pointing to the party. Leaving the waiting room, the main living room was moderately decorated. Enough colored ribbons to know that this was a party, but not too much to make it overly flashy.

We trotted over to the center of the room where a table held many glasses, and a punch bowl still filled with ice and liquid. “Is this normal Theremin?” though modest in how the party was decorated, still didn’t seem all that equal to me.

Theremin poured himself, and me a drink. “A bit uncommon. Normally we have open celebrations down in the station floor, but private parties are known to happen. It’s mainly a holdover from the old M.o.M. but soon private parties like this will be as open and equal as the C.C.N.

“Ain't that the truth!” a deep and loud voice almost bellowed from behind us. Turning around, I came face to face with an old lavender mirage pony stallion. His mane had long turned gray, along with a big bushy beard on his face. His prosthetics were made to look like normal legs, but came off looking like plastic from a cheap toy “But still there is a case for test groups, and some ponies don’t like large crowds. But once the CCN can go wide through the islands, parties like this can be shared among everypony.” Something about his voice sounded very familiar.

Theremin immediately straightened up, adjusting his tie. “Miss Echo, this here is Garmon Keys, president of the republic. Mister Keys, this here is Vibraphone Echo, our newest member of the M.o.A.”

Garmon chuckled, “Good to finally meet you, Shame that it couldn’t have been sooner, but it’s never too late to change your mind. A pony with your pedigree would do well in the I.o.E.”

I could see Phobetor standing next to him, lifting up a drink and sipping it. It was metro-cola clear, a bit sweeter than the normal stuff, and fizzier too. I could also taste a hint of alcohol in it as well. “As tempting as that may be, I think it would be rude to just abandon a group I’ve just joined.” Phobetor spoke through me. “But nothing stopping the two organizations from working together.”

“All too true.” The stallion agreed. “It’s my hope that one day we will not need the old ministries anymore, and just have the I.o.E. leading the charge. Everypony equal under one banner.”

Theremin cleared his throat, gaining our attention. “Sorry mister president, but I might be a bit ignorant on what’s going on here.”

“Oh sorry about that Synthesis, I may have forgotten to inform the M.o.A. about this.” Garmon said with a chuckle. “I got a message about miss Echo here two days ago. Vibraphone Echo, Dragon Slayer of Charon’s Stop, Friend and savior to the mirage pony princess, and has a heritage that goes all the way back to the second security chief of the R&D Stable. Not to mention having contacts with a few powerful ponies on Pineapple Island, and knows a few Specters on a first name basis.” He gave me a sly look. “You’ve got the kind of connections we can use to help make a more equal metro.”

Theremin sighed. “Sorry to tell you this, but I’m not Synthesis, I’m Theremin. Synthesis died of a brain hemorrhage two weeks ago, I’m just borrowing her body until mine is repaired.” He then glanced at me before looked back at Garmon. “And how do you know all this sir, we have yet to open it to the public?”

“Synthesis, dead? Poor girl. To die so young is a tragedy.” Garmon gave a depressed little sigh. “The last time I saw her; she was helping to distribute new posters.” He poured himself a little to drink, and took a sip. “As for how I know about miss Echo, I have my own agents keeping an eye on things, as you should remember. But two days ago one of my agents caught wind of miss Echo not long after she entered the station, and after some digging, we learned of the kind of connections she has.” Finishing his drink, he motioned for us to follow him. “Come now, let’s meet the others.”

Most of those connections I had were superficial at best, so Garmon’s interest would be with only one pony. “By connections, you’re only interested in Harp Melody, right?”

Garmon laughed. “Sharp as a tack. Not that the others that you're connected too are not important. But yes, Princess Harp Melody does hold a greater interest to the I.o.E. as a pony in her position could significantly help unify the metro. As well as help the poor ponies of the Orphic Kingdom.”

“Or start a war between the Orphic and Orthrus.” I added. Both Theremin and Garmon gave me a confused look. “Council member Phorminx is Harps father. I mean, that’s what Golden Rule told me.”

The old earth pony face hoofed, and shook his head. “Poor girl, just being a Mirage Pony is a political mess for her family, but being related to a member of the Orthrus council, Phorminx no less, that’s a disaster in the making.”

“Isn’t Phorminx the leader of the Specter corps?” Theremin asked.

“From what I know.” I scratched my chin. “He is like a grandfather to most of the specters, or something. That’s how my sister explains it. But for the most part, the specters are run by the whole council, and work independent under them.”

“Well the specters would have been a problem even without the family connection.” Garmon pointed out. “We will just have to factor in them being more aggressive if we ever get close to the princess.”

“A princess? You mean princesses, right papa?” standing before us was one of the Tremolo Sisters, the one with the soft blue mane.

“Maybe he is talking about another pony then us, dear sister?” The other Tremolo Sister with the rose pink mane flanked us.

“Oh my girls, were just taking business.” Garmon had a big smile on his face. “Here let me introduce you to my new acquaintance.” Pointing over at me, I took a sip from my glass. “This here is Vibraphone Echo, also known as the Dragon Slayer. The princess we were talking about is one of her friends, a member of the Orphic royal court.” He then pointed to the Tremolo Sisters. “These are my darling daughters, Lirone and Cello Tremolo Keys.”

Lirone was the one with the pink mane, and Cello with the blue. They both were in somewhat frilly dresses, though gray in color, both dresses had many silver sequins on that it looked like they were shimmering. “I saw you two perform when I first got here, it was very impressive.”

The two mares looked at me, their eyes scanning me over. “Yes, I remember you.” Cello said in a less than friendly tone.

“Yes, she’s the one from a few days ago, the one who didn’t sing along.” Lirone added.

The two sisters circled me, eyeing me up. “You liked the other performers before us, but not us.” Cello sneered. “Everypony loves our music, yet you seemed indifferent.”

Lirone huffed at me. “We know we were not out of tune, or fumbling lines. So what was wrong, what did you not like?”

I was, well confused. I couldn’t for the life of me remember why I didn’t like their music. I remember being there, seeing the others sing along, and me… not. Disconnected, I was disconnected at the time, that was it. “It was because I was not connected to the C.C.N. at the time, I think.”

The two sisters just stared at me, looking less than pleased with my answer. Garmon stepped between me and the two, waving them off. “Now don’t be pest’s girls, I’m sure you can convince her the brilliance of you singing later. But now’s the time for civility. So go, I’m sure their are others who would love to talk with you.” The two turned their noses up at their father and trotted away, mumbling to themselves. Garmon sighed, and gave a little chuckle. “I don’t know what’s more difficult, running a nation, or raising two teenaged mares.”

I finished off my drink and giggled a little. It was actually a bit cute how he shooed them away like that. “I think you’re doing just fine. And if they ever become too much of a problem, you can always send them to Orthrus, they’d straighten them out.”

Garmon laughed. “That’s very true. We may not see eye to eye, but I have to agree that there is no group more disciplined than Orthrus. If only I could convince them about the virtues of equality, gain some kinship.”

I shook my head. “Unlikely. The council are all independent leaders in their own right, with Naqara being an utter dictator half the time. As far as I know, they're more likely to agree to not do anything, then to do, well, anything.”

“I know what you mean.” Garmon added. “Whenever I do get to talk with them, it’s always one showing interest, and the rest voicing suspicion. Strange as it may be, Biwa is always the one most against me, even though we have the most common ground.”

This was a bit above my head, never having met any of the council member personally. “Well you’d know more than me, I was never more than a grunt in Orthrus.”

“Then why don’t we talk to some of my other guests?” Garmon guided us to another group of ponies, a mix of young and old mirage ponies in lab coats, among them was an all-black mare in a Stable-Tec lab coat. We also passed by a few foals as well, all the new kind of mirage ponies, happily chasing each other around, none on prosthetic legs. “I'd like you to meet the leaders of our new generation project.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “New Generation project?”

An older mare cleared her throat. Her lab coat was a pristine white, her natural coat was a pale creamy blue, and her mane was monochrome gray, likely having lost it’s color with age. On her snout were thin framed glasses, that almost seemed to float in place. “Mister Keys, I know you're excited about the project, but not everypony is going to just understand.” She turned her attention from Garmon over to me. “Sorry about that dear, I’m Doctor Shinobue. The other researchers and I have been working on the new generation project for the last thirty years.”

“Thirty years! That’s, what… before the equalist revolution?” I was expecting ten years, or well however old Cello and Lirone were.

Theremin laughed loudly at my confused statement. “A lot of the projects the old republic had been working on were salvaged by our operatives, and repurposed for the benefit of the citizens. The C.C.N. alone was made for military use only, but we found a better use in helping ponies reach a new level of freedom.”

“Yes, freedom.” Doctor Shinobue said with a slight irritated tone in her voice. “But yes, my team started this project under the old rule, and for the most part we didn’t care about who was in charge. Our research was more important than politics.” She eyed me up, looking critically at me. “And you are?”

“Vibraphone Echo, new member of the M.o.A. and probably more well known for my connections with another pony, then anything I’ve done myself.”

Doctor Shinobue sighed. “Typical. You’re just another mare for Garmon to show around.” She glared at the president, and he rolled his eyes. “Well if you want to know more, you're always invited to see our labs. Really, it’s a better place for an explanation than a party. That, and we can always use another volunteer.” That didn’t sound appealing to me.

“I’m always interested in learning more.” My mouth moved on its own as Phobetor gave me a smile, using me like a puppet. “New generation, the C.C.N. they’re both so fascinating, yet hardly seems possible.” No longer in control, I gave Garmon a sly smile. “I’m sure that you know a few ponies who can tell me more about the C.C.N. as well.”

Garmon smiled back at me. “I’m sure I can. Maybe after this party I over, I can show you around the labs.” Yep, Garmon Keys was just another Politician, horndog and all.

“Excuse me, sir.” Theremin spoke up, sounding a little irritated. “I don’t think that would be appropriate, considering how new miss Echo is to the C.C.N.”

Garmon waved his hoof dismissively. “Oh don’t be such a worrier. Every test we’ve done shows that seeing the heart of the C.C.N. actually increases a citizen’s loyalty to it. I doubt Miss Echo will be different. Also, we will be passing through the New Generation labs first, If the foals don’t solidify her opinion on the republic, then nothing will.”

My hoof gave a playful little wave, feeling like a string had tugged on it. “I’m already well impressed by everything. But foals, that would be wonderful to see. In truth, I actually wanted to be a teacher, like my mother. Helping the next generation is something that I always saw as more important than treading mud. Sadly, the world outside the republic is less than fair, so one must take the jobs that are available.”

“Oh I do understand. In my youth, I was just a normal republic soldier. Lived through the whole Knights of Purity mess, almost got cooked alive by a flamer too. Thank goodness Orthrus put an end to that, or it might have devolved in a full scale war.” Garmon chuckled. “It’s why I’ve been trying to repair our relationship with Orthrus for the last few years. Get our groups to work together like they did with the old republic.”

“Personally, I think it’s going to take a change in leadership for Orthrus to start seeing things our way.” Theremin put out.

Doctor Shinobue shook her head. “The world does not work like that, we’re more likely to get a warmonger who would want power over having a revolution.”

“Very true, doctor.” Garmon said, clapping his hooves together. “The current council is more interested in maintaining order, than establishing it. This actually works to or advantage, as we just need to change the minds of the ponies who live under Orthrus. When Orthrus risks Revolution by maintaining their order, they will change their tactics to come more in line with us, and be more willing to come to the table of negotiation.”

I thought about it for a moment, and it all seemed logical. Get the population on the side of equality, and Orthrus would have to change in order to remain in power. But something in the back of my mind was gnawing at me, telling me that it would never work out in the way that they think it would. Not with politics alone. “I don’t know, Orthrus is well over a hundred years old now, something tells me that you would need more then pony power to get them to change. As long as they have their home stations, Orthrus is more likely to just bunker down and chip away at the republic until they can take power again.”

The two intellectual ponies didn’t have a response to what I had just said, simply stopping to think about it. The pony who broke the silence was Theremin, who laughed as he stomped the floor lightly. “She got you there, mister president. This is why she’s M.o.A. not I.o.E. Simply, to take care of the problem that’s Orthrus, were going to have to make a military move and push them out of their own station. Only then will they have to listen to the will of the metro.”

Garmon huffed a bit bitterly. “And going to war with them will only set us on the path of our own destruction. I understand what you’re saying, but until we have the majority of the metro on our side, such actions should be seen as foolish at best, suicidal at worst.” He tipped his head at the doctor, and us before backing away. “Well I have other guests to talk with, if you’re still interested in touring the labs, come talk to me after the party is over. I’m sure it will be very enlightening for you.”

We did just that, good food, drinks, and plenty of ponies who had a lot to talk about, though very little was interesting to listen to. Most of the ponies here were among some of the more important ponies in the republic, though mostly related to the Institution of Equality, them being station mayors, educators, and lab ponies. Theremin made a point to highlight that we were the only ponies from the M.o.A. After about an hour of mingling, I had come to the conclusion that the I.o.E. was just patting itself on the back. Even the few foals running about might as well have been I.o.E. spokesponies, just smaller and more energetic.

Though the company was less than interesting, the food was, moderately good. Drinks too, I guess. I tried out different things, but they all had a similar taste to them, making me wish for just a carrot to chew on. Even that would have had more flavor.

I was a little worried that the Tremolo Sisters would come at me again. Some mares never let even the smallest grudge go, and they seem like the kind to hold a grudge. Luckily for me, they were to perform one of their songs, so I could safely stay away from them. They started with the “our station” song I had heard before, and without the band backing them up, it sounded bland. Not that the two sisters were bad at singing, they were actually quite good at it, able to fill the room without the need of a speaker. The problem was with the song itself, seeming to lack any real originality, like it was just stolen, and reworded to match the station. Wouldn’t be the first time I saw that happen.

Despite my own thoughts about the music, I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Everypony else was too, I could feel it, all of them sending out their positive feelings. It was odd, but I liked it, and probably liked the song because of it, but I didn’t care. The only ponies I could not feel were the Tremolo Sisters, the foals running around, and Garmon Key’s. What I wouldn’t give to feel what the sisters were feeling as they sang, as we watched, feeling each other’s emotions. It was a disturbing, but intoxicating thought.

The mellow party continued for another hour and a half before ponies began to leave. The food was gone, the punch bowl had gone mostly dry, and the more talkative ponies were starting to repeat themselves, running dry on topics to go on about. With so few ponies left, Garmon and Doctor Shinobue were once more the ponies we were talking too. The conversation was nothing all that interesting to me, Garmon going on about his time as a teacher. I think he was trying to impress me, but much of what he said flew over my head. Mostly it was the parts about making schools more efficient. The stories I enjoyed more were about foals getting into and out of trouble, not time tables and studying tips.

“On the topic of foal’s, mister president, I would like to know more about the new generation. The ones like your daughters.” The party was about over, and I wanted to get this over with. Pushing the subject myself felt a lot better than Phobetor taking me over to do just that.

Garmon finished of his drink, placing the empty cup on a nearby coffee table. “Might as well. Just meet me over at the elevator and I’ll show you how the Republic is going to unify the metro.” The old stallion had trotted off, talking with another pony who was likely to be left in charge of the party.

We all met up at the elevator, the good doctor looking ready to go to sleep, and Theremin all too bored. I could understand how they felt, mostly because through the C.C.N. I could feel what they were feeling. Not completely, but enough to know if they were faking or not. It felt like I was missing something important, yet I was numb to it. Shaking off the feeling, I joined the others in the elevator as we watched Garmon trot over to us.

“Mister Keys,” Doctor Shinobue spoke with a yawn. “As soon as this tour is over, I’m retiring to the break room. If you let the foals in while I’m trying to sleep, I will give them lots of sweets and then let them loose in your home.”

“Like you would do with Cello and Lirone when they were younger.” The old stallion chuckled.

She nodded. “Yes, but instead of two hyperactive twins, it will be a whole herd of them.”

“Oh the horror!” Theremin laughed. “I might as well give them all kazoos as well.” I shook my head, imagining the thought.

Garmon pulled out his ECS pass card, and inserted it into a panel on the elevators side. “Alright miss Echo, you're about to see the future of ponykind.”

______________________________________

The elevator had continued to go down, pass the first floor, meaning we were now deep underground. When the doors finally opened, I entered a tunnel that had to be at most fifty years old, if not younger than that. Though a bit smaller, as it was likely not meant for trains to be in here. The strangest thing about the tunnels, was how the reminded me a bit of the tunnels from the big Island, just smaller, and not overtaken by roots.

Entering the lobby, a large map was on one side of the room, displaying how big this facility really was. If I had to guess, it extended as wide as the station itself, with large area devoted to projects. Weapons, Cybernetics, Medicine, Biology, and other military R&D projects looked like they took up nearly half the facility. It also had two large zones. The N.G. labs, and what was just labeled as the C.C.N.

“Impressive.” Was all I could really say about it, having only seen the map.

“It is, isn’t it?” Garmon boosted. “Before the revolution, this place was used to increase to power of the old republic. But now we use it to better the lives of our citizens. Yes, we still have to develop weapons, and other unsavory things, but now resources are diverted to better food production and medicine. With the crowning achievement of this all being the New Generation project.”

Trotting away from the map, I looked at the direction where this New Generation project was. “So, the Republic built all this?”

Doctor Shinobue opened the door ahead of us, using a badge she had pulled out of her coat. “Most of it. Originally this place was a Solarus robotics factory. I don’t know why they built it so far underground, probably trying to out compete Stable-Tec. But once the Republic had a firm hoof on law and order, they began expanding this facility, using it to continue some of the research the old world had started. The Cybernetic connectors originally came from here, as well as the early prosthetics that connect to them.”

“I remember hearing about that in school.” Looking around as I followed the others, I found it surprising how few propaganda posters were on the walls. They were there, but in a less obsessive way. Strangely enough it made me feel uncomfortable not having so many here. “It’s what got Orthrus to ally with the republic. They had the medical staff, and the republic had the tech. It kept the idea of Mirage ponies from being just a dream.”

Nodding, Doctor Shinobue took the lead. “Rightfully so. And without everypony working together, we would be nothing more than a few scattered tribes, along with Stable-Tec overseeing the death of ponykind. Good thing those R&D ponies had the right idea in mind to open their stable to all that needed help. Unlike the ponies in stable 50, closing themselves off, only coming out nearly a hundred years later to establish themselves as new royalty.”

“This is our biggest problem.” Garmon trotted up next to me, the elderly stallion clip clopping on his metal hooves. “Groups like the Orphic kingdom and the Trade Union are dead set at separating themselves from the rest of the metro, dividing us on fool hardy lines. That’s why we need Orthrus to side with the republic once more.” He had a big grin on his face, like he had just scored a win that no pony could take from him. “And the New Generation project is what will do it.”

We reached the end of the wide hallway, and Doctor Shinobue opened one more door. What I saw nearly floored me. Foals, everywhere. It looked as if there were nine of them in each group, all following a lab coated pony, or just sitting in a group. The strangest part is that each group looked like each other. Nine green maned, blue coated fillys, or nine red maned, dark gray coated colts. I saw at least two groups of foals where they were all different, but still had the spotted legs and muzzles like the ones at the party. “What is all this?”

A creamy blue colt with a dark gray mane broke away from his group, running up to us, yelling “Mom!” and ending his short sprint by giving the doctor a hug.

Doctor Shinobue chuckled “Good to see you too.” She lifted the colt onto her back, where he held onto her neck. “As you see, the New Generation project is a lot more literal than what its name suggests. The idea is that we're bringing in a new generation into the metro, healthy, strong, and without the need for cybernetics.”

I looked at a few of the groups that looked the same, and back at the doctor. “This is a lot of foals. And well, some of them look a lot alike?”

The doctor shrugged. “You're already here, and it’s not like the C.C.N. will let you leak any information. We had to take a few shortcuts to get the number of foals up in time, and the republic happens to have experimented with cloning in the past.”

“Wait, so the foals are clones?” The amount of foals I was seeing were like a small army, and there were likely more. Lots more.

“Yes and no.” Doctor Shinobue stated. “Follow me, I’ll show you to the nursery.” We trotted off, the colt still on her back. We passed by a few rooms with big open windows, many of them being classrooms filled with even more foals. There was one room we passed that was nothing but bunk bed cots. Every now and then there was a dining room, which looked like it only served the pink slime they called food.

We eventually arrived at what I could easily guess was the nursery. Here I saw many Mirage pony mares, some of them it was easy to tell that they were pregnant, very pregnant. Others were nursing baby’s, or simply watching over them. Also there were lots and lots of baby’s.

Doctor Shinobue stopped at the window, pointing out to all the mares. “Early in the project, we did use cloning to start our experiments, seeing what combination of genes were more viable. We have long since finished that milestone of experimentation, and moved onto production.” She lifted the foal off her back and presented him to me, the colt smiled and waved at me. “The old cloning technology we used before is now used to help make controlled groups, and have the mares give birth to three at a time, tripling the population growth rate.”

“But weren't there what, nine to each group I saw?”

She nodded. “Like I said, we used the cloning process to make controlled groups. Each group consists of three mares, who act as surrogate mothers. Once born, we keep the foals in family groups, and study their development.” Putting the colt down, she patted him on the head. “As for the other groups you saw, they are part of the uncontrolled groups, where we let the natural process take control, but still aide in the development of triplets. It’s success rate is much lower, but if we can’t have children naturally, this whole project is a failure.” Pulling out a lollipop from her lab coat, she placed it in the colt’s mouth. “This one here is one of mine, as you already clearly know. He and his sister are a mix of much of the staff, with me as their base. Sadly the third foal never fully developed, it happens in rare cases.” I could hear a bit of bitterness as she finished talking about her foals. I could only guess she wanted all three.

“Okay, so I get what you’re doing. It’s like the Orthrus Gene Therapy, but overclocked, and you're popping out three foals instead of one.” Being here was starting to feel weird to me, I could sense the staff, and Theremin, but the foals were not connected to the C.C.N. and so I could only tell if they were there if I was looking at them. It was like trying to keep track of ghosts. “But why so many?”

“Simple, really.” Garmon interjected. “They’re going to lead the second revolution.”

“Revolution.” Something about that word made me feel uneasy, like changing things for the better was not quite right. “So they’re going to unify the metro. But it be what, ten, fifteen years before their old enough to live on their own. Why not unify the metro before they’re of age?”

“That’s what the M.o.A. has been saying.” Theremin cut in. “With the orphic kingdom close to a change in leadership, now’s the time for a second revolution, to cast down the royal court.”

Garmon sighed. “I’ve gone over this with Waterphone already. A revolution now will only end in a bloodbath, and with no guarantee that Orthrus will not step in.” The president turned around heading back to where we had come from. “Come now, I’m sure the good doctor needs her rest.”

Theremin and I followed, passing by another group of foals. “And you think your plan won’t? The capitalists will find any reason to shed blood. It’s happened once, and it will happen again.”

“Now I do agree that they will not yield their power, but if we can pull the foundation of that power from under them, our victory will be assured.” Garmon stopped for a moment, as another group of foals passed by. “We’re not going to break the control the capitalists have over the working ponies by marching troops up to their doorsteps. It’s like using explosives to carve a statue. Yes it’s much faster, but you're likely to destroy you work in one foolish attempt.”

“Is that why you’ve been limiting the resources of the C.C.N.?” Theremin shot back.

Garmon rolled his eyes, and continued on. “Yes, the C.C.N., why don’t we show miss Echo and see what her opinion is on it?”

“Why that would be a splendid idea.” Once more the strings were being pulled, Phobetor next to me, pulling them. “All these foals are just so adorable, but the C.C.N. has been itching my curiosity. A new generation, and the height of technology. The next thing you will tell me is that you have a space program set to go to the moon.”

With a chuckle, Garmon lead us back to the lobby. “The idea has come across my desk, but we would need to reclaim the surface first. Something we plan to do once the metro has been unified. It’s a sad state of affairs really. The only thing keeping full blown war from breaking out, is that everything’s a choke point in the metro. If the surface was open to us, so would the old world style of war.”

Something in the back of my head agreed with him, but it felt like it was not for the same reason. Like I was forgetting an important point, something that was very important up until I had woken up. My thoughts were deterred by the sound of somepony tapping on my leg, looking to my side, and then down, I saw a little filly.

She had a golden blond mane, and peach colored coat. I’d say she looked a lot like me, except for her sapphire blue eyes, that looked like real sapphires. “Are you my mommy?”

I balked. “I ahh… No… sorry.” I took a deep breath. “I’m currently noponies mommy.”

“Can you be? I’d like to have a mommy.” The little filly was… well adorable, but it was not enough to make me just give up on my mission… wait, what mission?

Both Theremin, and Garmon chuckled. The older stallion opening the door out of the N.G.P. and giving me a knowing look. “With you working as a M.o.A. agent, I could arrange for you to adopt the little one. Having the Dragon slayer of Charon’s Stop as a mother, what filly wouldn’t love that?”

The filly bounced, her eyes almost bulging. “Dragon Slayer!? You’ve seen a dragon, and slayed it! That’s so cool, so awesome!”

I had to put my hoof on the filly’s head, to keep her from jumping onto me. “One, it was a paradise dragon, and two, I had my friends with me. If I was alone, I’d never have survived.”

“So you did slay the dragon! So cool!” The filly began bouncing around in circles, her distracted state gave me time to jump through the door, and close it behind me.

Taking another deep breath, I turned to the others to see them both smiling at me. “Hey, I like foals, but that one was just a bit too much.”

“Sure, a little filly is too much for the dragon slayer.” Theremin chuckled.

Garmon trotted over to the larger doors that lead to the C.C.N. “It’s not like we don’t have programs available to help a mare raise a foal on their own. If you want, you can even take part in the N.G.P. have a few foals without the need of a stallion. You get the proper housing to keep them in, a job that gives you the time to look after them, and even extra food rations.”

I shook my head. “I’d say it sounds tempting, but I rather have the foal to have a father along with me as the mother. Also, that sounds like I’m marrying, and breeding with the republic. As great as the republic is, if it was a stallion, he would not be my type.”

The larger doors opened, and a cold wind drifted past us. “That’s a shame.” Garmon trotted in, his metal hoof steps echoing at each clop. “Ponies like you are probably best suited for bringing in a new generation.”

“It’s probably because I had good parents.” I retorted.

The old stallion nodded. “Good and bad parenting is a generational thing, so I have no doubt.”

______________________________________

The walk to the C.C.N. took much longer then to the N.G.P. all the while it was much colder in here. Not to the point that I needed an extra layer of clothing, but enough that I was starting to shiver a little. Another thing was that the tunnel got a bit larger, both in width and height, making this facility feel a lot more imposing.

Theremin trotted up next to me, our sides nearly touching. “This here is what once was the old Solaris Robotics facility, now reconstructed for the Collective Consciousness Network. Home to the greatest supercomputer in the world, or well, what’s left of the world.”

“Hopefully not a Solaris supercomputer. Everything they make ends with ‘kill all ponies’.” I jested.

Theremin chuckled. “Goodness no. Though we may have recycled the robots and other tech, the C.C.N. was built from the ground up by the republic. Not only that, the foundational concept of the C.C.N. is pure republic. No connections to the corruption of the old world at all.”

Garmon huffed. “I still think it needs more time to be tested, not be converted into a tool for war.”

With a roll of his eyes, the cyberpony trotted a bit ahead of me. “You’ve seen the results. Through the C.C.N., the efficiency of mere recruits under an experienced commander is tripled at the lowest. Vibraphone here, if she was in charge of a CCN connected squad, I’m sure they’d become like veteran tunnel crawlers.”

We came to two more large doors, on either side it looked like there was a small barracks for soldiers guarding the doors. Four Republic soldiers aimed their magical energy muskets down at us, the guns looking of far better quality then I had seen before. More soldiers could be seen inside their barracks, looking ready to take their comrades place. Above us were to turrets looking down, the turrets looked like they fired smaller caliber rounds. But in front of us, to the sides, were two AG4 automated turrets. The heavy duty air guns looking ready to clear the floor in sweeping motions. Overall, it be a deathtrap to anypony trying to assault these doors.

Garmon stepped up, and took a deep breath. “I’m President Garmon Keys, here to personally see the current status of the C.C.N. Open the doors.”

A drone floated down from one of the barracks. It looked like a large twittermite with its wings being replaced by two propellers on each side. The drone scanned Garmon, and then scanned the two of us, it lingering on me for a few extra seconds, before scanning me again. “Insufficient Clearance.” The drone said with a mechanical voice.

“I grant Authorization.” Garmon called out.

The drone scanned me for a third time, and beeped. “Sufficient Clearance.”

Before us, the doors opened up, and a thick fog rolled along the floor. The other two trotted in, and I followed, the guards above us never lowering their rifles once.

Inside the C.C.N.’s room, it didn’t look all that different from most super computer rooms, cold to the point of frost, lots of flashing lights, and a few robots walking around. Two big things were different about this room. One it was very large, almost as large as the market place at Fishery station. Two, the supercomputer was missing. Normally there would be rows of circuitry, connected to a few terminals, all humming loudly. Here, there was just a big empty space.

One of the robots rolled over to us, a type I had never seen before. It was like a big can that moved on trends, and had two arms that looked as flexible as a tentacle, ending with claws. It’s head was most surprising, it having a glass dome with a brain inside. “Good day, President Keys.” The robot spoke with a friendly feminine voice. “It’s been too long since your last visit.”

“Good to see you too, Kazoo. How are the others doing?” Garmon greeted the robot with a sense of familiarity.

“All systems are nominal, and efficiency is up by twenty percent.” The robot backed up, the ground fog wafting in her wake. “Would you like to interface with the Collective?” Garmon gave the robot a nod, and she beeped. “It will just be a minute, sir. Please wait.”

I looked over at Theremin, and cocked my eyebrow. “What kind of robot is that?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s a Robobrain. Solaris was developing them here. As it turns out, brains make a far better processor and memory bank then what we could build with our own hooves.”

“That’s not creepy at all. Where did the brains come from?”

“Originally, Zebra POW’s.” Theremin said with a sigh. “Most of the records were torched, but from what we could salvage, it seemed that the Solaris got themselves a sweet deal with the Equestrian Navy, and some of the POW’s found their way here. Some war hero admiral wanted Solaris to make them weapons for the war effort, so they made Robobrains. That’s about all we know.”

“If that’s true, then why are you using them?” There were about six Robobrains that I could see, probably more here. “It doesn't seem ethical.”

Theremin smiled, and looked at Kazoo. “They’re all volunteers, many of them too old or sick to keep going, but still wanted to help, not simply lay in bed and wait to die.” His gaze went on pass the robobrain and into the empty room in general. “Waterphone was worried that we would have to use the unstable zebra brains for this, but at it turned out, we had lots of volunteers.”

A loud humming noise filled the room, and with a ‘wrrr’, a box rose out of the floor in front of Garmon. The box was made of glass, and inside was a brain. “Hello professor, it’s good to see you again. I take it that you have decided to join us, your intellect would be a great addition to the collective.”

“Hello to you too, Livenka.” Garmon spoke, sounding a bit low in his greeting. “And no, I’m just here checking up on the C.C.N. Would you like to know about how your daughters are doing?”

“No need. I know that under your care Cello and Lirone will be just fine. And it’s not like I don’t see them every day.”

“Yes, through the C.C.N.” Garmon sighed, and looked over at me. “Miss Echo, I would like to introduce you to an important pony.” I trotted up to the brain in the jar, it having one cyber eye connected right under its frontal lobe. “This here is Livenka Fortissimo, our glorious leader of the revolution, and now the central intelligence of the C.C.N.”

“The famous Livenka Fortissimo, is a brain in a jar” weird. “And is the central intelligence of the C.C.N.” weirder. “Why?”

The cyber eye connected to the Livenka brain stared at me, it’s synthetic eyelid narrowing its gaze at me, before lazily opening up more, and rolling the eye. “Yes. You are Vibraphone Echo, the new recruit of the M.o.A.” Her synthetic voice seemed to ooze charisma and confidence. “Risky to connect an outsider to the C.C.N. which was no doubt Theremins idea. That mare could never stick to proper protocol, no patience at all.”

Theremin cleared his thought. “Stallion.”

Livenka’s eye glared at Theremin, and he straightened up. “I’m a brain in a jar, just be glad I don’t call you an ‘it’.” The eye relaxed, and returned her gaze at me. “Sorry about that. Our reavers are a new addition to our ranks, and they still have a few quirks to work out. The super egos that control their mechanical bodies tends to have their… obsessions. But it keeps them from mentally degrading, so it’s an acceptable variable.”

“That would answer the lack of discipline they show.” How Theremin quickly fell in line was all the proof I needed to know this brain was in charge. “So, why would you make yourself a brain in a jar?”

“Why indeed.” The eye closed for a moment, as though the brain was thinking to itself. Opening up, Livenka stared at me intensely. “Because, this is the path to true equality. Here we are all equal, here we can continue to serve the greater good. All of us can work to make a more perfect world, starting with uniting the metro.”

“All of… you?”

“Yes, all of us.” A loud humming started up, like from before. More glass boxes rose from the floor, each one with a brain in it. Not just the floor, the walls too, like towers with brains in jars in them. I quickly lost count, as there were so many. “We are the C.C.N. as are you.” Well Garmon and Theremin were right, I was impressed, but something deep down, I could feel it, the feeling of absolute horror.

I opened my mouth to talk, say anything, but found myself stiff… no frozen. My S.A.T.S. had turned on, yet I had no control over it at all. “Magnificent, truly and completely.” Phobetor stepped out from behind Livenka’s brain case. “This has been vexing me for years now, so many sleepers, but none of them dreaming. And the ponies who live here, their minds so clouded that it was like looking at a thick fog. But here it is, their great and powerful secret.”

She placed a hoof on the braincase, sliding it down until it stopped at a panel. “Well look at this, I think this is a port for directly interfacing with the C.C.N. I wonder what it would be like if you plugged yourself in. And how convenient, it comes with its own cable.”

Time returned to normal, and I found myself with five eyes on me, and strings pulling at my body. “Ingenuous, this method must give you a vastly superior processing speed, with the ability to infinitely increase its efficiency!” I wanted to puke, my mind being pulled at from two different directions.

Livenka’s eye softened. “True, the potential of the C.C.N. is nearly infinite. And with all the citizens connected to the network, our reach can potentially extend globally. At the very least, the whole of the metro can be brought under the C.C.N.’s protection.”

My head nodded. “Is there a way for me to experience to full extent of the C.C.N.? I can feel some of it, but not in the way like you do.”

Theremin smiled, but Garmon shook his head. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

“Neither do I!” The familiar voice of an older stallion boomed from behind us. Turing to see who it was, Waterphone stood at the entryway, along with two soldiers and four floating drones. They were like the one that scanned me, but armed with two energy pistols each. “An un-indoctrinated pony, plugging directly into the C.C.N.? Such a suggestion should be met with immediate execution, and wiped from all recorders and memories.”

Garmon sighed, and trotted over to Waterphone. “Now, now. No need to get hostile. I understand your concerns, but there is no way this mare can be a danger to the C.C.N. And as you can see, she’s under it’s complete control.”

The strings were being pulled, and my body slowly moved backwards.

Waterphone pressed his hoof onto Garmon’s chest, and glared. “I would more agreeable with that notion if it weren’t for one thing. This mare was able to get through a memory scan, with false memories. A miss Chime Catbell was the name, and with it she was able to stay under our radar up until recently. And now, she is at the heart of the C.C.N.”

“Are you suggesting she is some sort of agent?” Garmon chuckled. “If she was, her connection to the C.C.N. would have rooted out the truth.”

“So would have a memory scan.” The old Reaver said, gritting his teeth. “She’s something new.” Looking passed Garmon he glared at me. “You. I don’t know what you’re up to, but it ends now.” His aggressive stare turned into an eerie smile. “Now be a good comrade and stay put.”

More strings pulled at me. This time holding me in place, as the others pulled me backwards. His words were like… law. I had to follow them, there was no choice in the matter, I was compelled to do as he told me.

Phobetor trotted up next to me, and Waterphone slowly walked up to me, pulling out a small magical energy musket.

Theremin stepped in the way, blocking the much older stallion. “You’re over reacting, Waterphone. She’s under our control.”

“Is that so?” The old mirage pony raised an eyebrow. “Maybe we should test it. kill two birds with one stone as it is said.” The small musket was slid along the floor, stopping at my hooves. “What do you say Livenka, I know you’ve grown tired of playing the good martyr.”

“Now stop this madness Waterphone!” Garmon spoke up, also stepping in the way. “I’ve tolerated your paranoid prattle long enough. I’ve even let Persephone station be the testing grounds for the C.C.N. But you’re now pushing my patience. If you don’t stand down now, I’ll have you arrested!”

Time once more slowed down, my S.A.T.S. activated. “Annoying, but nothing that will interfere with our goals.” Phobetor trotted over to Waterphone, looking back at me with a smile. “You know of the term ‘mission creep’. It’s when a short term goal becomes a long term commitment, like how the securing of resources can become a war of attrition. I once knew of a being, Aries I think its name was, who loved this method of manipulation. Warriors would request power so that they would be successful in what they seek to accomplish. Vengeance, survival, greed, all petty in their reason, and every one of them found themselves in unending conflict, their own souls given up to Aries, never understanding that they were mere puppets.” Phobetor laughed, taking a step back from Waterphone and trotting past me. “I only need to whisper a few words, and the mission creep takes hold. Not that you would understand.”

Time returned to normal, and the four of us stood in silence. I looked at the gun at my hooves.

Theremin slowly backed up. “I don’t think this is the time or place for this.”

“Neither was bringing in an outsider into the C.C.N.” Waterphone shot back. That silenced the younger Reaver. “So Livenka, you think it’s time to test how well the C.C.N. Can override a pony’s self-preservation.”

A long sigh came from Garmon. “Seriously now, Miss Echo has valuable connections we can use. She's the only key we have into the orphic kingdom that would not result in war. We seek a revolution, not a bloodbath.”

“So easy for you to say.” Waterphone smiled, sitting back and crossing his forelegs. “As ponies like I and Livenka spilled our blood, you sat in your office, like the coward you are.”

More strings pulled at me, no longer holding me in place, or pulling me backwards, but now lifting my left foreleg, levitating the pistol, and charging it. A few beeps came from Livenka’s braincase. “It seems like we're at an impasse.” Livenka spoke, her words cutting into the tension like a sharp knife through a pineapple. “Kill the unknown factor, or spare a valuable resource.” The pistol hovered in the air, I controlled it, but was not in control of myself. “But you failed to get my opinion on the matter from the very start.” The pistol scanned over the three ponies in front of me. “Obsession bordering on the edge of madness, that’s how you survived so long Waterphone. We found you so far deep in the darkest cell, only a shell of who your once were, yet you so very much alive.” The older reaver took a step back. “Each of the drones you have, you named them after your old comrades, use them as a dump for your madness, and primal urges. Ingeniously simple in its implication.”

Waterphone took a step forward. “It’s proof of the C.C.N.’s success, everything that is wrong with me, suppressed by a collective, and in its place a more efficient pony, capable of withstanding the stream of data this body demands.”

“Right, and as the first of our reavers, you have served us splendidly.” Livenka spoke with a pleasant tone. “But now it’s time to move on.” The pistol turned on Waterphone, and with a bright pink flash, and a thawing sound, the beam of energy hit him in the chest. Engulfed in pink light, sparks flickered and burst as his skin turned to ash, and flames erupted from his mouth and eyes. It only took a few short seconds, and Waterphone was reduced to a metal husk, covered in ash. The four drones that followed him all fell to the ground, their lights slowly dimming.

Garmon turned about, and angrily stared at Livenka. “Why would you do that!? This violence solved nothing!”

“Why?” Livenka spoke with a chuckle. “Revolution, that’s why. And speaking of such, I think it’s time you retired, let the younger generation take over.”

The old pony took a step back, a look of shock on his face. “You can’t be serious! What’s come over you?”

Two robobrains rolled in, cutting Garmon off. “Once more, old ponies decide the fate of their young. One fearing the loss of their power, the other seeking to gain more. Like a revelation it came to me, that the republic had fallen into its old bad habits. That’s why we have come to a consensus that the next generation must take responsibility for our republic, and let the old take their part in the C.C.N.”

Garmon was grabbed by the Robobrains, the old stallion lacked the strength to resist their hold. “You can’t do this! Such reckless action will only ruin the republic, ruin the revolution!”

“Fear not professor.” Livenka’s voice took on a bit of a mocking tone to it. “You will still guide the republic, but just as part of the collective, where your intellect can do the most good.” I watched as Garmon was dragged away to another doorway, kicking and screaming along the way.

Silence fell upon the room, Livenka’s eye looking at me with a curious stare. Theremin took a step forward, clearing his throat. “So, who’s going to be the next president? If it’s not too much to ask.”

Livenka rolled her cyber eye. “In due time. The lack of a figurehead will do nothing that could hurt the republic.” Her gaze fell back onto me. “Now miss Echo, there is something we must do. A trade, was it? A secret for a secret, a fair deal that would benefit us both.” The cable connected to Livenka’s braincase popped out. “Now plug in, and we can share what we know.”

Strings, so many stings. All pulling at me, forcing me to walk forward, to Livenka. My body offered no resistance, like I had forgotten how to resist, only knowing to comply. The jack in my hooves, I reached back with it, and let my levitation talisman takeover.

*Click*

It was in, and I was connected. Strange, I didn’t feel like anything had happ….

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest completed: The Secret to True Equality

New Quest: I think, Therefore I Am

Chapter 26 - Dragon-Slayers Gambit

So to take stock of my situation, I was flanked by two Reavers, cybernetic super soldiers who had a direct link to a cybernetic brain collective. The C.C.N. as it’s called, seemed to be the answer to avoid going insane due to not having an organic body, and gives them the processing power that allows them to use the complex body. They were the most dangerous threat to me right now.

Next were six republic soldiers. I didn’t know what their combat effectiveness was, but I was sure this time they were not simply recruited civilians. If anything, they at least had basic training, possibly advanced, all I really knew was that they looked far more prepared than other republic troops I had seen. Of the six, three were accompanied by modified sprite bots, the drones having more armor than the average bot, and a heavier energy gun. The biggest danger they posed was their connection to the C.C.N. I could feel it. This meant that they could share information in a blink of an eye, as well as suppress panic and doubt. Even if the six were shit fighters on their own, together, the three with the bots were still more dangerous to say the least.

Last was Blackspot and his cronies. Familiar faces all of them. To the side of the smug pirate was Shamrock and Couteau, and above them was the pegasus, Graceful. Blackspot only had a simple 10mm pistol on him, and a single edged sword. Not as intimidating as everypony else, but he still gave me a bad vibe. The two mares to the side of him were armed with the high caliber SMG’s that one of them had used against me before. The guns looked like shit, but that ammunition it used was more than powerful enough to take down a pony. Graceful hovered above us, holding onto a battle rifle, and having wrapped herself in explosive packs. The rifle looked like a modified version of the others I had seen, having a longer magazine, scope on the side, and longer barrel. From a distance, or up close, Graceful looked like the biggest threat if not taken out first

I also had to take note that the both parties had an annoying aversion to death. With the reavers not having a purely organic body, wounds that would be fatal to anypony, was easily survivable for them. Destroying the brain would be the only way to be sure, but even then that might not be the end to them. The pirates on the other hoof seemed to have some strange magic about them. Able to keep fighting even after taking damage that would disable most ponies. And then there are their eyes, having some way to entrance me, and even Theremin. If I got caught in their stare, it would be all over for me.

As for myself, I still had on the nice black suit, and the shocker leg Theremin gave to me. I might donate it to some needy orphan after I find a way out of this. On my back was a heavy case, it weighed around a similar amount as the gear I tended to take with me to the big island metro, so it didn’t bother me much. Other than that, I had no weapons on me, and my gasmask was tightly affixed to my face.

Blackspot pulled out a pocket watch, and flipped it open. “Now just so you know, we be on a tight schedule. Even if we like a good gun powder debate, I’d rather not be hung off t' mast by hook for tardiness.” He put away the watch and smiled, a bit too wide of a smile. “So, how about we talk less, and you give us t' mare. After that, we go our separate ways.”

Theremin huffed in irritation. “Listen here savage, we are not hoofing over one of our own just so you can do what you want with her.” Stomping forward, Theremin came face to face with Blackspot. “Once you make that critical blow to Orthrus, she is to be returned to us, understand?”

Blackspot did not flinch, instead he put his hoof under Theremins chin. “You’re a pretty mare, you know that.” The smile dropped from his face. “Shame if that would have to change.” Taking a step back, and tuning around, the unicorn slowly trotted away. “Be aye, t' mare be safe with us. No harm will come t' her, and when it’s all over, she can return t' you. Though after spendin' some time with me, I doubt she will want to.”

Laughing, Theremin followed the stallion. “Living with a bunch of seafaring savages, oh that is so much better than with a civilization at the height of technology.” The rest of us joined them, walking on a poorly maintained trail, the light rain making it muddy. “A good example is the drone we are lending out to you, I’m sure it will help prove our point, it’s instructions are with it in the case, just make sure not to have miss Echo haul it around everywhere you go, leave that honor for your pack mules.”

Well I now knew what was in the case, and having my own drone would be very useful, so it would be a good idea to keep it.

The bickering quickly faded as we walked, Theremin and Blackspot obviously not liking each other, but holding back on starting a fight. My guess to why this had not become a blood bath yet, Phobetor. Our trek along the path was slow, but at least this time the rain was not coming down in buckets, and the raincoat and gas mask thankfully did well to keep the radiation and toxins out. The only thing that had me concerned, other than when I should make a break for it, was that Blackspot started humming, and was later joined by his three lackeys.

With three gold pieces and a bottle of rum, I knew she had me good and done.

She came from the coal black waters,

Her name meant victory,

Her name meant prayer.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

Though none knew her, they knew to fear.

Arriving upon a ship where all had died.

Her eyes cold as ice, her eyes hungry like a shark.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

Hunted by those in charge,

To the shadows she did hide.

She found her home among the scoundrel’s, and whores.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

Through cruelty she formed a crew

Killing all who came for her head

And all knew soon there be war.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

Fires raged high as gun’s blast

Blood flowed free as swords clashed

One by one, her enemies died.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

In one last clash she found victory

The captains had now on her head

The goddesses blessing her new rule.

Three gold pieces and a bottle of rum

Now she sails the ocean proud and free.

The symbol of victory she be

The chosen of the goddesses, she stays

With three gold pieces and a bottle of rum, I knew she had me good and done. Now I join her crew, until my days are done.

______________________________________

The day felt odd, as the sun broke through the rainclouds, almost messing with my eyes every time I looked up. I’d read a few books that called it a fox wedding, though the origins to the saying had been lost to time, as well as whatever a fox was. Most Mirage Ponies just called it a mirage rain, as our shimmer seemed to be more powerful under such conditions. It had to do with the sunlight passing through raindrops, making the light bend even more than normal.

I had to keep myself from laughing, because if I could get some distance from them, I might be able to vanish from sight. Well at least it should work on the pirates, but the two reavers, it’s always possible their cyber eyes could track heat, or even magic. So before I could make a run for it, I needed the republic ponies to be distracted.

As we moved, we had to go through an old tunnel, the vegetation having grown so thick, that it nearly hid the entryway completely. The inside on the other hoof looked well maintained, the concrete floor only having one or two cracks in it, which to me meant that this place must not be that old.

“You know, from the surface this all looks like junk.” Graceful spoke up, an old spark battery lantern on her side lit up her smirking face. “But scratch beneath the surface, you ponies are doing well for yourself.”

Blaster Beam huffed. “And scratch beneath your surface, and all I’d see is more filth.”

The pegasus shrugged. “Ya, I got to agree with you there. Dig a little in me, you will find the enclave. More rotten than a two-hundred-year old apple.”

The mentioning about the enclave made one of my ears twitch. I had heard Merit talk about the enclave, but he sounded more bitter-sweet. Graceful on the other hoof, had this feeling of hate in her voice.

Both Blaster, and Theremin looked at each other and grinned. “You do know that this enclave has made contact with the island recently.” Theremin spoke up, and Gracefuls full attention was on him. “We recently… obtained information about it. Three scouts are currently being held by Orthrus, something about looking for a home for a cloud city.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little sick about this, as I knew they took the information directly from my head.

Graceful just burst out laughing. “So that’s what the big cunt has gone hunting for.” She hovered in place, slowly flapping her wings, and stretching her back. “Well it’s not like we don’t have a plan for getting rats out of holes. What do you say, first mate?”

Blackspot nodded. “It’s but a minor issue in t' long run. Once we make contact with Luna, our eneme’s will have t' bow their heads, or lose them t' her power.” The other pirates gave each other a nervous look, which to me meant that at least he was the only one of them being visited by Phobetor.

“Luna or not, you sure she can get us through t' back door?” Shamrock spoke up. “As lovely as this lass is, I don’t see her as important.”

Theremin groaned. “This is why I don’t understand why she has to go with you savages. There's a spot on friendly island protected by a barrier, like what the old ministries used. Only two ways pass the barrier, either have Orthrus shut it down, or be one of the direct descendants of the R&D Stables Heads.”

“And past that barrier is t' back door to Orthrus.” Blackspot finished. “And as it turns out, my lovely here is part of such a bloodline.” This made my blood run cold. I still didn’t know what Phobetor’s plans were, but it now involved getting the pirates passed most of Orthrus’s main defenses.

“Just remember, once you’re in, have her return to us. Understand?” Theremin punctuated the last word with a stomp.

“As clear as a crystal pony.” Black Spot spoke in a mocking tone. “Oh look, the light at t' end of the tunnel.”

Indeed, we reached the end of the tunnel, this side was also covered in thick vegetation, only letting a little bit of light filter through. I figured that my window of escape was coming soon, and it was going to be small. I only had one weapon on me, the gift from Theremin, so might as well use it. From the look on my HUD display, the shocker leg was more than three fourths charged, and should take but a few second to finish charging.

Hit and run was what was going through my head, and it helped that both the republic and the pirates were all on edge right now. I could sense it from the republic ponies, and the pirate ponies had their head on a swivel. So if I could spark a fight, I should be able to slip away in the chaos. Maybe.

We passed through the vegetation and found myself at the foot of an old anti dragon outpost. Such structures were dotted all over the islands, made to shoot the flying monstrosities out of the sky if they were ever to attack. This one was a mix of old-world and modern construction, it’s large cannon now replaced by what I could guess was a massive energy cannon. A few thoughts ran through my head, but the only answer to why this existed, was to shoot down the Orthrus airships. To the side of the structure was a landing pad with a vertibuck on it, the aircraft painted in the pirate’s colors.

There were three more republic ponies here, and two more pirates. Two of the republic ponies were working on the cannon, taking what was likely a lookout position. The third was with the two pirates, who looked like they roped the poor mare into a drinking game, and the only thing she had on was her underwear, and her gas mask. The underdressed mare quickly stood to attention, but then wobbled, and fell over.

The position of the outpost was along a Cliffside, almost hidden among the vegetation that grew over it. If I had to guess, the side was not too steep a drop, too much for a pony to climb up on, but possible maybe for a pony to slide down.

Blackspot chuckled. “I was wonderin'; would it be possible for us t' borrow that six pounder thar. Big as fuck blasters like that be hard t' come by at t' best o' times.”

A growl came from Blaster Beam. “Touch it and you’re ash, savage.”

“Such hostility, and here I thought we were getting along.” Blackspot mocked. “But now that you escorted us here, I think it’s time for us t' go. I have a dance t' go to, and if I’m late, t' scurvey dog be givin' me forty lashes.” He trotted over to me and offer a hoof. “Care to join me, my lovely one?”

I rolled my eyes, and touched my right forehoof with his. “Have you ever stuck your hoof into a Twittermite nest?”

He tilted his head. “What’s a Twittermite?”

“It’s a local pest we have.” I said, giving him a nod. “They like to eat electricity, so they can be hell on the power infrastructure we have. And it is said that touching a nest of theirs without protective gear is like being struck by lightning.”

“That does sound like a pain.” Blackspot responded, tilting his head the other way. “Why are you tel…” his body locked up as the air was filled with a loud buzzing clicking sound.

Pulling my hoof back, the stallion fell over, his body no longer locked up. “Just felt like giving you a warning, not that you would understand it.”

Looking at the others, guns were drawn, most on me, but some of them were aimed at each other. Theremin took a step closer. “Miss Echo, stand down.”

“Yes.” I said, and Theremin relaxed. “I just wanted to test out the leg, he will be fine in a bit.”

“Fine, now board the vertibuck.” Blaster Beam commanded firmly. “We will have to go over this bullshit when you get back.”

“Right, I’ll just help the good stallion up first.” I responded. Tension was hitting an all-time high, and I only had one shot at this. Helping the dazed stallion up, I quickly checked the pockets, and Jackpot! I discreetly pulled out an metal apple with a pin on top.

I activated my S.A.T.S. and with a clear idea of what I wanted to do, I selected to shove the stallion at his lackeys, and to throw the grenade at the hooves of the two reavers. I figured that the pirate would be easier to get away from then the cyber ponies. In a swift motion, my body threw the explosive as I charged at the two pirates, using Blackspot like a battering ram.

*BOOM*

Confusion filled the air, but I knew what I had to do. Taking Blackspots sword, I charged for the railings. Predictably, the two reavers had survived the blast, and Theremin was already making his way to me. Reaching the railing, I did the only thing I could think to do, and jumped.

My left fore leg wrapped around the sword, Minerva using telekinesis to hold it in place as it carved into the ground, cutting thru vines and roots as i slid down the cliff. My vision became a blur of green as I struggled to keep on my hooves, and using the sword as an anchor to keep me from tumbling. Then it happened, I hit something too hard for the sword to cut thru, and I began to tumble, unable to pull myself into a ball, I helplessly flailed around the rest of the way down.

______________________________________

I lifted my left foreleg to check the time, which only reminded me that I didn’t know what time it was before, so I could only guess that I had only knocked myself out for a few minutes. One good thing about falling through a jungle, was as long as the fall is not too steep, the shrubbery would slow you down enough to not snap your neck when hitting the bottom. Well, usually.

Picking myself back up, it seemed that my legs took the brunt of the tumble, making me glad they were all cybernetic. My gas mask had come loose, an easy fix, and I should feel lucky that I didn’t lose it altogether. Choking to death up here was not a way I wanted to go. The sword I had taken was sticking out of a tree nearby, so lucky me, I still had a weapon to defend myself with. The case I had on me was sticking out of a bush, looking just fine, so I threw it back onto my back, even if it would slow me down, keeping the drone would still prove very useful in the long run.

Now for the hard part, making my way to a neutral station. I really wanted to sleep in my own bed right now. The republic must have defenses to keep ponies from coming and going from them, but I’ll just have to deal with them when they come up. Setting up the map marker on Minerva, it indicated I needed to head south. Which was thru thick jungle, with only a sword to defend myself with. Not an easy task, but one I had to do, or face being collared again by ponies I had grown to hate.

My body shifted as I walked along the forest floor, the ground here being far squishier then on the big island, but luckily dryer due to the rains being not as heavy over here. The light was also very dim here, not dark, but heavy with shadows. Also, as if the place was mocking me, there was no noise, not even a bird chirp.

Shaking the uneasy feeling off, I moved south, my hooves crunching with every step.

I hadn’t gotten far when the sounds of gunfire cracked overhead, whatever truce the republic and pirates had, must have broken down. Good for me, as it would give me more time to get away.

“Miss Echo!” I froze at the familiar synthetic voice of a stallion. “How did you regain control?” Theremin stepped out from behind a massive tree. “Why do you reject me?”

Fuck! At least he was in a much squishier body, but I had a feeling he still outclassed me in combat power. “Because you're wrong, about me, about the republic.”

He tilted his head. “Wrong, I don’t see how that is possible. Now if you would just give up this farce, and come back with me. It seems you need more time to understand the republic.”

“Understand?” I shook my head. “I understand enough, and I disagree with it all.” I slowly drew the curved sword, I could get one good slash with Minerva’s telekinesis, but only that.

Theremin faked wiping off a tear. “How could you say that. Everypony is provided for, water, food, shelter, work, everything.” He stomped on the ground with a soft thud. “Where we have stamped out outside influences, there is no crime, no drug abuse, suicide, or dissatisfaction. We have made the perfect system, and you would reject that?”

“Yes I would.” Taking a step back, my eyes locked with his. “Your perfect system, it is nothing but slavery for the mind. Everypony there, nothing more than addicts to that system, dependent on it for everything.” I tapped on the jack that was attached to the back of my neck. “This, this is nothing more than a collar, meant to solidify the slavery. No secrets, but also no freedom of thought.” Just talking about it made me angry. “It felt like I was drowning in a sea, every free though I had was hit by a wave of doubt, and reinforced with pro republic thoughts. Only now I know none of it was my own.”

He laughed. “Oh wow, I knew you were something special.” He offered a hoof to me. “Your ego is strong, that much can’t be denied. But we just need to tame that rebellious nature in you, bring you back to sanity. Then you can join our ranks, become a reaver, obtain limitless power.”

I took another step back. This was quickly becoming too insane for me. “Yeah, if freedom and logic is insanity, then I don’t want to be sane.”

Theremin tilted his head, so far that I could hear the joints pop, before straightening it back out. “Shame. Then I will just have to break you here first.” Putting his hoof down, he took a step closer to me. “This is going to hurt me more than you. It’s going to hurt a lot. But that’ because I care so much about you.”

He took a few more steps closer, and I took a few back, pointing the sword at him. I knew that his current body could teleport and turn invisible, as well as cast a sleep spell, but nothing more. This fight, I had a feeling that it was going to be one sided, but even if there was one percent chance of victory, I had to take it.

*Wamph*

Decayed leaves went flying obscuring my vision for but a moment, and as they settled I saw a big green mass behind Theremin. I was like if a piece of a tree had suddenly fallen to the ground, but denser, and had long claws, and dagger like teeth, and hungry eyes. It was a Paradise Dragon, standing up on two legs, and it’s claws out.

Theremin only had a moment to see what had fallen behind him before the paradise dragon brought down a claw on him. The monster only hit the ground, as Theremin teleported behind it. “Fucking whore of a beast! I don’t have time to be dealing with your kind.” The monster retorted by growling, and wiping its tail at him, the cyber mare once more teleporting out of the way at the last second.

I didn’t want the trouble of being in the middle of this fight, so I galloped away not daring to look back. The twang sound of a magical energy musket went off from behind me. though strong, I didn’t know how effective those guns were against a paradise dragon, nor did I want to find out.

The sound of fighting soon left me behind as I galloped south. The jungle only growing thicker, and darker the further I went. I didn’t lose my stride at all, the four cyber legs I had, though miss matched as they were, proving to be highly efficient. The basic prosthetic legs rarely performed as well under such stress, so being able to gallop unhindered felt freeing.

*Crack*

A small bit of dead leaves jumped up ahead of me, and I slid to a stop. The sound of the gunshot echoed through the silent forest, yet no pony could be seen.

“You aren’t going nowhere wench!” looking up Graceful Gust floated above me, her wings flapping slowly, her battle rifle aimed at me. “Now the first mate said you should come to no harm, but I’m feeling that I might not have heard that order.” I could hear her chuckling to herself from inside her gas mask. “You know what my captain would say in a moment like this?”

“That you should just go fuck yourself. But I’m sure that rifle of yours would fit all the way in.” I spat back at her.

She just chuckled some more. “She would say to just fuck you up, and drag you back. And who knows, maybe I can use you to lubricate my rifle first. You wouldn’t be the first.”

Yeah… no. I dashed to the side, and rolled behind a three. With a loud crack, splinters of wood jetted out just passed me. “Just try and get me you flaming crotch bitch!” Her rifle had range and power, but we were in a jungle, meaning that trees provided me with plenty of cover.

“Oh, you smarmy little cunt.” A loud pop came from where Graceful was. “Let's see how much fight is really in you.”

Peeking out, I could see Graceful holding a flare gun, a trail of blue smoke rising up and through the canopy. This meant only one thing, she was calling the other pirates. Not that I planned on sticking around long enough for her friends to find me.

With a dash, I was off, but now weaving through the trees. There was another crack of a rifle, and the wiz of a bullet flying past my head, smashing into a tree ahead of me and sending splinters flying. A third shot went off, this one hitting a tree that I zigged behind, the dense forest proving paramount to my survival. A fourth shot almost got me, but bounced off the case which had sagged to the side a bit.

There were no more shots, just the eerie silence of the forest. This only fueled my paranoia, as I knew that the Pegasus could easily keep up with me, and I never got so lucky to have actually gotten away. Fixing the case, I then pushed on, the more distance I covered the better it was going to be for me, or at least, that’s what I’d hoped.

Another pop went off, this time ahead of me. A trap maybe, but the flare gun gave away her position, so… I skidded to a stop as I came to a tree line, and as the light grew brighter, I came to realize that not only did the jungle end here, so did the ground. I stood at the edge of a cliff face. Though not a far drop, it was far enough to severely hurt or kill me if I fell down it.

“End of the rode, savvy” Graceful hovered in air, rifle pointed in my direction. “Next time you make a move; I’m putting lead in ya. So now we stay nice and quiet like, and wait for the gull to get here.”

“Gull, what’s that?”

Graceful growled at my question. “I said quiet, the next time you speak, move, or do fuckin anythin at all, I blast off one of them pretty legs of yours. But to answer the question, a gull is a vertibuck that can land on water. That’s it.”

I sat there knowing that if I moved, she would make good on her promise. After what felt like an hour, though it only had to have been a few minutes, the vertibuck, or gull as she called it, flew overhead. Circling around before hovering in place above us, and slowly lowering down.

What greeted me was Shamrock pointing a mounted minigun at me. The rest of the pirates were there, the two whose names I didn’t know where the pilot and copilot. Couteau was sitting back, and Blackspot had gotten up and stood next to Shamrock.

Graceful fluttered over toward the gull, talking with Blackspot for a couple of seconds before flying over to me. “I’m going to carry you over, so no funny business. Try anything, we break the legs then take you anyway. Understand?”

I rolled my eyes. “I hear you, cunt breath,”

A hoof connected with my jaw, sending a sharp pain through my skull. “Now I’m up for friendly banter and the like, but sadly we just don’t have the luxury for foreplay right now. So the more you talk, the more I mess up that pretty face of yours.”

I got the message, though all they needed to do was point at the minigun to force compliance. A weapon like that would cut me down the second I try and get away, and they just needed to aim low to fuck up my legs. I contemplated using Graceful as a shield, but I had a strong feeling that they just shoot through her to get to me.

“Stretch out your forelegs for me like you stretch out your back legs for a dick.” I had another witty comment for her, something about how she must be an expert at that, but I didn’t feel like getting hit in the face again. Stretching out my forelegs, the Pegasus locked hers with mine, and I felt myself slowly being lifted up into the air.

*Twang*

A burst of red light shot over my head, and scorched the side of the gull. I jumped to the ground, as did Graceful, who began rolling around screaming “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” as a line of smoke came off of her wing.

“Change of plans.” Theremin stood at the edge of the tree line, his left cheek missing, and long gash along his side. Both exposing the synthetic flesh underneath, and leaking milky white fluid. “She’s coming back with us.” Shamrock revved up the minigun, but didn’t fire. I was between the two of them, making a better shield than Graceful would have been. “Miss Echo just take my hoof, and we will return to the others.”

Teleportation. I knew he could do it, meaning if he even touched me, it was all over. “Tempting thought, but I got other places I want to be.”

“But there's nowhere for you to go, no where to run. So stop being difficult, come with me.” There was static to his voice, which only further convinced me of the fakeness of his words, and who he/she was.

“Sorry, but there's plenty of places I can go. They might not be easy, or fair, but at least I know they’re not fake. What you offer, it’s slavery, but with a high tech and nice looking collar.”

He tilted his head. “Shame” in the blink of an eye, he was closer. “Not that you're wrong though. We ponies need to be tied down, or we will let unfairness run rampant and destroy the world again.”

He stretched out his hoof to touch me, and I jumped back, sliding off the cliff. I managed to grab the edge with my forelegs, but now I was in position to fall to my potential death, or be taken by the insane cybermare. The case on my back didn’t help at all, but maybe I could use it to break my fall, though I’d lose the drone, the sacrifices we must make.

My ears filled with the sound of what I would have to guess was a buzz saw going off. Theremin teleported out of the way as a stream of bullets flew at him, Shamrock fired the minigun, sending bullets flying everywhere. I couldn’t see if she had managed to hit him or not, but continued firing told me that the cybermare was doing well to avoid the attack.

The firing stopped, which I hoped meant that the Theremin was finally down for good. But the minigun started up again, dashing that hope, only to see the belly of a paradise dragon fly over me, and grab onto the side of the gull. The aircraft struggled to remain balanced, but the sudden added weight from the monster forced it to tilt, and drop. As I watched the gull drift off and out of view, Graceful chased off after it.

I felt a shadow loom over me. “Don’t see that everyday.” Theremin stood over me, sporting a few bullet holes now, and the white liquid oozed from his wounds, dripping down on me. “Those monsters are the bane of our existence. Every time we try to retake the surface, they tear down everything we build. It will be a good day when we see them exterminated.” His cyber eyes glared at me, now showing the synthetics underneath. “Now let’s get going, destiny awaits.”

There were plenty of things I could say, or actions I could try and take, but none of them could beat the cyber mare. Even damaged as he was, Theremin still outclassed me in every way. So I took a deep breath, and hoped my luck had not dried up. Letting my hooves loosen, I slipped from the cliff. Theremin tried to catch me, but it was too late, He would have to jump after me to catch me.

It was not going to be a long drop, but long enough to kill or hurt me really bad. I could only hope that the trees would break my fall first, maybe have the cases straps snag before I hit the ground. I felt a sudden tug right before I hit the canopy, slowing my fall before hitting the forest floor. Not the softest of landings, but I found myself standing on all four hooves, only a little bit hurt from the fall. “Did you get heavier since the last time I saw you?” The voice of a stallion spoke up right behind my ear.

Looking back, I saw a bronze male pegasus in black and brown light armored barding. “You!” I cried as Merit pointed at himself, and shrugged. Turning around I poked him in the chest, staring at him in the eyes. “You, the first thing you comment on after all this shit, is that I’m getting fat!? I don’t know if I should hit you, or kiss you.”

“I’m quite partial to the latter” For a moment he looked up at the hole we had made in the forest canopy. “But I think we should get out of here first, the others are waiting.”

“Others?” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness, and here I thought I was royally fucked.”

Merit tapped of the old pipbuck around his leg, and pointed south west. “We have a camp this way.”

The sound of laughter echoed through the woods, it having a wet synthetic sound to it. Unsurprisingly, Theremin stepped out from our left, and now one of his legs was scorched black. “It’s so sweet, I can see why you like him.” I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. “He’s got that scruffy roughish look you like, with a little extra fur on the chin, strong body, and that look in his eyes that just tells you that he will be just fine with or without you.”

“What the fuck are you?” Merit growled at Theremin.

“He’s a reaver, one of the republic's super soldiers.” I informed him.

Merit tilted his head a little. “He? You mean she, right?”

A growl came from Theremin, “So like a savage, can’t even get a pony’s gender right!”

A long sigh came from the pegasus. “Look here freak, we had quite a few stallions who looked like mares up in the clouds. Not a lot, but enough that you knew they were around. And every one of them I met, had thick skin and a good sense of humor, so don’t get all prissy with me.”

The cyber mare just hoofed at the ground. “You think I care about what you have to say? All I need to know is that you’re a savage, and I need to get rid of you so i can take her back.”

A bronze colored wing opened up to block Theremin from my view. “I don’t think you’re in the position to be making threats. One of your legs is burnt out, and the rest of your body is mangled.” It was my best guess, but I was betting that the burnt out leg held his teleportation talisman. Which meant that if he wanted me, he was going to have to take me the old fashion way. “Let’s go Vibraphone, I doubt she can even follow us in that state.”

My legs refused to move, and the sharp pain I felt became like a hammer. My eyes felt like they were being forcefully moved, locking onto Theremin. He smiled his half deformed smile. “Oh good, looks like we finally reestablished your connection. And here I was worried that the bug was just not going to work with my systems.” He was not just talking verbally, but sending it into my head, but more than that, so much information to, it made my head hurt. “It was a bit of an odd experiment, but I think it’s starting to bear fruit.”

A bug… no the bug, the M.o.M. bug. And with his system… no, he couldn’t have. “You have the M.o.M. bug inside you!”

“What’s going on Vibraphone?” Merit sounded concerned, not that I could blame him.

“What’s going on is that you have to fight me.” Theremin mocked. “I currently have something she want’s, something she needs.” He tapped at his chest. “And unlike you, she no longer has the freedom to do anything, is that right.”

Merit looked over at him, and I nodded. “My legs won’t move. I think…” The pain in my head spiked for a moment. “I think you’re going just to have to carry me out of here.” I was not going to play his game, the M.o.M. bug was important, but I had a feeling he would follow me if I got away.

Merit sighed. “I don’t understand what’s going on, but I’ll get you out of here, and then come back to crack that mare’s spine in two.” It sounded less of a threat, and more of a promise.

“You!” Theremin shouted at you. “You would just leave, not even fight?” Merit just ignored him, as the cyber pony began to limp towards us. “That’s not how this goes, you don’t just walk away. I won’t let you!”

Lifting me onto his back, I was as stiff as a board. Theremin slowly made his way to us, but stumbled every step on his three legs. I found it a bit funny, as for too long I was the three legged mare. Before my noble steed could trot off with me, the sound of marching band music filled our ears. Faint at first, but quickly became more distinct, and we could tell where it was coming from. Above us.

Three modified sprite drones dropped down, surrounding us. The music cut off, and one of the drones hovered up to us. “I’d find all of this amusing, if it were not so frustratingly irritating.” It was Blaster Beam talking through the bot, the one pony we did not want to have catch up to us. “Now you better stay where you are, or I’ll have you killed where you stand.”

“And you’re not going to kill us when you get here?” It was her M.O. the mare seemed to love to kill, and I could feel her intent through the robot.

Blaster Beam laughed. “Aren’t you the smart one, I guess I should just end you here, and gather the ashes when I arrive.”

The gun on the drones began to glow, making a humming noise. We were trapped on three sides, and I was now rendered fucking helpless. “It’s okay, just leave me and let my sister know that at least I got away.”

He stomped on the ground. “No can do, not when we’re this close.” He then chuckled. “And not when help just arrived.”

From behind me, I heard a loud thud, and a twang as bolt of energy flew out and hit one of the sprite bots. Merit dashed, managing to avoid getting hit by the drone that was in his face.

“The fuck was that!” Blaster Beam cried out. Another loud thud, and one of the sprite bots bounced into my light of sight. “Locate what did that!” the third sprite bot backed up, into my view and fired. “Why won’t you lock on, it’s right in front of you!” A cloaked pony charged into my view, and hit the drone with what looked like a hydraulic spear. With a thud, the spear gutted forward, and sent the drone flying into a tree.

The cloaked pony turned to me, and trotted over. It’s dark green cloak had a fresh burn mark on its side, smoke still wafting off of it. “Robots rely too much on their magical targeting programs, something they cannot use on me.” Pulling back on the hood, it was Mayall, and her chitin armor was now painted blue. One side had a nasty scorch mark on it, but looked overall undamaged. She helped stand me up, though shorter then me, it was like I didn’t weigh very much to her. “So what has you paralyzed?”

My neck felt stiff as I lowered my head. “They added cybernetics to my spine, making me part of their network. I can’t move as long as it’s not approved.”

She shook her head. “Slavery is freedom. I should have expected no less from such ponies.”

“So where did you get that spear?” It’s construction seemed odd, not something Orthrus or other metro dwellers would use. It looked more like an oversized power hoof attached to two poles. One of which had a nasty point it, and the other an easy grip.

She nodded again. “From the sub.”

“The sub?”

“Yes.” her voice had an up tone to it. “The workers who had long abandoned the nest quickly found us, and took us to safety. From there, we managed to fulfill your wish, and now we’re here, with help.”

“Wait, you mean the other Sparkle-Lurkers?” She nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “So where are they?”

Her head drooped. “They fear fighting, don’t want to risk new nest. Plan on leaving soon, but not without me. I convinced a few to go with me, but they stay back even still.”

Merit landed in front of us, sending a few leaves flying about. “Now I love a friendly chat, but we must get going. Miss crippled freak there has almost made it close enough to be a nuance.” In the corner of my eye, Theremin was still limping toward me, it just made me feel unnerved.

“Yeah, I think the bitch is stalling for her comrades to show up. We need to get moving.”

One of the sprite bots floated up in a jagged motion, only to receive a kick from Merit that sent it bouncing between the trees. We’d only made it a few yards before another shot snapped through the tree line, and landed on a tree near us to send splinters everywhere. The thunderous sound echoed thru the forest, and I only knew one group to use such weapons.

Graceful came into view, her rifle aimed at us. “Well, well, well. Looks like the wench is a whore. So how much do those two pay for you, I’m sure I’d pay you better.”

“A Dashite, how am I not surprised.” Merit spoke up at the pirate. “Your kind were always the bane of order. If I was ever in charge of your kind, I would have put a bullet in your heads before sending you down to the surface.” I couldn’t help but agree with Merit here.

She just laughed at us. “Too bad the enclave are fucked. Day by day we collect more Pegasus slaves. Your kind? They’re nothing now. And soon we will have a whole city’s worth of you rotteners. Your children will be nothing more than cannon fodder for our empire.” She aimed her gun and fired, Merit dashed to the side right before she did, avoiding the shot.

Mayall rushed under cover as well. “We don’t have the guns to fight her. Damn me for rushing ahead. I should have grabbed some more gear.”

I smiled, though the situation refused to get better, I was glad they were here. “At least you got me out of the fire, though I rather you live than all of us die together.”

Mayall took a deep breath. “You know, I never really respected anypony until you stood up to my sister. Everyone else always cowered in fear, or died in her wake. You stood up and lived, I respect that.”

Couldn’t help but laugh, which made my legs feel less stiff. “You know I met plenty of smart ponies in my life. All seem dumb in one way or another. You? I think you can see the bigger picture. Past the theatrics, and poetry, you seem to know what counts and I respect that.” She looked at me a bit perplexed, but burst out laughing. I soon joined her in laughing, to the point I had to put my hooves over my mouth.

A shot thundered at us, the ground exploding in bits of dead leaves. “What’s so funny you moppets?” Graceful shouted.

I held my mouth shut, only to realise I could move my legs again. “Seriously, that’s how I beat Theremin’s control? Happy thoughts.” As ridiculous as it was, the pounding in my head was not as strong anymore. And more I laughed, the more I felt free of it. Shaking my head, I couldn’t help but smile. “You know, I got into a situation like this with Turnip, walked right into a bar I found a bunch of guns pointed at me. Oblivious to what was going on, Turnip walked in and just announced how wacky the party was. It actually took the bandits a minute to convince him that their robbery was not part of the party.”

Mayall laughed with me, though I could see a tear fall from her eyes as she did. “That sounds like him. Never quite knowing what he was doing. He actually got a mechanical manticore up and running, and thought the thing was a real pony. I don’t know how, but most of the maintenance crew thought ponies were made of metal. Though as creepy as the robot was, it was cute to see him baby Molly for two weeks before letting her original programing take over.” Another chuckle came from under her breath. “In the end we never quite got how robotics really worked, but we could repair most of them after that.”

So we had a robotic version of a mythological animal roaming around future park, I was glad not to have run into it. “Yeah, so any ideas how to get out of this situation?”

She shook her head.

*Crack* Graceful’s rifle fired again.

Rolling over to us, Merit flopped next to me. “So we should have a few minutes before the others join with us. You think she will stay there until then?”

“Others, which others?”

“That’s a surprise.” He told me in a cocky manner.

“Oy, love! Stop sucking dick, and come out of hiding.” That voice was familiarly annoying. Peeking out, Shamrock had joined her comrade, along with Blackspot and Couteau. “Just give it up, you’re not going to win this fight. Surrender now, and maybe we won’t let the dogs have a turn with you.”

Looking over at Merit, I had to know “Who else is here?” He didn’t answer, just put his hoof to his mouth in a shushing motion.

“Who the fuck are you?” spoke Graceful.

“What the fuck!” The other Graceful screamed out. “You think you’re so smart freak, I’ll kill you right here!”

“Come get me, freak!” Graceful shouted again.

Peeking out, I saw the pirates all looking up at two Gracefuls staring down at each other. Pulling back, I said. “So Sorrow is here too?” Mayall nodded. Peeking back out I watched as the madness unfolded. The one I guessed was the real Graceful pointed her modified battle rifle at the other Graceful. The one I guessed was Sorrow, pointed an unmodified battle rifle at the other Graceful. “Shoot her!” both shouted. “She’s the fake!” they shouted again.

Blackspot looked between them and shrugged. “Shoot them both, I don’t have time for this.” As his four lackeys took aim, two bolts of red energy blasted past the two pegasi, both managing to dodge the beams.

“Change of plans, you all die.” The synthetic voice of a mare called out as seven mirage ponies emerged from the undergrowth. Fuck, the republic had made it here. Theremin, who had been dragging himself around, was recovered by two of the troopers. “Why can’t ponies ever learn that resistance is futile. We will win, you will be absorbed into our collective, and nothing you can do will ever stop us”

“So you’re not going to let us go?” I shouted as I peeked out.

Blaster Beam chuckled. “No, no. we just talk now, as I have a few hundred of our troopers surrounding the area. An advantage of the C.C.N. is that nothing gets by us unseen, meaning that nothing gets away. So sit tight as we fuck up your day.”

“Fuck this!”

*Boom*

Blaster Beams head was engulfed in smoke and fire, as a pony teleported in, right next to the cybermare. She didn’t even budge from the sudden assault, her turret wings only turned to the other pony’s direction, and fired with a blazing red rapid fire succession that borderlined on the absurd.

The newest pony to join the fray didn’t even flinch, but now was engulfed in a blueish light which deflected the energy bolts off of her. Both continued to fire at each other, driving both of them back as their shots flew wide. The sound of the two ponies laying siege on each other was deafening, only ending when the two finally took cover. The new pony teleported over to us, and Blaster regrouped with the other republic ponies.

“Fucking shit, I thought for sure those incendiary rounds would fry the bitch, fucking cyber ponies.” The voice was way too familiar to not be who I thought it was. The mare took off her helmet, of which the front was scorched black, and had melted. Sitting next to me, staring at me with cyber eyes was Sweet Sax Solo. I almost cried right there as I leapt to give her a hug. “yeah, I’m glad to see you too.”

Graceful took a hard landing near us and rolled behind a three, just barely dodging gunfire that chased after her. Before we could properly react, she raised her hooves in the air, and was engulfed in silver fire. Sorrow took the form of a black and brown Pegasus, the pattern on her wing was similar to that of her natural state. “So who else thinks it was a stupid idea to rush over here without any weapon’s?”

“I brought the hydraulic spear.” Mayall stated.

“I took a rifle from the pirates.” Sorrow said with a smile.

“Heavy automatic shotgun here.” Sweet added, before shaking her head and sighing. “I don’t think I’m going to get used to the shapeshifter, and the lurker pony. Without me around, Viby, you make the weirdest friends.”

I rolled my eyes at Sweet. “Without you around, I had to find somepony at least half as crazy as you are.” The gunfire didn’t let up as the republic and the pirates attacked each other. A few shots flew in our direction, likely suppressing fire to keep us where we were. “So how did you get here; I thought the republic has this island quite well locked down?”

“True.” Sweet agreed. “Except for under the water. If I didn’t see it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it, but the those fucking glowing lurkers have a sub.”

I remember Turnip mentioning it before. “So is that our way out of here?”

She nodded. “Just try to not freak out when we get there, I know you’re bad around water.”

The pounding in my head suddenly became worse, the idea of the water, and going under it robbed me of some of my happy thoughts. But with sweet here, I managed to keep Theremin out of my head. “If I do, just knock me out, and drag me home.”

Sweet saluted. “Can and will do. Rather not be around these monsters any longer. I mean for fuck sakes, how many times did I blast her in the face and she still kept shooting at me?”

“If she’s not charging into ash us all, then you must have done some significant damage. But we need to go before our exit is closed off.” I looked at the others, Merit, Mayall, and Sorrow all gave me a nod.

“On the count of three.” Sweet told us as she threw two grenades out from behind the tree. “THREE!” We ran, and behind us was a loud pop, flash, and fizz. “A flash bang and smoke grenades, it should keep them disorientated long enough for us to make distance.”

The shootout continued behind us, echoing through the forest as we galloped. Above us the sound of the gull flew overhead, heading toward the fighting. It was not long until we heard the sound of a minigun gun going off, making me glad we left as soon as we did.

We only had made it a little further when a boulder rolled out in front of us, forcing everypony to stop. Jumping on top of it was the now bloodied paradise dragon, who looked down at us from its perch. Licking its lips, the monster’s eyes darted between us, sizing us up.

I looked up at the beast, making eye contact. Charging my new leg, I had one shot at this, though I didn’t know how effective it was going to be, I had to do something. “Mayall, get that spear ready, I’m going to try and stun it.” Stepping up ahead of the group, maintaining eye contact with the monster I came right up to the boulder blocking our path. “Let us pass, and you will live to see another day.” I didn’t know if it could understand, but I was hoping it was too injured to want another fight.

The paradise dragon gave what sounded like a laugh, jumping off the bolder, and down in-between me and my friends. The monster swung its tail at Mayall, sending the sparkle-lurker flying back. Sweet fired at it, setting part of the monster on fire, but she too was knocked back by a second tail swing. Merit and Sorrow managed to dodge the attacks by flying up, but they were without weapons, making them less then useful in this fight.

The monster breathed hot air in my face, the stench of its breath permitting even my gasmask, and fogging up the glass. “So that’s a no.” Focusing all the magic I could into my right foreleg, Minerva clicked as I drew the surrounding magical radiation. The beast opens up its maw, and roared in my face. If I survived all this, I had a feeling I was going to have hearing problems. Taking the opportunity, I shoved my leg in its mouth, and it clamped down. Time seemed to slow down as we looked each other in the eye, not knowing what the other was going to do.

Within a split second, I was flying through the air, and tumbling on the ground. Looked back, the paradise dragon still had my leg in its mouth, I managed to disconnect it as it attempted to flail me around. Behind me were Merit and Sorrow, having used themselves to cushion my fall.

*Kzz-Crack”

A spark of electricity arched from the dragon’s mouth, and the beast stumbled back. But it was not enough to even stun it, and it looked me in the eyes, it’s anger easy to see. Looking around for anything to defend myself with, the hydraulic spear lay not far from me. The monster charged, and I dashed for the spear, I couldn’t waste even a moment, so I entered S.A.T.S.

The options were clear and with one quick motion, my leg wrapped around the spear, and lifted it up, using the ground as an anchor. Leaping at me, I managed to catch the paradise dragon under the chin, I only managed to avoid a swipe of its claws by mere inches, millimeters even. Pressing down on the lever on the spear, the front half of the spear jolted forward, piercing the softer underbelly of the dragon’s chin.

The dragon screamed as it grabbed onto the spear, trying to pull it off of itself. Letting go of the lever, the spear quickly retracted, and I immediately pulled down on it. The monster managed to move the spear, but it still pierced its flesh, and going out part of its neck. Its blood splattered onto the ground, flowing like a fountain as the monster wobbled back, its face showing a look of shock before falling over.

I didn’t have time to second guess my actions, and placed the spear next to the monster’s head, and pulled the lever one more time. With the ground holding it in place, the tip of the spear went through the skull with a crack, and I watched as the monster wheezed its last breath.

The others brushed themselves off, Sweet and Mayall looking mostly fine, other than some torn clothes. “That’s Ooh-for-two on the dragon slayer title.” Sweet pointed out.

I looked back at the beast, and sighed. “Luckily this one was already injured, it would have ripped through us otherwise.”

“Too true.” Sorrow added. “I think it was trying to be careful do to already being hurt, if it were healthier, it might have just charged us outright”

Merit helped me stabilize, as we trotted past the large corpse, and around the boulder. Mayall had picked up the case, which had come off when I got flung by the dragon, though now the drone didn’t feel as necessary with my friends here. Looking at my now empty leg slot, I was starting to think that losing my right foreleg was becoming a bad habit of mine. Also the headache I was having was no longer dying down, but also getting worse. Which meant two things, Theremin was trying to turn up the C.C.N.’s signal to track me, or. “Fuck, everyone watch out!”

*Twang*

A bolt of red energy shot out from the trees ahead of us, hitting Mayall square in the chest. We all froze, looking at the sparkle-lurker. She too stood there frozen, but only for a moment, then raising a hoof to check her chest. The armor on her chest now sported a charred black scorch mark, it having had absorbed the shot. “I am alive!?”

“Clearly, you freakish monster!” Theremin stepped out into view, on a new leg, and looking a little less torn up. “But no matter, once we capture you, we will have a doubleplusgood dissection.” His head then swiveled to me. “And you, you destroyed the gift I gave, and gallivanted away with that stallion. I thought you were different, but you reveal yourself to be just another whore.”

“Really now.” I could feel the C.C.N. trying to force its way back into my head, but it only added to the hate I was feeling, and that hate was keeping it at bay. “You have no right to say a goddess damn thing. You think it’s right to just enslave another ponies mind, apply deadly force to a mare who is just worried about her mother. What other crimes have you committed, what other faces have you worn?”

He laughed. “Amusing. So sure that your way is the right way, that you understand the truth of our world.” Shaking his head, the cables that were his mane flopped around. “Through slavery we find true freedom. From war we can know peace. By making ourselves ignorant, we can then be truly educated. It is our struggle that makes us stronger, it is our struggle that makes us wiser. Something you could never understand on your own.”

“I don’t care.” I shot back at him. “Why don’t you fuck off, and be an ignorant waring slave somewhere else.”

“Oh, that’s not how this is going to work.” He took a few steps forward. “First we’re going to escort you back to Persephone station, where you’re going to execute your own friends. I think slow and painful would be for the best. After that, you’re going to be broken down to nothing more than a quivering foal, maybe have a few stallions have their way with you first, have you take part in the N.G.P. for a few years. Once all that was you is all gone, I’m going to have my way with you, and make you my personal slave. And everyday you will tell me that you love me, and that there is no pony else you can ever love but me. That’s how this is going to go.”

Theremins head exploded.

The form of a specter appeared from thin air, a rail gun still arching a few bolts of electricity on the mare’s side. “No pony talks to my little sis that way, ever.” The mare took a step back, then turned to us. “So every ponies fine, good, we need to get going.”

“Rototom!”

She nodded. “We can chat later, but first we need to get out of here.”

*Twang*

Rototom side bust into flames as she hit the ground, and rolled to put out the fire. “Fucking specters.” A synthetic voice came from Theremin, despite half of his face, and all of the back of it now scattered all over the forest floor. “I should have known your kind would get involved. The next batch of reavers will be more capable at detecting your approach.” The voice was cold, and full of malice, and all too familiar to me.

Merit and I took a step back as the cybermare stepped forward, and Theremins broken head turned to look at us, the one remaining glassy eye looked at me with a dead stare. “How is this possible, how are you controlling that body Livenka?”

Livenka smiled, it was an unnervingly cold smile. “It’s a most fascination project I’ve been working on, but yet never could get right. That is, until recently.”

“Phobetor.” I spoke softly, and Livenka nodded the mutilated head, white blood and gray matter oozed over the front, dripping through the one broken eye socket.

“She knows so much, things long forgotten, things the old world buried under rubble long before the great war.” She began to laugh, but that body seemed incapable of laughing properly, making a static garbling that vaguely sounded like laughter. “Now I know the secret of weaving in and out of a mind, controlling a body, playing others like puppets on strings. The C.C.N. is my magic, and you cannot resist it.”

The pounding in my head became like a jackhammer, forcing me to push off Merit and hold my head. It hurt, so much. “Stop. Please.”

Looking up at Livenka, I saw Phobetor standing in the way. Smiling. ‘Oh what a mess you have made, you really should have just stayed in that box, and slept the world away.’ She looked off into the distance and sighed. ‘you could have made this easy, just let it happen, and not have to suffer.’ Without moving her head, she shifted her golden eyes down at me. ‘Just remember, what happens from here on, the ponies you watch get hurt and die, it could have all been avoided. You could have prevented it all by complying, by staying locked away.’

The pain suddenly stopped, and Phobetor was gone. Able to focus, I saw Sweet and Merit fighting Livenka. Merit was armed with the hydraulic spear, dive bombing the cybernetic corpse, but Livenka would teleport out of the way, and turn invisible, allowing her to fire a bolt of red energy from the shadows. Sweet fired her automatic shotgun at Livenka, but the body seemed to have magic armor like Sweet had, so she was able to resist the gunfire long enough to vanish or teleport out of the way. The two of them were holding their own well enough to keep Livenka busy, yet only that. The corpse Livenka controlled was simmering, and the clicking Minerva was giving me meant that the cyber corpse was now drawing a lot of magical radiation too her, slowing tuning this area into a hot spot. If this battle did not end soon, we were at risk of dying of radiation exposure.

Rototom helped me up. The side of her armor had a nasty scorch mark on it, along with the wing on that side missing most of its fathers. “We need her to hold still long enough for me to get a clear shot at her, any ideas?”

“Why are you asking me?”

She sighed. “You’re the one with the most information on this right now, meaning you’re the only one who might know something to make her stop moving.”

Looking back at the battle, Livenka was literally all over the place, Merit managing to dodge the energy bolts fired at him, if only barely. Rototom was unlikely to hit the corpse right now, and drawing her attention could get one of us killed. Nodding, I had to brainstorm what I knew, which was a lot, yet too little. One thing came to mind. “Sorrow, you here?”

The not a real Pegasus trotted over from behind a tree. “You better not expect me to go out there and fight, that’s only going to get me killed.”

I shook my head. “No, I just need you take a form for a moment. Have you ever seen the Tremolo Sisters?”

“Yeah.” She answered. “But only in Photos. My kin could never get back into Persephone station in the last couple of years. “Why?”

“The bitch that’s controlling the corpse, she’s their mother.”

Sorrow froze for a moment, then nodded. “I got it, just you better shoot quickly, this gambit rarely works more than a few seconds.”

She flew off, and I turned to Rototom. “Get ready to fire, we probably only have one shot at this.”

The fighting continued, Merit taking a few glancing blows from the magical energy musket, his armor losing most of its color from being charred by the energy blasts.

“Let us go or the pony has her neck snapped!” Mayall called out, holding a mare in a fancy dress.

“Mom!” the mare called out. Though somewhat muffled by a gasmask, the voice had a distinctive tone to it.

Livenka gave a gurgling chuckle. “You think that will work on me?” She turned to face the Lurker and Changeling, aiming her musket. Suddenly, with a blast, her back half was separated from the rest of her, her mid-section shattering into pieces. “What!” Merit came down, the spear shattering the musket in one thrust.

The body still flailed it legs around, it making gurgling noises. Limping over, I looked at the broken mare, and saw a small box poking out, a few cables severed from it. Using Minerva to pull the M.o.M. bug out, the body flopped lifelessly, no longer trying to fight. Placing the bug in a tight fitting pocket, I limped over to Merit who offered a shoulder for me to lean on. “Let’s get out of here”

We all gathered together, and followed Rototom, who looked less exhausted then the rest of us. Overhead the Gull from before flew past, and I could see some black smoke trailing behind it. I could only hope they would soon crash and they all die.

There were a few republic troops we came across, but were quickly taken out by Rototom, and soon we found ourselves at the ruins of an old port. It was mostly overtaken by vines, trees, and ferns, but you could still see some of the old buildings through the green. On the water was a long pier, covered in green moss. At its end stood two ponies, both armed with what looked like rifles, though I could not tell what kind they were.

Trotting over onto the pier, I had to keep my eyes up, so as to not look at the water. Sorrow had given me a few more pills to keep my nerves calm, but I didn’t want to risk having a panic attack. Closer now, I could see that the two ponies were actually sparkle-lurkers with armor plated jumpsuits, and air guns rigged with spark batteries. It was a clever way of rigging the guns, if a bit unwieldy, but would work to keep the air pressure up.

“Right, now we need you to go down into the sub.” Rototom announced.

“Down!?”

“Yes down.” She repeated.

“You know I’m not going…” She shoved me, and I tumbled into one of the lurkers, and we fell down. With a thud, we hit the floor, the lurker groaning under me. Getting up, I was certainly in a ship, though falling down into one had me worried. It was metal all around me, and I could see more sparkle-lurkers down both ends of the hall, looking far more frail than the last ones I had met.

“Coming down!” Rototom called, and I scrambled to the side, and so did the Lurker. One by one, the rest of our group entered the ship from a hole in the ceiling. The second Lurker that was on guard, entered, closing the hole up behind him. “And now we’re home free, unless the republic has subs of their own?” She gave me a worrying look.

I shook my head. “I only know about just a fleet of hovercraft, with three of them being warships.” I had to stop and think for a moment. “A sub?”

Rototom sighed. “Yes a sub, just take your time to process all this, we should be heading home soon. In the meantime, there’s some sleeping quarters down over here, to the left. You should take a rest.”

I nodded, and left to where she had pointed at, this… sub was not all that spacious and I had to squeeze pass a lurker to get to where the beds were. I found tight little area with two bunk beds on either side. It felt good to relax after the shit I just ran through, my head still hurting even now. Sitting down, I pulled out the M.o.M. bug, the thing somehow finding its way back to me, little consolation to what I had lost, but at least I would be able to return one thing. “Three lives, and likely my sanity. That’s the cost of a failed mission.”

“I lost four because I got complacent.” Sorrow joined me, sitting on the bed across from me. “I lost my brother because of bad information, and six lovers because they were simply in the wrong places at the wrong time.” She looked me in the eye, and sighed. “That’s how life is here, and once everything has settled, I’ll be returning to the republic controlled metro. Probably lose more loved ones, maybe it will be me that’s next.”

I didn’t feel like being comforted, I felt like being left alone. It was good to have them here, but I think I just wanted to feel alone, to be isolated. That way I could know that my thoughts were my own. “You do it because you must, am I right?”

Sorrow nodded. “It’s what keeps my kin sane, gives us a purpose. Without a goal, without order, we would just scatter to the winds. But if we all gather in one spot, the hunger sets in, and we lose ourselves in it. We accept the world for what it is, but we also see it for what it could be, it helps deal with the bad times.”

I gave her an indignant stare “So your saying I should just not feel like my head had cables shoved into it?”

“No, Just that you should have a goal, maybe for after you get home and have some alone time. Though, I suggest you bring the Pegasus with you. Take it from me, sex therapy is the best therapy.” Sorrow gave me a coy smile.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that idea. After I get some alone time to myself, maybe I could see if Merit is up for a date. That is if other mares have not gotten to him yet. It had been a long time, so the possibility was high. “You might be right, but he might already have a few mares after him.”

She rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. There are so many lusty mares in the metro, each year there’s a rape gang of them forming up. Easy enough to break up before they do anything, but there was one year that it got real nasty. But what I’m saying is that you should just ask, no harm in that. And if you have to take a number, call me. I’m good at imitating stallions.” I balked at her proposition.

“Excuse me ladies, but my likeness is trademarked, so do not steal.” Merit interjected from the hallway.

Sorrow just rolled her eyes. “Fine, I can make it a threesome.” Both Merit and I dropped our jaws. “Seriously now, I’m an emotion-voure, it’s how my kin restores our magic. Sex is just the fastest way to get some good vibrations.”

Merit shook his head quickly, making a dumbfounded look from his face. “You know, I’m down for that. As long as you stay a mare I mean.”

I huffed. “No way, If I were to do something like that, not saying I would, it would have to be with two stallions.”

Merit and I glared at each other for a moment, and laughed. Sorrow got up and stretched her back. “Well it’s good to see you happier now, so I should give you some alone time, though in this ship, no pony is out of earshot.” Merit had to move to give her enough room to get into the hallway. “Oh, just so you know. I can be both at the same time, so let me know if you’re ever interested.”

Merit gave an awkward smile as he shook his head. “You know; she reminds me of this one mare I knew. She was a smoking hot slut, a free lover she liked to call herself, slept with most of the ponies she knew, and later got married and had a bunch of foals. Never cheated on the stallion once, as far as I knew it. She reminds me of that, an honest slut.”

I gave him a concerned look, and sighed. “You know; you might actually suck at flirting.”

He shrugged. “Maybe, but then again, I’ve yet to begin to flirt.” He took a step back, and pushed the case I had with me into the room. “So what’s in the box?”

“A drone I think, though knowing Theremin, might be a pony’s head.” I commented.

“Grim.” He said, sounding a bit disgusted. “So, open it.”

Unlatching the box, the case popped open. Inside all I could see was a bunch of foam, and a small air tank. “Strange” Suddenly the foam flew up, and the air canister fell to the ground. More surprising, was the foal that popped out, gasping for air.

“Remind me to never do that again!” The foal cried out, and preceded to look around. It was a filly with a golden blond mane, peach colored coat, and gem like sapphire blue eyes “So, am I in trouble?”

I face hoofed, which led to me falling over on the bed. “Why were you in the case?” I asked the new gen mirage pony filly.

She gave nervous laugh before answering. “Well, you see, I got really excited about wanting to see you slay a dragon, so I snuck into the C.C.N.! The guards were doing things, so it was really easy. When I heard that they were sending you on a super-secret mission, and you were to take one of the drone cases with you. So I switched the drone case with an empty one, took an air tank, and closed the case on myself.” The filly then started to tear up. “It was only when the case started moving when I thought about how bad of an idea it was.”

With a sigh, I got myself back up, and patted the filly’s mane. “Silly girl, at least you're safe now.”

“So… is she yours?” Merit blurted out.

I shot daggers at him with my eyes, but the imaginary daggers only flew through him. “No, she is not.”

“Can I be?” The filly asked me, with her big beautiful blue eyes.

That was it, I was done with this all. Letting myself flop back onto the bed, I rolled over, facing the wall. “I am not deciding anything until after I take a nap.”

The filly squealed loudly. “You didn’t say no. My name is Xylophone, I like apple flavored lollipops, climbing, and blue is my favorite color, because my eyes are blue.”

Merit laughed. “Even her name is like yours. It’s like destiny”

Nope, not listening, I’m just going to will myself to sleep now, not going to even acknowledge any of this until I had a nice long sleep.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest completed: Dragon-Slayers Gambit

Warning! Corrupted files detected, system reboot in 5... 4… 3… 2… 1-

[starting up backup system] Do you wish to keep playing, old save data will not be accessible until corrupted files have been purged. Y/N

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Chapter 27 - Political Compass (Part 1)

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System Start.

Accessing files.

- Log 1 -

- Log 2 -

- Log 3 -

- Log 4 -

- Log 5 -

- Log 6 –

- Log 1 -

I have recently arrived at Kanaloa Station, under the protection of Orthrus. The three pegasi that were with me went to Typhoon Station. There were three other brave ponies with us, who stayed behind. I spent most of my day at medical, the doctors babying me almost as much as I normally am back home. Even all the way out here, I’m nothing more than the youngest Orphic princess. Important enough to care for, but not important enough to be treated like an adult pony.

Still, it’s nice to have a fluffy bed, warm food, and clean water. Out there, nothing was nice. All old, rundown, and dirty, nothing like at home. I can see why they hate us, the ponies living in Charon’s Stop. We have so much, and they have nothing. It reminded me of when my sister poured out a bottle of water in front of a peasant, to mock her for not watching her tongue. Water is plentiful here, and at home. But out there, they struggle for even a drop to quench their thirst.

There was one thing out there that was still good. I met plenty of ponies, good ponies. It all happened right after I thought it was over. It was stupid to think I could just go out on an adventure, I even thought I found a guide who would look out for me. Yet all I did was pay for my own attempted assassination. But then three birds fell from the sky. No, five. Two died with the assassin, and the other three, they found me.

I remember it vividly. The shine of his gun, his proposition that I become his hidden concubine so that I may live, and the craft the fell, crushing him. I did what I always had, ran, hid, and cried. But as though sent by ancestor Platinum, they came for me, protected me. A skilled, and upbeat pilot by the name of Wild Winds. A strong and enduring soldier named Merit Cross. And a spirited leader, Light Turbulence. They took me under their protection, in exchange I would take them to my kin. I joyfully agreed.

- Log 2 –

Sorry, I was hit by the sleepys, and felt like it was time to stop. Well today I get to meet one of the Council Representatives. Phorminx was his name. It was strange meeting him, as he scared me a little at first, but seemed far more concerned about my health and comfort. He reminded me a bit of the head maid, strict, yet gentle.

To continue my story, the death of my assassin was not the end to our horrors. Fiends like I had never heard of before came for us. At first they were after the three pegasi, but soon I heard them calling for “The Princess”, and once more my title called for others to hunt me. I stayed close to Light, as their leader, she had been my best hope. The three of them proved to be skilled in the way of combat, but so too was our new enemy.

They, the pirates, seemed to be of all races, and tribes. Once thought lost to our world, now coming for me. There were the three pony tribes, as well as donkey’s, and zebras. If we were not being hunted, I would have been amazed by it all.

Things all came to ahead at an underground warehouse, the three pegasi had managed to take some explosives to use on the enemy, but they had brought out a pony in power armor. The gun was like the roar of a large beast, it’s blood lust unquenchable. They used the explosives to blow out a few pillars around the pirates, but then everything started to come down around us. Below me, the floor opened up, and Merit was there to catch me, but we were left lost is the thick dust.

It was pure chaos, we could see nothing, and the sound of gunfire only came closer to us. That’s when another miracle happened, and a voice called out to us, telling us to follow it to safety. Merit had thought it was his leader, so we followed it, and it took us to safety. Sadly, it was not Light who had guided us out, she and Wild had become lost to us. But what stood before us was a member of Orthrus. Well, a former member, but one all the same. If there was ever anypony who could guide me home safely, this mare could.

Her name was Vibraphone Echo, and she and another mare had been hired to go look for me. As it turned out, I had failed to get through Charon’s Stop without others catching wind of my presence. Even with the help, things only seemed to get more dangerous, as not only did the pirates keep hounding us, also a paradise dragon began stalking us. We managed to get away from the great beast, but we were forced to go to the surface.

- Log 3 –

Hello again. Well Phorminx came back, and had me moved to the Sweetie Belle’s Ballad. It’s one of the old airships Orthrus maintains inside the station. Though old, it looks like it could still soar through the wide open skies. The reason given to me was that it would be safer on the ship, and I would have more room to move around. I had to agree, as the ship had its own cafeteria, and even a small arcade. Another thing was that Phorminx was staying on the ship, so I could easily contact him if I needed anything.

Continuing my little adventure that lead me here, Vibraphone has successfully guided us to her friend, and the two other pegasi inside an old hotel that had been taken over by the rampant surface plant life. It seemed that her friend Sweet Sax Solo had not been getting along with the pegasi, and Light had been knocked out by her. I was worried about the captain at first, but I trusted that the two mercenaries would not have harmed her. I don’t know why, but Light reminded me a lot of the royal guard captain Stratus Dancer. Both were pegasus mares that had a strong aura about them, that made me want to stay close to her. When I was a filly, Stratus was assigned as my personal attendant. It was like having an older sister that cared for me. So seeing Light made vulnerable like that, it made me want to protect her.

However, we got lucky, and the Hotel still had a room in decent working order. It was amazing, having been made for Celestia and Luna, the room had withstood the test of time impeccably, and only had a thick layer of dust to show its age. Light was still out cold, and I was out of energy, so we took one of the rooms to rest in.

When we woke up, well, when Light woke up everyone else, we had little time to talk and collect ourselves. Light had become a bit peeved about being knocked out, and when she exited the room, she saw Vibraphone, and her sister, and freaked out. Oh, Vibraphone’s sister, Rototom, is an elite scout for Orthrus, also known as a Specter. After disarming Light, she informed us that the pirates knew of our location, and that we needed to follow her to safety.

- Log 4 –

Being aboard the Sweetie Belle’s Ballad is nice and all, room to move around, and some of the crew to talk to, but little of anything else to do. I spent some time at the arcade, playing a game called “Fighting is Magic” as the two other games were currently out of order. It was nice to try a game with color to it, as most I ever played were just green and black, but still, I quickly grew bored of it. Fighting games are just not my thing.

Phorminx did tell me some of the ins and outs of Orthrus that I didn’t know. For them, security is very important, and many of the soldiers are drilled weekly both in physical tests, and even mental. This meant all members of Orthrus had to be educated, and physically capable to do most of their jobs. This to me made sense to why former members of Orthrus made highly sought after Mercenaries, they were simply worth the bits due to their training alone. He also gave me a few books to read, some I recognized, where others I didn’t. From what was explained to me, these were required reading in Orthrus, as it would expand a ponies point of view, making them much harder to manipulate.

Oh, you’re probably not interested in the day to day boredom. So yeah, back to the adventure at the hotel. Well it seemed that we had even less time to get out then we thought, as a vertibuck came to shoot through the windows just as pirates broke into the room. One of them was a griffin, like a real griffin. Next thing you know, manticores will turn out to be real too! Well, to make this part short, we ran for our lives down into the stairwell.

Sadly, the pirates were already on their way up, and I had to cover my ears as they shot up at us. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the pirates were half deaf from firing those guns. The others managed to fend them off, and we made it to a dining hall. From there, we had to sneak to the other side carefully, as they knew we were there, they just couldn’t see us. But when we thought we had them, somehow the pirates started teleporting more in, even a pony in power armor. Rototom stayed back to fight them off, and we pushed forward into the kitchen, where we climbed into a small elevator shaft, and climbed down into the basement level of the hotel.

Side note, I hit the jackpot down there. Despite the basement being flooded, I found the most adorable saddlebag, and some self-care materials still in good condition. The floral scented soap was the best. When I finally got to wash up again, I came out smelling like the royalty I am.

On our way out, we were stopped by one pirate. It was only one, yet everyone seemed to be on edge around the mare. Her eyes, it just felt wrong to me, like I was looking at something not quite a pony. The fight with the mare was vicious, and when the opportunity opened up, we rushed out to get away. Vibraphone stayed behind to cover our exit, I don’t know why, but I felt that she should not have been left alone.

Outside, we followed Rototom’s plan, making our way to the Captain Andromeda’s ride. There were two Vertibucks scouting around for us, but we had gotten lucky, and they were keeping an eye on the hotel more than they were on the ground.

- Log 5 –

You know the old saying, be careful of what you wish for. Well, I was most certainly making a polite, and valid complaint to the fact that there was little to do on the airship. Certainly not whining like Phorminx keeps saying I was. The old goat of a stallion decided that if I was bored, that maybe I should do a little Orthrus training today. Basic firearms training, an obstacle course, and even a security test. Each one I got laughed at by the other ponies, the indignity of it all. Other than when I was out at the big island, I had never been so tired in my life.

Back on the ship, I read through more of the books I’d been given. It was a strange collection. One was ‘Purity of Blood’, which was always passed around in secret back home, but none of my attendants would ever let me read it. They always gave me this strange look, even some of the maids, like they were looking down on me. Another was the book ‘Gold Standard’ of which I had read before, many times front and back. A third was one I had never seen, the ‘Equalist Manifesto’ of which even reading a little of made me feel a bit uneasy. I asked Phorminx about the books, and he told me that they were an example of ideology run rampant and fallen into corruption. He also told me that the Ignorant often fall victim to such ideas, and though they think they are doing what is best for the metro, in the end their beliefs burn everything to the ground in favor of unchecked tyranny.

It was something I had to think long about.

Let’s get back to the story. We made it to the theme park ride no problem, but it got real dark inside, and real creepy. Further in the others decided to scout ahead, as at the time, we were hearing strange noises in the distance. To my horror, the shutters closed on us, trapping the others further in the ride, and me all by myself.

I don’t know how long I was there, and I don’t want to know. But the others went off to find a way to open the shutters, and never came back. I was later found by Vibraphone and Rototom, both looking like they had run through a blender. Rototom had lost a leg, and her younger sister was covered in cuts and bruises. The both also had light with them, which allowed them to find the control box for the ride.

It was strange, the ride was still in working order, something that should not be possible after over two hundred years. Not only that, it seemed clean. Well not entirely clean, but the assorted junk found everywhere else had been removed, and new coat of paint had been applied to it. So, hesitation aside, we rode the ride, as it just felt like the right thing to do at the time. Eventually we got to a point that looked like we were drifting through space. It was amazing, I had never seen such a thing before, then Vibraphone had a panic attack and fell off the ride. After Rototom calmed her sister down, we came across the most curious … pony?

Well not quite a pony. It had the shape of a pony, but with a dark purple shell that was in place of a coat, and red glowing joints and eyes. The thing spoke in somewhat broken equestrian, and had a red jumpsuit on that had the name Turnip printed in clear view. Despite the strangeness of it all, Turnip was an interesting… Lurker I think the others called him. Well as it turned out, his kind were slowly fixing the theme park, and they also had a queen. The others I’d been with also happened to have been taken by his kind, so we asked for him to take us to them, and he reluctantly agreed.

Well we got to meet their queen and… well, I’ll save that for tomorrow’s log.

- Log 6 –

Again! Phorminx had me run through the basic training again. Told me that I’m a bit too scrawny for a mare my age. I told him that I’m a princess, I am supposed to be thin. He just laughed and patted me on the head. I wanted to argue more, but after my time on the big island, I understood how helpless I was. Ignorant and weak, that’s what I was, and it had nearly gotten me killed. It could have gotten others killed too. It was not like the basic training was all that hard. Even so, I’m not saying I completed any of it, because of course I failed it all.

Back on the ship, I read through a few more books Phorminx lent me. The ‘Orthrus Survival Manual’ was an interesting read, giving little tips to help a pony survive outside in our harsh world. It was a book I planned to read a few more times. Phorminx came around again, and we had a nice chat over some tea. He had actually been all around the metro, at one point being a specter himself. From the time before the equalist revolution, and even when mother was a young mare, he had a lot of stories to share. I also shared my little adventure through the big island, though he’d already got his report from Rototom, his still wanted to hear it from me. I don’t know why, but Phorminx makes me feel safe, like if I was ever in trouble, he would come to save me. Strange.

Well back to the story. We went through the sparkle-lurkers home, oh that’s what we were calling them now by the way, and I have to say I was a bit impressed. It was still run down, but they had decorations all over, giving it its own charm. Still not as dignified as my home, but not as ragged as Charon’s Stop was. When we got to the door were our companions were, I had to turn on my charm to get them to let us in, putting to work all the etiquette training I’ve gone through over the years.

Well we met the queen, Andromeda as she called herself. She had a regal aura about her, not to the same extent as mother, but still, she was in charge and she made sure we all knew it. Before negotiations continued, Merit had to tell a tale from the mainland. Amazing was all I could say about it, the whole land of Equestria had air clean enough to breath, it sounded almost unbelievable. After his exciting tale, which I was disappointed to hear that Light was not in it, we got back to negotiating our safe passage through their home.

I’d rather not talk about how things ended there.

After we were let go, and the Sparkle-Lurker Turnip was sent with us. Again, we finally were on our way back to Charon’s Stop. We had to fight off rad-roaches and stalkers along the way, but all were easily fended off. Except one big problem. The paradise dragon from before came down on us, and I mean literally came down on us from above. It had been hiding in a cave above the tracks, and picking off ponies that came along. Many dead bandits were in the tunnel, probably fleeing from the invading pirates.

Things looked grim for us right then and there, Vibraphone had missed her shot with her sister’s gun, and the monster was ready to pounce on her. But then a miracle happened, and a bunch of scrappers had come to help. They harpooned the dragon's leg, and were holding it back by a chain. I didn’t think Vibraphone would have enough time to charge the railgun she was using, and it was like my body moved on its own. I rushed over to her, to helped her charge the railgun, and so had Rototom. When the gun fired, I could feel the electricity in the air, and in short order the monster was finally dead.

After that, we made it to Charon’s Stop, where I finally got to wash up, as well as have something warm to eat, and sleep a little more than I’d been able to in days. Eventually Orthrus came and escorted us to a safer location… and well, now this story has come full circle. I’ll have to think of something new to write about tomorrow.

______________________________________

Day seven here, and now I really wanted to go home. I was sweaty, sticky, and I think I was starting to feel light headed.

“Come on Harp, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump!” Phorminx called out to me, as a few of the other Orthrus trainees giggled to themselves.

I growled as I yelled back. “I’m not built for a hop, skip, and a jump. Can’t I just do an obstacle course where I can just prance through it?”

“Nope.” He said flatly, and the recruits laughed.

Okay, it’s not a far jump, not far at all. I ready myself, taking a deep breath, and visualizing what I was going to do. I jumped… my legs simply slipped out from under me, and I belly flopped on the platform I stood on, sliding off of it, and into the cold water. Surfacing, I could hear more laughing coming from recruits.

Throwing me a rope, Phorminx pulled me out of the water. “At least you can swim, not something I can say about these two morons.” The laughter from the two recruits suddenly stopped, as the old stallion eyed them down.

“Well my family has a private pool, swimming is one way we keep healthy.” I said with pride.

“Obviously you didn’t do it enough. Now, how about you do a few more exercises and we call it a day?” He said as he pointed at a mat nearby.

Groaning, I dragged myself over to the map, and followed his instructions. I swear he was enjoying himself as he watched me struggle. The exercises were simple warmups, and stretches, all of which made my body ache afterwards. Personally I fancied the daily exercises back home, a few stretches, and then performing some basic dance moves slowly. I never felt as sore from then. But unlike back then, these exercises kept going on until I couldn’t do any more.

Feeling dry, and drained of most of my energy, I simply flopped over and gave up. The shadow of Phorminx blocked the light over me, as I looked up weakly. “You done?” My stomach grumbled and I nodded. “Right, let’s get you something to eat. You’ve earned it.”

Somehow I managed to drag myself over to the cafeteria, plopping my head down on the table. “If I have to do these drills any longer, I think I’m going to fall to pieces.” I weakly wiggled my hoof in the air to show how weak I felt. “Can I get a fruit salad, mango juice, and a kitty to cuddle.”

“Would you like it served on a silver plate, or a golden plate?” Phorminx mocked me.

“Both, I want it all.” I bemoaned.

The old stallion laughed. “I’ll see if they have anything nice hidden away, just stay there.”

I just laid there and dozed off for a little bit. When Phorminx returned, he came back with two coconut shell bowls, a pitcher of yellow slush, and what looked like a few sticks of celery. “Well looks like the cafeteria had something real nice tucked away. Eat up, I know you will enjoy it.”

Looking at the coconut bowl, it was a milky watery white color, with lots of green in it. “What is this?”

He poured the slush into glasses, one for me, and one for him. “It’s seaweed coconut soup, has a bit of an odd taste to it at first, but you will quickly grow to love it. The drink is a mango-pineapple slushy, also good.”

Taking a sip of the slushy, the sweetness hit the right spot to relive some of my soreness. The soup on the other hoof was... well it was not bad, just a bit different. The minced seaweed went down easy enough, and the warm coconut milk gave it a bittersweet taste. There were a few other things in there minced up, carrots, potatoes, and I think a few other greeneries. Overall it was a hardy soup, not my favorite, but not bad.

“I know I’ve asked this before, but how long will I be here?” I didn’t want to doubt Orthrus’s intentions, but it was starting to feel that this place was becoming my prison, and not simply somewhere I was staying for my own protection.

Phorminx finished off his soup and sighed. “Difficult to tell. Due to what had happened to you, unless we get a message back from either your mother, or your eldest sister, the council has deemed it too dangerous to send you back home.” Finally, an answer I can pry into.

“I thought the council rarely ever comes to agreement.” I pointed out. “How am I to know that it’s just not you who has decided this.”

Phorminx actually looked away, first time I think I saw the old stallion ever look doubtful. “Harp, you’re a smart mare, we both know this. If we let you go back to your family at this time, how long do you think you will even live?”

That hit me, hit me hard. My family’s internal politics were never kind, that was true. But in the last few years, it had gotten far worse. The weaker mother got, the bolder my siblings had become. “I’m not even eligible for the crown, why would I even be in danger from their squabbling!?”

“Last time this happened, twenty percent of the peasant population ended up executed, another ten percent jailed. All but three candidates for the royal crown were alive, and two of them spent the rest of their lives locked away. Nearly half the royal guard left their posts, some were later found dead in the gutter.” He took a sip of his slushy. “What I’m trying to say is that the passing of the crown is a violent affair. Even though your mother has announced her successor, things rarely ever go as peacefully.”

I glared at the old stallion. “So you want me to stay here, wait out the storm, and maybe be able to plop me on the throne.” I was being unfair, I know it, but still I felt like I had to put it out there.

“No, that’s what you want us to do!” A voice spoke up from behind me, and Phorminx face hoofed. Looking back behind me, seeing an older mare with a creamy white coat, and a long straight black mane. I recognized her to be Naqara, the council representative of Security and Law. “To wait out the storm in our protection, and later have us place you as the new queen. You would not be the first to seek this from us, and likely not the last.”

Phorminx cleared his throat. “No she is simply here for her own safety, nothing more than that.”

She eyed the old stallion. “Sure, that’s all it is.” Naqara turned her attention back to me. “If that’s all you’re here for, then you're terribly short sighted. Even if you have no desire for the crown, you're still in an advantageous position for yourself.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”

She quickly looked around with her eyes, not even moving her head. “Come to my office later if you want to know more, but I’ll tell you this now. We currently have an ambassador position open, though only a few ponies are even half as qualified as you to fill it.” With that, she turned away, and trotted off.

Looking back at Phorminx, I couldn’t help but feel a bit confused. “Was… was she offering me a job?”

He gave a long sigh. “Yes she was. Our current ambassador to the orphic kingdom has recently retired, and her replacement is currently on maternity leave. You would think we could just fill in the role with anypony, but you know how your family is. Unless they are of a certain pedigree, they are likely not going to be let in the front door.”

It was true, letting any peasant into our home was frowned upon. Not that it didn’t happen, but they needed to be vetted first, which could take months. “Yeah, I don’t think even the royal help are not related to some noble pony there.”

“It makes me worry sometimes.” Phorminx finished off his slushy. “That your family will go the way of the republic, and be there in name only.”

That little comment hit a nerve. “What do you mean?”

“That in a generation or two, your family will be gone, and some fakes will be running the show. With how your family has been going about things, it’s bound to happen.” I put my drink down to speak my mind about that, but Phorminx put up a hoof to stop me. “I’m not saying your family are bad leaders, that’s far from the truth. It’s just that in another generation or two, I don’t think they will even be around.”

His words felt heavy, like a pressure pushing down on me, ever slightly growing heavier. “Some of my brothers and sisters are doing fine. Like Blue Lilly, and Golden Rule, they’re both fine. And then there's Rare Pearl. She may not be the healthiest of ponies, or the most confident, or even the most well-spoken. But I have confidence that she will make an excellent leader. I know, because she’s been kind to me the few times I’ve seen her.” Phorminx had a look on his face that told me that he believed differently. “What?”

He took a deep breath. “Blue Lilly passed away seven years ago, and her body double has been acting in her place for the past nine years. Golden Rule is sterile, if he wasn’t, we would have countless little bastards all over the place. And that’s just the tip of that iceberg. As for Rare Pearl, I do agree that she is the best one to replace your mother, but...”

“But what?”

“The likelihood of her getting assassinated by one of your other siblings is almost guaranteed.”

I just let myself go loose, and flopped onto the table. “Is there any hope then?”

The old stallion shrugged. “Life goes on. At this point, even if the new queen is a tyrant, there's likely little she can do. And there’s always the possibility that your family will change their views on Mirage Ponies, and let go of the past.”

I groaned. “I know Rare Pearl might accept change, she’s the smart one in the family.”

“Maybe, maybe not. We would have to make contact with her to even know whats on her mind.” Phorminx got out of his seat, and trotted over to my side. “You know, if you took Naqara up on her offer, you could go see your sister, and find out what she plans to do.” I nodded, as it did seem like the most prudent course of action. “But that would leave you clearly under the control of Orthrus.”

“And my family would think I might be plotting against them.” Suspicion already runs deep, so joining Orthrus could only make it worse. “No doubt some of my other siblings would try to keep me from Rare Pearl, maybe even sabotage the meeting.”

Phorminx offered a hoof, and helped me out of my seat. “A disaster in the making, but it would give Naqara a bigger hoof into your island, possibly a way to set up a stronger presence there.”

“That could lead to a war, maybe there is another way?”

We began to trot away from the table, and the old stallion had a little grin on his face. “You could always head home independent of Orthrus. Stay under the radar, and go see Rare Pearl before your other siblings even know you’re there.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “How would I even do that, and what benefit would Orthrus get from it?”

He laughed. “It would keep Orthrus out of your family power struggle. I have a feeling that Orthrus will need to hold onto its resources for a coming bigger threat.”

“I see.” So it was join Orthrus as an ambassador and risk antagonizing my own family, or not and attempt to sneak home on my own. “But how would I even get home without drawing attention to myself. More so get to Rare Pearl?”

“A specter could help you with that. Though you would need some non Orthrus ponies to stick with you too.” Phorminx sighed. “Personally, I think it’s best if you just stay here. I can easily set you up with a job here. I mean you’re are a smart girl, I’m sure you would do well with us.”

It was something I needed to think about, though the message was clear; going home would be very dangerous right now. But what else was there for me to do, other than get a desk job here? That was probably the smartest path to take, though it would mean watching my family chew itself up and doing nothing about it. “What would happen if I decided to just stay here and wait out the storm back home?”

“The metro will move on.” Phorminx said with a clarity in his tone. “With or without you, the metro will move on. It’s up to you if you move with it, trot ahead of it, or trail behind.”

“And it’s safer to tail behind, then to lead ahead.” Phorminx nodded in conformation. It was a lot to take in, but something I have been waiting for from day one, to know how Orthrus will use me. It was a bit of a depressing thought, but at least they gave me options.

______________________________________

Kanaloa Station was by far one of the most advanced stations I had ever been too. Not in the ‘hovercrafts everywhere’ kind of way like in a novel I had read once, but more in the fact that everything worked. And it all worked quite well, actually. Clean water, air conditioning, automatic doors that didn’t squeak, and even automatic lighting that turned on whenever I entered a dark room.

The only other place as well kept as Kanaloa Station was my home, Stable 50. Though almost half of the internal workings of the stable were over two hundred years old, and needed round the clock maintenance. Here, they could make new parts to replace their old ones, something our blacksmith can only do with basic parts. I knew that the Orphic Kingdome regularly traded for new parts from Orthrus, but from what I knew, most of the parts given to us were second hoof, or their second rate surplus. Still, Stable 50 was able to run like it did two hundred years ago because the parts had been made to last. It also helped that Orthrus had trained staff that knew the ins and outs of a stable, so the few times they were let in, any problem the stable had was quickly fixed.

In the past few days I was allowed to see a lot of the station. With the old stallion as my chaperone, many of the small checkpoints in the station just waved us through. It was nothing all that exciting, as most checkpoints were just redundant security measures. The idea of even still using them was for if the station ever got invaded, there would be multiple choke points for Orthrus to use. Still, even with Phorminx, we couldn’t go anywhere in the Station without making an appointment first. From how he described it to me, anything of a sensitive nature worked under a minor lockdown, so to ensure there is no tampering or leaks, both from external and internal dangers.

I asked Phorminx about what internal dangers they were worried about, and he told me that it was for the possibility of a coup. But then he told me that the worst that ever happened was when a council member got too old, and went senile while still in power. She wanted to make herself immortal, and tried to get the R&D staff to do it. She was later detained when she was caught tampering with the crusaders mainframe they had at the station.

This brought me to a question about what a crusaders mainframe was, but all Phorminx would tell me was that it was a supercomputer that Orthrus had built here in the station. It made sense, something had to have been running all the subsystems at this station, as a place like this would be too difficult for ponies alone. Back in stable 50, we had a mister handy plugged into the system to help keep things running smoothly. One of the politest computer systems I have ever seen, though Montgomery was the only computer system I knew of up until recently.

We passed through another checkpoint, this one requiring Phorminx to hoof over some paperwork before we were let in. “Here we are.” The old stallion announced.

“And here is?” I asked feeling a bit confused.

Phorminx smiled. “The programing labs. They mostly do debugging and virus hunting, but whenever we need some custom software, then they’re the ponies to talk to.”

We trotted into the programing labs, and well, there were terminals everywhere.

Trotting into the programing lab, it was wall to wall terminals. Many of them were rigged together to make some sort of super terminal, or some sort of thing. I just didn’t understand it at all. Even the ponies here looked confusing, with one having an absurd headset and goggles on. Another pony looked as if they had been taken prisoner by the terminals, being surrounded, and tangled up in the cables. And there was a third pony who had one leg plugged right into a terminal, the prosthetic seemingly discarded on the ground nearby.

“C… Can we back out slowly? I think the terminals have gained sentience, and have taken over this room.”

Instead, I was pushed further in by Phorminx. “Don’t be silly, everything’s fine here.” One of the terminals made a loud pop sound, turned dark, and started to smoke. “See, even if they gain sentience, it’s not like they will last long.”

Oh har, har. “Fine, but if we’re here so that I can learn programing, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Phorminx rolled his eyes, walking over to the pony with the headgear on, and tapped on the metal dome. “Fujara, I’m here to pick up my order.”

“Animal, vegetable, or mineral?” Fujara questioned.

“Drone.” Phorminx answered.

Fujara pulled off the head gear, revealing a blue stallion with a soft looking face. He was good looking in a androgynous kind of way, enough to know he was a stallion, but could pull off the mare look if he tried. It kind of made me want to put him in a dress, something with pink ribbons. Then Fujara put on the biggest, and thickest pair of glasses I had ever seen, and now I no longer wanted to do anything to him. That pony should just buck up and get cybereyes. “Drone… yes, I remember now, it’s in the back.”

I followed them as they trotted over to the back room. “So why are we picking up a drone?”

“For the most part, your security. Not to say that you’re in danger here, but when dealing with high profile ponies, one can never be too careful.” Phorminx responded as we came up to an Orthrus drone on a table. “I felt it would be the best way to give you round the clock security, but without having to put you under round the clock surveillance. I originally requested a cyberdog, but this is what they had available.”

Looking at the drone, it resembled an oversized Twittermite. It had a teardrop like body with a Big round face, two large eye like lenses at the front, and above them had an antenna each. Two wing like hover generators protruded from its top, and the tail end was a power transformer that looked like my old Captain Andromeda toy raygun. On the left and right side of its belly were two rails, and where the mouth would be being what looked to be a radio speaker in a cage.

“So you want this to follow me around?” I didn’t like the idea of that at all, and would much rather have a little cyberdog following me. “Can’t I get something cuter?”

Fujara hoofed over a pipbuck to me. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, and the council member here had us install a few extra programs and talismans to make this fella a lot friendlier than the more common drones.”

The Pipbuck was the common variation of pipbucks Othrus used, nothing all that different about it but it’s paint job. Unlike others I had seen here in the last few days, this one did not have the Orthrus logo imprinted on it, instead it was clean white color, with light pink buttons and borders around it’s screen. Snapping in on my left leg, the screen turned on with a blue light, and text scrolled. “And what about the pipbuck?” maybe I should have asked first before putting it on… and maybe it needs a few heart stickers to make it even cuter.

“Oh that’s so you can control the drone.” Fujara answered. “as long as you have that pipbuck on, the drone will recognize you as it’s master, and protect you with its life. But because of that, we had to change up the pipbucks talisman functions, so that one you have lacks the levitation ability.”

Right, lose levitation magic, but gain robotic guardian. I could only hope it’s worth it.

Once the pipbuck finished booting up, the drone slowly came to life, very slowly. “Oh almost forgot about that.” Fujara trotted up to the drone and began to shimmer a little. The drone suddenly sparked to life, not in any big way, but enough that it began to move around. Fujara looked over at me as he continued to charge the drone “You’re going to need to charge the drone every now and then. The battery system may be good, but it’s nothing like the ones used in the older robots. It will last a long time if using minimal systems but can drain quickly if pushed to its limits.”

The drone lifted off the table and over to me, circling me once before stopping. “Good evening madam, is there anything I can do for you? I do live to serve.”

“Wait, it has an AI, isn’t that dangerous?” Not that I had a problem with AI’s, but they were prone to malfunction, and rumored to eventual attempt violent anti-pony revolts.

“A.I. goodness no!” Fujara responded, “This drone uses an advanced virtual intelligence, so it lacks the ability to learn and evolve. Personally I would have loved to place an AI in this, but most we have are too old, or in active use.” I tilted my head a little, having a hard time understanding what he was talking about. “Sorry, a VI is simply a computer program with recorded responses, and an algorithm to understand what it’s being asked. The particular program was developed by one of our sub AI’s in the base, so at times it does seem like it is sentient.”

“But it’s not?”

“Nope.” Fujara shook his head. “If you took that pipbuck off, and gave it to another pony, the drone will never know the difference. It will never question an order, or will it wonder about its own existence. In truth, it’s not much different from a pipbuck. Just swap the pipbuck case with a robot body, and it’s stable-tech programming for something more tailored.”

The drone slowed down and landed near me, the soft humming coming off of it quieting down even more. It did have its own charm to it, the teal core body, and magenta eyes gave the bot a less industrial feel to it, unlike most things here. “What kind of things can it do?”

“Many things madam.” The drone spoke up, it’s voice clearly based off of a mister handy, though a bit buzzer. “I am programed with both caretaking, and defensive programing. Attaching the appropriate tool to me will allow me to carry out the task. Arm and claw, I can help with cleaning, picking up your favorite crumpets, and prepping the tea table. An energy weapon, I can clear out those pesky roaches, or convince a vagabond to move elsewhere.”

Looking at the thing, it did seem to lack any kind of tool to make it useful, other than buzzing around. “So it can’t do anything right now?”

Fujara chuckled. “No, it has a few surprises. Twitter-bot’s like this were originally made for scouting tunnels, and soon after were updated for clearing out rad-roaches. It does this by producing an electrical field around it, zapping the bugs as it flies over. Just make sure you fully charge it first before using the electric field, as it will drain the drone fairly quickly. Other than that, the two rails on the bottom is where you can attach tools and weaponry.”

I nodded. “Right, so it can electrify anypony that comes after me, good to know.”

The lab pony then went on about some of the other systems I might need to know, mostly just little things like how long it can function without a full charge, and the kind of tools it can use. As he spoke I provided the drone with more power, though from what Fujara described, it would take two hours to fully charge the bot, so in the end we just plugged it into the wall to speed up the process.

“So what do you think?” Phorminx asked me as he put his hoof on the drone.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I give, it’s actually a bit cool. Though I’d still rather have a cyberdog.”

“That, I do agree.” The old stallion said with a sigh. “But cyberdogs have become low priority for development, so right now drones are much more available.”

“Really?” Orthrus sits on one of the biggest stockpile of tech ever, It’s doubtful that they couldn’t allocate even one adorable cyberdog to me, I mean, I’m a princess. “Orthrus can’t supply a cyberdog.”

Phorminx looked at me with doubtful eyes for a moment. “All valuable cyberdogs that would be appropriate for the job are already working, and the creation of a new one involves a lot of red tape, and the allocation of resources that are currently not open to change at this time.”

“Sooo… do you mean Orthrus does not have cyberdog parts, or that they can’t just make them when they need them? I mean, you ponies can make anything you want here; everypony knows that.”

“Miss Harp Melody” the old stallion sounded a bit disappointed. “Do you know how to make a pencil, like the ones foals use in a class?”

The question was, well an odd one, but I hope he had a point. “Yeah, it’s simple right. You need a stick of charcoal, a stick of wood for the charcoal to go in, then that metal ring to go on top to put the rubber eraser on, right?” He nodded. “So what does a pencil have to do with cyberdogs?”

“Let me explain.” Phorminx cleared his throat “The charcoal and wood that makes a pencil comes from the trees above us. Somepony has to cut down those trees, meaning somepony has to make the tools to cut down the trees, and somepony has to gather the resources for the tools used to cut down the tree. Once you have the wood, it needs to be cut precisely for its intended use, that involves a tool that needs even more ponies to make and maintain. To make the charcoal, it needs to go into an airtight furnace, be baked, and then cooled. After that, adhesive is needed to bind the charcoal to its wood casing, which is also another process that takes many ponies to do. As for the metal band that goes on the end, even, more ponies and tools are needed for that. As for the erasers, I’ll spare you the trouble about going into that because I think you can see where this is going.”

I understood what he was saying, but I didn’t understand why? “So, it takes a lot of ponies?”

“And lots of resources.”

I sighed. “Right, this chat is fun and all, but what’s the point?”

“Sorry, you get a lot chattier in your old age.” Phorminx placed a hood on the drone. “What I’m trying to say is that a lot of resources go into the tools needed to make the end product. The more complex the product, the more resources needed before even making it. Cyberdogs take a lot of resources, unlike repairing the drone here. Reprograming it takes even less resources than refurbishing it, and unlike a cyberdog, it doesn’t need to be re-trained once activated.

“Okay, Okay, I get it. The drone is fine. Anywho, I do like the idea of not having to clean up after it.”

“Good.” Phorminx took his hoof off the drone. “Now let’s get going before we overstay our welcome.”

Fujara tilted his head. “No, it’s fine, she can stay if she wants. It’s not every day we get such lovely mares down here.” The pony surrounded by terminals made a less then happy sounding grunt. “Oh you know what I mean Janggu! Sorry, she’s got a bit of an ego, and mistakes her digital self with her real self.” Taking a better look at her, she was a relatively plain looking mirage pony mare, and it was now apparent that she also plugged into the terminals. On the screens was the image of a slightly pixelated mare staring back at me. Fujara broke the line of sight, smiling. “You know, maybe it’s best if you move on, we do have a lot of work to do. But I’ll come by to check the drone in a few days, see if the programing is still a 100%. Better safe than sorry, as they say.”

Both Phorminx and I left the programming lab, I was still feeling a bit weirded out by it all. But then, I’m use to politics, not programing, so I was likely the weird one there.

The drone hovered behind me like a shadow. It didn’t make that much noise, and it seemed to hover high enough that if I were to suddenly turn around, I would simply go under it. “You know, I should give it a name.”

“That’s natural.” Phorminx agreed. “What do you have in mind?”

“I want to say Cogsworth, but there’s seven Cogsworths back home. Maybe Pennington.”

The old stallion shook his head. “And there are three Pennington’s at your home too. How about we start from what the drone is classified as. An O.R.D. Orthrus Recon Drone, of the twitter bot type.”

I scratched my chin. “O.R.D. hmmm. How about Order.”

“Yes madam?” The drone spoke up.

Phorminx laughed, and I looked at the drone a bit confused. “Sounds fitting” he said. “Now let’s head back to the ship, I’m sure you want to relax.”

I sighed, knowing if I’d said I still had the energy to do anything, he would just make me run the obstacle course again. “Fine, but I better get some information about the ambassador job I was offered. Order, follow.”

“Yes madam!” Order responded.

______________________________________

The hanger that the Sweetie Belle’s Ballad was being held at was in interesting place to just look around, having more room than any other station because it was made for long term storage of an airship. It seemed odd to me how the hanger had even survived the end of the war at all, but Phorminx quickly answered that by letting me know that the top of the station was protected by an energy shield. Something Stable-Tec got ahold of near then end of the war, but never got to properly integrate into stable manufacturing.

It was not like there weren’t other stations that had extra floors dug down into it, but because of the airship, you could see the different floors of Kanaloa Station, almost like a cutout. It really pointed out how big this place was and how many ponies lived and worked here.

It was something I never got to see back home, how everything worked. Study, politics, and the right to rule, that’s what my life was about, all of it up until recently. I gone from thinking that my family was the center of the world, to that it was simply a big cog among hundreds of cogs in the metro. My family’s importance, was only to maintain order, and if we were to all disappear, the metro would move on and find another monarch to rule.

“Council member Phorminx!” A voice shouted from above. A pegasus quickly descended from above, landing with a slide that was nearly a crash, only stopping right in front of us. The mare was light-brown, with rust red mane, and on her face were gray white dots that resembled mirage pony stripes. “Important news!”

Phorminx straightened up taking on a more dignified pose. “Speak, Trill.”

“Yes Sir!” She said with a salute. “It’s Specter Echo sir, she’s recovered her sister. And that’s not all, Vibraphone was not captured by the outsiders, but by the Republic. Somehow the younger sister made it out, and signaled for help, I don’t know the…” Phorminx put his hoof up to stop her.

“Calm down Private Trill, Just take us too them.”

“Me!” She pointed to herself. “Right now?” Phorminx nodded, and Trill saluted. “Yes sir, right away sir!”

I raised my hoof up. “So should I just go onto the ship?”

“Do you want to go back to the ship?”

I shook my head. “Well if it’s about miss Vibraphone, then no. I would rather know what has happened to her, as she did help get me to safety.”

Phorminx nodded. “Then let us follow private Trill.”

Trill had a skip in her step as we followed her, trotting away from the airship and toward the trains. Unsurprisingly, we were stopped by a few more checkpoints along the way, but it seemed that leaving was much easier then it was to get in. Though it might have been because we were not going through more sensitive areas.

Eventually we got to the train, it looking like an armored luxury carrier. Phorminx froze when he saw it, and I quickly understood why.

“Took you long enough to show up.” Standing right in front of the trains door was council member Naqara, guarded by four Orthrus troopers, armed with belt fed automatic shotguns. “I was half expecting you to be here before me, you must be getting slow in your old age. Or do young mares just detract you too much?”

Phorminx cleared his throat. “Don’t be absurd, Naqara. Young mares have nothing to do with anything, it’s about the legs. Something that you lack.”

Naqara huffed. “Right, might we get going? Time is not only just money, but also security.” She turned around and entered the train cart, along with the four guards around her.

I looked over at Phorminx “What’s all about the legs? Do you mean my legs?”

“He could mean my legs?” Trill added.

Phorminx sighed. “No, I was not talking about anypony’s legs. Let’s just get onboard.”

The three of us trotted onto the train cart, the seats were nice and plush, unlike most of the normal train carts. Sadly, Naqara sat across from us, making this a bit awkward.

______________________________________

It was strange, I felt fully intimidated by Naqara, but there was nothing about her that seemed intimidating, I just could not put my hoof on it. Starting, she had on a orthrus dress uniform, which lacked any ornamentation other than a pin signifying her rank. There was also her demeanor, of which was calm and stoic, but also inviting. You could say that she was a strong and dignified older mare, yet something about her put me on guard.

“So how has your stay here been? Can’t have been all that fun being around this old stallion all the time.” She crossed her back legs as she talked. An unusual sitting position for a pony, but it seemed to add to her overall demeanor.

“I don’t think it’s meant to be fun, but at least it has not been unpleasant. Even if most things are locked off to me, there plenty of room for me to move around. Also everypony here has been nice to me, so it’s not like I feel unwanted or anything.”

“Hmm.” Her eyes felt like ice on me. “That’s good. We would not want you to feel unwanted here. A pony of your importance, it be a shame if you were to think ill of us. But on the topic of relations, have you thought about the ambassadorial position yet?”

Somehow she made me feel a bit insecure, but I did my best to not show it. “I think I’ll need a lot more time than a few hours to think about something like that.”

She nodded. “True, such an important position, but one that comes with a cost. I’m sure Phorminx here would rather give you a cushy paperwork job, safe, and out of the way.” The train slowed down, as the lighting from outside became brighter. “Looks like we're at our stop.” When the train finally came to a stop, the doors hissed open, and Naqara stepped out. “Take all the time in the world dear, but remember, sooner is better.”

We quickly followed, stepping out into the boarding area, and letting some ponies in. We had arrived at Mercury station on Pineapple Island, and stepping out of the train tunnel, and into the rest of the station, there was little here.

Ahead of us were five ponies and a foal, most looking a bit beat up. Recognizing most of them, my legs began to move on their own, and burst past Naqara, and to the group. “When I heard something had happened to you, I was so worried.”

Vibraphone looked up at me, and huffed. “Yep, first pony to greet me is the princess, go fig.”

I felt a bit insulted by her lack of enthusiasm. “And what’s wrong with that?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. By the way, what’s with the outfit, going through basic training?”

I looked down at the blue fatigues I had on. “Not by choice. The council member thought I needed to get some excess energy out, so he has had me doing some drills. I’ve never been so sore in my life.” Looking at Vibraphone, she was covered in mud, some cuts, and looked entirely worn out. “What happened to you?”

She gave a long sigh. “I don’t think I have the energy to explain it all, so let’s save that for later. Instead, what about the two ponies behind you.”

I stepped aside, letting Phorminx and Naqara by. “It’s good to see that you're still in one piece, leg notwithstanding.” Phorminx spoke with command and confidence. “Sources say that you’ve been through the Republics black out zone?”

She nodded. “Yeah, learned a lot too, I’m guessing you’re going to want to know it all.” The old stallion nodded. “Good, because it’s not something you’re going to want to remain ignorant of for very long.”

Naqara cleared her throat. “On that note, I advise that you must be taken into our custody. For all we know, you’re now a republic sleeper agent.”

Rototom jumped in between them. “Not fucking likely. If you were there, and saw that cluster fuck it took to get her back, you would know that she is legit.”

A hoof pressed onto Rototom’s shoulder, and Vibraphone pushed passed her older sister. “No, she is right.” The mare looked Naqara straight in the eyes. “But if I go into your custody, and tell you everything I know. You have to remove the cybernetics from my brain. Does that sound fair?”

Rototom and I took a step back as Naqara took a step forward. “Brain surgery, sounds like this is worse than what we thought.” Naqara was cool and calm, placing a hoof under Vibraphones chin. “But sounds fair enough. We’ll do what we can.” Placing her hoof back on the ground, the older mare turned around and trotted off to the train. “Now follow us, the sooner we get started, the sooner you can get the help you need.”

Vibraphone followed, her eyes lingered on me, and then focused on Phorminx. “You. When this is all done, we need to talk.”

As she joined Naqara, Rototom came up to me and Phorminx. “What did you do, sir?” the old stallion just shrugged.

I felt more than confused by the exchange, maybe bit disturbed to how brief and less then happy it was. A gentle tapping on my leg took me out of my thoughts, and looking down I saw a peach colored filly with a golden mane. “So you’re a princess? Did mom save you from the dragon?” The filly had gem like blue eye, like sapphires. She also looked a lot like Vibraphone. But… Vibraphone being a mother?

“Um… well yeah, I guess she did.” Was the only answer that I could muster. Looking at Rototom, I felt confused. “I didn’t know your sister was a mother?”

Rototom face hoofed. “Why don’t I fill you in later? Let’s get out of here first.”

I nodded as we all moved to the train, only to see Vibraphone vanish down the dark tunnel. I was sure she was going to be just fine, but I was a little sad that our meeting was so brief. Maybe next time we would have more time to talk. Though right now, I had a few new friends to catch up with.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Started: Political compass

Quest Perk: O.R.D. “Order” The Orthrus Recon Drone can go places most ponies can’t, and can fight as though it is another companion. Customizable, the O.R.D. is a valuable tool to anypony living in the metro, and so polite too.

Chapter 28 - Political Compass Part 2

“So when I eventually fell, all my prosthetic legs flew away from me. Vibraphone just trotted over and looked down at me with that ‘I told you so’ look on her face.” Rototom bit into a fresh carrot and washed it down with some watered down pineapple juice. “Not that she would say it, instead she just sighed at me, and went off to get my prosthetics.”

Laughter came from Sweet, who had been eating a light salad. “That sounds like her. Always trying to be the stoic one. It made it more fun to see her crack a smile, or start shouting in frustration.”

The friendly atmosphere was, well, unexpected to tell the truth. After Vibraphone had left with Naqara, everything seemingly had turned gloomy. Phorminx suggested we all go have a fresh snack, and talk about what had happened. It was interesting to get to know some of the new ponies I didn’t recognize.

There were the ponies I already knew, Rototom, Sweet, and Merit. I had asked about Light, and where she was at, and Merit let me know that she currently on the Scootaloo’s Resolve, going over navigation notes with the security chief. The other two ponies were a mare called Sorrow, who worked as a smuggler, and an odd looking filly called Xylophone. The filly looked a lot like a earth pony, no horn or wings, but taking a closer look it became apparent that she was a mirage pony. She had spots on her fur, almost like densely packed freckles that formed what looked like mirage pony stripes, and she had a bit of a shimmer when she got excited, something I did as a foal.

We had ended up at what was called a salad bar, a little restaurant on the side of a farm depot. It seemed that it was mainly used by the smaller plantations to store, and sell their crops in bulk, so they could compete with the larger plantations. The salad bar was simply a spot for ponies to make small orders, or even have some food made for them on the spot. The shear freshness was not something I was use too, or the smell of dirt, with the side of something that might belong in the sewer.

The place itself was actually rustically charming, the concrete of the tunnel covered up with wooden boards from the surface, which were painted in solid colors that made it resemble a farmhouse from the books about the old times.

The working ponies seemed a bit wary of us at first, but after Phorminx placed a roll of bit’s down, they got real friendly, real fast. Not to be negative about the ponies here, from what I knew, the ponies of pineapple island were busy folk, so it made sense that they would not have the time to be friendly with everypony that passed by. Though one interesting thing about the ponies here, most of them were not missing any legs.

One earthy colored mirage pony mare placed ahead of cabbage on a plate in front of me. “Here you go miss, now eat up, the fresher it is, better it tastes. But between you and me, it’s even better with a bit of salt.”

The cabbage did look real good. “Oh, thanks.” I said as politely as possible. The mare herself had only one prosthetic leg, it actually being partially made of wood, which was something I had never seen before. “Excuse me ma’am, if it’s not too much to ask, about your legs. Well I mean, how…”

The mare placed her hoof on my snout, cutting me off. “Say no more, I know what you’re trying to ask, and it’s quite all right. My kin’s mighty proud of history, and how we managed to stick together through thick and thin. We do things the earth pony way, though we're not really earth ponies anymore.”

“So you're all descendants of earth ponies.” I could see it, many of the farm ponies here were a bit bigger than most mirage ponies I had seen. “How did they manage at the end of the great war?”

The mare smiled. “Like I said, by sticking together. If you can’t trust your family, then who can you trust? But yeah, my kin got it just as bad as a lot of the others on the island, so when Stable-Tec let us know what was going on, and offered the treatment, we didn’t just sit on our hooves and hope that everything would just blow over. The mares went and got themselves treated, and the stallions took to making our little slice of the tunnels toxin free.”

“How’d they do that, cleaning out the toxins I mean?”

“Well a lot of em did help build the metro.” She said with a beaming smile. “The first thing they did was make all the entryways air tight, and after that, tripled layered all the air filters that brought air in from the outside. Of course my kin are never done until it’s all done, so they started building air filters to capture the toxins already in our stretch of the tunnel. Still, the generation born at that time had it rough. But things got better after each generation, and now we can claim being some of the healthiest ponies on the island.”

It was an amazing thing to learn about. “Your family is quit dedicated, though aren’t the other tunnels not this clean?”

She sighed. “resources sadly. My kin happened to be lucky enough to be sitting on a stockpile of filters, among other things, so when the bad times started, we had everything we needed to make our home safer. The other tunnels didn’t, so when we started giving out the filters to the other parts of the metro, but damage was already done and the infighting started. Luckily farm ponies know the importance of working together, so there was little violence on this island like on the others, even when resources became scarce.”

“That, that sounds real nice.” No, no, don’t go and say that it’s nice that their family struggled. “I mean, it’s good to hear your family was able to get through the bad times as well as they did.” That’s better.

The farm mare looked me over. “How about you, young miss? You got all your legs, but you're thin as a rail. Don’t tell me you’re from some fancy family. Folks like that tend to not come around here.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself a little. “You could say that. I’m from the orphic kingdom.”

“Well I’ll be. The Island of stuffy nobility, don’t know why ponies still follow them. But it’s good you're over here, and away from that mess of an island, no offense.”

“Well um, none taken.” I felt a little hurt, but didn’t want to correct the mare. Not after she was being so nice.

She chuckled, as though she thought about something funny. “You know, a pretty young mare like yourself could do well around these parts. Ever thought about settling down? One of my boys has been thinking about getting a wife, and I’m not going to let him settle with some floosy. He’s a good stallion, smart, strong, a bit on the quiet side.”

“I ahh…” I was a little shocked, and a tad surprised. It was not like the concept of me getting married had never come up with mother, but nothing ever so blatant like this. Most of the time mother would simply have a private dinner with her, me, and one of the noble stallions. Though nothing ever came of it.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Phorminx interrupted. “But do you have some more of that vegetable juice? We seem to have run out.”

The farm mare beamed a smile at the old stallion. “Oh certainly sir, I’ll be right out with some more.”

Phorminx sighed. “Sorry about that, the ponies around here can be a bit too friendly at times.”

“Oh, that’s fine. She seemed nice, I must have just sent the wrong message. I mean, it is expected of me to take a husband soon, but it has to be a stallion of good breeding.”

“Good breeding.” Phorminx rolled his eyes, and shook his head. “Not to say anything bad about your mother, but Gilded Gold has never had the best eye for stallions. You're better off finding a kind, and hardworking stallion far from the royal court.”

“Too true!” Rototom chimed in. “I know of this one stallion, a bit of a grumpy busybody, but has a good head on his shoulders, and is the best cuddlier. The kind of pony you don’t get from stuffy royals.”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed by them smearing my family. “They’re not all stuffy. My cousin, Silver Plate, is a fine stallion.”

Sweet bust out laughing. “If the best stallion you can think of is your cousin, then your family has problems. But aren’t you gay? Shouldn’t the whole looking for a husband be, well, not your thing?”

I felt the blood rush to my face. “Th.. that’s private… I mean, not a proper subject for the table.”

A snicker came from Merit who chomped down on a carrot. “Don’t get so flustered, it’s not like mares having relations with each other is odd. It’s not my thing, but even I’ve slept with another stallion.” Everypony slowly turned their head to Merit, who now looked a bit confused. “What?”

“Well, enclave culture aside.” Rototom spoke up. “Are you into mares or stallions?”

Looking at everypony, the only one that didn’t seem interested in this topic was Phorminx. “Well, I, um… I don’t know. I mean I like being close to mares, but I’d also like to settle down with a stallion and have a few foals. Is that odd?”

“Not at all.” Rototom said softly. “From what I’ve seen, most mares are like that. It’s the stallions that are one or the other, well, unless they’re some crazy pegasus.” Everypony then turned their attention to Merit.

He once again looked a bit confused “What? It can’t be that out of the norm.”

The filly jumped onto the table, her face covered in oats. “So what’s everypony talking about?” Everypony started laughing, and I pulled out a napkin to clean Xylophones face.

The mare, Sorrow, who had been quiet most of this time, stood up from the table. “It’s been nice, but I’ve got a few things I need to take care of.”

“Sexy things?” Rototom added with a chuckle.

Sorrow sighed. “If only. In light of recent events, and new information, I need to talk with my kin, and plan out a change of tactics.”

Rototom nodded. “That C.C.N. thing Viby told us about sound like nasty business.”

“To say the least.” Sorrow took one more sip from her fruit juice. “If the C.C.N. spreads out to the other stations, it won’t be long before my kin are rooted out. Frankly, the island might as well be a lost cause until the C.C.N. is dismantled.”

I raised my hoof. “Sorry, but what’s the C.C.N?”

Xylophone used this an opportunity to hop out of my hold. “It’s the great unifier, where all ponies can find true equality!” The pony was beaming with pride as she spoke, though some of it was just her mirage shimmering.

“But there’s no such thing as true equality.” The words just came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”

The filly looked at me in disbelief, and the rest sighed. All except for Phorminx, who chuckled. He also got up and waved off Sorrow. “Go take care of your business, but do send some of your kin over to us, we could use their talents in these troubling times.” Sorrow nodded, and trotted off. The old stallion turned his attention over to the filly, picking her up in a telekinetic grip, and placing her in her seat. “First off, don’t go standing on the table, it’s rude. Second, what Harp means by no true equality, is that everypony has their own talents, making them better in some ways, worse in others.” He gave me a knowing look.

I nodded back. “Ye…yes, everypony has something that makes them special, by making them all truly equal, you would be holding back their potential.” Getting a nod back from Phorminx, I relaxed a little. It still felt a bit foreign to me, equality, and everypony having that thing that makes them special. Back home it was all about the caste system. The foal of a baker will grow up to be a baker, same for blacksmiths, engineers, and for nobility. What you will be was something decided at birth, but nopony here believed in that, and found such ideas as… backwards.

The filly blew a raspberry at us. “Naw, if everypony worked together as one, then we can achieve anything. Everypony knows that.”

Phorminx sighed. “Yes, yes, but I think we’re all done here. If you have not finished your meal, then just take it with you. I’ll be escorting the princess back to her room, however, who is going to take the filly?”

Everyone just went silent, and looked about the room. It was obvious nopony wanted to take her. A random filly who just happened to tag along with a group of adults, it did seem odd. Raising my hoof again, all heads turned to me. “I could look after her. I mean, my room has the space for her, and it’s a safe place.”

Xylophone gasped. “Oh yes, yes! I want to stay with the princess!” She was almost bouncing in her seat. “You must have like a humungo bed, and like, big everything.” She gasped again. “Can I try one of your dresses?” Looking over at Phorminx, he was both face hoofing, and nodding. I guess I was looking after a little filly tonight. Oh Celestia, I think I might have made a mistake...

______________________________________

Long story short, Xylophone bounced off the walls until she ran out of energy. Seeing the airship must have mentally overloaded the little filly, because as soon as she stepped one hoof on it, she was running from one end to another, giggling like a mad mare. Once she had run out of energy, I felt like it was a good time for us to go to bed.

“Hey! Hey! Hey wake up!” I didn’t remember setting an alarm, or having it sound so annoying. Opening my eyes, the figure of a peach colored filly loomed over me.

“Five more minutes.” I rolled over, not feeling like waking up quite yet.

“C'mon, get up, I want to see how you turn the screen to work right, like the programs about to start.” Program? I rolled back over to give Xylophone a questioning look. “You know, Puppet Pony Pals. Last episode Pumpkin Vine’s new friends got captured by the evil capitalist, and she left to go save them. If I miss the new episode, I’ll be behind, and Wood Flute will make fun of me.”

The whining of the filly was enough to break my sleepy state. The filly jumped over me as I rolled out of the bed, and slowly dragged myself over to the monitor. Looking at the thing, it had a few knobs on it, and a power switch. The screen itself was already on, but it showed nothing but static. Turning the knob, the monitor made a click and buzz sound as the screen flickered to more static. I kept on turning until the static gave way to a gray screen with a big one in the middle, the screen was now playing radio channel one, but the swing music it was playing was a bit too lively for this early in the morning. Turning the knob again, the screen showed the symbol of Orthrus, and was playing some piano music. It was likely radio channel two, as I knew Orthrus controlled it, and commonly their members would play music live on that radio channel. Turning the knob again, I was hit by what sounded like electric noise that was a bit too loud. Quickly turning the knob once more, the screen turned back to static.

“Come on, the shows going to start!” Xylophone whined, and now she looked like she was ready to cry.

Sighing, I got back to turning the knob, only to come back the channel one. Turning it one last time to channel two, I backed away from the terminal. “Sorry, looks like all we have right now is radio.”

The filly gasped. “No, no, no, no! Like, it can’t be, that’s like the worst possible thing!” The little filly had tears in her eyes, and was shaking a little.

I couldn’t help but give her a little hug, and pat her on the head. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you can catch up later.”

“But.” Her voice was partially muffled in my chest. “Only unpopular foals watch the show later.”

Right, the foal unintentionally escapes from some sort of program, and is worried that she will be unpopular when she gets home. “Why don’t we get dressed? I’m sure we can find something fun for you to do later to make all your little friends jealous.”

She bounced at the idea, but the excitement seemed to drop from her when it turned out all we had was a blue jumpsuit for me, and the white lab jumpsuit she came in with. “Right, I’ve only been using what Orthrus has provided me… Maybe Phorminx can lend us some bits so we can get some new cloths.” I’ll have to ask him about that later.

After we got dressed, the monitor flickered, and the image of a pony behind a desk appeared. The mare was in black and white, and had a Orthrus dress uniform on, making her look quite serious. “Good morning everypony, this is radio channel two news. We have further information about the breaking news from last night, that in fact that the president of the republic, Garmon Keys, has not only passed away, but his death was due to assassination. The identity of the assailants is still unknown, but current accusations are aimed at Orthrus as of now. Council member of Security and Law, Naqara, has released a statement denying any involvement of Orthrus in the matter. Stating that the death of Garmon Keys will likely hurt the stability of the metro, which is not in Orthrus interest.” I trotted over and turned the monitor off.

I looked over at the filly, who’s mouth was now hanging open, and one of her legs was trembling. “What’s wrong Xylophone?”

“He can’t be, like I saw grandpa Keys just yesterday. Why would anypony hurt him?” The filly sounded confused and a bit panicked.

I got down low so the two of us could see eye to eye. “Don’t worry, stuff like this happens now and then, I’m sure your grandpa is safe, and the pony who was hurt was just a body double. My family almost always has a double when we go out in public, well when they go out in public.” This seemed to calm down the filly a little, or confused her, she at least gained some composer.

“If you say so.” She mumbled as she wiped off a tear that almost fell from her eye. “Maybe we could ask Vibraphone about it. She was with Keys yesterday, like, she might know something.” I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the kid, she really didn’t know what she’d gotten herself into.

“Right, let’s go talk with Mr. Phorminx first, maybe go shopping for some new clothes before seeing her.” I was starting to miss the dresses back home. Most were hoof me downs from my sisters, but still so pretty. Also, I missed having a pair of nice shoes. “We should stop by a shoe store as well, can’t have a nice dress without a nice pair of shoes.”

Little Xylophone nodded her head, and followed me as we left the room. Phorminx’s room was just down the hall, so the only difficulty about getting there was making sure the filly didn’t get too distracted. Knocking on the door, it took a short few minutes until the old stallion opened up, his dress uniform was mostly straight, and his mane combed back. “Aren’t you up a bit early? Finally done sleeping in every day?”

I huffed. “Hard to sleep in when there's a filly crawling all over you.” I looked back to see Xylophone looking over the balcony, her back legs dangling above the ground as she held herself-up. “It seemed that around this time, there's a show she watches, so she was a bit upset that you don’t get it here.”

“Well, that’s a bit disheartening. But it looks like she’s doing better.”

I shook my head. “Not really. We heard the news about Garmon Keys, and that only upset her more. I was able to calm her down, but on two conditions.”

Phorminx face hoofed. “What a mess that is. So what are the two conditions?”

“One, she wants to talk with Vibraphone, as it seems that she was with the republic’s president the other day. The other thing, we need some new cloths, shoes too.”

The old stallion sighed. “Well, the shops are going to be closed for a few more hours, and I doubt that Naqara would just let us in, not until she has everything she wants.” He scratched his chin for a moment. “But the investigation is under my jurisdiction, So I should be able to go see her for a few minutes. You want to come?”

I let out a relieved breath. “Most certainly. I didn’t even get to properly talk with her yesterday, so it will be nice to talk with her again soon.”

“Well, give me a few minutes and I’ll be ready.” He looked past me and over at the filly. “Also, make sure the little one does not fall off. The young have a bad habit of doing things before they start thinking. Also don’t forget that drone of yours. There’s a robot shop on pineapple island that might have something useful to attach to Order.”

I left Phorminx to get myself ready, and walked over to my room. Along the way I tapped on Xylophone’s head to get her attention, and she quickly dropped off the balcony to follow me. “So are we going to go see her?” I nodded. “Yes! Next, she will want to be my mommy, and we get to live in a big house, where I will become the next dragon slayer, saving all the ponies and spreading equality to all!” Her excitement reminded me when I would make a fake crown as a foal, and pretend to be the queen. All my dolls were my subjects, and they all loved me unconditionally.

Opening the door to my room, I saw Order sitting quietly on the table, with one red blinking light as the only thing showing that it still had power. “Order, time to wake up.”

A few more lights flickered, and the drone slowly lifted off the table. “Good day madam, Systems check completed, no errors, altered programing, or external connections detected. No intruders, or pests detected. Plenty of radio chatter, but nothing out of the normal. Current battery level is at half capacity, and will need recharging in 7 hours before defensive systems are disabled. I hope you have slept well.”

Xylophone trotted up to the drone. “Hey, can you pick up the Puppet Pony Pals show?”

Order’s eyes flickered as it hovered, not responding to the filly. I sighed. “Order” The drone beeped. “Are you able to pick up a show over the… radio I guess. It’s called the Puppet Pony Pals.”

Order bobbed from side to side a few times. “Sorry madam, but this unit is only able to pick up three open radio signals, any others are encrypted Orthrus signals. If you know the specific frequency, this unit can attempt to tune in to it whenever it is in range.”

I shook my head. “No that’s fine, execute companion program.”

“Yes, Madam. I will be your shadow until the time you do not need me.” The drone flew over me, only making a slight buzzing sound. Looking at the pipbuck on my leg, it all felt a bit too much. I mean I am a princess, but one with no right to rule, so all this kind treatment seemed a bit off. But it would be rude to point it out, wouldn’t it? Sighing I left the room with the filly and the drone in tow, and waited for Phorminx.

______________________________________

So, it turned out that Vibraphone was being held at a small substation run by Orthrus. The place looked a lot like Kanaloa Station, but smaller, and less lively. The place seemed to be like a middle ground for the corporations to do business with Orthrus, so unlike Kanaloa Station, this place had a lot more outside influences. Luckily for me, it meant that I was able to get a few Metro Colas straight from a vending machine without passing through a checkpoint. Xylophone took a sip from the bottle, and then evidently sucked it all down, asking for another. Before Phorminx could stop me, I had given her three bottles, and she started to shake from the sugar rush.

We watched as Xylophone ran and bounced all over the place, surprising a few Orthrus Regular’s. “Sorry.”

Phorminx sighed. “Don’t worry, she should crash soon, just wait a few minutes.”

After a few minutes, we just gave up. Just watching Xylophone run around was making me feel exhausted. So we entered what was a holding facility with the jittery filly, the guards giving us concerned looks as Xylophone tried to greet every pony we passed.

Finally at the front desk, I sat down, doing my best to hold the energetic filly still. The room was mostly a bland gray, and other than a few posters advertising their products, there was nothing much to talk about. There were also a few magazines on a little coffee table. The one that caught my eye was about fashion, going on about retro modern designs. It was showing models dressed up in modern versions of some ancient outfits, with the original outfits displayed on the opposing page. Oddly enough, Ministry mare Fluttershy was the model for a lot of the ancient pictures. “I never pictured her as a supermodel. Learn something new everyday I guess.”

Phorminx trotted over to me, after having talked with the receptionist. “Looks like our timing is spot on. Vibraphone is currently resting in the medical ward, and can see guests.”

“Why is she in medical? Did something happen?”

The old stallion shook his head. “Don’t know, we will just have to ask her.”

A mare in a white doctor’s coat trotted out with a smile. “Council Member Phorminx, it’s such an honor for you to come over here. My name is Dr. Tuhu. You’re here to see our new arrival, correct?”

“Yes.” Phorminx responded. “Could you tell me why she is in recovering well, I was told that she was getting some internal cybernetics removed.”

Dr. Tuhu paused for a moment. “Oh yes, that. I don’t know the details, but I haven't heard about anything bad happening, so likely she is fine. Surgeries like that can be tricky, but with Council Member Naqara flipping the bill, we got our best to take care of it.”

“Wait, why would she need to pay for it?” I stepped up next to Phorminx, looking at the Doctor. who didn’t seem to have any Orthrus symbols on her. “Aren’t you a member of Orthrus?”

The Doctor laughed. “Was when I was younger, but I moved to the private sector years ago. Unlike most of the stations on Friendly Island, Station 231 is open to non Orthrus members, and is where the private and public sectors work together.”

“So, you were hired by Naqara to help Vibraphone.” I think I got it, but it still seemed odd to me.

Dr. Tuhu sighed. “No, I’m being paid to do paperwork right now. Naqara hired a team of surgeons that specialize in dealing with cybernetics.” She took a deep breath “You know what, let’s just go to her, and you can ask her yourself. I’ve got a ton of work to get back to, miss.”

Without so much as another word, we followed the Doctor. down the hall. It was all quite clean, and for the most part, empty. A few rooms had ponies in them, each one looking in good condition, though bandaged up. When we got to Vibraphones room, it was the second to last one in the hallway, and we could hear two ponies talking.

“Actually the worst part about not being able to see, was that my imagination started running wild. Every little noise became a monster, and I think I had a nightmare while I was awake, go figure. But it wasn’t all bad. Guitar Strings came and stuck around for a few days.” Looking in, Sweet Sax Solo was sitting next to Vibraphone. “He’ll deny it, but when she saw me, he started to cry. Thought he might have lost me.”

Vibraphone sighed. “I swear, you two should just tie the knot already, and get stable jobs. Just remember, I get to wear purple at the wedding. No poke-a-dotted pink crap.”

Sweet chuckled. “Yeah, I still don’t know why Rototom thinks that’s a good idea for a wedding. Good thing she’s not getting married soon.

“Good morning.” Stepping in, I immediately got the attention of the two mercenary mares who had help me get back home. “Are we intruding?”

Vibraphone shook her head. “Not at all.” She beckoned me over. “I was actually wondering how you were doing, with you know, being stuck with Orthrus.”

“Oh, that. It’s been fine. I even learned a few new things, like shooting a gun, and running an obstacle course.”

Viby cocked an eyebrow, turning her gaze over to Phorminx. “Why would a princess need to learn that?”

The old stallion cleared his throat. “Just simply giving her something to do until she can return home.”

“Right, and shooting guns is the best thing for her.” She faced hoofed. “You know what, let’s talk about that later. So, what brings you three over here?”

“Oh, well a few things. But first, how are you doing? Why did you need surgery?” I didn’t want to bombard her with questions right now, so I felt it was best to stick to the most pressing questions first.

Vibraphone rubbed the back of her neck. “I had some unwanted cybernetics put in me, so I asked to have them taken out. Sadly, it’s easier to put something in, then it is to remove it. This damned jack was plugged right into my nervous system, meaning their options were limited. Luckily the surgeons were able to remove the wireless systems that were sending signals to my brain. Sadly they had to leave the datajack untouched, messing with that could paralyze me from the neck down.”

That was a little shocking. “Why would somepony do that? That’s, just wrong.”

“To them, it’s a matter of opinion.” Viby sighed. “You know the phrase about Rose tinted glasses? It was kind of like that, but in the brain. Persephone station looked wonderful as it was, but add a whole holographic system to it, it felt like the city of the future made real. Sadly, it was all fake, and it gave others a backdoor to your own mind. Not that the ponies there seemed to have any issue with it. To them, being a slave to the C.C.N. was their freedom. It was really all too overwhelming.”

I think I was missing something, because I was having a hard time understanding what she was talking about. “How could a pony see being a slave as freedom? That’s just, I don’t know, wrong.”

She nodded. “It is, and even now more ponies are being convinced to put the collar around their neck.” She reached over and picked up a bottle of Metro cola, sipping it from a straw. “It would take me all day to properly explain, lots of little things to point out. But to put it simply, the republic gives everything a pony needs to survive, and over the years, the ponies grew dependent on the republic. It’s like how a drug works, but with food, water, housing, work, and education. It’s all done with a system called the Equality Credit Score, where the more equal you are, the more the republic gives you stuff.” Viby raised her hoof before I could speak. “Basically everypony gets food, water, shelter, and work. But the more inline to the republics message you are, and more you push others to be like everypony else, the better the food, water, shelter, and work. The ponies also get gifts as rewards for being more equal. The ponies there are addicted to the whole thing.” I sat down finally getting it, well some of it. “So what was the other things you wanted to ask me?”

Before I would say anything, Xylophone bounced up. “Do you know what happened to mister Keys? Like, the stupid radio pony said somepony hurt him, but why would anypony hurt him? Mister Keys was like the best old pony ever.”

Viby looked up, then away from us. “Yeah, I heard that news too.” With a sigh, she looked back to the little filly. “Garmon Keys is still alive, he’s… exclusively working within the CCN now. I know he was not happy about it, he wanted to keep working for all of you.”

Xylophone scrunched her nose, and took a step back. “That’s not fair. Why do adults have to be so unfair all the time?”

Phorminx placed a hoof on Xylophone’s head. “Because the world is unfair at times, and we adults have to be unfair so that foals like you can live happily. I’ve met mister Keys a few times, and he would always bring up his two daughters every time. His pride and joy he would call them. I think he knew it made me a little jealous.”

Viby placed her bottle of metro cola back on the table next to her bed. “So, any more questions?”

I shook my head. “No. But we could stick around if you like, talk about things and stuff.”

She chuckled. “My favorite topic, stuff and things. It’s fine if you want to stick around princess, it really is. But I don’t think we have all that much to talk about. I mean we could, but it would put the filly to sleep, and the old stallion there can run circles around any topic we chose. I mean, don’t you have other things you rather be doing?”

It was true, I didn’t have much to say. “Well at least we know you're fine, and maybe next time we can go do something. The little one here, and I are going to go get some new clothes, as the ones we had are a bit bland. Maybe some shoes too.” Suddenly I was hit in the face with the beds blanket, and removing it, Vibraphone had gotten out of the bed. “What?”

“Gramps, mind if you step out? I need to get dressed.” Vibraphone opened up a bag, and pulled out a red cap.

“What are you doing?” Phorminx backed out of the room, and turned round. Looking back at the mare who should be in bed, she had already removed her gown, and was placing a black suit on the bed.

Vibraphone began to get dressed, starting with her underwear. “I thought about just staying in bed all day and relaxing. But the idea of going out shopping is too much to pass up.”

“So, wait, you mean you’re coming with us?” Obvious question is obvious. “Don’t you need to heal up?”

She now had her pants on, and was now working on a white shirt. “Modern medicine, if everything is clean, and properly sealed up, just spray some healing potion on it, and remove the stitches after a week.” With the shirt on, she picked up a black jacket, which was torn up. Vibraphone just tossed it to the side, and pulled out a red scarf. “So I should just be fine as long as I don’t get in any hoof to hoof fights.” Once the scarf was on, she placed the red cap on, and smiled “You know what? I feel like getting a nice dress. Perhaps something with a floral print on it.”

Sweet snickered. “See, I told you that you wouldn’t stand lying in bed all day.” She trotted over to the door. “So what’s everypony itching for, something stylish, or something sassy?”

I thought about it for a moment, but as I was to give my answer, Vibraphone trotted in front of me. “Both, and then some. That’s the answer.”

I watched as the two mares left the room, the filly close behind them. A little nagging thought popped into my head, something I had almost forgot. “Order.”

“Yes Madam!” the drone responded.

“Do you have an audio recorder?”

The drone bobbed. “Yes madam, do you wish to make an audio note?”

I shook my head. “No, but I’ll need you to record something for me later. So keep it at the ready.”

“Yes madam.”

Vibraphone had something important to talk about with Phorminx, and the truth was, I was a bit curious to know it was.

______________________________________

I had been told about Curtius Station, but never been there myself until just now. Home to the trendiest ponies around, that’s what I had been told, and it didn’t disappoint. Except there were just so many different ponies, it was hard to tell what the current trend was. Some had their manes styled up, others wore bright colorful clothes, and I saw a few with cybernetic accessories.

“Oy! Don’t fall behind princess.” Vibraphone called out to me. In my distraction I had fallen behind.

As it turned out, the first shop we started out at was a little boutique that specialized in simpler, but lovely clothes. The daywear we all picked was quite cute. Vibraphone got a powder blue dress with purple floral print, Xylophone was put in a light pink dress, and Sweet skipped the dresses altogether, sticking with her jumpsuit. I chose a white dress with a light blue sash. The simplicity of it felt calming to me, and went well the light blue sandals I had found in the boutique. I had also found some pink sandals for the filly too, unlike the rest of the ponies here, we didn’t have metal legs.

Vibraphone had placed her hat and scarf into her bag, the bright red seeming to clash with the dress. Trotting up to her, though hard to see, I could pick out a few scars on her. Mostly the one on her lip, but the fur around one of her eyes also seemed a bit off. “So… any other places you’d like to check out?”

She took a deep breath and sighed. “Yeah. There’s a few ponies I need to talk too, give them some bad news. Also, there’s a pony I should go check on. Last time I saw her, she was hurt pretty badly.”

That sounded depressing. “You want me to help you?”

Shaking her head, Vibraphone smiled at me. “It’s fine. I’m not going to fall apart over delivering some bad news. Though, I wish there was no bad news to deliver.”

“Do you have anything else planned, like something fun? I mean, I hope it’s not all doom and gloom.”

She gave me a faint little smile “Well, I am going to stop by Club Three Dog. Might as well have a few drinks there. Maybe see If I can gather a few friends along the way.”

“Neat.” I looked down at what I had on. “you think this is a good look for a club?”

Vibraphone chuckled. “Yeah, no. These dresses are for just trotting around. We will need to go to another store for clubbing attire.” She eyed me up and down “What do you prefer? Miniskirts, or short shorts?”

It took me a moment to process what she was asking “Uhh, never worn either before, so, a skirt I guess.”

“Oh!” The filly Xylophone jumped in, now a little sluggish from before. “Like, can I go?”

Vibraphone frowned. “Seriously kid, I doubt you will last long enough to even be awake when we go.”

“Awwww.” She kicked at the floor in disappointment. “But I want to know what it is.”

We both gave each other a look, and Vibraphone sighed. “Look here. Clubs are places adult ponies go to do adult things, around other adults. A foal like you would not have any fun there, unless you think the idea of adults ignoring you as fun.”

The little filly scrunched her nose. “Fine, but I get to keep the dress.”

“Deal.” Vibraphone finished, rubbing at the foal’s mane. “Now I need to buy the most adorable pair of shoes, as they look like they will go well with my black matted legs.” I watched as she trotted her way over to where the shoes were.

I checked my own sandals. The ribbons around my legs help kept them in place, and the synthetic soles helped to keep me from clip-clopping everywhere. They also help to keep my hooves from chipping, something I’ve never seen before, but one of the maids had told me that it was a common problem before shoes were a thing. Something about how walking on hard stone, concrete, and metal all the time was actually quite damaging for the hooves.

Returning my attention to Vibraphone, the thing she wanted to talk with Phorminx about was still bugging me. I had a feeling they were going to split off from the group for a bit. I’ll just have to have Order follow them when they do.

When we were done at the clothing store, we browsed a few other shops. Not at all intending on buying anything, but it was still fun to look around. I did find some cute glass earrings on sale however, so I had to buy them. Xylophone found a cap done in the old Pegasus military style, which looked a bit like Vibraphones cap, as it even had a metal plate on the front. It was cute how she was emulating Vibraphone, even if she didn’t seem to like the filly much.

Later, brunch was had, and we all had a salad that was quite good. Inexpensive, but fresh and tasty. Everypony had something different thrown on it, from cubes of bread, to even very small slices of bacon. I personally had diced carrots and onions thrown in mine.

“Is that you, Vibraphone!?” Looking over, I saw a white mare with a carrot orange mane. Her front legs were natural, but her back two were cybernetic. The outfit she had on was a red jacket with gold embroidery of rabbits over a black one piece. Over all, so looked like a wealthy mare, or a prostitute. Around here they kind of look the same. “Where have you been? I’ve had no word from you after you chased after that ruffian!”

Viby sighed. “It’s been a rough couple of days, only got back yesterday. I can’t say too much about it, but I got stuck in equalist central.” She waved her hoof around dismissively. “Nonstop capitalists are evil, we must all be the same, and we're all equal here, but some of us are more equal than others.”

The look on the mare's face dropped a little. “Well, it’s good that your back.”

“Say, Citole, how’s Kantele doing?” Vibraphones voice sounded a little stressed, maybe worried.

The mare, Citole, sighed. “Doing better, but she is currently bound to a wheelchair. One of her vertebrae was shattered, so until she has synthetic surgery to replace it. She’s not going to walk any time soon.” Citole took a seat next to Viby. “Not only that, but her mother up and vanished, which is not surprising. It’s not public knowledge yet, but if it got out that she was having private dealings with the equalists, the Trade Union would freak. It’s not as if the Union has an embargo on the Republic, but it’s currently law that all dealings with the republic or equalists have to be publicly recorded. The Union has been paranoid about another revolution happening here.”

“A justified worry.” Vibraphone added. “I’d suggest they throw more bits into security, we might be in for an ugly few years.” She shook her head. “No, that’s probably falling into their hooves. Probably better to invest in leaving the islands, I heard that the mainland is actually livable, Just got to get past the damned pirates.”

Citole’s ears drooped. “Sounds bad. So where's Turnip, and Rufus?”

Vibraphone sighed. “Not... here anymore.” She looked up at the mare. “You know what, this is all starting to get depressing. I’m planning to head to Club Three Dog, and one of us needs an outfit for it, the other will heading to bed.” Her head tilted over at me.

“I don’t know; she looks a bit dainty.” Citole eyed me up, and smiled. “But I think I can help.”

“Good.” Vibraphone smiled, and turned her head over to Sweet. “Can you take the foal over to the general store, help get her some toiletries. I’m still not her mother, but we can’t have her not brushing her teeth.”

Sweet Sax stretched her back. “Yeah, I can do that.” Getting out of her seat, she picked up the happy, but drowsy foal. “Come on kiddo, you want something that smells like flowers, or fruit?”

I watched as the two trotted off, and felt like it was time to use Order. I turned to Citole, and gave her my best smile, though I felt a bit nervous. “So, what kind of club clothes do you have in mind?”

Citole laughed. “Don’t worry, I think I have something that will look really good on you.” She got up out of her seat, and nudged me to get up as well. “Come on, let’s go pick out an outfit for you.”

Sighing, I followed her out of the cafeteria. We kept on going until we were too far away to see the others, and then I stopped. “Excuse me, I just need to do something really quick.” She nodded, and I pulled up my pipbuck. “Luckily I had already the order for Order set up in the pipbuck, and only had to select it to get the drone to do what I wanted it to do. “Alright, done.” Now Order should start following vibraphone, and recording what she says. If I’m lucky, they won’t catch on until the drone returns to me.

______________________________________

Can’t say I was pleased in what Citole picked out for me, or where we had to go to get the outfit. It was interesting at first, entering the Lucky Rabbit's Foot Casino; the lights, the sounds, the pretty ponies having fun. That was until I entered the strip club, and somehow I could hear Vibraphone laughing at me.

It was nothing too bad, just I’ve never seen so many ponies with so little clothing before, the closest was when the maids would help me get washed. It was uncomfortable, especially when we had to stop for a moment, and a mare striper decided to gyrate her hips at me. I didn’t know what to think. My eyes seemed to be stuck, watching the mares plot rotate at me. Luckily, Citole had pulled me away from the hypnotic dance.

In the back room, where a lot of the employees sat around, drinking water. “Alright Miss Harp, my room is just over here. I have a few outfits that might fit you. I kind of went through a phase where I stopped eating, before mother literally had to slap the stupid out of me, but the outfits from back then should fit you just fine.”

“Why does everypony point out how thin I am; I see plenty of thin ponies.”

She chuckled to herself. “They’re all starving dearie, you’re not.”

We entered her room, and… I had to take time to process it. Pink, hearts, frills, a big plush bunny, heart shaped bed, red comforter with pink hearts, heart shaped pillows, and more pink. It was like the girliest girl made this room, and nopony came in to stop her. “It’s… lovely”

Citole sighed. “It was, but mother told me to get rid of all my dolls. I only got to keep mister big because he couldn’t fit through the door.” I nodded… slowly. “Right, but enough about that, let’s get you something fun to wear. What do you feel like, less cloth, or more?”

“How about more.” Citole frowned, and trotted over to her closet, of which from where I sat, it looked like a whole other room. Citole pulled out a dress that was utterly covered in bows and frills. A good dress for a ball, or gala, but I didn’t think it would work. “Maybe a little less.”

She threw the dress on me. “Nope, you have to put it on, then we can tell if it’s too much. I’ll even alter it for you.”

“You have an alter clothes spell?”

Citole shook her head, and pulled out a needle and thread. “Why waste money on that, when my own hooves will work just fine? Oh and don’t worry about my skill, I made most of these dresses myself.”

A sudden feeling of dread washed over me as she closed in.

Four dresses later, one being less of a dress, and more fishnet over underwear, I felt it was time to see if Order had gotten anything useful. Citole had stepped out for a moment to get something to drink, so I had a little bit of time to use my pipbuck privately.

Clicking through the options, I switched to the radio, one of the signals being from Order. I had an option to send a recall signal so that it would come back to me, while it also had a playback signal. So I recalled the drone, and had it play back some of what it recorded.”

“Was that wise to do? Not to say that the Serenad family are bad folk, just that they tend to be a bit more promiscuous than most ponies I know.” The voice was of Phorminx, and I had to agree a little, living inside a strip club was not what I think was normal.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” This time it was Vibraphone. “If anything, Citole seems like a professional, Harp is in good hooves”

“Still, I don’t think she should be around such individuals.” The old stallion sounded irritated.

“She is an adult, a young adult at that. And even if she wasn’t, it’s not like you’re her father.” Vibraphone held onto the last word, almost like she was emphasizing it. There was a pause between the two, hard to tell if it was because somepony was thinking, or if something else was going on. Vibraphone then spoke up. “You know what, let’s just cut to the chase, that’s what I want to talk about.”

A long sigh came before Phorminx spoke up. “So, you know.”

“Yeah.” Vibraphone responded. “Golden Rule told me. Among the other problems Harp can cause by simply existing, this one takes the cake.”

“Right, it was only a matter of time before word got out. I’m surprised that it stayed a secret this long.” Phorminx sounded a bit depressed, his voice sounding a little breathy. “So have you told anypony?”

Now Vibraphone sighed. “When you literally have some pony raping your brain, there's little to nothing you can keep secret.”

“The republic, I knew we should have gone in and wiped the equalists out when we had the opportunity.” There was a growl in his voice. “Not like her existence would have changed anything, it only pushes it forward.”

“What do you mean?”

“War, my dear Vibraphone. The equalist idea of equality is so absolute, it cannot have anything that even questions their ideals.” Phorminx groaned. “I’m sure Naqara is already trying to head me off, and set herself up as a dictator to deal with this when it comes up.”

There was another pause. “I don’t think that would be a bad thing. A controlling bitch might be what we need if the Republic goes to war.”

“I won’t deny that. The council members of Security and law have always been the best suited for the leading Orthrus in times of conflict. The problem I have is if she will willingly step down when it’s over.”

Vibraphone sighed. “With how I saw the republic, they’re already at war, we just have not caught up to that fact. That’s why I think you should convince Harp that she should go with Naqara and take the ambassador job. If we can get the Orphic kingdom to ally with us, I doubt the republic would stand a chance if they were to make a move.”

“So Naqara really did get you on her side. What happened to you over there? You're not the kind to side with the like of Naqara, she offers no easy life?”

“Enough happened to me, more than I even understand, more than I wish I could forget.” There was a sharp bang, like something metallic hitting wood. “But trust me, you need to convince Harp to go with Naqara on this, I’m sure she will be safe.”

“Vibraphone, even if I did tell her to do that, my own words have no power over her. I may be her father, but only genetically. To her, the queen's late husband was her father, and that’s how it should stay.” Phorminx yawned. “Unless you have something else to ask, I think this conversation is over.”

“No, nothing important, I’ll go check up on her. Make sure Citole does not have Harp on a stripper pole.”

The recording ended with a few beeps. “So you’re council member Phorminx’s daughter!” I almost jumped, seeing Citole behind me. “You know what, I think I have just the right outfit for you.”

I looked at her, and the huge smirk on her face. I didn’t know what to feel, as I think I was feeling all the emotions right now. Was I really being lied to all my life? Why didn’t anypony ever tell me the truth?

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

“Wait Miss Harp, don’t cry!” She placed bottle of Metro Cola in front of me. “Here, why don’t you go sit on my bed, and have a drink? I can wait a few minutes until you feel better.”

I nodded and held onto Citole. The feeling of another pony next to me made me feel a little better. At least, it made me feel I’m not alone, like I’ve been for most of my life.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest continued: Political compass 50%

Chapter 29 - Political Compass Part 3

So after I had calmed down, I ended up in a blue bunny suit with yellow trim. The ears and shoes that came with the outfit were also blue, and the stockings for my back legs were yellow. On the bunny ears, shoes, cuffs, and the collar on top of the tie were pins depicting the Orthrus symbol. It felt a bit too much, but Citole assured me that it would be just fine, and I’d should just focus on enjoying myself.

It didn’t help me get my mind off what I had heard, though I probably misheard the whole thing about Phorminx being my father. But that would answer a few questions I’d always had. Like if everypony looked down on mirage ponies, then why would mother go through with the treatment? I just had to shake it off and move on. What actually concerned me more was what Naqara wanted with me, and why Vibraphone had sided with her.

“Let’s go, I’m sure the others are waiting for us.” Citole called out as she trotted over to me. She was in a black bunny mare suit, like a lot of the other mares here, and a few stallions. The bunny ears on her head flopped forward, having large earrings on them.

“Okay, just let me change back into the dress.” I was still unsure about the bunny mare suit, it made me feel a bit, exposed.

“Nope, we’re going now.” She gave me a less than calming grin. “If we stay any longer, I’ll be forced to work on my day off.” She took my saddlebag and put it on my back. “Again.”

So I ended up trotting out to the front of the casino, getting a few glances from the patrons, and one mare calling me over to join her at the bar. It was a new experience for me, not one I liked all that much. “How do you deal with that?”

Citole laughed. “You grow a thick skin, and learn how to enjoy yourself with it. Though, the mares are always far worse than the stallions. You would think it’s the other way around.”

“I, I wouldn’t know.” Citole smiled at me as we left the building, I was still unsure about her, but I felt I could at least trust her. Outside, my drone was waiting for me, along with Vibraphone. “Um… hello.”

Vibraphone tried to hide her laughter, but it was apparent that she was laughing at me. “Madam, aren’t you looking splendid today.” Order commented as it flew over to me. “Rabbits were common all over Equestria, and were a favorite pet among many ponies, as well as quick in their breeding.” Now Vibraphone stopped trying to hide her laughter, and let it all out.

“Sorry, sorry.” Vibraphone repeated. “I had a feeling she would put you in a bunny suit, but didn’t think she would actually do it.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “We should get going before you take your rabbityness to heart.”

Frowning, I followed Vibraphone out of the red light district. I was use to ponies looking at me, it was something I had to deal with all my life, but this was different. It lacked the curiosity, or disdain I was use too, the ponies here having more of a look of hunger to them. Citole nudged me, getting my attention, winking before holding her head high. I did the same, and I began to feel a little better.

Our walk went on longer than I thought it would, going through a more industrial tunnel, and ending at what looked like a gun shop. The shop, Cornet’s Guns and Knives, was a quaint place. Like with the farm ponies at the salad bar, but with more metal than wood. Guns and knives decorated the walls, most looked like they were custom made. A rust colored stallion walked out of the doorway, and he looked less than happy to see us.

“Right, Rototom told me that you were going to show up. Come on in.” The stallion motioned for us to follow him further into the shop. “I didn’t expect you to bring two bunny mares with you, one is trouble enough.”

I leaned over to Citole. “What’s his problem?”

“Flugelhorn is just a bit of a grump.” She told me with a smile. “It’s part of his charm. The stallion is actually a good catch that a lot of mares are after.”

I didn’t see it. Charm had more to deal with how elegant, and well-mannered a stallion was, not some rude or distant attitude.

Further in, we entered what looked like a kitchen. I say looked like, because I was sure kitchens did not come with an anvil and a grind stone. The room also happened to be full of knives. There were two ponies in the kitchen, one working over a stove, the other in a wheelchair.

Flugelhorn cleared his throat, gaining attention from the two mares. “Mother, your guest has arrived. And she brought friends, again.” The stallion trotted away, not giving us a second glance.

The wheelchair pony’s face was covered in bandages, and upon seeing her, Vibraphone gasped. “Kantele, what are you doing here.”

Kantele, who was likely the bandaged pony, looked away, saying nothing. The other mare trotted over to us happily. “Good to see that you're alright miss Vibraphone, you had us all worried.”

The two of them quickly hugged. “Miss Cornett, what is Kantele doing here, she should be at the hospital!”

The charcoal colored mare Cornett huffed. “When I heard about Kantele getting hurt, I was understandably worried, and went to check on her. The poor dear was so badly hurt, that the doctors had to open up a part of her skull to help ease the swelling. Worse yet, she was all by herself, no other visitors other than me, Citole, and one of her employees. So when she recovered enough to be allowed to leave, I took up the responsibility to oversee her recovery. I couldn’t just leave her all alone like that.”

Vibraphone lean over to the side to get another look at Kantele. “Will she be fine; she still looks really bad?”

Cornett shook her head. “Her back legs are paralyzed, and she currently suffers from amnesia. The doctors say that she could recover her memories at any time, but she may retain some minor brain damage, and trauma. The poor mare.” The older mare trotted over to Kantele. “Luckily the bandages around her face are just there to cover the missing fur. The doctors had to manually set the broken bones in her face before giving her a healing potion, so they had to shave her face first.”

“What about Ironshod? Wouldn’t they have a problem with you taking care of one of their company’s owners.” Vibraphone asked. “Shouldn’t they be taking care of her.”

A long sigh came from Cornett. “Corporations are like hydras. Cut off the head, and two more are waiting to take its place. I’m betting that they're hoping she never recovers, not that they’d do anything to keep her from taking her position in the company back, but a lot of paperwork will need to be signed before that happens. This is why I like to keep my business on the small side” Cornett then turned her attention over to me. “So who’s this lovely little mare?”

Vibraphone took a deep breath. “This here is princess Harp Melody, of the Orphic kingdom.”

“Oh my” Cornett said, placing a hoof over her mouth in what I guess was surprise. “Do, do I bow, curtsy, salute?”

“Please don’t, just a simply greeting will do.” The bunny suit was embarrassing enough as it was. “You have a wonderful place here, so many knives.”

Cornett chuckled. “Knives are my specialty, daggers too. The shop was passed down to me by the former master blacksmith, but she specialized in rifles.”

“That sounds fascinating.” It was, a little, but guns and knives were just not my thing. “But it’s too bad that we're not staying for long.”

“Why not!?” A voice from behind us spoke up. Looking back, Rototom trotted in, along with Sweet, Xylophone, and Phorminx. “It’s not like we have anywhere to be right now.”

A sudden “squee” came from behind me, but before I could look to see who it was, Cornett dashed passed me, and scooped up Xylophone. “Who is this adorable little filly?”

Xylophone formed a wide smile on her face. “I’m Xylophone. She’s like my momma!” She pointed at Vibraphone.

Vibraphone face hoofed. “No I’m not, she’s just been following me around.”

“Well if you’re not the mother, can I keep her!?” Cornett said excitedly. “I do have the most experience in the matter.”

Little Xylophone was lifted up in a green field of magic, and gently placed back onto the ground. Flugelhorn trotted up to the group, looking less than happy. “Mother, you have your hooves full with Kantele right now. We're not going to let a hyper active kid run around the shop, she could get herself hurt.” Cornett seemed to deflate a little, but nodded in agreement. “As for you.” His gaze turned to Rototom. “This is a place of business, not a place for your friends and family to hang out.”

Rototom’s face took on a deadpan long stare. “So you want me to leave.”

“What? No.” Flugelhorn huffed. “I’m just saying that if you keep sending ponies over here like this, it could…” Rototom locked her lips with his, silencing Flugelhorn.

Pulling back from him, Rototom smiled. “Loosen up, if you keep that up you're going to stress yourself bald.”

Flugelhorn took a step back. “And who’s the one giving me this problem?”

Rototom lightly poked at his chest. “You know you love it.”

“Ehh, what’s going on here?” Vibraphone had walked up to me, watching that odd exchange between the two.

Rototoms eyes seemed to light up. “Oh my, almost forgot about that.”

“About what?” Vibraphone prodded. “Don’t tell me you two are dating.”

The smile on Rototoms face grew a bit wider. “I wouldn’t say that we're dating.”

“We're getting married.” Flugelhorn blurted out, and Rototom looked at him with an angry stare. “What? You may like to beat around the bush, but you don’t have to deal with mares dropping hints nonstop.”

*Thud*

We all looked back to see Citole now resting her head on the table. Turning my gaze back to the couple, I saw that Vibraphone looked stunned, her mouth agape. It was not just her, but everypony had gone silent.

“If you’re getting married.” I raise my hoof, speaking up. “then that means you’re going to have a wedding.” Weddings mean, dancing, dresses, singing, and a big cake. “I love weddings.”

“I know, right?” Cornett trotted out in front of everypony. “I remember mine like it was yesterday. The dress was rushed, Flugelhorn was kicking in my belly, and papa was still contemplating on if he should just shoot my then-to-be husband.” She chuckled to herself. “But that’s enough about shotgun weddings, everypony skedaddle to the parlor. I can’t do any work with you all crowding in here.”

The parlor, which also happened to be the dining room, was actually nice and clean. Excluding a few oily rags, and some well used tools here and there of course. The decorations reminded me a bit of Citole’s room, but with more organization to it. I whispered over to Vibraphone “What’s with the mares here and pink hearts?”

She rolled her eyes, and whispered back. “Not sure, might be a generational thing. Our mother is a bit of a minimalist, and like her, Rototom and I tend to not clutter our homes. Might be the same around here, but with pink ribbons and hearts.”

I decided to give up on the question, and just accept it, even if the mares from around here are a bit too into pink and hearts. I turned my attention to Rototom and Flugelhorn. “So how did the two of you meet? Was it romantic?”

Rototom opened her mouth, only to have Flugelhorn stick a hoof in it. “She was one of our regulars. Her work required a lot of custom gear that didn’t scream Orthrus agent.” He removed his hoof from her maw, and wiped off some of the drool. “Over time I must have gotten use to her, as I stupidly agreed to go on a date with her. I think it was that she didn’t linger around all the time, unlike most mares who get stallion hungry.”

“It was the least romantic date I’d had ever had.” Rototom dead panned. “And it didn’t help that one of his stalkers tried to off me in the bathroom.”

Flugelhorn began choking on some water he was drinking. “What!?”

Rototom smiled, “Oh yes. You had three stalkers, four if you count the mousy little book worm. But she didn’t go out of her way to follow you around like the other three, SHe just seemed to go out of her way to be at places you normally go. So she’s harmless.”

The stallion sighed. “I know that much, but what was the part about trying to kill you?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, it would have been frightening to most ponies, but I was a freshly trained Orthrus specter at the time. I was on high alert for fucking everything. Poor mare didn’t see me coming.” Flugelhorn kept on staring at her. “Right, right. She jumped out of a stall, and came at me with a lead pipe. She must have though I was just another simple rival, as she was so surprised when I knocked that pipe across the room, along with a few teeth in one hoof strike. Sadly the mare didn’t seem right in the head, and tried to come at me with a small knife. I ended up stabbing her five times with the knife your mother gave me, and then reported her to Orthrus. Last I heard about her, she ran off to Charon’s Stop after she recovered.”

“And the other two?” Flugelhorn pressed.

“Well one tried to give me a warning, the cute one with freckles. I beat the shit out of her, and now she’s moved onto another stallion to chase after. I think it’s the son of one of the plantation owners. The other is still stalking you, but after what happened to the other two, she’s been keeping her distance.”

Flugelhorn gave out a long sigh. “At least that explains why the feeling that someone is watching me has gone down.”

I whispered over the Vibraphone once more. “Is this a common problem?”

She nodded. “It’s not as bad as it was hundred years back, but mares still outnumber stallions on this island. The competition just to get a stallion’s attention drives some mares mad.”

“Such a shame.” I looked over at Phorminx, who had taken a seat next to me, and was looking after little Xylophone. “Excuse me Phorminx, but did you ever have that problem?”

The old stallion chuckled. “When I was young, I did. But not as bad as Flugelhorn did. I was a bit of a nobody in my youth. The illegitimate foal of a Orthrus regular and her superior officer, not as an uncommon story as you would think. She ended up having to leave Orthrus, and raise me in Charon’s Stop, doing odd jobs with the syndicate just to get food on the table. So the mares that did give me attention were on the rough side. Things didn’t change until I signed up with Orthrus, and climbed up the ranks, but I was too distracted with helping my mother to see the other mares around me.”

“But you did find a mare right, start a family?” I don’t know why, but I wanted to know, I wanted to know if I had other family… no, don’t think of such thing. There’s no way he’s my father.

Phorminx sighed. “By the time I started thinking about such thing, I was getting old, and working as a specter. Conflict had also sparked up in the metro, and Orthrus had found itself on the wrong end of a gun. By the time things had calmed down, I found myself on the council, and helping organize the peace convention.”

“Oh, the peace talks nineteen years ago? My mother was there, did you know her?” Oh shit, stupid, moron, why did I ask that.

He smiled. “Gilded Gold, yes. We got well acquainted for that week. For an older mare, she still had a certain beauty about her, something you can only get with age. Also cunning and straight to the point. Without her taking the lead, the peace talks probably would have fallen apart.”

“On the topic of politics.” Vibraphone spoke up, “I was told by Naqara that she was interested in taking you in. An ambassadorial position sounds real nice.”

“As good as it sounds, I’m against it.” Phorminx spoke up in protest. “Such a plan could backfire very easily. Its much better if she stays in Orthrus protective custody until the Orphic Kingdom re-stabilizes.”

“That’s something that could take years. Something we may not have the time for.” Vibraphone shot back.

“I understand your concerns. The republic has been waiting for an opportunity to expand, but if we run to the Orphic Kingdom so blatantly, that might be what triggers a war.” Phorminx countered.

I cleared my throat loudly, getting the two’s attention. “Can you not argue over me, as you argue about me?” The two of them relaxed, looking a bit ashamed. “I think I understand the dilemma here. Naqara wants me to side with Orthrus, and use me to force my home to officially Ally the Orphic Kingdom with Orthrus. On the other hoof, you-” I pointed at Phorminx. “-want me to stay out of this, and keep Orthrus out of the Orphic Kingdom’s problems. In effect, maintain Orthrus’s neutral status.”

“But.” Vibraphone spoke up. “If we leave the Orphic Kingdome on its own, it may end up too weak to resist the republic when they eventually expand. And trust me, the republic is going to expand. Sooner than later too.”

“I do agree.” Phorminx said with a sigh. “But if we get involved with the Orphic Kingdom, it would mean sending our own forces into the Gathering Island to help reestablish order for the eventual blowback. Which would open ourselves to attack if the republic does go on the warpath.”

I let my head fall onto the table. “Why can’t we all just get along.”

*Wham*

Cornett dropped a case in front of Vibraphone. “If we were having dinner, I would have knocked you on the side of the head for bringing politics and war strategy into this room. That aside, your sister had your weapons sent over here for safekeeping. I made sure they were looked over and cleaned.”

Vibraphone opened up the case, and pulled out a revolver. It looked like the one she had before, but decorated. Next was a big knife, it was thick, and looked like it attached to a rifle. The last thing she pulled out was what I could only guess was an air rifle, but more. It had all the hallmarks of the air rifles I had seen before, but with a bigger air canister, and some sort of revolver loading system, over the spring canisters most other rifles used. Vibraphone opened up the revolver cylinder and pulled out what looked like a metal bolt, before putting it back in, and smiling. “Thanks. I didn’t get much use out of Lelantos, but it did prove useful when I did use it.”

“Good to hear.” Cornett said cheerfully. “Though I’d much rather you use that rifle for hunting, not for getting into fights.”

“Tell me about it.” Vibraphone huffed. “If somepony told me I was going to have to fight a cybernetic freak show, I’d have stayed home.”

The two had a laugh, though Vibraphone sounded a bit more stressed as she did. The rest of our time here was pleasant, and warm. Cornett served some snacks and drinks, as well as showed off her knife collection. The mare was a bit of an oddball to say the least, but I had to say that some of the knives she made were quite fascinating piece’s, like art, but with an edge. Rototom and Flugelhorn talked a bit more about themselves, it lacking any feeling of real romance, and sounding more like that Flugelhorn simply chose Rototom to get away from the other mares. The funny thing about it, they did seem to generally love each other, in an odd teasing way, that is.

When it was time to go, Phorminx elected to take Xylophone back with him, the little filly less then happy about having to go. The rest of us had one destination. Club Three-Dog.

______________________________________

Vibraphone, Sweet, Citole and I arrived at the club. Everypony else had other plans, or had to get back to work. The club was still closed, as it still had an hour before it’s normal opening time, but Vibraphone confidently stepped inside. Though as she did, she was strangely apprehensive, as though expecting trouble.

A guard sat at the front of the door, blocking the way. The mare was a bit bigger than your average mirage pony, and her legs were thickly built. Strangely, one of her wings was missing, and in its place was a cybernetic arm, which had a revolver on the end. I had not seen such a thing before, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive as I looked up at the pony.

Vibraphone tipped her hat. “VIP, and I have a message for DJ Cerberus.”

The guard nodded, and stood there for a moment, not moving. “Right, you're clear to go.”

Following Vibraphone, we all entered the club. The place I had to say was, different. Neon lights everywhere, shadow cutouts of ponies on the walls. In what I could only guess was the DJ booth, was a two toned blue mirage pony mare looking half asleep. Another pony was working diligently on cleaning the floor, ignoring us.

“Well, if it isn’t Vibraphone the Dragon Slayer. You had me worried.” A gold colored mare stepped out from behind the bar. She was quite striking, mostly because her mane glowed red, and she looked quite pregnant. “I’m guessing you have bad news.” Vibraphone opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, she turned away. The unusual mare just sighed. “It’s quite alright, at least your still alive. Going to the surface alone always has its dangers, everypony here knows that. Come, let’s talk. Meanwhile, your friends can have a beer, on the house.”

Vibraphone looked at us, giving us a subtle nod. “This won’t take long.” And trotted off with the mare.

“Well, can’t turn down a free beer.” Sweet cheerfully announced before hopping onto a bar stool.

Citole softly chuckled, and sat at the bar as well. “It is a good way to start the night.”

Sitting at the bar myself, I couldn’t help but feel out of place. “Umm, anything I should know about drinking beer?”

Sweet tilted forwarded, looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. “You fucking drink the beer.”

Placing her hoof in front of Sweets face, Citole smiled and sighed. “Dear, have you never had a beer before?”

I shook my head. “No, never. I know of drinking wine, with picking the right vintage, letting it sit, the swirling of the glass, the sniffing of the vapers, tasting the wine, and spitting it out after. Is it like that?”

A bellowing of laughter came from Sweet, as she pushed Citole’s hoof out of her way. “A better question is if she’s ever had alcohol before.” I shook my head again. “Well shit, first time for everything.”

Three tall glasses filled with a foamy golden brown fluid were placed in front of us. I looked at the others to see what to do. Sweet tilted the glass upside-down with her mouth, drinking it all in one go, while Citole had somehow found a straw, and began drinking the beer through it. Looking at the drink, I gave it a sip. It was a bit bitter, with a refreshing aftertaste.

“This is not bad, not the best thing I’ve had. I mean, it could use something sweet to it.” I saw the bartender roll her eyes at my comment, making me feel a bit ashamed. Insulting the local beverage was being rude. The least I could do was finish the drink, so I decided to follow Sweet’s example, and drank it as fast as I can. This took me a few gulps, the drink not wanting to go down easy.

Placing the now empty glass, I took a long deep breath.

“Not bad for a first timer.” Sweet chuckled. “You want another, princess?”

I waved my hoof at her. “No, no. The drink was quite alright-” *Hic* “-Oh my, I got the hiccups. Out of all the possible times.”

“Miss Harp.” Citole got in my face. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… fine.” Strange, my head was feeling fuzzy. “What’s in that drink?”

“Hops, barley, and oats. Your standard beer.” The bartender stated.

“Oh good.” I looked down at the empty glass. “Then why does my head feel funny?”

“You gotta be kidding me.” Citole stated. “On one beer?”

I tapped on the bar with my hoof. “You know what, I feel good, good. Another beer.”

I could hear Sweet burst out laughing, I didn’t care why, because I was feeling good.

After the second beer, things became a bit blurry, and soon after more ponies entered the club. It was actually quite fun, with music pumping, ponies dancing, and lights flashing all around. Citole stayed close to me, something about me not straying off. Lots of the ponies were real friendly to me, some wanting to show me some new dance moves, though I’d hardly call just moving my hips as dance moves. One pony came up to me, offering to sell me some party mints, it sounded fun, so I asked Citole if it was alright. Sweet came around soon after, needing to talk with the mint pony, privately, outside the club. Another pony asked me if I was interested in having a private dance with her and her friends. Vibraphone stepped in to talk with them privately, and when she got back, she said sadly they had to change their plans for the night.

It had gotten late into the night when the swimming-ness in my head was now a minor fuzziness. Citole left to go back home, something about having to work in the morning, leaving me with Vibraphone. Sweet was around, she just needed to rest in the back, something about her having a few too many glasses more than she should have had.

Vibraphone felt it was a good time for us to go, and while the club was still very much active, it had gotten late. Stepping out into the street, the ponies here were still very much active as it was in the day, though some of the shops were closed. “Let’s not linger around too long, Harp. The ponies up and about at this time are a bit… off-putting.” She looked out both ways on the road before stepping out, motioning me to follow her.

I wasn’t sure what she meant by off-putting, but then I had a look at some of the ponies that were about. Some had excessive cybernetics, others had tattoos wherever their fur was exposed. One mare had barely any clothes on, and was trotting around like she was in a daze. It was really all I needed to see to want to quickly get out of here.

It was a bit strange trotting back to the train tunnel, as all the lights had been dimmed, and much of the chatter of active ponies had dropped to a muffled murmur. It was not all dark, as a drone illuminated a wide area over two Orthrus regulars patrolling the tunnel. The two regulars give us a friendly nod as they passed by. knowing they were nearby did help me feel a little secure, as did having Vibraphone escort me to the train.

“Miss Vibraphone?”

She glanced over at me. “Yes.”

“I did some thinking. Well, not a lot of thinking, but some.” It was close to none, I’ve just been too distracted, stupid me. “About what you where talking about before, about taking the ambassador job. I just wonder if there was another way.”

“What do you mean?” She glanced about, looking like a vigilant guard.

“Well, I don’t want Orthrus to get involved in my family’s mess. They already have their hooves full with maintaining order as it was, to have them stretched thin, like Phorminx said, it could end up badly for Orthrus. But,”

“But you don’t want to see your family rip each other apart over the crown.” Vibraphone finished for me. I nodded in agreement, having nothing more to add. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Here’s the thing, It does not matter to me how you go about this, as long as it ends with the Republic being contained, and the pirates driven out. Sadly, we can’t do one and ignore the other, it has to be both. If we can forge a proper alliance with the Orphic Kingdom, then we should have the pony power to do that. Orthrus on its own could drive out the pirates, but the Republic is something I think ponykind has never seen before.” She looked at me, her eyes, they burned like a raging fire. “They need to be more then stopped. the republic needs to be smothered in its crib before it can grow any further.”

A sharp whistle came from in front of us. We had arrived at the train stop, only now to realize that it was far darker in here than the rest of the station was. “Smother the republic in its crib. Such harsh words comrade.” A mare stepped out, her fur and worker overalls smudged with grease, and her prosthetic legs chipped and rusted. “But what was I to expect from a capitalist spy.”

Before I could say or do anything, Vibraphone had her revolver out and pointed at the mare. “You know; I’m not surprised at all to run into your kind here. What did they promise you? Food, water, equality? Let me tell you this, nothing they offer will be worth what they take.”

The mare laughed. “What they take, what is there to take from me? You capitalists already took everything.” She walked up to us, stopping when Vibraphones gun touched her head. “So, you’re going to-“

*Blam*

The mare hit the floor, and I could see a faint whiff of smoke from the barrel of Vibraphones gun. “We need to go. There's never just one equalist.”

“But you just shot her.” I should see the blood oozing from the mare’s head. “Why did you shoot her?”

She huffed. “Her ideology was terminal, so I had to put her down for our own good. Now let’s go before her friends show up.” The sound of metal clacking on concrete resonated in the tunnel, coming from the stairs we had come down from, and in front of us. Vibraphone took a step back, and got close to me. “Scratch that, when I say go, we run.”

Lit by the light of an electric lanterns, the ponies came into sight, one of them looked as dirty as the mare before, holding improvised weapons. One had what looked like an air gun, but it had six arrows on the end, and another mare was armed with a digger gun. Closer now, I could count them, five from the stairs, and four in front of us. We were surrounded, and Vibraphone didn’t have enough bullets to stop them all.

Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder “Excuse me Princess Harp.” Startled, I looked to see who it was. Looking back at me was three horizontal glowing green lines. I nodded. “Good, let’s get you out of this situation.”

With a flash, I found myself in a brightly lit room, of which, my eyes did not like. Giving my eyes a few seconds to adjust, I was finally able to make out exactly where I was. The Sweetie Belle’s Ballad. Somehow I had been teleported to the airship from another island. “How?”

“It’s our set point teleportation platform.” The Orthrus specter spoke up. “It allows anypony with a teleportation talisman to return to this platform when needed. Sadly, only two were ever built, and the resources to build more only exist off the islands.”

Suddenly Vibraphone and another specter appeared on the platform, except Vibraphone was being held to the ground, her revolver in her mouth. “You a stupid bitch!” The specter shouted. “The fuck is wrong with you!”

Spitting out her gun, Vibraphone shouted back. “And what, just let them go where they please! Those brainwashed lackeys are destruction wrapped in pleasantries and charity. You can’t just let them take over.”

The specter placed her hoof on Vibraphones neck, choking her. “What you did I call murder.” Using her other hoof, she released a seal on her helmet, and shook it off her head, revealing Rototom. “What the fuck happened? You were never so quick to kill before.”

Pushing her sister off of her, Vibraphone got back onto her hooves. “The republic is what happened. They need to be destroyed before things get worse.”

“And killing ponies in cold blood?” Rototom poked her sister in the chest. “How does that help any pony?”

She swatted Rototom’s hoof away. “It’s a goddess damned start. Orthrus should never have let the Equalists take over. We should have killed them in their crib.”

Rototom took a step back. “Still, what you just did, I have to turn you in.”

Vibraphone smiled, but the smile did not fill me with anything positive. “To whom? You all are going to have to do the same soon.”

The sharp sound of feedback ringed around us “That’s enough!” Looking around I saw Naqara up on a higher platform looking down at us, accompanied by Phorminx. “Meet me at my office, the three of you.” The older mare turned around, and left the room, leaving Phorminx, who trotted down some nearby stairs over to us.

“Are you alright, Harp? You didn’t get hurt did you?” Unlike Naqara, he felt much warmer when talking to me.

Still, I felt a bit unnerved by Vibraphones actions, but I shoved those feelings back, back to the same place as the truth about Phorminx. “I’m fine. Did you have these two follow me all night?” The two specters stopped for a moment to wave at us, before continuing their way upstairs, Vibraphone in tow.

Phorminx sighed. “Miss Harp, you’re a target, and likely you will always be. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I felt if as long as you didn’t know, you could at least enjoy yourself without always being worried.”

I didn’t like the idea of always having a babysitter all the time, but as demeaning as it was, I understood why. “I’m not even allegeable for the throne, and yet they all want me dead, don’t they?” I could feel myself tear up. “My family hates me, the republic hates me, why was I even born.”

Phorminx stepped up to me, giving me a hug, patting me on the back. “There, there. You're safe here.”

I let him hold me, it was warm, comforting. “Could I really live here, far from all the bloodshed that’s to come?”

“Yes.” His hug became firm for a moment. “It would be a bit boring at times, but you can live in peace with us until the storm blows over.”

“It would, for me.” I wiggled out of the hug. “But it makes life more difficult for you. Not because I’m here, but that I’m here with you.”

Phorminx took a step back, his face looked somber and serious. “I thought as much, once a pony lets the cat out of the bag, eventually everypony knows.” He looked up to the upper platform, where two ponies worked. “Let’s go to my room, talk about this in private.”

I nodded in agreement, and the two of us trotted up the stairs and out of the room. The ship itself was quiet, other than the night crew conducting maintenance work on the ship. Despite the ship rarely ever being used, it looked like it needed round the clock work to keep it running at full strength. After moving through a few doors, and some long hallways, we arrived at the VIP end of the ship, my room only being a two doors down.

I had been in Phorminx room before, but it always surprised me how little was in here. He had a bed, cabinet, and a table with two chairs, but very little in the way of decoration, other than a custom air rifle he had on the wall. It was obviously not of a standard design I had seen, with what looked like a cooling system attached to the barrel.

On his bed was my drone, Order, which told me all I needed to know. He already knew that I knew. “Order, come here.” The drone came to life, and hovered up to me. “I would make a terrible spy, wouldn’t I?”

Phorminx chuckled “You're about as subtle as a train. Not that you can’t be trained, but that would take a lot of time.”

I gave Order a poke on its mechanical mouth piece. “Traitor.” Trotting over to the bed, I sat down, the bed being a lot firmer than I was use too. “So then, is it true?”

He trotted over and sat next to me. “Up until you arrived, it was only a rumor. I probably should have left it alone, let it stay that way, but my curiosity got the better of me. I had medical do a DNA test, see if Gilded Gold had actually gotten the treatment herself, or if…”

“If you’re my father?” Phorminx looked away from me and sighed.

“Yes. Before I could never get close to you, and I knew not to ever try. So I never knew what the truth was. Well, now I know, and I don’t know how to feel.” His voice cracked as he spoke, and tears welled up in his eyes. “I’m a father, your father, and I never got to see you grow up.”

It must have been because he was starting to cry, because I was too. “So then it is true. Everypony has lied to me, from the start.” He looked at me, eyes wide. “Sorry, it’s just that… I’m only ever been told that I was an... error in judgment. That I was nothing more than mother salvaging a child who should have died at birth.”

Phorminx gritted his teeth, inhaled, and gave a long exhale. “Then don’t go back, reject Naqara’s offer. We have ponies who can help you start a new life, give you a new face and name. You can leave this mess behind, and live with me, as a family.”

I shook my head. “But I can’t. They’re still my family, and even if I hate them sometimes, I can’t leave them behind.” I got off the bed. “I know them, and Rare Pearl is the best of us. If I can help her maintain order, help her keep the rest of my family in check, then I have to do it.”

With a sigh, Phorminx got off the bed. “You're definitely more your mother than anything else. If that’s the path you want to trot, then I will not stand in your way.” He turned to a small metal coffee table next to his bed. “But before you go, take this with you.” Pulling out a key, he unlocked a drawer in the coffee table, and opened it up. He pulled out a revolver, much like the one Vibraphone, and other members of Orthrus used. “This has served me ever since I joined Orthrus. I want you to have it.

“But, I can’t, I shouldn’t.” The revolver had a short heavy barrel like the others I had seen, but blued steel in color. It also had pristine white mouth grip, with the Orthrus logo imprinted onto it in gold. “I’m not even a member of Orthrus.”

He pulled out a holster and smiled. “Doesn’t matter. Think of it as part of your inheritance. Also, I don’t like the idea of you going out into a potentially dangerous situation without a reliable gun at your side.” He worked on the holster until it comfortably clung to my chest, one loop going around my leg. “The grip is made of an old radboar tusk, so it’s gentle on the mouth while being strong as steel, also the holster is made from the hide of the same radboar, the leather treated with magic so that it won’t simply wear out over time. Also the holster will hold twelve spare bullets on its own, but don’t forget to load the revolver. Rarely will life give you the time to load the gun when you need it.”

“But what if it misfires?” I had heard of the dangers of old world guns, like them suddenly going off on their own and killing somepony.

He chuckled. “A gun like this, never. This is the pinnacle of revolvers, it will only fire when you pull the trigger, and never on its own.” He placed the revolver into the holster, and I could feel the weight on my neck. It was heavy, not in just weight wise, but… well emotionally heavy. Like I was now carrying some ponies burden, no somepony’s responsibility.

I looked at it and smiled. “It clashes with the bunny suit.” We both laughed, and I felt like a small weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The burden of feeling like the family’s unwanted mistake was gone, and in its place, the responsibly to save that family now hung from my chest. A gift from the father I never knew I had.

I looked Phorminx in the eyes and smiled. “I think I need to talk with Naqara.”

He smiled back. “Then I’ll escort you to her.”

Naqara’s room was on the other side of the ship, near the bridge, which luckily was a straight hallway and a door away from us. Her room, unlike Phorminx’s, was a bit more well decorated. Mostly it was picture frames with her and a bunch of other ponies in it, many of them having her surrounded by foals. She also had a few rifles on her wall, along with what looked like a hunting trophy of a Paradise Dragon Claw. Above her bed was a flag depicting the Orthrus symbol, overtly stating her loyalty to Othrus. Rototom and the other Specter stood on the either side of Vibraphone, in front of Naqara. The three of them looked back to see us, and parted, allowing me a good view of Naqara.

“Good of you to come.” Naqara sat on her bed, looking as confident as ever. “Have you come to give me an answer to my offer?”

I nodded. “Yes.” I took a deep breath, holding it in as though it would give me more of the clarity that I needed. Letting it go, I continued. “I need your help, I need to save my family before it’s too late.”

“So you accept my proposal then?” She smiled wide.

I shook my head. “No, that would put Orthrus in danger. I want to do this without Orthrus’ direct control.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “I need you to help me get to Rare Pearl, so that I can talk to her, secretly. I don’t want others to think I’m trying to take over. I don’t want to see ponies die because I was too rash.”

Naqara scratched her chin for a moment, looking serious before smiling. “Yes, I can see it. The big problem is simply getting to the royal family, loud or quiet matters not, as long as you make it to stable 50’s door. After that it’s all up to you.” She got up off the bed, and trotted over to me. “But to do it all without leaving our hoof prints all over, that will be tricky, and take a lot of resources. Are you willing to pay the price?” I nodded. “Good, because you’re going to have to go a roundabout way to get to stable 50, and I’ll need to get something done first before you get there.”

“As long as it does not start a war, I’ll do it.” I responded.

“Actually, that’s exactly what I need you to do.” She rustled through one of her pockets, and pulled out a strange cube. “This here is a very special Ministry of Moral spy bug. With it attached to a receiver up high, we can listen into every signal in a very wide area. From our records, It’s construction was meant for rooting out spies here on the islands, but it also opened up old Equestria’s secured messages for interception. A problem that was never fixed.” She placed the cube back into her pocket. “I need some ponies to sneak into Marewaii Skyport, and install it into the radio receiver for a few minutes. If what we already know is correct, the data collected should give us enough evidence to catch the republic preparing for war, and stir the council to declare a need for a dictator to head this new conflict.” She placed a hoof on her chest. “Meaning myself. Once we have collected the necessary data, you are to move onto stable 50.”

“So, you want me to put you in power, that’s all this is about.” I couldn’t help but feel angry at this, her asking this of me, it felt wrong.

She nodded. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, I’m not going to clam dictator for life, just until the republic is beaten down. As the council is now, It cannot conduct a war, not with the five heads all trying to go in different directions. If all things go well, by the time you’re done with forging an alliance with us and the Orphic Kingdom, Othrus should be properly reorganised to deal with the republic.”

I thought about it for a moment, and it all made sense, except... “Wait, if all you need is a high place for the bug, then can’t you just use a balloon? Get the bug sky high with that?”

Naqara sighed. “We already did an experiment like that, and as it turns out, the bug pumps out a lot of magic. Unless it’s connected to a grounded system, it fries everything. Right now the only place that could have the thing installed without immediately frying is the Marewaii Skyport.”

“I see.” I had to concede, not that it was unknown that old world tech tended to be dangerous. “So how does this keep Orthrus out of the spotlight?”

“By not having any active Orthrus agents with you.” Was her answer. “The cover story can simply be that due to the assassination attempt, you hired ponies you knew to take you home in secret. Isn’t that right, Vibraphone?”

I looked to my side to see Vibraphone looking at the ground. “Right. Along with installing the bug, I’m to escort Harp back to her home.”

“Good.” Naqara clapped her hooves together. “If you do that, we can forget your murderous outburst from earlier ever happened. Too bad that mare died when she was mugged by a gang of ponies.” Her attention turned back to me. “I’ll see to it that you have a proper amount of guards with you. Two, no three ponies should do it. Also, it should take a day for everything to be prepared, so relax until then. Now get going, I have other business to attend too.”

Vibraphone and I left the room, Phorminx gave me a nod, staying behind. “So that’s that then.”

Vibraphone nodded. “E’yep.” She pulled out a small bottle, opening it and dropped two pills into her hoof. “Just to let you know, don’t bother me tomorrow. I’ll probably be drunk, and well, doing other things.” She popped the pills into her mouth and gulped. “Also, sorry you had to see that. I should have kept my cool.”

I watched as she trotted away, and something clicked. The confident mare I knew from before, she seemed to be gone. In her place was a new Vibraphone, driven, yet troubled. I already missed the friend I made back on the big island.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Finished: Political compass

Chapter 30 - Spelunking

Chapter 30 - Spelunking

My low security cell was a tacky light blue and pale pink, with palm trees printed along the walls. Most of the stuff in here reflected the old world, Terminals, TV’s, clocks, all that stuff I was used to seeing rotting on the surface, but her it was clean and working. In the center of it all, agents the wall, was the bed, not as comfortable as it looked, but better than sleeping on the floor. It was made help a pony relax, but all I could think of it was some cheap motel from the old world, I think it was making my headache worse, stupid painkiller wearing off.

“So… Miss Vibraphone, can I call you miss Echo? Your name is a bit long.” The pony was with Orthrus Ponies Relations group, a mirage pony with a garish green coat and a luminous light blue mane. Her dress uniform was ridiculously clean, like fresh from the cleaners clean. She also had her nose up in the air, almost like she fed off her superior position.

“No, it’s a bit too formal, and makes me feel old.” I knew I had to play ball, but with this nag, it just hit a nerve. I know that before I would comply, it was the easiest, and best way through this, but somehow I felt irritated by her presence. I couldn’t help but resist.

Her facial expression did not shift, not even looking the least bit annoyed by my response. “I’ll call you Miss Phone then.” Ohh, this bitch really wanted to get under my skin.

“Just stick with miss Echo, like every pony else.” It felt petty to get mad over this, but I was getting a little mad. After the shit I had to deal with, I was not going to let some paper pushing head doctor get off easy.

“So, miss Phone,” Bitch “Let’s talk about your time in the Republic’s dark zone.”

I rolled my eyes. “It was all tea and cookies, felt like a real ministry mare there.”

“Really?” She was as poker faced as before. “If that is your official recounting of what happened, then this is going to be a short session.”

I rubbed my temples. “By Celestia, fuck no!” Taking a deep breath, I let myself calm down. The shrink just sat there, waiting for my next response. “I’m sure you’ve seen the memory; it was copied right out of my head.”

“I did review several parts of your debriefing, Miss Phone, but I’m here to get your personal account of how things went.” She pushed some paper and a pen to me. “Memory and personal opinion are different, and can skew the perception of certain events. We meant to do this earlier, but were are instead doing this now, so if you would kindly start from the beginning.”

I sighed. “I’d rather not, but fine, I’ll make it quick.” The mare nodded. “Well if I were to start, I was saved by one of their medics.”

“One Miss Clarinet, right?”

I nodded. “She was a sweet mare. A bit too caught up on the propaganda to think properly for herself, unfortunately.” It made me shake my head. “I can’t fault her, or the others. As good as it is here, many more are left out there to rot.”

“And how does this makes you feel?”

“In a single word? Lucky.” I like to think that Orthrus could do more, but I knew there was only so much to go around. The Republic had some solutions, but it included giving up most of any pony’s freedoms. “I had my family, and later Orthrus. Both gave me opportunities others didn’t have.” With what I knew about Clarinet, the Republic was probably the best thing that happened to her, as it was the worst this that happened to me. “Ponies who didn’t have the stable life I had, I can see why the republic is a good idea for them.”

“On the subject of the Republic, what do you think about it overall?”

“Free food, housing, work. Cybernetics stabbed into your brain. What’s not to love?” I gave her the widest smile I could until it hurt to keep doing it.

She paused for a moment, probably waiting for me to stop with the painfully fake smile. “Less sarcasm if you would, miss Phone.”

“Truthfully, the republic is a ball of propaganda, spinning lies and truths together so that its own ponies don’t know what to think.” I let my face take a rest, not that I could hold it for long anyway. “It’s hard to resist what you don’t understand, and when it controls your food and water, it’s simply harder to resist it. The republic is security at the cost of your freedom, and at the heart, it takes your freedom of personality in exchange for a pacified hive mind. It’s not a place for a pony who wants to be themselves, or accept the consequences of their actions. Those who come from the outside and seek a new life in the Republic are promised a happy paradise. But it offers only one thing. Conformity.”

“How did it feel to be part of…” she thought for a moment, finally showing some emotion as she scrunched her face, even if only momentarily. “Unity, maybe?”

“Not unity, more like a network. They called it the Collective Consciousness Network, or SYBYL. for short” I sighed, holding myself. “And warm. It felt... warm. Like a big hug from and uncountable amount of ponies. You weren't alone, unwanted, or looked down on. You were simply accepted. When you feel like that, why think, why be an individual, why go against the flow? I was a drop of water in a lake, no way to tell me apart from the others. And when I disconnected, it felt cold, lonely. Like I had made a mistake.”

“Do you regret it?” She asked. “Disconnecting from them?”

“Fuck no!” I spat out. “I’m just saying that everything felt right there. I know it’s all lies, but inside you don’t know that, you can’t know that. I only managed to get out because Slowtrot fell out into my head.”

“The dream pony right?” She flipped through a few papers on her clipboard. “There was another one too, correct?”

“Phobetor” I nodded.

“You mentioned them a few times, as well as how one of them helped you through your ordeal.” I nodded again. “We also noted that you have been taking pill supplements of chill from the time you got back. How much of it did you imbibe during your time in the Republic?”

“Oh fuck you!” I blurted out. “I wasn’t hallucinating! It all really happened!”

“It is known that toxin exposure from the surface can affect the mind, and with drug use, it tends to make things worse.” She flipped through a few more pages, reading a some of them. “I’m not here to judge what you had to do to survive out there, I’m simply here to help.”

“Well, you’re not!” I crossed my hooves, and glared at her. “And I’m not going crazy… even if it does sound that way.”

“And what about the continued use of chill pills now that you’ve returned…?” she gave me a sideways glance.

“It was stressful,” I huffed. “I needed to keep my cool there, and I’ve just weened myself off them? Even I know you can’t quit that shit cold turkey.”

She looked away, and back at her clipboard. “It’s noted here that security confiscated a small jar of pills on you at the checkpoint, and you were witnessed taking them before the checkpoint.” I kept my mouth shut. “Right, I’ll make an appointment for you later.”

“For what?” I glared at her.

She put her clipboard down and looked me in the eyes. “You’re clearly showing signs of addiction, miss Phone. Nothing bad yet, but if left uncheck, it will get worse.” I huffed, but I was starting to worry about that. “Also, I think it’s best if you go get a brain scan so we can see how sever the schizophrenia might me.”

“Oh fuck you, I’m not crazy, I’m not seeing things!” I shouted at her. “And there’s only one mare allowed in my head, and that’s me. So would you kindly get out of it?”

“It’s for your own good, miss Phone.” The mare didn’t budge. “The amount of drugs in your system has been severe, not to mention the inhibitors that were still in your system when you arrived.”

“What inhibitors?” First I’m an addict, then I’m schizophrenic. Now what is she trying to pin on me?

She sighed “From the notes, you had been eating something that was inhibiting your ability to think. It was in low amounts, making it hard to detect, but it was there. Medical notes that this inhibitor chemical, along with the drugs, has had the very real potential of altering your brain chemistry permanently.”

I had to bite my tongue as to not start screaming at her. I was not going crazy, but I didn’t put it past those equalists to do something like that to pacify the public. It was probably in the food, as everypony at some point had to eat the pink slime they served.

“Fine, whatever, but I still have a job to do.” I grunted. “I’m not going to let you or anypony keep me locked up in a padded cell.”

“Not your call.” The mare sighed. “Here, I’ll be back tomorrow. If your tests come back to show that you’re mentally healthy, then you’ll get my seal of approval to go.” She got up, and trotted to the door. “So until then, just try to relax.” Two armed security officers followed her out. I found it ridiculous that they saw me as a danger, so I stuck my tongue out at them.

The metal door closed, and locked. It was one of those high security doors Orthrus made for civilian use. Meaning that you could not get through them by force, well not without an angle grinder.

I didn’t bother turning on the TV, there were only two channels. One played over two-hundred-year-old shows and movies I’d seen a hundred times before. The other was Orthrus news, most of it was just subtle propaganda, or repeating what little news they had to talk about. The rest was static or music, and neither of those interested me at the moment. I tried the terminal, but it’s only use was either for contacting the guard, or to use as a chat room for other prisoners here. At the very least I found out that I was stuck in a low security lockup, so half the ponies here were Orthrus washouts. Most of them were only being kept for a few days to sober up, others in here for getting into brawls, or more commonly, both at the same time. I knew Sweet had been thrown in here a few times, but I had never been locked up before myself.

Sighing, I knew what had to be going on. Some pony, probably my sister, was pulling strings to keep me out. It was just like Rototom to put me in a mess, then pull me out. She liked being the hero, even when she was the cause of the mess. So here I was, stuck in what my big sister thinks she knows best for me. Shaking my head, I trotted and looked around the room, at least, in what little space I had. There was a vent along the wall that caught my eye, welded shut with some bars behind it, so no luck there. The door was not going to open, even with a lock pick. Electric locks were troublesome like that. The windows were fake, unless I was in a hotel room overlooking a pristine beach from two centuries ago. While it may have been low security, it still meant I was not going anywhere without help from the outside.

*BUZZZ*

Great, the ‘warden’ was here. A panel in the ceiling opened up, and a mechanical sphere-like eye descended.

“Time for your daily exercise!” I think this was part of the punishment for being sent here. The loud buzzing and the obnoxious robot were enough to make me want to kill myself. “Now, I want you to follow my movements. Get that neck moving.”

The robot extended to the left, and I followed with my head. He did the same to the right. So did I. Up, then down, my head followed.

“Good, now move your legs. Get that blood pumping!”

“I don’t have blood in my legs.” I said back at it.

“Not with that attitude you don't!” The robot eye did a little bouncing motion. “So get them moving.”

I was not going to stand for this. Locked up here, being told I was going crazy, and now had a fucking robot wanting me to do aerobics? At least I had an opening, I just needed to take it.

“Warden, my neck is still a bit stiff, can we go over the first exercise?” My question made the small robot pause for a moment.

*BUZZZ*

“Now I want you to follow my movements, get that neck moving!” It repeated in the same tone as it had before.

I leaned back on my cyber legs, doing as the warden said, and when he lowered, I pushed forward in a pounce. Sweet had told me about one time she was in here, she punched it. It responded by shocking her as a deterrent, enough to floor her, or so she said. Luckily, I had my tactical SATS, and before landing on the warden, I activated it and instructed it to keep my legs latch onto it. The spell did nothing to stop the electricity as it coursed through my body however. Even though it hurt a lot, my plan worked. I stayed latched onto the small robot, even when it lifted up and out of the room.

I hit the sealed metal hatch with a thud. Even with my tight grip on the robot, I was still shaken off soon after leaving the cell. It took me a moment to recover, but getting up, I found myself in the dirty outer workings of the lockup. It was a dark space where ponies rarely go unless for maintenance, so I at least had enough time before security knew where I was. Now I just needed to get out of here, and meet up with harp. Rototom may have thought she’s protecting me by sticking me in this place, but fuck her. If I dig my own grave, I’m going to get myself out of it on my own.

Security was not a bunch of idiots, so it would not take them long to find me. But again, as a low security facility, there were only a few of them here, so I was not in for a big fight if I happened to run into any of them. Looking around, I found a maintenance hatch that lead out of here not to far through the cramped space. Not waiting to waste time or be found, I made my exit. The maintenance route was not for the claustrophobic, but it was thankfully not in use at the moment, so I was able to make my way out of here without too much of an issue. With any luck, the rest of the facility would be just as empty today. Probably not, but hey, a mare can dream...

________________________________________________________________

Traveling through the maintenance tunnels got me past one of the security checkpoints, but that’s where my free ride unfortunately ended. A few of the staff ponies here were a bit surprised to see me pop out of the panel, but it was nothing too out of the ordinary for maintenance, so they probably just assumed I was one of them and went on with their business. My main concern was the security here. It would not take them long to notice I was out of my cell, so I needed to move quickly. If I got caught now, I’d be put in a higher security cell, and while this place wasn’t a joke to get out of, anything tougher wasn’t going to be something I can get myself out of on my own, period.

Lucky me, maintenance had a storage room nearby, and it was just what I needed. Uniforms and tools were what I went for immediately, however a few other items I didn’t need caught my eye inside, including a promotional poster for the Lucky Rabbit's foot. I couldn’t help but pause for a moment, as the image of two stallions intertwined was rather enticing, but with a big something that could poke an eye out. I tried to shake off the thought, but the idea of going round two with Merit popped onto my head, along with Sorrow, as she had offered. Both encounters were of course something that wouldn’t happen any time soon if security caught up to me.

Closing the locker, I couldn’t help but feel that the maintenance jumpsuit fit my figure a bit too well. Body size didn’t seem to vary too much between mirage ponies, so it was not out of the norm, but still felt a bit... odd. Tieng my tail back, and pushing my mane under my newly worn hat, an old stable tech cap, I was ready to get moving again. I just had to make sure I didn’t stand out too much, and I should be good.

Back into the halls, I made my way to the hanger, where there shouldn't be any more security checkpoint. A few security ponies passed by, most not in any rush. If any of them were looking for me, then they overlooked the pony in the maintenance jumpsuit. It made me feel a little paranoid thinking that they were all looking for me, but it was better to be safe. Luckily it seemed that from where I was, security was not on high alert, so I had time to breath and plan out my next move.

First, I needed to get myself in position where security could not apprehend me. Of course that was easier said than done, but I did have the option of the council. If I remember correctly, there was another meeting at the council room for the upcoming operation, If I got there, security’s search for me would be canceled. Naqara was not one to suffer the insubordination of those around her, or ponies skirting her authority.

Entering the hangar area, the Scootaloo hovered above like a giant ready to break out of here, but tied down with chains. To my right the way was blocked by large metal boxes, and the ponies moving them around. It seemed that rail cannon ammunition was being loaded up, along with other various ammunitions, so they were unlikely to make way all too soon. To my left, security was bunching up, my best guess, work of my brake out got to the others, and they were planning to secure and sweep the area.

With no better direction to go, I chose to head straight through the ship. It was a bit tight on space, but maintenance workers were common on the over two-hundred-year old airship. Much of the ship’s parts had been replaced by more modern and less corroded replacements, but the council had both airships under constant care just in case they were ever needed. Knowing what was coming, it was going to be a good thing they were kept in such great shape.

I stopped almost as abruptly as I’d started to move onto the old ship. Blocked. My way through was clogged by another maintenance crew hard at work replacing the floor boards and wiring for the ship. It forced me to deviate and take another exit that sadly meant going onto the top deck. Most of the renovations at the moment were being done on that deck, with almost a constant stream of ponies going up and down the stairs with supplies. All the more chance to be discovered and called out, but I had no other option.

As I climbed up the stairs, the uptick in work here didn’t go unnoticed by me. It wasn’t just maintenance right now, I was sure that the Scootaloo Resolve was being prepped for the coming war. All her old parts were now being replaced with more durable, new parts, and soon she’d be one hell of a force to be reckoned with.

Nearly running into the flank of another worker, I was forced to stop in the cramped hallway crowded by the other crew. All ways through to me were blocked, including the way back down the stairs. Sure, I could try to pass myself off as one of the maintenance crews until security dies down, but they all knew each other, and would spot me as an outsider easy. All other ways off of the ship were probably covered by security, which by now had to be on alert for me. A pony overhead caught my eye as they climbed down a ladder that lead further up. As soon as they dropped off it, I took my opportunity and climbed up.

Quite quickly, I found myself on top of the venerable airship. It was strange to be on top of the airships rigging, the metal skin of the arship made a light clanek sound with each step I took. I’d only only been here once before, giving into Sweets curiosity at risk of getting into trouble, but that was years ago. The ceiling of the hanger was so close now that I could almost reach out and touch it. However, the peeling and cracked paint depicting a blue sky was now easy to see for the illusion it was.

Out of all the oddness of trotting on an air balloon, it had the one thing I needed, a way around most of the ponies on the job. All I needed to do is slide down one side, and hold onto the cable. I’d get rope burn for sure, but it would get me to the bridge to the other side easy. Sweet used this trick more than once, I having to wait for her on the other side.

The main problem was that I could not see the other side until I drop down onto it. There was a safety net to prevent any accidents from running into deaths, but that would get me caught. Luckily the particular cable I needed to keep an eye out for was easily found after looking around for a moment. Though most of the old red paint had long peeled off, it was still easy enough to find.

The sound of hooves hitting the rigging caught my attention, and a familar voive of a stallion spoke up. “I figured it was you when security started to get tight.” I sighed, and turned around to see Merit. He still had that rugged, I can take care of myself look to him. Never knew why I liked that about stallions, Sweet said it was because I wanted to be looked after, but still given freedom. “Didn’t think you were going to be up here?” He still had the jumpsuit Orthrus gave him, but no pipbuck.

I didn’t know to feel relieved or annoyed by his presents, but I knew what I was going to say. “You know that you have an almost kickable face, right?” That cocky smile, so sure of himself. But it was a little relaxing he was here, as I knew he was not on my sister’s side. Or at least, that’s what I hoped.

He turned his head, and pointed at his cheek. “Can’t say that it’s not the first time I’ve been in that position.”

I shook my own head. “I’d like to catch up and talk, but I have to get to the briefing. We must establish an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom or we’re going to have big problems. And I’d be damned if some greenhorn goes in my stead.” I rubbed my head, my headache still there. “Also, do you have some pain killers? I can still feel the brain surgery.”

“Sorry, no painkillers on me.” Merit sighed. “And I doubt they would send a rookie to do the job. So that being said, what’s really bothering you about all this? You should be relaxing, not trying to get yourself locked up.”

“Because I was just locked up, and somepony has to do something about what’s coming. If it’s not me, then right now, I don’t know who will.” I sat down, and groaned at the idea of it all. “But I’m just one pony, I can do only so much. Yet if I do nothing with everything I’ve learned, I feel like they win. That I’ve given up, and handed them a victory.”

“Them?” He canted his head and looked confused.

“The republic, the equalists. It’s hard to explain, but like I mentioned, they’ve got this whole brain in jars thing going on.” The thought of it made my stomach churn a little. “Think of it as army of not just brainwashed citizens, but mind controlled solders. Not to mention the reavers and the cybernetic monstrosities they are.”

“Still, you should probably step down.” He spoke with the best of intentions, but it was hard to hear. “You told them everything you knew, right? So let them fight it if this is a bit over your head.”

“No.” I said softly as I ground my hoof against the airship under me. Feelings of anger and hate welled up inside. I fought too hard to get back here, I lost turnup for this. I can’t just… drop it. “NO!” I shouted. “I’m not just going to sit by and just hope things will get better. I refuse to just act like if I play by the rules then I will get what I want. I tried that, and it failed!” Catching my breath, I calmed myself down. “Things are changing too fast for me to just let it happen on its own terms. I need to act, I don’t think I can afford to not to.”

Looking Merit over, something seemed odd. It wasn’t just that the pipbuck was not on his leg, but my own horn could feel some magic coming off from him. More than any normal pony should be giving off.

“I see what’s going on,” I smirked and shook my head. Of course it couldn’t have even been the real Merit. “Sorrow, you can cut the act. Or are you looking to fuck me?”

The fake Merit tilted his head, and sighed. “The changeling is currently elsewhere; she’s been bothering the council to give her kin safe harbor with Orthrus.” The image of Merit shimmered and faded, in it’s place was a pony in full Specter Gear. The pony took of their helmet to reveal Temboril Tablature, a top tier specter, and the daughter of council member Biwa Tablature. She also, happened to be a good friend of Rototoms. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to catch on. The armor makes it a bit hard to mimic their wings.”

“You forgot his pipbuck, but that’s not why you’re here. What do you want?” I asked flatly. Frankly, I was done with all this masquerading around whatever point ponies are trying to make anymore.

She nodded. “Yes, let’s not mess around anymore then we have.” The sounds of motors squeaked, and a ladder descended near me from... above. It was strange, I could not see where the latter had come from, like the old painted ceiling above me was an illusion. “I want you to take a detour, it will get you around your sister, but the rout is gose through a place we don’t have normal members go neare, so remeber that. The path is marked, so just follow the directions to the other side.” Looking at me she lifted up her leg, and a holographic image moved from her to me. The image was my sister waiting on a bridge to the Scootaloo, along with a few Orthrus guards. “One of the council members is against the operation you’ve agreed to, saying it’s too dangerous to have the princess take part. Your sister has taken upon herself to keep you out too, making it less likely the operation will start.”

The image faded, and a map appeared, along with a few other maps of the upper leves of the base, along with a route she wanted me to take. Temboril continued “Naqara is not one to just let herself be denied, she wants you to recover princess Harp Melody and deliver her the briefing room.” The map showed a few dots on the screen, a lot of red, one blue, and two yellow. “I’ve already recruited two allies for you, I suggest getting to them first.”

“Is Harp alright?”

Temboril closed the holographic window, it being saved on my pipleg. She’s fine, Phorminx just has her distracted at the moment.” Temboril rubbed the temple of her skull. “I hate it when council members fight like this, moving ponies around like chess pieces. She pulled out a gasmask, and tossed it to me. “You’re going to need this. The old parts of this station are close to the surface, so be careful.”

I had to think for a short moment. “Wait, if that’s true, then why have I not known about it?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because grunts don’t need to know where this stations weak points are. But you aren’t a grunt anymore, so it’s time for you to know.” She pointed up at the ceiling. “But since you’re going up there, there's a magical barrier acting as the ceiling you see. You should be fine passing through, so don’t worry. Just make sure to keep that mask on up there, because no pony will come looking for you if you end up choking to death before you make it out.”

“Duly noted.” I fiddled with the mask before putting it on, making sure it was properly fastened to my head. “Any more advice?”

“As a spectre, you’ll have access to these passages at any time you may need them, with one caveat.” She nodded. “Don’t try to bring any pony up there with you, the barrier will not let them through, and it will not end well for them.”

I cocked my eyebrow at that, but I probably didn’t have the time to ask why. Placing a hoof onto the ladder, I pulled myself up, step by step until I was at the ceiling, and then my hoof went through. All those times looking up at the illusion of the sky from the ground, and it turns out, that the illusion itself wasn’t even real either. If I had more time, then maybe I could have dwelled longer on how that seemed to have become a recurring theme in recent times.

“No going back now.” I told myself, and pushed myself onward.

________________________________________________________________

It was immediately clear why Orthrus was so quiet about this area of the station. It looked like they had been having a long battle with the surface here, and they were currently on the losing end. Above me, the metal roof was rusting, with what was left of it’s paint flaking off all over. The walls had many little cracks in it, and clear signs of decades worth of water damage. Moss had spread to anything it could find, clinging onto the walls and ceiling, draping down, and spreading to the railing. Water dripped from the moss, hitting the magical barrier, and sliding off to the edges. I even spied a plethora of insects, scurrying around all over the place. Even if I hadn’t been in a rush, this was the kind of place I didn’t want to stick around too long, reminding me of more than a few of the unfriendlier overgrown tunnels of the big island.

Taking my first step toward my destination, my metal hoof slipped out from under me, forcing me to look down at the dark pink barrier showing my reflection back at me. Getting myself back up, I noted that some of the moss secreted some sort of slippery slime, making it hard to get stable hoof hold wherever it grew. Avoiding the slippery patches, I made my way to the end of the railings. If it hadn’t been so dark and cramped here, the draping moss all around me at times made me feel like I was topside again. Albeit, only temporarily.

Trotting along the railing, I followed the instruction on the map, taking me to a door that has the same moss problem. The door whined as it opened. Like everthing up here, it was clearly needing some attention form of maintenance. Inside looked like a fitting room, tools and biosuits, meaning it what was where this levels maintenance crew geared up. It was a mix of heavy duty cleaning materials, and heavy military pyro gear. The flamers were modified to send the fire wide, and the shaft was extended, making it safer for the user, but not as effective in combat. I’ve seen this gear used before to clear out unused tunnels for maintenance work, though the flamers here were a little heavier duty than even those were.

A blinking light drew my attention to a nearby terminal that was still active, an older model used by stable-tec. Looking at my pipbuck, the briefing was still not to start for some time, so i had a little bit time to kill. Now I know it’s improper to snoop, but learning one of Orthrus’s little secrests was a bit too tempting to pass up. It was not like I was going to coppy and sell the information, so what harm can it do. Looking through the open files, most of it was inventory checks, though there were a few reports that looked interesting.

: I know we all hate this moss, so stop telling me about it :

I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll put it here as a reminder. Just trim the stupid moss, the counsel does not want to use too much of our supplies too fast. The last thing we need is for every pony to find out we're having a problem up here. Trim it, and take it to the incineration room. And for the love of Celestia, make sure that no pony is in there before setting the shit on fire. You should be thankful that the suits we use are flame retardant, because I almost had a heart attack when one of you ran out on fire. Also on that note, no trying to play pranks in the burn room, you’re likely to get set on fire.

Lastly, even though it’s annoying, under zero circumstances are you allowed to skip decontamination. The last time some of the moss was found down below, I almost lost my head. This shit spreads like a mother fucker, so taking a magical shower should be the least of your worries. Were all being paid extra to be professionals here, so if I even here one of you joke about skipping decontamination, I will beat stupid out of you and report you to the counsel myself.

Your Commander.

: Body Found :

Bad news, everypony. Looks like some ass hat found their way up here on our watch. A security detail already bagged them up and put them in the burn room, but I am extremely disappointed in you all for not finding them sooner. I know that nobody wants to do it, but were cremating the fool later. Whoever draws the short straw for that particular job should know that it’s business as usual. At the end of your shift, just throw the cut moss on top of the body and light it up. For any pony with questions, the pony looked like a greenhorn, and had come up here to use chill. Security won’t tell me much, but it seems that because of the mare, they located a minor breach, and are currently working to fix it. As for how she died, my guess is that she tried eating the moss, because she’d absolutely stuffed herself with it. Let this be a reminder to you all then about how toxic this shit is, and how important decontamination is. I hope you all understand now what’s at steak up here.

Your Commander.

: Don’t walk on the barrier! :

The council just sent me a notice that reports of strange noises from above the Scootaloo have been sent to them. The noises are reported to sound like hooves on thick glass, which to the ponies down below us, is far out of place. As entertaining as it may seem to make this place feel haunted, I would like to remind you that nopony is supposed to know we’re up here, so knock it off. If I catch any of you on the barrier without my express permeation, I will be doxing your pay. Not only that, but you will be the one to explain to the council how you intend to make up for the loss in overall productivity due to ‘ghost story gossip’ down below.

Your Commander.

I stepped away from the terminal, getting a better understanding of what was going on. If I remember correctly now, the moss out there was called Dead Pony’s Moss. I only rarely saw it up on the surface. Nasty stuff clumped on old ruins, or dead trees that was persistent as all hell and deadly if you ingested even a single bit of it. Quickly checking myself for the moss, luckily, I was mostly clean.

Feeling like I’d wasted enough time, I got back to my objective at hoof following the directions Temboril had given me. Even away from the hanger, the wear and tear of age was apparent. I could only guess Orthrus didn’t care about keeping up appearances up here anymore, maintaining only the vital parts of the structure to keep it from collapsing. There were a few more spots I spotted the moss growing, but it seemed more under control the further I traveled from the hanger.

Reaching a door that should lead me down, my eyes strained a little as it opened and I was hit with a bright exterior light. It also didn’t help with my headache still raging on non-stop, making it pound a little more than before even. Trotting through, I found myself in a much more modern room. Fresh paint, properly working lights, and the sound of a radio playing met my ears. The room was divided into two by a glass wall, with a separate glass box in the middle. On my side was a couch, and a coffee table with some books on it. On the other side was a security booth, the pony in there looking as bored as can be.

“Hello miss.” The security pony spoke through an intercom. “I was told to expect you, so please step into the decontamination chamber.”

I should have expected as much. Stepping in, I stood in the middle. “So, I’m guessing that I’m not to talk about what’s up here.”

“Correct.” The guard spoke dully. “I was also told that there is a medium security cell waiting for you if you do happen to speak of it to anypony.” I nodded to her, and she pressed a button in her booth. Mist burst into the glass box I was in, obstructing my vision. “Don’t take off that mask of yours” the guard mare spoke. “It’s mostly nontoxic, but you will get sick if your breath too much of it in.” I nodded, but I doubted that she could see me.

The decontamination went on longer than I’d have liked, but it was clear that Orthrus took this as a serious matter. With the log entries still fresh in my mind, I just stood there until the mist cleared up. Honestly, it didn’t feel all that bad, like a steam shower almost, making me at least feel clean. Warm wind erupted under me, drying me off after a minute and leaving my fur and mane feeling a little poufy.

The glass doors opened to the other side and I stepped out. The guard mare snickered a little from behind her glass cage. My reflection showed that my mane and tail didn’t come out of the decontamination without a scratch, having predictably become a bit poofy and going ever which way. Groaning a little, I did my best to put the maintenance hat back on to supress my messy mane, and left the gasmask behind as I made my way downstairs.

With a clang, the security door behind me closed, leaving me back in the main part of the station. From here it would be a short trot to find whoever these allies were that Temboril told me about. Security seemed to be a bit lighter here as well, though Rototom may have them doubling their numbers around the princess just to keep me away.

The map took me to me to one of the old recreation rooms, which from what I could remember, was currently used for storage now. The door opened, and I was hit with the sound of radio channel three. The electronic dance music loudly playing was something that the other channels would never do, but was a welcomed change.

In the room were four familiar ponies. Light Turbulence was on a treadmill, trotting along while happily reading a book. Wild Winds was at an arcade machine, bobbing and weaving as they played. While across the room, both Merit Cross and Sweet Sex Solo were watching an old movie on a big screen terminal while eating popcorn.

“What?” Was all I could say. This… wasn’t at all what I’d expected to find.

“Hay grumpy butt!” Sweet looked my way and smiled. “Wanna take a seat? Attack of the fifty foot mare is playing right now!”

I sighed as I trotted over. The large terminal was indeed playing the old pre-war movie. The actress, Lilac Lace if I remembered right, was stomping through a fake city, knocking everything over in her wake. Fake looking movie prop tanks futilely attempt to stop her as she let out an angry roar of protest. I’d thought it was a good movie when I was a filly, though I liked her portrayal as Shadow Spade more than early works like this. But, that was mostly because I like the old detective movies more overall than anything to do with her acting.

“I’d love to, but I got something to do first.” Temboril said there were two allies, not four, so I couldn't help but be confused. I was in the correct room, right?

Merit looked over “You mean picking up Harp, right?” I nodded. “We were asked to help you with that.”

“Temboril even bribed us with popcorn.” Sweet spoke up as she swallowed a hoof full of popcorn. “You want some? It’s good!” I shook my head. “Well more for me. But ya, Temboril asked us to wait here for you. Oh! And Wild and Light aren’t coming, as they got other appointments.” I was distracted a bit as Iooked at Sweets prosthetic eyes. Their color was slightly off, as her normally teal eyes now a sharp blue.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

She scrunched up her muzzle. “Other than having to take pain medication for a year, for the hundredth time, yes I’m alright.” She sighed and gave a flick to the hat I wore. “Anyways, I should be asking you that. Sure losing my eyes sucked, but at least I didn’t have my brain messed with.”

“Sorry, it’s just hard to get use too.” I sighed. “Maybe we should have just turned down that deal, you know.”

Sweet nodded. “I know, but what’s done is done.” She rested her head on her hoof, and gave me a smile. “But’s what’s most important is that were both alive. When this is all over, we can retire, maybe even have a chance to start a family.” She elbowed Merit. “What do you think? Vibraphone’s a good catch, and you both already know each other fairly intimately.”

“She is a lovely mare, to be sure.” Merit commented. “But you might be rushing things just a little.”

“How about we not have this conversation?” I interjected. “You know, on account we’ve got shit to do?”

Sweet giggled. “Come on now Vibey, mares like us got to get what we can! Remember that one colt when we were in school?”

I rolled my eyes. “How can I not, his little fan club gave me a black eye.”

“And we paid them back for it.” She winked. “But Merits free. No need to fight over other mares for him.”

“Do I have a say in…?” Merit attempted to speak, but Sweet quickly put her hoof on his mouth to shush him.

“It’s mare talk time right now, okay?” She said softly. “so be a good stallion right now just just quietly look pretty for us.”

I sighed. “How about we have a talk about this after the mission is over. Or do I need to talk to Guitar Strings about this?”

“Fine, planning your marriage out can be put on hold for a minute.” Sweet huffed. “but you should consider this, if I’m going to start a family, I want my foals to have friends their own age.”

It made me smile. “Ya, I feel the same.” Despite what she went through, Sweet was still the same mare that I’ve always known. Nothing could keep her down. “Now let’s get moving, we have time, but not that much time.”

Merit spread his wings, and flew over us in a hop like manner. “Agreed. Though, even with how amazing this place is, I do want to get home at some point. Maybe you can join me?”

It all sounded like a good plan, though knowing what the equalist had planned, I still felt very uncertain about the future.

“Maybe,” I smirked. “But right now we’ve got a war to stop.”

________________________________________________________________

“I really don’t know how to feel about this.” Merit spoke up, a little uncertainty in his voice.

Sweet just laughed, “Oh come on, a stallion like you has got to be enjoying himself. One flustered mare after the next.”

He sighed. “I know what you mean, but it’s a bit too much, don’t you think?”

She was likely going to mock him, but I cut off Sweet before she could. “Just bear with it. Once we get the princess to the briefing room, we won’t have to rely on you like this.” Merit relaxed a little, until we rounded the corner and two security mares blocked our path. Of course, right behind them was the room that the princess was in. “Speaking of which.”

Merit rolled his eyes and trotted ahead of us. “Hay, I’m a little lost, can you direct me to the arcade?” It did feel a little wrong using Merit like this, but most of the mares here had such little experience with stallions that they naturally become distracted when one talked to them. Add to the fact that the majority of them were between 19 and 22, the 30 year old Merit was almost too good at catching their attention with little effort on his part. I didn’t know if I should be jealous, or embarrassed that I was just as easily taken in. I had to make a mental note to ask mom at some point how she got dad in the first place.

The two mares looked at each other, one cocked their eyebrow, the other frowned. “Yes, it’s on the third floor, south side.” One of the mares answered.

Merit scratched his head. “Sorry, I’m still new here, can you point it out for me?”

One of them sighed and walked to the railing, pointing her hoof down at one of the lower decks on the opposite side of the hanger. “You can see it right there.” The arcade, from where we were, was in fact obstructed by the airship, so asking to be shown was not as a stupid a request as you might think. “I suggest trying Fighting is Magic 2, is an oldy but goody as games go.”

“OH!” the other mare spoke up, trotting over to them. “Watch out for pipsqueak though. She looks like a weak character, but one of the more powerful characters due to the combos she can chain together.”

With both mares distracted, Sweet and I rounded the corner and quietly passed the group.

“She’s a glass cannon though, so she’s easy to deal with if you can get in some early hits.” the first mare spoke, “I prefer Gambler, honestly. Her cybernetic moveset gives her power and endurance all the way.” Gambler? Please, I personally liked Gunslinger. She was a trickier fighter to play as, but loved her style. Classic cowpony hat and duster, robot back legs, and six revolvers floating around her. I was shit at the game, but loved playing as her. That and the somber guitar solo that was her theme was one of the best songs in the game.

Sweet snickered, pulling me painfully back to what we were doing. “Jealous?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not now.” Yeah, I guess I was a little jealous, so what? Who could blame me?

“Fine, fine.” She said, trotting to the door we needed to go through.

*Buzz* the door responded as sweet tried to open it.

“Of course it’s locked.” She smiled at me as she pulled a small tool kit out of her saddle bag. “But you know that’s never a problem for us…”

I smiled back, taking the kit. The digital locks were sturdy, but not impenetrable. All I needed to do was get under the panel and I could open the door no problem. Most of the locks inside the hangar were like this because normally there were too many ponies around to worry about security on doors. Outside on the other hoof, Orthrus had a habit of welding the panels shut. With a light bounce, the panel came loose and I pulled it away to expose the wires. Looking inside, I could see that it was a magnetic lock. Almost impossible to pry open with sheer force, but not hack proof. For me it was as simple as tricking the system to reversing the power flow to the lock, opening the door with no problem. Of course, as the door opened, that’s when things decided to stop being so easy.

“Hay, what are you doing!?” one of the guards shouted. Sweet and I quickly jumped inside, and Sweet slammed her hoof on the interior panel, smashing the mechanism. The door closed on the guard’s mares before they could get to us, and the internals sparked and smoked as it locked us inside.

“So how long do you think it will take for them to open the door?” Sweet asked.

“Depends, have they worked with or dated any engineers that fixed doors?” A loud bang hit the door a few times, followed by muffled yelling. “Doesn’t looked like it.”

Sweet laughed. “I remembered doing those jobs. Those assholes kept on having us hold the live cables, thought it was funny that our mains were frizzed each time.” She gave a nostalgic sigh. “Good times, those.”

I nodded. “I remember Guitar Strings visited you one time, and burnt part of his lip when he kissed you.”

“I know, it came as a real shocker to him.” She looked at me as I deadpanned back at her. “What?”

“Put in zero effort,” I deadpanned at her. “Get zero points.”

Sweet rolled her eyes. “Fine, the joke was bad, now let’s go get the princess.”

It wouldn’t take long for actual capable pony to arrive and open the door, so we were on a time limit now. Looking around the room, I found that it was well kept. None of the walls had peeling paint, and much of the furnishings lacked the ancient signs of aging that was all too common other places in the metro. Also the room was a bit darker than I’d expected. A few lights were on, but they all were dimmed to the lowest settings. That is, all except for a large terminal screen pined up on the wall.

Quietly trotting over I could see that the terminal was playing a movie, not one I knew. Looking at the movie, the ponies in it were mirage ponies, so it had to have been made in the last 50 years. Though their manner of dress resembled a play for hearths warming eve. None of that was important however, as on the sofa in the center of the room was a pony bundled in a blanket with a bowl of candy next to it. For as little time as I’d spent with her, it was good to see Harp again.

Sweet rested her hooves on top of the sofa. “Lucky girl, you’re getting to see this show before it airs.” Harp nodded softly, taking a piece of candy and eating it.

“What show?” I had to ask.

“Thrown of York” Sweet said. “It’s a drama about Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, and their rise to power. It’s dated to come out later this month, got all the top talents of the metro working on it. The orphic kingdom was a bit spazmatic about letting mirage ponies play any roll in it, but the pineapple island stopped giving a shit about what they think and produced the show anyway.”

“Shhhh.” The bundled pony pressed her hoof to her mouth. “keep it down.”

Sweet gave me a little smile, and spoke softly. “From what I’ve heard, the Orphic kingdom was more worried about a negative portrayal of princess platinum. You know, with their royal family being her direct descendants. Can't say anything bad about grandmother, ya know?”

“Right.” We didn’t have time to watch a period drama, so I reached over and pulled the sheet off of Harp. The sharp yank made her jump from her seat in shock. “Time to go!”

“What!?” she squinted as she looked at us, her eyes a little glossy. “Vibraphone, Sweet? What are you doing here?” we both nodded, and she knocked over her bowl of candy in surprise, almost falling of the sofa herself in the process. “Oh sorry, I didn’t realize we were going someplace. I’m... I’m not decent yet, just give me a few minutes.”

“Go ahead, Harp.” I turned my eyes away as the sheet slipped. It was easy to see that she was likely naked under the large cloth, and while it didn’t bother me, she was the one who didn’t seem to be comfortable with other mares looking at her. “We don’t have much time, but we do have enough for you to get dressed if you make it quick.”

She stepped of the sofa, letting the sheet fall off. Once again, I caught a glimpse of her cutie mark of the Harp with a crown of musical notes around it. I could only guess her talent was with music, and the crown marked her royal lineage. Then she trotted off around the corner and I could breath a sigh of relief as the lights brightened and both sweet and I could see things a little clearer again.

“Can’t deny that she is cute.” Sweet commented. “It’s a shame she’s not going to stay with Orthrus. They can offer a more peaceful life then the rabble in the Orphic Kingdom.”

“But that would be a life full of regret and homesickness.” I responded. “If times were more peaceful, then I agree.” I shook my head, feeling a little guilty about this path I’ve chosen. “But, the equalist are preparing for war, the Orphic Kingdom is ready to eat itself, then there’s also…”

“The Pirates.” Sweet cut me off. “a big unknown, and let’s not forget the coming enclave city and the Lurkers.” She placed her hoof on my shoulder. “I get it, things are going to shit right now. The longer we sit on our hooves, the worse things will be when somepony actually tries to do something about it. If it must be us, then so be it. But hey, at least we’re not going into this blind.” She poked herself in the face. “that’s why I did get new eyes after all.”

“Thanks.” I looked her in the eyes, they still didn’t feel right with me. “So how do they feel?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “To be honest, like I lost a piece of myself. Keep thinking I can feel my wings too.”

“It’s not quite the same, but I can’t help but feel that there’s still some pony watching me, in the back of my head.” I gave her a push on the shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re alive, Sweet. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

“You really need to make more friends Vibey.” She said with a chuckle. “Maybe we can go clubbing when this is all over. Or hey, let me introduce you to some ponies I met at the hospital!”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll make an order for some daiquiris to be made,” She smiled, nudging me and proving once again that she knew just what buttons of mine to press. “just name the flavor.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

She patted me on the shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

The door opened, and the two guard’s mares jumped into the room, air rifles at the ready. “Don’t move or we'll shoot!” shouted the first mare. We both raised out hooves into the air and slowly turned toward them.

“What is your business here!” Shouted the second.

“Calm down.” Harp spoke from behind us. “They’re my bodyguards.” She had on a red dress, gray boots, and stalking. She was also in the process of putting on an old stable-tec jacket. “For liability reasons, I have hired my own bodyguards. They are here to pick me up, and take me to see your council members.”

The two guards mares looked at each other confused. “Were told that no pony is to enter or leave here.”

“And a fine job you have done at that.” Harp said flatly. “I should contact your superiors about a promotion, I know my father would accommodate for you two.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” The two mares took a step back, and saluted. “May we take you to see the council members?” Covering their asses, such an amature move. But if anything, Orthrus Regulars were good at doing that. At least this meant that we would not have the guards breathing down our neck or trying to cause further problems.

Outside the room, Merit was waiting for us. “So, things are all good?” I nodded, making him relax a bit. “Thank goodness. I may be a stallion, but today has been one of far too many mares. I think I’m starting to understand how some of my ex’s felt.”

“Never too old to teach a dog new tricks.” I spoke up.

“Huh? What’s a dog?” Merit responded.

“What’s a…?” I couldn’t help but freeze at his quick retort. “How do you not know!?”

“Canine, dog, wolf, coyote, and or fox.” Buzzing past us was the drone that belonged to Harp. In its mechanical grip, it floated along holding her saddlebag and heading for the door with her. “Dogs are the domesticated animal commonly used for companionship by ponies, and are the oldest known domesticated animals in the world.”

“You know what, lets have this talk later.” I spoke up. “We have some place to be.”

________________________________________________________________

Luckily, Harp had diplomatic immunity, so the guards got out of our way as long as they saw that the princess was in tow. I was sure that they would at least detain me when we showed up at the meeting. I mean, I did break out of minimum security cell and all. I could only guess that they were receiving two opposing orders on me at the moment. Catering to Harp took priority, so they couldn’t come at me with anything dangerous, but they still needed to take me down. One of the few times I was glad to be around a rich pony.

The debriefing hall we entered looked more like a lecture hall, and each one of us took a seat closer to the doors up in the rear. There were a few other ponies here, all in dress uniforms, so It was hard to tell their rank from the back. In front of us was the holographic displays of the council, with three out of the five actually being projected in front of us.

Biwa Tablature, the council representative of culture and education was reading a book, calm as could be. Naqara, the council representative of Security and Law, looked like she was reading some documents. Then there was Phorminx, the council representative of Information and Investigation, tapping on a tablet and otherwise occupied by his thoughts.

A pony was standing before them, her dress uniform a bit disheveled, looking like it hadn’t been cleaned in over a week. Naqara looked down at her, and huffed. “We can’t just send another platoon over to Charon's Stop, even if the republic is applying more pressure there then ever. Pony power is starting to run thin as it is, so they’ll just have to wait.”

The mare looked down. “I see ma’am. But any support you can send will help greatly. Like the report says, two of our regulars were hurt in an ambush. We can keep the order, but I don’t know for how long without an extra contingent of security at the very least.”

Naqara placed her documents down, and Her eyes drifted across the room over to me before lowering down to the Orthrus mare before them. “Looks like we may be able to send a pony or two.” The disheveled mare seemed to be confused by that. “Specters to tell the truth, should that be enough?”

“Specters?” The mare nodded vigorously, “Yes ma’am, oh yes. That will definitely help.”

“Good.” Naqara’s eyes squinted. “Now keep a tight lip on this. Our specters work best when ponies don’t know that their around.” The mare made a motion of her zipping her lips together. “Very well, now get back to your post, and keep up the good work.”

The Orthrus mare quickly gathered up some paperwork, and rushed off.

With a sigh, Phorminx put down his tablet. “You sure this is wise?”

“What do you mean?” Naqara spoke, polishing her metal hoof.

“Continuing with that damned plan you have.” Phorminx spoke with a growl. “Those two specters were perfect choices for infiltrating the Orphic kingdom.”

“Perfection is a goal for the foolish,” She sighed. “it lacks the flexibility needed to survive in this world, or has your love child blinded you to this fact?”

“She has nothing to do with this!” Phorminx gave an offended look over to Naqara.

Naqara placed her hoof under her chin, and smiled. “She has everything to do with this, or have you forgotten who her mother is?”

Phorminx went silent for a long moment, locking eyes with Naqara, only ending it when he looked away in a huff. “She’s a better asset here, and shouldn’t be some sacrificial token.”

Naqara looked over at us, pointing over at Harp. “What do you think, dear princess?”

Harp stammered, but quickly swallowed her nervousness. “I think it’s every ponies best option. Things are going to turn bad if I’m there or not. As for being a token, that’s nothing new to me in the slightest. So if being one means that I can help at least some of my brothers and sisters, and help settle things before things get to their worst, I want to try. I have to do something to help protect my people.”

Silence followed for a few seconds, broken by Biwa clapping his hooves.

“Isn’t it true when they say family is so so important? When I heard Phorminx hear had a little filly of his own, I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed for him. And to see that she is such a beautiful, smart, and kind hearted mare. I wish my own could be like you, dear Harp.”

The door behind us open up, and a less than happy Temboril stepped through, followed by an equally less than pleased Rototom. “Maybe if you acted more like a father, and less like a giddy school colt, I might find room to treat you less sternly.” Temboril stepped down the stairs, and right up to the council. “And next time you all start bickering with each other, please don’t involve the rest of Orthrus. It’s shameful, that’s what it is.”

“Goodie four-shoes Temboril, coming to scold everypony again.” Rototom spoke as she rolled her eyes.

Temboril’s tail whipped at her. “You have no right to mock when you got your own sister involved in all this before trying to back out when it all came crashing down on you. Why don’t you take responsibility for once in your damn life!?”

“Enough!” Naqara spoke loudly, silencing Temboril and getting Rototom to stiffen up. “We can go over this later, but first take a seat you two.” Both Temboril and Rototom found themselves a seat far from each other. “Good, now with everypony here, we can begin.”

The room became dark, and a projector turned on. Looking around I could see a few other groups of ponies, two ponies stood out the most, only because one gave off a light red glow.

A screen dropped behind the council, the members that were physically here moved out of the way, and the ones who were holograms vanished from view. The projection flickered, momentarily showing the Stable-Tec logo with three happy ponies next to it. It then changed to that of the Orthrus symbol before going white.

“First thing’s first.” Naqara spoke up, “It should go without saying that what is said in this briefing needs to be kept secret. Loose lips will get ponies killed, remember that.” Everyone nodded. “Good, now let’s begin.”

The screen flickered once more, showing what looked like a republic hovercraft. “Though thanks to our intelegence programs we’ve have had information of the republics hovercraft for years now, only just recently have we gained certified information of the scope of their construction.” The screen flickered again, revealing the C.C.N. room with all the brains. Though a bit blurry, the screen switched through different slides that showed a few more images of it. “Along with the heart of what the republics true plan is. It seems that they are attempting to create a hive mind, their own twisted vision of ‘true equality’. This… this is an abomination of a machine, and we must put a stop to it.”

“Excuse me!” A pony spoke up. “But wouldn’t that involve attacking the republic, and starting a war?”

Naqara nodded. “You are right, but please try to keep the questions to a minimum until after the briefing.” The screen flickered again, showing a chart depicting the army size of Orthrus vs that of the Republic. “War at this point is going to be unavoidable, and sadly we are already spread thin as it is. If the republic makes a move on us, without help, were going to lose more ground than we can afford, and will be forced to take drastic measures.” The screen flickered, showing cylinder with a radioactive symbol on it. “Option one, which we are calling ‘failsafe’, is the most extreme of these. It’s simple really; cut the republic off from the rest of the metro using our limited stock of wartime tactical megaspells to destroy the tunnels to the valley island.”

There were several gasps coming from the other ponies in the room.

“Now, now.” Biwa spoke up. “This is only the worst-case scenario, and despite the name, I must reinforce that these are low yield tactical megaspells. The amount of damage they can do is quite contained, and given proper sealing procedures, will not be able to contaminated either side with much magical radiation.” He pulled out a remote control, and pressed a big red button. The screen flickered, and showed a map with the connecting tunnel between friendly island, and valley island. “That said, the first part of the plan is installing the megaspell bomb at the center of the tunnel. This way if things go bad, we can still prevent the republic from rushing the station. Now the problem is doing this without them knowing.”

Another pony raised their hoof. “Can’t we just close the tunnel for maintenance?”

Biwa shook his head. “They will no doubt suspect something if we did that, and we can’t afford tipping our hoof to them with a move this critical. That’s why we were going to do this as we recall back all Orthrus ponies from the valley island.”

This time I raised my hoof. “But wouldn’t that be and even bigger sign that Orthis is planning something?”

He nodded. “Yes, but it will act as cover. Moving the civilians out of Valley Island is at its heart, protecting our own in case of conflict. At the same time, members of the republic will also be asked to leave for their own protection. With the heavy flow of ponies, we will post multiple maintenance crews to make sure everything runs properly. During that confusing and busy time, that’s when a small team with the bomb will be snuck in to install it.”

“Yes, and with such crowds, it will be hard for any republic agents to sneak around.” Phorminx commented. “But this is only to stall the republic in case of war, we don’t plan on starting one, not yet that is.” The screen flickered, showing an image of the Marewaii Skyport. “Even if we cut the Valley Island off, that’s not going to stop the republic. That’s why we will attempt to contact New Cloudsdale, and seek aid from them in return for open diplomatic discussions about their needs.”

“What!?” Merit spoke up. “After turning us down, now you want contact my ponies and ask for their help!?”

Phorminx just sighed as the screen flickered, now showing a familiar cube on screen. “We currently have in our possession, a magical radio wave amplifying receiver cube, otherwise known as an advanced MoM bug. We will be sending a team to install it to the radio system up at the Marewaii Skyport, and use it in an attempt to contact New Cloudsdale. If we can establish an open connection with the cloud city, it may be enough to get the republic to pull back on any plans to start a war.”

“Or, if the republic is stupid enough to ignore the threat, it might just be what starts one.” Naqara, “However, that’s what the failsafe plan is for. Contacting New Cloudsdale will not guarantee that they will help us, but it will get the republic’s attention, the flaw of the MoM bug is that it’s anything but subtle to those who know how to listen.” The screen flickered again, showing an outline of the tunnel system for the Gathering Island, also known as the Orphic Kingdom. “Therefore, we will also seek to form an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom. The republic may be confidant enough to challenge us, but if were backed up by the royal army, even they won’t ignore those odds and will surely back off. If we can gather a large enough combined force, subjugating the republic should be possible before they have a chance to formulate a place on resistance. With the republic overwhelmed, then from there we can work on dismantling and destroying the C.C.N project.”

The screen flickered, showing three groups of ponies, one group of ten marked as ‘Tango’, a group of four marked ‘Charlie’, and a group of three marked ‘Foxtrot’.

Naqara continued. “Tango will be installing the bomb, and keeping an eye out for any republic agents. Now we do trust you all to keep a tight lip about all this, but we know that the republic has ways to get information out of ponies. So, each one of you will be fitted with a memory wipe talisman. If anything should happen to it, or if you are hit with and sort of memory magic, it will erase the last few days from your mind.”

She then looked over at us. “Team Charlie, your job will be to install the M.O.M. bug, and to deliver the princess to her mother so she can advise her on our plans moving forward. Of course in having to move her, we can’t have pones recognizing the princess or suspicious of mirage ponies while inside the kingdom, so you all will be given disguise talismans. They are only to make you look like full blooded unicorns, so avoided any pony who could recognize any of you, and keep your legs covered from view.”

“Last.” Naqara continued still. “Foxtrot will act as the decoy for Charlie. Miss Sorrow will play the part of the princess being escorted back home. Rototom and Temboril will tail them back to stable 50, removing any assassins and protecting Sorrow’s cover until they infiltrate the stable. When team Charlie arrives, team Foxtrot are to let them in from a secure location at the periphery of the stable.”

Harp stood up. “From there, I am to seek an audience with my mother. In which, I will explain the coming threat from the Republic, and convince her to form an alliance with Orthrus.”

Nagara nodded. “Yes, just make sure she understands that we don’t seek to take over, but simply to strengthen or ability to keep the republic in check.” Harp sat back down, and the projector flickered and stopped, prompting the lights to turn back on.

Another pony raised her hoof up, it having a familiar purple sheen, and red glowing highlights. “What’s mine roll?” Mayall was sitting at the front, with a white cap on her head. “Thee didst calleth for me.”

“Right, all this seriousness almost had me forget.” Biwa spoke up. “Your lurker kin have access to a working sub, correct?”

Mayall folded her legs in front of her as she sat up strait. “if 't be true thee wanteth ship, thee can’t has't. mine workers hath worked too hard getting it to worketh.”

Nagara rolled her eyes, as Biwa chuckled. “Though it would be lovely if we could, we’re not in position to start a fight with your kin. No, what we are more interested in is accessing its onboard computer, as it must still have the locations of sub pens across equestria.”

“It doest, and no, those gents wilt belong to us. We needeth new safe home, can’t stayeth on the islands.”

Biwa nodded. “I can understand. That’s why we ask, were willing to trade for it, you help us, we help you.”

Mayall scratched her head. “Then wherefore asketh hither, wherefore not someplace more private?”

“Yes, about that.” Biwa smiled. “We were hoping to avoid having team Charlie and Foxtrot from using the tunnel, or going over the top of the water.”

Mayall nodded. “We can doth, but we needeth something first.”

“That is?” Biwa asked.

“Pipbucks!” She answered. “And valorous ones, not the fusty rusty kind.”

I couldn’t help but feel the hairs on the back of my neck. I had been in the sub before, but it was hard to remember it very well. With all that happened before, I’d been too tired to care. But now that I think about it, being under the water, in a cramped metal coffin? It just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe I could convince them to let me take the tunnel and I could meet up with them on the other side?

“If I remember correctly, your kind don’t appear on magical sensors.” Temboril spoke as she walked up to the front. “If we give your kin some of our old weapons and armor, could it be possible for you to use your sub to scout a ship for us?”

“Maybe.” Mayall tilted her head.

“What if we also shipped a few cases of Metro-Cola to your sub?” Temboril added. “We know your kind likes it.”

Mayall looked like she was struggling to think, making a light groaning sound. “Oh fine, but no tricks.”

I know I signed onto this, but getting back on the sub? No, I don’t like the sound of that, not at all. On top of all this talk about tactical megaspells and submarines, it didn’t help that I still had this headache. I wouldn’t have been in this mess to start with if it was not for Rototom. She never could keep her nose out of my business, and now look at me.

“Hay?” Sweet tapped me on the shoulder. “You alright? You’re shaking.”

“What?” I looked down to see misled shivering like I was cold. Taking a deep breath, I got a hold of myself. “Ya, I’m fine. I just got the jitters, that’s all. Oh, by the way, I got this headache that won’t go away. Got anything to help me with that?”

“Ya, let me go check my bag.” Sweet nodded. “I think I have something that should help.”

It was annoying. More than annoying, really. All these hoops we had to jump through just to be able to get at the Republic, it didn’t seem fair. It’s not that I didn’t understand why. Orthrus protects the order of the metro, so they can’t just stir up trouble without a lot of innocent ponies getting hurt. But I so wish we could just drop in on Persephone Station, and action mare our way straight to the core of the C.C.N. and make those brains feel what is like to have some pony mess with their gray matter. At least in the Orphic Kingdom I’ll be as far away from the equalist as possible. Just… have to get there first, that’s all...

________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

-Quest Start: Gear Up Spartan

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (Withdraw) -1 to charisma and Luck.

Chapter 31 - To the Orphic Kindome

Two hours and three minutes. Looking at my pipbuck, the clock reminded me of just how soon this mission would be starting. Of course, Merit, Sweet, Harp, and I were just sitting here, waiting for Rototom and Temboril. Sorrow an Mayall had already arrived, but they’d left and gone off ahead of us.

I was still not feeling all that well, and the idea of going under the water was still not sitting right with me. But at the very least, I didn’t feel as bad as I felt yesterday during the briefing. Some pain killers, and much needed sleep helped with that, but it wasn’t quite enough. I still didn’t feel all like myself, but then again, I did have wires still stuck in my brain.

We were sitting at a little coffee house called Rubiaceae, in Station Pancake. The station itself was not all that remarkable, really. Being built post great war, it had Orthrus hoof prints all over it, which sort of dimmed whatever uniqueness it might have had otherwise. Most of the station, like the rest of pineapple Island, was used to grow food. Though despite the name, more than half the product grown here is coffee beans.

Thus, the shop named Rubiaceae, standing out in its frilly light pink glory, contrasting with the cold gray of the rest of the station. The frilly pink decorum also extended outside of the coffee house to where we were sitting. I didn’t know if I should be worried or impressed by the waitress, who looked strikingly similar to a doll I had as a filly. It mostly had to do with her prosthetics, which had a polished wooden outer shell, and covers over the joints to make it look like she had real ball joints. The rest of her getup was makeup, and a frilly dress that I had to admit was cute.

“Wow, this place is amazing.” Unwinding, Harp was seemingly enjoying herself. Though she didn’t seem to have a taste for coffee, dumping six cubs of sugar and a far dose of coconut milk before properly drinking it. “I’d love to come back here after this is all over.”

“Not sure about coming back to this place.” Merit only added one sugar cube to his coffee. “But never in all my life did I once think I’d ever have fresh coffee. Hell, even instant coffee was a rare luxury up in the clouds.”

“You hear that, Viby? We should invest in coffee when this is all over.” Sweet Sax had hers black, don’t know why, she always had a stomach ache afterward. “We’d make a killing.”

“I like that idea. No more risking our lives for bits.” I nodded and hoofed at my drink. I liked my coffee with two sugar cubes, a bit of coconut milk, and whipped coconut cream on top. It wasn’t bad, though I never got to drink it enough to get used to it. Mostly because it cost three bits a cup, which amazed me when their main competition was Metro Cola. A bottle of Metro-Cola’ Lurker-Blue cost only one bit a bottle, so that was going to stay my drink of choice for an energy boost. How other ponies chose to drink coffee over cola, even with it’s higher price, baffled me.

“Hay!” The familiar voice of Cornett called out to us from the other side of the street. She had her son in tow, pulling a cart of gun cases along with them. “Heard you were going hunting!” Our cover story was officially a day long hunting trip. While not the most conspicuous of covers, it at least would keep others from asking too many questions to where we were at. “So I thought I’d tweak your gear.”

“Wait, since when did you have my gear?” I had to ask, thought I already had a pretty good idea of what had happened. “I thought my sister was getting it back from security?”

Cornett playfully waved her hoof at me. “Oh your sister sent them over, and I couldn’t help myself. I even got to work on the Lelantos!”

“What?” I responded flatly.

“Flugelhorn dear, show her.” She gave a small wave to her son. The stallion looked less than amused by this, but complied, opening the first gun case. Inside was my Lelantos, though sleeker looking. The bulbous air tank had been replaced by a slightly smaller one that looked a to be more re-enforced, while under the barrel was another smaller, secondary air tank. “I changed it to a two-tank system, so it should work more efficiently now with each shot. Also, I added a full tank release, in case you need a real power shot. Just be careful, because you can’t shoot it again until it re-pressurizes.”

I lifted the rifle, and surprisingly, it didn’t feel all that different in my magic. The only slight difference I felt with the two teal air tanks attached to it, was that the balance had shifted a bit more to the center. That would actually be good for dealing with recoil when firing, not that it had all that much recoil to begin with.

“Not bad.” My words brought a smile to Cornett’s muzzle.

“I knew you would like it.” She waved at her son, and he pulled out a few more crates. “That’s why I made more. These ones are the finalized, finished product.” Sweet opened up one of the and pulled out a gray and black Lelantos. “They’re made to a more factory friendly standard. So less and easier to manufacture parts, but that also means parts are easily interchangeable in case one needs to be salvaged or canabalized for parts.”

“Nice.” Sweet opened the cylinder of the rifle, and spun it. “Though I’d rather have an AG, I’m more than willing to give this a try.” Closing the cylinder, she put the rifle to the side. “While we’re on the topic of guns, did you finish what I asked for?”

Cornett covered her mouth as she snickered. “Oh, did I ever!” Flugelhorn pulled the biggest case off the cart, knocking over a bunch of other cases. “But you’d better use this responsibly. I can’t have my family name be tarnished, so I’m trusting you with this.”

“I’d never dream of it.” Sweet gleefully loomed over the large gun case and opened it up. Inside was what I referred colloquially to as a big fucking gun. It looked a lot like the heavy automatic shotgun Sweet had when she came to rescue me, but the action had oddly been moved behind the trigger. It also had a gunmetal black finish, with a chrome metal frame wrapped around it. Also inside the case was a visor, a harness, some sort of rigging arm. “Ohh, so awesome!” she lifted the gun, and gave it a hug. “I’m going to kill so much shit with this!”

“So, is this some new type of heavy auto shotty then?” I asked, feeling more than just a bit curious about the gun.

“Yep!” Beaming with a smile, Cornett answered. “I obtained two Orthrus broomsticks over a year ago, but didn’t know what to do with them since nopony was interested in buying them. Well, when miss Sax Solo visited to buy a gun, she had a brilliant idea. In place of her missing wings, she wanted me to design a rig to hold guns for her, and allow her to fire them with her mind. Now, I don’t know anything about cybernetics mind you, but I do know turrets and turret systems.” Running her hoof over the system, she marveled at her own work. “So, I made a personal pony turret system. To get it to work right, the gun and harness are attached by a self-stabilizing articulating arm, and a levitation talisman. Targeting is done through the visor, so all a pony needs to do is fire, and the system does the rest.”

“Got it, you built my friend a death machine.” I had to admit, I was impressed. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, where did the arm thingy come from?”

“It’s an old robot arm, don’t bother asking me the model as I haven’t the slightest.” She shrugged and almost sounded like the topic of robots bored her. “one of my workers likes to mess with that tech, so I simply put them to work.” Sounds legit. Cornett grabbed one of the smaller boxes, and passed it over to me. “You can have this back as well.” Opening it, inside was my Lunar Eclipse, along with my two leather cartridge holders. “I loaded them with hollow point, but let’s hope you don’t need them.”

“Thanks, Cornett.” I placed my revolver under my vest, and the two holders on top of it. It was good to have it back on me, made me feel less exposed. The bayonet for my Lelantos had its own sheath, so I fastened it to my back leg, I was not much of a knife mare like Cornett was, but having it at the ready was always a good idea. “Did you bring anything else?”

She scratched her chin for a moment. “Now that I think about it, your sister did tell me to bring something else.” She picked up one of the cases that had dropped to the ground, and opened it. Inside was what looked like a boxy gun, with three large bullets next to it. “Before you ask, I don’t know what it is, I was just asked to attach a railing system to it.”

“Okay…” I lifted it up, feeling a bit confused on how I would even use whatever this thing even was. “So, what’s it meant to attach too?”

“A new leg.” The voice of Rototom called out. Looking over at her, she was all geared up along with Temboril. As the approached, I noticed that their blue cloaks concealed some of their far better gear. Rototom though took off a case on her back and placed it down in front of me. “Got this out of an old evidence locker, felt that you could find some use out of it.” Inside the box was an old cyberleg, the same kind I’d gotten from Shamisen Tuning, if in slightly better condition. “The I.G.L. or industrial grappling leg, remodified to smuggle contraband from one station to another. While we quickly caught on to them, these legs still pop up from time to time.”

“So this dumb looking gun goes into that leg.” Getting the cyberleg was not something I was going to complain about, but the boxy gun was another issue altogether.

Rototom rolled her eyes. “That dumb looking gun is what we call ‘the ripper’. It’s an experimental weapon and talisman combination and all that, but it shots a special type of bullet. The ripper round.” She tossed the leg to me. “It’s single shot right now, but one shot will be all you need. Basically the gun fires that solid slug and breaks it apart while it travels down the barrel, thus projecting a wide cone of shrapnel at whatever you point it at.”

“So, it’s a shotgun?” I placed the leg to the side, as Sweet helped me take of my normal prosthetic. “would it be better if you just gave me a 12 gauge?”

“Yes, but being a shotgun is not the point of this gun.” Rototm said as she shook her head. “It’s a tactical weapon, and a very powerful one at that with a much wider area of effect than you might think. If you ever find yourself cornered against multiple foes, you can use it to punch a whole through quite a few of your attackers all at once. Even if they have good armor on, unless it’s power armor, this should still find it’s way through any gaps their armor has.”

Sweet attached the grapple leg to me, and I activated it with a wave of my magic. Before I could give it a look over, Cornett was already installing the ripper gun into the smuggling compartment.

“Right, so are we done here.” I asked, lifting the leg up and looking it over.

Temboril trotted up, and dropped a bunch of talismans onto the table, along with a few holotapes that had talismans embedded into them. I had seen the talisman holotapes before, were inserted into a modified pipbuck, it allows a pony to perform the spell imprinted onto the talasman. “Don’t be so impatient Vibraphone.” She began to pass out the talismans. “Now everyone but merit gets a disguise talisman.” She passed the holotape talisman to Harp. “Now unless it’s necessary, don’t take yours out princes, you can only use one at a time.”

Harp gleefully took it. “I always wanted to use magic, levitating this has been so much fun.”

“Right,” Temboril continued, “Now other than the disguise talisman, I’ve also given each of you a telepathy talisman, magical armor, and muffle talisman. This should be enough versatility to help you out in almost any situation.” We all took our individual talisman, and started to apply them. Instead of working on my own at the moment, I helped install Sweet’s into some of her ports. “Now, these may be higher quality talismans then your use too, but they’re far from unbreakable. So don’t push them more then you need to, and try not to lose them.”

Once I had them installed into Sweet, she turned to do the same for me.

‘Hello, hello!’ Harp called out over telepathy. ‘Can you hear me, over?’

‘Yes, we can,’ I thought back at her. ‘now can you take that out? You’re a bit loud.’

‘Oh, sorry.’ She quickly ejected the telepathy talisman from her pipbuck.

I looked back at Temboril. “So anything else?”

“One thing.” She responded. “The red dress the princess has on is woven with a ballistic weave, so do try to keep her in it as it’s her best protection if things go poorly.” I cocked an eyebrow at her. Really, a dress is her best protection? Temboril simply sighed and continued. “Think of it like bullet resistant fabric. We recovered the dress from a M.O.I. safe and had been studying it. It’s very sturdy in its construction, but the materials are rare on the island. Because of that, Orthrus only uses it for specter armor.”

“Wait, you can’t mean…” Harp gasped. “Does this mean that this dress was designed by the head of the Ministry of Image? Mrs. Rarity herself!?”

Temboril shrugged, her face staying stoic… that was until two hooves wrapped around her in a hug, putting a more annoyed look on her face. Biwa held onto his daughter with a smile on his face, “Oh yes, from our records, that party dress was one of a few prototypes made for the ministry mares during the great war. The perfect combination of protection, and style. Ballistic chic is what Mrs. Rarity had called it.”

Temboril tried to shake her father, but he would not budge from the hug. Rototom lead over with a smile. “Those two look so much alike, it’s uncanny, right?” looking at the two, both had the same a lime green coat, and dark green mane, the only difference was that one was a younger mare, where the other was an older stallion

“Well if they really are family, that that’s not odd then.” I responded.

Rototm chuckled to herself. “True, except that Temboril has no mother.” I cocked an eybrow at her. “She’s his clone.”

A metal cup bounced off Rototoms head, being thrown from a quite displeased looking Temboril.

“No telling secrets you blabbermouth!” Rototom responded to Temboril’s outburst by sticking her tongue out at her before trotting ahead of us. Rototom was always like that to be honest. If she didn’t get her way, she would get vindictive. It was always the thing I hated about her the most. As her sister, she would protect me, but I’d also commonly be the target of her anger, though it would rarely be anything all that bad. Temboril trotted up to me in my sister’s absence, having had finally broken away from her father. “She’s a talented specter, but the bitch can’t ever let things go, can she?” Hanging her head, she deflated a bit. “Had to give her a black eye once because of it.”

“You too?” I responded.

Temboril began to chuckle, and so did I. Sweet joined us, snickering herself. “Last time she got that way with me, I put crabs in her bed. She didn’t notice at first, and ended up running out of her room completely naked and covered in them. Never laughed as hard in my life.”

“And you spent a day in minimum security for that.” The voice of Naqara caught our attention, she looking us up and down with stern eyes. “Something some ponies can’t seem to take.” Yeah, well I at least had a good reason to not stay locked up in that madhouse.

Next to her was Phorminx, who looked just as stoic. “Looks like you're all getting geared up. That’s good.” He passed over a holotape to me. “Install this into your pipleg. It’s the official specter program, and though you’re not part of the core, you three will need it to help protect Harp.”

I took the tape, and placed it into my pipleg. “So, what’s different from the one I already got?”

“The one you already have is an older, bare bones version of tactical S.A.T.S. This one will allow you to properly plot out your movements, or connect with anypony with the same program. Not only that, but it will also give you feedback and a tactical assessment of all those around you.” He gave me a slightly more serious look. “I hope you use it to make sure that Harp comes out of this unhurt.”

I instinctively saluted. “Yes, sir!”

“That never gets old.” Naqara smirked out her words, her head tilted up looking down at us with a feeling of superiority. The old mare loved to remind everypony their position in relation to her own, like it was a hobby of hers. Or now that I think about it, maybe it was a actually a kink of hers. “Now there’s no need to go over the mission, as I’m sure you know it by heart already. As such, you understand why this is important more than any other pony on the islands could.” She pulled out another holotape. “Take this. It’s not much, but it’s the little things that help keep us together when times get tough.” She turned over to Biwa and poked his face with her hoof. “Now for you. Get back to your office, you have plenty of paperwork to do.”

Biwa groaned, but conceded to Naqara poking, turning to walk back.

Phorminx waited for them to get a little further away before looking me in the eyes. “Miss Vibraphone, trust me when I say this, you have great potential. When you come back from this, we would be glad to have you return to Orthrus, miss Sweet too. So, just remember that you will always have a place here.” With that, Phorminx turned and trotted after the two other council representatives.

“That’s deep.” Sweet said before chuckling. “Not that it isn’t an enticing offer, but I plan to retire after this mess is over, what about you?”

“Ya, at least for a year or two,” I nodded. “I don’t plan on doing any major work. we’ve earned that much.”

We quickly got to packing up our supplies, which thanks to Cornett, included plenty of spare ammo for all of our guns. Merit received a standard pump action 12 gauge shotgun, along with a Lelantos which he needed one of us to charge. We also received a boxed, home cooked meal from Cornett, making feel a little uncomfortable to receive this much good will from her. With all our gear in tow behind us, we were off to the sub, of which I still did not feel comfortable with.

“All we have to lose is our chains!” A dreadfully familiar phrase caught my attention on our way to the long entrance hall leading to the surface exit. “Take back the means of production! Throw down those who seek to control you!” A less than healthy mare stood on top of a wooden crate, shouting equalist propaganda to anypony that would give her their ear.

A hoof gently landed on my shoulder, Temboril looking at me with an annoyed look. “Try not to listen to that garbage.”

“After the shit I went through, you don’t have to tell me that.” I rolled my eyes. “Aren’t you at least worried that she may be an agent?” I was not going to just go and shoot the mare, but knocking her around with a stick sounded like a good idea, give her a good hoof to the face for spreading that nonsense. Maybe that was just me being more than a bit vindictive for having my fucking head opened up and mess with.

“One, she is not, we checked.” Temboril just shook her head. “Two, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. And three, that mare is only solidifying her place as a quack. All the workers here own the small plot of land they work on, so she might as well say that they should overthrow themselves. Those republic fanatics are so far gone that I don’t think they themselves even understand what they’re saying anymore.”

The soapboxing mare continued. “They look down on you, the little pleasantries they say are nothing more than minor aggressions, whittling you down bit by bit, until they have you under their control. Don’t let the fat cats marginalize you, keep you from what we all are owed. Even ten percent of the bits they own could feed you all ten times over, yet they hoard it to themselves. No, the bits belongs to everyone, spread equally and fairly, so all can afford food to eat and a home to live in. Take the words of Livenka Fortissimo to heart, that everypony has a right to dignity, but it is those who take for themselves which they could give to others, the greedy, they are the ones who old everypony down. It is only when we all share and act as one, are we free to truly be ourselves! In equality, we are all free. So throw off your chains, cast down the greedy, and become equal with your fellow ponies!”

I turned to Temboril and deadpanned at her. “Can we at least shove a sock in her mouth?”

She faces hoofed. “If you’re willing to get arrested for assault and doom this mission to failure, then be my guest.”

The door to the surface was a big slab of metal that opened upwards. It was made to stay strong, and last damn near forever, giving the ponies a small sense of security from the outside. As I stared up at it, Flugelhorn passed us as we’d finally caught up with Rototom. As she glanced back to the still grumpy seeming Flugelhorn, I noticed that she was looking a little less annoyed than before. She may have always been quick to anger, but at least it seemed that Flugelhorn made her a little happier when he was around.

“So seriously,” Sweet gave a half smile to my sister as we simply watched Flugelhorn. “why that stallion? I mean I know options are limited, but why mister grumpy pony?”

“It’s a long story.” Rototom just sighed. “Maybe I’ll tell you it all later.”

Temboril pulled out her gasmask as she trotted past us. “Yes, let’s not get onto any long stories, as we’ve got places to be, and time is limited.” We all followed, pulling out and equipping our gas masks, readying ourselves for the outside.

The enormous metal door squeaked as it opened. Humid air flowed in, and the air filters near the door roared to life. Reflections of sunlight beamed in, decorating the floor around us with dazzling patterns, almost as if it was inviting us to the outside world. Something we all knew well well was a trick to lull the weak minded into a false sense of security up there. Too many things waited in the shadows outside, and all of them wanted to kill us the moment they got the chance to do so. And that was before mentioning the republic and the pirates we’d no doubt find hunting us along the way.

Together, we trotted out prepared for the worst, knowing we would not return until our mission was done.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Our trek through the jungle was luckily short and uneventful. Clear skies above, and only a few things out in the foliage looking to eat ponies. While the monsters that prowled the surface were out of sight for now, their tracks crisscrossed all over the path we trotted. Thankfully, with the muffling talismans activated we didn’t attract any unwanted attention. We did have a problem with a few carniverous plants being in our way, and insects buzzing all around us. But both were nothing too mutated to be a danger, or at least, weren’t problems that couldn’t be solved with the application of a blade.

The beach was a nice sight to see. Even if it was through our masks, we could still make out the clear, glistening water. Not far from where we emerged was a sturdy old dock. The concrete had fared far better than it really should have after two hundred years of saltwater exposure, but it’s condition wasn’t worrisome to me. Still, the rest of the beach was covered in barnacles, seaweed, and the remnants of sand-lurk nests.

Two sparkle-lurkers trotted up to us across the sand. The crab ponies were dressed up in what looked like old fishing outfits that to be honest, looked out of place on them. The first outfit was an old ragged getup, complete with a bright yellow raincoat. Where it had split and torn from wear, it had been repaired and held together by sewn in fishnet.

The second lurk however, looked like she had lost a bet to be wearing that outfit. She only had half of the outfit the other one wore, with the rest of her outfit was just fishnet. It hardly covered enough of her to be useful, but then again, I’m not sure why they wore them in the first place.

“Fishnets...” Sweet hummed curiously “I don’t remember the old world ponies eating fish? Griffins maybe?”

The male lurker nodded. “Aye, we found these artifacts on a sunken griffin trawler.” The lurker tilted his head. “Griffins are the ones with the big fins, and big jaws, right?”

“No…” Sweet answered. “There like birds, but with claws.”

“Yes, we did find some bones of something like that.” The female lurker nodded. “Had a beak, but was like no bird we had ever seen. Also guns, lots of guns. All rusted through.” She then pointed over to the harbor. “The sub is ready, so let’s be quick. Being out in the open is bad luck. Things in shadows always watch.”

“Like you guys.” I responded.

She nodded. “Oh yes, but not today. We mostly all in sub.”

I had to give the lurkers some credit for being smart, using an old boathouse at the end of the dock to hide the entrance to their sub. Though the old wooden structure was mostly dilapidated with many openings in the rickety looking boards, you would have to get up close to even see that the sub was there. As for their own security, it didn’t take a spectre to see the lurkers hiding in the water or under rubble. The republic would know enough about the lurkers to keep an eye out for them, but still, this would likely be enough to catch one or their scouting parties off guard.

As we approached the sub, everypony began to enter except for Sweet and I. As I waited for the others to board, I noticed a solemn looking gray mare sat on a moldy bench against the wall of the old boathouse. Her face was obstructed by her gasmask, but I knew she was looking at me, and was likely actually Sorrow, the changeling from before.

“I know I’ve asked this a few times already,” Sweet probed. “but you sure you’re okay?”

I nodded. “Just give me a moment. I did this once already, I can do it again.” Easier said than done. I was just glad all my legs were synthetic, if they weren’t, I figured that they’d be shaking themselves right out from under me right now. “Just go on ahead without me, I’ll be down shortly.”

“Alright, just don’t make me have to come back up,” Sweet softly sighed. “ladders are a real pain in the plot to climb.”

I watched as Sweet descended, her head bobbing which each step. Once she was down, and out of sight, I looked over at Sorrow.

“So, I’m guessing you want to talk.” I offered to her.

She nodded, and pulled out a bottle. “You might need these.” Passing them over to me, I examined the bottle filled will white pills. “I lowered the dosage, but even then, you should try to only use them when needed.”

“Chill?” She nodded at me, and I sighed. Looking at the bottle long and hard, I opened it, dropped two of the pills into my cyber hoof. “No way around it, is there?” Lifting my mask up, I popped the two pills, and swallowed. I followed it with some water from my canteen, before putting my mask back on.

“Just keep in mind that’s all I have, or will give, so make it last.” Sorrow folded her legs, and tilted her head ever so slightly. “The last thing you want is to start using the heavier stuff.”

I placed the bottle into my saddlebag. “I know, not like I’ve not seen chill addict before. But I didn’t think the shudders would come on so fast.”

“That was just a panic attack, not the shivers.” Sorrow explained. “The shivers come from Med-X abuse, a common alternative to Chill.” She then shook her head. “Let’s not get into the science of drug abuse, or we’ll be here all day when I know we have better places to be. But I’ll give you this warning. Chill abuse victims tend to develop a loosened sense of reality, and it’s something that when it develops, can’t just be fixed by some addiction treatment.”

“I understand, I’ll use it sparingly.” I’d seen my fair share of chill addicts, they never seem to be all there. Speaking of such, I was already starting to feel more myself, and quite comfortably relaxed. Looking at the entrance of the sub, I didn’t feel as apprehensive about it anymore. “Well, I guess we should get going.”

The changeling nodded. “Let’s hope this is easier than it sounds.”

We both entered the sub, slowly making our way down the ladder to the dark interior. While the chill may have helped with my fear of water, what did bother me was what might happen to me if I keep taking these pills, low dosage or not. It was a worry I’d have to shake off and put to the back of my mind. Right now, the pills kept me relaxed enough to just deal with being in the sub, I still felt a sunken feeling in my stomach about the mission itself.

I didn’t take all that good of a look at the sub the last time I was on it. The adrenalin crash I had back then probably had something to do with it, as well as about a dozen other reasons. However now with a clear head, I found that this sub really didn’t fill me up with much confidence in the repair skills of the Lurks. Rust stains were all over the place, along with less than professional repairs. The Lurkers did a good job getting this thing running, sure, but it was easy to see that they lacked either the tools, or knowhow to properly maintain this thing.

“How is this thing even running?” I asked.

“Megaspell fusion core engine.” Mayall spoke as she appeared from behind me. I spun around to find the sparkle-lurker was wearing an old a sailor’s suit jacket, a short skirt, and a captains cap. The three were old and worn out, but clean looking, on top of being quite the odd combination altogether. “The core components eke cameth equipped with repair talismans, so twas only a matter of clearing the coral off of the ship's haul.”

“Just...” I pointed at the rusting walls trying to not sound rude. “it looks trashed in here. You sure those talismans are working?”

She shrugged. “Nothing is meanteth to last still, but I’m sure in time mine kin can maketh this behold like new.” She motioned her… lurker-hoof-thing, for me to follow. “Come, check out wast I command this vessel.” She seemed excited about the matter, so I couldn’t refuse.

She hopped up into a seat that seemed to take a commanding position in the center of this room just behind the ladder we'd come down. It struck me as odd that this would be the so called 'bridge' of this ship, as it was also the entrance. Within direct view of her ‘command’ chair, were lurkers working at softly glowing terminals, with numerous grimy but still blinking lights. There were four doors to this roughly square room, each one leading down a hallway and out of sight.

“This is wast we control the sub, wires still needeth to beest replaced, but it’s mostly in full working order.” Mayall smiled. “Ahead is the lessening room, whither we can see without eyes.” Pointing back at the ladder, I found another hatch that lead downward. “Below is whither we liveth, beds and food is thither. Behind us is the rooms for the Arcano engine that powers this vessel. Best not to wend thither for thy own safety. ”

I nodded, not really knowing what to say. Then again, ‘don’t stand next to the magical reactor’ didn’t need much added on either end of ours. However it did seem that something needed to be said before we moved on.

Sorrow stepped in front of me, with a serious look on her face. “How many ponies can this ship hold?”

“Plenty.” Mayall answered before scratching her chin. “Well, not a gross amount. We didst exsufflicate the torpedo bay. The weapons wast too rusted to beest hath used, so we putteth the eggs thither for safety. ”

Sorrow paused for a moment before asking another question. “If you could take some of my kin aboard, could you take them to the mainland?”

“This again?” Mayall responded with a dejected tone. “My kin has't our own plat full, if 't be true thee can provise a safe lodging for some of mine to stayeth, then maybe. But till then, we not has't the room.”

“What’s this about?” I asked Sorrow

“Uh…” She just scrunched up her muzzle. “With what we know about the republic, it’s too unsafe for my kin to stay on the island. So, I was hoping then we all migrate to the mainland, start out new there.” She tapped her hoof on the sub and gave Mayall a nod. “The vessel may be perfect for doing that, along with the lurkers of course. I was also seeking help from Orthrus to set up a colony for them once we got there. In return, we’d get a bunch of tech to help make it work, and a safe place to call home. It’s a win, win.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Isn’t your kin being changelings going to be a problem?”

“Depends” Sorrow responded. “Most ponies react poorly to what they don’t understand. But Orthrus likes to keep their members philologically evaluated, right? So it shouldn’t be to hard for them to pluck out their more… adaptable members to be sent to the colony. From there with order established, civilians can be let in, and wham bam Orthrus has a new colony under its control.”

“Okay, I get it. So, you want to use Orthrus as protection and cover on the mainland.” It was not a stretch of an idea, and truth be told, it was a solid plan. Well once all the little details like food, and power generation is solved, but there were many minds at Orthrus who were adept at figuring out all those little details.

“That, and having Mirage ponies around would be a big help.” She said jokily. “Your kind is real useful at keeping the lights on when the generator breaks down.”

“I would like to concur.” Mayall chimed in. “But mine lurkers has't our own plan. We must not beest collared by ponies. Ponies art still harbingers of disaster.” I know she didn’t really mean that as an insult, but it still made me deadpan.

“Here, miss Vibraphon,” Sorrow sighed and pointed to the hatch under the ladder. “go and meet up with your friends down below. For now, I think it’s best if I talk with Mayall privately.”

I didn’t want to be in the middle of this in the first place, so I complied and descended down the ladder. I did feel a little insulted by Mayall, but sadly what she was saying was not entirely untrue. Ponies did make a mess of this world, but we also gave it all the tools we’ve been using to survive all this time. As much as I would have liked to explained that to them, it also felt a bit rude to impose myself onto the politics between two non-pony, pony like tribes.

I climbed down into what looked like the mess hall. It felt as cramped as it was above, even if it had a bit more total space in here with what looked like a foldable table currently set up in the middle. There was also a little kitchen set into the back wall, and a bathroom in a hallway that skirted off the side of it. The other side of the room was where I guessed the cabins were, nothing more than a cloth sheet separating this room from it.

There were three Lurkers mulling around in here currently, each one in a red jumpsuit and covered in grease. It reminded me of Turnip, and that this was his family. I let out a sigh as I honestly missed the weird little guy, but I knew he would have been happy that his family was safe and sound.

In a corner was another Lurker, one I’d overlooked. Probably because this one was not clothed like the others, which was something I had not seen befor. Stranger yet, this lurkers mouth looked deformed, like it was actually a pair of claws.

No, not like claws, it was a pair of crab like claws. It was very uncanny to look at, where one of the claws dangled to the sid revealing the strange looking lurker’s vertical mouth. The other claw was in place, making half the shape of a pony mouth and snout, including half of a fake nose. Such a strange looking setup for a creature to have.

Another oddity was a third pair of legs. Set between the front and back legs, the third pair were much smaller, and had what looked like fins attached to it. And as if to complete the odd sight, was it’s tail. It looked flexible at the chitinous base, but the rest of it looked rigid. The way that the attached fins and quills on it were folded up, made it look more adapted to be a weapon then any tail I’d seen before. The odd creature looked over at me curiously, and I decided it was time to stop awkwardly staring at it.

Sitting at the table and tapping away at her pipbuck, was Temboril. Having a top tier specter sitting in front of me made me feel a built inquisitive, a rare opertunity for me. Sitting at the table, I tried to be reserved in my body laguige, I just couldn’t help but to have a fat smile on my face. “Miss Temboril, you… uuu, you know my sister, right?”

She nodded. “Far more than I’d like too.” She looked up at me with just her eyes. “Just so you know, I’m not one for playing pranks. So if you want to get back at her, just don’t try to drag me into it.”

“No, no.” I waved my hooves about, rejecting the idea. “Trying to prank Rototom is only inviting a prank war, and she’s a shitty loser to her core.” I scratched my chin for a second. “Hold on, what do you mean, ‘more than you’d like too’?”

“Her and I were once sent to capture a Syndicate sub-boss, who ended up being a real pain in the flank to even find.” With a sigh, she switched her pipbuck’s screen off. “We got lucky and located the bitch, and sadly only way we could get in close was by playing the role of private escorts. Oh, and it just so happened that in order to maintain our cover, we had to put on a show for her gang first.” Looking back down at her pipbuck, she cleaned a smudge off of it with her hoof. “I’m not all that into mares, that night confirmed my feelings. Your sister however? Let’s just say she enjoyed our show together more than I did.”

“I regret asking.” I nearly gagged as I thought about it. Of all the ews...

“Thought you would.” She smirked. “So, what did you really want to know?”

“don’t know,” I shrugged. “I thought you might have some good advice for me as a spectre?”

“You’ve done well enough so far.” She rolled her eyes. “But just in case I’ll say this: don’t forget the basics of your training. It’s the foundation of everything you know for a good reason. From the books you read, to the drills you run, all of it will help you survive as a spectre.”

I nodded. “can’t argue with that.” I paused for a moment, remembering something my sister said earlier. “why did my sister say you were a clone?”

“Everypony always asks...” I got a long sigh from Temboril before she spoke softly to me. “Because I kind of am one.” She quickly looked side to side before continuing. “The science is a bit complicated, but simply I was born in an artificial wound using skin cells and sperm from Biwa, my father.” She looked a little annoyed when she said his name. “As you can see, I’m a perfectly normal and healthy mirage pony, which was not at all their goal to create.”

I raised my eyebrow, at this. I’d be shocked if the process did not sound familiar somehow. “What was their goal?”

“Stem cell research mostly.” She replied. “It was one big Orthrus experiment with cloning. Big enough of a project that somehow my pod had been forgotten during part of it. When they came around and checked, they of course found that it was still in use and had a baby foal inside.”

My mouth was agape, and why I tried to ask about how they could accedentaly grow a baby, she just raised her hoof in front of me to stop me from asking.

Temboril leaned to her side, sighing deeper than the last one. “How dad explained it, every pony was so surprised that they didn’t really know what to do with me. They just kept me in the lab, and took turns looking after me until they could come up with something. Eventually the council found out, and shut down the experiments. They thought that growing foals was inviting more trouble than Orthrus was willing to take on, saying it could be misconstrued that Orthrus might use it to farm themselves a ready to order army.” She shrugged, and took a sip from a can of water nearby.

The specter continued. “The scientists themselves later went on to leave Orthrus and founded the New Gen Genetics company. And while you now doubt know that name, you should know that the process that made me is still around, and has remained quite popular among sterile couples, for a lot of bits that is.”

“So, were they at least successful at whatever it was they were originally trying to do? What was the project they were working on?” It was almost a morbid curiosity now, I kind of had to know. “I mean, it’s not classified, is it?”

“No, it was decalcified over ten years ago,” Temboril turned her pipbuck screen back on. “mostly so that Orthrus could claim the royalties from some of the tech New Gen sold, while still remaining impartial and technically not responsible for the results of their own research. But the actual experiment, Like I said, was cloning.” She paused on that, seeming to look for the right words. “Well, more like if one could download the memories of someone into a clone. The answer is no, copping someone’s neural pathways, and then imprinting then onto a black slate. It’s possible, but any single error creates a dysfunctional pony, and that’s not to mention that the clones themselves often had something wrong with their body. Cancerous growths, stunted or incomplete limbs for even mirage pony standards, and issues with brain development were huge and frustrating common problems.” She tapped at her pipbuck, flicking through whatever she was reading. “In the end, the project died, and they began to catalog everything they learned. The final report suggested that cybernetics was probably the way to go if they wanted to continue that line of research. Just grow a new body, get your brain cyberized, then install it into the new body.”

What she said about cyberization really put me off, but that was probably only because of the wires that had already been stuck into mine.

“That’s probably true.” Looking around, my eyes drifted to the hanging sheet that covered the hallway to the cabin. “You know, I think I’m going to go lie down. Thanks for answering that for me.” Stepping away from the table, I trotted over to the cabin.

“Vibraphone?” Temboril called out. “Your sister does care about you, you know? Please don’t forget that.”

I knew that she did, because as much as Rototom infuriated me, she was my sister. But who she wanted me to be, and who I was felt incompatible. And It was starting to grate away at me. I just wished she would give me my space, and let me find my own way through life.

_______________________________________________________________________________

After a thankfully shorter than I expected trip, we arrived at the drop off point. We were let out in a lagoon that was deep enough for the Submarine not to run aground at. There wasn’t much nearby, so those of us departing had to swim toward what looked like half sunken pier covered in vines. Other than treading some shallow water, we got to land without any trouble. As we pulled ourselves onto the rickety dock, the Lurkers waved us off from their sub before they slipped back underneath the water.

I had asked Sorrow about her deal with Mayall, and she told me that the lurker was still resistant to the idea. Still, she had hope that a deal could still be made. It wasn’t that I cared all that much about their dealings, because we had more than our fair share of our own problems. But still, they didn’t need to help me as they have, so I owed them, and genuinely hoped that they did got out of this mess alive and unhurt. They were good ponies, er... creatures, and they shouldn’t be involved in the war to come.

“I really wish I didn’t have to wear this mask.” Merit spoke up as he looked around at the scenery. “It’s just so beautiful here, like in some of the old pictures I’ve seen.”

“Let me guess,” Sweet spoke with cocky tone. “All those pictures had naked ponies in them.”

“Well of course they did.” Merit responded. “back then ponies didn’t wear clothes as often. Even today they don’t up in the cloud cities, you all are the odd ones.”

“So, you mean they just walk around like savages?” Harp asked. “You don’t wear loin cloths and all that when you do decide to ‘dress up’, do you?”

“No,” Merit groaned, “ponies tend to have at least a shirt on.”

“And leave their back ends exposed!?” Harp gasped.

“What?” Merit responded. “Well, yeah.”

Sweet chuckled “I bet it’s for easy access.”

“I’d have thought that covering one’s sex organs would be priority one?” Temboril chimed in.

“Maybe it just doesn’t bother them,” Rototom stepped in with her gun out at the ready, her Zeus nicely polished. “with the wind and all.”

“Enough.” Sorrow blurted. “From what our history shows, back then, ponies just didn’t mind nudity. And from what my kin have recorded, the trend for the common pony to wear clothes was started by the Ministry of Image. And as history shows, they were quite successful at starting it.”

“Wow, buzzkill.” Rototom added.

“We’re one a tight timeline here,” Sorrow just sighed. “we can talk about useless things once were at Silver Screen Station.”

I trotted ahead. “She’s right, we have a job to do.” The reaction from the group was mixed, some getting to business, some annoyed, but every pony followed.

The Gathering Island’s forests were some of the densest and unfriendliest of all the islands. They were plentiful with seed spitting plants, vines that whipped out at you, and places with radioactive mist that came and went with the ever changing humidity. Of all the islands you didn’t want to be caught lost outside at night on, this was probably the worst.

We did our best to avoid most of the dangers, and quickly dispatch of those we couldn’t. My Lelantos bolt lancer proved good enough to kill off the dangerous plants, and to scare away some of the wildlife that got a little too curious about us. Rad-boars always proved to be a nuisance on the islands, but were relatively easy to take out if they were alone, and caught off-guard. The overgrown insects on the other hoof were just insufferable, each one coming at us like they had a death wish.

After some trekking through the dense tropical flora, we finally came across a semi-maintained path. The packed dirt of the trail put a bit extra stability under our hooves, and helped to both relax us, and relieve the threat of walking into some pony eating plants. The path was fairly well traveled, as imprints of hooves and shoes were worn in all over the path. Eventually we came across a sign that pointed to Silver Screen Station.

“Alright Every pony.” Temboril called out. “Time to put on our disguises.”

I concentrated on my back-left leg were I had installed my disguises talisman. It’s magic activated, and I felt a tingling for only a second. It was hard to tell what every pony looked like with our gear on, but I could see that the gray stripes from our manes were gone. Checking myself, there was not much I could see that had changed visually, meaning that some of the gear had to come off before I could see the change.

It was thankfully not a long trot to the entrance to the station, as between the ride over here and our time on the surface, I was about ready to get back into the metro. Surprisingly, much of the harmful foliage had been cleared out in a substantial area, making the entrance stand out in the forest as a meadow of grass. The thought of Turnip came up into my mind again, and I stopped to reflect on just how similar this place felt to me.

“You alright, Phone?” Sweet asked, putting a hoof on my shoulder.

“I’m fine,” I nodded. “just... last time I was at a place like this, I was under attack by a vertibuck, and, I lost Turnip there.”

“I see,” Sweet sighed. “then let’s not linger too long.” She gave me a little push, and we moved forward. We caught up with Rototom as she pressed the buzzer to the great door leading into the station. She looked annoyed, holding onto it a bit too long before some pony responded.

“What do you want, were under lockdown.” A rude gruff mare responded over the intercom built into the door.

“I want a hayburger with cheeze, some fried hay, a sparkle-cola, oh and some barbecue sauce on the side.” She looked back to us. “What do you ponies want?”

I was about to tell her to not be stupid, but Temboril cut me off. “I’ll have their special. No mayonnaise, heavy on cabbage, and a grilled carrot dog too.”

I looked at Temboril in bafflement, but my attention was stolen by the clanking sound of the door unlocking. The rusty screech of it opening made me cringe, but amazingly, the old entrance slowly opened to us. We all quickly pushed on in, and I quickly noticed that this entrance acted like a large airlock. Another door blocked our way ahead as the one we passed through swung closed with an equal amount of mind numbing squeals. After the door shut and locked, we were blasted with a mist from the ceiling. Decontamination of course, just like at Orthrus. We waited for a minute before the second airlock door opened, and we slowly entered the station.

Silver Screen Station was, for the lack of a better word, claustrophobic and insanely grimy. Now, most of the metro was a bit cramped, but this station was packed with ponies. Not only were there more ponies down here than I’d expected, whatever available space anywhere in sight, was being used. Dirty hoofprints littered the ground in the few spots where I could even see it, and much of the shanty shacks that even scaled the walls looked like they had not been properly cleaned in years.

“Oy, pay up you lot!” The mare was sitting above us in what looked like a small watch tower. Her face and body were obstructed by bulky armor, and she wore a welder’s mask down over her face. Rototom threw the mare a small bag of presumably caps, and she nodded back to us. “Welcome to Silver Screen Station. If anypony asks you where you’re from, kindly tell to shut the fuck up.”

Rototom took the lead, having every pony gather around her. “To all the newbies here, this is syndicate territory. Yes, this is part of the orphic kingdom, and they do have a lord here with plenty of guards. But any authority here was bought by the syndicate long ago, so mind your manners, because the syndicate has a longer reach than just this island.”

“So, no different from any part of the Orphic Kindom?” Sweet snickered.

“Not quite.” Temboril interjected. “It’s the difference between a public execution, or being taken to a back room and shot. Basically, as long as you keep your mouth shut, you should be fine. No playing revolutionary, or hero for that matter. You see something, you don’t say something, you don’t even look at something. Just keep going and focus on what we’re here for.”

We all nodded, and proceeded to take our gas masks off. It was a bit odd seeing every pony without their stripes on. Sweet looked like an earth pony, Harp was a pink unicorn, and I, somehow I got the unicorn treatment as well, though it was hard to resist touching the longer horn I now had. However, I held back, as my metal claw prosthetic would simply go through it, revealing my disguise. On that note, my front right leg was still cybernetic, while the rest of me looked organic. Looking down, even my left leg was just a normal leg with a pipbuck clipped on it.

“Alright ponies, let’s head to our first stop before we attract some unwanted attention.” Rototom called out, and we followed.

Despite how claustrophobic the station was, quite a few of the ponies here kept off of the main path, simply moving about through the numerous back alleys. A few ponies had to squeeze by us, and one of them sloppily tried to pickpocket Sweet. As a reward for their terrible choice, the pony then got a swift kick in the flank from Sweet.

It was strange to see other kinds of ponies here. Most of them were still mirage ponies, but every now and then I would see Unicorns, earth ponies, and even a few pegusi moving around. Most of them were clean-ish, and as I’d expected, they all seemed to be condensed to were slightly wealthier ponies would live. But there were a few exceptionally dirty ones here and there, and one covered in some nasty scars.

“All sinners must face punishment!” The voice of a loud stallion called out as we passed an open area. The stallion was a very old looking unicorn who had propped himself up on a podium surrounded by other ponies. He was draped in black robes, and wore a silver and gold chain hanging from his neck. On the chain, was a symbol of a sun and moon at its end. Imediately, the sight put a knot in my stomach. Of course, bad feelings didn’t stop the stallion from calling out to the crowds.

“The sinners deserve to be cast into Tartarus. Divine justice does not prevent the Goddesses from destroying the sinners at any moment. The sinners, at this moment, suffer under the Goddesses condemnation to Tartarus. The sinners, on this world… at this very moment… suffer a sample of the torments of Tartarus. The sinners must not think, simply because they are not physically in Tartarus, that the Goddesses in whose hooves the sinners now reside, is not… at this very moment… as angry with them as they are with those miserable creatures they are now tormenting in Tartarus, and who… at this very moment… do feel and bear the fierceness of their wrath.”

The old stallion waved his hooves around dramatically, some of the ponies below flinching, as others scoffed. I just wanted to get out of earshot of the crazy old guy.

“Simply because there are no visible means of death before them at any given moment, the sinners should not feel secure. Though because it is natural to care for oneself, or to think that others may care for them, ponies should not think themselves safe from the goddess wrath. All that sinning ponies may do to save themselves from Tartarus pains shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Lady Roseland. The Goddesses has never promised to save us from Tartarus, except for those contained in Lady Roseland through the covenant of sacrifice.”

“The fuck?” I blurt out. If I wasn’t mistaken, that wasn’t a name that should be familiar to the islands.

Rototom nodded. “Ya, to think the pirates have already gotten this far in.” she pushed me to move on. “More the reason to not slow down.”

Seeing the fanatic made me a lot more weary of who was around us. No pony around us that I could see wore any colors to identify if they were with the pirates. Even so, the fact that they were here in this station was enough to make me check if my revolver was still close to my chest. If there were pirates around, the Black Spot was not far. And if I had anything to say about it, that stallion was going to get a bullet between the eyes.

We arrived at our destination without a pirate intervention, only to have been brought to a less than respectable looking bar.

“The Lusty Unicorn… seriously?” It’s name, it did not fill me with confidence, and Its sign featured a unicorn on a stripper pole.

“Don’t knock it sis.” Rototom said cheerfully. “You’ve got to try this place’s fries. A little salt, a pinch of vinegar, oh it’s simply the best.”

Reluctantly we all entered the seedy looking place. Surprisingly, the interior had an almost rustic feel to it, with a lot of it made from wood, and other recycled materials. Strangely enough, the place felt a lot like the Two Tailed Mare back on Charon’s Stop. Even a lot of the little decorations being the same, including the mare behind the bar… Fuck! Whats Shamisen Tuning doing here? “Hello?” I called out to her.

The black and white coated, brass legged mare stepped out from behind the bar with a slight smile on her face. “It’s so good to see you all again.” She kept her nose slightly in the air, like with most customers of hers. However, with one look over at Temboril, she tilted her head a little higher. “Except for you, spoiled sport.”

“Well, next time don’t try to set me up.” Temboril shot back.

With a sigh, Shamisen motioned over at a large table. “We have the seating reserved for you, so if you take a seat, I’ll take your order.”

We all took our seat, but her acting as an employee made me feel a little concerned. “What’s going on Shamisen?”

“Orders first.” She sternly said.

Rototom spoke up. “A round of fries, and pineapple juice.”

“Right, right, it will only take a moment” she pulled out a clipboard and scribbled on it.

“And about my question.” I said more sternly.

“Later.” Shamisen said with a frown.

“Oh Shamisen, why must you be so rude to our guests?” Another pony called out from above. She looked familiar, a mirage pony mare with a red dress that covered her, but only barely. She had a silver coat and light green mane, and bright blue eyes. Her front legs were both mechanical, painted to match the color her coat. Her back legs however were natural, and decorated with a few gold rings. Thinking for a moment, I was pretty sure I remembered her being at Ironshods private gun show.

“The names Xianzi Tuning, Shamisen’s twin sister.” The mare stepped down to our floor, slowly, and regally. “I’m the proprietor of this establishment. My sister here is currently working for me until she can regain her place back from those ruffians”

“So the big cunt actually lost her home.” Sweet snickered, but she quickly wiped the grin from her face when Shamisen shot her a dirty look.

“What happened?” I asked. Shamisen just huffed and walked to the back toward the small kitchen in the back of the place. Xianzi on the other hoof sat down with us, and gave Merit a bit of a lusty look.

“Oh, the horror of it.” She said, making a drastic pose while leaning against Merit. “The republic sent their goons, accusing her of being a member of the syndicate. They barged into her establishment, claiming it was to be cleansed and used for the good of all the poor ponies left outside.” She then leaned in whispering loud enough that we could hear. “Worse yet, among them was one of their prized pets, a reaver you called them. Word is that it was some messed up looking bitch with laser guns for wing. Killed every pony there.”

Great, Blaster Beam is still running amok. “Wait, then how is Shamisen here?” I asked.

Xianzi sat back. “Lucky her, she was on a supply run to pinapple island when it all went down. But all the same, she did come here begging me for help. I mean, I told her that Charon’s Stop was a terrible place to set up shop, but no, she had to risk it.”

“one can’t make bits without risk.” Shamisen said confidently, dropping off some glasses of pineapple juice for us. “Even without my establishment, I still have more in the bank then you. Though you might actually compete with me if you stop whoring yourself out so much.”

“Tisk, Tisk.” Xianzi waved her hoof back and forth like a metronome. “You may be playing a good capitalist, but trust me, in a few short years, you will call me Lady Xianzi.”

“Gold digger.” Shamisen spat at her.

“Old Spinster.” Xianzi spat back.

“Enough.” Temboril spoke up. “Fight all you like, but let’s first get down to business. With all that’s going on, we can’t just move from one station to the next without drawing unwanted attention. Can you provide us with a pass?”

Xianzi sighed “A pass, no. Sadly, it’s not possible currently with the royal family placing all stations on lockdown. Even the black market is having trouble moving goods right now.”

“Wait?” Sweet piped up. “We got in by bribing a guard, can’t we just do that?”

Xianzi shook her head. “Getting in from the surface is easier than you might think. The crown can’t just let every pony up there die, as it causes some long-term strife through lost moral and yada-yada. And while some guard ponies making a few bits on the side might fly for this station, what you need is royal approval to go any further, otherwise you're going to be shot on sight if cuaght.”

Temboril took a deep breath, and gave a depressing sigh. “So that means we have to go see the Duke of the station, right?”

“Go? No, look no further!” She nodded her head again. “As it just happens to be, he is here at the moment. If you want to see him, then I’ll just go call him over.”

“Great...” Temboril said flatly. “Is he still a pervert?”

Xianzi winked as she got out of her seat and walked off. A ding came from the back, and Shamisen turned around. “Looks like your fries are done. Back in a moment.” She trotted off to the kitchen.

“So, we have to deal with Polished Jade,” Rototom spoke up. “that’s never fun.”

“Can’t be that bad.” Harp chimed in. “Uncle Jade has always been nice to me.”

“That’s because you were probably still a filly in his eyes.” Rototom took a sip from her juice. “I don’t know about the rumors and such, but I do know that he liked to treat his maids like pets. Makes them wear a collar and all. That stallion has like what, over twenty illegitimate foals? As I hear it, two by his own sister at that.” Harp shrank in her seat a little at that, and it actually made Sweet spoke up.

“Why don’t we not talk about that, it’s impolite.” She deadpanned at Rototom, only making her huff.

“Oh, too true.” An older unicorn stallion spoke up as he was escorted over by Xianzi. He was a jade green stallion with a short well-kept golden mane that screamed that he actually had some real money in his pockets. His black suit looked too new to be anything from the old world, and definitely wouldn’t do him any favors if he wanted to blend in around here. Next to him on the side opposite of Xianzi however, was another mare.

The mare next to him was a younger red unicorn, with a silvery mane, and a dress to die for. It looked like a red and silver ballroom gown, just a bit shorter so that it didn’t drag on the ground. Her boots on her back legs went all the way up under the dress, giving a feeling of authority to them. She wore on her head was a cut wide brim red hat, with a green feather sticking out of it. Altogether, she didn’t look like she was from the Islands, too different in style.

The three of them sat down at the table as the rest of us scooted together to make enough room. If we were joined by any more ponies at this table, it wouldn’t take long for anypony to win a game of ‘spot the outsiders’. Jade simply smiled, and motioned to the mare next to him.

“Since you all know who I am, let me introduce my friend here,” As he spoke about her, the mare seemed almost excited to be introduced. “Miss Red Steel. She's going to need an escort to the next station, and I was told you are the ponies to talk to about that.”

She lifted her hoof in a dainty manner. “I’m charmed to meet you all, somehow I have a feeling that we're going to get along like peas in a pod. May the goddesses be praised.”

_______________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Finished Quest: Gear Up Spartan

New Quest: Orpheus and Eurydice

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (under control)

Chapter 32 - Abrupt Costumes Party

Duke Polished Jade. I can’t say I was all that impressed with the stallion, a bit too portly and soft for my likening. Though I bet that didn’t stop the mares from throwing themselves at him. Even with the stallion/mare divide not being as bad here, there was still at least a 2 to 1 difference, as far as I knew. Red Steel on the other hoof, was more impressive looking. A pretty little thing, yet she had an aura of authority about her. Not only that, but it looked like Polished leaned to her guidance more than she did to him, almost like she was the one in charge here.

Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I returned my attention to Polished Jade and got back to the task at hoof. “So if we agree to take her to the next station, then we will get our royal passes?”

“In the simplest terms, yes.” Polished responded quickly enough that it was plainly obvious he didn’t want any questions asked. From the way he treated my sister like eye candy, I was fairly certain it was because he had other things on his mind.

Rototom slurped on her juice getting out attention. “So, what’s the catch?” she asked out loud.

Polished frowned. “This is why nopony here like’s to deal with you Orthrus ponies. You’re all so straight to business and no fun at all.”

“I’m not going to fuck you, Polished.” Rototom blurted out.

The stallion didn’t flinch at her words. “A shame, but not unexpected.” He then pulled out a box, inside was a bunch of dice. “How about we play 21 dots? You win, I give you the pass with no strings attached. You lose? Well then, you have to put on a show for me.” His eyes drifted over too me. “I know I have an outfit that would look simply amazing on a frame like yours.”

A long sigh came from Temboril, “Fine, but first some ground rules. No asking for sexual favors from us. No asking for us to strip in front of you. And if we catch you cheating, then we win by default.” She looked over at the princess and nodded at her. “Also, she is exempt from this stupid little game of yours.”

The stallion looked over at Harp, and nodded. “A shame really. I have a few of my daughter’s clothes I wanted her to try on. She has such a striking resemblance to a niece of mine.” I couldn’t tell if the stallion was pretending not to know about her, or if he really did simply think she just looked like Harp. Either way it was creepy as hell and I’d have already dragged her far away from him if we hadn’t needed his help. “But fine, I agree. Either you win, or I’m satisfied.”

Shamisen came out with our fries, placing them on the table. “Anything else?”

“A round of your house brew.” Polished requested. “Put it on my tab.”

“Right, your tab.” Shamisen sighed. “I’ll be back with your drinks.”

“Excuses me, my good noble stallion.” Red Steel spoke as she stood up. “But I need to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. Mind if I take one of these strong ponies with me for a short stint of time?” The Duke nodded, and Red Steel pointed her hoof to me. “Come, let’s go for a walk.”

Babysitting a noble mare did not sound like fun, but neither did playing a game with ‘Duke, I want to dress you up sexy’. At least walking around the station would count as scouting the area, and I got to keep my dignity at the same time. Along with the fact that she felt different than the Duke, it was probably the a better option for me anyway.

“Lady Red was it?” I asked as I too got to my hooves. Looking back, Sweet Stuck her tong out at me playfully, I did a funny face back at her. “Sure, I’ll escort you around the station then.”

_____________________________________

“Amazing, is it not?” Red Steel spoke to me as we trotted through a corridor.

“Amazingly depressing.” Was my answer, “I’ve never liked the Solaris made stations. Never enough room to feel comfortable in.”

“Yes.” She responded, nodding. “This station was clearly not made with the intent to be a shelter, much less even a temporary home to so many. But even still, the ponies here try their best to survive. That’s why it’s amazing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing new there. Almost every station has a population problem. We survive, only to find that there are too many of us.”

She chuckled to herself. “Not a problem if you could leave the island. But that aside, I heard of another station, Charon’s Stop was it? I’ve heard that it manages well with a high population.”

“Ehhh.” This mare was starting to rub me the wrong way. Too cheerful about a topic most ponies know to avoid in anything but the most desperate of social circumstances. “Yes, but that’s only because is a show station. It was built to be bigger and better from the start, and probably why the rest of Solaris stations were a bit of the cheap side. All the money when on the one they would put in their advertisement.”

“Strange then, why name it Charon’s Stop?” She put on a bemused smile, probing me for an answer. “A bit depressing if I might say.”

“Apollo station was it’s original name.” I sighed. “But when the power went out after the apocalypse, and the bodies started piling up, the ponies living there started calling it ‘The station where Charon make frequent Stops’.” I paused as another odd piece of trivia came back to me. “Though, at one point it was called Mort’s Stop. Even today nopony remembers or knows why.”

Red Steel paused for a moment. “Mort you say? sounds familiar, like I’ve read it somewhere before.” She shrugged. “Oh well, it’s no matter I suppose. So, what makes the Solaris station different from Stable-Tec ones? Other than more ample room, of course.”

“The difference is fairly simple, really.” I stopped at a part of the corridor not covered in junk crammed full of ponies. “Stable-Tec built their stations like they built Stables, so they’re made to be lived and expanded into as need, even if that was not the sole purpose for them being built. Solaris stations were made to look good, not to support ponies for any extended amount of time.” The bare wall we stopped at had been plastered over with cement, but signs of water damage were clear as day to me. Pointing my hoof to it, I drew her attention to the wall. “Because of that, Solaris stations are in constant need of maintenance. Not to say Stable-Tec stations are without their own types of problems, but let’s just say that ponies in them get more breaks when it comes to keeping them functioning living spaces.”

“I get what you mean,” Nodding, a genital smile formed on her face. “it’s the difference between a finely crafted sword, and one that only looks like it was finely crafted. There is no substitute for quality.”

“Hard to argue with that.” I responded. “Aside from that, aren’t you worried about walking around here? I mean, there are worse places for a rich mare to be, but this is still far from a safe place as you can tell.”

“Dangerous, my dear?” She waved her hoof dismissively. “I’m like a shark in a pool full of guppy’s.” she opened her jacked just enough to show a very small pistol inside. “I always keep a few Liberation-45’s on me at all time. They may just be a two shot pocket pistols, but the .45 caliber cartridges are enough to put down even the most tenacious of foes.”

That put a little smirk on my face. “That gun can hardly do much, like what’s it’s effective range? A yard or two at most?”

“You’d think so,” She laughed and pulled her jacket shut again. “but it’s accurate enough at around twenty yards. Good enough to take down some pony in a small place as cramped as this station is.”

I had to nod in agreement. “Most fights in a station do tend to be nose to nose, so I get your point.”

Speaking of a fight, the sound of two ponies shouting drew our attention. Rounding a corner, we saw the old preacher from before on stage with a younger mare, both looking ready to attack each other. The mare was a earth pony with a deep purple coat and a vibrant red mane. Her manner of dress was odd, being a bulky green military fatigue that has seen better days, a so had a worn looking gasmask and a saddlebag held together by fishnet strapped to her sides. On her left foreleg was what looked like an old pipbuck, it’s screen still lit up like the mare didn’t know to turn it off.

“If thy are going to talk about the Goddesses, the booketh of the two sisters is what thee should promote, not you’re thy dibble about torment. The Goddesses art about love, and tolerance, not vengeance thee twat! ” I almost tripped over myself herring the mare speak, this was just something I did not need right now.

“Blasphemy!” the old stallion shouted. “This world is an example of the Goddesses wrath! We must suffer, we must struggle, only then can we return to their good graces. The Goddesses care not for the weak.”

The mare who I already knew had to be Mayall, scoffed and pulled out an old book. “It’s writ hither, in this booketh. ‘Thoughts, and inquiry about Friendship.’ Witten by Twilight Sparkle herself. Love and Tolerance wast personally hath taught to that lady by Cel…”

The priest interrupted her by smacking his book on Mayall’s head, making a “Clunk” sound, but barely even moving the mare. “Ye not even say the name of the false prophet, or ye be struck down by the Goddesses chosen ones! Burn the blasphemes tomb, or be cursed!”

Mayall reeled in shock “Burn this booketh!? You’re as barbarous as mine sister!” she returned the smack she’d recieved with one of her own, hitting the preacher with her book quite hard and knocking him to the floor.

I stepped in, hopping onto the stage in hopes to get these two to stop it before thing got more violent. “If you two are just going to hit each other with books, then it’s time to go home.” I glared at Mayall, who shrank back a little as I spoke at her. “Nopony wants to see a freak show, so you both better just drop this right now.”

“Hey, I want to see a freak show!” A pony spoke up from the crowds that shifted around the stage. As I glared at them, they quickly retreated into the crowd and disappeared.

I turned back to Mayall, only to see her putting. “What is it now?”

“You’re being mean.” She said with a huff.

“For the love of,” I face hoofed with my grappling leg, hurting myself a little with a thud. “Whatever. Come back with me before things get worse, and we can sort all this out at the pub.”

Looking over at the preacher, I was a bit worried that the pirate might come back with a gun. However, I saw him being waved off by Red Steel. The old stallion left with a huff, saying some gibberish that I couldn’t quite make out.

Trotting up to Red Steal, I had to ask her, “You sure it’s safe getting involved?”

She pulled out a red and silver fan, covering her mouth with it. “It’s fine, dear! No need to worry, as I simply told the gentlecolt that the crowd was getting a bit too rowdy. Hard to deliver his message when the ponies around are to riled up to properly listen. He may not like having to leave, but I’m sure he won’t do anything foal hardy.” She turned to walk off stage, but suddenly stopped, and picked up a book. “A shame, he forgot his book.” In her magical grip was a black book that depicted a green circle of thorns, with a red teardrop in the middle. “What should we do about this?”

Before I could interject on the question, Mayall had jumped in, and grabbed it in her hooves.

“I’ll readeth it.” She stated in a matter of fact tone.

“What an inquisitive little mare you are.” Red Steal chirped pleasantly. “Am I to guess she is an acquaintance of yours, miss Vibraphone?”

“Yes, you can say that.” I sighed, feeling a little dejected at the new situation. “This is Mayall, you can say that she’s a wandering Bibliophile.”

“Oh, how delightfully rare!” The unicorn seemed to beam with joy. “I’ve heard about ponies like that, just like Daring Do right? Seeking out lost knowledge so that it can be preserved, and fighting those who would exploit it. It must be a truly exciting life you live.”

Mayall didn’t respond, as she was already reading the preacher's book. With a groan, I shut the book forcefully and pulled the disguised lurker off the ground. For her small stature, she was deceptively heavy. “You can read it later when were back at the pub. I’ve had enough fresh air for now, so let’s get moving.”

Much of the crowd had dispersed as we left the stage, but some of the ponies seemed to keep a keen eye on us from a distance. A station like this was bound to have bandits around, and three dumb looking deep dweller mares probably looked like fine targets to them. The more of a scene we made out in the open, the more it garenteed that we’d run into some bandits when we got moving with our job again.

Thinking about it, killing a few savages may be just what I’d need to calm my frantic nerves. For now, I already had another solution in mind. Opening the bottle of chill pills, I popped two in my mouth, and swallowed. The effects were quick, allowing me to feel a little calmer. Now, back to see who’s won the gambling game.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Arriving back at The Lusty Unicorn, I was greeted with the sight of Rototom in a black and red gown that barely covered enough of her to be considered clothes. Temboril wore what looked like a slutty Daring Do outfit, and Merit didn’t look half bad clad in wartime cheerleading clothes that seem a bit short and small on him. Sweet, Sorrow, and Harp were surprisingly, and thankfully, untouched.

“Ah, you have returned just in time,” Polished smirked as he waved me over before glancing over to Mayall. “And you brought a friend! This has been so much fun, it be a shame if you missed it all.”

“Do I really have too?” I asked

“Don’t pout, not yet that is.” Polished said mockingly. “So sit down, and lets have some fun, unless you don’t want out of this station?’

With a sigh, I sat down at the table, joined by Mayall. “Right, so twenty-one dice, is it?”

He scratched his chin, “So, is your friend playing?”

I looked over at the Lurker in pony form. “You want a crack at it, Mayall?” I heard a few smacks as both my sister and Temboril face hoofed behind me.

She nodded. “I love games, what’s the rules?”

“To roll a twenty-one on these dice.” Polished spoke. “The losers do whatever the winner says.”

“No, not anything the winner says.” I pointed out.

“The cutie there was not part of that deal.” Was his rebuttal. “So, what do you say?”

“It’s fine,” Mayall waved her hoof up and down as she smiled. “not like ponies keep their promises.”

I wanted to correct her for a moment, to warn her about what she was getting herself into. But it clicked that having her lose might teach her a thing or two. Plus, it’d be funny as all Tartarus. “You know, whatever, let’s play.” I rolled my eyes and held my hoof out to the deplorable stallion.

Polished Jade passed the dice to me with his dubious smile. I quickly tested it for cheating, rolling each one a few times. He gave me a hurt look, but I didn’t care. Mayall on the other hoof rolled the die’s a few times playfully. Some drinks were placed in front of us, and the game was on. The first one to three wins was the victor, then either way, we were out of here.

I rolled a 6, 5, 2, 1. Polished a 4, 2, 6, 4. Mayall all 5’s, beginners luck.

Re rolling my 2 and 1 became a 3, 5. Polished rolled his 2, getting a 5. Mayall rolled two of her fives, getting two 6’s putting her over by one point.

Mayall was out, and I rolled again changing my 3, and getting a 1. Polished rolled one of is fours, getting a 5. Unwilling to take the loss, I rolled my new 1, it becoming a 6. His win.

The second round went to Mayall, who managed to roll 21 on her first go. The third round went to Polish after a prolonged bout of me re-rolling one die, only to end up going over. It made me glad I was not playing with bits, or I’d have lost quite a few that round. The next round finally went in my favor, though Polish and I rerolled die many times before he went over. Polish won the next round, as I rolled four 6’s at the start, and Mayall not even paying enough attention to the point she turned a winning roll into a losing one.

With a big smirk on his face, Polished stretched his legs before getting out of his seat. “It’s a shame that two of you got away, but a win's a win.” He pointed at me. “I got something nice for you to put on.” His hoof moved over to pointing at Mayall. “And you, the same rules don’t apply to you, so you’re going to provide me with a private show.”

Red Steel trotted over to me and whispered, “Are you sure this is wise, miss Vibraphone”?

I shook my head, and whispered back, “No, but it’s going to be funny, just trust me. Mayall is not a normal pony.” Looking back at the others, I couldn’t help but snicker at Merit, his skirt barely covering anything with how short it was. Though, if I had to say, he didn’t look all that uncomfortable in it. “So, Merit, enjoying the skirt?”

He shrugged. “This is not as bad as flight camp I guess. Some of the other stallions and I decided to mess with the mares when they were training. Short skirts, pompoms, and a few of us even threw wigs on. It was hilarious how all the mares kept falling over themselves looking at us. Of corse, the raging boaner one of the other stallions had probably was the main distraction. The drill sergeant had us clean the base in those outfits for a week because of that little stunt.”

Sweet snickered, and I immediately knew what she was thinking, but she was too far away from me to shut her up. “One time when we just got our mercenary job started, some pony had mistaken our escort work for the not bodyguard kind. The pony even provided the outfits, the surliest looking red dresses we’d ever seen. Well, the idiot was lucky she’d hired us anyway, cause some loan sharks were waiting to collect on her ass. They didn’t see us coming, but they did manage to run off with Viby’s dress. Seeing her walking around in sexy undies for the night was almost too good, but the best part…”

I could feel my face turn red as I banged on the table. “could you not.”

“Oh, come on, it was romantic!” Sweet frowned, “Ehhh, I’ll tell it anyways. Basically, she got hammered with the client, and they ended up sleeping with each other. Along with this cute little waitress, and some stressed out business mare.” She snickered again. “Amazing how Viby scored three girlfriends in one night.”

I downed the beer in front of me, not caring who’s it was. “It took a month to get them to stop calling me, I had to go to one of their places personally to tell them to stop.”

“Oh, is that why you went?” Sweet added. “I seem to recall that you were there all night.”

“She was crying, going on about how lonely she was,” I just sighed. That had been an awkward night I wish I could just forget. “I couldn’t just leave her like that.”

“and...?” Sweet prodded me with her grin.

“Fine!” I blurted out. “We ended up sleeping with each other one last time. She was not a bad looking mare, just... not my type.” Deadpanning at her, she stuck her tongue out playfully at me. “So are we done bringing up my past? Or should we talk about your little flings, Sweet.”

She shrugged. “Be my guest, it’s nothing I’m embarrassed by.”

“Like how you dated a bandit for over a month.” I pointed out.

“Oh ya, she was awesome!” She gave a soft laugh. “I mean I didn’t know about the banditry part, but her style, so sexy. Little studs pierced all over, the black markup and cloths….”

I cut her off again by banging on the table. “You know what, fuck it, let’s just not.”

“So…” Merit spoke up. “Does anypony here think Mayall even understands what Polished wants?”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” the scream came from Polished’s room. The door flung open, and the stallion deftly rolled out of it. Springing over to us, his hooves hit the table. “What the fuck is that.”

Mayall trotted out of the room, missing her military jacket, and her disguise not on. The crab pony simply waved her leg at us, to which I waved back. She honestly looked a bit too innocent for a mutant abomination.

“That’s Mayall,” I head back a laugh as Polished couldn’t take his fearful eyes off her. “She’s a mutant sand-lurk… that glows.”

Polished looked from me to Mayall, and back to me a few times. “How?”

“Don’t know, and I don’t rightly care because she’s a friend.” I shrugged. “But if you don’t stop fucking around with us, then maybe every pony will find out that you got all hot and bothered over a crab.”

“You wouldn’t dare!” He huffed, glaring into my eyes.

My revolver slipped from my vest, and pointed into the Dukes face. The levitation talisman imbedded into the gun made the movement smooth and strong, like I had seen some unicorns do.

“I’ll be straight with you,” I began, making him swallow his own anger as my gun pressed againsth is chin. “from what I’ve heard already, you getting off on crabs is probably not the worst thing I’ve heard said about you. But that aside, we need to get moving, the sooner the better.” I put my revolver away and looked over at Harp. “We have an important delivery to make, so if you would be so kind and help us out, and then we can pretend none of this ever happened.”

“I see I was right about you Orthrus ponies.” The stallion pushed himself off the table, brushed himself off, and regained his composer. “You’re not much fun. It’s a shame really, because you look like you could do with some downtime.” Polished Jade Kept his distance from Mayall as she rejoined us, turning her disguise back on. “But it’s going to take more than a day to get the paperwork ready, not to mention greasing a few wheel’s to get you where you need to go. With a request like this, my head could end up rolling if I did anything rash.”

Before he could trot to the door, he was cut off by Shamisen. “Good sir, I know that today has not been the most hospitable, and catering to one as important as yourself is what we're here for.” She paused for a moment to rephrase, “Well, that’s what my sister is here for. I on the other hoof, manage mercenaries, smugglers, and the occasion bandit team. Real ugly business sometimes, they don’t get along well you see.”

“And your point is, Mirage?” Polished said with a snarl.

“Well,” Shamisen just smiled. “recently my place of business had a run-in with the republic. You know the kind, fanatics backed up by a solder or two. Which means I can’t do my business there anymore, so I’m setting up shop here. That includes my dealing with mercenaries, smugglers, and the odd bandit team. Which means this station is going to start having new ponies passing through on the regular. And before you ask, no, they’re not the whores my sister manages.” She looked over passed Polished, and waved at me. For as fuming as his expression had become, Polished followed her eyes over to me. “For your information, she’s one of the nicer mercenaries who does business with me. So you’d do well to keep your grabby hooves in check around here from now on, or I won’t be liable for what may happen to them.”

“I’ll have your papers ready in an hour,” With a huff, Polished trotted to the door. “you can pick them up at the north gate. But don’t expect any extra special treatment from me after this. And once this is finished, definitely don’t come asking for my help again.” The door slammed as he left.

Temboril trotted over, looking less than comfortable with her revolver floating next to her. Her burning glare was almost as bad as Polished had been, but somehow I felt like I didn’t deserve to be on this end of it.

“Next time, keep your gun holstered, or I will shoot you.” She placed her gun in her tight-fitting jacket, and trotted off. Okay… had she not just experienced the same shit from Polished that the rest of us had? Her very real threat to me was lessened by the all too tight fitting shorts she had on. I may not be into mares, but Temboril did look hot in those shorts.

“On that note, I should get changed too.” Merit spoke up as he turned to me with a smile. “You mind helping me get this off?”

“I don’t mind getting you off.” I nodded without thinking. Merit’s eye’s widened for a moment as I realized what I’d just said. “Get those clothes off, yes, I can do that.” Smooth as silk, Vibe...

I could still hear Sweet snickering as we entered one of the rooms, making me feel a little uncomfortable. The room itself was dimly lit, and the bed… the bed was a big heart. Actually, everything in here was heart shaped for some reason. Paintings of mares and stallions decorated the walls, each of them dressed up in some surly looking outfit and posed in a suggestive manner.

“So why do you need help with this again?” I asked Merit.

“The damn thing is hooked together, and it’s too tight for me to reach on my own.” The stallion sighed and pointed his hoof at his back. “Sweet was the one who put it on me, same for the top.”

“Right, just sit there, I’ll get… I’ll unhook you.” He sat down on the bed, and I couldn’t help but find the now venerable stallion as a little cute. Though the cheerleader outfit was just not him, even a mare his age would have had trouble pulling the look off. But it was not going to stop me from having a little fun with him. Instead of getting up behind him, I instead sat on his lap and reach behind him. “This will just take a moment.”

He just stared at me deadpanned. “You know I was having enough trouble keeping it at half-mast, right?”

I giggled a little, “well keep in down unless you want me too…” I felt something poking my stomach. “well undoing the skirt is going to be a bit... difficult with that in the way.” You know, maybe there was something else that could help deal with my stress instead of taking more of those damned pills.

Merit smiled. “You could always help a stallion out in a different way.” Maybe I wasn’t the only pony who needed to relax a bit either.

Rolling my eyes, I pushed him on his back as a smile pulled across my muzzle. “Let’s make this quick.”

___________________________________________________________________

The duke had not decided to show up at the gate, sending a messenger pony in his place with the documentations needed for us to pass.

“Everything checks out here.” The guard spoke. “Including an order to shoot all of you if you try to come back. Except for the mare in red.” Waving at another guard, the gate opened, and we hopped down onto the tracks. With everything on royal lockdown, we were going to have to hoof it.

The gates closed behind us, surrounding us with almost complete darkness. Only the faint light from the single old light bulb on the gate itself provided little help to beat it back. Switching on the backlight to our pipbucks, the green light provided us just enough light to see where our hooves stepped, but not much else.

“Alright everypony, there’s a split in the rails two miles up. That’s where we part ways, but until then, Vibraphone and I will take point. Temboril and Sweet, you cover the rear. The rest of you, just stay between us and we will take care of the pests.”

The walk through the darkness was reminiscent of a walk on the big island, just with no plant roots breaking through. It was strange though. The tunnels from the big island always gave off a feeling of wilderness run amok. But here, in this tunnel, it gave off nothing but cold concrete and steel. It was a place where nothing lived, where nothing could live.

“Eyes forward.” Rototom whispered. “With the rail lines shut down, there should be a lot more activity from the undesirables.”

“If it’s rad-roaches, then nothing new sis.” I rolled my eyes. “If you’re talking about bandits, were too heavily armed for them to want to try.”

“Heavily armed or not doesn’t matter to a drugged up bandit.” She sighed. “Expect the unexpected little sis, but you already know that.”

“Like you, and stupid your plans.” I spat back at her.

“I was trying to help you.” Was her response, which to be honest felt like it was missing a whole lot more of a sincere tone than it definitely needed.

“Help… right.” It just pissed me off how she always thought she knew what was best for me. “I was doing just fine working with the administration. You may think that paper pushing isn’t any fun, but it pays well, and you don’t end up getting shot at.”

“Really,” I heard a little groan come from her, “you wanted to spend the rest of your life looking over other ponies’ paperwork? Dotting and crossing the errors they missed when you could do so much more than that.”

“You mean get shot at and rarely payed all that well.” I had done so much to relax back there with Merit that I’d actually had a good feeling going on. Now thanks to her, it was now gone. “I prefer boring and safe over this shit anyday.”

“You’d rather have dead end boring busywork?” Rototom said in a mocking tone at me. “They shoved you in some back corner and were in the process of forgetting you even existed. But what do I know? It’s not like ponies call you the dragon slayer now or anything.”

“And it’s not like a collective group of assholes cut open your skull and fucking raped your brain!” I spat back at her, looking her in the eyes. “I’ve heard that ignorance is bliss, and think I might agree! No, you know what, I know it’s true. Right now, I’d rather be working a boring desk job, making a meager living that lets me go out drinking with Sweet, rather than worrying about all of us being turned into brains in jars for some goddess damn soulless republic computer network! So why don’t you shut up and get off my fucking back for once!”

Rototom glared at me for a moment before turning her head back down the tunnel. “Fine, but I’m right and you know it.”

I didn’t respond, continuing talking with her was too frustrating to want to even keep arguing. I had better things to do that talk with her. Instead, I simply kept my eyes open for something to fill full of holes to bleed off some of this frustration. Because as it sat, Rototom’s flank was looking like a pretty good target at the moment.

The odd oversized insect crossed our path a few times, however most of them smart enough to scurry away as soon as they saw us. Which of course, didn’t help with my frustrations. Other signs of life were of the pony variety, though it was mostly the skeletal remains of long dead and forgotten ponies.

Orthrus didn’t maintain the tunnels here, and it seemed that the Orphic Kingdome didn’t care to regularly patrol or clean them. Every now and then, small squatter camps could be found. Some were totally empty, others still held a dead pony or two long forgotten by the world. We didn’t stop to see how they died, not like much evidence was left to check, as the insects down here had striped their flesh long ago. It hadn’t taken too long before we came to the first fork in the road. Rototom trotting to the left side, took a long look down the tunnel before speaking.

“Right, time we part ways, so remember the plan.” We all nodded in agreement, no pony wanting to spill the beans with Red Steel around. With luck, we can just drop her off at the next station without any trouble.

Parting ways, we were down three ponies, not that it bothered me. To be honest, having Rototom gone took a lot of weight off my shoulders. But still, the unexpected addition of Red Steel still worried me. Red Steel seemed capable on her own, sure, but deep dwellers were known for looking far more capable than they actually were. Which is partly why they could walk around with impunity most times in markets like back at the station.

Mayall on the other hoof could probably trot through the jungle aimlessly and be perfectly safe. It was probably because she was not an actual pony, but some crab monster in the shape of a pony. Still, I just had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t send any station into a fit panic.

A strange thought occurred to me. Both Mayall and Turnip both could trot around a station without too much of a problem so long as they wore the simplest of disguises. Maybe they had some sort of innate magic about them. It would make sense, seeing that machines had a hard time picking them up, and my pipleg couldn’t even detect her unless she was right there next to me.

I looked down at my mechanical leg as we walked, wondering if it was affecting my senses at all. I’d remembered that I had seen a few horror movies using cybernetics as a plot point. They always showed the pony lose their sense of self the more mechanical they got, slowly becoming a monster. Having grown up in a society surrounded by cybernetics, the thought was laughable to me. Still with recent brain related events, I had to wonder if I already put more trust in my augmented limbs than I should.

“Haya!” I almost jumped out of my skin as Red Steel shouted and trotted up next to me. “If it’s not too much of me prying, I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to have just a teensy bit of sister issues going on?”

“A bit, yeah.” I responded. “But if you want to talk about ponies with real family problems, you should talk to the two younger mares behind us. They make my problems look childish in comparison.”

“Ah, such is life.” Red sighed as she seemed more relaxed than one should be for trotting through a dark tunnel. The light of my pipleg illuminated her face, and the little grin on her face all but confirmed the odd calmness about her. “But I want to know about you. Like how you got the title of Dragon Slayer?”

“Somepony talks to much.” I sighed, “But ya, I killed a Paradise Dragon. Two actually, but it had more to do with luck than any amount of skill.”

She nodded. “Still, dragons are not something easy to kill. And two of them makes that quite the feat.”

“Yeah, they’re not easy to kill. At least, that’s what the legends and guides say.” I tapped at my air rifle. “But the dragons here are nothing more than overgrown lizards. If you have the right tools, and can avoid getting ambushed, anypony can kill one. With more than a bit of luck, of course.”

“Says the pony called Dragon Slayer.” Red chuckled.

“Introduce me to a real dragon, and we’ll see if the title sticks then.” I lightly huffed as Red kept a smile on her face. “So, what dealing do you have at the next station?”

“Oh, not much.” She said, “Some of my subordinates have been getting too rowdy, so I need to make an appearance in order to calm them down.”

“Sounds troublesome.” I responded.

“Those louts can be dumb as bricks at times, and they like the drink a bit too much.” She nodded. “But I need them to maintain order, or even worse problems will bubble up to the surface.”

The sound of hoof steps to my right caught my attention. Merit trotted up alongside of me, his eyes darting about every so often. “Sorry to eavesdrop miss Red, a bit hard not to here in a tunnel such as this.” Miss red Nodded. “But I wanted to ask you something. A bit of a hypothetical question.”

“Shoot, Flyer” she responded.

“If the deep dwellers were offered a way off the island, like let’s say, secured passage inside a cloud city. How likely would they be to take it?” I see what he was getting at, and I couldn’t really blame him. Gauging what one of the nobles though about the idea of being free from the metro was actually a good way of getting a sort of unbiased opinion, free of metro governmental bureaucracy.

Red Steel stayed quiet for a moment as she mulled the question over. For a few moments, the only sound in the tunnels were that of our hoof steps.

“Can’t rightly say.” She sounded conflicted, or just not sure of her own answer. “Power structures can be a fragile thing, yes. It’s an opportunity to become free, but that freedom comes at the cost of power. It’s like being a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in an ocean. Only those willing to take the risk will seek freedom, the others? Well that’s where strength of arms comes into play.”

I saw Merit nod with a solemn look on his face. “I can see that, for some ponies, it may not be worth it.”

“True.” Red said with a nod. “But that’s not all. Some ponies find power in the freedom that there’s nothing holding them back. Live by the gun, die by the gun. Think of it as a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation.”

“Ya.” Merit sighed. “Either way, ponies are going to suffer. I guess the question is, which option makes them suffer less?”

A red dot appeared on my E.F.S. likely another bug, but I readied rifle, preparing myself for a fight. Red and Merit stopped too, looking down into the darkness of the tunnel ahead.

“How much do you want to bet it’s just a rad-roach?” Merit chuckled.

“Bloat sprites seem to be common around here as well.” Red added.

The dot didn’t move, ligating in front of us, meaning that it was not a bug. At the very least, it was something smart enough to try to not give itself away. I readied my rifle, levitating it to my side as I shouted down the tunnel.

“Whoever’s out there, lower your weapon, we mean you know harm!” My words echoed down the empty tunnel as I brought my rifle closer to me.

A long pause stretched out for merely a minute before another red dot appears, along with a voice from our back spoke up. “You fucking spooked them you idgit.” A dirty mirage pony stepped out, wearing two modified AG3’s on her sides. The guns didn’t look like much, but I was sure that even corroded air powered blunderbus like she wore would rip through us like paper.

A few more dots appeared on mt EFS, and soon the ponies stepped into the light, five, six, nine of them surrounding us on both sides, each one armed with either a junky looking AG, or similer AG3’s with large air tanks like the first pony had. The bandits looked like they were in serious need of a wash, and something to eat. Most of them were down to just skin and bones, and some of them looked fairly battered and bruised.

“Oy, give us all the food and drink you have.” The first mare spoke up. “And anything else valuable if ya wanna live.”

Thought as much. Starving ponies pushed into banditry. “We don’t have much, but we can give you some of our rations.” I could probably take them out with the help of the others, but not without a substantial risk to Red. So, giving them something was the better option.

“You don’t get to choose what you give up bitch.” The leader was stern, she probably had to be, but she was also getting on my bad side. “Drop it all, or you die.”

“Oh my, you poor souls.” Red Steel spoke up, catching their attention. “To think, such suffering ponies lived under the kingdoms noses. You must live such harsh lives.”

“Yas.” One bandit sniffled and nodded sadly.

The bandit leader rolled her eyes. “Enough! Everypony, strip them, don’t leave nothing behind, got it?”

The other bandits nodded and moved in closer. I looked back at Sweet, who simply winked back at me. Six shots each, nine ponies to get rid of, we were going to have to make this quick. But that’s what they made SATS for...

*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*

Each bandit dropped as bullets flew out like somepony had fired an SMG. I nearly threw myself to the ground due to the sheer volume of fire that poured through the air. Who the hell had opened up? Was there another group around? Scanning with my EFS, I didn’t see a single red blip left.

Next to me, standing as proud as ever, was Red Steel. Six liberation-45’s floated in the air around her as she wore a smile too pleasant for having just gunned down all those bandits.

“like a shark in a pool full of guppy’s” left my mouth as she reloaded her guns before putting them back into the various hiding places on her body. Looking at the Bandits, they all took a bullet to the head. Impeccable marksponyship if I must say, though with how week they looked, any shot on them would likely have killed them anyway.

“So,” Red spoke up, looking pleased with herself. “Shall we resume our journey?”

“Let’s, before any more bandits show up.” I spoke with a nod, feeling a bit taken back. Our hoofsteps once again echoed down the dark tunnel, leaving the sudden burst of violence behind us.

___________________________________________________________________

Lights beamed away the darkness around us as we arrived at Polynices Station. It wasn’t uncommon to light up the tunnels like this at entrances, seeing as once your eyes adjusted to the dark, the intensity really screwed with you. At least it messed with everypony except for Sweet that is. The brightness was something I was forcing myself to deal with while wondering if having my eyes scooped out like Sweet did would be worth never having to deal with this shit again.

“Turn back you ragged vagabonds, or we’ll start shooting!” A stallion shouted from behind the light.

“Wait,” Another voice called out, this time a mare. “Hold up, they’re not stripes.”

The stallion grunted. “You’re right. Hay, what the fuck are you all doing out here? Are you trying to get robbed by the dirty stripes?”

“We have business at this station.” I signed, remembering why I hated dealing with deep dwellers. I lifted my pass. “We have passes signed by Duke Polished Jade, so let us in.”

“Right, right. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” Spoke the mare. Now that he mentioned it, I wish I’d brought some extra panties with me for this trip. “Let us see if your passes check out, and then you folks can get moving.”

Most of the lights turned off, and we could finally properly see the entrance. Two ponies guarded it from a rickety balcony that had been constructed over the entrance. The stallion kept his gun trained on us while the mare busily lowered a basket down to our level.

“Now don’t make any strange movements, or I won’t hesitate to roast you all.” The stallion said as he tapped his gun. “This here javelin launcher is armed with an incendiary grenade head, so marked yourself properly warned.”

The Javelin Launchers, a class of air rifle, and commonly used as air propelled grenade launchers. From what I've heard, their one of the more popular heavy air guns in this part of the metro. Basically, just an air container, a shaft, a rig, and the javelin or arrow, depending on size of the launcher. The one the stallion was using was extra beefy, meaning it would have a lot of power behind it, probably enough to get any kind of pony armor. I figured the pony was compensating, but it didn't make him any less dangerous.

Out of the front of the rifle stuck the specialized ‘grenade’ round. It was pretty much just an old world pressurized jug filled with highly flammable liquid stuck onto the end of a forcing rod to project it out of the launcher. It sported the same hoof painted flame job across the warhead part of it that most did, which I always thought was a bit too flashy. Flashy drew attention in a firefight, and that was not something you want getting shot before you can launch it at whoever was attacking you. I rarely saw them in any other part of the metro, mostly because of all you had was one shot, and reloading could take up to a minute or more to do.

I took the rest of every ponies passes and put them into the basket, sending them up to take a look at them. After a few long minutes, and a good bit of trying not to stare down the stallion who was among the APG at us, the mare dropped down the basket to us.

“It all checks out,” She grumbled as I cleaned out the basket and hooved back the passes to everyone. “Welcome to Polynices Station, now keep your nose clean. Cause no trouble.”

The door to the station slowly creaked open, bathing us in the light from within. My eyes quickly adjusted as we entered, and immediately I felt a bit more at ease. The cold gray tunnels we’d gotten used to, gave way to a warm station filled with colors. The walls were decorated with tapestries depicting the old world, with ponies frolicking in grassy fields with happy smiles across their faces. Unlike Silver Screen Station, there was a lot more space here, with no ponies sitting crammed into small homes that were packed together along the walls. The ponies that were around were all clean deep dwellers. All of them.

As we trotted further into the station, I had a distinct feeling that we were being watched. I was not too surprised that we were, as same thing happened at Silver Screen Station. Entering a station during a lockdown was suspicious, and I’d be looking into anypony who didn’t seem to display that. Merit trotted up to me, looking a bit nervous.

“Not to sound paranoid,” He gave me a weak smile as he spoke softly, “but I have a strange feeling that every pony is watching us.” I was about to agree with him, but he continued. “Also, it might just be me, but it seems like their all ready for a military ball, or something. I mean, what’s with the parade attire?”

I looked around, and every pony here did seem a bit dressed up, with many sporting a royal purple uniform accented with silver. Those with the sharp military outfit also sported hats depicting the platinum crown. Other ponies who didn’t wear said uniform seemed to be working, and were all clad in plain tan uniforms. The workers looked to all be armed with both javelin launchers and 10mm pistols, which was quite the loadout for basic workers. Among all of them though, not a single Mirage pony could be seen by me. Coming from a place on the lslands where it was feasible to go your whole life without seeing a deep dweller, and only ever see Mirage ponies, it made me more uncomfortable than I’d like to admit.

Looking back at Merit, I nodded in agreement. “Let’s not stay long here.” Remembering one of our two tagalongs in this mission, I trotted over to Red Seal. “Miss Red, now that you’re safely here, I think it’s time we part ways.”

“I do agree.” She responded, but nodded past me. “Except that I think that pony ahead of us wants to meet with us all.”

I looked on ahead to where she’d directed my vision. The direction to the surface exit was blocked off by tan uniform ponies, as were all the other ways out of the main tunnel we were in. At the end and only viable exit, was a pony sitting on a podium that was surrounded by guard’s ponies. A stallion with a pale blue coat and a blond mane sat prominently behind it, dressed in a snappy black suit with purple and silver trimmings. The whole getup along with the way he sat made him look regal, and very much like he was the one in charge here.

Golden Rule, Harps older brother, looked down at us, seeming less than pleased by our presence. “You do know that this is not the best time for ponies to be moving about between stations. You could be mistaken for stirring up trouble. Now state your business here.”

His eyes drifted between us, but he didn’t seem to recognize me, or Harp. That or he pretended not to, It had been sometime since Ironshod, but still, I had a bad feeling about this.. “Me, and my friends are just passing through, and our only reason to be here is as escorts of lady Red Steel. Now that she is here, we’re due to leave as soon as we can.”

“Good genital stallion,” Miss Red Steel stepped up, catching Golden Rule’s eyes. “I’m here looking to get in contact with a group of ponies under my employ. A bit of a rowdy bunch, I was sure if they were left alone for too long, they my cause problems.”

Golden Rule frowned. “I believe I know of whom you speak. Those thugs were cast out of the station a few days ago, along with the other undesirables who don’t belong here. We can’t have them tracking mud all over and filling this place with their impure stench.”

“Oh, is that so?” Red responded with a song like tone. She looked from Golden back over to me. “A shame. Looks like I’ll be sticking with you a little longer.”

“Did you pack a gasmask?” I asked flatly. This was not part of the plan.

She nodded. “I’m tempted to put it on wherever I go, the air here is just terrible.”

I looked back at Golden Rule. “Right, It seems that you don’t want any visitors right now, so if you just let us leave to the surface, well get out of your mane as soon we can.”

“That would likely be for the best.” The stallion nodded. His eyes lingered on me for a moment before drifting to the side, the side Harp was one. “But there’s a small problem, maybe you could help me solve a question of mine.” His eyes drifted back to me. “Miss Dragon Slayer, why is it that you have brought my littlest sister here?” He raised his hoof up, and all the gaurds ponies aimed their guns at us.

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “Well, fuck.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (Withdraw) -1 to charisma and Luck.

Chapter 33 - Desperate Maneuvers

Chapter 33 - Desperate Maneuvers

So, we were two stations in, and frankly I really was starting to hate the Orphic Kingdom. Before I was just ‘meh’ with the place, as when I’d last visited the island a few years ago. Even then it was just as cramped, unfriendly, and lacking anything all that fun to do. Now, I can add being thrown in a cell by a bunch of bigots to the list. Worst, they put each of us in a different cell, so although we could talk, that was about it.

“Aw crap!” Sweet called out.

“What’s wrong?” I called back.

“One of my fucking eyes is drying out, and starting to scrape against my eyelid.” I heard a clunk, likely Sweet kicking the bars to her cell. “They had to take all our shit, couldn’t even leave me with my eyedrops.”

“That sounds lacking of valor.” Mayall attempted to comfort her.

“You shut up.” Sweet snapped as kicked the bars again. “I wouldn’t have this problem if your mother didn’t eat my eyes in the first place.”

“Wait, what!?” I heard Red Steel pipe out, half gasping.

“Oh, mother is all about the rules, and keeping order.” Mayall spoke softly. “It so happeneth that ponies needeth to beest punished if 't be true those gents trespass on our nest. if 't be true mother as queen dose not fallow rules, then t invites the rest of the nest to not followeth rules.”

“Right.” Red said with a sigh. “I’m still getting passed the fact that you’re a mirelurk, but then again, those monsters do come in all shapes and sizes. And I guess it’s fair that you’d eat ponies, as I’ve eaten mirelurk before as well.”

Mayall gasped in horror.

Red chuckled. “Oh don’t be surprised, you haven’t eaten good until you’ve had boiled mirelurk hunter with a side of butter and hot sauce.”

“You’re an odd noble, you know that?” I added. “As far as I know, most of the deep dwellers here wouldn’t even touch, much less put any of the mutant animals in their mouth.”

“Well you can say I’m part of a ‘different’ lineage.” Red said in a boastful tone. “My family has always put strength of body and mind above all. Unlike the other family’s, who’ve inbred themselves into a pitifully sorry state.”

“Uhhh, not so loud.” Merit spoke weakly. “Any pony get the number of the sky chariot that hit me?”

“I think his name was Buck.” Sweet called out.

“Ya, you probably should not headbutt our captors.” I reminded him. “Even if they say they were going to give me a dicking.”

Sweet laughed. “I say more power to him. Broke that stallion’s snout real good.”

“Did I? I don’t remember a damned thing.” Merit said with some strain in his voice.

I sighed. “Well that’s because he kicked you in the head for it.”

“And I’m not dead?” he asked.

“You got a healing potion not long after.” I informed. “Something that they conveniantly forgot to give Sweet.”

“What happened to her?” Merit asked another question.

“Ehh, after you got layed out, I kicked the stallion in his sensitive spot.” Sweet said in an upbeat tone. “I bet his kids will feel that, if he ever has any. But as it turns out, his ass hat friends didn’t like that, and promptly showed me their hospitality.”

“They beat her until she stopped moving.” I added. “You know you both could have gotten shot, right?”

“Sorry, sorry.” The cocky tone in Sweets voice was lost. “It was dumb of me to do that. But that stallion was so asking for it.”

“Personally,” Red spoke up. “I thought your fighting spirit was magnificent. I was waiting to get a good kick in myself, but they were being a lot more gentle with me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Ya, as expected of a bunch of anti-mirage pony bigots.”

“So, I wanted to ask,” Merit spoke up. “Why the hate?”

Sweet laughed, “Because they’re a bunch stupid inbred fuckwits, that’s why.”

“What Sweet means,” I sighed, “is that a lot of the deep dwellers hold this idea of purity. They want to keep their kin pureblood ponies, and with us mirage ponies being genetic chimeras, we’re seen as the epitome of impurity. So, given the choice, most deep dwellers would rather bear foals with their own siblings then even touch a mirage pony.”

“You say ‘rather’ like any of them would consider it even a option. They only fuck their own family members.” Sweet corrected. “It’s like part of their culture, where you aren’t considered a mare until you’ve taken your father’s dick.”

I wanted to correct her, but I was not feeling in the mood to defend the deep dwellers. They did lock us up here after all.

“One last question?” merit spoke up. “Where’s Harp?”

“More than likely with her brother.” I answered. “She should be safe with him, so don’t worry. Even if he did lock us up, I do remember him caring about her a little.” The sound of a rusted lock opening preempted the hallway door opening somewhere out of sight from my cell, and I perked my ears to listen.

“Alright you shits,” A gruff, yet stuffy sounding voice of a stallion called out at us. “I want you all to stand in front of the bars, no funny business.” With loud hoof steps, a large stallion came into view. His nose covered in bandages, so it had to be the one Merit headbutted. His eyes landed on me, and he gave out a grunt. “You. The boss wants to talk with you.” He pointed to some ponies behind him, and stepped away from my cell. “Get her out of there.”

My cell door slid open, and I trotted out.

*Crack!*

A baton hit me on the side of the head, hard. I didn’t think it had been hard enough to do any damage, just enough leave a lump. However, the message it was intended to convey was something I’d received clearly.

“Take that as a warning, stripe.” The stallion barked at me. “I know your kind can’t help but be shifty. So if you don’t keep your natural urges in check, I’ll be cracking your skull open.”

Two ponies poked me with their batons to get me moving. Not that I was resisting, but poke me all the same they did. As the rusty door closed, I could hear the big stallion start barking again.

“Now who wants to be the first to go in for interrogation?” I really hope they don’t hurt my friends, or I would find a way to make all of these racist literally mother fuckers pay.

________________________________________________________________

The ponies escorting me took me down a few long hallways, around some corners, and passed what was a makeshift mess hall. Golden Rule’s goons sat and staiered at me, many sticking their nose up. It was clear that I was unwanted here, the mirage pony hatred was prakticky palatable, that or there was a sewage leak somewhere.

I eventually came to a door guarded by two ponies. “Open up, Prince Golden want to talk to this brood mother.” I shot the pony a dirty look, and he smiled back at me.

“Opening up.” the pony pulled down on a small lever, and the door slowly opened. “So I heard they got some freak with them, like some sort of monster from an old world movie?”

One of the ponies escorting me nodded. “Ya, it seriously gives me the creeps.”

The door opened, and the guard pushed me through. “Don’t do anything stupid.” the door slowly closed and I could her the same guard seek under his breath. “Fucking whore.”

The first thing came to my attention was the strong smell of perfume, wild flowers from the surface. Highly poisonous plants, but they gave off a present smell, so lots of ponies die every year gathering and processing them for the oils. Looking around, the room was warm and clean, and the floor had an almost mirror-like shine to it. That is, if the cracks on the floor tiles didn’t make it impossible for it to not show its age.

The lights here however didn’t flicker like some parts of the station. Moreover, they were covered in a delicate, decorative glass lantern casings. The slightly milky glass dimmed the bright fluorescent lights enough to me that it felt more pleasant than the normal abrasive metro lighting. The walls were also decorated in ornate tapestries, shared by numerous paintings of unicorn mares. Even for somepony like me who didn’t have any knowledge of the subject, it was easy to see that these were skillfully done, and not some cheap mass produced reproduction.

In the center of the room was a small round table. At it, both Golden Rule, and Harp Melody sat in finely carved and decorated wooden seats. Behind them were the two Pegasus maids I had seen with Golden at Ironshod, both in the same cute outfits as they’d been in before. The table had three tea cups, a tea pot, and a few small ceramic jars of which I could guess was sugar and coconut milk.

“Come sit,” Golden Rule motioned for me to come over. “we’re all civilized ponies here.”

With no reason not to, I took a seat at the table. The pillow provided was considerably comfortable, and the very least, was probably more comfortable than their fancy seats. I looked over at Harp, who looked calm, but I could see that she was struggling to hold onto even the slight smile she had. My eyes shifted back to Golden, who looked considerably more confident than before.

“I’d love to catch up on things,” I muttered in annoyance. “but were considerably busy ponies.”

“As we are all.” Golden spoke, his horn glowing as the tea pot poured tea into the cut in front of me. “So, one cube of sugar or two? And any creamer?”

“One cube, and an only a little creamer.” I answered, watching as he dropped the sugar cube in, and added some creamer. The cream swirled in the tea as it turned the tea from a dark hazel to a light brown. “I’m sure what you have going on here is important, so if you let us be on our way, the we’’ be out of your mane in no time.”

Golden sipped at his tea, but kept one eye trained on me. With a sigh, I took the cup and sipped the drink; It was... alright. Hard to tell how good something like tea was when it was likely way passed its expiration. Moldy was just not my thing, and moldy drinks even less so.

Golden put his cup down, and poured himself some more tea. “You know the saying, cleanliness is next to godliness?” I nodded. “Have you ever wondered why that is?”

“No, not so much.” I responded. “For me, staying clean is all about avoiding getting sick. Even with medicine as good as it is, it can’t cure everything that’s out there.”

“Quite true, miss Echo.” Golden picked his teacup back up to his lips. “Diseases are a sign of one's fondness of trouncing through filth. Sickness and death are sadly too often the end result.” The teacup tilted back a little as he sipped on it again. “So why is cleanness so closely associated with the goddess of old?”

“Golden, I’m not here for a philosophical discussion.” I said as calmly and sternly as possible.

He put his teacup down. “Celestia never got sick, she never got dirty, she never grew old. So, she was our goddess.” A small box levitated onto the table and opened, revealing a photograph. The old and faded photo looked like a family photo, all the ponies looking very similar to each other, all with light colored coats, and dapper clothes on. One pony stood out from the rest, taller, with a bigger horn, and wings. It was Celestia, the goddess of old. The other ponies in the photo were two stallions and a mare. The stallions were standing to the side on their own, where the mare seemed to be trying to be much closer to Celestia.

“So you have a photo of Celestia…” I was trying real hard not to be rude, but I was on a strict timeline. You know, pirate invasion, fate of the islands? I didn’t have time for an hour of scrapbooking.

The box closed, and Golden passed it to one of his maids. “It’s a photo of my ancestors, the ponies who ruled Equestria alongside Celestia. They emulated her, and in turn they gained some of her power, our pure and immortal goddess.” He lifted his teacup, and took a long sip before continuing. “They were some of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria back then, and the most powerful of them was our direct ancestor. Majesty.”

I was getting tired of this, so I took a sip of tea, and spitefully joined in. “Oh, and as you know, I’m a direct descendant of the chief of security for the R&D Stable. And, unlike most Mirage Ponies, I have actual zebra heritage. So, you can say having strips is a part of my linage.”

“Oh, I see.” Golden nodded. “I think you aren’t taking this seriously, but I can see that you’re starting to understand.”

“And that is what exactly?” I had a bad feeling to where this was going.

“That one must honor their heritage.” He smiled, “My heritage is that of purity, power, and of nobility. A lineage that goes all the way back to the founding of Equestrian by Princess Platinum, and has held true even today in these dark tunnels. Your lineage is of strength, order, and being a dirty half stripe.” He gazed narrow at me. “So now I ask you, why do you bring chaos and impurity to my kingdom?”

“What?” I was confused for a moment, but my eyes drifted over to Harp, who was trying to hid behind her teacup. “We’re not here to do anything like that.”

“By bringing Harp back here, you are, even if unintentionally.” He put us teacup down with a clank. “Did I not tell you about how dangerous my darling little sister is?”

Harp lowered her teacup “But brother...!”

His horn glowed, and Harps mouth was forced shut. “You’re not given permission to talk yet, sister dearest.” Goldens horn ceased glowing, and Harps mouth remained shut. “As I was saying, it’s not her fault that things are this way. Mother’s moment of weakness after father passed away bore unforeseen fruit. Now, at such a critical time, her returning home only makes things more complicated.”

I sighed. “I know, but we have our reasons, and were trying to keep everything quiet.”

“You have a reason for potentially sending this kingdom into a civil war?” Golden face hoofed. “For what could be more important?”

“An alliance.” I responded. “The Republic is gearing up for war, and Orthrus wants to form an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom to help keep the Republic in line.”

He sat back on his cushion, a hoof on his chin, eyes closed in contemplation. He was still, possibly holding his breath. I know I was, but then again, maybe we all were. The silence was so complete in those moments that I could hear the hum of the lights, betraying the feeling of cleanness and perfection I had been feeling. That humming itself was a giveaway. Stable-tech lights only hummed when too much power flowed through them. They’d been made to last, but even so, minimal power was used to get the most efficient balance of light to longevity. Solaris Stations on the other hoof, overused their power. Because of this, their lights would hum, burning out in less than half the time a Stable-tec light would.

Something else pulled at me, feeling off. The Perfume was so damn strong here, yet it wasn’t strong enough to hide another smell. Sulfur? Yes, that’s it. Behind the pleasant floral perfume, laid the smell of old piss and shit that was present over most of the metro. My eyes looked around, but I couldn’t see the source, and the strong perfume didn’t help locate where it was coming from. But I was sure that this room was adjacent to a leak in the nearby plumbing.

“The Republic.” Golden Rule spoke up finely, Drawing my attention back to him. “I see why Orthrus would want to put a cap on them, those degenerates.” He opened his eyes, and looked at me. No, from the way he looked over his own muzzle, he was looking down at me. “I can see why; you degenerates can do nothing but fight each other.” With his horn glowing, he lifted his teacup, practically pointing it at me. “Why should I care about your impure order? Would it not benefit us real ponies to let you fight, and wipe out whoever is left?”

I glared at him. “Think about what you’re saying, good prince.”

He just chuckled. “I have thought about it every day since my adorable sister was born.” He gestured his hoof over at Harp. “Why would my mother even touch the likes of your kind? Unless… one of your degenerate kind forced himself upon her.” His eyes widened, and I could see the truth through them. It was disgust, he saw me with only a disgust a ‘pure’ pony could hold, leaving room for nothing else in his vision. It was all he needed to feel to say the next words out of his mouth “When I take the throne, I’ll see that your kind will be wiped clean from our world, and the disgrace of your very existence erased from all of history.”

I watched as he lowered his teacup onto the table, regaining his composure. I looked between him and the two maids, both the mares watch me with carefully, making me sure they were armed, and waiting for me to do something, an excuse to execute me here and now.

“So Harp” the words left my mouth “Is this what you want to live with?”

She looked away. “It’s not that bad.” She gulped her words. “Rear Pearl told me that the… that we mirage ponies would do well as a lower caste, slavery would be preferable for us then dying in forgotten tunnels.”

Another chuckle came from Golden. “Our elder sister is too soft, keeping you impure fake ponies around would only invite disaster!” His hoof hit the table with a bang. “Just look at the republic! They let themselves be converted into a bunch of stripes, and to what end? Riots? Revolution? We put our faith in the corporations, but they let a bunch of degenerate take over, all because they wouldn't give out free shit to anypony who asked. The ones who payed for that mistake the most, were the hundreds of pure blood ponies who were slaughtered in the streets. Their deaths only made room for more stripes, and the republic became nothing more than a hoofhold for which to spread their corruption.

“Brother!” Harp spoke up. “Orthrus are not like that, they hold true to their promises.”

Golden through what was left of his tea at Harp. “Silence, you dirty sow!”

Harp shrank back in her seat. She kept her head held low and simply sat in silence, like this was normal. This was appalling. How could anypony be okay with living like this?

“Do something like that again, and I’ll kill you.” I snorted, unsure if the shaking that had come up in my body was from withdraw, or anger, but I know one thing.

Golden paused. “Mind saying that again, miss Echo?” His eyes the only thing that moved, peering over across the table at me with a hateful glare.

Ya, I was done with this shit.

“It’s Dragon Slayer to you.” I growled as I watched the two maids shift, pulling something out from under their dresses. I activated S.A.T.S., thankful that the idiots didn’t take my leg when they easily could have. The tactical readout of the targeting spell filled my vision as I took stock of the now slow-moving ponies. The two pegasus mares were lifting their skirts, and I could see what looked like guns hidden under them. At first they looked like... revolvers? Oh fuck no, those were a variant of pistol sized javelin, or Dart guns. They likely had more than one on them, so I needed to act fast after the first shots. Though smaller, the air pistols would still pack enough punch to incapacitate me, if not outright kill me. Harp was also in danger, so I needed to cover her as well.

My eyes drifted to the table we were sitting at. I wondered about it’s construction for a moment before settling that these rich assholes would never settle for an imitation of fine woodworking. It was thick, and more than likely was made of one solid piece of wood. You know, the kind of something only wealthy pones could afford to drag around with them into dark holes like this. It would also make a fine barrier between me and the arrows the two maids were going to shoot at me.

With one smooth motion, I pushed Harp down out of the way and hooked my forehooves under the table. With a shove, I angled the table up towards the maids, which caused Golden to roll backwards out of his seat. I had just enough time before the raising table broke my line of sight to see the two mares aiming their weapons at me.

*Thunk-Thunk*

Two dart tips burst through the bottom thick table, but stopped just short of cutting through. A testiment to how much power was behind them, surely, but I’d rather not stick around to see if the table could stop another set of bolts. Not wasting time, I entered S.A.T.S. and selected for me throwing the table at one of the maid, the option costing both my actions. With my body moving on it’s own, I turned the edge of the table at one of the maids, and instead of throwing it, I kicked it at her. Figuring it was going to miss, I charged at the other maid, hoping to at least get one out of the fight before they could double team me. The other maid managed to pull another dart gun out, but not before I was on her. My metal forehoof made a fairly distinctive *Crack* as it landed squarely on her jaw, knocking the gun from her mouth before she could use it.

Looking back over, I saw that the first maid had just about recovered, and was in the process of pulling out her own secondary gun. Thinking quickly, I wrapped my forehoof around the mare I’d just clocked in the jaw and pulled her against myself. She probably wouldn’t have the same durability as the table, but she’d be a better shield than nothing.

Either due to the slight twist I’d given as I pulled the mare close, or simply poor aim on the other maid’s part, the second bolt narrowly missed my foreleg. However, blood went everywhere as the second maids neck bust open, her neck shattered by the high velocity arrow. Knowing that staying still again would mean death, I moved to roll myself backwards. As I did, I kicked the fresh corpse at the first maid, who shifted her stance again to dodge. This threw off her balance, and she unexpectedly crashed down onto the floor.

I rushed her, picking up the other, now dead, maids still loaded dart gun in my mouth. The maid picked herself off the ground only to freeze in place, eyes widened in fear. It was a shame, her dress was so cute, but was now covered in blood. My tongue flicked the trigger, and the bolt when into her head. The high pressure dart passed straight through her body, and even had enough velocity to bounce off the wall behind her with a resounding clang.

“Not bad.” Golden spoke in a mocking tone. Looking back, he had had another air pistol aimed at me. this one more decorated than the ones the maids used, but likely just as powerful. “But you die here.”

A teapot smashed on the side of his head, and the gun fired. The shot just missed me as Golden Rule stumbled momentarily. He cast a bewildering look behind him, seeing harp holding the handle of what use to be the teapot in her hooves. With him distracted, I charged Golden as he raised his hoof to strike at Harp. I managed to tackle him first, sending the both of us crashing into the wall.

“You bitch,” Golden spat some blood onto the ground, along with a tooth as I pushed myself off of him. “I should have had you and your friend shot as soon as we had you all in our hooves.” He looked over at Harp. “And you, I’ll make you a real mare before making you a corpse.”

“Kind of hard to do that when you can’t even get your dick up!” I spat at him as I took a step back, ready to fight. My legs snagged on one of the tapestry’s, preventing me from putting the leg down. Giving it a kick didn’t free it, and I grunted as I tried to remove it before Golden tried his next move.

Golden saw that I was stuck, and his eyes narrowed at me. “My dick works just fine. Maybe I should give you a ride before killing you.” He gave a stiff, forced laugh. “Think of it as a gift, few mares get the chance to be with a real stallion”

I laughed back at him. “Some pansy still sucking on his mother’s tit, ya, that’s a real stallion.”

Golden charged, and I pulled as hard as I could. With a shearing rip, I ended up pulling the tapestry straight off the wall and down into Goldens path. The stallion ran into the falling tapestry, and collided with me. I rolled back, and kicked with my back cyber legs. With as much momentum as he already had, it was easy to send the pompous stallion flying. With a whimpering grunt, he rolled across the floor, stopping as he hit the wall with a satisfying thud.

Getting up on my hooves, I found where that slight smell of sulfur was coming from. The tapestry had been covering a deep crack in the wall, and that crack was leaking a foul smelling water. It looked like ponies had attempted to cover the crack many times and failed, which is just like the Kingdom. Just cover up the problem to pretend it’s not there, while the sewage underneath seeps right through.

Golden attempted to get up as well, but stumbled back to the ground as the tapestry was wrapped around his head.

“Harp?” I looked back at her, finding that she was shaking. “We need to go, get back to the others.”

She nodded, turning to the door before she froze up. “But, we don’t have any weapons! We’ll get killed the moment we try to escape!”

She wasn’t wrong, but luckily, we had a few guns scattered on the floor. As I picked up the air pistols, Golden got on his feet. Before he could manage to take the tapestry off himself, I bucked him hard in the head. This time he didn’t get back up.

We had five pistols, eight bolts, and two air cartridges. I was not proficient in Orphic weapons, but I’d heard that they used air cartridges over air pressure talismans. Placing the cartridge on a little nozzle of one of the pistols, with a slight ‘piff’, the air pressure dial of the gun went up. A bit inefficient, but it’s not like I had a choice.

I gave Golden’s gun to Harp, pressurizing it for her. The cartridges had a demising return for pressurizing the gins, so I’d have to pick up some more off anypony we run into until I find my own guns. Like it or not, guess it was time to become proficient in Orphic airguns.

Knocking on the door, it slowly swung open. I used one of the guns with lower presser on the guard’s pony. The shot went through his eye, and stopped when it sank into the back of his skull. I used a fully pressurized pistol on the second guard that was there. As expected, the more powerful shot simply zipped straight through her head.

Checking the two guards I found two more cartridges, and used them to fully pressurize two pistols. The guards also had a combat knife each, but no other weapons. Though, full-sized javelin launchers would probably been a bit much here, and more than likely, would’ve been liable to kill us just as easily. I stopped as a heard a soft whimper from behind me. Looking back, I saw that Harp was crying, but doing her best to keep quiet.

“Are you going to be alright?” I wasn’t really sure what to say to the poor mare.

She nodded. “Ya, it’s just Mist Step, and Low Fog.” She bit her lip.

“The Maids?” I asked.

She nodded again. “I know you had to do it, but they were good mares. Mist and I, we had a moment once. If only I was not… not a stripe, maybe we could have been closer. Maybe she wouldn’t have had to die like that.”

I stomped on the ground, making Harp jump a little. “Don’t let Golden’s words bore into your head. Nothing’s wrong with you. No, unlike him, you’re healthy and sane. This Island, it’s slowly killing us all. Your family and the other deep dwellers may have avoided the worst of it, but after two hundred years, there’s no place the toxins have not touched. Purity, the very idea of that existing in the metro is just a joke.”

Harp looked up at me, the fur under her eyes soaked with tears. “Even stable 50?”

I sighed. “Only if it’s been sealed for over two hundred years with little to no contact with the rest of the metro.”

Her head drooped. “But still.”

“Still nothing! There’s no excuse for genocide! Period!” I raised my voice, but tried to not be too loud. Still, I was forceful enough with my words to get my point across. “I may have Zebra heritage, but I’m a hundred percent Mirage Pony, and so are you. The problem your family has with our kind has nothing to do with purity. Their scared of us, scared of you. As they slowly waste away, we’re slowly becoming stronger.” I trotted over to her, and poked her leg. “Just look at you. Four normal legs and no mental disorders. You’re everything that the royal family wants to be, but in the form of a mirage pony. You just need to convince your mother that, form the alliance, and insure that the metro stays free for everypony.”

Harp wiped away her tears. “But, that’s the thing. Mother, I don’t even know if she will even listen to me. I’m just her mistake, that’s all I’ve ever been.”

I scratched my head, feeling annoyed. “What’s your name?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Harp Melody.”

“And what’s Phorminx full name?” I added.

“Phorminx Melody.” She said before covering her hooves with her mouth.

“A real shitty way to cover up a mistake.” I sighed. “She might as well put up a billboard telling everypony who your father really is.” Placing a hoof on her shoulder, I looked into her eyes, making sure I get the point across. “We don’t know what to expect in the future. All we know, is what will happen if we fail. I know that Orthrus is more than willing to put lives on the line to maintain order, with or without the Orphic Kingdoms help. But without the Orphic Kingdom, Orthrus will suffer the enter burden of the Republic’s attack. Far too many good ponies will die if that happens, so I need you to hold it together. When we get out of here, and finally make our way there, you must convince your mother what we know is true.”

Harp nodded slowly, seeming gulping her emotions, and biting her quivering lip.

Placing one of the air pistols in my mouth, my tongue slid across the trigger. I know knew that the weapon had a kick to them, not like that of higher caliber pistols, but similar to my Enforcer. Amazing what compressed air can do. Raising my hoof, I Motioned at Harp to follow me, I retraced my steps, hoping to get to my friends before it’s too late.

A door blocked our path, locked, and forcing us to find a new path. I tried to knock on it, hoping to try the same trick as before, but no pony opened. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea. I had no clue how many ponies would be on the other side, and no matter how many there were, they’d likely all itching to kill a mirage pony. Stupid, far too stupid of me to have even tried it after it worked the first time. I was going to have to sneak around and get my friends and our gear the hard way.

Harp did well to keep quiet, staying close to me. Lucky for us, there was plenty of drainage canals here. This station likely doubled as a crossing point for the island’s sewage system. Like the other islands, after over two hundred years, the pipes had rusted open while maintenance had slowed.

Dropping down, the smell was unmistakable. The waste of the kingdom’s ponies was caked on thick to the sides of the tunnel, left uncleaned for far too long. Harp threw up almost as soon as she entered the tunnel, and even I was struggling to hold back.

We didn’t travel long before Harp stated to complain. “Vibraphone, must we trot through this?” She whispered. I didn’t blame her, wading through waste was not fun, but at least I couldn’t feel it coated on my prosthetic hooves.

I was about to answer her, but some other ponies did for us and hooves stomped above. “Red alert, all the prisoners in holding have escaped!” One pony called out.

“Shit, really!?” Another shouted in surprise. “The prince’s special guest has gone missing as well There was blood everywhere in his chamber, and his maids were murdered!”

“Is he all right?” the first pony asked

“Ya, but fuck is he’s pissed.” the second pony answered. “It’s kill on sight. Golden wants them all dead, even the princess.”

“Fuck yeah!” A chuckle could be heard from the first pony. “Finally he finally dropped that high and mighty ‘noble’ bullshit. We should have purged her like the others in the first place. The whole impure lot of them deserves to be put down.”

The two ponies above us ran in opposite directions, and we pushed forward through the filth. Whatever was going on here, I didn’t like it, but it was good to know my friends had gotten away. Now the problem was finding them, I knew they would be looking for me.

The drainage canal ended in what I could guess was a maintenance area. The big open room had a couple busted up metro train cars, and large concrete doors. Red lights flashed as the deep dwellers patrolled the area aggressively, looking in whatever nook and cranny they came across. Their dim touches flashed over us a few times, but luckily, they were too far away to illuminate us. And that’s why you don’t burn the bulbs out with higher than the recommended voltage in them!

I looked over a Harp, the dark shadows making her hard to see. Her fur was now matted and stained by the muck of the tunnel. While I didn’t check myself, I know I was likely coated as well. Definitely was going to need a long shower after today.

Whispering, I gave the princes instructions. “Listen, I’ll move, and then call you over when it’s safe. Don’t run, or walk, crawl. Just keep moving and stay low to the ground. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it. If the worse comes and one of them sees you, you have a gun. Remember that.” She nodded. “Good. Now stay here. I’ll come back with a way to communicate with you, if we make any sounds, they're likely to hear us.”

I lifted myself up and out of the channel, and quickly scampered behind a pile of crates. The lights in this room left me too exposed, but the dark shadows they cast made good hiding spots. Looking around, this place was definitely a train yard, though most of the train carts had been stripped down, giving me little room to maneuver without being in the open. Looking up, my hopes of getting around above the ponies was dashed, as I spotted a pegasi patrolling from above. Even if I shot her, the noise would alert all the others. Worse yet, her torch illuminated her path from an angle that put me at a distinct disadvantage.

And as if my shit luck hadn’t been bad enough, the pegasus was coming my way. Quickly I crawled over to one of the scrapped train carts, and rolled under it. Light shined from above only a moment after I got under the cart, it barely hiding me in shadow.

I needed to move, the train cart was on a raised rail line, and all it would take was a passing pony to find me. Poking my head out, not far from where I was, happened to be what looked like a control room. I just had to climb a ladder to get to it, no biggie.

Looking back, a pony was coming my way, his torch dangerously close to illuminating me. With little time, I moved as fast as I could, quietly as I could. The ladder was a pain in the ass, every clink my legs made on the ladder threaten to reveal my position. Up onto the railing, only a door was in my way, and in the distance the pegasus was coming back around on her patrol.

I opened the door, which made a quiet, but too loud squeak. “Dammit, I told you dumb lot not to come up here.” I froze, the pony in front of me had his eyes glued to a screen. “I need to concentrate on the cameras. These degenerates cannot be allowed to get away.” Closing the door, I ducked as the pegasus flew by. He grunted and lazily recoiled in his chair. “I wish she didn’t have to shine that light in my eyes, it’s not like the lights are out or anything.” Looking behind him, I saw a fuse box, and on the desk next to him, one of the torches the other ponies were using. “Hay, speak up. Are you fucking mute?”

I pulled out the combat knife I took earlier. “Sorry, just a bit worried, those stripes could be anywhere.”

“Pft, don’t be such a scared little shit.” He chuckled. “We’ll find them soon, and when we do, if we don’t kill them then and there, were gonging to have ourselves a little public execution.” He reached back, trying to press a button. “Hay, can you switch the feed, I need to check th…”

I punched the knife into his neck, the industrial clamps of my right forehoof working well to hold the knife, as well as having the power to stick it all the way into him to the hilt. My other hoof covered his mouth, though all he did was gurgle, I still had to keep him quiet. The earth pony struggled as he died. He was a lot stronger then I was, but I was using my hinge legs to anchor myself on the chair which gave me leverage. I managed to hold him in place for the ten seconds before he gave in and simply died. I attempted to pull the knife free, but found it refusing to cooperate. The clamps worked so well that it managed to get stuck in him, so I just let the blade go. In the end, it was for the best, as only a small line of blood came out from where the knife had gone in, and only a bit leaked out from his muzzle. I needed to hide the body, just long enough to get through here before they tighten up security.

An old box provided me with an apt hiding spot, and I shoved the dead pony inside. As I stuffed him in, I also took an air pressure cartage from the holster on his toolbelt, not knowing if I would need it soon or not. Next, I took the torch. The basic flashlight was the same as you could find all across the Kingdom, and came with some color filtered lenses. It wasn’t much, but it did give me an idea. Placing the red filter over the torched lenses, I put it in my vest.

Looking out over the room, I saw the different entrances and exits on the camera feed, and that all of the doors were blocked by ponies. Except for one, that is. The one labeled sewage drainage on the other side of the maintenance area looked largely avoided by the patrols. I couldn’t see it from here, but no torch light could be seen on where I guessed where it was. It was a gamble, but one I had to take.

I only had one last thing to do here, rig the fuse box. Opening it, I pulled at all the tabs, turning out all the lights. Now the only light was from the torches, and the flashing red emergency lighting that came once the fuse box out of action. It wouldn’t take them long until they turn the lights back on, but it’d do for now. In the dark I raced over to the ladder, and noisily slid down it. I hit the ground with a thud and was moving again before the Pegasus could shine a light on the spot.

Luck was on my side, as all the other patrolling ponies were on the other side of the large room, giving me the opportunity to quickly make it to Harp. She gave a whimpering sound as I dropped down. “Right, I have a proper plan now.” I pulled out the torch, and quickly flashed her with the red filtered light. “When I do that, you move to me as quickly and quietly as you can. I think I have a way through here.”

“You think?” she whispered.

I sighed. “It’s the best I got, so trust me.”

“I will.” She said in a hushed tone.

I pushed myself up and out of the canal, and saw the the pegusus was already investigating the control room. “Yo! Where’d your ass go!” She called out. “Get these lights back on already!”

With little time, I hugged the wall, finding a hiding spot further away from the control room. Even if the lights turn on now, it would take them some time to see us her. Flashing the torch, Harp quickly made her way to me. Almost as on que, with a deep clicking sound, the lights turned back on, one by one.

Most of the ponies were looking at the control room, so I used the opportunity to move. A still intact passenger cart obstructed the view of any pony from above, looking at the control room, the others were facing away from me. A pile of trash provided another hiding spot, so I pulled out the torch.

*Crunch*

A pony stepped on some garbage from the chart above. They most likely would see my torch flash. I had to think fast before my window closes, I needed to get rid of the pony. I pulled out one of the lower pressed pistols, holding it in my right hoof. It was strange, as I held a digit over the trigger, it felt more right to hold the gun like this. “Hay, down here.” I whispered, and the pony leaned over to look down at me. With a soft ‘Pish’ noise, the bolt lodged into the pony’s head, and he fell over. Dropping the gun, I broke the now dead pony’s fall with my body. Pushing them off me and onto the ground, I quickly looked around to see if any pony heard the fall. Luck was on my side once more, as they were still looking at the control box. Flashing the torch, Harp quickly came to my side.

“Fuck! Everypony on high alert!” The Pegasus shouted “The fuckin’ stripes killed Cream! They’re in here somewhere!”

Torch lights darted all over, and Harp and I had to crouch as low as possible to avoid getting spotted. Peeking out from our hiding spot, the guard’s ponies were now more frantically looking for us, meaning that if we stayed for to much longer, my luck would finally run out and they would definitely find us. One, two, three, four, five… A search light passed over, illuminating a space between the two train carts we needed to get passed.

“Why do they have a search light in here?” Harp asked in a whisper so quiet that I almost missed it.

I shrugged. “My guess, this place is not well lit, and they happened to have one on hoof to install.”

I waited for the search light to pass over, and bolted. The guard’s ponies were now yelling to each other as they ran about, so my hoof steps were didn’t stand out as much. Jumping under the last cart, I’d managed to avoid getting spotted by just a hair. Which meant that if this wasn’t done absolutely perfectly, Harp was not going to make it across without getting spotted.

Looking about, I found the entrance to an other drainage channel like I had guessed, my gamble paying off. If anything, Stable-Teck was predictable in their design. But getting Harp here was going to be a problem. Peeking out, I could shoot the spotlight, but that would bring the ponies over here. Because they were mostly silent, shooting one of the guns at the other side of the room could do the trick. Actually, No. Most ponies knew of that trick, and it was likely to put them more on alert. Unless…

I positioned myself on my back legs, my grappling leg holding the over pressurized air pistol. Waiting for the search light to swing my way, with my whole body, I threw the gun. My cyberlegs hopped me into the air as the gun left my grip. The pony on the searchlight was looking in the wrong direction, and the gun flew over harp, and over one of the scraped box carts.

*Bamph, pifff, clang!*

The pistol had gone off as soon as it hit something, drawing all attention to it. I quickly flashed the torch, and Harp darted to me as the guard’s ponies frantically ran over toward the noise. Not waiting any time, I pulled Harp into the sewage canal, leaving the overly guarded room behind us.

Unbelievably, the smell was worse in this tunnel then in the last. I could hardly stomach it this time around, and it was almost too overwhelming for Harp. She and I did our best not to gag as we slowly traveled down it step by step. The smell of sulfur was there, but now more pungent, and accompanied by the smell of rot. If we had any viable option to, I would have taken any other path. But this tunnel only offered one direction, and the further we progressed, the worse the smell got.

“The fuck is this?” I said under my breath, futilely trying to cover my nose. The smell was so strong here, and if it got much worse, I was afraid we might not even be able to breathe at all...

Finally, an end was in sight. The sewage tunnel came to an end, the trickle of water falling into a dark room, making the sound of pitter patter of water hitting water. Looking over the edge, I couldn’t see the bottom, only a shimmer from the light of my pipleg revealing the water below. In the distance below, a red service light illuminated a door and some stairs near it. I could just barely make out the sound of water lapping at some stairs, giving me a clue to what our next move was.

Some trash became a helpful tool, as I kicked it over the edge, it making a splash, and not much more. To my best guess, we had come to a water reservoir, and drange, a place for tropical rain to run into during the raining season, so to keep the station from flooding.

“What is it, why’d we stop?” Harp asked.

I looked back at her, her face illuminated by the green glow of my pipleg. “Sorry to tell you this, but we might need to jump into some sewage water, but at least it looks like there's a way out.”

She looked away for a moment. “If we must...”

“I’ll go first. So, sit tight.” I didn’t like the idea at all, but it was better than going back and getting shot. “One… Two… Three.” I leaned forward to go, but instead, I froze in place as my legs strained to keep me still.

“Vibraphone?” Harp asked after a few moments of me just standing there. “Are you okay? You’re shaking?”

“F-fine.. I’m fine.” I was lying, I was telling my legs to move, but they just wouldn’t. The sound of the water down there, how deep was it, deep enough for me to drown most likely. No, no…. I have to jump. I have to go forward, everypony was counting on me to get Harp through this. If I go back... yeah, we could always double back and find another way around. You know, at some place without a drop into black murky water.

“Miss Vibraphone, you're starting to scare me.” Harp spoke up.

Scare her? Why should she be afraid? “Ya… change of plans, we don’t need to dive, were going around this.” On second thought, the dark water below probably might not give just me pause. Nopony should ever go into that.

“But... what about the other ponies?” Harps voice was shaky, her own fear was audible. “They’ll kill us if we don’t get to my family.”

“Then we’ll kill them all first.” Good plan, the best plan. “They’re trying to kill us anyways, so fuck them. They made their choice.”

“But...” Harp whimpered.

“But nothing!” I shouted as I turned around in the narrow tunnel. As I did, my back hoof slipped, and I felt it go over the edge. I tried to get a hoof hold with my other back leg, but the tunnel was too caked in sewage, and it slipped as well. I felt my body slide, my heart pounding in my chest. I was going in, and I was going to die.

Then, almost impossibly, I stopped.

“Got you!” Harp called, her hooves holding onto my grappling leg. By reflex the mechanical digits extended and latched onto her, forcing Harp to cry out and wince. “Miss Vibraphone, that… that hurts!”

“Sorry, sorry.” My eyes welled up. “Please don’t let me fall.” My heart pounded like a jackhammer. “I don’t want to die.”

She smiled. “Don’t worry miss Vibraphone. I’ll pull you up, and we will find another way around.” She tugged, and I slowly was dragged back into the tunnel. A soft creaking came from my leg, and I froze up again.

*Click*

My stomach lurched at the momentary feeling of weightlessness. I only had a moment realize that my grappling leg had been detached before I hit the murky water. I struggled to swim, my legs flailing, but each time I tried, I would hit something, something soft and hard. As I sunk down, I opened up my eyes, only to see the face of a pony in a red haze.

Surprised, I lost my breath. I couldn’t move, not with what I was seeing. Ponies, dead ponies, dead mirage ponies. They were all around me, staring at me. I felt a tugging at me, the corpses had grabbed my tail, dragging me deeper, making me one of them.

I was going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.

I’m going to die.

________________________________________________________

Footnote:

System Error:

Users condition - Critical.

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (Withdraw) -1 to charisma and Luck.

Chapter 34 - Don’t Fear the Reaper

“Hay! You alright?” The voice sounded muffled, like there was water in my ears. “Oh good, you're moving, even if you're still not breathing.” I didn’t understand what the stallion was talking about, not doing what? “Miss Vibraphone, open your eyes, I’m getting worried.”

“Y-yeah, just... give me a moment.” I stirred, moving my legs around and trying to get my hooves under myself again. The ground felt uneven, and it had a sort of give to it, like sand I guess. My hooves kept sinking into it as I pushed myself up. Opening an eye, a purple earth pony stallion stood in front of me. His main was pale blue with a jade streak through it, and he had old stable barding on. Not old as in age, rather, in design. It looked like some of the original styled barding that didn’t cover the flank like the style was back in the final days of the war.

“Ahh good,” Slowtrot spoke sincerely. “I was worried you might have drowned.” First of all, what was he doing here again? Secondly, what the hell did he just say?

My fur stood up straight as I looked around. “Drowned!” I shouted out.

I was… on the shore of a beach. The water behind me was lapping at the sand just short of my hooves. In front of me, was a path to a large building depicting the Stable-Tec logo on it, which meant it had to be a very old place… wherever this was. With the fear of drowning subsiding for the moment, I started feeling calmer, and looked at Slowtrot again. Not to say him being here made me feel less calm about why I was again, wherever here was, but at least it was a friendly face.

“So… where are we?” I asked, not sure if I wanted to even get an answer to that.

He scratched his chin as he looks back at the building. “Don’t know. I think remember hearing about Stable-Tech having their own resort on the Marewaii Islands. Maybe that’s it.”

I thought about it for a moment, remembering something similar. “Stable-Tec’s grave, I think that’s what they call it. It’s one of the few real structures still on Friendly Island.” The building looked decrepit, moreso than for it’s age compared to other buildings on the other islands. Still it was standing strong, albeit covered in vines and cracks as wide as my forehoof. My attention turned from the building to myself as my legs started feeling a little tingly. Lifting one up if found a fully flesh and fur leg there… but it was alomst translucent.

“What the hell?” I studied my hoof as I moved it, watching as it moved more fluidly than any high-end prosthetic could ever hope to.

“It’s called phantom limb syndrome.” Some pony spoke, their voice was more like a deep echo then it being spoken itself. Looking around, I found a cloaked pony sitting on a boat that rocked softly just a hoof’s length away in the water behind me. Strange that I didn’t see them there before. The pony was holding a pole not unlike one used for fishing, which even had a line set out into the water. But the fishing line wasn’t the thing that drew my eyes the most. The rod also happened to have a curved blade at the end that looked vaguely like the scythes the harvesters used on the Harvest Island.

“What?” This was all getting more than a bit confusing.

“Commonly it happens to those who lose a limb.” The cloaked pony spoke as he shuffled about in his boat. His black cloak wavered in an ethereal breeze, but even when looking toward me, it revealed nothing to me about the identity hidden beneath. “The brain sometimes has problems remembering that it does not have that appendage anymore, so it tries to fill in the sensorial gap. You on the other hoof, your spirit is getting used to having them, even though you’ve never had them before in your life. It’s silly, I know, but that’s how things are.”

“Okay, what?” I was still confused.

“Oh, him. Right.” Slowtrot spoke up, “That’s Charon. He gave me a ride when we parted ways before. He needed to do his job, and I was in no rush, so we were on the water when you happened to drop by. Had to fish you out of the water and well, now we’re here.”

“Okay, even with as crazy as that all sounds...” I had to take a deep breath. The sound of me being under the water disturbed me, but yet I didn’t feel panicked. “How did I get here?”

“Simplest way to explain it, you died.” Charon spoke bluntly, and Slowtrot and I looked at the cloaked pony. “Well only a little bit, as you’re still dying as we speak. At the very least think of it this way, your soul is not where your body is.”

“That’s not possible.” I closed my eyes and rubbed at my temple with my ‘phantom’ hoof. Felt real enough right now, and I only say that because like always, I wasn’t any less frustrated than a few moments ago. Opening my eyes, I deadpanned at the hooded pony. “None of this makes any sense.”

Charon sighed, and turned to me. His cloak shifted in the ethereal breeze again, but still didn’t give away any of his features beneath. But I didn’t have to wait very long to find out what those features were, as he reached up and dragged his hood back.

“You live in a world of magic.” The hood of the cloak slid down around his neck, revealing the nearly featureless skull of a pony. Clean, bleached white, and overall a bit feminine looking, it was… an odd sight to say the least. The sleeves to her cloak rolled back as she lifted her clean boney hooves, bringing them together before separating them in an arcing motion. As she did, a monochrome rainbow formed in between them. “Ta-da, magic.”

I stood there stunned. Just… what? I didn’t know what to think or say. This had to all be some weird fucking nightmare, or maybe an aftereffect of all that crap that got shoved into my brain.

Slowtrot cleared his throat, getting my attention.

“What I think Charon is saying,” He began, sounding a little nervous. “is that it’s better to not think about it. Weird and unexplainable things are just something that happens to some ponies. Me included.”

“Right, just…. give me a moment.” I took a deep breath, which was weird, as I had not been breathing this entire time. “Right, don’t think about it, just accept it for now.” Yeah, telling myself that unsurprisingly didn’t really help all that much either. “So am I dead?”

“Let me check the book...” Charon pulled out a small leather bound black book with golden gilded pages. “Oh this little thing makes my life… unlife, so much easier. Plus as a bonus, I don’t have to go find you if it is indeed your time.” The book opened and the pages flipped. “Right, here you are…” She leaned forward, holding the open book closer as if to study it. “It says... maybe…?” Looking up towards me, she gave a shrug before looking back at her book again.

“Maybe?” I asked flatly.

“Yes, it definitely says maybe. So you could be dead, or not, who knows.” Charon’s skull looked over at me, her empty voided where eyes should go sent a chill down my spine. “Look, I’m not a social worker like Mort, so if the book says maybe, it’s a maybe. I simply take the dead where they should be, and that’s where my job both begins and ends. Ponies stuck in the middle like you are should either seek out that old bag of bones, or get back to their body.” She put her book down, and her hooves back on her scythe, the fishing line glinting in the light of what I just now realized was a nonexistent sun.

I leaned over to get a look at the book, but found myself unable to understand what I was looking at. The pages were laid out just the same as every other book but… I couldn’t read what was on it. Not just because it was in something other than standard equestrian, but because there was so much writing on the page that there was hardly any space between what I assumed were letters.

“Don’t bother.” Charon said as she gave a little tug on her fishing line. “It’s written in the language of the dead. Each letter represents several words, and each word could fill in a page or two of a dictionary to explain them.”

“Then how do you understand what you're reading?” I had to ask.

“You don’t,” Charon shrugged. “This is for the dead, and only old bones like me have had the time to understand it. It’s like asking a bunny who has never seen a plasma television in itself, how a plasma television works, they can’t. You need to know the fundamentals, of the fundamentals, and work yourself up from there.” The undead pony scratched her bleached white head. “Now that I think of it, there two or three kinds of plasma at least, so you would fist need to know which kind first.”

“How about weaponized plasma?” I asked. “I remember seeing that it was green from the technology museum” I also remembered that they were at the peak of tech in equestria.

Charon shook her head. “No no, you don’t understand. Playing with plasma is no different from playing with fire. There practically the same thing.” She sighed. “Anything can be a weapon, as long as you can hit your enemies with it. This book conveys information. There's more skill involved.” She lifted the book and showed me it.

Frowning at her, I tried to look at what she was showing, but it was just impossible to read. “Okay, I have no clue what I’m looking at, but if it knows so much, can it help me in any way?”

“No,” Charon shook her head. “ it simply tells what has already been, and what will possibly be. It’s not a book about fate, and changing it, simply a guide to help understand what is, is. I use it toy determine if a soul is ready for travel, or if it still needs time. The reast is what you call wight noise, too many interesting possibilities to properly read.”

I sat back on my flank. “Then how the fuck is that even useful?”

The skeleton pony sighed. “This, this is why I hate dealing with the living. None of you ever understand that things work quite differently here.” Her empty eye sockets seem to look through me. “Wait, yes, that’s it!” She pointed to the building with one hoof while reeling in her fishing line with the other. “if you take this bait and go up there for me, I’ll guide you back to the living world. Deal.” At the end of the line was a small piece of bone connected to a hook.

I was going to ask another question, but all of this was too confusing. “Ya, whatever. I do you a favor and you get me back to where I should be.”

Charon swiped the hook at me, and it stuck straight into my ear with a muffled, but still sickening squelch. I was about to complain about the pain, but strangely, I didn’t feel any. Whatever. So long as this is quick so I can get out of this place...

“Now go,” She waved her boney hoof to shoo me off. “I have a lot of ponies waiting for me, and this bitch has already taken up too much of my time.”

I looked over at Slowtrot, and he just simply shrugged. A deal is a deal, so I trotted up the path. Surprisingly, Slowtrot followed, sticking beside me.

“You know,” Slowtrot spoke up, “last time I was at the beach, it was crowded, noisy, and there was garbage everywhere. This place is quite nice. Sorta what I always imagined beaches to be like. Makes you think about expectations a bit.”

He did have a point, that nothing’s really as good as it’s made out to be. The beach for me meant that I had to wear a gas mask to enjoy it. Not to mention the last real beach I was on, I was being taken to an equalist home station. I also happen to be in a really bad condition, and pumped full of drugs.

“Do you think things will ever be back to how it was before the great war?” I asked as we trotted further toward the old ruins.

“From what I know,” Slowtrot nodded. “Given a while on it’s own, the world always finds a new normal. It’s more a question if ponies will still be around when that time comes, or if we’ll use what little we have left to finish what we started.”

We reached the top of the path, and were greeted by a courtyard full of gravestones.

Slowtrot paused at three gravestones bundled together “Oh my, that gravestone has a Dot and Cross Cutie Mark, and the one next to it looks like a Brass Badge…” The look on his face dropped, looking over at the gravestones I saw a third one next to the two he was looking at, smaller, and unmarked. “Must be their foal.” Was all he said before moving on.

I didn’t say anything as he walked hesitantly along the path, slowing down to mutter something now and then. “Doc Life Beat”, then on to the next, “Prancer”, “Candy Pop” He spoke softly. He stopped at one gravestone, it had the face of a pipbuck stuck into the stone “June Log Baird”

“You knew them?” I asked.

Slowtrot nodded. “Ya, they were good ponies, they truly wanted to help others.” He sighed. “I think I ruined that opportunity for them. Lead somepony evil to them. It wasn’t entirely my fault, but still, I was nothing more than a tool to make the war worse. To make it grow.”

“How so?” I asked. Not much about any of this made sense, but I did owe him at least this much for helping in the last fight that took place in my head.

He put his hoof on the gravestone. “It’s all hazy, but I think I was turned into a trap for the R&D Stable.” He lifted his left hoof, the overly large pipuck almost shimmered in the sunless light. “This thing actually. It was once used by an evil pony, and then she cast it out like bait on a fishing line, hoping the R&D Stable would bite. And of course, they did. In the end a lot of good ponies died, including June.” He gave a soft laugh. “She hated the fact that pipbucks could be used for aiming weapons. She never wanted that spell to make it in as a feature.”

“June… I think I might have read something about her. She was a co-inventor of the pipbuck, right?” Slowtrot nodded. “Wow, and you knew her…? Wait, then did you know one of my ancestors, Hydrangea was her name.”

Slowtrot scratched his chin and nodded. “I remember a filly by that name, lots of energy.”

Amazing, the ponies back at Orthrus would see him as a historical artifact, if for the fact he was not some ghost stuck… wherever here was.

“What else do you know?” I asked. I mean, while I’m here, I might as well get some questions answered I’ve always pondered about.

He looked back at me with an eyebrow raised. “About what?”

“Hmmm.” I thought about for a moment. “How about the ministry mares?”

He shrugged. “Only ever met Pinky Pie, and that’s when I was wandering around out here. Gave me a cupcake and a letter before running off.” He dug through one of his pockets, pulling out a frosting stained letter. “Sorry, couldn’t help but dig into the cup cake. She said it was a get well soon gift, but the letter, is actually for you.”

For me? How… nevermind, asking more questions wasn’t going to get anything done when the answer was probably in that message. I took the letter and opened it up

Dear miss Vibers Phones Echos

First off, sorry if I got your name wrong, it’s been getting harder to, well, know ponies. Mort says that it’s closer to my time to stop. But would you stop working if you were still waiting for one of your friends? No? Well, good, because neither would I.

But on a serious note, not super serious, but not silly serious, just slightly above normal serous note. Great job on keeping her out! I know that it’s hard keeping some ancient eldritch abomination from getting to you, but you’ve done a good job. Strangely enough, so has that princess you’re looking after. Her mind is like a brick wall, even if she needs a hug from time to time… oh, which reminds me! Give her a hug for me, both of you need it. That, and a cake. You should also have a talk with your sister next time you see her. Take it from one younger sister to another, big sisters may be a bit overbearing, but they do truly want the best for you. So don’t keep your feelings from them, it hurts you as much as them.

Another thing, as soon as you can, get yourself clean. Trust me on this, you may think you need it now, but it’s going to destroy you in the long run. Just another piece of wisdom I too can relate to. But that’s all for now! So much to do, so many friends to write to!

Sincerely, Pinky Pie.

P.S. that feeling on your back leg, it’s, well… EW.

I let go of the letter. As it fluttered down toward the ground, it vanished in a poof of smoke and confetti. It even made a startling honk sound that made both Slowtrot and I blink a few times in confusion.

Looking back behind me, I had felt that one of my legs did feel weird. Well, weirder than normal. Lached onto my leg was an albino looking mirage pony. Her body was mostly transparent, all except for her brain. She looked up at me with eyes so pale blue and clouded that she almost looked blind.

“You came for me, I knew you would.” She smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly kind of smile. It was so wide that it looked like it could reach from ear to ear. “You can be my mare, and I’ll be your stallion.”

I looked down at the mare, and something clicked. “Theremin?”

“Yes!” She shouted. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I knew, I knew you would come to your senses and come back to me.” She wrapped her ghostly hooves around my leg tighter. “We can run away from here, start a family!”

I could feel it well up inside of me, the anger, the disgust she filled me with. I lifted my other back leg. “What makes you think that I ever wanted you!” My hoof connected with her face, and she rolled back, hitting one of the gravestones. Turning around, I locked eyes with the dead reaver, stomping closer to her. “A monster like you, after what you did to me? I should skin you alive.”

“You’re angry, I u-understand t-that,” She studdered, but seemed undetured by my attack. “But I also know you forgive me in your heart!” She opened up her arms. “We can start over, just the two of us. I’ll became a stallion again, and we can have the family we always wanted.”

“We!?” I furrowed my brow at her. “There was never a we!”

“Don’t lie!” Theremin shouted, “Stop lying! I know you, so stop acting like a whore! Come back to me, and I’ll forgive you like you forgave me. We don’t need to keep playing this game.”

“What is your malfunction?” I took a step back, this… This was insane, Theremin was insane.

“You.” She said, placing a hoof over where her heart would be. “From the moment I saw you, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. Like the others, I wanted to share my love with you, all my love.”

“Others?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them, they’re all gone now. The republic took them from me, called me mean names, you know.” Theremin shook her head and pressed her hooves against it. “No, they’re wrong! We were a family. I washed them, brushed their manes, kept the fly’s way.” Her eyes locked with my own, and I felt a shiver down my spine. “I saved them you know. The world had tainted them, like it had done to you! But with me, I made them pure. No pony could taint them, hurt them. Forever my perfect lovers.”

“Lovers?” I took a step back, as Theremin got back up. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

““You, me, together forever.” Theremin smiled as she trotted over toward me. “Of course, I will have to fix you first. I learned a lot from the others. My first love was so noisy. Always saying hurtful things, so I had to cut out the vocal cords. My second love was so prone to using violence against me that had to paralyze her legs. My third love, bit her own tongue off and died rather than love me, so I had to remember to remove the teeth from the others.” She licked her lips. “My fourth love, looked just like you... but she was so much more innocent.” The excited look on her face flattened, the look in her eyes became annoyed. “She also had some sort of chip in her head that led the republic straight to me.”

If I had a stomach right now, I think I would puke. “You’re a monster.”

She got up close, head to head with me. “Why would you say that when we could be together, forever.” her eyes locked with my own, and I didn’t know what to do.

*Smack*

Theremin rolled back, hitting the same grave stone. “Crazy Bitch.” Slowtrot spoke. “I don’t like hitting mares, but talking about stuff like that?” He pointed his hoof at his mouth and stuck out his tone like he was vomiting. “Anypony starts spouting shit like that makes them fair game I’d think.”

“Already found another stallion!” Theremin looked right at me, her face warping in unbridled rage. “You whore, slut, dirty mother fucking bitch of a mare!” Her face relaxed as she took in a deep breath. “But I’ll forgive you, if you just return to me and promise to never leave again.” She got up and trotted to me, but as she got closer, her head seemed to be pulled back. “What!” The bone and hook was now on her ear, and was tugging.

Before Theremin could even attempt to remove the hook, it pulled at her, dragging her along the ground. “Help!” She cried out as she grabbed onto one of the gravestones, fighting Charon’s pull. “I don’t want to go.” She pleaded with now full bodied fear written in her eyes.

I sighed. “Not your choice.” I trotted to her, and she smiled at me with a final hope filled grin. “So, go fuck off to Tartarus!”

Her smile turned to a scowl as I raised a hoof. Fear, I saw fear in her eyes as I brought down my hoof, knocking her free from the gravestone. I watched at I saw Theremin get dragged away, as she futilely hoofed at the ground until she slid out of sight.

“So…” I took a deep breath, feeling a little satisfied. Exhaling, I turned to Slowtrot. “What next?”

“Next you both get out of my nonexistent mane.” Charon trotted past me before she paused and scratched her skull. “You know what, I need a wig. Nothing over the top of course, but maybe something cute.”

“How, where?” Slowtrot asked.

She pointed at a grave. “For a phantom like you, you dig.”

Slowtrot trotted over to the grave and froze. “Why... is my Cutiemark here?”

“Maybe you died here too?” I gave an answer. Sure it probably wasn’t the one he’d wanted to hear, but given everything so far, it sort of fit.

He sighed. “That would make sense, but then wouldn’t I just go with Charon?”

“Woah there, no,no!” Charon spoke loudly and waved her hoof before jabbing it sharply at him. “I gave you one free ride already. If you want to get to the afterlife, then you’re either going to pay me double, or swim across the river yourself. Now start digging. You will know the next step when you get deep enough.” Charon then turned around to poke at me. “Now for you.”

“Do I click my hooves together three times and say there’s no place like home?” I said with a smile.

“No, I just need to wake you up.” Charon shook her bony head, and lifted her scythe. “Though it’s going to come at a price.”

“But didn’t I already do something like that?” This annoyed me a bit. “I mean, I already have more than I care to handle on my plate.”

“Right, you’re quite right.” Charon drew her scythe, hanging it over me. “Sadly, even if I let you wake up naturally, you would not be in the state to be doing anything.”

“What? What the fuck!” This had better be a joke. A weird joke to say the least, but still a joke none the less. “What’s wrong with me now? How did I get hurt this time?”

“Physically?” She wiggled a hoof side to side. “I would not recommend moving around much, having fluid in the lungs is not something that just goes away, even with healing potions. Nut if you must, you can still push on, though the drug problem is only going to get worse if you ignore it.” She reached out and touched my head. “The problem is there, you did nearly drown, remember?”

“You said nearly, so I should be fine enough, right?” A cold shiver ran up my spine. “I mean, I’m fine right now, right?”

“You were so scared of drowning that your mind ejected your own soul from your body.” Though the skeleton had no facial emotions, somehow, I knew she was frowning at me. “Which bring us to another problem. Your soul shouldn’t just be bound loosely enough to your body for this to happen in the first place.” Her book floated out, and open.

I cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing good.” Charon brought her scythe down lower, it’s blade touching the back of my neck. “Have you come across any dark magic users, like that of necromancers, forbidden arts specialists, or any powerful supernatural beings?”

“Maybe?” I responded, “There’s Phobetor… if she counts?” I wasn’t really able to think of anything else that would fit, and she did seem fairly powerful, as Slowtrot could attest to.

The book slammed shut, and Charon nodded. “Say no more, you did have the stench of a nightmare on you.”

“So… what does that mean?” I asked worriedly.

“At best, you’re going to have to live with some bad dreams for the rest of your life.” The blade of Charon’s scythe slowly cut into the back of my neck, but it did not hurt, just felt cold. “At worst? Let’s just say that it’s a good thing that we met at such a time.” The scythe on my neck cut into me, and I suddenly felt weightless.

*Plop*

My head hit the ground, which startled me. But what was worse was when I looked up, and saw my body still standing, but without my head. Charon pointed her scythe at me, at my head.

“If all things go well, this will all be pushed to the back of your mind as nothing but an odd dream.” She pulled her scythe back and rested it onto her shoulder again. “Now wake up. The sooner you do, the sooner we can both get back to our jobs. And as you know well enough, there is still so much work left to do.”

_________________________________________________________

Fire.

I felt like I was on fire. Not from the outside, but inside. My fur and skin didn’t burn, but sure as Tartarus my lungs did.

“Easy now, don’t rush it.” It sounded like, some had gargled gravel, a stallion maybe. “You almost drowned back there, so you need to take it slow. Your lungs can still fill up with water if you don’t take it slow.”

“What happened?” I managed to get out as I spat some foul-tasting water from my mouth.

“By Celestia, you’re okay.” I was Harp, her voice made me feel a bit at ease, but didn’t lessen my confusion.

“Not yet.” The stallion spoke. “she breathed in too much water. Even if she walks away, she can still drown. I’d suggest she go seek medical help, but... well that’s not going to happen right now.”

I slowly opened my eyes, but the light that flooded my vision blinded me. “What’s going on?”

“Well, you nearly downed like some panicked foal.” The strange sounding stallion gave a long sigh. “I swear, even a filly knows how to hold their breath. What did you do? Breath in the water as soon as you went under?” I felt a sharp jab in the side of my neck. “This should help in case you swallowed a nasty disease or two in that fetid water. But how in Tartarus did you manage to drown so fast? I saw the splash and you were nearly gone by the time I wrestled you to the surface.”

“I..” I wasn’t quite sure what to say, but as it turns out, I didn’t have to say anything.

“Don’t be mean, she’s aqua phobic, or something.” Harp spoke up. “It has something to do with being underwater, and it’s my fault that she’s even down here in the first place.”

“Well, excuse me princess. Maybe next time you should pick a bodygaurd that’s not so inclined to panic when she so much as dips slightly underwater.” He rubbed his chin. “She knocked off some of my skin when I was dragging her out of the water, and it should be apparent that I’m quite attached to what little I have left of it as is.”

“And I’ll see that you are compensated for the trouble.” She responded.

“With fucking what!” he barked at her with his wheezing voice. “You’re as low as royalty gets, a promise from you might as well come from a rad-roach”

Picking myself up, my eyes finally adjusting. Next to me was Harp Melody, looking drenched, and looking less pink, and more red. On the other side of me was a… a Ghoul!?

“How the fuck!” I gasped, making my recovering lungs burn again slightly.

“Calm down missy,” The ghoul rolled his eyes, and the parts where his skin had peeled off moved slightly. It gave me a quick and disturbing lesson on how exactly pony muscles moved in the body. “I’m not going to bite you, not yet at least.”

“But didn’t you all die out?” I spoke out. “Other than the ones who went, well crazy?”

“Right, Orthrus.” The ghoul Shrugged. “Ya, I was not interested in being put to sleep, no difference to me to how Orphic did it. Probably would prefer the bullet myself, rather than slowly fading away through drugs.” He picked up a bottle of booze, and chugged the bottle. “Fuck your last Overmare. That cunt of a ghoul had a bad habit of thinking she knew what was best for all of us.”

“But... how did you survive?” I asked.

“Like any good Metro dweller.” He said at me, some of the booze dripping from his lip. “Found a home out of the way, kept my head down, and made myself useful to folks with tight lips.” He trotted to a curtain that surrounded me. “In the short term it seemed silly, a bit crazy even. These days however, no pony calls me crazy.”

The curtain swung open, and I saw that I was in a tunnel cramped with mirage ponies. Many of them not suffering from the same deformity I did, but the range of birth defects I saw were still very common. Many of them had their legs, but lacked hooves, replacing them with basic prosthetics. The toxins were not as bad further south, but ponies were still affected by them. But that didn’t answer just why there were so many down here.

“I warned the others too, the ones who didn’t make it here. I’ve seen it all before.” The ghoul spoke up. “When the current leader is about to die, the princes and princesses have a bad habit of conducting purges of the undesirables.” He looked back at me, no, at Harp. “They make room for their friends to breed, and fill whatever stations are left wanting from their ‘purity’ raids.” He huffed annoyed. “This is the third fucking time I’ve seen this happen here. Good thing some ponies listened to me, got off their flanks and came down here. The rest who didn’t make it? Well, you almost drowned with them.”

I felt my gut wrench, and my fur stand on end. If I go near a body of water, it be too soon. “What’s your name?”

“Pipe Grime.” He sighed. “But you can just call me Grime. I was among the original workers here, helped built his tunnel with my own two hooves.” He pulled back at the rest of the curtains, and I could see the rest of the tunnel, all of it cramped with even more huddled masses of ponies. “I wanted to do my best by others, and have been for over two hundred years. Still remember when ponies first flooded this place. A bad time it was, but we persevered.”

I rolled off the cot I’d been on, and got back on my hooves. As I did, I felt short of breath. Hacking, water and phlegm filled my mouth, and I heaved it onto the ground with hacking coughs. My lungs still hurt. No, everything still hurt.

“You got any pain killers?” I groaned as I wiped the dribble from my muzzle. It was more than just the constant aches, but I felt wet and cold. The wet sound of a drenched pony dripping onto a tiled was unmistakable, and thought it took me a moment to realize, I found that it was coming from myself. “And something to dry me up?”

“Ran out of them days ago.” Grease shook his head. “But some folks around here might have brought some down, so if you want them, you’re going to have to deal.”

Fuck. “You got anything to help? I’ll take anything.” No painkillers and nothing to make things feel tolerable was going to leave me a bit more than a bickering mess if I had to trade.

“Miss, we got nothing left to spare down here.” He sighed, “Anything I did stock up on has go to the ponies already here, so if you’re willing to take food from a foal’s mouth, best you shut up and just deal with it.”

I looked at Harp, and she nodded. “We should recover our own supply’s, there’s nothing we can do here.”

“Fine, I understand.” I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled in a forced manner, trying to vent my frustration at all this. I rotated my right foreleg, checking if anything new was wrong with it, seeing as it did give up the ghost when I needed it most. But it seemed to be in working order, though I no longer trusted it to hold my own bodyweight, that or the connectors on my shoulder are going bad. This did make me worried that I might be getting fat, of all the things I needed right now, some chub. “What’s our next step, Harp?”

The princess looked around nervously. “I don’t rightly know, this is all so new to me.” She rubbed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “Big Brother has never been one to take such risks before. He has always been the kind to take things step by step, never so rash.” She rubbed her hoof on her temple, obviously forcing out a thought. “Something must have happened at stable 50. He must have been forced out by one of my elder sisters, or something similarly drastic.” Her hooves moved from her temple to her chin. “Brother has always been a good position, not a schemer. That’s Silver Magaly’s strong point.”

“Though, I think I have an idea.” Harp nodded to herself a few times before continuing. “Brother is not experienced with violence, so he may act to slow to for his command to be effective, or he may act too quickly and not assess the situation, most likely making a mistake. If we cause a commotion, and call him out, he will show himself. I’m sure that if I can talk with him, I can convince him to stand down.” She nodded to herself once more, but with some hesitation to it. “I know he can see reason, I just need to talk with him first.”

If she could, it would be the best case sanrio. But that wasn’t the Golden Rule with us back in that room. He seemed focused on killing us and nothing else. I was willing to trust Harp, but I wasn’t going to bet on a miracle.

As Harp left the makeshift medical tent, some old mirage pony mare gabbed her leg. “You’re the princess right!?” The mare was very thin and sickly, and behind her stood two young foals who looked to be in no better shape than the mare. “You can send help, the royals will listen to you, you’re one of them!”

“I um… I don’t think..” She was cut off by another pony grabbing at her

“Harp Melody, help us, please!” This time a stallion spoke up. Picking him out of the many ponies around, half of him looked burnt, but he still carried a look of hope in his eyes. “Make them see reason, you’re one of us, right? They’ll have to listen and understand we’re good ponies.”

““Were starving here,” Another mirage pony cut us off from Grace, walking on four basic prosthetic hooves. “I know the royals can spare some food. Please help us, Princess.”

It was like a wave of ponies moving in on us. Each one as dirty as the next, and in need of help as the next. Harp herself looked panicked, and I did my best to stand in the way of the flood, but there were too many ponies.

*Bang*

The gunshot made my ears ring, but also stopped the advancement of the crowed. There weren’t screams of panic, rather only startled gasps came from the crowd as they took a few hurried steps back. A pony holding an old looking revolver stood next to Grease, the old ghoul holding his ears and grimacing from the ringing he probably too heard.

“That’s enough! You all know as well as I that there is no help coming.” The mare was a mirage pony in a tan uniform, though far dirtier than the guard’s ponies we had seen before. “Now make way, the good princess doesn't want to burden us with her presence more than she already has.”

The ponies pushed themselves to one side of the tunnel, and we quickly made our way passed them. The guards pony following us as we followed Grease, walking through the open path. I glanced back, watching as the path behind closed in behind Grease as we moved, but all eyes were on us.

We eventually came to an open space, mainly populated by other mirage pony guards in tan uniforms. I cleared my thought to gain their attention, and spoke up. “Sorry for sounding a bit paranoid, but the last ponies we saw with that uniform were trying to kill us.”

“Ya, that’s the fucking royal guard for you.” The mare who helped us out rolled her eyes. “A useless bunch of ass hats, all of them.” She saluted Harp stiffly, shortly being followed by similar salutes from the other guards ponies. “Squire Chime Breeze. Happy to know your alive and well, Princess Harp.”

Harp looked flustered for a moment before straightening herself out. “A pleasure to meet you, squire.”

I took a deep breath, catching the attention of the squire. “Sorry to be late on just what the hell is going on, but I just woke up. Can I get some info please?”

“Of course, Knight Dragon slayer.” Chime nodded as the other guards seemed to stiffen up when hearing my ‘title’. “Golden Rule ordered a purge. All Mirage ponies are to be collected, executed, and dumped. Good sir Grease had heard the imminent consideration of such an event, and offered us a hiding spot days before it happened. It gave us time to store food, water, and other basic essentials. Though a majority of the station’s mirage ponies have been captured and killed, many of the fouls and their caretakers made it here without incident. Sadly, more than half of our division stayed behind to divert Golden’s forces to help hide the entrance to this place. Thanks to their sacrifice, we’re still alive.” She pulled out a neckerchief to wipe some tears from her eyes. “It’s been a rough few days, but we’ve managed so far. They still don’t know we’re down here, but we’d thought maybe they found us when you and the princess had arrived. I’m… sorry that you and Grease had to wade through were Golden had dumped the bodies. I could hardly imagine what that must have been like to experiance.”

“What!?” The hairs on my neck raised up. “That… that wasn’t just normal sewage?”

“The water you almost drowned in, it was thick with dead ponies.” The mare explained. “Only old Grease Pipes has been willing to go near there due to the smell. He happened to be doing his rounds in the area when you arrived. The poor ghoul almost cracked his skull when he was pulling you out of the water.”

““Anyway...” I felt cold, so cold. “I… goddess.” I began to drive heave. Spitting up spit, but nothing more.

Chime simply nodded. “I know how you feel.”

“It is commendable that you all have saved as many as you have in the face of such terrible circumstances.” Harp stepped up, patting e on the back. “Is there any way in which we may assist you?”

“Sorry,” The mare shook her head. “but all we can do is wait for things to calm down. We still have enough rations for a few days at best.”

“You're right, I can’t do anything for you.” The princess closed her eyes for a moment, and nodded her head. “But I know who can. Orthrus. If you can help get these ponies to Orthrus, I know they can help you.”

“And how are we to even try to get to them there, princess?” Chime narrowed her eyes. “We can’t risk even a single one of us leaving the tunnels to scavange for supplies. If they discover the location of the entrance, were all dead if they find us in here.”

“We could provide a distraction.” Harp looked over at me. “Right?”

I sighed. “Maybe.” It was a risk, but I did ow these ponies something, and they were all going to die if they stay here. “There’s a good chance that Golden Rule has a stronger urge to kill us right now than you all. So if we can reconnect with our friends, and recover our weapons, then maybe we could pull off something that would give you all a shot.”

“Now if you could do something that gives these ponies a chance, that would be beyond miraculous.” Chime looked at Grease, and he looked at us. “Though, there is a small army up there, you think you can do it?”

“It’s the princess and the dragon slayer!” one of the guard ponies shouted. “Of course they can!”

“Aye, they can do it!” Another guard spoke up. “We’re saved, I just know it!”

“All Hail the Dragon slayer!” another cheered.

“All Hail the Mirage Pony Princess!” the rest of them cheered.

Chime Stomped on the ground. “Oh shut up!” she snapped back at the others. “We can celebrate after we get out of here with the civilians. They are our priority, so you will not lose focus on them.” With a grunt, she looked back over at us. “Do you really think you can do it?”

“We can try...” Before I could say anything else, Harp cut me off.

“No… we will!” She spoke up and glanced over each of the guards. “As Harp Melody, daughter of Gilded Gold, decedent of Majesty, the direct descendant of Princess Platinum. By my word, I’ll do whatever it takes to help you. Even if it kills me.”

The guard’s ponies all sat up as straight as a pony could, saluting Harp. Chime smiled, and gave Harp a hug.

“Thank you, even if things don’t turn out well, thank you.” Chime nodded with a sniffle. “We will do our best to get the civilians to safety. This hope you’re giving us, is something we can never repay you for.”

“You already are repaying me.” Harp hugged her back. “Honor and loyalty is all we nobility should expect, we are nothing without it. Just make sure that these ponies get to the Friendly Island, and offer your aid to them. There’s a fight to come, and they will need your help.”

I felt my stomach settle, and I was ready to go. Grease pulled at a barrier that was blocking a doorway and smiled at us. His cheek had long lost not just it’s fur, but it’s skin too, so I could see his muscles pull up his lips. “This way, young ladies. We can’t have you go straight up, or risk them finding the ponies down here. This tunnel here will take you to the other side of the station, just… mind the cobwebs, and good luck.”

I stepped through into the dark tunnel, and a chill went down my spine as the cool, stale air hit me. Turning on my pipbuck lamp, it illuminates some of the tunnel, but only for a few hoofsteps ahead of us. Past the meager light, sat only a silent and still darkness.

“Oh my,” Harp said quietly. “this tunnel looks…”

“foreboding.” Pipe Grime spoke up, stepping through the doorway. He held an old hellsing rifle at his side, and a mining hat on his head. “This maintenance tunnel never got finished. No lights and the such, so it’s always been a bit tricky to navigate.”

I cocked an eyebrow at the old ghoul. “You’re coming?” he nodded. “And with that rifle?”

“My faithful Hog Slayer? Most certainty.” The old earth pony ghoul tapped on the old air rifle. “This beauty has been with me for what, over a hundred years now? Used to be an Iron Shod .44 revolver before the barrel got warped. Had it converted into a hellsing long before your mirage talismans were anything but an idea on paper. Pumping the air into it may be a pain, but if anything, it helps keep my legs strong.” He turned to his side, revealing a small air pump that had definitely seen better days.

“Father had one…” Harp trotted over to the ghoul, looking at his gun. “I mean the former king, of course. it’s still displayed next to his portrait. I was told that he was an avid hunter in his youth.” She scratched her chin. “But it looked a bit different from this one.”

Grime chuckled, though it sounded more like he was gargling gravel. “Well this gun may not have any fancy parts that a fancy pony may use. But it was hoofed forged the earth pony way, unlike most you see these days that were made with scrap. Eight barrels, reinforced valves, even the arrows are hoof forged.”

Sighing, I looked back down the dark tunnel. “Well, I guess we’re in your care”

More of the tunnel light up when Grime turned on the lap on his helmet. “Good, you will need to remember that, this tunnel is very dangerous for green horns.”

“How dangerous?” Harp asked.

“In most of the normal way.” Grime responded. “But also in ways that I can’t properly explain.”

“That doesn't sound very good.” Harp whispered.

Grime shook his head, “No, no it dose not, but if you do as I say, you will be just fine.”

_________________________________________________________

Unlike the tunnels I was use too, this one made me feel uneasy. The unfinished state of it, the darkness, the fact that moss was everywhere despite moss should not be rowing here. This was a wild tunnel, like that of the big island. A place we ponies did not belong.

“Now, if you hear anything strange, don’t go off following it. Same if you see or smell anything out of place too.” Grease advised us. “Places like this has a way of confusing the mind, making them see what’s not there. Or, as this is a world of magic, see things you’re not meant to see.”

“What do you mean?” Harp asked.

“Ehhh, I don’t understand it myself, but think of it as a tear in what is normal. It’s like the world we live in has layers, and we can only see the one we live in. But here in this tunnel, some of that layer is torn, and we now have a glimpse into the layer beneath. Because we’re not meant to see it, it’s all blurry, and out of focus to us, and that messes with our heads.” Grease stopped for a moment to look at us. “Now I don’t expect you to understand, but trust me on this. Whatever you see, don’t touch it, just follow me.”

Harp nodded, looking a bit frightened. I on the other hoof bet the old ghoul was simply dilutional, as they tended to be. I hadn’t met many ghouls in my life, but the few I did were all stuck in the past. Though, with how insightful Grease was, I was in no position to stray from following him. Though, it’s more than a fair bet that this otherworldly stuff he talks about is probably just faulty wiring, and not just in his head. I didn’t know much about it, but I do remember hearing somewhere that uninsulated high voltage wires could affect a pony’s heath, long-term exposure could even affect their mind.

From what I could see, it seemed to confirm my suspicion. The power lines that still hung in here were old and rusted in some parts. The protective lining having peeled off on much of it. I also saw one damaged fuse box, and another line where some pony had tried to tap into the power and just left their cables lying around.

I also saw a shadow of a pony looking at me…

Blinking a few times, it disappeared from sight. Shaking my head, I turned my focus back to the other two. I probably needed to take my medication, I was likely going through chill withdraw.

“So, what are the bad times you said this tunnel remembers?” Harp inquired.

The old ghoul was quiet for a moment before sighing. “Well, if I were to start from the beginning, There was one incident where a zebra was found down here. I don’t know the details, big old coverup happened right after, so only we construction ponies knew about it, but it was the first of many delays this tunnel had.”

“A zebra?” Harp gave a quiet gasp. “as in, like a spy?”

“Maybe.” Grease huffed. “Like I said, I don’t know the details, but that was what every pony thought at the time. The anti-zebra propaganda hadn’t gone into full swing yet, so there were just as many ponies that thought it might have been some foolish teenager, and that’s why it was kept quiet. You know, to protect their family and all that.”

“And the other incidents?” I asked.

“Yeah, the other incidents.” Grease said in annoyed tone. “Before the end of the war, this area was prone to accidents. It’s probably because of how deep it is, and that there was work going on nonstop once we got full project funding. Putting a metro station and a sky port in the same spot sounds like a smart idea, but the logistics behind it were huge and damn inconvenient.” The old ghoul stopped for a moment and sighed. “It also didn’t help that Stable-Tec and Solaris chose this area to do a lot of their fighting.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Both companies got deals to work here. The sky port was a big deal, and though Solaris won the contract, Stable-Tec won the contracts to build everything around it. So they started having their own private war, working around the law to discredit the other.”

“Which side were you one, mister Grease?” Harp asked.

“Side? None.” Was his response. “I worked for one of the smaller contractors, and that was all way above our pay grade. Our job was to do all the insulation, or fix the mistakes the big companies were not bothered to do with their own crews. It was funny at first, and lucrative. But as the two companies really started to tear into each other, I saw a few friends get badly hurt.” He stopped and pointed to a dark spot on the wall. Looking closer, It was a black ‘X’ “This was where we lost our first pony, the Forepony. Didn’t even see the loose live wire. How could he when it had been purposefully left just out of sight?” The ghoul shook his head. “Let’s get moving, I’m sure they’re waiting for us.”

“Their, as in they!?” I picked up my pace. “Who’s waiting for us.”

“Shhh!” the ghoul hissed. “Keep your ridicules panties on. I’m not selling you out for Celestias sake, that’d be suicide for me. If I’m going to kill myself, I’m not going to drag two pretty young mares with me.”

I slowed down. “So then, what’s up ahead, more ghouls?”

“If only.” Grease said with a sigh. “Just do as I say missy, and you will be just fine.”

We continued down the tunnel, with only a light buzzing of electricity in the air to mix with the sound of our hoof steps. Every now and then there was another ‘X’ or other markings, sometimes a vase with what looked to be a plastic flower in it. This tunnel also gave me the feeling of being watched, and every now and then I’d see some shadow that should not be there.

We came to what was the end of the tunnel. The doorway had been blocked off by garbage, and old wooden boards had been forcefully propped up against it. Giving a soft kick to it, Grease knocked off a healthy layer of dust from the pile.

“Been how long?” Grease grumbled. “Forty, fifty years?”

“What do you mean?” Harp whispered.

“Last time this door’s been opened.” I began moving the wooden boards off the door. “Past this door is a military tunnel which connects the sky port to a supply depot. Sadly that depot is on the surface, so we have to keep the doors blocked off or risk some nasty critter getting in.” The ghoul paused for a moment, remembering something. “Silly me, you should probably put a gas mask on. Mind you, last time I cracked it open, I remember the air here isn’t all that bad, but better be safe than sorry.”

We looked at each other, then at Grease with a look of annoyance.

“Oh, right.” He pointed to the side, where we could just about see a locker in the dim light. “Before the air went bad, there was still the problem of the air going toxic down here, the downside of using heavy construction machinery underground. So, we had a huge stash of them.”

I opened the locker next to me and was met with a bunch of gas masks as they fell out. They seemed in good condition, but they weren’t any kind of gas mask I’ve seen before. These masks had one wide eye visor instead of two lenses like most had. And instead of being clear, it had a golden bronze shine to it that made nearly impossible to see through. It also had two filters over the normal single one I was used to, which would make changing them out less risky, depending if it had an internal seal or not. The rest of it was a thick black rubber, that still looked strong for its age.

I put the mask to my face, and was amazed how clearly I saw through the slit, even if it gave everything a slight yellow hue. My range of vision was only minorly obstructed, meaning I didn’t have to move my head as much to look around. The top of the mask rested gently under my horn, meaning it was at least partially made with unicorns in mind.

“I’ve never seen gas masks like this before, where did you find them?” I asked as I tightened it against my head to force the seal. A point to note, breathing was smooth with it on. The normal suction feeling most masks gave was only half as bad, including the noise gas masks tend to make. The only drawback was that this mask was more than a bit heavier than others, but not enough to be a problem for me.

“The advantage of living near a military depot.” The ghoul chuckled. “These are advanced gas masks, so a lot more material went into them. One of my friends from the depot told me that they were prototypes, and had been meant to be delivered onto a thunderhead before the bombs dropped. Unfortunately for that thunderhead, that friend happened to owe me a favor, so they were officially ‘misplaced’ in transit.” Showing another grin that gave me too close a look at the inside of a pony's face, he glanced fondly at the collection of masks. “The visors are actually made from a highly impact resistant crystal, and the filters are magically infused so to be twice as effective. Supposedly, you can take out the filters, and attach an air take, meaning you can take that thing underwater.”

I shivered a bit at his suggestion. “I’ll stay on dry land thank you very much.” Putting on the mask, I secured it to my head. “So then, these are super gas masks?”

The ghoul shrugged. “From what I was told, they’re okay. Better than your average gas mask, but not better enough to justify the price. It was something like three or four times the cost of the normal gas mask that were already being made at the time, and after a few runs were made, they were deemed too expensive for anything past their initial limited production run.”

Harp put her mask on. “Wow, everything is… orangey?” Her voice was slightly muffled from under the mask, which also made her look really out of place to me.

“You’ll get used to that.” Greasy chuckled. “It helps sharpen your vision, and keeps you from getting blinded by bright lights.”

“Neat.” harp responded as she secured the mask on.

I secured my mask on as well, making sure that it was on tight. “So, anything else we need to know?”

Grease slowly began to open the door. “Right, don’t go assuming that the mask protects you from radiation like I did. Over two hundred years may have past, but the fallout from the bombs that hit the depot is still strong.” He then scratched his chin. “Oh, right. Some of my friends are still there, the poor bastards. So if you ever half to go through the depot, try not to wake them up.”

“Noted.” I responded. The old ghoul nodded back before opening the door with a rusty squeal. I looked back at harp, her gas mask completely obstructing her face, while the visor reflected a bit of my own image back at me in a golden bronze hue. “Let’s go.” I grunted, pointing through the door. She nodded and followed me into the tunnel beyond, while Greasy stepped through with us, and sealed up the door again.

_________________________________________

The private military tunnel was as overgrown as I had feared, looking a lot like that of the tunnels on the big island, albeit much wider. The tunnel itself was built to fit three train carts, with some extra space on the sides for clearance and maintenance. Scattered all around us now and again was also the remains of numerous previous attempts to reclaim this part of the tunnel. Gnarled vines wrapped over what was left of lookout posts, and discarded armor laid about, heavily corroded beyond repair. Even the tracks for the train carts were damaged, with whole sections of steel cut away, warped, or altogether missing.

“Ms. Vibraphone?” Harp quietly called out, getting closer to me. “Do you, well… feel that?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Just stay close” The uneasy feeling of dread was thick here, oppressive in that it pressed down on me like the weight of a paradise dragon. Movement and bits of rubble skittered around in the corner of my eyes, while long shadows danced around there too. Of course, nothing was ever there when I looked at it directly.

“What wrong with this place.” I asked as I looked over at Greasy. Though, the old ghoul seemed entirely unfazed by all this.

“Quiet,” His gravelly voice was stern, but he was keeping his volume down. “a little further, then we can talk.””

We passed by what was the remains of a home, or maybe it had once been a barracks. The frames of the cots were completely rusted over, and the cloths that once stretched over them were nothing more than a few dusty strips barely clinging to the corroded metal. Even the graffiti had not survived here, with roots, cracks, and water damage making the ancient colorful wall art muted and unreadable.

Something smelled. Not something normal for here, or at least, I hoped it was not normal. There was what I’d come to expect from the surface, the permeating stench of ancient rot and mildew that clawed through the filters. Even with the mask on I could sell some of it like always, but something else came through with it. Something strong and familiar… like oats. Some pony was cooking an apple stew!?

Looking around, I quickly found what the likely culprit was. An old pot on small portable stove that looked like it had sat in this spot since the war bubbled away, still steaming and warm as if it had just been tended to. Trotting over, everything was covered in dust, and cobwebs, the oversized spiders skittering away as I got closer. It all didn’t make sense, but as I looked in, there it was, apple stew with some hearty chunks of apples.

“Hay Cobbler, looks like another hungry pony.” A blue unicorn stallion in military fatigues called out. “Go get lost, this not enough to go around.”

I looked to my side, and sitting next to me was an earth pony in metal armor. I’d seen that style of armor before, as one of the pirates back at the theme park had it on. This mare was wearing power armor. But this suit didn’t have a speck of rust, just burn marks all over. Her helmet was off, revealing the older mare under the armor. Her Toffy coat and yellow main was striking against her dark gray armor, and it all struck me even harder as odd with her sitting right here.

Who I assumed was Cobbler, looked down at me and smiled. “Don’t mind him, here, take some.”

“Really, Cobbler!?” The stallion called out. “Stop giving our food away like that. We can’t save everypony here.” Looking at the stallion a bit closer, he was missing an ear, having only a black stump. He wore a simple uniform, but like the armor Cobbler wore, it was singed all over a stiff looking charred black.

“What do you mean, everypony?” I asked as I looked around the empty… tunnel…

I froze as my eyes gazed across ponies. Dozens, hundreds of ponies even were all around me, crammed inside the tunnel and huddled together. The young, the old, injured and healthy. Military and M.o.P. ponies trotted between the mass of them, seemingly keeping order, but it was hard to tell with the crowd as big as it was.

“What?” Cobbler asked back to me, scrunching up her muzzle. “You must know by now.”

“Know what? What’s going on?” It was... strange. I didn’t see one mirage pony among them, which was just another odd thing. Was Golden purging the deep dwellers too? I honestly wouldn’t put it past the crazy bastard to go that far.

“Oh my, you must have hit your head on your way here.” Cobbler dipped a ladle into the pot, and poured the stew into a metal cup. “Here take some of this, it’s should help calm your nerves.”

I took the cup into my hooves. “Thanks.” I pressed the cup to my lips, and…

*Clank*

Oh, I still had my mask on. “Well this is embarrassing.” Putting the cup down, I reached back to undo one of the straps…

*Wham*

I blinked, and found myself horizontal, on the floor. “What?”

“See, told you that she just needed a good smack!” Greasy spoke.

I got up onto my hooves, brushing the dirt and dust off me, though the cobwebs stuck to my hooves. Looking around, I was back in the tunnel with only Harp and Greasy in sight. The hundreds of ponies had simply vanished, the same as Cobbler and her friend.

“Right, what just happened?” I asked slowly, trying to wrap my mind around all of this.

Harp sighed. “You wandered off on your own, and when I tried to call you back, you didn’t respond. When you were about to take your mask off, mister pipes pushed you over.”

“I told you the tunnels were dangerous.” The ghoul groaned. “This is what happens when you don’t listen to me. So next time you get the idea to go wandering off, don’t.”

“But…” wait, none of that was real? “I smelled stew, and there was this pony in... powered armor, I think. Cobbler was her name, and She was just... here.” Was I just hallucinating all that? How is that possible?

“Sorry to tell you this, but Apple Cobbler died long ago.” Greasy Pipes said with a sigh. “If you saw her, you saw a ghost, nothing more. Now let’s keep going, there's still more tunnel to get through.”

Greasy did not give me any time to respond, simply trotting further down the tunnel without waiting. I tried to race after him, but felt a tug on my wing. Harp had locked her wing with my own, forcing me to stop.

“Let’s take it easy, okay?” Harp sounded calm and sincere, but she was shaking like leaves in the wind. It made me feel a little ashamed by how she was putting on a brave face while here I was, losing my damn mind.... again. I let Harp take the lead, but held her close. She needed me, and I was not going to fail her a second time.

As we got further through it, the tunnel turned into a graveyard. The remains of long burned out candles, dead flowers, and other offerings to the dead were littered all over the place. It all started to look like a shrine, like some morbid religion to the dead.

More movement from the corner of my vision, but this time it didn’t go away when I looked at it. This… pony looked like it was only skin and bones, it even had a few melted candles on its head. Harp gave off a quiet whimper, and I looked to see what had spooked her. Again, it was another pony like the first with the candles.

“What are they?” I asked Greasy.

“Feral Ghouls.” He said in a matter-o-fact way. “Don’t worry. My friends and I chained them to the floor a long time ago, so they won’t hurt you. We didn’t have it in us to kill them, and I still don’t. Now, all they do is stare at passersby. Good at scaring the shit out of normal ponies, and a good reason of why nopony’s come looking for that entrance to the tunnel back there.”

“And the candles?” Harp asked this time.

The old ghoul sighed. “Remembering the ones, we lost. Giving comfort to the others forgotten.”

Harp loosened her grip on me only ever so slightly. “Where are your friends now, Mr. Pipes?”

“It’s been what, over two hundred years?” He stopped for a moment. “A lot can happen in that time. I’m the only one who wanted to wait for the good times to return. You can say, I wanted to remind ponies that things can still get better. That at one time, we didn’t really know what the true cost of war truly was. I want to see a day where all ponies understand what it took too long for us to learn.”

Harp seemed to calm down, her shaking subsiding a bit. “That sounds lovely. I hope it happens soon.”

The ghoul snorted, which like most ghoul sounds, didn’t sound right. “I doubt it, but I still hold out hope.”

With our quick and morbid break finished, we continued further in. The tunnel this far in was even more cluttered by feral ghouls and trinkets for the dead, making the tunnel now only have one set of train tracks to follow. It made the large tunnel seam both more cramped, yet bigger and full of energy. It was still creepy as all fuck, and the shadows kept messing with me in the corner of my vision.

It all just felt... tragic. Like we this place was full of sorrowful emotions, desperation, anger, and hopelessness. It was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Holding onto Harp, she seemed to help keep me grounded here, reminding what was real, what my mission was.

Greasy Pipes stopped at a large metal door, and in front of it, stood a rusty suit of power armor. It was holding two gatling guns, one on each side. Hanging off the power armors neck was a shit ton of dog tags, more than I could simply count. It all looked so very sad.

“What’s power armor doing here?” I asked, feeling uneasy about it. “What’s with the tags?”

Greasy sighed, and trotted passed it. “I rather not talk about it. Let’s just say a good mare had to make a very hard decision, and she now rests there.” He trotted over to the door control switch, which had the skeleton of a unicorn in a old military uniform sitting in front of it. “Beyond here is Polynices Station, and so this will be as far as I go. So good luck ladies.”

Harp let me go and trotted over to the armor. “It’s like it’s guarding the door”

“Cobbler probably was.” I responded. “From what I can recall, lots of soldiers had to keep ponies from flooding into the station. They gave their lives blocking the many entrances.”

I heard a groan from Greasy as he pulled the switch. The old door made a loud grinding noise as it slowly opened just slightly before stopping cold only an inch or so open. “Shit, looks like the wires need adjusting, just give me a moment”

Trotting up to the monument, I placed a hoof on the old soldier's armor. It’s old, empty eyes looked sad, and I give it a little nod in respect.

“Miss, I’ll have to ask you to step back.” The power armors head turned to me, and I nearly jumped right out of my skin. “The station is already over max capacity, we can’t let anyone else in.”

“FUCK YOU!” some pony behind me yelled as an empty can flew over or heads. Looking back, there was a crowed of ponied, practically forming a solid wall of them. “Let us in! We’re going to die down here, don’t you get that!?”

“At least let my foals in!” another pony called out. All the ponies looked ragged, and a bit burnt. Many looked so sick that they could die at any moment.

“My sister is a manager here, I’m sure she left some space for me!” A third cried out before she broke into a coughing fit. I started to recognize the symptoms, I see it all the time with the drunk idiots who wander through the checkpoints to the surface. Toxin poisoning, the air here must be slowly turning toxic, meaning that all these ponies were slowly dying.

““Will you be quiet!” Apple Cobbler stomped her foot, shaking the tunnel a little. “Were all stuck down here, and causing a ruckus will not solve anything. We must work together to make this situation work. So please understand that when I say there is no more room inside, that includes room for us as well.” Her head turned back to me. “You and your friend need to stay back, so please just do as we say.”

I looked behind me to see Harp in shock. “What… What!?”

“So, you see it too?” I asked, and Harp nodded.

“Then just stay with me, and keep your mask on.” I looked back at the crowed. A few of them had their mouths covered, but it was not going to be enough to save them. No, that’s wrong, there were already far beyond saving.

“Miss Apple Cobbler.” I spoke up. “I’m sorry, but we have to go, so please let us pass.”

“I can’t do that.” The motors on her guns revved up, and the barrels started to spin around. “Once those doors are open, every pony is going to rush inside. If that happens, then the whole station is doomed, and this will all have been for nothing. Now do as I say, and get back behind the line.”

I placed my hoof back onto her armor. “It’s okay, you’ve done your duty, soldier.” The feeling of cold wrapped around my neck, then traveled through my body, and out through my hoof. It felt strange, but also felt right. “I’ll take it from here. You can move on now.”

“I… I see. If you say so, ma’am.” Cobbler turn her head back to the crowed, and sighed. “Fine, open the door, but close it behind you.” I looked away, but she cleared her throat and pulled my attention back for another moment. “One last thing, ma’am?” I looked back as she spoke, finding her eyes only looking back at the crowd. “Make sure this wasn’t all for nothing.”

Everything seemed to fade away. Cobblers armor quickly being covered in rust, and the crowd of ponies turned to nothing but shadows that they themselves sank back into the dark of nothingness. I don’t know what happened, but the feeling of depression turned to that of a tense anticipation.

“What the fuck are you two standing around!?” Greasy Pipes yelled at us, his hoof on the doors switch.

“Just open the door will you.” I tugged Harp along as we joined Greasy Pipes. “Hay, do you have two bits I can borrow?”

The ghoul raised what was left of his eyebrow, and shrugged. “Ya, but only two.” He digged into a pocket and pulled out two bits, tossing them to me.

“Thanks.” Taking the two bits, I trotted back over to the power armor, and placed the bits over its eyes. The sound of the door opening hit my ears as I felt the air pressure change. At first the air rushed out of the door, but then it went in reverse, rushing to it. Quickly trotting to the others, it seemed like the shadows were moving to the door, like they were ponies stampeding to salvation far too late.

“Alright ladies,” Greasy gave us a nod. “like I said before, this is where we part. I wish you the best of luck.”

“Thank you, Greasy Pipes.” Harp sniffled “We could not have gotten this far without you.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little. “Take care of yourself you old stallion, and let’s hope the good times return soon.”

We both stepped through the doorway, and the doors began to close. The smell of apples hit my nose, forcing me to look back. Next to the rusted set of power armor, was a bright earth pony mare. Next to her was a black robed pony stretching out it’s bony hoof, it’s identity cloaked by it’s dark hood. Apple Cobbler dropped two bits into Charon’s hoof, and then the two seemed to fade away as the closing door obscured them from sight.

Once the air had settled, I took a deep breath. “Right, If I have to deal with anymore dead ponies, it’s too soon.” The cold feeling around my neck had not gone way, it was concerning, but not enough to let Harp in on the problem, She had enough to worry about as it was.

______________________________________________________

Footnote:

New perk added: Grim Reaper's Sprint – Any kill in S.A.T.S. will recharge your T.P. Death becomes you!

Chapter 35 - Ascent

We were back in Polynices Station, the military line now free from the clutter of death. It had become a big empty place, hollow of any feeling. Not that I liked being surrounded by death, but it was just too desolate, and cold. The only signs that anypony had ever been here was the random trash left behind, along with makeshift homes long collapsed and trampled on. I had little doubt that the ponies that once live here were long dead, thrown into a water grave.

“So...” Harp whispered to me. “What’s our next step?”

“Well,” I had to think for a moment, which was a bit difficult due to the shadows still playing tricks. Though I’ll admit, that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was before. “Grease did say that this line is used to resupply the airships, which means it must goes up the skyport.”

“But what about the others?” Her voice quivered a bit. “We need to find them.”

“You’re right.” We also needed our gear, even with the dart guns, we were wholly under equipped. “Then the first thing we need to do is to locate the others.”

A loud crunch caught out attention. It was the sound of shattered glass being pressed under hoof, meaning we weren’t alone. I motioned for Harp to ready her gun, and turned off my light. We were swallowed by the darkness as my eyes struggled to adapt to the jarring change. Even still, as hard as they tried their best, there was no light source for my eyes to even adjust to. We were effectively blind now, but so must be the other pony. Now it was a waiting game to see who would mess up first and reveal themselves.

My ears swiveled around, catching the sound of Harp trying to breath as lightly as possible. Of note, was the sound of light scraping, like something hard on concrete. A light dragging, but not metallic. I checked my E.F.S. but it only showed Harp and nopony else. Was it another ghost? The thought of me just being paranoid crossed my mind, but Harp clearly heard it too, her head swiveling to the same direction as mine.

“Miss Vibraphone?” Harp whimpered as she pushed up next to me. “I see something.”

Looking around, I found what she was talking about. Two red orbs hovered in place like eyes, looking, glaring directly at the two of us. The orbs seemed to have a red aura around them, giving them an unnerving glow. The sound of scraping on the floor returned as the orbs moved towards us at a slow, but steady pace.

*phiffft*

Harps gun fired. The rifle making a soft, yet sharp puff sound when it fired, before smashing against the wall. The orbs stopped for a moment, only to renew it’s advance again, moving much faster at us this time. I stepped in front of Harp and fired my dart gun at them. It made another clunk sound, but only that. The orbs got closer, so close that I could practically touch them. I took a swipe with my right hoof, contacting something hard.

The orbs and glow seem to stumble, but then turned at me. From the darkness, something like a hoof smacked me across the cheek.

“Deplorable pony, I wilt not taketh this fight lightly!” An all too familiar voice came from the glowing eyes.

… “Mayall!?” I asked slowly.

Harp turned on her pipbuck lamp, and in front of me was the glowing red eyed, friendly Mirelurk pony. We both looked at each other with our mouths agape. Before I could say any more, I received a hug from Mayall, her chin legs suffocating me a little.

“I wast so worried, along with the others.” Mayall spoke, her voice sounding a bit like water was in it. “There wast tush to receiveth to thee, so we hadst to changeth our plans.”

I pushed the Sparkle-Lurker off of me. “It’s good to see you too, but where are the others?”

Mayalls eyes drifted to the side. “I got separated from those folk.” I frowned at her. “But, I knoweth whither their going.”

Harp trotted over with short steps, and hugged Mayall. “That’s all we need to know.”

I was suddenly blinded by red, having to take a step back. My eyes quickly recovered, and I could see what just happened. Harp was shimmering, likely charging up out of fear, and Mayall, her eyes were now beaming a strong red light, like torches with a red filter. “Really… I don’t know if that is freaky, or funny.”

“What is?” Mayall asked, as she looks at me, and blinding me with her red flashlight eyes. “Wow, I can see very much valorous right now.”

After our very odd reunion, Mayall took us back to a little hiding spot she had made for herself nearby. There, she had our gear stashed away in it, which I was glad hadn’t been lost. I’d kiss her for this if I was, one, were more into mares, and two, more importantly had a fetish for crustaceans. This made me feel quite relieved, as we could now ditch these terrible dart guns and properly defend ourselves.

“ORDER!” Harp squealed as she hugged the Orthrus drone.

She immediately began to charge the robot with her horn. I’d tell her to keep it powered down for now just to help with sneaking about, but something tells me we’re going to need all the firepower we can get. I shuffled through my stuff, but I noticed something off. My revolver was missing.

“Hay, Mayall?” I cringed as her beaming red eyes swept across me again. “where’s my gun, the smaller one?”

She scratched her chin… well ‘fake’ chin. “I think Sweet took the small guns. For safe keeping she told me.”

I sighed. “Of course, she would be safe with her.”

I picked up my air gun and inspected it. No damage, and no ammo inside, just as I’d left it. Rummaging through the pack that had my stuff, I picked out a few bolts and loaded the rifle. Looking over at Mayall, she was busy fiddling with her pipbuck, inserting a talisman implanted holotape. A dull shimmering light wrapped around her, and after a moment, she now looked like a normal pony.

“Hay, Mayall?” I called out. “How can you do that? Doesn’t the talisman need to be charged first?”

She cocked her head for a moment and smiled. “Oh that, one of my crew tinkered with the hoof screen bracelet.”

“Hoof screen what now?” I asked.

She waved leg around with the pip buck on it. “This! Those gents routed the system to power the spell talisman. Can’t useth the other features at which hour the talisman is in useth, but not like I care. Making me behold like a pony, so merit.”

“ehh, gents?” I really wished she would talk normally for once, just for my sake even.

“The crew on the ship, naturally.” Mayall explained. “I hath left those folk a few books on arcano engendering to study. Though, those gents still seem to struggle to understandeth what those gents readeth, those gents has't hath learned lots.”

It sounded dumb, but it also made some sense. “So, the Lurkers on the sub, they’re... what? Arcano engineers now?” It did at least explain how they got the sub up and working.

Mayall nodded. “Their such valorous workers, if 't be true sis wast in charge, the lady would has't those folk brake down the sub for raw materials, the brute.”

“Ya, I can see the bitch turning the sub into a bunch of swords.” I rummaged through the pack until something rattled that brought a smirk to my muzzle. The jar of chill, sitting down at the bottom right where I’d left it. I was already feeling a little relaxed knowing it was there. “So, do you have an idea what your sisters next move is? I rather not see another station get flooded.”

While Mayall thought about it, I opened the jar, and popped six pills into my mouth. I followed it with a bottle of Metro-Cola that I’d also had inside the pack. Alright, that’s one worry out of the way.

“I don’t know.” She responded. “It depends on what happens after. If the ponies cower and hide, she will go on the attack. But if there is retaliation, and there is a chance that she might fail… she may retreat from the islands.”

I thought about it for a moment, and something clicked. “Could both happen? You know, she thinks she has the advantage, and underestimates her enemy?”

“Maybe?” It was hard to read the lurkers face, but she seemed to tense up a little. “Can we not talk about that lady, it’s lacking valor luck.”

“Right, family issues. I can understand that.” I began attaching my gear. Even though I was missing my revolver, I was feeling a lot less helpless and naked wearing everything else. “So, how can we get to the others when there’s lots of ponies in the way.”

“Oh, I learned what to do.” Mayall whipped out an old and slightly moldy map. “This sayeth that this military line is connected to the skyport. We just needeth to steal a train up, or taketh the stairs.” The map ripped in the middle, age having done its damage. Then again, they probably weren’t meant to be handled by lurkers in the first place.

Still, I had to agree. If any tunnel had a direct connection to the skyport, it had to be this one. So we just needed to… “wait, steal a train, how!?” I blurted out.

“Well, th're’s three traineth carts yond can wend up the toweth'r. At least, i hath heard about those folk” Mayall pointed at the map, tearing it a bit more. “Supposedly those gents w're being hath used to moveth supplies from stable 50 to a few oth'r stations, but those gents can eke beest hath used to wend up the skyp'rt”

I quickly became annoyed at the way she talked, before it was just odd, but now it was just getting in the way of the mission. “Can you speak like a normal pony, because I have no fucking clue what you said, and I’m quickly coming to think that beating the scene into a pony is a literally good idea.”

“Sorry,” Mayall said, lowering her head. “I meant that the tracks har not only goes directly to Stable 50, but also all the way up the skyport. The ponys here say that they use the carts to transport materials they need up there, we could use them to get up top the skyport.”

That… that sounded like a good plan. Yet something felt off about it. “Then why is Golden not using it, I don’t hear a contingent of guards paste here?”

She shrugged. “That gent gives off the same vibe as mine own sist'r” She pointed her hoof at her disguised ‘pony’ mouth, and opened her jaw to stick her tongue out. Except what I saw was two pincers coming out of her illusionary face, and her ‘tongue’ consisted of two weird crab mandibles. Now I was surprised that Jade only screamed, and not had a heart attack when she saw that. “If 't be true i wast to guesseth, that gent is trying to keepeth what that gent doest quiet. Nay big moves”

“Good point.” I mumbled. “With the queen in critical condition, any sudden moves would be seen as an attempt to take over. Golden Rule was playing a dangerous game.” I felt my lips curl into a smile. “And his plans are going to come crashing down on him.” I pulled the last of my things from the container and put them on. “Harp, are you ready?”

Her drone, Order, suddenly jumped up at the question. “Milady, you’re hurt. What scoundrel did this to you!?”

Harp hugged the robot. “It’s fine, we just need to get back to the others.”

The robot’s eyes flickered. “Right, lead the way mam, I am at your service.”

She gave it a nod, and turn to the container holding her stuff. “Give me a moment Vibraphone, I just need to ready this rifle. Then, we’ll be off.”

-

-

It didn’t take long for Harp to get ready, as she didn’t have too much stuff to put back on herself. We all shared a Metro-Cola, as Mayall had had an extra few of the caffeinated drinks to go around. After a quick double check, we headed out.

For me, the chill finally kicked in. I was feeling a little more... well, more myself. For a short few minutes, I felt numb all over, and the odd shadow ponies following us turned pink and blue, and some new color I never seen before. It was weird. But, I also never felt so relaxed before, so much so that I had to fight the urge to take a nap on the floor.

“There they are.” Mayall whispered.

“I detect several lifeforms in this direction” Order blurted out a bit louder than I would have liked.

“Turn your robot’s voice box down, before I rip it out!” I whispered sharply to Harp.

“Sorry, I’m still reading the manual for him,” She whispered back, pulling out a thick looking book. “Vocal controls is two more chapters in.”

I’d have face-hoofed, but it would have made a loud sound, and have hurt. “Just skip the other chapters you idiot.”

“I detect hostility towards my master!” The fucking robot spoke loudly.

“Shhhhh!” Harp waved at her robot. “Quiet, you need to be quiet!”

“Silent mode activating.” Order spoke loudly. “Silent mode now active.” The robot’s voice was now much quieter.

Sadly it was too late, and a pair of flashlights were now beaming in our direction.

“Anyone out there?” one stallion called out, casting his flashlight around a bit.

“Come out where we can see you.” A mare yelled as she focused on the direction we were in..

“I don’t like this.” The stallion commented. “That way is to the cursed tunnel.”

“Hmmm.” The mare spoke up, pausing for a moment. “Maybe… maybe it was just our imagination. Let’s just pretend we didn’t hear anything.” One of the beams of light turned from us and moved rapidly up and then down. “Ow, the fuck was that for?”

“We are not robots.” Spoke the stallion “Let's report this, and ask for a team to scout the tunnel.”

“Damn.” The mare cursed. “At least the paperwork is lite with this gig.”

Shit, thanks to the fucking robot, were going to get more soldiers down here. I had to think. Kill them and guarantee that nopony would know we were here. That was definitely an option, and one I’ve already done plenty of times so far. Before I could speak to the others, Mayall stepped away from us, and into the light beams of the solders.

“Sorry to spook you.” Mayall spoke up. “I got a bit lost.”

The lights focused in on her, and the mare whistled. “Well aren’t you a cutie! How did you end up all the day down here?”

The stallion once again bonked his companion on her head with his torch. “Can you stop being a filly fooler for one minute to see that this is odd?” Turning the flashlight to Mayall again, he waved it at her. “Miss, come closer. We are not going to hurt you, but you’re in a restricted area.”

“Right.” Mayall complied. It was still hard to see the two soldiers from where we were, but I could make out that each of them had two Javelin launchers, and all four were currently aimed at Mayall. She may have a hard shell, but those guns would rip through her like paper. “so v'ry s'rry about yond. I did get did stick on the surface, and hadst to wend through an fusty drain'd tunnel yond somehow end'd up h're. ”

The stallion looked at eachother confused, then sighed. “Good thing you’re an earth pony. The fucking stripes deserved their execution with how poorly this station was maintained.”

The torches illuminated Mayall, creating long shadows, which seemed to move unnaturally between the artificial light. “right, those ponies art a real rampallian, a few of those folk hadst actually hath broken in our home once, assault'd mine own moth'r coequal. Moth'r did get so did stress by t yond we hadst to moveth to new home. ”

“My condolence miss, the striped only continue to cause problems for us pure ponies, but now walk slowly.” The stallion spoke softly. “Even if we’re of the same mind, if you don’t follow instructions, we may be forced to shoot.”

“Ya.” The mare spoke up. “And we don’t want to hurt that cute little face of yours. Heck, maybe if you’re good, you can share a cot with me. I’ve been told I’m a good kisser.” Another bonk echoed through the tunnel. “Stop that, you jackass!”

Mayall was now right in front of the two solders. The light from their flashlights was bouncing off her illusionary body and illuminating the two ponies, but neither had seemed to notice it yet. The stallion looked like a big rock, and was basically a unicorn with a coat and mane that was Gray on Grayer. The mare on the other hoof, was a peach pink pegasus with a deep earthy red mane.

“Wow,” the mare spoke, looking disappointed “now that I take a closer look, that outfit is just not rocking at all. Mind taking it off and showing us the goods?”

*Bonk*

“Damnit all, Peach Dream!” The stallion shouted as he raised his flashlight to hit her again. “This is why you were kicked out of the guard!”

“Ya, and fuck those assholes!” Peach Sneered “And when this whole fiasco is sorted, and I’m in command while they’re out on their flanks, they will be begging to lick my cunt to get back in.”

The stallion groaned. “Sorry about that ma’am, names Granit Pounder, and your name?”

“Mayall, and if you need me to take this off, I don’t mind.” The two soldiers looked at each other, and back at Mayall, who was already undressing. Over her illusionary pony form, she dropped her oversized and shabby green fatigues to the floor. Underneath was a pristine white and blue uniform, it almost shined in the light. “I recently found this outfit, and it’s just too cute to get dirty.” She looked like a captain from an old equestrian navy photo, all she was missing was a hat… of which she pulled out and put on.

“Wow, cloths like that would sell a lot to a collector.” The mare spokes. “Where did you get it?”

She motioned with her hoof for the mare to come closer, and the mare leaned in.

“Peach, don’t!” Granit shouted

*Bam!* One of Mayall’s chin claws came out from her illusionary pony face, and cold clocked the mare. I watched as the mare went ridged and stayed down for the count. The stallion didn’t seem as shocked at watching his partner get knocked out, and rushed Mayall. But she moved to counter him, locking hooves. The stallion winced as blood came out from his hooves, while Mayall didn’t budge an inch.

“The fuck, are you?” Granit spoke

“Not a pony.” Mayall responded, but before she could make a move, the stallion shifted his weight, and threw her to the side. He charged her again, but as soon as he got closer, Mayall whipped her tail around, hitting his face, and sending blood upwards. The stallion tripped over, and fell to the side. He tried to get up again, but Mayall kicked him in the head, and finally the stallion stopped moving.

“That was amazing Mayall!” Harp called out as she trotted over to the lurker. “Where did you learn to fight so well?”

I trotted after them, keeping my eye on the robot in case it wanted to bring more trouble our way. “I’ve got to agree, that was some fine moves.” Not that I want chin-claw-thingies, but an extra hoof to suckerpunch somepony could’ve proved useful more than once so far.

Mayall blushed as her illusionary pony body flickered and faded, leaving her mirelurk form bare. Her navy uniform unnaturally hanged off her armored plates, but it felt like she still wore them proudly. “Shot, Bento did warn me that the magic would fade if I came into contact with another pony.” She muttered to herself. “No matter, it should recharge soon.”

“Mayall, are you okay?” Harp asked, getting closer, and reaching out a hug.

The mirelurk pony flinched, pulling up a leg to defend herself. “I’m fine.” She lowered her leg, and took a deep breath. “Sis liked to practice on me, so I eventually learned how to fight by watching her as she beat me up.” Her eyes widened up for a moment. “Wait, I won a fight! A real fight!”

“Ya, you kicked their ass,” I fought the urge to face hoof. “And while we’re proud of you, we should get moving.”

“I’ve never felt so strong before!” Mayall spoke loudly. “We should celebrate.”

“No, we should get moving.” I said sternly at the now excitable Lurker. “Now.”

“Uhh, what hit me...” Peach spoke as she slowly got back onto her hooves. I readied my gun at the mare. “Granit, where you…” She looked straight at Mayall, and froze. The two didn’t move for a moment before Mayall stepped forward. Before Peach could do anything, Mayall bumped her nose with hers. Which seemed cute, until Mayall opened her claw snout, and tilted her head forward a bit more. Peach attempted to scream, but her voice was muffled. I could see her eyes widen with fear and then roll back into her head before passing out.

“Did I make a mistake?” Mayall asked, with her fake snout open, revealing her mandibles inside. I had to fight the urge to puke up the Metro-Cola I had earlier, as I stared into her gaping maw. Closing up her… face, Mayall now looked a lot more tolerable to look at. “I thought ponies like the style of kissing from the old country of Prance?”

“Oh Celestia, I think I’m going to really puke.” I blurted out. “Can you never do that again?” Poor Peach, she was going to have nightmares for the rest of her life.

“Sorry, I got too excited.” I watched as Mayall trotted past me. I had to make a mental note about her, and her kind. She could hit a pony with the claws on her face, and I bet those claws could do other things too. Also, her hooves, they looked like a pony’s, but they tapered to a sharp point at the end, meaning when she and the Stallion had locked hooves, she’d also been stabbing him at the same time.

Then came her tail. While I’d seen a lurker tale before, she could use hers like a weapon by wiping it, which had actually left a nasty cut on the stallion that I’d missed during the fight. It now made sense how her kind were able to nearly wipe out an entire station, even without weapons. They themselves had evolved highly effective natural weapons to use, which was something I’d have to remember for the future. If I were to come to blows with her sister again, going hoof to hoof would be a death sentence.

Stripping the two ponies of their javelin launchers, we followed Mayall as she trotted further into the station. In what looked to be a loading dock, there were three trains. The three were not of the old-world design. Rather, all three of them were made of rusty metal carts that had been welded together around what looked like a large talisman powered steam boilers. Crude, but it looked like it must have worked well enough to still be in service now.

The train itself was not much to look at, gutted, with the top and much of the walls removed, a pony would have to get low to the ground for cover. The only spot for any pony really to fight from was the engine, it being the only thing with an actual cabin and some semblance of cover. A small ramp lead up onto the closest train, so I decided to check that one first.

As we got closer, I saw something move from within the closest cabin car. Pulling up my rifle, I took a deep breath. “Show yourself or I fire!”

Everything became still, like the tunnel had suddenly became dead. I could hear the blood moving through my ears, which only agitated me.

“Don’t shoot!” a mare yelled out. “Please, don’t shoot.”

“Then show yourself.” I commanded.

“I can’t, we can’t.” the mare responded.

We didn’t have time for games, so I charged my magic armor talisman. A soft blue light formed a grid around my body, and faded. It was not going to stop anything big, but it would give me the time to fire back if they have smaller guns.

“Hooves up, or I will kill you!” I slowly crept forward and onto the train with my rifle held at the ready. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew what I was to do if I didn’t see guns on the floor. The first pony to try anything was going to have a very bad day, and a hell of a hole in their neck.

Sharply, I turned and aimed into the enclosed cabin.

…

…

…

Three ponies with collars on looked to be trapped in a cage barely big enough to hold them all. But not just three normal ponies, no. They were three mirage ponies.

My rifle fell loose from my grasp. “The fuck is this?”

A mare in the cage who looked thinner than she should be, smiled at me. “Like I said, we can’t really come out. We don’t exactly have the key.”

The two other ponies got up on their hooves, one slipping as she tried. All three of them looked malnourished, and more than a bit dehydrated. They looked at me with sickly eyes, yet with a spark of hope in them.

“Miss Vibraphone, what’s the matter?” Harp asked as she got onto the train. I looked back just to see her gasp, and pushed passed me. “By Celestia, are you alright!?”

The mare that spoke before motioning for the to others to sit back down. “Could be better. Fucking deep dwellers keep forgetting to give us our food and water. At least our cage has a hole to shit in, but they keep threatening to plug it up.”

Harp put her hoof onto the cage. “Don’t worry, we will get you out of there. There’s other survivors, we can take you to them.”

The mare weekly looked at Harp, still struggling to smile. “Really, and who are you?”

I placed my hoof onto Harp’s shoulder, and when she looked back at me, I shook my head. It would take too much time, and was far too risky to double back from here get them back to the refugees.

“Can we do anything for them?” Harp asked.

“I…” I shook my head again. “No, we need to get this train moving, we need to get to the top of the skyport as soon as possible.”

She looked away from me, and I could hear her grinding her teeth. “Still, there should be something. Leaving them in here would be too cruel.”

The mare in the cage tapped at the floor under her. “There’s one thing. We could use some food and water. It’s been, well, I don’t know how long, but were so very hungry and terribly thirsty.”

Harp nodded, and rummaged through her pack, pulling out four bottles of Metro-Cola and a bag of dried pineapple chips. She shoved the rations through a small slit, and the three ponies mediately shared it among each other. Harp then traced her hoof along the cage, and quickly began to look worried. After looking over the cage, she then looked back over to me. “There’s no door!”

“Of course not.” The mare spoke up. “This has always been our home, so why would we need a door?”

Indeed, there was no door. It was easy to see from where I sat. It was right about then that it struck me. The three ponies in there, they were never meant to come out, not alive that is. I’d been mistaken in my assessment, thinking talismans powered the boiler. No, they had been welded inside permanently, to live out their lives in this cage just power this train. How barbaric could somepony be to do something like this? Orthrus had supposedly wiped out this practice decades ago, and all the other islands signed an agreement banning it!

I swallowed the slow burning hatred I was feeling like acid in my veins, all the while bile was bubbling up from the sheer disgust I felt from all this. “I really hate to ask this, but can you three help get us to the top of the skyport?” This felt… wrong to ask of them, but we were just too short on time as it was.

Harp whipped her head to me, almost snapping. “They’re in no condition to do any such thing.” Her gaze lowered at me, and I could tell she was getting angry. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because.” I had to take another breath, keep myself calm. “Because that’s their job.” I pointed my hoof at them. “Princess Harp, this is what you call a Slave Generator. Those three are the trains power source.”

“It’s fine.” The mare in the cage spoke, sipping at the cola in her hooves. “I actually forgot what cola tasted like. It tastes wonderful, thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I’ll get you out of here.” Harp spoke as she put her hoof back on the cage.

“A-and the others?” the mare asked with a stammer.

Harp nodded. “All three of you, I’ll get you out of here” The mare in the cage shook her head, and pointed her hoof to the side. Harp looked over in the direction she was pointing at.

“There are three trains Princess.” I reminded her. “And all three of them looked the same.”

Harp shook her head. “Then we’ll save them all!”

“We can’t, we don’t have time.” I spoke up, forcibly accepting the glare she shot at me. “Trust me. This is deplorable, but we have a job to do that is bigger than this.”

The sound of hooves getting on the train behind me broke the straining match. “I don’t want to be that pony,” Mayall spoke up. “but I think we should hurry up.”

“I know.” I snapped.

Mayall pulled out a walkie talky, and turned it on. A burst of static filled the air for a moment, but then the voice of a stallion called out.

“I repeat, Granit, come in. Peach, come in. You too better not be fooling around. Damnit, I’m sending ponies to your location now, this is not the time to be playing pranks.” Mayall clicked off the radio, and put it on a bench.

“Sooo, how much time do you think we have?” She asked.

I groaned. “Not enough.” I quickly trotted over to the cage. “This train, it can go up the skyport, right?”

The mare in the cage paused for a short moment, and then nodded. “One of the train carts have gone up there before, so it’s possible, but we’ve never been there.”

“Right.” I said with a sigh, “We will try to get you out of there, but you have to power that engine, and get us up the skyport.”

She nodded again. “You need to get the blast door open, and then have the rail line switch the junction to the us the right tracks.” She said weekly.

As I trotted to get off the train, Harp stopped me. “I don’t feel comfortable using them like this, is there a better way?”

“Like what, hoofing it up to the skyport?” I said irritatedly. “Look, I don’t like the idea of using a slave engine, but it’s our only option right now.” I hopped off, and onto the ground. “If you can help them, then do it.”

Quickly, I trotted over the short distance to the control booth. Inside was a mess of buttons and terminal screens. Messing with what looked like the main control terminal, I found the rail line options and door control. It looked like from here, we could actually go to most of the other stations, though it didn’t tell me if the tunnels were blocked off or not. Shaking my head, I didn’t have time to ponder. I selected the option to switch over to the lines needed to connect to the skyport, and then for the blast doors to open.

“Right, time to go.” I muttered to myself.

Trotting out of the control room, I was greeted by the sound of rusted metal rubbing up on rusted metal. As the heavy steel blast doors slowly opened, I rushed over to the train, and saw the three caged ponies charging the train’s talismans. The engine itself looked like it was a simple steam boiler, with heating talismans likely attached to a metal rods that boil the water. The heating talismans started to glow with power, and even the boiler casing started to feel warm from where I was standing in the cab. But even with as fast as they had started to boil the water, we still weren't moving fast enough, or at all yet for that matter.

“How long is it going to take to get this train moving?” I asked the ponies in the cage.

The mare inside the cage shrugged. “A minute or two, but it will take a little longer to pick up speed.”

“Right.” I looked over at one of the javelin launchers we had taken. “Mayall, arm yourself with these. If we don’t get moving before Golden’s hench ponies get here, we’re going to need to fight them off.”

“Miss Vibraphone?” Harp spoke up. I turned to see her holding an angle grinder. “I might be able to help them with this.”

“Don’t wait for me to give you approval,” I rolled my eyes. “If you can help, just do it.”

I readied my rifle, pointing it at a stairway which I had pegged as the likely entrance to the rest of the station above. Unfortunately for us, it was facing away from our position, giving them a formidable defensive position to fire at us from. The screeching of the blast door, and the revving of the angle grinder Harp had didn’t help with my focus, not to mention it was blocking out any other sound that could warn us of the enemies’ approach.

Mayall set herself up near me in the train cart, with a javelin launcher at the ready, and the other three leaning up next to her. Her cloth, were a bit scuffed, but still far cleaner than most clothes found in the wild. But like everything with the sparkle-lurkers, looking odd was only a starting point with them. I was about to ask her about her outfit, but a glint of light from the far end of the room got my attention. I could see a door open, and the form of ponies rushing through.

“Get ready!” I called out.

“What!?” Mayall yelled back.

“Oh don’t fucking start that joke, just shoot when you see them!” I yelled back.

“Firing ho!” she saluted.

The first pony rounded the corner, in a tan uniform, and two javelin launchers on his sides. An explosion of air came from Mayall’s weapon as her javelin flew through the air. The shot was too low, and the javelin hit the ground just in front of the now wide eyed pony. The javelin slid under him and slammed into the back wall, sending flakes of concrete flying out as the pony dove back around the corner again.

“To arms!” a pony called out. “We’re under attack!”

“Fine shooting Mayall!” I snidely chastised her. “But do aim a bit higher next time.”

“Ya, it went right under him.” She said, giggling a little. “I think he may have pissed himself a little.”

I ignored her, and looked down the sights of my Lelantos. All I could think of was that a scope would have been nice as I lined my shot. With a puff of air, I fired at a pony who was leaning out too far. It connected, hitting their shoulder. The pony reared back as blood spouted from their side. They were quickly dragged screaming back behind their cover again.

A few of the ponies popped out and counter fired at us. I pushed myself back behind the limited cover that the cab provided as javelins slammed into the train. Their sharp points weren’t the best at piercing armor, but they were good enough to jam just a bit of their tips through. Not the most effective weapon they could have brought, but still something not the be underestimated. Case and point, I winced as a tip came through right where my head had been only a moment ago.

“Miss Vibraphone!” Mayall called out to me again.

“This better not be another Jo…” Well fuck, the lurker had been speared through her leg, pinning her to the train. “Just keep her head low, and I’ll get you free.”

A few more javelins pincered the side of the train, one nearly hitting Mayall’s face. She gave me a worried look. With my rifle, I peeked over the side of the train, seeing some of the soldiers advancing on or position. We did not have time for this.

“Fuck this shit!” Entering tactical S.A.T.S., I lined up two shots, one at each of the two of the advancing ponies. The bolts flew from the barrel of my rifle, gliding through the air in the spell’s grasp. The first one only grazed the pony I’d aimed at, forcing her to take cover. The second pony hadn’t been so lucky as the bolt punched into the pony’s head. The impact made a small clean hole in the front, but blew out the back of their head in a spray of gore.

I ducked as the other soldiers retaliated. A few more Javelins slammed into the train, but so did small arms fire. I rolled over to get closer to Mayall, hoping I could just pull her free. Peering over the side again, I activated S.A.T.S. again, and lined up two more shot. The ponies were closer now, but also more on guard, one took cover behind some old crates, and another was jumping from one set of cover to the next.

The first pony was considerably unlucky, as the bolt penetrated the old crate like paper. The metal arrow stuck into the stallion’s neck, ripping out his throat as the pony instinctively pushed himself away from the box. The second pony got clipped in the foreleg as he rolled into more solid cover than his friend had been behind.

Another barrage of gunfire slammed into the side of the train cart, and with a few more javelins sticking into the cart. We were starting to look more like a pincushion than a train here, I was quickly losing spots to comfortably shoot from. With another roll across the cab, I was now with Mayall, and I saw that my original plan was not going to work.

The Javelin’s head was barbed, meaning that I was going to have to push it through, and pulling her out might destroy her leg beyond recovery.

“How bad is it?” Mayall asked, keeping herself from looking at the wound.

“You got harpooned, we’re going to have to cut it off of you.” I looked back at Harp, who was still griding the cage open. “We need to get out of here now, or we’re dead.”

“Just a minute!” Harp yelled back, “Give me just one more minute!”

I groaned and stood up on my two hind legs with my rifle in my forehooves. Entering S.A.T.S. I queued up two more shots. I placed one at a pony charging out position, because with him out in the open, I had a ninety five percent chance to hit dead on. Another pony further in the back was currently lining up a shot at me. I could que up another shot on them, but they might have just started to aim, or were already pulling the trigger. Feeling it was two dangerous to take another shot, I picked to dodge, selecting S.A.T.S. to have me jump to the side.

The bolt fired from my rifle, sailing cleanly through the air and hitting the runny pony between the eyes. A javelin flew past me right as my body shuffled to the left with the dodge I’d cued up. Good thing I made that call!

As the spell came to an end, the first pony fell face first and tumbled over dead. The pony who’d shot at me looked a bit shocked as I lined up my last shot at her, but she ducked back behind her cover before I could get her in my sights. Entering S.A.T.S. again, it located another pony trying to flank me. The mare didn’t have time to react as I twisted around and shot a bolt down at her. The bolt bolt flew into her head, and made a thunk sound, I could tell it gotten stuck in the metal floor, as blood spurted out of the pony's head, yet their head did not move, as though glued to the floor.

Another wave of gunfire hit the train, and I was forced back onto my haunches to avoid it. There was at least five more of them, and likely even more coming to re-enforce them. I had little time before they would overrun us, so I had to act quickly before they got to hoof to hoof range. Opening the cylinder of my rifle, I attempted to reload, but the sound of hooves on metal revalidated through the train.

Looking passed Mayall, a stallion had boarded and was training his gun at us. Grabbing a Javelin Launcher with my claw, quickly rested it on the trains side, then entered S.A.T.S. and queued up a snapshot at the stallion. Even in the slowed state, I could feel the launchers kick as the javelin flew out. The stallion could only look on in horror, this happening in a split second for him, longer for me. The Javelin penetrated his head, but instead of blowing out the back like with my bolts, the javelin took the head with it, flying off and leaving a headless corpse behind, blood splattering onto the floor in one big spurt when the body hit the floor. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I touched my own neck, it still feeling cold.

Dropping the spent launcher, I got up and peeked up over my cover. Immediately I had to throw myself fall back to the ground as more small arms fire battered the train. This time I‘d counted over six ponies aiming at us. We weren’t going to last much longer against these odds.

“We need to go, now!” I yelled out.

“On it!” Harp yelled back as she slipped inside the cage through small hole she’d managed to grind.

“What are you doing!?” I shouted, but Harp ignored me and placed her hooves on the slave generator.

The train then burst to life, whistle howling, and the slow-moving pistons now clanging fast. Metal on metal grinded as the wheels of the train turned, and we began to move. A few javelins hit the cage, ripping through the wire mesh and bars.

I stood up and entered S.A.T.S. as I picked up both remain javelin launchers. Quickly, I picked my targets, two soldiers who were currently lining up their shots at where Harp was. My accuracy was listed at %34 and %42, which was less than idea. But then again, I didn’t need to hit them, just force them to duck down.

Letting loose, the javelins flew at their targets. The first one barely missed, smashing into the ground in front of the pony, and sending shrapnel of concrete into their face. The second one actually hit the pony, hitting them directly in the side. The force and speed of the javelin practically tore the pony into two, but they probably weren’t alive long enough to even feel it rip them apart. I had to duck back down as more gunfire flew my way. I winced as a shot ricochet in the cab and barely grazed my cheek.

“U’mm, miss Vibraphone?” Mayall called out. I looked up at her, and saw that another pony had boarded the train, and was running at us.

Pulling out my knife, I charged at her and entered S.A.T.S. once more. Two swipes was all I needed to que up. My body lunged forward as the spell went to work, but the mare sidestepped me. With a swift jab of her hoof, she easily knocked the knife out of my mouth.

“Bitch got no skill!” The mare mocked me, following it with a kick. It hit me hard, knocking me back a step and putting me on the defencive. In a moment, she was on top of me. The earth pony mare slammed her hooves at my face and all I could do was focus on blocking her blows with my legs.

“Use this!” a voice called out, and something slid to the side of me. Both the mare and I stopped to look at the angle grinder that Harp had been using. The mare tried to kick it away, but I entered S.A.T.S. and selected to telepathically grab it. It all happened fast as the spell again went to work, and the next thing I knew, the blade of the angle grinder was resting on the mare’s belly.

The mare’s face turned to shock as her eyes pleaded with me. “Mercy?”

“Like the kind you gave to the ponies living here?” I glared at her as she shook her head. “Have your mercy!” Activating my magic, it flowed from me to the angle grinder, and blood sprayed downwards as it cut into her. Pulling the blade up, I cut into her face, and kicked her off of me. The mare gurgled and spasmed as she painfully bled out.

“I’ll kill you!” I turned to see a stallion charging at me.

*ZAP!*

The stallion fell over, smoke rising from his mane. Behind him was Harp’s dronem, Order.

“Threat eliminated Ma’am.” It spoke as sparks of electricity came off the havering robot.

I sighed, as the train left the station for the open rail line. As it moved, it hit a turn with a jerk, and began slowly ascending. I looked over at the mare I had hit with the grinder. She was no longer breathing, and her bloody guts slid out on the floor from her opened belly. I felt a lurch in my stomach, feeling sicker than I had before. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out the pills of diluted chill, and hoofed for more, and then opened a bottle of water to guzzle it.

“Can’t blame you.” The voice of one of the caged ponies hit my ears. “That was a gnarly scene, I’d feel sick too if I had the strength too.” behind me was a mirage pony mare, who was holding herself up on one of the benches, looking very thin and week.

Catching my breath, I raised up a hoof at the mare. “Sorry, one thing at a time.” Turning to Mayall, I picked up the Angle Grinder. “This is going to hurt.”

“Wait you fool, I need my Leg!” Mayall pleaded with me.

I looked at her with an irritated stare. “Shut it. I’m just going to cut the javelin, then we’re going to pull the rest of it out.” She shivered as I cut her free from the side of the train cart.

“You know, I think I’ll be just fine with this staying right there.” The lurker was being difficult, but too slow to resist. I clamped onto the javelin with my right leg, and put my left hoof on her leg. “You seriously don’t have to do...” With a yank, the javelin slipped out, and blue blood seeped out of the hole in her leg. “- FUCKING BITCH!” She snapped at me.

“There, take a healing potion and you’ll be fine.” I opened up my bag, and let her dive in. She quickly grabbed a bottle, and downed the content of it… then fell over. The bottle rolled over to me, giving me a good look at it. It read “Super-Healing potion” right, that stuff tends to knock ponies out for a few minutes. At least she’ll be fine once she wakes up again.

I turned to address the mare, and saw her with a breathing mask on. Oh, right! I quickly grabbed my gasmask, and put it on my face. “Thanks for the aid.” I told her.

“Think of it as paying back a favor.” She nodded, “Though, how do you plan on getting out of here? The skyport is not connected to any other stations, so what was your plan?”

I shrugged, feeling a lot calmer now. “We’ll wing it. It’s not the first time I’ve had to.”

“Hog Shit.” She shouted, “The Orphic Kingdome keeps everything on lockdown. Yeah we got away, but they're just going to be waiting for us up there.”

“Ehh, can’t be worse than the Republic, and I got away from those assholes.” Ya, probably should have taken just two more pills, not four. But I was feeling a lot better.

“What?” The mare responded flatly.

I rolled my eyes and trotted over to her. “I got this, but I want to know, how did this train kick into high gear?” I picked up my rifle, reloading and powering it. I looked over at Harp, who was still powering the train. “Did she do this?”

The mare nodded. “She must be very magical. She’s doing the work of six ponies all on her own.” The mare paused for a moment, and lowered her gaze at me. “Who is she?”

I sighed, at least it explained the sudden power boost of the rail gun back on the big island. It was odd how such a weapon powered itself so much even with three mirage ponies. “She is princess Harp Melody. I’m currently taking her home.”

“You’re shitting me, right!?” The mare did a double take. “Huh, never thought my train would carry royalty on it.”

“Nope, she’s the real deal, mirage pony princess.” I answered. “Now keep your head down. Once were at the top, you are going to need to hide until I get to my friends.”

“Yes ma’am” The mare saluted, almost falling down. “By the way, name’s Shakuhachi. And once again, thanks for the save.”

I sighed, and waved for her to just sit down. Checking my rifles pressure gauge, it was reaching the red line, so I eased off of it. I’ll have at least have six bolts to shoot at any welcoming committee there to receive us, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to reload fast enough to fire off a few more. The problem is that if their waiting for us, they will have a barikad or something ready, possibly some explosive tipped javelin launchers, that definitely stop us in our tracks

Turning my attention to the three dead ponies on board, their sight was less than calming for me, so I proceeded to push them off the sides. The two stallions were easy enough, but the mare, her guts dragged. And when I did get force her off the train, the guts caught on any hook or burr like object on the train, dragging along the ground as we drove along.

Picking up my knife, I had to cut them loose one by one, the sick smell of death not once giving me a rest, so thick it was nauseating. I even saw a glint of the Celestia damned shadow ponies, though only in the corner of my vision. I could feel them watching me as I cut the mare free from the train. With the last of the guts stripped, the dragging sound was replaced with the noise of the running boiler and steel wheels on the track below.

With the mare cut free, I felt a moment of peace, though nothing was still as the train moved. Even though the gasmask, things were feeling cleaner the further we went. Soon enough, we’d...

*Thunk!*

A javelin lodged itself into the back of the train, sticking almost all the way through. Peeking out through the side of the train, I saw one of the other three trains just around the bend behind us. I pulled back as another javelin flew just passed my head.

“Alright, how the fuck are they catching up to us!” I shouted.

“Probably,” Shakuhachi spoke up. “It just possible that they have more slaves, and charged spark batteries to run their trains.”

I sighed. Of course, they would! It’s their trains, they would know how to work them right. “Alright, keep your head down. I’ll take care of this.” Peeking out to the side of the train, my rifle at the ready, I got a pony in my sights. But the mare noticed me and quickly ducked behind the safety of the train’s boiler. Wait, I remember seeing her before.

“Fuck” I growled to myself. It was the sniper from before, the mare was ready for me. Keeping my eye on the train, I waited for her to show herself again. Her train was on the outside track from ours, so the massive boiler gave her generous cover inside her cab so long as she was still trailing us.

“Other side!” Shakuhachi yelled, and I pulled myself from my position, and rolled to the other side. Poking my head out, the other train was gaining speed on us. At least this one I had a better view of, though no heads were poking out.

I groaned in frustration as the next train cart got closer, “This is starting to feel like a specters tall tale, what next, are thing going to bring out some tanke on rails?” I had to bite my tongue, to keep me from laughing. “And I’m not a specter.” No I was not, but I did have their program in my pipbuck. “Hay Shakuhachi, you want to see a prospective Specter candidate kick some ass?”

“Didn’t you already do that?” She responded.

“Point taken.” I readied my rifle. It was now or never, and if I let those trains get too close, it was definitely going to be never.

Pushing myself to stand on two hooves, I pointed my rifle between the two trains, hoping they wouldn’t expect what I was going to do. Entering S.A.T.S. again, I noticed that the sniper was looking at me, and I immediately picked her as my first target. Next was a dumbass stallion on the other train who was standing completely in the open. So I queued up a shot at each and let the spell resolve.

The fucking mare rolled out of sight as I fired. I watched in frustration as the bolt bounced off the trains thick boiler hull. The stallion was not so lucky. The round drifted high and punched through the side of his head, blowing out the other side of his skull as he fell off his train. I entered S.A.T.S. immediately as bullets began to fly at my direction, but on a moving train, they were not as accurate as when they’d shot at us before. This also went for me as the hit percentage kept going up and down as the other train got closer. Again, I picked my targets, choosing another pair of ponies who were either setting up to attack, or seeking cover from firing. One mare got a bolt in the eye, another stallion headed for cover got a bolt in the leg. I re-entered S.A.T.S. The now closer train betraying his cover, giving a slightly better shot at him. The stallion I legged got another bolt in the chest, and I fired at the sniper on the other train again, not giving her a chance to hit me.

Ducking back down, I reloaded my rifle, six shots at a time was annoying, but they had at least been effective shots. Giving my rifle a good charge, got back up as I entered S.A.T.S., the train was now getting side by side with us, as its engns screemed. Seeing a head poke up from above the engin, I firing at the sniper again. She fired back at me, but missed. For her failed effort, I saw the bolt graze her face as she retreated.

Turning my attention to the other trains first cart, I fired at a stallion reaching to try and board our train. In slow motion he lurched over and fell, going under the wheel of his train, and being tuned into bits that flew out into the darkness. Four shots left. I turned to the sniper again, but the dodgey bitch ducked back again. So I once again turned back to the inside train.

The other train was now caught up to us, it’s engine was so close now I could tap it with the barrel of my gun. A mare jumped aboard, and I took what little cover the train still had left after all the javelins and shots it had taken. Still, it was enough to stop the small caliber bullet the mare fired from her gun before it jammed. Entering S.A.T.S. again, I fired a bolt that passed through her neck. Snapping back into the spell, I managed to catch another stallion jumping aboard, though the bolt only grazed him. Two shots left.

“Well fuck! Watch out for incoming stray fire, Shakuhachi!” I yelled back.

I saw the stallion aim down the train line, but there was no fucking way I was going to let him harm Harp. Entering S.A.T.S. again, I shot my last to bolts at him. He was close enough that the percentage to miss was non-existent, and both shots hit him square in the chest. They impacted with enough force that they actually knocked him straight off the back of the train.

“I’m going to need to slow them down.” I spoke out loud as I loaded my rifle with more bolts. “You go up and help Harp, got it?” I looked back to see Shakuhachi with a javelin through her back, pinning her to the floor.

“I’ll get right on that.” The emaciated mare wheezed. “Just need to get to my hooves, which seems harder than it should.”

“Fuck, fuck no.” A bullet ricochet near my head forcing me to duck. “We didn’t free you just so you can die.”

Shakuhachi chuckled weekly. “The princess freed me, you just killed the ponies who would stop her.” The smirk on her face quickly faded. “I was probably going to die soon anyway, so this was a good last fuck you to those ass hats.”

“Just sit tight, I’ll cut you free once this is over.” I told her.

“No problem.” Shakuhachi responded. “Not going anywhere.”

I got back onto my two hooves and aimed at the sniper, only to find she was waiting for me. Then everything went white.

*Thunk*

A javelin grazed me, sinking into the side of the train cart behind me. My vision recovered from the jarring change just in time to see the sniper roll behind her little nest of metal. Behind her, the blue sky towered above the tunnel entrance, and the island winds now howled passed us.

I didn’t take the time to see the sight, and entered S.A.T.S. the bitch appearing behind a sheet of metal. I remembered something important about my rifle, about being able to perform a full power shot. It made me wonder what could happen, so I selected the option, and fired. My rifle kicked hard, harder than it ever had before. My vision was forced onto the bolt as it flew through the air, and shattered the metal plate that the sniper hid behind.

“Fuck you, and fuck your hiding spot.” I growled as I waited to see if she’d pop up again or not.

I never got to see, being forced to duck down just in time to avoided getting hit by another shot from the other train. That shot cued me in on a pony who’d boarded our train and was currently rushing at me. A swift kick from Mayall sent the pony tumbling off, the lurker quickly getting back under cover.

Peaking over, the engine of the inside train was now passing me, and now I could see the mirage ponies powering it. That one, it had four ponies inside, and a bunch of spark batteries connected to it. Looking back at Shakuhachi, she was no longer moving, probably dead now. Shaking my head, I knew what I had to do, we didn’t have time to slow down… or show mercy, or at least in the nice way. My rifle, half power now, but that’s all I needed.

Standing up, I pointed my rifle at the engine, and bit my tongue. S.A.T.S. made it easy, too easy. Two shots, two mirage ponies hit the ground. Ducking down to avoid getting shot back, I could see that the train was now slowing down, but only a little. Peeking over as I charged my rifle, my eyes met the other two mirage ponies in the trains cage. The two ponies looked at me, no hate for what I had just done, no fear for what I might do, only a slow nod in acceptance. At least they could hate me for this, but no, they accepted it. And once more, I re-entered S.A.T.S. and S.A.T.S. made it far too easy for what I had to do. Two more shots, and to more innocent ponies died.

I dropped my rifle as I ducked back down, the other train was now quickly decreasing in speed, enough that I doubt that we had to worry about meeting them at the top of the skyport. I saw as one pony attempting to board, but the new change of speed tripped them up. With wobbly hooves that failed to keep their balance, they fell off and slid under the train. I hoped they fell under the wheels, more mercy than what was coming to them.

“Oh Goddess!” Harp cried from up the train as I got myself to my hooves. She was still powering the train, but one of the other ponies who’d been helping her was pinned to the engine by a javelin through his head.

I poured all my magic into my rifle, so much so that it felt like my own life was leaching out of me. I had one bolt in the rifle, and I was going to make it hurt. The pressure gage slowly reached the red line, and I sprung up on two hooves, entering S.A.T.S. The sniper had me dead to rights, but I had my pipbuck. As the sniper’s javelin left her gun, I side stepped the projectile and watching as it sailed only an inch away from hitting me.

That fucking mare, her face bloodied as frustration consumed her, rolled behind the train’s boiler again. To bad this time I was not aiming for her. In S.A.T.S., I targeted one of the wheels of her train. Thankfully this was of old world construction, old and corroded after two hundred years. The bolt bounced off with little done, it not powerful to do much to stop it. But my rifle did have a full blast mode, So it concentrated all I could into the rifle, its gage hitting the red line. S.A.T.S. having yet to recover, I aimed down the iron sights, and pulled the trigger.

The force of the blast pushed me back, almost off my hooves, a the bolt made a loud ping as it slammed into the trains weal. A few sparks flew, making the sniper’s train shake as the weal disintegrated into metal fragments. But it was not enough, the train not stopping, and for my effort, another javelin flew passed my head. At least the off balance shaking made it harder on the sniper, a small blessing.

Frustrated, I pointed my right leg at the wheel and opened S.A.T.S. one more time. The ripper bullet I’d been given was still in my leg, and it felt like there was no better time to us it. The box like gun extended out of my leg, and a short, stubby barrel moved forward and locked into place. I could feel my magic siphoning into it, and then with a sharp bang, I was knocked back onto my hunches. Quickly pulling myself up, I saw the other train, peppered with tiny holes. And though I’d missed the smug sniper mare with every single fragment, I hit plenty of others important bits around her.

The sniper’s train violently shook as even more sparks erupted under it. I saw the sniper peek out, unable to hold her javelin launcher anymore as she was clinging to her spot. The train made a loud squeal right before it lost another wheel on the same side as the last one. It dipped forward, digging into the tracks and sending wood and metal flying violently around. THis forced the train to derail, the engine going into the skyport, as the rest of the train flung over the edge, dragging the front end down with it. It disappeared from sight as we rounded the skyport, even the crash sounded far away, only its echo reaching my ears.

This also meant that at least seven innocent ponies were killed by me. Mirage pony slaves at that. A hollow pit at my stomach formed, even if I knew they were dead ponies trotting, I had still been their executioner.

Now, all I could hear was the sound of the train rolling along its tracks, and the wind blowing past us. Peering over the side of the train, and down at the island, we had already gotten high up, enough to make my stomach lurch a little. From here I could see so much, a virtual field of green jungles, with a few crumbling black structures poking out of them. The ruins of the old world, reclaimed by nature. Beyond that, a vast blue ocean, stretching beyond the horizon.

Pulling myself away, I turned my attention to Harp. The poor mare was still trying to charge the train on her own. Outside of the cage was the only surviving mirage pony slave, looking out into the vast horizon from the edge of the armored cab.

The pony tilted forward like they were trying to get a better look, and then they were just… gone. Just like that, like they were never standing there in the first place. Worst yet, I didn’t feel sad, mildly shocked, mostly anger, a controlled annoyed anger.

“After going through all that effort, ya go on ahead, throw yourself off the train.” I grumbled to myself.

“What was that?” Harp called out.

“Nothing.” I huffed and shook my head. “Why don’t you take a break. I’ll handle the engine for a bit.”

Harp crawled out of the hole she made, and gasped. “By Celestial, what happened” Her eyes darted around. “So much blood” she whispered.

“Ya…” I patted her on the shoulder. “They wanted a war, I gave them a war.”

I had to let go of my saddle bag to even fit into the cage. Even though I felt warn out enough to warrent a full night’s rest, I focused myself to power the slave engine. Next to me was the other dead mirage pony, still stuck to the engine. Their skin had turned black, and sizzled as it was slowly burnt the boiler’s heat. The train lost quite a bit of speed as I powered it, but we were still making good time. We would be at the skyport soon enough.

*Tap tap tap*

I looked to my side to see a pegasus holding a badge to the side of the cage. “Orphic Royal Guard, in the name of the queen, you need you to drop all weapons and hostilities.”

I looked back at the blood stained train carts, and saw a few more pegasus with energy rifles pointed at Harp and Mayall. I looked back at the pony with the badge, taking a closer look at it. ‘Stable 50 Security’.

“Wait, aren’t you with Golden Rule?” I asked.

The pegasus mare huffed. “Prince Golden is currently being contained, now will you comply?”

“Fine, just don’t shoot, I’ve got to keep this engine running.” The mare nodded, and I returned my attention to the train engine. It was annoying to be caught before we even got to the top, but what can be worse than running into the local five-O?

____________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Skill up – Small guns, computer, Melee.

Addiction status. + 1 to charisma and luck, %25 to damage resistance.

Author's Note

I want to first thank Kkat for writing the original story, without Fallout: Equestria, there would be no Dance of the Orthrus.

Second, I want to thank Gamma Deekay as he has been a big help with editing my story, and providing support to help keep me going. go check out his stuff if you haven't all ready.

Chapter 36 - City in the Sky

The train slowly came to a stop as it arrived at its station at the top of the skyport. The view from here was like nothing I’ve ever seen, everything seemingly so small. The moment was tarnished by the ponies pointing their antic guns at us. But they had not harmed us yet, so I planned to comply. Even so, I did wish I’d reloaded the Ripper bullet when I had the chance.

“We’ve arrived at the top, captain.” One of the pegasus spoke into a radio on his shoulder. “Yes, we will bring the intruders to you immediately.” He Looked over at me and motioned with his head for me to move.

Metal hooves hit the metal floor, my eyes scanning over the ancient wartime tower. Rust was everywhere, yet this place felt solid, like it could last for even another two hundred years. What was most striking was the Orphic decorations all over. It was much like what the station down below looked like, but here, flags depicting the Platinum Crown were everywhere flapping in the open island wind. They outnumbered two to one that of the symbol of the two sisters, which when it was presented, stood below that of the platinum crown.

Strangely, among the metal, was a combination of stone and would above us, of which other than where the train cart stopped, blocked out the sky. It was like a makeshift fortress, with scrap walls covered in tapestries, giving it a much more lively feeling. The tapestries were made of cloth just robust enough to stand up to the wind, however they were adorned loosely, allowing me to glimpse the stone bricks that peeked out from under some of the rusted metal plating.

“Keep moving.” The five-O commanded.

Not looking for a fight so soon after our last, I trotted further inside. The wind died down, blocked by the sturdy walls that sheltered the upper class here. In the place of the howling ocean breeze, music drifted through the air. Classical music, to be exact.

I rounded a corner, and the source of the music revealed itself to be an old world record player. Such a thing was a luxury only afforded by the extremely wealthy, and for good reason. The music it played was of strings and flues, almost hypnotic in their gentle rhythm. It drew me in so much that I almost didn’t see the ponies sitting around, watching as I entered. They had the same tan uniform as the other guards, but were fitted in lightly armored in plates, and looked like they were conducting maintenance on their weapon’s. Curiously, some of these armored guards were Mirage Ponies, but only ones which retained all their natural limbs.

“It’s the royal guard.” Harp whispered, “What are they doing here?”

“You tell me.” I whispered back. “But I don’t like it.”

We exited the room, and the natural daylight beamed down on us again from a set of vaulted glass ceilings before we entered another room. This time we saw the royal guard hold other guard’s captive. These prisoners wore no armor plates, and were dressed in less clean uniforms. They must have been Golden’s hench ponies.

We were pushed along, once again to the other side of the room and out in the open air. This time we traveled up some stairs and we entered a village… at least, I think that’s what this was. Stone buildings rose up, along the edges of the tower, resembling that of the old photos of Canterlot. The metalwork was mixed in, like it had been on the tower itself. Along the sides of some of the buildings, were old but well maintained landing pads. Surprising and somewhat disconcerting to me, was that some actually had vertibucks parked on them.

“Stop your gawking, were going to the building at the center.” the pegasus pointed down to what looked like a wide stone tower, going up at least four floors high. “Now keep moving.”

As we trotted down a cobblestone path that spiraled towards the center of the tower, many ponies got out of our way. They looked away from us, retreating into their towerside homes and shutting their doors. Lots of deep dwellers, but also Mirage ponies lived up here. Well, healthy mirage ponies like Harp at least. Also, the clothes they had on looked like they were from a far more ancient time, similar to that of the clothes used in a heartwarming eve pageant costume.

As we trotted along, the path started to feel more like a maze wit how all the homes seemed squished together, and bulging out like a fat Rad-Boar. It was strange really, like the artitec took an image of a house from an old breezy tale book, replicated it here, then multiplied it until they had a city. The roads and walls were all uniformed, but one it got one story high, the buildings puffed out, two houses across the street from each other stretching out enough that they connected, making a short tunnel we had to trot under. It all made this little city feel like it closed in on me a bit, where the tunnels felt solid most of the time, this was like there was something always looming above me, staring down on me. The pegasus guard above us didn’t count.

We arrived at what looked like a large tower, on this tower, made of large stone, it gave an exceedingly solid feeling. The guard at the archway to inside were far more relaxed, and gave off a less disciplined feeling, unlike the royal guard did. The archway guarded only needed a salute, and we were taken in, the brightness of the sun being replaced to that of a dimmer light.

It almost felt like we had gone back in time. Well, with the exception of the guard ponies currently pointing very modern magical energy rifles at us. The stone tower we were headed towards was nothing less imposing, and was heavily decorated with statues of unicorns and flags of the platinum crown. Artificial brazier lined the walls, giving off a low but ominous light, but enough light that it was easy enough to see. There were also more ponies in here, some og them having cloths a bit more decorated than the ones outside, though the rest looked to be maids and other staff.

We stopped at a pair of large wooden doors that had two overly dressed unicorn standing guard at it. In truth, they looked like the royal guard from the time before the great war. The pegasus guard that had been pushing me along stepped forward.

“We have the intruders here; the captain has requested to see them.” He spoke up to the door guards, throwing up a quick salute.

The two unicorns simply huffed, and moved out of the way, their horn’s glowing as the large doors opened. We stepped inside, and I have to say, I was impressed.

A large stone hall with a ceiling at least two floors high sat inside, decorated with old paintings and finely crafted tapestries that put the ones outside to shame. At one end was a large fireplace with a roaring flame. Ponies cooking food worked around it, preparing what looked from here to be a feast’s worth of vegetables and various other ingredients. On the other side, was a finely carved stone throne, empty of any pony to sit on it at the moment.

In the center of the room, was a long, grand table. Surprisingly, my friends were already sitting at it, as well was Golden Rule and two other ponies I didn’t recognize. One was an older and portly unicorn, and the other was a pony in ornately decorated power armor that resembled the old world’s pre-war royal guard, but bigger and bulkier, and with a fully enclosed power armor helmet.

“Come, sit.” the power armored pony called out and shifted their massive armored hoof towards a pair of open seats at the table. “I have questions for you.”

I nodded and motioned for Harp and Mayall to follow me to the table.

“So, what’s your first question?” I asked as we took our seats. Merit and Sweet gave me a concerned yet relieved look. While I didn’t know if they had to go through nearly as much trouble as us to get here, it was still good to see them again. Red on the other hoof, was enjoying some tea with what seemed like not a care in the world.

“Before we get to that,” The power armored pony spoke sternly, “You can take off your masks, because as you may have noticed with the others in the room, they are not required up here. The air may be a bit thin, but it is clean enough to breath.”

That did make sense. I removed my mask, and the smell of cooked food hit my nose. Next was Mayall, which drew more than a few gasps from the help in the room. I guessed there was enough light up here for them to see the fact that she wasn’t a pony more clearly than down in the tunnels. Harp was next to take off her mask.

The portly unicorn snorted, and the power armored pony did a double take before giving out a long sigh through their helmet.

“Thank Celestia you're still alive, princess.” The power armored pony spoke as she placed her hooves to her helmet and began to remove it. The helmet gave a soft hiss as it was removed, and it was delicately placed onto the table. The face under the armor was that of a lovely looking mare. Her coat was a dark midnight blue, and her short mane was of a stunning silver and gold color.

“Do you know how worried you had me, filly?” The mare asked, looking at Harp like a disappointed parent would a foal.

Harp Frowned. “I’m not a filly anymore Stratus Dancer, so can stop treating me like one.”

Stratus laughed softly. “Sorry, but you will always be like a little sister to me.”

The portly stallion cleared his throat, sounding very irritated. “Captain, I know that you might have a fond relationship with my niece, but I should not have to remind you to be a professional.” Right, so he was another one of Harps relatives, something that didn’t really surprise me given our current circumstances. His coat was a silvery gray, and his mane was a golden yellow that almost had a metallic sheen to it. I was getting a theme of rare minerals from them, which only made Harp seem more the odd one out than ever before. The portly stallion scanned his eyes over us before he gave a small bow of his head. “Ah, I almost forgot my manners. I’m Minted Coin, and welcome to New Canterlot. This city is currently a work in progress, but given another generation or two, this city will be the gem of Marewaii.”

I can’t say I wasn’t impressed. This was the first time I’ve seen a station… city? Settlement? Whatever, it was the first one I’d seen that worked topside. Which really, only presented me with more questions than answers.

“How is this possible, and where did you get the materials?” I asked. I’m surprised that talk of an above ground city hadn’t been circulated around Orthos at all, or had even been whispered rumors among places like Charon's Stop.

“Ahh, both simple to answer.” The Minted Coin spokes, as a smile formed on his lips. “Well as it was stated, being so high up means that the toxic pollen can’t get up here. Though thin, the air here is perfectly clean. We even have some piping here to provide the station below with that air. As for the stone and masonry work. There’s no shortage of ponies willing to scavenge and mine for a few caps or bits. The big island itself has no shortage of volcanic rock for ponies to gather, and while it’s not quite granite or marble, it’s suitable enough for all of our masonry needs. Though, we do at least have to apply a healthy coat of white paint, or this place would be ever so dreary.”

“Another Question.” I was hit by the urge to shut my mouth, but a stronger urge to ask the question overpowered me. It was a bad idea, but I also had to know. “Did you know what Golden Rule was up to down below?”

Minted Coin rolled his eyes. “Miss, there is little I don’t know about what happens below, and if a few ponies get displaced, then it’s their own fault for not being able to maintain the station.”

I took a deep breath as my blood began to boil. Thankfully before I did something I’d regret, Harp interrupted by with a hoof on my shoulder. I looked over, and she shook her head. With her other hoof, she tapped at glass of water to call attention to her.

“Sorry, noble uncle, but there may be some information you have been deprived of.” She spoke clearly, and sincerely.

“Then speak of what you believe I need to hear.” He responded, “Keep in mind however, that dinner will be served soon, and I wouldn’t want to waste it over talks of frivolous technicalities.”

“Very well.” Harp took a deep breath, and looked over at me. I nodded back to her, hoping it would ease here nervousness. “I have made the alarming discovery that many of the residents of the station below have been brutally executed by Golden. I wish to know why this atrocity has been brought upon our own citizens.”

Minted Coin scanned the table, his eyes landing onto Golden Rule. “Is this true?”

Golden glared back at me, clearly blaming me for this turn of events. “Yes, noble uncle. I had given clear instructions that they were to evacuate the station. The ones who stayed were clearly rebelling and were accepting of any punishment I would dole out.”

“Ah, I see.” Minted Coin resounded calmly, like somepony told him his shipment of oats will be an hour late. “And how was it that they were dealt with?”

“Gathered up and hanged by the neck till dead.” The stallion pushed back his mane, putting it back in place. “The waste was thrown in the old water treatment tunnel, where the Sand-Lurks would clean it up.” That’s not at all what was going on down there!

Minted Coin looked back over to Harp. “Does this sate your curiosity little filly.”

Harp seemed to shrink back a little. “Yes, noble uncle”

“Good, now let’s get onto the important business.” The portly stallion didn’t even skip a beat

Something seemed to twinge in me, like an ice-cold knife digging into my neck. “That’s it?” The words slipped from my mouth. “Innocent ponies die, and that is worth nothing to you?”

Minted Coin sighed. “Miss, now I know you Orthrus ponies have your own values and eccentricities. But here, every pony understands their place. And ponies who can’t follow orders are a detriment to the well being of this great kingdom. And like with a garden of beautiful flowers, sometimes we need to cut down those that only take up the water and sunlight from those around them.”

“Ponies aren’t weeds!” Sweet spoke up, “you can’t just go killing them because you feel like it.”

The portly stallions narrowed his eyes at Sweet. “One more outburst from you, and I’ll have you locked away in the dungeon.” His attention turned back to me. “Now that you have had your say, may we return to a more civilized discussion?”

“On that note.” Stratus Dancer interjected. “May I inquire to why Golden here was gathering an army under your nose? In troubling times like this, one may think that our dear Golden was financing a coup. Which for your sake, I hope is not true.”

A bead of sweat formed on Minted’s brow, which he patted off with a neckerchief.

“By all means no, royal guard captain,” He forced out a dismissive huff and smiled at the armored mare. “I had simply requested for Golden to renovate the old station below. We all know that these old stations needed repair. How he went about it, while far from ideal, was all his responsibility to organize.”

Stratus turned her eyes over to Golden. “Well, what do you have to say? And don’t deny making your own army, we are far past the point of argueing that. In fact, I recognized a few ponies among them, being that I personally kicked them out of the guard.” The mare narrowed her eyes at Golden and leaned toward him ever so slightly. “Tell me, after cleaning up the station, were you planning to kill Rare Pearl?”

“By Celestia, heavens no!” Golden objected. “If anything, I want our dear Rare to take the throne.”

The captain sighed, “Oh, beg my pardon, I completely forgot that she's your twin sister, you two practically joined at the hips since birth, unlike your cousins who were literally joined at the hips. But the lure of power, to write the laws as you see fit, have every pony kiss your hooves, no way you would want to kill your sister over that.” She took a sip from her glass of water, somehow able to hold the delicate glass with her armored hooves. “I men between forming your own little army, I was getting starting to think you were up to no good, sorry for ever doubting you

“Sarcasm is most unbecoming captain.” Golden retorted.

“I don’t know, I think it’s most becoming.” Sweet countered.

A slam on the table came from Stratus Dancer, caused use to jump a little. “Now tell me the truth, or I will pry it out of you, royal or not!” Stratus demanded, meaning she could acctualy accuse Harp’s older brother of wrongdoing and was fine, but when I suggest he slaughtered countless innocents, I’m dismissed?

“Fine, I’ll tell you.” Golden blurted. “I need this army to kill Silver Majesty.”

Both Stratus, and Minted face hoofed. I looked over at Harp, and she seemed to shrink back into her seat even more than before.

“A small army.” Stratus spoke, sounding irritated. “You built a small army of rejects, just to kill that asthmatic, crimped, spoiled brat?” Stratus’s face had a look of intense disappointment on it. “What is wrong with you?” She faces hoofed again and dragged her armored hoof down her muzzle. “I came all the way over here for this. You could have just breathed on the old mare and she would have fallen over like a leaf in the wind!”

“Yet, she has never failed to indulge in her vindictive streak.” His hoof pointed at Harp. “Who do you think set Harp up to be assassinated so far from home? She may be a mistake, but I wouldn’t go and have her killed. Would I lock dear Harp away in the dungeons? Sure, but I would not stoop so low as to have her killed. That exception lies with Silver Majesty.” His hoof hit the table hard. “She’s already gathered half my brothers and sisters to her side, and if you think she will be kind when she moves against us, then you’re a fool.”

“I already know all about that, which is why I have the rest of the royal family under watch.” Stratus waved her hoof dismissively. “And once I return to stable 50, there will be nothing she can do. But, you’re smart enough to already know this. So then, why are you doing this, and do not lie to me a third time.”

“Because...” Golden mumbled as Status glared at him, making him gulp. “Because I can’t bear to see Rare hurt! It’s a delicate time for her.”

“Rare Pearl? Hurt?” Mint spoke up with a snort. “She may be a bit twiggy, but she is not weak and in need of your protection.”

“Well, I would normally be inclined to agree with you, Uncle...” Golden patted a cloth on his head. “But you see, Rare is... Pregnant.”

Stratus’ hoof slipped from the table, and she fell face first into the thick wood. Ouch, maybe she should have kept her helmet on. Wait, what did I care? I was the one having my time wasted by listening to the island’s least entertaining gossip session.

“When? How!?” Stratus stumbled to find a coherent set of words. “That mare doesn’t even go near stallions…!” her hoof slowly came to her face. “Wait, tell me you two were not...?”

“Fine, I admit it.” Golden sat up, regaining a small fraction of his composure. “The foal is mine!”

“You damned fool.” Minted snarled. “I should throw you off this tower myself.”

“One thing only after another.” Stratus spoke with a sigh. “Mint, don’t go throwing anypony over the edge just yet. As is my job, I’ll be taking Golden into custody.” She looked over to Harp. “You’re coming with me as well, young princess. I know things are tense right now princess, but I know I a can convince the other nobles that you would be best to take care of your upcoming niece or niece or nephew. That alone should help keep Silver away from you, if not, you can stay in my room until things calm down”

Harp slowly clapped her hooves together, putting on a mildly excited smile. “Oh, that would be lovely, I finally get to be like a big sis.” I was unsure how Harp felt about all this, but I did get the feeling that Stratus did care for her.

A small bell rang out, and ponies in maid outfits came out with food. The food was surprisingly normal, mostly steamed vegetables, as well as a coconut soup. A plate was put in front of me, and I found that I didn’t have much of an appetite. With a sight, I scooted over to Harp, hoping for some clarity.

“By Tartarus, what’s going on around here?” I spoke at only a whisper to keep the other’s eyes off us. “Why are none of you not disturbed by your brother fucking your sister?”

Harp covered her mouth with a tissue. “Whatever do you mean? Being close to family is normal, is it not?”

“Your uncle doesn’t think so.” I responded back.

“Oh, that.” She spoke back. “That’s only because Rare Pearl is engaged to Uncle Mint. Brother basically stole her from him. Romantic don’t you think?”

I felt almost every muscle in my face droop. “Please don’t tell me you're screwing one of your brothers as well?”

She shook her head. “Goodness no! As one of mixed blood, that would be bad for the royal bloodline.” Again, not the point I was trying to make! “Though I am hypothetically engaged to a cousin of mine, but he’s counter to the idea of being with me. You know, with me not being a proper unicorn.”

“Is your entire family like this?” I said, more annoyed now at the idea of being surrounded by this incestuous family than having my time wasted by being here in the first place.

Harp thought about my question for a moment. “Well, other than uncle Polished Jade, this is common. I mean, Father was mother’s older brother after all. You see, it’s all to keep the bloodline pure, so the royal line can continue as strong as ever into the future.”

I sat back into my seat, looking at the three royals and imagining what kind of birth defects they all might have. At least Harp is free from that problem by the nature of what she is. But her being healthy, and not born from incest makes her an outcast in her own family. Still, I couldn’t believe how Stratus Dancer seemed to be just fine with all this. But then again, that’s probably exactly why she’s the captain of the royal guard.

Clearing my throat, I directed a question to Minted. “So… How do you plan on building up New Canterlot? Sherly the skyport was not meant to house a city?”

Minted patted his mouth after eating a steamed carrot, and swallowed before answering. “Very true. That’s why a superstructure has been built to reinforce the skyport itself. Even if the skyport was built to last, two centuries exposure to the elements does wear even the sturdiest of structures down. I remember my father telling the tales of how he led the royal guard into fights with giant insects that had attacked residents in the skyport. It took him years to clear the skyport out enough for a work crew to even start planning out all the repairs. I of course continued his mission, and after so many years of hard work, New Canterlot can be considered a fully function township. But with a bit more work, it will become a truly great city.”

“It’s truly impressive.” Merit spoke up, his eyes glancing over to me for a second. “Like a seed planted to become a glorious tree. I know if my people were to settle on the islands, they would be more than glad to help build New Canterlot. A bit symbolic really, New Cloudsdale helping New Canterlot.”

Minted Coin’s eye cocked a little. “What’s this now? So, tight lipped before.”

I cleared my throat, gaining their attention. “I think they were just waiting for us.”

“Such Loyal friends.” Mint chuckled. “And here I though they only knew how to sling insults. It’s good to know they can be civil as well. Now that you ponies are willing to talk, would you care to inform me why you’re here, as well as yours names?” I could see that Stratus was now carefully observing us, but from a reserved mindset. He probably wanted to appear to be making no hostile actions against us until we tell him if we’re a threat or not.

It clicked in my mind. This was all for the sake of appearance. Dispite how it looked, and the fact that we weren’t being held at gunpoint, the fact was that this feasting room was being used for an interrogation. I had heard of it before, something the MoM did during the war, using kindness to get information out of a pony. Those who didn’t fully commit to the cause of their nation easily poured out information under the guise of this ‘friendly’ method. Even when equestria started using torture, this method still proved the most effective.

I sighed. Knowing what was going on, I was glad that what information I did know might actually help my situation. Though, I still had to hold back and be selective with what I said. Even if the royals were not equalists, their staff could very much have spies among them.

“My name is Vibraphone Echo, hired by Orthrus to be Harp Melody’s bodyguard. Same for my friend Sweet Sax Solo, we always work together.” Sweet gave a nod as I called her out. Turning, I pointed across the table to our ‘new’ friend. “The Unicorn is Red Steel. She is unaffiliated with us, and simply hired us to escort her to another station.”

“And it’s turned out to be quite the adventure.” Red smiled and nodded at Minted.

“The Pegasus is Merit Cross,” I continued, “As you already know, he’s an outsider. He is our reason for coming all the way here, so that Orthrus can establish contact with his home.” I looked over to Mayall, unable to think of a proper way to introduce the Crab pon… and she was gone, just gone.

“Is there something wrong miss Echo?” Stratus asked.

“No, not at all. Just remembered that one of us is still missing.” I said, trying not to sound suspicious.

“A shame, I hope they’re found soon.” Stratus said calmly. “Now, about this New Cloudsdale?”

Merit sighed, “It’s an enclave cloud city. About ten years, ago a war broke out on the mainland, and we were forced to move it over the ocean. I and four of my companions were on a scouting mission to see if the Marewaii Islands were at all habitable.”

“Interesting. Is there any way you can verify this?” Stratus asked. I couldn’t blame her for being cautious. A month ago, I’d have reacted the same way.

“On me? No, I don’t I’m afraid.” Merit answered.

“A shame,” Stratus frowned. “The thought of a cloud city does sound nice, but right now, it sounds as fictional as old tales of a pony who travels around in a magical blue box. Without proof, I’m afraid I cannot take your word on that.”

I chewed on the steamed carrot in front of me and almost gagged. The thing was nearly flavorless, and squished in my mouth, not crunched like a carrot should. Who the fuck boils carrots like this? They should have just cleaned it off and served it to me raw.

Carrots aside, even I could have predicted Minted’s reaction. For all the might the Orphic kingdom claims to have, it is well known that they don’t have much in the way of information network outside of their borders. Orthrus has the advantage of their Specters, and the Republic? Well, they know whatever I knew when they jacked into my brain. I shivered at the thought of being back in that machine, but it gave me an idea.

“Excuse me?” I spoke up. “I may have a way to prove Merits claim.”

Eyes fell on me as Stratus picked up her glass. “Go on.” She said, before took a sip.

“It’s more to do with why we’re here.” It was now or never, and probably our best bet in salvaging this operation, as trying to do anything now not approved by the ponies in charge would likely get us all killed. “You see, other than returning Princess Harp as an act of goodwill, Orthrus sent us with a secondary goal in mind. To plant a special… device in the radio tower here to modify the broadcaster and receiver.”

“And why would Orthrus want to do that?” Minted leaned in a little, his eyes fixed onto me. “Did you just assume that we don’t use the radio all that often with most of us living underground? Or was your plan to listen in with the hopes of spying on us?”

“I understand your scepticism, but hear us out.” I looked over at Sweet, and she shrugged, so I looked over back at Stratus. “We recently received a device that greatly amplifies the effectiveness of a radio tower. Orthrus plans on using it to contact New cloudsdale to open up negotiations for an alliance with the islands. We attempted to do this before, but were impeded by the Republic and another outside force.”

“Interesting, So, you’re were planning on using it in our control tower until you got caught.” Stratus scratched her chin. “And despite the absurdity of the request, you now want us to just simply let you do that on the basis of trusting you’re doing something that won’t harm us in the long term?”

“Essentially, yes.” I responded.

“Then what guarantee that this is not a kind of trap?” Stratus swirled her glass of wine with a coy smile on her face. “Orthrus may not be the kind of group to force itself on others publicly, but then again, they are known for removing ponies they deem a problem in more subtle ways. All for the sake of keeping order in the metro, is that, not right?” Taking a quick sip of her wine, she flashed an unnerving smile at me. “Of course, ne way they can do that is placing Harp here on the throne. Not to denigrate my darling little Harp, but with the way my job is, there’s been a few conspiracies I’ve had to put down over the years. Including a few involving her, though, without her consent.”

“Like I told you,” Golden spoke up, “She’s a political clusterfuck. It doesn’t matter that you're no longer with Orthrus, no pony is going to care.” He took his glass of wine, and poured it down his throat, during all of it. “It’s why Majesty wanted her gone, as even the best laid plans can crumble when other pony’s plans step on your hooves.”

“That’s quite enough.” Minted Coin spoke up, taking the attention away from Golden Rule. “Despite my Neisse deficiencies, Silver Majesty is a good mare, and does what she believes is best for this kingdom. She is just a bit more proactive than others. Once your mother has passed the platinum crown on, Silver will fall in line.”

“War.” Everything quieted down as the attention slowly turned back to me. I smirked, feeling a bit more confidant. There was one trump card that we had, that they could not ignore. “The republic is going to war with Orthrus, and like it or not, you’re going to be brought into it. Orthrus sent us with these tasks because we want to form an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom in order for us to work together to suppress the Republic. The council is hoping that by contacting New Cloudsdale, it will force the Republic to act before they are fully established to fight a prolonged conflict. But we’re here because they hope we can help convince your kingdom to take their side on the coming fight.”

“The Republic isn’t as simple as they may appear to you. They have some nasty new toys they’ve developed, and have upped their cybernetic game.” Sweet added. “Not to mention, they have new allies as well.”

“Yes. There’s also the problem of the pirates.” Harp chimed in. “If we can’t resolve our internal issues soon, it might be impossible to get rid of them.”

Merit cleared his throat, taking the attention. “I’ll also add that these pirates have vertibucks of their own. There’s no doubt that this place is in danger. Even with as secluded as you are, eventually you’re going to have to deal with them. You can always fight them on your own, but why do that when you can fight them with friends?”

Stratus furrowed her brow, her eyes drifting over to Red Steel. “And do you have anything to add, miss?”

“No ma’am. I’m not really part of all that.” Red shook her head. “I’m just enjoying this spread. It’s amazing that you can get cheese her, as well as fresh crackers. I was worried you were going to use that dreadful canned food from over two centuries ago. Though the wine might be a bit too vintage.”

“Right.” Stratus said with a sigh. “So to clarify what your saying; Orthrus and the Republic are about to go to war, and Orthrus want’s the Kingdom to take their side. Not to mention, there also happens to be a cloud city floating around out there, of which Orthrus wants to contact on behalf of all the islands, as well as some outsider ‘pirates’ who are also a problem by the virtue that they are allied with the republic? Am I correct in that this is a correct evaluation of what you all have said so far?”

“Yes ma’am, that’s correct.” I nodded at Stratus’s clarification. “And time is a finite commodity right now. The sooner we can both contact New Cloudsdale and set up negotiations with your kingdom, the easier it will be to suppress the Republic once the fighting starts.”

“Swift action is always optimal in such situations like this.” Stratus spoke calmly. “But even though I have authority over the security of this kingdom, that does not mean I can just let you do as you wish without informing, and consulting the Queen.”

“Too true.” Minted Coin spoke, having just finished off his glass of wine, the glass being refilled by a servant as soon as it touched the table. “Orthrus can’t just expect this kingdom to just blindly accept what you say, and follow like some pet expecting a treat. It would be best if Stratus and Harp return to Stable 50, and meet with my sister over this proposition. For the time being, the rest of you can stay here as our guests and wait for Stratus to return with the Queen’s answer.”

This annoyed me. Though Harp was going to meet her mother, without contacting New Cloudsdale, whatever she was going to say would not have the same weight behind it.

“I have to….” I tried to speak up.

“No more!” Minted interrupted me. “We have heard you out, so we are done here. Now, I won’t be putting you all in a cell, but I do expect you all to stay where we put you.” The stallion eyed me, looking less than pleased. “That is, after my servants give you a wash. You all are filthy, and it would be a shame to get the stink you’ve dragged in all over the guest chambers.”

I wanted to feel insulted, but I had a strong feeling that I smelled of death. Also, there was little I could do. Outnumbered and outgunned, it all just made me feel helpless.

“Come with me, Harp.” Stratus spoke up as she walked around the table. “You need to wash up as well. We can’t have you going back to the stable looking like you’ve been rolling around in the mud, now can we?”

Harp looked over at me, and I nodded at her. She got up and joined the royal guard captain, leaving with a look of dissapointment across her face. Soon after she was gone however, the servants ushered us out of the large room, as it looked like Minted was receiving a second plate of food.

“So...” Sweet asked. “What the fuck happened to you?” Though blunt, I could tell she was genuinely concerned.

“The long short of it, I had to kill a lot of ponies.” I rubbed at my neck. The strange chill around it had subsided, but it still worried me. “Other things happened too, but I rather not talk about it right now.”

“Shit.” Sweet shook her head. “Well, let’s hope that’s all over now. I’d rather just go back to shooting at oversized bugs than have to do more of this bullshit.”

“With our luck, it’s going to be another paradise dragon.” I added, and we both laughed. With Sweet here, some of the tension I was feeling lessened, if only a little.

“Miss?” A Mirage pony mare trotted up to me. “I’ll take you to the wash room. After you’ve been cleaned, I’ll escort you back to the others.”

I waved at Sweet and Merit as we separated, and in the back of my mind, I hoped that wherever I was being lead to was not a bath...

_____________________________________________________________________

Luck shined on me, and the wash part of the wash room was a simple bucket of water. Fill it up, and pour it over myself like a manual shower. While annoying, it was the kind of thing that could help me relax a bit here. Taking off my cloths, it was now very apparent of how dirty I had become. Other than mud and grime, blood had soaked through everything, even my panties.

Looking back at the door out of this room, I was a little worried at first, thinking that the two stallion guards escorting me were going to open it and watch me undress like any number of ponies in the metro strived to do with any chance they got. But they politely kept the door shut and stayed outside the room, leaving me with the mare. I guess chivalry wasn’t dead here in the kingdom after all.

The Mirage pony mare took my soiled clothes, placing them in a bucket. She was a plain looking mare, with a brown mane, and tan coat. Which also happened to also be the colors of her clothes, an old fashioned skirt and blouse that framed her as quite the simple mare.

“Let me help you with the wash, miss.” The mare spoke up meekly. I nodded, and let her pour the water over me. The cold water sent a shiver down my spine while washing away the blood and grime. I’d prefer the water to be warmer, but at this point, being clean was a bit more important that simple comforts.

“So, I didn’t expect to see Mirage Ponies in a place like this. Are you all servants?” I asked.

“Aside of the nobility and the wealthy families, yes. Most of the mirage ponies are here to build this city.” She answered in a flat tone. “Having an active source of power helps keeps things running smoothly, of course.”

“I see.” I replied as another bucket of water was poured over me. “No matter how much the deep dwellers complain about us mirage ponies, they still need us to keep most of the technology running.” My mind flashed back to the mirage ponies on the trains, and I was reminded how disgusting the kingdom can be, even if mirage ponies like this mare looked to be treated slightly better. I looked back over at the mare, seeing that she was getting a bar of soap ready. “Do you have a name?”

“Kaossilator.” she said as she started to scrub me.

“Nice name.” Having the mare scrub me felt a bit odd for me, but I was just going to let the mare do her job. If anything, it was a good opportunity to get some more information about this place. “So, Kaossilator, what’s it like living here?”

“It’s work.” she responded flatly. “I guess the scenery is nice, at least, that’s what everypony says.”

Uhh, right. This mare seemed a little off. “Anything you do around here for fun, maybe a bar where I can get a Dakari?”

Another bucketful of water poured over me, washing away the suds. “There are a few places, but they’re not for the peasants. We do have one place we can go to drink, though there are no Dakaris there.”

“A shame, though maybe I can find the ingredients to make one myself later..” I responded. “I have an odd question for you, so don’t answer it if you don’t feel comfortable about it. But If I were to slip away, what’s the best way to do it?”

“The window, all you need to do is jump.” She said, still in the flat tone.

“Uhh, you do know our wings don’t work, ri..!” I gasped as I felt some kind of thread wrap around my neck. In an instant, it was tight enough that I couldn’t breath.

“I know, that’s the joke.” Kaossilator spoke, still in her flat tone as she strangled me. I flailed, my grappling leg, reaching back to strike at her, but somehow, she was able to hold me back and still pull on whatever was around my neck. “Now stop struggling, this will be over soon. And don’t blame me, this was only bad luck on your part. Sometimes killing the messenger is necessary for true equality to take place.”

Oh, fuck me! Of course she’s a fucking equalist. If only I had my gun. I did my best to resist, but my everything was getting cold, yet my chest was burning. I couldn’t even call for help.

*Thud*

I fell forward, hitting the ground, and gasping for air.

Getting up on all four hooves, I looked back to see my attacker. Kaossilator was sitting on her flank, her left hoof missing, no not missing, a thin wire loosely draped from her stump, to her right hoof, of which her left hoof was on. It quickly became clear that the left leg and hoof were fake, the stup where the wire came out of, was metal. I had seen it advertised before, custom prosthetic that looked like a normal pony leg, that had to be it. But then that could not be all, yetI didn’t see any other signs of cybernetics.

“How did you do that?” She looked up at me and blinked, making audible shutter sounds with her eyes. “You currently do not possess any talisman’s at this time.” Her voice was still flat, but I could sense some confusion in it. She tilted her head as her left hoof retracted back onto her leg. “Is it possible you have some sort of phase talisman inside your body? I’ll have to cut you open to find out.” Kaossilator shimmered, and her cybernetic body was revealed. Looking more like a pony who was cut up, and then put back together with metal connectors, it was obvious now that she was just Theremin and Blaster Beam. Lifted her right leg as a slot opened up on her chest. Oddly, a handle of a knife poked out from it. Grabbed it with cybernetic digits of her right hoof, she slowly pulling out a mean looking combat knife from the cavity.

The feelings of rage and frustration bubbling out of me. “Oh, come on, you’re a Reaver!?” I shouted, my voice sounding muffled to my own ears.

“Yes, that I am. Also, don’t try and call the guards, I come equipped with a bubble of silence, they can't hear us.” She tilted her head the other direction. "Now to business, trying to get the Orphic to allie with Others... This vindicates why I must kill you now. Your lips must be sewn shut so that true equality may shine. Which for me, is a rare joy. So long has it been since I have been able to snuff out a life for our glorious goal. You’re but a stepping stone for what truly matters.” Her lips curled, and her eyes widened. “One more obstacle that separates me from my beloved. But when they know that a specter died by my hooves, they will give him back to me. And we shall be happily together, once again!”

I took a step back. She was armed with a large and presumably incredibly sharp knife. And of course, I didn’t have anything, let alone any clothes to protect myself with. This cybernetic bitch had me cornered, and like her joke before, the window was looking like the only promising way out of this. I looked around to see what saved me from her first attack, but there was nothing. Fuck, there wasn’t even anything else in this room around me other than the bucket of water! How the fuck didn’t I get strangled to death?

“Is that fear I see in your eyes?” She tilted her head, much like an old doll that could no longer be smoothly moved, but all attempts to move it where jerky and unnerving. Why did grandma think her old dolls would not give me nightmares? “Good, now give in and accept what needs to happen.”

The smile on Kaossilator face looked both genuine, and fake at the same time. Like she was happy, yet didn’t know how to smile at the same time. It was what unnerved me the most about her, and the republic as a whole. The fake emotions covered the same true emotions, but in doing so it took away their meaning. I don’t know why, but I could feel it. Her glee hid a calm annoyance, like she was mentally inverted, far too calm to properly predict.

All I could do was fall back to my training. Positioning my hooves, I sat watching her movements, and remembering what I can do. I had to admit, knife fighting was where I was weakest in basic training. But still, I had a feeling that she had fucked up when she played her hoof. Even with her cybernetic hoof, attacking with her forehooves did not come naturally for a mirage pony, and the back legs was where the real power was at. If she was going to come at me like this, I just needed to predict her movements and act accordingly with my own.

Her knife jolted at me, and I deflected it with my right foreleg, the metal of my grappling leg was strong enough to deflect the blade with only taking a scratch. And another stab straight came at me, not as fast as before, giving me time to back up and dodge the attack. She went in for a third strike, and I saw my opening. Having lost her momentum, I managed to use my grappling leg as a counter, clamping down on the knife tightly. Now if she wanted to have it back, she would have to take the whole damn leg.

“Bitch, you think that trick will save you!?” Kaossilator spat at me, her voice sounding a little frustrated as she tried to dislodge her blade.

“Yes.” I said, putting a wide smile on my face. “I just needed you to stand still as I blasted you to peace’s.” The hidden compartment on my leg opened, and the ripper gun popped out, aiming at her face. It was still empty from the last time I used it, but I was betting that she didn’t know that.

She let go of her blade, and bolted to the side in a bit to put some distance between us. As intense as she was, she was a fucking amateur. Her intent to kill was strong, so much so it was scary. But with this one move, I had her made.

Whoever she was, she was still green when it came to a real fight. I was still garbage in a close in fight, but even I knew not to let go of my weapon. I had seen too many dead ponies from three-inch homemade shives to underestimate any weapon, and this knife was a five inch professional killers blade. Which she had now so kindly gifted me.

I flipped the knife in my grapling hoof and pointed it at her. “Thanks for the knife.” she scowled back at me, and I returned her look with a smile. “If you’re going to try to kill a pony, rule one, never let go of your weapons.” I waved the knife in front of her. “And rule two, always have a backup. Personally, I use an enforcer for this. Never been good with knives and other short range weapons.”

Predictably, she charged straight at me in frustration. It was almost too easy for me to plunge the blade into her as she tried to use brute force to bowl me over. Almost unsurprisingly, and as something I should have seen coming, the knife became stuck in her chest. She was a fucking cybernetic abomination, so of course stabbing her would do nothing. My attempt to kill her only gave her an opening, and she grabbed me in her hooves. With a yell, she used her enhanced cyberstrength to toss me to the side, where I landed near the open window with a thud on the floor.

“You are most interesting, miss Echo,” She spoke confidently. “But tragically, you attempted to escape, and fell to your death. Out that very window I warned you to stay away from.” Her face gave away no emotion, as though her robotic parts were more to her nature than her biological self. “I’d ask for you to accept your fate, but I’ve now learned that a pony like you strives to be difficult.”

I rolled my eyes at Kaossilator. “Oh bite me you equalist constructed monster, I’ve come too far for one of you to kill me.” A show of confidence was all I could do. The revere had me made, and I felt lucky to have survived this long. Seriously, were those fucking door guards deaf!? Looking around again, I needed something to use as my advantage. I looked back at the window, and a thought occurred to me.

“Fine then.” Kaossilator spoke, bland and monotone as before. Yet, another hollow smile formed on her face. “If you won’t jump willingly, I’ll just have to kill you like the other mares who’ve gotten between me and my love.” She shook her right hoof, and another blade came out. I was taken aback by it, but not all that surprised. More importantly, she gave me key information.

“Your love? Who would ever love you?” I spoke loudly, taunting her. “Some psychopath like you, you doesn’t know what it is like to love.”

“Shut up!” She slashed the ground, making spark’s shoot up from the stone floor. “What would you know, old mare?”

I chuckled. “Enough to have fucked a stallion twice now, and you think our wings would be useless in the act, but fuck if that’s a misconception.”

“You know nothing!” Kaossilator stomped on the ground. “My love is not some cheap thrill! He is my heart, my everything. Unlike the whore of a stallion who would sleep with the likes of you.” Her knife leg pointed at me, shaking like it was some sort of vibrator.

Orthrus had dipped their hooves in vibroblades before, but the strength that cybernetics gave diminished any benefit that vibrations would have to make cutting easier. Though I will say that the found use in the seedy underside of the metro as tools of intimidation. Unfortunately for Kaossilator, I’d spent too many years down there to be intimidated by such basic tactics anymore.

All I could do was laugh at her, nearly losing my composure. “Yet you’re here. I bet right now, he’s balls deep in some other mare, one who is not trying to kill other ponies for some bullshit group.” I saw her eye twitch, so I pushed further. “I bet right now, your stallion has found and already slept with a dozen better mares than you in every way. I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of mares to pick from.” I gave out a little chuckle, grinning at the reaver. Come on, bitch. Get angry, make a mistake for me. “By Tartarus, that’s an excellent idea! You know, I might check this stallion out after we’re done here.”

She screamed at me “I’LL KILL YOU!” and charged me. In her rage, she did not see me ready myself.

Throwing the knife I’d stripped from her, she blocked it. But that knife was useless to me, better as a distraction to what I wanted to happen. She got close, swinging her blade hoof near my face. But I had entered tactical S.A.T.S. And cued up a simple roll backwards. In the slow motion augmented time of the spell, I saw her face turn from rage, to confusion. And then from confusion to fear as I laid on my back halfway through my roll, ready to show her the true power of cybernetic rear legs.

This mare, though obviously good enough at what she did to get all the way into this castle at the upper echelons of the Kingdom, was still too green at actual combat. As her belly made contact with my back hooves, I continued my roll back even more, kicking her up and over me. Without a chance to save herself, she sailed right out the open window. Before she vanished from view, her face was filled with shock and fear. She was taking the express way down. A drop no pony could survive, not even a cybernetically enhanced psycho like her.

Getting back to all fours, I looked out the window, but all I could see was a speck that soon vanished into the canopy of the forest below. The sound of the door slamming open pulled my attention to the entrance, the two guards from outside had burst in, there javelin launchers pointed in my direction. About fucking time you useless asshats.

“Halt right there!” one barked at me, as the other narrowed his eye. “What happened to the maid!? What have you done with her?”

“You mean the Republic assassin who I had to fight off no thanks to you?” I just sighed. “She decided she wanted to take a closer look at the forest floor.”

The guard who had barked at me, I could see his eyes drifting down a little. I used my tail to cover my more private parts, but the rest of me was still bear for them to see.

“Now, if you’re done intruding on the mare who just did your job for you,” I snapped at him, forcing his eyes back up to my face. “Could you give a mare some privacy?”

The two looked at each other, one coughing into his hooves. “Right.” One spoke up, “I’ll go and report this incident, and send another maid to help you.”

“Good.” I huffed back. “And make sure that this one is not a republic agent this time.”

The guard’s ears twitched a little as they left the room.

Sighing, I rummaged around for some clean clothes, but this place was a bit empty of anything to put on. Other than an extra maid’s outfit that bitch had left behind. She must have had it ready as a backup incase things had gotten messy with me. Still, her backup was my only option.

Everything was here; the back dress with white frilled trim, an apron to cover my backside like a saddle. The long white socks, shiny black hoof shoes, a white bowtie, white cuffs with black buttons. Even the white frilled black cap that old world maids wore on their head. There was no way I was going to put it on now, but maybe I could sneak it out of here and save it for when things go back to normal. At the very least, it’d make an entertaining gift to give to Sweet. Though knowing her, she’d probably actually find some use out of it with the stallions she got with.

The doors opened once more, and three mares trotted inside. Two of which had the same outfit as Kaossilator. The first was a creamy white unicorn with a vibrant pink mane, the other a dark blue Pegasus with a gray main and a bright white stripe. The third mare trailing behind the two mades was a purple pony with a vibrant red mane, and a… sailor's outfit on. Great, it was Mayall.

The two maid seemed to be having a friendly chat and they trotted up to me, Mayal behind them listening intently. “I’m not jesting, I saw her myself! The mirage pony princes, covered in blood and mud, holding some sort of rifle.” The unicorn said while holding a fan in her magic, that covered her mouth.

The pegasus waved her hoof. “That’s nothing. Well not nothing, scary really. But one of the ponies that came up by the elevator had the biggest gun I had ever seen. If the royal guard wasn’t here, I don’t know how much damage they could have done.” The three of them stopped only a few hoof steps away, sizing me up as their eyes looked over my body.

The unicorn sighed before speaking up. “Lady, even after a wash, you’re a mess.” She looked around the room, her face having an annoyed scrunch to it. “Where did that filly go? I know she may not be the best one of us here, but to run out is not at all professional.” Her gazes turned back to me. “Sorry to have to ask, but do you know where Ko ran off to? I’m going to give her a right scolding when I find that filly.”

At this point, I didn’t give a shit. I was still naked, had almost been killed, and I still didn’t know how I got out of that choke hold.

“She ran out the window, after tying to kill me.” The two mares paused, one giving the other a nervous chuckle. “Also, just so you know to not try anything, Golden rules fuck toy maid bodyguards? I killed them too in self-defense. So before you make the same mistake, please just don’t try anything because I am not going to deal with any more shit today.”

A gulp came from both of the mares as they got to work. Sadly, they had not brought a spare change of clothes with them, meaning that the only thing they had was the maid outfit.

“who… who’s uniform is this?” the Pegasus asked.

The unicorn scrunched her nose. “I think it must be Low Fog’s, she always like keepin’ her spares in places like this.”

“Well, I guess she won’t be needing it anymore.” The pegusus shrugged.

All I could think of was that I deserved this punishment. Maybe I should of just knocked out those maids, and just killed golden instead.

The dress was a bit of a tight fit, but the two maids made it work. They even put the stockings on my back legs, along with the shoes. It did feel nice to have a cute dress on, and the shoes too, but I still I had better things to do then play dress up. Oddly, they even put the cuffs on my front legs, though much higher up do to both legs being a tad thicker near the hoof. I probably should buy some normal front legs after this is all over, so I can properly wear clothes if I needed to.

I felt them put the maid's cap on my head, but I gave them a glare, and they took it off.

“Sorry, you can put it back on. It’s not like I’ll keep it on for long anyway.” I grumbled. The cap went back onto my head, and a ribbon was tied under my mane.

“Here you go.” The unicorn spoke up, using her magic to turn me towards a full lengthen mirror. “What do you think?”

I looked… horrible. My mechanical legs stood out far too much, and my small wings and horn made me look like I was some fake unicorn or Pegasus. Worse yet, my mane didn’t have the same fluffy qualities like the other maids had. It was just not me.

“I do…” I tried to begin.

“Thee behold so cute!” Mayall spoke up, causing the two other mares to jump.

The two quickly turned around to face Mayall. “How long have you been here miss?” The pegasus gasped in surprise.

“Did the guards let you in?” The Unicorn added as she looked over Mayall’s peculiar getup.

“Well thee two hath seemed so nice, so I just hath followed the both of thee.” Mayall said, seeming not understanding the danger she was in here.

With a sigh, I trotted between the two maids, booped Mayall on the nose… claw things… whatever they were. Crab ponies are wired. Still, at least her disguise talisman was working again. We seriously didn’t need ponies in a panic after seeing what she really looked like.

“You need to stop wandering off.” I looked back at the two maids, and gave them a less than convincing smile. “Sorry, she is with me. And don’t worry, she’s mostly harmless.”

The two nervously chuckled to each other before the unicorn spoke up. “May we escort you to your room now?”

I nodded, but a slight gust of wind caressed my backside. “Ahh, one last thing. Is there any way you can send some underwear to the room? I’m not comfortable going commando like this.”

The unicorn chuckled, but this time it sounded mischievous. “I’m not sure if you want this, but Low Fog seemed to have an interesting choice in undergarments.” I raised an eyebrow at first, but when the unicorn lifted a black strip of cloth, with white frills, I felt the blood rush to my face. The thing was one part string and one part cloth that just covered enough of my privets, and tied together just above my my hips. “Is that better?” the unicorn asked.

“I feel like about to walk onto a fetish film set.” I looked that the Unicorn. “Can we switch?”

The unicorn diverted her gaze from me. “Sorry, that’s a no can do.”

The Pegasus sighed. “Trust me on this, you’re better with what you got. Best if you don’t ask any questions you might not want the answer to.”

“And you?” I asked the pegasus.

“Don’t have any on.” Her eyes shifted side to side. “If you don’t tell anybody about that, or well anything just now, I’ll get you a few clean pairs of normal underwear”

“Fine, nothing strange going on with you two.” I replied flatly. The pegasus only nodded and held her hoof out to the door. “Good, now let’s get going.”

Mayall and I trotted to the door, stopping after a loud slap came from behind us. Looking back the unicorn’s face was bright red, she trying to look normal, but I could tell she was ever so slightly biting her lip. The pegasus was behind her, snickering.

“Damnit, Thunder Crackle” The unicorn blurted out. “That’s not funny, I almost… ehh, umm, kicked you.”

It was awkward to say the least, but I had agreed to keep tight lipped, though it was none of my business what ponies with each other in private.

____________________________________________________________________

On our way to where we were going to be held, I prodded the two maids for more information. With the guards right behind us, I kept the questions quieter and more private. The Pegasus’ name was Thunder Crack, and much of her family supposedly worked up in this settlement as metalworkers, finding weak points in the skyport and fixing them.

The Unicorn’s name was Strawberry Yogurt, and her family were masons. They crafted the stone into the right shape, and were paid well to make this whole settlement look as close to the original Canterlot as possible. The maid work they did was only part time work, and mostly just so they could work together and make a few extra bits.

“So,” Strawberry spoke up. “You’ve been hanging around princess Harp Melody? What’s she like?”

I shrugged. “A bit ignorant about the world, impressionable, and more than willing to put herself in dangerous situation to get things done. Overall, a normal pony for her age.”

“Don’t downplay it because you think you’re protecting her.” Thunder chuckled, “You can tell us everything. Everypony up here already knows that the royals have their secrets.”

A guard grunted, but Thunder just stuck her tongue out at him.

“She’s very magical.” Mayall blurted. “I mean, she made light shoot out of my eyes, which was… an illuminating experience.”

“Ignore her.” I sighed. “And if she does have secrets of her own, it’s not my place to tell others.”

We stopped at a doorway, and one of the guards spoke up, and loudly. “Chit chat is over. Now get inside.”

The doors creaked open, and as soon as we were inside, they slammed shut behind us. Inside was a lovely room that really did look like it was from another era. Smooth stone floors, hoof carved wooden furniture, and colorful sheets and tapestry’s that adorned almost every inch of the walls. Red Steel was sitting on a couch reading a book, while Merit and Sweet were both playing a card game.

Trotting up to them, I pointed back at the crab pony in disguise. “First off, found Mayall, again. Second, how are going to get ourselves out of this mess?”

They looked over at me, and each one snickered. Red Steel was the first to speak up, after shutting her book. “I’d like to order a fresh pot of tea, and a finely fluffed pillow.”

“Coffee, black.” Sweet spoke up.

“A Metro-Cola, ice cold, and maybe something to warm my bed tonight.” Merit jested at me.

I frowned, and pointed at Red. “Make your own damn tea, and fluff your own pillow.” Pointing at Sweet next, I glared at her. “I doubt they even have coffee all the way up here.” And of course, lastly at Merit, but I couldn’t help but smirk at him. “Keep that up, and you might just get what you ask for. And believe me, I won’t be gentle.”

“Is that a promise?” Merit smirked. “Then I better tease you more.”

I just rolled my eyes at him. “So, back to the mission at hoof.”

“A work in progress.” Sweet answered, “They got some pegasus guards outside, so Merit here can’t just fly out of here. No weapons, or real openings outside the doors you in came from. This room may look nice, but it might as well be a prison cell.”

“I get it.” I said with a huff. “So then how did you get out from the station below?”

Sweet pointed at Red Steel. “Turns out she’s really good at hiding her little guns. Goldens Goons didn’t even see it coming. When they took her into interrogation, she used it as her opportunity to eliminate them. After that, we picked up our gear from the next room over, and hightailed it to you. Sadly, too many guards were in our way, so plan B had been to trigger the MoM bug, and have them bring you to us.” She then looked at me, her cybernetic eyes focusing at me. “How did you end up getting away?”

“Turns out I’m really good at improvised ass kicking.” I said coyly. “Had a little meeting with Golden, and flipped the table at him and his person entourage. After that, Harp and I kept low and snuck around his goons. Things happened, we met up with Mayall, and took the train up here.” I plopped down on the couch, my dress flipping up, forcing me to push it down. “So back to business. Does anypony have any ideas on how we’re going to move forward? I know we’re locked down, but there’s got to be something. At least getting our gear back would be a good first step.”

I looked around, but no pony seemed to have an answer. It was irritating, having gone through all this crap, blood, and whatever else the fuck happened to me, all just to be put in a fancy lockdown. If only we had somepony who can slip past the guards, and distract them.

“Well, they’re keeping all our thing near their armory.” Mayall spoke up as she started chewing on some kind of granola bar. Her disguise flickered a bit as her real mouth moved out of sync with the holographic mouth.

“How do you know that?” Sweet asked, I sharing the confused feeling.

She tilted her head back as she finished what she was eating. “Oh, at which hour those gents confiscated all our stuff, I just hath followed those folk. I mean, how rude to just take the belongings of others.” She patted herself down, and my revolver fell out of her shirt, along with my two cartridge holders. “I picked this up because I knoweth how important tis to thee.”

I immediately hopped over the couch, and grabbed my Lunar Eclipse. The revolver was still in good condition, and with a quick check, it was still fully loaded. Along with the cartridge holders, I had thirty rounds on hoof. It wasn’t a lot, but enough to be a threat if I wanted to be.

“This, this is a start.” I nodded and felt like I could hug the crab pony, though, maybe that should wait for later.

A loud whistle came from Merit who was behind me. “You know, I still don’t get the whole underwear thing you ponies do.” He gave a wink at me. “But if I see more like that, well you can consider me onboard with it.”

I quickly flipped my dress back down. “Did anyone else see?”

“A side knot thong? Nope, didn’t see that.” Sweet said mockingly. “Why do you ask?”

“Don’t worry, I have a few like that myself.” Red added. “For… special occasions only, of course.”

“Celestia, damnit!” I sat up and placed my revolver in one of the pockets, and the cartridge holders in another. “Right, so I think I might have an idea.”

“If it’s to shoot our way out, then I’m in.” Sweet said with a smile, before shaking her head. “But I’d still advise against it.”

“No, no, nothing like that, I hope.” I responded. “There’s two maids coming by to drop off some panties for me. That’s when we can make our move.” I looked over at Mayall, and looked back at me a bit confused, then pointed at herself, I responded by nodding. “Were counting on you on this one.”

_______________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Item obtained: Combat Maid Uniform (What’s black and white and red all over, the maid after she stabbed a fool. Gain %25 to stealth check when concealing any small weapons)

Addiction status. Normal

Chapter 37 - Smut Radio

“Three of a kind.” Sweet smirked. “What do you three have?”

Waiting for the maids to arrive, we started up a game of poker using some bottle caps we found as chips. It was strange, there was a whole bunch of them in an old shoe box hidden in one of the drawers. We found it while trying to find some hidden weapon that we hoped was there. No luck unfortunately, but we did find a few other strange things other than the poker set.

One was a small stack of Play Mare magazines that were surprisingly still in good condition, despite Sweet finding a few pages stuck together. Just... eeewe. There was a finely crafted black marble statue of Princess Luna, hidden in a box, which wouldn’t be too odd, except she also had a massive dick for… some reason. There was also a midnight blue latex full bodysuit, obviously made for a stallion, but had a collar with the word “Princess” printed on it, which I suppose was also supposed to vaguely look like Luna. Sweet teased me with the body suit, full knowing that I was allergic to latex.

It was like a nightmare made real… you know what? Let’s not go there. I was feeling itchy already just thinking about it. The last thing we found fit right in with the other oddities. It was a double ended strap on dildo, which at this point, didn’t freak me out, just made me want to take another wash.

“Pair of two’s, and a pair of fours” I put my useless cards down.

“Two princesses.” Red said, putting her cards down.

“Nothing.” Merit set his hoof down, his attempt to bluff was fouled by Sweets cockyness.

Other than the caps, each one of us were holding onto one of the four weird objects we had found. Sweet was holding onto the play mare magazines, Red had the statue, Merit got the suit forced onto him, and I was left with the strap on. It was winner take all, and I wanted none of it. The only problem, we agreed that whoever won, got to make a request of the rest of us. Worse yet, none of us were drunk, yet we agreed out of boredom.

Mayal simply sat and watched us. Her job was to stay out of sight until the doors opened, and when they did, she’d slip out. She seemed a bit annoyed that she could not join the game, but we could not risk her missing her window of opportunity should it happen during the game.

This time, Red was the dealer. Oddly enough, she didn’t use her magic to deal, rather choosing to pick up the cards with her hooves, and shuffling them like an earth pony pro.

“Nice,” Sweet commented. “When this all blows over, we should all go to the lucky rabbit’s foot. With those skills, you’d really draw a crowd.”

I rolled my eyes, “You sure you don’t want to go just to hassle the staff like last time?”

“Hay, can you blame me?” Sweet snickered back. “Rumor has it, that there’s a stallion working there as one of the bunny mares, but he looks like the cutest mare you have ever seen.” I could see a little bit of drool from the side of her mouth before she wiped it off. “So, I’ve got an itch to check if it’s true.”

All I could feel was pity for poor Bagpipes, having to deal with random mares going ball checking. When my cards were dealt, I lifted to see an okay hoof. Two aces, the cards depicting the ministry mare Twilight, and Pinkie. Though it was strange, as the two cards didn’t look normal. The card with Pinky looked sad, and slightly deflated, one hoof reaching out, as though she was reaching over to Twilight’s card. Twilight’s card was looking away from pinky, nose turned up like she was snubbing her.

“Viby, You okay?” Sweet’s question jolted me out of my chair.

“Oh, I...” I looked back at the cards, and they were back to normal. “I’m fine, just got stuck in a thought.”

“Right.” Red spoke up. “In or out?”

“In.” the three of us spoke up, placing a few caps into the pile. My own pile was much smaller than the others, with Sweet having taken most of them.

“So.” Sweet leered at Merit. “Enough talking about what we’re going to do, I want to hear about... you know...?”

“Know what?” Merit responded.

“Well you said that you have been with a stallion.” I saw Sweet wipe her mouth again, making me worry about her a little. Not that I wasn’t interested too, but she seemed a bit too eager to know.

He shrugged. “Fine, don’t know why you’re interested, but whatever. It was when I was in boot camp, and he was my wing mate. Our drill Sergeant was a mean old bastard, something about his son turning traitor made him harder on the recruits. Well, the two of us got a bit of a smart mouth on us, and ended up doing extra survival training. A long flight with minimal supplies, I thought we were going to die near the end. But about at the halfway point we had to take a rest, and I guess he must have been stressed out, as when we touched down on the clouds, he got a raging boner.”

Sweet snickered, but quickly regained some composer when she saw me glare at her. I don’t know why her sense of humor is so foalish, but I didn’t need her to start laughing about the word boner right now, not with the strap-on poking me in the back.

Merit continued. “Well, he tried rubbing it out, nothing worse than flying with a third leg out. But his hooves were a bit too numb to do it because of the long flight and all. So, I offered to help him out, the only problem was that my hooves had gone numb too. It was an awkward moment before he asked to well... mount me. At first, I was against it because we needed to get moving and I was not going to leave my wing mate behind. But when another minute passed and he was showing signs of only getting more stressed out I gave in. I told him to be quick about it, and well, it happened.”

“Details?” Sweet asked as she rotated her hoof.

“I’m not going to say it wasn’t fun.” The Pegasus sighed, almost regretfully. “And we both needed it after the day we’d had, but things did get a bit weird between us afterwards. Well you see, he had a mare friend, so at first it was a don’t ask, don’t tell thing. Despite that, were a few other times we ‘helped’ each other out like that, and over time we formed more than close relationship that continued after boot camp. Eventually he convinced me to join him and his mare friend, never telling her about our private times together. Not to say this was not fun too, but eventually it went from the three of us, to his wife and I as he watched. Not too long after that, the mare ended up pregnant, and the both of them got kicked out of the enclave for undisclosed reasons.” He drooped a bit with that, hanging his wings sadly. “Never saw them after that, and part of me wonders what happened to them when the clouds came down over Equestria. I still miss him some days, even if he was a bit twitchy sometimes.”

I had to scratch my head. “Wait, does that mean you have a foal out there?”

“It’s probably mine?” He shrugged. “As far as I know, he had stopped sleeping with her for a few months before she found out. My guess is that was the real reason why they were kicked out, as having a foal without government permission was highly frowned upon.”

“Wow,” Sweet said, looking less excited than before. “Now I feel a bit sad. I hope those two are okay.”

“They were strong Enclave supporters, and both of them we no stranger to doing what it took to keep their lives together.” Merit said with a smile. “I bet they’re better than just fine.” His gaze then drifted over to Red Steel. “How about you, miss nobility? I bet you have a good story.”

Red tilted back, rubbing her chin. “I am certainly feeling a bit heated, though a lady does not reveal her secrets so easily.” She smiled. “But this once, I might as well.” She ran her hoof through her mane and looked to relax a bit. “Years ago, I fancied this one stallion. Strong, brave, you know the type. But unfortunately for me, he fancied another mare. Now, I’m not one to let such a thing bother me, I went and found this mare, only to find that she indeed fancied him almost as much as I did as well.”

“Sucks for you.” I snarked at her.

“Indeed.” Red replied before continuing. “She was a very stubborn girl, fawning over him so much that eventually we came to blows over the right to his heart. I came out on top, naturally, and so she relented. From their it was a simple matter of letting the stallion know my interests, and soon he was mine. The first night was, interesting to say the least, but mother was none too pleased when she found out, but it was worth it.”

Sweet had raised an eyebrow. “Should I ask about how old you were when this happened, or is that a bad idea?”

“Miss Sax,” Red frowned. “Don’t take me for a trollop of a foal, I was well old enough at the time.” Her eyes then hovered over to me. “And you, miss Echo.”

Great, all this talk of sex had me all hot and bothered, I doubt I could tell any story even if I wanted too. “I don’t…”

A knocking from the door cut me off, and became my saving grace.

“Housekeeping!” Oh, by Celestia, it was the two maids. “We have your washed clothes and a fruit basket.”

“I’ll get that.” I let everyone know, as I got up, and quickly trotted to the door. Opening the door, Strawberry Yogurt stood in front of me with very wide eyes and a stiff smile, with a very… wobbly Thunder Crack. The two quickly entered the room, Strawberry came in with a worried look on her face. “Are things okay?” I asked, fearing that thing had already fallen apart before we could get started.

“Yes! No problem at all!” Strawberry blurted nervously. The door slammed shut, and the unicorn fell to the floor. “I lied, we fucked up!” She blurted out, tears forming in her eyes. “Life ruined, completely.” The others started to gather, but I shooed them away, giving the three of us some distance.

“It can’t be all that bad… I mean, the guard aren’t breaking down the doors.” I leaned in, feeling a little bit guilty about asking. “Did you at least bring the underwear?”

“No!” Thunder croaked, the pegasus seemingly having a hard time standing up straight. “I mean, we grabbed something,” she giggled to herself, as though by convulsion. “but none of it was underwear.”

“The fuck!?” I looked at the two, they both way too out of it to be normal, their eyes a bit bloodshot, and it clicked. “You’re both high, aren’t you?!”

Thunder put her hoof to her chest. “I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good… or was it that we are up to no good.” she slumped to the side, holding herself up with one of her forelegs, but only just barely.

“Sorry, we kind of found ourselves in the contraband room looking for the laundry.” Strawberry’s eyes shifted away from me. “And there was this box full of all sort of stuff, labeled ‘Best Day Eva!’ and it turned out it was full of chems.”

“Hay, That’s my box!” Sweet spoke up loudly. I glared back at her, and she looked away. “I was not planning on using, I just know this black market trader, that’s all.”

I face hoofed. “How much?”

“Well…” The unicorn still avoided eye contact. “At first we weren’t going to touch it, but Thunder found a bottle of chill pill’s, and well they are her fav…”

Strawberry squeaked as I pulled her snout to snout. “Those were mine” I growled at her.

“I knew it!” Sweet called out. “You are using aren’t you!”

I let go of the unicorn, and glared at Sweet. “I have an excuse, the shit I have had to put up with, I deserve to feel normal.”

Sweet ground her teeth before yelling. “Oh, for fuck sake! At least you didn’t have some monster eat your eyes out and pluck your fucking wings!” She then smirked slyly “What happened to you? Did you accidentally trip into a puddle?”

“Oh, don’t fucking go there, Sweet.” I shouted back at her. “How could you know how it feels to have your mind violated, everything that is you stripped away. If I could, I’d… I’d.” tears welled up, I couldn’t stop it. “I wouldn’t wish that on you. Take my wing, my eyes. But please, don’t ever send me back there.” I collapsed into sobs infront of everypony.

“It’s okay, you are free, and I’m here.” In my blurry vision, Sweet came over and held me tight. “If those fuckers come back, I’ll give them a right thrashing, like before.”

I felt a bit calmer, and pushed her away. “Thanks, but you already missed that opportunity.”

“How come?” she asked.

“That first maid who was there during my bath, she was another Reaver.” I said, wiping the tears from my face. “She almost killed me too. I managed to knock her out the window, but I thought I was dead for sure.”

“Fuck.” Sweet breathed. “You’re a real badass aren’t you.”

“What?” I cocked an eyebrow at her, but she just snickered to herself. I pushed her away a little more “Stop that, it’s weirding me out.”

“You know what you need?” She took a deep breath, and sighed. “Some alone time with Merit, just to unwind a bit.” She grabbed me, quickly spun me around, and then shoved me at the stallion.

He looked confused, and a bit worried. “What’s going on?” He asked as his eyes drifted down to me.

“She’s stressed, and you’re a better outlet for her than using drugs.” Sweet looked a little annoyed. “Do your stallion duty, and help her out with it like you did with your stallion friend.” She shooed us with her hooves towards the bedroom. “Go, before she starts acting like a stick in the mud.”

We trotted into the room, I feeling a bit embarrassed about Sweets actions. Looking back at Merit, somehow the moment was lost in all the yelling, and crying, and the…

“For crying out loud!” Sweet yelled as she dragged Thunder and Strawberry into the room. “You four have fun, I’m going to keep watch.” she said, leaving the room before closing the door.

The sound of heavy hoofsteps could be heard outside. “What in tartarus is going on!” from the next room the voice of a stallion yelled out.

“Just idiots getting to frisky. Best go back to your positions.” Sweet spoke.

A loud grunt came from main room. “Don’t presume you can give me orders stripe, or I’ll see to it that I’ll be confiscating one of those legs of your, and beat you with it.”

“Oh, that would be fun to watch.” I heard Red speak up. “But this is neither the time or place for hostilities. The maids simply brought the wrong change of clothes, and our friend was already quite stressed out as it was. They’re just helping her get changed now, nothing to make a scene over.” She smiled as she shifted to a lighter tone. “But I am grateful that you are willing to check up on me, I’ll let the lord know of your dedication to your duty.”

“Fine.” A guard spoke loudly, and I had a feeling it was directed to me. “But any more noise from you lot, and I’ll be putting in a request form for putting you all into interrogation.” I could hear the heavy footsteps slowly fade.

“Later, assholes” Sweet yelled back at them.

A poke on my shoulder drew my attention from the door, and to Merit, who then pointed down at the two mares. The two were in a tight embrace, lips locked, their eyes glazed over. But what really drew my attention, was that Strawberry had something stuck in both of her rear holes and Thunder. She had snagged and already gotten the strap-on haphazardly attached to her.

“Now, I don’t have any experience in this, but I’ve heard story’s.” Merit spoke nervously. “but if they start going at it now, that unicorn may have problem. I mean she’s still, you know, plugged up...”

I face hoofed, clunking my head with a metal hoof. “Fuck it, it’s too late to go back out there now.”

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

I had to force my mouth to stop chattering, the claws being a bit louder then pony teeth. This was do to the moment having arrived, and I needing to be as unnoticed as possible. The two weird mares had come in, looking less calm than before, and leaving the door wide open. Quietly, I shuffled along the ground and out through the door. Something must have snagged, as the door slammed shut behind me, though luckily my tail was in the air, so it didn’t get crushed. Brushing myself off, and feeling a bit proud of getting passed the first step, I readied myself for the next.

I took a deep breath. “Mayall Galaxy, you’ve got this.” I told myself, calming my nerves, or whatever I had.

“Who’s there?” A gruff stallion called out.” And I already failed, yay me!”.

I straightened up, “This should be no different than trying not to anger sis.” I mumbled to myself. I flared my fins out to look more proper, and less submissive. Unfortunately, they ended up poking out of my disguise, so I flattened them again. Looking back at my tail, I still wondered how it looked like a pony’s. This magic stuff sure seemed to work well out of convenience.

Note to self, Unicorns are frightening beasts of unimaginable power.

The guards turned the corner, and one of their eyes drifted to me. “You, who are…” yelling from the room drew their attention. “For crying out loud, what are those barbaric stripes doing now?” I flattened myself against the wall as they passed me, their attention completely focused away from me.

I gave a sigh of relief before quickly trotting away. Making sure I was far enough away, I found an empty room and pulled up my pipbuck. The others had already programed what I needed to do; grab the M.o.M. bug, install it to the air traffic control tower, turn it on, and once the message is received, pull it out, and find the others again. The location of the store room the stuff was in was helpfully displayed on my map. I had already been there once, so the pipbuck could easily guide me back there without a problem.

“Hay, stop that.” The voice of a mare called out, but in was sounded in a more playful tone.

The door opened, and a unicorn mare in armor trotted in, followed by a stallion in armor. The stallion nipped at her neck, and spoke softly. “If I stopped, then how are we supposed to have any fun?”

The mare glared at the stallion. “Who says I’m having fun!”

The stallion rolled his eyes. “Then why is your tail up?”

“It’s, it’s not like I wan… want to,” She gave a shiver as she huffed. “it’s just moving on it’s own, that’s all. Don’t make me kick you.”

“Aww, you're blushing.” The stallion pointed out. “Now I can’t resist, not when you have a face like that.”

“Ff… fine!” the mare blurted, “Just be quick about it! Our brake will be over soon.”

Now whatever those two were going to do, and as curious I was, I had other things to do first. I’ll just have to ask one of the ponies later about it, maybe the pink one if I see her. I carefully opened the door, and slipped out, and as I closed the door the mare gave out a loud. “AHhh” before yelling. “Wrong hole jerk!” that confused me, another thing I’ll have to inquire about when I return to the others.

I made my way down the hall as quickly and discreetly as I could. After passing a few more guards, who gave me nothing more than momentary confused glances, I found myself in a more populated area. There were more maid ponies here, and maid stallions, who didn’t have dresses on, but straight suits… Butlers, I think they were called.

Flags and torches decorated the stone walls, and I could hear a flute playing some distance away. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the pictures in the Shakespony books, like in Roamer and Jove, or even Hamlet. I had to shake the thought from my mind, but it might not be so bad to come back to this castle in the sky and put on a whole show from one of the stories if they let me.

The contraband room was not as empty as I thought it would be. A large armored robot sat at a table, looking down at some of the stuff here with its hoof looked locked in a thinking position under it’s chin. The table had a few of the guns that Vibraphone owns, as well as her knife. The talismans she’d had were also all neatly lined up and displayed, as well as… The M.o.M. bug!

Objective one done!

I’d hoof bump the robot if it was not such a bad idea. The robot must be here to protect the stuff here, so it be a bad idea to mess with it. Mother always warned me about that, and to stay away from Molly Manticore, as the robots there were extra dangerous.

“Right,” I said to myself, “Just need to be quick.”

I positioned myself to the side of the robot, just out of sight. Though dangerous, they were also stupid, more so than ponies. As long as I don’t stay in its line of sight for too long, they won’t even know I’m here. It takes a few seconds to see what’s in front of them, so snatching the little box will be simple. Still, why ponies never fixed that problem was beyond me, dumb ponies making dumber robots.

On three… one… two… three!

I quickly reached out and placed my hoof on top of the box.

* Slam! *

I winced in pain as the robot’s hoof pressed down on my own. I looked at the robot, seeing it looking right at me. “Uhh, hi?”

“Strange.” The robot spoke, which was never a good sign, as they always make too much noise. “Now that I look at you, I can see you clearly. What tech are you using to hide your presence from my E.F.S. and obstruct my visors?”

Oh, this robot was too talkative. “I um, don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m just a pony that likes cubes, nothing strange here at all!” Shit, forgot to enunciate. “Listen, I’m just a normal pony, I don’t knoweth anything about any tech, or suspect activities. I just like cubes, that’s all.” I smiled at the robot, hoping that it was enough to convince it, they are stupid after all.

I winced again in pain as the robot pushed down on my hoof harder, and I could feel my hoof bend, like it was going to split.

“Listen, fool.” The robot spoke with a deep intimidating tone. “Tell me now, or I will crush that hoof of yours. How did you get in here without triggering my E.F.S. and how did you slip passed the guards and staff?”

The pain, it really felt like she was going to crush it. “I... I don’t know. Ponies and robots are bad at paying attention, that’s all. They all just don’t quite see me if I don’t draw attention to myself. It’s not my fault!”

“What is this nonsense?” The robot pushed down harder. “Be that way then.”

* Crack *

Pain shot up my hoof as it split open, but it was also now free, so I pulled it back before the robot could attack it again. The caprice of my right forehoof had split, blue blood slowly seeping from it. But the pain was now duller without the metal hoof pressing down on it, and now I could wiggle each side independently of each other. It reminded me of when I was small, before my legs had fused together. Walking was weird back then.

The robot stared at me, it’s head slowly turning to one side. “What… are you?”

It then hit me. A realization, not the robot that is. My disguise had failed, meaning that it was going to get harder to complete this mission. Aside from that, now I was going to be limping and bleeding all over the castle.

“What am I? I should be asking you that, mister robot. So rude.” Its hoof was still on the cube, so I just had to get the robot to let it go, and run out of here before it kills me. Now how do I do that?

“You have a mouth on you.” The robot leaned in, not letting it’s hoof off the bug. “You’re not a changeling, or a cyber pony. Those fins mean... possibly aquatic in nature?“

I huffed, the stupid robot was not letting up. “fine then, I’m, what ponies call, a sand-lurker, though, of the sparkle-cola verity. We’re not like those other dumb ones. Were the smart ones.”

The robot shifted, letting its hoof off the bug. “One of those horrendous things, that’s impo…”

I lunged for the cube, but the other metal hoof swung at me, knocking me to the floor. Even so, success was mine as I held the cube in my jaw claws above my head.

“By Celestia!” The Robot stomped a few steps towards me. “Fine, then you’re not lying, monster. But this just means that I’ll have to send you to for an autopsy after I kill you. Or at least, have them open up what’s left of you to see how you work.” The robot charged, and I dashed out of the way, the pain in my right forehoof was shooting up my leg each time it hit the floor.

The door creaked open, and in walked the pink and blue pony, Harp. “Stratus, what’s going?”

The robot turned its head to Harp, “Stay back princess, this monster dangerous.”

I waved at Harp, to get her attention. “Can you get this robot to shut down for me?”

Harp hit her face with her hoof. “Mayall, what are you doing here. And where have you been?”

“Looking around, this nothing like at home.” I answered, half honestly.

“What,” the robot spoke, hesitating on its advance as it sounded confused. “What is the meaning of this?”

“She’s a friend, and only somewhat dangerous.” With a sigh, Harp trotted over the robot. “Actually I think she may be more of a danger to herself.” Her gaze then turned towards me. “And you, do you know how much danger you're putting yourself in by wandering off like that?”

“I uhh… sorry.” great, now pink pony was chastising me when I was only doing what Vibraphone asked me to. “But I certainly can take care of myself.”

“Clearly.” Harp said in a tone that felt like she was mocking me. “Stratus, you can just escort her to where the others are, so please, don't hurt her anymore.”

Strangely, the robot huffed. “Fine, I’ll have some of my ponies escort it to the room.”

Harps head lowered “Oh, okay then.”

The robot looked down at Harp. “Lady Harp. I know you want to say goodbye to your acquaintance, but we can't delay for too long, and I don't trust them.” The robot then looked over to me. “And now I have more of a reason to distrust them.”

I felt a bit on the spot, the robot's gaze feeling a tad intense. “I not done nothing, what happened to the yellow pony was all mother. And that one station, that was all my sister's fault!”

“Mayall,” Harp sighed, “I rather you not bring up such things.” She picked up a healing potion from a nearby bench, and trotted over to me, giving me a hug. Though her hooves more hovered over me as she let me drink the potion. “Just make sure the others are safe, and good luck.” She place something into one of my fin legs, and I folded the fins to around it, making sure whatever it was stayed in place.

Harp backed off and return to the big pony robot, and two guards came in. “We’re here ma’am, what do you… by Celestia!” Both guards mouth held a gape.

The robot stomped its hoof, getting the two guards attention. “Take this thing to the room where we are holding the other intruders. And don’t take your eyes off of it, it seems to have some strange magic about it.”

The two armored guard ponies saluted as I walked over and went with them. Now out in the open, all the ponies eyed me. It, didn't feel right, so many staring at me. Even back at the nest, the others avoided staring too much, it was seen as rude. And these ponies were definitely rude. It also didn’t help that every step hurt, but with that potion, my split hoof at least had stopped bleeding.

“First fucking stripes, now some sort of abomination.” One of the guards spoke up. “Can you believe the day we’ve had?”

“I know.” The second added. “Not to mention, I heard that there was a republic spy that got found out today.”

“Really, what happened to the spy? The first guard asked.

“Out the window last I’d heard.” The second guard answered promptly.

“Good riddance.” The first guard laughed. “Those degenerates deserve no less, them and those bit grabbing ponies in Orthrus.”

“Well, once the crown passes, thing are going to change.” The second guard laughed as well. “The peace conference was huge mistake, and the queen, bless her soul, gave away too much of what is rightfully ours.”

The tip of a javelin launcher poked my side. “Keep moving monster.” The second guard aggressively order me.

The first guard eyed me, a look of disgust across his face. So, I waved one of my jaw claws at him, snapping it once. The guard hit me in the back of my head with his javelin launcher.

“Freak.” He snorted before prodding me to move again.

I was starting to feel like I was around my sister’s followers, though luckily, without sis being around. Actually, it was becoming uncanny now that I think about it; escorted by warriors, the workers severing their gaze, only to be locked away until the one in charge has a use for me. Though I did have to admit that the decorations were a lot nicer here. Something sis would see burnt to the ground no doubt.

We had to stop for a moment, as some maids were pushing a cart ahead of us. I used this as an opportunity to check my pipbuck inventory screen, and with little on me, I didn't need to scroll to see everything. Among the list, was the M.o.M. bug, of which I knew was where Harp had placed it in my leg fin, making me grip a little tighter to it. One of the guards looked back at me, his eyes glaring suspiciously. Thinking fast, I turned on the radio.

The voice of the lively mare calling herself Cerberus boomed from my pipbuck “and that's why, even if your cat has cybernetics, it does not mean it's no longer carnivorous. They still can't live off a plant based diet. In other news, hostilities between the Republic and Orthrus have only continued to worsen. With the Republic blaming Orthrus to have sent an assassin whom had killed their leader. Orthrus has denied the accusations, and…” The radio turned off as one of the guards turned the knob a bit forcefully.

“Stupid monster.” The first guard chaste me.

The second guard chuckled, “You know, I wonder how many ponies would care if something were to happen to this monster?”

“You know, you might be right.” The first guard agreed. “There’s been a problem of ponies falling out windows lately.”

The two guards looked at me, a less than friendly smile on their face. I didn't need it spelled out to me that things had gone from bad to worse.

“Ahh, that would be a bad idea pony.” I warned them. “What would that robot think, or the princess?”

The two guards looked at each other, and laughed. The first guard got closer, face to face with me. “How cute, captain Stratus may command the royal guard, but not us in the Canterlot guard. And once she, we will hold all the power again. As for the princess, no pony, and I mean, nopony cares what that stripe thinks.”

“I care.” was my retort.

“How sweet, so negative one pony cares.” The first guard chuckled softly. “Seriously, if this monster is the only thing with the princess’s ear, then it probably would be best if it went missing.”

I could feel myself heat up. These stupid ponies dared to insult my friend! Not only that, but they admitted they planned to kill me, only proving how stupidly horrible ponies are. If this was how it was to be, then I didn’t have any choice but to defend myself preemptively.

“FUCK YOU!” I bellowed at the first guard, screeching so hard into the guard’s ear that I thought I’d tear my vocal cords.

The first guard cried out in pain as he fell back. The second guard ran to his aid with a look of shock on his face. I knew what was to come next, and so I rushed the second guard. As he raised his javelin launcher, I slammed into him, knocking the guard to the ground and sending his gun clattering to the ground.

Quickly, I picked up the javelin launcher in my hoof. I entered S.A.T.S., letting the world slow as the spell booted up. Selecting the guard, I could see his face go from shock, to horror before I threw the gun at him. It sailed through the at, solidly connecting with his head. The guard fell back and stopped moving.

I turn my attention to the first guard, only to see him convulsing. Red blood came out of his nose, ears, and eyes. He shook for a few more seconds before falling unconscious. He should be fine… probably. He’s just in shock and has burst blood vessels in his head, nothing serious really. A sonic blast to the face tend to do that. Though this pony seem to take it harder than I did when sis practiced on me, and I did scream quick loud at him...

With no other ponies in sight, I was free for now, but for only so long. Somepony would have definitely heard my sonic attack and would arrive momentarily. Quickly, I dragged the two guards into a nearby room and blocked the door behind me. I quickly stripped them, and threw them on top of each other. Don't know why, but I found it funny.

Checking my pipbuck talisman tool, the illusion spell had recharged, allowing me to disguise myself as a pony again. This time I was not going to mess with any robots. Activating the spell, I also put on one of the guard’s armor. Even though it was a little big on me, I figured that at the very least it should help me stay hidden. Though, I didn't like how the armor rubbed on my chin.

Checking the map functions on my pipbuck, and with the bug in my possession, I surmised that I can now finish this quest.

Now looking like a pony guard, it was definitely easier to get around the other staff here. Even when ponies looked right at me, they diverted their gaze. Though, I could tell that the stripey mirage ponies did this more than the others, and even started working harder when I came closer.

Getting outside proved a little tricky, with the doors more guarded than the rest of this tower. I was going to need ask them to open the door for me, but that came with a risk. If they looked at me suspiciously or questioned me at all, I could end up in trouble again.

“Hello fellow guards, may I request permission to pass?” I tried to keep my request calm, quick, and polite. Something my sis would never think to do with a pony.

One of them raised an eyebrow, two ignored me, and the last one laughed. The laughing guard quieted down and looked me in the eye. “And there goes a day without some pony getting into the whisky stock.” He then sniffed me. “At least you don't smell of booze, though I suggest that once you’re off shift, you take a shower nonetheless.”

“Also straightened up your uniform, you look dreadful.” another guard barked.

Remembering when the other guards had done when the robot told them what to do, I saluted. “Right.”

The pony in front of me sighed. “Here, let me.” He lazily moved my armor a little with his magic, and pushed me along my way. I picked up my trot before I drew more attention to myself. “So, when did we get new recruits?”

When I had first arrived, I was too concerned with following the guard and Vibraphone to properly look around, but this place was gorgeous. Stone floor, white walls, flowering plants everywhere, and the buildings. I've not seen anything like these buildings before. Well, mostly because most of all the abandon pony buildings were caved in or overgrown now, but the building here were solid brick. They were painted a brilliant white, but stranger yet, the second floors to most of them actually stretched out over the road. Unlike the first floors, the second was made from wooden beams, and what looked like white concrete. Their roofs were made of expertly stitched together thatch, and along with everything else, it made this place really look like it was from one of the old pony story books.

The control tower was not far, but this place had so many twists and turns that it was hard to get around. Eventually I just gave up trying to find a clear way around that I cut through one of the houseses. Though, I had avoided unwanted attention, the armor I had on was less than quiet, so when I enter the home, I startled a mirage pony mare.

“Oh! Excuse me sir!” the mare spoke softly as she shot her gaze to the ground. “The master and mistress are currently out.” She looked a lot like the maids from the big tower, but her uniform was not as funny. “May I take a note for when they return?” she seemed worried, probably because I just stomped into her home.

“No, no. That won't be necessary.” I said as calmly as possible. “I'm just passing thru, just go back to what you were doing.”

“Yes sir,” She had a confused look on her face, but gave me a nodd. “but please knock firstly, the Madam does not like unannounced guests.” she then turned around and began dusting.

Exiting the house, I entered what looked to be a back alley. One which was now a straight path toward the control tower as it turned out. Trotting down the alley, I got a glimpse inside some of the other homes. Mostly they were occupied by mirage ponies, all in similar uniforms and all working.

Leaving the alley, I could now properly see the control tower, it sticking out like a big ugly gray concrete tower inside what was otherwise a beautiful city. To my side, I could see a few mirage ponies hovering over some spark batteries. From what I was told, they must be recharging the batteries to sell them later. There were a few other mirage ponies carrying baskets with similar batteries, going to, or leaving from the group charging the batteries.

Passing the busy ponies, I opened the door to the control tower. Climbing the stairs, I could hear music playing, and further I went up, the louder it got. There was one more door to go through, but when I tried to open it, it didn't budge. Damn locked doors.

*Bang bang bang.*

Slamming my hoof down on the door, I waited a few seconds, but before I knocked on the door again, the music dimmed. With a loud whine from it’s hinges, the door opened up, and disheveled looking guard pony stared back at me. She had only her guard shirt on, and four socks, along with a bow in her mane.

“Uh, Hi there, is it time to change out already?” The pegasus mare said, sounding a bit too relaxed.

I didn’t quite understand what she was talking about, so I just nodded.

“Oh good.” she chirped, waving me in. The room had a grimy smoky smell to it, and canisters were littering the floor. “s...sorry, if I had known you were so early, I'd have cleaned up sooner.” she picked up a few canisters, shaking each one until she found one that sounded like it had something inside. Placing it on some weird jar with a glass pipe attached to it, she put her mouth on the pipe, and pressed down on the canister. The strange mare took a deep breath, taking in whatever was inside the pipe, and slowly exhaled. “ahh, that feels good.”

“What's that?” I looked at the odd contraption, not understanding it at all.

“My bong,” The mare chuckled. “Or are you asking about Chill? Are you new here or something?”

Carp, I was on the spot again. “New? Yes,” But playing along so far seemed to be working “Yup, that's what I am. New...”

“I knew it, ya got that new gal look to you.” She chuckled again “I bet you’re all worried about what your mom would think if you slacked off?”

“Well, more worried about my sister finding me” I answered, a little more truthfully than anything.

“Sounds like a bitch.” Waving her hoof dismissively, the mare raspberried at me. “Here, I'll show you what to do, and you can take a hit with me. Name’s High Kite, by the way.” I just nodded my head in agreement. “Good, now first, get out of that stuffy armor, nopony gives a shit what goes on up here, so you might as well get comfortable.”

It was nice getting out of the armor, I hadn't had it on long, but it just didn't fit well on me. Though, High Kite was a bit too touchy when helping get it off, making me a bit worried about getting found out. But luck was on my side, as once the armor was off she got right to telling me how all the buttons work and not focusing on me at all.

“Righto, first things first, any button that's not lit up, no longer works.” High Kite, pointed to one console where most of it’s buttons were dark. “Supposedly, some egghead tried to get it to work fully, but whomever built this tower were a bunch of ass hats, and built it to be non compatible with most standard parts. Mainly anything that came out of stable 50, some military stuff works with it, but most of that got slagged in the great war.”

“And the buttons that do work?” I asked politely. If I was lucky, she might be able to tell me just where I was supposed to put the bug for Miss Vibraphone..

“Don’t touch em.” She said with a chuckle. “All you do here is wait for a message to come in, and pass it on to the Duke. Other then that, we don’t have to do nothing.”

I thought for a moment, and I had a brilliant idea. “Oh, just remembered, I was told by the ‘eggheads’ to install this into the system here.” I showed her the M.o.M. Bug and hoped it would be something these ‘eggheads’ she spoke of would likely send up here anyway. “It’s supposed to be some sort of amplifier, help with getting a signal better. Where do I install it?”

“Fuck if I know…” High rubbed her head, looking confused for a moment before looking over at the consoles again. “Wait,” She trotted over to the other side of the control tower, brushing up against me. “I do remember something. The eggheads do come up here now and then to check a bundle of wires they put in here. Very important, do not touch any of this stuff.” She opened a panel, and three canisters fell out. “Oh, right. I keep my extra stash of chill there, so don’t touch that either.”

I took a look at what was inside the panel she’d opened up. There was a tangled mess of wires which connected into boxes or trailed further on inside the console. I was going to ask High if she knew where to put it, but the stupid pony would not know anymore.

If my nest friends were here, they’d have known exactly what to do. I made sure they knew all about this stuff, and just thinking about them made me miss home a bit. But I had a job to do now, and I probably should have read those textbooks too, now that I think about it.

I tried to compare my pink M.o.M. box to the other gray and black boxes, but nothing seemed to match. Feeling frustrated, I fell back onto the tried and true method that even my nest friends used when they couldn’t figure something out. Just plug whatever you have into wherever it will fit until the thing works how it’s supposed to.

From the time I left the nest I’ve have nothing but bad luck, so today had to be the day I got it turn things around. The ponies were counting on me, that and I’d probably get killed if caught, why were ponies so violent?

So, I found out that a lot of power runs through this tower when I almost burned a hole in my hoof. Worse yet, it shorted out my disguise, but strangely High Kite didn’t seem to mind, or even notice for that matter. She just huffed down on her chill some more, and slapped me on the flank, hurting her hoof. Such a weird pony…

My next attempt scrambled the music, produced a loud, ear piercing sound along with a burst of static, and my third try just turned everything off. This was a lot harder than I’d thought it would be.

“Blast it all, this naiv of metal confounds me.” I blurted, feeling very irritated now. Just then, something poked at my flank. Turning around, High Kite was pointing at me with her bong.

“You’re trying to hard, girl. Ya just need to chill out, you will think better.” I cocked an eye at her, and she laughed. “Come on, trust me. Just take a hit and I promise it’ll help take the edge off.” I wasn’t getting anywhere, and maybe pony could help. Remembering how she had done it before, I put my mouth to it, but then she pulled it away. Giggling. “If you're going to suck on my pipe, you're going to have to do it the right way.” She put the bong between her back legs, and began to slowly stroke the glass tube. “Don’t be shy.”

This, just made me feel a bit wrong, but I wasn’t going to get any closer to solving this stupid pony puzzle if I didn’t go through with it. Getting closer, I wrapped my mouth around the glass tube, and High Kite pressed down on the canister. Taking a deep breath, all I got was some stale odd tasting air, that made my mandibles feel a bit numb.

“So what does this do, pony?” I asked as I reached my hoof up and wiped at my muzzle.

“Just wait for it...” she said to me slowly.

“For wha…” everything fell to my left, and Kite started to melt and bubble. “What… what is this?” My voice sounded weird, and my hoof, there were like five little legs sticking out of them, one fat one, and four skinny ones. I closed all but the middle one, and pointed it at the stupid bundle of cables, it felt like the right thing to do.

“More, more!” High said, her voice now high pitched.

Looking at her bong, I felt like this strange air in it might actually be helping. And you know what? Fuck it, more can't hurt. As I took it into my numb legs, and breathed more of it in, it made everything more melty and a bit spinny.

Remembering the bug, I had a thought. What if I plugged it into my pipbuck, and then my pipbuck into the console? That... that was brilliant. I was immune to electricity and fire an’ all, and the polka dotted five eyed, two mouthed, bird… thing.

“High Kite, hold my tail!” I slurred as I glared angrilly at the stupid pony console. “I’m going in.”

______________________________________________________

The sound of my pipleg’s radio jolted me to attention. The loud static that filled the room wasn’t just coming from mine, but also from Merits pipbuck as well. The stallion tried to get up, but unfortunately for him, I was still on top of him. The two maids had luckily rolled off the bed, and were now cuddling down on the stone floor.

“Hey Vibe, what's wrong with our pipbucks?” Merit asked as he shook it around.

Looking closely at mine, I switching it over to the radio screen, it had multiple radio channels open, and not just the few we had on the island, but others to. Lots and lots and lots of others.

“I think Mayall did it.” I spoke up as I couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that the lurker came through on this. “It looks like she got the bug installed.”

“Great, now we can get out of here.” Merit pushed himself up. His sudden movement made me lose my balance, and I fell onto his back with a moan. “Shit, that was a mistake.” He groaned out from under me. “Could you, you know, get out of my ass?”

I pulled back a little, and Merit gave out a quiet moan, it made my cheeks flush. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, the mission does come f-FUCK!” he belted out. “Out not in!” He looked back at me, and his annoyed expression deflated.

“Sorry, just give me a minute or two.” I had to wipe some of the drool from my mouth. “It’s not like we plan on charging out right away.”

He looked at me for a moment and sighed. “Well it is your turn, just be a bit more gentle.”

“No promises.” I told him as I put my hooves on his hips.

_______________________________________________________

*Crackle* *Buzz* *Crackle*

“This is Captain Light Turbulence of the the New Cloudsdale Enclave. Come in, can anyone here me? I’m reporting in from from the Marewaii Islands. I repeat, this is Captain Light Turbulence of the the New Cloudsdale Enclave, I’m reporting in from from the Marewaii Islands. Can anyone hear me?”

*Buzz* *Werr* *Crack*

“This is sea bandit, get off our coms or I’ll find you myself and kill you”

*Crackle*

“I can hear ya, now fuck off.”

*Werr* *Pop*

“This is Bold harbor, we can hear you, and New Cloudsdale, that city is still out there? How are you doing this to our coms?”

*Pop* *pop* *Buzz*

“Unauthorized access to communications system... targeting source… arming missiles… launch in… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Error, malfunction detected. Cause: missile silos empty. Sending malfunction report… error, unable to contact Ministry.”

*Crackle*

"Hello, Hello, miss enclave. Your signal is coming in too strong and scrambling my own. Which now that you mention it, is amazing due to you nearly being on the other side of the world. But where are my manners? I'm DJ po..." *Crackle* *Pop* "This is Pirate radio, bringing you the newest in rust music, suited for those not interested in NCR crap, or in DJ Pon3's control freaks spasms. Speaking of which, just how does he see so much? It's real creepy I tell you, him spying on everypony all the time." Buzz* "That's it! Whoever you are, I'm going to find you and beat some respect into you!" *Werrr* "Come get me you old fart!"

*Pop* *Crackle*

_______________________________________________________

“Captain Light, this is New Cloudsdale Enclave Air Command, we can hear you. The signal is still stabilizing, but we’re working on patching it up. We’re reading you loud and clear, and it’s good to hear from you again, captain. Before you give us an operational report, we need to know how you're speaking to us. Whatever you’re using to contact us is disrupting all other local communications. Over.”

*Buzz*

“Oh thank Celestia. Roger, Air Command, this is Captain Light Turbulence. I can’t report on what’s sustaining this connection, and I don’t know how much coms time we’ll have, so I’ll make this quick. Made it to the Island, air’s toxic and there’s no ponies living on the surface. We were shot down over the Island by a hostile force in possession of their own Vertibuck. Lost South Breeze, and Warm Gale. The rest of the team fled underground where we made contact with the locals, who took us to safety. What’s left of the island's wartime inhabitants here have been preserved in a vast inter-island metro system. From what we’ve found, it’s completely self sustaining, including the technology, and the cultivation of food. I repeat, they have food and technology that could keep New Cloudsdale afloat and fed for years. The group we made contact with is called Orthrus, the former Stable-Tec researchers at an R&D facility here. The leaders of Orthrus are willing to make contact to negotiate terms of trade, and if I may say, they need us as much as we need them. There are also two hostile Factions here, one is outfit with Vertibuck and old navy ships, and the other is preparing to go to war with Orthrus. If you can get close to the islands and make radio contact, Orthrus operatives will be waiting to respond. Be warned, Hostal Vertibuck’s are in the air, so take the necessary precautions on your approach. Over”

*Crackle*

“Roger, Report received Captain, what’s the status on Merit *Buzz* and *Crackle* Winds? Over.”

“Roger, *Crakle pop* Is on a mission, and Wild *Werr* is undergoing medical *Buzz*

*Werr* *pop* *crackle* “Signal, connection unstable.” *Pop* *Crackle* “Over.”

“Air co…” *Werr* “be waiting for y…” *Fizz*

________________________________________________

Footnote:

Companion signal lost (Mayall Galaxy)

Perk Obtained - Black Widow - In combat, you do +10% damage against male opponents. Outside of combat, you'll sometimes have access to unique dialogue options when dealing with the opposite sex.

Chapter 38 - Raid

I still didn't like the idea of trotting around in a maid uniform, and I was less than liking the underwear that only covered just enough that they could be considered underwear at all. I did however like how the cloths at least gave me enough room to hide my enforcer and my two cartridge holders. It all went under the apron, which actually worked well as a compromise until I could get my holster back.

Sweet looked eager, yet still nervous. “Right, I'm not trying to be a downer and all, but you sure just charging them is the best idea?”

“I know, I know” I retorted, “but the all that radio chatter has got to have them all confused.”

She just cocked an eyebrow at me. “Then why didn’t we go when it started?” she face hoofed. “Never mind, I regret putting the two of you in there like that. And seriously, what were you doing in there?”

I sighed. “Lets just say I was getting some stress out. Now let's go.”

She looked over at Merit and shrugged while he held his tail between his legs. I don't know why, but I enjoyed seeing him being vulnerable. I guess I like big strong stallions with a soft side, and ones that can squeak.

Shaking off the thought, I waved for the others to get behind me, we were going to overwhelm the two guards using a standard takedown tactic. I would take the front, then Sweet would advance, after that it was Merit’s turn, and last would be Red. The guards would be too focused on me, and would fail to defend themselves from the others, or at least that was the plan. I still remember having it drilled into me back in Orthrus over and over. ‘It builds team cohesion’ they would say smugly as we suffered through the repeated run throughs.

I checked my radio, finding that it was now showing nothing but static. Though the broadcast had ended, it seemed all signals were still being jammed. But that at least meant that the guard here should still be distracted. I could only hope Mayall was safe...

“On three…” I whispered back to the others, pulling Lunar Eclipse out from under my apron. “Three!”

*Bang!”

My revolver blasted a hole in the lock, and opened the door. We rushed forward, the revolver in my mouth. The two guard rushed into the hallway ahead of us, only to stumble back as we poured out of the room.

Leaping onto the first, he fell back as I barreled into him. A second after, so did the second guard with Sweet on him. Pointing my gun at him, the guard flinched and whimpered.

“I’m sorry, don’t kill me!” The first guard cried out, bringing his forehooves up to protect his face.

“Ya, what he said.” the second pleaded. “Were just acting tough, didn’t mean nuffin’ by it.”

Sweet laughed, and pointed at the guard I was on. “Look, he even pissed himself.”

“Fuck, really.” I stepped off the guard, and saw the wet spot. “How green are you? Because that's just pathetic.”

The first guard looked away, and the second spoke up. “Yo, are you kidding with this? Give us a break lady, this position is only for show. Our parents would flip if we were to patrol down in the muck where the lowlife could shank us, Yo.” I didn’t understand why he was talking like that, but it was making me annoyed.

“Pathetic indeed.” Merit gave a sharp whistle. “I still remembered their kind from back in boot camp. A prissy politician’s kid had to do five hundred wingups for wetting his bed, and got five lashes when he started crying a bit after wingup two hundred.”

“That's all?” Red joined in. “Mother had me drink a mild poison when I talked back to her. Thought I was going to puke up my stomach.” I cocked my eye at Red, but befor I could say anything, she continued. “But enough about the past, we need to get going, I doubt these two will be able to stop us.”

She was right, but as I got ready to run, I saw the two maids peek around the coroner. “You two, best to go somewhere safe, and lay low. If things get worse, go to Orthus, they will take you in.” waving the two off the four of us galloped are way to where they were keeping our stuff.

The guards, and staff were shocked to see us run through the place, though none seemed willing to do anything about us. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were simply stunned to see my revolver out in the air. I knew that ponies in more tame stations were not trained to deal with such a threat, it was the guards job, but even the guards here were just as stunned as all the other ponies. If it hadn’t sunk in before, this alone made it even more clear to me that the guard here were for show. They lacked the aggressiveness of Golden Rule’s henchponies, or the discipline of the proper royal guard. Even when one had tried to stop us, a wave of my gun in his general direction sent the guard ducking and whimpering for cover.

It didn’t take all too long to get to the contraband room. Our belongings were scattered about among the random assortment of confiscated things. Still, it made me annoyed that any of these elitist assholes had even touched any of my gear.

“How sad.” Red spoke up, “They just dumped all my guns into a box? They really need to take better care of other ponies property.” I watch as she levetated her guns out of the box and onto the table. Ten of her small two shot pistols, which was an excessive amount of pistols to say the least, and one other gun that had a wide but short barrale.

“Is that... A flare gun?” I asked.

Red nodded, “One can never know when you will need one, dear. Always a good way to let your friends know where you are.” She proceeded to check each gun and then hide them in her dress.

Oh, right, I needed to get ready as well.

I found my holster and attached it over my blouse, and placing my Lunar Eclipse back into its home. I found my hat, scarf, and combat vest all in one neatly folded pile, completely clean. Well, at least they did something useful in touching my stuff...

Putting on my hat, I couldn’t help but smirk. Yeah, the hat was stupid, but I had grown accustomed to having it on, and anything to make me feel more comfortable at this point was something I needed. This was also true as I threw on the scarf. It was older then I was, and it would be a big sentimental loss for our family if was lost.

Last was my saddle bags and my air rifle, the Lelantos looked like it was untouched. It heavy in my hooves, like the weight of life was now added to it, both of innocent, and not. Specks of blood covered one side, likely from the angle grinder I’d been forced to use, but I had killed a lot of ponies recently, so I can’t say if it was from that time or from some point before.

“You okay, Viby?” Sweet asked.

“I don’t know.” I took a deep breath, and sighed. I looked up at Sweet, and she was all rigged up, her heavy automatic shotgun was ready to go. But I could see a slight twice in her eye. “Are you?”

She smiled, “All peachy now that I got my stuff back.” Opening up her bag, she pulled out a small vial of eyedrops. She quickly put a drop in each eye, and gave a sigh of relief. “Though my tear ducts still work, they’re not as good at keeping my new eyes lubricated. Just one of the downsides of having cool cybereyes I guess.”

I rummaged through my stuff, but like the maids had told me, all my chill pills were gone. It was not like I needed them right now, but it did mean that I was not going to feel like myself until I found some more. Though a substitute might work, if things got bad I mean. Not like I'll be going near any body of water any time soon, at least, I hope not.

There were a few more random things in the room, mostly other assorted chems and med supplies, some sex toys, weapons we didn't need, and a whole lot of alcohol. Sweet took some of the expensive looking booze, and I took three healing potions, and four vials of Med-X.

*Knock, Knock*

“You’re not supposed to be in there” The voice of a stallion spoke through the door, nether very loud, or commanding.

Sweet rolled her eyes. “Ya, we know.” She turned and bucked the door open. The stallion on the other side was knocked back and sent sprawling to the floor. “Man, I'm starting to feel sorry for these guys. I've seen completely out of it junkies in drug dens that put up a better fight. Or any fight for that matter.” Making sure that her booze was tucked away safely, she nodded to the door. “Right, the coast is clear, let's move.”

If the ponies here were scared of me with my gun, Sweet was going to be a nightmare made real to them. Still, if any of them got any funny ideas, I could use a good backup plan. I loaded a shredder round into my right foreleg before quickly following Sweet out.

“So, you really think we can get out of here without killing anypony?” Merit asked, using the extra space in the open hallway to fly above me. His battle saddle looked a bit goofy to me, the old wire system being down right primitive and unsanitary. The semiautomatic shotgun on his side looked like it should interfere with his flying, but he didn't even wobble in flight.

“We won’t kill if we can avoid it.” I huffed, feeling unsure. “Were trying to get them on our side, not start a war.” I had a bad feeling about all this, and my neck was feeling cold again. Golden Rule, this place, the royal guard. We were not ready for a royal cluster fuck so soon.

Merit saluted. “If only the Enclave had the same mindsets ten years ago.”
“But then you would not be here.” I give him a frown.

“Shouda, couda, wooda.” He shrugged before giving me a wink. “At least the sex has been great, so I can’t complain too much about how things turned out.”

Ccan't argue with that.” I said right before skidding to a stop, nearly running into Sweets surgicaly widened plot. She’d stopped in front of a door that was oddly unguarded. “What's up?”

She growled. “The fuckers set up a firing line ahead.”

Peeking around both her and the corner of the door, I saw a line of nine ponies. The one in the center was standing on a box with a megaphone held in their hooves, and would probably ask for our ‘surrender’ after they opened up on us. Which would be a hell of a thing to do, as all the ponies in the line were armed with two javelin launchers, all pre-aimed at our position. With a screech of static, the guard with the megaphone surprised me as they spoke up.

“Drop you weapons, we will use deadly force if necessary. Come quietly, and you will not be hurt.”

Sweet looked at me. “So, you think we should try another way out, or do we shoot our way out?” Despite the violent look in her eye, I knew she was not a bloodthirsty mare. She was just still angry, which I won’t lie, I was as well. Sweet would regret shooting down these ponies later, drink herself stupid. Me? Well, that wasn’t really my style. All the bravado was just to scare the other ponies from fighting us.

“I just told Merit that were not trying to start a war.” I shook my head. “So let’s be smart for now and go around them.” Sweet sighed, and nodded her head.

“Unless your going to blow a hole in the wall, I doubt there's another way out.” Red Steel spoke up. “It's quite obvious that this tower of a palace is built on the edge of the skyport. One way in, and all but one way out that isn’t a drop to your death.”

“Then what do you suggest?” I ask.

“Simple,” She smiled. “I provide you with an opening. These poor excuse for soldiers will be easy to distract, even though I doubt they could hit the broad side of the ocean if they even tried.”

“Why help?” Sweet cocked an eyebrow at her. “You do know you don't have any obligation to help us, right? I'm sure you would just be sent home or something, Unicorns are treated a lot better here.”

“A bit thick, aren't you?” Red Steel rolled her eyes. “Unlike you two, I should perfectly safe walking up to them and surrendering.” She then winked at us. “You helped me get here, so I'll help you get out of here. It’s what friends are for and all that junk.”

“Fine.” I still had a bad feeling down in my gut, but we needed an out. “But don't go getting yourself hurt, and if things go well, let's meet again, okay?”

“Darling, I'm a shark amongst fish. I’ll be just fine.” She flipped her mane and smiled. “And I have a strong feeling that we will see each other again sometime soon, don’t you worry.” We watched as she trotted past us, waving her hoof just passed the doorway. “Don't shoot, for goodness sake don't shoot little ol’ me!”

The pony with the megaphone spoke, his megaphone screeching with the sound of its feedback. “Just come out slowly with no weapons and you won’t be hurt.”

Red Steel stepped out. “I understand, no need to worry.” and slowly disappeared from view around the corner. “Well, that's a lot of guns, and all aimed at little old me? Why so afraid?”

“Miss, just trot over here.” The megaphon pony spoke. “Were going to need to search you, alright?”

She chuckled. “That’s fine, not like i’m going to bite.”

I looked over at Sweet, and she nodded. We both knew that Red was loaded down with her guns, no way she was not going to get caught. If she was going to do something, she had to do it fas…

*BANG*

We froze, then the sound of something like an SMG whent off.

A cold feeling ran down my spine, and the thought of Red getting shot came to the forefront of my mind, so did that the ponies here didn’t use ballistics very often, and all the guards were armed with javelin launchers. Slowly, I looked around the corner.

Standing amongst the guards was Red Steal, each guard having a bullet in their head, blood leaking under them. Her small guns floating around her, each one with a small line of smoke coming out of it. Her head tilted to me, one eye looking right at me, and she smiled.

“The fuck is wrong with you!?” I jumped out from behind the corner and galloped to her as she was trotting toward the outside. “Why did you kill them?”

“Well, they be goin' t' die anyways, so I though might as well get first blood.” She said, the way she spoke sounding too different now, yet far too familiar. “Ye know, ye should let loose more often. Fools like these aren't worth th' bother, or th' mercy.”

“No... You can’t be...” I took a step back, as she took a step into the light of the outside.

Red shrugged as she pulled out her flare gun. “I don’t know why Black Spot is so obsessed with you. You’re fun n’ all, but nothing special.”

“Halt!” a guard yelled from outside. I could see more coming out into view.

“Oh, by Celestia, thank you!” Red cried out, pointing her hoof at me. “That monster of a stripe has been killing ponies inside, she was going to kill me if you hadn’t shown up!”

Looking around me, I was right in the middle of the dead guards. Their blood had spread out across the floors, pooling under my hooves. The guards outside could see it, causing some to gasp while others scowled and raised their weapons.

That bitch played me!

“Don’t worry m’lady, you're safe with us.” The guard told Red as he trotted past her with his launcher aimed directly at me. The other guards outside joined in, slowly closing in.

Their eyes were completely off Red, which was exactly what she wanted. I could see the smile spread across her face, and the flare gun she’d had earlier aimed up into the sky. With a loud bang, her flair gun fired and sent a trail of crimson smoke flying high into the air. The flair hung in the air before it burst into a bright red plume before it ignited in a powerful blast that was so strong I could feel it in my chest.

The blast got the guard's attention, but when they turned their attention down to where Red had been, she was already gone. There was a quiet pause, only for a few seconds, but it felt like minutes. The coldness that ran down my spine now felt like ice, giving me an overwhelming sense of dead.

Sweet and Merit stepped out, Sweet being the first to break the silence. “What in tartarus was that?”

Everything shook with the the sound of an explosion, which was quickly followed with frantic gunfire.

I took a deep breath and a step forward, in response, the guard just outside the doorway returned to aiming their gun at me, but she fell over as she screamed as the sound of metal hitting stone range loudly in the air, pattering like rain. Blood began to pour out of her back and stomach. Two of the other guards came to her aid, almost slipping on her blood. A long dart stuck out of her belly, and a hole was in her back. What the hell, where did that come from!?

Looking up, I saw them. The pirates, a hoard of pegasi, and griffons, all coming out of the clouds and armed to the teeth with weapons. A glint of light hit my eyes, and I entered S.A.T.S. More as a reflex than anything. I selected a maneuver to jump back, using both points for maximum efficiency. I threw myself back, colliding with Sweet to push us both out of the way of the coming attack.

Darts. Dozens of large dart rained down on the unprepared guards outside. They didn’t even have time to process what had happen before they were turned into soon to not be living pin cushions. The blood poured out of their wounds as all of them collapsed, and the few that weren’t outright killed twitched and gurgled for air.

“The fuck was that!?” Sweet shouted, the look on her face clearly disturbed.

Merit trotted past us, stopping at the doorway, looking around. In his hoof was a bent dart, it must have had bounced in when it hit the ground. He picked it up and let every pony take a look. The dart, now that I could see it properly, had a wide cross section tip looked heavy and sharp, it connected to a long thin shaft with fins at the end. “Their called a flechette.” Merit spoke. “I remember seeing some in a military museum. I think they were outlawed by Celestia do to how cruel they were as weapons.” He threw the flechette outside, it making a ping sound as it clamored away.

I looked up at the sky outside, seeing the flying pirates throwing their cruel weapons at their victims below “Right, so how do protect ourselves, because I’d rather not die like that.”

He shook his head. “Hopes and prayers?”

“Oh fan fucking tastic.” Sweet yelled out. “Red turns out to be a psychopath, and now some ponies are playing lawn darts from the sky!” she took a look outside, and groaned. “I may have wanted these ass hats to get a black eye, but not like this.” Looking back at me, she had a serious look on her face. “On the bright side, I get to have my baby be put to proper use.”

I nodded back at her. “Just keep an eye up, I’ll have your back.”

Sweet rushed out, and Merit and I followed. We just needed to make it to the elevator and get out of this mess. Above us as we ran were six vertibucks with ponies hanging off of their sides, each of them wildly shooting their guns down into New Canterlot. One of the smaller towers on the edge of the city was already on fire, and the molten remnants of some sort of large defencive gun bent beyond use hung off it’s side.

Our path twisted and turned as we ran, and we had to ignore the cries of far too many wounded ponies, and we had to step over even more who were already dead. One of the pegasus pirates dropped down in our way with a twisted smile across her muzzle. Sweets gun easily ripped the pegasus to pieces as we didn't even slow down.

One more turn, and we were at the cage-like elevator. But the moment we came around the corner, we were forced to dive for cover as a few javelins came flying at us. Some of the guard ponies had taken shelter inside along with a few civilizations, and they clearly didn’t want to share the space.

“Plan B then?” Merit asked as he kept his eyes on the sky, only risking a cursory glance at me as I nodded. “Right, you take the lead. That train can't be far away.”

I waved as the elevator began to close, and as a gray pegasus swooped by in a blur. Screams came from the elevator as the guards forced the door closed as a small tube bounced its way inside. An explosion rocked us in our cover, and flames gouted out of the elevator. The ponies inside who were still alive, desperately banged on the cage like bars. The flaming elevator began to descend, dropping the grim display down out of sight, but unfortunately, not out of mind.

Looking back at Sweet, she gave the same concerned look I felt I had written across my face. Merit grabbed us both tightly and pulled us sharply down to the ground. A gust of wind came over us, followed by the sounds of hooves sliding on stone.

“Well lookie here! Didn't think I'd ever see you again.” I looked up to see the gray pegasus Graceful Gust standing before us. “Like my little display of art? Been thinking how I was going to do it since I got here. I figured it was best to wait till it was packed for maximum entertainment value. Fire bombing them was my master stroke, so much better than just shooting them if I do say so myself.”

Merit stepped over us, and slowly trotted over to Graceful. “Of course a treacherous dashite would find such a despicable action wonderful.”

“There. There it is!” Graceful gasped and pointed at Merit. “A pot calling the kettle black. Such hypocrisy, but I've been hoping to meet one of you Enclave fools for a long time now.” She pulled out a flare gun and fired it in the air, it shooting a line of gray smoke high up.

A few more pirates swooped out of the air and landed next to Graceful, he raising her hoof to catch the attention of a pair of mean looking griffins. It became a standoff, with everypony pointing their guns, yet no shots yet fired.

“Good, we've met, now get out of our way.” Merit spat back at Graceful.

“Fine fine, but Black Spot still wants his dear Dragon Slayer.” Graceful pointed a grenade launcher at us. “So be a good soldier and hoof her over.”

“Ya, no, not happening.” Merit said defiantly, as he raised his shotgun at her. “So fuck off, trator.”

She just smiled. “Ah, the whole loyalty bit. You do know there's no Grand Enclave to brown nose up to anymore, right? So just do me a favor and drop it, we both know it was all lies anyway.”

This was going nowhere, and longer we waited, the worse things were going to get.

“Listen here Graceful, I've not had the best day, and you're not making it better.” I growled at her, at least getting her to shift her attention to me. “So if you don't want another hole to choke on a dick with, it’s best just move on.”

“Fine, fine.” Graceful cocked an eye at me, and smiled to the other pirates who’d arrived around her. “It's not like you were part of this gig in the first place.” She fluttered her wings, hovering up into the air. “But just you wait, you get a pass now, but you’ll be next on the list, you’ll see.” She motioned at the two griffons, and they took flight. “Right, now who was the new target Red Steel wanted dead?” She tapped her chin before smirking right at me. “Oh, that's right, that pink and blue mare you arrived with.” She shot up into the sky, and out of sight. “Catch you later!”

“Damnit!” Merit stamped his hooves on the ground in frustration. “So, I'm guessing we're going to change our plans?”

“Fuck all this shit, we have to.” Sweet groaned. “With how quickly things are going to tartarus around here, the trains are probably blown up by now.”

I had to nod in agreement and quickly checked my pipbuck. The map came to life, showing me a fair amount of this place, but that wasn’t what I was after. Zooming out, the map revealed a blue dot on the other end of the skyport. The spot was listed as “Vertibuck landing pad” which meant that they must be leaving by air.

“Strange, I'm only getting Harps signal.” That was a bit more worrisome than I cared to admit. “Hopefully Mayall fine.”

“Well, she’s your friend. After the shit they did to me, I couldn't care less about a sand-lurker.” Sweet huffed, which I supposed I could understand her point of view. “But I’m not going to let those pirates touch one hair on Harp. She’s like the little sister I never had, and I’ll be damned if I’m not going to take her to her first rock concert.”

I took a deep breath. “Then where going to the vertibuck landing pad, we don’t have time to waste.” I motion them to follow me, and galloped off. It was a trap, it had to be, but one I was more than willing to spring. If Black Spot was there, and I hoped he was, he would be the first pony I was going to kill.

Galloping down the alleys, I could see ponies cowering in their homes. The less the fortunate had been killed and left rot, their blood staining the cobblestone streets. The pirates themselves seemed to stay out of our way, no doubt ordered to let us run to into their trap, to deliver ourselves right into the cage they built for us.

By now, it wasn’t just pegasi and griffons that had landed, but I was seeing non flyer pirates running around. Quite surprising to me, that included a few mirage ponies. It all made my stomach lurch, seeing my own kind side with these barbaric outsiders. They were gathering up any pony not armed, the Orphic citizens helpless against the heavily armed mob of pirate. I wanted to help them, but every moment wasted doing that would be a moment they got closer to Harp.

*Slap”

I slid to a stop, as a pegusus screamed and was pinned to a stone wall ahead. The dart from a javelin had pierced the stone behind them, holding the pirate in place as they died and went limp. Of course, in the way of where we needed to go, was four members of the royal guard.

They lifted their guns at us, and I raised my hooves up above my head “Don't shoot, were friends of princess Harp Melody!”

The Royale guard at the front sized us up. “Two mirage ponies, one pegasus… where's the unicorn?”

“She was a spy for the assholes attacking.” I sighed, really hoping that they didn’t think I was lying. “But that doesn’t matter now, she’s gone and they’re coming after Harp. We need to go and protect her.”

Another pirate pegasus came swooping down, but one of the royal guard ponies fired at them with their javelin launcher. The pegasus wing was severed in an impressive spray of blood, and the pirate crashed down hard directly onto their head with a thick snap. They didn’t get back up.

“Right.” The royal guard pointed her second javelin launcher at me. “Like I'd believe the words of a Orthrus dog.”

Instinctively, I knew what was going to come after an insult like that. I dashed to my side, throwing myself from where I stood. The blast and heavy thunk of the javelin rang in my ear, and when I stood back on my hooves, my right leg had a deep cut through it. I had only managed to avoid being skewered by inches.

A loud clattering of gunfire came from Sweet and Merit as they returned fire, killing two of the royal guards. The last one aimed their gun, but I fired a shot before they could shoot any of us. The bullet found a nice home as it lodged itself deep into the guard's throat. Sweet and Merit walked over to me as I watched the guard struggle to breath, grasping at the hole in his throat spurted blood, while each gasping breath became more and more shallow.

“Well, so much for not killing any of them.” Sweet said is a lighthearted tone. I just grunted back, not feeling like joking about this. Sweet sighed, and patted me on the back. “I know, this is just getting more and more fucked up. But that just means we need to get to Harp even more. If there is any pony I know that can help keep her safe, it's us.”

Just one thing after another. Honestly, I almost expect Phobetor to show up to mock me just to make this shit worse. “Right, we've rested enough as it is.”

To save time and avoid any more pirates, we cut through a few homes. One house tragically had what looked like mirage pony maid who was cut down on the job. Now, she was slumped over on a table, her white blouse stained crimson from the hole pierced through her back. As we entered another house, Merit painted the walls red with pirates blood, as we stumbled in on the bastard in the middle of raping a poor mare. We couldn’t stay and help the mare, or any of the other ponies in need of help. If anything, we were just as fucked as they were if we did.

Making our way to where Harp was, we were met with the sight of the royal guard fending off a wave of pirates. Both sides had taken losses, and the pirates advantage in the air was at least for the moment, countered by the royal guards pegasi. A vertibuck flew in overhead, raining more metal death down onto the royal guard, but the guard’s huddled under a few magical barriers and shot back with an explosive javelins. A few of the shots struck and damaged the vertibuck enough that it started billowing black smoke from it, blasting holes in it’s wings and tail sections. With the damage it took, it was forced it to fly away, leaving the area in relative calm again for the moment.

A javelin struck the wall near us, nearly taking my head off, and almost making me piss myself. Scanning the area, I could see Harp pass the royal guards, along with Golden Rule, and Minted Coin. The three royals were being protected by a group of unicorns creating a magical bubble around them, blocking the gunfire. Stratus was also there, watched over them as they were being ushered onto a vertibuck. For a moment, I felt that Harp was going to get away to safety, but of course that wouldn’t be the case. Among the group was Red Steel, and in the confusion, they must have not seen her.

In what was like a flash, Red pulled out a sword, and plunged it into Minted Coin. Two nearby royal guards didn't even have time to respond before getting shot in the head by Red. Chaos erupted as guns were turned on Red, but none fired as she pulled Golden close and took him hostage. The situation only grew worse when Red’s horn glowed brightly, and a power armored unicorn appeared in front of her.

As though a bomb went off, the royal guards near the power armored pirate were sent flying. As horrendous as the sight of everything going wrong was, it gave us an opening, and I had an idea.

“Merit!” I spoke loudly. “You know how to fly a vertibuck, right?”

“I get what you're asking” Merit looked back at me and cocked an eyebrow. “But the sky is a war zone, and you want to steal a vertibuck? Not to be an ass or anything, but you want me sit in an uncomfortable seat after pounding my ass, not cool.”

“Really?” I frowned as I trotted closer to him. “Are you saying that we should give up because your ass is sore?”

“Oh don’t put words in my mouth, ” He pushed me on the chest with his hoof. “First off, things are not supposed to go up there. Second, do you not think that dashite wasn’t trying to lure us into a trap? If we charge down there, the Royal guard will think we’re with them and split their attention, giving the pirates an even bigger opening. Last thing I want to do is help those damn sea raiders.”

“I know, I know. But we can’t just let them get Harp.” It was just so frustrating. If these stubborn high-class ponies had just let us do our mission, then we could be fighting alongside the guards, not against them. “And at this point we already killed three of them, but that’s on them. I’d suggest that we go back to take the armor, but we don’t have the time. Everything’s just fucked right now. I’m still seeing things, and we’re going to lose Harp if we don’t do something. Who, may I remind you, is the linchpin of this plan against the republic, as well as the councilmembers daughter.” I winced and favored my injured leg as I honestly wasn’t sure what else to do anymore. “I’m doing my best here, alright? So if you can think of some better plan than charge, then I might as well let you fuck me up my…”

Merit shut me up with a kiss, his tone gently caressing my own. The moment felt longer than it was, but not as long as I wanted it.

“Vibraphone Echo, from the moment I saw you, you’ve amazed me.” He let go of our embrace, and looked me in the eyes. “The more I watched you, the more captivated I became, the more I wanted to be with you. I admit that at first it was because of an eight year dry spell had me a bit lustful, but the closer I got to you, the more I saw in you. Then you disappeared, and something in me hurt, hurt as much as watching my own kin fall from grace. After that, I promised that given the chance to find you, I’d never again let you slip out of my hooves. And when you were found, my heart pounded like the first time I was in combat. When I learned what was done to you, it was like learning the truth about the Enclave all over again, and I still have enough anger over it that I could tear down the republic myself if you only asked.”

I could feel my cheeks flush, and my numb mechanical legs loosen a bit. “What… what does this have to do with what’s going on now?”

“You do remember that I did lead a strike team,” He smiled. “Though normally all of us can fly, and we all had power armor. But I guess I can make do.” Glanced over at Sweet, forcing her to act like she wasn’t paying attention. Oh please, she’s been wanting me to find a stallion for a while now. She was probably eating this up, and I’d never hear the end of it. “So I’m going to take you up on your offer, and once we recover Harp, your ass is mine.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Before you ask, I did keep the lube just in case.”

“Really, that's what you're after?” I put my hoof on his muzzle to shut him up. “You may be into that stuff, but it was just a phrase, not making an offer.”

“Well, I also want you to be my special somepony.” Merit put his own hoof on my muzzle as he pulled back from my hoof. “But that can wait until later. Right now, Harp needs us to find her a way out of this damn city.”

I froze, and my limbs went limp, forcing me to sit. Special… somepony? Me? All my magic suddenly dissipated from me, as my face burned with the brightest blush I’d ever had.

“I… I don’t… I.” my feeling of gravity began to shift as I fell over, the fall only stopped by Merit catching me.

“Wow, you took that more seriously than I thought you would.” He put me back onto my hooves, and I focused putting my magic back into to them, it being a bit more difficult than it should have. Merit made sure I could sit up on my own before letting me go, which left me feeling a bit disappointed, as I didn’t mind him holding me a little longer. “Right, enough fooling around. For better or worse, here’s my plan. Instead of making a beeline for Harp, we fight the pirates first, thin out their numbers. This should send a message to Stratus that were on their side, as well as get some payback.”

The sound of Sweet racking her gun cought our attention. “So, we kill pirates, and gain the Royal Guards trust. That's my kind of plan! If you weren't already taken, I might have taken you for a ride myself.”

“Merit, I got your back.” I elbowed Sweet, and she stuck her tongue out at me. “Though, I'm still worried about what Graceful is upto.”

Merit gave me a nodd. “Never trust a dashite, so keep your eyes open for her.” He jumped from cover, and we followed.

Skirting the area the Royal guard controlled, we kept to cover to avoid taking a javelin to the flank. The first group of pirates had turned a house up ahead into a gunner nest, though it was currently filled with holes where the royal guard had shot javelins at it. Under their nose, Merit flew up and in one swift motion, dipped through a large hole in the house before firing his shotgun.

The sound of his shotgun was met with the loud clattering of small arms fire, the roof of the house gaining new holes. With a crash, Merit burst out through one of the few remain windows, sending shards of glass flying out into the air outside above us. A griffin followed him out, as did a zebra, whom gracefully landed on the ground right before Sweet blasted his face into pieces with led shot.

Aiming my air rifle up, the griffin attempted to get a shot on Merit, using his claws to hold his battle rifle with more flexibility than Merit ever would get with his battle saddle. The griffin itself didn’t move much, more hovered in place as he lined up his shot. Thankfully for Merit, his also made it almost too easy for me to line up my own shot.

With a loud burst of air, my bolt flew at the griffin. But with a strong flap of his wings, the griffin dashed up and flipped himself upside down, shifting the aim of his rifle to me. Our eyes locked, and it felt like time slowed. In this slow motion, Merit tackled the griffin, and the both of them came crashing down onto the roof of the house and out of sight.

The sound of a shotgun blast, and Merit popping over the edge of the roof with a relieved look on his face caused me to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

“So, onto the next one?” Sweet asked right before gunfire clattered around us, a pirate attempting to shoot at us from around a corner a block away, blind firing their SMG.

We both took cover as Merit join us. “Looks like they're coming to us.” I gave Sweet an answer, “We can't get bogged down, or were just as fucked as the guard is down there.”

Merit shrugged. “Can't fly, some ponies have position themselves on the roofs, I think they’re the local anti-air.”

The sound of laughter caused us to turned and look at Sweet, she now had a wicked smile on her face. “I'm a bit freaked that I'm about this, but strangely, also a bit excited.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Come on, Vibe, you know me.” Sweet began to shimmer, and around her magical armor formed. She must be putting as much magic into the armor talisman as she could, as the translucent orange armor started looking far more solid than I’d ever seen before. “Time to show these fuckers who owns these islands.” She stepped out, and bullets immediately began flying at her, and the ones that hit, bounced off of her with a twangy ping.

Sweet then trotted forward, her gun moving in its rigg side to side. The modified heavy automatic shotgun roared to life, sweeping the path with led shot, immediately killing three pirates. Merit and I followed, giving her supporting fire. Though with how accurate and fast her gun moved, along with her magical armor, she didn't need the help. It was almost as if she had turned herself into walking death itself.

What pirates that didn't fall back were cut down without mercy. A few flyers did try to flank us, but my E.F.S. Betrayed their position. It was easy to aim, the targeting spell slowing me to fire off a bolt as soon as they popped their heads out. One after another we picked them off. Whenever I needed to reload, Merit provided covering fire, and when he reloaded his gun, I was at his back covering our flank.

We got to the next clearing, a street crossing with very little cover. From above, gunfire roared down at us, raining bullets all round. Sweet, Merit, a I dove for cover as Sweets magical armor quickly faded from the intense assault. Peeking, I saw a rather big and dirty earth pony on a roof, standing on his back legs, holding a minigun and spraying down a wave of lead at us. A few other pirates peeked over the edge of the roof, but it was hard to tell how many there was.

Looking back at Sweet, a thin line I'm smoke came from her front left shoulder, where a talisman was installed. She herself was panting heavily. Taking in, and putting out that much magic for the talisman must have been exhausting. Worst yet, blood was seeping from that shoulder, tricalking down her leg.

“Well that run was good while it lasted, take a break, I’ll take the lead from here.” I told Sweet.

“Send them to Tartarus, but save a few for after my breather.” Sweet said with a smile and a wave. “I’ll just polish off a healing potion in the meantime.”

With a clunk, Merit had dropped his shotgun, and was now installing the battle rifle he picked up. “You do your thing, I’ll have your back in just a moment.”

So, now I just had to take out a pony with a minigun, and an unknown amount of support. “Now or never.” I said to myself as I focused my magic into my own magical armor talisman. Activating S.A.T.S it gave me a bit of extra time to think, but not much.

As soon as I pop out, it's going to be a hail of bullets. Our recent assist must have shifted their attention on us, so all the big guns were on us. The minigun can't possibly be their main assault weapon, which meant it was only here for suppressing fire. Then the others hiding on the roof might be using a markspony weapon with higher caliber ammunition for exploiting suppressed targets. Even if that was the case, then it was likely just one of them had such a weapon. The rest likely have the standard junk guns they’d been seen with before, so they wouldn’t be able to properly counter us if we took out their support. If I can take out the minigun, and whoever has the markspony’s gun, we’re good on whittling down the rest.

Exiting S.A.T.S I took a deep breath and readied my Lelantos. Jumping out from cover, I re-entered S.A.T.S, and everything slowed to a crawl. Bullets were already being fired as the spell took effect, the numerous lead rounds whizzed past me even in the altered time, distorting the air. Quickly, I scanned the group of pirates for whoever was the most dangerous.

My eyes fell on one pirate, who made me realize that my assumption had been wrong. It was not a high caliber rifle ment for precision that they were going to use, but what I guessed was some sort of crude rocket propelled grenade. It looked a lot like the explosive javelins used around here, but was painted white, with black stripes. Which incidentally, meant I could only assume that was an indicator to which side had designed this thing before the war. Alright, have to work even faster then...

Aim option selected.
Focused option selected.
Target, zebrica anti-pony explosive ordnance delivery system.
Eighty seven percent chance to hit.

My bolt flew from my rifle with an explosive pop. My eyes were locked onto the bolt as it traveled, following it as it sailed true to my aim. Ahead, a cloud of white smoke formed behind the pony with the RPG as the missile shot forward and slipped from the launcher. Even though rockets were normally fast, they took far too long to get up to speed compared to the lightweight bolt that had a hell of a head start on it. My bolt looked like it met the tip of the rocket just as the device had cleared the launcher, punching into the tip just barely before my vision went white.

Time reoriented itself back to normal as I was blinded by the explosion. The blast was sharp as the grenade detonated, and the gunfire at me had stopped rather abruptly with it. Rubbing my eye, the sound of a rifle going off next to me hurt my ears. Merit had stepped in, and was now shooting at the pirates. The pirate with the RPG was nowhere to be seen, but a bloody and charred splotch on the roof where she’d been was all that remained. The stallion with the minigun looked disoriented, and had only begun to pull himself together when one of Merit’s shots blasted open his skull.

“By Celestia's glorious maximus, how did you make them explode?” Sweet asked as she peeked out from her cover.

“They brought up an RPG.” I responded. While I wish I could have flaunted this to Sweet, we didn’t have time for that. “Got lucky and shot shot it.”

“Brutal.” she smiled at me, and chuckled a little.

I turned my attention to Merit, who was now reloading the his rifle “You think that's enough help that the guard’s will know we’re here to help?”

He nodded “Let's try to contact …”

The body of a royal guard landed next to us with a metallic wet crunch, their blood spatter out as they were crushed by their own armor in the impact.

“Mighty impressive.” A mechanical voice of a stallion boomed at us. The power armor pony was trotting our way, another royal guard floated in the air as a magical aura wrapped around their neck, the royal guard futaly trying to free them self. “But now be th' time I put ye down, an’ finish th' fight we started so many days ago.” The royal guard’s head rolled back, his neck snapping before he was dropping to the ground. “So where be that feisty pony ye all left me wit', I would so love t' roast her like she tried t' roast me.”

Closer and in the daylight, the full scale of how intimidating this power armored pony looked now hit me like a brick wall. Taller than any pony I had seen before, covered in scratched up metal. His helmet had a metal mohawk, and angry looking eyes that glared down at me. Strangely, his shoulders had glass bulbs that flickered with sparks of magical energy, that also would jumped between the bulbs. It all gave this detective dangerous look, something I did not want to get in hoof striking distance of.

“Sorry, but my sister's not here right now,” This was not what we needed. “So why don’t you go fuck off now.”

“Yer sister, ay?” He laughed with a low growl. “If I loot ye head would she come fer me? Wouldn’t be me first family I’ve ripped apart.” He raised his head, and spread his fort legs up. “Oh Celestia, oh Luna. Bless me today, fer I fight heathens in yer name. See that me faith be true, an’ me conviction righteous. Bless me so that th' vile sprogs o' th' hateful, 'n deceptive six shall receive judgment. Bless me so that I may cleanse this world o' thar evil, fer I be on o’ ye chosen.”

I was done with this madness, and fired my lelantos at the stallion. The bolt stuck into his chest, and the stallion lowered his head, looking down at me.

“I got more where tha…” I’d started to say, but trailed off as he easily plucked the bolt from his armor.

The bolt fell to the ground, and the stallion stomped on it. “Me name be Ole Salt, templar o' th' Order o' Thorns Crucible. Prepare t' be in awe o' me righteous conviction as I crush ye under th' boot o' me holy armor”

The Helmet of the royal guard floated up next to Old Salt and the bulbs of his armor lit up, sparks of magic jumped between them. The Hemet began to warp, cursed by the magic emerging from Old Salt power armor. The helmet was crushed and shaped to the point that it looked like a crude spear head. I focused my magic into my magical armor talisman, and dove out of the way as the crazy stallion thrust it toward me. Mid dive it hit my back leg with so much force that I spun around as I hit the ground.

I was dizzy for a second, but I managed to get back on my hooves and aimed my lelantos at Old Salt. Focusing as much magic into the rifle as I could, I watched him get closer. A roar of gunfire came from Sweet, but after a few seconds, her gun ran dry with scuff marks on Salt’s armor being the only effect of her wild shots.

Merit also shot at Old Salt, but his bullets proved as effective as Sweets shots. My lelantos hit maximum air capacity, and I switched it to full blow mode. Let’s see if that armor can stop this. Pulling back on the trigger, without anything as support the rifle, the recoil of it damn nearly knocked me back off my hooves.

The bolt had made contact, but not to the effect that we needed. A magical bubble surrounded Old Salt now scattered from the front, and the bolt stuck into the stallions helmet, but only the tip of the bolt had penetrated. With a shake of his head the bolt flew off, and harmlessly hit the ground.

“Wench.” The glass eyes of his power armor looked right at me. “Ye don't seem t' understand. I am blessed by th' goddesses, 'n ye're naught but below shit Heathens. No matter wha' ye do, I shall crush ye.”

Old Salt seemed to tower over me as he took a step forward, his hoof making an audible thump with each step. I entered S.A.T.S., and in the slowed time, my thoughts raced. Fighting him was going to be like fighting a mountain. His armor, his magic, it was all just too much. Rototom fought him, and only managed to escape by the singed tips of her tail, so what could I do?

Channeling enough magic for another powershot would take too long, and he didn’t even need to get close to block the shot with his magic. Even if I tried it anyway, the gun would be ripped away from my grip. How did Rototom do this? How did she fight this behemoth, and how am I supposed to when all I have is a revolver, a air rifle, and… the ripper gun.

I exited S.A.T.S. And smiled. Lifting my hooves up, I put them together like so many drug addicts had when taunting me before I hoof cuffed them together. I had one shot, so I had to make it count. “Fine, you win. We surrender, it’s obvious that we stand no…”

Everything lurched to the left as my right side was hit hard by something. Everything hurt so much that I couldn't seem to move. My ears rang from the blow, and I could taste blood on my tongue. In my blurred vision, I could see the hulking metal stallion move to stand over me. As my vision cleared, Sweet and Merit were floating in the stallion’s magical grasp, scratching at their throats as the guard pony had before them.

“No.” I whimpered through the blood in my mouth.

“Ye all be weak.” Old Salt spoke. “The weak must suffer, because they be unworthy of the goddesses blessing. It was the vile six, the ministry mares who allowed the weak to gain power. With promises of milk and honey, they eroded the rule of the goddesses, turned equestria away from their eternal wisdom an’ guidance. The weak ponies left the goddesses undefended in their time of need, too cowardly ta’ give up their pathetic lives for the greater good. And so, the goddesses left our world, where they be watching us from above, only accepting those who be truly devout. This is why the weak must be culled from the herd. You either accept your place under the light of the goddesses, or die. So it says in the good book; Suffer not the wicked and weak, for they were the ones who betrayed the goddesses, and allowed evil to take root.”

“Fanaticism to barbarism is only one step. ” I lifted my hoof up at the power armored stallion, concentrating as much magic I could to the ripper gun. “Like how I’m going from being weak, to killing you right now.” The ripper popped from my my leg, and forced Old Salt’s to gasp in surprise as I concentrated as hard as I could.

An explosion came from the barrel of the ripper gun, and Old Salt flew back. His magic dissolved, dropping Sweet and Merit as his power armored form dropped to the ground. He had only been blasted a few hoof steps back, but it was enough that he had fallen over away from us all. His power armor was now peppered with holes and unmoving on the ground. I pushed myself up, and fetched a healing potion from my bag.

“You two alright?” I asked before guzzling down the potion.

“Fucker moves fast.” Sweet spoke as she got up.

Merit puked up the food he had eaten earlier, wiping his muzzle with a grumble. “Dammit, If I ever want to start a fight with a pony overly strong in telekinesis, just knock me out, and drag me to bed.”

My body hurt less, but everything still felt a bit fuzzy, with the dust surounding me not making anything better. Quickly accessing my situation, it became clear that I was literally thrown threw a wall, into some ponies bedroom. “I found a bed for you, but lets deal with this asshole first.” I looked down at my grappling leg, and ejected the shell from the ripper guns chamber. “Minerva, reload the ripper gun.” my pip leg beeped, and the last ripper bullet floated out of my bag and into the gun in my right leg.

“Ye reckon that’s all that it takes t' kill me.” Old Salt bellowed in a distorted voice as he got back onto all fours. Blood seeped from the small holes in his armor, and one of his legs seemed to jerk as he stabilized himself. The shoulder of that leg sparked wildly with magical energy, the glass bulbs having been shattered. “Now reveal yourself, so that I may send judgment upon ye.”

It was strange, he swiveled his head around, as though he was blind, yet the ripper had completely missed his helmet and was utterly untouched. Admittedly, I don’t know how power armor works and it’s possible that the shot could have knocked out his ability to see from the inside of the helmet. Regardless, I used this opportunity to get closer, enough so that I could get a better shot at him.

“Blast it all!” his voice now sounding too robotic as it distorts. “Cowards, the lot of ya’.” He lifted his hooves up to his helmet, and a sharp hiss came from it. The helmet detached,and old Salt tossed it to the side. The stallion underneath was an older pail blue unicorn, a few nicks and cuts, with a little shabby goatee on his chin. I couldn't help but think that he was real good looking right before I blasted his head to bits.

The ripper gun lived up to its name sake as I fired it at point blank range. When the spray of gore cleared, a bloody stump sat where Old Salt’s head use to be. The rest of the body didn’t fall over immediately, simply lurching a little forward as the blood trickled down from the neck.

I sat back and breathed a sigh of relief when the E.F.S. In my vision flickered, which was never a good sign.

“Miss Vibraphone, is that thee?” and all too familiar voice spoke.

Looking passed the dead power armored pirate, I saw Mayall. But she looked... Different. She still had her purple chitin shell, but her fins and joints were now a bright pink. Her eyes were the same, though the glow from them were a little more intense. She also looked a bit like she’d been burned, her once pristine white outfit singed black along the edges, and her pipbuck seemed to be dead.

“Ya, but what happened to you?” I asked her.

Mayal got closer, and my E.F.S. Fizzled, becoming more distracting than useful. “I… I don’t know. I think I did it, but the cube was broken when I woke up.”

She presented the cube, which now no longer looking like a pristine old war artifact. Instead, it looked like a two century old piece of junk, as though time had finally caught up with it all at once. I had a good feeling that the DJ was not going to be happy about her family heirloom now being broken. “At least you're fine, I’d gotten worried for a moment.”

Looking back to the others, they gave me a nod. It was time to get Harp and get out of here. “Let's go.” pushing myself into a gallop, I rounded a corner and headed straight to where Harp was.

The royal guard had been all but decimated. Despite their skill and our help, the pirates had routed them. They were cornered on one of the landing pads, the old vertibuck spinning it's propellers as the flying pirate blocked it’s escape. Stratus was shielding Harp, the large power armored suit was dented all over. Golden Rule had been separated from the rest, currently locking swords in a duel with Red Steel. Some of Golden’s hench ponies must have come to his aid, as ponies in tan uniforms lay dead on the ground around the two alongside a few of the dead pirates.

A spray of bullets forced us to take cover. The two griffons hovering over the royal vertibuck saw fit to try and keep us out of the rest of the fight. If we were stuck here, we couldn’t help, and if we couldn’t help, then Harp and the royals were toast.

“So, got a plan?” I asked Merit as he scraped at his chin in thought.

“I got one!” Sweet spoke up. “Those royals can't leave as long as their blocked, right? And those asshole griffins are laying down fire on us. I say we clear the sky over Harp so she can leave, and we just jack another vertibuck. There are three parked here still, right?”

“From the looks of it, only two of them are still working.” Merit commented as he peeked over. “The one closest to us looks like it has a bullet hole in one of the engine manifolds, which means it’s likely to explode on us if I try to start it.”

“So, the next closest one is…” Sweet peaked over, “the one Red and Golden are fighting in front of. Oh joy.”

“Then we just hitch a ride with Harp.” I focused my magic into my rifle, and peaked with it. One of the griffins immediately shot at me, forcing me to duck down. “Fucking cat birds, I can't get a shot at them like this.”

Merit thew a tin grenade back at where we came from. “Well, we’ll need to move soon! Their reinforcements just arrived, so any second now we’re just going to be sitting ducks here.”

I nodded, now forcing more magical energy into my armor talisman. “Follow my lead.” Activating my magical armor, I leaped out of cover and took aim. A peace of lead hit me straight in the chest armor as soon as I managed to get the griffon in my sight. With a pull of the trigger, the bolt flew, but the griffin dogged at the last second and I only nicked them.

Unfortunately for the bird cat, a second bolt hit it's wing, sending it spiraling down. Sweet gave a triumphant whistle as she lined up another shot. The second griffin tried to flew higher, trying to get out of our range. A javelin flew straight up, impaling itself into the surprised griffin. Looking down, Stratus held a beast of a custom javelin launcher in her fetlocks. The tri-barrel setup on the heavy weapon rotated, putting another javelin at the ready as it emit a sharp clack from its loading mechanism.

Pushing myself forward, I almost fell over from the pain in my chest. Though the bullet didn't penetrate the magical armor, it still must have cracked a few ribs. Sweet and Merit stopped to check on me, but I waved them off and steadied myself.

The pirates ahead of us were not prepared to fight on two fronts, and scrambled out of our way after we shot a few more of them dead. Though our position was not much better as the pirates reinforcements started to fire at us, and if any more of them showed up, we were the ones who’d be forced to fight on two fronts as well.

The revving of a ripper roared in my right ear, and I lifted up my grappling leg just in time to deflect an attack from an aggressive pirate. The pirate donkey pulled back on the ripper, telegraphing his attack. Confident in my current leg, I stretched out and used the mechanism in my leg to grab the ripper, clamping down tight on the weapon and sending sparks flying from the small chain-blade’s motor. The donkey pirate only had a short moment to understand how fucked he was as I drew my Lunar Eclipse and sent a round into his skull.

Another pirate, a unicorn mare popped up behind the now dead donkey, armed with one of their damn junky S.M.G.’s. But before she could pepper me with holes, Mayall fell on her hooves next. She arched her tail before slapping it on the ground as hard as she could. The loud smack that it gave off startled some of the pirates around us, and even me, if only for just a moment. But it gave us the opportunity to scatter them with gunfire before they could collect themselves fully.

With the pirate’s line broken, we rushed our way to the landing pad. The remaining royal guard had already bored the vertibuck, and were training their guns at us. Stratus was blocking our path, her large javelins launcher mainly pointed at me.

“I can't permit you passed this point.” Her voice boomed over the spooling of the Vertibuck’s engines. “I thank you for protecting the princess, but we have the situation under control, so we’ll take it from here.”

“You call this under control!?” Sweet spat on the ground, “This is a fucking disaster!”

“And who's fault is that?” Status turned her gun to Sweet. “Who is responsible for our communications getting scrambled? And who escorted that harlet here in the first place?” she pointed her gun over at Red, who was still fighting Golden.

We watched as the vertibuck with Harp on it lift into the air, the wind from its propellers pushing back on my fur. “Let's take the next one.” I called out, but I couldn’t even hear myself over the engine of the vertibuck, so I then pointed to the last vertibuck, and the others nodded back at me.

“No, you stay here.” Stratus’ voice bellowed over the roaring engen of the vertibuck. Her tri barrel javelin launcher swung at me, giving me only a moment to back away from it. “I can't allow you to bring anymore harm on the royal family.” Her amplified voice only sounding louder as Harps Vertibuck pulled away.

“Looks like your plan failed, lover boy.” Sweet groaned, just barely audible over the vertbuck. “They still want to kill us.”

“Listen Stratus, we came to help,” Merit sighed, “if you and Orthrus don't work together, it's going to be a disaster. Just trust us on this!”

“Only as far as I can throw you.” Was her response. “Now out of the way.” Stratus stomped passed us, and charged towards Red and Golden.

“Any other plan?” I asked.

“There is no other plan.” Sweet answered, “We get out by vertibuck, or surrender to the pirates.”

Well then, we have no choice. We charged after Stratus, hoping she would change her mind. Stratus fired her second javelin at Red, but the nimble unicorn managed to dogged it while deflecting Goldens blade.

Golden backed off in time to allow Stratus to leap at Red. Even though she was in large and cumbersome power armor, she managed to move quite a lot faster than I thought she would. Red managed to get out of the way in time, but only just as Stratus still was able to hit her. The hit was a glancing blow, but it ripped part of her Red dress straight off of her.

“Damnit, I liked this dress!” Red Steel huffed. “Do you know how many slaves it took to get this made right? Let alone in a timely manner?”

Stratus swung her gun at Red with far more force than she had at me. “Shut up and die, mongrel.”

“A pitty, I was so hoping that you bored that rusty vertibuck with the princess, I would have made things so much, easier.” Red smirked.

“What do you mean by that!?” Stratus shouted.

Red suddenly disappeared as though she turned to misty vapor “Simple, royal guard captain Stratus Dancer.” Her voice came from behind us, and we turned around. Red was standing on a tall crate, a pirate unicorn standing behind her, gun drawn. “You and those you protect have been deemed week in the eyes of the goddesses and so judgment must be passed.”

Graceful Gust landed next to Red, and passed her a remote. Red took the remote, and then smashed Graceful in the face with gard of her sword. “Did you think I'd not find out about you letting these mercenaries go. Be glad I don't clip your wings fool.” Her attention turned back to us, with a flip of her main and a wiki smile, she presented the remote to us. “I assume you know what happens next?”

“Your going to give us that, and fuck right off!” Sweet shouted at Red.

I put my hoof in front of Sweet to keep her from acting too soon. “This has nothing to do with Harp, just let her be, I’ll surrender.”

“No!” Golden Rule spoke up, trotting next to us with a limp. “I’ll give myself up. Just let my sister go free.”

“You two are no fun, you know that?” Red frowned. “Fine, both you come here.” The remote floated up into the air, held in a red glow of magic. Red Steal shifted from a standing position, to sitting on the tall crate, letting her back legs dangle over the edge.

“Thank you.” Golden breathed a sigh of relief. “Now before we go, answer me, why did you attack new…”

*Bang*

Red shot one of her hidden guns. The bullet cut threw Goldens neck, splashing drops of his blood onto me. Golden pressed his hoof onto the gaping hole in his neck before wobbling, and falling over.

“It was more fun when he was fighting back.” Red said in a mocking tone. “I was planning on taking him back alive and introducing him to my other toys. But, surender is such a buzz kill. Speaking of which...”

*Click*

A flash came from the vertibuck Harp was on, followed by an explosion. The vertibuck itself didn’t explode, but of of it’s engines sputtered and ground to a halt. I could see it bellow black smoke as the whole Vertibuck began to spiral down towards the rocky mountainside below.

“Really?” Red breathed a sigh of disappointment. “How is it that those idiots couldn't build me a bomb that destroyed the whole craft?” She deadpanned as she gave the remote an unceremonious toss from her magic. “They must think that my valuable time grows on trees. And if they think I’m going to waste my time checking to make sure the princess died...”

“You fucking bitch!” Stratus screamed out, cutting off and charging at Red. The other pirates fired at Stratus, but they could not slow the power armored pony down. With a crash, the crate Red sat on seemingly exploded when Stratus slammed into it.

“Is that all you have?” Red simply jumped over, not taking any damage from what otherwise would have been a fatal blow. “Captain of the royal guard?”

With a hiss, the power armor opened up, and Stratus dashed out. Before any of the pirates could respond, she caved one of their faces in with a swift kick. As the pirate fell to the ground, she grabbed a gas mask from her victims side before taking off into the air.

Red immediately started shooting at Stratus. “Don't let her get away!” She yelled, and the other pirates aimed their guns skyward and fired.

Right now, I had an opportunity, Kill Red. And oh how much I wanted to kill this bitch. It would’ve been easy. I've done it before, just two motions. And, and… and that's what she wants me to do. Right now she must have at least one gun trained on me. The sound of an engine revving to life caught my ears, as well as Red’s.

Pushing back, I dashed to the second vertibuck. A bullet from the gun she’d had on me grazed the side of my hip, but it didn’t slow me. Sweet and Merit followed my lead, and the three of us ran to the spooling vertibuck as the pirates gave chase behind us. To no surprise of my own, Mayall was in the cockpit pressing buttons. Hopping on board the open crew cabin, I turned and fired at the pirates, soon after joined by Sweet. Merit flew in and immediately joined Mayall at the controls. She buckled in as she let him finish up starting the Vertibuck up, while Sweet and I focused on keeping the shots at us few and far between.

Sweet and I managed to take out a few pirates when then presented too much of themselves out of cover, but Red had already cut her losses and managed to run off before I could take a shot at her. As the vertibuck lifted into the air, more pirates took shots at us. Merit, however well intentioned it was, tilted the craft over the edge of the landing platform, and dipped down over the edge of the mountain.

I almost fell out of the open side of the craft, but Sweet quickly pulled me back. Okay, it wasn’t as freaky as water was, but I do not feel like falling to my death today! The two of us pushed ourselves onto the seats of the vertibuck, and quickly buckled ourselves in like Mayall had.

“I'm going to come around and sweep over the crash sight.” Merit shouted over the roaring engines of the vertibuck. “If we're lucky, we might see her right away.”

“Hay, Sweet?” I must have been running on adrenaline, because the pain in my chest was now feeling worse. “You still got that Med-X and some more healing potions by chance?”

She nodded. “Ya, but you're going to need more than that. If you start getting the shakes, were going to need some chill to stop that.”

“I’ve got some.” Mayall spoke up. We both looked at her a little befuddled. “The pony in the tower gave me some!”

Before we could ask who was this tower pony was, the vertibuck suddenly lurched to the side and went into a dive. A beam of energy shot passed us as Merit took another hard turn, the vertibuck began to shake and rattle in a way that made me worried. Mayall reached out to me with a small canister in her hoof, and I grabbed it with my grappling leg.

“Mask’s on everypony!” Merit yelled. “Were going in fast and low!”

I put the canister to my mouth, and inhaled the contents before putting it away. The pain melted away as I put on my gas mask, and making sure the straps were on tight. The rattling became worse as the wispy clouds dissipated and a line of green became much more visible below us.

“Come on you old piece of junk!” Merit shouted.

I heard a loud pop, and then the vertibuck began to shake more violently than ever. Under us, the sound of the craft hitting branches only made things worse as a bottom plate flew off in the middle of the vertibuck’s cabin, and I could see the jungle canopy whipping by below us.

Looking over to Sweet, she was still struggling to keep her mask on, only scratching at the straps as she was shaken and jostled wildly. Feeling very calm, I reach over and helped adjust her straps. She looked over at me, obviously scared, so I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, it’s all going to be…”

_____________________________________________________

Footnote:

New Perk: Stonewall - You are much less likely to be knocked down in combat.

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (high) +1 to charisma and Luck. %10 to damage resistance

Author's Note

I got to thank Gamma Deekay for helping out with the editing. It seems that thees days everyone's having a harder time, so it means a lot that he is willing to take the time out of his day to help. So if you have not checked out any of his story's, I suggest you do, their excellent stuff.

Chapter 39 - Predator and Prey

Clattering was the next thing that met my ears. It was ever so light, like somepony had tossed an object that was not round across a flat surface. More clattering, but louder, and like a rattle. The lighter clattering followed, along with the sound of a hoof tapping on wood. No, not wood, but I couldn’t put my hoof on just what it actually was.

“Blast, I demand a re roll!” A stallion shouted, the voice all too familiar. As much as I wished to forget everything about him, Golden Rule’s voice was unmistakable.

“And why do you wish to win so much?” A chuckling, wispy, and chilling voice caressed my ears. “What reward do you think will come?”

“You know what I’ll win!” Golden spoke with overwhelming frustration in his voice.

Opening my eyes, I saw Golden Rule sitting at a table. Across from him was a dingy black robed pony who was skinny as bones… or upon closer look, actually just bones. Hey, I knew those bones...

“Fine.” Charon sat there, dice on her outstretched hood and her scythe resting on the table like a barrier between the two. “Another round then.”

The two rolled their dice, and Golden’s expression turned from frustration to a smile. “My win.”

Charon tossed a coin onto the table. “Forgetting the rules already, or do you think this is blackjack, and I'm the house?” She lifted up the dice, and rolled them. “Ahh, nineteen. Beats your eighteen.”

Golden grumbled. “Right, you can keep going.”

“Until I run out of bits, or go over twenty-one.” She twisted her hoof, producing several gold bits. “Trust me on this, I have enough bits to play for eternity.” The bits rolled off her hoof, and vanished down her sleeve.

Golden pulled out a bit from a pocket, kissed it, and threw it on the table. Lifting his dice, he meekly rolled them, they stopped and his eyes lit up. “Ha, twenty-one!”

Charon tossed another bit, and tossed the dice, and then repetitive the action two more times.

“Twenty-three, my win.” Golden spoke, his voice a bit sing song.

“Then were done?” Charon asked.

Golden huffed. “Your fucking right we are. Now do it.”

Charon shrugged. “So be it.”

Some pony came up behind Golden, yet I could not make them out. In a second, Golden was yanked from his spot and dragged away, disappearing into a thick fog. “Why, we had a…” His voice snuffed out, replaced by the sounds of waves.

Charon turned to me, and it was only now that I relied that I could not move my head. Actually, I couldn’t move at all, and I began to realize that there was something seriously wrong with me. Her boney hooves scooped under me, and… lifted me up?

“Whomever started the tall tail of winning a game against death, must have been a sadist.” She sighed as her empty sockets beheld me with what I could only catagorize as a ‘sad’ gaze. “So many gets their hopes up, but only find no reward in the end, only the truth.”

“That truth is...?” I asked.

“All that dies, stays as such. Once touched by death, none shall return.” Charon spoke with a hunting whisper. “Even the one who can claim to have returned, return incomplete, broken, never again who they once were.”

Alright, that didn’t really paint my visit here in a very pretty light. So then, now to the big question. “Then, am I dead?”

She placed me on the table, of which now I could now clearly see as being made from polished bones. “A hoof half in the grave at least, but no, you are not dead yet.” Sitting at the table, she began to fiddle with the dice. “You were out, and I needed a little a distance filling the boat to Tartarus.”

The pony from before trotted into view, a headless pony with a peach coat, a blond tail, and gray stripes.

“Wait… is that my body?” I gasped.

I was sure it was, but the mechanical legs were not there. In their place were what looked like black leg armor from an old fantasy book. Yet, seeing the joints, I could tell that the legs where empty, empty of all but a flickering blue light. Well, at the very least it explained why I couldn’t move right now.

“Sometimes it takes extra time to find and drag wicked souls over.” Charon waved my body over. “Some using chaos to hide, others are simply better at resisting my pull. But, you make such a lovely bloodhound for me, I wish I could keep you around longer.”

“But why, and how?” I asked. The longer I looked at… myself, the more unnerved this whole situation made me.

“How? Death magic, to put it plainly.” She lifted my head up again, and placed it onto my body, turning my head until it was on straight. “It's among the strongest magics in all creation, but only meant for the dead, in the land of the dead. Outside the land of the dead, in the hooves of mortals, it rots all that it contacts; body, mind, and soul. As for your question of why, it’s simple. Because I can use you, and I wanted the help.”

The fog began to clear, slowly revealing the rocky beach we were on. Scattered all around us were broken bones and shattered skulls. On the water's edge were two boats, each of them looking sharply different from each other. As stark a contrast as night and day.

The first one was a finely crafted wooden piece of art. The smooth wood had engravings of ponies frolicking in fields, among other happy depictions on it. On the front of the boat, grew a full and healthy looking apple tree, complete with the ripe red delicious looking fruit dangling from its branches.

The second was just as impressive, but in the opposite way. I was burnt ashen black, with carvings of ponies with their faces in anguish, and heavy metal collars around their necks, connected by what looked to be a heavy chain. The most imposing part of the boat was the large cage that took much of the boats deck, of which ponies futility reached and cried out for help. Standing among the trapped ponies, was Golden Rule, who’s eyes were filled with a fear I’d never thought I’d see on him.

“So, what do I do next?” She did say I wasn’t dead, but I was here, so there must be something else I was meant to do.

“You can wake up now.” Charon picked up her scythe, and pointed it at me. “Keep moving forward, but it’s not like you have a choice though. As soon as you turn back, or stop, we are sure to meet again for the last time.” She then touched my nose with her scythe. “Boop.”

_____________________________________________________________

Numb.

That was the appropriate way to describe how I felt. Pushing myself up, I was relieved that all my legs worked, but from my neck to my tail it was like my body was not their. That, or it was somehow now made of jelly.

‘How much MED-X was I given?’ Was what I’d tried to say. Unfortunately, my tongue also was numb, so all I said was. “Hoo wuch ed-hex us hi giiin.”

“Echo pony is awake.” Mayall called out. Looking over, I saw that her fins and joints were still very much pink. Strangely the fin on her head was looking longer than it had been, and was now flopping to one side on its own, rather than needing the hat to help it.

Sweet and Merit came around a corner, the both of them looking a little worse for wear, and for some reason splattered in mud. Sweets gas mask had a long crack going through its eyepiece, and her rigging was missing. Merit was sporting a splint on his back left leg, but other than that it didn’t look like their injuries were anything too serious.

“Done with your beauty sleep?” Sweet mocked as she trotted up to me and gave me a hard tap on the shoulder. “Before you ask, you were only out for little more than an hour. So we should still have plenty of time locating Harp.”

Pushing myself up onto all fours, my body suddenly felt filled with pins and needles. I almost fell over, but Merit flew over and helped stabilize me.

“Careful now, you're still working off the Med-X, and that chill stuff.” I gave him a ‘I know’ look, not wanting to open my mouth and sound stupid. “Hay,” he huffed and gave me a concerned look. “We had to do it. You were in the worst shape out of all of us, mainly because Sweet fell on top of you in the crash.”

I looked over to Sweet, and she gave a nervous laugh. “You basically broke my fall after the vertibuck fell to pieces.” I glanced over at Mayall, whom other then her sailor outfit being a bit ripped and dirty, was now totally fine, well aside the pink. “Oh, the lurker. She was like a fucking cannonball. I saw her jump and ball up during the crash. There was literally a hole in the canopy she fell through, it was the craziest move I’ve seen in a while, but she made it through practically unscathed.” Sweet shook her head and bit her lip jealousy. “What I wouldn’t give to have an armor shell like hers in times like that.”

“So…” I was starting to feel my tongue properly, if still tingly. “We’re all accounted for, let's get moving.”

Merit sighed, his mask making it sound deeper then normal. “I would advise we wait a bit more, but our filters were not meant to last forever.”

Rubbing one of the intake filter on my mask, a bit of pollen rubbed off onto my hoof. With the weather dryer right know, the pollen count must be high, making it dangerous to be out without enough backup filters.

“Well,” I sighed and looked at the others. “If we can find some water and rags, we could make some protective cover for our filters. It won’t help much, but it should make them last a little longer out here.”

We all checked what supplies we had left between us, and it wasn’t looking hopeful. All our medical supply a spent, we had two shotgun shells, one clip for a .308, and a magazine for 10mm. For or air rifles, we had twenty-four bolts between Sweet and I. We were prepared for a trek through the forest, but not for a prolonged firefight.

Activating my pipleg, I once again checked the map and the tracking spell. Though Harp did not appear on the local map, her blue dot did appeared on my E.F.S. meaning we at least had a direction to follow.

This jungle was much the same as the other islands. However, with a closer inspection we were likely in what use to be a city, but the plants had completely taken over everything. Large colorful flowers decorated the ruins, and buzzing insect rushed through the air from one to the next. One tree grew out of the rusted remains of a rusted skywagon, and the vines hung from it hung everywhere, tuning this forest into a foreboding labyrinth.

“Been wondering.” Merit spoke up as we traveled. “What do you think made the plants produce toxic pollen?”

I was a little taken aback. Not because it was an odd or offencive question or anything, but it was a question nopony really asked or thought about.

“Mega-Spells I think.” Sweet was first to answer. “If I remember right, it had to do with some old equestrian ordnance that must have failed to launch correctly and detonated over the islands. Something called an Ever-bomb, I think.”

“An Everfree Megaspell Bomb.” I corrected Sweet. “Orthrus is a bit serious about keeping their facts straight. I still have my old survival hoof book issue to all Orthrus members back at home. Basically, from what documents Orthrus had recovered, this type of megaspell was meant to cause rapid and aggressive plant growth. The idea was that the Zebras would get s bogged down in weed whacking that a whole city would be considered destroyed with minimal loss of life. Unsurprisingly it was a ministry of peace mega-spell, and is thought to have original been created from a crop going spell.” Tapping at my chin, I remembered a hoofnote at the bottom of the section. “Though, apparently trying to use magic when farming never turned out well, which is probably why they weaponised it in the first place.”

Merit shrugged. “Here I was guessing that it was the Zebras that did this.”

“That's also correct,” I added, and continued. “Balefire and some other nasty shit was in the air for the first few days. And well, the everfree bomb made sure that it didn't go away, and instead mutated to adapt to it. I'm stretching my memory on the matter, but I think there was a theory as well that most of the more aggressive plants and trees originate from taint dumping grounds.”

“All that created a vibrant and strangely beautiful jungle,” Merit commented. “that is still utterly deadly to ponies.”

Sweet trotted ahead of us, only to suddenly stop. “This way’s no good. We’ve got to go around this open sewer tunnel.”

Quickly, we doubled back and around the ruins. Most of the broken city sewers were perfect natural growing zones that left the jungle too dense with vegetation to cut thru. It wasn’t anything more than a minor nuisance, but it still took up time I hadn’t wanted to waste.

“Hay Merit,” Sweet spoke up as she took the lead again. “we might as well show you the old war museum. It's still got photos from before the war, and of right after. Amazingly enough, all the islands were actually blasted bare. All the original trees were dead, and the ponies who took the photos saw the beginnings of the new jungle.”

The dense jungle continue to prove a hindrance. Where there wasn’t a wall of vines, there was a clumping of seed spitter plants. A small swarm of dog sized mosquitoes feasted on a dead rad-bore, of which we had to fight off when they realized we were there. One even spit blood in Sweets face, which could have been bad, but thank goodness for gas masks.

The giant insects only continued to lightly harass us as we passed by. Most were too weak to pose a real danger, but even then, death by a thousand cuts is still death. But fighting them would slow us down even further and was a risk that didn’t need to be taken.

“Hey look!” Merit called out, flying a bit ahead of us.

Trotting a bit faster, and pushing some of the vines away, the wreckage of Harps vertibuck came into view. The rusty craft was tangle in the vines. One of the propeller engines was just completely gone, and a royal guard hung upside-down, dangling from his taped hoof. There wasn’t any use checking if he was still alive, as nopony lasted this long out here without a mask.

Below the vertibuck was a mess of hoofprints, and bullet casings. Well, a few of them made it out of here alive, and from the lack of her body, it looked like Harp was one of them. There was blood spatter, but most of it had pooled around the hanging pony. Nearby was a small body of murky water, with some more hoof prints next to it. A curiosity of these prints was that once they got close to the water, they turned into deep lines along the jungle floor, like something had dragged them into the water.

A tingle ran down my spine, and I turned to Mayall. “Do you still have some of that chill?” The pink lurker shook her head. It was no loss, really. With or without the chill, I was still not going near the water.

*splat*

Merit had cut the royal guard down, sending mud and blood flying as his body hit the ground. Sweet and I just looked at him in confusion.

“What?” Merit shrugged and started to check over the corpse. “just checking him for anything we can use or may need. It’s not like we have luxury of being picky right now.” I was not going to argue with that, but it would have been nice if he’d warned us first. “Say, you said that with a wet cloth, you can make the filters last longer?”

“Ya,” I answered with a quick nod. “covering your filter with it will catch some of the poling without blocking your filter.”

Merit pulled of the guards armor, and began removing the deceased ponies shirt. It was then Sweet tapped my shoulder and whispered into my ear.

“I think I heard something,” She ran her eyes across the dense foliage around us. “see anything on your E.F.S?”

“Lots of things, too many damn bugs.” I remarked, glancing over the red marks in my upper vision were everywhere. There were so many red lines cluttering my compass that it made it completely useless to use other than the lone blue dot that was leading us to Harp. Still, Sweets instincts tended to most be on the ball. “Merit, finish that up quickly because we might have company.”

Sweet and I ran and jumped behind a bush as Merit tore of the shirt of the guardpony. He quickly flew off, and skimmed the shirt along the murky body of water before joining us.

“Will this work?” He asked as he presented the soaked cloth to me.

I nodded, and pulled out my knife, cutting off the sleeves. The wet rags were then tied around Merit’s, Sweet’s, and Mayall’s filter. When touching Mayall, well her mask, my hud display in my vision glitched out, becoming distorted.

“Odd.” I whispered to myself. Touching her with my pipleg, it's screen distorted again. The moment I pulled my leg back, the fuzziness went away, and it returned to normal.

The loud snap of a twig caught my attention. Out from the dense foliage came a pirate. They were a unicorn mare, decorated with with a few large rusty looking rings through her ears. She had a crude SMG hanging on her back, along with a few dulled axes. Her gas mask was decorated with with a pony’s skull that was missing it's lower jaw, as well as some colorful bird feathers dangling from the eye sockets. A few long bits of plumage formed a mohawk along the skulls head, giving it a flashy and definitely not subtle look for a stroll in the jungle.

“Go check th' crash again, squiffy cur” The pirate mare spoke, spite hanging in her voice. She scanned the area by slowly, swiveling her head until her sight fell on the fallen guard. “Oh good, ye finally decided t' come down, 'n... loot off yer own shirt.” Her SMG floated in the air, held in a yellow aura. A wicked smile split her muzzle as she gazed over the foliage around us. “Come out, come out! I only wants t' hurt ye.”

*Splash*

I looked over towards the pond and saw another pony standing in the open. But part of me looked past their sudden appearance because something was off about them. The pony had a very cracked gas mask obscuring their face, and they were absolutely covered in algae and seaweed. It was draped over their whole body, hiding their mane and tail as well. Silently, they stood at the edge of the water, fetlock deep in the mud of the murky water’s shore.

“Oy, oy, ain't you an odd one, taking a dip at this time.” The pirates sounded upbeat as she clapped her hooves. “would ye happen t' know where th' blokes from this gull ran off too? Ye see, I be wha' ye can say, part o' search 'n rescue, 'n they needs findin'.”

The pond pony motioned with her forehoof for the pirate to come closer. Her leg looked odd, yet vaguely familiar, it not being like wet fur like a normal ponies leg, but also not like a prosthetic limb.

“eye eye,” The pirate groaned, “Ye better got some info fo me, as I know you daff localcs ye 'ave win's but can nah fly, a horn but can nah do magic, 'n most o' ye be too crippled t' do th' earth pony or zebra shit. I be a pushin' ye back in th' water, among other thin's wev’a thrown in.” She trotted over to the pond, here hooves making wet slaps in the muddy ground. “Now spill.”

Again the pond pony motion for the pirate to come closer, and the pirate complied, though now she had her SMG at the ready.

“Are ye locals always so odd t’ strangers?” She got face to face the the other pony, and tapped the pond pony on the head with her SMG. “But that shimmer shine thin' ye can do be nifty, but dun try anythin’ funny. So now, tell me or I might as well get physical.”

An ear splitting snap almost made me jump and cry out. Merit and Sweet also squinted and cringed from the noise. Looking at the pirate, she had fallen over, and was holding her hooves to her ears as a line of blood came from under her hooves, as nose, with her gun now harmlessly stuck in the mud.

The pond pony slowly trotted around the pirate, and bit onto her tail. In doing so the seaweed and moss slipped off to reveal what it truly was. The pony underneath was not a pony at all, rather a type of Lurker. However, it wasn’t a lurker like Mayall or any of the others I’d seen before.

It chitin armor was a dull mud brown, and the fins as murky green as the seaweed that had obscured it. I could now see that the seaweed that had been covering it was actually a cloak, made from what looked like a fishnet with the organic parts sown in. The Lurker slowly began to drag the pirate into the water, the pirate’s hooves gouging identical lines to what I’d seen earlier. First the lurker went under, sinking into the murky pool before the twitching pirate dipped in, and disappeared from sight as well .

A few bubbles came up, but seen the pond quickly became as still as a grave. The only evidences that any pony had even been there, was SMG sticking out of the mud, the hoofprints, and the marks of a pony being dragged.

“You know what Viby,” Sweet whispered as she leaned closer to me. “I’m kind of starting to understand why you hate the water so much.” She put her hoof on my shoulder, and shook me a little, forcing me to look away from the pond and instead at her. “Let's go. Staying around here is not good for anypony.”

I slowly nodded, turning to the direction of Harps pipbuck signal. My E.F.S scrambled a bit when I passed Mayall, making it something I needed to talk with her about. That, and I needed her to explain just what in Tartarus that other lurker even was.

The pirates were getting more aggressive here. The sound of the jungle bugs and animals were quickly silenced by the vertibucks flying overhead. We had the occasional flying pirate poking through the canopy, causing us to keep our progress slow enough that we could get under cover when they appeared. Luckily the pirates were far from quiet, giving us ample time to find places to avoid them at.

Our trek through the thick jungle persisted, the bayonet given to me by Cornett proving useful enough to hack through some of the vines as I swung my rifle. A few times we caught a beast unaware, our sound dampening talismans doing their job. It was mainly the odd rad-boar scattered by the pirates activity, though a few were more groups of oversized insects.

Sweet and I took turns eliminating the beasts. The steel bolts both killed quickly and quietly, as well maintained their shape so we could reuse them. I didn't see any practical military use for the bolt rifle, but I could see them as a good replacement for hunters to use.

The crumbling ruins started to give way to just the jungle, the hollowed out buildings becoming more spread out and smaller. We had to pass through one of the two story building that were now more common than before. The old structure was far better preserved than it should be, though still horribly decayed. As we passed through, on open room caught my eye. Inside was a hazmat suit. The foggy vizor on the helmet was broken, and looked like an object had punched through it long ago. there was a sizable hole through the back of the helmet and through the wall behind it as well left by what was probably a weapon far too long ago to matter what it was now. There was no sign of a pony inside, just cobwebs and spiders, but the seen gave me a profound feeling of hopelessness.

The scenery didn't improve past the building, the walls giving way to more jungle, and what building we saw were now individual homes, only shells of once wase there. We jumped into a trench that was the remains of another, somewhat smaller sewer line. Of course, more death greeted us the moment we were in it. This time however, it was two dead scavengers. Their bags stuffed full of rotting punga fruit marked the grizzly scene as only a few days old. Both corpses were boiled and burnt, leaving most of their supplies useless.

Sweet looted one surviving filter, and a bottle of punga fruit moonshine off the two corpses. “My guess from their burns? Twitter-mites. They must have accidentally trotted into a swarm.”

“Twitter what-now?” Merit asked.

“Electric wasps, basically.” Sweet answered as she passed the filter to him. “They utterly wreck the wiring in the metro wherever they crop up, and are ten times worse when it comes to ponies. Their sting is among the worst kind of pain, but whole a swarm can create a mini thunder cloud that’ll cook you from the inside out. Not something you want to get caught up in as you can see.”

“Okay...” Merit shuttered. “Noted.”

We continued pushing forward, though now worried about finding the missing swarm of Twitter-mites. What concerned me the most was that the bugs were nowhere to be seen at all. While that meant that the hive had likely moved recently, seeing as Twitter-mites didn’t venture far from it, it could mean that their absence meant there was a walking hive in the area. It all reminded me of the infested ghoul I passed by on the big island, and I could only hope we get as lucky as before.

Pushing onward, my E.F.S continued to mostly be useless. With nearly all the large insects hostile in one way or another, it was still impossible to pick anything out of the display. If it wasn’t for Harps pipbuck tag, we would certainly find ourselves completely lost. Which brought another, more concerning thought to mind. I sure hoped that while we weren’t lost following her tag, there’s nothing to say that Harp couldn’t be lost and leading us so far from salvation that we never get back before our filters died.

“If ya not going to spill, by the light of the goddesses, I'll cut your tongue out!” The yelling that bled through the foliage ahead came from a familiar sounding mare.

Peeking through the vines, we saw Graceful standing over a royal guard. The guard was pinned to a tree by a thin sword, and was suffering from what looked like a broken wing that had been bent in a painful direction. Merit winced and stifled a small whine as he caught sight of the wrecked wing.

“You think you can scare me, savage?” The guard laughed, which quickly turned to coughing. “What Captain Stratus would do to me if I sold out any member of the royal family is far more frightening than dying out here. So by all means, do your worst.”

I aimed down the sight of my rifle. With a pull of the trigger, and a blast of air, the bolt flew. My aim was a bit low, piercing Graceful in the neck. The bolt passed through her flesh easily and lodged itself into the tree next to the pinned pegasus. Graceful held a hoof to her neck, giving a gurgling gasp of surprise. Before she could turn and look to see who’d killed her, she crumpled to the ground. It was a far more merciful death than she deserved.

Rushing over to the royal guard, we carefully removed him from the tree. In doing so, and due to our lack of medical supplies, we were forced to keep the sword in his shoulder. He wasn’t bleeding too badly from the wound, but out in the jungle, a wound like that could still be quite fatal.

“Are you good enough to move?” I asked as I helped Sweet to help keep him on his hooves.

“I… I think so.” The guard coughed coughed a few times. “While I’m thankful for the assist, who are you?”

“Friends of Harp Melody.” I answered, “She might still have a healing potion, so just stay with us and we will get you to her.”

“How?” the guard asked before going into a coughing fit.

“I have her pipbuck tag on here,” I lifted my pipleg. “once we find her, were heading straight to stable 50.”

The guard nodded. “I don’t think the captain will like knowing you have a tracker on the princess.”

“No, but I think it’s just what I need!” Graceful spoke up in a raspy voice. With movement that caught us all by surprise, she pulled the sword from the guard. Flying up, Graceful licked the blood from the blade, and smiled. Opening her eyes, they were more bloodshot than any druggie I’d ever seen in Charon’s stop.

No, they weren’t bloodshot... her eyes were bleeding.

“Now” She spoke up as she hovered in the air above us. “give me that leg, or don’t. It could be more fun if I have to rip it from you still kicking and screaming.”

“How the fuck are you alive!?” Sweet yelled out.

“By the good graces of the Goddesses, I've been saved.” Graceful laughed, pointing at her neck. A scar had already sealed up where a bloody hole should’ve been. “Once more their mercy blesses me. Once more the call to purify the world wells up and overflows inside of me.” She then pointed down at me with the sword. “You may live, but the others will die.”

She dashed upward. Merit flew up and tackled Graceful, sending the two into a spiraling fall. Merit cried out in pain, letting go of Graceful. She flew up higher, as he slammed into a tree, and fell fell into the muddy ground. Merit, trying to get up, stumbled, his hooves having trouble finding balance. Graceful stopped just below the jungle canopy, and spat out again few bronze colored feathers.

Sweet and I took aim, but a flash and a bang left me momentarily blind and deaf. After a few seconds I recovered, but only to see Graceful standing over the guard with her sword plunged into his neck. Moving the sword like like a lever, she broke the guard's neck with a sickening crack.

Looking into her blood colored eyes, a overwhelming feeling of dread began to smother me. Graceful splintered apart into many birds, all swarming around me, pecking at me. I did my best to swat them away, but to no avail. What the hell was going on?

Almost as quickly as I was assaulted, the birds turned to ashes and blew away.

Sweet had rammed into Graceful, sending the pegasus rolling. Graceful took the hit well, and quickly got back to all fours. She stared down Sweet, shaking her head with a shit eating grin across her muzzle. Sweet paused for a moment before she aimed her rifle and fired. Graceful took a bolt to the chest, and fell over.

“That's it, I'm calling it right now,” Sweet yelled. “these ponies have got some evil shit going on with them!”

Graceful tossed a hissing mettle can at Sweet, it landing not far from her. My eyes whent whide at the crude explosive, but before it exploded, Mayall jumped in the way, sending her flying into Sweet. My ears ringing from the small blast, I ran up to the two, Mayall was out cold, her shell peppered with deep grooves, but fine as far as I could tell. Sweet was dazed, her cyber eyes looking in two different directions. I looked around for Merit, finding him propping himself up on a tree near him, shaking his head, and motioned at Graceful as he slowly backed up, of wight I could only guess was for me to distract her.

“You can't beat me. You can't kill me.” Graceful laughed, “By the grace of the goddesses, I’ve ascended to superiority, far beyond your understanding.”

I aimed my rifle and fired as she charged. Graceful managed to dodge, slamming into me, and standing on me as I slid along the ground. Pulling out my revolver, she bit onto it as I fired, blowing a hole in her cheek, along with sending a few teeth flying. She wrenched the revolver from my telekinetic spell and tossed it to the side. Blood dripped from both her eyes and the gaping wound in her mouth as she smiled. With a much closer look at her teeth than I ever wanted, I saw that they were pointed, if only a little.

“If we didn’t need you, it would be just so easy...” Her eyes had a hunger to them, like a ravenous beast looking at its prey. The blood in her mouth mixed with drool, slowly seeping out, and staining her lips. It all just felt so wrong, so unnatural, and… well, Sweet put it best. Pure evil.

Not seeing the shadow of a pegusus above her, Graceful licked her lips, only smearing more blood onto her face. “You know, at first it was so odd, wrong you could say. But now?” She looked over at Sweet. “I've grown fond of the faces that ponies make as I rip them apart. Seeing their shock as they’re devoured, hearing their impotent pleas for mercy. It’s divine.”

I spat her own blood back at her. “Crazy bitch!”

“You just might be right,” Her eyes turned back to me. “but I'm beyond caring anymore.” She placed the tip of her sword on my shoulder. “Now I just need you to stay still for a moment, the hunger calls.”

In a split moment she vanished from my sight, her sword hanging in the air for a fraction of a second before falling.The form of Merits outstretched hoof, having collided with Gracefuls face, sending her sliding into the mud. I had rather he had shot her, but giving her a broken jaw was good enough for me.

“Falling so low,” Merit shouted. “as expected of a dashite!”

“Oh, so proud,” Graceful got back up as she spat out another tooth. “so loyal and blind.” She mocked him as she laughed and hacked up blood. “Grunts like you should just shut up, cover your eyes, let your superior officer rape your ass raw. And when they’re done fucking you over, don’t forget to thank them for the opportunity.”

Merit fired at Graceful with his SMG, but she quickly flew ahead of the gunfire. The SMG ate through it’s rounds as she dodged ever shot until the magazine was empty. Merit pulled it up and used it to block a swift kick from Graceful as she came around at him. Parts of the scrap built gun went flying from Graceful’s blow, and the hit forced Merit to jump back. She closed in for another hit, but Merit used what was left of the SMG, and clocked her jaw with the broken butt of the gun, sending her flipping into the air. Graceful flared her wings out and stopped in the air, blood still oozing from her mouth as she floated onto the ground.

“So, I’m curious as to what it was? Did you speak out against the enclave, sleep with the wrong politician?” Merit threw the remains of the SMG to the ground. “How did you become the vile traitor you are? And don’t worry, I’m gonna let you say your peace before granting you the death you so rightly deserve.”

She laughed, it was a long maniacal, painful laugh. “You would like that wouldn't you, you enclave fuck. Take everything from me, abuse me, sell me to some mud ponies. And now, your kind wants to take the high road.” She spat onto the ground, a line of the blood mixed slaves hanged from her fractured jaw. “I’ll enjoy gutting you, cooking you, like I did to that freek. You think boiled crab pony would taste bad, something beneath me, but I enjoyed it. More than the freak deserved, not even worthy for the dogs to shit on, but when hungry, even a worthless bottom feeder will do.”

Graceful pulled out a knife, pointing it at Merits as she raedyed herself for a charge. I tried to gallop over to stop her, but I found it hard to move, like somepony was holding me down. “As they say, another one bites the…” Graceful was cut off as a massive slam sent her flying. She crashed into a tree, blood spouting from her mouth as her body let out a thick snap.

“You don’t dare!” Mayall spoke with a growl, spitting out a cunning of blue hair. “You don't dare to speak of him like that.” she trotted over to Graceful, as the winded pirate struggled to get back up. “He had already been through too much because of me! Only for you to do that, to kill, to eat!”

Mayall’s came snout to snout with the pirate, but Graceful quickly stabbed at her, the blade only scratching her thick chitin shell. Placing her hoof on Graceful’s chest, Mayall fins seemed to glow brighter.

“I’ll not grant you a quick or dignified death.” Mayall’s voice had gone cold, all hint of her normal upbeat cheerfulness had gone. “No, not some poison in the ear, or a dagger for you kill yourself. Slow, and painful is what you get. Won't my sister be so proud.”

“Daft monster, let me go!” Graceful yelled, right before more blood spouted from her mouth. Her wild eyes turned to fear as she started to frantically stab at Mayall. More blood seeped from Graceful’s mouth as she started to gurgle her words.

Mayall placed a second hoof on Graceful’s chest, her back hooves now dug into the ground, pressing on a root.

*Crack!*

Graceful gargled out a scream that sent blood dribbling down across Mayall’s lurker hooves.

*Snap*

This time Graceful did not scream, but let out a deep and long moan. Her breathing grew sharply shallower, and now held a sick gurgling sound to it.

*Crunch*

Graceful didn't respond this time, her body had fallen limp in Mayall’s hold. Her head drooped, and her blood now looked like a black icor that seeped out with the consistency of molasses. Mayall held the pirate in place before letting her go, letting Graceful’s body fall over with a wet splat. Everything was still. There were no sounds of birds, bugs, and even the sound of the vertibuck that was far away became muted.

I found myself holding my breath, expecting Graceful to shoot right back up and mock us. I could see her lifeless eyes staring back at me, still filling me with dread.

*Smash*

Mayall brought both hooves down on Graceful’s head, crushing it like a coconut filled with red die and gelatin.

“Pony going to come back?” Mayall growled as she ripped her hoove back and kicked half of Graceful’s skull off into the jungle underbrush. “Didn’t think so.”

All the feeling of dread dissipated, replaced by the more natural tense paranoia. Sweet trotted up to me, pushing an eye back in place.

“Props to the Lurker,” She wore a look of relief as she gave me a firm pat on the side. “but we should get moving before we have a paradise dragon breathing down our necks.”

I nodded, checking my pipleg for the direction of where Harp was. I could only hope, she had fared better than we had.

_____________________________

Music. I could hear it playing, stirring me from my sleep. Old world classical, mother's favorite. It was a mix of string, wind, and percussion in a mellow, yet uplifting tune.

“Lady Harp Melody,” Stratus Dancer called to me. “it's time to wake up.”

“Don't want to.” I huffed weekly.

“I’m afraid it’s not your choice, lady Harp Melody.” Status said in a gentile, yes soft tone. “You have math and ponies lessons with your tutor in an hour. After that, song and instrument lessons with mister and miss Band. When your done with all that, you may join me on the range. I suppose it's far past the time I show you how to properly use a javelin launcher.”

“I don't want to.” I rolled away from her. “They all hate me.”

“Now now, you know that's simply not true.” Stratus said in that playful tone she always did when trying to cheer me up. “But most importantly, if you don't get up now, there won't be enough time for breakfast. I saw that the chef was making bagels, extra fluffy.”

“Fine,” I groaned. “but I want extra jam.”

The comforter and sheet lifted off of me, one of the unicorn maids folded them and placed them neatly at the hoof oh my bed. A second unicorn maid lifted me up and gently placed me onto the floor, removing my night gown at the same time.

“Now I think we should have you wear the blue dress today, don’t you?” Stratus pondered, the purple pegasus towering over me. She had her dress uniform on, with some of the her armor over it, giving her a stylish yet uncompromising look to her.

“Ugh.” I glared at her. “I don’t want Rare Pearls hoof me downs.”

“Lady Harp,” She sighed. “may I remind you that most of the cloths here are hoof me downs? Things like silk are not exactly common in our day and age.” She brightened up with a thought, “Oh! let's add a bow, perhaps the big blue one?”

Stratus clapped as the unicorns maids redressed me. I still didn’t understand why the second in command of the royal guard was looking after me, but I was sure it was to keep me from embarrassing mother.

A few soft knocks rapped at my door.

“Come in.” Stratus spoke up.

The door opened with a hiss, and Rare Pearl stepped in. Golden Rule was behind her, but he thankfully stayed outside.

“Oh good, I had hoped you were here, Stratus. Old Bulwark is at it again, I need you to talk with him, get him to calm down.” Rare Pearl had an azure colored coat with a vibrant silver mane that held strands of gold in it. She was naturally a bit taller then everypony, but that was only part of why she was considered among many to be the most beautiful pony in stable 50.

“I don’t think I can talk any more sense into the captain then you can princess,” Stratus sighed. “Even the queen has given up controlling him. By the way, what's he doing now?”

Rare Pearl took a deep breath and placed her hoof on her chest. She exhaled as she extended her leg. I’d been taught that as a technique to calm myself, but it was far too dramatic for my tastes.

“He is demanding that all VI assistances robots go through a full arcano tech defragging.” She spoke calmly, but it was easy to tell that she was more upset than usual with whatever was going on. “He said that too many of them are showing signs of program degeneration. The help in charge of them told me it would take all day for the robots to be ready for surface, and I have a tea party in little more than four hours. Without Franz, who will serve cake and tea, or set the table?”

Looking back at the two maids, Stratus smirked, the maids giving her a shrug. “Oh so tragic. Truely a disaster beyond all things.” Stratus said in a dramatic tone. “Whatever will you do?”

“I know, which is why I’m pleading with you now.” Rare Pearl responded as she either missed or completely ignored the sarcasm dripping from Stratus’s words. “We simply cannot have the royal family come up short! Can you imagine? It would just be unbecoming in trying times such as these.”

“How about this,” Stratus sighed. “If you let Harp in on the tea party, I’ll prepare the cakes, and tea. I’ll even set the table.”

“Oh, that'd just…” Rare covered her mouth, hiding a little gasp. “That is simply too much. You must be a busy mare, and I won’t have you distracted from your appointed duties.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all.” Stratus responded. “The queen has personally asked me to look after your youngest sister. If she is to be at the party, then I will be there as well.”

A slight chuckle came from Golden, but he quickly stopped when Rare glared at him. “I understand your duty, but Don’t you think it be best for Harp to be with fillies her own age? A tea party with my friends may prove to be a bit boring for her?”

“Nonsense.” Waving her hoof dismissively, Stratus continued. “I’m sure Harp would love to spend time with her sister. And with me there, you will get to supervise.”

Rare looked away, seemingly frustrated with Stratus. “Fine then, but would you at least talk with your grandfather, we can't have him just making decision on his own.”

“I understand and will talk with the old fool princess, but can you answer me this one thing?” Stratus nodded. “Where are your glasses, princess?”

“Golden is holding onto them,” My sister frowned, not pleased by the question. “and before you say anything, things are a bit fuzzy, but I assure you that I can get around just fine without them.”

“That's not what the other guards say.” Stratus said with a lighthearted chuckle. “I don’t mean to poke fun, princess, but you trotted into the guards changing room last time your glasses went missing. I know you don’t like to wear them, but you're going to get yourself hurt if you do use them.” Rare just huffed, and walked out of my room, Golden Rule following her out of sight.

I couldn't help but giggle a little. “Big sis Rare is blind.” I snorted.

“Not completely, but she might as well be is she doesn’t learn to keep her glasses on.” Stratus sighed. “Now, let's go. Breakfast awaits, miss Harp.” One of the maids placed the big blue ribbon in my mane and pushed me out of the door.

Everything had gone dark. It all had gone quiet, except for the sound of a pony wheezing.

“Oh cute little Harp, healthy as ever.” I turned around to see Silver Majesty standing face to face with me. Her white coat and mane contrasted with her black wheel-harness and the air tank she had strapped to it. Pulling her mask to her face, she wheezed as she breathed in. “You want to play a game with me?”

“Oh no, I’m fine, big sister.” I answered, slowly backing up.

“That’s fine then,” She smirked under her mask, her red eyes glaring at me. “I know how hard it is for you, being our poor mothers shame made flesh. But I’ll be here for you, even when no pony else here wants you.”

“Harp!” Stratus shouted. “Harp, wake up now!”

I was confused, I had already woken up? Looking back over at Silver Majesty, she was gone, and so was everything else. I was in a black void, a light in the distance slowly got brighter. It was a warm light, and loud too. Ponies yelling, along with a roar that made me want to go back.

__________________________________________________________________

A sharp pain hit across my cheek, forcing my eyes open. Only to see the mouth of a large beast break through what was a door, and crush a royal guard. The horrifying sight caught me off guard, and I watched as the beast dragged the body off.

“Damnit!” Stratus shouted, her voice muffled by her gas mask. “How much longer?”

“I’m breaking through now Captain.” the stallion shouted as he bucked a metal door. With a slam, it fell off its hinges.

Stratus scooped me up, and dashed through the doorway, into darkness. A large Paradise Dragon burst into the room we’d just been in and attempted to follow us. Thankfully, it couldn’t force it’s way through, only stick its snarling head in through the concrete doorway. Stratus pointed a Javelin Launcher at it, but the monster quickly retreated before she could fire.

“Wha… what’s going on?” I asked, only remembering getting onto the vertibuck before… I can’t quite recall, actually...

Placing me on the ground, Stratus checked me over in the light of the doorway. “How's your vision? Any pains? Or odd tastes in your mouth?”

“I’m fine, I think.” I pushed her hooved off of me and readjusted m mask. “Now tell me, what happened?”

Stratus sighed. “Those barbarians planted an explosive on the vertibuck you were on. I flew over as soon as I could, and got you out of the wreck before it burned up. Unfortunately, the crash attracted that monster, and we’re trying to find a way to get back underground.”

I looked around at where we were now. Much of the room was hidden in shadows to me. One of the surviving guards sat nearby, his armor a complete and total mess. Looking at myself, I was not in much better condition, but my red dress and R&D jacket were still in one piece. The revolver was still on me, and my pipbuck was working. One thing was missing,

“Where's Order?” I asked, frowning as the perky little bot never did stray very far from me normally.

“Somewhere nearby.” The guard spoke up. “The Orthrus drone followed us out, but it had trouble keeping up with us through the jungle.”

I tapped on my pipbuck, and turn a dial, looking up the drone options. I selected the “return” and my pipbuck beeped. With a slight buzzing like humming, the drone floated in through the door the dragon had been through.

“Hello ma’am, good to see you doing well!” His jubilant voice filled me with a small sense of hope that things would be alright.

“Good to see you too Order.” I responded. “Do you have a way to light up this dreadfully dark room?”

“Yes ma’am,” Order paused for a moment, and then bounced in the air. “Along with a basic telekinetic talasman, I also come with a light and a spark talismans. At current power levels, I will need a charge to run the programs at peak efficiency.”

“Come here, Order, and turn on you lights.” The drone complied with my request, and a little ball of light appeared behind it. Placing my hoof on it, I proceeded to charge the magic within myself. My short horn glowed as I focused, and I pushed my magical charge into Order.

The light the little bot gave off was just enough to see where we were. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like it was an old maintenance room of some sort. Though, pretty much anything we could have used in here had long rusted away, leaving just a door ahead that I presumed lead further into the dark.

Stratus tapped on Orders metal shell. “Princess, are you sure you want this thing around when it could be used to spy on us?”

“I'm not going to get rid of it. It was a gift.” I knew she was looking out for me, but if she was going to start nitpicking every choice I make, I might as well take my chances with the pirates.

“As you have said before, but Orthrus is known for their less than honest ways.” She went on.

“As you have said many times before as well.” I didn't want to talk about it, not in New Canterlot, not here and now. “We should get moving. Maybe there will be a way through on the other side of this door.” I pointed at the shut door further in the room.

The guard got up, and trotted to the door. attempting to open it. He gave a quick pull, but his hoof slipped from the rusted handle. With a renewed effort, he grabbed and tugged at it again, still to no effect.

“Won’t open, Princess.” He grunted, giving the door a little kick. “It looks like it’s completely rusted shut.”

The light above Order flickered and got brighter. “Fully powered ma’am.” Order informed me as his light brightened a bit, letting us see a bit more than before.

“That was fast.” I remarked,as I took a better look at the room. The door did look in bad shape, unlikely to ever open again. Roots hung from the ceiling, and the walls were filled with spidering cracks. Where the floor met the walls, mounds of dirt and powdered concrete where everywhere. It was more than could have just be attributed to age and the cracks in the walls. “What could have created those mounds?”

“Anything from out here,” Stratus trotted over to the mounds, and kicked some of the dirt. “And knowing that, it's never anything good.”

Trotting over to one of the mound, I looked behind it, finding a small hole about hoof size. “I wonder.” scanning along the walls, I saw not far from the door, a dirt pile much larger than the others. Investigating it, this one also had bits of metal in it. Behind the pile was a small hole that looked just large enough that a pony could fit though.

“By Celestia, you are not to even think about crawling in there, Princess!” Stratus spoke up right behind me, startling me a little. Looking back at her, giving my best ‘haveyou got a better idea’ look. She huffed. “Who knows what's in there. It’s too risky.”

“Well, I know what’s back out there.” I retorted as I pointed outside. “Not to mention, none of this would’ve been a problem in the first place if you hadn’t separated me from my friends.”

“Princess, dear, one of those friends turned out to be one of those ocean barbarians in a dress.” Stratus took a deep breath. “But fine. With the paradise dragon out there, I’ll concede that this might be our best option at the moment. But first, it needs to be scouted out.”

We both looked at the royal guard, and he visibly gulped.

Still, although his nervousness about the task was quite visible, he complied. He was slightly bigger than the two of us, but he still managed to squeeze into the hole. Quickly, he disappeared into the darkness beyond the range of Order’s light. We could only hear the scraping of his hooves echo down the dark tunnel until it was all quiet. A tense moment passed, where I looked to Stratus with a frown.

“All Clear!” came from the hole.

With a heavy sigh of relief from us both, Stratus and I soon followed, and Order followed closely behind. The small tunnel was pitch black, even with Order’s light shining from behind. I’d momentarily thought about turning on my pipbuck light, but the sound and feeling of dozens of little things around me made me glad that I could not see.

At the end was more darkness, but the confines of the tunnel gave way to a larger space. After pulling Order out of the tunnel, I had the drone turn his light around to illuminate where we were now. We were definitely in some sort of cavern, though something had made a countless amount of holes in the walls, ceiling, and even some in the floor. Still, Stratus nudged me forward.

“Let's go.” She whispered.

With only the light from Order, the end of the cave was nowhere in sight, only a black void that seemed to run on forever. The unnerving tunnel played tricks on my eyes. Now and then, I was certain there was something moving inside some of the holes. I wanted it to just be in my head, but i knew better.

“You know, this place reminds me of an old cookbook.” Stratus’ voice was a little louder than the whisper she’d used before. She must‘ve been nervous herself, because she always got chatty when she was nervous about something. “Well, more of a kind of food I had seen in one. It was called swiss cheese I think. It has all these holes in it, kind of like what we’re seeing here.”

I was about to tell her that was a neat but odd fact, but I nearly tripped into one of the holes in the floor. I let out an eep, scrambling not to lose my balance and slip into the darkness. Thankfully, Stratus caught me before I fell in, and helped me to step around it.

“Careful, can't have you hurting yourself.” She said, a continued. “By the way, what exactly did you mean by us not being in this situation if your so called friends were here?”

“You already know,” I sighed as we got back to walking further into the cave. “There’s no way you don’t know. Vibraphone told you why she was sent here, yet none of you would listen.”

“Yes, you're right.” she confirmed my assumption. “Miss Vibraphone Echo, also known as the dragon slayer, was indeed telling the truth. As regrettable as it was that we didn’t listen, I'm still not going to let an Orthrus agent stay around you. Yes, she brought you back home safely, but anypony from Orthrus is still too untrustworthy in my book.”

“Really?” This again? I had already gotten an ear full up in New Canterlot. “What makes them so untrustworthy?” I asked, already knowing what her answer would be.

“Greed, that's what.” She repeated what nearly every pony said back at home about Orthrus. And though I hated to admit it, I once believed that too. “They’re only out for the bits. They have no sense of charity, or honor. I bet if they could, their leaders would sell out their own if the price was right.”

“Oh, and that's so much worse than trying to have your own sister assassinated,” I retorted with about as much snark as I could muster. “or killing off a station's population just to make room. Or treating some of it’s own as second class citizens just because of how they were born.”

“Princess, I really don't think it's the best time to argue about this .” Stratus said in a low tone.

“Then when?” I growled, “Maybe when elder sis Silver is having one of her lackies tighten their hooves around my neck? Or perhaps the time is after I'm locked away out of sight again?”

Stratus sighed. “Like I said, none of that is going to happen, Princess. Just trust me.”

“Trust?” I said with a little laugh. “I'm having a hard time believing that when everypony lies to me and doesn’t even give my suggestions or ideas a single bit of attention.”

“Now princess, that's just not true.” She trotted up next to me, and in the bot’s dim light, I could see the frown she wore. “Where’s all this coming from? What's bringing this all up?”

“Perhaps I’m just tired of being lied to.” I sighed. “The fact that no pony told me that I'm a bastard, that my late father is not my father. How could you all hide that from me?”

Stratus's worried face dropped, becoming a bit more serious. “So you found out?”

“Of fucking course I did!” I shouted, my voice echoing into the dark. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down a little. “I actually met him, you know. At first, I thought he was just being a kind old stallion to me, but eventually, the truth got out. And the more I think about it, the more I begin to realize that everypony back home had been lying to me. Though with how things are, I shouldn't have been surprised.”

“Harp.” Stratus voice softened.

“No, you will hear me out.” I continued. “It's not just what’s gone on here, but I don't know if mother will even see me, I mean, I must be her biggest shame.”

“Harp, stop.” Stratus said quietly, sharpening her words a bit.

“Oh Celestia, I should have stayed with Phorminx in Orthrus.” I sighed and tried not to kick myself for getting caught up in everything going back here. “What if I'm making everything worse by coming back!? I mean...” a hoof covered my mouth and forced me to be quiet. I looked back to see Stratus glare into my eyes with a serious stair.

“Don’t move. Don't talk. Trust me.” Stratus then began to lightly whistle.

Something started to Tap on my mask… a monster came into my view over the protective lenses that covered my eyes. I shivered as I realized it was a bug with with more legs than I could count. It crawled over my mask, walking down onto Stratus's leg. It's body kept on going and going. So many legs, walking in undulating movements that didn't stop until it reached all the way up Stratus's leg. As soon as it was off of me, she used her wing to knock it off of her, and to the ground. She gave a quick step, stomping on it a few times until it stopped twitching.

“I hate centipedes.” She said with a huff.

Another centipede crawled out from one of the holes in the wall, this one a bit bigger than the first. “Stratus, there's another one.” I pointed out.

“Not just one.” She said, and I looked up to see more coming crawling out of the holes in the walls. They appeared in every hole, there must have been thousands of them! “Harp, run!”

I didn't need to be told twice, and burst into a gallop. The royal guard ahead of me bolted forward as well, keeping at the edge of the light. More and more centipedes crawled out of the hole as we ran, their many legs audible clicking on the walls and filling the dark tunnel with the sound of a monstrously out of control geiger counter.

“I see something!” the guard yelled, running further ahead into the dark. Focusing with my eyes, a light from ahead into view. It was distant, but it filled me with hope.

In a full gallop my lungs began to burn, and the inside of my mask started to fog up. The light got closer, but resolved into more of a beaming vertical shaft than an opening we could run through. I saw the guard slide into the light, stopping and looking up into it.

Getting to him, I slowed to a stop with Stratus right behind me. Even from here, I could see the blue the skies through the gaping hole in the ceiling. A few exposed roots hugged the hole to the jungle outside, but not anything sturdy enough we could use to get out. The tapping of the centipedes slowly got louder, got closer.

“Order?” I asked as I pointed up at the hole. “Can you go up there and find something to help us climb out of here?”

“Yes, ma’am!” The drone flew up and out of the hole, leaving us with only a small patch of light to stand in.

The clattering was closer now, almost loud enough to drown out the sound of my pounding heart.

Two hooves wrapped around me, and I began to lift off the ground. “I got you princess” Stratus breathed heavily as her wings beat hard and pulled us up through the hole.

“But what about him!?” I pointed at the guard as I wheezed in a near panic.

“No time, and your life matters more,” She said, not being as out of breath as I was. “He knew what he signed on for, but I will not lose you, Princess.”

“Don’t worry about me!” The guard shouted as he was desperately trying to climb up. There wasn’t anything to grasp onto, so it was all wasted effort, yet he tried. “Just go! Get the princess to safety!”

“Move!” a stallion yelled from above.

A bronze blur shot down through the air passed us. In a split second, I saw Merit grab the guard, and pluck him right off the ground. The moment they took off, a mass of red centipedes spilled into the light provided by the hole, and covered the floor of the tunnel like a flowing wave of blood.

We landed on the jungle floor, the muddy dirt making squishing under my boots. The bright sunlight above peaked through the trees, making me feel a bit at ease. Order flew over to me, a flimsy piece of a vine clamp in its little claws on its under belly. Patting the drone on its head, I turned my attention to Merit, whom was looking a bit scuffed up.

“Thanks for the assistance,” I spoke, watching as he set down the guard next to me before landing with a few panting breaths. “What are you doing out here? Are Vibraphone and the others out here too?”

“Well…” Merit started before getting a big kiss on the cheek from the guard.

“Thank you!” The guard whimpered as he tightly hugged Merit. It was only momentary though, as he went wide eyed as I let out a small giggle. Pulling himself off the pegasus, he turned to me and saluted to Stratus and I. “Sorry, ma’am. Just wanted to thank him for saving my life.”

“Your welcome…?” He laughed, patting the shaken guard on the back before turning to me. “And glad to have gotten here in time, Princess. Though at this point, do you even have to ask about Viby? You know she’s never that far behind when you’re in trouble.” He flashed a smirk that I shared with a nod. “Don’t worry, they should all be here soon.”

*Snap!*

I looked passed Merit to see some… big blood red thing climbing up a tree. It was as wide as a pony, with an armored body longer than I’d ever seen anything have. The mass of undulating legs that carried it upwards were something straight out of a nightmare. A nightmare I’d thought we’d left underground in that dark tunnel.

It was a massive centipede. It's body weaved through the branches of the surrounding trees, circling almost all the way around us. It's head had two massive feelers, a nightmarish mouth, and white markings on top of its head looked a lot like the skull of a pony. The monster salivated as it looked at us, slowly closing in through the only gap in the trees that looked open enough to run through. It cut off any escape as it’s chittering legs brought the monstrosity to a stop.

I looked too Stratus, and she nodded. She grabbed me again before trying to fly up, only we didn’t make it far. She quickly ducked and dropped back to the ground as the monster screetched and spat at the air above us. The thick mucus it projected just missed Stratus and I, hitting a tree that grew at the edge of the hole we’d come out of. The tree hissed and steamed where it's mucus had landed, melting away until it was just a foul smelling pool of acid. Stratus pulled out her javelin launcher and pointed it at the monster's head.

“Looks like we will just have to kill it!” She shouted as the javelin shot from her launcher.

The monster attempted to dodge, and almost managed it. The javelin only glanced off the side of it’s moving head, but snapped off one of its feelers. The monster screeched in pain, it's acidic saliva dripping from its maw and sending a putrid stench our way. I think she only made it more angry...

The guard stepped ahead of us, throwing off his helmet. “I'll distract it, you three get out of here.” I reached out my hoof, but Stratus stopped me, shaking her head. The stallion took a deep breath, and cried out as he charged the monster. His battlecry filled the air with the force of a roar from a paradise dragon…

No, that was the roar of a paradise dragon!

The beast jumped out of the brush, and onto the massive centipede, digging its claws into it. The centipede screeched once more, and began to thrash about, intaglio itself from the woods. The dragon continued it's assault, ripping off a leg, the acidic saliva of the centipede hitting the dragon a few times, but it didn't seem to affect it at all.

Stratus stiffened herself, trying to figure out which of the two to fire at now. I lifted my hoof and pushed her launchers from the two. She looked at me as if I were crazy, but I simply shook my head.

“Let them fight.” I spoke up as sternly as I could. Ponies back home may not take me seriously, but right now as she looked at me, I could see that Stratus knew I was right. Turning back, we simply watched as the two massive beasts duked it out.

There were few things tougher out in jungles than a paradise dragon, but this centipede was giving it a run for its money. The dragon’s claws couldn’t pierce the armored carapace of the oversized bug, but that didn’t stop it from trying. With a whip like snap, the centipede shot forward and bit down on the neck of the dragon. Another deafening roar filled the air as the dragon turned its head and bit down on the overextended centipede. Burning acid leaked from the dragons muzzle as the undulating bug released it’s grip from the trees and tried to pull itself away.

The acid looked like it had started to burn through the mouth of the dragon as it continued to snap it’s jaws around the body of the centipede. Blood dripped from the jaw of the Paradise dragon, and the writhing bug slipped free. The wounded centipede screeched as it retreated past us back down its hole, and with a roar, the paradise dragon followed.

We all backed up, but basically stood dumbfounded as the paradise dragon forced itself underground and out of sight. It was now that I could see that the beasts of the jungle were just as much out to kill each other, as they were out to kill us ponies. To be honest, it left me a bit unnerved, and being anywhere safe inside the confines of the metros started to feel like a good idea right now.

“You know,” Stratus trotted over to the lone guard as he stood in shock. With a smile, she patted him on the back. “I think I’ve got a few metals for you once we get back to stable 50. Trust me, you’ve earned them.”

We moved a bit away from the hole in the ground, not wanting to see what might come out next. With the short break we had from things trying to violently murder us, Merit had explained how he had found us. As it turned out, Vibraphone had my pipbuck tag on her pip leg. Knowing he could search much faster from the air, she transferred the tag to Merit so that he could go on ahead and find me. Stratus became visibly annoyed at this information, and demanded that the tag be removed as soon as we met up with the others.

We’d only been waiting for a few minutes when Stratus tapped on my side.

“We’ve got company.” She whipsered as she pointed to a rustling bush not to far from us in the jungle. She put herself between it and me, lining up her Javilin launchers on whomever was about to show up.

Without a sound, like as though she was a ghost, Vibraphone came through the underbrush. Just behind her, Sweet and Mayall appeared behind her. I gasped, stepping around Stratus at the sight of them. I watched as her mouth moved but all I could hear was faint whisper I couldn’t make out. She then paused and tapped on her pipbuck.

“Sorry,” She sighed as she looked back up at me. “Forgot to turn off the sound dampening talasman. It’s good to see that you're still alive.”

“I can say the same to you, except…” I waved my forehoof, pointing out the odd garb she was clad in. “why exactly are you dressed up as a maid?” She’d obviously had on one of the custom uniforms brother Golden had his attendant where, but had a combat vest over it. It gave her a dignified but dangerous look to her.

“Only thing they had on hoof at the time.” Vibraphone sighed. “And it’s been better than being out here naked.”

“You know, I think it looks good on you, it's very fetching.” I said, feeling a bit sad that the dirt and muck had ruined part of the dress. At least my own dress was made to deal with a bit of grime.

“You do know that you call stallions fetching, not other mares.” Vibraphone dead panned as she kicked off a bit of mud from her back hoof. “But on that note, I just feel bad for these shoes. If I’d known I'd be trekking through the jungle, i would have stored them in my bag before they got dirty.”

This made me glad I had my boots on. Sure they were cute boots, but unlike the once shiny dress shoes she wore, mine had been made to get some mud on them. With a smile, I tried to be a bit reasuring to her.

“I'm sure we can find somepony to get them clean at stable 50.” I offered, hoping that stable 50 was still somewhere we could make it fairly quickly. I’d enjoyed my time away from the metros, but I’d had just about enough of the jungle for today.

“Forget the shoes!” Sweet chuckled. “You should check out her…”

*Clang*

Vibraphone used her cyberhoof to punch Sweet on the shoulder to shut her up. Past the two was the lurker who’d traveled with them before. Only now, she looked… different than when I’d last seen her.

She seemed a bit taller now than before. Where before she was roughly eye to eye with me, now she seemed as tall as the average pony. Her shell was also different, still a dark purple, but the soft glow that came out from under it was now mostly pink. It wasn’t just the jungle sunlight either, rather it was more that her normal red glow had changed to a vibrant pink. It was subtle, but was most apparent on her fins, which were still red at the base, but became more pink toward the tips. Oddly, her fins also seemed to have grown longer, and the floppy fin on the top of her head now seemed more natural than it had been before.

“Is she okay?” I asked the other two as they glared at each other.

“Who knows,” Sweet shrugged her shoulders, breaking off the glare with Vibraphone. “I just hope it's not contagious.” She trotted past me, not looking back.

“I really hope Mayall will be alright.” Vibraphone on the other hoof, sighed. “We haven't had time to figure anything out, but I plan to test a few things when we stop for a rest.”

I nodded, but also grew concerned. “We're not stopping out here, right?”

She shook her head and lifted her pipbuck, showing me a map. “Orthrus has a bunch of safe houses for their specters spread across all the islands. There's one not far from here where we can stop before heading to Stable 50.”

Though I wanted out of this jungle as soon as possible, a quick stop in a safe place would do. Somewhere to get clean and take a short rest should never be overlooked. Especially with all the nasty things that could be creeping around out here...

“Alright, let's go.” Vibraphone nodded, and waved for the others to join us.

Pressing my hoof against the revolver under my jacket, it gave me some comfort. Even though I had that and Stratus here, I still didn't feel safe. But what I did feel was more hopeful that things were going to still work out once we got back to Stable 50. Maybe not in the way we’d wanted it to, but as long as we didn't give up, things will get better.

___________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Skill up (Vibrapone Echo) Survival

Skill up (Harp Melody) Survival

Chapter 40 - At a Paths End

The map on my pipleg led us to an old bomb shelter under the ruins of a wartime concrete house. The place was at the edge of the jungle, only a few trees separating our hiding spot from a wasteland that took up half the island. This was actually to our advantage, as we could skirt along the edge of the forest on our way to stable 50, giving us both cover, and less overgrown land to trot over.

The wasteland itself was nothing but rocks and some grass, almost as though the trees refused to grow there. All islands were like this, with the big island being the most extreme do to volcanic activity.

Inside the shelter, we settled down to catch our breath. None of us took off our gas masks as even though the door could seal shut behind us, the air in here was considerably stale and dusty. But, this place was thankfully empty. Other than a few chairs, a table, some trash, and a gutted out kitchen, it was fairly empty. There were also two doors inside the shelter, but both doos had the words “Rusted Shut” painted on them, and trash piled in front of them. It was safe to assume that scavengers had cleared this place out long ago, and that there wasn’t even really a point in checking for anything they might have missed.

This shelter reminded me a bit of the stable-tec tunnels. With it’s dull mix of gray colors and rust, it matched the pallet of the tunnels. But this place was darker, and clearly not made for more than a hoof full of ponies to live in, possibly for just a family or a small group of friends. Still, everyone fit inside, and found a place to sit.

“I thought this whole island was just jungle, like the other islands?” Merit spoke up.

”The parts safe enough to travel, ya.” Sweet spoke up.

Merit sighed. “Alright what's wrong with the non jungle parts of the islands?”

“Mostly, it’s the magical radiation that’s the problem.” I sat on a mostly intact chair and cleared my throat. “A few military bases were built out on the wasteland, well that's what we were told was there before they became craters at the end of the war.” I sighed, remembering a time that Rototom described trekking around one years ago. “They're a hot bed of nasty stuff. When the wind blows, bubbles of radiation are shaved off to roams around with the wind. But the forest, despite the toxic pollen the plants and trees produce all year round, also soak up these radiation bubbles. So, as long as you stay in in the woods, you're not likely going to deal with a death bubble of concentrated radiation.

“Alright, I get it.” Merit nodded his head. “At least the trees can protect you from the radiation, though wouldn't a group like Orthrus have ways to block out that radiation, maybe even seal up the craters. They do have advanced technology, and even the airships.”

“I’ve heard stories about ponies trying that, none ended happily.” Nodding back, I checked my pipbuck. The distance to stable 50 was not too far, the tree line being an a direct path to our destination. “We say it’s ‘magical radiation’, but in truth it’s a cocktail of volatile zebra alchemy and pony magics. Chaotic shit to say the least. For some reason, if it’s not originally part of the wasteland, it the bubbles will eat through it, rendering it impossible for any pony to build there.”

“The royals say that it’s because of a dragon.” Captain Stratus spoke up. “The last queen said she saw it in a dream, breathing vile black miasma, corrupting the lands.”

Sweet raised up a hoof. “My favorite crazy conspiracy theory is that it's all a lie, and we don't need gas masks at all.” We all deadpanned at her, and she shrugged, “What can I say? It helps to cut the stupid from the gene pool. Though, yellow puke looks and smells the worst.”

Stratus looked over at Harp with a frown. “You leave the stable once and you’ve become friends with degenerates and monsters.”

“A monster Princess.” Mayall corrected. “Thank you very much.”

“Yes, and would you like me to serve you tea?” Stratus responded sarcastically, “By what right do you claim the title of princess?” I could see Mayall’s tail twitch in anger from that, and her glow grew a bit brighter as the lurker glared at the captain.

“It has more to do that her mother is their leader.” I stepped in between them before a fight broke out. “Mayall has her own following among her kind, and access to a functional submarine. But if you want any close comparison, she also has an abusive older sister who is inclined to commit genocide.”

Stratus huffed and looked away as Harp trotted over to us. “On that topic, what's happening to you Mayall?” She asked in a polite manner.

“I and the pony High Kite were working on getting the bug to work.” The lurker shrugged, obviously as clueless as the rest of us. “I remember breathing odd tasting air, putting wires in my pipbuck, then lightning. When I woke, I tasted pink, and ponies were falling from sky.”

“Let me see that pipbuck” I trotted up to Mayall, and took the pipbuck into my hooves. Touching it sent my E.F.S on the fritz, the display on my hud flickering, and stretching wildly. Even the screen on my pipleg was acting up. The pipbuck on Mayall’s leg was dead, so I undid the latch, taking it off her leg. The moment it was off of her, all the interference on my hud stopped.

I messed with the pipbuck, turning knobs, pressing buttons, but it was indeed dead. Looking back to Mayall, she was clearly as tall as a normal pony now, and her fins were almost twice the length of all the other Lurkers I've seen. Somehow, what happened had changed her, and it was concerning to me to say the least.

“So, when you say that you plugged wires into the pipbuck, what do you mean?”

“Just that.” Mayall nodded. “I could not get bug box to work, so I had a thought. I plugged the pipbuck into the big radio, and then into bug box. Then, zapp.”

“Can I try something?” Harp asked as she trotted right up to Mayall. I gave her a nod, wondering what she was going to do. Harp started to shimmer, the magic gathering around her for a moment before she reached out and touched Mayall.

My hud display shorted out, the little E.F.S. bar that acted as a compos, and hostility sensor vanished. Mayall was not just glowing now, she was shining a bright red is pink, the most intense light coming from her eyes. I quickly checked my pipleg, it's screen nothing but zeros and ones, as it glitched out.

“By all that is fucking good, make it stop!” A pained cry from Sweet drew my attention. “Just fucking stop it!” Her eyes were unfocused, and looking in different directions.

Harp took her hoof off Mayall. The interference didn't stop immediately, though it slowly drain away to become less disruptive. Both my E.F.S hud and my pipleg screen were glitched, but not to the point of being unreadable.

“How you feeling Sweet?” I called out to my friend,

“My eyes are giving me a headache, got bile in my throat,” Sweet responded as she reached up and rubbed at her bionic eyes. “and I’m seriously thinking of having crab for dinner.”

“Anything more technical than that?” I asked.

“Right, it's like I lost control of my eyes.” Sweet closed her eyes, which seem to give her some comfort. “Even now I'm having problems focusing. You know, like when we got our eyes checked by Orthrus way back when, and they force them to dilate. It’s like that, but so much worse.”

“Just keep them shut for now.” I offered as Sweet nodded and covered her eyes. “It’s going to suck for a bit longer, but I need to figure this out.” I turned on the radio on my pipbuck, and tuned it to one of two radio signals. The radio gave a small chirp as it tracked to channel three, where DJ Cerberus's static filled party music began to play. “Go ahead and touch Mayall again Harp. Give her some more magic.”

My E.F.S glitched out once more as Harp transferred magic into Mayall. The radio also glitched, turning into a roar of static, but it was also picking up other signals. Nothing came out clearly, but I definitely picking up nearly all the radio signals on the islands, and even some others I didn’t recognize. “Amazing. I think Mayall absorbed the M.o.M bug’s magic, or at least, some of its effects.”

Harp pulled away from Mayall. “Will she be okay?”

“I’m not dying, am I?” Mayall added.

“I’m a mercenary, not a doctor,” I shrugged. “Even if I was, I would not know how her physiology works. But it’s clear she’s mutated, though only time will tell if it’s harmful, or even permanent or not.” Mayall started to look nervous, tapping a hoof and swaying a bit. “Harp, do you have a mirror?”

“I’ve got this if it’ll work.” Harp rummaged through her saddle bag, pulling out a compact. “I found it along with the other things at the old hotel.”

She passed it to me and I opened it up. I was less than pleased to see that my face was all dirty again, but that was something to deal with later. Turning so that Mayall could see herself, the lurker gasped.

“I, look... different.” She studied herself in the small mirror, moving it around to inspect her glowing flins.

“Taller too.” I added.

“I think she’s quite beautiful now, very regle at that.” Harp scratched her chin, and smiled. “You’re right in that she’s tall, well, tall-ish, and her fins look a bit like a flowing mane now. Not quite in the same way as the princesses of old, but similar. I mean, look at it! It’s long and it glows.” Harp touched the floppy fin, and my hud glitched out before she quickly pulled her hoof back. “Oops, sorry.”

Mayall played with her head fin a bit, bouncing it off her hoof. I took a closer look as well, and strangely, the fin seemed to shift in hue, ever so slightly, in a pattern, like waves on water. Even her joints seem to have this going on, but not as much as the fins. The only thing that seemed to not change was her chitin, as the tough and scratched up shell still a shiny purple color.

“I’m not a tech, but this is fascinating.” I spoke up softly as I looked over her. “I’m sure the ponies back at Orthrus would love to study you.”

“No!” Mayall pulled back with a gasp. “No pony base, will not be caged.” She slammed her hoof down. “I return to mine. They will learn, they will study this new change.”

I nodded. “That’s fine, I’m not going to force anything. When this missions over, we can talk about it again.”

“Agreed, especially since she can't come with us.” Sweet spoke up. “Her pipbuck was kindof what saved her before. If she can’t disguise herself, well, the ponies at stable 50 will likely kill her on sight.”

“It’s fine.” Mayall nodded as I looked down at the dead pipbuck, and then up at her. “I should not have left the sub in the first place, they all must be so worried right now.”

“That’s probably for the best.” I sighed. Though she was strange to have around, and has brought her own share of trouble, the lurker was growing on me. “You sure you will be safe to make your way back to the sub? It’s dangerous out there.”

“I be fine,” Mayall shrugged. “ponies are the most dangerous, but I can avoid them easy peasy.”

“I don’t doubt that, but that’s not what I meant.” I passed her the dead pipbuck. “I’m more worried that your sister will suddenly show up. I’d rather not see another station flooded.” She gave me an annoyed stare as she took the pipbuck and shoved it into her bag.

Turning to the others it was clear the two royal guard ponies were itching to go. Pointing at the stallion, I motion to the door outside. “Can you go post up as a lookout and let us know when the pirates finally move on?”

He looked over at Stratus, who nodded her head before he trotted off to the door. Stratus got up as he did and slowly walked up to me, staring me down. What was her sudden fascination with me?

“If you're upset about me telling one of your guards ponies what to do, best to just shove it.” Stratus didn't seem to respond much to what I just said, she just straightened up, her eyes scanning me.

“That medal you have,” She asked as she narrowed her eyes. “is it a replica?”

“No.” I Instinctively covered it with my hoof. “It’s a family heirloom. Same for the scarf.”

“Interesting,” Her eyes carefully scanned me. “If that is true, then that must mean you have old royal guard in your blood.”

“It also means I have Zebra as well, so what's does it matter to you?” I asked back, her eyeing making me feel a bit nervous. “Does that bother you?”

“Not much, not really.” Stratus sat back, taking a deep breath. “I’ve just read the reports, and was a little curious about you. The Echo family, a name I didn't remember until I saw that medal.” She dug into one of her pockets, and pulled out a worn medal that looked a bit too much like my own. “Same heritage, though my bloodline is, well, less diluted.”

A laugh came from Sweet. “You mean that they keep it ‘in the family’.”

“Let's cut to the chase,” Stratus ignored Sweets taunt, and put her medal away. “It's obvious that you want to protect the princess, and she trusts you to do just that. We have an old saying from queen Majesty the first; ‘blood calls’. I have the feeling that you blood is calling you to do just that.”

I felt a bit confused, and so I took the bait. “What is this ‘blood calling and what’s it going to do with me’?”

“You have the heritage of a royal guard.” she explained. “Like cutie marks, everypony has a sort special of heritage which runs through their veins. A farmer will more than likely birth farmers, a guardian, more guardians. And a royal...” She motioned with her hooves at Harp. “even if she has no chance to claim the throne, is still a royal.”

“Okay, so what you're saying is that my blood is calling me to protect Harp?” Right, I was getting what she was saying, but it gave me a headache. “And that it’s not because she's a friend and client, but because she is of royalty and I;m a descendant of a royal guard of the old world.” Stratus nodded. “Alright, then if this is true, what does that mean for me?”

“Well I like to say that it makes you an ally, but like how you pointed out, you also have zebra blood. That makes you a dangerous gamble to have around the royal family.” Stratus got up, and trotted over to Harp, before continuing. “True or not, it's best if you and your friends leave with the monster princess. With the barbarians gone, I'll be able to safely escort Princess Harp back to her home”

Harp placed her hoof on the guard captains shoulder. “Stratus, please...”

“I’m sorry but this is nonnegotiable, princess.” Stratus responded firmly. “We have already lost too many of our own today, including you uncle and brother. Any more interference from them might be seen negatively by the rest of the royal family.” Harp backed away a bit. “I'm sorry, Harp, but they will only incur more suspicion onto you. I’ve already cleared out that rebellious group who wanted you for the throne, and I know their existence put distance between you and the rest of your family. So, I don’t want things to be harder on you as they already have been, you must understand.”

“I, but.” she looked over at me with pleading eyes.

I shook my head “It’s fine Harp, all our job was to do is get you back home, so it’s fine. But, doubt it's a good idea for us to split up here. If anything, Sweet and I are the only ones with the proper weapons for traveling along the forest edge. Let us help escort Harp to her home station, like what we were hired to do, and then we can take a tunnel back home.”

Stratus paused for a moment before sighing. “Fine. But I won't be taking Harp through the Station, and I’ll have to have you detained for a night once there to get your statements on the events that have happened today.

Sweet and Merit traded looks before Sweet shrugged and turned to Stratus. “As long as you can insure the whe’re treated properly. Not to speak I'll of the dead, but Golden had made a pool full of dead mirage ponies, something you didn’t seem to have a problem with.”

“That all depends if you try to kick my guards ponies or not.” Stratus replied. Trotting past us, she knocked on the door out of here. “Is the coast clear?”

There was a short pause when all of us fell quite.

“All clear” The stallion called out.

Opening the door, Stratus became bathed in the light as the shadows scurried away. The places untouched by the light seem to become dark black pits, of which gave me a foreboding feeling of being watched. It was one of the many common feelings when roaming the surface, and only one of the reasons we needed to move quickly.

“Alright everypony, let's get moving.” I told everyone. “This place is starting to creep me out.”

Stratus flew through the air past me, slamming into the wall. Harp let out a gasp as Stratus hacked up blood and tried to shake off the surprise hit. Turning to the royal guard, I watched as he smiled and slowly took off his helmet.

“You spoke of blood.” The guard spoke, but his voice sounded distorted, becoming more mare like with each word. “My populace will receive the blood of their oppressor,” By now, a monotone mare's voice was clearer than crystal, and there was no trace of a stallion’s voice at all. “For only in revolution can they be free of their chains.” She dropped the guards pony helmet to the ground, revealing the mangled face of the Reaver I fought up in New Canterlot. Lacerations across her displayed the heavy cybernetics under her fake skin. Her left cybereye dangled from its bloody metal socket, and her lips looked as though they’d been bitten off. “It is our duty to fight, our duty to win. All we have to lose, is our chains.”

“Why can't your kind just die,” I stared at Kaossilator as my blood started to boil. “Die and go to Tartarus already!”

Kaossilator pulled out a muddy SMG, the same kind that the Pirates used, and slowly backed up to the outside “For I am the spirit of a populace crying out for salvation.” She stared down at me, her red cyber eyes suddenly shifting to a brilliant golden color. “I am what transcends death itself, and you, you are but mortals that will stay put. Black Spot will come and pick you up soon.” I ground my teeth as she spoke using Phobetor’s tainted words.

Her golden eyes burned down at me right as it slammed shut, leaving us back in the darkness of the room. The sounds of clattering hit the door, as Sweet and I rushed to it. It cracked open, but then gravel poured from the crack. We’d been buried alive in this old bunker.

“No no, no, no, no!” I could hear a faint whispering from beside me, slowly getting louder and more panicked. Harp sat shaking over the injured Stratus, almost chewing on her hooves. “There's just too much blood.” She drove her hoof into her saddle bag and frantically pulled out a half empty bottle of healing potion. “Drink. You’re going to be fine, drink, drink.”

Stratus choked down the healing potion, but looking at her, she was going to need more. There was a bloody hoof mark on her swelling face. I could tell the hit had broken her jaw and at least fractured her eye socket. Her wings laid limp behind her, with one of them having painfully twisted backwards. She needed a doctor, and if anything, all that healing potion was going to do was buy her time. Trotting over to Harp, I placed my hoof on her shoulder. The young mare was shaking, tears welling up in her eyes.

“S-she...” Her mouth quivered, holding back a voice on the edge of sobbing. “She's going to be alright, right?”

“Just hold it together and I'll find us a way out of here.” I looked over at Merit and Sweet. “You two, help get Stratus stabilized. I'm going to go look for another way out.” The two gave me a worried glance, but did as I asked as I trotted over to Mayall. “Come with me.”

She tilted her head. “Pony thinks both of us search in this small hidey hole will be faster?”

“Naw, but if we get out, that Reaver is not going to expect you.” Looking to the back of the shelter, there were only two rooms closed off.

Both doors were rusted shut, but they also opened outward, meaning the hinges could be undone. Of which were rusted through, something that I didn't feel like working slowly at. Pulling out my rifle, I proceeded to charge it up.

With a blast of air, and the shearing of old metal, one of the door hinges broke. The second came apart just as easily. Using my grappling hoof, I grabbed onto one of the broken hinges still attached to the door, and pulled. At first it barely budged, but then Mayall grabbed onto me and pulled. The door creaked before opening enough for me to grab the side of the door and properly pry it open.

More darkness greeted us inside, along with a thick coating of dust that blanketed every surface. Turning on my pipleg lamp, the light revealing a bathroom. The room, while dark, looked trashed, and broken glass reflected some of the light, glinting through the dust from multiple places on the floor. Taking a closer look and the scattered broken bottle, the symbol of the M.O.P. could be seen on the empty healing potions. Quickly looking at the medicine cabinet, the shelves inside were smashed, even the mirror broken.

“Vibraphone.” Mayall whispered.

I turned to her and she pointed her hoof past me into the bathroom. Looking to what she was pointing at, my eyes stopped on the old a bathtub. A mold coated curtain ringed around the edge the tub, obscuring everything inside the old porcelain basin except for something that was vaguely pony shaped. Slowly, the obscured object moved as my light highlighted the bathtub itself.

The head of the hidden pony turned slowly, looking in my direction. A mostly bone hoof slowly extended out from under the curtain, but I could see some rotten flesh hanging from it. Stepping over the edge of the tub and onto the dust and glass caked floor, the monster slipped. It tumbled out of the tub, getting wrapped up as it tore the curtain down from above. There was a thick snap as both its own forelegs gave under its own dessicated weight. But the pony didn’t stop. Slowly, it used it’s rear hooves to push itself along the floor towards me. The dragging curtain slowly began to pull off of it, and the boney face of a ghoul looking up at me with rotten, cloudy eyes.

It extended its neck, opening it's mouth as it reached as far as it could and bit down on my pipleg. There was an unpleasant crunchy sound to it’s biting as pieces of its teeth broke off rather than do any damage to my leg. What remained of its now exposed flesh was putrid, and swollen, peeling off the bones as it tried to push itself closer.

In a stroke of two century delayed mercy, I lifted my grappling leg up away from it, and brought it down on the ghouls skull. It’s old head caved it in with a squelch, and the rest of its body stopped moving. Only the sound of my breathing and a soft chittering from Mayall filled the empty dark room now.

With the ghoul dead, I quickly checked over the rest of the room. Like the rest of the bunker, anything that could have been of useful had either been taken or broken long ago. The only thing that still seemed intact in here at all was the bathtub. But, it had ring of a blackish brown muck in it that looked putrid, along with a long shard of the mirror with the same stain on it. My mind unhelpfully put two and two together, and I felt even worse for what the poor ghoul must have gone through.

Goddesses, I hated bathtubs and everything that happened in them.

Leaving the bathroom, I went to open the next room in the same manner as the last. This time it was a bedroom with just as heavy of a coating of dust as the rest of the place. Scanning the room for dangers, my eyes focused in the bed. The skeleton of a pony still laid on top of the bed, only a dark stain remained under the bones. Next to it, under the covers was a smaller than expected pony shaped lump.

“Mayall?” I sighed softly as I readied my rifle. “pull back the covers.”

Mayall quietly trotted to the bed, slowly lifting up the covers and pulling them back. The bones of the first pony clattered as the bed sheet shifted for what was probably the first time in centuries. However, as Mayall pulled the covers back, the lump came into full view. My chest felt heavy as a little filly was uncovered. Other than a few bald patches, she was well preserved, probably having laid here undisturbed since her parents...

“Mama?” The filly opens her cloudy blue eyes, giving a small yawn as she lifted her head. Her voice sounded like she had swallowed sand, sending a chill down my spine.

“S… sorry, I'm not...” I offered as I had to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. Taking a step closer, she looked like she was mostly skin and bones, so very frail. “Have you been curled up under there, this whole time?”

The filly tilted her head. “I…” She looked around the room, her head struggling to stay up. “Mama said she will be back, because papa got sick, because the air smelled bad.”

The air, yes that's it, they must have some sort of ventilation. “honey, do you know where the air is filtered is here?”

“Mama?” The ghoul filly looked around again before her eyes fell back to me.

“No, I'm not, she's… elsewhere .” I was getting the feeling that her mom went to the bathroom to take the easy way out. What a fucking bitch, I’m almost angry I felt sorry for her.

“If mama's not back,” She blinked slowly. “Can you help papa? He’s sick.”

I was getting the feeling that the filly wasn’t all there, so I had to trot carefully. It’s obvious she’d been here since the end of the great war, but why things went bad for them I couldn’t quite be sure. They had to deal with the air turning toxic, so they must had been in the bunker for months before the filtration system couldn’t handle the new outside environment anymore.

“Say honey,” I asked softly as I tried to give her a friendly smile. “Why don’t you tell me why your father got sick?”

“The air smelled bad, so papa went to fix the air,” She looked away for a moment. “He said I shouldn’t worry because we had plenty of that orange medicine. He went into the closest and came back sick, but the medicine didn’t make him better. Mom a cried when papa couldn't get out of bed anymore, and that’s when she said she’d come back soon.”

So it sounds like he got a heavy dose of the toxins in the air from back then, no amount of radaway would have helped him. What that radaway did do though was save him from being ghoulified like the filly and her mother. Still, the filly had given me everything I’d needed as I trotted over to the closet. Opening the door, a few boxes of clothes and toys say inside, along with a small door on the back wall. If I had to guess, the filter system for this must be back there, and if that’s true, there’s access to the outside as well.

“I think I might have found a way out.” Looking back, the frail ghoul filly was standing on the edge of the bed, her thin emaciated legs looked like they could barely hold her up.

“Your going... going to find mama, help papa?” her eyes were dim, yet had a small shine to them, like there was still a small spark of light was inside. Which unfortunately meant I was left with a choice...

I only had two options; either leave her here with a lie that we’d come back, or take her with us. The second option was impossible though, she'd die along the way. Even if we somehow got her through, she would die anyway once we got to Orthrus. Statute thirty two unfortunately stated that any and all ghouls with a questionable mental state are to be euthinised in an official Orthrus facility.

Then again, maybe the old ghoul I’d met earlier could take her? But then, how would I get her to him? Would I even have time for a detour like that with everything going on?

I looked at the little filly, and then at Mayall. “Can you leave the… nevermind.” I shook my head. “there's a door here, can you go on ahead? I’ll catch up shortly, I just… need a minute.”

Mayall nodded, and trotted past me into the closet. The small door on the other side creaked as she opened it, and again as she slipped in and shut it behind her. My attention turned back to the filly, so small, weak, and now that looked closer, no cutie-mark.

“Say honey, what's your name?” I offered as my mind made itself up. There wasn’t time to run around with everything going on. With the invasion, the republic, and everything else, the future of the metros depended on getting Harp back home safely.

“I, um… I think…” She then looked confused for a moment. “Petal, Noon Petals.”

“That's a lovely name,” Slowly, I walked up to the Noon Petals. “ I’m Vibraphone Echo. Would you like to see your mama and papa?”

A small sniffle came from the filly as she nodded. “Yes, I want mama, I want papa.”

“Then can you be a good girl, and close your eyes?” She nodded again and closed them tightly. With a light touch, I carefully pulled out my knife. “Now, I’m going to take you to a place where you’re going to meet a odd looking mare. Your mama might be with her, so don’t be scared.” My knife was aimed at the base of the filly skull. “Even if she’s not, Charon will take you to see them both, okay?”

“Really?” She asked.

“Yes.” I let out my own light sniffle before piercing the blade into the back of her skull as fast as I could. Noon Petals went limp as I caught her, and again the room was bathed in silence. As reverently as I could, I moved her back to the center of the bed. I placed her next to her father's bones, and draped the bedsheets across again to cover them both up.

Taking a moment to collect myself, the faces of the trapped ponies trapped in the train engine came into my mind. There had already been too many there, and now, there was another innocent pony who’d been killed by my hooves. Yet as has been the case, I did not have the time to stop and contemplate their loss, even if I felt I was leaving something of myself behind.

Turning to the closet, I stepped inside and away from everything I’d just done. The room on the other side of the closest was small, with an old ladder that stretched upward. Mayall was climbing back down, dropping a rusted fan down behind her. “So can we get out from up there?”

“There is a hole up there,” Mayall touched down and kicked the fan to the side. “but it's too small for any of us to fit through. Though, the not dead, dead pony could maybe fit.”

“Not happening, I'll go check.” I responded, looking up at the tunnel.

One hoof after another I climbed the ladder, taking me up to another small room. The hole Mayall spoke of looked like what was left of the bunker’s air filtration unit. Roots and other plant matter had long laid claim to it, and the rotted away edges of the old filters even had small plants sprouting out of them. The hole where the fan had been was definitely small, but just big enough that my head could easily fit through it. The problem was my shoulders and legs, but that was if I wanted to put both through.

Maybe, just maybe, I could make one work, and I only really needed one.

“Mayall, get up here,” I pulled my head back through and called down the ladder. “I have an idea!”

The lurker squeezed into the small ventilation room. “What is your idea?”

“Right.” I took a deep breath. “I'm going to detach two of my legs, and crawl through the hole, I’ll need you to hoof them back to me when I get to the other side. Once that's done, I’ll need you to wait by entrance for me to clear whatever is blocking it.”

Mayall nodded and started to climb as I detached my pip leg and a back leg. Pushing myself, I slowly maneuvered myself through the hole. Many little insects scurried away as my grappling leg extended, latching onto a nearby root before the winch kicked in and I pulled myself forward.

It was not long until I found myself completely outside. I tapped on the overgrown ventilation hole, and my legs soon came out. Reattaching them was an easy task, I just had to make sure that no dirt got inside the connectors, which was easier said than done but so far the easiest thing I’d done all day. My rifle was last to be passed through the ventilation hole, and I watched as spider crawled on the barrale.

“Alright, get back to the others, Mayall.” I swept my pip leg along the rifle and brushed the spider off of it. “I’ll see you at the entrance, be ready for a fight if that bitch is still around.”

The still slightly glowing lurker nodded and disappeared back down the hole. Looking around, the forest here seemed a lot bigger then I remembered, and darker. Shaking off the thought, I made my way around to the bunker’s door. Inside the old ruined house that sat above ground, sitting on an old decrepit chair was the body of the royal guard stallion who’d come to check if things were clear. His head was tilted back, his neck gaped open, and blood staining his chest. At the door to the bunker, part of the ruined old house walls around it had been pushed in front of the door, and a plank of wood was jammed to keep it all in place. Smashing the plank, I moved on to throw the rubble out of the way.

“What's the word?” The monotone voice Kaossilator spoke above me. “Confoundingly annoying.” Looking up I say Kaossilator glaring down at me from above the door, Her one good eye shifted to a gold color. “Can’t you just accept me and do as I say?”

“How about you go back to whatever Celestia forsaken hole you crawled out of,” The anger bubbled up inside me again. “and go fuck yourself, you cunt!”

“Must you be so difficult when you know it is hopeless now.” Phobetor frowned. “But if you must try my patience, well, there are others I can use.” A smile formed on the mutilated mares face. “Did you know that your sister has not been sleeping well lately? She’s been having some bad nightmares for some reason.”

The eyes of Kaossilator sifted back to red, and the hunting smile turned to a sneer. “Dog of Orthrus, you stand in the way of true Equality. To save everypony from the slavery that your ilk oppress upon them, I’ll see to it that their chains will finally be broken. And with those chains, I’ll see them used to hang you ‘til death.”

I bit my tongue. Any kind of argument was useless with her at this point. Crazy strong, and crazy in the head, she was too far gone to reason with anymore. I survived through luck last time, but this time I had my guns.

“You know, I've met Livenka, the mother of your revolution.” I offered her with my own smile. “Nothing but a two bit fraud.”

Kaossilator eye lit up in anger. “Silence dog, and die!”

She leapt at me as I rolled back, drawing my revolver. Her chest contacted with my back legs, and I kicked. As soon as she hit the door, I fired all six shots into the bitch.

She fell to the ground, each shot finding their mark, and a grayish white fluid slurred out of her. Quickly, I dumped the empty shells out of my revolver, and prepared six more bullets. That wouldn’t put her down. Reavers were tough, and I didn’t want waste a moment or to take any chances.

I took aim as she simply laughed at me. Kaossilator launched herself from her crumpled position, only giving me time to fire one shot before her body impacted into my own. My hold on my gun was severed as we tumbled onto the ground.

I struggled to get her heavy body off of my own, but to no avail. My revolver was out of reach, and the rifle was pinned under me. Pulling out my knife, my hoof was knocked away by a backhooved swing. The knife wasn’t just knocked away, rather it’d been sent airborne straight above me.

“Sorry.” Kaossilator straightened herself up, and caught my knife before it landed on me. “but you can't stop what’s already in motion. Your blood will be used to paint our flag of equality.” Her one good eye was wild, filled with madness.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air as Lacerations hoof warped. A bolt punctured it, knocking my knife and sending it flying from her grip. Looking past, I found Harp was holding her rifle, breathing heavily.

“How sweet, the spoiled princess wishes to save her stalwart guardian.” Kaossilator placed her other hoof on my neck, this a popping sound her hoof opened up forming claws that pressed around my neck. “Now do be patient. It'll take only a moment more to kill her, so just stay right there, I'll come for you next.”

I struggled, but I just couldn't get her off of me. Harp fired a few more bolts at her, but the Reaver just batted them away. For a moment things were becoming blurry and cold as my lungs burned for air. Even my E.F.S. struggled to function, glitching as my vision failed. Then, for what felt like no reason at all, it stopped, except for my E.F.S. that continued to glitch.

“What… what is this?” Kaossilator had loosens her grip as held her head in pain. “Stop it! Whatever you’re doing, stop!”

Looking back at Harp, her leg was extended, touching Mayall. The lurkers eyes were like spotlights, shining bright pink light at us. I used this opportunity to strike out at Kaossilator, grabbing her loose dangling eyeball with my grappling leg. More grayish white fluid poured from her eye socket as I pulled the eye out. Small cables attached to the eye came out, stretching out as long as my leg, forcing the mad cyber pony off of me. Quickly, I scrambled to recover my knife.

Kaossilator squirmed, pain and confusion must have taken over her senses. With knife in hoof, I took aim, and plunged my knife down. The open eye socket made the best way in. Squirming still, she was helpless to fight me off as I carved cold steel into her brain.

It was not gentle, no, I made sure of that. She did not have the right to such an easy death, and she definitely did not deserve such a mercy. I twisted the blade, torquing it until her twitching cibernetic body stopped. Even then, I twisted it some more for good measure to make sure she wasn't faking. Pulling it out, my blade was covered in the gray white fluid, and what I guessed was brain mush.

Cleaning off my knife on Kaossilator dead body, I turned to Harp and Mayall. “Thanks for the save.”

Sweet and Marit trotted out of the shelter caring Stratus between them. The pegasus mare did not look much better, dispirited being bandaged up with rags. She was still lucid, looking at me. “Where's my subordinate?” Her voice was strained, sounding almost as bad as she looked.

“Dead, killed by the reaver.” I answered as I slipped my knife back into its holster.

“A shame.” She responded. “let's move, I've had my fill of freaks and monsters.”

I nodded, and checked my pipleg map.

Two vertibucks flew overhead, and began to slow down in our area. We didn't need to be told twice to be on our way out of here. The sound dampening talismans helped keep us from attracting any more unwanted attention, and soon, we’d made a good bit of distance from the shelter. And my hope was that soon we could get back underground without running into anymore trouble.

_______________________________________________________________________

“Are you sure Stratus will be fine?” Harp whispered to me.

I glanced at the worried mare before looking back ahead. “She's hurt, but it probably looks worse than it is. As long as we can get her to a station, she’ll be fine.”

“Sorry.” Harp mumbled.

“Don’t apologize, not here.” I took a deep breath and sighed. “Were all in over our heads here. So just hold, bottle it up until we're safe, and focus on getting to stable fifty. Can you do that?” She nodded, and fell back behind me.

We’ve made good time, skirting the wasteland from with in the woods, and keeping out of sight. Signs of the toxic winds constantly made itself known, mainly from the foul smell of death that permeated through our mask filters. Taking a peek out every now and then, the sight of a dead rad boar or dozen was not uncommon. We even saw a group of pirates, all slumped over, having likely died by roaming death bubble.

Merit trotted up to me, but he kept his eyes on the wasteland just past the trees. “Are you sure we're safe here?”

I shook my head. “If our pipbuck starts clicking, we’ll have to move deeper into the woods. But until then, the edge will give use the least amount of obstacles to get past.”

“Roger.” Merit saluted. “Quick question, why is it safe above the trees? I mean, from the radiation and all.”

That was a good question. I had to think about it for a moment as my memory was more than a bit hazy on the history. After a few seconds, I thought I had something, but instead came up blank.

“If you asked a scholar, they’d know.” I shrugged to him. “but if I had to ask, the magic in the radiation might be heavier than air, so it can't get all that far above ground. So even if it is blown above the trees, it probably just sinks back down and gets absorbed at some point. It’s also probably why it also kills so fast. The chaotic magic is so thick that you can almost choke on it, even with a gas mask.”

“You know,” Merit eyed the wasteland for a moment, before looking back at me. “more and more I'm starting to get it.”

“Get what?” I asked.

“How we were tricked into staying up in the sky for so long.” A quiet chuckle came from him. “Have you ever felt that things were both not wrong, and not right at the same time?”

I thought about it for a moment, and shook my head when I came up blank again. Maybe I just wasn’t understanding the question? Merit continued.

“I mean if you think about it, you have a massive population in the sky that has no idea how to live anywhere else. To expose them to the world below, who knows how many would die just due to common hazards. And even the survivors, in which ways would the world below chew them up? Between the pirates, the royal fucks on this island, I can see why we waited to come down.” He gave out a long sigh. “Hell, with the equalist you told us about, I have no doubt many enclave citizens would give into them to once again have a safe life. Even if it is nothing but a lie.”

“So I get it now.” Another chuckle came from him. “The enclave was not wrong, because it would have torn the citizens apart to leave the clouds. But, that doesn’t excuse the wrong they’ve done. They were far too obsessed with holding onto their power, so much so that they couldn’t see that our way of life was going to fall. With or without would below dragging us down, the Enclave was doomed to fail.” Merit looked up, mumbling to himself for a moment before continuing. “It's all too late to speculate what the Grand Pegasus Enclave should have done, but I know we could have easily carved a home below the clouds, and slowly prepared citizens for a new life. Yet, resources were wasted, and the enclave became broken, corrupt, and scattered.”

I didn’t really know what to say, I've only known life on the is islands. For me, mainland equestria was nothing more than a place in history lessons or in fairytales. Even then, much of that history had sadly forgotten over the years.

“Well I bet things will get better, I'm sure.” I tried to offer some sort of hope for the future. “Orthrus may have its flaws, but they always think in the long term. New Cloudsdale will be in good hooves.”

“Maybe.” He responded, sounding a bit exhausted. “We’ve had a long time to think, to ponder on what went wrong. If an opportunity showed itself, I know we will not squander it this time.” Merit suddenly stopped. “Do you hear that?”

I stopped, and scanned with my ears

*Buzzzzz*

I followed the sound, a bit to the side, and a bit up. There it was above us, a big blue bug with buzzing wings, and a nasty stinger.

“So why are we stop…” Sweet walked up to us, Stratus on her back. “Fuck it's a twitter-mite!” she scooted back quickly.

I shushed her, not wanting to disturb the electric wasp. Closing my eyes, I checked for any more sounds of buzzing. Faint, but not far behind, I could hear it. It was clear that more were nearby further into the woods, but if we were lucky...

“Just follow my lead,” Whispering, I directed the others to keep low. “as long as we don't disturb the bugs, they won't attack.”

“I really should start bringing bug bomb with me.” Sweet mumbled.

The textbooks never went into detail about dealing with twitter-mites, mainly stating that vacuuming them into a glass jar was the safest way to deal with them. But that was for the ones that existed before the bombs and two centuries of mutations. From what the engineers told me about these ones, the preferred method of getting rid of these pests was with a good flamer.

Staying low, we moved through the trees, carefully taking each step. The bugs numbers only grew as we walked, and ten of them now sat above us buzzing their wings now and then. A few of the trees had scorch marks on them, which were normally signs of the Twitter-mites having been riled up earlier. The buzzing from further in the forest was also getting louder, meaning that the rest of the swarm had to be nearby.

Looking back, Sweets was the one who looked most worried, but also most in control. Each of her steps was small and slow, and her ears were never unalert. The rest of us were nothing more than a mix of confusion and general worry. I myself belonged to the latter half of that, but I knew we had to keep moving.

Pushing forward, the Twitter-mites became more active, but still look uninterested in us. As more of the bugs passed overhead, I regretted not thinking of a plan of luring the bugs away. Harp’s drone, Order, would have been a perfect distraction for us now that I think of it.

*Snap!*

I looked back to see that Mayall had broken a big stick under her hoof. Everypony had frozen, holding our collective breath as all of our eyes turned into the forest. To our fortune, the Twitter-mites had not been disturbed, buzzing and going about whatever it was they were doing.

“Who's out there!?” A loud and gravelly voice yelled out. The once calm bugs now all began buzzing their wings, surrounding us in the sound. I could barely hear the sound of hooves dragging across the forest dirt over the buzzing, but it was coming closer. “Come on out, you stinkin’ bilgerat!”

We all remained quiet and unmoving. The shuffling got closer, and so did the buzzing. A rotting hoof stepped out not far from in front in me, and shortly the rest of the foliage was pushed aside. A ghoul pirate who was completely covered in twitter-mites came out into the open, and it now made sense to me why the mites were around here at all.

It was a walking hive, or at least, a pirate in the process of becoming one. His flesh had not yet to begin to bloat up with the twitter-mites maggots, but Both his eyes were gone, and the bugs were already in the process burrowing into his flesh. Adding to his horrifying visage the pirate’s bottom lips were missing, only torn flesh and rotting teeth remaining.

“Rusty Shank, I know that's you! Come on out and face me!” The unicorn pirates ghoul laughed a malicious laugh. “Do I need to pay ya sister another visit, you scoundrel!?” The ghoul acted like it could see, the radiation most likely having damaged his brain. The moment before he moved felt like an eternity, the buzzing of the Twitter-mites becoming deafening. When the ghoul moved onto the wastland, the main swarm of the bugs went with him, slowly, but eventually giving us enough space to continue.

We kept on the ghoul as we slowly passed him, I kept my rifle trained on him. It take one shot to kill the ghoul, but the swarm, we would have little time to run before bolts of lightning came at us.

“Oy, Salt Lick, come on out!” The ghoul bellowed, as he began to walk in circles. “Ya still get ya slave to discipline?”

Merit passed me, along with Sweet whom had Stratus on her back. Looking back to the ghoul, he started sniffing the ground. His actions made me a bit worried, though the eyes were gone, the undead pirate my still have its sense of smell. I waved for the other two to move, we couldn’t afford to stick around. A worried Harp passed me, followed by a fairly confused Mayall. With every pony now past the crazy, bug infested ghoul, I secured my rifle, and followed the others.

Quietly but quickly, we made as much distance as we could. Yet, the Twitter-mites didn't seem to go away as we traveled, only lessening slightly in number. I kept my eye on the bugs, noting that they weren’t following us. Harp struggled to keep quiet as one of the bugs landed near her, nearling screaming out before she stuck her own hoof in her mouth to silence herself.

*Click, click, click*

Our geiger counters ticked to life, and we all stopped in our tracks. Merit looked back at me, and I motioned to turn in towards the woods. We jumping into the thick jungle, and the disturbed Twitter-mites took flight, as did the ones on the other side. There were even more of the bugs on this sid, and now disturbed, the buzzing became deafening.

*Click, click, click, click, click.*

Not far from us was a bloated glowing ghoul, the Twitter-mite nest inside of it having grown so large that the skin of the ghoul split under the pressure. A green glowing slime dripped from its mouth, as a bug passed through a hole in its cheek. Like with the pirate, and most hives, it's eyes were missing, yet the eye sockets glowed yellow.

Harp began to shake, and even Sweet looked ready to run. The glowing hive ghoul slowly turned it's head to us as the clicking of our pipbucks gave us away.

Right, we were fucked with a capital F, and I had no clue what to do. Pulling out my rifle, I took aim at the green glowing ghoul.

“When I say go, run,” I whispered to Harp. “run back it the forest edge, and away from here.” She looked back at me, eyes wide. “Trust me.”

Shuffling from behind me drew my attention, and the infested pirate stumbled out from the thicket. “If this is about poisoning your grog, then fuck you, you not dying from poison freak!” The loud ghoul pirate now drew the attention of the glowing ghoul, both now coming closer to us.

I took aim at the glowing ghoul, the infested pirate was still far enough behind us that we could get away from it, making the glowing ghoul the most pressing target. This should give the others time, and with the help of S.A.T.S, taking out the pirate should be easy. I took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. It was going to be dicey, but I'll get through this. I aimed down the sights, the glowing ghoul stared back with its non-existent eyes.

*Bamff!*

I was gone, leaving only a bloody stump sitting in my sights. It's head was just… gone! Pulling back from my rifles sights, I saw it's head was pinned to a tree by a javelin.

“You barbaric fuck!” Stratus yelled out as the Twitter-mites began to swarm. “You want a fight? Come get me!” Stratus hobbled, trying to break away from our group. I understood what she was trying to do, but I was just not interested in delutiona heroics right now.

“Ah, I hear a pretty mare, and one interested in me beating her down, can't wait.” The pirate licked his upper lip with a dry tongue.

“Sweet, grab that idiot and run!” I yelled. Turning back, the Pirate had gotten closer, far closer than I liked. Aiming my Rifle, I put a bolt in his head.

The death of both hive ghouls sent the Twitter-Mites into a rage. The buzzing ramped up everywhere, to a near defending level of sound.

I pushed Harp, getting her hooves. “Go, go, go.” A single cloud formed above us, sparking with electricity, and cracking. Harp fell over, so I forced her up, but she had gone limp.

“I can't,” She whimpered, her body shaking. “I... I just can't.”

The black cloud above us sparked, and then flashed with a boom. All I could do was cover Harp with myself, the electricity crawling up my spine, then.. Nothing. A moment had passed, and I was clealy still alive.

A bronze colored hoof placed itself on Harps shoulder. Merits clothes were burnt, along with his mane, which had a line of smoke coming off of it. “Listen princess, I know you're scared, but we need to be strong. Ponies are counting on you, and if you give up here and now, they're going to die. So I need you to chin up, and run. If not for them, for me, because I don't think I can take another one of those blasts.” Harp looked up at him and nodded.

“But what if I lose everything?” She asked as I got off of her and helped her up to her hooves.

“Well, then you can follow my lead and spend ten years waiting for a second chance.” Merit answered.

“Or you can take everything from them, and make them regret making you their enemy.” I lightly hit him on the shoulder. “Now let's go.”

The twitter-mite thunder cloud sparked up again, but Merit dashed up and kicked it. The cloud flew off into a tree, exploding in sparks that scorched the bark and leaves on it. Harp and I broke into a gallop with Merit flying above us, as more thunder clouds formed around us. With Merit leading the way, we were able to carve our way through the swarm, only getting a few light zaps.

Out of the swarm, we quickly ran into the others. Sweet had a burnt tail now, but didn’t look all that worse for wear. Mayall, well, looked about as burnt as she had before, so I assumed she was fine. Stratus on the other hoof was now lying limp on Sweets back, hopefully only because she was as exhausted as the rest of us were. Stopping to catch my breath, Harp nearly fell over.

“Can you keep going?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t okay, but she more than anypony else needed to keep running.

“I.. I don't know.” The poor mare was still shaking, but was at least still on all four of her hooves. “But I can try.” She was going to be fine, she just needed time.

I turned to Merit, the burnt stallion still flapping in the air. “How did you just shrug off that bolt like that?”

“I'm a pegasus, we have insulated fur. A thunderbolt may shake us up, but it won’t kill us.” He landed with a soft thump. “Also if it's a cloud, even of bugs, we can kick it the crap out of it.” That answer was good enough for me I guess.

“Shit, I think Stratus was stung!” Sweet yelled, and I quickly ran over, seeing saw Stratus gasping for breath.

As Sweet laid the mare on the ground, doing her best to be gentle, Harp jumped to her side, panic in her eyes. “She's going into anaphylactic shock! Do any of you have an epinephrine in your medical supplies? ” She looked between us all, but all we just shook our heads. Harp looked back at Stratus, her shoulders slumping. “By Celestia... don't do this to me...”

As Stratus struggled to breath, she reached up and caressed her hoof along side Harp. “D… don't cry… be… be strong… f… for… me.”

Harp grabbed onto Stratus’ hoof, holding it close as she choked down a sob. “How c… can I. Not without you, I… I’m just useless, pl… please don’t… leave me.”

“St… stop selling y... yourself short, p...princess.” Stratus spoke before she started convulsing. Sweet and I did our best to hold her down, but without any medicine, we all knew how this was going to end. Slowly, but inevitably, Stratus stopped moving. Her wheezing came to an end as she became limp, and after a few more seconds, her dot on my E.F.S. vanished.

We all sat there in silence as Harp began to wail. Her sorrowful cry silenced even the forest itself for a moment, as if nothing in it wanted wanted to disturb the mare’s soulful sorrow. It wasn’t fair for her to go that way, not after fighting this far to keep Harp safe.

And because of that, even though we’d hadn't known the mare that well, we all wept for Stratus.

______________________________________________________________

Without anything else stopping or slowing us, we made our way to the end of the forest just as the sun was setting. Before us now was the Hanamare Bay resort, named of course after the bay it was built around. The large cove had supposedly been a major vacation spot of the old world, and somehow still was on the island today. Though, going to the beach with a gas mask on didn’t sound fun to me, but I still had to agree that the old resort community was a pretty sight to see. The weathered but well kept hotel that sat in the middle of the huddled mass of buildings along the beach was a sight for sore eyes. The fact that Stable 50 sat somewhere below filled me with the knowledge that at least after everything we’d been through, we almost had Harp home.

Everything here was orderly and clean, even the trees looked groomed, It all gave the place a sophisticated feeling, something only managed with the tireless work of countless poor ponies. And it was not just trees, but colorful flowers hanging from baskets, and vines that lined the resort walls. The ruins of this old world town were more like a garden, nothing more than a playground for the nobility and the rich of this island.

My E.F.S picked up a bunch of green dots, the non-hostiles quickly raising in numbers the deeper into the old resort we trotted. A few pony heads poked out around corners and through windows, but none engaged with us. I looked back at Harp, her advanced gas mask doing well to help hide her face. She saw me looking at her, and I gave her a nodd.

“Remember, don’t let anypony know who you are.” I kept my voice hushed as she stepped closer to me. “if anypony asks, you're my little sister, got it?”

“I… I know.” She nodded back. I had a good feeling that even without my instructions, she was not going to talk much, something I could understand.

Passing by a large mural, I couldn't help but stare up at it. It was of a white mare standing on a balcony, with many bowing ponies below. There was a depiction of Celestia behind her, holding a crown in bright golden magic. It was an elegant and detailed mural, protected by a large sheet of glass that was remarkably clean for having spent so long above ground.

“A depiction of Majesty's coronation.” Mayall spoke. “Though Equestria no longer had any queens after Celestia and Luna took over, the coronation was still held for the eldest daughter in canterlot.” we all looked at the Lurker, and she shrugged back. “You all need to read your history books more.”

“Why are you still here again?” Sweet asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

“Because my nest in on the other side of the island.” Mayall tilted her head up, obviously annoyed by Sweets question. “If I try to swim from here, my sister will likely find me.”

I just sighed as I felt annoyed over the growing animosity between the two.

“Lets just not dwell on it right now.” I intervened, breaking their gazes before each of them looked away. “We can figure this out later. Until then, let's call a truce, alright?” Sweet and Mayall didn’t respond, but I took the silences as an agreement. I could only hope the two didn’t move to fighting each other before we got Harp back into Stable 50.

Moving on, we came to the building in question. The intact hotel entrance had been blocked off with concrete walls. A large faded billboard let me know what it was called during the war; ‘Cliff Side Hotel.’ In the bottom right corner of the old world advertisement, was the logo for Stable-Tec.

Merit gave a long whistle. “How the fuck is this place in such good condition?”

“I was made by Stable-Tec. Everything they built was specifically made so it could survive an indirect megaspell hit.” I answered. “From what I’ve been told, the walls are mostly just a formality, and braking into the building on the ground floor is nearly impossible. Though, if you were thinking you’d give that a shot anyway, the guards around here will still shoot you the moment you try to jump or fly over the wall.”

“The rich and powerful get all the good toys.” Sweet commented before looking to our right. “Where the rest of us just get to kick around in the muck.”

I gave a long sigh before looking where she was. About two blocks away was the metro station for us normal folks to get back underground. The hotel itself was connected to it, but there was no chance we were getting in without having to reveal Harps identity. Even then, I doubt they would let the rest of us in, leaving her all by herself, open to any assassins.

Sweet tapped me on the back, and pointed off to the right. There was a metro entrance in the distance, with a few ponies mulling around it. “Your probably thinking the same thing, we ain't getting into that hotel, well not from up here.”

I nodded. “I could also do with a drink, lets go.” I motion for everypony to follow me, trotting away from the hotel.

At the entrance to the metro, three ponies stood in the way. None of them looked like any kind of official guard the Orphic Kingdom would use. To be blunt, I’m pretty sure these ponies weren’t the type anyone would hire for anything even back in Charon's Stop.

“Hold it right there.” The pony speaking to us was a scrawny unicorn stallion, his mask barely fitting him. “Five bits a head. Hoof them over or you aint getting in!” The two others where large earth ponies, both with metal hooves on.

Harp took a step forward, but I stopped her. “Do you have a permit for this checkpoint?”

“Ya, I got a permit.” The unicorn shifted his head side to side, looking at the two earth ponies before laughing, joined by the two others. “It’s called pay up or I break a leg.”

“Is that so?” Right, now I wanted to sock this fool in the face. “Any other way that you can let us pass, without doing something that wastes both our time?”

“Well if you ain't got the bits…” He eyed over at Harp. “I’ll gladly take some time with the little mare there, she got some nice legs.”

“Actually,” I took a deep breath, knowing this was not going nowhere, and fast. “I know another think I can pay you with.” I pulled out my revolver, and activated S.A.T.S. and targeted the two bigger ponies legs. The bullets hit their mark, and the two stallions stumbled back, both in shock and that a bullet when through one of their legs. “There’s two bits of led for you. Unless… did you say it cost two, or three?” I aimed at the Unicorns head, his eyes going wide. “Regardless, I’m feeling generous today.”

“Okay, okay!” The unicorn stallion stumbled back, shaking, and his pants now wet. “Y.. ya, that will do.” He scrambled away, quickly turning a corner as his two thugs limped off after him

Everypony was silent as we entered the metro building, and walked down the stairs. The sealed doors to the station stood before us, and I was greatful to finally get back underground. With a slight screetch of the old metal hinges, the ponies behind them slowly opened the door.

“The fuck was that?” Sweet yelled. “Aren’t we trying to keep a low profile, this isn’t Charon’s Stop you know!”

“We didn’t have time for that hogshit.” I glanced at my best friend, and while her concern was understandable, I didn’t see what she was fussing about. “It was clear that it was a shakedown, so nopony is going to care anyway.”

“That’s not the point Viby” Sweet shook her head, and lowered her voice. “I mean, I understand, fuck em, they probably deserve two bullets each. But if you start waving your gun around, then the locals are going to start asking questions. And let me remind you, were connected to Orthrus, which is not a popular group around here.?”

“And you think we should just some ponies jerk us around, because of that?” I growled. “I’m sorry if that was extreme, but I didn’t see you take a dive into a pool full of corpses, or didn’t have to shoot some innocent ponies in a cage just to slow a train down, or find an over two hundred year ghoul filly you had to put out of her misery!” Sweet took a step back as I huffed. “Hurting two thugs? That's way down at the bottom of my list of fucking worries right now.”

We all became quiet again.

*Thud*

We looked over to see Harp collapsed on the ground, the sight making my heart feel like it just stopped.

Merit was quick to see if she was okay, he breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank the goddesses she’s just fainted. She’ll be alright once we get her inside.”

“Yeah, good. Let's find a place to put her” Sweet looked up at me and huffed. “And maybe get some proper rest ourselves.”

__________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

New Perk: Finesse - +5% Critical Chance

Chapter 41 - Reunited

I stirred, my head aching from the hangover of too much gut rot, and my a eye sensitive to the light. No matter how much I tell myself that it’s a bad idea, I always seem to forget to not drink the mushroom vodka.

My bed was not the best or comfiest in the world, but right now, even I struggled to want to get up out of it. What today offered was likely going to be far from fun. Merit provided a warmth I was not used to, yet, having him next to me made me feel relaxed. Though, I could deal with less pain in my ass. As fun as it was, I’m going to stick to normal sex in the near future.

A light knocking at the door proceeded a Mirage pony mare with a bit too much makeup stepping in with a few cloths. She saw me staring at her, and smiled.

“Sorry if I woke you deary,” she whispered to me. “We’re still drying your clothes after giving it an extra wash, so I brought you something to wear in the meantime.” she placed some folded off white cloth on a nearby stool and slowly backed out.

Slipping out of bed, I trotted over and found that it was just a nightgown and some underwear. With a sigh, I put it on. It left me feeling a bit exposed, but I didn’t really care all that much at the moment. Next was my scarf, my hat, and my holster. At least with Lunar Eclipse on my person, I did feel a bit more secure.

Leaving the rickety room, I entered the part Inn, part bar, part whore house. We needed a place to stay, and it was cheap. That being said, it did cost us most of the bits we had on hoof, even with me renting out the maid outfit for a discount. The owner suggested that we just put ourselves on the market to help, but Sweet and I had standards to uphold. That, and the owner was asking Merit the question, of which I firmly laid claim to him.

The place was called ‘The Lovely Trap’. It was a gay bar, but we were told that if anyone asked, this place was a normal, respectible whore house. The sound of one of the ponies at work could be heard as I passed by their door. A chorus of grunts and moans, along with a squeaking bed really painted me a picture I didn’t care for this early in the morning.

The bar part of the establishment was fairly well maintained, built mostly from old polished wood. Surprisingly, all the various pieces mostly all fit together, with only a few select gaps here and there. The only thing that didn’t quite fit in another sense, was most of the lighting. It mainly consisted of countless strings of multi colored lights that wrapped around nearly everything. To say the least, it felt a bit tacky to me.

One of the workers passed by me while wearing a very cute dress. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he was a smaller mare at a glance. To be honest though, most of the ponies on this island were like that however.

I don’t quite know the details, but it might be that the toxins on this island are a bit different. Possibly not as nasty, but still no less dangerous with prolonged exposure. Here, it seemed that stunted growth, weak muscles, and respiratory problems were far more common ailments to be born with. Admittedly that seemed a bit better than not having natural legs, but I prefer my artificial legs anyway. Also of note, they also had a larger stallion population, even though quite a few of them here might not look it.

Getting back to starting my day, I found Sweet at the bar nursing a black eye.

“Drunk, Pervert, or doorknob?” I asked her.

“Angry shemale if you'd believe it.” She looked at me and gave a quiet laugh. “Bitch was built like a tank.” Sweet may not have sold herself to the patrons, but that didn’t stop her from lending herself out as a bouncer to cover our drinking expense. I’d offered to do the same, but Sweet told me to get some rest before I shot another pony. “So, had fun last night I assume?”

“Don't get jelly, I know Guitar Strings must be getting worried about you.” I answered back.

Sweet sighed, pulling out a photo. “I don’t know about that.”

“Oh come on, that stud loves you.” I tapped my hoof on the bar table to get the bartender's attention. “One Daiquiri.”

“Well he visited me before I went into surgery.” She put the photo away, and put her head on my shoulder. “We got into a pretty nasty fight. A big old ‘I told you so’ moment for him, saying ‘mercenaries always come out maimed or killed’. You know what I told him?”

“That you don’t want to end up like your mother?” I answered.

She chuckled again. “Ya, watching her waste away like that, destroying her voice just to earn enough bits for us to eat, cracking her hooves. I don’t care if I’m maimed, I’m still going to earn enough bits to live out the rest of my days in comfort.”

I pat her on the head. “I know, and I’ll be there with you, after this all blows over.’’ The bartender placed a refreshing looking Daiquiri in front of me, in a glass that looked far better than I’d expected. “And so will Guitar, because he cares about you.”

“I know. It’s just... he’s too much like my mom, and it makes me miss her.” Sweet relaxed a little, pulling a glass of water into her hooves and taking a sip. “I told you right? That the guitar that Guitar Strings uses was my mom's?”

I took a sip of my dachary, the sweet alcohol returning some strength to me. “Ten times before, and I still think it was extremely stupid of you. Seriously, that old acoustic guitar is worth a shit ton of bits to a collector, and yet you gave the King to your on-and-off-again lover. I know you love him, but at this rate another mares going to take him away.”

“Felt right at the time.” Sweet shrugged. “It would’ve felt wrong if that old guitar was put in some collection to be never used. The King deserves to be played, as odd as it sounds.”

“I get that.” I lightly shook my head, placing a hoof on the royal guard medallion on my scarf. “Whatever means something to you, is worth something different to somepony else.” Sweet slowly pushed herself off of me, turning herself around to looked at the rest of the bar. “So how's Harp?”

She stretched, looking up at one of the rooms on the balcony. “Still asleep. Having that monster around does put me on edge, but she's a good watch dog.” Right, I had asked Mayall to look after Harp, looks like it was the right decision. Sweet pulled something from her pockets, and slid it to me. “Should help with the withdraw.”

I pulled a little bottle up to me, “Thanks.” Picking it up, I opened the bottle of Chill pills, and dropped a few of the chachy pill into my mouth. I washed it down with my Daiquiri, and slowly my body relaxed. My headache started to dissipate, and I overall felt more like myself again. At least, my old self before all this madness. “How strong is this stuff?” I asked.

“Fuck if I know.” Sweet finished off here glass of water. “My own painkillers are already wearing off, and I still can't drink alcohol with the stuff. Your shit? Well, just tell me if you start seeing shit that shouldn’t be there.” Great, we both got cut drugs that will only help us for a few hours.

Still, no use wasting what little time we had. “To temporarily relief.” I raised my Daiquiri glass and clinked it with Sweets glass of water.

Sweet clinked her glass with mine. “Just don't go shooting when it wears off.”

We both laughed, enjoying the temporary sense of normalcy. That moment that quickly faded when I saw the well dressed unicorn stallion nere us. His eyes were giving us too much attention, and that worried me.

“Are you two mares with the syndicate?” He asked when it was clear we were looking right at him.

I looked over at Sweet, but she avoided my eye contact. With a groan, I finished off my Daiquiri. “Apparently, we are.”

“Oh good, I was hoping to not trot into another filthy place.” He pulled out a business card, levitating it to me. It read, Tenpony Tower Resort, pony management. “My boss is looking for a pony to discreetly take care of a little problem. And with the royals disposed at the moment, so we need to seek outside help.”

I had to hold back my disbelief, and Sweet only looked at me as she slowly centered her head. “Tenpony Tower, you say?” I asked.

The stallion nodded. “Mostly full access, but under security supervision.”

I looked at Sweet, finding a grin across her face. The opportunity was too much for even her to want to pass up. “Okay, where do we meet up?”

“Oh thank Platinum.” He breathe a sigh of relief. “Just meet us on the connecting tracks at the 5th line. We can tell you more there.”

We watched as the stallion backed away and trotted out of the bar. Sweet looked at me and winked. “And here I was planning on shooting our way in.”

“Count their lucky stars.” I sighed. “Let's get the others.”

“For what?” Merit asked as he trotted down stairs.

I smiled. “We got lucky, and we're going to fuck in upper class later.”

He smiled back “Nice,so do we have to bring our own lube, or is it on the house?”

“let's just stick to the normal way.” I shook my head. “It was fun, but you’re a bit too rough for my ass.”

“I'll go collect our stuff, you go get the princess, and the crab.” Sweet snorted. “After you get dressed of course.”

Trotting to the back room, there were a few sissy stallions preparing themselves for a day of work. One of them was removing his makeup, likely the end of their shift. The mare from earlier was blow drying my clothes with a rusty looking blow dryer that had a heavily patched up cord.

“Good timing deary, just got it dry.” Tight string smile as she put the blow dryer down. “I still can't believe how much that stallion paid to have one of my boys to be in that dress of yours. Well, that and…” I clamped the whore’s mouth shut so to protect my mind. I didn’t need to picture anything worse than I already had in my head. Just knowing a stallion had my clothes on was right at the line for me, and I was not going to cross it.

Letting her go, String gave me an sturn look, and cleared her throat. “Right, I’ll pull the drapes so you can get dressed. Also you can keep the gown I gave you. Consider it a bonus for your friend kicking out my ex and getting a hoof in the face for it.”

With a little privacy, I got my dress on. Tight String was more than happy to help me out to speed it up, but that came with drawbacks of its own. Her hooves were a bit more touchy than I liked, caressing the few sensitive spots I had. I had to stomp my hoof on the floor and startle her before she got too far.

“Sorry if I was not clear before,” I eyed her as she backed away a little. “I'm not into mares like you are.”

“Shame,” Tight String sighed, looking a little dejected. “and you're exactly my type too. Well if you're ever in need of a place to stay for the night, my bed is always open. You can even bring that stallion of yours as well if you’d like.”

There was nothing wrong with Tight String. In truth, she was a very pretty mare, though a bit too young for me. That itself might be why the thought of sleeping with her was not an idea that sat well with me. She also wouldn’t have been the first mare I’d been with, but I understood that was because I just wasn’t as flexible as I was as a young mare.

“Miss String, I appreciate the thought, I do,” I spoke up, trying not to hurt the poor mare’s feelings even more. “but it might be best to Court a mare who is less straight than I am.”

Predictably, she sighed. “Alright, I get it, I’ll stop pestering you. Still, can you blame me? You’ve got this ‘don't fuck with me’ aura that I love so much. Yet, a protective glint in your eyes at the same time.” She opened her mouth and pulled up a lip to reveal a missing and broken tooth. “You see, my last three mare friends liked to drink, and only rarely didn't get violent.”

I looked at her flatly. “And that gives you a the right to try and molest me?” Tight String attempted to defend herself, but I cut her off. “If you really want to find a strong and non abusive mare, then join Orthrus. By Celestia I know they're filled to the brim with the butch type.”

“But... I don't know how to fight?” She responded.

“Trust me,” I slapped her on the flank, my metal leg clanging on her metal hip. “ I mean, you're still young. You want to stop sucking dick for a bit each? Then Orthrus is your best option.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.” She stayed behind as I left the back room. It felt like a good deed for the day, helping a teenaged whore get on the right path. Still, I couldn't help but feel that she'd just end up at the Lucky Rabbit's Foot.

Up the stairs, I trotted too the last room and unlocked the door. There, Mayall and Harp slept on two twin beds that had been pushed together. Harp looked far more at peace then I knew she was. Having passed out due to stress gave us a bit of a shock, but at least she’d be good to go when she woke. Mayall on the other hoof, was a bit frightening. Laying on her back and snoring, both crab claws that normally covered her mouth were outstretched to the sides of her head. Periodically, her little inner mouth leg things twitches every now and then, which to be honest was kinda a bit creepy.
I rolled Mayall off the bead, before I went to gently shake Harp. “It’s time to wake up.”

“I wake!” Mayall quickly sat up straight, looking a bit confused and bedraggled. “me am up!”

I ignored the lurker as Harp slowly opened her eyes. “A few more minutes, Stratus.”

I sat there for a moment, thinking about how to respond. “Harp, it's time to wake up, we got a job to do.”

She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. With a yawn, she finally looked around the dim room. “Wh… where am I?”

Well there was no way around it, and lieing was going to just make things harder later. “Your in a whore house called the lovely trap, in the slums outside stable 50.”

Her eyes scanned the room some more before landing on me. “Where's Stratus?”

“She's dead.” I looked her in the eyes, and hoped that being blunt was the best course of action. “You might not remember, but she had a violent reaction to a twitter-might sting. We barely got out alive ourselves.”

I watched as her face slowly scrunched up, and tears welling up in her eyes. I opened up my arms, and she dove into my chest, bawling. Her muffled crying sent a wave of guilt down to my core. She may be physically unharmed, but emotionally, I had failed. All it took was one moment of hesitation, and Harp had paid the price.

A minute had passed before Harp had calmed down. I let her get dressed, and we all left the room. She had to keep her gas mask on so to not tip any pony off about who she was. To help divert attention, I had Mayall borrow my mask, this way, they looked more uniformed in hiding who and what they were. Sweet had also bought two linen cloths to throw over them, helping with the disguises. It was a temporary solution, but one that we hoped would avoid any probing questions that could put Harp in danger.

Sorting out our supplies, I left Mayall with my combat vest and my air rifle. Though, Harp had an extra batch of bolts, twenty of them to be exact. As for me, I thought it be better if I looked more the maid. Still, I kept my Lunar Eclipse on me under my outfit, just in case another pony needed to see Charon.

In the end, we really didn't have much on us other than guns. Other than our air rifles, revolvers, and the sword we took from Graceful, Sweet sold the other pieces of gear we’d acquired for the rest of the bits we needed to pay for our stay last night. In the end, we just had enough left over for some food, one healing potion for each of us, and the drugs Sweet and I needed so we could feel normal again.

Trotting out into Bacchus station, much of it was a overflowing slum. It reminded me of Charon’s Stop, but smelling more of desperation and greed then depression and death. The ponies homes here were mostly nothing more than a room with only enough space for a bed and maybe a small chest of personal possessions.

Small shops wedged themselves between the stack homes, many of them just run down whore houses and gambling dens to drain a pony of their bits. Things did get a little better the further into the station we got. Though, the sight of drunk ponies asleep on the sides of the main walkway ruins weren’t really that much better in retrospect.

Sweet trotted ahead, stopping at a very big and strong looking door. “Alright, everypony remember their rolls?”

“Because of how things are, I'm acting as the boss of the group.” Merit cleared his throat, and stepped forward. “Vibraphone’s my assistant, you’re our muscle, and Mayall and Harp are the cleaners.”
Harp stuck up her hoof. “I'm not that good at cleaning.”

“No, no.” Sweet snorted. “A cleaner is a pony who gets rid of dead bodies. But don't worry, it's all for show so that nopony messes with you.”

The princess wobbled a little, as though she was going to faint again. “What pony would want such a job?”

I nugget her a little. “Right now, you do.”

___________________________________________________

We passed through a more decent part of Bacchus station, this part was a little deeper and likely better protected from the toxic pollen and radiation. Here, ponies were less packed together, and the station itself looked slightly better maintained. Simple tapestries lined the walls, giving the mostly gray station a warm splash of color.

The stallion that met us at the gay bar was now guiding us through this part of the station. He showed signs of irritation if we were to slow down even a little, so we had to keep up a fairly rushed pace. Because of this, I could only get a few glances at the curiosities that were part of this area of the station.

From the little I could see, there seemed to be an even split between Mirage ponies and the deep dwellers, as well far less visible birth defects on said ponies. Another thing was the commonality of small scale hydroponics, mainly, the hundreds of buckets with green plants sticking out anywhere they could be fit. Most places I've been tended to keep their home hydroponics behind closed doors.

One other thing that stuck out to me was the the shear amount of pipes going everywhere above us. Clearly not part of stable-tec design, the hundreds of pipes snaked their way everywhere, leading into each home and business. Some of them ended outside of the scrap built buildings here, and ended as attachments to what looked like small steam engines tended to by mirage ponies.

“Wait, are those... slave engines?” I asked, feeling more curious than concerned.

“Ho, no, no.” Our stallion guide spoke up, sounding politely irritated at my question. “All ponies working on the steam network are properly compensated. Besides, slavery only brings in ponies of poor breeding under our roof.”

Sweet rolled her eyes at the stallion, and I let the topic go.

Not long after, we reached the train junction. Surprising me, it was a place that was relatively lighter on guards then it should’ve been. Only a few guards ponies sat in the two gunner nests guarding the entrance to the hotel’s tunnel, of which also led further on to stable 50. They seemed to only have one guard on patrol, and only one other guard working at a checkpoint.

“I brought the outside help.” The guide trotted over to the checkpoint guard, both giving each other a nodd.

“Bloody fantastic.” The guard sized us up with his eyes. “They all look as trustworthy as rad-boar in a cabbage patch.”

“It’s not like I can just call up the syndicate and order for better agents in an hour,” The guide said with a low growl in his tone. “That is, unless you want to release the ones you’ve got locked up? And if that’s the case, be my guest.”

With a long sigh, the guard waved us through, speaking softly. “Fine, I get it, just keep it down. Last thing we need is some trollop overhearing us again. Also, stop mentioning the syndicate, it's going to get us killed.”

“ “Right.” Our guide cleared his throat. “The ‘Solaris employees’ and I will be making our way to the Cliff Side Hotel now.” The guard squinted at him and pointed down at the tunnel, looking a bit agitated now.

Past the guards, the dull gray of the walls were replaced by a light tan paint. No cracks, or signs of age. On the walls were display cases holding well preserved movie posters; Dr. Strangelove, Singing in the Rain, The Mare who knew too Much, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, we trotted into another large room with a Stable door at the far end, with a big ‘50’ painted on it. The room also sported a stairway that went up, two elevator doors next to the stairs,and a blast door across from the elevator doors. Also in the room were two assaultron robots, both armed with what looked like heavy magical energy guns.

Our guide took us to the blast door and pressed a button on a nearby panel. “Remember, you're here at our convenience, and you will be paid once the job is done. Fool around, and you’ll find yourselves locked up with the last group who tried to pull one over on us.” The blast doors opened up to reveal an elevator large enough to fit us all comfortably. “Go to room seven on the 10th floor, there's a guard waiting for you there who will tell you what to do.”

With a nod we entered the elevator. The doors closed behind us soon after, and I selected the tenth floor among the many buttons to choose from. The elevator jolted and hummed as it ascended, and we found ourselves in the midst of an uncomfortable silence.

“So...” Merit spoke up. “What is Solaris?”

“Ya, looks like these deep dwellers are ready to jump down each other's throats.” Sweet spoke up. “Basically, The Solaris corporation is what the syndicate used to be. Well that's what Orthrus theorized at least. We don’t know because the bastards covered their tracks so well that there's no evidence to how they got founded. But most ponies who know their history make that connection, some to the point of calling them out as the Solaris Syndicate.”

“And the less we have to deal with the syndicate,” I added. “the better.”

*Ding*

The elevator doors opened up to the tenth floor, and we stepped out. The hallway of the old hotel was relatively modest, very clean, and sported a few old paintings hanging on the walls. Turning a corner, we saw the guard we were told about. He was a quiet, handsome looking unicorn stallion in a very formal looking blue suit.

Merit stepped up, taking on the role of the group's boss. “Yo! We're here for the job.”

“So you're the cleaning crew?” The guard cocked an eyebrow. “I don't envy your job.”

I saw Merit pause for a moment. “Right, so we were not told exactly what we’d be doing?”

The handsome guard cleared his throat before answering quietly. “Two dead hookers, and one messy room.” He shrugged. “The noble involved likes to keep their image clean, so your going to do your jobs and make this scandal not exist.”

Right, fuck all these privileged rich ponies.

“Well dead ponies will be easier to transport than live ones.” Merit looked a bit lost for words, but quickly regained his composure. “Just make sure no pony disturbs us.”

The guard nodded and opened up the door.

Inside was a modestly high class room. Though few in number, the decorations, paintings, and vases looked masterly made and were impeccably well kept. My eyes fell on a big round red bed, of which was what need our ‘cleaning services’. The sheets were stained in a mix of what I had to guess was wine and bodily fluids. Oh, and I couldn’t overlook the two dead mares on it to top it all off.

“So…” Merit looked back at me with an unsure look on his face. “Do we clean the room?”

Sweet trotted ahead, over to the bed. “Looks like a drug overdose.” she looked back at us, and waved us over. “Right now this is the best cover we got, so I'll try to contact Rototom and the others, as you roll up the poor mares.”

“I Agree. Right now, no pony is going to question us so long as we keep a low profile for now.” I looked at the two mares, something about them seemed familiar. “At best, we’ve got an hour before they start getting nervous.” My attention drifted over to Harp, who was fighting. “Don't worry princess, you can sit back and relax. We’ve got this.”

Harp suddenly froze, slowly pointing her hoof up passed me. Quickly turning around, the dead mare was standing and staring right at me.

“Brainssss...” The not so dead mare spoke with a garbled voice.

I pulled my revolver out, but it was immediately knocked out my levitation talisman’s grip by the zombie’s own magic.

We all paused, and I was even more confused as the other ‘dead’ mare sat up, her body shimmering. The image of the dead mare was replaced by the normal look of Tamboril. The specter kicked a wine bottle aside as she maneuvered herself off the bed. Looking back at the ‘zombie pony’ in front of me, her image faded, and in its place stood Rototom.

Now it was my turn to be irritated. As she smiled at me, I answered with a hoof strike to her face. Of course she couldn’t let me vent, and easily blocked my swing.

“Hay, try not to damage my face,” Rototom snapped at me with a smug look written across her face. “I need my good looks to catch a stallions eye.”

With a huff, I lowered my hoof. “I almost shot you because of that stupid stunt, and arnt you getting married. You can't be trying to seduce stallions.”

“I have to agree, she could have killed you.” Sweet spoke as she recovered my gun and shot me a sideways glance. “Viby has been a bit trigger happy lately. And maybe leg deep in the Orphic Kingdom is not the best places for sisterly pranks, Rototom.”

“It’s part of the job.” Rototom said as she shrugged, Tamboril stepped off the bead and over to me.

“Sorry about that.” Tamboril tapped at her pipbuck as she apologized. “I didn't think your sister was missing enough brain cells to think that was a bright idea. Though to be fair, the dead hookers was my idea. After you made yourself known in such a loud way in the Kingdom, we needed a discreet way to get you to us.”

“And you thought dead hookers would be discreet?” I asked, feeling a bit sceptical.

Tamboril pulled out a cable, attaching it to her pipbuck and hoofing the other end over to me. “Trust us, we've had time to study this place, and most of the ponies here are like politicians. Which means basically they care more about looking moral, than actually being moral. So putting one in a position that could damage their reputation was, well easy. It at least insured that they be as secretive as possible.”

Rototom chuckled. “The hard part was getting the local syndicate ponies locked up for a few days.”

The sound of the door opening caught my attention, as the guard for outside stepped in. “You say as much, but you weren't the one having to seduce multiple ponies.” The stallion burst into silver flames, replacing the formal looking stallion with that of Sorrow. She closed the door behind her as she looked between us. “I may be a love machine, but by Chrysalis’s salty flank, I'm not a love robot.” The fluffy changing did look a bit tired, her eyes looking droopy.

“Well my job’s done.” Sweet flopped on the ground, letting herself relax. “So, does this mean we can skip right to stable 50 and not ending up dicking around up here for a few hours?”

“Not quite.” Tamboril spoke up. “We still can't just trot on into stable 50.”

“Wait,” I interjected, as I plugged the cable into my pipleg “I thought you already had a plan to get inside, and that you were going to let us in?”

“The plan was to get the captain of the royal guard to let us in, her profile listed that she was close to the princess.” Tamboril sat back, and started tapping away at her pipbuck. “Seeing as you didn’t bring her with you, our plan now is to wait for her to come back, and have the princess talk to her directly.”

“That's, well…” We fell silent, her plan hitting me in the gut. “that’s not going to happen.”

“What do you mean?” Tamboril asked, cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Captain Stratus is dead.” I answered, and Tamboril narrowed her gaze at me. “At New Canterlot, the skyport, we were ambushed by the pirates there, and only a hoof full of us made it out. Well the ground proved to be as dangerous as ever, and the captain pretty much sacrificed herself to let the rest of us escape several swarms of twitter-mites.” Rototom to her credit, at least looked at me with a bit respect for everything we went through. “Also,” I continued trying to get them up to speed so we could get past any other bits that might complicate things. “Golden Rule, and Minted Coin were lost in the pirates assault, so if you planned on using them in any way, you can scrap those ideas as well.”

Tamboril face hoofed. “So, let me get this straight, we lost two royals, and the captain of the royal guard?” I nodded. “fantastic, just fucking fantastic. There goes our easy way in, including the royal family not freaking the fuck out.” She then looked over to Rototom. “Well, your turn now, because all my plans are in the shitter.”

“Well,” Rototom sat up straight, and cleared her throat before talking. “with the easy way in not an option anymore, I do have an idea for a way in that I have made a mental note of.” Rototom taped in the screen of her pip leg. “Despite the lockdown, some pony has been ordering flowers and other celebratory materials into the stable. My guess, is that without the captain of the guard keeping an eye on things, the nobles are throwing their weight around and splurging to keep their mind off the growing inter-island tensions. This gives us an opening. If we can join in one one of those deliveries, it should get us in so that Harp can reveal herself without some assassin intercepting and attacking her.”

I raised my hoof. “Still, wouldn't we still get blocked from the queen? Golden did mention that one of the royals is plotting to pull something, it's not likely they just let us move about freely.”

Rototom nodded. “True, but if we have Sorrow acting as Harp like in the original plan, she will buy us the time we need it contact the queen.

“Simple enough. I highly doubt the other ponies will be asking any personal questions.” Sorrow burst into silver flames, and turned into Harp as she continued. “So as long as I follow manners and customs, no one will suspect a thing.”

“Also, Rototom and I will be acting as her guards.” Tamboril added. “If the worse starts to happen, we can rush her out most situations. It has been a long trip for Harp after all.”

Mayall took off her mask, the pinkish glow of her eyes, fins, and joints becoming another dim lightsource in the room. “but, aren’t there too many of us?”

“True.” Rototom nodded. “Once were in, I want Harp and Vibraphone to split off. Sweet, and Merit will keep an eye on them. Mayall, I need you to follow them as well, though if I may ask, why exactly are you still here?”

“Thought it was a good idea,” The Lurker shrugged. “only half wrong.”

I couldn't help but sigh. “I don't think it matters, but I do like the idea of some backup. I just hope we don't need it.”

“Agreed.” Temboril spoke up, removing the cables from her and my pipbuck. “Last thing we need is a major incident. That's why I've uploaded a map of stable 50 to your pipbuck, and an update for your disguise talisman program thanks to Sorrow. It's still not perfect, but they will have a harder time finding out that your not a mirage pony with it active.”

“Thanks,” I checked the map on my pipleg, and found that it now displayed a detailed outline of the stable. “How is the disguise program better?”

“It temporarily copies changling magic when you activate it. So for a minute, you’re not just projecting a form, you will physically be in that form.” Temboril answered. “That part of the spell should last long enough the get passed any checkpoints, so long as you remember to activate it before they check you, not after.”

“Right,” Rototom jumped off the bed and activated her disguise talasman, turning her into a unicorn version of herself, with a clean green sundress on. “Vibes and I will go down to hydroponics and pick up the next delivery. The manager has the next batch of flowers scheduled for pickup soon.”

“Are you sure you want me to come along?” I turned on my disguise. My pipleg popped up the option for changing mode, to which I selected no. No need to use it just yet if I don’t have to. “Didn’t they see me come in?”

“I'm not worried, the ponies here keep their heads down if they aren’t nobles themselves.” Rototom shrugged. “As for those who are nobles? Well, their heads are too far up their flanks to know what's going on anyway. Unless it’s within a social setting, I doubt many nobles even remember the names of anypony else.”

With a huff, I turned to the door. “Fine, I get it.” as I took a step, something tugged at my dress. Looking back, Harp was staring at me with a bit of a worried look on her. “Is something wrong, princess?”

“Can... can I come with you?” Her voice was a tad bit shaky, and her glance was partially downcast. Overall, she looked fragile.

I thought about it for a moment, hour it be safer for her to stay here, though right now, I'd like to keep an eye on her.

“I don't see why not.” Rototom interjected.

“Fine.” I said with yet another sigh. “But we can't have you looking like some stalker outside of this room.”

With an excited nod, Harp removed the clothes we had thrown on her, down to the red dress and the old stable-tec jacket. She activated her disguise talasman in her pipbuck, which made her look like a blue unicorn with a faded pink main. Still, something didn't seem to fit. She looked cute, but also a bit stiff. Taking the hat from my head, I put it on her backwards, giving her a bit of a mischievous look.

“That should do it.” I could see her form a small sheepish smile at my words. “Now you’re ready to go out there.”

“Aren’t you becoming the reliable big sister.” Rototom smirked at me as I glared back at her. “It's a compliment, so don't get your panties in a bunch.”

Ignoring her, I opened the door for Harp, letting her through but leaving my sister to close it.

This floor seemed practically empty. No guards to speak of, though, all the doors seemed to be locked. I wasn't curious enough to find out, nor did we really have the time anyway. Entering one of the regular elevators, there was one lone stallion inside. He looked about as snobby as a pony could, which probably made him a noble. That itself made it a good thing that Sweet was left behind. Had she been here, I doubt she’d have been able to stop herself from saying something to offend him.

The stallion himself felt familiar, a unicorn with a white coat, gray main, and holding a silver pocket watch. After a moment, it hit me, he was Silver Relief. The bastard was still alive, and had made it back home.

-“Vibraphone, you’re getting tense”- Rototom’s voice entered my head. It had been a while since I’d heard her use her telepathy talisman, and I had to fight myself not to jump at her voice. -“Don’t worry, I see him too. Just do as I say, and nothing more.”-

“Floor six, I'm already late to pick up the Coronation flowers thanks to you dragging your hooves.” Rototom said in her best high and mighty voice.

“Yes.” I replied, pressing the button for the six floor.

As the door closed, Silver put his watch away. “Good help seems ever so much harder to find These days.” He gave a short bow to Rototom. “The name is Silver Relief. And pardon me for being forward, but... did you say you were picking up flowers for the coronation?”

“Is it not all there's to talk about?” My sister gave a little smile and giggle. “I mean, I made an order for a new dress, and everything for the event. But alas, it's been nothing but a chore. I actually have to go and pick up the flowers myself, and I need to make sure the help does not drop them.” She shot me a sideways glance that pulled an uninterested but sympathetic look from Silver Relief. “Some days I wonder why I bother having her around at all to be truthful.”

Well, now I know if something needs the be carried, I'll be doing all the heavy lifting.

Silver looked a bit board, probably not his first long winded whining of a spoiled mare. His eyes drifted over to Harp, whom I assumed knew Silver. Something about her piqued his interest, as he studied her.

“Hmmm, quite the rarity you have.” He spoke up, forcing a small squeak from Harp. “Don't see many R&D jackets around these days. Well ones that are not in a collectors treasure vault.”

“Ah, that.” Rototom said in a dismissive tone. “My little cousin got it from her father, refuses to take it off. Keep telling her that it's an unbecoming look, but stubbornness runs in her father's side of the family. Been trying to educate it out of her.”

*Bing*

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened to the sixth floor. I stepped out and waited for the two to follow. The sooner we got out of here, the less chance we had to get spotted or have something screw this up.

“lovely chat, but we must be going.” Rototom said to Silver. “I'm already behind schedule as it is, you understand.”

“It certainly been a pleasure.” He said back, “And I do hope your cousin receives the education she needs. It would be a shame for her to have to marry below her station due to unnecessary willfulness.” My sister and Harp stepped off the elevator, and the doors slowly closed. Silver Relief’s eyes narrowed at me before the doors shut on him. “Or even worse, if she were to marry one of those awful stripes.”

Just the way he said that sent a shiver down my spine.

-”You think he knew?”- I telepathically spoke to Rototom. -”And how is he even alive?”-

-”Don't know,”- She sighed. -“and we don't have the time to find out.”- she sent back to me before seeking out loud. “Come on, we’re headed to room five.”

As we walked, it was easy to tell that Harp had become nervous again. Her eyes were busy scanning around more than I’d have liked.

“It's alright, you got us here with you.” I offered at a whisper. She looked up at me and seemed to calm down a little at that. “So, I'm guessing you know him?”

She nodded slightly. “He's my third, no, fourth cousin, once removed from my father's side. I mean, the late kings side, not my...” I gave her a confirming glance, so she didn't have to correct herself. “He works as one of Silver Majesty’s personal attendants. He also doesn't like me much.”

“Clearly.” Rototom spoke up. “I bet he also licks Silver Majesty’s taint, but that aside, keep the chatter down. We don't want the workers here getting suspicious.”

Arriving at room five, I took notice that there were more pipes along the ceiling. Though, this time the pipes had been painted the same color as the ceiling, making them a bit less obvious at first glance. Rototom opened the door to the room, and we entered what looked like a mini plantation, but filled with rows of flowers.

If I had to make a comparison, it was not as tightly packed as the plantations on Pineapple Island. Instead, rows of buckets covered one wall, with strong lamps pointed at them. The pipes from outside also crept along the ceiling in heres, but the brass pips were left unpainted and looked slightly corroded. I could hear a low rumbling coming from nearby that sounded fairly out of place for a flower plantation.

“Hello there!” A short earth pony mare trotted up to us. She had a light green mane on a dark green coat, and wore a pair of overalls, completing the look with a big floppy straw hat. “I'd bet you're wanting the next batch of mah flowers. Sorry to say, they’ve already been paid for”

“Yes, I’m actually here about that.” Rototom had changed her snobby accent to that of some sort of strait laced business pony. “I came here to check the schedule for the next pickup. I know it must be a chore and a half for you, but the royals want this all done sooner than later. You know how they can be when it comes to an event that simply must be perfect.”

“I keep telling them they’re all too impatient.” The florist pony paused for a moment, studding Rototom. “Yes, I can grow the flowers in less than a day. But with them it’s always grow them faster. Who cares about how that might affect the integrity of each and every one, they just need to be ready right now.” She huffed and wiped at her brow angrily before blushing as she realized she’d said that all outloud. “A thousand pardons, I didn’t mean to subject you to all that.” With a nervous laugh, she waved dismissively at us before pointing behind her. “But you’re in luck, as I’ve got a batch that’s almost ready. They’re just being preserved right now as we speak.” She took a step back, and motion my sister to follow. “I’ll show you what my updated production schedule.”

Rototom followed the mare into the back room, giving me a bit of time to look around. The pipes all over the ceiling ended up twisting all over the place, but most of them lead off into only one room. Harp and I followed them, peeking inside, quickly finding that it contained a steam engine hard at work, as well as a boiler that fed into the piped and the engine. It was the source of the low hum I’d heard.

A second boiler fed into some winding tubes that ended up sticking into a large holding tank. My guess it was recycling the steam from the engine and using it as the flowers water source. Also in the room was a pair of mirage ponies. One of them sat powering the boilers, and the other was busily inspecting the working engine. Slowly, Harp and I creeped my head back out before either of them saw us.

Trotting along through the plantation, we found another room that was growing a bunch of flowers. This time the setup was much of the same sort of layout as a common plantation. Rows of plants sat on moving racks, with a mechanism running it that looked like it powered by the steam engine as well. A central steam pipe plugged into each of the metal boxes, and used that steam to turn a wheel that then turned the racks.

It all made a lot of noise. Nothing bad, or loud, just a constant clunking that filled the air. Also, the different colored lamps for the different growing zones made my eyes hurt. There was a pony working inside here as well. A unicorn that wore what looked like a rad-suit, and was busy spraying the plants with a blue mist from what looked like a modified water gun. I didn’t know enough about growing to know what exactly it was for, but I figured it didn’t matter and both Harp and I moved on.

Returning to the main room, I was starting to get how this station worked, but I was going to wait and ask Rototom for clarification. Almost as on cue, Rototom an the earth pony came out from the back room. As she walked out, I noticed that Rototom slipped a piece of paper into her pocket.

“Now ya tell your bosses at stop nagging me. ” The Earth pony chastising my sister. “If we produce these flowers any faster, they’re going to be too fragile for decorating, yah hear?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t report that.” Rototom held a strait face. “It's not my, or your place to correct how they do business. Just do as you’re asked, alright?”

“Honestly, sometimes it feels like I'm back on Pineapple Island, with the guild breathing down mah neck.” The earth pony huffed. “Still, unless they got some fancy magic that can out do mah growing, they need to stop whining.”

I opened the door for Rototom and Harp, following them out soon after they left. The moment we were out, I breathed a bit easier. The sooner we finished this job, the better.

”So, do we have a way in?” I asked quietly.

“It’ll be little more than an hour ‘till the stable door opens.” My sister turned to the elevator,trotting to it. ”The florist was left with a schedule for it, so whomever arranged for this seems to not be the brightest bulb in the orchard.”

“It was probably my sister, Silk Carnation,” Harp spoke up sounding a bit more confident that normal. “She’s seen as one of most beautiful mares in the stable, as well as the biggest air head. Not to mention she's known for getting her way, even when she doesn't know what she wants. Knowing all that, I’m pretty sure she was left in charge of making things look good for the event.”

“So we're getting in on the whims of a fool, makes sense.” I commented as my eyes drifted upward. “Quick question sis, are the using steam to power this place?”

“Yeah, about that.” She looked up. “I think this place use to run off of a slave engine right up until the peace treaty outlawed them. Now they use independent generators and boilers, all connected by this network of pipes. It's not as efficient as a centralized power source, but it seems that it is a lot more stable as long as they have a mirage pony around to power up the spark batteries.”

“So, it’s still a slave engine.” I remarked. “Just a smaller one is all.”

“They’re not chained to the things, they get to go home at the end of their shifts.” She just shrugged. “And it doesn't need a mirage pony to run it all day, so don't get all frustrated about it.”

“One last thing.” I spoke up, watching as Rototom eyes shifted to me with an annoyed look. “Have you been having any nightmares lately?”

“Every now and then,” Her eyes shifted away. “Most spectres have them. It comes with the job. It's commonly stressed induced, so if your having then, I know a good psychologist you can see once we get back home.”

“Thanks, I might take you up on that after this is all over.” I should have expected an answer like, so I was not going to press the issue. In all likelihood, Phobetor was just messing with me, trying to get into my head again.

______________________________________

Regrouping with the others, we all made our way down to the stable door that alredy had a small crowd of ponies waiting. The mare that led us in passed by, looking both concerned and confused. Every pony in our group was running a disguise talasman, and had more appropriate clothes on. All except Mayall, whom we’d thrown under a poncho and a big round straw hat. It was hard to tell if other ponies were just being polite, or her natural magic was still working on the other ponies.

The two robots in front of the stable door scanned the small crowd, but unlike last time we passed by, their guns had been lowered and powered down. Still, they gave the room an uneasy feeling as their glowing red eyes bared down on everypony.

Everything was going according to my sisters stupidly simple plan, a plan of us saying that were with the decoration crew. The guard that was sent to oversee the ponies coming in only needed a few bits of convincing. A royal guard, he was not. If the unkempt tan uniform was not enough to prove it, the smell of rotting fish he gave off was.

The other ponies around us was a collection of specialized professionals; mane dressers, dress makers and the like. In truth, we were far from out of place here, and so they showed little care about us. Honestly, with the ease they let just anypony in who looked like they fit, it made the whole show of security completely pointless.

Harp had a concerned look on her face as her eye scanned. “Your alright?” I asked her.

“I'm fine.” She sighed. “But, it's just that if Stratus was here, she'd be pulling her mane out. When I left, she had actually cleared the area first, and assigned two guards to look after me in the hotel.”

“And now without their protector, the nobles are doing whatever they want.” Sweet said quietly.

“You can say half of Stratus's job was protecting us from ourselves.” Harp nodded as she gave out a little giggle. “One time, Rare Pearl choked on some old crackers, and Golden Rule tried to get it out of her. Stratus literally cold clocked my brother to get him off of my sister so that Stratus could properly perform resuscitation.” Harps expression dropped at the mention of her. “I miss her.”

“I know.” I gave Harp a soft hug. It was all I could really do right now, but I knew she’d make it through this. “We’re almost there, almost at the end of this madness.”

Yellow lights spun across the walls as an alarm screeched out. The stable doors slowly opened inwards, making a grinding sound that offended the ears. Now clunking, the big cog of a door rolled out of the way, and a bridge extended out to connect the inside of the stable with the outside.

“Hello!” A very cheerful mare stepped out with two mirage ponies behind her. The mare was a pale silvery blue, with a long, vibrant, and curly red mane and tail that were heavily decorated with flowers. Her dress looked like fog… correction, it was made of fog. Strings of lights ran across her body underneath the cloud clothing, slowly turning on and off in a random pattern. When she moved, I could see the long powder blue dress underneath the flashing lights. “Good of you all to make it, so much work to do for my coronation.” She spoke with conviction, her emerald like eyes filled with passion.

“Silk.” I looked over at Harp, whom had facehoofed to hide the burning embarrassed blush brightening her cheeks. “Silk never changes.”

______________________________________________

Footnote:

Contacts reestablished: Tamboril, Rototom, Sorrow.

Chapter 42 - Stable 50

Silk Carnation was more than welcoming, inviting everypony inside the stable, almost giddy to get her party started. The lobby was predictably set up the same as the entrances to the Orthrus hangers, though with far less guards. Other than the single guard in the security booth, there were two more doing basic checks on the ponies coming in, and one with an old SMG hanging a bit further back.

The changeling mode for our disguise lasted just long enough for us to pass the guards pathetic excuse of a check point, albeit with one problem. Mayall. She was hauling Order for Harp, as well as all of our bigger weapons that we couldn’t hid on ourselves. Which of course, would be pretty essential if we got into a fight. Normally I’d trust her to slip past most ponies, but this time around she was going to need a bit of a distraction.

“Excuse me, sir?” I tapped one of the guards oh his side. He was a younger stallion, so he wasn’t likely to have been a guard for very long. “Can you direct me to where I can freshen up? I'm feeling a bit… less than clean.”

“Keep going down that way,” The stallion looked a bit confused, but pointed down at the only open door. “the mares room is the one on the right.”

“Thanks.” I responded. He nodded, going back to checking the ponies in the line. Turning back to the hall, Mayall was already ahead of us. I felt a poke on my side, and spun to see Sweet grinning at me.

“Less than clean, Viby.” She whispered to me and made me want to roll my eyes at her. “Your seductive game needs some serious work.”

I looked away, feeling a bit irritated at her ribbing me right now. “And you can do better?”

Sweet chuckled, throwing a hoof dramatically over her head. “Good sir, could you show me where I can freshen up? I'm feeling so dirty right now.” She then looked me in the eyes, fluttering them. “Like that.”

“No, like this.” Sorrow trotted up to Sweet, their sides lightly touching. “Excuse me.” She raised her head up to Sweets ears. Whatever she whispered, it was too quiet for me to hear, and as she trotted along, Sorrow let her tail caress Sweet’s chin.

Sweets wings poked straight up out of her disguise, of which she quickly forced back down. “Is it bad that I'm a bit turned on now?”

I held back a laugh as I pushed Sweet on to the party room.

“Don’t worry,” Sorrow gave us a smile. “I’ve had a lot of practice getting ponies all hot and bothered.” She looked over at Rototom, whom gave her a nod. “I’ll scout ahead, and find a place for Mayall to drop off your things.” I watched as Sorrow trotted ahead with Mayall following closely behind her. The two turned a corner as Silk looked the other way to chat with another pony.

What was the common gray of a stable-tec stable’s floors and walls, had been replaced with white stone floors that looks like hoof polished marble. The normally drab walls had been painted a velvet red, with a purple line going across it to accent bot it and the light blue colored ceiling. Complex tapestries decorated the walls, depicting ponies dancing, or in what looked like a royal court straight out of a fairy tale. Some even had Celestia and Luna standing among unicorns with crowns on their heads. A few of the open rooms also had masterful portraits on the wall. Unicorns all of then, of course, with each in fine and presumably royal clothing.

Each of the deep dweller unicorns here were accompanied by at least a few ponies. Most had a single earth pony or pegasus, but all of them had a one or more mirage pony attendant. It seemed strange at first, but following Silk, it quickly became obvious. As Silk Carnation trotted forward, the fog dress she wore would reveal a bit of the white dress underneath, with it’s talismans woven into it and shimmering with magic. The two mirage ponies at her sides were not simply just attendants, they were their to make her dress work. Two glorified walking batteries, nothing more than that to the likes of Silk.

“Alright, everypony!” Silk spoke loudly. “I don’t want any space left bare. Any day now I’ll be crowned queen, and this room must be fit for one.”

Entering the main hall as Silk strode in, it found that it was already overly decorated with flowers, candles. Gold inlaid fine silverware sat dutifully placed along long dark wood tables. Looking around the room, there were a few unicorns sitting around ignoring Silk. The one that stood out however, was one little filly waving at Silk for attention.

I looked over at Harp and got her attention. “Anypony important here?”

Harp nodded. “The filly trying to get attention is Silk’s second child, Cristal Lilly. She’s like a cute mini Silk, but she's deaf in one ear and has problems with her balance.” I watched as she slowly leaned to one side, falling over into a nearby pegasus maids hooves.

Continuing, Harp pointed to a stallion who looked a bit older than herself that had a short scruffy beard. “That's my nephew Silver Circlet. He’s a talented spell caster, and Silver Majesty's only child. He has the same asma as his mother, but luckily, not her disposition.”

Next she pointed at an elderly mare. “Aunty Fitting Dimond. She's nice, but developed dementia ten years back. It was a big scare when it first happened because we all thought she’d been poisoned when she started yelling about a small light clearing the sky. After that incident though, she hasn’t really talked that much to anypony.”

“Now listen up! I need more of the flowers over the doorway, in an arch.” Silk was directing a tiered looking unicorn mare, holding a string of flowers over the door. “A bit to the left, and... no... a bit more… and... yes! Put them right there, and then you’re dismissed. Very good, what next?” She clapped her hooves, and turn'd to us. “Oh you, you… who are you?”

Crap, talking to any pony was not included in the plan! “I... I'm just the help.”

“I'm not a fool.” She waved her hoof at me dismissively. “I know quite well what you are.” Silks hoof pointed at Harp. “You, however, I do not know. Who are you, and where did you get that adorable outfit. It's so... unusual.”

Harp looked to me as worry flushed across her face. Rototom cut in quickly, wearing a big smile on her face. “That's my cousin, Glitter Spork. She's a... a musician!” Rototom reached out her hoof to shake Silks. “The names Noon Snack, I’m quite the important pony.”

Silk examined my sister slowly. “Important, how?”

“Important enough to get invited to your coronation.” Rototom replied with confidence.

Silk paused for a moment, no way she was going to believe my sister. “Oh my apologies, I've been so forgetful lately.” A wide smile formed on Silks face and one of her mirage pony survants stepped forward and shook Rototoms hoof. “Forgetting that I ordered for minstrels, so silly of me! I however am glad that you have arrived. But... where are your instruments?”

“A sad case, really.” Rototom sighed dramatically. “On our way here, it was lost in transit. Truly a tragedy, but there is a silver lining. My dear cousin can play most classical string instruments, and if you have any to spare, I promise you she will make this a coronation to remember!”

“Classical string?” A nod came from Silk, and she pointed the far end of the room where there was a stage and podium. “We have our old lyra. I was going to have my youngest sister play it, the only thing she was good for to be quite honest. But, with her sadly still missing, I’m sure it could still be put to good use.”

Rototom gave her a bow. “We are most grateful.”

“If anything, I am generous.” Silk boosted. “But firstly, I'll need to see miss Glitter Spork perform. You see, I simply must make sure everything is perfect.”

I saw Harp swallow nervously as Silks eyes learned over at her. “I... I can do that.” Her voice quivered a bit as she nodded softly.

“That she can, along with our singer.” Rototom said, as she pointed at Sweet. “Miss Solo, are you ready to go on stage?”

Sweet straitened up in surprise, half a muffin in her mouth. She swallowed forcefully, following it with a glass of water. “Excuse me, say again?”

“I need you to get on stage and perform a song for Miss Silk.” Rototom told her “Glitter Spork will be playing the Lyra with you.”

“I see.” Sweet took a moment before nodding. “Any requests then?”

“I'm quite fond of Vera Lynn.” Temboril suggested, and Sweet cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, were you expecting some of DJ Cerberus's techno-mess?” With a sigh, Temboril pulled out a harmonica. “I’ll join in as well, so keep up with the beat Solo.”

“I don't know, it's an odd instrument choice. However, I’m curious enough I’d like to hear it.” Silk scratched her chin. “Vera Lynn has a few fans here at home. Of course, we do have a record of hers, signed by the late mare as well.”

Temboril trotted over to Harp, and whispered in her ear. “Just play along. Sorrow and Mayall are still out scouting the halls right now, so we just need to stall.” Harp nodded, and followed Temboril to the stage.

Rototom sat at one of the tables along with Silk. “Maid, go fetch me a glass of wine.” My sister command me. “And one for the soon-to-be Queen.”

I shared a glance with Silk’s two servants. They giving me a knowing look, sharing my irritation. I do not envy their day job in the slightest...

Two glasses of wine later, Temboril, Harp, and Sweet were on stage. Temboril was talking with them, showing her pipbuck and likely going over the song, Sweet still didn’t look happy about it, which didn’t really surprise me. Despite her tendency to draw attention to herself, she never did like being put on the spot.

After a minute, the three of them got into place, and Temboril started playing her harmonica. It was amplified by one of the microphones near the podium, and filled the whole hall with the tune. Sweets tapped along with the tempo for a moment before her voice joined Harp’s plucking of the lyra over the microphones.

That certain night
The night we met
There was magic abroad in the air
There were angels dining at the Ritz
And a nightingale sang in Canterlot square

I may be right I may be wrong
But I'm perfectly willing to swear
That when you turned and smiled at me
A nightingale sang in Canterlot square

Sweet voice carried through the ballroom, and was something that never ceased to amaze me. It was how, when she tried, she could match some of the mares from the old movies. She may not have the looks of Lilac Lace, but definitely had a voice like Vera Lynn.

The moon that lingered over London town
Poor puzzled moon he wore a frown
How could he know we two were so in love
The whole damned world seemed upside down

The streets of town were paved with stars
It was such a romantic affair
And as we kissed and said goodnight
A nightingale sang in Canterlot square.

Silk looked enthralled, her eyes closed as she slowly swayed with the music, and looking around, she was not the only one. All eyes were on her, no exceptions. Even Merit, who was watching the door, had become distracted by Sweet.

“So, what do you think?” Rototom asked Silk as the song ended.

“I like it, but it does not quite have that formal feel.” Silk said uncertainty. “How about I put you on hold. I know I ordered for a more traditional band, so let's see if they show up. If not, you will do I suppose. But now, it's time for me to move on. So much to do, you see.” Getting out of her seat, she yelled to the others on stage. “Encore, encore!” She clapped her hooves lightly before she trotted off to another table that was displaying an array of overly decorated cupcakes and muffins.

Rototom stretched herself a bit, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. ‘Bit of a bitch, bit idiot, and full on spoiled brat. Don’t you think?’ Her telepathy talisman came through clearly in my mind as she thought at me.

‘Yes, but don't you think it's dangerous for Harp to be on stage?’ I sent back using my own talisman.

‘She's fine.’ Rototom assured me with a light nod. ‘Nopony knows it’s her, and Sorrow should be back soon to provide the distraction. Just remember to slip out when the attention is on her.’ She finished off her glass of wine. ‘So, you mentioned nightmares earlier. If they get bad enough to bring them up, you should probably think about going to see a professional.’

I did my best to avoid eye contact with her, but it bothered me. It wasn’t the time to see if she was simply mocking me or not, so I had to assume she was serious. ‘I'm fine, or well, I will be once this is over.’

‘I know that feeling.’ Rototom pushed her glass away, and sighed. ‘You know, before all this shit with the pirates, and such, I was with Temboril on an investigation of the black market. The council had a bit of a scare with a new chill lab that sprung up. It got them thinking Mister Wizard had resurfaced.’

‘Mister Wizard?’ I telepathically asked.

‘Yeah. It's just a stage name from the wartime show the old ghoul staired in. Nopony knows his real name, and he probably had it erased after the old world ended.” Rototom scratched her chin. “The thing is, no pony’s seen the old ghoul in a very long time, but there's a standing order to search for him until confirmation that he is captured, or deceased. Every time the illegal chill distribution spikes, the council thinks Mr. Wizard might have set up another one of his factories. A pretty routine scare, but this lab was a bit more advanced in it’s setup than just your normal one.’

I picked up my sisters glass and took it back for a refill. ‘A factory, like back on the big island?’

‘Naw, bigger. Well, I mean more sophisticated, and built like a proper production line.’ Rototom explained as Sweet finished the song. ‘Well, long story short, Temboril and I found no sign of the old ghoul when we searched the place.’

‘Then what's the point of your story?’ I placed a new glass of wine in front of my sister.

She lifted the glass up, and took a sip. ‘Well, though we didn't find Mister Wizard, we came across a whole lot of bad shit. The worst was the child trafficking we found was being used to prop up the organ market. You think a liver would be expensive, but…’ She gave out a light shiver at that.

‘But it's the surgery that cost a lot of bits.’ Temboril cut in. ‘I'm sure you've found a dumping pit or two out on the big island.’ She took the glass of wine from Rototom. “Excuse me, madam.” Tipping her head back, she downed the whole glass of wine in one go. ‘I considered myself conditioned for such horrors, ready to take on anything. Nopony is ready to see a mound of dead foals.’

‘I get it.’ I relented. ‘When we're done here, I’ll check myself in. Frankly, I might be going crazy as it is.’

‘I agree.’ Sweet butted it. ‘You’ve been far more trigger happy then you’ve ever been.’ She sat at the table, holding out a bottle of wine. ‘And you didn't even have your eyes scooped out.’

“Mam, would you like a glass?” I asked Sweet.

She looked at me, back at the bottle, and then back at me “Right, a glass, go for it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Just a moment.” Picking up two more glasses I felt somepony getting a bit too close to me.

“He-helo.I d-don’t remember seeing you around.” A stallion said with a slight wheeze. It was Silver Circlet, whom was awkwardly propping himself on the table, nervous smiling at me. His icy blue eyes learn at me, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

“Sorry Sir, but I am currently busy. I'm sure other staff can help you.” I said, trying to be a polite as possible.

“I'm s-sure it can wait.” He placed a hoof on my shoulder, and I had to resist pulling out my revolver. “Right now I s-seem to having trouble adjusting my suit. If you could b-be so kind in helping me w-with that.” He had on a clean black suit, with a vibrant purple vest, purple tie, and a purple handkerchief tucked away in his chest pocket.

“I’m sure it can wait.” I had to remind myself that it was a bad idea to punch Harps nephew, but it didn’t make it any less tempting. “Just as I'm sure that you don't need any help with your suit.”

I pulled away from him, but he cut me off. “C-confident, aren’t you? I like th-that. A mare w-who takes charge, just like m-mother.”

Oh fuck no, I was not going to have this kind of talk with some prissy stallion. “Excuse me, sir, but I need to get back to my employer.”

“I’ll p-pay d-double. I am a p-prince after all.” He still had nervous looking smile, but I was starting to the feeling that it was an involuntary tick, and not something as simple as nervousness.

“I'm sure you can.” Harp spoke up.

I looked over and was surprised to find myself staring right at the undisguised form of Harp. She stood confidently, wearing the same purple dress on her that she'd had on when I first met her. For a moment, I was in full panic mode before I glanced back over at the table. There, the disguised Harp was still sitting, seeming just as confused as I was to see herself show up out of nowhere. Returning my attention to the ‘normal’ looking ‘Harp’, I had to assume it was actually Sorrow. From behind her, Merit and Mayall stepped up and took their places at her sides. Mayall herself was wearing my gas mask, which stuck out like a sore hoof in the room. So to me, it was strange seeing that everypony else around had so far been perfectly happy to ignore her entire existence.

“Aunty Harp, I heard you were missing.” Silver Circlet straightened up. “Glad to see that it was greatly exaggerated.”

“No thanks to your mother.” Sorrow narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of which, where is she?”

“Where she always is of course, entertaining some important guest or another.” He rolled her eyes. “But, she should arrive here soon.”

“Good, then I’ll wait here for her.” Sorrow pointed at the table where the others were still uncomfortably seated. “Would you care to join us?”

Silver Circlet eyes looked from the table, to Sorrow, to me, and then back to the table. “Alright, Mother did want to know if you were to show up.” Happily, he trotted over to the table while Sorrow and I held back a moment.

‘I found a room for you to hide Harp before taking her to her mother.’ Sorrow glanced at me as her telepathic voice buzzed in my head. With a small nod, she turned and to trotted over to the table with Silver.

Joining them at the table, I brought over an extra set of wine glasses, and of course another bottle of wine. Harp looked quite comfortable as she was flanked by both Rototom, and by Sweet. All that was important right now was keeping the princess safe from her nephew while we waited for our moment. Temboril was the one distracting Silver Circlet at the moment, chatting him up about something I didn't care to eavesdrop on.

‘When do we get moving?’ I asked as I glanced over to my sister.

‘Soon.’ Rototom thought back at me. ‘Just keep playing along, we’re just waiting for the biggest trouble maker to show up first.’ Trotting over, I poured another glass of wine for my sister, whom then nodded to Temboril.

Temboril lifted her glass to me, and I poured her some wine as well. ‘We’re going to wait for Silver Majesty, who’s of course, always fashionably late. But, she's pulling a lot of strings right now, meaning keeping her distracted should give Harp time to talk with the Queen without interruptions.’ I finished pouring the glass, and she gave me a smile and nod. ‘So, when we give you the sign, follow Mayall out of here and keep your eyes peeled.’

“So, Aunty Harp, what happened to you out there?” Silver Lining asked Sorrow. I saw Harp open her mouth, only to close it quickly.

“Lots of things, Circlet.” Sorrow responded, “I was able to visit the Pineapple Island’s Market, and toured one of Orthrus’ airships. Which by the way was so fascinating. You should go see them sometime, it’s quite the sight to see firsthoof.”

Silver Circlet rolled his eyes. “How is v-visiting anything maintained by m-mutts a fun thing? They just dirty everything they touch.” He them quickly looked around and leaned in. “However, is it true there's a c-club called the lucky rabbit's foot?”

“Mhmm!” Sorrow nodded and let out a conceited giggle, “and they do wear these funny little bunny suits.”

“Ah-hem.” A pony in a tan uniform caught our attention. “Sir Silver Circlet, your mother is here. Please make room, or find a new table.” The soldier said sternly.

Rototom cleared her throat. “Spork Dear, can you go check our luggage?”

Sweet got out of her seat. “I’ll go with her.”

The guard eyed me. “You, got get two wine glasses, and a bottle of red.” I nodded, and trotted off to the drink table.

From the doorway we had come in at, Harp and Sweet had joined Merit and Mayall. The four of them paused, waiting for me. Taking the two glasses, and a bottle, I returned to the table. As I approached, an older mare with an oxygen tank was being rolled in on a wheelchair to the table.

My guess was that this was Silver Majesty. The mare was all white in her coat and mane, but her eyes were a striking ice blue. Like herself, her dress was a radiant and pure white, with the exception of a purple flowered brooch, and a pair of purple jet earrings.

Standing next to her was a red coated pony with a silver mane, and who wore a dress that was red with silver trim… ‘Fuck, Red Steel is here!’ I shouted over my telepathy talisman.

‘Yeah, I can see that.’ Rototom asked back. “what's she doing here?”

Placing the glasses and bottle down, I gave Red another glance. Disturbingly, she gave me a little wave back. ‘don’t know, but we did tell you what she did, right?’ I thought out to the others.

‘Sweet filled us in on the details.’ Temboril answers. ‘But as long as they think Harp is here, it will buy us some time.’

Silver Majesty brought her breath mask to her face, and inhaled deeply before speaking. “Harp, sister… it is good to see you well.” I swear she held back a sneer. “I hope you had fun on your adventure.”

“More than I thought I would.” Sorrow answered. “But let's not talk about me, I'm amazed to see Lady Red Steel here.”

“Oh you know,” Majesty smiled. “new friends, new surprises.” Her eyes drifted to Silver Circlet. “So, my son, what do you think? She is considerably fetching, is she not?”

Circlet now looked properly nervous. “y-yes mother, she most certainly is.” He looked like he shrank a little when he answered. Red did seem to have that effect on particularly weak willed ponies.

I looked from Silver Circlet, to his mother, then to Red. Red was busying herself with eyeing over me. The slight smile on her lips made me feel uneasy enough that I didn’t want to risk her figuring things out. That is, if she hadn’t already.

‘I think I better get going.’ I said to the others.

‘Yeah, good idea.’ Temboril commanded. ‘With her here, we likely have less time than we thought.’

Trotting away, I joined Harp and the others. They all looked concerned with this surprising turn of events. With Mayall leading the way, we exited the party room, and quickly trotted down the hallway. A few ponies looked our way, but none stopped us or made any effort to see if we even belonged here.

Actually, other then the guards at the stable door, and the soldier at the party room, I had seen no other pony working security. It was all just maintenance staff, and a few nobles with their servants. Which of course, meant they wouldn’t even consider looking in our direction in the first place. Stopping at a door after rounding a corner, Mayall hit a button, and it hissed open.

“In here, no ponies using it.” Trotting inside as she spoke, Mayall hit the lights and closed the closed the door behind us. “I dropped your things in here.”

Despite our supplies being somewhat limited, what we brought wasn’t all that insignificant. I was still amazed that Mayall had snuck all of it in so easily. It helped that some of it was boxed up, mainly Sweets auto shotgun. But without any ammo, it was about as effective as a club. Which don’t get me wrong, could still be useful against some of these nobles to subdue them. And the three air rifles we had, even though I would have liked to have them ready on us, it would likely spook the locals into calling security. Harp’s drone, Order, sat quietly on the floor. It still had a few scorch marks, likely from taking a few hits from the Twittermites, but should still function well enough.

Looking around the room, it looked like it hadn’t seen a pony visit in a long time. A thick layer of dust covered everything, enough so that it reminded me a little too much of the bunker we’d stayed at before. A workbench tipped me off to what this room was once used for. The pipbuck maintenance tools, and pipbuck schematic book were covered in the same layer of dust as everything. Which actually brought that realization to my attention. Other then some of the maintenance staff, I didn't see any ponies in this stable with pipbuck on.

My gaze fell onto Harp, who looked back at me with heavy concern in her eyes.

“They’re going to be alright, right?” She asked.

“They know what they’re doing.” I nodded. “And remember, the plan is to keep eyes on them as we go see the queen.”

“So how much time you think we have then?” Merit asked.

“I don’t know,” Harp looked at her pipbuck, and shook her head. “with just my sister, maybe an hour at best. But Red already knew we had disguise talismans. I would bet she’ll figure out we’re here sooner than later.”

“Let's just focus on getting to the Queen.” I had to agree that Red being here added a hole new problem, but it might explain how Silver Relief got back here. “I'm sure whatever Majesty is plotting with Red, your mother is not going to approve. Now, get your things packed and you can take us to her.”

My eyes scanned the room some more, stopping at a few mid sized boxes stacked on top of each other. Opening up one, I dumped the contents out onto the floor, sending up a small plume of dust. A few tools and a roll of duct tape were all that had been inside, but none of them were important. Sliding the empty case to Harp, she looked a bit confused.

“It's for the air rifle,” I told her, and she lifted up her rifle and cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at the tools. “break the rifle down, and put it inside.”

“I’ve got it.” Sweet jumped in, taking the rifle from her “You focus on getting us to the queen.”

Harp nodded. “I already know a way.” she turned on her pipbuck and clicked a few buttons. With a flicker, Order turned back on, and the small drone quickly hovered up into the dusty stale air. “I used to take this route when I wanted to avoid my family. Though, most of the time it was just Majesty I wanted to avoid.” A weak smile parted her lips for a moment as she recounted her memories of it. “The staff would cover for me when I hid from her. The only pony that could find me was Stratus.” With that, her eyes became downcast as she clicked through her pipbuck. “She would always offer me pudding to get me out of hiding. She’d tell me things would be alright.”

“Because they will be.” I said to Harp, dumping out two more tool boxes. “But not because of anypony else. You’re the one who is going to do make everything alright. Trust me, once you talk with your mother, I think Majesty will be the one hiding from you.”

“Thanks,” A little smile formed on her face again. “I guess we should go then, before some pony checks in here.”

I nodded just before Sweet threw my rifle over to me. I quickly broke it down, and placed the pieces inside of the tool box. The toolbox looked a bit odd hooked onto my saddle bag straps, but it was better than just having the rifle hanging out right now. The case with Sweet’s auto shotgun was placed back in Mayall’s care, whom seemed not all pleased with being treated as our pack pony.

Stepping out first to see if the way was clear, I then waved Harp through. Merit, Sweet, and Mayall followed by with as light of hoofsteps as they could manage. Alright, now that we’re ready, this was going to be the trickiest part to get right.

‘You take point,’ Sweet spoke telepathically. ‘I’ll cover our flank, like always.’

I trotted up to Harp, as Sweet fell back. Merit and Mayall took the center. Further into the Stable, less ponies were out in the halls, making things a lot more quiet, bit it made us all more visible to anypony who simply glanced our way.. The tapestries now gave way to long murals painted on the walls, similar to the one outside the hotel.

“So, what was it like living here?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Suffocating.” Harp said with a sigh. “I mean I love it here, and I love my family. Despite what you’ve seen and experienced, they’re not as insufferable as everypony thinks.”

“And what about Golden Rule?” I asked as I tried to muffle my annoyance for the despicable stallion.

Harp stayed quiet for a few seconds before continuing. “I… believed he saw himself in the right. They all.. we all would have likely done something similar. We're expected to stand above other, and if we make a decision, it must be followed through with absolute certainty, or our authority is compromised. It's what mother always said to us; that a good ruler does not always mean a kind ruler. If you cannot fully follow through on your authority, then you have no authority.”

I glanced over at Harp, seeing her eyes were downcast again. “And you have nether the right to rule, or any authority, right?”

“I’m a princess in name only.” She looked up at me, a week smile on her face. “It's like having a BB gun, when everypony has proper rifles. I was raised to rule, just like my brothers and sisters. To be a noble and royal pony who maintained order, to keep ponykind civilized and at peace. Yet, that will not happen, because I have no right to it. I'm expected to be at the masquerade ball, but to never dance.”

“Masquerade?” I had to ask.

Harps smile lightened a little. “Like I said, my family is not that bad. They are just taught to keep up a strong front, a mask to hide behind so you never show weakness. It's why nopony has seen mother, it's to protect everypony. As long as nobody sees mother in her weakened state, then in the minds of everypony, they only ‘see’ her when she was at her strongest.”

Harp saw the confused looked on my face, and continued. “It’s... something mother told me years ago, about the years leading up to when she became queen. Her mother, my grandmother and the queen of that time, fell ill. And at first, things we're fine if a bit tense, just like things are now. Well, when the queen finally was well and willing enough to address our family, it became clear that she was dying.” Harp let out another sight, and shook her head in disappointment. “All the plotting and planning her own family did, the thought of the queen living for a few more years was only thing ever holding it all back. The moment she showed them that wasn’t going to happen, her mask was shattered, and everypony’s scheming became action.”

“The Orphic bloodbath.” I said, remembering reading it in a book years ago.

“It's why Silver Majesty uses a wheelchair most of the time.” Harp nodded. “One of mother's uncle’s tried to poison her food, but Majesty had stolen a bite of it first and ended up in a coma for a year. So I ‘ve been told. By the time Majesty woke up, Mother had killed nearly half of the family, and forced the rest to accept her as the new queen. And all that happened before my grandmother actually died of her illness.”

“And all of that happened because they saw the queen weakened?” It didn't sound far fetched, but I’d at least presumed that the book I’d read had exaggerated some bits. To me, it was a bit extreme to go through all of that just because you saw somepony as weaker than normal.

She continued. “And it was not just my family who suffered, but the staff, and the peasants too. They all relied on the queen as a pillar of strength. And when that piller they relied on for stability cracked, everypony panicked. It wasn’t as bad as what happened between my family. But from what Stratus told me, her grandfather, the former royal guard captain, had to deal with a spike in drunkenness and crime that bordered on full scale riots.”

“Alright, I think I get it.” Group psychology was not something I was all that knowledgeable on, though Orthrus did drill us to be stoic on the job. Something about the appearance of calm helped to keep other ponies around us calm. “So then, you left to get away from the masquerade?”

“I don't think it was that.” Harps eyes drifted upwards, washing over the ceiling that had been painted to look like a mildly cloudy sky. “That was the life I had grown up in, and only Majesty really went out of her way to remind me of my place in the family. If anything, it was the servants that made things hard for me.”

“What?” I had to do a double take. “How so?”

She rolled her eyes. “You heard what they called me. The Mirage Pony Princess. Well, they somehow got it in their mind that I was somepony special, that I could be queen. It caused friction among the staff, drove Stratus up the wall as they started bickering. Well, as you know rumours travel fast, and my family caught wind of these arguments. I don’t think they’d ever considered it before, but it was then that they started to see my existence as a threat.”

We turned a corner, and entered a room filled with water tanks, as well as a few ponies keeping an on some gauges. One old and round pony, stopped when they were doing, and trotted over to us. Before he could speak, Sweet cut him off.

“Worry not,” She offered a stern yet dismissive snort at him. “we are just passing through on an official royal request, and are too busy to stop.”

The old pony eyed us as we passed by, but didn’t make any move to stop us. Moving onward, we passed what was likely a water distillation room before we entered a stairwell. Following Harp, I couldn't help but pry for more information about her.

“So you left, because ponies wanted you to be the queen?” I asked as we started our way upwards.

“If only it was as simple as just that.” Harp took a hard step climbing the stairs, the thud from her hoof echoing in the stairwell. “No, all my siblings have their supporters. But from among the Mirage pony’s, who are normally unaligned, they were whispers of a coup. They spoke of installing me on the throne, and putting the rest of my family on the sword. Oh, and the best part, is that it was obvious that I’d only be Queen in name only, a puppet for them to pull the strings of.”

“So when Majesty gave me the opportunity to leave, I took it.” We reached the top of the stairs, and with it, a door that lead further into the stable. Harp looked back at me, hesitating with a worried look in her eyes. “With mother withdrawing from the throne, and Stratus rooting out the tractors, it was the only way. In one move, I saw fit to remove myself as the traitors keystone, as well as to help keep my siblings from plotting another bloodbath. But I might have miscalculated my solution, and only helped to lead my family into something far worse.” I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, but something in her eyes told me that there was no convincing her that she was not partially responsible for the pirates being here.

“Then let's finish the mission,” I offered to her instead. “and drive these outsiders out of our homes. Once they’re gone, you family and the islands themselves will be free to go back to the way things once were.”

Harp nodded and opened the door. Through it, we walked into a plain and undecorated grey room. It held flat empty walls, without paint or fancy tapestries like the others had. There were two ponytrons sitting in their deployment pods that were connected to a large terminal. A Mister Helper bot floated in front of the green glowing screen, watching it intently seemingly uninterested in our arrival.

A red painted securitron stepped out of it’s pod with a hiss, and turned to us. “This is a restricted area. Turn back or die.” The robot robot commanded in a deep tinny voice as the energy weapons on it started to glow and power up. “You have ten seconds to comply.”

“Sir Galahad stand down,” Harp dropped her disguise and took a step forward. “it's just me, Princess Harp Melody.”

“Lady Harp,” The robots red lights flickered for a second, and the energy hardpoints darkened. “it brings light to my day to see you well. I had become worried at word of your leaving us. I hope your travels have been safe.” The robot then looked over at the rest of us and back to Harp. “You as always, are permitted to pass. I’m afraid however that the rest must leave, or I am programed to turn them into a fine red dust.”

“Please don’t, they are my friends.” Harp said camly. “I ask that you stand down, as they are not here to hurt anypony.”

“Yes of course, my lady. However, I regret to inform you that I still can't let them in, as it is against my core programing.” Galahad turned to Order, and its energy weapons powered up, growing more intense than when it had been targeting us. “Orthrus tech is one hundred percent barred past this point.”

“Stupid robot hates other stupid robot.” Mayall snorted, somehow.

“Warning!” Galahad's light flashed. “Number of trespassers has increased by one! Biosignature unknown!” The robot pointed it's guns at Mayall, and the surprised lurker took a step back, hiding behind Merit.

“Calm down, Galahad, she's harmless.” Harp paused. “Well, mostly harmless.” The securitron lowered it's guns with Harps words. “Here, let me talk with Gareth, his programing is a bit more adaptable.”

“This is allowed.” Galahad's light dimmed for a moment. “Standing down.” The large red robot slowly backed up, but it's red light face kept watch over us.

The mister helper floated away from the terminal, and over to Harp. One of its three eyes swiveled on it’s stalk to look looked down at her. Somehow, in a way I couldn’t quite explain, that one eye held enough of an expression to it to come across as looking happy as it realized it was Harp in front of it.

“Lady Harp Melody! So pleasant to see you returned to us.” It spoke in a friendly, and polygon manner, reminding me of a butler. “I do hope that you’ve been eating well in your absence. I hear that some of the food outside of the stable can be downright dreadful for your health. Also, if I may ask you to clarify an error, sir Bedivere and sir Lucan have reported to me that you also seem to currently be down in the ballroom. Can you explain how is it that you're in two places right now?”

“She's a body double Gareth.” Harp chuckled. “While everypony is distracted by her, I need to talk with my mother, the queen. It is of the utmost importance, you see.” The tone in her voice dropped, the cherryness slowly fading. “I do not wish to wear on her, but from the outside, I bring both grave news, and heartbreaking news.”

“I see.” Gareth responded. “But these outsiders cannot step into the royal chambers. The guard captain would have us dismantled if that were to happen.”

“That's one of the things I need to talk to mother about.” Harps eyes became downcast as she spoke the words. “Like I said I have heartbreaking news.”

“Sorry my lady, but I do not under…” Gareth paused for a moment, and the gears inside the old Mister Helper whirred and clicked. “You must agree to leave the Orthrus drone, and everypony here must drop their disguises. Only then, you may take oneunarmed outsider with you.” Gareth floated out of the way as one of its eyes lowering down, looking to imitate a respectful bow.

Harp breathed deeply, exhaling slowly. Her head turned, and her eyes met mine. She didn't need to ask, because I understood that this was as good as it was going to get. This was our best shot, and we didn’t come all this way not to take it.

Dropping my disguise, I addressed the others. “Sweet, please don't go killing Mayall wile Harp and I meet the Queen.”

“Me, harm the trotting abomination?” Sweet feigned shock. “Well, I never!” She let out another mock gasp as I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her.

“Don’t worry,” Merit chucked. “I think we will be on our best behavior with that big robot watching us.”

“With any luck, we shouldn’t be long.” Harp said as she trotted passed Gareth, and I followed behind her. As we approached, the door ahead of us opened up automatically.

Much of the stable was impressive, but I was a bit dumbfounded by the wide hallway we had just stepped into. Not just was there plenty of room around us, but also above. The expansive hallway was at least double the height and width of your average stable-tec hallway. Covering the walls themselves was a deep red sheet, with a large purple ribbon draped on Golden hooks in front of it. The normal stable doors were painted to look like a dark brown wood, with Golden embroidered patterns of trees painstakingly and intricately applied.

The floor and ceiling’s weren’t exempt from lavish decadence either. Each one looked to be made of a single, long slab of white polished marble. Breaking up the flatness of it were half orbs of light that each looked a bit like a miniature shimmering sun. At the end of the ornate hallway was a large door with a platinum crown embroidered on it.

“Got to say, this is impressive.” I commented.

“Well it is based on Canterlot architecture, down to the marble.” Harp Bosted. “Also, stable fifty is actually a sister stable to stable one, the stable made for Celestia and Luna. My ancestor Majesty had stable-tec copy stable one for her on the island. We even have a vault full of canterlot artifacts, Including a big old painting of Majesty and Applebloom. I don’t know how true it is, but Majesty might have been a big investor of Stable-Tec.”

“Well the war did bring a lot of ponies to Stable-Tec” I commented. “A royal looking to get first class tickets to surviving the end of the world, makes a lot of sense to me.”

We stopped at the doors at the end of the grand hall. It opened up on it’s own as well, letting out a light hissing as the large door lifted slowly. Standing in front of us through the open doorway, was two more robots. A green and gold painted Mister Gutsy, and a silver plated assaultron.

Harp looked at the too and smiled. “Miss Vibraphone, let me introduce you to these two.” She pointed to the mister gutsy, “This is Sir Gawain,” Her hoof moved to the assaultron, “And Sir Lancelot.”

“It's a pleasure to meet a friend of our dear lady Melody.” Gawain bowed, speaking with a stern, yet caring voice.

“I wish our meeting was under better circumstances, but still, it's an honor my lady.” Lancelot had a fare more smooth voice, reminding me of some of the old movie stars from the wartime movies. “Now if you may, the queen is waiting for you.”

The robots moved out of the way, and we trotted inside. The room was much like the hallway before, but standing in the center of it was a large desk. Above the desk was a large glowing orb, radiating light that was soft and comforting. Behind the desk was another of the robot terminals, but this one looked bigger overall for some reason. To one side of the room, was a large round window with a chair and coffin table next to it, both were covered in books. On the complete opposite side, were four ponies. One of them was tucked into an extraordinarily large and exceptionally plush bed, and the other three standing at the edge of it.

Two of the ponies were in conservative maid uniforms, one was a unicorn, and the other a mirage pony. The third pony however, was a tall azure coated unicorn mare that rivaled Silk Carnation in beauty. Her flowing silver mane would glint with thin strands of gold, it accentuated the silver trim on her simple yet flawless purple dress. The only thing that took away from her knockout look, were the thickest glasses I had ever seen in my life. It was almost like it were a joke to have something so offputting on somepony so stunning.

“Rare Pearl.” Harp took a step forward. “Sister, how is mother?”

“Cancer of the blood. We don't know how long she has, but we know it's not long.” Her voice had a sorrowful softness to it. However, like most of Harp’s other siblings, it also still held a maturity that you didn’t expect from a family that fights as often as they do. “So, you said you have dire news, heartbreaking even?” Rare Pearl removed her glassed as she turned toward Harp, revealing pale blue eyes with heavy dark bags under them. “If you just came here to complain about Majesty, I will not be pleased.”

“I… we…” Harp took another deep breath. “I don't know where to start.”

A chuckle came from the bed. “Look Pearl, you’ve scared your sister and now she's going to stammer the whole message.” The voice of Gilded Gold was strained, yet dignified. “This is why you haven't picked up a decent stallion, my dear Pearl.”

“Mother! Can we not do this now?” Rare Pearl put on a stunned face as she blushed while struggling to place her glasses back on. “I mean, you must try to conserve your energy.”

Harp and I stepped up to the bed to see that Guilded Gold was indeed the pony I’d seen tucked into it. She was an older mare, with a sun yellow coat, and a long braided gold mane that was showing signs of graying.

“So, you went and finally met Phorminx?” Gilded Gold sat upright, eyes both Harp and I. “Does he still have that save charm like he was from an old spy movie or what have you?” she chucked, which devolved into painful strained coughing.

“H-how do you know?” Harp’s look of confusion was not lost on me, but I let it happen. I didn’t want to step in on her family affairs, at least, not if I didn’t have to.

“My darling, I’m not the queen simply because I wear a crown on my head and sit on a throne.” She took a moment to force herself to take a deeply pained breath. “I keep an eye on every noble, every royal, and make sure that they know that they only have freedom because I allow it. Phorminx may have turned the Specters into the metro’s greatest agents, but that’s only because he learned that from me. Even now, my spy network is solid, down to knowing about the training program Phorminx had you run thru.”

I felt my blood boil, a deep anger. “And yet…”

“Then tell me, Why is Red Steel in this stable?” Harp cut me off, her own voice carrying a deep anger in it. “If you know, how could you let somepony like her into our home?”

Rare Pearl took a step forward aat us, but stopped when Gilded Gold raised her hoof. “Trust me, I know about the outsider, and already know that Majesty is trying to give Silver Cricket away to her to foster an alliance. A foolish endeavor, I know. Your sister, Majesty, has always been bold in her ambition. But she is too eager to grab power before she knows what to do with it, and that’s why she will never be queen. Even now, in my current state, she is still firmly in the palm of my hoof.”

I went to speak again, but Harp leaned on me.

“Let me guess, mother,” She let herself be held up by my body as she took a deep breath. “you dispatched the royal guard to drag Golden Rule home, leaving Silver Majesty an opening to make her move so you could trap both in their attempts to take control.” Harp rebalanced herself, lifting herself back off of me and steadily onto her hooves. “Same how you let the traitors fester, even if in the end, it meant that I became isolated.”

“Child, don't dare to presume you know more than your own mother.” Queen Gilded Gold crossed her hooves. “Or do I need you to be re-educated about how harsh this world is? We are not just simple ponies, we are the very foundations of society and order.” Her glare, it was like a heavy stone on my back, forcing me to look away for a moment. “Once Stratus Dancer returns with my son, it will be time to put Majesty back in her place, along with all of her co-conspirators. After they have been all brought to heel, Rare Pearl here will take my place as queen. Though young as she may be, she at least understands her place, and will not get our family killed by the savage peasants.”

Harp took a step back, the look on her face downcast once more. “They’re not coming.” The words fell from her mouth with a cold resignation.

“That is correct!” Gilded Gold said with confidence. “Your attempt to bring Orthrus into the stable had failed before it ever started.” Her eyes softened as she looked at Harp. “I did have high hopes for you, you must believe me on that, my child. But it’s clear that there is too much of your father in you. An excellent orator, a pony who could lead an army to the gates of Tartarus would she only be willing.” She gazed off to the large window, looking like she was peeing somewhere far away, longingly. “It was charming, at first, but the longer he was around me, the more I understood.”

“Understand what?” Harp asked, her confidence quickly fading.

The queen chackled. “That he never could accept his place in the world. You do understand this my daughter, despite how high the pedestal he stands on, he is nothing more than a peasant. Orthrus and the Republic, it’s absurd how they claim to be the rightful authority in the metro, don’t you agree? Such bold and reckless claims, all without one ounce of noble blood behind them.” Guilded’s expression hardened as she gave a cold glare at Harp. “I had hoped that my blood would be stronger in you, that seeing the peasants for what they are would steel your resolve as part of our noble family. Yet here I am, once again proved wrong about you.” She turned her gaze, casting an indifferent glance across the room from us. “So what do you say to this, my foalish young daughter?”

A moment passed in silence. Harp shared a fleeting glance with me as the both of us understanded exactly what was going on.

“Mother,” Harp’s words were just above a whisper. Taking another deep breath, she was attempting to gather and project what confidence she still had. “My Queen,” Gilded Gold’s ears turned and focused intently onto Harp, even if she didn’t shift her gaze one iota. “I have dire news. The republic plans to go to war. They have stockpiled weapons in which to dominate the islands, weapons we could not hope to fight against on our own. But the Orthrus Group seeks an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom, an alliance that is our only chance to suppress the Republic’s hostilities. If the Republic are not stopped at their island, then the situation will become grim.”

A short pause from Harp came with no comments, just the watchful eye of the queen.

“In Recent Heartbreaking news, Uncale Minted Coin, Brother Golden Rule, as well as Royal Guard Captain Stratus Dancer have been killed.” Harp continued. “The two former by assassination, and the later fell in the line of duty to ensure I could make it back here. The perpetrators were the invading outsiders, and struck in a raid that caught the royal guard by surprise.”

The room fell quite, Rare Pearl looked to her mother, who pulled out a holo-recorder. With a crisp click, she pressed a small green play button. The staticy recording filled the air, and the voice of Stratus Dancer hit our ears. “Your majesty, I hope you find yourself well. We are still cleaning up the mess that Golden Rule had left behind, so we will be back much later than planned. I also have more bad news, the young Princess, Harp Melody, has fallen into the hooves of Orthrus. She passed through New Canterlot not long ago, where she attempted to assassinate her brother, along with two Orthrus Specters. I managed to prevent the assassination, but failed to stop her from fleeing. Be warned that she may be under Orthrus influence, and must be detained.” The recording stopped, and silence once more fell onto the room.

Harps look of disbelief filled me with anger, and made me want to pummel Red Steel’s face into nothing by bloody pulp. “Th, thats a lie, all lies.” Harp growled.

“How so!” Rare Pearl raised her voice. “We received this message from one of mothers most trusted agents.” She shook her head. “We have been having your movements tracked from they moment you left the stable Harp Melody, there's nothing you have not don’t that we don’t know about.”

I watched as Harps lips quivered as she fought to stay calm. “Then your agents are compromised, there's no way that was Stratus, I saw her die!” Tears formed in her eyes. “Please, you got to believe me. You need to act now, stop Majesty, and form an alliance with Orthrus.”

“Again and again, you disappoint me. You should have just stayed in your room like a good filly, and all of this would have never happen” Gilded Gold sighed “I have already had your cohorts detained, and sent to your room, sir Lancelot will escort you two there as well. You will wait for Stratus to return, and face punishment. As for the rest of you, you will be deported back to Friendly Island, and banned from ever setting hoof within the this kingdom again. Also, you are to leave all talismans and weapons with the robots, or you will be executed on the spot.”

That was it. I could see it in Gilded Gold’s eyes that we had failed. It was the look of a pony so certain that they were right, that they were so infallibly in charge of their situation. It was the same look that Andromeda had before removing Sweets wings and eyes. Claranet had something similar as well when she’d talked about how good the republic was. Harmon Keys also had that look too. So certain of his position, at least, right up until he was turned to dust.

There was no use in fighting this now, we would not win Gilded Gold’s opinion.

“Harp, let's go.” I spoke up. “It's clear that the queen made up her mind long before we ever arrived.” I passed my bags to Gawain, who then shook his claw and power up the energy weapon stowed in his body. I sighed, hoofing over my Lunar Eclipse to the damned robot as well.

Turning to the door, I looked back at the queen. “You know, I hope for your family's sake, that at least some of you will survive what is to come. Because under the hoof of the Republic’s equality machine, there will be no room for secrets and lies. This game you all are playing. Well, as mindless drones you won't need it.”

Trotting to the door, I was followed by a dejected Harp. I couldn't help but feel that at every turn, at every victory in sight, some pony had always beaten us to that goal. The feeling of failure was a hard pill to swallow, but at least I had a new goal.

I needed to get Harp out of here, along with everypony else. And if somepony tried to get in my way? Well, they were going to be a dead pony.

For some reason, with that thought, a cold feeling ran around my neck. I shivered as it persisted, even though I’d thought I’d finally been rid of it. But it felt like it was here to stay this time around, and worse than ever.

_______________________________________

My room was as I’d left it what felt like ages ago, but now colder. The once comforting walls that protected me from the horrible outside world of the stable, now felt oppressive. They were bleak, oppressive, and felt like there were now trapping me inside this stable like a prison. A gilded cage for the others and I as we wait for our execution, either by the invading Republic, or by mother herself.

Vibraphone had a dead mare’s stare all the way back to my room. The moment we got in, it immediately tipped off the others that things didn't quite go our way. However, the fact that they’d all been stripped of their possessions and locked in here before we’d arrived mant that they’d probably already figured that out. It made me worried that Vibraphone was going to attempt something drastic if something didn’t change soon.

It was all almost to much for me. I wanted to cry, to throw myself onto my bed and wail. Yet, I didn't. One thing ran through my head, like a song you couldn't stop humming. Phorminx was right. I loved my family, and I want to save them, but did they even want to be saved by me? I could have just left this all behind, started a new life with the father I never knew I had.

Still, I had to do something. Maybe, just maybe I still could. The keystone to all this had to be Silver Majesty. Without her, the outsiders may be stalled long enough for Mother and Rare Pearl to finally get the truth into their hooves.

I had a good feeling that doing anything now would just force their hoof, and make me their enemy. I hated them for that, but I loved them even more. However, it was out of that love that maybe it was time to let them go.

The door hissed open, and sir Galahad rolled in.

“Wait here, prisoners.” As the robot entered, he escorted Rototom, Temboril, and Sorrow into the room with us. “Try anything, and you die.”

They gave me a less then happy smile, likely having figured out as well that we had failed on their way here.

Getting up off my bed, I nudged Mayall to get her attention. The odd lurker-pony gave me a confused look, and I motioned for her to follow me. Slowly, I trotted up to the new’ prisoners’ and Galahad.

“My lady,” He looked down at me, shining his red light on my face. “It's not my place to judge you, so worry not. However if it may calm you any, I will ask for the guard captain to be merciful to you.”

“Thanks, Galahad.” I took a deep breath, subtley waving for Mayall to come over. “It is comforting, and I appreciate the thought.” Concentrating, I gathered magic into me. “I wish that your recommendation was something they would take into account, but I don’t think they will.” Tears started to well up in my eyes as I focused myself, and the warm magics I possessed gathered through my legs from the ground. I breathed in the magic, felt it caressing my mouth and my nose. I could even feel it on my ears and my tail. “But Stratus is gone, and we will never see her again.”

The magic gathered into my chest and pumped through my veins. Galahad's voice cracked and sputtered as he spoke. “My… Lady… What… are… you… doing?”

“I’m sorry, Galahad. Truely, I am.” My tears could couldn’t be held back anymore as the blurriness of them were replaced by a strong shimmer. “But I'm going to play Majesty's game.” Looking over at Mayall, she gave me a nodd. “And I'm going to kill her!”

I placed my hoof on Mayall, and the air tingled as a single spark of magical energy jumped from me to her. For a split second everything became calm, and then with a blinding flash, the lights went out.

Galahad's lights went out.

____________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Fail: Orpheus and Eurydice

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (under control)

Chapter 44 - The Weeping Pegasus

Everything felt… off.

I tried to remember what had happened, but there was an annoying hole in my memory. Thinking back, I was following Redsteel, Harp was clinging to me, helping me trot due to the loss of another of my forelegs. She was physically unharmed, fortunately, but the explosion of violence left her emotionally shaken. The fight, only Red and Majesty were meant to get involved, to die. Now, we walked away from a blood bath.

We…

I was alone, standing beside a body of water, and to my other side, the stable-tec graveyard.

“Why am I here?” I asked myself.

“You took a blow to the back of the head.” Charon’s cold windy voice called out from behind me. Turning around, Charon sat at a table, another skeleton sat opposite of her. Somehow I knew the other boney pony was a she, though unlike Charon, she looked to be made of half brilliantly blue ice. Also, unlike Charon, she didn't have a simple cloak, it looking thicker, with black fur coming out from inside the hood. “Come, you're not dead yet. Well, unless you ready to board my boat that is. The offer is always open.”

“I’m not ready.” Sighing, I trotted over. Now up close to it, I could see that the table was made of black bones. On the table was a chess board, the two in the middle of a game. “Let me see my sister.”

“I cannot do that, mortal.” Charon said coldly.

I slammed my hoof on the table. “Then she better fucking be alive!”

Charon moved a chess piece, unfazed by me. The other skeleton scratched her chin, and looked at me. “Should I sacrifice my pawn that's closer to enemy territory, or my knight that could take out her queen in two turns?” The half ice skeleton spoke with a breezy feminine voice.

“What? Who are you?” Was all I could bring myself to answer.

“I’m Hel, an old friend of Charon here.” She answered. “Now give me your answer. I also have a bishop that I can make a check with, or a Rook to block with. Which one should I sacrifice?”

I frowned. I disliked strategy games, especially ones like this. There were never my kind of fun. “I guess, none of them?”

“That would be reasonable, not losing a piece as I decimate my opponent.” Hel commented. “But, that would leave me predictable, easily controlled, and eventually losing this game before I could even get close to victory.”

I took my hoof off the table. “Sorry for the outburst, but I'm not here to play a board game. If Rototom is alive, then tell me, if not, let me talk to her.”

Hel moved the black knight, and Charon move her white rook to take out the black knight.

“She's no longer among the living.” Charon spoke, irritation in her cold voice. “But she is not here for me to send off.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Hel got out of her seat, and trotted over to me. “She means there's a problem.” The skeleton pony placed her hooves on either side of my head, and lifted me up. “Oh how marvelous, how long has it been, Charon? Can I have it?” Spinning me around a little, I saw that my body had not moved, only my head was in her hooves.

“Put it back.” Charon huffed. “Remember, mortals are not toys.”

“No fun.” Hel grumbled before putting my head back onto my shoulders.

I checked my neck, and everything was as it should be, other than the cold, dull pain that felt all to familiar now. “So then, where's my sister if not here?”

Charon lifted up the black knight chess piece from a box that held the discarded pieces. “That's the problem, I can only guess.” She tossed it at Hel, and Hel caught it. “But I have a good idea.”

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself. “Then tell me, if it wasn't because of me, would she still be alive?”

“I cannot tell you what I do not know for certain.” Charon finally looked at me. “But I can give you advice. Not like you’re in control of where your going anymore, but listen well all the same. The fool you met here before, the one I gave a ride, he will be the one to guide you.”

“Slowtrot? Didn't you have him dig into his own grave?” I asked.

She returned her attention back to the chessboard. “I only sent him into the direction he needed to go. But now it's time for you to wake up, as you must not linger in the land of the dead for long, or risk becoming a resident of it.”

With those words, everything faded bit by bit, until there was nothing.

_______________________________________________________

I hit cold metal floor. It actually felt good in contrast to the warm air, and my aching body. My neck was not just stiff, but also had the dull cold burning that would not go away. My back also felt like pins and needles, nothing major, but enough to make me feel concerned.

Slowly getting myself up, my nose twitched at an odd smell in the air. Not off or wrong, currently not toxic, just very salty with a hint of burnt wood in the air. Opening my eyes, the light was far too strong, forcing me to block it out with my hoof.

*Thump*

I hit the ground again, now my brain remembering that my right foreleg got ripped to shreds. Pushing myself up, my eyes now adjusting themselves to the dim lighting. I found myself in small metal room, with the light come through a small, round window. Looking through it, I could see… water.

There was nothing but water, as far as my eyes could see. I backed up, my rear hitting the bed I’d fallen off from. It was a simple cot, the kind that I remember seeing in old history books about the equestrian military.

Collecting myself, I had to process what was going on. From what I could remember, I was with Red, we found Harp, and… I lost Rototom.

“Fuck.” Everything I began to shake with rage and sorrow. I didn’t know why it came on like it did now, but I didn’t care. “FUCK!” I shouted. Hitting the cot with my hoof, I wanted to feel something, but only got a tug at my shoulder. “Celestia fucking dammit!” I shouted again, the sound of my own voice ringing in my ears.

Getting up, I rested my head on the cold metal door. I felt impotent and weak. That mad mare with the cyberwings had us dancing in the frog of her hoof. And I lost Rototom all because I couldn’t see it.

Tapping my horn on the door, I couldn’t get rid of this frustration. Every move we made had been met by failure. And I knew it had to be my fault, I just kept on being too late to make things work. I rested my shoulder on the door, still tapping it with my horn.

“Damnit!” I shouted, hitting the door with my hoof. “Fucking dammit!”

I went to strike it again, but the door opened, sending me tumbling out. “Oy, you better be saving that energy for later.” I looked up to see Tarbarry looking down at me. “The lady doesn't want you breaking yourself before she can break you.”

Getting up, a warm wind clued me to that I didn’t have anything on. I covering myself, I fell to the floor again. “Where're my clothes?”

Tarbarry chuckled. “You do know ponies don't normally wear clothes, right?”

“Maybe in some backwards place inhabited by savages.” I got myself up, keeping my tail down.

“I see why Lady Red likes you.” he turned around, and trotted down the hall. “Now follow me, she's waiting.” Not having anywhere else to go, I followed.

This place was entirely made of metal, and was as well maintained as an Orthrus run tunnel, even holding onto a thick coat of paint. As I trotted... well, hobbled, this hall did vaguely remind me of the Orthus stations. How everything looked the same, very compartmentalised and uniform in its construction.

“Where am I?” I asked Tarbarry.

He huffed, sounding annoyed. “Ehh, if you want to know, you’re on the ship the Weeping Pegasus. As far as I know, it's a second generation crusader, made for the Holy fleet long go.”

All I really understood was the name, the Weeping Pegasi, the rest, didn't sound right. “Crusader, and Holy Fleet? Those don't sound like equestrian naval terms.” Not that I knew all that much about ancient military names, but I did know enough that this didn’t feel right.

“It ain't equestrian made,” Tarberry looked back just enough to eye me. “ most of the Crusaders got scrapped long, long ago. This ship, being second generation, makes it around a hundred years old.” He scrunched his nose, looking annoyed. “But listen up, Mare. I'm a preacher, not a historian. If you want to ask those questions, ask lady Red Steel, or…” He gave a deadpan look. “Snowbird Gutripper.”

I had to push at that name. “Who names their foal Gutripper?”

He looked away from me, and down the hall. “From what I know, miss tunnel treader, it's a tribe name. And trust me, the name fits. Now, shut it or I will crack your skull for a second time. Damn annoying heathen.”

We trotted for a bit longer, passing by a few of the… I guess, crew? He did say we were on a ship after all. The ones we passed were three younger crew members, hardly older than fifteen, and cleaning the floor and walls. Two of them were ponies, and the third was a griffin, I think. It was hard to tell exactly what it was because it's back legs were hooves.

There was a scared up, and heavily armed Zebra who had a wooden back leg. He blew me a kiss that made me shiver in disgust as I passed by. The strangest sight in the halls however, was the two monsters we passed. One was the hairiest thing I’d ever seen, with two massive horns on its head. It was heavily chained down, and being made to pull a cart filled to the brim with scrap metal. The other monster looked a bit like a dog, but stood on two legs and wore a pair of earmuffs. The dog-thing was almost as large as the other hairy beast, as its head nearly touched the ceiling.

I didn't ask Tarberry about the strange crew, didn't doubt that he would crack my skull for it. But the more I saw, the more it became apparent that these outsiders were far more dangerous than I’d previously thought. With what I’d heard about them, and the scraps of information I’d gotten, I was now picturing a naval fleet that was even more massive than before. And unfortunately, possibly beyond Orthrus’ ability to handle alone.

“We’re here, tunnel treader.” Tarberry stood at a sealed bulkhead door. Spinning the locking wheel, he unsealed and opened the door. “Now get the fuck inside.” I hobbled in, with Tarbarry following right behind, startling me by slamming the door. The room we’d entered was far more spacious, though it was hard to tell with the current hung up blocking more than half
of it. “Red Steal, your bitch is here, now give me back my rum.”

A loud cracking slap startled me for the fucking second time in just a few short moments. But it was followed quickly by a disturbing moan.

“If I knew you were going to be this pissy about it, I would have tied you up and sent Narwhal out to watch her.” Red yelled, forcing Tarberry to straighten up. A red aura wrapped around one of the curtains, pulling it open to reveal Red Steal standing in front of what looked like a torture chamber from some questionable books I’ve read. Narwhal hung upside-down from the ceiling, tied and bound in elaborately knotted ropes. He was gagged, and covered in lacerations that dripped thin lines of blood down his body. Strangely, or maybe more disturbingly, the mare looked like she was enjoying it.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the disturbed feelings to the back of mind, and stepped forward. “Where's Harp?”

Red frownd for a moment, then smiled, but before she could speak…

“Vibraphone!” Harp yelled from behind another curtain. Within a short moment, she hopped out from the curtain, and practically slid to me, ending with a hug. “Oh by princess Platinum, are you alright?” She looked at me with concern in her eyes. Strangely, her moderately curly hair reminded me a lot of the haircut I got back on Vally island.

“I’m fine, just had a little talk with Charon, that's all.” I gave her a little chuckle, trying to brush off the feeling of anxiety that waited down on me. “What about you? If they’ve touched you in any way, I'll be sure to send them down to tartarus.”

Harp gave me a confused, and concerns look. “Miss Vibraphone, I think you might need some more rest. You’re not sounding like yourself.”

“I…” Maybe she's right, It was true that I wasn't feeling myself, or feeling well at all. “Ya, I feel like shit and a half right now, and I’m possibly having a mental breakdown. Stress maybe, or the loss of Rototom more likely. Then again, it could be the chill. Hard to tell when I’m already hallucinating.” I chuckled to myself.

“Miss Vibraphone.” The cold burning around my neck flared up, and I pushed away from Harp. She looked down at me, covering her mouth with one of her hooves. “What happened to you?”

Now I felt confused, unable to understand what she was going on about.

Something hit my face. Removing it, I found that it was my family scarf, but it was nearly completely torn to bits. “Before you accuse me of anything, we found it like that on you.” Red Steal told me. “It was strange. When Carving Doll shredded your leg, she also got your throat, as evidenced by your scarf here. By all logic, you should be dead right now.” She lifted up a hoof mirror, showing me my reflection. Around my neck was a furless line, as though something had burnt itself right into my flesh. “I've seen injuries like that before. From collar branding, mainly, but I’ve never seen something so clean. My guess, it's magical in nature, but that's a mystery for another time. Right now, I’ve got more pressing problems to solve.” She whistled loudly. “Oy, greenhorn, bring the cloths over here. Now.”

“Eye, boss.” A mare spoke up. After a short moment, a mirage pony mare trotted through the curtain. She had to do a double take as she glanced over at me, and I almost had to do the same with her. “Catbell, how the fuck did you get here?” I twitched at the name, no pony having called be that since I escaped from the Republic.

“How did I get here?” I balked. Before me stood Bass Clarinet Reed. The blue mare looked like she had jumped through a blender, missing an ear and being absolutely covered in healed over scars. “I should be asking you that question.”

“Ah, sorry, it was a stupid question.” She shrugged and smiled. “You took the under tunnel like me. I can dig it. Though you look like like you had just as bad of time as me. Of my group, only my son and I got out alive. On our way to Caron Stop, these fuckers snatched us up.” She paused, giving an uneasy glance over to Red, who simply waited for her to continue. “At first I was ready to fight, but they turned to be a cool bunch. Reminded me of my family, ya dig?”

I faced hoofed, finding it logical that a bandit would fit in with a bunch of pirates. “Why did you leave, what happened to your sister?”

“After you left, Alto got all depressed you see, too sweet for her own good.” She sighed, dropping her cool mare demeanor, as she passed me my clothes, it still the damd maid outfit. “She was never meant for a rough life like the rest of us, so me and the rest of the family thought it was best to cut ties and run. The republic was never a good fit for us, too square. But without us dragging her down, we know she’ll get a better life she deserves. We left the foals behind too, though my brat managed to follow me, the twerp.” She took a deep breath before giving a long sigh. “We had a solid favor to call in with the syndicate, and they helped us out. But along the way, a sand-lurker attacked. It was strange, like some pony was controlling them, and they had these glowing red eyes that burned like red lanterns in the darkness. I don't know how, but me and the brat got away, and took the syndicate boat out onto open water.” She clapped her metal hooves together. “And well, me and the brat ended up here when the fleet found us. Miss Red Steel saw a use in my skills, and took me in. Got real lucky, if can you dig that.”

“If you call getting captured by pirates lucky.” The maid outfit was a little heavier than I remember, and there was stitching all over making lots of small diamonds on the black cloth. It was annoying trying to get the dress one when missing a leg, but when I finally slipped into it, I found it was a lot more snug than it had been before. The fabric was obviously thicker, and a bit more corse. But more annoyingly and importantly, I still didn't have any panties. “Sorry for your loss, but I’m a little breezy at my backside.”

“Still don't get your kin’s whole thing with covering up all the time.” Red spoke as she passed me a black pantie, decorated with white lace skulls.

“Sorry for having a sense of decency.” It was not my style, but I put them on any way, as any underwear was better than none. “Do you ponies really run around with your privates exposed?”

Red rolled her eyes. “Trust me, even without clothes, were not just exposing ourselves. It's weirdly magical how our concealment works.”

“Another thing, what did you do to my dress?” I shifted the dress a bit, slowly getting used to whatever they did to it.

Red smirked, “I’ll have to introduce the tailor to explain that.” She whistled again. “Oh, Snowbird, come out please.”

Harp hid behind me, and Bass quickly trotted to the side. It was clear that I was not going to enjoy meeting this mare.

“If you say so.” The mare has a somewhat high pitched, whistle like voice. A light tapping on the floor came closer before two claws groped over the curtin. Swinging open, I saw a bundle of brown feathers that turned black at the ends, and were decorated with white spots. The massive wing pulled back, revealing some sort of monster.

It stood on two scaly yellow legs, much like the dog monster in the hallway had. But at the end of those scaled legs were two massive bird-like talons, complete with inner digits that looked closer to sharp, curved knives. The wings, they outsized even the few griffins I had seen, and had two claws that poked out at the midsection like sharp fingers. It's torso and chest was devoid of feathers, and instead was covered with a simple white dress that lead me to think this was a female of whatever race she was.

Her face was what disturbed me the most, being framed by a feather mane, and being oddly smooth and pointed, with two pointy yellow scaled ears. Her large eyes, with no white visible, were like two black orbs in the middle of a dark brown.

She moved quickly, grabbing me before I could fall back in surprise. “Ahh, the new little pony that’s got the Corps Brigade in a flutter. But you don’t care about that, you want to know about the dress, yes?” She stroked her claw along my maid outfit. “Flying ram fleece, also called iron wool. It is woven, and padded into the dress. It's strong, warm, and not flammable like steel wool.” as she talked, she revealed jagged teeth that looked more fitting on a bandsaw. “It's good enough to stop small bullets, and a blade if they slash at you, but big bullets, or a good stabben, you will be made right dead right quick.”

Snowbird stept back looking down at me like she was sizing me up, but it was next to impose to follow her eyes. A smile formed, almost too wide, showing all of her jagged teeth. From where I stood, I got a strong feeling that I looked like food to her, and if she wanted too, she could rip me to shreds within seconds with those talons of hers.

“No, no. The looks all wrong with that leg missing.” She rubbed her claws together. “Lady Red Steel, did you bring your mother's old leg?”

Red looked at the bird monster. “Why would I bring that with me you daft harpy? Just use the one that I had the wrench mares slap together.”

Snowbird frowned. “A tragedy, a retractable is the essence of terror.” The ‘harpy’ walked off back behind the curtain with her odd backwards legs. She returned a moment later with some rusty looking scrap-job of a leg, placing it down in front of me.

I looked at it, and then at Red. “You do know I'm not in the right state of mind to be fucked with right now, so what's your game?”

“You’re the bait.” Red gave me a deadpan stare. “Now, put the leg on and we can get started.”

“Right, bait.” I took a deep breath and popped out what was left of the grappling leg. “For the Corps Brigade, right?” I didn’t trust Red, but I was more than interested in taking down the bleeding eye freeks. “What the fuck even are they?”

As I grabbed the rusty leg, Red narrowed her gaze at me. “Haven't the slightest clue.” She informed me. “All I can guess is that there is dark Magic at work. The problem is they’re completely tight lipped about both it and their end goals. I've tried torture, but only makes them crazy. Trying to mine their memories out forcefully nearly fried the brain of my mother's head interrogator. It's only now, since coming to these islands, that a crack has formed and split their camp.”

Fitting in the leg, it having a standard connecter piece, I charged my magic into it, and it slowly began to move. “Let me guess, that crack is me.”

“Exactly, but I don't know why.” Red nodded. “About more than half of the Corps Brigade here have become Luna zealots, and their main target for whatever reason, is you. The rest are all the older brigaders, who are still obsessed with Rosary and have called out the others as heretics.” She pulled out a box, and passed it over to me. “So I have a feeling that you might know something, or be in position to learn about what they keep so secret. So with that in mind, will you help me?”

Moving the new leg, the hoof suddenly shot out violently, and back in. The thing was a fucking power hoof. Shaking my head, and collecting myself, I looked over at Harp, and back at Red. “Fine, but only if you can guarantee Harps safe return to Orthus custody.”

“Hard sell, even for somepony as well connected as I am.” She frowned. “I can guarantee her overall safety, but the royal family are to be relocated to the Holy cityship of Avalon, where they are to be integrated with our royal family.”

I could feel a tug at my dress, which only steeled me. Taking a deep breath, I looked Red in the eyes. “No, that would be a waste for you. I do remember you saying you want to negotiate with Orthrus, well, Harp happens to be the daughter of one of our leaders, and as a result, connected to an important family line that Orthrus would have vested interest in preserving.”

Harp tugged at my dress a bit harder. “What do you mean?”

Oh ya, she doesn't know about that. “Harp, your father, Phorminx, is the last descendant of the last overedtallion of the R&D stable. You know all the old promotional posters for the treatment that made mirage ponies, the original ones. The overestallion is your ancestor.”

She let go of my dress. “Oh, I see.”

I returned my gaze back to Red. “So unless she is returned to Orthus, I will not help you.”

Red scratched at her chin and smiled. “If I were to weigh the potential rewards, your dear Harp would likely be passed off to some lesser noble. More likely, she’d be sold as an exotic bride to the king of Saddle Arabia. They’re still pissed off about mother taking a few of their ships a decade back, and a gift like Harp would go far to help restore relations. But if what you say is true, and Orthrus would be willing to start negotiation to get her, well the tech your ponies have at your hooves do look too good to just pass up.”

“Right, I’ve decided then.” She clapped her hooves together before continuing. “Fuck the royals, I want kick ass spy tech.” While that meant Harp would most likely end up safe with Orthrus, what would end up being the cost? “I mean, with the resources the grand fleet has available, your leaders would be fools to pass up the opportunity to make a deal with us. And we’re all willing to forgive and forget a little invasion or two so long as we can work towards benefiting both our homes, right?” Reds eyes lowered to the box in front of me. “Well, what are you waiting for? Open it.”

Something deep down inside of me told me that making a deal with Red, or any pirate for that matter, was a bad idea. But our options were limited, and I could at least trust the council to see the bigger picture if it came to negotiating peace.

Opening the box, inside were two revolvers; the Lunar Eclipse, and Solar Eclipse. My eyes watered, unable to control the tears, I just let them fall, staining the mesh that held the guns. “I will kill her, I want that too.”

“Carving Doll? If you want a round two, sure.” Red sat back on her haunches, crossing her forelegs. “But rewards are for good little pawns. You only get your shot against her after you dig up what the Corps Brigade are up to. You need to find enough for my mother to edict a purge, and without that, I cannot help you.”

I took the two revolvers, but they both wouldn't fit under my blouse. A quiet chuckle came from the harpy. “Hiding the guns will not do, you must show them off. Give me but a short moment...” Snowbird said as she pulled out some leather straps. She attached it to my waist, and to my tale much like a garter belt, but with holsters. Along with those straps, she also placed a sheath along it that sat against my chest and held my bayonet. Placing the revolvers in the holsters, she took a step back a gave another toothy grin. “Now you look like a predator, and not prey.”

The guns were still somewhat obstructed by the maid’s apron that was still on the dress for some stupid reason. When I pulled them out however, the revolvers came out faster than when hidden in my blouse.

It felt good to be armed again, it was enough to calm my nerves, if only a little. “Alright, so how do I go about doing this?”

“Firstly, by telling me about anything you know that might clue me into why Black Spot is so interested in you.” Red spoke as she eyed over me.

I thought about it for a moment as I tried to find the reason as well. It wasn’t because I was a spectre, or the fact that I’d been in the Republic’s machine. Every time I tried to find something however, somehow my mind always came back to one shadowy figure that was just as mysterious and strange as their bleeding-eye shit. Phobetor.

“Can we talk somewhere more private.” I asked softly.

Red deadpan once more. “This here is the most private that it can get.” she then paused, and slowly smiled. “However, there is this one place…” Looking up to the harpy with a wild smile, she rose to her hooves. “Snowbird, gear her up.”

I didn’t like the sound of that, but what choice did I have. Sighing, I turned to Harp. “Will you be okay by yourself here?”

Before she could answer, Bass cut in. “Don't worry, Catbell. I’ve been keeping sugar real safe and real close.” I cocked an eyebrow at a cocked looking Bass, and then looked back at a blushing Harp.

“You didn't… did you?” I asked Harp, hoping for a misunderstanding.

“Well... you were hurt, and I was scared, and alone, and well...” she mumbled the last bit of words.

“You did?!” Harp shrank at my accusation, but managed to give me a nod, and I face hoofed. With my left forehoof, so not to accidentally punch a hole in my head. “You slept with a bandit! Do you know how dangerous that is? Not to mention the diseases you could get.”

“Hay!” Bass shouted, but I glared back at her, and she took a step back.

I turned my attention back to Harp “You can't just gallivant with any mare or stallion. That's…”

Harp shoved her hoof in my mouth, and looked me dead in the eyes. “Unbecoming of a princess? Is that what your going to say. What worth is that anymore? In fact, when it did it ever matter?” tears welled in her eyes as she removed her hoof from my mouth. “This is all my fault in the first place. If I’d never gone to the big island, none of this would have happened. So you can leave your judgement out of it. Just let me have this, because it's not like I can fuck things up more the I already have.” I reached my hoof out to her, but she swatted it away, cradling her own hoof in pain right after. “Damnit, damnit, damnit. Just go, I'll be fine. It's not like you can protect me all the time.” She trotted over to Bass, who gave her a hug, the two disappearing behind a curtain.

“Ahh, reminds me of home” Snowbird comment, and I glared back at the harpy, but she just smiled wide with her jagged teeth. “I have a lot of sisters, enough for a murder, and we go to sleep to the sound of the jousting of words. If you want her to comply, then you beat it into her.”

“I'm not going to hurt Harp.” I growled at the Harpy.

She shrugged. “And that's why you ponies didn’t win your great war.”

_____________________________________________________

Red had me loaded up with ammo, including my cartridge holders, and an extra ammo pouch. She also had my air rifle, but with only six bolts for it, I would need to be conserve when using it. It felt odd that she let me be armed and loaded, but then again I was in the belly of the beast. I was smart enough to know that this wasn’t a place to start any fight I’d ever see my way out of alive.

Sadly, Snowbird tagged along. Red insured me that it was for security, but I wasn’t so sure. though it did seemed the monster uneased every pony on board, not that I can blame them.

The halls of this ship were more of the same, giving me a strong case of deja vu. “Say, Tarbarry said if I wanted to know more about this ship to ask one of you.”

“Of course that drunk jackass pins that burden on me.” Red grumbled.

“What do you want to know?” Snowbird said excitedly.

“I don't know.” We passed by the Zebra from before, but this time he avoided eye contact. “Maybe why this place seems so familiar for starters. It gives off this whole ‘stable-tec’ feel to it. But they didn't build any ships, at least, I don’t think they did.”

“Hmm…” Snowbird cocked her head to the side. “Let's see, this is second generation, so that means the classical designs were dropped. Wait… ahh, I remember, because it is stable-tec in origin. The old texts are spotty on the details, but there are a few stable-tec engineers that were listed under Roseland’s protection. They made a number of blueprints for her before her disappearance, and those were used for the design of the second generation crusaders.”

“Roseland?” I asked, as we trotted to a set of stairs bathed in natural light. “That name came up with the Corps Brigade, who is or was she?”

Red chucked. “If you’re to mention her name, you’d better call her saint Roseland. She was the last Equestrian admiral, founder of the grand fleet, and savor of ponykind on the high seas.” Following Red, I stepped out into the light.

Ponies, griffins, and a whole host of other hooved and non-hooved beings were all over the place. Many were cleaning the ship, though half of them were doing it shackled in chains. On top of that, they looked brutally beaten and malnourished. At the ship’s center were massive sets of cannons, dwarfing anything Orthrus had.

Above us was a mast, but it contained no sails. Instead, bodies hung from chains, punctured and held up by sharp and rusty hooks. Feeding on the corpses were birds, so many, colorful birds. Not far across the deck from where we stood, were caged mirage ponies who looked half dead in the sun.

Red extended her hooves like she was presenting a stage. “All that you see before you is by Saint Roseland’s will.”

How could she be proud of this? It disgusted me, and left me to ask only one word. “Why?”

Red turned away. “Not here, it's bad manners to talk of the saint so casually. But Snowbird can fill you in a bit more about the ship if she wishes.”

“My pleasure Lady Red.” The harpy said with satisfaction as we continued our way down onto the deck. “From what I’ve read from the old texts, the second generation crusaders were originally made to protect the cityship Avalon. Avalon, also known as the Holy city, has the ability to manufacture ships right on the water. It is also home to the grand fleet’s royal family, as well as the head of the church. Crusaders like this one were built to be part of a substantial fleet of swift gunboats with guarding the Avalon as it’s one purpose.

“Then what’s it doing here?” I asked.

“From what records I could find, it was a donation to the Corps Brigade.” Snowbird answered. “Some pony important wants the young gang on their side. Gifting a ship is nothing new, though this was a case that was especially odd. Why would you entrust two ships to a gang that’s still unproven?”

As we trotted across the deck, some of the pirates held passing glances at us, but quickly turned away when Snowbird turned in their direction.

“Is it not lovely?” Snowbird chirped, “passive and respectful, like males should be. It is too bad they’re terrible dancers, but still so... scrumptious.”

“Snowbird, you know the deal. You can't eat them.” Red said sternly. “Yet.”

Snowbird drooled a little, cleaning it off with her wing.

I had had it, the monster was just too much to deal with. “Alright, what the fuck is her deal?”

Red chuckled. “It’s how harpies are, well, at least the few I have seen anyway. But if you want details, fine. They’re predators if you couldn’t tell, and extremely flexible ones at that. If it looks like she sees everypony as food, that’s because she does.” We stopped at the large mast that was at the center of the ship, and just short of another set of enormous cannons. “Though, I can't reliably say that’s true for the rest of her kind, but I have yet to see a harpy that isn't a sociopathic monster.”

I looked back at Snowbird, and she just smiled back at me. Turning my attention back to Red, I had to ask one last question. “Then why keep her around, isn't that dangerous?”

“Very.” Red said frankly. “But I’m sure you can tell by now, here, cruelty and violence is not just the rule here, it’s a way of life.” She levitated a pocket watch, looking at it for a moment before putting it away. “Good, we got a bit of time before Carving Doll starts shooting her mouth off again.” Pressing a button on the mast, a bell chimed, and ropes began to move.

Almost crashing down, some sort of rectangular cage elevator landed in front of us. Red stepped on, and I followed, with Snowbird fortunately not getting on. In a moment, we began ascending the top of the mast. The ship below us became smaller, and the sound of the pirates was replaced by birds.

The higher we rose, the more the open water surrounding the ship became even more massive. It was getting to be too big, and my legs buckled as I held onto the bars around me. Why was it only just now clicking in my head of how much water surrounded me. I was on a ship, in the middle of the ocean. A very big and deep ocean...

“Ah, right, forgot about that fear thing you have.” Red shoved something in my mouth as she spoke. It was a chalky pill that I swallowed immediately and hoped wasn’t some sort of more dangerous drug than chill. “Let me know if you need more, but I can't have you getting high on me right now.”

I had shut my eyes, trying to block out the image of the vast unending water. My pounding heart slowly calmed down, and my legs regained some stability. Sadly, my tongue now felt a bit numb, but not enough to affect my speech.

“Thanks, I think one is all I’ll need for a while.” I said through a deep breath.

“Might be a bit stronger than I’d thought.” Red shook the jar she took the pill from. “I’ll have to get those bandits to dilute the drug. But that aside, the crows nest is the most private place you can get on the ship. No pony up here but the dead.” She trotted off the elevator, and onto a round deck, where at the center was a bunch of radio equipment, binoculars, and a few other mechanical tools I didn’t understand. Putting away the small jar, she pulled out a small tin box. Inside were paper sticks, of which she put one in her mouth and then pointed the box at me. “You smoke?”

I shook my head. “Never took up the habit due to how expensive it is.”

“Really. Well, lucky me. Now you definitely can’t refuse.” She stuck the cigarette in my mouth, and lit it with her horn. “If this all goes well, my mom is going to pay me in one of her plantations that grows sugar cane, tobacco, and marijuana. Personally, I wanted the coffee plantation, but another Saddle Arabian tried to invade and burnt that place to the ground a few years back.” She lit her cigarette taking a long drag. “It’s a shame. You don’t know good coffee until you’ve had fresh coffee.”

I stepped onto the deck, my legs still not solid, but still holding me up. With how much more the ship felt like it swayed back and forth from up here, I didn’t think my balance was going to get any better regardless. Breathing in the smoke from the burning stick, my lungs filled with the hot air, and I choked on it, nearly dropping the cigarette. “Seriously, how many resources do you ponies have?”

“Not nearly enough.” Red puffed out some smoke, that quickly vanished into the air. “We’ve got a few clean islands here and there. But magical radiation has a way of spreading along the sea currents, and the monsters it makes only makes those islands harder to maintain. Lately, crab monsters are becoming common. It’s good eating, don’t get me wrong, but they kill a lot of slaves every year.” Shaking her head, she took a short draw off her smoke and held it in. “The giant lobsters are the worst, but I’ve heard of a supermassive behemoth crab that spits acid making brief appearances.”

I took another puff of the cigarette, fighting back the choking feeling cropping up again. “Do we even stand a chance?” This all seemed unfair. It was our little collection of divided islands, versus some water bound empire that spanned what felt like half the bucking ocean.

“Who knows. But I can promise you this; allie with with me, and your kin will stand a chance.” Red puffed the cigarette again, and looked me in the eyes. “But you didn’t want to come up here for me to tell you something you’ve heard from everyone else. What do you know that you can’t let others hear?”

“Answer one question for me.” I put out my cigarette, done with puffing in the noxious smoke. “Do you believe in Nightmares?”

“Had then when I was a foal. Got over them when I figured out the real world was a lot scarier.” Red said plainly, looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Unless, you're talking about the old Mares tales of things like Nightmare Moon?”

I chuckled a little. “So you believe in the goddesses of the night, but not in nightmares. That's a laugh.”

“Right, the supposed ‘goddesses’…” Red sighed. “All they were, was two royal heads of equestria that had a god complex. Sorry to tell you, but it’s something not uncommon in our world. Snowbird’s own grandmother had proclaimed herself the goddess of strife, and from what my mother told me, that old buzzards head rolled from a cold steel blade just like any other mortals would.”

I took a step back, unsure of what I was dealing with. Well, Red certainly didn’t seem like the type who’d write me off as crazy, but now I had to worry about getting my head lopped off?

Red however, just smiled before continuing. “I do have to agree that nightmares could somehow become real. There are many strange and magical things in this world, and most of them aren’t kind to the living. I am a unicorn after all, so I know about some of these sorts of things. But don’t mix me in with those ignorant zealots down there. I don’t just believe in something simply because some pony with a book beat it into me.”

“Well,” Taking a deep breath, I felt I might as well go through with explaining things. “as far as I know, there's a nightmare on the Island, and it has Blackspot thinking she's Luna.” Red kept a neutral look on her face, but her ears were focused tightly on me. “Phobetor is her name, and she wants me for something. I don’t know what it is, but the shit with her started right when your pirates attacked the island.”

Red sat back, deep in thought.

“You mean the black dragon of legend, Phobetor?” Snowbird spoke up from behind me. Spinning, I found that the harpy had perched on the railing with her wings extended to catch the cool ocean wind.

“Explain, Snowbird.” Red said camly.

She hummed for a few seconds before smiling. “Right, the Dragon of the still darkness, Phobetor. Sometimes called the black pony, or the goddess of secrets and nightmares. She was an old piller god of my Harpy kind long ago, but was just myths and legends. Until now, at least. From what I can remember, she was once a mare called Pandora. Something, something else, about an open jar of some sort, and then she became a being of pure evil. Ancient harpies would steal secrets from other races, and gift them to her in exchange for power. And supposedly, she was responsible for the necromancer rebellion that, legend has it, irreversibly collapsed the harpy queendom over a thousand years ago.”

“A secret for a secret.” the words slipped from my mouth, and Snowbirds feathers ruffled.

Red stood back up. “So, how likely could this Phobetor exist, Snowbird?”

The harpy shivered, her feathers smoothing out. “Lets me see, if I remember correctly, as an actual goddess… about as much as Celestia, or Luna I say. But as an ancient malevolent entity, it’s not like the grand fleet has not had their share of them over the last two hundred years. If she is here, then why these islands? And more importantly, I’d ask as to what she wants with the tunnel treader.”

“Why and what indeed.” Red said, she looking at me in the eyes. “I’m going to have to sleep on this. But if it’s true, it might be what I need to get the Corps Brigade denounced. Now, one more thing, I’m going to need you to…”

Red was cut off by the sound of feedback from a speaker attached to the crows nest. “Listen up you no good sack of rocks, this is your captain speaking!” It was Carving Doll’s voice that came through the speaker. “I hope you’ve treated our new crew with the respect they deserve, because we decent ponies must provide a good example of how the goddesses chosen must behave. On that note, whoever beat to death three of them, though I understand needing to show an example, it’s going too far. After all, how are we going to show them the way of the chosen if they are dead? So make this a reminder for all of you; unless they say anything vile about Saint Roseland or the goddesses, don’t beat them to death. Just get them to within an inch of their lives, got it?”

I looked back at Red. “How is she the Captain of a ship?”

“Like I told you, violence and cruelty is a way of life here.” She shook her head. “Carving Doll, despite the dull mind she has, is as violent and cruel as a pony can get. And despite not being the strongest pony I’ve seen captain a ship, she is fearless to the point of madness, and does not stay down no matter how much she's been beaten down. If she was not one of the Corps Brigade leaders, I’d say I’d admire that about her.”

The speakers crackled, and Carving Doll continued. “I also have good news.” there was a pause, which sounded like she was drinking something. “With our successful raid comes bountiful booty. Gems, tapestries, slaves, plenty of food, and most importantly, booze. So, for tonight's supper, eat and drink to your hearts content.” A loud cheer came from the pirates below. “But only for supper! I want you all to work extra hard till then, we’ve got another raid scheduled for the morning, so everything must be ready by then.”

I looked at Red, and she gave me a knowing glance. “There’s still pockets of resistance. Like I said before, we may have maps of your tunnels, but they still make for a bitch of a bottleneck.” She informed me.

“One last thing!” Carving Doll yelled through the speakers, making both Red and I cringe. “We have a few guests aboard of our fine vessel. Do treat them like any other member of the grand fleet, and don’t fucking get in their business unless you’re told to do so. Oh, and Lady Red Steel, please bring them to my cabin for supper. That is all, now get back to work!”

“Of course.” Red sighed as she rolled her eyes, dropping them onto me with a shrug. “At least the dinner won’t be vegetable slop and grog this time.” Her eyes locked with my own. “Can I trust that you won't try and fight her?”

“I…” I wanted to put a bullet between her eyes, to tear her head from her neck for what she did to Rototom. But I couldn’t do that at dinner if I wanted to help save my home. “We have a deal. I get you the evidence to have them denounced, and then you help me kill her.”

Red gave me a sly smile. “Good.” She pulled out a small little thin box that had a cable attached to it. “Put this in your pipbuck leg thing. I was going to use it myself originally, but the Corps Brigade is always a bit weary of me, and the pipbuck mother gave me clashes with my style.”

The small box didn't look like anything I had seen before. “What is it?”

“An advanced memory storage module.” She explained. “It's an artifact made by Admiral Roseland. She once owned an oversized pipbuck, some sort of advanced model that in the photo, looked more like a piece of armor than something made by Stable-tec. Well that pipbuck had the ability to store memories like memory orbs. This module is a copy of that tech, and should record everything you see. Trust me when I tell you that it will make much easier to prove the Corps Brigade’s treachery.”

Something in the back of my mind bubbled up to the surface. “An armor-like pipbuck model? Did it look like two pipbucks attached together with a large port for cables?”

“Yeah…” Red cocked an eyebrow. “how do you know that?”

“I saw some sort of ‘ghost’ with it on, and he seemed to know Thorn Roseland.” I explained without really diving into it. Red would certainly think I was crazy if I told her about the shit I saw in my dreams, as well as in the Republic’s system. “It's all a bit hazy, but I do remember him wanting to contact stable-tec, to warn them about what Roseland had planned.”

“Anything more you can tell me about this ‘pony’?” Red asked.

“Not all that much.” I scratched my chin trying to remember more. “His name was Slowtrot, I remember that for sure. He was a purple stallion with an R&D stable jacket, like the one Harp has. And… I think there's a gravestone for him on Friendly Island.”

Red nodded, and looked to Snowbird. “Can you corroborate any of this information?”

“Nope.” Snowbird bird answered immediately. “I may be an official fleet historian, but anything involving Thorn Roseland’s more cloak and dagger history requires the admirals approval to look at. And if it's some pony warning stable-tec about her coming to kill them, it absolutely has to be cloak and dagger history.”

“Even if we can get mother's approval, the records are kept on the Avalon.” Red looked back to me. “If you happen to see this ghost again, ask him if you can have his pipbuck, or at least, get permission from him to go dig it up from his grave. Even as a rusted piece of junk, it's going to be a priceless artifact to the Chosen.”

I nodded as I opened a small universal compartment on my pipleg. The module Red gave me only just barely fit inside, but it clicked in and activated all the same. My hud display refreshed, showing a new program needed to be added to my pipleg system.

“Minerva, begin downloading new program.” I commanded, and my pipbuck beeped twice as it executed the command.

Text scrolled over my hud, and a box opened in my vision, stating, ‘Matching programs found... O.I.A sleeper program 01... O.I.A. sleeper program 02... Program 01 damaged... Program 02 damaged... Salvaging data... Data complete. Welcome to the O.I.A., agent error. Your target is error. Activating sleep error. Error... error... error...’ the box closed, and the hud faded. A little indicator popped up, letting me know that the memory recording program was now installed and available.

I looked at my pipleg, confused as it was now showing an option that stated ‘O.I.A.’ above the memory program. Weird… “Minerva, isolate O.I.A. program.” My pipleg beeped twice again, and the program disappeared from the options. “Strange. There was something else on the box, but it looks corrupted.” I told myself as I looked back up to Red. “So, how are we going to start this?”

“We already have.” Red trotted to the elevator. “Black Spot will be coming for you. Just put up a token fight, then go with him. Just remember to record anything that could be considered heresy, and then you’ll leave me to do the rest.”

I nodded and stepped onto the elevator. My stomach lurched as we descended, making me glad that I had not gotten anything to eat lately. As we got closer to the main deck, the sound of the pirates became louder until it drowned out the sound of the wind and birds.

I stepped out onto the main deck, seeing the same disgusting sight as before. Trotting over to a nearby cage, an emancipated mirage pony laid in it, unable to get up due to her missing her legs. She turned her head to look at me, her eyes wide.

“Help me, please!” She spoke in nothing more than a raspy, dry whisper.

“A shame, some of the ponies we've taken were already in such poor condition.” Red told me as she looked down at the imprisoned mare. “It's a bit of a waste of resources, but once she's healthy enough, she can find work in a brothel. You know, you all should consider yourselves lucky, as oddly, cybernetics are quite popular among some in the fleet. Because of that alone, she might do well in that line of work.”

I glared at her. “You don’t see anything wrong with this?”

“Wrong? However do you mean?” Red chuckled. “These ponies are being given food and shelter, trained in useful skills. And if they show devotion to their duty, then they have the option given for them to earn their freedom. Or, perhaps you think it’s better if we just let them die, to wither away from their own weakness?”

“Maybe death is preferable.” I huffed at her. “I know I’d rather die than be some pony’s slave.”

“Said like a soft mare.” A stallion unicorn stepped out into view. He didn't have anything on but a belt and a whip. “Trust me, in the end, even when begging for death, they all choose slavery over death.” He unfurled his whip, simply casting a quick glance over to the mare in the cage and pulling a whimper from her. “Names Breaker, but you can call me Pony Breaker.”

Great, a slaving nudist. This was not what I needed in my life right now. “Now listen here, I don't care what you think, so go fuck off. And do everypony a favor and put some damn pants on.”

“What, and deny you all of this?” Breaker chuckled as he showed himself off. “You can't stop look at my dick, is that it? Yeah, like any mare, you can’t stop thinking about it, can you. If you want, I can show you a good time...” Smiling he hit the side of the cage, and the mare inside flinched. “Don’t just take it from me, the slaves here can tell you how good I am. Isn't that right?”

“You know, the partners a pony keeps say a lot about a pony.” He was pissing me off, but I had to keep a lid on it. I had bigger targets to go after. “Having all yours in a cage tells me that you can't get a mare without some pony catching her for you. A pony as pathetic as you is below the mud that gets stuck to my hooves.” Taking a deep breath, I turned trot away.

*Crack*

Pain hit my side, like somepony tried to cut me. Looking back, was Breaker, holding his whip up, and glaring at me. “It don’t care if you’re with Red Steel, I'm going to show you the pecking order on this ship with my pecker!”

I looked back at Red, and she looked a bit board. “If he wants to fight, go for it. But if you lose, do struggle as he goes at it, it's far more entertaining that way.”

Looking back at Breaker, he spat something onto the ground, and gave a toothy yellow grin. “So, which hole do you want…”

I entered S.A.T.S. targeting his groin with my Lunar Eclipse.

*Bang*

Blood splattered on the ground as the former stallion clasped onto the ground. I trotted up to him, his watering eyes looking up at me, wide in shock. “You cheating bi…!”

“I don't have to play by the rules of savages, so shut up and die.” I growled out as I focused on aiming.

*Bang*

With my sisters Solar Eclipse, I sent a bullet into his side. He made a wet sounding moan as blood flowed from the grevious wound.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.*

In short order, I was out of ammo save for one round, and the slaves here wouldn’t ever have to deal with his brand of torture ever again. Leaving the bullet riddled corps of Pony Breaker, I trotted to the cage.

”Do you want to live as a slave, or be granted death?” I asked, pointing the gun toward her.

The mare looked up at me, my head giving her son shade. “I… don't… want to… die.”

“Then don't ask for help when death is all that can be given.” Stepping back, there were many eyes on me. But as the gunshots still ringing in my ears subsided, the pirates quietly whispered among themselves.

*Bang*

I fired the last bullet in the guns into the air. Taking a deep breath, I yelled. “The next to challenge me will end up like the last. Do you understand you bunch of savages!?”

There was paused, then a chuckle, and then a roar of laughter. ““I’ve got to say, I thought you were going to get all bleeding heart on me,” Red trotted up to me, giving me a bit too friendly of a stare. “But admittedly, with a show like that? Now I'm a little wet.”

“I’m not into mares.” I deadpanned at her.

“Sure,” She smirked. “We can test that later, but right now, it's time we get away from these low quality fools before their stink gets on us.”

I looked back one more time to find Snowbird land on Breakers corps. She flexed her leg talons, digging the claws into his flesh as if to test it. As she did, all the other pirate ponies backed up and gave her some space.

I was not going to wait and see what the winged monster was going to do to the dead pony “Ya, I’m going to need a drink, and a rest.”

_____________________________________

Footnote:

New Perk: Power Hoof Leg. (Vibraphone now has a power-hoof for a leg, giving her the ability to perform a power hoof strike through S.A.T.S.)

Chapter 45 - A feast for all.

My head pounded, nothing too bad, but I must have had something too heavy.

Wait. I remember now, Red called it ‘Lunas Kiss’, and I think I can still feel it burn. There were some drugs too, more chill I think, which would answer why the rest of my body felt a little numb. I tried to push myself up, but something held my legs in place, not only that, but I could see a larger lump next to me from under the covers.

“Good, you're awake. Supper will be ready in an hour.” Narwhal trotted around the bed I was on, pulling back the drapes from a window. The sun glowed red like blood, hovering just above the water.

“What's going on?” I asked her, now seeing the leather straps holding my forehooves to the steel bedposts. “And can you free me.”

Narwhal rolled her eyes. “Ask Lady Red Steel, you are her new play thing.” The unicorn huffed, as she trotting out of the room.

A giggle came from under the covers, as the lump moved over me. “Don't mind her, she just gets a bit spoiled if I play with her too much.” The covers pulled back a bit, and Red Steel sat on my pelvis, stataling me, and her hooves on my chest. She had on jewelry covering her neck, ears, and legs, it all made of teeth. I was at a loss for words. “You on the other hoof, well, you're going to be fun to tease.” She let herself slide down, placed her head next to mine, her mouth next to my ear. “Your a dom, just like me. It's a terrible match, but seeing who comes out on top, that's where the fun is at.”

Regaining some calm, I was not amused, and sighed. “Red, getting off,”

“That's the plan.” she pushed up and started grinding on me. “Don't worry, I’ll be gentle and take my time.”

I struggled as she rubbed her sensitive parts in my own. It was enough to make me feel a little heated, but not enough to overcome the mild numbness I felt all over. “Don't you have Circlet to ride? Not to mention that I'm not into mares...”

Red stopped for a moment, looking down at me, biting her lip. “I do prefer the stallions, getting filled in, but the prince is far too easy to make submissive, no spine.” She began her grinding again. “oh, I also took a trophy, but don't worry, I gave you a replacement.” She rubbed a chipped tooth that dangled from her ear.

I checked with my tongue, pressing on the tooth behind the scar on my lip. The tooth was there, but it was also undamaged, like I had never face planted a tree. I could feel her fluids on me, making this even more uncomfortable.

“Sorry, but who hurt you?” I sighed, “This is fucked up, you know that, right?”

Red lowered to nibble on my ear for a few seconds, then pushed herself back up with her forehooves, looking me in the eyes. With a better look at her, her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying.

“Where to start,” She gave a sigh of her own, “maybe with my late husband. He was a thirty eight year old captain, and I but a filly of ten. I was his wife till the age of fifteen, when he died of a bad liver. Told him for years that all that wine was going to kill him.” She bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. “He was a good husband, I mean, there were far worse out there, he was just a bit fond of discipline if I didn’t perform my wifely duties. It's how I learned how to tie a pony up until the point it hurts just enough that it feels good. Also where I learned the magic to grow new teeth. That was more out of necessity though, as I was missing half of mine by the time I could cast the spell.

“Oh, I did tell you about my first time, right?” She suddenly scooted herself onto my stomach. “Well, that was a lie. It was actually my honeymoon, and I thought he was going to kill me,” Red giggled, looking almost mad. “He actually tore up my insides, to the point I can't have foals of my own.” Her eyes were filled with a burning rage, and a deep sorrow, it made me pity the mad mare.

“Why would you parents let that happen?” I asked, not being able to do much else.

Red looked back down at me, once again letting her body slide back, stopping until we were face to face. “It's how things are. It's how things have always been.” She licked my cheek, pushing herself up a bit. “My mother sold me to gain enough power to become the admiral, and I broke free, and became her trusted agent.”

I felt my blood run cold “But, that's sick, and just... wrong.”

“Like I told you, you either fuck others, or get fucked by them.” She planted kiss on me, but I turned my head away, rejecting it. I felt hooves grab my head, turning it to look at her. “No, no. You’re mine now, even if you don't think it.” She forced the kiss on me, even forcing my jaw open, and her tongue into my mouth. The taste of ash and booze was forced into my mouth, along with the feeling of metal. It happened for few seconds before she let me go to breath.

“Crazy bitch.” I spat her taste in her face, and she licked it off, showing four small gold rings pierced in her tongue, two on each side. “Go get some psychological help.”

Red giggled. “But I am… don’t you see? You’re it. With your help, I’m going to kill the Corps Brigade, kill their backers, and kill anyone that gets in my way.” she buried her face into my neck, and her touch made it burn. “I just need an in, or I’m completely useless trash.”

A sharp bang came from the door. The short and hard sound somehow conveyed annoyance, but it snapped Reds attention immediately back to it. Red chewed the air for a moment before her expression shift to something more neutral.

“Right, Carving Doll’s little dinner party.” Her face scrunched up, and her leg twitched. “I can't just leave like this, I need this.”

Red began scratching her mane, looking stressed. “If I have to deal with fucking Carving and Blackspot, I need to get off or I'll start shooting.” She looked back at me, her eyes glaring. “If you had a dick, this would be so much easier...”

I rolled my eyes, a bit glad that she had stopped, but another problem had come up. I was now feeling horny. I blamed the drugs in my system, I was far to calm around this crazy bitch of a mare. “Red Steel, if you let me go, I'll help you out.”

“No, you stay there! I-I’m in control” Red said, biting her hoof. She was obviously losing control of herself, I could only guess it she was on more drugs than even I was at the moment.

“Then prove it and let me go. Or... are you scared of me?” Her eyes widened at my accusation, and her nose scrunched.

A red aura covered her horn, and I found myself free. I knew I was going to regret this, but I sat up, and pushed her down, pinning her forelegs with my metal legs. “I have to agree, I prefer dick too. So you better fucking work hard.”

Straddling Red, I forced myself on her and ground against her. At first, Red just laid there, leaving me to grunt on my own. But soon she matched my rhythm, and the blood began rushing to my face. There was no passion, no care in our movements. It was just primal list that needed to be fed.

Red looked to the side as her horn began glowing. Something hard and rubbery hit my face and bounced off. The double ended dildo fell onto Red, and she looked up at me, her eyes filled with heated lust. I needed to make this quick, so leap off of her, I grabbed it and pushed it deep into Red with one quick motion. She let out a deeply heated moan as it hit home for her, and that was just one more tick in my brain that somehow made this whole fucked up situation seem all the hotter to me.

Taking a deep breath, I bit my lip, and lower myself onto the other end. The fake dick filled me up, and while it couldn’t compare to the real thing, my mind still told me that it had been exactly what I’d needed right now. Everything in my head became fireworks and bursts of intense pleasure for I don’t know how long before I collapsed onto her.

“No… don't stop yet...” Red bethed, as she rolled us over, putting her on top. She began riding me like a stallion, drilling into me with her hooves firmly on my chest. My pelvis was convulsing, I lost myself in the feeling, making me feel weak. “More, more!” Red painted with her back arched, and her hips rocking back and forth. She let out a long moan before falling back and panting heavily.

We just stayed there for a few minutes, as I let it sink in what just happened. I was not pleased with myself, feeling dirty to have given in like that. The dildo suddenly jabbed deep into me, and my hips spasmed on more time.

“Fucking whore!” I yelped, trying not to moan. Then I just felt calm, like all the stress had just fizzled away. I chuckled to myself as the ridiculousness of the situation sunk in. “I don't know if Merit will be up for it, but if he is, do you want to have a threesome?”

“Help me with the Corpse Brigade, and I’ll choke on any dick you want me to. But you have to do it with me.” Red got herself up, and put her head on my chest. “After I get to use my toys on you, got it?”

I pushed myself up, putting us nose to nose. “Threesome or nothing.” I gave her a kiss, my tong caressing hers, the feeling of mettle still a bit off to me.

“Okay.” She breathed.

_______________________________________________________

With little time, the two of us washed up and got dressed. Under her burgundy fur, Red was covered in scars and burns, though she wouldn't tell me which ones were from fights, and which ones were from pleasure. I also I got a glimpse of her cutie mark, two silver ribbons in the shape of hearts, one inside the other, with the smaller inside one torn. I asked her about it, and she just told me ‘Love is complicated’.

Trotting down the hall, we found Harp and Circlet waiting fo us, chatting away as string and percussion music played from beyond the door.

Circlet gave Harp a bow. “Excuse me, aunt Harp.” He trotted over to Red, who put on a relaxed smile. “Um, Lady Red, how have you been?”

“Feeling better. Just had to let off some steam after what happened the other day.” She lifted her hoof, and Circlet stumbled over to kiss it. “Good boy, now escort me inside before I'm unfashionably late.” As the two trotted to the door, she gave me a wink.

Harp looked from Red, and over to me, cocking an eyebrow. “What was that about?”

“long story short, we had sex.” I trotted to the door, Harps mouth agape.

“You're pulling my leg.” She responded, pushing her jaw back up.

Chuckling, I opened the door. “Might be.” and stepped inside, Harp following close behind.

The room had a few light bulbs illuminating the area, but the rest of the light came from candles that were all over the place. At the center was a long wooden table, covered in food and drink. Decorating the walls were trophies of animals, monsters, and disturbingly, even a few pony heads.

At the table was Carving Doll, who was already stuffing her face. Blackspot sat not far from the captain, flanked by Shamrock Bayonet and Couteau Duel. The first mare gave me a smile and a wink. A griffin sat back, paws on the table, hat covering his head as soft snores escaped his beak. There was also Snowbird, whom was playing with some small bones.

Harp and I took a set closer to Red, and as far away from the captain and the first mate as possible. As soon as my flank hit the chair, Red tapped a fork on the glass, getting everypony's attention, even waking the napping griffon. The catbird was large and muscular, with long dark brown fetters that were white at the tips, and a face that looked like an eagle from the books I read as a foal.

“Before we pray and eat, I have a few guests to greet for this dinner” Red put down the fork, and cleared her throat. “First we have prince Silver Circlet, and princess Harp Melody. Both descendants of princess Platinum. Actual royalty.” The Corps brigaders only looked mildly interested, but the griffin started himself up, giving the two royals a serious look. “Between them is Vibraphone Echo, a member of a group called Orthrus. I'm still learning more about them, but from what I know, they have technology that surpasses what even the fleet has, such as what you see see on her, cybernetics.” The griffins eye fell onto me, sizing me up. “And inquisitor Iron Wing, how's my mother doing?”

“Ever vigilant as always.” He had a voice deeper than any pony I had ever met. “But let's save any more pleasantries for later, it's time for prayer.” The griffin Iron Wing clapped his talons.

Stumbling from behind a curtain Tarberry choked on some bread, trying to wash it down with a bottle of wine. Quickly gulping it down, he cleared his throat and pulled out a thick book. “Eye, I’ll be reading from the first records of Saint Rosland, of her speeches aboard the Leviathan to the survivors fleet.”

The pirates put their hooves and talons together, and heads down. The remaining three of us were left confused, though Circlet almost immediately copied then.

Across from me was snowbird, who quietly whispered “Twenty lashes for those that forget their prayers.” I nodded, and made sure Harp copied me as mimicked the others in prayer.

Tarberry continued his sermon after the short pause. “Bellies growling in hunger, bodies ravaged by sickness, and muscles pushed beyond by tireless work. I know you feel this pain, as we all feel it, as I too feel it. So why keep going? Why do we not stop? I ensure you that you already know why. For over the horizon is your destiny, our destiny. You keep on living, keep on suffering because soon you will be rewarded. All you must do is reach out and take it. If we simply sit back and wait for our rewards, it will always be out of reach. Now, work hard, harder still until death nips at your hooves, for soon is the time to feast, but we must get their first.” Tarberry closed the book with a slam. Peeking my eye open, I saw the pirates end their prayers.

Iron Wing raised a glass of wine. “A fitting sermon. We must work Celestia’s day hard and tirelessly, so that we may reap Lunas beauty and feast.”

“Eye!” the rest of the pirates yelled.

Tarberry took the last seat next to Snowbird. “I’m flattered that you agree inquisitor, it has always been among my favorite of Saint Rosland’s speeches.” The preacher poured himself a strong helping of wine, taking taking a long gulp of it.

Carving Doll and the other Corps Brigade tore into their food like ravine beasts. Looking at the table before me, there was food aplenty, so I just grabbed whatever and placed it on my plate. Whatever happens next, I knew I was going to need to get my energy up. Harp and Circlet were a little slower in taking the food, but it was clear that hunger pushed them along.

“I have to admit, ponies like you all are a grand find.” Iron Wing spoke to us. “But can you prove it? Are you related to a founder of Equestria, and do you truly share bloodline with Celestia herself?”

“Oh yes, it's why were superior to other ponies.” Circlet said excitedly.

Harp cleared her throat, and Circlet closed his mouth. “We know we're related to Majesty, the youngest of the ruling nobles during the war. It's all been documented, including a family portrait that includes Celestia and Luna. Though our relations to the Goddesses is somewhat debatable, it is clear that at one point they were considered part of our family.”

The griffins laughed softly. “Then I will be sure to look over this evidence, and if true, it will make this day truly glorious. The Royal family in Avalon are descendant of Blue Blood, though with lack of solid evidence, the common ponies have been growing restless. The addition of an another royal bloodline may put them at ease.”

Food entered my greedy belly, quelling the pain it made. And the cider was just what I needed, a little bit of alcohol to help with my hurting head.

“Miss Vibraphone Echo.” Iron Wing called me. “So this advanced technology, I do hope it's not just mostly well maintained stable-tec gizmos.”

I finished off my mug, giving me some time to think, having to be careful with my words. “Maintained stable-tec materials is to be expected, Orthrus use to be Stable-Tec long ago. But since then, things have changed. You have likely seen the different prosthetics and cybernetics we’ve created, but Orthrus has help to develop other new technologies as well.”

“I see.” A small smile formed at the edge of the griffins beek. “Care to explain further?”

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking what I should, and should not say. Definitely anything about the specters was out, or the rail guns. But anything put into the public sector would be fair game. “It's hard to pick where to start, and somehow I feel that you might not be interested in our air guns. But along with cybernetics, the field of medicine has vastly improved, mainly in childbirth and curing damaged cells. We can even clone organs, as well as modify them to make them stronger. It's expensive, but with the treatment we were forced to develop, in infertile mare can even be made fertile again.”

At that, Red nearly choked on the wine she was drinking.

“Interesting, that is without a doubt.” Iron Wing nodded, he then gave me a very serious look, making me shrink back a little. “But its weapons and armor that I'd like to know more about. Or perhaps, are you trying to hide that from us?” He grasped his glass with his talion, each nail make a tap before wrapping around it. Bringing the glass to his beak, he took a slow sip as he kept his judgemental gaze locked on me.

“I see, maybe the airguns was a good place to start.” The griffin was subtly intense, making me feel small with little effort. Pulling up my air rifle, I passed it over to the griffin, hoping this would help please him enough to not pry deeper. “This rifle is not standard in the metro, but follows the same system that most of our air rifles use. Actually, the main advancement in the rifle is the talasman and arcane circuitry, though this rifle has a few brand new engineering advancements.”

Iron Wing kept an eye on me as he inspected my lelantos, so I continued. “What makes the more common rifles usable as service weapons is the inclusion of quality air pressurizing talismans. They allow the rifles to easily become and stay pressurized. My rifle also has a secondary talisman that forces the bolts to spin when fired, giving more power and accuracy over longer ranges.”

He passed me back my rifle. “Interesting, but I highly doubt they’re as effective as using gunpowder rounds. But these talismans, to use such a valuable resource in service rifles sounds wasteful. Well at least to me it does.”

I caught what he was hinting at, lucky the area of talisman was far from sensitive. “We can make artificial gems for talisman production, so while talismans are rare for you, they’re a more plentiful resource for us.”

The griffin scratched his beak for a short moment. “You said your rifle has a second talisman to help make the rifle better. What other things can they do? Could they perhaps be used to add magical effects to a normal rifle?”

I had to stop and think about that. We did use the talisman to copy unicorn spells, and Cornett said she used one of her vortex talismans, so it may be possible. “I’m no arcano engineer, but I think you would first have to install arcane circuits into the weapon, along with a micro spark battery and a talasman interface. If you can do that, then I assume you could be able to add a magical effect to a weapon, depending on the talasman of course.”

A smile formed on the corner of the griffins beak. “Intriguing. But now I must ask this; how much resources do you think it would cost to obtain those talismans, and the means to produce more?”

A cold chill crept up my spine, as that question was far from a bluff. Though I was certain they could do it, take down Orthrus, something inside me also told me that if given enough time, Orthrus could easily survive this. Reds plan for diplomacy could potentially give Orthrus the time it needed to ready itself to fight the pirates.

“Well it depends,” I spoke up again, “If you want to just take it, the metro makes some mean bottlenecks. It could take years to capture a vital station. And if you try and dig from the surface, the local flora and fauna are beyond difficult to deal with. Though, I supposed if you are willing to buy the talismans, I'm sure you can easily reach an agreement to get what you need.”

“Mirage ponies are known among the islands for their greed.” Circlet spoke up, and both Harp and I glared him down.

Iron Wing finished off his glass of wine. “You think so?” He relaxed back in his chair, giving off a calm and confederate look. “And I'd agree. Though, your kind lack something important, something that without it, you have no true hope to survive.”

“And that is?” I asked, somehow knowing I would not like the answer.

He slowly opened up his arms, the palm of his talons open, as though raving something very important. “It's faith.” Sweeping one talion over the table, grabbing a nervy empty wine bottle. “You see, we have faith. The flames of war feed that faith, and that faith sustains us, empowers us.” He tipped the bottle into his beak, finishing off the wine. Slowly, he pointed the empty bottle at me, turning it upside down. “But you, without faith, war can only grind you down, and turn your will to dust. And in the end, your kind would be left shattered.” He let go of the bottle, letting it fall to and shattering upon the floor.

There was a short pause, a quiet broken by Red tapping on a wine glass again. “Now, I do agree that in time all the Islands will fall to the grand fleet, but I also like the idea of diplomacy. It would give ponies like Tarberry the chance to convert others to the heard without having to cull it. But better still, the ability to obtain new tech and weapons without seriously draining our own resources.”

“A sound argument, that I agree.” Iron Wing stabbed a piece of meat with one of his nails. “But may I remind you, in this fleets entire existence, suffering heathens has never ended well.”

Carving Doll chuckled, as she forced some food down. “The grace of the goddesses is on our side, so no need to show your belly.”

Red huffed, sounding increasingly annoyed. “It would cut into the Equestrian campaign. Of which Captain, your faction leader is in charge of. I would think you of all ponies would not want the supplies diverted and squandered with some needless conflict.”

“And you want to play nice because, what? You’ve got a stallion you want to fuck?” Carving Doll bit into the cooked leg of some bird, snapping the bone as she chewed without pause.

“You’re an uncivilized swine, you know that, right?” Red had cut a clean square peace from a bloody piece of meat, popping it in her mouth she chewed it slowly.

A mug slammed on the table, Black Spot spilling some of his drink. “May I remind you who's ship this…” He ducked as a spoon flew at him.

“The good captain can defend herself.” Red chastise the first mate, and used her magic to steal Black Spots spoon. “Now returning to the topic at hoof, unless you have forgotten, you’re here to access the local inhabitants strength. Taking territory and resources are secondary. You’re damn little stunt at stable 50 will only make things more difficult. You also know that the admiral is not going to just give you her resources. Trying to engage in a prolong conflict without a clear plan for victory? That's only going to piss her off.”

Carving Doll looked uninterested, bored even as Red talked. Spearing a piece of meat with her cyberwing, she plopped it on her plate, and gave me a cold stare. “You, metal legs. Hypothetically, let's say, if we were to gas those tunnels of yours. How many ponies do you think would die? Nothing specific, a rough estimate, or even a total percentage will do.”

Looking back at her, my blood ran cold. “You wouldn't!”

She took a bite of her peace of meat, taking her time to chew before swallowing, and finishing it off from a foaming mug. “Our ships tend to have a nasty pest problem, rats, roches, parasprites, to say the least. So every few years we dock at a cityship, and gass our own vessel. We use chlorine gas because it's cheap to makes and very effective. Not just that, but I was also told by a wrench mare that air purification talismans can actually produce chlorine gas if reprogrammed. Though the only ones known to be strong enough to be effective at it are ones used by stable-tec. But where would I find a stable all the way out here?”

I poured myself a glass of wine, and then drank state from the bottle, taking in a few gulps. “Try it, and all you will have done is to convince the council to finally stop hiding in their holes, and come out to kill you.” Putting the bottle down, I stared Carving Doll down.

“How, and with what army?” Carving Doll smirked. “Trapped underground, there is little your kind can do against our fleet. From your answer to Iron earlier, I know you still are trying to hold on to many secrets. But we can just dig them out of you. It will turn your brain to mush, but we will learn what you keep from us. Besides, a cum dumpster does not need to think, which will be the only place for you on this fleet after we finish with you.”

“Two airships, well armored and armed.” The captain threats felt far from a bluff, so I figured I’d give them a little of what they wanted to buy some goodwill. It was clear that Carving Doll and Iron Wing were going to get their way anyway, so I might as well help nudge things toward Red’s side of the argument. “The main guns are the mark one railguns, basicly cannons that turn metal slugs into explosive ordinance. Alongside the mark one, the mark two railguns are capable of rapid fire, and can act as anti air. The night when you ponies blew up the radio tower, I used a similar railgun to drive one of your vertibucks off.”

Carving Doll looked annoyed, but Iron Wing was smiling now.

Red whistled loudly, gaining everyone's attention. “All the more reason for diplomacy. I've already obtained similar information about Orthrus, and without the grand fleets proper attention, Orthrus can be a dangerous enemy. But, if we were to establish trade relations, they could become a great asset to the fleet, and a possible source of new recruits.”

“There's also the republic.” I said loud enough for all of them to hear me. “They’re planning to go to war with Orthrus soon, and I know it's going to be a nasty one. They have a stockpile of energy weapons, an army of brainwashed soldiers, and a few of their own cybernetic psychopaths at their disposal.” At that, I shot a sideways glare at Carving, who simply smirked as she took another bite of the meat she held with her wing. “Even if you were able to take on Orthrus, the Republic would simply wait, biding their time and attacking you when your guard was down.”

“Interesting.” Iron Wing spoke up. “So this Republic, how would they be a danger to our fleet?”

I took a bite out of a bread roll, hanger driving me to scarf it down. “They have hoverships, a small fleet of them. Also stolen railguns that they are likely copying and reverse engineering now. Their also likely planning on countering the airships Orthrus has, so some large weapons have likely been built. So trust me, that shit you pulled with the Orphic Kingdom has already disturbed the Twitter-mite nest. But why not go ahead and see what happens when you try to attack it.”

The griffin didn't lose his grin, he actually looked more satisfied with my response. “Two heathen armies ready to tear each other apart. I do believe Admiral Flintlock may have made a mistake in choosing to go after that cloud city. But, that's for her to decide.” He grabbed a leg by the bone and bit off a piece, gulping down the meat. “I’ll have to concede for now, and return to the admiral with this information. Though against my better judgment, I’ll support Reds call for diplomacy. But, I must produce benefits to the grand fleet; converts, weapons, food even. As the teaching of Saint Rosland left us, if blasphemers are left unpunished, they will leave nothing but ruination for our world.”

“Eye.” Carving Doll nodded. “And I’ll be keeping an eye on Red Steel. Daughter of the admiral or not, I’ll cut you down if you get in my way.”

Red just smiled back at Carving Doll. “Trust me, I'm not so stupid as to stand in your way. Though all the same, it’d be best if you watched your back.”

Red Steel was still a crazy bitch, but I had to at least feel some respect for her. Though, I was just glad to have washed her taste out of my mouth. As I took a bite out of a potato, my eyes drifted to Black Spot. Other than the one time he’d spoken up, he and his trio had been too quiet. Shamrock and Tarberry looked to be chatting away quietly, both drinking rum from the bottle. Couteau on the other hoof was nowhere to be seen, though I had not seen here leave. Black Spot himself looked a bit subdued, slowly chewing on his food.

Feeling a bit of the heat rise up my body, I decided that was enough wine, and I poured myself some water. Taking a quick gulp, I immediately regretted not sipping, as it burned all the way down. “Fuck, not water.” Laughter burst out from the pirates as I tried to hold the bile down in my stomach. “Fuck you all.” I gave out through gasping breaths.

Regaining my composure, I looked over at the griffon, he eyeing me back. “Right, I told you about my kin, now tell me your deal. What the fuck do you want.”

The griffin picked up a cloth and wiped off his beak. “Simple, we want to save this world from evil. The evil that bears down on us in the day, the evil that claws at us in the night, and the evil from within our own souls. For at the true end of this world, our souls will be counted, and the righteous will join the goddesses. The sinful and unrepentant shall be devoured by the evil which even now has begun to consume them. By bringing more believers into the heard, we strengthen the will of the goddesses. And by cutting down the heathens, we prevent them from feeding the innocent to evil in order to save themselves.” Iron Wing had a smug smile, his attention drifting his glass of wine.

I sighed as the conversation with the griffin was going nowhere. A slight poke turned my attention to Harp, whose face looked a little pinker than before. She pointed under the table, and with nothing else to do, I quickly stole a look. I found where Couteau had gone, as she was in the middle of deep throating Black Spot. The mare was dedicated, to say the least. She was going all the way to the hilt, which also now answered why Black Spot seemed so quiet.

Deciding I was not interested in the show, I sat back up in my seat. Harp was looking at me, half confused.

“Just ignore it.” I whispered to her.

“Let's change topics, we can always stamp out the negotiations with Orthrus tomorrow.” Red gave me a knowing glance as she spoke up and shrugged. “Now the topic of Equestria. I’ve only been told bits and peace about it. Iron Wing, you must have a bigger view of the picture?”

“You are correct.” Iron Wing wiped a bit of wine off his beak with a clean cloth. “Since the fall of the Enclave, many of the bishops have started to come around to the idea of retaking Equestria. Right now, it's mostly going to be missionary work. The salvation of souls must come first and foremost, but resources have already been put forth to reconstructing a few port towns that will act as safe harbor for the fleet.”

“And of Victoria?” Red probed.

“That’s none of your damned business” Carving Doll injected in.

“Missionary work.” Iron Wing lifted a Talon, making Carving Doll calm down. “She's been sent to the east coast to assist the wild fleet’s own missionary work. A semblance of government has grown up on that coast, founded by a false prophet who is growing her own heretical cult completely unchecked. Frankly, the wild fleet is at a knife's edge from declaring a crusade, which could well sabotage our own chance to save countless lives. With Victoria Rosary’s help however, they should be able to find their way in as missionaries, and hopefully begin saving souls.”

“Now things are making a bit more sense. That would at least explain all the resources we’d being giving to her.” Red nodded. “Well, I guess all I can do is wish her luck, and may the goddesses look fondly on her righteous task.”

“That we all do.” The griffin said with a smile.

Snowbird started cackling through her teeth, getting a few less then pleased glances from nervy everypony. “Excuse me.” She said, hiding her mouth with her claws. “I just remembered a few funny tales, ancient ones, ones that involved Equestria as it had been.”

Iron Wing looked least pleased out if all of us. “Then keep it to yourself abomination.”

The harpy frowned, though it was hard to tell if she was mocking him or not. “What's wrong, bird cat? Have you had a nest of yours raided, perhaps you’ve lost a cub?” The griffin remained stoic, and Snowbird sighed. “You’re no fun. Well, I’ve had my fill, but I'll be taking the fire water with me.” She grabbed the bottle I’d mistaken for regular water, and left the table. Her large talons tapped on the floor as she walked out the room.

Shoving a potato down my throat, I washed it down with real water this time. With my hunger sated, the need to avenge my sister started to return, only balanced out by the need to protect Harp, and to abide by the deal with Red. Truthfully, I was starting to see the bigger picture, and how careful I needed to be right now.

Analysing the various new bits of information, I had a sort of complex cluster fuck in front of me. The pirates were part of a fleet, the Grand fleet, one of at least three; the Holy fleet, and the Wild fleet being the others. They had their own royalty and religion, with the religion having different groups. Red Steel is a non believer, but pretends believer, where Iron Wing must be a true believer. Or at the very least, he’s a hell of a convincing actor. Then there's the Corps brigade that Red wants to get rid of, whom a bunch of insane ponies who are under Phobetor’s control.

Gauging it all, I could see the motives for each of them. Red wanted to gather power, likely while keeping others from gaining power themselves. Iron Wing forwarding his religion and ‘saving’ others was likely his main, if not only goal. Carving Doll at first seemed baffling to me, but then it clicked. She's a thug, plain and simple, striving to be the biggest cunt in existence. It's the source of her authority, like with bandits, displays of viciousness keeps her underlings in constant fear of her. As for Black Spot, he is Phobetor’s pawn, plain and simple. Which was probably the most concerning out of all of them, as I still don't know what she wants, only that it somehow involves me.

“And now you see, this is what destroyed the Orphic Kingdom.” Theremin poked her head out from under the table, just under my chest. “The constant study of your enemies, the complexities of unraveling their true motives. Plays followed by counter-plays in a delecate neverending waltz leading to complete destruction and chaos. Do you think Orthrus can avoid the same fate? How about the Pineapple Island?” I ignored the psychopath, but her hooves came out of my blouse, reaching around my neck. “You know it's true, you can feel it. Only those connected to true equality would be able to resist this. And not just that, but rather than resist, they would have the tools to fight it.” She stretched her head up to mine, the fur and skin on her neck tearing apart, revealing bloody cables underneath.

I pushed away from the table. “Sorry, I… I need some fresh air.” Practically jumping out of the chair, I rushed outside into the cold night air. Placing my hooves on the railing, I looked back to see Theremin peeking from the other side of the door, staring at me.

“Seen a ghost?” Snowbird said from above me. Looking up at her, in the dark her eyes looked like two black holes, but her teeth reflected what little light there was. It all gave her a monstrous look.

I shook my head. “Just, slowly going crazy.” Theremin was beyond just dead, there was no way she could haunt me. Chill had an hallucination effect if I recalled, and though I haven't been abusing the drug, the possibility was there that this was all because of my use in the first place.

Snowbird jumped from her perch, landing next to me. “That's normal. You ponies have a habit of going crazy, or driving other tribes mad.” I cocked my eyebrow at her, and she smiled back at me. “Oh trust me, I’ve read many historical books going back over a thousand years.”

“Really, why?” it seemed odd, since I’ve never even heard of a harpy before. “Why is it normal?”

“Obsession, most likely.” She shrugged. “the oldest book involving ponies was written by a harpy queen. She was a friend of Celestia, or so it says. Then later, the harpy queen became jealous and bitter over the pony goddesses immortality. It was clear that she had hoped to learn the secret of eternal youth, and even turned to dark Magic to extend her life. It also suggested she would send cursed books to Celestia as gifts. Not the description of a sound mind, wouldn’t you agree?”

“That doesn’t sound like ponies were the problem. Noone wants to die.” I was not all that interested, but it was a good distraction. “But maybe I’m missing your point, how does this relate to crazy ponies?”

Snowbird laughed softly “Magic, or what I have to believe. The ability to bend reality to one's own will is something that ponies excel at. Think of the great and terrible things you can do with that power, and what lengths others would go to in order to take it.”

Sighing, I looked over on the water, watching the moon rise. “When you put it that way,” my stomach lurched, and half of my dinner practice jumped out of my throat. It only just hit me now, how Sorrow died. I was just too damned distracted to think about it. I’d seen ponies die before, but never reduced to bubbles. “How could she do that?” Not just that, but everything was just so fucked up; the republic, Golden Rule, the as fucking pirates. Me.

“Why do we do anything? It's in our nature.” I looked up at Snowbird, a too wide toothy grin on her face. “You ponies are just better at deluding yourselves, but I'm glad I could help you see the truth.”

“I…” I couldn't find the words.

I wanted to tell her that she as wrong, but... I’m a murderer. I can justify it all I like, I've done it, many times now. What Red had done earlier, no way around it, she had raped me, and yet... I simply accepted it. What else could I have done other than just accept it?

My stomach lurched again, but I managed to hold it down.

“I know that look,” Snowbird walked around me, almost dancing. “as though standing at the edge of a deep pit. Give it time pony, eventually you will have to jump.”

“She could run away, pretend to forget.” A voice came from above. Looking up at where Snowbird was before, I saw another harpy peaking for over. Her feathery mane hid her eyes, but her teeth were just as intimidating as Snowbird’s were.

“Or stay in place, be consumed by what might be.” A third Harpy poked her head over. Her mane was pushed back by a golden band that glinted in the moonlight.

“Great, more of you creepy freaks...” I let flow from my mouth.

Snowbird chuckled. “Well, certainly I could not level my coven behind. These are my sisters.” she pointed at the one with covered eyes. “Magpie.” Then pointed at the one with the golden ban. “And Nutcracker.” The two harpys waved back at me.

I sighed, hoping there were not more bird monsters on this ship. “You know, I got a good read on everypony at the dinner inside. Everypony butyou,that is. What's your part in all this? What game are you playing?”

She shrugged. “Red Steel asked, so we came. The Nevermore was feeling less homey ever since the captain took on a new apprentice.”

“Stupid puppet pony.” Magpie shouted, as she ruffled her feathers.

“Yes, sister Snowbird is the only one to appreciate the captain’s needs.” Nutcracker said with malice in her voice.

Snowbird stomped on the floor, making a loud ‘clack’ sound. “Now sisters, may I remind you to not waste energy on split feathers. Once we’re done here, we can go back to being worried about the harlot.” She returned her attention to me. “If you need a better reason, then think of it this way. By aiding Lady Red Steel, it puts us closer with the admiral. A great risk with a greater reward.”

She pushed off the railing, and flapped her gigantic wings, joining the other two harpys. “Oh, some advice. Well, more of a fortune reading that is, but if you want to free yourself, jump into the darkness. But be sure that when you do, you show it no fear. If you hesitate, then another will take your place, and you will trade your destiny for theirs, as is the nature of this world.”

The three harpies dipped out of sight, the chatter between them quickly becoming too soft for me to hear, and leaving me alone with my own thoughts. Looking over the balcony, passed the mess I’d made. Across the rest of the ship, I could see ponies still at work. In the dim light, I could tell a few had wings, but they were more like a… bat, I think.

But a deep pit did seem a fitting description for this feeling. Forced to embrace the darkness, or to run from it. Was I already too far gone to have any other options? The pain around my neck was dull, yet now and then it did throb.

“Why am I so weak?” I asked myself softly, “Sis would have known how to get out of this.”

“Mother would say that Davy Jones Locker is littered by those who doubt themselves.” Red Steel stepped out with Harp close behind her. “All you need to do is pick a direction and dedicate yourself to it, as you’re a lot harder target to hit when moving.” she looked at me for a moment, and then smiled. “Here, maybe this will help you.” she pulled out a small object and tossed it to me.

Catching it, it was some sort of pin. On its face was an hourglass, with two pirate swords going parallel over it diagonally. “What's this?”

“It’s the symbol of the grand fleet. Now, stay still for a moment.” I felt my mane pulled back, and a black band put on my head to keep it in place. The pin was then taken from me, and placed on a black bow, before being placed on the side of the band. “Good. Stylish, but not gaudy.”

“looks cute.” Harp commented.

I looked at Red, a bit confused. “Is this really necessary?”

She then gave me a kiss, and I let her shove her tongue into my mouth. I couldn’t feel the rings that had been on her tongue, but I did feel a hole where one should have been. In checking for her piercings, it accord to me that I definitely need to see a therapist when I got back home. After a few long seconds Red broke off the kiss, and just smiled. “Remember your promise to me, or I will punish you.” I wacky as she walked away, her hips swaying.

“Wait…” Harp breathed. “You weren't messing with me? You actually fucked Red, and after you got made at me for the exact same thing!?”

“Truth be told, Merit’s a better lay.” It stung a little, having that thrown back at me, but not enough for me to be too bothered by it. “Also, I'm not a princess, and you know your father would be pissed if I just let you galavant around.”

“This again,” Harp groaned. “it’s hard to be a princess when your kingdom is slowly being dismantled. Unless Orthrus is setting up to have its own royal family, then I won’t be a princess for much longer anyway.”

“That's not what I mean.” I looked Harp in the eyes, so to punctuate my point. “You’re important to a lot of ponies, Harp. With or without the Orphic Kingdom, you’re more than just a princess, you’re a symbol of hope. I know it's not fair, and that it’s not like you chose to be who you are. But until I can get you safely back to your father, just please, be careful.”

“I…” Harp sighed. “Fine, but I'm sticking with Bass until I'm off this ship. Anyways, her colt is adorable. Hard to imagine she's only a year older then me.”

“And a bandit.” I reminded Harp.

She shrugged. “Hay, I'm no square.”

I face hoofed “Don't, just don't.” From inside the captains cabin, the rustling of ponies could be heard. “Let's get going before the others come out.” Harp nodded, and we trotted down to the main deck.

_______________________________________________________

The ponies here didn’t pay us much mind as they clean the deck and moved supplies around. Without the crowd, the deck looked spacious, bigger than what most stations had for any room. The slave pens nearby seemed to have been moved around, and the bigger pens now held at least two ponies each.

Hearing some ponies not far behind us, we hid behind one of the pens. Stepping down from above, was Shamrock and Tarberry, both having trouble even walking.

“Then I told the runt, if he didn't properly remember the lines in the book, I'd put him in a dress, and make a mare out of him.” Tarberry slurred his words. “The next time I’d asked, the little fuck had actually memorized the whole damn book.”

Shamrock laghed. “Had a sister like that, beat my ass raw many times for being too forgetful.”

A sinker came from Tarberry. “You do seem like the naughty little sinner.”

Brushing up against him, Shamrock sinkered back. “I know, and I need to be punished, father.”

We watched the two pass by, disappearing behind one of the cannons. Harp looked at me, face a bit red. “You... want to watch?” She asked.

Considering it for a moment, the idea of watching a pony get drunkenly rutted did sound mildly entertaining. But reasonably thinking about it, it was only going to make me need a release again, and despite how fun Red was, I was going to need an actual dick. And no stallion on this ship would fit the bill, because I really didn’t like the idea of a pirate inside of me.

“I think I’ve had my fill of debauchery for the day.” I gave Harp a frown, but knew it was for the best. “But hey, if you really want to watch some ponies get it on sometime, I’ll pay for private show at the Lucky Rabbit's Foot.”

“Fair enough.” Harp frowned, and then sighed. “But we're going to need to get you a better looking leg, and then go shoe shopping.”

I nodded. “We might as well get ourselves new dresses while we're at it.”

“You mean visit that boutique? Oh I've been dying to go there.” Harp gave me a mischievous look. “Heard that the lingerie there is second to none.”

“Sweet’s had said the same to me.” I nodded to her, “Maybe I can surprise Merit with something special.”

We quickly shut our mouths when the sound of hoof steps began to descend. “How long is Shamrock going to take?” It was Black Spot, almost stumbling down the stairs, being propped up by Couteau.

“Oh let her have some fun.” Couteau nuzzled Black Spot. “Besides, I quite like the idea of it just being you and me.”

He returned her affection with a hard shove and a swift kick. “Don't try me, or do I need to rip open a new asshole for you?”

Couteau looked up at him, fluttering her eyes. “If you must.”

“Wench, ” Black Spot huffed, and stomped down the stairs. “I'm not in the mood for games. I need to know what Red Steel is after, and I need to know soon.” He kicked the wall, huffing in frustration. It's so close I can feel it. And not just my Vibraphone, but also my Star Charter too. Her voice had changed, but I know that was her on the radio. Once Luna has granted me the power she promised, then I’ll have both in my hooves.”

Couteau hugged Black Spot from behind. “But right now you have me, so why not use me.”

He turned, and clocked her in the jaw. “You are forgetting your place, I didn’t buy you so that you can pester me.” He scratched the floor with his hoof. “Get the others. If Red is trying something, we need to move before she dose. You have until Shamrock is done getting rutted.”

Couteau nodded, and scrambled off.

“Luna…” Black Spot said to himself. “Are you testing me, every time I have her in my hooves… Damnit, when I get my reward you mark my words, I'm going to skin Red Steel alive.”

He paused, and all became quiet. Harp held her breath, looking away, but I kept an eye on him. In the dim light shadows danced, as though a flickering light hung above him.

“Yes, of course I hear you.” Black Spot looked up at the moon, eyes wide. “I’m doing my best… sorry, sorry… I am yours, completely and truely, Luna.” His ears twitched, and his eye darted. “You are most merciful, oh dedicated goddess of the night.” He looked around for a moment before his eyes felt right on me, and a wicked smile split his muzzle.

“Fuck this!” I breathed, and drew my revolvers. “You can just fuck right o…”

He was gone, in his place where two green orbs. Two bleeding green orbs. Everything faded into darkness until it was just me, the orbs, and it's blood. Then, everything fell into the nothingness.

“Delightful, is it not?” Phobetor asked as she stepped into my view, somehow darker then the darkness all around me. As she glared at me, her golden eyes felt like they pierced directly into my soul. “Here I was, worried that I'd have to do things the hard way.”

I opened my mouth, only to find that I had none. I tried to shout, tried to scream, but nothing would come.

“I have to say,” Phobetor smiled, pulling my mouth from her lab coat pocket, it chattering silently. “I like you so much more this way.” she put my mouth back into her pocket. “Now just stay still, this will all be over very soon.”

The green orbs were closer now, giving me the feeling of strife and cruelty. Something else was there just past the orbs, hanging there like a ghost.

“Oh! So that's how you did it!” Theremin poked her head out from under the orbs, half sunken in a pool of blood. “You had help from a magical abomination from beyond.” She shook her head. “You know, that's not playing fair, it’s not in the spirit of equality at all.”

“What is this...” Phobetor looked from me, to Theremin, and then back to me. “What is it you looking at?”

Theremin smiled, trotting to the left as my eyes locked on her.

The darkness retreated, and Blackspot stood in front of me once more, but with his eyes bleeding. Not wasting the time, I jabbed my right forehoof at him. The bastard stumbled back in time to avoid a power hoof to the face as he looked momentarily shocked.

“Again, why must you test me?” He said, quickly regaining his composure by trying to stare me down again.

I looked away, and saw Harp cowering. “You need to run harp, get going.” Firing my revolvers, Blackspot took cover. In the corner of my eye I saw Harp galloping off. “I think this can be called self defence, jackass.”

“Try and kill me if you’d like, you won't be the first to fail. ” A chuckle came from Blackspot. “But unlike the others, I'll be keeping you after I ravage your mind into submission.” His words sent a cold chill down my spine.

Taking aim, I found him missing again. “Where…” Everything went sideways as I found myself hitting the floor.

“Shouldn't have looked away my darling.” Blackspot licked my cheek, and I swatted at him, but the bastard was too fast, dogging my poorly aimed attack.

Getting up, I found that Minerva still had both revolvers in the pipleg magic. “You’re fast, but can you outrun a bullet?”

He smiled. “No, but I don't have to.”

Before I could fire, I was swept up in the air, held by my back legs. “Pony being too loud! Sea dog can't sleep!” a dog like monster held me in his claws, glaring and growling at me.

“Good work, Ollie.” Blackspot clapped his hooves. “Now drop her you mangy sea dog.”

The monster huffed, and let me go. Hitting my head on the deck, my vision went blurry for a moment.

“Let me go!” “Harps voice shouted. As I got up, Harp was thrown at me, only giving me a moment to catch her.

“Ahh, you two forgot the most important thing about this ship.” Blackspot said as other pirate ponies crept out from the shadows, Couteau among them. “This is our ship. You can nether run, nor can you hide.”

“We don't need two of them, Blackspot.” Couteau spoke up. “What do we do with pinky?”

Blackspot scratched his chin. “With how my darling likes to get away, I say a hostage is in order.” He eyed me, this time without the bleeding. “If you try to get away, fight back, or disobey me in any way, I'll make sure your dear Harp is treated as the ships fuck toy. Do you understand?”

I held Harp closer as I glared up at Blackspot. “Crystal.”

Clapping his hooves together, Blackspot held a wide toothy grin, a few of his teeth yellow and rotten. “Perfect.”

An exhausted looking Shamrock came stumbling into the light. “Oh, hi… Sorry to report, but the preacher passed out soon after, well, finishing.”

“No matter,” Blackspot rolled his eyes. “We have what we need. We're moving out now.”

_______________________________________________________

Footnote:

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (under control)

Chapter 46 - Hunted Hunters

We were cramped into the cabin of a vertibuck, with Blackspot’s gang making sure Harp and I could not move. The pirates called the vertibuck a gull, and it looked just as anemic as the ragged birds that flew above the islands. It was far more striped down on the inside than any vertibuck I had seen before, was apparently capable of landing on water, and had a heavy machine gun attached on the side for a gunner to use. The stripped down nature of the inside did make me worry, as it felt more like a cage. Because of that barebones nature, I could see the hull mounted magical energy cannon from inside the craft.

“This has been a long time coming you know.” Blackspot yelled from the copilot seat. “You can't defy the goddesses. They always win in the end, you do know that.”

I held my tongue, Red made it clear that anything about the goddesses and the saint was touchy subject.

“Got nothing to say? How about you princess?” Blackspot turning his attention to Harp. She looked over at me, and I shook my head. Getting the message, Harp kept her mouth shug. “You too then. Fine, I get it. Not that I need you to talk.” He turned back around.

A mare giggled to herself; she was a light blue earth pony with zebra stripes that made her look a lot like a mirage pony. But… no, she had no horn or wings, and her Zebra aspects were a lot more pronounced then in mirage ponies, so she had to be a zony. The mare was covered in knives, counting at least ten of different sizes strapped around her, with one even being a butchers cleaver. I made a mental note, that if I had to start shooting, she should be among the first to shoot, due to my fairly poor record in close quarters combat.

Across from the zony, was rail-thin dull gray earth pony stallion. He held a strange looking four barreled shotgun, which looked clumsy in his hooves. I wanted to mark him as an easy kill, but something in the back of my head warned me not to underestimate any of these pirates. Graceful Gust, even after we’d hurt her badly, was practically taken down kicking and screaming.

The rest of the Corps Brigade pirates were armed with either their scrappy SMG’s, or patched up old battle rifles, and none of them were wanting for ammo. Each of them also had two glass bottles filled with a dirty looking liquid, and a rag attached to its top. They were likely molotov cocktails, but there was no telling what kind of fuel mixture they had inside.

One of the Corps Brigade pirates had their back hooves on the still damaged frame of Order, treating the drone like a hoof rest. The drone seemed to have been fixed up enough for it to work, but it was missing a few plates, exposing some of its wires and gears.

Black Spot tossed my gasmask onto my lap, and Harps onto hers. “Alright everypony, we’re making landfall. So stick to the plan, and we will all eat like kings.” He then looked at me with a hungry smirk. “And for any pony who can't follow orders, death will be the kindest thing I will do to them.”

The pirates cheered as I put on the mask, Harp struggled a little to put hers on, her hooves shaking. Our masks were in far better condition than theirs, which made me wonder why none of them had taken them for themselves. Though, markings and paint on the masks did clue me into some importance to their own.

The zony’s gasmask was painted to look like a skull, which was a common theme among the masks, but also an hourglass, and tallies. Taking a deep breath, I nugged the mare to get her attention. “What's up with the paint on the mask?”

She pressed her mask on mine, so that we were eye to eye. “The masks, it's to let ponies know death is coming. We weaken fools with gas, and board them, kill as many we can get to. The skull is for those who have done a raid, hourglass for those who lead a team, and we tallie the kills we do on such raids.”

I backed my head away, nodding. From what I could see on the zony, she had at least twenty three tallies. About all the ponies here had more than ten tallie marks on their masks, and those who had mostly clean masks, I had no doubt that they still had many kills under their belt. Black Spot’s mask had a green skull with Red streaks under the eye sockets, and disturbingly, tallies all along the side.

Everything lurched as the gull descended, and the air felt like it became humid and sickly. Within a minute, we touched down with a hard thud, shaking the rickety old craft. A second gull landed not far from us, with the similar thud, sending sand everywhere. Pushed out of the gull, I stumbled to the ground, finding it hard to get my balance on the loose sand at first.

“The tomb where the goddess dwells.” Black Spot announced. Looking passed him was a hill full of tombstones, and passed that large building with the words “Stable-Tec” boldly attached to it, in front of a large gear. It was the old stable-tec resort hotel, meaning we were on friendly island. I could only hope that it meant Orthrus was near, and would be sending ponies to investigate.

The other gull dropped off three sea dogs, and two unicorns, as well as some boxes. One of the unicorns had some electronics on their back, with a long antenna, where the other had a flamer with two large tanks on their back. As for the three sea dogs, two were hauling a crate over as the third held an LMG in its paws.

As the group gathered together, the two gulls took off, likely flying back to the Weeping pegusus. I trotted over to Harp, who was supplying Order with power, and the drone slowly coming to life.

“Looks like he's going to be alright.” I said, hoping to cheer her up.

She nodded. “Order can be fixed, the worst of the damage is to one of his eyes, and his speakers. Though, it’s not all bad that he can't talk right now.” Order made crackling beep sound.

Harp let go of the drone, and it floated up into the air. Stopping, it seemed no longer able to stay still in the air, bobbing slightly like an old sprite bot. With Order back up and running in at least some capacity, we joined up with the pirates, who had just opened the crate.

Inside was a hefty looking raidio, and a bunch of spark batteries, along with what looked like an automated turret with a small terminal connected to it by a cable. After Black Spot inspected the contents, her waved the sea dogs away, and proceeded to pick up the crate, and walk towards the hotel. Looking around, I saw two of the pirates quickly scouting the beach, stopping at a large rock half buried in the sand.

Something seemed eerily familiar about the stone. “Let's go, my darling.” Black Spot’s words sent a shiver down my spine, so I shot him a glare. “Be that way for now, but soon you will see the way of things…”

Gunshots from the two scouting pirates stole our attention. The stone was now missing, and in its place was a sand-lurker, the four legged monster slashed out with its two massive claws from under a hard shell. It's face reminded me of the sparkle-lurkers, it's mouth made up of four mandibles, but what always had unnerved me the most about them was the six smaller claws on its chest, moving and snapping. One of the pirates were down, and the other firing their rifle right in the lurks face.

“Blast it all, every pony get your guns ready!” Black Spot shouted.

The sand-lurker was taken out by the scouting pirate, but two more came out of the water, and so the pirate ran for it, making his way to us. The second pirate slowly got up, but when he saw the two lurks, he ran so fast he got to the group in ten seconds flat. The pirates set up a firing line, and as the sand-lurker got close, they were taken out after two volley of lead.

“Fucking pests!” Black Spot shouted. “Alright, let's get to the building before more crab meat try to hinder us.”

The pirates quickly holstered their guns, and made their way up the path to the stable-tec building. Shamrock and Couteau took up a position behind us, with their SMG’s trained on our backs.

“I do hope you try something.” Couteau said with a smile. “Your princesses pretty face pissed me off.” I got the message, and got moving, while making sure Harp stayed close.

It was uncanny how much I recognized the graveyard, even when I had never been here before. Well, not physically at least. Quite a few of the grave stones were blank, while some had names, and others only had cutie marks engraved on them. Though the one big difference was the abundance of punga trees and plants, more than I had ever seen in one place. It gave me a tragic feeling to look at, with the moonlight reflecting on the crystal clear water, a beautiful scene framed by death.

As we trotted up to the doors into the building, my eyes fell onto one grave, marked with an horseshoe interlocked with a question mark. Above it, it simply had the word “Slowtrot” engraved on it. The dirt in front of it looked disturbed, as though some pony had recently dug it up, and filled it back in.

Turning back toward the building, something odd about it finally came into focus. The building had random patches of punga trees growing out of it. The ground was littered with the rotting fruit, and saplings choked the ground around the building.

“Clear!” One pirate yelled before the door exploded.

The zony sighed. “Great, we got a Graceful Gust wannabe.”

The pirate with the flamethrower stepped in first, and after a long few seconds, he let his fire rip with a roar, lighting up the inside. He slowly made room for the others to go inside as he continued to spray flames around. I stepped in before Harp, and saw roasted rad roaches all over, as well as a few giant mosquitoes. I was worried about the flamer pony bring down the building on us, but with the extra light of the burning bugs, I could see that this hotel was built like a stable.

The bugs kept coming at first, but as few strategic uses of molotov cocktails blocked the bugs, and finally scared them off.

“This is why I hate going to shore.” One of the pirates whined, “If it ain't gigantic rats, it gigantic bugs.”

The pirate with the four barrel shotgun chuckled. “Then never go to the mainland, heard they got this massive monster called a yogui. Got claws that can cleave a pony into two.”

“We got paradise dragons here.” I added. “Big ambush predators, claws, teeth, kills a shit ton of ponies every year.”

The whiny pony huffed. “I say this world needs another balefire cleansing.”

Black Spot pointed at the sea dog. “You three, go set up the beacon, and the turret. Contact me if you see anything suspicious.” He then turned to the rest of us. “Let's find the basement.”

As we trotted through the ruins of the hotel, I began to take note of two things. One, being how bare everything was here, though it was likely that stable-tec cleared this place out long before becoming Orthrus. And two, there was old hydroponic equipment in a lot of the rooms, with overgrown punga plants reaching over to, and out the window, with the roots covering the floors.

Continuing on, we trotted into what looked like a stable-tec showroom. The walls were covered in old faded posters of stables, and there was a table in the shape of a gear. The table was covered in small broken dolls, along with a single rusty hammer.

On the other side of the room was a stairway going down with a large sign above it, stating ‘The Stable Experience!’

Following the others down, what was dimly lit became pitch black darkness. Order was the first to turn on its lights, followed by a few of the pirate unicorns with light spells. The room we trotted down into looked utterly bear, looking as even things that were bolted down had been removed. At the end of the large room was a single terminal in front of a sealed stable door.

Order’s light scanned the room, falling onto a lone radroach. It scurred away from the light, running toward the terminal. Without anything shooting it, the roach simply disintegrated, sending a blue ripple out.

“The first obstacle!” Black Spot existed with a wide smile on his face. “Luna sent me a vision of this, and here it is.”

I cocked my eyebrow at him. “And how do you plan on getting in? Those energy barriers aren't going to let us in, but if you want to dive into it first, be my guest.”

“Darling, come here.” Black Spot called for me. I trotted over, after Couteau poked me with her gun. “Goddess Luna showed me many things, not just the things that get in our way, but also the keys to get passed them. Let me show you.”

Black Spot trotted up to the barrier, and I followed, not wanting another reminder. “We have similar magical berries on our ships, a grim surprise for any others foalish enough to take on the sea without paying tribute. Most of them are kinetically triggered, so any shelling will be blocked blocked, but a boarding party, they can get in. So it's all about finding the key passed them.”

“And you found such a key?” I asked.

He sent a magical ball of light along the barrier, sending little ripples across it. “Yes… You.”

I felt my body lift from the ground, and thrust forward. Landing, I slumped over and tripped on my hooves. After a few seconds, I got up, finding myself on the other side of the berrier, all the others staring back at me through a blue filter.

Black Spot clapped his hooves together. “Marvelous, just as the vision showed me, you truly are the key to freeing the goddess Luna. Now, turn off the barrier.”

I glared at him, but quickly consigned myself to following his orders. I was sure I could get away now, but not without Harp, and he knew it. Trotting over to the terminal, I blew off a large layer of dust, and flicked on the power switch. The screen lit up with green text, displaying one word in large text, “LOCKED” Looking over to the side of the terminal, I found a panel, and opening it up, a port to plug into. Pulling out a cable from my saddlebag, I plugged the terminal into my pipleg.

A spinning clock appeared in my hud display before a holographic screen popped up from the pipbuck display on my pip leg. It matched that of the terminal, but showed me a few options instead of the locked message.

-Inbox

-Door control

-Barrier control.

“Heritick, speed it up!” Shamrock shouted.

I ignored her, and selected the inbox. It had one message called abandonment, and another option saying ‘SOS’

‘By order of the overestallion, the stable-tec resort beach will be abandoned, and rendered off limits. For any pony who has come from the underground, turn back now. If you have come from the outside, then you must have passed the DNA tag, and are my descendant. If the latter is true, go no further. You may use this terminal to send an SOS, help should come soon. Signed, Stable-Tec security chief Underbrush.’

‘Not like there's anything left to recover, and no pony wants those damned plants in the stable. If any pony reads this in the future, fuck that rotten ghoul, Mister Wizard. If you ever meet him, do us all a favor, and put him out of our misery. Dooming us to live under a cloud of toxic pollen, and we let him do it. The techs still don't know how he did it, but to whomever reads this, I’m so sorry we ever trusted that mad ghoul.’

‘The radiation must do something to a ghoul’s brain, or worse, taints their soul. Hydrangea was heartbroken over hearing about his crime. She was his biggest fan, but I'm glad my husband did not live long enough hear her cry like that.’

‘Sorry for venting, this old mare forgets herself sometimes. Well, to the pony that reads this, do take care not to disturb the graves. Mine will like be among then, and I rather sleep quietly along side my dear Zaan.’

I saved the record on my pipleg, the names Underbrush, Zann, and Hydrangea were known to me. If only I had time to visit my ancestors graves. With a sigh, I flipped on the SOS, and went through the other two options, opening the door, and dropping the barrier. Yellow caution lights spun around as a claxon slowly pulsed.

Black Spot chuckled, his eyes looked like the cat that ate the canary. I really wanted to punch his jaw off. Slowly walking to me, his mouth moving, but the sound of metal grinding on metal thankfully drowned out his voice.

I waited for the door and horn to stop before I responded. “Say again?”

“I said, it's an excellent time for prayer, would you not think?” Black Spot asked.

I looked at him, and then over at the other pirates. Couteau having her SMG trained at Harps legs. “I guess it would be.”

“Now put your hooves together everypony.” Black Spot command, Harp and I simply mimicked the pirates. “Right, I’ll recant my favorite verses of Saint Roseland's scripture.”

He cleared his throat, and strained his back, taking a proud looking pose before speaking. “The fires of sin that scorched the land, and raised the dead to torment the living. It was our abandonment of our faith in the goddesses that brought this down on us, and exiled us from our homes in Equestria. The six ministries shepherded us to to our damnation, each one controlled by a false prophet that spouted their own virtue. The only true virtues needed in this life are Faith, and Submission. Have faith, always in your heart, never doubt the goddesses, never turn away from them. Submit yourself to the will of the goddesses, for only in your service to the mission can we save this world from evil. Hold these true virtues close, and you shall always be on the path of righteousness.”

“Ayman!” The rest of the pirates said in unison.

*Crack*

Pain ran threw my cheek as I fell to the ground. Looking up, Blackspot was wiping off his hoof with a white cloth. “I’ll let you off with a warning this time, but try something again, and I won't be so gentle.” Next to him was the smaller pony with the electronics on his back. The pony was busy looking through the terminal, the page with the SOS option opened up.

Getting up, I had to lift up my mask to spit out a tooth, leaving blood splatter around it. “I’ll remember…” Don't antagonize the psychopath. “I’ll remember that.”

“Good. Once you're officially mine, I'll have the time to properly train you.” He winked at me, making the disgust I felt towards him fade, being replaced with a deep sense of dread. “Also, now that we're passed the barrier, our relationship can move onto the next step.”

“What next…” I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. Several magical auras blurred my vision and held me in place.

“Stop it!” Harp shouted, only to be followed by the sound of a pony hitting the ground hard.

“This will only take a moment.” Black Spot spoke, holding a small thin tube… a syringe. “I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt. But you will survive, just like the rest of us.”

Lifting up my mask, the syringe rushed at me, the vision in my left eye blurred, and my flesh felt like it burned. The pain, like pure uncontrolled fire, snaked into my skull and crept into my brain. It spread, traveling down my spine to quickly make my entire body feel like I was on fire. I screamed out as that fire consumed me whole, and thankfully, that’s when everything went dark.

_______________________________________________________

“All of this could have been avoided. You do know that, right?” I found myself sitting at a dining table with Theremin across from me. We were back in Persephone station, in the fancy restaurant above the theater.

“By becoming a slave to the C.C.N.?” I threw my glass of wine across the room. “Sorry, but fuck you.”

“You say that.” The albino mare shrugged. “Yet, here you are.”

“You were trying to hoof me over to them before you died. And how are you even here?” I asked, feeling a mix of anger and confusion. “I saw your soul get dragged away.”

Theremin’s form shifted, like clay being shaped, turning into the form of the stallion that I first met at the club. “Who needs a soul when you’re beyond superstition.” He laughed, banging his hoof on the table. “Like fuck I know how this came to be. Maybe I just got stuck in your head before I died.”

Our eyes locked, his form melting back into the albino mare. Her eyes fell out, pushed out by a mess of wires. It had clicked in my head at that. I still had some of the republic cybernetics in my brain. I was not crazy, not completely. But now I definitely wish I was.

“Talking to yourself is not healthy.” The voice of Phobetor interrupted my thoughts. The nightmare herself trotted through the scenery as though she didn’t even see it. “But do continue, as it is so interesting hear a one sided conversation.” She said with a sarcastic tone. “It can reveal a lot about the pony having it.”

Something seemed strange. Now that she was here, it was like I was looking in two different directions at the same time. Closing my left eye, Phobetor disappeared. Opening that eye, and closing my right eye, Theremin and the restaurant disappeared. Shaking my head, and taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down before looking at Phobetor straight in her golden eyes.

“You know that you can just go and fuck off Phobetor, right?” I snapped at her.

She trotted up to me, a sly smile on her face. “Keep that tough mare act up, it will only make it all the sweater when you crumple at my hooves.”

I spat at her face, but it only flew threw her and plopped onto Theremin. Phobetor took a step back, snering at me. “Prepare to be surprised, and prepare to be thrown in the depths of despair.” Her form became like a shadow, only two golden eyes looking at me. Closing her eyes, she disappeared.

“You are going crazy.” Theremin said, leaning back. “You know, if you return to the C.C.N., your broken mind can be easily fixed.”

I shot Theremin a dirty look, and she stuck her tongue at me. As we stared at each other, the burning pain slowly returned to my body, and the world around me faded. One thought came to the front of my mind.

I needed to kill Black Spot slowly, and painfully.

_______________________________________________________

“Alright, say that again you scurvy ridden sea dog.” Black Spot shouted.

Opening my eyes, my left eye stung badly, and it felt a bit swollen. Harp was cradling my head on her lap, her gasmask had a large scuff on its side. A scuff that looked to be just about as wide as Black Spot’s hoof.

“Sea dogs not have scurvy!” Ollie corrected Black Spot. “And we sea dogs see mirelurks on the beach, lots of mirelurks.”

Black Spot groned. “And why Is that a problem?”

“Because there are mirelurks riding mirelurks, and they’re coming into the building.” Ollie announced.

I sat up, startling Harp. “You’ve gotta be shitting me!”

Black Spot looked over at me, eyebrow raised “Do you know what this is?”

I pushed myself back up on all four, finding that my head felt like it was going to split into two. “If I were to guess, they’re Berenices’ hunters.”

“Who’s ‘Berenices’?” Black Spot questioned.

“Another asshole, like you.” Everything hurt too much to hold back my tongue, and felt hungry for some damn reason. “She's the leader of a faction of lurkers who hate ponies. All their weapons and armor are primitive, but more than effective enough to slaughter a station. Also, she probably wants me dead after our last meeting.”

Black Spot cocked an eyebrow, and looked over at Couteau. Couteau scratched her chin for a moment before speaking up. “I think she's talking about the freak Graceful Gust killed, the pony like monster.”

“So there's more of them. No matter, let's just get moving, they can't get to us once we close the door.” Black Spot motion for everypony to move. As we trotted through the doorway, the smaller pony stepped up to the terminal.

*Crack!*

The smaller pirate tumbled over to us, the face of his gasmask shattered. Looking back over to the terminal, a sparkle-lurker stood, holding a long pole with a mirelurk claw on its end. The lurker had the same strapped together chitin armor as back in Fishery Station, giving the lurker a more monstrous look.

“By Luna, how did it sneak up on us?” Shamrock shouted.

I pulled out my rifle. “It's what they do, now kill it!”

Before the lurker could respond, a volley of lead slammed into it. Admittedly, most of the shots were easily deflected by its armor, but a few bullets ripped into its face, killing the lurker.

I felt a barrel of a gun poke the back of my head. “Next time you order me around, I’ll make you regret it.” Shamrock growled at me.

“We don't have time for this.” The Zony pirate spoke up. “Let's just close the door from inside.”

Everypony retreated further inside, Couteau jumping over the railing to another terminal. Outside, two more armored sparkle-lurkers came into view, but ducked our of sight when one of the pirates shot at them.

“Fucking Heriticks, the terminal's locked!” Couteau shouted.

I jumped over the railing to her, pulling out the cables I used on the other terminal. Pushing the bitch out of the way, I opened the panel on the side, and jacked in.

“The fuck is that!” A pirate shouted. Looking over the terminal, I saw a spear wielding sparkle-lurker riding an armored sand-lurker, the monster even had scrap metal blades attached to its claws.

I quickly accessed the door controls, selecting to close it. The horn pulsed, and the warning lights flashed. But before the stable door could closed, the mounted lurker charged in. Lancing a pirate, bullets sprayed everywhere as the pirate panicked fired as the lurker lifted him into the air.

*Splat*

The lurker slammed the pirate into the ground, blood spurting from the pirate’s body. The sand-lurker finished the job by grabbing the pirate in it’s massive bladed claws, and ripping him into two pieces, spreading the pirate’s guts all over the floor.

It only lasted for a second, but it felt like time stopped with the realization that we were trapped inside with this monster.

“Fire!” Black Spot shouted, and a defending roar of gunfire filled the enclosed room. Harp ran over to me, cowering behind me as she covered her ears. I got my rifle, but decided to wait and see how this would play out. Mostly, I was hoping that Blackspot would get impaled by the lurkers.

The two ‘lurks seemed to shrug off the bullets, as it swung it's claw tied spear around. The flamer pirate managed to dogged a slam of the spear, but was less lucky when it did a horizontal swing, tearing the pirates flesh as he was thrown into the air. The zony charged in, jumping onto the armored sand-lurker. Her knives proved ineffective, and she was quickly knocked off when the sparkle-lurker swiped it's tail at her. Despite receiving a deep gash from the lurkers tail, the zony pirate managed to jump back out of the way before the sand-lurker could spin and grab her with it’s mean looking claws. With a wide swing of its spear, the lurker forced the pirates to take cover, leaving the short pirate behind. An opportunity which the lurker wasted no time in exploiting by bringing it spear down, crushing the pirate’s head.

The pirate with the four barrel shotgun jumped in close, and with what look like an explosion, fired on the sparkle-lurker. The concussive blasts sent it flying off its mount and to the floor. But before the shotty pirate could reload, the armored sand-lurker charged and crushed the pirate between its armor and a wall. The pirate spat up a spray of blood and died as he was pulled off the wall, now nothing more than wet meat stuck to the sand-lurkers armor.

Aiming my lathanos at the sand-lurker, I set it to full blast. The pressure slowly built up, reaching the red portion of the gauge as I fed it more and more power. Pulling the trigger, pain shot through my shoulder, and the blast of air the gun emit was more like a cannon. The bolt slammed into the sand-lurker, puncturing through its armor, and sinking deep into the monster. It made an audible screech as it wobbled before falling lifelessly to the ground.

Our attention turned to the armored sparkle-lurker rider as it got back up. The rider abandoned its spear, and took up an aggressive posture. One pirate charged, likely confident now that the mount was dead, but he collapsed after the lurker gave off an ear piercing snap of it’s claw. The lurker jumped at the downed pirate, landing all four hooves on his chest, making a sickening wet crackling sound upon landing.

The other pirate's didn't risk getting in close, taking shots at the lurker from cover. The flamer pirate, still bloodied from his hit earlier, stepped up, and set the lurker on fire with a long stream of ignited flamer fuel. The lurker seemed to last for a few seconds before crumpling to the ground, becoming just another charred corpse.

Taking count, that lurker killed four pirates, injuring two. A beep from my pipleg caught my attention, it was a message from the terminal I was still attached to.

It read. “Where is my sister mine? My sister mine. My sister mine. My sister mine…” it went on for six lines, sending a clear message. Berenices was on the other side of the door, and she had access to the terminal.

Disconnecting from the terminal I tapped Harp on the shoulder to get her attention. “We need to go, Berenices is going to open the door.”

“What?” Harp shouted.

“We need to go, now.” I shouted. “They’re going to get in!”

“I can't hear you!” Harp scrunched her nose. “Everything is ringing.”

“She will need healing potion for her ears, but even without it, the ringing will pass.” The Zony told me, her injury already looking like it had already healed. “So just grab her and run. If what you said is true, we're not going to stick around.”

I nodded, and motioned for Harp to follow me. She nodded as the rest of the pirates scavenged their fallen, and likewise made their way into the fake stable.

The dark hallway became blinding as the lights above turned on. As my eyes adjusted, my attention turned to a window, and in it were a large group of dusty mannequins stood in front of a mural of a stable door. The speakers somewhere within the walls started up with a fuzzy screech before the voice of a mare spoke. Her odd twangy accent sounded a lot like the plantation ponies from pineapple island.

“Welcome to stable-tec everypony, my name is Applebloom, and I’ll be your guide through this simulation stable.” The lights dimmed in the hallway, but brighten in the room.

“Move it!” Black Spot yelled.

Everypony moved on, reaching a closed door. “Our goal is the ensured survival of both pony kind, and others in case the worst happens.” Applebloom voice echoed from the distance, getting drowned out by the sound of the stable door opening. The flashing lights and blaring alarm horn only adding to our desperation. The door in front of us refused to open, so I pushed to the front of the group, aiming my charged up rifle at the doors access panel.

Shooting the panel, the blast of air harshly pushed the rifle back on my shoulder, the bolt decimated the panel. Reaching in I pulled on some wires, and with a sharp hiss the door open a little as the hydraulics inside released their presher.

“Pull it open, and move!” I shouted.

I felt a sharp smack to the back of the head, but this time I bucked back. My back legs made contact with something fleshy, and I looked back to find Shamrock holding her jaw, blood leaking from her nose onto the ground. Serves her fucking right.

“No time for grudges.” The Zony spoke as she opened the door, and jumped through. The other pirates laughed as they entered the next room.

Couteau glared at me. “Be lucky you were useful here.”

Harp and I entered the next room, and two of the pirates took up firing position behind us. The crack of their battle rifles made us hold our ears. But looking back, it did well enough to hold back the sparkle-lurkers. In the back of my head, I knew that Berenices would soon send another armored lurker to break this defensive line.

Counting heads, there were ten of us in the room, two firing their battle rifles down the hall, the shots having a bit of an Echo to it in this room. We might be able to down another sand-lurker and it’s rider, but we’ll run out of ammo before Berenices runs out of reinforcements.

The lights turned on, not as blinding as before, but they revealed a large meeting hall with two long tables in the center. Applebloom’s voice engulfed the room again.

“Here at stable-tec, we do our best to give you the space you need. Living underground doesn’t need to mean cramped spaces and zero privacy. As a pony who knows what it means to have a large family, I understand that sometimes you just need to get away for some alone time. Our stables will have a plenty of places that you can get away and find yourself a little peace and quiet.”

Black Spot shook his head in frustration. “Shut up, I need to get to the generator room!” He yelled.

“The generator room is a floor down, past the pipbuck showroom. Both designated tour paths will take you there.” Applebloom's voice helpfully informed him.

“Uhh… thanks” Black Spot responded with a perplexed snort.

“Here to help.” The voice of Applebloom responded.

Black Spot looked back at the rest of us. “Shamrock, Couteau, and Ummese, with me. That includes our two guests. The rest of you will stay here and hold back these freaks.” The other fore pirates took position at the hallway, firing at the lurkers trying to get in.

Harp and I followed Black Spot, the Zony joining us. Looking over at the Zony, I couldn't help but be a bit curious. “So your name is Ummese then?” I asked.

“Kancane Ummese” The zony said. “My father gave me that name. It means little knife.”

“Sounds edgy.” I joked. “Your father must have thought highly of you.”

“Elikhulu Ummese was an accomplished warrior among the fleet, while my mother was a pathetic slave.” She shot me a pained gazed. “The name is a joke. Say more and I’ll slit your throat.”

I let it go, as Kancane looked more than ready to do it. But, I had a feeling she would get along well with Cornett, with the knife fetishes and all.

Actually, I pulled out my bayonet I got from Cornett, passing it to here. “You use them a lot, what do you think?”

Kancane Ummese stopped and handled the knife. “Not the time… but it is balanced, sharp, and light.” She stuck the knife into my shoulder, and Harp gasped. Pain ran through me, and I tried to punch her with my power hoof leg, but she deflected it. “You will be fine. But I'm surprised, it went through bones quite well. Whom made this blade?”

She pulled out the bayonet, and I winced from the pain. “Fuck… her name is Cornett. She makes guns, and knives. She… she was going to be family.” The blood trickled from the wound, but not as much as I thought it should however.

Ummese passed me one of her knives, and I took it. “I’d like to meet her. The wrench mares are no blade forgers, and she could teach them much if this is her normal quality.”

I gave her a knowing look. “If you help me, you can meet her.”

She shifted her eyes. “I don’t trust you, tunnel treader.”

I shrugged. “Up to you, up to you.” I pushed Harp forward, catching up to Black Spot before he got suspicious.

The show stable continued, one part about domestic jobs, another part more engineering jobs, and the last part on the Science jobs. Applebloom’s voice seemed to follow us and respond to us more than just some basic program could. Each room was as empty as the next, just like the hotel was. Albeit, less fancy and with bits of trash left scattered here and there.

The generator room was the first place that still had what was likely meant to be in here, which was two massive arcano tech generators. Sparks of electricity jumped between the two generators, hitting the floor and ceiling.

“Stable-Tec’s research into alternative energy has bore many different fruit,” Applebloom voice boomed over the speakers, just loud enough to be heard over the crackling generators. “but our most successful, and safest is this dual megaspell generators. Capable of lasting up to a thousand years, the stables can be a safe haven for ponies long after the war is over.” The generators suddenly sparked wildly. “Safe as in they don’t explode, please don’t get too close to the generators” The voice added sheepishly.

I felt a strange pull towards the genorators, like it was trying to suck me in.

“You feel that!” Black Spot spoke up. “Feels like siren magic, as expected from a creation of heretics.”

We all walked around the generators, staying in the safe area. Reaching a door that had a sign next to it that stated ‘Employees Only’. Couteau began working on the door’s panel, breaking open the cover. It was an odd thing to see another pony use the same tactic as me for opening old tech doors, and annoying that it was this bitch.

The crackling of electricity caught our attention. One of the pirates we’d left behind ran through the middle of one of the reactor’s electrical arks and got fried. Past the newly char broiled pirate was the flamer pirate, holding back the lurkers with periodic gouts of fire. Shamrock quickly ran over to the flamer pirate, and threw a molotov cocktail, giving the flamer pirate the time to rejoin us.

The back door opened, and we piled through, just in time to see a lurker jump between the generators, and get fried. Strangely, this pony like lurker did not look like a sparkle-lurker, with dull brown shell, and a dull green fins. More of these non-glowing lurkers closed in, with little armor on, and short, crude weapons held at the ready. Before they could get to us, Couteau closed the door, and flipped a switch that said ‘Lock’ on it.

Checking my E.F.S. I found that those lurkers papered on it, like a mass of red. “That’s new.” I said, a bit confused by this new kind of lurker.

“Shut up and move, heretics.” Shamrock sneered at us.

As we trotted further into the false stable, I watched as the flamer pony set up a trap with three molotov cocktails at the door before joining us. The empty room flashed with yellow lights, and scraps of paper littered the floor.

“Please go back, this room is restricted to stable-tec employees only.” Applebloom's recording warned. “Security has already been notified, so turn back now before y’all get in real trouble.”

Everypony of course, ignored the warning given by the over two century old recording.

Passing through one more door, we found ourselves inside a larger than normal tunnel. The air inside it, though dusty, was free from pollen enough for us to safely remove our gasmasks. The tunnel itself stretched off into a inky black darkness, somehow darker than any tunnel I had seen before, making me feel uncomfortable.

Harp pushed herself closer to me. “It feels... wrong here.”

“I know.” I agreed with her. “So stay close, and I’ll get us out of this.”

Following the surviving five pirates, we quickly made our way down the tunnel. Our hooves rapidly tapped on the concrete floor, sending eerie echoes off the walls. Where train tracks would have been, now sat broken ground, showing the level of scrapping that Orthrus had done the last time they were here.

Thinking about it, nothing here seemed that bad down here, other than the punga forest that the hotel had become. But down here, there's enough space for a small community to live, and the punga tree would provide a semi consistent food source.

The group slowed down, and my eyes fell on a massive stable door, far too massive to be real, yet there it was. It was about twice as high and wide as the stable 50 door, and at the center was “R&D” imprinted and painted yellow on it.

“What is that?” Harp asked, her mouth agape.

“I…. don't know.” I answered back. “I know Orthrus was originally a Stable-Tec’s R&D staff, but it always thought R&D was one of the stable-tec stations Orthrus still owns.” Looking back at the oversized door, it felt odd that an R&D stable was never mentioned before, and to be honest, it worried me as to just why it was abandoned.

Another barrier blocked our way with a terminal beyond it. Black Spot looked at me, and motioned to the door. After being hit by him a few times already, I got the message.

Jacking in to the terminal, the same options appeared as before. Though oddly enough, a different message was left behind than the last one. A message that sent a shiver down my spine.

‘To those it may concern, turn back and forget this place. Do not open this door under any circumstances.’

‘After many years of maintenance, this stable is now nothing more than a tomb. Anything of value we have left is not worth the consequences of releasing what lies inside. If you are in need of a water talisman, or some medical advice, seek out our descendants, as we are sure to have spare you can trade for.’

‘So I repeat, turn back, and do not open this door. -sincerely, Specter Agent Hidgranga. ‘

With a sigh, I deactivated the berrier, and pressed the button to open the door. The berrier dropped, but the door didn't move, and only the lights flashed. From my pipleg the message “Insufficient power” popped up. Looking around, I saw a thick cable that connected to the door, it only stretching a short distance before the rest of it was missing, only leaving frayed wires.

“They must have been serious about keeping this door closed.” I turned to see an annoyed looking Black Spot. “The door quite literally has had its power cut off, it's not going to open.”

Black Spot walked uncomfortably close to me, getting eye to eye. “Then give it power, it's what your kind dose, right?”

I glared back at him. “I'm not some kind of superconductor, or mega battery.”

The sound of loud tapping back from where we came drew our attention.

“Then get that fucking barrier back up.” Black Spot huffed.

Turning my attention to my pipleg, I reactivated the barrier, the blue translucent wall separating all of us from the rest of the tunnel. The sound of a small pop filled me with dread as the barrier deactivated. checking my pipleg, it stated that it was low on power. Using my knife to pried open the panel below the jack port, and quickly found the talisman responsible for the barrier. The damn thing had a crack in it, and was bleeding magical power, I could feel it. Focusing, I fed the damaged talisman power, practically forcing energy into it. Looking back, the barrier was back up, but it also meant that this barrier would not last long after I left it.

“I'm currently feeding the barrier, but we will only have a few minutes at best once I stop feeding it power.” I told the others.

Black Spot turned, and pointed at Harp. “Pipsqueak, you go and feed that door power.”

Harp looked at me, and I gave her a nod. She ran over to the cables, placing her hooves on it. She began to shimmer, and the warning lights of the stable door slowly began to flash.

*Bamp*

The power fluctuated, forcing me to pour more magic into it. Looking over at the barrier to see an ash pile on the other side. A group of non glowing lurkers slid to a stop, piling into each other, the one in front sinding the tip of its claw mouth on the barrier. More lurkers showed up, this time armored Sparkle-lurkers, some riding on sand-lurkers. The mix of mirelurks quickly surrounded us, easily being far more than we could handle is a fight.

With them just standing there, I could see that their weapons had changed a bit from last time. It looked as they were using far less scrap metal from before, favoring the sand-lurker chitin. Short spears and picks looked to be the most common weapons. Also most of them also sported chitin spiked boots, and chitin bladed tails, likely backup weapons. Less common were the long polearms the sand-lurker riders had, it looking like an axe spear hybrid made out of lurker claws and legs.

Two armored lurkers ran in, and blew on a shell as big as their own heads, making a loud horn sound that was defending. All the mirelurks parted to either side of the tunnel, their weapons pointed up and their heads looked down.

Slowly, but steadily, a sand-lurker clad in polished chitin armor, with wet red cloth draped from under the armor, walked into view. On its back was a sparkle-lurker clad In chitin armor, but it had what looked like red warpaint, along with the same kind of red cloth poking out from under the armor. On the lurker chitin helmet was what looked like a crown, also made from chitin, but with gold along the edges. The lurker stopped in clear view, and looked down at us, holding what looked like a mace made from a mirelurk claw, and reinforced with polished steel.

“Hello Berenice.” I spoke up.

Berenices struck the barrier with her mace, the mettle bouncing off it, making it spark, and ripple. “You… pony.”

I rolled my eyes. “Vibraphone Echo. Now, how did you get passed the stable door?”

“Where is mine sister?” Berenices hissed firmly.

“Oy, ya frigid cunt!” Black Spot stepped forward, “Do you know who you’re fucking with?”

Berenices red glowing eyes shifted to Black Spot. “Other pony, puff up your chest as much as you like, but you you are only worth one week, where we are more than a year. Once this… sparkle-shell is down, you will be reduced to but one, the rest will be grounded under claw, made food for the bottom feeders.”

The two stared at each other, Black Spot’s eyes bleeding. Berenices slowly tilted her head. “You… you will be incinerated, tainted meat is no good.”

Black Spot took a step back. “The fuck, our stare has no effect.”

A loud crack filled the tunnel as the oversized door slowly pulled itself back. I was surprised that Harp was actually doing it, once again proving her above average magicalness.

I turned my attention back to Berenices. “Mayall is not here, now tell me how you got past the door.”

The Lurker eyed me, tilting her head back straight. “If you must know, pony, my mother, the queen, has… honored me with her advisor in the search of my sister.” she placed a hoof at her mouth, and whistled.

A strange whirring sound slowly became louder, until a Mr. Helper came onto the light. The three eyed floating spear was painted red, with the label “Sparkle-Cola” boldly on its side. The robot looked heavenly modified, one of its claws now a crab claw, and another has a firebug gun rigged to it. It's third claw was a buzzsaw, like I've seen other Mr. Helper, but had cables along its arm, and a spark of electricity would now and then flick off from the blade.

“Miss Berenices, madam Andromeda was adamant that I not go near this riff raff.” The robot chastised the lurker princess.

“Forman,” Berenices spoke loudly. “tell the pony skum how we were able to get in.”

One of the robots eyes focused in Berenices, another on the seven of us. “This action is unwise miss. But if they want to know, I simply asked nicely.”

“What?” I said, felling a bit confused.

“I asked miss APPLE to open the door, and she was so polite to do so.” Forman responded.

“Who the fuck is APPLE!” Shamrock yelled.

Feedback filled the tunnel as the charming farm mare's voice from the show stable spoke up. “Articulate, Pony, Parody-Imprint, Educator. I am programed to guide and educate guests who have come to stable-tec. A VIP of Sparkle-Cola could not be locked out, as it's bad for business. so I had the doors opened for them.”

I could see what looked like a smile form on Berenices’s face, stiff as it was. “there, you can't keep us out. Your disgusting pony tech has turned on you. But… if you surrender now, I’ll make your deaths quick.”

A loud clack sound the stable door finally being pulled back far enough on its track that it could begin to open. A wave of cold stale air rushed in through the thin gap that Harp worked hard to widen. The air held a slight mix of rot and mold hit me, making me feel uneasy.

Swallowing my worry down, and putting on a confident face, I stared down Berenices. “Because Mayall is my friend, and you’re her sister, I’ll give you this one warning. Turn back, and never come here again. If you hate and fear pony kind so much, then this should be forbidden ground to you. Beyond here is something dark, someone my kind abandoned. Now leave.”

A soft chuckle came from Berenices, and slowly grew into a cackling laughter. Then she stopped. “Hate… Fear… you think I still cling onto such frail emotions. After watching your kind drown under the water, fighting for the smallest air pockets, giving into their hethinistic passion as their air ran out, I realized something. You ponies are not worth the worry. Yes, you got away, but the hundreds you left to die were easy to finish. Or was it thousands? I doubt it matters to you, it didn't to me. But, seeing how easily all of the ponies died, after all of mother’s stories about the dangers of ponies, it was just so… disappointing.”

Berenices raised up her hoof like legs, the red cloth pulling back to show golden bracelets around her legs. “I could no longer hold onto hate, or be pushed into submission by fear. No, I saw the truth… ponies are to be seen with disgust for what they did to this world. They are not worth the mercy of pity, and for the sake of the future, you all must be exterminated.” The crowd of lurkers began to cheer, beating their armor, and pounding their hooves on the ground. Berenices eyes were wide with a zealous passion, not unlike the same I had seen on some of the pirates.

“Vibraphone!” Harp called out to me. Turning to look, the massive stable door was open enough for a pony to get through, the pirate's already squeezing into the stable. “Let's go.” Her voice quivered.

I looked back at Berenices, glaring at her. “I was looking forward to seeing Mayall crack your shell, but if this is how things will be, come get me.” I laughed at her. It was a laugh full of hopeless amusement, as even I knew that there was no way out of this. Harp and I were going to die, death was inevitable. But… I can try and take as many of them with us as possible. The pirates, the lurkers… how many can I take out before I'm dead myself?

Unjacking from the terminal, I ran to the stable door, the last one in. Squeezing through, my metal legs scraped on the door as I made my may into the darkness inside. Phobetor was ahead of me, Berenices behind me, and Black Spot to my side. A dark thought crept into my mind, that maybe, just maybe, if they had a megaspell here, I could set it off on all three, killing three birds with one stone.

Theremin appeared in front of me, her cybernetics legs rooting out like a plant, her jaw missing and tongue sticking out.

‘all this could have been avoided.’ Her words echoed through my mind.

‘Shut it! You’re just leftover data!’ I thought at Theremin.

Oil leaked off her tongue. ‘The C.C.N. could have easily mobilized against this threat. Quelled it all.’

‘At what cost?’ Thinking back.

‘Equality.’ Theremin said, as she turned into sand. ‘Everypony becoming the same, no pony getting left behind. A wonderful thought, is it not? Where you’re mine, forever and always. Where not even death can take you away from me, no matter how many times I delight in killing you.’

She faded away, as I fell, hitting the cold floor hard.

_______________________________________________________

-Footnote:

-New Perk: Evil Eye. - Some joke about how a stare can have powers, you don't. Your left eye is now an evil eye, you now get unique dialogue options, and the ability to cast terrify, but when not covered up, you get a -1 to charisma and -5 to barter and speech.

-New Perk: Corrupt Regeneration - Whenever heavily wounded, your body will began regenerating. The energy from regeneration is taken from your hunger, and you will suffers doubles the effect of starvation. If starvation hit's critical, a frenzied state will be reached until your hunger is reduced.

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (withdrawal)

Chapter 47 - The &D Stable

“Vibraphone, are you alright?” Harp spoke softly as she helped me up.

Stabilizing myself, I felt a little embarrassed, having fallen face first onto the metal floor. “Ya, I think.” I told her, and though my head did hurt, it didn’t feel like any damage had been done.

Harp breathed a sigh of relief. “By Celestia thank goodness. I don’t know what I would do if you hurt yourself like that.”

“Healing potion, and med-X.” I told her. “That aside, we need to move. We only have a few minutes until Berenices is at our flanks again.”

A sharp whistle drew my attention to Black Spot, who was on a platform above us. The two of us were in a gap, the oversized stable door resting on tracks next to us.

“This way.” Blackspot said loudly as he pointed at a nearby ladder.

Not wasting anymore time, Harp and I climbed up as the drone Order provided us with the light. Light far above us dimly sparked to life, slowly revealing the large room to us. On the floor where I stood was a wide open space where large metal boxes had been left in a row, gathering rust. Next to me was a platform that looked like it should extended out through the doorway, but the panel next to it was smashed and its cables had been ripped out and cut.

Above me was a walkway hugging the walls, both sides having what looked like a security booth overlooking the stable door. Likely one had the door control in it, and the other was probably for use as a standard security overlook. Much further above was yet another walkway, this time with plenty of scaffolding that made me guess that it was used for maintenance. Oddly, my eyes fell onto a spot on the railing that was dented outward, like something big and powerful had hit or pushed on it.

The two levels above us had two doors each, one of them open, but too high to reach. On the level we stood on, there was just one large door with bunch of smaller boxes piled in front of it. With the way they’d been hastily stacked, it was almost as though it wasn’t random, and it was telling us to go no further. A glowing red light on a large panel to the side of the door drew my attention, along with the pirates who were standing at said door. Shamrock pulled a lever on the panel and it buzzed the sound of failure.

“Fuck this shit! Why does everything have to be locked?” she hit the panel and it gave another buzz. Giving me a glare, she pointed at the panel. “Tunnel treader, open this fucking door already, ya useless cunt!”

I just needed some alone time with her, enough to make it slow and painful. Trotting to the control panel, as soon as I placed my hoof on it, the red light switched to green. Pulling the lever down, the doors slowly parted. From inside, the smell of burned gunpowder hit my nose hard. The doors opened to reveal a large lift with a floor absolutely covered in small caliber bullet shells. The saturation in it was so total and complete that it looked like a carpet made entirely out of brass.

Everypony trotted inside, kicking the brass shells with each step. Harp clung close to me as Order hovered above, acting as our mobile lamp. Blackspot scooped up a bunch of the shells in his magic, taking a closer look at them.

“It's like the leftovers of a ship raid, but without the blood.” He looked back at me and motion at a control panel on our side. “And whatever they were shooting at, didn't shoot back.”

Pulling on the inside lever, the lift began slowly descending in a diagonal manner, the bullet shells rattle as the lift moved. Some of the shells rolled over the edge, pinging loudly as the clattered down. Stopping at the next floor, we had arrived at two more doors, and another locked control panel. ‘Warehouse Floor’ sat in faded paint above the doors, one of the letters slightly obscured by what looked like a burn mark.

Opening the door, before us a vast darkness was broken up by more lights sparking to life, just enough to see what we were about to trot into. The warehouse floor was vast, likely as big as one of the hangers that housed an Orthrus airship, though much of it was shrouded in darkness. Isle upon isle of large shelves sat on either side of us. They stretched off into a dark void outside the meager lighting that flickered above us, and at the darkness’ edge, was what looked like an auto-wagen.

I trotted out ahead of the others slowly, scanning the warehouse. While it was hard to see if anything lurked in the darkness, everything in here giving me a bad feeling. The others seemed to share that same feeling as they trotted out with their guns ready. The doors hissed closed behind us, leaving us in the expansive quiet and dark stillness.

Our hooves echoing with each step, we made our way to the auto wagon. I looked left and right as we moved, trying to find anything that looked out of place or perhaps useful for Harp and I. Unfortunately, the surrounding shelves were filled with what looked to be random parts and objects. Nothing very important altogether, such as pipes, rolls of copper wiring, and toilets. Though, if used as raw materials, they could still make a pony moderately rich.

The flamer pirate was first to make it to the auto wagon, slowly and carefully checked the inside the driver's cabin. “Check this out.” He said, waving to us.

Trotting over, inside the driver's cabin was the corpes of a dead pony with an R&D patch on his stable-tec jacket. Holstered on the dead pony was a classic energy pistol, and a security helmet on the seat next to him. The poor pony was like a mummy, all dried out, yet still had his fur and mane. His face, it was locked in a scream of pure horror, and the mouth was grotesquely and almost unnaturally wide open.

“I've seen Victoria do something like this before.” Blackspot spoke up. “Her stare can give a pony a heart attack. Though, the real question is how did this tunnel treader get mummified?”

“Harp, take this.” opening the door, I passed her the helmet, and unbuckled the holster.

Harp turned my red cap around before putting the helmet on, but needed me to help her put the gun holster on. As I helped adjust the harness, Harp looked at the pistol. “M.E.E.P. Magically, enhanced energy pistol.” she said to herself as she placed the pistol back in its holster next to her saddlebag.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the mummified corpse slump forward, falling onto the steering wheel. The horn blared for a moment before what little life the two century old battery had ran out, fading down into a low crackling growl. I pushed the corpse back, and all the others removed their hooves from their ears and glared at me, with Couteau’s being probably the most hate filled as she pushed herself to a trot past us.

“Really now.” Couteau said loudly. The pirates had moved ahead of us, likely distracted by the warehouse enough to forget about us. “We don't have time to fuck around, tunnel treader.”

“Miss Thorn Roseland, was it.” A voice echoed like a whisper from the stale air itself. “Did you just shove this at a judge to sign?”

Between Harp and I, and the pirates was a group of shadows, standing as though they were actual ponies there. The shadow ponies blocked our way, but didn’t advance or seem hostile. Instead, they just stood there, like Harp and I were the ones that didn’t exist.

Harp was now tightly holding onto me, and I couldn’t say I blamed her. In the back of the shadow pony group, was a less shadowy pony, whom vaguely reminded me of Slowtrot. In a split moment, the shadow Slowtrot ran of with another shadow pony right as a gunshot went off, and the rest of the shadow ponies faded away.

I looked over at the pirates, and found Blackspot’s gaze looking where the shadow ponies had been. He gave me a nod, as if to say that he had seen what I had just seen, which at least meant that Harp and I weren’t going insane. Shaking the odd encounter off, Harp and I began to rejoin with the pirates.

Still, seeing shadowy ponies block our progress didn’t make me feel as afraid as it should have. It made me feel like I was getting far too use to this weird shit in my life, and that was not alright in the slightest. Harp tugged on my dress, and pointed at one of the shelves where I saw a pony come out from behind it. Not another shadow, It was a thin old mare with thick glasses, a pipbuck, and a white lab coat, but otherwise she looked normal.

We weren’t the only ones to notice her however, as the pirates looked to where Harp pointed and aimed their guns at the old mare. The flamer pony was the one to take a step closer to her that the others, turning on the burner of his gun to get the attention of the lab pony.

“So there's fucking ponies living down here. Why don’t you just stay right where you are...” The flamer pony muttered before mouthing around the trigger-bit.

The mare started opening and closing her mouth, like she was talking, but not saying any words. She turned to the flamer pirate, and moved in his direction, unfazed by the flamethrower. Her movement was jerky, her head would twitch, like that of a robot in need of serious maintenance. It all felt wrong, and it unnerved me.

“Oh, fuck this!” Flamer pirate yelled, as he fired his flamer, setting the lab pirate on fire. But the lab pony continued to walk to the pirate, unfazed and of course, now on fire. The other pirate's traded fearful glances before join in. Harp and I covered our ears as they opened up with their junk guns, flinging bursts of lead at the lab pony until she crumpled to the ground in a burning, hole filled heap.

“The fuck was that?” Blackspot asked out loud.

“Could have been a ghoul” Ummese, suggested. “Though never seen a ghoul that we'll preserved, or flame resistant.”

“Well not anymore!” the flamer pirate boosted as he trotted to the smoldering corpse, and kicked it. He then let out a sharp yelp, hopping backwards. “The fucking shit, mother fucker!” He held his hoof up, it now gray, and cracked.

The smoldering lab pony slowly got up on all four hooves, her moth still opening and closing as if she were speaking. The flamer pirate stumbled back, shock on his face as he tripping over his own hooves, and falling onto his flamer with a slam. His flamer barrel had dislodged from its battle saddle, flopping onto the floor, making it spray its fire harmlessly away from the ghoul as he tried to stop the ghoul from descending upon him. His voice distorted as he bellowed in pain, the look of terror in his eyes as his skin cracked, fire bursting where ever the skin split. Within seconds the flamer pirate was reduced to a shriveled chare corpse.

I watched as the ghoul healed it’s gunshot wounds, and the rounds themselves spun backwards out of the holes they’d pierced into her skin. The burns across it’s body shrank back to nothingness as though time was turning backwards. The moment the bullets pushed themselves back through the holes in her coat, the old fabric itself knitted itself back together, and the bits of mane that had been clipped off by stray bullets actually floated back up and regrew into her mane.

It wasn’t just like time was turning back on the ghoul, it actually was being reversed somehow. In the same time it took for the flamer pony to die, the ghoul was back to normal. A very unnerving normal.

“I guess that answers to what was being shot at on the lift.” Blackspot said loudly, forcing the ghoul to turn to him. “But seriously, what fucking heresy were ponies performing down here to make a monster such as this?”

The ghoul began moving toward the other pirate's, walking with the same slow twitchy motion as it had with the flamer pony. Blackspot responded by rolling what looked to be an improvised grenade over to her. The small explosion thankfully didn’t send out shrapnell, but still was forceful enough to send the ghoul onto her back.

The sheer force of the sharp blast toreing off one of the mare’s legs, and the limb skittered off into the darkness. No blood or any kind of fluid came out of the ghoul’s gaping wound as it just got right back up. Only having only three legs now, and being of feral ghoul level intellect, of course it fell over as soon as it tried to walk.

“First mate, we’ve got more of the fuckers incoming.” Couteau said loudly, pointing further into the warehouse. Five more of the twitchy ghouls blocked our path, walking in our direction. I had a bad feeling that there were even more of them out in the darkness. I just hoped it was not a whole stables worth, or there wouldn’t be enough improvised grenades on all the islands to keep them back.

“Shit, aim for the legs!” Blackspot commanded. “And don't let them touch you!”

Couteau, and Shamrock aimed their guns low before firing. Their shots weren’t as powerful as the improvised explosive, but they were still enough to make the ghouls stumble. Their combined shots knocked one down, but it didn’t stop the rest from advancing.

Harp gave me a frightened nudge, and I turned to see two more ghouls creeping up behind us. They were coming out from one of the isles, crawling into the open from between some of the various supplies. They too were also opening and closing there moths as they twitched their heads unnaturally.

We quickly regrouped with the pirates, the six of us now forming a circle. Two more ghouls walked out from one of the isles, doing their unnatural movement. Blackspot looked around, and pointed down one of the aisle.

“If they won’t die, we’ll just go around. Follow me!” He galloped off, and left with no other real options, we all followed.

Passing the lab ghoul that Blackspot blew the leg off, she slowly scooted on the floor towards us. Her glasses had been blown off, giving me a look at the ghouls eyes, or lack of eyes. What I saw was more like two dark voids that made me feel disturbed to my core.

Continuing on, the towering shelves in combination with the lights made hard shadows all around us. I tried to not pay attention to the shadows, not wanting to be distracted by the ponies looking back at me from within them.

A clattering sound caught my attention, and I slid to a stop just as a bunch of pips fell in front of me. Looking up, the silhouette of a pony looked back at me from above. I only had a moment to dodge as the lurker crashed down at me.

It was one of the dull brown Lurker that were with Berenices. Less armored then the sparkle-lurkers, these ones were seemingly fond of suicide charges. Pushing itself back up onto its hooves, it shuttered for a moment before focusing on me. Snapping its snout claws at me, I got ready for a fight.

It lungged, and I activated S.A.T.S., using it to dodge the attack as I pulled out my revolvers. Unloading into the brown lurker’s face, blue blood went flying as it crumpled to the ground. Reloading, I looked up to see where the monster came from. Sadly the lights left the higher shelves above in shadows.

“Harp, I need some light up there.” I pointed up.

Harp directed Order, and the drone illuminated the shelves above us, including a walkway, similar to that in the stable door room. A lurker ducked out of the way of the light, only confirming where they had come from. I could only hope that it was just a trickle of Berenice’s forces that was already getting in.

The sound of hoof steps behind us warned us of the approaching ghouls. Not wanting to fight them, Harp and I ran off to regroup with the pirates. Though this would’ve been a good opportunity to split away from them, between the ghouls and the lurkers, we needed the extra firepower.

We didn't get far before another lurker tried to jump us from above, this one was a sparkle-lurker smart enough to have climbed down most of the way before jumping. Lucky for me, it knocked a wrench to the floor from one of the shelves, tipping me off so I could shove Harp and myself out of its path. The armored lurker that lunged from the shadows was armed with a mirelurk chitin pickaxe, it using its snout claw to hold the weapon.

Backing up, I drew my rifle this time, charging it up for a single power shot. As the lurker got ready to attack, a ghoul stumbled out in between us, it looked at me with its missing eyes. The lurker didn’t waste time, and struck the ghoul in the head with its pickaxe, making a sick crack sound. Though with the pickaxe in its head, the ghoul managed to turn to look at the lurker, making even the armored monster take a step back for a moment.

Only momentarily surprised, the lurker lunged itself at the ghoul, grabbing it with its pincers in an attempt to throw the ghoul. I watched as the glow from the lurker faded, and blue blood poured out from under its helmet. Almost as soon as the attack started, the lurker collapsed, its helm fell to reveal a dull and cracked chitin.

The ghoul got up and off the lurker with the pickaxe still firmly stuck in its head. Slowly, and still twitching, the ghoul turned its head until it was completely backwards. And looking directly at us.

I put my rifle away, seeing that the ghoul was practically unkillable. Luckily they were still slow, and we just needed to get around them. Sadly, more of the ghouls were making their way through the shelves, with the path behind us blocked. From out of the shadows, Ummese charged in, stabbing the ghoul in front of us with her knives. She used her blades to quickly throw the ghoul into another ghoul, clearing the way for us.

“Move you fools, or time you’ll lose.” She stopped, looking a bit confused. We didn't have time to ponder her random rhyming as the ghouls got back up. We burst into a gallop, Ummese leading the way. Something seemed strange about her, the Zony looking smaller than just a few minutes ago. At least, her clothes seemed looser on her as she moved and gave me that impression. Before I could ponder it any longer, she tripped on her own sleeve, forcing Harp and I to stop.

Helping her up, I was taken aback by what I saw, the hardened, green eyed adult zony was now a young, blue eyed teenage zony. She looked up at me, confusion on her face. What the fuck was going on with her?

“When did she become so cute?” Harp commented, and in return received a death stare from Ummese.

I sighed in frustration. “Whatever, we don't have time for this right now.”

Pushing on, Ummese had to roll up her sleeves to not trip over herself. It was getting harder to get around the ghouls, as it seemed they all knew exactly where we were. Our only saving grace was that Berenices’ lurkers were now keeping their distance, likely due to their fear of the ghouls.

We had to take a detour through the shelves, as another group of ghouls trotted into our path. To our surprise, the next isle had a stable door lay flat on the ground right in the middle of the isle. The fallen giant metal gear of a door had the numbers 512 printed on it, which seemed odd, as I don’t think that ever Stable-tec built more than 200 stables. I had a feeling this door had to be some sort of a joke, and with the rust brown stain that stretched out from under it, it must have made a killing.

Our situation continued to worsen as the ghouls followed us. Even though it was at an extremely slow pace, they were still closing in on us. There were more and more coming through the darkness ahead of us, and it was becoming worrying to me. They were starting to block our way out without us having to take extreme measures to dodge their twitchy bodies. Ahead of us was the door, which already had a whole group of these fuckers standing between us and it. To get passed them, we would have to risk getting touched, and one false step would mark the end of our escape.

A rustling from a shelf next to me caught my attention. Instinctively, I whipped out my rifle, unsure how effective it will be. To my surprise, a hidden door opened up, and purple pony in an R&D jacket stepped out.

“Oh, hi there.” Slowtrot greeted me, a stupid grin on his face. “You probably should get inside.”

Wait, was this somehow all in my head? Was I hallucinating? Whatever it was, I was not going to look this gift pony in the mouth, and quickly trotted in, with the other two following my lead. We entered what looked like a hidden room inside the shelf, including an old sofa, a table, chairs, and a few coolers. Everything here was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs that sent my mind reeling back to the bunker with the little ghoul filly.

“I have so many questions.” I spoke up at Slowtrot as I felt a bit bewildered by this room.

“Don't bother, I doubt I have many answers.” He responded as he opened up one of the coolers, and passed me a can of peaches. “Well unless you're wondering about this place. Underbrush showed me this once… I think.”

That name perked my ears, but it was the end of his statement that made me confused. “You think?”

He looked away for a moment, as though in deep thought. “My memory's seems to be… fragmented. I remember things, but it's like parts are missing. You know those jigsaw puzzle’s you use to put together as a foal? It’s like my mind is the puzzle, but that it’s missing pieces.” He then passed another can of old assorted fruit bits to Harp.

Harp took the can, and gave me a confused look. I realized how weird the all must look to her. But hey, at least I could say I wasn’t hallucinating him this time around.

“Sorry.” I said before taking a deep breath. “Harp, this is Slowtrot. He's a… ghost from the great war.”

“A what!?” Harp shouted as Ummese hid behind her.

“Hey…” Slowtrot cocked an eyebrow as he opened up another cooler. “That’s not very polite to say. I don't feel dead… I think...”

“Well, you're from over two hundred years ago, and you have a grave outside.” I informed my living-challenged friend. “I don’t know what it’s like where you come from, but in this day and age, that normally means your dead.”

“Fine, fine. I’m a ghost.” He shrugged. “But then what does that make you?”

“Not a ghost” I snapped back at Slowtrot. “That aside, we aren’t dead yet, and we can't stay here forever. Those ghouls are eventually going to find us.”

“Ghouls?” Slowtrot said as he stuck his hoof through other random things. “Oh, you must mean the zomponies. Don't worry, they can't find us here.”

Harp took a step forward, looking inquisitive. “Are you sure?”

“E’yep” Slowtrot lifted up his oversized pipbuck. “If you check your E.F.S. you can see that it's not working right.” glancing at the little bar in my hud display, the compass was slowly turning, and the blue dots were fading in and out. “It’s all a mystery to me, but because the zomponies track us by using their E.F.S., and since it doesn’t work in here, we're invisible to them here.”

It now made sense how the ghouls were following us without eyes. As well as why they all seemed to close in on us from everywhere. Just like any adept pipbuck user, they were all going after the red dot.

It was nice to have sanctuary from all this madness, and a bit of time to actually catch my breath, despite how dusty it all was. The only problem was that I still had to finish the deal I made with Red. And in order to do that, as unappealing a thought as it was, we needed to regroup with Blackspot.

“Still, we can't just stay here.” I persisted.

“And go where?” Harp asked me sharply.

“Harp… look, you can stay here, but I still have something I need to do.” I told her. “But even then, again, you can’t stay in here forever. So the problem is how can we all get out of here.”

“What's the problem?” Slowtrot asked. “Why not just leave the way you came in?”

“The exit is block by highly aggressive crustaceans.” I told him.

Slowtrot gave me a confused look before taking up a thinking pose. “If I recall… I think there's a teleportation experiment in lab C that still works. Maybe that can be your way out?”

Harp looked at me with a bit of hope in her eyes. I didn’t want to get my own hopes up, as there was no guarantee that this lab was even still there, or if it worked. Even if it was, and did, outside of short range teleportation, such magic was highly unreliable. But Harp looked at me, pleading with her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at Slowtrot. “Can you guide us to this lab?”

Slowtrot returned to his thinking position for a moment, and looked at his pipbuck. “I should have a map of the stable on my pipbuck, including labs C. All we need to do is get down there, and passed the zomponies. luckily there's a way over the zomponies we can take.”

This helped put some of my worries at ease, as at least we had a plan.

Ummese cleared her throat, and all eyes were on the now younger mare. “Can somepony please explain what's going on, and why?”

“Your following Blackspot to free Luna.” I told her.

The zony cocked an eyebrow. “What's this heresy.” She then violently shook her head for a few seconds. “Wait, what… the nightmares.”

“I know this is a dumb question, but... are you okay?” I asked.

She glared at me. “You right bitch, that is a dumb question.” After a short moment, tears formed in Ummese’s eyes. “Fuck, why is everything just so fucked up. Ever since we came to this cursed island. Dealing with Blackspot was bad enough, then the nightmares started. And even after that, it's a blur.” she looked at her fore leg, pulling back her sleeve. “They’re gone?”

Again I asked. “What is?”

Ummese showed me the dozens of scars on her fetlock and sighe before wiping a tear from her face. “It was my last attempt a being free. After I lost to Blackspot, and he had his way with me, I resolved to see the goddesses. But my body refused to die after what he did to me, a curse he left me to suffer with. I would cut into myself, but it would heal, time and time again, leaving scars and the hunger. I learned to accept my new place in the corpse brigade, or was it that I just forget who I was? It’s hard to remember, even now with that cursed fog momentarily cleared from my mind.”

“You poor thing.” Harp said as she gave Ummese a hug, which the pirate weakly resisted.

Something in me felt that I might be able to trust Ummese. Not much farther than I can throw her mind you, but she was no longer the hardened zony trying to intimidate me.

“Ummese, I'm planning to fuck over Blackspot.” I scrunched up my muzzle as I said that. “Figuratively, I mean. Then, I'm going to kill Carving Doll. Would you be willing to help me?”

Ummese paused for a moment, giving me a serious look. “That's a dangerous game to play.”

I nodded. “Very, but if I can get out of here, and I have proof of Blackspot being a heretic, Red Steel can call for the purge of the Corps Brigade.”

A smile crept across Ummese’s face. “So that's what she's after.” She took another look at her foreleg before pulling her sleeve down. “I don't know what has happened to me, but the fog in my mind is gone, and so has the hunger deep within me. I feel... clean, though not as strong as before.” She stretched, popping a few bones, and sitting up in a more confident pose. “Alright, Blackspot has been needing a good backstabbing for a long time now, so ya, I’m in.”

“I still need to get dirt on Blackspot, enough that Carving Doll can be dragged down with him.” I didn't need to shoot Ummese, and that would have to be good enough. Which is great, as a plan was already forming in my head. “So the rest of you need to run on ahead, and find that teleportation lab.”

“You can't!” Harp spoke up. “I’ve seen how Blackspot looks at you, he won’t let you go. And the two cunts, they’re no better. No way I'm letting you deal with those three psychopaths alone.”

I sighed, knowing that this was going to be difficult. “I understand, but if I take you with me, they will find a way to hurt you.” Trotting up to her, I put my pipleg on her shoulder. “Just trust me, Harp.”

Harp pulled closer to me. “I can't, I just can't.” Looking me in the eyes, I could see tears starting to form. “Every time we part ways, less of you comes back. Colder, harder, staring at things that aren’t there.”

“Harp, it's fine.” I tried to calm her, gently placing my right power hoof over her belly.

“No it's not, it's like you're fading…” Harp collapsed into my hooves falling unconscious. I had activated S.A.T.S. and used the power hoof leg to hit Harp enough to knock her out.

“Slowtrot, take her to that teleportation lab.” I passed her over to Slowtrot, who carefully put her on his back.

He looked at me, a mix of confused and concerned. “Are you sure this is a good idea? There's a lot of locked doors down there.”

“Shouldn't be a problem, she's got higher clearance then I do. One of her ancestors was an overstalion. If the doors opened for me, then they should open for her.” I explained.

Slowtrot nodded, and pointed at an unopened cooler. “Take what's in there and follow me.” making sure Harp was secured, he trotted onto a ramp going up to another door.

Opening the cooler, I found six Sparkle-Cola’s, and a holotape. I put the drinks in my saddlebag and put the holotape in my pipleg. The tape only had one recording on it.

Following him up, Ummese and I came out on what looked like a balcony, high enough that the ghouls could not reach us. Not far from us was what looked like a less than stable bridge to the next shelf.

I gave Slowtrot a concerned look. “Are you sure about this?”

Slowtrot nodded, “It just looks unstable, but it's solid. The last ponies here probably built the bridges to study the ghouls. There was a holotape that they left behind, but I forgot where I put it.”

I lifted my pipleg. “I think I found it.” Looking at my leg, if this was left by the last researcher of the R&D stable, it would make it a valuable collectors item, worth tons of bits. “Minerva, play message.”

For a moment white noise came out from my leg before quieting down, and a voice spoke up. ‘This is Hydrangea of the special tactics and reconnaissance agency, tasked with ensuring the safety of the research team in the R&D Stable. The mission here has been deemed too risky, so the only other surviving researcher and I are to abandon the site. Cave Echo has voiced his protest to this order, but also understands it. I'm going to leave a short record of the events that transpired to the full abandonment of the R&D stable. May it aid whoever finds this holotape.’

There was a short pause of white noise before Hydrangea continued. ‘In the first few years after the bombs, the stable functioned normally. I do remember the tension in the air, every pony waiting for Stable-Tec’s main office to contact us. But the incidents started before we could make contact. The first Twitcher appeared in lab C, when we started letting ponies into the stable. From what I can piece together, they had taken a ghoul down to lab C for testing, and it mutated. The ghoul was contained, but the damage had been done, and lab C was placed under lockdown. Among the victims was Doctor Lifebeat, who managed to sealed the ghoul inside with him, saving many lives through his own sacrifice. In the years after, the rest of the stable began transferring what we had out of it in preparation to move research and development operations. Something we all agree on now that should have been done with more urgency.’

Hydrangea continued. ‘Things became an organized panic in the stable at the worst possible time, something mom still refuses to talk about this day. It was during the transition from Stable-Tec, into Orthrus, right when public confidence was everything. It was during this move when a new twitcher appeared in labs B. The subject in question had been a pony who’d only died of a brain aneurysm the day before. The death count from this second incident was thirteen, and among the dead, two more twitchers appeared. Security eventually contained the threat, and Candy Pop found that the twitchy-ghoulification was likely related to a specific radiation poisoning only found within the R&D stable. From what Cave told me, the overestallion had ordered to find any pony with this radiation in them, and confine them in lab C. Also from what he told me, when a Twitcher eventually appeared among the ponies, lab B had to be immediately abandoned, along with lab A as a precaution. This also was around the time the council was formed, and the overstallion disappeared from public view.’

Another pause came from my pipleg, though faintly I could here two ponies chattering away before Hydrangea’s voice returned. ‘I should explain what a Twitcher is. In short, they are a Temporal Flux Ghoul, at least, that’s what Cave Echo’s team called them. They are ponies saturated with concentrated magic that turned them into zombies, and when saturated with the residual space-time magic from some of the labs, they become dislodge from our reality. From what was explained to me, the ghouls are not actually here, not fully at least. When you to touch them, you complete a magical circuit with them and you’re body is pulled somewhere else. Rapid aging, or the reverse seem to be the common results, both resulting in death if contact is more then a few seconds. But I've seen a lab rat turn to ash, only to then get back up and scurry away.’

After a moment of paper being rustled, Hydrangea continued. ‘Returning to the reason why the Stable was abandoned, after the loss of all the labs, the new council thought it was best to evacuate the stable. They agreed to leave a small work crew to use the storage level, and a security team to watch over them. It was nearly a year after when the twitchers broke free and cough the work crew by surprise. After that, everything was locked down. And that's when the researchers and I became the sole inhabitant of the stable.’

White noise filled the recording before a stallion spoke up. ‘I should probably explain the rest. I am Professor Cave Echo, geological researcher fore stable-tec. As of now, only miss Hydrangea has not had an incident with the temporal flux ghouls, or ‘twichers’, as miss Hydrangea calls them. I’m the only one lucky enough to live through the experience so far, and though it's nice to be in my late twenties again, the loss of my friends has been heavy on me.’

Cave Echo took a moment to breath in deeply, slowly exhaling before continuing. ‘Though any official records will list my friends deaths as accidents, let the truth be told here. Head Researcher Spicy Love Fruit murdered them. I owe Hydrangea my life when Spicy turned on us all. Sadly I was not surprised that Fruit finally snapped, Lab D ponies always were on the edge of madness due to the nature of their work. From the notes she left behind, Fruit was using us as experiments into how the ghoulification worked, inspired by Mister Wizard’s cheating of death. I also learned that energy weapons were indeed effective at keeping the temporal ghouls at bay by completely disintegrating them. Unfortunately they don't die permanently, they just return to wherever their other body is, and later reappeare in a random part of the stable.’

The white noise return for a moment, Hydrangea’s voice taking over. ‘One last thing, there's a way around the twitchers. It’s stupidly simple too. Don't be hostile around them, and they won't start following you. Same for making loud noises, try to be as quiet as possible. Though I would suggest not going to the ground floor, but I have a feeling that if your here, you’re likely already on your way. So good luck, and don’t let the twitchers touch you. Iron Buck, end recording.’ the holotape stopped, leaving us in silence.

We had traveled to the far end of the wherehouse by using the walkway above the shelves. Below us stood a Twitcher, unmoving, outside of the twitching of course. The door out of the werehouse was clear, and the twitchers in the area were spread out far enough that getting around them would not be too much of a problem.

Slowtrot found an extendable ladder down to the ground floor, and resecured Harp before slowly extending the ladder down. “I have a bad feeling that getting to labs C might not be as easy as taking the elevator, so see if you can find a way buy us time, but try not to put yourself in any danger alright.”

Giving him a nod, Slowtrot slid down the ladder with Harp on his back, Ummese right behind him. I watched as the three quietly made their way deeper into the stable. The twitchers actually didn’t pay them any attention, and instead, just seemed to shamble about at random.

Pulling up the ladder, I turned my attention to finding the asshole trio, something I was not looking forward to doing. If I didn’t have the deal with Red, it be too easy to leave them here to die.

*Bang*

The gunshot was not too far off, giving me a good idea to where the pirates were. With a sigh, I trotted along the path on the shelf towards the pirates, hoping I did in have to cross too many bridges. While Slowtrot said they’d hold up, all it would take is one that was just a little too corroded to ruin my day. And to be honest, my day was already bad enough as is.

The few ghouls below me didn't pay me much attention. What they did do was make a good indicator that I was heading in the right direction, as they were all shambling in the same direction as I was. I also kept an eye above, as the lurkers may have been keeping out of sight, but I knew they were still watching me.

Blackspot, Shamrock, and Couteau had perched themselves on a auto-wagen, giving them enough height and room to stay out of the ghouls reach. There were six twitchers trying to get at them, but lacked the motor skills to climb up onto the old world vehicle. One of the twitchers were missing a back leg, and would periodically get up, only to fall over again.

I flashed my piplegs lamp to get their attention. After a few bursts, the three caught on and turned their heads to me. Their green eyes seemed to have a slight glow to them, making me feel more uneasy than before.

“If I have to guess, their starting to soak up the dark magic.” Theremin said, the albino mare spoke up as she laid down on a box next to me. She was missing half of her backside, and cables and tubes sat hanging out of her as she leaked a white fluid. “I helped the republic with testing the theory. As it turns out, a ponies eyes glow green when they use or are around dark magic. They often go quite mad too.”

I looked away, not wanting to deal with the Echo of a reaver.

“Oy, what's ya damage you git!” Shamrock stood in front of me, nearly giving me a heart attack. “Ah, so there's a pathway up here.” She eyed me, giving me a good look at the slight glow it gave off. “Lucky us.”

“Very.” I responded. “It goes all the way to the door further into the stable.”

“Good, good, now where's our knifey friend?” Shamrock immediately asked.

“Last I saw of her, she was with my friend.” I told her. “They got cut off by the ghouls and I lost them when I ran.”

Shamrock glared at me for a moment before lighting up her horn. Looking over, Couteau was doing the same, and in an instant, Blackspot appeared next to Shamrock. Couteau teleported over as well a moment later, with her magic looking more like a zap then a pop. That is to say, it was different from the teleportation magic Orthrus uses.

“Ummese is MIA, along with the princess, but we have a clear path further into the stable.” Shamrock informed the others.

“Luna protect.” Blackspot sighed. “We don't have time to look for them, so they will just have to find us. But at the very least, the goddess has opened a way for us.” He looked at me, one of his eyes turning gold. “Will that be a problem?”

Theremin giggled, sounding more like a broken recording.

“I would be just as worried for her if she was around you. Actually, I hope she's found a nice hiding spot, far from you.” I waved my pipleg. “Not like I can't locate her at any time.”

For a short moment, Blackspot gave me a blank look, like he was looking through me. A small smile formed on his face, and he trotted passed me. “Then we will just have to pick her up later. No way she can get out of here, not with those monsters blocking the way out.”

We trotted through the shelves, quickly making it to the doors out of here. The twitcher ghouls tried to followed us, but the path through the shelves left them stuck behind walls of junk. Finally reaching the ladder, our path was set before us, and the few ghouls were far enough away to not be a problem as of yet.

I received a bump from Couteau, and I spun around to find that she was giving me a less than friendly glare.

“You know, this mess would have all been avoided if we just focused on getting here in the first place.” Couteau spoke up.

“I agree, and might I add, it's clear our little heathen is only going to slow us down.” Shamrock gave me the same glare.

It was a feeling all too familiar to me, reminding me when I was a teen, and almost getting my jaw broken. The two were likely getting jealous, and plotting to get rid of me. Honestly, I had to hold back my amusement. I’m a metro mare, fights over a stallion was not just how things were down here, it was the culture.

“You say that, but I haven't seen you two do anything important at all, other then run your mouths.” I was planning to kill them anyways, so I was not worried about pissing them off.

Blackspot hushed the three of us, keeping his focus on the doorway. “If you three bitches keep barking, i'm going to use my dick to shut you up.”

“Really?” Couteau said, sounding excited. Shamrock hit her on the side of the head.

Blackspot didn't even acknowledge Couteau’s response. “Let's get passed these damned abominations before more show up.”

One of the twitchers had shuffled its way to us, and Shamrock shot one of its legs off with a battle rifle. “Aya, Aya first mate, ready to go on you orders.”

“Right.” Blackspot said, raising a hoof. “Go!”

The pirates quickly slid down the ladder, and ran to the exit. I followed close behind, making a mental note on how the twitching ghouls kept their attention on the pirates, ignoring me. It was something I wanted to keep up.

Getting to the other side of the door, the light on the security system turned green, and I hit it. With a hiss, the doors shut, and cut the ghouls off from us. I had a distinct feeling that this wouldn’t stop them, rather it would only slow the ghouls down. This was their territory, and the moment we forgot it, we’d be dead.

I sure hope Slowtrot was right about that exit, otherwise we were all fucked.

_______________________________________________________

Footnote:

… Warning, head crippled, user unconscious.

Chapter 48 - Harsh Interrogation

“Let me educate you on the goddesses, ya heathen.” A swift back hoof wiped my cheek, sending pain through my jaw and to my skull and neck. Shamrock was being anything but gentle, but I’d come to expect that. “Well over a thousand years ago, one thousand two hundred and ten to be exact, Celestia and Luna saved pony kind from themselves.” She looked me in the eyes, hers bleeding, and the strange dark magic came from it. Yet this time when I looked at it, the hallucinations did not come, just an overwhelming feeling of oppression. “For pony kind was flawed, and summoned evil to themselves do to their bickering. Why? For sin was in their nature. To lie, to betray, to plot against each other.”

I had long stopped struggling, the layers of duct tape kept me tied to this chair like an annoyingly itchy second skin. The three pirates had me made long before I had regrouped with them,and though they had no idea what my plan was, they knew I had one. And now I was bound to a chair, enduring a beating, as they lectured me on their stupid religion.

I struggled to keep my mind focused. It wasn’t that their hits hurt for long, but I was just so celestia damned hungry. I really should have abandoned them to their fate, but no, I had to keep my promise. As soon as we’d gotten to the center of the residential district of the stable, they turned on me. The ghouls closed in, but they didn’t care, they beat me with the butt of their guns until I was unconscious.

I had awakened a little bit later, bound to a chair in the overmare’s office. Shamrock ranting and hitting me wasn’t the most pleasant way to come to, and she definitely didn’t care if I was awake or not. I don’t know how long she kept on betting me, all I could think was how I was glad Harp did not have to go through this.

Spitting blood on the floor, I looked back up at Shamrock. “Can you shut up? Your superstitious idiocracy is giving me a headache.”

I swear I saw a blood vessel bulge on her head, though it could easily been one in my eye.

“That's it, exactly it.” She grabbed my head in her fenlocks, and pulled herself face to face with me. “That's the arrogance that brought pony kind to its doom. not once, not twice, but for all eternity until we all learn from the goddesses great example. And that's why we must free Luna, so that our kind can be united once more.” Her hooves shook like a drug addict going into withdraw. Her eyes were intense, enhanced by the green color of them, surrounded by blood shot red. If madness was enough explain how Shamrock looked, I would not have been as worried as i was.

Frankly, I was simply glad that I didn't piss myself, as that gaze frightened me more than anything I’d ever seen in my life.

Shamrock let me go, and scurried away over to a thick book. “Yes,Thorn saw as much. How bathed in sin we are. How we were responsible for the goddesses deaths, and how we must cleanse ourselves.” She flipped through the pages like a mad mare, her bloody tears falling onto the open book. “The false profits, so eager to find a simple solution, to reject faith itself. Ponykind turned to six false profets for answers, and it lead them to their destruction.” Shamrock looked up at me, a overly wide grin on her face. “It’s only through pain and suffering that we learn the truth. And you? You have not felt enough pain and suffering to know the true glory of the light of the goddesses.”

I was not liking were this was going. Doing my best to look around with my swollen eyes, I saw Blackspot looking out the overmare’s window, and Couteau sitting in the overmars chair. The room itself looked like it had not been cleaned in around two hundred years, which made sense. Dust coated absolutely everything in the room, and there were plenty of boxes filled with random junk. Through my blurry vision, I saw one box had something glowing red inside, and it almost made me think a sparkle-lurker had gotten inside.

After slapping me again, Shamrock continued. “Pay attention heathen, or must I start from the beginning… wait… I might as well.” She opened up the large book, flipping through pages. “Here it is, the founding of Equestria. You see, long ago we were all divided, fighting among each other. Our disharmony summoned demons to us, the windigos, who fed on our flesh, knowing we could not fight them when divided as we were. Then Celestia and Luna, the goddesses, descended from the havens. Knowing that to survive we needed their guidance, they used their righteous power to banish the windigos, and in doing so, showed ponykind the error of their ways. Under their banner, they founded Equestria. And under their guidance, we had a thousand years of peace, with all the other nations of the world too weak to do anything but covet the glory of the goddesses.”

“That's not how I remember the hearth's warming eve story” I told her.

“Of course you haven’t, Heathen.” Shamrock rolled her blood shot eyes. “You’ve been fed the lies of the false profets in order to obscure the light of truth. Those who hid it from you are the very ponies who destroyed equestria. They want you do deny the divinity of the goddesses, to see then as simply mortal ponies that had flaws, and sinned just like any other pony.” Another sharp slap hit my face, knocking me over. “Lies, all of it. The goddesses were perfect, flawless to the point of being above the understanding of mere simple ponies. They did their best to guide us, and we betrayed then. We took comfort in the words of false profets, and forsook the blessed light in favor of reveling in our own sins.”

I felt Shamrock lift me up with her magic, placing me back upright. All of this was bad. The pain, the captivity, but worse of all, don’t think Shamrock’s ranting was enough evidence to give to Red.

She continued. “Six false profits, trying to stray ponies from the path of pain and power. Making ponies soft, letting us forget the true reason why equestria was formed.”

I took a deep breath and smiled. “You profit is a whore.”

Magic gripped around me, and I flew through the air and smashing against the wall. I hit the floor, still unfortunately bound to the now bent chair. At least I knew the chair was made of metal now, though that fact didn’t help me right now.

“You hold your tongue, heathen!” Shamrock sounded absolutely livid, her magic pressing down evenly across my body as she tried to crush me.

I would have laughed if it didn't hurt to do so.

“Enough!” Blackspot shouted, and Shamrock stopped trying to use her magic to flatten me. The sound of a bottle of cola being opened made me annoyed. The asshole was drinking the sparkle-cola I had found. “We can't have her falling unconscious, not until she tells us what she’s planning.”

“Sorry, Blackspot” Shamrock stepped back, her head low. “I mistakenly let my faith in the goddesses to get the better of me.”

I looked up, my eyes having a hard time focusing, but I could see that Blackspot was looking at me. Slowly, he trotted over, still holding the bottle of cola. I could tell he was looking down at me, grinning.

The sensation of water hitting my face surprised me, the fizzling sound near my ears told me it was the cola hitting me.

“From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were going to be difficult. Not the first I’ve had to break, as the fleet produces a lot of difficult mares. It’s more of a bother than a pleasure, I assure you of that. The soft mares of heathen lands however, are so much more fun to break. A little torture here, a rape there, and maybe gut a pony they know in front of them just to really drive the point home.” The sound of glass cola bottle braking made me finch, and the feeling of a sharp object on my throat made me freeze. “But the truly difficult mares? You have to grind them down and don’t stop when they give in. That’s a trap. You have to utterly destroy who they are, kill the mare they were, and rebuild them into what they need to be. After that, destroy them again, and rebuild them from there.”

I twisted my body until I could look Blackspot in the eyes, the broken bottle cutting into my neck. “You do know you’re fucked up right?”

He smiled. “It’s part of being strong, Victoria taught me that.” He eased the pressure on my neck. “It also helps with the evil eye. It’s hard to make a pony fear you when you don’t know fear yourself. I mean, waching a pony be torchered to near death is one thing. It makes one uneasy, but you can only care so much about others before you become numb to their pain. But feeling it for yourself, actually sharing what it’s like to suffer like that?” He looked back at me, his bleeding eyes meeting my own. “That's how you truly learn fear.”

A sensation of fire slowly crept through my body, like something was crawling through my skin. I couldn't move to see what was happening to me, but I could feel it. The longer it went on, more of them I could feel under my skin. Blackspot pulled out a scalpel, waving it in front of me before waking out of view. Pain in my gut was all I needed to feel to know what was happening to me, the pain only getting worse as he slowly cut my belly open.

“Well that's no good.” Theremin said, sounding disappointed. Her face popes in view, blood splatter on her face. “Looks like you caught a bug.” she pulled into view what looked like a ponies lower intestines, on it were wiggling wires, borrowing into the flesh like hungry worms. It was then a wire wiggled out from under my eye, then another, and another.

“Stop!” I shouted as it all became too much to bear

It all faded away, and Black stop tapped me with the broken bottle. “Good, now tell me where the stupid princess ran off too, and what are you planning.”

I spat in his face and laughed as my body was again wracked with pain.

Blackspot frowned. “If you want to do it the hard way, then we can do it that way. Your turn Couteau, I need time to ready my mind.”

Couteau spun the seat around as she clapped her hooves together giddily. “Can I break her face?”

“I don’t want to waste the healing potions on fixing it.” Blackspot responded flatly.

She hopped over the desk, and landered her hooves near my face. “A shame! And here I wanted to add another scar to that face of yours, the one on your lip could use the company.”

“Sorry, can you speak up?” I wondered if I could make her actually hit me, to see if I could get Blackspot angry at her. “It’s so hard to hear you with that small cock in your mouth.”

Couteau didn’t move, just looked down at me and smiled. “Not very witty, not at all.” She then looked away, almost blushing. “I hate how he looks at you, more than I hate how you don’t look at me. After the moment of lust we shared, I thought we had a spark.”

Wait, what? What the fuck was she talking about?

Two hooves clamped down on my throat, pressing down hard and restricting my ability to breath. I gasped for air, only for Couteau to kiss me, further restricting my ability to breath. My body was still too tightly bound to resist, and so the kiss continued. It lasted second, a minute, I had a hard time counting as I started to black out.

Before I faded completely, the pressure was released, and my mouth became unblocked they the tongue of crazy. Coughing, I gasped for air, taking as much in as possible. Fucking crazy bitch.

“Get… some… therapy.” I was starting to honestly think all the fucking pirates were bat shit insane.

“How about a deal?” Couteau lifted her dress a little, showing more leg to me like she was some show mare trying to get a rise out of some repressed pony. “Make me feel good, and I’ll make you feel good. A little give and take before Blackspot has his way with you. Interested, No?”

“No.” I responded. “I got enough crazy in my life as it is.”

“Fine then, be a bitch!” She punched me in the gut. I must have already puked up the food from before, as the hit made me start dry heaving. Bile coated my throat, and assaulted my tongue, all of it burned slightly. Couteau grabbed my head and looked into my eyes. The bloody tears dripped from her eyes onto mine. “Feel it!”

Chains bust from the floor, and wrapped around me, tightening around my neck, waist, and legs. They pulled me in different directions, as the floor became a mass of pony legs, reaching out to me, pulling at the chains. I felt something else, something rubbing on my backside.

“I think some bloodied corpse is going to rape you.” Theremin pushed through the floor of legs, her lower torso still nothing but cables and wires. “Doesn't that sound fun?”

“Not fucking at all!” I growled back.

“Then then why are you letting it happen?” Heremin tilted her head. “It’s not like this is the worst thing you’ve felt. Why don’t I remind you?”

Everything began to slow down, the feeling at my backside stopped, and the legs pushing through the floor began to melt. Everything began to melt, and turned to… water. Below me was a body of water, and below that were corpses, so many corpses, a sea of corpses. The dead mirage ponies were beckoning me to join them, waving their hooves like nothing was wrong. It was all wrong, bloated dead flesh in that unknown below, reaching out for me to give in.

I fell. I fell into the water, and all I could do was look up, and try to swim. But my legs were gone, and I could feel the ponies below. They grabbed at me, dragging me down, further and futher under. Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama, mama…

“Mama, mama, mama, mama, mama.” Couteau repeated the words as she curled herself up into a tight ball. Shamrock stood over her, trying to shake her out of it. I blinked as the visions dissipated and left me back in the real world. I didn’t understand what had just happened, but I was just glad that my mental hellscape was gone.

“Ya miserable cunt!” Shamrock threw her book at me, and it slammed into my head. “What have you done to Couteau. I should skin ya for that, turn your pelt into a rug.”

“That's enough.” Blackspot said calmly, trotting over to me. “It's obvious that pain and threats will not do the trick. Like I said, mares like her need to be ground down.” He grabbed my cheeks, playful rubbing them. “And if we just had the time, I would do just, that. So, I’ll just have to use another trick I have up my sleeve.” Once again, he forced me to look at him in the eyes. The green in his eyes brightened and flickered, almost looking like a flame of pure malice.

Everything began to twist, melt, and dim, like the world was becoming undone. It all blended together, becoming a mass of darkness that swallowed me whole. Again, I was drag down away from the light, and pulled into a deep dark abyss.

Everything became silent, still, calm. Whatever Blackspot had done, I was going to endure it.

The sound of a door opening caught me off guard. It was the strained creek of hinges, not the loud hiss of hydraulics. “Oh, who’s this now. Let me turn on the light.” It was the voice of a mare, and not of any pony I recognized.

With a click, a light turned on, reveling me to be in an empty wooden room. The mare was dressed similar to the other pirate's, though much cleaner. Her coat was a grayish blue, her mane was a strait platinum blond, and she had three hair clips keeping it in place. Her cutie-mark was visible as well, and seemed similar to the symbol of the pirate’s fleet, though with sinister differences. The vine of thorns formed a noose, and inside the noose was all red with a green orb at the center, very much like the bleeding eyes of the Corps Brigaders. Just seeing the cutie-mark clued me into that I was dealing with somepony dangerous,

“Who are you, and what did Blackspot do?” I asked.

“I see.” The mare looked at me and shook her head with a disappointed sigh. “That fool’s come crying to me once again. What is it this time? Need me to get Carving Doll to not beat him halfway to death? Too bad, he needs to take his punishment.” Looking down at me, she reached out a hoof, and helped me up. “Names Victoria Rosary, and you are?”

“Vibrap…” Victoria’s hoof slammed into my face like it was made of iron. I rolled along the floor, hitting the wall. Everything hurt, and I was sure she broke my nose.

“I don't actually care.” Victoria stretched, popping a few bones. “For that runt of an apprentice to mindscape call me, and then to send some random mare… oh, that clever sneaky fucker.”

I pushed myself up, wiping the blood off my nose. “That name, you’re the corps brigade’s boss, aren’t you?” I tried to focus on her, but I was seeing double. “How is this possible?”

“Guilty.” She answered as she bowed. “As for how, it's a little trick called the a mindscape call, basically like long range telepathy, but giving the ponies a way to see each other.” My vision finally focused, only to see a wide smile on her face. “But, there's one problem.”

“And that is?” I didn't feel well, and I had a strong feeling I was about to find out why.

“Not any pony can do it. It takes a lot of training and conditioning.” Victoria pointed to her head. “Otherwise it overloads your brain.”

Shit, that's not good. “What does Blackspot seek to accomplish with...”

It was in a blink of an eye, but Victoria had closed the distance, uppercutting my chest. The blow was enough to lift me off my hooves, and when I landed, all I could do was collapse to the ground.

“My guess, he wants to induce a little brain damage. Don’t worry, if you've been given my gift, you’ll recover. But for a few days you will be like a zombie, compliant to every command.”

Taking a deep breath, I rolled away, and pushed myself back up. Taking a fighting posture, I wasn't going to get caught off guard again. “Not going to happen, how do I break this spell.”

The mare laughed. “That's cute.” She lunged, and I took a step back, and countered with my own hoof strike. Victoria slightly adjusted her body, and our hooves collided. For a split second I thought I at least matched her, then my leg exploded to pieces, metal flying everywhere. “Just accept your fate, and trust in the goddesses grand plan.”

I looked at what was left of the power hoof cyber leg. It was nothing more than scattered bits of metal across the room, now truly nothing more than scrap. There was no way a mare could be this strong, no way. I took a deep breath and looked at her, and it finally clicked. Of course there was no way this was possible, it wasn’t real, nor was the pain. “The goddesses plan? You mean the plan your fake prophet had made.”

Another hoof strike came at me, only stopping a hair's breadth from my nose. “Dangerous words for a heathen to speak. Maybe after Blackspot is done with you, I’ll present your head to the bishop, she's always looking for new skulls of blasphemers to decorate her temple with.”

“How can you’ve all have become so messed up?” The level of psychotic dysfunctionality each of these pirates had was hitting comic book villain levels. I really was starting feel like I was going crazy by proxy. Harp and I needed to get away from the fleet sooner than later.

“It’s not an outrageous question to ask.” Victoria sighed. “There's an actual answer to that, not that I feel like telling you it.” She smiled, and pulled back her hoof behind her head. “Now I need to decompress, so be a good punching bag, and stay still.”

“Thorn Roseland!” The voice of Slowtrot caught me off guard. No just me, but Victoria too, she had frozen for a moment, before turning to look at the purple stallion. “Of course you're still around.” Slowtrot lowered his gaze at Victoria. “At least that means you can still pay for the crimes you've committed.”

I watched as Victoria sized up Slowtrot, her eyes scanning him, then stopping, focusing. Following her gaze, it was his pipbuck, the one Snowbird said belonged to Thorn. “Where did you get that?” Victoria pointed at the oversized pipbuck.

Slowtrot didn't break his gaze. “You already know the answer, you're the one who put it up for auction in the first place.”

Victoria’s eyes refocused on Slowtrot, becoming a murderous glare. “I’m. not. Thorn.” she growled.

“You could have fooled me.” Slowtrot responded.

Victoria roared, her voice hurting my ears. “Die cur!” She lunged at Slowtrot, sending a heavy hoof strike at his head. Slowtrot didn’t move, didn't even defend himself. When her hoof made contact, it and the rest of Victoria passed right through him. She tumbled to the ground and slammed into the wall just behind the stallion.

Slowtrot then laughed, and trotted over me. “Sadly for you and me, Thorn, I'm a ghost. And last I'd heard, you can't punch a ghost.”

Victoria got up, still glaring. “Who, and how?”

Turning around he placed a hoof on his chest. “My name's Slowtrot.” then lifted his oversized pipbuck. “And you would be surprised what crazy things this ministry hardware can do.”

“Alright Slowtrot, I’ll remember that name, but remember mine, is Victoria Rosary.” She folded her legs, taking a more relaxed position. “I take it that Blackspot is about to be subdued.”

“Victoria Rosary.” He repeated before nodding.

Victoria sighed. “Again a disappointment.” She clapped her hooves together and smiled. “You know what, I like you. I don't know what it is, but I get the feeling that you’re trouble. The fun kind of trouble at least. If we ever were to meet up, I'd buy you a drink.”

“I doubt it will happen, being a ghost and all.” Slowtrot paused for a moment, and shrugged. “Also, I get the strong feeling you would just shoot me in the back. But in case you keep missing it, being a ghost means I can’t be hurt.”

She smiled, as though admitting that she did plan on shooting him the back. “Then it's settled. I'll find you, buy you a drink, and dig you a grave.”

“Don't bother with that last part, already got myself a grave… I probably should fill that back in.” Slowtrot turned back around, offering me a hoof. “Ready to go, miss Vibraphone?”

I was done with this weirdness, and took Slowtrot’s hoof. The world swirled, everything mixing together, and a sensation of falling overtook me.

Pain. I could feel pain in all four of my mechanical legs. My body was bound like before, so I knew I was back in the overmare’s office. Opening my eyes, I had the distinct dread that I was blind in my right eye, but I could still see clearly enough through the left.

Blackspot was on the floor, his heavy religious tome on his bleeding head. His mouth oozed blood, and a peace of his tongue layed on the floor in front of him. Standing above Blackspot was Slowtrot, the ghost looking a bit exhausted.

Slowtrot smiled, and trotted over to me, pulling out a knife. “Sorry, one of those crazy mares gave me some trouble. If it was not for Ironbuck here, I’d be a dead pony.” He cut me free, and as soon as I got on all four legs, I tipped over. After everything, my balance was more than just a bit off.

“What are you doing here? You need to protect Harp.” I took the time to slowly get back up, my balance even slower to normalize.

“Well she woke up and started yelling at me. Somehow she nearly caused Ironbuck here to overload.” He pointed at his oversized pipbuck. “Oddest thing, my memory is a lot less foggy now, and I feel like she’s the one I should thank for that.”

I looked around the room, seeing Couteau still curled up into into a ball. Shamrock laid as a lump next to the overmare’s window. The window itself, though it still held its shape, had been shattered, a bloody spot being a clear sign where Shamrocks head must have smashed into it. All my stuff was thrown into into a corner, to which I trotted over to pick them up.

Though I still felt unsteady, to my credit, I only nearly fell over once.

“Nice!” Slowtrot picked up a tool case that had the stable-tec logo boldly printed on it. “It's a full pipbuck maintenance set.” He threw it onto his back. “Back in Applewood this would sell for a bundle!”

I shrugged and gathered all my stuff. There were only two bottles of sparkle-cola left. I didn't really care, but it still annoyed me that the three asshole took them.

And then it hit me. All three were incapacitated, and their bleeding eyes crap must be enough evidence for Red. Pulling out Lunar Eclipse, and Solar Eclipse, I got myself ready for what must be done. First was the ringleader, I trotted up to Blackspot, kicking off the book.

“Miss Vibraphone.” Slowtrot stood at the door, a look of concern on his face.

“Don’t try to stop me, we need to remove this problem.” I had Lunar Eclipse press down on Blackspots head.

“Vibraphone!” Slowtrot shouted, but I was not going to be dissuaded.

“Minerva, fire.” The revolver went off, making my ears ring. Blackspot… remained unharmed, the point blank shot missed.

“She's on your back, Vibraphone.” Slowtrot informed me.

The vision over my right eye cleared as a black hoof lifted from it. Now with both eyes, I could see that I was aiming at the ground, and not at Blackspot. “Don't you hate that, your pipbuck gives you a ninety nine percent chance to hit, and you still miss.” Phobetor whispered softly into my ear.

I bucked, trying to get her off me, but the nightmare didn't budge. “Get off you spectral bitch.”

Phobetor laughed. “Why do you keep struggling, just give up, give yourself to me.”

I felt hooves grab me, and I was thrown out of the room. Slowtrot dove out of the room after me, like he was getting away from a grenade.

A hiss came from Phobetor. “You can't win.” Looking back inside the office, she was now hovering over the overmares desk, her golden eyes glaring at us. “Trust me on that, I will be free.” With a wave of her hoof, the door closed with force, faster and harder then I’d ever seen a hydraulic door close.

I pushed myself against the wall, and took a deep breath. “I forgot about her.” I breathed.

“Same here.” Slowtrot got up onto all fours. “Sorry for tossing you like that, It was all I could think to do. I figured she had power in places connected to her.”

I looked at Slowtrot, and got a feeling of shame on his face. “Why do you think that?”

“Just a guess.” He shrugged. “I think something bad happened in there. Something involving Phobetor and myself.”

“Let's just go.” I was curious to what he meant, but far more concerned with Harps safety. “I got what I came here for.”

Slowtrot nodded. “Were going to take the long way around, as the ghouls are blocking the path to the stairs.”

_______________________________________________________

The hallways gave off an uncanny feeling dread. They felt seemingly longer than they should be, and looked like they bent in a very un-Stable-Tec way. A few doors remained open, revealing pitch black darkness on the inside. Like in the warehouse, it made me think that something was watching us from within.

“This way. We can get through via the atrium.” Slowtrot trotted into a large and dimly light room. It was a mess, garbage was everywhere, and black graffiti desecrated the walls. It was like a mad pony once lived down here and scrawled down every scrambled thought they had across the walls.

“Such a shame, last time I was here this was a bright and warm place.” Slowtrot remarked as he glanced at some of the graffiti. “Now, it just feels cold.”

“And creepy.” I added. Looking at the graffiti, all of it was incoherent rambling. Nothing of it made much sense to me, and some of it didn’t even seem to be in equestrian at all. Though, there were a few patches I could read, though, I regretted doing so almost instantly. “The eyes are the window to the soul, and that’s why they have none.” I read one sentence. “It hungers, for it has no stomach, for it is nothing.” Reading another.

“Drink deep the void. Let it fill you with nothing, become as it.” Slowtrot read one of the sentences as he pointed ahead of us.

Looking to where he was pointing, I saw the smashed window of the overmars office, and a bit below it, two black spots painted on the wall. They were like two swirling vortexes, and the more I looked at them, the more they seem to move, more they seem to look at me like two eyes.

“Vibraphone!” Slowtrot shook me.

A sudden bright light enveloped the room, hurting my eyes...

The atrium was now well lit and clean, but most shocking was that I was surrounded by stable ponies. They were going about their business, chatting with each other, playing at an arcade, or on a dance floor. It was like an old stable-tec promotional poster. Everypony busy happily smiling, even when everything was horrible.

“Snap out of it, we need to keep moving miss Vibraphone.” Slowtrot urged me. I looked at him, the stallion looking like he belonged in here, except… his eyes were missing. Where they should have been on his face, now nothing but black voids sat.

I stepped back away from him, seeing him now for what he truly was.The smell of food and candy filled my nose, music filled my ears, and the sound of ponies laughing uneased me.

“What's… what’s going on?” I asked more to myself than anything.

“Hey sis, they serve daiquiris here!” I turned my head, seeing Rototom sitting at a table. In her hoof sat a glass of sparkle rum, her favorite drink. “They even have pistachios, and not the over two hundred year old kind!”

“You’re dead.” My lip trembled, tears welled up, and my blood boiled. “That's not fair, that's just not fair to do this Phobetor!”

“Unfair!” I looked up to see Graceful Gust look down at me from the railing, battered and bruised. “I've been imprisoned for over a thousand years. And why? Because you ponies can't stop sticking your snouts where they don't belong.”

“Thieving briggins.” Turnip Soup stepped out from the arcade, his fins now burnt black nubs. “Your kind stole the secrets of magic, secrets not meant for mortals. Then you had the hubris to claim Olympus as your own.”

“And yet, I must bare the brunt of your kinds rightful punishment.” Sorrow stood in the doorway of the dance floor, part of her disintegrating into bubbles. “Casting your kind from Olympus was too kind. A slap on the hoof to the torture I’ve endured.” Now all the ponies were looking at me, their eyes a bright glistening gold. It only made me angry.

“I have no clue to what your talking about, but you can take it, and shove it.” I snapped at all of them.

“That's it! That's it!” Stratus Dancer hovered above me, stretching her hoof down at me in a accusing manner. “That arrogance, that hubris, all tied together by ignorance. You ponies never deserved the knowledge of magic. What was stolen must be taken back.”

“And how do you plan to do that? Ponies are not going to let you hit them with the stupid stick!” I shouted back.

“I beg to differ.” Phobetor sat at the table next to my sister, Rototom now missing her head, her body covered in her blood. “I can feel it, and you do too. The great war and the devastation it left behind to this very day. So many ponies now want to go back to, simpler times. Those equalists, they just need to understand that it's their knowledge that breeds inequality, fueled by magic.” Phobetor took a sip of a martini, “Then there's the Chosen, so desperately wanting Celestia and Luna back. With a little effort, it wouldn't be hard to convince them all that I’m one of their goddesses. And i’ll guide them back to those simpler times, the rest will follow, kicking and screaming if need be.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, a hatred burning in me. “You will fail.”

Phobetor chuckled, waving her hoof. In an instant the lights darkened, the ponies became nothing but shadows, and the mad ramblings returned to the walls.

“Miss Vibraphone, our time is almost up.” Slowtrot had his eyes back, but he still gave off a similar feeling as the twitchers. He was pointing again, this time in the other direction.

Twitchers, they were coming our way, like a slow moving wall of ponies. Something stranger yet was coming from the same direction. Yelling, banging, and the sound of horns the filled me again with dread. We had waisted too much time, Berenices was on the hunt again.

“Sorry, let's go.” I turned around, letting Slowtrot take the lead. My eyes glanced at the two black spots painted on the wall. They still seemed to move, looking down at me as we trotted off.

“Eyes forward, miss Vibraphone!” Slowtrot got my attention back on him before breaking into a gallop, and I followed.

_______________________________________________________

Footnote:

Companion Bonus Perk: A slow trot into darkness. (Your companion is immune to the psychic attacks, and can be used to recover from mental debilitation.)

Chapter 49 - Labs A

Like everything had been from when I first started this cluster fuck of a mission, nothing was ever as easy as it should have been. My fist clue was that the elevator was wrecked. The door panel had been ripped out, and a pipe was jammed into the door. Slowtrot guided me to a stairwell, taking me to labs A. Why not all the way down to Labs C. Well, some asshole pony piled enough junk in the way that we couldn’t go any further then Labs A. Stepping out into the first lab, Slowtrot informed me of another stairwell we could take, but sadly another wall of junk blocked the or path. I had a feeling that it wasn’t Phobetor behind this hogshit, and if this pony was somehow still alive, I was going to shove my power hoof cyber leg up their plot.

More of the black graffiti filled the hallway. Most were just small scribbles rather than the large rants from the atrium. I still could not make heads or tails of it all, all of it was confusing scribbles of nonsense equations that involved depictions of body parts.

Following Slowtrot, I was guided to a door nearby. He knocked on it twice, waiting for a moment before miraculously it opened up. We were bathed in a bright light as the door opened, enough that my eyes needed a few second to adjust. Both Harp and Ummese were standing inside, holding their lathanos rifles pointed at us through the open door. Behind them, Order shined the intensely bright light at us. The two relaxed when they saw it was just Slowtrot and I, putting their rifles to the side.

The room looked like it might have once been a localized small distribution center. Flattened reusable boxes were stacked along the wall, organized by size. The tables in which a pony would have worked on had been flipped on their side, made into a simple barricade. Thrown on the floor were old pens, tape, labels, and stamps that would have been used on the boxes. “It’s looks just like an wrecked version of a Orthrus distribution room I use to work in… they realy haven’t changed the design on over two hundred years at all. I guess if it's not broken, then don’t change it.”

“Miss Vibraphone.” Harp sighed in relief, putting her rifle to the side. “You are not supposed to be the dumb one, you're not!” Tears formed in her eyes, and the princess quickly wiped them away.

Taking a deep breath, I trotted over to her. I was not going to say that she was wrong, or that I was right, that wouldn’t have helped. Nor was I going to explain why I had to go with the pirates, as really any explanation was useless at this point.

As I placed a hoof on her shoulder, I knew there was only one thing I could say. “Ready to get out of here?”

Harp meekly nodded. “I just want this adventure to be over. I’ve seen too much death, just too much.”

“I know, I know.” I gave her a hug, holding her head. “Just hold out a little longer, and when we're back to civilization, we can do something civilized. Like shoe shopping or something.”

She chuckled a little. “I'm sure i’m going to need a new wardrobe.”

Letting her go, I looked down at the lathanos. “How many bolts do you have left?”

Harp open up her decorative saddlebag, the thing still as clean as the day she’d found it. Inside were three bundles of bolts, and a few loose bolts rattling around, a good eighty of them by the looks of it. She also still had the makeup kit she took from the hotel, a box of ammo for her revolver, and the food and drinks she’d received from Slowtrot.

“And here I thought we were almost out. Can I take a few spare bolts?” I asked her. She passed the loose bolts over to me, and I loaded them into my lathanos rifle, putting six extras into my saddle bag.

My stomach grumbled, reminding me that I was feeling absurdly hungry. I even felt a tear forming in my left eye from the sharp pain of my hunger. Wiping away the tear, I found a small smear of blood on my metal hoof.

“You should eat, or that's only going to get worse.” Ummese stepped in, passing me a broken mirror. Looking in it, I saw that my left eye was bloodshot, more than that, it was actually bleeding. “It's the evil eye, striking fear into those who stare into it.” Ummese explained. “I comes with the ability to heal from any wound, but as great as it is, it is cursed. It starts as a hunger, and if not fed, grows into a madness that drives one to consume anything, even one's own body.”

I looked at Ummese, and back at my eye. “I’m going to make Blackspot’s death slow, and painful.”

“Good thing we have food.” Slowtrot spoke up. “And better yet, they should have lots of food on this floor, I even know there's a diner in Labs B.” He then pulled out the can of peaches, and a can opener.

I slurped down the can, and the next one after that even though it tasted mostly like preservatives, sugar, and only a few peaches. But my hunger was too strong for me to complain.

“Anymore?” I asked as I tossed the empty can to the floor.

“There's a fridge in the back that we haven't checked yet.” Harp said before trotting to the back of the room.

I looked over to Slowtrot, watching as the stallion messed with his pipbuck. “So Slowtrot, I got a bad feeling that were going to be taking the long way to labs C. What can you tell me about the labs?”

“Let's see, from what I can remember,” Slowtrot scratched his head. “lab's A is where they make all their finished stuff, like food and stable barding. Lab's B, I think that's where they finish their research, or improve on what they finish. It's actually where the pipbuck lab was. As for lab's C, it's probably for general research, like teleportation. I know it also has an extra large medlab in it. As for lab's D, can't remember, but I think I did go there at some point.”

I nodded. “So no monster plant ponies, or insane clones running around?”

He shook his head. “As far as I remember, the ponies here would not allow that to happen.”

The sound of clinking glass drew my attention over to Harp. She had pushed a case of glass bottles over to me, and on top of it another box “Good news, that not a fridge, it's a suspended animation box.” She had a wide grin in her face. “Everything inside is still fresh.”

Slowtrot walked over, and inspected the two boxes. “Let's see, MRE’s and Lab’s A cola .” He pulled out a bottle and a square meal packet with a smile. “Right here is a full and healthy meal.”

I didn’t wait, and dug in. The MRE was like a small square of thick hard bread. Almost too hard if you asked me, but once down, it filled me up. It had a flowerlike taste to it, almost like dandelions. Looking over at Harp, she had opened up the belly of the packet, and poured the cola into it. I was a bit confused at first, but then the MRE packet began to expand, and the slight smell of flowers and grass hit my nose.

Harp pointed at the packet. “It has instructions.” She then took a cautious bite before shoving the rest into her mouth. “This is actually really good.”

Looking at the packet, it indeed did. Though it did say it can be eaten raw, but also adding a little bit of water will soften it, and adding Lab's A cola would give it more flavor.

I decided to just chew on the bar, as I had already committed to it. Washing it down with a cola, it hit me hard just how much it tasted like fresh grass. It confused me to why Orthrus didn't have this stuff back in the metro, they’d make a killing off it if the food tasted this good.

“Let's stock up and get moving.” I said as I swallowed the last bit of my hearty meal.

Everypony nodded, and filled their saddlebags with MRE’S and the green cola. The MRE’s thankfully didn’t take up much room.

Slowtrot once again took the lead as he lead us back into the graffiti covered hallway. At first it seemed like a simple detour to the second stairwell, but when we turned the corner, we were met with another wall of junk blocking our path. Disturbingly, a pony’s skull hung from the junk wall like a trophy, with the same black scribbling as on the walls. This, none of us were going to enjoy this.

Slowtrot opened up a door next to the junk wall, and stepped into the dark room. Following him in, lights high above us hummed to life, giving the room a dim orange glow. The first thing I noticed was that this room was full of trees, though a tad spread out compared to the plantations. The trees in here also they looked pretty dead, as there wasn’t a single leaf to be seen on their thin branches. Strangly, the trees did have things hanging off of them.

The light, though slowly, became bright enough for us to see with clarity. The dread I felt before was confirmed by the sight of old bones hanging from the dead trees by thin threads, likely from over a dozen ponies, maybe more. Both the trees and the bones were also covered in the mad graffiti.

No pony said anything, none of us needed too. Quickly, we trotted to the other door, ignoring the large black eyes painted above us. Moreso, we did what we could to ignore the fact that the bones were moving as though wind was blowing, but the stale air in here hadn’t moved for at least a century.

Back into the hallway, the mad scribbling returned to the walls, and not far ahead of us was another junk blockade next to a door.

Wanting to get this insanity over with, we entered the next room. I had expected more of the graffiti, intend we stumbled onto a stage. Set up in the center of it was a mannequin in pink tights, with a little pink skirt. The mannequin was position strangely on one rear hoof, the other rear leg stretched out horizontally, and both forelegs stretched above its head in an arch.

“What kind torture is that?” I asked, out loud.

“Looks like a meditation stance my aunt used to do.” Replied Ummese.

Slowtrot chuckled. “I can't say you're off the mark.”

Harp dropped her saddlebag and got onto two legs before lifting one, and proceeding to copy the mannequin. Lit up by a spotlight by Order, she quite literally stood on the tip of her hoof for a few seconds before braking the pose, and returning to all four.

“It's called ballet you uncultured swine.” She gave out in a light giggle before she trotted ahead of us, leaving the room.

I waited for the others to leave before picking up some scattered paper. Balling it up, I tossed it at the mannequin. The paper ball bounced off the mannequin, and it slowly moved until it tipped over and crashed to the ground. The thing was standing just like Harp, no strings, no anchor, no magic, no way that should be possible.

I quickly trotted out the room, rejoining the others. We turned a corner, and surprisingly, nothing was blocking our way. The mad ramblings on the wall were now partnered with pairs of black dots. The oppressive feeling was not lost on anypony as we trotted down the hall, slowing down with each further hoof we stepped.

Slowtrot stopped. “You heard that?”

I perked my ears, scanning around.

*Beep, beep, beep.”

“Ya, some sort of electronics.” I responded, looking about. My eyes fell onto Slowtrot’s hooves, and next to it a pile of trash. “It's under the trash!”

He quickly swiped at the pile, and an old sensor was knocked to the floor. It was connected to a spark battery, and some other small lectronics.

I trotted up to the device, the sound of static bursting out from a recorder taped to it. After a moment the static stopped, replaced by a low and deep hum that only made me more uneasy.

“Hello, hello!” from the recorder was the voice of a mare, it was hard to tell do to the recording being degraded, but she sounded more then just old. It was slightly like a ghouls voice, but somewhat warped. “So you come for me, I knew you would. That stupid council would never just seal away the stable, it's too important. Yesss, you all can't deny the secrets left inside. But I, Spicy Love Fruit, will claim it all!”

The mare in the recording broke out into a coughing fit, and we all gave each other a confused glance. The recording continued. “Not you, nor that black mare can stop me. I have been chosen by it, it looks upon me with great favor. So you must look deep into it, and it will look deep into you. Then you know the one truth, the same as I.” The recording screeched loudly for a moment before cutting out.

Slowtrot looked up at me. “Well that's not ominous at…”

All the doors in the hallway burst open, and slowly twitchers trotted into the hallway from most of them, trapping us. We all backed into each other, and I looked around for a solution.

“There's an empty room, we can hide in there!” Slowtrot called out.

I triggered S.A.T.S. slowing time to a crawl. With more time to think, I began to process our situation. Behind us was five twitchers, they didn’t matter, going that direction would only take us toward Berenices. Ahead of us walked four twitchers, better odds and the direction we needed to head. Problem is that the twitchers don't just go down, and touching them is death, or worse. The lathanos rifles might have the punch to knock them down, but the problem of getting around them.

I looked over at Harp, and down at the energy pistol I gave her, a plan clicked.

“No.” I put my hoof in front of Slowtrot. “We need to push forward.” I turned to Harp, looking her in the eyes. “And we need to do it together.” She nodded. “Alright, Ummese, Slowtrot and I will pin the twitchers down, Harp use the energy pistol to ash them.”

Harp fumbled the meep as she pulled it out. “How do I ash them?”

“When the twitchers are on the ground, just shoot them until they turn to ash.” I explained as I took her lathanos, and hoofed it to Slowtrot. “Right, we just need to shoot them in the legs, they may be able to shrug of getting shots, but they can't walk without legs.”

We readied our rifles. Slowtrot was first to shoot, and his shot flew well over the twitchers.

I glared at him. “Use S.A.T.S.” I told him, and he nodded. Ummese was next to fire, and she hit her target at least. The bolt embedded itself deep into the creature’s chest.

“Guns are not my first choice weapons.” She groaned as she glanced over at me.

I rolled my eyes, and took aim. My first shot landed, kneecapping a Twitcher and sending it to the ground. It didn’t stop moving forward, but at least it was slowed to a crawl.

Another twitcher fell to the ground, followed by Slowtrot raising his hoof into the air in celebration. He had somehow not only hit the twitchers leg, but the bolt had lodged into the ground, pinning the twitcher in place. Unfortunately, the undead ghoul had no problem pulling itself free at the cost of tearing most of its flesh off the pinned leg. Fortunately, it’d still held the twitcher on place long enough for Ummese to get a shot on the same leg, severing it completely.

The last two were soon taken down, and we closed in. Harp followed my instructions, and began firing at the closest twitcher. Powered by her natural magic, the pistol fired a bright pink beem, disintegrating the twitcher on contact.

The next two twitchers were taken out fairly quickly, the second needing two shots to disintegrate, and the third needing four. Looking behind us, the five twitchers had closed in, but not enough to be a problem. “Alright, finish off that last…”

The hair's along my back raised as a twitcher stepped out from an open door, bearing down on an unaware Harp. I didn’t waste time, drawing my revolvers, and firing into the ghoul. It stumbled, but didn't stop, and Harp, taken by surprise, had frozen in place.

*Bang* *Click, click, click, click*

Twelve shots, and the twitcher haven't stopped. Slowtrot jumped in, tackling the twitcher, to both my relief and horror.

We all held our breath, and watched as the stallion held down the ghoul.

And... nothing.

Nothing was happening to Slowtrot. Even he looked surprised when he looked back at us. “Can you please shoot this thing? It's making me feel tingly.” He asked Harp.

With a sigh of relief, Harp dispatched the twitcher, taking two carefully placed shots. We all trotted up to Slowtrot, but he still looked normal, which after what had happened with the pirates, was definitely not normal.

I offered him a hoof, and he took it, helping him off the ground. “Firstly, thank you, secondly, how the fuck?” I asked, forcing a scrunched look across his muzzle.

He shrugged. “I'm just lucky I guess?”

That was likely the best answer I was ever going to get, and we didn’t have time to play twenty questions. “Harp, let's get rid of that last twitcher.” Harp nodded, and turned her energy pistol on the last twitcher. It took four shot to disintegrate it, the thing crawling at us, silently mouthing all the way up until it’s body dissipated into ash.

Once the obstructions were out of our way, we blocked it, as the five twitchers behind us had finally gotten uncomfortably close.

Turning the corner, we immediately came across another trash wall, this one with a big arrow pointing at a closed door. With luck, this would be the last sideshow before getting to the stairwell. Throwing open the door, we all piled through it.

We had trotted into some sort of factory. Large machines filled the even larger room, to the point that it was hard to tell where one ended, and the next started, though different signs did inform us what they did. There was one area that produced basic components for pipbucks, pipbuck tools, and general stable maintenance. Another area was for stable barding, and another was for clothes.

A large sign placed over one of the machines, stating, ‘No more canvas, vinyl fabric is cheaper and easier to produce.’

It would be impressive, if not for all the mannequins everywhere. Each of their heads had been replaced by painted pony skulls. What made it all worse, was that they all looked like they were all staring at us with their dark, empty eye sockets. Shaking it off, I pushed forward, and pushed the others along.

As we quickly trotted out of the factory room, the others stopped, causing me to collide with Slowtrot. Annoyed, I looked passed him, expecting another junk wall.

“I. see. you!” Couteau Dull said slowly, looking at us, no, at me with bleeding eyes. We all drew our weapons, but she vanished in a flash. “Oh no, no, we fight one on one.” Couteau whispered in my ear.

The world fell backwards, and I slammed to the ground. Getting my bearings, I found myself back in the factory room, the mannequins now leaning over as the stared down at me. A hiss from the door caught my attention, Couteau had closed it, and aimed her SMG at the panel.

*Rat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat!”

The control switch sparked, and Couteau turned to me, her eyes glowing gold. “Good, now that the distractions are out of the way, we can have a civil conversation.”

I drew my revolvers, and and pulled the trigger, they only made empty clicking sounds. “Shit, give me a moment to reload.”

Couteau disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of me, now holding a sword in her magic. The blade came down, and I only just managed to block it with my power hoof leg. “I guess we’re well passed civility. I’ll be taking you now, even if it's only as a bloody pincushion.”

Her eyes shifted from gold to a burning green, the blood now flowing from her eyes. “Oh, there you are, where are you?”

The grip on her blade weakened, so I shoved it out of the way, and gave her a power hoofed punch. The mad mare flew back into a bunch of boxes. I waited for a moment, hoping that she was killed by that hit, a hope that died when she started laughing. Couteau pulled herself out from the pile I knocked her into. Six thin metal rods were stuck through her, five going through her back and out her stomach, the sixth through her neck.

“Did you know pain is a sign that we’re still alive?” Couteau’s eyes were looking in two different directions, vigorously moving around like she was scanning the room. “So many toys to play with, to make you feel alive.” Both eyes stopped, and focused on me. “But let's start with these little sticks you’ve so helpfully given me.”

The air felt alive with magic, like the buildup is static. Pain jolted through my neck, forcing me to cry out in pain. Couteau had not moved, now sporting a wide grin on her face, and the rod in her neck, it had vanished. I reached up to my neck finding a thin rod piercing through it. “It's not as effective as a gun, no, but so much more satisfying. You don't know what satisfaction is until you placed a bomb into the stomach of a cur, and watch the horror on their face. When you get bored of it all, pull the trigger. The Normal boom is fun, but smoke bombs are beyond amusing.” She snickered to herself as she glared at me with twisted eyes.

Again the air filled with magic, but I knew what was coming, so I dashed out of the area, and behind a large box. The pain in my neck was almost unbearable. I needed to get this rod out before I could fight, and it was going to hurt.

“Minerva, help me get this rod out of my neck.” My pipbucks magic grabbed the rod and tugged. The pain was intense, and it didn't budge. Worse, it pulled my neck with it. My hud faded in, and a message appeared.

“Warning, foreign object has fused to users body. Seek immediate professional medical attention.”

Fuck! Just fuck it all!

“Are you done hiding? Come out and let me give you an everlasting collar.” Couteau mocked.

I reloaded my revolvers and prepared my lathanos. If she wanted me so badly, I was going to give her a piece of my wrath. Standing on my hind legs, I took aim with my lathanos from behind the box. She was in my sight, and I fired.

The bitch teleported, and I could feel the magic building in the air around me. Abandoning my position, I hid behind a vinyl barding production machine.

“You know you’re just an insane whore, right?” I yelled out at her.

Magic built up again, but not as strong as before. A metal rod teleported through the machine near me, fusing to the massive hunk of metal. At least now I was sure that I could sense the spell, I just wished I knew more about magic, and how to beat it.

“Come out, come out, or I will make it all the more painful.” I couldn't pinpoint where Couteau was speaking from, as the room itself echoed unnaturally.

Some junk behind me shifted, I looked up in time to see two glowing green eyes staring down at me, and a sword pointed in my direction. The sword jabbed down, sticking into my shoulder, and scraping against my cybernetic connecter. My nerves flared in pain, blurring my vision for a second.

“Now stay put” she grinned down at me, the magic around me energizing.

I was not going to let it happen, and drew my revolvers, firing wildly. It worked well enough, forcing her to back off, and keeping her from putting another rod in my neck. I bolted from my position, and looked for a position where I could take the offence. If I let her get the drop on me again, I was dead.

*Bam!*

Pain flared across my face as I was hit with a wrench. I entered S.A.T.S. and dashed forward, not letting me stop. A stairway came into view, and I jumped onto it, galloping up a level. Keeping my eyes open, I didn’t stop. Thought the walkways were open, Couteau at least couldn’t hide herself up here.

The lights flared, and the machinery roared to life. Scanning, my eyes fell on what looked like a control booth, inside Couteau waved at me before teleporting away. The sound was deafening, and the lights reflected on polished metal. Worse, the mannequins were everywhere up here, and they looked like they were dancing.

Magic built up around me again, and I dashed out before the rod appeared. It popped into existence, and fell onto the metal grate. It hit the grate soundlessly, mostly because everything was so noisy that it was droned out.

Looking around, I winced in pain, remembering that I still had the fucking sword stuck in my shoulder. Luckily it was much easier for Minerva to remove then the rod in my neck. Looking at it, the parts not covered in my blood had a mirror polish, and in the reflection I could see Couteau sneaking up behind me.

She smiled at me and lunged at me with a wrench. Using the sword to deflect it, Couteau caught the sword in the wrenches teeth, and pulled it out of Minerva’s telekinetic hold. The sword flew around Couteau, and stopped by her side, giving her two melee weapons again.

“What are you trying to prove? Luna has called us, you’ve seen her, but you deny her divinity.” she took a step closer, pointing the wrench at me. Her eyes hadn't stopped bleeding, staining her face, and covering her mouth. As she talked, the blood foamed, making her look like some mad rabid animal. “You will submit. To me. To Blackspot. To the goddesses. So stay the fuck still, and let me drag you down to her!”

I watch her movements, as she watch me. She was too close for me to pull my guns, she'd knock them away before I could get a shot on her. She could use teleportation, but I was sure she caught on that I could sense it. What I needed was to get an opening, one shot on her was all I needed, then I can finish her off.

She stepped closer, glaring at me. I didn’t meet her gaze, not wanting to risk the effect of her evil eye. Still, I was going to have to take a gamble, Couteau had too many advantages. “Minerva, knife!” I shouted as I charged. My pipleg drew my knife out at Couteau, and she countered with the wrench, throwing it over the railing.

More pain engulfed my body as Couteau’s sword was trusted into my gut, the bitch smiling at me with blood stand teeth. I smiled back as I slammed my power hoof leg into her side, it jolting on contact, making my shoulder screen in pain.

Couteau stumbled back, puking up blood. I didn’t let up, and jumped at her, the power hoof landing in her leg, making a wet crack. She screamed in pain.

“Good, scream louder!” I shouted, bringing the power hoof down on the same leg. “Sing for me!”

Another wet crack, but Couteau didn’t scream, she laughed. Pain erupted from my gut as she twisted the sword, forcing me off her. “You feel it, don't you, don't you?” She sounded far too amused for a mare with a shattered back leg. “The hunger calls, and so blood must flow. From that river, we drink, we chew, we eat.”

I tugged the sword out of me, and got back up. “I'm done with this,Minerva, draw my…”

I fell, my back hitting cold metal. Couteau was holding onto my leg, so I kicked her in the face until she let go. With a flash, she teleported back, landing on three legs, her forth simply dangled as a bloody pulp. We were on top of one of the machines, I could feel it vibrating through my legs.

“You can't win, I have Luna on my side” she bosted.

“Sorry to break it to you, the princess are dead, and there are gods looking out for you.” I spat back at her.

That wiped the smirk off her face, and I felt magic gather around me. Rolling back, several metal rods, her sword, and the wrench had fused the top of the machine, she went after my legs. Looking back up, she vanished as she teleported yet again.

I spun around just in time to catch a hoof strike to the face. After the hits I had taken before, this was not as bad. Of course, it still stung though. I countered by tackling her, and we rolled off the machine.

Falling on my back, Couteau straddled me, and began repeatedly hitting me in the face. I blocked with my pipleg, and struck back with the power hoof. It was enough to knock her off of me, but I was seeing double now. Getting up, I struggled to stay on all four hooves, lucky, Couteau look like she was struggling to stay on all four hooves too.

The fuck?

Her forth leg was still a bloody pulp, but not as much as before, the bones healed enough to stand on. Stranger, her clothes no longer tightly fit her, now dangling off her as she looked much thinner. Blood dripped from her mouth like drool, and she stared at me like a hungry animal.

“What the fuck are you?” I took a step back, ready for another attack.

Her eyes wondered for a moment before focusing back on me. “I’m… I’m so hungry.” She licked her lips. “The others won't mind if I have a nibble.”

She lunged at me, mouth wide open, like a savage animal. I stumbled to the side, and she missed me, colliding with the machine. Looking passed her, the machine was a small industrial grinder, the kind Orthrus used to turn junk into small bits before recycling. This one lacked a safety bar at the input slot.

“Still hungry you mad whore!?” I baited her, and Couteau took it, lunging at me. Every step hurt, but not enough to stop me. I made it to the input end of the grinder just in time as Couteau charged in behind me. Stepping out of the way, though clumsily, she slammed into the grinder. It was now or never, and I jumped her, my power hoof cracking her side, making her howl in pain.

Before she could concentrate, I shoved her head in the grinder, she resisted, pushing back. At first she pulled back, strength of madness I'd guess, but with a small crack, she began falling into the grinder. Flecks of blood stand the inside of the grinder as it sheared off Couteau’s jaw bit by bit. She bellowed a pained moan, doing her best to resist, not that I'd let her.

I fell back, finding myself a good twenty hoof steps from the grinder. Quickly getting up, I got ready for another attack from my blind spot. Turning frantickly, I came face to face with a jaw less Couteau. She giving me a death glare as her bloody and mutilated tong dangled. Then… her head fell to the ground, leaving a bloody smear on a concrete wall. The stump of her neck was mixed into what looked like the wall itself, and now knowing the risks, I didn’t feel so bad not knowing how to teleport myself.

I waited for a moment, taking deep breaths to calm down. Trotting over to Couteau’s head, I had to hold back a laugh, not that I found it funny, yet I felt like laughing. Raising up my powerhoof, I brought it down into her head, it smashing like coconut, and insuring the she could never come back.

“You do know she's not like me, right.” Theremin dragged herself from behind a box, her legs nothing but cables.

I rolled my eyes. “Can’t be sure these days.”

Theremin shrugged. “You got a point there, at least she didn't take you into the wall with you.” She then pointed to her neck. “You know, if you’d become a reaver, that won't be a problem.”

I turned from the digital ghost, and trotted to the door out of here. I could hear scratching from the other side, as well some banging. Examining the door, and the panel next to it, I concluded that it was messed up, but could still open it. Digging through my saddlebag, I quickly located my old tool set, which was just a screwdriver and pliers.

Pulling back the panel, I quickly found the hydraulic controls for the door, and used the pliers to pull out a cable, and twisted the flow switch. With a hiss, the door opened, and a panicked Harp charged through. She skidded to a stop, looking around until her eyes fell onto me.

Harp took a step back, clearly shocked. “By princess Platinum, all that blood!”

I forced a smiled. “Don't worry, not all of it is mine, and Couteau is dead.”

She trotted over to me, putting a hoof on the rod in my neck. “And this?”

As gently as I could, I pushed her hoof away. “Not going to lie, it's fused in there, and I’m going to need surgery to get it out.”

“Ship jumpers, they never use their magic gently.” Ummese stepped in, and I gave her a half confused look. The Zony sighed, and pointed to the top of her head. “There are unicorns who are taught teleportation magic. Useful when moving others from ship to ship discreetly. Also useful for scaring the goddesses faith into a creature.” She looked around, her eyes stopping on the smashed head. “Also very dangerous without a partner to perform the spell with.”

I checked my guns, reloading them. “ya, I saw first hoof. Now let's get going, I'm sure more troubles down stairs, and I know troubles coming down from upstairs.”

“There's a medical room in Labs B, maybe there we can get that pole out.” Slowtrot stood from the other side of the door, and he was not looking well. He was cracking, like glass under stress, each line had a faint glow to it.

“Slowtrot, are you feeling well, because you’re not looking well.” I informed him. It was amazing he’d lasted this long after touching that twitcher, but it didn’t mean his luck would hold out forever.

“Now that you mentioned it, that tingling never did go away.” He laughed and a small chunk of him fell off and shattered on the ground.

I dove into my saddlebag, pulling out one of the few healing potions I had. “You need to drink this, right now!” I shoved one in his face, but he pushed it away.

“I have a feeling you’ll need it more than I do. Anyways, I'm a ghost after all, I doubt it will work on me.” The cracks s[read, now forming all over his body. They glowed with a jade green light that was soft and warm, but still more distressing than anything the more it spread. “And who knows, this might just be a temporary thing.”

“Vanishing away just as strangely as you appeared?” I chuckled a little, feeling a little too use to ponies dying on me. But this was different to me somehow. “So, see you later?” It didn’t feel like he was dying, just going away until the next time I saw him. If that was a good or a bad thing, I still wasn’t quite sure of.

“I guess?” He shrugged. “Just take care of yourself.” With a fearless smile, his body shattered, turning into dust that faded into nothing at all.

I took a deep breath, and steeled myself. “Alright, to the next floor.”

“Labs B it is, I’ll see if I can get that rod out of you neck!” A mare spoke up from behind me. Turning around I saw a purple unicorn mare sitting on box of spare parts, she had a dull light blue mane, and tail with a jade streak in them. She had the same clothes on as Slowtrot did, and even her pipbuck was the same. Actually, the more that I looked at her, the more she looked just like Slowtrot, except being a mare and her cutie-mark was an exclamation mark through a hoof print, instead of a question mark.

“Who, wa… Slowtrot?”

“Yes and no.” The mare rolled her eyes. “The name's Quicktrot. Quicktrot Fragment to be quite specific actually. Now, what do you say we get going before those crabs catch up to us?”

_______________________________________________________

Footnote:

Companion error: Slowtrots signal replaced by Quicktrot (Who wants a dorky wartime pony anyways, lets rule 63 this, it makes everything better. It’s not like your company is some sort of arcotech abomination who’s totally going to stab you in the back now. That be silly, you're silly, and this is definitely not written by Quicktrot, and also, fuck you Pinky Pie!!!)

Author's Note

So I want to thank both nocarix and Gamma Deekay for helping to clean up the chapters, without them, a lot of this would be much harder for everyone to read.

Also, thanks to Kkat for making this wonderfully horrifying world for us to make our own story's in.

For reference, Quicktrot is the doppelganger who appears at the end of "Stable-Tec R&D" I originally had her being more involve in this story, but like with most ideas, things had to change. Any-who, thanks for reading, I got more on the way, so check back in 14 days, if I can keep this up.

Chapter 50 - Labs B

Quicktrot cracked her neck as she descended down the stairs. She wasn’t even bothering to trot like the rest of us, but using her magic to levitate off the ground.

“Got to say, it's nice being out and about, but the R&D Stable is not where I expected to return to.” She cheerfully remarked as she looked around the walls. “Though, I do love the new decorations.”

Opening the package, I swallowed down the content of the MRE, barely chewing before forcing it down. “Explain it to me again, and use real words this time.”

The unicorn shrugged. “Why is this world full of simpletons? Right, the pony you know as Slowtrot was just an echo, and was running about only because I was asleep. I'm what you would call an arcano-tech induced anomaly, though some would rather use the word ‘abomination’. Think of me as something similar to a ghoul, but not stuck inside a rotting corpse.”

“And how are you even here?” I don't know why, but something about Quicktrot felt familiar, but in a bad way. She looked like Slowtrot, but her attitude, her mannerisms, and the way she glanced at us... it all made me feel even more on edge.

She put her hooves together, and slowly separated then in an arch like fashion. “Magic.” She then leaned back, like she was relaxing on a couch as she levitated through the air. “Jokes aside, this place is practically oozing with magic, which, in turn allows me to manifest as I am. Luckily it's not the necrotic magic that you can find all over Equestria these days. Let me tell you, that stuff is terrible for my complexion.”

“So, if that was not Slowtrot, where's the real Slowtrot?” Harp asked as she stood by the door. Like before, the stairs further down were blocked off by a mess of chairs, tied together by wire, and filled in by a mess of junk.

“Dead.” Quicktrot responded. “At least, he should be... I doubt anypony can survive getting stuck outside of reality. And don’t ask, it's related to a time traveling spell that went bad. Just believe me that it takes a day and a half just to explain the fundamentals of it all to somepony of your...” She paused as Harp looked away dejected, so I shot her a glare. “Did I say something wrong? He’s a pony from what, over a hundred years ago? Even if he was still around, he’d be some dried up ghoul, or worse, a ‘twitcher’ as you call it.”

“Let's just get going,” I rolled my eyes. “the sooner we can get out of here, sooner we can get this rod out of my neck.” But to be fair to the rod, at least it was being less of a pain in my neck than Quicktrot was...

“Right, the teleportation testing chamber in labs C.” Quicktrot nodded. “Though it might be best to stop by medical here in labs B. There should be a organic-inorganic separation cutter in storage for magical emergencies. Interphasic accidents are a lot more commen than you might think.” We all gave her a confused glance, and she sighed. “You wouldn't believe how many researchers got themselves stuck to their tools. It’s one reason why pink cloud research was banned. Pretty much during the entire year of the Littlehorn attack it was a weekly occurrence that those tools were needed.”

“Whatever, as long as it doesn't waste any more time.” I hit the control on the door, and stepped out into labs B. I was expecting more graffiti, the ramblings of a mad pony stretched along the walls, and of course it was written all over the walls. But where before they seemed randomly scribbled nonsense all over the place, now the graffiti was organized into one long rambling sentence. Literally, it looked to be just one sentence that continued out of sight around the corner.

Also unlike the floor above us, the door to the other stairwell was not blocked by a wall of junk. Instead, the floor around the elevator had been chewed up, and many metal spikes poked out. Hanging above the spike pit was a sign stating “Jump on in, the water’s fine.” Curiously a few of the spikes had rope tied to the base that extended over and down the elevator.

“What was her name again, Spicy Love Fruit?” Quicktrot leveraged to the edge. “If I can recall right, she was one of the Lab D scientists.” She scratched her chin. “Odd, I'm sure she was one of the ponies caught by Thorn.”

I glanced over at Quicktrot. “How much do you know about this place?”

“Enough to paint a less than pretty picture about Stable-Tec.” She stopped levitating, and all four hooves landed on the ground with a clop. “The overmare, Healing Herbs, left quite a bit behind with me when she died. It was mostly useless junk, so it took me awhile to sort through them all.” She waved her hoof over the spike pit. “I don't know what it is, but the magic feels dead there, best if we take the long way around.”

We both took a step back, and joined up with Harp, Order, and Ummese. Trotting down the hallway, this time there were no obstructions I our way. Instead all the doors were open, and a costed low hum came from everywhere. It was even more unnerving as we passed each room there was a terminal in view, and every terminal had a video of a twitcher looking back at us.

As we trotted, the lines of graffiti seemed to blur, and I found myself wobble. Not just me, but Harp and Ummese looked like they were also having trouble walking. Quicktrot on the other hoof looked fine.

“Is... everypony doing alright?” I asked as I tried to focus on even standing up.

Harp stopped. “Is the floor suppose to feel like jello?”

“Last time I felt like this, I had inbibed enough rum to kill a pony.” Ummese responded.

“Fuck, what's wrong with this place?” closing my eyes helped, but there was no way I was going to walk around here blind. “Quicktrot, can you take point?”

“Right, right. Medical is not far.” She responded, and trotted passed me. I did my best to follow her as I kept my eye on the others, but even only seeing the nauseating graffiti indirectly was still having an effect.

We were practically herded into a room, nearly collapsing onto the floor before all of us got inside. Quicktrot closed the door behind us, and almost immediately I started to feel much better. Fortunately, the room lacked any graffiti. Unfortunately, it did have the creepy terminal with the twitcher looking back at us on it.

“Curse this place, I’d rather hoof fight a shark...” Ummese groaned as she gave in to the nausea and flopped to the ground.

“I want to say I’d rather deal with another paradise dragon, but they're just the worst” I bemoaned. A loud clatter came further in the room. Looking up, Quicktrot was rummaging through a pile of odd looking tools. Feeling a little more balanced on my hooves, I stepped over to her. “Found the device you’d mentioned?”

She levitated what looked like two scoops pinned together with a spring in the middle. “No dice, looks like the bitch took all the arcano tools from here. I can do it the old fashion way, but that's going to hurt, just to warn you.” Quicktrot opens up a box, revealing a bunch of scalpels and other surgical tools.

I shook my head. “No time, let's just get to labs C, and I’ll get professional help.”

Quicktrot looked me up and down, and smirked. “Give me your hoof, the left one with the pipbuck, I need to check something.” I had a bad feeling about this, but still lifted Minerva up to her. “Thanks, this should take but a moment.”

She grasped onto Minerva, and vanished with a green pop. Everything slowed to almost a stop, S.A.T.S. having activated on its own. My hud display came up, but was distorted, the letters and numbers randomly flickering and twitching. Stranger was that my targeting option was focused on something that was not there, listing it as unknown.

“What's this now?” Theremin stepped into view. All four of her legs striped bare, only metal bones and wires could be seen. “It feels like the C.C.N., but not quite...” The albino mare sniffed the air, and then gagged. “I can taste it. Dark and chaotic, with a hint of rot.”

Quicktrot came out from behind Theremin with a smile on her face. “You ponies certainly improved your pipbucks. I say, without all the crazy programs inside it, it can be a really cozy place to rest.”

Theremin took a step back, surprised by Quicktrots sudden appearance. She studied the purple mare, looking here up and down until their eyes met. As she did, Quicktrot’s smile only grew wider.

“An arcano wrath, interesting. Didn't think to meet another one so soon, but then that's the area we live in now, where even our tech can spawn evil spirits.” Quicktrot trotted around Theremin, stuffing her. “Odd, there is a lack of necromantic alchemy involved, instead it’s more a complex arcane weave than a true spirit. Very intriguing.”

Theremin looked as confused as I felt. “What are you babbling about you presumptuous whore.”

“Oh, I like that.” Quicktrot stopped. “You won't mind if I use that insult for later, will you?” She then turned to me, and scratched her chin. “Well, forgetting the snack, let's see if I can fix that issue in your neck.” I tried to glare at her, but my body was still frozen in place. “Right, sadly I don't know any teleportation spells, but I did inherit a quick and dirty surgery technique. I'm just going to borrow your pipbuck for a moment, and it will be over in but a second. Oh, and if you are worried, don't be, this was a trick developed by Fluttershy on critical injured soldiers. Spear-traps may have been primitive mechanisms, but they were a bitch to get out of a pony when they are barbed.”

Time slowly returned to normal. Theremin vanished, but Quicktrot was still in front of me with the scalpels hovering in her magic.

“Wait…” I whimpered right before the scalpels were lunged at me. My neck erupted in pain, and I collapse to the ground, followed by the sound of a metal rod clanging on the ground next to me.

“Vibraphone!” Harp shouted. She rushed over to me, her hooves making wet splat next to me. “By Celestia, the blood.”

I looked up at her. “This time, it's all mine.”

Harp looked over at Quicktrot, anger in her eyes. “Why would you do this!? She needed surgery, not barbarism!”

Quicktrot rolled her eyes. “She's going to live, just give her a healing potion.”

Frantically pulling a potion from her bag, Harp shoved it into my mouth, and I eagerly drank the potion down. I did start to feel better, but from under my scarf, the burning pain that crept around my neck had returned. It grew slowly but steadily, until it felt like there was some kind of hot coller on me.

It wasn’t agonizing, but it was enough discomfort that I couldn’t just shake it off and forget it was there. Taking a deep breath, I got back up. Stepping in my own blood, I looked down and started feeling hungry again. I glared at Quicktrot, ready to shoot her on the spot.

“You’re lucky that worked.” I had a feeling that I would need more than bullets to kill Quicktrot, maybe even a priest.

“Don't mention it.” Quicktrot smiled back. “You did say we didn’t have time for surgery. Now, how to get through that hallway without you three having a seizure?”

“That mare gives me a real bad feeling,” Ummese stepped up to me, and whispered into my ear. “the ‘burn the heretic with fire’ kind of bad feeling.”

Harp raised an eyebrow, and also whispered. “I’m guessing you mean like treason bad, where the pony is plotting something that can hurt lots of others?”

The Zony nodded. “Heretics turn ponies away from the righteous path, and if left to do their evil, many souls will be lost forever.”

I didn’t much like the religious speak, but I had to admit that Quicktrot had to be up to something. If I ever got the opportunity, I was going to have a word with Charon about not warning me about… whatever it is that she is.

“Found it!” Quicktrot exclaimed, as she pulled out a box. Trotting over to us, she opened the box, and inside were tinted goggles, decorated in blue and yellow. “Stable-Tec figured that prolong time underground would have an effect on the eyes, so these goggles were developed to cope with light sensitivity.”

Harp picked one up, and looked through it. “How are they supposed to help?”

Quicktrot pulled one out, and passed it to me. “Well the mass produced ones were just tinted, but these ones were made for actual medical application. The lenses are polarized crystals, and it has the odd side effect of distorting magic based images. So other than reducing eye strain, it should keep whatever that is out there fuzzy enough to not mess with your own vision.”

I shrugged, and put on the goggles. Everything became darker, but oddly enough, Quicktrot’s form distorted. It was like as if she was a hologram, but every time I shifted my perspective, she would bend and twist. I looked over to Harp, who had to remove her helmet and my hat before putting on the goggles. She tilted her head as she looked at Quicktrot, likely seeing the same distortion as I did.

Looking over at the terminal, the twitcher on the screen was still there, staring at us. I didn’t know what I’d expected to see, but if it had been the ghoul was crawling out of the terminal, I don't think I'd be all that surprised. Right, let’s just get the fuck out of here already.

“Everypony ready to move on?” I asked out loud.

Ummese helped Harp get her helmet on before the two gave me a nod. Quicktrot simply walked past me to the door. She flipped the switch on the control panel and stood back. I sighed and trotted over to the door as it opened, still dreading going back out there even with some sort of magical goggle nonsense to protect us.

We were hit by an ear piercing search, forcing me to cover my ears. Quicktrot on the other hoof fell over onto her back from the sudden noise. On the other side of the door was a non-glowing lurker armed with chitin hammer. I pulled out my lathanos, and quickly charged my magic into it. Before I could properly target it however, the monster was on me.

The lurkers hammer slammed into my side, causing me to stumble in pain. But the attack did give me an opening, and took aim, switching the rifle to full power, and fired. The bolt flew out of the lathanos with a bang, sending pain through my shoulder, and the bolt into the lurker. The quadruped crab exploded in blue blood and chitin chunks, decorating the walls on one side of the medical room.

Checking Minerva, my pipleg indicated that I had the three cracked ribs. “Shit, and right after drinking a healing potion.”

“Let me get you another one.” Harp open her bag, but I stopped her.

“Let's check this room for any potions first, I rather not use what little meds we still have.” I directed Harp and Ummese to look around, leaving me to check on Quicktrot. The unicorn mare was knocked out cold, one of her back legs twitching. “We need to get this mare some pants.” I said, shaking my head.

By the time Quicktrot recovered, it was clear that this room had been stripped of anything useful, Leaving me with three cracked ribs and a loudly rumbling stomach. Luckily I still had a few of the MREs to chew on.

Stepping out into the hallway, the graffiti still assaulted my eyes, glitching like a broken terminal screen, but without the head splitting dizziness. Not far from us, a lurker was laying on the ground covering its eyes, and another one further back was hitting its head on the wall. At the very least this floor was going to slow them down, a silver lining in all this madness.

The four of us made our way around labs B. We didn’t want to slow down, but still kept an eye out for any more traps. What we didn't expect to see when we rounded a corner was a mess of twitchers. Each of them had their legs severed and piled up along the walls. The source of this mess stood at the end of the hallway. There, Shamrock stood with her eyes closed and two SMG’s pointed in our direction.

I raised my rifle, taking aim.

“I wouldn't try it, heathen.” Shamrocks voice resonated down the hall. “Luna guides my hooves, as you can see from what was done to these abominations. The good goddess also whisper in my ears, and tells me that the hoard of monsters have made their way here. A gunfight will only draw them in faster.”

“Lucky me, my rifle doesn't make as much noise as yours.” I pointed out with a light shrug.

“That's true.” Shamrock nodded. “So then, why have you not ended me life? Could it be you fear what wrath Luna will bring down.”

I fired.

My bolt sailed true from the end of my gun, but as it reached her, Shamrock vanished.

The feeling of cold metal pressed to the back of my head. “Luna guide my hooves, protecting me from your foul arrows.”

I turned, letting one of the SMG’s rest on my temple. “Then why have you not pulled the trigger?”

She frowned. “I so hate it when blasphemers like you get smart,” Shamrock opens her eyes, they were golden surrounded by a deep crimson red. The blood slowly oozed from her eyes, as she grinned far too wide. “However, I need only you.” Her second SMG fired.

Striking her with my powerhoof, she hit the wall with a crunch. “Harp!” I shouted, hoping no pony was hurt.

“I’m fine” Harp responded. “Order protected me.” In front of her was a bullet riddled drone, it's lights flickering.

“I’m quite alright madam.” Orders voice crackled. “But sending this unit maintenance would be advised.”

I turned back to Shamrock. She looked up at me, the gold gone and almost only blood shot eyes remaining. In the center, like little pin pricks, was a vibrant green that glowed like a evil flame.

I smashed her face in. The power hoof did all the work, but while it seemed almost too easy, it felt good. Each successive strike felt a bit euphoric in a way I couldn’t quite articulate. Breaking her horn, her legs, her ribs, all of it was so damn satisfying. Even if she could heal like Couteau, there was no way she could get up any time soon. When all was said and done, it was strange to see a pony so broken. It… it made me hungry.

“Vibraphone!” Harp shouted, breaking my concentration. “That's enough, just stop.”

I looked down at my power hoof. It was caked in blood and fur, more than I’d expected to see on it for what had been a few simple strikes. I looked back at Harp, and nodded. Maybe I did get a bit carried away, but the bitch deserved it.

We left Shamrock there, broken and bleeding on the ground. I thought about putting her out of her misery, but didn't think she was worth the bullet. Berenice's little army would do the job soon anyways, and we didn’t have time to waste anymore. Harp placed Order on her back, and we let Quicktrot take the lead again. I lagged behind, chewing on my last MRE that just didn’t seem as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be.

We reached the door to the next stairwell, which was set up in much the same pit-like trap as the last one. The other side of the pit was swarming with lurkers, a few tried to throw spears at us, but with their vision compromised the weapons didn't get close.

A few of the Lurkers quickly moved to the wall as the familiar sound of a hovering robot hit my ears. Foreman, the mister helper, hovered through the doorway, and looked around with its three eyes.

“What's this now? Such disorder is unbecoming of Sparkle-Cola employees, it’s truely disgraceful! What would the president say if she saw this.” Forman pointed at us sharply with its mechanical claw. “And the no good rapscallions are over there, you are all going the wrong way.” One of the lurkers pointed at the pit, and the robot looked at it. “Well that's a safety violation if I have ever seen one, I guess we must take the long way. Now, every/ERROR/, get in two single file lines. We must do this efficiently, and most of all, safely.”

I grabbed my rifle, but Harp stopped me, pushing the barrel down. “It's not his fault, we just need to get out of here. Maybe if we can find Mayall, we can organize a way to stop Berenice.”

I let out a long sigh, so much stress still building up. “Let's hope your right.”

“Never a dull moment.” Quicktrot laughed. “And here I thought angler ponies were an abomination to witness. But two conga lines of pony shaped crabs, that's enough to get me to quit drinking, even if I could get drunk.” She looked back with a smirk. “You know, that green unicorn reminded me of this other green mare I've met before.”

“Don't care.” I responded.

She ignored me. “Actually, she also had a red mane, but two crude cyber legs instead of bleeding eyes.” Quicktrot frowned and rubbed at her cheek with a grumble. “The bitch actually shot me in the face.”

I smirked “Sounds like my kind of mare, maybe you can introduce us.”

Quicktrot smirked back. “And maybe you can bond over how your special some ponies like to get plowed by stallions.”

I rolled my eyes. “Hay, at least I’ve got a stallion. You would be surprised what some mares have done to just get a stallions attention. There are also a lot of horror stories too.”

She chuckled a little. “What, are the mares so thirsty that they’re killing each other?”

“Sometimes.” I shrugged. “I’ve heard things use to be a lot worse, and I've met a few mares who've needed medical attention.”

“Wow, you mirage ponies got issues.” Quicktrot said in a mocking tone.

“It’s how the metro is, and why being able to leave is so important.” I informed her. “Anyways, let's get out of here, we’ve wasted enough time.”

Turning to the open door, I saw that there was more magical distortion than before. It was strange, like the shadows themselves danced along the wall, as though they were tendrils.

“That can't be good.” Quicktrot flatly stated the obvious.

I looked at her to ask what exactly she meant, but felt a tug on my shoulder. Before I could turn to see what it was, I was thrown back onto the floor. I drew my revolvers ready to kill this fucker, but nopony was there, only a mass of moving shadows, distorted by the goggles.

“Well fuck.” I mumbled as I looked around.

The shadow tendrils peeled off the wall and lashed out at me, knocking the revolvers out of Minerva's hold. I turned to run, but one of my back legs was grappled and pulled back, preventing me from moving. I looked up at Quicktrot, who looked far more amused than concerned over my situation. She actually waved me goodbye right as I slowly started to get dragged back, and in a moment things became a blur. I slammed into a wall as my metal hooves grinded along the floor.

Everything became dark, and the hiss of a stable door clued me into that I had been dragged into a room. There was a static hum from a nearby terminal, and the sound of pained wheezing hitting my ears. Slowly getting up, I lifted up my goggles and turned on my pipleg lamp.

Before me was a twisted and emaciated Shamrock sitting on a knocked over and broken terminal. Her ribs showed through her coat, some of them broken and poking out of her bloodied skin. One of her back hooves was bent in the wrong way, and the skin on a fore hoof was split and bleeding. Her eyes were still all red, but now with sparks of green flame would creep from around the edges. Strangely yet, her horn was still broken, but two more horns had grown out in front of her ears.

“Let's try this again you vile heretic.” Shamrock wheezed, and as she spoke I saw that her teeth were now jagged, like a monster.

I had to collect myself for a quick moment, the sight of her unnerving me. “R… Right, probably should have wasted the bullet on you.”

Shamrock gave a pained laugh. “You spared me because you lack the conviction of faith, ya whore. If ya just embraced Luna's love, and accepted the teachings of Thorn, maybe you would find the strength to follow through with your convictions.”

I pulled out my lathanos rifle, but it was flung out of my hooves, and a shadow tendril grabbed me by the neck, forcing me to lower my head to the ground. The shadows were coming from Shamrock, creeping out of her wounds like some dark bile.

“How?” I managed to gasp out as the tendril around me wrapped tighter.

“Luna’s love.” I was pulled closer, Shamrock smiling with her jagged teeth on display. “So strong is my faith that even death feeds me. And she whispers to me such sweet secrets. Magic forgotten by time, truths long buried. Luna will be free, and I shall be her bishop.”

“You do know that you’re being tricked by a nightmare, right?” I struggled to get up, but the shadow around my neck only tightens its grip until I stopped resisting. “I can’t blame you, they are convincing. Though, how easily you were tricked into thinking that Thorn is a prophet, that is not at all surprising.”

I was hoisted up by my neck, the shadow holding me off the ground. I struggled to breath as Shamrock hatefully glared at me, the sparks of green flames around her eyes now fully ignited.

“Heresy, heresy you whore. I will carve the goddesses love into you, make you know the greatness of Thorn Rowland.” Her sharp toothed grin almost glowed in the dark room. I desperately hoofed at my neck, but nothing I did helped loosen her grip. “Without Thorn’s guidance, pony kind would have been consumed by heresy, and set on the path of destruction. Even now, so many souls are lost to evil because they reject Thorns wisdom. A fate that will befall every heathen like you unless they repent and accept the light of the goddesses.”

“I would not call Thorn wise.” The voice of Quicktrot spoke up. “Viciously conniving would be a better description of her.” I was dropped, my body hitting the ground with a thud as I gasped for air. Slowly getting up, my revolvers slid over to me, looking over at Quicktrot, she gave me a wink.

“Who are you to blaspheme about the prophet!” Shamrock shouted as she took her attention off of me for once.

Quicktrot rolled her eyes and sighed. “A pony who knows her very personally. Now, whatever you are doing, miss mutant pony thing, can you give it a rest?”

A shadow tendril thrusted at Quicktrot, piercing her in the chest. “I only need to bring one pony to Luna.” Quicktrot smiled right before fading from view. “What! A decoy?”

The sound of terminals turning on clicked all around us, and the soft light of the terminals began to iluminat the room. It was crazy, this room was stuffed wall to wall with terminals and terminal screens. The humming all the terminals gave off was like a low roar, mixed with the a grinding noise now and then. Among the terminals were pipbucks, wires connecting them to the terminals and to other pipbucks.

“Almost feels like home” Quicktrots voice came from all the terminals speakers with a static reverberation. Her face appeared on all the screens, smiling a cocky grin. She began hoofing at something off screen before pulling up a sheet of paper. “Ohh, lots of little improvements. Advanced VI’s, stronger spell intagration, even a wireless pipbucks synchronization program. So many ponies would kill to get their hooves on this tech.”

“Heresy...” Shamrock lashed one of her Shadow tendrils at one of the terminals. “What… what are you?”

All the terminals went blank for a moment before each one showed a different pony. Stallions, mares, earth ponies, unicorns, pegasus, and even a zebra, I only recognized one. That of Slowtrot.

“I'm a lot of things, and a lot of ponies.” Quicktrot’s voice filled the room. “Though I am of two things you may very much know well.” All the terminal screens switched to one mare, who looked a lot like Victoria, just much older. “I was once part of Thorn Roseland, admiral of the equestrian navy. Its where I get my more devious side from.”

“Lies from a magical abomination!” Shamrock growled.

The image of Thorn shrugged. “Not that I care much of what you think.” My HUD display switched on, and small holographic window opens up in the corner of my vision, it displaying a small pixelated avatar of Quicktrot winking at me. “I'm just surprised that her trickery has lived on for so long.”

Shamrock was completely distracted, giving me the opportunity to take my revolvers. I took aim, but something stopped Minerva from firing the shot. The avatar of Quicktrot flashed with a read X.

“Funny thing, the Thorn Roseland you praise, that's not the name she was born with.” Quicktrot was mocking the mutated pirate, which only aggravated me. We didn't fucking have time for this. “Her true name, which explains the cutie-mark, is Conniver Redrum. A name given to her by her father, one of the most wanted criminals in old Equestria, Blackhoof Redrum.” The terminals screens switched back to the form of Quicktrot, who was now laughing. “Conniver lied and murdered her way to the top, simple as that. And now so many years later, you see as a prophet as you follow in her hoofsteps. It’s too hilarious.”

The tendrils from Shamrock relaxed, and the twisted pony sat up straight, the sound of cracking bones unnerving me. “How interesting.” The voice was not Shamrocks, Phobetor was now in control. “How many more secrets do you hold, arcano abomination?”

“Shit.” Quicktrot image distorted, and all but one image of her disappeared, flanked by the image of Slowtrot and a green unicorn.

“Ahh, I see now. You’re a composite soul.” Phobetor commented. “Rare, but not something I'm unfamiliar with. I’ll just need to find the end of the loose thread that binds you together, and pull...”

The avatar of Quicktrot now showed her firing a gun, sending the message loud and clear. Firing the revolvers, the bullets slammed into a wall of shadows, the lead falling harmlessly to the ground.

“Though this was amusing, I do grow tired of this game.” Phobetor laughed as she slowly turned to me, her golden eyes filled with hate. “You’ve served me well, but it’s time you meet your fate and come to me.” Her tendril reached out for me, surrounding me.

*Bang!*

Shamrocks chest exploded causing her head to go flying. The shadow tendrils faded as terminals turns off one by one, and when the body of Shamrock fell over, Quicktrot stood there holding up my Lathanos rifle.

“Right, I really gotta stop talking so much when I need to be killing bitches.” Quicktrot said with a sigh before tossing me my rifle. “Well as they say, bad habits die hard.”

I placed the rifle in its holster, reloading my revolvers before putting them away as well. “Are we done?Because honestly, fuck this place. Let's get the hell out of here.”

Quicktrot nodded, and made way over to me as I slammed my hoof on the doors control panel. I hopped out as soon as the door opened, seeing the two conga lines of lurkers not far from us. Slipping the goggles back over my eyes, I bolted with Quicktrot following right behind me. We rounded the corner and quickly reached the end of the hall, where I slid to a stop.

Sitting on the other side of the pit, was Berenices. She had her eyes covered by a rag, but still managed to look up at us.

“The more I chase you, the more I see of the horrors you pony's have plagued this world with.” Berenices called out to us. “Why can't you understand that you’re all poison and just kill yourselves? It would make every creature so much happier if you just died off. “

I just facehoofed at her words. “Just fuck off you overgrown crab! I have enough crazy to deal with as it is, and you just have to make everything worse.”

“There's a solution to that.”Berenices pointed down at the pit. “Easy, a bit painful, but guaranteed to end your pitiful suffering.”

Quicktrot looked at me, eyebrow raised before looking at the mad lurker princesses. “You do know there’s millions, if not billions of ponies all over this world, right? Maybe dream a just a tad bit smaller.”

“That would be wise,” Berenices tilted her head. “With ponies from far beyond the deepest waters, it is clear that simple spear and claw is not enough.” She then clapped her chitin hooves together. “That's why I’m making a three step plan to kill all of you off. Plan one, have enough of us to spread us far and wide, all so that ponies can never stop us. Plan two, find others who understand and help us rid this world of the plague that is ponies. Plan three, well, we will know it when we see it, but I guarantee you, even if it takes a thousand years, we will succeed.”

I pointed at the Lurker “If Mayall wasn’t a dear friend bent on keeping you alive, Berenices, you wouldn’t have a head right now.” I turned to the stairwell door and pushed it open. “I’m really starting to hate this place.”

A quiet laugh came from Quicktrot. “Nothing gets the blood boiling more then returning home, right?” I rolled my eyes and we stepped into the stairwell.

____________________________________________

-Footnote

Quest Trait Obtained: Mortal Enemy (Looks like some creature has made the decision to ruin your life, and they will make sure to follow through with this decision. Best to keep one eye open at all times, as some advice.)

Chapter 51 - Labs C

“Are you okay? No stab wounds, burn marks, are your kidneys still in you?” Harp fret over me as we stood on the stairs, the helmet I gave her having been discarded.

“I'm fine,” I gently pushed her off of me. “Quicktrot took out Shamrock before she could do anything.”

Harp gave me a tight hug. “I hate this, I just hate it. Why does everypony have to get hurt around me?”

I hugged her back. “It’s going to be alright, we just need to get back to Orthrus. Then this will be all over.”

“Don’t lie,” She shook her head. “I know it's never going to be over, not as long as I'm alive.”

“Harp, listen to me.” Signing, I peeled her off me again. “All this hogshit? It's no longer about you because the situation has moved beyond that. So you need to calm down, and we need to move. There's still ponies waiting for us, and once we get to them, thing’s will change.”

Harp took a moment to calm down. A moment that was interrupted by the sound of the trash above us falling over. Quick and Ummese rounded the corner of the stairwell, kicking a can down the steps as they did.

“That should slow down those freaks.” Quicktrot announced.

“We managed to block the door with the barricade, it should buy us some time.” Ummese clarifide.

I gave a sigh of relief, as at least it was good news, and by Celestia we could do with more of that. “I doubted it would buy us much time, there is a small army of them. Let's go, and if any of you see Blackspot, don't hesitate to kill him.”

“Agreed, unless he's already turned into an arcane horror.” Quick added as I shot her a glare. “Right, let's not jinx this.”

Descending, we reached the bottom of the stairwell, and the door to lab C. The door was painted black as though it was just splashed into the door and not brushed on. With nowhere to go but forward, I opened the door.

The floor of labs C was a pitch black mirror, and the walls were covered in black paint, it being denser the closer to the floor the paint was. Stepping out into labs C, my hooves gave a light ‘ting‘ sound on the floor, and looking down, a dark reflection looked back up at me.

Behind me Quicktrot whistled, and lifted my dress. “Skull and crossbones black sexy undies. Nice.” I lifted my back leg, and she backed off. “So what's up with all the cloths and fetish wear?”

“Because we have decency, why the fuck do you only wear a jacket?” I asked back.

Quicktrot shrugged. “Easy access, and I like the breeze?”

I shook my head, and then felt a breeze. Turning to where it came from, my eyes fell on the central elevator shaft. There was no pit, or any decorations like the other shaft’s had. It just gave off a foreboding feeling and a cold breeze, which I’m not sure was any better than the decorated pits.

Shaking the feeling, I turned back to Quicktrot. “So, where this teleportation lab?”

She scratched her chin, and then pointed down the hallway away from the elevator. “This way.”

Following Quicktrot‘s lead, it was strange to walk on the clean and polished mirror floor. It didn't help that the more we trot on it, the more I could feel the magic radiating off of it. My pipleg didn’t indicate magical radiation, and when I put my goggles on, the floor didn’t look any different then before. It was clear that the floor was magical, but just not the usual kind of magical. I didn't like it.

What also caught my attention was the how much fewer doors there were. “The floor aside, what's with this place?” I asked out loud. “There’s not that many rooms, why?”

“R&D work. Labs C is where most of the serious research happened, so they needed bigger rooms, more power and privacy.” Quicktrot explained.

“And the other labs?” Harp added.

Quicktrot quickly responded. “Labs A was for prototype production. The idea being able to make enough to thoroughly test. Labs B was mainly for technical stuff, like debugging arcano tech, or simply going over mountains of paperwork.”

“Then what's in Labs D?” Ummese joined in.

This time Quicktrot hesitated. “Well… let's just say it's the super experimental lab.”

“And it’s the source of why everything's fucked up down here.” I added, both Harp and Ummese gave me a confused look. “What? I just put two and two together, and figured that stable-tec must have messed with something they shouldn't have.”

A snicker came from Quicktrot. “You have no idea. And if we're lucky, you never will.” She finally stopped at a door, hitting its control panel. “I’m no arcano-tec engineer or scientist, but I should know enough to get things running.” I was not filled with confidence, but she was our only shot out of here.

Trotting inside, the large room was filled with old world tech, cables covering the floor, and even the walls. There was an open space in the middle, housing what looked similar to a vertibuck landing pad. Near us was a table with a bunch of holotapes piled on it, along with a little figurine.

I don’t know why, but I felt drawn to the table, like something was calling to me. Closer, I could see that the holotapes looked a lot like the spell tapes Harp used in her pipbuck. As for the figurine, it was of the ministry mare of peace Fluttershy. Picking it up, I felt like I had seen it before. But then again, figurines of the ministry mares were not that uncommon. “Be Pleasant” I read off an inscription on the base. Turning it over, I found some faded writing on the bottom. “Too Healing Herbs, your friend, Fluttershy” I don’t know why, but reading the inscription made me feel a bit warmer, and oddly a bit more pleasant.

“What did you find?” Harp came up behind me.

I passed her one of the holotape cases. “Looks like spell talismans for pipbucks.” Picking up another, I examined it a bit closer, finding a label on one side. “Teleportation prototype success 038.” I read out loud, giving confirmation that we were in the right place.

Harp breathed a sigh of relief as she placed the holotalisman into her pipbuck. “I’m seeing the data now. This is for direct point to point teleportation, with set locations for departure and arrival. Amazing.”

Looking back at the pile, I found a normal looking holotape under an ash filled ashtray. It had a label stating ‘Final Lab Notes’ picking it up, I popped it into Minerva, and an audio recording came up. I felt that it might have some useful information on it, and pressed play.

The voice of a tired mare spoke through Minerva’s speaker. “This is stable-tec head pipbuck researcher, Emerald Fields. I’ve just been given word of the suspension of the Inter Stable teleportation Network or I.S.T.N. for short. As it turns out, with the world bathed in baelfire and toxic clouds, we can't teleport anywhere without it being suicide. “

Emerald Fields made a sound that was likely her sucking on a cig before continuing. “The silver lining in all this, is that the other techs want to see the holotalisman we made for testing. From the sounds of it, they want to see if they can do other spells with them. Also good news, is that the research here in the labs is not being stopped, just being put on hold for now. It seems that the overmare is holding onto the hope that one day this lab will be of use again.”

There was a pause, followed by the sound of a lighter. “Right, the notes. Test thirty seven of the teleportation pad was mostly successful, we still can't seem to prevent the residual radiation from following in the return teleportation. The team in charge of developing decontamination equipment have at least gathered enough data to begin a prototype system, so thank Celestia for that. One other minor glitch that has not been fixed is the overheating of the holotalisman on the return trip. We’ve figured out that it’s likely because the quality of the talisman needs to be increased. But the tests have confirmed that our teleportation pads can be used to safely transport ponies to pre designated spots, and without the significant risk of dismemberment.”

The sound of another cigarette being sucked on came from Emerald Fields. “All relevant data has already been backed up, and a preservation spell has been prepared for the lab. So everything should still work whenever things get better enough that this lab is reopened. Instructions are left on the terminals, and the inventory of working talismans that are not taken out will be left here.”

Emerald Fields sighed. “One last thing to whomever starts up this lab up again. If you find Slowtrot out there, tell him that we are sorry. This is Emerald Fields, head researcher for the teleporter project, signing out.”

I popped the recording out and placed it in my bag. With how fucked up everything was down here, saving another document of the past would be a good idea. I placed a few of the holotalismans in my bag as well. Lastly, I took the figurine, and when I held it, I could feel it faintly radiated a warm, comforting magic. While it was nice, I knew a pony who needed it more than I did right now.

“Harp, take this.” I offered out the small statuette to her.

Harp took the figurine, and gave a little smile. “She’s cute.” She then cocked an eyebrow. “Weird, why do I sense unicorn magic from it?”

“You sense unicorn magic?” I had to ask.

She placed the figurine into her bag before explaining. “You know, the kind of magic they give off is different than others. Earth Ponies have a more rough magic, Pegasus are more airy, and unicorns have a squishy-flowy feeling to them, a bit like water.”

“Huh.” Now I cocked an eyebrow. “Never had sensing magic explained like that before. All I can do is feel if there's magic or not.”

“Oh, then perhaps you should give it a try?” Harp said looking a bit embarrassed. “You know, look for the differences when we get back to the others.”

I couldn’t help but look forward a bit to getting back around Sweet and Merit, because now I wondered if he really did have a different feel to him magically. But, it was good to see Harp not on the verge of panic again. Now, to get her out of this Celestia forsaken stable. I turned to look at what Quicktrot was doing, the mare tapping away at a terminal.

“How long until we can get out of here?” I asked her.

“Keep your naughty panties on, I'm almost done.” She said back to me.

Trotting over to Quicktrot, I found Ummese next to her holding an old pipbuck 3000. “Got yourself a souvenir Ummeses?”

The zony gave me a glance before putting it on. “Quicktrot found it, said I was going to need it. “

I glanced over at Quicktrot for a short moment before looking back at Ummese. “I hope she just means for navigation, and sorting your bag.” I passed her one of the holotalisman. “Put this in, it will let you cast a teleportation spell. But be careful, they’re apparently prone to overheating.”

Giving me a smile, she took the holotalisman from me. Opened up the pipbuck, she easily slid it in to the expansion slot. “I always wanted to use magic. It always seemed unfair how unicorns never had to use their mouth or hooves to hold anything.” She remarked as she closed the pipbuck up again.

“And... done!” Quicktrot shouted. She hit a button, and the room came alive with electrical sparks, cracking all around us. As it did, the air around the teleportation pad shimmered and wavered with a magical pulsing. “Now all that’s left is to get the fuck out of here.”

I gave a sigh of relief, some of the weight on my shoulders lifting. “Harp, lets go.” I shouted as I made my way to the teleportation pad, and readied my gas mask. The air felt alive as magic flowed through it, and while I couldn’t feel the kind of magic it was like Harp had suggested, I knew it felt like a lot of magic. “Say Quicktrot, where is this sending us?”

“Equestria.” she said, sounding like it came from a speaker.

Whipping my body around, Quicktrot was gone. “I don't have time for games, if you want to go to Equestria, that's fine, just send us topside first.”

The speaker of a terminal cracked to life. “That's a bit of a problem you see. Though I would love to send you all on your merry way, I just can’t.”

I pulled out my Lathanos Rifle, scanning the room. “Why's that?”

Another terminal crackled. “A few reasons, one being that it will take an hour to re-calibrate the pad after its been used, and those crustaceans don't look like the sort to just give me the time.”

“Then why Equestria?” I asked, as Ummese and Harp joined me.

“I got a stash squirreled away.” She responded. “Not much. A few guns, modded tech, a death ray that fell out of the sky, and a small army of robots I've managed to collect over the years.”

It sounded insane, but nothing that sounded dire. “That all can wait if you come with me. We can get you to Equestria, Orthrus does have two airships that I’m sure can make the trip.”

There was a burst of static, like that from a radio. “That's a negative. I’m not interested in becoming your organizations pet science fair project. And I know that’s what will happen if I go with you. But that's the other thing, how I will have to go with you.” another burst of static, and the terminals went quiet.

I kept my eyes open, it sounding like I was going to have to kill the bitch, somehow. “What do you m…”

A hoof hit my jaw, and I fell to the ground, my rifle breaking from Minerva's hold. Looking up, Ummese stood over me, the whites of her eyes now had a green glow to them. “Well, I doubt you would let me leave with my new host.” Quicktrot's voice came out of Ummese’s pipbuck, and Ummese smiled.

I tried to kick Ummese, but my body refused to move. I couldn't do anything, no speak, or even blink.

“Sorry about that, but I just had to add a failsafe in your pipbuck spell matrix.” Quicktrot said thought Ummese.

“Stop!” Harp shouted as she pointed her Lathanos Rifle at Ummese.

“Doubt you would fire.” Ummese spoke, sounding more like Quicktrot.

Harp glared. “Just test me.”

Quicktrot threw the rifle she had, hitting Harp in the face and sending her tumbling to the ground and Order angrily beeped as the drone slid off into a terminal. “Next time, choose your words more carefully.” She then looked down at me, grinning with Ummese’s face. “Now about that snack.”

Wires burst from the ground, piercing Ummese, but the zony didn't flinch. White hooves reached out from behind Ummese, wrapping around her neck, and the form of Theremin reared her head. “I'm no pony’s snack, freak.”

Quicktrot sighed. “You do know you have to possess a robot or something like it to actually do anything.” She took a step forward onto me, Thermins grasp being like smoke, nothing but an illusion. “Now let's get this over with.” Ummese breathed in, sucking in the air. A trail of smoke stringed off of Theremin, taking all of her with it, and into Quicktrot's mouth. Within seconds Theremin was gone, and Quicktrot burped. “Now that hits the spot, I can even feel some of my strength retuning.” She looked down at me and smiled. “Hate to dine and dash, but I got a few ponies that need lead in their brains. Toodles!”

With Ummese’s body, she hopped to the teleportation pad, and vanished with a cracking jolt of lighting. The lab then fell silent, leaving just the low hum of the terminals.

Harp slowly got up, a small trickle of blood came off her face. Trotting over to me, she slumped down onto me, her head resting on my stomach. “That's it then, we’re fucked.”

I blinked, my ability to move had returned, but not seeing the point in getting up. “You can say that, and with no lube, up the ass.”

A strained buzzing sound started up, an slowly got louder. The drone Order, barely hovering off the ground, made its way over to us. “Madam is hurt, dos madame require assistance?”

Harp sighed “No, I still have a healing potion or two.” she got back up, and pulled out a potion and stared at it. “Is there a point?”

I chuckled. “You know that wouldn't have happened if you kept that helmet I gave you on your head.”

She stuck her tongue out at me before taking a sip of the potion. “It was too big, and smells moldy. Not that it matters now” I watched at she gathered up our rifles, bringing them over to me. “So?”

“So, what?” I asked back.

“Let's have a last stand, make those lurkers pay for making things so difficult.” She had a mix of anger and despair in her eyes, the kind of look those who've become hopeless have. I had seen it many times in Caron's Stop, right before a pony did something stupid.

“Wait a moment before you go all self-sacrificial on me.” I got up and took a moment to think. We just needed to get out of here, and the main problem was the lurkers. We just needed to get around them, easier said than done, but we might have the tools to do it.

I pulled a teleportation holotalisman from my bag. “I have an idea. We could just trick the lurkers into thinking were not on this floor. They’er likely going to check each room, so we just need to teleport to a room they’ve already checked, and wait them out. Once they have gone lower, we go up.”

Harps ears perked up. “That sounds so much better than fighting until we're dead. But how do we know they’ve checked a room?”

I looked down at Order. “You do get video feed from the little guy right?”

We didn't waste time. Harp positioned and charged Order, making sure we could see as much of the teleportation lab from her pipbuck screen. I found a large tarp, and had it ready for us to hide under as soon as we're back here. Ready, we carefully left the room, turning off the lights behind us. The sounds of banging not far from us clued us of the lurkers arrival. We ran deeper into labs C, hoping that they would check the back last.

Picking a room at random, we entered the dark lab and kept the lights off. Using our piplamps to give us some light, we made our way to the back, and shuffled into a hiding spot. It was less of a hiding spot, and more just us crouching behind a desk, but it would have to do for now.

Harp lifted her pipbuck, turning on the screen. It flickered for a moment before it showed the teleportation room. We waited for the lurkers to show themselves, the minutes feeling like hours as we watched the screen.

“Are you sure this will work?” Harp’s voice had a slight quiver to it.

I gave her a slight smile. “If it doesn't, at least we gave it a shot.”

She nodded back at me. “Mother always said that your never defeated until you give up or die.”

“My mom always told me that water is wet, fire is hot, and life's full of risk. She also told us that if we kept running around recklessly, we’re likely to lose our heads.” I sighed. “She’s not going to like being proven right about that second one.” Fucking hell I already missed my sister so damn much.

“What's worse, your mother being right, or mine being wrong?” Harp kept her focus on the screen as she spoke, obviously struggling to keep herself calm. But she wasn’t giving up, and that was something I could at least be thankful for right now.

I pulled out Solar Eclipse, the light from Harps pipbuck reflecting off the revolver. “It’s not about who has it the worst. You’ve seen Caron's Stop, where so many ponies hit rock bottom and never recover. Just as many try to get out of their bad situation, and die along the way. Losing those we care about, or being pushed to the brink of death, they’re things we just have to accept will happen one day.”

Harp glanced over at me. “Then, how do you keep living after that?”

Putting Rototoms revolver back, I looked down at Harps pipbuck screen. “Haven't had the time to think about it, really. Maybe after you’re safe, and Carving Dolls dead, I don't know. Sweet’s likely got a few ideas, but I know I want to put this all behind me. Let the past stay as a memory, and start focusing on the future again.”

“Lets the past stay a memory, and focus on the future. I like the sound of that” Harp gave a slight smile. “Maybe it's time to let go of being a princess, and just be a normal pony.”

I chuckled a little. “You’re far from a normal pony, but ya, that’s a good start. Maybe we can go shoe shopping once we’re back to civilization.”

“We definitely need new shoes, and lingerie too. You do have a stallion to impress.” Harp had a stupid grin on her face.

“And what would you need lingerie for?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

She blushed a little. “Well, I was thinking, if I renounce being a princesses, and we may be getting contacting a cloud city, I could try and get myself a pegasus coltfriend.” Her wings fluttered slightly.

“Aren't you gay?” Looking at Harps screen, I only just now noticed that the door to the teleportation lab was open. “Fuck, I forgot that they can do that, keep an eye on the door.”

Harp nodded. “Well, I do like mares, but I do like stallions too. It's just that mare to mare relationship didn't come with political baggage. That, and a few of the maids could keep a secret.”

It was annoyingly difficult to keep my eyes on the sparkle-lurkers as they trotted in and out of view. I had to settle on watching a non sparkle-lurker, as it searched under a table. “Well, take it from your senior, you're not going to be the only mare with that idea. It’s going to be a good idea to keep your revolver on you all time.”

“I’ve heard.” she responded.

The lurkers aggressively searched, for us, making a mess as they flipped tables, and knocked over terminals. One came across Order, its face taking up the screen as it looked over the drone. It even used its mouth claws to pick up the drone, giving us full view of its four mandibles that make up its real mouth,

“I don't think that will ever stop being freaky to me” I commented.

“I can see why that mare fainted when Mayall kissed her.” Harp said with a shutter.

The lurker eventually put Order down, leaving us with a lopsided view of the room. We watched as the lurkers began leaving the room, one holding a large wrench like a dog with a bone. After a few minutes, they finally closed the door, and the teleportation lab returned to darkness. We waited a few more minutes, not wanting to ruin the plan by acting too fast.

The sound of the doors to our room hissing was the queue for us to go. Harp and I activated the teleportation holotalismans. With a flash and a pop, we found ourselves on the teleportation pad. We looked at each other, and nodded, now all we had to do was hide and wait.

I trotted over to where our hiding spot was, I found the tarp was not there. Looking around, something else was odd, because I was sure the lurkers trashed the room, but everything was untouched. “Harp, something's wrong.”

“Order is missing.” Harp responded, sounding panicked.

I pulled my rifle, expecting the worst. “Forget the drone, and come to me.” I focused on the door, ready for the first lurker to open the door. I don't know how they did it, but the crabs got us, now all there was left to do was to take as many down with us.

“Miss Vibraphone?” Harp said louder, and more panicked.

I forced magic into my rifle, my first shot was going to rip the lurker appart. “Come here or hide, I’m going to hold this position.

“Darling, you should really listen to what the dear princess has to say.” It felt like a huge weight in my gut just sunk to the floor at the sound of Blackspots voice. Turning my head slowly, I saw Blackspot holding a pistol to the back of Harps head. Harp, to her credit, fought back tears.

“Let her go.” I growled at Blackspot.

He smiled back at me, his teeth looked as jagged as Shamrocks was. “No, no, that is not how this is going to work. After all the effort I put into this, the pony power lost to your temper tantrums, and overall pain I had to suffer. No, I should have done this from the start.” A collar wrapped around Harps neck, and a red light turned on from it.

I pointed rifle at Blackspot. “Take that off, Now!” I shouted.

Blackspot rolled his eyes. “Your going to follow me to the bottom of this stable, and your going to help me free Luna. Or, you can watch the dear princess’s head get separated from her body, and I’ll just have to drag you down there myself.” He pulled out a cigarette, and in sparking a flame with his magic, it illuminated his face. His eyes now burned with a green flame, his horn was now missing, but two more horns had formed on his head, each one in front of his ears, and curved back slightly. Whatever Blackspot had become, it radiated a magic that I could only describe as evil.

I lowered my rifle. “How, we’re surrounded by lurkers?”

He gave a bellowing laugh as he taps on the floor. “Look down.”

Looking down, my reflection looked back at me, but I also could see the wrecked teleportation lab. The turned over table, the scattered paperwork, all on the other side of the reflection. I was in the floor!

“Luna’s power is beyond mere understanding, and when she returns to this world, all will bow before her glory, and the foolish few who don't, her wrath awaits.” Blackspot was already halfway out the door with Harp being forced to follow.

I put my rifle away before giving case, but as soon as I reached the door, two twitchers stepped in and blocked my path. I backed up, putting some space between me and the ghouls. I may not be able to kill them, but I could run around them.

Waiting for the twitchers to creepily walk further in, following me to the left side of the room. I dashed to right, and then ran for the door, hitting the control panel on my way out. Now passed the twitchers, I burst into a full gallop, not wanting to give Blackspot any more distance.

Turning the corner I saw Harp and Blackspot standing in front of the elevator shaft. “You win!” I shouted. “Let her go, and I'm yours.”

Blackspot smiled, and attached something to Harp. “I must correct you, you’re already mine. All this was not about me winning, by Luna no… it was to prove that you’re already mine. That your rightful place is at my hooves.” With one motion, he shoved Harp into the elevator shaft, and Harps screamed, her voice quickly fading away as she fell.

I drew my revolvers. “You’er dead.”

His horns glowed with a green aura, and a wave of dark magic slammed into me. It was not enough to knock me over, but enough to force me to look away. Looking back, Blackspot was gone, and now the walls were covered in hooves.

It was almost maddening with how many hooves were sticking out of the walls, each one moving , reaching out. “Fuck” I shouted, frustration and rage building up in me. Taking a step forward, one of the hooves took a swipe at me, it just barely missing me. I took another step, the hooves near me frantically trying to touch me, it was utterly unnerving, but not enough to stop me. Trotting between the reaching hooves, I was out of their reach, rendering the distractions neutralized.

*plop*

I stopped, and looked behind me. One of the hooves had become a pony, a twitcher half stuck in the wall, and face on the floor. There was another, its head slowly coming out of the wall. I ran, dashing to the elevator shaft as the hooves closed in on me.

Skidding to a stop, both ends of the hallway were now blocked off by twitchers, so many of them that they looked like a mass of ponies fused together. Looking into the elevator shaft, all I could see was darkness, and a cable that descended down into it. I reached out for the cable, but pulled back my hoof away as soon as I touched it. The thing gave off a feeling of dark unerving malice. I didn't like it, but I had to get to Harp, so I reached out for it.

“Don't, it's a trap.” a cold breathy voice called out.

“What else can I do, I have to save Harp” I argued.

A scythe reached out from behind me, and cut the cable like it was paper. I turned around to face Charon, the skeleton stood calmly, surrounded by the mass of twitchers. They reached for us, but the ghouls come no closer. “You can neither turn back, nor stay sedentary. But this also does not mean the path forward is the only one path.”

I glared at Charon. “You told me to follow Slowtrot, and look at what your advice did. What a useless god of death.”

Charon tilted her head back, as though she was looking down at me. “Mare, I am not a fortune teller, I do not govern who lives or who dies. Nor am I a god. I’m death, harvester of souls, a true and unyielding force of nature. Nothing more, and nothing less.”

The dull burning around my neck became like that of a scorching sun, forcing me to my knees. “So, you’re the one who did this to me, why?”

She placed the top of her scythe onto my neck under my muzzle, and the burning cooled. “My dullahan, I want you to bring me the soul of the ancient nightmare. That is all.” She pushed me with her scythe, and I fell back into the elevator shaft.

Deafening wind surrounded me, and the light quickly faded, becoming nothing but a tiny speck. Reaching up, my hoof covered the light, as though snuffing it out, leaving only darkness.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Allie connection lost: Quicktrot, Ummese, Harp.

New quest perk added: Headless Horse. (You remember the old mares tales your mother would tell you to be a good little filly, but now it’s become all too real, and personal. You can no longer become addicted, +%5 to bodys DT, but effects of head crippling are increased by x2.

Chapter 52 - Labs D

Having fallen down an elevator shaft the pain was oddly only mildly excruciating, mostly because all I felt was a throbbing headache. I couldn't feel the rest of my body, which made me fear that I broke my neck, which would be the least of my worries. As it turned out, my body was laying on the other side of the shaft, sprawled across the broken brittle bones of a long dead security pony.

“Well fuck.” I huffed out loud, pausing at the surprise I could talk again. I could only guess that I was still dreaming. Which was a conclusion my headache would strongly disagree with. My other guess was that this was some magical bullshit, of which, I was not amused if that happened to be the case.

My body stirred, slowly getting up. I watched as it sat up across from my head, and shuffled about like it was looking around. Next thing it did was move a hoof to where my head should be, waving it over the empty void, then proceeded to panic, flailing its hooves around as I rolled my eyes at it. A strange black mist slowly crept out of my bodies neck, spreading out as the panicked swings wafted it around.

I sighed, the feeling of wrongness washing over me. “‘I’m over here!” I called out, and surprisingly, my body stopped panicking. My body quickly turned and trotted up to me, hoofing across my face uncomfortably before it lifted my head up. Unceremoniously, my body placed my head straight down across my back. It was strange that I could feel that my body was happy, a feeling made obvious when it did a little prance that nearly threw my head off itself again. “Oh no, put me back on my neck,” I scolded… myself. This dream was getting too weird, even for me. “I am not riding shotgun on my own body.”

My head was swiftly placed back where it belonged, and the feeling of the rest of my body returned to me. Lifting a leg, I rotate my mechanical hoof, and swished my tail, finding that everything felt as it should. The only thing that felt off was the numbness that still hung around my neck. While it was an odd feeling, it at least made me glad that it didn’t burn anymore. But the fact that my head could detach from my body was more than concerning. Tightening my scarf around my neck, the threads creaked from the strain. Looking down at it, the poor thing was in need of repairs, filled with holes, and torn around the edges. Honestly, I was just glad that it had held together as well as it had and covered up the mark around my neck.

Finally getting this weirdness behind me, I looked around my surrounding, finding that I was on top of an elevator. Locating and opening the emergency hatch, light hit my eyes. It blinded me for a few seconds, and I shielded my eyes with a hoof as upbeat and repetitive music hit my ears.

Lowering myself down, the large elevator looked normal other than a spray of blood that was on the floor. One side of the splatter had a straight edge, indicating that somepony must have gotten shot on the other side while the doors were open. Calming my nerves, I pulled out my rifle, and pressed the open door button with it. I didn’t see any red dots ahead of me, but with the lurkers around, I couldn't rely of my E.F.S.

The doors opened, and I stepped out into the lobby, it was mostly empty with only bare concrete walls and floor. There was two things in the lobby that stuck out, and neither were exactly pleasant. The first was the upper torso of a pony, and the other was a dead stable-tec security pony. The half pony was sitting up in the middle of the room, facing away from me. Slowly, I crept up onto the half pony, and poked it with my rifle. It fell over, confirming that it was dead. Getting a better look, the dead pony was a mummified equestrian navy soldier, its face contorted into a look of horror.

Moving on, I kept my rifle ready, and left the lobby. I stepped into what first looked like an endless hallway. I knew it didn’t stretch off into darkness forever, but it still gave the illusion of endlessness to me, along with a distant light flicker on for a few second only making the hallway look longer. It clearly wasn’t natural, unless something down here had been expanding Labs D for over two hundred years. Another thing was that the air was stale, dry, and still. Not uncommon for old places like this, but black specks floated through the air like there was a breeze, and a black liquid slowly oozed out of small cracks in the walls.

I put my gasmask on and checked my pipleg. I didn’t have time to deal with more magical bullshit, so I turned on the locator for Harps pipbuck. To my relief, a blue marker on my E.F.S. popped up. Then five more, seven, ten. I turned off the locator. Okay, so my guide to find her had been rendered useless by whatever magical bullshit was going on here. In frustration, I hit the wall. The power hoof strike made a new spidering crack in the concrete wall, which started bleeding black ooze.

“Why, why can't I just get a proper win?” I grunted. “Can't something just go my way for once? Anything at all?”

An icon appeared in my hud, simply displaying ‘Stable-Tec community radio broadcast’. I quickly looked around to see if any pony was messing with me. Seeing no pony, I turned on the radio. Huh, that was… suspiciously convenient timing...

It was marching band music, heavy on the drums, but not so much to drown out the brass instruments. I felt that the music would at least help drown out the vast empty feeling the endless hallway gave off. Of course, I was wrong. The echoing quickly added to it, giving me an even more strong sense of wrongness about this place. I could only keep going forward, but the further I trotted, the less I felt like I was getting anywhere, and the more I felt lost.

The music faded faded, and was replaced by a gravely and wispy voice of a mare. “And so ends the hundred and forty two hour play of Equestria Forever. Next up, a two hundred hour play of the Victory of Ponies, my favorit. But now, I must give praise to the god of the void, to return all to the beginning, to a state of nothingness. A truly marvelous existence free of pain, sorrow, and ego. Whisper more to me, fill me with your truth, let me bear your decaying children.”

I click onto my radio options, switching the locator from Harp, to the radio signal. There was no guarantee if this mare was still alive, but it was at least something I should be able to track. After a few clicks, a green bar appeared on my E.F.S. a clear direction down the hallway, and maybe a way to get back to Harp.

The mare continued her rambling. “I’ve seen it, in my waking dreams. A palace of dust, bathed by the light of a black sun, devouring all things into it. It was glorious, and terrifying, and beyond all I could fathom. The god of the void is the god before there were gods, the god that comes after all gods have died. From ashes, new life can be made. But from dust, all is still, unchanging, perfection. Sweet perfection, unyielding perfection, insurmountable perfection, true and maddening perfection. I have seen it, and it has become me. For I…”

I turned off the radio, her voice only made me more pissed off, as well as made my skin crawl.

After what felt like an hour, I came across a sealed stable-tec door. It wasn’t the one leading to the radio signal, but it was the first door I’d come across down here. Placing my hoof on it, I could feel a strange and powerful magic radiating off from behind it. The panel on the door beeped, and the door itself hissed as it opened. Before me was a vast wasteland of dry brown dirt, gray broken buildings, and red rusted metal.

“The fuck?” I breathed.

Another radio signal appeared in my hud display, this one without a name. Intrigued and left without much else of an explanation, I tuned to it. A stallion spoke up, desperation in his voice.

“If there’s anypony out there, please help us. Our house collapsed when the bombs hit, and we’re trapped in the basement. My wife is hurt, and my foals are sick. I dont know whats going on up there, but if there's any pony out there, please help us.” A long loud beep interrupted the message. “If there’s anypony out there, please help us. Our house collapsed, and were trapped in the basement. My wife is hurt, and my foals are sick. I dont know whats going on up there, but if there's any pony out there, please help us.”

I turned the radio off, knowing full well that they’re likely already long dead.

Something moved from behind the nearby broken buildings, and it made a loud snapping sound. A massive white scorpion crawled over the rubble, bigger than even a paradise dragon. It scuttled on it’s massive legs, holding its tail high into the air as it let out a piercing, chittering screech at me. The monster charged right for me, and I quickly slammed my hoof on the door control panel. There was a loud thud from the door as it slammed shut, and then nothing but silence again. Breath a sigh of relief, I made a mental note to not open any more doors unless I had to.

I quickly continued down the hallway, picking up my pace in hopes to get to wherever the radio signal was coming from. That was until i came across another door that lay down at my hooves. Looking around, I came to a startling realization. I don't know when it happened, but I was now walking on the wall. I carefully stepped around the door, but before I was more halfway passed it, the door decided to open up on its own.

“Hay, any anypony up there? I could use some help!” A stallion called out. I looked over the edge to see a blue shell and glowing green fins Sparkle-Lurker, who was in a green jacket, and had a leather cowpony hat on its head. He was balanced on top of a tall ladder, and below him were a mob of ponies with pitchforks and torches. He reached up his crab hoof. “Care to pull me up? I don't think going back down is a good idea.”

I cocked an eyebrow, and then shrugged. Pulling the lurker up, one of the ponies below threw a flaming pitchfork at us, just nearly missing me. Closing the door, I was left with a new lurker, and even more questions.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked him as he brushed a layer of dirt and dust off of himself.

“Narrative destructuralization” The lurker responded. I furrowed my brow at him and he nodded back at me. “Sorry, it's a placeholder term my companion uses. It refers to when a story uses time travel and dimension hopping, and because of it the narrative falls apart, as it’s one big deus ex machina”

“Still not following...” I responded.

He looked around, and then at me. “Yeah, can't blame you there. I'm actually a bit confused to how a horse can talk at all. But the spriggion like modifications would answer a lot of questions about you.”

I shook my head, not understanding a damn word the crab was saying. “You know what, I don't fucking care.” Checking the radio signal, I began trotting down the hallway once more. “I’ve got a pony to save.”

The lurker followed me, his green glow reminding me of the glowing ghoul. “Right, so when a person tries to bend time and space magic, which the attempt itself is bad news due to the mass of miasma it would take to power such a spell. Energy like that tends to break down the natural laws. Up become sideways, Harpys stop being spazzes, and random holes to other dimensions and times burst open.”

I groaned, “Does any of that involve you shutting up?”

The lurker ignored me. “It's all so confusing, yet fascinating. Makes me wish I was some studied scholar, and not a poor explorer.”

I saw another door ahead, this one not on the floor, and dashed to it. Opening it, I saw a two legged creature on the other side. It had cybernetic legs and arms, a black dress with a white apron, one eye was yellow, the other green, and long straight yellow mane with a gray streak in it. We looked at each other with a knowing glance, one filled with pain and irritation.

The lurker trotted up to me and looked through the door. On the other side, a Harpy walk into view to stand next to the bipedal creature. Unlike Snowbird, this harpy had vibrant green and blue feathers,. And even though it looked… menacing, it didn't give off the feeling that it wanted to eat me.

I locked eyes with the biped, and we both furrowed our brows. We both grabbed our unwanted companion and shoved them at the door. Unfortunately, Lurkers were heavy fuckers, and by the time I got him to budge, we got a face full of feathers. With a hiss and a bang, the door closed, leaving me with the chatty lurker, and this new harpy.

The harpy dusted itself off, and adjusted its pair of glasses. “Rude. And here I was pondering about the ramifications that such unstable magics can have on the social structures of a pure order civilization.” Again with the talking. “Would they devolve into a theocracy based around the chaos? Or would they steel themselves for a more oppressive sense of order?”

A shrug came from the lurker. “I always bet on those kind of groups breaking up into tribes. It does seem to happen a lot in the history books. But that aside, what was your side like? I got talking horses here?”

“Dreadful. Truly dreadful.” The harp spoke with an overdramatic flare. “It was one big school, and nearly all of them were moody teenagers. Of which I could deal with, if not for that all of them had guns. Oh Orthrus High, you are a terrifying place.”

“Terrible. I just had to deal with overly cheery and friendly cotton candy colored horses.” he then shivered, “All the singing, and dancing, and the pink one kept shooting me with confetti.”

I sighed, and trotted away from the two fools, but of course, the just started following me. They chatted with each other about things I didn't understand, nor did I care too.

We came to another door, this one was on the ceiling. I looked at the two fools and pointed at the door. “Here's your stop, now get the fuck away from me.”

The harpy scratched its chin. “No, I'd have to suggest one upside down, and on the wall. Ceiling and floor portals tend to be from outside connections”

I didn't care, and shot the control panel. The door opened, and the sound of gunfire hit my ears. A gout of flames erupted from the door, and two ponies fell through. To my surprise, one of them was Quicktrot, whom now had a sword in her gut. The other pony holding the sword was a blue coat and wavy green mane mare, her cutie-mark was a sextant over two crossed swords.

Quicktrot looked over at me, and her eyes went wide. “Oh fuck this shit.” She teleported, taking part of the sword with her.

The other mare had jumped away just in time to not lose a leg. “Damit, that was my new fucking sword!” She looked over at me and smiled. “Hey, can I borrow that rifle?”

I pulled my lathanos rifle back. “Fuck off.”

In a blink of an eye, the mare lunged at me. I tried to hit her with my power hoof, but she slid under me, and knocked me over. The mare then got on top of me, and grabbed my rifle. “Sorry love, but got bitches to kill!” she hopped off of me, bounced off the wall, and climbed through the door.

I pulled out my revolver, and fired at the mare, but she just laughed.

“Sorry, I’ll make sure you get your rifle back!” Another mare shouted from the other side of the door, as it closed.

My left eye twitched as I fumed with undirected rage. The two fools trotted ahead of me, avoiding eye contact. Letting myself cool down, I then followed.

The next door was upside down, and on the wall, giving me some hope to get rid of the lurker and the harpy. Hitting the doors panel, I watched it open up to a grassy plain with moss covered ruins surrounding it.

The harpy smiled. “Looks like this is my path home. Thank you miss talking horse.”

“Just go” I told the two.

The lurker trotted on through, but the harpy just scratched its chin. “Miss, I think I may have something that can help you, a shortcut you could say.”

“Oh, finally, now you want to help.” I took a deep breath, and calmed myself down. “ Sorry, I’m just a bit stressed at the moment. If you have anything that can help, I’ll take it.”

“I thought as much. Thought the miasma is weak here, it still clearly having an effect.” He pulled out two sheets of paper from his bag, and passed it to me. “On these parchments are a purification spell, all it needs is a magical boost and it will clear up the miasmas in this area. It's not a permanent solution, but it should be enough to help you find your way.”

I took the parchment. The things were covered in a writing I didn’t understand, along with symbols that looked straight out of a occult mystery novel. “Quick question, what’s Miasma?”

“Not the most easy thing to explain.” The harpy pulled out a flask with a black oil like substance. “It’s like the physical manifestation of extradimensional rot. A highly highly toxic substance that can give living things cancerous mutations if exposed for too long. But the stuff is full of magic, and if you can refine it, you can use it to cast powerful magic. The purification spells I gave you will break down miasma into a nontoxic form, and stop any reality warping effects it may be causing. Well it’s been nice. Gloomy, but nice.”

The harpy waved at me, and stepped through the door. With a hiss, the door closed, leaving me alone once more.

Taking another deep breath, I figured it was now or never. Focusing my magic, I poured it into one of the parchments. The thing shimmered, and exploded. A wave of warm, gentle energy washed over me and filled the hallway, making everything looked sparkling white for a second. When the light faded, I was back in front of the lobby door, but the hallway, it was now a normal hallway with the end in clear sight. Though, while it was no longer endless, now everything was dilapidated. The paint was faded and peeling, and most of the overhead lighting being dark or busted, while the ones still working were flickering dully. I was at least glad that the walls weren't bleeding black ooze anymore.

Labs D looked like a normal abandoned underground shelter, which also unfortunately included the crazed graffiti. The unsettling nature of the wall scrawlings made me miss the threats of rape and violent death as I checked my pipbuck. I had hoped to get a signal on Harp, but something was still interfering with the signal. I fell back onto my previous plan, and tracked the radio signal. Checking the radio to see if it was still the same, all I got was a mess of static, instruments, and some pony babbling incoherently, so I turned it back off.

Labs D still gave off a feeling of wrongness, but at least now I could navigate this place. Following the signal, it led me to the what was labeled as the ‘Advanced Genetics Lab’. The door and everything around it was abnormally clean considering the state of everything else. The door panel looked far more advanced than in the rest I'd seen in the stable, but it looked like it used the same genetic recognition program. Placing my hoof on it, the thing buzzed, and flashed red.

“Locked. Fan fucking tastic.” I didn't have time to look for a key, so I resorted to lock picking. Luckily the panel used sanders screws. A reliably flawed product of good old stable-tec make. In all but a few minutes I’d popped open the panels face, and was met with a mess of wires. It was an electric lock, set to stay closed as its normal state, so i couldn't brute force this.

“Minerva, connect to the door systems.” My pipleg’s magic pulled a few wires from my bag and connected itself to the the panel. “Minerva, open the door.” My leg beeped for a few seconds before the door clicked. As advanced as Stable-tec had been, Orthrus had long surpassed them.

Stepping inside, I could feel magic in the air, along with a strong smell of ozone. The lab was clearly bigger than the teleportation lab, though my view of most of it was blocked by large glass tubes that were everywhere. There was even a second floor that held even more tubes, and what looked like water covering the floor. I could only guess the water came from the tubes themselves, as it looked like most of them were broken. While some of the strange cylinders were filled with a murky gray-ish fluid, most of them were just empty and broken messes.

Passing one of the intact tubes, inside was a large worm. Its mouth had rows and rows of sharp looking teeth that sent a shiver up my spine. Another tube had what at first glance was a pony, but one of its forelegs ended in a massive claw that would be more at home on a paradise dragon. The next one looked less like a living thing, and more like a mass of twisted flesh. One of the broken tubes had the skeletal remains of what looked like an orthrus, though, it was much smaller than what normally were on the island.

Trotting further into the lab, the freak show only got worse. One tube was home to an oversized, but completely furless pony. It's muscles were practically threatening to break the tube due to how big the monster was. I could only imagine how nasty it could be in a fight, and without my lathanos rifle, I'd have to get lucky with a headshot.

Another tube held a massive wasp like bug. It was about as big as a pony, and had a spiney black carapace, red eyes, and vibrant amber colored wings. Somehow I already knew that this thing was more of a nightmare than the twittermights, and those fuckers had the ability to shoot lighting. Looking passed it, there were other such wasps in other test tubes, making my skin crawl.

The marker for the radio signal took me to another room in the lab, this one had a huge terminal, and a pony sitting in front of it. There were more tubes inside the room, all along the walls, though none of these ones were broken. Ovre the far end of the corner of the room there was a metal table that had a bloody corpse on it. Next to it, sat a decently sized pile of bodies in various states of decay.

I drew my revolvers, and slowly walked up on the pony.

“Ah, company!” The mare spoke with a gravelly voice, clueing me to that I was dealing with a ghoul. “Here for tea? Maybe a biscuit, or perhaps exploratory invasive surgery?”

“Spicy Love Fruit, I presume?” I asked, keeping my guns trained on her.

She clapped her hooves together, making more of a leathery slap than that of hooves clapping. She turned to me with a smile too wide to be normal… no, it was not a smile, she was missing her lips and cheeks, showing all of her rotten yellow teeth. Spicy was also missing her right eye. In its place was a black void much like the twitchers, but unlike those monsters, she had a small line of black ooze coming from it that if I had to guess, was that Miasma stuff.

“I'm at a disadvantage, you see. Who, exactly, might you be?” It was strange to see a pony talk without lips, but she managed it somehow.

“Vibraphone Echo,” I lowered my revolvers a little, trying seem less threatening. “and no, I’m not here for tea. My friend is somewhere down here. Have you seen anything strange happening down here?”

Spicy tilted her head. “Strange? Oh no, everything's quite normal here.” She then got up, and trotted over to me. “But you’re a strange one, aren’t you? Small wings, a diminutive horn, stripes, and cybernetics?”

“I'm a mirage pony, nothing special.” I raised my revolvers, convincing the ghoul to not come any closer than she was. “Now do you know any place that could block a pipbuck locator signal?”

“Mirage pony?” She studied me with her one goodish eye. “Ah, you’re the byproduct. So they gave you trash a name. How... misfortunate you are.”

“I can just shoot you right now.” I warned the ghoul, wiggling my revolvers.

She turned around, trotting back to the large terminal. “Yes, I know a place like what you seek.”

“Where is it?” I asked ever so much more politely. Seriously, could I catch just one break today?

“That would be Healing Herbs lab. It’s not far from here, but the way’s locked” Spicy pointed at the tube. “But if you help me with my research, I could be persuaded to open the door for you.”

I didn't like this idea, but sooner I could find Harp, the better...

“This better not take long.” Trotting over to the tube she was pointing at, inside was what looked like a half pony, half fish monster.

“Don't worry,” Laughter came from Spicy. “I just need to check your DNA and compare it to the original junk sequence. Then see if there's anything of use that can be extracted. If your kind is still around, then something useful must have developed as a result.”

“Right, just make it quick.” I told her.

A needle flew out and stabbed me in the side. It didn’t hurt much, but I was startled a bit as it sucked some blood out from me. Spicy pulled it out and placed the needle into a slot on the terminal she started to hit buttons on.

I decided to give her a few minutes, and took a look at the tubes in the room. The longer I looked, the more it started to feel like a twisted collection of trophies than science experiments. There was what looked like every different kind of equine presurved and on display in here. Each one of them looked like they were sleeping, and that at any moment they could get up, and trot around, except for the two that looked like fish. ‘Sea pony’ one was labeled, the other ‘Siren.’

If I had seen a lurker among them, I wouldn't been surprised. My eyes fell on one tube that contained a young mare with two horns that curve forward from behind its ears like two sharp spears, and seeing it made me very concerned. It was labeled a “Bicorn” and what I guessed was its name below the label ‘Bakers Dozen’.

“What’s a bicorn?” Swallowing nervously, it reminded me of what Shamrock became, just without the heavy mutations. “Is it some sort of mutant?”

She leaned back on her chair, looking at me upside down. “Oh, my bicorn. No, their quite natural, but supposedly went extinct long before the founding of Equestria” Spicy got out of her chair and trotted over to me with a giddy prance. “One specimen was actually found frozen in an old glacier, and the O.I.A. snuck enough of a sample of it for me to make clones. She's marvelous, unlike the twelve others, she is still alive and young.”

“So, about Healing Herbs lab?” I pushed.

Spicy ignored me, trotting up to the bicorn’s tube. “They’er amazing really. Ancient carnivorous ponies who have a high healing rate, and can perform the ‘stare’ naturally. I was able to make a serum from the clones that would give a pony those abilities, but that project was put on ice.”

“Wait... it was you who made those bastards!” I shouted, as my blood started to boil.

She looked back at me, and tilted her head. “What, no, wait.” She then nodded, making cracking noises from her bones. “I do remember giving my admiral a few of my projects, but then the bitch left me behind. I guess you ran into project ‘evil eye’ then?”

I snarled. “Ya, and they’er nothing but trouble.” I don't know why, but I could tell that she was grinning widely, even without lips. So I focused on her eye, seeing if I could use that evil eye on her, then blast out a kneecap. Playing nice was over for me

Something pricked my side, and I only had enough time to see a needle hit the floor before I felt a coldness quickly spread threw me. Spicy lifted up her hoof, showing her pipbuck, which was glowing, the bitch had used S.A.T.S. to magic a needle at me. I aimed and fired at Spicy, but my vision had already blurred too much to see straight, and my magic was getting too weak to properly power my pipleg. The bullets missed their mark, hitting the bicorn tube behind her.

I fell over, and the world spun, making me want to puke. But at least all the pain, besides the headache was gone, and what Spicy had put into me was already starting to go away.

“Odd, why did her head fall off?” Spicy said in confusion. I opened my eyes to see her stand over my body, chewing on her hoof. “Matters not, I can still offer the body to the great god of the void, and use the head to clone a new one.” I watched as she grabbed my body up with her magic, and and dragged it away to another room in this lab.

My eyes darted around furiously, but there was nothing I could do, I was stupidly just a head now.

*Crack*

The tube holding the bicorn began to leak, spaying fluid over the floor as the crack spread. A red light flashed on the tube, and then the glass shattered, dumping water and the bicorn out onto the floor.

I watch as the bicorn mare slowly got up, slipping over a few times. She was a black mare with a straw yellow and pale blue mane, and her tail looked more like a griffins then that of a pony.

I didn't have much in the way of options, so I had to take what I could get.

“Hay, two horns!” I shouted at the bicorn. It looked over at me, and tilted its head. “Ya you, come here.”

She hesitantly stepped towards me, looking down at me with pale blue eyes. The way she looked at me, I knew there was thinking going on, but for a test tube pony, I couldn't really hold out much hope for high intelligence.

Looking the bicorn mare in the eyes, I did my best to convey my urgency. “I need to get to my body, and beat the shit out of that ghoul that’s got us both locked up down here. Do you understand?”

She shook her head.

I cocked an eyebrow. “So you understand that you don’t understand?”

She nodded.

I wish I could face hoof. “Can you take me to the other pony, and bring my guns as well? The things that go bang bang, do you understand that?”

The bicorn paused for a moment, huffed twice, then trotted out of sight. She returned with a battle rifle, and an ammo bag. Holding the rifle upside down, she made two more huffing sounds, acting as though firing the rifle.

I sighed, seeing that this mare did know things, but not enough to be fully useful. “Can you pick me up, and take me to that other pony?” Third time's a charm.

She dropped the rifle and lifted me up. With a ginger touch, she set me down between her horns, propping me there. It was odd, but i didn’t feel like i was going to fall off her head. The bicorn picked up the rifle, putting it on her back, and then trotted towards where my body was dragged off to.

We entered a third room, it smelled of rot and was lighted entirely by candles. Spicy had placed my body in front of a large hole, and was in the process of wiping her rotten body with a cable. I was officially done with this crap, and as soon as she tells me where to find Healing Herbs lab, I was going to rip her jaw off, and toss her down that pit.

Spicy looked over at us, and furrowed what was left of her brow. “Thirteen! How did you get out, and what are you doing with that on your head?” She dropped her wip, and trotted over to us. I did my best to stay still, trying not to give myself away. “Did your tank get damaged? You poor thing, just stay here and I’ll grab you a new one.”

I waited until Spicy was out of earshot before speaking up. “Take me to my body, I should be able to do the rest.” This ‘thirteen’ mare nodded sharper than expected, nearly flinging me off her head. Upon reaching my body, I could properly see the pit it was supposed to be tossed into, and from here, I couldn’t see the bottom despite already being far underground. Shaking off the uneasy feeling, I returned my focus to my body. “Hey, get up. We’ve got too much to do for you to die on me just yet.” You know, as weird as this was, I was starting to get the terrible feeling that this was less of a dream like I’d hoped it all had been.

Which meant that ontop of being thoroughly unamused, I was both afraid of what exactly had happened to me, as well as pissed off to high Tartarus for it.

Once again, my body stirred, slowly getting up. It reached out blindly, slowly grabbing at my head and plopping it down back where it belongs. Annoyingly, my head was on backwards. The moment I regained control over my own body, I reached up and forcefully turned my head back around.

“Fuck Charon, I’m never going to get use to this.” I said as I gave a shiver from the thought I should have just broken my own neck doing that. But like before, I had more important things to do than to dwell on what shouldn’t be possible.

Looking at Thirteen, I took the rifle and ammo bag from her. The rifle itself looked quite old, but still in serviceable condition. It had several tally marks scratched deeply into it’s wooden butstock, as well as an engraving on the foregrip.

“This Machine Kills Zebras.” I read it out loud. Still, despite its age, the rifle looked like it was in excellent shape for being locked away down here for so long. “This should do nicely as a replacement.” Ugh, I still can’t believe that other mare stole my fucking gun.

Thirteen and I left the strange room behind us and swiftly returned to the lab. Two robots were hauling the damaged tube away as Spicy tapped away at the large terminal.

“What to dump, what to dump…” She muttered to herself as she cocked her head at the terminal. “I can't let my baker's dozen just stay out where time can ravaged her. Maybe letting the death worm go? Not like it can do much for my research anyway...”

Aiming the rifle proved to be more difficult without levitation assist talisman, and I didn’t know if Minerva could hold onto the rifle after firing. 303 rounds were quite strong, and Minerva was only really calibrated for something like air rifles. Giving up on the auto aim, I reared up, and held the rifle in my forelegs. It was awkward, but it’d have to do for now.

*Bang*

My ears rang in pain from the loud report, and Spicy screamed. Her back left leg had been completely severed in one shot, sending black bile all over the floor.

Placing the rifle in my rifle holster, I trotted up to the ghoul and smiled. It was odd, as it felt like my smile went from ear to ear with ease. Spicy on the other hoof showed me a look of horror in her one good eye.

“Let’s try this again.” I kneeled down close, getting face to face. “So, where's Healing Herbs lab?”

_______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest item gained: Scroll of purification. (A strange scroll of parchment with strange writing in an ink that almost glows with magic. It is clearly not from Equestria, or likely even this world, and gives off a faint sense of calm. Use it around magicly corruption to make things more “Normal” for a short period of time.)

Chapter 53 - At the end of time and space.

“Fucking bitch! I should have snuffed your kinds gene code when it was in the brainstorming stage!” Spicy didn’t feel like cooperating, and I didn’t feel like being nice. The bicorn, Bakers Dozen, tried to play good cop. Though, I think it was more of her not understanding the situation, because she got slapped in the face by Spicy. As a result, Bakers Dozen had turned into a foal, maybe around ten years old, confirming to me that Spice was a twitcher ghoul.

Feeling that I was just done with this shit, I had decided to shoot off a foreleg, her horn, and had minerve tightly tie a cable around her remaining back leg so that I could string her up. To say that she was pissed would be an understatement. But I didn’t have time for this shit.

Practicing on Spicy a few time, I found the battle rifle was a bit awkward in minerva's hold, likely I had gotten a bit too used to the talisman support in my guns, so the practice shooting was a big help. It must have been of a very old design, as the rifle was clip loaded, not magazeen, something I have only seen behind glass as a collectors peace. Worse, It was annoying to have such a loud rifle replace my bolt launcher, and more annoying that shooting off Spicy's ear didn’t even make her flinch. But at least the thing was powerful, that, and its ammo bag had plenty of bullets to spare.

Poking Spicy with my new rifle, she tried to bite it, making her sound like a feral ghoul I had seen in old vidios. “Now if you don’t want me to keep blowing limbs off, maybe stop acting like some cult obsessed savage, and just tell me how to get into Healing Herbs lab.”

“The god of the void will consume you and all of creation.” She cackled, her gravelly voice making it all the more unnerving to hear. “You think these little pathetic threats can scare me?”

I took the butt of the rifle, and smashed her in the face with it, knocking out a few teeth. “There are other ways I can hurt you, maybe I should try one. Minerva, hold her head still.” My pipleg wrapped its aura around Spicys head and I looked her in the eye. I focused my magic, the warm sensation filling me, and I tried to send it to my eye but Spicy didn’t respond. I filled my head with anger and fear, but still nothing. So I closed my eyes and relaxed, trying to remember how the corps brigade used it on me.

“Trying to bore me to death? I don’t think that's going to work.” Spicy mocked me through broken teeth.

I did remember that when I first came across the evil eye, how it was like I had become powerless, unable to move as Couteau Duel stabbed me with her illusion. Carving Doll, and I sank into the bloody water. And what Blackspot said, something about having personal experience making it stronger or something. Then It clicked in my mind, maybe I just needed to concentrate on the horrors I’ve experienced as I used my evil eye.

I focused, wires, cables, water and blood. The loss of control, and drowning in something I can no longer fight against. Enemies always around the corner, not there to kill me, but to change me into themselves, as though to crawl into my skin and live as me. Having to die, but not being allowed to pass on, to forever watch myself be some others puppet.

My eyes opened, and I looked deep into Spicy’s one eye. Her posture slacked, her milky white eye dilated, and she began breathing hard. I could feel the evil eye working, my blood trickling from it… from them, from both eyes. I blinked, and Spicy gasped, and shuttered.

“What? What did you do?” she breathed.

I ignored her, and trotted over to the large terminal, trying to see my reflection past the green text. Both my eyes were now green and bleeding, just like that of the corps brigade. I sighed, returning my attention to Spicy. “How do I get into Healing Herbs Lab?” Spicy opened her mouth for a second, before snapping it closed. She was cracking, so I just needed to apply more pressure. “Minerva, hold her head still again.”

Spicy held her eye shut, so I aimed my rifle and put a bullet through her remaining forehoof. She screamed in pain, but also opened her eyes, giving me the opportunity to use my evil stare. Her cries of pain stopped as she became entranced once more. I could only let it go on for a few minutes before it caused a strain on my eyes, like a vise slowly squeezing them. When I finally blinked again, Spicy didn’t move, black ooze like drool coming down from her mouth. So I did what any self respecting pony would do with a catatonic ghoul, and poked her with the barrel of my rifle.

Spicy then flailed like a mad mare, causing her to swing, and me to take a step back. This went on for a couple more seconds, her black blood oozing from her back leg as the cable dug in deeper. When she finally calmed down, Spicy kept her eyes shut and hissed at me, indicating that she had not gone feral yet.

“Now tell me, or we can do this again!” I yelled, and she flinched.

“Use the terminal. I have it hooked up to all labs D, just find lock controls, and select unlock all.” she whimpered.

I huffed, and returned to the large terminal. Plugging Minerva in, I had my pipleg look for lock controls. “So where is the lab?”

“Just take a left, and follow the yellow pipe. It will take you straight there.” she whimpered again.

Minerva found the lock control, and there was too many to count, and all just numbered, so I just scrolled down until I found the all option. Sighing, I selected all, and entered it. “You know if you were not such a miserable cunt, I’d have just left you alone down…” An alarm sounded, red lights flashed, and I felt like an idiot.

Spicey cackled loudly. “Good luck getting to that lab, because…” Her taunting was cut short by me putting a bullet through her head. Disturbingly, no brain came out when her skull shattered over the floor, only the black ooze she had been leaking this hole time.

The tubes in the room sprayed a mist into the air as the liquid drained from inside. Within seconds, the tubes open, dumping its equine captives. Most of them didn’t get up, just making slight movements of their ears or tails. The siren I’d seen in the tubes before flopped around like a land locked fish, and a crystal pony stood up only for a hoof to break off. It then fell over and stopped moving.

I looked over at the now filly bicorn, she clearly not suffering the same problems as the other clones. I could only guess that Spicy made sure she was better cared for than the other clones.

A deep guttural roar came from the next room, and I had a bad feeling what it might be. Trotting over to Bakers Dozen, she looked up at me, clearly confused. “Sweety, I'm going to be leaving this place, you want to come with me?” The bicorn paused for a moment, thing, then nodded. “Good, then I need you to stay near me no matter what. Can you do that?” She nodded again. “Alright, now remember no matter what, stay next to me.”

I trotted to the door, Baker close behind me. Taking a deep breath, I readyed the battle rifle, and opened the door. What I saw was mayhem. The wasps I’d seen before were all over the place, and two of them were fighting with the massive furless yellow pony. The yellow pony had managed to grab hold of one of the wasps wings, and rip it off, though it did not stop the wasps attack. The clawed pony I’d seen was also fighting a wasp, and the claw now looked even larger than before.

I decided to go around the fighting, keeping an eye on a wasp above us. The sound of a loud croak drew my attention, and on the flooded floor below was a pony sized frog. The thing leaped up into our path and made a screeching sound that caused my vision to blur for a second. I didn't wait for my vision to clear, and I fired the rifle at it. Though the shots went wide, one did make contact, and the frog jumped up onto the wall. With clear vision, I aimed at the frog, but a wasp beat me to it, and the two monsters came crashing down to the bottom floor.

Keeping low, I continued to make my way for the door. The fighting only seemed to escalate and two more large yellow ponies had appeared. Joining the first one, the ponies worked together to fight even more wasps. Stranger yet, one of the big yellows had a stretched and torn stable barding on, and was first to tear off a section of the railing to use like a club against the wasps.

The clawed pony smashed into the railing ahead of us, mutilating its body into parts. Looking over where it had come from, my jaw dropped. Standing tall was a red alicorn, as in celestia and luna alicorn. I blinked, and it now stood in front of me, looking down at me with fiery yellow eyes.

“Hello?” I said to it right before it grabbed my head with its magic. The monster hissed with feral rage as it forced the air out of my lungs. I struggled to break free, but its hold was too strong, and everything was going dark.

Everything became clear, and now I was looking down at Baker and my body. The red alicorn held my head, with the look of twisted joy on its face. “Minerva, two head shots with S.A.T.S. on the red freak.” My body straightened up, and the alicorn had only the time to look down before two slugs passed through its head. My own head fell, and was caught by Baker, who proply gave me back to my body.

Looking around, the red alicorn was missing, like It was never there. This made me abandon trying to sneak around the monsters, not wanting to wait around for the alicorn to return. Rushing to the door, my hoof slammed the control panel. Baker crawled under me, and ducked. before I could see why, a wasp slammed into me, its stigger jabbing into my right foreleg. I fired at point blank range, and it flew off of me, slamming into the wall. Getting up, I fired my rifle into the wasp until the ammo was empty. The wasp didn't stop moving, having only lost a wing and fallen on its back. So I loaded, and unloaded the ammo into the wasp, finally killing it.

Now out of that room, I made a dashed down the hallway, trying to put as much distance between me and the monsters. Baker did well to follow me, but she was already becoming out of breath. As a quick remedy, I levitated her up and put her on my back. A clattering from behind us was followed by now five large yellow ponies, one now holding a battle rifle of its own in its mouth. They were still fighting the wasps, some bleeding green blood from many holes in their flesh. I trotted off, finding the yellow pipe to follow.

The black specks that floated through the air from when I first got here were back, and they got thicker the more I followed the pipe. But, that was the least of my worries, as the sound of buzzing gradually grew louder from behind me. Two wasps were chasing us, and that the hallway seemed to become endless again didn't help. I had to think fast, so I galloped to the closest door, opened it up, and dashed in.

My hooves hit dry red dirt, and I stood before a massive canyon range, something that the Marewaii Islands didn't have. At least if it did, it was somewhere I don’t think anypony had ever been before.

“Hay, whos this bitch?” I looked over to see a group of dirt covered sickly looking ponies. They had crude armor, decorated with spikes, and all holded weapons that looked in desperate need of repair. “Would ya look at that, she's got metal bits fer legs n’ shit.”

The buzzing behind me quickly grew louder, so I dashed to the side of the opening. A dirty unicorn mare with a bright blue mohawk stepped up, she was welding a wrench, and looked at me with yellowed stained eye, a clear drug addict.

“I say we eat her!” The mare shouted as the rest of the dirty ponies cheered. Now I didn't feel bad about what I was about to do.

The two wasps burst through the doorway, and up into the air, startling the other ponies. I quickly reentered the hallway, and hit the control panel, and as the door closed, all I could hear was gunfire and screaming. I didn't feel bad about what happens to a bunch of savages, but I do hope those wasps can't breed where ever it was I’d just dumped them at.

With hallway weirdness confirmed to be back, I pulled out the second of the parchments the harpy had given me. Flowing magic into it, everything was covered in a bright clean light for a moment, then the spell left us in a normal looking run down hallway. Baker held tightly to my mane,making me a bit worried that she’d knock my head off.

And you know what? Fuck you Charon. Why the fuck did you think making me like this was remotely a good idea!?

With no more wasps, and the weirdness banished for now, I followed the yellow pipe through the hallway. Unsurprisingly, labs D continued to be the most unpleasant place in the world as I turned a corner to see a pile of dead bodies.

The pile was of deceased stable ponies. All of them still had stable barding on, and oddly, all were missing a foreleg. Not far from the pile was a wall covered in dry blood and bullet holes, the sight making my stomach churn.

Trotting further in, I came across a few decayed bodies of navy ponies. They wore the old equestrian naval uniforms, but their combat armor was decorated similarly to that of the pirates gas masks. It gave me a strong feeling that the madness of the pirates started well before the war ended.

Finally, I came to the end of the line. The yellow pipe stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. Above the door was a sign that stated ‘Class 5 experimentation. Overmare approved clearance only’. I hit the button on the door control panel, and it hissed open. Checking my pipleg, Harps signal was now straight ahead.

Trotting forward, I didn't enter another ‘normal’ room. No, I had trotted into something else entirely.

It was a vast empty land, gray and lifeless, with a black starless sky above me. It gave me a lonely feeling, like there was supposed to be something here, but it was all gone now. In front of me, the land cracked and shifted, forming a path ahead of me. Sighing, I trotted forward, finding that my steps didn't echo in here.

Trotting further into the forming crevice, I found it to actually be a massive crater. At the center was a black orb hovering in the air, like some sort of hole in space. The further in I trotted, the more I saw shredded steel, crumbled concrete, and pools of a rainbow liquid that made my radiation sensor crackle to life each time I passed near one. I didn't put on my gas mask just yet, but it was clear that this entire place was contaminated, which only spurred the need to get Harp out of here.

Now closer, at the bottom of the crater was what I could only guess was the ruins of Healing Herbs lab. There was not much left of it, mostly a concrete floor, and some of its walls, but what did remain was clearly of stable-tec design. Sitting inside at a bent table was Blackspot and Harp, surrounded by dead ponies.

I stomped my way in, glaring daggers at Blackspot, and made my demand. “I'm fucking here, now get that thing off of her.”

“Come now, don't be upset,” Blackspot grinned back at me, his new horns were now twisting off to the sides of his head and filled with cracks. “this is going to be a glorious day.”

I pointed my rifle at him. “Cut the crap, I’ve a shitload of three-oh-eight rounds ready to burrow a new hole in that precious face of yours.”

He dropped the smile and got up from the table. “You’re already here, and that's all that matters now. So yes, you can have her.” Harp got up, and slowly began to trot over to me.

“And the collar!” I snarled.

There was a snap, and the bomb collar around Harp's neck fell off. Blackspot clapped his hooves, and registered as though he was wiping away a tear. “How positively heart warming, the knight saves the prin… “

I put a hole through his head, saving me the pain of hearing him talk. Turning my attention to Harp as she ran to me, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he.”

Harp had burst into a gallop, and collided into me with a big hug. “I'm fine.”

“Good, now let's get out of here.” I told her.

“Not yet, Vibraphone. Not yet...” She held me closer, and brought me face to face, muzzle to muzzle with her.

“What’s wrong…” Harp kissed me, her tong entering my mouth, her long forked tongue. I tried to pull away, but she was too strong, the tongue now sliding down my throat. I pulled back my power hoof, and slammed it into Harp, making her falling back, ripping off her tongue. I spent the next few second choking on the tongue before Minerva managed to pull it out. “Fuck you, Phobetor.”

The Harp look alike got up, her fur turning black, her mane turning black, and her eyes shifting to their normal lustering golden color. “You could be more elegant, like calling me a deceitful harlot of poor reputation. But no, all you have to say is fuck you Phobetor.”

I pointed my rifle at her. “Where’s Harp. If you’ve done anything to her, I swear to Celestia that I’ll shove this up you cunt and pull the trigger.”

“That's a bit better, but keep you panties on, she’s safe.” Phobetor raised an eyebrow. “I do want to keep my new host undamaged after all.” I fired a round at Phobetor, and a spray of chunky blood staind the ground. “Can you stop just stop shooting ponies, it's becoming a bad habit of yous.” Phobetor clapped her hooves together, and a mass of shadows formed next to her, turning into a translucent bubble. Inside was Harp, who was desperately beating on it’s walls, but making no sound.

I rushed to Harp, but the bubble and Phobetor lifted up into the air and out of my reach. Rotting flesh dripped from Phobetor, and she scowled down at me. I watched as the image of Phobetor faded, being replaced by a decomposing green mare with a hole in her head. Phobetor pulled out a mirror, checking herself over. “Oh Healing Herbs, you're simply falling apart at the seems.” She looked back at me with dead eyes. “Good thing I will finally get to leave this useless sack of rot behind. But first I want to see you suffer. Blackspot, be a dear for me, and take your new bride.”

“Praise Luna, for she has blessed me as her champion, and now I will never die!” Blackspot got back up, blood still on his face, but the hole I’d put in his head was gone. “Stop with this foalishness and accept Luna into your soul, there can be no other way.”

There was a sick satisfaction that now I had the opportunity to kill him twice. But now that I’d thought about it, my enemies recent habit of not staying dead was becoming a problem. No matter how satisfying it was, I prefered the days when the dead stayed that way the first time I shot them.

“Baker, I need you to hide.” I told the bicorn, and she hopped off my back. Once she was at a safe distance away, I opened fire at Blackspot.

The fucker teleported behind a broken piece of wall, and returned fire. I dashed back, finding my own cover as bullets whizzed passed me.

“I thought you wanted me alive?” I shouted ovwr at Blackspot.

“Luna can bring you back, fix you, make understand.” He shouted back, laughing like a maniac with his words. The idea of becoming some sort of corpse bride only made me more pissed off.

The sensation of magic in the air sparked to life around me. Knowing this feeling, I dashed away from it, and turned to point my rifle at the spot. Blackspot teleported in, and I unloaded my rifle into him, rittling him with a bunch of holes.

It was too easy, so I quickly reloaded, keeping the rifle trained on him. He sat up, and I blasted a slug into his face, knocking him back down. Sweet Celestia this was getting old quite fast.

“Just stay fucking dead already.” If only I had my bolt launcher, then I could pin him to the ground, and be over with it.

*Crunch*

From behind me, it sounded like a bag of garbage hitting the ground. Turning around, one of the corpses in the crater was crawling towards me. Another corpse was climbing over the broken wall, falling over with another crunch. I fired a round in both of their skulls, blowing out the back of their heads, but still they crawled at me.

*Crack*

A shot grazed my flank and I hopped over the moving corpses and got behind cover. “Just embrace your baptism of death, and be reborn.” Blackspot called out.

My eyes darted about, not wanting to give him the opportunity to catch me by surprise. Inside the ruins of the lab there were more corpses moving about now, a few more crawling, and some were walking. They were moving slowly, so I could ignore them as long as I didn't get too close. Blackspot teleported in again, this time on top of the wall. I managed to dodge his shot, and scored one of my own on his chest. The force of it knocked him off the wall with a gout of blood following him.

This fight couldn't last forever, I didn’t have the ammo for it. Dragging it on any longer would only end in him killing me, so I needed a decisive victory. But how?

*Crunch*

Turning around again, the rotten mouth of the moving corps snapped at my face. I managed to hit it with a powerhoof strike, shattering its mouth.

*Crunch*

This time I reared back and bucked, my back legs making contacts with the corpse that fell behind me. “Is that all, Blackspot? I can do better than teleporting corpses.”

“But it was enough to distract you.” I turned to see Blackspot holding two SMG’s and a wide smile full of sharp teeth.

I focused all my magic into my magical armor talisman, and charged. Blackspot opened fire, and a rain of bullets came at me. As I charged closer, I could feel the talisman start to overheat, a burning in my shoulder that only got worse. As hard as I could, I collided with Blackspot, and began bringing my powerhoof down onto his face, each time making a wet crunch. I didn't stop, not even when the moving corpses began to grab onto me, trying to pull me back. I turned his face into nothing more than mush, hopefully putting him down permanently.

With a pop, my magical armor dissipated, and a line of smoke escaped from one of the talisman ports on my rear legs.

“Are you done?” Phobetor said as she descended along with Harp. Looking at her, she clapped her hooves, and Blackspots body squirmed, his head slowly reforming. I backed up, the moving corpses getting out of my way. “I rule here, wherever that might be, but it means that you’re fighting a god. Now give up any hope of struggling, and accept your fate.”

The corpses grabbed hold of me, and without the magical armor holding them back, I was quickly pinned to the ground. “You won't win!” I growled.

Phobetor rolled her eyes. “The moment you stepped into this stable, I won. From there it was just about getting you down here so that you could see my return to this world. No longer will I be some whispering shadow, a vague threat you mortals cannot understand. No, the great shadow dragon will fly once more, with an army to fly my banner.” She got close, nose to nose with me. “Don't worry, even though you will be dead, I’ll preserve your soul in your severed head. That way you can be my witness for all eternity.”

The corpses ripped my scarf away from my neck, as Blackspot walked over to me, holding a sword in his magic. “Harp!” I called out. “Things will be alright, so don’t…”

The sword descended, and my head came off. Phobetor quickly snached my head in her vile magic, holding me up. “It's a shame, you would have made an excellent vessel. That untapped potential, wasted. But, as it turns out, our dear princess is even more amazing. Such magics I will be able to do with her as my vessel to fill.”

Something was different this time, where before I was numb to my body, now it felt like it burned. Like a fire welling up from somewhere deep. But though it burned, it was also cold, providing no warmth.

Phobetor continued her gloating. “And you, your despair will be most delectable. Every time you look upon me, it will be a reminder of how you can only fail.”

“My Goddess.” Blackspot spoke up, and Phobetor turned me to look at him. He was holding up my body, and a black mist was seeping out from my neck. “What is this?”

Phobetor stepped closer, and more the ice cold fire burned within me. “No, it can't be...” She tightened her grip on my head, and wiped me around to be face to face. “Why is your body producing death magic?”

We locked eyes, and I smiled. My evil eye locked her in place, and though it hurt my eyes, it was far more bearable than before.

Phobetors rotting face relaxed for a moment, then twisted into a scowl. “Your a Dulhan!” Her magical grip tightened as she raised my head up high. “Fine then, It just means I have to be more through in killing you, starting with crushing that head of yours.”

“Bang!”

Phobetors rotting horn shattered, and my head fell from her hooves, putting me in a momentary panic. But Something caught me, saving my head from smashing into the floor. With a ginger touch, my head was spun around.

It was Baker, the Bicorn filly, who quickly placed me in between her horns again. Now ahead of me I could see my body rush in. Rearing up, it slammed the powerhoof into Phobetors chest, knocking her back, following up the strike by a few shots from my revolvers.

A roar came from Phobetor as a wave of shadow raced from her toward my body. My body was thrown back, landing near Harp, whom looked understandably shocked and confused as tears streamed down her cheeks. Phobetor got back up, a horn made from shadow replacing the one she had just lost.

“Get that filly, Blackspot, and kill her! Bring me back that head so that I can crush it like a blood filled coconut!” She turned to my body, and two massive shadow claws forming next to her. “In the meantime, I’ll rip this annoyance to shreds.”

Baker didn't need me to tell her to run. She dashed away, and surprisingly fast for a pony who lived most of her life in a test tube. A spray of bullets clattered around us, but Bakers small size allowed her to stay undercover as she galloped.

Her escape was not without a goal, and Baker ran into a half buried booth, a clear part of the lab that had separated from the rest. Inside was as wrecked as everything else, except for a terminal, and a pipbuck attached to it. Baker pointed at the pipbuck, but being on her head, I couldn't get a good look at it. But if there was still working tech here, it had to be important.

Bullets riddled the booth, followed by Blackspot laughing. “Come on out ya little bilgrat. You ain't the first foal I’ve killed! So come on out, and I’ll make it nice and quick for ya!”

Baker pulled down the pipbuck, and tried to put it on her leg, but it was far too big for her. She then pointed at me, then at the pipbuck, and then at herself.

“Wait, you were not helping me.” I needed my body, if only to face hoof. “You just wanted me to help you put this on?”

More bullets riddled the booth, but this time concentrated in one spot, forming a sizable hole in the old wall. Blackspot grunted as he stuck his head through, and glared down at us.

“You little bitch, I gave you a chance. Now I'm going to kill you slowly!” He pulled his head out again, and started shooting the door some more, widening the hole. Once it was big enough, he forced himself in, towering over Baker and I.

Blackspot stepped up as he brandished his sword with a wide grin. Then, a bolt logged through his skull, sending the pirate falling over. Stepping in behind him was Harp, she then pointed her bolt launcher rifle down at Blackspot, and shot him five more times, effectively nailing him to the floor.

“How?” I yelled.

Harp sat down, taking a deep breath, but then had a coughing fit, black smoke coming out of her mouth.

“By Celestia, are you alright?” I wanted to check her, but being only a head was… limiting.

She nodded, coughing one more time “When your body was fighting that corps, it seemed to weaken her magic, so I thought if I drained the bubble, I could break it.” She held herself, shivering. “It felt wrong, like the magic was rotting. But I didn’t have time to worry about that, I heard the sound of gunfire, and ran to find you.” She then looked down at the filly. “And who are you?”

“Baker, this is Harp Melody. Harp, this is Bakers Dozen.” Without legs, I had to use my eyes to gester. “Now Harp, we're going to seriously need you to get checked out after all this. But first, can you look at the pipbuck here? I think it might be important.”

“Lets see,” Harp nodded, and picked up the pipbuck. “it has some sort of program still running. Wait, oh fuck.” She looked over at me, with a worried look on her face. “Its says here that this is a megaspell chamber, and its currently in the process of imploding!”

I groaned in frustration, not that I was all that surprised. “You know, just once I wish that one of these super secrets turned out to be something not insane. Maybe something useful, like a seed vault, or a shit load of fertilizer.”

“Or a dragon's hoard.” Harp added sheepishly.

“Well let's not waste anymore time, is there anything we can use on the pipbuck?” I asked.

She nodded. “There was extra information about the megaspell. From what it says, it is the combination of a time spell, a teleportation spell, and a… trans-dimensional spell?” Harp hit a few buttons on the pipbuck. “Looks like some outside power source is preventing the megaspell from imploding, feeding and leaking magic. It says that if we cut the power, than the implosion process will finish.”

I tried to nod, but no neck. “Well that answers why everything is so fucked up down here, but how's it going to help us?”

Harp opened the holotape insert on her pipbuck. “We still have the teleportation talisman. We can set off the implosion to destroy whatever's going on down here, then got back to our original plan.”

“If I could, I’d hug you right now, Harp.” It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it put a smile on my face. “So, how do we go about doing this?”

“Well, I’ve read that arcano tech spells and matrix can be temporarily disabled if two different magic power sources come in contact with each other.” She disconnected the pipbuck from the damaged terminal, and passed it to baker, who greedily snatched it from her hooves. “Something to do with it altering the magic and creating instability. It's why all spark batteries are the same kind of magic. If they weren't, and a pony used two different kinds of batteries, it could destroy whatever their trying to power, or worse.”

It sounded like a plan, but with one problem. “I doubt Phobetor will just let us do it.”

“Well, that hasn’t stopped you yet.” Harp reloaded her rifle. “Fuck her, and this whole damned place!”

We left the booth with Blackspot still pinned to the floor inside. A gunshot indicated that Phobetor and my body were still fighting as we trotted around some boulders. The corpse possessed by Phobetor was riddled with holes, and seemed to be only held together by her dark magic. My own body wasn't fairing all that much better, with my cyberlegs covered in dents, the dress torn in a few places, and all covered in spots of blood.

“Harp, go find where this other source of magic is coming from. I’ll keep Phobetor busy.” I don't have a clue to how I was to fight Phobetor, but I hoped punching her would do something. “Take me back to my body, Baker!”

The little filly galloped off, her new pipbuck barely staying attached thanks to Harp’s quick adjustment to it. Phobetor noticed us almost immediately, and tried to stop Baker with a claw of shadow. But my body quickly forced her spell to fizzle as it attacked, blowing off a rotten hoof with the battle rifle. It only momentarily distracted Phobetor, who replaced the hoof with more shadow.

“Alright, we're almost there!” I shouted just before a wall of dust and stone flew in front of us, forcing Baker to stop. “Damnit, keep going!” But Baker didn't run, instead she grabbed my in her hooves, and lifted me back above her head. “Oh no, don't you fucking dare!”

She did, and my head went tumbling and sailing through the air.

Luck was on my side as I didn't hit the ground, but was instead caught in my own hooves. Sadly, my overjoyed body decided to give me a big hug, something my metal legs were not built to do. But while it was annoying, a wave of dust sent us both flying. My body managed to land on my rear legs while still holding and protecting my head.

“Minerva, hold my head.” A much more gentle pull of magic lifted up my head, allowing me to look around properly. The blue flame from my neck had grown, and bathed everything in a soft blue light. Phobetor looked less than pleased as balls of pure magical shadow formed around her. Off in the distance, Harp had ran to the other side of the black orb, while Baker was currently doing her best to catch up to her.

One of the balls of magic shot from Phobetor and tried to crash into me. I managed to jump out of the way in time.

“So which bag of bones did you make a deal with?” She screamed at me. “Osiris, Ereshkigal, Izanami, or maybe it was that fool, Mort. Well tell them that I’ve lived for thousands of years, and plan to live for thousands more.”

Whatever I had become, it clearly had put Phobetor on edge. She was far from calm, her prideful arrogance replaced by a deep seething rage. And she could join the fucking club, because I wasn’t happy with this turn of events either. Still, her reactions did give me some confidence though. If I couldn’t actually end up hurting her, she wouldn’t be in such a state of panic.

“You want to know?” I responded as I took a step forward towards her. “Charon sent me.”

“Oh, the riverboat mare?” Phobetor laughed, but didn't take her eyes off me. “And here I thought she was not the kind to be proactive.” She shot another ball of shadow at me, and I charged. “It matters not. Once I crush you, I will be beyond her reach.”

She shot two more balls of shadow at me, and I countered with my revolvers. Phobetor was not phased by my bullets, even as one blew out the back of her skull. Her attack on the other hoof exploded behind me, sending me flying forward. I used the blast to pick up speed, charging faster at the nightmare. Phobetors eyes went wide, and she fired the rest of her shots.

Everything exploded around me, dust blocking my vision. But I could feel it, the buildup of magic, all around me, but less of it on my left. Dashing left, everything exploded again, and I managed to escape most of it.

Leaping out of the dust cloud, I locked eyes with a very irritated Phobetor. Pushing the ground from under my hooves, I charged forward again, and again Phobetor fired more balls of shadow at me. Yet this time her attacks were much weaker, and easier to dodge. I closed in, and lept at her, my powerhoof thrusting forward. I went through Phobetor like a hammer through a rotting bag of vegetables, sending the rotting body flying in pieces.

As the pieces fell, and things became quiet and I became more uneased.

“Too easy” I mumbled to myself. My eyes darted back and forth, faster then they ever had, but yet I took it all in, like it was natural. Every stone, grain of sand, and dust in the air, I could see it all. “Where did the corpses go?” I asked myself. This had to be another one of her tricks...

My back hooves sank into the ground as rotting flesh and bones burst up like disgusting weeds, trying to drag me under. Struggling, I found myself becoming pinned once more, the corpse gnashing their teeth on my legs, almost breaking themselves on me.

In front of me the ground bulged as something big was forcing its way up. I could only guess that it was a mass of dead bodies, as Phobetor was if anything, predictable.

“Let's get this over with, or do I have to shove a hoof down your Celestia damned throat!” I screamed at her.

Phobetor laughed again, but this time it was deeper, and far louder. “Then try it, but you will find yourself, lacking.” The ground split in front of me, and a mass of black burst up, and towered over me. It stood on two thick legs that connected to a long serpent like tail. It had two massive claws, each like swords, and on its back were a pair of monstrous bat like wings. Its head rested on the end of a long serpent like neck, its mouth filled with dagger like teeth. Like great beacons, its eyes glared down at me with a golden fire. Phobetor had thrown asside her pony form to become exactly what she’d called herself earlier. A dragon.

The corpses around me lost their strength, and broke apart like dry rotten twigs as I pulled myself free. Looking back up at Phobetor, it only helped make me feel small and out of my league. But I was also clear that I had her undivided attention.

“I gotta say,” I snorted and stood defiantly at her. “It can’t be healthy for you to pack on a few hundred tons so fast. The heartburn alone has to be killer.”

She huffed out a puff of green flames. “You could say that it's down right… deadly.”

Ya, I‘ve got to pick my nervous mocking jokes better.

Phobetor moved, slowly reaching out for me, and so I ran for it. The ground shook as her claw landed, and sending dust high into the air. Pulling out and aiming my rifle, I found that having a detached head did have its advantages, if only in this situation. Firing, the bullet simply bounced off Phobetor. Green flames escaped from her lips, clueing me in on what was about to happen.

Taking a sharp turn to a large boulder, I dove behind it just as the flames burst from Phobetor’s scaly muzzle. She stomped around the bolder as I kept it between us, forcing me to step on the ground that had been partially melted by her fire. My legs squeaked in protest, but I pushed on, even as the pain reach my connectors.

The flames finally stopped, and a massive claw griped the boulder, throwing it out of the way.

“Still alive? Let me fix that for you.” Taking in a massive breath, her belly expanded as green light glowed out from between her black scales.

It was now or never, so placing my head back on my neck, I took careful aim with the battle rifle, and fired. The bullet hit in between the scales, and a jet of green fire poured out of Phobetor’s stomach like an over powered blowtorch. She stumbled back, clenching her stomach as she let out a guttural roar.

A loud thump was all the warning I got before her tail wiped out at me, sending me flying. The impact was enough to knock off my head and my pipleg. Even though I could not see my body, I could feel it, and I simply knew where it was. Willing it, my body scrambled to reconnect my pipleg, and then get my head back on my shoulders. Focusing, I gathered magic into myself, and then to my pipleg, reactivating it.

Something was different though, the warm liquid sensation my magic had changed to a cold fire. Looking down at minerva, a black haze drifted off from it. So I concentrated more, gathered more magic, enough to shimmer the way that all mirage ponies did. Sparks of blue flame began to danced around me, giving off little lines of black haze like smoke. All of it was both frightening to me, but also more beautiful than I could put into words.

I looked up at Phobetor, who had recovered, but hadn’t done a follow up attack yet. She just stared me down with her golden eyes, studying me. It was then that I remembered what Phobeter had said before.

“Death Magic.” the words left my mouth, and she took a step back. She was scared of death magic, and I was giving it off like it was normal mirage pony magic. I couldn’t just hurt her then, I could kill her. That was what she’d been afraid of.

A pulse rippled through the air, snatching both our attention. It was the black orb at the center, meaning Harp was making progress.

A huff came from Phonetor. “Time to change tactics.”

Phobetor spread her massive wings, and flaps them, sending a torrent of dust flying. She slowly lifted off the ground as I charged, pushing myself as hard as possible. It was like running into a typhoon, but it didn't slow me down, I wouldn't let it. With on more powerful flap of her wings she shot up into the air, her tail last to leave the ground, and what I managed to grab hold to.

We lifted high into the endless black sky, out of the crater and so high that I could see the curve of the horizon. That's when I saw it. The black orb, despite it being so far away, looked even bigger from up here. And from within the crater, it looked like a massive black eye. The landscape from up here it looked twisted, like it was a spiraling towards the black orb, being drawn into it.

Everything slowed down as Phobetor changed her direction. She only had a moment to notice me right as I aimed my revolvers, unloading them at her face. Each bullet burst in blue flames, sticking to Phobetor, and making her scream.

As though gravity had just now remembered to do its job, we began to fall, overcoming me with the sensation of weightlessness. I used the opportunity to climb further onto Phobetor, almost falling off a few times as we rapidly got closer to the black orb. Getting to her upper back, I raised my death magic powered powerhoof, and slammed it into the dragon.

Phobetor roared and extended her wings, trying to right herself. But it was too little too late. Her massive body carved a trench into the ground as she crashed down, ripping off an arm and leaving a trail of blood that was instantly lit ablaze with green fire.

I managed to hold on, keeping one hoof on my head so that I would not lose it. Still, the force of the fall had sent a wave of pain through me, and had caused some damage to my connectors. Small splotches of blood seeped through my torn dress, mostly where cybernetics met my flesh.

Sliding off Phobetor, I made my way up to her head. Each step feeling like my shoulders were being stabbed by needles. Phobetor lay on the ground, green burning blood seeping from her mouth, nose, and ears.

Pulling out the revolvers again, I took aim at her now bloodshot yellow eye.

“It's over Phobetor.”

“After over a thousand years of imprisonment,” A pained laugh bellowed from the black dragon, “and over two hundred years so close to that black sun. To have it end like this is such a tragedy.”

“Oh get the fuck over yourself, you can't seriously think I’d feel sorry for you, or even pity you.” Her voice just pissed me off, her everything pissed me off. “How much of the bullshit I’ve had to deal with is your fault? The pirates finding us in the hotel? Or when the radio tower got blown up on me? How many ponies have you been manipulating on this island? How much damage have you done?”

“You think such trivial events such as those are damage?” Again she laughed. “You know so much, yet nothing at all. Before I focused on you and the pirates, my whispers met the dreams of the powerful ponies of this island. When stable-tech wanted to keep their doors closed, I convinced them to open up. The good governor, who was ready to board her private vertibuck bound to an pegasus warship, had dreams of glory, leading the survivors as a hero. Then there was princess Majesty, the dream of becoming a queen was to hard to let go.”

My stomach curled at her words. “And the Equalists?”

“I'm not omniscient” She snarled at me. “And every year, that thing made it harder and harder to reach out” her eye looked back at the black orb for a moment. “By the time they rose to power, my own had waned. Then one day Blackspot and his band of fools came crashing in, and soon after, you trotted right in their path. You, who had such a familiar feeling.”

I cocked my revolvers. “And now, it's over.”

“Yes, it certainly is.” Phobetor said, her massive body relaxing.

I unloaded my revolvers into Phobetors eye, each shot sparking with blue flame. Reloading, I unloaded another twelve shots into her. Her green flames died down, being replaced by blue fire. Her body cracked and crumbled, falling away to show a dragon skeleton made of uncountable amount of pony bones. From the corpse, small orbs of different lights began to scatter.

One green orb drifted to me, and started circling around. It gave me a warm lively feeling, though also made me a bit annoyed.

“Later sis.” I muttered, watching as it circled around me a few more times before drifting off, and fading away.

Leaving the quickly crumbling bone pile behind, I made my way to Harp. She was standing outside the ruins of the lab, looking up at the orb. She saw me, and waved me over. “I think I got it!”

Getting closer, she was looking a bit exhausted, and the air around her felt hot. “Good, anyway I can help?”

She nodded. “Glad you asked, I just need a little more power, then I think this should work.” She hoofed at the ground where she stood. “I’m not sure exactly what it is, maybe a ley line like in the books about magic, but the magical energy is flowing through here. Still, something is diverting the flow. If you concentrate you can even feel something pulling at your own magic.”

I closed my eyes, and did my best to focus, I could feel the strange magic around me, and something pulling at me. “I feel it, and feel that the longer we stay her, the harder it will be to get out.” Not just pulling, but pushing as well. I opened my eyes, and looked up at the black orb.

“Alright, just stand were I am, and when I tell you, charge up and send your energy to the center.” Harp said as she stiffened herself up. “You should have enough power to reconnect the ley line. I’ll do the same at another ley line that connects to this one at the center. Oh, and I’ll use a whistle as the signal, first to start charging, and a second to send it to the lab.”

I nodded. “Just be ready for trouble, nothing's ever easy with us.”

Harp ran off, and I stayed in the spot she had marked on the ground. I didn't know anything about ley lines. Arcane magic was never something taught in schools, but standing here, I could feel the magic flowing past me like a stream.

A tapping on my leg drew my attention, and looking down, I saw Bakers Dozen holding my scarf. “Thank you.” I took the tattered scarf, and wrapped it around my neck, feeling a bit more whole with it on. Baker stretched out her hooves, as though wanting a reward. “Um, I don't really have anything to give you.” She pointed at the battle rifle, an stomped a back hoof.

I sighed and shrugged, though it was not responsible, she was the one who found me the rifle, so it was only far “Fine, just be careful with it.” Passing her the rifle, and ammo bag, the bicorn filly quickly strapped them down to herself and smiled. The rifle was far too big for her, but I had to admit, it did look cute.

A sharp whistle came from Harp, and I turned my attention to the center, and focused on drawing in magic to myself. I could feel the ley line magic flow into me, and like before, blue flames danced around me as I quickly began to shimmer. I reach maximum capacity for magic faster than I ever had before, and it now almost felt like some pony was trying to poor water into an already filled container. I was already straining with this much charge, and the magic was starting to spill out of me with magical sparks and fizzles.

The second whistle mercifully came and I pushed the magic out of me toward the lab. The ley line went from feeling like a small stream of magic, to that of a torrent. Not just that, my own magic mixed in, sending a line of blue flame into the ruined lab. At the center, the magic physically manifest, becoming a bright ball of light. It was surrounded by blue crystals growing out of the ground like a wave, washing over the ruins as it traveled.

The it exploded into a pillar of light, colliding with the black orb. It all happening in a single moment, then... silence. Harp came running over, her hoofsteps echoing as though we were in a theater, bouncing off walls that didn't exist.

“Ready?” She asked as her voice, just like her hoofsteps, echoed naturally.

“Just a moment.” I pulled out one of the spare teleportation holotalismen, passing it to Baker. She looked up at me confused, so I helped put it into her pipbuck.

“Oh, shit, back up!” Harp yelled.

Looking up, the lab had fallen into a vortex, and the ground around us was cracking. We didn't have to go far, as the vortex had quickly stopped expanding, and now we stood on the edge of it. The black orb was slowly descending, creating a storm around it that blew all the dust into the air. Below us, in the vortex was a rainbow of colors so bright, that I had to put my goggles on to even look at it.

“Alright Baker, when I say go, hit this button on the pipbuck, and it should take you to safety.” I had to yell as I instructed the filly, do to the storm winds growing in strength. She nodded, and gave me a big smile full of pointed teeth. “Alright, ready, set…”

Something bumped into me, and then beeped.

“Order!” Harp yelled, pushing me to the side to grabbed her beat up drone. “How did you get here, no, never mind that let's get…” Harp screamed as a spear thrusted into her shoulder, and began pushing her to the edge. Her eyes locked with mine, shock and terror on her face.

A shove pushed her over the edge, and activating my S.A.T.S. I was able to just barely grab her hoof. “I got you!” Harp winced in pain, the hoof I grabbed being connected to the stabbed shoulder, under her other hoof she held Order.

“Get out of here!” Harp yelled, tears welling from her eyes.

I felt a pressure on my back like a small but heavy pony had decided to put there hoof on me. “I. Found. You.” The voice of Berenices whispered in my ear.

I looked down at Order, and sighed. “Just let us go, please, just let us go.”

I felt Berenice put more pressure on my back.

“No!” She shouted. A loud yelp caught me by surprise, only to have it replaced by horror as I watch Baker's Dozen fall into the vortex. She simply vanished in the swirling mass of magic, and there was nothing I could do to save her.

Rage boiled up within me, more than it ever had, I was so close, and Berenice just had to show up now, she had to do this. “I’m going to rip your claws from you fucking face, you savage cunt of a crab!” I screamed.

She giggled, the bitch giggled. “Yes, hate me, lothe me, show me our true pony face. I want to savor this. And once I had my fill, I will skin you, turn your hide into a vest, and your face a mask.”

I looked down at Harp, she was crying, blood staining her jacket. I whispered. “Drop Order, and climb up me, I’ll hold you so that you can use your pipbuck, then teleport out of here.”

She looked up at me, but then her eyes went wide.

*Crack*

Pain erupted from my right foreleg shoulder as a lurker spear smashed into my power hoof leg. The hit made Harp swing and slip in my grasp. Harp shook her head.

“I don't want to die!” Harp screamed out.

*Crack*

Harp slipped more, and she cried out in pain. I had to hold on, I had to hold on, I had…

*Smash*

My power hoof leg shattered, and Harp slipped from my grasp. I watched as she quickly vanished into the vortex, a look of horror in her face.

She… she was just… gone...

“Drag her!” Berenice shouted as she got off my back. I just let them drag me, the dry tasteless ground getting in my mouth. Flipping me over, I got a look at them, and surrounding me was more then twenty sparkle-lurkers in chitin armor. Berenice trotred around me, looking gitty. “Alright, before we can begin skinning you alive, I don't need any surprises.” She moved her claws to mimic a smile, but her maliciousness shine through.

*Crack*

One on their sand-lurk clawed spears slammed into my pipleg, making my hud display warp for a second. Another, spear slammed into my leg, and another, and another. The leg was made to last, but eventually a load pop, and my hud display fading signaled that the lurkers were successful at breaking minerva.

Berenice clapped, taking great joy in braking my cyber legs. “There, you see? With enough determination, anything built by ponies can be destroyed by lurkers. Any lurker want to break the back legs?”

There was a loud cheer, it barely audible over the wind. At this point I didn't care, break the legs, I was already fucked as it was. Looking back, I could see that the back orb was now descending into the vortex. Imploding any moment now.

One of the lurkers held up my disconnected and bent leg up like a trophy. The others propped me up, and Berenice held onto one of their chitin weapons, it looking like a crude but sharp knife. “Don't worry, I’ll make it slow and painful.”

I looked her dead in the eyes, and smiled, my grin stretching wider than it should. She stepped back, looking startled, and I focused my magic into myself. I was still on a ley line, and I immediately shimmered, sparking with blue flames.

“What's wrong? Come and skin me.” My head rolled off of my neck, but didn’t hit the ground. Somehow I had caught myself. My broken and shattered metal legs moving like normal, giving off sparks of the blue flame. Taking a deep breath, not knowing where the air would even go, I stared down Berenice, my rage given form in the cold blue fire.

Berenice quickly collected herself, the lurker sitting up in a pride pose, and looking down at me. “And now the pony shows it’s true form, a monstrous form.” She pointed her crab hoof at me, her eyes burning with as much disgust at me as I had hatred for her right now. “Look at this corrupted monster. Unclean, and filled with hatred for our kind!”

“The only thing I hate is y…” I tried to shout, but one of Berenice's minions hit my body with its spear.

The lurker princess continued her rant, louder than before “How long will it be before they will hunt down our kind? They show no mercy for each other, how could they show mercy for our own? Nothing, not an ounce will come from them I say. This is why we must work to destroy them, to destroy them before they destroy us. You know this is true, just as I know it, but the others dont, cowering in their nest. They feel content hiding, with only after our eggs have been stomped under hoof to act. But by then it will be too late, our future murdered before our eyes!”

The lurkers became a fervent mob, yelling and screaming, all louder than the howling wind around us. It was pure madness, like they were possessed, yet I could feel it, it was all Berenice.

One of the lurkers raised it’s spear high as it glared down at me. A killing blow to be sure if it hit me, but I was not going to make it easy.

*Bang*

The face of the lurker with the spear cracked, I had placed a hole in its head, which left a little blue flame peeking out of the hole. All the other lurkers stopped, leaving only the wind to howl as the lurker I shot fell over. I wonder how I did it, my minerva is too damaged to levitate anything. Looking up, I could see the tips of what I could guess were two gold like horns, glowing with a blue aura. My revolver was wrapped in the same aura, and responded to my will. It put a grin on my face as I pulled my second revolver, and aimed it at Berenice.

“You could have walked away.” I told Berenice as she stepped back, her disgust now replaced by fear. “You could have even left the islands if you wanted too!” I shouted, the guns shaking in my magic. “But like every fucking asshole on this island, you just could not let it go, could you!?” I narrowed my vision at her, looking the lurker in the eyes, and fired.

Everything then stopped. The wind, the lurkers, even the two bullets had stopped just before hitting Berenice. Yet I could move, and there was one thing I was sure of that might do this. Turning around, I saw it, the black Orb had entered the vortex, and was rippling with strange magic. And then…

Everything cracked…

Shattered…

The ground, the Lurkers, and I…

All the while I could hear her, laughing like a mad mare, mocking me, like I had fallen right into her hooves.

Phobetor was not dead.

____________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Status change: Race - Mirage Pony now Dullahan Bicorn.

Companion signal lost: Harp Melody.

Chapter 54 - Tartars

The smell of sulfur was the first thing that I sensed, either meaning I was alive and near a volcano, or Dead and in Tartarus. No matter which one it turned out to be, I just wanted to keep my eyes closed a little longer. Maybe I would dream of a time when everything had not gone wrong.

“Bark, Wolf.”

Barking struck up from a couple of dogs. Both were loud, but one was high pitch and excitable, the other low and sturn sounding… not that I cared. “Bark, Wolf” and now they must be standing over me, loud enough to hurt my ears. Damnit, I just wanted to get some sleep.

“Hey mutts, will you shut up for me? I’m trying to wallow in my own misery here.” I opened up my eyes to see the two dogs, with one body…

It was an orthrus. The biggest one I had ever seen, at least a head taller then the cyber orthrus’ we used as attack dogs back home. It… he was covered in scars, and both heads looked at me like I had stolen his chew toy. Or was it because I was about to become a chew toy, which of course, would just be my luck.

Concentrating, the magic didn’t flow into me like it normally did. It felt different, more like I was reaching deep down to a cold place then simply drawing in the warmth around me. But I manage to draw the magic to me, and move my head. It was only enough to get just a little off the ground and somehow turn it, but I moved, if only painfully slowly. The orthrus decided to assist me, putting a large paw on my head and turning me around. Now in plain view, I saw my body playing with two orthrus puppys as their mother watched on in bewilderment.

“Bark, Woof.” The orthrus vocalized, making its own irritation known to me. I could understand, some headless stranger playing with its kids, that's not normal.

“Hay, stop playing around, and pick me up!” I yelled at my body. It froze, like it had just been caught with its hoof in the cooky jar. After glaring at it for a few seconds, my body sulked over to me and placed my head back onto my neck. The two puppys tried to keep playing with me, but their father quickly pushed them away and huffed at me. I didn’t need to be told a second time, and trotted away from the orthrus den.

With my head back on, I could now get a better view of where I was, but sadly, I had no clue what I was looking at. First off, there was no sky, just a massive stone ceiling that stretched far beyond what my eyes could see, and I spotted a hole in it in the distance, but no light shined through it. There were hundreds of rock spires as far as I could see, and some were so high that they connected to the ceiling, likely the support for the ceiling, and possibly made by magic. The rest of the stone spires decorated the horizon, each with a flat top that was framed by long stone spikes, as though they were cages. Below me was what looked like clouds, obstructing my ability to see where the floor was.

Descending the rock spire I was apparently on, I saw more animals going about their business here. One was a cat, a bit bigger than the ones I normally see, and it had two large and thick wings. The feline hissed at me before jumping off the spire, and flew way. Further down, I was startled by a group of rats running passed my hooves. All of the rodents were tied together by the tail, with one bigger rat sitting on the mass. I watched the mess of rats run off, only for them to get caught by the flying cat and dropped off the spire.

Insects also littered this place. Thankfully, they were much smaller than on the islands, though no less concerning. Moths with wings that looked like skulls, spiders that looked like they were made of rocks, and a group of centipedes that pretended to be a thorny bramble bush. It was luck on my part that I managed to avoid the fake bush, because I had startled a rat, who then ran into it and was quickly ripped apart by the centipedes.

I finally made it down to the bottom of the spire. The layer of cloud that had obscured everything from on the spires, was actually just thick fog about two hooves high. I couldn't help but feel that even thought it’s height wasn’t all that impressive, it was still hiding something. From what I’d seen so far, I could only expect that some small critter was running around in it, ready to attack.

“Ell, aren't you a sight foo sore eyess?” A haggard sounding voice croaked, startling me. Wiping my body around to look at what ever it was, in front of me was the strangest, and grotesque creature I had ever seen; the thing was like a short, thick, and furless seadog, with what looked like long claws that looked more like talons. Strangely, its face didn’t have a snout. It was flat, except for a nose that stretched out like a bird beak, at the sides there was long ears that seemed more at home as wings, above that were two large red eyes, and a long dirty gray mane that stretched down below its shoulders. It wore ragged dirty clothes, looking ready to fall off, except for a dark red, and wet looking cap that seemed in mildly better condition.

“Don’t see much ponies around here.” It hobbled closer. “Mind helping old Red Cappy with a ride?” Cappy’s breath smelled vile, and like it ate nothing but garbage and rotting meat. That being said, its body odor was no better. Geeze, I’ve smelled feral ghouls who were less ripe than this guy. Though, through the vile smell, I could smell the distinctive copper of blood coming off of him. The obviously large flag this thing gave off was as alarmingly red as the cap on his head.

“Mister Cappy, was it?” I asked, keeping a close eye on it’s movement.

“Call ma Cappy, all ma fellows do.” He replied with a bow.

At least it was trying to be polite, even if he was an insult to my eyes and nose. “Red Cappy, can you tell me where I am? I seem to have… run afoul of some strange magic.”

Red Cappy scratched its chin, and nodded. “I can see, all walken on busted iron legs, and like one was not missin at all.”

I looked down at myself, and Cappy was right, my legs were twisted and bent, any one of my back legs were missing. All at once I fell over, unbalanced, and unable to support myself. My legs gave out with a metallic groan, and how I had managed to get this far on them just confused me.

Red Cappy laughed loud and menacingly. “Oh how fun, and here I thot ya’d be trouble. But looks like more blood for me cap!” He did a little dance and clapped his hands before picking up a rock. “Before I go smashy smashy on ta noggin of yours, I’ll tell ya where you be.” He raised the rock up high over me. “Welcome to Tartarus, my bitty pony!”

“Woof!” The call of the orthrus loudly reverberates loudly into my ears, and Red Cappy stood frozen. Looking over, the orthrus had my other busted leg in its other mouth, and dropped it in front of me. It then glared at Red Cappy, who cowered down so low that he disappeared under the fog, only his red cap visible.

Sighing, I grabbed my lost leg and reattached it. It wasn’t like the busted leg would do much good, but seeing as I had managed to walk down here on the other legs, something magical was going on. Concentrating, I couldn't seem to draw my magic into myself, or really feel it like normal. Yet I could still feel the cold flame inside me.

Focusing on the flame, I imagined pulling it out, sending it to my now broken legs as I imagined them working again. Somehow I stood back up my busted legs. Looking down at them, they were covered in small blue flames, and making the legs work like they were never broken.

“Minerva, open map.” My pipleg flickered for a few second before going dark, meaning that though I could stand and walk, my legs were still not fully functioning. Moving one of my legs forward, it gave a pop and a squeek, but held my weight when I put pressure on it. “At least I can somehow move around.” I turned to the Orthrus, only to see it already walking away. I could only guess that it had been making sure I had no reason to return and bother him or his family. Looking over into the mist at the red cap that was slowly moving away, I pulled my guns out. Rather than the aura of my own magic, the two revolvers were instead held in the the air by a blue flame. “Red Cappy.” I spoke softly, but he kept moving away, so I fired my revolver over his head, knocking the cap off. “Get up you disgusting savage, before I make sure you can never walk again!”

Red Cappy shot up and spun around at me. “Yes ma’am, whatever ya say ma’am.” Timidly, he grabbed his cap again and held it to himself, wiggling a clawed finger through the fresh hole I’d put in it. “Cappy never would dream of hurting you, using ya blood for the color in me cap, no, no.” He sniveled at me.

I was irritated with having to deal with this little monster, but if I was to get out of here, I would need help.

“So you say we’re in Tartarus? Where all evil souls go?” I frowned at my own statement, despite all that I’d been through, part of me still didn’t quite believe it really. Or at least, I didn’t want to believe it. Maybe I just got hurt badly, and was being pumped full of drugs to keep me comatose as I recovered, and this was all just some elaborate fever dream. “Since you seem to live here, tell me about this place.” I ordered Red Cappy.

“Live ear, ya. Only ‘cause the cursed druidic deer trapped me here.” Red Cappy grumbled. “But no, no souls trapped here. Evil spirits yes, cruel mage lords, Liches, the queen of spiders, all sorts of bad. But not Cappy, Cappy’s one o ta good ones. All a mistake why Cappy’s ben imprisoned ear.”

“So if this is a prison then, where are the guards?” I asked

“Te hounds. Te hounds be ta guards, boss.” He pointed up the spire. “Te Orthruses ar te watch dogs, always up high, always one head awake and watching us damned ones. Then there's ta hellhounds, vicious they be. All those who get away, are dragged back em. And that’s only if ta get passed Cerberus, who guards ta gate ta Tartarus.”

“Right, now one more thing. Is there a nightmare imprisoned here?” I had a bad feeling that Phobetor was up to something, so I just needed to kill her before she could try anything.”

Red Cappy’s eyes darted around. “Yes, but ya not want to know about that one. Real dangerous to get near. Maybe instead we can go see Tirek, throw stones at the centar. It’s real fun, trust me, boss.”

I looked in Red Cappy’s eyes, using the evil eye on him for a few seconds. He stumbled back, even more scared then before. “Take me to the nightmare.” I commanded.

He nodded vigorously. “Yes boss, right this way boss!” Getting up, Red Cappy scurried off in a panic, but not faster than I could follow. I couldn't help but notice that the direction we were going, was towards the large hole in the ceiling I’d seen earlier.

The emptiness of this place made me almost miss the jungles. It lacking the sounds of life, and most of the vibrant colors of the outside world; instead being a pallet of mostly gray, black, and brown. The ambient sound was like an unending low groan, with the occasional crack of rock hitting rock, and sometimes the howling of a hound off in the far distance. The little life that was here watch Cappay and I from their hiding spots, or occasionally poked their head out from the fog.

We passed by a small spire that was being used to hang iron cages in the air. Inside the cages were harpies, who looked ragged and angry. They wore black robes decorated in bones, some of them looking more ornate than others. One of the more ornate robbed ones hissed at me as we passed, but I paid the caged birds no mind. Out of anyone I’d seen so far with the exception of Cappy, they looked like they belonged caged in here.

“Help!” A mare’s voice called out from not too far away. I turned to see a tree made of black crystals that had grown almost completely around and somewhat through a unicorn. She was silver gray, with a purple mane, and covered in black crystals that poked out of most of her flesh. “Help me, can't you? I've been trapped here for so long.”

Red Cappy threw a rock at her. “Shut it nag, no one wants ta catch your plague!”

“Ignore the goblin, fair knight. Help me, my condition affects me alone, and no harm will come to you.” She struggled to move a hoof, making cracking sounds as she beckoned me over. “I’m close friends of Clover the Clever, you must know of her! She will surely reward you greatly for saving I.”

If my situation was different, maybe I would look for a way to help the mare. Though, like everything else I’d seen so far, she had to be in here for a reason. Still, she might have gotten here the same way I did through some strange magic, so I couldn’t just leave her. It was a tough choice, but I did have one solution I could offer.

“Sorry, I can't help you get free, but I can help to end your suffering.” I raised one of my revolvers to her as an offering.

The mare lowered her gaze at me, and bared her black crystallized teeth “You’re just like the others, looking down at me just because I’m low born. Well so is Clover, but why does she deserve all the attention, praise, and honor! I'm a far better spell caster then she will ever be, so why did she get to become court mage!? Why the instant I get free, I’ll...”

I sighed, and walked away, leaving the mare to scream at me. Her angry voice slowly fading as Cappy and I got further away from her crystal tree. I had a feeling that Harp might have known who that mare was, Clover the Clever sounds like a part of history she would know about it. The thought of Harp sent the memory of her being pulled into the orb back into my mind, and stabbed a needle right into my heart.

“We’re here, boss. The nightmare’s cage.” Red Cappy pointed up the spire we’d approached. Unsurprisingly, it was the tallest here, and sat directly under the hole in the ceiling. “You go cup if you want, boss, but I not. I not mess with a nightmare. Cappy too clever to do such a thing, no offense, boss.”

“None taken, I’m not trying to be clever right now.” I looked down at Red Cappy, wondering if I should put him out of everyone's missary. In the end, I figured that he was here as a punishment, as well as to be something for the other evil spirits to fear as well. So I decided that it was best to leave him be. “Now scurry off, or I might feel the need to use you for target practice.”

He lowered himself into a bow that dipped him below the fog. Only his red cap was visible as he quickly left. My body waved goodbye to him on its own. I took control of myself again, and smacked at the hoof that was waving. Seriously, having my body do what it wants some of the time was something I was still not used to.

My attention returned to the spire and the long snaking path that spiraled up it. As I trotted up the roughly hewn stone steps, I kept my gaze upwards. Far above me, the hole looked more and more like a gaping maw, ready to devour me. The further I moved upward, the more I felt like I was climbing up to a sacrificial altar. But stranger yet, I could hear the sounds of music in the air, and the murmurs of ponies.

Reaching the top, I saw a long dinner table with many ponies at it, having a feast. Their clothes, mane styles, and decorations at the table looked to be of ancient pre equestria time, maybe older still. I was no historian, but I did at least know that togas fell out of popularity around the time of Equestria’s founding. A few ponies stood to the side of the feast, playing music from instruments of strings, wind, and drums. Some of them looked like instruments I’d never seen outside of old art, but they were all associated with the ancient times.

Getting closer, the ponies didn’t seem to notice me. They continued to eat and drink as they talked to each other in a language I didn't understand. On the table as a centerpiece was a large, and overly decorated marble jar. It was covered in motifs of ponies frolicing, fighting, and playing. I noticed that past the jar, there was a single open seat at one end of the table. Trotting toward it, I saw it had a letter set on an ornate gold dinner plate saying ‘reserved for the dragon slayer.’

Taking the hint, I took the seat.

An earth pony mare placed a plate of fruit in front of me, and poured a deep red wine into a goblet. She had a gold colored coat, mane, and… eyes. “Phobetor?” I had to force myself to say as I slowly pulled out my revolver.

“No, that's Pandora.” Her voice carried with it a jubilant but short lived laugh, but it didn’t come from the mare in front of me. “She is a naive pony, crafted by the gods for pony kind as a punishment for their arrogance.” I leaned to the side and saw Phobetor sitting on the other end of the table. The left side of her face was burnt, exposing blackened flesh, but she was alive all the same.

“Punishment for what?” I asked as I pushed the food away from me and kept my revolver close. A loud cheer came from the other ponies, and a new group of ponies appeared in costumes and holding props.

“Long ago, in a time forgotten, ponies once lived to worship the gods.” Phobetor spoke up as a pony with a long white beard stood on a pillar. Oddly, the other ponies bent down around him in worship. “It was what they were crafted for, from the earth mother’s clay, the sky fathers cloud’s, from even from the Ivory of the great star whale.” The actors shuffled around, one pony of each three tribes struck a pose, as a gray pony pretended to use a chisel on them.

I examined the actors, noticing something strange. The pegasus didn't fly, the unicorns didn't use their magic, and the earth ponies… were earth ponies. But none of them had cutie-marks.

Phobetor continued. “Their creator cared for these ponies, and in turn, they cared for him. More and more, their offerings and prayers went to their creator, and less to the rest of the gods.” The actors moved about, clambering around the gray pony, ignoring the bearded pony. “The other gods were not pleased by the actions by the ponies, and so stopped moving the sun and moon for them, blocked the skies with rain clouds, and hardened the earth so nothing could grow. The other gods called down, commanding the ponies to worship them or suffer endless misery and despair.”

The ponies playing the gods, unlike the other actors, had cutie-marks. The white bearded actor had a thunderbolt cutie-mark, it outlined in gold. There was also an actor with an eye cutie-mark, another with a heart, a sword, a shield, and one with a helmet covered in a purple flame. The actors had moved about again, the gray pony now holding three boxes.

Phobetor continued. “Hearing the prayers of his creation, and ignoring the gods rightful punishment on them, he gifted the ponies with what belonged to the gods. Magic, and the knowledge to use it. The magic of strength and will, to break the ground and make it fertile. The magic of fitness and duty, to fly through the skies and control the clouds themselves. And lastly, arcane magic, to move the sun and moon, as well as to bend reality itself.” A cutie-mark formed on each of the actors, and each one froliced before leaving the stage. The actors playing the gods now surrounded the gray crafting pony, all looking crossed. “The gods were beyond angry at the crafter, bestowing the ponies with magic made them closer to gods, and now they worshiped them not at all. So, for this, the crafter was locked away, far beyond the reach of ponies.”

The golden mare, Pandora, trotted onto the stage, surrounded by the gods. Phobetor spoke loudly, and with pride. “The gods planed to bring the ponies back to worshiping them, while also punishing them for their arrogance. So the gods together crafted one pony, a perfect pony that shined like gold itself. A pony who would right the wrongs that the crafter and his creations had wrought to the gods. They together, created Pandora.” The gods trotted around Pandora, and great golden wings sprouted from her back, and a long golden horn from her head. “And as a reminder of their importance to the mortal ponies, the gods commanded that she was to forever hold a jar containing all the evil in the world.” The marble jar was lifted from the table, and paraded onto the stage, in which Pandora sat on top of it. “A jar she was to keep closed unless the ponies were to fail even once more in their worship of the gods.”

The actors playing the gods spread out, and the ones playing the normal ponies returned, now circling the jar in a dance. Phobetor’s prideful face became a grimace as she continued. “Pandora accepted her role as the perfect pony to the simpletons. She was the one who spoke on behalf of the gods, for she was perfect, an example of what all ponies should strive to become during their insignificant little lives.” The actors then scattered, ignoring Pandora. “But though the ponies worshiped the gods once more, they did not look up to Pandora, they did not inspire to be like Pandora. No, they instead wanted her to lower herself to their standards. To come down to them, have her perfect hooves ruined by touching dirt, have her sweat by pushing clouds like a servant, and have her help move the sun and moon as though she could not do it all on her own.”

Pandora began to cry, weeping on top of the jar. “How tragic, the perfect creation of the god, crafted from divine gold, to be treated as though a common pony.” Phobetor’s voice became like a growl at the end. Pandora then sat up, placing her hooves at the side of the jar. “So then did Pandora have an idea. If she was made by the gods to be perfect, then should she not be worshiped like one? And if so, was she not right to punish ponykind for forsaking their duty? It was then Pandora decided to take a peek at what was inside the jar. She wished to see what punishments could be given to the ponies for their arrogance in the face of the god she now believed herself to be. Then and only then, they would know what power Pandora had, and why she was their superior, to be treated as such and worshiped along with those who created her.”

“The jar was opened only but a crack, and a black smoke came pouring out. It consumed Pandora, and everything around her.” Phobetor laughed and gripped at the edge of the table as a spark of excitement in her words made them turn real. I watched as again, the jar opened for Pandora, and smoke enveloped the golden mare. “The jar didn't close when Pandora let it go, instead it fell to the ground and opened completely.”

More black smoke was sent streaming high into the air while Pandora’s perfect form withered infront of her eyes. Her horn crumbled, her wings shriveled and twisted like dried and dead branches. I watched as her body sagged and dissolved away into darkness, all except her eyes. Pandora’s defiant expressed looked at me before it too disintegrated, falling down and turning into black sand that scattered across the table.

“Of the greatest example of all ponies misguided hubris, this moment was when I, Pandora, was reborn.” Phobetor then trotted onto the stage, her head held high. “Time passed, and I woke up, no longer the perfect pony I was. The magic in the jar had changed me, and stripped me of what had once connected me to both the gods, and the ponies they created. Even so, my mission still remained very much the same. A mission left undone no longer. For you have forsaken the gods and brought misery and suffering upon yourselves. But ponykind should fear not, for I will not make matters worse for all of you. Today, I return to the mortal world, and so shall the world return to its rightful state. Where they will finally bow down in worship of me for the perfect being I am.”

All the ponies around me began bursting into puffs of black smoke, along with the props, food, and wine. When the smoke cleared, I was sitting at a rough stone table, it covered in mutilated body parts. Stone bowls full of maggots were scattered around, and rusted goblets filled with blood buzzed with clusters of bloated flies. The marble jar was back on the table, but it had changed into an onyx black marble. The images had changed too, now depicting ponies being torchered in gruesome ways, while others kneeled before a shadowy figure with golden eyes.

Looking over to where Phobetor was, she sat in a large iron looking cage, iron shackles around her hooves. Next to her cage was Blackspot with a hacksaw in one hoof, and a broken lock in the other. Feverishly, he worked his way cutting through the shackles while his eyes trailed constant streams of blood out of them.

“Fuck!” I drew my revolvers, firing at Blackspot, his head bursting into blue flames. The Pirate fell to the floor, screaming and twitching as his face melted.

“A bit too late for that Vibraphone.“ Phobetor chuckled. I unloaded the rest of my bullets at Phobetor, but the cage filled up with the black smoke, and my flames quickly died out. “Sorry to disappoint, but that flame is meant to work only on mortals. Weren’t you listening to my story? I am a god, I will never die. I am Phobetor, the eternal!”

The cage began to bend outward, creaking loudly before the bars began to one by one pop out of place, and shatter like glass. The black smoke exploded, destroying the rest of the cage as the massive shadowy form of a black dragon rose up, towering even bigger than I’d seen her before.

She looked down at me and laughed, gold and black flames bursting from her mouth. “You have always been a step or two behind, from day one. Nothing more than a pawn for the games of others. Now wallow here in hopeless misery, for once the world is mine, I will return, and I will kill you. Or maybe not, perhaps I shall permit you to enjoy the same eternal punishment I have. I shall see how I feel after I rend the life from those you care for most...” Phobetor stretched out her massive wings, and took to the sky.

I tried to get up and stop her, but the gust of wind from her wing pushed me back. All I could do was watch as she flew up, ascending into the hole in the ceiling. No, she can’t get away, not like this...

Again I’d failed. She was right, every pony I’ve fought have been a step or two ahead of me. Everything from Rototom’s death, to Harp’s… it had truly all been for nothing.

I don't know how long I just sat in place, at a loss of what to do next. Maybe I could escape from Tartarus, and find Phobetor just to shoot her in her stupid face. But it wasn’t that simple. Not to mention, I also still needed to kill Carving Doll, and stop the Equalists from overrunning the islands.

“It's just too much, too fucking much!” I shouted at myself. “I was in over my head from the very beginning. Why was it my job to do this!? Huh!?”

“Oh, you poor thing.” The soft voice of a mare spoke up next to me. I let my head roll off before looking at her. Sitting at the table was a pale green mare wearing a pure white toga, and with a thick brown mane decorated with small red marbles. She was absolutely beautiful, as though she alone shined as a beacon in this hopeless land.

“Don't coddle the outsider my love, she might be violent like the others. My patience is not infinite, and I will not show mercy a second time.” A smooth sounding stallion spoke up, and I turned my floating head toward him. The stallion wore a bronze helmet decorated with two horns that covered his face. “Cerberus will be here soon, but if you try anything dullahan, I promise that I will make you a permanent resident of Tartarus.”

It was slowly building at first, but the more I looked at the two ponies, the smaller I felt. It was not like the foreboding feeling that Phobetor gave off, of a danger outside my understanding. No, this was more like they were simply beyond me, like an ant trying to comprehend a pony. These two radiated purity and clarity, and yet, I didn’t feel threatened, just... small.

“Be nice and I get to go home?” I looked back at my body, and it shrugged. “Ya, I can do that. But can I ask, who are you two?”

The helmeted pony huffed and looked away, and the earth pony mare giggled. She reached out and plucked my head right off my shoulders, giving me a pleasant smile as she held it in her hooves. “Oh don't mind my husband, he may seem big and scary, but he's actually just a big softy clad in bronze armor.”

“I’m not soft!” The stallion grumbled.

She passed my head back to my body, and clapped her hooves. Green vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the stone table, growing upwards until it was taller than both the mare and myself. A few of the higher vines sprouted a fruit I’ve never seen before, growing plump in size until the vine bent under the weight, and drooped straight into the mare’s waiting hooves. She happily cracked the fruit open, and I found it was filled with ruby colored seeds. She threw one into her mouth before passing the odd fruit to me.

“You want some, they are my favorite.” She asked with an oddly friendly smile. I only became more confused, and the mare sighed, before pulling her hoof back. “Sorry, my name is Persephone. It has been a long time since I’ve talked with a mortal, undead or not, and I was hoping you would have guessed my name.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “There's a station named Persephone. I think it was named after an Equestrian princess, which I’m guessing is you?”

A loud clanking noise came from the stallion. He had taken off his helmet and placed it on the overgrown table. Light gray in his coat, he had a jet black mane and two ivory white horns. He... was a bicorn.

“Wrong, my wife is no mere princess!” he growled at me and stood proud before a giggle from Pesephone broke his stalwart expression.

“Oh shush, you.” Persephone rolled her eyes at her husband. “However, it does seem that the old a tales have been mostly forgotten. And unfortunately, without Celestia, the knowledge of them are unlikely to return. But in a way, you are correct, just not in the way you think. I am the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods. I am also wife of Hades, god king of the underworld you are currently the guest of. Of course, this makes me queen of the underworld, but you can say I was once a princess. One so irresistible that Hades couldn't help but steal me away.” I looked over at Hades, but he looked away blushing. Persephone gave a little laugh, “Mother was so mad that we had run off together that she left the world in winter until I was returned.”

“So...” I was having a hard time comprehending what exactly was going on here. “what you're saying, is that you’re a god?” She nodded, and I frowned. “Then you made Phobetor, er… Pandora, then.” Persephone lost the coy smile on her face at that. Hades outright slammed his hoof on the table, getting our attention.

“Don’t blame her for her father's hubris.” He waved his hoof over the vine laden table, and small figures of ponies formed in the stone, dancing around the table. “I told him to leave it be, but like every time I tried to give him advice, Zeus would never take it. He made Pandora to be just like himself, perfect in every way, perfectly narcissistic. I always wanted to help Pandora. She never deserved what was done to her. From the moment life was breathed into her, she was destined for failure.”

“Then you got Celestia to capture her, and hid her from us!” Charon appeared, the shadow from the large jar rippled and moved, forming into cloke as the skeleton pony stepped out from under it, and wrapped herself in it. After her, and in much of the same way came Hel, and another robed skeleton, whom hid their face. “All the while telling us that she was contained, that she would never be free to rampage again. So tell me, how has that worked out!”

Hades looked from Charon, over to myself, and then back to Charon. “So this is your work Charon? I expected this from Izanami, but not you.”

Charon looked away. “I may be a spirit of death, but that doesn't mean I’m eternal. And for a ‘god’, neither are you. We’re all worried that when the day comes, whomever takes your place will not be able to defeat her.” She trotted over to the table flanked by the two other skeletons, choosing to sit at the midway point between the ‘gods’ and I. “When I learned that this one had been touched by Phobetor, I knew it was already too late. I could not afford to wait any longer for guidance, and action needed to be taken.”

“I agree with Charon.” Hel spoke up. “A nightmare born from the dreams of gods is already dangerous, but with the state of the world as it is, we could see another necromantic uprising once again. One not seen for thousands of years, one without a guardian to counter it.”

“The flame of hope has only recently returned to its rightful place, and it still needs more time to grow in strength again. Phobetor has know this from the moment it disappeared.” The third skeleton spoke, his voice as wispy and cold as the others, but also deep like a bass guitar. “If allowed to establish herself, the mother of all necromancy will reign unopposed. So I see Charon’s actions as more than justified.”

I raised a hoof. “Uh, excuse me?” All three skeletons turned to me in unison. “So are you saying that you planned on letting Phobetor free? Why the fuck would you do that!”

“I have a good idea why.” Hades sighed. “Go and look inside the jar, and I will explain.”

It was an odd request, but I complied. Climbing up onto the table, I trotted up to the jar. The marble lid was heavy, and despite my still broken legs, I managed to push it off. Sitting inside, was a single, small blue flame. It was nothing like my own flame that I felt burning inside of me. No, this flame was lighter in color, almost white, and incredibly warm. For some reason which I couldn’t put into words, just looking at it made me feel that everything… like it was all going to be okay.

“That is the flame of hope.” Hades explained. “It has the power to banish evil, and inspire the good that burns inside all of ponykind. It’s a weak flame however, so it cannot be used every time evil rears its head. So we protect it here, in this dark place, where only those who need it the most will seek to find it. But somehow, over two hundred years ago, pony kind managed to unintentionally steal it. Even we do not yet understand how, and yet, not too long ago it returned to us. Sadly, the flame still needs many more years to grow back to it’s previous strength. But it is our only effective weapon to use against Phobetor, without it, there is little chance we could stand against her once her plans come to fruition.”

“Then we must strike before she can regain her full strength!” Charons shouted, slamming a hoof down on the table hard enough to rattle the jar. “She is still vulnerable right now, so if we can draw her out, then we can beat her.”

“How?” I closed the lid, and turned to Charon. “It’s not like we can just throw out some bait, and wait for her.”

Hel chuckled. “Actually that's exactly what we intend to do. Well, not exactly, but She will show herself if we have something she wants.”

“And that is?” I asked.

“To win.” Hades answered. “She can’t take a loss, not unless it’s one she plans to have. It’s something she inherited from her creators, the drive to be better, to be perfect. If victory is at hoof, and then stolen from her, she will not be able to resist stepping in to take back her victory. She got that quirk from Zeus and Aries, those two would rather see a city crumble then admit when they were wrong. Hubarus as it’s called, and it was how Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded were able to draw her to be captured. They set up a simple trap, and Phobetor thought herself too smart for it work to work on her.”

I thought about it for a moment, and felt a cold shiver run down my spine. “The equalists. She said that she was going to take control over them.”

Caron tilted her skull at me. “Then the equalists must fight for her, and be brought to the edge of victory before they are smashed down. Only then will Phobetor show herself.”

“You know what you’re asking for, right?” I glared at Charon. “How many ponies will be killed if the equalist go on the warpath?” I sharply jabbed at the side of the marble jar as I narrowed my eyes to her. “You said this thing was the only way to beat her. So if we don’t have the flame of hope to use on her, then what weapon do we have? Unless you have the elements of harmony, I read about that being used on Nightmare Moon?”

“No, and even if we had, and could use such artifacts, all it do is imprison her again.” Caron ancewed before using her hoof to draw an image of a mushroom cloud on the ground. “But if she was hit by a concentrated chaotic magic in a violent burst, it would be able to damage the nightmare enough to shake her from her mortal bindings.”

I narrowed my gaze at Caron, understanding at what she was suggesting. “So you want me to drop a megaspell on her?”

“Close.” The third pony spoke up. “We have already planned this out between us, and want you to enhance the megaspell bomb with the death magic gifted to you.”

“Gifted?” I growled at them. “Gifted!?”

“That was a poor choice of words, and we apologise for that.” the third skeleton spoke up. “But if Phobetor is burnt by death magic in that way, then she will no longer be able to hide from us, after that we can remove the Dullahan curse around your neck. But for now, it is necessary to stop Phobetor. Kill her, and you can return to being a living pony.”

I closed my eyes, the sound of being normal again gave me some hope. “Liar.” But like everything always turned out to be, it was a false hope. “Those touched by death magic, belong to the dead. Isn’t that what you told me, Charon?”

“So very true.” The third skeleton chuckled as both Charon and Hel face hoofed. “Sorry for the poor attempt at deception, my name is Thanatos, by the way.”

I returned to my seat, eyeing Thanatos carfily. “Alright, Thanatos, then tell me this. Why me? Don't you have other dullahans out there?”

“Long ago, we indeed had many.” Thanatos pulled back his hood, and stretched out two bone wings. “The undead were either our servants, or abominations that needed to be destroyed. It was how we maintained balance, and kept evil from bathing the mortal realm in darkness. But long ago, two alicorn sisters traversed the land together, not just purging evil, but healing the damage left behind. They did what the gods failed to do, and kept evil from reforming within the pony lands for generations.”

“Celestia and Luna.” I made an educated guess.

He nodded. “When they ascended to that of nobility, with subjects to protect, the two sought out solutions to the problem of the numerous other evil creatures in this world. Solutions that would last for generations more than their original actions. And, with mighty heroes to aid them, evil was driven from Equestria, and into the deepest darkest corners of the world. From there, the remaining old gods, spirits of death, and great guardians sealed them away. We banished them to other worlds, and a few were even wholey purified. So successful was it, that the mortals soon began to forget the dangers that evil possessed, as they were now masters of their own world. And from then on, the princesses became the guardians of peace, and their mighty heroes kept evil from returning to swallow the land once more.”

I leaned back, not sure if I could even believe what he was saying. “So, what you're saying, is that you put yourselves out of the job?”

“It is more that we shifted our roles to that of simply maintaining the world behind the scenes.” Persephone clarified. “We had seen ponykind flourish in spite of your flaws, and had elected to merely watch as you wove your own fates.”

“Exactly.” Thanatos nodded again. “We no longer needed revenants of the dead to hunt down dark spirits, corrupt souls, and necromancers. Those heroes of the land managed to keep them at bay. And, by Celestia's request, we let the dead rest, and made no new allies to aid in their defeat. However, as you know, the world has once more changed. While there are indeed heroes fighting against the darkness, we have deemed that they are not enough to maintain a balance, and so once more we must act as we once did.”

“So I’m the first undead hunter in a long time then?” I asked, feeling a bit irritated by this. Seriously, couldn’t they have had a contract to sign or something? Put your name along the dotted line to fight evil golden-eyed bitches for all eternity. And if you act now, we’ll chop off your fucking head too!

The three skeletons looked at each other. Their bones rattling before Charon answered. “No.” That… wasn’t the answer I’d expected. “You are simply the first dullahan we have created. With the ascension of the princesses from their mortal forms, and no successor, the old treaties have long since voided. We have created many stewards to maintain places such as this, keeping these evils contained until the mortal realm can recover enough to take over once more. However, our actions are mostly limited to these realms, and such we need ponies like you to help push back the evil that has swept through the lands.”

“Right, that all makes sense, at least on the surface.” I think I was coming to understand the situation, and it didn't sound good. “But that still doesn’t explain why you chose me. There's got to be other better ponies to turn undead?”

“Even with all of our power and knowledge, we are still shackled to the prospect of convenience.” Charon answered. “Rituals, and binding spells are required, otherwise the soul become disturbed and corrupt. It's why those brought back by necromancer come back strange, emotional and violent. Your soul had already become detached, but your body was still living. In effect, you had already long become the undead, it's just that your body had not yet accepted it. In other words, a perfect vassel. So I made use of you, and interweaved your soul with my own spirit. The power you now draw upon to sustain yourself, is in fact, my own.”

A howl made me flinch, it sounding of three great beasts closing in. No one else but Hades paid the sound any mind, the god smirking as i could hear it step closer. I turned in time to see an absolutely massive black three headed dog, walk up onto the pillar. In one of its mouths was a bent lurker spear, covered in slobber.

Hades got out of his seat, and trotted over to Cerberus, reaching a hoof out to it. “Who’s a good boy?” The terrifying dog then rolled over, letting Hades rub its belly. “You’re a good boy, yes you are! Your such a good boy, helping me get rid of those meddling intruders. You’re the best boy.” Hades sounded more like doting dog owner than what I imagined the god of the underworld should sound. Cerberus gave a happy bark, blasting me with a gust of foul smelling dog breath.

From where Cerberus had come from were even more large dogs, far smaller than the three headed hound, but bigger than myself. A few of them were Orthrus, and there were six large black dogs with bright red eyes. They all happily pranced around Hades, as he tried to give them all attention. I looked over at Persephone, and she gave me a knowing shrug. Who knew, Hades was a huge dog pony?

We waited for Hades to finish babying his dogs before he put on a strong face that no longer held its intimidating effect. His gaze fell onto me, and I did my best to not smirk.

“Miss Vibraphone Echo, now that all the other intruders have been thrown out,” He looked over at Blackspots body for a second. “or rather, eliminated, I believe it is time for you to leave. I will not pressure you into fighting Pandora, and if you wish, I can have you sent to a place far from any conflict. We have asked enough of you as is, so I can at least grant you that should you wish it. Though I’m sorry, but returning you back to a living pony has long since become beyond my power. Know that you will still age in the mortal realm, and you can still be injured. However, should you wish it, you can still live a peaceful life, for what's left of it.”

“You offer her the choice to leave!?” Charon shouted as she sat up. “At a time like this!?”

“Silence!” He held his head up, and glaring down at Charon. “You don't get to argue with me, death spirit. The lives of mortals are not game pieces for you to move at your own whims. That is for the gods to decide, as is our right.”

“It's fine, Charon.” I spoke up before taking a deep breath, sighing slowly. “Don't get me wrong, I think that all of this is beyond messed up. But as much as I hate the way things have turned out, I'm not going to just let Phobetor have her way. She started this fight, and after all I’ve been through, all I’ve lost, I’m going to finish it. If I get to beat the Equalists down at the same time, fine, I call that justice.” I looked over at the broken Lurker spear that Cerberus had been chewing on, reminding me that I still don't know if I did kill Berenice. “Those other intruders you got rid of, did they have a leader? Possibly one that I shot in the face?”

Hades paused for a moment, scratching his beard. “There was one that was being fiercely protected, and if I must say, quite obnoxiously loud.”

Yep, Berenice was still alive, the fucking rad-roch. “If you put her back on the Islands, I want you to take me to her. She did something unforgivable, and I plan to rectify that mistake.”

“I understand.” He gave a clap of his hooves as his muzzle widened into a smug smirk. “I have returned the creatures near where they entered Tartarus. I can send you there, if you wish.” Hades looked me over, and sighed. “But, I doubt you will be able to do much on those legs once I return you there. Outside the bounds of this realm, they will return to the shattered junk they look like they are.”

Looking down at Minerva, the pipleg could be salvaged, but that take a skilled technician. “That's true, I still don't know how I managed to walk all the way here. And I doubt you have any cybernetics I could borrow.”

He clapped his hooves together, and a wave of magic bust like a gust of wind. Appearing out of thin air was a full suit of jet black full plate armor. It didn't look anything special, but something about it felt powerful. “I’ll lend you the legs of this meteoric armor. It will stand up to most mortal weapons, but more importantly it will let you stand up against Pandora’s magic, as well as to simply stand up at all.”

“So you kept it, after all this time!” Persephone jumped off her seat and over to the armor. “You're just too sentimental, darling.” Hades blushed brightly as Persephone trotted over to me. “Now let me get you into that armor, I bet you will look absolutely dashing.”

I tried to backup, but once Persephone had me, it was like trying to get out from under a mountain. She quickly stripped me of my clothes, as well as the bit of dignity I had left. Removing the full plate armor legs from the rest of the suit, she then used them to replace my broken cyber legs, fastening them in place, the straps going around my chest, barrel, and hips. Surprisingly, I was able to stand up easily with the armor legs, though it felt awkward to stand without anything attached to my connectors. And despite not having any legs to stabilize the armored metal legs, they would moved as if I had flesh and blood in them. More than that, with the armored legs on, I felt lighter somehow.

“Oh good, the enchantment still works.” Persephone said happily, clopping her hooves together. “You should find that the armor moves as you want it to, and with ease.”

Moving the leg, it wasn’t just like I had a leg inside it, I could actually feel it as though I had real legs. “What… how is this?”

“Like I said, it's made from meteoric iron.” Hades trotted over to me. “I had it forged for my dear wife long ago, though I could never justify sealing such beauty away underneath it. It was made so that she could easily get away from any perceivable danger, while protecting her perfect beauty from all damage. And while she has never once needed it, this is not yours to keep. I expect it back once your task is complete, do you understand?”

I nodded, but then Persephone nudged me and giggled. “There he goes again. Ignore the ‘tough stallion’ act. Even a fool could see that he likes you.”

“Her deeds are impressive...” Hades grumbled as he tried to save face. “for a mortal, that is.”

The new magical legs were nice, though after taking a few steps, I noticed that I left a thin trail of fog behind me. I hoped that it was only because I was in Tartarus, otherwise, that was going to make running away awfully hard to do against anypony who could follow a straight line.

After putting my dress back on, I placed my broken pipleg into my bag, and brushed myself off. “Alright, I'm ready to go back.”

“One more thing before you go.” Thanatos came trotting over, getting close. “No one here will care if you tell others about what you have seen, but be warned; if Phobetor hears of this, she will only become harder to draw out. Play the vengeful wraith, let her know that you alone have come for her. Make it all about her, that all of your rage is because of her. Do that, and it will feed her ego, her hubris, and blind her to your true objective.”

“Also!” Charon spoke up. “Undead doesn't mean immortal, just that you’re no longer part of the natural living world. Like Hades mentioned, you can still be injured, which means you can still die. All any pony needs to do is destroy your head. Your body can heal almost any injury, but it doesn't matter if your head is destroyed. Keep that in mind, so more than anything else, protect it.”

“If my head is my main week point, then can I also take the helmet from that armor?” I asked earnestly.

Haides shook his head. “That be a bad idea, Phobetor would recognize the hemet immediately, and will know I aided you. The legs will not be as recognizable to her, as you old back legs look similar. But if your successful in this endeavor, I will grant you the use of the entire armor, even have the helm reforged to fit your horns.”

“Right then, I’ll be careful who I talk too, and do my best to not lose my head.” I lifted my head up with my hooves, and used them to nodd. “So pretty much just survive, just as always in the metros.” Turning to Hades, he nodded at me, and lifted up a hoof high, calling Cerberus to him. With three loud barks, a portal appeared above Hades, and found myself being sucking in. Taking a deep breath, I let the portal pull me in, resolute in what I must do.

I had become an aspect of death, a vengeful spirit born of the gods to drive back the darkness.

More importantly than that though, I had some bitches to kill.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

-

Footnote:

Quest Perk Gained - Meteoric Legs (You’ve just been literally Deus-Ex-Machina’d. Now you own a set of near indestructible magical legs. Your legs can no longer be crippled, and you cannot be slowed by unfavorable ground.)

Chapter 55 - Royals who bleed blue

My meteor iron hooves hit hard ground, echoing loudly, announcing my return to Marewaii.

Opening my eyes, I found myself in the lobby of Labs D. The bodies of the long dead ponies were still scattered around here, but the rest of the lab was simply gone. Just outside the doorway was a void, but not like the ones before. This was more natural, no odd-magic involved, as though Labs D just picked up and moved elsewhere. I tossed a small piece of the broken flooring over the edge and listened. It hit the bottom a few seconds later with a reverberating echo, then... nothing. All I could guess was that when the megaspell finally imploded, it took the labs D with it, wherever that might be.

Turning around, I trotted over to the elevator, and with no other option, I stepped inside and hit the up button. A loud ding announced the closing of the large elevator doors, and soon after, it started to ascend. I felt that I should be a bit worried about being in this old wartime deathtrap, but maybe because it was Stable-Tec I was sure it was going to last long enough for me to get up and out of here. The upbeat and repetitive elevator music started up, only to short circuit out.

Small blessings I guess, but it was replaced by the sound of rusted cables straining, and old gears grinding together. Something told me from the fact those sounds were getting louder and more frequent, that even if it was Stable-Tec, it wasn’t planning on more than getting me to the top. Almost to punctuate that, a thick snap came as one of the cables finally gave, making the remaining few let out a chorus of groans as we slowed and arrived at the final floor.

When the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, I jumped out, turning just in time to see the elevator give up the ghost, and fall. The sound of the metal grinding together was like that of a monsters death waile before ending in a crash. The heavy box sent up a plume of dusty stale air through the old shaft, pushing a small cloud of the stuff out around me. I coughed and wafted it away before deciding that it was best to get moving before any more of this place decided it was time to come down once and for all.

Labs C looked… bad. Not dark magic floor bad, but abandoned for two hundred years bad. Rust was everywhere, less than half the lights were working, and the air was even more stale than anywhere else I’d been so far. The floor was now a normal metal floor, highly corroded, but not magical at all. With no reason for me to stick around, I made my way to the stairwell, retracing my steps.

Ascending to the next lab, Labs B was more of the same, though the spike pit separating the two stairwells was still there, and a lot of the mad rambling, the magic was gone. I didn’t need my goggles to be able to move about now, though I was in more of a need for light, as the much darker hallways made it hard to walk through.

Peering in one of the rooms with a working light inside, I found the same creepy terminal setup that most of the other rooms had held, but the screen was only static now. The room itself was an old stable-tec diner. The red and white checkered floors reminded me of some of the other restaurants in the metros, and it made my stomach grumble to just look at. Feeling that I might as just well take a look, I trotted in, and jumped behind the counter.

Much of what might have been food had long turned to dust, which should have been expected really. All that was left was a small fridge with its own spark battery, and by opening it, caused it’s slim trickle of power to finally fail. Inside I found more Stable-Tec MRE’s and some of the green soda. Digging in, I greedily devoured all I could. It tasted like I was eating fresh grass, with a hint of fruit, which was oh so welcoming after the day I’ve had.

When I was done, there was only two of each MRE pack left, of which, both went into my saddle bag next to Minerva.

I didn’t waste more of my time in Labs B, and quickly trotted to the other stairwell. The lack of Lurkers made me paranoid. Knowing of their natural magic, they could easily sneak up on me if I wasn’t careful. But with only one way to go, I just had to be vigilant, and deal with them when or if it happened.

Trotting into Labs A, it was more of the same, except the junk wall separating us from the other stairwell had been torn down, giving me easy access to the next floor up.

Further up, I entered the stables large atrium, still junk everywhere, graffiti decorating the walls, but missing from it was the two black eyes. In their place was two scorch marks, the wall having shown minor signs of melting. How this happened, who knows. It was clearly magic, though proper answering would need to be made by the eggheads who like this kind of stuff, not that I’d care enough to ever ask once I was out of this shithole.

Entering the warehouse was a whole different affair. Though the structure was still the same, the bodies of stable ponies littered the floor. All in advanced stages of decay, and ripped to pieces. Berenice had been thorough in dismantling the twitchers, though it didn’t explain why they were now rotting so fast.

A hoof step caught my attention as a twitcher stepped out, it looking ragged like some of the other ghouls I’ve seen before. It still had it’s awkward walk, its head twitching, and opening and closing its mouth. But its eyes were no longer a dark void, simply instead a blank milky white.

I raised my revolver, and fired.

The shot hit it between the eyes, blowing out the back of its head and setting its face alight in blue flames. The ghoul fell to the ground with a pained whinney and ceased moving. It was clearly dead, but my shot had echoed through the warehouse and called other twitchers to my position. There were six more of them coming in that I could see. Only one of them still looked in good condition, well, as good as a two century old ghoul could look. Pulling my second revolver out, I took careful shots on each one of them, the ghouls going down far easier than before.

With the twitchers no longer being a major threat, I moved on. Seeing the auto-wagon in the middle of the warehouse reminded me of Harp and of my bad call. I should have had her stay in the hiding spot, wait until everything blew over. Maybe I could have teleported out of here, and contacted Orthrus about her location. I could have turned down Charon so long ago, and waited the extra days to recover. At least then we might have never been in this situation in the first place, but then I could have lost Sweet and Merit. After meeting the queen, I could have convinced Harp that simply leaving the stable was the better idea, let the pirates have it, not like we could have stopped them.

I shook off the thoughts, I had too, and continued forward. Killing four more twitchers along the way, I made my way to the oversized stable door. I was met by a humming robot sweeping the floor. It was a ponytron, painted blue with yellow accents with the stable-tec logo branded on its flanks. It stopped when it noticed me, and we stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Oh tarnation, my sensors must be busted, It told me that no living pony was still in the stable, but here you are, intruder.” The robot had a feminine farmer accent, just like the one I had heard before getting to the stable.

I sighed. “You must be A.P.P.L.E.?”

“Darn tootin’ right I am!” the robot aggressively ancered. “And you better leave before you get in even more trouble, missy. Stable-Tec is not going to be pleased that you broke in here, it’s private property, ya know. Honestly, y’all should be glad I don’t go and shoot you for this offence. I mean look at this mess! What did you do, stop and use the door as target practice?”

I was not going to argue with the Apple, leaving was what I wanted to do in the first place. “I’ll be going, sorry for the mess.”

“You’d better be!” the robot huffed, watching me as I trotted to the now fully opened door. The walkway was now fully extended, giving me easy asses out of the stable, and into the dark tunnel.

I noticed the faint smell of pollen in the air, leftovers from when everyone and the lurkers charged down here. Not wanting to test how undead I was, I placed my gas mask on. Funny, the whole matter of putting it on was made easier by the fact that I could remove my head. My new horns were in the way at first, but I’d figure it out. The whole business of what I was now was going to be something I needed to get used too after all. After a minute of my body fiddling with the straps, the mask was on securely enough for my liking.

Opting to let my head hover to test my strange new magic, I found that my body had no difficulty with traveling in the dark. In little time, we… I had reached the entrance to the show stable, one little light illuminating the area in front of the door. I took the opportunity to look at myself in the dim lighting.

Like with the fight with Phobetor, my body was roughed up. My dress had little tears all over it, and the white apron was pretty much gone. Grime and dust coated my tail, and probably my mane as well. But my new legs shined, the black iron both intimidating, and elegant. The fog had gone away, but I had a theory on where it had come from.

“Alright, let's test this out.” I said to myself. Concentrating, I pulled at the death magic from somewhere deep down, the cold flame burning up into me. The small blue flame at my neck was set ablaze, and sparks of blue flame danced around me. Slowly, the fog rose up from my new legs, returning to the consistency I’d seen earlier. My body looked like a monster from an old horror comic book, or art from nightmare nights.

Putting my head back on, I trotted inside, ready for the lurkers eventual ambush.

*Bing Bong Ding!* The speakers chimed to life, followed by Apple’s overly cheery voice. “Stable-Tec security will be available to greet you in the hotel lobby, please don't keep them waiting.”

“Shit!” I burst into a gallop. Apple was likely referring to Orthrus security, and if Berenice was still is in the area, they were going to get slaughtered.

I rounded the generators, and through the lit up hall. The arrows telling me to go the opposite direction were a big help finding my way out, that and Apple yelling at me on the speakers about not running gave me some self satisfaction.

Entering the display stable’s atrium, I skidded to a stop, my hooves scratching along the metal plated floor. Surrounding me on my level, and a floor up, were the lurkers. Sitting at the top of the stairs was Berenice herself, resting on a large moldy pillow, a towel covering her face. Two heavily armored lurkers flanked Berenice, both with a large chitin shields, and chitin spears. I drew my revolvers, and Berenice guards raised their shield to block me from shooting her.

“Monster!” Berenice yelled.

“Pot, meet kettle!” I yelled back.

The two guards moved their shields out of the way, Berenice now sitting up straight on her cushion. “If I must become one, so be it. It all will be worth it, protecting our future from the destruction that your kind can only bring upon us!”

The crowd of lurkers burst into cheers and chants. “Death to pony kind!” And “ All hail the pony slayer Berenice.” Were repeated loudly.

Berenice motioned her hooves for the other lurkers to settle down, they following her direction almost immediately. “I know not how you are here, that matters not to me anymore. I want you to undo what you did, and do it now!” She shouted the last word, making all the lurkets flinch.

I laughed, I couldn't help it. “After what you have done, you think you have the right to make demands. But if you want something, I can give you some lead.”

The other lurkers jeered at me, but quieted down at Berenices directions. She lifted her mouth claws, and used them to remove the towel from her face. On either side of her head was a crack in her chitin, a glowing bright blue that even affected her ear like fins. Opening her eyes, I could see that they were like a bright red sphere in the middle of glowing blue water. I could feel it, an echo of death magic now lingering inside of her.

I watched as her eyes darted around, looking at something the other lurkers could not. “This curse you have placed upon me, I now see those who no longer live.” Taking a deep breath, she refocused her gaze onto me. It felt like she was looking through me, and at what I truly was now. “The drowned ponies, they follow me. Stare at me, and I cannot make them go away. Remove it, I cannot be distracted by the likes of the dead.”

I scowled at her. “Berenice…” A wide smile formed on my face. “I don't care. I didn’t do this to you, and to be honest, I’d rather let that curse dive you mad. I kind of want you to suffer. But if you’re really that adimate that I remove it, well, putting you out of everypony's misery just feels like the best choice, and logicly, it is.”

I scanned the room, my eyes whipping around, but I still could see everything clearly. Most of the Lurkers on my level were of the non-glowing kind, lightly armed and armored. They were clearly not seen as important as the others. However, some sparkle-lurkers down here were better off, equipped with heavier armor, and clubs. My guess was that they were there to keep the other lower lurkers in line. Above me, the arms and armor that the lurkers had became more impressive, and was more decorated the closer they were to Berenice. Other than the two guards, many of the lurkers close to Berenice had armored sand-lurks with them, a few sitting on the sand-lurks. It was clear that Berenice had formed a class based order, one that utterly outnumbered me.

“Disgusting pony, all you ever can do is spit bile.” Berenice raised her hoof, and all eyes fell onto her. “With so much, I wonder, how does your food taste? I can not imagine soaking it in your digestive fluids before consuming it makes it taste great. But it would go far to explain why all you food is nothing but tasteless preservatives.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What are you getting at Berenice?”

Her mouth claws moved, forming what looked like a smile. “Just having a thought. Maybe if I made you eat your words, then you would understand. But if everything tastes like bile to you, then it's a meaningless gesture.” She slapped the ground with her middle fin leg, and a lurker came to her with a seashell decorated chitin helmet, and a chitin mace made from a sand-lurk claw. “I want to test this theory. Now, my subjects, disarm that monster!”

The horde descended upon me, holding me down, and taking my guns. A few decided to kick me, one spat on me. But as soon as it started, it was over as they away from me again.

Getting up, I watched as Berenice slowly descended the stairs, holding the mace in her face claws. “Now It's been some time last that I got to practice interrogation on a pony, so bear with me. The few we've had managed to capture were a bit too fragile, but at least their meat went to good use. So let us see exactly how long you will last...”

She raised her mace, and brought it down at me. I managed to lift a leg up to stop it, and braced myself for the pain. Instead all I felt was a push on my shoulder, and a loud “ping” sound from the impact. Berenice took a step back, and glared at me.

“It's meteoric iron bitch, forged for a god.” I lunged forward, and kicked at her.

Berenice took the hit, it making a loud thud on her chitin armor, and in retaliation, went for a kick of her own, hitting me in the side. I had to stumble back, as the force of the blow nearly knocked me over, but being use to getting the wind knocked out of me, I managed to endure it.

“You will still fall pony, god legs or not.” She readyed her mace for another swing.

I jumped back, dodging the mace as it smashed into the ground. Berenice clenched her claws and lunged forward with an upward swing, though again I managed to block it. The force was enough that I was still pushed back, albeit less than the last hit. Though she was technically smaller than me, she was able to push me around like a doll. All I could do was match her for now, but that wouldn’t work forever. I had to think of a counter plan, and fast.

She launched another charge with her mace, and I jumped back right into a group of lurkers. They yelled and spit, but didn't interfere with me. Luckily, one of their guards was distracted enough for me to grab a chitin club. Taking it, I decided to go on the offensive and charged at Berenice.

To the cursed lurkers credit, she was ready for the attack, simply deflecting it away from herself. I kept running forward, avoiding her swift counter swing before skidding to a stop in front of more lurkers. Feeling rightfully annoyed, I spun and threw the club at her. She easilly knocked it out of the way, sending it skidding across the floor past the crowd of lurkers surrounding us.

“All you got pony? You need me to give you another weapon?” She mocked as she readied for another attack.

She was slow, but powerful, like a trap baiting me to get in close before getting crushed. I chose to keep to her side, countering each of her swings with a jab from my hooves.

The lurkers continued to cheer Berenice on, and jeere at me as we circled each other. She was too slow to catch me off guard, but I didn't have the power to do enough damage to matter. This stalemate needed to end, so I needed her to slip up.

“This is what happens when you only fight those who can't fight back.” I mocked her. “Anypony can swing a club like a brute. Face it Berenice, you’re just a thug, drunk on your own power.”

“Oh, the monster pony has a point to make.” She said with a laugh. “Deaf ears it lands on, we all know the strong rule. For the strong do as they must, the weak suffer what they must, just like your companions.” Berenice laughed louder. “That pony we blined, mother was going to let go. Mother is too weak to follow laws, laws I convinced the others to alter. The same laws I have reminded mother to follow.”

My blood boiled like never before, but I could see no opening to attack. All I could do was grind my teeth. I needed something more than simple insults in order to get under her stupidly thick carapace.

“She's a fool you know,” Berenice continued. “my mother, she even trusted a ghoul once. It convinced her to have us repair a ship we found under the water. When it could float, the wizard executed our kind and left. Another betrayal of ponies that could have been avoided!” She smashed her mace on the ground with enough force to make my ears ring. “You ponies lie, cheat, kill and destroy. But we see through you. We kill before you kill.”

“And that's why you tormented your sister!?” I spat back at her. “No, you just enjoy inflicting pain, while everything else is an excuse. Admit it, you love to hurt not just ponies, but even your own kind!”

Berenice stopped moving, the handle in her mouth claw cracked. “My sister is mine, what I do is out of love. To help her not make the same mistakes as mother. But you, you, you, you corrupt her. Lie to her. And given time, you will betray her.”

“I would do no such…” She threw her mace at me, forcing me to block it, and cut off what I was going to say.

“Silence, monster!” Berenice yelled. “I will not suffer one more lie! Not one more mockery! I will rip you apart bit by bit!” She lunged at me, her mouth claws extended at me.

I managed to defend myself, her claws clamping down on my iron legs. “You’re nothing more than a delusional and genocidal crab, leading your kind into extinction!” I shouted at her.

A shriek from Berenice made my vision blur, and ears go deaf. I could feel her push me back into a wall, before placing a hoof on my chest. “Die in agony, pony.”

As my vision return to normal, the preset on my chest increased, as though I was being crushed by a bolder. I looked down at her, gritting my teeth, and we locked eyes. Unlike all the other times, the evil eye felt natural, fueled by my death magic. The power flooded into my eyes, and I burned my glare at Berenice. But she did not stop pushing into me, suffocating me. As the look of fear grew on her face, the more she pushed, the more she hated me.

“Enough!” A voice so loud that every creature stopped to hold their ears fins, even forcing Berenice to stop.

A Sparkle-Lurker in a dress made from a starfish decorated fishnet and a crown of coral stepped down the stairs. Each step felt made with purpose, each glance she passed across the room sent the others into a bow. The only lurker this could be was Andromeda, and looking closer, she was definitely walking on platform shoes.

“What… what are you doing here, mother?” All the fear and hatred for me drained from Berenice, replaced by a new, deeper fear.

Andromeda stood as tall as she possibly could, looking down at us. “You didn't think I would not know what you were up too. Waging war on ponies, seeking out Mayall. All after I told you not to!”

Berenice clenched her claw mouth. “Why? Why not attack ponies, kill ponies, make them hide from us. Why must you make us hide when we can stand above them!” She stomped on the ground and pointed at her mother. “Show her your strength, my subjects!”

For the lurker queens credit, she didn’t flinch at all as six non glowing lurkers jumped at her, nor flinch when a hail of bullets rained down on them, turning them and those around them into minced meat. The lurker guards from their nest were now above us, armed with crude looking gatling guns, all aimed down at us.

“Cowards!” Berenice growled. “I may not be strong enough for you yet, mother, but I will at least have this!” She pressed down on me, forcing the air out of my lungs. “Die monster!”

*Bang!*

Berenice fell over, clenching the hoof she was trying to crush me with. Shimmering into my vision, a suit of blue power armor appeared, as though from thin air, magical aura slowly dissipating from it. It didn’t look like that of the pirates, or the Orphic kingdom. It was much newer looking, its yellow painted hydraulics were exposed, and had padded armor under its plastic like plating. On its chest and flanks was the symbol of Orthrus displayed in bold yellow.

“Thank Celestia you’re alright, Vibraphone.” A robotic voice came from the armor pony as she took a hoof to her helmet, and lifted it up. Temboril, my sister's partner, looked at me with conceded eye. “Where's Harp?”

My chest tightened as everything seemed to slow down. I didn't want to say it, not now, not when I wanted to hold onto my hate. But the tears well up despite my attempts to hold them back. “I…” I grabbed onto Temboril, pulling myself close to her, trying to hide my tears. “I lost her. We were so close, so fucking close to getting away. Just a few more seconds, that was all we needed.”

A laugh came from Berenice. “Then down she fell, should have dropped yo…”

Temboril shut her up with a kick. “I’m not in the mood, glow crab!” She turned back to me, her eyes filled with rage “Fuck! The boss is not going to take this well at all.” She backed up, and trotted over to Andromeda, her revolver still out. “Lurker Queen, just what the fuck are you doing here.”

“Our quarrel is not with you, pony.” Andromeda starred down the specter, not showing any signs of being intimidated. “I am recovering my fool of a daughter, and her merry band of idiots.”

I slowly got back on all four, only for an even glowier lurker came from the balcony above to jump down and press me into a tight hug. “You had me worried, why pony always must leave friends?” Mayall yelled as she held me tight.

“Stop Mayall, your squeezing too tight.” I weized.

“No, friends don't let friends get captured… again.”

I felt something grab my head. “Don't touch this monster, sister mine!” My head was lifted up right off of my shoulders by Berenice. Mayall, looking up at me, fainted while still holding my body.

“Vibraphone, no!” Temboril whipped around, pulling out a bigger gun, the lurker guards revving there gatling gun motors, and the other lurkers hugged the wall. “You bastards! I will give you the count of three!” Temboril snarled as her gun crackled with electricity, and a shell of magical armor wrapped around her power armor. “Then all of you die.”

I looked down at Mayall, and sighed. “Calm down Temboril, I’m fine.” The last thing I needed was for the enraged specter to spark up the situation she’d just defused.

Tamboril blinked and stared at me for a moment. Understandably, she looked confused while her guns dropped onto the floor. Berenice was froze In shock, and some of her lurkers fainted like just like Mayall did.

My body managed to slip out from Mayals tight hug, and punched Berenice straight in the gut, freeing my head from her grasp. I decided to kick her in the gut again to drive home my hatred for her.

Turning to the shocked and confused Temboril, I looked her in the eyes. “Can we talk in some place bett…”

“You… you…” I was cut off by a bigger hug from Andromeda. “You're just like the headless space pirates from the black nebula! Oh this is wonderful!”

Right, time for me to be confused...

____________________________________________

We trotted out of the show stable, I was lead by the lurker queen to a junk decorated conference hall. Scrap metal stars, and small rocket ships were displayed all over the place, similar to that of the Captain Andromeda's theme park ride. There was enough room for everyone, along with six more lurker guards armed with very heavy looking guns. Berenice had been wrapped in chains, and dragged in, while the rest of her gang were corralled to one side of the room. The six new guards the queen had brought with her had their guns sharply trained on them.

Floating around in the hall was the mister hooves robot, Forman, sorting through a few crates of junk. The robot spotted us, and its three eyes widened. “Ah, my lady Andromeda, good to see you. Though I do feel ashamed for you to see us so behind schedule, but young lady Berenice was insistent that we rid ourselves of the intruders.”

“Forman.” Andromeda said his name without emotion as she trotted up to the robot. “I thought you told me you could handle her. You said you would keep Berenice from trying to stir trouble with the ponies. But the first chance she gets, you let her run off after them.” The robot cowered back as it looked the other way. Andromeda turned around, and the lurkers who were part of Berenices group also cowered back. “And you all, did I not say to stay away from ponies, that acts of violence will only summon more into our nests? This is why we have rules, rules that if broken, must be punished. Severely!”

Andromeda scratched her head in frustration, and Mayall put her hoof on her mother's shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, mother dear.”

The lurker queen swatted Mayall’s hoof off of her. “And you. You're the one who started this whole mess. You could never leave things well enough alone, always trying to chase some dream, just like your father. And just like with him, it’s going to get you killed.” She eyed us and sighed. “Because of you and Berenice, there are more ponies snooping about our territory, and they’re hunting.”

Mayall, looked down at her hooves. “I... I didn’t…”

“Didn’t think!” Andromeda cut her off.

“Excuse me.” I spoke up, “But the Themapark is too dangerous for ponies to go into. I mean, we only went there because it was the closest landmark connected to the tunnels. No way the ponies of Charon stop would risk ever going out that far.”

“You are correct, the filthy ponies of that undercity rarely trot so far as our nest.” Andromeda nodded. “But ponies with ships that swim over both water and land have been transpassing on our territory. Unlike the scavengers, they are hunters, and have been targeting my kin. I’ve already lost a half dozen, for which I have made those ponies pay dearly.”

“Sounds like the republic.” Temboril’s voice was amplified by her armor. “From the intel Vibraphone had obtained, the republic has built a small armada of hover ships. But why hunt the lurkers?”

I sighed. “Simple, if they can brainwash a lurker, and plug them into the CCN, they have a soldier that can't be easily targeted by arcano tech sensors. I saw it happen back in the republic territory, the turrets and robots responding too slowly to Berenice's assault. By the time a defence was established, the station was already overrun.”

“That would be a game changer,” Temboril nodded. “Places like Orthrus which are protected by arcano-tech turrets could be easily taken out. Not to mention the lurker’s amphibious nature would give the republic an advantage in both sea and land engagements.” She sighed from within her armor and looked over at Andromeda. “Lurker Queen, It seems that we have a common enemy, which means we have similar goals.”

Andromeda didn't immediately respond, seemingly chewing on her words. She looked at Berenice, then myself, and back at Temboril. “You ponies think the enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the old saying goes.” Mayall gave a excitable gasp, and Andromeda rolled her eyes. “Yes, I have read those books you found, even if they’re not of my taste.” She returned her focus on us. “But no, I do not believe that having shared enemies makes us friends. Nor do we share the same goals. It is clear that these Islands have become too dangerous for my subjects. Let the ponies fight among each other, we will have no part.”

“Then why bring us here, why not just tell us to buzz off!” Temboril firmly raised her voice, causing the two guards protecting Andromeda to raise their guns.

“Maintaining order.” Andromeda looked over at the bound Berenice, the death magic touched lurker growled back at her mother. “My daughter has not once, but twice now interfered with ponies. Her punishment must be decided, otherwise more rebellions will follow.” She then looked passed Berenice, and at the lurkers who followed her. “Forgiveness can be granted, but…”

Andromeda stomped her hoof loudly on the floor, and the doors behind her burst open with lightly armored sparkle-lurkers rushing in. They quickly descended upon the non-glowing lurkers, subduing them, binding them with rope, and dragging them off by their tails. Kicking and screeching, we watched as each one of the non-glowing lurkers vanished from sight, and eventually out of earshot.

“I will not suffer having an inferior species mingle among my subjects.” Andromeda hissed as she eyed the other sparkle-lurkers, ending her gaze at a now very still Berenice. Mayall had also covered her eyes, clearly not wanting to witness the brutality. After a moment, every creature seemed to have calmed down, and Andromeda continued. “Now with that ugliness dealt with, I shall now proceed with the judgment upon my two daughters.”

“Ye… yes mother.” Mayall nervously answered.

Andromeda looked over at us, narrowing her vision. “You two shall give us your judgment after my own, as the representatives of ponykind.”

“Any judgment that is worth giving will be from my superiors.” Temboril responded.

I sighed. “My judgment will be far from unbiased, anything short of death for Berenice will just not do.”

“Firstly, Mayall.” Andromeda didn't acknowledge what we said, making it clear that our attendance must be more for show than anything. “Running away, contacting ponies, making deals with ponies, and… what you have become, what ponies have done to you.”

Mayall took a step back, and looked down at her hoof, the joint glowing brighter than the rest of the lurkers. “Mother…”

Andromeda cut Mayall off. “No, don't even try and make excuses. You knew this day was coming the moment you left. But then, to return like that? I raised you to be smarter than this.”

Looking about, all the lurkers were paying close attention, both Berenice’s group, and lurkers spying in from outside. It reminded me of the first time I had met them. The talk, the rules, and ultimately the punishment Sweet suffered. It was all there, it had to be, all so Andromeda could remain in control. An act like Harps family put on, all pretending to be a big happy family while ready to stab each other in the back just for a chance to get to the top. An act, like how the Republic pretends to be benevolent, a trap so to steal the free will of ponies. An act like every word that comes out of Red Steel’s mouth when not getting rutted.

I looked over at Temboril, and the emblem of Orthrus on her chest. An act, Orthrus does it too. One where they pretend to be the saviors of the metro, but not once trying to free us from our underground prison. Like the watchdogs of Tartarus, they do a dance to fool everyone that they are anything but simple guard dogs.

“EXILED!” Andromeda yelled, snapping my attention back to the queen lurker. “It is clear you cannot follow the rules, and your insistence on making friends with ponies is deplorable. It is clear that no matter where we go, you will bring ponies to us, and inevitably, be the cause for us being exterminated by them. For that, you shall never again be around your own kind. You are to be left out of our affairs, and if you should return, you will be treated as a trespasser and hunted down without mercy.”

Mayall took a nervous step back, but then stood tall, getting eye to eye with her mother, who stood on hoof extensions. “You’re wrong, Mother mine. Ponies can be our friends, they will not exterminate us. But if you keep thinking this way, when we need help the most, there will be no creature in this world that will care. That's when we will be exterminated.”

Andromeda grabbed Mayall by her ear spine... fin... thing, with her snout claw. “The words of an exile are meaningless. That is, unless you seek an even worse punishment.” She pushed Mayall off stage, and at us. “Do as you wish, consort with ponies, it is no longer a concern of mine. But do not dare to do so around me or my subjects, do you understand, exile?”

Mayall glared at her mother for a moment, then turned around and trotted to me and Temboril. She did her best to look strong, but the tears forming in her eyes betrayed her sorrow.

The lurker queen looked down at us. “Are ponies satisfied with this punishment?”

Temboril and I looked at each other, and I sighed before looking back at the queen. “What happens to Mayall is of non of our concern.” Temboril nodded in conformation. “She is welcome because she has done nothing to earn our scorn.”

“Then so shall it be!” Andromeda stomped on the ground, followed by the rest of the lurkers doing the same. “Next will be the judgment of Berenice. Bring her here to me.”

Two lurker guards trotted to, and lifted up Berenice, tossing her onto the stage like a sack of potatoes.

Andromeda looked down at her daughter. “Your crimes, how do I even begin? Where Mayall was going to destroy us through idealism, your actions alone are enough to unite ponies against us. Nothing ponies like more than a monster to slay.”

“And what you were doing is any better.” Berenice hissed. “Waiting for them to come for us. Relying on their old discarded tech, living in their old discarded structures. You’re nothing but a scavenger, prey for ponies to hunt for sport.”

Berenice received a swift kick to the gut from her mother. “And so you wanted to start a war when you are vastly outnumbered. It matters not how well trained your soldiers are, how sharp your spears are, or how tough the armor you make is. Meany ponies with bigger bullets will always win out in the end. And even if you find new weapon to fight ponies with, it's inevitable that they will make a weapon to counter yours, such is their nature.”

Andromeda trotted around her daughter. “So impatient, wanting to fight now, when you should have waited. Grow the nest, establish colonies, build better weapons. All before ponies know that we are a threat. But all that is ruined because of you, and now we have poneis hunting us. What do you say for yourself?”

“We should be hunting them!” Berenice laughed. “You do know that killing all the ponies here would be easy, right!? Flood them, starve them, make them kill each other. Then we would have all the room we need to grow, no more hiding. But you just don't want to see it. No, you’re too afraid of taking risks, and because of that, the nest stagnates.”

“If that's your finale statement, then I will commence with my judgment.” Andromeda took a deep breath, but before she could make her judgment, Berenice let out the loudest screech that had ever hit my ears, causing me to flinch and her mother to stumble back. Andromeda’s guards stepped in and trained their guns on her, one of them with a minigun in full spin.

The lurker princess continued to laugh, struggling against her bindings. “Mother, you're not one to make judgments. That’s for the strong, and you can only feign strength.” There was a thump, I could feel in through the ground.

“Berenice” Andromeda growled as she stabilized herself. “Stop whatever you're planning now, and just accept what comes.” another thump, closer.

Berenice wiggled herself to sit up straight, staring her mother in the eyes. “No. I am next in line for your throne. I’m the one who formed this band of warriors, and it’s I who turned the sand-lurks into weapons and armor. Face it mother, where you have cowered away, I will punish the ponies for what they did. I will find the wizard who wronged us first amongst ponies, and I will skin him alive. And that alone is why I am worthy of the title of queen.” One of the Lurkers from Berenice’s group stood up and began stopping its hoof on the ground, followed by the others, including some of those from outside. The roar of stomping putt the guards on alert, but they were clearly confused to what to do next.

“Silence!” Mayall yelled, her voice reverberating through my body, and stopping every creature. She looked about the room, rage in her eyes. “I may be an exile now, but if you wish to defy my Mother, your queen, then step forward. Show me your resolve, and I will show you how wrong you are!” She stood up tall, eyeing all the other lurkers.

The lurkers who were cheering for Berenice began to chuckle, which turns into a roar of laughter. One lurker stepped forward, covered in scratches, and a few holes in its fin. “Crying exile thinks she can fight? Fine, let’s fight.”

I stood up, but was blocked by Temboril, who shook her head. “This is not for ponies to get involved.” I sat back down, and felt another thump, closer now.

Mayall glared at the challenger, and the two extended their claws. The challenger lunged forward, but Mayall didn’t move, and locked her face claws with the other lurker. A struggle happened for a few seconds before the challenger seemed to be trying to pull away. But to no avail, she was trying to escape from Mayall’s grip but failing with each rough tug.

“You do know about the soft points in our joints.” Mayall spoke calmly. “Where our chitin is thinner, more flexible right?”

The challenger huffed as she tried to pull away, drops of blue blood now dripping from her claws.

“Berenice would always practice on hitting this points, squeezing them, finding where it hurts the most.” Mayall’s claws snapped shut, cutting the challengers claws off into two pieces each, sending blue blood splattering onto the floor. The challenger screeched as it stumbled onto the floor, cowering away from Mayall. She stepped forward towards Berenice’s group. “Who’s next!? Want me to show you how easily a leg can be ripped off? Or how fragile your eyes are. You want me to show you every kind of punishment my sister knows how to dish out?”

One by one the lurkers sat down, avoiding eye contact with Mayall, and she turned around and rejoined us, the blue blood spattered on her face.

“Now that you’re done playing games,” Andromeda spoke up. “I will make my judgm...”

An explosion ripped through the room as something crashed through the wall, sending dust and scrap metal everywhere. Tamboril maneuvered her armor to block much of the debris from hitting Mayall and I, and a shell of magical armor absorbed what did hit her. Even through the dust cloud I could see it. A massive claw, bigger than even a pony reached out to the stage, casting an even larger shadow.

The lurker guards began firing their guns, but were knocked back by a swing of the massive claw, of which blew away the dust. Before me, standing in front of the knocked down wall, was a massive blue and red crab, the likes I have never seen before. The gigantic mirelurk looked like a hermit crab without its shell, its chitin was like thick rock, unfazed by the gunshots the lurker guards fired at it.

“Tambanokano!” Mayall grasped. Temboril and I looked at her, and she sheepishly scratched her head. “It's my pet coconut crab, but I thought Berenice had killed him.”

An explosion shook the room, Tambanokano shaking off the hit as one of the lurker guards reloaded its crude looking RPG. The massive crab responded swiftly, thrusting its claw at the guard, and with one snap, split the lurker in two, including the RPG.

From under the gigantic crab, four armored lurkers rushed in ridinging sand-lurks, and attacked the guards. No longer under watch by the guards, some of the captive lurkers rushed the stage, quickly clawing at Berenices bindings, or blocking Andromeda. The queen’s two guards were dog piled by more of Berenices followers, preventing the heavy armored lurkers from being able to aim their heavy guns. Bursting through the doors like before were Andromeda's soldiers, who quickly overwhelmed the other lurkers on stage.

My attention on Berenice was broken when Temboril shoved me back as Mayall’s former pet readyed to attack us with its claw. The two of us backed up, drawing our guns, though I was unsure what damage my revolvers could do. The claw came down, sending splinters of wood, an chunks of concrete flying.

When the dust had cleared again, Mayall stood in front of the massive crab, unarmed, and unarmored. “Tambanokano, you remember me? Its me, your mama.” The idiot called out to the monster as it pulled back its claw for another attack.

I fired a few shots at it, but the bullets just bounced off its thick chitin. “Mayall, get over here before it kills you.!”

“Don't worry, I can get through to him!” She assured me.

If the situation hadn’t been so dangerous, I’d have face hoofed at the big dumb crab trying to tame an even bigger, dumber crab. But as it was, I was going to need to act fast.

“Minerva, S.A.T.S!” Nothing happened. I looked down and reminded myself that my pipleg was still broken, and still inside my bag… fuck!

*Crash*

The gigantic crab claw came down again, right where Mayall was standing.

“You damned idiot!” A cry came from Andromeda, and as the dust cleared, Mayall was on the floor, just mildly scuffed up. On top of her was Andromeda, missing a foreleg. “Get your head out of the clouds, and think about your future. If your going to lead your own nest, then start acting like a leader, and not some mary-sue wannabe!”

Again the massive crab got ready for another attack, and with little time to spare, I charged in. An explosive sounding zap came up from behind me, and one of the legs of the massive crab exploded, causing it to swing its claw wild, and slamming harmlessly away from the royal lurkers.

One of Berenice’s sand lurker riders charged at me, blocking me from the gigantic crab. I didn't have the luxury to go on the defensive, and dashed straight into the bastard. I got inside the reach of the lurkers pole weapon, and stuck my revolvers down the sand-lurkers throat, unloading what I had left. The mirelurk stumbled back, and fell over, throwing its rider off. The lurker scrambled to get back onto its hooves, but I jumped on it, as I reloaded. A shorter axe like weapon hit my leg, but bounced off with a shower of sparks. Glancing down, the lurker did no damage to the meteoric iron, and I smirked as I pointed my guns down at it’s face. With a pair of roaring shots, I turned the lurkers face into blue pulp before moving on.

The gigantic crab was now focusing on me as it struggled to keep stable. A clumsily thrown thrust came at me, the attack was too telegraphed for me to not be able to dodge it. Another explosive zapp blasted from behind me, but this time the attack only carved a deep gash into another of the crabs legs. Looking back, Temboril held a rail gun in her grasp, but was now being harassed by lurkers.

Another claw strike came at me, faster than before, giving me little time to dodge it. Feeling something pull at me, I saw that the crab had pinched one of my back legs. Quickly holding onto my head, I was hoisted up into the air.

My leg gave a stressed metallic groan, but held up under the crabs attempt at breaking it. Looking at the crab, I saw that this gave me an opening, I had a clear shot without the chaos below getting in the way. Taking aim, I fired at the one spot that never fails to hurt, its eyes.

It gave a screeching roar as it dropped me, and began to backed out of the room. I was not going to let it get away, and after landing on all fours, I charged again. The injured crab was off balance now, and only trying to swat me away. With a swift jump, I landed on its claw as the monster tried to grab me with its other one. But I just climbed closer to its face, and under its reach.

Protecting its eyes, the gigantic crab was frantically trying to stop me, so I changed targets. Aiming at its antenna, I fired at the connecting joint until the thing outright was severed off. This sent the crab into a fit of panic, and it began swinging its claws wildly as it charged forward into the inside wall.

It managed to knock me off, and I only just managed to avoid getting stomped. Tearing through the wall like it was paper, the massive crab sent up more dust into the already chaotic room. As the dust cleared and I picked myself up off the floor, I gazed into the hole it’d made to find it turning to look at me. Lifting both claws up, I knew the monster now personally wanted me dead. Another explosive zap came from Temboril, blasting off another legg from the same side as the first. The monster screeched again as it was sent falling over onto the floor.

Backing up, I got out of the range of the crabs claws, along with all the other lurkers. Though it could still use its other legs to move, its speed and overall mobility was all but gone. A lurker guard armed with a minigun stepped up next to me, and fired a long stream of led at the massive crab. Another guard with a rusty rocket launcher joined in.

Within a short time, the gigantic crab’s carapace was shattered by the assault. With a wailing cry, the monster gave it’s last as it finally died, and the chaos of the battle began to die down. Blue blood was everywhere, along with torn and discarded limbs of the lurkers. The room had been divided into two sides, both in a staredown. On one side, a newly freed Berenice with her one remaining sand-lurk rider, and a hoof full of loyalists. And on the other, a badly injured Andromeda, two guards with empty guns, and more than a dozen soldiers. The rest of the lurkers were either too injured to fight, or were non combatants at this point.

“You are not worth killing, but you will regret this betrayal, mother.” Berenice shouted from her end.

“No, I do not, nor will I ever.” Andromeda shook her head. “Hear my words, my daughter, as an old saying goes, those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

Berenice just stuck her nose up, and got onto the back of the sand-lurker. I drew my gun, but Temboril stopped me. No, this was our chance!

“You can't be serious, she's the one who killed…” I shook my head. “She’s not going to stop. Letting her live will only let her keep killing and raiding around the metros.”

“It’s not your call, not anymore.” Temboril said coldly.

I growled at the specter. “Let me guess, it's an order from Orthrus.”

She nodded. “The lurkers are still an unknown, so the council wants to further observe them before making a move.”

“Pony!” Berenice shouted at me from on top of a sandlurk. “Mark my words, your kind will always be a far greater danger to the future of this world then I and my kind. And so we will save this world from the scourge of your kind.” Smacking the sandlurk, Berenice road out of view, followed by here loyalists, and even by quite a few of the non combatants.

Irritated, I trotted over to Andromeda. Already, there were a few lurkers with ministry of peace outfits on tending to her injuries. The lurker queen herself had lost her stoic persona, and winced in pain at every action of her nurses.

“Oh stop acting like a foal, you probably can regrow that back.” I said in as mocking tone as I could.

Mayall raised a hoof, but then quickly put it down, and took a step back.

Andromeda laughed for a moment before a long splinter of wood was pulled out of her oozing stump. “Unlike you ponies, in time, some things lost can be regrown. But I bet you ponies could not care any less about me, or my injuries. However, before you ask your questions, I have one for you. Are you satisfied with this result?”

The sound of radio static came from Temboril, followed by the voice of Council Representative Naqara. “It was crude, but not without results. We at the Council will take this event into consideration. But on a personal note, yes, I am quite contented.”

I couldn't help but feel annoyed at this. “Seriously, Berenice is too dangerous to just let free.”

“Stand down, miss Echo. Like miss Tablature and you said, this judgment is beyond your bias opinion.” Naqara chastised me through Temboril. “Not just that, but the lurker Berenice is right. As of right now, we ponies are our own worst enemy, or have you forgotten your little trip through the republic? Besides that point, the lurkers are now a far lesser threat to us with this schism. With most of the anti-pony lurkers now seperated into Berenice’s faction, the resources that will be needed to keep an eye on them will be minimal.”

“And what about the crimes she has committed?” I asked. “You’re just going to let her get away with massacring an entire station?”

“No Orthrus employees, or that of any pony under our protection were harmed in that attack, so as far as the Council sees it, it’s none of our concern.” Naqara answered. “So if you are done chasing a white whale, I have a more important matters to discuss. Isn’t that right, Queen Andromeda?”

Andromeda nodded. “Don't presume to think I will move on with the negotiations, as you must still uphold your end of this deal first.”

“What's going on, mother!?” Mayall stepped in, looking confused. “You exile me, yet you have been making deals with ponies when you say you hate them?”

“As a leader, I must keep in mind what's best for all lurkers.” The queen sighed. “After you ran off, and Berenice rampaged, I knew that things could no longer stay as they were. So I contacted them first.”

This even confused me. “Wait, how? Aren't you all isolated from the rest of the metro?”

One of the guards stepped forward, and suddenly engulfed in silver fire. Before me was a changeling, similar looking to that of Sorrow. “We discovered them years ago, when we were trying to spy on mister wizard. Our queen felt it would be best to keep in contact with them, in case they ever become more important to the stable.”

Great, so not only does Orthrus have their hooves I this mess, but the changelings too. If I didn't know better, I'd expect the republic, or Red to show up next. And knowing my luck, I’d get both.

I sighed and turned to Temboril. “So what’s next, Council Representative?”

“You will wait for transportation to arrive. Once I have finished our negotiations with the queen, you are to return to Orthrus. This strange condition you seem to have contracted has us worried, but I myself am very curious as to what you have become.” The radio turned off with a crackle, and Temboril trotted over to Andromeda.

“Mother, then was this all an act?” Mayall spoke up, sounding both disturbed and exited. “This violence, the exiling me?”

“Yes, this act was all a show, but it is also now the truth to our kind.” Andromeda turned away from Mayall, supported by the changeling. “It saddens me, but you my daughter, are still exiled to protect the natural order of our kingdom. With the events of today made known, those who wish to follow you will, those who wish to follow Berenice will, and those who are still loyal to me, will stay loyal to me. If only your sister had just accepted my judgment, then this wouldn’t have needed to happen. The divide between us did not need to be dug so deep.”

We watched as the they trotted off out of the room, a trail of blue blooded hoofprints left behind them. Many of the other lurkers nursered their injuries, or tended to those injured, the rest seem to be keeping a discreet eye on us.

I didn’t like it. After the fight, the struggle through everything, nothing had truly been resolved. And worst of all, I can't just go to Orthrus as I am. No, that would be a bad idea. I touched the two horns on my head, and felt the death magic within me. If I went as ordered, nothing but many years of observation and experimentation would be my future.

All the while, Phobetor gathers strength. Worse, they would learn of the mission I was given in Tartarus, and through who knows how many techs, it would get to Phobetor. Then this opportunity we had to finally bring her down will forever slip from me.

First, I needed a plan to get out of here. Thankfully, I remembered something useful here that Blackspot left behind. Now I just had to get to it.

A long sigh came from Mayall as she turned to the massive hole in the wall, and took a step towards it.

“Where are you going?” I spoke up at her.

“I’m exiled.” She sighed again, and spoke with a dejected voice. “No place here, or among my kind.” She looked around the room, and all the other lurkers avoided eye contact. “It was a mistake to return to mother, so, I’m going to find Harp.”

Great, now I had to deal with a depressed and confused lurker. “You heard what I said to Temboril, I lost her. She's gone, your sister killed her!” I growled the last word without thinking.

“No!” Mayall shouted, and cupped her ear fins. “She's lost, not killed, not dead.” she placed a hoof onto her stomach. “I can feel it in my gut that she is alive. All we need to do is look for her.”

“Oh, fucking fantastic, I’m too Celestia damned stressed for this.” I shook my head in frustration. “Even if she is alive, how would you even find her?”

Mayall turned around, and pointed at her pipbuck. “You have a tracking signal, give it to me!”

This pissed me off even more, but got me thinking. At the very least, this could be the distraction I needed. “Alright, but before I do that, tell me; there should be three seadogs in this building, do you know where they are? Or at least, where the equipment they had with them is?”

Mayall paused for a moment, clearly thinking, “I do not know of any fish dogs… but I heard that there are three big puppys a few floors up. I think some of mothers soldiers tried to capture them, but non can seem to get close to the doggies without getting shot at. Strange.”

Finally, some good news. “Mayall, if you take me to them, I will install the program into your pipbuck. Alright?”

She nodded. “Don’t know why you want to see the doggies, but alright. It’s not like any lurker will stop us. At least, not unless mother commands them too.”

I gave a sigh of relief, this was going to be a detour, but I couldn't trust Orthrus to help me just yet. I was going to need leverage, but first I needed to call a ride.

____________________________________________________________________

Mayall was right, the Lurkers did nothing to stop us. Instead, they acted more like we had some communicable disease, and outright avoided us. So, when we got to the floor where the seadogs were held up on, the lurkers on guard just slammed the door behind us.

As we trotted through the empty, dust covered, and punga tree infested building, I felt a tug on my horn. In fact, it was so sharp of a tug that then removed my head, leaving me to look at Mayall upside down.

“Can you not?” I told her.

“Sorry.” Mayall apologised, putting my head back on backwards. I glared at her until she turned my head back to looking forward. “How'd it happen?”

“I fell down an elevator shaft.” Was my response, Mayall trotting ahead of me looking confused. “It's complicated Mayall, I wouldn't even know where to start.”

“Maybe at the part where you swam in a megaspell.” This time I looked at her confused, and she rolled her eyes. “I could feel it when I touched you, like when I used that bug thing and it made myself tall and extra glowy. So what was it?”

That surprised me a little. “Why are you bringing this up now and not before?”

“Because no creature asked, and I was distracted.” She answered.

“Fine. Yes there was a megaspell.” I sighed. “One made to affect time and space, and it did lots of weird shit. There were other things too, spirits of death, some black abyssal orb. Not to mention the ancient nightmare, some eye injection that turned me into whatever the corps brigade are, and I ended up taking a walk through Tartarus in order to recieve a history lesson, as well as these sweet legs.” All that stopped Mayall in her tracks. “Like I said, it’s kinda complicated.”

She reached out and taped one of my horns. “I get it, thou gone has through Tartarus and back, and know not wanting to give long explanation. Still, your new horns look pretty. It's like they’re made of gold. But too bad about your mane and tail.”

This time I stopped “What?”

She looked away for a moment, gulping once. “You... don't know?” I cocked an eyebrow at her. “They've gone pure white, like all the color has drained from them.”

I checked my tail, and what I could see of my mane. She was right, and all the color was just… gone. It wasn't a big deal, but I did like my mane color, it had always been part of who I was. With a huff, I stepped forward, I could only hope it was a temporary loss. If not, I was never going to hear the end of it from Sweet...

Reuniting with the seadogs went about as well as I expected as they almost shoot me on sight. They had fortified themselves in the last room in this hallway, and placed broken glass all over the floor. I needed to talk to them, but without a radio pack that one pirate had, or any of the other pirates , I was going to have to do things the hard way… Or, because I probably didn't have that much time to convince them not to shoot me, try something crazy.

“Mayall, hold my head.” There was a nervous mumble before my head was lifted off my shoulders. Concentrating on the death magic within me, the small blue flame gew, bathing us in its cold light. “Alright body, go sick ‘em!”

My body reared up before rushing into the room. What followed was three loud screams, and lots of gunfire. One errant shot passed through the wall and nearly hit Mayall. But after a few long seconds, there was only the sound of the clicking of empty guns.

“Take me inside.” I told Mayall.

As expected, the room was utterly shot up. The three seadogs were huddled in the corner, holding each other as my headless body was pacing back and forth in front of them. The radio was all set up, with a long antenna sticking out of the window, and several spark batteries connected to it. Sadly I was no radio technician, and likely would get ignored by the pirate on the other side.

“Hay dogs,” I called out to them, making them wimper slightly before one of them braved a look across the room at my head. “I want one of you to call the Weeping Pegasus for me.”

The dogs looked at each other in confusion, but one then slowly broke away from the other two, looking at my body, and then at my head. “Pony!? What is this heresy?”

Ya, not going to explain shit right now. “The kind of heresy that's going to get your captain to beat the shit out of a zealot monster dog if you don't do as I say right now.”

“Seadogs name, Ollie.” The seadog grumbled as it walked to the radio. “What pony want Ollie to say?”

After Mayall put my head back onto my body, I took a deep breath. “Tell them that I have Red Steels prize, and If she wants it, she’d better send a ride to the top of this hotel, and soon.”

Ollie quickly made contact, and relayed the message. The large seadog then turned around to me with a blinking metal box in his paws. “Pony will need beacon.”

I put it in my bag, swaping it for my pipleg. Looking at my busted up leg, I removed the memory device that Red Steel had put in, and passed the broken leg to Mayall. “Here, the program is inside.” I didn't know how much of it could be salvaged and restored, but it was unlikely to be enough to be useful.

The lurker sighed and took minerva. “Thanks Vibraphone.” with that I turned to leave the room. “Alright doggys, pack up and let's go! We’ve got a ride to catch!” I paused, turn around to see Mayall cheerfully directing the seadogs.

“Mayall, what are you doing?” I asked bluntly.

“I’ve decided that I’m going with you, and so are the doggies.” She smiled, well... moved her claws to look kind of like a smile. “I’m already exiled, so I might as well go with you for now. Relax, I’ll just have my sub pick me up later.”

I don't know what she was trying to do, but I didn't have the energy to argue, or the patience to debate it. “Fuck it, do whatever you like.”

The seadogs packed up relatively quickly and followed us out and up the stairs. I avoided the elevator, not because I was afraid of this one falling, but the statistical chance that this one can get stuck, then fall. Two hundred years outside is different from two hundred years underground, and even those had seemed to be at their limits.

Reaching the top of the dilapidated building and trotting out into the open air, I was surprised as Mayall ran over to the edge, and gasped. “Its beautiful, like up on new Canterlot!”

She wasn't wrong. Over the crumbling edge of the roof, was a vast beautiful ocean of crystal clear blue water. But I couldn't really feel any joy in looking at it. It might’ve had something to do with being undead, or with my fear of drowning. But I had the idea that even if I was my old self, I would still be too mentally drained to feel much of anything anyway.

In the distance, we could see it. From here it was only a small thing on the water, but it was the rusting hulk of the Weeping Pegasus. Above it, and getting closer, was an approaching vertibuck gull. We watched it as it passed overhead before circling down for a landing. It’s gear touched down onto the roof with a thud, and we all approached the open passenger cabin.

The gulls pilot pulled her gun when she looked back and noticed Mayall, but Ollie thumped the aircraft’s frame, and the pilot put the gun back. We all hurriedly took a seat inside, Mayall almost hitting me with her tail do to the cramped room. With all of us onboard, Ollie gave another thump next to the pilot, and the gull’s engines spooled up, lifting us into the air.

*Bam!*

The door to the stairwell inside the hotel flew off its hinges, bouncing across the roof before it fell over the edge of the building. Stepping out into the daylight was what I guessed was a very angry Tamboril, not that I cared how she felt at this point really. Killing Berenice may have to wait, but I was not going to let my opportunity to go after Carving Doll slip. And if any pony was going to give me real leverage on Orthrus, despite how much I felt that I was going to regret trusting her, it was going to be Red Steel.

As the gull pulled away, I couldn't help but think that the time for calm, and rational decision making was over. I’d been through too much, been betrayed and targeted by too many now. No, now was not the time to sit down, shut up, and follow orders. Phobetor can beat that way of thinking in an instant if I let her.

So now, maybe being frantic and chaotic was the answer. If not, well, at least I’d get to decide a few things for myself for a change. And oh yes, things were going to start changing the moment I got back to the Weeping Pegasus.

__________________________________

Footnote:

Faction Quest Start: Mutiny Aboard the Weeping Pegasus.

Chapter 56 - Calm Before the Storm

This vertibuck was cramped, just like the last one I’d taken. But this time, the sense of being trapped was gone. Instead, that feeling had been replaced with frustration, and an impatient bloodlust. Also, it had the smell of dogs.

I looked over at Mayall, who seemed to be having a fun time cuddling up to Ollie, and a nagging question tickled the back of my mind.

“Hay, Mayall? The name Mister Wizard kept coming up, and I also remember my sister and Temboril mentioning him too. What's your family's connection to him?”

Mayall scratched her chin. “It was before my molting, so I have no memories of it. But from what I was told, we had found a big ship under the water and were trying to fix it. Some ghoul discovered us, and made a deal with mother to help us. But when we got it floating, the ghoul betrayed us, and stole the ship. The lurkers aboard the ship were all killed, including mother’s mate, my father. It was a massive blow to the nest, as I was told, more than half of our population was lost in one night.”

“Shit, sorry about that.” I looked over at my pipleg sticking out of Mayall's bag. “Here, pass me the pipleg, I’m going to try and download the program for you.” I still didn’t believe Mayall about finding Harp, no way some pony could survive falling into a collapsing megaspell. But deep down, I wanted to believe she was still alive.

Without the levitation assist spell, connecting the cables was much harder. After a few frustrating tries, I managed to get the pipleg connected to Mayall’s old pipbuck. It took a few minutes, but I had the tracking program copied and transferred over.

Mayall messed with her pipbuck, and sighed. “No signal. She must be out of range.” I didn’t say anything, but death was in a fact, quite out of range for the living.

A lurch to the side by our rusting ride announced that we’d reached our destination. Within a minute, the vertibuck had touched down onto the deck of the old ship. The engines slowed, and the back door opened, revealing those scurrying about the deck with their tasks, as well as the smiling muzzle of Red. Taking a deep breath, I was the first to exit.

“Looks like I won a bet, so how'd you get…” Red Steel paused as she looked at me, her eyes narrowing and she studied me. “Well shit, you look like you’ve been to pony jones locker and back.” Next to her stood the unicorn, Narwhal, levitating a notepad, and sporting a black eye. The preacher on the other hoof was nowhere to be seen.

“Close enough.” Trotting up to Red, I pulled out and shoved the memory recorder into her hooves. “Lets just say nopony survived this mission. Now I need to get some rest and some booze.”

“Fair enough.” Red commented. “Narwhal will take you to a room, and provide you with some food and drink.”

“Hay Red pony!” Mayall came bounding out. “Are we not fighting anymore?”

A chuckle came from Red. “The mysterious crustacean pony, Mayall. Good to see you, and no, we're not fighting anymore. That aside, why don't you come with me? I know a creature who would love to meet you.”

I looked back at Mayall, and she shrugged back at me a trotted over to Red Steel.

“Miss Vibraphone, if you would follow me.” Narwhal directed me as she trotted ahead. I frowned as I watched the mare take the lead, her exposed backside covered in lash like bruises that showed through her fur, all the while swinging her hips. I started to regret not waiting for Orthrus to show up.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I basically passed out as soon as I hit the bed, not caring that I was taken too Reds room. Honestly, I just needed the rest. If I had a dream, I didn't remember it, but I did get a creeping feeling that I had forgotten something critical as I woke up.

It wasn't so much the feeling of being naked, or something covering my face that had me worried, but that I knew the both were separated from each other. Then something hard pressed down on my back, and I had to suppress a yelp in surprise.

“Your awake, that's good, I hope you slept well.” Narwhal said in a cheery tone. She didn't fill me with any sense of safety, and I was annoyed that she woke me up.

“Whatever you're doing, it stops now. Come pick me up, body.” I felt something press down on my back again, harder, and painful… but also felt good. “What are you doing?” What turned out was a towel was removed from my face, and I saw my body laying sprawled out on the bed, with Narwhal on top of me, pushing a hoof into my back.

“You were just so dirty, and your muscles so stiff. I cleaned you up while you slept, I hope you don’t mind.” She pushed down in another spot, and a mone snuck out of my mouth. “Right now, I’m using my hooves to push out some of the built up stress in your back.”

“What? How?” I blurted out.

The piercing covered mare chuckled. “I put out some sleep incense while you slept, great for pacifying ponies before silently killing them,” She paused, flashing up a mirth filled smirk before continuing, “but I find it’s also good for keeping stressed ponies out as I tend to them. Keeps them from fussing too much.” She pushed her hoof into me again, making a loud crack as a wave of pleasure hit me. “That was a nasty knot right there.”

I glared at her. “When I get my head back on, I’m going to beat you to an inch of your life.”

“Is that a promise?” Narwhal said as she pressed down on me once again, but this time something wet and hot touched my back. “If so.” A bit of drool fell from her mouth. “I’m looking forward to it.” I had no words, only a skin crawling feeling as I helplessly watched this masochist give my body a deep tissue massage.

After what felt like an hour of this torture, I was saved by the entrance of Red Steel, who saw Narwhal cuddling up with my naked headless body. She pulled out a riding crop, and whipped Narwhal with it, causing the mare to jolt up with a moan.

“Are you done?” Red spoke with authority, and a hint of disgust.

Narwhal saluted. “All done, our guest is washed and relaxed.”

“Fuck you, you degenerate!” I shouted at the bitch, but that only seemed to make her more excited.

Red pulled out a sword, and hit Narwhal in the gut with its pommel, the unicorn keeled over, and fell off the bed. Sheathing her sword, Red trotted over to me, to my head, and looked at me with a dangerous feeling glare. “Utter madness, that's what all this has become?”

“Isn't that what you wanted?” I responded.

With her magic, she lifted my head up, making us eye to eye. “You have no idea.” She then forced me into a kiss, her tongue touching my own, caressing it with the four gold rings attached to her oun. After a minute, she finally released me, and smiled. “What you collected should be enough to start a purge. Cohorting with a nightmare, and becoming an abomination, it's more than I could have hoped for.”

She continued to look into my eyes with a smile on her face, making me worried she was going to kiss me again. “What?”

She gave a long breathy sigh. “I think... I’ve fallen in love.”

I felt a chill down my spine. “Thats nice… is it with that stallion you’re engaged to?”

She giggled, and not like a mocking giggle I had gotten use to hearing, but like that of a young love struck mare. “Oh, him? He is only a tool. Something for me to join the game of crowns, but otherwise useless. But you, the dragonslayer, nightmare hunter, herald of the purger, and now… this.” She bobbed my head playfully in her magic as she let a lustful moan slip through her lips. “You have my heart a flutter.”

Great, this was not what I needed. “Red, last night was a one time thing, and you should know, I’m really kinda into stallions.”

“You mean that pegasus?” She licker her lips. “If I made a mare out of him, then would you reconsider your preferences?”

“Red, get a fucking grip!” I growled at her as my body jumped off the bed, landing next to her. “Or are we going to have a problem?”

She looked over at my body, and back into my eyes before putting my head back onto my shoulders. “Fine, I can share. I’m not so fickle to reject you for what you are now. But, I can't say the same for other ponies.”

Rolling my eyes, I turned around to look for my cloths. “I will cross that bridge when I get there. Now where's my dress?”

A bottle of rum floated in front of me, along with two glasses. I looked back at Red, who wiggled her eyebrows at me. “It’s being repaired, so why don't you and I just hang out for a bit?”

I looked at one of the glasses. A little blue flame stretched out and took it from Reds hold, moving it toward me by my will alone. “Right, I'm not a normal pony anymore.” I looked over at Red and motioned with the glass for her to pour the rum. “Alright, one drink, but no chems this time.”

She cocked an eyebrow as she poured the rum into my gless “Not even just a taste of that ‘chill’ stuff?”

Now that she mentioned it, I wasn’t feeling sluggish, or anything else related to withdraw. Not to say I was feeling like myself, this was far from it. “Red, like I said, nopony survived that mission, technically, me included.” I sipped the rum, and I could taste it, feel it, but I didn’t really enjoy it. “I don’t even think I can get drunk anymore.”

Pouring herself a glass, Red knocked it back, sliding all the rum down her throat in a second. “Maybe after we kill Carving, we can test that.” She poured herself another glass and put the bottle to the side. “But we do got a little more than an hour until that cyber bitch returns, so there’s something else we can test first...” She wiggled an eyebrow at me as she unbuttoned her dress.

“Like I said before…” I stopped myself, remembering how devious Red is. I’m dealing with a cutthroat, not some horndog mare. Not just that, but a pony who I needed their help if I wanted to complete the task I’d been given. But now that I thought about it, maybe sticking too stiffly to my instincts was going about this the wrong way. “You know, forget what I said. Please, continue.” I knocked back the drink like she had, and then motions for another. I had to stop trying to be careful, stop being predictable, and think outside the box.

“Ah good, finally loosening up.” Red picked up the rum bottle, and sat on the bed, stretching her legs out as she lifted up her dress, revealing a black garter belt that held up two black stockings, and six derringers on each back leg. Leaning back, she pushed her legs together, and poured a bit of the rum between them, it settling near her crotch. “Lick it.”

I translated it to, ‘If you want my help, you must become my play thing’. I was sure she was still going to help me kill Carving Doll, but passed that, I could easily become her slave like so many other ponies on this ship. Playing her game would grant me some freedom, but it be on her terms, like a leash around my neck…

But, collars couldn’t hold me anymore.

Placing my forehooves onto the bed with Red between me, I dove my head into Reds lap, and quickly sucked up the rum before raising my head, and spitting it in her face. “Play these games all you like Red, but I’m beyond it.” snached the bottle from her and took a swig of the rum.

She whiped the rum off her face and glared at me. “If you want to do things the hard…” I shut her up with a kiss, this time forcing my tongue into her mouth, along with the rum I had in mine. She tried to push away from me, surprise on her face, but I just pushed down on her, forcing her onto her back. When she tried to pull at my head, I used my iron hooves to hold hers down, and after what felt like a minute, she stopped struggling. So when I finally broke the kiss, she gasped for air, and tears were in her eyes. “Bitch.” she breathed.

I looked over to the other side of the bed, and saw a blushing Narwhal. Which gave me the perfect idea. “You, bring me some of Reds toys, a strap on if it’s there?”

The unicorn saluted me “Yes, ma’am!”

“Fucking traitor!” Red yelled as I unbuttoned her dress. “You are not going to do this, I’m the one who does this!”

I looked at Red in the eyes, as I pulled open her dress. “Is that so?” I said with a smile. “Then you better make it more worth my attention, because I’m thinking of not using any lube.” She glared at me, and attempted to draw her sword, but I put my hoof down and pinned it in it’s sheath, preventing her from using it. “Red, it’s almost like you want me to be rough with you.”

She gritted her teeth, then relaxed as she began to laugh. “A pony as soft as you? Fine, rut me without it, I’ve dealt with worse.”

My cold magic welled up as I looked into her eyes. Her eyes dilated as tears formed, and fell to the side of her face. I let the evil eye do its job for what I guessed was twenty seconds before blinking, Red quickly looked away, and any resistance from her faded to nothing. With a sigh, I began undressing her, disarming her, and leaving the pirate to sob quietly.

“Told you, no pony survived, not even me.” Shuffling up next to her, I cuddled the unicorn mare. “I’m undead now. Not to say I don’t feel bad about this, but nothing in me feels like stopping right now.” I nibbled on Reds ear, making her flinch. “But buck up buttercup, because I’m not expecting to do this for free, nor should you. After Carving Doll, there's still more ponies to kill, that need to die.” I noticed Red shuffling her legs, the sound of rubbing near her flank. Pushing myself up to see what she was doing, I saw that Red was masturbating, all the while the look of fear and lust sat plastered across her face.

Narwhal returned, holding a strapon in her magic, and breathing heavily. “I got lady's Reds favorite toy.”

I motion for her to bring it over, and as I took it, I kicked Narwhal in the gut. “Not just a savage, but a traitor too, your absolute garbage.”

She crumbled to the ground, holding her chest, the look of pain and pleasure on her face. “Thank you ma’am.” she breathed out as she tried her best to hide her smile.

I looked back at Red, who was biting her hoof as she rubbed herself. Her eyes were locked onto the strapon intensely. “Now there are two options, you work for me, and I let you use this on me. There are more ponies I need to kill, more monsters to hunt, and I want you to help me with that. Or the second option, that is if you want to stay in charge of our little session, then that’s alright with me, and I’ll still stay and kill Carving with you. But after that I leave and find some other solution.” I reached back behind Red, and pressed my hoof onto her asshole. “Of course, I will rut your ass first, and do it dry. If you want to be the one in control, you're going to just have to deal with the pain.”

Red growled at me, but didn’t stop rubbing herself and moaning. This switching between anger and lust went on for a minute, then she let out a louder moan, her legs twitching as drool dripped from her mouth. Her heavy breathing slowed, her body relaxed, and her eyes were now filled with a different kind of lust, a dark, sickly lust.

“More to kill you say? I think I’m falling even more in love with you.” Blood lust, thats what was in her eyes. “Give me my strapon. I’m going to rutt you, and then you and I are going to kill a lot of ponies.”

I dropped the sex toy onto Red, and sighed. “Don’t be gentle.” I told her.

“Of course.” That got a giggle from Red. “I’m not going to get off if I don’t get rough.” She got off the bed, and I heard a pained moan come from Narwhal. “Are you sure you’re not into mares, seeing as this is going to be our second time, and you seem pretty into it?”

“Don’t push your luck, Red.” I snapped at her, looking away.

“But I will push it.” My head was pulled off, held in Reds magic, and placed onto a nearby pillow, giving me a view of her climbing onto the bed with the strapon on. “I will push, thrust, slap, and grind.”

My body had stood up, like it was confused, looking for me. There was only a moment that passed before Red lifted its… my tail, and pressed her face into my privates. The feeling of her tongue on me sent a pleasurable shiver up my spine and my body’s front legs went limp, leaving my ass up. Even detached from my body I breathed heavily as she massaged my sensitive parts with her tongue, her rings caresing it. This went on for over a minute, until I was thoroughly wet. My back legs weekend, and began to drop, but Red harsly wiped my plot with her riding crop, forcing my back legs back up.

“I haven't given you permission to relax just yet.” She spoke, wiping drool and vaginal fluid off her face.

Mounting me, I felt the strapon slowly enter inside, filling more than I had been before. I couldn't hold back a moan that came from having the large sex toy pushed into me. Thrusting, Red pushed the fake dick to its hilt, it both hurting as it was bigger than my body could rationally fit, and sending a wave of pleasure through me.

The slapping sound of flesh was unignorable as Red began to rutt me as hard as possible. Each thrust rubbing my insides, fogging my mind with pleasure, making me forget why I was doing this in the first place. I wanted more, I needed more.

My head was lifted up by Narwhal, and brought closer, giving me a close up look as Red fucked me as hard as possible. My fluids dripped out into the bed as my hips moved to match Red’s thrust, to make the shaft of rubber go in harder and deeper.

My vision blurred as pleasure shot through me, and Red gave out a loud moan as she began to slow down. I wasn't done, and forced my body to stand, and push back on Red, causing her to fall on her back. My body turned around, still with the dildo in me, and began rotating my hips.

I looked up at Narwhal, and had a bad idea. “Put my head down, and join in, savage.” She did just that, placing my head in a position where I could see everything, then disappearing. Before I could think to ask where she had gone, she returned and pushed my body forward onto my stomach, putting pressure on the strapon on me and Red, making us both moan at the same time. Narwhal had a lube covered double headed dildo in her and pressed it on my ass. I bit my lip as saliva escaped my mouth. “Do it, bitch.”

With another thrust into my other hole, I let out a screaming moan, becoming more full than before. My hips didn't stop, actually they moved a bit faster, matching the motion of the two mares, like a piston of moving flesh, making pleasure.

I lost track to how long we kept going, Narwhal was first to stop, falling back, into a less comfortable position. Red and I continued a little longer before passing out. Without another pony keeping up with me, the pleasure died down, and my mind began to clear up, allowing me to realize I was watching my body still trying to rutt two unconscious mares at one time.

I was still breathing heavily, my mind full of lustful thoughts, but I managed to will my body to stop. Getting up, the two dildos popped out of me, along with more of my own fluid and lube. I watched as my body attempted to walk, but wobbled and fell onto Narwhal. My hips felt like jelly, reminding me of after my first time with Merit.

With a sigh, I felt that taking a quick nap might be the best idea.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

After our quick nap, and some uncomfortable cuddling from the two mares, we got ready for the ambush. Which for some reason, involved Bass Clarinet giving me a quick makeover. But I figured that I was already this deep into things, so it probably didn’t hurt.

She was... understandably freaked out when I just passed her my head, and had my body go behind a curtain to have my cloths put back on. She yelled something about a vengeful merchant before calming down, but I didn't question her about it. Really, she could talk about whatever as long as she didn't ask me anything personal. Though, one topic did come up.

“That, umm… Sea monster said Harp got herself lost. A shame really, I was hoping we could continue where we’d left off.” Brass was brushing my mane as my head rested on a pillow. I gave off a grunt announcing my irritation at her words. “Oh, I don't mean anything I would normally do, ya dig. No ma’am. We mostly talked about our family, and home. Maybe cuddled a little.”

Great, so I’m actually zero for two with sleeping with crazy. “I… don't know if she’s just ‘lost’ as Mayall said. If a pony can survive falling into a vortex of a imploding megaspell, I’ve not heard of it.”

Brass put a few pins in my mane to hold it up. “My sister, Bone Clarinet, survived getting shot in the face. Though ever since, she’s always leaned to the left when she walked. And just between you and me, she’s became a bit more... rapey.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Aren't you bandits usually rapey?”

The pain of a hair get pricked out made me flinch. “Rude. My clan does have standards. Well, we did. See, if we were feeling generous, ya dig, we’d let the pony use their body to pay the toll, and let them keep their stuff.”

“And if your clan was not feeling generous?” I asked.

She paused for a moment, a comb in my hair. “Lets just say that the mare who shot my sister Bone? Well, the dead can't tell nopony about what was done to them.”

“That's where you’re wrong.” I said under my breath.

“What ya say?” Brass said a bit loudly as she turned my head to look me eye to eye.

I frowned. “I said, how long is this going to take?”

She shrugged, and turned my head back around. “Not long, just trying out a new style, ya dig. The republic was so square, couldn't make use of me talents. So don't go losing ya head.” She gave a giggle as I rolled my eyes. “Oops, guess ya already did!”

I let myself act as some headless dress up doll, and a styliste practice mannequin head for a few more minutes. Not to say it didn't feel nice, going to a spa was on my top ten list when this was all over, but there were two ponies who were not going to be coming with me. It also didn't help me relax knowing that Captain Carving Doll was arriving soon, with every minute there was a building anxiety and hate within me.

“Tada!” Brass announced as she held up two mirrors. I hadn't had a clear look at myself since my head first fell off, but I was unsure if it was me looking back through the mirror. My usual stripes and the scar on my lip were still there, but the rest of my mane was pure white, down to the roots. Prominent on my head was two smooth golden looking horns, sitting in front of my ears, about as long as a unicorns, but curved back. My eyes had also changed, to that of the sickly green of the corps brigade, but my pupils seemed to have a dark blue hue to them.

As for what Bass did to me, she had put black eyeliner and eyeshadow lightly on me, along with some lip gloss. My mane was now glossy after its wash, and using my new horns, she had a bit of my mane hang over to frame the side of my face, with the rest pulled back into a loose bun.

“It's… nice.” I offered as I tried my best to warm up to it.

Brass sighed. “No, ya right, I can do better.”

“Of which you can try after, not before I take command of this ship.” Red stepped in with a big floppy red hat on. “Now get armed, we’ve got a mutiny to start.”

She trotted over to the screen my body was behind, and open it up. The maid dress, minus the white apron had been repaired, and it looked a bit thicker than before. My scarf and medallion was missing, in its place was a longer red scarf with black crisscross pattern on it. My tail was wrapped up in a similar red cloth all the way down, leaving only a little bit of the tail exposed. The harness for my guns and saddle bag was still there, minus a rifle holster.

Looking passed my body and up at Snowbird who had been working on it, I couldn't help but feel annoyed. “Where are they? The accessories I had before?”

Snowbird tapped on my flank for a second before pushing out a box, and sliding it to me. “Little headless pony, the scarf was nothing but tatters, not enough to be useful if remade. So,I figured just making a new iron wool scarf would be smart for a replacement. As for your medallion, I’m afraid to say you didn't have it on you. Did you not know that you never brought it back with you?”

My body trotted over, an opened the box, and saw the ruined scarf. I felt a deep sense of loss, like I was looking at what was left of myself. “That’s right, it’s fine. Like I said, nopony got out of that place alive.” Folding up the scarf, I gently placed it in my saddle bag. I don't know why, it was just a gift from my folks. Easily replaced, it was just a scrap of fabric now, but I still wanted to hold onto it a bit longer.

Tugging on my newer, heavier, and longer scarf, I couldn't help but feel that it was utterly unnecessary. “You do know I don't need this right? I only wore that old scarf because it was a gift.”

Red trotted over, and levitated two wooden boxes. “I had been wondering why ya had that silly thing. But no, this new scarf surves an actual purpose. Look inside.”

I used my new magic to pull on the scarf with two blue flames. Inside was a flexible thin belt with many small leather sheaths all linked together. “Whats this?”

“Ya need a new weapon, but one that’s not so visible. I know you're a crack shot, but I think something more sneaky may be the better way to go.” She opened up the two boxes, and a bunch of thin, short knives.

I looked at Rex with a raised eyebrow. “Knives? I may not have told you, but I’m not quite the best at close range fighting.”

Red rolled her eyes. “Honey, they’re throwing knives. Just... try a few out.” She levitated a throwing knife over to me. Grabbing in with my magical flame, I tossed it at on old chair, and it bounced off harmlessly.

“Don't just toss the thing.” Red sighed, and took one of the knives. “Now, when you throw them, hold the tip, pointed at your target. When you’re ready, spin it forward and try letting go when the tip points in the opposite direction.” She threw the knife with a spin, and it stuck into the chair. “You can also throw it like a dart at close range.” She then just launched it forward, also sticking it into the chair.

I watched Red throw a few more knives in different ways. Copping her, I quickly gained a grasp on it, along with using the little magical flames I can grab things with. The flames themselves were not like unicorn levitation, only able to move a short distance from me, and could only lift small objects, but still held onto them quit firmly.

Once my short practice was over, Red filled my new scarf with twenty of the knives. Making it heavier, and a bit stiffer, but overall not looking any different from before.

Leaving the fitting room, I followed Red and her little team onto the deck. Along the way I saw the divers collection of creatures like last time, though this time they seemed to be avoiding eye contact with me. It was a good guess that to them, I was the strange monster now.

“They smell a new predator, and instinctively fear you.” Snowbird chirped. “Can't blame them, you are a harbinger of death.”

Her words made me curious. “Sounds appropriate. Is that from your old folklore books?”

She gave me a wide tooth filled smile. “Oh yes, it’s often referenced as necromancer hunters, the dullahan. A headless creature who hunts down those marked for death. Some tales say that they throw a bucket of blood on those who see them, as they hate being seen. Though it's strange…” She scratched her chin.

“What's strange?” I had to ask.

The harpy shrugged. “Well most of the text about the dullahan says that they’re spirits, not creatures of flesh and blood. But old texts are full of inconsistencies, guesswork, and mostly half truths.”

“How… unreliable.” I commented. Then again, there was some truth in the fact that I was a ghost now of my former self. At least, on the inside I was.

I had been led to the room we had the feast in last night, though now lacking the smell of cooked food. Inside Mayall was sitting at the table with the two other Harpys, Magpie and Nutcracker. Also sitting inside next to them, was Tarbaery and Inquisitor Iron Wing. The Inquisitor had his face in some sort of binoculars, with a brass box on the end.

Mayall had her captain outfit on, and strangely it looked more fitting on her as she waved me over. Then again, I just spent an hour getting dressed up, so I wasn’t really one to pass judgement. Shrugging, I took a seat next to her.

“This place is amazing. Disturbing, but amazing.” She was a bit overly excited, but her eyes darted around, showing that she was clearly nervous.

The table was a mess of maps, scrolls, and other parchment held down by what looked like carved marble chess pieces. Looking back to Mayall, I smiled at her, hoping to calm her a little. I needed to use her as I needed to use Red, and not acting like an ass around her would be a good start.

“Did you get your suit refitted, I looks a lot better on you than before?”

Mayall relaxed a little. “Ya, they even cleaned it up for me. All I had to do was pose for a few drawings and tell them about my kind.”

Four talons rested on my head, the long bony appendages tapped at my horns. “When Lady Red told me about the lurker, it made me as curious as a crow.” Snowbird spoke softly over my head. “The mirelurks have been becoming a problem in the last few years. So having intelligent ones who able herd them away from the plantations would be a boon. But weaponizing them is an even more interesting prospect.”

“I say no.” Mayall spoke up. “I’m not my sister. And besides, there's not enough under my command for me to even risk losing them.”

“Besides.” Red got every creatures attention as she sat at the table. “We have bigger prey to hunt. So is everything set up?”

Nutcracker saluted, “Lady Red, the bridge crew, lookouts, and any fool who could warn Carving has been reminded about what happens to snitches. As for Carving’s loyalists, and all Corps Brigaders on board the ship, they are currently busy below deck doing a weapons check. I got the sea dogs to make sure they stay below deck, so even if things take long, they won't be coming up to bother you.”

Magpie also saluted. “Lady Red, I have hidden the weapons in the places you have designated. Also several of the slaves have have pledged their loyalty to you in exchange for their freedom. I don't expect much from them, but they will do well as a distraction.”

“My Lady.” Tarbeary gave Red a nod before knocking back a mug of whatever he was drinking. “You do know if we do this, everything's going to go wrong. Even if they are heretics, they got the goddess’ luck.”

Red pushed her overly floppy hat up to better look the preacher in the eye. “I’m well aware of that. That's why I made sure we had extra guns. So Tarbarry, did you do as I asked?”

He huffed as he laid his head on the table. “Yes my Lady, I made sure that as much booze where passed around the ship. Even the good stuff from the stable. A gift from the goddesses for being good goddess fearing followers. By the time the metal winged bitch gets here, our good goddesses chosen should be well on their way to getting plastered.”

“Good, that should be enough to prevent any idiot from interfering. Now just one last thing.” Red looked over at the Inquisitor. “So how much heresy do you see in that memory reader, Inquisitor Iron Wings?”

The griffin slowly removed the device from his face, placing it gently on the ground. He scanned the room, looking at each of us, but lingering on me the longest. “Evil is something we shall not ever tolerate. But many fail to grasp that evil is not something that creatures grow on themselves, such as a head crest of a bird, claws on the lurker here, or horns that which spawn from evil acts.” He placed his hand on his chest. “Evil comes from within, lingering in the soul, whispering to your darkest desires. Many do fall into evil because of ignorance, and must be educated to be saved. But those of our herd, educated of the dangers evil holds, fall not because of ignorance. No, they fall because they want to. Because they curse the goddess name, and spit on Roselands teachings.”

Iron wing paused, closing his eyes for a moment, every creature watching him. “Now what Blackspot had become cannot be used to condemn the whole of the corps brigade. But it happening under Carving Doll’s watch does condemn her. For she as captain should have rooted out such evil long before your discovery. By this, I will condone a purge of the corps brigade upon her, and upon this ship.”

A chuckle came from Red. “Ya hear that mateys, time for a good old-fashioned pu…”

Red was lifted up by her neck in Iron Wings large tallions. “Listen well puterelle, and your headless churl whore. I know this is exactly what admiral Flintlock Hoof wants, but that doesn't mean you’re free from the consequences if you fuck up. By all means, play the bishop’s games of power. But in this world, the goddesses favor the strong, and the bishops know how to make a pony like you weak.”

He dropped Red, who had a visible mark around her neck. Picking up the memory reader, Iron Wings put it in a bag attached to his belt. “I will take this to your mother and pray for your success.” His eyes moved onto me. “And you. Whatever you have become, I suggest you start praying to the goddesses. For if we meet again, and you’re still a heathen, I will see to it that all my holy wrath is brought to bear down upon you.” He then pulled out a book, and placed it on the table. “For the maiden Mayall, please do read it well.”

We silently watched the griffon walked out of the room, each step heavy, and with purpose. Waiting a little longer, eventually we let out the breath we were holding.

“He will do it, you know.” Snowbird look at me with her too big smile. “Once saw him gut a zebra with just his talons, utterly entrancing. To bad he looks like a hen, no color in his plumage.”

I tried not to think about it. The idea of converting to an ass-backwards religion just so a griffin didn't gut me was something I didn’t need. At least, not when I had more pressing psycho to deal with.

“So, Red, what's this plan?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Faction Quest Continued: Mutiny Aboard the Weeping Pegasus.

Chapter 57 - Mutiny aboard the Weeping Pegasus

I’d been placed in the crows nest, watching for any pony out of place. It was Snowbirds Idea, saying that a dullahan was always know for being an overly observant spirit. Something I’d become slightly aware of, but quickly understood as true as my eyes darted about, taking in the activities of the ship.

Though the harpies had ushered away Carving Doll’s loyalists, making sure she doesn't have immediate backup, Red informed me that their was still going to be quite a few wild cards to deal with. Mainly ponies and other creatures who were only really loyal to themselves or their faith, but could not simply simply skip a day's work. They are the kind who were easily replaced if they ended up on the wrong side of a mutiny, so they’re likely to still be useful, but unreliable at best. Of course that also means that if somehow Carving turns this fight around on us, the wild cards could join her so to be on the winning side.

The biggest problem is that some of these wild cards held essential jobs, or lots of influence on the ship, and can’t be removed right now without problems. One was the pit boss, the head slave master, and along with her are her slaver underlings, who were all former slaves she’s broken and rebuilt herself.

Another was the wrench mother. The leader of the wench mares, she runs an order of nuns who’s religious practices involved maintaining the tec, weapons, armor, as well as specific parts of the ships itself. If the way some techs at Orthrus were overprotective about the gear in their care was any indication, than these fanatically religious mares would probably end up being the hardest of the wild cards to deal with.

Last of the more important pirates, was the head chef. In charge of not just the kitchen, but brewing booze, and fishing for food. The kitchen staff themselves were highly revered, and with how grueling some of the ship’s work could be, a nice hot meal at the end of the day is probably something the crew wouldn’t stand for losing.

There were other ponies to keep an eye on as well, but nothing that would end up being more trouble than random distractions in a fight. The wild newer recruits, the chem addicts, and the mentally unstable. Though, I’m sure that even though they probably wouldn’t band together, a few of them could do some damage should they rally against us with the others.

The longer I kept an eye on the crew below, the more I wondered how this ship didn't devolve into everypony killing each other. At least the distribution of drinks made them all a lot more relaxed, some even hiding away to drink and gamble. Hell, one group already looked like they were taking bets on who would win in the upcoming fight.

Red had taken her place near the landing pads, waiting for Carving Doll, along with Tarbarry and Narwhal on either side of her. Snowbird and the other two harpys had taken position on the crows nest with me, taking on the same roll as lookout. This also seemed to be an act of intimidation on Reds part, as the pirates below avoided looking up as much as possible.

As my eyes darted about, I ran through the plan in my head over and over.

“Attack stage one, ambush. Red will lure Carving into the kill zone, and when the signal is made from her, I and several other gun ponies will unload into to captain.” I spoke to myself as I kept a hoof on a long barreled rust gun with a hundred drum magazine.

The hoofbuilt gun was made of scraps, and lacked the gun craftsmanship I was use too. But the lack of clean artistic aesthetic was offset for a focus on efficient killing power. It hadn’t been built to be the most durable, or most accurate gun, it was simply made to send as many bullets down its barrel as fast as possible. On my back was another rust gun, this one cut down to a more compact size. While I hoped I didn’t need it, it came with with four twenty round magazines.

“Attack stage two. If carving survives, I’m to descend down and close in. Kill any surviving loyalists, and then corner Carving Doll.”

“Stage three.” Nutcracker spoke up. “Drop explosives.”

Magpie chucked. “Stage four, rush her with slaves.”

Snowbird leaned over me with a smile. “Stage five, just fucking kill her.”

I looked up at the harpy. “How likely is it that Carving Doll even live past the first stage?”

She shrugged. “Unlikely, but not impossible. Death by overwhelming rain of bullets has been a common way to execute dangerous creatures in the fleet. And unless it’s a dragon, then it’s more common for them to be pushed out of the fleet before they can become a problem. Though again, there are a few who managed to survive and win.”

“Such as?” I asked as I return my gaze down to the ship.

“In recent history?” Snowbird hummed to herself for a few seconds. “Red's mother, Flintlock Hoof had survived one such attack. The admiral at the time didn't like her quick rise to power, and wisely chose to remove her before Flintlock could do the same. That obviously did not work as the admiral had hoped.”

Looking down at Red, her big floppy hat obscured much of her body from me. “So, her mother managed to survive and win? How?”

The harp chuckled. “Flintlock had staged a mutiny at the same time, and from what the records say, the ship fell into pure chaos. Sailors didn't know who was on whose side, and they started shooting at every creature. Among the chaos, Flintlock and the old admiral got into a duel. The old admiral took Flintlocks leg, but she took the old admirals life.”

“Crazy. Any others to survive?” I asked, hoping I wouldn’t regret asking.

“Only one of note.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “Victoria Rosary, the leader of the corps brigade.”

I almost flinched, remembering meeting her through the spell. “Leader of the corps brigade.”

“Yep, though the records of it is a bit unreliable. What is officially on the record reads that she survived getting shot multiple times, ripped out the captains throat with her teeth, and her gang proceeded to slaughter the loyalists. But the official record is mired with holes and inconsistencies. Sadly, the few survivors who could be asked about what truly happened in the fight had been driven to madness, to the point that it was impossible to make sense of what they recounted. From what the official documents say after that, Victoria was a holy avenger, too beautiful to be believed.”

It sounded like a bad cover up, though with how ignorant these pirates seemed to be, they likely believed it. I glanced down at Red again as she looked like she was repeating the same lines over and over.

“And now she's trying to do the same kind of ambush.” I hoped that for our sake, she could handle this just as well as her mother had. Then again, Carving had just about the most stubborn ability to come through these sorts of things unscathed that I wasn’t all too confident things would go to plan. “Both of them are connected to a pony who survived and came out on top.”

“Yes, it’s exciting, but not uncommon.” Snowbird slowly backed away, giving me some space. “Like Iron Wing said, they are just playing the bishops game.”

I sighed, not that interested in the topic, but at the very least, the conversation was keeping the tension down. “And that game is what, a death match of chess?”

“Not far off.” Snowbird chuckled. “The bishops are the voice of the empress, as the Admirals are the empress's sword, as are the royal guard generals are her shield.”

“And this Empress is?” I asked, actually a but cureus.

The harpy didn't respond right away, letting the question linger for a few seconds. “Don't know because it's always been something the common folk don’t need to know. All we need to understand is that the will of the goddesses is done through her.”

I sighed again, unsatisfied with the insane answer. “Right, so back to this bishops game.”

“Yes, how should I explain it.” Snowbird once again let the question linger for a few second. “Right, unlike the admirals and royal guard, there are far more bishops. So many of them, all whom clamore and posture for the empress's limited attention. The best way to achieve this is to have as many pawns under their control, or just as good, reducing the pawns under another bishops control. I think you should be able to paint the picture now.”

I nodded. “I’m guessing that being a bishop's pawn has its benefits, and if you bishop is on top, then bigger the benefit. I would also guess that a powerful bishop would be a good ally for an admiral, possibly to secure her own power from others.”

“A point to the pony with the removable head.” Snowbird made a ding sound. “Also, fun fact, all the bishops are from the slave stock. Only those who have never known freedom can become the empresses holy voice.”

I look over at Snowbird, but she held a claw to her lips, making a shhh-ing sound. “The captain comes now, get ready.”

I looked over to see three dots quickly approaching from the gathering Island, and a thought crossed my mind “Can’t we just blow her out of the sky?”

A sigh came from Snowbird. “That would make things easier, yes. But doing so would also piss off every creature on the ship. Guls are few in number, making them highly valuable, prized possessions of each ship in the fleet. So you can understand that no one will want to destroy one of ours. Also, without a body to display, who can say if the captain’s truly dead.”

I looked back down onto the deck. “Right, don't damage the vertibuck, and claim Carvings head. Anything else I need to know?”

“One thing for after this is all over.” Snowbird spoke with a slight giggle. “You not being part of the faith will be a problem. If we succeed and you survive, then you’ll need to be blessed. So when this is done, just do what you're told, accept whatever gift you're given, and you won't be ripped apart as some agent of evil.”

I… had a really bad feeling about that. But as it stood, I needed Red’s help, so there was no helping it.

“Well, whatever it is, it better not…” My ears twitched, the sound of of the creatures below became rhythmic, they stomping on the deck in tandem, making a beat. “What the...”

Snowbird chuckled under her breath, her talon tapping along. “So it begins.”

*clang bang bang*

Even from up in the crows nest I could hear them hum, all of them hum. Something about it sent a chill up my spine, not like the dark creeping of Phobetor, or when thinking about what the republic plans. No, as I watched them, I watched creatures unified in a growing song, unified in a goal, in faith. And they made an empire.

*clang bang bang*

“Wind at our backs, we are sent adrift.”
“Unforgiving is the sea, our only home.”
“Culling the weak, so the strong can rise.”
“Our scars are proof of our sacrifice.”

*clang bang bang*

“Numerous is our enemies, thou we fear them not.”
“By gun and blade, the world will be cleansed.”
“Under the goddesses, harmony will return.”
“With our strength of faith, we will fight till we fall”

Carving Doll’s vertabuck closed in, and the pirates below became louder, more in unison in their song.

*clang bang bang*

“Wind at our backs, we are sent adrift.”
“Unforgiving is the sea, our only home.”
“Culling the weak, so the strong can rise.”
“Our scars are proof of our sacrifice.”

*clang bang bang*

“Numerous is our enemies, thou we fear them not.”
“By gun and blade, the world will be cleansed.”
“Under the goddesses, harmony will return.”
“With our strength of faith, fight till we fall”

The three vertibucks flew over head, and slowed for a landing.

*clang bang bang*

“With all on deck we will rise, we will die.”
“Together, together.”
“In storm and fire, until the goddesses claim us.”
“Together, together.”

The song stopped just as the vertibuck doors opened, and a wave of quiet took over the ship. Stepping out of each vertibuck was a power armored pony, three in total, with two of them being that unicorn armor with the bulbs. The third was Stratus Dancers power armor, crudely painted in the pirates colors, with Roselands symbol on its flank. I had my target, though I worried if the bullets I have was enough to do much.

Following each the power armors was a line of six heavily armed and armored ponies. All of them, including the power armor, had the mark of a bleeding green eye painted on them. Twenty one corps brigaders in total, and Red Steel looked like she was eagerly waiting to greet them.

Snowbird turned on the crowsnest radio, it tuning to a bug Red had on her. Now not only could I watch, but hear as Carving Doll stomp towards Red in the Orphich power armor.

“Nice hat.” Carving spoke, her voice sounding robotic through her armor’s helmet.

“Still wearing that armor I see.” Red responded.

Carving laughed, and following her, the rest of the corps brigaders laughed. “Of course, nothing’s better then tricking your enemy into let their guard down, only for them to find out too late, that your not one of them.”

Red's had bobbed, likely she nodding. “Can't argue with that, though taking three armors out, you could just as easily smash through their defenses.”

Stepping closer, Carving Doll towered over Red. “Or get’n bogged down when they raised their defensis. Now why are ya greeting me here?”

“A bit of bad news.” Sighing, Red turned around, and trotted towards the kill zone. “We recently got word back from the expeditionary force that Black Spot got himself and his hench ponies killed.”

The captain followed, along with her subordinates. “How’d dat happen, an’ who did it to ‘em?”

They were slowly reaching the kill zone, and pulling up the long barreled rust gun, I just had to wait for Red to give the signal.

Red stopped in the middle as Narwhal and Tarbarry trotted outside the killzone. “The facts are a bit spotty, but from the three surviving seadogs, your first mate decided to steal two of my guests, then trotted into a mirelurk nest.”

Carving tilted her head. “Doubt he’d get killed by the crabs, even if it was a nest.” The other corps brigaders shuffled in, practically surrounding Red.

“A mirelurk goliath tends to be much harder to kill than the common runts.” Red explained. “That, and the Islands here seem to have a group of more intelligent mirelurks. I actually have one on the ship, one of the only prizes we managed to make it back with. Right now, I have her reading the good book.”

“Ya, I’ll assume these’re the same tool usin’ crab ponies ya mentioned before.” Carving looked left, then right, and then up at the crows nest. “So… are we going to do this?”

Red took a stepback. “Was it that apparent?” The corps brigaders all laughed at that.

“From the moment your hoof first stepped onto this ship, aye. Flintlock never liked me being part of her fleet. That controlling bitch had no real power over me, and it put murder in her eye. So sending her whore of a daughter here? Ya, been waiting for diss for days.”

Red chuckled. “Good, then let's get this over with.” Overglow covered her horn, and in a flash, Red disappeared.

It was our signal. Tightening my hold on the rust gun, I pointed it over the edge and fired down at Carving Doll. Ponies all over the ship, including a few slaves popped out. In mere moments, rattling fire poured into the kill zone. Surprisingly, and not by plan, some molotov cocktails were thrown in as well.

The corp brigade didn't just take the assault, and fired back without hesitation. Predictably, even when shot, they kept on firing back. One poor slave down below who was sticking out too far from her cover, lost her head, spraying blood behind her.

A few bullets flew up at me, missing by a few hoof steps. Still, I kept on firing, and the hundred drum magazine quickly ran dry. Exactly like I’d known it would, things hadn’t really gone to plan.

Slowly, the gunfire died down as those surviving in both parties kept in cover to reload and collect themselves. The short pause returned silence to the ship once more. Observing the damage, I peeked over the edge to see that three ponies on our side were taken out. The one slave with the missing head, and two pirates that shared the wrong end of an apple grenade toss.

On Carvings side, most of them were on the floor, dead or dying in a large pool of blood. Four of them were missing their heads, but most were just riddled with a dozen or so holes. The three power armored ponies however, still stood, their impressive armor only dented or scuffed.

An explosion hit one of the unicorn power armored ponies, sending it flying back. Standing next to one of the cannons, Red held a rocket launcher. “Aw hell, I missed.” Red spat.

“That shot is all ya get, whore!” Carvings voice boomed. Around her, many of the downed pirates slowly began to get back up. “Now’s time to get hosted up on ta mast. Maybe hook ya by yer cunt.”

Right, stage two time.

Dropping the long barreled rust gun, I jumped into the lift, and hit the descent button. Pulling out the short barreled rust gun, I aimed down the sights at the kill zone, but held back on firing. Between the targets slowly moving, and my decent, it would be a waste of bullets to start fire at them just yet.

That didn’t mean I had to be idle, as I could at least mark my targets. Carving and the other power armored ponies are too well armored for the gun, but the other corps brigaders that came with them would just end up picking us off if left alone. So, they needed to die first.

The first of them that needed to die was a zebra with a grenade launcher. One shot from him could ruin this battle for us, and I’d already had enough bad days this week to have that happen. The second to die would be a unicorn mare with two short barrelled rust guns. Each of her guns was loaded up with hundred round drum magazines, and given leeway, she could easily wipe out most of Red’s supporters with one sweep of her guns. The third was a heavily armored large earth pony. He was armed with two shotguns attached to a battle saddle, which while he looked tough, he was nowhere near as dangerous as the power armored ponies. Still, I had a bad feeling about him, so he needed to go.

The lift stopped, and I jumped out, diving for cover. I made it just as a rocket flew overhead. Turning my gaze upward, I watched it as it was forcefully stopped in mid air. The old world explosive was floating completely still, covered in a green overglow. One of the Unicorn power armored ponies had grabbed it, and in its magic, turned the rocket around. With what looked like an effortless toss, they threw it back at where it came from, shaking the ship with the explosion.

*Bang!*

Pain erupted from my side as a bullet slammed into me. The bullet itself didn’t penetrate my barding, but it hurt like shit and reminded me to keep behind cover. The sizzling round fell from my dress, and pinged onto the deck. Looking over to where the shot had come from, there was a corps brigadier missing a back leg, bleeding from his eyes, and holding a 10mm pistol.

Sneaky asshole...

He was trying to reload his gun, but the blood that covered him made the next magazine slip from his hooves. Aiming my SMG, I put three shots into the pirates skull. His head blasted outward in a rain of gore that coated teh cover he’d been against, and his body slumped to the deck.

Deciding that I needed to move up, I pushed out from my cover with my gun and head on a swivel. The moment I stepped out, I was nearly hit by the bloody and broken body of a pirate. They’d been tossed through the air, and came smashing down against the metal box I’d just been headed for.

A power armored unicorn stared me down, holding a minigun in its magic. I quickly grabbed the body of the dead pirate, and used it as a shield as right as the minigun fired, ripping the body apart. Hiding behind the box for cover, I saw that the mutilated corpse still had two grenades on it. Eagerly, I grabbed them, pulled the pins, and let them cook.

With a flick of my hoof, I tossing the grenades over. Again, I figured now would be the best time to move. I dashed across the deck, putting some space between the power armor and myself. It likely was not going to do much except disorientated them for a moment, which was all I needed right now.

Finding new cover, I happen to duck myself next to Narwhal. She was armed with a battle rifle, and had a bloody hole in her shoulder. I’m sure back in Orthrus there was some sort of quote about how you can’t choose who you hide in a foxhole with, but surely it didn’t mean that it always had to be the worst company….

“These fuckers just had ta be hard ta put down.” She bitched as she reloaded her rifle. A spray of gunfire forced us to keep our heads down, it from my second mark, the mare with the two rust guns. “And ya just had ta be fucking useless at yar job. Aren’t ya supposed ta be full of death magic or somethin?”

“Shut it. Can you teleport me behind her?” I asked.

She looked at me and nodded. “Ya, but it’s going to drop ya a bit, unless you want ta bucket fused to yar hoof.”

I pulled my rust gun closer to me. “Do it!”

Narwhals horn glowed with a pale blue light, and then the world slipped away. The next thing I knew I was falling. My hooves hitting the ground with a loud clang, and I knew I needed to move. Quickly regaining my barings, I locked eyes with the corps brigader mare, her eyes pinpricks and bloodshot.

“Ya tink ya can creep yan ma!” She shouted as she turned her guns to me.

Dashing to the side, I quickly trotted to the side as we fired at each other, her bullets impacting my side as mine penetrated her. But the brigadier didn't relent, taking my shots, and firing back.

*Click, click, click.*

My SMG ran dry, causing the brigadier mare to stop and smirk at me. “Aww, litta cunt all sent, need mar led, I’ll ba genny an da nate ta ya” She pointed both barrels at me, and her head blew open, sending gray matter flying.

Narwhal waved at me with a big grin on her face. “Thanks, been wanting to end that coal town bitch for some time now.”

A glint caught my eye, drawing me to a sight above Narwhal. The grenade launcher zebra was above her, ready to fire. The zebra barely had time to do much of anything as the harpy Magpie pounced on him from high above, her talons mutilating him in a blink of an eye. Zebra parts hit the deck in large bloody chunks.

Before I could make my next move, I was hit by what felt like a wall, knocking me over. Looking to see what hit me, I saw the armored shotgun stallion bearing down on me. And he looked less than pleased.

“Ya a tough bitch, I'd give ya tat.” He stepped closer to me, already too close for me to just dive for cover. “But at point blank, you will die for sure.” A shot rang out from behind me, and only just barely missed the stallion, and in response he fired over me, likely at Narwhal and Magpie.

Thinking fast, I loosened my scarf, and threw it at the stallion face. Thankfully, the heavy scarf flew fast, and was enough to catch him off guard. So when I dived forward, and he fired at me in response, his shots were a hair too high to hit me. Sliding under the barrels, I pulled out two of the throwing knives from the scarf, and through the scarf I stuck them into the stallions eyes, pushing it deep into his head until it sunk into something more vital. The stallion screamed as he fired his shotgun wildly, with the only danger being the hot barrel here my face, and like damage to my ear drums.

Letting the stallion fall, I pulled the knife out, freeing my scarf from his face, both covered in his blood. I wiped the two knives off on a dryer part of my scarf before putting them away, and putting the scarf back on, not like anyone could see the blood. Now with him dead, I could focus on killing the power armored ponies, and then Carving Doll.

Narwhal waved at me, then pointed to the side. “Distracted the asshole!” She shouted. Looking at where she was pointing at, I saw the minigun using power armored pony. Our eyes met, and it swung the spinning barreled minimum at me, letting loose a wave of led.

Figuring the same trick might work twice, I used the shotgun pony's corpse for a shield. Bullets pounded into the corps, and its armor, saving me from the same fate. While holding the dead stallion up, I saw that he had a third, and mean looking shotgun on his back. Using my magic to grab it, I aimed from behind the corpse and fired…

Nothing happened, not even a click.

Quickly checking it, the gun was loaded, but it did have some sort of push lever. Pushing it, the barrel also pushed forward… Odd. Okay, let’s try this again.

Aiming and firing again, the barrel slammed back, and it did nothing again. The power armored pony stopped firing and was now making its way to me as it reloaded the minigun. So I tried the shotgun one last time before I try and use it as a club. The barrel slamming back, and then it exploded.

Pain erupted along the side of my head, causing me to drop the gun from my magical hold on it. Looking down at it the shitty shotgun had self destructed, the barrel split like a banana, and part of it had slapped me in the face. The power armored pony on the other hoof only had a few bits of shot stuck in it, but overall left it unfazed by any of it. I was sure of it, that they were laughing at my bad luck, but the pony hadn't started shooting yet, giving me the opportunity to try something more reckless.

Holding up the corpse, and loosening my scarf, I charged.

As soon as I got close, the corpse was ripped from my hold and tossed aside. Expecting this, I immediately threw my scarf over the ponies helmet, covering its soulless dark eyes. The brigadier swung its minigun around like a club. The attack had been unexpected, nearly landing into my side me as I backed up, but I’d pulled back just far enough.

It had worked and bought me some time, but that time was almost useless to me, as now I was out of options.

As the brigadier reached a power armored leg up and removed the scarf, a blue striped apple grenade rolled next to it. With a static filled explosion, the minigun fell to the ground and the power armored pony stood still.

“Finally!” Narwhal came rushing over with a long thin sword, sliding to a stop in front of the power armor. “Sorry it took so long. The bastard would have just thrown the EMP grenade if you hadn't kept ‘em distracted.”

I watched as she positioned the sword under one of the not-so armored joints in the suit. With a grunt, she slowly pushed it into the armor. Blood pooled onto the ground as a short lived, muffled screaming came from within the armor.

With the corps brigade support done for, as well as one armor down, Narwhal and I made our way to the killzone. What we found wasn’t any better of a scene than we’d just left. Bodies were strewn all over the deck, with those identifiable being a mix of corps brigaders and those fighting for Red. Among them was the other unicorn power armored pony with its head missing. Not far was Snowbird, wearing the power armor helmet on top of her head like a hat.

“Where's Carving Doll?” I shouted asked Snowbird. Tilting her head slightly, she stretched out her wing and pointed over to one of the cannons.

Rushing off, I quickly came to the scene of Red fending off a power armored Carving with a sword. Red was practically dancing around Carving, with elegant swings, and vicious thrusts, but none of the attacks could get passed the armor. Fortunately, the armor slowed Carving down just enough that she couldn’t land a hit Red. But we didn’t do something, eventually Red would get tired of her dance and slip up. And one fuck up was all it would take to end this whole fight.

“Narwhal, do you have another EMP grenade?” I asked as I kept an eye on the fight.

“Sadly, no.” Narwhal readyed her rifle, and hoofed over my rust gun. “Those things are difficult to make, and the wrench mares hate giving theirs up. But don't worry, lady Red has a backup plan.”

Taking the SMG, I loaded a magazine into it. “Good, but why was Carving in the power armor in the first place? Even if she’d suspected the attempt on her, I wouldn’t think she’d have been this prepared.”

“I’m wondering that myself.” Narwhal agreed as she took a shot at Carving, the buller only scratching the power armor.

Red kept herself out of Carvings reach, and out of her gun sights. Though looking much sturdier, the orphic power armor didn't have the same dexterity or ability of magic like the unicorn power armor had. All Red had to do was to stay out of Carving’s sights and at her side. Another disadvantage was how slow to react the armor was. The armor was strong, and much like a tank once moving, but that made it easy to read its movements. Despite that, as long as Carving kept moving, Red could not hit any of the weak points.

“I can do this all day, whore!” Carving yelled, and attempted to body slam Red.

“I know,” Red hopped up and over Carving, but her counter was stopped with a kick from the captain. “but this will be over very soon.” Taking a few steps back, she blew a kiss at Carving.

Stomping on the ground, Carving charged. Red easily dogged, but Carving dropped a few grenades behind her. The explosions sent shockwaves at me, making me flinch. When the smoke cleared, Red was on the floor, her dress torn.

“What da hell did ya do!?” Carving shouted, her head swinging back and forth, like she was blinded. “Fuckin’ no-good piece of shit sensors! Work for fuck’s sake!”

I took this opportunity to charge in, Red was already on her hooves, making her way to Carving.

“Come get me bitch!” I shouted. Firing my rust gun at Carving, the bullets harmlessly bounced off of the armor. Carving turned in my direction, but still clearly having a hard time seeing, and stomped on the floor. Loading my last magazin in, I pulled out two throwing knives and smirked. “I got two points to make with you.”

“Alright, but first I’ll have to put my hoof down right on ya face!” She snarled.

I threw the two knives. It wasn’t all that great of a throw, but they hit their mark as they slipped right into Reds magic. Red took the two knives and stabbed them down into Carvings leg joints just as she began a charge. The captain collapsed mid charge, grinding the heavy armor’s plates along the deck of the ship.

Carving didn't stay down long. She got back up quicker than I’d have though she would, but it did give Red and I the opening we needed. Before she could retaliate, I jumped in and aimed my rust gun at a joint and unloaded. Most of the bullets bounced off, but a few got in, forcing Carving to buckle. Red now had her opportunity to attack and took it. Drawing all her derringers at once, she focused them on the power armor joints. With a rapid double tap, she fired them all at once at point blank range.

Blood dripped from every seam the armor, but still Carving got back up.

“Foals! I cannot die!” She screamed, her voice warping by the straining speaker in her helmet. Thrashing about like a mad mare possesed, she let out a horrifying, pain filled laugh. Red and I got the hint and backed off a bit.

The sound of an explosion hit my ears, and Carving was sent sliding onto the floor. Her armor now had a huge scorched dent in the chestplate. With a heavy thud, a black metal ball slipped out of the hoof-wide indentation and rolled across the deck.

Looking back to where the shot had come from, I saw Tarbarry with what seemed to be a pony-portable pink cannon attached to his side.

Carving slowly got up, blood seeping out from under her helmet “You will still...” A fit of coughing came from her, along with more blood. “...Fail!”

“Doubtful.” Red laughed. “Once you’re dead, we will purge the rest of yar lot, Victoria included.” She lowered her head with a glare, and her muzzle twisted into an angry snarl. “Now, finish her off, Tarbarry.”

The preacher aimed the cannon at Carving, and fired, the shot was low, and bounced across the deck before smashing into Carvings chest, sending the armored pony onto her back. Red then trotted over to the downed captain, sword out, and plugged it into a joint in the neck.

“And with this, we’re done.” Red grunted as she gave the sword a firm twist for good measure.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and watched as Reds supporters came out. Among them was Mayall, with Brass and three other mirage ponies. Mayall gave an excited wave, and I couldn’t help but give her a soft wave back. At least that explained why Carving had acted so blind.

Trotting up to Red, she looked like a mess, but still had that floppy hat on. She always had that same hat on, didn’t she? For as odd of a question as it would be right now, I had to ask.

“Okay, just one question, what's with the stupid hat?” She looked up at it and laughed, and so did some other pony, and loudly.

The laughter was accompanied by clapping, from above us. Looking over at the base of the crowsnest tower, we saw the unmistakable form of Carving Doll, Ripper wings and all. “A wondrous show, don't you think… Savvys?”

The others didn't wait to ask why, and fired up at the captain. She took to the sky, staying ahead of the gunfire, she tossed a few grenades down at us before taking shelter in the crowsnest. Red and Narwhal responded quickly, knocking the explosives away with their magic before we took cover.

“Everypony, get ready for trouble.” Red announced as she picked a battle rifle off the ground, and pointed it up at the crowsnest. “Sacrificing your own raiding party, that's a risky move, Carving Doll.” She shouted.

The speakers crackled to life with the sound of feedback as Carving Doll’s voice echoed throughout the ship. “Life is all about risk, and if ma raid commander did managed ta kill ya, she’d get to take over Blackspot’s position. Oh, and thanks for gettin’ rid of that eyesore, ta fucker had been rubbing me ta wrong way since we got to ta islands.”

I dropped my empty rust gun and moved to use my revolvers. “You’re on your own Carving Doll, come out here and fight pony to pony!” I shouted, with no intent on fighting fair.

Laughter came over the speakers. “Thats where yar wrong, ya scurvy riddled ship rats.” There was a deep breath, and then Carving shouted. “All hooves on deck! The mutineers are cornered, and any sailor who joins in thar rapen and execution will get a spot on the newly opened raiden party. But if I find out ya aided the damned scallywags, ya get to be ta raiden parties new slaves!”

I looked over at Red, who looked beyond pissed now.

“What's the plan Red?” I asked as I readied my revolvers.

“Same as before, kill Carving.” She sighed. “The rest will sort itself out.”

A bullet whizzed passed my head, fired from a growing group of pirates forming on the upper deck. We all took cover, a few of us taking potshots at our new enemies. As if today hadn’t already been bad enough!

“Ya can't run, ya can't hide!” Carving mocked us, making me want to kill her even more.

“Right, kill Carving, that part I understand perfectly.” I mumbled to myself. “But how do we get to her?” The harpies could fly, but I had a good feeling that they’d be easy targets in the air. Mayall could easily sneak around, but not long enough to get anything done. No, as long as she was in the crowsnest, she had the advantage.

What we needed was for Carving to come down to us.

“Hey Red, you got another RPG?” I asked, full knowing there was no way we’d be that lucky.

“Yeah, actually.” Red looked over at me, and a coy smirk formed on her face. “But here’s the catch, it's hidden up on the top deck.” Right where the new mob was forming. “Maybe if we can scatter those fools for long enough, I can grab it.”

Easier said than done, any pony running up there would be an easy target. “Any way some pony can grab a power armor and charge them?”

“Naw.” Narwhal spoke up. “The tesla armor needs a docking rig to take on and off, as for the other armor...”

“Smashed.” I answered for her as I looked over at the tattered remains of it strewn across the deck.

Narwhal nodded. “Right now yar the most armored pony here, aside from yar head.”

She was looking at me with a fat smile, her and Red. Taking a long, and deep breath, I understood what they were suggesting. I didn't like it, as it was a stupid idea, but it was an idea.

“Fine… hold my head.” I grumbled. Red took my head, holding it closer then I felt comfortable with.

My body scraped its iron hooves on the floor, ready to charge as I pulled the death magic from deep within. The small blue flame around me grew in size, and after a moment, I felt I was ready enough. With a stomp and a kick, my body charged off. Jumping around our cover, it plunged into a hail of gunfire and angry shouting from the assaulting pirates. Red and Narwhal followed quickly, and with the other crew now focused on my body, they easily jumped from cover to cover.

“What's this, a suicide charge?” The speakers came to life with Carvings voice once again. “I didn't think any of… wait a fuckin’ second, where the fuck is her fuckin’ head!?”

Closer, I watched as my body ripped into the disorganized mob, unfazed by their attacks. The pirates quickly fell into a panic as my body took careful aim with my pistols, getting a headshot nearly one a second. The mob panicked and fired wildly. The spray of bullets did little to my armored body, but the shots that missed ripped right into the pirates firing from the other side. With the odds turned on them, the mob took cover, some dropping their guns as they retreated altogether.

This gave Red the opportunity to rush to the hidden RPG as Narwhal provided covering fire. She wasn’t exactly treating my head lightly as she focused on keeping us both safe rather than making sure it was a smooth ride. But as I tried to collect my bearings from the mad dash, Red had at least gotten us to where we needed to be.

Flipping open a rusty metal box, she pulled out what looked like the junkiest looking RPG I had ever seen. Probably the junkiest one ever fucking built, actually! Seriously, it looked like it was going to fall apart from just a stiff breeze.

“You sure that won't blow up in our faces?” I had to ask as she looked over the degraded weapon.

She hefted it up in her magic with a smile. “I only needs to be shot once. Trust me, it will work.”

An explosion went off near us before Red could fire, causing her to drop both the RPG and my head. She had a choice to grab either my head or the RPG, and in doing so, I’d like to think she proved her character with that choice. As she tightly gripped around my head, the RPG bounced away from us and over an edge that dropped down to the lower deck.

I could feel Red scream internally as she wore a blank look on her face.

Turning her head and mine, we saw that we were surrounded. My body struggled valliantly, but it had been covered in three layers of nets, and Narwhal looked to be out of ammo. My body struggled, but the pirates holdin it down tugged the nets in three different directions, pinning it in place.

“Whores thought we chosen would be frightened by evil magic!” One of them yelled.

Another shouted, “Aye, I call dibs on the headless! I like a mare who can't complain.”

That made me feel sick to my stomach.

A unicorn mare stepped out, holding a broken bottle in her magic. “Firstly, I’mma cut up Red's bitch face. She’s always thinked she be so much better den us.”

The group of pirates cheered, which was followed by an explosion in the crowsnest. Every creature paused as we all slowly looked over at the now smoking wreckage of the crowsnest crash down onto the deck below. Red tilted my head over the railing to looked down, and we both found Mayall holding the now spent and smoking RPG.

Carving Doll burst into the air from the smoldering wreckage. A trail of black smoke trailed off her still sizzling, ember filled mane and tail. Turning towards us, just her angry glare alone forced the mob of pirates quickly clear out. My body once again failed and tried to free itself as the three of us were left in the monsterous captain's sight, murder in her evil eyes.

Red backed up to my body. Narwhal took a combative stance, flipping her rifle around and holding it like a bat. Carving Doll howled and crashed down into Narwhal, sending the masochist flying. The look of shock across her face was frozen as her body was ripped clean in half. Her upper torso flew free, landing nere Red and I with a meaty thump. She only had a second to look at us as she realize what had happened before she passed out and went still.

“Right, I was going to just play this out, have ya die without needing to lift a feather.” Carving snarled at us, her tail still on fire. “Make it ah big fuck you to Flintlock Hook. Her own shit spawn, killed in her own ambush, and her target was not even in ta fight. But ya had to make it difficult, didn’t ya, Red? What, with all of ya tricks and ya heathen freaks!”

“Oh captain.” Red spoke with confidence and passed my head to my body that now had removed the nets from it. Her head tilted up as she drew her sword and let a twisted smile part her muzzle. “I am beyond difficult, and yar a fool to have gambled away such valuable sailors. But they were of yar ilk, destined to be thrown overboard by the good grase of the goddesses.”

“Enough bullshitting, Red.” The revving of the ripper wings hit my ears as Carving spread her wings. “Time to bleed!” She charged in, making a wide sweep of her cyber wings, forcing us to jump back.

I aimed my revolvers at Carving, but they only clicked. Fucking body hadn’t had the common decency to reload after using up all my rounds? We didn’t have time for this!

Carving herself ignored me and attacked Red. Unlike before, Red could not simply dance around her target. Using her sword to deflect the rippers, Red could only give ground in the fight, unable to even attack the captain.

Now reloaded, I fired at Carving. My shots didn’t do much, but they were forcing her off Red as she jumped back and took to the sky. Quickly turning around from her short climb, Carving went in for a dive, this time at me.

Not wanting to make the same mistake as Narwhal, I dove out of the way. But unlike my corpse body trick I’d used earlier, she’d seen my move coming a mile away. Carving turned in the last moment, skidding on the ground and crashing into me hard.

My head rolled, stopping in time to see her try and cut my body with her rippers. Luckily my meteoric iron legs held up better than a cyberleg, sending showers of sparks flying, but nothing more.

Two throwing knives slipped out of my scarf, held by blue flame. With quick swipes and jabs at Carving, the forced her to lose her aggressive focus. She managed to jump back in time to avoid each of the swipes, only losing her eyepatch. Inside the eye socket was a very bloodshot and obviously blind eye. The only damage Rototom had managed to inflict in her fight with her.

“Is that all ya have, captain?” Red mocked. Gunfire erupted from Red’s derringers, peppering the captain. However many hits she scored, none of the shots hitting anything vital as Carving blocked much of it with her cyber wings. “Yar stand in put up a better fight than this!”

“Says the unicorn who can't even hope to beat me.” Carving revved her wings again. “All yar traps are used up, trump cards revealed, and pawns proven useless. So come an’ try me.” Carving charged, and Red jumped back, throwing that stupid floppy hat at her. “I’ll make mincemeat out of ya!”

*werrr, pop!*

Smoke puffed out of one of the rippers as the floppy fabric became entangled in its teeth. Red stuck her tongue out at Carving, the rings one her tongue on full display.

“Ya didn't think my mother would give you those rippers without a fatal flaw, did ya? Why ta fuck you think we don't use rippers more often? Grinds through almost everything, but get ta gears all tangled up, they become nothing more than a shit club.”

“I’ll remember tat,” The captain chuckled, and revved the rest of her three working rippers. “maybe even tell yar mother about it when I deliver yar head.”

Pulling off my scarf, the thing swung around quit well due to the weight of it.

“Carving!” I shouted as I tossed my scarf. Predictably, she tried to knock it away with her other wing, catching both rippers in the fabric. Similarly to with red’s had, the motors whined, but the teeth couldn’t cut through it. It made me laugh, seeing her now trapped, as I held the other end of the iron wool scarf. “I going to cut out your other eye, just like my sister did to the first.”

“And I’ll pop tat head like I did ta her!” Carving screamed as she revved her last ripper, and charged at me. I blocked the ripper with my leg, once again sending sparks, as we locked eye to eye. Her eye didn't just bleed, it burned with a green flame, piercing into me.

I felt myself sinking back, the ground becoming like liquid, and bursting from it were cables and skeletal hooves. Whipping around me, pulling at me, dragging me further down. But the creeping fear from before? I didn’t feel it now, just a calm acceptance slowly being replaced by cruel excitement.

Staring right back at her with as much will as I could force behind it, everything stopped for a moment. The skeletal hooves let go of me, and instead, reached out for Carving. More pushed up through the ground, not just hooves, but claws, paws, and other bones. They grabbed at her, tearing her flesh and pulling her down. From the floor, skulls of all kinds emerged, biting into Carving, eating her, and ripping out chunks of her flesh. From behind me, a massive skeletal dragons claw rose, towering above us, slowly at first it moved down at us, then in a snap, it slammed down onto Carving Doll.

The illusion broke, and Carvings ripper fell to my side, grinding on the floor. Before she could recover I slammed my hoof down onto her cyber wing holding it in place. “This is the end for you!” I scream as I drew a knife from my scarf, and plunged it into Carvings eye socket. She screamed as I twisted the blade, and cut her only other eye out.

“Bitch! Cunt! Fucking whores!” Carving thrashed as she revved her one remaining ripper uselessly. “I will kill you and eat you!” She screamed right before a badly chipped sword plunged through her neck, silencing her for good.

An exhausted looking Red removed the sword, and wiped it, sending blood to the floor in a messy line. Taking a deep breath she thrusted the sword up into the air above her. Her horn flared as it pulled Carving’s severed head up along with it, and displaying both, she let loose one hell of a bellowing roar.

I let myself fall to the ground as she basked in her triumph. It wasn’t that I was exhausted, just glad that it was over. I’d avenged my sister, helped Red, and now? Finally, I could move on. I can finally focus on my real enemy, and stop with all this side crap. All I had to do now was wait for Red to sort out her shit, and take control of this ship.

Which as always, I’m sure wouldn’t end up being that easy.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Faction Alliance Obtained: Pirates of the Weeping Pegasus.

Quest Perk Obtained: Privateer. (You’ve set down a dangerous path of your own choosing, with no way to look back. But isn't that part of the adventure? Gain an extra x2 to critical damage to any faction caught unaware, and +10 to stealth vs any faction your wearing the same armor of.)

Chapter 58 - The Goddesses Chosen

We had let the day burn, and the night pass. With Red taking control over the Weeping Pegasus, it’d be foalish to push my own agenda just yet. She had a job to do, which included the rooting out of Carving Dolls loyalist, swiftly followed by their execution. By the end of the day, the ship was decorated with hanging corpses, and I was left as the only one left alive with the power of the evil eye.

I also needed the rest, as while my iron wool dress did protect me from the small arms fire, the shots still had cracked a few ribs. Even after a healing potion, it still hurt to breath for most of the day. Still, I had to say it was a small price to pay compared to those who weren’t among the living anymore.

Sunlight bathed the interior of the captain's room. Red sat holding me tight, preventing me from leaving. The mare had not gotten out of this fight unscratched, not by a longshot. Her body was covered in burnt pock marks from getting hit with an explosive, and she also had a few gunshot wounds in her flank. I had no doubt that given time, she would recover, and her fur would grow back to cover the damage, hiding the hurt mare underneath.

As it set in, the night had been oddly calm. Even with Red eventually becoming drunk, high, and horny, she passed out fairly quickly. I actually had to be the one to mount her this time, as she too exhausted to be in control, and with me trying to keep up our alliance, I had agreed to at least give things a shot. But it was clear that both of us were too hurt to be fucking, so I had to figure it was Red just trying to prove something, maybe that she could power through anything. I just gave up not long after she passed out, and just let her sleep. Why I was in her bed myself when I could have been anywhere? Well, it was too comfortable to pass up.

As for Reds fiance, the prince Circlet, she had him entertained by a few clean mares. She mentioned something about having a few backup royals for possible political marriages, which, I found the idea distasteful. But Red insured me that their lives at least will be far better then any foal in the fleet, and at least they will not be given away young like she had. Like before, I had to respect the alliance, even if I didn’t respect their ways.

The sound of a hoof and wood hitting the floor caught my attention, and in trotted Tarbarry. “Oy abomination, we got ta captains, and yar breakfast ready. Eggs, bacon, and fucking pancakes.” Along with him, came two somewhat happy looking unicorns pushing a cart.

I moved Reds hoof off my hip, and sat up. “You’re cheary today, Tarberry. Did you get fucked up the ass by a griffin?”

“Fuck you, bitch. I aint showing kindness to a heathen. Now wake up my lady, she's going to need the energy this meal will give.” He motioned for the two mares to set up a table, the smell of fresh food was mouthwatering.

It’s not like I didn’t understand why Tarbarry was being an asshole, I just didn’t care. Moreso, I knew he didn’t want my sympathy. Aside from those who were killed, he had gotten the worst of it when Carving Doll had her counter attack. Separated from everyone one else in the assault, the ship's crew shot off one of his back legs, and brutally beat him down. Another pony told me that he had been raped as well, but with how violent things were here, I somewhat figured that was not something completely out of the normal.

Personally, I wished they had just shot him in the head and put him out of our misery. But he was still here, and if only mildly important to Reds power, I at least had to tolerate him. But only just.

I waved to get his attention, and pointed down under the bed. “There's a half empty bottle of Lunas Shine down there, you can have it if you didn’t mess with my food.”

Tarbarry glared at me for a moment, and then trotted over to the table, taking what looked like some pastries, and passed them to one of the unicorns. “Go tell the chef to make a new batch of pastries, these ones are stale.” The mare nodded and trotted off with them.

I rolled my eyes, and shook Red, whom slowly stirred awake. “Breakfast time Captain Red Steel.” As Red slowly got up, I saw Tarbarry sneak off with the bottle of Luna Shine, looking a bit less miserable.

Not bothering to get dressed, we both got to the table with Red dragging her hooves a bit more than I was. Red cracked her stiff neck before picking up her silverware with her magic and looking over at the unicorn mare. “Right, one of Narwhal’s replacements. Now talk.”

She was young a pale pink pony, with a dark green mane and tail, and a cutiemark of a heart shaped lock. On her, she had a tattoo of the number six on her left cheek, and over her snout was a deep scar. Oddly, for some reason both her ears had been cut off as well, and I couldn’t think of a reason why anypony would do that. Then again with those in this fleet, it might have just been a drunken bit of ‘fun’.

The unicorn saluted. “Love Locket, former slave of the Weeping Pegasus! Today we will be performing a baptism for our new members, including your lover. After that, we’ll hold a selection of the new raiding team, as well as your selection of a new first mate.” Love Locket nervously poured syrup over our pancakes, and then passed us two cups full of what smelled like fresh orange juice.

I gave Love a polite nod before looking at Red. “So that's what Snowbird was talking about. You do know nobody will believe I joined your religion right?”

Red shoved a piece of pancake in her mouth, slowly chewing before swallowing. “Doesn't matter what they think.” She sipped her juice. “What matters is that you get baptised, then none can call you a heathen, and any creature that thinks you of heresy will need proof first.”

“I see, just like with the Corps Brigade.” I nodded right before biting into a thick piece of bacon, it tasting far better than it should. “And won't my being ‘undead’ become a problem?”

“As much as if you were a dragon or a harpy.” Red answered before taking another pancake peach into her mouth. “By taking the baptism, you are agreeing to fight for the goddesses, and in return you are to be accepted as one of us.”

I sipped my juice, and almost spit it up; it was not orange juice, but orange rum. Sipping my orange rum, I cut a piece of my pancake. “Right and what is exactly this baptism?”

She comped down on her strip of bacon, and cut into her eggs. “There's three steps to it. The first two represent the goddess, and the last, the prophet Rosland. Each step can vary from the different religious orders from the different ships, each having their own… flare. But generally it would involved drinking sacramental wine, announcing an oath, and receiving a branding.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Branding as in what? Burning a mark into a pony?”

“Sometimes.” She answered. Dipping her cut of bacon into the runny yolk of her eggs before ravenously biting down on it. I waited for her to continue, biting into my own piece of pancake. “But that’s a crude way to do it, and though enduring the pain is commendable for any of the chosen, it’s too easily done and over with.” She lifted her mane, and showed me the back of her ear, at its base was an intricate tattoo of a hourglass, with two cutlesses crossed behind it. She turned her head showing another tattoo at the base of her other ear, it of Roselands symbol. “Tattoos like this need time and skill to make, and are generally only done on important creatures. So any of the chosen who sees you with it will see you as their own, as it’s not something an outsider can easily get.”

I sighed. “So I have to get them then?”

Red nodded after shoving another piece of pancake in her mouth, and washing it down with the orange rum. “Now, since all this mess with the Corps Brigade is done, why don’t you tell me about your plan? I know your going after this nightmare, and the cunt is held up with the Republic assholes, but who else are you going to be killing?”

I scooped up a far portion of egg, bacon, and pancake, then shoved it in my mouth so to slowly chew on it. It was not that I didn't have a plan, or wanted to share it, but it was just not that great of a plan, along with the fact it was probably going to get lots of ponies killed. Swallowing, I washed the food down with the orange rum. “I’m going to blow Phobetor up with a megaspell.”

She blinked at me for a moment, and gave me coy smile. “Now I will admit that a megaspell would practically kill anything, but where are ya going to get one? And no, taking one from my mother is out of the question.”

I shook my head. “Don't worry about that part, the warhead i’m talking about is already set up and ready to be used. I just need to pick it up and lure Phobetor to it.” Red sat back, crossed her legs, and stuck her fork into the stack of pancakes as she shot me a look that read that she expected me to elaborate. “Right, as it turns out, Orthrus is planning to cut itself off from Republic territory if war breaks out. Their plan was to use one of their stockpiled megaspells to blow the tunnel as a last resort, which with the fleet of hovercraft they’ve got, won’t stop them for long anyway. But this is bigger than the war between Orthrus and the Republic.”

Red nodded. “Yar going to steal the bomb, an shove it up the nightmares cunt, correct?”

“Basically yeah, but there’s just one problem.” I took a deep breath of air, resigning myself to this path. “I need to draw Phobetor out, and to do so, I actually need the Republic and Orthrus to go to war.” I speared a strip of bacon and dipped it into the egg yoke like Red had. “But it can't just be any kind of fight. Phobetors control must be at risk of failing while having the opportunity to win it all. For that, I need the Republics emotions to go out of control.”

Red lifted a hoof as she finished chewing on her bit of breakfast. “I’m still a bit confused on this republic bullshit. Aren’t they the ones with the hivemind thing going on?”

“Yes, but I don't know how far the collective consciousness network has spread, so I’ll need to hit just the right nerve.” Now saying it out loud, it only made the task even more impossible.

A chuckle came from Red. “So let me get this all figured out; Phobetor, the nightmare, has embedded herself in the republic, whom have, or are in the process of turning themselves into a cybernetic hive mind. To draw her out, you need the Republic to get so emotional that she loses control, but not so much that it doesn’t ruin a real chance of victory in the fight, so much so that she tries to lead them and not just hide until things calm down. Then, you detonate a megaspell, of which you still have to steal from Orthrus, just to attempt to kill her with it.” Red pointed a fork at me. “Is that the plan?”

“Essentially, yes.” I confirmed. “But the problem I have is figuring out how am I to poke the preverbal twittermite nest. Nothing I come up with I like.”

“It’s because your going to need to sacrifice innocent ponies to do it, and you’re hesitant to do that.” Red said with a serious tone. “Getting a pony mad? That's easy. Blinding them with rage and hate, sending them into a suicidal furry? That will require taking something they care about away from them, and then dangling it in their face as you defile it.” She lifted speared my last strip of bacon, letting it hang in her fork for a moment before taking a bite out of it and swallowing. “You must become a real monster, the kind of thing that threatens to snatch their foals away.”

“But what's a threat without weight behind it.” I pushed my plate away, my appetite gone as the full weight of what I needed to do sank in. “If nopony dies, if nopony is there to rage, then it will never be enough. And all of that, it will need to be directed at Orthrus. I can look like a monster all they want, but I need to be Orthrus’ monster...”

Red sighed. “Just spit it out, otherwise were going to be here all day, and the nightmare will only get stronger.”

I glared at her, hating how easy it was for her to be cruel. “I’m going to need to kill a foal in front of a crowd, dressed as an Orthrus soldier.”

“My mother once said that cruelty can be a kindness. Like beating a foal because they almost got themselves killed.” Red then shrugged. “But then again, what do I know, my mother’s a heartless cunt. You on the other hoof, you’re hunting a nightmare. What's the life of one foal if it helps to bring her down?”

I slammed my hoof on the table. “How can you say that? What if it was your foal?”

Red rolled her eyes. “Would letting my foal live under the rule of a nightmare be any better? Or having their brain become part of some computer?” She took her orange rum and finished it off in one go. “Not just that, but how many are you going to kill with that megaspell? How many foals will die afterwards, from both radiation and from the inevitable starvation? Or how about all the ponies who will die if you fail? You think Phobetor will care about one life? No, it will be the same as the millions and billions she will kill if you can’t destroy her.”

Slumping back into my seat, I grabbed my orange rum, knocking back the cup. “How can you say that so easily, like being a cold blooded killer was natural.”

She got out of her seat, and trotted over to me. “I’ve said it before, haven't I? In this world, you either fuck over others, or you end up getting fucked. This wasn’t something I was told, I learned it firsthoof with the fleet. And I bear those scars of being weak inside of me every fucking day.” She looked me in the eyes, her own where cold, and full of pain. “To live life without such hardship, that might be the highest privilege, but nopony in the whole fleet has had anything close to that. For the rest of us ponies, we must live with such struggles, or be killed by them.” Red trotted off to the door, leaving me in the room.

I looked at my plate, still covered with plenty of food. My eyes drifted to the eggs and the half eaten bacon, two things that came from living animals. Is there a bird missing its egg, or a hog father, or mother. If this hog had not been killed, would simply another have taken its place? Or would it have simply fall victim to a paradise dragon regardless? If I had traded places with Harp, would she be in the same position, or would she have a better plan…

“Fuck it all.” I picked up my fork, and stabbed the eggs. “I’ll just cross that road when I get there. All that matters in the end is that Phobetor dies.” I forced the food down my mouth, finishing it as fast as I could, and followed Red out.

In the captain's main room, the mare with the pastries had arrived. Red was standing there, aggressively eating one as Love Locket was helping her get dressed. Red looked over at me and smiled “So, made your decision then?”

Another unicorn mare waved me over, my dress sitting on a rack next to her. “Not yet,” Shifting, I trotted over to get dresses. “but maybe I’ll get lucky, and all I just have to do is kick a robotic puppy.”

“But you still have to go.” Red took a bite of the pastry after pointing out that fact. “Here, if it makes it any easier, I do have some advise. Stop trying to justify your actions. Understand that what your doing is bad, and that other creatures are going to suffer. Then also come to understand that suffering is inevitable, but you can at least forcefully carve some peace into the world. Because just a slice of it is still better than none, even if it’s only for a brief moment in time.”

The mare helping me get dressed got a bit too touchy with her hooves, caressing my body before getting my dress on. “Is that what you’re trying to do, Red?” I already knew that she didn’t really care about peace, only that those she controlled were kept in line.

“Some days I do like it when nothing's happening.” Red shrugged. “But then there's the days that I want to get rutted by a bull. So don't mistake me for some idealist pretending to be a ruthless bitch. But on the task at hoof, all you need to ask yourself is if you can afford to have Phobetor win?”

The belts were fassend to me, and my guns were returned to my sides. “I get it, and this is why I asked you. If it was anypony else, then I have no doubt that Phobetor would see right through it. Or worse, predicted it, and set up a trap.”

Finishing her pastry, Red trotted over to me, and tapped me on the nose with her hoof. “I’m flattered. Well flattered in that you need a partner to do bad things with. Now I think it's best if you get ready for your baptism, otherwise we're going to spend all day talking.”

With that, I watched Red walk off as the assisting mares combed, braided, and styled my main into a bun. Looking at the three unicorn mares, each one young, cute in their own right, but all having a scar or two, I was starting to get why the pirates were so… Brutal. “Say, if there was a great evil out there, but the only path to end such evil involved causing the innocent to suffer, would you make the innocent suffer so to stop such evil?”

The three mares looked at each other, and Love Locket stepped forward. “Lady Echo, it has always been known that it is best to have ten of the faith fall than to suffer one sinner.” She pulled out a pendent, it a simple peace of wood with the symbol of Thorn Rossland on it. “In our greatest time of darkness, the prophet pulled us back into the light. But even one sinner could have, and eventually did, drag ships under the waves with them. Thousands of souls lost, stolen from the Goddess’ love. But those who remained under the prophets guidance, hunted down the sinners. We learned quickly that it's better to sacrifice hundreds of the faithful, if only to save thousands from the sinners plots.” Love Locke had a smile on her face that seemed too pure for what she was saying, holding the pendent close to her chest.

Maybe I had made a terrible mistake, entrusting the hunting of Phobetor to mad mares and zealots. But until now my every action had been too slow, too easy to read. I wanted to find a better way, but my time had run out.

“You know, among my kin, most of us believed that it's better to let the guilty go free then the innocent suffer.” I pulled out my sisters gun and looked over it. It was in rough shape, nicked and scratched in a dozen places, but still it shined with its silver finish. “But that option might be beyond my reach now. It might have always been beyond my reach.” They put my scarf around my non-existent neck, my head now comfortably resting on it.

“Lady Echo,” Love finished off my ensemble by adding two black pearl earrings to my ears. “I’m sure you will find your answer during your baptism. The goddesses never abandon those who have faith. I will even pray for you if it would bring you the comfort and knowlage you seek.”

I didn't have the same hope for answers, and all it was that I wanted was to keep them on my side of this conflict. But if Celestia or Luna were to contact me and give me a way to solve this without anypony dieing? Well, then I wish they’d fucking hurry up and show me already.

Turning to Love, I smiled, deciding to play along. “Thank you, and I’m sure the Goddesess will help, for my mission is noble. I’ll be trotting into the jaws of evil, and I’ll be needing every blessing and prayer I can get.”

Love backed up, and bowed her head with a smile. “Then you are ready, and I will not keep you any longer.”

I felt a little dirty doing that, but I was in too deep at this point. Stepping away, I left the room, and walked out to the ship. If I needed religious fury and zealotry to kill Phobetor, then I will get it. But like Red had said, I can’t and won’t make excuses for what I was going to do.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The ship was alive with activity. Most of it the normal maintenance, mind you, but the bow of the ship was being prepped for the baptism. Simple decorations mainly consisting of Thorn Roselands symbols were being hung about, and plenty of wine was being brought up in casks. An odd looking table with needles consistent with a tattoo parlor was placed near the front, and there was also a fire pit, with a large Radhog rotating over it.

At the very end of the bow, stood Mayall. She was looking over at the water, with two other lurkers stood next to her that I’d never seen before. I was a bit confused by the two new lurkers, but they had a habit of getting around. Trotting over, the two lurkers noticed me, and gave Mayall and I some space.

“So…” I offered, pulling her from her seaward gaze. “I’m guessing they're from the sub?”

Mayall nodded. “They came around last night, wanting to know what our next move was.”

I avoided looking down over the edge of the ship. Being around so much water wasn't bothering me as much as it had before, but still, I didn't want to test my luck. “You do have that deal with Orthrus, so maybe you can continue helping them?”

She shook her head, and lifted her pipbuck. “No, I need to leave, mother made that clear. If the nest is working with Orthrus, then it will only cause problems for every creature if I stay. So i’m going to look for Harp. That’s what friends do, right?”

I felt a bit of a twinge in my heart. “But where will you go when you don't have even a direction?”

“Old Equestria.” Mayal said as she looked over the horizon. “Even if I can't find her there, there's still a few submarines ports that… that my nest can colonize.” She tapped at her pipbuck. “So as I help make the new nests for them, I’ll wait for her signal. It's the best I can do.”

Deep down, I wanted Mayall to be right, that there was a happy ending to all this, that we will all get to see the rainbow at the end of the journey. But... all I could see was death, fire, and war. Still, maybe she could be spared from further tragedy, at least from these islands.

Placing a hoof on her shoulder, I gave her a smile, one as honest as I could muster. “That's a wonderful idea, and I know Harp would love to see what you have made while you wait.”

She looked over at me, her muzzle claws forming something similar to a smile. “Maybe after finding her, we can look for you, where ever you have gone.”

I took a step back, a wave of confusion hitting me. “What do you mean, I’m right here?”

“Part of you is.” Mayall looked back to the water, and sighed. “But most of you is, different. I...I don't mean you look different, that happened, I mean just look at me. But you, it's like much of you has gone missing, and something else is in its place.”

I took a deep breath, and lifted my head off my shoulders. Holding it up I turned my head to look at my own body, and I had to agree, what I was looking at, it wasn't me. Turning my head back to Mayall, she was giving me a worried glance.

“I know what you mean. And maybe I already have known, for a long time now.” Placing my head back on, I stepped up next to Mayall again. “I think I’ve been losing myself for awhile now. And in its place, a new me has been filling what was lost.”

“But this new you is not pony.” Mayall sighed. “I feel I lost bits of myself, but what took its place was still lurker. Harp too. Of what she lost, and of what she gained was still pony. But not you.”

I nodded. “Back in the republic, after your sister attacked, the republic tried to turn me into a machine. At the same time, Phobetor tried to shove my mind far away from everything, and keep me as some sort of puppet.” The memory of that nightmare version of myself still sent a shiver down my spine. “Maybe that's when it happened, when I started becoming something else. Some pony colder, angrier, less… me.”

Mayall pulled out a picture frame from a pocket of her sailor uniform. On it was a younger Harp with a proud looking Stratus Dancer, both with big smiles on their face. “I thought Harp would want to keep this, so I took it from her room before we left.” A drop of water landed on the picture, and rolled down the glass. Mayall wiped a tear from her chitin cheek, and put the picture away. “So if Harp is lost, then I just have to find her.” She looked me in the eyes, with a sad, but determined look in her own. “And if you have lost yourself, then once I have Harp again, we will go and find you.”

I looked away, a feeling of shame washing over me, but also a warmth. It was small, barely noticeable, but it was still warm and comforting. “Then go… go and find our friend. And when you do, I’ll be waiting for you to come and find me… wherever I’ve lost myself at.”

Taking a long deep breath, and slowly exhaling I turned back to Mayall, only to see that she was gone, as were the two other lurkers. Strange, how despite how much attention they could bring to themselves, those funny glowing crab ponies could just vanish like ghosts, or like how Mare-do-well did in the oldworld foalish comic books.

I stopped myself from looking over the edge of the ship, knowing that even if she was down there, I would unlikely see her before she dipped under the water. Like many things in my life recently, another piece of it was simply gone in an instant. At least with this piece, I could hold on to some hope of maybe some day ever seeing it again.

*ding dong, ding dong*

Looking back, I saw Tarbarry ringing a bell. He was dressed in thick black robes, and had a large medallion of Thorn Roselands symbol hanging from his neck.

“Come now ya heathens, time for ya to be brought into ta hurd!” He shouted, and six mirage ponies shuffled over to him. One of them was Brass Clarinet, and next to her was a colt I assumed was her foal. I joined them, giving Brass a nodd.

Many of the pirates came around, taking seats along the edge of the ship, and others finding high spaces further up, with a few even sitting on the vertibucks. Before long, we were surrounded by the pirates like a wall of creatures, all looking at us. Then the mass split, and Red trotted in, accompanied by the three unicorns, and two heavily cybernetically modified mares.

Red trotted all the way to the end of the ship, to where I was, and turned around, head held up high. One of the cybermare stood next to her, and opened her chest, revealing a speaker. Red taking the cybermars hoof spoke into it like a microphone, and her voice was amplified through the mares chest.

“Greetings every creature, I, Captain Red Steel of the grand fleet, hereby approve of this baptism and will act as its witness.”

There was a cheer from the pirates, but they quickly settled down as Red motioned for them to be quiet.

“Now before we get to our holy duty, I will inform you that due to the feasting and drinking of yesterday, this baptism will be kept short, and all of you are expected to get back to work after its done, ya hear me!?” The mass of pirates groaned. “Enough of that ya spoiled lot. Next, due to the special situation of this baptism, I have asked the head Wrench Mare mother Cog Grease to perform the branding. They will represent the first of many who will join us from this island, a glorious honor.”

One of the wrench mares stepped forward. She looked quite old, at least old enough to be my grandmother, and her entire left side of her face was metal, with a large red eye bulging out from it. She was clearly a pegasus, as she had two cyber limbs coming out of her back, moving around almost like a cat's tail with a claw on its end. “Right, the good captain has promised that half of you will join my coven, of which I am looking forward to seeing what you can do fer yer new home.” Her voice was more synthesized than natural, making me worried about how augmented the wrench mates were, and if I was sitting on a potential reaver nest.

Tarberry stepped up, and placed himself in front of us all. The wrench mate with the inbuilt speaker stepped over to him, and offered Tarberry her hoof. He looked at each of us, giving me a smile before speaking. “Watch now as a miracle happens. Six lost heathens, six ponies whom had known nothing of the prophets words, nor the goddesses love, will now become part of the chosen. They shall accept the goddesses into their heart, and in doing so, help bring salvation to this forsaken world.”

The pirates burst into applause, and Tarberry waited for them to calm before continuing. “Today, they will be reborn as part of the goddesses chosen followers. Taking on both a new life, and a new name. Freed from the chains of blood, land, and the past, through the goddesses, we all become one family, united by the strength of our faith. To fight evil is our calling, and to save the lost by bringing them into our family is the highest honor. And once together, we will no longer fear death, as it will only bring us closer to the light of the goddesses. Now, you six, step forward, and we will speak our oath. It is time to accept the light of the goddesses, and be given your new name.”

Each of us stepped up, and two small cups were placed in front of us, each filled with a clear liquid that smelled strongly like the luna-shine alcohol ponies in Charon’s Stop were always brewing up themselves.

Tarberry trotted over to the first mare, which if done in order, left me as the last one. The old cyberpony Cog Grease trotted over as well. Standing to the other side of Tarberry, she was the one to speak.

“Now repeat after me. Under Celestia's day, under Lunas night, I commit my soul to thee.”

The mirage pony mare hesitated at first, but then repeated after Cog Grease. The old mare then continued, only to shortly be copied by the younger mare.

“I announce through all my conviction in the goddesses, never shall I deny them my faith.”

“For the goddesses love is unconditional, and their love of me must be met in kind.”

“I will not be swayed by words, or turned by spears.”

“I will not be tricked through coin, or tempted by flesh.”

“For this oath I make is my virtue of faith, the goddesses banner I hold true.”

“And so, I commit my soul to Celestia's glorious day, and Luna's sacred night.”

The old mare lifted up the cup in front of her, and waited for the young mare to do the same. “Now drink of this sacramental wine, and receive your new name.” The young looked at the cup for a moment, and then locked back the Luna Shine spirit, giving a noticeable shiver as she put the cup down. Cog grease slowly poured her cup over the young mares head before announcing loudly. “I now name you Overcharge Symfony, and accept you into our family. May you share in our love, our hate, and most of all, our faith.”

The pirates that surrounded us broke into a chant, loudly repeating Overcharge Symfony for nearly a minute. It felt like the air was filled with energy, as though their fervent excitement was a magic all it's own, and if it was, I wouldn't be surprised.

The next two mares followed suit, repeating after Cog Grease, and receiving their new names. Each one followed by the pirates chanting their new names. Once the pirates had settled down, Cog Grease stepped back, and Red walked up next to Tarbarry, standing in front of Brass’s colt.

The colt looked nervous, but calmed when Red smiled. “Now just repeat after me, and you will become part of our family.” He looked to his mother, whom gave him a nod and a smile to reassure him.

The two repeated the same words Cog Grease had said before, but when the colt drank from the cup, he balked and nearly threw up. The colt received the name Brave Shank, of which he immediately blushed, and looked at his mother, who looked away from him with a coy smile. Brass’s name didn't change much, becoming Brass Scissors, obviously alluding to her profession as a main dresser.

Last was me, of which Tarbarry sneered at me, and I smiled back at him, just to further get under his fur. Red cleared her throat, getting our attention. “Lets not sour this moment, for it's a happy day… for all of us.”

We waited for everything to become quite, only taking a short moment for not just the pirates to silence, but even the birds stopped squawking “Under Celestia's day, under Lunas night, I commit my soul to thee.” I repeated after Red, knowing that this oath was as hollow to me as it was to her.

“I announce through all my conviction in the goddesses, never shall I deny them my faith.” It was not like the alicorn princesses were not seen like goddesses, the two possessing great magical power, or so the historical books say.

“For the goddesses love is unconditional, and their love of me must be met in kind.” And Celestia was known to have ruled for a thousand years, keeping Equestria relatively peaceful, and prosperous.

“I will not be swayed by words, or turned by spears.” Ironic as that was how they were converting ponies, but then they are just another in a long line of hypocritical groups.

“I will not be tricked through coin, or tempted by flesh.” Maybe if they were not like a group of brutish savages, then I could see myself agreeing with them.

“For this oath I make is my virtue of faith, the goddesses banner I hold true.” Even if by force, if they could return the world to a time like the Celestia era, It would be better for everypony.

“And so, I commit my soul to Celestia's Day, and Luna's night.” I just hope I haven't made a terrible decision. If Celestia and Luna are out there, I really could use a sign.

We both lifted up our cups, and I slammed the foul alcohol in mine down my muzzle. The pungent spirit burned on its way down, causing me to burp a blue flame. Red then proceeded to poor her cup on my head. “I now name you Cold Iron, and accept you into our family. May you share in our love, or hate, and most of all, our faith.”

Again the pirates burst into chanting, repeating my new name over and over. Red trotted up next to me, lifted up my hoof, and shouted with a magicly amplified voice. “I hereby announce that Cold Iron, the bicorn dullahan, the dragonslayer of the Marewaii Islands, as this ships new first mate!” The chanting continued, but this time it was louder, and accompanied by heavy stomping.

The celebration continued as the pirates yelled ecoragment to us, and a few of the pirates making blatant propositions to some of the mares. But the crowd quickly dwindled as the pirates began to break away, likely returning to their jobs on the ship. Leaving the ten of us with some drinks, and a large roasting pig being attended by three pirates in chef hats.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I swear that pork never tasted so good before, though I did try and avoid meat before, as us ponies were normally herbivores. But it was just so juicy and thick that I couldn't help but love biting into it. It helped that with the changes my body had gone through, my teeth turned out to be serrated, much like the harpies. Whatever had changed my body seemed like it wasn’t finished, with each day a piece of me replaced by something different. But also, each day I felt less worried about it. Maybe it was just that I was coming to accept this new me, and that's all it was.

It wasn’t just me either, but the other mirage pony mares seemed to be accepting of this new life as well. They still seemed apprehensive at first, but after Cog Grease tattooed a branding to the back of their neck, they started to enjoy themselves, smiling as they enjoyed their food and drink. I could only wonder what their lives were before. Scavengers maybe, or more likely bandits. Going from barely surviving in the dark metro, to feasting in the sun among a crew of sailors who were as brutal and tough as anything else they’d ever known? I doubt their lives will have actually changed all that much, only replacing one set of hardships with another. Yet, even so, maybe here they can actually live a life worth living.

“Cold Iron!” Brass called out to me as she trotted over, having just finished getting her bransing. “You look deep in thought?”

“A bit.” I honestly answered. “Do you think that your sister would have loved it here?”

Brass chuckled. “Reed would have been happy anywhere, it's who she is. And... it's why we left her there. I couldn't risk her happiness, even for our own. But I would have loved to have had her and the foals here with me, seeing the sky without a mask on.”

I looked up at the sky with her, finding it nearly completely clear except for one small cloud over Friendly Island. “If everything goes right, then everypony will get to see the sky without a mask on.”

“Maybe we can just burn down the jungle, that would solve a lot of problems.” Brass joked.

I scratched my chin at the idea, and remembered something I read once. “I think Orthrus tried that once. But it rains so much here that no major fire could be sustained.”

“That sounds like Orthrus in a nutshell. Just trying to help, but not really doing anything.” She had a bot of disdain in her voice. “Well, I’ve got to make sure my little Brave Shank doesn't eat himself sick again, and doubt that Luna Shine he had is helping.”

As Brass left, I watched Red trot over, joined by Snowbird. When she got close, I shoved a small piece of pork in her mouth. “Cold Iron? Naming me after my legs are you.”

Snowbird chuckled. “Half right, half wrong. In ta old folklore books, iron has a way of warding evil spirits, but loses this magic if forged. So to keep its magic, it must be hammered into shape without a forge, molded through sheer brute force alone. It says that cold iron tools and weapons were common in ancient times because of this innate property, and the practice has since been lost to time.”

“Plus, you're going to fight a nightmare also thought lost to time, so we thought it would be appropriate.” Red swallowed the peace of pork. “And on that note, I'm guessing we're heading to this Orthrus place first to ‘borrow’ what you need?”

“We?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Don't you have a ship to run, Captain?”

“Please,” She waved her hoof at me dismissively. “I’m sure you know that any of these sailors can't talk their way out of an open sack, and this ship practically runs itself. Besides, you're going to need me, I know it. Snowbird and her coven will keep the ship afloat and in line in our absences. Anyways, I want to see all this fancy Orthrus tech you've spoke about the other night.”

“Do not forget that this is also to establish a dialogue with this Orthrus faction, captain Red.” Snowbird spoke up. “As requested, we’ve prepared a strike team for you. Not the best available, as we killed dem all in da fighting, but they won’t just accidentally shoot off their guns.”

Red nodded, “Right, and while I make with the diplomacy, Cold can start on her nightmare hunt.”

I pulled on my scarf, and looked at one of the throwing knives. Clever enough to get passed a guard, or any mook, but any experienced Orthrus member will see that I’m hiding a shit ton of knives. “All easier said than done. They already know what I’ve become, and won't be keen to just let me do as I please. I’m going to need them to look the other way, and have it in their best interest to ignore me.”

A smile formed on Reds face. “That I can do, but I’ll need you to tell me everything about the Orthrus’ leadership on our way there. And I mean everything.”

“Alright,” I didn't want to admit it, but for any of this to go smoothly, it was a going to depend on Red, even though her ego was already getting bigger by the moment. “but promise me that you will not try to sleep with any of the council representatives.”

“Jealous, are you?” Red spoke coyly, “Don't worry, I’m an expert diplomat, not just some plucky whore. But enough of that, it's time for you to get your tattoos. I’ve told Cog Grease to give you the same as mine, as we don't want the fleet to think you’re just a normal sailor.”

I nodded to her with a nervous smile. There was already no going back, and this was just the solidification of it. Phobetor had played Vibraphone like an instrument, robbing her of nearly everything. But Cold Iron will be different. I will be vicious, unpredictable, and I will stop her by any means necessary.

And I mean any.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

-Footnote

Quest Perk Obtained: Chosen of the Grand Fleet. (The zealot seafaring civilization of pirates have taken you in as their own, and as one of them you now walk with a dangerous swagger, and have a gaze that makes others uneasy. When attempting to intimidate, you get +15 to persuasion.)

Chapter 59 - Negotiations

I was getting use to flying in a gull, but that might have been the self medication of Luna Shine and some chill. Even though Cog Grease was skillful at her tattooing, the needle piercing behind my ears hurt like a bitch, though no pony else had this problem but me. The pain was annoyingly distracting, so I had to kill the pain to just concentrate. So as I held my head, I happen to looking down, thru the grated floor, and at the water below. It looked like they just replaced the floor with part of a grate walkway, which did not fill me with confidence over how this vertibuck even stayed in the air it.

“I’ve been wondering, do you ponies make thees gulls, or just maintain ones from the great war?” I asked out loud.

“The cathedral of iron and steel constructs the gulls.” Steam Press answered. A wrench mare with extensive brass cybernetics, she had a light copper coat, and a dark copper mane. Though, it was hard to tell that a mare was even under the thick red robe she wore. From what I could see, her hooves had been replaced with talons, her tail with a mister helper claw, and her eyes looked like they once belonged to a pair of security cameras. While crude, she had more cybernetics grafted onto her than most mirage ponies could ever dream of owning. “Each gull is built and blessed, and it's our job to keep it flying. This gull has surved the goddesses for over a hundred years.” Though at the very least, I was glad she didn't sound like a robot. She however had a high pitched squeaky voice, which in and of itself was a bit annoying to me.

“The artifact vertibucks are kept at Avalon, as the holy hooves of the prophet once stood on them. That alone make us simple chosen unworthy to ever step board such aircraft.” explained a stallion in unicorn power armor. His name was Meat Hook, and that’s all I knew about the stallion. He proudly placed his armored hoof onto his armored chest. “Can I once again state that I am honored to be part of this holy mission, and may the words of the goddesses spread even further.”

Their were two other pirates in this group, twin griffins… I’ll just go with mares, who look around Harps age, both with a dull orange coat on their feline halves. Headsail had a green plumage with a yellow highlights, while her sister, Staysail, had a yellow plumage with green highlights. The two didn’t talk all that much, more focused on polishing their rust guns.

“We’re reaching our destination everypony, so you all better be on your best behavior now!” Red called out, sitting in the co-pilot seat. “I’m going to send out our message.”

Static blared on the speakers, and Reds prerecorded voice spoke. “This is captain Red Steel, of the ship Weeping Pegasus, daughter of Flintlock Hoof, and admiral of the chosen’s grand fleet. I am here to conduct peace talks with Orthrus, to establish trade with the Marewaii Islands, as well to end hostilities.”

We waited as the Gull hovered over Typhoon Station, not that we could see where the station was under the jungle, but the pilot was sure were were at the coordinates I had given them. The idea was that in just showing up, we could force Orthrus to act, and take us in. They knew I was with the pirates, and with the problems the Republic were starting, they wouldn’t skip at the chance to end hostilities with one of the two factions. The cherry on top of our invitation would be to establish trade with an outside power, something Orthrus itself could ignore, but not their investors. This is what I was banking on the most, that the wealth Red could bring to the Islands could force Orthrus to let me do as I like, within reason.

“Anypony think that cloud is a bit odd?” The pilot spoke.

Headsail, Staysail looked out the side of the gull, and one stuck their claw out the window. “Eye, da wind is blowing, but ta cloud isn’t movin.” Staysail ancered.

“And it’s too together fur a could tat high.” Headsail.

Red leaned back and looked at me. “Say Iron dear, how many pegasus dose Othurus employ?”

I looked out at the lone cloud, I didn’t see anything strange with it. “A few, but none of them do cloud control like in old equestria.”

The seekers came to light, startling all of us, and causing Headsail to fall out of the Gull, where she flew back in like nothing had happened. “This is Orthus command, of Typhoon Station, keep your vertibuck where it is, and we will send out an escort. I repeat, stay where you are, and wait for our escort.”

Red breathed a sigh of relief. “Well now that we're getting in, I can take care of the rest.”

Looking down, part of the forest seemed to wobble, like it was made of water, and then two proper vertivucks seemingly materialized out from it. The vertibucks quickly rose, endearing my blind spot in the gull until the arrived on the either side of the gull. The speakers came to life again. “Follow our lead.”

One of the vertibucks flew in front of us, it seemingly wobbler then this scrap metal gull, my best guess was an inexperienced pilot. Our pilot followed, chuckling to herself as we slowly descending, circling the area. The other vertibuck trailed behind us, and I had a good feeling that it’s guns were actively aimed at us. As we descended, I could see the other pirates hold onto their seats tight, waiting through the floor as we got closer to the canopy of the jungle, also reminding me of my first and last ride in a Orphic vertibuck.

The lead veribuck slowed down before vertically descending down, vanished into the canopy. There was a moment of hesitation from our pilot before descending as well. The jungle vanished, revealing a vine covered clearing, and at the clearings center was a massive, and half buried hanger.

The hanger was clearly of Stable-Tec build, using the blue and yellow colors the old company was known for, but oddly it look more like a barn, then the hangers the old military used. The lead vertuck hovered over the massive ‘barn’ and we watched as the buildings roof opened up. Splitting from the middle, the roof slowly slid into itself, and over the edge of the barn. We got a good look at the inside, including the level I had gone through the last time I was there, and passed that, I could see the airship, Scootaloo's Resolve.

“Magnificent!” Red breathed as she looked down into the barn.

The speakers crackled. “Follow” was all that we were told before the vertibuck lowered itself into the barn.

Our pilot did as we were told, if a bit more steadily. Closer down, I could see that the vines below had dug their way into the barn, and infested the inside. From what I could remember from my last time through here, those plant's were highly dangerous, and now seeing it from the outside, they were everywhere. It also looked like Orthrus was losing their battle with it.

Looking past the vines, Orthrus ponies were all over the airship, both regulares cleaning the ship, and maintenance ponies digging into the mechanical parts. It was not that unusual for the airships to be worked on, but it looked like it was a full crew, like they were planning to actually fly the airship someday soon.

“My mother would kill to get her hooves on that airship!” Red practically squealed before taking a deep breath. “Well, I mean she’s killed for far less, but that, I don't even recognize those armaments. Are they some sort of energy cannons?”

“Railguns.” I informed the group. “Orthrus has been developing cost effective, and powerful weaponry. The end result is railguns, simply firing a metal slug using magnetics. I don't know the arcano science behind it, those cannons likely as powerful as small yeled megaspell bombs, but without the radiation.”

Steam Press practically had her face on the graited floor. “If I wasn't seeing it myself, I’d call it heresy.”

Looking out the window, I could see Orthrus regulares on the move, more than normal, like on the airship. Watching them run about, and doing drills, it was becoming more clear that they were indeed getting ready for a fight. “Best if you don't Steam, I doubt they will respond kindly to any accusations.”

“Ey, looks like war is on ta winds.” Meat Hook spoke up.

“Then we better not make ourselves their enemy.” Red said firmly as she removed her gasmask.

We were lead to a group of four landing pads, one of which had a vertibuck being pushed out of the way. A pony below waved a red flag at us, and the pilot took it as a hint that where our landing spot was. The only landing pad that was occupied had a vertibuck that I’ve never seen before, sleeker looking, but lacking propellers, instead having large cylinders in its place. I could only guess that it was an experimental craft, but why it was out was the bigger mystery to me.

With a thud, the gull landed, it’s engine slowly winding down as we trotted out. Our reception consisted of a very worried looking mirage pony mare in formal uniform, and four troopers armed with two air rifles each. Red stepped out in front of us, and raised her hoof. “I’m Red Steel”

The formal looking mare looked at Red, then her hoof, and then she hessedently shook it. “Welcome to Typhoon Station, now everypony…” She stopped, and looked at me, and then over at the twin griffins. “every… creature, please follow me.”

Red nodded. “Right, but before that, my pilot stays with my gull. No offence, but I need insurance that it’s not tampered with. I’m sure your superiors will understand.”

The formal mare became a bit frustrated, having to take a moment to breathe. “I… Sorry but you all must…” she stopped, and looked away, nodding a few times before looking back at Red. “That’s fine, no pony will get near your vertibuck without your permission, now follow me.”

The six of us trotted behind the mare, with two troopers next to her, and the other two behind us. The guards were clearly for show, as with only a cursory glance, I could see that we were being tracked by marksponies. If any of us decided to do anything stupid, the snipers would make short work of us. This time around, there will be no sneaking about, though I could hardly call my last time here sneaking, not when I was just dancing in the hoof of Orthrus the whole time.

The ponies not part of our escort couldn't help but stare and whisper among each other. Not that I could blame them, the only normal looking one among us was Red Steel, and the second was Meat Hook in his power armor. It felt odd, being seen as an outsider, and an oddity. I could only guess this is what Merit, or Mayall felt like. I was half tempted to lift my head up, just to fuck with them, but decided to save it as a trump card if I needed to shock some pony.

We were taken to a maintenance elevator that was large enough for all of us to fit inside comfortably. From there, we rode it up from floor B9, to floor B4. They must be taking us directly to see the council, or at least, to a place for us to stay before seeing the council, as floor B4 was only for logistics and VIP’s.

Red glanced at me, smiled, and then looked over at the formal dressed mare. “Say, our arrival must be all too sudden, and you have my apologies for that. I mean, as a diplomat myself I can understand the amount of stress this must be causing, not to mention the paperwork that this will generate. If your leaders need time to prepare, I am more than willing to wait, well, as long as the room is worth waiting in.”

The formal mare gave Red a nervous glance before looking away, and nodding. “No miss Red Steel, the council wishes to talk with you shortly. Accommodations will be provided after your meeting.”

Red knew about the telepathy talisman, and the council likely knew that she knew about them, it was just a shame that the formally dressed mare was no good at hiding that she was using telepathy. Which was odd, as Orthrus had plenty of skilled agents, at least one should have been at the ready, and not this novice.

The elevator doors opened, and what greeted us was two lines of troopers, making a pathway to where the council hall was. It seemed overly dramatic, and too prepared for my liking, making me worried that this was one of Phobetors traps.

Red took the first step out, her head held up, drinking up this display of power that Orthrus was showing us. With a sigh, I and the others followed. As we trotted, it became clear that each trooper was being used to display the different weapons and tech that Orthrus had at their disposal. From the standard military air rifles, to what looked like experimental rail guns, there was even a lelantos bolt launcher with them. Also among them were cyberdogs, and Orthrus drones, along with some high quality cybernetics on a few troopers.

At the end of the display were three ponies standing in front of the door. Two were in Orthrus specter suits, the same kind my sister used, and the third was in specter power armor.

“Good to see you again miss Red Steel, and you as well miss… Cold Iron.” Temboril’s voice spoke with a hint of irritation as she looked at me.

Red looked over to me, giving me a half confused glance before looking back to Temboril. “You have me at a disadvantage, might be that helmet.”

Temboril huffed as she removed her helmet, and underneath she a bit more makeup then I would expect. Eyeshadow, lipstick, even her eyelashes were thickened. “Specter Temboril Tablature of Orthrus, we first met at Governor's Polished Jade’s manor. There was a dress up party.”

“Yes, I remember now. It's a shame what happened to your partner, if only I had the opportunity to rid this world of Carving Doll sooner, that hole mess could have been avoided.”

“And what became of this Carving Doll?” Temboril asked sturnly.

“Dead, her corpse is currently being held in storage for later delivery to the admiral.” I cut into the conversation.

Temboril shot me a glare, then slowly sofend her gaze before looking back at Red. “I see, then I am to assume that your raids on our islands will stop now.”

“For the time being.” She responded. “But enough is already known about the Marewaii Islands to warrant a proper invitation by the grand fleet. Something my mother will do, and that's why I’m here. If a beneficiary relation between the two of our nations can be established, then war can be avoided, of that I’m sure.”

Temboril closed her eyes, looking like she was thinking, but more likely talking with the council through telepathy. Like before, Red let her importance be known, and I was sure the council was taking it at least moderately seriously. Temboril passed her helmet to one of the other specters and stepped aside, her power armor then hissed as the back opened up. Temboril stepped out, she was in a blue dress with yellow frills, and had what looked like blue glass slippers and yellow stockings. “Right, leave all rifles, explosives, and other heavy weapons with the guards, but you may keep any sidearms with you.”

It was almost funny how much had to be left at the door, it making even a few troopers give each other a few nervous glances. The most obvious was Meat Hook, who actually had to leave his armor. The chocolate brown unicorn stallion was covered in scars, burns, and religious tattoos. He also had twenty grenades on him, and a power hammer. The two griffins had to leave behind their rust guns, and five molotov cocktails each. As for Steam Press, she was forced to put her robe back on when it turns out she had four tentacle like mechanical arms grafted onto her back, but other then that, she had no weapons. Red and I only had small arms, so there was nothing for us to leave behind.

The door opened, and we stepped into the council hall. The moment I did, I immediately understood what was going on. All five council members were in attendance, along with other important ponies. There was what I guessed was the Trade Union who were all dressed in suits, as well as Shamisen Tuning was here with Guitarron the shadowrunner, likely representing the syndicate, though I didn’t know why. But the most telling of what was happening was the large group of pegasus's, which included Merit, Light, and Wild, who sat next to five military dressed ponies who had a large ‘E’ on their chests, the New Cloudsdale Enclave had arrived.

We were guided to an open table, on it, they’d setup a microphone, and placed several papers around at each seat. As we settled in, Red leaned in close to me. “Give me the quick and dirty rundown of who's who.” She whispered.

I nodded. “I already told you about the council, the ones who lead Orthrus with decentralized power.” I then tipped my head at the Trade Union. “The group of mirage ponies in expensive suits, that's the Trade Union, think of them as wealthy merchants with political power.”

“So their my best bet at establishing a trade route here.” Red commented.

I then motioned to Shamisen Tuning. “The mare with the brass cybernetics, and the stallion in shades are part of the syndicate, an underground organization linked to illegal activities all over the Marewaii Islands.”

Red smiled. “I remember her, we have a few things in common. Then the the group of pegusi must be the enclave my mothers looking for. Well that answers the flashy display of Orthrus military might.” She guessed correctly.

I nodded. “Right, meaning that this is all about the future of the Marewaii Islands.”

The sound of tapping over speakers caught our attention, it coming from the tan cot, and cream colored mane Orthrus PR pony Mandolin, who stood at a podium in a Orthrus formal uniform. “Now that our newest, and unexpected guests have arrived, we can continue with the diplomatic talks. Captain Red Steel, we ask if you simply watch until we are done with our current inquiry. Vice President Duster, can you repeat your question?”

An older pegasus stallion at the enclave table pulled their microphone closer to himself, all as he flipped through the sheets of patterns on his table. His main was almost all gray, with speck of black, his somewhat sagging coat was a light brown, and despite his age he gave off a feeling of strength. “Your documents here state that you own, or have access to a large number of what you call plantations, of which can produce large quantities of fruits, vegetables, and grain. It is truly impressive, but I don't see how it can support the additional population of New Cloudsdale.”

The Trade Union were the ones to speak up, represented by a familiar mare, Khlui if I was remembering it right, the owner of Free Mares Plantation. “Yes, Orthrus has brought this issue up with us, and we have come to an agreement that both the problem, and the solution are the same. Simply, we require more space. If we can establish a plantation inside New Cloudsdale, then we may be able to start solving the food problem.”

Duster looked over the documents again. “I like to say that's a viable start, but even if it is a cloud city, there is only so much room to spare, and so many mouths to feed right now.”

“We have one solution to this immediate problem.” Speaking up was the council member Kakko, representative of the health and safety office. “There are a few organic recycling converters in our possession. Their used to turn organic waste into edible food, mainly parts of plants that would normally be thrown away. Sadly, it's only a temporary solution do to its inability to fully filter out viruses, and complex toxins, preventing us from from using the plant matter on the surface.”

The Enclave talked among each other for a few minutes before Duster turned back to the microphone. “As a temporary solution that would be of great help, but it still doesn't solve the overall problem.”

We watched as the three of the Marewaii groups whispered to themselves, and I could guess why this was such a problem. Though pineapple island produces quite a lot of food, there is no guarantee that next year that the plantations will not get hit by a fungal infestation, the big risk of growing all of our food underground. If we empty out our food stockpile, and then the plantations got hit, it will be the metro thats suffering from a food shortage. Also, the Trade Union is not a charity, whatever they give out, they will want to see a bigger return.

I looked over at Red, who was reading the documents on the table, with a small grin on her face. She clearly had ideas of her own, something that did not go unnoticed. Naqara spoke up, her voice sturn, but soft. “Captain Red Steel, I would like to hear about any solutions you may have to the procurement of food, as well to how it can be increased. From what we know, you have a large fleet out there, with many hooves to run it. I doubt that would be possible without a way to feed all those mouths.”

All heads turn to us, and it was very clear that this was a double sided question. Yes, Red would be giving them a possible solution to this issue, but at the same time telling them about the infrastructure that the grand fleet might have. And in looking at Red, who was holding the documents like a fan in front of her mouth, she knew to.

Red was slow to answer, sizing up Naqara first. “You are not incorrect on this matter. With so many sailors, just subsisting off of raiding would be impossible. Fishing and kelp harvesting is very common, and I know of a few old equestrian navy outposts that have been turned into fish farms. But I doubt any of those would be of enough… assistance. Though, I myself do currently own a small plot of land, on an island that I use to grow some money crops; tobacco, coffee, hemp. I could lend it out to one of your plantations, and also deliver the plant waste that is produced when harvesting. We tend to use it as compost, but lately we have had more waste then we can use. But there are still a few problems with this plan.” Red did a slightly dramatic sigh as she put the documents down.

Naqara furrowed her brow for a second before relaxing. “And what are these problems Captain?”

Red smiled. “Well i’m sure you can understand, any viable land will be considerably extremely valuable to the fleet. Enough so that it would be the target of undesirables, and attractive to pests. Because of this, I have to keep a few guards on my land at all times. As of now, it’s enough to keep things safe, but if I start producing a large quantity of food, it’s only going to attract more attention, meaning I will need more guns, and the guards to maintain it’s security. There is also the problem of the sealurks, large lobster like things that attack the serfs on my land. The monsters are actually good meat, but too dangerous to keep near my land. If there was a way to keep them away from the growing operation, but still make use of them, I’m sure that the addison of the sea lurks would help with your food situation.”

The three groups went back to whispering between each other, and the first to speak up was Shamisen Tuning “If security is what you need, we do have a list of mercenaries on hoof in need of work. They’re trained professionals, and understand that bad things happen to those who break their contracts. We also have plenty of ponies looking for any work they can get, not the most reliable, but if all you need are laborers, then they will do the job.” I had no doubt that Shamisen was plotting something, maybe use this as an opportunity to expand the syndicate’s reach, but more than likely, trying to cut Orthrus off in providing security.

Khlui of the Trade Union was next to speak up. “We can accept this solution, and long as security can be guaranteed, and the guarantee to the independence of our plantation. We will pay for the use of the land, and there is interest in procuring your money crop as well. Also, some of us have voiced the idea of a trade outpost being setup on New Cloudsdale, and now we would like to extend that idea to your island as well.”

A quiet fell upon the room as Red’s eyes fell to Naqara, the council member glancing at me for a second, then back to Red. “Your sealurk problem, we may have a solution to that. As we have been dealing with sandlurks for a few generations now, we have created a few countermeasures. It’s no guarantee, as the sandlurks are if anything, hard to predict, but if you just need security, then Orthrus likewise can provide it. But... Just for your information, we are no simple mercenary force, and expect trying standards from our employers. In return for choosing us, you get a finely tuned machine keeping your territory safe and at peace.”

As was predictable, every pony here was playing politics. Though, I had a strong feeling that the Enclave was the only group without the major advantage of having existing infrastructure. Cloud city aside, they likely didn’t have much other than old world tech, of which Orthrus didn’t need, and the pirates would just put in a chapel or something. So all that this was, was Orthrus trying to convince the Enclave to move to the Marewaii Islands, and give them access to the cloud city. From there, I don’t know, maybe their goal was to leave the islands, but that would have to be seen with time.

What I did know, was that Red had successfully made herself into an important resource, of which, Orthrus, the syndicate, and the trade union were all too willing to get their hooves on.

Red look through the documents again, using it to hide a slight smile. “All good solutions, ones I can certainly agree to. And I am to assume that we will be having a private discussion later on the small details?”

“Of course. This is more of a formal introduction, an open exchange in dialogue rather than strict negotiations.” The council representative of the treasury and infrastructure, Dutar, spoke up. “Proper documentation will need to be written up after all assets can be proven. Only then we can make the contracts to make all deals official.”

“You think you can trust these sea raiders!?” All attention turned to the enclave table, where Merit had taken the microphone, leaning over the table. “Your kind killed two of my best friends, and strung their bodies to your vertibuck. Then you hunted through the metro. I was there when you slaughtered the residence of the New Canterlot Tower, and when you invaded stabe 50. Now you barge in here, and fein civility?”

Red put down her documents, letting everypony see her devilish smile. “I will not deny that happening, as it sounds like something our raiding party will do. It is a cruel world, in which the strong will do what they can. And the weak? They suffer what they must. But you in the Enclave know this system of strong and weak very well. It was rare, but now and then we’d pick up one of your dashites, tired and and the end of their rope as they flew for days over open ocean. And each and every one would have such a fascinating story to tell about why you would brand their flanks and leave them for dead. Oh, and then there's that event ten years ago, what was it? Operation cutarize I think you called it. I wonder how many ponies your kind turned to ash in one day as you raided every major city in the wasteland.”

Merit gave Red a death glare. “Then if we’re so bad, where's Harp and Vibraphone? What have you barbarians done with them?”

Red slowly dropped her smile, and looked over at me. “My first mate can tell you about their fates.”

Then and there I wanted to slap Red, iron hoof and all. Lifting my scarf a lottle, to hide my stripes on my cheek and the scar on my lip, I looked over at the council, seeing that Phorminx was avoiding eye contact, likely already informed about his daughters death. Then I looked at Merit. I could feel hatred coming from him, directed right at me. Something inside hurt, and made me want to tell him that Vibraphone was here, even if it was just a sliver of the pony I used to be.

“My name is Cold Iron… I was there when they died.” Merit glared at me for a moment, then slowly sat back in his seat, so I continued. “We were on a mission to find incriminating evidence of heresy against the fleet faction known as the Corps Brigade, of which includes the now deceased captain, Carving Doll. The mission was a success, but before we could get away with the evidence we were ambushed by sentient lurkers, led by one in particular named Berenice. Harp was the first to fall, and Vibraphone was unable to defend herself.”

The room fell silent, and I could see Light balance with the look of shock on her face. Maybe she had liked Harp, the poor thing. Merit looked the most devastated of them all, like all the bluster from before had deflated.

“And how did you get away?”

I looked over at Red and she nodded, so, with a sigh, I lifted my head and placed it on the table. There was a massive gasp from everypony, a few stumbling out of their seats. “The Vibraphone you knew, died that morning. All that's left of me is an undead monster. But because of that, I was able to deliver the evidence, and start the purge of the Corps Brigade. Once finished, their ship was placed under new leadership.”

The room fell silent again, as though a heavy wait filled the air. As I put my head back on, Red took the mic. “I’m sure you all have a lot of questions to ask, but I’m sure the Enclave has more pressing issues at hoof, which is the other reason why i’m here. As you might already know, we have more ships, many more ships. Why they are not here is simple, because my mother sees the capturing of a cloud city is more important than a costly island invasion. And without my help, when she dose find that city, she will not let it go until it is either hers, or it is destroyed.”

The Enclave ponies seemed to panic a little, whispering among each other as Duster took the mic. “And how do we know you’re not bluffing?”

Red simply relaxed in her seat before answering. “If you flew over here, then you must have seen the odd ship in the water. More likely, your scouts have possibly reported seeing ship after ship in a grid formation, sailing miles apart in a wide search pattern. Trust me, eventually she's going to find New Cloudsdale.”

“And how can you help stop this?” Naqara asked.

“By giving her a better offer. A cloud city is fantastic, but outside of it being a large trophy, only flyers can use it. Capturing it is just a point of pride for my mother. But if she can get her hooves on new weapons, advanced tech, the ability to build an airship like you have, she will drop her hunt.”

Naqara sighed. “So that's your true angle. You help us, and in turn you gain access to our market of tech. I’m tempted to throw you out, if that is,you didn't have the solution to our current dilemma. Then, is there anything else you want, maybe we can give you a tour of the lucky rabbit's foot.”

Red didn’t skip a beat in answering. “I’ll take you up on that offer, but more importantly I see here that there is a company that specializes in the reconstruction of damaged body parts. If I could take a closer look thees medical treatments, I would be most pleased.”

“I see, then we will coordinate a schedule with the Trade Union.” Naqara glanced over at the ponies in suits, some of whom nodded back at her. “Right then, unless anypony has any more to add, then were done with this discussion.” There were more whispering among the different groups, but nopony spoke up. “There are a few more things we need to go over, but at least the more pressing issues now has a possible practical solution.”

The discussion moved to more learning about each group. It was things like culture, disease, level of crime, and anything that could destabilize the metro. It was Orthrus’s main day to day job, ensuring the survival of the metro, and last thing they needed was some crazy disease turning ponies insane, or bandits with power armor. The Enclave on the other hoof seemed just happy that nopony really cared about their past. Equestria was far away from the Marewaii Islands, and deep down we were just glad to know that we weren’t born alone anymore.

There was a few standoffish moments, but as odd as it was to say, I really could feel a warmth in the room, similar from the jar Phobetor left behind. Even Red gave off a small amount of the warmth, though I wouldn't bet my bits that her warmth was for anything but herself.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After the talks concluded, we were escorted to a dining hall, where food and drink was prepared for everypony, everypony except for me. I on the other hoof was split from the group, and taken to a darker corner of the hanger, where a very angry Temboril stood in front of a heavy metal door. It was odd seeing the gussy uped mare put a dent in the metal door with only her hoof alone, but it got her point across loud and clear, talk shit, get hit… Deep down I know I deserve this treatment.

“Dammit Vibe…. Cold Iron, is it so hard to follow orders when given them!?” Temboril shouted in my face.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Orthrus was going to just sit on their hooves, I needed a more direct plan.”

A hoof connected with my chest, knocking the wind out of me. “And so you decide to ally with this outside force, and then bring them here!? What is wrong with you? What the fuck happened?”

A speaker near the door clicked on, and the voice of Naqara spoke out of it. “Save it for the room Temboril, or should I consider you emotionally compromised.”

Temboril took a deep breath, and opened the dented door. “Get in, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

I expected a stereotypical interrogation room, like from the old detective comics, or from the Shadow Spade books. All gray, a two way mirror, and a metal table to sit at. Well I did get the metal table, there was even an odd bag next to it, but it was in the middle of a vast desert, as far as the eyes can see. The sun hung overhead, it opresived with its light and heat, and my hooves dug into the sand. Stranger yet, there was no sound, nothing but the blood moving through my ears. “What the fuc…”

Temboril pushed me forward. “Get going, I rather not stay in here longer than I have to.”

As I trotted forward, I saw a corpse curled up in a ball near the entrance, it looked a lot like a bandit, and next to it was another… no, it was a reflection. The hole vastness was just an illusion, smoke and mirrors, like on the Captain Andromeda ride. But the fact that a pony was left here to die was less than comforting.

“You gotta be shitting me, who left a bandit in here? Some pony get over here and clean this up!” Temboril shouted.

Leving the dead bandit behind, we trotted over to the table, in what I guessed was the middle, the more I felt uneasy, and oppressed. The feeling only got worse when I took a seat, like some pony was looking over my shoulder, just in my blind spot. In the distance, The two specters who were with Temboril before trotted in, and dragged the body away, closing the door behind then. The door practically vanished into the wall, leaving us in an illusion of a dessert that felt far bigger than it should be. More disconcerting to me, it was a very good illusion. Looking at where the door was I couldn't even see my own reflection in it’s magical polished surface, just sand and sky.

“So… I take it you’ve been on the Captain Andromeda ride?” I asked bluntly.

Temboril just narrowed her gaze at me as she sat down at the table. “You seem a lot sharper than before, but ya, this room was inspired by that ride. There were old documents and reports about the ride causing panic attack in some ponies, and as it turns out, they were true, and that effect can be amplified.”

She wasn't wrong, just being here did make me feel uneasy, no sound other than my own hoofsteps, inside what looked like an impossibly large room, and the heat from the fake sun more intense than the real one. They were obviously trying to intimidate me. And to an extent, it was working, but still this place was no Tartarus.

“My sister must have told you then, but sorry to disappoint you, not enough of Vibraphone is left to be really affected by this.” I shrugged. “Maybe you should have asked your genocidal Lurker friend about it, as she was there, actively trying to fuck every pony over. But I guess the activities of the lurkers are of no concern of Orthrus!”

A Hoof reached over the table, and slammed into my jaw. It hurt like I was hit with a metal club, but not enough to knock me over. “How the fuck were we to know you would open the R&D Stable, you traitorous bitch!” Temboril sat back in her seat, and took a deep breath before grabbed the suspicious bag. Pulling out a few papers, and placing them on the table, they consisted of fuzzy photos, and text of near unreadable rambling. “Whatever was going wrong in the R&D Stable is gone now, but none of the information we can pull out of there makes any sense. Then there's the buzz over you, coming back completely different, and with a detachable head. We need a full explanation, yesterday.”

I rubbed my jaw, the pain still lingering. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but all of you better keep your ears and minds open.”

Temboril nodded. “Then tell us everything, and I mean everything.”

I took a deep breath, trying to get my thoughts together, I needed to be careful of what I say and didn’t say. The less that anypony knows, the less likely Phobetor will catch on. The longer no pony talked, the more sound of my own blood moving through my skull slowly became louder. It was actually starting to hurt. Only a little, but the pain seemed to go deep, and slowly get worse.

Heat, no sound, and nothing for my own eyes to focus on but Temboril. I began to tap on the table just to make a sound, only to find that it made none, the only sound I heard was the thunk of my hoof, it traveling through the iron, through my body, and into my ear.

“So everything then. That’s going to take a bit of time.” As the words left my mouth, the pain dulled, compelling me to keep talking. “Right, it started with me accepting that mission from Red Steel. With how obsessed Black Spot was with me, I was the clear candidate for having a memory bug attached to me. All the was left was for the bastard to come take me. Unfortunately, Harp Melody was taken along with me, and was used to keep me from fighting the former first mate.” With the pain subsiding, I now understood what was going on, and I tried to stop, holding my breath, and glaring at Temboril. But the pain returned, worse than before, like it now clawed into my own mind, compelling me to talk. I needed to talk, I couldn't not talk.

I spilled all I could, as fast as I could. It made me forget about the heat, as looking at Temboril prevented me from looking at the vastness, but most of all, the sound of my own voice filled what little sound in this soundless void.

For Tamboril’s credit, she didn't interrupt, just listened to every word, keeping as stone faced as my story became more and more mad. Even I began to doubt my own words now that I was saying it out loud. Then the climax of it all, the story of Pandora, gods, and the spirits of death. I was there, and hadn’t been changed. Yet, if I woke up in my bed tomorrow, I would be more than willing to believe it all a dream.

I then moved to the events that happened after, which Temboril could verify. Then after that, in which Temboril stopped me.

“That's enough, we don't need to hear about your sex.” Temboril gather up the photos and documents. “Though it's hard to believe, it does at least give us an explanation to what happened to the stable. At least the populations will believe a story about a rough megaspell if any pony comes to ask. It also explains enough about why you returned, though it does sound like madness.”

It suddenly hit me. I gave away the secret to who knows how many ponies, now greatly increasing the chance Phobetor will catch wind. With a sigh, I pointed to one of my horns. “Unicorns can do magic, and I’m a dullahan bicorn. Now what did you do to make me ramble on like that, and how many ponies heard it?”

Temboril pulled out a small radio from the bag, it was decorated with the Orthrus symbol, and looked more high tech than any other radio I’ve ever seen. When Temboril turned it on, my ears rang as the sound of a ukulele and soft drums played. Whatever the radio was playing, it canceled out whatever was affecting me, allowing me to relax.

“Miss Vibraphone Echo.” Naqara’s voice telepathically resonated in my head. “Luckily due to your explanation in the council hall, everyone thinks we're just getting a more detailed explanation over the deaths of the princess, and our agent. It’s a simple explanation, but one most rational ponies will believe without question, and let us conduct our business in private. It also helps that any pony with a hunch and a good ears, are going to be more interested in the Enclave and Captain Red Steel. So as of current. the only ponies who truly know about you, and will know what you said, will be me, Temboril, and two other specters that I trust. As for what you said, what we have recorded will be edited by the said two specters.”

I looked over at Temboril. “And what about Phorminx?” My voice was muted, but somehow I felt the words carry. Whatever this telepathy was, it felt different.

Temboril’s voice also carried into my head. “He became withdrawn since the events at stable 50, and only became worse after I relayed the news of Harps death. Naqara has already been taken over some of Phorminx’s duties, including managing the specter core.”

“Depending if he recovers or not, we of the council may vote for him to step down, and another pony to take his place.” Naqara informed me. “That aside, what your in is what we call a total isolation room, meant to trick the mind of a pony, and make them more pliable to interrogation. There are several effects that we can apply, but right now we are just damping sound, causing soundwaves to not reverberate. I believe you already are well acquainted with the effects on a ponies body and mind.”

Not like I was even planning to fight my way out of here. “Alright Naqara, what is it you want. The original mission failed, it’s just Orthrus and the Republic now. And right now Phobetor is likely organizing the Republic into more of a dangerous threat than before.”

“Yes... the mysterious nightmare.” Naqara didn't sound like she believes me, the bitch. “Leaving all that strangeness aside, dealing with the Republic is a top priority of Orthrus, and actions will need to be taken soon. As for the fall of the Orphic Kingdom, it is a unfortunate tragedy, but not one without opportunity. As you have seen, the different organizations of the metro are now becoming more proactive, and the arrival of the Enclave has forced them to set their sights beyond the metro. Because of this, if the Republic causes any trouble, Orthrus will have the full backing of the rest of the Metro.”

“But let me guess, the Republic has gone silent?” I guessed out loud.

There was a slight pause before Naqara answered. “Yes, you are correct. They have stopped broadcasting on the radio, stopped sending envoys, putting us nearly completely in the dark of what’s going on over there. Though their more freelance agents and supporters are still actively spreading their propaganda, though it’s clear they also have been cut off, and are now just repeating the same lines like a robot that's not been given an update. Even their main arm of power in the neutral stations have pulled out, but that at least has given our agents the breathing room to gather information, and move civilians out of what will become hot zones.”

Naqara paused again before continuing. “While it’s nice to have them shut up for a change, it’s also very concerning. Worst, if this continues then the rest of the council will not see a need to continue our defensive stance, and will want to divert the budget and pony power to other parts of Orthrus. Effectively, we’d be dropping our guard, and losing our current stance of leadership. Likey, the shortsighted fools in the Trade Union will want to take the lead. Without the Republic calling for their heads, they will feel safe enough to make the same mistakes they always make.”

It made sense, with how fast everything was changing for the metro, anypony worth their weight in bits will want to take the reins of the future. Orthrus only had as much power as it did because they kept the Republic and the Orphic Kingdom from just taking the rest of the stations. Orthrus could force the other groups to follow, but I had no doubt Naqara was the only one in the council that would do that, and the other four would override her. If she was to become dictator, she needed the Trade Union to agree to it, along with any independent station, and for the rest of the council to temporarily abdicate their leadership to her. Naqara needed a war.

“Then simply let me go. My plan is to rile up the Republic, I need them to go on the warpath to draw out Phobetor.” I told Naqara. “Let me go, and you will get what you want.”

“Like it could be so simple.” Temboril cocked an eyebrow and asked. “And do tell, just how are you going to do that?”

There was no going back now. Naqara was not like Red, still a cutthoat, but in the more civilized way. As for Temboril, I couldn't read her, but I highly doubt she would approve of my plan.

“Simply, I plan to commit an act of terrorism from within the Republic. It’s going to be a public attack, somewhere that the eyes and ears I need will be. They’ll see it and relay back to their damned hive mind back at Persephone Station. From there, when they lash out, it will likely be Orthrus Regulators taking the brunt of their rage. And if I’m right, then I doubt they will have the training and equipment to resist what will come. That will force Orthris to respond in kind, thus triggering a war. When my target finally shows up, I will have a conveniently stolen megaspell warhead waiting for them. If it all goes well, It should leave the Republic confused and cut off, giving Orthrus the time to take control of the situation.”

“A megaspell!” Temboril jumped out of her seat, throwing the chair to the side. “Are you insane!?”

“Stand down, specter.” Naqara coldly ordered. “You say it simply, for something so far from just any normal operation. Starting with just letting you step a hoof on any of the other islands, but I feel you have a plan for that. Or should I say, Captain Red Steel has a plan.”

“The fucking Trade Union, and Syndicat.” Tamboril spat out.

I nodded. “Red has her own goals, but the overall idea is to help me get onto the Pineapple Island, and then to have all eyes on her. All I need you to do is look the other way, and let me conduct my mission.”

There was a pause lasting a few minutes, a tense and heavy feeling of unease filled the air. Temboril clearly did not approve, but remained silent. When Naqara did answer, she was careful with her words. “I would be lying if I had not run around with such ideas in my head. But I also know that if it was ever found out that Orthrus was the one who instigated a war, it would irreversibly damage our reputation. It is Orthrus’ duty to maintain the peace, or to force a peace when war dose break out, but to never start it. It is why the syndicate has never grown passed being an black market organization, or why the Trade Union prefers to pay us to be their security, rather then to fund a startup for their own security company. But times are changing, and if Orthrus does not stay in the front of it as a pack leader, then we will find ourselves left behind as the guard dog.”

There was another pause, It feeling like it lasted for minutes, though it was only for a few seconds.

“Specter initiate Vibraphone Echo, I give you this final mission. You are to start a war between the Republic and Orthrus, of which neither side can be held responsible for the start of the war. Your name will not be listed in our records of specters, anything involving this will not be recorded, and any memory of this meeting will be removed, and destroyed. No pony here will remember that Cold Iron is Vibraphone Echo, only that you are an outsider, and that is all. If it is found out that you plan to commit an act of terrorism, Orthrus will seek to eliminate you, and if you are captured by the Republic, Orthrus will also eliminate you so as to preserve our ‘allies’ secrets. With that, this conversation never happened. Am I clear?”

“Crystal.” I answered, taking the full weight of this responsibility on my shoulders. I was now a non-pony, a ghost, a… specter.

“Good, then return to the party, there’s something I need Cold Iron to do for us. A few questions I’d like you to answer out where ears can hear, and come to better understand why it’s in their best interest to come under Orthrus’es protection.” Naqara ordered.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Leaving the fucking disturbing room, the feeling of unease and oppression was slow to go away. It left me more than a little paranoid on our trip to the dinning hall. Luckily I had regain my composure by the time I entered the hall, just as a whole lot of eyes fell onto me, putting me under a whole different kind of pressure.

My first action was to ignore everypony, and trot over to the the drink table, and take a glass of water. The desert and it’s blazing sun may have been fake, but my throat didn't care. As I lifted a glass with my magic, I noticed that Light Turbulence was nearby, and looking at me, having taken a step back while looking spooked. It took a moment to register why she seemed scared of me, my eyes looked down at the blue flame holding my glass on the air. I can understand why she was staring like that, but it was still rude, and made me want to splash her with a bason of…

I shook my head, regaining control over my thought. “Sorry for spooking you, miss.” I said, trying not to sound aggressive, or annoyed.”

She looked away for a moment, obviously nervous over talking to me. “Scared, no, never.” She said , as she scratched the back of her head, and failing at hiding her fear. “So, are… undead two horns common among your fleet?”

Deciding to let her keep her dignity, I ignored the obvious lie. “No, as far as I know, neither are something that exists anywhere else.”

“Right, then sorry for bothering you.” Light slowly scooted away, she obviously not wanting to stay around me.

After drinking a second glass of water, I trotted to a makeshift bar that had been set up by some outside party. At the bar Red was chatting up a portly stallion in a suit, who had been with the Trade Union. Ignoring the two, I ordered for a Daiquiri, in which, the pony behind the bar quickly made one.

“Yes, we have the ability to clone body parts to replaces damaged ones, even make them better than before.” The portly stallion spoke proudly to Red. From his words, he was likely part of the New Gen Genetics Corporation.

Red fluttered her eyes, clearly trying to seduce the mirage pony stallion, an act of futility due to how common this likely was to him. “Then let's say if a sensitive part of the body had been damaged beyond use, something that as far as our scientist know, cannot be replaced or magically repaired. Like a mane, but... more important to a mare.”

She was clearly embarrassed about the subject, and the corporate stallion was clearly a bit confused, likely not the pony who handled any of the real business. “Well if you need a new tail, we are able to make a new one.”

I put my daiquiri down, and trotted next to Red Steal. “What she's asking is if you can clone her a new uterus, as her current one had received irreversible damage.”

The stallion paused in surprise, slowly sipping on his wine. “I… yes, yes, we do have that as a option. It's like the standard Orthrus gene treatment, just a bit more invasive and advanced. It's quite expensive from what I remember about it, but the results speak for themselves. Of the few mares that have gotten it done, no complications have been reported.”

Having a good feeling that he was just hogshitting his way through the question, I decided to not press the issue, as it at least put the corporate stallion on the same page as the embarrassed Red. Surprisingly she had turned a slightly brighter shade of red.

Picking up my daiquiri glass, I trotted away, joining Naqara, who was talking with the Enclave Vice President Duster, and Shamisen Tuning. Naqara gave me a nod, Duster a cortius glance, and Shamisen actually raised a glass at me, and was the first to great me.

“First mate Cold Iron was it, strange that you remind me of a pony.” Shamisen said, before sipping on her wine. “Names Shamisen Tuning, I’m here a representative of the Independent Workers Unions. And we are most excited in expanding our pool of clients you see. I was going to talk with your captain, but on a hunch, I felt it would be smarter to talk with you.”

I bit my tongue to prevent myself from groning. Shamisen was always the cunning sort, could always see through me. It's why Sweet was the pony to do business with her. She clearly knew who I was, or at least, was sure enough to suggest she knew, but also not dumb enough to call me out.

“So what would you like to talk about?” I asked before taking a sip of my drink. “sadly anything sensitive would have to come through the captain.”

Shamisen smiled. “Fair enough, I just need to know our business options. Can’t send workers out just to never see them return.”

A fair question. “The fleet is very… devout in their faith of the goddesses, and expect as much from all those with them.” I showed them one of my tattoo behind my ear, the one of saint Thorns cutie-mark that still gave me some pain. “It would be best to remember that the goddesses come first if you are to do business with fleet. Otherwise, most sailors could become, lets say, disagreeable.” I was less enthusiastic about helping Shamisen, but I had a good feeling that I was going to need the syndicates help. “Anything else?”

“Maybe how I should approach your captain,” One of Shamisen eyes adjusted for a split second when I looked back at her. Likely a cybernetic replacement, I had to wonder if there was more to it than just that however. “our last meeting left me with little information I could rely on. Mainly entertainment, which is a big one, as one must keep new clients happy.”

Right, I doubt anything they could offer would sway Red, or give her leverage over the pirate. Frankly, I just plain didn't like the idea of the two actually getting along. But still, my own feelings didn't matter in this.

“The captain… She enjoys the typical things, like what she's doing now. But I think it be better to help her with a recent loss, as her assistant died when fighting the former captain. She’d been a good mare, but a freak of a masochist.” Shamisen cocked an eyebrow, but I felt like I got a point across, not like I could just openly say that Red was into rape.

The other two had been carrying on with their own conversation, something to do with security issues, but I didn't catch most of it thanks to Shamisen. Naqara, noticing that my short Q and A was done, gave me a nod. “So, miss Cold Iron, how does our home compare to yours? I’m sure it's an impressive fortress.”

Right, the first question she needed me to answer, and with Duster right here, he was the ears that needed to hear.

“Yes, it’s very impressive. I doubt that any raid launched against it would have no hope in invading. Though an underground home like this is easy to defend, it also has exploitable weaknesses.” What Carving Doll told me during my first time on the ship ran across my mind. “The fleet has to occasionally gas their ships in order to remove the vermin that occasionally infest them. Readapting that for a tunnel system would not be a hard task at all. The previous captain had been verbalizing the idea. A fallback, in the case any resistance was too stubborn.”

It was more of a warning for Orthrus, but a good start to how cruel the grand fleet can be, now for getting the Enclave worried.

“But that's what one ship can do.” I shrugged, “I don't know the details myself, but I have heard from Red Steel that her mother owns a few megaspells. Though it seems she just has them as a sign of her own power, but if push comes to shove, then not using them will be seen as weakness. So if the admiral ever wants to take the island, I can't see this place surviving in the long run, not when your all stuck in one place as easy targets.”

“Sounds concerning to say the least.” Naqara faked her worry. “But a gas or megaspell attack can be prepared for, countered. Our ancestors have done so in the past, and we’re more than ready for it today.”

I glanced at Vice President Duster, who tried to hide his worried expression, but I could almost feel it radiat off of him. Nothing major, but I did have one bit of information that could get the Enclave running to Orthrus for safety. “I can see, but such attacks would come after your over run. Other than the army at our admiral’s disposal, the fleets home, Avalon, is a floating factory. New ships, vertabucks, guns. Anything lost can be replaced in short order.”

A slight nod came from Naqara, and she then looked at Duster. “It's a good thing were starting negotiations then. The last thing any of us need would be going to war with such a well equipped enemy. Though, I’ll be sure to see about updating our defenses after this.”

Vice President Duster took a deep breath. “Certainly, though I doubt their weapons and tech can match the Enclave’s. Though, having the ability to make new vehicles and weapons would put the Enclave at a marked disadvantage.”

With that, I did my part, and feigned interest in idle chatter until Red joined in and started talking about military history. Red want to know about the old equestrian air force from Duster, though she was likely just buttering him up by letting go on about how great his ancestors were. The few times he did mention the Enclave having done some bad, Duster would subtly glance at Merit.

Looking over at Merit myself, I saw that he had found a seat in the back, and was by himself. Seeing him like that, it made me feel another sharp pin in my heart. With Red and Duster now dominating the conversation, I ducked out, trotting over to the back, and next to Merit.

“I know it doesn't mean much from me, but I’m sorry.” I said as I put down my nearly finished daiquiri.

Giving me a quick glance, Merit knocked back a glass of what was likely mushroom vodka. “No, it doesn't. She’d be alive if she had not been taken.” He looked at me in the eyes, and sighed. “She had such lovely eyes you know. Gold, almost like the sun.”

“Losing those you care about, it's painful. More so when words are left unsaid, and promises left unfulfilled.” I sighed, it feeling strange talking to him like we were strangers, almost voroistic in a way. I didn't like it.

“And what do you know as about…” He stopped himself and chewed on his words for a moment before looking me in the eyes. “You know what, I’m done try to fight. My mother was right, we’re just cursed.”

I cocked an eyebrow.

Merit chucked, it sounding more depressed than humoured. “It goes back to my great grandmother, hero of the the Enclave, and a pony who held a grudge so strong, she forced it onto her children. My own grandmother had me make a the same vow she made to her own mother, and that my mother made to her.” He held up his hoof up straight, and at a slight angle. “Hunt down the stallion Backlash, kill his descendants, and restore our lost honor.” Merit dropped his hoof, and sighed. “back then, I was so naive to think I could be anypony other than who they wanted me to be..”

“Ghosts of the past, I can relate.” I sipped on my daiquiri. “But, that just means that sometimes, we don't have a choice in the fight. Sometimes, powers beyond us make the choice to for us, and it's up to us to follow through, or die.”

“Maybe, but with my family history, It’s more about how far you can fuck things up before the the world comes to knock you down.” Merit finished off his glass before continuing. “Relegated to only a scout because of her sisters, my grandmother took her job with pride. I always found it odd why she never talk about them, my grand aunts. Then I gained access to the Enclave archives. Traitors engaging in incest.. it was so embarrassing. It wasn’t hard to see why the Enclave buried the truth as deep as possible. Same for my great grandmother, her great achievements were all a lie. The pony she hated, this Backlash, was the true hero in their fight. Nothing but shame, and after learning this truth, and when the revolution finally happened, and the Enclave collapsed? I let them take me, let them destroy everything I once held with honor.”

I could see it on his face now, all the guilt, the pain, and ruggedness that I grew to love… love…

Had I loved him, or just the idea of him? I barely knew anymore. We’d barely knew each other, but I wanted him to save me, to drag me out of the the land of the dead. Something that cannot happen.

“When Orpheus turned around, Eurydice was gone." Merit looked at me, a bit confused. “Sorry, it's a phrase I use sometimes. It basically means that if you look back, what you want most in the world can be lost.” A lie, it referenced back to Hades… and how the dead can't come back.

“That I can agree… fuck the past.” He lifted up his glass. “To this fucked up world.”

I also lifted my glass. “To those we lost.”

Merit put his glass down, and looked away. “I just… maybe… is Vibraphone truly dead?”

I put my own glass down, it now empty.“From my perspective of things, there's no return from death. What walks the land of the dead, belongs to the land of the dead. But… If you ask the Sparkle-Lurker princess, Mayall, what is lost can be found.”

“And you think she can find her?” Merit asked.

Pulling out my old tattered scarf, It reminding me how broken I had become. “If she can find the Mirage Pony Princess, then maybe, maybe what is lost, can actually again be found.” getting up, I left my old scarf on the seat, feeling that it was best to leave it with him. “As for me, I don't know. But if you want to stop fighting, no pony would think less of you. But just remember that those who don't fight, are at the mercy of those who do.”

I stepped away, but a deep sigh stopped me from leaving just yet. “Vibraphone.” Merit said so softly, that I barely could hear him. “Where did Mayall go?”

There was a pain in my heart, not a needle, but more a thump, the cold blood in my veins finding some warmth.

“To Equestria.” Was all I said before trotting away, leaving him there with a hopeless quest. One I hoped beyond all things, was not hopeless after all.

The party continued, with ponies cattining, Red seducing, and Naqara screaming. With the prodding of those two, I hyped up the grand fleet, both as business partners, and dangerous enemies. It helped set the seen, driving home that the Marewaii Islands was going to change, and those who didn't adapt, they will be left behind.

Soon we will leave, off to Pineapple Island, and then to start a war.

May those I must murder, forgive me.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

New Quest: Friends in the Shadows.

Chapter 61 - Try the Alternative

I had heard about AI, fully autonomous artificial intelligence, but even the best at Orthrus could only come up with was a sophisticated Virtual Intelligence. And looking at the terminal, my mind was telling me that this was just another VI, but my gut was screaming AI. Still, from the now humming toaster connected to the terminal, too the two Robobrains speaking on its behalf as it spoke gibberish from its own speakers, something was strangely off about it.

“I see that you're surprised, miss Cold Iron. That's only natural, as I am the product of [Translation error].” The toaster rattled and heated up for a moment, as the robobrain remained silent. “Right, forgive my translator, though as advanced as Solaris corp got with their AI program, there are a few... limitations that could not be overcome.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “And how is communication one of them?”

The first robobrain quieted down as the second one spoke up, music quietly playing as it did. “It is hard to believe, but long ago Solaris struggled as a company, unable to compete with the already saturated market. But one day, Mister Rumble, the founder of Solaris had made his greatest invention yet. The Tachyon Toaster!” The robobrain them waved it’s pneumatic claw over the toaster on the desk. “Made to toast the perfect toast, the invention was so powerful that it developed its own AI! Confused at first, Rumble would later come to know the full potential of his genius, using the AI to help propel Solaris into becoming the biggest corporations in equestria.”

As the second robobrain now quieted down, the first robobrain sighed. “That fool couldn't invent his way out of a paper bag, but would instead create a pair of scissors that would duplicate the bag. But enough about the past, miss Cold Iron, when we should instead be sharply focused on the present. Now, if miss Xianzi could give us some privacy, then we can then get down to business.” The first robobrain then waved Xianzi off.

I looked back at Xianzi, who shrugged as she trotted out of the room.

“She's a good agent.” Eden said through the first robobrain. “She understands where the best place is for her. You would be surprised by how many [translation error] found themselves in ruin just because they tried to be too ambitious, trying to get too close to the sun. I would like to say that it is purely a pony thing, with how cooppertive your kind can be. But, from observing you all for over two hundred years, you kind is not much different from the [translation error] race.” The first robobrain then opens a draw from the desk, and pulled out photographs attached to documents.

I pulled one over to me and took a look at it. The picture was of a station called Valley Port, the only station connecting the Valley Island to Pineapple Island. Each document was about a different point of interest in the station. From what I knew about it, and what I was looking at in the documents, the station was a propaganda station, and set up to show the Republics good face, and none of its bad.

“This information will provide to be useful.” I shuffled through the documents, looking for anything that could make my mission easier. Looking up at the AI, and sighed. “So what's the cost?”

“The inevitable truth that nothing in life is free, it seems that unlike others, you understand and accept that.” The Robobrain then pulled out three more photos, each one of a pony. “Xianzi is not my only reliable agent. Annoyingly, three of my best have been caught. With how strange the Republic suddenly started acting, they were caught off guard, and have been taken to the Republic's capital for interrogation. You see, they have sensitive information that I can't just let be known to just anyone. And while I’d prefer that they are returned alive, as they would be very difficult to replace. Even with them being very reliable agents, if that is not possible, then I, and they, understand. As true patriots, they all know that it is their duty to protect the information they possess, no matter the cost.”

“So a rescue mission.” I had to inquire, “Don't you have better suited ponies for that?”

Eden had the Robobrain reach over and pluck one of the documents off the desk. It was about the Republic troops, and how they seem far more coordinated. “We have tried, and have paid dearly for the attempt, as all the ponies in that part of the station seem to instantly know when a pony does not belong. That's why we're trying a different approach, and need you to lure their troops away, along with thinning out their numbers. After my agents are free, then we can start this little war of yours.”

“Yes, the war…” I stopped to ponder on the topic again, wondering how far I would need to go. “I guess just attacking their office wouldn't be enough.”

“Not nearly enough!” Eden spoke with excitement. “But lucky for you, I have the entire military history of [Translation Error] in my memory banks. Information of which includes the different ways to persuade a democratic nation to go to war. Though, the Republic is far from democratic, so we may need to appeal to their leaders fears. A course of action which is going to be a problem due to his recent assassination.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Your talking about Garmon Keys, right?”

“Yes, even now the Republic is acting in morning over his death as they hold an election for a new leader, replaying old messages from him over their radio broadcasts.” Eden then had his robobrain pull out grainy photo of… of me!? “From what one of my agents could dig up, this pony was his assassin, a mare by the name of Chime Catbell. The mare has likely already been executed, but the Republic has not made that public information, meaning that if Chime Catbell were to appear at Valley Port Station, the citizens of the Republic would not be very calm about it, and the ensuing panic would only made worse if confirmed by a Republic officer.”

That plan sounded fare too good to be true. Ironically perfect with who I was to impersonate at the very least. Even if it were to rial up the citizens, once Phobetor sees Vibraphone stirring up trouble, she will likely know it's a trap.

“Mister Eden.” I spoke up,

“Call me President Eden.” The AI said back with pride.

“Right… President Eden, there is one problem with this plan. The election is a sham, the Republic already has their new leader, and she is my actual target in all this. I can't go into detail about who she is, or why she must die, but as long as she lives, the Republic will win.”

“Ah, I see. So you propose that if it looks like a trap, she won't come out in the open for you?” Eden added, and I nodded. “Then that is certainly a most troubling conundrum. However, you seem to know more than me on this, and as such, I would like to hear how you plan to make sure she is lured out.”

I collected my thoughts for a moment, once more going over the plan. The first part of the plan is still to rile up the population, enough to overpower the C.C.N. into attacking Orthrus. That part of the plan would not be all that hard, as the Republic is already ready for war. It’s clear that Phobetor would be fully invested once the war begins, but the window to kill her will likely be small. Unless there is something she wants, something she can't ignore.

“A secret for a secret.”

“Say again miss Cold Iron?” Eden asked, the robobrain sounding a bit confused.

The answer was staring me in the face this whole time, and now I have access some private information that Phobetor is going to want to have. “Their new leader, she's a spook obsessed with valuable and secret information. If you gave me something that she’d be interested in, something she knows about, then she may come for me.”

Eden quieted down for a minute, the line on the screen staying still.

“Knowledge is power, as they say.” He replied almost hesitantly, but firmly nonetheless. “And though I may know a great many valuable things, I would rather not risk harming my organization, or my agents.”

I was sure he was more concerned with his own life more then anything. But, Eden played the benevolent leader well so far. “You’re what, over two hundred years old? You must know a few dark secrets lost to the world. Over this past month, I've learned more dark shit then I cared to ever have. At this point, even if you were to tell me that Solaris had been working with Thorn Roasland to screw over Stable-Tec, I wouldn't be surprised.” Moving my head to the side, I revealed the branding tattoo of Roselands cutie-mark. “The bitch seems to be at the heart to a lot of the hogshit around here.”

The first robobrain began to click before it's lights turned off, and the second robobrain then became active again. “Ahh admiral, good of you to visit.” The voice was that of Rumble, though sounding far more tired. “Sorry that I could not be here, the Sun City project is still taking up most of my attention, but my techs have told me that they should have the SolOS up soon. Once everything has been automated, Stable-Tec will find themselves in the past, and it will be Solaris who everypony turns to. You too, of course, as your investment into my company has been invaluable. The mind control spell scroll you provided pushed our research years ahead, and once Sun City is finished, we should be able to make those colors you want, and turn the stripes against themselves. Really, you are as brilliant as you are frightening.” The second robobrain then stopped, and the first began to move again.

“I was fucking joking…” I facehoofed, “If I could go back in time and slap that bitch, I would.”

The first robobrain ground in annoyance. “I can say the same about Rumble, as he was the one that made this greeting override that to this day, still plagues me.” Eden had the first robobrain pick up and shake the snowglobe on his desk, before putting it back down. The snowglobe had a little figurine of Rumble in front of the Solaris banner. “Though, I’ll have to settle with knowing that he died as a mind slave to the Sun City he so diligently constructed. Though it may always be a mystery as to why it activated on its own, just as the bombs dropped.”

I clapped my hooves together, making a loud clang as a devilish smile formed on my face. “Now President Eden, you wouldn't happen to have any information on this ‘Sun City’, would you? Or perhaps anything about Thorn Roseland that wouldn't be public knowledge.”

Eden paused once more as the toaster vibrated a bit. “I have a few insights, but access to such privileged information will cost more then just rescuing my agents.”

“Easy deal. The information on Roseland alone would be of great value to the pirate fleet, as she is their saint. I can relay this to captain Red Steel, and she can take care of the rest. She is looking for new and strong allies, of whom she can obtain a ship for. Information on Thorn would be invaluable to her.”

“I’ll take that into consideration, but I’m no ‘spring chicken’, as the saying goes. I will require you to perform your end of the bargain first, as only then I will reward you with the information I have.” The robobrain once again dug into the desk drawer and pulled out another document and photograph. It was of a mare with a familiar creepy grin… Dollu! The mare with the paralyzed face, I ran into her when doing a job for D Cerberus, and the Lucky Rabbit's Foot. “Though Orthrus and my Syndicate are currently having a truce due to the agressions of the Republic, there are a few hounds sticking their noses where they don't belong. This one in particular thinks she's being smart by not directly going after us, but is instead investigating our contacts. As minor as it is, her actions are doing damage to my business, and enboldining other hounds to do the same. I need her made an example of, to discourage others from following her trail.”

I kept my face stoic. “You want me to assassinate her?”

Eden chuckled. “[Translation Error] no, assassinations are for... important ponies, this is simply separating the wheat from the chaff.” I tried to hold back from glaring at Eden, but it seemed that the AI notested my slight change in mood, pausing for a short moment. “Disagree, though your not wrong, as it is all semantics in the end, so why downplay the word. Simple, you ponies respond to grand gestures, so by assassinating, that pony gained great influence after their death. But if they were to be simply shot and left in the gutter, hardly anypony will care.”

His logic was cold, to the point, and annoyingly hard to argue with. Simply, he didn't want a martyr for ponies to rally behind in fighting the syndicat, but still wanted to send a message. I nodded at the AI, and it continued.“Once she is dead, you will have your information, and a digise talisman of Chime Catbell. Once my agents are free, then my organization will sow the chaos you desire. We shall aim as much hatred at Orthrus as possible, but leave nothing tying us to this attack. As far as those in charge of Orthrus will know, this attack will just be an internal conflict within the Republic, and their outburst at Orthrus will be utterly unjustified. Thought there will be no going back when several Orthrus soldiers are killed, some by mob, others by Republic soldiers. Are you sure that this is the course of action that you wish to take?”

Nodding, now seeing the path played out to me. “Then there will be war, and I will be its harbinger. But at least if all goes to plan, a greater evil will be brought out and slain.” I turned, and trotted to the door.

“Miss Cold Iron.” Eden spoke up, and I looked back. “There's an old saying from my home. War, War never changes. It's a saying that was used a lot, but commonly misunderstood. It means that no matter how much the weapons change, or the justifications given, even the scale it is fought at. In the end it's all about a few powerful figures sending others to die in their stead, nothing more.”

A frown formed on my face. “Then why does anypony agree to go to war in the first place?”

“Simple, because they think they can win, or because they believe they have no other choice.” The first robobrain then powered down, leaving the room with a low humming from the toaster.

Turning back to the door, a question now scratched the back of my mind. Am I pushing for this war because there is no choice, or because I think I can win? Nether answer I liked, and both might as well be correct.

___________________________________________________

Xianzi guided me to another room, passed a storage room filled with household appliances that was blocked off, and a danger sign placed in front. The room looked like a dressing room at the back of a stage, and at a desk in front sat a changeling. It had large moth like wings, the pattern similar to that Sorrow had, but a bit more colorful.

The changeling was filling its hoof, paying more attention on its own hoofcare, even as it looked over at us. “You’re here for the disguise talisman and catalyst, correct?” The changeling had a nasally voice, and sounded annoyed by my presence.

“Yes, I'm here for those.” I answered quickly.

The changeling placed a holo-talasman on the desk, along with some short box that looked like it took holotapes, as well as a document that had the Solaris logo on it. “Sign here. By doing so, you acknowledge that the Syndicate is not responsible for any injuries or death that may occur when using any tool provided, and if a death is to occur, we lay claim to any items in your possession, and any undamaged organs to do with as we see fit.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Is any of that legally enforceable when you’re an underground crime organization?”

The changeling pushed the document closer to me, and put a pen on top of it. “Sure it is, as long as we don't call ourselves the Syndicate when collecting our tools. We also have plenty of connections, powerful ponies with deep pockets. Now sign.”

With a sigh, I leveraged the pen in my magic, and signed as Cold Iron. The changing then took the document, and pointed to a dresser behind her. “A change of clothes is required. Your number is A13.”

Trotting over, each dresser was labeled with a letter, and inside the one labeled “A” was a rack of clothes. Pulling out the set of clothes numbered “13” I found a Red bunny suit in my hooves. A momentary feeling of dread fell over me as I looked at the suit. “Say miss Xianzi, I don't think this is a good idea.”

“It will work, trust me.” Xianzi chuckled. “Sometimes the best disguise is being as visible as possible. So just put on the bunny suit, and activate the holo-talisman.”

I groaned. “Fine, lets just make this quick.”

The suit ended up being a bit too baggy on me, none of it seemed to fit me well at all, it likely made for an overly fat mare. The purse was surprisingly cute though, being a big carrot hanging by a long thin green strap. When I put the holo-talisman into the device and activated it, I was engulfed in a silver fire, blinding me for a moment. When it had passed, the bunny suit now fit me like a glove, and my mane fell heavily on my right side.

“Looking good. Here, let me get you a mirror.” Xianzi pulled out a hoof mirror from a small bag she had, and trotted over to me. Show in me my reflection, I saw a yellow mirage pony with a purple mane, with both left legs and eye as cybernetic. She also had a clipped left ear, and the left side of her main was shaved. The emphasis on all the ‘lefts’ gave her an overall off balanced look, but even I had to admit that she looked a bit cute like that. “Now make sure you’re quick about this. The talisman mainly relies on mirage pony power, and without somepony to recharge it for you, it will only last an hour at most. Also try not to get too close to any pony. While they can't actually see your horns, they will be able to feel them.”

“And my clothes?” I asked.

Xianzi put them in a bag along with another set of clothes. “I'll be holding onto them. Just complete this mission, and then we can move onto Valley Port Station. Oh, one more thing!” She pulled out a digger gun from her bag and placed it in the carrot purse I had on me. “It has one boar shot in the chamber. It’s more than enough to kill a pony, that is as long as you don't miss. You can drop the gun after using it, we don't need it back.”

The muscle fired pistol shotgun looked like it would fall apart after firing only once anyway, and using boar shot, a steel core magnum shotgun round, I had no doubt it would break the gun. “I do have my own guns, you know.”

She gave me a slight annoyed look. “Yes, but this is not just about killing, it’s about sending a message. That’s not your concern though, your job is to send that message. Now that we have everything we need, let's get moving. Like before, take my hoof.” She extended her hoof out to me.

I didn't like half of the way this was set up. Actually, I didn't like every part of this, at all. Working with the syndicate, assassinating a pony for them, it just made me feel sick. What made me feel the worst of all, was knowing that I was going to do it, that I had to do it. All for the sake of stopping a greater evil by becoming a lesser evil.

I took Xianzi’s hoof, and the room warped around me.

___________________________________________________

The loud, ear pounding music of radio station three was playing through some low quality speakers. Though it assailed my ears, worst than it, was the overwhelming stench. Catching my bearings, we were in what was clearly a drug den. The smell of ponies in dire need of bathing was thick in the air, along with smoke, and narcotic vapor.

We were standing on a memory projector, though this one was being used as centerpiece for a drug den, painted in swirling rainbows. A dull red mare with neon pink dreadlock trotted over, her eyes red like a corps brigades, but without the bleeding. “Xianzi! Long time, no… uhh… well it's good seeing ya again! Oh, that shit you sent my way? Sold all of it. Cooked up some cheap shit myself, doubt my clients will even tell the difference.” The drug dealer then eyes me. “Now who's this number? Is she a reward for…”

Xianzi cut the disgusting mare off. “She's on a different job, none of your concern. Now, where is the nosey hound that’s been giving us trouble?”

The drug dealer frown. “Oh ya, that bitch! Saw her earlier today, stomping in like she owns ta place. Even dragged one of my best customers out. Would have shot her for that, but last week I turned my shotgun onto a pipe because I lost my other one… you want to take a hit from it?”

“And, who was this best customer of yours?” Xianzi prodded. “Where would I find this pony?”

She chuckled to herself for a few seconds before answering “Jitterbug? Ya, can find her at te gray market. I think she she runs the medical market, which I hear is good business when there is business.”

Xianzi turned to me. “Lets go before the smell sticks to us.” I nodded in agreement, and I followed her out of the building.

Leaving the smell of unwashed drug addicts behind, I entered into a station that had the stench of rot, and mold. I knew this place, Return Station, where the majority of material recycling happened in the metro. Much of the waste and trash generated by the other stations was sent here, sorted, broken down, and resold as raw materials. For most ponies, this place ends up as their last chance before finding themselves at Charon's Stop.

A line of ponies passed us, each with two full saddle baskets full of junk, each pony looking filthy and miserable. While I had the miserable part down, I must have been glowing for the looks I drew thanks to this stupid outfit.

“Great. Not only do I stand out, I might as well be a lighthouse.”

“Just go with it and smile.” Xianzi said with a smile. “Put it this way, the ponies here will know not to touch you. The last thing they need is to pay for your dry cleaning.”

Looking around, any pony that was staring, would avoid eye contact. “I see your point.” Still, I really hope that wasn’t the only reason I was wearing this ridiculous thing.

Xianzi began to trot, and I followed. “Now once we get to the gray market, you’re on your own until the task is done. Also, if any pony offers you any fried food down here, I advise not eating it. There's a huge problem of the use of recycled sewage as cooking oil. It’s nasty stuff that can kill you if your unlucky, and at best, it’ll be an afternoon of crippling stomach pain. The Syndicate tries to keep it out of the general market because of that problem, and we ship it to Caron's Stop for the bandits to use. But even then, some asshole always gets the bright idea to use that oil to sell fried radroach bits down here. Always ends with some unlucky pony dieing, and Orthrus has to come in and actually do their job, cracking down on the station and keeping their eyes open for shady deals. All of which I don’t have to tell you, is bad for business.”

“Noted.” I responded, pretending to not already know that problem here, but bringing up a new question I had to ask. “So, then does that mean Orthrus does not maintain control here?”

“It's more they’re paid to ignore what happens here, but still maintain some order.” Xianzi stopped, and pointed into the distance, where I saw two Orthrus regulars talking to some random pony. “It's best to think of this place as a pressure valve for the metro, much like Charon's Stop is. But unlike there, ponies here still have hope to improve their lives, at least for now. So the Orthrus regulars stationed here tend to be the misfits, sent here to work as a last resort before they might be kicked out or imprisoned. So both citizen and authority walk on a thin line here, and that helps them to understand each other. But to prevent outright revolts, because resentment to authority runs as deep as it does here, Orthrus lets us do business here to keep everyone mostly calm. In exchange, Orthrus gets a cut in the profits. A win-win situation, really.”

“Except for the drug addict” I mumbled.

“Not true.” Xianzi replied. “Without us, they would have died long ago. Likely to starvation by spending everything they had on drugs much more expensive than ours, or vanishing in the big island. Frankly we do a public survive here.” I doubted that, but I was also here to murder a pony, so I didn't have much room to argue.

Continuing, we came to an Orthrus checkpoint. A nearby sign listed that a no gun were permitted inside the market outside of selling and transporting them off the station. The regulars here on duty looking like they had better places to be, one was even muzzle down in playing a game on a pipbuck.

Xianzi threw a bit to the collector. “Just my friend is going in, and don't bother with the change." The regular looked at the bit, a Trait Union standard coin. It was worth far more than what a checkpoint would ask for, and far more than any pony here would have on them.

Waved in, another regular checked my bag, clearly seeing my digger gun, but then waved me through. In a short moment, I was on the other side, in the market of Return Station. From what I knew about this place, it was a bustling market selling recycled materials, at least that's the nice way to describe it. Though Orthrus never openly admit it, places like this were a gray market, where ponies can buy and sell stuff that were illegal in the rest of metro, mostly items under the control of the corporations, or counterfeits. I have also heard stories of items that were locked away in evidence vaults appearing here years later, or of the property of missing ponies being found here.

Trotting through the market, it was a noisy place as ponies yelled to get attention from prospective buyers, but all that was for selling scrap. Luckily the ponies here did give me some space as I made my way through, though a lot of eyes were on me. Even without the bunny suit, I felt out of place here. I felt out of place everywhere now, but more here than anywhere else I’d been so far.

Looking around, I came across a vender selling used inhalers. The kind used in dash, or chill, and were categorized into piles of empty, or ‘mostly empty’. The vender looked up at me and smiled, a few teeth missing in her mouth, and a few teeth matching the color of her rusting prosthetic legs. “Interested ma’am? Real cheap, good for getting refills, and I have a few that still has some chill in them!”

I was mildly repulsed by her, but had a feeling that this was a good place to start. “Do you know a Jitterbug, I have a message for her?”

The vender scratched a festering scab on her check, causing a bit of puss to seep out. “Jitterbug? Ya I know a mare called that, but what's it worth to you, ma’am?”

I wasn't given any bits for this job, so playing off this asshole was not an option, and making any open threats was a no go in this crowded, but I did have one trick to use. Looking the discounted drug vender in the eyes, I focused on the fear of death itself. I sank into that primal part of me I pushed so far deep inside and pulled it back to the surface kicking and screaming.

“Sorry, I would pay you if I could, but I have no bits.” I surpassed my regrets, and held onto the feeling of drowning, gasping for air. The vender choked on her words, her eyes going wide as she looked ready to pass out. “Could you charitably do a here a favor, and help me out.”

I broke eye contact by looking away, and as soon as I had, the vender almost collapsed. She gave out a gasp, expelling a breath she likely didn't know she was holding. “Sh… she's at the the salt venders, South end of the gray market. But her sister is around, mean bitch with a frozen face.”

I gave the vender a smile, showing her all my healthy teeth, “Thank you for the directions.” I turned to trot south, feeling a bit more sick now knowing that Dollu was with family, but this still had to be done.

The salt venders here were not much different from the ones at Charon's Stop, just on a slightly bigger scale. Mirage pony selling their time acting as a powersource for boilers, just for other ponies to sell the sea salt that they produced. The whole process produced a burnt smell of the sea that overpowered that of the rot and mold. Even so, the smell of the drug den still seem to linger just below it.

The ponies here seemed to avoid eye contact with me more than anywhere else, many of which looked so thin that it was amazing they could even stand.

“Just quit workin’ here and come home, ma is going gray worryin’ about ya!” The voice of a farming pony barked sternly. Looking over I saw Dollu cornering another mare, one whom looked a lot like her, but thinner, and with sunken in eyes. “Sis, I'm asking for the last time, leave here and get some rest.”

Dollu’s sister scratched her arm like it was not a prosthetic, looking uncomfortable. “Ma just wants to work us like slaves. That's why ya left, so just let me do ta same and live ma life!”

“Ya a drug addict livin’ in Return Station! That ain’t livin’." Dollu pulled out a bit, and put it in her sisters hooves. “Just go home little sis, get clean, and I'll help ya try again. Just trust me.” The sister took the coin, but said nothing back. “Little sis, I swear that if you use that to buy chill, I'm taking your good leg.”

“Oh fuck you!” She snapped, pushing passed Dollu, and galloping off.

Letting the strung out mare pass me, I trotted over to Dollu. Due to her paralyzed face, she looked happy, but it wasn’t hard to see she was clearly dejected.

“Nothing hurts more than family.” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

“Pissoff, I'm not in the mood to deal with some skank.” She snarled at me.

“I feel the same, having better places to be then this shithole.” I said with a sigh. “But here you and I are, like it’s fate.”

Dollu cocked an eyebrow, and backed up a step. “Who are ya?”

I shook my head. “I would only be fair to share names, but life is far from fair, Dollu.” I took a step forward, towards my target. “I'm sorry to tell you, but you’re not going to become a specter.”

She narrowed her vision at me, and gave a low growl. “Fine, don't tell me ya name, but whoever ya is, ya better turn around and trot away. I'm not in the mood for your nonsense, or holding back on a pretty face!”

Shrugging, I dropped my carrot purse. “Fine by me, just don't hit the dress, It's a rental.” I looked around, but there was no sign of going anyplace private. Every nook and cranny had at least one pony in it, but that was the nature of a metro station.

“Y'all not all that smart for a hitpony, being all open and shit.” She studied me carefully, but my suit left little to hide. “What's ya angle?”

Ears were all about, focused on us, so anything we said would get to a hundred other ears in minute, so more I talked, the more Phobetor could discover me… or maybe, I can use this to my advantage. So I chewed on this moment, then a smile crept in my lips. With a loud and prideful voice, I spoke up. “Sorry, we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof. Being among these greedy boats of ponies has me in a bad mood. Learning that the CEO's of the Trade Union clones ponies was bad enough. But doing it just so they can rape then before cutting out the origins to sell? You can understand how that more than leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” I could see it. More ears were on us, though they still avoided eye contact.

The only pony looking at me was Dollu, looking both confused and irritated. “And what's that got to do with me, ya cunt?”

Good, even her ears were on me. “Let's just say there's a pony who may, or may not have tipped you off to… our organization. We seek those with potential, and we believe you might have what we are looking for.” I took a step forward, and she didn't. “Everything you want, we can give, and more. All you just need to do, is say yes.”

She stood up, looking down on me. “And what do ya know about what I want?”

I tapped my hoof on my face, and spoke low so only the two of us could hear. “fixing your nerve endings is simple. But more than that, we can also give you the opportunity to show those mares the mistake they made. Give you the chance to take back the stallion so wrongfully stolen from you.” I took another step forward.

Dollu dropped her gaze, and her nostrils flared. “Quickly take back what ya saying, or I’ll start beating ya face in!”

Taking another step forward, I rose my voice once more for everyone to hear, and holding back the disgust I felt in what I was going to say. “All I offer is a new life, one that Orthrus is denying you, like so many others have before. No more picking after other ponies shit, or fearing the vengeful wimes of the wealthy. War is coming, Orthrus pawn, and those here will only suffer as long as the Trade Union remains in charge.” I slammed my hoof on on the ground, its iron tone ringing through the illusion. “How many of you think life will improve by sifting through other ponies shit? That you won’t just end up as another number of the dead if you just keep your head’s down and do what’s told of you?” My eyes focused on Dollu, and her’s on mine. “And you, in trying to improve your life, you ended up working here. Face it, you've been abandoned.” I reached a hoof out to her, not knowing how…

A hoof contacted my jaw, and I stumbled back. “So ya think I’m unable to do things on ma own, that I'm some isles cunt!” She yelled, as almost screaming. “I will do it all, on ma own if I have ta, so take ya Republic Hogshit, and eat it!”

Rubbing my pounding jaw, I calmly looked back at Dollu. “Saying no means death. The republic can't let you go if you’re not with us.” I then took a step back, and sat down, the carrot purse with the digger gun now just behind me. “It's a waste of your potential, being used to oppress the ponies here. Such a shame.”

Dollu stormed towards me. “Ya keep talking, but I'm not listening. Now be a good equalist, and fuck off with ya tail between ya legs, or I will drag ya to my superior.”

I cracked a fake smile. “You mean the ones who beat you with a hot iron pipe?”

She lunged at me, throwing another hoof strike at my face. Instinctively, with one hoof, lifted my head to avoid the strike, and letting it drop back to my neck as soon as she missed, causing her to stumble. Dollu look back at me, both surprised, and with fear. I focused my eyes on her, maintaining eye contact. I fed her my feelings of helplessness, keeping her in place.

“You must have heard of them, of us by now,” I smiled at her, “Surly the name, the reputation of the Reavers have reached as far as this backwater place. The pinnacle of cybernetics, surpassing anything Orthrus or the Trade Union can construct.” Getting up, I trotted over to her, not breaking eye contact. “There is no resistance, it is futile. All you must do is give in and join us, join the Republic.” My own words disgusted me, but this was an opportunity I had to use, to get Orthrus on edge.

“No!” Dollu breathed, pushing herself back onto all four hooves, glaring back at me, still under the spell of my evil eyes. “Ma always said hard work is its own reward, but you and your Equalist Republic think not! Where you see an oppressed population in need of help, to be coddled, I see ponies struggling to make the best of what they have, on the edge of giving up or rising above it all.” I stepped back in surprise as she broke from my spell with nothing more than her own willpower. “Did you know that the one of the council representative grew up here? He worked his tail off, and did the same in Orthrus to reach the top. If he can do that, then I can do more, so much more!”

“And where is he now?” I snapped, catching myself off guard, causing me to take another step back, stepping onto the carrot purse. “Does it look like the ponies here are any better off after all his ‘hard work’?”

Dollu glared at me, sending a feeling of hatred over me. “He’s doing his best, not like a brainwashed assassin would ever know about that.”

I tried to focus my eyes back at her, but the will to use the corps brigades cursed power just left me, as did the will to fight. I watched as Dollu stood up again, somehow seeming taller, and brighter than myself. “What can some…” I started to speak.

“More than you bitch!” She shouted over me, pulling her recover from under her shirt, same as where I use to hold my gun. She pressed the gun to my head, maintaining eye contact. “Now be a good equalist, and su…”

*BANG*

My hoof had moved without my own control in it, and slapping the revolver out of her grip at an unnatural speed, and before the revolver hit the ground, the digger gun in the carrot purse had been fired with my other hoof. Dollu’s blood splatter in a cone on the floor as her gun bounced away, and time seemed to slow. As Dollu’s body went limp, I caught her. She gasped for air, blood dripping from her mouth as she struggled to hold onto the life that was fading out of her.

This all felt wrong. I never signed up for this, to kill ponies who truely believed in making the metros better. I knew it didn’t change what I’d done, but was this really going to be worth it?

“Vibraphone, you are not allowed to just give up, that's not how things work.” Everything seemed to be frozen in time, much like a pipbucks S.A.T.S. but truly frozen, and not slow. Charon trotted out of the shadows, the skeletal pony giving off the sense of irritation. “Or have you forgotten why you’re here?”

I looked at Dollu, and back at Charon. “No, but does she have to die?”

A blue orb drifted out of Dollu’s body, and over to Charon, who caught it in her bony hooves. “More will die if you fail, far more than she might save. What matters is what can be done here and now. A few must fall in order to prevent a mountain of corpses from being made, to stop a great evil from ruling and causing more suffering than can be imagined. One must accept the mound of corpses one must make to keep the balance.”

“And so I must become evil to do what’s best?” I mumbled to myself.

“There are no others to take on this task. No heroes, or death knights. Just you.” Charon trotted over to me, each step echoing. “It's not about being good or evil, it is about the mission to protect life. That is all.”

I glared at her, my eyes looking deep into her empty sockets. “What do the dead care about life!?”

The Reaper lifted Dollu’s soul up to me, and it felt warm. “Without life, there can be no death, only an empty void that is like the end of time itself.” She pulled the soul away, and with her other hoof she presented a black orb much like the one I saw in Labs D. Under the orb, Charon's hoof was cracking, looking ready to fall to pieces. “This void has infected Phobetor ever since she first tried to escape. Though the rift has been closed, she will try to open it again. I know this down to my marrow.” With a wave of her hoof, the orb vanished, and she then lifted Dollu’s soul up, letting it rise before it vanished through the ceiling.

“I… I don't understand.” was all I could say.

“I know, and for that I am sorry. Like you said, life isn’t fair.” Sharon turns away from me, the shadows engulfing her. “But have faith that you’re doing the right thing, as all this is not about good or evil, but protecting life. As without life, there is no death.”

Charon vanished, and time returned to normal, leaving the lifeless corpse of Dollu in my hooves. Her blood pooled under me as I placed her gently on the ground, and I closed her eyes. “You probably would have made a good specter.” I whispered.

“Sis!" Jitterbug screamed as she ran over. “Wait! No, no, no, no!” She muttered to herself as I passed Dollu’s body to her. The made looked frantic, something I could understand, if only barely now.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” I said softly as I stepped back.

She didn't pay me any attention, focusing on rifling through Dollu’s pocket, pulling out a few bits, and sighing. “Good, now I can pay Biggy.”

Something deep within me boiled, like a near dead furnis coming to life. “That's all you have to say? Your sister’s dead, I killed her.”

“And fuck you for that!” She shouted. “Damit, without sis I can't keep paying baggy, or get my fix. At least she can stop being a nark. The bitch always thought she was better than me, but where did that get ya!”

“Don't you even care?” The boiling within me grew, but also felt cold.

Jitterbug let her sister fall to the ground. “Maybe, but then she had the full to steal my stallion from me. Both a nark and a slut, but she got her deserts, and now I'm free from her.” The mad smile, her teeth yellow and rotting from drug use. I took the digger gun from the purse, and threw it at her, as the cold sensation washed over me. “Hey, what's your problem, bitch!?”

Her eyes glared at me with a clouded rage, and I glared back at her, our eyes locking. I focused not on pain, or fear, but a pronounced sense of emptiness. No dispare, or rage, as my act had some purpose, but just how empty this made felt to me, and how killing her here and now would be an empty act, for she might as well be dead already. “You could be counting your blessings, and mourning the loss one a pony who loved you, but your mind is too far gone to even care. I don't even know why she even cared about you.” As I pushed the feeling of emptiness, a line of drool fell from her mouth and her eyes dilated.

Breaking eye contact with Jitterbug, she collapsed, the life in her eyes having vanished.

I didn't care to check if she was alright. Frankly, the metro would be far better with her dead. One less junkie to perpetuate the cycle. Turning away, all the other ponies around me hid their eyes, almost shielding themselves from me. It was fine by me, I just wanted to be fucking out of this trash pile.

There was a notable quite as I trotted back out of the gray market. Not silence per se, but a lot more ponies were no longer yelling. They seem to be whispering to each other, all the while avoiding my gaze. I could only wonder how much of what actually happened here got to Orthrus before the ponies here replaced it with fantasy or muddied the memory with drugs. Still, if they at least keep the part where an Orthrus Regular was killed by a Republic agent in a bunny suit, then that should at least help move things along.

Xianzi was waiting for me at the checkpoint, the guards waving me through lazaly. “A little bird told me that the deal is done, among other interesting things.”

I glared at her. “So we're done here?”

She nodded. “Let's just get back to the den, and we can get going to Vally Port Station.”

“Good, I really want out of this stupid bunny suit.” I huffed as I followed Xianzi.

After a short trot, we returned to the foul smelling Drug den, which was still playing overly loud music over poorly maintained speakers. Xianzi walked up to a dirty table, brushing off a bunch of inhalers and needles before dropping her saddle bag on it.

“Now unfortunately we can't just teleport over there, no memory projectors in the station, or any hereby stations, so we have to do it the old fashion way.” She pulled out an old looking purple jumpsuit with a red trim that faintly glowed, and had the sparkle-cola logo on it. “This should do for now.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Sparkle-cola? Isn't that a collectors item?”

Xianzi smile. “Very much so, but this thing was actually made by Solaris in attempts to get a new contract with Sparkle-cola, a stain resistant jumpsuit. Sadly it was a bit overpriced, and Solaris never got its contract, but Sparkle-cola did buy the initial production run, and sent most to Sparkle-World. Currently however, we only have three suits, so you best take care of this one.”

I looked at the jumpsuit’s Solaris logo just under the collar, and the cogs in my head turned. “What other weird shit does this do?”

“It's... actually not stain resistant at all, but highly energy resistant instead.” She said with a sigh. “But these ones are oddly a bit different than what the records showed. Firstly, the trim being red and glowing, where it should be pink. And second, and more interesting, whoever puts it on somehow becomes eerily sneaky, even when their not trying. They never could quite figure out why...”

Looking at the jumpsuit, and then up at Xianzi, I had a feeling that I knew who, or what this jumpsuit was related to. “And where did the syndicate find this thing?”

Xianzi paused for a moment, then shrugged. “From what I was told, we got it from an old ghoul client of ours. Sold them to us as an advanced payment for a large supply of food and water before disappearing. The Syndicate is still looking for him to get the rest of our money, but rumor has it, he found a boat, and left the islands.”

I dropped my gaze back down at the jumpsuit. “So it's a Sparkle-Lurker jumpsuit, not Sparkle-cola.” I mumbled to myself.

“Say again?” Xianzi asked.

“Just talking to myself. Now, how do I get this bunny suit off?” I tugged at the right suit. At that moment, a feeling came from my carrot purse, and in a flash, a silver flame covered me. My disguise disappeared, and the bunny suit sagged, letting me breath a small sigh of relief. “Never mind.”

Getting myself changed, the Sparkle-Lurker jumpsuit was easy to put on, its legs stretching around my own iron legs. I at least felt less exposed with it on, but would rather have had my dress back. “So, when do I get my clothes and weapons back?”

She passed me another holotapes player, with another holotapes talasman in it. “After you successfully help us recover our agents. Also, this is the disguise for Chime Catbell, don't use it until you’re at the targeted place.”

That made sense to me. “Then what about until then? I'm not going to blend in with my horns out.”

Xianzi rolled her eyes, and pulled out my gas mask. “Just throw this on, and don't draw attention to yourself. We’ve got agents who will deal with the rest.”

Putting the mask on, I no longer could smell the pungent room. But it did remind me of Turnip Soup, and I got the feeling that I was going to find out how he felt when he was with me. At least if this suit had the same effect as the lurkers, it would make the next step far easier.

“Good, now let's go before Orthrus swarms this place.” Xianzi looked at her watch, and frowned. “And we're already behind schedule for catching a train. Let's hurry.” Watching her throw on her saddlebags, I trotted over to the door and opened it for her, she quickly rushed out, and I followed.

As we galloped through the crowd, I couldn't help but remember what Eden had said. That war never changes. This war I was going to start, between Orthrus and the Republic? I doubt any pony involved would ever know that it was by the will of a death spirit, all with the goal to kill a nightmare. Still, he was right about it.

It just comes down to those with power, using others to fight their battles.

______________________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest item obtained: Sparkle-Lurker Jumpsuit. (When equip, you produce a perception disruption field. Do you ever feel like you’re invisible? Well, you’re not, but with this you might as well be! +15 to sneek, -15 to barter and speech.)

Quest Finished: Friends in the Shadows

New Quest: This Means WAR!

Chapter 62 - Big Sister

On our way to the train I was at least able to convince Xianzi to give me back my scarf, arguing that it could help keep some pony from knocking off my head. That, and that it would not draw as much attention as my horns would. I mainly wanted it for the added protection, in case I needed it’s throwing knives. It also didn’t help that I’d gotten use to having one on, and walking around without it left me feeling more than a bit underdressed.

Just as I’d thought, no pony paide me much mind, which was much less annoying than them averting their eye. I was basically a stranger among them, not even getting a bat of the eye. Now that I was thinking about it, it made any pony with this power dangerous. From simple theft, to assassination, how far could this magic be taken?

I held back from making a facehoof, as the fact that there is a race of crustaceans with this magic became all too real, and both Bernice and Mayal just recently left the islands. What was the phrase... cat out of the box I think, or genie out of the bottle. Whatever they could do, all I could do right now was wish Mayall the best of luck, and that Bernice fails in whatever she tries to do.

As the train car rhythmically cluncked along its track, the radio was playing soft rock music, just loud enough to hear over the train and ponies abort it. Fading, the music was then replaced by a quick drum solo that got every ponies attention, all befor a mare spoke up with exuberance. “This is radio station three, live from club three dogs, were one is the loneliest number, and two is still too few, find your fun in three, as four is far too many. But what you do in the privacy of your bedroom aside, I'm here to bring you the news.” The voice was similar to DJ Cerberus, but she now sounded like she’d smoked four packs of cigarettes a day. “Now first on the list is the arrivals of outsiders, and the madness they’ve brought with them. Not rioting in the streets, no no my little ponies, but the slashing of prices among the trade union. From what some little birds have told me, the trade union might be aiming on expanding their businesses passed the islands, with help from the outsiders. Now, take that with some sea salt, but it’s definitely alarming. I know what your thinking, these greedy assholes making even more bits has never been good for any pony that's not them. But, here's the kicker; not just the Trade Union is up to something. Word is, even Orthrus is hiring new employees in mass, with both factions preparing for an expedition to old Equestria. True madness, believe me, I know. Best of all, there's the cherry on top of the cupcake. The outsiders have openly made statements on this themselves, confirming what I’ve heard. And now, you’re hearing it here first, right from the horse’s mouth.”

The low playing party music faded, more than it was already, replaced by that of a brass band, similar to that if old world equestra music, catching a few ponies ears. “Hello, citizens of the Marewaiee islands. I am Vice President Feather Duster, of the New Cloudsdale Enclave, father of President Pillow Feathers. I will not lie, our population has suffered, long before we lost control of the sky. We were growing weak, arrogantly seeing ourselves as its sole masters. But when we finally decided to announce our superiority to the world, the world slapped us down, as it has the right to. Brought low, we now know where we stand, not as the supriors we’d wished we were, but the weakened nomads holding onto a past long dead. Through this revelation brought upon us by our own arrogance, we now see a future ahead. I don’t know where this path may lead us, but the fact that at least we will have a future, and I know it’s something you all may understand.” Duster paused, giving an audible deep breath. “I ask for you to help us in this time of great need. We cannot offer much, as through our own foolishness, we have lost most we once owned. Together, I know there's a future worth fighting for, worth building side by side. Something far better than what's waiting for each and every one of us if we stand apart. So again I ask of you, please help us, and in return, we will strive to help you in any way we can.”

The music faded, replaced by low electronic music. “That puts a tear to my eye, but can't feed my belly. Still, if ya think your some hero, then you might have your calling. Though take it from me, I doubt you will find fame and fortune in what’s obviously charity work. Now, if this Enclave broadcast hasn’t been enough to get you excited, do I have more news for you! Why don’t we listen in and see what the next group of outsiders to grace our shores has to say!”

As the train stopped as the music faded, and ponies exited, both Xianzi and I stayed, as it was not our exit. Like a shifting of ideas, a new group of ponies crowded in as the music changed, this time an orstica with a choir, sounding far grander than the old overused military band. Far more ponies seemed to respond to this music, seemingly igniting a sense of curiosity into the air. I couldn't say if it was because it was something new, or if they were actually excited to hear what the grand fleet had to say. But if I knew one thing, following the grand fleet would only lead to more war, and the likely subjugation of my mind… all for slaying Phobetor, to kill the greater evil.

“Hello Marewaii Islanders. It brings me so much joy to give you the great opportunity of joining the grand fleet, both as partners, or as members of our grand family.”

Red's voice was full of exuberance, almost as though she was not fucked in the head and in need of years of counseling. She was taking the spotlight as much as possible, and I bet if she could, she would make herself the saint of the islands. all the while being as much of a cut through bitch as Thorn Rosland was. But that's what I needed her for, to keep eyes on her, and as few looking for me as possible.

“Now I know there are those who have suffered at the guns of my own brothers and sisters, but let it be known that this grave and terrible mistake has been swiftly corrected. What is important now is to look toward the future! To see how great we can become as one whole. Not simply as friends, but as close as a family. As Saint Roseland once said, friendship is like the water which we all need it to live. And yet, blood is thicker than water, and we need it more than the water itself. Together, once you have a family made through friendship, you can never be without it. This I offer you, should you choose to join us. A bond, stronger than friendship, stronger than family, and a world to explore passed the metro that has entrapped and nearly suffocated you. If you believe you were meant for something greater, not to simply wither away in the dark, all you must do is to reach out to us, and we will be there to take you by the hoof. Trust me, as you are not the first to be saved, as even I was once thrown into darkness. I’d been lost, scared, and without hope. But Saint Roseland gave me the opportunity to become a greater pony, a better pony than I was, and I had the courage to take that opportunity.”

There was a pause, the choir quickly rose in volume, then slowly fading. I looked around, and several ponies seemed enthralled, like a light had been sparked in their eyes. The music faded down low again, and Red continued.

“So I ask you, the brave and long forgotten ponies of the metro, if you wish to be more than what you currently are, to take hold of your lives and to rise not just above the clouds, but above everything, even yourselves. Then all you need do is to take our hooves and become more then our friends, and join the strong and righteous family you are destined to have.”

The choir faded again, replaced by the same, normal electronic dance music of radio station three. “Well… that was a bit more cult like than I expected. But hey, if you want want to leave the metro and see the world, that's what they promise.”

I kept Xianzi in the corner of my vision, keeping stoic to not give my own feelings on the matter away. Mostly, it was to keep up the lie that was Red Steel, who I knew was giving everyone a half truth. If ponies knew that most who joined would start as ship slaves, then I doubt they see the grand fleet as a savor. Xianzi subtle looked over at me, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly before speaking. “Sounds too good to be true, especially from the descendants of equestrias royal navy. Sorry for sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but I'd love to know what Reds angle real is.”

My eyes shifted, seeing that no pony in the train cart paid us much mind.

“Not much different from any other pony.” I said feeling confident that she could not see thru the layers of lies. Well, at least not through all of them. “I won't deny she has her own ambition in all this, but the captain is at least honest in the opportunity she offers… at least if they survive the recruitment. Trust me on this, only those strong of both will and body will find success within the grand fleet. I dare not say more, as I may step on the hooves of those I’d rather not.” Last thing I needed was to piss off Red and ruin everything. She may be on board with me sparking this war, but I had no doubt that if crossed, she will take the ball and go home, with the ball being my head…

Xianzi pondered for a moment, seven scratching her chin. “We might have a few ponies like that we can send to your captain. Both strong in will and body, but too much trouble to keep around on the islands. If cut off from on any pony they know, they may become more... malleable.”

I didn't like the idea, but I was too in deep to change my tune. “I'm sure Red will take them off your hooves, she is always looking for competent pawns for the game.”

“Game?” Xianzi said looking a tad confused.

“Nothing you should worry about, it's just what some call the ebb and flow of power in the fleet.” Alright, guess I still needed to watch my words. “I don't know that much about it, as it’s not my place to care. It's Red who desires to play the game, and only she can answer any questions you might have.”

Xianzi nodded. “Then we will keep close contact with Captain Red Steel.”

I nodded in agreement, confident they would not press more. I knew they were good at keeping their secrets, and would likely silence any pony who knew said secrets if they wanted to keep them quiet. What bugged me the most was the the idea that Orthrus might already know all of this, and not have rid the metro of the syndicate despite knowing. Sadly, I was not in position to ask questions, much less change anything.

A bell rang and the train stopped. “Welcome to Curtius Station, please mind the gap, and enjoy your stay.” The recorded announcement spoke with a friendly and cheer filled voice. Both Xianzi and I stepped out with the crowd of ponies disembarking the train, and trotted a distance until we reached a bench.

Xianzi waited for a moment, carefully scanning the tunnels. “Good, looks like no ponies are following us. Now, when we get on our next train, we’re not to talk to each other. Not even eye contact can happen, you understand.” I nodded. “Good. Once we arrive at Valley Port Station, you are to conduct your mission and make as much trouble as possible. Unless the situation changes, I'll be waiting outside the Orthrus embassy, near the trains entrance, seek me out and our operatives will give you a hiding place to change outfits. After that, you’re free from our contract, as long as you don't name us that is.”

I nodded again. “As long as you keep your end of the bargen.” I said with authority and annoyance.

She once more roller her eyes. “Trust us, we want this war just as much as you seem too. It's going to be good business for us at least.”

“Fair enough. Just make sure I get my stuff back after I do your task.” I said with a stern tone.

“Don't get your panties in a bunch, pirate. We may not look it at first, but we’re professionals. Last thing we want to do us ruin the best business partnership we’ve had in over a hundred years, along with messing with our competition.” She flipped her mane back and smiled. “Just trust us. What your asking for is quite literally what were best at.”

I gave an exacerbated sigh. “I get it, I just have to have to have faith.” I did my best to not cringe as I copied what I saw the the other pirates do when bringing up Roseland, and pretended to pray. I had to sell myself as one of the pirates, and better late than never. “May Celestia and Luna watch over us, guide us to victory.”

Xianzi cocked an eyebrow for a moment, but the returned to her businesses here smile. “Yes, faith. You do that, and we will deliver. Now let's go, the train to Valley Port should be arriving soon. If they do anything useful, Orthrus at least makes the trains arrive on time.”

After a short trot, we arrived at the junction to Valley Port Station. Unsurprisingly, it was far more heavily guarded than any other stop I had seen outside of the entrance to either of the two Orthrus home stations. There were not just regulars manning the checkpoints, but commandos with cyberdogs checking the few ponies coming through this stop.

Frankly I was unsure how I was going to get in unnoticed. But as we trotted here the checkpoint, Xianzi turned to a nearby public restroom, and I followed her in, trusting her. Inside was what was to be expected, a relatively clean restroom with a dirty looking maid slumped against the wall.

“Great, another high vagrant dirting the walls we taxpayers put bits to keep clean.” Xianzi said in a hoity tone.

The dirty pony scrunched her nose. “Fuck you bitch, at least I don't got brown on my nose!”

“Because you wiped it on the wall, you lowlife!” Xianzi growled.

“That I did in stall three, if ya want to see?” The dirty pony then trotted off to the entrance and sat next to the door, not looking back at us.

Xianzi bugged me. “Lets go before some fool comes in.” She trotted over to the stall with a number three on it, an motioned for me to follow. Closing the flimsy door behind me, I watched as she reached behind the toilet, and maid an audible click sound. The wall behind the toilet pulled back, creating an opening, of which Xianzi quickly jumped through, and I followed.

Looking back, the hole seamlessly closed itself. “How many of these exist?”

“Best if you never ask that question again.” Xianzi calmly said to me as she smiled back at me. I nodded, getting the message. “Good, now let's get to the train, it should be here soon.”

As expected, this back way was full of cobwebs and small insects, of which we ignored as we passed through them. Xianzi remained quiet as we moved, and I took it as a sign to do the same. We came out at what was a maintenance closet, with barely enough room for the two of us to fit after the hidden door closed. Xianzi took a quick peek out before opening the door, and trotting out of which I quickly followed.

“You would be surprised how expensive those hidden tunnels cost to keep secret.” Xianzi said as she brushed a cobweb out of her mane. “But we’re here. Now all we need to do is catch the train.”

I didn't have as many webs on me as she did, but I still had to brush a centipede off my face. “Good, I'm getting tired of taking detours as is.”

Seemingly satisfied with herself dusted off, Xianzi once again trotted off, with me following. Entering the train’s platform, it was significantly depopulate compared to other train stops, with mostly just Orthrus regulars getting ready to board. There was one pony in a well kept, but clearly old world business suit. She eyed us as we got in line next to her.

“Your removing your assets from the Republic territory as well?” She asked bluntly.

Xianzi nodded. “Got a few things locked up in customs that are going to be a pain in the blank to get back, but if I don't do it now, they’re never coming home.”

The business mare gave an exacerbated sigh as she pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Best give up on that idea. The fucking equalists are seizing everything they can get their hooves on, saying that nothing belongs to just one pony. At least they haven’t started taking ponies just yet, as Orthrus doesn’t cover lost employees.” She took a long drag and puffed out a cloud of smoke. “But that's what I get for trying to sell to these assholes, and now I’m left with whatever my employees could drag out before the equalists took the rest.” She took another drag of her cigarette, it mostly turning to ash before she throwing it away. Turning to Xianzi, she extended her hoof out to her. “I represent Coffin Nails Cigarettes, interested in selling our product?”

Xianzi shook the mares hoof. “Work Counseling Department. Recently we have gained a new wealthy client that could be interested in your product. That is, if you’re willing to pay us a finders fee?”

A smile crept on the business mares face. “Ahh, the WCD, I see. Some of your mercenaries are loyal customers of mine. Maybe we can talk business later, when things are... less tense.”

“Would be a pleasure, just bring whatever you recover to any of our offices.” Xianzi smiled back, and broke the hoof shake, the two mares turning their attention on the now arriving train.

“Remember to mind the gap, as safety starts with you.” A message played on the speakers overhead. The train rolled in, slowing down as it bellowed out steam. It stopped, and the doors opened, letting out a flood of ponies, all scrambling with whatever they could carry. Adults and foals, the clean and dirty. There was one filly dragging a bunch of wrenches behind a mare dragging even bigger wrenches. It was an exodus, and the ponies fleeing had little idea where to go, except away from where the war was likely going to happen.

We waited for the ponies to clear out before we moved onto the train. The once packed cart now emptied of life, sat waiting for us. Xianzi boarded the lonely cart, but I stopped just shy of the doors. Noticing this, she turned around to me and shot me an annoyed look. “Getting cold hooves now, are we?”

I shook my head. “No, I just have one more thing to do. Just wait for me.” I looked her in the eyes, concentrating my power at her, freezing her in my gaze.

“Now leaving for Vally Port Station, mind the gap.” The speakers announced loudly as the doors slowly closed. For split second our eye contact was broken, and Xianzi stumbled back a step, looking confused. As the train began to move, I trotted along with it, the carts passing me as it picked up speed. Xianzi sat down on a seat, looking at me with both in annoyance and in confusion.

The last train car came, a conductor and troop transport cart full of regulars. I broke into a gallop as the cart was going only a bit faster than me. When the back of the cart came into view, I kicked off, jumping for the emergency door on the rear of the cart. My hoof caught on the security bars that were bolted over the door’s window, and I hung on tight.

Both my back legs dropped and hit the rail line below, almost dragging me down as they made clatter and ping sounds. Pulling myself up, I ducked just in time to avoided an Orthrus Regular from spotting me. She looked a bit confused by the noise my legs had made, but looked away with a shrug. Keeping low, I held on, the sound of the train deafening, and the rising air trying to pull me off.

_______________________________________________

Looking over the side of the train, both the wind and vibrations made it hard to keep my eyes open, and head on, but in little time I saw what I was waiting for. A faint light passed me by, marking that I was near an Orthrus maintenance post, and likely where the megaspell was being stored. Positioning my rear hooves firmly under me, I jumped back and curled up into a ball.

I hit the ground and rolled violently. Even though I did my best to reduced how fast I was going, it was likely still hitting the ground to hard for a normal pony to not get away without any severe injuries… Unfortunately I was indeed hurting,feeling like I was being trampled by a horde of redboars. Thankfully, I was a bit tougher than your average pony now, and as long as my head was safe, I had no trouble getting back up once I stopped tumbling. My jumpsuit received some damage, a few small tears and lots of scuff marks, but overall it was still in good condition.

Adjusting my scarf, I found that one of my throwing knives had gotten bent, so I used the rail line and my iron hoof to stomp it back straight, though not perfectly. Still, it should do, so I slipped it back into its place in my scarf. Satisfied, I made my way down to the midsection of the tunnel, towards where Orthrus was planning to blow the tunnel when things turned bad.

“Do ya really think the Republic is going to attack?” There was a pony standing in front of a door on the side of the tunnel. The Orthrus regular had large headphones on, covering her ears as she spoke into her pipbuck. Next to her was an air rifle I was not familiar with, and what looked like a small drone. “Ya, I know that. What I meant was are they going to attack here? Would it be better if I was at the other entrance, closer to where the Republic would be coming from?”

I kept to the shadows, getting closer. The mare was blocking the entrance to a deep maintenance station, the exact entrance that I needed to get to. As far as I knew, this was the halfway point for the tunnel, where Orthrus monitored its integrity and conducted maintenance from. Working down here was one of the highest paid jobs Orthrus offered due to its secluded nature, though I never met another pony who had worked here.

“Buzz!” The drone shot up, and turned on a light, almost blinding me as hugged the wall, staying as close to the shadows as possible.

“Hold on, number five picked something up on its censors.” The regular got up, and equipped her rifle. Trotting closer, I got a good look at her rifle. It looked like the standard rifle Orthrus used, but the magazine was under the barrel, much like with old world rifles. Both the mare and the drone got closer, and I pulled out two throwing knives.

“Ha!” the mare fired, and the rifle cracked loudly. A radroach scurried onto the side of the tunnel, the mare clearly missing the fairly easy shot. “It's always a fucking bug. Just once I want it to be an equalist, or something that’ll put this baby to a real test.” She aimed her rifle again, flipping a switch on its side, and fired in full auto. The radroach didn't stand a chance this time, it's blood smearing the wall. “Ya, ya, I'm not going to leave it out here, so stop bitching at me. Number Five come, where's there's one, there's others.”

Both the mare and the drone moved passed me, not even seeing me. I took the opportunity to move, trying to match my hoofsteps with the mare’s to avoid catching her attention. Reaching the door, I found it locked, something I was not going to let stop me. Pulling out a hairpin from my mane and one of the thinner knives, I quickly got to work. In only a few seconds, the door clicked open. If she’d been here, I was sure Sweet would’ve even been impressed with how quick that was. Looking back, the regular had picked up the dead radroach, and was likely about to come back. Not wasting anymore time, I entered through the door and softly pulled it shut behind me.

Passed the door, I found another, bigger door. It was the same kind of blast doors used near the entrance of a stable in case the main door fails. It was also locked, and needed a code to open. With an annoyed sigh, I pulled out another knife, and began unscrewing the face plate to the doors control. It didn't take long to remove the screws, as the magical blue flame I used to hold the knife gave me more strength and control then Minerva did. With the faceplate off, I looked at the mess of wires inside, then with a few cuts, and crossing of wires, the doors hissed.

Luckily there was not a third door for me to get past, but I was almost stunned when I saw the ocean. The hallway I entered had five large windows looking out into a blue abyss, and I watched as a school of fish passed by, with a shark following close behind them. Above each window were three letters, M.O.M.

“Great… this is a fucking secret Ministry facility.” I sighed to myself.

At the far end of the hallway was an open door, giving me a good view of what was further inside. The place was more than a simple maintenance and monitoring post, but a full on military listening post. There were six rows of ten cubicles, with at least six pink terminals each, all playing different videos. It looked like they were from security cameras, and robots, with how the videos seemed to move. There seemed to be no obvious pattern to what they were looking at, that is unless looking at everypony and anypony was a pattern.

I had to duck back as a pink spritebot floated by. “Remember, report any frowns you see! Unhappy ponies are easy targets for zebra infiltrators, so we must find those frowns, and turn them upside down!” The spritebot spoke in an overly cheery mares voice.

Once the bot had passed I took count of what I had to deal with. I saw at least six spritebots monitoring the main floor, both on and above. In the center was a pink securitron, something I hadn’t been expecting to deal with. The large killbot was connected to a terminal, it's screen showing the video feeds of the spritebots. I also counted at least four Orthrus troopers, heavily armored, all armed with the fully automatic airguns I saw the guard use earlier. Then there was the sixty ponies inside the cubicles, spying on everypony. Lastly I could see two groups of three ponies who looked like they were actually here for maintenance, each only armed with their revolvers.

Group one was busy at work fixing an offline terminal, while the second group was in what looked like a break room. This second group was standing around an armored suitcase, and each of them were armed with the fully automatic airguns. It was just a guess, but my bits was that the megaspell bomb I was here for was in the suitcase.

Sadly ,Sparkle-Lurker jumpsuit or not, there was no direct way to get to the suitcase without being seen, the place was too well watched. Something did catch my eyes, and that at least a forth of the floor under me was grating with cables running inside. It was a gamble, but I didn't have the time to wait for a better option. Waiting for one of the spritebots to pass, I quietly trotted next to one of the cubicles and finding a grate. With my magic, I lifted up, finding it opened easily, so I slid inside.

It was a cramped fit, but my suspicions were proven correct, and I was in an underfloor cable network, just wide enough for a pony to crawl through. Sadly it looked like I had entered a maze, with some parts in the distance blocked off by the cables. As I pondered about my next move, something poked me in the back, turning, I saw a toolbox half buried by cables.I figured that it might have something useful, so I checked the box, finding a wrench, a screwdriver, a hammer, two party poppers, and a pink envelope with a blue ribbon around it. The envelope was old, and had one sentence written on the outside. “Pinky Pie's order forum for a Vibraphone that Echos.”

… I had a bad feeling about this...

Quietly opening the envelope, pink glitter burst into the air, almost making me cough. Once the glitter had settled, I pulled out a piece of paper. One side had a simple map scrawled across it, and the other side had hoofwriting.

“To whomever this may concern. My name is Prancer Dancer, and ministry mare Pinky Pie has instructed me to map out the cable trenches of this facility, and the patrols patterns of the spritebots. I don't know why, but I have learned long ago to not question the wisdom of miss Pinky Pie. Anyways, our spritebots have E.F.S. installed, so even if a zebra gets in, there's no way for them to stay undetected. Still, whoever you are, good luck or whatever. I need a drink, and a vacation.”

I didn't have the time to process what I just read, nor had I wanted to. I flipped the paper over and looked at the map. It was rough to say the least, and being over two hundred years old didn't help, but it was easy to understand. The map had little notes all over, mainly about how to avoid the spritebots, and things I should not touch. There was also directions to where I should go, and oddly, it told me to avoid the break room, with the words “Baked Bads!” written in bold. The directions instead pointed me to a broom closet, where it was written “Here Be Cake!” There was one more odd notes in the corner of the paper, it a drawing of a clock going “tic-toc, tic-toc.” and saying under it “Beware of the naughty pony who only tells lies.”

Now I was not one to take ancient notes left by long dead ministry mares, but then again I was trying to kill an ancient nightmare on the behest of a literal grim reaper. At the very least I checkout this cake first, then pickup the baked bads.

Getting low, I crawled to the other side of this tight trench, doing my best to not make any noise. This brought me under the first row of cubicles. Looking up, I got a better look at the inside of it. The desk was covered in photos of cats, at least ten different cats, each posing with the same mare. The same mare in fact, who currently occupied the cubicle. The map directed me to crawl under to the second to last cubicle, and move to the next line. So eight more cubicles to go.

Cubicle two above me was really clean, and smelled faintly of bleach. The third had six plush dolls that looked like younger ministry mares. The fourth also had six plush dolls, but they were all Rainbow Dash. By the fifth I stopped looking, and carried on, where I almost kicked a bullet under the seventh. Annoyed, I looked up to see the pony at the cubicles polishing a gun, not the standard enforcer revolver, but a orange and black striped 10mm pistol. She had several other pistols of different models, each painted like exotic animal is in the old history books. Carefully avoiding the lost bullets under this cubicles, I pushed on, focusing on cubicle nine… and almost regretted it. The smell being the first thing that struck me, I looked up to see that the mare in the cubicle was masturbating, with several sextoys inside her. She was focused on one of her screens, were two ponies were getting it on. She had large earphones on, playing music so loud that even I could faintly hear it as she worked on herself.

I was to cross to the next row of cubicles, putting me at risk of being seen. There was a bit of the trench that stuck out to the side, likely for easy access for a pony to get in, and for me, to get out. Carefully once again, I crawled, ignoring the quiet moans coming from the mare above me, as well as the sticky floor under me.

“I see you!” I froze as one of the spritebots floated above me. “You have been consistently working for three weeks now, you deserve a reward for your dedication! Let's have a party!”

The mare in the cubicle above me glanced at the spritebot, sighed, and returned her attention to the screen.

“Ahh, you still have more work to do! Then carry on, the fate of Equestria is in your capable hooves!” The floating ball of a robot then drifted away in a bouncing motion.

With the way clear, and no spritebots coming this way, I made my move and lifted the grate next to the cubicle. Pulling myself out, I silently closed the grate and creeped to the next row of cubicles. The cubicle in front of me was blocked off with a sheet, making it all the more easy to sneak under.

*Clang!*

In my rush, I slipped, and the grate closed slipped from my cold after I went under.

“What was that?” a pony spoke up, their hoofsteps quickly coming my way. Backing up, I hid under the cubicle, it's sheet providing me extra cover. “Damnit, didn't I tell you to alt least keep this sheet open when working.” The sheet was thrown open, the pony on the outside was a gruff looking annoyed trooper. Inside, now that light was allowed in, revealed an albino mare, in a black dress with dark red frills, a style she shared with the rest of the inside of the cubicle… it reminded me of a phase I want through as a teen, but with more cloths, not less.

“Knock that shit off.” The mare hissed at the trooper before pouting. “It's giving me a migraine, the damned screens alone give me a headache, so cut me a break.”

The trooper sighed, “I get it, you don't like the light, and the high alert Orthrus is on has all of you stressed, but please just bear with it. Here, let me get you a new blood packet, yours is looking low.” The trooper trotted off.

Scanning the cubicle closer, I noticed that she had an IV drip attached to her, providing her with blood. Then we made eye contact, she looking down at me with red eyes that seemed to glow, her mouth agape, with what looked like two large fangs inside. Her red eyes seemed to glow, and she seemed to have two fangs. We stayed at each other for a few seconds, I sensing a familiar faint cold magic from her, then she went crossed eyed, and she looked away, shaking her head. I quickly shuffled back, out of sight.

“Nothing’s there… nothing. Get a grip on yourself, girl.” She said with a huff. “All this damned work is making me see things...”

I only needed to pass under two more cubicles, then get to the adjacent row before I needed to come out from under the grates again. The next cubicle had pristine white mugs stacked all over it, and the biggest cappuccino machine I had ever seen. The next was another mostly clean cubicle, though, I was a bit weirded out by the ten metronomes the pony had, rocking all in perfect unison. Here I was able to pass under to the next row of cubicles, and l get ready to surface.

I stepped in some fungus and mold, and before I could ask why it was here, something made a wet slap above me. An overweight pony had dropped a greasy looking greenwrap onto the grating, and was now reaching down to grab it will keeping their eyes on the screen. I had to bite my tongue keep myself from retching, as the grating above had grease and food drums stuck all over it. The fat pony continued to try and recover.. his… her… its food, and so not to have another close call, I used my magic to lift the greenwrap. Ugh, I could feel the greasiness through my flame magic. Oddly enough, the pony dextrally took hold of the greenwrap, that now had the grate grease on it, and lifted it up, immediately taking a bite out of it.

After seeing all of this, I was starting to get a bit worried that some of the highest paid regulars in Orthrus were fucked in the head. But then again, if your job was to spy on ponies all day, you can't be a totally sane individual.

Waiting for another spritebot to pass by, I got ready to surface again. This bot was humming a song that made me want to smile for a second, but the moment passed, and I focused myself once more. This time went smoother than the last, and I had crept halfway down the cubicles before going back under, which left me exposed for even longer. Once the spritebot had gotten far enough away I crept out again, and began crawling to the other side.

It went well with no pony seeing me, and now I had to move another four cubicles down. I took care to check the cubicles first of course. Both of the first two had ponies focused on their job, same as most of the others had been. One was naked for some reason, and the other had bundles of garlic all over her cubicle walls along with a few symbols of Celestia hanging about.

“Time to piss!” The pony in the next cubicle said as she stepped out. I hugged the wall, out in the open as this here quickly scanned the room, with a mug of coffee floating next to her. Her eyes scanned over me, but then she yawned, and trotted off.

Waiting for the pony to pass, I saw a spritebot turn the corner, and start heading my way. Jumping into the now open cubicle, I found myself surrounded by cartoon art of ponies that covered the walls. Waiting for the bot to pass, I couldn't help but take a closer look, only to find that the cartoons were not ponies, just pony looking animals, and with their genitals exposed. Dogs and cat ponies were the most prevalent, and the majority of them sported neon colors, as though some pony barfed a rave on them. The more I looked, the more erotic art I saw, some consisting of a few extreme fetishes. The cherry on top of this sunday was a photo of a mare in a latex cat costume, with two other ponies in similar outfits. One I recognized as the masturbating mare from earlyer, dressed up as a dog, and ballgagged. The third pony, though in a dog costume, somehow seemed normal, but with a slight annoyed look on her face.

I left as soon as the spritebot had passed, and didn't even check and see if the cost was clear, getting under the cubicles like some monster returning to the dark. Luckily I managed to not get anypony’s attention, and this was the last batch of cubicles I had to pass under.

Fortunately nothing but a few cables were in my way, and I was done looking into other ponies personal space, so I crawled to the end of the trench. Here I simply had to survive for a moment before going under again, and passing next to the baked bad marker on the map. Once more I waited for a spritebot to pass, their pattern now becoming predictable enough, but no less dangerous if I slip up.

Entering the new trench, I was in what was clearly a drainage trench, likely the same purpose as the others, but with far less cables obstructing my path, and more slime. Moving along, I got a better look at the break room and the briefcase guarded by the three ponies. It was an armored case with a shiny stainless steel finish, but thinking about it, too obvious as something important, like Orthrus wanted it to be taken.

I knew that no pony knew I was coming, so this was likely a trap for Republic troops if they ever infiltrate this place. That was at least a guess, but after seeing a little of this place, I had no doubt that this was their contingency plan. With how important their reputation was, blowing this tunnel was less of a loss then having this place found and revealed to the rest of the islands.

“I know tensions are high, but does that specter need to be such a bitch about it?” One of the three mares in the breakroom spoke up.

“Be quiet dumbass, last thing we need is to piss off the council. Just let the Specter do her thing, and bight your tongue.” The second regular commented.

The third mare huffed. “You don't have to say that again, we all know they have a licence to kill any pony they don't like.” She shook her head. “Personally, getting triple the pay to guard a poison bomb is well worth the annoyance. Not like the damned republicans can get in here without triggering a war, so just relax.”

The first mare sighed. “I know, but don't you got a bad feeling about all this?”

“A bit.” The third pony said. “But look on the bright side, I got myself a date with that albino mare, she likes that I'm an O+.”

The second mare sipped on her drink. “Were going to war soon, no way around it. All we’re waiting for is for somepony to make the first move.” She sipped her drink again. “Personally, I don't know why we tolerate all their mocary, their just begging for us to kick their flanks. I mean, If we made the first move, no way they would be able to organize in time to stop us.”

I rolled my eyes at how little they knew. Though, I did agree that a preemptive first strike was the best option for destroying the Republic. But I also knew that the C.C.N. would give the Republic the ability to mount a strong defence faster than any pony should, and that they would defend the line with a suicidal dedication. What was truly needed was to break their unity, to kill the brain of the operation.

Moving along was much easier without the cables in the way, giving me a straight shot to my goal, but I still had to be careful to not slip on the slime that covered this trench. The broom closet was just farther in, only to find myself looking at one of those blast doors Stable-Tec used, forcing me to ponder on how dumb this looked. My best guess was a misdirection in the blueprints or something, keep outside ponies guessing on what was built here, as the old ministries were known for their secrets. Now the big problem was trying to not draw too much attention to myself when opening the door, with how the ponies on guard were definitely going to hear it open, and likely investigate.

Swallowing my own sense of caution, I lifted the grate with my magic flame, and with my other, I pressed the button to open the door. Quickly hiding back down under the grate, I waited to see what happened.

“You hear that?” one of them spoke up and trotted over. The trooper looked around, her disguised as a maintenance pony not fooling me, as no simple Orthrus regular was ever given advanced weapons like that. She scanned the area, her eyes slowly lowering as I backed away.

“See anything?” One of the other troopers yelled out.

The Trooper here me frowned. “No, just another glitch. I swear this place is fucking with us.”

“Well, Pinky Pie is watching you.” The other trooper replica.

“Ya, and I wish she just fuck off already.” The nearby trooper huffed, trotting away, not closing the door.

As I waited for the mare to get further away, I looked down at the strangely useful map, with far to covenant instructions. It instructing me to close the door behind me once inside, and be ready for a surprise party… I didn't like that last part. Feeling confident, I left my hiding spot and entered the broom closet to take the cake.

Said broom closet ended up, unsprisinly, to not be a broom closet, but an administrators room, built much like an overmares office. On the desk was an armored suitcase, just like the one the three fake maintenance ponies were guarding. “I guess the cake was a lie, but even so, I'll take this.” I said with a sigh as I trotted over to the case.

Looking at the case, I found it had an electronic lock on it, a kind I didn't know how to remove. From the design of it, it would probably self destruct if tampered with. Looking around, I saw a card with the Orthrus symbols on the desk. Disturbingly, the cart itself had a few specks of blood on it.

I pushed the case to the side, and looked over the desk. Everything seemed to slow as I saw the body of a specter behind the desk, her throat slit, and a pool of blood under her. My mind ran a mile a minute, both confused and surprised. But the feeling of something on my neck, a thread, made me realize what had happened.

Pulled back, the thread constructed around my throat. Luckily, I didn't need to breath, and with how my head did not connect with my body, the thread only squeezed in on my sarf, and the knives contained inside. It all making me annoyed at the worst.

“I don't know who you are, but for the Republic, you must die.” A mare whispered, her voice sounding way too familiar. “I am very sorry”

Not having the time to fuck around, I turned my head all the way around backwards to see this equalist mare. She was a dark bluish purple mare with a pink mane, and red cyber eyes… it was Clarinet Reed!

Clarinet, fell back in surprise. The thread she was trying to strangle me with now pulled back, and knocked off my head, forcing me to use my magic to catch my head before it hit the ground.

“S… so, Orthrus has their own cyber soldiers then.” She squealed out as she lifted her hoof, and a small hole opened up in frog of it, followed by two quiet puffs of air.

I felt a pain in my chest. Turning my head to look at my body, two darts were lodged in my chest. This caused me to sigh as I felt some pain, and a slight burning sensation that was likely some sort of poison, but nothing that made me feel that I was in danger. Channeling for my two flames, I pull out the darts, letting them fall to the floor. Feeling depressed about the situation, I turned my head to look at Clarinet, she likely a fully cybernetic reaver now.

Clarinet looked at my head in shock, aiming her other hoof at it, but my body responded quickly. I stomped down my iron hoof, blocking the two darts from hitting my face.

“Capitalist scum!” She whispered harshly at me.

Using my magic flames, I lifted my head back up and over my neck, letting it hover. It was a gamble, but I needed to know how blown my cover was, while not giving myself away. Narrowing my eyes at her, I spoke carefully and purposely as I lifted my gassmask.

“Calm comrad, are you not connected to the C.C.N?”

She tilted her head with a cocked eyebrow. “Why do you ask… Comrad?”

I adjusted my scarf, having it a bit more loose, and a bit easier to access my knives. “The hounds know of it and how it's used, meaning you could be compromised. Blaster Beam wants you disposed if that’s the case.” I bullshitted in hopes to get her guard down.

She seemed to relax, putting a hoof down. “N… no, this place is blocking my signal, is it for you?”

I didn't let myself relax, but this did confirm that I was in the clear, that Phobetor hadn’t spotted me yet. Now the problem was how to deal with Clarinet, which only made me feel even more depressed. “Yes, but that's fortune for you, as I have a countermeasure system for you to install. It will prevent the capitalist from using the C.C.N. agents us.”

I just needed her close, make it quick and painless. It’s the best I could do for her. Clarinet was a sweet mare, and though I don't know why they’d turned her into a reaver, but I can't let her live after seeing me and my magic. It just felt like a shame it had to end up this way.

She sighed, and stepped towards me. “Yes, we cannot let them harm the people more than they already have. Thanks comrade.” As she got in close, I readied two knives. Though small, they could still be able to cut into her spinal cord, after which I’ll finish her off.

She stopped a few footsteps away, intently staring at something on my face. A long thin blade sprung from her hoof with a clang, it sparking with electricity. She charged.

“You think me an idiot, traitor!” She growled. I just barely dodged the swing she aimed at my face. Stepping to the side, I slashed with my two knives, but she quickly knocked them away with her blade. “Was it all lies? Did you just use me to get in the Republic, Catbell?”

Great, she knew. “What gave it away, Clarinet?”

She pointed to her lip. “You still have that scar, and your stripes are in the right place.” Then she became blurt, slowly vanishing until she became invisible. “I helped show you what made the Republic great, then you assassinated our leader. Why?”

I pulled out two more knives, unsure where she was now, but ready to fight. “I doubt you would believe me even if I spoke the truth. Actually, no, I know you won't.” I shook my head. “As part of the C.C.N., you're nothing more than a puppet.”

“I'm not the one slaving for a few bits, under the control of capitalist boars” She growled back.

“Right, then the truth… it was all an accident…” Something then clicked in my mind, and it all fell into place, causing me to laugh. “No, now that I think about it, it couldn’t have been. It had to be a setup. My job was to send a message through the radio tower, an in and out thing. Then the place blew up, and the pirates so conveniently already there...”

A glass bottle on the floor behind me clinked, and I jumped to the side just as a spark cracked on the floor. “Nonsense, you’d better start making sense Catbell!”

I chuckled under my breath. “Sorry, but the more I tell the truth, the more madness this will sound to you. But I will say this; I was no spy. I was just the wrong mare in the wrong place, and I had to lie to survive. Just like myself, you are just a victim of powers greater than ourselves.”

Another glass bottle clinked, and I jumped out of the way, but no strike came, just silence and… A wave of electricity jolted through me as something hit my side. It was a feint attack, and I fell into it, giving Clarinet the opportunity to strike. My body fell over, stunned by the blade, causing my head to roll until it hit something. That something was unfortunately Clarinet..

She retracted her blade and picked up my head, looking me in the eyes. “You know that the capitalists manipulate you, yet you let them. Why? What do you get out of it?”

I sighed, she clearly just as brainwashed as before. But the saddest part was that she wasn’t entirely wrong, just that how much she could see was very narrow. Orthrus was manipulating as much as they could. Fuck, starting this war was going to be a huge benefit to them, it could just never be officially tied to them.

“I have my own interests, that is true. And Orthrus share similar goals with me.” And now, for the madness. “But if you really want to know the truth, the Republic has been taken over by an ancient nightmare, and I'd been tasked by a grim reaper to kill her before she gets too powerful.”

Clarinet frozen for a few seconds before pulling her electro blade from her hoof. “You read too many books.”

“I wish that was my problem.” I said with a smile, which quickly became a grimace. “I'm sorry, but I'm going to take that bomb, start a war to draw out that nightmare, and blow her back to Tartarus. Lots of ponies will die, both Orthrus and the Republic.”

“Then you must die.” She pulled back her blade, getting ready to swing it on my head, all as tears poured from her eyes. “For the good of everypony, you must…”

I froze her in place with my evil eyes, sending the feeling of helplessness and fear at her. This gave my body the time to get up, and trot over, grabbing her blade hoof, then pulling. Clarinet dropped me as my body pulled her leg from its socket. Cable's and white fluid gushed out of her, like she was some robot that was pretending to be a pony. She didn't make a sound, not even a whimper as she fell over.

Putting my head back between my shoulders, I looked down at Clarinet as she struggled to get back up. Using her own blade, still attached to her leg, I plunged it into her chest, causing her to spasm as it released the rest of its charge.

“I could have made it quick and easy for you, as painless as possible. I didn’t want this, Clarinet.” I growled, feeling frustrated that this even had to happen. “Why does everypony have to fight? Why can't I just do what needs to be done without having to cause even more suffering?”

“We all want to live.” Clarinet coughed, milky white fluid coming out her mouth, nose and eyes. I watched as she struggled to get back up, the white fluid pooling on the floor under her. “What's so wrong with that?”

“I'm trying to save lives, so many lives you can’t even imagine. Please, stop struggling to live, stop making this…” I was stopped by a weak kiss, Clarinet lightly touching her muzzle with mine.

“All for the greater good, I can understand that.” She pulled back and smiled. “But if you really want to help, then join us. All you have to loose is your chains.”

I smiled back. “Sorry, but the chains that bind me are not my own, and to loose them now would be to die.”

Clarinet nodded. “Then that's a shame.” I nodded back, and pulled her blade out from her side, and with my magic, I swung it as hard as I could muster. Her own head separated from her neck, spraying white fluids all over before hitting the ground. She was still smiling, as though released from a curse, or more likely, just trying to make me not feel so bad.

I fucking hate this. That there is no fix everything button, that we were left to rot in this shitty world. A world where nightmares schemed, and so many had to suffer so needlessly.

With everything now calm, I wiped the fluid off my face, collected my knives, and trotted over to the case to find that it had an electronic lock keeping it shut. Looking behind the desk, where the dead specter was, I looked in the drawer to mostly find useless junk, and a revolver that I left alone. Turning my attention to the specter, I checked her pockets and found a key card; it looked like an ID with a faded photo of a mare on it,the name tag had long ago peeled off.

Using the ID key card to open the case, inside was a large and brightly glowing orb connected to half a pipbuck. Cable's were run everywhere inside the small container, with two switches sticking out between the orb and pipbuck. The pipbuck screen stated ‘solar flair ordinance unarmed’, and below that, sat an inactive timer.

Closing the case, I put it on my back, and trotted to the door. Looking at the map one more time, It had no instructions on what to do next. With a sigh, I put the map away and opened the door. Quickly I made my way back under the grating, feeling that I just needed to get out fast, but not loud just yet.

Crawling past the break room, I saw the three ponies on guard were fighting over who was going to check the room, meaning I had some time before shit hit the fan. So back into the terminals room, I climbed out, and looked for where to go next.

“Hi!” Aa high pitch robot spoke up behind me, making my blood run cold. Turning, I saw a pink spritebot looking back at me. A few seconds passed by before it made a ding sound. “Oh, miss director, almost didn't sense your ID Card there! You do know you must keep it displayed on you at all times, otherwise the securitron might think your a spy.” I took out the ID key card, and pinned it to my jumpsuit. “Ah good. Always remember, safety first! But now that I’m thinking about it... you don't seem to look like the director...” I quickly hurried passed the spritebot, and around a corner so to break its line of sight. “Huh, I might need maintenance! Oh well, off I go!”

With the ID on display, I made my way to the other exit, not wanting to go back the way I came. I did run into two more spritebots, but trotting passed them as fast as I could, they didn't have the time to pin me as an intruder, making it easy to get out. Even the blast doors opened for me as I approached, keeping me from having to waste time forcing them open. Now I had one more door, and a guard to get passed, easy enough. Slowly opening the door, it wasn’t locked on my side, and the trooper on the other side was unaware of me.

The alarms blared, and the trooper jumped up, rifle ready. Quickly, she turned herself around. She looked at me in confusion, and had to rub her eyes for a second before glaring at me.

“You!” before she could say another word, I threw a knife into her throat, causing her to stumble back in shock.

Trotting over, I pulled the knife out. Blood spurt from her neck, indicating that I’d hit an artery. The mare was going to die if she didn't get immediate help, and sadly, I had other things to do. Turning down the tunnel, I had a long way to go, and no way to catch a ride. Looking back at the dieing mare, she had her hooves pinned to her neck, uselessly trying to stop the blood from leaving her.

“Death comes to us all,” I sighed and told her, “just embrace it. Then, there's nothing to fear.”

Turning back to the way ahead, I picked up my hooves and got moving.

“Yes, death comes for every pony, be it the simple, or a mad nightmare.” I said to myself before turning back down the tunnel, and braking into a gallop. “And me. One day, it’ll all be over, and I can finally be done with everything.”

_______________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest item obtained: megaspell bomb. (The tool that ended the old world is now at your hooves, how you use it is up to you alone.)

Chapter 63 - Rampage

It only took me an hour to get to Valley Port Station, and ten more minutes to catch my breath. Though, it wasn’t like I had a choice. Orthrus just locked down the tunnel, making entering through the train stop a no go, so I had to find an alternative way in.

I’d tried to use a maintenance door on my way here. It had likely been built as an alternate way into the station, or maybe a way up to the surface, but I founded welded shut. Actually, any pathway meant to be used by a pony would have be blocked by Orthrus or the Republic, as both sides were taking their security seriously.

But there was one thing that normally didn't get guarded, and couldn't be blocked, and that's the ventilation system. It was the biggest complaint that almost all Maintenance ponies in Orthrus had other than the aging cables and pipes. The ventilation system was the biggest source of most radroach infestations, and will probably continue to be for generations because without the vents, the Metro would be filled with carbon dioxide dead zones.

Trotting along, I easily found a maintenance ladder going up to a vent. The thing was clearly too small for the average pony, but just big enough for someone not much bigger than a foal, and definitely big enough for radroaches. As for me, it was going to be tricky, but I could get it to work.

Undressing, I opened the vent, and placed the jumpsuit and bomb inside. Then I tugged at the straps keeping one of my arms on, detaching one of my front legs, and placing it inside, doing the same with a back leg on the same side. With everything of mine inside, I slid the rest of my body into the vent, pushing my stuff ahead of me on top of the jumpsuit so to keep things mostly muffled. Pushing on, I slowly made my way into the station, keeping my knife in my mouth in case I needed to stab a radroach.

“What's with this lockdown? I know this emergency maintenance is bullshit, and the civilians are also not buying it.” I heard a regular sounding confused and concerned.

“Maybe a Republican caused a scene on the other side, and the bosses are just being cautious.” Another regular replayed. “Who even knows. It's only going to make things worse if the ponies hear about shots being fired.”

“Still, I don't want to be here when this powderkeg goes off, you get me?” The first regular stated.

A groan came from the second regular. “I feel ya, completely. I didn't join with Orthrus just to have an equalist mob rip me apart into equal itty bits.”

I kept going, looking to find a safe place to exit. But as annoyingly was to be expected, the station was a crowded mess. Through the vent slits, I could see that many ponies were crowded together to get onto the train, all held back by a checkpoint made up of well armed Orthrus Regulars. The sound of the angry crowd drowned out almost everything, giving me the confidence to push on without fear that any pony would hear me.

“Keep calm, the train will be open shortly. We just have some light damage to the tracks that needs to be fixed, so keep calm!” A formal dressed Orthrus mare shouted into a megaphone. She ducked as a soda bottle flew over her head. “Please, the train will be running soon, just hold on a bit longer!” I didn't envie that mare in the slightest.

Pushing along, the angry yelling was slowly replaced by worried murmuring, and then a new kind of yelling.

“Don't give in to the Capitalist hogs! Join us sisters, join us in unity, hoof in hoof, freed from the slavery of debt! They have convinced you to with chains of bits, and all you must do is throw them off, their chains and yours.” A mare with a megapon stood as part of a group of equalists that had had isolated themselves from the rest of the crowd. They all had pink cloth mask over their muzzles, holding up anti-Capitalist banners. One mare among them was even waving a pink flag that had a gold “=” boldly in the center. “Help us end their theft of what belongs to every pony! End their slavery of the poor, their terrany! You have nothing to lose but your chains! You have nothing to lose but your chains!”

Not wanting to see more I continued on, the noise of the ponies slowly fading, though never going away completely, just becoming more like a background white noise. Finally after passing by a few busy rooms, I found a bathroom not currently not in use.

*Clank*

I pushed on the vent cover, and it didn't budge. Groaning in frustration, I began to hit the cover to try brake it open, yet it still didn't budge.

“Stuck?” a voice whispered, causing me to jumped… well more juried back, and hitting my horns on top of the vent. The voice came from a little filly in front of me, whose eyes were peeking from behind the case. I just nodded back at her, unsure why there was a foal here, and not wanting to spook her in case some pony might hear her. “Come on. Two vents down, the playroom is there.” She then disappeared behind the case, and the sound of small hooves faded away from me, ending in the clank of metal hitting metal.

With no other way out, I pushed forward again, heading two vents down, where I could hear an irritated mare’s voice complaining.

“Your ponies said that they would get the foals out of here, not turn them into your spies!” An angry mare shouted.

“Now I'm sure my predecessor had plans and contacts, but situations change.” It was the voice of Xianzi, sounding board. “Here, as long as you, and your foals are useful to us, we will make sure you all get out of here.”

A groan came from the other mare. “More empty promises. Were right next to the train stop, yet it feels so far away.”

“As is the nature of this place.” Xianzi said with a sigh. “The republic has spies all over this station. I'm actually surprised that you haven't been found yet. So, silver linings and all...”

Reaching the vent, it had a cloth covering it, preventing me from looking inside. Though I was confident that Xianzi was on the other side, I still had to be weary of any traps Phobetor may have sent out, maybe even Xianzi might have fallen into the nightmares clutches. Shaking my head to rid myself of such thoughts, and taking a deep breath to calm down, I opened the vent and let myself slip out.

I only just stopped myself from falling, my hoof cating a step that was a bit too small for me. Looking around, Xianzi sported a black eye, and was standing in front of a thin, pale pink mare in a lab coat with overly thick glasses over her face. Around the two were at least twelve foals, some with little horns, some with little wings, all with spots covering their legs and faces, and all still had their four limbs as flesh and blood.

They were the Republics new generation mirage pony foals, which immediately filled me suspicion. Those foals were held in the deepest, darkest part of the Republic. This was not right, but I couldn't reveal that I knew something was off, so I had to play it cool.

“Foal napping now Xianzi?” I said with a fake smile, trying to not scare any of the foals.

Xianzi glared at me. “Bitch, a stunt like that was not in the fucking deal. What were you even trying to do?”

“I just needed to pick up my secret weapon.” pulling out my stuff from the vent, I got my limbs on, and quickly got dressed, not wanting to keep exposing myself to the young. Feeling comfortable, I put the case on the ground. Cracking it open, I slid it over to Xianzi. “Luckily for everypony, I got to it just before the Republic was able to run off with it.”

The veteran Syndicate agent looked down at the case, and peeked inside at the megaspell, her mouth agape for a moment before her shut the case. “Who the fuck are you?”

Putting my scarf on, and adjusting it for easier access to the throwing knives, I then looked Xianzi in the eyes. “Just think of me as somepony who likes to make sure a pony is dead when I kill them.”

“Your a mad mare, that's for sure.” A sigh came from Xianzi, as she passed the case back to me. “This changes things. I was hoping to leave a few less important agents and informants behind, but if your just going to that, then fuck it, full evacuation.”

“You better not leave us here then!” The lab mare spoke up, stomping her hoof on the ground. “The little ones must be saved, and if you don't, then I'll… I'll… I will go back to the republic, and report you!”

“Say again bitch? If you want to be dead in this shithole in the next two minutes, then keep talking!” Xianzi said in a less elegant toan as she pulled out a knife from her dress. “Maybe I should just have the little shits run the tunnel, take bets to what kills them first.” The Lab mare froze, folding like paper to Xianzi’s threat. Clearly she meant well, but on any other day, that’d get her killed.

I stepped in, getting in between the two mares. “If all you need is to get the foals on the train, than just pack them into suitcases. The syndicate should have an easier time staying under the radar that way.”

The Lab mare frowned at me. “I will not just treat the little ones like luggage!”

“Yes, you will.” Trotting over to the mare, I looked into her eyes, and focused on the pain and suffering I had endured. “I'm going to be killing a lot of ponies real soon, and a few extra foals is the least of my worries right now. So I advise you take my advice, and get out of here.” breaking eye contact, the lab mare stumbled back, and I looked over at Xianzi. “Would it be possible to smuggle the foals out of here as luggage?”

Xianzi looked a bit disturbed, avoiding eye contact with me. “Well, we have smuggled organs out that way, so we could do something similar with foals. The main problem is the logistics, and getting them past Orthrus. That aside, why do you even care?”

I paused for a moment at her question, and she had a point. “Let's just say that I'm not entirely heartless... yet.”

“I get it, even I have a soft spot for foals, as they always do sell for a good price.” Xianzi said with a shrug. “If I do go with that luggage idea, then it could work, but only if Orthrus is too distracted to check anything passing through.”

“So I’ll just do what I was here to do, and you do what you were here to do.” I responded.

Xianzi nodded. “Correct, but thanks for the idea, having to haul the foals will be a lot easier than herding them. Now, let's get you geared up for the mission.” She trotted over to her saddlebags that was left next to the wall, and pulled out stable barding, an old world assault rifle, a 10mm pistol, and another holotape player.

The stable barding was of stable 50, and it was in less than pristine condition. It had security armor padding modded onto it, making it look just like the uniform that Orthrus regulars used.

“So I don't get to keep the jumpsuit then?” I asked.

“No, you’re going to need to be as noticeable as possible. That's also why your getting this assault rifle, it's been modded to be more reliable and stable when firing. It's also going to be firing 5.56mm hollow point from a drum magazine, making every shot excessively deadly to non armored targets.” She then pulled out a holotape from her pocket, and put it in the player. “This disguise talasman will last you at least an hour, so I advise that you not waste your time, understand?”

“I hit them hard, fast, and loud. Then once you have your agents, you'll turn the chaos up several notches, and get me out of there.” getting out of the jumpsuit, I passed it to her, and took the stable barding.

Xianzi pulled out three drum magazines, and two 10mm magazines. “Just don't go shooting any pony in a station maintenance jumpsuit, otherwise you might kill your extraction team.”

“Noted.” I grumbled.

The stable barding was a bit tight on me, but I managed to squeeze in. The barding had a holster attached to my right back leg, in which the 10mm was placed, along with a few pouches that its magazines when into. The rifle was just slung onto my back, somehow finding a balance. I was about to put my scarf back on, but Xianzi took it from me, shaking her head.

“Fine, I get it.” I sighed. “So which target am I hitting?”

“The Republic recruiting office.” Xianzi pulled out a paper with a photo attached. “From what my contacts here have relayed to me, the Republic has been stockpiling weapons there, and arming any pony who hates Orthrus. Attacking that office will gain you a big response, as the Republic will have to protect it, or find themselves low on energy muskets when shit hits the fan.”

“Also by having a place like that hit, it would make ponies less likely to want to go near the recutting office.” I added.

“Correct.” Xianzi pulled out a lighter, and set the document on fire. “Though, the Republic heads will likely see it as a setup, and not want to take the bait. But they will conveniently be too slow in issuing their commands.” Dropping the document, it slowly fell to the ground as it turns to ash. “So about that case?”

“Yeah, hold onto it for me.” I pushed the case back to her. “I'm going to use it to...” I stopped myself from saying more, the less ponies know of what I'm doing, the less likely Phobetor will find out… I then looked over at the lab mare who seemed to look confused. Something didn't sit right with me about her. “Miss, sorry for prying, but why are you leaving the Republic?”

She stiffened up. “I… I wanted to help the little ones, give them a better life than living in a lab. That's all.” I trotted up to her, getting a tingling sensation in the back of my head. For a pony to get out of the heart of the Republic, where most ponies were part of the… C.C.N. and thus, connected to Phobetor. “Is everything alright…”

I sent a swift left hook connected with her jaw, the mare hitting the ground with a thud. Following it, I jumped onto the mare, and began hammering her head with humor in hoof until I hit concrete, all while the screams of foals assaulted my ears. Finished with the murder, I then heard the spark of a lighter, and turning, Xianzi was now calmly smoking a cigarette.

“Care to explain?” She said, only sounding mildly annoyed.

“Something Vibraphone Echo told me about the Republic. Almost all the ponies in their capital are part of the C.C.N., making them connected. If the pony she went through was discovered, it was likely through her.” I explained.

Xianzi took a long drag of her cigarette. “And you don't think we wouldn’t check for that?”

A smile crept onto my face. “Trust me, there are ways to cheat any system, especially when there's powerful magic involved.” I stepped away from the lab pony’s body, leaving bloody hoofprints behind me. “As for the case, just don't tell anypony about it, it's supposed to be a surprise for a special somepony.”

She finished off her cigarette, and let it drop to the ground. “You know that you have gone from creepy stoic, to creepy psychotic. But whatever, the bitch was pissing me off anyways.” She pulled out and passed me a pair of sunglasses. “Now let's get moving, time is money, and I'm not in the business of losing money.”

___________________________________________________

Xianzi had guided me to an under the station secret tunnel, It originally made by the Ministry of Moral, and until recently, used by the changelings. It was the closest way to the target without needing to activate the disguise talasman, otherwise I might have had to fight my way there, and give the republic the time to set an ambush for me. I got to the end of the tunnel, only a ladder going up to direct me, I climbed only to come across a door blocking my path. There was a switch to open it, and when I flipped it, a red light turned on, that blinked a few times before turning green, and the door hissed open.

Climbing up and out of the secret passageway, I found myself in some sort of dim cylinder with only one working light that illuminated the words ‘Ponloski Preservation Shelter.’ After a moment of standing in the shelter, the door below me closed up, and mesh grating slid into place underhoof, hiding the door.

Everything was set, though Phobetor may have gotten a hint to what was about to happen. Luckily, I didn't say any of the important parts outloud, but still, I had to act under the impression she’d know something was up at least. Activating the holotape player, magic enveloped me, and a countdown started on the device. For one hour I’d be Chime Catbell once more, this time on a rampage, instilling terror and rage into the Republic citizens. If everything goes as planned, then the C.C.N. should become emotionally overloaded, and force this war to start.

Ready to begin, I pressed an open door button on the shelter, and it hissed before sliding to the side, letting the light of the station in. “What!” A mare stumbled back in surprise when the door opened. Looking down, she had been relieving herself, not seeming to care about any pony else who could see her. She glared at me, getting closer. “Don't look at me like that, not when bitches like you are hogging the…”

I silenced her with a backhoof slap. She fell to the ground screaming and grasping her now bleeding nose. It was too bad I was no hoof to hoof fighter, as my iron hooves were turning out to be nasty weapons themselves.

Stepping over the downed mare, I quickly observed the area. The place not as packed with ponies as the area around the train stop, but ponies still lined the walls here. The recruitment office was down to my left, something made obvious by the different recruitment posters pointing with arrows in its direction. The posters were not as bad as the ones further in the Republic, ‘Together Stronger’ being common, with only a few being outright anti-capitalist.

Trotting to the recruitment office, most ponies quickly got out of my way. I’d like to think it was just because of the guns, but it was probably the fact that I had some ponies blood on me. That, and that bitch I slapped did make a lot of noise.

I did notice however, that there were at least two ponies following me. Their hoofsteps were measured, trying to match my own, but the sound of my hollow iron hooves on the cement made a far different sound then their thin and solid steel cybernetic hooves. This was good, I was already on their radar, and likely Chime’s face was already being looked into on the C.C.N..

There was a small line of ponies outside the recruitment office, the poor fools looking either half starved, battered, and bruised. Seeing that getting in line would be a waste of time I just pushed passed them, not caring who I knocked over. One mare tripping over her own hooves after she saw me, and my rifle.

From what Xianzi and Eden had shared with me, I was walking into an old train maintenance stop. The tunnel had been repurposed into the Republic recruitment office, though, all anypony outside the republic would ever see was a waiting room and a hallway. Inside the waiting room, the pro-equalist posters were everywhere, as though desperately trying to convince everypony that they weren't some brainwashing political cult.

“heh.” I chuckled to myself as the dull pain from the branding behind my ears reminded me of the other mad cult I had been inducted to.

“Next!” Said a pony behind a desk. She wore an overly pink suit with pink tinted glasses, and her mane and coat were even the same painfully pink color. Another pony, who she had been talking too was lead away to the back by a solder, disappearing behind a heavy looking metal door. Another pony stepped for words, and I cut her off, the thin pony simply backing up when her eyes met mine. Stepping up to the desk myself, the pink mare lowered her pink tinted glasses to get a better look at me. “Thank you for choosing to join us, Comrad. What’s your name?” She said in a cheerful tone.

“Chime Catbell.” I put on the sunglasses that Xianzi gave me. “You might have heard of me.”

“Right, I'll check our system...” The pink mare turned her attention to the terminal on her desk, then froze, her face going blank. “Here you are. Would you kindly follow the soldiers to the back?” Her voice now lack any emotion, it now just one flat tone, like a robot without a personality.

Two Republic soldiers trotted out from the back, armed with energy muskets, and the two ponies who had been following me had finally entered. Both of them wore the same, matching pink suits, and both were equipped with the pistol equivalent of the energy muskets. None of them said a word, glanced at each other, or did anything but stare at me. I was surrounded, but at least it was clear that the C.C.N. had its eyes only on me for a moment, and it knew my name. Now I just had to figure out how to start this fight without being turn to ash a second after, as their hive mind would make them highly coordinated...

I chuckled as I thought of a weapon that might be what I just needed to fuck them over long, and give me the time to really start some chaos. “Can I ask you one thing ma’am?” I tipped down the sunglasses and look at the pink mare. “Do you have any gum?”

The mare slowly opened her desk and pulled out a single stick of gum, passing it over to me without a word. Taking the gum, I unwrapped it, and the smell of stale sugar hit my nose.

“Thanks. And here I thought all I was going to do was kick some flank.” I popped the gum into my mouth, and began chewing, the taste of over two hundred year old gum being unsurprisingly flat. “But that aside, I did want to test something else. Hold still, please.”

I looked into the pink mares eyes, focusing on my fear, on my pain, and more importantly on my hatred. The mare didn't seem to respond, but she also didn't move, so I focused harder. My hate, focusing on it felt like a deep bubbling geyser ready to bust. What they did to me, forcing my free will away, selling me to Blackspot, to Phobetor, and being dogged by Theremin from within my own mind.

Actually, if it was not for them, this whole mess would never have involved me! Why the fuck were they even at the old radio tower in the first fucking place? If they’d just left me alone then… then… then I would not have had to kill Vibraphone. I would still be Vibraphone. I would be alive, Harp would be alive, Turnip Soup, Rufus, Sorrow, Stratus, Clarinet, and my sister would be alive!

My eyes felt like they were on fire, forcing me to break eye contact, and wipe off the bloody tears from my face. Pushing my sunglasses up to hide my now bleeding eyes, I looked back at the pink mare. She sat still, unmoving and seemingly unphased. I then looked at the four other republic ponies, all frozen.

*Thud*

It came from the pink mare, and I turned to look at her, her face touching her terminal. She then leaned back, and then thrusted herself forward into her terminal with another loud thud. Again she leaned back, blood flowing from her now crooked nose. She smashed her head into the terminal, the thud came with a crack. Again she leaned back, even more bloodied. Again she smashed her face into the terminal, finally shattering the screen, and causing it to spark and crackle loudly. The pink mare convulsed violently as the smell of blood, burnt wires, and pony flesh filled the air. Then she went limp, and everything when quiet.

Even I was a little shocked, but I also couldn't deny how effective that was, or imagine how much it must have fucked with the C.C.N.

The pause was short lived as I saw that the two soldiers were slowly began to move, like some machine booting back up. Then they both buckled over onto the floor and puked up a mess of pink sludge. One then looked up at me, and I could feel the hatred radiating off of her. Pulling out my rifle, I held it steady with one flame, and another flame on the trigger, I fired a spray of bullets at the two soldiers before they could fight back. Turning around, the two pink suited ponies had already gotten up from puking themselves, and had their energy pistols aimed at me, magic glowing.

Before I could fire, two blasts of energy hit me in the chest, and the feeling of intense heat waves through my body. But for as powerful as the magic those guns channeled was, it was not strong enough to take me out. In response, I fired at the two with my rifle. One dyed immediately as a round punched through their face. The other pony attempted to dive for cover, but found nothing to protect her from the led I sent her way. Three shots punched through the flimsy wood paneling of the small table in the waiting room, and the pony slumped and ceased to move.

I knew it was in my own head, hearing the sound of last last of the brass casing bounce on the floor. The ringing in my ears was almost deafening, drowning out all but the nerely muted sound of an alarm, and the screams of the ponies who’d been looking to join. Looking down at my chest at the two black scorch marks on the stable barding. The two hits had struck the armored modifications, which while they’d been destroyed, they absorbed the worst of the hits.

As the ringing faded and the alarm grew louder, I took a deep breath, trotting passed the reception desk. Stepping over the two dead soldiers, I pushed further into the recruitment center. Blocking my way into the main part of the recruitment center were ponies taking hastily prepared defensive positions. Like before, they were armed with various small and larger energy muskets, using wooden tables and filing cabinets as barricades.

I smiled at them and spoke loudly “If any of you got a smoke, best start smoking them right now, as It’s going to be your last.”

With limited cover, I dashed to the side as they opened fired. I gasped as one bolt singed the tip of my tail. The two shots from the energy pistols may not have been enough to take me out, but I at least knew better then to test my luck with even one shot from a energy musket.

A second group of ponies aimed at me as the first group recharged their rifles. I fired first this time, unloading my magazine into them. My chattering shots filled their barricades with holes, but surprisingly I didn’t get all of them. One managed to get a shot off at me, but missed by a few inches, it’s heat feeling even more intense than those from the pistols.

Not giving them time to counter attack, I charged as I reloaded my rifle. I was on a clock with phobetor, so I didn’t have the luxury to take things slowly. Being as quick and violent as possible, I jumping over the makeshift barricades, and with a quick spray, finished off the remaining defenders. Pushing forward, I aimed to continue my rampage further inward.

I was now in the recruitment offices main ariea, which looked like a dirty two level barracks. Two of the ponies that had fled the previous area were dragging a badly shot third pony away. They glanced of their should as they scrambled to get her to another room, but panicked as they saw me. They tried to get their weapons aimed at me, but with a short burst from my rifle, the two were dead. The already injured mare clenched at a wound that squelched as she breathed, and she gave out only a whimper as I brought the barrel of my rifle up to her face, and finished her off with a single round.

Scanning the large tunnel the best I could, I counted at least five more of the equalist scrambling to get into a better defensive position. I’d expected a bit more organization from the C.C.N., but they seemed quite confused and scattered. One of them peeked out from the second floor, rifle out and ready to fire. I charged forward, forcing their shot to go high over my head. I retorted with a shot of my own, missing as well, but forcing them to take cover.

Getting under the second floor, it prevented any more ponies from firing down at me from above. But there was a new problem as I ran right into a large mare armed with a heavy looking wrench in her mouth.

She reared back, swinging the wrench and striking low at my legs. The heavy strike almost knocked me off my hooves, but with the help of my meteoric plate, I managed to stand firm. Hit by the vibration of her own strike as it reverberated back up to her muzzle, the unfortunate mare’s eyes had become unfocused for a moment as she tried to shake it off. I responded by putting three shots into her chest, killing her.

Don’t bring a wrench to a gunfight.

At that, an energy bolt glanced my shoulder. It only did minimal damage to the stable barding, but the heat sizzled through and burned my skin. The pony that shot at me dropped his rifle, and picked up another, it's magical energy already glowing bright pink.

Dropping my own gun, I rolled over the large mare I had just killed, and lifted her body up as a shield. Within an instant, the dead mare cracked and glowed pink before turning to ash. The offending pony dropped the second rifle, grabbing a third charged rifle. Seriously!? I know Sweet had long ago gone over the merits of a Manehattan reload, but this was just getting excessive.

This time I was ready, and with the large wrench grasped in my magic, I tossed it at the pony. Like anypony who had a hunk of metal flying right for his head, he panicked, shooting at the airborne wrench. It took their eyes off me long enough for me to grab my rifle again. With another burst of the trigger, I sprayed led in the ponies direction before they could take cover, and was rewarded as a few wounds opened up in their chest.

Trotting over to my latest kill, my head on a near litrale swivel now. I had a feeling that their weapon stash was nearby, mainly because ponies don't just carry three energy muskets on them. I passed by a set of stairs as a pony jumped into view. It was the one tried to shoot me from above before, but she was just as surprised to run into me.

This time I had the jump on her, and spraying led in her direction. The mare was actually quick on her hooves, and managed to avoid a fatal hit. She was fast, but not enough, as a shot struck her in the flank, and another few sparked of her rear prosthetic legs. I left her be for now, knowing that she wasn’t going far with a wound like that, and that I’d have a bit of time before she patched it up and came at me again.

Pushing on to what was likely the back of this place, I caught sight of two more ponies at a large armored door. Both sat at the ready with three energy muskets each at their sides. Armored door with a truly excessive amount of muskets next to it? Yeah, I think I found their armory.

The two looking over at me as I raised my rifle again, their eyes widened with fear. Like smart ponies, they bailed and jumped into the armory.

I rushed to the door before they could close it, managing to stick my hoof in between it and the frame. One of the mares kept on pushing the door as the other stumbled back and grabbed an energy musket from inside, aiming it at my hoof. I don't know why, likely curiosity, but I let her do it. The muskets glowed brightly pink, then fired at my hoof. The bright flash of the point blank energy shot blinded me for a second, but when my vision returned, the mare that was holding the door was gone, and only an ash pile remained.

Without a pony to push the door, I slowly opens it, rifle ready. The reaming equalist dropped her gun, her eyes wide with terror. “Pl… please don't kill me, I only just started, I was just hungry… like the others.” The mare pleaded.

I quickly looked about the surprisingly large armory, seeing over at least twenty magical energy muskets and pistols, plenty of knives, clubs, and other makeshift melee weapons. What really sought my attention however, was the nine unconscious ponies in the room. One of them was currently belly down on a bloody table with several mechanical arms hovering over her head. The mare on the table had a few small incisions in her head, and one of the mechanical arms was sticking something inside. So, this was what it looked like when a pony was being added to the C.C.N., this is what happened to me. While they were likely prepped to be dominated by Phobetor, I on the other hoof, would never bow to her.

“It's a free medical procedure!” The equalist mare squeaked. “Because we're all equ…” I shot her in the head to shut her up. That, and to put the republican drone out of my misery.

Taking a quick, but closer look around the room for anything useful, I found a box labeled ‘explosives’. Inside was a whole bunch of old Magical Fusion Cells, the kind Merit used in his rifle. The MFC's were tied in bunches of four, and had wires sticking into it, along with some electronics and two switches attached to the top of them.

It was clear they had been rigged as bombs, but not in any way I’d ever seen. Lucky for me, the bomb came with an instruction drawn on one side of it. As crude as it was, it looked like flipping the first switch armed the bomb, setting it to overcharge, then flipping the second switch will cause it to explode after a couple of seconds. Naturally I took three for myself, and armed the rest. Backing out of the room with one bomb in my magical grip. I flipped the armed bombs second switch, and shut the armored door, dashing away.

There was a disappointing pop, but then the armored door blasted off its hinges with a deafening boom. It shot past me, trailed by rainbow colored smoke that dissipated as it slammed into the wall. I did feel bad about the ponies I’d left inside, but it was better than wasting my bullets on them, and I’d arguably saved them from a worse fate. Though I did wish the explosion didn't leave me deft, as the ringing in my ears was slow to fade.

Taking me by surprise, a beam of bright pink light and intense heat shot passed me. Turning to see where it came from, I raised my gun, ready to fire. I saw the equalist mare that I’d spared earlier.

She looked pale, likely due to blood loss that was evident by the long trail of blood behind her. The energy muskets in her hooves weekly glowed as they unsteadily swayed left and right in her weak grasp, unable to be held straight. Here mouth moved, but her voice was muffled from the ringing in my ears, preventing me from hearing her properly.

“Say again, can't quite hear you, my ears are ringing!” I said as my hearing slowly recovered.

“You... you’re a monster!” She yelled out at me.

It got a chuckle out of me. “There's no point in stating the obvious. Now, is there anything else you have to say?”

The mare slipped a little, dropping her rifle, but managing to keep herself upright. “W… Why are you…” With a bright red flash, and the sound of a deep zap, the mare then glowed red right before turning to ash.

From around a corner, trotting into view with a heavy swagger was the reaver queen bitch herself, Blaster Beam. The two energy muskets wings on her back were glowing red, while the one on the end of her tail charged, steam trailing from the barrel.

“Chime Catbell.” She said as her face shifted to anger, one of her eyes twitching as though she had lost control of it. “Or was it Vibraphone Echo?”

I shrugged, giving her a coy smile. “Take your pick... bitch.”

One of the guns from her back wings twitched ever so slightly, and I dashed to the side, ready for the attack. A red beam of hot magical energy grazed my backside as I got out of Blaster Beams line of sight. Running around a corner, I found a small break room with a metal table in the center.

Sliding under the table, I flipped it over to give myself a barricade. Just in time too, as another energy blast hit it, turning a small spot of the table red with its heat.

“Thought you had gone and died,” She shouted with a light hearted laugh. “you must be as tenacious as Theremin was!”

I bit my tongue, knowing that she was trying to taunt me. It would also be a bad idea to confirm to them that it is me, and keep enough doubt over who was actually here. Lifting my assault rifle, I blindly fired back a few shots at her. As the brass bounced across the floor, I was left in relative silence again.

“Speaking of pains in the head, how's that pony doing!?” I shouted. “Dead I hope!”

“Don't fucking play games with me, cunt! You know she's dead, and just as much of a dead mare trotting!” A red beam shot over my cover, hitting the wall past it. “You're boxed in, bitch! I have several soldiers blocking the only exit, so there’s nowhere to run. Now, come out and let me kill you!”

Good, their attention was on me, though I could do without the psychotic reaver. I blind fired again, then took peek from behind the table. Blaster Beam had not taken any cover, choosing to slowly walk my way, her hooves making a tap sound with each step. She was like a tank from the great war, sporting a few dents, but nothing that look like it had any effect on her.

“Your a cybernetic freak, you know that, right?” I shouted loudly, this time aiming my rifle at her and unloading the rest of the magazine on the bitch. The bullets made contact, tearing up her uniform, a denting her metal plates, but not one seemed to bother her. I even managed to tear of a bit of skin from her face, yet she didn't finch. Instead she aim one of her back wing attached guns at me right before they finished charging. Ducking back behind the table, and several small red spot appeared on the on the metal over my head.

“Unlike the others, I am invincible! Your weak projectile weapons will do nothing to me.” Blaster Beam boasted. “But I do enjoy the hunt, and our new leader has even let me indulge in it. She’s been keeping me busy doing other… things. But thanks to whatever your Orthrus friends did to block us from the rest of the C.C.N., I am free to hunt unrestricted. And you’re the best target I could dream of.” The sound of her hoofsteps stopped, replaced by a static like sound, and the air smelling of ozone. “I’m going to make you hurt, so much. And your pain will make my numbness fade. Yes, die for me my little trator, die and make me feel real again!”

Having a real bad feeling, I dove from my cover, and saw Blaster Beam now close to the table. All three of her energy muskets aimed at it, and with a bright flash, she shot the table. With a blinding sizzle, the combined shots melted a hole through it and scorched the floor.

With all three of her guns used, I now had a window of attack. So I pushed myself up and charged at her, but changed course when I saw a bit of fire escape her mouth. She spat a gout of fire at me, like some dragon from an old fantasy book. The flames scorched the ground near my hooves as I retreated and pulled back again.

“Oh your going to have to try harder then that, traitor.” She lifted her hoof, and pointed it at me, a red glowing light coming from its base. Diving to the ground, the most intense bolt of magical energy I had ever felt passed over me, hitting a cement wall, and making a chunk of it explode. “Your a bit too good at not dying, you know that? And you say I’m the freak!”

“Well it's easy when your such a bad shot!” I shouted reloaded my rifle and slunk it back onto my back.

An energy beam hit me in the leg, and the beam bounced off as a scatter of smaller beams, harmlessly spraying the floor with magical energy. Unfazed, I dove around a corner, not wanting to stay in her line of sight long enough for her to try a headshot. Pulling out one of the two energy explosives I had, it was the only thing I could think of that might damage the Reaver, if not outright kill her.

“Stop hiding, and come out. I'll promise to make sure you die quickly!” She yelled, her metal hoof steps tapped on the floor as she walked in my direction. I armed one of the bombs, flipped it’s switch, and ran. After a few moments, a loud explosion rang through the building, followed by a beam of energy ripping through the wall a few hoofsteps away from me.

“Not good enough!” Blaster Beam again yelled. Seriously, what was it going to take to fucking kill this bitch!

Near me was the stairwell to the next floor, and as the Reaver came into view, I ran up. Where at the top, I armed the second bomb and waited for her. I could hear her hooves tap on the floor, getting closer. Looking down, she came into view, the only damage she’d suffered was a few burns. She didn't bother looking up at me, just trotted up the stairs, which for me was just fine as I flipped the second switch, and cooked the bomb. After a few seconds, I tossed it, ducking as low as I could before the explosion went off, shaking and sending cracks through the floor I was on.

Taking a deep breath, I peeked over the railing, and saw Blaster Beam looking back at me, her face partially blown off, revealing the cybernetic skull underneath. But as I looked at her, her face began to repair itself, along with the rest of the damage. Even her tattered and burning clothes were sewing themselves up.

The reaver rolled her eyes. “Like I said, not good enough. I got a pretty nice repair talasman in me, the kind used in those old models of power armor. Real useful when your nearly made of all metal.” Her eyes then started twitching again, and she hit herself in the head, hard enough to make a clang sound. “Stop, you all need to stop screaming in my head! I can't focus if you all keep screaming!” She yelled as she shook her head violently. She then stopping, slowly looking up at me with a scowl on her face. “I gotta know, tell me this before I kill you. How did you you manage to fuck with the C.C.N? You got them all infuriated, confused, and just fucked up like nothing else we’ve ever seen! Their screaming is driving me Celestia damned crazy!”

Well it was good to know that my evil eyes had a bigger effect then I thought it would, but it might also have something to do with this station being cut off from the rest of the C.C.N. either way, I still had a weapon.

“If you really want to know, I can show you.” I lowered my glasses and looked into her eyes, focusing on fear and pain.

Her own gaze locked with my own, and the pain in my own eyes told me the magic was working. But the guns on her back, and her tail twitched, slowly aiming themselves, aiming at me. Worse, a smile crept on Blaster Beam’s face. Again, I dove off to the side, breaking my gaze, but more importantly, avoiding the three bolts of energy that she shot at me.

“Is that it, some sort of signal, or spell? Some sort of arcane ocular information transference maybe?” Blaster Beam said then hit herself in the head again. “Fffffucking shut up you ffffucking worthless cogs, shut up or I’ll find you and gut you myself!” She slammed the same hoof on the ground, and then began walking up the stairs. “What you have, whatever that arcano tech you possess is, I want that. I want to make a ponies squirm and shit themselves with a glance. Watch them shrivel up, make them die inside. I want that! Now give it to me, give it all to me now!” She screamed.

I backed up, not knowing what to do. “You’re fucked up!” Pot calling the kettle black, but then again I’m actually going to save ponies by killing the ones here.

Blaster Beam stopped at the top of the stairwell, her eyes glazing over for a second, then she laughed. “You’re not the first to say that, and you won’t be the last.” She shot at me with her tail gun, hitting the floor under me. “I mean I’ve already called myself that too many times to count.” She paused looking in the distance, zoning out. “Poor miss whiskers, I just wanted to know how long she could hold her breath. I didn't actually mean to kill her, I swear! But then again, how else was I ever to find out?” Her gaze returned to looking at me, and she laughed again as she fired another bolt at my hooves. “I once had a little sister, adorable, but would not stop crying all the time. So I made her stop. Mama was so upset about it, and she would not stop screaming at me, saying I was fucked up. So you know what I did? I made her stop too.” She then scowled, firing yet another bolt of energy near me. “It was actually really fun, but it was a mistake. I ended it all to quickly. I wanted more, but a pony can only die once, gurgle like that once.”

“Then what, you when on a killing spree?” I spat at her, eyeing as her blasters articulated carefully. The metal parts of her face had fully healed, meaning that I was out of options, other then keeping her talking as I came up with a plan.

She paused for a moment, twisting her hoof before slamming her head again. “Not at first no. I just stayed home where it was quiet, which was fine for a time, but mama and sis were starting to smell, so I left.” as though she were acting like a bashful foal, Blaster hid her face with a hoof. “Found a place that took me in, though I did have to work as a prostitute there. How shameful that I hadn't even hit puberty yet, but I became quite popular among the older mares. Though, never the most popular .” She peeked from behind her hoof. “Then maybe that was do to with my clients finding themselves dead every few days.”

Looking at her hoof, I watched as she charged them up with energy as well. Shit, they were muskets as well? Still, that got me thinking of doing something really stupid, but that something could work, and it was all I had at the moment. My first step was to stop backing up, and get closer to the mad reaver.

“Then you eventually got caught.” I smirked as I stood in place for only a moment.

An annoyed sigh came from Blaster. “Fucking government spooks. How was I to know I just beat to death some perverted agent? And just my luck, I may have stolen some classified documents of his and tried to pawn them off. The next day I got dragged off to some dark hole, experimented on, maybe had a kid? My memory was fairly fuzzy at the time, you know, from all the drugs they pumped me with. Then I was experimented on me some more before they dumped me in some nowhere station and forgot about me… just like everypony always did.”

“Well until the C.C.N. found me and the others.” She smiled, wiggling the guns attached to her back. “The voices in my head are annoying, but I get to kill, and kill, and kill. And there’s a euphoria to it that bitches like you can just never understand.” Her eye began to twitch, and she hit herself in the head again, causing her to wobble a bit, and leaving a slight dent. “But now they're too confused, too angry, each voice screaming in my head. It’s like their all shouting and none are listening, and I'm left alone to deal with em all by myself. I need the C.C.N. to make all of them calm, and to keep me feel again. But their not helping, and I feel numb, far too numb. It’s like I’m not real anymore, why don’t I feel real?” She bashed her head again, denting it for a second.

Blaster was getting crazier by the second. It clear that the psychosis of having a fully cybernetic body was finally coming in hard. It made me remember something Theremin told me once, about how they solved this problem by using the C.C.N. to stabilize their minds. I was witnessing a complete phycotic breakdown before my eyes, likely accelerated because of the use of my evil eyes.

This also meant that she was unlikely able to think straight, and I could use that to my advantage.

Taking a step closer, I gave Blaster a smile. “You said you wanted this ability I have, to make others feel pain and fear through eye contact? I might be able to, if you show me something first.”

Blaster Beam paused, the dent in her head already repaired by her talisman, but one eye was twitching at an unnatural rate.

“A pony always wants something.” She sneered back at me.

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing in life is for free, but at least I can make it cheap.”

She grimaced. “Fine, but tell me this, why do you kill? Are you like me? Like him? Is that what Theremin saw in you.” She chuckled to herself. “Are we simply a family of fucked up murders?” She asked before biting onto her hoof, her mettle teeth grinding on her mettle hoof.

I… I couldn't help but glare at her, burning with contempt.

Blaster just laughed at me and trotted closer. “Whatever you did to that receptionist, filling her with your hate, with your malice, I could feel all of it. But unlike the others, they who only know conformity, it made me feel at home. Over and over again, kill, kill, kill, hate, hate, hate!” Trotting over herself, she had gotten close, so close that she was able put her hoof right on my head, the inbuilt leg musket glowing with magical energy as it slowly reached to its full power. “To bad you rejected us, Vibraphone. Now, how do I extract that ocular technology?”

Taking a deep breath, I remembering that the pony she was talking about was dead, and I calmed down. “Sorry to tell you this, but I’m not who you think I am. Though your assumptions are close. I am a killer, and I plan to kill a whole lot of ponies real soon. But..” I gave her my own toothy smile, showing her two rows of sharp jagged teeth. “Unlike you, who was born as a broken killer, I was forged into what I am. You truly want to know how I do it? To fill them with fear by simply looking at them, well it’s because I’m a real monster, something a broken and fabricated pony like you can never be!”

The glow from Blaster’s leg intensified, and I took that moment to shove my hoof in its way. The move both knocking my own head off, and clamping my hooves onto hers. A bright red flash blinded me and an explosion defend my ears, and leaving me in a red void for a few seconds.

As I regained my sight and hearing, my body picked up my head, placing it back onto my neck, though I had to wait a few more seconds before I had full regained my barings. Blaster Beam was now on her back, one of her musket forelegs having exploded, leaving nothing but the shoulder, and a pool of boiling white liquid under her. The reaver looked like she was knocked out cold, but I was unsure how long that would last, and even with three legs, I didn’t feel like fighting her again.

Turning around, I trotted over to a balcony, the spot where I had been shot at before, and peeked over. Below, and blocking the exit, their was at least twelve republic soldiers, armed with energy muskets, full body armor, and metal shields. Once more, I didn’t have the time to take this slowly, my time with the illusion was nearly halfway done, and I knew if I took my time picking these ponies off, my cover would eventually be blown. So another stupid idea crossed my mind.

Picking up Blaster Beam’s body, I dragged her to the balcony, and unceremoniously threw her over. The Reaver made a satisfying a wet crunch when she hit the floor and folded in half. Standing up with my rifle out, I made sure they all could see me.

“Any of you think you can fight me, go and fucking try. But I will kill you all and turn this place into a tomb!”

Looking down at the republic soldiers, some seemed to back up, but one aimed her musket, it shaking in her grasp, and fired. I didn’t move, not even flinching as the beam passed close to my head. Aiming my rifle back down at them, I opened fired, forcing the ponies to cower behind their shields. None of my shot connected, leaving me a bit annoyed, so I jumped off the balcony. I landed squarely on Blaster Beam, causing some of her white synthetic fluides to spurt out. Another musket shot was taken at me, missing me by more than the previous shot, only making me more annoyed.

A third pony attempted to actually aim at me this time, her barrel tipped a bit high, so I ducked. The beam flew over me, and I avoid what would have been a clear head shot. Kicking into a gallop I dove into the formation of soldiers, tackling one of them down to the ground. Pulling the trigger on my rifle, I managed to blast two of the soldiers before another jumped on me. She tried to use her musket to hit me in the back of the legs, but it had no effect on me. In response, I reared back, throwing her off me, and bucking her right in the face. The now bloodied mare slammed into the standing shields, knocking them over, and revealing six soldiers ready to fire a volley of energy bolts.

Reverting to an old, but reliable strategy, I grabbed the pony from under me, and used her as a shield. The volley came, turning the pony I was using into ash. In response, I fired at the six, but the had quickly scattered, and I only managing to kill one before they lifted their shields for cover again. My eyes darted about, looking for the other ponies that ran off before the volly attack, and caught one trying to get a sneak attack on me. Their bolt of magical energy had been shot a bit to late as I dashed to the side, just avoiding its burn.

Another shot caught me by surprise, setting my barding on fire. I rolled as pain traveled through me, putting out the sudden fire. They had gotten me in a pincer maneuver, but I’d thankfully managed to avoid getting vaporized.

Looking down at the pony who shot me, she quickly dove under cover, so I ignored her. Instead, I ran for the ponies holding up the shield from earlier. These guards were certainly coordinated than the recruitment center employees, so I had to be as unpredictable as possible.

So instead of seeking cover, I just rammed the shields, causing the two ponies behind to stumble back. Spinning, I bucked the shield with all my might, knocking them over. But that was just part one of the attack, and as a pony in front of me peeked out to take a shot, I was already aiming in their general direction. With a short burst the top of one of the ponies head came off as the spray of led hit them. Before another pony could get a counter shot at me, I dashed forward to the now dead pony.

Grabbing the dead pony, I again used her as a shield, aiming my rifle back at where I was before. A beam of energy shot the corpse, but I ignored it. Aiming at the two ponies I knocked over, I fired as they pushed the shields off of them. As soon as they went limp, I rolled to the side, and dove behind a still standing shield just as another bolt nearly hit me.

“Capitalist Scum!” A pony screamed, catching me off guard as she charged in close, hitting me with the butt of her gun, and nocking my rifle away from me.

She flipped her rifle around to fire at me, but I slapped it away just as the bolt of energy shot passed my head. Drawing my pistol, I rapidly shot six bullets into her, causing the mare to slump over as she quickly bled out. My eyes darted around catching another soldier just as jumped she out, her rifle ready to fire. Unloaded the rest of my pistols magazine into her, she fired wide above my head as she fell to the ground.

Reloading the pistol, I put it back in its holster, and ran for my rifle. Two soldiers were already waiting for me, forcing me to jump to the side just as the fired at me. But I had managed to grab my rifle, and after a roll, I counter attacked. Both soldiers scrambled for cover, and I managed to fill one with led, outright killing him.

Charging forward, I managed to catch the second solder before she could recharge her rifle, and unloaded my rifle into her at point blank. Another bolt of energy grazed me as soon as the second solder hit the ground. Lucky, the shot didn’t set my barding on fire this time, but the burning heat that transferred through to my skin still hurt like a bitch.

The pony was out in the open, so I aimed and pulled the trigger.

‘Click’

I was out of ammo, just my luck. The soldier mare smiled at me and began recharging her musket. I smiled back and threw away my rifle, pulling my pistol out again. Without hesitation, I unloaded all twelve shots into her smug face.

With the last of my bullets spent, and the way cleared for the most part, I dropped the gun and began to trot to the exit.

A noise perked my ear. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the solder I had kicked earlier, laying with a heavily bloodied face, but they were still alive. I had another dumb idea, but also very cruel. Trotting up to the mare, I removed my sunglasses, and forced her to look me in the eyes.

“I want you all to know this, and I will make it clear! The C.C.N. will fall. You will all fail, and your utopian dream will be reviled for the scam it is. Even if I have to kill every last one of you to do it, I will. So come and get me if you dare, but be prepared to fight through all of Orthrus first!” I focused as much hate, pain, and all of my sorrow into the mare. I stopped as she began to convulse, and my eyes began to feel like they were ready to explode. Satisfied, I left the recruitment center, bodies in my wake.

Stepping outside, I found the metro in this area predictably clear of civilian ponies.

“Halt!” Yelled a Republic solder with a megaphone, she stood with well over twenty others, energy muskets lined up, and ready for me. “Come out and surrender, and we will not be forced to kill you!” The soldiers looked less… connected than the others, most of them were likely not part of the C.C.N. yet, though knowing for curtain would be a hard call to make.

I sighed, even with my current killstreak, this was too many ponies to fight in such a wide and open area. That, and I was now unarmed, so even killing one would be hard.

“I surrender.” I announced as I trotted into the open.

“Smart move, comrad.” the pony yelled back, and four of the soldiers ran over to me. Jumped onto me, they held me down as the rest of them rushed forward. “You have been charged with acts of terrorism agenda the Ponies Republic of the Valley Island! Your trial will be held shortly, as will your execution!”

*Tink… Hiss*

The tunnel quickly filled with smoke, causing the republic ponies to start panicking. Shots from energy muskets went off, lighting up the smoke, and only causing more panic.

“Were under attack!” Yelled on of the ponies on me just before she jumped off, followed by a loud thud hitting the floor. The other ponies holding me down let me go as energy gunshots rang out over me. Soon after I felt a pony pull me up.

“Time to go. By the way, you did an excellent job for us.” it was Xianzi, she had a gas mask on and armed with an old world energy rifle. “I don’t know what you did, but the equalists are flipping their shit right now.”

“Then my end of our deal is done.” I said loudly. “Take me to my stuff, I got a lot of killing to do.”

“About that.” Xianzi’s voice sounded less than certain. “You remember that case you procured? Well... it’s on the train.”

. . . . . . fuck.

_______________________________________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Finished: This Means WAR!

Faction Alignment Changed: The Republic (Hated Enemy.)

Faction Alignment Changed: The Syndicate (Trusted Client)

New Quest: Special Delivery

Chapter 64 - Terrorism

I quickly got dressed back into my iron wool dress, having thrown the stable barding to the side. It would be barely recognizable to anyone now if the found it, burnt and stained with blood. All my stuff was still here, guns, knives, ammo, and the scarf. Everything but the fucking megaspell bomb!

Glaring back at Xianzi, I don’t understand how somepony could fuck up this badly. She’d quickly bound up my tail in the red cloth I’d had before, likely trying to soften my anger by trying to ‘help’. But loosing a megaspell was well passed what helping me dress myself could fix.

“First off, because I know you’re thinking it, I was overseeing the recovery of our agents. There was no way for me to know that one of the common goons would mistake the case with a bomb in it for a case with a foal in it.” Xianzi took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. “Lucky the train has not left yet, and the republic’s reinforcements have not shown up yet, so there's still time to go grab it.”

I gave an exhausted sigh. “And do you know exactly where the bomb is, and how to get to it?”

Xianzi nodded. “Orthrus is currently too busy to check every bag and case that' has been placed on the train, and they definitely don’t have the ability to make sure that nothing is being snuck in under their noses. That said, now with the republic freaking out, Orthrus now has all their regulars keeping watch on the train, and we’re going to need their attention pulled away if were going to get on the train.”

It’s never easy. “I'm guessing you already have something ready?” I asked as I put on my gas mask, feeling that some anonymity was still better than no anonymity right now.

“The equalists are already whipped up in a frenzy, and the idiot who moved the bomb is going to give them a push in the right direction.” Xianzi strapped an old world energy pistol to her back leg. “We got a few minutes before shit hits the fan with the civilians, and a few minutes past that before the Republic military moves in. In that little window of time, we can sneak through the tunnel blast door, and get to the bomb.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You mean the big steel door that that keeps the main line from connecting to the rest of Vally Island? The same one which is basically welded shut by Orthrus?”

Xianzi gave me an bemused stair, and threw a blue cloak at me. “Just stop spouting expositions, and follow my lead. If this whole fuckup didn't happen on our side, I'd have just given you the bomb, and fucked off out of here.”

“Fair enough” I replied, as I put the cloak on, and pulled the hood over my horns.

She picked up a holotapes player, and a holotape talasman. “Right, let's get going before our train leaves the station.”

We once again took a hidden passageway, the muffled shouting of the ponies in the station became louder as we moved, and clearly angrier. “Orthrus thinks that can scare us into bowing our heads, into picking them over the republic! Who here thinks we're so easily manipulated by those greedy capitalists!” A pony shouted and other jeered at the speaker, many cursing Orthrus. More speakers could be heard as we moved, each one seeming less rational then the next.

“They’re coming for us, so we must strike them first!” One of their speakers shouted.

“Their assassin in has struck again, and will do so again, and again!” another rambled.

“They’re the ones who poisoned the air above! So they could keep us trapped and under their control!” At that, a larger cheer than the others got came from what sounded like nearly the whole crowd. This pony somehow was receiving lots of support, but I don’t feel like it was genuine. At this point, I think they were grabbing at anything to make them hate Orthrus more. These ponies had been through enough shit that they wanted a fight, and all they needed was an excuse.

“I saw her with my own eyes, the assassin in an Orthrus uniform!” A pony frantically repeated over and over through a megaphone. “It’s clear, undeniable proof that Orthrus killed or dear president!”

Then all the rambling faded, replaced with a chant. “Down with Orthrus!” Was being yelled, over and over again. So many ponies whipping themselves up into a furry, like a thunderstorm of madness in the distance. Yet it still didn't feel like it was enough, the madness still needed an extra push to get it where it needed to be.

We came to a stop, and Xianzi pulled on a hidden lever. The secret door opened like the others had, and we snuck of the passage. Trotting out, we found ourselves in a shanty town on the train tracks. Made of old tents, sheet metal, and plywood, all the ponies here were understandably cramped and dirty. Worst yet, they had equalist flags and posters everywhere.

“Keep your head down.” Xianzi whispered. “Some of the ponies here are Republic soldiers guarding the blast door.”

“And the rest are what, friends and family?” I asked quietly.

She nodded. “Think of them as the fanatic equalists of the station, who see themselves like guard dogs, waiting for Orthrus to trustpass.”

I noticed the ponies eyeing us from their makeshift homes. Some wore the kind of prosthetics poor ponies couldn’t normally afford, though they were still old and worn out models. Likely, though they live in this shitty place, the Republic gives them plenty of ‘rewards’ for their loyalty. That is, every reward just short of sticking them into the C.C.N., of course. Because as these fanatics fail to see, is that some ponies of the Republic are more equal than others.

As we trotted, the large blast door came into view. In front of it stood three Republic soldiers, their uniforms clean and clearly meticulously cared for. Well, clean except for the fact that all three had a stain on their front legs. The closer Xianzi and I got, the more I could smell the faint stench of bile, like all three had puked recently. It was clear to me now that the three guards were part of the C.C.N., because of course they were.

“Halt comrades, we don't know you, which means you don't belong here!” One soldier spoke with authority, having stepped up with her energy musket already fully charged.

Xianzi smile at the soldier. “Oh don’t mind us, were just here to see the door that keeps those greedy Capitalists out.”

The soldier didn't look amused at all. “You have seen it, comrades. Now leave, or do we need to make you leave?”

I loudly cleared my throat, getting the attention of the soldiers and of Xianzi. “Sorry to say, but our comrades here are part of the C.C.N., so talking isn’t going to work.” Using my magic, I subtly loosened two of my throwing knives from under my scarf.

All three soldiers stared at me, and all three spoke in unison. “We do not know you comrade, yet you know of us. Surrender now, and reveal how you know of the collective consciousness network.”

“That's definitely not creepy at all.” Xianzi spoke up as she began to shimmer. “I guess it's time for a dance then.”

The three soldiers turned in her direction, the closest about to bite down on her bit trigger. I tossed my two knives at the mare, hitting her once in the shoulder, and the other hit dug into the strap holding her energy musket. The mare’s shot went off its mark as she groaned in pain, and harmlessly shoot the ground behind us. Unfortunately, the two other soldiers hit their mark, lighting up Xianzi. The syndicate mare didn't flinch as both energy bolts hit a magical shell protecting her. In response, she drew her pistol, and fired back at the two soldiers that had shot at her, disintegrating both of them with her own burst of magical energy.

The remaining soldier pulled out the knife from her shoulder, glaring at us. “You will not get out of here alive, we will see to that.” She seethed through the pain of my knife. Pulling out one of my revolvers from under my cloak, I shot the soldier in the kneecap, causing the cybernetics in the leg to spark and fail. As the mare fell over, she glared at me with a burning hate, then shouted. “Orthrus spy!”

From under my cloak, I shot her other leg to keep her from getting up, or properly fighting back. Recovering my knives, I looked to Xianzi, who was already making her way to the door, and pulled out the holotape player, which had a small line of smoke coming off of it. Trotting up to her, she had an annoyed look on her face.

“What's the problem?” I asked, hoping nothing too bad.

She showed me the smoldering holotape player. “We just need to wait for this to cool down before I use a teleportation talasman, otherwise it will explode, and send us into the door, not past it.”

Right, a teleportation mishap was not a way I wanted do die.

“How long the wait then?” I grumbled. Of course, yet another delay.

“Not long, but that's not the issue.” She looked behind us, and so did I. A mob of ponies had formed, of at least thirty, but could easily be fifty more behind them, all armed with pipes, poles, wooden planks, and old rusting tools. “If they rush us, were fucked. So you need to keep that from happening.”

“Joy.” I grumbled, turning fully to face the approaching mob, and thought about my next move.

Pulling out my revolvers from under my cloak was not an option, as it could tip off Phobetor that I was truly here. Throwing knives have been effective so far, but mainly on ponies I caught by surprise. My evil eyes was a one on one thing, and these ponies weren’t connected like the others. Even if they had been, I would have to take off my gas mask, revealing myself. So bluffing it was.

“If you want to die, then keep on trotting.” I called out. “I may not have enough bullets, but I do have explosives.” This got the mob to slow down, but not stop. One pony jolted out of the crowd, a foal who jumped onto the surviving mare and tried to drag her back to the mob. I took a step forward, keeping a revolver at the ready from under my cloak. Looking at the foal, I got a bad feeling down in the pit of my stomach, making me feel cold. “Filly, don't tell me that's your mother.”

The foal glared at me as the soldier sat up, and shielded the foal from my view. “We are a family, all of us.” The soldier snarled at me.

“Then tell you're family to halt, or you’ll all be one less foal.” I said coldly.

The soldier steamed with anger, but she soon calmed, the emotion raiding from her face. “That loss is… acceptable.” Her voice was monotone, like that of a robot, but she would periodically twitch with anger. “Orthrus will soon fall, and our maiden of secrets will rise. Your appearance here will amount to little but a blip of what will come.” Turning from us, the soldier looked at the mob, and shouted. “Let them go, the spies matter little when they have made their intentions clear. Our duty here is over, it is time we rally for war.”

Good. With that, Xianzi will have the time to get us out of here. Backing up, I fell in next to Xianzi, who was now charging the holotapes player. “How much longer?”

“Not long, just a few second.” She replied.

“Good, don't use it right away, I have one last thing to do.” I told her.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “Better make it quick, no telling how much time we have to get to the train.”

That was something she didn't need to remind me, but I still needed to give the C.C.N. one last push.

“Hay you, filly.” I watched as the small foals eyes turned to me with hatred. “You know your mother is lying to you, well, what's left of her that is. Thanks to the Republic, all she is now is a cybernetic drone, a slave to the network, and she cares nothing for you or any other pony now.” The foal jumped out from behind the soldier, and threw a stone at me, and to her credit, it actually hit my mask. Unfortunately for the filly, by the time the stone made contact... I had fired my revolver. One shot, one bullet struck the filly square in the chest, causing her to fall over. “Now, we can go.” I said as I holstered my pistol and turned to Xianzi.

“Just a second...” Xianzi replayed. That second seem to slow down as I watched the soldiers face contort into horror and despair, as she slowly looked from her filly to me.

If a glare of pure hate could kill, I'd be dead ten times over just from her alone. The soldier gave a deeply pained howl, even sending a shiver up my spine. It wasn’t because I feared her or regretted what I had done, it was because I knew that she would not be the last to feel this pain. The war had now truly started, and more mothers will lose their foals.

“Now!” Xianzi shouted, and then the world disappeared.

________________________________________________

With a pop, we were in the train stop, and unsurprisingly, the place was in an utter uproar. Ponies were fighting to get onto the train, even going so far as to getting into brawls with each other. Orthrus was nowhere to be seen, and sounds of screaming could be heard over from the entrance.

Xianzi dropped her smoking holotape player, stomping on it with her cybernetic hoof. “This way.” She instructed, quickly trotted over to the train, and I followed closely, having to step over a bleeding and unconscious mare on the ground. “The syndicate has taken over one of the carts, so the bomb’s in there. Once you have it, and I say this with respect, but please kindly fuck off, alright?”

“Don't worry, I don't plan on sticking around.” I ducked my head, avoiding getting hit by a flying bottle thrown by somepony in the crowd. “Now which cart is it?”

“The next one over.” She stated as we trotted past a cart with ponies struggling to shove themselves in. The cart we came up to had a pony doing her best to hold other off with a baton, but one angry mare was trying to fight her with a broken glass bottle. Both had their weapons held in their mouths, so it was just a lot of them swinging their heads around and not hitting anything.

“This cart is reserved!” Xianzi said loudly, drawing her pistol through a magical aura that came from one of her cybernetics. “So don't make me kill you, because you're certainly not worth the ammunition.”

The mare with the broken bottle growled at her, but backed away. Likewise, the syndicate mare with the baton put her weapon away, backing up to let us on board. “You’re cutting it close, boss. Any longer and we would have had to write you off.”

Xianzi put her pistol away as she stepped on the train, then looked around. “Good, looks like we got every pony we need to worry about here. Just make sure we don't have any unwanted guests before this train gets moving.”

I followed her on, seeing only twenty ponies onboard, three of which looked in serious need of a healing potion. While this cart could hold a lot more ponies, most of the seats were filled with cases and bags. Important syndicate equipment that they couldn't risk losing in an all out war. Of course, more than a few pieces of their luggage wiggled and moved from the restless foals inside them.

The batton mare stepped up to Xianzi, looking a bit annoyed. “So what's with the boxed foals? We ain't running an orphanage now, are we?”

Xianzi rolled her eyes. “Think of it as a... future investment. They’re worth a fuck ton to the right buyer, so you better handle them with the utmost care, understand?” She then quickly looked around, and sighed in relief as she pointed at the far end of the cart. “Miss Cold Iron, your case is over there.”

I saw it and quickly trotted over to the end of the cart. Pulling out the key card, and checking the inside, I found that the megaspell was still there. Satisfied, I turned back to the two of them.

“Then our business is done.” I said to Xianzi, and she nodded back at me, pointing to the door of the train dismissively.

As I made my way to the door, a mare in equalist cloths practically flew into the cart, slamming into a window.

“They caught onto us boss!” She shouted just as a bright pink bolt of energy hit her, disintegrating the pony.

The angry yelling from outside became frantic screaming as four civilian dressed ponies stepped onto the cart, all armed with energy muskets, three of which were still fully charged.

The cart went silent for a moment just as doors closed behind the four ponies, and I felt the train slowly began to move. “You syndicate agents are such a thorn in our frog, but that ends today.” One of the intruders spoke with a smug tone.

Xianzi yawned at the republic mare. “You’re outnumbered, you know that right?” She tapped her hoof on the floor, and the other ponies in the cart got up, drawing their weapons.

The syndicate mare with the baton laughed. “Ain't they stupid, I say we beat them, and drag them to the big boss. What say you b…”

*Bang*

The front of the baton mare's head blew open, spraying blood onto the wall of the cabin. Behind her was one of the badly hurt ponies, holding a digger gun in her mouth. Several other of the syndicat ponies jumped the shooter, holding her down before she could reload.

Xianzi’s eyes met my own before looking back at the Republic agents, she drawing her pistol slowly. “Let me guess, that C.C.N. bullcrap?” She said as a second of the three injured ponies pressed a digger gun to the back of Xianzi’s head, and she let her pistol drop. The third of them pulled out two grenades, which got the rest of the syndicate ponies to settle down.

The Republic agent that spoke before laughed. “It was only a matter of time, that's what our glorious maiden told us. All we needed was some bait. But don't worry, if you give us this information on this ‘sun city’ you’ve recovered, then you will be spared. Well, for today, anyway.”

That got me to smile from under my mask. The syndicate managed to get the information out, and Phobetor was already biting. Unfortunately, I had not plan to stay on the train, and now it was leaving the station. It seems that something always needs to be making my job all the harder.

From behind me, the sound of a door opened, and looking back, two ponies holding a small energy pistol trotted in, pointing their pistol at me. At the other end of the cart, two more ponies came in holding their energy pistols, effectively surrounding us.

One of the Republic agents near me jabbed her pistol in my side as she stared daggers at my face.

“Ready to be executed foal killer? First, hoof over that gun.” Demanded the second agent next to her. From under my cloak, I drew both my guns, but only passed over Lunar eclipse. The pony took it with a gleeful smile, then took a look at it, her smile fading as she studied the revolver, then her eyes looked up at me, turning gold. “You!”

With my free magic flame, I pulled out a holotape labeled Sun City on it. “You want Solaris’ mind control spell, then your going to have to take it from me, nightmare!” With my solar eclipse still under my cloak, I twisted to the side and I fired a shot at the pony with the pistol on me, causing her to fall back. In her stumbling, she loosed a bolt of energy into the other end of the cart from her pistol, causing everypony to duck.

This gave the syndicate the distraction they needed, and the ponies began fighting. Xianzi gave the pony behind her a swift buck, and got a bullet hole through her ear in retaliation. The pony in front of me turned Lunar eclipse on me, but when she tried to fire, it only clicked. In response, I put two shots from Solar eclipse into the agent’s face, and took back my gun.

A shot of energy nearly hit me, the scornful heat brushed by my face and forced me to take cover. Looking over, the four republic agents were using a magical shield to protect them from the syndicate’s counter attack, poking their rifles through it to take shots back at us. “So do you need any help, or can I go now?” I shouted out to Xianzi.

From her cover, she took a shot at the four republic agents, not having any effect. “Like I already told you, kindly fuck off! We’ve got things well under control here!” She pointed passed her, and I saw the pony with the grenades inside a white bubble, then there was a flash of light within the bubble, turning it a dark red before popping, spilling blood and gore onto the floor. “We've been playing this game with the Republic for years.”

I nodded, putting my guns away and made my way to the door for the next cart, avoiding another energy bolt being shot my way. Keeping low, I slid the door open, and saw that a pony was there waiting for me, charging their pistol. Not wasting time, I did the only thing I could think of in the moment, and headbutted them. I felt one of my horns go into soft flesh, and when the pony stumbled back, blood spurred onto my mask. Before my they could counter attack, I jumped onto them, slamming down an iron hoof onto their face. While they screamed from my vicious assault, I drew out a throwing knife and stabbed them a few times for good measure until they stopped moving.

Cleaning off my knife on my now ruined cloak, I put the knife away, and removed the cloak. It wasn’t going to be of any use now that I was stuck on this train. Sliding the door to the next cart open, I was making my way to the back of the train to jump off… again. One of these days I’ll stop having to do ridiculous shit like this...

All I needed to do was get through a few carts, easy enough. The next cart was packed with ponies, as to be expected. A few of them looked like they’d been on the losing end of a fight, but then again they probably had to fight their way onto the train, so maybe a hard won victory for them. The ponies stared at me as I came through, but did their best to get out of my way, pushing each other into the side of the cart. It was just barely enough to let me squeeze through, but I made good time to next door.

The next cart was not much better, the ponies were packed in like canned food, just glad to be getting to safety. An energy bolt missed me, disintegrating a pony next to me, causing the mass of ponies to burst into a panic. I hadn’t seen who’d fired, so I pushed forward. The panicked ponies pushed against me, trying to get into the cart behind me and threatening to knock the case from my back. As I pushed, a flash of steel slammed into my mask, knocking off my head. I caught it in my magic, but it had just made the crowd of ponies panic even more. But now my head was above the mass of ponies, giving me full view of my attacker.

Unfortunately for the Republic agent, without my head on, my body had vanished in the panicked mass. Unfortunately for me, the attacker spotted my head and aimed their pistol up at me. My body responded swiftly, dragging the agent down before repeatedly slamming my iron hooves into their skull. Levitating my head to the other side of the cart, I joined my body at the door and became whole once more, With a small kick of my hooves against the doorway, I knocked off the bits of blood, bone, and mane that was stuck to them, and we moved onto the next cart.

This cart was less populated, with only a hoof full of scared ponies hiding on the side I had entered. At the mid section of the cart were a group of five ponies, armed with four energy pistols, and one energy musket. There were also three dead ponies on the floor around the other five, still clutching their energy pistols. Past them was an Orthrus regular, armed with the standard issued air rifle. The Republic soldiers were firing off more shots than the Orthrus ponie, whom only fired back whenever the republic tried to move in closer. Looking at the ground, it was covered in ball bearings and ash.

The Republic agents fired their guns as soon as one of them charged up, dashing to the next bit of cover and avoiding a shot from an air rifle. The Orthrus Regular dropped her rifle, and pulled out her enforcer revolver. This fight had been going on just long enough that she was nearly out of ammo.

Drawing both my revolvers, I felt helping Orthrus would be the best course of action. Taking a step forward, something pressed to the side of my head, and turning to see what it was, I found myself looking down the barrel of an energy pistol.

“Fuck!” was all I could say as my vision became red. I stumbled back, but at least I wasn’t dead. The pony who shot me, a republic agent hidden among the cowering ponies, looked at me in shock. I repaid their attack with my own, blasting the back of their head over the cabin.

I took cover before one of the other agents fired at me, but was a bit too slow. The smell of ozone and ash overpowered me for a moment. Taking off my gas mask, the breather had been disintegrated, leaving my mouth open to the air, but oddly the visor of the mask was only scorched. Throwing it away, had done its duty, but was dead weight now. Carefully, I peeked from cover with my revolvers ready.

One republic agent was waiting for me, but to slow to get a shot out at me as I shot the pistol out of her mouth. The round skimmed up into her face, taking part of her cheek with it, and sending her down screaming. This got the attention from the other four agents, who turned their guns on me.

One was not in the best cover, and I managed to get three shots into her, killing her outright. The remaining three fired over at me, trying to get me down by pure saturation. Once more I found myself using the dead as a shield as the civilian ponies panicked and attempted to get out of the cart. As soon as I was close enough, I ditched my makeshift shield and charged in, catching them off guard.

Unloading my remaining bullets into them, managing to kill two more. The last pony, the one with the musket, had actually thought on her hooves. She swung wildly, attempting to bluggin me with her musket like a mad mare possessed.

I hopped back to avoiding the attack, and dropped my revolvers in favor of loosing some of my throwing knives at her face. One blade missed, only scratching her cheek, and another was blocked by her prosthetic hoof. She grinned at me, her musket almost fully charged, so charged again, this time horns pointed at her. A scream came from her, the musket fired harmlessly at the ground, and then she fell back with one of her eyes gone, leaving only a bloody socket. Taking the opportunity, I drew another knife, jumped onto the mare, and slit her throat.

Looking up from my kill, the mare who's cheek I had blown off was now aiming another energy pistol at me. A loud shot went off from Orthrus’s side of the fight, and the mare collapsed into a heap. She let out nothing more than a whimper as the bullet hole in her back bubbled out what little life she’d had left.

With the fight over, I collected my knives and reloaded my revolvers before trotting over to the two Orthrus regulars.

“Thanks for the save, ma’am.” She said with an exacerbated breath, and passed her was another Orthrus regular, tightly holding onto her rifle and crying. The first regular trotted over to her partner, giving her a hug. “There were more that went up the train your way, did you see any?”

I nodded. “Unless there were more staying low, then they’re all dead. Though, I'm sure there's a second group at the front of the train, as I saw two come from the other end before I made my way here.”

“Shit.” The mare fretted as she patted her partner on the back. “I can only hope the other team fared better then we did because we’re barely holding on here after that.” She then eyed me suspiciously. “Not to look a gift hog in the maw, but... why did you come back here?”

“Just passing through.” I told her as I trotted to the door, and saw that the lock for it had been melted off, so I just opened the door. “Just count yourself lucky.” Entering the last cart, this part containing the train’s control terminal, which was covered in ash. On the ground next to the terminal was a dead pony clutching an energy musket.

The first regular followed me in. “You may have helped us, but by no means does that mean you’re allowed in here!” She said sternly as she trotted over to the control terminal.

“Like I said, not to worry, I'm just passing through.” I said again as I trotted to the door at the end. Opening it, the musty air from the tunnel rushed in, and the sound from the train tracks rattled loudly… too loudly. “Say, how fast does the gauge say we are going?”

“Why… fuck, were still accelerating!” Looking back, I saw the mare brush the ash from the radio, and pick it up. “This is team B, to team A, report!”

The radio didn't respond for a few seconds just white noise be for a calm voice spoke up. “So the slave master capitalists still held onto the back of the train. It matters not, soon we will be making our stop, and you all will be sacrificed for the good of the revolution.”

The Orthrus regular pulled a switch, and a skin crawling screeching came from under the train, along with sparks lighting up the tunnel. “Come on, slow down you bitch! Why are you not slowing down!?”

I didn't need any pony to tell me what was going on, the Republic were planning on crashing the train. Saving the ponies on this train was not my responsibility, but it was going to make it difficult for me to land safely on the ground at this speed.

“Any way to slow the train down?” I asked out loud.

She quickly pulled a book from under the control terminal, and flipped through the pages. “Here, in case the brakes fail to activate, they must be manually activated.” She slammed the book shut. “In between each cart their should be two brake levers off to the side, we need to pull them to slow this train down.”

Quickly trotting back from where I came, I looked in between this cart and the next, finding the levers in the bottom corner of both carts.

“Found them.” Pulling the lever for the cart I was in, and nothing happened. But when I pulled it for the other cart, the same screeching from before came from under the next cart. Entering the next cart, the other regular was still in shock, so I trotted passed her and to the end of the cart. Getting in between them, I pulled the levers, and again, the train screeched under me.

Moving on, I was met by a wall of ponies. Their panicked attempts to get to safety had caused them to jam together. This was going to make slowing this train down all the more difficult, so I needed a different plan.

“Listen up!” I shouted, but the ponies paid no attention to me as the pushed as shoved at each other. Alright, then we do this the easy way. I drew my revolver and shot one round into the roof. “I said listen up!” I shouted louder, and now a significant amount of ponies were looking at me. “Good, now the Republic is planning on crashing this train, and we need to have that not happen. There are too many of you in the way for me to get by, so if you want to live, I need you all to relay a message up the train for me, and do as I say. Understand?” Hesitant murmurs and frightened looks were a better start than pure panic, but I’d have to work with what I had all the same. “Now the instructions are simple if we want to do this. In between each cart are two emergency brakes. Pull them and they’ll prevent the train from crashing. Otherwise we all die, and I still have too much shit to do today for that.”

A few ponies nodded, but others sneered at me, and worse, the rest ignored me. Really, faced with death, most would be so ignorant? I lowered my revolver down at the mass of ponies.

“I'll ask only one more time,” I snapped, “you need to tell every pony up the train to pull the emergency brakes.”

One of the ponies spat something on the ground as she looked at me unamused. “Lady, like fuck would you start shooting innocent ponies!” staring down the mare, I sighed, and put my revolver away. “I knew it!”

Turning around I trotted back to the previous cart, and among the dead I found the energy musket, though the thing had lost its charge. Picking up the musket, I focused my magic into it, like I had when I was a normal mirage pony, feeling it well up from deep within me like a cold wave. The energy chamber of the musket glowed a dull solid blue, and looked more like a flame then simple stored magic. At least satisfied with what I had, I returns to the cart with the mass of ponies.

I found the mare from before berating another pony whose head was down submissively. Taking aim, I fired the magical energy musket, it sending a bolt of blue energy at the mare. She screamed as she was engulfed in blue flame, her voice painfully distorting unnaturally before turning into blue burning ash. This caused the cart to fall silent, as all eyes fell onto me. I once more charged the musket, causing a dim blue light to slowly became brighter, and seeing this, the mass of ponies shifted among themselves. The train cart then started to rattle as it’s brakes were pulled and the horrendous screech from them met my ears. Satisfied, I turned around, and trotted back to the the back of the train, dropping the musket along the way.

The Orthrus mare at the control terminal was still trying to press buttons, but not as frantically as before. Closing the door behind me, she turned around and sighed with relief. “Looks like it's working. We’re decelerating enough that by the time the train get a to the station, no significant damage will be done. You’ve saved a lot of lives miss.” She sat back, and let herself relax. “We'll make those Republicans pay for what they did.” Pausing, she perked her ears curiously as she glanced over me. “By the way miss, are you like, a specter? You kind-of give of that ‘secret agent’ vibe.”

I shook my head. “Just a merc delivering a package. Now on that note, I need to get moving.” I trotted passed her, and to the end of the cart.

“Wait!” She yelled, and I stopped to look back. “Your seriously going to jump?” I nodded, and she sighed. “We got a crash talasman device under the seat to your left. One time use thing, but for when needing to jump out of a moving a train. Don't ask me why they were even made, but take one and go.”

Checking under the seat, I found an old holotape player, with a holotalasman in it. “Thanks, and stay safe… also look after your partner. I'm sure that even though she's overcome with fear now, she’ll step up when it truly matters,”

The Orthrus mare shrugged. “That scaredy-cat joined to get away from any fighting, so jokes on her I guess. I do agree, she's stronger than she knows, but all this was too much to fast for her. To tell the truth, if she had died in the attack, I would have given up before you showed up. You can say I have a soft spot for the shy ones, don't know why though.”

Pressing the activation button on the holotapes player, and I felt much lighter, and looked back at the mare. “Trust me on this, losing friends and family are the worst pain you can feel. And it’s even worse when you can prevent it.” Trotting to the open door at the the back of the train, I looked back one more time. “Things are about to get truly ugly, so I suggest you two consider taking some time off. But, this is my stop, so good luck to the both of you.” I lifted myself up, and jumped off the train, prepared for a hard landing.

But that landing didn't come, not right away that is. I found myself floating in the air, slowly descending to the ground, the train had long left me in the dark. For a short moment I contemplated if it was a levitation talasman, or a float talasman. My own knowledge on arcane science to lacking to know the difference between the two, so I just called it slow fall before touching the ground, and the holotapes player fizzled out. Dropping the thing, it was clearly made cheap, but for a one time use divide, I had to give Orthrus credit for their foresight on this.

With my meteoric iron hooves on the ground, I once more made my way back to the Republic controlled station, with the megaspell bomb latched onto my back.

The darkness surrounded me, as it had before, but now it felt oppressive, as though something was smothering me. My eyes darted about, unable to see, but yet I could see darker shadows dancing around me, as impossible as it seemed. Each step echoed, like it was followed by other steps not my own. Worse yet, the stale air mixed with that of rot, ozone, and gunpowder. My own ears played tricks on me, as the sounds of ponies crying out for help slowly drowned out the actually silence.

Like a whisper from the shadows ‘Murderer’ was called out, echoing around me as I pushed forward. ‘Foal killer’ the shadows rightfully charged me. ‘Warbringer’ the shadows accused me of what I was.

“Your cheap tricks won't fool me, Phobetor.” I spoke out loud. “If you want what I have, then you’re going to have to take it from me yourself.”

“Is that so?” Phobetors voice echoed around me, and a pair of floating golden eyes appeared ahead of me. “You think I’m so stupid to even entertain your pathetic attempts to lure me out? Whatever you have done, it changes nothing.”

I laughed. “Yet here you are, so you’re wrong, something has changed. I have your attention.”

In the distance, the two eyes glared at me for a moment before vanishing. “Then so be it. all I must do is to destroy your mind, and have my slaves recover your broken shell.”

I snarled at Phobetor. “Do your worst, nightmare!”

Stomping the ground, I broke into a gallop, all the while mentally preparing myself for whatever attack she had planned. I just had to last long enough for her to fully show herself, that was it. Then, I can kill her.

Each pounding step echoed loudly within the tunnel as my eyes darted around, watching for whatever Phobetor had planned, yet seeing nothing. It caused my mind to wander, to imagine if she would show me visions of the dead once again, or a false reality. But I doubt anything she could show would have any effect on me anymore.

The sound of something other than my own hoofsteps hit my ears, it… it sounded like ponies yelling, screaming… it was a fight! I got my revolvers out, ready for the Republic and for any tricks that would come my way. As I got closer, the sounds of battle got louder, and the ground… became softer?

The tunnel vanished, and I found myself in some forest of trees I didn't recognized. It was cold here, and the ground was covered in a thin layer of white that crunched under my hooves. It was snow, I think. Looking up, it was a mostly cloudy night sky, with a large red full moon hanging in it. It was much larger than it had any right to be, something… was off about this. An explosion in the distance signaled where I needed to go, where ever Phobetor was leading me too. It may be a trap, but I might as well deal with it head on.

Closing the distance, I had been lead to a settlement… no, it was a village, like in the old picture books. It was old world construction, from the times before even the war, with white painted wooden walls with thatch roofs. Though as amazing as it was, this village had clearly seen better days.

“Fall back into phalanx position!” A voice boomed from nearby. Trotting over, I saw a massive hoard of ghouls, surrounding a group of around twenty ponies in an ancient style of dark blue armor with silver trim, armed with shields and speirs. They had formed a circle to fend off the ghouls, and at the center was a young looking dark blue mare, she had large wings… and a long horn… was that the goddess Luna?

“Hold them back, our air support will be here soon!” Luna shouted loudly.

Looking up, I caught a glimpse of something closing down fast, a formation of Pegasus in the same armor, except their wings looked more bat like. The… bat-ponies held out long axes out as they collided into the ghouls, taking out two or three each. With their attack done, they flew up again and turns around for another attack. That seemed to give the other ponies some room to move, so they dropped their defence, and began attacking the ghouls.

Luna's horn glowed, and a beam of magic shot out at a group of ghouls. The radiant magic caused some sort of an explosion, vaporizing the ghouls. “Necromancer, show thyself and accept your punishment!” She shouted.

There was a crack of lightning, and I felt a familiar, but warped magic fill the air. One of the bat ponies fell from the air, crash landing through a building near me. “How arrogant. Some little chick whose not long hatched from her egg now thinks she can challenge me?” From on top of one of the buildings stood a thin, almost skeletal looking harpy, dressed in rags and decorated with bones.

“Thine minions are no match. Now yield to us, or face my wrath!” Luna shouted back.

The harpy laughed as she waved her wing in a wide swing. From the ground below Luna’s hooves, bones sprouted out and formed a cage, trapping her within. Luna attempted to break free from her bone prison with her magic, but failed to even dent the cage. With another wave of her wing, more bone prisons piped out, catching all the other armored ponies around her.

“Equestries great protector, trapped like a bird in a cage. How will this land prosper now that Celestia has failed?” The harpy chuckled mockingly.

Luna glared at the harpy, trying to again break free. “My name is Luna, you foul villain.”

Flying down to the princess, the harpy tilted her head completely horizontally. “Who?”

“Sister of Celestia, guardian of the night!” She once again attempted to break free. Her struggles made the bone prison bend further, but not enough to break.

A loud and obnoxious cackling came from the harpy. “Wait, thou is... her sister? Here we all thought you were just her lacky. Your sister must not think highly of thee, to hide you away in the night.” She crept close to Luna’s bone prison, putting her face close to it. “The ponies of this land must think the same. None called out to you for salvation, they only cry for Celestia.”

“Enough!” Shouted Luna. Her prison shattered appart with tremendous magical force, sending the harpy flying back. “I care not for thy poisonous tongue, foul curr! I will drag thee back to the palace, where all can marvel how I stopped your vile evil!” Taking a step forward, her horn glowing with more magic then I had ever felt before. She formed a magical ring around the harpy's neck, and lifted her off the ground. “Now, Do you yield?”

The harpy smiled, as her bright gold colored eyes almost glistened in the goddesses’ magic. “You wish for the ponies of this land to recognize your greatness? I alone know the secret to do so.”

Luna slammed the harpy on the ground, then lifted her up once more. “Yield I say!” She shouted again.

“A secret for a secret, then you shall do with me what you please.” The harpy extended her tattered wings out as though presenting some prize. She wore a disturbingly wide smile on her face. A smile that was more than familiar to me. “I'll even give you a secret for free, one that would raise you out of your sisters long shadow.”

The princess narrowed her gaze at the harpy, but said nothing, which only made the harpy grin even wider.

The sound of a twig snapping cut through the air like a blade, and every pony looked in its direction. Like a ghost, and it might as well have been, a heavily armored headless pony stepped out from the shadow and mist. Luna sighed, looking annoyed.

“Why does thou appear now? We have this villain captured there is no need for your interference, spectre.”

The dullahan seemed to meld into the shadows as a black fog surrounded it, only to appear next to the harpy, placing a hoof on necromancer’s face. The harpy twitched for a few seconds before going limp, hanging in the goddesses hooves with a lifeless look in their eyes. It had killed her… with a single touch...

Luna threw the dead harpy to the ground, huffing at the dullahan. “Spiteful undead!” The dullahan simply walked away, ignoring the princess. “Does your master not have a pact to keep, or is it simply only my sister that your kind respects?” She yelled as the dullahan vanished into the fog.

Having seen enough of this distraction, I trotted out. “Alright Phobetor, what's your game?”

“Just a history lesson.” Luna spoke with Phobetor’s voice. “Did you ever hear the story of Nightmare Moon?”

I cocked an eyebrow. “As in the Nightmare Night mascot? It was a caricature of Luna thought up during the war to boost morale and sell confections, what of it?”

The dead harpy twitched, it's head moving unnaturally to look at me. “Oh how ponies so easily forget the past. Though to be fair, Celestia did a thorough enough job of erasing her own sister from history, so it's understandable.” The harpy's body sat up, it's head and wings still limply flopping around. “The poor unloved younger sister, neglected and pushed away. In a bout of desperation, she made a pact, and was reborn as a nightmare. As Nightmare Moon, she attempted to steal away the day, but failed. Her punishment was nothing new to her, and she was banished to the moon for wanting nothing more than to be treated fairly. Oh how ashamed must the older sister have felt for the next thousand...”

*Blam*

I shot the dead harpy, a small blue flame poking out of the hole in her head. “And what? You’re going to say that it was all because of you?”

“By Olympus, no!” A dead bat pony spoke up from its mangled face. “The young princess was actually quite resistant to our suggestions. She was a headstrong dreamer, with convictions stronger than the iron around your hooves. But mostly, I had little interest in the young alicorns. True, they had power, but no wisdom or secrets that I didn't already know. Their teacher however, the great Starswirl the bearded, had so much knowledge. How could I not want him for myself?”

*Blam*

I shot the dead bat pony, returning it to a limp state. “Then why show me this? Or are you just out of ideas and wasting my time?

“Don’t you see?” Luna looked at me with golden eyes. “In the end she, was abandoned by her own subjects and left heartbroken. Ponies did what I could not, and turned such a sweet mare into a monster. Why you ask, do I tell you this? Well, you can say that I sympathize with her.” Phobetor lifted up Luna’s armored hoof, and looked at herself through its polished reflection. “All that potential, wasted on unworthy, ungrateful thieves.” I pointed my gun at her, but hesitated to fire. In response, Phobetor sighed. “Have you really become just another death dealer? How tragic.” I could sense the sarcasm on her voice.

*Blam*

“Tragic, no.” Luna fell, but did not stop looking at me with yellow eyes, “I should have said appropriate.” Phobetor laughed. “Nothing more than a puppet on strings then? The toy of your betters? Well that’s just how ponies should be. But the fact that you can still think for yourself, complicates things too much, and really, it sickens me. Why can't you all just return to the clay that formed you!” She shouted.

*Blam… Blam, Blam, click.*

I huffed and reloaded the revolver, pointing my other one at her. “Why can't you just give up and die!” I shouted at her. “Get out of our heads, out of our lives!” Trotting to the alicorn body, it faded, becoming a black mare. “You can do practically anything, why is it so important that must torment us?”

Phobetor sat up, looking back at me with golden eyes. “Mortals like you can never understand how sickening it is to be among you.” From behind her a pony pushed its way out of the ground, it was another Phobetor, who then spoke. “I have been to the highest peak where gods live, it is perfect in every way.” Another Phobetor crawled out of the ground, then spoke. “You ponies dream of the elysian fields, but compared to where I was born, it's nothing but a cheap motel pretending to be a royal palace!” More Phobetor’s appeared, all speaking in unison. “It was perfection, true perfection. My home, my only home is among the gods. Yet because of you ponies, I am forced to live here, to dirty my hooves on muddy ground, and breath your unclean air.” I found myself surrounded by Phobetors, each glaring at me with hate. “Why do I torment your kind? That's simple. You all deserve it for what you did to me. But once your kind return to being mindless servants, then maybe I can finally go home and never dirty myself among you mortals again.”

“You’re insane, you know that!” I shouted, then shot the closest Phobetor, it falling down.

“And you’re nothing but a monster, an unclean undead!” The Phobetors said before they reaching out for me, one grabbing my leg, trying to hold me.

Shooting the Phobetor that held me, I pulled away, and shot two more near me. I knew this was all an illusion, but I was still not going to let her touch me, much less hold me down. “Is that all you have? Are you not going to try and fight me seriously!” jumping back, I lined up my shots, and unloaded into the crowd of Phobetors. One bullet for each pony. Quickly I reloaded, and repeated my action, thinning out all her duplicates.

Reloading again, I saw that one of the Phobetors was cowering… and the moment I did, the forrest was gone. I was back in the tunnel… and at my hooves was a dead Orthrus regular. All the Phobetors I’d just shot... had now become regular ponies. When all was said and doen, it was well over twenty dead civilians…

“Oh look at that, I think you might have just made an oopsie.” A ghostly form of Phobetor mocked me as she floated at my side. “What are your friends going to think, now that Vibraphone Echo is a mass murder? Well... more than you were before at least.”

It was a bloody mess, bullets wasted on those destined to die here anyways. Looking at those who were left, about thirty two of them, none looked like they could even try to fight me. My eyes locked onto a mare in a tan suit, and she foolishly ran off back to the republic. The thing was, none of it phased me. It was certain death no matter what direction she went.

So I might as well do her a favor.
With a single shot from my lunar eclipse, she fell down, a bullet In the back of her head. I looked at a bemused Phobetor, my tainted green eyes meeting her golden.

“They’ll say that Cold Iron must have been having a bad day and needed some pony to kill.” I growled.

Looking at the remaining thirty one ponies, I took a deep breath. “Saint Rosland protect me.” eleven more bullets before reloading.

“Hold your Rifle for all to see.” Twelve more after that.

“Thundering loudly through Luna's night.” Only eight more shots needed after that.

“Keep me safe till Celestia's light.” Four more shots, I needed to make sure I didn't miss.

“In noble battle did she fall.” It's not that I want to kill them, but I can't let any of them tell any pony about this.

“Protecting us from evil's thrall.” The death before could be excused, but these ponies would be a problem if I did nothing.

“Now she leads us all.” But it's not like they were going to live long anyway. As I said, I’m doing them a favor by putting them ahead in the soon to be long line.

“keeping us from sinful fall.” And if I end up failing, then it's better for them to all die here then to live in suffering under Phobetor.

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Footnote

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Faction update changed.You relation with The Ponies Republic of the Vallie Island has changed to Hated Villain. (You are the boogy pony told to young equalist, ment to keep them equal, or you will drag them off in the night. Hated and feared, nothing you can say will convince them that letting you live is for the greater good. You must die so that they can make a better world, one without you haunting their nightmares.)

Chapter 65 - Servants of Darkness

The pounding of gunfire, and the screams of ponies dying echoed… but I couldn't tell if it was real or in my head. All I could do was push forward, draw Phobetor out, and kill her. That is all that really mattered now.

A beam of pink magical energy flew over head, lighting up the tunnel, waking me from my daze, and revealing a battle before me. Amazingly, it was the Orthrus ponies from the fake maintenance station. Somehow they had set up a two layer blockade, and were fending off a mob of Equalists armed with energy muskets. Despite their few numbers compared to the equalists, Orthrus had managed to keep them from advancing, forcing the equalist to hide behind their own makeshift barricades. Each side were just taking the occasional pot shot at each other, but overall far more calm then I thought it should be.

“Hey you! This is a restricted zone!” An Orthrus mare yelled at me, pointing the automatic airgun at my face. “Speak fast or get shot!”

I rolled my eyes. “Here to help. Now, shouldn’t you be pointing that gun in the other direction?”

She just shoved the rifle barrel into my face. “This is no place for a smart mouth merc, unless you actually want to get shot.”

“Hold your fire!” Another mare yelled, this one in commando armor and armed with a heavy automatic shotgun. “Were going to need that bullet when the republic charges our position. Now merc, we sent a bunch of civilians, and a few rookies down the tunnel. Didn’t they tell you not to come down this way?”

… “They’re all dead.” I told her.

The commando gritted her teeth. “Those mother killing cunts!” She kicked an ammo crate near her, it moving a few inches. “Fine, if you want to help, get in the defensive line, but don’t blame us when you die. Welcome the nopoines land, miss...?”

“Cold Iron. And don’t worry, I’m already long dead. I’m just here to drag another down with me.” I told the commando before I trotted over to the barricade.

Another beam of energy passed over my head as I got behind a metal table already warped from being shot at. Taking a peek, I got a better look at the Equalists I was dealing with, and saw a few soldiers peeking their heads out, the rest looked like an unruly mob ready to burst out. In the stretch between the barricades were the dead bodies of ponies with pink bandanas over their faces, likely the result of a first failed charge.

It was a gamble to guess their strategy, but I’d put all my bits on them waiting to do one massive push. If I were to double down on my guessing, I say that Phobetor knows about the listening post down here, and is aiming to capture it. That then means that they’re planning to send a wall of bodies at us, enough to overwhelm even a murder bot. It would be a cruel tactic, but one I could see Phobetor doing. It's a good thing I plan on destroying this tunnel, along with her.

A blast of automatic gunfire came from a Regular, forcing the mob of equalist to duck behind their cover. “How much longed will it take the reinforcements to get here!?” The regular shouted before ducking down to avoid three energy blasts.

“Not soon enough, so just focus on holding these fuckers back!” A commando shouted, then fired their heavy weapon back at the equalist.

A pony sat next to me, laughing softly. “She's right, and although Orthrus was ready for this, mobilizing still takes time.” looking over at the pony, I saw a translucent projection of Phobetor. “By the time they get here, my slaves will have already taken this position, and dragged you to me. So why do you even try and fight me, what are you even planning to do?”

I ignored her, knowing that she was not here. At least, not fully, and not yet. Peeking out again, I could confirm that the soldiers were ordering the mob around, likely connected to the C.C.N. along with a few in that mob. They were like the pressure level in an airgun, already at a lethal level, but still gaining more air pressure for an even bigger shot.

Looking at the Orthrus soldiers, they clearly looked worried, repeatedly checking their ammo and air pressure when under cover. They knew it was only going to get worse, maybe already too big for them to easily deal with, and are hoping reinforcements gets here before the inevitable charge of bodies.

Looking back, I saw that the commando from before was sorting through an ammo crate filled with random supplies. As she passed a magazine of ball bearings to a regular, a pipe bomb fell out of the box and rolled over to me. Picking it up, and got an idea.

“Say, how many sticks of these you have in that crate?” I shouted to the commando.

“Including the one you have, six. Why?” She shouted back.

There’s not much room in the tunnel to hide, so explosives where extremely dangerous to use, but if there were enough bodies between us and the explosion, then we should at least be safe. “If we can thin their numbers out, then that might buy us enough time for reinforcements to arrive.”

The commando cocked an eyebrow. “Tried that with flash bangs already. They may look unruly, but they’re organized enough to counter anything we throw at them.”

“A little reorganization of countermeasures can go a long way.” Phobetor mocked me.

“Just pass them out, I got a plan.” I told the commando.

She glared back at me. “Now listen here merc, you may be helping us…”

Stopping her with my evil eyes, I tried not to push it too far, my emotions of fear and hate, then letting her go a moment later. “Just do it, and I'll do my part.”

The commando looked confused for a short moment, but a been of energy flying overhead snapped her out of it. “Fine, but you better make it quick, and this better fucking work.”

Turning around, I pulled out my revolvers, letting them float at my side.

Phobetor stretched back, her projection reaching through the barricade. “Lets see, you can't just come to us and win, so your planning to have them come to you, is that it. How foalish, they’re not cut off from me like before, I have my slaves under my hoof. Their bitter emotions are under my control. They will stay put until there's too many for you to fight.”

Glancing over, I finally acknowledged Phobetor’s presence with a smile, and she faded for but a moment.

“I thought so.” I whispered as I closed my eyes, knowing that if this was going to work, I needed Phobetor mentaly distracted. She had to be using a lot of her power to maintain her control, otherwise she could have already been able to send a flood of ponies down here. Once again a gamble, but then if I didn't take a risk, I was going to lose.

Jumping out from cover and over the barricades, a beam of energy just missed me, slamming into the barricades behind me. I took a step forward, and another shot passed me, making me laugh as I began to understand. A third shot passed me, now confirming my suspicion. All the ponies with guns were part of the C.C.N. and Phobetor didn't want her desired secret destroyed. Luckily for me, the sun city project can stay forgotten forever.

Putting one of my guns away, I pulled out the holotapes with the mind control spell in it. “A secret for a secret was it, Phobetor?”

All the equalist soldiers aimed at me, but their focus was more on the holotapes. I moved the tape in the air, their eyes tracing it, confirming I had their full attention. Trotting out from the shadow, the golden eyes of Phobetors projection was filled with suspicion, and want. “You cannot bribe me foal, but I am curious, what secret do you want?”

“Can you bring the dead back to life, or turn back time so that certain ponies had never died?” I spoke softly.

Phobetor cocked an eyebrow, then a puff of a laugh came from her mouth. She pulled a hoof up to hide her muzzle as she laughed loudly. “Now now, ain't that rich! Finally feeling the sting of regret, are you? But yes, I do know of a way. After all, it's not like your the first fool to want such things. So what is it you want to change? Stopping your sisters death, or maybe keeping me from becoming free. Or is it to not even to do this hole quest to begin with, and you wish to become just plain old Vibraphone Echo once more?” I could see a wide smile form from behind her hoof. “How about a classic wish another pony made long ago, to prevent this war from ever happening.”

I chuckled myself, looking Phobetor in the eyes. “Maybe I’d be interested in any of that… if you were talking to Vibraphone Echo. But what I want is something far more simple, because I’d love to see the look you will make on your face over and over.” I tossed the holotapes in the air, and with a quick and smooth motion, shot it with my lunar eclipse, shattering the holotape into pieces.

Phobetor’s eyes widened for a split second, then narrowed as she sneered at me, and faded into the shadows. A bolt of energy shot out, hitting me in the shoulder, and bouncing off into the ground.

“Kill them all!” A soldier yelled, her eyes glowing a hate filled gold.

Hopping back, I managed to dodge a shot, it burning the edge of my left ear. Two more bolts of energy came for me, but I was able to take cover behind the barricade, protecting me from the more determined kill shots.

“Wave incoming!” A commando yelled as loudly as she could. Peeking, the mob of equalists had come out of their cover, armed with pipes, tools, and other improvised weapons. Picking up the pipe bomb and wiggling it, the commando saw and nodded. “Throw the explosives!” She screamed.

Pulling a pin on the bomb, I tossed it as hard as I could, and it vanished under the now stampeding equalist. A second later, six explosions reverberated through the tunnel, engulfing the mob. When the smoke cleared, their were quite a few mutilated dead, even more mangled injured, and a shit ton more unhurt angry ponies past them.

A few equalist ponies were near our barricade, the only injures the seem to have were from the blood coming out of their ears, a pain I had grown far too familiar with. One of them slowly got up, a wrench in her mouth as she glared at me. So I aimed Solar Eclipse, and put a bullet in between her eyes.

More shots rang out as Orthrus eliminated the nearest Equalists before they could put up a fight. But a beam of pink energy shot through one over eager regular, vaporizing her, and forcing us to duck down again. It was the republic soldiers, who were using some of the dead equalist mobs as a rest for their muskets, taking careful aim.

Aming Lunar Eclipse, I unloaded at the soldiers, forcing them back behind the mob. The mob itself had not stopped advancing, but had slowed down due to the piles of bodies, but were now pushing their own barricades forward. The barricades loudly ground against the old metal rails with each push. If they managed to close the distance, it would be their win, but the mob were also leaving gaps in the barricaded with each push.

Taking aim, their barricade pushed forward, and a gap opened. I fired off a shot, and their push stopped as one of the ponies fell over. But a second later, the barricade was moving again, and I fired another shot through a gap, stopping it for another second. In the corner of my eye, I saw the glow of pink, and I ducked down just as four beams of pink energy slammed into my cover, and one beam streaked over it. This was followed by the sound of thundering hooves quickly becoming louder.

The equalist mob were stampeding at us again, but Orthrus countered by unleashing a stream of fire for their automatic weapons. The wave of ponies fell, only to be trampled by those behind them, all the while their barricade got closer. Another barrage of energy bolts shot out, this time at the defending Orthrus ponies. All but one of the defenders managed to duck down in time, a commando ate a beam to the face as she unloaded her automatic shotgun into the mob. Fortunately, only her helmet disintegrated, allowing her to keep up her fire, that managed to halt the wave, but at the cost of all her ammo, forcing her to tossed the weapon soon after it had stopped firing. Another commando took the automatic air rifle from the regular that had died earlier, and tossed it to the other commando.

The screeching of the barricade continued again, now pushing forward the corpses of their fallen comrades. Once again I took shots at the gaps in their barricade. This time, it didn’t slow down, and just kept coming closer and closer. Worst of all, the equalist were firing their guns at a more frequent rate, meaning that there were now more guns firing at us now than before.

Another wave of ponies charged over their barricade. It wasn’t as many as before, but their soldiers were now providing better covering fire. A mare with a plank of wood covered in nails jumped over the barricade at me. Placing two shots into her, she landed next to me, dead. The other defenders were having similar problems, unable to properly hold them back, the mob was jumping the barricade. I managed to help shoot a few of of the jumpers, but it was clear our position was becoming overrun.

“Fall back!” shouted one of the commandos.

Every pony backed up together, still firing their guns. Fortunately for us, our first barricade slowed the mob enough to make them easy targets once we were not hugging it. Unfortunately as we jumped over to our second line of defence, three of us got vaporized, two regulars, and a commando. Once behind our second defensive line, I saw that two more regulars had failed to get over the second barricade, having gotten swarmed and killed by the mob. But now we had an easier kill zone, for now. So as the Equalists jumped the first line, I shot them down.

*Click*

Ejecting the shells from my lunar eclipse, I found that I was down to two bullets. Loading the revolver, I made my way back towards to a nearby ammo crate, firing off solar eclipse.

*Click*

I switched to lunar, taking out another Equalist before running out of bullets again. But the Equalist I’d taken down was swiftly followed by another pony armed with a pickaxe. They glared and charged right at me.

The attacking pony growled at me as I dropped my revolvers. Before she could make contact, I threw one of my knives into her eye socket. That sent her tumbling end over end, screaming.

I was not the only one who had fallen back as even our second line was being over run. There were just not enough of us to hold them back, and Phobetor had not even shown herself physically yet.

“Just hold them back and buy us time!” One of the regulars shouted from further back, it was one of the actually maintenance ponies, with two other maintenance ponies. They were standing around a box, their hooves on it. Even I could feel them pouring magic into it, meaning they had a plan.

We formed a wall in front of the three maintenance ponies, which showed that our numbers had further reduced. Their were now three commandos, six regulars, and the three maintenance ponies. A beam of energy slammed into a Regular, disintegrating her…

Five regulars.

We unleashed a torrent of gunfire. I took aim for the Republic soldiers, but as soon as I had one in sight, they ducked down. I spotted a soldier taking aim, their magical energy rifle ready to fire. My eyes darted back and forth, tracking were it was going to fire, and reaching out with my hoof, I managed to block it from taking out one of the commandos. My interference caused the beam to then bouncing back, disintegrating one of the equalists. The commandos gave me a quick nod before continuing fire.

The sound of a loud crack, and a flash of light nearly blinding me, causing the Equalists to stumble and stop. With a booming mechanical voice, the oversized security machine announced its presence.

“Intruder alert! Initiating counter zebra protocol! For the glory of Equestria!” The robot pulled up its two magical gatling lasers and aimed them at the charging Equalists. The tunnel lit up with streams of pink energy bolts, disintegrating most of the mob of Equalists in ten seconds flat, and turning the tunnel into an oven.

The enemies advancement had halted, with only a few energy bolts slammed into the robot, having no effect on it. This gave us the opportunity to retake our second defensive line as the robot advanced on the Equalists.

“The only good stripe, is a dead stripe.” The robot shouted as it fired back at the equalists, and actually managing to straight up melt through part of their barricade, cutting it in half with a barrage of energy bolts. The robot rolled through our own barricade, knocking over the midsection of it as it continues to advance. The bodies behind it made a wet crunch when the robot rolled over them.

“Remember Little Horn. Justice for Little Horn.” The robot boomed as it barreled through our first barricade, and into the enemies barricade, firing its gatling energy cannons wildly.

On the robot two spinning red lights activated, along with a siren. “Warning, enemy ordnance detected, take cov…” A massive beam of energy slammed into the robot, melting off it's left cannon. The robot continued to fire back with it's other gatling cannon, but was met with a barrage of energy bolts that didn't stop, turning the robot red hot as it overheated. It then slumped down as its back then opened up, revealing two white hot magical energy reactors. Then, as though on cue, another massive energy bolt slammed into the robot chest, and it exploded, sending robot pieces everywhere. The head landed next to me, it's angry looking red eyes still with light. “To die for equestria is the greatest honoorrrr…” the light of our trump card then dimmed and went out.

“Chime Catbell!” Screamed the familiarly angry voice of Blaster Beam.

She was riding on top of a rail cart, surrounded by ponies who were providing her with magical energy. In the place of Blaster’s missing leg was what looked like an oversized energy musket in the crude form of a pony leg, covered in a tangled mess of wires that plunged all over her coat. She also had tubes stuck into her body, connected to two boxes down near her hooves. She lifted the monstrous cyberleg, pointing it at us as the magical power of her subordinates shimmering into the leg, bringing the barrel to a bright pink glow.

“It's been fun bitch, but I've been ordered to kill you.” A wide smile formed on her face, revealing a damaged cybernetic jaw inside. “And I’m not one to ignore such wonderful orders.”

I could taste ozone thick in the air as everything was lit up by the pink glow of Blasters oversized hoof cannon. A sudden shove knocked me over as the remaining members of Orthrus scattered, causing my head to detach and roll across the tunnel. The beam flew over me, surely killing some of the Orthrus ponies, and following the attack, the mad mob of equalists charging in.

One of the pitiable fools grabbed my head, looking confused at me before showing my head to Blaster. “Looks like her head avoided disintegration, comrad!”

I got a better look at Blaster Beam, who's hoof cannon was glowing red with heat, and most of her coat near it had become charged black. Not just the cannon, but all the spots where cables connected to skin were smoldering as though she was on fire inside. The two boxes near her hooves blasted out jets of steam as the pumped white liquid into her.

Blaster looked at me, her red cyber eyes then turning gold. “No sign of the body?”

“No mam, just ash and the head of this capitalist.” The equalist replied. I didn't know where it had run off to, but I could still feel my body, so I knew it was just fine. That meant that the megaspell bomb was still intact, and I could still salvage this.

“Well then…” Phobetor stepped off the cart, causing the tubes in Blaster’s body to be pulled out, spilling the white fluid out onto the ground. When she touched down onto the ground, her hoof cannon stepped into a puddle of blood, immediately boiling it. “looks like I won. Though, that I had to use so many sacrifices so soon is annoying, but what's done is done. Now what name were you going by again, not Vibraphone Echo, or Chime Catbell? Maybe I can just call you the Dragon Slayer, though you've never slayed a real dragon, I do like mockery.”

“Get to the point, nightmare!” I spoke with an irritated snaral.

The equalist holding me almost dropped me as she gasped. “She's alive!? How many cybernetics does she have to allow that!?”

Phobetor raised Blasters non cannon foreleg to motion for the subordinate to stay quiet. “The point you ask, well the point is that you, the Dullahan Cold Iron, are now at my mercy. So tell me, what were you planning to do? What trick were you going to use to kill me?”

“You think I have a trick?” I rolled my eye. “No, actually I was going to blast you with rainbow powers and turn you into a good pony so that we can be friends. Also, the rainbows would cause the equalists to see the error of their ways, and stop being brainwashed slaves. You know, a win-win for everypony. Of course, it would also have the benefit of fixing the islands, getting rid of the toxic pollen and radiation and we’d all live happily ever after. Pretty great plan, don't you think?”

“Are you implying you would use the elements of harmony?” Phobetor cocked an eyebrow, then smiled. “That would be disastrous for me, that alicorn cheat magic. But, the elements don't exist anymore, Cold Iron, so you can stop playing games and just tell me your secret!”

Even now, did she not know? Or was she just playing head games with me still?

I chuckled at the idea that she couldn't just dig the answer out of my mind like she could before. It might be because I'm undead, but then again she was also managing the Republics C.C.N. So that might be restraining her power.

“Come down here and find out.” I said with a smirk, “And not this farce you use to show up, I mean the real you. We can even throw a party for everyone, just remember to make a daiquiri or two for me.”

She frowned at me. “If you’re going to be that way, I might as well rip that brain out of that head of yours and plug it into a robot. Dullahan or not, it should still work… or at least, I will soon find out.” Phobetor motioned for the other equalists to get onto the cart before looking back at the pony holding my head. “Take this thing back to Vally Port Station, it's going to see the light of Equality, whether it wants to or not.”

“Yes ma’am.” The mare holding me only had the time to sit up before the sound of a revolver shot went off, and the mare dropped me.

With my magic, I was able to prevent myself from hitting the ground too hard, and managed to turn myself to see what was going on. In the middle of the crowd of ponies my body stood, holding my revolvers with magical blue flames. Every pony stood still, looking at the headless pony, it with a cold blue flame flickering from its neck, and surrounded by a black fog that covered the ground around it.

Phobetor snarled at my body. “Kill it, kill it now!”

The Equalist soldiers quickly pointed their guns at my body, but my body responded faster. Eleven shots spit from my revolvers so fast that it would make Red Steel blush. Each pony shot had a blue flame erupt from their bullet hole as they fell over, screaming in agonizing pain. The remaining soldiers took their shots, but with a dash, my body slammed through the remnants of a barricade, and vanished into the shadows, leaving the pink energy bolts to cut through empty space. I watched as Phobetor backed up, her golden eyes turning back to red. The bitch had ran away again!

My body hopped out of a shadow, letting out twelve shots of death magic enhanced bullets, killing the ponies hit by it. But before it could vanish again, a wave of energy bolt slammed into it, followed by Blaster Beam herself, using her cannon leg as a large club.

“That quite the trick you pulled off! No wonder Theremin became obsessed with you, you’re a downright killing machine!” She swung her massive leg again, sending my body flying over my head. “I'd love to learn how you do it, but I also want to kill you! And I mean, I really want to kill you.” I watched as white fluid dripped from her mouth like drool. She looked down at me like some ravenous monster and smiled like she’d finally lost what little was left of her mind.

Now close to my body again, my magic was able to reach out, and pull myself back together, my head floating just above my neck. “It's time I put you down like the rabid bitch you are!”

“Please, do try.” Blaster Beam said with a wild look in her eyes. Her wing and tail guns pointed at me, unloading a barrage of pink energy bolts. I managed to take cover behind half of a metal table. The brutal assault was quickly turning the old metal red under the heat of the unrelenting strikes of energy bolts.

“The whole shadow hopping thing would be really useful right now!” I told my body as I looked down at it, but it just shrugged back at me, leaving me a bit frustrated. The table began to melt from Blaster Beams assault, so with no better option, I stuck a leg out.

Like a cat and a laser pointer, Blaster zoned in on my leg, and her shots immediately ricocheted off, flying wildly back at her. After a few seconds, she stopped, and I poked my head out, hoping she’d killed herself. Instead I saw that the left side of her face had lost its skin, exposing more of her cybernetic skull. The cyber mare then spat a gout of fire at the ground, and sneered at me.

“Right, forgot your fucking legs can do that. But that only means that once you’re dead, those legs will be my legs.” Blaster looked about the room, and then smiled back at me. “You did well to thin out my numbers, but it's not good enough! But now, let’s test the C.C.N.’s newest program!”

Her eyes flared with a bright red light, and the bodies of the ponies I killed before began to twitch. Not all of them moved, just sixteen of them. Standing up, they were drooling and had blank lifeless eyes. Then they all turned their heads to me in unison. One opened their mouth, its voice sounding gargled and under stress.

“Oh this is lovely, with the new implants we can even get the dead to fight for us!” Blaster Spoke through the dead pony as they all took a step forward. “But the feeling of pain from them is a bit distracting, like pins and needles in my brain. Something that can be fixed later, once you’re dead, of course!” Another dead pony then spoke. “Now let's see how well these cadavers can fight!”

As they closed in, I saw that some of the clearly unconnected equalist had dropped their weapons in shock. A few even turned tail to run away, only to make it just several hoofsteps before being gunned down. Others looked on in confusion and horror, but most seemed transfixed by the cybernetic equivalent of necromancy.

Blaster Beam chuckled, and pointed at me. “Kill!”

The cybernetic undead charged at me, mouths agape, tongs flopping out. Firing off my revolvers, I kneecapped one, sending it falling to the ground. Of course that didn’t stop it, it just started to crawl at me. Another one got a shot in the chest, which did nothing to slow it. A third got a bullet between the eyes. It fell over limp and stayed that way, meaning that headshots were needed to put them down permanently.

With quick gunwork, I was able to take out four more of them before they got too close, the first to attack tried to bite me, only managing to bite off her own tongue on my armor before I put a bullet through her brain. Two more jumped me, holding me down as another two grabbed my revolvers. Three more began to use their muskets as clubs to beat me with it. Pulling out two throwing knives, I shoved them deep into the eye socket of the ponies holding me down, and twisted the blades.

Freed from my assailants for a moment, the first thing I did was gore one of the ponies hitting me with musket. I swung my head hard, and my horns went under their muscle, and into their skull. A second later blue flame gouted from their mouth, and they collapsed, taking my head off with them. My body rolled to avoid another hit from the butt of a musket, and bucked one of the ponies with my revolver into the other with my revolver. I took the opportunity to recover my guns, and levetate them at the remaining assailants. With swift shots the last two attacking dead ponies were put down for good. My body stepped over, recover my head and placing it firmly back onto my neck.

Their were still seven more moving corpses surrounding me, but from what I just dealt with, they were just too weak to be a real threat. Unfortunately, Blaster Beam was a step ahead, and was now pointing her oversized cannon at me. It glowed brighter than ever as it was fed magic by the surrounding equalists.

“You may have gotten lucky so far, but let’s see you survive this!” The light had not reach full brightness, meaning I had time to stop her, but taking a step forward, Blaster Beam gun wings and tail pointed at me, causing her to ‘tisk, tisk’ at me. “You're going to stay their, and your going to die.”

Looking to either side of me, and escape route was blocked off by cybernetic undead, and the remaining equalists. Anything I could hide behind would be useless against her cannon, and attack would result in energy bolts to the face. Blaster Beam had trapped me, and Phobetor had still not truly shown herself. That nightmare was likely laughing at me right now, secured in my continued failure.

With a sigh, a grin formed on my face as I pulled out the megaspell case from my back. “Sorry to disappoint, but I'm already long dead. Though, as a messenger of death itself, I certainly can take you to Tartarus with me.”

“Is that so.” Blaster Beam rolled her cybernetic eyes at me. “Then you better make whatever pathetic attempt you’re about to make, good. And, I’m curious, because I do love surprises.” Behind her I could see a faint blue light, it vaguely pony shaped, only just barely there, yet I knew it wanted me to… to not give up.

I took a deep breath, securing the megaspell case on my back again, and looked Blaster Beam in the eye.

“Well let's start with something you already know.” I raised a hoof up in front of me, unsure if I was even bluffing myself. “You already know that my armor can deflect your energy bolts, so I wonder what will happen if it's shot by that oversized cannon?” She narrowed her eyes at me, but still maintained eye contact. Focusing on her with my evil eyes, I didn't know how well it would affect her at this point, but I tried to project as much negativity into her. “Imagine you losing again, by your own weapon... again.”

She clicked her teeth, and the magical shimmer around her faded a bit. “Oh no, no… that will just not do.” The voice of Phobetor came out of the cyber undead ponies mouths, gargled, yet still full of arrogance. “After I gave you those new toys, you lose heart.”

Blaster Beam took a step back with a look of worry on her muscle. “I have her trapped my glorious lady, is that not what you wanted?”

The golden eyes cyber zombies twitched their necks, much like the ghouls from the R&D stable. “No, I had wanted her captured, now she's too much trouble to keep alive. But, I see I was not being clear or serious enough about this.” They all turned to look at me. “Those legs, they’re meteoric iron, aren't they? Worldly and unworldly magic is not going to affect it at all.” All of the undead turned to look at Blaster Beam. “But I know a little spell to get around Hades little gift, and it’s a favorite of mother Hera.”

All the cyber zombies collapsed, and Blaster Beam buckled over, a sickly green fire enveloping her eyes. One of the equalists that had been providing her with magic stopped, backing away slowly, Blaster responded by shooting the pony with her tail blaster. But the pony didn't disintegrate, she turned to stone, frozen with a look of horror on her face, in which Blaster then smashed to pieces. The Reaver then got back up, the white fluid that dripped from her mouth was now a deep dark red, and it bubbled and hissed on the ground. She then looked up at me, and my body as though by instinct, quickly moved my hoof to block us from making eye contact. I could actually feel her stair. It radiated vile, unnatural magic that was trying to wrench it's tendrils into me.

The equalists broke into a panic as both those connected to the C.C.N. and those not began trying to run away. Soon after I heard Blaster Beam give an unnaturally scream right before firing off energy bolts all over the tunnel. No longer Feeling Blasters gaze on me, I took a peek, and saw the Reaver attacking her own allies in a blind rage. Her form was changing, becoming longer, and somehow even more ugly than before. Stranger still, was her burnt mane. Cables were now snaking their way out of it through her skin, and moving about as though they were alive.

Every pony she shot turned to stone, frozen in their terror. There were still ponies not attacked, the few remaining soldiers, who calmly kept their heads down as Blaster Beam rampaged. Backing away, I saw as Blaster’s hind legs then fell off, and her tail seemingly grew and absorbed the back half of her body, turning her into some sort of cybernetic snake pony.

The cybernetic monster that had pursued me across the islands, had somehow become more monstrous.

“How wondrousss!” Blaster Beam spoke with a slight hiss in her voice. “My gloriousss lady, our gloriousss leader, I have been bestowed a miraculousss gift!” She lifted herself up by her tail as she arched her back. “With thisss, not only can I kill her enemiesss, but present them asss a gift. And I know who'sss first to join my dark and gloriousss ladiesss collection.” both her wing, and tail blasters pointed at me, lighting up with a harsh and vile green light.

Not wanting to find out how I'd look as a statue, I dashed to cover, the energy bolts chasing me. Finding safety behind a rusty cabinet, one of my back hooves made an odd clunk sound. Looking down at it, a rock seemed to be fused to my armor, but luckily it hadn’t been turned to stone. Still, it meant that I could not rely on the armor to protect me like before.

“Oh don't be like that Chime, why don't you use that eye power of yourssss? I want to sssee how it comparesss to my new eyesss. I bet they are posssitively petrifying.” I growled at her pun, finding that Blaster had also become monstruly annoying. The sound of bending metal announced her slithering closer, her cybernetic snake body grinding on the ground as she moved. It was clear that I couldn't even look at her, or defend against her energy bolts, meaning that I was at a complete loss on how to kill her now. “If you won't come to me, then I'll jussst have to drag you to me!”

With a crash, my cover was knocked away by Blaster’s tail, the force of it knocking me forward. Before I could get up to run, my hind legs were bound together, and I felt myself be dragged back, only giving me time to hold onto my head as I was then lifted into the air. The feeling of her evil magic prodded at me as I avoided eye contact.

“To tell the truth, I was expecting Phobetor to send an armored train or some other hogshit to run me down,” I said with a chuckle, trying my best to remain calm. “but this, this actually has me surprised!”

Blaster chuckled as well, then slammed me to the ground, sending pain throughout my body, my armored hooves doing their best to protect my head. “Ssscum like you may not talk about our dark lady!” She hissed screamed at me as she lifted me back up. “And even now I can feel her displeasure, for the longer you live, the more angry she becomes!”

I laughed. “Then let's party all night, and see just how pissed she becomes.”

“No!” Blaster Beam growled. “I'm ending your little game right now, with only but one petrification beam.” The feeling of her vile magic gathered near my head, from energy gun on the tip of her tale. It felt cold and dry, like it was stealing the moisture from my body.

My ears rang with the sound of an explosion, and I dropped, slamming into the ground. Blaster screamed in pain as she fell over, thrashing on the ground. Next to me was the end of her tail, the blaster a smoking wreck, having been severed from the monstrous mare.

As my hearing recovered, I heard the screeching of brakes get closer, and in front of me a light rail carrier appeared out of thin air. On the rail carrier were three Specters, two in standard combat armor, and the other in the specter power armor.

“Alright, the Republic are right fucked in the head if their making whatever that is!” Temboril shouted as she adjusted her railgun for another shot. One of the other specters sat on a motorcycle, the third sat behind Temboril, a line of smoke wafting up from a box next to them.

Quickly I got onto my hooves, and ran to the motorcycle converted rail cart, throwing myself into the passenger carriage. “Fucking go! And don't fucking look at it! The bitch will fucking petrify you with her stare, and her beam weapons do the same thing.” I shouted, and Temboril looked over at the driver, and they nodded back at her. The driver pulled back a lever, making an audible click for a mechanism under the cart. The cart pushed itself up, turned around, and clicked back in place on the rail. The rev of the engine picked up, and the wheels started grinding on the rails. I was pulled down in my seat as we picked up speed, driving quickly away from Blaster Beam.

Taking a glance back, the bitch had stopped thrashing, and was now getting back up, only to be hit by another shot from Temborils rail gun. I sighed when I saw that Blaster was unharmed, protected by a magical barrier powered by the remaining republic soldiers. Then she looked our way, and I averted my gaze, unsure what the distance her magic had.

“Fuck!” A loud pop came from Temboril, a shoulder panel on her power armor opened up, ejecting a smoking talasman. “Fucking seriously!” She shouted as the faceplate of her helmet opened, and then she lurched over the side and threw up. Wiping her mouth before looking over at me, I could see pain etched onto Temboril's face, her right eye now a stone orb. “Shit… you did warn me that it had a petrification stare… So, then can you tell us what in the fresh fuck that monstrosity is?”

“Does the name Blaster Beam ring a bell?” I asked her.

She cocked an eyebrow, then flinched in pain. “Right, that phycotic reaver. Would make sense they turn their freaks of attack dog into even bigger freaks.” Blood began to seep from under Temboril’s stone eye, causing her to attempt to cup it with her armored hoof. “If that thing is allowed to get to Pineapple Island, it's going to rip through our defensive line, that can't happen.” She staired at me with her one good eye, and smiled. “I had a strong feeling that you recovered the bomb, and good job killing the reaver that snuck in… but why the fuck did you kill one of our own?”

I didn't show her any pretence of guilt, or shame, That pony didn't really matter in the long run. “She was in my way.”

Temboril gave me a death stare. “Your sister wouldn't approve.”

“I'm not Vibraphone.” I said as calmly. “As I told you, she died back in the R&D stable.”

“That, I can see clearly now.” The Specter looked away and sighed. “The Echo sisters had more respect for life, but you, you seem to respect death.”

“All things die Temboril, that's just how this world is.” I adjusted myself in the seat, trying to calm and focus myself now that I had a moment to rest. “It's also why I'm here, as the death of a few will save many more.”

A frustrated sigh came from Temboril. “Lets just drop the philosophy talk, okay? We need to arm that bomb and collapsed the Tunnel. The Equalist are sending an armored train to shove down our throats, and that’s not something we can't let happen.”

“Also the monster is coming!” The driver yelled.

“I know! That's why this tunnel needs to be taken out now.” She said back.

“No, I mean it's coming NOW!” The driver failed at the instruments in front of him. “The sensors are telling me we got something catching up with us, likely thar republic rail cart.”

Temboril closed her helmet before facehoofing. “What's our time until we reach the station?”

“Top speed, fifteen minutes.” He answered.

She looked over at the second specter. “How's our countermeasures?”

The second specter stood next to a metal box with an Orthrus drone attached to top of it. A line of black smoke seeped from the box, and the drones eyes were nothing but cracked stone. “The optical sensors are fucked, but the shield can be salvaged. If you want to use an attack talisman, your going to have to aim the little guy by hoof.”

“Which will petrify any pony before it's ready.” Temboril then looked over at me. “Now give me that megaspell!”

I glared back at her. “It's still too soon.”

“If that bitch gets out of this tunnel, it will be too late!” She screamed at me.

“If we don't cut off the head, there will be more.” I screamed back. “Look, I'm close to my target, I just need one more push. Stopping Blaster is that push, kill her then the queen bitch will show herself. If Phobetor does not die, then this war is going to get a whole lot worse a whole lot faster.”

“Right, I doubt Blaster is their only super weapon.” Temboril let out a huff. “We’ll give it a shot, but as soon as shit goes south, were blowing this tunnel. Understood?” I nodded back in confirmation.

Everything lit up by a bright sickly green light as a large beam of energy smashed into the carts magical barrier. The box next to the second specter to made a loud popping sound, and burst into flames like the first had. So much for buying us some time.

“Countermeasures are shot!” Shouted the second specter.

“Both of you, pass me your counter curse talismans! I'm going to blast that bitch to Tartarus.” Temboril snarled.

Our cart then rattled violently as it made a loud grinding noise, and sparks began to fly as though one of the wheels just had the emergency brakes find on. Looking over, it was worse, as the axle had stone fused to it, preventing it from turning.

“Bitch shot the wheel!” I shouted as I pulled my head back in, and saw Temboril installing two talasman into her armor. “What the fuck do you think those are going to do?”

Temboril closed the panels on her armor, and checked her rail gun. “They’re going to buy me the time I need to shoot that monster.”

“And what about her barrier?” I asked.

“I'll overcharge the rifle,” Temboril just coldly said. “the other two here can help me with that. But If you have a better plan, then tell me.”

I glared at her, and then remembered the first paradise dragon I took out, and how it predicted my shot… But unlike back then, there would be no second chance with Blaster Beam. “Besides her cannon and eyes, she still has three more guns, and that also doesn't count if she tries to dodge. Your going to need a distraction, somepony to keep her focus off of you.”

“Fighting blind is basically suicide, Cold Iron.” She told me.

I shrugged. “For a normal pony yes, but I'm not normal. I'll get her to turn her back on you, just make sure you don't miss when her shields drop.”

“Alright, but I doubt you will do much with those revolvers.” Temboril motioned her head at the second specter. The specter grabbed another box near her, and passed it to Temboril. Opening the box, I was presented with a large double barrel shotgun… the ten gage my sister used. “This is the anti-air superior shotgun that your sister owned, she called it ‘The Doom’. If your going to make yourself a threat, then this will definitely do the job.” I took the shotgun, and it's six massive shells, loading in two and shutting it. “I'll take your first two shots as a sign to take aim.”

“Just don't fucking miss.” I told her again as I used my scarf to cover my face, the tight fabric blinding me, and it surprisingly staying on with little to no problems. “Alright body, it's all you.”

I felt myself jump off the cart, and my iron hooves slam into the ground. Surprisingly, our speed wasn’t fast enough to knock me off my balance, and I was able to get right to a gallop. Charging in, I smelled the stagnant tunnel air somehow becoming even staler, and felt a cold and violent magic ahead of me. My body jumped to the side right as a sickly cold magic passed me by, followed by three hot and aggressive magical waves.

“Ssso desssperate are you now, you mussst know you're fated to fail!” Blaster Beam mocked me.

“Well you still haven't killed me!” I mocked back. The violating magic from her eyes were firmly focused on me, seemingly begging for me to uncover my eyes. This gave away her position, not perfectly, but it did at least give me a direction. Now that I thought about it, this feeling reminded me of a pipbuck’s E.F.S..

‘Focus more’ a voice whispered, not in my ear, but in my head, as though using telepathy, yet too soft to be that. ‘you are a mirage pony’ it whispered again.

My body was forced to change directions as it dogged beams of magical energy. I had no time to question it, though I was no longer the pony I use to be, I once more focused. Pulling on the death magic deep down within me, feeling it's cold magic touching the flame with my mind, and then letting it go. Letting my mind reach out, feeling for the magic around me, the world began to fade away, all the sounds of the fight dulled.

A roaring green flame of evil matic appeared in my blind vision, filled with malice and madness. Around it was six dull gray orbs, almost lifeless in how they gave off nothing but simple magic, no emotions, just magic. Behind me were three vibrant orbs, one a brilliant emerald green, stoic, yet playful. The second was a worried pink, and the third a calm blue. Their was more magic around me, small, confused, and scared, scurrying away as fast as they can. I smiled.

“Blaster Beam, you have been given all this power, yet all you have done is fail.” I laughed at her.

The green flame flared with anger as the six dull orbs focused on me, their magic arching together before reaching out for me. Seeing the attacks coming, my body didn't just dodge, but I pulled out solar eclipse, and counter attacked. Four shots, and two of the dull orbs went out. The green flame, Blaster Beam, reached out with her magic as well, but failed to hit me. Though she was extremely dangerous, the monster mare had also become predictable. The four remaining orbs, the republic soldiers, attempted to shoot at me again, but I fired my two remaining shots from my revolver at one… and nothing, something like a thin wall blocked my shots, their barrier.

I was forced to dive as one of the energy bolts singed my tail wrap. The bastards could shoot at me, but I couldn't do the same back with that barrier up.

“Keep trying to look down on usss, but sssoon your corpsss will decorate our dark lady'sss palace!” Blaster Beam boasted as she gathered magic from around her and from the four soldiers, pouring all of that magic into her cannon. Magic which included the magic supporting her berrier, causing it to fair out of use. I grinned wider, pulling a snarl from Blaster Beam.

The massive buildup of energy reached out for me, and fired, but my ability to feel it gave me the insight to predict where it was going it. Though I was still cutting it close, as one of my back legs scraped on the ground with more stone fussed to it. Pulling out lunar eclipse, I didn't waste my bullets this time, and took careful aim.

One, two, three, four. All four dull orbs of the republic soldiers went out with each corresponding shot. The energy of Blaster Beam’s smaller guns reached out at me, and I booked it, avoiding the shots.

Without her supporters, I was able to get to the other side of Blaster Beam, putting Temboril behind her. Unfortunately, her barrier had come back on, so I was going to need her to fire her big cannon again.

“You think me a fool, I'll ssshow you!” Blaster Beam screamed as she charged her magic.

This time she drew her magic into her wing guns. It wasn’t enough to drain her barrier, but still a lot of evil magic. I could feel it, her wing guns vibrating with magical energy, clearly far more energy than they were meant to contain. They were leaking her evil magic like a broken pipe just waiting to burst. I took a step back, bracing myself for what was to come, feeling her magic reaching out to me like hundreds of long thin hooves filled with malice.

Her wing guns literally exploded when they fired, raining down green beams of first magic at me, bright enough that some of the light somehow got through my scarf. Being able to sense the magic, I was able to avoid the worst of it, jumping to safer spot. Unfortunately I had not escaped the danger unscathed, several of the small beams pelted the right side of my body. Both my right legs creaked when I tried to move, stones fused to them and preventing any fine motion, with my front right near completely unusable. My right horn and ear had also fallen victim, causing my head to become heavier, and giving me a painful feeling of pins in my skull.

“Sssstil alive? No matter, I'll fix that sssoon.” Blaster Hissed at me, and I could sense her channeling magic into her cannon. It was my one chance, and I drew my sister's shotgun, firing two shots at Blaster, both harmlessly blocked by her barrier. “It'sss futile to resssissst, but keep ssstruggling, it only makesss my victory sssweeter.”

“Fucking stop hissing you fucking cunt, it's neither charming or cleaver!” I shouted as I reloaded the shotgun. I could feel the overwhelming evil magic reach out at me, and I still had one good back leg to jump with, so I braced myself to dogged her attack.

A beam of green energy shot out from behind the cannon, striking my good back leg. “No, you ssstay right there!” Blaster said smugly, waving her other hoof, it radiating with the evil magic. I attempted to move my left back leg, only to find it fussed to the ground. Frantically I started to hit the leg to free me, chipping at the rock, but not enough to separate it from the ground. I only had the time to look back at blaster, sure that she had a shit eating grin on her face as her cannon reached maximum charge.

Her cannon fired, and I was surrounded by the green magic, and I felt the world vanish… but I was clearly not dead…

*Kerzap, Boom!*

Blaster Beam screeched so loud that my ears hurt, followed by a loud thud, and the sound of her thrashing. “You hogshit filled cunts!” She shrieked. “I'll kill you, I'll kill everypony, just you wait!”

I couldn't feel her sick magic on me like before, now weaker, and unfocused. Lifting my scarf to take a peek, and I saw that Blaster was indeed thrashing about, with half her face missing, along with both her eyes, and part of her skull, exposing her brain case. I couldn't help but feel a sick pleasure from this, seeing that the last of the reavers was finely going to die, and part of this nightmare was over. I attempted to take a step, but found my hoof still stuck. Annoyed, I took my sister's shotgun, and after reloading it, I fired it at my hoof to free it. The blast to my leg unbalanced me, causing me to stumble over. Hitting the ground, my petrified horn and ear shattered, sending even more pain into my skull, but I ignored it. Getting back up, my eyes fell onto a petrified drone in front of me, the one that was with the specters, the box under it was no longer seeping smoke. I carefully stepped over it, the thing had taken the petrification blast in my stead, so it at least deserved some respect.

Hobbling over to Blaster Beam, she was screaming gibberish as she thrashed about.

“Hey, cunt!” I shouted, pointing the shotgun at her head. Blaster stopped, and pointed her cannon at me, charging with evil magic. “It's over.”

I fired the shot right into her brain case, turning the brain matter into gray mush and electronic bits. The reaver finally stopped moving, her magic quickly raiding away, and the stone fused to my legs became brittle, starting to flake off.

With a sigh, I returned to the cart, loading the last two shells into The Doom before passing it back to Temboril. She had opened her face plate again, her right eye no longer stone, but it was now completely clouded, probably leaving her blind in it. That, and didn't move along with her other eye, just drifted about... “I'm not going to ask how you pulled that off, but next time let's just arm the bomb and run.” She said with a smile as she took the shotgun from me.

I nodded. “If things go as planned, that's my next move, and thanks for the drone support.”

Temboril cocked an eyebrow, and then smiled. “I just did the sniping, thank the stallion behind me for that.”

“Wait, you didn't send the drone out?” The second specter spoke up. “Because it wasn’t me!”

A frown formed on Temboril's face. “You know what, let's just not question it, and focus on our next problem.” She pointed at the case on my back. “So when are you planning to use that?”

“Soon.” I replied, looking back at Blaster Beams corps. “I think I’ve proven my point enough, so all I need to do is wait.” backing away from the cart, I saluted to Temboril. “I'm announcing my resignation from the specter core. I want to say it's been a pleasure, but I'd be lying.”

Temboril gave me a half hearted smile. “You out of anypony should know this by now...”

“You can never truly leave Orthrus.” I finished her statement. “I know, it has been made loud and clear to me. So, once again I announce my resignation.”

There was a short pause before Temboril sighed. “Right, after reaching the defensive line, we found the position overrun, and only managed to recover one survivor among the defenders. The survivor was badly injured, and was in possession of the megaspell bomb. After pushing the republic back, the lone regular chose to stay behind, and detonate the bomb as next wave approached. For the reports of a strange mercenary, it appears that she was nothing but a mass misinterpretation, as she was actually multiple ponies acting independently, all confused as one just pony.” Temboril then closed her face plate, and turned around.

“Don't forget that Syndicate had been running amok during the madness.” I added.

“That will be in a different report.” She informed me, not looking back. The cart began to move, the stone on the wheels breaking off as though made out of sand, and quickly built up speed.

I watched as the cart disappeared from view, leaving me in neer darkness, with only a faint blue light to keep me company. Looking over at it, the blue orb of the spirit hovered in the air nearby, and giving off the feeling of impatience. I rolled my eyes at it. “Alright, thanks for the save sis.”

The blue orb took shape, forming into that of Rototom, with a cocky smile on her face. “Any time. Though you really should have kept The Doom.” Her voice was wispy, softly resonating in my head. But… it was just good to hear it again.

“I doubt a big fucking gun is going to do bucking shit to an ancient nightmare, Sis.” I told her as I pulled out my revolvers.

She just shrugged. “Just a suggestion Viby. That aside, are you really sure about this?”

I looked out into the darkness, seeing the faint outline of Blaster Beams corpse twitch. “Names Cold Iron now, and it's already too late to go back. Far, far too late.” With a sigh, I looked back at my sister. “You must be disappointed in me.”

“You have no idea.” Rototom frowned. “All that shit you've been doing recently… but then again, none of it would have happened if I didn't die on you.”

A loud clang drew my attention back to Blaster Beams corps, it slowly getting up. “And I should have been strong enough to help you, Sis. But in the end, I was just in the way.”

Blaster Beam’s corps bent unnaturally, her body bloating up as though something inside of her was growing rapidly and trying to push its way out.

“Well you want to give it another shot.” Rototom said with a chuckle. “See if we can put this bitch down, permanently?”

The corps of Blaster Beam exploded, and everything in the tunnel went pitch black, as though we had been sucked into a void. All except for the two massive golden eyes of a dragon. The eyes focused right on me, and I could feel pure hatred radiating from them. There was no mistaking it, Phobetor had finally shown herself. She was here to end this fight once and for all, the same as me.

“That's the plan sis, that's the plan.” I said with a smile, all while giving Phobetor my own hate filled glare.

_______________________________________

Footnote.

Quest Finished: Special Delivery

Chapter 66 - All things must come to an End

Phobetor had filled up the entire tunnel, her dragon form too big to fit properly, and I would have found it funny if I didn’t know better.

Be it by her dark magic or her massive claws, with one wrong move it would spell the end for me, along with every pony in the metro. I just wanted to end it all, to blow the bitch up here and now. But I had the feeling that it was still not the right time. I needed her guard down to eliminate any chance that she could slip away.

“Any last words?” Phobetor spoke, her breath itself was magicly stale, similar to that of an untouched reactor room cracked open for the first time in over a hundred years. It felt similar to that of death magic, yet empty. Not just void of life, but void of everything. It reminded me of that room at the bottom of the R&D Stable, and that alone unnerved me.

I stared back at her, shaking off the her attempt of intimidation.

“Last words, ya, I have a few things to say to you before this is over.” Taking a deep breath, I looked over at the ghost of my sister. It filled me with anger and regret that both she and I will never get to truly mend our relationship, and all because we unknowingly got caught up in this nightmare’s petty game. Rototom nodded back at me, knowing what I had to do from under the nightmares gaze. “It’s all your fault, you know that? Why we are even here in the first place. And all because you’re an entitled brat that couldn't do the fucking job you were literally made for.”

Phobetor growled, and the shadows seemed to move around me, responding to her anger. “If that’s all you have to…”

“Not in the least!” I shouted, feeling everything that had become bottled up in me leak out. “How long have you been plotting this? To ruin our lives, to fuck up this world more than it already is! It was you, wasn't it? At every turn, pushing us for that one moment you can take hold. And whenever my own job was nearly done, you made sure it kept on going. At what point did we not dance in your hoof!”

From black smoke, the form of a black pony appeared in front of the dragon, Phobetor sitting on her dragons claw, looking down on me with her golden eyes, a smug smile on her face.

I continued, “The pirates assault on the hotel, no, before that. Like you said, you’ve been manipulating things for a long time…” I clenched my teeth, now understanding something very clearly. “How could you not have known about what the republic were doing? You were there from the start, watching them build the collective consciousness network, wern’t you?”

The smug look on her face only grew, yet she was still hiding more, like a bundle of secrest, and I only had managed to pull at a few strings. “As I told you, I could only whisper in most of the islands, maybe even send a little dream here or there. But sometimes that's all you need. That, and... patience… well, until things aren't going the way you want. Then of course, orchestrating a revolution on flawed ideals, and good intentions is just another nudge. How does that old saying go, the road to Tartarus is pathed with good intentions? Though, they never tell you that the roads architect had always meant to go to Tartarus, and quite literally in this example. The main ingredients for that pathment were always going to be the blood and bone of all those who got in the way. But it was all in the name of equality, where everypony is equally happy, and equally my slave.”

“It all stemmed from the R&D Stable, didn't it?” I growled at her.

Phobetor laughed, at first as a chuckle, but it grew into a full belly cackle. “You know, they actually built their stable on a gate to tartarus, and never knew, not even a clue. How could I not take advantage of it when all that they had and knew was within my reach? None of it was useful to me at first, but a little inspiration here, an epiphany there, and before long, their technology began to change. It was like planting seeds, and all I needed to do was watch them grow, only pruning when necessary.”

“Then why the equalist revolution if you already had such control?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes at me “Yes, as you see, the republic at the time were changing their goals. They got it in their heads to leave the island, and after another tool had managed to slip from my grasp, that was not going to happen a second time. So, I changed how the republic works, and it was not hard to do in the least.” Her smug smile only seemed to get more arrogant. “The advantage to having all the time in the world, being able to make a backup plan for your backup plans. I have one for each island, and that does in fact include Orthrus.”

“What did you do!” Rototom shouted, now catching phobetors gaze for the first time since appearing here, and giving me the opportunity to slowly pull the bomb from my back.

“Ah, the older sister, you seemed to have lost… well, all your everything.” The nightmare chuckled to herself for a moment. “It’s quite simple really. Orthrus is a well trained, and even better equipped military than the metro has ever seen. And yet, it has not tried to take the metro for themselves. Other than a few outliers, they are positively trusted completely as the guardians of the peace. Though now they have a singular leader, and are at war. A war where the enemy has spies everywhere. Orthrus may be a benevolent organization, but that’s because it can be under the right conditions. Take those conditions away, force them into a box, and they will become just as cruel as any bandit clan. To put it simply, by gun and by whisper, I’m going to forge your Orthrus into my perfect enforcers. But first, I must bloody their nose.”

“And the pirates? How were you able to bring them into this?” My sister asked. Placing the bomb in front of me, I dug out it’s key card from my pocket. I already knew the answer to that, as the corpse brigaders were susceptible to dark magic, giving Phobetor an easy way into their heads.

Phobetor didn't bat an eye, just continuing to be as smug as ever. Which, was really getting on my nerves.

“Pure luck I have to admit,” She offered through a mirth filled laugh, “never thought the bicorn serum was still out there, nor made to be as potent as it turned out to be. It was a shame that only the unfinished serum made it above labs D, and turned into your Mirage Pony treatment. Actually, it actually made your kind hard control directly.”

“The new gen!” I blurted out and quickly lowered the key card to hide it.

The nightmare nodded. “Further stabilization of their genes, and a more compliant disposition. They would not be bicorns, but over generations I would have my very own population of naturally obedient ponies, one of my many backup plans.”

There was another question I was chewing on, right in the back of my mind. “What would you have done if my sister and I had died before opening the R&D stable, if Harp had never survived the big island?”

Phobetor leaned forward a little, grinning wide. “Well there's that mute little brother of your.”

Sliding the key card, I quickly opened the bombs case. “I've heard enough!” I shouted as I armed the bomb. “I'm ending this right now.” slamming my hoof down on the activation button, glaring up at Phobetor, who did not move, her face still annoyingly smug.

And everything became bright… blinking bright, and deafening… swerling with magic.

…

…

…

“Ahhh, so that's the trick you had up your sleeve.” All the blinding light faded… no, it was being sucked into a black orb, which was held in Phobetor’s hooves, she still with the smug look on her face. “The ministry mares weren't the first to make what you call megaspells, theirs was but an accidental discovery. Impressive as they are, they are but crude imitations of what true ultimate magic is.”

It felt like all my hatred, all my hope, had been snuffed out like a small flame in a tropical storm. There was nothing left but darkness inside me. Looking down at the megaspell bomb, the orb that held the magic was dead, nothing more than a fancy empty gem.

Then it hit me like a metro train. All my self doubt, the guilt and the evil I had done to get to this moment, all for nothing. I looked up at the massive black dragon, her golden eyes looking back down at me, knowing this whole time I had nothing to fight her with.

“That's… That's not fair!” I screamed at her. “After all the shit I had to do to get here, all the innocents that I killed to get this opportunity to kill you! Just for it to mean nothing! I never had a chance in the first place.”

“And you did well to dance for me. Well, as well as if it were a poorly written story from an amateur writer.” holding the black orb in one hoof, she reached out her other hoof at me, and the black dragon stretched out its claw, it slowly reached out over me. I didn't move as the claw came down around me, not seeing any point in the fight as it formed a cage around me, and pulled me closer to her. “Now that you truly understand your place, and just how far I am above you, I will take joy in watching your existence be snuffed out.” she lifted the back orb up above her head, and magic began to flow into it. “But I'm feeling whimsical, so let me show you what true ultimate magic can do!”

The black orb pulsed, and warped as vile green magic flowed into it, much like a mirage pony drawing in magic from within a radioactive hot zone.

Kill!

A word flashed into my head.

Destroy!

Another word… no, a feeling.

Damn them all!

The magic flowing into the orb, it was filled with emotions, hate filled emotions. Some of them so strong that it could burn, and I knew that some of then were aimed at me. Phobetor nodded at me knowingly

“Like I said, you danced in my hoof, and I enjoyed every moment of it.” She lowered the orb, bringing it closer to me as it warped, and turning into a heart. “This here is what's called a black heart of hatred. Well, an imitation of one. Until I can craft a new crystal heart, this will do as a practical substitute. With it, my slaves will fight hard and without mercy, all as my enemies fight among themselves, unable to resist its influence.” She chuckled to herself. “Oh, how I longed for this moment. No alicorns, nor draconequus to stand in my way. The ancient wards long faded. And all I need now to complete this spell is a tainted soul to bring the heart to life.”

I could feel it, the black heart drawing me in, trying to devour me. And I could do nothing to stop it. It was over, she’d won.

“You forgot about me!” a robotic voice yelled, and an Orthrus drone slammed into the heart sending it flying off. “Bitch, I will not let you harm my sister!” Rototom yelled from inside a damaged drone.

Phobetors eyes filled with rage, and swiped her hoof at the drone, causing a small green explosion that ripped the robot into two. “Insolent spirit! I will feed you to a soul sucker for that!” She screeched and swiped her hoof again, pulling my sister’s soul from the broken drone, green flames wrapped around her neck.

“That sounds fun, but I’d rather have at least one date before getting that intimate.” Rototom mocked her with a cocky smile on her face.

The anger on Phobetor’s face slowly softened, and she took a deep breath. “It matters not. After all, it's nothing but a futile struggle.” She looked over at where the heart flew off too and a scowl formed on her face. “Where.” Slowly, she turned her head back to Rototom. “Is.” pulling my sister close, green flames erupted around her golden eyes. “The Heart!” Phobetor screamed loud enough to make my ears ring.

Rototom shrugged and looked at me with confusion and bemusement on her face, before turning back to the nightmare. “What heart?” Green magic sparked from Phobetor, striking my sister, causing her to scream for a moment, before she burst into laughter. “I'm already dead you hog shit eating bitch! I can’t feel pain.”

Phobetor once again claimed down, smiling at Rototom. “Right, I just got caught in the moment, and forgot.” She then looked at me, her eyes wide with a cruel madness. “I was tormenting the wrong sister.”

“Hay, I don't know where you fucking heart whent you bitch, so don't you dare hurt her!” Rototon yelled.

A spark of green magic flicked from Pobetors eyes, and lashed out at my face, cutting into my cheek, feeling like I had been hit by a hot iron poker. All I could do was grit my teeth, and bear it. “Trying to act tough? Fine by me, I can spare a few minutes to have fun before I go look for the…”

A red glowing blur collided with Phobetor, knocking her away from me, and causing the dragon to loosen it claws around me. The bluer slowly took form, a lot of red, some glowing, some not, along with a dark purple parts.

“Sorry, kindly forgive I late. Got lost.” It took a semi solid form of a Lurker in a red jumpsuit, with a name tag that read Turnip Soup.

“So, you’re here too?” Rototom asked Turnip, rubbing her transparent neck, now free from Phobetors hold.

“Friend helped the princess, I return favor.” Turnip answered, then looked over at Phobetor. “She threatened the princess, I not let happen.”

The tunnel began to shake as the dragon extended its second claw, reaching out at the two ghosts, but they easily dogged the slow attack. “Will you stop resisting and just give me the heart!” Phobetor yelled as she got up, and now was floating in the air. “Just accept your fate, for you never had a chance to win in the first place!”

“Is that right demon!” Looking up, I saw the pegasus Stratus Dancer with the black heart in one of her hooves. The dead captain of the royal guard smirked down at Phobetor. “You seem quite desperate to take this heart back. Might it be the key to slaying you?” Phobetor glared at her, but the hatred across her face had changed. The smugness from before slipped back, only a little, but enough for me to see that Stratus was up onto something again. Stratus lowered down, landing near me, and holding the black heart up high. “Now back off abomination, and set free sir Echo!”

Phobetor sneared, but backed up. “Then have it your way.” The dragon raised it’s claw, releasing me from under it. “But you have long since failed in your mission, you just don’t yet realize it. My frustration is from having to wait well over a thousand years for this moment, and only for three ghosts to mock me. It’s truly pathetic.” She folded her hooves, looking crossed, yest still smug. “You’re like the Hearth's Warming ghosts, trying to change things long set in stone.”

Stratus Dancer floated down to me, landing without any noise, and looked at me with eyes lacking any life in them. “A creepy bag of bones asked me if I’d help you, telling me if you failed, Harp would come to harm.”

Grinding my teeth as I felt the heart pull at my soul, irritated again at the lie. “She died.” I said under my breath.

The royal guard captain caocked an eyebrow as she trotted closer, the black heart pulling at me more and more at every inch. “Say again?”

“She’s dead! Gone!” Grabbing the empty megaspell bomb case with my magic, I swung it at Stratus, knocking the black heart away. “I saw her fucking die, and couldn't do a damn thing about it!” I screamed at her. “Why do you think Phobetor isn't even trying? Why no matter what you all do, it’s not going to make a difference. Charon lied to you, and Harp’s gone, all because I’m not the pony you all think I am!” Shoving the megaspell in Statuses transparent face, showed her our empty tool of destruction. “It’s empty, and no dark magic, or evil action will save us! I fucked up, and now everyone will die. I might as well doomed us all from the start...”

“You wrong!” Turnip spoke up.

I slammed the megaspell down. “You’re all dead, and it’s because she wanted me!”

“Sis.” Rototom tried to place her hoof on my shoulder, but with her incorporeal nature, it only went through me.

“If it was all up to you, everything would be alright!” I shouted at the ground. “All I can do is fail, it’s all I have ever done!”

“Ser Echo, look!” Stratus pleaded for me to look at the case, but I knew it was empty.

“At what? More proof that Phobetor had us all on a leash? That whatever we did, it was by her design from the start!?” I couldn't look up, or acknowledge what they wanted to say. Hope was dead, and anything more was just torment sent to mock me for how much I fucked up.

A low laughter turned into a cackle. Phebetor had trotted closer, clearly about to mock her victory to me. “Charon was it, oh how I should have known it was her. I should have known from the fucking start. That trator! How she once lamented to me about how she hated the mortals like I, how unworthy they were to ride on her boat, and that their existence doomed her as a spirit of death.” She cackled loudly for damn near a minute without needing to breathe once. “She even called me a friend once upon a time. But I always knew she was jealous of me. Zeus did passed her over to make me, did she ever tell you that? Why have a imperfect titan keep watch over mortals after the first one failed so dramatically?” She chuckled to herself again. “It was actually Charon's idea to just dump the mortals with all the world's evils, to just let them suffer and not even give them a chance. If not for her friendship, I would have been ignorant to the power I had at my hooves. She showed me that it was I who was the master of their fate.” She said in a mocking toan.

I grinded my sharp teeth more, hating every word she said. “Then why didn’t you just leave us be! Why do we have to suffer because of your superiority complex!”

“Because!” Phebetor took a few steps closer. “You all must suffer… it’s the only way you can all learn the truth.”

Turnip jumped in between me and Phobetor, stopping a hoof onto the ground. “You wrong, you both wrong!” He yelled. “Look at megaspell, and you see you wrong!”

With a sigh, I turned the case around… and saw a small blue flame within the orb. It was faint, but it was there. Death magic, flickering in the place of the old world weapon. It finally clicked for me. The bomb itself was not what I was to deliver, it was just the tool I needed to used… I was the weapon needed to kill the bitch… my death magic.

“Die!” Screamed from Phobetor as a claw of shadow bared down at me. Her swing came in fast, but a pony shaped bolt intercepted. Stratus Dancer rammed into it, causing half of her ghostly body to disappear, but she’d stopped the attack.

The pegasus hit the ground, making no sound. Nor did Stratus seem to care as she pointed at me. “Lie or not, that nightmare must die. We can figure out what's become of the princess later.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded at Stratus and placed my hooves onto the megaspell bomb. Focusing from deep within myself, I channeled myself like any mirage pony, and poured my magic into the bomb. The blue flame flickered, slowing becoming stronger.

“Enough!” Phobetor shouted, her voice resonating in my head as the tunnel shattered.

We all fell as the world around us now an unending nothingness filled with floating islands. Above us was a vast green sky, and below a deep dark purple void. Holding onto the megaspell, we landed hard on a floating piece of train tracks, cracking it slightly as my body hit. The black dragon that was once restricted by the tunnel was now free, its wings spread wide, its golden eyes bearing down on us with pure hate.

Phobetor had grown even larger, now as big as an Orthrus airship. She was practically a floating island herself. Holding up a claw, the black heart was balancing on its point, though miniscule and far away, I could still feel it pulling at my soul.

“No more games, no more stalling!” Her voice bellowed from her massive maw, blasting a stale wind at us, threatening to blow me off my hooves and off my oasis island in the void. A blackish green flame flickered from her lips, her eyes filled with evil and want.

“Cover me!” I shouted as I continued to focus the magic into the megaspell.

A playful laugh came from my sister. “Right, distract the pissed off ancient nightmare dragon that's tartarus bent on ending you. Easy enough! What do you say, crab pony?”

“I be distracting! That why I banished!” Turnip responded, then picked me up. “You hold me, I got you, do you fill bomb.” I nodded, and reached for the lurker, finding him surprisingly solid for a ghost.

A deafening roar that shook everything announced Phobetors attack. With heavy beats, her massive wings propelled her towards us. Holding onto Turnip and the megaspell for dear unlife, he galloped off the floating piece of rail line, and jumped us from one island to another. The floating land we were on was smashed into pieces as Phobetor rammed through it. As she blew past us, she didn’t know that Rototom used the opportunity to jump onto her back. As the massive black dragon flew around for another attack, Turnip jumped to another floating land, just barely avoiding her as she burst through from under us. But instead of flying through, she stopped mid way, and reached out with her long claw, nearly catching us as Turnip jumped again.

Flames flickered from Phobetors mouth as she laughed a deep bellowing laugh. “It’s over mortal!”

Breathing in, her belly stretched out, the green fire glowing through like some massive evil furnace. Rototom had managed to climb onto her head, and shoved a hoof into the dragon's eye, forcing Phobetor to twitch her head as she belched out flame. The sickly evil fire arched over our heads, lighting up the sky with even more green. The nightmare dragon responded quickly, raising a claw swiftly to her face, Rototom could not escape as the nightmare pinched her between to claws. With one flick, my sister was flung off into the unknown.

Clenching my teeth more, I focused on the bomb. It's pail blue flame was growing, but it was still not strong enough, I just knew it wasn’t.

Then we stopped, almost causing me to fall over the lurker. “What’s wrong?” I shouted.

“Track, no more!” Turnip spoke sharply. I looked over to see that we had reached the end of the line, with nothing more than the abyss ahead of us.

Turning back around, the opposing visage of Phobetor landed onto the floating land we were on, her mouth curled up into a smile. “Time’s up. You have failed for… well I lost count of your failures. But rest assured, this is the last one.”

“No!” Turnip yelled, dropping me off his back, and charging at the nightmare.

With a yawn, Phobetor bringing her claw down on the lurker, and breaking through the ground, and he vanished into the unknown. “To tell the truth, those monsters were able to even stay under my radar. Exterminating them will be the first thing I do once I take full control.” She laughed again, green flames bursting from her maw.

With Tunip gone, I was on my own, but I didn't feel at a loss, just annoyed… yes annoyed. I don’t know why, but now that I knew she was afraid of me, and the death magic I could draw from, all my self doubt just melted away. “Are you done?” I asked.

“Yes, with everything.” Phobetor Responded as she reached out, and picked me up by the collar, her claws pinching together on the back of my neck ever so carefully. “Soon it all will be over, and you ponies will return to your places as but clay dolls for me to play with. Day after day, you all will worship your true god, you all will grovel at my hooves.”

Rolling my eyes, I drew my revolvers, firing them at one of her massive eyes, causing blue flames to spark on it, and Phobetor to roar in pain.

She flung me into the air, her chest filling up with green fire once agai, and her other eye glaring at me. I slammed into something soft, that then grabbed onto me right as Phobetor gouted her fire up at me. I was pulled out of the fires path by Stratus, her ghostly wings flapping furiously.

“Get ready for a crash landing!” Stratus shouted as we quickly descended down onto another floating island. I instinctively tucked and rolled, losing the bomb in the process. Stratus just slammed into the ground, though she quickly got back up like nothing had happened to her. The advantage of being a ghost, not having to feel what a landing like that felt like...

The eye I had shot on Phobetor was still burning, though, the flame was slowly dying down, meaning she would soon recover from it. But It had put her on the defensive. She used one claw as a shield, to prevent me from shooting the other eye as she turned to see where I’d gone.

“Phobetor, it's over!” I shouted at the dragon nightmare, “I know how to beat you, and have proven that I can hurt you, so just give up already. Maybe I’ll spare you if you ask nicely enough.” I had no intention of following through with that, because I already knew her answer.

She laughed hard enough to shake the floating land we were on. “Just a minor injury. Even if you could charge up that bomb, with the magical power you now draw from, it would take you a day, likely two, just to have it at the strength to end me. So do me a favor and set it off now, will you? Then you can watch as I snuff out that last pitiful flame of hope you have.” She slammed her tail in the ground, and grinned wide, showing all her sword like teeth. “So yes, it’s over. Over for…”

*Thud* a stable-tec hydraulic door fell out of nowhere in between us, and with a hiss, it slowly opened.

Trotting through was the purple unicorn Quicktrot, covered in dirty bandages, and levitating the biggest revolver I had ever seen. She trotted right up to the megaspell bomb, and picked it up with a frown on her face. “Alright, where's the headless cunt, and mega ancient cunt!” Her eyes fell onto me, sighed, then turned around to look at Phobetor, and gave a bigger and frustrated sigh. “Right... She, dose like being a big super edgy black dragon.”

Phobetor seemed taken back by Quicktrots appearance, but then quickly scowled. “I don't have time for more distractions!” Raising her tail, she swung it back, winding up for an attack.

Clearing her throat, Qhicktrot shouted. “Stop stalling, and get out here Slowtrot!” This caused Phobetor to pause, and glared down at the door.

“You try getting hit with a megaspell reactor and not turning a pile of dust!” The purple earth pony stallion grumbled as he stepped through the door. Slowtrot looked up at Phobetor, and waved. “Sorry, were having a bit of a time space distortion right now, if you just wait for a moment, and we’ll get out of your mane once we sort out whatever’s causing the distortion.” Turning to look at me, his body twitched and flickered. For a moment he became translucent, with glowing white bones underneath, and a black void were his eyes should have been… He was a twitcher ghoul… The moment then passed, and he returned to being a normal pony. “Oh, sorry about that, it happens when I’ve got too much magic in my system. Now have you seen any space time distortions? Like rooms that go on forever, or a creature that should not exist? We might have caused a bit of a tear in reality, and sort of need to close it up.”

I blinked for a moment, and looked over at Qucktrot, who shrugged and said, “Just roll with it.”

I frowned at the two of them, and took a deep breath before chuckling out loud, my eyes turning to the nightmare. “See Phobetor, you’re the one who lost. My friends are infinite, where you’re all on your own.”

A deep growl came from the nightmare dragon as she glared at me. “Don’t you worry, I’ll kill them next!” she grumbled, then thrust her other claw at me.

Stopping her attach abruptly, Phobetor and I saw that the black heart was gone. Just above the nightmare was Stratus Dancer, holding the heart as she hovered in the sky.

“Right, so I just need to keep this away from you, simple enough!” She said with a smile before she stopped her flapping, letting herself dive down into the void.

Phobetor roared, and reached out for her, but Stratus was too fast. I didn’t waste the distraction, and rushed for Quicktrot, who then threw the megaspell to me. “Bitch, take it, and get ready to set it off!”

Catching the thing, I slid to a stop, and began focusing more magic into it. “Thanks for the save, but why the fuck are the two of you here?” I looked up at Phobetor, who had trapped Stratus in a magical bubble and recovered the black heart. With a smile, she returned her attention back to me. Well that distraction didn’t last long... “Great, I really need to blow this bitch up, and like, right now.”

Qucktrot trotted up to me. “Must you be a pain my flank every time we meet Vibraphone? This is what, the third time I’ve had to help you with mega bitch here?” She pointed at the megaspell as she looked at Slowtrot. “This is Vibraphone. You may not know her, but she’s a friend. So if you could be a dear and keep that dragon off our backs, that’d be nice.”

Slowtrot looked at Phobetor, then back at Quicktrot. “And by Celestia how do I do that when she's a big fuck off dragon!?”

“Just stay between us and the dragon, trust me, that's all you need to do.” Qucitrot shouted at Slowtrot, and he huffed before sitting down.

I looked at Quicktrot, and cocked an eyebrow. “How's that going to help?” I then asked.

Qucktrot pulled out a crystal that pulsed with magical power, and touched the megaspell with it. A spark of magic shot between them, and the magic with the megaspell swirled, as though a hurricane was quickly growing from within “Best not to think too hard about it, but if you must know the cliff notes versio,n you can say He’s a supercharged twitcher ghoul and is practically untouchable until the dark magic in him has radiated out naturally. In that state, he even draws magic to him like a super magnet, making him the best kind of shield you can get, for a short time that is.” She said with a smile.

Phobetor swung her tail at Slowtrot, and with a slap, it bounced off him. A look of pure frustration formed on her face as she then let out a gout of flames down at us, but the flames were drawn to Slowtrot, fizzling to nothing. A deep bellowing roar came from Phobetor as the sky was then covered by an uncountable amount of black and green orbs, that then shot out beams of green energy down at us. All of the beams arched as if drawn in by some increadible force, converging all on one point, and were absorbed by Slowtrot.

Quicktrot laughed as the crystal she held turned to sand, the megaspell now shaking with the tremendous amount of magic it now contained. The magic mixed with my own death magic, and the storm inside the gemstone becoming a blue inferno. “Just like that bag of bones said, got to love all the crazy dangerous magic the ministrys left behind.”

Phobetor reached out with her claws and grabbed Slowtrot, lifting him up to her face. “Whatever you have become, it matters not, now die a thousand deaths!”

She breathed her fire on him, lighting up the sky. When the fire stopped, Slowtrot remained, and Phobetors claws cracked. As though they had become fragile stone. Her claws fell apart, turning to dust as they hit the ground, dropping both Slowtrot, and the Black Heart. Looking at her now missing claws, Phobetors eyes widened, and she let out and eat piercing screech as she stumbled back, falling over.

“Why! Why is this happening!” Phobetor screeched as she thrashed, cracking the island we were on. “I'm so close, so damned close! Just fucking die, let me win, I deserve this win!” She attempted to get up, but her wrist then fractured off, causing her to fall back down. “I was made by the gods, I am their child, their successor, perfect in every way! But why do you ponies, you pathetic mortals, get in my way every time!”

Quicktrot laughed hard. “Because you’re a dumbass old hag that should have just died long ago, that's why!” She shouted before looking over at Slowtrot. “Thanks Slow, now go kindly fuck off. You don't want to be here when this bomb goes off.”

Slowtrot looked back, and nodded. “Right, and I'm taking this.” He picked up the black heart, and placed it in his saddlebag. “You never know, it might be useful. Also, if I never get the chance to say this, your like the sister I never wanted.” He blew a raspberry at Quicktrot, and ran off through the stable door, closing it behind him. With a sharp crack, the door shifted and crumbled, turning to dust and drifting away in an ethereal breeze.

The megaspell was quite literally shaking in my hooves, the power ready to burst at any moment. “This… this is amazing.” I breathed.

Phobetor managed to slither around on her belly, her golden eyes surrounded by a roaring green fire. “You will still fail, and I will sit upon the throne of Olympus, as the new god Queen!” She then began breathing in air and magic, bloating up like a green fire filled blimp, stretching so wide that her sides started tearing open, grouting out streams of green fire.

“I think it's time you set that off, preferably before she explodes herself!” Quicktrot shouted, and I flipped the bombs switch.

Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl for but a moment as the megaspell crackled with magic. This was it, the moment. Phobetor’s end.

Everything flashed a blinding blue, and went dark…

...

_______________________________________________

...

A ground shaking roar woke me from a dreamless sleep, my vision slow to recover. Pushing myself up onto my hooves, I found myself standing at the edge of a beach made from bleached white bones, next to an ocean of black water that reflected off the light of a blue moon. I had returned to the realm of the dead, there was no doubt in my mind of that. Looking over across the water, I was able to see the black dragon stuck in it. I had managed to drag Phobetor with me. She was half submerged in the black water, her flesh rotting off, revealing the bone underneath. Phobetor screamed in agony as blue flames danced over her body like a net holding her down, all as many boney hooves, claws, and paws held onto her from the water’s edge, slowly dragging her down. She struggled to free herself, gouting bursts of fire into the sky and thrashing her tail, but it only seemed to tighten the grip of death that now held onto her.

Not far from me was a small table made of bones, at which four ponies sat. Charon, Quicktrot, Hades, and… me?

“Good, you’re awake. I was almost worried you would stay there until the end of time itself.” Charon said with her cold wispy voice, sipping on a bone white teacup.

Taking a step towards the group, I could feel the ground. It was uncomfortable to my… hooves. Looking down, I saw two peach color normal hooves that held me up. They were slightly dirty, but normal flesh and blood! I took a moment to touch my own face with them, just to feel with them, and finding my two bicon horns were gone, and that my one stubby horn had returned.

Taking a deep breath, I half heartedly smiled. “Getting legs after death is a bit of a cruel joke.”

Charon chuckled. “It's the land of the dead, my dear. Humor comes in only the black or a very dark blue variety. The ponies from trottingham tend to love the humor here, but that aside, come join us, the tea is to live for.” She gave another dry chuckle.

I noticed that I was also in the nude, making me feel a bit exposed as I used my tail to cover my private parts. “Any clothes here? It would be nice...” I asked as I trotted up to the table.

“Fair enough.” Hades responded, waving his hoof. A fog appeared around me, swiftly turning into a thin white toga. It wasn’t much, barely anything actually, but beggars can't be choosers.

Looking down at the table, a teacup was ready for me, with what looked like more fog in it. Shrugging, I sipped it, and it tasted odd, like nothing I have had before. Not bad, but not good either, just... something that is?

“So, is it over?” I asked.

“Short answer, yes.” Charon pulled back her hood, showing me her worn and cracked skull, void of any emotion. Yet somehow, I could tell that she was… content. “Now that Phobetor has passed into the realm of the dead, and will be receiving our full attention, she can no longer influence the world of the living, or taint it with the abyss.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “The what now?”

“The stupid black orb thing you saw in labs D.” Quicktrot answered as she levitated a teacup, and took a sip before cocking an eyebrow at it. “Realy, what is this shit? Nevermind, not important. To fill in the blanks, Phobetor had ripped a hole in reality itself just to free herself. By doing so, she invited a mass of what I can only describe as ‘anti-existence’, or the abyss, as the boneheads call it into our dimension. As you should know by now, life and death have a flow to it, one cannot exist without the other, but that stuff just grinds everything to a stop, that even includes time itself. Nothing lives or dies around it, they just stop being anything, and Phobetor thought it was just a brilliant idea to bathe in that shit.”

“Hold up one fucking moment.” This was a bit much for me. “One, why are you the one explaining this to me? And two, what’s stopping me from throwing you into the water for what you did?” I sneered at the body snatcher.

Quicksort laughed for a few seconds, then passed her hoof over her face, it morphing to look just like Phobetor. “Because I am Phobetor.” she passed her hoof over again, and became a tired looked older green mare in a stable-tec lab coat. “I am also Healing Herbs, acting overmare of the R&D stable.” Again she waved her hoof, and now had become a light blue mare with a short cut mane and an old world naval uniform, it covered in metals. “Quite a bit of me is the pony they called Thorn Rosalind, a name you should know quite well.” She chuckled for a moment, then clamped both hooves together in front of her face, she now had become Slowtrot. “I was also the pony you met when you were trapped in your own mind by Phobetor, though at the time I had forgotten my true self. But returning to the R&D stable allowed me to piece myself back together.” The purple stallion melted away, returning to being Quicktrot. “To put it simply, I was there when the reality rip was formed, and was bound to it through Phobetor.”

“And now that Phobetor has been claimed, she will be taking the nightmares place.” Hades spoke up. “It’s to maintain a balance within this changing world. Otherwise evil could rise too quickly, and become uncontrollable. With how the world currently lacks its guardians, the next time an old evil rises, they might just win. So the abomination here will take the role of the evil in shadows. That is, as long as she helps keep this world from being totally destroyed.” He shot her a sideways glance.

Quicktrot rolled her eyes. “Hay, I'm the one doing you a favor, or do you want me to resurrect that annoying necromancer, and giving him the mantle? I may hate a long winter like any other pony, but unlike Equestria, I know I’ll survive it.”

“Silence!” Charon voice loudly wisped. “First off, even if it is a joke, I will not tolerate any more talk of necromancers. Second, you two are only here as a formality, to bring closure to this maddening affair. Now, let me finish this exposition.” The Reaper pony then looked over at me. “Right, what we are getting at is that the abyss had infected Phobetor, and if she was allowed to roam free, eventually she would cause the breakdown of reality itself without any way for it to return it to normal. It’s unlike chaos, which bends and twists reality, but needs the normality, otherwise the chaos become the new normal, and dies. Anti-existence simply destroys, leaving nothing but a fog of miasma to surround the nothingness.”

She picked up a teapot, and poured herself some more fog tea before continuing. “It's why I was in such a rush to counter Phobetor once she had made her move, and forced undeath upon you. Though I, and my friends are beings of death, the embodiment of the end of life itself, we still must protect life, as if there is no life, then death cannot exist. By claiming Phobetor now before the abyss could spread from her, we truly have prevented a grave disaster. And for your large part in stopping it, I thank you.”

“And as a reward, Charon has asked me to personally take you to the elysian fields.” Hades spoke up, gaining my full attention. “The three that helped you will also be joining, along with my wife, as she does enjoy the company.”

“Even after all I did?” I said as I lowered my head. “After everything I needed to do? All those ponies…”

“Your actions do way heavy on your soul,” He looked over at the other me, who crossed her hooves and looked away. “but as you had already become undead when the worst of it started, I simply separated that part from you. It's not something that I decided to do lightly. There were other options than cleaving off a part of a soul and making it into a new abomination. Normally, it should never have been done, but, my wife likes you, so I made an exception.”

I didn't know how to feel, it almost seems like cheating to seperate it like that. Just shedding all that evil I did like it was somepony else's doing. But it also meant that I could be with my sister, and my family when they too pass on.

“Thanks.” was all I could say to him before looking over at Quicktrot. “And thanks for your help too.”

Quicktrot chuckled. “Ya, don't go around telling nopony. I don't even know whats worse, being the good mare in this story, or that I was trotting around thinking I really was that fool Slowtrot for so long.”

That got me to smile a little. “If he was never really here until just recently, then where was he?” I had to ask.

“Eh, here and there.” She loudly sucked air through her teeth for a second, like somepony with bad news. “Right now, I don't actually know where he is. But the past me will be meeting him outside of New Appaloosa in a little over a year. Him and that princess of yours really did become a major pain in my flank.”

“What, Harps alive!” I shouted.

Quicktrot made a motion of zipping her mouth shut. “Sorry, but that's all I can say about the future. Spoilers and all that.” Then she laughed, waving her hoof over her face, and disappeared. “Just sit back and enjoy the show. Now that your role in this is over, there’s no need to rush, well, anything.” Quicktrot Fragment's voice faded as she spoke, becoming nothing more than a whisper at the end.

A groan came from Charon as she rubbed the temples of her bear skull. “Why does this feel like we only dethroned Diablo just to put Lucifer in his place?” She said in a frustrated tone.

“It's the nature of evil.” Hades answered. “As long as there's a power vacuum to fill, those with evil hearts will rush to fill it. But all this madness does make me miss Discord. At least it was fun when he when on a rampage, always something new to throw around.”

Charon dismissively waved her skeletal hoof at Hades. “I don't know about that, but then again we never did get along. As for the evil mortals, I wish they were not so slimy, and for once they could have some semblance of decency. Or at the very least, not be utterly insane half the time.”

“I could do that king of Tartarus prophesy again.” Hades said in a joking tone.

“And here I thought you were above messing with the mortals?” Charon snidely said back to Hades before turning her attention back to me. “Now, I'm sure you have many more questions, and I have until the end of time to answer them. But I also have a boatload of souls to care too. And before you ask, no, they’re not just from the mess in Marewaii. While this little break has been fun, the world is a big place, and death is a 24/7 job.” She got up from her seat, her bones making cracking noises as she moved, all before shadows wrapped around her, and she vanished.

Now I was left was Hades, and… myself. Looking over at Hades, he motioned at the other me with his head. Taking a deep breath, I found myself with nothing to say to her, just a lingering confusion.

Cold Iron turned her head to look at me with her cold green eyes. “With this, you and I will no longer be the same pony. Don't that make you happy?” She smiled a too wide smile, revealing two rows of jagged teeth.

With her words, I found my own. “Can't say it doesn't, to just be done with all this hogshit. Though I do wish I said goodbye to mom and dad, or done something different. Maybe we could have avoided so much death and found a better solution.”

“Maybe.” Cold Iron said flatly. “And maybe we did all that, only to dance to Phobetors tune. Playing the good little hero, wielding a holy sword made of foam. I'm not saying what we did was the best choice, just that worrying about what could have been is useless at this point.”

I nodded, understanding her logic. Er, well, my logic. “Might be rude to ask this, but don't you hate me? The fact that I get to move on, while you're stuck here?”

She looked over at Phobetor, the nightmares dragon form still futaly struggling to get free. “No, not at all.” Her voice lacked any emotion. “Well, maybe a little. It's like my emotions are muted, gray in color. Before, I wanted to scream, to thrash, to destroy. Now I simply find myself annoyed. Even if I could go to the elysian fields, I know that I would feel no different there. It would just be different scenery to me, and nothing more.”

I looked over at Hades, who was sipping at his fog tea. “Will she be alright?”

He put down his teacup. “Cold Iron is a true undead, who feeds off the curses that evil mortals gather over their live, harvesting it when they die. She is unable to feel strong emotions anymore, but when outside the land of the dead she cannot be at peace, making this place her home now. But that's not to say she's just going to sit around here for all eternity.” He waved his hoof over the teacup, and the fog poured out over the table, and created several forms of ponies. It looked like a scene of a pony being attack by two others, then a fourth pony appeared out of nowhere, holding two guns, and missing a head. The two attacking ponies were shot dead, and before they hit the ground the headless pony had vanished. “In your fight with Blaster Beam, I was struck with inspiration. Where Charon would have periodically send Cold Iron put to hunt a necromancer, I convinced her to lend the dullahan to me. In this age, too many good pony lives are cut short by evil, so I decided to give a little divine intervention to the mortals, in the form of a headless horse that slays evil.”

Cold Iron groand, and I could understand, not wanting to still be a tool for greater powers. Looking at the god, I had to ask another question. “Why didn't you do this before?”

Hades clapped his hooves once, and the table fog vanished, along with the teacups and teapot. “That's a very, very long and sad story. In a forgotten age, in a forgotten land, we gods proved ourselves unworthy to rule. Falling from the high pedestal we purched ourselves on, we lost much of our power as a result of it. But now that I no longer must guard Phobetor, I can turn my attention and power elsewhere, and finally do some good for the mortals we have so utterly failed.”

Getting up, I felt a little less uneasy now. “I understand, and thanks. Even if it’s just a little help, it’s better than none at all.” I looked over at Cold Iron, who gave me a nod back. “I know you don't care, but still, come visit me some time. Who knows, I might not like being in a happy place all the time, could drive me crazy.” I said nervously.

She nodded, but was then consumed by shadows, vanishing much like Charon had.

Now I was left with one last pony to talk to, though I had only one thing to say to her. Turning to the water, I trotting up to the waves, and locked eyes with the massive dragon, she looking back at me with pure hatred in her golden eyes.

“Phobetor, It's over!” I shouted.

I felt a wave of evil brush passed me as the warped voice of Phobetor cried out, “Not yet!” From the water the black pony form of Phobetor dragged herself out of the water. One gold eyes glared at me, surrounded by green fire, with the other cracked and consumed by blue flame. Holding her back was many skeleton limbs, and her back half was now just wet shredded flesh revealing what looked like bone under it, yet it was cracked like pottery…

Actually now that I had a better look at her, it was pottery that made up her bones, and her flesh was actually more like wet cloth. I watched as the nightmare dragged herself closer to me, struggling with each pull, desperate to break free.

“I’m not like you, I deserve better than to have dirt under my hooves, or to eat the rotting hay you call food. I’m a god, and I deserve your worship!” her shrill voice now lacked the smugness from before, it more a delusional desperation.

Watching her, every emotion I helt towards her; hate, feer, despair, and doubt all melted away, all but one… pity. All that power and prestige bestode onto her, and this is what she chose to become. Before me was not a dragon, nor was it a pony, just a doll that had long been broken and abandoned by it’s master. This pitiful doll was clinging to a life it never had in the first place, and trying to dragging everypony down with her.

Phobetor, coser now, reached out for me. I lifted my own hoof, and brought it down onto her leg. It crunched like a cheap toy, causing her to scream in pain, and lose her grip. The bones holding her down seized the opertunity and dragged her back almost all the way into the water. She turned her hate filled gaze back at me with an empty eye socket. Down on the ground at my hooves, I saw her golden eye. I picked it up, inspecting it. The thing was made from carved white marble, with gold etched into it to form the irse. At the center, sat an impressively ornate small black jewel, an overall breathtaking work of art…

With all my strength, I threw it back into the river styx. Phobetor screamed even louder before she was dragged all the way into the water. The dragon form of Phobetor then collapsed, slamming into the water, and vanishing beneath the waves. All that was left was nothing but the calm, dark scenery.

I took the moment in. The still, stale air reminded me of home, while the silence told me that my job was done, and that I had nothing more to see. Regrets, I did have many. But now they were something to let go of, so that I can accept my death.

“Ready to board?” Hades called out. He was standing next to a small yacht. It was a bright white boat, with gold trimming, and covered in silver relief of pones. On the boat I could see Rototom talking with Persephone, sharing a drink, and laughing. Near them was Sorrow, entertaining a thin little filly and Turnip. Stratus sat by herself on the edger of the boat, holding onto a wine bottle. Their were even more ponies on board, but they were too far back for me to see properly.

After taking a deep breath, I trotted over to the boat, and boarded.

A sharp whistle from on top of the mast got everyponies attention, and I saw an all pink pony standing on it. “Alright, everypony has boarded, now we can start our crossing the river styx to the elysian fields party!” The happy mare announced as she threw confetti into the air. “Also, before any pony asks, I will be serving daiquiris at the bar.” That put a smile on my face.

By Celestia, I could really go for a daiquiri right now.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Vibraphone Echo's signal lost…

Start new game Y/N…

... N

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… Expansion content found…

... Start expansion content Y/N…

… Y…

… Beginning expansion content…

Quest Start: Battle for New Cloudsdale!

Chapter 67 Battle for New Cloudsdale Part 1

Chapter 67 Battle for New Cloudsdale Part 1

“Hello everypony, this is your daily news report from radio studio three. Our lovely DJ Cerberus is still out, so you will have to make do with my charming voice for the time being. So to get it out of the way, let's start with the bad news. The war is officially on between the Valley Island Republic and our very own Orthrus Peacekeeping Company. It’s already off to a confusingly bloody start, with both sides calling foul in starting this conflict after the recent station massacre. The Republic claims that Orthrus had additionally conducted a series of terrorist attacks on their soil in a bid to cripple them before attacking. Orthrus of course clams no responsibility for such acts, and in return has accused the Republic of warmongering and attempting to crash a train into Citrus Station. We don't know which side is responsible, but the bodies have been counted, and it looks like unfortunately for the rest of us, neither side is willing to stand down until they have their pound of flesh."

“The good news that can be taken from all this, is that the main tunnel connecting to the valley island has collapsed. That is, if you can call that good news. Still, the loss of the main tunnel has forced all fighting to go surface side, meaning that for now, civilians can be kept out of this war. Still, you can expect all stations will double up their security in case any equalist loons attempts to get in from above."

I turned the nearby radio off, and ruffled my wings. The deep baritone voice of the fill in DJ was just a bit too forced, and lacked any real charm. And the last thing I needed right now was to have something else grate on my nerves.

“Say, you ponies said that my pipbuck would be ready twenty minutes ago.” I spoke up, trying not to sound too impatient in my tone.

“Sorry sir,” The mirage pony secretary tilted her glasses down to look at me, which helped me notice that one of her eyes were clearly made of glass. “the tech’s say that there was an error they wanted a closer look at, and it will be out soon.” She sighed. “I know you have been asked this before, but why don’t you just exchange the 3000 model for the Orthrus model? That would have saved you a lot more time.”

I gave a weak smile. “It was a gift, simple as that."

She shrugged, and returned to her terminal, retuning the waiting room to a quiet state, for just a moment.

“Ah, Sir! You’re still here, good, good!” Spoke a mirage pony in a white lab coat and thick glasses. “We have your refurbished pipbuck right here, with almost all original parts, and an updated spell matrix, exactly to your specifications. Still, I don’t know why you didn’t want any of the extra program spells we have available, as being able to use talisman holotapes could be quite useful.”

“That's true, but I'm not a spell kind of pony. Better to stick to my strengths and keep this device as simple, sturdy, and light as possible.” I told the tech as I put on the pipbuck.

The tech nodded. “I see. Which, now that I think of it, is probably why Orthrus still uses revolvers even though we can make energy pistols. The revolvers tend to be low maintenance, and don’t explode if hit in a fight.” He scratched his chin before widening his eyes in surprise. “Oh goodness me, I almost forgot to tell you. Right as I finished your pipbuck, I received a message for you asking you to return to the meeting hall as soon as you can. It was from a Vise President Feather Duster.”

“Thanks...” That got me to raise an eyebrow, as the VP had mostly been avoiding me, and anything that had to deal with me. “I’ll head down as soon as I get this pipback working…” I looked down on it a bit confused, as it had not turned on.

“Oh, let me help with that, you turn it on and off with the option toggle here.” He reached over and moved a toggle on it from “Sleep” to “Status” and the screen then lit up.

…

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User name: Merit Cross

Special:

Strength - 6
Perception - 7
Endurance - 6
Charisma - 5
Intelligence - 5
Agility - 8
Luck - 3

Traits Identified... Fast Shot... Early Bird.

Race: Pegasus

Occupation: New Cloudsdale Enclave Scout

Mission: Secure the survival of New Cloudsdale

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_______________________________________________________

Fallout Equestria: Dance of the Orthrus.

Battle for New Cloudsdale

_______________________________________________________

On my way to the meeting hall, the path to the room had less flare the second time around. With Orthrus now too busy to be impressing visitors, it was now a showing of the mess of bureaucracy that they were. Ponies ran back and forth to move paperwork around, and called out letters and numbers that almost sounded like it's own language. I didn't know if the heavy bureaucracy was just a front to hide how dangerously competent this organization was behind closed doors, or if it was just in spite of the bureaucracy. Shrugging, I flew over the busy mirage ponies just to avoid colliding with any of them.

The meeting hall itself had been rearranged so that all the tables had been pushed to the middle of the room, forming one long table with an intercom speaker sitting in the center. The council representative of security, Naqara, sat at on one end of the table. She was flanked by Temboril, who was now sporting an eyepatch over her right eye, and a mare who looked a lot like the changeling Sorrow in her pony form, but a bit taller. On the other end of the table sat Vice President Feather Duster, along with his aids, security, and my team. Taking a seat between Wub Wub and Little Sis, I noticed that everypony on our end looked worried. And not in the sense that there was apprehension about this war, they looked really worried, to the point I was almost afraid to ask.

“What’s the bad news?” I asked quietly to my team.

“Well for one, the after party-party is canceled.” Wild Winds said softly, as she cracked a nervous smile.

“An understatement.” Light Turbulence added. “We got an emergency message from New Cloudsdale, that a sea vessel was following the city, course correcting for every adjustment made to the city’s flight path. Right now were waiting for an update to the situation.”

That got me a bit worried. “Just one ship? Even with our military supplies stretched thin as it is, one ship shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Correct.” Naqara spoke up, turning all heads over at me. “But remember what Lady Red Steel had said, that the entire fleet was on the move looking for the cloud city. Also from what Red Steel had told us, the grand fleet has technology and magic at its disposal that we cannot predict yet. This is why I had your Vice President summon you back here, so that we may go over any countermeasures if the situation turns hot.”

Understanding the situation wasn’t nearly as dire as it could have been, I leaned back, relaxing a little. “So what, is this a war council? I doubt you need a grunt like me here for that.”

“Not exactly.” Naqara smiled. It was the kind of smile that reminded me of a superior officer that you just hoofed over the rope that they can hang you with. “This is a war council, but you’re not exactly a ‘grunt’, are you, former Colonel Merit Cross? Aside from Major Wild Winds here, you’re the only pony who's experienced open warfare, and has been in command inside a hot zone.”

“We once had a few ghouls from the great war who may have had wartime experience we could lean on, but due to time and changing 'opinions', the last of them on the islands died a little over thirty years ago.” Temboril spoke up. “As of now, we only have ponies experience with island to island combat. Though we have the tech, pony power, and training, what we lack is the experience to engage an enemy in ship to ship combat. To make matters worse, we will clearly be on their terrain, placing us at a desaturase tactical disadvantage.”

I looked over at Wild, and she shrugged at me before speaking. “They need basic to advanced tactics used by the Enclave, all that wargame stuff you soldier types practiced daily. I did my best to share, but despite what my rank says, I'm just a pilot. You were always the better leader, having a good head for tactics and strategy. No offense to Light, that is.”

“None taken.” Light Turbulence just sighed. “Actually, that's why I was put in charge of your squad. Dad wanted to make sure that nothing bad happened to me, and made you all glorified babysitters.”

I balk for a moment, my mouth held agape as I prossed what I was hearing. “Wait, is our very own Little Sis growing up?” I said out loud, and Wild chuckled a little as Light glared at me. “Sorry, sorry, I'm being out of line.” taking a deep breath, I straightened myself up, taking a more serious posture. “Right, where do you want me to begin?”

The questions started simple as we bounced back and forth with theoretical combat situations, but kept snagging on one major problem. Orthrus only had the two massive ships, and while they held a good number of vertibucks, there were no support ships or tenders for them. The airships Orthrus had were comparable to a thunderhead warship, and quite possibly even stronger with their advanced tech. But even a thunderhead was mostly crippled without gunships to watch its blind spots, or support teams to draw fire away. Without that, they’d simply just be one big target for every gun to point at.

When asked about what ships New Cloudsdale had to offer for the fight, I spoke truthfully that we only had six Raptor class ships, though due to our limited resources, only two were ever in combat ready condition at one time. Then the conversation moved to combining the airships with the two raptors. While it may bolster our firepower, they are just too different, and the group would not make a solid formation. Even still, there might not be a choice, and it could be just enough to force a stalemate with a naval fleet.

The intercom speaker on the table suddenly crackled to life, quieting everyone down from our discussion.

“New message from New Cloudsdale coming through!” A mare’s voice spoke over the speaker before static took over again. Replacing the mares voice was that of a stallion’s. Faint at first, but becoming more clear. I could also hear the sound of a vertibuck engine under strain, which only happens when being pushed to its limit, which overall, is not a good sign when receiving an urgent message.

“To all expeditionary teams, this is Brigadier General Rough Turbulence, New Cloudsdale has been compromised, and all communication is currently being jammed.” The message was interrupted by the sound of an explosion before it continued. “Several sea vessels have appeared over the horizon, heading toward the city, and they appear to only be the front of the following fleet.”

The distinct sound sound of a vertibucks energy cannons being fired came through, fuzzing the transmission for a moment.

“They are hostile, I repeat, they are hostile! Orders to all expeditionary teams, abandon your mission, the city is lost. I repeat, the city is lost… Repeating message,. Orders to all...”

There was another explosion, followed by loud ringing squelch from the speaker before the message cut out, making us all wince at the sound. It was the same kind of sound a radio message makes as it melts while still broadcasting. I couldn't say fore sure what had happened, but it was clear that the Brigadier Generals vertibuck had been shot down.

Looking over at Light, she was cupping her hooves over her face, tears welling up in her eyes. I had never liked the Brigadier General, that stallion had made my life very difficult once he had gained power after the revolt. But unlike the Generals before, he actually tried to do his job to the best of his abilities. Knowing him, the message was mainly for Light, telling her not to come for him, to stay safe here on the islands. It also looked like Feather Duster wasn't was doing any much better, though not about to cry, he was holding onto a photograph, staring at it intensely.

Next to me was a steaming Wild Wind. As I expected from her, she looked ready to start a fight. I placed a hoof on her shoulder, and she snapped a glare at me. “I know Wub Wub, but even if they gave us a vertibuck, it would take too long to get to them. We need to be rational about this.”

“Easy for you to say!” Wild sneered at me. “While you were wallowing in your self pity, we all started new lives that are pretty much gone now. And you’re asking me to be rational about this! The most rational thing to do is to get over there and kick their flanks!” She looked over at Naqarq, and pointed at her. “You’ve got to have some sort of super secret tech right, like some black ops aircraft with megaspells, or a super teleportation device that can move armies? Why don’t we fucking use them and go out and kill those mother fuckers!”

“Wub Wub, I'm not saying I don't care about our home, but yelling about it is just wasting time we don't have!” I said firmly, which got her to settle down a bit.

“Actually, she’s right, we do have a few things here.” Naqara spoke up, and everypony’s head snapped to her. “Though, it's not some ministry of arcane science megaspell devise, we have managed to make a few experimental devices that could help.”

I patted Wub Wub on the shoulder, getting her to sit back before I spoke again. “And how soon can you get these devices ready?”

Naqara smiled. “Well, we had one put back together as a display peace for the Enclave ambassador to see, so one is ready to go. As for the other devices, they require a lot of setup, and generally a lot of paperwork. But, due to being at war right now, and as I am acting dictator, I could authorize pooling all of Orthrus'es resources into getting it up and ready as soon as possible. Though it’s a risk that if it backfires, could cost us a lot here, so I would hope New Cloudsdale would appreciate what asking for help means.”

I wanted to bite my lip, and just jump into the fight like a good solder with a gun. But I was no longer a young stallion, and I knew better. “What are you after? You’ve already got Orthrus under your control, and the deal with Red Steel is all but assured. There’s no way you would risk everything like this without a deeper motive.”

It was strange, but as I looked at Naqara, I could swear her eyes were glowing gold, only just for the briefest of a moment. “Lets just say I had a dream, one where Orthrus becomes something greater than just the metro's peacekeepers if I were their leader. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold, and that cloud city is the fortune Orthrus needs to break free from the metro, so it is in our interest to help you out. Now, do you have any more questions that will urge me to reconsider my offer?”

I didn't like that Naqara reminded me of the old generals I once served, seeking glory to feed their ambition. It was a recipe for disaster, but... action was needed, and needed right now. And as much as I hated to admit it, she had the tools to make things happen. Somehow, I knew that this must have been how Vibraphone felt, and why she’d sided with Naqara.

“Yes, just one more question.” I watched as her expression flattened at my words. “Are you sure your troops can handle a fight so soon?”

The doors to the room flung open, and Red Steel stomped thorough with two ponies following her, hauling several packed baggs.

“Not in the slightest!” Red laughed as she took a moment to look at all of us, ending on the furious gaze Naqara leveled at her. “They'd get fucked in the first minutes of the battle with such a greenhorn crew running your airship. Not to say I'd know the first thing about airships, but you'd do a lot better if I was at the helm, of course, along with some of my crew relaying my orders.” She removed a small device from her ear, tossing it to the table. “Also, your vertibuck pilots are shit. I'd suggest you allow the ones from my ship to fly for you if you plan on having any prolonged dogfights with the grand fleet.”

“I will certainly take that into consideration.” Naqara responded calmly as she motioned for Red to take a seat. “But I have a few of my own agents in mind to take command of the ships. Though, having you aboard to give council would kill two birds with one stone for us. I still want to resolve this issue as peaceful as possible, and having you get your mother to stand down and negotiate for the city would be beneficial to everypony.”

“Dictator Naqara, was it now?” Chuckling loudly Red took her seat. “I'm sure you’re an experienced, and a likely ruthless leader, but were not playing Island politics here. My mother is the high admiral of the grand fleet, in service to the Oceanic Illuminated Authority, otherwise known as the Holy Empire. A pony like her got her position through cunning and brutality, by making threats, and then following through with them. If you come to her not ready to send her entire fleet to the bottom of the ocean, then she will find any weakness you present, and take everything you have for herself. I may be her daughter, but to her I'm only a useful tool for her ambition, meaning I have some worth to her, but I will be cast aside the moment I become an obstacle. That aside, she knows that her cunning will not work on me, as I know all her tricks. You give her a moment to talk, and you’ve all but lost already. By having me captain your airship, it will cut out the mind games she will try, and we’ll get right to deciding who gets that city."

There was a short pause as we all looked at Red, with Naqara being the one to respond.

“I see.” Naquara smirked again, “Let’s say we do hoof our highly advanced and irreplaceable airships over to your command. What guarantee do we have that you would not just stab us in the back and join back up with dear old ‘mommy’?”

“Simple really,” Red pulled out an Orthrus model pipbuck from her bag, placing it onto her left fetlock before holding it up to look at it. “everything I own already belongs to my mother by divine right. Just giving her the keys to the metro will yield me nothing, as I am her inferior, and only have a right to whatever scraps she deems fit for me. Though, I might get to stay the captain of the weeping pegasus, only if she feels ‘generous’ enough to let me have even that.” Red’s smirk spread into a full, mirth filled smile. “But, as her daughter, I can still challenge her authority, as is the divine right of the chosen. And only through victory, what is now mine, will stay mine. Unfortunately, unless I have some recognizable authority that the high admiral can't just destroy outright, then this exchange will never happen, and she will only accept your complete capitulation and enslavement.”

“I get it.” Naqara sighed. “I just wished we had more time to figure all this out.” She turned to the tall pony and said something to her outside of earshot, and the tall pony trotted off. “As the safe arrival of New Cloudsdale to the Marewaii Islands is vital for the future survival for our own civilization, along with establishing trade with the grand fleet, I will grant you temporary command over the Scootaloo's Resolve.” Naqara then looked over at us. “I also require a skilled vertibuck pilot and crew, ones I can trust with an experimental craft.”

Wub Wub, and Little Sis gave me a nod in conformation, and I saluted at Naqara. “Consider it done ma’am.”

“Alright then.” Temboril then trotted over to us, her power armor thudding on the ground with each step. “Follow me, as we’re already prepping the vertibuck for flight.”

___________________________________________

We all took the shortcut to the landing pads, flying down over the edge, including Temboril, who jumped first as soon as the ground was clear, and landing like she didn't fall from a leg breaking height. It of course had something to do with a talisman in her power armor, but she still nearly gave us a heart attack as she slammed onto the ground.

Following her, she took us to the oddest looking vertibuck I had ever seen, other then the blue paint job with yellow trim it had, it was far more angular then I had ever seen any cloudship ever be. Vertibucks were normally roundish, having some resemblance to clouds, or a bug, but this vertibuck looked more like a large bird. Another oddity was that it lacked the two propellers on the side, instead it had a long and wide cylinder on the end of each wing.

The first of the three of us to respond was predictably our pilot, Wild Winds. “What in Celestia's monster dick is this monstrosity!?”

“It's the XV-5 Phoenix.” Temboril said as she trotted to the vertibuck. “It's the brainchild of old M.o.A. blueprints, and some very bold scientists.”

Wild Winds froze. “Wait, an XV? Bullshit! There's no way that's an XV, they were just a pipedream of the… M.o.A… fuck, it is, isn’t it.”

“What are you getting at Wild?” Light asked, a bit confused.

A big grin formed on Wilds face. “Its was what was meant to replace the VC-Vertibuck, but as far as anypony knows, only a few prototypes ever got built before the megaspells rained down. Because of that, we at the aeronautical lab spent hours speculating about what the XV-Vertibuck was, and how it would look and fly. The big problem was how to overcome the problem of slapping jet engines on a vertibuck. There was some old documents about it, along with propaganda poster from old equestria, but nopony above the clouds had ever really seen an actual jet engine, so it was mostly just a fantasy to us.” Wild looked at Temboril with inquisitive eyes. “So how did you overcome the power problem to get that vertibuck to stay that small? What kind of jet engines are those, because I bet that’s the key here.”

The specter adjusted her red glasses, looking at the aircraft. “I think they're called acanojet engines, it uses elemental magic to force the air in the turbines, and is then able to produce a high amount of thrust out. As for the power, we've had a long time to minimize and refine the reactor without sacrificing its power output, mostly by using thinner, and lighter materials for shielding. The rest you’ll need to talk to the techs to learn more about, but from a development standpoint, it took five attempts to build this thing before the arcanojets stopped blowing up, or the craft simply ripping itself apart. While they’re almost ready for full production, we’ve been putting them under excessive stress testing ever since just to work out the last few kinks.”

“And what weapons does this thing have?” I asked, because we were going to need something more than adequate for the fight ahead.

“We’ve added two RG2-AA's to the front of the craft, and two RG2-AP at the side gunner seats.” Temboril answered, getting three cocked eyebrows from us. “They’re heavy railguns remodeled specifically to be used on a vertibuck. The two forward guns use airburst rounds, and the two on the sides will be using diamond-core shot.”

Wild flapped her wings and flew over the aircraft, taking a closer look at it. “Alright, I'm starting to get a good idea on what this monster is. So get me into the cockpit, and I’ll make sure you didn't fuck up the controls.”

Temboril nodded. “I'm unlocking it now, and I suggest captain Light also get acquainted with the inside as well.” She then turned to me and pointed to right where I was standing. “I need you to stay out here. We’ve ordered a few extra things for you and your crew, and they should be showing up soon.”

“Guns and armor, I’m guessing.” I said as I watched Wild and Light enter the Phoenix. “That’s the only useful things that comes to mind right now.”

“That is correct.” Temboril answered. “As a gift the council, we’ve had your original armor repaired and cleaned, along with having them upgraded with our advanced ballistic weave. Your energy rifles have had similar treatment, given an automatic firing barrel, along with high capacity energy cells for ammunition. If the worst comes, you should be able to fight off most threats with these upgrades.”

“Thanks, I was actually getting worried about the state of our gear.” I sighed in relief. “Our armor and guns are a big deal in the Enclave, all of them dating back to the old war, practically passed them down from parent to child in some cases. Actually, both my rifle and armor were once my grandmothers, so getting them back is a major relief for me.” Looking passed Temboril, I saw ponies pushing large boxes on rollers towards up, along with a strange suit of pegasus power armor! “Wait, what's that?”

Temboril looked behind her and nodded. “Oh, I personally asked the techs to dig that out of storage for you. It’s what our specter armor and power armor are based on, and that armor has also been given a few upgrades over the generations.” The power armor resembled the one I had worn ten years ago, but a bit more bulky, with a helmet that covered the entire face and muzzle of a pony. “It’s called the Dragonfire power armor. Don’t know why, but the techs thought to give it heat resistant properties when remaking it, saying that it could stand up to even dragon fire, so the name stuck.”

The ponies hauling the supplies dropped off both my gear, and the power armor in front of me before they pushed the rest of the crates they brought onto the vertibuck. Taking a closer look at the power armor, the armor plates looked a bit thicker than the Enclave’s standard issue armor, and was made of a non metallic material. Also, it forewent the basic wing armor to the top and leading edges, instead offering full wing protection, making me question if I could even fly with this thing on. The helmet was clearly not of the original old equestria design either, looking more like the head of a rad hog then that of a bugs head the enclave helmets normally were.

“Will this thing even work?” I had to ask.

“Just put it on and see for yourself.” Temboril responded.

I put on my refurbished gear, with the scouting armor fitting better than it had ever before. With more ease than expected, I attached my energy rifle to the side of the power armor. Now for the main suit.

“Here goes nothing.” I said under my breath, and opened the power armor, hearing its micro arcano tech reactor humming to life with power.

I stepped inside, and with a hiss, it’s articulating plates clamped down around me. The pressure it put on my body was slightly uncomfortable, and a bit tighter then standard pegasus power armor, but not so much that I couldn't just get use to it. The hemet was the last to go on, forming an airtight seal as it connected to the armors neck, leaving me fully encased in the armor. The hud display came to life, giving me feedback to the armor’s integrity, weapon functionality, as well as my own heath.

“Alright, testing it’s flight capabilities.” I said as I spread my wings. I couldn't feel the air from inside the armor, but when giving it one hesitant flap, I lifted into the air, if only a little. Putting more strength into it my wings, I lifted off into the air, finding it surprisingly… easy. “How… is it doing this?”

“As I said, Orthrus has had a long time to improve our reactor technology.” Temboril pulled out a clipboard, and looked through the document on it. “Though it’s not a vast improvement, the reactor that armor uses has enough power to support a few talismans along with the standard compliment of systems one finds on power armor. Mainly, there’s a talisman we added that decreases the armor’s overall weight, and another that aides in flight. We never had highly experienced flyers to test it, but it says that you should be barely restricted in your movements.”

That was certainly hard to believe, but I couldn’t argue with the results! If we’d had armor like this years ago, we’d have hardly had any risk with sending scouting parties out. But if we pull this off, then maybe New Cloudsdale could still benefit from armor like this.

“As for the armor itself,” Tamboril continued, “it’s ceramic, reinforced with a reactionary polymer plastic that makes it nearly completely heat resistant, while still able to stop low velocity high caliber munitions. Lastly, the original helmet was thrown out for something completely different. As you can see, the shape is based off of a radhogs, mainly for functionality reasons. Inspired by their ability to tank bullets with their face and keep on charging, we’ve thickened and reenforced the armor in spots that proved inadequate on standard old world armor. Another advantage to the shape of the helmet, though bulky, dose allowed the techs to put in state-of-the-art sensory tech inside, and its two advanced filtration units will keep even corrosive toxins or smoke out of the suit.”

“This is fantastic!” I flew up a bit more, and easily did a loop in mid air, making me very impressed with this armor. “Though it does drag a bit more than the normal armor, but that’s easy to compensate for. So... what's the catch?”

“It's the only one of its kind.” Temboril put down the clipboard. “We’re currently unable to make another with the limited stock of materials on the islands. It’s why the specter power armor doesn’t use ceramic plates, the material needed for their manufacture is not native to the islands, and was solely imported during the war.” She leveled a flat look up at me in the air, “So don’t get any ideas of keeping it. We’re expecting it back after this mission is over.”

I landed hard, making a loud thump hitting the ground, but only feeling a slight shake on my body. “Well, I can’t make any promises, but I can guarantee I’ll be doing my best to come back in one piece with the suit.”

She tapped my helmet with her clipboard, almost as though she was being playful, but her face was as stoic as ever. “Looks like the safe fall talasman is working in order. Now then, can you fly around a bit more, do a few more tricks? I want to have the armor’s spell matrix calibrated to your flight style before we set off.”

Saluting Temboril, I flew off again. Doing a few twists and loops, the armor felt a bit strained during some maneuvers, but nothing that was out of the normal. My hearing crackled as the internal radio turned on.

“Is that you Merit? ” Wild Winds voice chimed in my ear. “Why do you look like a flying pig?”

“It’s dragonfire power armor. And while it may make me look like a pig with wings, this thing is surprisingly smooth to fly in!” I told her as I did a mid air backflip, almost losing control of myself. “Right, not a young stallion anymore. Say Wild, how's the cockpit looking?”

“Much more like a normal vertibuck than I thought, actually. While there's a few more switches and gages, it’s mostly all the same.” Wild spoke with an upbeat tone. “I was a bit worried about flying this at first, but it looks like we’ll be fine so long as their engineering work holds up.”

“I still have my concerns!” Light spoke up. “I’m looking over the instruction manual, and there’s a lot of stuff I’ve never seen before. But my main concern is the estimated speed, there's a chance if we maneuver at all that we could G-Loc at the speeds that are listed here.”

The radio crackled again, and Temboril spoke up. “We’ve already planned for that, and the Phoenix has an inertial dampening talisman installed. It’s not enough to counter the pressures put on the craft itself, but anypony inside the craft will be protected from any excessive G forces.”

A nervous chuckle cam from Light. “Is there anything this thing can’t do?”

“Take a hit.” Temboril said sternly. “Unlike the common vertibuck, if you’re hit when moving at high speed, there's a good chance the drag could tear the craft apart. Also, I’d hope it’d be obvious, but it will have trouble taking tight turns while at high speeds. If you aren’t careful, there’s a good chance of ripping off a wing entirely. So you have to slow the craft down before making any advanced maneuvers. Meaning that if we take on fire after slowing down, returning to high speed is greatly ill advised.”

Wild sighed “Then all I need to do is keep from getting shot, something easier said than done. Does this thing at least have some countermeasures?” she asked.

"I says it has an onboard arcane shield generator," Light answered. "It would be enough to deflect small arms fire, even a bit of flack, but nothing bigger."

"So, as long as we're not hit directly by anything meant to take out a vertibuck, we should be okay." Wild now sounding more sure of herself. “Ya, I can work with that.”

“That’s the spirit, Wub Wub.” I said as I landed behind the vertibuck. “Unlike last time, were coming for them, fully stocked, and ready. This time, were not going to lose any more friends.”

“Is it bad that I want to shoot a few of those assholes down as soon as I see them?” Wild asked.

Our radio crackled again, and Red spoke up through it. “Not at all, and actually I advise you do just that. Hesitation is a sign of weakness, and mercy is a privilege that only the strong are gifted. If we don’t make ourselves as dangerous as possible, as soon as possible, the harder it will be for us to start negotiations with the high admiral. So as soon as you're in range, target the first gull in your sights, and shoot it out of the sky and move right on to the next one. That way, they will immediately see you as a threat, and be forced to act before they can assess your strength.”

“You must really hate your mother, Red.” I responded snidely “But that aside, why is violence so important? This ship alone should be enough to make them pause, and then there's the airship.”

Red began to laugh, taking a moment to calm down. “Sorry, but I keep forgetting how ignorant you all are. You see, violence is part of our very soul, and how we maintain power. If at any point my mother even looks even a little weak, then that will signal to any of her rivals to come for her. The best way to get her to talk to us is to make ourselves so dangerous to the fleet that other captains, and admirals will throw all the responsibility for dealing with us, onto her. Otherwise you're just inviting a dickwaving contest to see who's first to shoot us down. Something a lot of stallions are willing to get into, until there's a real chance they could get their member chopped off.”

“Thanks for the advice and visual aid, acting captain Red.” Temboril said coldly as she trotted up to me. “Merit, can you pass me your helmet for a moment?” Taking the helmet off, I passed it to her, and she then passed it to one of the ponies working on the Phoenix. The tech pony took cables from their pipbuck and attached it to the inside of the helmet. Temboril let her stoic face drop a little, showing me a hint of worry. “Good, radio’s off. Now if I can just get approval to slap the smirk off her bitch face.” She let out a long sigh. “I really wish we had more time to prepare. Going in guns blazing like this is not how I like to do things. Actually I’m sure Red is using this to force our alliance with her before we know all the angles, and it will more then likely bite us in the flank later. But securing the safety of New Cloudsdale, and it’s citizens, is our top priority. So for now, let’s just do as she says, and we will sort out the rest of this mess later.”

In this moment, with her guard softened, I wanted to ask her about what had happened to Vibraphone. But I bit my tongue, knowing that I... wouldn't like the answer. So, I decided to reassure her instead.

“I wouldn't worry too much about that, as once we have secured New Cloudsdale, all you need to do is let President Pillow Feathers take charge. I’m no fan of hers, but she quite the genius when it comes to politics. In fact, I’d say she’s adept enough that she could talk peeling paint back onto a wall.” That put a somewhat hopeful look on Tamboril’s face. “Just give her the backing of Orthrus, and I bet that she’ll wipe the smug grin off of Reds face.”

The helmet was passed back to Temboril, and she passed it back to me, smiling. “Then I’m looking forward to meeting this president of yours. Though I am loyal to Naqara, and respect her swift decision making, I don't see things ending well if she is allowed to hold onto her power for too long.” Putting the hemet back on, I felt my armor adjusting a little, becoming less tight, yet more secure. Temboril quickly looked me over and nodded right before the radio crackled back on. “Good, that calibration should increase the armors reaction time to your own physical movements. In theory, you should be able to maneuver like an athlete in their prime with that armor on. Just try to avoid getting shot when possible, otherwise the armor won't stay at maximum efficiency.”

“There's also a risk of armor piercing bullets, and high impact ordinance.” I added. “The Enclave lost a lot of good soldiers during Operation Cauterize, mainly do to intensely bad intel, among it, that Steel Rangers were still around and armed to the teeth. My own team ran into griffin mercenaries and a mutant alicorn, and we were only moderately unlucky.”

“We live through this, and you’re going to tell me all about the mainland. Got that?” Tamboril pit her own helmet on, and trotted inside the phoenix, with me right behind her.

The inside was not much more cramped then the standard vertibuck, comfortably able to fit a squad of 11 ponies, not counting the pilot, and copilot. The vertibuck we flew here was a smaller recon variant, built with extended range in mind. But this was a full on troop transport combat vertibuck. Installing one of the railguns to the gunner seat on the side door, was a familiar pegasus in a grease covered jumpsuit.

“S… Sunny, was it?” I asked.

The rust red maned mare looked up at me with an awkward smile. “Sorry, haven't even seen the sun in… when was the last surface drill?”

“Sorry, I meant your name.” I was glad my face was sealed inside the power armor, as I felt a bit embarrassed. “I'm Merit Cross, the enclave scout. We’ve met once before.”

She cocked an eyebrow before her own eyes widened, and saluted me. “Oh yes, I remember. The name’s Sonnet Trill, and I'm going to be your combat engineer on this mission. It's going to be a huge honor working with this rare tech in the field, as well as helping ponies in need. It's a real once in a lifetime opportunity.”

She reminded me of all the new recruits not long after basic training and flight camp, a bit too excited to see action. Looking over at Temboril, I had one question. “Is this wise?”

“Regular Trill is a certified vertibuck engineer, and as a pegasus, will not require any extra equipment to keep herself airborne for this operation.” Temborill ancered.

Sonnet quickly plugged a cable and a metal belt to the railgun before turning back to us. “Power systems and the ammo belt are both hooked up and ready to go, Ma’am Specter. The main cannons will be good in just another minute once the autoloder’s capacitors are fully charged.”

Temboril nodded. “Good, go equip yourself and take a seat. Were setting off as soon as were ready.” The spotted pegasus sluted, and jumped out of the side of the Phoenix.

I took a seat near the front of the cloudcraft, getting a good look at the cockpit and my two comrades, both back in their old armored uniforms. The two had Orthrus issued pipbucks on that were plugged directly into the Phoenix's flight terminal and control systems. Wild was moving the controls as she watched the pipbuck, while was Light flipping through the instruction manual and occasionally tapping on her pipbuck.

“What are you two doing?” I asked.

“Synchronizing the Phoenix to our pipbucks, and setting up an early warning system in case the ship is not flying quit right." Wild quickly answered and continued. "Knowing if it starts leaning left before it's obvious can save us from falling out of the sky. Or at the speed’s we’ll be going, being ripped apart."

“As for me,” Light flipped a page in the thick book. “I'm setting hotkeys for all the important information about this aircraft. I'm no engineer, but it helps to know how it works, and what I can do from the cockpit without having to flip through this book.”

“Smart idea!” Sonnet spoke up as she got back in, finding a seat across from me, putting on a light armored vest, and a Orthrus commando helmet. “If something happens, just call it out and I'll do my best to fix it. Also take one of these.” She pulled out three pistols that looked nothing like what Orthrus used. Taking one, it was a solid looking magazine fed semi-auto pistol, with the stable-tec logo in front of the bit. “They’re .45 auto pistols, a gift from miss Tamboril. They only hold only seven bullets, but they pack a punch. I also have two extra magazines each for you all.” We took the ammo, and I attached the gun to a holster built into the side of my armor, before looking over at Temboril who was still at the back of the Phoenix.

She shrugged, “My father said use them or lose them, and dug them out from his collection. It's all a PR move to make Orthrus look even more favorable to New Cloudsdale. Though, I can’t deny that they’re at least good guns that’ll save you in a pinch.” Temboril got up, and waved at something just out of my view to come closer. “The package is about to be loaded, and the Phoenix is combat ready.” She said over the radio.

“Good.” The radio crackled and Naqara'a voice spoke up. “Once it’s installed, start a systems diagnostic for both the device and the vertibuck. Be advised, we’ll be opening the hangar doors momentarily.”

A large metal box came into view, and Temboril backed up to give it room as it was pushed onto the Phoenix, taking up the back half of the aircraft. Two mirage ponies in lab coats boarded from the side doors, and immediately one plugged in their cybernetic pipbuck leg into the box, and the other into a panel on the wall of the vertibuck. Two more mirage ponies boarded, both heavily armored, and with a harnes similar to what Sweet Sax had, except the guns they had were the same type of railguns that were attached to the gunnery seat.

A loud mechanical creaking from outside the vertibuck caught my attention, and I peeked out to see the hanger above us opening with the high noon sun bearing down at us.

“Alright everypony, this is it, so take your seats!” Temboril shouted, pulling my attention back inside. “I know that all of you know where we're going, and why. But not all of you know how were going to accomplish this mission, so I'm going to explain it this once.” She tapped the metal box with her back hoof, and got a dirty look from one of the ponies in a lab coat. “This here is a talisman based megaspell crafted by Orthrus itself. With it and its twin, we’re going to teleport the Scootaloo's Resolve into battle. Unfortunately, we first have to deliver this device to the conflict zone, without getting shot down.”

I looked at the box, then at Temboril, back at the box, and back at Temboril. “Wait, have you tested this thing before?”

“Yes, and no.” She looked over at me and shook her head. “We did small scale testing during it’s development, but this will be the first time testing the magic on this sort of scale.”

“Fuck me, you Mirage ponies are a special kind of crazy, you know that?” I blurted out.

A slight chuckle came from Temboril. “We just like to keep our crazy in reserve until it's of the most useful for dramatic effect.”

“All clear!” spoke the lab pony connected to the Phoenix, soon followed by the other connected to the megaspell, both taking a seat, still plugged in, and watching their pipleg screens.

Temborill nodded, and trotted up to the cockpit. “Were green, start up the engines.”

“Alright, let's hear how this beast roars!” Wild said excitedly as she flipped a few switches.

Looking outside at one of the arcanojet engines, it made a low whining sound as it shook a little. The wine slowly grew louder, and I watched as the air under the engine began to shimmer like a mirage pony, making me a bit unsure if this was going to work. But I could tell that the air was moving, as what dust there had been on the floor was blown away by the exhaust, and when I let my armored wings spread out a little, they were pushed back lightly by the force.

The radio crackled as again Naqara spoke up. “Phoenix, you’re green across the board, and the coordinates to your destination have been transmitted to your flight guidance terminal.”

Temboril took a seat next to Sonnet. “Alright Wild, slow and steady, take her up.”

The arcanojet engine let out a roar louder than any vertibuck propeller or engine I’d heard before, and the Phoenix lifted off the ground. Slowly at first, just hovering for a few moments before rising again. Wild was making sure both jet engines were in sync, being the professional pilot that she was.

The Phoenix rose a little faster as it slowly turned, giving me a better view of the hanger, and hundreds, if not thousands of ponies looking at us from the railings. They were waving, cheering, and saluting us as we flew higher and higher. Seeing all the excited ponies cheering us on, it made me feel something, something I hadn’t felt since operation cauterize. It was a sense of pride, similar to that the enclave trained in me. But this time it wasn’t based on a lie. I was actually going out to save lives, to do what I’d always wanted to when I joined the Enclave, what we were all supposed to do. The ponies of New Cloudsdale needed heroes, and that's what they were going to get, or we would die trying.

The faces of the Orthrus ponies disappeared as we ascended completely out of the hanger, the other ponies inside the Phoenix had put on oxygen masks as they tried to look out the side doors. Below us was the massive airship, far bigger than it ever had the right to be. The relic of an age long dead, remade for a new future. The further up we flew, the more of the green island that met my gaze. It was like some honey trap, beautiful but oh so very deadly. If only we’d known that when we first approached it what feels like a lifetime ago now.

Off across the placid ocean waters, I could see a pirate ship. It looked small from all the way out here, yet, that ship caused so much trouble for these islands. Higher we flew, and I could see a lone cloud in the sky floating nearby. To my trained eyes, I could tell that it was an artificial cloud made by a Mistral class reconnaissance cloudship, made all the more easy to tell by the head of a pegasus poking out from the top, their binoculars reflecting the sunlight. I saluted at the pony, and they saluted back at me.

Light Turbulence’s voice crackled through our radio. “We're almost at the proper altitude, so pull the guns in, and close the doors in preparation for transition to horizontal flight configuration.” Sonnet and I did as she said, pulling at a hatch to secure the doors closed. “Alright everypony! were not stopping until we get to New Cloudsdale, and we're not going to stop fighting until our home is safe. Do I make myself clear!” She yelled that last part, just like her old self, and we all responded with a cheer.

We all felt a lurch towards the back of the Phoenix as it began to fly forward.

“Well, lets see if you eggheads are all talk and no show!” Wild said with glee, and I tighten my hold into the gun in anticipation. “Time to see how fast this baby can go!” Then… we blasted off!

_______________________________________________

Footnote:

Character note update.

Character titles found.

-Inheritor of disgraced bloodline

-Hoof Shiner

-Veteran soldier

-New Cloudsdale Security Chief

-Traitor of New Cloudsdale

-The forgotten Drunk

-Veteran in the scouting core.

-The stranger from beyond the sea

-... Title yet to be obtained

Chapter 68 Battle for New Cloudsdale Part 2

Chapter 68 Battle for New Cloudsdale Part 2

My hold onto the mounted railgun became tighter as the vertibuck accelerated to a surprising speed. My uncertainty about being in this jet powered vertibuck shifted from that of fear, to that of excitement. It was the kind of speed I only had felt when diving at full speed, yet faster... so much faster.

*Hurp* Sonnet held her mouth shut with one hoof as she gripped her mounted railgun even tighter than I was.

“Just hold on for a moment, the inertial dampeners should take full effect momentarily.” Temboril spoke as the feeling of acceleration slowly came to a stop, leaving everything mostly still. “There we go. Now that we’re at cruising speed, it’ll be some time before we reach our destination, so let's quickly go over the mission and everyone's roles in it.”

The hud screen came to life in my visor, and a bunch of text scrolled in front of my eyes, ending at the image of the megaspell device in our possession.

“The cornerstone of this operation will be the delivery and activation of the megaspell device.” Temboril continued, “It will take a few minutes for the megaspell to trigger after activation, during which we cannot be moving at high speed, otherwise the spell will fail, likely killing the ponies on the other side.”

That did not sound safe, for both sides. This thing will make us a huge target until it resolves, and even then this thing is experimental and might not even work.

Sonnet raised a hoof, looking less sick now that the dampeners were on. “Can't we feign negotiations? You know, and avoid any fighting.”

Temboril shook her head. “As Red Steel made it clear, if we don't make ourselves a high threat target, then admiral Flintlock… was it Hoof or Hook?" She shook her head, "Nevermind that, the idea is that she will let the ship captain's act on their own accord as long as feels she doesn't need to intervene. So we need to be as disruptive as possible so that she will be forced to at least pay us some personal attention. This may also have the benefit of drawing heat off New Cloudsdale. Though, if the city defense are even still up is unknown at this time, but we must do what we can. Another benefit is that when the Scootaloo's Resolve teleports in, she should be listening in at least, where we can force the negotiations.”

“Personally I like the idea of taking some pressure off our home.” Light said over the radio, to which I nodded in agreement.

The hud in front of my eyes changed, showing a list of letters with numbers. “Alright, as for mission roles, I have call signs in correspondence with your roles. Wild and Light will be pilot one, ‘P1’ and pilot two, ‘P2’. Sonnet and the two techs will be Support one, two, and three. ‘S1 to 3’ for short. I, Merit, and the two commandos will be Defender's one to four. ‘D1 to 4’ for short.” In my hud, an icon of D2 appeared in the upper right corner of my vision, and when I looked at Temboril, an icon of D1 was over her head. “In case S1 needs to go outside, then D2 will escort and protect S1.” Looking over at Sonnet, the icon S1 was over her head, and I gave her a nod.

“Right, so we're blasting in there, give the pirates a bloody nose, and set off a mega teleportation spell. Anything else?” I asked.

“No, that should be it for our roles. Our hooves will be full as it is, so don't worry about doing anything extra. If the situation changes, I'll inform you on it, but until then, just focus on the mission.” Temboril said with confidence, before looking over to the cockpit. “What's our time to destination P1?”

Wild gave out a nervous laugh that made me a little concerned. “We’ve got around five hundred miles to fly, and it's telling me it's going to take us around fifty minutes to destination. 560 miles per hour, fuck me, can this thing go supersonic?”

“Unfortunately no.” Sonnet answered. “From what I've read, the shape of the Phoenix would need further alterations to reach those speeds without ripping itself to pieces, but no pony has felt the need to further experiment with the craft to that end.”

“I wonder if Orthrus will let us conduct our own tests and experiments on its design?” Wild pondered with a chuckle.

“That's a possibility, but only if this mission is successful.” Temboril answered. “I've set a timer to our hud display. Everypony can chatter, and double check our equipment, but be ready for combat five minutes before it reaches zero.”

With fifty minutes on the clock , Wild boasted about how jealous the techs at her lab were going to be, that not only did she get to see a jet powered vertibuck, but pilot it.

Around forty minutes to go, Sonnet shared with us a bit about her daily life, and the favorite foods she liked to cook. Turns out she worked part time as a technician at a small plantation, and was paid partly in fresh food.

Thirty minutes to go, Wild inquired Temboril about any lovers she had, and surprisingly, the answer was quite a lot. I didn't really get it, but to her, a friend and a lover were mostly the same thing. She supposed it was something to do with her brain not being like a normal pony’s brain. We didn't feel like inquiring about it further when it got into the subject of cloning.

Twenty minutes to go, and any chatter became short and to the point. Most of us were more focus on checking, and rechecking our gear.

Ten minutes to go and nopony talked, just waited…

…

…

“Were picking up a signal over the horizon!” Light shouted. “Another one, and another… fuck, how many of them are there?”

Temboril and I got up to take a look out the cockpit window. I could see it, a large lone cloud in the sky. It had to be New Cloudsdale, and we could see several columns of black smoke coming out of it. Looking down, there were black specks on the water, and every now and then a flash would come from one of them.

“I'd be amazed if it wasn’t such a concerning sight. There's at least a hundred ships out there. Most of them don't seem all that big, but still, just how many of them are out there?” Temboril spoke with a worried tone to her words. “Get into the gunnery seat, D2, I'll take the other gun. D3, D4, stay on standby until I give you an order. P1, prepare to fire on any hostile aircraft that's not Enclave. P2, contact New Cloudsdale, let them know we’re friendly.”

Light didn't waste time, and flipped on the comms. “This is captain Light Terbalance of the third Enclave expedition team, piloting the VC-Vertibuck Phoenix, do you read New Cloudsdale air command?”

There was a short moment of just static, only a few seconds, but felt like it was taking forever. “This is New Cloudsdale air control, what the fuck are you doing here, and what the fuck are you piloting?”

A deep sigh came from Light, before she answered. “We're here to help, air command. What's your current situation?”

The radio crackled. “Holding out for now, but were getting ground down up here. The invaders are focusing on only attacking the city defences, so the civilians are safe in the emergency shelters for now. But if this keeps up, the city will be lost before the day is over. Unless you’ve got more room than it looks on that craft to help evacuate, you should turn back. The brigadier general was right, it's a lost battle.”

Light took a deep breath, and then shouted, “Pull yourself together solder, the Enclave did not train cowards!” She then took another deep breath before continuing as a slightly less loud volume. “We need target information, namely about their vertibucks, and where their numbers are most concentrated.”

Once more there was a wait of several seconds before air command responded. “The capitol building, we think they're trying to capture the president.”

“Let them know help is on its way.” Light said calmly as she put the com down.

We felt the vertibuck shift slightly, the sight of New Cloudsdale becoming ever closer. Ahead of us, we could see a few specks that quickly took the form of three gull vertibucks flying at us. I could hear the high pitched sound of something charging, as small current of electricity passed through my armor.

“Eat shit you mother fuckers!” Wild shouted as the AA Railguns fired.

The gulls responded in kind shortly after with their energy cannons. The heavy beams of magical energy missed us as Wild deftly maneuvered us through the air. Our own shells exploded in midair ahead of the gulls, shredding one into scrap, and completely disintegrating the engines of the second. The third managed to fly out of the blast range, but not completely as black smoke billowed from one of its engines.

We shot passed the defeated vertibuck, not worried about any counter attack from them. The Phoenix banked to the side, followed by loud repeated booming, and a rattling from the metal hull.

“The ship's below are firing their AA shells at us!” Light shouted. “The Phoenix's shields will hold up as long as we don't take a direct hit!”

“Don't worry, they just got lucky with their first barrage.” Wilde calmly spoke as she remained focused on piloting. “They’re struggling to get their shells even close to us, and once were over the city, we'll be clear to to slow down.”

“Two wings of gulls heading our way from below!” Light shouted. “They’re attempting block us with a pincer maneuver!”

Wild chuckled. “Their vertibucks are too slow to pull that on us. I'm going to punch it, so hold on back there!”

We could feel the phoenix shake a little as the aircraft picked up speed. Sonnet looked at her pipbuck, and then up at me with a nervous smile. “The engines are holding together, but they’re starting to run dangerously hot. Once we can stop, I may need to run a quick check on them, make sure they don't blow up if we have to go back to high velocity.”

“I’ve got your back, but wait till you get the all clear.” I told her, and she nodded.

“Alright, passed the blockade. We’re reaching New Cloudsdale airspace...now." Light informed us as the Phoenix then leveled out. "The capitol building is straight ahead, six targets are on the radar, prepare for engagement in five… four… three… two… one!"

We all lurched towards the cockpit as the Phoenix quickly decelerated, and the twin AA-RG2's fired rapidly. Ahead of us the six vertibuck gulls over the capitol building scattered. Two were caught off guard by our assault and were quickly turned into scrap.

“Ready the gun, D2!” Temboril shouted as she pulled the latch to her door, and I did the same. “Now!” We both flung open our doors, the air pressure in the cabin practically exploded outward as I grabbed the AP-AG2's. Taking aim, one of the gulls fell into my sight as the Phoenix continued to slow down, and I fired.

The railgun rattled slightly as fired shots out with a buzzing zap sound. The hypervelocity projectiles punched holes into the gull’s thin outer hull with ease. It shattered the gulls windshield, causing it to lose control, spirale down to the clouds below. A griffin and pegasus managed to jump out before the hulk punched through the clouds, and begin firing back with their rust guns. Their bullets bounced off the shields harmlessly, and I retorted with my own gunfire. The shots tore the two pirates to peces, mutilating their legs and wings.

“Another Gull down, and the other two are falling back!” Temboril shouted.

“Their landing, I'm going to take them out!” Wild said as she maneuvered the Phoenix to attack them. From the gunnery seat, I had a good to view seeing the two gulls land, they were near the entrance to the capitol building, right near were other pirates had taken position. Both gulls opened their back doors, and a unicorn each trotted out, stopping right where the mettle met cloud, their horns glowing. The Phoenix fired, the AA shells slamming into a pink magical barrier.

“That's not fucking fair!” Wild shouted as we passed over them.

Two pirate pegasus got out of cover, they holding up a big boxy looking… missile launchers!

"Evasive maneuvers now!" I shouted, and the Phoenix lurched to the side quickly as Wild reacted quickly.

The rocket scraped the side of our shielding before exploding, causing several red lights to start flashing, and an alarm to buzz on and off. I attempted to counter attack, but the two pirates had ducked back behind cover before I could get them in my sight. I fired down at them, obliterating the cover, but no pirates were to be found, forcing me to cece my attack or waist the ammo.

“Shields down to fifty percent!” One of the techs informed us.

“Fucking bullshit! They took a direct hit from us and nothing, but were almost shot out of the sky by a glancing hit!” Light shouted in frustration.

“D2!” Temboril called me, and I turned to face her. “Those Unicorns are clearly projecting the magical barrier and we need them dead. So would you mind taking them out?”

I nodded. “Consider it done.” turning around, I jumped out of the still moving vertibuck.

Stiffening my armored wings, I flew up to get a better view. The pirates were actually firing at the capitol building, and every now and then, several energy beams would shoot out from the building, forcing the pirates to take cover. Their attention was divided, with one griffon eyeing me with a battle rifle in its talons. The Phoenix flew around to the pirates other side, focusing its AP cannons down at the pirates. I watched as both unicorns pivoted so that they were facing the Phoenix. Their horns glowed as the shield formed and rippled, but it didn’t forming a full shell around them.

“Looks like you’re right, D1. The unicorns are making a magical wall, not a full magical shell. Can you go in for another…” A bullet ricochet off the side of my helmet, cutting me off. I looked back to see the griffon with the combat rifle. “Do another run and I'll rush them while they’re preoccupied with the Phoenix.”

“Roger that, doubling back for another attack!” Light spoke as I saw the Phoenix make a tight turn. I dodged another shot meant for my head from the griffon who seemed absolutely determined to take me out. But my armor meant I could I take my time, and as soon as the two unicorns turned to stop the Phoenix's attack again, I dove.

Another shot from the griffon cracked off my armor, only scratching the surface. Realizing that he wasn’t going to stop me, the face of the griffin pirate turned to panic. He began shooting wildly in panic, but was unable to find a soft spot on my armor. I powered through the bullets, and slammed into the pirate.

It was like going through wet paper, the griffon practically exploding under my hooves as I hit the ground through them, causing me to almost pass through the cloud ground. With a flap of my wings, I got all four of my legs out of the clouds, and stable onto the flat surface. The other pirates who’d been preoccupied in attacking the capitol building now turned their attention to me. I gave them little time to counter attack as I charged the unicorns, firing my energy rifle. One of the unicorns had no time to respond as the barrage of pink beans slammed into them, disintegrating them outright. The second unicorn managed put up a shield to stop me, but as soon as they had, a rain of diamond shot slammed into them from the phoenix, turning the unicorn into a bloody mess and sending their pieces through the cloud floor.

The pirates around me scrambled, some firing at me, others taking cover from the Phoenix. I spotted the rocket launcher team as they stepped out and readied another shot. In an instant, they were disintegrated by a barrage of energy beams. Five ponies in pegus power armor burst out from the capitol building and took straight to the air. The counter attack they offered with their own energy rifles quickly decimated the pirates as they were completely routed, and systematically exterminated in moments.

“Thanks for the assist, whoever you are.” One of the pegasus flew over to me, a confused look could be seen through her helm as she quickly saluted me. “I’m First Lieutenant Whirlwind.”

“It’s me, Merit Cross.” I saluted back and enjoyed the slightly confused look across her muzzle. “It's good to know you’re still alive Lieutenant, how's the president?”

“She's safe, but care to explain what the fuck you're wearing, and what the fuck is that vertibuck?” She asked sternly.

“Long story with no time to explain.” I quickly cut off the question. “We need to know how soon you can get any of the raptors in the air, if there are still any?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, but then stopped, clearly receiving a radio message. “Yes ma’am.” she breathed with annoyance. “The president ordered us to not launch the raptors until we can use them to transport the civilians to safety. The pirates came on us faster than we expected, so all four are still on standby, but ready to launch. What exactly do you plan to do with them?”

“Good,” I sighed with relief. “we have what could be classified as a thunderhead class ship on its way, and it's going to need an escort as soon as it arrives.”

Whirlwind looked to the side again, and looked displeased. “Tune into single alpha five.”

I nodded, and scanned the enclave radio until I hit the right single. “This is Merit Cross of the third…”

“Cut the introductions short, and get to the point!” I was cut off by the soft, but authoritative voice of president Pillow Feathers. “I doubt any ship that bug can get here in time, or get passed all those guns. So I need an explanation, and quick.”

The radio crackled, and Temboril spoke up. “Were teleporting the ship in using a specialized megaspell, but doing so will make us easy targets. And though I have confidence in this vertibuck, it would be advisable to lend us some air support if you want your city to survive.”

“Not like we have a choice in the matter, but if there's even a shred of hope...” There was a pause before Pillow Feathers responded. “First Lieutenant, get as many ships in the air as you can. Even if it's all a lie, we might as well take as many of those bastards out as possible. at least it should buy us the time to ready the civilians for evacuation.”

First Lieutenant Whirlwind sluted to the air. “Yes ma’am!”

The Phoenix landed near us, Sonnet jumping out as soon as it stopped to fly to one of the engines. “Cover me for a minute, I need to rebalance the shield array.”

The Lieutenant and I flew up, landing near Sonnet just as a large energy beam passed over us. The two wings of gulls that tried to block us earlier were now closing in on our position.

“We’ve got this.” Whirlwind spoke up. “Six invading vertibucks are closing in on the capitol building from the west. All soldiers who can, suspend evacuation and fire on them. Do not let them retake full air superiority!”

As the gulls closed in, a wave of energy bolts fired up from the city, forcing the pirate gulls to scatter, one of them started having an engine gush out black smoke. One gull had not wavered, flying right at us at full speed, despite it taking on fire from below, its two cannon barrels glowing with pink energy.

*ker zap!*

A thin beam blasted passed us, hitting the gulls wing, severing it from the rest of the aircraft and sending it tumbling into the cloud.

“I doubt that I'll get another clear shot like that,” Temboril had joined us on the top of the Phoenix, electricity sparking across her railgun, “but luckily the other gulls are being held back for now. Unfortunately, pirate infantry are heading this way, so get ready for a fight.”

Red dots started appearing on my hud, revealing were the pirates were coming in from. Taking aim as they approached, I made sure to apply suppressing fire, keeping them from taking a shot on us, as the orthrus commandos ripped apart any pirate that dared to push an attack. One griffon attempted to fire a rocket from a blind spot, but Temboril was already waiting, firing a large barreled shotgun that practically ripped off all the feathers from the griffin, along with its face.

“Done!” Sonnet called out as she jumped back into the Phoenix, and the shields came back online. Temboril, the commandos, and I followed her back inside the vertibuck as the enclave soldiers flew back to the capitol building.

The radio crackled as Whirlwind spoke up. “Alright, once you clear the sky, we will launch our remaining vertibucks to help cover against any incoming threats, so don't make us regret this!”

I saluted at the First Lieutenant. “This is my home just as much as it's yours. No way I'd let these sea raiders take it.” The phoenix rose back into the air just in time to spot a gull heading right for us, it billowing black smoke as energy beames pelt it from below. The twin AA-RG2's fired, and practically disintegrating the gull before it could get a shot at us. “Alright, that's one down!” I announced.

Taking off, the Phoenix started its gull hunt. A few of the nearby pirate aircraft made themselves easy targets as they concentrated on avoiding ground fire. Quickly picking off another gull, it marked the third we’d shot down as we flew passed. The three remaining gulls doubled back to attack, joined by two more that had come in from the north. They spread themselves out, preventing the Phoenix from getting a clear shot at more than one as we passed.

The gull ahead of us practically shattered to bits from our AA shells. Firing again, I attempted to take another down as we passed, but it took evasive maneuvers and slipped away. Machine gun fire pelted our shields as two of the gulls got behind us. One showered us with led, as the other charge its energy cannon. The other two gulls were hanging further back as they followed us, I wasn't sure why, but it did put them in a good position to counter any evasive maneuvers we could use.

A bright bean scraped at the edge of the shields as Wild threw the Phoenix through the air, rocking back and forth trying to avoid the shots. I did my best to get a hit on the offending Gull from my position, but the gunnery seat was not made to shoot right behind us, and the two gulls were sticking solidly in our blind spot.

“D1, we can’t shake these assholes. I hope you have some trick up under your hooves!" Light shouted.

“On it, P2! I hate to do this, but were opening the back door. D3, D4, take out our pursuers, and for the love of Celestia, don't damage the fucking megaspell!” Temboril commanded.

The back door slowly opened, and the two commandos propped their guns on top of our cargo, forced to stand on their hind legs to see anything. After a moment, the two found their targets and let their guns rip. With a chattering burst of gunfire that punched out the Gull’s windshields, the pursuing vertibucks crashed into the city below.

A sigh came from Temboril as she motioned at one of the lab ponies. “Now that we have soem breathing room, what's our status on the megaspell devise?”

“The charge is at fifty two percent!” One of the techs answered. “We need to leave the city limits in the next five minutes to minimize any potential errors during the final steps of deployment.”

“Three more bogies heading our way, and the previous two are closing in to attack.” Light spoke up. “correction, one of the previous two are heading our way, the other just vanished from the radar, the ground forces must have managed to shoot out out of the sky.”

Without fear of a counter attack, the phoenix took a sharp turn. The engines whined, fighting to pull us around as the whole frame strained and groaned. Still, it held as the G-force dissipated and Wild straightened us out.

A gull came into my sight, and I took a few seconds to lead my shots. Opening up with the mounted railgun, I managed to hit the aircraft, destroying a propeller in a spectacular fashion as the engine it belonged to twisted and sheared off as well, dooming it to crash violently. Turning to intercept the two new gull's, I lined up my next shot, only to have them take evasive manuvers, going low, and using the city for cover, of which we gave chase, but were prevented from firing or risk civilan casuties. Following, the two crafts then split after passing through two tall buildings. That pulled a chuckle from Wild as she broke off the chase, and decided to go around the buildings, rather than through then.

“I ain't falling for the oldest trick in the book!” Wild said as she kept chuckling. Taking the long way around, we spotted the two gulls hiding behind the two tall buildings… along with seven low flying gulls hidden by a dip in the ground level, all of which immediately flew up to intercept us. The Phoenix tilted up, and we quickly ascended, dogging energy beams. “Fuck, never read that one in the books!” Wild yelled, no longer sounding amused.

Temboril, the two commandos, and I attempted to fire back, but our angle was bad as Wild did her best to maneuver. Within moments, the gulls found our blind spot and stayed there.

“Shields down to sixty four percent, and were going to reach maximum altitude soon.” a tech yelled.

“Keep calm, were not screwed yet! I’ve got an idea!” Wild said, her cocky confidence now replaced with a sturn stoic tone. “Just be ready to fire everything you’ve got at them.”

The Phoenix began to slow down right as it made a sharp turn, quickly facing directly down at New Cloudsdale. The feeling of weightlessness took over as we dropped, and I fired down at them, as did Temboril, and the Phoenix's main guns. Our AA cannons then ripped through the gulls below, the stripped down air crafts catching fire, and breaking apart, but a few of the gulls had spaced themselves apart, their own cannons glowing at us, and aiming the Phoenix’s main cannons from this angle was proving more than difficult for Wiled.

*Zap!*

An energy beam crossed through the group of gull's, slamming into, and destroying one of the aircrafts. That was then followed by more beams as two wings of enclave vertibucks closed in on the gulls, firing wildly. This broke the gulls formation, scattering then, and giving us the opportunity to take them out. Within seconds, the gulls were exterminated, and any pirate that jumped from their craft found themselves quickly disintegrated by ground forces.

Our radio buzzed as a stallion spoke up. “This is the secondary air patrol, we're here to be your escort. Thanks for drawing the pirates attention away from us.”

Temaril signaled that she was going to talk. “Thanks for the assist, though we could have used you earlier. Now we need to take the teleportation megaspell to open sky, can we count on you.”

“That’s an affirmative, but I fear that we’ll only last a few minutes in open sky. The first air patrol had five wings and was decimated by those bastards.” The stallion informed us.

Looking over at the techs, they gave Temboril a nod. “A few minutes is all we need to save the city, now follow us.” She told the enclave pilots, and they got in formation behind us.

Behind us we left several plumes of black smoke as we quickly reached the edge of the city. Both the commandos took a standing position next to the gunnery seats, their guns at the ready. We punched out of the city and into the open sky, finding it full of vertibuck gulls racing to fight us.

Nether the Phoenix, nor the other enclave vertibucks wasted any time. A staggering barrage of traded shots filled the sky as both side’s cloudcraft opened fire. One of our vertibucks exploded in spectacular fashion in the first barge, and a few energy beams scraped our own shields. The pirates on the other hoof took an immediate loss of four gulls, and were forced to scatter as together, we all rammed through their formation. This gave all the gunners open targets to shoot at as the gulls repositioned for another attack, making them easy targets.

It was like a shooting gallery that wildly shot back, and fortunately we were still close enough to the city that the ships below were not firing up at us. As I fired, I noticed on my hud that the AP-AG2's ammo was running low, and that our shield was starting to flicker.

“How much longer, we can't keep this up.?” I asked and shouted.

Another one of our vertibucks went up in flames nearby before Temboril responded. “Soon, we just need to get a little further away from the city, so don't worry about the ammo!”

I didn’t, firing wildly into the swarm of gulls, unsure how much damage I was doing. Out of nowhere, a talon reached up and grabbed the commando next to me, and before I could respond, the pony was pulled out of the Phoenix. A griffin climbed up with a knife in its beak, glaring death at me.

Quickly the pirate grabbed me with it’s free talon and tried to pull me out like the other pony. I attempted to strike the catbird off me, but they were able to easily dodge from their position, and counter with the knife. It slid between the armor plates at my shoulder, slicing through the softer joint material and finding my soft flesh underneath. Honestly, it hurt like hell, but I could still move, so it wasn’t in too deep yet.

Flexing, the blade bent and became stuck in my armor. The pirate let it go and reached behind itself for another weapon. Not giving it a chance to stab me again, I drew the .45 auto, and the griffins eyes widened as I unloaded the seven shots into them. The griffin lost their grip on me in favor of clutching at the several gushing wounds on themselves, and easily fell off the Phoenix as Wild banked us around again.

“We lost D4!” Pulling the knife out, I grabbed the AP gun, and unloaded the rest of its ammo into a nearby gulls windshield. “And my gun’s spent!” I shouted.

“Good, were in position!” Temboril was now using her shotgun as the other commando was still firing out the door. “Drop the megaspell now!”

The two techs and Sonnet braced themselves against the megaspell. The three worked together, pushing with all their strength to get the device off the Phoenix. I helped them, placing my armored hoof on the megaspell, and with little bit of effort thanks to my power armor, I shoved the megaspell right out of the phoenix. All of us inside the cabin watched intensely as it tumbled through the air and disappear from view.

“The megaspell has been released,” Temboril barked over the radio to the remaining enclave vertibucks. “everypony give it room and follow behind us!”

The Phoenix rose sharply, quickly followed by the others as the gulls regrouped to chase us. Below I could see the tumbling megaspell spark with power, the air around it shimmering, and sparkling. Only a short moment later the sky lit up in a purple and green light. If I had to say it looked like anything, it looked as though reality cracked open, and the sky shattered like glass. From behind the shattered sky, it appeared with a low metallic groan. Sparking with energy itself, pushing through the break in the sky, the Scootaloo's Resolve announced its entrance with a droning sound that reverberated the air itself.

A wave of magical energy phased through us, causing the radio to screech with static, and my hud to warp for a moment. When it had passed, the Scootaloo had appeared fully, and the warp in reality had vanished. Not wasting any time, the Orthrus Airship immediately opened fire down at the pirate fleet below with everything it had.

One of the pirate gunships was blasted into two by the railguns, another burst into flames as shells slammed into it, but the airships attack were quickly halted by magical shields produced from the ships. They then retaliated, but the pirates cannon shells slammed into the airships shields, doing no damage. The exchange in cannonfire continued, but with both sides protecting themselves with shields, the aggressive cannonfire to yielded no results. The pirate gulls attempted to swarm the airship, able to somehow get passed the shields, but they were forced back or quickly destroyed by the airships smaller defensive guns.

“Greetings Grand Fleet of the Oceanic Illuminated Authority. I am captain Red Steal, daughter of Grand Admiral Flintlock Hoof, and a devout Chosen of Thorn Roasland. By divine right, I demand an audience with the Grand Admiral!” Both the pirate fleet and the Orthrus airship ceased fire, quickly changing the frantically loud aerial battle to into an eerie scene of complete silence.

Turning the Phoenix around, we made our way toward the Scootaloo, followed by the four surviving enclave vertibucks. On top of the airship were landing pads, with some having vertibucks being loaded onto them, and even more being brought up one by one from an elevator below. An Orthrus crewpony below us signaled for us to land at one of several unused laning pads. As we made our decent, the radio crackled to life, playing... organ music?

It was grand, very loud, and somehow I got the feeling that it was not a recording. As the Phoenix landed with a thud, I tried to change my radio signal so that I could talk to somepony, but only to find that the music was playing on all frequencies.

Jumping out of the vertibuck, I took off my helmet, just to get away from the music, to finding that Temboril had thought of the same thing.

“Clever.” Temboril said loudly as she attached her helmet to the side of her armor. “The pirate fleet is repositioning themselves to engage the Scootaloo, and are jamming all communication signals to slow any counter movements.” She then rubbed hear, looking uncomfortable. “Lucky for us, that they can't block telepathy talismans. Though unfortunately, we’re still cut off from the enclave, But that isn’t all that huge of a problem.”

“If they’re clogging the airwaves with that, how are they talking to each other then?” I asked, only now noticing that my ears were ringing.

Temboril motion for an orthrus pony with a large saddlebag to come over to us. “From what our spotters can see, they’ve gone old school prewar tactics, relying on flags and lights to communicate between ships. Though Red has stated that they have also messengers who are teleported from ship to ship, which might be something we could utilize to coordinate with the Enclave.”

The Orthrus regular came up to us, opening up a bag filled with medical supplies, snack bars, and small drinks bottles. "Take what you need, and if you require a restroom, one of us can guide you to it." The mare informed me as I took a healing potion, and immediately drank it, my injured shoulder slowly repairing itself. I looked over at the enclave vertibucks, their crew stepping out to be greeted by Orthrus like I was, each one of them looking utterly baffled at the odd looking ponies working the airship around them. I don’t blame them, but like I did, they’ll adjust quickly.

“So, what does Red say about the fleets next actions?” I asked Temboril

Taking a bite out of the snack bar, Temboril washed it down with a small bottle of water. “She said that such large scale and organized fleet movement means that Flintlock Hook has taken direct command. Meaning our main objectives is done, and now we’re to wait for further instructions.”

Looking back over at New Cloudsdale, I saw two large cloudships come into view. Raptors, both quickly descending towards the Scootaloo, escorted by four vertibucks each. They quickly got into escorting formation on either side of the Orthrus airship. It was only then did I really appreciate the scale of the Scootaloo, as the flying fortress dwarfed the two large cloudships. Overhead, a vertibuck passed by slowly, and three pegasi jumped out, headed towards our landing pad. Landing in front of us was two ponies in power armor, and the third pony was a well groomed mare in a three piece suit. President Pillow Feathers. Both Light and Wild jumped out of the Phoenix, greeting the president with a salute, as did I.

“Madam President, is it wise to come out here?” I inquired.

Her eyes quickly shifted around, taking in the unfamiliar sight before speaking. “Would it be wise for me to hide in my office as the city falls to savages? Right now we need to resolve this situation as fast as possible, otherwise the city will fall, with or without the savages dragging us down. Now I need an escort to the bridge, that is where the leader is, correct?”

“I've already informed Dictator Naqara of your arrival,” Temboril took a step forward, and the president's bodyguards blocked her path, only for Pillow Feathers to motion for them to step back. “please, follow me and I'll take you to the bridge.”

Pillow gave a slightly confused look at Tamboril before giving her a nod. “May I ask on how your sending communications, all of our’s are useless right now with those savages below jamming all communications signals?”

“We have a network of telepathic spell talismans for emergency communication, it's something both hard to block, or to listen in on without a talasman on the same wavelink.” Temboril answered as she trotted off, the rest of us following her lead. The rest of the enclave had noticed Pillow Feathers presents, and quickly saluted at her as we passed.

"Amazing. May I also ask how my father’s doing?" Pillow Feathers had positioned herself right next to the specter, who dwarfed the president because of the power armor they wore.

"He's fine, if justifiably worried about your safety." Temboril had taken us to pad that looked a lot like a stable door, it having the symbol of Orthrus boldly painted on it. “Were heading to the bridge.” She told a nearby Orthrus pony, who was standing at a terminal. Following Temboril inside the center of the large gear shaped pad, a circle of safety bars rose up around around us, and the gear began to descend into the massive airship.

As the lift descended, we got a small peek at the interior of the airship, and it really looked a lot like the inside of a stable, though shrunken down by maybe half. The gear elevator came to a stop as it entered a wide corridor. Near us was another Orthrus pony behind a terminal, who gave a quick salute, and then the lift began to move sideways, the teeth of the gear rotating along the wall as it moved down the corridor.

“This ship was originally built by Stable-Tec for moving entire stable wings over terrain that couldn’t simply be moved over by land.” Tamboril spoke up as we all marveled at the ship as we were pulled along. “Orthrus has managed to maintain much of its original systems, including this internal transport railway.”

Passing us was another gear with six mechanic Orthrus ponies, one of the mares was being pulled back from leaning over the safety bar as she was trying to get a closer look at us.

We slowly came to a stop, and the large gear then moved sideways into a smaller corridor, only stopping when we reached a large room filled with ponies at many terminals, and large windows looking outside. A chainlink cage that blocked us from exiting slowly rattled up into the ceiling as the safety bars lowered down into the large gear. As we all stepped out, we were greeted by Naqara, who was accompanied by two Orthrus Specters.

“Welcome to the Scootaloo's Resolve, President Pillow Feathers.” Naqara spoke as she greeted us with a smile. “It’s an honor.”

The bridge had a guest lounge, which of course we were led to. It was lavishly furnished, something a proper military ship would never have, not that I'm complaining about having a nice place to sit. Sadly I was in power armor, so it all felt the same as I struggled to not accidentally break the antique wood furniture.

Looking over at the bridge, it consisted of three levels. The top section consisted of a walkway that ended at the captain's chair, with two terminals on either side of the seat. The captain's chair had full view of the rest of the stations, as well as all the windows. They gave a view that stretched out far enough that you could look directly below, and could see straight down under the airship at the pirate fleet below. Mid section was two rows of terminals connected to the captain’s walkway, and the third row that seemed to be just a lookout area.

In the captain's chair, sat Red. Next to her was the cybernetic pirate I’d seen before, who was literally plugged into the terminal at the moment. The two griffins who accompanied her were on the third level, looking down at the fleet. As for the pony in unicorn power armor? Well, they were nowhere in sight.

“Are you sure it's safe here,” I asked Naqara. “to say that the bridge is a bit exposed would be an understatement.”

She nodded back at me. “True, the Stable-Tec Mega carrier airships were not originally constructed for war. But they did have some magical shielding to combat inclement weather before we had it modified and upgraded. Now it sports a multi-redundant sheidinding network across its hull. The bridge itself was upgraded with extra protection and redundancies that will work even in a scenario where the rest of the network suffers a catastrophic failure. So be at ease, this is the safest place on the Scootaloo.”

“And the risk of the savages breaking through the shielding?” Pillow Feathers added to the question.

“For conventional, and magical weapons, unless they throw everything at us in a single pinpoint barrage, we would likely destroy them all before they can even scratch us.” Naqara bosted.

A chuckle came from the captain seat, Red looking over at us as she passed a clipboard over to the cybernetic pirate. A speaker near us cracked with static before Red's voice came through.

“Your not far off, Dictator Naqara, but that’s only the case if the fleet exclusively used its normal ordinance. What the grand admiral is doing right now is calculated. She’s not organizing the fleet for the fucking lark of it, she's getting ready for a proper fight. The ships that have the big guns are being escorted by ships that can act as mobile shield batteries. Once the battle really starts, it won't take that long for her to whittle this tin can’s shields down to nothing, and if she can't capture or destroy us, she will drive us onto a retreat.”

“Then why are you doing nothing!” Pillow Feathers clenched her teeth. “Can’t you destroy them right now?”

“Forcing the fight before Flintlock responds would only destroy any negotiations, and force us into a slugfest we don't have the time or capacity to win.” Red turned back to the masove windshield, and looked over the edge of her platform. “Because I’ve asked for an audience, my mother must issue a formal response before hostilities can continue. If she refuses, she otherwise risks the perception spreading that she was too scared to talk, or disrespectful to another of the faith. But Madam President, if you want to try, I'll let you talk with the admiral. From what your father has told me, you are a genius politician.”

Pillow picked up a glass of wine with her wing, as she rubbed her temples with her hooves, then drake all the wine in one go. “Thank’s, but I'll pass. The one time I got to speak with her before, all I got from her was her offering us the right to surrender without terms. Anything I said to her seemed to fall onto deaf ears."

“It's about time!” The cyber pirate yelled in a synthetic voice, causing everypony to become quiet.

“Alright!” Red got up onto her hooves, standing proud. “Now everypony, remember my instructions. We only have one shot at this, and I do not want to be branded a heretic!”

The organ music blasted through all the speakers, growing louder as it gave off a feeling of malice. As soon as it hit its crescendo, the music began to fade, until silence. A horn blared a classic Equestria military tune I didn't recognize for a few seconds before the voice of a stallion spoke up.

“Listen all! Here speaks the Grand Admiral Flintlock Hoof of the grand fleet of the Oceanic Illuminated Authority. Champion of the fifth dragon extermination hunt, subgator of the heretic rebellion fleet, and baroness of the ghost tower.”

There was then another blaring of a horn, playing the old military tune, followed by a pause that was broken by the raspy voice of an older mare.

“How is it, that you, my daughter, have come to command of such a... fine vessel. Have you been seduced into betraying the goddesses by it? Have you turned your back on the prophets teachings in exchange for the promise of power?”

Red raised a hoof into the air, and an old world marching band music played for a few seconds before Red spoke. “To turn on Thorn Roasland, on the goddesses! I'm shocked you would even suggest me capable of such a thing! I am here to announce our victory, for today, the teachings of our prophet has spread, and our power grows ever grater!”

“By destroying two of my ships, along with its faithful crew?” Flintlock responded.

“A sacrifice to the goddesses, may we all be so fortunate someday.” Red retorted.

“Why wait then, when you can offer yourself to the goddesses now, along with that airship your in. If not, then pray tell why have you come now. Interfering in our subjugation of these savage infidels, as is our divine and just right.” Flintlocke's words pulled a deep frown from Pillow Feathers..

Red waited for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Because, I want you to cease your hunt, and allow this cloud city to fall under my protection. I know you have read my report, of my completion of the mission you had given me. As of now, I am captain of the weeping pegasus, and have established a ceasefire with the inhabitants of the Marewaii Islands, along with rights to obtain converts to the faith. Now weapons and tech not seen before are now at my hoof tips, all of which I'll offer to you. That is, so long as you give me the authority over the territory, along with the trade rights from it.”

Another pause lasted for a moment, everypony seemingly holding their breath. “An interesting proposal, but…” Flintlock spoke, holding onto that last word longer than I would like. “All of it I could be obtained through might. A holy crusade by my word could give me all of which you speak. If so, how would you propose to stop me and the whole of grand fleet?”

Another chuckle came from Red. “I do not deny that you speak true, as the grad fleet is nothing less than an unstoppable juggernaut, second only to the city Avalon, and the holy fleet that protects it. But if you were to come and take the islands, and lets say, I offer trade rights to any captain that sides with me. Rail cannons, ponies who are practicly walking spark batteries, acano-tec that surpasses our own, even ponies with confirmed noble blood in their veins.” Red burst into laughter for a few short seconds. “Dear mother, I'm sure you will be interested to know that soon I will be able to bear a child, and that my grandchild, yours legacy, will have a direct lineage to princess platinum herself. Now knowing all that, how unified would the grand fleet truly be. By the grace of the goddesses, how could they not accept such a challenge, to not only show their devotion, but as a reward, they may have a place among the nobility. To not even try and take it would only prove the weakness that clouds their very souls.”

All fell silent once more, and all the pieces of Reds plan came together. She was threatening civil war within the grand fleet if Flintlock did not stand down, and all while the admiral was currently in full control of the fleet, forcing all eyes on her. No bureaucracy, no debates, no screaming, just the decision from a pony holding all the cards, and everything to lose.

“I... accept your proposal.” Flintlock spoke, but Red held her hoof up for everypony to remain quiet. “Your request for an audience will be respected, and negotiations for transference of powers will be done. All after your chosen champion meets me aboard the Queen of Knives, baring that they pass a trial-by-fire first.”

“Only the strong have the right to a choice!” Red said loudly. “Wise words left to us by the prophet Thorn, and an example we must all show to the world. For we must never suffer the week, or become week ourselves, as the week are only good as slaves, and not as free ponies.”

“Then let it begin, captain Red Steel, my daughter. I await your champion.” Flintlock spoke just before the Equestria military music began to play again, it slowly fading out, and leaving everything in silence.

“So!” Red turned her seat around to look over at us. “Who wants to fight my mother?”

Before anypony could say anything, an explosion hit the windshield of the bridge, blocked by a light green magical shield. I stood up, cocking an eyebrow at Red, and shouted. “What the fuck is wrong with you, you damned sea raiders!?”

She shrugged, a cocky smile on her face. “Likely generations of constant extreme survival presures, and a fucking religion that reinforces every creature to be as overzelus as possible under threat of slavery, or death.” A red overglow wrapped around her horn, and she lifted a glass of wine to her lips, taking a small sip. “Now fortunately, you don't need to win, just prove that none of the challengers are weak.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “If we were just going to head on out there, then why have us come down here?”

“That was just so we can give the President a look inside the ship, I have a faster way back to the Phoenix.” Temboril informed us as the air around her began to shimmer, getting a curious look from the President. “Just place you hooves on my armor, and we'll teleport out of here.”

Light, Wild, and I placed a hoof on the spectets power armor, and then in a flash, we were back on top of the Scootaloo next to the Phoenix. A loud pop came from Tamboril right before a talasman ejected, it leaving a tail of white smoke behind it. I guess I still wasn’t used to the sheer amount of tricks up Orthrus’ sleeves.

Not needing to be told what to do next, the four of us jumped inside the vertibuck and took our seats. The only other ponies on bored was the remaining comando from before, and Sonnet, who were occupying the gunners seats again. As the engines of the Phoenix roared to life, Light grabbed the radio.

“Alright, they sent us the coordinates. Now to see how many others will follow us into this clusterfuck.” Taking a deep breath, she paused, biting her lip, a hoof shaking. “How many more of us will die this time? How can I ask them to die? Maybe we should just go down there on our own.” She looked back at us with a weak smile.

“The Phoenix is good, but not that good. Without an escort, they will shoot us right out of the sky.” Temboril informed Light, and the small smile she had dropped.

I trotted up to the cockpit, and held my hoof out in front of Light.

“Then let me do it.” I told her, she looking down at my hoof, the up at my face. With a nodd, she passed the radio over to me, and I brought it up to my muscle, taking a deep breath. “To all vertibuck pilots and crews. This is former Colonial Merit Cross of the Enclave speaking. I am requesting volunteers to escort us to the ship Queen of Knives, where we are to meet Grand Admiral Flintlock Hoof face to face so we can end this thing once and for all. The pirates will not make it easy for us. That, they have made it loud and clear. I’ll be honest with you, the chances you will not return from this engagement is high. But we are not doing this for ourselves. Right now, at this moment, all of us are at a crossroads. We can either roll over and and let the sea raiders below become our masters. Or we can stand up and fight. Trust me when I say this, if we win, as this airship stands as an example, there is a future for us all. I can't say what that future hold for us, but it will be our own to make. So, ask you all, will you fly with me, to protect our home, and take our future into our own hooves!”

I put the radio down, and waited for a few seconds passed.

“This is lieutenant Whirlwind, commanding the fifteenth air corps. I'll be leading three wings with you into battle, so this better work.”

“Our orders were to escort you, and that has not changed.” One of our Enclave escorts chimed in. “We’ll be with you all the way down.”

“Nice speech," a rough sounding voice spoke up, their accent clearly revealing them as a pirate. "I, with ta rest of the sanctified flight crew have been ordered by captain Red to aid ya in battle. But even without orders, I’m not going ta skip out taking diss Orthrus vertibuck out into battle!”

Temboril tapped me on the sholer. “Naqara has approved sending out all twenty flight capable vertibucks aboard the Scootaloo. Unfortunately, they’re all piloted by Reds crew, but that will at least bring our vertibuck count to thirty nine, including the Phoenix.”

“Then lets hope its enough to get us through this fight.” I said as I returned to my seat, putting my helmet on. “Alright, time to fly.”

The engines of the Phoenix roared to life, and we once again lifted into the air. Looking out the side door, the other vertibucks were already taking off, and turning to us. Above from the city, nine more vertibucks came into view, descending to our position. As we flew over to open air, still protected by the scootaloo's shields, I saw even more vertibucks fly out of the side of the airship, only a few at first, but soon became a swarm of twenty aircrafts. Descending down to meet them, and joined by the enclave pilots, the Phoenix took the lead as everypony else got into formation behind us.

“Very nice. A respectful display for the fleet.” The radio crackled, and Red's voice spoke up. “I wish I could join you, but I also like having control over the big guns. Now, we're going to fire all of this ship's countermeasures, so use that opportunity to get low, and out of their anti air guns targeting zone. From there it's all up to you, but we'll give what support we can here. So good luck.”

As soon as the message ended, the Scootaloo fired all its cannons, and a whole lot of missiles I didn't know it had.. The missiles then exploded in mid flight, and clouds formed from them, expanding in their place and quickly covering the sky below us. Cannon Fire from below still slammed against the shield of the Scootaloo, but it became more irregular, hitting more random places. Wild took us forward, opening up the throttle, but not enough to lose the thirty eight vertibucks following. We skimmed along the shield bubble under the airship, and after a few seconds, the shield dropped, and we all descended into the cloud cover. Before the Scootaloo disappeared from sight, I saw a cannon shell from below slam into the airship, causing some damage to its hull.

We were blind as we passed through the missile based cloud cover, with only the sounds of shells whizzing by to remind us how close we were to death. Light returned as we burst through to the other side and straight into the warzone. The Grand Fleet was waiting for us, firing a barrage of AA shells sent our way, and all we could do was dive down as fast as we could.

Wild pulled back on her flight controls, leveling us out as soon as we were out of their guns sightline. The Phoenix shook in the thicker ocean air as it skimmed above the water, but we had made it, and were out of sight of their main AA guns, though still not entirely safe.

“We’ve lost nine vertibucks!” Light informed us. “Correction, one just slammed into the water. Ten down.”

“We still have twenty nine vertibucks, so just tell the rest to keep low under their angle of fire, and to keep any pirate gulls off or flank.” I told Light, and she relayed the message to the rest of the wings.

The naval vessels were not content to stay still, actively repositioning themselves to block our path to the Queen of Knives. Worse yet, the situation was now the reverse of New Cloudsdale, as there were a horde of pirates on the decks, using any gun they had to fire at us as we passed a ship, pelting our shields with a rain of lead. I watched as one of our vertibucks lost an engine, and skipped along the water, ripping it apart.

A smaller pirate ship had maneuvered itself into our path, its guns low enough to reach us. Raining down from above, several cannon barrages slammed into the vessel from the Scootaloo. The shells were blocked by a larger magical barrier then what was used back in the city, and apparently somewhat stronger. But it was still the same idea, so it had exactly the same weakness.

“Fire the main cannons!” I shoute.

The Phoenix let loose our AA shells as we dogged incoming small arms fire, shells scraping our shields. Our attack was followed by shots from seven other following vertibucks flying in a wide formation behind us. Our AA shells didn't do much damage, but the fourteen energy beams melted parts of the ship’s superstructure, and set the deck on fire as we flew over. The pirate ships shields then faded as the crew onboard begun to panic. With another resounding hail of shells from above, the pirate ship was quickly finished off by the Scootaloo, sending it under the water in pieces.

“Queen of Knives straight ahead, along with over fifty gull vertibucks!” Light informed us, sounding very concerned.

“No time to play it safe,” Gritting my teeth, I gave another order. “tell the others to form their own wings, and spread out before engaging the enemy. The Phoenix will be going in alone. If we punch through, it may distract the enemy long enough enough to help the others.”

“We better get big ass shiny meddles for this!” Wild said as she accelerated the Phoenix.

The enemy fired on us relentlessly. So many energy beams came at us that there was no way to count, but thanks to Wild’s piloting skills, they were only able to get glancing blows that scraped our shields. Even so, the barrage was enough to reduce it to only twenty percent power.

The tight turns, and barrel rolling Wiled had to do was almost too much for the dampeners, and I held onto the gunner seat tightly. But the daredevil moves paid off as we punched straight into the enemy formation, our AA guns ripping a line through the gull swarm ahead of us. Several gulls attempted to turn around to chase us, but pulled back as the rest of our vertibucks joined in, firing wildly at the pirates.

With the pirate gull's attention off us, the Phoenix made its way toward the ship Queen of Knives. The ship made no attempts to stop us as we closed in, instead lighting fires that billowed thick red, green, and black smoke all around the ship. Flying up, we got a good look at the Queen of Knives. It was a massively long ship with a flat top deck, and surprisingly no defensive or offensive guns. The mounts for the guns were all there, but they’d all been removed, most likely to be distributed across the fleet. The sole feature on this massive ship, was the lone metal tower that sat on one side of the ship like a monolith. It was covered in tapestries that displayed the thorny logo prominent throughout the whole fleet, and I’m sure with it’s vantage point, it had to be the functioning command center for the whole ship.

Wild Gasped. “No fucking way, that's gotta be the Blue Blood! The largest aircraft carrier Equestria ever built!”

“Wild, we don't have time to gawk. Lets just land the Phoenix and get this fight over with.” I commanded. Looking down we saw that there was a landing pad surrounded by burning flares, a clear invitation, and with a sharp turn, Wild flew the Phoenix over it, and landed the vertibuck with a thud.

Temboril, Light, and I jumped out of the Phoenix, and onto the aircraft carrier. The massive ship was like a floating island in of itself. The top deck was large enough to hold all the gulls we just fought through, and possibly even more than that if you pushed them together by hoof. But right now, the deck was empty, making it feel like we were trotting on the side of a gigantic black monolith.

“Dad, no!” Light cried out.

I stopped to look over at what she was staring at. My eyes scanned the lone tower, quickly finding what she’d seen. It was Brigadier General Rough Turbulence, his corpse had been penetrated by a large hook, and was hanging by a rusty chain.

“I can respect the initial fight he put up, as futile as it was. But I cannot turn a blind eye to the cowardly orders he saw fit to make.” The raspy voice of Flintlock blasted through speakers attached to the tower above us. “Oh how ta mighty have fallen. Ta so called rulers of ta sky, now nothing but an nomadic tribe, starving and looking for scraps. I know of ta Enclave, and of ta sacred pact made between Thorn Rosland an thar leaders so long ago. We ta rulers of ta seas, and they, they get ta sky’s above equestria. Tis pact was bound by blood, and broken by blood alone. Now where tis your enclave, it’s power, it’s right to rule? Thrown to the winds ten years ago I say.”

A bellowing laugh came from the speakers right before a flash of light burst from a short distance from us. Ahead of us was three ponies, two in polished unicorn power armor, both holding a gatling gun each. The third pony was an older red unicorn mare with a short dark brown mane, and wearing a black jacket and hat. What made her even more striking was that her front right hoof, and back left hoof had been replaced with a hook each, and in the place of her right eye was a large red cybernetic eye. It burned in the daylight, and glinted more like an old world camera lense then the cyber eyes the mirage ponies used.

“Aye, look upon thee and repent.” The red mare then spoke with a raspy voice. “I am Grand Admiral Flintlock Hoof. Now, may I have ta name of the pony who will stand as my daughters campion?”

“You fucking monster!” Light yelled as she took a step forward, but I blocked her with a hoof, and shook my head.

“I’m Merit Cross.” I spoke loudly, aided by my helmets inbuilt megaphon. “I’ll be your challenger.”

“Temboril Tapiture, representative of Orthrus, and the ponies of the Marewaii metro” Tembotil took a step forward, and bowed. “I’m here to bear witness to this duel.”

“And you young miss?” Flintlocks eyes drifted passed me, a coy smile on her face. “I am to believe tis your falter hanging disgraced above us. Then you are here to represent that city in the sky?” Light growled, but backed off, nodding as she gritted her teeth. The admiral then looked at me, rubbing her chin, seeming a bit confused. “So Merit Cross, of whom do thee represent? Clearly not my foalish daughter, I’d hope.”

Everything seemed to slow as the question hit me. Yes, I have been fighting on behalf of New Cloudsdale, but it was not like any of them wanted me there. I was just another reminder of the old Grand Pegasus Enclave and the lies they spat out. No, not just with New Cloudsdale either. My family had been a source of shame for the Enclave itself, that’s why I’ve had to lick every boot, do every favor, keep every secret, all to get to the top. Just so that in the end I could have it all crash down on me. Worse yet, the thing that stabbed me the most, was that my mother told me that this would happen, and I laughed in her face before never seeing her again.

“I flew too close to the sun…” I breathed.

“Come again?” Flintlock spoke loudly, tilting an ear in my direction.

Removing my helmet, I took a deep breath, my grandmothers scouting uniform tightly pressing on my chess from within the power armor. Mother may have been right, but it doesn’t change where I am now, or who I became, not even the choices I make. But maybe, if only in this moment, the Enclave I've loved can stop being a lie, and live up to the promised it made so long ago.

“I am Merit Cross, of the Cross family, descendants of a founding member of the Enclave. I stand here as representative, as a champion of the Grand Pegasus Enclave! I offer my life to the citizens of the New Cloudsdale, to their protection. If you want New Cloudsdale, then you will go through me!”

“You got a proper fight in ya, I like that.” The Grand Admiral look me in the eye, and slowly smiled. “Let it be known, this here duel is sanctified between the campions of Thorns Chosen, and the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Winner will decide the fate of the cloud city, and that of my daughter. All other fights must stop, and witnesses must gather.”

With her magic, she pulled out a bright orange revolver from her coat and pointed it in the air. With a soft pop, it sent a bright orange orb into the air, where it exploded with a bang, raining multicolored lights across the sky. Pirates popped out from hidden hatches everywhere across the ship. Trom the tower, from on the flight deck, and some even teleported in with magical flashes, surrounding us. Ponies of all kinds, griffins, and non-pony creatures I’ve never even seen before quickly formed a wall of bodies around us, hooting and hollering, cheering and jeering for a fight.

I put my helmet back on. “As a warning, I do have advanced power armor on.”

“Aye.” She nodded, as both a long thin sword, and large long barreled rifle was passed to her. “I can see, and it makes no difference ta me.”

A red overglow wrapped around her horn as she lifted both weapons, moving them around like they were as light as a feather. The gleaming and well kept sword had an elegant and elaborate guard, depicting an hourglass in front of two crossed swords. The rifle however, looked more like an oversized hoof cannon then any weapon made for the Equestria military. Like the sword, it was fairly ornate as well, with a solid polished dark wood stock, and gold inlay on it’s metalwork that resembled flowers.

Several unicorns pushed their way to the front of the crowd around us. Their horns lit up, glowing as a bubble formed around the two of us, dampening the sound of the crowd of pirates and making sure this fight was between us alone. Win or lose, I was stuck until this was finished.

“Ta rules are simple,” Flintlock touched the berror with her oversized rifle, causing ripples to form. “first to concede, loses. Ta winners request, no matter what it is, will be respected. Any weapon is valid, and knocking out or killing your opponent is advised if they refuse to concede.”

“And if I win?” I turned on my energy rifle with my wing. “What stops you from going back on this and still trying to take New Cloudsdale? What guarantee do I have that you’ll honor anything?”

“Fleet cohesion.” Flintlock spoke as she looked over her blade. “My position is not granted to me by the grace of the goddesses, rather, it’s earned. As I was taught through the scripture left behind by our prophet, backstabbing, and stirring mutiny are two tools of which to obtain power, as is forming pacts, and rewarding deeds done. This fight will prove that one can earn more power through surviving me, when one has such power, they can openly challenging me, and possibly win.” With a simple swing that wasted no movement, she pointed her blade at me. “Though I hate to lose this city, and the symbolism it's capture represents, I do have to confess that my foolish daughter has offered a better deal.”

I narrowed my glare at the pirate. “So if you want this deal, then why fight? Why do any of this at all?”

“Like I said, fleet cohesion.” She laughed. “Can't just take what's hoofed over to me, otherwise it becomes a sign of weakness. By forcing this fight, the winner will have earned the right to the spoils, and all observers will see that it's a fight they can't easily win. As for my loss in this, as long as it is a hard fought loss, those smart enough to know better will stay in line. Those who aren’t, well, leave those foolish to rattle their sabers at me to gage how strong I still am. The fleet dare not risk the fallout of a power vacuum if I am removed from power without some pony capable enough to replace me. Otherwise, tha holy fleet will step in and start executing captains until they find a puppet they like to take charge.”

Taking a deep breath, I sighed at the fact that all the ponies we lost to just get here was just for a political theater. “Alright, but you better not hold a grudge when I beat you bloody.”

“Oh do try,” A smile formed on Flintlocks face. “I do need this fight as real as possible. Just because I agree with my daughter’s deal, you’ll still have to earn it!” She twisted her sword in her magic, readying it to strike.

With a glare, a targeting reticle formed in my vision, and locked onto Flintlock. I fired at her, sending several beams of pink magical energy flying. The admiral responded swiftly as she rolled to the side, avoiding my attack as she responded with her rifle. The oversized rifle sounded like a thunder clap as it fired its large slug at me. Unfortunately, I failed to doge as fast as she had, and the slug slammed into the side of my helmet. It didn’t punch through my armor thankfully, and instead ricochet away, bouncing off into the bubble behind me.

“Your not going to even touch me if you fight like that.” She mocked with a wide smile.

It took a few seconds for my helmet to stabilize from the hit. It warnined me that it sustained some structural damage, but it wasn’t bad enough that I would be forced to remove it. Flintlock on the other hoof pulled back on a bolt on her rifle, and ejected a large shell before loading what was definitely some sort of anti-material round into its breach as she smirked at me. I got a strong feeling that her first shot was just to see how I’d react, and that the next time she hit me, it was going to hurt, and she was going to enjoy it.

Flaring out my wings, I jumped up and spun around, slamming my hooves on the bubble’s ceiling. I used it’s flexibility to launch myself at Flintlock at an accelerated speed, firing off my rifle as I did. She still managed to dogged, but could not counter with her rifle due to how close I was. Instead she was forced to strike at me with her sword, which I countered with the scorpion bladed tipped of my my power armor tail.

Our blades clashed, and we danced around each other. She managed to keep out of my rifles range, but she couldn’t get her own around to aim at me in time.

Another clashing of blades, and I drew my pistol out. Before I could fire at her, she slammed the butt of her rifle into my side, knocking my pistol out of my power armors hold. She spun the heavy gun around, making a wide swing with it, but going low this time. I was forced to roll out of its way or risk getting knocked over as she nearly tripped me up. As soon as I was stable on my hooves, I took to the air, ready for another diving attack.

The sound of thunder was followed by a pain in my right foreleg, causing me to lose focus, and slamming into the magical bubble. I was able to quickly stabilized before I hit the ground on all four hooves. Instantly, I almost collapsed in pain. Part of the armor plating on my right foreleg had been blown off, taking a gaping chunk of my leg with it. I glared at Flintlock as she unloaded the spent shell from her rifle, chuckling to herself.

Doing my best to ignore the pain, I kicked off into a hobbling gallop. I was not going to let her reload that fucking rifle! Flintlock was forced to jump away as I attempted to tackle her, causing her to drop the rifle round from her magical hold.

Again, she pointed her sword at me as her only means to defend herself. I fired my rifle again, sending scorching beams around her. I didn’t want to hit her, rather, I wanted to force her closer to the bubble’s wall. With another few shots, I had her right where I wanted.

With another charge, her back hit the wall, and our blades clashed. Swinging her rifle again, it slammed into my side. But because she couldn’t get a wide enough swing, she didn’t have the momentum to do little more than scratch the paint.

As our blades locked, Flintlock pushed forward, getting in closer. Pain then erupted in my right foreleg, as I found that she had jabbed her hook into my wound, and then twisted the hook. Blood splattered from my wound, and I was forced to jump back to get away. The moment I did, I realized the mistake I’d made.

“No no, you wanted to dance so close to me, then we're dancing!” she said in a mocking tone, twisting the hook that was still stuck in me, but no longer attached to her. The rusty hoof hook was connected to her limb by a thin chain that then reeled back into her leg. I cried out in pain as the hook sunk into my bone and dragged me towards her, all the while she pulled out another rifle round from her jacket.

Not risking that rifle again, I let myself dive forward at Flintlock, and forcing her back onto the wall as our blades clashed once more.

“For some pony trying to lose, your doing your damnedest to kill me.” I growled

“Oh, you thought you were supposed to win this?” Flintlock laughed as she twisted her hook in my bone. “No, you’re going to be tha sacrificial martyr for this fight, just to make it look good for the fleet. Once I’m done having some fun with you, I'll give the victory to one of the other two that came with you. Or maybe after there's only one of you left, we’ll see what happens.”

“That's not going to happen, you bitch!” I shouted as I slammed my helmet into her face, and reared my head back for another hit.

If anything, it forced her to let go of my leg and grab onto my helmet to stop my atrack. Lifting her up with my armored head, I then reared up onto my back legs, unlocked my helmet, and swung her off me into the center of the arena. She rolled as she clung onto my helmet, and I took the opportunity to jump and dash for her rifle, grabbing it be for she knew what I was after. Ripping the rifle from her magical hold, tossing under my hooved, and with one slam, I crucked it’s bolt action, caving into it barrel, rendering it useless.

“You know, you’re no different from the leaders of the enclave back when I was just a soldier,” I huffed and winced as the pain in my leg kept me acutely away of how I couldn’t risk another injury. “and I'm going to do to you what I should have done to them so fucking long ago.”

“Oh yeah?” She tossed the helmet to the side, and took a defensive stance with her sword. “What's that? Turn around and let me literally stick something long and hard up your rectum? I certainly can do that if it’s what get’s ya off."

I took a step forward, the pain in my leg worse before, my blood sokeing the inside of the power armor’s leg. It really sucked, but at least the leg was still intact enough to keep me standing. Though without the helmet to help me target, I did my best to focus on the Pirate. With a bit of my firing bit, I fired my rifle… and nothing.

Looking down at it, some of the cables to the rifle were torn in half, and one was missing. Returning my attention to Flintlock, she shooking off a cable from her back hooked leg, smiling at me. With my bleeding, I needed to end this fight, and fast, or I was a dead pony.

Charging at her, our blades clashed again, but unlike before Flintlock took a few steps back, her sword pointed at straight at me. It was not a problem, as in the next attack I planned to throw all my weight on her and trample the bitch. With another charge, I thrust my tail to counter her sword and… the blade overshot what I thought was its target.

Flintlock’s strike hit the based of my tail blade, and the sword slide in between the joints. With a twist of her sword, she severed the blade tip from my tail, sending it clattering to the ground. A surprising move to be sure, but it had not stopped the second part of my plan.

I collided with her with all the force I could muster, and slammed into the ground… by myself.

I felt a hoof on the back of my head as Flintlock sighed. "I prefer beating my opponents down on skill alone, and not relying on magic tricks. So I do have to reluctantly applaud you for forcing me to cast a spell other than to hold my weapons." She then gave a savage sounding chuckle. “But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't love to see the look on a ponies face when I slip from their grasp. To see that moment when they realize that the game was rigged from the start."

I felt a sharp pain in the shoulder of my right foreleg, and looked over to see her sword jammed under my power armors paulron. “Another thing to explain, on why I don't care about power armor. As you see, no matter how strong it is, if you can get between the joints, then the armor means nothing.”

I screamed as she twisted the blade, and I heard a sickening crack, then a pop. My leg when flying away from me, leaving a trail of blood.

“No, not good enough.” Her excitement bled from her words as she leaned down and brought her muzzle close enough that I could feel her breath on my mane. “You see, I really need to drive home what happens to those who defy me.” As I struggled to get up, I pushed when I saw her hook hover over my right eye, then my world became pain as I saw white.

The vision in my right eye was gone as Flintlock tossed me to the side. With another scream, I was yanked to a stop with her hook still in my skull.

“You see this!” her voice boomed, and I could hear a cheer from the pirates as the bubble around us faded. Light was being held back by a griffin, her voice drowned out by the pirates. “Hardly a scratch on me, while here this pony in power armor is left in pieces. But in my mercy, I will let these infidels have another try, as they are, at most, worth only half as much as one of the chosen.”

The crowed of pirates cheered even louder, sounding mad with glee at my own pain.

I struggled to move, but the pain was unbearable, and my body didn’t want to obey me anymore. Worst of all, I was starting to feel cold. Flintlock continued to speak, but her voice had become muffled, and the color around me faded.

I had felt it before, but not this strong, not as a certainty, my mortality, and knowing I was going to die.

“Do you want to die?” a voice whispered, cutting through the noise. “Or do you want to live?”

Slowly I looked up, and saw a black pony. No, it was just a pony in black armor. But... I could not see her head, just a red scarf that waved in the air like it had a life of its own. That, and a blue flame where its head should be.

Time seemed to have stopped. There was no noise, no pain. Just what was left of Vibraphone standing in front of me.

“I… I want to live.” I could only manage out with a whispering whimper.

“Then fight,” The headless mare placed a hoof on me and a feeling of cold washed over me, but also a calm. “and strike the wicked low.”

She took her hoof off of me, vanishing into black smoke. In her place was the .45 auto pistol Vibey had carried with her. It was right within my reach.

“Now, unless you wish to surrender, step forward my next challenger. Maybe you will fair far better than your comrade.” Flintlock bellowed with sickening pride.

Finding the strength, I bit down onto the pistol, and pushed myself over, placing Flintlock in the sight of my one good eye. She had only a fleeting moment to glance at me before my first bullet went flying, and another moment to reel in her hook before the second shot. Pain shot through my skull as it gave out with a deafening crack.

Then I was surrounded by darkness. I felt numb, and cold. So cold…

__________________________________________

Numbness, and a rhythmic beeping sound strued me from my cold slumber.

“He's waking up!” A mare yelled as I slowly opened my eyes, and my vision focused, seeing a mare dressed in white leave the white room I was in. Looking around, I was clearly in a hospital bed, needles sticking into my left leg…

“Yep, completely gone.” I mumbled to myself as I attempted to waive my right foreleg over my right eye, both clear to me that they were no longer with me. I was at least happy about whatever painkillers they had me on, as I didn't feel a damn thing.

A clattering from outside the room announced the arrival of Light and Wild as they rushed into the room, Light looking like she had not gotten any sleep for days.

“Oh thank Celestia your awake!” Light breathed. “After everything, they said... that you might never wake up.”

“You really scared us there.” Wild chuckled as she wiped a tear from her eye. “Just had to be a hero, didn’t you?”

It was good to know that they were alright, so I felt comfortable enough to ask the obvious question. “So, what happened?”

Light and Wild looked at each other, smiled, and Wild answered. “When everypony thought you were down and out, you pulled a miracle and shot mega bitch in the neck. She was so caught off guard, she actually fell over, and her crew had to jump to her aid before she bleed out. After that, we rushed you aboard the Phoenix and got you aboard the Scootaloo.”

“Their docs were able to stabilize you,” Wild shrugged. “but unfortunately in the panic, we forgot your leg on the bitch’s ship.”

“I'm so sorry, it’s all my fault that we didn't grab you leg.” Light said, trying to hold back tears.

Wiled tapped the right side of my head. “That eyes gone too, but good news! Orthrus is willing to install replacements. Maybe you’ll even get something like a pipleg if you want one. Also, for even better news, the pirates fucked off after you took out the admiral, and let New Cloudsdale go.”

As though the wait of the world lifted from my shoulders, I let out a very long sigh. “Then it's over?”

The two paused, and shook their heads. “Well, New Cloudsdale is safe for now over the Marewaii Islands.” Light nervously spoke up “But a lot of ponies were lost in the attack, and you see, positions now need to be filled to help re-establish order, and we’ve got a lot of ponies looking to get back to working normal jobs. So, as the hero of New Cloudsdale, President Pillow Feathers wants you to take over my father's position. He wants your help guiding the enclave integration with the ponies of the metro.”

I paused, needing to absorb what she had just said, only to then have Wild Wind give me a salute, with a big smile on her face. “Proud to have you still with us, Brigadier General Merit Cross!”

I looked at her, feeling annoyed. “Can you get me that new leg right now? I need to face hoof, and I rather not move the leg with needles sticking in it.” A slight smile crept along my face, and a calm feeling washed over me. Though I was far from done, at least now things can finally get better. After ten years adrift, we can start living again rather than simply surviving. With that, I felt like I had one more request to make. “Also, get me a beer, or six. I seriously need a drink.”

Our home was now safe, we can finally bury our dead, and look to the future.

____________________________________________

-Fallout Equestria: Dance of the Orthrus

The End

Thank you for reading.

Epilogue

DOTO epilogue

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…

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User log of Specter agent Temboril Tablature, post Enclave integration - recorded for historical documentation - sealed due to sensitive information classified until deemed safe for public dissemination.

Status Log 001 introduction

This is Temboril Tablature. The representative council has deemed it necessary for all high ranking officials to keep a log of the events that will come to pass in the upcoming years for historical documentation purposes. I know this is more my fathers idea, with how he often makes decisions based on emotion, but I can see the logic of this, so I'll write these logs in my pipbuck. My next report will be after my eye surgery, which will put me out for a few days as New Gen attaches my new eye, and then for another two weeks in order to recover.

Status Log 002 current events.

A month has passed since the initial log entry, and my vision has returned to normal. Other than a week of trying to get my new eye to synchronize with my old, there have been no complications.

The situation in the metro has finally stabilized. Though Republic agents still commit acts of terror, the overall violence has dropped to an all time low. But with the tunnel to Valley Island destroyed, and the M.o.M. listening post destroyed with it, Orthrus is completely in the dark on what the Republic is up too in their own territory.

So Orthrus has decided to maintain a wartime stance, with Naqara staying as dictator for the time being. Fortunately, as the war is no longer hot, Naqara's power is already starting to wane, and the other council representatives are showing some backbone when dealing with her.

The integration of the Enclave into the metro has gone smoothly as well, with New Cloudsdale taking ressedance over the ruins of the Marewaii skyport. Regular flights between the metro entrance and the city shuttle long needed maintenance personnel and supplies between the two.

Though the skyport is officially the territory of the pirate’s grand fleet, a deal has been struck, and is now recognized as a neutral zone for all factions to gather. As for the ‘pirates’, they now own the Gathering Island. Though the royal family still rules, it is under the flag of the grand fleet, so to Orthrus, the Orphic Kingdom is now considered a defunct faction.

I have also received the news that both the Enclave, Trade Union, and Orthrus looking into exploring past the islands. There is even talk about possibly setting up an expedition to establish a colony on mainland Equestria. For Orthrus, it’s driven by the recovery of the R&D stable, where they recovered the original stable-tec mission statement from CEO Applebloom. It provided a wealth of information, including the location of every stable they built.

It's possible that if the stables can be reached and are still intact, then Orthrus can restore them and refurbish them as potential colony sites. With this in mind, Orthrus has begun the creation of a scouting corps, and though many names have been passed around, it seems that the main candidate for leading this operation is myself.

I was promised that if I choose to accept the position, then I will be able to hoof pick my team.

And after plenty of careful thought, I have chosen to accept the position.

So much has happened over these last few months. It feels as though we have been freed from a self imposed imprisonment, though Orthrus has always had the means to free itself. It’s just that now we have the will to leave our island home behind.

Status Log 003 Orthrus

Much of the metro fell in line behind Orthrus. The organizations steadfast duty to maintain order, and preserving the lives had gathered much trust in them. So when Orthrus, under Naqaras rule, started to take direct control over the stations, there was little resistance. Over the last few months, Orthrus has been reformed from a peacekeeping organization, into an independent and sovereign nation. But this is not just for show. The mirage ponies will not be satisfied in simply staying on the islands, and so they’ve turned their eyes to Equestria.

Flying under the united banner of the two headed hound, we are unsure of our place in the world, but we are willing to go and search for it.

Status Log 004 The Trade Union.

Greedy and pragmatic, the corporations within the Trade Union became the driving force to establish peace with the pirate fleet, the integration of the Enclave, and the continuation of the war with the Republic. Even when Orthrus took the power of governance away from them, they still supported Orthrus. They knew that if the Republic ever gained the upper hoof, there would no longer be a Trade Union. But as they remembered their past, they also looked to the future, to Equestria, seeing it as a wholly untapped market, with ponies just waiting to be exploited. It was a smart move to fold to Orthrus’ demands, but an even smarter one to get to the mainland while Orthrus’ hoofs the bill.

Status Log 005 The Republic

Several deep undercover agents were sent into the Valley Island. Few unfortunately returned.

The information that was gained from their mission was grim. Because Valley Island was cut off from the rest of the metro, supplies of food quickly diminished, and starvation had set in. But instead of causing the Republic to destabilize, it simply changed their strategy. Under the cover of night, their military population had vanished from the islands, along with the entire fleet of hovercrafts they had built. From what Orthrus observers could track, their destination was similar to our own, old Equestria.

As for the remaining residents of Valley Islands, they had become nothing more than mindless drones of the C.C.N., content to patrol their home, and violently attacking any creature that dared trespass. The few attempts to breach the island and disable the C.C.N. have been repelled by cybernetic horrors unlike Orthrus had ever seen before, twisted fusions of arcano technology, and flesh.

For the foreseeable future, Valley Island is quarantined, and no solution to freeing the ponies trapped within can be found.

Status Log 006 Orphic Kingdom

The once proud deep dwellers of the Orphic Kingdom were scattered among the pirate fleets, with only Silver Majesty and her son Silver Circlet to rule over the island. Majesty would later die in her sleep, cause of death was officially listed as a heart attack, but assassination is strongly suggested do to her many enemies. Her son was quick to take power alongside his wife, Red Steel, completing the transfer of power to the grand fleet.

Rare Pearl remains in Orthrus protective custody, and after making it public knowledge, many Orphic loyalist decided to join Orthrus, all in the hope that Orthrus would one day place Rare Pearl on the throne as the true Queen and resurrect their kingdom. A pipe dream to be sure, but a harmless one for now.

Status Log 007 Witch Moth Changelings

The changelings of the Marewaii Islands would continue to stick to the shadows, but with the collapse of the old system, were now free to leave. It is unknown how many have left for Equestria, but wherever a mirage pony settlement can be found, so to will there be an underground club.

Status Log 008 New Cloudsdale

The city has found itself in a new golden age. With the influx of long needed supplies, maintenance personnel, and the pony power of pegasus refugees from the now dead Orphic Kingdom, the ponies of New Cloudsdale were finally able to truly look to the future and choose their own destinies. With strong, old world Equestrian values in their hearts, President Pillow Feathers pushed for the integration of New Cloudsdale into the newly formed Orthrus nation. And because they strongly mirrored the citizen’s own values, it was nearly unanimously accepted.

Dictator Naqara, skilled in maintaining order, but no politician, was unsurprisingly unprepared in dealing with President Pillow Feathers. She eventually stepped down from power, returning to her place in the council. The title and powers of dictator would be changed to president, losing much of its military authority, and becoming a democratically elected position, of which Pillow Feathers went on to win in the first election held in the newly formed nation.

The new nation, made up of former Enclave, Marewaii islanders, and Grand Fleet members, was now to become known as the Orthrus Democratic Technocracy.

Status Log 009 Charon's Stop

The destitute mirage ponies of Charon's Stop found new hope as bodies were needed to fill a growing list of jobs over the coming years. But the most desirable and plentiful position, was that of Orthrus colonist.

With the expeditionary force coming closer to launching, the cramped station has slowly, and steadily, depopulated as the destitute and downtrodden ponies left their old homes for a new frontier, and all the opportunities it held.

Status Log 010 The Grand Fleet.

Grand Admiral Flintlock Hoof of course, upheld her end of the deal, and the bulk of the grand fleet entered into a trade deal with Orthrus. With a more friendly relation with the pirates, the Marewaii Islands now had a safe route to return to Equestria. Well, so long as they paid the ‘toll’, the pirates promised to leave any ship or airship alone on it’s passage.

But even so, tension remains strained between the two civilizations. The religious organization, Thorns Chosen, are unresting in their mission to convert others to their religion, as having non believers so close to them is still seen as heresy. It will only be a matter of time before the O.I.A. fleet sets their sights on the Islands again and starts a holy crusade. But Orthrus will be prepared this time, better understanding the threat we faced.

Status Log 011 the Syndicate

Difficult to track even before the war, the Syndicate used the chaos to further expand their influence, signing contracts with the grand fleet, all while staying hidden from any prying eyes. Wherever Orthrus moved, no matter how big or small, they would be there. Like a shadow, at times they’ve aided Orthrus against greater threats, but mostly they’ve a hindrance to Orthrus’ interests. It’s becoming clear to any who knew that the age old rivalry between Stable-Tec and Solarus Inc never ended. I cannot predict the future, but I can safely say that if Orthrus should ever fall, those at Solarus would be the ones to deliver the final blow.

Status Log 012 the Sparkle-Lurkers

Feeling no longer safe on the politically unstable islands, Queen Andromeda took her nest and vanished from the Islands. Almost impossible to track, they quickly become nothing more than an urban legend to the ponies on the islands. No visual records, or data of any kind has been found on them, and only a few ponies still alive can attest to ever have seen one.

During Orthrus’ early scouting missions on Equestria, reports came to me of dangerous crab monsters appearing along the coastline. Over many investigations of the mirelurk nests, I have once more confirmed the existence of the Sparkle-Lurkers. Any attempt of contact has resulted in them scattering, or attacking outright, and Orthrus has since then deemed them off limits until they come to us. Seeing them as a low priority threat, perhaps it is for the best as we focus on strengthening our hoofhold in old Equestria.

Status Log 013 Sweet Sax Solo

After receiving the rest of her pay, Sweet retired from the mercenary business. She got back together with her on and off again stallion friend, and put her voice to work as a singer. Due to the connections she grew in Orthrus, she’s not done poorly for herself. In fact, she’s become somewhat of a minor celebrity, and receives a sizable income. Though, the past does seem to tug at her. It’s become an all too common sight to see her alone at the bar, with a daiquiri in front of her to just sit there, never being touched.

Status Log 014 Merit Cross

Now the rank of Brigadier General, a mostly symbolic position, and brandishing his Orthrus made cyber eye and leg with pride, Merit took over the air patrol duties for the Islands aboard Orthrus’ second airship, the Swettybell.

Using his experience and training from his time in the Grand Pegasus Enclave, the air patrol has quickly become a well oiled machine that’s kept both the remnants of the Republic, and the pirates in check. Over time, Merit has received multiple nominations to be Naqaras successor, as other candidates hint that they will step down due to the fact that the role of island security would quickly expand far beyond what they were trained for.

Surprisingly, He also took a wife in the pegasus mechanic Sonnet. The marriage was mainly for political purposes, to further help New Cloudsdale integrate with Orthrus. Fortunately for them, the two seem to find themselves enjoying each other's company.

Oddly, as a side note, ever since he took up his position, he’s worn a tattered red scarf on his uniform as a sash. If any pony asks about it, he simply responds it’s; ‘a reminder of those we lost’. To most, they take that as it is and leave it alone. To me, well, I’m just glad someone remembers those troublesome sisters...

Status Log 0015 Wild Winds

Wild retired from combat duty shortly after the fight aboard the Blue Blood, and after a few months, she went on maternity leave. Seems like she was finally able to have the foal she had long yearned for. The mirage pony that was born found themselves showered with love, and experienced the start of a life protected from the harsh world that Wild herself fought to fix.

Status Log 0016 Light Terbalance

The loss of her father hit Light hard. Despite receiving many rewards, and a promotion, she withdrew from the military. After many months of contemplation, she restored the burnt out flight control tower in Marewaii Skyport and turned it into a radio station. A surprise to most of those outside of the know in Orthrus, the tower was easily able to send and receive signals across the Luna ocean, and along all the Equestrian coastline, making it the most widely broadcast radio station since before the end of the great war.

In honor of her service, she was granted total ownership of this valuable property, and Light received funding from Orthrus to broadcast government news, weather tracking, and emergency reports. She also received advertisement deals from the Trade union, and started to jointly broadcast with DJ Curbrus. Light also takes the time to create her own programing, which has varied every day. From ponies telling their own stories, to recrationg the old radio dramas from old Equestra, she’s quickly gained popularity among all of the island’s varied and diverse population.

Recently, she’s become known as DJ Sister. Her broadcasts would help relieve the many homesick mirage ponies who left the islands for mainland Equestra. I for one can attest to the fact that after a particularly long day, her voice isn’t the worst thing in the world to come back home to.

Status Log 0017 Red Steel.

Now known by the title of Dutchess, Red Steels the strongest supporter in maintaining peace between Orthrus and the O.I.A. fleets. The reason why would come to light after she received a new womb from New Gen, as well as Silver Majesty's assassination. Though not considered a queen due to not being of royal blood, she has clearly established herself the ruler of the Gathering Island. With her strong alliance with Orthrus and the Trade Union, she will likely remain in power for the indefinite future.

In recent news, Red Steel is currently due to give birth to twins soon. Even if she couldn’t hold the title, this news makes her the mother of the next queen or king of the islands. Never have I been so glad to be on the mainland than to know that her particular brand of chaos will be carried on by foals a half a world away from here.

Status Log 018 Xylophone, and the New Gen Foals

After the foal Xylophone was thoroughly examined, and her genes mapped, she found herself adopted by the Echo family. The still grieving parents of the two specter sisters took her in as a granddaughter, despite the filly not being related to them at all. Her genetic code remained only moderately useful in advancing the mirage pony treatment, at least, until another New Gen foal was found on the black market. After a quick examination of that foals gene code, the Mirage pony treatment came closer to fixing the birth defect problem once and for all.

When the Second foal let the researchers know about the others that came with her, a shitstorm hit Orthrus. With all the changes, the war, and political upheavals, they didn’t have the pony power to tear up the metro looking for them. So with what I assume was the only option left to them, they put out a message to the syndicat of a willingness to buy all the foals.

The price as I understand, was unbelievably high, and it was reported that some long hidden away tec went missing. And well, on the record, that is of course not considered a ‘related’ issue. However, Orthrus has recovered all the foals, and through them, they’ve been able to devise a new Mirage pony treatment incredibly quickly. Word was that projections show it had a far higher protection from birth defects than anything we’ve seen before.

The first few foals with the first batch of the new treatment has already been born. Reports state that it still has the small wings and horns of your standard Mirage Pony, but also that they had all four of their limbs, and adorable spots covering their fur.

Status Log 019 Cold Iron?

Though confirmed dead after the destruction of the tunnel to Vally Port Station, strange rumors of a headless pony would continue to pop up randomly. Commonly appearing in front of ponies under attack, firing two revolvers, and then disappearing soon after.

It's hard to confirm if the rumors of this ‘mysterious stranger’ are true, but each one describes the same thing. Other than being headless, she also had on black armor, and a long red scarf.

Cold Iron did say she was undead, and the nature of such magic is far beyond us. So for now, the status of her continued existence remains as inconclusive. Even so, I pray that we don’t ever need her help again.

Status Log 020 Harp Melody

A year has passed since she had been listed MiA, and her father has since stepped down from his position on the council. In fact, he’s removed himself from public life. Recently, and more troubling, her beacon has reactivated on my pipbuck, pointing deeper into mainland Equestra. I’m unsure if it’s a glitch, or a genuine signal. Truth is, it doesn’t mean she’s alive. It only means that her pipbuck is in that direction. Against standard protocol, I have decided to not report this. At least, not yet.

If the Mirage Pony Princess is, in fact, confirmed to be alive, it would once again open conflict between Orthrus and the Gathering Islands over the rightful heir to the throne. The situation as it is now could be even worse with Orthrus now being a nation that borders the O.I.A. controlled Gathering Island.

Because of that, I have sent my two best scouts to track the signal. They are instructed to bring Harp to me, if she is alive. If she’s dead, or if it’s a false signal, than that will be that, and I will report it as such. If however, she does live , then I must weigh her life up against the possibility of a second war for the Islands.

As much as I hope that she’s still alive, I really don't want to have to make that choice…

Logs over.

Author's Note

Well this has been a wild ride, and far longer than I ever expected it to be, like seriously, well over 600k words long @_@ I don’t plan on doing that again!

But ya, couldn't get here without some help, or this would have been a dyslexic mess of a story… still kind of is. But ya, a BIG thanks to Gamma Deekay, who is taking a long needed break from editing after this. NoCarix was also a big help with editing, and I wish him luck with surviving this crazy world.

Also, another big thanks to Kkat, as without the original Fallout Equestria, none of this would exist, and I would likely still be avoiding reading and writing as I did before.

Lastly, to all the reader, thanks for being there, without you I would not have enjoyed this as much as I have, so again thank you.

Introduction

If I'm going to tell you about my people, you must first understand our history. You see, when the war ended, and Marewaii fell to balefire bombs and megaspells, the pony population fled underground. Fortunately the underground was made with protection from magical radiation in mind, with deep tunnels and stations dug under hundreds of feet of rock and concrete. The deeper into the metro system a pony lived, the further away they were from the poisonous toxins that now permeated the islands themselves.

Each inhabited island formed their own communities, all vying for a semblance of control over what little remained of their ruined lives. Coming together through the various metro crossings was a start, but this didn't save us from another problem. Clean water and food quickly became hard to get, and ponies soon began to fight over what little was left accessible from the safety of the underground. Sickness also spread through the survivors, mostly from those who lived closer to the toxic air that had begun to slowly filter down from the surface.

This is when Stable-Tec first came to the rescue. Their R&D Stable had been built under one of the island resorts, and at the time, had been secretly connected to the metros. It was filled with enough resources to keep the new survivor station-cities alive, for a time. This helped quell the violence and restlessness, but a life lived underground is a harsh life. Many of the ponies had formed gangs, carving their own territory, and taking resources for themselves. Stable-Tec too had a solution for this, and helped form and-or supplied civil militias to restore order. There was much fighting in those early days, but the gangs were quelled, and the ponies of the metro had order. Again, for only a short time.

The next disaster to strike the station-cities, was when the first tunnel-born generation came to repopulating. The next generation of survivors were delivered sick, cancerous, mutated, or stillborn. The poison that seeped from the surface robbed mothers-to-be of their young before they were even born, or left their young crippled and in pain. Only ponies that lived deep in the metro were saved from the tragic defects. Because of their privileged position, they jealously guarded their section of the metro. It seemed that here in the metro, those ponies who were left less fortunate, would be doomed to gene death. The deep dwellers lived in the only small pockets of life never daring to leave what clean pockets they lived in.

Stable-Tec once more had a solution to this. To genetically blend all the upper survivors into one race. Each of the three pony tribes, and even that of the scattered zebras living there were blended together using state of the art magic and science. The goal was to form a new breed of pony that could be born surrounded and mostly unaffected by the poisons.

Desperate for a solution, many sick mothers flocked to Stable-Tec in hopes that their unborn foal could be saved. Still, others saw it as a perverse act against nature itself. Others called mixing ponies and zebras a treason against Equestria, and for the first time, Stable-Tec found itself the target of the same militias that they had once helped form.

To protect themselves, Stable-Tec became more militarized. They would close down whole tunnels, only letting select few enter them while keep any others out. The use of deadly force was rare, but it was used when it was necessary. The current OverStallion at the time, attempted to quell the hostility with propaganda.

He plastered the tunnels with posters of him with his family. The posters showed him with his wife, and his two young foals, both of them having been a product of the gene therapy. Along with them in the images was his pet, a two headed hound called an Orthrus. The attempt to calm the outside ponies worked for the most part, convincing the desperate to give the gene therapy a chance. Along with the calm, the posters also did something that Stable-Tec didn't expect; it give them a new identity. It started out as a joke, quickly became a nickname, and later was officially adopted by the ponies of Stable-Tec. This is how the peacekeeping group known to us today as Orthrus, was born.

The Gene therapy that Orthrus offered proved a success, mostly. The genetic change allowed a new generation to be born even if the parent had exposure to the toxins of the upper tunnels. Having the mish-mash of genes in the therapy, the new foals were born reflecting traits from all races, including zebras. They had the stripes of a zebra, a horn much like a unicorn, though much smaller, and had wings like a Pegasus, though much smaller. Most of the new breed of ponies could neither fly nor cast magic, a small price to pay for being immune to the toxins.

There however, were still other complications. While stillbirth was almost never an issue, most of the foals had crippling birth defects. Mainly you’d see them with multiple legs being malformed, or simply nonexistent. Once more it came down to a mother's level of exposure to the poisons from the surface, with healthier and cleaner couples less likely to have foals with genetic defects.

The problem was that for those closest to the surface, exposure was just a fact of life. Faced with a growing population of malformed ponies, Orthrus once more looked into a solution. After a while, it was found in the form of simple cybernetic supported prosthetics. With many families already willing to give everything they had to Orthrus, they started to provide simple models of them to those born malformed. Soon, many of the new generation grew up walking on mostly, or even all metal prosthetic legs.

As before, there was still a push back against Orthrus. Some of the more privileged ponies wanted to preserve the purity of ponykind, others simply wanted control over the metro under the lie of unity. With a fierce resolve to keep the peace and insure that a new generation was born, Orthrus overruled the opposing ponies. It was only with their help had we persevered and survived.

In time, this new breed of ponies became the majority. With much of the population unable to escape from the toxic and poisoned air, using the gene therapy had become unavoidable for the sake of the next generation. As the first generation of the modified ponies grew older, an oddity had been noticed in them. What they could do was generate and store a limited amount of magical energy inside themselves. When they did this, at a certain level of ‘charge’, the air around them would shimmer and wave. At a distance this made them look as though they were only a mirage. This is what gave us our name of Mirage ponies.

This new ‘charge’ state having come to light, a new use for it was quickly found. By discharging themselves, a mirage pony could recharge spark batteries, energy cells, and even talismans. This quickly put the mirage pony's at an advantage, able to keep much of the old world tech running just by being around it. It also allowed them to make new tech, completely based around and operated by their own magical abilities.

For just over the course of a century, the island communities had been able to work and live together in unity. The mirage ponies and the deep dwellers still had their share of small conflicts, but mostly lived together without issue. Only recently had the metro once again fallen into an unsteady peace, with Orthrus as the keystone.

And this is where you come in, ‘Mr. Enclave’. You are the unforeseen variable in our complex tunneled world. The flame waiting to light a fuse on a really big bomb, ready to become the next disaster that the metro survivors must learn to live with.

Author's Note

I want to thank Gamma Deekay for helping me get this up and running. He has been real busy with a lot of things, but manage to find the time to help polish my writing. I wish him luck with the things to come.

Also a shout out to McDronePone who helped make the concept image for the story, I wish you luck with your next story.

Chapter 9 - Guns Glorious Guns

Curtius Station was a nice change of place, being far better kept than Charon's Stop, and having a lack of death lingering about. The Station had a clean coat of paint, and clear bold signs directing anypony were they wanted to go. My first stop was the security checkpoint, and then into the station at large.

Rufus jumped out, circling me once before going on ahead. He didn’t go far, staying in my line of sight, his tail wagging like it could come off. A few ponies waiting for the train were surprised by the hound, but his friendly personality quickly put them at ease. Cyberdogs were not uncommon here, so most of the residents wouldn’t respond negatively to Rufus nosing around.

Turnip on the other hoof drew much more attention. Looking a bit like the pony reaper Mort with his hood up, he only needed to have his mask painted white to complete the look. But that’s where the intimidating part of him ended, as it turned out, he had motion sickness, and was going to need something to eat after puking up everything he had.

“How are you holding up?” I nudged him with a hoof.

He glanced back at the train, and back to me. “Kindly, no more moving metal box, kindly.”

Nodding, I lead the way to the security checkpoint. Rufus came bounding over as we went upstairs.

“We will be doing a contraband check, please stand in line.” The Orthrus regular spoke with a flat bored tone. “If you have any controlled substances, weapons, or foreign lifeforms, I will need to see your ID.” I passed over my ID, and she quickly scanned it, passing the ID back to me. A two headed cyber dog came out, bigger then Rufus, and with light armor on. The big dog proceeded to sniff us, one head chasing below, and the other up high. The cyber Orthrus had no problem with me, and Rufus, but stopped at Turnip.

“Can you removed your mask?” The regular asked, pointing at Turnip. He looked over to me, and I nodded. Removing the mask, the regular only gave him a courtesy glance, and raised an eyebrow. “What is this supposed to be?” she asked, looking over at me.

“He’s a lurker, found him in the big island metro.”

The regular sighed, looking annoyed. “Fine, whatever. Better not tell that joke further in the station, we’ve been having problems with Lurkers infiltrating the station.”

“Lurkers do not infiltrate.” Turnip spoke up.

“Ya, ya. Just go, you three check out.” She waved us off, and moved onto the next group of ponies. “Damn cyber junkies” she muttered.

Turnip looked over to me. “Lurkers do not intentionally infiltrate.” I just laughed and trotted out of the checkpoint.

Entering the main part of the station, we were met with rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation. Though the Pineapple Island is considered part of Orthrus territory, The Trade Union ran everything outside the security forces. As long as Orthrus got its taxes, the Trade Union was free to govern as they liked. As a result, the island took on a culture of its own, with capitalism as its core nature.

Ponies of all kinds were here, the main street being a busy place, with ponies on the move, having places to be. It was the central hub for commerce, so a lot of bits moved around here, and tempers were always high.

“EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT! UNKNOWN VERTABUCKS SIGHTED ON THE SURFACE.” A young colt called out, trying to get as much attention as possible to sell his newspapers. The paper was mostly gossip, and horoscopes, but sometimes had a few good articles.

A curvy mare in a red one piece and bunny ears fluttered her eyes at me. “COME TO THE LUCKY RABBIT’S FOOT CASINO, WE’VE GOT ENTERTAINMENT GALORE! DON’T ACCEPT SECOND RATE WHEN THE BEST GAME IN TOWN IS RIGHT HERE, WAITING FOR YOU!” I’ve been there twice, finding both times that the place just sucked up all my bits. Though getting a striptease from a stallion was fun.

Another crier caught my eye, this one a large earth pony stallion. He looked tough, but I bet looking tough was more important than actually being tough. “THINKING ABOUT GOING TO THE SURFACE, OR TRAVERSING OLD ABANDONED TUNNELS? IRONSHOD FIREARMS HAS THE GEAR FOR YOU! GUNS, BULLETS, ARMOR, MASKS, AND SURVIVAL KITS. WE HAVE WHAT YOU NEED, AND AT A FAIR PRICE.” His voice was the loudest of the bunch, drowning out the rest of the criers. “THIS WEEK WE HAVE OUR NEWEST STOCK ON SHOW, SEE FIRST HOOF THE NEXT GENERATION OF ECONOMIC AIR RIFLES, AND THE FIRST COMMERCIAL RAILGUN AT OUR SHOWROOM.” That last part peeked my interest, it would be nice to have my own railgun. The only problem was that it be far too expensive for me to justify buying it.

I pulled out the card my sister gave me, the location of Cornet’s shop was printed on it. Feeling like I might as well give it a shot, it was located not far from the Ironshod showroom, so I could do a little sightseeing before heading to club Three Dog.

The crowd thinned out the further away we got from the market, with most of the ponies here delivering food orders, or making supply runs. The casino was in the opposite direction, in the red light district, so we were unlikely to run into any drunk ponies here. It was all business in the manufacturing district, unless you had someplace to be, you didn’t belong here.

Ironshod seemed to take up a fair amount of the district, with a whole tunnel just for showing off their armements. Other smaller establishments seem to grow out of the pockets that Ironshod had not claimed. Selling leg modifications, gun accessories, surplus ammunition, and even toys.

It was not a marketplace, in which I could trot in and make a purchase. Everything here was meant to be sold in bulk, and resold elsewhere in the metro. Trying to buy anything here was going to come with a lot of paperwork, so simple browsing was going to get me a few irritated glares.

Passing up the stalls, we traveled deeper into the district, ‘Cornet’s Guns and Knives’ happened to be near the end. The shop was in a maintenance tunnel, the front doors having taken the islands style to the next level, looking more like imposing statues then doors. Turnip seemed to be scared of them, and in truth, I was a little unnerved by them as well.

Inside was a busy workshop, with ponies working on grinders, tinkering with small parts, and sorting through scrap. Next to me was a display wall with different guns, knives, and other kinds of weapons hanging from it. Most of them looked like weapons I had seen, and used before, but just a little different. Longer barrels, stocks with large springs, and most of the guns were affixed with bayonets.

A stallion sat at a desk in front of me, busy looking through paperwork. A sign hung off the desk stating that he was, ‘customer service.’ He was a rust colored stallion, with red mane. His cyber legs had a custom look to them, being thicker and having digits allowing him to hold the paperwork with his hooves.

I pulled out the card, and placed it on the desk. “Excuse me, my sister recommended I come here for a new rifle. You do special orders, right?”

The stallion looked up at me, but only with his eyes, not even moving his head. “Yes, and no.” was his response. Shuffling the paperwork, and placing them down on the side, he picked up the business card. Taking a careful look at me, he sighed. “I’m sure your sister may have said we can make new guns for anyone. But we have a waiting list, which cost bits on its own to get on. I don’t think you have the scratch to afford what we sell.” He pushed the card back to me.

I could see why they were further in the back of the district, far away from the common working ponies as they can be. “I see, figured as much. Well do you know where I can get a quality AG5, my last one got wrecked.”

“Check the Ironshod shop in the market, last I checked they had a surplus.” He said with a dismissive tone.

Putting the card down and leaving it there, I turned to trot away. Rufus and Turnip were already waiting for me, ready to go. Before I could take one step, the voice of an excitable older mare called out. “FLUGELHORN DEAR! WHO’S THAT AT THE FRONT?”

The stallion Flugelhorn grumbled before calling back. “JUST ANOTHER MERC MOTHER, NO NEED TO GREET THEM.”

“Oh nonsense!” The mare hopped out from behind a curtain, she had a charcoal coat and pink mane. Her cloths were thick forge workers overalls, but had been ornamented with gold and silver trim. “If we can’t even properly greet a customer, then why bother having a shop to begin with.” Her voice had a rasp that came from too much smoking, but still had this cute upbeat cheery tone to it. “Or did you already forget that you almost turned your special somepony away because you thought she was just another trooper mare.”

Flugelhorn sighed. “No mother, I have not forgotten.”

“Good.” The older mare said with a nod. Her attention turned away from me, quickly eying Rufus and Turnip before going back to me. Trotting up, she raised a hoof, and I reciprocated, shaking hooves. “Names Cornett, Cornett Chromatic of Cornet’s Guns and Knives.” She pointed over at the stallion at the desk. “That’s my son, Flugelhorn Chromatic. He’s a bit of a shy grump, but can be real charming guy when you get to know him.”

“Names Vibraphone Echo. My sister sent me here, she thought you might be able to help me out.” Her ears had perked up, and a smile formed on her face. “Can you?”

Cornett laughed. “Of course I can. At the very least I can modify one of those Orthrus revolvers, like I did for your sister. Make it so telekinesis has a stronger hold on it, good when you’re in a pinch, and have a gasmask on.” Nudging me over to the desk, Flugelhorn got up and gave us some space. “Just drop off what you got, and I’ll see what I can do.”

I unloaded Turnips bag of the battle rifle, and airgun. I also dropped off my enforcer, and the combat knife that I had. Cornett looked over the weapons, eyeing the parts for the two rifles. “Well the air rifle is certainly out of commission, some parts can be salvaged, but it’s junk now. What happened?”

“Took a hit from a paradise dragon.” I answered.

“Right, right, that would do it. And what’s this?” She pointed to the parts for the battle rifle.

I wasn’t sure if I should mention the pirates, but felt it would do little harm I have her a half truth. “Some deep dweller types were dressed up like pirates and using them, they attacked us and we defended ourselves. The rifle was the only thing worth anything on them.”

She nodded some more. “So do you have any bit’s up front?” I placed the two boxes of Orthrus minted bits in front of her. She looked them over, even biting one before scratching her chin. “Here’s what I can do: I can give your revolver a TK modification, I would also give it an ammo expansion mod, but with how I know you Orthrus types are, I won’t mess with its concealability. As for the rifles, I’ll have to strip them for parts, and use them for a new rifle. I have a few older works that I can dust off and work on for you.” She hoofed the knife back to me. “And I’ll add in a bayonet for free, so keep that mass produced piece of sheet metal.”

I slid the combat knife back into its sheath under my jacket. “Is it common for you to just make new rifles for strangers?”

Cornett chuckled. “Let’s just say that this is a favor. Your sister’s one of our… special customers. And if you can’t pay it all, we can just bill it to your sister.” She motioned with her head to Flugelhorn, and he collected the parts, taking them behind the curtain in the back. Cornett took the revolver, emptying it out, and hoofing over the ammo to me. “Luckily I don’t have any major deadlines today, I should have something for you at the end of the day. I’m guessing you want a new airgun, right?” I nodded. “Right, then come back around dinner time, should have something nice for you to use.”

We shook hooves again, and she trotted off, waving to me before disappearing behind a curtain.

Flugelhorn returned, and sat at his desk. I trotted over to him, and he looked at me with a bit of a sorry look on his face. “Is this normal. I’d expect there to be a waiting list, and an upfront fee to be more than four hundred in bits?”

He sighed. “Yes, and no. My mother’s bipolar, and currently on an up.” He picked up some of the paper work he was looking at before. “The rest of the crew simply finishes what she starts. Now if you will, I need to get this corporate bullshit straightened out before they come back to take advantage of my mother again.”

“Again?”

He furled his brow. “Ironshod Firearms got my mom to sell her railgun concept, and are now making it impossible for us to make and sell one.” He slammed the papers on the desk. “They literally waited for her to go into a down, and snuck in. Might have lost the shop if we didn’t keep the deeds in the bank.” He almost seemed to deflate, resting his head on the table. “Fuckers” he huffed out.

His distress made me feel bad for him and his mother. “Maybe there’s something I could do, I was planning to head to Ironshod’s showroom anyways. Maybe I could talk to somepony?”

He lifted up a piece of paper. “Not good, Ironshod has so much bureaucracy around this that not even the president of their company can change anything. The only ponies that have any real power over this right now are Ironshod’s investors, and they’re drooling to get their hooves on a railgun, even if it’s not that good.” He chuckled. “The only way to change their minds is if the gun blew up in Irondshods face on the showroom floor.”

“Railguns can explode?” I scratched my chin. “I did blow off that dragon's head with one shot…” the image of the railgun blowing up in my hooves came to mind, and I shivered.

Flugelhorn sat up, looking concerned. “They can, yes.” He straightened up the papers on his desk. “The battery is a weak point on the rifle, and was the first thing we did testing on. Between the amount of magical power that needs to be poured into it, and the magnetic pulse it produces when fired, the battery can quickly overheat and explode.”

That sent a chill down my spine. “I never heard about Orthrus railguns exploding?”

“That’s because Orthrus uses the most advanced, and expensive materials to make them.” He answered. “The railgun we were making was meant to be more economic. Still expensive for sure, but less than half the price of what Orthrus spends to make theirs.”

“I see. Then that would explain why it didn’t explode on me.” Having both me, my sister, and Harp overcharging the railgun probably would have blown the battery of the one Cornett was making.

Flugelhorn gently tapped the desk, and motioned for me to lean in. getting in closer, his voice was a little softer now. “If I remember right, the power gage often needs to be calibrated. Forgetting to do so lead to the gage saying that the battery was not as charged as it really was. We lost two prototypes that way.” Flugelhorn got back to his paperwork, pulling out a pen, and writing a note on a pad of paper. “And please do come back at dinnertime. My mother can be easily distracted, and any interruption will delay her ability in making you a new rifle.” He hoofed the piece of paper over to me.

Taking the note, I nodded and left the workshop. The note had instructions on how to tamper with a railguns gage. It being as simple as disconnecting the cable to the gage, and reconnecting a different type of cable to the railguns power gage. It seemed that the cable needed to be made of non-magnetic materials, or it would be pulled by the rifle, and give off a false reading.

Memorizing the note, I folded it up, and gave it to Rufus to chew on, it didn’t last a second. Stepping up to Turnip, I smiled. “How do you feel about going to a gun show?”

He cocked his head. “What’s gun show?”

______________________________________

It didn’t take long for us to find the entrance to the showroom for Ironshod’s Firearms, not that one could miss it. The front was decorated with banners with the images of the new guns that were being shown. Guards at the door checked everypony for weapons, missing the combat knife I had on the inside of my jacket, and letting the three of us in.

Inside the showroom were a lot of different ponies. Enough to be a large crowd, but not enough to be crowded.

“Food?” Turnip asked, as he looked around.

Sure enough there was a buffet table off to the side. “Over here.”

We looked over at what was there. I was not hungry at the moment, so I didn’t bother looking for anything for myself. Turnip on the other hoof was considerably focused on the buffet table, looking over the food.

I admit, some of the stuff made me feel hungry by just looking at it. The grilled fruit kabobs looked almost irresistible, and the vibrantly green grass was probably as good as it looked. There was also some stable food here as well, green food chips, powdered food, and even some porridge, spiced up with fresh fruit and vegetables. Turnip picked the porridge, served in pineapple juice, and topped with minced mint. It cost me five bits for the one bowl.

Luckily everypony was more concentrated on the gunshow then to take a look at Turnip when he lifted his mask to eat. Taking a good look at him, he was a little cute, in a freaky glowing crab pony kind of way.

It was still a little more than an hour before the main show started, so I could spare a few minutes before sneaking off to the back. “So Turnip, what was the deal between you and Mayall?”

The lurker nearly spat up his meal. “Mayall?” I nodded. “Princess Mayall spend time supervising workers, more time with workers than others of nest. Mayall gets attached to things more than other princess too.”

“So she got attached to you then.” He nodded. “How did that happen?”

Turnip sighed, which sounded a bit flemmy. “I work, fixing word screen. Got it to make words appear. Mayall, wanted me to open chest it connects to. It opened, took hours, only had books inside. Mayall insisted it had important knowledge, had me study books.”

“So what kind of books were in there?”

Turnip opened his bag and pulled out two books. He had a ‘Greases Pony’s Guide to Fixing Everything.’ And ‘Arcane Science for Eggheads.’ Mayall copied books, had all workers read, study till we read books with eyes closed.”

Now I was real curious. “What were the other books?”

He swallowed his porridge. “Baking for Anarchists, Berenices took. Rest was books on old stories, Mayall took.” Turnip shook his head. “Mayall stopped supervising to read books. We like Mayall, so we still worked, not want her in trouble. I chose to check on her, bring food, request for orders.”

I was starting to peace the picture together. “So that’s when she became attached to you?”

He nodded. “Mayall finished reading, wanted me to keep checking on her. Had me read books she read, started talking oddly. She returned to duty, but had goal, like queen, same passion. Queen want to see space, Mayall wanted to see love and tragedy. We not know what it is, we like Mayall, we help Mayall.”

I cracked a smile. “She sounds cute. Too bad her mother’s a bitch.” Turnip didn’t seem to understand what I had said. “So did anything happen after that.”

“Yes, Mayall started acting like queen. More demands, but took more work herself. She took me, wanted me to stay close. I no hunter, I guard her still.” Turnips red eyes shifted. “Berenices saw Mayall acting like queen, Berenices stopped it. I make poor guard, Berenices hurt Mayall, wanted me to see, wanted Matall to see that I see. Berenices’s hunters gathered workers back to nest, make us remember our place, Berenices is oldest, we serve her fist.”

Now I felt sad. “And what about the Queen?”

“Berenices is favored by Queen. Berenices will be next queen, Mayall will not.” Wiping his mouth, he placed his mask back on. “Some think Mayall should be Queen, some fled nest, found new nest for Mayall.”

Now this was interesting, even the lurkers were having internal turmoil. “Aren’t you worried about Berenices finding this new nest?”

“No. New nest is under water, new nest can move.” Turnip sat up with pride. “Hunters are strong, but workers are smart, workers got under water boat working!”

“Wait what! You have a submarine?” This was something Orthrus would have killed for, or well anypony would kill for. “So if you had a new nest, then what were you doing in that building we found you in?”

“I still had job, I still check on Mayall. I let her know we are fine, read with her too.”

Okay, he was definitely a little cute. He was still a glowing lurker pony, but a little cute.

Feeling like we had spent enough time sitting around, I got up to scout around. With the show not started yet, there was little of interest other than the ponies who came to see the new guns. There were all types here, with the most noticeable being representatives of Orthrus and the Republic. A few other ponies looked a bit out of place, one being a pony in a clean cut suit, with a slick back mane. It was his glare that made him look out of place, seemingly far too aggressive for such a social gathering, making me think he was part of a criminal gang, and maybe related to the bandits. Another pony was a unicorn with two pegasi maids serving him.

I was going need to get to the back, but Ironshod was going to have every way back there guarded, and locked down. One never knows when an invisible pony might teleport in and steal their prototypes. So I was going to need to be let into the back room.

I trotted up to the unicorn, though keeping enough distance to not startle the unicorn. “Well you look out of place, a member of Orphic royal court?” up close, the pony was a stallion looked only a little older than I, with a pale blue coat, and a blond mane. The two pegasi looked the same, light gray coat and black mane. Their black and white uniforms were to die for: frills, embroidery, and the little black shoes. I was above theft, but I wouldn’t mind borrowing one of their dresses for an evening. The unicorns cloths had its own charm, being all black, with a puffy pink shirt underneath, and a black tie on top of that.

The unicorn gave a one note laugh. “Quite right. I was getting terribly bored of dealing with the ignorant here. Good to know some ponies here can recognize royalty.”

I did a curtsy. “Names Vibraphone Echo. Professional bodyguard and hunter.”

The unicorn tipped his top hat. “Golden Rule, third son of Queen Gilded Gold.” One of the maids passed a wineglass to Golden, and he took a sip. “You don’t seem to be on guard duty, so here to see the railgun?” Another wineglass was passed to me.

I took a sip of the drink, it was pineapple wine, super sweet, and a good 20% alcohol. “Yes, I had a bad run-in with a Paradise Dragon a little while back, luckily there was a specter with my group when it attacked. I had to use her railgun to kill it. But the next time it happens, I want to be prepared, not lucky.”

“Lucky indeed.” He stopped to think for a moment. “Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be that mare would you, the one mentioned on the radio?”

“It’s a long story, but yes.” I took another sip of the wine. “And don’t worry about your sister, Orthrus showed up to pick Miss Melody up. A member of their PR department was with them, so she is in good hooves.”

Golden sighed. “That’s good to know. Even with all the tradition and politics going on, she’s still one of my little sisters, and I worry about her.” He stopped to rub his chin. “You wouldn’t happen to know why she left without a proper escort would you?”

I finished off the glass of wine, and let one of the maids take it. “I’m afraid it’s currently a sensitive topic, not something I’d talk about where unwanted ears could hear.”

Golden tipped his hat. “Of course, where are my manners. I’ll be viewing a private showing of the railgun before everypony else. I’m sure I can have Ironshod squeeze you in.” He took a glance past me. “But just you alone.”

I curtsied. “Naturally.”

______________________________________

Turnip and Rufus didn’t come with me to the private showroom, but they were let into the back, not far from where I was, same for Golden’s maids.

The room was spacious, and far more comfortable to be in. The seats themselves were plush, and soft classical music played in the background.

We were not alone, as three other ponies were sitting in the room. One was a sultry looking mirage pony mare in a red dress that covered her, but only barely. She had a silver coat and light green mane, and bright blue eyes. Her front legs were mechanical, and the color her coat, but her back legs were natural, decorated with a few gold rings.

The next pony was another mirage pony mare, but this one wore a brown suit. She had a dark pink coat, and light pink mane, and her brown eyes were enlarged by thick glasses. On her suit was the emblem of the republic, but next to that was a trade union pin.

The last pony was the ganger looking pony from before, a mirage pony stallion. He had a charcoal colored coat, and a yellow and red colored mane, with orange eyes. A scar that went over his nose and under his eyes added to his intimidation factor, and his clean black suit made him look even more dangerous.

The sultry mare glanced over at me and giggled, but stuck to her side of the room. The intimidating stallion had been talking to her, looking angry, but never raising his voice. She seemed to control the conversation they were having, the stallion stopping every time she raised a hoof and letting her talk.

The republic pony ignored us, scribbling down on a clipboard, staying in her seat.

“Not as private as I like, but fine with me.” I spoke quietly to Golden.

He took a seat, and invited me over. I sat a short distance from the prince, so not to send the wrong message. Not to say he was not attractive, but the prim and clean stallions were just not my type. They tended to be high maintenance, which was something I didn’t like to deal with.

“What can you tell me about what happened to Harp?” Golden was calm, but he leaned in close, showing that he was worried.

“A lot of it is speculation I’m afraid. My employer felt it was an assassination attempt, and a way to get rid of some of the mirage ponies in the orphic kingdom. Something about if she just disappeared on the big island, many ponies would go out there to look for her” An Ironshod employee came over and gave me a glass of wine.

Golden Rule had taken a glass as well. “Makes sense, my sister might not have a right to the throne, but she has become popular among the peasantry. I know some of my brothers and sisters see her as a threat.”

I took a sip from the glass, the wine tasting much better than the one from before. “And do you?”

He raised his glass and sipped it as well. “Yes, but not in the same way as the rest of my family. They think she will use her popularity to attempt a coup. I’m more worried about one of our knights using her to attempt a coup, because of her popularity.”

“How so?”

Golden sighed. “Simple really, the bigger army tends to win. Even with the queen’s best efforts, our population has still dropped as the Mirage Pony population grows. Even our army is almost made of entirely mirage ponies now. So if one of our knights were to marry Harp, and later attempt a coup, our army may just let the knight take over just to have Harp become queen.”

“I see. So like it or not, Harp by the nature of what she is, is a threat to the crown.” I took another sip of the wine, the stuff was just too good.

“Sad, but true.” Golden place his glass to the side, on a short table. “Is there anything else you can tell me? If I knew who made a move on her, then I can deal with them appropriately.”

I shook my head. “There was one pony who would know more about it, but he never made it back. A unicorn by the name of Silver Relief. He hired us to find his brother, something we doubted was true, but during a tunnel collapse we got separated. With how chaotic it got, he is likely dead.” I placed the glass down. “The owner of the Two Tailed Mare brokered the job, and was the one who suspected that foul play was going on. To get better information, I suggest seeking her out.”

“I do remember that an Orthrus Specter was with you, how did that come around?” Now the prince was looking for dirt, not that I was going to play his game. It was good to have the upper hand on information.

“Officially, we simply ran into each other out on the big island. The Specter was looking into the rumors of vertabucks flying around, and simply teamed up to get back to civilization.”

“And unofficially” Golden preyed.

I huffed. “The Specter was my sister keeping tabs on me. It seems that even though I’m no longer part of Orthrus, I’m still a specter candidate. It’s more of an internal matter, Orthrus not wanting ponies to think that there is nepotism going on.” It was a half-truth, which I found better than any flat out lie could ever be. If Golden looked into it any further, he would likely stop after finding out that Rototom is my sister, which would keep Orthrus from thinking I told anypony sensitive information.

Golden Rule sat back and relaxed. “That sounds like Orthrus. Let me guess, you’re related to some pony from the R&D, security or scientist?”

I nodded. “My ancestors were members of security, one of them was even head of security before the R&D stable was abandoned.”

He chuckled. “Thought so, like with all the other groups in the metro, even Orthrus has its own royalty, even if they don’t openly say it.” Golden leaned in, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Few know this, but Harp’s father is actually a member of the Orthrus counsel. The rumors of mother taking the gene therapy is all lies, she just got too friendly during the last peace talks.” My wings shot up in surprise.

Okay, that was big news, real big news. There were only two stallions on the Orthrus counsel, an old goat of a pony, and a gay flirt.

I face hoofed. “Harp is Phorminx Melody’s daughter.” I double face hoofed. “And he had no children, and is the direct descendant of Maple Curie, the R&D’s last overmare.” I let out a stressed little laugh.

Golden raised an eyebrow, and sat back. “So I guess that makes her really important to Orthrus then?”

I took a deep breath to calm myself. Helping only a little. “At the very least she has a large inheritance, and culturally important bloodline. But let's say, due to political issues in the orphic Kingdom, she ends up staying with Orthrus, there may be ponies wanting her to take her father’s place. Then again, some may see her as part of the Orphic Kingdom trying to gain control of Orthrus.”

The stallion laughed. “My poor sister, by the nature of her birth, she is a political disaster.”

We didn’t have much more to talk about then the general news. Golden knew as much about his mother’s condition as anypony else. His interest in the railgun had more to do with internal politics, with some members of the royal guard being mirage ponies, and giving a gift of a railgun would help foster some loyalty to him. It seemed that he very much expected the worst to happen, and happening soon.

With little flair, three mirage ponies stepped into the room, all wearing business suits, one holding a gun case. “Good to see that everypony is here.” The speaker was a light brown mare with a yellow mane that was primed into ringlets. She looked at us all, her eyes stopping at me. “And one extra pony, always a good surprise to make new friends.” She bowed to me. “Names Kantele Brass Apple.”

“Vibraphone Echo” I responded.

She brushed her mane back, the ringlets bouncing to the side, “Welcome to the bullet club miss Echo. I’m sure you will enjoy your stay.” Kantele motion for the other two ponies to move onto the stage, where they opened up the case to reveal the railgun. The rifle looked a lot more industrious than that Rototom had, being bulkier, and with rivets and welds. Kantele stepped to the side of the rifle, and cleared her throat. “Now you all know that my family has always lead in the latest of personal protection. From the ministry mare of Wartime technology, to my own mother with the development of the IF-152 ‘Firebug.’ we make what the ponies need. Now many criticized the manufacturing of mouth fired flamethrowers, but in the end, my mother proved them all wrong.”

I nodded in agreement. I owned one of those, a bit heavy to use without a TK talisman, but was the most useful weapon to use on Twittermites, and not have to haul around a huge fuel tank. It was a must have backup gun, and the best intimidation gun. Sadly its intake valve corroded, so until I got it fixed, it collected dust.

The railgun levitated over us, allowing everypony to get a closer look. The thing was not simply bulkier, it looked like a completely different beast than the Orthrus railgun. “This is the IF-155 ‘Bad Seed’ it’s a light machine gun with a two hundred round capacity. Able to fire ten rounds before losing max charge, and can be hooked up to an external powersource, negating the need to be charged completely. Shooting inexpensive fifty caliber ball bearings, this gun isn’t going to be one of the best guns on the market, it is going to be ‘the’ gun on the market.”

My jaw dropped, the ‘Bad Seed’ was a war crime in the making, and not only that, its overall design made Flugelhorn’s plan an impossibility. Just by looking at it, Ironshod had given up on using high end batteries, and were using standard spark batteries, a little heavier, but less likely to explode. Also, with its ability to plug into an external power source, even if the battery could explode, the rifle would still sell.

I raised a hoof and got Kantele’s attention. “Why an LMG. It’s powerful sure, but is unlikely to compete with the Orthrus Railgun at long range.”

Kantele smiled. “True, so true. But when I was having the gun developed, I got to thinking. Why would I want to try to outmatch Orthrus. The answer was that I shouldn’t, I should find a market with an active need. So why an LMG, because there is a demand, and I seek to fill it.”

The brown suited republic pony raised her clipboard. “How soon will this going be on the market?”

Kantele chuckled. “As soon as you need it. I have fifty of them already built, and fifty currently under construction.”

“So you seek to replace the AG-4.” The sultry mare spoke up “I doubt any pony who uses them could afford this gun. It may be a big air gun, but the AG-4 is still the best turret gun in the metro.”

“True” Kantele responded. “But it lacks mobility. The AG-4 either needs a large air tank, or an industrial air pump to function at full strength. The IF-155 can do the same as the AG-4, but is more mobile, and powerful. I don’t assume it will replace the AG-4, I know it will replace the AG-4.”

Everyone remained silent for a minute, all in deep thought. I could see the use for a gun like this, even for me. Rototoms RG-3 ‘Zeus’ was a powerful rifle, but I was unlikely to get my hooves on it unless I became a Specter. The ‘Bad Seed’ was more Sweets style, something if she used, anything would die. If we could get our hooves on it, it would put us above most mercenaries in the metro, making it more likely we would get high paying jobs.

“I’ll put in an order for five of them” Golden Rule spoke up. “And five thousand rounds of ammunition”

“Two of the guns, and two thousand rounds.” The surly mare said in an amused tone.

The ganger pony cleared his throat. “Four, and four thousand.”

The republic pony scribbled on her clipboard for a few more seconds before looking up at Kantele. “Twelve guns, and twenty four thousand rounds of ammunition.”

Kantele looked over at me, making eye contact. When I didn’t say anything, she breathed a little ‘ha!’ placing the railgun back into the gun case, she stood on it. “Thank you all for your time and bits. You all will receive a complimentary pineapple wine, and please oversee our testing of the gun over at the showroom floor.” She then motioned over at me with her hoof. “Miss Dragon Slayer, if you have the time, please come with me.” The other two ponies with her left, taking the railgun with them.

Feeling it was in my best interest, I left with Kantele. Thinking about it, she probably had me pinned before I even entered Cornett’s shop.

“What did you think of my new product? Everypony’s been on and on about that damned energy musket, but with this, Ironshod will be back on top.” Kantele looked very smug with herself, it was a little annoying, but understandable after seeing the IF-155.

“I doubt It can blast off a paradise dragon’s head in one shot, but It probably could kill in less than ten shots. So, it’s probably going to be the first choice weapon for any pony that might deal with a dragon.” I was feeling nervous, and sweat was starting to mat my fur.

Kantele nodded. “I was hoping you say something like that, ponies with first hoof experience are often worth more than their weight in bits.” We trotted down a hallway to a lone door. “That’s why I’m so happy that you’re here. A bit miffed that you went to Cornett fist, but that’s neither here nor there.”

I entered the room to find Turnip and Rufus scarfing food down. They didn’t even pay me any mind when I sat at the table. The walls were decorated with guns, from the IF-1, to the IF-154, this room would impress even the most jaded gun collector. Kantele sat at the other end of the table, tapping on the table to get the attention of my two companions.

“Now to cut to the chase, I know that Cornett wanted you to do… something. Sabotage, or negotiations, I don’t know what, and I don’t care.” She pulled out a clipboard, and pushed it to me. “This is a contract I wish to make with Cornett. It’s for a joint construction of a hunting railgun. I want to sell a economic variation of the Orthrus RG-3, but have yet gotten around the problem of the battery exploding on us. If she agrees to the contract, and develops a working railgun that can compete with the RG-3, her company will receive royalties on every sale.”

“Aren’t you in completion with her?” I felt it was strange for Kantele to request this, ponies of the Trade Union tended to be stubborn in their completions over bits. “Why make a deal with her when you have a leg up?”

“The long and short, We need her.” Kantele said as she waved a hoof to the side in what seemed like a dismissive gesture. “Ponies like her have always been the ones to push an industry beyond what it is. You think it was a company like this that made the first military quality air gun? No, it was some mad inventor who was so pissed off at the young orphic kingdom, he made an airgun to support the rebels.” She sighed, plopping her hooves on the table with a clang. “The ‘Bad Seed’ may be a good gun, but I had to make so many shortcuts in its design that it make me want to throw up.”

“Wait, you designed that gun?”

Kantele covered her eyes. “Fuck ya I did, and it’s the ugliest piece of crap I have ever seen. I wanted my name to be attached to the most elegant gun of our generation, but all I made was a damn LMG. A fucking LMG!”

I passed the clipboard to Turnip, and he put it in his saddle bag. “So why didn’t you work with Cornett in the first place?”

She groaned. “Don’t you think that thought crossed my mind, but before I could make a deal, mother had already tricked her out of the plans. What am I supposed to do, go over to them and say ‘Sorry, but my mom’s the biggest bitch in the metro, you want to work together.’ Not going to happen.”

I slammed my hoof on the table, surprising Kantele. “Maybe that’s what you need to do. Go over there, apologise, and be an honest business pony. For fuck’s sake, Applejack was the element of honesty, and you’re related to her.” Kantele cowered back, and began to cry. Of which quickly devolved into hiccupping. Turnip and Rufus covered their ears. I pulled back my hoof, a bit shocked. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled, trying to gain control of herself. “It’s a lie, all of it *hic* a lie. I’m no apple. My ma is not just a bitch, she’s *hic* a cheating whore. I was just an excuse to get pa to marry ma, he never *hic* did a DNA test, don’t think he wanted to *hic* know. But I did.” She started to wail again, I just waited for her to continue. “My real pa is some junky in Charon’s Stop.” She sniffled, collapsing on the table. “If I was *hic* pa’s real little gal, I would have made the *hic* best gun anypony ever saw.”

I was stunned, two scandalous confessions in a day, my brain did flips trying to process the information. My emotions bounced around, trying to figure out how I should feel, but only one emotion was clear, anger. I slammed my mechanical hoof on the table, denting it. “STOP WHINING, AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!” Kantele jolted up and stumbled back, falling to the ground. I got up onto the table, and she looked up at me with sore red eyes. “If your mother is such a whore like you say, then why did you let her get away with what she did? You want me to feel sorry for you, you who was born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Sorry, but you don’t get my sympathy.” I reared up, and slammed back down on the table, nearly putting my hooves through it, and making Kantele cower. “You have money and power, use it! You should march right over to Cornett, and rip up that copyright your company holds over them, show them you’re the better pony!”

“But…” I jumped off the table and landed by Kantele, putting my nose to hers.

“No buts, you will go over there for dinner, and present them the deal yourself.” She nodded, and I backed off. “Turnip, give her the paperwork” I took the clipboard, and threw it to the ground near her. Kantele collected herself, though still crying, and got up on all fours. “I’ll be there too, collecting my new gun.”

We left her there, I was unsure she would do as I said, but I was done with the bullshit, and needed a drink.

______________________________________

Club Three Dog was at the edge of the red light district, not far enough in it that a pony had to pass by the prostitutes to get in, but close enough to hear them call to you. Even if the mares were playing the part of stallions, they were too dressed up for me, not rugged enough to attract me. The Lucky Rabbit's Foot did have a stallion who had the look down, made me wonder why he was a stripper.

“Do they have food here?” Turnip asked. “I like the food, more be nice.”

His way of talking was slowly getting better, but he seemed to be picking up bad habits as well. Rufus barked, as though to agree with Turnip. I glared at the two, and they shrined back. “Food costs bits, if you want more food, we need to get some work done.”

Turnip nodded. “Work first, food later.”

I nodded back. “Good, I’ll do the talking, so just don’t do anything weird.”

“No weird, I just dance in club. Act like pony.” I could tell that he was smug with himself, mask be damned, I knew he had a smug look on his face.

The club was empty, it still being early in the day, so I was not surprised. But there was something off about it, a lone mop bucket sat in the middle of the dance floor.

*Click* the feeling of a barrel pressed to the side of my head.

“Now just stay calm girly, and nopony needs to get hurt.” A pony with a spiky black jacket held a pistol to my head. His eyes were dilated wide, his teeth chattering. Four other armed ponies pointed their guns around, all where in the same jacket. Bandits were in the club, and looked unstable. “Yet.” he said with a grin.

“This party is whack yo!” Turnip said as he walked in, Rufus right behind him wagging his tail.

All I was able to bring myself to say was. “Oh fuck me with Kantele’s railgun!” and raised my hooves up in surrender.

______________________________________

Footnote:

New Quest: No Goddesses, or Princesses, Only Mares.

Chapter 23 - Persephone Station

Berenices made good on her promise, and with a roar, the water hit the blast doors, making them creak as the pressure built. The sea water leaked out from the vents, making many small pools all around the tunnel. Luckily things didn’t get worse, but it was safe to say that all the ponies on the other side of the blast door were now dead. I had to coldly admit to myself, this was the better outcome. If I had known that this was what she had planned, I’d have concentrated on getting ponies out of the station, then on a stupid attempt to lead her away.

Lifting up my right foreleg, I had managed to repair it, but the range of moment was dramatically reduced. The tension in the cable was too tight in one spot, too loose in another, and a gear was bent. On this leg I was not going to be able to run effectively at all, but walking would be just fine.

The survivors were few and far between, most being the ponies whose job it was to work here, and others who looked like they had been heading to another station in the first place. What did surprise me was two ponies that I recognized, the mare from block C, and Tenor Cleft, the security pony we sent to help the foals. Speaking of which, there was a group of foals, about eleven of them, some were holding onto what I suspected were their parents, the rest were all huddled up together. It was good to see some ponies who made it out alive.

Tenor Cleft came up to us, her body was shaking, and her neck was bandaged up, the bandages a scarlet red on one side. “Wh… where are th..the others?” I answered her with a shake of my head. “Oh… I see. Th…thanks for pulling me out of th…there. Did th…they get some of th…the monsters?”

“I hope so.” I could feel the bitterness fall off my tongue. “I had to leave to find the mayor. She was dead by the time I found her, and when I got back to the market, the lurkers had taken over.”

With a depressed sigh, Tenor Cleft turned around and walked back over to the group, sitting down among the foals.

“What a mess.’ Synthesis chimed in. “Such a simple operation ending in the loss of a station, ungood times indeed.” Her disposition had not changed, a mix of focused professionalism, and sickly sweet joy. She was a bit too happy to do her job, even with all the death around us.

“So we’re meeting the other agents at the next station, what should I expect” She had filled me in on the basics of what we were going to do, which was not much. We were going to the M.o.A. HQ, at Persephone Station. We just needed to make a stop at Smiles Station and meet up with the other agents, not even taking a break there.

“Not much.” Was her answer. “It’s just the usual M.o.A. kind of pony. The most well trained group of do nothings. Amazing how we’ve managed to maintain that reputation for over two hundred years. It’s like we work hard at not working hard.”

“Wait, but we actually do, do things.” I was getting a little confused.

Synthesis waved her hoof dismissively. “E’yep, but it’s important that nopony knows what it is. Makes some ponies underestimate us, and the more aware, they’re easily manipulated by rumors and lies.” She giggled at the last statement. “That was my job before I joined the Reaver Corp. Now I can get down and dirty with the republic’s protection. Like how I blew up the support beams inside the Biome, the freaks didn’t see what hit them, literally.”

The train rolled in, many ponies already inside, mostly security, and engineers. They were probably here to insure that blast doors didn’t break open and flood the rest of the station. After they got off, we got on, and with the small amount of ponies who had survived, we got a whole cart to ourselves.

The doors closed with a hiss, and Synthesis stretched her back, making a few popping sounds. “Finally some privacy, didn’t want to give the foals a show, you know what I mean.”

“No I don’t.”

She smiled, and opened up her rubbery looking saddle bag. Inside were two suits, black shoes, and tinted glasses. “Were getting changed, that’s why.”

Synthesis was already peeling the wetsuit off of her before I even started fumbling with my zipper. Even for cyber mirage pony, she looked odd. Stunning, but odd. The silver mare’s spine was visible, and made of steel and glass, which had a blue glow all the way up. Her legs were full cybernetic like my back legs, but sleeker looking, with rubber covering her hooves. On the back of her neck, just under her wiry mane, was six ports, which was odd because most ponies with a cyber system in them only ever had just one, two if they had a fetish for metal parts.

I had managed to wiggle myself out of my clothes, careful to not lose my cartridge holders, the bullets inside could still prove useful, and I didn’t want her to know about them. “So, how much of you is cybernetic? Is it normal for reaver’s to have such extensive work done? I’d have asked Blaster Beam, but you know, she likes to ash other ponies.”

“Oh this.” She wiggled her tail, forcing my eyes to her exposed backside. I was not into mares, but I couldn't help but stare at her well toned ass. What I wouldn't give to have an ass like that. Not to say that mine was not any good, a solid 9 I’d say, but she was a glorious 10. “Ya, I’m full bodied cyber, all the reavers are. Even our brains have the metal bits in them.”

It reminded me what I saw inside Theremin, all the synthetics inside of him, nothing looking like the original. “But why, and how? I thought all that cybernetics lead to mental instability?”

Synthesis giggled again, sliding on the black skirt over her rear end. “True, but the M.o.A. found a way around that problem. ingenious really, never would think that something like that would work.”

“Something like what?” I had finally gotten most of the suit on, my shitty, busted leg not helping in the least.

“Oh, that be spoiling the surprise. Just trust me, it will be amazing.” She made an arch with her hooves, spreading them out far, then bring them back together. “Let’s just say that it’s both enlightening, and a connecting experience.”

With what I’ve seen from the republic so far, I had my doubts. But I didn’t have a choice, Persephone Station was my next destination. The heart of the republic.

______________________________________

We caught up with the other agents, and got onto a connecting train bound for Persephone Station. Making six of us in one cart, all dressed in black suits, tinted glasses, and shiny black shoes. The group, Saxtuba the only stallion in the group, who was brown and tan, was easily the biggest one among us. Dulzaina and Alboka looked like twins with their colors reversed, a light purple and dark gray. And Naqareh looked too sickly for an official agent, her teal mane and coat were only a few shades different from each other.

“A whole station, lost. Things seem to be getting worse and worse every few days.” Saxtuba’s voice was crazy deep, the kind of voice if backed up with a musical beat, I’d swoon over in my youth. “Yesterday a group of scavengers got wiped out as they were picking punga fruit. From the looks of it, the civilians were shot from the sky, over half of them were not accounted for.” Saxtuba had this calm feeling about him, his hoof movements slow and reserved, his voice, though worried, didn’t have a threatening feel to it.

Naqareh laughed, ending it in a fit of coughing. Under her suit I could see that she was wrapped in bandages, and her eyes were sunken in, forming dark rings around them. “I have to agree with you there. The plague at good vibes station has finally subsided, as you can tell from me being free from that place. I thought they were all fucked when the station was sealed off, but just a few days ago the bandits that were making everything worse, stopped raiding the station. I even tracked them back to their hideout, but found it empty, I had thought they all caught the plague and died, but they have cleared out. It was odd, but it gave the doctors time to treat the ponies that could be saved. Including another agent, we lost nearly half of the stations citizens.”

“But the plague is over with, so none of the other stations are at risk. That at least is good to hear. Last thing we need is another major outbreak.” Alboka finished with a sigh.

Dulzaina huffed. “The outer stations have been a pain in the neck. Every time we think we got the syndicate pinned down, they up and change their base of operations. We almost had them two days ago, I just know it, but suddenly the trail went cold, ice cold. Our contact told us that they were recalling their lackeys. Good for us, but I don’t like it.”

“Agreed.” Alboka said with a nod. “The syndicate does not just give up like that. They have to be up to something, I just know it.”

The chatter went on for a bit longer, moving from their work to what they wanted to do with their time off. From the sounds of it, the M.o.A. acted as an intelligence agency, and secret security for the republic, doing their best to get ahead of any dangers to the republic, and stopping it. It sounded a lot like what the Specters were for Orthrus, if a bit more brute force.

After a bit longer, the train came to a stop, announcing that we had arrived at Persephone Station. Stepping out, the station was as clean as all the others, but more than that, it looked new. The common signs of wear and tear most stations had were just not here. No little cracks, or chipped sides, just clean floors and walls with a clean coat of paint. Above the propaganda posters, near the exit was a portrait of a mare. It sat in a gold colored frame, with red drapes pinned around it. The mare in the portrait looked familiar, Livenka Fortissimo was her name, the leader of the equality revolution, and luckily, seven years dead. She had a deep red coat, and bright golden blond mane, on her left cheek was a burn mark that went up all the way to her ear. There were two stories I knew of about how she got the burns, one being a work accident, and another in a fight with the republic. With how the republic was run now, my curiosity was tugging at me. “Say, how did miss Fortissimo get her burn mark.”

“The burn?” Synthesis was the one to answer. “She got it when saving the lives of other workers in an excavation accident. The ungood capitalist was intentionally ignoring the safety concerns about the excavation, which lead to a fire breaking out. She ran in, and dragged every worker out, saving all of their lives.” She gave me a playful push on the shoulder. “You should get to know your history better. But it’s true, Livenka Fortissimo is an inspiration to us all, we all strive to finish what she set out to do.”

“The unification of the metro right?” It was no secret to anyone in the metro, and they were not the first to have that goal.

Synthesis put on a big smile and said. “Yep.”

Further into the station I couldn’t help be feel impressed, and a bit intimidated. I had long heard about the republic of old expanding their capital station, but it looked like the current republic had managed to continue and finish the work. The tunnel had opened up into a large cavity, much bigger then the two hangars Orthrus operated out of, and in the center was a building sticking out of the middle, reaching up to… the sky! I could see the sky from in here, the natural sunlight beaming down into the station. “How?”

Synthesis looked and giggled for a second. “I remember when they first finished construction, everypony holding their breath, ready for the worst, but no, the sunlight came in, and the toxins stayed out. The roof is made of layers of concrete and steel, and even has a magical barrier on top to be sure. But the egg heads found a way to let the sunlight to pass through, without diminishing it. It’s hard for me to explain the arcane science behind it, but they made some talismans that can project or transport a clear image from one talisman to the next, sunlight and all. So yep, that’s the actual sky you're seeing, but were still safe here.”

The other agents stepped out into the sunlight, basking in it. Following them, the shadows and artificial light seem to be blocked by a barrier, the divide between it and the natural light oddly apparent. The light was warm, and everything in it was clear to see, but also bright, hurting my eyes a little. It made me glad I had the tinted glasses on, the strain on my eyes slowly easing under the light. It wasn’t a new sensation, but felt so much different without a gas mask on, it felt… right.

“Feels good, don’t you think?” Dulzaina snickered at me. “It’s Fortissimo’s biggest promise made real, to give us back the sun. I remember when it was first activated, the first summer sun celebration in over… two hundred years I think. And even too sick to hold herself up, Fortissimo pushed herself to activate the window, letting the sunlight in.”

Saxtuba nodded. “I remember that too. The station was so packed, my little sister had to sit on my back just to see anything. She actually thought that the ceiling had opened up, and we were going to die from the toxic air.”

“How’s the runt doing by the way?” Naqareh butted in, still looking sickly in the sunlight. “Didn’t you say she was expecting?”

Saxtuba had a big genuine smile. “Ya, she had a healthy colt just a week ago. No signs of toxin damage at all. The doctor’s think he will grow as big and healthy as his uncle.”

Alboka trotted ahead of us, her shoes making a light tapping noise on the ground. “Any of you hungry for some lunch? I asked the noodle place to hold onto some of the good stuff for us. I promised a bottle of vodka in return.”

The rest of them quickly followed her, trotting down an alleyway, and out of sight. Synthesis stayed with me, tapping at her pipleg. “Not going to join them?” I couldn’t help but ask.

She shrugged. “I was never part of the field agent click.” She tapped on the pipleg a few more times before looking up at me. “So we got some time before were needed at HQ, interested in going to the Theater? A shows starting soon.”

“Maybe, is there something we can eat there?” I was unsure about how to proceed here, feeling like a noose was gently hanging around my neck. One step into M.o.A. and I was fucked. “I’m feeling a bit hungry.”

“Oh yes, there's this one place near the theater, we can eat there after the show.” I could read Synthesis excitement all over her face. It would be cute, if she didn’t give off a needy vibe. Something about her was just too excitable, like it was forced, yet natural at the same time.

Shaking off the feeling, I wasn’t going to get out of this by drawing suspicion to myself. Seeing the show might give me enough time to think up a plan. “Lead the way.” Though I was unsure if there was anything I could really even do.

Slowly trotting through the lively station, the ponies here looked a lot healthier, thin, and a bit tired, but really healthy compared to the others I’ve seen. Not only that, but their prosthetics were far better maintained compared to the shabby leg that was slowing me down. They all had a same’y look about them though. Same kind of prosthetic legs, same clothes, same four hair styles, and oddly enough the same smile. I didn’t catch on at first but after the tenth or eleventh pony I saw, it started to stand out. It was one of those smiles that a pony would have when they had thought of something funny, and were waiting to tell their friends about it. Nothing creepy about the smile, just... that they all had it.

We were walking through what seemed like a marketplace, though in place of shops, it had small distribution centers. Each one stocked with the stuff you could earn with E.C.S. with the biggest being food and drink. That had a long line which quickly moved. I think it was because of the limited selection of things to order, so a pony only had to pick between the basic pink lunch combo with water, or for the cost of one ration and a few bits they can get the high nutrition green combo with a Metro-Cola.

The other distributor shops dealt with cloths, tools, basic supplies, recreational toys, books, and even art. The art shop, which probably only sold art that was republic approved, seemed to almost only have portraits of Livenka Fortissimo, but at least in different sizes. The shop also had a bunch of the republic posters for sale too, so some variety.

I stopped to take a quick look at the bookstore, the thought of getting something for Mayall crossed my mind. I didn’t really know anypony all that into books, not when everything was digital. The ones on display were almost all written by one pony, a Koncovka Mistrial. The books were critiques about the economy, philosophy, and politics. One proudly above the others was the “Equalist Manifesto” by the same pony. The two books not written by Koncovka were on each end of the display. “Station and Revolution.” by Livenka Fortissimo, and “Educating Equality.” by Garmon Keys.

Trotting off, I had to give it to the republic on one thing. They certainly had a flare for intellectual bullshit. Growing up, the “Equalist Manifesto” was a book I had to read alongside a few other book of similar value, like “Purity of Blood” which was an anti-Mirage pony rant so long it became a book. And “Gold Standard”, which went on about how having super powerful, super rich ponies is good for the economy, trickling down the wealth. The pony that wrote the last book was killed in the equalist revolution, and the writer of the second was rumored to have been assassinated by Orthrus, though no proof that would support the claim was ever found.

Synthesis waited for me further down the path, which lead up a staircase and over a bridge. It was amazing how much space this station had, and used. Residential blocks could be seen in the distance, the size of the homes looking more than enough to hold a family. There was an active tram system transporting ponies from one section of the station to the next. I was simply amazed, the amount of work the republic had to do to make all this must have been staggering, and expensive.

“Hello, and a doubleplusgood day to you!” A very cheerful mare greeted us from inside a booth. “The show is due to start in half an hour, and we have a new act. Some classic’s, and the Tremolo Sisters are performing as well. If you’re interested in some more personal fun, the arcade is open, with all the classic games up and running.”

“We’re here for the show.” Synthesis told the mare with a smile. “Were also interested in dining afterwards-” she gave the mare her E.C.S. pass card. “-Anyway we can get a nice place to sit?”

The mare ran the card through her terminal, and nodded as she hoofed it back to Synthesis. “Yes ma’am. We have plenty of room, and a table will be put on hold for you. Thank you for visiting the theater.”

We continued forward into the theater, Synthesis walking with a skip in her step. “Luckily it’s not peak hours, so we should be able to get a good seat.” We entered through the double doors, and I was greeted by a decent looking theater. Nothing like the ones from the old world, but the builders had managed to make maximum use out of the limited space. Half of the theater was the seats, which were simply stairs stretched out long enough for a pony to sit on, and the stage far down below. Synthesis pointed down near the front row. “Yep, looks like we can get up close to the stage, lucky day.”

As we walked down, music played through speakers that were wired all over. It took me a little bit to figure out what it was, the radio. It made sense, as most places did this, but with how well the theater carried sound, and the extra speakers, the music came in clear. The seats we took were the third row from the front, giving us a good view of the stage. There were other ponies here, most of them old, and the few younger ponies looked like they were on a date, all snuggling up to each other.

Seemingly on cue, the music faded, and the DJ spoke up. “Good Day to all of you good citizens in our home we call the Republic. I’ve got a few tips and tricks you can use to help keep your home supplies lasting longer, and possibly a few party favors.”

The DJ went on about alternate uses for everyday items, which would sound interesting if I was in the mood to care. Looking at Synthesis, one of my eyebrows had cocked up, “So nothing about this morning?”

Synthesis shrugged. “Too soon for such news. Unlike the capitalists, we like our news to have all the facts before having it spread around.”

I nodded, understanding the logic. “It probably helps that you… we probably got somepony there to help edit out any capitalist propaganda that might get through.”

The cybernetic mare scratched the back of her head and smiled. Her blue wired mane flopped around, too stiff to act like normal hair, making her look more like a foal’s doll come to life. “ya, I’ve actually had that job at one point. It was super easy to do too; the DJ actually refuses to read any news until we’ve given it approval. Talk about a model citizen.”

The DJ finished her little lesson on how to make decorations with used paper, and had changed her tone to be happier. “Well, now that we're done, let’s move onto something even better. Originally our good president Garmon Keys was to come and pay us a visit here at the studio, but sadly something has come up and he must get to his work. Who would think that running a republic would be so time consuming? But fear not, I have a few old recordings of mister Key’s ready for such an occasion. You can say it’s my ‘best of’ Garmon Keys speeches, and for you, I have a classic.”

“Hello citizens of the republic, it is my greatest honor to be talking with you today. I know it’s been some time since I last spoke to you all. But bureaucracy? Bureaucracy never changes. Luckily, today I’ve managed to gain the free time needed to speak with you all. Well on my way here, I got to thinking, what would the good citizens like for me to talk about, and I knew that none of you would like to hear about how I’ve been signing so many papers that the pen ran out of ink. That’s when I saw a young foal trailing behind their mother, and I remembered my time as a professor at the university.”

“Back then, my goal was, and still is, to help the next generation of citizens grow up ready for this harsh world. I watched as good little fillies and colts became fine mares and stallions, all of which I helped guide to the bright future of today. But I had also seen some tragically stray from the path, turning to drugs and other debauchery that led to their untimely death. For each one of them, I was there at their funeral, seeing the sorrow of the ponies they left behind. I, at one point, being one of them, for my own son had fallen victim to such vile traps. And I am not ashamed to admit that I had been too blind to see it until it was too late.”

“It was that pain of loss that led me to see the truth. That this world is wrong, and as long as ponies like me did nothing, then nothing will get better. If we let the evil of this world continue unchallenged, then it will continue to claim the ones we love. But sadly, I could not see what I needed to do to save my students, other than to be their guiding light. No, it was not until a colleague of mine told me I should take a more active role for my students. Koncovka Mistrial told me that If I were to protect my students, then I should in fact lead them and be the example that they follow. I then watched as she went off to defend her students as a symbol of hope, only to get shot down by the capitalists. The loss of my colleague, my friend, hit me like that of the loss of my son. But now I knew what to do, how to end this unending cycle of tragedy. I turned to my students, and took an active part in their betterment.”

“One student took a vested interest in what I had to say. She had once been a student of Koncovka early into her studies, and now I was to be her mentor. So many questions, for each, I had an answer for her. When she took up her own banner of leadership, I encouraged her. When the capitalists came to stop her, I defend her. And when she took up the role of my friend, I could not help myself but join her as an advisor and a friend. Yes, my student was the very same Livenka Fortissimo. Though I disapproved the violence that came with her revolution, I understood that it had to be done. To protect the next generation, from the capitalist threat.”

“In time, I returned to the university, and had other students like her waiting, each one like a vase needing to be filled. I did my best, saw them take important places in the republic we had reformed. But I still remember the ones who didn’t make it. The ones that I couldn’t save. All I can do is do better, is to be a better pony for others. So if I were to give you a lesson today, to teach you just one thing, it’s that education is your road to freedom. To push and struggle to expand what you know, which will open up the solutions to even the most difficult of problems. So remember, the opportunities are endless, but you just must first be willing to learn and grow.”

After a pause that lasted for a few seconds, the DJ spoke up. “That one always manages to lift my spirts. I remember always seeing Garmon Keys working at the university. Had him as my professor in history too. That stallion was an inspiration to me, and to everypony who studied under him. Which is why I voted for him in the elections, and why most of you did too. Well, to all of you good citizens out there, take his advice and keep educating yourselves. It can only help the republic. Now for some more music.

As the marching band music began to play, the volume dropped until it was silenced. Up on stage, a mare stepped out with a top hat and black suit on. Similar to ours, but it had two black tails, and a red shirt on the inside. “Oh wow, quite a few of you! Normally we get a much smaller crowd at this time.” The mare was upbeat and friendly, common among show ponies. “Well, the show is about to begin. First up is a dance form one of our talented mares, Hulusi, with Madhalam providing a beat, and Conch providing a lovely tune.” The mare stepped off stage, and three ponies took her place. One was a lovely looking mare dressed in translucent cloth, the only thing truly covering her was her panties, the other two ponies sat behind her playing the drums and a flute.

Despite moving on prosthetic limbs, she managed to pull of an entrancing dance, showing her flexibility that made me feel jealous. I couldn’t but help but wonder what it would feel like to move like that. To reach up and bend back like her, or to be able to curl up into to a ball and spread out my legs too wide to be normally comfortable. What most impressed me was how she could, when the music picked up, stand on two legs and shake her hips. I know I could stand on two legs too, but to do that with my hips, unlikely.

“Impressive don’t you think?” Synthesis pulled me out of my trance. “To think, only three years ago she was nothing more than a petty thief. The M.o.A. used her to root out the syndicate from one of our stations, for protection we brought her here and had her take up a normal job. Not long after she found her way here, and has been a popular act ever since.”

“Lucky girl.” was all I could say about it, my focus returning to the mare. Not that I was attracted to her, but it was hard to pull my eyes away. I couldn’t help but imagine myself in her position, eyes on me as I moved around in exotic ways. It was an intoxicating thought, though ultimately not me. Not that I couldn’t fantasize about it though.

The music came to a stop as the dancer slowed down to a stop herself. Hulusi gave us all a bow before walking off stage, while I and many others clapped our hooves on the ground, showing our excitement over her performance. The announcer stepped out on stage once more, a cheerful smile on her face. “Now wasn’t that exciting? Hulusi always puts on a good show. I got all tense just watching her, last time I tried to copy her moves, I ended up having to take a week off. How does she do it? Next up, Madhalam and Conch will put on a show, along with Tanpura playing the bass.” She trotted off as another pony came onto the stage with a rather large instrument.

The group began to play with the new pony, Tanpura starting out with a respective, but relaxing tune from his instrument. Madhalam then started, keeping the beat slow, but rhythmically entrancing. Last Conch started, her instrument being a shell, gave off a haunting tune, being much louder than during the dance. Madhalam and Conch picked up the rhythm, Conch creatively using the limitations of her shell horn in rhythm with the drum beat of Madhalam, all as Tanpura kept up a haunting sound that never missed a beat. The music went on for… minutes, I lost track, but I was enthralled. Days of nothing but marching band music, made this sound like the most wonderful thing I had heard in a long time. At its end I was yearning for more, for it not to just stop. The music was odd, no doubt about it, but somehow the three of them found harmony, and made it work.

Once more the announcer got onto stage, and the crowd mumbled, only quieting down when the announcer got onto center stage and smiled at us all. “Now wasn’t that something? Those three always find a way to make new and interesting music, even with the simplest of instruments. Truly have we not seen anything like it before. But now, what I know you’re here for, the Tremolo Sisters are here for you, performing their most popular song, Our Station!”

Two young mares dressed in frilly white sleeveless shirts, and short gray skirts, trotted out on stage, accompanied by a marching band. I could only guess that they were the Tremolo Sisters, and I was a little taken aback by the. The two being earth ponies, odd looking earth ponies. They were both a light earthy red gray. One had a rose pink mane, and the other a soft blue mane, so I could at least tell them apart. The odd thing was that their legs and muscles were a light gray. The gray on their legs didn’t go all the way up, fading into spots below the shoulders and hips. It was the same on their muscles, but a bit harder to see. Looking at their faces, I say one other thing, their icy blue eyes had a strange glow about them

The marching band began to play a familiar tune, which broke me out of my stare. It was similar to most of the music that played on the radio, which annoyed me a bit. The Tremolo Sisters harmonized with each other, and the band, with a short bit of humming. Then taking a deep breath, the two began to sing.

Life is so grand in our station

We're always filled with cheer

We never have to go far

To know that we're all here

The rest of the ponies began to sing along to the sister’s song, even Synthesis joined in. It was weird, and way too in tune with the professional singers, almost like they all do every time.

In our Station, in our Station

We don't have to wait

To find out that our destiny

Is just to emulate

One of the sisters took a step forward, and addressed the crowd. Her voice was loud but soft, comforting, but a bit authoritative. “Alright everypony, I want to see you smile, big and wide!”

Life is a smile in our Station

We are all the same

Because we do not separate

Ourselves by more than name

Once more, like on cue, everypony joined in on the song.

In our Station, in our Station

We dare not compete

Winning only breeds the worst

Capitalistic conceit

The second sister now took a step forward “You see, now we all can win!”

Life is a joy in our Station

We're all equal here

No one is superior

And no one shakes in fear

And predictably, everypony joined in on the second verse.

In our Station, in our Station

We work as a team

You can't have a nightmare

If you never dream

Yeah, that last line creeped me out, even sent a shiver down my spine. The two sisters got close to each other, harmonizing quite well as they sung. But something was odd, they seemed to shimmer a bit, like a mirage pony.

Other ponies argue

Do you ever wonder why?

When you think that you're more special

You don't see eye-to-eye

Not like a mirage pony, they were mirage ponies. No earth pony could shimmer, and special effects never looked quite right. The Tremolo Sister were producing magical energy, and it was shimmering out of them, no doubt about it. But one thing was different, their eyes were lit up like lamps, not all that bright, but I could tell they were giving off light.

There's just too many differences

That lead to disarray

But when you learn to act as one

It's like a holiday

Leaning on each other, the sisters raised up their hooves at us, and everypony joined in on the song, everypony but me. I’d pretend to sing along, but I didn’t know the lyrics, so I didn’t even try.

In our town, in our town

We don't complicate

When you learn to simplify

Life is oh, so great

Join in our utopia

Come out of the dark

Banded by equality

We will all work as one!

The song came to an end with an applause, Synthesis almost too excited as she clapped her hooves. I clapped as well, but not with the same enthusiasm as all the others. Truth be told, though interesting, I found the song to be a bit boring compared to the other two acts.

The magic wafting off the two sister slowly dissipated as they smiled and waved at us. The curtain to the stage slowly covered the view of the stage, the crowd still clapping their hooves. Nugging Synthesis with my hoof, she quickly stopped clapping, and looked at me. “They’re amazing, don’t you think?”

“yeah, amazing.” I answered. “Say, those two, they were mirage ponies right? I’ve never seen mirage ponies like that before.”

Synthesis scratched her chin for a moment, and nodded. “Oh yes, the new gen. You’ll see them around here and there.”

My eyebrow cocked, as this didn’t sound right. “What do you mean ‘the new gen’? Like what, a new generation of mirage ponies?”

She nodded. “That’s about right. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but the republic is using something similar to what Orthrus uses to make the mirage ponies like us. But the new mirage ponies are a lot more genetically put together. No defects, stable minds, and possibly a bit stronger in generating magic, but only by a bit.”

“That’s, well, amazing. But why?”

Synthesis just shrugged. “You’d have to take it up with the eggheads about it, all I know is that they’re more resistant to the toxins on the surface, so they're less likely to have birth defects when born. Actually, never seen one even missing a leg, but then again, their moms are probably kept somewhere clean.”

The curtains on the stage opened up, and it looked like another dance was being performed, this time it being a team of mares and stallions. The music was a lot simpler, and the dance was not much more than them kicking up their legs. Synthesis gave me a nudge, and motioned toward an exit on our right. “The rest of the show is just going to phone it in. Why don’t we talk some more over lunch?”

I nodded, and we exited the theater. I was half expecting that we would go through the backstage, and see all the performers, but we simply left out of the side exit, and out over to a balcony. Here we had a nice view that overlooked a residential zone. I could still hear the music from the theater, giving this spot an almost romantic feel to it. Sadly, I was next to an excitable cyber mare, and not some big rugged stallion ready to sweep me away.

Moving on, Synthesis took me to a restaurant that was above the theater, the stairs being considerably annoying to walk up. Entering the place, it was hard to tell if it really was a restaurant, or some propaganda showroom. The republics posters were everywhere. Hanging up in frames, with long red cloth coming out of them, and to the next poster. Above the bar was another portrait of Livenka Fortissimo. All the tables were decorated with pink flowers, the republics symbol. “It’s very… red?” was all I could say.

Chuckling, Synthesis trotted over to a booth, motioning for me to follow her. “Ya, it’s a bit much. Personally I think they could do with adding a little blue.” Sitting at the table, inbetween the flowers was another, smaller version of the posters in a frame. This one was much more simple in its design, having red shadows of ponies marching in two lines, each one holding a tool. In-between the marching ponies it said ‘Let’s build the republic together!’ I was a little glad that it wasn’t another death to capitalists poster. Synthesis picked up a menu, and passed it over to me. “So what are you having?”

Looking at the menu, it only had three options. The hearty vegetable soup sounded nice, but the green burger supreme sounded filling, or the salad stir fry might be a good choice. “The soup sounds good, I’ll have that.” I hoofed the menu back to Synthesis, and she simply put it down.

“My favorite is the stir fry; you should try that next time.” The mare gave me a big smile, playing with a glass. “So, how have you been liking it here? It’s a big change from your old life, that’s for sure.”

I really wanted to go home and forget about everything I saw here. The feeling that at any moment, everything will come crashing down on me was making me feel stressed, and to top it off, I was feeling less like me each day. “It’s been wonderful, never thought I’d see the day that I would have more than three meals a day, and not have to worry about falling into debt.” I gave my best ‘totally not hogshitting’ smile.

A waitress with a pitcher of water came and poured us a drink and took our orders. “Miss, if you could be ever so kind, and get us a bottle of your best rum?” Synthesis in that moment lacked that hyperactive charisma, even sounded a bit different. The mare nodded and trotted away with the menus. Turning her attention back to me, Synthesis was back to her bubbly self. “I know, right? Free food, free healthcare, free housing, and free education. It’s everything a pony could ever want. Oh when I was a little filly, just having more than one meal a day was nothing more than a dream to have, some days I went without any.” She sipped her glass of water. “When the Equalists took over and took me in, my life only got better. Not just my life, but the lives of so many others who were ready to give up and die in the gutter.”

Drinking some of the water, I couldn’t help but agree. Though I had my reservations, the republic did seem to do a few things right. “From the sounds of thing, lots of ponies owe the republic their lives.” But lots of ponies were also killed by the Equalists, and many more work like they are slaves. “It’s amazing how the republic has been able to do so much, it’s almost unreal to tell the truth.” It was hard to tell if the old republic was any better or worse than the current one. The remnants on Pineapple Island did well enough, but many ponies there did find themselves on the short end of the stick, eventually living at Charon’s Stop.

“I know, right?” Synthesis said with a chuckle. “If anything, the republic is good at unifying ponies into one central goal. Something we will do for the rest of the metro, one day.”

Our food and drinks came out, it smelling wonderful to me. The waitress poured us a cup of the rum, and place it on the table. Nothing looked all that special about the drink, and I was a bit wary about just drinking it. The thought of it being drugged crossed my mind.

“So you say the republic took you in as a foal? How was it like growing up like that?” Sipping the soup, the broth was delicious.

“At first, it was like being in an orphanage, just so many of us with no place to go.” She downed the rum in one go, I could only bet her cybernetic body processed that stuff faster then she could get drunk. “But when they got to work, everything changed for the better. We were all still stuck together, but we were given all the things we though only the rich kids could have. A whole collection of comic books was what got to me the most. Something I just tore into, and stuck with me as I grew up.”

“Big comic book fan then? What where your favorites?” I decided to try the rum. It was strong, burned all the way down, and burned its way back up. Good stuff.

Synthesis chuckled as she took a bite out of her salad. “Me personally? I’m a big fan of the Mysterious Mare Do Well and the Reaver. The whole fighting crime from the shadows, rooting out the darkness that lies in the hearts of ponies. Can’t get better than that. What about you? Read any comics as a foal, listen to any radio shows?”

With a sigh I confessed, I did have my favorites. “I enjoyed Drum Tablature as a foal, read a bunch of Shadow Spade, and even caught the old radio show for the Silver Shadow when I was lucky.” I at one point had a modest collection, but passed them onto my little brother. “I think I just loved the style and class of those old characters. How solving a problem was not just an act of brute force, but intellect. That and they all looked good doing it.”

The cyber mare shrugged. “Drum Tablature, really. I always found his big yellow trench coat to be annoying to look at. Not to mention that some of the villains would get away.” She gave a dismissive wave as she talked. “Naw, none of that would have even happened with the Reaver. He found the bad guys, and took them down.”

I could only roll my eyes as I ate my soup. “It’s all simple power fantasy. But that’s what’s great about the detective comics, the villains may get away, but never for long. As soon as they slip up, commit another crime, they’re there to catch them, and send them to jail.”

Synthesis looked a bit annoyed as she poured us a drink. “Still, the bad ponies should not even be allowed to get away. If you know their bad, you should just put them down. The villains of the Reaver never come back for vengeance, not like in Drum Tablature’s comics”

She was being a bit too passionate about the comic book thing. I’ve haven’t read any in years, so this debate was starting to grind on me. “That’s good and all, but I just like my story’s to have some realism in it, that’s all. Heroes are not perfect, and sometimes villains get away.”

With a loud bang, Synthesis hit the table. “Maybe heroes should be perfect, and villains should never get away, ever.” She said with a growl in her voice. The two of us remained quiet for a moment, Synthesis pulling herself back, and regaining her composer. “Sorry, I’m a bit overly fond of my favorite comic. But I can understand your point of view. Life’s not fair, and yours is no exception. Even when greatness was set forth before you.”

I tensed up as I looked into Synthesis eyes. Her cold mechanical stare gave nothing away, but her words did. “So you know.”

“Yes, from the start.” Her voice shifted, sounding deep, familiar. “I was surprised at first when I read Blaster Beam’s report. But I had no doubt it was you, and I had to confirm it.”

“Theremin?” she slowly nodded, a big grin on her face. Taking the small glass of rum, I downed the whole drink in one go. “Well fuck.”

She… he sighed. “Oh don’t be that way miss Echo, I’m not here to fight you.”

“Then what, you’ll let me go home.” It was a shot, not one I had much confidence in.

Chuckling, Theremin shook his head. “Sorry but I’m bringing you in deeper.”

Ya, I didn’t like the sound of that. “So, can you at least answer me this, why me?”

Theremin poured himself another drink, and finished off his lunch. Before even looking back at me. “Now, let me get one thing straight, with my own personal feelings aside. It’s not because you're special.” He sipped the rum slowly, one eye on me. “You simply fit the profile.”

“Profile?”

He tapped at his pipleg, the screen flashing and beeping. “We have a list of ponies who match a certain profile, ponies we see as a good fit into our ranks. History, training, temperament, and psychological profile. Some with talents we can use, others who are simply useful.” He quickly finished off his drink, placing the glass back down on the table. “You come from a stable family, and other than a few fights, no criminal record to speak of. Most of it is just you defending your sister or a friend when they do get in trouble.”

I remember some of that. Rototom had a tendency to pick fights with security from other stations, none of us filed any reports about it, an unwritten rule that any problem that happened between security ponies stays with security ponies. Sweet on the other hoof got in fights with other mares, so I tended to stay out of it and bail her out after.

Theremin continued. “You were trained by Orthrus, of which is nothing all that special, but having the military training and discipline is useful for having a pony who can follow orders. What interests us more is your overall demeanor within Orthrus. Calm, hardworking, never having a problem with doing the more basic jobs, if not picking them as your first choice. You could say that you were a bit of a boring mare when in Orthrus.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s called doing a job. I don’t need to be on combat missions to get a job done. Why does everypony look down on the paperwork jobs?”

Theremin chuckled and waved his hoof as to calm me down. “Don’t worry, I don’t. Truthfully, we need more ponies willing to do paperwork, not less. As for your temperament, in your time as a mercenary, you have shown great restraint when dealing with more difficult clients, and a cool head in situations that would cause most to panic outright. Recent events only solidify that observation.” He passed me the bottle of rum, but I shook my head, feeling warm and fuzzy enough. He just shrugged and poured himself another drink. “Your psychological profile is a bit harder to pin down, but as it stands you're quite healthy. No addictions, or any really bad habits. It is listed here that you do have a phobia of being submerged under water, but other than that, nothing that would make you an unintentional danger to the republic.”

I gave a light chuckle. “What if I told you I have had been having hallucinations of a shadowy black mare wherever I go?”

He just shrugged. “Stress does weird things to the mind, something that will go away once you settle in.”

I just slumped in my seat “So basically, the republic's interest in me is nothing more then-” I air quoted with my hooves. “-I fit the profile” placing my hooves on the table, I looked into Theremins eyes. “So am I safe to assume that I have no choice in this recruitment?”

Theremin shook his head. “Not-a-one. But don’t worry, It’s not at all bad here, I’m sure you will love it once you’ve been properly added to the team.”

I sighed. “So how’s this going to go down. Did you drug the food, or drink?”

The stallion in the cyber mare’s body rolled his eyes. “Oh I would never ruin good food and drink by drugging it. A simple sleep spell is all I really need.” he lifted his right foreleg up at me, the little glass panels were glowing red now, like the beam legs that Blaster Beam had. “Now go to sleep, everything will be much better when you wake up. Trust me.”

There was a small flash of light, and everything became fuzzy, like I had way too much to drink, then darkness.

______________________________________

Cold, numb, and blind. It’s all that I was. For how long? I didn’t know. But I knew time had passed.

My mind must have been elsewhere, dreaming or drugged, probably both. But I awoke to the sound of whispering… no, not awake, I was defiantly still asleep, nothing was this dark… yet not dark at all. I could see my hooves… no… maybe… They were normal hooves, pony hooves, peach in color like my coat. I also happened to be in the nude, which alarmed me at first, but with nopony around, I quickly calmed down. The strangest thing, shocking really, was when I looked back at my back legs, and saw a… a cutie-mark.

The cutie-mark was a silver shield, like the kind used by the royal guard of the old world, with a crest of a golden eye on it. I don’t know why, but It reminded me of a time when a friend of mine ran afoul of a group of other mares, and I spent a week keeping an eye in her incase she got cornered by them. My diligence paid off, and I saved her from getting hit by a lead pipe, and gave them all a black eye, but lost a tooth in return. Probably wouldn’t have lost that one if Rototom hadn’t joined in. Mom and dad scolded us for getting into a fight, but strangely enough, we had a big dinner after that tasted really good.

Tearing myself away from the cutie-mark, my eyes focused on something else that was here with me. It was hard to tell what it was, only that there was a green light. Taking my first step, solid ground beneath me, despite not seeing any ground at all, just blackness. Getting closer, I knew what that all too familiar light was. Stepping into the pipbucks glow, I could now see the mare who owned it. “Hello Phobetor.”

The black mare tapped away at a terminal her pipbuck was connected too, I’d ask why I couldn’t see her or the terminal before stepping into the green light, but that was the least of the questions I had. She had this look on her face, an intense stare with a gleeful smile, like when playing a fighting game against a hard opponent, and you’re starting to beat them. Looking at the screen of the terminal, it was a wall of text, a mix of numbers, pony symbols, and a few zebra symbols. “So you're aware now. That’s good, I’m almost done here.”

“Done with what?” So many questions, might as well start with the one staring me in the face.

She chuckled. “Just setting up a meeting. It’s amazing how much you ponies have advanced in technology, but still take such foolish shortcuts with it. Once I’m able, I need to study it all in detail, and fix these errors.” She tapped a few more times, ending with one exaggerated tap. “And done. With this, our deal is almost done.”

“What’s going on? Tell me!” I was feeling so damned confused, it was making me both mad and scared. I felt sick to my stomach, and my head hurt, like somepony was sticking something hot into it. “Please.”

Phobetor turned to look at me with her golden eyes, I don’t know why, but for a moment I thought they were my eyes. “You’re getting plugged in, and I’m using this opportunity to get what I want. Don’t worry, the deal still stands. Once I have my secret, you can have your path home.” I didn’t trust her, and something inside of me was screaming that this was all wrong, that something was wrong with me. “I wouldn’t worry too much, it should pass soon, not that I’m an expert in arcane tech.”

I felt it, like somepony stabbed me in the neck, right into my spine. I collapsed, unable to move, the pain so intense that I couldn’t scream, just moan in terror. Phobetor just looked down on me with a pitied look, I don’t know why, but I felt it was a mistake to accept her help, that I should have just died instead.

The pain got worse, like somepony twisted the blade, tilted it, and jammed it into my brain. It was on fire; my brain was burning. Whoever was doing this, I just wish they would stop and let me die. I don’t know how long I laid there in the blackness, just me and the pain, with Phobetor having had trotted off to parts unknown. A light suddenly came to life above, like a star in the sky. Whispers, they were quiet at first, but quickly became clearer, along with the appearance of more stars, which were getting closer.

I found myself getting back onto my hooves, the pain dull now, like it was never that bad in the first place. The lights were much closer now, and I watched as they sped toward me… no I was coming to them. Like a flash I was surround by them, the whispers loud, but too many to understand what was being said. It all felt warm, comforting, and… right. I didn’t feel upset anymore, I didn’t remember why I thought I was upset in the first place. I was probably just overthinking things again. Yeah, that was the problem, I was thinking too much.

I don’t know why, but I looked back at my flank, seeing nothing there by my peach color coat. It was like I was expecting to see a cutie-mark, which was odd, I never had a cutie-mark before... So why would I think I had one?

Shrugging at nothing in particular, I sat down and waited for myself to wake up. Today felt like it was going to be a wonderful day. Strange as it was, I still felt like I was forgetting something important...

______________________________________

Footnote:

New perk:

-Jacked- Ever wanted to plug yourself into a terminal, well now you can, just watch out for those nasty computer viruses and malware.

Chapter 25 - Fear No Evil

Chapter 25 - Fear No Evil

Lost and confused. That was a good start, I was lost and confused. Lost as in I had no clue to where I was, all I knew was that everything was dark. Confused, because I hadn’t the faintest idea what I had been doing before getting here, or well, why I would be in a dark room. But one thing did stick in my mind, life wanted to fuck me over.

You know that feeling, like everything has gone wrong? Where you have no control, and if you try to do anything then things will just get worse? Like, if life kicked open the door and said ‘We’re going to fuck!’ and you’re not really in the mood, but figured that you might as well let it do its thing so that life will stop being such a cunt and you can go to sleep. Sure that it would be fine. But that’s when life is ready to get going, and you’ve at least gotten yourself aroused enough to enjoy it a little, Life suddenly switched holes and fucked your ass without lube.

Now you would have been fine with it if life had told you, and had used lube, but now you just feel pain, and have to bite down on the bed sheets so not to cry out in pain because life is too fucking dumb to tell the difference between that and a cry for harder. Yet, harder life goes, until it’s finished. Worse yet, now life cuddles you tightly. So in the end, you’re stuck in bed, your cum filled ass hurting, wanting to strangle life in ten different ways, and worst of all, now you can’t get to sleep.

I felt that bad.

I also felt cramped.

Stretching out my legs, I found that I was in a very small room. “Hello?” I called out, hoping I was at least somewhere friendly, and far from bandits. I would rather not have my description of life becoming an actual experience with a bandit. Though it’s probably still be better than getting caught by a bandit mare. One close call was enough for a lifetime.

“Is someone there?” The voice of a stallion called back.

I breathed a sigh of relief, as it didn’t sound like a bandit, no cursing. “Yes! I seem to be stuck in here?”

There was a pause before I heard hoof steps trotting towards me. A loud creek was accompanied by sudden bright light, and me falling over into another room. “I have so many questions, the least of which is how’d you get into my apartment. I don’t remember inviting a mare over in… years I think.” My vision recovered, and the stallion came into view. He was a earth pony with a dark purple coat, a bit like the Sparkle-Lurkers. However, his mane was a very pale blue, with a jade green streak. Offering his hoof, I took it and got back up on my own hooves.

“Sorry about that, I don’t even remember inviting myself in, or ending up in a closest?” Brushing myself off, I found myself in a frilly, light purple sundress similar to the kind ponies had during the war. The pony in front of me had on a clean blue Jacket, with yellow trim, and R&D patched onto his shoulder, It was stable barding, but not like any kind I had ever seen. On his right foreleg was a pipbuck, or what I could only guess was an odd model of one. The thing covered his leg like a piece of armor, but the tell tale design of a pipbuck was there, no doubt about it. “The name’s Vibraphone.”

“Slowtrot.” He responded. “I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

I nodded. “No, that’s fine. A stranger in your home is a bit concerning.” I got up and looked at the room I was in. It looked like one of the pictures from the old world, the kind Stable-Tec would display to make the stables look a lot nicer than they actually were. A bed, desk, carpet, cabinet, and even a puffy couch facing an old TV furnished the fairly bland room. I also saw that there were no doors or windows that would let me out of here. “I don’t want to sound alarming, but how do I get out?”

“P’hhh” The stallion waved his hoof dismissively. “The doors over here.” He trotted over to the far wall, and pressed his hoof against it. Nothing happened. Looking a bit perplexed, he tapped at it a few times. “Looks like I got the wrong spot.” He said as he feigned laughter. I watched as he would take a step and tap on the wall, eventually getting to the end of the wall, and starting on the next. He eventually made a full circle, finding nothing.

“Great, so this room has no exit.” I huffed. It was annoying to know I was lost, but trapped too, not a good day.

“Nonsense, we just have to find the entrance, and make that our exit.” He looked up at the ceiling, and shook his head. “No door there.” He began tapping on the floor, taking a step and tapping.

“If we had some tools, we could try to break through the walls.” It was an idea, but I didn’t know how valid.

“I don’t think so; the walls are all real solid. We would have to chip our way out. But you do have a point.” The stallion, trotted past me, and opened the door to the closet. “Well that solves this problem!”

Raising an eyebrow, I trotted over to see what he was talking about. Looking through the closet door, it was no longer dark inside, nor was it a closet anymore. Stepping through, we were in a bigger room than before. It was much like the room we’d just been in, but with much more space, and had posters of the old ministries on them. Three on one wall, three on the opposing wall, with the other two walls featuring a poster of Luna, and a poster of Celestial.” These weren’t the posters I recognized at all, and were far less propaganda pushing than anything I’d seen in the stations.

Slowtrot stepped up to one of the posters “Oh, now these are classics. You don’t normally see these anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

He tapped at the posters of Rainbow Dash, it showed a proud looking Pegasus in a wonderbolt uniform. Under it was stated one word, Loyalty. “These posters were all over the place early into the war, but by the time Celestia stepped down, they were quite rare to find. From what I remember, the princess wanted Equestria back to peacetime in just a year or two when the war started.”

I shook my head. “Obviously that didn’t happen.”

“No it didn’t.” He said with a sigh. Walking into the center of the room, he began to rub his chin. “Loyalty, Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Magic, Sun and Moon.”

Remembering my history classes, the ministry mares were once known for their virtues, and the princesses’ were known for raising and lowering the sun and moon. “The mares of the Ministry of Awesome, Wartime Technology, Morale, Image, Peace, Arcane Science, as well as the princess who stepped down, and the princess who stepped up.”

The posters suddenly melted away like wax from a candle. Under them were the familiar wartime propaganda posters that were all over the old world ruins and the metros. All except the poster of Celestia, which peeled off and turned to ash, revealing another door.

Slowtrot walked over to the door and opened it. “I’m betting there's some meaning to all this. Loss maybe… or it’s going over my head.” He poked his head through the door. “Oh a bigger room!”

The next room was certainty bigger, still furnished with the same stuff as the other two rooms. Even the posters were there, but old, worn, and burnt. Just like they were in all the old tunnels and on the toxic surface.

“Uhhh, what happened here?” The stallion trotted over to the couch that was under the old poster of the head of the Ministry of Peace. The couch itself looked almost as worn down as the poster. “Or mainly, what hasn’t happened here. It looks like nopony’s been in here for years.”

“Possibly a century or two.” I pointed out. A thick layer of dust covered everything, and Slowtrot’s hoof steps left a visible trail as he kicked up the dust around him. “If you’ve got a gas mask, you should put it on. The paint and insulation the old world put into their constructions were quite toxic.” I patted myself down, checking my pockets, only finding a quill, and strangely, a coupon for a new sofa. “Great, I hope I don’t get cancer from this.”

Sowtrot gave me a confused look before trotting over to the worn poster of Luna. “You know, I don’t remember seeing very many posters of Luna, do you?”

I shook my head. “Of the old world posters, only one. Orthrus has a little museum dedicated to the old world, and they have the only poster of Luna I’ve ever seen. If I remember correctly, it was from early on in her rule, as a call for unity. Why do you ask?”

Slowtrot looked back to the poster, and took a step to the side, allowing me to see it in full. “Well because I don’t remember ever seeing this one before.” Stepping up to get a better look, the image filled me with awe and dread.

At first glance it was a work of fine art. Highly detailed, Luna’s mane extended and became the night sky, the flowers decorating its locks transitioning out and becoming stars. Flowers of blue, silver, and purple were everywhere on the poster, framing Luna in a majestic pose as she wore a flowing robe. But there were two problems I had with this poster; one was that Luna was cradling a battle rifle in her fetlocks, and two, under her image was the words, “Fight for your Goddess, and she will watch over you always.”

“I want to say early industrial era equestrian art, but Luna had not even returned yet.” Slowtrot commented.

I sighed, having a clue to what might be the source of the poster. “If I had to make an educated guess, it’s a post war poster.” I pointed at the two things that stood out as wrong to me. “between the rifle, and the reverence for Luna as a goddess, I’d say this poster was made by pirates.”

A cold chill ran through me, and the poster was blown off the wall by a gust of wind out of nowhere. Once more a door stood in place where the poster once was. I looked over at Slowtrot, who now was fighting to get the poster off of his face. “You know; I think it’s my turn to check the next room.” Opening the door, I took a step forward, and by no surprise, I was in a slightly larger room, similar to the one I was in before.

Slowtrot followed, now with the poster folded up and sticking out of a pocket. He scanned the room for a moment and scratched his head. “Looks like a Stable-Tec room, yet not.”

He was right. The posters this time were from Orthrus, which was in a way Stable-Tec, yet not. “You seem to know a lot about propaganda posters, how do you not know about the posters Orthrus used?”

“Orthrus?” he gave me another confused look. “Sorry, I don’t understand. Who are Orthrus?”

“Orthrus is… it’s a peace keeping group.” This was just too strange, the rooms, the stallion, and even me. “Who are you exactly? You have R&D stable barding, yet you don’t know about Orthrus?”

He shrugged. “Sorry, I’ve only been in the R&D stable for a day, two maybe… I think.” Scratching his chin with his hoof, he looked as if he was in deep thought. “Actually, I don’t know how long I’ve been here.” Shaking his head, he took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m sure it will come to me later. Anywho, I’m the R&D’s courier, though it’s more an honorary title then an actual job.” He tapped at his pipbuck and presented it to me. “Here’s my ID.”

The pipbuck told me what he said, but it was still not enough for me to take seriously. “Just a moment, let me verify your pipbuck.” Lifting Minerva up, I activated its wireless verification. It was a simple transfer of data, and if his pipbuck was fake, mine would know. With a beep I pulled back my pipleg, and check the screen. “Data received. Identification confirmed. Pipbuck unlocked. Specter program reactivated” I stared at Minerva for a moment, feeling confused. His pipbuck had unlocked the systems on mine, which would mean they were locked in the first place. The weirdness was getting to be a bit too much for me. “Yeah, you’re good, and then some.” I shook my head in disbelief. “You know what? Let’s focus on getting out of here.”

Slowtrot nodded in agreement, and began looking about the room. I recognized each of the posters from early in Orthrus’s history, some being from before the named changed from Stable-Tec. Recruitment, information about the gene therapy treatment, and one simply advising ponies to stay calm and carry on. That last one stuck around over the years, but as a trend their popularity comes and goes.

Last time it was the Luna poster of the pirates, before that it was Celesta. I didn’t understand, but I was slowly remembering something important. In my history class, Celestia fell from power, and in her place came the ministries. The pirates worshiped Luna as a god, Celestia too… Pirates?

“Pirates?”

Slowtrot stopped what he was doing, which was trying to peel off a poster with his hoof. Admirable as his efforts were, he was getting nowhere at all. “What about pirates?”

“I mean, why would there be a pirate poster, if it is pirates, I mean.” My memory was fuzzy, but I think I knew it had to be. As strange as it was, I think I remember running into pirates before.

Slowtrot shrugged. “Probably because pirates are cool, with the swagger and all that. There were even three big movies about pirates, four actually, but I skipped the last one. I heard it was a bit meh. Oh! There’s also a movie about sky pirates, I haven’t seen it yet, but I heard that it has the M.o.I. hoof prints all over it, so low expectations.”

Right… movies. “I’m talking about real pirates, with battle rifles, vertibirds, and somehow the ability to not die when I shoot them.” Wait… Yes, I remember it now! Though... I wish I could forget the molestation.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Pirates? As in, real pirates?” Shaking his head, Slowtrot gave a little laugh. “If there were any pirates still around, the navy would have rounded them up long ago.”

“The navy? The equestrian navy has been dead and gone for over two hundred years! Are you some sort of confused ghoul or something?” Great, fucking great. I’m lost, confused, stuck in a weird room within a room, and to top it off, my companion thinks he is still in the old world. He just need to have most of his fur missing, some of his skin peeling off, and I’d have nearly feral ghoul that needs to be locked away.

“I don’t know what your refering to, or why you would say such a ridiculous thing.” He gave me the kind of look that a colt gets when they think they know more then you. A sort of cocky with a hint of snobby look. “But I know two things. I am no zompony, and the navy is... is…” A look of pure confusion washed over his face, followed by… panic.

“Is what?” I said softly, as his sudden mood shift worried me.

Tapping at his pipbuck, Slowtrot’s movements became far more stressed, like a pony about to have a panic attack. Putting his hooves back down, he took a deep breath, and looked over at me. “I can’t seem to reach anyone, the radio’s dead.”

I checked Minerva as well, and to no surprise I didn’t see any signal. Not that it was anything rare in the metro, with some spots being dark zones for radio signals. “Who are you trying to reach?”

“Somepony important. Stable-Tec I think. It’s all hazy, like my memory is a blur, and many pieces are missing.” Slowtrot looked about the room, and shook his head. “But I think I remember seeing the navy, and she… yes, she was there! So I have to warn everypony, or she’s going to kill them. That’s what she does, I know it.”

“Who are you talking about?” Looking past him, the room seemed to ripple, and the posters behind him looked as if they were starting to burn, but without the flame, they were just turning brown.

His eyes darted about, as if worried somepony was might be eavesdropping. “Admiral Thorn Roseland.” He said in a hushed tone.

Roseland… that name, I remember hearing it.

The burning posters turned to ash, and in their place were flags. Black with a skull and crossbones marking. The flag in the middle was the same, but the skull had been replacing by a green circle with thorns, which had a red teardrop in the middle.

Slowtrot lifted his hoof up, and pointed behind me. “Look at that.” Turning around, I saw a blue flag depicting the symbol of Orthrus, a two headed dog. On either side of it were two other flags. One being of the Orphic Kingdom, a gold flag depicting a harp and crown. And the other being of the Republic, a red flag with a pink flower framed by laurels.

Looking between the two groups of flags, I understood what it meant.

“War.” Saying the word sent a cold chill up my spine, like I had cast some dark spell or opened a box of evil. Looking at the flags, one of them caught my eye. The Republic’s flag. Like something was tugging at my mind, something to do with the republic, something very important. “I think I found the next door.” Trotting over to the flag, I lifted it up to find not a door, but a hole in the wall. “Close enough.”

On the other side was not a room, but a large hallway with doors as far as the eye can see. Looking back, there was another republic flag, this one having the pink flower replace by a pickaxe and shovel. I’ve seen this variation of the republic's flag before. Not commonly, but with its association with revolution it had a bad habit of showing up when trouble was brewing.

Slowtrot came out from behind the flag, still looking a bit confused, and worried. “Well, at least it’s not another samey room.”

I shook my head, feeling like this would lead to only bad things. “No it’s not. Though I’m starting to wish I was back in the other rooms.”

“Nonsense!” Slowtrot stated. “Something weird and magical is ahoof! You don’t get to trot into that everyday.” He tried to open one of the doors, but it didn’t budge. “Now, I’m not the most adventurous of ponies, or well, the most social. But I know one thing from my time at doing nothing. By doing nothing, nothing will come to you.” He tried another door, and that too didn’t budge. “Though truth be told, I enjoy a simple life. Have a simple job, find a mare I can love, some foals, and not have to worry about world ending.”

“But the world is unfair, and we can’t have everything we want.” I added.

Slowtrot huffed, and continued his trot down the hallway, as I stayed close behind. We would try a door periodically, but every one of them stayed firmly locked. “I know that, but it’s not like I wanted to be a king, or to have it all. I already know you can’t have it all, or even have most of it. By Tartarus, most of the time you can’t even have half the things you want. So a simple life, that’s like, one fourth of what we all want, the rest can come and go with the wind.” With a loud knock, he banged his hoof on the door. “But I did nothing, expecting that to fall in my waiting hooves, foolishly expecting that I’d get anything at all. But when you do nothing, nothing comes to you.”

I chuckled, as inappropriate as it sounds, but if felt funny to me. “You’ve got that all wrong. If you do nothing, than others will take what you do have from you. By malice, or by love.” Yeah, fuck you Rototom. I know she wanted the best for me, but pushing me out of Orthrus from the shadows, I don’t think I will ever stop hating her for that. I loved her, but I hated her just as well. No, that wasn’t it. I hated her because I loved her. Shaking my head, I laughed loudly. “It’s like nopony can just leave things be, ever.”

The stallion leaned back on a door, and smiled. “You know what, you’re right. With all the jobs I’ve had to do, that sounds about right. I’ve had managers pile work on me to get me more motivated to work, or other employees use me as a stepping stone. All because I didn’t try harder to get anything at all what I wanted.” He shook his head, giving a dismissive shrug. “I’m not stupid, I know how to advance in about any job. You work harder, but more importantly, you butter up the ponies above you. I’ve seen ponies who were shit at their job, but got promoted because they smoke the same kind of cigarettes as their boss.”

Looking at Slowtrot, it made me a bit depressed. He had that shade of purple I liked, but the stallion was pudgy and soft looking. If he was much leaner, had a scar or two, and was a bit dustier, I’d consider fucking him. With a sigh, I shook the thought from my mind. Thoughts about sex are not going to help me get out of this weird place. “Well enough about that, what do you think this place is?”

He scratched his chin, and shrugged. “If I had to guess, it’s an unoriginal representation of a connected mindscape. It’s used a lot in movies where somepony travels into others dreams, or when some ponies mind is being read.”

Connected mindscape… the C.C.N! “How about the minds of a population connected through a supercomputer made up of brains?”

Slowtrot cocked an eyebrow. “That’s… familiar.”

“Familiar?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I remember now, it was from an old tv show that was popular early in the war. Professor Hooves I think it was called. Well, she had three main antagonists, one of which were the Cyber Mares. The Cyber Mares were robots that use to be ponies, all connected with each other, and would forcefully upgrade other ponies they met. The robotic ponies were goofy looking, but yet, strangely terrifying.”

Looking down the hallway, and back where we had come from, it all looked like it extended far beyond what my eyes could see. “If I’m remembering right, I think we’re in something like that.”

“Cyber Mares… that’s disturbing.”

I shook my head. “No, nothing that… fuck, it might as well be that. It’s called the C.C.N. the Collective Consciousness Network. Everypony in the republic’s capital is connected to it, and shares what they know with everyone else. It’s… Euphoric.”

“Sound like madness to me.” Slowtrot blurted out. “Now I like talking with other ponies, I do a lot. But I need my alone time. So the thought of being connected to a shit ton of other ponies, all the time?” He visibly shook. “I’ve worked in retail for a long time now. There are ponies who you wish you never met, the kind that thinks it’s okay that they smell like month old shit. Ponies who get mad at you because you won’t let them steal that bottle of cider. Oh and let’s not forget the ponies who go on for hours about how evil zebras are, yet have never seen one in their life.” He tapped his head, visibly angry. “If I was connected to all these ponies, I’d have to be lobotomized just so I don’t start killing them. You know, purging the stupidity.”

I chuckled at his rant. “Yeah, I’ve met a few ponies I’d like to shoot. They’re just the kind of pony that makes you think that chemical castration would be a good thing. You know, just to make sure that their stupidity does not continue into the next generation.”

Slowtrot gave out a big sigh. “But you know that the stupid ponies would eventually get in power, and the next thing you know, everypony who thinks two plus two equals four is now sterile.”

I had to agree with that. It was an old philosophy that was part of Orthrus, a way of thinking that was part of its foundation. “Any weapon or tactic you can make, can and will be used against you. Also known as the reversal of fortune.” I looked up at the door Slowtrot was leaning back on. No number, or any other identification.

“You see anything.” He asked.

“No, nothing.” Which means we might not be going anywhere at all. “Nothing… yeah, that might be it.”

Slowtrot looked up, and then back down at me. “Nothing?”

I nodded. “Nothing, as in no door.” I took a deep breath, not that I needed to breath here. “Were going about opening these doors the wrong way. The doors don’t actually exist, or well anything here. Were in a computer network, the doors are just a visual representation.” I pointed at the door, concentrating it. “Open!” I spoke out loud.

Nothing happened, which made me feel a bit foolish.

Slowtrot Laughed. “If what you're saying is right, then the door probably has a password. You know, like in that old Saddle Arabian story?” He lifted up his hooves, and shouted. “Open Sesame Seed!” The stallion fell through the door, like the door was nothing more than a hologram. “I’m fine! The only thing I hurt was my pride.”

“And the door.” I stepped over and stuck my head through it. Inside I could see Persephone Station, and a mare sitting at a food and drink distribution station. There were other ponies, but all of them were a bit blurry, with the exception of whoever the mare was looking at. Over the head of each pony was a little holographic tab, which would open when I concentrated on it, revealing any information I wanted to know about the pony. Not only that, but it gave me the information on who the pony had been talking too, topics of interest they brought up, and even their current plans for the day. None of it exact information, but enough to know when and where a pony plans to be, and what they have made plans to do.

Pulling myself out, I helped Slowtrot up. “Well, at least we're not guessing anymore.” I commented, and he gave a nod.

Getting back on his hooves, Slowtrot did the same thing to the next door, saying the password, and sticking his head through. “You know the old saying, never attribute to malice,that which is adequately explained by stupidity.?” He waved his hoof through the door. “I think that’s what’s going on here.”

That seemed logical. “I wonder if we can summon a door. If it is as easy as yelling out a password, I mean.” Looking round, every door looked the same, yet they all had to go to different ponies. Taking in a deep breath, I called out a name. “Vibraphone Echo!” nothing happened.

“If it’s like a computer, maybe you need to put in a command fist?” Slowtrot advised.

I facehoofed. That seemed even more logical. “Search, Vibraphone Echo.” still nothing, but I had one more idea. “Search Chime Catbell.”

Everything moved, the doors zooming by at a speed that my eyes could not hope to keep up with. It was all a blur, making me feel disoriented as the doors moved without making a sound, or wind.

Stopping, nothing looked like it had changed, except one door had a green circle on it. Slowtrot was first to give it a try, saying the password, and sticking his head through the door. After what felt like a minute, he pulled back his head. “I found your sister.”

I sighed, knowing the truth. “That’s not my sister, it’s me.” Looking through the door, there I was. Black suit, tinted glasses, and next to me was Theremin. We were in what looked like a service elevator large enough to fit one of the hovercraft the republic had. There were other ponies with us, all in republic military fatigues. One of them being Blaster Beam, whom stood on the opposite side of me from Theremin.

“So we're just going to send her off like this, after all the shit we went through?” Blaster Beam scowled. “I don’t see how this helps us expand the republic.”

“It’s simple.” Theremin explained. “She will help soften up Orthrus and the Orphic Kingdom, and when they’re weakened, we can move in. If things go right, we will be seen as valiant heroes come to save the metro from the dastardly outsiders. Which will make it much easier to unify the entirety of the metro.”

Blaster huffed. “I don’t like it. Holding back, and letting some unknown group do the work for us. Too much room for error.”

“Worry not.” I watched as the words came out of my lips. “As long as we pull back, and gather our strength, victory will be assured.” It was me who was talking, but I knew it was not. Phobetor first came to mind, but whoever was talking welded too much power over the Reavers for it to be her. My second guess was that it was the C.C.N. itself. “Times are changing, and we must be ready to ride the waves. If we do not, we are doomed to sink.”

The elevator came up into a large room, no, a large hangar. Military ponies were all over the place, and there rows upon rows of hovercrafts. Most of them were the same kind that had delivered me to this island, but at the back of the room was something unexpected. Warships, but in hovercraft form… and there were four of them. Roughly ten times longer than the normal hovercraft, if not more, they were armed with cannons, heavy turrets, and missile launchers. This was the weaponry of a nation ready to go to war.

“Our main concern is Orthrus.” The C.C.N. spoke through my body. “As long as they have those two airships, and the heavy rail guns affixed to them, we can’t make a move. But if these prates and Orthrus go to war, we may have the opportunity to strike.”

“Sounds like a plan, but why bother with the metro?” Blaster commented. “If what this new information says is true, we can just leave this garbage of an island, find a new home. Show the world the glory that is true equality.”

“I agree.” Theremin spoke up. “With what we have here, we can start a colony elsewhere. Pirates be dammed, if they get in our way, we will sink their ships.”

My body nodded. “True, so very true. And we are making up plans for transporting a part of the C.C.N. to a new home. Originally the idea was to have a C.C.N. for each island, but this plan can be repurposed for setting up on a colony. But until that plan is ready, we must keep as much attention away from ourselves as we can. So all pests must be exterminated, leaks sealed, and any dissension must be silenced. Unity is our strength, and in unity we shall find perfection.”

“For Equality.” Blaster Beam stated.

“For Equality.” Theremin joined.

“For Equality.” My body spoke, which made me cringe.

I watched as the three walked off down the hanger, yet I didn’t move with them. Instead everything became quiet and cold, as the ponies working in the large hangar vanished. Eventually I was in a silent hangar voided of life, darker than it was before, and certainly colder.

“Strange, how is it that you are free from the box I put you in.” A black mare, Phobetor, stepped out from behind a hovercraft. “I even put the box inside a box, and inside another box. Even if you broke free from the first box, it still should have taken you days to break free from the others. How?”

“Maybe I’m just that damn special.” I spoke in a mocking tone.

Phobetor just laughed. “Special? No, no you are not. Skilled, disciplined, and maybe even a bit lucky. But not special in any way possible. If I wanted to toy with a pony who was special, I’d be talking with your sister. So, how did you break free? Who helped you?”

“Why are you doing this?” I shot back at her. “What the fuck are you?”

“That’s not how this goes, my foolish little pony.” She stomped her hoof on the ground, and a wave of cold wind hit me, and the lights became dimmer. “I ask, you answer.” She stomped again, and another blast of cold air hit me, and made things even dimmer than before “I demand, you deliver. It is simple, you will comply.”

Yeah, fuck that. “Eat shit, Phobetor!” I took a step back, and readied myself to charge forward.

“You think you have any control here. What a laugh. Body and soul, you are mine.” She cackled. “And soon, so very soon, I’ll have full control. No need for games, just domination.” She stomped her hoof one more time, and the room became as cold as death, my own breath forming a cloud in front of me.

“Hey, Vibraphone!” Light bust from the doorway I had come from, and standing in front of it was Slowtrot. “I was thinking, have you ever heard of hammer space? It’s what they use to make the larger-on-the-inside bags, maybe this place is like the same thing?”

“YOU!” Phobetor shouted. “HOW!?”

Slowtrot looked up at the black mare, and waved. “Hi Phobetor, what are you doing here?”

The black mare’s eyes twitched, her hoof dug into the ground. “Impossible. I made sure you didn’t make it out alive, sent you into the void when you teleported…” Phobetor paused, then laughed, cackled actually. “I see. You’re nothing more than a shade. An empty echo of the past. Like all things this mare seems to connect with.” She shifted her eyes over to me, and smiled. “It must be a talent of yours, not that you have a cutie mark to show it. But even with that, you will fail. You are simply destined to, for you are not special. Even with help, all you can do is delay the inevitable.” She tapped one of her back hooves twice, and smiled. “Let me introduce you to… you.”

Another pony trotted out from behind the hovercraft. Peach coat, blond mane, golden eyes. The pony was me, but in a black suit. Phobetor pointed at the mare with her hoof. “This here is Chime Catbell. Your new you. Her loyalties are to me, and some to the Republic. Such a wonderful bunch of fools. But first she must suppress you, and finish off that nuisance of a shade stuck within you.”

Phobetor faded into the darkness, her eyes were last to disappear, simply becoming two floating golden orbs before blinking out of existence. Chime stepped forward, flipping her mane up and out of her eyes before talking. “Such a sad turn of events. A mind divided cannot stand, so let us become one once more, Unify ourselves into one pony. With me being dominant of course.”

“How about… No?” was my response. No guns, or blade, this was going to be a slugfest at best. “If you give up, then we can go home. Live a peaceful life. No need to be shot at ever again.”

Chime Catbell chuckled, and gave a fat smile. “So you want to give up on this!” She lifted up a hoof displaying the war hovercraft in the back. “We have been given the gala ticket, a straight line to the top, and we want it. Oh a simple life sounds nice, but we know better. Being rich, having all others below us, that’s where true happiness is.” She let her hoof down, and gave me a concerned look. “You and I, we’re the same. We both know the truth of the metro, and we both know a simple life is not what we want. It’s just the matter of us settling for accepting an option we can obtain, but not the life we want. Deep down, what we want is a better life, to look down on all the ponies who choose a more savage way then us. To show them that their way is truly inferior”

“Lies, I am not so shallow!” Whoever this bitch is, she is not me.

“Shallow?” Chime stuck her nose up into the air. “It is not shallow, it is the truth.”

Slowtrot stepped in between us, with a concerned look on his face. “Don’t let her get to you Vibraphone, we all have our flaws. Like me, even. I’m Lazy, uncommitted, and probably a coward. If somepony called me that, it’d hurt, it really would. But only because it’s true. Yet, If I can accept it at all, I can work to become a better pony.”

Chime laughed. “Simple platitude from a ghost. Long dead, from the generation that killed the world. You know, back just over a week ago, we would have never had this split. The simple life would have been good, best for us, maybe.” She lifted up her right forehoof, and a spark of electricity jolted through it. “But times change. Finding the princess was one thing, a guarantee to riches, a way to make life easier, and potential connections to bring in more bits. But Merit and his companions? That’s new, big, it could mean a paradigm shift. If we can use it to gain power, to lead the metro into a new age, we would be the most powerful pony to have ever lived. And how would any savage equestrian ever stop us?”

“That’s not true!” I spat back.

“Not true? It is the truth.” Chime retorted. “From what those Pegasus have told us, Equestria is ripe for the taking. The Enclave only failed because they tried to take it all at once. But you and I, we know how to do it right. Bit by bit, we retake equestria. Purge the savages, take in those willing to become civilized. And in time, equestria will belong to us. We have the tech, we have the military, and as soon as the republic connects all the metro together, we will have the will. All that is needed is a pony to lead the metro to glory. Us”

I shook my head. “You’re wrong. How could I lead the metro? Why would anypony even follow me?”

Chime rolled her eyes. “Simple really. We just use others to get what we want. It’s not like we have not used others as our shield in the past.”

“Fuck you, you’re wrong!” She is not me. She’s not even part me in the slightest.

“Am I?” Chime taunted. “We let Sweet get mutilated, and took on the title of Dragon Slayer. Kantele’s spine snapped in half taking the brunt of a reavers strike, yet we left her there. Turnip drew away the fire of that vertibird so that we may get away. What is one or two more sacrificed lives if it means leading the metro to prosperity? Or maybe just one pony. Harp Melody would make a perfect sacrifice for bringing in a new age to rallying an army to retake equestria, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t think that way!” She is not me.

“Yes we do. We just suppress it because it’s not considered proper. Yet all the ponies in charge think this way, seeing us all as nothing but resources to be thrown at a problem.” Chime knocked on her own chest, anger clear as crystal on her face. “And when we understand that, when we talk about that, we become the problem. Why not have us in charge? We could change things for the better, do what they refuse to do. We can rid ourselves of the bandits, grind their bones to dust. We can free everypony from the metro, and lead them back to Equestria. Yes, we would require a sacrifice of lives, but there are so many useless ponies here, it be hardly a drop in the bucket in lives we have available to use. And we both know that the less savages there are out there, the better it is for us more civilized ponies.”

“Shut up! Shut up!” I couldn’t take it anymore, she needed to stop. “You’re not me! YOU ARE NOT ME!”

Chimes face went blank, and her head tilted. “We are not we? I am not you? Then does that mean, I am me, you are you, and we are not the same?” She relaxed, and smiled. Yet, her smile was unnaturally big, ear to ear big. “But we still share the same body, and that can’t be if we’re not the same. So then, I guess I just need to get rid of you, and let me be me.”

The air around us moved, like it was being pulled toward Chime. The fake mare seemed to take it in, her body bubbling, and growing in size. At first to the size of a large stallion, but didn’t stop, becoming bigger, like a bubble ready to pop.

Slowtrot took a step back. “I think you fucked up.” I could only nod in agreement.

The bubble that was chime kept growing, absorbing the hovercraft that was next to her. I took a step back, and galloped for cover, Slowtrot right behind me. “Maybe we should get out of here before she explodes.”

Slowtrot looked back to where the door was, and shook his head. “It’s gone, I think we’re stuck here.”

With no way out, we watched as Chime continued to grow, and finally burst. What was left was what could only be described as a monster from a nightmare. Chime had grown to three times the size of a normal pony, her wings were twisted and grew out to hold onto a large propeller each, using it to hold herself up in the air, blasting us with the wind it made. Her legs were like spider legs, made of metal, and long enough for the points to lightly touch the ground. Worst yet was her head. Though mare-like, the top of it was used to make room for a mounted LMG that sprouted out of it, the Bad Seed.

“Are you hiding little pony? Come out and play with me, it will only hurt until I am bored of you.” Chime shouted, her head swiveling side to side looking for us.

“You know what, I quit. I’m going to just end it here, fuck this shit!” Slowtrot pulled out a gun, and put it in his mouth.

Before he could fire with his hooves, I swiped the gun from him with my forehoof. “You had this all the time, and didn’t tell me!”

He sighed. “I only just remembered. Can you give me back my gun? Maybe if I shoot myself I might wake up from this?” I cocked my eyebrow. “I saw it in a movie once.”

Like fuck I would let him clock out like that, especially when I needed his help. “Well don’t. We need to focus on killing this monster first.” Taking a look at the gun, I recognized it as a 45. Auto. Commonly only seen in the arms museum as the first semi-automatic pistol used in the great war. Originally made and used by griffins, if I remember correctly, it was later converted for pony use. On the side it had an engraving “Checkoffs Promise” the phrase was lost on me, but the gun looked solid. It even had the stable-tec logo on the mouth bit. “I’m going to use this. Do you have any more bullets?”

Slowtrot fished out three magazines from his pocket. “Will this do?”

Using Minerva to grab them, I nodded. “I hope so.”

“There seven shots in each magazine, so be careful” He added.

Taking note of my ammo count, I cocked the pistol with my forehooves. With four magazines, I had a total of twenty-eight rounds to shoot. So I had to be careful with each one.

Chime was still looking for us, having pierced through a hovercraft with one of her freakish stabby legs, and dragged it across the floor. “Make this easy on yourselves, and just let me kill you.”

She got closer, and we ducked down. With one jab, her leg went through the hovercraft that hid us, the leg poking through between me and Slowtrot. We both gave each other a knowing nod, and when the craft started moving, we moved with it. With that gun protruding from her head, we needed to stay out of the line of sight, or she would destroy us. “Right, I’ll try to get a shot on her, you stay out of sight. Got it.”

He nodded. “Clear”

Luckily I could see Chime, but she could not see me. So when she turned her attention to another hovercraft, I bolted to the first one she’d moved, which happened to be nice and close. Under cover, I poked my head out, holding the gun in my mouth. One shot, one kill was what I hoped when I fired at her head.

*Bang*

The bullet flew wide, only cutting her cheek. On the my end of the gun, my ears rang like a mother fucker. Ducking down, metal slugs hammered the hovercraft I hid behind, as well as pinging off the metal to strike all around me. I was sure she didn’t see me, as her shots went wide. As long as I kept behind the thicker part of the hovercraft, I should be safe.

“Tricky, tricky. I was sure you would take up a turret to fight me, yet you have not.” She fired another stream of slugs from her head. “But don’t think you're safe just because I don’t see you. I know where you are. Your end is soon.”

The slugs ripped through the Craft like paper, one grazing my leg, tearing a hole through my nice dress. The mare may look ridiculously terrifying, but that gun as nothing to blow my nose at.

“Hey!” Slowtrots voice echoed across the hanger. “Big, mean, and overly terrifying!” Peering through one of the big fucking holes that Chimes head cannon left, I could see Slowtrot manning a turret on top of the hovercraft I had left him on. “Eat lead!”

Nothing happened.

“OH COME ON!” The stallion screamed.

Chime chuckled. “Fool!” piercing the hovercraft I was behind with two of her spider like legs, the hovercraft creaked and cracked as it began to rip in two. “Even if that gun was real, it still would not fire for you. Mirage Pony weapons are powered by Mirage Pony magic. A unicorn might manage powering it, but an earth pony? Ha, not a chance.” With a deafening roar of bending and snapping metal, Chime ripped half of the hovercraft off, and tossed it at Slowtrot. The stallion managing to dodge the flying scrap of metal by taking a face plant to the floor. “Imagine, an army of ponies, armed with weapons only they can use, all unified under the C.C.N.! Unflinching, never questioning, cannot be bribed or corrupted. As the rest of the world falls back into a stone age, we will march through, and establish ourselves as the true future of ponykind.” Lifting up the second half of the hovercraft, she pulled back to make another throw.

Now or never, I had a good shot at the bitch. I unloaded six more .45 rounds at Chime, as she was in mid throw. Making contact, the flying hovercraft went wide, crashing into another hovercraft, sending metal parts flying off everywhere. Unfortunately, that’s all my attack had done, and Chime slowly turned her head to me.

The nightmare me was bleeding from her side and neck, and she was giving me the angriest of scowls. I had managed to load another magazine in the time it took her to look at me, so with the gun ready, I glared back at her. “That hurt! But it matters not, soon you will be nothing more than a faint memory.”

It was a stare down. The gun I had proved to have an effect on her, but likely I needed to hit a critical spot to end her. She on the other hoof probably just needed to turn me to paste with the massive automatic cannon on her head. Yet she had not fired on me already… unless she can’t. Checkmate, lining up the shot, I fired at her head.

She became a blur, my shot missing its target. Chime had dashed to the side, far faster than something like her should move. Turning to shoot at her again, she leaped over me with graceful agility. It was the propeller wings she had, they allowed her to move about as though she was feather light, her long legs giving her the power to make long gradual leaps.

“Just a bit longer, then I will be able to shoot again. But until then, have THIS!” piercing another hovercraft, she flung it at me. Dashing to the side, I just barely managed to avoid the tumbling hovercraft, and ran behind another. “You cannot win. You stand no chance at all. So just give up!”

Pulling out Checkoffs Promise from my mouth, I couldn’t help but vent. “You know what, why don’t you detach one of those stupid legs, and go fuck yourself with it!” I shouted back at her before dashing to another hovercraft. Predictably, she had thrown another hovercraft at where I was, crushing one under the other.

Chime walked over the hovercraft on her four freakishly long legs like some gigantic spider monster. “Come out, come out, and die like the piece of trash you are!”

Our game of cat and mouse persisted, with each time we spotted each other, I would take a potshot at her, and she would throw a hovercraft at me. Down to two magazines for the .45 Auto, I managed to put some distance between me and Chime, reuniting with Slowtrot.

“So, this is not working.” I pointed out.

*Crunch* A hovercraft flew off in the distance, landing far enough away from us that I was not worried that she would get close.

“Has just shooting at the problem ever fixed anything?” Slowtrot stated, as he expressed himself with his hooves.

“It’s worked before… sometimes” Slowtrot raised his eyebrow at me. “Okay, but do you have a better idea?”

“I have one.” He pointed up at a crane that was above us. It obviously was used to move around the hovercrafts with much more care then Chime was doing. “If we can grab it with the crane, then you will have a clear shot at that thing.”

“Let me guess, I’m the bait.”

He nodded. “You’re the one with the gun, so you’re the bait.”

I was really regretting being the take charge mare I was. Also, new rule, never take another ponies gun, ever.

It didn’t take him long to get to the crane’s control box, and luckily, Chime was looking in a different direction as he was climbing the ladder. Now it was all me. Gaining her attention was going to be the easy part, not dieing, and or getting her under the crane, that was not.

Standing on top of a hovercraft, I yelled out, “CANNON FACE!” Chimes response was immediate, as another hovercraft came flying at me. Ducking down behind the hovercraft I was on, all the metal bits flew over me. Unharmed I stuck my head out, and shouted again. “YOU MISSED!”

Even from a distance I could see her scowl at me. With far too much ease, she trotted across the hangar of wrecked hovercraft, making her way over to me in but seconds. Her legs piercing a hovercraft, or the concrete floor which each step. “Have you finally given up? Accept the truth of your situation?”

“You know I’m not going to give up. So let’s end this right here.” I placed the gun back into my mouth, and glared at her.

Chime let out a cackle, one of her legs stomping on a hovercraft in amusement. “So in your desperation, you have become delusional. Fine by me, I do not like the idea of killing a pony who is not fighting back anyway. It makes me feel like a coward.” I just needed her a little closer. So taking a few steps back, I fired another round a her, she deflected the bullet by having lifting a piece of junk to shield her face. “Though in the end, it’s not like you can put up much of a fight.”

She leaned in close, likely to taunt me. But that put her right where we wanted her. With a loud clunk, the crane dropped its claw. Chime caught on quickly, dashing to the side to get away, but the claw hooked onto one of her propeller wings, sending the monster crashing to the ground.

“Ten points, bitch!” Slowtrot called out. Chime pulled herself up, though hooked onto the crane, it had not pinned her down like was planned, and she turned her attention to the stallion. “Oh puppy farts.” It happened all too fast, as metal slugs collided with the control box, sending dust into the air, creating a gray cloud.

My backside collapsed as all I could hear was the sound of bending metal. No way anypony could have survived that. Not bothered by the claw that was now firmly stuck to her propeller, Chime turned her attention back to me. “Shame, if he was less pudgy, and much dustier looking, I’d fuck him.” One of her legs slowly dragged across the floor, and up to me. Gently she caressed my cheek, taunting me. “Now let’s end this, okay.”

Loud coughing echoed through the hangar, and we both turned our attention to the dust cloud that was once the control box. “Sorry ma'am, but you’re not my type.” The dust cleared, and there he was, still sitting at the controls. It looked as though Chime had shot everything but the stallion and the seat he was on. “And it’s rude to call another pony pudgy.”

Pushing his weight down on a bent lever at the controls, the crane made a loud clunking sound and the claw began to retract. Chimes eyes went wide as the slack chain was pulled up, and pulled on her. Fighting it, she dug her legs into the ground, keeping her from being hoisted into the air. But the chain did not relent, and with a loud pop, the structure holding onto the claw began to break. The steel bars holding the crane broke apart, and fell from the ceiling, right onto Chime. She had managed to avoid being hung up, only to be pinned down.

It likely would not hold her for long, but long enough for me to end this farce. “Sorry, but I can’t let you have my body, I still have things to do with it.” Placing the gun back into my mouth, Chime gave me a pleading look.

“Can we not work something…” *Bang* With one shot, I cut her off. I was not interested in hearing this monster plead with me. Six more shots made sure that she was not just playing dead.

“Wow, that’s cold.” Slowtrot commented as he clumsily got himself down from the wrecked control box. It’s ladder had also been hit, and bent unnaturally, forcing the Stallion shimmy on it at one point.

When the stallion finally made it down and back to me, I hoofed back his gun. “It was some twisted copy of myself that wanted to kill me. I wasn’t interested in negotiating with it.”

He shrugged, and placed the gun in his pocket. “True, but it might have known a way out of here.”

“And what makes you think she would even help us?” I sighed. “Anywho, there must be some clue around here somewhere.”

“How about another door, with you standing next to it.” Slowtrot pointed behind me, looking a little worried.

Turning around, there was Chime again, but this time as a normal mirage pony, in my normal mercenary outfit. “Slowtrot, give me your gun. does it still have a full magazine.”

The stallion sighed. “No, let’s not fight some monster again. My luck only can go so far.” Slowtrot trotted past me, and over to the other me. “Sorry about before, you were in kind of a crush, kill, destroy mood there.” The other me just huffed at him. “Care to tell us if that’s the exit?”

Chime nodded. “It is, for now. The ones who control the strings, it won’t take them long to find this, and lock it away. So unless you want to be suppressed again, you should step through sooner rather than later.”

Trotting up to my clone, I looked her in the eye. “And why should I trust you? You were a raging monster just a moment ago.”

She rolled her eyes, the cocky bitch. “You don’t have much of a choice, and it is better having you in control then Phobetor. Even if you are a cunt, and I have to be your bitch.”

Slowtrot stuck his hoof between the two of us, gaining a glare from us both. “Ladies, I know we all got off on the wrong hoof here, but maybe, just maybe, you should get over your fucking self.”

“Who the fuck are you anyways?” Chime spoke up, poking him in the chest.

“We only met recently, and you're acting like you know me.” I spat at him.

“You should just mind your own business!” We said in unison.

The stallion didn’t flinch, just gave us that look a pony has when dealing with someone not acting very smart. “I know enough, and if you two don’t start getting along, the shit we just went through might happen again.”

He was… He was right. I didn’t have the time to argue with… myself. “I better not regret this. If you turn out to be a split personality, I am so going to binge drink, and start killing brain cells until I get to you.”

Chime sighed. “I don’t think it works like that. I think I’m more your ego, the part of you that dreams big. You know, world domination, a harem of stallions, and enough bits to fill a swimming pool, then swim in it?”

“Okay, that does sounds nice, if unrealistic.” It’s not like I never have dreams like that, but I knew they were nothing more than just that. “But no more thinking of my friends as sacrifices, that’s just wrong.”

She shrugged. “To tell the truth, I rather have the power to get what I want, and not have to sacrifice anypony in the first place.” She stretched out a hoof to me. “So, truce?”

“Yeah, yeah. Truce.” I placed my hoof onto hers.

“Now Kiss.” Slowtrot chuckled. We both glared at him, and he took a step back.

Turning our attention back to each other, I suddenly felt warm. “I... am you.” chime said.

“And you are me.” The words came out of my mouth, like I had been waiting to say them for years, yet only now able to say them.

And with a blink of an eye, Chime was gone… no, not gone. She was still here, as a part of me, as something I had forgotten long ago, now found. It felt warm, and right.

Slowtrot opened the door, revealing a white void. “So you’re ready to get going?”

Taking a deep breath, I gave a long sigh. “Yeah, let’s get out of here before I have to fight another apparition of myself.” I trotted over to the doorway, stepping through. Inside I looked like a normal pony. Nude, but lacking any cybernetics.

“You know, something about you was giving me this distinct feeling of déjà vu the moment we met.” Slowtrot said, tapping his chin. “I just couldn’t put my hoof on it, but seeing that cutie-mark, I think I know what it is.” Cutie-mark, I looked back to see the golden eye crested silver shield on my flank. It was still strange to see, but also felt… right. “There was this pony I knew, Underbrush was her name. Worked as security for Stable-Tec, but before that she was royal guard. Brave mare, strong too.”

That name made my ears twitch. “You knew Underbrush? She was my great, great, great, great grandmother, the second head of security of the R&D stable.”

He nodded. “I can see the resemblance now. Though, I think you take a bit more from your zebra side of your family as you are today.” With a long sigh, Slowtrot put his hoof on the door. “So I guess this is so long.”

“Wait, what!? You’re not coming?”

The stallion just shook his head. “You heard Phobetor, I’m just a shade. An echo, otherwise known as a ghost. How long was I just sitting there, waiting for something to happen? I’m such an idiot.”

“And you trust her words?”

He shook his head again. “Not in the slightest, but there was some truth there. I can feel it. Where you’re going, there is nobody for me, No place for me to exist.”

“But then where are you going to go?”

He looked back, and behind him was another door. “I don’t know, but something's started tugging at me since we met, and I think I should follow it.” He then lifted up his pipbuck. “Also, this thing here, it’s been telling me I’ve got a job to do. So you know what? I’m going to do it, and maybe, one day, we might meet again.”

This time I shook my head. “Yeah, you do that. And if we do meet up later, I owe you a drink.”

He chuckled. “I think we’ll owe each other a drink.” With that the door closed, and I was surrounded with white, so much white.

“So, where do I go from here?” Closing my eyes, I think I could hear something. The sound grow more audible, distinctive, familiar. I could smell, feel, and taste. All faint, but as the moment grew longer, everything became more.

I was feeling alive again, bit by bit, more myself. I could feel the connectors in my shoulders and hips, the distinct feeling of a gas mask on my face, and the wet feeling of rain… yes rain. I could hear it too, pitter pattering all around me. It was a light rain not like the storm I was stuck in last time I was out on the surface.

“I don’t like it.” It was Theremin. “Passing her off to these savages.”

“Stop complaining.” Blaster Beam. “They just need her to strike at Orthrus, after that she will return to us.”

Passing me off to who? My thought was cut off by the sound of a twig breaking and hooves walking towards us.

“Ahhh, three lovely mares, and waiting' for me. It's more than I ever could have hoped for” That voice, it sounded too familiar, yet not quite. “Truly, truly Luna has blessed me as her champion, and soon I shall free her from her prison.”

No… fucking… way.

They were giving me to Blackspot.

______________________________________

Footnote:

Quest completed: I think, Therefore I Am.

New Quest: Dragon-Slayers Gambit

Quest Perk Gained.

- I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. I know smiles. And those smiles? They're just not right. - + 1 to Perception

- Ambitious Little You - Something stirs within you that you long thought put to rest, now it whispers in your ear that you could have, and be more than you are. + 5 to Barter + 5 to Speech.

Chapter 43 - All Fall Down

We were bathed in silenced and darkness. A long, pitch black abyss extended before me, surrounding me, consuming me. The back of my skull burned, like something was clawing to get at my brain.

“Whore!”

I turned to look for the voice, but there was nothing to be seen.

“Slut!”

The voice was warped and full of malice. It filled me with dread. So familiar, and yet, not.

“You ruined everything!” the voice whispered in my ear as two white hooves wrapped around my neck from behind. “Curse you! Curse the ungrateful whore!” My eyes shifted to the pony, slowly, catching the form of an albino mirage pony mare behind me. She was translucent… er no, she was a hologram. “I’ll make you pay.” Theremin whispered in my ear.

I turned to face her, but she was gone.

“You could have avoided all of this, if only you had accepted us.” I turned again to find the broken form of Theremin. Her skin was split open along her legs, and her guts spilled from her barrel. Where flesh, blood, and bone would be, wires, toobs, and metal instead protruded. She was a pony skin draped over a mechanical monstrosity. “You do remember, in the C.C.N., there’s only unity. There is no misunderstanding. We were all equal, and you still can return. You can still help pony kind understand each other.”

My lips curled, my blood boiled. “Tha....”

“Of all the things that can fuck right off!” Sweet screamed, snapping my attention to her. “Why would you do that!?”

I quickly looked back, but Theremin was gone, replaced by the darkness.

I turned on my Pipleg light and trotted over to Sweet. “I got you, just sit still.” Grabbing her, her cybernetic eyes were unfocused, simply bobbing around when her head moved. “Hows your eyes, Sweet?”

“I can't see shit, Viby.” She looked at me with a worried look on her face. “Please tell me the lights just went out.”

I gave my friend a hug, and she relaxed a little. “Yes, the lights are out, but so are your eyes.”

“Well that’s just fucking fantastic.” Sweet sighed. “You know how expensive these eyes were?”

I looked around, and everypony but Mayall had their piplamps on. Mayall, of course, was already glowing under her own lurker power. My eyes fell onto Harp, who looked shocked at what she was seeing. “Miss Melody, I do hope you have a plan for this, or I’m going to grab my guns myself, and shoot our way out of here.” I told her, trying not to sound too serious.

Harp collected herself, taking a deep breath. “Right, collecting our things should be first. Then we take out Majesty. She will likely see us coming, so we have to act fast. Once that’s finished, then we escape.”

“Far too simple for something that would takes days of planning.” Tamboril spoke up with a more serious note to her voice as all eyes fell onto her. “Here, how about this. Merit, you guide Sweet and Mayall to the exit. You need to get that door open when the chaos starts. We can't risk losing you or Mayall in the scuffle, and miss Sweet is no condition to fight. Miss Harp and the Echo sisters will go through the back rooms and see if they can catch Majesty and Red off guard. Sorrow and I will stick to our original role and run a distraction that might buy you all a little time. But this is our only shot, so we need to get this right the first time around.”

Harp nodded. “Alright, all of our things should still be with the robots. So long as no pony comes and turns them back on, we should not have to fight our way through to the main hall.” She trotted around the powered down form of Galahad.

“Putting aside whatever it was that you just did,” Rototom joined Harp. “did the whole station just go out?”

“No, just the inner stable.” Harp shook her head. “This part is on a different power grid and network. It’s protected from pretty much all outside attacks, but not from inside ones. The rest of the stable should be just fine for them, but, I don't know how long it will be before everything's back on this side of things.”

“Then let's get moving.” I cut in.

Harp picked up the pace, and we all followed her, with Sweet and Merit lagging behind. Entering the security room we had started from, we found all the robots powered down and our things thrown into a pile on the floor. Digging through the pile, I quickly found our revolvers, and hoofed them back to their owners. “I don't think Sweet will need her rifle, any of you think you might need it?”

“Hay, don't go giving my rifle away!” Sweet protested, looking around angrily while her cybernetic eyes continued to bob with each swift turn of her head.

“I’ll take it.” Rototom volunteered. “It's going to look suspicious for Tamboril or Sorrow to trot around with an old tool case like this.”

I threw her the case with Sweets air rifle, and attached mine to my side. The room lit up with magical light as the drone, Order, provided light orbs for each of us.

“Shouldn't that thing be shorted out too?” Merit pointed out.

“The Orthrus drones are made to deal with power surges. Due to being around so many mirage ponies, most equipment is hardened against magical discharges.” Tamboril explained, as she trotted over to a desk. “Found the talismans.”

She hoofed them out, and we quickly re-installed our talismans. And just in time, too, as we all heard one of the robots starting to reboot behind us. Activating our disguise talismans, we made our way out and down the stairwell into the water distillation room. The old stallion from before was still here, and still looked annoyed, but Tamboril shot him an equally irritated look, and return to his business.

“Before we split up, I suggest you go to the balcony above the ballroom” Tamboril stepped in front of us, and looked Harp in the eyes. “Am I correct to ausum theres a way up there that’s not through the ballroom?”

“Yes.” Harp answered.

Tamboril opened the door, letting Sweet, Merit, and Mayall out first. Merit’s piplamp providing them with light, though I doubted that Mayall needed it, with how much she glows now. Sweet lugged the large case with her heavy automatic shotgun in it, mumbling to herself under her breath. Rototom and I were next, following Harp out into the hallway.

“One more thing.” Tamboril said in a serious low tone, stopping us before we slipped through the door. “I’ll make the first move, so back me up if you can. But, if the situation gets too hot, you two are to get the princess out of here. Am I understood?”

“Crystal Clear.” Rototom answered calmly.

“I wasn't talking to you.” Her eyes shifted to me.

I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, getting Harp out of here is my main objective, but I do wonder if this is a good idea?”

With a sigh, Tamboril tapped on her pipbuck a few times a note appeared on my hud display.

-Threat analysis-

-It is our hope that the Orphic Kingdom will form an alliance with us, even if it is only for the short term. But we must also be ready for the worst. In case negotiations fall through, or the members of the royal family splinter off, you to put the interest of the Orthrus Group first.

-Assassination of members of the royal family are approved.

-Sabotage of the Orphic kingdoms information network is approved.

-Harp Melody is a high value asset to Orthrus, and must be recovered if at all possible. If she cannot be recovered, she must not stay in the hooves of the Kingdom. Should this happen, you are authorized to terminate her before proceeding to extraction.

-Council head of Security, Naqara-

I looked up at Tamboril with my eyebrow cocked.

‘I’ll be frank, it has to do with her bloodline connection to Phorminx.’ She explained telepathically. ‘A lot of our network systems still run on what stable-tec built, including the gene locked back doors into said systems. Naqara had her blood tested, and even though she’s a mirage pony, it can still unlock the backdoor systems. That makes it very dangerous in the wrong hooves.’

‘I’m not going to kill her if the situation goes bad.’ I thought sharply back at her.

‘And I'm not telling you to do so.’ She responded. ‘Just make sure she gets back to Orthrus, to her father. He may be good at hiding it, but I don't think I have ever seen him look as happy then when Harp arrived at our doorstep.’

‘I get it.’ I lowered my pipbuck. ‘just don't go getting yourself killed either.’

She gave me a firm nod, and we turned from each other, trotting away in opposite directions. Harp picked up the pace with my sister and I now in tow, not caring about the the few ponies in the halls. We had to slow down as we entered a large kitchen, which looked like it had once been a stable-tec diner. A portly unicorn mare glared at us, holding a cleaver in her magic.

“You!” The portly mare yelled. “Don't just rush in here like that! Are you trying to get my staff hurt? And you are filthy! You probably haven't even washed your hooves.”

“Sorry miss Gravy, but we need to pass through.” Harp said politely.

“Do I even know you?” Gravy asked.

“No, and you don't want to.” Rototom stepped forward. “Trust us, it's not worth it.”

Gravy paused for a moment, and then lowered her cleaver down. Nopony said anything as we trotted to the other side, taking care to not disturb any of the plates of food.

We came into another hallway, this one was a bit more active then the last. Maids and other staff trotted from one room to the next with a sense of urgency. One room had ponies working on a large tapestry, another were conducting maintenance on a large batch of javelin launchers.

Taking a nearby stairwell upwards, the bustling atmosphere shifted to calm and relaxed state. Soft classical music played from speakers while well groomed and dressed ponies sat all about a large lounge room. A pungent haze filled the air, and the white noise of pony voices filled my ears.

“Why does the room smell like…” I sniffed the air a few times, trying to figure out what it was, but I couldn't put my hoof on it. “Like some sort of strong herbal tea that's been burned?”

“Try not to breath too much of it in.” Harp held a cloth over mouth. “Luna weed tends to make you act a bit stupid.”

“Luna Weed? What's that?” Rototom asked.

Harp pointed at a coffee table a bunch of well dressed ponies sat around, their clothes loosen. In the center of the table was a strange glass vase with four rubber hoses sticking out of it, the had a decorative pipe on top. At its top, the vase held a small bowl of smoldering plants on top of it.

“I don't know the details, but we have a room that grows it.” She spoke through her cloth and offered a light cough as we walked through a thick cloud of the pungent substance. “The stuff general makes ponies giggly, and hungry.”

“Neat.” Rototom responded.

Looking around the hazy room, I saw one nearby booth curtained off. The sound of rustling ponies behind it convinced me that I didn't want to know what was inside. There was also a bar, at which well groomed ponies sat at. The collection of chems, along side the beers and spirits beside them, clued me to that the ponies there weren’t just here for a drink in the busy yet relaxed atmosphere.

Trotting forward to exit into the ballroom, a slight breeze crest my face as we headed to the door. Like a frame around the door there was a small network of vents, blowing the air back into the center of the room. Next to the door was a youngish mirage pony stallion, with a little red cap on his head.

“Sorry, but the ballroom is closed for the time being.” The stallion informed us. “Only the Royal family, and preapproved guests are allowed in. Silver Majesty’s order, but enjoy the drinks at the bar, their free by Majesty’s grace.” Looking down to his legs, I could see that he was standing next to a little motor that connected to the door vents. It became obviously to me that he was the power source.

Rototom motioned for us to follow her, taking us to a lounge area next to a window. The balcony outside blocked some of the view, but we could see the stage, and even a bit of Majesty. But more concerningly, Red was nowhere in sight.

‘Right, we wait here for Tamboril’s signal.’ Rototom thought to me before turning to Harp. “You sure about this? We can always turn back.”

Harp shook her head, and spoke soft and low, but just loud enough to hear her through the background noise of the other ponies. “I’m sure, dead sure. Somehow she must have gotten control of mother's information network, letting mother hear only what she wants her to hear. If Silver dies, then Rare Pearl may be able to take the reins, and see the truth.”

“I hope so.” I chimed in. “As much as she claims to have a superior information network, I still got attacked by an equalist reaver back on New Canterlot.”

“Ya, that's been bugging me too.” Rototom said, she keeping an eye on the ballroom floor. “I know that the Orphic Kingdom isn’t as secured as Orthrus, but they’re no slouch when rooting out equalists. I know they have a deal with the syndicate to keep the equlist out, which is why Orthrus doesn’t mess with the Syndicate outside our own stations. As loathsome as they are, they do serve a purpose.”

“I can't see any of my family making a deal with the Republic.” Harp pointed out. “I would be beneath them to even speak to an equalist agent.”

“If I were to guess, the queens spy network might have been compromised.” Rototom said as she scratched her chin. “Or it could be possible that they’ve simply turned on her, and it left an opening for the equalists to get in.”

Harp shook her head vigorously. “No, not possible, they're all loyal to mother.”

It clicked in my mind, and I sighed. “Yet, we were able to recover you.” Harp looked at me, holding back tears. “Sorry to say, but if your mother was as in control as she thinks, I doubt Orthrus would have gotten their hooves on you. If anything, the assassination attempt on you should never have even happened.”

A chuckle came from Rototom. “See little sis, you are the best when you put your mind do it.”

I shook my head. “Don't mock me, Rototom.”

Harp gasped. “Then you mean… Majesty is behind all this?”

“Most likely.” Rototom nodded, before motioned her hoof to a window that overlooked the ballroom. “But that’s a mystery for another time, it seems the Majesty is up to something else.”

Looking down at the ballroom, Majesty, with help of her aids, made her way onto stage. Standing in front of the podium, she cleared her throat. The speakers from inside the lounge cut off, which in turn, slowly quieted everypony in the room.

“Greetings, everypony.” Majesty voice came through the speakers, It was strained, yet strong. Even Order picked up her signal, allowing us to hear her more clearly. “I am so glad that you all could have attended this little get-together. It is an important moment for all of us, as soon the crown will pass to another ponies brow, and the good queen, my mother, can finally take her much needed vacation.”

She stopped to take a sip of water, her eyes quickly scanning the room. “On who will be taking her place, we will go over that soon. But first, I must dash a deceitful rumor that's been circulating. This rumor, that there are outsiders on our islands, is something I can confirm to be nothing more than Orthrus propaganda. They seek to sew uncertainty among the populace during what should be a time of joy, only to scare them into their hooves, and further weaken our great kingdom.”

The ponies around us began to whisper among themselves, many agreeing with Majesty and quietly denouncing Orthrus. Words such as ‘Greedy stripes’ and ‘Abomination den’ were passed around. Of course, their insults were the same as always, and today’s mutterings weren’t really any different from any other day on the islands.

“But worry not!” Majesty continued. “I will not let that happen. Queen or no, I will not suffer Orthrus’ genocidal ambitions. Our blood must remain thick, and our hold on our rightful lands, strong. Though, I understand our queen’s signing of the peace treaty with Orthrus, for no more of our own should suffer a needless war. But now it is clear that Orthrus plans on braking that deal which we have so dutifully upheld. When? Maybe today, or tomorrow, the timing is something which I do not know. But what is so painfully obvious, it that it is time that we make ourselves ready for them, or suffer under their oppressive hooves once again.”

The whispering from the ponies around us became more excitable, and angry

Majesty waited for everypony to settle down a bit before continuing. “Yes, we remember. The taking of stations that were ours by birthright. The poisoning of our young so as to trick innocent young mare's into undergoing their unethical ‘treatment’. And of course, the cowardly assassinations of the noble heroes who valiantly pushed against them, fighting for the independent kingdom we have worked so hard to build and live in today.” She took another sip of water as ponies became riled up once more.

“So easily manipulated.” Theremin whispered in my ear. “As part of the C.C.N. there was no manipulation, just a consensus. You do remember how peaceful it was, don’t you? How there were no lies, just plain and simple truth.”

I snapped my head around to find Theremin not where his voice had been. Once was just a bad hallucination, but twice... hearing his voice again gave me a bad feeling.

“Sis, I think I need a Dachary.” I spoke up hesitantly, searching the room around us for any hints that maybe Theremin had one last trick to pull on me.

“Go for it.” Sis replied. ‘And keep an eye out for anypony looking for us.’ She added telepathically. If only she knew how hard I was looking right now...

Trotting through the crowd of ponies was considerably unpleasant. The words coming out of their mouths were like shit from a pony with the runs. ‘Orthrus Hogs’ was more tame than usual, while ‘degenerate stripes’ was ironically common in its use even outside the nobility. Now, hearing ‘corrupt abomination’ was different, and was the one that got under my skin the most. If only these ponies knew just how abominable the republic could be in sticking their machines inside your brain, maybe then they’d see that Orthrus just wanted to help after all.

“I know Majesty is just playing up the crowd, but she is not wrong about the high crime rates among the Mirage ponies.” A stallion at the bar explained, I had to resist face hoofing. “It's bad, but not really their fault. They’re just genetically predisposed to antisocial behavior, you see. It's the one problem I have with Rare Pearl over Majesty. Her stance on simply training mirage ponies out of their criminal tendencies is ultimately doomed to fail. You simply cannot take the barberism out of creatures like them.”

I opened my mouth to remind this idiot that were not dogs, but stopped myself. “Barkeep, one dachary.”

“Agreed.” A mare next to him added to the bigoted conversation. “I understand why we keep them around, but they’re the source of so much crime in the metro. Honestly, it might just better to keep them locked out. The Gathering Island should be for normal ponies only, not stripes.”

A mister helper placed a dachary in front of me. “Here you go, ma’am.”

The bartending stallion continued. “That's the thing, it wouldn’t have to be this way if it wasn’t for the striped blood they have in them. Orthrus must have been taken over by Zebras before the war ended, because I get a strong feeling that their trying to turn all of us into traitorous zebras. I mean, just look at the sub-pony stripes. Each of their generation their more striped than the last, and in a few generations, there won’t be an ounce of pony blood left in them at all.”

I took a sip of my dachary, trying to ignore the dumb asses.

“You know, you probably should have changed clothes.” I slowly turned my head to the mare who had just spoken directly to me. Sitting next to me was Red steel. She had her head propped up with a hoof, and was smiling as wide as ever. “Though, I don't doubt that even if you had changed, you’d still have that scarf on. Not very smart, if I’m honest.” The small barrel of one of her many tiny two-shot guns pressed onto my chest. “Now, come with me, or I make a new hole in you for your fuck stallion to stick his dick in.” Her horn flared to life and picked up my drink from the bartop. “And don’t worry, I’ll carry your drink.”

Ya, fuck my life right now. ‘Sis, I found Red Steel. Sadly, she's got me at gunpoint.’ I telepathically told my sister as I retain my calm, and I got out of my seat.

‘I see, don't do anything rash.’ Rototom sent back to me. ‘I’ll take care of it’

“Now then, let's go to that little privet booth over there, and have a little chat.” She spoke up, nudging me with her pistol. I looked over in the direction she pushed, at the one booth covered by the curtain. Slowly, I nodded my head.

Sitting inside the semi private booth, a passed out Silver Circlet sat across from me. He was laying back on the red velvet seat, looking very comfortable, flaccid dick out. Various chems and alcohol bottles lay strewn across the table, along with some fluids that I wanted to stay unknown.

“A bit of a pansy, but not a bad lay.” Red sat next to Circlet, pushing the stallion over. “And with the benefits he could provide me, I might keep him.” She placed my daiquiri down as her small pistol pointed at me, held in place with a crimson glow.

“What's your game, Red.” I picked up my drink, and took a sip. “You’re not here to just fuck a stallion are you?”

“No, but a mares got to have her fun. Well, outside of wanton slaughter, of course.” She said with a crooked smile. “But you are correct, this is just a side venture, something for my own gain. Duchess Red Steel. Not as good as princess I suppose, but it will still bother the fuck out of the ponies back home.”

Red slammed her hoof down onto Circlet’s crotch, but he didn’t move. “That chill shit your kind makes is pretty amazing stuff. But makes a pony boring to toy with. I'll have to abstain from it for our next session.” She scratched her chin. “That, and i'll need to bring hot wax and a wip next time. For some engaging foreplay, of course.” She frowned as she twisted her hoof on Circlet’s balls. “Pliers too. Ponies can make beautiful noises when you pull out their teeth, and then regrow them.”

I didn’t want to hear any more. “Enough, just get to the point!” I snapped at her.

“Now honey,” She placed her gun down on the table and crossed her hooves. “I’m trying to have a friendly mare to mare chat with you, and your being rude.” She uncrossed her her hooves, moving them back and forth in a friendly matter. “So let's pretend that your not acting like a cunt, and be civilized ponies. Aren’t you at all curious why I’d even do such a thing in bed?”

I took a deep breath, trying to hold back my grone. “Right, so why do you pull out the teeth of the stallions you fuck?”

Red smiled, she now leaning back in a relaxed manner. “Not just stallions, mares too, on the off occasion that is. But it’s mainly to establish dominance in the relationship. Though, it also helps that it get me wet when they wail with a mouth full of blood.”

Well, now I know that Red is a sadistic psycho bitch. “So why the need to be dominant like that? Can’t get off any other way?”

She placed her hooves on the table, giving me full view of her exposed private parts. “If you have lived where i have, you would understand. But to make it simple, if your not the one fucking others, then you're the one getting fucked by others. And trust me, you do not want to be the one getting fucked.”

As Red exposed herself to me, I just glared at her. Shrugging, she leaned forward into a stretch, before getting back on all four of her hooves. “Fine, your loss.” with a crimson glow of her horn, she pulled a still passed out Circlet up, and sat on his lap. “Enough about my past, let’s instead get on the topic of the here and now.”

Finally! I was getting sick of her acting like a bitch in heat. “Right, so tell me what you’re up too.”

“Well, you can say im in a position of either royally fucking some ponies, or getting fucked by them.” Red picked up a small tin of what looked to be mint-tats, offering them to me.

I turned the tin of chems down. “If you want me to help you fuck over the Orphic kingdom, then the answer is no.”

“Oh, no. I already got that in my pocket.” Red laughed. “Majesty and I speak the same language, you see. Our deal is that I help her get the throne, and have her dipshit son give her an heir. In return, my mother can strike port here on the island, a will get to claim as many mirage pony slaves to crew our ships as we need.” She looked at me, down at me with smug superiority. “But don't worry, we will be good neighbors with Orthrus. I promise.”

The idea of it all made me grind my teeth, made me want to shoot her right here, but i was sure she had her other guns trained on me. “Then who could you be worried about fucking you ass over?”

“That would be the Corps Brigade. Those insane mongrels are plotting something big.” Her Silver eyes bared down on me with curious irritation. “And you seem to be part of that plan, almost obsessively so, in fact.”

“The Corps Brigade?” I was confused, at first, but then it clicked. “Wait, do you mean Black Spot?”

“Yes, him and his cohorts.” Red answered.

“So, given everything you just told me,” I chuckled a little. “Why the fuck should I help you?”

Red paused for a moment, her eyes sizing me up, and licking her lips. “I’ll ask you this; what is more dangerous, a hungry bloodhound shark, or a mad winged eel?” I became a bit confused at what was obviously supposed to be a choice between the lesser of two evils, but that’s given you even know what those things even are. “Here’s a hint, with the shark you can stay out of the water, or throw meat in to distract it. But with the eel, as soon as you drop your guard, it will jump out of the water to strike at you.”

I think i got it. “So, you’re the shark, and Black Spot is the eel?”

She smirked. “Correct. I've said it before, I’m a shark, the biggest around. And just like a shark, if you stay out of my territory, and give me occasional offering, then i’m no danger to you.” Red’s eyes became sharp as she leaned in, giving me the cold feeling of a predator closing in on its prey. “As for the Corps Brigade, they’re a ravenous, ever hungry eel who’s unable to settle down, and only answers to one pony. If they gain a strong hoof-hold in the metro, they will rip it to pieces and leave nothing but a husk.” she leaned back, relaxing on Circlet.

“So, you want me to help you kill them then?” I asked.

She nodded. “In a way, yes. Though what I need you for is to act more as bait than anything. Black Spot has been incredibly tight lipped latelat. All of his ponies have been. But with his obsessive hard-on, Spot won’t be so much once with you.” Red pushed an inhaler of chill to me. “Now be a dear, and go knock yourself out. Oh, and do remember, when Black Spot is inside you right down to his hilt, get him to loosen his lips. I need something really incriminating if we even have a chance to keep his special kind of violence off of the islands.”

“Fuck that.” I picked up the chill inhaler, and threw it in Reds face. “I’m not going to be your whore.”

“Sorry, that was my bad that I wasn’t clear enough.” Two of Reds pistols floated up, and pointed at me. “I’m not asking, and I won’t repeat myself again after this. Now pick it up.”

I glared at her, and she back at me. Our eyes locked, behind her i could see the curtain move, ever so slightly, the barrel of a gun. It aimed down at her head.

Red steel ducked to the left just as the gun fired, sending splinters from the coffee table flying. A crimson overglow came from her horn, and then she vanished in a puff of smoke.

A loud thud came from outside the curtain, along with the sound of ponies screaming. A few more gunshots rang out, and the curtain flung open. With a flash of movement, a pony held onto it as they swung around the booth. Rototom rolled out of the way as Red Steel used the curtain to swing into a kick. Landing, she fired two shots at my sister, whom had taken cover inside another booth, sending the ponies who’d been seated in it scrambling out.

“So who's this cunt?” Red asked me as she jumped behind the booth. “Another of your friends?”

I was halfway pulling out my revolver, but Red already had one of hers trained on me. “You do remember my sister, right?”

Red nodded. “Oh, so one of polished’s acquaintances” She peeked over, firing another shot, and Rototom reruns fired. “Mind getting her to stand down? I'm a bit too fucking high for this shit right now.”

“Or what, you going to shoot me?” I folded my legs or emphasize my irritation.

A wide grin formed back on her face. “This is starting to remind me of how my last relationship ended. Though, at least back then it was with less guns being pointed around.”

I sighed. “I’ll see what I can do.” Looking over the edge of the booth, I spotted my sister. ‘Did you get most of what she said?’ I telepathically asked her before saing. “Can you stop shooting? You might hit a bystander.”

‘Yes, I got it all, and so did Tamboril.’ She thought back to me. “Only if She puts down her guns.” Rototom shouted.

Red groined, “You do know that your sister only needs one eye to be of use to me, Right?”

“Fine, I'm coming out, but if you shoot me, I will be pissed.” Rototom yelled back. ‘Get ready to help me subdue her.’ She thought at me.

Rototom stepped out, calmly, and slowly. Red, Peeking over, smiled.

*Bang*

One of Red’s bullets tore through my sister. The illusion Rototom had created shattered into a bunch of failing and splintered lights.

“The, fu…” Befor Red could finish, Rototom fell onto her from above, clocking her on the head with her Solar Eclipse revolver. Though dazed, Red still managed to kick my sister away, and whip a gun in her direction.

I slammed myself into Red, forcing myself on her. Red glared at me, but then locked her legs with my own, throwing me off balace as she rolled on top of me. Licking her lips, she kissed me, and forced something into my mouth before biting my lip, scraping some skin off before letting go. Holding my mouth shut and covering my nose, I was forced to swallow.

Looking you, my sisters revolver once again pointed at Reds head. Blood trickled from Rototom’s nose as she glared at Red. “Bitch, get off my sister before I ventilate you.”

Red laughed as one of her guns pressed into my ear. Something cold and hard pressed against my crotch at the same time, making me flinch.

“Try me.” Red said.

The two started each other down, nether flinching. ‘Can you shoot the cunt already, I don't know what feels worse, the gun in my ear, or the one she's trying to shove up my cunt.’ I thought to Rototom.

‘Just stay calm, she's not going to kill you. She needs you, remember?’ Rototom assured me. ‘We just need to get the upper hoof on her, kill or capture.’

A groggy Circlet slowly got up, finding himself in the middle of the staredown. He looked from Rototom, to Red, then to me, and last at his exposed member. Showing some modesty, he covered himself with his hoof, “What's g-going on?”

Red sighed, taking the gun out of my ear. “Just a little disagreement, sugarbear. Is that not alright?” She pressed the gun at my plot harder, only the thin fabric of the panties I wore kept the cold iron from going inside of me.

I winced a bit more, and felt I was completely done with this abuse. Using the magic from my pipleg, I reached out for my revolver… only to find nothing. I tried to send magic to my leg, but nothing came. My legs... all I could do was wiggle them slightly, but the rest of me could move just fine. Somehow, Red had cut me off from my magic, and with it, my ability to resist. Even my disguise failed away, exposing me to the ponies of stable 50.

“What did you do to me!?” I snapped at her.

With a yank, Red used her magic to pull me out from under her, then hold me up between Rototom, and herself. “It's an anti magic pill. Quite effective, don't you think? ” She then motioned for Circlet to move out of the way. “Be a dear and put your pants back on. We're going to be leaving.” He nodded, crawling over to a discarded pair of pants.

“I’m not going to let you take my sister, Red Steel.” Rototom said with authority.

“And tell me, mirage pony, how are you going to stop me.” Reds eyes scanned the room, scanning all the ponies watching us. “I wonder how many of these ponies here would love to take a shot at you. How about this, why not join me? I'm not above making a deal with Orthrus. Frankly, they impress me, and are the kind of pragmatists our fleet needs.”

Rototom lowered her revolver. “If you want to talk, then let my sister go. I’ll take her place.”

“Roto, no.” Red put her hoof on my mouth.

“Tempting offer, but you see, I need Vibraphone here quite specifically.” Red confidently stated. “But I can take both of you, we’ll work something out.”

“I…” Rototom was cut off by the sound of the door behind her opening with a loud hiss, and six Royal Guard ponies rushed in. Red quickly slipped her pistols away into her clothes, as did Rototom with her revolver. Dropping me onto the couch, Red used me as a cushion to sit on.

The Guards ponies scanned the room, one of the guards sneered. “Alright, Who’s making the fucking racket?”

Looking up, Red bit her hoof, looking increasingly pissed off. The rest of the ponies in the lounge looked confused, but one by one they pointed at Rototom.

“Ha…” I attempted to seek up, but Red shut my muzzle with her magic.

“Keep quiet, fool.” She whispered as she pulled her dress over me, giving me an unwanted view of her private parts once again.

“Come with us.” I heard again guard command.

“And if I refuse?” Rototom asked.

“Don't. The Captain is in a bad mood, and wants to see who's making such a racket.” A guard said loudly.

“Captain Stratus Dancer?” Rototom said, sounding unsure. ‘I thought you said she died?’ her voice bouncing into my head.

A little startled, I could feel the magic in me slowly returning. ‘Yes, saw it myself, something’s wrong.’

“Excuse me!” Red Steel spoke up. “I have business with that mare, so would you kindly leave us, and return to your captain.”

“Oh, lady Red Steel.” One of the guards spoke up. “I didn't see you there. But, I'm not going to defy the captain, she wants the noise maker, so she gets the noise maker.”

“And who do you fear more?” Red challenged the guards. “The captain, or my mother?”

A laugh came from the guards. “Fear?” Reds leg began to shake, and her breathing became fast and stressed. “Lady, fear is what we do. Now, go play with your fucktoy somewhere else, and stay out of our way.”

I could feel Red go limp, just for a moment.

‘I'm going with them.’ Rototom stated telepathically.

I struggled to move, my legs still not fully working right. ‘Roto, no. Just run for it.’

‘Trust me Viby, I this will give me a shot at Majesty.’ She thought confidently. ‘I’ll just slip out after. And don't worry, Tamboril is on her way.’

“Move it!” a guard shouted.

“Ya, ya. I’m going” Rototom spoke up. The sound of her hoof steps as the guard escorted her out quickly became faint, and was followed by the hissing sound of the door closing.

“Fuck!” Red shouted, followed by her hitting the couch several times. “How the fuck do they do that?”

“You mean the frightening hallucinations?” I spoke up form under her.

Red Steel stood up, and walked off of me, turning to face me. “It's abominable, truly unnatural. I need to know how they do it, then I can purge them.” She smiled. “And you will help me do it. Now, get up. The powders effect should have worn off by now.”

Feeling out, my magic indeed returned to my body, and extended down into my legs. Rolling over I got up and pulled my gun. “Like fuck I will.”

Red looked at me, gave one laugh, and whistled. The feeling of cold iron touched the back of my head. Fuck, she brought her own backup this time?

“Do you want this mare killed or maimed?” A mare behind me spoke calmly.

“Nether, Narwhal.” Red said sternly. “I have other plans for her.”

The gun was removed from my head. “Then shall I prepare a toy room for you on the Weeping Pegusus?” Narwhal asked.

“Yes.” Red paused for a moment, slowly turning into a grin. “But wait till after we leave, as I’m going to need you here. Oh, and has Father Tarberry arrived yet?”

A gray unicorn mare trotted passed me, holding what looked like a short barrel, single shot shotgun in her magic. Both her muzzle and hooves had dark gray spots speckled across them, and her main and tail was a very pale blue shade. She had on a faded red dress under a drab green vest, and on her flanks sat a saddle bag holding metal mugs and glass bottles.

“The good percher is indeed now here,” The unicorn nodded to Red, only offering a calm and momentary glance back at me. “shall I heard him away from the bar?”

“Do it. We're going to need to make our leave soon.” Red waved Narwhal away, and the spotted unicorn trotted off. “Miss Vibraphone, I’d advise you not pull that gun of yours, or I will rip off one of your other legs and beat you with it.” I cocked an eyebrow at her, wanting to see her even try to make a move like that, but she simply gave me a serous look back. “Now, follow me. The show is about to start.”

Red trotted towards the window, and I followed, feeling nothing but screwed for the moment. “What's going on? You’d better not harm my sister.”

“Your sister is now far out of my hooves.” Red said in annoyed tone. “As much as I’d love to, I'm not yet in a position to purge the bitch.”

Reaching the window, I saw Rototom was being escorted down the stairs, all eyes on her. Quickly looked around, I didn’t seeing Harp nearby, so concerned, I powered my telepathic talasman. ‘Sis, are you alright, and where's Harp, I don’t see her anywhere?” I sent to Rototom.

‘I told Harp to find a place to hide, so just track her on you pipleg. And don’t worry about me, I still got my teleportation talasman, I’ll slip away once this dirty deed is done.” Rototom sent back to me, sounding cocky as ever. ‘So just hunker down for now, Tamboril will come for you two when I'm done, right Temby?’

‘Don't call me that, Rototom.’ Tamboril responded. ‘But it's clear I will have to run backup. Once the chaos starts, I'll be able to rush to your position.’

Looking through the window, and over the balcony, I could see Rototom being escorted through the group of royals, and royal guard. On the podium was Majesty,and next to her Stratus Dancer’s power armor. The pain around my neck flared up again, like a cold burning, it making me worried, deeply worried.

‘Just got to slip passed the guards, eliminate Majesty, and escape a room full of angry unicorns. Not easy but not the worst situation I've been it.’ Rototom thought out.

I rubbed my neck, the pain only dulling a little. ‘Sis, maybe you should just focus on getting out of there. I'm getting a bad feeling about this.’ I thought to her.

‘Stop worrying, Vibraphone.’ Tamboril thoughts bounced into my head. ‘Sorrow’s there to help her. Now sit tight, and get ready to make a break for it when shit hits the fan.’

I did my best to hide my frustration, feeling that Red might know about the telepathy talasman, since I didn't know how much they knew about our tech. But I was sure Majesty shared plenty of information about Orthrus with Red.

An older, light pink earth pony stallion sat at the window with us. His gray mane and tail were short and shaggy, and the slight crows feet around his eyes gave him a seasoned look. His attire separated him from any other pony in the room. The gold chain around his neck, decorated but well worn black robe, and barely held together red tinted glasses definitely made him the outsider here.

“Must you be a bloody ballbusting harlot, Red Steel?” He pulled out a gem studded flask, at pulled a long gulp from it. “Ahh, I was doing the goddesses good work.”

Red frowned. “Father Tarberry, must I remind you why I dragged you along?”

“Eye, because I don't believe in all the Corps Brigades song and dance. The archbishop may be fond of them, but she can go fuck herself.” He went for another swig from his flask, but Red’s magic pulled the flask from his grip.

“So maybe instead of getting yourself shitfaced, you should get back to writing that report to the followers of thorns.” Red shoved the flask back into his hooves.

He lifted his glasses to reveal vibrant amber eyes. “And tell them what, exactly? They may be mad ponies, possibly cursed, but what your sayin’ is no heresy. If you want the local orthodoxy to drop their support, your going to need something to make them want to purge the green eyes themselves.”

“Fucking backwater churches.” Red groaned in frustration. “This is why I'm a Thorned Halo Divinity. No rats sleep on our pews.”

“eye, but doesn't your bishop get blood on the floor when the flogging starts?” Tarberry said with a smirk.

“Blood of the pure is far better than mud from the unclean,” Red turned her attention down to the ballroom floor. “Quiet now, it's starting.”

Looking down to the floor myself, ponies in the ballroom were making way for Rare Pearl as she stomped her way to the podium. Majesty made room for Rare, backing up a little in her wheelchair.

“Ah, the mare of the hour.” Majesty spoke, her voice carry by the speakers. “We all have been waiting for you, little sister.”

“Majesty, my dear sister,” Rare kept herself poised, but with how she held her head up, and looked down her nose to Majesty, she was anything but happy. “you know mother had made a point to inform everypony that while she is resting, we are to help keep the residents of the stable calm.” She stomped her hoof on the ground, the thump loud enough for the microphone to pick it up. “Yet here you are, instead all too eagerly stoking embers and adding fuel.”

Majesty sighed. “I'm just uniting our great big family, reminding them that if we don't stand together, then Orthrus will see us divided.”

The ponies around us began to mumble, saying the same hog shit as before. But I was more a surprised that they’d actually stuck around after the little gun fight. This is why I don’t trust royals. Even the crazy ponies around Charon’s Stop knew to scram after a fight.

“Those two wenches are as bad as our own nobles, wonder when the guns come out.” Tarberry said with a grin.

“They will not.” Red huffed. “Having actual Equestrian Royalty is too valuable to let them kill each other. The royal fleet will pay a queens ransom to get at their bloodline.”

Tarberry chucked. “funny that, didn't you just off a bunch of ‘em?”

“Risk prevention. Can't have a civil war breaking out on us.” She levitated out a few of her guns, and began reloading. “But now the problem is what that bitch is up to.”

“The captain? Likely looking for a fight.” Tarberry took a swig from his flask. “Heard she was none to happy about missing the big fight yesterday.”

“Truly Fantastic.” Spiteful sarcasm ozzie from Reds mouth.

Turning my attention back to the ballroom, Rare and Majesty had finished debating over which one of them disliked Orthrus more.

“Stratus Dancer.” Rare Pearl, tapped her hooves when she spoke. “It seem that my good elder sister has forgotten herself. It my be best for her to return to her room and rest.”

Silver Majesty just smirked. “You really should put on your glasses little sister, it may give you some insight.”

Rare Pearl stood there for a moment as the pony in the power armor didn’t move. Slowly, warped in the golden aura of her magic, she pulled out her glasses, placing the thick specials over her eyes. Looking from Majesty, to what she thought was Stratus Dancer, she then looked passed them, to a banner hung up behind them. With all that was going on, I had not looked at it, but now it had taken my full attention.

“Farewell, And Goodbye!”

The large banner was decorated in bright rainbow ribbons, yet gave off a cold feeling.

“What's the meaning of this! No pony is going anywhere!” Rare Pearl sound confused, and turn'd her attention to the power armored pony. “Stratus, tell the guards to tear this all down and take Majesty away, now!”

A long robotic sigh came from the power armor. “Alright, take her away.”

Two unicorn guards trotted up, and grabbed Rare Pearl in their magic. One forcing a ring on her horn. She yelped as she was lifted off her feet. “What are you doing!? Majesty, what have you done!”

“Taking what is mine, simple as that.” Majesty said with a smile plastered on her face.

A grinding sound drew my attention to Red, who had part of her hoof in her mouth. Looking back down, I could see my sister confused by the outcome. ‘Sis, forget the assassination, grab Rare Pearl and get out of there.’ I thought out to here.

Rototom nodded, and she began to shimmer. One of the guards watching her took a step back, but then lifted his javelin launcher like he was going to hit her with it.

But as the guard slammed the launcher down, Rototom split into two ponies. Both of her stepped away and dodged the attack. The javelin launcher struck the floor, and emit a sharp, whip-like crack. The high pressure air tank ruptured at it’s pressure valve, sending the old metal tank flying back into the guards face. Part of the unfortunate stallion’s face crumpled inward from the hit, and the hissing tank sent a trail of blood flying up.

Oddly, nopony inside the lounge moved or seemingly cared at all. However, screams of horror and confusion filled the ballroom below as the two of the other guards quickly threw themselves into the fray. Both guards chose to dive at the closest of the two Rototoms before them. I cringed as they hit, but fell through her as the magical hologram fizzled out.

The two guards dragging Rare Pearl away turned their attention to my sister. Both of them pulled out rusty looking pistols, bringing them up and taking aim. One of the guard’s head’s snapped to the side before they collapsed with a dart sticking out of their neck. With a silver flash, the plain pony form of Sorrow stepped forward, and before the other guard could respond, she’s plunged a dart into that guard’s neck as well.

Rare Pearl fell to the ground as my sister and Sorrow ran up to her.

“Fucking damnit!” Red yelled as she struck the glass. She growled, almost visibly steaming out of her ears with how angry she was. It was glorious to behold.

“Aww, what's wrong, Red?” I couldn't help but smile. “Oh, you aren’t mad we screwed up your little plan, are you?”

“You shut it, cunt!” Red glared back at me. “Narwhal, get Majesty out of there.”

“Yes, Mistresses.” Narwhal responded, and trotted to the door.

“By Celestia and Luna, this is going to be a right bloodbath” Red began rubbing the sides of her head.

‘Something's still very wrong, get out of there now.’ I thought at Rototom and Sorrow.

Rototom helped Rare up, but befor they could get away, all three were lifted up into the air. Wrapped in a silver aura, I watched as they were levitated up far enough that they almost touched the ceiling.

“Party crashers are not welcomed here.” Silver Majesty spoke with a growl and her horn overlayed with a silver aura of overglow. “Now first, let's see who our interlopers are.” Her horn gained a second overglow to it, and both my sister and Sorrow cried out in pain as their disguises failed away. “An Orthrus dog, how predictable. But, a changeling too, so I guess it makes sense. One pest teaming up with another.”

Murmuring from the ponies around me became louder at the mention of Orthrus. I really wanted to get out their and shoot Majesty, but I could feel that Red still had one of her guns firmly pressed into my side.

“See here, see here.” Majesty laughed. “At the heart of our kingdom, the Orthrus parasite found its way in. And why? Can't be to save my dear, foolish sister. I know why they have come though. She's an assassin. It's clear as day, just like with what they did with the queen’s first husband, my father. She must be here for me, because Orthrus knows that I’m the only pony who can keep us all united.” The smile Majesty wore was so self indulgent and wide that I almost hoped it would split her head right in half. “Oh don't try to deny it, we all know it's true. But you see, this time I got you first!”

“What should I do with you, oh the options.” A third overglow cast over Majesty's horn. “Wait, I always wanted to try this one spell.” Sorrow began to spasm, foam bursting from her mouth. I watched helplessly as the foam became bubbles, and the form of Sorrow looked like it was disintegrating Then, Sorrow became a clump of bubbles that slowly fell down onto the ballroom, spreading apart over the crowd.

Majesty laughed, making my blood boil, and the cold burning around my neck flare up. “Now for the Orthus dog.” She laughed again. “That's it, I'll turn you into the dog you…” Narwhal got her attention by placing a hoof on Majesty's shoulder. Before Majesty could respond, the two vanished into thin air.

Rototom and Rare Pearl fell to the floor. My sister managed to fall into a roll, avoiding getting herself hurt. Pear on the other hoof, was saved by Tamboril, whom had caught her before she hit the floor.

’Where did Majesty go?” Tamboril thought out.

I glanced at Red for a second. ‘That was one of Reds lackys. She’ll know where.’

‘This is already too hot, I’m taking Rare Pearl out of here, you go find Harp.’ Tamboril thought back.

“Block the exits, I want to test these ponies myself.” The power armored pony called out, and the guards scrambled in front of the doors.

‘Rototom, you still got your teleportation talasman?’ Tamboril asked.

‘It’s not installed.’ Rototom responded.

Tamboril held onto Rare Pearl tightly, already beginning to shimmer. ‘Then get it in, and get to your sister, I'll get the princess out of here.’ with a flash Tamboril and Rare Pearl vanished, leaving my sister by herself.

She pulled out a talasman, but before she could change it out, the hulking form of the power armor came barreling at her. Rototom managed to dodge, but only just barely. The pony in the armor charged past her, colliding with the wall and sending spidering cracks through it.

My sister hopped back, ejecting a talasman from her leg. Quickly, she threw in the other talasman with help from her pipleg, and stood at the ready. She stiffened up, focusing and begining to shimmer as the power armored pony shook of their charge and turned around. Again, they charged at Rototom, but right before they would have slammed into her, my sister vanished.

“Hey, bitch!” Rototom called out from above as she appeared and landed on Red. Red’s magic died, dropping her guns as Rototom grabbed her around the barrel and gave a surprisingly strong toss to the side. Red rolled off back toward the booths as my sis turned back with a relieved sigh. “Alright.” She nodded as we both pulled out our revolvers and gave each other a quick glance. “Let's get Harp, and get the hell out of this stable.”

Pointing my revolver armor Tarberry, he didn’t flinch, and simply took a sip from a second, smaller flask he’d produced from somewhere under his robes. Quickly, I checked my pipbuck, activating Harps location tracker. Her blue dot appeared on my E.F.S

“Right, follow me.” I nodded toward the doors.

“Not happening.” I turned back to see Red standing back up. “Your not going anywhere.”

This time, Rototom had her gun already trained on her. No matter how quick Red was with her derringers, she was not going to be fast enough to beat a bullet. “Give it up, Red. We’re getting out of here, take this as win and fuck off.”

*Thump... Thump… Thump*

We looked towards the doorway to the ballroom, and saw the helmet of Stratus’ power armor get thrown across the floor of the lounge.

“This goddesses damn armor is too restrictive.” The power armored pony stepped through, her face was tan, mane brown, and her eyes were a sickening vibrate green. “Pegasus-usable my arse.”

“If you don’t like it, Captain Carving Doll, then why did you steal it?” Red groaned. “And why the fuck are you even here? This is my operation.”

Carving Doll gave all of us a toothy grin. “Oh Lady Red Steel, plottin', plannin', 'n goin' behind me flank from day one.” Her face relaxed, but the look in her eyes became like that of the dead. “I’ve grown impatient wit' yer shit. 'n incidentally, so has me crew.”

The power armor hissed as it opened up, and Carving Doll stepped out. The mare donned a light brown leather coat with gold trim, and had more than necessary leather straps and brass buckles decorating the coat. The loud sound of grinding motors assaulted our ears as she flared her wings. No, not normal wings, but cyberwings. She had four custom built rippers attached to her back, made to look like two wings. Well, two twisted and decrepit wings of death, perhaps.

“Now let me scuttle that firecracker afore I order me crew t' murder then rape every single pony in this pathetic stable.” She pointed her ripper wing at Rototom, who now was pointing her gun at Carving Doll.

“Bite me, you pirate Freak!” Rototom said as she slowly backed up.

Carving Doll smiled. “Oh, poor choice o' words, firecracker.”

Rototom fired her revolver, and Carving charged, thing a bullet to the leg. Not slowing down, Carving lept at my sister, forcing her to dodge. Firing another shot, Rototom struck Carving in the flank, yet Carving Doll didn't flinch as she struck out with her ripper wing.

Sparks flew as Carvings Doll’s wings missed my sister, and slammed into the back of a booth. The rippers whined as they chewed through the seating, making an ear piercing sound as metal ground against metal. This finally got the stupidly cucurious cowed of ponies in the lounge to make a run for it. I had to step back as the stampede of ponies attempted to exit into the ballroom all at once.

Feeling like this was my best chance, I entered S.A.T.S. and targeted Red. All I needed was one good shot. Just one...

My revolver lifted from under my blouse, and took aim at Red. Who, was as observant as ever, was now glaring at me. In her own magic, her derringers only now started moving to aim at me.

The world tilted as my revolver went off, and my shot flew threw Reds mane. It sent a small tuft of her mane fluttering at it cut through and struck the back all, but it ultimately missed its target. As time slowly returned to normal, I found myself falling to the ground. Broken glass and alcohol smelling foam following me down as a black robe stood just barely in my vision above me.

I hit the ground, pain engulfing the right side of my head. “Think you’re so smart!” Red jabbed one of her guns in my eye. “But sorry, you’re not getting your way this time.” She looked up and smiled. “Thank you Tarberry.”

“Doing the Goddesses work. But still, wasted a good bottle of bubbly on the bitch.” Tarberry trotted into my line of sight, eyeing me. “More trouble than it's worth, I’d say.”

A shot came from the ballroom, followed by ponies screaming. I watched as a stallion stumbled back into the lounge, only for half his head to get blown off, sending blood and gray matter flying as he fell to the floor. One dead eye looked back at me as blood slowly covered it.

“What's going on!?” Circlet stumbled over to Red, almost falling on her. “They’re shooting ponies in the ballroom!” He made a whimpering noise and looked to actually faint toward her.

Red took a step back. “I know, fucking backwater sailors.” She let Circlet fall and land on the floor at her hooves. He gave a surprised whimper as she only growled again. “Don’t worry, I already had the more important ponies escorted out. Any ponies still here are no one special, and easily replaced.”

A sick bile climbed its way up my into my mouth, not that I cared about the nobles here, this kind of end almost seemed poetic, but they were also the allies I had come to recruit. Despite how superior they saw themselves, they were now no different than the mirage ponies back at Polynices Station, likely to meet a similar fate in some dark, damp, forgotten hole.

“In the end we are all equal, are we not?” Theremin stepped out from behind Red. “Born equal, die equal, so why can't we live equally?”

“Shut up” I growled.

Red turned her attention back to me, scowling. “Do you really want to lose an eye?”

“Try me, bitch.” I spat back at her.

She glared at me for a moment before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Exhaling, she slowly opened her eyes, giving me a look of calm authority. “Fine, I know how this will end. Learn the hard way.” she levitated my revolver over to me, dropping it at my hooves. “If you can kill Carving Doll, you can go free. But, understand that if it's clear that you’ve lost that fight, you’re mine.”

Focusing my magic into my pipleg, I lifted Lunar Eclipse, placing it under Reds chin. “What's stopping me from just taking you out here and now?”

“Because like it or not,” Red didn't flinch, just calmly looked back at me. “we’re on the same side, if only with very different goals.” Her eyes narrowed, like she was looking through me. “My mother also happens to be the grand fleet admiral, and I her representative. Meaning I'm somepony your superiors may be interested in talking with if they have any chance at a more peaceful resolution than the rest of the fleet is inclined to give.”

Theremin poked her head into my vision from above, like she was simply floating in midair. “No way she can be trusted. Though, how can you really know? It’s not like you can read her mind. At least, not like how we once could read each others.”

I pulled my revolver away from Red’s chin. “I know I'm going to regret this.” She gave me a smile as I turned away and placed my attention onto my sister and Carving Doll.

The two had managed to rip up the lounge something fierce. Broken bottles were everywhere, a piece of a booth seat had been thrown into the bar, and half of a dead pony laid on a table, dripping blood everywhere. Rototom was using a overturned table to block Carving Doll’s ripper wings, but it only slowed her down as she ground into the mettle table.

Carving Doll had a wild grin on her face, despite her jacket having deep crimson stained holes on it. She definitely had been shot multiple times, yet she didn't looked fazed in the least. I could only guess that she was on some powerful drugs.

Jumping behind another booth, I took aim with my revolver, looking down its sights at Carving Doll. Her head turned, one bleeding eye looking back at me as her grin widened.

Firing, she managed to duck away from the shot. Still, the bullet grazed her cheek, sending a new flow of crimson down onto her jacket. She retaliated by grabbing and throwing the table she was grinding through at me. It sailed through the air, scraping the ceiling before coming crashing down.

I barely managed to roll out of the way as it smashed and crumbled against the floor. Recovering, I managed to snap off two more shots at Carving Doll. Again, she dashed out of the way. Seriously, her reaction times were way too quick. How the hell did Sis even manage to land shots on her like this?

Rototom seized the opportunity my distraction had created. She fired her own pistol, and managed to land a shot into Carving’s hip. Carving reacted by rolling away before she dove and took cover behind the bar. I’d thought I had a moment to catch my breath, but a junky looking SMG poked up over the bartop. Blinded firing through a hole magazine, Carving sent bullets spraying everywhere as Rototom and I took cover.

“Cheeky firecracker, I thought this fight was one on one!” Carving Doll yelled back at us in an almost humorous tone.

Running over to Rototom, I joined her at another overturned table. “All in favor in getting the fuck out of here?”

Rototom nodded. “We got one shot, my teleportation talasman is overheating again, like last time.” She raised up her revolver and loaded red tipped rounds into it. “You still have Harps single shot?”

I nodded back.

Jumping out of cover, revolvers at the ready, we met Carving Dolls wild bleeding stare. She fired her SMG with a manic laugh that disappeared behind the chatering gunshots. Rototom and I dove different directions as sparking rounds pelted the table we’d been at. Her gun emptied, and she tossed it to the side as she tried to pick which one of us to focus on.

I fired back at Carving Doll as I galloped for cover. It pulled her attention as she used her cyberwings the shield herself. My shots were not powerful enough to do any damage, and bounced off whatever material her rippers were made of. Rototom’s ringing shots however lit the mares metallic wing on fire. The flames forcing Carving Doll to duck back behind the bar again.

Rototom and I gave each other a nod, and turn'd our attention to the exit. Making a break for it, the only thing in our way was two sword welding pirate lackeys in blood spattered guard armor. The two pirates exploded in flames as Rototom’s revolver barked twice. The two guards yelped and galloped off in a panic, spreading fire around as they tried desperately to put themselves out.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” I looked back to see Carving Doll holding a wine bottle with a rag hanging out of its neck. “Are ye tryin' t' hurt me feelin's, runnin' away like that.” She also had a cigar in her mouth, in which she used her flaming wing to light it.

I shook my head, trying to ignore the bitch. “Let's go Sis.” I turned back, and ran for the exit, hopping over the quickly dying fire. Hitting the button on the doorway, the stable door hissed open, and took one step out. But as I turned, I found Rototom not with me. Looking back, she was standing frozen in place as Carving Doll slowly walked up to her. Wings flared out, the rippers in them roaring to life as they turned and pointed at my sister. “Shit!”

Rushing back to my sister, I had my pipleg reload Lunar Eclipse. Carving Doll had closed in the distance, the four rippers now starting to drown out all sound. Unloading my revolver at Carving’s face, she was forced to block the shots with her rippers again. The results were the same as before, no damage, but I had managed to break her eye contact with Rototom.

Rototom shook her head and blinked a few times. Whatever the spell Carving had used had been broken in time for Sis to jump back. As she did, Carving Doll swung her rippers out again where Rototom had just been.

“The fuck was that?!” My sister said with a shaky voice.

“Some kind of spell, I think it's related to their fucked up eyes.” I ejected the empty cartridges from my revolver, and another six rounds loaded in.

Carving Doll stretched out her cyberwings. “You catch on quick… or did one o' me layouts let th' secret slip?” She pointed a wing at me. “Doesn't matter, you’re both going to die.”

Rototom and I took a step back, but Carving Doll launched herself, so fast, we could only duck as she flew over our heads. Blocking our way, she revved her wings, pulling them back for another attack. Before the rippers hit their target, Rototom grabbed me, and with with a pop, we were behind Carving Doll.

One of Rototom talasman ports made a cracking sound, and a puff of smoke shot out of it. Well, that was a clear sign that she wasn’t going to save us with another teleport any time soon. Swinging my revolver over toward Carving Doll, I unloaded at her. Again, she was quick enough on her hooves to avoid some of my shots. However, I’d tried to compensate for her speed and two rounds connected with her leg.

Carving Doll was forced to take cover again as my sister fired her shots at the mad pirate. Again, it gave us the opportunity to make a break for it. Turning, Rototom was sent crumpling to the ground as a wooden chair collided with her.

“Bullseye!” Carving Doll yelled. “Th' win's may hurt like a cur, but I can nah say I be nah havin' fun.”

I ejected the spent casings from multiple revolvers, but my pipbuck failed to load any fresh shells. Fuck, I was out of fucking ammo. Dashing over to my sister as she tried to recover from the chair attack, I grabbed her Solar Eclipse, and entered S.A.T.S.

I went for a headshot, my eyes focused, falling onto her bloodshot, and bleeding green eyes.

My body became heavy, the sound dulled, and the magic-slowed world around me became gray. I tried to fire the revolver, but nothing happened. It was worse than just that, I couldn't do anything. Carving Doll’s eyes were now leaking blood like a faucet, forming a large puddle under her, reflecting her image in a deep crimson.

A ripple in the blood caught my undivided attention, coming from something poking out from just under the surface. As the puddle grew, a trickling line of blood broke free. It turned, racing toward me as it grew in size, width, and in height. As it grew, it took form to look more like a pony, reaching out to me.
The bloody blob burst, and a blood covered Theremin took its place. She reached out for me, placing her hooves on my face, and smiled before opening her mouth wide. It was like she dislocated her jaw, as she opened it wider. Inside was nothing but a nightmarish mess of wires and darkness. Snaking out of her mouth, the wires reached out for me, climbing onto my face. I couldn't move as the wires entered my mouth and nose, and ears.

The sense of sinking suddenly took hold, and looking down with my eyes only, I could see that the blood puddle now surrounded me, and I was sinking into it.

“You’re too weak.” Theremins voice reverberated like a broken speaker. “You always have been. Always will be.” she began pushing me into the blood, the wires still coming out of her mouth. “We all are, on our own, weak. But as part of something bigger...”

More blobs began to rise from the bloodpuddle, forming more ponies that resolved into even more Theremin copies. I was surrounded by albino mirage pony mares, each one I could see had a twisted smile, and each one helping to drag me down.

When I was submerged in the puddle up to my waist, and I could feel something grabbing onto my legs.

My chest, it was to my chest, and all I could see was Theremins staring back at me.

My neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my neck, my…

I hit the floor, something wet on my face, and my heart pounding so hard that it hurt. Pushing myself up, the image of a severed gray striped wing laid in front of me. A line of blood splatter went from it to me, and a trail of blood spots continued further away. Looking up, the blood trail ended at my sister, missing a wing, staring down Carving Doll, who was missing an eye.

Rototom looked like she was having trouble just standing, beating heavily, blood coming out the wound of her missing wing. Carving Doll on the other hoof, despite missing an eye, and having been shot multiple times, still looked ready to fight. The cyberwings revved up again, and lashed at Rototom, and my heart stopped.

Carving Doll knocked my sister over, ripping out flesh with her wings. The pirate licked her lips, glaring at my sister. “I’ll give you credit, you put up a halfway decent fight, and I almost got excited there. Now let's end this, for this is now starting to bore me.”

“Sorry to hear that” Rototom spat out blood as she got back onto her hooves. “And here I thought I was a wild ride.”

Flaring out her cyberwings, Carving Doll revved them once more. I entered S.A.T.S. and elected to dash. Heart pounding, body aching, lungs burning, my body pushed itself into a gallop. I collided with my sister as the rippers came down, blocking them with my grappling leg. Metal bits went flying as the rippers tore thru my leg like it was nothing. Sparks flew as I was left with a gnarled metal stump passed my shoulder.

Unable to keep my balance, I fell over, only for Rototom to catch me. “We really bit off more than we could chew, didn’t we?” Rototom’s voice was stressed, and she winced as she spoke. “Now get out of here, I’ll hold her back.” She pushed me forward, I only managing to stumble a few hoofsteps.

Looking back, Rototom eyes were unfocused, a weak smile on her face. Then, it was gone. Her smile, her face, her whole head. Carving Doll’s cyberwings ripped thru Rototom’s head. My sister's head.

In an instant, she was just… gone, leaving nothing but blood, bits, and bone sprayed on me.

Everything became quiet. Everything seemed to slow, but I wasn't in S.A.T.S., it was just the way the world was now. Solar Eclipse still levitated next to me, held by my pipleg’s spell. Everything became warm. That warmth spread and grew. The heat intensified, burning me all over, with the pain around my neck becoming worse than anything I’d ever felt. But I didn’t care. Carving Doll dies first, caring about other things came later. Aiming the revolver, I fired at the pirate bitch with everything it had.

*Click*

No no no no, it had to have something in it.

*Click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click, click.”

Carving Doll just smiled back at me, her mouth moved, but I heard nothing. I didn't care, the gun had to have another shot in it.

*Click, click, click, click, click, click.*

Red stepped out in front of me, but her image quickly became distorted by water blocking my eyes, preventing me from seeing clearly, seeing the pony I had to kill.

Everything felt weightless for a moment. Like I was falling backwards, yet not.

“Mistress Red Steel, a gull is waiting for on the top of the roof.” I wiped the tears from my eyes, and found myself in a hallway with Narwhal standing in front of me.

“Good, I don't want to stay for the encore. Red may be my color, but you know what they say about too much of a good thing.” Red looked back at me, and sighed. “Trust me when I say this, I am sorry about your sisters death, but I tried to warn you. A pity, really. She would have made a good ally, as quality ponies tend to be hard to come by. Now let's go, we’ve got places to be.”

I… I didn't know what to do. How was I going to tell mom that Rototom...

A push from behind forced me to hobble forward down the hall. All the heat went out of me, leaving nothing but a cold, empty void.

“Such a waste, half of those ponies would have made good slaves.” Tarberry’s voice came from behind me.

“They would have made good bargaining chips.” Red groaned. “And thanks to Carving Doll, it's going to take longer to secure the station on this island.”

*Beep*

I stopped to see a damaged drone in front of a closed door. It was Order. The robots propellers were sparking and trying to spin, but having trouble. Tarberry walked into me, pushing me off balance until I fell onto the floor.

“Keep moving bitch.” He muttered like I’d caused him some sort of inconvenience.

On the floor, I could see that the map function on my pipleg was still on. Harp’s signal was nearby, in a room on the other side of the door Order sat in front of. Looking up at my E.F.S. her blue bar sat in between two red bars.

“I have one thing left to do.” I spoke up. Red looked down at me, her gaze sharp and unamused. Following my eyes, she looked at the door.

“This better be good.” She trotted over to the door, and opened it.

“Who’s there!” A stallion yelled out.

“If you want to play, wait your turn!” Another stallion added.

“I see.” Red said as she pulled out her guns. “I believe I said that the important goods are not to be touched.” Her guns came out of their hiding places, and just as quickly went off like an SMG, firing all their bullets within a second. “Narwhal, recover the princess.”

Narwhal bowed at Red, and trotted in. A moment later she pulled out Harp, shaken, but overall unharmed. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and that bit of emptiness became not as empty. But the burning around my neck persisted.

I struggled to get back up, slipping a little. Harp trotted over, helping me up, and offering a shoulder to help keep me balanced. “What happened to you? Where's Rototom?”

I shook my head. I couldn't bring myself to say the words.

“Dead!” Red said with as flat tone. “She got caught up in Capitan Carving Doll’s bloodlust. That never ends well. Now let's go, we got places to be. Also, if you can be a dear Tarberry, grab the robot. I want the wrench mares to take a look at it.”

Harp looked at me, the look of shock on her face was more than I could bare, so I looked away.

Theremin had been right, I was weak.

What did I think I could accomplish? That I’d save the day? That I could save anypony at all?

“Nothing.” Theremin spoke up as she trotted next to me. “All on their own, a pony can accomplish nothing at all.” Her mad red eyes stared into me. “And now look at you. You had to learn the hard way, that outside of the C.C.N., you've accomplished nothing.”

I closed my eyes, knowing she wasn’t real, that Theremin was long dead.

I knew I was just going insane. I knew that I wanted my sister back. That I needed Rototo more now than at any time before in my life.

And I knew that I wanted to kill Carving Doll for stealing my sister from me. I wanted to kill the pirates. All the pirates. And I knew I wanted to kill Majesty and half the fucking royal family for what they’d done.

But most of all...

I knew I just wanted to go home.

___________________________________________

Footnote.

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (under control)

Companion signal lost: Rototom Echo, Sorrow.

New Quest: Into the Void

Chapter 60 - The Skin Deep Truth

It all still felt foreign to me. Returning to Orthrus, being given my orders, and even the the normal food and drink. It was a lot more high quality food then I had ever eaten before, which only compounded how weird this all felt. It was not until I had entered into a metro train and was surrounded in its claustrophobic space, able to feel and hear it rattling as it moved that I felt I’d returned home. I was home, yes, but only so I could set it on fire.

Red's silver tongue had pulled through, and the Trade Union were bending over backwards to get her to invest in them. The Enclave, and their cloud city was a big opportunity for them, sure. But an island with fertile ground, that was not just an opportunity for them, but a future. Though of course like any competent business, they still wanted to see this land with their own eyes before any contracts were signed. Even so, it didn't mean that they were not going to wine and dine her as much as possible to gain her favor for any future deals.

As for the syndicate, it was more a wild guess in how Red and them would work out. Still, I had a good feeling that they had more common ground with each other then any pony on this island. At the very least it was a scary thought, but really not a surprising one.

The only real dampener on this ride was the inclusion of Tamboril, now wearing an old stable-tec barding. She was clearly here to keep an eye on things, but having a specter as high profile as her, the daughter of a council representative, was very self defeating for my own mission. I could only guess Naqara had one more unofficial mission for me, and even hinting at it would be too dangerous.

*bing bong bing*

The trains speakers cracked with the sounds of bells, all before a voice of a mare spoke up to give one of the normal messages they spouted at regular intervals.

“Thank you for using the Orthrus rail line, our duty is to keep you safe. In the case of an emergency, please seek your closes Orthrus employee for guidance. Everypony employed by Orthrus is trained for crisis management, first aid, and will guide you to the closest safe zone. This service is only possible with your trust, and supported by our sponsors. Please consider them the next time you visit pineapple island.”

Red raised an eyebrow. “Orthrus likes to talk about themselves almost as much as a blowhearted captain.”

I rolled my eyes. “Think of it as reminding the faithful of who is in charge. Not directly saying they are in power, but the point is all the same in the end. That and panicked ponies tend to be stupid, if their not reminded often on what to do in a crisis, they tend to make everything worse as they get themselves killed.”

*bing bong bing* The bells over the speakers announced the first advertisement.

“Have you ever wanted to know the sensation of trotting on organic hooves? Do you need a new set of organs that are truly your own? Do you have a dream of bearing life within yourself and becoming a mother? Then New Gen Genetics is here for you! Using our state of the art cloning process, we can grow any body part you need to replace, or those you were never born with, all without the risk of transplant rejection! We also offer a gene enhancement treatments for expecting mothers, freeing you from the worry of birth defects, and allowing you to make the perfect foal. Several comprehensive payment plans keep the procedures affordable on any budget, so talk to a financial officer today and find the plan that best fits you and your family! New Gen, creating a better you, today.”

I didn’t think they used to play these things quite so much, and I had a strong feeling that this was directed a Red. There was little doubt in my mind actually, as her own interest in New Gen Genetics was almost blatant at the party. She was an intelligent mare, so I was confident that she would not be sucked in by the directes advertisement.

“Say Cold Iron,” Looking at the captain, Red Steel was actually scratching her chin, looking deep in thought. “if what thar say is true, not only can I repair my womb, but I can have superior foals? That's quite amazing.” Or she could buy into every little thing they promised...

There was practically stars in her eyes, and I had to hold back from face hoofing. “Red, what you heard was an advertisement. Yes, New Gen can do some amazing things, but they’re making themselves sound better then the truth; that what they offer is the most expensive thing in the entire metro.”

“Then it’s a good thing that I have a reserve of pieces of eight!” Red clapped her hooves together. “Along with the deals I’ll be making with the ponies here, I’ll be set for a good long while. No expense will be too great for me.”

Now I faced hoofed. She bought it, every single bit of it, hook, line, and sinker. Though even so, Red might actually be able to afford the costs, which would be impressive in its own right. “Wait, what's a piece of eight?”

Red smiled, and pulled out two coins, one gold and the other silver. Both had one side with an hourglass that looked like an ‘8’, and he other side with Saint Roselands cutie-mark on it. “It’s the official coin minted in Avalon. The silver is called Reals, and the gold is called Escudos, but most sailors call the collective currency ‘pieces of eight’.” She put the coins away into her picket. “If any creature has enough pieces of eight, they can buy themselves anything they want, a new ship even. But annoyingly, even when Avalon pays us, we are required to pay back a large tithing in order to keep ourselves, and our ships blessed. But unknown to then, I actually have a nice buried chest full of the coins, and I just need to find an old captain looking for a retirement fund. I’m betting that the Trade Union will fall over themselves to have access to a ship, owned and leased to them by me, of course.”

I had to retract my own feeling of dumbfoundedness, for Red might be the best, and worst thing to happen to the Trade Union, and I was not even mad about it. Actually, fuck those corporate morons, I hope Red dominates them. They could all burn in Tartarus for causing the equalist revolution in the first place.

“Red, whenever I think you can’t scare me anymore then you already have.” I said with a smerk and a wink. “You never cease to surprise me.”

*bing bong bing*

The next add started, though with much more of a gap between it and the previous one. It didn’t sit right with me, and gave me the feeling that some pony was listening in on us, and letting us ponder on the advertisement before the next one played. It also felt that the train was moving a bit slower than normal, the times between the thumps of adjoining rails just felt further apart then normal.

Through the speakers, a familiar voice of a stallion spoke up, and made my heart twist in dread. The stallion was Flugelhorn, my sister's fiance.

“The metro is a dangerous place. Between the wildes of the surface, and the shadows within the tunnels, protecting yourself and your family should not be the last thing on your to-do list. At Cornet’s guns and Knives, we offer you the very best in self protection. From airguns, basic combustion arms, even to the latest in civilian rail guns, we have what you want. And lets not forget our vast collection of hoof made knives in all sizes and makes, we offer you all you need to protect you and your family.”

I looked over at Tamboril, who just gave me a slight nod, and looked away. I wanted to call her a bitch for that, but at the same time I understood. Rototom was her partner, and my sister, and I doubted that she had as much time to grieve as I have been been given. And now, the bad news had to be delivered to Flugel.

*Bing Bong Bing*

The next add was here, with a much shorter pause then the last one.

“Good day Marewaii!! This is DJ Cerberus, on metro channel three, here to give you the news!” Something about her voice sounded off, but then again she was playing through the trains shitty speakers. “As you all know, it's only been a few days since that overpowered radio signal burst through every speaker on the islands, and left many ponies, including yours truly, with a burnt piece of junk we once called a radio. Well, I have good news, who ever sent that signal actually reached their target, and got a response. That's right my little ponies, we reached out to the world outside, and the world has called back.”

DJ Cerberus wisiled, and gave a soft chuckle before continuing. “From what I have been told, and take it with a grain of salt, two groups have come to Orthrus from the outside world. First was our unexpected visitors from before, the Enclave. As it turns out, they got a cloud city out there somewhere. Imagine the fresh air one can get in such a place. The second group is actually the pirate outsiders that have been harassing us for the last month. The same ones who raided the Orphic Kingdom, and who Orthrus has somehow negotiated a ceasefire with, as well as a possible trade deal. I don't know about the rest of you all, but If Orthrus can help keep some random vertibucks from taking potshots at us, I’m all for whatever they do next. Wish them good luck, as peace is preferable to the alternative. This has been DJ Cerberus with the news, and now back to the tunes.”

That broadcast seemed far too supportive of Orthrus, nothing like Cabrette, making me a bit suspicious.

*Bing Bong Bing*

The speakers chimed again. “In the case of an emergency, Orthrus would like to remind you that the windows can be unlocked and removed from the inside. Within the tunnels, the trail of red lights will guide you to the nearest safe room where you can get in direct contact with Orthrus. Your safety is our duty, and we thank you for choosing the Orthrus rail line.”

With that, the advertisement was over, and it hit me. Those adds weren’t for Red, rather, they were for me. Leave it to Orthrus to subtly giving me directions to where I needed to go. First off, it was clear that I was dropping Red off at New Gen Genetics, where she should attract most of the attention of any outside parties. Then next was to Cornet’s, likely it involving telling Flugelhorn about my sister, meaning that Tamboril was coming with me. Lastly, Orthrus wanted me to make a stop at club Three-Dog, and I doubted it was so I can get drunk and dance.

________________________________________

When the train came to a stop, we stepped out into the clean and decorated entrance of Curtius Station. Even though Red was mostly able to keep herself in control during our tour of Orthrus HQ, the other four pirates had been far more opinionated, but that was around the more disciplined Orthrus employees. Now we were entering a civilian zone, where not everypony needed to hold their tongue, or was restricted from starting a fight. At least the presence of the armed Orthrus regulars was an active reminder to the pirates that if they started shit, they definitely weren't going to be on the winning side.

Waiting for us was three ponies wearing well tailored suits, the Trade Unions little greeting party. Along with them, were two Orthrus commandos in heavy armor and armed with Orthrus broomsticks, the heavy automatic shotguns looking as pristine as the day they’d been built. Their presence made sure that the civilians gave them a wide berth as more than a few gawked at the group of us approaching.

“You must be captain Red Steel,” One of the suits, a happy looking mare lacking any cybernetics, trotted over to us. “so very charmed to meet you. My name is Reverberate, you can call me Reverb for short. I’m a junior CEO of new gen genetics, and your escort for this tour of our home.” She was a mirage pony for sure, but her fur was pure white with no stripes, and her mane was a striking a neon blue, giving me the feeling that both were not natural. With her being a New Gen CEO, I felt safe in assuming that a fair amount of her body parts were lab grown and her odd coloring was just from dieting her fur to cover mismatched colors.

Red pulled out a flask, and took a swig of whatever was inside, all before giving the mare a wide smile. “Alright little mare, show me what ya got.”

“Y… Yes mam.” Reverb paused for a moment, seemingly taken aback by Red Steel. “I'm sure you won't be disappointed in the least. We even have a live demonstration set up if you’re interested. A mare on our waiting list had agreed to wait to have her procedure just a bit longer so that it could be recorded in full.”

I had a good feeling that the mare was likely a pony put on a waiting list so New Gen could gouge them for more bits to be moved up, and now unwittingly being used to fully sell themselves to the interested Red. That wasn’t anything new though, just business here in the metros.

“That’s a lovely Idea.” I said as I stepped in, giving Red a nod. “Though I hope you have other entertainment for the good Captain. Watching a surgery can become boring for some you know.”

Reverve looked me in the eyes and gave off the feeling of fear. “You… you're quite right ma’am. We will be providing a few other shows of interest during our own demonstration, from the other interested parties in the Trade Union. Whatever the Captain wants, we can provide.”

It was an unusual position for me, but as Red had explained, as long as she did not make any clear demands, it freed her from liability. Still, I couldn't outright ask for them to provide a pony for her to sexualy abuse, but as long as she didn't make the suggestion, no pony could use it against her. How easy it was to dodge responsibility actually made my stomach churn a little, and gave some clarity to why the equalist revolted against them.

Still, the Equalist were worse than these corporate blood suckers in the end. Again though, the Equalists would likely never have existed without the corporations fucking things up. It was only a minor difference in evil, and both were an affront to the progress they claimed they supported for ponies of the metros.

Escorted onwards, we had a brief tour of Citrus Station to take a look through the window of a few shops. The pirates made a few notes of where they wanted to come back to later, with the twin griffins very interested in some of the guns the were on display. Though they were disappointed that they were only made for ponies, I let them know that there was a few smaller gun mills that could make a custom order for them. That got me on their good side, though they made it clear that they wanted to be taken to one of these gun mills. Luckily it was next on my list of where to go.

It didn't take long to get through the bustle of the market, and past the rithmic work of the factories. With those behind us, we got to the corporate district of the station, where it was disconcerting how quiet everything had become. We could hear the hoof steps of ponies moving all about, and quiet whispers of them talking, but it just lacked the life that the rest of the metro had.

Entering New Gen’s main office, I had a disturbing feeling of deja vu. Everything inside was gray and sterile, with the odd plastic plant and motivational poster decorating the gray walls. Actually, the posters reminded me a lot of the republic, from the simplistic, and upbeat art, to how it promoted conformity and a focus on working hard.

One poster had three ponies standing next to each other, all three looking the same, it stating “There is no ‘I’ in Teamwork.” And another showed a distressed pony inside a water cooler, it saying “ Loose Lips Creates Rifts. Gossip ends with you!” It continued just like in the republic, about little things, and if I didn't know any better, I would think this was a Republic base. Actually there were a few anti-Republic posters, mainly about keeping an eye out for spies, and keeping their key cards on them at all times.

We passed through their offices, making our way to where the show was. Row upon row of ponies sat in cubicles, quietly tapping at their terminals. Almost alarmingly, some were connected to the terminals by a cable sticking into their augmented neck. Steam Press, the wrench mare, seemed a bit too excited by this part of the corporation, but then again she did have a mister helper arm for a tail...

Past the corporate drones, we reached where they performed their medical operations, and beyond that, an observation area were we could look down on an operation. The room we were in was set up with a small catering table, actually having a chef and a few catering staff still preparing things for us. In the middle of the room was a naked and obese mare lying on a table face down as another pony was giving her a massage. The masseuse pushed her mechanical hooves into the fat mares folds, the hooves making a buzzing sound as it vibrated the mare.

She was the kind of pony I dreaded working for as a mercenary. Spoiled, decadent, and almost always saw other ponies as mere tools to be used. And it wasn’t just me that hated mares like her. If Sweet was here, the only way this would go was with her being dragged out by security on harassment charges.

“You must be the mare in charge,” Red put on a big smile, and trotted up to the fat mare. “hard to miss by the aura of success you give off.” Red grabbed a seat from nearby, and placed it near the fat mare before sitting on it. “So, I heard you have setup a demonstration for me, and on such short notice, very impressive.”

The fat mare chuckled. “Thank you for noticing, I have worked hard to be this impressive.” She waved her hoof slightly, and the masseuse backed up, giving the mare room to sit up. “The names Tuba Bellow, senior CEO of New Gen Genetics, and I’ve heard that your a mare with potentially lucrative assets.”

Crossing her legs, Red took on a confident posture. “Red Steel, Captain of the Weeping Pegasus, and trust me, lucrative does not begin to describe what potential deals I have on offer.”

Letting Red work her charm, I turned my attention to the showroom floor, where the table in the middle was currently empty. All the medical supplies were ready, along with a projector, and one pony in scrubs cleaning the floor. It was a place of healing, anypony could see that at a glance, but I could not shake a feeling of wrongness from looking down at it.

“I hate this place.” Tamboril spoke up, looking down at the same spot as I was. “Using the cloning process that made me to sell overpriced origins, limbs, and medicine. Not that I care about the ethics of that, but it’s the waste I hate. They dump their leftovers instead of burning them, it’s disgusting. It's about once a month Orthrus is called to look into the discovery of a pile of body parts by some sanitation worker.”

That sounded disturbing. “And Orthrus can't just get them to stop?” I asked.

Tamboril shook her head. “The corporations made sure they are as entrenched as they could be within Orthrus. Even if we find that some body parts is not from a registered clone, no pony is willing to call them out for their sick and twisted fetishes. And if Orthrus did go after them, it would be at the risk of crippling the partnerships of our organizations.”

“Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.” Whatever it was that New Gen does in their off hours, I didn't want to know. That being said, it seemed that Tamboril took it a bit personally. “So how long do I need to stay here?”

She looked back at Red and the other's. “Just wait until they start the demonstration, then we can leave. Some of the corporate leaders want to meat you, and it would be impolite if you leave before then.”

I looked back, eyeing the two griffins. “I’m taking the bird cats with us, it will be less suspicious if I leave as a group.”

Tamboril nodded. “That's fine, but why the griffins?”

I looked away, a slight feeling of shame falling on me. “They wanted to see a place where they can get quality guns, and I at least owe it to Flugelhorn after...” If it was not for me, my sister would likely be here to return to him. “Anyway, from what I've seen, the griffins use their talons to fire their guns, so having them order new guns from Cornet would at least give them a head start in a new market.”

My face was forcibly pulled to look at Tamboril, she looking me in the eyes. “Don't fucking blame yourself, not when I was supposed to be her partner. When… it’s all been my fault.” She hissed quietly, quickly looked around, and tapped at her pipbuck. “Good, no bugs here. Makes sense with all the shit they get up to in this place.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “What are you getting at?”

Tamboril signs. “I'm only going to tell you this because because my memory of it will be released later, so keep your emotions neutral. You understand?” I nodded. “Then I'll make it quick. It's Orthrus’ fault that Harp even left her home in the first place using a strategy I thought up, and delivered to the council myself. The idea was to secure further peace with the Orphic kingdom by taking the mirage pony princess into our care, and using her to suppress any rebellions in exchange for the kingdom’s corporation.” She looked away for a moment, her stoic demeanor dropping for a moment, looking like she was about to cry. “But in reality, I just wanted to see council representative Phorminx smile. I owed the old stallion that much, and just thought… thought that if I got his daughter to him, then maybe he'd look at me more then just an agent.”

I only felt more confused. “How?”

Tamboril sighed again before regaining her composer. “Not as complex as you might think. We already knew about the tension between Harp and her siblings, so we helped spread a few rumors, and supported a few ‘adventure tours’ and then waited. If any of the royals were going to get rid of Harp, they were going to do it as far from their kingdom as possible. I was even the one to suggest using you for the initial recovery, knowing that Rototom wanted an opportunity to get you in the specter corps.”

A feeling of anger build up in me, but it was quickly suppressed. So everything was all because of her. All of this, all the death and pain, because she wanted to let Harp see her dad. The me that is Vibraphone was too weak to rage, and the rest that was Cold Iron was more focused on the task at hoof. “And I'm betting Naqara knew about this from the start?”

“Naturally.” She nodded. “The bitch is too sharp for her own good. I expect she will be sending me away once this mess has been started. Make trouble elsewhere.”

This time I sighed. “What's done is done, all that matters now is the mission.”

Tamboril tapped at her pipbuck once more. “True, we can regret our actions only after the job’s done. I'll let the staff know that you and the griffins will be visiting Cornetts Guns and Knives, Orthrus will cover up to two weapons for each of you.” She tapped on her pipbuck again. “There, now the other guests are arriving, try to not cause a scene.”

_______________________________________

Time quickly passed as more Trade Union ponies arrived. This time not in their stiff tailored suits, but in lavish and luxurious outfits, flaunting their wealth. Red was clearly in her element here, more easily navigating through the ponies here then at Orthrus dinner party. I could only guess it had to do with how corrupt every pony here likely was, and without the watchful eyes of Orthrus, they would let their mask slip.

I mingled a little, but found most of what the ponies have to say to be just pointless drivel. Lots of it was subital boasting about how rich they were, some being gossip about Orthrus, and one pony made a blatant sexual pass at me. It was right about then the demonstration started, a transplant of a new leg, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Red gave me a nod as I rounded up the two griffins and met Tamboril at the door. There, two Orthrus commandos waited for us outside the door to escorted us out. It was annoying to need escorts, but I understood that just letting me go off on my own would be suspicious.

It didn't take long to arrive at Cornets shop, the outside of the shop looking no different than from when I was last here. But looking at it gave me a pinch of guilt, as I was going in to be the bearer of bad news. Stepping inside, I was surprised to see Kantele at the reception desk. The heiress to Ironshod Firearms still sporting a scare on her face from where Theremin kicked her, but all together looking much better.

She looked at us, then down at a peace of paper before addressing us. “H… Hello to C… Cornets Guns and Knives. Were currently n… not taking any orders… orders at the moment.” It was good to see her slowly recovering, but still heartbreaking to see how one kick had don so much damage.

Tamboril waved at the two commandos, and the took up a position at the front door. She then trotted up to Kantele with a soft smile on her face. “We have an appointment with the owner of this workshop, so could you be a dear and call Cornet for us?”

Kantele nodded, and pressed a button at her desk, making a loud buzzing sound. With in a minute, Flugelhorn trotted out, dressed in a grease coveted gray jumpsuit. “If this is another solicitor, I will beat them… Oh, Tamboril!” The stallion wiped off his hooves, only smearing the grease that stuck to his fur. “You did send a message that you were coming over.” He looked passed the specter, and took a quick glance at me, and the two griffins. “Come in, all of you, we can talk at the back.”

We followed Flugelhorn into the very busy workshop, ponies manning large machines, constructing the Lelatos Mk.2 rifles. “I see that the contract with Orthrus is keeping you busy.” Tamboril commented.

He nodded “We've had to higher three new gunsmiths just to keep up with production quotas. I don't know what you ponies in Orthrus are planning seeing as the lelatos won’t be a good fit for military use. And with the quantity they ordered, I’m not sure what else Orthrus could have in mind for them.”

Tamboril trotted up next to Flugelhorn. “Let's just say that were making an investment into a future project. But on a related note, how’s the work on the railgun coming?”

Flugelhorn groaned, “As well as any attempt to shrink down and simplify high tech weaponry. The problem is still the battery pack. It doesn't matter if we can get the gun down the size of an SMG, when the battery ways more of a problem than the gun. Were testing out a few ideas, but none of them are cheap, sustainable, or low maintenance.”

We entered the back of the workshop, the place was a mess of gun parts and tools. At a desk sat Cornet, also wearing a grease covered gray jumpsuit. Covering the wall in front of her was gun schematics for a design of weapon I had never seen before.

Flugelhorn turn around to look at us. “Mother will be with us shortly, but until then, I'd like to know more about these new clients you’ve brought.”

I looked back at the two griffins, Headsail and Staysail looking somewhat impressed by the workshop. “You two wanted some new guns right?”

The two looked at eachother and shugged, Headsail ancering. “Ya, but all ya got is pony guns.”

Staysail wiggled her claws. “We ain't shooting with or beaks, we need claw grip.”

“There's quite a few creatures on the ship that can use their limbs to hold objects, and we were wondering if you could make some guns for them?” I spoke up, which got Cornet’s attention.

“Claw grip!?” Cornet shouted as she pushed herself off her desk, and trotted over to us. She looked at us, half stunned and half excited. “Well I'll be damned, the DJ had been talking about griffins, but I didn't think I'd ever see any, not here at least!” Trotted right up to Staysail, she took one of the griffins claws into her hooves. “I see, I see. That makes sense to why all the early equestrian arms were so unbalanced.” She let Staysail go, and jumped back to her desk, opening up the drawers.

“Please excuse mother,” Flugelhorn sighed. “she's been taking her medication at half dose in hopes it will help inspire her when it’s not good to ignore the problems that come with it!”

Right, Cornet is bipolar. “Then do make sure she takes the proper dose when the downswing comes.” Tamboril said coldly, and Flugelhorn nodded in return.

“Here it is!” Cornet shouted again as she tossed an old book onto to floor in front of us. She opened it up, showing off a collection of photos of what could be best considered as ‘antique’ guns. Some of the photos were of just one gun, and the page next to it was of the same gun but dismantled. “The founder of this workshop was Musketball, an old coot even before the great war. He kept an extensive log on every gun he had made in his life, though he didn't write down their history.” She flipped to the beginning of the book, were three odd looking guns, some of which that didn't have a mouth bit, but instead a handle. “The earliest griffon guns in this record were pistols called the Mouser C97. and to my best guess, they might have been the first guns used in the great war. Well, at least by the griffins, as theirs no records of military pony guns that are older then the Mouser.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “So can you make one?”

Cornet shook her head “No way, I'd have to make one from scratch, and were too busy as it is. But we do have two mauller replicas the last master made when I was an apprentice. He wanted a challenge, and I kept them as trophies. But if you give me a week, then maybe I'll have time to…”

“Excuse me, ma’am.” Tamboril interrupted, “I have an Idea. If you could lend us one of those guns, then Orthrus could copy it. We understand your current workload requires a lot of focus, and would rather have you remain focused on your current task.”

“That's right, I still need to finish the type 50 for you folks. Just a moment.” Cornet scampered off to a side room, which was followed by the sound of her knocking over things. After a minute, she returned with the gun and a piece of paper stuffed in her mouth. Tamboril took both items, giving the paper an inquisitive look. “Here you go, also thought up a brilliant idea! It was for an energy gun I thought up, but could never dream of having the time or resources to make. If your ponies can make this energy cartridge, it might solve the battery problem.”

Tamboril nodded. “I can do that.”

Cornet smiled. “Good, then I'll get back to work.” With that she returned to her desk, and started scribbling on a piece of paper.

Flugelhorn trotted in front of us, giving a tired look. “If that's all, then perhaps it is time for you to go. As you can see, we are quite busy here.” His face then soffend. “Also, Tam, tell Rototom to stop by when you see her. Despite what I say, I do miss her.”

The feeling of guilt returned in an instant, harder than before.

“About Rototom...” Tamboril spoke as she looked over at me. I sighed and pulled out both my revolvers, passing them to Flugelhorn. Tamboril continued “Well, actually, both Echo sisters were... lost in the line of duty. I'm sorry, Flugel.”

Flugelhorn slowly took the revolvers and looked down at Solar Eclipse. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, smearing grease on his face.

“I… i knew this was going to happen one day.” He forced out a laugh to try to hide his pain, but it was a paper thin mask he was trying to wear. “But Rototom would not settle down. She'd said her destiny was out there, not in some stupid workshop.”

“She never did like to stay in one place for too long.” Tamboril added.

Putting the revolvers down on a nearby table, Flugelhorn looked Tamboril in the eyes, a pained expression on his face. “Weren't you her partner? Why are you here, and not her?”

“The situation changed.” Tamboril growled, her glare causing Flugelhorn to freeze. “It just kept getting more and more out of control, and…” She then looked away, and sighed. “I did my best, but I… I was too late. If I could, I’d trade...”

“Really, that's all you have to say?” Flugelhorn hissed, then sighed as he turned away from us. “Sorry, but you knew her better than I did, and now your here telling me that I will never see her again.” He shook his head, and stomped on the floor. “Just go. I need time to take this all in. And keep the guns, I don't know what happened to them, but they feel wrong now.” Flugelhorn trotted off, disappearing behind a corner.

I looked at Tamboril as she wiped a tear from her eye. “It's not going to get easier is it?”

I shook my head as I picked up my revolvers and returned them to their holsters. “I don't think so, but when I think about it, it feels like a needle has pierced my heart. Even now, when I'm barely myself anymore.”

“It might be just me, but… I think there's more of Vibraphone still in you then you think. But enough of that, it's time we made our last stop.” Tamboril sighed, put on a stoic face, and turned around to looking at the two griffins, whom were messing with some gun parts. “Right, now that we know that we can make a few guns for those like you in the fleet as a token of goodwill, why don't we do something less business related. There’s a club in this station, Club Three Dog, that should be open at this time, and the drinks are fairly cheap. That is, if your interested?”

Headsail put down the gun part she had been looking at and nodded. “Ya, I can go for some grog.”

Staysail slapped her sister on the back. “Fuck ya, lets get drunk!”

If anything, I was a glad that the two griffins were so easy going, making them good cover. Though I was unsure how I was to slip away at the club, more so if it wasn’t at peak hours with a crowd to get lost in. But then again, where there's a will, there's a way.

___________________________________________

The last two times I had been here, things didn't go so well. But as others say, third time's the charm, right? Club Three Dog was only mildly busy, as many ponies were still at work around this time of day. The whole place still smelled of bleach and alcohol, and the music, though loud, was of a more tame beat then normally played on the radio.

Tamboril passed a pouch of bits to the two griffins, and without needing to be told twice, they ran off to the bar. She then hooved me three bits, Trade Union standard coins, each worth five Orthrus standard coins. “Go and relax.”

I looked at the coins, and then up at Tamboril. “Well if you want me to buy a whole bottle or three of topshelf shit, then whatever.” I shoved the coins into a pocket. “You want anything?”

“Order an alicorn prince for me. It's a bitter and sour drink, but in times like this, it's what might hit the spot.” Tamboril then trotted away, taking a seat at a lonely table.

I had a good feeling that this was meant to be a secret message, so I joined the two griffins at the bar, they had a bottle of rum, and a line of shot glasses. “Barkeep, I'll have one daiquiri, and one Alicorn Prince.”

The barkeep raised an eyebrow at me. “Anything else?”

I placed the three bits on the table, well over the price of two drinks. “Just that.”

“It'll be one moment ma’am.” The barkeep took all three coins, and ducked down under the bar. After a short moment the barkeep returns with a glass, and the ingredients for a daiquiri, but no change for the coins I gave, or anything for another drink. The barkeep acted like nothing was wrong as they made my drink, and in return I didn't say anything about it as I took the drink. At least it’s not my money.

The daiquiri itself was far from the best I've had, but then ponies don't come here for the drinks. The music faded out, and the lights focused on a small stage, where two familiar ponies, and three I didn't recognize, stood.

One of them was Sweet, rocking a torn up and studded denim dress. Next to her was Guitar Strings, still the dusty gray stallion with the dark brown wild mane I remembered. He had a very old, and very cared for acoustic guitar, the one Sweets mother use to own. On its front, in fancy gold inlay was the word ‘KING’.

The other three ponies that I didn’t recognize looked like they needed a wash. Not just them, but their instruments as well. There was a drum set made of rusty barrels, what looked like a keyboard piano made from other assorted keyboard pianos, and what I guessed was an electric bass guitar made out of scrap metal.

“Hello everypony here in our hole in the ground we call home!” DJ Cerberus's voice blasted over the speakers. “Sorry I couldn't be at the club myself, but don't think I've abandoned you, I'll be back. In the meantime I have scheduled a few talents to feed your souls. Today we have some ponies I picked up from Caron's Stop. Ya, ya, I know, but trust me, they’re legit, so be nice!”

The speakers went silent, leaving all attention on the band on stage. Sweet stepped up to a microphone on the stage, taking a deep breath. Before she could speak, a pony down on the bar flore shouted. “How much for the stallion!”

Sweet sighed, and pulled the microphone close. “Before any pony says any more stupid shit, I have two questions for you all. One, have you killed anypony, and if yes, how many?” The heckler froze in place, and after a moment, Sweet relaxed. “Well I doubt any of us is here to see who has the biggest cunt, so let’s get on with the first song!”

The band started hard into their music, and though they were using junk, it sounded surprisingly good. It sounded similar to the music bandits tended to like, but the addition of Guitar Strings playing created a feeling of duality to the music. The harshness of the junk instruments clashed with to a strong yet soft acoustic guitar. Then Sweet added her voice, humming at first, then a whispering that slowly grew louder.

“Miss Cold Iron, is it?” I almost jumped as a mare whispered in my ear. It was Xianzi Tuning, Shamisen’s sister, wearing a tight black dress that did so much to draw my eyes to the curves under the fabric. I nodded and sipped at my daiquiri. “Fantastic, now come with me, I'm sure you're eager to get to business.” She stretched a hoof out to me.

I closed my eyes for just a moment, taking in the music. I wanted to hear more, not that it was my kind of music, but simply just because it was Sweet who was singing. But I knew that it would not stop at one song, now like a siren leading me astray from my task. Or was it that maybe she was a beacon, showing me my last opportunity to turn back…

No, there was no going back, not as long as Phobetor was free. Opening my eyes I took Xianzi's hoof. “Then where t…”

____________________________________________

My stomach lurched as the feeling of falling back took me for a split second. The chattering of ponies, clinking of glass, and the music had all stopped, replaced by the humming of terminals. As my eyes adjusted to the more well lit room I was clearly teleported too, it… looked like the aitrum of a stable, but different, as though not made by Stable-Tec. Then it hit me as my eyes fell onto a large banner below were the overmeres window was. It was the image of a white, muscular male alicorn, and below the image was the words “Solaris: Try The Alternative.”

To say that I was surprised would have been an understatement. I knew that Solaris was a rival company to Stable-Tec, but I never heard about them building their own stables. And this atrium did look a lot like it belonged in a stable, though it did have the hallmarks of a Solarus construction. Such as the railings were made from flat and painted sheet metal, unlike the pipes Stable-Tec used, and the ceiling was a lot more rounded. Also the color theme was different, mainly being a dark gray on white, making everything feel more muted.

“Welcome to Sol Stable six!” Xianzi announced. “Can't even begin to to say how excited we were to hear about your interest in our services. Now miss Cold Iron, if you will follow me, I'll give you brief tour before we meet the boss.”

“Then lead on.” I said, figuring it would be best to play dumb. But I wondered how much did Orthrus know about this place. And if they knew it was here at all, why hadn't they taken it by now?

Xianzi smiled as she lifted up her hoof, as to present the room we were in. “Firstly, this is our entrance hall, using the best of the old world tech, we managed to replace the structural weakness that are doors with a simple teleportation pad, making the most secure stable ever constructed.”

That actually answered my first question, as well as why Orthrus probably didn’t know about any of this. But now I had even more questions. “That’s pretty advanced. How did you come to develop such technology without anyone on the islands knowing about it?” The havok that could be caused if Orthrus or goddesses forgive the Republic could cause if they got their hooves on things like that alone.

“Glad you asked.” She gave me a wink as she showed me a slightly bulky looking watch, then clapped her hooves. The lights dimmed, and from what was the overmare’s window, a light beamed out, and onto the white wall on the other side. A black and white projection began to play, it starting with the Solaris logo… right, it was not the overmare’s office, but a fucking projection room.

Drumming music began to play as the film started, and the voice of a stallion spoke up. “Welcome investor, to Sol Stable Six! The latest, and most advanced of our prototype stables developed here at Solaris. And with investments from ponies just like you, hopefully the first of many more to come!” A stallion walked into view, a tall white and gray pegasus in a sharp looking suit. “Hello, as you all know, my name is Rumble, CEO and founder of Solaris Inc., and I am here to show you why you should try the alternative.”

Rumble faded from the projection, as images of different wartime products popped onto the screen. A vacuum with a radio built into it, a cooking pot with attached timer, a kitchen knife that looked like it was glowing, and even the same strange watch that Xianzi had on.

Rumble's voice continued. “Solaris has provided Equestria with many unique products over the years, and now we have integrated many of them into this stable for maximum convenience. We have also installed an administrative and proprietary AI to manage the day to day tasks for the residents. We have also supplied the stable with a robobrain staff to conduct regular maintenance, freeing those inside from the menial tasks of keeping the stable running. What this all means is that inside Sol Stable Six, you will never need to lift a hoof again as you wait for the magical fallout to pass.”

As Rumble walked back onto the screen, Xianzi clapped her hooves again, turning off the projection, and turning on the lights. “The rest is just Rumble going on about how much better Solaris is then Stable-Tec, mostly useless information.” Xianzi said, sounding a bit board.

I felt a bit curious. “If this is Sol Stable Six, where are the other five?”

Xianzi sighed. “One, Two, and Three are somewhere on the mainland. Four is on the big island, and due to the cost cutting decision of being built in old lava tubes, got flooded with magma after the end of the great war caused the volcano to erupt. Lastly, five is on the valley island, and got taken over by the republic after their revolution.”

“I see.” I had a good feeling that I may have been to stable five during my unfortunate trip through the republic. “It's amazing that they had made such useful technologies, like that teleportation pad.”

A puff of laughter escaped Xianzi's mouth as she attempted to cover it with her hoof. “Sorry to laugh, but you must understand that most of what my ancestors made actually worked as intended.” I knew exactly what she was getting at, like the radio vacuum that somehow shot sonic blasts. Xianzi then showed me her watch again. “This here is the Solaris personal assistant watch, or the Sol Paw for short, which was obviously their answer to the pipbuck. It's an all in one micro terminal that can also record small bits of your memory as notes. It performs none of it’s functions well, but when used in the right way...” She tapped on the watch, and vanished, only to appear on the teleportation pad. She tapped her hoof on the pad. “This apparatus is called the memory projector, use it to play back your own recorded memories… but instead, it and the watch became part of a mark and return spell. Took a few sacrifices, but our techs got it to work without the pony losing a leg. A mixed blessing for those who didn’t have the leg to begin with.”

“And the other tech in that video?” I asked.

Xianzi scratched her chin for a moment. “Well the most famous was the the sonic blast vacuum with built in radio, which was a neat home defence device, but after a few lawsuits, required the consumer to obtain a special permit before you could buy one. They also made a self cooking, cooking pot, but that basically ended up as a self-setting time bomb. The M.o.M. squashed that due to concerns that it could be too easily used by zebra sympathisers. Solaris lastly also made the cosmic knife, a kitchen knife so sharp that it was too dangerous to us as a kitchen knife. Only took a few personal injury lawsuits to pull them off the shelves and to get both the M.W.T. and the M.o.A. interested in further use of the product.” She clapped her hooves again, and a door opened. “But enough about the past, I’ve got a tour to take you on that will show you the future!”

When we stepped out, we were greeted by a robobrain, who was cleaning the hallway. The thing was cordial, giving us a slight bow. “good day, ladies”

Xianzi bowed back. “and a good day to you.”

I didn't respond until we rounded a corner, leaving the robobrain out of sight. “A bit formal for a robot.” I commented.

She rolled her eye. “Make no mistake, they run this stable because they’re hard as fuck to kill . If the sindicate could, we would have purged those robots long ago.”

Right, don't fuck with the robots. “So what's next on this is tour?”

Xianzi smile. “Just follow me.” We trotted down the hallway, passing two more robobrains and ending at a shooting gallery. There, two mares were practicing their marksponyship. “Firstly, we actively train our own agents, mercenaries we can trust. And through a thorough vetting process, make sure they are the best of the best. In fact, the ones we employ are so effective that Orthrus has a designation specifically for them, what they call ‘shadow runners’. With our mercs, things like ethics are never a problem. All that matters to them is the contracts and the pay. No questions asked, and local laws be damned.”

I already knew that the shadow runner's were connected to the syndicate, but not this closely. I had always thought they were just criminal mercenaries that the syndicate used. While she might be upselling them, I had to consider that maybe I just hadn’t seen enough of them to understand just how things worked within the syndicate.

The next room looked like an oversized bakary, completely powered by mirage ponys. Xianzi continued, “We mirage ponies have the natural talent of producing magical energy, acting like self recharging spark batteries. A useful, if insulting use, but the metro only thrives because many of us have learned our place as pillars of this world.” The room had a stack of yellow bars, one of which she passed onto me. “Here we have a stockpile of hardtack, a survival bread that was made long before the great war, and today is our best export in the metro. It’s not a very popular product, but when your starving you tend to not care what your eating to survive.”

“Feels solid.” Choosing to not know what hardtack was, I bit down on the bar and found it resist my every attempt to eat it. Pulling it out of my muzzle, my teeth hadn’t done any damage to stone-like bread. “Tastes solid.”

“Should be. Packed in the right conditions, this shit can last for hundreds of years. And personally I have never seen one go bad.” She gave me a smirk. “Soak it in boiling water for a few minutes and you’ll have a meal with enough calories to keep a pony alive for days. So if you need food for your fleet, then fuck makinging a new plantation, we can produce ten years worth of hardtack in just a month.”

Though I still knew little about the fleet, I knew who would benefit on such condensed food. “I don't see the crew being happy with this, but it would be easy calories for the slaves, which in turn frees up more normal food for the crews.”

“Slaves…” Xianzi looked at me sideways as she took a moment to process that. “Right, lets go to our next room!” I followed her down the hall and to the next room, which for some reason, looked like a spa. “Here we can rub out all of your stress. From deep tissue massages, to hot rock treatments, all of your worries will be washed away!”

We continued down the hall, each room providing a service, but nothing that Orthrus couldn’t already do. Eventually we ended at the last room in the hallway, next to the door was a sign labed “Administrative AI Showroom.”

Entering the room, I found myself in what looked like an overmare’s office similar to the one in the R&D Stable, though with the same dark gray on white color scheme the rest of the stable here held. Along the walls were random items protected behind glass, such as a hoofball and jersey, a photo of a young colt with a dog, a signed poster of the wonderbolts, and two worn out pistols on a equally worn out battle saddle.

It was like some pony was displaying their life story, yet as I looked at it all, it just seemed like they could also have been props for some old applewood movie. I finally looked at the centerpiece of the room, a desk with a picture frame, a snowglobe, and an odd looking toaster connected by dozens of wires to a large terminal on the other side of the desk. Two robobrains flanked the large terminal, both armed with odd looking magical energy guns.

The terminal turned on, the screen crackling as it’s blue screen brightened up with a horizontal white line through the center. The speakers on the terminal crackle, and the white line on the screen wiggled. The AI spoke in a somewhat cheary tone, but it wasn’t in a language I recognized. One of the brain cases of the Robo brains lit up, it making a static sound as it gave a slight bow to me. “Good day miss Cold Iron. It’s rare that a [Translation error.] of my stature gets to speak to anyone new lately. My name is John Henry Eden, and word on the grapevine is that you wish to take the fight to the [Translation error.] … the Equalists as you call them. And of course, as a true patriot to the cause, and a capitalist myself, I would like to lend you my aid.”

____________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest Progress %50: Friends in the Shadows.