Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Fallout Equestria: Desperados

Pandora's Box, Part 2

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“Slowtrots knowledge on Thorn Roseland was sparse, but painted a very bleak image of Equestria’s future in the war.

Openly she was a Navy war hero who was responsible for several victories over the Luna Ocean. She made her mark as a hero when her captain had died from a Zebra assasination. She successfully fought the zebras off then successfully warned the main militat port at the Marewaii Islands about an upcoming surprise attack.

She also happened to be an agent of the Office of Interministry affairs. A sub-ministry in charge of keeping ministry communication organized, or so Slowtrot had originally thought. From what he had learned about the O.I.A. through Thorns memories, she was used as an assassin to weed out ponies unloyal to Luna within the fleet and then use her connections to raise her rank. Using Zebras to cover her own assassinations was one such trick Slowtrot knew about.” ~ Azure Dice

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"Surprise!" With a pop, confetti covered my head. The brown earth pony Prancer Dancer, and the filly zony Hydrangea had waited for me behind the door to the atrium with party poppers at the ready. Prancer had a big grin on her face, the mare in her element at this moment. "You may be going away, but that doesn't mean you can't have a party before you go."

Party ponies; they never change.

The atrium was decorated with long green and purple ribbons that were hung from the balcony overhead. In the center was a cake that had the words “Farewell Slowtrot” on it and a box. Standing around were several ponies, all of whom I recognized: Candy Pop and Doctor Lifebeat from the medical ward, the maintenance ponies Easy Fix and Stress Test, the Pipbuck technicians Cloud Bank and Emerald Fields, and even the chef Pear Tart. There were also some of the foals from yesterday as well as some of the other tech's, but they were mostly off doing their own thing instead of paying much attention.

"Well, I'm more used to just getting a card with everyone's signature on it." I tried to keep a stoic face to all of this, but a smile won out. I was more used to ponies not caring all that much about another pony leaving, me being among them… yet why does this feel so familiar?

Hydrangea jumped off Prancer and onto her father's, Zaan, back. This won her a big grin from her mother Underbrush.

Prancer Dancer walked up to me and blew some of the confetti out of my face. "Well, here at Stable-Tec, everyone is family and family gets a party. So go have some punch. We set up a bowl near the lounge. It was funny how Candy Pop was adamant that it had to be grape, but I spiked it with some sparkle cola to give it an extra kick." Looking over to the lounge, there was a big glass bowl with purple liquid inside. My mouth watered a bit at the sight.

Having something to drink sounded like a good idea, but I felt it would be best to say hi to everyone first. Lucky one of them was right next to the punch bowl, trotting over to the group. Candy Pop levitated a cup over to me while hovering a second cup in her magic. "Morning, Slowtrot. I heard the foals had you running yourself ragged." I took the grape punch, drinking it a bit greedily. It was really good stuff. Not too sweet or strong with the grape, and a hint of sparkle-cola.

Yet my throat was not quenched, it felt like I was just remembering the taste.

"Ya, they thought it would be fun to play Princesses of Slowtrot Mountain. And, seriously now, Hydrangea has got way too much energy," I said.

The words coming out of my mouth felt distant, as though I was not actually saying them.

"That sounds about right." Candy Pop laughed. "That filly's got the making of an adventure. She's already managed to sneak herself into Labs B twice now."

"If she wasn't so cute, I would have had her punished." June cut in. "But I just gave her a bowl of candy and hoofed her back to her parents." Looking over to Zaan, he physically shivered.

Looking at June Log Baird, she was an older, no-nonsense earth pony mare and the inventor of the pipbuck. She was the one that got the pipbuck 2600 off me and was working on a way to connect the stables through teleportation with acting overmare Healing Herbs…

And I had been here before, said all this before…

Taking a step back, I seemingly exited my own body, now like an outside observer.

June walked over to where the box was, waving me over to follow her. "It's too bad that we can't stick around all day. Let's get the present opened, and then we can have cake."

I knew what was in the box, my pipbuck 3200. The R&D staff were eager to get their creations out in the world. Sadly, they didn’t know that everything was going to be burnt by megaspells very soon. Even then, they were not going to get that time. Not with what was coming.

"I'm guessing I'm one of the ponies that can't stick around," my past self said.

June frowned a little. "That's right. Something about all distractions needed to be sent away. Truthfully, I think she is just overworking herself, and you're an easy target for her frustration. So don't take any of it personally."

She was talking about Healing Herbs. If they only knew she was under the control of a nightmare, maybe the worst of this could have been stopped. I wished I could have told them about Phobetor, about the secrets she had stolen, and what she was planning to do. The nightmare had sealed my memories of her away. Not permanently, just long enough to get me out of the stable.

"No worries. I was never meant to be here in the first place," my past self spoke, not knowing how true that will be.

I watched as I opened the box and got a face full of confetti before pulling out my new pipbuck.

"I figured somepony outside this stable should have one." June was trying to get some of the confetti out of her ear as she talked. "You did have that abomination on your leg, so why not have something better? Trust me, this one will never try to kill you."

Right, the 2600 was defective. Having it on was killing me… no, it was a trap! One the R&D Stable fell for, and I was an unwitting pawn.

Watching everypony, they were all laughing and smiling with me. They gave their farewell gifts and told a few jokes. Even June seemed to enjoy herself in spite of how serious she was. It was fun, and I felt like I had some proper friends.

But the moment could not last forever as red flashing lights suddenly turned on.

"Ether the overmare wants you to get going now Slowtrot, or some damn fool just opened the stable door without clearing it with security first." Underbrush rolled her eyes. Turning to her husband, the unicorn mare lifted her energetic filly in her magic and levitated her over to Zaan. "Zaan dear, can you take Hydrangea to her room? We can't have her sneaking out of the stable for an adventure."

Hydrangea looked shocked "But.. How... That's no fair!" The filly crossed her hooves as her father held her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her off.

June stepped in with a yawn. "I'd settle for a bed." She looked like she was ready to just find any spot on the floor and sleep. "But first I have to see you out."

My past self looked back to the others. Most of them were enjoying themselves. The others gave me knowing smiles and nods. "Well now is as good as any time," I had said as my past self followed Underbrush out of the atrium, not knowing that I’d never see them again.

The top floor of the stable was a massive warehouse with any part they could ever need to fix a stable, possibly even build another one if needed. Remembering now, the R&D Stable was actually meant to be a staging point for Stable-Tec to fix their broken stables after the war came to its dreadful conclusion. By how the world wound up over 200 years later, it was clear that Appabloom never made it back here before the world went up in balefire. She never got to fix her mistakes.

As it had happened before, a security pony came scrambling over, yelling for June, needing to contact Healing Herbs.

"What's going on!?" June, now fully awake because of the security pony's sudden arrival. "You should be able to contact Healing Herbs from your station?"

The security pony took a deep breath, but didn't calm down. "We've been trying to contact her, but Lab's D isn't responding. We even tried to contact Headquarters, but we couldn't get through to anypony!"

"What's going on?" June repeated.

The security pony looked confused again as he opened his mouth. "It's... it's the navy. They’re here to... Well, they said that she... It's a lie, right?"

"Explain. Don’t ask questions!" June demanded to the panicked pony.

"We’re here to arrest Healing Herbs for High Treason!" The voice of a mare echoed with cold authority.

I felt a lump in my throat as I knew that voice, and knew what was about to happen while trapped in this nightmare of a memory.

Thorn Roasland stepped into the light, flanked by two Unicorn sailors and two ponies in power armor. One was in the large ranger power armor, and the other in the black pegasus power armor. Thorn stood in her uniform, heavily decorated with the medals from all the battles she had taken part of and won. On her head was a navy cap depicting Luna on it.

She looked like a big damn hero of Equestria, but I knew she cared nothing for Equestria, only for her damn ship, the Leviathan. She was here for one thing, the megaspell lab in Labs D.

June face hoofed. "I know Healing Herbs can be a bitch sometimes, but this is a bit too much. So who are you? And you better have a warrant for this intrusion."

Thorn simply smiled as one of the unicorns that flanked her, stepped forward and announcing loudly. "You are speaking to Admiral Thorn Roseland, and hero of the Equestria navy."

June briefly glanced at the unicorn. "Don't give a shit. Now, unless you have a warrant to even be down here, you can expect Stable-Tec to bring this up with Luna herself." The other guards quickly trotted to June's side, forming a pony wall of six.

Thorn's face contorted to a grin at June's response. "Oh, trust me, I have a warrant." She glanced over at one of her lutenists, who pulled a piece of paper from a saddlebag, then levitated it to June. "Now not to have you continue your rude behavior, tell me who you are, and on what authority do you have here." Her voice was calm, composed, and overall cold.

June didn't answer, choosing to look over the paperwork first.

"Miss Thorn Roseland was it? Did you just shove this at a judge to sign?" June threw the paper back at Thorn. "This is the biggest crock of shit I have ever read. I know Healing Herbs did work on the first magaspell, but you would think if she gave the zebras the megaspell, she would have ran to them, not to Stable-Tec."

One of the unicorns lifted the paper and paced in back into a saddlebag.

Thorn narrowed her eyes at Jun. "As an Equestrian citizen, your opinion is respected. Now tell me who you are, and what authority you have."

June laughed with a spiteful tone, stepping up to Thorn. The tall mare seemingly towering over Thorn. "My name is June Log Baird of the Highlanders, and I know that the likes of your kind never respected the opinions of my people. Here I'm the head of the pipbuck development department, which also happens to be enough authority to send your sorry flanks out of this stable. Now leave, or I will drag you out of here myself."

A swift hoof to the face sent June to the ground.

"So you're telling me that not only you have no authority to hold me up, but you're not even an Equestrian citizen. And here you got me hoping to pin the label of traitor on you. I guess I will just settle with a spy." One of the Unicorns pulled out a .45 auto pistol and levitated it over to Thorn. "But I can't say I'm surprised. Stable-Tec is full of bleeding hearts who are too stupid to know that there is no neutral ground. You are either the one shooting, or the one being shot." She took the pistol in her mouth and pointed it at June.

As like before, the security ponies had rushed to June's aid, armed with only batons. The navy ponies had taken positions to the sides of Thorn, guns at the ready. June looked up at Thorn and Thorn looked down at June.

Time had then stopped, and I could see the panic on my past self’s face. Underbrush and I had moved to the side as this was happening, my past self having remembered who Thorn was, and was watching in horror as I could do nothing. Even if I had a gun myself and with a 100% chance to hit, there would be no way to stop Thorn as she shot June point-blank. All my past self could do was run, pushing Underbrush with me.

Ya, there was nothing I could do, or do right. I couldn't stop Thorn at all.

“Because you're nothing but a weak and pathetic pony,” The nightmare, Phebetor, spoke as she trotted up next to me with a sneer on her face. “But if that bitch had not shown up, you would have been out of the stable, and none would have known my plan till it was too late.”

I laughed. “At least I stopped you! So how's Tartarus? I heard it’s a cold place.”

She looked me in the eyes. They were cold and lacking energy. “Wouldn't know. I’ve been trapped as part of that fucking abomination along with a piece of you!”

“You're a fragment!” I said with surprise.

Phobetor smiled wide. “For now, but I will free myself. I will become whole!”

Everything began fading to black with only Phobetor’s golden eyes still visible. “But now is a rare opportunity to indulge myself. Thanks to you and the magic from that mare Victoria, I can now see some secrets. Oh, I wonder what strife would their knowledge cause.”

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Light began to return. The sound of a ticking clock filled what was a clean and silent room. A mare sat across from me at a coffee table. Both of us were in our formal military uniforms.

I sipped my coffee. No sugar. No milk. Always hated sweeteners and milk. It made the coffee too weak.

Fleetfoot, on the other hoof, loved her sweets. Her coffee had four sugar cubes and plenty of creamer. But today, she was adding three more sugar cubes to her drink. The mare looked intently at the little bit of information I brought her personally. After that, she sighed as she turned over the document. “Thorn, how did you come about this… this disaster?”

“Oh, you know. The Office of Interministry Affairs has so much documentation floating around. Sometimes it ends up where it doesn't belong. I thought you might be interested in seeing it, Major General.”

I watched as Fleetfoot’s eye twitched and, in response, I covered my mouth while pretending that it was a mistake of my lips. “I mean former Major General. Who knew Ministry mare Rainbow Dash would force you into retirement? All because you believe the Ministry of Awesome shouldn't have direct control in the air focus affairs.”

Fleetfoot sipped on her coffee, looking dejected. I didn’t know how close she and Rainbow Dash were. There were rumors that the ministry mare was into mares, and the two had gotten real close early in the war, but it was all that. Just rumors. Still, the fact that Rainbow would take away the job of her friend had to hit Fleetfoot hard, making this the opportune time to make my play.

Luckily for me, the head of the OIA is still quite distracted with throwing himself at all his new projects. The tragic loss of a foal will do that to a pony, as I hoped it would. Still, I couldn't make any big moves, not with the damn zebras seeding their spies everywhere.

“How could she do this to me? I thought…” Fleetfoot again sipped on her coffee. Her eyes drifted towards the document. “And now this. Have the ministries gone mad?”

“Power will do that to a pony,” I said in annoyance. “The ministry of Moral is all over the place, spying on our own citizens. The Ministry of Image is quite literally burning books. Then there’s the Ministry of Wartime Technology, which might as well be the Apple family nepotism network.”

Fleetfoot put her coffee down and said in a very bitter tone, “And the Ministry of Peace gave the secrets of the megaspell to the zebras.”

I nodded. “It’s almost like they want to lose the war.”

She looked up at me. I could see it in her eyes; the hope she had for the future, it was fading. “But why give me this information? What can I do?”

I smiled wide. “Actually, there is something you can do. It’s not much, but it will help save as many lives as possible when the Ministries finally reap what they sowed.”

Pulling out a flyer, I passed it to Fleetfoot.

She looked at it with a hint of confusion. “The Enclave? Aren't they that fringe pegasus Isolationist party?”

“One that is growing in popularity,” I said as I leaned in and pointed at an important part on the flyer. “In a few months they will be having an in party election. In a year they will be voting for a representative party leader. Most of their politicians are idiots with no merit under their wings, so it’s unlikely they get all the attention of those not already sold Isolation.”

I then leaned back, picking up my coffee. “But with a strong leader, more pegasus will be likely to listen.”

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “And why would they vote for me? I’m not a politician. Anyways, they hate the ministries and are anti-war.”

I took a sip on my coffee. It was hot and bitter. Just the way I like it.

Giving her the best sincere smile I could fake. “Then it’s perfect for you. You do want the war to be over and it’s clear you don’t agree with the ministries. They did strip you of your position, after all.”

Fleetfoot sighed, putting the flyer down. “You have a point, but how will this save ponies?”

“Simple, really,” I said before going in for another sip of my coffee, letting the moment build. “Now that the Zebras know how to make megaspells, it’s only a matter of time before they will use those megaspells on Equestria itself. When that happens, who knows what city will be hit or how hard? Likely the Zebras will send their assassins to kill our leaders in the madness and keep Equestria from regrouping.”

I looked her in the eye, and though she was now being stoic, I could see the fear in her eyes. “The pegasi will need a strong leader to take charge. They will need some pony for them to gather around and guide them to safety. Relying on the ministries will likely get them killed, as you know how incompetent they can be.”

Fleetfoot took a minute to think it over, with her soon to be former office quiet, except for the clock.

She then nodded. “I… understand. We can’t just rely on the ministries, not with all that they are doing. If such a disaster were to-”

“-It will happen.” I corrected her.

“Right. When such a thing happens, I can gather all the pegasus together and use them to set up safe zones for other survivors.” Fleetfoot pondered. A flare of hope in her eyes rekindled.

Not that I care what her plans were. As long as she was turning her back on the ministries, that’s all that mattered. Among all of the ponies, getting the pegasus to break off with the other tribes was the easiest and most necessary. All I had to do is stir the pot a bit more, and the pegasi will do the rest for me. The longer they break away from Equestria, the more damage it will do.

If it all goes well, Equestria will be destroyed completely, both by the Zebras, and by the ponies within it.

A buzzer caught the attention of our ears and the secretary spoke through the intercom. “A Miss Scootaloo of Stable-Tec is here to see you, Miss Fleetfoot.”

I took the document, placing it in my briefcase as I pulled out another, giving Fleetfoot a nod.

“Send her in,” Fleetfoot said sternly.

Trotting in was an orange and pink pegasus mare about my own age. The founder of a successful scooter and sports supply business, Scootaloo had used her wealth to found Stable-Tec with her foalhood friends. It was a construction company that specialized in using the new technologies coming out of the war. They had also been contracted by the ministries to build underground military bunkers, and they were good at it.

They also had the advantage that two of the founding CEOs were the younger sisters of ministry mare. It was easy to see that, once the ministries start worrying about zebra megaspells, they will be contracting Stable-Tec to build better bunkers. Ain't nepotism grand.

The OIA was also interested in using Stable-Tec for the construction of their own blacksights, something about conducting experiments that may not be legal, and I had taken up the mission to get this mare in our pocket.

Scootaloo was the only CEO not a relative to a ministry mare. As a fan mare of Rainbow Dash, she too was in a similar mindset as Fleetfoot. Since becoming the Ministry mare of the Ministry or Awsome, Rainbow Dash had been alienating a lot of her friends. A loss for her, and an opening for me.

She looked at the two of us, and though she gave off an air of confidence in her three-piece suit, I can see it in her eyes. She was doubting herself.

“You wanted to talk to me about a new contract?” Scootaloo said with a very rehearsed smile.

I put on a smile of my own. “Go pour yourself a cup of coffee first and then sit down. I’m sure you know Fleetfoot here.”

Scootaloo relaxed a bit as she trotted over to get herself some coffee. “Oh of course. It’s always good to see a friend. When was the last time we saw each other?”

“At the Ministry founding ceremony,” Fleetfoot said with a hint of bitterness.

Now smiling honestly, Scootaloo took a seat at the coffee table. “Oh, I remember! You two got so drunk that I had to carry the two of you to the back lounge.” She looked down at her coffee, seemingly losing a bit of her confidence. “So how has Rainbow been doing lately? She has been too busy to even talk with nowadays.”

Fleetfoot huffed and sarcastically said, “She is just doing... Awesomely.”

It was a gamble binging the two together, but nothing breeds negativity like two ponies with similar problems about the same pony. Still, before I let that start, I had to push one other plan forward first.

I passed a document over to Scootaloo, making sure she focused on just it. “I know your company focuses on land-based construction, but the navy required a deep-sea listing posted to watch out for zebra submarines. Of course, we can't just build bases on land and drop them anywhere. There is too much of a risk for spies to figure them out. So we were thinking about the first ever underwater construction base, fully autonomous.”

Scootaloo flipped through the documents. Her eyes rapidly read over each line. “This is crazy! Pressurized rooms, deep-sea mining, hydroponics, and geothermal power! This is far beyond what we're capable of!”

I passed her another document. “Of course. These are all theories and science fiction, all works of imagination. But, if you were to develop the technology that could construct such an idea, the navy would be more than willing to buy it off Stable-Tec. All under the table so that no spies catch wind.”

She picked up the last document. This one showed the process in which this project would be made a reality. “It has been codenamed, Project Despoines.”

Time again stopped, and I was finally in control of my own mind, thus freeing me from Thorn’s memory.

Phobetor trotted out from behind Scootaloo, looking at the document. A wide grin was on her face. “Now this is interesting. I do believe that, by the time you came to the R&D Stable, Stable-Tec had completed a fully functioning underwater stable. I wonder how much technology that went into that was then given over to Thorn?”

I didn’t like where this was going, and that grin on Phobetors face told me that there was more.

She nodded as everything faded to black once more.

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The smell of stale air filled my nose as ghostly creaking reverberated over me. It was dim and humid wherever I was. My body, weak with hunger.

No… it was not my body. I was in another memory.

At least I had control over my own mind, for the load of good that does for me.

The sound of a clunk was followed by an upbeat, yet out of tune music, and with it the flickering of lights. The head of the body I was in looked its way and began trotting to it.

The hoofsteps were small and light, like a foals.

I then saw it… two animatronic fillies in pink dresses. They were simple robots with only the ability to turn their bodies, their heads, and one leg each. Between them was some sort of vending machine I had never seen. A sign above it said, “Ambrosia Orchards” printed in bright colors and lit up in lights.

But It all was dirty and rusted, much like a lot of the things I saw in the wasteland. Yet here it didn’t seem old, just neglected.

Everything here seemed to suffer from neglect. The floors were grimy, pipes were leaking, some freezing over, and mold was all over the place.

A loud creak caught her attention. Her head then turned and looked at a window. I could see the pony whose memory I was in, a little filly covered in grime. I could see that her coat had to be a blue color and her mane was maybe a brown. It was hard to tell. She also had a similar dress as the animatronics did, if far dirtier and tattered.

Beyond the reflection, I could see lights and buildings. They looked somewhat similar to old Manehattan, but with the old art deco style turned up dramatically. Several fish swam past followed by a massive shark. It… it was all underwater!

The animatronic fillies began to sing as they mechanically danced. “In these orchards we are tendin’. Many changes will be flowin’. If you want to be awesome. See the fruits we are raisin!”

Inside the vending machine were several of what looked to be glass apples filled with a red glowing liquid inside. It reminded me of Sparkle-Cola Rad, but felt more… sinister.

Several other fillies trotted into view, gathering around the vending machine. Each one looked exactly the same. Bluecoat, blond mane, pink dress and all of them covered in filth as they smiled widely at the machine. Strangely, each one had green glowing eyes and two small golden horns on their heads, unlike the pony I was in.

The pony my mind was in, the filly, had also gathered like the others, but unlike the others, she was not smiling.

A pain winged in my head, and the world shifted, becoming brighter.

Now I was in a marble made room which was inlaid with gold. The music was not warped, but coming through crystal clear like a beautiful orchestra. The vending machine had become some wondrous contraption grabbed by the two most beautiful fillies I had ever seen.

The other fillies too were now clean and pretty, with not a speck of filth on them. The horns were missing, and in their place were golden tiara.

Looking over to the side, I saw a large gold framed window. Through that crystal blue water, I could see a vibrant forest of seaweed and brilliantly colored fish. In the reflection I could see the filly I inhabited.

She, like the others, was a blue-coated filly with a golden mane and a pink dress on. Unlike the others, she was not smiling as she looked back at herself with silky vibrant green eyes.

It was, it had to be. I was in the memory of Victoria.

The hiss of a blast door caught Victoria's attention. Out of it walked a stallion in brilliantly polished golden armor that covered him completely. The helm he wore had one round glass viewport with several bars in front of it, much like a deep-sea diver. On his back was what looked like a large air tank and just as large of an energy rifle made of gold.

The other fillies cried out in unison “Daddy!”

The “Daddy” let out a loud bellowing noise that was pleasant to Victoria's ears, but reminded me of a whale cry.

From behind daddy, two light blue pony unicorns trotted in. They both had curly light brown manes and a flat unamused look on their faces. One was a stallion in a tan suit, the other a mare in a tan dress. The two had to be twins with how much they looked alike.

Stranger, unlike everything else here, they didn’t have that same clean glow to them.

“How many times has this been?” The mare said in a very canterlot-like accent.

“Six hundred and seventy-three, not that it matters,” the stallion replied in the same accent.

“No, it doesn't,” the mare agreed.

The two then trotted passed the daddy, and up to Victoria.

Smiling, the Stallion looked down at her. His eyes still showed an unamused stare. “Oh, give us a smile.”

The mare rolled her eyes. “She never smiles.”

“No, she doesn't,” he agreed.

Another pony trotted in. This one was a stallion in a vibrant white suit. His face was covered by a golden mask. “You two again. Where do you even keep appearing from?”

The masked pony snapped his head down at Victoria, freezing in place. “Finally, we found that precious little sister! Now hold her!”

Victoria jumped back and hid behind some golden pipes, staying out of reach.

“You rambunctious little princess!” the masked stallion called out in such a friendly tone, but Victoria only retreated further.

“Amazing how what they see and hear is not what is real,” the brother said in amusement while not showing it on his face.

“Downright dreadful I’ll say. How can you know what is real when nothing you see and hear isn’t?” the sister asked, scoffing.

“When was the last time anything felt real to you or I?” the brother retorted.

“You’re real,” The sister countered.

“Don’t feel real,” he argued.

“Neither do I,” she agreed.

The masked pony strangely chuckled. “Will you two stop playing, and help me with the adorable princess?”

The sound of hoofsteps came from the open door. Yet another pony trotted in.

It was a pony I knew all too well. Vibrant blue coat, long golden mane, cold emerald green eyes. It had to be, but couldn't be her! She was dressed in a fine silver and white gown with a golden crown on her head.

Flanking her were two mares in similar armor as the daddy, but armed with swords.

All the fillies screamed “Mommy” as they sat in a straight line, smiles wide.

The masked pony bowed down low, almost hitting his face on the floor. “Queen Redrum, what brings you to this part of the city.”

Her eyes scanned the room, seemingly filling it with warmth. “Making sure all things are done properly. They are my adorable children.”

Her eyes fell onto the twins. “So you two are still about with your nonsense. Like an itch I can't scratch”.

The sister twin pulled out a stick of chalk out of thin air. “Maybe you’re willing to make a bet.”

The twin brother pulled a black chalkboard out of thin air as well. It was divided between the middle. One side said the truth, and was covered in tallie marks. The other said a lie. “Which one will he choose to see? The lie or the truth?”

The twin sister nodded. “Yes, he could continue to see the beautiful Queen Redrum. Never quite understanding exactly if what he saw was real.”

“Or maybe choose to see Admiral Rossland. Confirming that without a doubt what is true,” the twin brother added.

They both looked at Victoria with the same board looking eyes. “He will choose the truth of course, though it will only open more and more questions.”

…

Wait! Why are they saying, “He?”

Unless…

Ya, fine, I want to know what exactly is going on. I already know all that Victoria is seeing is a lie, and nothing here is gold plated.

Show me the truth.

…

The twins smiled, and the sister struck a tally on the truth.

Everything faded. The clean feeling, the brilliant golden shine, even the beautiful music. It all became a depressing gray like before. The “daddy” was some hulking pony in a tarnished brass diving suite. The masked pony was in a blood-covered lab coat with a dirty and cracked porcelain mask on.

Strangely, the twins had not changed at all.

But this Queen Redrum, she changed the most. Her gown was gone. In its place was a clean gray suit with a white undershirt. Her legs looked mangled with tubes and metal of cybernetics which ended in golden cloven hooves. On her head were two gold plated artificial horns that parted her long mane. But, most importantly, was her cutie mark. It was a green circle of thorns with a red teardrop in the center.

This Queen Redrum was without a doubt Thorn Rosland.

“I’ve had enough of your damn games. Must I find a way to make you die permanently, or will you finally free me from your incompetence yourselves?” Thorn chastised the twins.

She looked over at Victoria. “And finally grab that disgusting wretch and dispose of it properly. I can’t have defective products trotting about my city with my face. If you need to, set the room on fire along with the others.”

Thorn then turned around and left, followed by the two dull brass armored ponies.

The twins looked at each other.

“Is it time,” the brother said.

“Yes, it is,” the sister agreed with a nod.

They watched as the masked pony trotted out of the room.

While he was gone, Victoria picked up a flat piece of glass near her… it was a mirror. She carefully placed it up so that it stood up straight then backed away to a darkly covered pipe.

The masked pony returned with what looked to be a flamer. He saw Victoria then sent a gout of fire at her reflection. He stood there for a few seconds, eyeing the daddy, then sighed.

“Whoever thought to program the big guys to not respond to the sisters being incinerated was a fucking genius,” the masked pony said as he closed the valve.

Shooting out like a rocket, Victoria, with her mouth open wide, bit into the masked pony’s leg, causing him to yell in surprise and kick her into the wall.

The masked pony then growled. “You fucking little bitch! I will make you die slo-”

A heavy armored hoof came down onto the Masked pony. A red light glowed from inside the daddy as he began to stomp the smaller, weaker stallion. The mask flew off, and under it was what looked like a half-melted and mangled face of what used to be a pony which was held together with staples. Stranger yet were the two dirty and cracked white horns on his head, much like the fillies had.

With one last heavy hoof stomp, the daddy crushed the masked ponies head.

Victoria watched as all the other fillies trotted over to the vending machine and began pulling out large gun-like needles. “The angel is sleeping,” one said as she stabbed the corps. Glowing red liquid began to fill a glass container connected to the gun needle.

The other fillies began to do the same, but when the red glowing fluid didn’t come out, they then began repeatedly stabbing the corps over and over again. All repeating “Sleeping angel.”

The daddy began to leave the room, and Victoria started to follow.

Time stopped, and from the shadows, Phobetor appeared. She had a wide grin on her face as she looked at me with her golden eyes.

“Now this is interesting. A city, did she say? And is it all underwater? There is so much I don't understand. I can’t wait to tear myself free from that abomination of a fragmented soul and take all these secrets for myself.” Pobetor said gleefully.

“Then we will await your arrival.” the twin sister said.

“Yes. I’ll even have a boat waiting for you at our dock when it’s time,” the twin brother added.

Both Phobetor and I turned to look at them. The two of us were in shock as we said “HOW!?”

_______________________________________________________

-Location marked on your map-

-Lutece’s Dock-

Strangely, this location is in the Luna Ocean and is moving? Looks like you need a boat to get to this dock.