BridgeWorld

[994AB Day 270]
"Princess Celestia!?" Alfalfa exclaimed when she opened the door. "Won't you please come in? Is this a social call, or business?"

"I'm sorry to say, Alfalfa, this is a call that never happened," she said, sighing.

"I—see," she replied. "Mister Thomas is down below."

"Good," Celestia said. "What I have to say would best be spoken about down there."

"Right this way, then, Your Highness."

"…It's just so weird seeing unicorns wielding kitsune magic," Celestia heard a burly unicorn stallion grumble as she got in hearing range to the party. Thomas, Mareta, and Buck were there, along with Lucius.

"It's not like I intentionally tried to teach anything like that to Buck. Or to them," Lucius responded. "Can you, or can't you, teach them unicorn magic?"

"Well, it's not like you're unicorns. But, for that matter, none of you are pegasi, either, and yet the Major has managed to teach all of you to fly," the former Guard replied. "I'll do my best to teach him, and the rest of you, to use those horns."

"That's all we're asking of you, Flashfire," Alfalfa spoke up as they emerged from the shadows of the cavern.

"Princess Celestia!" Thomas Mane exclaimed when he caught sight of her accompanying his butler.

"Princess!" the unicorn exclaimed, snapping off a sharp salute.

"At ease, Lieutenant Flashfire," she responded. "Enjoying your retirement?"

"I'll admit retirement was getting a little boring, Your Highness, even if I was working on Guard-related stuff at Mane Industries," he answered. "At least, until Major Ponyworth brought me in on this little side operation."

"Just so long as you know, this operation of theirs doesn't exist, Lieutenant," Celestia sternly said. "Not even 'unofficially.'"

"I—fully understand, Your Highness!" he responded.

"Good," she snapped. "Thomas, we've got a problem. Can we talk?"

"Of course, Your Highness," he said, giving looks with clear meaning to the others. They all stayed there as Thomas led Celestia to a secluded corner of the caverns.

"Am I in trouble, again, Your Highness?" he asked innocently. "You only call me 'Thomas' when I am."

"I only call you Thomas when the situation is serious," she countered. "Of course, it's always serious when you're in trouble. But it's not you—this time. Jack Black escaped custody while enroute to Canterlot. He had help."

"I—see," he said soberingly. "How—how many were killed?"

"Five," she said. "And three more badly injured out of a team of ten. We killed four of them, but they successfully managed to extract him."

"How many did they have?"

"Only six on the raid," she told him. "Whoever broke him out clearly favored pegasi and unicorns. If you're planning on going after ponies like them, you're going to be at a severe disadvantage, Thomas."

"We've got a few advantages of our own, Your Highness," he said, spreading the wings and lighting up the horn of his suit with a gray aura. "They won't know we're not Thestrals, pegasi, unicorns, or even alicorns, for that matter."

"Not to mention, the unknown number of former Royal Guard on their side," she pointed out in opposition. "None of those who were in on that raid could've been involved with the incident where your ponies recorded the goings on in the warehouse. Broken wings don't heal that quickly, especially wings broken by former Royal Guard ponies during a combat skirmish. Plus, there's Jack Black, the unicorn who helped him escape, and any other unicorns they may have working for them."

"But there are three of us," he replied. "Of course, I know we're not ready yet. Not by a long shot. Alfalfa is doing her best. Flashfire will naturally be a big help, but we've also got a few tricks that not even Royal Guard know: Buck's pretty good with that kitsune magic he's learned from Lucius, while Mareta and I are fair to middling. In addition, we've got one more thing going for us, Your Highness."

"What is that?" she asked.

"Commitment," he sternly stated. "We're determined. We're motivated, like nopony's business. We've already have had our lives in Jack Black's hoof once before, and quite frankly, I don't care for my family to ever be there again! Neither do they!"

Celestia stared at him for several minutes, while he stared up at her with a steady determination.

"I've had to send many ponies on missions for which they were not ready," she finally told him. "Most of them didn't come back."

"And those that did?" he asked, still staring at her with his steely gaze.

"Many of those did so in body bags," she replied.

"And the ones who lived?"

"Injured. Damaged. Broken. Often in both mind and body."

"All of them?"

"Not all."

"What about those who weren't? What happened to them."

"They grew," she admitted.

"That sounds like good odds, Your Highness," he seriously shot back.

"Really?" Celestia challenged.

"Yeah, Alfalfa gave us a talk much like that awhile back," he answered, grinning, to which she snorted in amusement, too.

"If you wouldn't mind, Your Highness, could we go over the details of the incident with Mareta, Buck, and Alfalfa? I think Alfalfa is going to balk at it, but it would be irresponsible of me to not at least listen to her input. She is in charge of our training, after all."

"They barely have had a quarter of the time of a standard bootcamp," Alfalfa grumbled, "much less any specialized combat training. They're each on seriously different levels and capabilities of learning. There's been no unicorn training at all to date, which is what we were still in the process of negotiating when you walked in!" she said, glaring at Flashfire. "Pegasi maneuvers are progressing but still incomplete, and earth pony skills are barely basic as it is. And you're thinking of sending them up against ponies who are trained assassins, which chances are, they probably rank right up there with me!? This is going way beyond anypony's definition of 'not ready,' Your Highness," she finished, glaring at Celestia.

"I'm interested in their progress so far," Celestia said. "Thomas just told me just how determined he and his family are. So, let's see it."

The Manes all shared a look and nodded.

"Very well," Alfalfa said, sighing. "But you'll need to see just how outclassed they're going to be. Flashfire, join me with this little training session, will you?"

"Sure, Major," he said, getting up to march out to the training area to join the Mane family who were donning their helms. "What are we going to work on?"

"Everything," Alfalfa stressed.

But then, everypony was stunned when Celestia, herself, stepped into the arena.

"As you said, they're going to be outmatched by a great deal," the princess pointed out. "Let's see how they handle it."

"As usual: standard stun spells, and any hits you can land on us, Mister Thomas," Alfalfa announced. "We'll try to paint you and knock you out of th—" She was interrupted as several stun blasts from Buck suddenly and unexpectantly shot out to hit Alfalfa solidly in her chest, which knocked her back to the edge of the training area. Other shots from Buck were barely deflected off of the shields Flashfire and Celestia erected the instant the attack began. Mareta rushed the princess on hoof while Thomas flew at her, also sending stun blasts at the alicorn. Likewise, Buck flew at the unicorn.

"Oh, I like how this colt thinks!" Flashfire exclaimed as he reared up on his rear hooves to meet the oncoming young stallion.

Celestia was kept busy as both adults engaged her, trying to land a hoof on her, and Flashfire countered Buck Mane's blows and spells. The melee went on for about a minute with neither side gaining an advantage until Thomas suddenly yelled out.

"Mareta! Get on Alfalfa!" Thomas shouted. At the same time, Buck backed off from Flashfire and erected a shield spell with his horn. Buck also reached out with his telekinesis to grab both of Celestia's legs on the far side of her body from him and yanked on them, forcing them beneath her belly and between her other two legs. She was surprised by the move that successfully tripped her and she went down hard on her side, disrupting her shield spell. Immediately, the adults rushed in and tapped her with their hooves.

As soon as they made contact, Thomas rushed over to where Alfalfa had fallen while Mareta now went to assist her son with his opponent.

"Tap, tap, Alfalfa!" Thomas cheerfully said to the pegasus mare who was still struggling to get up from the unexpected stunning. After that, he rushed over to help his family against Flashfire.

Celestia shifted about how she laid on her side to watch the remainder of the fight. She shot a smirk at Alfalfa, and saw Lucius up by the control panel, just grinning up a storm.

With the odds now three-to-one against him, Flashfire was hard-pressed to defend himself against all three of the Manes. The fight went on for another minute before he was finally able to score against Buck and Mareta with paint spells, but at the cost of Thomas finally being able to get a hooftap in on his flank.

"You cheated!" Alfalfa grumbled, getting up to glare at him.

"Yes, we did," Thomas agreed. "We also coordinated our attacks as we walked out here. The helms give us enhanced hearing at frequencies too high for anypony else to hear, and the unicorn horns allowed us to speak to each other at those frequencies. That shout I gave to Mareta was Buck's prearranged signal to attack Celestia like he did while Mareta knew not to act on that command, so as to confuse and confound you."

"And they used kitsune magic!" Lucius shouted down at them.

"And we used kitsune magic to get through unicorn shields," Thomas added, grinning. Alfalfa simply stared at him for several moments.

"Good job, sir," she finally stated, nodding. "You've shown you can outthink ponies who are Royal Guard trained. But you'll still be at an extremely high risk with the unknown number of enemy ponies."

"Agreed," Thomas said. "And we know that their tactics are going to try to adapt once they see how we take out some of their fellows. So, we're going to have to make sure they don't see us taking out anypony on their side."

"And before you can do that, you're going to have to find them, first," Celestia warned. "And make sure that none of my ponies see you looking for Jack Black's group even as mine are searching themselves."

"It is just another Germane game of Kriegsspiel, Your Highness." Alfalfa said.

[994AB Day 277]
"Night's coming to an end, children," Red Sovine said, glancing at the glow emanating from the horizon.

"Blackbird. Still no eyes on the Dealer," Highflyer reported through the broadcast channel.

"Kitt. Same here, but I see a pony with stripes," the earth pony Matchbox whispered into his microphone.

"Confirm!?" Red Sovine exclaimed.

"Got eyes on me? Check my two, down a furlong," Matchbox said. "Brown cloak, but those legs definitely have stripes."

"Fall back, Kitt!" Red Sovine ordered. "Dealer and Lady Peg said they were working with a shaman!"

"I remember," Matchbox grumbled as he stood still and kept watch on the disguised zebra walking down the street. "That's why I'm not getting any closer to Stripes!"

"Blackbird. Eyes on Stripes," Highflyer stated. "All clear. Get him, Cardinal!"

"In…Three…Two…."

"Ooof! Whathappenedtoone!?" Matchbox exclaimed as Red Sovine grabbed him off the street corner.

"I lopped it off so as to keep them from knowing just when to attack and take two of us out," Red Sovine told him.

"Good thing Cardinal's not on our side. He's got an excellent tackle move. I've only got three unbroken ribs, right now."

"Would you like to learn how to fly?" Red Sovine grumbled at the earth pony he carried.

"Don't we need our ribs to work our wings?" Matchbox asked.

"Oooh, good call, Kitt!" Highflyer tossed in as he chuckled at their banter. "We'll make a pegasus out of you, yet!"

"Yay," Matchbox unenthusiastically cheered.

[994AB Day 278]
"I really hope the Major's awake," Highflyer said as they touched down in front of the Mane mansion just after dawn. "She's always bitchy before she's had her coffee in the mornings."

"Then it's a good thing I was up all night," Alfalfa said deadpan as she emerged from her cover in the bushes surrounding the building.

"AHHH!" the two pegasi and earth pony all exclaimed in shock.

"I really, really hope for all our sakes, that you managed to evade anypony following you better than you were keeping up your situational awareness just now."

They kept glancing between her and the bushes she emerged from several times until she cleared her throat, indicating that she was still waiting for their report.

"Y-yes, ma'am," Red Sovine spoke up. "Highflyer kept us informed of any pegasi in the area at all times. Nopony followed us here!"

"Uh—n-negative contact on the Dealer, Lady Peg, or any likely pegasi working CAP for them in last night's search, but we did sight a suspicious zebra just before dawn," Highflyer said as they all hoofed over their recording crystals to Alfalfa. "It tells us that we might be getting close to the right neighborhoods."

"Any details you can provide on the zebra?" she asked.

"No, the suspect was heavily cloaked and too far away," Matchbox said. "Impossible to tell if it was a stallion or mare. Hopefully, you'll be able to pull something useful from the crystals."

"We also encountered several Royal Guard patrols throughout the night, but we didn't do anything to arouse their suspicions," Red Sovine reported. "We didn't recognize any of them as the usual patrols. They did seem to be new to the area, which meshes with what the Princess must still be doing to clean house here."

"Understood," Alfalfa said. "Go and get cleaned up and be ready for tonight's patrol. We will plot out the next search zone and brief you this evening."

"Have a good day, Major!" Red Sovine said as he picked Matchbox up.

"I will after I have my coffee!" she called out as they flew away, making the three ponies wince.

"So—let's see what they saw," Alfalfa muttered as three armored figures emerged from the bushes on either side of the mansion's front door.

"It's so much better training out here than in the cave!" Buck happily said.

"Perhaps, but harder for Lucius to collect the data to ensure those suits are functioning properly, Master Buck," Alfalfa told him as they all filed in through the door.

"So, Jack Black, unicorn stallion, Unknown pegasus mare, Unknown pegasus stallion, Unknown unicorn mare, Unknown zebra, all walking around," Thomas listed out as they reviewed the recordings down in the cavern's conference room. "Three Unknown pegasi, all stallions, all likely former Royal Guard, condition unknown. One unicorn mare, ID'd as former Equestria Guard, dead, three pegasi stallions, ID'd as former Royal Guard, dead. An unknown number of additional ponies, some of whom might be Guard-trained, working for them."

"A few hooffulls of possible accomplice distributers of various tribes," Alfalfa reminded him.

"Unlikely to be able to be called in to rush to their aid once the fighting starts," Thomas countered. He quickly held up his hoof to forestall Alfalfa's interruption, "but always possible for somepony to be on hoof ready to jump in at a moment's notice!"

"Sighting that zebra should help narrow down where to search," Mareta spoke up. Thomas and Alfalfa both nodded.

"And following their distributers should help narrow it down even further," Alfalfa said.

"Any luck in getting the vision and hearing enhancements to transmit their signals to the mansion?" Thomas asked.

"Their range is rather limited, I'm afraid," Lucius told them. "For them to transmit their images and audio to here from all the way from across town, you'd need a hefty transmitter and power sup—" He suddenly stopped as he just thought of something. "But if we had a number of relays set up across town, the signals could bounce from one to another all the way back here!"

"Oh, YES!" the kitsune exclaimed, suddenly hopping about excitedly. "That's it! We make a multichannel signal booster—we only need a few channels—encrypted of course—but we hide them as a number of unused channels in the relays that are ostensibly designed to amplify all the channels of the city's entertainment industry!"

"You're suggesting we commit ourselves to a philanthropic venture?" Thomas inquired, confirming what he understood Lucius to be saying.

"Publicly, yes!" Lucius confirmed as he returned to his seat. "While we, privately, piggyback on our own network!"

"I definitely like the sound of that," Thomas said, nodding and smiling as he considered the favorable factors in the idea. "How many relays would we need?"

"That would depend on their power requirements," the kitsune replied. "But the limiting factor is their ability to receive a good signal—a hexagonal grid—of perhaps twenty furlongs apart between relays should suffice."

"'The Griffon's Way?'" Mareta inquired as their carriage came to a stop before the restaurant. "Since when did you start eating meat!?"

"A couple weeks ago, when Celestia and I came here to help Big Joe with getting Jackie Valentine out of jail," Thomas admitted, grinning.

"Jackie Valentine? She's the bipedal creature who saved us that night? The one that didn't show up in Court to testify against Jack Black?"

"That's the one," he said, nodding. "Evidently, Jackie had written some music related to humans from mythology, and Princess Celestia was very interested in hearing it. Those were some impressive songs I have to say. The Princess is, apparently, also fond of griffon fare, and invited me to give it a try. She gave some suggestions on what dishes to try out to see whether I liked them or not."

"And?"

"Not bad at all," he replied. "Actually, it was quite tasty. So, I thought I'd give it another go, and I wouldn't feel good if I didn't at least invite you and Buck to see if you would enjoy some, too. Plus, they don't just sell meat dishes here. Plenty of ponies have been coming here, some to socialize with their griffon friends or just to enjoy the ambiance, so it's no insult if you want to stay with the usual fare."

"Hmm—" she grumbled uncertainly.

"Don't worry, we're not going to dive in and start eating haunch of pony, zebra, cow, or anything like that," he told her.

"Griffons eat fish, rodents, and other small non-sapient animals. They also eat many of the same foods we do, but Princess Celestia said their best dishes are where they mix them together into appealing salads, stews, or such. Oh, and I would also suggest trying something they call a 'sushi roll,' apparently, a Neighpony delicacy."

"Mist—er—Tom!" Big Joe happily greeted them as they entered, belatedly remembering to address Thomas as he wished. "Great to see you again!"

"Hi Big Joe," Thomas returned. "I thought I'd give your food another go and brought the family along to see your establishment, too."

"My pleasure! My pleasure! Please, come on in! We'll get you seated and served right away!"

"Any word on Jackie?" Thomas asked, and the question dampened Big Joe's enthusiasm a bit.

"No, still nothing," he sadly replied. "But considering how the Guard treated her, it's not surprising, I'm afraid. It may be a while before we hear anything about her. I—I just hope it won't be bad news—when we finally do hear something."

"Same here," Thomas said sympathetically.

"So, what do you think?" Thomas asked as they relaxed after the meal and were waiting for the band to play something.

"Hmm—you're right—it's not bad," Mareta equivocated. "The texture takes a bit getting used to. Stringy, but just a bit rubbery, like a mushroom. The flavor's nice and smooth, though. It's definitely has its own taste as I bite into it, but it blends well in the soup."

"This fish salad was great, Dad!" Buck exclaimed, having quickly finished off his plate once he got going. "Can I get some more!?"

"Oh, dear, he's gone full cannibal on us, Tom!" she laughed.

"That's 'carnivore', Dear," Thomas corrected her grinning. "And, no, that's a fish salad—best we can call it is 'omnivore'. So, what's the verdict? One hoof up, two hooves, three…?"

"Um—four hooves up," she finally said.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that—" Thomas growled under his breath.

"Get a room, you two!" Buck muttered.

"BUCK!!" Mareta screamed while Thomas guffawed.

"What's a 'human', Mom!?" a young griffon's voice loudly and suddenly called out from the next table out in the middle of the floor near them, interrupting the band leader's introductory speech.

"Very few know of them, little one," Gus replied to the child from the stage. "They're said to have been a bipedal warrior race that died out thousands of years ago. Most, all we have to go on are legends, or as some would insist on calling them, myths. Princess Celestia knows of them—and maybe Lord Torch—but none are as old as they are, and even they have only heard rumors of humans. The only other one we know of that has any idea is, unfortunately, not able to be here with us tonight. We wish her well in her travels, but she gave us these gifts to us to share with you all. So, without further delay, we bring you—a song of one of their battles."

"No one would have believed," he began, "in the last years of the Nineteenth Century, that human affairs were being watched from the timeless worlds of space. No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men even considered the possibility of life on other planets. And yet, across the gulf of space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes. And slowly, and surely, they drew their plans against us—"

"Mom? Dad? Aren't those the Flying Thrushes?" Buck quietly whispered to his parents as the music began, pointing toward the table where the young griffon had called out from.

Thomas looked over and did see a resemblance of the two adult and the older child sitting at the table to the famous acrobatic traveling circus family. The circus was currently touring Manehattan and were scheduled to be here for a few weeks.

"We can ask them once this song is finished," Thomas whispered back.

"Why—yes we are," Jay Thrush answered when Thomas inquired of the griffon patriarch. "My mate, Erith, our daughter Mag, and—"

"And this little hatchling is Robin," Erith interrupted with her own introduction of their son.

"Mo-o-om! I'm not a hatchling!" young Robin protested.

"I recognize you!" Jay spoke out. "You're Thomas Mane! Of Mane Industries!"

"That we are," Thomas replied. "Please call me Tom. And this is my wife, Mareta, and our son, Buck."

"Glad to meet you," Jay said. "You're sort of a new customer since we were here last year. Ponies sometimes come and go over time, but I know most everypony here. And the band's definitely gotten some new material since then, too."

"We only just started eating here, ourselves," Thomas told him. "A—friend—suggested I give it a try, so I did. I don't know how often we can do so, but we're definitely coming again."

"Big Joe and his chefs always do a great job with the griffon fare," Jay said nodding.

"So, how much longer is your troupe in town?" Thomas inquired.

"Oh, we'll be moving out to Las Pegasus in a couple weeks," Jay told them. "We'd love to have you come see us."

"We'd love to watch you perform," Thomas said. "When is your next performance?"

"Tomorrow," Jay replied. "We're on a three-on, one-off schedule. Tonight's our break night."

"Then tomorrow, we're coming to watch!" Thomas promised.

"So, you really bind your wings and perform on the trapeze?" Buck asked.

"And we do so without a net, young one," Erith proudly told him.

"Wow!"

[994AB Day 279]
"Good morning, Sharp Quill," Princess Celestia greeted her aid as she arrived at her desk to review the stack of written petitions before holding Court.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Sharp Quill replied as she poured the tea into the princess' cup.

The first few petitions were the usual long-winded, bellicose, never-ending, miles-long scrolls from the usual suspects she had to deal with over all her centuries of sitting upon the throne.

I so miss Luna! she morosely thought as she waded through the perpetual diarrheic diatribes. She always had such an inventive mind where it came to how she would deal with petitions such as these—one wouldn't think there could be SO many ways with which one can destroy a scroll—

Fortunately (or unfortunately, as one might reconsider the implications involved), Celestia had developed substantial speed-reading skills over the years, so getting through them wasn't exactly taking up too awfully much real time. But the small scroll she picked up next was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

She saw it was from Thomas Mane.

Ah! Tom's petitions are always short, sweet, and to th— her thoughts trailed off as she began to read.

A Proposal:

A Zoned Network Grid for Improving Entertainment Transmission Reception over Equestria

Mane Industries would like to construct a radio network grid to improve the transmission distribution of video and audio entertainment channels to ponies across all of Equestria.
As no such network currently exists, Mane Industries requests the Crown to consider and approve the granting of a temporary license to Mane Industries for the creation and development of an initial experimental prototype network to cover the City of Manehattan.
Should the proposed experimental network work as anticipated, Mane Industries would seek further approval from the Crown for the expansion and permanency of said license, at a future date to be determined, for the necessary construction to allow the system to eventually cover the rest of the nation.
Our technical experts concluded that while there would be a negligible cost to operate each of the requisite devices that would make up the network, taken together, the costs would eventually grow as the network expands to cover more and more territory. At the current estimate to cover Manehattan, the power needed to enable all the proposed experimental network would cost Mane Industries six bits per year.
As the network is intended to benefit all inhabitants of Equestria at no cost to the consumer, Mane Industries asks the Crown to consider the proposed service as a charitable philanthropic endeavor and requests only a modest reduction in corporate taxes of three bits per two thousand square furlongs per year.

With Best Regards,
Thomas Mane
CEO of Mane Industries

Hmm? Just—exactly what—do you have in mind, Thomas? she considered as she finished reading. Dabbling in entertainment communications, too?

She did a quick calculation in her head.

Even with the Crown subsidizing his idea at three bits per year to cover just Manehattan, he's losing three bits per year, and will be at an additional three bits per year for the equivalent land area of the city as his network expands. The overall reduction in taxes from the impact of the network on his overall corporate profits won't even begin to benefit him until the network has expanded at least several thousands of times—

I sure hope all those impacts he's taken while testing his suits hasn't ended up knocking a few gears loose in his head, she thought as she signed her approval to his petition.

"So, did you enjoy the show?" Jay asked Buck after the performance and most of the audience was leaving in orderly fashion. Thomas and his family, along with Alfalfa, stayed behind to speak with the Thrushes.

"I sure did!" the colt exclaimed.

"A very impressive performance, indeed!" Thomas congratulated the acrobatic family. "Thank you so very much for inviting us to see it."

"I wish we could get that kind of training," Buck blurted out, to which Thomas started coughing. Alfalfa raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well, that level of acrobatic skill takes years to learn, Buck," Jay told him. "We started teaching Mag and Robin when they were each just fledglings. Mag's been publicly performing with us for over five years now, and Robin's been practicing with us for two years."

"Almost three years, Dad!" Robin protested.

"Yes, almost three by now," Jay agreed.

"Awesome!" Buck exclaimed.

"Be careful what you wish for, Buck," Thomas warned after they were all alone in the carriage and traveling down the road toward their home. "You may get it."

"Indeed, Master Buck," Alfalfa added. "We'll start tonight by shutting down your wings."

Buck nervously gulped.

"You're still young, son," Thomas assured him. "Almost as young as Robin. I'm sure you'll be able to learn it as well as he has."

"Uh—Dad? I'm almost as old as Mag!"

"Never too late to learn, son," Thomas teased him.

"That's an excellent attitude to have, sir!" Alfalfa said grinning. "Once Buck has his confidence in his acrobatics firmly acquired, we'll start in on you and Mistress Mareta."

Thomas and Mareta both nervously gulped.

[994AB Day 281]
"Well, that didn't take long," Red Sovine commented as he finished securing the first of the small transmission antennas needed for the network to the building.

"Indeed," Lucius replied as he connected the power feed and signal cables to the devices mounted on the antenna frame. "And I'm surprised she didn't drop by for a visit and ask about it. Especially, now."

"I do have quite a number of different projects going through Mane Industries that have absolutely nothing to do with our little non-existent side job," Thomas Mane said as he oversaw the installation. "It isn't my fault that things such as this can serve a dual-purpose."

"How's reception?" Red Sovine asked over their communications channel.

"Actually, we're seeing a definite improvement already!" Fred Hummer reported back. "This just might work out better than we thought!"

"Oh, thank you!" Mosely Orange cheered. "The picture's never been so clear!"

"Why—you can actually make out the faces of the hoofball players!" his wife exclaimed. "Oh, please be sure to pass on our appreciation to Mister Mane!"

"I sure will, Mister and Misses Orange," Fred Hummer told him as he packed up his tool kit.

"One down, Mister Mane! Just seventy-six to go!" Fred Hummer happily reported when he reached the building's roof. "Already, we're getting lots and lots of very happy ponies cheering on this work!"

"Good!" Thomas Mane said. "The more of the population that's cheering in support of this, the harder it will be for any of the Dealer's ponies to oppose it. How's your wound?"

"I may not be up to full duty status just yet, sir, but I'm healed up enough to do this routine stuff," Fred responded. "But I would like for you to wait to give me some time to pay some of this back."

"I can't promise anything," Thomas said, shaking his head. "There's a damned big vat of that stuff out there somewhere, waiting to either drive this city insane or blow up and demolish a full quarter of it. As important as setting up this network is going to be in helping us look for it, we're wasting enough time as it is doing everything possible just to find it!"

"Understood, sir," Fred said, nodding.

"Hey, Fred," Thomas said, reaching out a hoof to him. "It's just a gut feeling I've got, but even after we're done cleaning up this mess, I'm pretty sure there are still going to be plenty of opportunities for you to get back in on the action."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Fred said smiling before taking to wing and joining Red Sovine, leaving Thomas and Lucius to use the stairway.

[994AB Day 282]
"And I was really impressed at how you—somehow in midair—while you were tumbling—you just—suddenly sprung your body out like a spring and flew out to reach your dad!" Buck was telling Mag as the two families dined together once more at the "Griffon's Way." "That was just such an incredible—it was just so—so magical!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, there, stud!" Jay sternly exclaimed. "Let's not be getting any ideas about my daughter!"

"Whu-wai—what!?" Mag and Buck both exclaimed in shock and they started blushing, much to the evident delight of their parents.

[994AB Day 283]
"Alright, Buck," Flashfire told the colt. "I want you to hold that combat shield up to a hard assault. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Buck grumbled, bracing his legs for the impacts to come. Flashfire was momentarily distracted by Lucius' sudden yipping in full-blown laughter. Usually, the kitsune did that when something amused him, but there was nothing currently happening at the moment—

Flashfire charged up his horn and let a strong blast of concussive force shoot at, not directly at Buck, in case his shield failed, and he would get hit if it did so, but he aimed slightly away from the colt. Only for the unicorn to be surprised when the bolt of magical energy passed through both front and back of the shield dome and strike the wall behind Buck—except the bolt hadn't disrupted the shield at all—as if it were just an il—

A tapping on his shoulder got Flashfire's attention. He looked over and saw Buck standing there, staring up at him. By now, Lucius was rolling on the floor up at the control panels as he convulsed in laughter. Alfalfa sighed as she facehoofed.

"Good one, Buck," Flashfire grumbled. "But we're supposed to be teaching you unicorn magic."

"I know," Buck replied grinning. "But I just couldn't resist."

"That colt—!" Mareta growled, but Thomas had a thoughtful look on his face as he stared at Lucius yipping on the floor.

"Lucius!" he suddenly bellowed out.

"Yes, boss?" Lucius inquired, looking up at Thomas walking over to him.

"You saw through Buck's illusions just now, didn't you!?" he sternly demanded.

"Of course, I did," the kitsune said grinning as he got back to his feet.

"Is there anyway we can see through them, too?" Thomas asked.

"Of course, there is. Be born a kitsune," Lucius replied grinning again. Then he looked thoughtful. "Oh—I think Princess Celestia can see through them—well, most of them, maybe—? Kyuubi, hachibi, and perhaps even nanabi might give her a challenge," he finished, cocking his head from side to side as he spoke.

"I'm serious," Thomas said sighing.

"So am I," Lucius told him. "Oh, and be at a higher level. I'm sanbi. Buck is at an ichibi level at best, so it's easy for me. But a gobi or higher? I probably wouldn't be able to."

"But can you develop a technomagical way to do so?" Thomas asked.

"That—would be harder," Lucius said frowning. Then he did a doubletake, and frowned again. "You know, that expression just feels so weird." He frowned again, then grinned in amusement at the strange sensation.

"But you were able to tie the synthetic unicorn horns into our hooves to tap our earth pony magic," Thomas pointed out, "AND they allow us to utilize kitsune magic. So, there must be a technomage way of doing so!"

"…" Lucius said.

"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea how that happened," Lucius admitted sitting down and cocked his head in thought. "Nothing like this has ever happened before, in our legends or in yours. I doubt even a kyuubi no kitsune would be able to figure it out. The only possibility of an explanation that comes to mind is the fact that you, Mareta, and Buck are earth ponies but you're able to use both pegasi and unicorn magic, albeit through technomagical means—which in itself, would seem impossible. But because you have also been exposed to kitsune magic, Buck seems to have somehow tapped into that unnatural talent as well and has developed some skill of his own in it. And because he was able to learn it, you and Mareta were also."

"So, you don't think it's possible?" Thomas asked.

"Kitsune magic is a mix of real and illusionary effects," Lucius explained. "Our illusions, however, affect the mind more than the eye. Training your mind to see through our illusions is your best defense to overco—" and he trailed off as he thought of something. His head cocked side to side several times as he pondered the ideas that were popping into his mind.

"But there is a mix!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Interesting—!" he said as he bounded off over to his desk and used his three tails to telekinetically manipulate quills to scribble equations on several sheets of paper.

"Well, that looks like the end of training for tonight," Alfalfa sardonically muttered stepping over to Thomas after hearing the exchange.

"True," Thomas sighed. Then he turned to look out over the training arena.

"Hey, Buck!" he called out. "You want to go see another performance at the circus?"

"Oh, YEAH! DO I!!"

"Great! Let's get cleaned up and go see them," Thomas yelled down. "I'm sure Mag will be in fine form, tonight!"

"Looking forward to seeing her—HEY!?" Buck shouted.

Mareta smiled, Alfalfa smirked, while Thomas openly grinned as they walked over the bridge to the elevator.

[994AB Day 287]
"They're really singing your praises again, Mister Thomas," Alfalfa said as she served breakfast to the family and handed Thomas the newspaper. "The network grid is almost eighty-eight percent complete, and those ponies who are covered have been getting very vocal against your detractors. Most of them have finally realized they are in a no-win battle against it."

"Who are the detractors, Alfalfa?" Buck inquired as he ate his cereal.

"Mostly owners of some of the entertainment channels we are carrying, Master Buck," Alfalfa told him. "They seem to be jealous that they hadn't thought of the idea first. There are also a hooffull of politicians and nobles who are grumbling about how the service is free where they can't tax it."

"They'll be even more upset once they reread the fine print and realize there's a modest tax break in it for us," Thomas said smirking as he ate his jam-coated toast.

[994AB Day 288]
Mag flipped herself off of the trapeze, spinning the half-dozen times as she normally did, counting down the rotations for the moment to whip her body out to reach for her mother's claws.

She did so, and the audience applauded as her mother, suspended by her father who was holding Erith by her feet, extending their combined reach, caught their daughter. But then, the unthinkable happened, and the trapeze holding her father failed and all three griffons began falling toward the ground.

Instantly, they each separated and grabbed at the buckle of the harness that held their wings closed to rip it open. It was a move they rarely ever needed to do, but it had saved their lives on more than one occasion.

To her horror, however, the buckle was stuck! Immediately, she looked to her parents, hoping they were able to undo their harnesses. Instead, her horror only increased when she saw that they, too, couldn't get free!

That's when she realized, not only were they all about to die, but that they had been murdered!

The ground was very unforgiving of their mistake….