MINIFIC MAYHEM

All he could think about was the smell.

“Why did I go this way?” the grey stallion thought to himself as he trekked through the dark corridor, though he knew the reason why. This was the only route that was unguarded, and for good reason. Even with his gas mask, he still had the impression that the smell was all the security they’d need. Nopony with any sense of smell would last longer than five minutes in here.

Nopony, at least. There was still a chance they would be here. They wouldn’t be bothered by this odor at all, and their presence would cause no small amount of trouble for his plans.

A slight buzzing in his wrist called his attention away from his thoughts. He brought his hoof in front of his face. With a thought, his hoof began to disassemble, revealing the complex machinery beneath. A part of this machinery projected a 3D image of a mare inches above his hoof.

“I’ll never get used to that,” he thought.

The image spoke in a near-likeness of the actual pony’s voice. “Crosswire, what’s your current status?”

“Annoyed. I still can’t believe that you couldn’t find some other way for me to get in. It reeks to high hell down here.”

“This is the only route into The Factory that has no surveillance. Unless, of course, you’d rather go through the tanks and turret zeppelins.”

“I think I’d rather go through those than those god-awful abominations.” He looked over his shoulder as if they were listening.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re too big to fit into that corridor. Once you get into the main building, you don’t have to go far to your destination. If the virus works like it should, you should have a clear path out of there.”

“I know that. I was paying attention during the briefing,” he said proudly.

“Right,” she remarked, having seen that act many times before. He was just about to turn the transmitter off when she muttered one more line. “Just… be careful for me, alright?”

He grinned lightly underneath his mask. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

The image smiled before vanishing into the mechanics of his hoof.

“Right. Now then…”

He had taken one step, when from the other end of the corridor there rang a horrible metallic roar, resounding off the pipes surrounding him.

He sighed. “Too big, she says.”