A Shadowtrot Story: Looking through a Glass Darkly

by Dante Haze

Rating: mature
Tags: Alternate Universe, Narcotics, Drama, Original Character, Science Fiction, Adventure, Crossover, Violence, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 101015

A running episodic story that tracks the events of a tabletop RPG set in a crossover universe mixing MLP and Shadowrun

The posted chapters follow the events of a tabletop RPG played over the course of approximately two years. The RPG was a crossover mix of MLP and Shadowrun 4e with a point of reference at the end of MLP Season 4. The Game Master and a number of players encouraged me to post the story written for the character I played. It is not explicitly necessary to be familiar with the Shadowrun universe other than to know that it is a dystopian near-future universe where players take on the role of criminal agents to take actions outside the law on behalf of corporate or wealthy patrons.

Notably, this game followed up on an even earlier one (which was a D&D 5e and MLP crossover) so some of the Shadowrun elements are likely to be slightly different than expected for those familiar with that game universe. I will attempt to reference any particularly important parties for each chapter. If anything is particularly unclear please ask, and I'll attempt to clarify.

Expect to release the prologue and the first three chapters and then the next chapter or two every few days. (Story has been fully written but would be a bit overwhelming to dump all at once)

Published 2020-04-20 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-19 00:30:29 UTC

Prologue (Just Prior to September 2072 Week 1)

Author's Note

Prologue Written prior to the first Game Session.

Shadowrun conversions:
Ork > Griffon
Aztechnology > Apple-Zap Technology (Apple Bloom, CEO)
Draco Foundation > Solari Foundation (ex-Princess Twilight Sparkle, Director)

Great Planar War and the Age of Heroes refers to the prior D&D 5e crossover game where
the player characters fought off an extra-planar invasion set during the rise of Celestia/Luna and a rogue changeling queen allied with the players to eliminate all other changelings.

Prologue (Just Prior to September 2072 Week 1)

Dante Haze dropped the bag of groceries with annoyed distaste on the chipped faux-wood table and immediately regretted the racket. He stopped momentarily while the sound faded after bouncing off the dingy walls of the Canterlot Gardens Value Franchise Apartment. He was pretty sure that the architect had probably never been to Canterlot or even seen the Gardens there, such as they were. The little bit of floral wallpaper trim, peeling in several places, did little to liven the mood.

Outside, another racket started up. Dante had no trouble recognizing the bird-like voices of the local Griffon gang or the deep yet twitchy responses of the Earther ponies, likely hopped up on Cram again and spoiling for a fight. It all aggravated his hangover...atleast he hoped it was his hangover. His rumbling stomach demanded attention. With a sigh he pulled one of the 'Sweet Apple Acres' brand Soy-Apple Delights from the bag and worked to open it. He briefly considered opening another, but despondently put it back after checking his comm-link and his current nu-bit balance. Not if he wanted to make it through the end of the week. The nu-bits from his last bit of odd job work were going fast. He needed something which paid better. He again considered it....offering himself as a Shadowtrotter.

"Half of them die before making any real money, most of the rest wind up in Tartarus Prison," he repeated the Public Service Announcement by rote.

But....

A growing discomfort in his stomach would not let him debate in peace. The Soy Apple Delight had done nothing to ease what felt like a hunger pang. He again considered eating more...but he knew, knew that it wouldn't satisfy this...

"No....not again, not again," he whispered to himself. He knew how he could satisfy it. The first incident was several months past. The second, third, and fourth had followed first by accident and then by design. The seductive voice which whispered in the back of his mind when it was still and quiet. The toll it had taken on his state of mind had cost him his rather modest job last month. Once an aspiring special effects illusionist, the unglamorous lifestyle of meeting the whims of whatever C list celebrity that Horizon thought might pan out had come crashing down after one afternoon when the hunger had grown so bad that it had happened again. That *something* which made him feel so good but which had left his charge a nervous wreck. A nervous wreck which blamed him.

He had considered going to a doctor, maybe an exorcist but the rumors were always there of what happened to 'interesting specimens' that got handed over to the Solari Foundation. If not in the clutches of the ex-Princess Twilight Sparkle and her pet Dragon the other options were not much better. Ponies disappeared into places like Apple-Zap Technologies just as easily as they did into the hands of the ex-Princesses. There was also a possibility... NO! He wouldn't consider it as his golden eyes glanced at his Mage Pocket Library.

It was true that his family line got increasingly difficult to trace as one got closer to the Great Planar War and the time of Heroes, but that was true of practically every pony. He mustn't jump to conclusions... The AR display of the pocket mage library just blinked in its own indifferent way, left on the last read entry. Some Professor out of the Canterlot Mage's Guild dissertation about the Great Changeling Purge led by Emerald Sky in the Age of Heroes.

No...It was too outlandish to consider, he would make enough money to get this affliction treated with enough left over to ensure that whatever doctor or such would be paid handsomely to keep his mouth shut. He would have to Shadowtrot, but that would be a small price to pay to be rid of the hunger.

The pang came again...and this time a small but throbbing ache at the front of his head answered as it occasionally did. He galloped to the dirty sink and turned on the tap, splashing his face with water. It soothed the ache...and he stood there breathing as the water in the sink slowly pooled. A final throbbing ache forced down his head...as he stared at his hazy reflection in the water it seemed...it was impossible but for a moment he thought that the border of the irises of his eyes had turned an amethyst color. When he looked again, it was gone...

"Just a trick of the light," he laughed without feeling any mirth, and let the water drain. As the aching feeling finally passed he steeled himself and returned to his comm-link to send out a response to an invitation that not every pony returned from. He didn't have the time to waste, Glass Darkly was going Shadowtrotting.

Mission 1. September Week 1. ‘Clear-Coat Cavalcade’

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Mission 2: September Week 2. ‘Granston's Great Griffon Gunstapade’

Author's Note

Game Events: September W2, 'Granston's Great Griffin Gunstapede.'

The team is hired to clandestinely deliver an apparently new and mysterious designer drug to a notable Griffon hacker and Griffon Underground member, Granston, and to covertly observe the results. The Griffon upon taking the drug appears to be possessed. He drives directly to an abandoned bank and proceeds to assault the base of an unknown syndicate within like a one man army. He ultimately succumbs to cumulative wounds after taking a single highly reinforced mana-case from the bank. The team is quickly offered 20,000 extra nu-bits in additional pay to recover and return the case to the patron. Glass Darkly looks inside and discovers two MINIMUM rating 6 linked power foci (magic amplifiers) in the form of a heavy Emerald Bracelet and an Amethyst Tiara. He is aware that these would have street value of at minimum 250,000 nubits. He successfully lobbies the group to retain the foci while returning the case as this technically satisfies the bonus objective. He forges evidence and places it inside the case to make it look like the syndicate was using the case as a decoy while having moved the foci separately. The ruse is partly successful as the patron pays the bonus, but the teams fixer (criminal job broker) suspects the ruse.

Other player characters:
Vixie - Shapeshifting Fox from Neighpon (Japan) pretending to be a pony. Sneaky Brawler
Gwynn - Griffin Rigger (Drone Operator) and technical specialist.
Silky Sheets - Mind Control specialist unicorn mage with dubious associations. Is a noble but has been sidelined by his family.
Split Klaw - Earth Pony Hobo...with a shotgun. Tough as nails.
Glass Darkly (author & POV) - Earth Pony Mage, Illusion specialist.

Mission 2: September Week 2. ‘Granston's Great Griffon Gunstapade’

'Whoosh...whoosh...’

Glass Darkly stepped through the sliding doors of the MegaStuffer Shack, noting the mare who stood under the banner welcoming patrons to their friendly neighborhood market with a smile just a touch too forced for 3 am. Her face frozen in an expression normally reserved for seeing long lost friends...the slight glassiness in her eyes confirmed what he already knew...she was mood-chipped.

"HOWDY! So happy to see you friend! Welcome to the MegaStuffer!"

Glass Darkly took a step back, worried that he was calling attention to himself behind his heavy sunglasses. His eyes, unused to the low-quality contact lenses were killing him after several days of extended use. He needed a break and eye drops, so here he was. A glance confirmed that he fit in perfectly with the clientele at this hour, heavy trench coats and sunglasses were de rigeur.

Steadying himself, Glass passed the welcoming station and dodged the service drones which were busy restocking the shelves, the odd staff member was few and far between but he didn't doubt that the glass domes in the ceiling were watching him.

A moment later and he was in the Pharmacy grabbing the much-needed eye drops. He stopped as he passed the next aisle, boxes of coat and mane colors were available for purchase. He thought about the dozen pearlescent white hairs he had found growing through his slate gray coat and started to wonder if he should get a box. One could have any of a number of colors, even the everflowing manes of the ex-Princesses could be had for enough cash provided one was okay with weaving nano-fibers into their mane. Glass noted that there was only a single box to give a pony the mane of the ex-Princess of Love, now long-ruling Prime Minister of the Quebec Crystal Ponies. Not unsurprising.

It was close, but it wasn't quite his coat color as he held up the slate gray box, and it wouldn't be that hard to explain, given his recent activities. He started to put it in his basket but then it occurred to him...Vixie...she seemed to have the nose of a fox. He put the box back on the shelf, he needed to do this right, get the color-matched exactly, with higher quality dyes that wouldn't leave him subtly perfumed like a paint shop.

It was all so fast. He wasn't hungry...for now...the slightly full of himself mid-level executive with delusions of being the next scion of the Filthy Rich clan that Glass had 'drunk' under the table in a seemingly friendly contest had seen to that, though it had been a meager meal. He thought to the illicit box of Aisa drugs he had already picked up this evening...next to the far smaller, far more valuable box in the shiny foil from the Mitsuheehawma labs. He shouldn't be buying Pysche, hell there were alot of things he knew he shouldn't be doing, least of all buying brain-bending drugs from Yakuza affiliated donkeys...BUT...

He could feel it... this wasn't edITs first rodeo. A trifle had been offered for a treasure, it wasn't fair, but the true price was likely to come soon. edIT would throw them against bigger fish to determine if the team's momentarily wavering loyalty was offset by its usefulness. He would need an edge when the moment came. He had argued for the theft of the Foci partly to answer his own questions though he could never admit that to the others. Many metaspecies had royalty but few used heraldry like that of the Princesses, and of those there was one option that worried him more than others. That he was repulsed by the tiara was both reassuring but also problematic. How in Tartarus was he supposed to figure out where the tiara had come from, to whom was it sacred? The information would not be easy to find. He had been debating a trip into the Metaplanes when everything had been put on hold. Silky Sheets offering to support Glass as the team's interrogator and secret keeper was too...delicious...to pass up.

The formulae had not come cheap, but he quickly came to appreciate Manadyne's work over the last few days. They claimed to be derived from the ancient Manaspire Academy. He doubted their provenance but not their skill. Being able to probe another pony's mind...part of him was worried about why another part of him was so intrigued by the possibilities. Glass Darkly sighed, it was necessary.

"We do what we must...," he softly reassured himself. Each time he braved Touristville to find a....donor, there was a risk. He would help ponies tap into their greatest joys and inner peace. Then he would take a small portion as his rightly earned fee. Was it so different from an acting company that charged to see their performance? Part of him wondered. Regardless he had not had the time to research the Tiara or the Emerald Bracelet, he had been busy learning spells, busy restocking drugs and other gear, busy, busy, busy.

And the money that had so recently been earned was being spent. Not frivolously, but not in the service of his true goal. He was treating the symptoms...and yet not that much closer to an utterly private appointment with a world-class doctor. He had considered getting a camera burning virus along with his other supplies. At the rate he was going to be filmed at some point. Yet even the cheapest products peddled by the Matrix Syndicates ran to several thousand nu-bits on average. The Red Vory ponies of Stalliongrad would have their due it seemed. The costs were still much more than he could afford. Glass paced up and down the aisle, passing a few dingy mirrors setup for mares to test out the latest cosmetics. He didn't need to remove his shades he knew what he would see. The specks had given way to spheres. Like bubbles of liquid amethyst, if his irises were the top of some strange lava lamp. The blots of alien color slowly rising only to disappear into Glass' normal golden pools to reemerge later. If the eyes be a window into the soul what did this mean for him?

He had no answers...he returned to shopping and picked up a few sundries before turning a corner he found himself being assaulted by two old-timey sales ponies that emerged from a fresh, new kiosk.

"YOU THERE! YES YOU! YOU CLEARLY ARE A STALLION OF GREAT DISCERNING TASTE! A STALLION WITH HIS EYES ON HIS HEALTH. ALLOW US TO INTRODUCE A WONDER OF THE AGE. FLIM AND FLAM'S CURE ALL HEALTH BOOSTING TONIC!"

Glass laughed at the Augmented Reality display's antics and for the first time in ages smiled. It had finally been released. He was happy to see one of the last jobs he had worked on finally see the light of day. He paused to admire his handiwork on Flim, his masking of the actor had been spot on that day. The reason for the delay in having the AR commercial released obvious... 'A Product of Apple-Zap Medicarro Industries.'

He had heard that the two actual sales ponies, now elderly had fought to the last to keep their images out of the hands of Apple-Zap. The Apple clan had been relentless though in the way that only Earth Ponies could truly pull off. That this product was being launched made it clear who had been the victor. The kiosk spit out a free micro sample of the tonic.

"It isn’t but apple flavored vitamin water," Glass sighed, unimpressed but the machine was so forlorn looking just waiting for him to take it...

"Fine, cheers to good work," Glass swallowed the mouthful in one gulp and flicked the thin paper cup away...and immediately his ears twitched, it was good. Like water to a man thirsty in the desert good. Glass was confused. He had been feeling run down, but figured it was the drugs, the stress, the everything...he pulled a bottle from the shelf. It was just apple-flavored vitamin water. A thought occurred to him. Quickly pulling out his bio monitor he winced as he pricked a hoof. The device beeped for a minute, Glass made sure that the antenna was still disconnected. Finally a readout came back indicating an alarming deficient of essential minerals, along with an approved treatment plan with prices.

"Where is all the calcium I'm eating going?" Glass softly asked. He knew that the soy apples were fortified as was most of the other food he ate. The Flim Flam kiosk had no answers, and the only one that Glass could come up with on short notice was to throw a case of the tonic into his cart.

Thoughts of everything else, shadowtrotting, tiaras, and spells once again took a back seat. He hurriedly threw other things into his cart. Soy-Apples, Hay Burgers, and other bric a brac. A sight by the registers though made him stop. He licked his lips as he beheld the display for the first real cider of the season, not the swill with the metallic after-taste but the real stuff, though it was still Apple Zap's off brand. He would likely never be able to afford real Sweet Apple Acres cider, he wasn't Johnny Spinrad. Still it was 50 nubits for a case... A grimace distorted his face...it was so expensive...he wanted it...his will fought his desires.

An hour later Dante settled back into his chair and resumed the droning presentation that covered the fine details of the Dream Spell. Another brand new course still sitting in its wrapping, this from Radiant Industries and their Knight Errant Security Service. An analysis of the history and security failings in Chicago. He slowly sipped a real cider and sighed a half contented sigh, a bottle of tonic waited to chase it down.

.....

There was chanting...the voices of school ponies. Dante half remembered this dream as the laughing faces of young colts and fillies surrounded him. He couldn't make out the teacher this time...lately it had been Speculum Shine....

"Blank Flank! Blank Flank! Blank Flank"

The mocking voices came. Dante went to protest and found himself as always in his younger body, the smoky mirror that had showed up so late would be missing as it had for so many years, arriving quite late. He looked, and to his surprise it was there...he went to protest to the dream colts and fillies but as he held up a hoof, he noticed something new. His leg had a white spot...and it was growing... in fact as he looked again there were white spots appearing all over his body. Patches of the glossy pearlescent white he so feared. The spots grew and merged, and as he watched the spots appeared on his flank and soon completely covered his hindquarters. He watched in horror as his cutie mark began to bubble and then run down his leg as if it was melting wax.

He screamed...

....

With a start, covered in sweat Dante woke up trembling...quickly he found things much as they had been. Angry thuds of protest echoed from several adjoining walls. Then he realized his commlink was buzzing. There was work to be done.

Mission 3. September W3, 'Worth A Thousand Pictures'.

Day 1

THUMP

Dante let out a sigh and rubbed his leg as the loader drone in front of him beeped its acknowledgment that it had been provided a box. It dutifully picked up the box and trundled to the waiting van outside in its slow methodical fashion.

"Bastard could at least rig them rather than playing Everfree Shooter on my dime," Dante grumbled before sticking his head out the door. Yep, the rigger 'supplied' by the moving company was still slumped over in the cab pretending to work. The drones kept moving under their own pilots but Dante was having to supply a lot of the muscle needed for them to manage even a slow pace. He wanted to stop and rest, but only slowed enough to chug another bottle of tonic. A part of him was terrified that the hatchet muzzled landlord with bags under his eyes was going to turn up with a squad of Knight Errant officers in tow. There had been vague news reports, but so far nothing which clearly identified him had been issued, but the description of a 'pony of interest' was just close enough that someone might finger him on the off chance that it would earn them enough nubits to be in Cram for a month. Fortunately, he hadn't exactly fully unpacked from the move to Canterlot Gardens, otherwise, this would have taken far more time. The room with the faded floral trim in only the vaguest approximation of Canterlot Gardens emptied, the last box out was carried by Darkly personally, under a disguised layer sat a mana case with two objects that Dante was feeling increasingly possessive of, and left him worried about Silky's intentions.

A half-hour spent in traffic later, he exited his car, wearing a face subtly different from his normal face, but which matched the SIN photo of one Edmond Dantes. A weak tinny beep greeted him and a door swung open to a room that smelled faintly of deepweed. A few cactus decals decorated the walls along with a rope and buffalo motif in the trim. Faux plastic adobe in the entryway greeted him to Appaloosa Acres. He swore that the actual construction, the 20-year-old appliances, the carpet was all out of the exact same catalog that Canterlot Gardens had been built from.

"Welcome Home...sigh"

Day 2

Dante splashed some water on his face and tried not to gag at the chemical smell...the container at his hooves was cheap, his expensive dyes still in the mail. He would have preferred something more seamless but expediency had ruled. At least he had a decent explanation for the sudden change. The dye was two or three shades darker than his normal coat. It would keep him looking like Edmond rather than Dante, and if anyone raised an eyebrow he could simply claim that it was bad lighting when the photo was taken. It also hid the increasingly salt and pepper color of his coat. He had given up on counting the white hairs, it wasn't enough to change his coat color, but....but... well. He had no illusions about whether this was going to stop anytime soon.

Dante was not impressed. Silky Sheets had thrown a soiree with the team that was far too public for his liking, and now was hinting that the tiara and foci could be sold. Dante had no illusions, the offer would not be anywhere near the value, and Silky's lack of tact was going to reveal that the foci weren’t so much as missing as being held by one pony, namely Dante. Still, he had left with an upbeat tone, he should get a new suit with his windfall, it would make him feel normal.

Day 3

Dante's stomach growled the feelings of hunger were getting worse. The hunger that would not be satisfied with a soy-apple. He forced himself to focus again on the specifics of the Dream Spell. He had a plan, but there were things he needed to get first.

"Going to mingle with the criminals again, eh...more new friends..."

Day 4

Glass Darkly walked past the rows of stalls filled with the worst neer do wells and scum of Seattle. Various diamond dogs leered and fingered lumps in their jackets that ranged from pistol to SMG sized. He had no doubts there were larger weapons where he couldn't see them. He had again subtly disguised himself and had included a prominent patch on one shoulder, Manadyne Valued Customer. It was an unsaid declaration.

It wasn't entirely enough.

"What...what is the earth pony doing on dog turf?"

A large diamond dog loomed above him.

"I don't see anyone crowning you king. Now are you going to get out of my way so I can hit up the electronics section, or do I need to provide encouragement?"

Dante did his best to seem unintimidated...he knew if he showed weakness the diamond dog would press him further.

Glass Darkly let his amethyst magic sparkle briefly and planted an idea in the dog's head, that messing with a mage was unwise, for all he knew the mage could make him worship the ground the next unicorn he saw walked on.

The dog withdrew.

A moment later Glass was chatting up with Friendly Finn and a moment after that he was leaving. He had to suppress a sigh as the credits flowed out as fast as they came in.

A voice disguiser, and an ultra-wideband radar module carefully packaged away. A while later he gulped as yet more credits were deducted in exchange for another small box with the Mitsuheehawma foil being added to his haul.

Day 5

The hum of the City almost obscured a knock on Darkly's door.

"She's here," he stood up and made sure that in the next room his new-used Evening Mist drone was scanning for cameras. His UWB Radar was likewise looking for trackers, along with his radio signal scanner.

He opened the door and felt his heart skip a beat. The pair of blue eyes were almost entrancing, and her cream-colored mane streaked with gold was lovely. She even had that demi-alicorn body shape that was all the rage among unicorn mares.

"Golden Lace I presume," Dante tried to be debonair.

"Of course," she cooed. Her cutie mark glittered with a heart surrounded by delicate lacey strands.

Dante had to remind himself that she was here because she had paid her, and as he showed her in, he allowed his vision to switch to the astral. A frown crossed his face. He could see the data jack in the back of her skull, the implants that had stretched her legs and shaped her face into that vision of beauty, and the hair implants that had given her that lustrous mane. Her cutie mark was gray and dead on the astral, nothing more than a decal, underneath a pair of dolphins circled each other, glowing weakly from her depleted essence. She was no more real than one of his illusions.

He tried to let his disappointment pass through him and drain away.

"She's a call mare, what did you expect?" He told himself.

"I take it you moved recently, did you care for a housewarming, or something else?" She cooed.

Dante, slowly worked up a smile. Two mares had practically thrown themselves at him recently, and he had felt almost annoyed. This was his time though, and his money. There was no reason he couldn't enjoy this, and if one could ignore the slightly hollow look in her eyes and in her soul, she was gorgeous.

"I have a few ideas..."

....

Dante was getting annoyed, she was a good actor but he knew he was being at best mediocre. He just wasn't that into it. Something just wasn't clicking...it worried him for all of a few moments, and then Golden Lace took over and Dante's choice in the matter was gone.

....

"So, do you have time for another, or?" She sweetly nuzzled at his ear.

Dante knew what she was asking, and knew that there would be a charge associated with it...but now, now was the time for work. It took him two tries, but Golden Lace was too busy screaming in ecstasy to realize her danger. After the second casting of an Orgy illusion, the call mare blacked out as her brain overloaded from the spell induced pleasure. Dante moved a few boxes, to reveal a small arrangement of magical supplies. He carefully touched a few doses of Aisa to the sleeping Mare to ensure that she would not wake soon. He recovered her cheap commlink and made sure it wasn't recording or keeping track of time.

Taking a drink of coffee, he set to work.

It was slow work. Hours ticked by into the early morning but eventually Dante probed into the recesses of her mind and let subconscious details flow into a dream. Dante was tired and his stomach growled. His mind caught the briefest of impressions. A warm beach, a brown-haired filly playing. A dolphin caught in a net. A brave rescue and a chirping of thanks, answered by an instinctive knowledge. Flickers of thought. He looked down and tried to peer through his spell...he could see it. The dolphin cutie mark glowed a little more brightly, its owner, Sea Whisper almost radiant with Serenity, her personal Harmony at its zenith. There was no thought about what happened next. It was an instinctual surge.

With a growling cry, Dante pulled at that power, a thin trail of amethyst magic flowing from Sea Whisper to himself. Moments ticked by and slowly Sea Whisper's light dimmed and a glow of eldritch energy spilled out past the edges of Dante's contacts. Inside, Dante was increasingly alarmed as the idyllic beach scene mutated. The color drained from the sky, the ocean, the warm beach became naught but blowing abrasive sand, and the friendly dolphin grew ominous. Finally, Dante was able to stop himself, but barely a third of Sea Whisper's light remained. Dante broke the connection and tried to assense the flows of magic but struggled against the overwhelming emotion of the moment. Even with that, he could tell that Sea Whisper's aura had been badly depleted. Her cream-colored coat seemed a little fainter in color, only her artificial mane was unaffected.

He patched together an altered memory that had her elsewhere over the last few hours and while she was still woozy made sure she got into an auto cab to be taken home. He staggered back through the door of his apartment and over the sink and fought the urge to retch. Which was odd considering how utterly GREAT he was feeling otherwise.

"What have you done...?!" He asked himself, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

A throbbing in his head was the only answer, his vision blurred and he struggled to take out his contacts. He had just removed them in time to see it... he looked into the mirror, rust along the trim as the glow in his irises faded, but the spots of amethyst grew and merged. By the time it was done, two full orbs looked back at him brightly, like liquid gems.

"No, NO, NO!" He chanted to himself, the pain in his head came again, and he staggered over to the bed that still smelled of Golden Lace, nee Sea Whisper, and collapsed. Exhaustion slowly took him and he did not see the amethyst sparks that ran through his coat. Over the next several hours several spots of gleaming pearlescent white pushed through the cheap dye.

Dante Haze slept fitfully as finally, the power subsided. His experiment a success…far too much of one.

…

Day 6

Dante groaned as he woke with a start, the shrieking laughter of a few colts and fillies in the distance as they scratched out some simple game around the bases of the large blocky buildings of Appaloosa Acres. Hazy afternoon sunshine filtered around the edges of the heavy curtains that darkened the windows. For a brief moment, Dante could have pretended, that he was just one of the chronically unemployed. He rolled out of bed and plodded over to the bathroom mirror and did not for the life of him recognize the eyes that looked back. For a long moment, he beheld those amethyst orbs before glancing downwards and grimacing.

"I look like a damn Holstein cow...." He morbidly joked, "moo..I guess?"

Except for a spot of bluish-green on his shoulder halfway between turquoise and aquamarine. And another on his back...and... He stopped it didn't matter.

....

With a plop, Dante wearily settled into his chair and after a moment turned on the recording from his commlink camera.

"This is probably inadvisable but I want. No need to get this on record while my thoughts are fresh. The experiment last night, well, from a technical standpoint it was a triumph. The improvised Probe/Dream extended ritual did exactly what I expected and fed the subject's subconscious experiences of her moment of greatest serenity and associated emotional high back to her via the Dream. From a moral and ethical viewpoint, however... I..."

Dante choked back a shudder.

"I did something only a monster would, I pulled something directly from that nexus. I mean, on some level I could talk about Clover the Clever's theorem of unified emotion-magic field theory, but that is a hill of beans compared to feeling a pony's internal magic draining from them into you. I think with time Sea Whisper will recover, but the potential to permanently damage some pony in a deep-seated way is there.

More so, the number of conditions that would grant such an abominable power is limited. The most terrible thing is aside from my personal revulsion I feel GREAT. I thought that maybe this was PMPVV, some strange variant, but this wasn't like the surface draws I've done before. It's like the difference between a shallow surface water well, and boring down to tap an aquifer. I..."

Dante paused a moment and breathed.

"I've become a parasite, and the number of ways that could happen aren't many."

Dante's eyes wandered over to the chip detailing the fall of Queen Erytora.

"I refuse to jump to conclusions, but in terms of fixing THIS, I have no clue. The only thing I can do is refuse to use the power. So, I make this vow, today is the first day of the rest of my life. That goes for being a criminal as well as a...whatever."

Dante turned off the camera, pulled the chip and put the recording in a safe place, he wasn't going to carry around what amounted to a confession on his commlink.

Fortunately his dye had arrived, a cloaked pony retrieved a box from the mail drop off, and a few hours later, Glass Darkly emerged, looking mostly like himself.

....

Twilight came early as it always did to this section of Seattle as the sun sank behind Arcology Row, the looming bulk of the Apple-Zap arco-barn casting a particularly long shadow. Glass Darkly walked through the front door of the Neigh for Nirvana Temple and Wellness center. A few hanging lights and art stencils did their best to impart a feeling of harmony but couldn't entirely distract from the layout choices which reflected the locations past as a Japanese restaurant.

Dante stopped at the offering tree, small imitations of money tied to the branches as requests for good fortune. He said his own prayer before dropping a cred stick into the slot set into the heavy pedestal. Clear Chakra was a monk, not a fool. Dante with a wince thought of all the things he had spent money on at the crime Mall compared to the very modest cred stick he had offered towards a second chance.

"priorities...," Dante whispered.

Turning he paced back past the end of the rock garden and found Clear Chakra leading a group of the usuals in centering meditation. A few young ponies clearly experimenting. A unicorn mare that had clearly been dragged there by her friend next to her, probably from a start in a yoga class somewhere. A few smartly groomed older ponies, looking to fill the holes in their souls excavated by the Bellevue rat race, and a few Japanacorp deserters.

Dante found a space in the back and watched the worn frame of Clear Chakra go through the lesson. The old hippie had been forced from San Francisco for refusing to toe General Saito's line and preach the nationalistic version of Buddhism the Japanacorps favored. So like many, he had headed north, skipping the lands between populated with unwelcoming unicorns.

Eventually, the class broke up and the room emptied save for Dante. He was both waiting for and dreading the greeting when it finally came.

"Ah, Dante, I was sure you must have found Enlightenment as long as you have been away.

"I, I have had other things on my mind."

"I gathered, you do not look well, Dante."

"The urban jungle has been less than kind lately Clear Chakra."

The bearded monk regarded Dante for a moment, "Are you lost Dante?"

The quiet question caught Dante off guard he fidgeted for a moment before sheepishly answering, "Yes..."

"Good, you recognize that at least, come in, make some tea, we'll get the bottom of it."

Dante had no response as he was shown into Clear Chakras' modest rooms and a small tea set.

"Master Chakra, shouldn't..?"

"The student makes tea, the master imparts his wisdom."

Dante shrugged and set about the steps, careful to follow the semi-ritualistic rote. After a moment he poured a cup for Chakra and for himself. The old monk took the cup and sipped it silently. Getting down to the last he swirled the tea fragments in the last few drops of tea. Finally he handed the bowl back to Dante.

"That, that was terrible, I see now why you are so lost, you lack any semblance of balance. All of the ingredients, all of the steps are correct, but you are at war with yourself. It clouds your karma badly."

Dante stared at his cup, it had tasted like tea to him.

"You know the precepts, you must clear your mind of distractions, push past the crass wants of the flesh and mind and focus on seeking enlightenment."

"That's all and good Master Chakra but that doesn't help when I'm starving and about to be thrown into the gutter."

"You focus on a single solution to myriad problems, the carpenter that only trusts his hammer, will inevitably bemoan that his projects cannot be finished solely by hammering nails. Your thinking has grown muddled, you have accepted pollutants into your body and mind, this has led to you being pulled by degrees further and further away from enlightenment."

Dante was quiet before nodding, but not denying, "I needed an edge."

"You are a gifted stallion, many others would have seen their magic fade much sooner."

Dante shrank a bit from the judgment, "actually I'm not suffering from that."

Now it was Chakras turn, "You...you are fortunate then, burnout is no minor matter...I would know," and for the first time in their conversation, it was Chakras that turned away with a pained look. Continuing,...

"I have always worried about you Dante, you are powerful, but great urges buffet you, and an uneasiness always seems to lurk in your shadow. I ask you to mind your thoughts and ensure that you are their master and not the other way around."

A bead of sweat formed at Dante's maneline, but he persisted.

"I foresee a period of re-centering and trial ahead, can you help fortify me for the times to come," Dante thought to Silky's designs on the crown and had an idea, "I would also like your recommendation on some of the better texts, I have a gulf between my magic and my understanding that is in need of a bridge with a strong foundation."

Chakra smiled, "Of course, let us meditate..."

It was quite late when Dante finally showed himself out, a list of reading material in hoof.

...

Day 7

The Mortimer of Trottingham door was heavy, solid, a statement without a word said in brass, old wood, and frosted glass.

The inside was cool and quiet, with a faint hint of old cigars and leather. The no-smoking sign was the only clue that the scents were being piped in. There were no price markers, if you had to ask, you didn't belong here.

"May I help you sir?" A pony with a shock of white mane and a tape measure about his neck appeared from seemingly nowhere. Dante noticed as the stallions eyes flicked to a small HUD reflected in his glasses. The change in the tailor pony's expression confirmed for Dante that his SIN with attached lack of employment was being displayed.

"I must note that we are not currently hiring, and we have no public restrooms."

Dante forced his expression to remain neutral as he put down a cred stick on the real oak counter.

"I trust cash is acceptable?" Dante let the smallest hint of a smirk creep into his smile.

The tailor pony's expression changed subtly even if his tone did not, it was part of the experience after all.

"Of course, right this way sir."

A few moments later Dante was enjoying the attention, though the logical part of his mind was uneasy with dropping the better part of his monthly expenses on a single suit. This was entirely secondary though to his plans, he was going to walk into the Horizon compound, impress everyone, and get his old job back, Speculum be damned. No more sketchy meetings in Touristville, no more stare downs with smelly Diamond Dogs, and no more moments of sheer terror anticipating the approach of booted security ponies.

"I don't need a full scan, I have my measurements from before," Dante proudly proclaimed as he admired a spinning AR mock-up of him in various styles.

The tailor mumbled something followed by a 'very good sir..' and went about plugging the numbers provided by Dante. After a moment it was done, but a small indicator light on the scanner base flickered red.

The tailor spoke.

"Sir's measurements don't match. Sir might have had the misfortune of being measured in a badly calibrated scanner."

Dante thought to his nigh insatiable appetite for soy apples and fought back a grimace. "Hah, well, I suppose I have taken a few fine meals at Chez Pierre le Pierre's since my last suit," Dante went with the easy lie.

The tailor gave him a look.

"Actually Sir's waist is an inch less, not more than stated. Also, Sir is a half-inch longer in the sleeves and chest."

The Tailor spoke as if nothing could matter less, but Dante was struggling to keep his face neutral, his own voice dancing hauntingly through his memory, '...where the hell is all the calcium I'm eating going?'

Dante suddenly had a sneaking suspicion. Now though was not the time, he was a professional and he played the part, but for the first days of his renewed dedication to breaking free of the whirlwind that had consumed his life, this was an unwelcome reminder.

....

Day 7 evening

Dante strode into The Backlot, a swanky club off the Horizon media compound, and got a few looks from old co-workers and strangers alike. He was crisp in Mortimer's latest, mane freshly trimmed. The only thing keeping him from feeling like a million nu-bits were the contacts in his eyes and the feeling of dye in his coat. So began his personal battle, time would tell whether like Napoleon Bonapony if it would be his Waterloo.

Day 8, 9, 10, 11.

Days passed in hope as time and time again two-bit directors and production ponies ate, laughed, and drank with him always leaving with statements about how they'd review their special effects needs. Dante spent the rest of his time combing texts suggested by Chakra about Buddhist spell lore always keeping an eye open for any mention of the crown. Increasingly though time in meditation was needed to combat the growing hunger.

Day 12

"I'm telling you Glitter Glam, I just need one pony here to give me a chance, it's been the exact same thing every time, the moment some pony gets away from me, it is like they forget I exist. How the hell does Speculum have that much pull?

“He’s effectively running the special effects guild in the city Dante, you know that. Work with Dante, and he threatens that the next time someone needs an illusionist they’ll get the wettest behind the ears colt that can barely turn blue to purple.”

Dante gave Glitter a look.

“Besides that man, have you considered maybe, you know, looking elsewhere, Speculum is limited to one city. I know Manehattan isn’t the totally nicest place, but Zoe by Carousel Boutique has been hiring for ads. You’re like a hammer looking for a nail in an Apple-Zap easy-assemble furniture store.”

Dante sighed, but Glitter Glam continued.

“Also, you were joking and personable a few days ago, you’re starting to look a bit…haggard might be a bit strong a word, but you should have seen the look on your face when Ms. Feather Caress walked in.”

Dante didn’t follow, he tried to deflect.

“Really, come on, most stallions would listen to a week of Apple-Zap Rock Themed poetry if it got them a night with Feather Caress.”

“Yeah but you weren’t looking at her like you wanted to brush out her tail, you were…well…it was more like she was a canteen of water and you’ve been crossing the deserts of Saddle Arabia for a week. You don’t look well Dante…what’s going on?”

“I’m….,” Dante debated, “I’ve been reduced to groveling because Speculum Shine got lucky, now followed by suggestions that I trot off into self-imposed exile with my tail between my legs…and you’re asking…what’s wrong?”

Glitter Glam sighed…, “okay I understand, but seriously man chill a little, you’re getting intense…look I’ll have a chat with Speculum, this feud isn’t doing any of you favors. If he’s willing to finally bury the hatchet, are you?”

Dante wanted to object, but Chakra’s words flitted through his mind…and the memory of what the alternative was…heavy booted pony hooves and always the threat of Tartarus.

Dante Nodded, he slowly worked at a drink but by the end of the night, he was shivering a bit. Damn, he was hungry.

Day 13

Dante tried to think about anything other the churning, gnawing ache in his stomach. He tried to meditate, he tried to follow up on job leads, he couldn’t bear to bring himself to go out, and the self-assured, actor ponies counted among them at least a few that had that wonderful glow that drew him like a moth to a flame.

Day 14

Glitter Glam’s face told Dante all he needed to know.

“It didn’t go well.”

“I gathered.”

“He attached certain conditions, but I suppose its an offer,”

“And?”

“I’m not sure that this is going to help.”

“My feelings aren’t going to be hurt.”

Glitter Glam brought up a bit of AR text.

“To one Dante Haze, guild apprentice, your transgressions are well known, but I have begun to tire of the constant attention necessary to dissuade gullible producers from making a terrible mistake. Thus I will be magnanimous and should you apologize, in person, in my office, and accept formal censure for your reckless, aggressive, and anti-social behavior towards myself and others, and prove the validity of your contrition by personally cleaning out the guild hall storage, and handling the 4:30 am coffee service for the next five years, AND handle the 10-year contract for effects work on the Tele-Foals show, then I will consider the matter resolved.

Signed, Master Speculum Shine, Esquire.”

“Dante?”

“I….I need some air…”

Dante Haze walked out the side entrance to The Backlot, a pit of burning indignation in his stomach which did little to quiet the shivers or the empty ache within him. He wasn’t going to be allowed anywhere near honest work. He could become a wage-mage… and grow as empty inside as Sea Whisper had been. Or…

Raucous voices approached. Dante stepped back into the shadows. He recognized Buster Goodmane among them, a blowhard that Speculum’s work had rendered just marketable enough to make him forget his days as a personal fitness instructor and take up the pompous lifestyle of an up and coming action star.

A slight glow lit the shadows as a corona of amethyst light leaked out from around two fake contacts. A small voice whispered in the back of Dante’s mind, but he was beyond listening to the words about keeping one’s thoughts and actions in balance. He was hungry and he was a parasite. He couldn’t change that, but he could choose who would suffer his wrath. He swore there would be no more Sea Whispers, but no such generosity would be extended to the wicked. He would become the fist of karmic retribution.

He stepped back through the door. Through the ward, and immediately turned himself invisible. Glass Darkly had a Pegasus with good hair to hunt.

…

It was a simple thing to step back through the club’s ward. Like many establishments, the security was focused outwards. Glass Darkly was already checked in, the sensors had no complaint as he reentered through the service door. Once inside it was trivial to become invisible.

Glass slowly picked his way between the tables towards Buster and his flunkies. There were a few close calls with serving drones but soon he was close enough to pull out his sensor package with the directional microphone and listen in intently. Minutes then an hour ticked by in empty bravado and self-congratulatory celebration over various modest triumphs.

Finally, the conversation turned.

"Hey, did you hear? I have it on good authority that Haze has been trying to get work again. Speculum thought the screw up had finally packed it in after not hearing anything for several months but he's turned up again. Hothead should know when he's done."

A round of laughter followed, which nicely covered up the sound of Glass Darkly's teeth grinding.

There was more boisterous revelry. Though slowly Buster seemed to be getting distracted. Eventually, his thoughts became clear.

"Hey fellas I'm getting bored, how about we move this show to the Show pony Secrets Club?"

One of Buster's lackeys snickered, "You've got it bad for Lavender, eh Buster?

Buster's eyes narrowed.

"Fine by me, as long as you're buying the first round buddy," another groupie answered and it was settled.

Glass had heard of the place, a bit upscale though still not a place any mare would want her fillies to wind up. Glass Darkly slowly stalked the party as they left.

As he got into the unending traffic of the 405, a part of him asked if he was going to go through with this. A growl of his stomach answered to emphasize just how hungry he was. Glass cleared the half-finished text from his commlinks memory as he set it to hidden mode.

"Sorry Chakra but I’ve gotta eat something and platitudes aren't cutting it."

He turned into the parking receptacle and went past the premium valet. He took a parking ticket but no pony approached the door, at least none appeared too until the next group came. A pair of Diamond Dogs loomed but the pounding bass from inside, the low light, and the antics of the stallions made it difficult to notice that the inner door from the cover charge payment area was a little slow to close.

Inside Glass Darkly nearly gagged at the astral backwash, but after a moment the feeling of emotional filth passed. Muzzles lit in the barest amount of light pointed upwards to watch the mares that cavorted provocatively.

Glass was not a fan of places like these, no matter how enticing the displays might be. For one to whom the world of magic fueled by emotion was always a blink away the inherent artificiality of it all was overwhelming. Drunk, lonely stallions trying to find answers in lust, used mares trying to siphon money. He wasn’t immune to the lure but unlike his rendezvous with Golden Lace, the cumulative effect on the manaspace in such places was never pleasant. But Glass Darkly was not going to be dissuaded. His foe the pawn of his nemesis was here, his....food.

Invisibly he waited and watched, lingering around their table, occasionally having to move as mares walked by wearing glowing acrylic platform shoes. He had no trouble recognizing when the moment of action had arrived. A rather alluring Pegasus mare that reminded him far too much of Golden Lace sided up to Buster. Written artfully on her flank in UV gel was the name, Laviscous Lavender.

She worked Buster over with her wings playfully until he swept her up and they shared a few quiet moments of whispers broken by Lavenders enticing giggles. She nodded with her head towards the private rooms in the back where the lights were extra dim. Buster got up eagerly but Lavender just stood there glancing down at the stocking around her back left leg.

"A mare's got to eat stud muffin, and my classes at the university are always so expensive but if you'd prefer one of my friends with a more open schedule...."

Buster wasted no time in sticking a credstick into the band of Lavender's stocking. She blushed and coyly brushed Buster with a wing. Glass took grim satisfaction that on the astral Lavender might as well have been an ice statue, there was not a shred of emotional warmth or desire. More importantly, he noticed the subtle panic button and taser built into her mane ties.

Glass followed as silently as he could, but the ever-present thumping bass would have made hearing his hoof falls require a near miracle. Into the dim warren of private rooms he followed then. Finally, Lavender stopped, and invited Buster inside.

Glass, still invisible, hit Lavender with an Influence suggesting she make a show of entering the room, stopping to pose in the doorway.

With enough time to enter Glass crept through the door. He waited for Lavender to start her performance in earnest so the two were firmly distracted before he pulled out his Evening Mist drone.

It was dark but the little drone quickly scanned and blanked out any cameras.

Glass Darkly waited for the best possible moment before he struck. Lavender was practically draped over Buster when his Orgy spell hit.

As an added precaution he hit them with a Control Actions spell as the two blacked out, the two never even got a chance to scream as they blacked out.

Glass, still invisible, aware that someone might come in, left his drone running, and propped the two against each other, blots of Aisa in their hooves. Within a moment, he was ready to get down to business…he figured he wasn’t going to have the time to do this right…but…

It wasn’t the artesian borehole into Buster’s soul Darkly wanted, but he still got deep into the action star’s desires, but his efforts to craft the Dream were exquisite.

In the darkened shadows, the very slightest glimmer of amethyst reflected on the dark velvet walls as Glass Darkly took his due. He forced himself to stop, he couldn’t risk Buster being totally discombobulated, a bad night out on the town would be written off, leaving him a blubbering wreck might invite medical attention. Between the drain from his spells and the elation Glass Darkly was feeling he was struggling to keep his head clear.

He debated taking Buster’s commlink, but leaving the pony without the means to pay his bill to the club could cause issues. His eyes roamed…and with a smile he leaned down and pulled the cred stick in Lavender’s stocking out and pocketed it…with a whisper noted to the comatose show mare, “Sorry cheesecake, but a mare’s got to eat, and my hobbies have gotten expensive.”

The last thing Darkly did was Alter the Pony’s memories.

Opening the door and slinking out, keeping his drone out to blank cameras until he was past the door, Darkly struggled to walk straight. The pounding bass, the lights. He waited and passed out the front door behind some exiting ponies, staggered into the night, and it became a blur.

Day 15

Dante woke up in his own bed, his mouth feeling like cotton, but feeling luxuriously full. The lack of protest from his stomach was more than enough to offset the hangover. He stirred and a bottle of empty cider fell off his bed and clattered to the floor. He looked down and half froze…he had company.

Locks of a luxurious blue-green tail sparkled in the morning light, emerging from under Dante’s leg mixed with his own dark shade. The color was mesmerizing, a soft gradient that shifted towards a cerulean blue as the tail strands fell off the edge of the bed and fell in gentle curls towards the floor. He reached down and ran the back of his foreleg across the strands of the tail. It was soft and silky and reminded him of Golden Lace’s tail in quality. How had he managed to convince a mare with a tail this nice to come back with him to this dump? Half his stuff was still in boxes. He must have rolled over onto her tail last night. He tried to remember where they had met…but couldn’t recall, it was all a blur after Buster. He wondered why she hadn’t woken him, or even stirred, but no matter might as well bite the bullet. Darkly rolled over.

….And found the other half of his bed empty…for a moment he didn’t understand, but as he began to move eventually some of the glittering hair that shifted between turquoise and aquamarine got caught under his back leg and a wincing feeling of hair being pulled planted a thought that spent a terrible moment germinating through Darkly’s mind before it finally reached fruition.

“What the HELL?!” Darkly choked as he dug the tail from under him, and found that evenly interspersed with his dark tail were the strands he had been so recently admiring. He shifted to his feet, and a blue-green bang feel into his peripheral vision.

He grabbed at it, trying to pull it from his head as if it was a wig…the pain that resulted confirmed that the mane was in fact his natural mane.

Like a stallion condemned he ran to the mirror and it took all his will to suppress a scream. The other half of him that he hadn’t dyed had turned the pearlescent white, his mane half his, the other half wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of Cover Mare.

“Why is this happening?” He sobbed and finally noticed that one of his contacts had fallen out overnight, one golden eye was matched with one amethyst. He was certain that the only part of his coat that was his ‘natural’ color was the part he had colored with dye.

Dante sat down against the wall and fought to keep from hyperventilating.

Slowly he came to a realization, he was dead, there was no way he was going to be able to hide this…the piles of boxes were scant comfort though they seemed like tall shielding towers. The heavy hoof falls of Knight Errant ponies would come.

No!

He couldn’t let it end like this, there was only one way left he knew that might give answers… With a surge, he got up and pulled ritual samples together. He had never dared risk it before. Mages died all the time trying to harvest secrets from the realms beyond, but Dante was desperate, and desperate times…

The day half disappeared before he was ready…still, it was with painfully little preparation that he hurled his astral being, the manifestation of his existence into the far beyond and towards the gates to the deeper planes.

He expected to be struck from the planes at any moment. But the Watcher did not challenge him. Eyes in the dark came to watch him, he thought he heard a whisper.

“The price for the knowledge you seek was paid by another long ago, this time come and witness to square the circle, the next will cost you much more.”

Dante wanted to ask but his awareness fell towards a point. All became white light and he lost his sense of time and space.

“Blank Flank, Blank Flank, Blank Flank!!!”

Dante recoiled, this again?

“Blank Flank, Blank Flank, Blank Flank!!!”

Dante found it increasingly distressing. Holding up his legs, he was horrified to see them starting to turn white. He looked down and his cutie mark was starting to bubble…

“No, NOT AGAIN!”

“Blank Flank, Blank Flank, Blank Flank!!!”

“SHUT UP!”

Dante screamed and the crowd parted, but a small pony with a cream-colored coat and a brown mane was still standing there frozen as an arc of amethyst lightning hit her. She fell to the ground, and her cutie mark of dolphins faded along with the rest of her color.

Dante was stunned as the teacher pony looked over his desk wearing Speculum’s face.

“I always knew you were a hothead, and apparently also a monster.”

“MONSTER!”

The assorted school ponies shouted.

“No, I’m not, I’m not a…”

Heavy booted hoof steps rang from the playground outside…and a heavy hoof pounded on the door.

Dante dove through the crowd and ran for the other exit…as he passed through the door he found himself in the Bellevue KE station.

From behind him, the calls came, “the white-coated, purple-eyed monster is in there…it went in there!”

Dante dove behind a desk and shuddered trying to wipe the white coat from his arms. Blue hair falling into his vision.

“IT IS IN HERE! FIREWATCH, ADVANCE!”

“No…no…” Dante rocked himself…and wished as hard as he could to remove the offending color from his body.

A few faint amethyst sparkles crackled between the hairs of his coat, and slowly the white faded, replaced by his normal slate gray…An agonizing moment passed but as he checked his reflection he was himself.

A Firewatch pony stuck his head over his hiding place…

“You…you’re not the monster?” The voice came heavily through the burly pony’s face mask.

Dante weighed whether to lie…It was easier….it was wrong…

“Oh, I was so scared, I’m sorry mister, I hid when it ran through…it kept going that way…” Dante pointed…

“Alright, I’ve got one colt from the school ponies that need evac…,” the Firewatch pony pushed him towards a shadowy door and away from the door that led outside, for the briefest of flashes, Dante thought he saw Clear Chakra standing in the garden, a tear rolling down his bearded face. Dante was pushed through the door in his guise and suddenly the KE station was gone, old worn down hovels instead framed a narrow alley. A group of four ponies huddled together tightly, one mare holding a bundle to her chest. They spoke as if he wasn’t there…

“Is this it,” a grizzled gray-haired pony asked.

“The traitor’s agents got the other group.”

“Damn her worthless hide, only four of us left out of the whole bunch.”

“Is she,” the mare questioned.

“Yes, though her youngest survived, our leader is dead.”

“Don’t you mean?” Another asked…

“Don’t say it, do you want the traitor’s agents to find us…we can’t say her name. The traitor has the backing of two of the greatest archmages to ever walk this world. The other scions are dead and scattered, their strength wasted in pointless campaigns…we cannot be found.”

“But what about Trottingham?”

“The base in Trottingham is gone, I have it on good authority. The Princess of the Sun is a weakling that refuses to use her power, but the champions that aid the traitor are too great…we must bide our time until they have forgotten about us.”

“How long will that take?”

“As long as necessary. I will go with B4 and decoy the agents of the traitor away. You must keep it safe…it is the future of our people. Hide it well, you can slip in among the Canterlot City refugees better as a family.”

“As you command,” the assorted three ponies whispered, the fourth clutching the bundle tighter to her chest.

Dante didn’t understand, what was this all about, none of it made sense…He could feel himself being pulled as the scene receded…he tried to hold onto it, to understand…but his awareness fell towards the point.

There was one thing though…he could almost swear he heard something whispered in the stillness that overcame him.

“…wake up…you’ve slept far too long…wake up…. Tisiphone.”

Dante catapulted back to consciousness, the windows dark, the shadows in his room deep.

“That didn’t tell me anything!” He groaned. He checked, his blue hair was still falling from his head…his tail was still a weird mix…

But as he looked at it with disgust…an idea…

He started to concentrate…as hard as he could, as hard as he had meditated…and when he thought he could not put an ounce more of will into it, something…gave…

Slowly, achingly…a slight amethyst spark ran through his coat, and the color of it shifted…

So surprised was he that he felt his concentration lapse and his coat once again turned white…again...

Again he tried, and again he lost it, but with each try he got closer…the morning sun was rising the next day when the door to his apartment opened…and Dante greeted the morning, bleary-eyed, but never happier. His eyes were gold, his coat gray, and his mane black.

“Who’s the monster now, Seattle?” he whispered in question.

As of yet, the city did not answer him.

Author's Note

September W3, 'Worth A Thousand Pictures'.

The Team is sent to retrieve the data records concerning the arrest of one Cobalt Cloud and the theft and disposition of stolen goods. These 'goods' are hinted to be the Foci from the prior mission, stolen from a high profile Talismonger. This requires the team to infiltrate the Knight Errant (private police) Station in Bellevue. This is accomplished by Glass Darkly successfully impersonating a Knight Errant lieutenant via illusion, while Split Klaw and Silky Sheets provide a distraction, and while Vixie/Gwynn access the utlity space of the station via a utility pipe and hack the electronic security of the records room. We are still detected while exiting and a chase ensures. We go from being unknown criminals to being unidentified criminals at large.

SHADOWRUN Conversion Notes
Firewatch - Elite Security force specializing in destroying paranormal threats.

Mission 5, November W3. 'A Dog and Pony Show'

The windowpanes rattled and creaked. Dante looked up from where he was fidgeting with the stylus of his Augmented Reality research notes. Winter was arriving, blown-in on frigid winds with no array of frolicking and singing pegasi to soften the blow.

Dante sank back down into his blanket. He had discovered one of the corners that had been cut to keep the costs of Rainbow Falls Ranch down with the first real cold snap. He looked back to his AR lists, the innumerable references, footnotes, and potential clues caught up in his virtual agent's data trawl.

There was so much that made sense with the two Foci, but more holes. Pre-Diarchy magic at the core, with a host of minor influences, Islamic tinged Hindu with a chaotic component, then Xiaolin Buddhist. The latter made sense if that had been picked up from the ancient adventurer Yaklicia or from an extended stay in Yakyakistan.

"But when were you in a Mughal region or used by a Mughal pony?"

Dante whispered before getting up to shuffle over to the small space he had converted to be his lodge. He briefly opened the manacase and beheld the two items that so vexed him, the Emerald circlet and Amethyst tiara.

"Were you made in Manaspire and given to Yaklicia's group, or did Yaklicia's group bring you to Equestria?" Dante asked the jewelry, knowing he would get no answer.

The only thing he was sure of was that the pieces were powerful. He was now sure that each, at minimum, would be classified as a dual R6 grade Power and Centering focus. That alone made them masterpieces bordering on artifacts...and worth a small fortune.

The thought that he could sell the two, irreplaceable as they were and even accounting for a fences' cut have enough nu-bits to pay a world-class doctor to figure out what was wrong with him had occurred. However, he doubted he would ever hold an equivalent masterwork again if he did that. These were special. He also suspected that it would be the end of his reputation as a Shadowtrotter if it became known he had stolen them from a Johnson during the Granston job. And for those reasons, it was imperative that he not call attention to the fact he still had them. His comrades had largely forgotten about the two purloined Foci once Glass Darkly had convinced them that attempting to pawn them would be like trying to pawn the Pona Lisa. Yet Silky Sheets was getting desperate. The run of jobs had not quite been able to fund the unicorn noble's lifestyle. Nevermind that Silky had expensive tastes. Being reminded that Glass Darkly was holding two Foci that would run a quarter-million nubits each at least, if bought new, would send Silky into a frenzy.

"Desire is the root of all suffering," Dante whispered in rote as if the reminder to himself might change his mind.

Instead he found himself growing increasingly distracted thinking about Silky's antics in making an ass of himself during the latest job. The overly flamboyant stunt with the bathtub. True, they had garnered unwelcome attention, but there had been other options aside from insisting on evacuating the gang-controlled apartment block by flying everyone down to the ground in an ensorcelled bathtub. The drain from that spell had left Silky in a depleted state and necessitated that they break off for a rest which had caused them to miss their targets at the garage. Then noticing the Knight Errant spirit patrol but then failing to understand that a very high force spell would invariably invite scrutiny. Then, of course, his asinine fixation on using the Diamond Dog gang for a gay orgy. Dante wasn’t sure what school had trained Silky but clearly the unicorn noble’s mind had been elsewhere during the lessons involving prudent restraint using magic.

His protests asserting that the Johnson hadn't been clear what he had wanted were almost infuriating as Silky's proclivity to constantly hit on him. Seriously, offering backrubs while making a knowingly lewd look, what was he thinking with those moist come hither eyes and glistening silky soft coat...

Dante's thoughts trailed off...the coarse slate gray fur on his face slowly shifted to fine satiny white as his control slipped. A tendril of glittery aquamarine mane started to flow past an ear as a rosy pink hue began to suffuse his cheeks. All happening as his mind created an image of that scene with its promised back rub.

Dante's mouth snapped shut as he shook his head to clear the image.

"Oh no! No no no NO! By Starswirl’s beard NO! Not in a million years! Discord will be crowned the Princess of Order first and Apple-Zap will forswear ever growing an apple again before THAT happens."

Dante stumbled to the sink and splashed some water on his face which rapidly altered to match his ‘regular’ appearance. The slight pop in his shoulder was as much felt as it was heard. A shiver born in the mix of damp fur and cool air ran from shoulders to haunches, caused a grumbling feeling in his gut and lingered as an unsettling tension in his hips before slowly dissipating.

A long sigh filled the room. Stretching out his back and bending from side to side rewarded him with a few more pops and creaks. Slight tension and a barely felt dull ache in his back near his shoulder blades drew a frown.

“That’s new,” he grumbled, wondering if this was some new symptom or just the result of him spending several days hunched over his research desk.

Moving on he held out his front legs in front of him as he scrutinized them. He couldn’t tell if they were in a long or short phase. One day he would find that he was half an inch shorter, the other a half-inch taller. One day famished, the other unable to find interest in food. Still, there was an effect which was slowly becoming evident, his legs appeared to be slowly thinning out from their sturdy Earther stock towards an aesthetic given far moreover to slenderness. It was to be expected…he guessed, but under the floof of his fur, which he had started making floofier of late, the lines of his body were starting to approach the aesthetics of an overgrown colt than a stallion. He wasn’t sure if this was normal for unicorns, he had never been one....but…had his eyes always been this prominent or was it just the narrower cast of his muzzle?

Suddenly, the idea of becoming a unicorn seemed less appealing. He pondered what the Tartarus he was going to tell the others when eventually it happened and a graceful conical spiral grew out of his forehead. On one hoof he would welcome the end of the blasted headaches. On the other he dreaded the complications it would bring, and the snarky, aggravating comments by Silky Sheets congratulating him for joining the ‘master race.’

A low feeling of hunger welled up…he would need to consider a foray soon. This time more cognizant of the Knight Errant spirits. He would need to start keeping track of them.

He went to put the Foci back in the case. The mystery was still annoyingly unsolved. He had two of the most potent Foci he had ever seen and he couldn’t use either of them without betraying the lie. Especially since their Fixer edIT had hinted that she knew all too well what had happened. He thought back to the third power focus he had briefly held at the museum, the equally mysterious Alicorn Amulet, and the desperate chase. A shame he hadn’t been able to steal that one, he wryly smiled, then he’d have a set of powerful but unusable artifacts.

The smile slowly fell off Dante’s face.

His cold sleep-deprived eyes slowly widened as an inhaled breath got caught in his throat.

“A set….”

He looked back at the Emerald of the Magewood Circlet, the Amethyst of the Songcrest Meridian Tiara, and thought to the Ruby of the Amulet. Images of the Elements of Harmony, the greatest weapon ever used by the Diarchy, and reproduced endlessly across every media screamed through the recesses of his mind.

Outside a griffin fledgling playing in the stunted grass turned to see what the source of the loud shout she had heard was.

A moment later inside Dante was tearing through his notes…

“Why the hell didn’t I assense the damn thing when it was in my hoof,” he cried at himself.

He knew why he had been all of about 3 seconds ahead of a mage he suspected would have been willing to kill to recover what Dante had taken…

The note he had made weeks ago in his research made his heart skip again… “Incomplete…”

Yakbert had noted 5 companions in his history, Woodbound in his, had mentioned 3 artifacts of note.

“If each of them had one, then there's five then and it could be a parallel set to the Elements…,” Dante noted, his notes flying into the log, barely legible.

“There was never any confirmation in magical research circles that the Tree of Harmony was the only one, it was just assumed,” He squealed in joy, before adding to his notes, “potential discovery of the century!!! How to confirm?”

He looked back over the mana case which held 2 of Foci of a set which was at least 3, possibly 5 or 6. It could redefine the balance of power in Equestria.

The smile slowly fell off Dante’s face.

He added another note to his log.

“I am so very, very fucked if anyone learns I have these.”

He thought to Silky and his big mouth trying to impress his fellows at the Couch Mare Club.

“I am so very, very fucked.”

He was still going over his list of things to do when his commlink softly chimed. In between frantically planning of how he was going to set up a new persona to handle his research, between how he was going to research the leads his revelation had suggested, between how he was going to get back on edIT’s good side considering what the Fixer either suspected or knew, he had forgotten.

He briefly considered skipping his appointment, but a little bit of pressure and the resulting soreness from his teeth that answered quickly silenced that idea. Muttering curses, Dante threw on his coat and braced himself for the cutting winds. He made sure that the foci were carefully packed away behind his wards. It was still a hard thing to leave them there, guarded only by a reinforced maglock, deadbolt, and a security guard that was so stealthy that no resident could claim to have seen him in the last six months. It was a horrible situation, but he would have to manage, because there was one thing Dante Haze was sure of and that it was that Silky Sheets, the Couch Mare Club, and anyone else was not getting their grubby hooves on his find, come what may.

Wickham aka Glass Darkly aka Dante Haze shivered as he stepped through the doors into the Bright Smile Family Franchise Dentistry Clinic. A few worn-out mares watched their squalling foals while a handful of other patrons either slept or slumped over in VR. He could tell that a few of them were here courtesy of a long relationship with Cram. The beige walls were industry standard, though a cheap Chinese made banner had been tacked up with a half-ass effort around the tops of the walls celebrating the approaching Hearth’s Warming. A speaker with a low background hum supplied public domain Hearth’s Warming carols assuming one could hear them over the squabbling foals.

Wickham stepped forward and a drone at the front desk turned to greet him, an AR overlay flickering to life. A blue and white mare that would have been too attractive to work here in the flesh beamed a smile. Wickham was unsurprised, a few decades back some blue and white mare had become a major crusader for dental health and now it was de facto for dentists to be some mix of cool blue tones.

“Welcome to Bright Smile, do you have an appointment?”

Wickham nodded tuning the drone out, collecting the electronic forms. He only needed a few moments before he turned them back in.

“Sir, you appear to have missed a number of entries. Please fill out your group coverage ID.”

An awkward look crossed Wickham’s face as he answered, “I’ll be paying cash, I don’t have coverage.”

“Please provide your current employer.”

“Irrelevant, I’m paying cash.”

“Please provide your current employer.”

“Fine,” he hissed trying not to be heard, “None, happy.”

“Please provide your former employer.”

“…..”

“Please provide your former employer.”

“I decline.”

“Thank you, I. deKline jewelers noted, but this doesn’t seem to match your SIN?”

“Listen, you burrito eating goblin of a machine, it doesn’t matter.”

“Error code 14327, Input string not recognized, Resetting,” the face and body of the receptionist froze, flickered out, revealing the drone underneath, as its voice continued robotically.

Wickham noticed a few of the closer mares gathering up their foals from the dingy carpet scared that the probably dangerous grifter of a pony was going to steal them away to sell for drugs to some Griffin Cartel ganger.

“Welcome to Bright Smile, do you have an appointment.”

“Seriously?”

Fortunately, Wickham was saved as one of the few flesh and blood staffers of the clinic came in response to some hidden summons. Her annoyance just managed to show through her personasoft. He couldn’t have said which it was, but it was similar enough to the Perfectly Polite & Peachy Nurse Practitioner routine he had been subjected too during his last time in a hospital.

“Howdy FRIEND! How can Bright Smile help you today?”

“I want my teeth looked at and cleaned.”

“Of course please complete the appointment forms.”

Wickham slid a certified credstick across the counter. “I have paid you, my forms are in order, save for the irrelevant fields. I trust that losing a scheduled appointment and the cash payment associated with it won’t be necessary?”

…..

Wickham sighed in relief as the Head Hygienist initiated the orderly drone by his station. Her emotions were identical to the first mare, and she moved with calculated efficiency. He briefly assensed. Yep, skill wired. While the majority of her words were spoken with a buttery down-home charm that suggested Ponyville he occasionally caught mumbled mutterings in a language from far further afield, and he noticed that her blue and white dye job was letting a few ochre-colored hairs through along with a portion of a Sanskrit cutie mark.

He debated if he cared as the drone began to poke and prod in time to its litany of harmless scripted questions. All was well until it began cleaning around his front teeth.

“Oww…”

“I’m sorry sir, I’ll try to be gentler, and I do think it would be wise if you got an x-ray, can we take care of that today or is there a better date in the future?”

“Do it.”

The drone went through the steps to x-ray his mouth by rote.

Wickham laid back on the hard plastic seat and waited. Typical, wait an hour for a doctor to rush in, ask five minutes’ worth of questions, proscribe a rote course of treatment, and then rush out. He realized he hadn’t seen the names of any dentists around the clinic. Great. That meant probably more skill wired med school dropouts.

The dentist finally came in and checked Wickham’s file, flicking on an AR screen, the x-rays were transmitted.

Glancing at them briefly, the wired dentist stopped and then looked back. The spell of the routine broken.

“Hmm….Interesting…”

A scowl started in the corners of Wickham’s mouth…there was never a time that a medical professional saying that something was interesting was a good thing for the poor host of the curiosity.

The chief hygienist wandered into the room likely to protest that the schedule was being violated only to get pulled in by the Dentist. A moment later and all three of the living employees of Bright Smiles were muttering amongst themselves.

“Un-erupted juvenile teeth?”

“Wrong shape…but?”

“…could be coming in sideways?”

“…these masses in the upper jaw almost look cancerous, but my ‘soft keeps wanting me to sign off on protocol 1568-7-2 that I’ve followed the guidelines for handling a venomous patient.”

“Yeah my ‘soft to is going nuts, I’m getting back a half dozen diagnosed problems.”

Wickham’s heart fell into his stomach. The hygienist moved just enough for him to see, the three of them not realizing their patient was still wearing his audio-enhanced earbuds and glasses.

“I think we need to call this in to corporate,” the dentist began, “these almost look like…well I never seen anything like them.”

The dentist moved just enough for Wickham to see, though in that moment he forgot the pretense. There in full AR glory was why his upper jaw was so tender.

The roots of his front teeth were being eaten away by a row of teeth forming from the bone of his upper jaw, each new millimeter of growth pushing on the base of the tooth above it. Just like he was a young colt about to have his adult teeth come in. Except unlike the teeth they were replacing these were sharp. Even then they didn’t hold a candle to the two daggers forming at the forward corners of his mouth, rooted deep in his upper jaw, two tumorous looking masses just behind them, one for each tooth. Through the middle of each tooth ran a void.

Dante gulped, heart pounding, he knew what those were… For a split second he ran his tongue over his teeth, still unable to feel the invaders forming underneath, the teeth of a predator still hidden, unable to feel...his fangs.

He tore out of the seat in time as he hit the dentist with the full force of his magic. Controlling the stallion’s actions. He demanded his file, all of it, every record, and every scrap. Alarms were going off as the clinic fell further off schedule. The best he could do was alter the memories of the staff after he had them delete the camera footage.

Data chip in hoof Wickham, aka Glass Darkly, aka Dante Haze walked out the door and disappeared into the cold biting winds of the evening. Suddenly the idea of turning into a unicorn didn’t seem so bad.

Author's Note

Game Events: After the bitter fight at the museum against hardened mercenaries. The team lobbied edIT for something a bit easier. This turned out to be a hit for a Johnson (anonymous job) on a Diamond Dog gang involved in the drug trade. Tracking them back to their original base of operations at a gang-controlled high-rise apartment block revealed a stash of drugs but no Diamond Dogs. Evidence suggested that they were laying low. With Silky Sheets (PC) badly drained as a result of the spells, he cast during an overly gratuitous escape and Vixie (PC) marginal from being accidentally exposed to a drug cache. A brief rest was taken, which resulted in the gang moving from a garage to a slum residential area. We caught up with them, and Silky Sheets (other Player Character) decided that instead of the traditional 'teach them a lesson' via broken legs and whatnot that he was going to mind control them into having a gay orgy in the street and brushed aside the reservations of the rest of the team. This was accomplished after a brief but intense fight but which did draw the attention of a patrolling Knight Errant Security spirit which complicated extraction. The Johnson made a partial payment for the run, noting that a majority of the gang members had at least been roughed up, and some shot. But he had wanted them sidelined during lengthy medical recoveries, not simply humiliated.

Shadowrun Game Conversion: Troll > Diamond Dog.

Mission 6, November W4. 'The Secret of My Excess'

(Ker - chunk), The sound of the cred stick falling into the bin below the money tree made his soul feel just the slightest bit lighter.

"What am I doing here?" Dante morosely asked himself, the unsaid answer coming as he could neither bring himself to go inside or to depart from the entryway. Chill winter winds made the faux paper lanterns hanging from the entrance gate sway, spawning an endless dance of shadows.

Half remembered fears lurked always just out of sight and the endless play of shadows held phantoms within. A shudder ran through him and lodged in his stomach like a nauseous oily mass. He could shut his eyes, but he could still see them. The scenes from the warehouse lingered. The Yakuza driver almost cut in two by Split Klaw. The bullet-riddled corpses in the ready room in front of Gwynns blood-splattered drone, Man at Arms. The slight hesitation from the driver Silky had mind-controlled as he fought the mental command Silky had given him, aware of what was happening, yet still, inexorably the pony had put his gun to his head and pulled the trigger. And lastly to the Yakuza pony under Dante's own hooves, lying in a pool of blood, alive but barely. 'You're wasting time,' Silky had off hoofedly remarked as Glass Darkly had channeled healing magic into the pony, ensuring that at least one would leave alive from that crimson drenched warehouse though any recovery promised to be lengthy.

'Walking sacks of meat, that's all they are.' Silky had proclaimed. Glass wasn't sure which of Silky's transgressions infuriated him the most. The incessant whining, the proposals to recruit orphan foals as a distraction force, or the fact that Silky had dismissed Glass' explicit warning not to break the security alarm ward as Glass had perfectly predicted what would happen.

"What am I doing here?" Dante asked himself again. He knew the answer, but it brought him no closer to enlightenment. A part of him wondered if everything that had happened to him was some sort of karmic punishment. If not his own then at least for the company he kept.

He did not turn when he heard the door, stained by the passage of the hooves of thousands of former restaurant patrons, open.

"So," Clear Chakra began, "You seem even more lost than the last time we spoke."

Dante was not surprised, Clear Chakra was a monk, not a fool, there would be a hidden camera watching the blessing tree.

"How long have you been watching me?"

"Not long, but long enough."

"And?" Dante turned fixing the bearded monk with a look, finding him looking a bit more disheveled than usual.

"And what? Do you wish me to act as if I cannot see that you have not pursued balance? Before you were unsure, conflicted. Now? Now you are haunted, and, something very dark lingers at the edge of your shadow. So I say. Did you come Dante looking for enlightenment, or for absolution?"

"It's not like that, times have been hard, I've had to work with a narcissistic monster of a unicorn, do things I don't like in order to make ends meet to make certain...."

"To make certain that you can manage your growing appetites for secrecy and, something else, not riches, not a mare, no, maybe a hunger for glory, no but maybe respect. Something commands your heart, something that promises enough respect to fill the bitter lake you've dug rather than seeking a healthier path. What is it Dante?"

Clear Chakra took a step forward which was mirrored by Dante in reverse. Dare he tell Clear Chakra what he had discovered? That he held two of either five or six artifacts that could redefine Equestria? That something very strange was mutating his body beyond recognition? Dante struggled, ultimately Clear Chakra broke the moment.

"If nothing else Dante, at least reconsider what you've done to your face. I know your chosen industry values youth like Apple-Zap values nu-bits but it is another lie that is easy to get lost within. Your surgeon's crafted mask isn't even particularly good, you look more like a stretched out mare than the handsome fresh-faced colts I hear trideo producers so adore."

"What?!" Dante stammered both horrified at the pronouncement and worried that he might have an errant blue tendril of hair floating in the breeze. The door behind Clear Chakra opened and a peach haired mare stuck her head out into the courtyard.

A voice that was an uneasy mix, half driven mid-level manager mare, mixed awkwardly with the infatuation of a school filly's first crush broke the moment between master and occasional pupil.

“I know you said it would only be a moment Chakra, but I’m afraid it is getting late and I have a full plate of meetings tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to it for a change, your yoga lessons have helped me so much. I can’t remember the last time I was so free of stress.”

The mare walked up to Chakra and nuzzled him in the neck. Faint amethyst glows flashed unseen from across the walkway as Dante looked her over and easily noted that there was little indication the mare's yoga mat had been out of its case. The same could not be said for the mare and her yoga outfit.

Dante had no words and said nothing as the mare turned, gave a little joyful hop that normally was reserved for filly’s half her age and left with a bouncing, energized prance. Dante could not have said why but he instantly loathed her, a tension in his gut was like a slowly twisting knife as she glanced back and gave Chakra a knowing look before disappearing around the corner of the gate. Dante was half tempted to give the little tart all the 'stress relief' she could ever want and more, that spell was one of his specialties after all. By the time he was done, she’d be lucky to drool her way through a presentation on the quarterly revenue targets.

“Dante….,” Chakra began.

Who did she think she was anyway? Dante had known Chakra for years and she just prances in and….

“Dante, it seems your thoughts are running away with you.”

“What, I mean what is this? You start lecturing me on balance while you’ve got a student waiting for you to come back so you can finish instructing her on the finer points of ‘yoga technique’?!”

“I am but an old stallion Dante, I admit it, desire won out over prudence this time. There, I have granted you a truth of mine, will you grant me a truth of yours?”

“…. Maybe,” Dante watched Chakra sullenly.

“Are you upset that I broke the Buddha’s guidance, or… upset that it was her and not you?”

Dante's mind was racing a thousand miles a second, the half-heard question rattled around his head and an answer fell into his mouth without full consideration. Dante answered without care for the low probing tone or curious implications Chakra had used.

“What do you see in her that you’d do 'special sessions with her, but not me!” Dante petulantly demanded.

A few seconds later his mind finally caught up to what was said. A pair of slate gray hooves were all but jammed into his muzzle as he realized what he had just implied.

“Uh,” Dante stammered, “that came out all wrong, that’s not what meant, I mean…. uh,”

For the first time in ages it was Clear Chakra who was visibly confused.

“In all the years I have known you, I don’t believe you ever acted like this before. Shown anything resembling urges like this. I question if you are well? Are you truly yourself right now?”

“I honestly don’t know what caused that….”

Clear Chakra paused and regarded Dante for a half moment.

“I am not certain if you are lying to yourself or no longer can tell which strands of the web are real and which are false but I sense that you have spun ever more versions of the truth. You wear them like a shifting skin. Now are you going to tell me what is really going on?”

For a long moment Dante considered. For a long moment, he considered letting it all go. Then the memory of the peach haired mare intruded on his thoughts.

“What is her name Chakra?” Dante meaningfully asked.

Chakra's look turned pained, “It is unimportant to what you really need Dante.”

“Fair enough…I’m overly stressed out and frazzled by my compatriots and their shenanigans. I really should find a better way to unwind or stars forbid, a vacation,” Dante let out a strained laugh, “Good talking to you Chakra.”

Dante turned and walked out the gate, his shadow lengthening from the lanterns behind until it merged with the pervasive twilight of Bellevue.

(Later)

“So you see Doc, I sort of had this gardening accident,” the large Diamond Dog growled, one hand holding a bloody towel firmly against his side, “I fell and accidentally stabbed myself with my trowel, uh, three times.”

A beige pony with scrubs almost as dingy as the walls gave a big smile from behind the heavily barred window.

“Those garden trowels will get ya every time, I’ve lost track of how many gardening accidents I’ve treated over the years, but don’t worry Dr. Nick will you have fixed right up in a jiffy.”

Hermann aka Glass Darkly rolled his eyes from his place in line behind the Diamond Dog, not that it could have been seen behind his glasses, and waited his turn, which came as the Diamond Dog was led away to a back room that contained far more improvised equipment than most clinics.

“So how can Dr. Nick help you?”

Glass Darkly gulped, looking into a grin worthy of a Cult of Equality hardline fundamentalist. The muted noise of a Diamond Dog howling in pain in the back didn’t help.

“I need a full-body scan, high detail, download it to this, no other copies.”

Hermann held out a blank data chip.

“Oh no worries about that friend, your privacy is guaranteed with Dr. Nick, especially as I am well aware that to do otherwise would be most unlucky. I too would surely suffer a horrendous gardening accident, just like my predecessor, Dr. Pepper who alas accidentally set himself on fire whilst tending his petunias which caused him to fall down a flight of stairs and into a high voltage electrical relay.”

Hermann winced, but still planted an Influence spell in the Dr.’s mind while following him to the medical station to ensure no other copies would be made, and that the Dr. would be busy with his other patients rather than watching any real-time results.

The scanning booth was filthy, but the only further thought was for the contents of the chip he retrieved when it was done.

Fortunately, all attention was on the gang of Griffons that arrived as Hermann finished, paid, and left, a wheelbarrow between them loaded down with three badly beaten Griffons, a tire iron still embedded in the helmet of one.

“Nooooo,” Dr. Nick wailed, “how many times must I warn you, sufficient head protection is required during your Society for Creative Anachronism re-enactments!”

(Later)

Glass Darkly swore as he turned in at the entrance, the security station still conspicuously empty. The same three holographic pegasi endlessly cavorted around the same AR rainbow sign, though the blue tones were washed out. Glass wondered how long it would be until that got fixed. Allowing the car to be parked in the underground garage he got out and reviewed his surroundings. He was growing paranoid of late. Long looks and checks of his agent found nothing out of the ordinary, a few security lights flickered uncertainly, others were out entirely, but that was nothing new. He emerged from the shadows and watched as a group of rough-looking earth ponies loitered on the other side of the small weedy patch of grass that in the day served as the playlot for the complex’s children, at least those that weren’t spending their time jacked in.

Glass trudged up to his balcony entrance, made a show of sitting down and checking his commlink. He briefly assensed, looked around checking for any magic being used in the vicinity, and went astral. It was simple to go through his own magic ward and find the hidden canister he had set up, he reached a spectral leg into it, and felt the canister vibrate slightly. The magic detecting slug let out a wail that could only be heard by the sensor inside the soundproof canister. Returning to his body, he got to his feet just in time to hear the heavy-duty secondary maglock, which was only wired to the canister, disengage. If the complex management ever came around to do an inspection they were going to be mad at finding their entry barred by a lock who the only key was Dante himself, but somehow Dante doubted he would be staying at Rainbow Falls Ranch long enough for that to matter.

Despite his weariness, he went through his ritual. Scan for surveillance bugs, check his anti-tamper indicators, look for any sign that people were watching. It took time, he didn’t feel like relaxing, but a rumble from his stomach was insistent on food. An emptied packet of soy applesauce was added to a growing pile in the trash can. His tender teeth and gums would tolerate nothing harder.

With each moment as Glass shoveled the modern Equestrian version of gruel into his mouth, aided only a little by the Apple-Zap imitation cinnamon, his anticipation and fear of what the small data chip sitting on his table in front of him held only grew. Finally, he could delay no longer. Checking as always that his Medkit wasn’t able to send a message back to its maker he slotted the chip in its auxiliary port and went to log in to the diagnostics.

“Medkit login, user Glass Darkly.”

“VOICE PRINT, GLASS DARKLY, NOT RECOGNIZED,” the small box noted in its flat uncaring tone.

“Not, this again you infernal machine, validate hoof print, user Glass Darkly.”

“HOOF PRINT, GLASS DARKLY, NOT RECOGNIZED.”

“Seriously?! Validate retinal scan, user Glass Darkly.”

One wincing eye scan later….

“RETINAL SCAN, GLASS DARKLY, NOT RECOGNIZED.”

Dante started to get annoyed, but found he lacked the energy. For a long moment he beheld the small box between his hooves and tried to think of the user ID and password he had set up back when the unit was new long ago. Drawing a blank, he considered his options.

“Maybe,” he considered, “Create, new user….uh, designate Mirror Darkly.”

“NEW PROFILE CREATED, VOICE PROFILE CREATED, SET HOOF PRINT AND RETINAL SCAN.”

Dante winced, but complied, he could delete the extra profile once figured out what was wrong with his Medkit.

“THANK YOU, PLEASE SET BASELINE RECORD.”

“Groan, there are 10 pages of selections…,” Dante trailed off before noticing the option for 'Quick Create'. Thinking himself clever he punched the AR button and waited for the kit to take a drop of blood. The option to download biometric data from a file was also a welcome surprise.

“Why do the little things always take so much work?”

A sullen pulsing red that lit up his face belied his statement. A litany of data errors flashed warnings. The specialized auto-soft program that ran the Med Kit was at a loss to understand the data it had been fed. A large number of the blanks simply ran past his gaze without truly registering, but the blank at the top, the one so Central to his current weirdness had its own gravity.

METATYPE: NOT RECOGNIZED, MAJORITY PRESENCE OF METAGENE MARKERS NOT ON RECORD. EARTH PONY CONTAMINATION PRESENT

“...Well, Dante, you’re apparently no type of pony on file…”

He spoke to himself, letting his head rest on the table. With this confirmation he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to see the scan. He scrolled through the pages of errors until he got to the recommended health topics. Among the high priority links telling him to schedule an appointment with a licensed Medicarro physician was a link he had no explanation for as to why it was present. He hesitantly tapped the AR link searching for some kind of explanation and a preloaded media file began to be projected into his dark apartment.

“WELCOME MISS DARKLY, MEDICARRO, AN APPLE-ZAP COMPANY, IS PLEASED TO PRESENT THIS INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION OF THE COMPLETE FILLY’S ROUND UP TO GROWING UP.”

“What….”

The inside of a cozy barn filled the holographic display, High stacks of hay imparted a feeling of privacy as an energetic filly on the verge of being better described as a mare leaped into frame and landed with a million nu-bit smile on her face.

“Hey filly friend, I’m Blossoming Flower, and I can’t wait to get to know you!”

On a certain level, Dante could appreciate how customized the program was. The filly's ghostly horn and wings betraying that there were three versions of the erstwhile hostess, his Med kit couldn’t decide which to use and so was showing the filly as an earth pony/Pegasus/unicorn mishmash. On a certain level he thought he might have heard of this actress filly though with a normal, non-cliché moniker. He, however, was not operating on that level.

“What is….”

“Oh, you seem confused. I was feeling confused and overwhelmed recently too, you see I’ve been going through so many changes lately, but my dad had me checked by a Medicarro doctor and he reassured me that it’s an entirely normal and healthy part of life. Do you want to discuss it?”

“What is this!?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” the filly was blank-faced for a moment before the program reset, a slight hitch followed by a conspiratorial grin returning, “Are you experiencing strange feelings for a special some pony? I can tell you’re alone, it’s just us fillies, I promise I won’t tell any pony.” Flower rubbed her hooves and leaned in as if waiting to be told a secret.

A vein throbbed at Dante’s temple, “Why is this being shown to me?”

Flower's face took on a scholarly cast, “Well, you see there comes a time in every filly's life, often not long after a filly finds her cutie mark when a special kind of magic begins. There are difficulties of course, and it is more a journey than an event but you are not alone. I, your family, and your extended Apple-Zap family will be there to support you in your journey as you grow into a young mare. After all it tak-“

“Stop program!!!” Dante commanded, Flower froze in mid-sentence. “Medkit, clarify! Why has this program been recommended? Why is it considered relevant?”

The flat tinny voice of the Medkit answered.

“BLOOD ANALYSIS FOR USER MIRROR DARKLY SHOWS ENDOCRINE LEVELS CONSISTENT WITH A FILLY EXPERIENCING PUBERTY. SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF BIOMETRIC DATA SUPPORTED THIS CLASSIFICATION.”

“Listen you infernal machine, I am NOT a mare!”

“APOLOGIES USER MIRROR DARKLY, BLOOD GENETIC ANALYSIS GENERATED A RESULT OF 67% POSITIVE FOR THE PRESENCE OF MARE CHROMOSOMES. RECOMMEND THAT YOU SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR LOCAL FRIENDLY MEDICARRO GYNECOLOGIST TO DISCUSS YOUR BIOMETRIC DATA.”

Dante took a step back, his face frozen just as much as Blossoming Flowers'. Every bit of recent weirdness was slowly reexamined under this new context. As the evidence mounted Dante finally found the courage to approach the machine once more, he’d look at the raw scans himself and figure out what was causing his Medkit to malfunction so badly, there had to be some other explanation.

He slowly worked his way through the sections one by one. The scans of his head clearly showed the fangs growing in under his existing teeth, as well as what was clearly the base of a developing horn, a growing cone that likely would soon betray its presence.

A sigh filled the room, he knew about these, but the scans offered no new clues as to why. Moving on did answer a question. His bones horribly pitted in some places, fresh growth in others. The growth plates that would have fused long ago were open and clearly active. The measurements confirming he was a solid inch and a half taller with little indication that he would stop growing soon.

A grim certainty that had stalked his quiet moments of late moved in towards brutal finality as he brought up the scans for his mid-section. A hissing wince followed by a thud as Dante let his head fall to rest on the worn wood finished plastic. Above him in all their holographic glory were the two twin growing masses behind his shoulder blades. The resolution on the scan wasn’t good enough to show what kind they were but the source of the ever-escalating ache in his back was clear, he was growing a pair of wings just under his skin.

Silently, he flicked the scans from his head to his back. Horn. Wings. Horn and wings.

Breathlessly he considered the implications.

“Well Dante you’ve won the genetic lottery, you’re mutating into a fragging Alicorn.”

A long moment passed as he rubbed his temples and tried to consider the implications. Remembering he hadn’t reviewed everything he forced himself back to the list of scans. His hoof was starting to shake as he forced himself to look at the last set of scans.

Several minutes passed in silence as Dante got a much more detailed view of his hindquarters. Without a word, he turned like a zombie and trudged over to his cabinet. Reaching behind the imitation oats he retrieved the last hidden bottle of cider from the case he had bought to celebrate his first successful run. He popped the seal and downed half the bottle. After that, things got fuzzy.

(Later)

The sound of a few colts playing and sunlight on his face slowly worked through a titanic struggle to rouse Dante. He looked down to the empty bottle of cider by his hoof, and the two blotters of bliss stuck to his arm. A realization dawned on him, he was propped up against the wall. Fitting he supposed….he was up against the wall, in more ways than one.

“So…,” he croaked, throat feeling like dry cotton, “an Alicorn…an Alicorn mare.” A dispirited laugh started, but after his voice cracked halfway through it mutated into sobs. It was several long moments before he was finished. The scans that had wrecked his composure were still on display above the table in the next room.

“Fragging mare hormones, no wonder I’m so emotional.”

He considered how he would hide this. Chakra had already noticed, which meant others would soon as well. A look down confirmed that everything appeared normal, but it was likely only a matter of time before well. She, her, Miss, the pronouns were so innocuous, yet profound. And that was on top of the whole Alicorn bit.

“Miss Dante Haze, Alicorn about town,” Dante growled, mentally hitting himself. A throb deep in his gut reminded him he had never shifted back last night. Another groan as the realization hit him that his flamboyant mane was exactly the type ponies expected an Alicorn to have.

“How was I so blind?” He winced, “Well Miss Haze, you’re going to get out of the Shadow business just like you wanted at least, every pony in the industry will be falling all over themselves to get you signed to a contract, they’ll be hiring show mares to decorate the set backgrounds of the summer trid flicks, Horizon's Bridal Expo would kill for an Alicorn to serve as the centerpiece, and of course the annual Pony Illustrated swim saddle edition will be doing production shots soon.”

Dante spat the words, acid in his voice, mocking the very concepts. Dante grabbed his muzzle with both hooves and fought the urge to vomit.

“No, oh hell no!!!”

An angry pounding on the wall reminded Dante that he needed to keep his voice down. He couldn’t reveal this, not with Silky relaying everything to the Couch Mare Club, if Silky didn’t pursue him, they’d likely sacrifice him as part of some ritual. But how, it’s not like he could hide it, or? His thoughts turned to what had happened last time he had left things to the meta planes, might he?”

The preparations were quicker this time, Dante was less apprehensive as he sketched out the ritual, it still took several hours. Anytime his motivation flagged all Dante had to do was recall the scans from Dr. Nick. It was late into the afternoon before he was ready. Once again he hurled his awareness to the boundaries of space and time until reality once more broke down.

(Within the Metaplanes)

“It has come again, it seems answers to questions already known.”

Dante could sense the spirits that lingered beyond the edge of awareness.

“Please I need to know, two, things,” in his mind’s eye he brought forth the four artifacts whose shapes he knew and a question for the ones he did not. The amethyst, emerald, ruby, sapphire and possibly one or two more. “I must know if these are a sister set to the Elements of Harmony, from where did they come, what links them together?”

Snickering voices laughed within limbo, whether they would answer his question hung in silence, until.

Dante's mind swam, the uniform darkness of the edge of unreality closed in on him, broken suddenly after only a moment by a flare of soft blue light; a glowing crystal in an ornate holder on a messy wooden desk. He was on a catwalk, near a cluttered workspace at the bottom of a large spherical room. It must have been more than a hundred meters to the ceiling, smooth walls tiled perfectly in shimmering hexagons each no more than a pony's height across. He stood meters away from the pillar of dull steel and blinking lights, crossed with tubes and circuits and spinning gadgets, scarred by unfamiliar runes, dominating the center of the room from floor to ceiling. Massive tubes and wires arced in from the room's equator to attach all along with the monstrosity's height like a stallion suspended by threads.

He heard a dull hum all around him and a deep, rhythmic pulse punctuated every second that passed by. Dante's mind caught up to him, and he took a step toward the desk; catching only a glimpse of the alien runic writing before being interrupted. A panel on the near side of the sphere hissed, and Dante's head whipped around just in time to see it disappear upwards into the wall, the sound and sight reminding him comically of 2001's *Star Trot: Enterprise*. Two ponies stepped through the gap, a dull gray hallway behind them before it was shut out by the panel slipping back into place. He recognized one stallion, but not the other.

"Radiant, I'm not involved with the Interdictors anymore. You should know, my cannons just won us a monopoly over national weapon contracts." A cream Pegasus stallion with a messy blonde mane, a tired face, and the physique of a soldier. He wore a real (if worn) leather jacket emblazoned blue with a pair of wings and the bold letters EQPC over long flowing robes.

"We've got the effective range up to three hundred miles in the Trottingham bunker, we're going to mirror it to the other sites starting Monday," Radiant Pine, head and CEO of Radiant Industries, clad in silky white, gold-trimmed robes. A fine ebony staff upon his back nestled between a half dozen empty looking silk bags. "You're absolutely certain there's no way to turn this mess into a giant cannon?" He waved his hoof at the masterpiece of machinery to Dante's side, not breaking his gaze from Danger Close since he entered.

"We *could* make it into one giant Fire Bolt if you wanted, but the moment we do, we'll lose the city to metal-spined extra-dimensional impostors." Danger Close plopped his satchel down on the desk near to Dante, various gems and scrolls rolling out and adding to the clutter. "We went over this a long time ago. The best use for the interdictors is as interdictors; that's why we call it the *interdictor project*." He sighed and stepped around the desk, approaching the pillar.

"What am I doing here anyway?" Radiant asked, his eyes sliding around the room lingering only slightly on the spot where Dante stood before continuing, "What do you need the Core for, I mean."

Danger Close reached the pillar, the interdictor, and with a general wave of his hoof a column of lights appeared along the edge of a blank panel, steam released from its perimeter, and a soft green glow formed a square on the formerly blank section of steel. "It's part of the artillery trials, and I've got an idea about Sunny. Maintain Forbiddance for me while I use it, you're spending the day here in Thunderhead anyways. If your secretary is to be believed, something about municipal enforcement."

Radiant sighed, "Crescent I'll have your head. Fine, but you get to upgrade this," He waved a brown hoof to the pillar, "and the interdictor out on Harmony, I've got the other three." A drawer slowly glided out of the smooth metal. A shining, familiar emerald suspended by crystal threads rested within, mist spilling out around it.

Danger Close scooped the monstrous gem carefully out of the holder, then tossed it carelessly into his bag, shoving the spilled contents back into the opening. "I'll do the Firebase. I'm headed there anyway. Send me the prints." He hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and with a quick joking salute to Radiant, he disappeared into a blinding flash of light.

Reality within the Meta Planes shifted again, the indistinct voices returned.

“And it wants to know what it is, doesn’t it? Not for us to tell it what it is,” other unseen voices answered, “show it what it has already seen, maybe it will understand if not, fun to watch it try.”

Dante started to argue to protest but it felt like he was falling, down into an endless abyss…a sudden jolt and after clearing the stars from his eyes he realized he was looking at road cluttered with scorched and broken paving stones. Murmurs filled the area. He looked up and found a large crowd of ponies, all tired, dirty, many with singed clothing, funneling into a long line. A haphazard sign fluttered from one wall, the script at first escaping Dante until he recognized the Old Equestrian.

“Eques…Equestria, uh Town, no? City, Equestria City Refugee Camp?” Dante puzzled it out, and then realized what he was looking at…especially as he turned around and recognized two of the ponies in line. Two of the four he had seen previously. Where the other two were he had no idea. The mare of the two was still holding that odd bundle.

He approached them, apprehensive, they seemed to take no notice of him… He started to clear his throat but stopped when a pony walked right through him.

“Oh, so,” Dante whispered.

In the distance, a low pall of smoke rose from the horizon. The line snaked through the entrance of a ruined courtyard. Dante suppressed a gasp as a printed posted of Archon Celestia fluttered from one wall ‘Strength through Unity, Obey All Edicts,’ opposite was a poster with a pine tree motif, the base surrounded by money. ‘Radiant Pine Industries Wants You! Yes, You! Safety and Security', then in a much smaller font, 'with adequate pay, not responsible for industrial accidents. ‘

The sound of a low thumping noise was disconcerting and as the line snaked through the entrance Dante recoiled. Two ponies in what looked like the powered mil-spec armor Knight Errant might deploy were slowly passing up and down the line. But this looked more advanced. Each carried what looked like a laser rifle…except the central crystal was constantly in a state of flux, the color-changing through the colors of the rainbow. The ponies in the line shrank back a little as the juggernaut on one side passed down the line. Dante was in awe as the pony looked the line over through the expressionless face of his visor.

“How?” Dante began.

The armored pony turned and Dante had to remind himself to breathe. ‘MK3 Power Armor - Property of Radiant Pine Industries’ was stenciled in small lettering on the back, along with a collection of assorted stenciled faces with lines through them…kill markers. Dante watched the stallion recede until he noticed the mare tugging on her partner’s saddlebags.

“This isn’t going to work,” she whispered, “They’re going to - “

The stallion cut her off.

“It’s okay they’re scanning for the dimensional invaders, we’ll be okay.”

Only then did Dante realize that at the head of the line, the ponies were filing past a unicorn with a strange device that looked like a detector of some kind. A third armored pony flanked him, while two odd emerald-eyed ponies watched from a small stage whispering between themselves.

“Do you think those are?”

“Don’t look at them, but yes, I think so.”

Dante had no idea what they were going about, the line moved ever forward.

“They’re going to recognize us.”

“We can’t leave the line, they’ll want to know why. If I had known….”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

The line moved forward, and the two ponies were doing a good job of keeping their body language neutral but Dante was next to them unseen, he could tell they were terrified. Finally, the stallion whispered.

“I’m going to distract them, you have to get away.”

The stallion tensed, but whatever was planned ended as at the head of the line the detector unicorn called for a halt, as his staff flashed sullenly red. For a moment there was confusion but the strange two ponies on the stage pointed at a group of three refugee ponies and the armored stallions began to converge.

In an instant, the demeanor of the three refugee ponies changed from cowering and afraid to defiant. One ran towards the nearest armored stallion who responded by raising his gun. A brilliant flash of rainbow light seared Dante’s eyes and he felt like his teeth were going to rattle loose in his head. When his vision cleared there were only wisps of rainbow smoke and a scorch mark on the courtyard’s floor where the refugee pony had been. The second dove for the other stallion. Another flash. A miss, but the second refugee pony was caught by the near-miss and flung like a rag doll. He flew into a half-destroyed wall with a sickening sound of several things breaking. A smear of red decorated the wall as the pony slid to its base, the blood, however, quickly shifted towards a green ichor like substance.

The third pony dove among a group of refugee ponies and quickly took a mare hostage with a twisted dark knife.

“You wouldn’t!” The pony screamed behind his hostage, his eyes glowing blue.

The nearest stallion had his rifle trained on the pony and hesitated. Unable to fire without hitting the hostage.

The second armored pony nevertheless raised his rifle. The refugees started to beg, easily able to tell that they would be hit as well, even as the hostage-taker tried to take better cover behind his hostage. The armored pony spoke as his hoof tensed.

“By standing order of the Equestrian War Council, and confirmed by order of Commissariat Protector Radiant Pine all enemies of Celestia are to be destroyed without consideration for -“

The sentence was never finished as the hostage-taker pony….well Dante wasn’t sure, but it looked like the pony had, detonated.

The stallion of the two ponies he was standing next to got up after taking cover as a shockwave knocked ponies from their hooves. An unholy wail rose up from the mass of injured and dying ponies at the head of the line seconds later.

“Run….”

The mare needed no urging. A mass of yelling ponies ran for the exit, into that mob the two disappeared, the mare still running on three legs as she carried the bundle.

Dante looked back and gasped…a broken form lay at the bottom of the wall, the second pony that had been missed but flung. Except now, even with his limbs splayed out at unnatural angles only possible with broken bones, he was clearly a changeling. His eyes burned blue. The changeling coughed and spat up ichor.

“You may have killed Chitina, you may have killed the others, but you haven’t….won...(cough). And YOU! You will never be ponies no matter how hard you lie to them. They will never let you be their equal,” the broken changeling addressed the impassive two ponies who looked on with hard emerald eyes. “We will remember and someday we will (cough)…have our vengeance for our dead queens, on this world, and on the traitorous Emerald usurper.”

Dante felt himself being pulled away, pulled towards the exit, not sure why, but as he was yanked through the wall, a sickly pulse of green lit the ruins just before a rumbling explosion rattled the stones.

Dante turned back but found only blackness. When he opened his eyes he was once again in the schoolhouse.

“No…not this again,” his voice trembled.

He looked down and his cutie mark even before it started to melt off his flank was faint. Once again he could not stop the almost scripted doom. He ran away to the accusing chants of being a monster.

This time it was not KE security ponies but rather the power-armored juggernauts that he heard tromping through the halls looking for him. Changing his color was easy, he remembered that trick easily. He looked into the expressionless visor and once again noted that he was not the white-coated, amethyst eyed monster.

Once again he found himself escorted from the school. The juggernaut raised his hoof to his ear…

“Understood, take all the colts to be scanned, Roger.”

Dante felt his heart fall into his chest. He was powerless to stop it as he was shoved into a room from which the school colts were being led at regular intervals. He started to breathe heavily and turned away to look into the hazy glass of a bookshelf.

“Can’t be a colt…can’t be a colt…,” he whispered…

As he looked at his reflection a crazy idea occurred to him. He stared at the reflection and willed with everything he possessed to change that reflection. He was surprised when the reflection started to shift. How was this possible…but he didn’t question his good fortune. He forced his features to change and then whispered to himself as he searched for the candy-sweet voice that lucky fillies used to ensure no one could deny their requests.

Thudding, heavy boot steps came up behind him. He forced himself to breathe normally and turned.

“What the?” The hulking power-armored trooper questioned.

(Sniffle) “Mister Guard Pony, I think there’s been a mistake, they took me from my filly friends and brought me here.”

The armored juggernaut looked down into the quivering face that Dante was doing his best to sustain.

“Oh, sorry about that little filly, we’ll get you sorted out and back where you belong. Command, I got a missorted filly in the colt group. Have someone take her back to the other fillies.”

Dante was ecstatic as he was taken back out the other door, doing the best to hide that it was only his face that he had managed to shift. As he was let out into the garden, away from the Radiant Pine affiliated agents standing scanning the remaining colts, he was ecstatic.

He all but skipped through the garden not caring where he was going. It was before finally he remembered himself. When it pushed through his hazy mind that none of this was real. He was still in the Planes. Why did this keep happening?

“Why indeed?”

A soft, assuredly seductive voice questioned.

Dante turned, still in the form of a mismatched filly/colt, and found a mare made out of shadow looking at him as she watered an overgrown mass of amethyst streaked vines that had grown to nearly envelop a statue.

“Who the Tartarus are you?”

“Who indeed? I love the look by the way. The voice is a little sweet for my taste, you should work on that. Let’s just say I’m greatly appreciative of you putting so much effort into avoiding certain misunderstandings between our friends and….well I’m not really sure what we’d call Silky Sheets. Comrade implies a certain degree of respect he hasn’t earned.”

“Why are you doing this to me?!”

Dante demanded, not sure how this shadow was related to his problems. She moved around the statue and Dante’s heart skipped a beat as he saw the statue she had been obscuring, a stone version of Clear Chakra in flagrante delicito with his new paramour.

“Hahahaha, oh that’s so classic. I’m not doing anything, you’re taking care of all the work on that. I’ve been preoccupied with a much larger, more difficult project. Namely, coming back from the dead, or what passes for it.”

“You’re dead?”

“Well there are several degrees of it, you won’t understand, at least not until you do. I’m not sure how much longer that’s going to take, you’ve been a bit dense.”

“I want nothing to do with you, you stay away from me."

“That’s both easily done and yet harder than it might seem. I’m a bit closer than you might think.”

“You still haven’t told me who the Tartarus you are.”

“He’s right you know. He’s terribly uncouth, has an over-inflated sense of his skill, and doesn’t consider the long term but Silky Sheets is largely correct. You keep putting your faith in a hope that ponies will choose the nobler path if given a chance. That didn’t happen in the past.

Radiant Pine didn’t save Equestria in the Age of Heroes because it was the right thing to do, he did it because it made him rich, and kept his prize from being taken by invaders beyond the stars. The Alicorn sisters he helped install ruled for a thousand years and told everyone they were all but gods. It lasted until one went insane and tried to take it all for herself, the other ineffectual, only able to maintain her rule by getting sycophants to fight her battles for her. I will answer your question as to who I am simply.

The future is littered with prizes, we have all possibility and eternity before us. You spent years clawing your way up the line playing by the rules enforced by the powerful. You waited on fools because you wouldn’t dare refuse. Tell me after all that, have you drunk your fill, or do you want more?”

Dante started to answer but found he had no words. The specter continued.

“You know what they say, nice stallions always finish last. Harsh but true…so…what are you going to do about it.”

“It is not,” Dante began but stopped…

“Ssshhhhh,” the shadow walked up to him, “we’re running out of time, so let me send you away with a parting gift.”

“What -“

“BOOP”

The shadow booped him in the nose, it felt like he had been thrown backward, all sense of time and space faded as it felt like he was falling.

Dante wasn’t sure when he woke up, though he wished that whatever mare that was screaming would be quiet. It took a moment before he realized the mare was him.

(Several moments later)

Dante fought back the urge to dry heave into the sink again. Looking into the bathroom mirror didn’t impart any reassurance. He didn’t recognize the face that looked back at him. His face had finished rearranging itself, starting with his muzzle, right where the shadow had booped him. Finally deciding that the worst of it was over. He slumped back against the wall. A second look down confirmed that it was only his face that had changed, well that and…

“Well you’ve got a cover mare worthy face to go along with your cover mare worthy mane, aren’t you lucky Dante.”

The voice that came out was not his, it was a mare’s voice. A voice like honey. The first time this had happened he had panicked, not this time. With some effort, he felt for the power. Long moments passed and it took several attempts but despite how weird it felt Dante slowly morphed his face back into a shape he was familiar with. Half an hour later he was himself again, in fact in his face at least he was all the way back to how he had looked before this all started not the wan, thin muzzled aberration. Though, he knew, like his coat it was a lie. He didn’t care.

“Welcome back Mr. Haze,” his deep baritone voice rumbled. “We have work to do, four other relics, four Cores from the Age of Heroes to find.” His stomach rumbled, “Right after we eat.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired to retrieve a crate from a Yakuza (syndicate) affiliated warehouse after a courier runs off with the crate she was supposed to deliver and is feared to be on the verge of selling it to the highest bidder. A fairly decent infiltration attempt goes south when Silky Sheets (A PC) disregards the counsel of Glass Darkly and breaks an alarm ward. Resulting in a vicious fight with the Yakuza ponies within the warehouse. Ultimately the Yakuza are defeated and the crate is recovered. Dante suspects that the cargo is important, but following earlier events, there is no support from within the rest of the group to look inside. The crate is turned in with the contents unexamined.

Later Dante takes a meta planar dive and confirms a growing suspicion. The two powerful Foci stolen in the earlier mission are in fact two of six Cores from the Interdictor Project making them incredibly powerful relics dating from the Age of Heroes. (The earlier crossover D&D game where they were used to stop a Planar Invasion). Concerned as to what exactly could happen should this be shared with the remaining team members, the information is kept secret for the time being.

Mission 7, December W2. 'It's Not Paranoia...'

“….And zo in zummary we must caution zat preconceived assumptions are dangerous.”

A low snort answered the holographic emitter.

“No, I don’t drink wine…..hmmph….what? (burp).”

A blanket rose up, an elegantly rounded muzzle of pure white poking out from under the edge. A mass of glittering aquamarine mane likewise escaped the confines of the blanket. Reflected in two large but tired Amethyst eyes, the trideo program played on, the German professor uncaring that his one and only pupil had fallen asleep.

Boxes were piled up against the walls. Strange marks decorated most, though these were no arcane runic code, instead, marks designated the last time Dante had needed something from that box. Canterlot Gardens, Appaloosa Acres, Rainbow Falls Ranch, and now Everfree Estates. Only a handful of boxes had been fully unpacked, conspicuous among those was the empty box that had held Dante’s supplemental security. Other boxes, marked as never unpacked since Canterlot Gardens sat forlornly shoved into a far corner, their prospects far grimmer. Another stop on Dante’s tour of Seattle’s finest 'value' housing, though Everfree Estates was marginally better than his last digs. The door had a solid plasteel core and he had seen the odd security drone and camera here and there.

He had no illusions that it would stop a Couch Mare Club hit if he wasn’t there but he hoped he had pushed the threshold beyond a single crammed up griffon with a fire ax. The power and water also did a far better job of staying on. One time of the power going out before he had a chance to blow dry his flowing mane and the annoyance that had wrought was enough.

“Ergh, ugh, that tasted horrible.”

Dante grumbled, trying to clear the after taste before remembering himself. He glanced at the other trideo chip out of its case next to the projector 'Prima Poise's Etiquette Lessons for Young Unicorn Mares of Refinement and Good Breeding.’ Dante had to suppress an inward groan at the title. Still, this had been the most recommended course. After watching it twice he now could explain how a virulently Unicorn supremacist had stayed in business, she was that good.

“Pardon me, that caught me unprepared, a thousand apologies my friend.”

Dante wasn’t sure how he felt about what he heard. It was still strange to hear the dulcet tones, and now with some practice, (and some emulation of Prima Poise) he had refined his (?, by a mangy manticore, pronouns were getting hard as his condition got worse), voice until it was sweet, yet refined, assertive, with just a hint of an un-placeable Trottingham accent. It was like those expertly candied fruit desserts the high-end restaurants downtown put out on display with delicate sauce reductions and no price tags. If you had to ask, you were in the wrong part of town. It both wasn’t him, yet felt right for some reason. The implications were unsettling. There was an easy, albeit temporary fix to that.

Dante threw off the blanket. With each step white and blue disappeared to be replaced with smoky gray. He hesitated a step as his face warped. By the time he reached the drawer with his laser measure, he was himself…sortof

“A bit premature to start practicing our Princess voice isn’t it?”

Dante hollowly asked himself, still, the growling baritone was reassuring. Less so was the visual inspection that followed. That was not the waistline of a stallion, nor the legs of one, or the hind quarters of one. The laser measure confirmed he was now 3 inches taller than when he had started changing with no sign of that stopping any time soon. He could still get away with it but he was pushing through 'tall for an Earth Pony' territory and slouching, as he had trained himself to do, had limits. He considered his options. Granted, it was making it easier with the mares. Not that he had needed much help after…well…

Dante rubbed his muzzle and a pained grin crossed his face. Eating had been easy of late. His mutable voice had learned another trick. He could influence ponies, lace simple statements with commands. A useful trick that had made a dozen schemes flitter through his head. Though he had already discarded the idea of turning master thief and fencing small valuables. It raised one's profile far in excess of the meager take a Fence might give. Secrets, on the other hand, …if only he knew someone who would buy. Thoughts for the future he guessed.

Eating had been foal’s play with that discovery, and he was enjoying the feeling of being pleasantly full for a change. Of course, overconfidence is a slow and insidious foe, and the momentary benefits had influenced Dante to do something a bit rash. Whether from the need to prove something to the universe or himself or just because the object of his affection, Silver Stream, was in Dante’s opinion supremely cute a mistake had been made. Dante grumbled a curse that he would run into such a mare, now, when his current state had all but robbed him of such adventures but what was done was done. He shouldn’t have accepted her invitation to come see her impressive aquarium, shouldn’t have taken her up on that last glass of wine, should have blamed the wine when the affectations of a lovely mare did not have the expected impact on Dante’s lower half, shouldn’t have gotten self-conscious to the point where he used his signature spell on Silver Stream, shouldn’t have over done it, and shouldn’t have altered Silver Stream's memories so that she thought it had all been Dante’s prowess.

Now he was having to deal with a growing circle of mares surrounding Silver Stream that had heard certain rumors that weren’t exactly true concerning a certain set of his skills.

It reminded him of the dream he had been having. Silver Steam in an old-style Trottingham dress, dining alone at a great table within a shadowy Gothic hall looking uneasy, as Dante in his natural state all but floated around the table in a brilliant scarlet gown, bat wings furled, talking though hidden fangs, and with nothing in the room that could cast an honest reflection.

“Forgive me, I have already dined….” And “I do not drink…wine.”

“Why am I dreaming about being fragging Draculpony?”

Dante asked no one in particular. The production credits playing on the trideo program finally regained his attention.

'Charles University Presents, an Overview of the Comparative Metagenetics and Physiological Expression of the Pegasus Sub-Species, the Night Ones. With thanks to Professor Hermann von Thuringen and the great Alicorn Schwartzkopf.’

“Trideo, replay the last program, jump to time 2:08:01, delay start 5 minutes,” Dante commanded.

The delay was just long enough for Dante to fix a cup of instant soy-kaf, he sat down on his haunches as the segment began to play, time stamps marking the previous five times he had watched it.

“Professor von Thuringen,” an off-screen voice began, “given some of the visual similarities, what is the best way to tell bat ponies apart from changelings in cases of questionable classification?”

“Ja, you refer to ze common instinctual reaction to fear ze fangs, the often dark colors. Ja, this can be an issue, ponies commonly see changelings where there are none. Dark colors are common among ze bat ponies, likewise, dark matte black iz assumed to be ze standard for ze Changeling race, but my own personal opinion iz that we put to much stock in our experiences with ze first attack by ze Changelings under the queen Chrysalis. I vager that other color schemes are in fact possible and zat we may see such examples in ze future.”

Dante hesitantly gulped and traced the mark he had made earlier in the 'Inconclusive' column in his notes.

“There iz of course ze fangs, but both bat ponies and changelings have them. There iz one feature here which can be instructive. Certain higher orders of Changelings will commonly possess venom. Hence their fangs are hollow. In contrast, zis can only be duplicated by a bat pony that has ze SURGE mutation and is hence quite rare.”

Dante hovered over the second mark he had made in inconclusive, hoof shaking, one half of him remembered the incident at Bright Smile but he was unwilling to damn himself on the word of a glitched out skill-soft.

“There iz of course ze fact that Changelings will in their natural state have wings and a horn. This is another case of rarity supporting the diagnosis but not being in itself definitive. Night Ones, or colloquially ze Bat Ponies are in themselves a rarer meta-type variant. Ze Alicorn iz rare itself, combine ze two and ze total number of Alicorn Bat Ponies worldwide, ja, it iz not many, but there are a handful. So still not ze thing which makes a certainty.”

Dante looked down at the third mark he had made in the inconclusive category. He could almost hear it whispering back that he was straining credibility with his assumptions of probability.

“Now, in my opinion ze weight put by certain academics on ze 'Swiss Cheese’ appearance of ze average changeling iz over-emphasized. Some research suggests that ze odd holes found in ze common changeling may be more ze result of chronic malnutrition than normal physiology, but my colleagues are unconvinced. Zo, if you see no evidence of ze holes, then according to the common wisdom it must be a bat pony.”

Dante touched the mark he had made under the 'Not a Changeling' column first with relief, then trepidation as he knew what came next.

“Zhen, of course, we cannot ignore ze feeding habits of ze changeling. While some have made ze comparison, and we must not discount ze possibility zat certain 'changeling' sightings may be bat ponies infected with Equine MetaEquine Vampiric Virus or EMEVV. Still, there iz an obvious distinction. Changelings do not traditionally eat any physical part of their victims. A vampire pony drinks blood, a thestral ghoul will consume ze flesh, but ze changeling victim iz not physically hurt. Emotionally iz as they say, a different kettle of fish.”

Dante touched his hoof to the other column and once again wracked his memory for any incident that might have exposed him to EMEVV. As during his other dozens of attempts, he came up empty.

One point to 'Changeling’.

The idea was absurd of course, he came from a long line of ponies, there was an outside chance that it was possible to latently express those traits, but he still largely leaned on the more rational explanation. He was becoming a bat pony Alicorn as part of a SURGE mutation that was saddling him with certain powers and needs taken from one of the predatory animals of Equestria.

“Tall order,” Dante mused.

Noticing the flashing indicator on his agent's control menu he stopped the lecture.

“Trideo pause program, load priority file from agent and play.”

Dante winced as he recognized the location shown. Two C list anchors from the Horizon Crime Report talked over a drone recorded shot of the blackened front of his last abode. A couple of firefighter pony riggers were directing their drones, the timestamp put the video at three days ago.

“Knight Errant is requesting the public's assistance with locating an Earth Pony of interest in an apparent firebombing three days ago. The apartment was already empty at the time of the explosion, and residents reported that the resident was seen moving out the prior day without comment or explanation. Registration on record revealed a invalid, non-standard ID and authorities suspect the incident may be gang or drug-related. If you have any information about the following pony please contact….”

Dante muted the audio as he examined the middling quality picture supplied by the Rainbow Falls Ranch leasing office security. It wasn't great, it was from too high an angle and mostly confirmed his floofy mane. He had shifted his tone more towards charcoal that day. He concentrated for a moment and his current coat moved a shade closer to smoke. Otherwise, this was concerning but not problematic. There were 6 million ponies in Seattle and no shortage of shades of grey. It was clear Knight Errant had run the fake SIN he had used to rent the apartment. Wickham was done, he had existed for all of a month, never again. The trail was cold unless Knight Errant was willing to dive into the Cybercrime syndicates, which they wouldn’t. The Crime Desk anchors had spent less than a minute on this story. By the time the hour was up, they had reported on the hold up of three Stuffer Shacks, a half dozen shootings, two major break-ins, and a hostage situation.

Knight Errant was done, for now, they’d thrown the case out to the public on the off chance that someone who watched the report as something other than a sleep aid would recognize him. If he wound up in a KE holding cell that could change, but circumstances had not appreciably changed.

“So why and who?”

The Couch Mare Club? Maybe, their sticky hooves were turning up more and more. The involvement of Cobalt Cloud, who increasingly looked like Silky's handler, had tied everything together. The CMC’s refusal to answer the question, even to issue a denial had all but convinced him that the Alicorn Amulet had been the real goal of the Museum Heist. Six Million nu-bits in gems was just gravy, and useful to finance their operations. But why blow up his old place? Obviously the perpetrator had just missed him. Dante’s practice at relocating once a fake SIN had been compromised had saved his rump here. It was clear that Wickham was going to be burned after his SIN had been logged and registered at the Condos. It had been necessary to get the job done, but it grated, and skilled mercenaries showing up to contest a job so soon again couldn't be a coincidence.

If it was the Couch Mare Club, then it made little sense unless they were trying to put pressure on him. Still, if they knew he had the two Foci, and given Silky’s big mouth he had little doubt that was the case, then he couldn’t understand why they hadn’t simply broken down his door. Unless they were planning something. He pondered.

There was the team at the condos they had foiled, but if they were independent then that was effort and resources spent which did little to recoup their losses. It made little sense.

He turned back to his list of projects, chief among which was determining the status of the Heavenly Ocean Star, the Sapphire Core. His agent was continuing to troll matrix sites. If it was still at the Neighponese Temple then he needed to know which one and hopefully reveal what had made that particular temple worthy of the grace of a Great Alicorn.

He was still unsure about the last item. He was still researching looking for a match among the old texts. He had taken a risk….

“Grrrr,” Dante gritted his teeth and then instantly regretted it.

‘What about the two Foci, if we’re not going to use those we should sell them.’ Silky had abruptly reintroduced the question months after the rest of the group had forgotten about them.

No doubt the impetus had come from the CMC. Dante didn’t enjoy lying to the others, but his hoof had been forced by Silky as a result. He had spun a web composed out of carefully selected facts, some twisted, and some out of place. The recent history of the Alicorn Amulet had been helpful, there was no shortage of theories concerning the events that had surrounded the subjugation of Ponyville, though Dante used that term loosely considering the events had been trivial to what would soon happen, by the Unicorn Trixie. Hence his second project.

Various dissertation summaries were in various stages of completion on his personal comm-link. They would never see peer review or the halls of academia. Instead, they contained the same facts Dante had so recently twisted, now refined. All supporting a tale of Khan Yakhkankahhkhae ‘the Cold’ or possibly ‘the Malevolent’ supposedly argued amongst the handful of Yak linguists and his death at the hooves of Yakkus the Kingslayer and a period of ineffectual, cruel, and greedy rule interspersed with raids into the lands of the Eastern Unicorns collecting treasures from across the Far East. A lie, but rooted in actual events.

The matrix address was on order, full of Meta tags that no one would ever search for unless they were looking into these figures. All set up to look like they were actual research texts, archived, and forgotten on a server at the University of Washington. Dante knew his craft well, as long as it looked right. It had taken him two weeks of work between himself and his data agent to slowly dredge up the few fragmentary, dusty references he had found, across a dozen obscure data hubs mostly in Europe. If Silky Sheets had that level of patience, Dante would be shocked.

Dante was still contemplating the completion of this project when his link buzzed with a message from, speak of the devil, Silky Sheets. ‘CMC offering a job, big shindig at the Solaris Foundation, details forthcoming.’

The veins on Dante’s head began to pulse. Were they truly that brazen? Did they think him and the rest of the team, albeit excepting Silky, fools? There would be a second try for a bite of the apple named the Alicorn Amulet. He was sure of it. What was he going to do…on one hoof he could try and snag it himself. That would give him three of the five, maybe six. It would possibly invite the retribution of Twilight Sparkle and Spike, but did he have a choice? Did he dare turn down the opportunity that might never come again?

An hour of frenzied texting followed in which he failed to convince Silky of the danger involved. Do or do not, there would be no half measures. He knew he would need something which could buy time when the fateful moment came. With a heavy sigh, he looked through the ponies he knew who were masters of their own kind of illusion…

Half an hour passed before the fateful decision came.

“Wait, how much was that in total again?”

Dante queried, hoping against hope he misheard. A slow wince crossed his face, “six thousand, but nigh indistinguishable from the real thing? Yes, I know you could go cheaper….I, I was planning on a number of close up shots, I need it to look believable or the whole production will suffer. Give me one moment to check for the room in the production budget,” Dante lied and muted the call.

He could afford it. Recent gains had seen to that, but it would be a third of his cash reserve, the same that he had been painstakingly building to get his condition treated. A quiet realization had been gnawing at him and now the moment of truth was nigh, the idea that he even could be treated was growing dimmer with each passing day. How would one even go about stopping a mutation as widespread and far-reaching as his? The Alicorn Amulet vs. the approaching event horizon of Metagenetic fate.

Which did he crave more, normalcy, or respect? How deep was the bitter lake carved by his woes?

He unmuted the line, “Yes, I think we can just swing it. Six thousand for the prop amulet, and a hundred to you for your professional discretion. I’ve had people asking about the script and I wouldn’t want to find Radiant Pine Global Entertainment is releasing my trid with a few names changed.”

He hung up, several days, towards what? The New Year and the Solaris Foundation party? A new him? There was one thing Dante was absolutely sure of. If this went to shit, he was going to personally gut Silky Sheets.

“I need to get back to work,” Dante reminded himself, “right after some applesauce.”

Dante poured out the quasi-gruel and sprinkled a generous heaping of faux cinnamon on it. A grumble from his stomach was unexpected. With growing gusto, he dove in, shoveling hearty spoon fulls into his muzzle. It wasn’t particularly tasty but it seemed to satisfy something inside. Almost done, he wiped his muzzle with the back of his hoof….and gasped.

A soft skittering went across the table and fell to the floor. Dante looked down and a thin line of blood decorated his foreleg, not but a scratch, still one that had drawn blood.

“What?”

He got down and looked under the table…and found the source, a tooth, its base almost missing entirely. He ran his tongue over his front teeth, normal, normal, normal, an empty gap surrounding… SHARP!

He picked up the half tooth, and looked at it…and walked to the mirror, opening his mouth he easily found the immature fang occupying the space that had just been voided.

“Well it was bound to start happening…,” Dante grumbled.

Then a thought occurred to him. Grabbling his link, he held it up awkwardly and took a picture of what he couldn’t see. He turned his link around and looked at the picture.

A low shudder ran through him. At the tip of the fang was a hole, set into the structure of the dagger-like point. As if it had always been meant to be there. Nothing came out, except an unspoken promise and mortal fear.

“SURGE Bat Pony,” Dante stated flatly and dismissed the thought before his logical mind had any chance to further fray the thin thread of hope to which he clung.

In the other room, his trideo player completed the program, the suspension having timed out long ago.

“….And zo in zummary we must caution zat preconceived assumptions are dangerous.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired to steal a number of data chips from the relatively high-security high rise residence of a pony that recently survived an attempt on his life and who has gone to ground as a result. The reason for or importance of the contents is not clarified.

This is largely accomplished without incident, though each player must provide a SIN to enter the complex until Vixie (PC) is nearly killed while sneaking through the target condo by a sniper from the opposite building. She recovers quickly thanks to her shapeshifter regeneration and a touch and go extraction is completed, just avoiding another team of experienced mercenaries. Having another contested objective so soon raises eyebrows.

Especially when Silky Sheets (PC) again brings up the question of the Foci. It becomes relatively apparent that Silky Sheets may not just have an affiliation with the Couch Mare Club, an antagonistic cult dedicated to the apocalyptic return of Nightmare Moon, but an active asset.

Based on this Glass Darkly (PC, POV Author) begins providing a twisted history of the Foci using out of context facts to promote a view that selling, giving away, or using the Foci would be unsafe.

Given the compromised SIN, Glass Darkly also moves, and narrowly avoids a firebombing in retribution.

Later, a job is offered by the CMC through Silky Sheets for the theft of the Alicorn Amulet from the Solaris Foundation itself, largely confirming that it was the CMC behind the hit on the museum, and confirming to Glass Darkly that the CMC is after the Arcaneotech Cores, though none of the other players are yet aware of what exactly the Foci are (largely because Glass Darkly has been the only one interested in researching them).

Glass Darkly begins to hatch a scheme to steal the Alicorn Amulet for himself (the results of which will be detailed later).

Shadowrun Conversion Notes: EMEVV is the conversion from HMHVV or the Human Metahuman Vampiric Virus, the disease in Shadowrun that creates zombie-like ghouls or vampires.

Great Alicorn is the equivalent of a Great Dragon, one of the powerful dragons who's machinations drive much of global events. Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Cadence are assumed to be one of these. A standard alicorn would correspond to a lesser dragon or true drake. Still powerful, and rare, but a community of several hundred exists worldwide.

Glass Darkly at this point has a number of Adept powers including the ability to change his coat colors, facial features, and voice but crucially cannot yet change his overall body shape. This includes the power Commanding Voice which works similar to the standard Jedi Mind trick power.

Mission 8, December W4. 'The Best Night Ever'

Dante half dozed as his Jackrabbit sedan inched through traffic under the control of the autopilot. The pain pills were taking the edge off but his head still throbbed. The saccharine-sweet score of ‘My Little Breezies’ would not leave the back of his mind. A hoof felt through the overgrown fluffy bangs he had created and felt the perpetually sore dome of flesh that had pushed out of his forehead like some nascent volcano.

“Two more days,” he sighed, thinking of the Breezy contract

That was only partly true. There would be another menial job after that, and another after that. Speculum Shine would see to that. He’d eke out enough pay at this rate to pay his bills, but little more. Had all things been equal he was sure this would have continued until either Speculum won an even higher position, Dante changed careers, or until Dante could convince someone higher in the guild that a pony of his seniority and talent was being criminally wasted on contracts that normally were filled by colts still wet behind the ears, fresh out of the Illusionist’s Academy.

All things were not equal.

That was the one immutable truth he had clung to in order to get through the hour spent as Speculum's supplicant. The smile that been lorded over him was seared to memory. The written apology which he understood Speculum had taken to using to quiet any pony who disagreed with an assignment was bitter ash. Still, he had written it. Still, he had begged tickets to the Solari Foundation Gala. Still, he had gotten into the event and made enough money through his far more pertinent employment to afford several crucial things.

Of course, it had not been Dante in official attendance. The plea for a ticket to the Solari Foundation Gala, odd as it was, was rumored to have been Dante's ploy to raise enough money via a scalped ticket to make ends meet. Dante did nothing to disabuse his colleagues from this assumption. Just as he did nothing to counter the rumors that the better part of a year spent hungry and destitute had left him sickly, which was why he was constantly wearing a heavy jacket and leg wraps.

The feeling that his life was little more than an assumed role now occasionally haunted his thoughts. Just another lie among the dozens. It was both getting easier and harder. None of his comrades had openly commented on how quickly he had shifted between identities at the Solari Gala. He had made mistakes though, nearly fatal mistakes. He hadn’t considered that the Couch Mare Club team would be already on site with the white unicorn mage that was quickly proving his personal nemesis. He hadn’t been prepared for a bodyguard pony of Woad Moss' caliber guarding their extraction target, Smokey Lace. He had assumed that Cloud Pavilion as a mid-level Solari Manager would have been invited. Most frustratingly, he had wasted time in trying to magically command a Waiter to give him a wine bottle with which to dispose of Smokey Lace's tracking device rather than simply asking for a lousy wine bottle.

“Everything looks like a nail to a hammer.”

He almost didn't want to think about how he had nearly been undone by losing his briefcase in the helter-skelter dash for the exits before the security shutters closed after the CMC team blew up the vault ten floors above them. The monetary loss from the equipment left behind would have erased the gains of the entire event, mostly from the loss of the fake Alicorn Amulet. Any pony finding the fake amulet and the various clothing and items belong to Cloud Pavilion would have possibly identified his involvement, his interest in the Cores. That would have been a far greater chance for ruin.

Against all of that his plot, worthy of a straight to Trideo thriller. Where he fooled Woad Moss, allowing him to take Smokey Lace's place while the para-botanist was spirited away by the others, only to give Moss the slip by reappearing as Cloud Pavilion, Solari Foundation Manager. THEN he would use that guise and the access granted to gain control of a set of executive credentials. THEN finally access to the high-security vault and the Alicorn Amulet.

It had been foolish. The degree of which was painfully apparent the moment after he had largely crippled himself with drain on a spell that had only modestly hurt Woad Moss and the entire plan fell to ruin. If not for Vixies' ability to put down Woad Moss in hoof to paw combat, things would have ended very badly. If not for Split Klaw's willingness to divert his own escape in order to recover Glass' briefcase. Well, it could have been worse, a lot worse. At least the authorities would be tracking the Couch Mare Club team, not him. It would be the white unicorn who had chased him around the museum and her friends who had the ex-Princess of Magic's full and undivided attention. Dante wagered that she would not appreciate the unicorn mage that he knew only as CS blowing up the vault of her foundation while her minions had been entertaining the high society of Seattle in the ballrooms below.

It was a level of scrutiny he had been anxious about accruing given all the, well, other things going on. Defeat was only delay, there was theoretically nothing stopping him from stealing the amulet from the Couch Mare Club.

The pilot of his Jackrabbit chimed. The bulk of Starlight Suites Tower loomed above him as he pulled into the garage. It was corp housing once removed. A once-grand building in an Auburn neighborhood that had seen better days. That a Renraku subsidiary had bought for a song, 'renovated' to the point of adequacy while kicking out the gangs, all to the tune of a significant tax break from Brackhaven. It wasn’t luxury by any means, but it would do, especially the good security left in place to deter the gangs from returning. Still, he had taken no chances. He had made a point right after the Gala of being seen taking magically shielded safe deposit cases with anti-tamper seals to five different banks where they sat in safe deposit boxes

The real power Cores sat in a shielded manacase, inside his lodge, within the faux fireplace of the study he had converted, concealed within a hollowed-out log of real wood. The score stood two to one with the Heavenly Ocean Star, the Sapphire Core unaccounted for, and some number of others yet to be discovered. He let his head fall back against the seat as he waited for the whirr of the retaining clamps and charging port to finish attaching. It was a brief interlude before he would need to go upstairs and start his second job, figuring out the myriad mysteries of the Cores and the myriad mysteries of the bureaucracies needed to reinvent oneself like a phoenix.

A heavy-handed holographic reminder from the tenant association that overnight guests must be registered 24 hours in advance with building security greeted him, the sullen glow on his door, signed Inquisición Española. A brief moment of panic made his stomach feel leaden. Had someone heard or seen his 'casual' form lounging in his unit? A seemingly white mare that had been seen in a unit rented by a gray stallion. No, after a moment, he admitted it must be Silver Stream they were talking about.

He wasn’t sure why he was going through the charade at this point. True, he found her an attractive mare, but those welcoming eyes shone for a stallion that only existed at this point as a façade. Likewise, the occasional evening watching Silver Stream convulse with wild abandon as the pleasure center of her brain overloaded was causing some very conflicted emotions. He found it strangely enjoyable to have that kind of power over a pony. Too much time spent around Silky Sheets, he guessed

Yet there was also a note of apprehension, just how different was he compared to Silver Stream these days? He dismissed the notice off-handedly only to realize there was yet another reminding residents that all Hearth's Warming decorations were to be removed by January 3rd, Hearts and Hooves Day decorations could not be put up prior to February 1. Dante for the briefest of instants considered draining the head of the Residents Association. Then realizing how meager the meal would be sighed and started unlocking each maglock in sequence. Stepping inside, he pulled out his scanner drone and went through his ritual of secrecy. As every time before no cameras were found and none of his anti-tamper indicators had been tripped.

Dante flopped down on his couch, and with a sigh peeled off his jacket. A pair of grey fluffy hooves worked at the fasteners on his leg wraps, stopping briefly once to fasten the aquamarine mane that flowed into existence into a more manageable bun, and twice as their coat changed to velvety pearlescent white. An inserted pause passed with a rub to Dante's shrinking muzzle. Feeling his face rearrange itself had become routine. With a few soft grunts, he rolled the clothing off a back leg and revealed definitely why not all things were equal.

Dante ran a brief scan and confirmed that the limb was .02” longer than yesterday, a seemingly small number but it had been adding up for months now. Each time he checked, in turn, was much the same and as the measurements completed Dante wondered for the Nth time if he had cursed himself by so flippantly mocking his fate. The legs that recently had no business being on a stallion now were becoming far too exotic looking to belong on a common mare.

A frown crossed his muzzle. A week ago he had been wearing concealing clothing while the most privileged ponies of Seattle pranced about the Solari Gala, an annoyingly large number of the mares sporting either genemods or cyberware designed to make them look more like the Alicorns they professed to hate behind their backs, professed to love to their faces, and no matter which was true, did everything they could to emulate. Dante couldn't say how he felt about the fact that he was increasingly looking like he belonged among the show-mares at Fancy Pant's latest spectacle.

Dante briefly wondered if Fancy Pants was still doing his all to keep Radiant Pine from gaining de facto control over the goings-on in Canterlot, but he had bigger problems. Namely that several weeks ago he had foolishly tempted fate by sarcastically musing about a possible future. Fate it seemed had gotten the last laugh.

Dante had deep misgivings about his (mis)fortune but it did mean he had an out. Dante Haze would effectively be done as anything more than an affectation the moment he took that exit though. Nova-hot Bat-Pony Alicorn show-mare: formerly struggling stallion illusionist. The best marketers Horizon employed would struggle to make that bio blurb fly. The simplest answer was to just let Dante Haze fade into obscurity, while his reflection went on living his life.

It was sobering, counting out the final days of an existence. Before minutes had bled into hours, hours into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, and finally into years. The bucket always seemed to be full of endless tomorrows. Now he could see the bottom of that figurative bucket growing ever closer with each passing day, at least as it related to Dante. He got up and retrieved his Medkit.

“Medkit, Login, User Mirror Darkly.”

“USER MIRROR DARKLY, VOICE PRINT RECOGNIZED.”

Dante winced as he pricked himself.

The unit ran through a list of errors but it was the two master errors that concerned him most.

WARNING: NO METATYPE MATCH FOR USER MIRROR DARKLY.

The old fear gnawed at Dante’s stomach. He had bought the niche add-on for his Med-Kit for Night One physiology, but still the Kit couldn’t make sense of his blood sample. Of course there was the not small chance that an Alicorn Bat Pony had never been added to the gene registry but every time he checked he hoped the Kit would spit out an error that it was dealing with an unrecognized Night One profile…that had never happened.

WARNING: SAMPLE CONTAMINATION DETECTED, SECONDARY EARTH PONY STALLION CONTAMINATION DETECTED IN 17% OF SAMPLE.

“83%,” Dante frowned before sweeping a loose tendril of hair behind an ear, “Two, maybe three weeks at this rate before….,” Dante trailed off as he walked to the mirror and made a quarter turn.

“Assuming touching the metaplanes again doesn’t speed things up.”

He felt for a set of muscles he’d never had before, the odd feeling of tightness as they pulled against his shoulders but almost immediately stopped as they met resistance. A twin pair of ridges pushed up from under his skin. The visual effect was unnerving like some alien creatures were writhing under his skin. Relaxing let the bulges fade. A few quivering twitches and his back was still if a touch lumpy near his shoulders. Dante rolled his shoulders.

“You’re wasting time,” he curtly noted.

With a sigh, he marched to the kitchen and poured a bowl of apple-oats. Five minutes later he was digging through a half dozen texts concerning the Pre-Diarchy history of Equestria and the early exploits of Radiant Pine and the Amethyst Guard. Most of the sources were fragmentary, contradictions were rife, and there was a fair bit of speculation mixed with fact.

An hour later Dante rubbed his temples. Pressure formed plasteel was less dense than this. The overriding question clear, how had so much been lost? The technology of a past age forgotten. It would be understandable but…. But Radiant Pine had been there, as had the Royal Sisters. The Great Planar War had been fought by a handful that still lived, yet they kept their secrets close. At this point he knew enough to realize there was a great deal more in the world that the average pony suspected. It bore consideration.

In the meantime Dante brought up another screen and considered a token of appreciation to Split Klaw. Perhaps a flask with a container for a holdout pistol, yes. The hobo drifter would appreciate that.

The following day.

Dante’s stomach grumbled, Speculum's menial work was eating into his time. Dante refused to rush his 'other' dining lest he inadvertently select a pony undeserving of his, attentions. A growing pile of laundry that needed to be done, and a trashcan full of takeout boxes attested to the compromises being made.

Dante checked the time. Another hour until the bars and clubs started to fill. He breathed a silent prayer of thanks that he only had one more day left on the Breezy contract. He returned his attention to his notes and weighed again whether he was prepared to dive again into the metaplanes. He was increasingly certain that the faux elements were actually arcaneo-tech relics, the Cores of the interdictor machines he had seen in his vision. Relics of the Great Planar War. The two ponies he had seen had referenced five sites or six. Likely six, as they had discussed the completed upgrades to the device in Trottingham and then discussed five more similar sites. They had been in Thunderhead, then mentioned the citadel of HARMONY, where the Planar War had been won, and three others.

The adventurers of the Amethyst Guard had possessed at least some of the Cores briefly during Sombra's assaults. Yaklicia had the Circlet, the Emerald Core of his vision. Green Sneer the Songcrest Meridian, the Tiara, and Amethyst Core. The Alicorn Amulet, the Ruby Core, and the Heavenly Ocean Star, the Sapphire Core, were known, albeit not located though he suspected the Couch Mare Club would not take the Alicorn Amulet far. That left two potentially. Most worrisome of all was the discussion about using the stones in relation to 'Sunny'. Dante was no fool, the Ascension of Twilight Sparkle just before the dramatic rise in magic, the Ascension of Mi Amore Cadenza a bit over a decade earlier. These events were case studies in most textbooks of magical theory. There was far less published about the origins of the Royal Sisters but it made sense that something similar might have happened.

The histories, even those likely twisted to suit Radiant Pine's narrative were consistent. Celestia and Luna had simply emerged during the time of Heroes, no official record clarified what had come before. No tales of precocious youths. Given what he had seen he now suspected where the Alicorn of the Sun might have come from. The question was whether the Cores had been used to accomplish it, or as a catalyst, or whether it was some other purpose that the sorcerer pony, identifiable as the legendary Danger Close from Radiant Pine’s self-promoting trideo histories of his glories won during the Age of Heroes, had in mind.

It was intriguing and he desperately wanted to inquire again of the metaplanes but each journey so far had doubled as a catalyst for his own mutation. He twirled a pen around his hoof as he weighed the risks against the reward for the Nth time. He would have a brief window between contracts after the wrap tomorrow. On one hoof he worried about ------

Dante looked down as his mundane stomach once again interjected. With a sigh, he pushed back his chair and walked to his auto-chef. The red warning light that the unit was low on ingredients from soy-hay to krill-paste to kelp flour made it clear that just about all of his favorites were off the menu.

“I'll go the Stuffer Shack tomorrow, remember that promise Dante? Tomorrow was four days ago,” he scolded himself.

A moment later a holographic geisha mare turned and walked out of the Augmented Reality space bearing a fancy scroll, her confirmation that Dante’s order was being sent to Golden Star's finest Neighponese chefs inviting a look of incredulity. Still a scroll unrolled in AR and a timer in calligraphic script began to count down above a guarantee of delivery in 30 minutes or the next meal was half off. *Delivery Drone will wait a maximum of 5 minutes.

Dante looked down at his casual appearance and back to the timer. He had time to check that last reference and citation before getting dressed.

A short time later.

A koto riff played, grabbing Dante's attention.

“That was fas----,” Dante started before noticing the timer stood at 02:37.

“Most valued and honorable customer, your order is waiting for pickup at the Starlight Suites delivery landing zone. Please be accepting our apologies for a most regrettable incident should you not take delivery in time. NO REFUNDS.”

The timer switched to a five-minute countdown.

“Oh come on!”

Dante looked at the couch where his leggings laid and back at the timer. He’d never make it. His stomach growled. What to do?

4:42 later

The building security spider glanced at the notice on his console as a silver-coated mare ran out onto the delivery drone landing pad in an ill-fitting sweater. The broadcast SIN wasn’t hers but he recognized her as the filly friend of one of the residents whose commlink she had in hoof.

“Wait, wait…WAIT, I’m here….uh I mean I have the delivery code…”

The drone just beeped, scanned the provided commlink, and chirped. The prominently displayed timer reset and a hatch opened just long enough to disgorge a steaming box. The mare licked her lips as she took the box and happily started back. A figure waited in the shadows of the entryway. Distracted the silver-coated pony walked right into the ambush.

“Ah hah, I knew it! We meet in the flesh for the first time Silver Stream!” A severe faced, Latin mare with a dark mane streaked with grey glared harshly from under a wide-brimmed scarlet hat that matched her smock.

“Silver Stream? But where,” the silver mare started to look around before remembering something, “Oh yes, yes, that is my name. Oh, Inquisicion Espanola, I wasn’t expecting you…”

“NOBODY EXPECTS INQUISICION ESPANOLA! My chief weapon in catching rule-breakers is surprise. Surprise and the fear ponies show when they know they’ve been caught red-hoofed. Err… My two chief weapons are surprise and fear, yes, surprise, fear, and my fanatical devotion to the bylaws that maintain order in this chaotic world… Damnit, amongst my chief weapons are….”

Dante tried to edge around the Resident Association President.

“Where do you think you’re going Missy? Do you have any idea how many rules you and your colt friend have broken?

“I have a sneaking suspicion you’re about to tell me…”

“The impertinence! I should have known, you’re just as incorrigible as Dante it seems. I'll give you one chance, one chance to explain how you got past security, or else I’ll have you dragged out and handed over to Knight Errant for a year's service in the Diamond Dog Quarries. I hear they use loose mares like you as currency there.”

“Look this is all a big misunderstanding. I’m not staying, I just came down to get dinner.”

“Yes, I can see exactly what you’re doing. Wearing a stallion’s sweater! Mane un-brushed! Forgetting your own name! I wager you’re high on the drugs as we speak. Oh, you’d like me to let you go wouldn’t you? So you can get back that penniless colt friend of yours so you can continue with your drug-fueled orgies!! Not on MY watch. I should have Security parade him down to the lobby, whether he’s decent or not…Just so everyone can see what the wages of sin do to a stallion.”

“No don’t do that, that’s uh totally not necessary,” faux Silver Stream panicked.

“Oh are you afraid of something? Consider it tough love. Rogues like Dante will never shape up if you don’t force them to. I’m doing you a kindness in imparting this wisdom. Dante will never buy the orchard,” Inquisicion flicked her tail at faux Silver Stream's muzzle, “when he gets all the apples he could want for free.”

“You’re being totally unreasonable!”

“Am I? You protest otherwise but you know I’m right. One day you'll have foals of your own and thank Celestia that there are ponies like me who keep all civilization from collapsing. Confess your evil ways and I may yet be merciful,” she shook a hoof at faux Silver Stream.

Faux Silver Stream turned a little green at the mention of foals and her rear legs drew a little tighter together for a passing instant before fate intervened.

“Oh look, missionaries from the Church of Latter-Day Saddles, and a colt with pizza delivery door hangers. I remember that place, their ads are a little ribald.”

A gasp of terror answered the Faux Silver Stream.

“Sweet baby Celestia!!! No, no, NO!..... Security,” Inquisicion yelled into her commlink. She spent a moment prancing until a large Diamond Dog showed up.

“Yes, Ms. Espanola?”

“Escort this troublemaker from the premises. I will deal with her colt friend later.”

The Diamond Dog sighed before speaking into his link. “Daily incident report, uh, number 27, escorting unregistered guest from premises at request of Resident Association President.”

Faux Silver Stream watched Inquisicion runoff and allowed herself to be led away to the front door. Takeout in hoof.

A few moments later.

The silver mare circled muttering just outside the main door working a commlink. Finally, she approached the door guard security station and the older Pegasus working there.

“Heya Twirling Baton, Silver Stream is registered…”

The Pegasus raised an eyebrow at the odd pronouncement.

“Uh I mean, Dante registered me, Silver Stream, as a guest. Can I please get inside and to eating dinner before it gets cold?”

“Sorry, no can do Miss,” Baton muttered, “Ms. Espanola says I’m not to let you in until you’ve shown proper 'contrition' of your evil, loose mare ways. She says you’re part of the moral decay that will destroy society if unchecked, and one of the myriad ponies that will be cast into the lake of hot chili sauce in Tartarus as punishment at Celestia's second coming.”

The Faux Silver Stream’s eye twitched slightly as Baton continued.

“I can’t say I give it much thought. I doubt you’ve done anything so bad, but Ms. Espanola is sure that you make the sweet baby Celestia cry. ‘Wicked ponies are why Celestia allows bad things to happen to Equestria’…but, but, I just can’t take another lecture about how I’m the last bastion of order and decency, and how not picking up loose Stuffer Shack Candy wrappers are a sure sign that the end times, when the savage Griffons of the barrens will devour our foals, are near. You’re going to have to go.”

Faux Silver Stream’s eye twitched. Finally, silently the silver mare turned and left. Twirling Baton, turned away and did not notice as the mare paused briefly and seemed to judge something only she could see.

A few moments later

Inquisicion Espanola marched up to the front door, parcel in hand. Twirling Baton started to comment on the need for a security scan, but a glare from the Latin mare silenced the comment.

“Hrrmph, remind me to send you more motivational material…,” the mare proclaimed.

Twirling Baton seemed to sink into his chair.

“Yes, Yes Ms. Espanola,” he answered in defeated weariness, and turned away.

With narrowed eyes the mare turned and marched into the building, pausing slightly to make sure that Twirling Baton was looking the other way as a particular line was crossed. A slight flicker went unnoticed.

Twirling Baton worked up the courage to say something and started to call after Inquisicion Espanola. He stopped as he rubbed his chin, confused as he noticed something.

“Were her fetlocks always that nice?” Baton muttered to himself.

A horrified look crossed Baton’s face as the mental thought hit him. The stallion rubbed his temples with both hooves and after a moment opened a drawer.

A small drink flask was thrown into the garbage can.

The following day

An unholy gurgling sound accompanied a dry retch. Dante briefly considered cursing the Lucky Star Neighponese Best takeout chef unto the 7th generation but he was acutely aware that it didn’t feel like his stomach was the source of his nausea, or the hot, unsettled, feeling in his lower abdomen. Given the alternative, he actually hoped it was dodgy teriyaki soy that was making him feel so poorly.

His commlink bleeped, The MLB director, summoning ponies back from the all too short break for lunch.

“Ughh,” Dante willed himself to his feet and started for the door, only to have to step aside as a small throng entered. He recognized Glitter Glam towards the back, and was likewise noticed in return.

“Hoy, Dante, you look like you've seen better days,” Glitter Glam asked with some concern

“Eh, just…just some takeout last night that’s not agreeing with me,” Dante forced out a wan smile. Another gurgle punctuated the pause following the lie.

“Expired soy doesn’t do this,” he waved a hoof at Dante's getup, “you look like you’re about to audition for the next Mummy remake.”

“Just some chills,” Dante worked to reassure, then switched to deflection, “what are you doing here anyways?”

“Eh, Apple-Zap advert for their employees. They’re running some sort of campaign encouraging the workforce to get bio-enhanced, complete with cosmetic coat changes (all nice earthy colors) and chip implants to ensure proper mastery of the complexities of the Apple-Zappian idiomatic speech. Probably a good deal if you’re okay with the terms.”

“Yeah, including the inability to change employment without being bankrupted by recovery fees,” Dante nodded.

“Well I guess it’s the old joke. Apple-Zap, where you can be any apple related thing you want to be…Still nu-bits are nu-bits, and I’ve gotten the distinct pleasure of trying to coach the loveliest farm fillies Apple-Zap could round up through giving their honest testimonials and scripted encouragement. That’s a perk all its own amirite?”

Glitter Glam knowingly elbowed Dante.

“Maybe I can convince one or two to consider further lessons in advertising or show business back at my place. You should swing by the production lot, give you something to look forward too after the hell of doing a show for four-year-old fillies all week.”

Dante started to respond.

“I think, I'm going to have to pass,” Dante's rear legs quivered a touch and he briefly lost control of his voice which warbled upwards through an octave as it felt like his lower gut was being pulled this way and that.

“Dude, you do not sound good.”

“(Cough) I’m going to have to pass, Silver Steam might get the wrong idea, plus according to Speculum's scheduler, I’ve got a pre-production meeting for next week's gig. I’ve got to do the music video tie-in to a Corp cartoon 'Pretty Princess Prancing High.’ Apparently there’s a fairly extensive doll line.”

“Oh I had forgotten you and Silver Stream were a thing. I have no idea what you’re going to do when she wants to move you out of whatever hovel you’re currently haunting. You never struck me as the type of stallion that would take well to domestication. Mares eh, can’t live with them, life isn’t worth living without them.”

Dante considered the difficult implications and a look of dread crossed his face. Glitter mistook the reason and continued.

Sorry to hear about the job, jeez that’s rough. We've got to get the guys together and have a proper night out before your mane starts growing out in curls and you develop an unhealthy interest in the Carousel Boutique Spring Catalogue.”

A bead of sweat formed at Dante's mane-line.

“Haha,” Dante answered with his best mock chuckle, it sure would be crazy if that happened..(Urk, Hrgn, Eeeeee), The very idea is ludicrous. Alas I need to get back to work.”

Dante fought to keep his composure as his face went through a series of gymnastics, it wasn’t easy when it felt like a spectral hoof was rearranging his insides. A few of his coarse gray hairs briefly curled towards aquamarine as a patch of Inquisicion’s mocha beige ran up one leg while the fur of one his foreleg fetlocks shifted into Silver Stream’s bluish silver. He summoned a force of will as he felt a strand of mane start to tickle the bump on his forehead.

Turning abruptly, he moved off taking mincing steps.

“Odd fellow your friend, Glitter,” another stallion noted.

“Eh, leave him be, he’s had a rough patch, besides I’ve had food poisoning before and when you gotta go, you gotta go. Give him a few weeks being on a regular schedule, regular pay, and regular food and he’ll be fine. Just another of the lads at the studio.”

Dante leaned up against the wall of one of the studio buildings. A drop of sweat forming at the end of his muzzle. His vision moved in and out of focus with the throbs in his head and the throbs in his gut.

“Why does this have to happen now?”

The petulant whine did nothing to ease the feeling of discomfort.

“PAGING MR. HAZE TO BUILDING 4,” the loudspeaker droned lazily.

“Oh come on, I’m not that..,” he looked at the time and gulped.

Forcing himself to stand, he made it a few steps before vertigo nearly made him fall. In that moment he would have almost preferred to be facing down the barrel of a Yakuza gun to this. Focusing on getting one hoof in front of the other he staggered through a side door.

“You are late. I expected better from a professional of your seniority.”

The producer’s thinly veiled threat faintly echoed in the thin space.

“I’m dealing with some food poisoning. Now, why don’t you cut the hay with the power trip and get back to doing the part of your job that matters.

To the surprise of many onlookers the producer shrugged his shoulders and moved on. Dante was on the verge of telling the next pony that bothered him to go dance in traffic on the 405 via his magic, but aside from a few glares from other ponies who likewise resented the slight extension of their association with the project, no pony else garnered his wrath.

Dante struggled mightily. Most of his work was below par for his normal standards. The pain came in waves. If any noticed the moments when he gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore the stabbing cramps between his hindquarters, they didn’t show it.

As the saccharine music echoed in his ears, and a blinding array of pastel colors danced in his vision Dante wondered if somehow he had died and gone to the 9th level of Tartarus. The slow mercy of the clock grinding forward and scene after scene passing was the only succor.

“That’s a wrap, good job ponies, if we’re signed for another season we'll keep everyone in mind.”

Low murmurs offered thanks, but the words were hollow. No one actually wanted to work on a property like this. Maybe a well-written reboot might save it. Dante went to pick up his bag and an icy feeling ran down his spine. There was a subtle feeling like part of him was missing. A gulp traveled down his throat. He was barely paying attention as he walked out through the studio gates.

“This day could hardly get worse,” he gruffly groused.

A pair of silver-blue hooves descended and blocked his vision. His blood ran like ice…not now.

“Oh Silver Stream, what a surprise!” Dante did his best to show enthusiasm.

“Wow, someone’s a grumpy Gus,” Silver Stream playfully teased.

Dante felt a bouquet be swished under his nose. The silver hooves were removed. A few flowers with stomach calming properties levitated in front of his face.

“I heard you were suffering, which is unfortunate, I thought we'd celebrate you making it through your first week back to work without pulling a Luna.”

Dante's heart melted to see her bouncing up and down hopefully. The weight of everything, the entire house of cards he had built bore down on him. He couldn’t let things keep going like this, but to lay bare everything? He wavered.

“Silver?”

“Yes, Dante?”

“…Thanks. I needed reminding everything isn’t that bad.”

“Ah shucks, don’t mention it.”

It was too much to ask all in one day. He’d tell her the truth tomorrow, or next week...eventually.

“…so he tells me he wants AR balloons on the ad, and I go, okay balloons are fun, festive, not sure they’re the right feel for a krill farm but hey, he's the client. Then he says, 'let’s add some streamers', streamers? 'Oh yes' he says, ' some candy, and let’s top it off with confetti.’”

“Ughh, reminds me of a writer who clearly had seen too many Red Samurai knockoffs. ’Ultra-Pony Action Force vs. the Gruesome Griffons' every last stallion in a red and black scheme.”

Dante laughed from the patio table of a decent little Downtown diner. A small order of hay fries lay in front of him half-eaten.

“Exactly,” Silver Stream chuckled her eyes twinkling, “but here’s the kicker. 'I know you’re the matrix designer and all, but I think the entire aesthetics need to be shall be we say…cooler…Yes, I think about 20% cooler would do nicely.”

Silver Stream badly imitated a stallion, Dante laughed until his eyes watered. A family walked by, the mare pushing a stroller as her stallion led a small foal. A moment passed before Dante recognized Silver Stream had stopped talking, a slightly wistful look on her face as she noted the little group pass by. Dante recognized that look and he choked down some worry. It’s not like that was ever going to be in the cards now.

“You know I’ve been totally perplexed by a mystery,” Silver teased turning back to the conversation, “I found the loveliest strand of mane hair in my mane brush the other day. All blue-green and sparkly. I can only imagine the mare it must belong to. The only thing is I haven’t ever lent out that brush and I don’t ever recall meeting a mare with that color mane. So it’s a bit of a mystery how it wound up in my brush.”

“I couldn’t say how that happened,” Dante felt the tight knot of anxiety start to return, Silver sensing his disinterest changed topics.

“So, do you think after a few assignments of getting even that Speculum will stop being so horrid to you?”

Dante recognized the question for what it was.

“I don’t know to be honest. Part of me hopes so, but I think he enjoys having me as a living object lesson should anyone get out of line.”

“Well, I suppose if you spend some time on current projects it will make it easier to re-establish a hoof hold somewhere else. My mother keeps harping on me to put some time into my portfolio and come see what’s available in Fillydelphia.”

Dante forced a smile, but the suggestion was clear.

“I’d need more than one production for toddling foals, but it’s an idea,” Dante began, before trailing off

“Well as long as you only have to put up with how he mistreats you for a little while,” Silver softly replied.

“Just a little bit longer,” Dante affirmed, though not in planning a retreat, but rather until he could figure out how to destroy Speculum Shine.

“Then who knows? I’ve always been…open to new experiences.”

Dante looked on as a slightly conspiratorial look washed over Silver Stream. He wasn’t sure of her intent until he felt one of her back hooves start tracing up the inside of his leg, hidden by the table. Normally he would have been faster to find a workable response, but mental fatigue mired his thoughts. Slight neediness crept into Silver's countenance.

Suddenly it clicked, Dante tried to remember how many times he had used his signature spell on Silver Stream. Instructors constantly warned about this with every spell that fed a more potent sensation, something more real than real to the metaequine mind. He was sure Silver Stream had wanted to consciously make him happy, but he was also sure that subconsciously her mind was trying to get more of what she was coming to crave. The subtle signs were all there plain to see, most notably the slightly glassy eyes. At that moment Dante had to deal with the realization that his special some pony was on the verge of addiction.

The seconds needed to process this slowed his response to Silver’s flirting. Dante worked to recover, “Why Silver, when you suggest a party you sure do come through. I could think of few activities more engaging.”

The moment of confusion on Silver’s face melted at the agreeable recognition of her suggestion. Dante tried to think of a way out as he finished off his hay fries, but none came.

Dante walked through the door into Silver’s place and recognized both his fear and comfort. There were no piles of boxes against every bare, sterile wall. The furniture matched and was full of soft, comfortable places to stretch out. A far cry from the battered spartan survivors he had scrounged up. AR projected from the walls that currently turned the modest condo into a cozy party pavilion in some starlit forest. Off to the side, the AR illusion made it seem like a small jazz quartet had nothing better to do than wait for the two ponies that had just arrived. Silver's household drone was just finishing up putting a bottle of something bubbly in a bowl of ice.

“WELCOME HOME SILVER STREAM AND GUEST,” a pleasant mare voice announced, “SHALL I PLAY PRESET DANTE.PARTY4 AS SCHEDULED?”

“Yes please,” Silver cooed, the jazz quartet sprung to life, the lights dimmed, and the simulated candles began to sparkle and twinkle enchantingly. The air kicked on and a subtle scent of a forest in spring wafted through the room. She turned towards her room and with a smirk continued, “take off your coat and stay awhile, stranger.”

She disappeared around the corner. Dante stood there, utterly unsure what to do other than curse whatever deities of fate that had brought him to this moment when he was as he was. The right and proper thing to do would be to explain that he was largely as illusory as the forest that surrounded them. That in trying to keep her happy he had inadvertently set her down the path of magical addiction.

But he felt horrible just considering the idea. She had gone to all this work, and spending a night in Silver’s arms…

No! He couldn’t keep doing this, as enticing as the lie was. If for no other reason than Silver would realize that under the clothes, under all his carefully managed fluff that her special some pony had the proportions of one of her mare friends.

He was still debating when a slight cough drew his attention. A front hoof clad in a gauzy sheer stocking poked around the corner. When the rest of Silver Stream followed in her dramatic entrance she found Dante standing there struggling to keep his mouth closed.

“Care to dance mysterious stranger?”

Silver Stream coyly blushed and posed in her sheer outfit out of the Canterlot Boutique Nights catalog.

“Miss Stream, I do believe you’re trying to seduce me…,” Dante wryly raised an eyebrow.

“Is it working,” came the replied question that ended with a giggle.

Not even the very strange sensations he was feeling could stop him at this point. Dante lost himself in the moment. Only managing the barest care for keeping Silver from Interacting with his illusion.)

They danced until neither had dancing on the mind. He barely had the presence of mind to get Silver to set Privacy mode on the CHN. Dante promised himself this would be the last time he gave Silver the thing she didn’t know she wanted. In his tired, overexcited state he placed his spell poorly and caught himself with the edge of the effect.

He was no stranger to the effects of his spell. He had caught backlash before from his spells, and once he had gotten tagged as part of a prank. He struggled to focus through the brain-melting pleasure. For a moment he could manage until he felt something odd twist deep inside him and then it was too much as his overloaded neurons found themselves processing sensations alien to Dante’s experience. At that moment, if Silver Stream recognized that there was the voice of another mare shrieking alongside hers she made no sign.

Dante doubted his mare friend was lucid as he tenderly wiped up a little bit of drool from her muzzle. The rubbery feeling in his legs precluded anything other than simply falling into bed next to her. For what felt like forever Dante just cuddled with his special mare and listened to her contented, happy snores.

An hour later his timer chimed and a warning showed in AR from his commlink where it sat on the nightstand. Dante had been disguised all day, and his limit was approaching. In the dark, he slowly rose, frowned, and realized there was nothing left to do but complete the Faustian charade. A note was left, Silver’s memories magically altered, and with a distinct feeling of the wrongness of it all, Dante Haze crept out the door and into the night.

It was a long ride home, each silent mile creeping by. He waited as each maglock disengaged in turn and stepped into the dark room beyond and the chaotic mess of a pony that had moved five times since September. Unfamiliar shadows in unfamiliar corners. There was an emptiness that resonated in it all. He flicked his head.

“Welcome Home,” he sourly greeted himself.

The sacred ritual of secrecy was done.

He discarded the coverings and let the charade fall away. He grabbed the last of the cider Gwynn had gifted him and stood before his mirror, his shimmery white coat and blue mane damp in places with sweat. Turning around he got a good look at what had happened to him this day. A long pause followed as amethyst eyes watered before Dante regained composure.

“Sigh, happy new me day I guess, how does it feel Miss Haze? At what point does this become normal?”

Dante sank to her haunches and opened the bottle of cider, taking a big swig before she continued.

“At what point will you tell Silver Steam that the greatest magic trick ever performed by Dante Haze, illusionist mage mare extraordinaire was to turn a normal, well-adjusted matrix designer into a pleasure magic addicted lesbian without her subject even realizing it?”

Dante mocked herself, but between the swigs that rapidly drained the bottle of cider, a growing iron determination grew. This weirdness had cost her the chance to fully enjoy the best thing that had happened to her in ages. It might cost her more. A part of her dreaded inviting further changes. She no more wanted to add a pair of bat wings, than anything else that happened, but that was far outweighed by how badly she wanted to know why this was happening.

Tomorrow she vowed, licking the last of the cider from her fangs, and staring into the Amethyst eyes of her reflection she was getting to the bottom of this, one way or another.

The following day

'Slurp' Dante reviewed her notes concerning everything she remembered about her earlier visions, while idly rolling the straw from a mostly empty energy drink between her fangs. A message from Silver Stream thanking Dante for the magical evening, the barest hint of disappointment that he couldn’t stay the night with reshoots being ordered the following day. The existence of the message almost as damning as the warning from her Med kit that the last sample for 'Mirror Darkly' was a mere 11% contaminated.

There was no work scheduled for Dante today. At least not the trivial kind. She got to her hooves and walked over to the ritual supplies she had laid out. She paused briefly and felt the tender lumps just behind her shoulders.

“You realize there’s a good chance that you’re going to come out of this with two new limbs…and maybe more,” Dante rhetorically asked herself, raising a hoof to feel the aching bulge on her forehead.

A glance noted the microweave spider tailor drone still in its packaging that had arrived by delivery drone earlier that morning and the pegasus clothing modification kit. Dante sighed wistfully, ideas about halting her metamorphosis were increasingly giving way to more prosaic concerns, like how hard it was going to be to find clothes that fit well. The average pegasus mare tended towards petite, compact, athleticism. Dante, not so much. Oh well, there was nothing left for it.

Once more she read her prepared research about the power stones, Yaklicia et al, and the name she still couldn’t place. 'Who is Tisiphone?' She sat down in the middle of her ritual.

An hour, then two ticked by. Once again her mind wandered beyond space and time. Once again she felt herself fall into infinite space, in the mists occasionally pairs of Amethyst eyes shone from the deep shadows.

“It has returned.”

“It seeks answers.”

“It refuses to see even as it grows more complete.”

Dante listened to the mocking exchange before interjecting.

“Please, I need to understand. I need to know the Interdictor Power Cores, the ones used by Radiant Pine, Danger Close, and the other legendary heroes, as they exist now, and who possess each.

I need to know why I’ve changed, why am I turning into a Night One Alicorn?”

Snickering laughter echoed.

“Funny, it is. Every pony dies three times. First the body. Then the second death comes when there are none left who knew them. Then the final death comes when the name is lost and spoken no more. Forgotten. So then can the reverse hold true? The names have been spoken.”

Dante strained her dream ears, half-heard fragments of whispered danced in the shadowed corners. She made out a few words, 'Interdictor, Radiant Pine, Who is Tisiphone?'

The disembodied voice continued.

“Once spoken, memories locked away for millennia resurfaced.”

Images flickered through her mind of Radiant Pine's triumphal re-emergence set against Chrysalis' battle for Canterlot and Erytora's invasion of Chicago.

“Now all that remains is for the body to return, the full power of what came before to be unlocked.”

In her mind, Dante could feel the Songcrest Meridian and Magewood Circlet thrum with power.

“To what end…,” Dante whispered but the question died on her tongue.

Mist floated up from the void, and in an instant mist became dust. Clogging her lungs and stinging her eyes, she could feel rubble under her hooves, scattered across the tile floor. Her unprotected ears were constantly assaulted by the sounds of gunfire. She squinted through the smoke, seeing a bank of locked deposit boxes, a still closed vault-door, and a gaping hole.

At her hooves were yet more boxes, these ones blasted free of the wall. Many of them deformed by the blast, some more twisted open. Dante could feel the magic flowing from the one nearest her, just at her hooves, she sensed its crimson power; familiar to her own gems, but cruel.

A mare white of coat and blue of mane; known to Dante solely as CS, rushed in through the gap followed closely by another unknown: green, blue, soft, and startled. She began emptying totems, books, jewelry, and gems into a peculiar looking thermos. CS, however, dealt with closed boxes, just a glare and it would fly apart, the contents loaded to her own thermos. Haphazardly they picked up everything they could until the newbie chanced upon the Amulet and it disappeared into a thermos.

Another explosion rocked Dante's senses--- And rain began to fall, dark clouds overhead choked the moon and stars. As her eyes adjusted to the light of softly glowing lanterns, and her ears to the constant thunderous rain in place of the guns; she began to notice corpses. Dozens. Stallions and mares; all shaved of mane and clad in bright orange robes lying still and peaceful on the ancient cobbles. Dante noticed the buildings; barrel tiles and traditional Neighponese architecture; she stood in front of a mountaintop pagoda, cradled by a beautiful- if bloodstained- courtyard.

Suddenly she was interrupted by a creak, and the booming of great doors opening. A unicorn mare; gray coat with a short, sharp, silver mane. Her long black jacket waving in the storm's wind; framed as a shadow by the inviting glow of the pagoda's hall. A half dozen cruel monowire sabers floated like wings over her back, dripping crimson past her own true leathery wings. Dante's eyes strayed past the mare's advance to the interior; to a trio of ponies standing stark and confident in master's robes under a large stone statue. A statue of a mare standing empty hoof on her hind legs; stone bracelets on her fore ankles with a shining blue Sapphire set in her smooth, stone mane.

Dante rushed forward as the doors began to close behind the mare, but it was too far; they slammed shut a moment too soon; only inches from her face---

The thunder of the closing doors echoed into quiet and Dante realized the rain had stopped that she was dry. She turned away from the wall, greeted by a cavernous aircraft hangar. A gold mare stood nearby next to a comically small jet, a large synth wood crate, and a few professional-looking stallions. Guns at their shoulders and mirrored glasses over their eyes. Golden Lilly was her name, Dante knew that well. She began to approach a crate Dante recognized, still splattered with the blood of Yakuza ponies, as a buffalo went to pry off the top with a crowbar.

She reached the crate just as the lid detached and slid to the ground with a clatter. All three of them peered into the box; and found themselves staring into the night sky; pulled down and trapped in the steel. The crescent moon itself rested only feet from her set over the heart of the breastplate, framed by twinkling stars and a Diamond glowing a soft, crystalline misty gray.

The stars called to her whispering sweetly. She could hear their secrets and promises, gazing back to her with contempt. She barely tore herself away---

and looked down at the city surrounding her. Only these weren't buildings, they were ships. Bronze hulls blasted and scorched into cruel shapes, prows buried deep in the steel ground. The stars were so bright, so near, horizon to horizon without falloff they watched her. Corpses of iron suited ponies and twisted steel monsters long-dead coated the plated floor covered thickly by ash and dust undisturbed but for Dante's own hoof prints. The warriors piled toward a massive pillar of black steel and machinery. It stood defiant to the stagnancy, traced by crystal tubes like veins, flickering weakly with golden light. Dante slid her eyes across the pillar taking in as much as she could---

But with a blink, she realized she was tracing the lines of cracked plascrete and the Interdictor was gone.

She blinked, a small cozy cottage surrounded her. A look out the window found an almost unrecognizable version of Canterlot on a mountain in the distance, half built. A rocking sound in the corner drew her attention. She recognized the mare she had last seen running from the Equestria City refugee registration, but the mare was elderly, knitting a jumper sized for a foal. A look back found the stallion, now gray maned, carefully tending a tree laden with fruit.

She didn’t understand, how was this relevant? What had happened to the package the two had been so keen on protecting?

A taxi cart pulled up and an unremarkable Navy blue stallion got out and helped what was clearly his very pregnant wife down to the ground. Another foal tucked in an arm. He saw the elderly stallion and smiled.

“Hey pops, finally got a decent crop on that tree I see.”

“Ah, Junior, good to see ya. Come on in son.”

Dante watched as they entered. The elder mare got up, adjusted her spectacles and went to greet the blue stallion.

“Mom, you look great.”

“Of course I do, now where’s my grandson? Celestia knows you took long enough to come visit us. Thunderhead isn’t that far away.”

The bundle was gingerly handed to the elder mare.

“Oh he’s got your coat, he’s such a precious little thing.”

The elder ponies shared a slight knowing look. The elder mare continued.

“Oh where are my manners, you two must be tired, go freshen up, we'll take care of the little rug rat.”

“Oh you don’t have to do that Mom…”

A stern reply came, “because I sure hope you weren’t about to touch my good furniture with you covered in road dust.”

A snickering laugh came from the pregnant mare who tapped her husband and led him towards a back room. The two elder ponies were all smiles until the two younger ponies had left. Turning abruptly the two elders moved to another room carrying the foal.

“I would feel better if we had told him,” the mare whispered.

“It couldn’t be helped,” the stallion replied, “at some point some pony would have reacted badly.”

The elder stallion cast some sort of weak spell. Dante watched without understanding, until the foal's blue eyes blinked and a faint amethyst glow showed around his irises.

“Good it’s transferred properly,” the elder stallion appreciatively noted.

“25 years,” the elder mare noted, “we’re not going to see it, but how long must this charade go on.”

“Who knows, as long as it takes, centuries? Millennia? It will happen when it needs to happen. Come, there’s nothing more to be done here, and we’ll be missed soon.”

The elder mare picked up the foal and the two walked back to the other room.

“What happens? What is supposed to happen?!”

Dante screamed but the vision didn’t heed her. She blinked and the scene changed.

A tent with a far younger version of the elder mare sat before a half built cottage. The stallion lifted a sling full of bricks up a half wall. The mare played with a navy blue foal in the meager shade of a sapling. A few other cottages were rising around them.

Heads turned as a thumping sound came down the road. A pony in power armor flanked by an Equestria Guild Mage approached, a pony with strange emerald eyes following a short distance behind. The mare pulled the foal close to her, the stallion stopped building. The small group stopped, the crackle of a spell flared then faded. The mage nodded in the negative to the hulking juggernaut and the group moved on, though the green eyed pony stopped for a few hesitating paces and looked at the little family before finally turning and moving on.

The little group was around the bend in the road before the colt’s shrill voice broke the moment.

“Mommy, too tight, you’re hurting me,” the Navy blue foal whimpered.

The mare relaxed. Dante blinked.

The two ponies were in a line in front of a tent set in a field long ago trampled to mud. Behind a board, set on two rocks sat a gruff, unshaven pony next to canvas bags. The blocky crude text on each noting that the Equestrian Relief supplies within were provided under the beneficence of Celestia.

The little family reached the head of the line.

“Papers please…”

It was clear that this was a command rather than a request. The same stallion, now younger still pulled a bundle from his saddlebag and laid it before the pony. After a moment's inspection the pony was less than impressed.

“I don’t know, this certificate from the Mages guild that you’re not some kind of metal spined infiltrator from the planes beyond or bug pony sneak is kinda dodgy.”

“It’s what I was given,” the stallion held his ground.

“Well I’m not implying anything but rules is rules and Mr. Carbon Copy made it clear that orders wuz coming all the way down from the Commissariat Protector himself, Radiant Pine, that anyone without a valid certificate doesn’t get a bag, and doesn’t get registered for resettlement. Especially dodgy filly foals for some reason.”

The stallion sighed and nodded to the mare who scowled but pulled back the blanket to show a navy blue colt foal. The stallion pulled the papers back, looked at them, as he rummaged around in his pack. He put the papers back down on the board, there was the slight sound of a Bit sliding on wood.

“My wife and my foal are cold and hungry, I take it everything is satisfactory?”

The question was low and sullen. The pony considered the change in the situation.

“Well, seeing as how you wouldn’t rate the extra scrutiny this will suffice.”

Dante couldn’t understand how this was relevant. She blinked again.

They were in a canal floating under a ruined bridge. Two boat ponies polled a small craft into a sheltered spot beneath the bridge. A dim lantern provided just enough light to make it clear just how sketchy things were.

“Now, about the second half of our fee,” the cowled pony croaked.

“Yes, yes,” the stallion of the little family stood protectively over the mare as he dug out a small pouch of bits, “for safe passage into Equestria City. You are sure these documents will suffice.”

“Most of em are the real deal. Couple of ponies had some questionable ideas about paying us for our services. Now they don’t need em. Mages Guild certificate was trickier but it'll do. Just head up the stairs and climb over the marked rubble pile. Bit of a drop on the other side but that’s why Pine's minions haven’t caught on. Now get going, we gots another run to make.”

“Hmm, easier than I expected.”

The little family headed up the stairs and into the rubble of Equestria City.

“I can’t believe you gave him all that money,” the mare whispered, “that would have been useful.”

“I gave him the wooden bits painted gold that shopkeep tried to give us as change,” The stallion curtly replied, moving a dagger to a less obvious hiding spot, “I kept the bag with the real bits.”

“Oh.”

“This will do,” the stallion noted a half-collapsed building.

“Do we have too? I hate the idea of being form locked.”

The mare complained bitterly as the stallion wrenched open a door and the two entered the ruined home, only stray bits of moonlight allowed anything to be seen.

“Form locked,” Dante asked perplexed but a cold dread began to coil around her heart.

“It’s the only way, I guarantee you we'll be scanned again. If not today then someday. It’s the only way we’ll avoid detection. Or are you actually suggesting ignoring the Queen’s command because the idea makes you uncomfortable? For all we know we are the last three, there’s been no word of the others, and no word from the general breakout. We may be it, the last guard for our collective future.”

“Alright, alright,” the mare groaned, “but if this is going to be forever then why do I have to be a mare?!”

“It looks better, there’s fewer questions this way as a happy little family. Also, you are Caretaker caste, and she seems to like you,” the stallion seemed defensive.

“Oh, and just because you’re a Soldier you should be the stallion? I bet you’re going to want certain benefits…’ for realism's sake’…as a result. As for the Princess, she hasn’t made a peep because her mother dosed her with venom.”

“Fine, we’ll flip for it, will that make you happy?”

The stallion pulled out a Bit and flipped it, letting it fall to the floor. A grin spread across his face. The mare gave an exasperated moan.

“Great, years of ponies telling me what a beautiful foal I have.”

“Handsome, ponies call colts handsome, besides, you should be honored to take care of our future Queen.”

The mare looked confused, as did Dante at the pronunciation. The stallion took the bundle from the mare and gently unwrapped the outer layer like he was handling some precious artifact.

“The Queen was quite explicit in her instructions, they’ll be looking for her. Better to hide her away in a form they wouldn’t expect,” the stallion noted as he pulled a canister from his bag and unscrewed it.

The stallion withdrew a page written with a complex ritual spell and several streamers printed with characters in a script Dante didn’t recognize. He affixed one to himself, one to the mare, who continued to grouse.

“Oh well, I guess I better get used to this face. How can ponies stand being this ugly?”

“Quiet you,” the stallion edged in a chuckle, “and I’m terribly sorry to do this to you Princess but it’s the only way.”

The stallion shifted and Dante could see what was in the bundle. Her mouth fell open.

“No…,” the whispered denial came.

The bundle stirred and a tiny foal half encased in a cocoon yawned, two tiny fangs glinted in the pale moonlight before the pearlescent coated bug-filly blinked her two amethyst eyes. The stallion moved the first shock of aquamarine hair out of the filly’s face before he finished attaching the slip of paper.

The stallion mouthed a few words in a language that made far too much use of clicks and buzzes for Dante.

“No…no…No” she muttered with increasing alarm.

The stallion could not hear her, “One day, I hope you’ll understand why it came to this.”

The stallion glowed briefly in Amethyst, which swirled down his arm and into the filly, who rapidly shifted appearance. The white turning to Navy blue, legs thickening, her face growing blockier until it appeared that this was a colt one day to be a stallion. The magic faded. The strips attached to the two ponies likewise glowed and then the stallion broke the seal on the final paper scroll.

The writing which appeared to be made from the ground up the dust of a gem of some kind briefly flared and the page burned with amethyst fire. The eyes of all three present briefly shown with faint amethyst light but then faded until it was cold, like the last ember finally extinguished.

“It’s done then,” the stallion sighed, “I hope you set this to right one day, so it wasn’t all for naught…Queen Tisiphone.”

“No DAMN YOU, NO!!!”

Dante screamed her rage but was helpless to stop it. The scene seemed to slow and fade into partial shadow, the only thing that was clear was the foal. In seconds she watched him grow into the stallion she had seen, time, which up till now had been moving in reverse in chunks now moved forward. A slight Amethyst glow lit the stallion, but then passed to the foal last seen in the cottage. He grew, the glow passed to a filly, who grew into a mare, who passed it to another, then another stallion. Each pony flickering by in seconds, the speed growing faster and faster. Dante lost count of the generations.

“Please stop,” she begged but all too soon, she recognized the colors of a farmer pony she had once seen a description of in a family book. Then another, then a mare he had seen an old painting of, then another. Each biting off a chunk of years. Then a stallion she recognized from an ancient photograph that once hung framed on her Great Grandmother’s wall. The glow moved to her Great Grandmother, then to her Grandfather.

Tears rolled down her face as the shift slowed, the glow moving to her Father, and then with almost solemnness, it shifted again, to a little colt she knew all too well. The colt aged and grew and soon she was looking at her face as it had been last summer, save for the amethyst glow that ringed his eyes.

“Not for us to tell it what it is,” the snickering voices invaded once more, “there be others to do that.”

She felt like she was falling, she hit a pedestal she recognized to her horror. Around her were not the school children, but rather ponies of all shapes and colors. She looked down and the last of her cutie mark burned away, her coat changing, two diaphanous wings erupted out of her back. She screamed, unable to keep in the pain, and heard more than saw the gasps as her fangs were visible to all.

“CHANGELING, IT’S A CHANGELING!!!”

The panicked screams began. Dante turned as she felt the thumps of heavy booted hooves. She dove through the doorway as stallions in power armor, marked with the numbers of changelings they had killed, eerily visible against the flames coming from their guns.

“Exterminate!” They yelled in unison, “Suffer not a changeling to live!”

She ran, taking on guise after guise yet always came the pursuit.

“It was a Queen,” came a fresh batch of panicked screams. Instinctively she became a stallion and joined a crowd, but she could feel them closing in, the mages came. She could see them searching. Her camouflage meant nothing in the world of magic. Her shadow was clearly that of herself, not the false lie she wore. To her astral sight, her dark aura burned amongst the ponies.

She refused to die like this. She had mastered most of her body, she could master her spirit. The mages came, Dante pushed her will to her limits, and when she looked down again, she saw the shadow of a stallion. Another among thousands, tens of thousands, millions. In the realm of magic, she was unremarkable as any.

The mages looked and they looked and no matter how hard, she was always someone else. Finally, she left the crowd and found the garden. A moment of peace finally let her catch her breath and remember once more that none of this was real.

A slow clapping greeted her as she changed back.

“Bravo, bravo, it took you long enough, but still well done, we’re almost there.”

“YOU!” Dante screamed at the apparition, who now looked much like her, save out of focus.

“Yes, me!”

“Make this stop!”

“You know I can’t, it was set into motion an eon ago, besides how does one exactly stop themselves from breathing from seeing, or hearing? I’m part of you, the part that’s been squirreled away waiting for a VERY long time.”

“I’m not a changeling!”

“Of course not, don’t be silly, you’re not a changeling at all…”

Dante felt the slightest ray of hope.

“…you’re royalty, the prior Amethyst Queen, your mother was the last, and you are the Queen to come. Ergo, the queen is dead… Long live the Queen.”

The blur bowed.

“I won’t be this.”

“But you’re so GOOD at it. You saved everyone at the Gala, didn’t you? Got them out through the chaos. It was touch and go, but you came through, even if they stole your shiny. Also, you enjoy it, or are you telling me how you didn’t enjoy what you did to Buster, what you’ve wanted to do to Silky, what you’re planning on doing to Speculum. What about all the others you’ve stalked in Touristville?”

“That’s not the same.”

“Oh is it? The prerogative of any apex predator is to choose their own prey. I won’t begrudge you your eccentricities. Keep frolicking with the ponies for all I care, especially the one you like so much but don’t do us the disservice of trying to tape the wool back on your hide and claiming to still be a sheep. We are lions in a world of lambs.”

“I’m not an evil heartless bastard of a Changeling!”

“What does evil have to do with it? Does the rabbit begrudge the wolf his supper? We are ‘evil’ because the ponies say we are. Like many children, they fail to understand that nothing comes quite so free. Magic has returned. A whole new world for the ponies to explore and dominate and reap the riches of…except they forgot there were things in that world, things that they have forgotten they should fear. Such is the price of serendipity. We hunger, we eat. You can claim you won’t but you’ve already made your peace with that part of you. The hunger howls inside you just like it does for all your subjects.

Chrysalis was a fool, Chitina was a fool, our defeat an eon ago was brought about by a blood traitor who turned her back on her own kind, so she could play at being a pony. They almost EXTERMINATED us and congratulated themselves on their victory. The Emerald Hive cheapened themselves and ate the bitter, empty husks of sadness, what wretches. But we learned. The greatest trick a devil can play is to be forgotten. Chrysalis seemed intent on throwing away that advantage, but hope is not yet lost. There are many distractions in this new age, already the ponies have congratulated themselves on their second great victory, though not all. Not all indeed.”

“Radiant Pine?”

“Among others, but yes.”

“They will try again, the same thing they have tried before. To render this world safe for their unwariness. They forget that it is the wolf that keeps the rabbit fast, the deer wary, and the fox cunning. Now decadence and decay have set into a shocking degree. Hunt who you will, but take pride in what you do.”

“I’m not you,” Dante protested.

“The next time you look in a mirror,” the shade leaned in close and pointed to the center of the garden where finally Dante realized a statue of himself was nearly completely covered in grasping vines, “look deep and tell me what you see... is it you, or is it me?”

Dante had no reply, instead, she felt herself fall back towards consciousness. She awoke and immediately had to suppress a scream. She could not bring attention to herself, not like this. If someone told Inquisicion they heard screaming….

She fought the urge to vomit and then realized that her back was throbbing...two searing bolts of pain stabbed her behind the shoulder blades. She fought to keep her hooves under her, and looked back to see two thick drops of blood running down her coat. Panic hit her, bloodstains would be almost as bad as screams. She lurched into the shower a half step before she felt something give way in her back.

She bit down hard and a small spray of blood hit the shower wall as a bulging mass emerged from under her skin. She locked her jaw as the sensation repeated. They felt huge but really were only about six-inches long. Still, Dante was in no position to admire them as they slowly unfurled and began to harden. Two glittering aquamarine wings, vaguely like those of the pegasi, but diaphanous…insectoid. With the last of her strength, Dante half turned on the water, which weakly began to pulse. Her wings twitched and scattered a constellation of droplets that caught the light. The red drops coating the walls began to wash away, but not before they started to turn to bluish green ichor.

The Queen of the Amethyst Hive had succeeded in her first, greatest feat, returning from a kind of death…It was an inauspicious reentry such as it was, with her lying in a shallow puddle of water thinly mixed with her own blood. Exhaustion claimed her with her resources, physical and mental spent. She stared up at the ceiling light through tear-filled eyes and passed out. Her cutiemark was barely more than a suggestion of a smudge, the dome on her forehead occasionally flickered with amethyst fire, and the only other thought going through her head was simple…

She was hungry.

Author's Note

Game Notes: With it being largely telegraphed that the CMC was behind the museum hit and now were targeting the Alicorn Amulet, the rest of the team balked at Silky Sheet's (PC) offer to steal the Alicorn Amulet from the Solari Foundation using their annual Gala as cover. This caused no small amount of consternation for Silky Sheets and set Glass Darkly (PC, POV) off on a scheme to steal the Amulet alongside a separate job provided by the fixer edIT to extract a prominent para-botanist. For that purpose Glass Darkly arranged a fake amulet, and stole the ID of a Solari manager. This all went to hell quite quickly, complicated by the CMC team, with its losses from the museum replaced blasting their way into the Solari vault. The para-botanist was extracted, but again with a narrow escape.

Mission 9, January W2. 'Putting your Hoof Down'

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP…. The pounding beat of a bass line bored it’s way into her skull and made it feel like her brain was rattling around in her head. Tisi-, no she shook her head. as far as she was concerned, Dante remained her name, hated this particular bar. It was well down on the B list of establishments, and the B list in Tacoma encompassed a number of establishments of dubious quality.

It couldn’t be helped, the hunting would be richer elsewhere but she could not afford for the effects of her presence to become obvious from overly frequent visits. Eliminating the establishments with decent magical wards intended to detect creatures such as herself or astral security measures, along with those close to Knight Errant patrol routes further cut down on her options. So here she was, her coat done up in a slightly lurid shade of red, looking all the world like an aging club mare who no longer rated free admission to trendier locales and thus had been forced back on more, economical, venues.

A small part of her still protested at the personas she wore for hunting. The glances most stallions gave her, the way she was treated, and the fact that a few stallions had gotten a touch amorous before she was ready to drop the figurative hammer. None of her suitors had gotten very far, everything after that was invariably altered memories and her other suite of spells. For all that work though she often earned little more than dregs. The quiet voice of dissent thus rarely managed to be heard above the howl of bitter hunger that was only rarely quiet.

A frown crossed her face, the stallion she had been making flirtatious glances at, his mare friend had arrived, and Dante was pretty sure that suckerfish were less clingy. Scratch that one off the menu. Sigh, it felt like she had been subsisting on Micro-Zap EZ Pockets for the last month. She toyed with the straw in her drink and imagined how delicious Silky Sheets would be if she could…

No…, she shook her head again. Silky had been mercifully professional of late, avoiding complications. Not that recently robbing a bunch of Diamond Dogs had been hard, mind you. She wasn’t about to claim they had pulled off a heist worthy of robbing the Royal Canterlot Vault. Still, she was pleased how well it had gone off, even if the rewards were still a bit on the meager side. She was okay with that. It was unlikely that they'd be offered a string of easy victories, and after recent events, she was happy to have a success that hadn't required a last-minute knife-edged scramble.

True, Dante had wavered on whether to double down on edIT when the DJ fixer noted she was running out of work that needed doing. Ultimately she had sided with the DJ over the promise of more lucrative work. Her position was, delicate. Until she was finished changing into the alter ego demanded by an ancient scheme set in motion an eon ago, her full power unlocked, each risk was magnified. The aching throbs of discomfort from her wings, compressed under a sassy looking saddle attested to that. Later, she was going to need help with the legwork on the Alicorn Amulet, and the Nightmare Diamond. A fixer who owed her for their position, and loyal enough to not ask questions were likely to be more valuable than an influx of cash in the short term.

She glanced at the rainbow of light that played off the bottles. A faux crystal bottle caught the light which made points of light seem to focus within the indigo liquid. The simplest solution was also the one that scared her the most. The Magewood Circlet and Songcrest Meridian were not safe. Neither was she as long as her job or residence permitted scrutiny. Even if she mastered her power there were spells that might detect her, her visions of the past had made that abundantly clear. Even beyond that, accidents could (and over a long enough period) almost certainly would occur. One of the drinks offered a week back had a little extra in it. Her sensors had picked up the Bliss it had been spiked with. Dante had played along and left the meathead of a stallion a wreck, though it had taken pitifully little to drain the treacherous fool dry.

A hive and a lair would solve a number of problems, and create new ones. Dante was willing to play the hidden changeling, fate had given her no choice in the matter, but to embrace Queenhood was another thing entirely. Still the stress of being constantly wary, constantly on edge, and constantly paranoid was steadily weighing on the calculus of her decisions.

This couldn’t continue, something was going to have to give way at some point. Things had nearly backfired spectacularly when she had confided in Vixie under the false narrative of the Khan’s regalia to see if the Neighponese kitsune knew of the temple that contained the Heavenly Ocean Star. Vixie had not, but had immediately suggested a trip to investigate. Dante had deferred, she couldn’t risk going through international customs security in her current condition. Even so, Dante wasn’t sure that raising the chance that Vixie might learn what the Heavenly Ocean Star really was would be a good idea.

There were few perfect options, and none at hoof. She glanced through the list of mostly quirky businesses on the periphery of the entertainment industry. Not lucrative enough to warrant a megacorporation's attention, often professional dead ends for the aspiring actors that wound up staffing them.

A list of locations had been considered and discarded. She wasn’t going to wear a rubber dragon suit and reenact campy Neighponese films for Neighponese enthusiasts at The Rubber Suit. Evergreen World Amusement Park licensed popular characters, and an entire theme park to hunt in was attractive but that job would be even more banal than her current one. Her eyes flicked back to the entry that she had already viewed several times. A rugged stallion swung through a jungle ruin, suspended from a whip, a golden idol in hand, as he passed out of frame he reentered into a new scene clad in the ancient armor of the Equestrian guard and sauntered over towards a mare dressed in gauzy fabrics and a headdress that marked her as Cleopontra. They embraced, the camera's point of view swung past a pillar and reemerged with the mare with tears in her eyes as she boarded a skyship from a foggy airfield.

“You may not regret it today, or even tomorrow, but you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t get on that skyship,” the stallion intoned.

The skyship lifted off and flew away as the stallion turned and looked at the camera. “And you friend will regret not visiting us at Silver Screen Dreams, where you get to be the star.”

Dante thought she might have heard of the place once before in passing. Something of a combo spa/personal fantasy fulfiller as long as one's fantasy was to enjoy or play out scenes from famous entries in cinematic history. There were also rumors that would-be actors and actresses who had hit rock bottom occasionally provided a bit more of a personal touch in the personas of famous characters in exchange for an appropriate surcharge. Dante spared a thought towards wondering if this was not the same concept behind a bunraku doll, except done semi-willingly by those with few other options. Still, she had to admit this setup had advantages

Dante could become quite the star in a place like that. Though it always came back to the issue that full safety would still need Dante to control the other staff and security and that….ughhh.

She debated whether to go home and get back to work on researching the ritual to reach the extra-planar citadel of HARMONY and what objects might serve to create the connection when the bartender drone rolled over and placed a drink in front of her.

“Rainboom Cider, compliments of Mr. Breeze,” the personasoft crackled. Dante turned her head and caught a knowing smile on the face of an aging pegasus stallion. She fell into the practiced routine, took a sip, and licked her lips flirtatiously. Debates over whether the reluctant queen would take her place fell away for the moment, if he was going to be so obliging, it would be rude not to eat him.

Author's Note

Game Events: A relatively simple mission to steal the illicit proceeds from a criminal gang, along with their drug stash goes off without much issue. After the razor-thin success of the previous mission, few are complaining.

In larger events, Glass Darkly/Dante/Tisiphone has almost finished acquiring the core set of changeling powers. A standoff continues between Glass Darkly (PC, POV, Author) and Silky Sheets (PC) over the two Foci acquired much earlier. Glass Darkly knows that these are the Cores of the machines that defeated the Extraplanar invaders in an earlier age and are incredibly powerful artifacts (these again are coming from the prior crossover game). Glass Darkly has instead hinted that these are cursed relics from the Far East in the vein of the Alicorn Amulet (which is in fact one of the set, but it alone is corrupted).

There are six Cores, which have been fashed into relics.
Ruby - Alicorn Amulet, last known to have been stolen by the Couch Mare Club from the Solari Foundation.
Amethyst - Songcrest Meridian, still held by Glass Darkly
Emerald - Magewood Circlet, still held by Glass Darkly
Diamond - Nightmare Regalia, delivered by the team to Golden Lilly (without us knowing what was in the crate)
Topaz - N/A, still within the wrecked extradimensional citadel of HARMONY, where the final battle of the Planar War was fought (end of the prior campaign).
Sapphire - Heavenly Ocean Star, last known to have been at an unknown Neighponese (Japanese) temple that was attacked by a mysterious assailant.

Mission 10, January W4. 'A Friend in Deed'

Dante fitfully snored, sprawled out across her budget couch, a new soykaf maker on the counter showed another hour and a half on its holo display in the darkened kitchen until the scheduled program was to run. By bits and pieces, Dante's décor and household were improving, mostly as a result of the pangs of inadequacy she felt every time Silver Stream talked about visiting.

Occasionally, her all but full-grown wings, fluttered in her sleep, stirring her blue mane. Dante's difficulties in figuring out how to sleep with the new additions were part of the reason she was on the couch instead of in bed. Other oddities imported from her odd life now included the lockdown bar system on the inside of the door and the one-way privacy screen add-ons on the windows. And of course, her repurposed Smokecloud camera detecting drone kept it’s silent, ceaseless watch from the counter.

Outside the windows, the very first hints of the coming dawn might have been visible in the east if one looked very hard, and if one didn’t have the red glow of the volcano on the horizon, or the eternal twilight glow of the city. A dozen project folders were noted at the base of her AR display as it waited in low power mode for Dante to wake up. Its place of pride on the central table surrounded by empty noodle and soykaf cups. The collected research into how AOE Holdings and its courier, Spring Bloom, might be related to the Heavenly Ocean Star. Bits of mostly tin foil hat grade conspiracy theories concerning the Age of Heroes, and a smattering of publically available records concerning Silver Screen Dreams and its owners.

Dante smelled a figurative rat concerning their most recent foray, AOE holdings was almost certainly a front. The skill and expertise to extract a data set that had filled an entire hoof-full of high capacity storage chips marked them as someone worthy of scrutiny. Yet there was little to be found, at least publically. Still, mares did not carry around priceless data (she suspected a data set extracted from the Ocean Star) like this on a whim. The set up struck Dante with the feeling that Spring Bloom was a data courier, carrying in her cyberware information that could not be trusted to Matrix delivery, but to whom?

Radiant Industries commanded Knight Errant, if the data was being sold back to Radiant Pine then there was no reason to hire the team to steal it from Spring Bloom from a Radiant Industries controlled hospital with Knight Errant guards. Silky Sheets had commented that he had gotten the impression from the Couch Mare Club that they wished Spring Bloom dead, as opposed to acquired. So that theoretically ruled the CMC out. Was there another player Dante hadn't learned about yet? It was vexing, almost as vexing as the unreadable data set Dante had copied. Was it possible that the Emerald and Amethyst might also contain similar strange sets of data? Alas neither the Circlet nor Meridian had a Matrix adapter.

Dante earlier had wished for the chance to probe Spring Bloom's mind but Dante had been preoccupied with commenting on how nice Spring Bloom’s fetlocks were and praising her hindquarters in order to keep the KE guard feeling awkward and thus uncurious while Dante filled chip after chip. Dante had not pressed her luck in her assumed guise as a nurse.

The fact that none among his comrades had commented on how easily the usually gruff Glass Darkly had been able to mimic the flirtatious and very much a mare, Shy Morning, was by far the most miraculous thing that had happened in their last job, well at least next to Gwynn utterly convincing the best friend of the impersonated Gorelda that the slightly off-color of her plumage was down to an unwise switch in feather care products.

A bit of Dante's improvised Nurse's uniform still poked out of her bag, next to a non-descript box delivering yet more nano-paste. Dante had already debated whether it was wise to promote the idea that a nano-paste disguise was capable of such drastic impersonations. There was a distinct risk in pushing that line too far. A moment when someone realized that absent illusion magic there should be no way a thin layer of nano-paste should have been able to make Glass Darkly so radically different as to be mistaken for Shy Morning by the mare's own romantic rival. Dante had to remember that being too perfect was just as much a problem, albeit of a different sort of being imperfect in her impersonations.

A final set of notes waited for a response from the talismonger Overhead Slim. Securing the necessary introductions had been drawn out, mostly as a result of Silky's apathy in setting them up.

Dante was on the verge of needing a day to decompress, but thankfully the latest trideo job 'Thunderpants' was finished shooting, edIT was quiet, the upcoming day promised a chance to get caught up.

In the darkness…a commlink began chiming, the low double chime of Darkly’s account.

Dante snorted and looked, blearily eyed into the darkness.

“Who, when?” She grumbled before bringing up the ID.

“Oh what now?” She had to remind herself to double-check that video was off as she picked up the call.

“Morning, (cough), so, Limelight, what can I do for you, at this hour,” Dante pointedly added the jab at the end after getting the pitch of her voice down to Dante’s baritone.

“Well the previously scheduled Junior Illusionist for the latest installment of Rainbow Force: Call of Duty, has been laid low by his appendix. Speculum decided you could sub in, but if this annoys you, I’m sure I can find a cereal commercial you could work instead.”

Dante's mind immediately raced, was this an indication that Speculum was finally getting tired of lording things over her….maybe or. The ice in Limelight's voice was sharp as ever. The aging mare's tongue was razor-sharp, honed by a brief stint as a minor actress that petered out leaving her an over-glorified, and thus intractably bitter, secretary.

“Who’s Speculum trading favors with on this?”

Dante probed. An artic reply came.

“Need to know basis and you don’t need to know. You'll be on set today and then for days four and five on the production schedule, I’m sending the script and the schedule now. The production meeting is at 8 sharp Mr. Haze. Unless you had your heart set on the cereal commercial, I do hear you enjoy doing Breezy illusions.”

Dante struggled to keep her face neutral, Limelight had an uncanny ability to seemingly hear frowns.

“This will be fine, thank you Limelight.”

The pale yellow mare disconnected without answering. Dante rubbed her eyes and checked the time, if she rushed she could make it.

“Soykaf, suspend schedule, immediate brew. Soykaf, black, double, no, triple strength.”

Dante wobbly got to her hooves, and headed for the shower as soykaf began to percolate.

An hour later

Dante swore at the endless river of tailights in front of her Jackrabbit. Part of her wanted to just crank the sound cancelling up to maximum and take a nap, but it wouldn’t do to stagger in half asleep. The script was surprisingly decent as she read through the opening.

‘Lieutenant Cirrus Steel (Buster Goodmane) concludes a training exercise and heads home, surprising his fiance Cinnamon Swirl (Winning Smile) with flowers.’

A knot formed in Dante's stomach. The last time she had seen Buster he was unconscious on the floor of a seedy strip club tangled up with his favorite exotic dancer, both relieved of what small measure of serenity each possessed.

‘Cirrus Steel is sent with his elite unit on a covert mission deep into the Badlands to bring the notorious Griffon cartel leader El Grande (Sir Guillermo) to justice.’

Dante blinked, Buster he knew, Winning Smile was considered to be an up and coming young actress and the supporting cast was quite solid. Besides Sir Guillermo, he saw other veterans of the Trottingham East End theater scene.

'Senator Mendoza (Beady Eyes) pressures the President (Lady Stern Countenance) to cancel the operation for fear of the fallout. Cirrus Steel closes in on El Grande but at the last minute his team is ambushed by El Grande's Griffin mercenaries. It is revealed that Senator Mendoza has betrayed the operation to El Grande in order to bring down the President with the scandal.’

Dante nodded, it was simple enough. An enjoyable enough popcorn muncher of a film.

'Cirrus Steel, feared dead returns and begins investigating, there are hints that someone is pulling Mendoza’s strings.’

“Oh…?” Dante scrolled through the scenes.

'Cirrus Steel discovers that Mendoza has been magically manipulated by the mysterious Lady Mist, an aloof Alicorn.’

Dante gulped, she had a suspicion where this was going. She scrolled onwards.

'Cirrus Steel is attacked by Cinnamon Swirl at the safe house. He fights her off but can’t bring himself to hurt her. He’s despondent, thinking she’s in on the vast conspiracy he’s uncovering, until he realizes that all the bug spray in the house is missing, and his recent despair is unlike him.’

Dante sighed, she did not need this….another page in the script turned confirmed her fears.

'Cirrus Steel single-handedly infiltrates Lady Mist’s compound, he discovers that she is a Changeling Queen who is arranging political scandals as a means to discredit Equestrian leadership so her alter ego can campaign her way into power. She likewise has kidnapped Cinnamon Swirl because Cirrus Steel is too close to the truth.’

Dante rubbed her muzzle, “you will never be one of them,” she whispered to herself, recalling the words of a Changeling from a millennia ago.

'Cirrus Steel exposes the plot and rescues Cinnamon Swirl. Resisting the Queen’s foul magic, he slays her as her evil plot is brought to ruin by the Equestrian Guards.'

“Well let’s hope the director isn’t a fan of method acting…FML.”

Dante considered the slow grind forward of traffic as well as the time.

“He should be through his first cup of Soykaf…COMMAND, CALL Glitter Glam.”

“Oh, hey Dante, what’s up.”

“Good morning, need a little clarity if you can help. What is Speculum's line with the Rainbow Force production? He's subbing me in rather than an illusionist right out of trade school, so he clearly cares. Granted, the script is decent, though I haven’t heard of the writer or the director. The lead is one of Speculum’s sycophants, but the supporting cast is full of Trottingham theater types.”

“Yeah, I didn’t tell you this capiche? The director Take Two and his favorite writer Sunset Dreams have a pricey Indy film they want to make. Breathing some life back into the Rainbow Force property was the price the Horizon suits set in exchange. Both are working on the project under trade names. Speculum lobbied for his boy to get the lead plus some other stuff, he wants a promotion to the Guild Offices in Hollywood after all a regional position only carries so much weight. Dante, please tell me you’re not thinking about doing anything rash…”

Dante admitted that it was tempting, “No, I wanted to know why Speculum was willing to let me within a mile of the production.”

“Because he’s overstretched the guild resources, farming out talent at cut-rate prices to build up the number of ponies that owe him and now doesn’t have a pony he trusts to do it right left? And because he probably figures that you’ll either grit your teeth or do it for the chance of getting him into a position a thousand miles away, or to slap the job on a resume and go look for work elsewhere.”

“Hmm” Dante pondered, “thank you, Glitter.”

“I’m serious, don’t do anything rash. If this trid flick fails, then Take Two probably doesn’t get his pet project funded. You’ll be blacklisted to the moon.”

“I’m not going to do anything, besides Glitter, I’ve survived worse.”

It was still annoyingly close to time when Dante finally arrived. She barely had time to double-check her leggings and the jacket that mimicked a stallion’s bulk.

“Well, well, well, I see Speculum is in a generous mood. I sure hope you don’t screw this up…”

Dante turned and met the smirking gaze of Buster Goodmane. She said nothing but slowly stopped slouching and a cold look met the grin in return. Buster shrank back half a step and collided with a Production Assistant. Dante seemed to grow equally as tall as Buster and whatever deep subconscious memory haunted the pegasus quickly sapped his confidence. Dante, happy with the minor victory turned and left without uttering a word.

“No, I’m the Senior Illusionist on the shoot, I’ll take Cirrus Steel, and you can do Lady Mist.”

Dante waved a hoof dismissively, she wasn’t going to argue with the brash stallion several years and several lifetimes of experience her junior.

“Fine, whatever.”

“You’re sure you’ll be able to handle this sequence?” The probing question came from a small pale orange mare at the end of the table.

Part of Dante knew the question was valid, she hadn’t worked with Sunset Dreams before, but as Sunset Dreams looked at her from under her slightly ridiculous sun hat and sunglasses a part of Dante was insulted.

'I've killed ponies for money, I’ve fooled Knight Errant, and I’m fooling you right now.' Dante’s thoughts began until she squashed the urge.

“I have no worries, now for Lady Mist, I feel the color tests are a bit…pedestrian. What if we shifted the stock blue green to a more saturated green. Maybe an emerald color that could be a signature theme. Add in some of the same color notes when Senator Mendoza is first introduced, and then when Lady Mist comes in. When ponies think Changelings they think black and green. Audiences love callbacks, especially when the viewer makes the connection just before the reveal.”

Sunset Dreams pondered, “It seems overly blunt and obvious, but I agree. I have to remember the audience this is for… I’ll have a discussion with the director, even beyond the color, Lady Emerald Mist has a certain menace to it.”

A slight smile crossed Dante's face.

“Now besides the color choices, did you have any thoughts on the final showdown sequence? The studio was quite emphatic about the ending, having Queen Emerald Mist crushed under her own statue was requested by the Studio PR head.”

Dante's face fell.

“I think it’s a bit much, I think it cheapens your villain and hero to have him so coldly kill his opponent. An arrest would fit better.”

The 'senior' illusionist laughed, “as if there should be a trial? Who would grant a Changeling rights? The audience buys tickets to see the Big Bad go down. Changelings are about the only thing you can outright kill and not have to deal with someone getting offended. Why waste that? I say blow her up, then crush her. The gorier the better, they’re not ponies, treating the overgrown bugs otherwise is just silly. Or are you one of those 'changelings are just misunderstood' adherents?”

Dante gritted her teeth, but forced herself to keep her face neutral.

“I think it detracts from the overall heroic theme and goes to a darker place than is warranted but if I’m in the minority here then so be it.”

A low murmur went around the table as the rest took non-committal positions. Dante consoled herself that at least she would get a small modicum of justice in the form of Emerald Mist who gradually morphed with Dante’s input over the days’ worth of production meetings into a fair approximation of an Emerald Queen.

“So, with us primarily doing the close ins and the Canterlot scenes for the next three days it looks like we won’t need you on set until we shoot the Badlands sequences four days from now and then moving onto the final battle, though of course, the senior Illusionist could become ill,” the production assistant dithered over her notes, expecting Dante to argue that he should be present if only to collect per diem pay.

Dante nodded her understanding and said little else to the assistant's surprise. Other thoughts occupied her mind, and she was beyond needing petty cash, the bloodied swathe she had carved through the rougher areas of Seattle had seen to that.

--

Dante shut the door to her car and laid back, it was her, or rather Dante's face she wore but rarely had it felt so alien as now. A flick started the car, a list of common destinations scrolled past, reflected in her eyes, amethyst color slowly began to creep in from the edges of her irises until she blinked and made up her mind.

“Pacific Promenade Park,” Dante dryly noted, there were uncomfortable memories waiting at home. Better to ponder elsewhere.

Thoughts came and went unnoticed as the crownless Queen made her way to the Oceanside Park. Few disturbed her, cold as it was. Ships plied back and forth across the silver waters of the Sound and the wind came swirling, cold and uncaring.

What was she going to do? Hide forever? She might deal with Speculum or he might get promoted and called to a more prestigious post. It didn’t change the leaden truth that worried Dante.

“You’ll never be one of them.” The dying insult of an ancient Changeling stung. Almost as much as the biting breeze…. But less than the memory of looking around the table searching for any hint that one of the ponies present was willing to consider a Changeling as anything other than as a bug monster to be crushed and finding only apathy.

The wind carried fragments of words as Dante trudged along, a part of her objected to the mare sized hoof prints she was obviously leaving in the thin snow which didn't match the guise she wore. The other part was weary.

“…and lo did the ponies turn their flanks on the Princesses who had long protected them. In their ignorance they believed themselves Masters of all they surveyed. We have forgotten!”

A street preacher who reminded Dante of Split Klaw looked out with bloodshot eyes over a small group of ponies most in rougher dress, the edge of lunacy wavered in his voice, a tattered coat fluttered in the breeze. A crude sign drawn on cardboard vaguely depicted the cutie marks of the Alicorn Princesses.

The Royalist preacher continued, “Forgotten that all the nubits in the Apple Family vault cannot buy wisdom! Forgotten that all the technology invented by Radiant Pine cannot peer into a pony's soul! Forgotten that dangers still exist, long forgotten! We cast out our benefactors at our peril, beware for the rot that besets us needs the magic of our ancestors. Friendship must return! Or we are all doomed!”

A single mare clapped her hooves, a few mumbled incoherently.

“I don’t know preacher,” a brash young stallion answered from the far side of the plaza, his gray coat mostly covered in the coat of a Radiant Industries Cadet, his lightning blue mane cropped close in a military style. “I haven’t seen much that a Radiant Industries made laser rifle can’t kill. We don’t have a nigh useless Royal Guard that only knows how to look good on parade as our defense any more. Hokey religions are no match for a disciplined squad of Equestria's elite who actually know how to fight.”

The stallion’s filly friend leaned up against him and fluttered her eyes, soaking up the attention. Dante's frown grew taught. Likely another mare raised from foal hood on the tales of the glories of Radiant Industries.

“Fool!” the preacher cried, “The enemies that beset, that walk amongst us, that wear the smiles of friends will not so kindly line up openly in front of your guns!”

“We’ve crushed them before,” the stallion postured, “we’ll beat them again. We live in a world of bio-scanners, wards, and drone eyes that never sleep. It’s not so easy, and should it be needed we have entire research divisions ready to invent whatever we lack. Let them come, let them try to hide. They’ll be found out, and I and my comrades will be ready to greet them.”

Dante had shrunk back a touch as the Preacher looked over the crowd. But the look was not for her. The speeches had not been for her. She hurried away chased by the scene and the truth, spoken as it was to impress a mare, ringing in her ears. It was a matter of time.

Dante pulled up a Radiant Industries brochure from the matrix as her car inched through evening traffic. She flipped through the R&D section and frowned. Radiant Pines Industries secrets would not be shown here but there was an inescapable trend.

“Given enough time a thousand diamond dogs pounding on a thousand keypads will randomly write 'Hamlet.’”

Dante sighed as the quote died in her throat, Radiant Pine was not that random by far. It had to be assumed that at some point he would recreate the Changeling detection spell, assuming he hadn’t already. This could not be a permanent solution, at some point something would disturb the delicate equilibrium.

…

“Hello, darkness my old friend.”

Dante mumbled to herself as she passed through the door to her place. The rituals of cleansing we’re performed before she moved to stand before the mirror and brushed aside the floofy mane to reveal the inflamed dome that dominated her forehead. A decision waited.

“I’ve come to talk to you again.”

Dante sat down to her ritual circle and began to seek the Metaplanes.

--

Beyond the boundaries of reality, Dante passed through what felt like an endless tunnel, in the shadows always just out of eyesight things moved, merging into deeper shadows. She suspected that they warned of the path she had trod to reach this place, a last flickering cry from the reality she had abandoned as little more than pantomime.

A shadow rose before her.

“She has come again, why should we grant this one passage again?”

“Because I play your game so well. The defeated fall, and I grow stronger, on their ashes I build my dream. I live, I breathe, I feed, I burn, and I lie to find a way to break the cycle. I will go onwards because behind me lies only stagnation and the death that will inevitably come should I fall into that trap. I will not surrender and so I will gain passage….it is only a matter of when.”

The shadow melted away and Dante walked forward into emptiness. Stopping as she felt countless witnesses she addressed the gathered denizens of that claustrophobic enormity that lurked just out of perception.

“I come to know the beginning and the ending. What came before, comes again, a great cycle of destiny that carries all in its passing.”

She produced the six as she knew them, the two she held, the three she did not, and the one trapped in limbo.

“I would have a new beginning, the champions of the ponies proved stronger the last time the cycle turned. Yet they have squandered the gift. Radiant Pine and others would call upon the gifts of a past age to secure a victory in the current age that has not been earned by those of the present. I ask the assembled watchers for the knowledge of where the knowledge to harness the power of these artifacts, these blessings of the ancients, lies. Beyond Radiant Pine’s capacity to hoard such a gift.

“That is not ours to give, seek it thyself.”

The spirits intoned, leaving Dante unnerved.

“I…”

Dante paused, a momentary fear threatening to overcome her…

“I would also have an ending, the ending of the Amethyst Hive when the cycle turned before.”

Dante’s perception swam as the floor seemed to fall away under her. She blinked, walls seemed to resolve from the haze, dark, smooth…organic.

“A hive...,” Dante swallowed.

A rumbling shudder passed through the space and bits of the ceiling fell raining on the benches filled with bits of arcana, scrolls, books, and a small crib. And then another rumble, and another.

A group of changelings burst through the doors led by a Queen in battered armor, her dark carapace scuffed, but regal. Her mane shifting between blue and amethyst, singed in a half dozen places.”

“Queen Alecto!” A soldier chittered, “We cannot hold the northern tunnel for much longer, the ponies have brought up one of those big rainbow guns.”

“Pull the soldiers back beyond the deadfall trap on the switchback and fight a delaying action, I would say set an ambush but I doubt it would do any good, we don’t have the numbers after our earlier pyrrhic victory. Curse these ponies and their blasted power armor and rainbow guns. The power of a mage combined with the durability of a paladin, and the best the other Queens could come up with to combat them was turning their troops into suicide bombs.

We cannot hold off an indefinite siege, we will attempt to break out through the Southwestern escape tunnel. The Great Hive willing the ponies will be moving in slowly, we bloodied them a little during the battle, they’ll be cautious. If they don’t know about the tunnel then there’s a chance. There’s nothing left for us here in Equestria, the ponies know how to detect us, our advantages are gone, our initiative squandered in Chitina’s petty acts of destruction. It will be no easy thing to reach the Badlands, but it is our only hope. Does everyone understand the plan?”

The Queen handed out maps and instructions to several soldier drones larger than the others. Dismissing them in turn. In the distant the rumbles continued alongside the occasionally angry buzz or the sound of something breaking as it fell to the floor. Soon there was only one squad left. Eight changelings out of a hive of likely dozens or hundreds.

“Forgive my delay, there is another task to which I must charge you with,” the Queen frowned before handing out prepared bags of supplies, the largest to the apparent Captain. “I must help with the breakout attempt, the Hive will not succeed without my magic, but I cannot allow us to end should we fail.”

Dante shuddered as Alecto moved to the crib, she knew what was coming, but to see it…

“You will take Princess Tisiphone and use the Royal Passage as I and the rest of the Hive attempt to break out through the Southern tunnels. Should fortune favor us we will see each other again at the rendezvous. If not, then it will be upon you and my daughter to continue the Hive and avenge what has come to pass here today.”

The Queen took a bundle from the crib, and Dante could see her earlier incarnation. Squirming looking up into the bright amethyst eyes of her mother.

“You must succeed, you must live, the memories of what we are must survive through you should fate be unkind. We will strong again one day, stronger than this. You must find a future for the Hive.”

It was unclear whether Alecto was talking to the changelings or to Tisiphone. Queen Alecto leaned down and kissed the infant changeling queen before gently nicking the squirming Princess with a fang. The bundle grew still and the Princess slept. The Queen secured the bundle tightly and moved to hand it to the Caretaker drone in the front row.

“She is one of the few memories of my consort that remain, she has his colors, take good care of her.”

The Queen spoke in low tones to the Caretaker before turning to the Captain. She pulled another small pouch from beneath her armor and handed it to the Captain.

“Should all else fail,” the Queen gave the Captain a knowing look, “You know what to do…Just as we discussed.”

“At your command my Queen,” the Captain drone buzzed.

Alecto held up a chitinous hoof and touched the bundle.

“Goodbye my daughter, I know you will survive and thrive whatever comes this day. Through all of it remember what happened, remember the mistakes, and I know that one day you lead this Hive to the greatness it deserves.”

Queen Alecto turned and needed a moment to steel herself, before finally creating a spell with a hoof…a secret panel at the back of the room slid open.

“Go,” she commanded to the party.

“My Queen, it is not too late, come with us,” one changeling implored.

“A Queen does not abandon her Hive, it is why she exists…your brethren need my help. I cannot flee. Go.”

One by one, they moved to the small opening and with a flash of amethyst magic took the forms of ponies. The Guard Captain and the Caretaker were replaced with the ponies Dante knew as her ancestral many times Great Grandfather and Grandmother. This was where the journey she had seen before had begun.

“Now let us show these ponies that arcaneo-tech weaponry is not the sole arbiter of victory,” Queen Alecto’s eyes blazed amethyst and she passed through the doors of her personal quarters out into the hive proper.

Dante felt her awareness shift. She was in the schoolhouse…

This again….

“Monster!!!!” the school foals began to shriek. The door to flee was open…

“MONSTER!!!!”

“Yes…,” Dante chuckled and then began to laugh..., “HA, Hah, Haha, Yes. Yes, I suppose to you I am.”

The assembled ponies moved back in fright as the bump on Dante’s head began to yield. No elegant spiraling horn like she had once expected. Instead a lightning bolt zig zag, twisted yet beautiful in its own way with bands of aquamarine. A few beads of ichor ran down her face, others matted the front of her mane. She spread her glittering wings and her amethyst eyes flared in time with the magic that arced in a corona from her horn.

“I prefer the term Changeling, and you in my view…..are food.”

A flash of Amethyst illuminated the school windows…a moment later heavy booted security ponies burst through the door and found a room full of ponies drained of color, insensate save for the trembling.

“What the Tartarus happened here?”

“Uh where’s Ten?”

“I thought he was right behind you?”

Mist slowly filled in, removing the edges from objects.

A security pony suddenly disappeared. Another moved over and found his fellow, but as soon as he did the security pony clocked him over the head and in a flash of amethyst fire was revealed as a changeling. Over and over…

“What the Tartarus is going on…”

Queen Tisiphone emerged from the mist and looked over the Security Captain who quickly raised his weapon.

“Get down on the ground, you are under arrest under the authority of Knight Errant!!”

“Am I now?” Tisiphone smirked, “I think you would do well to surrender.”

“Yeah, you and what army, Monster!,” The Captain quipped.

The mists cleared to reveal dozens of snarling changelings…

“Oh, Sweet Celestia…,”

Bursts of weapons fire intermixed with bolts of amethyst magic.

“FALL BACK,” the ponies screamed and fought their way into the maze.

Invisible assailants chased and picked them off one by one. Eventually only two made it to the central area.

“I think we’re safe here,” the pony scanned the entrance with his weapon.

The pony behind him shifted in a blaze of amethyst fire revealing Tisiphone who promptly bit the pony from behind.

“I’ve always been safe here,” she chuckled and kicked the pony’s gun away, “after all the paths always lead back here. It’s where I live.”

The vines surrounding the central statue fell away and a flower bloomed to reveal not Dante but instead a Changeling Queen in all her terrible glory.

“I think it really captures my good side.”

“This won’t end here, we’ll destroy you, the same way we’ve destroyed every other Queen.” the pony struggled to talk through the paralyzing poison.

“Of course it doesn’t end here, this is only the beginning, so much to do. Speculum, a base for the Hive, the power cores and in the end, I will make certain that all you ponies pay what you did to my mother, my Hive, and me.

“You’re just a Tartarus damned bug pony.”

“My name is Tisiphone…Queen Tisiphone, and I’ll make sure no pony forgets it by the time I’m done.”

With a flash, she began to feed, though her perception shifted back to the emptiness of the metaplanes…She listened and her ears twitched.

Holding up a hoof, the shadows shifted, the shapes behind the shadows, and the mists were dark, smooth…organic. The Hive. Tisiphone collected herself and paused for a moment before stepping forward to stand tall before the great chamber.

“I call you restless spirits of the Amethyst Hive. Queen Alecto, my mother, is dead. Slain by the ponies. I call you now to the old allegiance. Harken unto me, and wake!”

Tisiphone stamped her hoof, and a wave of power radiated out into the hive like a ripple.

One by one, pairs of amethyst eyes began to appear in the shadows. One, two, five, ten, twenty, a hundred, thousands of hungry eyes watched from the darkness.

“I am the heart of the Amethyst Hive, and after an age in hiding, all but forgotten, the time has come. Be ready for soon I will call you. The Amethyst Hive returns, and we shall live, we will feed, we will burn away their rot, we will lie, and in doing so, shatter the cycle of fate that the ponies expect to turn ever in their favor.”

A moment of silence was broken as slowly a chorus of buzzing and chitters began to fill the space. It rose until it would seem to shatter her, and then Tisiphone's awareness was thrown back to reality.

It was jarring and as she staggered to her hooves she looked out and saw that the night had passed. The sun was beginning to rise behind the volcano. She looked out at it…

“Fitting….”

She walked to the mirror and resurrected the old AR question from the display memory…

“Who is Tisiphone?”

She smiled a fanged smile, and added a note.

“I AM TISIPHONE, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN.”

--

Later.

Tisphone watched as yet another stuntman threw himself off a railing onto a fall mat. She was wearing Dante’s face, the stuntman was wearing one of her illusions. She was at least happy that she had been able to discard the majority of her bindings, and leggings. She was in control now. Her form was whatever she wished it to be, though her changes were annoyingly slow. Practice and more magical power was clearly needed. She was Dante as he had been before he had started changing.

Glitter Glam had commented that he was glad to see Dante getting over whatever sickness had plagued him. Silver Stream too had benefitted, though it had required a low force spell to finally satisfy her.

The shoots were going well, Tisiphone’s mind was elsewhere though. She had made inquiries and some cash had opened up a door to the Link Man, a dealer in secrets and lies. A few new IDs were on order, including one for a rather fetching white and blonde mare. Dandelion Blossom was shortly going to be very interested in Speculum. Tisiphone owed that bastard far too much grief to allow him to walk away, and now she could do so from under his very muzzle.

She moved to the next prepared scene. The stand-in actress nodded and Dante set the illusion. Lady Emerald Mist emerged to challenge Lt. Cirrus Steel. Buster was relishing his turn as the nouveau action star.

“Don’t you realize, I’ve already won,” Lady Emerald Mist moved forward, eyes blazing green from within dark chitin, menace all but dripping from her fangs.

“You’ll never win, not while there are ponies who know the truth…”

Tisiphone watched on with a slight modicum of boredom. The final fight in her eyes was silly, the Queen wasn’t scripted to use any magic that attacked the hero where he would have been weak, were this real.

As proscribed, Lt. Cirrrus Steel won, yet in doing so, Buster slightly missed his blocking, and as a result the stunt mare wearing Emerald Mist, slightly missed the fall mat.

She was professional enough to wait for the ‘CUT’ before she let out a shriek of pain and rolled over clutching her ankle.

“Oh that’s not good,” Sunset Dreams quipped.

Tisiphone scowled, this was going to cause a delay, which meant a delay in her working to ruin Speculum.

“Do we have another stunt pony?” The Director checked with Production.

“Not right now,” a stallion shrugged.

“I’ll do it, I took a course back in film school,” Tisiphone piped up.

All the assorted ponies looked at her, then to the Director.

“Time is nu-bits,” a production assistant griffin chirped.

“Okay, worst comes to worst, we can dub the lines and edit the footage, there’s only the statue scene to shoot for Emerald Mist regardless.”

Tisiphone played her part, three different takes she played Emerald Mist getting crushed by her own megalomaniac statue. Into her role, Tisiphone wondered if it was wise to put so much of herself, but increasingly she became caught up in it.

After three takes the Director was happy, they were ahead of schedule. Tisiphone signaled.

“Do you mind if we do it one more time, I want, I want to try a slightly different take.”

“Oh so you’re an actor eh tech mage,” Buster chided.

“Your face is going to be on a million trideo posters in a month, don’t you have better things to do with your time planning that, than caring about me getting a minor acting credit?”

“Speculum ain’t going to be happy.”

“I’m saving the production a half-day of reshoots, I expect him to be thrilled.”

“Whatever…”

Again they played through the part…again Tisiphone allowed herself to be thrown, for the statue to come down…at least in illusory form.

“So it ends, all your lies undone by your own vanity,” Cirrus Steel, “Thus always to Tyrants.”

Instead of gurgling and pawing ineffectually, Tisiphone this time spat up an impressive glob of illusory ichor.

“You think you’ve won,” she rasped, putting a year's worth of frustration and anger into the biting tone.

“I am the swarm, this defeat is only delay, no matter how mangled and broken I am, the Guard shall be shattered, Canterlot shall burn. On Equestria…I shall have my vengeance.”

Lady Emerald Mist coughed up more blood and cast a spell. An arcing orb of green energy cracked from under the statue… and an eerie emerald mist filled the stage.

Cinnamon Swirl picked up the improv as she ran up to Lt. Cirrus Steel.

“Is she gone, you wounded her so badly.”

Tisiphone held her breath…and was rewarded. Whether Buster suddenly saw the option for a sequel and the payday that might come with it, or if he actually decided to play along and be nice she couldn’t have said.

“She’s gone for now maybe, we won’t see her anytime soon, whether in spirit or in the flesh, but whatever guise she comes in, I’ll be ready and I’ll ruin her plans every time until the day comes when she’s gone for good because I can be sure of one thing, that there will always be brave ponies to defend Equestria.”

The director rubbed his chin with his hoof. Sunset Dreams’ face made it clear how she was not relishing the prospect of a sequel, though the Horizon production rep was clearly contemplating the opposite concept.

As for Tisiphone she moved backstage and watched the proceedings with a faint smile, “the wheel turns and turns again…we shall see.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired to recover a data set from a courier pony, Spring Blossom. Spring Blossom had been hit by a car, and was comatose within a Radiant Industries affiliated hospital under armed guard.

An elaborate ruse was setup, where Glass Darkly (PC) impersonated a nurse, Shy Morning. Silky Sheets (PC) impersonated a Doctor, and Gwynn (PC) impersonated a systems tech for the hospital. Working in tandem, the three gained access to Spring Blossom under the guise of providing routine medical care as hospital staff. Glass Darkly was able to successfully download and erase the original data set from Spring Blossom's cyberware.

After checking the data while waiting for an opening to leave. Glass Darkly noticed that there were a number of references which suggested that the data set had been taken from a Core. Glass Darkly then copied the data set without alerting anyone else that he had done so.

Mission 11, February W2, ‘Demolition Run’

“Stupid, overly stupid,” Dandelion Blossom muttered to herself. The Augmented Reality text of an excerpt from the Knight Errant Public Relations specialist flickered in her vision, proclaiming that justice would be done, the mad bomber who had so casually destroyed a forensics van and team would be caught.

Another queued article described the events at the storage facility. Suspicions of an inside Job were noted, Rust Butter, the manager of the facility, was being sought. Not that he would ever be found, Dandelion Blossom had no reason to become him again. There was nothing to be gained in that role, and the changeling who called her Tisiphone had someone far better to be at the moment, namely Dandelion Blossom.

Still, the ever-present realization that the fracas surrounding Rust Butter had been all so unnecessary haunted her.

Another stallion came up to the table she had all but camped out at for the last several days. Her currently satin white hooves flicked through a few AR buttons. The data search came back, an aspiring actor, Dazzling Mirage, and no pony of note. She silently looked at him, met his best winning smile with a look of utter disinterest and slowly her hoof traced a circle in the air above the table. The command to turn around and walk away beyond misinterpretation.

“Oh don’t be that way,” he began to protest.

“And I suppose, this is where you start telling me about all the important ponies you know, except of course how they prefer to keep it on the down-low,” Dandelion Blossom noted with a saccharine dusting of insincerity. “If you came looking for something other than a pony ride, by all means, continue, otherwise.”

Dazzling Mirage took a step in retreat before backing away. Dandelion Blossom watched him go and brushed a lock of vibrantly yellow mane back behind an ear. She didn’t doubt that the huddle of stallions in the corner was probably consulting on how they were going to defrost the icy mare who held their aspiring affections.

She didn’t much care for the disappointed stallions, but on the other hoof, this exercise in revenge was becoming costly from a time perspective. She had quickly been forced to acknowledge that completely taking on a new form wasn’t as easy as she had made it look for Emerald Mist. It was tiring. Brutally effective, but tiring. She couldn’t simply juggle multiple interwoven roles, it wore her out too fast. She couldn’t be Dandelion Blossom, Glass Darkly, and some washed-up starlet reduced to working for Silver Screen Dreams in short succession. She needed to resolve this first, but so far Speculum hadn’t cooperated.

Show business was an annoyingly circular place. You needed to know some pony, but without knowing some pony you were beneath notice. And so she ran around in figurative circles. Not that unlike what she had inadvertently managed recently.

She managed a wan smile, she had made a setback her own mini-test, and in the moment of judgment, she had passed. The Knight Errant forensic squad never suspected it was not Rust Butter to whom they spoke at Butter's apartment. The memory still sent tingles up her spine. Her first deception as a Queen and she had deceived a Knight Errant detective. Still, so very, very pointless. Vixie getting shot, Split Klaw destroying the van. Her assuming Rust Butter’s place. So many steps had been necessary just to get back to the status quo. In order to avoid a potentially difficult impersonation of Blue Field, she had orchestrated a three-ring circus involving an even more difficult impersonation of Rust Butter.

In a larger sense she also felt like she was running in circles on the power cores. She had half of another data set, courtesy of the delay she had suggested in turning in the data bricks stolen from the storage facility. Not that she knew what the exabytes of data meant. Then there was the question of which core the data source was from, and who Blue Field had been offering that data to.

Still, she had been paid, and the lessons learned were useful. It was clear that Gwynn's stint as a pseudo hacker could not continue. She also needed a backup for when subtlety went out the window and mages on mage combat was the only answer.

She checked on her order with Friendly Finn, one clandestinely re-weaponized ostensibly de-weaponized Doberman, oh the irony. Her currently retracted, morphed fangs ached just thinking about how many more vials she was going to need to fill with venom to keep the poison reservoir in the drone full. As she looked up, a smile lit her face, the stooge had arrived. Her encounters with Buster Goodmane had rarely gone well…but then again in those earlier bouts she hadn’t been wearing a form designed to appeal to Buster’s basic instincts.

She checked her mane and slid out of the booth. It was showtime for the Queen.

--

“Mr. Goodmane? Would you have a moment for a fan? I would be ever so grateful if you would please talk to me about my career.”

Dandelion held up a hoof as one of Buster’s groupies moved to block her way. She had put laced just enough power into her voice, but she could already sense that her inexperience with Dandelions' voice had weakened the force. It had been a mediocre command and to her chagrin Buster stopped and rubbed his head with a hoof.

Dandelions’ ears heard the soft question Buster asked.

“She worth the time?”

Dandelion Blossom did her best to be both alluring and insecure in the same pose. The feeling of the gaggle of stallions eyeing her over palatable.

“Nine, nine and a half,” the whisper returned to Buster who slowly turned and started to eye her with a suspicion that would have been unwarranted save for a faintly remembered dream where the pony before him had eaten a part of his magic in another guise.

"I've been a big fan of your work, as one pegasus to another."

Dandelion Blossom rubbed one foreleg on the other and worked to suppress a faint blush, playing up the part of a mare a bit overcome by the presence of an action star stallion.

"I heard that getting as nova hot as you are takes the right connections, would you, uh, consider introducing me? It would mean so much to me."

She gave the best approximation of the smile Lavender had used to melt Buster.

The appeal to his vanity was sufficient at least to diffuse Buster’s subconscious concern that a thought not his own had skittered over his mind.

“Uh yeah, I mean I can mention it if someone’s looking for talent,” Buster shrugged, “What’s your name?”

“Dandelion Blossom,” she gave her best-excited smile, though she was sure the promise was as empty as Silky Sheet's heart was of empathy. She transmitted an AR card with a few of the more traditional industry headshots, though the quality wasn’t the best, she had used her drone rather than an actual trid studio.

She retreated to a far corner of the lounge, finding at least a little mirth that Buster had been in bucking distance of her and had absolutely no clue that he was addressing the same mare that had promised his doom as Emerald Mist and earlier threatened as Dante Haze. She wasn’t done though, she listened in with her directional microphone and timed her spell.

“She was cute, usually it’s the ones that an agent knows won’t pan out that resort to the 'notice me' tactics. You could at least tell her to stop wasting her time and get an agent,” a groupie noted.

“From Calfree according to her bio, may not have an agent here,” another groupie noted.

“You sure you feeling okay Buster, you could have smiled at her and had some quality trailer time.”

“Eh,” Buster began, “I’ve been hanging out with Winning Smile, and as lovely as Miss Blossom was, you don’t give up the opportunity to get in tight with a mare that brings home a million nu-bits per trid.”

In the corner, Dandelion Blossom watched out of the corner of an eye. Around her green eyes a slight flash of amethyst flashed so fast that if one blinked they would miss it. Her lips moved fractionally as a mental suggestion was woven.

“I should mention Dandelion Blossom to Speculum Shine, he might have some use for an attractive mare looking for work.”

Back at the table.

Buster blinked, and then lifted a hoof to his chin.

“You know I think I’ll mention her to Speculum at least, she’s easier on the eyes than most. Worst case, she can’t act, and Speculum can stick her in the back ground of the next trid that has a pool scene. She'd look good in a skimpy saddle.”

Across the room, Dandelion Blossom smiled, progress had been made.

-- Later

“Dandelion Blossom,” Limelight coldly intoned, her manner frosted with a general dislike, “Mr. Shine will see you now.”

“Thank you,” Dandelion graciously nodded.

The office was the same, the last time she had been here, she had been forced to fall on her figurative sword in order to ensure the success of her other more lucrative job.

“So you’re the filly Buster was so enamored of, what exactly do you want?”

Dandelion Blossom gave her best winning smile and spun a tale of a hopeful actress looking for her big break. It was a decent attempt, but Speculum’s eyes narrowed, Tisiphone had seen too much, done too much, killed too many times for her ingénue act to be totally genuine. She was shading the truth and Speculum was fairly good himself at recognizing it.

“You’re definitely gilding that lily Miss Blossom, it’s a nice story, but I sincerely doubt that if you get scratched that you’ll bleed Calfree sunshine.”

Dandelion Blossom knew better than to deny, instead she circled the accusation, and played to Speculum’s pride.

"They always did say that rushing art is unwise. Still I see why they say that Speculum Shine is THE stallion to talk too for a hopeful young filly. You are incredibly perceptive. No wonder they say you have a good number of directors wrapped around your hoof. I bet you run circles around most of the movers and shakers in the industry who can barely do more than yell at whatever pony is assigned to bring them soykaf. Given that, can you blame a filly who's worked so very hard to get where she is, sacrificed so much for a chance just to get in front of the right ponies, and who couldn't bear the thought of going home empty hooved? I would be so very grateful."

The ingénue act shifted towards a more assertive pose. Dandelion acted the part of a mare who knew what she wanted and was willing to do anything necessary to get it.

Speculum shifted as well.

“I do dislike mares that think they can play me,” Speculum half growled.

A string of half promises, verbal hooks, and contractual traps came forth. Tisiphone knew most of the tricks, and a back and forth of venomous courtesy was issued and parried by both.

“If these arrangements are not to your liking I can keep you in mind in the future, but I’m not in a position to be overly generous to aspirants.”

Dandelion knew that promise was worthless, if she walked out the door then this plot was done. She went in hard after Speculum’s pride.

"Oh, well, I guess if that's the best you can do. I mean with all the talk of how nova hot Speculum Shine is, how he's bound to get a big role in Hollywood any day now, how he's the mover and shaker around here, I mean everyone was using Buster Goodmane as an example what you could do. I figured...well... No...It’s okay, I hope to hear from you, would you know if….”

She rattled off a number of other industry movers.

Speculum looked her over silently.

“I don’t just suggest ponies for roles to the directors I know…, at minimum I would need to see an example of your work to ensure I’m not setting myself to look like a fool.”

Dandelion didn’t flinch.

“So you would need a private audition…to confirm I can perform at the appropriate level?”

“Something like that…,” Speculum gave a practiced disinterred look in reply that said volumes.

“That would be perfectly acceptable,” Dandelion coolly acknowledged.

“Then that will be all, I will let you know through Limelight, when I have the time and can make the arrangements.”

“I thank you for your time,” Dandelion gave a slight appreciative bow, turned, and left. Halfway across the parking structure, the full ramifications of what she was agreeing too slowly sunk in. Of what might be necessary if she went through with this plan. Her hatred of Speculum would make it difficult she knew, but it was also her burning hatred that pushed her forwards.

Her mother, Alecto, had led what was likely a suicide attack into the teeth of the most heavily armed ponies the earlier age had seen, largely to distract from the small squad that had snuck Tisiphone to safety. Her current anxieties paled against that knowledge. She would succeed. She needed more. More cash, more favors to trade with The LinkMan, and the knowledge that she had avenged herself of the insults heaped upon her old alter ego.

Passing beyond observation, the feigned smile on Dandelion Blossom’s face melted. She knew what she intended. She was going to build her hive, and she was going to do so on the shattered wreckage of Speculum Shine’s career, reputation, and wealth.

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired to steal a set of data bricks owned by the pony Blue Field, a rumored independent spy, from a mid-tier storage facility. Given the not insignificant security at the facility the decision is made to go after one of the security managers at the site, Rust Butter, with the intent of replacing him and using his security access to bypass the various security countermeasures.

The attempt to ambush Rust Butter goes sideways and Vixie (PC) is badly injured. Knight Errant is summoned and the residential block goes on lockdown in response to a security alert from the gunfire. Deciding that escape is unlikely. Glass Darkly (PC, POV) impersonates Rust Butter while the rest of the team hides in the basement. The Knight Errant officers are convinced that Rust Butter drove off his attackers but they nonethless collect a great deal of Vixie's blood as evidence. Later Split Klaw (PC) will ambush the KE van and destroy it with a rocket launcher while it is on enroute back to the station.

Glass Darkly then checks in as Rust Butter at the facility, but given events. Rust Butter is not allowed full reign. Thus a second fight occurs. After another battle, victory and escape. The team hides out, giving Glass Darkly time to examine the data bricks that are the target. He discovers another data set which he manges to half copy.

Elsewhere, Glass Darkly is working to setup a scandal that will destroy his rival Speculum Shine by appearing in the guise of a hopeful actress. Glass Darkly is trying to steal secrets for sale to the Link Man an information dealer to fund the rare magical resources needd for a powerful summoning ritual.

Mission 12: February W4, ‘Detrot Confidential’

Pop

The cork on a middling bottle of wine came free. Tisiphone made a little bit of a show of pouring out two glasses. A corona of amethyst magic reflected in the stream of burgundy liquid.

“You’re getting really good with your fine control, and I must say that color on your magic is just lovely, it seems like it’s gotten more vivid,” the comment came from across the room.

“It is a great color, isn’t it? Comes down from my mother’s side of the family,” Tisiphone looked into the mirror alongside the counter and checked that Dante Haze's face was accurate. Satisfied, a further glance confirmed that Silver Stream was giving Dante a good look over. “And I believe you’re right, better food, better company,” Dante gently levitated a glass into Silver Streams waiting hooves, “and me finding a few healthier outlets for my stress has done wonders.”

“Well I’m certainly not complaining.”

Dante sat down and sank into the plush couch.

“Ohhhh, I think I could stay just like this awhile.”

“What, you planning on running out on me for another hot date?”

Silver Stream took a gulp of her wine and feigned a tiny bit of faux outrage, pushing at Dante's leg.

Tisiphone kept her cool, now was not the time to think about the increasingly fraught deception she was plying for Speculum Shine. Hot date indeed.

Dante played up a wince.

“Madam you wound me.”

“Oh you’re such a softy, I’m surprised you wanted to just chill, you’re usually looking for something to get your mind off work?”

“Work has been, better, not great, but better. Speculum overcommitted production resources trying to buy favors. As a result I got to actually work on an actual trideo production, along with some other stuff. I’m sure Speculum would still make life difficult if he wasn’t distracted by his schemes to get promoted to Hollywood among…other things. The downside is I’ve been busy, and a full day of magic is draining. I’m happy just to have a quiet evening in.

After a while all the screams of the wounded, rockets whizzing back and forth, explosions tearing apart stores, it wears on a pony. Set against the knowledge that the architect of the carnage couldn’t care less about you, it lowers one's appetite for excitement.”

“Wow that must have been some trid you were filming Dante.”

“Yes, quite a Trid.” Tisiphone tried to put the Bellevue supermarket out of her mind and only partly succeeded.

Tisiphone thought back to the footage she had reviewed in the wake of her frustration. She had been around the corner at the time, carrying out a minor act of mercy in binding up the two security stallions rather than letting them be killed. She briefly wondered if the two had realized yet, that their helplessness was the only reason they hadn’t been diced into so many meat cubelets. She hadn’t heard from Silky, whether he was angry or ambivalent that his off and on romantic interest and Knight Errant informant, the Buttery Hoof of the Law, had bled out on a grocery store floor, Tisiphone didn’t care. Wrong place, wrong time.

“You’re tense,” Silver Stream snuggled up closer, “what are you leaving out for the sake of my innocent ears.”

Dante sighed, “You ever heard about some pony at work that every pony says is bad news? I had one just suddenly show up and then everything is in this weird state of duality where everything is both utterly normal and DOOM at the same time?

Dante had little else that he could say that would be suitable for Silver Stream's ears. Seeing the pony in the flesh that she had last seen in a prophetic vision massacring a Neighponese temple in order to gain the Heavenly Ocean Star had been a rude shock. Tisiphone let slip a modified truth.

"We had an 'acquisitions' specialist drop in at work, just out of the blue. Really high powered mare. Management and most of the production staff just shrugged. I’m sweating bullets because the last thing I heard she was working on projects in Neighpon! I got tasked with escorting her around, making sure she got to see the things she wanted to see, but existing as Schrodinger’s pony was rough. I keep feeling like she’s enjoying the charade of it all, that one moment she’s finally going to say 'well this was fun, but I’ve wasted enough time.’ and that will be end of the entire project.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so invested in a trid Dante, though I suppose it must be refreshing to work on something of substance again.”

“It feels good to move forward, less so to know that finally breaking through is so close, yet so very far.”

Tisiphone ran a hoof through Silver Stream's mane, both happy to be alive, and distinctly unnerved at having such an effective killer with an interest in the same relics that Tisiphone was hanging around. Misdirection was a powerful tool, but less useful in a stand-up fight than a cyber pony who’s fighting style was best described as 'puree.’

The grocery and the recovered crate that grated on Tisiphone had been a major case of them succeeding by failing in the correct direction. Gwynn hadn’t really been able to contribute much, her drones couldn't withstand firepower of that magnitude. Split Klaw had simply been overwhelmed. Tisiphone's own new drone had been, decent? Maybe adequate, but taking out one pony and serving as a distraction was about all it had managed. But being a distraction was all that been necessary.

The little gold 'You Tried' AR sticker Razorwire had stuck on Gwynn's unconscious beak said it all. There had been almost certainly a Core in the shipping crate, the Sapphire, the Heavenly Ocean Star. Whatever thoughts Tisiphone might have entertained about challenging Razorwire had died ignominiously the moment Glass Darkly was largely pinned in place by the hail of bullets while trying to revive Split Klaw. She was not thrilled to have lost a shot at what had likely been the Ocean Star. She had collected a little bit of information on the intended delivery location to try and figure out the cybermare's affiliation but Tisiphone’s success was modest.

She was going to need back up. She needed her Hive. The Queen was powerful, but only in that she could avoid the direct assault of a swarm of pawns.

The Link Man hadn’t gotten back to her yet on whether the Grocery Store’s customer records node and sales log was worth anything to him. It wasn’t black lab-grade pay data but in the realm of movers and shakers being able to know exactly how to wine and dine a client should be worth a few nubits to someone.

Silver Stream got up with a mischievous glance. Tisiphone pulled her attention back to the present. She was playing three very dangerous games at once. She may have already been made, she may have already lost but for the moment the paradox was stable.

Schrodinger’s Queen smiled as Silent Stream returned with a container of massage oil and began working some over her hooves.

“I think I know just the thing to work out your tension.”

The Amethyst Queen had no objections.Pop

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired on short notice by a previously unknown pony to recover a crate of 'bananas' that has been mis-shipped from Asia to a high-end grocery store in Bellevue. Glass Darkly immediately suspects what may be in the crate. This is confirmed to her horror when the pony contracting the job drops her disguise to reveal the pony Glass Darkly knows as Razorwire, who Tisiphone had last seen in her metaplanar visions slaughtering the monks of a Neighponese (Japanese) temple. If Razorwire learns that Tisiphone/Glass Darkly has two additional Cores, then the mage illusionist probably has a life expectancy in minutes or hours depending on how close Razorwire is.

With the rest of the team unaware of the above, they take the job. Tisiphone considers how to possibly gain the Sapphire if she can get to it first. This, however, goes nowhere, when it is found a full platoon of Knight Errant officers and detectives are searching the grocery store. The team attempts to sneak in, but are detected. A forward pair of Knight Errant officers are subdued, but attempting to break into the grocery store proper results in a firefight at an entrance. This goes badly for the team, as a rain of flashbang and regular grenades turns the chokepoint into a ruin. Split Klaw (PC) and Gwynn (PC) are knocked out. Glass Darkly is badly discombobulated by a barrage of flash bangs.

However, with the Knight Errant platoon in cover, and having used up their grenades and many needing to reload. Razorwire broke a locked door and flanked the Knight Errant firing line.

Razorwire recovered the crate, and walked out of the grocery store sticking a 'you tried' sticker on Gwynn. Thus the team was paid, but everyone's pride was bruised.

Other Notes: The character Silver Stream was named prior to the similiarly named canon character.

Mission 13: March Week 3 ‘Power Ponies’

“Ba, ba, I’m a little lost sheep with no place to sleep, won’t you please let me come in?”

“Not by the hairs, on our chiny chin chins, you can’t fool us with your old sheepskin!”

Dante Haze, as he was known, stifled a yawn from the far corner of the shadowy recesses beyond the reach of the stage lights. The 'wolf' with its associated sheep pelt was one of his better jobs of late. She had managed a certain degree of menace that was almost too much for the young children the program was meant for. Given the pay from her recent jobs, yet another inevitable stint through a list of D level jobs courtesy of Speculum was more for keeping up appearances and keeping Speculum at ease than any material benefit. Her alter ego, Dandelion Blossom, had almost gained Speculum’s trust. The hammer would fall soon, but until then Tisiphone bided her time.

They also gave her time to think.

The recent entrant into the game, Ms. Who, vexed Tisiphone. The mage had inadvertently confirmed her power by being too cute by half in masking herself. Ms. Who had outwardly shown she had no magic of note, Tisiphone had no doubts as to the mage's true strength. The fact that Ms. Who commanded Razorwire was a further complication.

Tisiphone deeply suspected that her own masking had proved inadequate in the exchange. Rare was a pony willing to ignore the presence of a Queen in service of a larger goal. The only logical conclusion that could be drawn was that the goal was of enormous value. Somehow the data Ms. Who sought would define the future.

On one hoof, that made her giddy. She had a data set and a half, plus whatever the two gems she held might hold. On the other hoof, it made her very, very nervous that at some point some pony would clarify to Ms. Who what exactly had happened to the Magewood Circlet and Songcrest Meridian. If Razorwire was anywhere nearby it would likely get, messy.

Then there was the question of what Ms. Who's end goal was. Tisiphone really wished she knew how disabling the transformer station belonging to the power company had allowed Radiant Industries to acquire Sweetwater. She suspected that the transaction had been made by Ms. Who in order to get Radiant Industries to combine the data it had with Sweetwater’s data to form a larger whole. It made sense. The only way Radiant Pine would allow RI's data on the power Cores out of hyper secure storage was if it was needed for a project. If her hunch was right then she had to applaud Ms. Who, it was an elegant solution. But why?

It had occurred to Tisiphone that the consistent emphasis on parabotany held clues. The CMC had their interest in Nightmare Moon. Radiant Pine wanted total socio-economic dominance. What did Ms. Who or her backers want? Was it something that could be filled by further cores? Perhaps using them to grow something in the style of those given by the Tree of Harmony? The ability to synthesize such gems on a mass scale at will, combining the technology of the precursors with magic? The pony that mastered that trick first could own the world.

But this was speculation. Tisiphone had no way to read the data sets. Her last entreaty to the metaplanes had gone unanswered. Her research had revealed no sites of precursor knowledge where she might learn the secrets of the Cores. It was sublimely frustrating to have the pieces of a weapon that might turn the tables on the ponies but no idea how to use them.

There was The Link Man, but any slip that revealed her as a player in this game rather than a once used pawn was achingly dangerous. She had hoped that favors owed might have permitted this by now, but Speculum Shine was being slow in letting her anywhere near sensitive records. Even the purloined data modules from the grocery store had seemed to do little to spark the Link Man’s interest. She really wanted the protection of her Hive and a greater debt of loyalty from the Link Man before she even hinted at that subject with him.

So what then? Soldier on she guessed. The last job had gone rather well in her opinion. No pony had suspected a thing. Even the paranoid manager Drip Coffee had never seen her attacker, though the lesson the mare had provided Tisiphone about disguising the target of her interest was valuable. Some pony would eventually figure it out and in this, a niggling worry ate at the Changeling. She had long realized that being too perfect would raise questions. Each bio-metric scanner fooled would invite questions. The correct answer wouldn’t be the first one a Knight Errant detective considered but it was an uncomfortably short jump of logic from considering a 'master of disguise infiltrator' to Changeling. In an ideal world, a modicum of electronic tampering would go a long way to diffusing that line of thinking. But such shenanigans were beyond Gwynn. Some other ploy would need to be considered.

She turned her attention back to the cartoonish pigs. She found it slightly strange that she was rooting for the wolf, though it was not as if she could flip the script on this tale. The common mistake was to always assume one was the pig that built from bricks when often sticks or straw was more apt. She considered their team. Was Split Klaw the pig of straw? He built nothing and gave no thought to security other than what anonymity provided. Or was he the strongest? A formless enemy was nigh impossible to fight. Vixie? Largely the same. The happy go lucky fox-filly was so far removed from most of their fights as to be off the radar of foes. Gwynn was definitely the pig of sticks. Well-meaning but often seeming un-motivated.

What of herself? Tisiphone mused that she probably wouldn’t know how wise her actions were until Ms. Who or the Couch Mare Club made their move. She was taking a horrible risk inserting herself into the fight for the Power Cores but history had already once shown the danger of ignoring developments in Magic weaponry. To do so again risked that she might share her mother’s fate.

A bit longer and the shoot was over. Dante settled into his car for the ride home. The audiodisk with the lesson for basic enchanting was almost done. The next queued purchase for basic principles of summoning waited, full of potential. Regardless of all that happened up to now she had fought for the future of the Hive alone. That was about to change.

Soon….

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired by a new player, a mysterious mage calling herself Ms. Who. She is revealed to be the master of Razorwire. This again makes Glass Darkly (PC, POV) very nervous should anyone mention that Glass Darkly has two 'gems' which Glass Darkly alone knows are Power Core relics as the obvious ploy for Ms. Who would be to kill Glass Darkly and take them.

Ms. Who directs the team to infiltrate and shut off grid power to an area of Seattle containing Sweetwater industries, a company specializing in parabotany research, at a very specific time. This is accomplished by tracking down the manager of the substation, and capturing her, her access codes, and replacing her with Glass Darkly. The mission was successful, a welcome success after the pride wounding debacle at the grocery store in the prior mission.

As a result Sweetwater Research is bought by Radiant Industries.

Elsewhere, Tisiphone continues her plot to destroy Speculum Shine, while making arrangements to summon in the first elements of her hive.

Mission 14, 15, 16: March W3-April W2, 'Its About Time'

“…and this is the kitchenette for the suite, refurbished last year, very nice, you keep clean yes? I want no bugs.”

The older Vietneighmese pony glanced over at the pale blue unicorn that had the access panel for the sixth-floor suite's ducting open and was inspecting the connections. Rising Mist's SIN was similar to a small legion of grad students that Rice Paddy had seen come and go. The prospective tenant mare looked the part but the long moments spent as Mist examined the construction, the buildings that huddled nearby, and only a few of the amenities that usually comprised the bulk of the questions were leaving Paddy a bit concerned.

Almost as much as the hard-edged look that Mist's eyes intermittently revealed when the blue mare was deep in thought. The look reminded Paddy of her first husband. He had the same look after his time spent in Corpsec trying to keep stability among the squabbles of the various petty Warlords of Southeast EquestrAsia.

Mist paused, fractionally turning her head, “of course, no bugs, we wouldn’t want the sneaky little things scurrying into places they shouldn’t be,” Mist ended a touch flatly.

“And no drugs, smell gets into everything, ponies take Cram, think it make them fast, more productive, they just punch wall and break things…and other ponies.”

Mist detected unstated history.

“I don’t use drugs, maybe a little Psyche for work but nothing recreationally.”

“Many say that then claim it was their friend's fault the carpet smell like Deepweed. I just replace the carpet, you better not lie.”

“I’m not lying about the drugs.”

An awkward silence fell. Mist, turning to window, did her best to break it.

“So, if I’ve got my bearings right. That green space is the border of Pacific University?”

Paddy squinted to be sure where Mist was pointing.

“Yes,” Paddy exclaimed like an infomercial, “Quite close, easy walk, you not find anything closer.”

“What about safer? After all, a young mare can’t be too careful these days. I shudder to think what I would do if I was accosted by a gang of ruffian Griffons or even worse, Diamond Dogs.”

Paddy paused, the answer that she suspected that she might pity the gang that tried wasn’t appropriate however true it might be.

“Shiawase Security Package for whole property, many cameras, they keep security drone at main office, observation blimp tethered too. I make sure Dogs get run off before. Is not a problem. Neighborhood is Knight's problem but is still safe.

“I don’t know I’d like to have my own lock on the door, non-destructive of course, and I'd much prefer to have no issues with my escort drone. I’ve had some scares in the past with break-ins,” Mist's face was neutral but she fidgeted with the certified cred in her hoof.

Paddy's face drew into a neutral, well-practiced mask intended to dissuade interest in such privileges.

Rising Mist matched it.

“Big place for one mare, most PU ponies not want to pay so much alone,” Paddy emphasizes, eyes drifting to the certified cred stick.

“Well I do like my space and I plan on making some friends soon enough. I’m sure I can find a few to your liking.”

Mist paused before continuing, “I must say that I’m liking how quiet the area is. Normally a block filled with students would be a hub of activity at this time of day.”

Rice Paddy looked over the enigmatic unicorn one more time, Pacific Universities struggles against the UW behemoth hung over her like a pall, Twenty years ago it had been different.

“You start with the drugs or with any funny business, I cut lock and have place searched.”

“Entirely understood, I’ve never been arrested and I never plan to be.”

Rice Paddy narrowed her eyes but nonetheless produced the expected forms.

Rising Mist need nodded appreciatively and stamped her hoof on the sensor pad. A moment more and it was done, Mist dropped the Credstick into Paddy’s waiting hoof.

“Rent is due on 1st, penalty if late.”

Mist nodded as Paddy left, “oh don’t worry, I pay my debts.”

A razor-thin edge of Amethyst light shone around Rising Mists' irises as Paddy left. Mist turned back to the window and glanced at the campus in the distance.

“Well, that’s done,” Mist sighed as she dug out her commlink and started a call, “…yes, the delivery I had pending, please send over the truck…yes…to the address I notified you about earlier.

A low throb passed through the base of her neck, as if in anticipation of the unpacking that was yet to be done. She rubbed idly at the sore spot with a hoof. There was still a slight divot there, it wasn’t entirely healed.

The memory of a gunshot, the splatter of crimson, and the white-hot pain of a serious wound played over her mind. She had been shot before of course, but the difference between the pain of a round being stopped by ballistic cloth and that of a bullet finding her unprotected tender flesh was night and day. Peril was nothing new, but there on the 35th floor of Sweetwater Industries, that was the first time that fate had swung so heavily against her.

Reflected in a faux-Gemstone's eyes a faux Rabbit Slip had contemplated her likely death. It would have been a horrible way for her story to end. Tisiphone had pushed everything she had into the second while the white unicorn mage that served the CMC steadied her aim for her next shot. It had been enough, her magic had overwhelmed her old nemesis, but Tisiphone felt like her destiny had been fractionally diminished in payment for that good fortune.

She had been alone, beyond help, she knew it was risky. That risk had cost her.

Her profile was much too hot. C-Squared or not, the best investigators Radiant Industries could afford would be trying to get a viable sample from the blood left behind. They would note the biochemical oddities even through the heavy acids and solvents as it slowly reverted back to her natural ichor-blood. She had been paid well for the job by Ms. Who, but she would be a fool to think it had not cost her as well. Pictures of one Glass Darkly would be passed around a conference table. Notes of the various times that said pony had slipped into places wearing the face of another pony would be discussed along with the anomalous biochemistry. A file would be started with Firewatch as a pony of interest. Wearing her old face now carried far greater risk. Tisiphone had spent the last several nights moving between cheap motels and forgettable faces. They all would have to relocate. Another identity, now as a grad student.

Tisiphone enjoyed the thought of spending the night in her own bed for a change. Still, the sum of all of it reinforced an idea she had reached long ago. Relying on ponies was risky. She needed her own Hive. Now more than ever. It had always been soon. Soon, soon, soon. Now though she had crept up on soon to the point where now was possible. Just a little more.

She checked the time for the delivery. She would need to start shifting soon if she was going to make Split Klaw’s invitation. She half cursed the agonizingly slow speed of her changes. This did not plague the other Queens! Was this a relic of her millennium spent in stasis? She didn’t know but it had almost brought ruin at Starlight Suites.

Earlier

Starlight Suites loomed large, both a refuge and not. Glass Darkly rubbed at the aching wound in his neck, first aid and healing magic not entirely enough. For a brief moment as his car passed through the building's magical wards, his disguise fell, revealing what appeared to be Rabbit Slip. Glass had worn Rabbit’s form through the meet with Ms. Who, simply masked by an outer illusion. Artifice on top of Artifice. She couldn’t afford to rush the change right now. Not hurt this badly. Rabbit Slips coat was just starting to go gray, his dopey baseball-loving face just starting to have hints of the hardened mage Darkly had been before his inner Queen had awoken.

The illusion flickered out as the car entered the Parking basement. A labored grunt echoed inside the car first as Glass Darkly reset his spell and again as he pulled his weary frame from the Honda. A growing collection of aches promised just how sore he was going to be tomorrow morning. Being an action pony was far harder on the body than playing one on the trideo.

He stepped into the foyer.

“So…what pray tell have you been up to? So much happening downtown…”

Glass Darkly turned his head, a grimace only fractionally forming before he caught his expression. His wan smile did nothing to stop the red smocked face from invading his personal space.

“Ah Inquisicion, so nice to see you here.”

“Don’t try to muddle the water with your honeyed words! I can smell the smoke on you, you have glass fragments in your mane…. And…is that blood?!”

“I’m touched by your concern,” he feigned, “yes I did have an errand downtown. It was so horrible to be caught in the chaos. The wreckage falling out of the sky, the explosions, I’ll never forget the face of that mare, sobbing inconsolably at the injustice of it. I imagine it will take years of therapy before she'll forget laying on the sidewalk muttering 'the horror, the horror, the horror' next to what was left of her daisies, a dud rocket sticking out of the flower pot where it landed.”

Inquiscion narrowed her eyes, “Is that SO! Then there is no time to waste. You must be interviewed by the Knights!”

“Alas I already was, but they seemed so disinterested. Especially about the rough-looking pony that mumbled about how this was only a setback, the Nightmare would have final victory.’

Glass feigned a revelation.

“Inquisition, you don’t think that there may be a cult of Nightmare Moon behind all this?!”

A sharp intake of breath and a shocked gasp was the only reply.

“And the Knights unconcerned, it almost feels like….”

“A CONSPIRACY MOST FOUL!”

“Are you sure?” Glass egged her on, then his faux-skepticism melted, “no you have convinced me. Your gift must be put to better use. I am certain that few, maybe even you alone can pierce through the lies, the corruption, you should head downtown and investigate the conspiracy.”

Subtle force flowed through Glass Darkly’s voice.

“But…the loiterers, the delivery ponies who use the wrong doors, the foals who play outside of the clearly marked play area. I am needed. NO! My Calling! I MUST!”

A rainbow sparkle ran across Inquisicion Espanola’s cutie mark. Tightening her shawl she trotted a few paces towards the door before thinking to look back, remembering.

Glass Darkly was well ahead of the curve.

“Yes, Brother Martin. I would like to come down to speak with you. I have lived a sinful life, I would like to discuss a long period of monastic life to better heal my spirit.”

A single tear of joy collected in the corner of Inquiscion’s eye. She trotted joyfully to the door.

Glass Darkly took the commlink away, pushing a button to end the AR display that a comm-call was in progress. He had never called anyone.

Trudging to his door, at least it would be his door for the next hour or few, he grumbled. Once inside, he pulled out the pile of flattened boxes and marked out the shipping barcodes for Starlight Suites. Time to run, time to hide…again.

“One day this will end,” Tisiphone quietly promised, “one day the lot of you will run from me.”

Two Weeks Later

The sound of approaching hooves made the newbie look up in time to see Princess Celestia and Luna approaching. The regal Alicorns moved into the locker room, manes billowing, until Luna reached a hoof behind her neck and subtly flicked something. The starlight mane drooped and became an inert, mundane thing.

“These are fun to wear the first time but I wish they could make em say 20% lighter.”

“You'll find no argument from me on that,” Celestia laughed mirthfully.

The newbie could have almost forgotten that the Alicorn before her was believed dead, but as the Princess reached up and removed a small device from the front of her throat the remainder of the illusion was broken.

“You up for a soy burger later, know what I’m say’n?”

The faux Celestia asked her counterpart in a nasal, East Equestrian accent.

“Afraid I need to get back to my foal. All the extra performance pay is great but my sister is going to start demanding a dragon's dinner worth of a ransom to watch Toola anymore.”

“Good luck with that then,” Celestia gently peeled away her mane, setting it into a box that popped out next to the mirror labeled as belonging to Snookie Sunshine.

“You realize Radiant Global Entertainment is set to keep running specials for the 50th anniversary of the Citizen Pine remake until the end of the quarter right? We’re going to have Radiant Pine wannabes booking session time at least through then. ”

Sunshine touched a photo tucked into the mirror as she continued.

“Shame dad's retired. He'd love the chance to play Pine.”

“Frankly I’d rather he did, an elderly Jersey Shore would be infinitely less infuriating than having to constantly fawn over Backlot.”

“He’s the best at playing cocky self-sure characters while still stroking a guest's ego, who did you think they’d pick for Pine?”

Sunshine began washing her legs, the white color running off to reveal pale yellow. ‘Luna’ who was washing the moon cutiemark off her rump just rolled her eyes.

15 MINUTE WARNING, CLEOPONTRA SET, INDIANA PONES SET. TECHNICIAN TO THE FLIGHT SIMULATOR PLEASE, ALL OTHER ACTORS FOR TOP BOLT, PLEASE STAND BY.

The old speakers droned out their instructions.

“Yo new blood,” Sunshine trilled, looking over her shoulder, “looks like you’re up.”

The newbie shrugged and straightened her slave filly costume before putting away her AR display.

“University Summoning?” Melody Night queried, her quick eyes flashing, “Mare-Friend, if you can do magic what are you doing here?”

“Have to pay my debts somehow,” she replied sweetly, “and I like the flexibility, one never knows when something might come up. Plus compared to the alternatives, is smiling, fluttering my eyelashes, and reciting the lines from some old trideo to some graying mid-level manager that, truly, he is the hero foretold while feeding him grapes so bad?”

Melody Night got a hard look around her eyes.

“It’s all fun until one day you realize you’re stuck here with few other options, living other ponies' lives gets tiresome believe you me.”

“So noted, but I have plans, and I’m not worried. And after all I find it fun to wear a mask on occasion.”

5 MINUTE WARNING, ACTORS TO STATIONS

The newbie gave her best smile and turned to head through the labyrinth of back corridors.

“Well have fun, the Royal Court awaits,” Sunshine deadpanned to the retreating slave filly, “By the way, what’s your name newbie?”

The slave filly paused, turning her purple eyes back to the two ersatz-Princesses.

“Amethyst Shadow.”

“A royal court awaits more than you know,” the whispered addendum came as Amethyst Shadow walked past access passages, small AR displays showing the appointment information and the scenes of fantasy being created within. Various ponies relaxed as they were feted in the general-purpose spa rooms. Eternally fluttering curtains billowed as various famous films flickered. A right turn then a left and at the end of the hall a door waited. She opened it, and stepped onto the terrace of an Egyptian palace, the blue waters of a fake Mediterranean Sea sparkling on the horizon, the smells of the fake ocean carried in from offstage blowers.

The Queen had arrived.

Four Weeks Later

The thrum of a heavy bass wanted through the floor. Rising Mist frowned as the beat ate at her concentration. A small pot bubbled on an electric burner. She fanned away the purple fumes and checked that this batch wasn’t burning like the last. It couldn’t be helped, such were the trials of the learning process, but still, it felt terribly decadent to ruin the reagents forged from such rare ingredients. The ponies had so little serenity these days, to ruin another batch would have pained her almost as bad as if she had spilled a case of real cider. She stirred, a thick viscous goo that faintly glowed Amethyst coated the rod. It looked like what had been described in the ancient Equestrian texts. Whether she had forged the necessary ingredient was yet to be seen.

Soon...

Two Weeks Later (8 weeks after It’s About Time)

The distant thrum came through the floor. Good, let them party the night away while their doom manifested. Tisiphone looked over the five pony-sized barrels spread through the living room. She had put down plastic, covered over the windows, and the mightiest ward she could manage set its anchor trembling, it’s astral haze at the edge of her awareness. Eight weeks of preparation, natch a lifetime, no, millennia of preparation had led to this moment.

A small part of her still whispered doubt. Up to this point, she could walk away, disappear into the crowd, let Radiant Pine fume as his minions chased a ghost. But no, this was her purpose. She existed because a sacrifice had been made to ensure that the seed of a new Amethyst Hive might one day rise again. To walk away, after so much had been spent to bring her to this moment was unthinkable.

“Three deaths can be suffered,” Tisiphone uttered.

“I speak the name,” she began, then switched to a language of clicks and buzzes. “The Amethyst Hive was laid low by treachery and squandered opportunity.

Lines of flickering Mana began to burn purple on the floor, running between the barrels. Five symbols, one on each barrel began to glow.

“I yet remember, my birthright, my heritage, my nobility.”

Shapes danced in the wisps of Mana, in one corner the final instructions of Queen Alecto, in another the first flight from Canterlot City. Moving to the middle of the ring Tisiphone paused as a seeming mother mare clutched her seeming foal tightly as a patrol eyed them suspiciously.

“…and I remember the lies, the empty platitudes, and the wounds the ponies have inflicted upon me, upon my people. I offer up all of it, all bound within my offering.”

Tisiphone withdrew a sharpened knife and held up a leg over the first barrel as she nicked herself deeply. A few greenish drops flowed and fell into the barrel, the Amethyst goo within beginning to boil.

“Queen Alecto is dead, the rightful Queen of the Hive fallen in battle against the ponies, loyal to her children unto the end. Her mantle is mine, I am her heir and successor. I offer myself, in blood, soul, and deed. Harken and answer my children, come to your Queen's side once more. For Tisiphone, the Amethyst Queen calls.”

A few drops of ichor blood were given to each barrel and as Queen Tisiphone chanted lowly, solid masses churned and grew within each cylinder.

A pulse of arcane power radiated out through the mists, through the lines running to the barrels.

“It is done,” Tisiphone mouthed to herself.

A meaty leg thrust up through the surface of the goo in the first barrel, erupting into the dim space. Hard thick plates carried a small bit of aquamarine edging but the changelings’ form was given over to rugged durability. Tisiphone's twisted horn glowed bright, but she still struggled to lift the heavy bulk with her magic. Slowly, gently, the nascent changeling emerged dripping goo. With a final sputtering shiver, she coughed up some goo before remembering herself and snapping to attention.

“You called me….my-my Queen?”

Tisiphone smiled faintly, “Yes, I did. I imagine this must be confusing, there has not been a Queen for an age, but the long interregnum is over. Now Soldier, what is your name?”

The Soldier blinked, “This one does not remember if this one ever had a name.”

“Well, that won’t do at all,” Tisiphone laid a hood on the Soldier's shoulder. “Let's see, you will be Prima , for you were the first to answer, may many more follow.”

The Soldier began to tear up before collecting herself.

“Queen gave me a name. This-… Prima is so happy. I will let no harm come to you my Queen.”

“I certainly would hope not, now let us see to your sisters.”

Tisiphone moved to the next barrel. Again a trembling changeling was lifted clear.

“Welcome, Scout, by what name are you called?”

“I,” the Scout paused, “it has been so long, I was, I mean I am… Flitterwing? Yes that’s what Alecto called me.”

“You knew my mother?”

“I am afraid not well my Queen, I was often away from the Hive, forgive me things are fuzzy, the last thing I remember was patrolling the Hive approaches and then a flash of terrifyingly bright rainbow light and then nothing.”

Tisiphone's face was drawn.

“I know the weapon of which you speak. Regardless, I welcome you, Flitterwing.”

Tisiphone did not doubt the Scouts words, the changeling was small compared to Prima, a few bands of white almost reminded Tisiphone of racing stripes, and Flitter's wings were as easily large as Tisiphone's despite the Queen being easily a quarter larger.

Tisiphone moved to the next barrel. Another small changeling…plain, mostly white, but a dark band around its eyes gave it almost a raccoon-like look.

“Worker, I welcome you…what is your name?”

“I don’t understand? I am of the Hive’s fourth generation, the Seventh of Nine in the 353rd spawning.”

Tisiphone rubbed her chin, “You came in being within the formless depth of the Hive after Queen Alecto?”

“Yes, this would seem to be correct given the facts…”

“Hmm,” no sentimentality would be appreciated here…, Tisiphone decided the path of least resistance would suffice. “Very well Seven of Nine. I welcome you…”

A quick assertive buzz came in reply.

Moving on, Tisiphone smiled proudly at the growing group of changelings trailing her. Her self-assuredness was tested as a form erupted out of the goo…

“A QUEEN! A QUEEN, We have a Queen again!!! Oh, it has been so very, very long! Oh, I’m so happy I could just BZZZZZZZ.”

“Please let go of my face…,” Tisiphone mumbled…the almost pure white dynamo had amethyst wings and cerulean accents, though it was hard to get the full picture as the small Caretaker was doing her best to mimic a face-hugger from a long-dead horror franchise.

“Oh, my manners… I’m Frizzle Gleam…and I…I got you dirty…you’re all covered in goo…what should I…”

Frizzle began pawing at the goo smudges, though this was less than effective…

“I made it worse didn’t I, Please be merciful, oh mighty Queen, I beg that you do not ask me to commit Sudoku for my transgression…”

“That, that, will be unnecessary…,” Tisiphone struggled to regain her composure, “there are some cleaning cloths in the counter…”

“AIEEEEE, your mercy is as great as your beauty…”

Tisiphone forced her faint smile to return, now just one more…

“Umm, what’s a counter?”

Frizzle’s question came from across the room.

Tisiphone pointed and turned to the final barrel.

“Now, my Nymph,” she quietly intoned….

“Hey, what’s this thing in the cleaning closet do?...”

“ALERT, HEAVILY SOILED GUEST REQUIRES IMMEDIATE DECONTAMINATION, UNKNOWN BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCE DETECTED,” the cleaning drone began to repeat in its tinny voice.

“Ah! PLANAR INVADER Robot Thing!!! GET BACK…”

Tisphone rolled her eyes.

“Seven of Nine,” Tisiphone deadpanned.

“As you wish,” Seven of Nine raised an eyebrow and turned to deal with the calamitous events unfolding in the kitchenette.

Tisiphone pulled the form from the last barrel and gulped, it was nearly her own face that looked back, on a body that was all but a less mature version of her own.

The Nymph brushed some goo from her face and swept her cerulean fringe back behind her horn.

“You seem surprised, my queen,” the pause was palatable, “I believe this form was created using your blood. I am, honored, but of course, this does mean I and my sisters are all,” the nymph paused as Frizzle fought off the cleaning drone, “to a degree clones of yourself.”

“Of course,” Tisiphone demurred, “I was simply a bit, well, the uncanny valley is a harsh place.”

“Indeed, I am Shifting Facet, and I must ask, there is a strangeness to my thoughts. I feel a certain ponyness skittering in the back of my self. It is different from before. Alecto, pardon, Queen Alecto always was a bit odd compared to the others. I chalked it up to the nature of our food. Do the ponies still have that saying about one being what they eat?”

“Yes.”

“I trust this has something to do with how Queen Alecto hid you beyond the hive, within this realm?”

Tisiphone eyed the Nymph, “Almost certainly, given how my mother hid me, did you know her.”

“Of course, we were all her children, had she perished before creating you as her heir, then I or one of my sisters would have mutated into her replacement, but I can hardly claim to have known her thoughts, she touched me once and bade me lead a contingent…

“Dare I ask how that ended?”

Shifting Facet gave a hard look in reply, “Do you make a habit of asking questions you already know the answers to….my Queen?”

Tisiphone's horn crackled, below the music thrummed to a high cadence in silent answer.

“Good,” Tisphone’s eyes glowed, “now there are a few things you need to know to be brought up to speed.”

9 weeks after (last week of downtime)

Tisiphone walked into the dining room. A group of apparent Pacific University Mares clustered around the dining table…on the balcony an apparent large Earth Pony, in a shade of earthy brown went through a workout routine.

A frizzy-haired Pegasus in muted blue colors worked her way through resetting and checking Glass Darkly’s commlink.

Another magenta earth pony on the small side cooked breakfast….while a cyan Pegasus and lavender colored unicorn, discussed the research laboratories at PU they wanted to visit.

“Good morning, Seven could you let Prima know she can stop looking for surveillance, than you for checking my link for spy programs. The food smells great Frizzle. Flitter and Facet, disguises are looking much better.”

Murmurs of assent came from around the room.

“Okay…everyone…” Frizzle bounced over still wearing her apron, “Hay toast and alfalfa hash for the Queen…,” Frizzle slid a plate in front of Tisiphone that made her mouth water, she was so happy that Frizzle was finally getting the hang of pony cuisine.

“And for everyone else, sugar water syrup and soy gruel….”

“Little Caretaker is so kind,” Prima sat down with a thud, “…and praise be to the Queen who provides such a rich bounty.”

Tisiphone paused a moment as the changelings before her began to dig in with gusto, save for Facet who ate like Rarity herself was judging the nymph’s etiquette. Tisiphone wondered if the fact she still preferred ‘pony’ food was making things awkward. Whatever.

Facet cleared her throat…

“The various lines of investigation at Pacific University and elsewhere are ambitious, we will do our best to look into the Cores, but I fear we will need more changelings to stay on top of your inquiries plus secure food and resources….My queen.”

Tisiphone looked up, “I have considered this, and yes, there are whispers from the team I am deceiving that more work will be offered soon, the same work that lets me keep you in such abundant. Sugar gruel. As soon as I have resolved these I will work on preparing the second batch of goo and summoning additional changelings. with Seven of Nine to help, it should go faster than my first batch.”

Frizzle looked at her Queen innocently…

“You know, you could just get with the…uh what do ponies call it…the boom boom like other Queens.”

Frizzle gave a rather obvious pair of hip thrusts….

Tisiphone turned beet red.

“Uh, well…I will consider your suggestion…but um… it would be a bit hasty…and would impact my ability to shadowtrot..and…yes…if I can’t shadowtrot then I would lose my best opportunity to gain further windfalls of cash and magical power.”

The changelings looked at Tisiphone interestedly…

“Time is getting away from us…cough…” Tisphone looked back and forth defensively…

“Ho-kay,” guess I’m not getting any larva to care for soon, shucks…they’re just sooooo CUTE,” Frizzle sighed.

Later

Facet sighed, another day trawling Pacific University… it was a difficult job tracking down knowledge that even the ponies had forgotten, but it was painfully easy to get lost in the crowds of students…and the young stallions so sure of themselves were so tasty…

She took off the Pacific University jumper and went to the laundry machine…it was already running. She went to stop it, she’d just add her jumper and…

THWACK

“That is the Queen’s things,” Frizzle glared, the broom handle in her hoof brandished menacingly.

“It’s one thing, I don’t think our mighty Queen will mind.”

“You’re trying to sabotage her, aren’t you…,” Frizzle’s eyes narrowed… “Oh, you’d like that…she’ll be out on her mission, and then in the moment of peril, she’ll sniff something…malodorous, and she’ll lose her concentration, and then when she comes to harm, then you’ll make your move. I’m on to you…”

“I’m not sure you were summoned with your full share of reason, Frizzle. I’m not trying to supplant our Queen.”

“Oh that’s just what you would say, if you were secretly planning a coup… are you…the STARSCREAM?”

“You’ve been watching pony cartoons again haven’t you…”

“Yes, but that’s not important, I have a sacred duty as Caretaker. You may act like a high and mighty Nymph, but I will wage my own battle. I will do the wash and it will be perfect. I will be the Queen’s champion, her Knight, of the Wash and by ensuring that every sock is returned to its place. I will pave her ascension.”

The broom thwacked into the empty hamper bin…

“Make your choice,” Frizzle drawled.

“Fine, you pipsqueak,”

The jumper was dropped into the bin for the next laundry…

“I expect you to use the good soap…”

“My queen has commanded that I ensure even you are cared for…so I will, such is my duty..”

Frizzle began to pace back and forth in front of the laundry machine, bearing her broom…

“O-reo…Ohhhhh….O-reo…Ohhhh,” she chanted…

“What are you doing,” Facet queried…

“The ponies have a martial chant, the guard of the green queen of the West used it to protect her castle.”

“Whatever.”

Both changelings froze as Tisiphone crossed the hallway mumbling as she looked over a selection of readouts and entered her room…

The door still open the two crept forward to see Tisiphone holding a pencil and making notes…

“She’s planning again,” Frizzle whispered…

“Of course, she charts our victory to come, who can say what mighty stratagems she is concocting, what masterpieces of conspiracy and deceit she will lead us too…it gives me shivers…”

Facet smiled gleefully.

….

In her seat, Tisiphone noted the sketchy details on a Radiant Pink shipment by truck that Split Klaw had mentioned, and went back to her earlier thoughts. In big bold letters she had asked a question almost as pertinent as her earlier one, “Who is Tisiphone?” had been answered…Now…

“Who is Ms. Who?” loomed large.

Below… a shortlist of plans

Steal Alicorn Amulet back from CMC.

1) Setup Hive at Silver Screen Dreams

2) Get to Firebase Harmony for the Golden Heart.

3) Get other cores…How…A miracle occurs…

4) Profit?? -

Tisiphone - Note to Self: I have no fucking clue how I’m going to accomplish all this…

Author's Note

Game Notes: Missions 14 & 15 were played during a summer period where a number of players were not available. These were not particularly noteworthy and involved minor efforts to help contacts.

Mission 16 involved the expected follow up from Mission 13, Power Ponies. The mysterious Ms. Who tasks the team to steal a data brick storing highly important information from the 35th-floor data vault of Sweetwater Industries following their acquisition by Radiant Industries. The building is highly secure. A smash and grab is out of the question.

A dual pronged plan is set in motion. A Sweetwater employee by the name of Rabbit Slip is abducted from a baseball game and replaced by Glass Darkly. The ruse requires her to pretend to be Rabbit Slip overnight. Later, the remainder of the team steals a helicopter and rigs it with a machine gun and equipment to extract Glass Darkly, with the plan being to blow out a wall after Darkly has located the brick. As there are drone defenses, the helicopter cannot linger and will only approach on receiving the signal.

The plan goes off well until one of Rabbit's Coworkers is noted to be acting odd. Soon, it becomes clear that the old nemesis for the Team, the CMC mercenaries, have hit on a very similar plan, with the co-worker, Gemstone, replaced by the white unicorn mage that has tried twice before to kill Glass Darkly. A race to the data vault sees Glass Darkly win, but after sending the signal for pickup, the CMC mage still gets to the vault and a lethal game of hide and seek develops. Glass Darkly almost succeeds in evading, but is found just before the helicopter arrives.

Glass Darkly is gravely wounded, but manages to hold out until the helicopter arrive. Supporting weapons fire drives off the CMC mage. The extraction is complicated as the CMC's own helicopter moves in an attacks. Trading fire, Split Klaw shoots down the CMC helicopter with an RPG causing a number of casualties among the CMC mercenaries.

Glass Darkly gets away, but the security response is severe.

Mission 17: June W4 ‘Look Before you Leap’

Tisiphone couldn't entirely suppress the smile she wore on Glass Darkly's face as the cacophony of shattering plascrete and the scream of twisting plasteel carried over the several hundred meters from the wrecked highway bridge to the observation point Glass, Split Klaw, and Vixie occupied. The cries of terror of the assorted Radiant Industries ponies who couldn’t fly or levitate as the mammoth cargo hauler hurtled towards the surface of the Puyallup River, large chunks of the Highway 509 bridge raining down around them were sweet music indeed.

The Queen was well pleased with herself. She had come in a bit late to the job. Split Klaw having already agreed to aid his arms dealer, 'A Stallion' in what had been described as a bid to gain a large stockpile of explosives. Her suspicions had been fanned almost from the beginning, but it had been her inquiries that had revealed how thin the justification was for this shipment. Whatever was being shipped it was not the tons and tons of mining explosives that had been declared. The Queen suspected a trap following the events at Sweetwater Industries.

No matter, she would know this secret of Pine's soon enough.

“Prima, the truck is in the water, you are clear to proceed with the dive team. Mind the security detail still up on the bridge.” the buzzing in her mind was fast becoming second nature.

“It shall be done,” the large soldier psychically buzzed back.

Excellent, the Queen basked, she had barely had time to add an additional summoning before this job, some of her newest subjects were only a few days old, and even her original five had only three weeks under their wings. To see such a success was gratifying, everything going all according to plan-

“LET’S GO SEE WHAT’S IN THE TRUCK!”

Split Klaw gave one of his manic grins.

“Chreeee!”

Vixie added a happy chirping trill, a note of agreement. Glass Darkly turned his head, a look of quizzical confusion on his face. Both began to surge forward as a vein bulged in Glass Darkly’s forehead.

“…But we agreed. We were going to crash the truck and that was going to be it! Sabotage, without risking ourselves!”

Glass Darkly protested.

“What, you afraid of a little bit of water? The chemicals may make your eyes sting and turn your coat green but also make you strong.”

Glass Darkly followed the always insanely confident bulk of Split Klaw, unsure how to stop this wreck which was happening in slow motion around him.

“We don’t have gear for this!”

“So?”

Glass Darkly was apoplectic.

“Almost through the back door,” Seven of Nine's voice in her Queen's head might as well have been reading a phone listing.

“Do you not see all the security goons on the bridge?!”

Glass made his final plea. The quickly assembling legion of ponies looking over the Highway siding, guns drawn, along with the sound of a distantly approaching helicopter finally made Split Klaw reconsider.

“One unconscious security mage, there is a giant bag of what looks like dirt,” Facet crowed in her Queen’s mind.

“Let’s not be foolish here,” Glass protested, a bead of sweat at his maneline. He could not have been happier when Prima announced the extraction of the dive team.

“We're out with a sample bag and one security mage captive, anti-tracking measures will be followed, Victory to the Hive, my Queen,” Prima's pride edged into the psychic buzz.

“I swear you ponies will be the death of me,” Glass Darkly lamented as the three of them left their observation point.

It was an awkward feeling as Glass Darkly departed. Tisiphone knew that getting to the truck's cargo had been eminently achievable. The sample bag carried by her changelings proved that. Yet, there had been no crates of explosives regardless, and no Core. Tisiphone could not have risked another heated argument. She was playing Schrödinger’s pony again. Everything fine and yet simultaneously doomed. She could feel that something was going to break soon. Soon…again the word vexed her, but time was needed to finish the takeover of Silver Screen Dreams. The Couch Mare Club was also a lingering threat, Silky Sheets had made his departure official after a series of absences.

Officially, Silky was simply refocusing on his family business having earned enough of a cash infusion from shadowtrotting to address the balance of power between his sister and himself. Unofficially, Tisiphone suspected that Silky had failed in a goal that he hadn’t been officially told about. The two missing Cores that were likely intended for the CMC prior to Glass Darkly’s prescient ruse.

It worried the Amethyst Queen. Almost two months had passed since Sweetwater, and yet things were quiet. Whether because she had truly outsmarted her foes, or because they were still gathering their strength, she couldn’t say.

Later (following Look Before you Leap)

“Its dirt, faintly magical, mineral content is consistent with Mt. Ranier,” Seven of Nine poked the small bag of damp dirt.

Another worker, Digs-Tunnels-Like-A-Unicorn barely left a pause in the conversation, “The mages' gear and electronic ID is consistent with general-purpose Radiant Industries security. He doesn’t appear to be connected to the RI project other than as temporary security.”

“A shame,” Tisiphone sighed, a thin stream of Amethyst Magic trailing from the barely lucid mage to the Queen that commanded his personal nightmare.

She had spent the last few hours rummaging through his mind, ripping secrets from his dreams and the Queen admitted she had little more than what her Workers had turned up.

“He doesn’t know about the project, and since he was scheduled to leave the truck at the border, he doesn’t know where it was going.”

Tisiphone shook her head and idly played with a lock of her cerulean mane. For all the damage they had done, ruining the shipment of pristine volcanic earth, she was no closer to figuring out what Radiant Pine was up too.

“Seven, we still haven’t located any Radiant Industries locations where they could be growing a massive tree? A building big enough that climactic conditions vary within it can’t be so simple to hide.”

“No my Queen. It eludes us.”

Tisiphone broke off the connection.

“He’s dry, dispose of him where Pine’s enforcers won’t find him. As for the location where the…dirt was supposed to go please keep looking. We need to start considering hollow mountains or similar.”

She looked around the dingy warehouse, an eminently forgettable location belonging to a company of nobodies who hadn’t a clue that half the staff were skimming the account where the payments for illicit transfers were paid at their Queen's behest.

She frowned, her changelings deserved better… another instance of soon haunted her…. Soon.

Later

Snookie Sunshine looked over to the AR schedule on her costume wardrobe as it pinged again.

“Another?”

She quietly sighed. Another appearance as Morgan La Fay Unicorne in the Canterlot set. Typical, she had stopped being offered the role of Guinevere long ago. The reality of a life of being an aging mare in the performance industry was still secondary to the fact that pay was pay. This current spike of business had done wonders for her bank account, she might even manage a vacation to the Seapony League this year at this rate. Still there was such a thing as too much of a good thing. The regular crew even stretched thin couldn’t keep up. In fact, she checked the assignments.

“Who the blazes is Violet Bloom?”

Almost on cue a regal looking young mare entered from the overflow dressing area flanked by two mares that Snookie did recognize. Her question was answered. Another likely friend of Amethyst Shadow. Snookie's face was a neutral mask, the same she wore when patrons grew over amorous. The trio stopped their twittering conversation and directed faint smiles at her.

On one hoof, Amethyst Shadow had come through with what exactly they had needed, a great deal of talent on short notice. Yet, there was something about that mare that set Snookie on edge. Almost as much as the increasingly disquiet feeling she got every time a new customer mentioned how they had just had an idea, a moment of inspiration out of the blue to visit Silver Screen Dreams.

Quickly Snookie got into costume, a few regulars drifted in, but the room was half full of strange mares. The speaker began to rattle off a half dozen sessions. Quickly she turned on her mane extensions and headed for the Canterlot set.

Around the corner she heard voices.

“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of that leak in the A/C ducts. Shiawase Services wanted 100 nubits just to come look at the problem.”

Snookie recognized the voice of Box Office before an unknown voice answered.

“Well, my friend Amethyst mentioned that you had a problem and instr- er, asked me if I could handle something like that. I could hardly say no… uhmm not with a UW trades recommendation on the line.”

The voice was flat, on the verge of monotone. Snookie wondered how much cyberware the poor technician pony had.

“Oh Honey isn’t this wonderful we’re halfway through the backlog.”

Cozy Matinee let out the sigh of relief of a long-suffering business owner before continuing.

“You think we could afford the Paris Café module this year?”

Box Office was giddily upbeat in reply.

“If the surge of business holds I'd be half tempted to bring back a real Café and add it to the spa.”

Cozy Matinee's contented sigh was impossible to miss.

Snookie was glad that the two owners were getting to enjoy the success, she was less thrilled to hear Amethyst Shadow.

“You know, you two really should consider seeing the world while you still can. Surely you’ve earned that.”

“Oh I know I keep promising Cozy we will, but there’s always so much to take care of around here.”

Box Office demurred, thought Amethyst Shadow merely laughed.

“Well I would at least think about it.”

Snookie frowned, something about that particular word lingered on her mind, sending tendrils into her thoughts but she barely had time to turn the events over in her head before the group around the corner broke up. Box Office and Cozy Matinee discussing something quietly. Amethyst Shadow came around the corner and looked over Snookie.

“Canterlot Court again eh, I must say you strike an imposing Sorceress Snookie.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“Oh don’t mention it. Best of luck, maybe you can convince the rest of the crew to change up the script this once and let the Sorceress Queen win for a change.”

Amethyst Shadow gave a slight bow and walked past, commenting over her shoulder.

“Have fun…”

Snookie Sunshine watched the eccentric mare leave before her link chimed to remind her she was about to be late. Entering the Canterlot set she got her bearings, but in the festively lit mock-up of the ancient heart of Equestria she couldn’t shake the feeling that something sinister lingered unseen.

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is offered a job from a weapons dealer that has supplied Split Klaw (PC). The dealer indicates that he's heard rumors of a major explosives shipment being sent through Seattle. Glass Darkly (PC, POV) is aware of a lot of context which the other players are not and suspects a trap being laid by Radiant Industries following the recent hits against Sweetwater Industries as the truck is far too large and far too well guarded for a regular explosives shipment. The implication is that a Core is possibly being shipped but Glass Darkly is highly suspicious that this is a lure.

Glass Darkly and others research the shipment and quickly realize that the truck is clearly a trap as the stated manifest would be too heavy with the weight of the truck to be allowed over the bridges the route goes over. Glass Darkly suggests that the team crash the truck in order to send a message. With a combination of magic and stealth the bridge the truck will cross is rigged with explosives. The bridge is blown with the truck on the bridge, sending it into the river. Glass Darkly/Tisiphone sends in a team with stolen diving gear to check the contents of the truck. These confirm that a Core is not present, but instead reveal a large sack of volcanic dirt.

Mission 18: June W4 ‘Bats!’

Glass Darkly watched from the cab of the stolen delivery truck, occasionally glancing in the mirror to view Split Klaw and Vixie happily sampling the shipment of premium deli cold cuts the crew had purloined as a side effect of their ruse. The smell of fish lingered on Glass' clothes and dampened any thought of food almost as much as the thought of Split Klaw's tacos. The packing plant had been relatively by the numbers. Their target's hubris relatively easy to exploit. What had been revealed though made this simple job one of the most profound that Glass had done in a long time.

Glass Darkly looked to where Cardinal Banana was wrapping up business with the buyer. Glass cleared his throat and recalled the trideo program for foals he had been forced to work on recently. His voice came clear but under his breath in the high pitched sing-song cadence that had been used in the studio.

“Little Pigs, little pigs, I’m a poor little sheep, with no place to sleep, won’t you please let me in?

Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chins!”

Glass Darkly stared at Cardinal Banana and continued the rhyme.

“…You don’t fool ME with your old sheepskin.”

This interloper changeling that had joined their group was a problem and possibly an opportunity. On one hoof, Tisiphone would have eagerly sought out more of her kind as equals, but there was a risk. It was foolish to think hers would have been the only Hive, but the appearance of Cardinal Banana out of the blue was unexpected. edIT clearly didn’t know.

Tisiphone could have overlooked the potential dangers, but Cardinal Banana, whichever Hive this changeling belonged too, clearly did not value discretion. For months Tisiphone had maintained the masquerade, even while her rightful power assimilated her old form. The newcomer, inside of several hours, had already been so incautious and unsubtle that even the others had their suspicions. How Cardinal hadn’t been caught by Pines' goons, Tisiphone couldn’t say. Regardless, this heralded another complication in her plans. She contacted a Scout and asked them to keep an eye on things. She had another loose end to wrap up … soon.

Later

The wind rustled the paper lanterns and leaves of the tree casting a dazzlingly complex pattern of shadows across the small courtyard. Various assorted ponies filed past the offering tree with its heavy base. Clear Chakra looked over the assembling group his eyes lingering on a particular attendee who returned his gaze with a warm smile.

…

“Breathe in, breathe out, feel, know your harmony, let go of the things that pull you away from enlightenment.”

Chakra moved between the rows of ponies, he stopped by the russet mare and gently touched her foreleg adjusting her posture which had slipped.

“Keep your core aligned, feel the energy that flows through you and into you from the world around you, feel how you are connected to the greater totality and through this seek enlightenment.”

Chakra whispered, to the mare's delight.

“Oh thank you, that’s much better, I feel more open already like I could take the flow over ... and over,” the mare teasingly cooed in reply.

A few ponies nearby gave looks but aside from Chakra favoring the corner of the group where the russet mare sat things went as per usual. Only as the group was dismissed was it clear that the mare was lingering. The last few stragglers finally left leaving one.

“You are surprisingly forward…did you really come to seek a better life for yourself or for more worldly pursuits?”

Clear Chakra softly queried, his eyes searching up and down his odd student.

“Aww shucks, I definitely came here because I needed something powerful bad like a prize-winning apple needs to be made into pie. As for what exactly that is, well maybe I’m chasing chickens or maybe I’m chasing cows.”

The mare swished her braided mane over an ear making her apple-shaped earrings twinkle. She took a step forward as a harder hungry look came over her face.

“Maybe I need a bit of both. Ever since that varmint left me on permanent transfer to the Chilean Fruit Farms division I’ve been feeling mighty empty. I got barns to raise and apples to sow every day, and I’ll be twitterpated if I can’t go five minutes at work before any given stallion starts wanting to discuss the projections for cider season.

I needed something more.”

Chakra took a step back.

“You offer something I cannot partake of, transcending the desire of self is key to enlightenment.”

She took a step forward.

“But in examining our motivations, do we not gain a greater understanding of our needs? What do you need Chakra?”

The mare asked, a slight shadow of confusion crossed Chakra's face, had he given that lesson to this mare before?”

She took the opportunity to step forward again.

“What do you need to fill the empty loneliness Chakra? I know what I need…”

She reached a hoof up and gave a teasing touch at the scruff of his beard. She stepped forward and the half step backward by Chakra wasn’t near enough to keep her from embracing him. He stiffened but melted into the embrace and a moment later he began to run his hooves over the mare's flanks.

It was all distressingly familiar, this compromise and surrender…and something else. This mare felt familiar somehow.

“I should not be doing this,” Chakra whispered but continued to nuzzle along the mare's neck, she in turn nuzzled along his shoulder. Chakra was in no position to see his paramour open her mouth slightly as the two front teeth at the corners of her muzzle began to extend, warping into two needle-sharp fangs.

“I… I should know your name at least,” Chakra whispered into her mane and pulled her close.

A soft laugh was muffled as she nuzzled his shoulder. Eventually, the response came.

“Haze,” she giggled.

Chakra’s brow furrowed, the feeling of disquiet about the familiarity of the pony in his arms grew from a tiny seed to a lump of leaden doom. He went to inquire further.

“Urghh,” his intended words were erased as he felt two sharp points plunge into the flesh of his shoulder. A feeling of something that burned both hot and like ice spread through his limb.

He immediately worked to push her away but already his foreleg felt leaden. He succeeded and twin thin trails of blood mixed with a pale green substance ran across the back of his shoulder. He looked up at the mare, she had a faint smile on her face.

“Oh, I suppose I should clarify,” she luxuriated in the words she spoke, Chakra tried to move to defend himself but aside from the sweat pouring out under his fur his body was like lead, it was a Herculean effort just to stand.

“I'm a really bad Buddhist, always have been. Never affected my magic though. I must admit you were right about so many things, I did dig a bitter lake in my life, but … this…. Oh seeing your hypocrisy in the flesh is so immensely gratifying. It warms my heart to see the lie wrapped in nobility that ponies tell themselves.”

The mare crowed, her eyes shifting to Amethyst. Chakra could barely move his lips, the faintest whisper came off them.

“…Dante.”

The mare gave a mirthful laugh.

“Yes, I was called that once.”

She stepped to the side, a rippling line of Amethyst power crackling over her fur, leaving smoky gray in it’s passing. A moment passed as the mare’s frame enlarged.

“You know I should thank you Chakra,” Glass Darkly began, “Its thanks to you that I found my destiny, the shame of what I was becoming, my blind Faith in your creed, and the thought of your disapproving looks when it came out that I had started down the path of a mercenary, lying, hurting, … killing for money was the final straw that ensured that I kept my affliction to myself.

Until I finally realized what lingered in my shadow.”

An acolyte moved past the window, happily sweeping the courtyard. In that moment Clear Chakra tried to wish the acolyte to see the monster that wore his former pupil's face.

The acolyte turned, looked through the window, and with a big smile….waved. The acolyte’s eyes flashed amethyst at the edges.

Chakra couldn’t stop his head from being turned. The smoky gray face warped again, white hairs pushing through, a river of cerulean mane cascading down, and a sharply twisted horn emerging. A pair of slitted amethyst eyes blinked and searched Chakra's eyes as his former pupil’s stood before and over him in her full glory.

“Thank you,” Tisiphone whispered, her horn glowing as she summoned her magic, “for guiding me to enlightenment.

In the courtyard, the summer breeze blew through the branches of the tree and the shadows cast by the paper lanterns danced.

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is hired to abduct a meatpacking plant manager that has a unique cyber implant. This was relatively easy to accomplish as the team hijacked one of the plant's own delivery trucks and replaced the rigger team. Then once at the plant the manager was lured into the back of the truck and stunned. The truck drove off.

More importantly. The player running Silky Sheets decided that the plot arc regarding his involvement with the Couchmare Club was going nowhere, and replaced the character. The character introduced was almost immediately under suspicion of being a changeling. A very ironic result that the remaining players still had no idea that Glass Darkly was secretly a changeling.

Mission 19: July W1 ‘A Runner Family Reunion’

During the events of 'A Runner Family Reunion'

The patter of hooves set to the cadence of a foxes' gait rapidly approached and climbed the stairs. Vixie burst out of the basement door, her darting eyes wild as Split Claws' and a trail of foaming spittle running down her chin.

“THE STRAWBERRY WEASEL! The spiders!..... AWOOOOOOO!”

Glass Darkly raised a hoof as if it could ward off the magic and fought to avoid being paralyzed by the clearly high-as-a kite shapeshifter. Glass Darkly managed to keep his senses together but few among his comrades were as lucky.

Great. This…incident…was growing into a real wreck. It was not that Glass discounted the need to rescue edIT, Glass had a great deal invested into their Fixer, and liked the pony. Sundown was also a nice bar, though far too dangerous for Glass/Tisiphone to visit these days. So much had hinged on edIT not pressing Glass Darkly that much about the empty manacase that had been turned in with a shrug one fateful night so long ago. Beyond the likelihood that this was an elaborate trap, Tisiphone did not want to clarify how exactly Glass was so good at impersonation to a prospective replacement fixer.

Of course, the wrench thrown in the works so recently was providing no shortage of schadenfreude. Tisiphone could only marvel at how thinly transparent the likely Orange Hive changeling was being. ‘Arcing Lemon' had shown up as a completely different pony compared to Cardinal Banana when the call had gone out that Sundown had been attacked. That could be overlooked and in fact, was a reasonable precaution, but the changeling had flown there personally when in his previous guise, Banana had not possessed wings. Glass had of late been a frequent offender in overselling what Illusion magic could do, but Glass had always been plausible about it. No half-truth was possible here. No illusionary spell could give a pony functional wings.

Then there was the blood-drinking, which Lemon had labeled an obscure form of Hedge Magic. Tisiphone could only marvel that Lemon would try to pass that lie off when Lemon had every reason to know that Glass Darkly was a trained mage who would know that practitioners of hedge magic had no such standard rituals, nor did they summon physical form spirits, yet Lemon had manifested those as well. Even then the act was enough to rouse suspicion among the least observant. Lemon was fortunate that Glass Darkly had every reason to carefully measure his response, not pressing the line of questioning too hard lest someone notice how similar some of Lemon’s abilities were to feats done by Glass Darkly.

Still, the fact that every pony else seemed only mildly threatened by the Orange Changeling gave Tisiphone pause. Had she been overly paranoid in hiding what she was? Being able to operate openly would simplify things immensely. The luxury of only needing a single step rather than the two or three she usually needed to obfuscate how she accomplished her magic would be welcome.

No… she must be cognizant that Split Klaw's sanity was suspect. Vixie was a magical fox pretending to be a pony and thus carried none of the past baggage a true pony would, and Gwynn as a Gryphon likewise was at the cultural periphery of past events, besides often being preoccupied with her self-doubts. They were not representative, and they could not be assumed to keep the Amethyst Queen's secrets or be assumed to not second guess her motives.

The larger problem as Glass Darkly ended Vixie's rampage in a way that did no favors to anyone’s self-dignity was apparent.

“Flitter,” the inquiry went out via psychic ping.

“Yes, my Queen?”

“The Orange Fool has a basement that was just revealed to likely have more changelings within.”

“I see...I assume this means that your request that we monitor the Orange drone to see whether it might be recruited is at an end? The presence of several would imply that they have a Queen. Do you wish me to bring in Prima and put together a strike?”

“It may be a group of renegade drones,” Tisiphone psychically demurred, “but a Queen is likely, the question is whether it is Arcing Lemon or someone else. Regardless have a crew on standby, I am far too vulnerable here in the Orange domain if they realize who I am. Beyond that I fear these orange changelings are likely to do something on par with Chitina's or Chrysalis’s idiocy in the long run. Lemon's attempts at a masquerade are as bad and as transparent as those matrix sites advertising mail order Alicorn brides from Stalliongrad.”

Glass Darkly returned his attention to the debate raging within the rundown apartment.

“Erase her memory,” the demand came without a hint of compromise from Arcing Lemon.

Glass Darkly considered the request….for about two seconds. Vixie had been out of line, but Arcing Lemon had all but invited this turn of events. The pride of an Orange Drone was not worth a kitsune's loyalty.

“No, I don’t mess with the heads of teammates.”

“She shouldn’t have been in my lodge!”

“Agreed, but we’re stuck now waiting for her to recover before we can make our next move on edIT.”

Gwynn, possibly the only member present to be accomplishing anything, piped up.

“There’s a sketchy reservation at a luxury hotel downtown, might be Endgame.”

“Good work, it’s more than what my spirit found,” Glass Darkly sighed.

“You’re leaving it at that?!” Arcing Lemon protested? “I may only be five years old, but I know to stay out when I’m asked to stay out!”

Glass Darkly turned, his expression cold.

“You’re a five-year-old bat pony with a horn or wings variably, that drinks blood?”

The metaphorical shot across the bow was unmistakable.

“I’m…. I’m precocious,” Arcing Lemon chose to keep digging…

“You’re a nuisance and liability to your species,” Tisiphone thought in reply.

Later

Glass Darkly drummed his hoof on the table in the suite. The real wood likely didn’t deserve the treatment but his frustration was palatable. They had tracked Endgame to their base in the hotel, they were near. Near was not the same as accessible. Time was valuable. Tisiphone had learned this lesson well long before. She never had enough of it. Yet their efforts to find an opening had only located dead ends. As Glass Darkly, she had advocated disturbing the status quo, to force a situation that would render Endgames’ refuge untenable. For the first time in a long time, she had not found success in swaying her comrades to her plan. Glass had advocated for a more direct insertion and replacement of the hotel’s staff, and again had found little support. The rest of them were content to wait on Arcing Lemon's relatively slow plan to achieve the replacement of the hotel's front desk manager. Odd considering that within the last 24 hours Lemon had all but threatened Vixie with death.

The glacial progress vexed Tisiphone. She alone seemingly understood that while edIT may be alive and well only a few suites away, the secrets edIT carried we’re likely being drawn from their fixer. Worse she suspected what secrets were being sought. Tisiphone had set the CMC on a lengthy goose chase as to what had become of the first two cores. If all other possibilities had been eliminated, then there was but a single possibility left.

“How many hours until Lemon's shift starts?”

“A few,” A supremely comfortable Vixie looked up from her pile of pillows, then returned to her fox nap.

Glass Darkly stifled a yawn. Her last night’s rest had been interrupted by the summons to Sundown, and she was a bit tired after supporting Vixie’s scampering investigations through the hotel ducts. Beyond that the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. She was badly in need of a long rest. A quick nap wouldn’t be beyond decency, surely the minor indulgence was harmless given that there was no consensus to act sooner. Glass Darkly found an unoccupied rampart of Vixie's pillow fort and told himself that they’d set things aright…soon.

Later

Tisiphone did her best to keep her boredom off Glass Darkly’s face as the conversation circled around the same half baked plan they had yet to improve on. Another variant of Split Klaw plus frontal assault equaling adequate success.

“My Queen?” The psychic question came.

“Yes, Prima?”

“There’s some pony skulking in the courtyard, they –“

The lump of dread in the Queen’s stomach was denser than lead and bitter as gall.

“Prima! What’s going on!?”

“We’re under attack! Several, heavily armed!”

An impression of pain seared across the psychic link as the staccato scream of bullets slammed into spectral chitin armor. A shadow Of her Doberman drone surging forward to cover Prima as she crawled out of the line of fire only for the stalwart little drone to be torn apart in a hail of bullets.

Glass Darkly interrupted the conversation around the suite table.

“This is a distraction, Endgame is at my home…killing my friends,” he icily noted as he stood up and moved to the far side of the suite. Tisiphone felt horrible. The long delay by Endgame had instantly become clear, they had lured the Queen away, and now her Knights and Pawns were paying the price.

“I have to try and stop them. Do what you can here.” Glass Darkly commanded, without waiting for a response. Tisiphone was already astral and on her way. It still wasn’t fast enough.

Not fast enough to stop Seven's alarm as the door was blown in, the wards collapsing under the onslaught. From behind the hastily overturned couch, Tisiphone felt Seven shooting back but heavy weapons fire raked the room, reducing furniture to flying shards of plaswood, fabric, and metal.

Pangs of pain echoed across the Hive Mind. A psychic roar of rage answered.

“To arms my children! We cannot lose the Cores! We will not be defeated, not again!”

In the Pacific University library, a half dozen students abruptly rose from their seats and ran to the door. Another group of Silver Screen contractors abruptly threw the scheduling assignments into chaos as they canceled. In a half dozen bars scattered across Southern Seattle, awkward excuses were being given.

“No you can’t leave like this, not like this!”

A mare clung to the hunky, heart throb of a stallion that seconds earlier had been snuggling her.

“My people…uh…need me. I must go now.”

The apparent Latin stallion shook robotically gave his weak justification and shook loose the hold on his leg and ran out the door.

Elsewhere, Tisiphone’s astral form approached her home as an explosion ripped through the rear hallway. She checked her astral movement only to watch in horror as the safe with the manacase was thrown out the window. A chance! The levitate spell made the mage vulnerable. She poured her rage into the lightning bolt and sent a stream of crackling Amethyst death towards the mage.

The weave of the spell frayed and tore as it approached its target, it hit, but was barely worse than a bad bit of static. Tisiphone raged, but rarely had she felt as powerless as now. Her astral spirit could do little as the mage ended her spell and the astral target faded. Into the truck, they climbed.

Tisiphone turned to the shattered ruins of what had been her most recent home, the latest in a long line. Trails of smoke rose from shattered appliances and her smoldering drone. Prima shifted under some rubble, bleeding heavily. Seven was alive, barely, buried under half of the couch Silverstream had talked her into buying. Tisiphone spared a look down the hallway and paused.

“Frizzle, no…”

Tisiphone reached out to touch the crumpled form of her Caretaker. A half-empty taser and Frizzle’s favorite broom laid next to the small Changeling. Frizzle stirred but only barely managed to react to the astral touch.

“Queen…(cough) is here, now we're saved….”

“Its okay Frizzle, help is coming, stay with us.”

“You have…stop them.”

Tisiphone glanced as the truck pulled away. Another astral signature disappeared amongst the ruined residence. She could only do one of the three things her heart desired.

“We…all have our…. purpose.” Frizzle whispered.

Tisiphone allowed another pang to trouble her heart, but Frizzle was right. She could not shrink away from this challenge. She was the Queen. She must lead, to fail to do so would be to fail Frizzle and her other wounded children far worse than her inopportune absence. Surety returned to the shattered home, and the smoldering fires were nothing compared to the Amethyst inferno that burned in a livid Queen’s eyes.

“Digs, and the closest workers. There are wounded at home base they have priority, remove everything traceable, and don’t skimp on the C-squared. Get my backup commlink from my desk, tell me when you have it. Flitter, you have the lead chase team. I am astrally tracking the truck, moving north, unclear where they’re going yet.

“Chuckbug Norris, Prima is out, you have command of the Soldiers, Facet will lead the Nymphs. I want Endgame alive if possible, I need to search their minds.” Tisiphone paused. “Alive is not necessarily the same as unhurt.”

A moment passed then another. The truck moved and Tisiphone followed though her thoughts strayed to the fact her body was still back at the hotel. If the rest of them had lost… no, such doom was unlikely. She had faith that even were some pony to best Split Klaw he would drag the victor screaming into the next life with him.

“You asked to be notified when we had your spare link, My Queen?”

“Yes, this is?”

“Mellow Mite, Caretaker.”

“Okay, Mellow, send a message about tracking the truck and ask for a status update using the Glass Darkly alias, remember you are my alter ego.”

“Understood.”

A minute ticked by.

“They say there was a fight at the Hotel. The one called Split Klaw is hurt pretty badly, something about blowing up a section of floor, they noted they’re evacuating after leaving two Endgame members dead. Someone named Kiwi Tiara is carrying, uh, you.

Tisiphone wasn’t sure if she should be happy or terrified at that prospect. Her mix of emotions likewise surged mercurially with the confirmation that the Hotel had been a red herring.

Slowly the minutes ticked away.

“Three minutes till home base is clear.”

“And?”

The implicit question was clear.

“Too soon to tell.”

Her thoughts along those lines were interrupted, they’d run into traffic. A low curse escaped her astral lips, her middling skill in the astral realm again only answered a portion of her inquiry. Construction workers were not normally dual-natured, but she couldn’t tell the allegiance of the new addition to the mix.

“Mellow, I need you to relay a question if the construction workers delaying the truck are Tiara's 'friends'?”

The truck below wove through traffic, scuffing a number of cars. Angry hooves were raised, but none challenged further.

“Yes,” Mellow answered after an aching pause.

Tisiphone wasn’t sure whether to be thankful that Tiara had contributed or wary that the Orange Hive might attempt to purloin the artifacts. If the Orange Hive also made a run on the cores…this had the potential to get very messy indeed. Flitter’s first wave was only minutes out.

“We’re clear,” Digs relayed a first bit of good news, “We were able to salvage most of Home base. Half of everything still being in boxes helped, we just managed to avoid Rice Paddy and the Shiawase Security Drones. It would have been better if we had the triple double-back entrance way I proposed last month.”

Digs couldn’t resist adding her 'I told you so' comment. Tisiphone was just happy for the small victory. The only casualty so far was her Rising Mist persona, but fake ponies were cheap. Her heart further leapt as two vehicles appeared on the highway access road, each full with the familiar psychic buzz of her Hive.

Which was well, the truck had finally escaped the traffic morass created by the Orange Contingent. An astral sigh of relief as none of the Orange drones moved to follow. Another small victory.

The vehicles came inexorably closer.

“You thought it was going to be simple, bypass the Queen, easy victory. Let’s see how well you handle the Swarm,” Tisiphone rhetorically asked the fleeing truck. Windows were opened.

A hail of gunfire echoed across the highway. Some cars dodged, others continued oblivious under command of Grid guide as errant bullets riddled them. Nymphs pressed in with spells but to her annoyance, these almost universally fizzled. The Endgame mage that had stymied her was earning their pay today. Tisiphone willed her children to victory but as pangs of psychic pain echoed through the hive mind with only modest damage to the truck it was apparent the heavier firepower and armor of the professional mercenaries was proving decisive.

Her Hive was suffering. It pained her to consider defeat.

“Pull Back,” she gave the order. “Evacuate the wounded. Consolidate whoever is still in fighting shape and shadow them. Slowing them down will have to be enough until we can get them out of that truck. I suspect they’re headed for the harbor, whoever is still on the way, collect the diving gear we used on the truck job. I suspect we’ll need it.”

Unfortunate, inopportune. The words swirled. She needed her Hive's support. Keeping Endgame contained, their moves monitored, was vital. More hooves on the ground were better, but in a few moments the crew would be arriving, and the presence of what would appear to be a third party would not go unnoticed.

Tisiphone considered….she sought her inner Zen and found serenity at the eye of her personal hurricane.

“Mellow?”

“Yes, my Queen?”

“How well do you dance?”

“Ugh…what is…dancing?”

“Rhetorical question, stick with me, you and I have a razor blade tango to orchestrate. Relay a message from 'me', direct Gwynn to scan the non-standard frequency bands. Give it 30 seconds, transmit the following in that same range…”

“…fall…back …zz…. Shadow Endgame… wait for zzzz reinforcements. …. Zzz Pine…zzz heads…if you fail.”

Tisiphone snapped back to her body as the COP SUV came up the dock road only a minute or two behind the Endgame truck which disappeared into the shipping crates atop a ship on the verge of pulling away from the quayside.

“Elegant,” Glass Darkly noted, Endgame’s escape ruse was proving annoying competent.

“Radiant Pines’ goons are on the far side dock,” Gwynn noted, as the COP skidded to a stop.

“Are they?!”

Glass Darkly inwardly smiled as he asked a question that she already knew the answer too. The opening flourish had been made. Now the quickening rhythm.

Flitter and crew in the guise of Radiant mercenaries blew open the bridge door while Vixie and Gwynn and boarded the deck to open their siege of the container fort.

…

The Percussion swelled, rockets exploded, a cry of pain echoed in the Hive mind.

“Flitter?”

“The bad memories hurt the most my Queen but these are just regular explosives, not that rainbow bullshit. I had four legs, I can manage without one.”

“Norris, you have command, evac Flitter,” Tisiphone demanded.

“I can still do this!” Flitterwing protested.

“That was an order Flitterwing, a soldier does not disobey,” Prima's chastisement came weak but firm.

A rattle of weapons added to the crescendo, Vixie had almost wound up an exotic rug.

Tisiphone felt the shift in the cadence, her gut spoke to her. A moment later she was astrally in the harbor. In the astral soup of water, chemicals, and assorted junk she found what the music of battle had suggested. A mini-sub under the ship.

“Clever, but not enough,” the Queen smiled, the Knights and Pawns couldn’t take Endgame in a straight fight but they could deny them the space to maneuver.

Now, the technically tricky sequence.

“Radiant's goons are trying to attach a crane,” Gwynn noted.

“…and this is bad for us how?” Glass Darkly launched into a solo duet from within the cover of the SUV between assembling all of Split Klaw's spare explosives and levitating the improvised device towards the ship. Improvising with spell and the scales of decision making as his instrument.

The groans of strain on the large cargo crane answered. But despite her subject's success in tethering the ship, still there was danger.

“Could you NOT do that?!” Glass Darkly pushed Split Klaw's gun barrel down and away from where he was drawing a bead on the 'Radiant mercenaries' across the canal.

“Damn, let me shoot one of them to make a point!!”

Glass Darkly frowned in the negative.

“Crane Crew keep your heads down, explaining that you were sent to bug Valhalla by a crazed hobo using a tricked out gun given to him by your Queen while working on a reverse double-cross… we’d never live it down.”

Snickers echoed in a psychic reply. But now, the grand crescendo. Glass Darkly threw his reserves into another lightning bolt. The Endgame mage could rip apart spells targeted at her, and her comrades, but the ship, the ship was another thing entirely.

Lightning arced into the ship. A moment later the drifting hulk shuddered, it’s back broken. Water in rising geysers cascaded down on the tilting deck.

“Wait, that much explosive was the hobo pony 'running out',” Norris buzzed a psychic inquiry.

“Yep,” Tisiphone added a mirthful note in reply.

“By all the Queens. I don’t know whether to applaud him or fear being within the same block as him.”

“That would make two of us.”

Murmurs echoed, but the fight was not yet won, though the nut had been well and truly cracked. Into the breach went the scouts. Tisiphone was already noting the escape of Endgame towards a drain in the quay.

“There’s a pony bound and gagged, we can hear the Griffon pounding on the far door…,” the advance team clarified.

Tisiphone’s mind raced…

“Let…let the Griffon save edIT, it raises fewer questions,” Tisiphone commanded, but wondered silently if this heroism would help her friend quench the fires of doubt…Gwynn’s efforts on the ship hadn’t seemed decisive, but none could doubt the bravery of them and the support had been crucial.

Tisiphone spared a thought to whether it might be a problem convincing Glass Darkly's fellows to continue now that edIT was in reach. She shouldn’t have worried. Split Klaw was not one to leave a dance unfinished.

(SPLASH)

Glass Darkly spared little time diving in after. A tunnel into the docks district…clever…but she was learning Endgame’s tricks…the dark pipe was forbidding…

“I'm sure it's trapped...do your best...I would not ask this in any other circumstance if I did not think that these items held the key to the future of the Hive... My hopes go with you...I expect that every drone will do their duty for the Hive..."

Tisiphone called out across the hivemind. For the first time, that day…she felt hesitation. She mentally searched. She had the squad retreating from the ship and the picket line she had set across the harbor entrance…second and third battles for the soldiers and scouts. Her anger began to escalate as the response came slowly.

“Yes…yes Queen…,” and in that moment her thoughts flashed to shame. The dull psychic pain that fed the red rage, echoed back that half her hive was injured. Some of the soldiers more walking wounded than capable after the battle on the highway and the carnival of traps within the engineering spaces of the ship.

“No..countermand that,” She quickly changed her mind. Her mother had not led from behind. She would disappoint her heritage.

Into the pipe, she went, Split Klaw only a few lengths behind her. In the distance ahead shapes moved… Again the sides squared up, for this the final movement. Glass Darkly was quicker…in that moment, she knew what would happen, but again the lightning crackled…

The spell tore itself apart as the mage of Endgame shoved her comrades out of the way…raising her hooves…static electricity cascaded over the tunnel walls. Glass Darkly could feel the mage smirking behind her SWAT armor mask.

Glass Darkly smirked back. With a dancer’s flourish Glass Darkly twirled out of the line of fire, to reveal Split Klaw suspended in the murky water, the distraction complete.

Glass Darkly mouthed to himself, “you may fire when ready.”

Split Klaw of course needed no encouragement. Above ground, the retreating members of the Amethyst hive stopped for a heartbeat as manhole covers were thrown into the air on geysers of dark frothing water that erupted at regular intervals.

A psychic question was asked.

“Queen?”

A single mental image came back…of a mana case cradled in Glass Darkly’s arms.

“Victory…”

A chorus of psychic buzzes of joy and chirps of happiness went across the network. Glass Darkly smiled as her children carried away Flitter and the other wounded. Tisiphone busied herself pulling the stunned, unconscious forms of Endgame from the tunnel.

“My Queen,” Mellow psychically interrupted, “I have the message about the mistaken retreat you wanted me to send about the ‘Radiant Mercenaries’.”

“No need,” Tisiphone almost laughed in reply, “none of them seem to have realized that the ‘Radiant Mercenaries’ just left for no apparent reason. They’re not questioning it. No reason to call their attention to it.”

“But…,” Chuckbug Norris questioned, “How could they not think that was weird?”

“I don’t know, I’m scratching it up to wounds and the jitters from adrenaline overload,” Tisiphone shrugged inwardly as the last of the captured booty was loaded up. The real Radiant Pine security response was on the horizon, streaking in via armed VTOL, and they had scant minutes before the area was swarming with security. She didn’t have time to do anything else. She climbed into the COP and inwardly she gave a bow…if there had been a bouquet of flowers she would have happily taken it... It was done.

“That was one hell of a tango, Mellow,” Tisiphone gave a mental smile as she psychically congratulated her caretaker, “Now…We have been successful. I know that many of you suffered against professional runners today. Be assured that as quickly as we can we will tend to the wounded with magic and medkits. I know that it must be difficult to have not personally carried the day, but the intelligence and actions you carried out made victory possible. As your Queen, I am in your debt and will ensure that the items we recovered today are used to the benefit of the Hive...I salute you... Buzz, Buzz."

Another chorus of happy buzzes answered.

Everything was going to work out…her home had been destroyed, but what was another empty building?

Vixie turned to Glass Darkly and looked at the manacase.

“We’re going to have to do something about those. They’re not safe with you anymore.”

“Fox is right,” Split Klaw sagely nodded, “even if they attract such interesting people to fight.”

“If you’re getting rid of them, can I have one?” Tiara stuck her head in.

Tisiphone struggled to keep Glass Darkly’s face neutral as the victorious dancer did a figurative face plant while exiting the stage.

FUQ…. OH FUQ ME

Later (After A Runner Family Reunion)

A huge murmur of disquiet echoed through the meeting room.

“Are you sure? I mean I understand that you’ve been working on the spa for the last three decades but this really seems to have come out of the blue. Cozy, Box Office, I’ve known you two a long time… is everything alright?”

A crimson stallion that normally cut the look of an action star was giving a very unsure expression.

“I know it seems sudden,” Cozy Matinee placed a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder, “but we did a lot of soul searching recently, and we realized that we needed to take a step back. The recent spate of business has been useful in both helping us realize that we wanted to see the world a bit more before we got deeper into our golden years, along with helping make it a reality. The success wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

“We’ll still be around, but we wanted to take a yacht around the S. Poncific, soak up some sunshine. If everything starts to fall apart we can come back. Its not like we’re going to sail right off the edge of the world is it?,” Box Office chuckled, “And I have immense faith in the operating committee we’ve put together.

“Melody Night, Backlot, Amethyst Shadow, Glittering Facet, and Projecting Flicker. These ponies among you have been significant contributors. I trust them to do a great job.”

Murmurs of questioning continued.

“Facet and Amethyst have only been working here a few months, that’s kind of much isn’t it?”

Faces turned, but it was hard to tell who had piped up.

“Oi….can it. Amethyst has been a breath of fresh air and she’s done a great job of getting new faces in here and bringing new business. Now…I get it, you don’t like change. I don’t like to change. I’m an aging codger and I don’t like the idea of everything suddenly being different. But this, this is happening. Cozy Matinee and Box Office can’t run this show until the end of days, and I owe them too much to let you neighsayers ruin their ….quasi….retirement. So if you got a problem you come take it up with me.

Now we got some great ideas, this place has gone ten years without a significant update. We’re gonna do some renovations, make the place even nicer, a little sawdust, some workmen and soon we’ll have even more folks lining up to pay you fellas the moola.”

Backlot rubbed his hooves together avariciously.

“Now we gots work to do.”

There were grumbles but the room slowly emptied.

Melody Night headed for the far side as Backlot nodded his head. Snookie Sunshine ambushed her friend.

“Wow…I didn’t even know you were interested in this new planning committee. You’ve always been so non-committal on the idea of renovations, but I’m sure there’s some bonuses, and you’ll be able to do so much for Toola, but you’ll be away from her even more…do you need me to watch her for you.”

“Uh…yes…maybe…Toola, my…uh daughter, yes…I might need that…I’ll have to see.”

“Melody? Is everything okay?”

Snookie gave her best pleading eyes.

“Everything’s fine Snookie, you’ll see. Now I’m going to be late for the operations committee meeting.”

Snookie watched Melody walk into the conference room, Backlot at the door straightened his tie and looked Snookie in the eye as he slowly closed the double doors between them.

Snookie stood there in silence until the doors closed and locked.

On the other side…Amethyst looked at the renovation plans displayed on the wall. With a turn she regarded the four other ponies.

“You know what to do.”

All four ponies nodded and bowed their heads. Amethyst sat down and pulled out a trideo and began watching a recording of a Chinese mare begging for the assault on her mind to stop…

“Who sent you?”

“(I already told you…Couch…Mare)”

The answer wheezed as Amethyst put her hooves together…with the press of a button the trideo ended and a silent conversation began.

“Seven what’s the estimate for the mana shielding for the Temple, this danger won’t be over until I convince the others that I don’t have the cores anymore.”

“More time than money, My Queen.”

“I figured, I am coming to detest the word soon.”

Seven chuckled…Tisiphone did a double take.

“You…you laughed?!”

Tisiphone smiled as she felt the Worker blush…now…soon…

Later

The hour was late, the set was badly dressed as construction gear and supplies were scattered across the back service lot of Silver Screen Dreams. None cared or watched as another contractor truck pulled up. The lettering worn and faded. There were a hundred thousand such trucks in Seattle. Beneath notice. The truck backed into the supply dock for Silver Screen Dreams. Another delivery it would seem.

Ponies got out…and guided the truck into the dock. Just before it made contact the rolldown door was lifted…and the truck docked successfully. Several ponies stood inside the service bay. Construction supplies stacked on either side. One mare stepped forward and greeted the contractors, who with a nod turned and lifted the rolldown door on the back of the truck. A moment later and two long low objects came out… The manager mare stepped forward. Her eyes sparkled amethyst.

She looked over two stretchers as they were carried out by the ‘contractors’. Each carried a small mare, one with an oxygen mask, one missing a leg. The manager mare reached out and touched both. Her emotional mask falling away in that moment. She smiled.

“Frizzle, Flitter, welcome home, for real this time. No more shady boxes, no more being a cog, playing by the pony’s rules. This is ours. Our Hive. I welcome you.”

Soft buzzes went up from the onlookers. The wounded Caretaker turned her head and gave a big smile.

Author's Note

This chapter is a bit different as it tracks the events during events rather than occuring afterwards.

Game Notes: The team's fixer, edIT, is kidnapped from within her bar, Sundown. Investigation tracks an opposing runner team back to a luxury hotel, but while stopping at the new team member's home (the same player who had previously played Silky Sheets) even more evidence that the new team member is a changeling is discovered. Vixie (PC) slips off and sneaks into the basement after being told to keep out, and gets hit with a drug cocktail causing a significant delay.

The team locates the astral signature of edIT at the hotel, but has no way to access her without triggering a massive security response. Glass Darkly (PC) argues for a more aggressive approach, suspecting what the opposing team is really after, but gets out voted (Glass Darkly is still the only player aware of what the two gems actually are).

This results in Endgame moving forward with their plan. Leaving a rearguard, they hit Glass Darkly's home base with Glass Darkly/Tisiphone not being present. The rearguard at the hotel is taken down with some effort, while Glass Darkly flies back in spirit form but cannot appreciably do much other than track the Endgame team. Glass Darkly/Tisiphone calls in the remainder of the Hive and attempts to win back the stolen Cores, but the heavily armed Endgame team along with anti-magic specialist mage is able to beat back the assault.

The orange hive renegades (belonging to Kiwi Tiara) also show up and try to delay the Endgame team. This results in the main team catching up just as the Endgame team reaches the port and drives aboard a ship. Realizing that she needs her hive, Tisiphone has to effectively fight two battles at once. One to stop endgame, and the other to bluff her way through explaining where all the other combatants have come from. She does this by 'suggesting' that Gwynn try to intercept any communications being used while her Hive is sending messages that make it seem like they're a Radiant Pine mercenary force.

This results in what appears to be a three way Mexican standoff at the ship, though in actuality the 'Radiant Mercenaries, actually Amethyst changelings' are aligned to the Shadowtrot team. The battle is still brutal, and only narrowly won, mostly by Split Klaw having an inordinate amount of explosives and rockets in his personal stash.

Things immediately take a turn for the awkward, when afterwards, everyone believes that the 'gems' clearly need to be dealt with. As Tisiphone has previoulsy provided an inaccurate history that suggests that they are tainted in the same way as the Alicorn amulet this means destroying them.

Mission 22: August W2 ‘Finally Saving the World’

Somewhere in Seattle

Untouchable Ness dodged to the side with every ounce of alacrity he could manage. The thought of the horror should he be hit, unimaginable. He just barely managed to twist out of the way of globular mass and hop to the side, avoiding the small splatter as it hit the tunnel floor. A sigh, and a straightened tie later and he felt his composure returning.

He glanced at the roof of the tunnel at the Changeling that had nearly hit him. Well, the bits and pieces of one. Another drop of Ichor Blood fell, splattering over the scorch marks and remaining fragmentary bits of mono-filament grenade that littered the tunnel.

“Disgusting and bothersome,” Ness half sneered, the Changeling had almost gotten its blood on his suit.

Around the corner sounds of heavy hooved armor thudded through the tunnels. In the distance, the sharp staccato of rifle fire echoed. A Firewatch Captain approached from a central room.

“You look pale Ness. Nothing to worry about, just cleaning up the wounded ones too far gone to be worth the Lab's time.”

“Are you kidding? Surely you know how hard it is to get Changeling blood stains out of fabric. And you’ve made a right mess of this place.”

The Captain let loose a belly laugh, and then patted the hilt of his vibrosword.

“Suffer not a Changeling to live, but that doesn’t mean we can’t occasionally enjoy saving the world, eh?”

“Regardless,” Ness Interjected, eyeing the places where it looked like some mad artist had gone wild with orange and green splatter paint, “have you found a Queen?”

“No,” the Captain turned solemn, “your suspicions proved prescient. These appear to have been ordered to hold their Hive, there doesn’t appear to have been any effort to protect a Queen or enact a higher strategy other than fight to the last.”

“Troublesome…”

“How so? Sacrificing their drones is pretty par for the course for a Queen. I’m just thankful none of them have figured out the living bomb drek from before the Royal Sisters.”

Ness rewound the fight in his mind's eye.

“You know, about the same time we tracked this place down, someone was running what looks like a PsyOp to erode support and play down the Changeling threat. We have a recent episode where the evidence would strongly seem to support the conclusion that what is likely a nascent Hive may have taken great pains to evacuate its wounded. There have been other oddities.”

“So? A Changeling acting out of character is strange, but if there’s two hives here or a splinter Hive situation, well they still bleed the same.”

Ness looked over the crumpled forms of several dead Orange drones.

“You ever read Kirin literature Captain?”

“Mostly stick to The Pine's Recommended Reading List.”

“They’ve had a few smart fellas. One of them wrote a book on how to win a war. Made a big drekking point about how too few ponies truly understand their enemies. Understand yourself, and you’ll do alright, not great, but alright. Understand how your foe thinks on top of that, and suddenly chummer you are a hard opponent to deal with.”

“There a point to this Ness?”

“The changelings don’t 'get' us like we often have trouble getting them. Chrysalis didn’t understand the power she stole from Mi Amore. Erytora didn’t fare much better. They can mimic decently enough but their headspace feels alien… Inevitably the differences trip them up, but this ghost is different. This… this doesn’t feel like what it would do.”

Ness stretched out a hoof to the walls drenched in blood.

“The Queen that pulled this…that’s from the standard playbook. The other one…the other one has done a remarkable job at thinking like us, like a pony. It understands us, making it hard to catch. And that prospect scares me.”

“So how’d that happen?”

“I don’t know…but I intend to find out.”

Elsewhere

“I do not know what possessed your upstart of a Queen to offer this, but there will be no further discussion of this…buzz…foolishness.”

A pair of orange wings fluttered, a matte black hoof rent with holes traced the top of a drone's head as it lounged at the hooves of the larger Queen. A signed document was tossed to the floor of the cave, disappointment was reflected in two pairs of gem-like amethyst eyes. All around paired orange eyes glowed sullenly.

“Orange Queen, with all respect,” the mottled white and black Changeling protested. “It is clear that the ancient foe Radiant Pine seeks the destruction of all Hives, not just ours. If left to his devices he will surely bring about another great purge. If this is not to your liking is there anything we may convey back to the Amethyst Queen that may help prevent such an ending?”

A chorus of angry hisses and buzzes echoed from all sides. It stopped abruptly as the Orange Queen rose.

“I will tolerate your impertinence only so that you may deliver this message. If any of her weaklings enter my territory again.

I will kill them.

If she is unable to defend her own, then may the ponies kill her.

If she has forgotten how to be a Queen, then her death can only be a benefit to the Swarm, before she infects others with her aberrancy. Now begone from my sight!”

The mottled changelings gave a bow and backed out of the chamber, chased by an angry chorus of hisses and buzzing.

It was a long awkward trip back to the surface. An even longer conversation with their Queen.

A thousand miles away Tisiphone sat alone in the council chamber. The Orange Queen had rebuffed her. Strawberry Hooves had disappeared with nary a word after the last argument when Vixie, Split Klaw, and Gwynn had made it clear they would not hand over a magical artifact of great power to a Changeling. Tisiphone’s earlier suspicions had been proven right. Now that her compatriots suspected the power in the artifcats, they were far less blase regarding their care. Now every intention of Strawberry Hooves was suspect given her aspirations and the confirmation of knowing what the changeling was.

Strawberry Hooves wanted to be a Queen. All else had seemed secondary to the Nymph. Including discretion. Tisiphone rubbed her eyes. She could almost hear the school foals from her vision shrieking about the monster. Oddly it was the Orange Nymph on the podium and not her.

…But she was dangerously close to this fallout, only a minor bit of attention, and someone would notice the similarities between the fool and the jester. Tisiphone had danced with Endgame but she was on eggshells with the team, and with others. The dreaded Changeling Hunters had surely been summoned.

A light cough from the doorway made her look up.

“How long have you been standing there Facet?”

“Long enough to know that the proposal to the Orange Queen did not go well. That much is written on your face. I take it even the revelation that her wayward spawn seeks to supplant her was not enough to sway her?”

“No.”

“What will you do now? The Orange Nymph's indiscretions leave us little room. You are very much in danger every time you go out as Darkly.”

“Maybe, but while this is a problem, it is also an opportunity. So many odd events have occurred in Seattle of late.”

A crocodile smile spread across the Amethyst Queen's face as she continued.

“Oddities which can now be answered. Queen Strawberry Hooves of the Orange, the mighty, Scourge of Equestria deserves her fair due. Ensure she receives all the attention a 'Queen' of her reputation deserves.”

Facet smiled, “She will be credited for all the infamy she deserves. Now with the left hoof drawing attention what is our play with the right?”

“The Gem Cores, my compatriots understand these are dangerous now. I could tell them what they really are, but in no future would they permit them to stay solely within my control. Between Strawberry and Endgame my hoof has been forced. I agreed in principle to their destruction to buy time. The only way to restore the old equilibrium is if no pony knows I have them.”

Tisiphone brought up a projection of what looked like old Buddhist scrolls. Then with a flourish produced a manacase battered and beaten, with the same scars of battle as the case she had so recently fished out of Tacoma harbor.

“Intaglio's group at the Temple has outdone themselves.”

Tisiphone opened the case, revealing near perfect copies of the Songcrest Meridian and Magewood Circlet.

“I can’t make these as magical as the originals, but with Strawberry who knows where only Vixie would be in a position to notice. The pedestal switcher is likewise quite clever a contraption. I’ve made all the arrangements I can, drawn on all the theatrical tricks I know. They will have to be enough. Be ready with the ambushing group at the volcano path should circumstance not favor us at the Temple.”

“As you command…my Queen.”

Later

The sun shone down brightly, the summer day pleasant. In the distance a Knight Errant drone passed on a patrol, weaving among the Bellvue buildings. They had passed three parked Knight Errant patrols and at the base of the office building across the street ponies queued up to pass through a hastily erected scanner. The parting gift of Strawberry Hooves.

Glass Darkly's face was neutral as he walked up to the door. An unassuming sign noted that the monks were away for a conference, please come back tomorrow.

A thin monk with a shaved mane swept the courtyard just beyond the door. Wordlessly the monk opened the door and admitted the group. The small, recently installed bioscanner was dark. Not that it would have mattered, the unit was mostly for scanning for hidden transmitters. The prominent indicator light 'Not a Changeling' always shone green.

Glass nodded to the monk. A psychic comment followed.

“Be wary my Soldier, this is a delicate time.”

“None shall disturb you, my Queen.”

The monk closed the door behind Gwynn. Across the dappled courtyard, under the leaves of the tree, a scene of tranquility greeted them. The breeze carried wafting notes of incense. Glass paused a step and tasted the Mana.

Clean, very clean. The hint of a note of a different taste to that of Bellevue lingered at the farthest edge of awareness. Glass sensed it only because he knew it was there. He feared Vixie's nose like few other foes in this moment. The incense wafted and the building had been scrubbed and cleaned floorboards to rafters. Yet Vixie seemed relaxed as Darkly resumed his walk to the far side of the courtyard where Clear Chakra introduced himself and bowed from within his saffron robes.

Glass Darkly was putting an immense amount of responsibility on Intaglio. To Darkly’s joy his lieutenant and member of the Amethyst Shadow Society did not disappoint.

A few moments later

The several pound lump of steel flew into the ceiling like a cannon shot. Split Klaw likewise flew into the opposite wall, leaving a dent. The dull thud spoke to how just how thick the wall was. A rain of synth wood splinters cascaded down. The Hobo's insistence on being allowed the opportunity to simply smash the relics had created a moment of chaos, and a blinding flash of retribution. Gwynn was out in the hall, unwilling to be present while someone hit a magical artifact with a hammer. Split Klaw was in a tangled heap, dazed. Vixie blinked away the spots in her eyes, half-blind.

Glass Darkly saw his chance.

“Okay that’s about what I expected,” he solemnly noted and pushed the gems back into the manacase.

He firmly set the manacase right above the geometric design that hid that fact that the table top wasn’t a singular piece.

“Okay, I think it’s time to go over the information Chakra and I found….”

A few moments later

“…the Great Khan was cruel and depraved…” Chakra pointed to a picture of a yellowed, ancient scroll fragment that had been written last week.

Glass moved quietly, but caused the occasional creak and bump.

Tisiphone was pleased, Intaglio was keeping it concise. Much of this had been meant to override the protests of Strawberry Hooves. But the Orange Nymph was gone. Agreement on destruction was forgone. The tale being told now was a pale reflection of the actual history. Tisiphone needed a villain. The ancient Yak Khan had sufficed.

“Tea?”

Glass Darkly asked Vixie.

“Oh thank you.”

Behind the two of them, there was a slight swish and soft click. Glass Darkly fought to keep his heart rate down. Vixie’s ear twitched, but her attention returned to the trideo.

… The world Glass Darkly was building had been saved.

Later

“You know I didn’t think this would work, but it’s hotter than the volcano.”

Glass Darkly sighed as the last bits of thermite buried the mana case. He was improvising again, Gywnn had objected to taking a set of valuable artificats out into the dangerous no-pony's land at Mt. Ranier, and had instead insisted that she could achieve the same effect with a thermite crucible. Tisiphone didn't care much, the manacase that had just disappeared from view contained nothing but replicas. The real manacase and Cores remained in the base of the display pedestal.

Vixie from the background piped up.

“Hey so I have my own case, to put them into.”

Vixie withdrew a new manacase and held it up. Glass Darkly’s eye twitched before he brought his expression under control. Tisiphone’s heart pounded. Was this planned? Was the fox-mare so cunning and devious? Tisiphone hadn’t even considered this might happen. Was she done for? Her elaborate ruse at an end? No…she had backup plans. She had arranged for an entire litany of options at the volcano. But this!!! Surely the fox mare would notice?! The 'gems' in the case NOW were but hollow glass filled with the most concentrated astral dye Tisiphone had found. Vixie had seen the cores astrally. The imitations were pale copies compared to the real cores. The Amethyst Queen was hoist upon her own petard….unless.

“We've already loaded the thermite, and the original case is contaminated. Might as well dispose of it as well.”

“Oh, okay.”

Vixie shrugged, and Tisiphone’s heart began to slow. She had so nearly been undone. A crackling flame soon lit the room and rendered the point moot.

Glass Darkly had never been happier to see 15,000 nuyen go up in flames. The fakes had never even been seen.

“Intaglio…,” Tisiphone asked Chakra through the Hive Mind.

“Yes, Queen?”

“Have a set of spare cases ready, as soon as we leave, this room goes through a full astral decontamination. The original manacase has become saturated. It’s not safe to take these back to the Hive until fresh manacases are in place. Going forward, decontamination procedures are in effect for anyone who enters the room these are stored in. Keep the old case though, not at the Hive, we’re going to use this against our foes.”

“Yes, Queen.”

The fire burned for an hour before finally, the ashes were cold. Split Klaw scratched at the bottom of the firing vessel.

“Bits of gold, plasteel, and melted glass…,” Split muttered.

“Faintly magical,” Vixie noted, possibly a bit suspicious that the gems had melted so easily.

“Well, only way to be sure, who’s up for a hike to the Volcano,” Glass Darkly rubbed his hooves.

Later

Glass Darkly made no attempt to stop Split Klaw as he hurled Vixie’s Mana case full of melted slag into the caldera of lava far below.

In the sky above a few apparent storm spirits circled. Tisiphone felt better with the third security team up there providing over watch. She felt better that finally, the Interdictor Cores were back under her control. The damage and disruption caused by Endgame had finally been set right. She regretted that she had needed to manipulate her team to this degree, up till now she had managed largely by omission, not clarifying what exactly it was that they had stolen on that fateful night so long ago. Until Endgame had come, along with Strawberry Hooves' demands, the dual assault had forcibly reminded everyone of a key fact most of them had forgotten. But Tisiphone had other, older debts to pay. An unspoken promise to a mother-Queen barely remembered, to succeed where she had failed. Tisiphone could not break faith with those who had sacrificed all to ensure her survival. In that she silently thanked Split Klaw, Vixie, and Gwynn.

They had finally saved the world……

Tisiphone's.

Author's Note

Game Notes: This was a fairly awkward session, as it occurred as a result of the Endgame attack and the general decision to destroy the gems. Given the anti-hero 'B-Plot' the Tisiphone character had been running and the fact that the Cores represented the primary 'victory' condition for Tisiphone, the difficult decision was made to restore the status quo by making it appear that the 'Foci' (which to this point no one else besides Glass Darkly/Tisiphone had cared to investigate, or had discovered what they really were) had been destroyed. This being the first time the main plotline and the character B plot had come into conflict.

As such the other players found this mission surprisingly easy, as they had expected an attack by a third party ala Endgame. The author playing Glass Darkly was sweating bullets the whole time.

Mission 23: August W3 ‘Sleeping Soundly’

A pastel pink mare nervously turned the corner, tightening her shawl. In the distance above the run down brick buildings, the factory arcologies of the Chicago suburbs loomed. The emblem of Radiant Industries glowing, larger than the moon eclipsed behind the mammoth structures.

A pile of garbage moved, now revealing a hobo reclining on top.

“Hey Missy, spare a few nu-bits for an old hungry codger?”

The hobo wheezed and got to his hooves.

“Umm I really don’t have any food,” the mare protested, “or that much money.”

She took a step back. He took a step forward, then another.

“Oh I think a sweet young thing like yourself has exactly what I need…”

The mare took another step back, starting to turn.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, but Knight Errant aren’t far away… and I should be…eeeeeyyyy.”

The mare's sentence was cut off by a shriek as she dove away from the hobo that had lunged at her, the rims of his eyes burning orange. She made another two paces before she tripped over a bag of garbage. The hobo was on her in a pounce, his eyes now lurid pools of orange, the fur on his muzzle giving way to matte black chitin. Two deadly fangs emerged from his upper jaw and as the mare shrieked he plunged them into her.

A second later and the mare went limp, her eyelashes fluttering pitifully as her eyes rolled back in her head. The pink color in her coat began to fade. A half moment passed before there was a soft beep from down the alley.

The hobo got off the mare and extended a hoof, helping her up. She quickly rose to her hooves and looked around to ensure that none were watching. Satisfied she went to retrieve a small object.

“You were a bit slow retracting your fangs this time,” she whispered, rubbing the base of her neck.

“It showed up in the last shot. I didn’t want another location wasted on an unusable result.”

“Whatever.”

A few moments later and two apparent Chicago gangers loitered at the end of another alley looking tough while they shared conspiratorial whispers.

“How many more times we going to do that?”

“A few more, you anxious to get back to Frizzle's cooking or something?”

“By the Queen, don’t remind me, I’d love a nice bowl of sugar slaw. The pony food here gives me indigestion.”

“Well, we're almost done. I can understand the extended mission. The Queen trying to salvage something of value from our trip. Drawing media attention to Chicago and away from Seattle is the least the orange Hive owes us after their Nymph threw a wrench in the works.”

“You think Radiant Pine will take the bait. I doubt this is going to fool him.”

“Eh probably not, but there’s value in making them expend effort chasing ghosts.”

One-handed a bottle of hay beer to the other.

“To the Queen, long may she reign.”

Elsewhere

A hiss of escaping carbonation filled the cab. Irregular Freight threw back his head and imbibed deeply. He wasn’t supposed to drink on the job but these long haul runs could have been rigged by foals. The seemingly endless desert of California stretched out dark before him, only a few taillights far ahead, and his favorite tunes for company.

“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair,

Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light,

My head…”

Freight stopped singing along with the song, there WAS a strange light coming over the ridge far ahead of him. He checked the rear cameras. Two lights also approached from the rear.

“Weird,” he took another swig of soy beer.

Still the lights grew larger at an astonishing rate. Almost supersonic T-birds crossing the desert, and yet as he looked again, expecting the lights to move off or a set to recede, all three grew larger equidistantly.

“Umm Dispatch anything I should know about low flying aircraft,” Freight questioned.

“Nothing on the schedule, there..zz..sometzzzz…. wrzzzzzzzz,” the answer faded into incomprehensible static.

Freight pounded a hoof on the console as the rest of his instruments that needed a matrix connection flickered over to warning notices.

“This could be heaven or this could be hell,” the music played on uncaring.

The lights screamed at him like tiny suns, the faintest edge of Doppler-shifted turbines wailed across the desert at Emergency power.

“Oh drek me!”

A trio of spotlights speared the truck with blinding radiance. Freight felt himself forcibly jacked out of the truck, his head aching with biofeedback from his severed rigging connection. The engine stalled and the large cargo carrier drifted to a stop on the side of the freeway.

Freight turned his head to see a T-bird land, a squad of Firewatch streaming out the lowered ramps. The groggy rigger barely managed to react as the door was wrenched open bending the hinges.

“There’s been some sort of mistake!”

Freight protested as his face was shoved into the desert gravel, the road ablaze with ponies in military armor. He just caught sight of a pony in slightly less bulky armor approach him. A spell fetish of pine on one side of his belt, a focus of dual sun and moon gems dangling from the other side. Freight winced as a scanner was held up to the back of his head, while the lightly armored pony chanted something behind his face mask.

From the cab the music droned on, ignored.

“Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.”

The light on the scanner shone green, and the masked pony mage shook his head in the negative. Still, they did not let Freight up off the ground. The sound of boxes being thrown out of the back of the truck carried in the desert air. The occasional sound of breaking plastic or shattering glass accompanying the clatter. After barely a minute several armored ponies clustered around a spot on the floor of the trailer. A mage finding a powdery substance that sent his Mana detectors screaming.

“And in the Master's chambers, they gather for the feast

Stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the Beast”

A Captain turned from the open back of the trailer, tapping the side of his helmet making a conference call expand within his visor. All the talking heads were blank save the Captain and one other.

“There’s nothing here but a residue of some sort.”

The looks of disappointment were palatable around the virtual round table even though the blacked-out faces.

“Ritual Surveillance is showing another trace in Bakersfield.”

“That truck was unloaded there, I’m already having the lads run background checks but there’s a lot of staff at the sorting facility, confirming any deviants will take time.”

“Do we have any confirmation the truck was actually full on the leg to California? They could be moving it south.”

“Are we sure it’s even them at this point? I know they are Ness' concern, but they’ve never shown any interest before. My concern is that we're ignoring the possibility this may be more Deviant trickery. Regardless, what is important is in the box that truck carried,” a mare’s voice cut in among the stallions and silenced them.

“We’re checking surveillance but we haven’t picked up any groups of hitchhikers or vagrants along the route yet. Nor any known Deviants.”

“There were no changelings in the truck.”

Ness interjected. Some pony coughed.

“And you are sure of this how?”

“You abruptly conferenced me in at the invitation of the personal assistant to Radiant Pine himself and demanded the case files for the Rising Mist incident. An incident where a heavily armed strike team at the behest of SOMEPONY went in and overran what looks every bit like a nascent proto-hive, only to trigger a running gun battle on the freeway, and an even bigger battle at the Tacoma docks.

No pony decides to tangle with a full Hive for cupcakes and giggles, though I’m not convinced that they were aware of that. Regardless, whoever commanded that Hive lost their ever-loving cupcakes over that attack. Hives don’t chase heavily armed attackers and have highly public battles for cupcakes and giggles either. I thought it might have been a rescue, but here you are. Clearly less interested in the fact there may be another Hive in Seattle, eating ponies then what you appear to suspect they might have.

So does some pony want to tell me what exactly it is that this suspected Hive has gotten their holey little hooves on that’s so drekking important?”

The mare spoke with a note of finality.

“Your insight Special Agent Ness has been invaluable and noted, but certain information is on a very need to know basis. That will be all thank you.”

The screen winked out. In the visiting executive suite of the Radiant Industries Seattle HQ. Ness swore and loosened his tie. He stood and grabbed the crystal tumbler off the table. The sound of the real glass bottle sliding across real wood was soothing. He poured out a sniffer of whiskey and stood, the lights of Seattle blazing below, sending beams of glittering color to the heavens where no stars could compete with their radiance. In the far distance the sullen red of the volcano lit the low clouds.

Ness checked the bottle, already half empty. He usually had a lead by now. It was rare that he needed more than one bottle for an assignment. His liquid luck an old family recipe from a still that dated back seven generations to Bootleg Brew.

He sniffed and then brought the crystal tumbler to his lips.

“You’re out there under this same sky, aren’t you? Enjoying playing Radiant’s right hoof ponies for fools, are you? They don’t understand that you’re different, you’re not going to play by their rulebook.”

He finished off the tumbler and poured another.

“Drek, I’m going to need another bottle, maybe a lot more bottles.”

A few days later

A few changelings cheered as the Pegasus courier lifted off into the sky, having secured the parcel to her back. The tracking code from the seventh different courier company was attached to the RFID smart barcode.

Facet held up her hooves for quiet in the common area of the cafeteria. It was a strange game, but a welcome diversion. The renovation of Silver Screen Dreams and construction of the Hive was virtually complete, and the Workers and Scouts that previously had full run of the spa as construction staff now found little to do. The long lockdown was starting to wear on the Hive, there were limits on how many of them could be employed within the spa, and aside from careful forays for precious serenity, few changelings left their safe harbor while Knight Errant scanned most everything that moved in the city.

“Okay…votes are in, our next leg is to…. Drumroll, please….Applewood. The box is going to see the stars…”

Facet put some theatricality into her performance, working to keep up spirits while the Queen was away. Most of the changelings hadn’t realized that Tisiphone was working today. After the near-disaster of the Tournament, resistance to the Queen risking her life on rather insipid pony intrigues was growing.

“Ohhh,” a chorus of sharp-eyed scouts cried.

Facet turned, caught at the far edge of the micro camera’s resolution, the courier company the Pegasus had just lifted off from, was suddenly sent into chaos as a Citymaster armored vehicle skidded to a halt…not quite fast enough to avoid denting the bumper of the sports car parked across two spaces. Ponies in security armor got out of the Citymaster and ran inside.

“Oh, …almost got caught there!” Facet’s eyes sparkled as the assorted changelings cheered. “Looks like it’s time for a reroute…everyone has one minute to provide their votes on which reroute option we’re going to use for this day’s CHASE THAT BOX!”

Facet hoped that her Queen was having as much fun as she was.

Elsewhere

“…kindly get your butt out of my face…”

Glass Darkly tried to find some tiny pocket of space to fit into as the car pulled away from the Washateria. Smoke poured from broken crevices in the plascrete. Glass prayed the suspension on the car didn’t break, they were loaded to the brim with the shattered remnants of Gwynn’s combat drone, a sizable load of loot in the form of black market cybernetics, a captured medical drone, and the object of the task. One Vector Sound, a defector from the CMC. Glass wanted to get into the pony’s head, but now was not the time…and Glass was well aware that given that they had gone to great lengths to rescue the pony, the information they sought was almost certain to be given freely. Tisiphone had learned the lesson previously at great cost to avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory by overcomplicating her schemes. She could wait.

The fight within the clinic had not been by any means graceful. It had been a slog of slogs until the defending mage went down. Then a spell fetish of Witche's Moss had been useful, as had her natural gifts. High-end armor was strong against bullets but not much against magic paralyzation. Tisiphone was surprised that Gwynn hadn’t commented on the fact that Glass had gone through supposedly rare and expensive paralytic toxin like it was candy. Geez her venom glands were going to be sore for a week replacing all that she had just used.

More worrisome was Gwynn’s funk of depression. Tisiphone didn’t know how to cheer the Griffin up. The loss of yet another combat drone so soon was greatly discouraging their rigger. The purloined Cybernetics would ultimately make good her losses, but risking life and limb to wind up back in the same spot never felt good. Going in circles. On that point, Tisiphone wondered what exactly might come of this.

She was hesitant to push the team to attack the CMC, though gaining the Alicorn Amulet from them was the obvious play before turning to the far tougher nut to crack of Radiant Pine and Ms. Who. Yet, such a dangerous foe would not be considered unless the pay was equal with the risk. Tisiphone had sunk so many resources into the Hive…which granted, between the spa and the temple, they were eking out the lockdown enforced by the anti-changeling crackdown, but they were in no position to bankroll the kind of cash needed to hire Tisiphone's comrades, full stop, even if paying Tisiphone was removed. That left things in the hands of an elusive benefactor until either Tisiphone’s cash balance recovered or something changed the status quo.

Glass Darkly sighed as they pulled into a covered parking garage and the car changed IDs and paint schemes. Nothing to do but wait and hope the Hive was having a productive day.

Elsewhere

“That is a lot of sugar…,” Local Production looked on quizzically as the first of several pallets began to drop towards the loading dock from the back of the large cargo truck.

“I know, but we got such a huge discount buying in bulk,” Violet Bloom answered to the soft approvals of the kitchen staff.

“Yeah but…,” Local Production protested.

“But what? Cozy Matinee and Box Office always wanted to open a Parisian Bistro. Now we have our own cozy little restaurant to serve a limited menu and fresh snacks to the patrons. It will bring in a few diners that in turn might stick around for the spa. There are only so many ponies that want to relive the glory of Audrey Hebpone’s early work. A little bit of diversification never hurt any pony.”

“Look, I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea…but all this…diversification is shifting the clientele, and that means the work the old crew did is coming in bits and dribbles. Two months ago, Snookie was telling me about her vacation plans, now after a month of half work, and another month of very mediocre bookings for her roles she’s worried about her savings.”

Violet rubbed her chin…

“Hmm we can look at the assignments, Snookie is a long-timer, and we don’t want to run her off, but some disruption was to be expected. The spa needed a major overhaul and refurb, it was stagnating before.”

“Yes, but…you know…arghh…, it’s a nice name.”

Local Production pointed to the Parisian theming…and the bold lettering for ‘La Reve Argent’. Violet Bloom watched him go as a clerk moved to stand next to her with a clipboard.

“What do you want me to do about Snookie?”

“Oh…work her in for a nice run, bump a couple of other ponies to do it…if anyone asks make it clear that Local Production pressured me.”

The two shared a look and amethyst flickers flashed in the two sets of eyes. Behind them, a flurry of baking was going on…one of the pastry chefs quietly pressed a series of hidden buttons. A shelf in the pantry turned, revolving into the wall, carrying several 50 kilo sacks of sugar. When the motion was complete another set of empty shelves waited to be filled.

Outside the bakers conversed where only they could hear each other.

“It feels weird, making food for ponies.”

“I know right…not a single grub in the Hive for us to take care of, instead we have to pamper stressed out PONIES.”

“Enough of that you two. Think of it as….fattening them up. Make them happy, that means more sweet Serenity for us. Do not second guess the Queen’s plans. For she is wise and soon we will all share in her victory.”

“Agreed…Buzz…Glory to the Amethyst Queen….Buzz.”

Elsewhere, Later

“…and so the CMC wishes to destroy the WORLD! Bring Eternal NIGHT!”

Glass Darkly looked down at Vector Sound, the pony that they had fought so hard to rescue.

“And… Quel Surprise? I know this may seem insensitive, but that was pretty much assumed from the beginning. Do you have any information on the ritual they're planning with the Alicorn Amulet? Secondly, are you paying for us to go in and fight an entire legion of insane cultists to take the amulet from them?

“Not really….,” Vector Sound admitted sheepishly.

Glass Darkly held his hoof to his face… the status quo had been budged by all of about several inches. A pitched, difficult battle had paid the bills and given Glass and Gwynn further experience in being shot and blown up, and not much else.

Radiant Industries wasn’t the only group running in circles, something would need to shake loose and soon. Glass didn’t relish bringing Ms. Who back into the equation, but it seemed there was little choice, but this was fraught with peril. Tisiphone still couldn’t say who Ms. Who was, or who she worked for, and in that enigma opportunity and disaster held equal reign.

Author's Note

Game Notes: The team is advised that a defector from the CMC (Vector Sound) wants to provide information, but he has been captured and taken to a hidden clinic where he presumably is being interrogated to determine what information he has provided. We are tasked with his rescue.

The clinc is hidden under a Washateria that serves as a front business. We fail to locate the side entrance and as a result wind up essentially kicking the door in. We find that a squad of heavily armored and armed mercenaries is setup on the chokepoint into the lab. Resulting in it being difficult to move forward, the same problem we ran into at the supermarket. Gwynn's best combat drone is destroyed by return fire while the mercanies are so heavily armored that grenades are largely ineffective.

Ultimatley a lucky shot knocks out the mercenary mage which up to that had rendered Glass Darkly relatively ineffective. Using a consumable spell fetish of Witches' Moss several defenders were paralyzed allowing the team to break past the grenade saturated bottleneck. With no real defense against Glass Darkly's invisibility, the remaining defenders were picked off in sneak attacks and Vector Sound was recaptured before he could removed.

The combined effect of a dozen grenades, burning fires, limited the captured loot. Worse, once Vector Sound recovered, he revealed that the CMC was planning to use the Alicorn Amulet to power a ritual to kill Luna to resurrect her aspect as Nightmare Moon, and bring about an eternal night. This unfortunately had already been surmised, so it was a very much Newsflash, water is wet, kind of moment.

Mission 24: September W1 ‘A Reckless Disregard for Gravity/Red Skies at Morn'

Following Sleeping Soundly, (August W4)

Heavy hoof steps echoed down the hall, a suited earth pony with a jawline worthy of an Apple clan stallion pushed through a set of doors, two administrators hurriedly followed in his wake. He strode up confidently to the table in the small room and leaned down menacingly over the stallion opposite that wilted under the glare.

“Mr. Freight, I will ask this once…WHERE IS MY SUGAR?

The rigger on the other side of the table quailed and shuddered, on the verge of a breakdown.

“I don’t know why your trailer was empty! I don’t know why this keeps happening! I just don’t know what went wrong!!!”

“Can we make up production,” the suited stallion asked his admin.

“Possibly, Mr. Muffin, but we’ll have to make bran muffins for the rest of the week.”

“Alert our retail partners, and Knight Errant, with luck we’ll avoid repeating the worst of the great muffin riots during the shortage following the crash of '62.”

Elsewhere

A pink mare shrieked as a hobo sank his fangs into her neck. There were no flinches around the table. A cup of steaming coffee was sipped in the quiet of the darkened conference room.

“Resolution on that trid is garbage,” Ness spoke, “Was the downscaled quality achieved through software or through repeated copying?”

“The pattern of transcription degradation is consistent with repeated copying, though a high-end agent could probably simulate the same,” the reedy analyst at the front of the room clarified and stepped back to reveal another half handful of videos and a dozen pictures of purported changeling attacks.

“I assume that the metatag data and model of commlink used for filming has been scrubbed?”

The analyst nodded.

“You’re not giving me much to work with here Echelon Patriot” Ness scribbled a few notes, the pencil loud against the paper.

“I wish there was more to give. We picked up increased activity on the various fringe ‘trix sites starting three days ago, it took some time to recognize the pattern by which time the narrative had just started to gain traction with second and third-tier media and other marginal influencers. Initial investigation confirmed the use of burner accounts, various sock puppet personalities, all tied to disposable SINs that went nowhere on investigation. We initially classified the origin as corporate. The Media Influence team has been busy lately keeping the lid on any push back from our elevated presence in Seattle, and the debacle in the CFS recently concerning that goose chase the ritual magic department went on has further complicated matters.

Standard psych control and 'population reassurance' procedures were implemented immediately. The somewhat inelegant and delayed adaptation from the source of the campaign clued us in that we weren’t dealing with another Corp trying to hit at our prestige. The security measures they’re using are relatively competent and show behaviors consistent with Shadowtrot experience or at least being advised by someone with Shadowtrot experience, but on swaying public opinion this is as they say 'their first rodeo.' We're handily keeping their message neutralized.”

“Aside from creating a Changeling scare in Chicago, there doesn’t seem to be a larger goal,” Ness queried enjoying his coffee, “can we confirm any actual pony victims in all that?”

Ness waved at the wall-sized Trideo.

“No, granted there’s a lot of unregistered ponies in the Chicago barrens, but we can’t match up any actual instances of ponies being attacked. As to the message we've countered that a few Changelings wandering around Chicago are to be expected. It is Chicago after all. We have one of our Intel mares playing the pink victim on a fake SIN, she'll be giving an interview later today praising the free medical care being rendered by Radiant Industries, and expressing her confidence that the changeling that attacked her will be hunted down and destroyed by Firewatch. In the larger scheme, the lack of any larger goal tipped us off that the goal seems to be to get us to redeploy assets to Chicago. In the service of what goal, that’s your job. We have some token assets moving in for the sake of the cameras but we’re not stripping assets from elsewhere.

Ness mused for a moment.

“Shadowtrot experience on a Changeling that explains a great deal…”

“Yeah never seen one of those Orange buggers get up to that before, but there’s a first for everything. On the plus side, eventually there will be a flaw in one of their setups and we’ll trace them or the forger making their SINs.”

Ness stopped mid-action, his coffee stopped halfway from his lips, his brow furrowing deeply.

“Orange you say?”

Elsewhere

“The effort has been most illuminating, but ineffective,” the comment was as flat as an Appaloosa mesa.

“Seven, I wasn’t expecting a groundswell of opinion but any redeployment of RI away from Seattle would be welcome,” Tisiphone inquired hopefully.

“Unlikely, Radiant Industry aligned accounts were prevalent and well established. We are getting shouted down,” Seven curtly waved a hoof to the room full of Workers, their faces awash in the light from the AR carnivals that danced in front of each.

Tisiphone raised a hoof to her head, she should have expected this. Basic corporate operation 101, control what the wage slaves thought, maybe less directly than her usual means, but effective nonetheless. More resources burned for little gain. She put on a brave face. She couldn’t allow doubt to fester.

“Very well, wind down the operation today. There’s little use in burning SINs trying to budge the fat Yak that is Radiant Media from where it’s sitting. This was our first foray on an operation of this magnitude, and Radiant Industries' strength in this arena needed to be tested. Recon is always valuable.”

“My Queen, I think you are being overly defeatist, we haven’t succeeded yet, but a second effort…”

Cameo protested and advocated for a continuance of the operation she had been assigned co-leadership of.

“No, challenging Radiant Pine in a battle of attrition is questionable, he currently has more of everything. In this case, we’re starting from scratch, while they’re activating pre-positioned assets. We will lose that battle, it is only a question of how hard and how fast. We gain victory by finding where he is weak and attacking him there.”

“We can still accomplish something…”

“Cameo, walk with me,” Tisiphone’s tone was clear, the request was not optional.

A worker slightly turned her head until Seven loudly cleared her throat. Tisiphone was out the door into the tunnel. They walked in silence to the council room.

“Are you so mad at me for daring to disagree with you?”

Cameo stood haughtily.

“No, I’m disappointed. Do you have any concept of how many bodies I had to bury to lay the foundations for what we have become? Ponies, Dogs, and Griffins in this age, the entire Hive save three survivors in the last. We have needed to go through all that why?! Because Chitina couldn’t set aside her dreking pride long enough to realize that annoying the ponies in pointless acts of terror did nothing to change the balance of power. She fought a war she had already lost right up to the point where the ponies finally got around to slaughtering her after they were done with the invaders from beyond the stars.

The Orange Queen refused me because I impinged on her narcissistic self-importance. Strawberry Hooves allowed a portion of her own Hive to be massacred in service of her self-importance. The same shadows stalk us always. The body you wear had its genesis in a drop of my blood. The same pride stalks my thoughts, and in that I can understand why this failure stings and why I must guard against it always. You are welcome to counsel and to advise … but if I find you putting your pride above the goal we all swore, in a way that threatens the future of this hive then I will put you down myself. We will break the cycle of purges and achieve a position from which the ponies cannot threaten us again. Almost everything has been in the service of that goal….and I intend to see it done. Pointless waste fighting battles already lost that cannot change the balance of power is utterly meaningless.

You are one of my chosen, our unity of purpose cannot be in question.”

Cameo looked back, the Nymph’s face a neutral mask. After a long minute, she spoke.

“If the Queen has lost faith in me then I must offer my res-“

“There is no time for this!”

Tisiphone interrupted with a sharp shout. She sighed and continued quietly.

“There is no time. Events approach a nexus. The chance to become more than we are, to be more than irritating vermin in the pony's world, to be the counterbalance is waiting in the wings. I need your skills, your ability to lead when I cannot be everywhere. You are my chosen.”

Tisiphone put a hoof on the Nymph's shoulder. From the far door Creeping Bloom walked in with a report. Tisiphone commented barely above a whisper.

“You are intelligent and cunning, you will learn from this. A mistake has been made, it will not happen again. I have nothing more to say, and we will speak no more of this.”

Tisiphone looked Cameo in the eye and then turned waving a hoof to Bloom.

“How goes the work with the gems?”

“Well on one hoof, I've never been cleaner,” Bloom joked, her mane fringe still damp, “but constant decontamination sessions aside, I think we’re starting to get a better understanding of the resonance the gems are exhibiting. The increased latent Mana charge you noted at the temple appears to be tied to the fact that the other gems are likely now active, with the whole set tied quite tightly via sympathetic resonance. I would say that the theoretical power of the whole set is mind-boggling but frankly, I can’t be sure that any of our assumptions are right.”

“…The CMC wants to destroy Luna and empower Nightmare Moon, they could level half the city with the backlash from the ritual spell Vector Sound described. But Radiant Pine seems to be doing something with parabotany. Would he need that much ritual power to grow a second set of the Elements of Harmony?”

Tisiphone mused, Bloom shrugged and leafed through the reports.

“We have nothing to compare to, the data you captured earlier this year is still an enigma, and how it relates to parabotany a mystery.”

“Great,” Tisiphone muttered, “Another mystery next to the one of who Ms. Who works for, and why they would need a massive source of ritual power with the highly sympathetic cores of Pine's ancient defense system.”

Cameo took a seat.

“We still can’t find much information on her or Razorwire. Is there something -….”

Both Nymphs looked on with concern as Tisiphone began rubbing her temples, the conversation interrupted by the Queen's dark laugh.

“My Queen,” Bloom queried, “I don’t understand?”

Tisiphone’s hoof came down hard on the table.

“It is okay,” Tisiphone wearily sighed, “I am angry at myself, not you. Neither of you had even been summoned when I failed to understand that I had what I needed.”

“How long, Bloom, given your observations, to work up the Mana charge needed and prepare a ritual to rift the planes to the wreckage of Firebase HARMONY?”

“With one gem or two?”

“One…the Nightmare Diamond.”

“We’re still unsure what would be needed for such a ritual, but we have continued to look into it based on your standing instructions. The gems could certainly provide sufficient Mana, though no amount of Mana shielding we currently possess would be capable of hiding the Mana spike but theoretically…”

Tisiphone listened intently as Bloom hesitantly listed off a number of steps, her mouth moving fractionally as she mouthed numbers, counting backward. She finally held up a hoof.

“Two weeks…I could have grabbed the Golden Heart, the Topaz, uncontested, if I had simply realized what I do now. I expected that some other piece of ritual arcana would be needed to forge the key to access the metaplane. The cores are highly sympathetic, with two in resonance we could have bridged the planes and looted HARMONY before Pine’s ritual was ready.”

Bloom looked at the reports blankly, finally offering a softer hit to her Queen’s pride.

“You could not have known, and you have said, that the only thing that kept the others from hunting you down in the time before you were ready to summon us, was that you refrained from doing anything that would have caused a major mana spike. Perhaps we should still make the attempt, there could be much of value in HARMONY.”

“Yes and No,” Tisiphone got up and struck the wall, sighing, “I didn’t research the cores much because I risked the CMC tracking them ritually. I didn’t gain the Nightmare Diamond when it was literally sitting in a box at my hooves, stained with the blood of Yakuza ponies that I had just helped kill because I didn’t know it was there and hadn’t yet surmised it existed.

I didn’t get a chance to pull off my half-baked plan to gain the Ruby, the Alicorn Amulet from the Gala because I was half a changeling at that point, and couldn’t win a fight against a single bodyguard. I didn’t gain the Sapphire even when I knew drekking well that it was in the Grocery store because I couldn’t challenge a world-class assassin.

I didn’t gain a secure base because I didn’t have you to help me. Because I didn’t have a secure base I didn’t research the cores, and so I didn’t realize I had exactly what I needed to gain the Golden Heart. There is no point in going to HARMONY now, doing so would only clarify where the Emerald and Amethyst are to Radiant Pine and Ms. Who. He’s had months to recover the Golden Heart, he knew it was there, he built the Firebase after all. Anything of value will have been taken by his mages, we would be picking over bits of twisted scrap if we go now.

Soon has been the bane of my existence. Now…now we will have to fight for the Golden Heart of HARMONY. We will have to fight for the Diamond, the Ruby, and the Sapphire as well. I will send my changelings to battles where not all will return because I have been plagued by SOON.

Cameo got up and walked over to where Tisiphone leaned against the roughhewn wall.

“A mistake has been made, it will not happen again, because you will learn from this. Do not dwell on the paths not taken, lead, and find others.”

Tisiphone turned and nodded. At the far side of the room, Mellow Mite knocked on the door…

“My Queen, you have a call for Glass Darkly. Something about a job for Ms. Who.”

A half-smile curled up the corner of Tisiphone’s mouth.

“Speak of the devil and she appears.”

Later, Elsewhere

“You want us to steal something, from an airplane, that is either going to be at the Radiant Industries airfield in Detroit, in the air, or on the ground at SEA-TAC. That is…that is…,” Gwynn trailed off.

“Difficult,” Split Klaw affirmed surprising Glass Darkly, who had figured the boisterous hobo would take it as a personal challenge.

Vixie was quiet, as was her style, while Glass leaned against the back wall while edIT gave the spiel on behalf of Ms. Who. A few eyes swiveled to the Illusionist who had so frequently supplied a novel way to work around a thorny problem. In that moment Glass Darkly was silent, but it was not the question of how to gain access into the plane being considered.

Later

“You told edIT no? Radiant Pine is almost certainly shipping one or both of the two cores.”

Facet looked over the information that edIT had been forced to divulge concerning the flight’s timing and origin.

“Yes he is, but success by edIT's, and by extension Ms. Who's definition, includes us handing the box with the core to her. Even were Seven's artisan Workers able to fashion a fake, this is Ms. Who, I do not doubt her skill in magic, she will see through it instantly, and immediately know that Glass Darkly has the original. The odds of Ms. Who paying the team at that point are astronomically low. There is the possibility of I, as Glass, intentionally flubbing the mission yet opening an opportunity for the Hive, but this again invites retribution from Ms. Who and risks the end of any future Shadowtrot work. The fallout should I risk the lives of my compatriots knowing they would gain nothing would be harsh and vitriolic. It could even be the end of that team, as I sense they grow weary of the life Shadowtrotting enforces.

It is a core, but at the time I saw no way I could gain the core as part of the proposed Shadowtrot that did not rely on a ludicrously fortunate set of events, or would not invite instant doom and retribution.

However, just because I turned down edIT, does not mean we are to allow the opportunity to go to waste. Cameo Glass, Creeping Bloom, and Lapidary, put together a strike team. We know roughly when and where the plane will be. Everyone not needed for operation of the spa or the temple, and as many spirits as we can manage will intercept it. We’re going to hit the plane and get back the core that slipped through my hooves earlier. Intaglio will continue gathering food at the temple, with Shifting Facet doing likewise for the spa as our stocks remain delicate.”

“Ms. Who will suspect you, we are using information she provided,” Intaglio shifted uneasily.

“She desires the cores, why I don’t know, but us winding up opposed to her was inevitable at some point. I am no fool, Glass Darkly will not be working for Ms. Who again, nor allowing himself to be caught in a confined space with Ms. Who's pet cyber-samurai.

Still, I have some ideas on how we might mitigate the blowback. Radiant Industries just spent the last several days reminding the country that yes, there are Changelings around Chicago. Blues from inside the Zone, and Oranges roaming up from Missouri. They also recently announced the destruction of an Orange Hive colony in Seattle.”

The collected nymphs smiled.

“Will the Orange Queen be taking her revenge,” Cameo purred her question.

Tisiphone looked over her hooves and smiled, “Yes, yes she will.”

Shortly Later, Elsewhere

The two stallions sat at the small café, a half-eaten deep-dish soy pizza on the table between them.

“This stuff kinda grows on you,” one noted.

“I suppose, so glad we’re done.”

Almost unseen both stopped eating at the same time, cocking their heads as if to listen to something only they could hear.

“OH COME ON!”

The waitress jumped, startled at the sudden outburst in the small café, as both stallions exclaimed a protest in unison.

“Is everything alright Sirs?”

“I’m sorry, we're going to need a to-go box. Work just called.”

Later

Glass crunched under suede boots. A Chicago Knight Errant detective fell in alongside.

“It is an honor to be working with you sir. I mean Agent Ness himself-“

“Detective, everyone from the driver to the Radiant Industries sub-orbital stewardess has been plying me with pleasantries today, I need results, who's our third victim over there.”

Ness indicated a pale mare being wheeled out of the condo by an ambulance team.

“Sky Mall, she’s with our retail division, manager in the program that serves ponies traveling via our sub-orbital fleet or long-range transit. The second victim was Octane Fuel, he’s in Chemicals, primarily fuel additives. First was Simulator Sam, he’s with our pilot training school. None of them have particularly sensitive access, but the one commonality other than them being Radiant Industries employees is that unauthorized access to their work accounts occurred shortly after the attack. We’ve frozen access, and there doesn’t seem to be anything terribly sensitive that they were working on, but we’re still running down potential leak sources.”

“Any of them get a look at the changeling?”

Ness gruffly queried, pausing to look at the broken window leading out to the bathroom sized garden the life of a mid-level manager rated.

“Sky Mall said she thought she caught a flash of orange, but she was borderline delirious. Beyond that, not much.”

Ness examined the alarm sensor set into the broken window frame muttering to himself.

“Violent and pointless terror…That does sound like Orange…Give me a moment.”

The world fell away as Ness patched in an encrypted AR call.

“Echelon here, what do you need Ness? I have another call in five minutes.”

“Do you have any leads on the changeling media blitz? I have three traumatized mid-level managers all the sudden. No obvious point in attacking them, and I suspect they deliberately set off an alarm on at least one assault.”

The reply was uncharacteristically sheepish, “Afraid not, they stopped pushing the narrative not long after we spoke last. There’s some emphasis on the Orange Splinter Hive destruction we reported in South Seattle, but we put that out there. Can’t tell at this point if that’s a refocused campaign or echo of the original campaign bouncing around the matrix. Regardless, it would appear unlikely that they would try to draw attention away from Seattle only to refocus attention there.”

Ness was quiet, his expression saying everything that he might have wished concerning what he thought of Echelon. First rule of hunting, don’t spook the prey. Echelon had done his job too well. Not unexpected, Echelon would get a sterling performance review for having quashed the changeling psyop cold.

“Yes, unlikely. What is the main thrust of the conspiracy nuts…?”

Ness went fishing.

“Oh, doesn’t seem related, there’s been a rather entertaining debate raging over a nutcase’s assertion that our reality was formed out of an alien attempt to sell plastic toys to their young females.”

Echelon chuckled as Ness answered solemnly.

“I sometimes fear for our future at some of the deranged madness ponies have dreamt up.”

Ness disconnected the call, and turned to the lieutenant…

“Put out a general warning notice,” Ness commanded, “threat of Changeling activity, target unclear.”

“You mean a Code Yellow? We’ve already got that, we’ve been at Code Yellow for years…,” the detective questioned inquisitively.

“You misunderstand me son,” Ness pulled out his paper notebook, “I don’t think that putting out a Code Yellow at level 1, 2, or 3 will do drek, but I want my hindquarters dreking armor-plated when this blows up under us. Corporate suits won’t tell me what it is that’s so important, feels like their attention is being pulled too many ways at once. They’ve forgotten something important.”

“What,” the Detective asked.

“That just because the majority of changelings are still using a thousand-year-old playbook doesn’t mean they all are.”

Later, Elsewhere

The room was dim, plaswood furniture strewn about. The sole occupants the mare in Radiant Industries approved secretary attire pressed up close against the stallion in the three piece suit. The desk was a messy wreck as she shifted her position trying to get comfortable.

“It’s a lot bigger than I expected,” she whispered.

“I bet you won’t get the chance to see one so massive again for a long time.”

“How can she possibly take it?”

The secretary shifted, angling for a better view, knocking a few holo-pictures of a different mare off the desk.

“She's become quite flexible, she always has a plan.”

“We shouldn’t be doing this here, we're going to get caught,” the mare's eyes glanced nervously.

“You were so eager to break out the hoof-cuffs and rope earlier,” the stallion chuckled.

“Yeah, that was before I saw THAT,” she whispered overawed.

“Ohhh, looks like it heard you, it’s moving.”

The mare gulped.

“Should you or I do the honors?”

The mare looked through the single shared night vision scope, out of the window facing the airfield. Under the glare of sodium lamps, under the sky that was always overcast with a pall of pollution through which no stars shone, a giant armed C-260 transport plane was being pushed back away from the secure hangar. The omnipresent decoration came in the logo of Radiant Industries. Faceless, armored sentries scanned the airfield, forming a loose cordon around the cargo plane.

The room was silent for a moment, then the sound of a bump within the supply closet broke the spell. The mare got down off the desk, and walked over to the door, with a shove she moved a comatose mare that was her twin away from the door and into an ungainly pile with a comatose twin of the manager.

“There’s going to be a pitched fight isn’t there?” The mare reached towards her side subconsciously.

“Yes… I suppose I should count myself lucky I didn’t get shot during the Highway battle. I know that you don’t forget something like that easily. That fight was not frivolous, and I know that she wouldn’t send us to fight a battle she thinks we can’t win… “

“You sure about that?”

“You ever noticed the scar at the base of her neck?”

The mare and stallion shared a look and then jointly nodded, turning back to the window they watched the C-260 taxi it's way towards the runway, past other jets, many armed to the teeth, that sat waiting.

Elsewhere

Facet nodded, listening.

“The scout team confirms the plane indicated by Ms. Who is departing under escort. Everything matches the information Ms. Who gave. My Queen… Tisiphone, we need a final decision.”

Tisiphone looked up from the council room table, from the projected map showing the two heroic Changelings in Detrot that had confirmed Ms. Who's target. To the line of spirits patrolling the UCAS/NeN border, to the dispersed groups of Changelings huddled in hiding places across the Badlands of Montana. The Hive was quiet, the buzzing largely silent.

“I fear this will be the Highway all over again,” Tisiphone took the offered AR panel from Facet with quiet resignation and winced at the estimated specs for the plane provided by the Scouts.

“Possibly, we are stronger, better armed. It will not be easy, it will cost what it will cost.”

“We will not get another chance like this. I knew this was coming, but...

…I must have faith”

Tisiphone got up and stood before the table. For a moment she collected herself. Then she reached out and felt for her scattered children, each a slightly warped reflection of herself. She found them in cold crags, dusty thickets, and in the shadow of dark hills that blacked out the stars. The faint hint of dawn was in the east, chasing their target.

“Children of the Amethyst Hive, your Queen salutes you. I know the last few days have been difficult. I know personally the strain of waiting, knowing what looms. For far too long we have been plagued by time. Always chasing it when it is ever short. After an age of waiting, soon, soon… soon has been our implacable foe as much as the ponies. Today, soon comes to an end. Today, for the first time in an Age we will strike at the heart of Radiant Pine's power. Not to annoy, not to delay, but to shift the balance of power.

Radiant Pine in his hubris created weapons to ensure the eternal victory of the ponies, never imagining that they could fall into the hooves of others. Two of these weapons we hold already through serendipity and guile, now either one or two of those recovered by Pine fly towards Seattle. We will gain Pine's treasure, and the balance shall tilt in our favor.

Never again will the ponies be able to dictate our destruction. Never again will we be forced to go quietly into the night at their pleasure. We fight today not for petty schemes, not for internecine battles of Hive against Hive but for our future, and all futures beyond the horizon.

I do not doubt that you will fight with every bit of skill and cunning. I do not doubt that you will make me proud. The hardest thing is that I cannot go with you for the same reason that I ask you to tolerate the disappointment of fighting this battle under faces not your own. Pine’s minions have tasted my magic far too often. We must still acquire the other cores, but all war is deception, and we are VERY good at it.

We FEED! We BURN! We DECEIVE! Now at last my children. We strike the first blow of a revenge a thousand years in the making. Rise again, the Amethyst SWARM!”

Near The UCAS/NeN Border

“Transport One, this is Rainbow Flight, two minutes to the border, we’re breaking off.”

The two fighter jets waggled their wings and then broke away, accelerating in a turn that would carry them parallel to the border. The pilot of the far larger craft watched wistfully as the Pegasus fighter jock gave a hoof up through the canopy in salute.

“Roger that, Transport One, out.”

“I wish they would have stuck with us…,” the co-pilot rigger noted wistfully.

“You got a bad feeling or something?” The pilot queried, “Besides the Buffalo would threaten us with endless stampedes for violating their airspace.”

“Hard not to, what the Tartarus are we carrying that they’d assign a full security platoon?”

The co-pilot lowered his voice and indicated a hoof towards the monitor showing the cargo bay full with an armored vault.

“Something we’re not being paid to ask about.

“Control, this is Transport One, confirm we’re still showing clear?”

“Transport One, this is Control, the mages are picking up intermittent contact with a few buffalo spirits, but that’s not out of the ordinary. We’re keeping an eye on it.”

“Roger Control, Transport One out….”

“Don’t worry about it,” the pilot noted, “they’ve got this under control.” He waved to the full squad of Radiant Industries mages and security in the jump seats.

“Then why do they look so nervous,” the co-pilot quietly added and noted the first few rays of red dawn starting to paint the wisps of clouds.

A few miles away, a spectral buffalo thundered through the clouds, running parallel to the plane. A slight amethyst glow lit his eyes.

“Picket Line Two, Number 4 here, target in sight…”

“Understood, all scouts converge on route four, all squads into the air, grid B32 is the intercept, Flitterwing out.”

….

“Getting some intermittent radar contacts up ahead. Too small to be planes, birds, or possibly ponies/griffins.”

“Roger that Sweep, Flight Stick alert the mages in the back, get one of them to take a look.”

“Understood Captain.”

A unicorn in light mil-spec stuck his head in the cockpit…

“We got something up ahead….,” the Captain indicated a display

“Can you divert around it?” The mage grew concerned.

“Maybe, can you tell me what it is…?”

The mages’ eyes flared, “buffalo…but that’s a lot of them…they’re quite visible though, not hiding…I don’t buy it though…EVERYONE,” the mage spoke into his mic, “we have trouble front, standby.”

In the hold, the sounds of rounds being chambered, of restraints being loosened echoed off the bare interiors. Radiant mages surveyed the distant shapes on the horizon. In the hold, a rigger checked out the cameras and squinted as he looked into the dawn back to the east. For a moment he started to speak, then doubted he had seen anything. Then…

A spectral buffalo charged out of the sun, its eyes glowing orange and materialized, smashing the camera.

“BEHIND US!!!”

Mages turned as a squad of spirits manifested at the back of the plane. A pony in heavy armor was flung forward. The rigger jacked out just in time to see a buffalo with long piercing fangs dive at him with its eyes blazing orange.

The rat a tat of weapons echoed. Bolts of magic flew, and almost as quickly as the battle had begun the spirits de-materialized.

“Keep them away from the vault!”

The ponies formed a phalanx of armored plasteel around the armored box within the hold.

The lead mage turned in time as a shout came from the cockpit. Proud Banner ran forward and caught a buffalo that was turning black, its eyes lurid orange almost, finished materializing.

“YOU DREKKING CHANGELING FIGHT ME!”

Banner set loose a power bolt that even counter spelled, wounded deeply.

“Revenge will be ours!” The soldier spirit faded out…

“CONTROL, THIS IS TRANSPORT ONE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY CHANGELINGS!...ORANGE CHANGELINGS!”

“Transport One, This is control, Stand by for spirit support, Confirm Coordinates and Number of attackers.”

Another changeling began to materialize, black and orange.

“CONTROL this is Transport One Security, we’re handling them so far, but some back up would be nice.”

“Tranzzzportzzz Onzzz, thzz Cozztrzzz, zzay againzz.”

“What the drek?!” The Captain switched to his external cameras in time to see a changeling spirit slap a small bundle onto the side of the aircraft near the main antenna…another two were beating on the antenna.

“Banner, they are jamming us and destroying the antenna!”

“Like drek they are! Mages! We need that antenna clear!”

The raw chaotic battle quickly concentrated around the antennas, changeling spirits and the Radiant spirits giving each other no quarter. With the movement of a trained professional Banner hooked a line to the plane and opened the cargo door, a hurricane of wind-whipped loose items and shell casings into a whirlwind of chaos. A soldier spirit charged as he turned to find an angle on the Changelings on top of the plane…

A powerbolt sent the spirit reeling, disintegrating as it discorporated. Magic rent the air, the surviving turrets of the C-260 sang relentlessly trying to drive away the attackers. Errant rounds skipped off the skin of the C-260. A mage at the far end of the hold went down as blood ran down his face, as an astral wound opened by a phantasmal attacker. Still…

“We’re winning!” Banner exulted, “Keep it up men, and give these bug bastards a taste of pony steel!”

A repair drone was working its way up the body of the plane through the slipstream, they’d have the antenna clear in a moment. It was chaos but in his favor. Banner finally took a few seconds to regain an idea of the larger situation. The changeling spirits were losing, the mages were better armed. Aside from some worker spirits they hadn’t dealt with yet during the melee hiding around the engines.

Banner’s eyes went wide as his optics made out the shape of a small parcel in the arms of one spirit.

“CLEAR THE ENGINES!”

Banner screamed into his mic, a power bolt that sent a drop of blood flowing from his nostrils destroyed the worker spirit. The parcel began to fall… a few seconds later it exploded….along with the charges attached to the other three engines.

Plasteel and titanium alloys ripped through the wings and body of the plane as engines 1, 3, and 4 disintegrated. Banner turned as the Firewatch soldier next to him was splattered with blood as a turbine blade scythed through the cabin catching a pony. Wings of fire trailed from the shattered engines. Debris fell towards the badlands below.

Banner grabbed at the nearest handhold as the plane went into a nose-down free fall. The Firewatch ponies were well trained, but zero-gravity was never easy. Banner discorporated another spirit but not before two of his stallions were pulled out of the open cargo door.

He fought his way forward…magnetic shoes fighting against the G-force.

“Come on baby, hold together, you can do it…,” Captain Cloud begged, his hoof on the throttle…the sound of engine two screaming as it roared at emergency power trying to keep the plane’s speed above stall.

“You were built by top ponies,” Cloud entreated his plane, “you’re not crashing today, and I’m not dying today.”

Alarms blared as Cloud fought his controls.

“Bypass hydraulic master two, rerouting the APU to the stabilizers, dumping fuel from tanks one and two,” Flight Stick struggled to reach various controls against the G-forces, behind the stricken plane the sky burned. Yet slowly…

Slowly, the plane leveled out.

“You have to get the altitude back up, we need speed!” Banner screamed.

“This thing is barely flying and you want speed?!” Captain answered.

“They’re running out of spirits,” a mage’s voice in the intercom offered hope.

A line of bullet holes stitched itself into the glass of the cockpit window in answer.

“The hammer already did its job, delivering us to the anvil, you’re earning your pay today lads,” Banner took up a position in the open cargo door…and caught the first changeling that approached the surviving engine with a spray of bullets. Pulling on his depleted magic a cylinder of protective white force wrapped itself around the engine. Below the crags of the badlands flew by.

Again, the battle raged. Changelings traded fire with the heavily armored Firewatch soldiers.

….

“Prima we need that engine destroyed!”

Cameo counter spelled a mage and did her best to support Prima who fought a bitter battle at the rear cargo door facing the engine. The hulking soldier’s black chitin was stained with red and green, a hint of progress gave hope until a staccato of machine-gun fire caught the imposing soldier and forced her away, the ponies dragging away the Firewatch member she had savaged. A soldier from Prima’s squad spiraled towards the ground, its diaphanous wings fluttering only with the passing of the wind.

“Cameo, I got this! Keep me invisible,” Digs moved towards the engine’s pylon.

“Digs they have mages, they’ll see you!” Cameo shouted across the hive mind, but still gave the worker her best effort.

“There’s no time!” Digs quickly attached the parcel to the pylon…bullets thudded into the armored wing around her. She paid them no mind.

“I almost got it!”

Cameo desperately covered the worker, bullets thudded into the ponies, but only good hits seemed to do any damage, and the Nymph’s selection of illusion spells was proving only marginally useful. This was not the type of battle that the hive specialized in. The bullets being fired in return were the best Radiant Industries could make, and the cries of psychic pain formed their own terrible music of battle.

“DIGS! The rear turret…,” Cameo cried a warning…

Digs-Like a Unicorn looked up. A second later she slid backward off the wing caught in the slipstream following the rapidly dissipating cloud of green mist, a few holes in the wing where the cannon rounds had passed trailed thin pencil lines of smoke. With an almost disdainful flicker of unicorn magic, the charge was ripped off by a spell and sent flying.

Changelings huddled on the far side of Engine two, finding shelter in that the ponies could not shoot through it, but unable to pierce the barrier. Chuckbug Norris took stock as another group of changelings fell behind as the spirit providing them Movement was popped.

“We need that mage dead…we can’t do this one by one,” Norris implored.

Seven cradled her charge of explosives, “we’re running out of charges.”

Norris looked over the group…and saw the same hesitation that she had seen at the Dockyard.

“The Queen is not here this time,” Norris noted to Cameo.

For a moment Cameo was silent.

“She watches us,” Cameo smirked.

“That she does… SISTERS! A Radiant Mage and his minions stands between you and your future. Will you be beaten off so easily?! The Queen watches, do not disappoint her! Now…SISTERS! With Me! WHO WILL COME WITH ME?!”

A chorus of snarls and buzzes echoed and the swarm surged forward from behind the engine, flowing towards the open doors the ponies fired from. Bullets tore into chitin, but the swarm would not be checked, its momentum carried forward. At the cargo doors, fang and armor met. The first Firewatch soldier was pulled from the opening and sent falling to the ground below.

“FOR THE QUEEN!”

Banner fell back, to the final defense of the vault within the hold. Chuckbug’s armor was rent, she was bleeding from a burst of bullet wounds, a carpet of spent bullet casings rolled around the floor and spilled from the cargo doors, still she and Cameo pressed forward. Victory was….

The whine of a vindicator mini-gun in the hooves of a massive earth pony spinning up was both quiet compared to the rush of air, yet supremely loud.

….

Chuckbug coughed, bleeding…her armor and carapace torn to shreds…

“You’ll never win, Pine destroyed the lot of you before, he’ll do so again,” Banner coughed, his armor studded with several dozen flattened bullets, few strong enough to penetrate. “How does it feel, knowing she sent you here to die, you drekking bug!”

“Liberating,” Norris coughed, “for death is light as a feather, duty as heavy as a mountain, and my Queen sent me here to live.”

The mortally wounded Changeling Soldier pulled a grenade from her pack and smiled. Banner's horn lit with magic as he tried to fling it away, but a second later the surviving security squad was doused with an oily substance.

Proud Banner smelled, “Drek its cha-,” the mage fell silent as his jaw stopped working…the abuse his armor had taken had left multiple holes in the chemseal. Proud Banner fell to the floor of the plane, using his last bit of strength to reach out weakly towards the surviving engine. Trying to maintain the spell. Until…the potassium mixed with the changeling venom began to react with the air and started to catch fire. He watched paralyzed as the spell flickered and died.

Only a half moment later a charge was detonated, silencing the final engine…the sounds of battle falling away. He could only watch in rage as a Changeling scout pulled the wounded Nymph to safety. Again, the cargo hold became a surreal scene as thousands of shell casings, the few security ponies left and assorted bits of gear burned with potassium residue while floating in free all.

“Not like this!” A cry came from the cockpit…A few surviving security team members tried to find safety but as a crag of solid stone rose up to meet the plane the outcome was clear.

A horrible sound of tearing plasteel echoed as the few surviving control surfaces tore away. The right wing, bent then folded back. A few seconds later the low scrubby crags of the Badlands were lit with the fireball as the Transport slammed into the hillside scattering wreckage. Almost immediately the Swarm descended, seeking their prize. Prima followed a worker with a signal scanner that pointed to a piece of wreckage.

With a grunt, the Soldier lifted the piece of metal. In the shadow of the planes' tail still emblazoned with the Radiant Industries logo, as smoke spiraled into the red morning sky, Changelings raised their voices in a chorus of buzzes and exultant cries of victory.

The revealed data and voice recorders were smashed as were other bits of evidence. Seven of Nine found her target wedged between a boulder and the bulk of the plane wreckage. The vault was battered and buckled, but intact.

“Problematic,” Seven’s voice carried a hint of distress as she examined the hardened box, a test with a cutting tool made minimal progress.

“Exceedingly problematic!”

Seven's Hive voice grew agitated.

“Seven, Cameo is out, Lapidary is working the cleanup, how long do you need?”

Bloom’s query carried dread.

“Longer than we have! Does anyone have a charge left?.....ANYONE!?”

A thousand miles away Tisiphone held her head between her hooves, not this, not after she had asked so much of her Hive. To be defeated simply because Pine had massively over-engineered a container. She breathed and willed for something, anything to provide her Hive with the victory they had earned. She felt it again, like the last time she had willed the scales of fate to tip within the Sweetwater data storage room. To that balance, she added her hoof even as she felt her own position within the weave of destiny fray. Against this, she would count no cost, even her personal luck.

A thousand miles away, a Scout spirit, one of the few remaining, doubled back and found a group of lagging Changelings whose own Scout spirit had been destroyed.

“Seven I'm coming! I have a charge,” Mellow Mite breathlessly responded.

“Uh, Sisters, now would be a good time to be leaving...all of Detrot just launched,” The mare in an office building in Detrot whispered in awe at the armada taking to the air.

“Finish what you’re doing and get clear!”

Lapidary ordered, her mind frantically seeking out any wounded Changelings her caretakers might have missed.

Seven with a squeal of glee grabbed the blasting charge from Mellow as the latter swooped in, nearly crashing at her spirit assisted movement speed. Changelings leaped clear as the explosion ripped into a buckled section of armor. Seven looked through the hole and gingerly reached through, grabbing a manacase. A massive backwash of magical energy confirmed the prize was genuine.

Bloom took the case from Seven, chucking it into a secondary manacase, together they rose into the air, all around the Changelings disappeared as a flurry of invisibility spells were cast. Lapidary carried Cameo as they flew towards the shadows in the west.

“My Queen?”

“Yes Bloom?”

“You are one Diamond richer, and today vengeance is ours.”

Later, Seattle

Ness reached for his bottle. It was getting annoyingly empty. His holo AR emitter hummed as several case files were displayed. The trip to Chicago had been a bust as had Detrot. Waste of time that only offered new questions..

A hoof knocked heavily on the door.

“Agent Ness, we’re here to pick you up…”

“You lads here to arrest me or escort me?”

Ness had barely turned when the door clicked, unlocking. He recognized the Firewatch Captain.

“What has happened?” Ness grew solemn as he read the faces.

“We'll brief you during the flight. By the way, you’ve been granted top security clearance….and you can wipe that 'I told you so' look off your face. You’ve got a briefing with Golden Lilly tonight.”

“There’s been no mention of an attack,” Ness queried.

“Because it happened in the tail end of nowhere Montana…Now were you waiting for Radiant Pine, the Protector himself, to get your coat for ya?”

Later

Buffalo stampeded in the distance, yelling their displeasure. A line of security ponies ringed the site. The sky buzzed with a mix of camera and security drones as the suede boots jumped off the helicopter down to the brown tough grass of the Badlands.

“…main crash site is here, the pattern of debris is consistent with a late breakup just before impact. Beyond that, we have debris ranging over 20 miles.”

“Helluva fight…,” Ness felt his heart sink, “this wasn’t necessary. Did they get off a distress call?”

“Started too, then they were apparently jammed. Basic black market model. One wouldn’t stop the signal boosting…”

“But several would.”

“Aye, the station in Weyland picked up bits and pieces but we lost time trying to locate the plane. They were a solid 30 miles off course by impact. We’re still trying to piece together the sequence. The main data drives as well as the voice recorders were all deliberately smashed and burned. It’s morbid but our best records are coming from the on armor storage of several Firewatch Soldiers they threw out of the plane at altitude. They feinted towards the cargo and cockpit to distract the security response while they set the jammers. Then fought a holding action at the jammers while they blew the engines.”

“Changelings have gotten fond of Shadowtrot tactics all the sudden, haven’t they? Which Hive,” Ness walked towards the wreckage.

“Orange, there was a comment on the security lead's audio claiming this was revenge for our recent actions.”

Ness stopped, pausing, “How many dead Changelings then? Where have you put them?”

“We’re still working on that. There’s a lot of blood, most of it hit with C2, but we’ve found no dead or wounded Changelings.”

Ness shut his eyes and grimaced, “I believe this was the work of the Orange Hive like I believe Apple-Zap when they claim they shipped all the Timberwolves to a nice reserve in the Yucatan.”

Later

“Queen, I believe you have healed me enough…,” Prima chuckled from the improvised cot, not entirely keeping the wince from her face.

Tisiphone startled awake, then remembered where she was…

“Only if you promise to stop meeting me like this,” Tisiphone forced a chuckle.

“Soldier’s purpose is to fight. Queen’s purpose is to plan. I hurt on the outside, inside, I am happy.

Tisiphone forced herself to nod, the words were hard to hear, and she was so tired. Changelings lay strewn in every corner, the little infirmary overflowing out into the common area. She nodded and began to pick her way through the jumble of cots, in the corner Frizzle and a few other caretakers did their best to tend to Cameo, the Nymph alive, barely.

Changelings had been filtering back all day, more would likely stream up the hidden access tunnels tonight. She could cast no more healing spells. She turned and headed to the council room. There the map of the battle as pieces had been moved was still laid out…for a long moment she studied it, then wordlessly went to the side where the tokens representing the cores were shown. The Emerald, the Amethyst with the Hive, the Sapphire with Ms. Who, the Ruby the CMC, and the Diamond and Topaz with Radiant Pine. With finality, she placed her hoof and moved the token of the Diamond to the Hive.

Deep within the hive, where they had stopped tunneling a room sat bare. With a sigh, Tisiphone entered it…and walked between the short twin rows of low bundles that lay on the unadorned floor. Each she held a hoof too in succession. They were here, those whose voices she had felt disappear from the Hive mind. Digs-Like-A-Unicorn, Chuckbug Norris…others.

“Thank you, you will be remembered.”

Tisiphone moved to the far wall and sank to her haunches. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when she startled awake, a cup dangled in front of her face, amethyst liquid swirled in it. Turning her head, she made out Facet.

“We’re still rationing,” Tisiphone noted flatly.

“That maybe, but I had several of your subjects swear to me they weren’t hungry.”

Taking the cup in her trembling hooves, Tisiphone debated for a moment, but need overrode philosophy.

“Oh that’s good,” Tisiphone sighed a moment later, disappointed that the cup had only gone so far. A moment of silence passed before she continued.

“The last thing I said of substance to Cameo Glass was chewing her out.”

Facet rubbed the back of her amethyst and blue mane.

“…and would you honor her by moping? Chuckbug Norris led a charge into a hail of gunfire because she believed in your vision. If you believe in it still, then count no cost in pursuing it. A Queen’s will equals all those who would follow her to ultimate glory combined.”

“Help me up then,” asked with a sigh.

“To do what?”

“Actually use the bed Frizzle spent so much time making for me.”

“As you wish…My Queen.”

Later

“We have early reports of a major Changeling attack on a Radiant Industries transport plane, two days ago in the skies over the NeN,” the attractive anchormare reported.

Radiant Industries spokesponies confirmed that a C-260 transport was forced to crash, killing the crew. This comes following sporadic and sometimes disputed reports of changeling activity in the environs of Chicago, along with attacks on Radiant Industries staff around Detrot. While it is unconfirmed, sources close to the investigation have noted that these events followed the destruction of a hive colony in southern Seattle.

The representative from Radiant Industries noted that memorials for the crew of the plane would be made over the next few days with attendance from the company’s executive management. The company further noted, that while the security team aboard the plane was ultimately overwhelmed, they described the battle as pyrrhic for the changelings and indicated that given the extremely high losses suffered by the changelings that the sacrifice of the noble crew would ensure the safety of the general populace for some time to come, and as such Radiant Industries considered the battle to overall be a strategic victory against the Changeling menace.

Furthermore, it was noted that Radiant Pine himself would be personally monitoring the situation until the offending changelings were hunted and destroyed. There was no word on what the plane’s cargo save that recovery efforts were ongoing from the badland of Montana.”

“Wasn’t that the plane Ms. Who wanted us to steal?” Split Klaw asked lazily from a corner.

“I suppose,” Gwynn looked on with disinterest until finally, the chime came, the call from edIT arriving.

Glass Darkly sat at the table, his jaw slightly askew, entire protestations of innocence prepared and rehearsed dying on his lips, unneeded. No pony had cared that the run they had turned down had been hit by changelings.

….

“Why don’t we just shoot the mare?”

Eye of Providence suggested, the new addition to the team arguing for a simple solution.

Split Klaw nodded, caring not one way or the other. Vixie looked at Glass Darkly.

“I’m okay with it,” Glass indicated his assent.

“You usually aren’t, you’ve been callous of late,” Vixie noted at the nominal Buddhist that a long time ago had argued passionately against such indiscriminate killing.

“I’ve been a bad Buddhist of late. Regardless, as token as it is, it pays a debt.” The illusionist answered softly, none able to see the flicker of memory, nor see the row of bundled casualties. Glass Darkly owed a debt of honor to the team of Shadowtrotters that would likely never see work from Ms. Who again, and to make her own contribution. The pay was a pittance, but 5,000 nubits could still buy a fair amount of medical supplies.

The only question now…how long until Radiant Pine and Ms. Who came calling to collect on other debts.

Author's Note

Game Notes: Firebase HARMONY was constructed by Radiant Pine in the prior D&D crossover game. It was a dimensional hopping fortress that included a Core at its heart (The Topaz). The fortress was the site of the final battle of that campaign. Mostly destroyed its wreckage drifted between the metaplanes.

Mission Summary: The team is offered a job to hit a plane transporting unspecified cargo on behalf of Ms. Who. Glass Darkly/Tisiphone is aware that Radiant Pine one or two of the Cores to Seattle for his as of yet unknown project. Unable to reconcile using the Shadowtrot team in a mission with conflicting definitions of success, Glass Darkly simply shows hesitation in accepting. Given this, the other characters decide it is too difficult.

Tisiphone then commits the bulk of her hive into a battle to seize the Diamond. It succeeds, but just barely.

Later, the team takes a fairly basic assassination mission that goes off without much complication. Eye of Providence is introduced as a new team member. Eye of Providence is a technomancer played by the same player that played Silky Sheets and Strawberry Hooves.

Mission 25: September W3, ‘Master Thief’

“GIVE HER BACK!” The small filly screamed as her doll was swiped.

“Nu-uh,” the merciless fiend that was her brother refused, “Super Stallion is going to save her before the evil changeling queen lays her eggs in the kidnapped citizen.”

“MOM!!!”

The filly screamed. The mare in the front seat turned up the noise cancellation.

“Give your sister’s doll back… or no more Super Stallion cartoons for a week,” the mare went back to checking her Persona page adding, “I told you that letting them watch the news was a bad idea.”

“The stallion in the front seat glanced back and forth from a report he was working on and the hoof ball highlights.

“No more talk about Changelings, they destroyed the small group of them down south. There are no Changelings or monsters in Seattle. Now stop pestering your sister.”

The filly took back her doll and brushed her mane. A moment later a powerful sports car moved to pass the family sedan. The filly looked up as the sports car moved around them. As the sports car moved past a holo theater the backlighting off the theater’s marquee revealed a slight blur, a little bit of light refracted just behind the driver. The filly sank back into her seat and started to speak.

A glance from her parents silenced the note of alarm.

A few moments later

Flare Finance walked out of the sushi shop, stopping to pop a California roll into his mouth. The stern look from the security detail making it clear just how done with this kind of behavior the guard was.

Flare Finance merely paused raised his eyebrow and gave his best shrug.

“What? I was hungry.”

Flare Finance got back into the car and allowed himself to be escorted away.

“Flitterwing, you get the package I sent?”

The mental message went across the Hive mind.

“Oh yes, he looks tasty,” the Scout responded.

Flare Finance looked down at the sushi, it wasn’t traditional to eat the appetizer after the entrée but the box of sushi certainly wasn’t going to waste. After all…he wasn’t paying.

“Yes, yes he was.”

The next day

Flare Finance pushed back from his desk and checked the security alert, his brow furrowing. A quick review of the other hidden commlink he was carrying confirmed what had happened. Typical, adding complexity that didn’t further the mission had backfired. Well nothing for it but to decide. Tisiphone reviewed her options. In moments, there would be suspicious guards everywhere. Yet, the incident with Strawberry Hooves’ had proven that decisive action executed boldly in a moment of chaos was better than the alternative when every pony had their act together.

It was time to dance with the heavy hooved security ponies again.

…

Mister Money walked past his secretary, “Flare Finance and I will be ensuring that we have not been compromised, ensure we are not disturbed.”

A few moments later, Mister Money left his office and excused himself from the security squad, citing the need to verify the integrity of the firm’s data records.

Mister Money walked through the top end security scanner designed to prevent illusion based shenanigans without triggering an alarm. The security stallion there forgetting to take the blood sample proved fortuitous.

Mister Money walked through the vault collecting evidence before returning to his office.

Not a few moments later, Flare Finance walked out of the building, briefcase in hoof, with nary an alarm being raised.

The real Mister Money was in time roused from his desk, with no clue what the drek had just happened. Glass Darkly waited in the van for some pony to ask how he had so easily beaten an entire buildings' worth of security scanners. He suspected no pony would. He was right.

The only hiccup being the revelation that the Johnson would not appreciate Flare Finance being dead or missing.

“Frizzle?”

“Yes oh, magnanimous Queen, shall I have the victory cake or the consolation cake prepared?”

“Frizzle, I suspect you’ve made both.”

The faint mental image of a cart being slowly pushed away made Tisiphone grin.

“…Maybe….”

'I'm sorry to do this to you, but the 'package' I delivered yesterday, I’m going to need him back. Make sure Bloom and the others clean out his memory.

“Ahhhh, he has such a rich flavor profile, I was going to try sugar Quesadillas with that flavor.”

“I’m sorry Frizzle.”

“….Okay, give me a bit to get him cleaned up.”

….

“Yes, it was quite fortunate, he was still alive in the dumpster. I’ve patched him up and will leave him for Knight Errant to find,” Glass Darkly smiled weighing the cred stick in his hoof.

“That went off rather well,” Gwynn's voice came over the line, “finally a mission that wasn’t damage control from the second minute. We’re finally getting good at this. Master thieves indeed.”

Glass Darkly thought not to the briefcase but rather to the three cores currently sitting in the lab at the bottom of her Hive.

“Yes, yes we are.”

Later, Elsewhere

“I doubt I need to state this given the audience present but what is discussed in this room stays here,” Ness allowed his eyes to pass over the blank marker with the label Radiant Pine. The other high backed seats contained the movers and shakers of Radiant Industries. The crystal table in the middle dominated the room which was a unique mix of Detrot postmodern scheme fused with a far older design. Ancient Emblems of the Mages Guild and Thunderhead shared pride of place with the clean modern aesthetics in the lines and detailing.

A warm blue sky with fluffy clouds rolled by what appeared to be arches, yet this too was artifice. Ness flicked a button and the sky dimmed, the breeze ceased. The holo-emitter at the center of the table flickered to life.

“Gentle Stallions and Mares, the events of the last two weeks have revealed a danger hitherto unsuspected. This location,” Ness brought up phots of Sundown, “was first suspected and later known to be a center for Shadowtrot activity. A number of key events have occurred where mercenary activity has been sourced from this location.

Importantly, at one point or another Shadowtrot activity has occurred concerning the Sapphire, Ruby, and Diamond cores of Radiant's Interdictor Project dating from the last magic cyclic maximum. I trust you to review the full case details individually.

The fact that this location was allowed to operate has caused a major complication in that the mercenaries employed in this activity have included AT LEAST two different Changelings representing two different Hives.”

A murmur of concern went around the table.

“Changelings don’t generally work as Trotters.”

“No, they don’t,” Ness eyed Echelon Patriot, “Yet these did, and given the events, they were involved with, likely became aware of the existence of the cores. The fact they were trotting can possibly be explained by the fact that both Hives are quite new. We have to date ascertained the existence of an Orange Hive Colony, possibly focused on an Orange Nymph. This is the one we destroyed with evidence the survivors have fled to the California Free State.”

Ness brought up the pictures of the changeling flying out of the hotel window at the Tournament.

“However, far more problematic has been the other one. For the time being, I am referring to this changeling as Hive X, as despite our best efforts we have yet to identify the color of this Hive. It isn’t Orange, though it has certainly been using the Orange Hive as a scapegoat. It isn’t one of Chrysalis’ or a remnant of Erytora’s Hive. I can definitively say that it’s a previously unknown Hive.

“What makes you so sure,” Golden Lilly looked on.

Ness flicked the button and an animation of the Battle of the Badlands played.

“Besides this Hive using Shadowtrotter tactics, it has shown an extreme reluctance to leave wounded or dead hive members behind. Our sweeps and scans in Seattle have picked up nothing. Which given the number of resources we’ve invested is a clear indication that the Hive is not feeding off the general populace. They’ve found one or more sources of emotional energy apparently sufficient to meet their needs. They’ve shown a remarkable ability to blend in with ponies given how young the hive likely is.”

“This is conjecture,” Golden Lilly raised a hoof.

“Means, motive, and methods,” Ness sent back a steely stare, “but yes, if that was it alone. I’d hesitate to make that call, but that’s not it. Most of the crash site of Transport One was of limited value. Large sources of biological material were either destroyed by C-Squared, burned, or otherwise rendered unusable. There were traces, but several days under the Montana sun while searchers sifted through the wreckage degraded these, still we have the best labs.

We originally thought that we had evidence of the Hive Queen being present, as we picked up meta-genetic sequences consistent with one. The changeling genome is still largely unmapped, but there are telltale markers. However, we quickly realized that what we were looking at was-“

“Goo clones, they’re using goo clones,” Lilly narrowed her eyes.

“Yes,” Ness flicked the trid, “evidence might have been hard to find, but not impossible. Given enough incentive to the buffalo, eventually, this was turned in.”

A shard of carapace was displayed, an edge still bearing the fractures from a bullet impact.

“Why is it gray? What’s causing the discoloration,” Echelon asked.

“The piece shows signs of rapid growth, again confirming the use of force matured clones, but more importantly. The gray is being caused by white pigment in the chitin. White pigment that matches the chemical structure of the same in the mapped pony genome. The Queen that this drone was cloned form is at least to some degree a hybrid.”

Ness held up a hoof as the murmurs began.

“It gets more interesting. Besides the shadowtrotter experience, besides this revelation, the bio-techs noted one final point. The invasion of Discord into our realm left some minor quirks in the genome of significant numbers of ponies that have spread across all subsequent generations. These are a major time marker. Those without such markers must have been alive prior to Discord’s reign of terror.

None of the fragmentary samples show evidence of these markers.”

The murmurs began immediately….

SLAM

All fell quiet as Pine’s hoof hit the table. The blank avatar slowly stood up.

“A Changeling Queen, a survivor of our great crusade has three of the six cores I fashioned. This will not stand. FIND HER.”

Elsewhere, Later

“My Queen, I don’t understand why you are proposing this…scheme. You would trade away what we fought to gain?”

Tisiphone stared across the council table.

“For a larger goal, Radiant Pine will not be fooled forever by our ruse. He will realize we are not the Orange Hive. He will bend every resource at his disposal to find us. We can be careful, we can hide a long time, but not in a way conducive to dealing with the Couchmare Club, and their doomsday cult.

The worshippers of Nightmare Moon, still seek the ritual that in all likelihood will make the destruction wrought on Chicago look minor. This must be dealt with. There will be no serenity to eat in a wasteland. None have come forward to bankroll a mission to deal with the CMC. Pine will not under any circumstance let the Golden Heart out of his control. Ms. Who likewise with the Sapphire. I would be happy with the three cores we hold. We can only be equaled now by the combined strength of all the factions. That is incredibly unlikely. Still, the CMC represents an existential threat that must be dealt with.

We are no position to launch an assault upon them, not for the next several weeks while we heal and reequip. And while I do not question your bravery, it has been plainly evident that sieges and assaults have not been our strong suit. The status quo must be broken. The CMC will want the Nightmare Diamond, it is the one most closely tied to their insane patron.

I will give it to them, but only in exchange for the Sapphire taken from Ms. Who and the Golden Heart held by Pine. They know now what they face if they wish to fight us again. We will try to set them against our other foes. If they come through, then either we will be in a position to crush them with four of the cores, or the other factions will be forced to act.”

“Pine will not hire your alter ego,” Facet pondered.

“Nor will Ms. Who, not after what I’ve done,” Tisiphone answered. “Hence our problem. The stalemate must be resolved. I have reached out to Silky Sheets as an opening to the CMC and indicated I have a business proposition without clarifying as to what. He has so far not responded to me.”

“My Queen,” Bloom looked over the histories of Glass Darkly’s history with Ms. Who, “I understand that the CMC and Radiant Pine represent difficult targets, but we are not utterly debilitated. Ms. Who has been shown to have deep pockets, but few outward resources. Surely we could force the issue with her on the Sapphire.”

“Possibly, the power of the three cores in resonance is incredible. I saw your report, Bloom. That even the most powerful shielding we could build is only barely containing the passive resonance of the three is mind-boggling, but I don’t know how we use those to take down the CMC without lighting a giant beacon for Radiant Pine.

As for Ms. Who. I still can’t figure out what game she’s playing. Do not underestimate her. She is a mage of great power, and you should see the video I took of her minion at the Supermarket. I do not relish the idea of fighting Razorwire.”

“She is one mage, albeit powerful,” Facet waved a hoof, “she is not invincible.”

“I have every reason to believe she has seen through my Masking. She clearly does not consider me a threat, and in turn, finds me more useful alive. Though that may have changed recently. Her need must admittedly be great. She has the war chest of a major corporation, and enough magical skill to see clean through me when I had journeyed into the metaplanes five times. I wouldn’t have suspected her power if she hadn’t been so overly cute in masking her own aura to show her as without magic when I had just seen her cast spells that rivaled even the Alicorns. Even now, she is an enigma. Seven can find nothing. I can sense nothing about her. She outclasses me, a Queen, and there are few among that number naturally, even fewer that should be so good at hiding her presence. She’s been untraceable as a changeling that doesn’t want to be found. All that and the power that rivals a….”

Tisiphone stopped, her hoof slowly lowering to the table.

Queen?” The table shared glances as Tisiphone’s eye began to twitch.

“Bloom! Get Frizzle the Queen’s been poisoned or ----“

“HAHAHAHA….”

All stopped as Tisiphone was rocked with maniacal laughter.

“Oh well played you magnificent mare,” Tisiphone rubbed her temples before setting her head on the council table.

The Nymphs shared glances.

“Shapeshifter… she’s a shapeshifter. Not a changeling though…,” Tisiphone noted with a morbid dry tone. “You may get your chance Facet to lead the hive. I think I may have just signed my own death warrant by backstabbing Ms. Who.”

“I don’t understand.”

Tisiphone looked her lieutenant in the eye….

“Because Ms. Who is Luna. Ex-Princess of the Night, Greatest living spell caster among the Great Alicorns, The Luna.”

“Do not fear, the Hive will defend its Queen,” Lapidary offered with some trepidation.

“I’ll take great comfort in that when she comes for me in my dreams.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do,” Tisiphone stared at the markers indicating the three items of fate that the Hive controlled, “Find out what she wants more than she wants me dead, let’s see how well I can dance with the devil in the pale moonlight.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: The Team is hired for a relatively simple assignment. Break into a bank and retrieve the bank's records. A weak point is identified in the form of one of the bank's brash vice-presidents Flare Finance. Hacking Finance's car to allow an invisible Glass Darkly to access it sets up an invisible Glass Darkly to ambush and switch places with Finance on his commute home.

The next morning, while attempting to cause a distraction, Split Klaw triggers a general security alert. Cut off and alone Glass Darkly took refuge in audacity, lured the bank president into a private meeting and promptly took the identity of the President. Which allowed retrieval of the records. Things were complicated slightly when it was revealed that the patron for the job was a the corporation owning the bank (who was trying to nail the corrupt President of the bank and wanted the real transaction logs, and thus the disappearance of the real Flare Finance would have been an issue.

Beyond this, the author, who up to this point had found the fourth faction involved in the war for the Cores, led by Ms. Who to be an enigma, had an epiphany and realized that Ms. Who was, in fact, a disguised Luna based on the clues that had been piling up.

Mission 26: October W1, ‘Hooves Off the Table’

Two weeks. Two weeks was an eternity when any moment of sleep might prove one's last.

Tisiphone looked over the reports, little had changed, yet the world still hung like a rollercoaster cresting the drop, waiting for the smallest spark to send events into motion. Radiant Pine spent his fury searching Seattle endlessly. Still, the sustenance provided by the spa and temple met her children’s needs, though increasing the number of Changelings was not an option without more food. Gaining more food though meant risking detection. Yet increasing the ranks of her Soldiers was the only real advantage she held over the Couch Mare Club. Fast, Cheap, Done Well. Pick two of the three. Or one in her case.

“Tisiphone, you look almost as worn as Cameo, Circle Farm will wait another day,” Bloom noted with concern from the far side of the council table.

“The waiting is getting unbearable. Luna apparently has her own timetable and the CMC seems hesitant to act. We still haven’t found Pine's giant tree or where he’s keeping the Golden Heart. The only thing we’ve learned in the last weeks is the Country Club where the CMC has its nest.”

“First-mover disadvantage. We leveled the field by taking the Diamond. Now they are unwilling to move while evenly matched.”

Tisiphone gave a wry laugh. “…and of course, each is more than willing to wait to see who is brave enough to want a round with the Changelings first.”

“So it would seem. By the way, Seven was asking how much longer she needs to observe the special matrix protocols?”

“Until I’m not at risk for Eye of Providence backtracing anything suspicious, or getting into data that leads her to the spa or temple. Having a Technomancer on Glass Darkly’s team brings new opportunities and these new headaches. I’ve already been very select in the histories I’ve given out, emphasizing the CMC, but I fully expect there will be some hard questions at some point. Technomancers have an uncanny ability to find odd patterns in information.”

A knock came at the door. Mellow Mite stuck her head in. “My Queen? The medal ceremony for Far Flight and Odyssey Solo will be starting soon.”

“Did Frizzle have any questions about the décor I referenced?”

“The one with the space wizards who blew up the Death Moon? Nope.”

Tisiphone began to put on a ceremonial dress.

“Mellow, what is that smell? It’s been wafting across from the Kitchen all morning?” Bloom scrunched up her nose.

“You mean pizza?” Tisiphone interjected.

“Yes, piz-za.” Mellow stumbled over the words. “Deep dish, Chicago style, Frizzle said. Pony food, requested by the Scouts.”

Bloom turned a little green around the edges.

Later

Tisiphone nodded off in a corner as Lapidary tried to coax Cameo into a bite of pizza. Fatigue and a bunch of pizza that not all of her subjects had been eager to embrace finally catching up with the Queen.

Tisiphone walked through the buzz of her hive. The activity and conversation comforting her like a blanket in the attic. Tunnels lined every wall, some were large, these she knew were highways, regional paths that a drone could sprint down pulling a cart if they had to. Large enough to fly through. Others, small, small enough that a drone might have to crawl, capillaries that would lead to every portion of the town above. She knew every drone... but couldn't name them? One asked her a question, clad in crystalline armor... like from the Trids... ? She heard herself give an answer, but had no idea what it was. She noticed there was a fuzzy quality to things, some of the tunnels simply faded to darkness instead of turning out of sight. She didn't have a hive under a village, where was she? A sound from behind her, the cough of a pony.

The realization that she was dreaming came swiftly and abruptly. These are her children, though also to a degree clones of herself. She has paid for each of them with a drop of blood, she has done her best to know each of their names. To know their voices within the psychic buzz in her mind as well as their deeds.

"I must lead, such is my purpose," Tisiphone collected herself, knowing that the moment of fate was at hoof as she turned. Doing her best to keep her face a neutral mask, for what good it will do.

"The Lady of Dreams, I presume?"

Tisiphone gave a slight bow.

A mare, slightly shorter than Tisiphone, but with the graceful build of an alicorn. Blue-Purple coat, regal shoes and a flowing mane deep as the sky twinkling with unobstructed stars. Just like the trids. Exactly like the trids. Different though, only in the detail that she has a slash of pink in her mane. It's too bright to be real, and it shimmers with a mind-numbing parallax- it's in front and behind the stars at the same time, it moves when Tisiphone looks right at it and fades away when she looks away. Unforgettable in vividness, always seeming to pull at the edge of her gaze.

She looks around, casually taking in the room, not answering your question directly. "Quite the place you have here. Tad too clean to match my experience- but I suppose anyone can dream."

Tisiphone remained wary. Almost as it is shown in the trids was a touch convenient, it made her wary. She would know, in what feels like a former life she was the one who wove the lies that made cheap sets and ponies look exotic and expensive.

"Everyone dreams, few have the courage to make theirs reality. The rest die ignominiously," Tisiphone shrugged emphasizing her point.

"I’m surprised you haven't ferried your favorite minion here. I'm curious about what she dreams about these days."

She thinks a moment, "I'm not sure of whom you speak. I do not lack for followers. I hope your knowledge is not so limited. Unless I've estimated your capabilities in utmost error."

Tisiphone waves a hoof in dismissal and emphasizes her next sentence.

"The fact I'm not dead or in one of Pine's labs says everything that needs to be said about that. Now as for yourself, I must congratulate you. It is not often that I get played, usually it is the other way around. If you hadn't been overly cute earlier with attempting to show me that your alter ego had no magic, I wouldn't have even suspected."

Luna shrugged. "It's the crime of the thing, even I can only conceal so much of my power. As it stands though, you're right on schedule. How fares your research into the Protector's toys? You have quite the workspace if I'm not mistaken."

"I know what they are, I know why the Couch Mare Club seeks them. Pine's intentions are a more difficult book to read. You would think a giant tree would be easier to find."

"It was a worthwhile ruse, yes. Some here-to-unknown awakened tree, secret and justifying every expense." She nods slowly, looking at one of your drones scuttle past, "His intentions are not far from The Nightmare, though his methods are significantly... cleaner."

Tisiphone moved a step to the right desperate to keep control of the conversation. The revelation that the Parabotany angle was a ploy by Pine unsettling. She gestures in Shakespearean fashion. "A cult seeks to kill a Goddess, the Wizard in his mighty Castle seeks to do what exactly with his tree, kill the Goddess’ shadow? Or perhaps empower her? And what does the Goddess think?"

"You play the fool, young queen." She gestures to her hair, "Yet, my ends are beyond your grasp."

Tisiphone grew annoyed at the verbal sparring.

"Possibly. It would not surprise me. After all your ends have been beyond the grasp of your subjects before. They did not understand the Night and I recall that particular bout of cognitive dissonance wound up with you banished and widely considered insane.

But that is neither here, nor there. Now, the ponies do not understand what I am, what I represent. In attempting to build a world of magic, all neat and safely bubble wrapped, they did not understand the forces they would unleash. I may not understand your motives, I may play the fool from time to time but I must question..."

Tisiphone waves a hoof towards the surface...

"Is this your utopia?"

Luna shakes her head, a tad annoyed. "Nothing so selfish."

"Then what would you create in its stead?"

She looks past Tisiphone at nothing in particular. "Radiant Pine always said that it wasn't for us to build." She looks back at the Queen, her eyes hard all of a sudden. "My sister and I were to protect, to guide. Not to rule, or lead, but defend."

Tisiphone held her steely gaze. "You must forgive me for being incredulous that Radiant Pine would say that. Given that he rules in all but name now...and builds evermore, only for his works to increasingly cause the dry rot he claims to fight. Or has he decided that defending his ponies means defending them from themselves?"

"He seeks to defend them other threats, predators. You, for example." Luna shakes her head solemnly, "I think he intends to finish his task and step back. But he's from another age. The cat can't go back in the bag, so to say.

"Not anymore, at least."

"Then his hate has blinded him to the fact that we will always return. The cycle will keep repeating, and like a fool that keeps flame from the forest because they fear its beauty will be lost they only make a total inferno inevitable. The rose does not exist without its thorn, the day cannot occur without night, you of all should know this.

Pine's crusade is self-defeating. There are worse things than me waiting in the wings, and even should I die, there will another to take my place, and one beyond her, and one beyond her, ad infinitem. You haven't clarified what you wish, but I will grant you this insight, I would have this cycle break. I am not Chrysalis, I have no desire to conquer, but by the same token I will not see my people wiped out again."

“A strong statement from one who preys on the innocent. Do you expect me to grant you my blessing?”

“I expect the recognition that it is hypocritical for the rabbit to declare the wolf evil. The wolf keeps the hare quick, the deer alert, and the forest in balance. Your father raised up a diarchy to rule and in such the ponies entered a thousand years of stagnation. Now the ponies have pulled down your statues and your father again seeks control through the velvet-covered gauntlet. If not a magic tree what then does he seek?”

Luna grew quiet. “He seeks solutions in the way he knows best. He is from another time when such solutions would not bring ruin to all. I will not say more on this now, but if you would not have your precious Hive destroyed and razed to ruin then you will collect your wayward friends, I have a final job to offer you.”

Tisiphone’s face grew drawn. “You would have me walk into your domain and trust that I would freely walk out again?”

“Do not mistake me, Amethyst Queen. You have done much to garner my anger. I did not kill you before because your extermination is meaningless against the larger threat. I do not kill you now because even despite your under hoofed betrayal, you have through your self-centered goals ensured a delicate stalemate and thus bought time. I have no reason to believe that whatever Nymph of yours is next in line will not do something rash should the Hive be thrown into chaos. For now, I have offered a truce, do not try my patience further. Unlike you, my word can be relied upon.”

Tisiphone answered with a faint smile. “I am what I am, and all this talk of my imminent demise is most vexing. I still have three of the Interdictor Cores.”

“And yet your first argument was to rationalize. You have three Cores you barely know how to wield. I have seen your aura. Make no mistake, you will behave yourself until this crisis is resolved or I. Will. End. You.”

“Very well,” Tisiphone answered coolly, “We shall sit down and discuss an arrangement as reasonable adults. There is one minor detail. The others are under the impression that the Emerald and Amethyst were the petty trinkets of a Yak king, and since destroyed. Nor have I clarified my role concerning the Diamond. It would be greatly problematic, and disruptive should these points be clarified.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Your loyalty to your friends is noted. Do not expect me to lie for you.”

“Do not mistake me,” Tisiphone retorted, “I am quite loyal, but there are older, deeper oaths to family. Blood is thicker, and my blood runs green.”

Tisiphone stared at Luna as the world around her dimmed. Only the streak of uncomfortably strange color in Luna’s mane staying until the last.

A Dream away

“My Queen! Tisiphone! Are you alright?!” Tisiphone was vaguely aware of Facet shaking her shoulder.

“I can’t find any ritual links! There’s nothing to block!” Bloom’s hooves passed by Tisiphone’s muzzle.

“Well power up the Cores in the lab, surely the interference,” Lapidary interjected.

“No…no,” Tisiphone croaked as she finally managed to wake feeling terribly groggy.

“She’s alright!” A dozen changelings shouted at once…

Tisiphone held up a hoof, then started to hyperventilate. For a moment her hooves shook as she struggled to come down off the adrenaline high, it was worse than some of the Cram comedowns she had experienced.

“Did you defeat her?” Lapidary asked with a hopeful note.

“You know how I said I was never going to work for Ms. Who again, nor likely for Glass Darkly’s team to do so?

I lied.” Tisiphone looked into the eyes of her children and sighed.

Later

She will extort you for one or all of our Cores.” Facet looked across the council table.

“Likely,” Tisiphone answered flatly. “I have no intention of surrendering them all, but depending on what she offers.

“We fought and died for the third core,” Cameo narrowed her eyes.

“I know,” Tisiphone answered quietly, holding her hooves together. “and for that, you have my thanks. But I sense an opportunity. She’s right, she’s stronger than I am. She could destroy us. However, there are few that meet that standard. She’s opposing Radiant Pine, her own counselor at an earlier age. This has the capacity to wound him in a way that a thousand years of war never could. Beyond that, Celestia is gone, Nightmare Moon doesn’t care. The rest of the Alicorns are embroiled in their own petty intrigues. Who is left to oppose us if Pine falls and the price we enforce on Luna is a free hoof to do as we will? I know you bled for that core Cameo. I miss Chuckbug, Digs, and the others. I will not be distracted from the long term goal, if need be I will sell those cores dearly, I will write that contract in my own blood if need be, and gain for this Hive the ponies’ recognition of our right to exist.”

“It would be strange to rely on trusting the same Alicorn that saw us hunted down.” Bloom demurred.

“Chitina attempted to win through terror and the swarm. Chrysalis attempted to win through deception and the swarm. Erytora attempted to win through guile and the swarm. I have no intention of becoming the ponies’ pet as the Emerald Queen did, but if it is possible to secure an enduring future for the Hive, then I am willing to discuss the price. For to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme Excellence is gaining victory without fighting.

I beg your faith Cameo, I know what these Cores cost us, but if this prevents us from needing to refight the Battle of the Badlands every generation, then surely the prize is worth the cost.”

Later, Elsewhere

This was going well, Glass Darkly thought. A Radiant Industries Cyber Security honey trap and now this all in the same morning. Getting the others to agree to the meeting had been relatively easy. Getting them to ignore the various lures that Pine was seeding all over the place to see who would be lured in was harder. Getting the remainder of Darkly's erstwhile allies to seriously consider a job offer that was riddled with 'need to know, and you don't need to know' omissions was the hardest.

“I’m sorry I have no idea who you work for. I’m out,” Eye of Providence rose to stand up.

Glass Darkly held his hooves together and counted the seconds Eye of Providence had left to live. Perhaps one last attempt.

“Eye of Providence, perhaps you should sleep on the decision. Maybe you will find with fresh eyes greater clarity.”

The technomancer turned, his eyes going wide, the gears clearly spinning in his mind.

“I don’t think that’s going to…,” Eye of Providence began.

CRASH…the table went flying, a flicker of magic revealed Ms. Who for her true form. Glass swallowed hard. It was true, you could lead a pony to water, but….

“I am trying to save the world here,” Luna’s eyes flashed with anger and frustration.

“Why didn’t you say so…?” Eye of Providence turned back.

Later

Glass Darkly lifted the tumbler to his mouth and sipped the smooth fiery liquid that went down warm despite being frost cold. It was strange to sit alone at a nice table at a top end restaurant that was currently serving naught but ghosts and echoes. The shattered table had been pushed off to the side. In front of him a dozen different scenarios were laid out. Hours had passed alone like this.

The sound of fancy shoes on wood made his ears twitch, he looked up as mane of starlight slid into the seat on the opposite side of the table.

“I take it the rest are still busy perusing your catalogs and stockrooms.” Glass snorted.

“Yes we are alone, and yes, though the fox did take some time to sample the fruit drawer.” Luna looked over the various Augmented Reality displays.

“Your plan is simplistic and has an uncomfortably high number of uncontrolled variables. Too much hinges on how the CMC and Pine react to your appearance.” Glass interjected, criticizing Luna's plan to offer herself as bait to draw out the other factions.

“I take it you are going to presume to suggest your own plan. I trust it is at least better than Providence’s plan to save the world by turning Seattle into a nuclear wasteland.” Luna searched the face of her guest.

“Coincidentally I and my staff, have been considering the problem of mana control recently.”

“Prithee I wonder why.”

“The CMC should be our first target. Their assets are significant but several orders of magnitude lower than Pines’. We COULD attack the Country Club, but this makes us fight on their terms. They have operated by having better intelligence and immense power in the shadows. We fight them, by forcing them into the open, by forcing them to respond to a threat they cannot ignore.

They have every reason to know at this point that I have two cores and may suspect I have three. They sent Endgame to steal them from me after all. They have one. It is entirely reasonable that where they failed, Ms. Who might prevail, especially if they are aware of her true identity. It will be leaked that you have the two cores taken from Glass Darkly. Your own ritual shortly to begin to overwhelm them before they can complete theirs. Mana control for offense and defense are two sides of the same coin. My staff considered something along these lines to keep the cores under control, though the bill was beyond us at the time.”

He brings up a rough sketch of an Elichium array. The rare mineral that made gold seem an economical purchase, but capable of diverting an immense amount of magic.

“This will block counter rituals. Shunting mana around a site in an endless loop. I see your intent,” Luna reviewed the diagram.

“They will be forced to come and we will meet them. Providence is strangely set on playing a turncoat. I have no issues with this, it’s Providence's plot being risked. In every battle the CMC have sought to bypass the strength of their opponent. In doing so, they have become predictable. We will feign weakness, a gap in the defenses when in actuality it will be our greatest strength. They will bring the Alicorn Amulet, the Ruby, as it is their only hope of countering two Cores in opposition. In the end, we will take the Ruby from them and the CMC’s threat is done.”

“And prithee how do you plan to deal with Radiant Pine?”

Glass Darkly took another sip and set the tumbler down. “It isn’t possible to beat Radiant Pine, not through conventional means.”

“How strangely defeatist of you.”

“You forget Princess of the Night, this body may be young. I may have only been awake again for a short while, but my spirit is almost as old as you. I was there at the end. I bore witness through the Hive mind as your father crushed each of the Queens in succession. Whatever defense you might employ, whatever stratagem we might use to break into the bunker that holds the Golden Heart it is still a siege. Pine is unmatched in siege warfare, he saved Equestria in an age past by winning a siege amongst the stars.

There are tens of thousands of Knight Errant officers in Seattle alone, including several High Threat teams. There will be regiments of Firewatch, flotillas of automated drones, a legion of spirits, and the combined craft of the greatest military-industrial complex in Equestria. I do not doubt that we are individually more powerful than the average security pony, but once that battle starts there will be an endless stream of reinforcements coming. Radiant Pine is akin to a bulldozer with one gear, forward. Success in pitting our strength against that bulldozer is an edge case. It requires everything to go right. We do not chance the fate of the world on an edge case that requires Pine to play to our script.”

“So then how would you do it?”

“I missed the opportunity to take the Golden Heart by two weeks. I am certain you know the Cores have the power to open an astral rift, through them, one can physically enter the metaplanes.”

“Of course I know that, it is precisely what I’m trying to avoid!” Luna gave Glass a look like he wasn’t playing with all his marbles.

“Yes, but have you considered that the rift can be directed, to Firebase HARMONY for example, a stable self-contained meta plane. No Horrors unleashed by Pine's flawed ritual.”

Luna’s moment of rage was subsumed as the concept consumed her thoughts. “The Heart is long gone, and I have never walked HARMONY'S battlements. I do not know the way.”

“Then perhaps to a place you do know. The Lunar Prison. The cores are massively sympathetic. They resonate. We force the Cores to discharge. We will be rifted to the Lunar Prison, as will the Golden Heart and any around it. Beyond the reach of Pine's legions.”

Luna’s eyes grew harder. “There is a thousand years’ worth of rage, regret, and loneliness within that plane.”

“Do not think I am not aware of the danger. It is bold, risky. Just a little bit unhinged, and that is precisely why it will work.”

“I will need all the Cores to do this.”

“I expected as much, as I expect mine returned when we have saved the world.”

A bottle flew off the shelf, carried within a corona of stars. Luna was silent as she poured two glasses. A faint light in the table shone as the liquid was cooled. The glass fogging over with condensation.

“I cannot permit you to keep three. I would not permit any or at most one were I to have my say, but I am certain you would not agree to this and we would be at an impasse.”

Glass swirled the liquid. “Your certainty is correct, those Cores safeguard my children against a second genocide.”

“Two, no more,” Luna solemnly stated, “One is a powerful trinket, two makes one the equal of a great Alicorn at a stroke, three –“

“Three would require all the Alicorns working together to counter.” Glass interrupted, “Which will likely never happen. Three and my people are beyond any danger. Do not think that I unaware of this.”

Luna whispered a response. “Three and you would hold the power to end the world at a stroke by admitting the Horrors whether by intention or accident.”

“I have no reason to do. I have stated before I have no interest in duplicating Chrysalis’s megalomaniac idiocy.”

“You have the full attention of Radiant Pine, when this is done do you also wish to have my undivided attention as well? Or the undivided attention of any who would wish to gain that power” Luna gave a wan smile. “I cannot be certain that they will stay with you. The risk is too great. I do know where you sleep, others may learn… Do not force my hoof on this. I can be every bit as implacable as Pine…or conversely, shall I leave dealing with you to some pony else?”

Glass was silent for a long moment. He weighed the glass in his hoof before finally speaking.

“My children fought, bled, and died for those cores, first against the CMC and Endgame, then against your PIne's minions. Promises are cheap, what I am giving up here is not. I would have an Invocation.”

“Absolutely not,” Luna erupted, “I will not at a stroke create a Hive of ultra-changelings!”

“Then what?” Glass pressed his luck. “Money comes, money goes, and an inordinate amount has flowed through my hooves in the last year. Wealth does not address my needs.”

“Your definition of an inordinate amount of money and mine are two very different things.” Luna emphasized before finally raised the glass. “When this is over it will be awhile before it will be safe to do much openly. The assets I am prepared to part with could make that time quite comfortable.”

“Money and Geas Oaths, neither you nor any you command will ever bring harm to me or mine evermore.” Glass refused to flinch.

“For your own oath that you will not seek further Cores, cause the end of all things, or seek to emulate Chrysalis or Chitina.”

Glass Darkly sat for a long moment.

“With two other minor trifles, I will agree to your terms. A copy of the original Detect Changeling spell formula as developed by Radiant Pine. You were there in the age past when this spell was invented. Any pony can buy the sanitized version from their local magic shop. I would know the original with all the original details from Pine's hoof himself.

Secondly. We will be fighting the greatest mages each of these factions can muster. Years ago, for one moment, Chrysalis stood as equal to your sister from the love stolen from an Alicorn. I can feel your serenity from across this table, you who famously wrestled with your guilt and overcame it. I would have a small portion of your serenity, not to the point of permanent harm, freely given. Is that too much to ask for saving the world?”

Luna was silent for a long moment, weighing the offer.

“It would be wise for you to not make me regret this.”

After long moments hammering out minor details and petty turns of phrase Glass Darkly raised his drink, “praise be to new frenemies. I trust this location is astrally secure enough for what must come next?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Do not question my competence.”

“I question everything, it keeps me alive.”

Nevertheless, Glass Darkly got up and pushed away from the table. Here surrounded by a restaurant that didn’t exist, in a building that wasn’t what it seemed, both looked into the astral as the masking briefly fell away.

The Princess of the Night, her mane marred by the slashing scar, stood in her full umbral radiance. Stars twinkled in her mane, her eyes looked out from under a horn the color of the night sky just before total darkness. She held out her hoof. Another was stretched out to meet it. This one pearlescent white. Two slits stared out from eyes that seemed as liquid amethyst. A flicker of aquamarine diaphanous wings straightened the mane of the same color.

“I, Queen of the Ameythst Hive, Tisiphone, first of her name, true heir of Alecto do so swear to be bound. Should I break this vow may all magic forsake me…”

Tisiphone waited for Luna to speak her part, her mind diligently watching for any omission or substitution. It took several minutes to get through all of it.

It was not the best possible outcome for the Amethyst Queen, and she had accepted significant limits. Yet the price exacted from the surviving Royal Sister for the power to save Equestria from her former champion and her shadow had been steep. The power to equal a great Alicorn in the hooves of the Changelings.

Later, Elsewhere

The five stood in ritual witness, albeit one needed a crutch. Their Queen stood in the center, a small moon-shaped bottle held an amethyst fluid that occasionally sparkled with stars. Wordlessly, the Queen took the bottle and drank it, draining it dry. For a moment all was normal, then the five Nymphs eyed each other as their leader sank to her knees babbling incoherently. Arcs of Amethyst magic skittered across her coat, jumped between her wings, and the magic corona around the Queen’s lightning bolt shared horn changed subtly, small motes of light flickered.

It was several long minutes before Tisiphone’s breathing returned to normal. As the Queen rose her mane periodically swayed slightly as if a gentle breeze acted on her and her alone.

“…. They say no high is as good as your first.” Tisiphone panted. “I beg to differ, by all the Hives that was incredible. I suddenly realize why she was so accommodating on that point now. She knew I was going to want more after getting a taste. I may have just made a big mistake. “

“You’re not going to sell us for more Alicorn juice? Are you mommy?” Facet teased like a mewling grub before chuckling.

Tisiphone laughed, “Nothing so extreme, but drek am I going to have a hard time saying no if she wants help with something and offers another hit.”

The Nymphs grew silent for a moment as their Queen sent echoes of the experience into the Hive mind.

“Queen, you should apologize to Frizzle after this, you've ruined regular serenity-ade for everyone now.”

A few chuckles echoed in the room. Bloom finally opened an ornate manacase. Tisiphone felt the increased potency of her magic, now super-charged with a portion of an Alicorn's serenity, it surged in time to the tendrils of power coming off the revealed core, the ancient heart of a device built in Trottingham to defend Equestria. Trottingham, where the defeat of Chitina had become all but inevitable. The irony was poetic, she held the core in her hoof and bent her will towards it. A long moment passed until slight echoes of amethyst light flickered in the diamond's depths.

“Thirteen Months, thirteen months I have danced, alternately played the fool and the sage. Known victory, tasted defeat. There is but the climax and final curtain left. My children, my mother planted the seed for this reckoning a millennia ago. Let us be ready when the hour comes.”

Six faces looked on eagerly, lit by the soft radiance of the Nightmare Diamond.

Later

Mellow held up a commlink, Tisiphone was surprised to see she had a call. Her team had been busy pestering Luna for ever more exotic toys. Though she couldn’t blame them. The task at hoof was daunting, every advantage sorely desired. Seven had spent the last week installing bits and pieces into the SWAT armor captured from Endgame. The various notes from several hastily learned spells were spread across her personal space at the rear of the Council Room.

Tisiphone took the commlink and did a double-take. “Glitter Glam?” The question echoed. Tisiphone realized she had almost forgotten about Dante’s old friend.

“Yo, Glitter,” Tisiphone answered in Dante’s voice.

“Hey Dante, just wanted to check in with you. Been a while. Since when do you have staff?”

“Eh it has been. Not my staff, this production just doesn’t let us take calls on set. Let me tell you, don’t ever pick up work for Stalliongrad Trid. They’re a right bugbear to work with.” Tisiphone lied in the voice of a pony that naught but an affectation now.

“Oh you are working? I and the lads were a bit concerned after you drifted off after that business with Speculum.”

“Yep, the only sure thing in life. Gotta earn my oats somewhere, didn’t mean to leave you hanging, but I was just sort of…done with the studio after all that mess, had other projects I wanted to follow up on.” Tisiphone moved an AR window out of the way to show a diagram of three cores in sequence, and the utterly massive magic discharge it would grant.

“Picked up a little bit of side work to keep the bank account topped off, regretted it a touch. Still things are looking up.” Tisiphone continued, the deep baritone sound very out of place.

“Well, that’s kind of why I wanted to check with you. Speculum’s replacement got a rather interesting call. First claimed to be a talent agent. Wanted to speak with the pony that had done the Emerald changeling bit for the Rainbow Force movie. Called it a nice bit of work. Of course the office wasn’t entirely pleased about the fact that someone had an advance copy. We’re not due to start dropping trailers and such for another week in time for the big ad campaign. They wouldn’t say where they got it.

Anyways, I’ve got some bad news. One of the last things Speculum did just before his um…fall from grace…was have you uncredited. You’re just listed as back up junior illusionist. So Ms. Fancy Pony was trying to get clarification on you. The guild of course, well, you know their stance on talent poaching. They didn’t give her much. Even after she started getting real snippy with them, and let slip that she was with Radiant Industries.

She got rather heated about the whole thing, said some rather choice words. Boss called in the Horizon security team. I didn’t tell you this, by the way, but they said the call back traced to Detrot to the main corporate office there. Overheard one of the guild lawyers saying he was going to let things lie, he didn’t need to get into a fight with Golden Lilly’s office over her feelings getting hurt because her headhunting attempt got sloppy.

I don’t want to see you leave Dante, but it does sound like there might be an opportunity there if you want it. I didn’t want to see you lose out, just because of internecine corporate politics.”

Dante was silent for a moment.

“Thank you, Glitter, this means a lot to me…I’ll think about it.”

“Hey no worries.”

Tisiphone hung up the call.

“The plays the thing....where I’ll catch the conscience of the king,” she slowly orated the old line from Hamlet.

“My Queen?” Mellow looked on with interest.

“Golden Lilly is either the Emerald Queen or a lieutenant. She’s Pine’s right hoof. It would make sense that the Emerald remains the lapdogs of Pine. I suspected as much for a while, but I do so love when serendipity clarifies the point.”

“Does this change anything?”

“Possibly…probably not, but if for some reason she’s in proximity to the Golden Heart in several days I’m going to greatly enjoy what comes next. Luna is not going to let me kill Pine, of that I am sure. However, I doubt Luna cares one way or the other for the Emerald Hive. If so, fate willing. I’ll get a chance to remind the Emerald Hive that their treachery has not been forgotten….or forgiven.

Now, please let Bloom know I want to go over our backup plans again in an hour.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: The mission was little more than a setup for the conclusion of the game (and hence this story) in the next mission/chapter. Through Glass Darkly had to repeatedly warn other characters against traps laid by the Couch Mare Club and Radiant Pine.

Radiant Pine's scheme is finally revealed by Luna. Pine has been working under the cover of a supposed Parabotany project. His real goal is to use the Cores of the ancient Interdictor project, a device created during a time of much higher back ground magic to stop extraplanar access, as part of a ritual to cut off access to the deeper, more problematic (in Pine's view) planes of magic. This would severely weaken the Nightmare aspect and wipeout all Changelings. However, Luna has found a flaw in Pine's ritual. The ritual instead of shutting the door to the deeper planes would instead rip it off its hinges and create an astral rift that would allow the worst predators (the Horrors of the Shadowrun setting) of the ultra deep planes of dark magic to access Equestria.

As such Luna cannot permit Pine to carry out his ritual, as Pine has refused Luna's counsel, and intends to doggedly move forward. It is clarified that many of our prior missions were the result of Luna's attempts to sabotage Pine's efforts to setup his ritual.

As previously discovered the Couch Mare Club is attempting to empower the Nightmare aspect, and bring about eternal night, that they would rule as the minions of the Nightmare.

The remainder of the Shadowtrot team (both in and out of character) remains unaware that three of the Cores are in the possession of Changelings or that Glass Darkly is in fact a Changeling Queen. A private treaty is reached between Luna and Tisiphone with both recognizing that Luna is easily more powerful than Tisiphone, but Luna cannot afford the attempt to destroy Tisiphone without seriously risking a level of chaos that would result in Pine destroying the world by accident.

Mission 4, October Week 4. 'The Show Stoppers'

Two heavy maglocks disengaged in quick succession and a door opened onto a set of plasti-board furniture half-buried in moving boxes as the fiber optics in the wall lit up in a rainbow.

"RAINBOW FALLS RANCH - WELCOME HOME .

There was a whirr as the air kicked on, followed a few seconds later by the buzz of a bad bearing in the fan unit.

"Oh come on!"

Dante Haze grumbled as he sat the large saddlebag on the counter, boxes with Mega-Stuffer shack logos poking from under the cover, and debated whether he was annoyed enough to call in the problem. A glance at the timer on his commlink drew a frown. It could be hours before the building’s ancient maintenance drone trundled through the ducts to the problem and it wouldn't do for it to see something it shouldn't so he'd have to keep his coat on, metaphorically.

"Ugh, well at least I can relax...." He took out his modified drone and went through his now familiar rite. Checking for cameras while the new Neo-Net personal agent icon on beeped to confirm it was scanning for unexpected signal sources. A final astral check and he was satisfied.

"Oh yeahhhhh," Dante sighed as he released the magic bound up in his body. He released the bag clasp to pick a real apple out from the pile and licked his lips. Once again his eyes swirled with amethyst. By the time he was around the corner a similar crackle had run across his coat and left it the pearlescent white that was fast becoming his new casual. Passing the bathroom vanity he found his tail softly brushing the floor and against a stack of moving boxes.

He stopped and looked in the mirror with a sigh. There was no indication of the buzz cut he had given himself right after getting home from the museum, at the time half worried that KE would be knocking down his door. Half worried that Silky Sheets would ask him about some strange shimmery blue hair he found in the room Dante had used. So far neither had happened, but less than a week and some biting hunger pains later his Cover Mare worthy mane and tail were back.

He stared at the reflection that looked back from between various AR notes Dante had tacked up. On one side "Wickham, remember?" and the core details from his latest alias. On the other a singular question. "Who is Tisiphone?" His reflection, staring back, gave no answers.

"Might as well...," he grumbled and set down his apple. Retrieving his medical kit he checked again that the antenna was disabled and had it run a full diagnostic. The unit beeped and did nothing.

"Come on you piece of junk."

The box did nothing. Dante tapped the box and spun it around to find the AR readout indicating 'CONFIRM NEW USER PROFILE Y/N?'

"Oh for the love of a mangy manticore, I'm not a new user, Confirm profile Glass Darkly."

"OVERRIDE BIOMETRIC MISMATCH?"

"Yes, you stupid machine….I have no idea how I’m having so much difficulty with security scanners if a color change screws up the average sensor this much…." Dante glared at the offending box his pupils narrowing to slits in a way alien to any pony else before returning to round irises.

Finally the box scanned and hummed, pricked a leg, and finally spat out a report. Dante's mouth went drawn.

1) Excessive Calcium levels, at risk for kidney stones.
2) Unclear Endocrine markers
3) Possible cancer of the horn

Dante felt like his heart had fallen into his stomach. He was no fool, after a moment an idea that had occurred previously percolated as he took in the shadowy scan results.

"All the headaches...," he whispered as he looked at the image of the growth on the underside of his forehead, "but I don't even have a horn."

Dante coughed as his voice cracked, the stress of the moment too much. His purple eyes watered as he considered something insane, the warble that had softened his voice forgotten. His gaze flicked to data chips from his Metagenetics lectures, one of the few things he had unpacked.

"Dante...you might be turning into a unicorn, or worse," the tremulous whisper escaped his lips.

It made sense on a certain level. His magic had always been strong for an Earth Pony. If there was an astral template his body was trying to achieve that would explain the change in coloration and some of the other weirdness. The headaches would be a given. His mane and coat, while totally out of character for a rugged earther, wouldn't be THAT flamboyant on a Unicorn stallion.

It was an attractive solution. It would draw looks, and whispers, but honestly who could fault him if his metagenes had suddenly decided to defect to Canterlot. But there was an If… If he could explain the...other... things. He wasn't aware of any variant of unicorn that was an emotion eater. Maybe...there was another answer, he almost dared not consider the word. Alicorn. The tabloids had been full of wild accusations after the Royal Lie had been exposed. There was more that the world didn't know about its former overlords than it did and while breathtakingly rare it was not without precedence. He had no doubts that if he looked he could find an entire litany of conspiracy theories arguing that the Mi Amore Cadenza was using the Crystal Heart as the lynchpin of a dark ritual designed to conquer in the name of the Crystal Quebecois.

Dante leaned against the wall and tried to consider the ramifications.

"Silky would have a fit." Dante macabrely laughed, imagining the plaintive whines of how unfair it was...

A frown crossed Dante's face. Silky Sheets. They had no business being in that museum. There might as well have been a sign labeled 'sketchy situation.' The result had still been worth 9,000 nu-bits from the Museum Curator out of his depth if only because they had argued that it would have been even worse if they hadn't been there including the ire of the Solari Foundation. His persona of Edmond Dantes had still been a casualty as a consequence. Silky was going to be a problem. If not from his vindictive streak and penchant towards acting first and thinking later then from the fact he kept loosely tying the same ID and company to incidents.

He had cited his company at the KE station, again when questioned at the museum. He had gone off halfcocked when they had stolen the car and had almost killed the one captive that could satiate Knight Errant’s paranoia. Someone or Some agent was going to put it together. Tartarus be damned it was likely Silky's sister already had. Dante wasn't worried about himself. Neither alias of Dorian Gray, nor Edmond Dantes, had ever really existed nor was he leaving forwarding addresses as he changed homes and identities. Gwynn though. The naive Griffin was well within the blast radius if Silky went down, and as far as Dante could tell the unicorn noble had done little to mitigate the threat...

Of course, he himself had entertained the notion of stealing the Alicorn Amulet for himself…for all of about 5 seconds. A review of the history of the piece had confirmed his gut feeling. He would have gained the amulet, and the immediate attention of the opposing mage, The Solari Foundation, and one ex-Princess of Magic and her pet dragon. That was way too much attention, especially since….

Dante’s stomach rumbled. He thought back to the mid-level manager he had ambushed the night before. The new Agent was helping with finding and verifying targets that warranted his attention. He didn’t want another Sea Whisper, and the updates to his car should avoid any further possibility of someone data-mining the grid records and noticing the common presence of the same battered Jackrabbit sedan at each incident. But all his money was going out again as nearly as fast as it came, and in the meantime, he kept hunting ponies not that dissimilar from Silky Sheets. In another life…

Dante smiled as he imagined what it would be like to grab Silky Sheets somewhere private and start draining from the well of that massive ego…

…but no… as much as he didn’t trust the secretive occult organization Silky belonged to…especially since the museum attackers had been linked to the mysterious 'Couch Mare Club.' As much as he was sure Silky was going to get Gwynn seriously compromised he shouldn’t think that way…

He stood up and looked in the mirror turning his muzzle back and forth…and to his annoyance found it just noticeably slimmer and rounder…Dante shook his mane and tried to imagine himself sitting on a beach in the Caribbean league surrounded by mares who adored the pretty unicorn stallion look. Starswirl’s beard he had watched enough music videos be filmed with unicorn rap stars, there had to be a little truth to the lies.

Dante looked down at the print out again before he deleted it…

“Wait what, (cough) how am I a half-inch shorter?”

Dante didn’t hear the warble in his voice as he considered the readout…

“I’ve been getting taller, how am I shorter?... This has got to be a bad reading…”

He measured again and got the same result. Deciding that there was one obvious way to check he grabbed his Berwick suit and threw on the jacket…and to his growing discomfort noted that the sleeves that had been expertly tailored so recently now were just a touch long.

“This is insane…,” the only answer was the grumbling of his stomach…

He exasperatedly deleted the record before returning to his apple. He had trouble enjoying it, at least for the first bite…but it was a real apple. His eyes fluttered a little…at least until the fourth bite when an aching twinge from the front of his mouth interrupted his moment of serenity.

Dante winced…and checked his teeth, and to his displeasure noted some redness and irritation at either side of the front of his muzzle. He tried to think to the last time he had been in a dentist’s clinic and came up blank.

“One more thing I guess…,” he checked his balance… the medical fund stood at a paltry 2k nubits. He wasn’t looking forward to what a dentist would do to that meager amount considering he had no dental coverage.

“Once more unto the fire…, so Wickham can get his teeth fixed,” it was a little disheartening…but Dante lifted his head…he was better equipped, edIT owed him an easier assignment, and the apartment and account at Stuffer Shack were paid through the next two months…it could be worse…if only he could figure out one of his mysteries…

He turned and went to get back to searching for records of Yaklicia, while his agent collated sightings of ponies who could stand to receive a visit from the stalker of Touristville. With luck one of them would have something worth stealing. Soon they’d hit up the Talismonger’s shop for the history of the Alicorn Amulet. At some point something was going to break loose. He’d figure out the Amethyst Tiara or Emerald Circlet, or they’d be paid what they actually deserved… he didn’t need much, just enough to pay off a medical researcher worth his hay… things could be worse.

In the mirror behind him the AR note sat next to his reflection.

“Who is Tisiphone?”

Author's Note

Game Events: The team is hired covertly by the curator of a museum in downtown Seattle to keep tabs on 'suspicious characters' as there is a major gem exhibit at the museum worth millions of nu-bits and he has heard rumors that the collection is being targeted for theft.

Once on the scene, it is learned that the museum is also hosting a short term exhibition of magical artifacts on loan from the Solari Foundation including the Alicorn Amulet. This immediately caused concerns for the two mages in the group.

A pony of interest is noted, and the team attempts to investigate, noting that there is a strange dust permeating the museum.

It turns out that the pony of interest is part of a second covert security detail hired by the Security Director of the museum without telling his boss as he feared to appear to be unable to handle the situation. The two teams thus hired by the museum started investigating each other, leaving the thieves relatively unopposed when they set off their incendiary nanites and finished their tunnel coming up inside the gem exhibit vault.

A furious battle broke out at the entrance of the gem vault, but between getting patrons to safety and the difficulty of the chokepoint we only succeeded in capturing a number of the thieves while the remainder rapidly escaped with the bulk of the gems.

Suspecting that this was a distraction, Glass Darkly used astral magic to return to the Alicorn Amulet and found it being stolen by a powerful unicorn. Glass Darkly grabbed the Amulet and fled as he was overmatched, resulting in a hectic chase around the museum before he ultimately threw the amulet at an arriving squad of Knight Errant officers and escaped (we were still wanted for the events at the Knight Errant station in the prior mission).

There was significant fallout from the highly public incident and Glass Darkly had to burn another fake ID and move again. To his chagrin, his fellows were less concerned. He noted with interest that the magical signature of the Alicorn Amulet while he had held it, was similar to the Amethyst Tiara and Emerald Circlet discovered in Mission 2. Research via available sources hinted that the two Foci were very old and had histories with famous adventurers of old.

Mission 20. July W4 'Grave Errors' & Mission 21. August W1 'A Tournament Arc'

Shortly after the events of 'A Runner Family Reunion

Rice Paddy sighed morosely as she found another bullet hole. That made 129. There was only the faintest smell of heavy industrial solvents left in the damaged condo, a small blessing. The summer breeze filtering in through the broken windows had taken care of the rest of it. Ghostly spots in the carpet betrayed points of interest where libations of bleach had been poured out to the gods of secrecy. She was no neophyte, but this wreckage was so far beyond her usual need to recreate the aftermath of a hastily cleaned party.

“(Stupid, stupid, stupid),” the repeated mantra came in Vietneighmese.

Her gut had warned her, it had, and she hadn’t listened. A few scraps of Augmented Reality crime tape still fluttered from the railings. Only the sound of approaching hooves made her look to see who now had come to gawk.

A severe-looking earth pony looked out from under the remarkably bland gray brim of his wide Fedora and cleared his throat.

“This is private property,” Paddy dryly noted.

“I'm here on business,” came the gruff reply.

“I already answered all the Knight questions and if you Horizon flunkie, then you go bother Knight Errant, find Rising Mist, and have her explain why someone want her dead.”

The Earth Pony withdrew a small object and softly chuckled.

“Rising Mist doesn’t exist, she ends in a morass of conflicting databases. The same holds true for her friends. Whoever put together their identities knows their craft but that is neither here nor there. My name is Ness, Special Investigator Untouchable Ness. I read the reports, but rookies these days, collecting data without hitting on the truth.

I have two questions for you, important ones. They won’t take long.”

The pony opened the small object to reveal a full badge. There was an AR ID tag, there always was, but there was not the usual simple Knight's head logo and laminate photo. A gold emblem with Crystal accents sparkled in the afternoon sunlight along with a neatly pressed special service ribbon.

“You an important pony for them to send after a drug dealing mare,” Paddy noted with a bit more reverence.

“Let’s keep it to just the facts Ma’am. You mentioned in the report that 'Mist' gave you a bad vibe. Tell me please, given your experiences, why you felt that way?”

“She uh,” Mist looked at the spot where the floor was charred from a small, drone sized fire, “she felt dangerous, like some ponies you see come from old country, you can tell when a pony has met death, see it in their eyes. She had look in her eyes, look like Death was old friend. Except she not like farmer fleeing fields. She had different look. Look like tiger, hungry.”

“Like a predator?” Ness interjected.

Paddy stopped and nodded. Ness took down a note on an old fashioned notepad he pulled from his trench coat.

“You…very old fashioned,” Paddy Questioned.

“So I am, though I can claim that my case notes have never been hacked, now I want you to think back. Mist's friends, did they act like her equals, or was her status higher?”

Paddy thought to the few times she had seen the tenants together.

“They deferred to her.”

“Oh,” Ness raised an eyebrow, “and was this because they feared her?”

Paddy stood silent for a moment.

“They didn’t fear her, more like they respected her.”

“Thank you, that was all I needed.”

“Who do you really work for? You don’t act like a Knight.”

“A higher class of criminal requires a higher class of detective. Good Day.”

Later, Elsewhere

The door chime rang, hoof steps clacked on the chipped tile.

“I’m here for shipment AX-938, my trailer wasn’t on the dock, what’s going on you two-bit wankers?”

A scruffy rigger scratched at the data jack at the back of his half-shaved head and tried to pull the wrinkles from his brown shirt. An AR timer flashed red.

A happy looking mare turned towards him, she smiled, the hologram flickering showed the drone underneath.

“I'm sorry shipment AX-938 is not available, the status has been closed on that order. Was there another order I can help you with?”

“Listen you useless machine, I have a special order from Pentacle Distribution to fill and you’re costing me time whish is nu-bits, where is it? A trailer full of magical supplies doesn’t just get up and walk off!”

“ERROR, Query shipment AX-938, status: Closed. Delivered 07:33 Today.”

“Frag me, what’s going on!?”

A Diamond Dog with graying hair, a shirt with faint sweat stains, and a simple black tie pushed through the doorway into the reception office, half a cup of soykaf still steaming in his #1 Dad paw print mug.

“What’s the problem?”

The growl came, the rigger glared back, unshaken.

“You tell me Gramps, your bot thinks we already picked up special order AX-938.”

The diamond dog scratched his head.

“But you did. I mean, not you but, we had a valid pick up this morning, another Rigger, Crumpled Box.”

The Diamond Dog browsed a listing of security footage. An AR holo loaded, showing a rigger very similar to the current confused one backing up to a trailer. The SIN and corporate-issued commlink ID was an exact match as was the hoofprint and retina scan.

“Dispatch, this is Irregular Freight, Crumpled Box, took my assigned shipment. What the drek is going on?... Hey, what’s so funny….No I haven’t heard drek…How?... But… Okay, let me get this straight. Crumpled Box is in the company detox cell, he was brought in naked and high as a kite? No, I don’t know what the drek the Strawberry Weasel refers too! So who the drek took the shipment?!”

The large Diamond Dog slurped his soykaf, the security rituals had been met, and this wasn’t his problem.

Elsewhere

“Amethyst!”

“What? I can’t hear you,” the mare on the Silver Screen Dreams operations committee looked at the stallion who was attempting to shout over the din of a jackhammer and excavator. She gave up and pulled him into a side room.

“IS ALL THIS REALLY NECESSARY?!”

Amethyst Shadow blinked and rubbed an ear at the inordinately loud question. Still, the sound of construction echoed from the hall.

“As I recall,” Amethyst noted with annoyance, “I heard you were one of the most vocal when the auto-set broke down last year, what with all manual hoof work. Of course, you were still advocating for the auto set module for the Saddle Arabian Nights series, and to add in a Turkish style section to the spa. All these things need space, machinery to run them, and more capacity for staff and supplies. So Maltese Falcon, which is it? You can’t have it both ways.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to start work on practically an entirely new sub-basement. Nor for you to furlough half the staff while this is going on.”

“Half the staff were asking about some summer vacay while it’s still warm. The main heating plant for the spa had ten years’ worth of non-critical deferred maintenance items built up. A bit of a slowdown was an inevitability at some point. Why not take the opportunity while we’re working on the heating plant to lay down the foundation for a great new run of business. In this case quite literally.”

“It still feels like the work ponies are digging a hole to China. How many loads of rock have they carted off?”

“Why Falcon, I had no idea you were a trained Geologist or Civil Engineer. Prithee do grant your wisdom to the trained professionals we've hired. I’m sure they’ll appreciate you telling them how to do their jobs.”

“You know what I meant!”

“What exactly? What alternate future are you advocating for? Other than being intentionally neurotic and actively obstructive?”

Falcon glared. There was a knock on the door. A yellow mare stuck her head through the crack in the door.

“Miss Shadow, there’s a call for you.”

“I'll return it in a bit Mellow.”

“Umm, it’s one of the special contractors.”

Amethyst turned, surprised, “I told them I was busy today.”

“Doesn’t seem to have stopped them.”

“Arghhh, Fine, Falcon we can resolve this later, but I’d wager it will all be done before we reach an understanding, rendering this all pointless.”

Amethyst Shadow turned and followed Mellow out the door. A moment later and they were in the service elevator. Amethyst punched a sequence into the modest number of buttons. The elevator descended, past the basement and new sub-basement then stopped.

“Make sure Falcon gets reassigned to the new 'Senior Performer' dressing room as soon as it’s finished. The accommodations should get him to shut up. My gut feeling is that he’s being nosey more out of the fact he feels like he should have been on the committee than anything else.”

A slight chime was the only indicator that the security scan was complete. A panel slid out of the way, to reveal a small unlabeled opening. Amethyst stuck a hoof through and felt the tingle of the unseen box with the detector ward. Her MK 2 version of the slug in a box was far more refined. Only one who was dual-natured with a Changeling aura would permit passage, aside from dismantling the shaft. Assuming the interloper wasn’t out cold from the hidden pneumatic needles with venom. The elevator shuddered and dropped further. Finally five stories past the new sub-basement it came to halt.

“Won’t keeping a selection of ponies on complicate things?”

“Yes, but so would getting rid of all of them all at once. They’ll also be useful for events. Far easier to send a Pony to a PR gig in Bellevue, let the high-end security wards and spells waste their time scanning an actual Pony.”

They stepped out into the roughhewn unloading room. On the other side, changelings in hard hats were loading crates with burned off tracking tags onto the cargo rails. Facet was holding a spirited conversation, pacing back and forth in a Carousel Boutique knock-off business suit.

“I don’t care whose fault it is?! We ordered a truck full of magical supplies. Number of trucks that have been delivered….zero. I'm not paying for goods that were never received.”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow in question. Facet smiled without breaking her complaint and gave an 'I got this' gesture. She did step out of the way as a large crate marked 'Pentacle Magical Goods Co.’ was carried past on the cargo rail.

“No, I don’t want a replacement shipment. Do you expect me to put on ANOTHER Summer Camp with vocational training for disadvantaged Griffin youth? There are limits to the tax write-off for stuff like that! Do you expect me to store it, absorbing the expense, because your security measures failed?

Yes I think a courtesy credit is the least you could do…After all the disadvantaged Griffin Youth who lost the opportunity to explore careers in enchanting are the real victims here…”

Amethyst followed Mellow down the hewn path dodging the odd construction worker, spa attendant, and changelings.

They passed the triple reverse double back ramp that Digs had argued endlessly for. Amethyst noted the mounting foundations for various machine guns, and concealed firing positions littering the walls. Funds were not infinite, even with free labor. In time though. Down past a final blind turn under a collapsible ceiling and a drawbridge spanned a sizable trench. A few workers were working on the machinery that would move the reinforced vault door that was slowly taking shape off to the side.

“It’s very impressive,” Mellow sighed, looking at the meter thick door within its scaffolding.

Amethyst took in the sight.

“It will buy minutes, maybe an hour, no fortress we build will withstand Radiant Pine if he sets the full force of his legions to besiege us,” Amethyst sighed, then smiled reassuringly, “but it may mean that should events come to pass that everyone can evacuate, without needing a rear guard to buy time.”

Mellow nodded.

A caretaker ran up and handed a commlink to Amethyst.

“Thank you, Moth-to-Flame.”

Amethyst reviewed the message log.

“Oh come on you two…I know you want to make good with A Stallion but you knew I couldn’t do anything today….,” she started mouthing the messages in sequence, “There’s a job. We’re going to ambush them, come and help….Screw it we can’t wait….Okay running them over in the truck didn’t work…” the link pinged, “…oh damn Split Klaw gonna die!”

“Really, I take one run off!” Amethyst summoned a Changeling Combat spirit, the armored Soldier materializing in front of her.

“You called?”

“I command this service, aid the one known to me as Split Klaw and the one known to me as Gwynn against all foes, you are to present yourself as a Buddhist Citipati spirit.”

“It shall be done….”

The spirit twisted and morphed to the form of a blazing skeleton, before fading out, using the metaplanes for its journey. It wouldn’t do to have strange spirits leaving a spa at all hours after all.

Amethyst went to send a message about the help to arrive shortly but another came in interruption via the Hive mind.

“My Queen, Falcon is trying to convince Local Production to back him in demanding that we make the full renovation contracts available. The microphones outside set four are picking them up.

Amethyst's eyes flashed with annoyance. She handed Darkly’s commlink back to Flame and began retracing her steps. She couldn’t allow the seeds of a revolt to flourish, not now.

“Some ponies need to learn their place,” she grumbled, forgetting her intent to notify her fellows. It was okay, Split Klaw would be fine. He always was.

Later

“What do mean it’s MY fault I didn’t tell you that I could summon spirits?! I'm sorry Split Klaw, there were…complications….You’re being very unfair here.”

The slender Caretaker Changeling in the white labcoat in the corner rolled her eyes as Tisiphone wrapped up the call in Glass Darkly’s voice. With a motion she was done the Queen turned to the resident occupant of this corner of the Hive space where a few cots and assorted medical supplies had been arranged into a crude approximation of an infirmary.

“Your mental strength to not lose your mind from frequent exposure to the silliness of ponies is admirable my Queen.”

Tisiphone gave the Changeling a look.

“I have little use for flattery, Gray Anatomist, how’s is Flitter’s replacement leg coming?”

“Adapting the stolen hardware has proven difficult, as it is designed for equine biology, not our own. Still my latest attempt is progressing nicely, though it will be quite some time before we can do much more than clone lost parts. On the flip side the fact we are all technically sister clones does simplify things.”

Tisiphone gave another look. Then handed over an x-ray that Gwynn had provided.

“Your opinion, how long for this pony to make a recovery?”

“You mean he still lives?! My Queen, what a specimen…for him to absorb such abuse and walk away! You should consider spawning some…larvae…with…”

The doctor trailed off…then meekly added in response to the look she was getting…

“I’m getting banished aren’t I…”

“You wish I was going to be that merciful…,” Tisiphone’s laden threat came in reply.

Later

“By this Oath are we so sworn, in service to the Queen, and Service to the Hive...”

Tisiphone looked over the five Nymph caste minions that sat at the circular table. Her seat was raised, higher, but it was an affectation she appreciated. These were her lieutenants, they had tasted her dream as part of the forging of their bond. The sisterhood of the Amethyst Shadow Society.

“Now, to order,” She began solemnly, “I trust that each has read the copy of the invitation to the other hives I penned. I would have your honest thoughts.”

Creeping Bloom pulled the map on the table closer to her…and spoke.

“I do not doubt that the two Scouts hoof picked by Flitterwing the Bold will make it to the Chicago environs, but I fear my Queen that the long time between has…done something…to us. I am in agreement with Shifting Facet and Intaglio. I fear they will see us as aberrant. Even if not, cooperation is not…not in our blood. Sending away two of our best on a long mission may be an indulgent use of time.”

Tisiphone rose from her chair, and moved to the wall. She reached out and touched it. After a moment she turned back and regarded the five Nymphs.

“I do not need to repeat the history. I fear you are right, but the attempt must be made, we must not fall back into the old ways. If they will not listen, then so be it, but I will not have it said that I did not try. One way or another we will break the cycle. Still we must focus on the fate that we ourselves make, do your best to push the completion of the temple site to completion. The history scrolls of the Yak Khan need to be eminently believable. A nexus of events approaches, let it not be said we were not ready.”

Murmurs of assent echoed in the council room.

August WK 1

The alarm rang. The Queen slapped the alarm clock, only a few of her white hairs were still faintly visible in Glass Darkly’s gray, she had started shifting last night. She debated taking another five minutes but soon a knock at the door ended that line of thought.

“Mornin!” Frizzle was paler than before, but the look of exultant joy on the Caretaker’s face as she wheeled in a cart with a bounty of food was infectious.

“Frizzle,” Tisiphone groaned grinning, “you know I can’t eat all this…they’ll have to roll me to the tournament.

“Oh I know…but I started thinking…gotta make the Queen’s favorite for the big day…but then I thought…NO she needs fuel for the long day that meant lots of oats, but then I started thinking no, it’s a martial arts tournament, Queenie needs PROTEIN!...SoImadeallthree.”

Frizzle rubbed a leg over another, then remembered something.

“OH AND THERES FRESH SQUEEZED SERENITY-ADE. Just harvested last night from the spa.”

“Oh Frizzle…thank you...let Prima know we’re still on for the smuggling transfer to get me out of the spa.”

“Will do boss.”

Tisiphone dug into breakfast, it was a martial arts tournament, easy peasy serenity-ade squeezy. How bad could it be?”

Later

“Oh that is it, I LOVE IT! HOLD THAT POSE! SUCH POWER!”

Glass Darkly as a Marketing Executive laid it on Master Dash thick, but even he doubted that the thick-headed pony was capable of noticing. Any last shreds of self-control were lost as the lummox made eyebrow pops at Vixie who was doing remarkably well in her role of wearing a ‘traditional’ skimpy saddle whose designer might have looked at actual buffalo regalia once or twice in the creation process.

“NOW, we just need to get a shot of you knocking back a bottle. I want your face to show me how much the proprietary mix of all-natural herbs is infusing you with UNSTOPPABLE POWER!”

“Excuse me,” Master Dash’s manager scowled, “what’s in this stuff exactly?”

“Are you asking me to reveal the secrets of a generations-old recipe curated by a clan of Buffalo shaman, given down hoof to hoof?”

“It’s apple-flavored vitamin water isn’t it?”

“I am greatly upset by your insinuation, now for your payment…”

“Hey, how about I get your number baby?” Master Dash looked lewdly at Vixie as Glass Darkly wrapped up the photo shoot with the stadium in the background. It was done…the Marketing Executive reviewed the publicity shots that would never be used. A different poison, but still the fateful sip had been offered and taken. His part was done. Strawberry Hooves and Split Klaw would be done soon. Glass Darkly looked up at the towering hotel across the complex and frowned as a slight flash occupied one of the upper floor suites.

A crackling in his ear told of doom.

From the ground in the plaza. Glass Darkly stood still as a statue as Split Klaw’s ego finally caught up with him.

A window exploded.

“No,” Glass Darkly whispered, “they wouldn’t.”

Two ponies flung themselves out of the window as the interior of the hotel flashed with security alarms. Time felt like it stretched out. A mare turned. Another gasped. A scream.

“What what is it?!”

“Is that a bird?”

“No, might be a plane drone,” another pony squinted.

The second falling pony flashed in a crackle of orange magic and changed into a pegasus.

“It’s A CHANGELING!!!”

Glass Darky’s lips tightened, only barely showing the clenched teeth as a chorus of screams echoed around him. In the distance Strawberry Hooves flew away with Split Klaw.

All bedlam let loose, after a moment, Glass Darkly finally turned.

“Facet!”

“Yes…my Queen.”

“I hate being right. The orange fool just revealed itself in front of easily a hundred cameras and countless witnesses. This city is going to be swarming with Radiant Pine’s Firewatch by this time tomorrow. Everyone is going to be buying bio-scanners. Invest everything you can into riding the wave, but first, everyone needs to drop everything and hunt. Make it fast and clean. By nightfall we are in lockdown. No one outside of SSD and the Temple without express permission of myself or a Society Nymph. I…”

Tisiphone paused and wished she had savored the serenity-ade Frizzle had made longer.

“…everyone goes on rations…equal serenity rations until further notice. We can’t know how long the crackdown will last.”

“My queen…what has happened? Are you safe? What disaster has befallen you that the orange changeling would reveal itself?”

“She couldn’t think of a better escape plan than to fly out of the window.”

“….”

“Yes.”

“….”

“Yes.”

“….I see…pardon me...my Queen.”

Tisiphone caught the faintest edge of a psychic scream before she zoned out the connection. She couldn’t feel sorry for herself. She couldn’t worry…this job needed completion. If she faltered it might reveal a far wider truth to more worrisome eyes.

“Split Klaw is injured, Strawberry Hooves is on the run.”

Vixie gave an update.

“I understand,” Glass Darkly was already moving towards the Ramen bar.

Lead.

Take Charge.

Glass Darkly slunk in the rear entryway…he tuned out the distractions. Tisiphone sought the certainty that pervaded her being.

…and felt the hunger that howled inside. The hunger that was never truly sated. Glass Darkly stepped into a shadow by a pile of ramen boxes. A faint amethyst sparkle and a bubbly, well-proportioned mare stepped out, a lion among a world of lambs. With bare hesitation, she walked straight up to Steel Stud and smiled. She did not flinch when the buffalo leered. She did not flinch when he slapped her rump with his meaty hoof, and she did not flinch when half an hour later he screamed as he fought for consciousness.

Later

Suede boots crackled on bits of shattered glass.

“This way Agent Ness….”

A fedora was tucked under and arm as a head ducked under the crime tape.

“We’re sweeping for forensics, both trace and on Little Snow. We have a perimeter sweep searching and with detection spells.”

“How long did it take you to set that up?”

“Err…um…under 10 minutes.”

“Not fast enough….”

“It was unexpected…”

“The bugs always are…..is that where the martial artist died?”

“Yes…”

“That was either some lousy shooting or the window shattering was after then,” Ness noted the hologram showing a lifeless digitally frozen Little Snow.

“Is that important.”

Ness walked within a pace of the shattered window, the breeze swirling in his short mane. He looked down at the plaza.

“A changeling deliberately blew out a window and jumped out in full view of half the city. It’s so ludicrous that it’s either a psy op so intricate and cunning that even I can’t tell what the larger plan is...YET, or this changeling is so daft that I have to question why we haven’t been able to exterminate the lot of them…. I don’t know which I fear more.”

Later

“DO YOU HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE!!!”

Glass Darkly was apoplectic at the orange changeling that stood there in all of her glory. Gwynn and Vixie kept an eye on proceedings, Split Klaw occasionally coughed up some bloody phlegm from a corner.

“I did what I had to do.”

“THIS WAS THE BEST PLAN YOU COULD COME UP WITH?!”

“At the time yes!”

“Do you realize how many Firewatch officers there will be in this city tomorrow? How many people will be looking for us? As changeling sympathizers and suspected changelings?!”

“I’ll survive, at the worst I’ll direct Firewatch to some other Hive…”

“What other Hive do you think is going to absorb your idiocy,” Glass paced sneering, “What makes you think that you’ll avoid the blowback on this…Orange Queen.”

“I am not a queen, besides if must be I’ll simply sacrifice a portion of my hive and relocate. Still, it’s an inconvenience, and I expect to be recompensed, perhaps with one of the Foci you’ve been sitting on.”

Glass Darkly turned and glared at Strawberry Hooves.

“You are not a queen?” He asked low and with no small edge of anger.

“Give me a Focus and I will be…and I can better support the group.”

Strawberry Hooves glared in return.

“Those are not for you to claim,” Glass snarled.

For a moment Tisiphone looked out through Glass Darkly’s eyes, past and through Strawberry Hooves. To the dozens of nameless orange drones that had already been written off by the careless Nymph that led them. Already dead and not knowing it. How many Orange Frizzles, how many Facets, how many friends?

“I carried you to safety,” Strawberry Hooves coldly reminded Glass of her service.

“And in that you have my thanks, in that I might have begun to consider you a friend. But you have made your true colors so very plainly evident, and I will have no more of this idiocy.

You are not a Queen yet.”

Unsaid but evident was the undertone that never would that title be granted in Glass Darkly’s eyes.

Later

Suede boots paced before the cork boards, various pictures, notes, strings, pieced together the web.

A video clip played of several changelings attacking a poor defenseless pony. A bit of a tail stuck out of a seam in a suit. One changeling struggled to enunciate through its fangs. A changeling reared up to strike a killing blow, a black sticker meant to look like a hole peeled off a foreleg and fluttered to the ground.

“Oh for the love of..,” a voice grumbled from off screen, “what am I paying you vagrants for, I want savage, SAVAGE, and make sure you get a better zoom on the scanner this time. I could barely read the model plate.”

The clip ended. A pony at the table straightened his tie.

“Voice print and reference to the model leads to a manager in a third tier bio scanner maker. The manager is missing. The CEO swears up and down that they’re being framed, but the Knight Errant station in their precinct has a rap sheet a mile long on them. They’ve been eking by on stuff like this for years. So it may be a case of the lady doth protest too much.”

“What do you think Ness…?”

“This concerns me…”

“And…Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

The soft clomp of heavy armor approached and stopped before the door.

“Ness…”

“Yes?”

“We’ve got a positive ID on a Hive…looks like Orange, matches up with your bogey. We’re wheels up in ten.”

“I see…”

A few happy smiles were shared around the room.

“Ness, I’ve never seen you this kerfluffled at a successful prosecution.”

“Too easy,” the Inspector slowly put on his fedora. Then turned to the various boards.

Bits and pieces of video clips played. A gun flash that wounded what appeared to be Rabbit Slip. A strange pony at a grocery store in Bellevue. Rising Mist occupied several boards. Maps showing the fight at the edge of Pacific University. The gunfight on the highway, reports from the docks.

“The pony that beat our security at our subsidiary impersonating Rabbit Slip spent a minute fighting for his life before his backup arrived. He didn’t fly out the window.”

“So?”

“We’ve been chasing a ghost that’s been accumulating a file for over a year. Now we find an orange hive that’s been gift-wrapped, at the same time that some other pony is running a psyop to blunt the security response. Does that strike you like the same THING that would throw itself out a window for lack of a better plan?”

“You think that this is being orchestrated by more than one changeling?” The Captain softly questioned.

Untouchable Ness touched the brim of his Fedora and saluted the Captain.

“I deal in facts, not conjecture.”

Author's Note

Game Notes: This chapter covers two sessions. The first 'Grave Errors' was one that the author (playing Glass Darkly) was not able to make it too due to other commitments. Aside from checking in via text message with the GM. Upon learning that the team, who was tasked to steal a warehouse full of illicit weapons from a competitor who had arranged for the NPC 'A Stallion', our primary arms dealer, to be fed the incorrect intel as part of the heavy transport trap that we avoided (Mission 17, Look Before You Leap). This wasn't going very well, and the author (Glass Darkly POV) ordered a hefty combat spirit to go help, expecting this would push them over the line but was called away back to the other RL commitment without being able to follow up. Unfortunately, already hard pressed, and not realizing that the arriving spirit was allied. The player running Split Klaw decided the fight was lost, and simply blew the entire warehouse to bits.

In the next mission. The team was hired to sabotage a Martial Arts tournament to ensure a specific winner on behalf a gambling cartel. Short on time and with three targets to deal with, the first was engaged with a fake advertising campaign that left the target dosed with performance enhancing drugs getting him disqualified. The second target, Little Snow, a world class martial artist was too much of a temptation for Split Klaw, who challenged her to a duel instead of ambushing her and got his ass handed to him resulting in an intervention by Strawberry Hooves and a security alarm being triggered. The target was killed, but Strawberry Hooves couldn't come up with a better plan than litterally jumping out of a window and transforming while in free fall. Glass Darkly then had to wing the remainder of the mission, mostly alone, but succeeded.

This led to rather awkward moment, when Strawberry Hooves who was known to be a changeling was berated by Glass Darkly who no one knew was also a Changeling. A full security lockdown of the city followed, with both changeling players independently taking steps to mitigate the fallout. The Strawberry Hooves player (formerly Silky Sheets) sacrificing a part of the Orange Changeling Splinter Hive. Glass Darkly/Tisiphone going to ground while running a psyops campaign to make the threat seem overblown.