"That was Blown Motherboard by Neonfall.

"That's the first song they wrote since its lead singer was proven innocent of those harassment charges. It's funny how if an upper city [Bleep] cries wolf that a band from the lower city [Bleep]ed her, that immediately the media assumes she's telling the truth, but when one of those upper city [Bleep] [Bleep]ing [BLEEEEP] do the exact thing, they just ignore it.

"Well enough of that [Bleep].

"Today Ardorhunie Inc announced that they had finished working on their new cybernetic tentacles, which are strong, soft, flexible and inflatable. If you or your special somepony had some tentacle fantasies and are tired of just using a VR-pod, then this might be what you're waiting for.

"Won't lie, I'm a bit curious about it myself.

"Let me just add that to my list…

"Now as a request from 44Tr33Slug3r44, Roadblock Rhythm by the Punk Hazards.”

Opening her eyes, Whiskey Lullaby found herself in an old wooden cabin. It was dark save for the moonlight peering through the windows. In the center was a wooden pedestal, holding something concealed by a black cloth.

“What do you think?” Knick Knack asked, as he spawned into the room.

“P-pardon me, master,” Lullaby replied, “but this doesn’t seem like much.”

Knack chuckled as he walked up to the pedestal. “As odd as it might seem, this program is actually very valuable for numerous reasons. For one, when it was initially released, most of the VR-disks containing it were corrupted, making them unplayable.”

“Okay…”

“But there is another, grander reason why it is so valuable.” Using his magic, Knick Knack pulled off the cloth, before picking up the revealed item and presenting it to Lullaby.

It was a snowglobe, with a city within, resting on the side of a mountain. White buildings and spires reached up from the city, decorated with gold and other precious gems. Hovering above the city was a small, circular piece of glowpaz.

Whiskey Lullaby’s eyes lit up as she examined the snow globe. “It’s really pretty.”

“It’s a replica of the city of Canterlot, before the Daybreak, down to the very last detail.”

Reaching out with a hoof, Knick Knack taped the glass. In response, the glass sphere shimmered and rippled. After blinking, Lullaby suddenly realized that they were no longer in the cabin.

Looking around Lullaby found herself in the city streets of Canterlot as snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Although Lullaby had only ever seen images of Canterlot and had never been there in her lifetime, what she saw looked and felt so real. A bright green moon in the night sky above. While there were other ponies walking the streets, all of them seemed to be holographic specters with the exception of one.

“So now what do you think?” Knick Knack asked.

“I-it looks incredible!” Lullaby said, complete in awe of her surroundings.

Knack chuckled as he walked over to her. “I’m glad you enjoy my little gift.”

“Gift?” Lullaby was a little bit confused.

“Yes,” Knack answered, “just a little present for you.”

“Y-you really shouldn’t have, master,” Lullaby stuttered.

Drawing close, Knack pulled Lullaby into a warm embrace. “Perhaps not, but it is mine and I give it to you.”

Despite her words, Lullaby knew that Knick Knack wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Thank you, KK.”

“So, where would you like to go?” Knack asked.

Looking around, Lullaby saw a store with a sign saying, Donut Joe’s Donutz. Raising a hoof, Lullaby pointed at the store.

Knick Knack chuckled. “That sounds good to me.”

Thus the two ponies wandered through the virtual city.

Sweetie Belle felt the warmth of the sheets as she awoke from her slumber. Before she even opened her eyes, she could both feel and smell Spike laying next to her.

"Hello," Spike said as he looked down at his mate.

Smiling, Sweetie Belle stretched. “Hello… is it morning?”

“No, it’s still evening,” Spike answered, “you fell asleep after your third crescendo.”

“Sorry, about that,” Sweetie replied, “works been keeping me busy and must have worn me out… I hope I didn’t leave you hanging.”

Spike gave a slight chuckle. “Don’t worry, I managed to reach the peak the same time as you did.”

Grimacing, Spike reached over to his cybernetic arm. Looking over, Sweetie could see the brown splotches of scales where the mechanical appendage was attached to his flesh. The clear signs of rust bite manifested there.

“You, okay?” Sweetie asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Spike grumbled, “just need to tend to this for a moment.”

As Spike pulled himself out of bed, Sweetie Belle waved a hoof and used his Ba-Link to turn the television on. Not looking for anything in particular, Sweetie just flipped through the channels.

Walking over to his desk, Spike opened a metal case that was sitting there. Inside were three vials containing a fluorescent pink liquid. Carefully Spike took out one of the vials and began loading it into a syringe. With the number of vials he had left, he’d need to order some more medicine soon.

Flipping through the channels, Sweetie stopped when she spotted a familiar mare on the screen. It was an interview and while the main person involved was a stallion, behind him was an alabaster unicorn mare with a purple mane, her features elegant and beautiful. Upon seeing this mare, Sweetie’s blood went on fire.

Looking over, Spike could see the large scowl on his wife’s face. Upon seeing the mare on the screen, he understood why.

“Is everything alright?” Spike asked, while he knew the truth, he also knew that it was easier if Sweetie brought it up herself.

“I just can’t believe she moved on without me,” Sweetie mumbled.

Spike sighed. “It probably wasn’t easy on her. Everypony got lost in the chaos of the Daybreak.”

“Yeah, well she still could have tried,” Sweetie retorted.

For a moment, Sweetie glared at Spike, only to watch him grimace as he stabbed the syringe into the flesh above his cybernetic arm. Wincing Spike injected his medicine into his arm. Watching her husband’s discomfort, shame and sorrow filled her.

“You… never told me how you lost your arm…” Sweetie said.

Looking back at his mechanical talons, Spike clenched and unclenched them. “Sometimes you give up a few things, searching for those you love.”

“Was it worth it?”

With a smile, Spike gave a nod. “Yeah, I’d say it was.”

Walking back to the bed, Spike sat down before he crawled over Sweetie so that he was looming over her, his body blocking her view of the screen.

"Now how about I help you… forget your sister." Spike said with a suggestive growl.

Blushing, Sweetie smiled. “I suppose we can try to break the record again this evening.”

Tansha walked through the alleyway to the coordinates that the customer had assigned. While it did seem that they were leading her to a dark, secluded place, that wasn't too out of the ordinary considering shady dealings like this.

The alley led to a storage facility with numerous units. Once she was inside Tansha checked the time on her HUD to see that she was a few minutes early.

'The early bird sells the worm,' Tansha thought to herself, as she saw a pony approaching her. They wore a purple hoodie and a black respirator. Admittedly, they didn't look like the kind of pony that would have the cash for this, but Tansha wasn't going to judge.

"You have the package?" the stallion asked, his voice muffled by the respirator.

"Maybe." Tansha tapped the black briefcase. "So long as you have my payment."

"I have it," the stallion answered, "but I want to see it first. Ensure it's intact."

Tansha nodded. It certainly wasn't a bad idea for a client to make sure that they weren't receiving a dud. Observing the stallion, Tansha noticed that he didn't have anypony accompanying him.

'Must be some rich colt trying to buy this privately.'

"Of course," Tansha said, "come see for yourself."

As the stallion approached, Tansha could have sworn that there was something familiar about this pony. Tansha shrugged it off and opened the briefcase, presenting the Lunar Core Module.

“Alright, here it is,” Tansha said.

The glint of metal drew Tansha's attention back to the stallion who was suddenly right next to her. By the time Tansha realized who this pony was, it was already too late.

"This is for Stone Splitter," Bright Beam whispered in her ear.

A sharp pain ripped through her, as Tansha felt the jagged blade cut deep into her chest. Suddenly her body felt very heavy and Tansha tumbled to the ground, the edges of her vision growing hazy and the sounds around her began to muffle.

'Well, this is just great!'

There was a dull outburst and Tansha watched as Bright Beam fled as two Horizon Knights chased after him. Tansha's vision was shaken as another Horizon Knight in blue and gold armor picked her up.

"Tansha! Stay with me okay!" The knight spoke in a muffled voice as their helmet retracted revealing them to be none other than Midnight.

"Y-you're a knight!" For a moment Tansha's eyes went wide at the revelation, before she coughed and her expression became weary. "Of course, you're a horizon knight… *cough* the signs were all there…"

Her eyes felt heavy even as Tansha's life began trickling away.

"No, don't close your eyes Tansha," Midnight barked, "we can fix this!"

Tansha chuckled, eliciting a pained cough. "O-oh, it's no use. It won't be long now…"

Already Tansha's vision was fading and she could feel the jaws of death around her, its iron maw seeking to engulf her soul. The world around her, growing cold and dim.

"No! No! Stay with me!" Even as he held her, Midnight could feel Tansha slipping away.

If Tansha could chuckle, she would but at that moment, she lacked the strength to do so. It was sweet that he cared so much for her, even if it was all in vain.

"T-thank you… for your… kindness… Midnight."

As Tansha said those words, she closed her eyes and breathed her last.

Even as Tansha's body seemed to fade in color, Midnight tried feeling for a pulse, and found none. His heart sank, Midnight had sworn to protect the innocent and he had failed. If only Midnight had interceded sooner, then maybe Tansha would still be alive.

Smelling the scent of burnt hair, it took Midnight a moment to realize that it was coming from Tansha's body, as turquoise flames began consuming her corpse. Startled, Midnight dropped Tansha's body, not wanting to be burnt himself. As the corpse lay upon the ground, the fire completely consumed it until only ash remained.

Sitting high above the scene, resting on their perch, the black crows watched.

Whiskey Lullaby looked wide eyed as she observed the drone's footage. Her heart felt heavy as she watched Tansha die. While Lullaby had initially been suspicious of Tansha after seeing her interaction with the gangsters at the Love Nest, those feelings had softened once Tansha had completed her mission.

While the snowglobe VR-program had been a gift from Knick Knack, it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Tansha retrieving it.

And now she was gone.

The door to the limousine opened and Knack stepped inside, another unsatisfying date fulfilled.

"Well, that was excruciating." Knick Knack grumbled, before noticing how downcast Lullaby was. "Is something wrong?"

Lullaby's lip quivered. "Tansha's dead…"

Hearing this, Knack blinked a couple times as he processed what Lullaby was saying as she showed him the drone footage.

"This is unfortunate," Knick Knack said, "order some flowers. We will send her friends our condolences in the morning."

Midnight sat in the cafeteria, a cup of coffee in front of him.

While he had picked up the cup earlier, before adding milk and sugar, it remained untouched as well as the Instant Cupcake he had bought out of habit, as his mind continued to replay the scene from a couple hours ago. That feeling of having somepony's life leave them within his grasp.

This hadn't been the first time that Midnight had experienced somepony else die and as a Horizon Knight he had been conditioned not to feel any guilt for the deaths of those who defied the society that the pharaoh had established, and while Tansha certainly wasn't a purely innocent pony, there was something about her death that stuck with him. It reminded him of long ago, when Lightning Spark and he had lost their parents during the Daybreak.

While Midnight had initially thought he had been on the losing end when he had traded his Instant Cupcake to Tansha for her locust bar. Now he felt very different about it. In that moment, Tansha had given him a new perspective on what the lower city was like and she had shown him both its flaws and its beauty. In that trade, whether she realized it or not, Tansha had given him so much, all in exchange for what… a cupcake, and in the end how had he repaid her?

Feeling disgust at the sight of the Instant Cupcake, he had to look away, guilt and bile rising in his stomach.

As he sat transfixed on his coffee, Midnight barely noticed his commander standing across from him. Immediately, Midnight jumped to attention. "Commander!"

"At ease," Spitfire replied, "there is no need for that right now."

"Yes, ma'am," Midnight said, returning to his seat.

Spitfire sat down across from Midnight, placing her coffee cup on the table before looking deep into his eyes. "How are you feeling Midnight?"

"... Not great." Midnight's gaze drifted back to his coffee.

"Why's that?"

"I failed the mission and because of that a civilian died tonight."

Stirring her coffee, Spitfire shook her head. "No, while your methods weren't completely orthodox, you did the right thing. You maintained your cover for as long as possible and when an innocent was hurt you stepped in and did everything in your power to save her."

"But I failed to retrieve the Lunar Core Module."

"Maybe…"

"And I failed to save her."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you have more compassion than anypony else in this department and that's what we need."

Spitfire took a sip of her coffee.

"There are too many blooks in this job that hold duty above the lives of those they serve." Spitfire said, "Furthermore most of them wouldn't bat an eye at the death of somepony in the lower city. We need more ponies that care. We need you."

Midnight took a deep, heavy breath, his attention turning back to his commander. "What happened to her killer?"

"We haven't found him yet," Spitfire answered, "I'm organizing a team to find him."

"Ma'am, I'd like to-"

"Negative." Spitfire cut him off. "You're too emotionally tied to this case… there's something else I need you to do.

As much as Midnight hated to admit it, he knew that she was right. If he charged in hotheaded, it wouldn't be only his life that would be at jeopardy.

"What would you have me do?" Midnight asked.

Spitfire stretched her wings in a tired manner. "Unfortunately we couldn't find anything on miss Tansha. Not even a screenshot. Aside from what we gathered this evening, there's nothing. It's like she never existed."

'What?' Midnight was puzzled by this information. How could there be no evidence of a pony's existence in Neo Somnambula? Your face had to be caught on camera at some point.

"Because of this, we have no idea how to contact her next of kin," Spitfire continued, "do you have any idea where to look?"

"She had a couple friends who owned a shop in the lower city," Midnight replied.

"Then your next assignment is to talk to them and report Tansha's death to her next of kin or to her friends," Spitfire said as she gulped down her cup of coffee.

Midnight gave a salute. "Very well."

"Alright then that's it." Spitfire stood up from her seat. "Make sure to get some rest."

After a few more futile minutes of watching his coffee, Midnight stood up and prepared to leave the cafeteria. As he was about to leave, he considered throwing his Instant Cupcake into the trash, but as he recalled what Tansha had said about ponies in the lower city eating bugs, he thought better of it. If he couldn't enjoy it, he could at the very least give it to somepony else.

Author's Note

Sorry that this is a bit of a short chapter, but I felt like it was a good stopping point for now. Obviously, there is more going on and there will be more chapters, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, I've been thinking about what songs would be the best theme songs for the characters like Tansha, Midnight Blitzer, Knick Knack and Whiskey Lullaby. If you have any ideas/suggestions, please let me know.

Also, if you are an artist who has been reading this and you're open to commissions let me know. A part of me wants to do an art piece for each chapter and if you're interested, maybe we can work some something out.