Celestia hummed idly to herself as she strolled down the street, a hood hiding her identity from what few passersby cared to look her way. This already small number shrunk as she turned down an alley and trotted towards a distant staircase leading into the earth. The food she had purchased less than an hour earlier bounced along her sides, occasionally tickling her nose with the scent of fresh vegetables or fruit.

Though less than savory individuals watched her passage, Celestia didn't falter for a moment. Exuding an aura of absolute confidence was the easiest way to stay safe and if that failed, well she never went anywhere completely unarmed or unarmored. Sure enough, none of the bored thugs or idle gang members gave her a second look, going right back to their conversation or game without missing a beat.

With the dirty back alley shops behind her along with the general sprawl of the city, Celestia descended down the steps. Though the entrance to the underground looked like what one may see when entering the subway, this was far from the entrance to a public transportation hub. This was made evident by the fact that at the bottom of the steps the tunnel turned sharply to the left, while before her a sign welcomed her to ‘Happy Hills Homes’.

After taking the prerequisite turn, Celestia entered a round tunnel with a flat bottom angled just sharp enough that she didn't slip but couldn't walk comfortably. In the distance she saw that the old sewer pipe split off left and right, a dozen branching paths going down the old streets. There the old brown stone walls and ceiling gave way to newer darker grey rock as well as wider tunnels big enough to have walkways on either side.

In the center of these wider tunnels were tents, tarps, and other drapings creating what looked like a mix between a refugee camp and an open-air market. Ponies and other creatures moved about comfortably, their forms illuminated by the same harsh yellow lights installed when the sewer had first been built. Though since then the sewage had been drained, the walls pressure washed and the smell mostly banished.

The stink remained but it was distant enough that Celestia could ignore it after a few minutes of acclimating to it once more. What she could never get used to was the noise, even up the tunnel as she was now. The clamor of many bodies, conversations, and business echoed off the walls, the poor acoustics making it almost deafening.

Even though the aroma was pungent, and the sounds cacophonous Celestia still couldn't help but feel like she was home.

Proceeding down for another minute the tunnel evened out and opened up into what had been a small wastewater treatment plant. Here the large central space had been filled with an apartment building that more closely resembled a giant insect hive. Other structures were built next to it, or along the walls of the room creating a strange mishmash of grates, walkways, and interconnected houses.

Where there had once been monitoring equipment there was a weapon store, where there had been a pump there was now a barbershop. Built primarily out of cheap recycled metal, and prefabricated parts, the place was rickety but serviceable. Additions made by the residents were everywhere, from the many neon signs to the even more ramshackle add-ons to the buildings constructed by the original owner of this place.

Near the entrance to the wider area, a sign noted that this was what the original developers had wanted to call ‘The Hub’ though it had been crossed out. Now it was called ‘The Pit’ and the ‘proudly developed by Rook Construction’ simply said ‘FACISTS’ in all caps. There were expletives added to the sign but Celestia didn't bother taking note of them.

Rather her gaze fell upon the many creatures who took refuge down here in one of Manehatten’s strangest developments. As she looked upon the great many faces that could be seen peering out windows, sitting at a table, or walking about she thought of this place’s past. She recalled quite distinctly Manehatten’s problem with their sewer, and how one particular segment was overbuilt in the extreme.

The walls had been reinforced with magic, and much of the actual water treatment had been done underground. Not content to simply ensure that it lasted to the predetermined seventy-five years, it had been built to last. Making it so expensive to remove that it had been left to molder until eventually filling with transients and other less reputable individuals.

Once more the topic of its destruction had come up, to no objections whatsoever. The new sewer had been built years earlier, and it was only this segment that was left in the way. The entire city block was ready to be cordoned off for the purpose of pulling out the sewer when along came an enterprising business pony.

When he offered to build houses below ground he had been laughed at, though they grew quiet when he stated his desire to purchase everything. It was a silver bullet solution and one the council jumped on it immediately, to initially fantastic results. Over time the developer would slowly sell off more and more of the real estate to the locals that had moved in.

Until they owned nothing, pulling out of the development entirely and forcing the citizens to figure out the utilities. So they had, with a private power company taking over the electricity needs, a cooperative handling waste and water. It wasn't long before the entire place was self-contained, creating a tiny city under Manehatten.

Celestia couldn't help but smile at the thought.

Though it wasn't the prettiest, or nicest smelling of places, nowhere else was the spirit of freedom and cooperation more present. There were still some dark spots, but it wasn't hard for the ancient alicorn to overlook such mild blemishes in her new home. Especially when there were so many nice things, like the ‘Noodle Kaboodle’ that advertised two-bit noodle bowls served twenty-four hours a day.

The two-story metal shed had a big metal square cut out of it, allowing a table to protrude out into the crude street. A metal stool sat waiting for an occupant while the rest of its brothers were filled with a quartet of strange characters. A minotaur, a kirin, a gryphon, and an earth pony were in the midst of devouring several bowls of noodles with varied levels of gusto.

Stepping up to the one available seat, Celestia looked over to the always-grinning elderly unicorn working the stall. Behind him was the rest of his house, several children, an elderly mare, and a younger-looking stallion going about their business.

“Ahh if it isn't the angel of the pit,” remarked the unicorn stallion. “The usual, I presume?”

“You got it, two bowls, one extra spicy, one plain,” Celestia replied with a smile.

“Alright now you better not overpay again!” shouted the unicorn while waving a wooden spoon. “You insult my food!”

“If anything it's a compliment. As your food is worth more than just two bits,” Celestia shot back.

“That's not how this works. Just don't let it happen again. My old heart wouldn't be able to take the insult,” yelled the cook before throwing another batch of noodles into the boiling pot.

Celestia chuckled and settled into her seat, intent on waiting quietly for her order to be done. Unfortunately, the world seemed to have other plans for her.

“You some kinda rich Shadowrunner or somethin?” asked the minotaur gazing down at Celestia.

“I live down here, what do you think?” Celestia replied.

The minotaur chuckled. “Fair.”

“The noodles are good,” added the earth pony between bites.

That got a rumble of agreement from the kirin and the griffin though neither would stop eating long enough to voice such agreement aloud.

Celestia smiled, and turned around in her seat, watching as the various inhabitants filtered past the small out-of-the-way shop. Though most were poor, they seemed optimistic, and Celestia enjoyed the general atmosphere of harmony. Most wouldn't be able to see past the grime, the poverty, and the crime, but Celestia had a bit more experience than most when it came to pony-watching.

“There you are. Now tell that sister of yours to come back down to the shop sometime. She still hasn't paid off her tab,” declared the surly voice of the old stallion.

Celestia spun back around, scooping up the noodles and depositing four bits in one swift motion.

“Thank you kindly,” Celestia exclaimed. “Say, you wouldn't happen to have a spare set of chopsticks by chance, would you? My last pair broke.”

“It's because you're too big!” declared the chef. “Stop taking those muscle drugs, they aren't good for you!’

“I’m not, just got a lot of earth pony in me,” Celestia exclaimed.

“You could have a little more if you want,” remarked the earth pony customer.

The rest of the patrons chuckled.

“You couldn't handle me,” Celestia replied without flinching.

“Oooooh,” mirrored the customers.

The earth pony just chuckled and went back to his noodles.

Celestia however, was watching elsewhere, namely the shopkeeper who was digging around in his pots and pans in search of chop sticks.

“Psst, c'mere,” Celestia whispered, gesturing to one of his kids, who hesitantly walked over to the towering alicorn. “Here, hide this in your dad’s sock drawer.”

Before the kid had a chance to ask what it was or why, Celestia had already dropped a hooffull of coins in his open forehooves. The child was then hastily but gently pushed away by Celestia, who was swift to sit back up like nothing had happened.

“Here ya are,” declared the shopkeeper. “Now don't break these. They don't grow on trees you know!”

“Actually they do,” Celestia cheekily shot back.

“You know what I meant!” yelled the chef.

Celestia chuckled as she walked away, noodle bowls floating alongside her as she walked further into the pit. After a few short minutes of maneuvering through the crowd and ensuring her food didn't spill she stopped in front of an opening. The tunnel had once been air duct, and was now only a few feet deep before curving straight up likely all the way to the surface.

Just big enough for a young mare and her dog, the pair stared up at Celestia with big, watery puppy eyes. Though Celestia’s stomach rumbled, she could see how the other pony’s cheeks were sunken and her ribs were visible. It was clear who needed it more, and so after a moment to make sure she didn't hand over the extra spicy bowl, she lowered the noodles.

“Here you are,” Celestia whispered, handing over the chopsticks she had gotten a few minutes earlier. “Take care little one.”

“Thanks miss,” murmured the other pony before hastily digging into the bowl.

Celestia smiled faintly before continuing on, walking over to a small side tunnel and slipping inside, her head bowed. It wasn't long before she reached a large metal barrier not unlike the bulkhead of a warship. Nearly as thick as one, with enough steel to protect a bank vault, it would prove an imposing barrier to most.

To Celestia however, it was a simple matter of placing her hoof on the central part before grabbing the wheel and giving it a spin. She then pulled it open, and made her way inside. Once home agin she took a moment to pause and kick the door shut behind her. Her gaze immediately began moving about the area, searching their domicile for any sign of her younger sister.

Though a whopping three stories tall, the cylindrical space wasn't overly wide, and worse still the sound of running water was present. Various drainage pipes emptied into a circular space that ran around the edges of the first floor of the space. Thankfully the liquid was relatively clean as it didn't make the place stink any worse than it already did.

Pushing down her annoyance at the smell, Celestia looked at the four pipes that jutted off from the first level. Each was about eight feet wide, and about fifteen feet deep before abruptly ending at a brick wall. They all served various purposes, a kitchen, a dining room, a bathroom slash bathing area, but more important none contained Luna.

“Dammit,” someone muttered from above.

Celestia floated the groceries over to the kitchen before shedding her disguise and extending her wings. After a moment to enjoy the simple sensation of freedom, the alicorn flew up to the second floor, where she spotted her target. Luna was sitting in her quote, marecave, and was scrolling through what looked like a long list of names.

“Any luck with jobs?” Celestia inquired, gliding over to the tunnel with noodle bowl still in hoof.

“No,” Luna grumbled. “The junk those thugs had on them will keep us in rent and food but not for much longer.”

“Speaking of which,” Celestia offered, extending her hoof.

Luna sat up in her chair. “Did you get the usual?”

“See for yourself,” Celestia countered.

Luna dug in immediately, a moan of pleasure escaping her lips the moment the flavor hit her tongue. “Oh thash sho goob,” Luna muttered.

“He asked you to pay your tab again,” Celestia offered.

“I will when I can,” Luna retorted before shoveling more food into her mouth.

Celestia frowned while looking around, trying to figure out what her sister had been up to in her absence. As usual, Luna’s space was a chaotic mess of wires, screens, mechanical devices, and boxes of spare parts. There was just barely enough space for Luna’s ‘throne’ as she called it, and a bit of room for Celestia to stand behind her.

“Are all those names fixers?” Celestia inquired, pointing up to the screen directly in front of them.

Luna gulped. “The red ones are those that have turned us down.”

“That's a lot of red,” Celestia muttered.

“We aren't exactly well-liked, or have a decent reputation for that matter,” Luna remarked dryly.

“What about that one? Mr Wu?” Celestia pointed out. “Why did you skip him?”

“Because he was that guy you nearly skewered a few years back,” Luna replied.

“I almost stabbed a lot of people over the years. You’re going to have to be more specific,” Celestia retorted.

Luna sighed. “The one with the brothel. He was giving his mares that new red eye drug to get them addicted so he wouldn't have to pay them in anything but drugs.”

“Oh… right,” Celestia scowled. “Maybe we should skip him.”

“Too late. Already calling him,” Luna interrupted.

Celestia’s scowl deepened, and though she wanted to angrily demand her sister hang up, Celestia bit her tongue.

After a moment the screen lit up and the static image of a scowling pegasus stallion greeted the sisters.

“What do you two want?” demanded an angry, gravely voice.

“Actually it's more about what you want,” Luna countered. “You see we’re looking for work and were hoping you’d have something for us.”

There was a moment of silence before the image flickered and the male’s voice returned.

“Let me get this straight,” he began, voice low. “You tried to kill me, after failing a job and now you want me to employ you?”

“That's about the long and short of it, yeah,” Luna stated.

“No!” he yelled. “Why in the hell would I do that? If you two idiots hadn't fucked everything up I’d still have my star earner, a new batch of girls, and a year's supply of red eye!”

“Hey, now, that's not fair. We didn't burn all your drugs. That was actually an accident,” Luna retorted.

“A happy accident,” Celestia added.

“Oh great, that psycho sister of yours is there too, great. As if my day can't get any worse,” murmured the stallion.

“Wait, worse? So you do have a problem in need of fixing,” Luna pressed.

“Augh, I’m not giving you the job. If I wanted someone to fuck everything up for me I’d call the guard on myself,” murmured Mr. Wu.

“Well I mean surely we would be one step up from-”

“Hold on a second,” interrupted the pegasus. “Wait, what happened?”

There was a moment of silence followed by furious whispering which was proceeded by several seconds of utter quiet.

“New plan,” he offered suddenly. “I’m sending you over the details for a new club that just showed up. We’ve lost a lot of talent and a lot of business to it. Find out what the hell is going on over there, and if you can, get back my new star earner. Swift Kick.”

“What's so unique about this place that you’d give the job to us?” Luna inquired.

“Because my usual list of skull crackers all haven't come back from this place,” he retorted. “Noone I’ve sent over to spy on the place has returned, even that damned Black Cat vanished after I hired them.”

“The Black Cat?” Celestia whispered.

“Really successful and well-known netrunner and decker,” Luna replied. “Was responsible for the dot com crash of ninety ninety.”

“Oh,” Celestia muttered.

“Exactly. At this point, I don't care who figures out what's going on over there. And if you don't come back, hey two birds one stone and all that,” remarked the pegasus, chuckling dryly.

“Do you know anything about the owner?” Luna asked.

“Apparently he's ex Bishop,” the pegasus exclaimed in a low, almost fearful tone. “Supposedly he was a higher-up who left suddenly after stealing something really important.”

“Wait, he stole from Bishop and lived?” Celestia demanded.

“Apparently what he stole was something so illegal that even killing him over it isn't worth the risk. Going after him like that would be an admittance that he has what they shouldn't have made,” exclaimed the pegasus. “My money’s on some kinda new weapon, or maybe net tech. Would explain why everyone I sent over got black bagged.”

“Ask about the missing talent,” Celestia whispered.

“Yeah, so what's this about missing talent?” Luna inquired.

“Me and the other club’s best and brightest keep getting snagged by this new place,” exclaimed Mr. Wu. “They just disappear for a week then show up at this club. Weirder still they are suddenly clean.”

“They took a shower?” Celestia murmured.

“No, you idiot. They dropped the drugs cold turkey,” snapped the pegasus.

“That doesn't sound too bad,” Celestia declared.

“It's weird. Some of these ponies have been hardcore users for longer than they’ve not been on the stuff,” remarked Mr Wu. “That's not a habit you just kick in a week, even if you get some hardcore supplements.”

“Okay that is kind of weird,” Celestia admitted.

“Which is why some of the other owners have been looking into this place too,” added Mr Wu. “They seem to think that there is a changeling at work or maybe even dark magic.”

“Impossible,” Luna exclaimed.

“Then explain everything I’ve told you,” retorted the male.

“Hmm, I think we should look into this,” Celestia declared.

“Same. But what's the pay like?” Luna asked.

There was a pause before suddenly a number appeared on screen.

“How does that look?” asked the pegasus.

“That is a lot of zeroes,” Celestia pointed out.

“That ain't all from me mind you. A bunch of the other clubs have put out bounties to find out the info,” Mr. Wu answered.

“Alright we’re on it,” Luna proclaimed.

“The club itself is closed at the moment but you might want to start scoping it out sooner rather than later,” offered the stallion.

“Appreciated. We’ll get it done,” Celestia stated.

“See to it that you do,” Mr Wu replied.

The screen went black.

“Ready to make some real money?” Luna asked with a smirk.

Celestia nodded. “Let's see what's really going on down there.”

Author's Note

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