We were now in the city proper as we pushed forward into the region. Our path took us through a section of the city I hadn't really had a chance to explore. Owing to its status as a commercial structure, the ZBS Building was located in the commercial district, where many of the businesses such as retail and communications were based. We even trotted past a few restaurants, which had been damaged somehow. Some had traces of emblems on the top of the arches over the doors, but these had been spray painted over and crossed out. What could that mean?

Pipp looked quite annoyed. "They defaced the Royal Seal!" she said. "They'll pay for this!"

"What's the Royal Seal?" I asked, quite innocently. "I wasn't aware seals existed in Equestria."

"As in something you stamp on something else as a mark of approval," Pipp explained. "Those symbols indicated those businesses served goods and supplies to the Royal Family. But no doubt that swine Gulfstream has had them defaced."

"Just another reason to bring him down," I said, and nodded. "And our mission will help us do that, so let's focus on that."

Pipp nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."

As we continued on our way, we stopped in position as we overheard a conversation between two soldiers.

"Quiet, isn't it?" said one to the other, looking about him. If this had been a Western, one of them would have been shot with an arrow about three seconds later.

"Clearly the bombing of Staltenburg taught them a lesson, huh?" said the other, as he started to laugh.

That remark, and the fact he clearly found the suffering of ponies who disagreed with him amusing, honestly made me feel sick inside. Those bombing raids were no joke, and to find humour in the suffering of others?

I can only assume soldiers here were hiding a distinct cruel streak this entire time. Why else would they join the coup?

We waited a few moments for them to move on, and then crossed the street to the main plaza. As we walked through them, the screens above us were running at full speed, with nonstop propaganda playing. The usual stuff- videos 'proving' the racial inferiority of the other tribes, pieces proclaiming how Gulfstream was the most virtuous leader since sliced bread, propaganda showing the power of the pegasus military and how they would destroy their enemies, and so on. Hitler would have had a field day here.

I noticed pretty quickly the videos had no sound, but the way they were set up suggested that there was supposed to be. This made watching them a bit of a strange experience.

Pipp, on the other hoof, found the whole thing a bit funny. "About a week or two as his personal fiefdom and Gulfstream still hasn't figured out these screens have no speakers."

That confirmed my suspicions on that front. "How do ponies watch your broadcasts, then?" I asked, legitimately interested. I hadn't had a chance to watch any of her broadcasts, but I had listened to a few of her songs on the radio. Turns out she also releases under the name Ruby.

They mostly just sync their phones to the screen, which provides the sound," she replied, as we continued to walk.

But after that, we arrived pretty quickly at our target. The exterior had been seemingly the scene of a massacre. A large fountain stood nearby, but had been damaged, the water cascading out from ruptured pipes all over the ground. The words HAVEN DON'T OWN OUR WATER NO MORE were scrawled on it.

Honestly, that's bad English. That means she does own your water- the exact opposite of what you were trying to say. Anyway, two statues of Pipp and Zipp had been violently torn out of their pedestals and dumped on the floor with nooses round their necks. Yikes. That sent a clear message.

Once we were closer to the building, which if you asked me looked quite art deco in keeping with the surrounding area, I noticed a plaque outside that stated the structure was also home to a record company, and thus the ZBS Building was 'the tower that Pipp built'.

That made sense. Based on what I'd pieced together at the time Pipp was one of the best selling musical acts ever (though the cynic in me wondered if her status as princess gave her an unfair advantage), so the revenues generated would allow them to build a pretty fancy tower.

We stopped in front, and I stepped forward. To my surprise no lights seemed to be on inside, which must have made doing work very diffcult. I know screens are backlit these days, but that can hardly be good for your eyes, I reckon.

I stopped next to the door, and slowly pushed on it.

No response.

I then pulled on it.

No response either. The door could not be pushed or pulled.

I looked back, looking more than a bit concerned. "Well, there's a snag. Door's locked."

No sooner had I spoken then a facehoof rang out across the plaza. It had come from Pipp, and her metal coated hooves had been the reason it was louder than most facehoofs. "Urghh, that's kinda obvious, Hitch! Why would they leave the door to a strategically valuable location unlocked? That's just inviting anypony to walk in and take whatever they want!"

That's true, but it does making doing business rather difficult. Kinda like the time a store near me wouldn't open the outer protection rafters to let customers in to deter theft- completely missing that customers need to be in the store for the store to make money. The ideas that go through the heads of upper management sometimes...

I shrugged and turned my attention back to the door. "Well, we need to find a way to get in," I said, thinking Misty would come in handy here. After all, she's got all that gear. "Can anybody see a key? If not, pass me a bobby pin and a screwdriver. I may be able to prise the lock open manually."

Given it was an electronic door we'd have needed a keycard to get in, which I didn't have for obvious reasons- I wasn't a ZBS employee. I looked about for another way in, when I suddenly spotted Misty trotting over to a grate locked into the wall and starting to fiddle with it. Was she trying to pull it off? Had she just found a new entrance into the building which we could exploit? What is the air speed velocity of a-

No, that's probably not the time. My thoughts were stopped by Misty speaking.

"Hitch, could you lend me a hoof? These screws are a bit stuck!"

I trotted over and took a look. "Sure thing, Misty. Let me just set the screwdriver."

I had been given a screwdriver by her to use in this case, and we both soon got to work on cracking open the grate. It took several minutes, but knowing we were deep in enemy territory the entire time made the tension skyrocket to incredible levels. Pipp was keeping an eye out for us, so we could only hope the enemy were distracted by the attacks going on.

After a bit of work, we finally had it off, and Misty looked in as best she could. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," I said, and looked in the tunnel. "Wow. Looks pretty narrow in there. You sure you're gonna fit down there?"

Misty smiled. "Not an issue. I am smaller than you. I'm used to squeezing down tight tunnels."

Yeah, that she was. I'd probably get stuck if I tried to wriggle down there.

Pipp spoke next. "It's also really dark," she said. "Aren't you going to need a torch in there?" The tone of her voice showed how we had bonded as a group. It was hard to believe in that moment this was the same mare who'd smacked Misty whilst on the road to Bridlewood.

Misty lowered some goggles over her eyes. "Who needs a torch when you've got night vision goggles?"

"Where did you get those from?" I asked.

Misty shrugged. "I'll explain later," she said, and began to wriggle her way inside the chambers before she vanished into the tunnel. You know, the bright tail colours don't really gel with the whole stealth vibe she was going for.

Still, it now meant we had a long wait, so we took up defensive positions and watched for enemies. It was only a few minutes, but it honestly felt like hours with how long everything was taking. Every second that went by meant we risked being discovered, and as an earth pony I stuck out like a sore feather. That's a pegasus saying, by the way.

Eventually, our luck turned. There were a few buzzes, and Misty popped through the door, having unlocked it.

I looked back. "Let's go," I said. "Lead the way, Misty."

Author's Note

Hitch and Pipp's conversation about the defaced Royal Seals refers to a historical event that happened during the years England was a Republic. Cromwell ordered royal symbols to be crossed out or removed, and much of the public was happy to obey. Luckily, the items in question were preserved, and put into place again upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Big display screens in major locations such as Times Square and Piccadilly Circus often lack sound equipment, meaning the adds that run on them have no sound. Many films make the mistake of having broadcasts played over them with sound, with one particularly egregious example coming from the 2009 film Revenge of the Fallen:

(4:19-5:00)

As the screens have no sound, the Fallen's words would be completely inaudible.

The reference to the defaced statue is a reference to a protest in Bristol where the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down before being dumped in the harbour. During the protests, protestors tied a noose around the statue's neck and spray painted it various colours. The statue is now on display in Bristol's M Shed museum with the damage intact:

'The tower that Pipp built' is an allusion to a common nickname for the Capitol Records building in LA. This structure was often nicknamed 'the tower that Nat built,' an allusion to Nat King Cole who was one of their best selling artists. This circular structure is a remarkable example of 1950s space-age architecture, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Now they are inside the building, what will they find inside? Find out tomorrow!