Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

Chapters

1. The Cutie Unmarking
2. The End is the Beginning
3. Out of Time
4. A Knight in Midnight's Service
5. Echoes of the Past
6. Getting a Clue
7. A Wolf in Pony's Clothing
8. Cell Mates
9. Reunions
10. Into the Fire
11. The Mare Who Waited
12. Picking Up the Trail
13. Awaiting Memories
14. Saying Goodbye
15. Back to School
16. My Dead Mommy Loves Me
17. Departure
18. Brave or Insane
19. The Joke is on You
20. Harmony's Treasure
21. Zebra Sense
22. Alchemy
23. Rescue at Midnight Castle-mania
24. Tug of Command
25. Mirror Mirror
26. The Devil We Know
27. Civilized Behavior
28. Split
29. Holder
30. The Devil We Didn't Know
31. The Last City Standing
32. Changedlings
33. The Power of the Arcane
34. Family Ties
35. Cracks on the Surface
36. The Fiendship Express
37. Unchanging
38. Feral
39. Bypass
40. The New Canterlot Republic
41. The Will to Die
42. Fun
43. Settling In
44. Rambling
45. The Midnight Lie
46. The Bigger They Are
47. A Bad Time
48. Queue Who
49. Where Alicorns Fear to Tread
50. Power Play
51. Children of the Pearl
52. Double 0 Figment
53. An Unhappy Fable
54. Tactics
The Story So Far (Prelude For Those that Haven't Seen Friendship is Magic at least to season 5, skip if you have)

1. The Cutie Unmarking

Tuesday, 10/26/2077 AE (Age of Equestria)
(End of “The Cutie Re-mark” Season 5 Episode 26)
POV: Twilight Sparkle

Twilight knew Starlight was misguided, but she wasn’t outright evil, right? Surely, she just acted this way because she didn’t understand what she had caused. Therein lay the problem, though: She’d never believe Twilight.

No. Starlight had to see it for herself.

"I don’t know how important other ponies’ friendships are to the future, but I can show you what the world is like without mine!" As Twilight floated upwards into the vortex, she grabbed Starlight, pulling her close to take her along for the ride. Twilight stared into Starlight’s hate-filled glare as it sucked them and Spike through the time portal.

For once, Twilight entered the vortex, hoping it would be something terrible to convince Starlight to cease this madness. This would be an awkward trip if they arrived at a utopia.

They slammed into the Cutie Map as they arrived. Twilight’s whole body clenched in pain as she bounced and rolled into the dirt next to it, with Starlight and Spike landing nearby. All took a moment to pull themselves off the ground.

It was no utopia, though it was peaceful in the creepiest of ways. Twilight stood in a desolate expanse. Gray wind-swept soil covered the land as far as she could see. The only things that broke the monotony were rocks and dead trees. Even the distant hills looked dead, and for all she knew, everything in Equestria met the same fate.

Okay, she’d rather it not be this bad.

Twilight’s first impression upon landing was how wrong the ground felt. It gave to her weight like fragile glass just beneath the topsoil, crackling with every movement as she staggered to her hooves. It was like something crushed and melted everything into a layer of crystallized rubble, then caked with ash deep enough to cover her hooves.

The dead trees that poked through nearby looked as if they grew afterward, then burned in a second event. Considering how quickly some types of Everfree plant life could grow after a burst of magical energy, the two events could have been only days apart.

Twilight couldn’t imagine what magic could do this or why anyone would use such magic, but had a sick feeling someone did this on purpose.

Clouds blanketed the sky for miles, but a faint glow from the Sun made it through. The wind chilled Twilight to her core, but there was more danger here than catching cold; something was wrong with this place.

There was a strange energy prickling at her magical senses. It emanated from the surroundings, originating from both the ground and the stiff breeze. The only thing that didn’t emit the energy was the Cutie Map. It must have arrived afterward, or perhaps it was immune to the dark energy. Who knew with an anomaly like this?

This wasn’t the place to have a conversation; this was a place to flee. Still, before they left, she had to make Starlight understand. She hoped Starlight detected it too, despite her irrationality.

"Where are we?!" Starlight demanded as she looked over the Ashlands.

"The future," Twilight said dejectedly, barely audible over the rushing wind, "Or rather, the present."

Twilight placed a hoof on the map table, looking across the dead world it depicted. The wind storm shimmered through the projection, but most cities were in ruins. A mist glowed over the epicenters of destruction, green for some cities and red for others. The only major cities it depicted intact were Canterlot, covered in a shimmering shield, and Cloudsdale, moving towards Canterlot. She assumed they were coming together in a last ditch effort to survive.

"But there’s nothing here!" Starlight waved a hoof around, expression clenched with frustration and confusion.

"I wish I could say I was surprised," Twilight said, voice subdued with emotional exhaustion, "But every world I come back to is worse than the last." That was arguable, but true enough on average. "I don’t know why my friends and I are so important to Equestria, but we are."

"I don’t believe you!" Starlight accused Twilight, irrational hatred etched in her eyes.

Twilight hoped that Starlight would come around in the face of the obvious, but it was more difficult than that. Twilight had to overcome Starlight’s corrupted sense of morality.

"Come on, Starlight, look around!" Spike said, standing atop the map.

Starlight didn’t answer; instead, she silently turned away.

"Like I said, everything in the past affects the future, even the tiniest act," Twilight explained. "And what you’re doing leads here. I know I can’t stop you, but I thought showing you this might change your mind."

"Change my mind?" Starlight spat the words out like a 200-year-old hayburger. She stepped towards Twilight aggressively and raised her voice. "You don’t know anything about me! I was perfectly happy before you and your friends ruined what I built!"

"I don’t know what happened that led you to make your village without cutie marks, and I’m sorry my friends and I had to take it away." Twilight was sincere because she wasn’t sure how to deal with a villain like Starlight. Starlight honestly believed this delusion that she was right; how did she reform somepony when they thought like that?

"You want to know what happened to me?!" screamed Starlight, horn glowing as she floated upward and landed at the center of the map once again. "I’LL SHOW YOU!" She zapped the center of the map beneath her.

Twilight expected to be pulled through time again now with Starlight, and actually looked forward to seeing what had happened. Maybe now she could talk some sense into her! But things went from bad to worse. There was a flash of light around Starlight, not unlike a teleport, and an instant later, a blast of glowing green energy streaked into her from above and cut her spell short.

Starlight clenched her teeth even before the unexpected energy hit her, but that didn’t stop her shriek as the small mass of energy shot through one of her legs, leaving her fur smoking with a nasty burn. Starlight waved the leg around frantically as the incomplete magic delivery caused the portal beneath her to collapse immediately. Several more bursts of green energy shot past in quick succession, and the pain-shocked Starlight barely had time to look before one struck her side.

Starlight screeched again as her side glowed green and slowly disintegrated into glowing green goop streaming away in the wind. Twilight tried to focus through the abject horror of what she saw, horn glowing to cast a healing spell. As she did, another shot buzzed close to Spike's head as he shrieked and threw the backpack he held in panic. When the healing spell didn't affect Starlight’s grotesque condition, Twilight opted to tackle Spike off the table instead to save him.

Though she didn't regret prioritizing Spike's life as she covered him under the edge of the table, Twilight felt horrible as Starlight shrieked atop it. She was hearing a pony die in a way too cruel to exist.

Twilight heard wings flapping above the table while Starlight was still screaming. An odd mechanical whirring mixed with the sound of feathers as the pegasus landed on the opposite side. The ground crackled beneath them, more than with Twilight, implying extra weight, an oddity since pegasi were usually the lightest race.

"Shrieking like a filly!" the pegasus laughed as if Starlight's death was the most hilarious thing ever. "Don't give me that stunned look; it's just a little disintegration!"

The voice had a slightly artificial tone, but sounded familiar. Twilight was too distracted to figure out why, however, as Starlight's head dropped upside-down off the edge of the table in front of her, rolling smoothly as the horn had apparently been blasted off. It had an odd look of contentment, almost seeming to smile at Twilight before it too turned into glowing goop. She couldn’t speculate on the reason for that either, as she was too stunned to even vomit. Spike however fell to his claws and knees and lost his rocky lunch on the ground.

Eager to look away from the grotesque sights before her, Twilight moved around the edge to glance at the intruder’s hooves, though only the hind right was intact. The others were artificial replacements made from a strange flexible metal, like something from a science fiction novel. The limbs whirred with that same mechanical grinding as the wings when the pony stepped closer.

"Did ya hear her rip one when she collapsed, Midnight?" the assailant asked as she came closer. "Guess we can call her Fartlight now." She paused when Twilight didn't emerge. "Come on boss, it's just me, and I know you love playing with the goop. Get it before it all blows away!"

It couldn’t be, yet it was... Rainbow Dash? It was disturbing to find another of her turned ‘evil’ after the Nightmare Moon timeline, and this one seemed worse, but how did a pegasus even use magic like that?

"Twilight, she’s dead!" Spike whispered, freaking out behind her. "Don't go out there!"

Twilight put a hoof over his maw to keep him quiet. By Celestia’s eldritch mane, they would need so much therapy if they survived. Twilight kept Spike beneath the table while she crawled out. Her first instinct was to check what was left of Starlight, seeing only bubbling green slime strewn out, causing shimmers of static through the map. She knew she shouldn't look too aggressive when dealing with a pony that might end her life on a whim, but seeing that set her off. There wasn’t even anything left to bury!

"Y-you murdered her just like that?!" Twilight shrieked, aghast at the flagrant disregard for life. "And you're focused on her... and joking about... farts?! I know you love joking around but... you’re like a psychopath! What happened to you?"

Rainbow snorted, almost laughing again before she realized Twilight was being serious.

"What?" Rainbow took a step back, confused at Twilight's reaction. "You’re welcome for saving your hot plot, by the way. Again. For about the eighth time, no charge. Shouldn't you be telling me how awesome I am right now?"

As the wind died slightly, Twilight got a better look at the magitech Dash. It was hard to tell if she was more machine or mare as armor covered most of her body, but she did have two real limbs left, the right hind leg and wing. Her left wing received the same replacement as her legs, with what looked like a razor edge along the front.

Rainbow's dark blue uniform covered everything else but the metal limbs, which Rainbow probably wanted to show off for awesome's sake. At first Twilight thought the uniform was cloth, but then realized it was a metallic polymer fashioned into a chain mail mesh. It looked thin and elastic but glowed as the dust particles deflected off, apparently installed with magical shielding.

The only way to know it was Rainbow aside from the voice were the frazzled rainbow mane protruding from the top of her helmet, the cropped rainbow tail, and her cutie mark emblazoned on her metal haunch and all over her uniform; Rainbow loved plastering everything with her mark. The other insignia on the uniform looked similar to the Wonderbolts, but darker, with the initials G.P.E. beneath. Beneath that was what she assumed to be Rainbow’s call sign, Kamikaze. That beat Rainbow Crash, even if it implied more purposeful crashing.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow snickered. “Great joke, but we got better things to do, and not just each other.”

She thought it was a joke? Twilight tried to form a response, but all she could do was stare in shock. Rainbow reacted by waving a hoof in front of her.

“Equestria to Midnight!” Rainbow snicked. “Come on, filly, we gotta go.”

Twilight's Rainbow was also often oblivious to the emotions of others, but this was off the charts. Could she really not tell how disgusted Twilight was?

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight screamed, forgetting in her rage that this one didn't know the same Twilight. "When have I EVER joked about something like that?"

"I go by Kamikaze" growled Rainbow as all hints of glee left her voice. "Why do you always get it wrong? And you joke about stuff like that every day. You're acting weird, Miss Midnight. What the buck was going on here when I arrived?"

“H-huh?” Twilight blinked. “Midnight?” She’d been so enraged that she hadn’t caught the alternate name.

"You’re even weirder than usual," Rainbow commented, moving one artificial hoof up as if to measure the height difference. "And taller... huh..."

“Rain... Kamikaze,” Twilight gauged her words carefully, voice quivering as she held most of her tears. “Why did you kill her?”

Rainbow stared like Twilight babbled gibberish, raising the visor on her helmet to get a better look. Twilight wished she hadn’t because now she saw almost half of Rainbow’s face was also replaced with the arcane steel. Her left eye was only a metal iris with a red light behind it, while a cable plugged into a port in the side of her head connected to something beneath her wings.

Twilight followed the wire to note the arcane gun barrels beneath the wings, metal coils wrapped around a metal barrel with no visible hole to shoot a projectile from. Twilight assumed that was the weapon that had destroyed Starlight so spectacularly. Creating a working wing to channel pegasi magic and allow flight was hard enough, but a pegasi having a built-in power supply to use such weapons was beyond difficult.

Twilight shivered as she tried to keep herself from freaking out completely; perhaps she shouldn’t judge a pony based on a handicap… or upgrade?

Rainbow's eye didn't help. It felt less like a friend and more like something analyzing the tastiness of her soul. She saw tiny text flashing across Rainbow’s artificial eye as the pegasus got text readout of scan results.

“Stop messing up my bucking name,” Rainbow said. “I dove head-first into a lot of horse apples to get an awesome name, so use it. Second, I saved your life.” She groaned and rolled her eyes, “You wanted to kill her instead? Well tough noodles, I got her first.”

“Saved my life?” Twilight asked, “She wasn’t attacking me!”

“Look, sweet stuff,” Rainbow shook her head and smirked. “I saw you at ground zero with the Princess’s number one nerd casting a megaspell. I don’t care how much you wanted to execute her yourself. For Break’s sake, you really peeve me sometimes.”

There were countless things wrong with Rainbow’s words and each added another ‘WHAT?’ to the conversation. Twilight stared at Rainbow, blank-faced and open-muzzle, brain shorting out.

“Whoa, language!” Spike piped up from beneath the table. “This is Twilight Sparkle, and she is Celestia’s number one nerd!... err student… was her student at least. I mean she kinda still is.”

Oh, for Celestia’s giant white plot, Twilight wished he’d let her handle this.

"Her name is Midnight now, moron," Rainbow said to Spike. "Wait. You didn’t run? Good, I get to see if you’ll make the same sound your master made!" She laughed again. "That's what I love about these guns, they turn annoyances into piles of glowing poop, but way less gross."

The barrels on Rainbow's sides glowed as they charged up.

"Twilight?" Spike squeaked as he froze.

“NO, NO, NO!” Twilight couldn’t say it enough. “You will not harm a single scale on his head!”

Twilight rushed between Rainbow and Spike. When she found her guns pointed at Twilight, Rainbow clenched her teeth in brief panic as she quickly killed the charge on her guns. She grabbed her metal wing with her real wing to stop it from pulling the trigger, as if not quite in control of the metal one. She played off the panic soon after.

"Fine, don’t bite my head off either," huffed Rainbow. "I didn’t expect him to defect. Why were you at the paradox table though? Haven't you geeked out about it enough?" She rolled her eyes again. "You got another crazy theory about it, don't ya?"

Twilight’s eye twitched so hard that it was a wonder it didn’t pop out and roll away on its own epic adventure. Spike started to speak again, so she lifted a back hoof and diplomatically silenced him via plugging his muzzle. He growled but got the picture.

Twilight tried to get a hold of herself. She reminded herself that they could fix this... or most of this at least. She couldn't risk making things worse by trying to save Starlight's life, but she could still go back to the rainboom with Spike. As long as Twilight and Spike stayed safe, everything else would correct when she fixed the timeline.

"Spike?" Twilight sighed. "Please give me the scroll."

"Oh uh," Spike whispered fiddled his claws nervously. "About that... I sorta... accidentally threw my backpack in a panic when I got shot at by psycho-Dash. I think it burned up with Starlight..."

It hit Twilight like a ton of badly sorted books: they were trapped here.

No, but she couldn't panic. Twilight logic’d it out. This Dash seemed to respect her, called her 'boss' even, so she could use that. While she'd lost Starlight’s spell, this world might have its own scroll in the Canterlot archives. It was just a matter of figuring how Starlight altered it. With time travel involved, it didn’t matter how long it took to figure out how, especially since dragons and alicorns didn’t age past adulthood.

“Kamikaze,” Twilight said. It was better to think of her as somepony else, anyway. “You will escort me to the Canterlot Archives. There is something in the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing that is vital to the war effort.”

She tried again to adopt a commanding visage. The wind drying her eyes helped, but Kamikaze still peered at her suspiciously. The pegasus arched her flesh eyebrow and at first Twilight thought Canterlot had been destroyed despite what the map showed.

“What’s with you?” Kamikaze asked. “Ordering me around like this? I know you think you're in charge, but I'm still your bucking wife, so if you want me to keep putting out you better put down the attitude and lighten. the. buck. up.”

Darn it all to Tartarus, would she stop doing that? Every time Twilight got her head around new information, Kamikaze blurted something even less sensible!

Twilight took another deep breath before one of her front legs gave out, and toppled forward onto the ground. Too dizzy to catch herself with magic, she face-planted on the strangely warm dirt. Her face landed so she could see behind her, realizing Spike looked dizzy too. He moved to help Twilight, but just tumbled against her flank and clung there.

“I’m not feeling well,” Twilight stammered, “Um, dear.”

“What in the mile-high buck club?” Kamikaze asked, her good eye widening. “This isn’t the time for kinky stuff, Your Divine Masochist-ness. Cast a radiation shield before I end up having to buck a zombie!”

“A what shield?” Twilight asked weakly. She rolled those words around her head.

Her mind was numb, but the gears in her head turned rustily. That was what the strange energy was? Twilight knew that radiation was harmful in large amounts but had never encountered such quantities. In the confusion, she hadn’t connected two and pi together.

Kamikaze’s comment about a zombie wasn’t figurative though. There was a distinct necrotic tint to this magical energy that Twilight hadn’t noticed at first because of lack of experience with dark magic. Dying from an overdose of this might really…

She felt stupid for not recognizing the threat earlier. She tried to cast a force field around her and Spike, but her brain felt like someone had stuffed it with gauze. When the spell failed, she tried to cast a smaller one around just Spike, but it fizzled out too. She just couldn't hold her concentration.

“I’m fine!” Twilight said instinctively as Kamikaze helped her up. She saw concern in the cyber-pony’s real eye, the kind Rainbow normally tried to play off. “It doesn’t matter, we need to get to Canterlot!”

Rainbow said something in return, sounding annoyed, but Twilight didn't catch it as her consciousness faded. Then there was darkness.

“Who are you?!”

For a moment, Twilight’s body was too numb to move or respond. Her mind buzzed with confusion as she struggled to identify the screaming voice.

She'd found herself in a large open chamber. Twilight recognized it immediately as Nightmare Moon's throne room from the timeline where she had encountered the mad Moon goddess. The throne room was empty at first, but a figure coalesced out of the moonlight streaming in through the large windows, forming Nightmare Moon's form sitting atop it.

Though it felt real, Nightmare's entrance was very much like Luna's entrance when she appeared within dreams. Was Twilight dreaming?

"I asked you a question!" Nightmare Moon’s voice boomed and her face twisted in rage as she glared down at Twilight. "I know my faithful student and you are not her! How did you intercept my attempts to contact her within the world of dreams?"

“I’m… you know who I am!” Twilight shivered as she stumbled towards the throne. “L-Luna? Please tell me that’s you and not… her.”

“But what are you, Paradox?” Nightmare Moon demanded, voice echoing through the chamber. “You are no mere changeling. Your dreams… your very existence… they are impossible!”

“I-I don’t even know!” Twilight cried. “Luna, I need your help! Nightmare Moon isn’t who you are, please come back to us! The whole universe needs you to be the hero I know you are! If you're in my dream, look into my memories at who you’re supposed to be!”

Nightmare answered, but the dream faded too quickly to understand her as Twilight's consciousness returned.

Twilight didn't know how long she was out, but when she returned to consciousness, she awoke to hearing a conversation. There wasn't any wind, so she must have been inside now.

"Yeah, she got the wings already," Kamikaze was laughing hard, and Twilight imagined her rolling on the floor. "My bitch doesn't waste time."

"Is she still going on about shadows?" another voice asked more seriously. It was barely audible through static, as if coming through a radio, but sounded like Spitfire. "I know you married her, Dash, but she freaks me the buck out. If Daybreaker wasn't burning down the world with coronal mass ejections, I'd have never agreed to an alliance with that crazy bitch."

As Twilight's sight slowly returned, she saw a shadow of Rainbow nearby, a glowing screen full of static in front of her. Or maybe she should think of her as Kamikaze only; it'd help her separate this one from her own.

"Eh, she hasn't mentioned the shadows for once," Kamikaze shrugged as her laughter snorted to a stop again. "Besides, you're just jealous I get that fine plot allll to myself."

"I'm not gay, Dash," Spitfire audibly rolled her eyes.

"I didn't think I was, either," Dash chuckled. "But dat flank was just too..."

"Getting you back on the subject, Kami," Spitfire thankfully interrupted. "This means I'm in charge of the assault?"

"Yeah, we can't hold off," Kamikaze nodded but sounded annoyed at not getting to finish. "Daybreaker and Glimglam may be dead, but those lunatic engineers of theirs aren't. We gotta bake Canterlot first or Cloudsdale is toast."

"The radbooms then?" sighed Spitfire. "I swear, who the buck designed a megaspell that requires a rainboom to activate?"

"Uh yeah, can't imagine who came up with that," Kamikaze chuckled awkwardly, but then sounded uncharacteristically grave. "Nopony likes this option, but with the NLR's balefire used or unavailable, it's our only shot." Just as suddenly, her tone switched back. "And what a way to go, right? I'd be first in line if I'd made it there in time."

"Yeah, you probably would be," Spitfire sighed. "So get your suicidal flank over here when you can. As much as I hate to say it, you have the best chance of pulling this off."

"Can't be that hard," shrugged Kamikaze. "I mean how many pegasi do they have with Cloudsdale turned on them? Those Talon Company mercenaries can't fly for horse apples compared to the real deal."

Spitfire might have disconnected, or maybe the connection sputtered out from interference, but either way the screen turned off. Twilight noted what they said, but couldn't ask too many questions, lest she give away who she was. Whoever this 'Daybreaker' was, they might be a villain that would appear in her own timeline, so she hoped to find out more.

Before drawing attention to herself, Twilight got a look around the area. They were in a cave that looked as if they had once used it as a make-shift hospital, dimly lit by the light coming in the cave mouth thirty hoofsteps away. The communication board where Kamikaze sat was the only thing with power, hooked up to a large magical battery with the words 'Glimmer Cell 1000' on the side. The rest of the cave was empty hospital beds and cabinets.

The table next to Twilight's bed had several empty potion bottles. They had a symbol on them that looked like a three-bladed fan and read 'Radaway' at the base. Spike was in the bed next to her, still unconscious but breathing normally.

Kamikaze had restrained his wrists and feet, and it looked like it was cutting off circulation, so Twilight rolled over onto her stomach and began untying him with her magic. In the middle of doing so, Twilight felt Rainbow’s good wing smack her bottom and eeped, looking back at her and blushing.

"Up, hot stuff?" Kamikaze asked. She looked relieved briefly but played it off. "I wouldn't untie him if I were... fine, don't listen. I'm just your bucking wife."

"He's not dangerous," sighed Twilight as she climbed off the table. Whatever Kamikaze gave her did the trick; she rose to her hooves without feeling dizzy, placing Spike on her back and holding him there with her magic.

"Still won't tell me all you're planning, huh," smirked Rainbow as she moved closer. "I know it's something with how you're acting, but we gotta get to Cloudsdale for now."

Twilight opened her muzzle to reply only to have Rainbow take another step forward and steal a kiss. Going stiff, Twilight tried to fight the urge to back away lest it seem too suspicious, but she couldn’t help it when Rainbow’s tongue dove in. When she did back away, Rainbow must have taken it as a challenge because she stepped forward to try again.

"So you can kill yourself in some kind of suicide attack?" Twilight asked loudly, which thankfully ceased the amorous pegasus. "Is that really the way?"

"Ah, you overheard that huh," Kamikaze sat and scratched her head where metal met flesh, seeming nervous that Twilight knew. Apparently she hadn't told 'Midnight' all her plans either. "Look, you know me, so you know you won't stop me. Besides, maybe I'll survive with two fewer limbs and be symmetrically awesome." Her voice waxed flirtatious. "Later you can take off my limbs and use one to..."

“Not the time!” Twilight cut her off.

"Please tell me you have a memory wiping spell so I can forget that comment," muttered Spike, apparently having awoken. He shook his head as he sat up on her back. Twilight fluffed her wings to cuddle him and let him know she was happy he was okay.

"Fine!" Kamikaze groaned in annoyance. "Why don't you buck Spike instead since you seem so affectionate towards him!"

"Oh come on!" Spike covered his ears.

Kamikaze smirked and smacked Spike on the behind with her wing as well.

“Oh. COME! ON!” Spike said even louder, looking to Twilight for assistance.

“Kamikaze,” Twilight turned, moving Spike from Kamikaze’s reach again and looking into her eyes, or the one she could stand looking into at least, “I need you to take this seriously and trust me. The fate of Equestria depends on it.”

“Sheesh, not even trying to make you jealous works,” grumbled Kamikaze, seeming increasingly bitter, but then chuckled. “I’m pretty sure ‘the fate of Equestria’ is sealed, anyway.”

"We can unseal it!" Twilight raised her voice in frustration. "Kamikaze, there is a time spell at the Canterlot Archive. If we can get that spell, I can alter it and dial things back to before the destruction. We can prevent Daybreaker from assuming control to begin with!"

"Assuming control?" Kamikaze quirked her good eyebrow in confusion. Either Twilight had said the wrong thing without knowing, or all that metal in Rainbow’s head hadn’t done as much good as it could have.

"Think about it," Twilight tried to put it into terms that Rainbow would understand. "Why be a hero for destroying a city when you can be a hero for stopping Daybreaker before she starts this madness!"

"You're not making sense, but I guess that’s nothing new," chuckled Kamikaze, but the logic won her over, anyway. "But fine, may as well! We'll probably die trying to get it since I can't delay Cloudsdale's attack, but I didn’t expect to survive this, anyway."

Twilight felt bad for letting Kamikaze assume Twilight would take her with her with the time spell, but she needed all the help she could get. Now they just had to get there before Kamikaze's other brilliant plan succeeded.

2. The End is the Beginning

Tuesday, 10/26/2077 AE
POV: Twilight Sparkle
The Ashlands

Kamikaze dropped her heavy guns to lighten herself, not bothering to pick up anything else in the room. She took off and zipped over Twilight, grabbing Spike in her forelegs as she flew towards the cave entrance. Twilight almost grabbed him back with her magic, but realized Kamikaze carried him because she thought Twilight was new to her wings.

Twilight followed behind her, straining to keep herself in the air as they reentered the sandstorm and banked towards Canterlot. They had been inside a cave on the same mountain as Canterlot, a few thousand hoofsteps from the glowing dome of Canterlot's shield, not far from the road that one would normally take to get there. They could already see a huge cloud bank on the other side, the shield shimmering with impacts from arcane weapons. It was a good thing they approached from the opposite direction as Cloudsdale; it'd improve their chances of going unnoticed.

Twilight surmised Cloudsdale created the cloud cover that stretched for miles around them to keep from being an easy target of Canterlot’s city-destroying ranged attacks, or at least augmented the clouds that the weapons already made. Twilight never thought she’d see the weather factory used as a flying fortress in an epic pony war.

“Hey!” Spike complained, “I'd really rather ride with Twilight!”

“Yeah, no,” Kamikaze grumbled, “Sorry, Scaly. I don’t trust a pint-sized war machine like you with her. Besides, only I get to ride…”

"I appreciate it," Twilight cut Kamikaze off as she struggled to keep up. "But I'd rather keep him on me."

Twilight moved beneath Kamikaze and looked up at her. She noticed that Kamikaze's metal hooves buzzed quietly when they held something, some kind of energy source emulating the 'sticky hooves' localized telekinetic field that most ponies used to manipulate objects with their hooves.

"Fine!" Kamikaze grumbled, but dropped Spike onto Twilight's back. "It's your funeral."

Twilight cast a shield around herself and Spike to keep safe from radiation. As they neared the city’s shield, Twilight tried to think of questions she could ask without sounding suspicious. Her mind went back to her brief dream, and in particular that Nightmare Moon called her a student.

"Do you know Nightmare Moon's status?" Twilight asked, deciding a question about her 'mentor' wouldn't seem out of sorts.

“Nuttier than usual, no offense,” Kamikaze grumbled. “According to Spitfire, she’s tearing chunks out of the Moon and throwing them at the Badlands, screaming gibberish about ‘changelings’ being behind the war.”

Kamikaze spoke of changelings as if she didn't know what they were, which was strange. Nightmare had mentioned that she knew Twilight wasn't one, so at least some ponies were aware. She didn't pursue the conversation if Kamikaze didn't.

"And how will we get through the city’s shield?" asked Twilight, hoping it wasn't an obvious answer.

"I'll extend the bypass field on my armor," Kamikaze said. "You rarely ask this many questions, ya know. Kinda feels funny for YOU to be asking ME what's going on. Guess that’s what ya get for soaking up all those rads."

Twilight faked a look of embarrassment to let the conversation die; it was causing more questions than answers already. She just needed to get that spell. Precise teleportation would be impossible with the radiation interference, but once she had the spell, she could still get them to another random location in case the city exploded. Maybe? She had to try.

Twilight’s attention returned to Kamikaze’s magitech body. Replacing a wing was one thing, but the amount of augmentation she had shouldn't be possible. She had so much replaced, yet stayed light enough to fly, had some strange readout in her eye, and her head apparently produced enough energy to power disintegration rays.

The technology on Kamikaze was too advanced. Kamikaze mentioned studying the Cutie Map, but that couldn’t account for this. In fact, backward engineering the Cutie Map alone would require frightening magitech. She'd studied it herself and not scratched the surface of the magic behind it.

Even what Kamikaze mentioned of a bypass field on her armor seemed impossible. Twilight studied bypass enchantments, but hadn’t created a working spell. Without the ability to analyze millions of frequency combinations in seconds, it couldn’t work. The time it’d take to get through a shield might be greater than the lifespan of the one behind it.

It hadn’t been two decades since the timelines split, so how did ponies go from the most basic magitech to having an advanced grasp? She considered the necessities of war might account for sudden advancements, but not all this.

As they arrived at the barrier, Twilight filed the impossible in the back of her brain for later and got a better look at the shield. It was intense, the energy sending shivers through her even from a few dozen hoofsteps distance. The spherical shape was dimpled around the edge of the city as if emanating from a tower system surrounding it. It was definitely not a conventional spell.

The shield dissipated the windy haze around it, so Twilight got a better view of the sky above. The Moon hung in the middle of the sky, but Kamikaze was right. It was cracked and broken, a good quarter of it strewn across the sky, and another quarter missing. Twilight looked southward toward the Badlands and saw the bright flash of city-size impact explosions.

So, Luna really was targeting the changelings. It was interesting that Luna just found out about them; maybe that was what she'd been trying to contact the other Twilight about when she accidentally hit Twilight's dream? Kamikaze didn’t know about them either, which meant that changelings never invaded Canterlot directly in this timeline. Yet, according to Luna, they'd definitely done something.

None of this made sense!

The Sun appeared normal, though if the coronal mass ejection that Spitfire mentioned was what Twilight suspected, that might change in an instant. Only a hoof-size ball of solar plasma would be needed to wipe a city off the map. As soon as they exposed it to the environment, it would expand rapidly and encompass the entire city. Yet another impossible feat that somehow became possible.

“Stay close,” reminded Kamikaze as they approached. “And be ready for incoming sniper fire. No guarantee our shields will stop what they shoot at us.” She looked at Spike. “You get ready to rain fire.”

“I’ll try?” Spike was unsure, “Not exactly great with long-range attacks.”

“Got a sore throat or something?” Kamikaze asked. “This isn’t a good time to call in sick, ya know.”

Kamikaze treated Spike as if he should be as combat-ready as she was, and it made Twilight wonder what Spike was like in this world. Twilight hoped to Celestia they didn’t meet the other him, or the other Starlight. The more she thought, the longer the list of ponies Twilight hoped they didn’t meet became. And here she was without a pen or parchment to make a list.

With her current luck, they’d meet all before this was over. Just once, she’d love to have a crisis that turned out way easier to fix than she initially thought it would be.

All the same, Twilight prepared for incoming fire. She didn't know how to block a weapon of the same power as Kamikaze used with a simple shield, so she opened a portal beneath them facing the city, leading to another she placed above them. She figured it would make them harder to see from the ground, and if anyone spotted them, it would channel the attacks through the portals. It was a decent idea; Twilight reminded herself to write it down later.

"Portals?" Kamikaze smirked when she realized what Twilight did. "I do like your holes."

Twilight really wished she'd shut up about their unlikely relationship. Spike groaned above her, equally distraught at the comment.

They stopped at the shield and Kamikaze placed an armored hoof against it. There was a beeping sound as her armor devised the proper frequency, but then a buzzer when the shield suddenly shimmered, the shade of blue shifting ever slightly.

"Damn it!" Kamikaze grumbled. "They must shift the frequency every few minutes. Hold on."

She tried again, the same process beginning, then a ding like a kitchen timer going off. The armor’s field expanded around Twilight with Spike and they all slipped through the shield. Twilight tried not to think about what would have happened had they shifted frequency with them half-way through.

The great city of Canterlot now sprawled into view beneath them. It was a mess.

Fires raged, strange magitech turrets blasted pegasi out of the sky, and aerial snipers from Cloudsdale blasted griffons that seemed to have allied with Canterlot. Troops charged one another on the ground: earth ponies, yaks, buffalo, and zebras, fighting mostly for Canterlot it seemed, though there were racial exceptions on both sides. Where did they even get so many yaks and zebras? Had their faraway homelands been destroyed?

One corner of the battlefield summed it up not-so-nicely. There was a large billboard with Tree Hugger’s sad face on it reading ‘War? Fear? Death? We must do better!’ at the top and ‘Ministry of Peace’ at the bottom. It had fallen over onto the ground, and ponies were now standing atop it fighting. Green goo splattered over the words in a small river as a pegasus downed by magical turret fire disintegrated into mush. Twilight couldn't help but think of how that pegasus' family would never even know what happened to them, if they had a family left.

There weren’t only soldiers, but civilians in the city. They streamed towards the royal cathedral at Canterlot Tower where in Twilight’s timeline so many of her deeds were preserved in stained glass. On one side of the entrance was a large billboard stating ‘Stable 27: A better future underground!’. There were familiar grinning faces on either side of the billboard, Flim and Flam, each holding up a hoof in approval.

A shelter? Too bad they probably wouldn't let her in. Then again, a shelter built by the Flim Flam brothers might be more dangerous than the city.

The evacuation was disorderly at best. As Twilight watched, the guards at the cathedral chased away a pair of civilian pegasi, waving their guns at them.

"No ID, no entry, featherbrain!" one guard screamed.

Even though the pair had an infant with them, they forbade them entry. The couple went down the line of hopeful entrants, appearing to beg pony after pony to smuggle their foal into the shelter. Twilight wondered if the ID was that important, or if it was just because they were pegasi. She wanted to dive into those guards and shake them in rage for letting a foal die because it had wings.

Twilight knew more than ever that she couldn’t fail. She had to undo this.

The pegasi teams from Cloudsdale came in waves and dive-bombed the city in precise formation. The formations inevitably broke because of incoming fire, but they were concentrating on their formation instead of firing back. The teams sported armor with an even more advanced look than Kamikaze’s, shimmering brightly as if a hundred enchantments were buzzing through the fabric. Were they attempting a formation rainboom to set off one of the 'radboom' devices Kamikaze had mentioned? If so, these were literally suicide bombers.

Twilight was brought back to the moment as several shots buzzed past them, or through them thanks to the portals she was holding open. Every shot of bluish looking plasma would have been a direct hit had it not been for her portal-shield, one aimed squarely between each of their eyes.

Twilight caught the source as a timid looking earth-pony with a nasty looking sniper rifle. Great, so now Marble Pie, the second most adorable pony in existence, was trying to murder her. Marble must have a good eye to catch the shimmer of their movement through the sky at all, much less target them so precisely at their speed.

“Horse apples!” Kamikaze blurted out, “Deadshot has us in her sights, evasive maneuvers!”

They moved lower, putting buildings between them and Marble. Despite that, several more shots rang out, blasting right through the solid buildings and flying through the portal shield again, once again three shots aimed precisely at each one. Marble eventually figured out how Twilight was avoiding the attack because her next shot targeted the edge of the portal where it could slip around. Kamikaze cried out as a shot tore through her good wing.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried out instinctively, diving quickly to catch her fall.

But rescue wasn't necessary. Kamikaze fell briefly, but righted herself within seconds, her wing bleeding for only a moment before the flesh knitted itself back into place. Twilight had her own alicorn healing factor, but it was nowhere near that fast. If Kamikaze had that ability when she lost her limbs, she must have flown into terrible things.

“Don't fret, your favorite part is still intact,” Kamikaze grinned back at Twilight as they zeroed in on the archive.

"Ugh," Spike groaned, more perturbed by perversion than peril. "Twilight, make her stop that!"

Twilight wanted to, but telling her 'wife' to stop flirting would be more suspicious than she already was. It didn’t matter anyway, because they were finally there and it seemed Marble had given up on targeting them further.

Kamikaze dove, and Twilight was close behind as they approached the archives, aiming for the doorway. Twilight braked when a griffon exited the archive, but Kamikaze charged forward. The metal wing crackled with energy as it visibly heated to a fiery red, Kamikaze holding it stiffly as she zipped past the griffon and into the door.

The griffon reached for his weapon but fumbled, beak falling open as his eyes widened. A few seconds later, the griffon’s head separated, the razor wing slicing through his neck like a hot knife through butter, the heat instantly cauterizing the stump. The griffon crumpled in front of the door, thrashing momentarily before ceasing forever.

Twilight shrieked and dodged the head bouncing down the archive stairs, seeing his eyes still dart around in panic as it rolled away. She gagged at the sight of another spent life and wanted to scold Kamikaze for another blatant murder, but reminded herself that this was war. A real war, something Twilight never imagined. Perhaps she should commend Kamikaze for choosing a relatively quick murder method.

This was so bucked up.

Kamikaze stood just inside the door, posing dramatically as if expecting Twilight to rain praise upon her from the awesome kill shot. Twilight galloped past her instead, ignoring her own heaving stomach as she darted towards the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. She didn't have much time; she had to grab the scroll and book it before this whole city went up in rainbow flames.

"Hay!" Kamikaze grumbled from behind. "I'm being awesome back here! Thanks for not noticing!"

But Twilight couldn't stop. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she pushed herself harder than she ever had. On the plus side, her head was crystal clear now with the surge of adrenaline. She kept in mind where the scroll had been in the library before, hoping that it was still there.

Kamikaze’s metal body must have had limits her flesh body didn’t. She couldn’t move as fast as before around sharp turns, so she was well behind when Twilight arrived. Twilight rounded the corner into the Star Swirl wing, only to shriek as an earth pony nearly took her head off with a kick. It was as if they somehow knew she was about to turn the corner.

Twilight dodged to one side, skidding across the floor. She couldn’t maintain the portal spell indoors with so little space, so erected a more traditional shield instead, charging it as quickly as possible.

Twilight found herself faced by two earth pony soldiers in Canterlot armor, helmets off so she saw who they were. It was Pinkie and Maud Pie, of all ponies. Damn it. If even Marble went commando in this world, these two would be a serious problem.

They wore similar armor to Kamikaze’s, if drearier in coloration, gray instead of blue and emblazoned with Celestia's cutie mark. They sported the same straight-haired mane-style, the one Twilight learned could mean ‘beware’ when Pinkie wore it. Their uniforms also had their cutie marks, and while Maud’s was the same as Twilight remembered, Pinkie’s was now a stick of dynamite. That didn’t bode well.

Each of their right front hooves had metal contraptions wrapped around them with a shimmering screen attached. Twilight assumed they were a communication device, but the screens flashed a small map of the immediate vicinity, complete with cutie mark emblems for all the combatants in the room. So that was how they saw her coming around the corner.

Thinking fast of a way to defend herself without seriously injuring them, Twilight tilted the bookcase next to them over with her magic. Pinkie’s tail twitched the same instant that Twilight thought of the plan though, pushing Maud and herself out of the way.

“You expect bonehead tricks to work?” Pinkie grinned menacingly.

A gun barrel hanging over her left side buzzed to life, and Twilight stared down the barrel of Pinkie's bright pink mini-gun. On Pinkie’s other side, there was another large firearm, shaped like Gummy of all things, the pet alligator Pinkie had in Twilight’s timeline. It opened its hinged mouth for a large barrel to emerge. Something that looked suspiciously like a missile locked into place.

No way she'd be insane enough to use that in a closed area right? Oh wait, this was Pinkie! Twilight was so dead.

“Not in here, Pinkie!” a voice spoke from behind the Pies. “These books and scrolls are priceless!”

It was another on Twilight's list of ponies she didn't want to meet: Starlight Glimmer. Their Starlight Glimmer. This would be hard to explain to Kamikaze, but at least this one had a healthy respect for books. That was one moral high-ground she had over Twilight’s Starlight, but hadn't Kamikaze implied that this Starlight worked with Daybreaker?

Starlight stood in the back corner of the room. She lacked a uniform, her only piece of attire a head-piece that wrapped about her head and flipped a screen over one eye. She too had a smaller bit of metal around her left foreleg, though it didn’t have the screen that the Pies’ had. Instead, there was a small projection in front of her eye, a 3D map version of the Pies' flat-screen that looked like a mini-Cutie Map. This one had also assigned a cutie mark to their positions, with an emblem of Spike’s head for his.

Starlight and the Pies’ symbols shined bright green on Starlight’s display, while Kamikaze and Twilight’s were bright red, so it possessed friend or foe identification. Spike’s was the odd one out, fluctuating yellow between greenish and reddish as if the system couldn’t decide which side to assign him. Fortunately, Starlight didn't have the other Spike with her, which meant they wouldn't know to target Twilight's Spike with attacks.

As much as Twilight wanted to marvel at the mini-Cutie Map, there was something more important. Starlight had a scroll floating in front of her, the exact scroll that Twilight was looking for. Twilight didn’t know or care why this world’s Starlight wanted it, but she needed it, and didn’t have time to wait for Starlight to finish.

“Starlight! I need that spell!” Twilight called out. “Please believe me, the fate of the world rests on this!”

It was pointless to say, as if this Starlight would believe her more than her own. Starlight’s eyes met Twilight’s, then flicked aside to glance at her wings before Starlight’s face twisted with a rage that would put her other self to shame.

“It was you!” Starlight screeched. “You murdered her! Rip that fake alicorn’s heart out!”

“Heart retrieval. Got it,” Maud said with a dead calm as she pulled her own weapon from her back. It was a sledgehammer with… was that a mini rocket attachment? Surely not. Who would be so overkill as to attach a rocket to a giant hammer and then give it to Maud?

Before she could swing, Kamikaze arrived and plowed into the Pie sisters, landing against Maud’s back with all four hooves and shoved her into Pinkie. Pinkie saw it coming despite not even looking in that direction, leaping over her sister and landing a kick square between Kamikaze’s eyes, sparks flying as Kamikaze staggered back. Despite the heavy weapons she carried, Pinkie moved as if she barely held anything.

“Filthy pegasi traitor!” shrieked Pinkie. She devolved into gleeful laughter as she sent a flurry of kicks at Kamikaze. The two were soon pounding one another with such heavy impacts that one might have mistaken the noise for gunshots.

“You mean awesome pegasi trai-” Kamikaze started, then blinked as she glanced at Starlight, “Minister Starlight? Hey! Making a copy before you even die has to be cheating!”

Maybe Kamikaze didn't need an explanation after all, and even Starlight didn’t seem particularly confused by Kamikaze’s sentence, but Twilight didn't have time to consider why. She filed 'unsurprised at surviving disintegration' away under ‘things that make no sense’ and concentrated on the situation at hoof.

Twilight turned to face Maud to see if she was okay, then remembered that Maud was about to murder her. Maud stood on her hind legs smoothly, her emotionless glare locking onto Twilight as she held the monstrous hammer in her front hooves. Kamikaze’s cyber-kick should have broken her back, but Maud didn’t even limp.

Maud triggered a switch on the handle of the hammer and the rocket on the opposite side of the head blazed to life as she swung it. Twilight’s force field now at full strength, it should have easily deflected the hit, but this was Maud, the pony that punched boulders into pebbles. The energy shimmered as the hammer forced its way through the shield and impacted Twilight squarely in the horn. It sent a rush of agony through Twilight’s body, shattering the magical shield and throwing her backwards.

Twilight cried out as she landed on her back, flailing. A strike to the horn was excruciating for any unicorn and even a tap would stop most spell casting. As she'd never taken a hit to the horn like that, Twilight thought her horn had snapped at first due to the stabbing pain tearing through her body. It hadn’t, though the hammer might have shattered her whole cranium if not for having to punch through her shield.

“You made my hooves numb,” Maud said with typical monotone.

Maud sounded bored, but seemed to experience minor surprise that Twilight survived. The feedback from tearing through an alicorn’s force shield with a metal bludgeoning device should have sent Maud flying too, but it had merely given her pause.

As Twilight tried desperately to recover from the daze, Spike grabbed Maud’s hind leg. It stopped her from immediately unleashing another more lethal blow, but he was still effortlessly kicked away. He flew in Starlight’s direction, who caught him telekinetically an instant before he collided with her, once again distracting her casting.

“Spike! What are you doing here?” demanded Starlight. “It’s not safe! I told you to guard the Ministry of Magitech!”

Before the chaos in the room continued, the room rattled with an explosive boom so intense that Twilight thought the whole city had exploded around them. The air charged with solar magic, a purer variety than Twilight had ever sensed.

When the light faded, only Cloudsdale had exploded. The energy deflected off Canterlot’s shield as the entire cloud city went up like a moth in a flame, the cloud cover shattering around it before reforming from bits of the disintegrated city. At first, Twilight could have sworn she heard thousands of shrieking souls as their very being was ripped apart, but she quickly dismissed it as a panic-induced hallucination. Twilight felt sick at how many ponies just had their lives ripped away, but more disgusted at herself for being relieved that it was them and not her.

The relief was short lived though. The blast of light blinded Canterlot's defenses, and another boom followed as the final team of pegasi within the shield landed their attack. Twilight could see out the door and windows outside as the center of Canterlot exploded in a wave of incandescent rainbow, like an insanely supercharged version of the sonic rainboom. It was so powerful that reality itself seemed to warp around the event, the pegasi team that activated it instantly torn into ribbons of flesh.

“No!” Starlight screeched not unlike her other self, holding the scroll close and trying to finish casting before the blast wave hit them.

Energy covered Starlight as she finished the spell, encompassing her to pull her back through time. An instant later the blast wave hit the library, shattering the outer wall, and the aura of magic around Starlight absorbed the initial wave of energy. The magical aura spread, encompassing the room and the others in it. The energy surrounded Twilight and Spike an instant before the blast might have incinerated them.

Even then, every cell in Twilight’s body was aflame with burning agony as her entire world turned into light. She instinctively pulled Spike away from Starlight and cradled him close, curling her body around him protectively and straining to reengage a shield as they floated off the cracking floor.

The room faded into darkness and Twilight felt the all-too-familiar glow of the time vortex around her. It differed from before though, condensed as time raced past much faster than before. Worse, it didn’t feel like they were going back. They were surging forward, farther from where Twilight desperately needed to be.

Darkness again.

"Why have you returned, Paradox?!" Nightmare's voice shrieked at her again out of nowhere.

The dream was different now. There was no realistically detailed throne room or grand entrance by Nightmare Moon, only Twilight floating in a void with the disembodied voice booming through it.

"Returned?" Twilight called out. "Luna, please, you have to listen to me this time!"

"Answer my question!" demanded Nightmare, her voice strained as if it took all her energy to hold even this meager dream together. "What are you?"

"I don't know!" Twilight cried out, unsure of what else to say.

“No, you don’t know what you are,” Nightmare’s voice faded into something sounding more like Luna. Whether it was sincerity or deception, Twilight couldn’t tell. “I have touched your dreams once again, Paradox, but I cannot hold this connection even with the methods I’ve found to boost my now-meager power. It has been far longer than you know, and I am trapped on the edge of life and death. You must act swiftly to-”

The darkness faded back into reality as Twilight woke upon the hard marble floor of a ruin.

3. Out of Time

Tuesday, 10/25/?
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Canterlot Archives

It was pleasantly warm when Twilight woke. For a moment, she thought she'd wake in her bed with the morning Sun shining into the window. Then her sense of touch returned enough to feel the hard marble floor. She soon found the warmth more sweltering than pleasant.

Spike was wrapped in her wing, stirring but unconscious. Her vision returned, and she found much of the area intact, as were the ponies inside. Everyone had collapsed, Maud in front of Twilight, Kamikaze and Pinkie to Twilight's right, and Starlight crumpled in the room's corner. Though shelves toppled and books and scrolls littered the floor, their immediate vicinity was relatively unharmed as if dragged through the overcharged vortex with them.

Unfortunately, the spell that Starlight cast didn’t escape harm. Twilight watched the ashes of the scroll blow away, incinerated by the energy the spell absorbed from the blasts. This had been for nothing.

Or perhaps not. There were four ponies alive that might not be without Twilight’s meddling, even if they'd kill each other when they awoke.

The rest of the room was anything but undamaged. The shelves and the priceless books and scrolls occupying them had burned and decayed. They lost their last bit of cohesiveness from the gush of air created by the group’s arrival, priceless information disappearing into a flurry of burned paper swirling about the room. The roof above them had almost caved in, and the walls and floor had cracked and weathered until there was barely a cohesive structure.

How much time had passed?

The wall around the entrance to the room had collapsed, as had the wall beyond it, which let Twilight see more of the city. Many of the buildings closest to them still stood but looked as if they could topple at any moment. Further out, entire city blocks had shattered like fragile ceramic. It had reduced a quarter of Canterlot to a crater, much of the city melted into the layer of shimmering radioactive glass within or around it.

Pink mist filled the crater, thickened into a liquid lake within. A stream of the mist trickled from a crevice near the base of the palace, though from the channel worn into the pavement, that trickle used to be a stream. Twilight could only imagine what leaked that.

Twilight’s hearing recovered a few seconds later, and she expected a deafening silence, but wait? … music? The Crystal Empire anthem? Where was that coming from…

“They’re here! Open fire!”

Twilight dove to the floor and behind a shelf as soon as she heard the voice, covering Spike as he awoke. The sound of gunshots, sparks, and shattering metal filled the room. Twilight rolled behind a bookcase with Spike and peered out.

Five ponies had rushed into the room seconds after their arrival, as if they’d been waiting. They were bat ponies, or appeared to be at least given the shape of their wings beneath the wing-coverings on their armor. Anypony in enchanted Lunar Guard armor looked like a bat, but the armor they sported looked Celestial, similar to traditional guard armor, if more form-covering. The armor looked decades if not centuries old, so it must have already been old at the time of the previous battle.

But if they were in Canterlot armor, why did they attack everypony? Why not just Twilight and Kamikaze? In fact, they centered their attention on Starlight without even seeming to notice Twilight.

Twilight realized where the music came from though. A small flock of mechanical parasprites dove between them and their assailants, blocking the first volley of bullets. The music was no more, the tiny hovering robots in pieces on the floor. Their reason for rescuing Starlight and the others remained as mysterious as the bat ponies’ reason for attacking them, but it left the bats with nothing to show for their surprise attack aside from a need to reload.

As the other ponies awoke, they weren’t content to jump behind cover. As Twilight tried to pull her mind together enough to cast again, they leapt into battle.

Kamikaze flew into action so instinctively that her own movement seemed to surprise her; Twilight wondered if her cybernetics responded automagically to danger. The enhanced pony laid a four-hooved kick into a bat guard, slamming into her chest, collapsing the heavy armor chest plate like a jackhammer. The guard sounded as if she vomited into her helmet as she flew backward into another guard behind her.

Maud surged forward into one Kamikaze missed, wrecking him with a somersault kick to the chin. His helmet sparked, flying off his head and clattering across the floor as he flew upward into what remained of the ceiling. His head slammed through the decayed roof, his body hanging there as he struggled and flapped his wings to get loose.

With practiced movements, Maud leapt upwards, grabbed hold of his hind leg, and spun on him like a playground rope. He grunted in pain as Maud used the momentum to launch a flying kick into the guard behind him. That stallion flew out the decayed door and tumbled into the collapsed outer wall, limp and groaning.

Pinkie’s mini-gun blazed to life with a mechanical whir, bursts of bright energy tearing into the pony that Kamikaze had kicked, and through her. It didn't immediately disintegrate her like the green energy weapons might, but it took a mere second before the chest plate flew off completely.

The pony behind that one fell back against the wall, his helmet jarred loose. As soon as it came free, he took a hail of energy to the face as it shot right through the perforated pony in front of him. The energy weapons must have only occasionally dissolved ponies, because the one that Pinkie shot through stayed otherwise intact while the second one dissolved into a pile of gray ash.

“Enough!” shrieked Twilight as she finally managed the energy to cast again. “FREEZE!”

Twilight’s energy expanded through the room as she launched her signature spell, enemy and ally alike freezing in place where they were. She loosened her hold around their muzzles so they could breathe and speak, then carefully removed their weapons. She pulled trigger mechanisms from mouths and pried off guns, setting them aside out of reach. She didn’t miss Maud's hammer, pulling it out of reach as Maud had been about to grab for it.

Only then did she stagger from behind the bookcase, straining hard to keep the spell in place in her weakened state.

“This stops now!” Twilight demanded. “Who are you, and how did you know we’d be here?”

“What?” asked the one guard that hadn’t been attacked, a mare frozen half-way into diving for cover. “Divine Shadow, why are you here?... and so short? I-I mean I wasn’t being cowardly I swear!”

“Her divine what now?” asked Kamikaze.

“You know, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t seem to remember why we’re fighting,” Starlight commented, using that cheery voice she used when Twilight first met her. “Or who anypony here is, including myself.”

“What?” Twilight looked at Starlight. “You have amnesia? Do all of you?”

“I’m still me,” muttered Spike from behind Twilight. “But I hope I’m dreaming.”

“Don’t look, Spike,” Twilight covered Spike’s face with a wing, but he must have gotten an eye-full already. She heard him dry heaving behind her, fresh out of anything to throw up. Twilight was still in too much shock to vomit, or maybe she already did so during their trip here. She was so out of it she could barely tell the order of events.

A round of muttered confirmation from the Pies and Rainbow followed on the memory loss. Well, that explained why they were fighting together as a team; they assumed they were on the same side since the bats attacked them all. Twilight and Spike may have avoided amnesia from being more used to time travel, or maybe the shield she instinctively cast did some good.

It didn’t matter why, because it was a positive thing. Twilight could get them closer so they wouldn’t murder one another when their memories returned.

But none of that answered why Canterlot soldiers attacked, or how the soldiers knew they’d be here, or even why bat ponies wanted to be solar guards. Most bat ponies worshiped Luna and would have even flocked to Nightmare Moon had she remained Nightmare Moon. In this timeline, they had likely done just that.

“You know me?” Twilight asked the first mare that gave her the odd title, but she only looked at Twilight in horror, unable to answer.

“You sent us here,” the lithe stallion that had been kicked into a wall answered, “To execute your enemy when she manifested, but she was supposed to only have guards with her. You shouldn't be here. Neither should… wait, are you Kamikaze?”

“I might be,” Kamikaze grinned. “That’s an awesome name, so probably!”

“There are paintings of you in Midnight Castle,” The braver stallion said, and then turned back to Twilight. “You said your wife died early in the War... at the Battle of Canterlot, I don’t understand.”

"It can't be her," said the stallion that had been hanging from the ceiling, flinching as Twilight gently tugged him down. "It's gotta be a changeling."

So they knew what those were now, at least.

"I don’t think a changeling could use that ‘freeze’ spell," said the braver stallion . "And to use it so soon after being that close to an opening time vortex? That takes serious power."

So they knew about the vortex too, even if they didn’t seem sure if Twilight had arrived with it or had just been there.

“Early in the War?” asked Twilight. “So it’s not over?” Twilight would have thought the last two major cities blowing up would be pretty final.

“They don’t call it the Ceaseless Conflict for nothing, but…” the mare trailed off, seeming to relax if only slightly. “Are you not Her Divine Shadow? Are you a Divine Likeness?”

"This has gotta be a trick," said the hanging guard. "She doesn't FEEL like Her Divine Shadow. I've never been this close to her and not felt her aura, but she doesn't have a verbal tic like a Likeness either."

"But the Trinity can't maintain control over a changeling this far from her territory," said the braver stallion . They may as well have all been babbling nonsense. "If it doesn't feel like her Divine Shadow, she has to be at least a Divine Likeness."

"But why would a Likeness be helping them?" asked the mare.

"This will take major sorting," Twilight groaned. "And not the kind I like to do."

After the sudden time shift, the spell drained Twilight a great deal more than usual. She felt it about to give out, so to conserve power, Twilight released the ponies on ‘her side’. In her naiveté, she didn't expect that to be a problem, but several of her new ‘friends’ had some murder left in them.

As soon as Twilight released her, Pinkie surged forward, giggling insanely as she grasped the pony that had been hanging around his neck. She spun his head around so effortlessly as she might have torn off a doll's head, snapping it grotesquely as his body convulsed.

“No! Wait! Don’t!” pleaded the bat that spoke to Twilight first, seconds before Maud followed the example of her sister, picking up a large chunk of stone and preparing to smash her head with it.

“I didn’t want to hurt any of you I swear!” the mare screeched as Maud raised the rock.

"Stop!" Twilight ordered, trying to expand the spell again or otherwise stop them, but it was hard to focus at all. The spell gave out completely.

"I got it!" Kamikaze followed orders at least, surging forward to grab hold of Maud with both forelegs, even if all that did was slow down the strike enough for it not to be fatal.

Unfortunately, Kamikaze's automagic body had other ideas, the metal wing flaring out, burning hot as it sliced through the neck of the very pony she had been trying to save. The mare's shriek was cut off half way as her head popped off like a poorly made bobble-head, the cauterized stump smoking as she hit the floor. Her eyes shot open and looked around in fear much like the griffon’s had before, burning into Twilight’s horrified mind. She’d never forget those looks as long as she lived.

"Whoa, nice!" Kamikaze giggled, reaching to the head and seeming about to play with it, but she paused. "Uh, I mean, oops? Didn't remember I could do that... awesome though, right?!"

"No, Blinding!" shrieked the remaining stallion in the back, breaking out into tears over the death of the most recent comrade in a way he hadn’t for the others. “You don’t understand, she was innocent…”

A moment later it occurred to him that he might be next, so he tried to fly. His wing had been wrenched in the combat though, so he flailed headlong into the remains of the same stone wall he’d been tossed into before. This was not his day.

Starlight tried to grasp the remaining bat with her telekinesis, but seemed to have even more trouble than Twilight recovering her magic. Twilight managed to hold the stallion down instead, forming a shield around him alone before anyone else went for the kill and hoping it would hold in her weakened state.

“Those ponies were helpless!” Twilight screeched, the survivor’s pleas sending a new surge of anger through her. What kind of life had these ponies lived that made them so violent?

“Why did you do that?” Starlight agreed, but Twilight felt less good about the agreement when Starlight continued. “We need to question them properly before execution!”

“Sorry. We got excited,” Maud explained blandly. “We do that sometimes. I assume.”

“Better helpless than ready to attack,” Pinkie agreed, peering at Maud. “The unreasonably attractive mare is wise. Yes.”

"Please…" the final stallion dried his eyes, staring at his headless comrade as if breaking inside. "I-I have to let her family know she didn’t die a coward.”

Twilight's heart ached. It was easy to forget that even villains had those they loved, if this bat was even a villain. For all Twilight knew, her new friends were the villains. Even if they let this bat live to question him, they'd want to kill him soon after.

"Please calm down," Twilight staggered to place herself between her group and the bat. "I swear I won’t kill you. What’s your name?”

None of her allies protested her logic, probably mistaking it for a trick.

"Y-you won't?" the bat asked. Despite having no reason to believe Twilight, he seemed to trust her easily. "You do look like a Likeness so... I’m Gloomy Shade. I was in command until… oh buck, Midnight is gonna be angry I lost another team.”

“I’m sorry about your friends, I truly am,” Twilight tried to sound reassuring. “Can you explain why you’re here, Gloomy Shade?”

“We were sent to kill Her Divine Shadow's enemy before she had time to join forces with the Trinity." Gloomy stammered.

"And the Trinity is?" asked Starlight.

"You really don't know?" Gloomy asked. "She created the super-mutants, then later took over the Hive. We’ll all end up as her experiments if she has her way."

"No one here will do that to you," Twilight assured again. “Nor will we harm you.”

Gloomy peered for a few moments before nodding, again believing with unusual ease.

“What was that?” Maud asked suddenly. She'd found her rocket hammer and put her ear to it. “Hello Mite, you say my name is Maud? Have we met before?"

“Pinkie Die and Gummy said they know Pinkie too,” Pinkie observed, apparently referring to her minigun and the rocket launcher. “They say no more because they claim they want it to be a surprise. Suspicious!”

The Pies talking to inanimate objects was the most normal thing since Twilight got to this timeline. The break in the conversation was a slight relief.

"You might not kill me, but they will," Gloomy whimpered as Twilight turned back to him, not so relieved by their antics. "Even if I tell you everything I know, which I already did!... they're gonna kill me. Look, I’ll prove what I said… There's a memory sphere in my bag. I recorded the mission logs on it.”

Twilight dragged over a set of saddlebags that had been deposited near the exit, which Gloomy had motioned to. She carefully analyzed it for any traps before slowly opening it, but had no idea what most of the equipment inside was.

"I won't let them kill you," Twilight assured again, but then tilted her head. "Why do you trust me, Gloomy? Not that I think you shouldn’t, but..."

"We're out of the range of Trinity's hive," said Gloomy. "So you have to be a Likeness. Even if you've malfunctioned and aren't following Her Shadow, the inability to lie is one of their base directives."

"An evil organization created honest minions?" Spike asked snidely, but had a good point. That didn't make sense for a 'villain', and Twilight had more doubts about whose side she should be on. It didn’t help that she really wanted Midnight to be good.

"We won't kill you either," smiled Starlight, then turned to Twilight. "She can vouch for us,"

Twilight clenched her teeth, knowing Starlight’s assurance was almost certainly a lie. She knew this was stupid, but she couldn't let another die. They wouldn't understand, and she knew she was being naïve, but there had been too much death. Twilight sighed, releasing the shield and telekinetic grasp and nodded to Gloomy.

The confused bat nodded in return. He quickly rushed to his beheaded friend’s body, grabbing the remains of an amulet she had worn as if intending to return it to her family. He turned, and before any of the others stopped him, he booked it around the corner and through the ruins. He probably knew the ruins well, so it'd be nigh impossible to catch him.

Kamikaze started to take off, instinctively reacting to the fleeing enemy, but Twilight magicked her wings closed. The pegasus grumbled, but stayed put. Twilight hoped their condition and perception of her as an authority figure would be enough for them to trust her.

“Foalish,” an electronic voice suddenly spoke. “We should be delaying your inevitable discovery by Midnight.”

Twilight blinked and looked upwards, spotting another of the hovering robots there that had protected them earlier. It looked as if a single one had stayed higher to observe the results.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked, holding up a hoof to the others so they didn’t attack. “Why did you protect us?”

“That will wait for later,” said the hovering bot. “First, I must clean up your mess.”

“No!” Twilight called after the bot as it turned to buzz off, but was too exhausted to grab it in time with her magic. She couldn’t take off into the ruins without the others, so had to hope for the best.

For a moment there was silence before Starlight finally broke it.

“Well then,” Starlight continued to sound friendly, but it felt like a mask to Twilight. “You have your memories, so could you kindly let us know who we are?”

“Right,” Twilight said. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, this is Spike, then you guys… Starlight Glimmer, sisters Pinkie and Maud Pie, and Rainbow Dash… who goes by Kamikaze. I’m sorry, I could only shield myself and Spike when we went through a… time vortex.”

“Indeed so,” Starlight smiled, calmly stepping over a corpse as if it were insignificant to approach Twilight. “Forgive my bluntness, but I’m assuming it’s ‘Princess’ Twilight Sparkle? One thing I do remember is that alicorns are special.”

"Oh, for Celestia’s sake, not this again," Twilight said, then quickly smiled in return. "Yes, but 'Twilight' is fine."

"Twilight is indeed 'fine'," Pinkie leered at Twilight.

"I’m not sure about the title they gave me," Twilight ignored Pinkie but silently hoped she’d not be sharing sleeping quarters with her. "I think there’s an alternate version of me they follow. It’s… complicated. I can’t explain without sounding insane.”

“I wish I was insane,” said Spike. “Then I might be enjoying myself.”

"I don't have to wish that," Pinkie said with a chuckle, followed by sudden aggression, "But the fine pegacorn released our prisoner!"

"Please," Twilight sighed. "It's part of my plan, or something."

"Your plan does not make sense," said Maud, but added. "But the best plans probably do not make sense. I am ‘in’."

"But the Starlighted horn-head did not lift a hoof to help!" Pinkie blurted out, determined to accuse somepony of something. "She cannot be trusted! Yes."

“I assure you, there’s no need for distrust,” Starlight casually trotted behind Twilight, chuckling awkwardly. Starlight seeking protection behind Twilight was unwelcome irony.

“I’ll be honest,” Twilight said. “I don't know if any of you can be trusted, but if nothing else we have a common enemy.” She tried to word it so they’d understand. “We were in the battle when this city was destroyed. Due to… unforeseeable spell interactions... we were sent forward in time, but I don’t know exactly why or how far.”

“So, we’re from another timeline?” Starlight asked, as if analyzing both the situation and Twilight’s sanity. “Like you said you were?”

“Not exactly,” Twilight said. “You are all from the past in this world. Me and Spike are from another timeline… a pony in my timeline misused time travel and created this alternate timeline. It was on accident, but… it didn’t go well.”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Starlight peered.

“That’s probably best,” admitted Twilight. “We should concentrate on what’s next.”

“We should go before the sole survivor brings reinforcements,” advised Maud.

“Right,” Twilight groaned, putting a hoof on her forehead.

“The naked ones should put on the spare armor,” pointed out Pinkie. “Though it is a shame to cover the sexyful pegacorn, yes?”

“Whoa, we can’t steal from the dead,” protested Spike, adding in a brotherly tone. “Stop flirting with Twilight.”

“Why can’t we?” asked Kamikaze, leaning against a wall and holding her head for a moment. “Take their stuff I mean, not flirt. It’s not like their next-of-kin are available to take their belongings.”

“I assume that I would be compelled to murder them if they were,” Maud pointed out, her tone stating a fact rather than making a threat.

“It would be a preemptive strike against their inevitable revenge!” agreed Pinkie, sounding far more on the ‘threat’ side of things.

“I would use the hammer,” Maud added, again less like a threat and more like she was informing them what flavor of tea she wanted. “He is sad he did not get used on the fruits.”

A brief squeal from Starlight made them all jump, but when Twilight looked over, it seemed it was only because the glowing screen projection had suddenly formed in front of her eyes again. If she hadn’t expected it, it must have been reacting to her need. Starlight looked at the readout after calming.

“The radiation in our immediate area is low,” said Starlight, awkwardly playing off her surprise with another nervous chuckle. “But we’re on the edge, much of the city is higher. It’d be better to wear armor than waste magic keeping a shield over the group. And that pink cloud in the crater… that’s giving odd readings. We should steer clear of it.”

The projected screen in front of Starlight morphed into a 3D projection, again looking like a small holographic ‘cutie map’ of Canterlot, their cutie marks displaying their positions. In the upper corner it had the brand ‘Stable-Tec’ with the seeming brand name ‘Eyes Forward Glimmer’ projected beneath it.

Their cutie mark symbols were still color-coded by threat level, but the colors changed. Everyone here registered as allies, though Kamikaze’s as slightly yellow. Twilight suspected that this didn’t go unnoticed by Starlight, who visibly kept an eye on Kamikaze after seeing the map.

The map wasn’t up to date with the ruins, but was slowly updating. It also showed other bright signals in the ruins. Mostly red, but Twilight saw one that was green. Odd, but there was little time to check it out.

Everyone looked at Twilight, and she realized they expected the royalty to make a ruling. She sometimes forgot she had authority in situations like this.

“I hate it too, Spike,” Twilight said. “But we need everything we can get. Me and Starlight will put on the most intact uniforms. Pinkie, Maud, find yourself a helmet if you can. We need to conserve magic by needing as little magical shielding as possible.”

Twilight pulled the armor loose from the soldier that had hung from the ceiling as respectfully as she could. She laid him on the floor in a more dignified manner with his legs folded. Twilight felt queasy as she tugged the armor loose from his sweaty flesh, trying to keep herself from crying. Twilight had never handled a corpse, shivering as she manipulated the cooling flesh with her magic and cleaned out the armor, holding her nose to avoid the smell.

The soldiers didn't seem affected, but Twilight couldn’t think of these ponies as enemies. They were real ponies with real lives and families. Those family members would shed real tears when told their loved ones didn't return, as would their friend who escaped should he avoid the strange sprite-bot.

When she pieced the armor onto herself, she folded her wings beneath the armor rather than sticking them through the slots. If they feared the Twilight in this world, she didn’t want to be mistaken for her. She assumed that the other Twilight succeeded in gaining wings since the bats got a good look at her and didn't seem surprised.

Starlight put one on too, though she left out the helmet, choosing her own head-piece instead. Maud and Pinkie found helmets that were reasonably undamaged. Unfortunately for Spike, nothing fit him, so Twilight let him ride her back. He wrapped himself in the loose wing coverings on her armor and she formed a smaller forcefield around him.

“Is this the thing the fruit offered you?” Starlight’s voice broke the hurried silence as she pulled a contraption from the saddlebag. “It’s the only thing in here that looks like a sphere or a log file.”

Starlight held the device in front of Twilight as if expecting her to know what it was. It was a glass orb about the size of Twilight’s hoof, a rainbow shimmering mist swirling about inside. There was a small panel on one side that displayed a list of dates and times as if they were log entries.

The two-digit year display on the entries was '87', which implied it'd been ten years since 2077 when they left. Had it been? These ruins seemed older than that, and Twilight assumed from the memory damage that it’d been a long trip.

“We should get somewhere else first before reading it,” Twilight nodded.

“Hm, my readout is telling me it would only take a few seconds to view,” Starlight said, the screen popping up in front of her face again, reaching her hoof to swipe to another window within it. “And it might tell us where to go. Just… hm, my screen only detects three devices networked to it. Who doesn’t have one?”

“I… don’t have one on me,” Twilight responded. “Neither does Spike.”

“I don’t…” said Kamikaze, but before she continued, a small beep from her own head cut her off. A screen flashed upon the inside of her cybernetic eye. “Oh, I do, it’s internal… I am so bucking awesome!”

“You can probably connect me with magic,” said Twilight. “But I don't think we need to look now to know where to go. Prior to our time jump, I saw civilians heading for a shelter. It may have survived the blast and is probably our best bet for finding ponies loyal to Canterlot.”

That assumed they didn’t attack Twilight and Rainbow on sight, but it was still their best bet. At least they wouldn’t attack Spike, since they’d believe him to be Starlight’s Spike.

“Lead the way, Princess,” Starlight smiled, pocketing the memory orb in her own saddle bag.

Twilight couldn’t tell if the smile was sincere or an ‘I’m watching you’ smile. She could never get a read on that mare. Not only that, but that smile felt like it was trying to get into her head, like this Starlight had a more psionic charisma. It was like a less powerful version of Discord trying to alter her mind, and Twilight was unsure if it was intentional on Starlight’s part.

Twilight guided them into the ruins, moving quickly before their escaped friend returned with backup. It wasn’t far from the archives to Canterlot Tower and the grand hall at its base, but much of the path was in the open.

Once outside, Twilight had a better view of the sky. She saw both the Sun and Moon behind the haze. The Moon was still in the same shape as she had observed before, stationary and in pieces. Twilight doubted that they could control it with the same magic as before.

The Sun differed from before, however. The oddity of being up with the Moon aside, it looked wrong. It was swollen, a deeper red than the healthy yellow it normally shone. It looked strangely unmoving, and Twilight wondered if it was as stuck in the sky as the Moon was.

But that was a silly thought since it should move on its own if nopony enacted control over it. It’d be awkward and inaccurate, creating days of somewhat random length and couldn’t be adjusted to avoid extreme seasons, but it’d move. For the moment, Twilight dismissed the idea; she had enough to think of already.

They encountered more old bodies along the way, and though Twilight tried not to look at them, it was difficult. For a while she kept her emotions in check, trying not to think of all the death that occurred here, but eventually that became impossible.

One particular scene shattered her resolve: a filly guide cart near the entrance to Canterlot Tower. It was torn apart with gunfire then weathered nearly beyond recognition. Another ten hooves further were bodies of two uniformed filly guides. One had dragged herself as far as she could, hind legs missing. Weather washed away the blood stain, but her body looked freakishly fresh.

Yet, it couldn’t be fresh because the top was worn as if weathered by wind. The body hadn’t rotted, but it was obviously old. The poison of the city might have killed microbes that would make it rot, but could a body wear like that in ten years?

The real oddity was the second filly guide, which hugged atop the first. The first body weathered prior to the second laying atop her, and the second wasn’t weathered at all.

Starlight drew close when Twilight teared up, gently placing a hoof upon Twilight’s shoulder. She said nothing, though Twilight saw tears in her eyes. The others were hardened beyond such emotions and only stood nearby, strategically surrounding Twilight as if guarding their perceived authority figure. Spike wrapped himself up and hid from the view. She didn’t blame him.

Despite not wanting to look any longer, Twilight couldn’t stop her curiosity. She magically scanned the second filly to make sure she was dead, but there was no doubt. She leaned down to figure how the first had weathered with the second atop it. Had it been put there later?

Nothing could have prepared Twilight when the top filly moved. Suddenly on her hooves, the little one charged Twilight with alarming speed. Twilight stumbled back, telekinetically grabbing the little one about a hoofstep away from her. The filly reached her cracked hooves at Twilight, dry muzzle snarling like a rabid dog. A puff of decrepit dust emitted from her lungs as she screeched.

“W-wait,” stammered Twilight. “We won't hurt you. Please calm down.”

But the little one didn’t seem to hear. Starlight stepped closer, her own horn lighting up as she scanned the foal.

"She's stone dead," Starlight gasped in shock, but her eyes dried up too. Unlike Twilight, her curiosity seemed to completely negate the emotion of the moment. "Like some kind of... accidental flesh golem. Did the radiation do this?"

“We have to put her to rest,” Maud said, spoken coldly but with good intent.

“But she’s just a foal…” Twilight shook her head, but knew that Maud was right. They had to free the filly's soul from this state. “Take care of it quickly.”

Twilight closed her eyes and held the filly so that her head lay flat against the hard worn pavement. Maud hesitated for a moment, seeming less used to putting down sick civilians than killing enemies. When she recovered, there was a woosh and a crack that sounded like smashing a rotten cantaloupe. As the snarls ceased, Twilight released the body from her magic and turned her head away before opening her eyes again.

How many ponies shambled around Canterlot in that horrifying state? Twilight tried to get the idea out of her head as she turned to continue. All those ponies… standing vigil over their dead friends and families… or with them.

They passed the ‘Stable 27’ sign upon entering the grand hall, the faded image of the brothers still overseeing them. On one side of the entrance sat the corpses of a pegasus couple, which Twilight recognized as the ones she’d seen trying to gain entry before. They were hugging, cradling a photo of a foal between them. Twilight felt a small twinge of relief at the implication they found somepony to sneak their little one inside, but it was a drop of sweetness in a cold, salty sea.

"We should watch the log orb before we knock," Starlight said. "Even if it was a shelter, it might now be the hideout of our attackers."

"That is a good point," sighed Twilight. She was so used to giving ponies the benefit of a doubt that the thought hadn't occurred to her. "Knowing is half the battle, as they say."

“The other half is extreme violence,” added Maud.

They found an alcove nearby, a small structure that looked like it was some kind of admittance office. There was a desk, filing cabinets, paperwork, and no sign anypony had set hoof here since the big day. At least there were no corpses.

"I think I remember more about these memory orbs now," said Starlight. "Anyway, I think I can connect Twilight with magic; I don’t know how to connect Spike without a device though."

"Well, dragons are resistant to most pony magic," nodded Twilight. "So you might be left out, Spike, sorry."

“Typical,” huffed Spike.

Twilight sighed, “Given what we’ve seen though, it’s probably things you’d rather not see.”

“Good point,” Spike said, then hopped off her back and faced the door. “I’ll keep watch and shake you if anypony else shows up!”

"Thanks Spike," Twilight smiled at his determination. He always found a way to help.

Starlight trotted up to Twilight and leaned in to touch horns, but Twilight hesitated. Touching horns was a good way to cut through another unicorn’s defenses, but she forced herself to trust this Starlight. She reminded herself that this wasn’t her enemy. Maybe.

"I’ll flip through the most recent log entries," Starlight said as her horn brightened. "I should be able to tell which are most important by the recording intensity."

Twilight seated herself, not knowing what to expect, but tried to expand her mind to observe. The effect hit her suddenly, disorienting her until she barely knew where she was. Twilight expected to be observing something akin to a video screen or audio recording in her mind, but this was altogether different.

It took her a moment to realize that she was observing from somepony else’s eyes now, and that she didn’t have control over the body she inhabited. She was watching a memory from Gloomy’s view, which was frightful magitech. Twilight wouldn’t have thought this possible, but maybe now was a good time to break the habit of assuming things were impossible.

Not only did she see through Gloomy’s eyes, but Twilight could hear his thoughts echo through her head. It felt amazing… and horribly intrusive. She was watching another pony’s memories, and there was no telling what she would see.

4. A Knight in Midnight's Service

Tuesday, 10/?/?
POV: Gloomy Shade
Canterlot

Her Divine Shadow's mission was strange, but Gloomy welcomed the diversion. Whatever lurked in Canterlot couldn’t be more dangerous than what Gloomy faced on the front lines against the Trinity’s super-mutants. Midnight sent them to intercept an old enemy when she returned, but the whole mission seemed like more of Midnight’s insane troll logic.

Gloomy expected to guard an empty room for a few weeks before Midnight gave up. It’d be a nice vacation from dealing with that loon; Gloomy tired of pretending to respect her.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

The first shift barely had time to get to Canterlot before the castle received an emergency message from one of the team. The brief message consisted mostly of screams for backup before being cut off.

As Midnight had slated him for the second shift, Gloomy was the lucky bat to lead the investigation team. It comprised him, Lunar Helm, Starry Bolt, Steam Aurora, and Blinding Strike. It wasn’t an entirely terrible group. Starry got annoying at times and Steam, the only other stallion, wasn’t someone that Gloomy knew, but Midnight wouldn’t include them if she didn’t expect them to do well.

Blinding, on the other hoof, was so under-performing that she wasn’t even approved for reproductive duty, which was rare for a female. It was unfortunate, because Gloomy would have been first in line if she was. Not because she was pretty, but because she was the kindest pony he knew and she deserved a family.

It seemed odd that she’d be sent, which made Gloomy nervous. He wasn’t sure if Midnight sent her because she expected this to be easy or to get rid of her. Maybe Midnight realized Gloomy liked Blinding and wanted him to see her die; that seemed like something Midnight would do. Gloomy was lucky he performed well, or Midnight probably would have done something similar to him by now, given their history.

At least Midnight gave them stealth bucks for the mission though warned them not to use them unless necessary. The contraptions didn't last forever and weren’t easy to come by, typically obtained by looting the deadlier of the Trinity’s mutants. Supplies were always low like that; they weren’t even given personal shields, having to rely on hot, air-tight body armor for protection from the poisonous city.

They flew over the mountain behind Canterlot to avoid going through the main city, and definitely to avoid what remained of Cloudsdale where the ghouls had wings. Luckily for them, the point they guarded, the former royal archives, was at the back edge of the city. Few ponies had been there, so they shouldn’t meet many ghouls. Still, something had dispatched the first shift.

“Land here,” Gloomy called to the others as he pulled his rifle to the ready, circling downward. “The last thing we want is for them to see us coming.”

“Aren’t we safer in the air?” Blinding asked nervously.

“Normally I’d say so,” signed Gloomy as he landed, “But now…”

Gloomy trotted to a body he saw sprawled at the edge of the city. Sure enough, it was the mare who called in the SOS. She had crash landed on the outskirts after sending it. She’d skidded across the pavement after being gutted mid-flight from a powerful shot, entrails trailing behind her resting place. The scene was gruesome, but at least it didn’t stink more than fresh death. The pink cloud infesting the city’s crater was lethal to most microbes even at a distance, so dead flesh didn’t rot here.

“Gunned down,” observed Gloomy. The shot penetrated the bat’s armor and body, in one side and out the other. That was a rare power, yet the wound didn’t appear to be from an energy weapon. “We’ll edge along the back wall of the library to stay in cover. Keep an eye out.”

As the mountain lay between them and Midnight Castle, they had no way to signal for help. The crystal within the mountain deflected magic, so they'd have to fly high to make contact. That option had cost their compatriot.

“We could fly over the cloud cover,” said Lunar. “I’d rather be hot than shot.”

“We can’t chance it,” Gloomy shook his head. He wanted to avoid losing anyone. Midnight often held commanders responsible for deaths.

“What kind of conventional rifle penetrates like that?” asked Blinding, already sounding like she was crying. “This is insane! We need to report back!”

“Oh pony up already,” Starry audibly rolled her eyes.

“This isn’t just some ghoul,” said Blinding. “What if it’s super-mutants? If this is Her Divine Shadow’s enemy, maybe the Trinity sent a group to save them!”

“Maybe,” Gloomy pondered. “Super-mutants probably would have eaten at least some of the body. Either way, we have to know.”

Gloomy knew some ghouls had their wits enough to use weapons. He’d never encountered one, but knew Midnight hired some ghouls as mercenaries on expendable missions. “Lunar, stay on the ground, but head back far enough to get a signal through and tell them what we’ve found. Come right back.”

“Yes s-,” Lunar didn’t have time to finish.

Lunar shrieked and went down, hit by what looked like blue plasma. Gloomy dove to the ground, looking for their assailant, only to be baffled. The shot came through the windowless wall they were right next to; there was no line-of-sight with the attacker.

At first, Gloomy thought he’d misjudged the direction of the bullet, until another half dozen shots rang out, shots fired right through the solid wall. Everyone moved to cover, Blinding shrieking and sobbing in panic as Lunar’s body landed right next to her.

“You squeal like a filly on an ice dildo,” Starry cackled at Blinding. “What a-”

Starry’s cackling turned into a squeal as well though as several more shots rang out, going right through her cover and blasting off her front right leg at the knee. Starry limped for different cover, a few other shots ringing out and another lucky shot cracking through her right wing.

“They have an x-ray scope!” called out Gloomy. “Stealth Bucks now!”

Gloomy reached his right hoof to his left across his stealth buck, his form shimmering and disappearing. He dove again, avoiding a shot fired at his last known location.

“We have to bucking retreat!” cried out Blinding.”They need medical care… horse apples, Lunar was the medic!”

“We can’t!” Gloomy called back. “We have to know who this is. If the Trinity’s forces discovered our mission and redeveloped magitech scopes, we need to know!”

It still seemed unlike super-mutants though. Those things tended towards ‘up close and personal’. If one had a sniper rifle, it'd be more likely to burst through the wall and beat you to death with it.

Gloomy’s helmet display automagically checked his injured compatriots. While he couldn’t see Starry with the stealth bucks active, the readout indicated she was lucid, fumbling with Lunar’s bag as if looking for a tourniquet. While her leg was off, the shot that hit her wing was a glancing blow; luckily this was no crack shot or they’d all be dead already.

Lunar was less fortunate. There was a shot through her upper chest, and with that weapon Gloomy might be able to put his hoof through it and not touch the edges. There was nothing that could be done for her. She hadn’t even been able to activate her stealth buck, but their enemy didn’t seem interested in shooting her again.

Gloomy wanted to put Lunar out of her misery and stop to assist Starry with a tourniquet, but Midnight didn’t look well upon missions being slowed down for such trivial reasons, and Gloomy didn’t care nearly as much if Starry didn’t make it.

“We’ll head up the building to get a better look for the enemy,” Gloomy ordered. “Move forward.”

“We can’t!” Blinding insisted, voice quivering. “Starry needs help with her tourniquet, I’m going to feel around to see if I can.”

Damn it. Gloomy would have to include this in his report and knew Blinding’s reluctance might be signing her own death warrant. Gloomy hated his own weakness, but acted to take some blame off Blinding by turning to Lunar himself.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Gloomy.

Lunar knew what came next, and wedged her helmet off with the last of her strength, looking pleadingly with tears rolling down her blood splattered face. Gloomy didn’t want to have to even look at her, and fought back tears as he aimed for Lunar’s head and ended her suffering with a squeeze of the trigger.

Another shot rang out as if the sniper had been watching the twitching body for a sign that a comrade came close to them. It was a good thing Gloomy stepped away before shooting her, but their enemy’s tactic raised the probability of it being an experienced soldier.

With no time to grieve his friend, Gloomy turned to the wall, full of fresh holes. While the shots appeared as blue plasma, it hadn’t melted anything. That and every plasma blast he'd ever seen was green. That wasn’t a weapon he’d encountered fighting the Trinity’s forces. It could be Unicornian or Skyla’s forces, but neither had attacked Midnight’s without provocation in recent years.

“Steam, with me,” Gloomy ordered. “Blinding, you can come with us or stay and help Starry, but you know Her Divine Shadow might not look kindly upon it.”

“I know,” Blinding sniffled. She was already at Starry’s side, helping to pull the tourniquet tighter than Starry could in her condition. It was touching for her to show selfless devotion to a teammate that constantly gave her a hard time, but Gloomy wished she wouldn’t.

Unable to delay more, Gloomy climbed the side of the building, flapping his wings for speed as he scaled to the roof. Disturbing his surroundings as little as possible, he perched at the top. Once he crept to the opposite side of the building, he saw their assailant perched atop one of the front walls of Canterlot palace, looking in their direction through a sniper scope. As he did, he heard Steam settle in next to him in a somewhat more clumsy manner.

Gloomy zoomed the image in using his helmet’s heads-up display. To his surprise, it was a ghoul after all, one with a matted dark purple coat and patchy gray mane. What little mane remained hung straight down as if weighed to the ground. She wore a Canterlot uniform, like many of the ghouls in the city, but mindless zombies didn’t use guns.

Gloomy saw her clearly from a distance as she glowed a bright pink. When zoomed in, it looked like her bones emitted light from within, the same pink as the cloud flooding the crater. Gloomy had heard of glowing ghouls and non-feral ghouls, but never of one that was both.

Why was she even here? If not feral, why defend a dead city? It wasn’t rare for ghouls to mindlessly continue their life’s last task, but dociles broke the routine eventually. Then again, if there were no others around to break her out of it…

Either way, they had to eliminate the creature.

“I see it,” Gloomy said to the others. “It’s a glowing one with a gun. Gonna try to snipe it.”

The creature didn’t seem to have ballistic armor, so Gloomy aimed square for her chest, ready to dive off the building if he missed and it aimed for her location.

When he fired, the ghoul went down, but something wasn’t right. The fall was too perfect, as if feigned. Had he even hit it? He was no crack shot himself, and his hooves still shook in these situations more than they should.

His first thought was that the enemy was luring them closer, since they had to check to be sure, but surely not. Gloomy never met a docile ghoul since Midnight didn’t allow them to live in Underfree, but couldn’t imagine even a trained corpse putting so much thought into this.

Gloomy reloaded quickly, scanning the horizon for more targets. He spotted ghouls shambling about, including a blonde pegasus towing a supply cart as if she'd never stopped, but nothing else that seemed capable of wielding a gun. As their enemy didn’t stand up, Gloomy carefully went back to his team.

‘Damn it, I should have gotten closer before taking the shot,’ Gloomy thought, but there was no changing it.

“Me and Steam will get closer,” Gloomy said over the comms. “We’ll ensure she’s down. If we leave range and don’t return in 15 minutes, report back that we’re dead.”

“Y-yes sir,” Blinding stammered, whimpering. She was probably done, but seemed unable to move forward to help them.

“Damn it, Blinding,” grumbled Starry. Though less empathic about the situation, she’d know that Blinding’s actions could result in punishment, possibly for herself as well with Midnight’s logic.

Gloomy and Steam took to the air, remaining cloaked and staying away from the cloud cover lest they disturb it and give away their presence. Gloomy landed on the ramparts near where the pony had been, seeing a puff of dust as Steam landed next to him. They crept towards the position.

They found the ghoul crumpled against a wall next to their gun. It looked like the prototype gauss rifles that Gloomy had seen images of. From what he knew only a few were made, but they used magnetic rails to fire a physical bullet at the same velocity as plasma. The blue glow must be created by some kind of enchanted ammo to increase the physical impact even further. It made sense that it wasn’t plasma, since that would never be accurate enough for a sniper rifle.

The ghoul lay still, but it was hard to tell if the shot had hit. She looked too similar to other unrotted corpses littering the city.

Gloomy scanned her and found no breathing or pulse; dead as dead could be without a hint of neural activity. Gloomy knew nothing of dark magic and his helmet scanner wasn’t meant to determine such things, but he assumed this meant it had become inanimate.

“Dead,” Gloomy told the others, flicking off his stealth buck. “Stealth bucks off, save their power.”

“You sure it’s dead?” asked Steam, uncertain but turning off his stealth. “They don’t have life signs like we do.”

“They’re just irradiated ponies, right?” Gloomy quirked an ear. “Besides, she doesn’t even have brain activity, and even literal zombies would have that.”

“Hurry up!” Starry shrieked over the comms, barely understandable. “Can we go home so I can maybe get a new leg? This idiot can’t find my old one.”

Gloomy supposed it was time to report back, but no sooner than he relaxed, things went south again. The ghoul leapt to her hooves, spun on a single foreleg, and slammed Steam against a wall with a hind kick. The creature took a breath only to shriek as she unleashed a burst of energy. Steam’s shriek exceeded the ghoul’s by far as he collapsed, armor so hot it emitted steam as he boiled inside.

Thankfully it seemed to only have one of that attack, so Gloomy had time to retaliate. He fired off panicked shots, two cracking the ghoul’s shoulder and sending her foreleg sliding across the pavement behind her. It threw the ghoul back, but she charged again on three legs. Gloomy fired again, and this time was certain he got it right between the eyes. Once again, the ghoul skidded back, and once again rose to her hooves, only looking angrier.

Oh, buck this all the way to Tartarus and back.

Gloomy turned and took off, reactivating his stealth buck. The ghoul fired shots in his direction shortly after he disappeared, but Gloomy banked to one side and avoided them.

Midnight would not like this, but Gloomy wasn’t sticking around and getting his brain eaten by a zombie that ate headshots for breakfast. He’d take his chances spinning it to say he felt the need to report such an important development.

“Steam is down and we’re retreating,” Gloomy ordered over the comms, but got static in return. Oh great, what now?

Her helmet readout told Gloomy that Starry was barely conscious but not bleeding as much and that Blinding was next to her. Blinding seemed to be rocking back and forth as she knelt on the ground; great.

Landing nearby and letting the helmet readout guide him, he felt around for Blinding and yanked her to her hooves.

“Blinding!” Gloomy screamed into the comms. “I need you to get it together right now and help me get Starry back before we lose a third member!”

Blinding shrieked like she thought the boogey mare grabbed her, but calmed a few moments later. Gloomy heard her stumble to Starry to get her back to her remaining hooves.

“If I die from this, I swear I’ll haunt you,” Starry muttered as she faded in and out of consciousness. “Don’t suppose either of you’ve seen my leg?”

“Sorry,” Gloomy grunted as he helped Starry up too. “I don’t see it and we have to go right this instant before that thing comes over here to find us. Stealth bucks don’t last forever.”

“Yeah buck you too,” grunted Starry, then seemed to fade into unconsciousness completely..

It wasn’t easy to drag her, but once they were sure they were out of range, they’d be able to make a stretcher to carry her on at least. Still, Gloomy didn’t imagine Midnight would be happy about this.

Midnight Castle

Gloomy hooved over his report, not daring to leave anything out. He hoped to all sanity that Midnight didn’t want further explanation, but it was no use. One by one they were called to the throne room, Gloomy last of all. Neither Starry nor Blinding had exited after being called in there, so Gloomy expected the worst.

Midnight intimidated Gloomy at the best of times, but when she was upset, her very presence was oppressive. Her fashion sense intensified her fear factor: armor fashioned from a natural alicorn’s skin, one that ruled Equestria for over a millennia.

On top of that, Gloomy had always been on thin ice with Midnight. Not because he’d ever failed her before now, but because his parents had. She had been going to kill him as a foal too, and only didn’t because he got his cutie mark while she was beating him in front of his parents. The mark was a shield imposed over Midnight’s mark with smaller stars around it, which amused her enough that she let him live, and unfortunately to ‘let’ him help with his parents’ executions.

But Gloomy was sick with more than fear: he sickened himself. He ran his mistakes during the mission through his head, how he’d let his friends and compatriots down.

But what could Gloomy do? Bat ponies were so stereotyped as Midnight's minions that they could be nothing else. Only Midnight would put up with Gloomy’s kind, and then only with the ones willing to work for her. It was this or live as a hermit, constantly hunted by both bigots and Midnight’s guard.

When Gloomy was about to enter, the door opened as another creature left, probably the most unlikely ally Midnight had made since the Breaking. Ember, a large female dragon about 4-5 times Gloomy’s size, forced herself through the large double throne room door and into the hallway, blue scales shimmering in the hallway light and red-eyes peering at him in passing.

“Have fun with that fucking loon,” Ember commented under her breath as the door to Midnight’s chambers closed.

“Dragon Lord General,” Gloomy stepped aside and saluted, though it was an awkward salute. Mainly because Ember had one of Starry’s hind legs in her muzzle, taking it off somewhere to chew on like a large dog. He supposed that was why the dragoness stuck around, even aside from her supposed life-debt to Midnight. Unlike most of Midnight’s troops, she could probably get away with leaving.

“Yeah, whatever, food,” came the dragon’s unenthused response, garbled from the meat in her muzzle. She casually knocked over some decorative armor with her large swaying bottom as she slinked down the hall and didn’t seem to care. “I have a required date to make more dragons for The Queen of the Snacks in there, but make sure she remembers that she promised me leftovers.”

“Y-yes… General…” Gloomy sighed, cringing at the sound of bone cracking as she chewed. Still… less frightening than what he was going into. He turned to enter the chamber again.

Before he even entered, Gloomy heard Blinding’s sobbing. The mare was having her armor rather violently removed by a stallion that Gloomy recognized as Distraction. Blinding had already been beaten black and blue, looking too weak to resist if she wanted. Distraction’s wide grin, not to mention the girth swinging beneath him, told exactly what Midnight had ordered him to do, probably as a reward for his own last mission going well.

Gloomy clenched his teeth as this was happening in front of the throne, but this was the type of ‘entertainment’ Midnight preferred. He calmly walked around it, looking away and trying to block out the crying and clattering behind him. As angry as he felt, he didn’t dare show any disagreement.

Midnight sat in her Moon throne drumming one hoof on the side as the other toyed with the amulet around her neck, a triangular one with a red gem and a red-accented alicorn at the top, though perhaps not all memory-watchers were as comfortable looking at her as Gloomy. An emblem of her star cutie mark glowed above the throne, a seat which once belonged to Midnight’s wiser predecessor, Nightmare Moon. Gloomy would give anything to be under her instead, as would any bat.

Speaking of under, Starry was literally underneath Midnight, or at least her head was. She seemed to have her face-upwards in the seat with the rest of her body dangling off and flailing slightly every few seconds, including the stump where Ember had left with her leg. The wound had been charred by what looked like dragon flame so she didn’t bleed out.

Gloomy tried not to get a good look, but the sound of Starry’s gasps for air accompanying the very wet sound of Midnight’s nethers was just as hard to ignore as the clamoring behind him. Midnight was clearly in a mood, so Gloomy hoped he didn’t end up on the menu too before this was over.

Midnight peered at him, waving a hoof to one side. Gloomy stepped aside so that Midnight could better see what was going on behind him, and waited as Midnight picked up Gloomy’s report with her magic. Gloomy kept his eyes focused on Midnight’s following them as they moved slightly up and down.

“So according to this,” Midnight said between pants. “You shot the ghoul in the head, and ‘think’ it was a direct hit. When it got up, you ran away… like a bitch. Though not as much like a bitch as that broken cur behind you.”

“P-please,” Gloomy said. He had no idea why he bothered, but felt compelled to defend his compatriots. “They tried their best. As I said in my report, Blinding stood her ground despite her fear, and Starry couldn’t have avoided those shots.”

Midnight responded with her trademark ‘annoyed’ grunt as she slammed the report down. “Urgh! This mission was so easy, why do they keep bucking it up!”

“I am truly sorry, may Your Merciful Shadow fall upon us,” Gloomy’s voice quivered, tears streaming down his face. “Perhaps if you sent-”

“Me and the Divine Likenesses are too easy to track,” Midnight cut him off. “Sending a dragon is the same, and we can’t draw attention to the anomaly before she arrives lest the Trinity attempt a rescue. It's hard to know how she would react to... this particular pony… buck yeah right there...”

“I’m sor-” Gloomy started, only for Midnight’s telekinesis to clamp down on his throat until he couldn’t breathe, picking him up off the floor.

“Can you please stop apologizing so I can think?” Midnight grumbled. “Urgh!... wait! I know!” Midnight moaned. It was hard to tell if it was from Starry’s struggling or if having a good idea itself was orgasmic for her.. “The ghoul is following her last given order. You said she wore an Equestrian uniform, so we’ll just dress you in pre-war Celestial Guard armor. She won’t touch you!”

Midnight glared at Gloomy, narrowing her eyes when he didn’t answer immediately. She then remembered why and released her magical grasp on Gloomy's throat, allowing the bat to tumble back to the floor and giving him a few seconds to catch his breath.

“Is it that easy?” When he could speak again, Gloomy tried not to sound as incredulous as he was. “I mean, of course. A brilliant idea!”

“Of course it is,” Midnight growled back. “What it isn’t though is an excuse for this failure. Do you still disagree that your underlings should be punished?”

“I-I do not disagree,” Gloomy stammered. “I was just… your divine wisdom far exceeds mine, I can’t hope to match it or even understand, so I of course agree with your ruling.”

“It does, doesn’t it,” Midnight smirked, pausing a few moments before continuing. “Since Blinding didn’t outright flee and because it will amuse me, she’ll be given another chance. Distraction will join the next team to replace this broken toy beneath me, since she won’t be leaving this room alive. I don’t want to waste prosthetics on a mare with so many PR complaints against her already. It’d be bad for morale.”

“O-of course,” Gloomy felt an angry swell of emotion, but fought it down, straining for it not to show on his face. “As you will, Your Divinity.”

“As for you,” Midnight said, pausing a moment as if to soak in Gloomy’s terror. “You will inform the next-of-kin of the deceased how you allowed their family members to die and sincerely apologize for depriving them of their loved one through your incompetence. You will word your apology in that exact fashion.”

“Yes,” Gloomy staggered back to a standing position, then lowered his head to the floor in a bow. “Your will is my command, Merciful Shadow.”

“I would hoof you over to their families for amusing justice, but this is your first failure and we’ve lost too many soldiers recently. Not to mention I still favor having your mare-ish figure around,” Midnight smirked. “You will lead the next shift into the ruins. If she arrived and escaped because of this delay, you will wish that I had snuffed you here. Understand?”

“I understand and will obey,” Gloomy stammered. “And I give thanks for your divine forgiveness.”

Gloomy took a step back, hoping the next words out of Midnight’s muzzle would be ‘dismissed’.

“I didn’t say to leave,” Midnight narrowed her eyes. “I said Starry wouldn’t be leaving this room alive, not that I would kill her.”

Damn it. This was why Gloomy hated personal audiences. He’d have to do something nice for Blinding later, if she lived, since Midnight would probably order him to hurt her too.

5. Echoes of the Past

Wednesday, 10/?/?
POV: Gloomy Shade
Canterlot

On the next mission, Gloomy’s team flew just below the cloud cover, flying in evasive maneuvers as they approached the city once again. The sniper had proven inaccurate with moving targets, so Gloomy hoped that the first shots would miss so they’d have time to activate their stealth bucks.They had to be seen though, else they wouldn’t know if Her Shadow’s idea worked.

Blinding was doing the best job being evasive, though not for good reason. The poor mare was barely holding it together, and Distraction had been eyeing her like a piece of meat since the mission began. Gloomy wished he could castrate him for enjoying Midnight’s orders so much.

Sure enough, when they came into range, several shots rang out, streaking past them. Gloomy almost reached for his stealth buck, but he spotted the target of the shots as a figure fell out of the sky behind them.

The team had a pyrebat on their tails and hadn’t realized it; that was what the sniper targeted. Gloomy dropped lower and zoomed in on the ghoul’s previous position to check, finding her at her post. The ghoul watched them through the scope, but now as allies to protect, not invaders to battle.

Thank the Nightmare that Gloomy wouldn’t have to go back and tell Midnight that her armor plan sucked. Midnight hated being wrong and might have made herself feel better by adding Gloomy's skin to her armor collection.

Gloomy sighed with relief as he flew higher to get an ‘ok’ signal back to Midnight Castle. Only the three of them were here now since Midnight didn’t want to lose too many more, but they should get a few more as backup now.

They made it to the anomaly in the Canterlot Archives, and it surprised Gloomy to find an actual visible event. An entire section of the room was missing; not destroyed, but vanished. A faint blue ball of energy resided in the center of the missing room, pulsing every few seconds.

Half of the first shift was here, killed while guarding it. Gloomy assumed the other they hadn’t found had fallen somewhere between here and the edge of the city. They’d search when their shift finished.

Gloomy checked his helm's tactical view to scan the room. The event itself gave no readings, but there were six blips inside the room as if other ponies were there. They were hard to lock onto, but life signs were clearly present...yet not there because there was clearly no one else at that location.

The only one clear enough showed what looked like a magic cutie mark. That’d make sense if she cast the spell, so maybe Midnight wasn't using insane logic after all. With better magitech than Gloomy’s helmet scanner, Midnight might have devised an approximate time they’d manifest. Maybe she’d been waiting for years and just didn’t mention it for fear that the Trinity would find out they were coming.

That wasn’t the only oddity however. There were a dozen sprite-bots hovering about the anomaly with more arriving. The contraptions often buzzed about, but Gloomy had never seen more than one at a time. He wouldn’t have thought they could even get a signal here. They could have formed a chain to bounce signals to get around the mountain, but that seemed too smart for sprite-bots to do on their own.

Until about a decade ago, they played propaganda recordings from before the Breaking. Recently, however, the messages changed as ‘the Crystal Princess’ Skyla started broadcasting. A message from her was playing now, echoing through the ruin as the bots played in perfect sync.

“Rest assured,” Skyla’s broadcast said. “I will not make the mistakes of my predecessors. When Princess Skyla builds a nation, she builds it to last. The Equestrian way... mmph... Don’t you, my darling ponies, deserve that? Don’t you deserve a future free of war, fear, and terrible uncertainty? Of course you do. As the Crystal Princess, you have my solemn pledge that I will never rest, never rest, until we all have what we deserve. A place to truly call… ah... home.”

A nice message, as they always were aside from the occasional odd grunt. It was hard for Gloomy to believe, however, and not just because the Crystal Empire hated Equestria as much as their New Lunar Republic hated both of them. There was no way to go back to the magical pre-war era, if it ever existed at all. This wasn’t the world any of them wanted, but it was the one they found themselves in.

And besides, everypony knew this Princess Skyla had another side. Who knew if she was a crystal pony at all? As far as Gloomy knew, those weak-minded things got the extinction they deserved during Daybreaker’s genocidal mania.

“Oh, for Shadow’s sake,” Distraction grunted. “Please tell me we can blast those things.”

“No way!” Blinding remained on the edge of complete panic. “Don't you remember? When we sent a division north looking for her, she invaded their minds and made them kill each other! Let’s not chance her wrath.”

“Blinding makes a good point,” said Gloomy. “Don’t forget we have a truce with her, and I don’t think Her Shadow considers inane rambling to be an act of war.”

“Why is one of them new?” Distraction added, pointing a hoof.

One of the sprite-bots was shiny as if freshly manufactured, something Gloomy had never seen. Clearly Skyla had some kind of authority, or at least control over a sprite-bot manufacturing facility. It seemed like a task that required pre-Break information, but who had survived to tell her?

“Reckon they’re waiting for this 'enemy' too?” asked Blinding. “Maybe they’ll help us?”

“Probably drawn by the stray signals in the anomaly,” reasoned Gloomy. “It’s not like the Crystal Princess has any interest in Her Divine Shadow’s old arch-nemeses. Let’s take positions just outside the door so we can ambush her when she arrives.”

It was an easy task now that they were here. Either this pony wouldn’t show up, or she would and they’d be ready to blast her.

After his shift, Gloomy sent his team to collect the bodies of most of the fallen. Gloomy himself flew to get Steam’s body near the glowing one. Gloomy knew he didn’t need to kill the ghoul now, but he was angry at losing friends, not to mention losing face with Her Divine Shadow. At least then Gloomy could tell the families of the dead that he avenged them, and Midnight wouldn’t punish him for going the extra mile with one of the easier-to-produce explosives.

Gloomy had brought an explosive charge from the armory, powerful enough to take out even a glowing ghoul, or at least leave her in enough pieces to not matter. If she wasn’t aggressive, Gloomy could sit the package down next to her and leave before activating it.

He didn’t see the sniper at first, so figured he’d leave the package and set it off later. Once he landed and walked closer though, he found the ghoul kneeling on the ground.

The glowing killing-machine didn’t look so intimidating now. She knelt on her haunches where she cradled the head of another pony’s corpse. The other corpse had gray fur like the sniper’s mane, with black and gray streaked mane and tail.

The sniper rocked back and forth as she cradled the other, slowly stroking her mane. She made a strange choking sound, like dry crying. The sniper had her foreleg reattached, and Gloomy had no idea how, but otherwise... Gloomy hadn’t considered that a ghoul might be capable of such emotions.

Gloomy felt a surge of pity for the creature. She had been here so long, everypony she knew was dead or feral. Whether she mourned a friend, family member, or lover, it was heart-wrenching to see.

The ghoul jerked in realization that somepony was close, gently placing the corpse on the floor of the rampart and staggering to a standing position, limping against the recently reattached leg. She saluted Gloomy with her better front hoof, and Gloomy saluted back, unsure what else to do. The ghoul seemed self-conscious, playing off having been caught displaying such despondence.

“Cover the northeast corner,” the ghoul drew breath to speak raspy words. Her breath smelled like dry rot. “A few small units of NLR soldiers entered from that direction.” Her eyes glanced at the package that Gloomy intended to leave, “What enemy is that for?”

Gloomy jumped at the comment about his package. Gloomy looked at the package himself but couldn’t figure out how the ghoul knew what was inside. He’d been careful that it would not show.

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Gloomy stammered, slipping the package back into his saddle bag. “Thanks for… covering us earlier.”

“Don’t bring that back here,” the ghoul’s voice gained a warning edge to it. Gloomy got the creepiest feeling that the creature could read his actions, possibly even his mind. Perhaps he had only surprised her because she was so distraught.

Gloomy turned away so the ghoul wouldn’t realize he was tearing up from the experience. He hefted Lunar up onto his back to carry her, the ghoul even lending a hoof.

Gloomy glanced back one last time as he trotted off with the heavy load. The ghoul stared at him, her peeling forehead creased, a mix of confusion and anger on her face. It was like she realized who Gloomy was, and what he’d tried, but her undead programming didn't allow her to attack due to the uniform Gloomy wore.

What torture that must be, but he left before that programming wore thin. He’d heard contact with living ponies tended to do that for docile ghouls.

Later at Midnight Castle

“Sorry he gave you a...another hard time in the latrine...no pun intended,” Gloomy sighed as he sat across the table from Blinding. “And sorry I can’t do anything about it, being Her Shadow’s orders and all.”

Gloomy had invited Blinding to his private quarters as a bit of an apology, especially after what Her Shadow made him help do to her before. He was giving her some of his own food ration tickets, since hers had been decreased for a while as punishment.

They weren’t large quarters, barely room for the bed they sat on and the small table next to it, but it was home. It wasn’t like Gloomy had a real family in the shelter beneath the castle anymore, and if he did would be too ashamed to face them.

“Distraction didn’t used to be like that, he was more like you,” Blinding said, her voice hollow, devoid of emotion. “The first time she ordered him to do that to a pony, he had to be forced. I suppose she let him live when he refused to delight in his corruption.”

“Yeah, working for Her Shadow changes ponies,” sighed Gloomy, nodding. He often wondered what happened to Midnight herself to make her act that way. “I sometimes wish I’d kept my head down and not excelled enough to be put into her main guard.”

“But then you wouldn’t get put on breeding duty so much,” Blinding chuckled a bit more bitterly than she probably intended. “Most stallions are jealous of you.”

Honestly, Gloomy would rather have a personal relationship with a pony like Blinding than regular ‘breeding duty’ with mares he didn’t care for. He could never tell her that though; it’d just cause her more emotional damage.

“I don’t want to kill them,” Blinding spoke again when he didn’t reply. “The ones we’re waiting for at that place. If they’re from before the Breaking, they can’t work for the Trinity, so do they really deserve this? I just… hope they arrive when we’re not there at least.”

“There’s not a lot we can do,” shrugged Gloomy. “You have a kind heart Blinding, but life would be a lot easier for you if you didn’t.” And for Gloomy, since he’d stop caring that he couldn’t be with her.

“I can’t change that,” Blinding said, wiping away her tears before sipping her tea again.

Tuesday, 10/25/?
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Canterlot

The rest of the entries were uneventful shifts guarding the anomaly, at least until today, which hadn’t yet been recorded from Gloomy’s memory. Twilight was glad there wasn’t more with Midnight; her presence was hard to bear even second-hoof. Also seeing Kamikaze treat Blinding’s head as a trophy from Gloomy’s perspective, after knowing she was a victim, was heart-wrenching. Gloomy had appeared to understand it was accidental, but Kamikaze’s silence after they woke up made Twilight think she might be feeling similar to Twilight about it now.

Twilight stared into space as the memories faded and she returned to the present moment. At first she panicked at how much time must have passed, but glancing at the clock on Starlight’s display, she realized that the whole memory had streamed into their head in around 20 minutes.

“D-Done already?” asked Spike when he saw Twilight come to, scratching the back of his neck. There was an odd tremble in his voice, the same tremble that he often made when he’d done something he didn’t want Twilight to know about. It wasn’t like there was much he could have done out here though, and she had other things on her mind.

“Oh Celestia,” Twilight felt tears streaming down her face. It hadn’t been easy to see that, especially the part about ‘her’. Was she really capable of that kind of horrifying behavior? There was no way…

But at the least, she was sure that Midnight was a villain, even if not the only one.

“Actually took longer than I expected, should have only been a few minutes tops,” commented Starlight, then turned to Twilight. “Did you recognize anypony in that memory?”

Of course, without their memories none of them knew for sure. Twilight wasn’t sure how much to tell them though. If she told them the ghoul was Limestone Pie and that the corpse near her was Marble, Maud and Pinkie would want to find them immediately. But if Limestone was still struggling to break her instincts, she might kill Kamikaze and Twilight on sight.

In fact it surprised Twilight that she hadn't already. Twilight was sure the gun Limestone used was the one Marble fired at them when they entered Canterlot. What distracted her from her watch?

But she had to say something; they’d find it suspicious if she had nothing to add.

“First,” said Twilight. “This Princess Skyla is similar in tone and accent to Princess Cadence from our time, so may be related.”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Starlight said, chuckling awkwardly. “I still don’t remember much from ‘our time’.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded. “That Midnight pony was obviously different at least. She was a head taller than me and had a single star as a cutie mark. My mark has five smaller stars around it that represent the friends that assisted me in saving Equestria. We can tell us apart then, but many may miss that difference at a glance like the bat ponies did. I still have ponies miss my wings sometimes.” She took a deep breath and added,“The skin that Midnight wore was Celestia, the ruler before this terrible war.”

“I felt something when I saw that, yes,” Starlight said, clear rage forming in her voice. “We’ll save our vengeance for later.”

“In his thoughts, Gloomy indicated that most ghouls lost their mind," Maud said. "He called them ‘ferals’. The dead filly that attacked us must have been one."

"At least that confirms we did the right thing putting her down," Starlight nodded. "But did you notice the Sun?"

"Excuse me?" Twilight tilted her head, then it hit her. "Oh... I didn't realize until you mentioned it, but either every memory was at the same time of day, or the Sun hasn't been moving."

"The air near the clouds was sweltering!" shouted Pinkie, making everyone jump. She looked apologetic and added more quietly. “Yes.”

Not hot enough though if the Sun was in the same place for all that time. Since the Sun looked wrong, Twilight deduced it wasn’t emitting as much energy as before. That was a grave problem indeed, but one that would have to wait.

"At least we know the attackers weren't from this shelter," sighed Starlight, slipping the orb back into her saddle bag. "In fact, our memory’s protag never even thought about the shelter, indicating they may not know it’s here.”

“Watch the bodies in there,” muttered Spike. “There were a lot when I looked in there."

Starlight and Kamikaze moved out of the office first, but as Twilight turned to leave, she realized that Maud wasn’t moving. Pinkie stood next to her, head tilted as Maud stared blankly at the floor. While Maud was normally flat, this seemed like a bit more.

“Pinkie’s sister is fine?” Pinkie’s tone took on an uncharacteristic concerned tone when her sister looked distressed. “Is she sad that they did not send the flamebrain for us instead of a fruit basket? It would have been more fun, yes.”

“Blinding was not a coward,” Maud said as she looked up. “It is not cowardly to assist your injured teammate, nor to show mercy to a friend that is beyond help. If allowed to act upon such decencies, she may not have broken down.”

“And the vile one murdered another soldier that was not beyond help!” Pinkie blurted out more enthusiastically. “It is dishonorable!”

“Yes, Midnight did many things…” Maud’s eyes moved to Twilight.

Twilight suddenly felt as if Maud’s flat anger might shoot through her, not unlike Limestone’s gun. This Maud seemed like the type to obey an authority figure without question, so she must have felt strongly to give Twilight that look. Pinkie’s eyes followed Maud’s and also narrowed slightly.

Spike, loyal friend that he was, tried to bravely stand between her and them. He then suddenly covered the back of his neck and glanced back at her as if he’d just realized something. He sure was behaving oddly.

“I agree,” Twilight assured them, politely coaxing Spike aside. “Neither of them deserved that, and I assure you that I would never treat others in such a fashion. In fact… It's a relief to hear the two of you voice those concerns. You’re both more kind than I initially gave you credit for.”

Pinkie opened her muzzle as if to say something even more angry, but Maud casually placed a hoof on it, which seemed to silence her.

“Take the compliment, Pink,” Maud told her.

Twilight couldn’t hold back a sigh of relief as she turned again to head out with Spike, Maud and Pinkie shortly behind. She kept Gloomy’s memory sphere, intending to return it to him if they happened to meet again.

Every corpse was now a potential enemy, and as they entered the tower, the soldiers were ready to attack if one so much as twitched. Twilight hoped that anyone in the shelter would have put down any ferals close to their front door, but only if somepony was still alive inside.

“Kamikaze?” Twilight asked as she entered. “Can you watch the exit?”

“Sure thing, boss,” Kamikaze nodded, finally speaking after being silent since they awoke. She looked relieved to stop walking, leaning against the edge of the door and clenching her face. When she spotted Twilight looking, she faced away, but Twilight could see her scratching her forehead with a hoof.

Kamikaze had been showing signs of serious pain since they arrived in the new time, and would scratch at her face when she thought no one would see, but at least she was acting less spastic. That concerned Twilight, though that wasn’t why she told her to stay there. The ponies in the shelter might recognize Kamikaze, more so than Twilight, who had her wings covered, and Twilight wanted time to explain that she wasn’t a threat.

Twilight looked down to the other end of the hall. There was a familiar star design, the horn key that in Twilight’s timeline led to the Elements of Harmony when they were kept here. It looked different, with more defined edges as if the whole wall could shift and roll out like a giant gear. There were panels on either side near the roof, made for who-knows-what to pop out. In the center, just above the horn lock on the faded blue door, they'd engraved ‘Stable 27’ in yellow letters.

Dozens of bodies littered the area around the door, and some looked to have died hammering their hooves into dust against it. Further out, entire families of bodies sat huddled together to die. Stallions, mares, and foals alike, more terrible than any part of the city she’d seen.

At least it was easier to tell they weren’t ghouls as most near the stable had decayed to bone. Perhaps bacteria seeped out through the stable door and survived so far away from the crater. Some bodies showed signs of having died by gunfire, perhaps ferals that were shot from inside the shelter.

That meant those panels on either side probably had guns inside. Twilight hung back, careful not to get too close in case there was an automagic system that might mistake her for somepony else.

Maybe that meant there were living ponies inside, but why hadn't they cleaned up these bodies? Perhaps they were just afraid to come outside. She couldn't blame them completely, but still, leaving ponies to rot like this....

As she looked away from the corpses, she noticed somepony had painted arrows on the floor leading out of the hall and into the city. Twilight didn't know where that might lead, but it'd give them something else to investigate should the stable door not open.

“Starlight,” Twilight called to her, keeping her distance. “You may be able to open the horn lock.”

“Right,” Starlight hesitated, flicking on her mini-cutie map display again. Her map registered tunnels and chambers beyond the door, but they were dark as if the machine couldn’t get a clear reading past the shielded gate.

As Starlight and the Pies cautiously approached the door, Twilight looked around the hall. In her time, this hall was decorated with stain-glass windows of some of her deeds. She feared what she might see on them here, but they could give her clues about this timeline.

First, she looked to the one that should have shown her and her friends defeating Nightmare Moon. It showed Nightmare Moon still, depicting four ponies opposing her: Starlight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Celestia herself. At least she thought the one was Applejack; she had a gear and wrench cutie mark instead of apples.

Rainbow looked gravely injured in the front of the group, missing her left wing. Nightmare Moon didn’t look defeated here; it looked like a stand-off.

The window that should have shown them defeating Discord showed Discord and Fluttershy. Twilight wasn’t sure if Fluttershy’s presence was ironic or predictable considering their relationship in Twilight’s timeline, but it depicted Fluttershy fighting on Discord’s side.

At least it looked like Fluttershy in color and mane style, though her cutie mark differed too. Instead of butterflies, the mark was a brain with Fluttershy’s staring eyes superimposed over it. Who knows how powerful Fluttershy’s stare might have been if it became her special talent.

Starlight held against them with an energy field, defensive rather than victorious. A city in the background, Manehattan given the landmarks, exploded in a green mushroom cloud with a rainbow sheen. Twilight couldn’t imagine what the story behind that was.

Then there was one she’d never seen, and the first that looked like a happy ending. It showed the wendigos, ghostly equines, being incinerated by some kind of energy cannon with Starlight and Applejack firing it. SInce they fed on pony hatred, it wasn’t surprising they showed up in this timeline, but it looked as though they had been soundly defeated.

Next was the ‘Canterlot Wedding’ window, which Twilight immediately regretted seeing. There was no sign of Chrysalis, who had attacked it in her timeline. It instead depicted Twilight herself attacking Cadance, who wore a wedding dress. Cadance wept over a slain Shining Armor, still dressed in his favorite uncle’s suit from the wedding. Twilight’s entire body felt cold despite the rancid heat of the city. The very idea that she might have murdered her own brother... why would she do such a...

Oh. That was why. Around the neck of the image’s Twilight was the Alicorn Amulet. Now that she thought about it, she believed Midnight was wearing that in the memory too, but Twilight had a hard time watching that part.

No doubt it drove her mad with its influence, but could it influence somepony so much, maybe drive them more insane the longer they had it on? That did little to sooth Twilight’s feelings; she didn’t understand why she would put it on or why even it would be enough to make her do that. Even after having seen Midnight’s antics in the memory, Twilight had to believe the death was an accident while targeting something else, though that wouldn’t help much since the ‘something else’ would have been Cadance.

Twilight imagined if Midnight removed it, she’d wake from the insanity and realize much of what she’d done. Given that, removing the amulet might be the cruelest thing anypony could do to Midnight. Not that anyone but Midnight could take it off, and Twilight suspected she couldn’t simply deceive her into doing so as she did Trixie when she put it on in Twilight’s timeline.

Twilight didn’t want to move on, but the others couldn’t be significantly worse. Indeed, the next was more predictable. It was the window that should have shown Spike defeating Sombra. Instead, it looked like the stain-glass window that Twilight had seen during her dark-magic induced nightmare that showed herself being defeated by Sombra. This one showed Starlight, Spike, and Cadance being defeated by him in the same fashion, thrown downward from his wicked face.

There was one left, which depicted who she assumed was this ‘Daybreaker’, an alicorn with a flaming mane and tail. Her head was separated after an apparent execution, a crowd of ponies surrounding her in a riotous state, and one of them covering where her cutie mark would be which prevented Twilight from seeing it. Midnight, still wearing the Alicorn Amulet, lingered behind them with a smile. Next to her was a pony with a light pink coat and dark red mane, licking her lips. Whoever it was, she had the cutie mark of a heart wrapped in chains, so Twilight couldn’t imagine her being nice.

This final window was unfinished, bits of glass around the edges having never been placed. That was certainly some loyal window-makers, creating a window as Cloudsdale raced toward them.

Then it occurred to Twilight. What about Celestia? Surely if she died, it would have been considered historically significant enough to make a window on, but there was no mention of her after her appearance in the Nightmare Moon panel. Had Nightmare killed her?

“It’s not you,” Spike’s voice made her jump as he slipped off her back and onto the floor, scratching the back of his neck again. “You didn’t do any of those things, okay Twilight? And it’s not your fault if more things happen, okay?”

“I know,” Twilight sniffled and sighed, “It doesn’t matter though. If my life took a different turn, I’m still capable of those things. That potential evil is inside me, waiting for the right events to pull it out. And it’s not just this, Spike, you have no idea what I saw her do in that memory sphere.”

“No, it’s not,” Spike patted her neck. “Your cutie mark is different, like you said, remember? So you have a different destiny. You’re defined by your friends, and she isn’t.”

“Maybe,” sighed Twilight. “But most of my friends aren't here.”

“Well,” Spike smiled. “Every stranger you meet is a potential new friend, right? Trust me, you’ll find friends here that would risk breaking time again to help you, and maybe you’ll even reform Midnight, right?”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight smiled gently back. “Though that seems unlikely.”

A large clanging sound disturbed their conversation. Twilight looked up to see Starlight, having finally wrestled up the nerve to push her horn into the lock. As she pulled it free, the door groaned as if it were about to pull open, but stopped. Above the door, a bright silver crystal glowed brightly, projecting a light onto Starlight, scanning her up and down.

“Identifying,” a voice that sounded like an angry Celestia with a mechanical twinge, spoke to them from the glowing orb. “Identified as Starlight Glimmer, Minister of Magitech, presumed dead. Resetting status to ‘living’. Identified as in line for throne: Upgrading rank to Current Ruler of Equestria. Please input desired title. Default title: Princess.”

"What?” Starlight looked stunned, “I, uh, guess that’s…“

“Empress!” Kamikaze called from the other side of the hall. Everyone turned to stare at her so she added, “What? It’s for your own good, Princess is a lame title, and my job is to help you stay awesome, right? I mean we don't know if that's my job, but probably.”

“Setting new title,” replied the machine without question. “Greetings, Starlight Glimmer, Empress of Equestria.”

“Did we just help Starlight Glimmer conquer Equestria?” asked Spike in a nervous whisper to Twilight. He was breathing heavily too, as if trying to brace him for something that frightened him. Did the idea scare him that much?

Starlight still looked stunned, chuckling awkwardly and rubbing her mane with one hoof.

“Just what I need,” sighed Twilight quietly, placing a hoof on her face and looking down. “Don’t fret too much, we’ll hope she’s more me than Starlight in this timeline.”

“Well, she’s not cackling madly or anything,” Spike agreed. “Yet.”

“Identifying.” The scanner moved to Maud and Pinkie, scanning them in turn. “Identified as Rock Sergeant First Class Maudalina Daisy Pie. Alias: The Sandmare... Identified as Rock Sergeant First Class Pinkamina Diane Pie. Alias: The Laughing Death.” It paused for a few beeps, “Resetting status to ‘living’. Assigning as Royal Guards to her Majesty Empress Starlight Glimmer.”

“Those are some badass aliases,” Kamikaze commented. “Not as awesome as mine, but pretty cool.”

“You cannot spell slaughter without laughter!” Pinkie was happy about hers, but Twilight didn’t intend to call the Pies such creepy names.

“Guess I’m not in charge anymore,” Twilight sighed. “I think the rest of us should stay back for now until you talk to those inside, just to be safe.”

The system had other ideas however. While Twilight thought she was out of range, it was only working through them closest to farthest. As soon as she spoke, the light focused on her and predictably freaked out.

“Identified as Twilight Sparkle, current ruler of the New Lunar Republic. Alias: Midnight Sparkle,” the voice echoed. “Activating defensive measures.”

The rusty panels on either side of the door opened with a metal grinding sound, hanging only a moment before twin gun barrels extended from the wall. Twilight’s eyes widened as they swiveled to target her, momentarily blinded by the light of laser sights shining on her face.

“Deactivate defenses!” Starlight screamed. “That’s not who you think it is!”

It was too late; the gun barrels lit up with a blaze of fire. Twilight threw up a shield instinctively, but couldn’t charge it fast enough to stop projectiles from high-caliber barrels.

Twilight froze with the shock of the sudden attack, but no bullet struck her. Spike heaved against her, reacting faster than one would expect in such an unexpected situation, shoving her out of the way as the guns blazed to life. A moment later the gunfire stopped, registering Starlight’s command and clanging loudly as they withdrew back into the closing panels.

It took a moment for Twilight to register the warm fluid drooling down her face, but it wasn’t her blood. When she opened her eyes, she stared at a streak of red where Spike had been standing after pushing her aside. Her eyes followed it several hooves back to watch Spike just as his body hit the floor, riddled with so many gaping wounds that he was barely recognizable.

“Spike!” Twilight’s shriek echoed through the hallway as she rushed him.

All else faded into nothing as she charged her magic and blasted him with as much healing energy as she could muster, but for once his draconic nature put him at a disadvantage as dragons were naturally resistant to pony magic. There was too much damage for even her best spell to do him any good.

All her spell did was buy him a little time. Another wave of guilt washed over her, wondering if she only extended his suffering, but she couldn’t give up. She drained herself of power trying to keep his rapidly-failing body alive.

“Least I didn’t make the same sound Starlight did,” Spike spat up the blood in his muzzle so he could speak; even now he saw the distress on her face and instinctively wanted to cheer her up.

“Spike, hold on,” Twilight shook her head. “You just have to hold on until we get help from inside the stable!”

But even that was just rationalization; she knew they wouldn’t get out here in time even if they had some crazy magitech that could heal vital organs and shattered bones. She pulled him closer, trying to hold him together so nothing else fell out.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Spike placed a bloody claw on her face, knowing her too well. “I believe in you even now, you always push through, and you will again… you’ll save this world. I know for a fact...”

Spike continued to try to speak, but the blood oozing from within reached critical levels, making his words slurred into a mush she couldn’t understand. Still, his eyes showed he had complete confidence in her even now. She didn’t deserve anyone to have that much faith in her.

It took a moment to register what this meant. Until now, they could fix all the carnage and despair. All Twilight had to do was travel back in time. Not an easy task, but possible, and she had all the time in the world to figure out how. Everything from this timeline would be fixed as soon as she went back, like it had never happened.

But not Spike. Spike was from her own timeline. Spike, her best friend, practically her son, was dying, and no amount of effort or time manipulation could stop it or bring him back as he should be without potentially creating an even worse paradox. She was useless, keeping him conscious, but twitching in her hooves as she continued to uselessly expend her magic.

“He is beyond help,” Maud’s voice said nearby. “Show him mercy.”

“NEVER!” Twilight shrieked, shielding him with her own body.

Twilight was so busy glaring at Maud for saying such a thing that she didn’t notice that Kamikaze approached from the other side. She barely caught a glimpse of the glow of the metal wing and felt a rush of heat as Kamikaze did what Twilight couldn’t, taking Spike’s head off to quickly end his suffering.

“No!” shrieked Twilight, reacting instinctively, her power sending Kamikaze flailing back against a wall hard enough that sparks flew.

Twilight didn’t even look to see if Kamikaze was okay. Instead her wail echoed through the hall, at first trying to put his cauterized head back on in sheer panic. All she could do was stare at his face as the last look of misplaced confidence froze there forever.

Twilight hugged his body close to her, the warmth of his torn scales and guts against her, and screamed uncontrollably. She sobbed as she rocked back and forth, the rest of the world fading into nothingness for her, because none of it mattered any more.

6. Getting a Clue

Tuesday, 10/25/?
POV: Starlight Glimmer
Stable 27

Being proclaimed leader of Equestria excited Starlight, maybe enough to make up for the depictions of some apparent failures memorialized in stained glass around her. Then again, she only had five confirmed subjects. No, make that four.

It happened so fast as Twilight’s dragon companion was gunned down by an overzealous computer. Starlight would have thought what a horrible programmer the pony that created it must be, but for all she knew that was her.

For a moment, Starlight stared, wanting to curl up and sob too at Spike’s death, though she couldn’t remember why. She tried to approach the wailing alicorn, but after Twilight threw Kamikaze into a wall, the alicorn’s magic was so unhinged that getting close felt like ramming her horn into a power socket. Kamikaze staggered where she was thrown, her magitech apparently struggling to keep her conscious.

It felt wrong to intrude on Twilight by listening to her screams, so Starlight gently wrapped her in a silence bubble; it was a pretty instinctive spell. It’d protect Twilight’s privacy and save the group from unwanted attention. Twilight didn’t notice; she continued to cling to Spike, weeping and dead to the world as she held his head onto his body as if that would help..

“Identified as Rainbow Dash, alias Kamikaze, President of the Grand Pegasus Enclave,” the computer voice snapped Starlight back to reality, more audible again once Twilight was silenced. “Advice: Please reactivate the defense matrix.”

“Do not reactivate defenses without my specific command!” Starlight screamed.

Kamikaze was pulling herself up off the floor, luckily not losing any more limbs due to Twilight’s magical shove. She tried to approach Twilight again as if to apologize, but let out an undignified squeal as she entered the haywire magic field near the alicorn. Her head sparked and face twisted in pain as she backed away, stumbling to the cold floor, systems clearly on the blink, but seeming undamaged otherwise.

Starlight had already had doubts about Kamikaze. Her uniform differed from that of the Pies, and Starlight’s pipbuck color coded her yellowish-orange. That seemed as close to red as she could be without attacking them, even if it’d gradually been shifting towards green. However she also recognized their need to have every ally they could get. Even after the computer labeled her an enemy, Kamikaze lacked her memories and had shown herself to be a decent pony overall. There was an opportunity to convert her from one cause to another, whatever either cause was.

Though it hadn’t occurred to Starlight that Kamikaze might be the leader of an enemy faction rather than just a soldier. She noted Kamikaze's apparent weakness to Twilight's unhinged magical charge, scanning the frequency briefly in case she had need to duplicate it later. She shook her head when the frequency registered as 69 pegahertz.

Either way, giving Kamikaze a chance didn't mean being unprepared to fight her if needed, though she honestly wasn't sure if she could duplicate the powerful energy the alicorn emitted.

“Filthy featherbrain, Pinkie should have known you were up to no good!” Pinkie approached Kamikaze, looking suspiciously like she was about to fire. She nodded to her minigun. “Pinkie agrees! Dismantling of pega-parts will commence immediately!”

“We should bind this one,” suggested Maud. “Since I assume you will not order us to put her down.”

“I…” Kamikaze stepped back again and blinked as soon as she was able to stand. Her mechanical legs twitched and she clenched her teeth. She visibly strained to resist her own automagic defense response when it kicked back in, which showed she didn’t want to fight them.

“Stop!” Starlight ordered. “Whatever battle we were fighting before is over. We’re in a new world with new enemies, and we will stand together. Understand?”

Pinkie frowned and narrowed her eyes at Kamikaze, but lowered her gun without question now that Starlight was the recognized leader. Maud backed down too, though both of the Pies moved to place themselves between Starlight and the others.

“Thanks,” Kamikaze muttered, looking unsure of herself. She backed against the nearby wall, sinking into a sitting position and rubbing her temples with her front hooves. She seemed to have a lot of headaches even outside of getting shocked, though Starlight imagined it couldn’t be helped in her condition.

Suddenly the door clicked again, and Starlight braced herself for yet another problem. There weren’t any wall-mounted guns this time, but the whole door slid several hoof steps into the tunnel, pulling it free from the wall, then rolling it to one side like a giant gear. The roar of motors from within groaned with the effort to move the heavy alloy door.

Starlight couldn’t see too far within beyond the armored figures that emerged. They were four earth pony mares in blue armor that covered their entire bodies. The armor had a black trim along the collar and zippers, a yellow ‘27’ imprinted on the collar. The full-body armor was insulated cloth rather than something with stopping power. It had a glass head covering, probably designed for radiation protection. The front of the glass was open, covered with a small force field instead to allow them to hold their weapon, low caliber pistols, in their muzzles.

They stank of inexperience and poor weapon discipline. They shivered visibly, teeth clenched at the triggers firmly enough that a hiccup would have fired it. Maud and Pinkie moved between them and Starlight, and even Kamikaze rushed up beside them, standing tall and intimidating.

“Halt you- um ponies,” stammered the mare in front. “Or we’ll shoot!”

Obviously these ponies were untrained, they seemed more like scared foals facing a monster. But why? Had it been long enough for the residents of the shelter to become complacent? It was nice for Starlight to have such intimidating guards for herself, but she hardly needed them. The soldiers advancing couldn’t have been less imposing if they were wearing giant rainbow clown wigs.

Maud took offense to the verbal threat either way. She stared the front guard down and walked forward, not stopping until the gun barrel almost touched her face.

“Why are you getting closer?” asked the guard quietly. “Shouldn’t you be… I mean… I have a gun!”

“I suspect I have seen this end of a gun many times,” Maud said. “Have you seen that end even once?”

Maud snatched the gun from the pony’s muzzle with a single smooth movement and wrenched the guard’s helmet free. A moment later, Maud flipped her around into a headlock with her front hooves. The mare squeaked as her helmet clattered across the marble floor, reaching for it and looking panicked. Maud held the mare’s own gun against her temple.

“Put your weapons on the ground,” Maud said as clearly as she could with the trigger mechanism in her mouth, and as calmly as if she were providing baking instructions. “Before I put your friend there instead.”

Behind Maud, Pinkie aimed her minigun, already giggling at the prospect of a fight. Kamikaze was a bit further back, looking like she was trying to keep her neck-slicing metal wing down lest she accidentally take another pony’s head off. This was not a good first impression.

“My helmet! I’ll be tainted!” the mare shrieked, more worried about that than the gun to her head.

Such fear was irrational given the lower radiation levels near the stable door, yet this pony looked as if she thought she’d die in an instant. She was like a foal that thought the bogey mare was under her bed; somepony had made these ponies terrified to step outside.

“Let’s not get carried away!” Starlight shouted, trying once again to calm things down, but it felt like she was trying to herd parasprites. She trotted over, picking up the mare’s helmet and placing it back upon her head in a motherly fashion. “We’re not your enemies. Let’s all put down our weapons… that means you too, Pies… and talk like civilized ponies.”

As Maud released the first mare and Pinkie lowered her gun, Starlight turned toward the other guards and smiled as she would to comfort a scared filly. They seemed unsure, but slowly lowered their weapons, staring into Starlight’s eyes as they did so. Maud and Pinkie tried to step in front of Starlight again, but she nudged them aside with her magic.

Starlight glanced back to see how Twilight was faring, and saw her still holding Spike, staring at the floor now instead of crying. Starlight released the bubble of silence around her, though the alicorn didn’t notice that or anything else. It looked like her whole life was flashing before her eyes. Starlight wanted to comfort her, but she had other problems to deal with.

“Are you hackers?” asked a second mare as the one Maud restrained returned to hide behind the others.

“Why would we be hackers?” asked Starlight, tilting her head.

“The machine identified you as historical figures,” said the guard. “And her,” she pointed at Twilight, “It identified her as the Devil herself!”

“Your machine identified myself and the Pie sisters correctly,” said Starlight, “As it did Kamikaze, though she has… surrendered and defected to Canterlot since your records were updated. As for Twilight, your machine was mistaken. Its files must be corrupted.”

“If they have soul crystals like the Overmare, it could be them,” said a third guard. “I mean the one has metal limbs. No hacker saws off her own legs and wing to convince somepony of who she is.”

“But their uniforms and… metal parts… they’re new. They sure aren’t two hundred years old,” added the fourth mare.

“Wait, two hundred years?” Starlight blinked, “Please tell me you’re speaking figuratively.”

Yet that explained why the buildings looked weathered, and why the corpses were ‘worn down’ by wind despite the taint killing anything that would make them decay normally.

“210 years since you were presumed dead, actually, if you are who you say,” a new voice spoke from the tunnel. “And you mean ‘like the former Overmare’, Trigger.”

210? So when the log entries said '87'... it meant 2287? This was unimaginable.

Starlight looked at the new pony to arrive. She dressed in the same Stable 27 uniform though hers had silver instead of black trim and she walked and spoke with much more confidence and authority. The new pony looked at her pipbuck, confirming the radiation level before slipping her helmet off. It showed her blue coat and cyan mane, and a relative lack of fear compared to the others. Her expression was more of a deep fascination.

Starlight noted a hateful edge in her voice when speaking of their ‘former’ Overmare though. She took it all in; every emotional detail might be something Starlight could use to sway the conversation in her favor. Diplomacy like this was an emotional game of cat and mouse.

“You’re actually here then,” the mare said as if amazed to see someone outside of the shelter. “I’m Chrome Keys, the acting Overmare of Stable 27. May I see the back of your neck, ‘Starlight’?”

“The back of my neck?” Starlight was confused at first, then realized why, “Of course.”

She turned, pulling her mane up from behind to show Chrome the eye-sized pink gem embedded at the base of her skull, right at her brain stem. Starlight didn't have many memories back yet, but it was slowly filtering in.

“You do have a soul gem,” Chrome nodded, though the surprise in her voice seemed oddly over-dramatic as if faking surprise. “Could you be… but this still makes no sense! Why would you travel with the Enclave’s President? And even with a soul gem, how are you alive?”

“Nothing other than devils could survive outside of a stable, and we’re the only stable that survived,” said the guard behind her, nodding her head.

The only one? That seemed unlikely.

“Isn’t it possible that your machine’s history files are corrupted?” asked Starlight.

“Well, I don’t know,” admitted Chrome. “I’ve haven’t seen most files from the maneframe, the only one that had easy access to those before very recently is the… former Overmare…”

"Do you have no way of attempting contact with other stables?" asked Maud.

"Only the former Overmare had access to even try that," one guard stammered. “And it seems she’s deleted the contact codes for other stables, so even if they existed we’d have to contact them manually to get their access codes, or they’d have to think to contact us again if they have our code.”

"She's right," said Chrome, not seeming to like where this conversation was going. "I wouldn't even know how to turn the communications array on without having the engineers look it over..."

“Former Overmare, you say?” Starlight understood the implications and snatched the opportunity to sow doubt that could help her team. “So, you base your assumption on what she told you? May I ask why you relieved her of her position? If she has a soul gem like you say, she must have held that position for some time, yes?”

For a moment, the stable dwellers were silent, the guards eyeing one another nervously. Starlight smiled inwardly but kept the concern on her face. Chrome tapped her chin as if carefully formulating how to word her every sentence.

“What happened to the other stables?” asked Kamikaze. “I mean, this city took a direct mega-spell hit and the stable still survived.”

“Hmm, that’s quite a valid point,” Starlight said to Kamikaze, though more for the benefit of Chrome and the guards. “This stable survived fully intact, but not a single other was sturdy enough to survive even partially?” She turned back to Chrome. “Did you get this information from the ‘former’ Overmare as well? That is quite interesting.”

“Put them in the cell,” Chrome said. She shook her head to clear it as if looking into Starlight’s eyes made her uncomfortable. “We have other things to deal with. Take their weapons but treat them well as I think they’ll be cooperative.”

“A cell?” Maud tilted her head. “We are not criminals.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Chrome assured. “And we’re not putting you into cryo-rehab or anything, but we haven’t had visitors in 200 years so we don’t exactly have guest quarters prepared. We’re just putting you there so you can rest comfortably and wash off while I deal with other things, because I honestly don’t know how long it will take.”

“It’s okay,” Starlight said to the Pies, making sure they didn’t react predictably to their weapons being taken. “I believe these ponies will become our friends if we cooperate.” At this rate, Starlight would rule the stable in two shakes of a hoof. Okay, maybe three or four.

Pinkie growled as the guards but unlatched her minigun and Gummy launcher. She opened her helmet and gave each weapon a somewhat lewd kiss before allowing them to slip to the ground and stepping back. Similarly, Maud nuzzled her hammer before placing it on the ground with the same care one might put down an infant. They took Pinkie and Maud’s saddle bags as well; who knew what kind of horrifying things they kept in those.

Oddly, Chrome herself approached Twilight to try and take Spike off her hooves, but Twilight shook her head and turned away.

“How do we get that thing away from her?” asked one guard.

“That thing?” Starlight barely kept her cool. “‘He’s a young dragon, you have no right to act as if his death is anything but tragic. And right in front of his grieving surrogate mother!”

Starlight didn’t know if Twilight was his surrogate mother, but the guess made for adequate guilt-tripping, which would make the guards more likely to give in later. That, and for Starlight, it still felt like she’d lost a child herself. She wished she remembered why…

“His?” the guard tilted her head. “But if it’s just a male…”

“It is good for you that you waited until after we turned in our weapons to fill us with murderous rage,” Maud peered at the guard. “Not so good for us.”

Pinkie growled as well, “Even the suspiciously sexy pegacorn deserves to mourn!”

“Iron!” Chrome said to the guard that had been so callous, then turned to Starlight. “I apologize… none of us have encountered dragons, I suppose genders must work differently with them.”

That was a curious misunderstanding. Chrome believed that Starlight wouldn’t have been mad had she been insensitive about a colt. Starlight noted the strangely intense misandry, but needed to know more before she explained to them what horrible ponies they were. She raised a hoof to her own soldiers, quietly signaling them not to pursue the conversation as she knew they'd want to.

Starlight turned to Twilight, kneeling next to her and placing a hoof lightly on her shoulder. Twilight looked at her, her face growing stern and hateful. It had 'this is all your fault' etched on it, though Starlight couldn't fathom why. She hoped she hadn’t done something horrible to Twilight and forgotten about it.

“Twilight, I’m so sorry for what has happened,” Starlight whispered. “You’re right to be angry. I should have realized and told the computer right away, but he needs to be given a proper, respectful burial.”

Twilight loosened her grip, and Starlight slowly pried Spike away from her. She lay him respectfully on the floor, then moved closer to Twilight and hugged her close. Twilight returned the hug, crying again, and Starlight coaxed her toward the entrance of the stable. When Twilight tried to look back, Starlight gently tugged her to face where they were going. Dealing with this was awkward, but Starlight needed the alicorn on her side.

Chrome looked strangely nervous when Starlight handled Spike, then moved to stand next to him when Starlight and Twilight moved away. She was strangely discreet when she checked the back of his neck.

“They don’t have soul gems,” Starlight said to Chrome, but added. “As for you: For shame, leaving all these bodies strewn about the hall, ponies who should have been allowed inside! You will have your ‘minions’ bring them in and at the very least have them cremated with a respectful ceremony.”

Starlight intentionally acted like she owned the place already; she expected it might actually work in this situation. Chrome wasn't as weak-minded as the guards, but seemed susceptible to standard emotional blackmail.

“It will be done,” Chrome mumbled. “The former Overmare had told us… never mind.” She turned to the guards and nodded for them to take the group ahead into the stable before turning back to Spike, “Damn, she really gets into your head.”

As they led them within, Starlight got a better view of the inside. There was about twenty hoofsteps of a stone corridor that led into a wide-open area. The walls, floor, and ceiling were metal, though the only significant object within them seemed to be a large computer that controlled the outer door. Everything in this room was caked in dust as if it hadn’t been touched for years, including the computer keyboard. The only part without dust was a single large button that Chrome hit to close the door behind them.

Starlight noted a few other ponies having gathered there, wearing a less form-covering version of the stable suit that only covered their forward torso, looking at the new visitors with interest. Starlight sensed that something disturbed them, but not just seeing strangers. Starlight was good at reading faces, and these ponies were outright despondent, as if an idea they had great faith in had been torn apart. Something with the last Overmare, perhaps?

They all wore similar uniforms, with only the trim color separating them. Starlight assumed this to be some kind of designation of rank or occupation. She hoped there weren’t any fashionistas here; living in a place where everypony dressed the same would be torture for one. Aside from that, Starlight noted they were all mares or fillies, not a single male among them.

“Where are the stallions?” Starlight asked one of their guards, fearing that they might keep them confined as breeding stock or something equally horrible.

“Stallions?” the guard asked, spitting the word with disgust, “Why would we have those here?”

“Um, because they’re necessary,” Starlight said, “For producing foals.”

The guard blinked in surprise, and then shook her head, tensing in anger. “Joking? Right now?”

Starlight didn’t know why that was perceived as a joke and wanted to pursue it, but decided not to with Twilight whimpering beside her. Still, she did her best to analyze the ponies they passed as they proceeded down a long metal corridor.

There were passages that branched off, signs pointing to areas within the facility. Cafeteria… residential… school… armory… hydroponics… orchard… reactor core… this shelter had everything. Starlight wanted to pull up her pipbuck map to see details, but again it wasn’t the time. More importantly, she didn't want to draw too much attention to it lest they think to ask for it.

Starlight assumed they were going to the prison area though she saw no signs labeled prison. After a while, she realized that they were following signs to ‘cryogenics’. That was potentially distressing.

Regardless of where they went, Starlight was certain they would ask them to remove their armor, and that could be a problem. They referred to Midnight as a devil, implying a theocratic line of thinking in this stable. Once they found out that Twilight was an alicorn, they’d either see her as divine or demonic, more likely the latter. Starlight tried to think of an adequate way to explain why she was not a threat.

“What happened?” a voice from ahead asked. “The attack alarm sounded, then claimed it was a fault. Thinking the New Lunar Republic is at the door is a pretty big fault.”

Starlight looked ahead of them to see a pegasus mare that was so brightly colored it almost hurt her eyes. She sported a bright yellow coat with red flame-like splotches about her hooves. Her mane was shades of red and orange, with her tail fading from flame red to orange and yellow at the tip. Even her wings faded from orange to red on the tips. Her cutie mark matched the rest of her, a ball of flame. She wore goggles right above her bright blue eyes, similar to flight goggles. Considering this was a stable dweller, however, they were probably engineering goggles.

Like everypony else in the stable, she sported a pipbuck on her front right leg; a rather well-polished one, as if she took extra special care of it. She wore the standard blue stable shirt that went from her waist to neck and down to her front hooves. Hers had blue trim, still with the yellow number 27 stitched into the collar.

It occurred to Starlight that this was the only pegasus she’d seen since arrival. Pegasi couldn’t be common, because this one’s stable uniform had holes cut in the back for her wings as if they didn’t come standard for a pegasus.

“Calm your tits, Solar,” said one guard. “We’re putting these ponies in lock-up for the Overmare to question later.”

“Who are th-… whoa,” Solar blinked and trailed off as she stared at Kamikaze. A smile spread over her muzzle and she clearly liked what she saw.

“And who are you?” Solar stepped around the guards and to Kamikaze with flirty eyes. “I'd love to plug into some of those ports for a scan.”

“Miss Flash!” another guard rebuked her.

“I was just expressing scientific curiosity!” Solar complained.

Kamikaze chuckled in a good-natured manner, “I don’t mind. An awesome mare like me is probably used to it.” Starlight supposed it made sense engineers might hit on a magitech pony.

“Hmm…” Maud tilted her head and glanced at Kamikaze and Solar as if appraising them both for a moment.

As soon as Kamikaze realized she was being examined, she instinctively posed, her trot becoming a strut. Solar did much the same, though her strut was in reverse as she walked backwards while facing Kamikaze. They certainly had one thing in common.

“Kamikaze is acceptably attractive,” Maud stated. “But she should attempt to ensure only her enemies lose parts in battle. Real parts make better squishing noises during play and dent less easily.”

“Like Pinkie’s parts!” Pinkie blurted out so loud the soldiers escorting them reached for their weapons. She again added in a much quieter voice. “Yes.”

“Yes Pink,” Maud confirmed. “I was referring to you. Possibly one of the few that could survive the act with me. As for Solar… She is too bright. Seeing her fully bare too often might cause vision damage.”

“So just turn the lights off,” winked Solar.

Starlight shuddered slightly. On the plus side, maybe that meant the Pies were having memories return, but she decided not to ask for details.

Solar was about to speak again, but her spastic attention shifted to the pipbuck on Starlight’s head. Her eyes widened as she recognized it as a more advanced version of the device. Her gaze moved to Twilight before speaking, however. Seeing Twilight’s emotional state, she stepped out of the way and let them all continue walking without her pestering, flattening her ears slightly.

Starlight thought Solar was being purely respectful in her silence until she glanced back and realized Solar was eyeing their armored behinds and even licking her lips. Solar looked up quickly when Starlight had caught her and flashed her a smile. Solar’s grin widened and ears perked a moment later, turning to run down another tunnel as if she had a brilliant idea.

“Starlight?” Twilight spoke quietly, drawing Starlight’s attention.

“Yes, Twilight?” Starlight asked gently. It was good that Twilight was speaking again; it meant that she was marginally better.

“About Spike… do you think the one from this timeline could be alive?” Twilight asked as if looking for any possibility of seeing him again.

“It’s a little fuzzy still,” Starlight said.

“There were stained glass windows that showed you with him,” Twilight said. “And before we went through, before you got amnesia, you spoke to my Spike like you thought he was your friend. You said he should be ‘guarding the Ministry’.”

“I don’t know,” Starlight answered honestly. “I want him to be alive… It makes me sick to think something might have happened. I think I remember the Ministry of Magitech, and I’m almost certain they had already hit the city when I left. I doubt they hit it again, so he could be alive.”

Starlight wasn’t sure, but also didn’t want to crush what little hope Twilight had. A dragon wouldn’t die of old age, but the world today had to be dangerous. If no one reclaimed Canterlot in 210 years, Starlight assumed that major civilizations had failed worldwide, and it was unlikely anyone would be so loyal as to sit and guard the same area that long.

Also, Twilight mentioning the windows made her uneasy. She had noticed the stained-glass windows herself, how several of them depicted herself failing in spectacular fashion, but tried to purge such thoughts from her mind. If she were to lead this group, she couldn’t have such doubts.

Finally the guards led them into the area labeled ‘cryonics’. In the initial room, there were several guards with monitors showing the areas within, not that the guards were paying much attention to the monitors. They probably weren’t used to actually having to look at them. Past that was a larger room behind a steel door; Starlight hesitated before following them inside.

Thankfully, it wasn’t all cryogenic pods; there was a small jail cell near the front. It was enclosed in glass instead of bars, allowing the guards to see everything inside. It was probably exo-glass, which if Starlight remembered correctly would be nigh impossible to break without something that would destroy the rest of the room in the process.

Inside were two bunk beds, a set of drawers with a water dispenser on top, and a bookcase. In one corner was a rounded area sectioned off with glass, clear on the top and frosted on the bottom, containing a toilet, shower, and sink.

Deeper in the room, away from the cell, were a dozen cryogenic pods. They were large metal structures with a seat inside, big enough for a large pony to fit uncomfortably inside. Most remained open, though there was one that was occupied. The door was closed, steam billowing from time to time from the base, and a glowing digital display on the front that showed “Overmare Crimson Prose: Rehabilitation 0.05% complete.”

Using cryo-stasis programming to reform was either a humane or cruel idea, depending on what things they rehabilitated ponies for and what data they streamed into their head to ‘fix’ their criminal defects. Either way, Starlight noted it as a useful idea.

The popsicle that used to be Overmare wasn’t the only one there. There was a unicorn in the cell they were being led into, sitting on one bed. She sported a yellow coat with the cutie mark of a chemistry flask full of a bubbling purple liquid. The young pony’s bright green eyes clashed with the white and gray streaked mane. She wore geeky glasses and a purple flower in her mane behind one ear, a nice hint of life in the hellscape they had found themselves. Like the others, she wore a standard stable uniform on her front half, the trim a lighter blue than Solar’s had been.

“Back up, Mercury Shine,” said one guard as she moved to the door of the cell. “You're sharing your cell for a bit. Don’t bother them and do not discuss internal stable issues.”

“I won’t…” Mercury stood, backing to the far corner, probably surprised that ponies she'd never seen existed.

The guard opened the door, allowing them to enter the cell.

“There are uniforms in the drawers there,” the guard said. “Get yourselves cleaned up and changed, we’ll be taking the armor you have on.”

Once the door closed again, Mercury walked toward the group, only for Maud to cut her off. The intimidating earth pony quickly stepped between Mercury and the other newcomers.

“You will not approach,” the mare’s expression showed no hint of real emotion, but her eyes narrowed slightly. She clearly had a way with ponies.

7. A Wolf in Pony's Clothing

Earlier Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Mercury Shine
Stable 27

Mercury couldn’t believe she had finally figured it out! This would revolutionize Stable 27!

No, take that back. Mercury definitely could believe she had figured it out. Crimson told her she was the best alchemist that the stable ever knew, after all. She claimed Mercury rivaled the scientists at the Ministry of Alchemy before the Breaking, quite a compliment coming from the Overmare!

There had never been a colt born inside Stable 27. Shortly after they had entered over 200 years ago, the Overmare wisely tainted the water supply with chemicals that ensured ponies only gave birth to fillies. Prior to that, Equestria had only ever kept stallions as breeding stock, as every school filly in Stable 27 learned. They were too stupid to do any useful duties.

Of course stallions were good for one thing, so they required magic to give mares the temporary bits necessary to produce foals with their wives. Not only could it be inconvenient to track down a unicorn capable of the spell any time you wished to breed, but the magic was painful; the spell turned a mare’s vagina inside out and formed her ovaries into fertile testicles, and it felt every bit as excruciating as one would expect, which didn’t exactly put one in the mood to make foals.

The new potion Mercury developed was both easy to use and painless, containing a similar numbing agent to the one they used during surgery.

It surprised Mercury that nopony had thought of such a thing. In fact, the problem was so easy to fix that if she didn’t know better, she’d have thought Crimson designed the spell they taught the more magically-gifted unicorns to be painful. The Overmare wouldn’t do that though; that’d be bananas. Mercury assumed that she was just so brilliant with chemistry that it seemed easier than it was.

Strangely though, the Overmare and her wife Tranquil Melody were not enthused when Mercury explained how painless the new potion would be. Crimson had feared adding a numbing agent to it would cause complications, even insanity, but Mercury had run simulations showing no reason it would.

Mercury hoped their lack of enthusiasm didn't indicate issues in their relationship and especially hoped that Tranquil wasn’t relapsing; the poor mare already underwent cryo-rehabilitation for suspected heterosexually once before she and Crimson had wed...not that Mercury had room to speak on that.

Perhaps Mercury could cheer the two up by offering to do trials on it tonight. Crimson, despite being the Overmare, sometimes volunteered as the guinea pig for new potions. Her soul crystal meant that she was effectively immortal, after all. It must be nice to have one of those, the ability to grow a new body whenever you die, or when you just didn't want to get old, would be handy.

At least the stable’s only soul crystal was embedded in the right head. Crimson had led for over 200 years now. She was like Stable 27’s personal goddess, without the part about changing form and reducing the world to ashes.

This meant that much of the stable population was descended from Crimson. Mercury herself was a descendant of Crimson and one of her second wives, Aloe, which made Crimson her 10x great grandmother. Though with Crimson’s tendency to wed her own descendants, she was also Mercury's 3x and 5x great grandmother. That might have been weird once upon a time, but in an enclosed stable with a limited number of residents, it was unavoidable at some point. Thank Break for the genetic stabilization magics to prevent issues from inbreeding.

Either way, Mercury looked forward to testing. It’d be at least a little interesting to observe such a ‘test’. Mercury smiled brightly, picking up one vial and her research folder with her magic before turning to the door and…

...watching as two security mares burst in through said doors and pointed their quivering guns at her face.

“Don’t move or we’ll… um… something bad!” the unicorn mare in front, Pistol Whip, stammered, her gun shaking in her telekinetic grasp.

“What?” Mercury blinked.

She took a step back, dropping both her research folder and the vial in surprise. The vial shattered at Pistol’s hooves as she approached, who took one deep breath of the resulting mist and went cross-eyed. She promptly tumbled to the floor.

“She’s using poison gas on us!” Trigger Teeth, the second guard, said as she dove behind a table.

To Mercury’s horror, Trigger lived up to her name. If not for a reluctance to shoot a fellow stable dweller, she might have scored a direct hit. It was still close; Mercury felt the wind from the bullet buzzing past her head before it struck the wall behind her. She shrieked and dove for cover herself, shielding her head with her hooves.

“It was an accident!” Mercury screamed.

Damn it, this always happened! No matter what Mercury Shine did, it somehow turned into another bad time!

“It’s not poison,” gagged Pistol, “Um, it was… something else.” She staggered back up to her hooves, blushing as she looked at her underside. “Oh that new potion works, nice. It was so painless I barely noticed!”

“Um, sorry,” Trigger stammered, “Regardless, we’re taking you in!”

“For what?!” Mercury cried out, tears streaking down her face now. “I didn’t do anything!”

“You know what you did!” Pistol growled, pulling up her gun again. “Bucking monster!”

“Is it because I took the last broccoli at dinner, and you really wanted it?” asked Mercury, confused as to what else it might be.

“… no.” Pistol sounded unsure, “Though I am peeved about the broccoli.” She must have been angry to use such language. “Look, we searched your room.”

“What’s in my room?” asked Mercury. Oh gods! Did they find the straight romance novel she swiped from the archives? They’d send her to cryo-rehab for sure!

“Look, just follow us, and don’t try anything funny!” Trigger said. “Or, you know, anything not funny either. Just don't try anything, okay?”

Mercury slowly emerged, wishing they wouldn’t point their firearms directly at her, and headed out of the lab back toward her room. The guards walked behind her, tensing as if they expected her to attempt an escape. It wasn’t like there was anywhere to escape to inside a stable. They could track her by her pipbuck even if she lost them.

This was strange though. Why didn’t they tell her what they thought she did? Now that she'd calmed, Mercury realized it had to be more than just finding evidence of heterosexuality. They’d escort her to cryo-rehab for that, since that was the go-to punishment for every crime here, but security didn’t pull their guns on somepony for being a pervert.

When she arrived near her quarters, there were other security around it, many of them looking at Mercury like she disturbed their very souls. She walked past them quickly, unnerved by their stare, and went into her quarters.

She froze as soon as she entered the room. On her bed lay the body of a unicorn filly she had often foal-sat, sprawled out… a thin cord wrapped tightly around her neck. Her face was off-color from suffocation, her body stiffened, dead for at least several hours. Aside from that, the filly had obviously been… used, and Mercury didn’t imagine it was with consent. They filly’s pipbuck lay on the dresser next to the bed

“No!” Mercury felt tears formed as she turned from the bed to the others. “I-it doesn’t even make sense! Only she could take off her own pipbuck and why do it for a killer?”

Trigger told everypony in the gathering crowd. “She perfected that potion she’d been telling everypony about. She must have… tested it… on little Silk Strand.”

“I did no such thing!” Mercury’s eyes blurred with tears as she struggled to stay coherent. “I love that filly! W-why didn’t security know when her pipbuck came off?”

“As if you wouldn’t know,” Trigger grunted. “A maintenance code was used to keep it from triggering. We’re questioning maintenance to see which of them you might have stolen it from.”

“I don’t know enough about magitronics to steal or use one of those codes!” Mercury shouted again, body quivering until her legs gave out and she lay on her belly. “Besides, the potion wasn’t ready for testing until a few minutes ago! And… my pipbuck! It will tell you I wasn’t in here! I’ve been in the lab since late yesterday!”

“Is that so?” Chrome Keys, the head of security, stepped forward as she arrived. “Let me see?”

Mercury held up her pipbuck, giving access freely. Chrome moved closer, pulling Mercury back up and holding her hoof over the screen, using her ‘sticky hoof’ to manipulate the controls.

“According to this,” Chrome spoke after another minute. “You left the lab six hours ago. You stopped by Silk’s quarters, then to your room where you stayed for another hour before heading back to the lab. And it looks like you took all the back corridors so nopony would have seen you. That’s unsurprising.”

“But… WHAT?” Mercury shook her head, pulling her pipbuck back up to look at it. Her position logs said exactly what Chrome said. But how? “I didn’t! I swear I didn’t come here! Why would I show it to you without hesitation if I knew… why would I leave her body in my room and not disintegrate it when I have full access to the alchemy labs? Nothing makes sense!”

“Could somepony have altered it?” Trigger asked. Mercury appreciated the doubt, even if it was probably just a rhetorical question.

“Nonsense,” Pistol sounded more certain, “Only the Overmare could remotely alter a pipbuck, and she wouldn’t do anything like this.”

“Chrome, you know that I am a terrible liar,” Mercury said, exasperated and choking on new tears. “You’d know if I was lying.”

“Wouldn’t she…” Chrome trailed off, “You’re right, you are a terrible liar.” She glanced at the guards, “Take Mercury to the lock up. I’ll question her after I speak with the Overmare.”

“Chief,” Pistol shook her head, “Will you put those blind suspicions to rest? The Overmare has ruled this stable for over two centuries. If she were secretly a serial killer, we’d know it by now.”

“Yeah,” Trigger agreed, apparently not having as much doubt as Mercury thought. “I know it doesn’t seem like something Mercury would do, but ponies crack, it’s happened before and they’re never very careful with their deeds when they do. I mean, we should definitely ask the Overmare if somepony else might have gotten her code, but...”

“It has happened before, fairly regularly in fact,” Chrome nodded, “Ponies cracking I mean, ever since the stable opened… and usually to ponies that the Overmare had a problem with. This is the third time someone invented a potion to replace one of the spells our unicorns learn and then went haywire, as if someone wanted us to dismiss the potions as dangerous.”

“The Overmare doesn’t have a problem with me,” Mercury said, confident of that, even if it hurt her case. “S-she said I was a good alchemist. And… I don’t see why she’d be against a working potion.”

“But usually it turns out to be someone like that,” Chrome pondered.

“You’re always doubting her,” Mercury shook her head.

Chrome had been saying things about the Overmare ever since being appointed, even though never so brashly or publicly as now, so Mercury entertained the idea for a moment that she might be pulling something. Yet, she wasn’t suspicious enough to accuse her outright. Even if Mercury had absolute faith in the Overmare, she still didn’t want to believe anypony here could murder a filly for political gain.

“The Overmare is wise,” said Trigger, “She has ancient knowledge, she’s probably just a good judge of character.”

“Take Mercury to the cell,” Chrome repeated, “I need to get an engineer for something.”

“What do you need an engineer for?” Pistol shook her head, perhaps suspicious that she suddenly wanted one now.

“Are you okay, Security Chief?” Trigger asked. “I walked by your quarters the other day and thought I heard you talking to yourself…”

“You have no idea, Trigger.” She turned to Mercury. “I’m sorry; this is just how it has to be for now, so please understand.” She looked at the other guards. “You’re right of course… I’ll chat with the Overmare later and it will surely alleviate things.” She pulled up her pipbuck. “I will need Solar though for… something unrelated to this murder… or at least beyond it. This is going to be a really crappy week I think.”

Crimson would surely put her fears to rest when they chatted later, and Mercury was confident that Crimson would take her side too. It was weird that Chrome became oddly intense in her suspicions about Crimson before suddenly pulling back though. She’d always stayed just shy of it being enough to earn her rehab, but this outburst might well push other security personnel to request it. It was obvious to anypony that such suspicions had to be wrong, right?

Mercury sat quietly in the cell upon one bed, hunched in one corner, rocking back and forth. She was no longer crying, but it stunned her all the same. At least she was in the cell and not the cryo chambers, which is where she expected to go immediately. That alone meant that Chrome believed that Mercury probably wasn't guilty of anything, but there were other issues.

Surely once they talked to the Overmare, she would settle this. Something else must have happened; it had to be a fault somewhere that allowed somepony else to do this.

“Yes, Overmare? She’s still here,” the voice of one guard outside spoke.

Finally! She was here, once Crimson…

But it wasn’t Crimson that came in and trotted to her cell. It was Chrome Keys.

“Where’s the Overmare?” asked Mercury quietly.

“I am the Overmare,” Chrome answered, “For now, at least, while Crimson serves her time in rehab, which may well be the rest of my life with as much as she needs.”

“Serves her time? What are you talking about?” Mercury stood up from the bed and walked to the glass wall of the cell. "You can't possibly mean she's going into cryo!"

“Did you know what Crimson and Tranquil were doing?” Chrome asked, “Just answer.”

“What were they doing?” Mercury asked, more confused than ever.

“I want to say you’re another victim,” Chrome sighed, “But you were right before, Crimson had no reason to go against you. And you are best friends with Tranquil… maybe a new... recruit to her habits?”

The accusations were oddly unenthusiastic, as if even Chrome didn’t quite believe them, but they were accusations all the same.

“Name one pony I’m not friends with!” Mercury shook violently as she spoke. “Please, Security Chief, just tell me what you’re talking about!”

“Overmare,” Chrome corrected, then sighed. “Look, Tranquil made it out of the stable, but I’d normally expect her to return once she realized Crimson didn’t follow her. If she does, I’ll question her and then come back to talk to you… you’re probably fine, but you need to be in here for now for… reasons. I hope you understand.”

“I don’t understand,” Mercury teared up again.

As they spoke, Mercury heard a commotion outside the room. She looked just in time to see Trigger and Pistol, the same mares that verbally defended Crimson earlier, dragging Crimson into the cryogenics. Crimson still wore her stable suit, gold-trimmed to signify her being the Overmare, but her white fur and pink mane were ruffled from her struggles, though she still sported both a ponytail and pigtail in her mane. Her cutie mark of a quill dipped in red ink seemed more sinister in her current state.

Crimson also wasn’t acting as she normally did. She was laughing hysterically, not struggling as much as making them drag her across the floor on her back.

“Hey, Mercury!” Crimson called as they forced her into the cryo-pod, “Don’t tell them what Tranquil’s up to, okay?” She then laughed again at the guards, “Aw, come on guys! How bout we all calm down and I’ll tell you the story of how...” Her words were cut off as the pod closed.

“What does that even mean?” Chrome sighed and put a hoof to her face in frustration. “I can’t believe things are actually ending up like this.”

“I-I don’t know what she meant!” Mercury stammered, afraid it might cause another accusation.

Why had Crimson said that? If she didn’t know better, Mercury might think Crimson was trying to take Mercury down too just for giggles. There had to be another explanation.

“If they delay putting her in there,” Mercury said. “I’m sure that whatever happened… Chrome, it has to be a misunderstanding! Whatever you found can be explained, I’m sure of it! Are you sure she wasn’t drugged? I haven’t seen her act like this before. I could test her if-”

“Mercury, please,” sighed Chrome, cutting Mercury off and then turning to leave, even as Crimson’s laughter was cut short by her pod closing. “I know it’s confusing just… stay in there for now.”

“Holy buck,” breathed Trigger as she set the controls on the pod.

“Seriously,” Pistol said, “It’s like out of nowhere… bananas! Could she really have been putting on a sane act this whole time?”

“Good thing she stopped to take the soul recycler with her,” Trigger said, “Else she might have gotten away like Tranquil.”

“Trigger, Pistol,” Mercury called to them, “Please, just tell me what is going on!”

“I shouldn’t,” Trigger shook her head, “I think the Overmare should be the one to talk to you.”

“Whatever ‘the Overmare’ found, there’s an explanation!” shrieked Mercury. “What if Chrome planted evidence? It’s no secret she dislikes the Overmare.”

“You didn’t see what she found,” Trigger shook her head. “Didn’t you see how Crimson was acting just now?”

“She’s eccentric,” Mercury shook her head, “I’m sure we would be too if we had lived… and died… as much as her. But she’s not evil, everypony knows that!”

The guards shook their heads, turning to follow Chrome out without another word.

“Let me see her!” another voice spoke after Chrome exited. Mercury recognized it as Solar.

“Solar,” Chrome spoke, “We don’t know what is going on yet. She'll likely be released, just be patient.”

“So, she can’t even have visitors until you know exactly what is going on?” Solar demanded, “Are you acting Overmare or acting tyrant?”

Chrome hesitated, “Fine, but you can’t go in the cell.”

“What, so she won’t escape?” Solar scoffed.

“No, so you won’t spend all your time on duty molesting her,” Chrome dead-panned.

“… got me there,” Solar chuckled.

Solar raced in, coming in so quickly that she slammed into the glass wall of the cell. She tumbled back onto her behind, holding her nose in her wings.

“Mercury!” Solar didn't bother playing it off, staggering back to her hooves and keeping her wings over her nose. “I know you’re not guilty. I won’t let them put you in those pods with that monster!”

“Solar!” Mercury said, “That’s the Overmare you’re talking about, she’s no monster! Chrome Keys is just…”

“Mercury listen,” Solar shook her head, fluffing her wings a bit as she folded them back. “Chrome secretly asked me to hack the Overmare’s terminal. We found detailed logs of her activities on the archives maneframe. Videos and everything; there was literally weeks of footage going back centuries, memory spheres too. Mercury, she’s been killing her subjects for years, blaming it on accidents or other ponies. It's all been for the fun of it as far as we can tell. Tranquil was her… apprentice. It’s all true.”

“What? No!” Mercury refused to believe it. “Tranquil is the nicest soul I know, they wouldn’t do that, either of them!”

“Damn it, Mercury,” Solar almost growled, “For someone almost as smart as me, you’re a cubic buck load of naivety.” She sighed, “Look it doesn’t matter. I won’t let them put you in that thing, Mercury, even if I have to break them all down. I swear.”

“Solar…” Mercury started again.

“I love you Mercury,” Solar put a single hoof against the glass, “I wish you understood that.”

“You love everypony,” Mercury shook her head, backing up and sitting on the bed again.

“I buck everypony, sure,” chuckled Solar, “But it’s you I love. I really do… I’d buck you too if you weren’t so damned picky.”

“You’d buck a Glimmer Cola machine if it wasn’t picky,” Mercury sighed.

Mercury wasn’t picky, though. She was straight, as shameful as that was, which they’d probably realize once they gave her stored goods a good once-over. Maybe it was best if she went into cryo-rehabilitation right beside Crimson. It might do her good, make her more normal so she could give a more positive response to friendly mares like Solar.

Either way, it was a compliment for Solar to say she loved anypony like that. Mercury was the only pony Solar had ever connected with on that level, and she often felt guilty that she didn’t feel similar in return.

Solar looked like she was about to speak again, but a sudden stable alarm silenced her. The pair almost jumped out of their stable suits, taking a moment to figure out what it was. The only time they used a stable-wide alarm was in a disaster, but Mercury could count the number of times that’d happened on one hoof. It had happened once in her lifetime, and it had only been somepony mistaking spilled cola for a dangerous chemical leak.

“Attention,” the magitronic Daybreaker voice spoke over the intercom, “Incursion by the New Lunar Republic imminent. All security to defensive positions.”

“The what?” Mercury squealed.

How could this be? The New Lunar Republic hadn’t existed since the Breaking; it didn’t even last long enough to take part in the final battle. How could they be attacking now? Unless… it was a devil. But how could it be either Nightmare or Midnight? Mercury had heard about how horrifying they were, that they were alive out there, but she assumed that to be stories to frighten foals. Surely they’d died out there the same as everypony else outside this stable.

But then as suddenly as it started, the alarm stopped.

“Attention,” the computer voice said again, “Incursion detection in error. Please refer to your Stable-Tec operating manual or contact your local Stable-Tec representative if you have further questions.”

“That’s… weird,” Solar looked shifty-eyed around the room, “I’ll go see what’s going on.”

“Don’t,” Mercury sighed, “Solar, I need someone here to talk to.”

Mercury didn’t like Solar putting herself in harm’s way. She’d never admit it because Solar would take it as a flirt, but she valued her as a friend.

“Yeah, yeah,” Solar chuckled knowingly. “Look, if there’s a fault, they’ll need me to find it. I’ll run to the reactor to make sure there’s no problem and then go right to hunt down the ‘acting Overmare’. I’ll get you out or end up next to you, one or both.”

“Solar…” Mercury pleaded, but Solar’s only response was to wink and trot back out the door.

The door reopened not long after Solar left. The guards outside were escorting another group of ponies to the cell Mercury occupied.

Ponies she’d never seen before, which was impossible right? There was nopony outside the stable other than devils or undead. Everypony knew that. Right? Yet here they were. Living　ponies she didn't recognize; Mercury assumed they were from outside, but how?

In front was a pegasus though she was more metal than mare. She had a rainbow mane and tail poking free from what looked like the old-style Enclave armor Mercury had seen in history books. She looked an awful lot like the Enclave’s president, Rainbow Dash, exactly in fact. How could she be anypony else?

Behind her were two ponies dressed in Canterlot guard armor, earth ponies. They’d removed their helmets, and Mercury could see that one was pink and the other was gray, both with the same straight-down mane-style. They were eyeing the rainbow mare and stable guards with equal amounts of suspicion.

Behind were two unicorns, also wearing Canterlot guard armor, also having removed their helms. There was a purple one that was crying, a great deal of fresh blood on her armor. Had something else happened? Whoever it was, the poor mare had a very ‘Midnight Sparkle’ color scheme. Mercury couldn’t imagine being unlucky enough to be born favoring such a horrible creature. The possibility that she was Midnight didn’t even register, because she wasn’t killing everypony in sight.

Then the other one, pink with a purple and blue striped mane. She looked like Starlight Glimmer. She even had the head-mounted pipbuck from the newspaper images in their history books, the one that Solar had often spoken of how she’d love to see. Sheesh, if Solar saw that, she might goo herself enough to pass out from dehydration.

“Back up, Mercury Shine,” said Trigger as she moved to the door of the cell, “You're sharing the cell. Don’t bother them and do not discuss internal stable issues.”

“I won’t,” Mercury stood and backed to the opposite side, looking at the new entries in confusion.

Trigger opened the door, allowing the new ponies to enter the cell.

“There are uniforms in the drawers there,” Trigger said, “Get yourselves cleaned up and changed, we’ll be taking the armor you have on.”

Once the door closed, Mercury walked toward the group. She was cut off by the dull colored earth pony however, who was quick to step between her and the others.

“You will not approach,” the mare’s expression showed no hint of real emotion, but her eyes narrowed slightly. She clearly had a way with ponies. A very terrifying way.

“We do not know what crime she committed!” the pink one added, moving beside the other and looking outright murderous. “We should eliminate her to be safe!”

“That is too far, Pink,” Maud glanced at Pinkie. “We do not attack unarmed civilians. If we wait to confirm she is an enemy, it will be more fun.”

Mercury didn’t have the nerve to protest as she stared into those murderous eyes, so backed herself into the corner to look less intimidating, if that were even possible. She stayed still, feeling like those stares would snap her in half.

“Maud, Pinkie,” the pony that looked like Starlight spoke. “Let her be.”

“Yeah,” commented the rainbow pegasus, smirking. “Killing our bunkmate might hurt Starlight’s ability to negotiate, to say the least.”

Maud stepped back and left Mercury alone, Pinkie following more reluctantly, but they and the pegasus kept an eye on Mercury.

That was really Starlight Glimmer? Mercury widened her eyes as Starlight turned to comfort the Midnight pony again, catching a glimpse of the gem at the base of her neck. She had a soul gem, like Crimson. This could actually be Starlight Glimmer! Did that mean the Midnight pony was really that Midnight? Surely not. She couldn't see the back of her neck from here, but whoever the purple unicorn was, she was no devil.

Maybe? Even devils might cry if somepony they loved died.

Mercury nervously made her way to the water dispenser to pour them glasses of water, wanting to make herself seem friendlier and unsure what to say otherwise. Maud reached for the water, at which point Pinkie kicked the glass out of her hoof and across the room as if it were a live grenade.

“It is poisoned!” Pinkie claimed, then pointed at Mercury. “You will drink first! And then the traitorous featherbrain! If neither of you die, Pinkie will test it before giving some to the Empress, yes.”

Mercury stared and cautiously reached for a glass, guzzling it down fast to appease the paranoid earth pony.

“Lose the term Empress for now, please,” Starlight sighed, patting the purple unicorn. “I don’t want to seem like I’m trying to take over. And I doubt the water is poisoned.”

“We are in an enclosed room,” Maud said. “Poison gas would be far more efficient.”

“But their spy is also here!” the pink pony narrowed her eyes at Mercury as she put the glass down. “They put her here to discover our secrets!”

“Um, but I just drank the um…” Mercury stammered a little.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just watch us through cameras?” Rainbow asked, but guzzled one too. “We’d be more likely to talk without somepony else in the cell.”

“A filthy featherbrain would think like that,” the pink one’s eyes narrowed further, watching closely as Rainbow drank to see if anything happened to her. She quirked one eyebrow in slight surprise when neither Mercury or Rainbow keeled over dead from the water, then narrowed her eyes in further suspicion.

“Pinkie, lose the racial slurs,” Starlight said firmly, then grasped a glass with her magic. “Kamikaze is right.” She turned back to Mercury, “I’m sorry, they’re just protective. Though, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you in this cell for?”

Kamikaze? Wait. Mercury remembered that from the history books too. That was Rainbow Dash’s call sign; she got it from having jumped into lethal machines and attacks so often; it was how she’d ended up with so many metal parts. Solar had often gone on about it, mostly because she wondered if certain other parts also got upgrades.

Gods, if Solar saw this group… it surprised Mercury she wasn’t already here. Then again, it’d surprise Mercury if anypony let Solar in here with them. She might be off somewhere figuring out how to get past the guards.

“Well, it’s not anything too bad,” said Mercury, definitely not wanting to tell them ‘suspected of foal murder’. That’d be a poor first impression. “If I did anything too bad, I’d be in cryorehab, right?”

“I do not know. Would you?” Maud asked.

The question took Mercury off guard. She had never spoken to ponies that weren’t familiar with the culture of the stable. She’d assumed that how they did things in Stable 27 was the standard Equestrian way of doing things.

“I would,” Mercury said, uncertainly. “Definitely, I’m certain.” She shook her head, trying to start over, “My name’s Mercury Shine. I’m just in here because of a misunderstanding, I swear. Once the security chief gets back to question me, I’ll be set free. I have… I mean she thinks I have information about… something.”

“The former Overmare?” Starlight asked. “Is that what you have information about?”

“I’m… not supposed to say,” Mercury stammered. “The guards said not to talk about stable issues...”

“As you will,” Starlight looked disappointed, turning back to the Twilight pony, voice pitching higher as one might when speaking to a foal. “Look at this, Twilight, books.”

To cheer the other mare up, Starlight pointed to the cell's bookshelf. Twilight’s eyes followed her to the book shelf, but for the moment just stared, her mind awash in other concerns.

‘Twilight’ though? That was Midnight’s original name… but how could it be?

“Midnight Sparkle?” Mercury asked in a trembling whisper.

The fear must have been apparent in her voice because Starlight acted as if she thought Mercury might scream.

“Oh no, no, no, this isn’t Midnight,” Starlight assured.

“Twilight and Midnight are the same pony, aren’t they?” Mercury asked, sitting back down, looking at Twilight cautiously. It was hard to see the grieving mare as dangerous, yet…

“Your history is inaccurate, I fear,” Starlight explained, “Twilight and Midnight are not the same pony they are… sisters. Twilight differs greatly from Midnight, they oppose one another, like Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon did.”

“No, they are the same,” Mercury shook her head. This made less and less sense. “I heard stories from Crimson herself, and she was alive before the Breaking. She MET Midnight Sparkle.”

“Crimson?” asked Starlight, “Is that the Overmare? Are you sure you still trust her after recent events?”

Starlight looked at her kindly, but as kind as Starlight looked, her stare made Mercury uneasy. It felt like an attempt to rewrite Mercury’s thoughts just by looking at her.

“No!” Mercury got angry rather than cooperative. “Crimson would never kill that foal! She wouldn’t kill anypony! Chrome Keys framed her to take over! I’m sure of it!”

Starlight looked surprised at Mercury’s defensive reaction, but then waxed thoughtful. Meanwhile, Twilight had retrieved a book from the shelf and was flipping through it with an empty expression on her face.

“So, it was murder, foal murder no less,” Starlight said, one hoof still on Twilight’s shoulder. “I assumed something more political. Interesting.”

Damn it. Mercury realized too late that she’d just blurted things they told her not to. She wondered if Starlight had intentionally tricked her into it. If half of what she read about Starlight’s skills was true, she probably did. That pony practically invented the science of psionics.

“This book says Star Swirl was a mare,” Twilight spoke suddenly, not having been paying attention to the rest of the conversation. She still looked distant, speaking as if she barely cared but couldn't resist mentioning it.

Starlight took the book with her magic and flipped through it. Her horn glowed as she seemed to scan the pages.

“That page, and others, have been replaced.” Starlight slid a hoof along the binding of the book. “On close inspection, some pages are obviously added later.” She creased her forehead as if there was no greater sin than damaging a book.

Twilight turned to Starlight, looking like she didn't comprehend in her current state. She stared into space for a few more seconds, then pulled another book out with her hoof as if her body was on automagic while she fell apart internally.

“What?” Mercury didn’t understand, once again, “What do you mean? Of course, Star Swirl was a mare. Stallions can’t reach anywhere near that level of magic. And the book is old, maybe some pages needed replacing.”

“This Crimson has told you a lot of things, hasn’t she,” Starlight looked carefully at Mercury once again, “Crimson… wait. Crimson Prose?”

Mercury nodded.

“I remember that name,” Starlight tapped her head with a hoof. “You're right, she was alive early in the War… oh, what was it.”

“Early in the War?” Mercury asked. “The War ended when the world did. But yes… she headed the Ministry of News.”

“News,” Starlight mused, “She didn’t have anything to do with the sprite-bots, did she? Sprite-bots rescued us when we first got here. Only a few hours ago; I sort of lost track of time.”

“Sprite-bots?” Mercury tilted her head.

“Small, hovering robots,” Starlight clarified, “We used them for propagan… news purposes, if I’m recalling right.”

“Oh those,” Mercury had heard Crimson mention them, “Well the Ministry of News used those, yes, but they couldn’t still be operating. And the Overmare has been hiding or… well frozen.” Mercury motioned towards the pod, “For the last few hours, at least. It couldn’t have been her, though I’m sure she would have saved you if she could, it’s just… oh this is all so confusing.”

“Whatever,” Kamikaze sighed, “Look: they want us to clean up, so I’m gonna hit the shower. You guys argue over who did what and let me know the result when I get out.”

Kamikaze took her helmet off finally, revealing more of her cerulean coat. She stripped her other armor, leaving a trail behind her on her way to the showers. The armor peeled off her body wetly, the mare sweaty as if from a lot of physical activity. Mercury’s eyes fell upon something specific though that she hadn’t seen previously.

“You have a horn slot,” Mercury commented.

“Huh?” Kamikaze turned to face her fully again. It was true. The cyborg had a circular port on her forehead that looked made to fit a horn. She reached up her metal hoof to feel over it, “Huh, guess I do, but for now the shower and toilet takes precedence over my potential horniness.”

“We must be clean and relieved before the next battle!” Pinkie blurted. Did they really expect to enter battle soon? Mercury dismissed it as more paranoia.

Kamikaze didn’t seem amused, shrugging and slipping inside the shower area and closing it. After a while, she hit the switch for the water, and Mercury watched as her shadow through the frosted glass detached her metal wing, cleaning it on its own. It disturbed Mercury, though Solar would think it was amazing... or kinky.

“Um, anyway,” Mercury tried a new subject since everyone got quiet, speaking to Twilight, “You look… well I wanted to give my condolences for… whatever happened.”

“I appreciate that, Mercury,” sighed Twilight, though didn’t seem prepared to talk about it. Instead, she put the other book away and creased her forehead thoughtfully. “Are there any books here on changelings?”

“Changelings?” Mercury asked, then shook her head, “I’m not sure, I don’t remember anything like that.”

“Why do so many not know about them?” asked Twilight, more to herself than to anypony else. “Before the time shift, Kamikaze mentioned hearing about changelings from Luna, but not knowing what they were. Even Luna had just found out. Yet the soldiers that attacked us mentioned them...”

She tugged another book from the shelf, turning her head away as she teared up again.

“What are changelings?” Starlight asked, leaning towards Twilight.

“They can change form into anyone,” Twilight explained, “They gain energy by becoming somepony you love and feeding off your love for them. According to Kamikaze before she lost her memory, Luna… Nightmare, whoever, said they were behind the war, that they wanted to wipe out pony-kind. Just before the fall of Canterlot, Luna rushed off to fight them.”

“Well that sounds terrifying,” said Starlight. “But if our emotions are their food source, why would they want us all dead?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Twilight. “I know nothing. I’m useless.”

Starlight put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, though seemed at a loss on how to comfort her. Mercury was even more so at a loss.

“That’s just what Pinkie would do if she were an evil shape-changer,” Pinkie claimed. “Burn her own food supply! It would be the last thing the food supply suspected! Yes.”

“Pink,” Maud monotoned, “Close your muzzle and let the saner ponies talk.”

“Pinkie’s muzzle does more than just talk,” Pinkie peered at Maud.

"That would be highly inappropriate for us," mentioned Maud. “Probably.”

“Yes,” Pinkie said as her eyes narrowed further, and the two stared one another down.

“We will use the shower next,” Maud decided. Her and Pinkie peered at each other a few more seconds before they unlatched their armor to pile it in the corner.

“Okay, what I know is this,” Mercury sighed. “On the final day, the Breaking, Daybreaker went insane. She launched megaspells against all other nations, even pacifist ones. She wanted to reduce the world to ash. The Grand Pegasus Enclave took vengeance on Canterlot and didn’t stop even though Daybreaker was assassinated shortly after launching the attacks.”

“What about these other devils?” asked Starlight.

“Well, many other devils remained at large,” Mercury explained. It felt strange to explain to adult ponies things she’d learned as a foal. “Sombra, Nightmare Moon, Midnight Sparkle, and Eris. They fought each other during the war, but now… they work together. They’ve gone mad from living out there where nothing else survives, they want to end any remaining life. Crimson protected the stable by sealing us off so they can’t detect us. If they ever did… we’d be goners.”

“Eris?” asked Twilight weakly.

“If I remember now, a psionic pony that Discord appointed as his replacement before disappearing,” Starlight said. “He tired of watching ponies murder one another.”

“Makes sense,” sighed Twilight. “Even at his worst, Discord had higher standards."

Mercury never believed they were still living; Crimson had just been cautious by sealing them off. At least that’s what she used to think.

"What about Celestia? What happened to her?” Twilight asked.

"Celestia?" Mercury asked. "You mean Daybreaker? I thought we just said..."

Twilight's muzzle dropped open as if just registering something. Her whole body froze as if her brain had shorted out. Mercury wasn't sure what that was about, but let her process the information for a moment.

“Do you believe they’re still alive out there?” asked Starlight, seeming to sense the doubt in Mercury’s previous statements.

“I don’t know,” admitted Mercury, “I used to not believe it, but if normal ponies survived out there this whole time, they could too.”

“Celestia would never do that!” Twilight blurted so abruptly that it made them all jump, like a dam of emotions spilling free. “It had to be changelings. Or Midnight. Or somepony else! Anypony but Celestia!”

“But only Daybreaker could fire Canterlot’s megaspells,” Mercury pointed out as gently as she could.

“Well, yes, but Celestia might have kept it charged and ready, in case she wasn’t there!” Twilight explained angrily. “Maybe the impostor used its existing charge. I mean at the fall of Canterlot, they were having trouble firing it again, but did, and 'Daybreaker' was already dead.”

“You were there?” Mercury asked in awe. It seemed logical if they were who they said they were, but to hear it still amazed her.

“If I can’t revert things,” Twilight growled, clenching her teeth and not seeming to hear Mercury. “I will find who is responsible for all this death. I will make them pay.”

Twilight eyes widened as if amazed at what she herself said. Mercury’s eyes shifted and she stepped back as the air around Twilight rose several degrees. It was stunning; Mercury had never met a unicorn with enough raw magic to accidently heat a room with her emotions.

“Done,” Kamikaze opened the shower, reattaching her metal hind leg right before strutting out, her real parts clean and her fake parts shiny. She was reasonably dry as the shower gave one a blow dry when the water turned off. “What did we decide?”

“That we’re all hopelessly confused,” Starlight said, jerking her hoof away from Twilight’s shoulder like it was a hot stove.

“Eh, whatever,” Kamikaze smirked. “Being certain just means that you don’t know everything.”

Kamikaze headed to the drawers, pulling out one of the stable uniforms. It had gray trim, which meant it was meant for a foal, but as soon as she picked it up, the enchanted garment resized to fit the one that picked it up. Kamikaze blinked, but didn’t question it. She ripped slits in the back for her wings, which the enchantment didn’t accommodate, and slipped it on.

“I think Maud was going next,” Mercury started, though paused when both Maud and Pinkie went for the shower together, “And Pinkie, I guess.”

“Guess that’s more efficient,” shrugged Kamikaze, then trotted toward Mercury, “You behaving, ‘criminal’?” At least she was more good-natured about it than Maud.

“Can’t do much else,” Mercury smiled awkwardly.

“Ugh,” Kamikaze rolled her eyes, “So pent up. There’s really no stallion in this whole place? Just my luck to end up in Pussyville.”

“You’re… straight?” Mercury asked in confusion, “And admitting it?”

“Mostly,” shrugged Kamikaze, “I’d make an exception for the right mare, but right now I could go for dick.”

It dumbfounded Mercury how bluntly Kamikaze admitted to liking real males. “You’re not ashamed of that?”

“Why would I be ashamed of it?” Kamikaze arched her real eyebrow as she finished zipping up her stable uniform with her real wing.

“Exactly how do ponies make foals in this stable, Mercury?” asked Starlight, leaning towards them slowly.

“We use magic to give mares a penis, of course,” Mercury said, “Or potions. I mean I had just made a potion to do it but… who knows if anyone will use it now. Had they not developed that magic where you came from?”

“I know that you think all of this is normal, Mercury,” Starlight smiled slightly, “But trust me, the society you have is… unique. They’ve given you shifty information.”

“Like what?” asked Mercury, uncomfortable yet curious.

“I’ve never seen such misandry,” Starlight commented, “I mean sure, stallions don’t desire leadership roles as often, but they’re hardly useless. You treat them like they’re just something ponies kept like livestock before magic conveniently replaced them.”

Well, yes. Mercury thought of them like that, and until now had no reason to doubt her education. Before she could ponder it though, Kamikaze whistled, drawing the attention of the others. When they looked at her, she chuckled and motioned toward the shower pod.

Mercury blushed as she looked. Once again, she could see the shadows of the shower’s occupants through the fogged glass. They were washing one another, but their actions weren’t restricted to washing. What Mercury saw was better defined as making out and spending an awful lot of time cleaning each other’s back half, although the exact details below the neckline were hidden behind the frosted lower glass.

“I half suspected,” sighed Twilight, the pure randomness of the situation seeming to distract her from her grief slightly. Her blush was short lived though as she turned back to the bookshelf to angrily yank another book from it.

“Oh well um, that’s sweet,” Mercury smiled awkwardly. A lot of things she did today were awkward.

“Aren’t they sisters?” Kamikaze asked.

“Yes, yes, they are,” Starlight sighed, turning away. “Well, I guess it’s good for their morale. No reason not to allow it, but I hope they don’t break anything, including one another.”

Mercury quickly ejected herself from that conversation, especially when things sounded increasingly violent in the shower. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were having a fight to the death.

She ignored the banging and trotted to Twilight at the book shelf. The air around Twilight had cooled, and she forced a fake-looking smile at Mercury. She didn’t speak though, eyes still wet with tears.

“So,” Mercury tried to start a conversation while Starlight and Kamikaze were watching the shower glass like a giant movie screen. “Are you and Starlight a couple?” Mercury wasn’t sure if that was a bad conversation to start but wanted to help get this poor mare’s mind off whatever horrible things they were on.

“Hmm?” Twilight blinked, not seeming to understand at first, then shook her head politely. “Oh goodness no. My stable door doesn’t swing that way. I mean I might make an exception for the right mare… apparently I did, in fact…” She spoke as freely as Kamikaze had.

“What’s it like?” asked Mercury.

“H-having sex with a stallion?” Twilight blushed. “That’s not really an appropriate thing to ask right now.”

“No, not that,” stammered Mercury, blushing in return. “Being Midnight’s sister. I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Well this will sound crazy, but I don’t really care anymore,” Twilight sighed, “Starlight was speaking figuratively. Basically, I’m from another timeline. Midnight is the version of me in this timeline and is Starlight’s arch-nemesis. Actually, we're sort of enemies in my timeline too, where Starlight is the evil of the two. It gives us a unique view of each other I guess.”

Starlight glanced in their direction, then looked back around the room. She stepped closer as if discretely listening. Twilight seemed to notice this as she quieted. Perhaps saying they were friends was wishful thinking on Twilight’s part.

As for Mercury, she wasn’t sure if she believed the weirdness about timelines. However if Twilight were making a cover story, it’d be the more believable one of being Midnight's sister.

The shower pod opened and the sisters casually trotted to the drawers as if nothing unusual had happened. Pinkie opened the drawer first, picking up a stable suit, then immediately dropping it and diving for cover beneath a bunk when it glowed and resized itself.

“I think it is supposed to do that,” suggested Maud, pulling one out for herself.

Starlight retrieved two from the drawers herself, then motioned Twilight towards the shower.

“Will it resize to accommodate… you know?” Twilight asked Starlight quietly.

“We’ll see what we can do, head on in,” Starlight sighed.

They headed into the bathroom pod together as the Pies had, though they seemed more like conspiring comrades than a romantic couple.

“This shower is in need of repair,” Starlight commented when going inside. “There are cracks in some of the ceramic.”

“Sorry,” Maud said, not even looking at Starlight, speaking as if by habit.

“Pinkie is not sorry!” Pinkie added. “Prison showers require sturdiness!”

Oddly, these two went in fully clothed to undress inside, taking the stable suits to put on inside as well. A few seconds later, the glass fogged completely as if they’d used magic to make it fully opaque. Did they have a weird nudity taboo?

“Sheesh, wished I’d known everypony would pair off,” Kamikaze complained, assuming the kinkiest explanation. “Had I known, I’d have dragged you in there, Miss Shine.”

Mercury blushed when Kamikaze eyed her, but shook her head politely, “Sorry, I’m not the playful type, I guess.” She tried a different subject. “Are there many pegasi living outside?”

“Don’t know,” shrugged Kamikaze. “I got here by falling through time apparently, so I’m past my expiration date. It seems like the world fared poorly without my awesomeness. Seriously, I figured everyone would have metal parts by now.”

“Oh,” Mercury nodded. “According to the Overmare, many survivors hunted pegasi because they… well you, sided with Midnight Sparkle against Canterlot. They weren’t allowed in the stable on the final day.”

“Didn’t I see a pegasus earlier?” Kamikaze quirked an ear, then flattened them, “Hunted? All my fault, probably. Damn it. Is that who I am? A danger to my whole species?”

“Well a few pegasi sneaked in,” Mercury explained, “There was an infant that was smuggled in, and another had her wings amputated to pass as an earth pony. And a few ponies had pegasi family, so they popped up. Right now we only have two in the whole stable, Tranquil Melody and Solar Flash. And well… Tranquil is missing.” She placed a hoof on Kamikaze’s shoulder, “I’m sure whatever you did, you thought it was the right thing. And besides, our history isn’t the most accurate, right?”

She still believed the history they had taught her, but this pegasus’s face was tensed like she wanted to cry but her ego wouldn’t let her. Mercury didn’t want to cause anypony more grief.

“It doesn’t matter,” grumbled Kamikaze, “I mean look at me. I’m barely real. Seems every time I blink some new system comes online and diagnostics scroll across my eye. Am I even Rainbow Dash? Or am I her skin stretched over a robot that thinks it’s her?”

“Being worried about that is a good sign,” Mercury smiled, “It takes a real mind to have an existential crisis.”

“I’m not sure which is worse,” shrugged Rainbow. “Either I’m not real and acting on programming, or I’m responsible for horrible things I can’t remember.”

“Pink, I do not think it will hurt you,” Maud’s voice distracted them. Maud had her stable suit on, but Pinkie was glaring at the one on the floor still, cautiously poking the outfit with her hoof, then quickly jerking away as if it were a bear trap.

“How can you be sure?” Pinkie asked. “They could fit it with a tracking device! Or program one to strangle us in our sleep! Or literally pull the wool over our eyes! A fiendish plan. Yes.”

“I do not think they are made from wool,” Maud observed.

“That’s just what they want us to think!” claimed Pinkie.

“You travel with interesting ponies,” observed Mercury.

“Yeah, well,” grinned Kamikaze. “I guess we gotta offset my awesomeness somehow, wouldn’t want the room to explode from too much in one place.” Despite being self-conscious, she hadn’t lost her legendary ego. Either that or she was desperately trying to convince herself. Maybe both.

Mercury smiled. She wondered what it’d be like to travel with a group of ‘interesting’ ponies out there. Now that she knew that it was even possible, she couldn’t help but think how much she could learn out there.

8. Cell Mates

Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Stable 27

‘Sheesh, she’s gonna freak if she figures out why they went in there,’ Kamikaze thought, though she smirked at the thought of them getting freaky instead.

Kamikaze assumed the idea was to get Twilight changed into the stable suit out of sight to hide her wings. A lot of good it’d do; the stable suits auto-sized themselves for a pony’s body, so stuffing extra wings inside would be a task. The armored suit Twilight already had on hid that much better, but if she kept that on, security would eventually force her to remove it.

Not that getting freaky with an alicorn was a bad idea; Kamikaze wondered what that’d be like. Kamikaze still wished there was a stallion somewhere in here, but if she had to settle, she’d go for the alicorn first. There was no telling what kinky magical horse apples she could get up to in the sack.

‘Wow, that was insensitive,' Kamikaze thought to herself. Was that who Kamikaze was? An insensitive jerk? She was starting to worry.

The Pies were finally both dressed in their stable outfits, though Pinkie was still suspicious of everything, and both suspected Kamikaze. They’d have killed her had the Empress not been more level-headed than them. She couldn’t blame them, since if the roles were reversed, she’d want to kill them too.

As she thought about it, it bothered her more. The machine identified her as an enemy of Equestria. She was wearing a different uniform than the others, and Twilight was reluctant to give them details about what happened before the time jump. Had they all been fighting Kamikaze? As cool as it would be if she held her own against them all, she didn’t want to be the enemy.

She wasn’t sure why it bothered her. If she opposed them, then that’s the way it was. She shouldn’t feel guilty about it, so why did she? Memory flashes returned, some of fighting for Equestria, nearly giving her life for it several times. Only a few featured Kamikaze fighting against Equestria, and she hadn’t remembered why she changed sides.

One might think it was because of what Daybreaker did, except that Daybreaker was dead at the end, and she didn’t get the impression that Equestrians were okay with what Daybreaker did either. What would have caused her to betray them?

And now Mercury told her they purged the pegasi outside. Had Kamikaze’s actions resulted in a genocide of her own species?

That was why Kamikaze needed to help though. Even though Starlight was Empress of a dead kingdom and being her minion was more a chore than an honor, she had to make up for things she didn’t remember. Maybe that way, it’d be less traumatizing when she did remember.

The alicorn’s presence made it more confusing. Kamikaze couldn’t deny that she felt something for the mare. But if Twilight was a version of their ‘Midnight’, then who Kamikaze had feelings for was this ‘devil’. Kamikaze wanted to think she didn’t know how bad Midnight was before, but was that all there was to it? And wasn’t Midnight always an enemy of Equestria? Her own actions still made no sense to her without proper context.

A surge of intense pain interrupted Kamikaze’s thoughts, spreading downward from her head and echoing through her whole body. Everywhere that her flesh connected with the arcane steel stung like a thousand angry hornets, as had happened several times an hour at random. Even when the stinging died down, there was an intense ache, like a constant tooth ache all over her body. Her face would occasionally itch intensely between the real and artificial halves, but she tried not to scratch it when somepony was looking.

She played it all off with only a twitch; she was getting good at that quickly. It felt like something she had gotten used to not showing, but the temporary memory loss required her to get used to it again. She wanted it to be temporary or fixable, but had a sick feeling it was a permanent part of her condition.

“Are you okay?” Mercury asked. Kamikaze had forgotten she was even talking to her because of the surge of pain.

“Yeah, I’m fan-bucking-tastic,” Kamikaze growled.

“Did I do something wrong?” Poor Mercury was easy to confuse.

“Nah,” Kamikaze assured, forcing herself to smirk. “I’m sure the excruciating pain is just a byproduct of being awesome.”

“Solar, what are you doing here again?” a guard outside commented. “Visiting hours are over, let your crush rest.”

“I’m not here for my crush,” Solar said, not denying the assertion. “I’m here for the new arrivals, to bring them pipbucks, several of them didn’t have one. And… I need to get the ID on the other pipbucks so we can track them.”

It sounded suspiciously like Solar was making it up on the fly, though Kamikaze doubted for nefarious purposes. She was pretty sure she knew what purposes it'd be for.

“And here’s Solar,” sighed Mercury. “She’s going to adore you, metal mare.”

“She already does,” smirked Kamikaze. “We said hi on my way in and I thought she might collapse into a puddle of her affections.”

“I guess that's why she's here,” chuckled Mercury, sitting back on the bed. “Here we go.”

“Why isn’t the pipbuck technician delivering them?” asked the guard, used to this sort of game with Solar.

“She’s in medical again, sadly,” Solar's concern almost sounded real.

“Oh, for Break’s ashes, did she get into the party-time mentats again?” the second guard asked.

“Possibly, yes,” Solar chuckled nervously. “She got into Mercury’s stash when it was unprotected. And took them all. Of her own free will. Without anypony slipping them into her drink.”

Kamikaze shook her head. She’d have to watch her drink if she ever met Solar in a bar.

“Last time she did that,” the first guard sighed, “She hallucinated and called herself ‘the Light Bringer’.”

“She might have!” agreed Solar. “Either way, I got to get these inside.”

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t take too long,” the guard agreed. “And don't buck any of them; they're from outside, so they might have crotch rot or something.”

The blindingly bright pegasus hopped into the room, almost tripping on her way to the cell door, a bright grin on her face. She stopped barely shy of slamming face-first into the glass.

Kamikaze’s visual systems analyzed her and highlighted her in green within Kamikaze’s vision. It was annoying to have ponies highlighted when looked at, but Kamikaze thought it best to keep it on. She wanted warning if the Pies suddenly turned violent towards her.

“Hey, Mercury,” Solar greeted. “Making friends with the new hotties?” Her eyes went to Kamikaze, “And hello to you.”

“Hello yourself,” Kamikaze smiled slyly. “Here to plug into my ports?”

Honestly, this one was too spastic for her taste, but it’d be useful to keep her in a flirty mood. Aroused creatures tended toward babbling important information to impress the object of their interest.

“Oh, am I, brought you a pipbuck too,” Solar responded with a grin, flexing out her wings slightly at the positive response. “Lookin’ good in a stable suit, Miss Dashie. So, are you like… the Rainbow Dash?”

“That’s me,” grinned Kamikaze, stiffening her own wings for visual effect. “I go by Kamikaze. And no worries, I have one of those internally. Our ali… purple unicorn needs one though.”

“Internally? Seriously?” Solar’s eyes glistened like a filly being shown an ice cream house. “You know, that port just above your left ear looks pipbuck compatible. Mind if I…”

Kamikaze quirked her ears, reaching her metal fore hoof up to slide over her head. Sure enough she had a port just above her left ear. That was nice to know, she guessed. She hoped just anyone couldn’t plug into that while she slept, though.

“Solar, for crying out loud,” Mercury placed a hoof on her own forehead. This must have been a common complaint with Solar.

“I’m just making a delivery!” claimed Solar.

“I don’t mind,” Kamikaze assured. “Come on in, just use protection.”

“I do like coming in,” Solar grinned, then blinked. “Protection? I don’t think I can check out armor without authorization…”

“Never mind,” Kamikaze rolled her eyes. “You can come in.”

Solar called to the guards, “You gonna open the cell so I can hoof these over?”

The cell’s door slid open remotely, though Solar jumped in with such excitement she slammed into the glass before it opened fully. She plopped the two pipbucks she brought atop the table in the cell as if they no longer mattered and turned to Kamikaze. She pulled a corded plug from one side of her own pipbuck with her muzzle.

Kamikaze could hear her hyperventilating as she took several attempts to plug it into Kamikaze’s head. She wondered if Solar had difficulty on purpose so she could get a nuzzle in; she could have sworn she felt Solar lick where the metal connected with skin. All in all, this was a terrible idea, but Kamikaze was as curious as Solar on what she’d find.

When Solar succeeded, a little ‘pop up’ projected over Kamikaze’s cyber-eye with a long message about what might happen to her if she lets the wrong entity connect to her. Yeah, she didn’t feel like reading that. She focused her eyes and blinked to click it away. Solar giggled again like a school filly when she received access.

Not wanting to take too much of a chance, Kamikaze tugged Solar’s leg over so she could look at her pipbuck screen too. It displayed a list of statistics about her cybernetic systems. Mark VI positronic brain, A17 cybernetic prototype limbs, mechanite healing factor, blood filter, automagic defense system, armored womb, and a pipbuck model 3000A Mk IV. It had brand emblems for the ‘Ministry of Wartime Technology’, ‘Ministry of Arcane Science’, and ‘Ministry of Awesome’. Those names seemed familiar, especially the last one; she highly suspected she came up with that name herself.

“This is amazing,” Solar squee-ed like the fanfilly she was. “You even have alicorn upgrade capability! I didn’t know they managed that! The energy it’d take to duplicate all three types of pony magic at once in a single cyborg…”

“Yeah well,” Kamikaze shrugged, “I doubt that upgrade is available anymore, and I wouldn’t trust myself with it, anyway. Some things are just too amazing to exist.”

“That would be amazing,” Mercury piped up, still listening, “I read you had upgrades you didn’t get because of, you know, defecting prior to being completed. I didn’t know it was that though.”

“I need to brush up on history,” Solar commented, “It’s just that it’s rarely this interesting!”

Either way, Solar was getting excited about this. Her wings fully extended, and she held her hind legs tightly together like she was trying to stifle a raging heat. Her legs quivered so much that it was a feat for her to continue standing. It was probably best if Kamikaze pulled the plug on it before Solar passed out. The connector stung more the longer it was in, anyway.

“Enough,” Kamikaze decided, and the port automagically ejected the plug. The cord retracted back into Solar’s pipbuck, prompting a ‘connection aborted’ error across her eyes. “So, is getting a look at me the only reason you pretended to bring us pipbucks?”

“Nah,” Solar said, sounding disappointed as the connection broke, but not denying that she came under false pretenses. “I wanted to look at Starlight’s pipbuck model 4000 too. There were only a few made and the specs aren’t in our database, so I’d like to see its capabilities. Also, your non-metal parts are pretty fascinating too! The armored womb upgrade implies that your fun bits are still fully functional, so I wouldn't mind using them!... You know, for science.”

“Solar,” Mercury warned, “These ponies are guests.”

“No rule against impregnating guests,” shrugged Solar, apparently having disregarded the guard's advice about avoiding potential crotch rot. “So what kind of creatures are out there? Like… griffons, dragons, diamond dogs, zebras, sea ponies, and such? One thing about history I do like is all the different species. I got a whole list I’d love to meet.”

“Meet or mate?” Mercury sighed.

“Both, obviously,” Solar rolled her eyes.

“Not sure what’s left alive,” Kamikaze grunted. “May not even be pegasi out there, though we met some bats on our way in. I guess you could come with us when we go to see. I doubt they’ll let us stay.”

“Nah, I can’t leave Mercury,” Solar smiled. “She’s worth more than a cross-species orgy.”

That was probably as close to sweet as Solar was capable. Solar seemed unashamed to flirt and talk like that in front of her crush, but Kamikaze chalked it up to cultural differences. Mercury seemed more annoyed than aghast, so maybe open relationships were the norm here. It certainly wouldn't be the weirdest thing about this place.

“Are there… stallions on the outside?” Solar whispered, eyeing the security camera and facing so they couldn’t read her lips. “Do different creatures have different fun bits?” She got even quieter, “I read from a book in the archive that sea pony penises are prehensile. And that dragons have two!”

“Probably all different,” said Kamikaze. “I know griffon drakes have barbs. Who knows about the others; I’m not exactly a connoisseur.”

“You’ve done a griffon?” Solar asked with interest, trying to stay quiet, but getting louder due to excitement. “Was she good?... um, he, I mean.”

“I remember little of anything,” Kamikaze shook her head. “A griffon friend shared her boyfriend with me once when we were all drunk, he was fine I guess? Griffons are violent with it, but I’m good with rough.”

Banging a griffon was an arbitrary thing to remember. Kamikaze wished her returning memories had priorities.

“How about those two?” Solar asked, nodding over to Pinkie and Maud. The Pie sisters were watching the conversation, poised and probably ready to attack.

"We do not have penises," Maud said flatly, apparently having overheard.

"No," Solar chuckled, turning to Maud. "I mean do you want to-"

“I wouldn’t risk trying,” Kamikaze cut Solar off with the advice, especially when her highlighting system upgraded Pinkie from greenish yellow to a yellowish orange. Pinkie narrowed her eyes further; Kamikaze assumed she was picky with who flirted with her or Maud and Solar didn't make the cut.

“Please don’t try with them, Solar,” Mercury added, sounding worried for her friend’s safety. She added, as if desperate to change the subject, “Have they found Tranquil yet, Solar?”

“Apparently, she left the stable,” Solar said as if she could barely believe it. “No idea what madness drove her out there. Crimson was on her way out too, but she stopped to get the soul recycler and got caught.” A realization spread over her face and she looked at Kamikaze, “You didn’t see Tranquil out there, did you? Pegasus, blue-green coat, golden-white mane, cutie mark of a treble clef with horseshoe notes on it… She probably had on a blinder suit, though, so you’d not have seen any of that I guess.”

“Blinder suit?” Kamikaze tilted her head.

“Barrier against Light Incantations aND Excess Radiation,” Solar explained. “Kind of a stretch but that’s what they decided to call it.”

“Oh right,” Kamikaze said. “All we saw out there were the bat ponies that attacked us and a badass zombie with a sniper rifle.”

“The dark purple one with the straight mane?” asked Mercury.

“You know her?” Kamikaze quirked her ears.

“Poor thing,” Mercury said, “She scratches at the door sometimes. The Overmare said she’s been doing it ever since the Breaking, but we can’t let her in because she’ll contaminate us. And, you know, probably try to eat our brains.”

“Contaminate?” Kamikaze asked. That was strange, since the pony whose memories they watched only thought of ghouls as being aggressive, not of them contaminating anything by mere proximity. A pony that lived out there should have realized if that was often the case. Then again, there was that one stable guard terrified of having her mask removed outside in low radiation. It seemed likely they brainwashed these ponies to prevent them leaving.

“She didn’t bite you, did she?” Solar asked, taking a step back.

“No, we only saw her,” Kamikaze shook her head, “At a distance.” She decided not to go into details about the memory sphere. “She didn’t seem like a biter, either.”

“Come to think of it,” Mercury said, “She looks similar to Maud and Pinkie, almost like a color swap, other than being… rotted a bit.”

Maud and Pinkie’s eyes enlarged in realization together.

“The pegacorn may have withheld vital information and must be dealt with harshly!” Pinkie decided. “Yes.”

“Pegawhat?” Mercury asked.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Kamikaze tried to mitigate that reaction, but she wasn’t as good at calming as Starlight.

“Pinkie prefers jumping, yes,” Pinkie glared at Kamikaze. “She does not have wings like filthy featherbrains!”

“Featherwhat?” Solar tilted her head.

Kamikaze ignored Mercury’s earlier question, responding to Solar instead, “That’s a racial slur for pegasi. Good to know ponies in here don't use that on you, at least.” She looked to Pinkie, “The Empress told you to tone down the racism, Muddy.” That last word slipped out. Oops.

Maud narrowed her eyes so far that they were slits, clenching her jaw. As Kamikaze’s systems highlighted Maud briefly red, her cyber-body took a defensive stance automagically. She thought Maud was about to pound her for calling her sister a mud pony, but Maud turned and trotted toward the shower.

“Wait, don’t open that!” Kamikaze warned.

Maud didn’t listen, opening the glass door. The water was off, the ponies inside dry, and Starlight was trying to tuck Twilight’s wings into a uniform. It wasn’t working well, and they were very much visible.

“The ghoul we saw in the memory,” Maud looked at Twilight. “Is she related to us? Did you know?”

“Yes?” stammered Twilight, trying to back up to where she wasn’t visible to those outside. “She’s your sister, sorry I…”

“Why did you not tell us?” demanded Maud.

“It’s really her!” Mercury squealed, backing away.

Solar moved in front of Mercury as if to defend her, puffing her fur and feathers aggressively, but only looked unreasonably adorable by doing so. Both ponies looked irrationally scared, and might have run screaming with trails of urine behind them if Twilight charged. At the least it distracted Maud enough that Kami's systems downgraded her slowly towards yellow.

“Wait!” Starlight stepped out of the shower and shut Twilight inside. “It’s okay. Like I said, this isn’t who you think it is, she’s from another timeline, world, whatever. Look, if she was your devil, she wouldn’t come in, act civil, and let you dictate what she wears.” She added more quietly so that Twilight wouldn’t hear, “Especially not after your security system murdered her surrogate child.”

“I guess so,” Solar relaxed, still breathing heavily and flattening her ears in regret. “Sorry; didn't realize that happened.”

Starlight walked up and smiled gently, and for a moment Solar seemed mesmerized. Kamikaze thought it was just Starlight’s creepy charisma, thinking it odd that it would affect someone of Solar’s intelligence. Then she realized that Solar’s eyes focused on the pipbuck model 4000 on Starlight’s head, not Starlight herself. At least the mare had some decency, since that last misunderstanding left her too awkward to ask to see it outright.

“You like this?” Starlight took off her pipbuck, placing it upon Solar’s head instead.

It was a surprisingly risky move to put her own pipbuck onto another pony when only the wearer could remove one, but Starlight did seem to be a good judge of character. At least it'd get Solar’s mind off the shower demon.

Mercury calmed when Solar did, though she remained close to the cell door. Kamikaze trotted over to her and patted her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Kamikaze smirked. “Twilight's annoyingly harmless, more team mascot than evil goddess.”

Starlight turned to Maud while Solar was distracted. “Maud. We will find your sister in the ruins, I swear. Twilight was just scared; not everypony is as fearless as the Pies.”

“Wow!” Solar’s eyes brightened as soon as she had the more advanced pipbuck on her head, forgetting all else. She scrolled through all the functions and pages without effort, despite having never worn the advanced type. “All these features! A 3D projection instead of a flat map, networking other pipbucks, SATS targeting with multiple weapons simultaneously, a potion delivery system via the leg component, even PCB!”

“I’m sorry, what?” Starlight sounded surprised. “SATS… I remember that. A weapon targeting system? PCB sounds familiar too but…”

‘PCB stands for Psionic Canter-Banter, telepathic comms!’ Solar’s voice boomed in Kamikaze’s head, and presumably everypony else that had a pipbuck on, before repeating it aloud. She continued out loud. “SATS stands for Stable-Tec Assisted Targeting System. It puts you into a temporary time lock to give you time to aim and even gives you odds on hitting specific body parts.”

"Out of my head," Maud said coldly. "Before I remove yours."

“Pinkie did not give consent for the pegaslut to penetrate her brain parts!” Pinkie added, reaching to where her gun would normally be and thankfully not finding it there.

“Sorry,” Solar said aloud, “But PCB will be useful, you can use it during a fight and your opponent won’t hear your plans. The model 3000 can’t do that, though it should be able to network with the 4000 as the hub. It might be noisy for the one wearing the hub; I’m guessing she’ll hear all the PCB transmissions whether aimed at her or not. This is amazing, though, maybe more than Kamikaze.”

“I heard that,” grumbled Kamikaze.

“You seem to know a lot about them,” Starlight commented, pulling up the leg-strapped portion of her device and opening the hatch. Inside were three health potions and two rad-away potions, loaded and ready for injection if her pipbuck detected the need. “Nice. I’m fairly sure I invented this thing, it’s coming back. It’s a little weird to get lessons about something I made from someone that just now picked it up though. You're a bright one.”

Starlight held out a hoof at Solar and smiled. Solar shook the hoof at first, then realized what Starlight wanted a few moments later. She hooved Starlight’s pipbuck back to her, smiling sheepishly.

“Interesting,” Starlight said as she put it back on. “It only registers the pipbucks of my team, like it’s smart enough to know who to connect to.”

As they spoke, Twilight opened the door to the shower. She had resigned herself to dealing with terrified stable dwellers, having ripped slits in the suit for her wings instead of hiding them.

“I guess since the guards aren’t screaming yet,” commented Kamikaze. “...they probably aren’t paying attention to their monitors… probably not used to actual guarding.”

“The training here is appalling,” Maud monotoned.

Solar grabbed one of the pipbucks she’d brought, holding it out towards Twilight, but still too timid to step close.

“Thank you, miss,” Twilight nodded, floating it away from Solar’s shivering hoof with her magic and latching it onto her right leg. She looked at the screen with glazed eyes as it booted. She may have wanted to be fascinated, but was finding it hard to.

“There you go,” Solar smiled. “Now only you can take it off.”

“Only I can take it off?” Twilight froze as her eyes widened slightly. “Reminds me of a certain artifact I had to deal with once.”

“Yes, more of my memories are coming back,” Starlight said, “I think we developed that function after analyzing a magical amulet. Not to worry though: It won’t possess you like the amulet would. That’s a different functionality we didn’t figure out.”

“Would you have used it if you figured it out?” Twilight’s wide eyes turned from the contraption to Starlight.

“Well, possessing enemies would be useful,” Starlight said. “Sombra used it to great effect. We would have only used it appropriately, of course.”

‘We should think about our next move,’ Maud’s voice boomed in Kamikaze’s head as she used the PCB. ‘If we remain here, we must place the Empress in command.’

“Pinkie will personally kick the Overmare’s head in!” Pinkie blurted out loud. “And put the Empress’s shapely behind in her seat. Yes.”

“What?” Solar and Mercury asked together.

“Ignore her,” Maud said. “She blurts out random threats sometimes. She was seeing a therapist for it before they all died.”

“If you say so…” Mercury looked uncertain.

Maud narrowed her eyes at Pinkie and added telepathically, ‘Use the PCB, Pink.’

‘We can do this without violence,’ Starlight told the team. ‘We need more information, but it doesn’t seem like everypony trusts Chrome, and those that do only because no one else challenged her. We can use that. Maybe we could even alter Crimson’s rehabilitation programming to make her…’

‘Should brainwashing really be considered as an acceptable option?’ Twilight butted in on the thoughts.

‘You’re already the Empress,’ pointed out Kamikaze. ‘Their own machine identified you. Doesn’t that mean you’re already in charge? Just convince their leader of who you are, and they’ll follow.’

“Why did everyone get quiet?” Solar asked, too bright to be fooled right after she told them about the PCB, but also dreamily admiring Kamikaze’s metal wing.

Starlight looked like she was about to make a crafty excuse for their silence, but was interrupted herself as the stable alarm sounded.

“Incursion detected by the New Lunar Republic. Defense systems on standby. Advice: Reactivate defense systems.”

A sudden tremor followed, rattling the cell and leaving those standing either clinging to a wall to stabilize themselves or falling onto their plot.

“That didn’t happen last time,” observed Solar. She pulled up her pipbuck, tuning the not-so-psionic CB to what must have been the stable’s security frequency.

"No, she’s really here this time!" a voice screamed over the open channel. "She blasted her way through the stable door with her horn! The entire atrium is in flames!"

“Security?” Solar said over the open comms, “That door is orichalcum alloy; you can’t blast through it with magic! And what about the automagic defenses?”

“Tell her she can’t blast through it!” the guard replied. “The automagic defenses aren’t activating, we don’t know-”

The grotesque sound of tearing flesh cut them off. It reduced the guard’s voice to the gurgling sound of choking on her own blood. Another voice spoke over the radio: Twilight’s. Yet it could only be Midnight.

“Starlight, I’m coming to kill you! Kill!” Midnight laughed. There was a dull thump as she dropped the guard’s body, her laughter growing distant before the radio shut off.

“S-she…” Solar stared wide-eyed after listening to murder in real time, probably of someone she knew.

‘These ponies are not mentally equipped for this kind of crisis,’ Kamikaze thought, adding aloud. “We need to stop this.”

“Her,” Twilight muttered under her breath. “She’s responsible for all this… for…” The air around Twilight rose a few degrees in seconds, her eyes positively sparkling with rage.

Great. Just what Kamikaze needed, an invasion by her ex-marefriend. Or current marefriend? She wished that memory had stayed forgotten, because this could be an awkward break-up.

9. Reunions

Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Stable 27

"See, Pink?" Maud observed calmly. "Now we have a non-civilian to murder."

"This will be more fun, yes," Pinkie agreed.

“Damn it!” Starlight face-hooved, “I told the computer not to reactivate the defenses until I specifically told it to! It recognizes me as an authority figure so probably won't let others override it. Give me access so I can turn them back on!”

“You what?” Solar snapped back to reality, wiping tears away with a quivering wing. “We’d have to get you to a maneframe terminal like the one at the gate to give commands like that. The one at the armory is closer than the one at the entrance.”

“We need to stop by there anyway,” said Kamikaze. “Assuming that’s where they took our weapons.”

“All hooves on deck!” Chrome called over the radio. “On or off duty! Foals and non-able bodies retreat to the residential level. Everypony else, arm yourself and keep radios on!”

“Grant me access to the security channel, Solar,” Starlight said to Solar, giving it as an order. “Do it now. Ponies are dying.”

“Right,” Solar said sheepishly as she took a step back and punched controls on her pipbuck.

Solar had an impressive memory, remembering the access code for Starlight’s pipbuck from the short time she had it on. A few seconds later, the security comms came up on Starlight’s holographic screen.

“Solar, take us to the armory,” Starlight continued giving orders. “Everypony, follow us.” She darted out toward the corridor, shoving Solar in front of her with her magic. She called back, “That’s you too, Mercury. She said all hooves!”

Mercury looked reluctant but followed all the same. There wasn’t anypony to stop them, the guards just outside the door having hurried to either join the defense or hide. That was the problem with raising these ponies to see Midnight as a literal devil. How many would even attempt to fight such a terror?

As they ran, Starlight’s map projected in front of her face again. Now that she had full communication with the stable network, she zoomed the map out until she saw most of the massive network of tunnels and rooms that made up Stable 27. There were a myriad of green symbols representing inhabitants, but most had chosen the ‘hide’ route, with large groups fleeing to the lower levels.

Closer to the top, one bright red signal shined brightly. Only one invader was responsible for this? The atrium and many top-level rooms registered as contaminated. She had left a trail of destruction, the stable’s systems detecting a dozen ‘medical emergencies’ between Midnight and the entrance, and that was only the ones left alive after she passed through.

As they listened, Chrome tried to organize an ambush with about three dozen ponies. It all devolved to screams and silence within seconds of the ‘trap’ being sprang however, and as Kamikaze watched Starlight’s map, all but a few of those signals blinked out within seconds, the last few fleeing.

“Fall back!” Starlight screamed over the comms. “Give us time to reactivate the defenses!”

“That’s a very specific path she’s taking,” called Solar as she glanced back at Starlight’s map. “I think she’s headed to the reactor.”

“How would she know where it was?” asked Mercury. She was at the rear alongside Kamikaze as they ran. Kamikaze had to be at the rear since the Pies still insisted on being between her and Starlight.

“You have signs pointing to places everywhere,” Kamikaze called up to them. “She's probably just following them. Solar, what kind of reactor is it?”

“We have a solar plasma reactor,” Solar replied with a grin, happy to talk tech even when terrified and panting. “It’s a coronal mass ejection trapped in a temporal lock so we can siphon off the energy a little at a time.”

What kind of lunatic decided that was a good design? Probably Starlight, if Kamikaze had to guess. It would supply virtually unlimited energy, but only until somepony successfully nullified the time lock. If they did that, this entire stable would be dead in an instant.

“Security!” Starlight called through the comms. “Blow the passages leading to the reactor. Force her to find her way through unmarked maintenance passages.”

"Do as she says!" Chrome called over the comms too. Apparently she was still alive, for all the good it'd do.

“Why does everypony do what Starlight says without question?” asked Mercury.

“Spooky, isn’t it?” Kamikaze agreed. “I didn’t think they even believed that she was Empress.”

Finally, they arrived at the armory. One plus of the security not being locked down was that Solar could access the door. She opened it and they all rushed inside.

“Staaarliiight,” said Midnight over the radio as they entered. They could hear a mare crying behind her, probably kept alive so Midnight could use her pipbuck radio without it turning off. “Are you here Starlight? Coming to kill you! Did you know we skinned your mentor, Starlight? Her skull made an adequate hat… kill, kill, kill!”

"How is that me?" Twilight said between clenched teeth, but the rage in her eyes hadn't died. She grabbed Solar’s hoof to scream into her CB. "It’s your fault he’s dead you bucking psychopath! When I get to you, Midnight, I’ll make a hat of my own!"

"The outfit would match your coat well," Maud observed, the only one still not panicking. Visibly, at least.

“Why are you here? My kill! I can kill her myself!” Midnight replied over the CB. There wasn’t a hint of surprise at hearing her own voice, just annoyance and a strange misunderstanding of Twilight’s intentions.

There was no time to question it; the team headed into the armory once it opened. Starlight proceeded to the computer in one corner, coated with dust as if nopony used it, just like a large number of the weapons in here. Save for their own, at least, which they piled atop a table near the front.

“Um, security terminal?” Starlight asked as the screen lit up upon her touch on the keypad.

“Yes, Empress?” Daybreaker’s voice answered. "Would you like a tutorial?"

“No. First, add everyone currently in this room to the friendly list,” Starlight ordered. “The Midnight Sparkle outside of this room is still an enemy. Reactivate all defenses.”

“As you wish,” replied the computer. “Thank you for using Stable-Tec. Would you like to fill out a brief survey of your customer experience today?”

Starlight ignored the computer’s offer and turned to Solar, but Chrome’s voice from the open comms answered before she had to ask.

“The defenses reactivated!” Chrome said. “They’re slowing her down, but she’s generating a personal shield. What little damage gets through, she regenerates. She has some kind of… magitech thing around her horn, I think it’s amplifying her power.”

"Is that how she got through the door?" Kamikaze asked.

"Amplifying it wouldn't be enough," said Solar. "It also has to be a conversion unit to change it to pure non-magical energy."

"Noted," Twilight said darkly, eyes concentrating as if configuring spells on the fly to counter the menace. Knowing to adjust her own magical shields to block non-magical energy would doubtlessly help in a defense.

“Hopefully slowing her down is all we need to get there first,” Starlight said, heading to the weapon racks.

Pinkie retrieved her guns from the table, giving each a kiss before putting them on. Her pink mini-gun hung over her right side, her alligator missile launcher as a counter weight on her other. She loaded the ammo pack on her back and a missile in the launcher. She wasn’t going to pull punches.

“Pinkie has Pinkie Die and Gummy,” Pinkie said. “She is content with the imminent murder she will commit. As are they. Yes.”

“Did they harm you, Mite?” Maud asked her rocket hammer as she picked it up. She blushed uncharacteristically before pushing down the emotion and whispering to the hammer. “That must wait until we are alone.”

Mercury looked confused, and not just from ponies flirting with inanimate objects. She likely wanted to help, but didn't understand how. She went for an easy-looking gun, a revolver with a scope and a white ivory mouth grip. Three apples were emblazoned on the grip.

She didn’t get to use it. Pinkie promptly trotted over and smacked the weapon out of Mercury’s telekinetic grip.

“That is from the wrong story!” Pinkie said as if enraged by the apparent mistake, adding more calmly. “The alchemist gets her trademark weapon in a later chapter. Yes.” She turned to Maud. “Pinkie’s sister will provide the alchemist with Zapper for now. It is importantly useful later!”

“What?” Mercury stammered.

“She does that,” Maud explained, pulling a pistol from her saddlebags as she put them on. “It is best to nod and take the advice. Regardless, this is a shock pistol. It uses a reversal of SATS technology to slow down a target rather than the shooter, making subsequent shots easier. Observe.”

Maud fired the weapon at an empty steel crate on a shelf. It blasted the crate off the shelf, falling in slow motion for a few seconds. Each time Maud shot it, it slowed down again, and it was in shards by the time it fell halfway. She hoofed the weapon over to Mercury as the bits sped up again and clattered to the floor.

Kamikaze recognized the weapon Maud hooved to Mercury as an energy weapon, usable by hoof, muzzle, or magic. It had a blue glowing barrel that looked like blueish metal rods enclosed in a transparent blue cylinder, sparks arcing between the rods from the charge loaded for firing. It didn’t look like a normal weapon, and the extra effects were cool, but it brought another question.

“If you had a gun, why have you been fighting with a hammer?” Kamikaze asked.

“It is probably more satisfying,” answered Maud, turning to admire Mite again. If the thing had eyes, she would have been staring into them passionately.

“Not sure about that,” commented Solar, who hadn’t picked up a weapon herself. “You know, thinking about it, I’d be a threat to everyone with a firearm. I’ll concentrate on making sure the reactor doesn't explode.”

Mercury picked up Zapper in her magic, but the gun shivered in midair. The mare was scared to death of actually entering combat, much like the scared mare in the sphere memory. Kamikaze patted her shoulder to calm her.

“You okay?” asked Kamikaze.

“I don’t want to hurt anypony,” Mercury admitted. “Or kill them! No matter what they’ve done.”

“Well, some ponies will tell you that the killing part gets easier,” Kamikaze advised, “But those ponies are lying or broken. Just concentrate on who you’re saving instead of who you’re hurting.”

“Okay,” Mercury nodded, but didn't look like it made her feel much better.

“Your whole stable is counting on you,” Kamikaze ruffled her mane. “Time to be awesome.”

As for Kamikaze, she looked but found nothing advanced like lasers or plasma. There also weren’t any weapons made for pegasi, not that she could fly much in here. She settled for a back-mounted semi-automagic rifle, the trigger mechanism wrapping around to her muzzle. She targeted it as a test, her internal pipbuck’s SATS system flashing and targeting Mercury, displaying 95% hit chance for her body and somewhat lower for her limbs and head. It felt weird targeting her even for testing, so she switched it back off quickly.

“Everyone has what they need?” asked Starlight. She had six pistols floating near her as if she intended to use them all at once. “Twilight?”

Starlight glanced at Twilight, who was standing at the door. She hadn’t picked up a weapon.

“Nothing here is as powerful as my horn,” Twilight answered darkly.

The alicorn was angrier than ever, enough that the metal floor discolored from heat around her hooves. Kamikaze’s systems highlighted Twilight with a burn warning. It wasn’t surprising, with the power Midnight had shown crashing into the stable single-hoofedly, Twilight had to have a similar power level.

On second thought, no. Midnight has 200 years of experience, a magical amulet, and other crazy magitech on Twilight, which meant that she was certainly more powerful. If Midnight could strut through the reactivated defenses, Kamikaze wondered if it would even be possible to down her, at least not without losing most of the party.

“Solar?” Starlight looked to their guide. “Lead the way but get out of it when combat begins.”

“Won’t have to tell me twice!” Solar nodded, then galloped back into the hall. “We’ll go through the maintenance tunnels and should be able to get there before... her. You guys better not let Mercury get hurt though!”

“Let’s hope we're first,” Starlight said. The red blip on her map was close by, close enough they heard the screams through the nearby steel wall as little green lights flashed off in a nearby corridor.

As they headed off again, a screen flashed in front of Starlight’s eyes. The same message filtered into Kamikaze’s display, that the system had recognized Mercury and Solar as allies and added them to the PCB.

‘I’m going to die, this is it!’ Mercury sent thoughts over the network accidentally.

‘I’m so gonna bang that rainbow chick when we’re done!’ Solar’s accidental thoughts were more amusing. ‘And I bet that Starlight is a beast in the sack!’

‘Watch how you direct your stray thoughts; it seems the PCB added you,’ Starlight advised, making Mercury jump and Solar grin. ‘And Solar: you will cease all thoughts of bedding me, on or off the network.’

Solar glanced back at Kamikaze as if hoping she overheard too. Kamikaze rolled her eyes and spoke to Mercury instead. “Come on, Mercury, don’t forget. Awesome time.”

When they arrived at the room outside of the reactor compartment, Midnight’s signal was only a few minutes behind them. Kamikaze looked around the room, but it wasn’t very defensible.

It was large enough for them to all fit in about a quarter, a door on each wall. Two doors were larger, the one to the reactor chamber, and the one on the opposite wall where they’d have normally entered. It led to a collapsed hallway that had been blown to slow down Midnight.

The doors on the other two walls, including the one they arrived through, and that Midnight was coming through, were smaller maintenance tunnels. This room was filled with computers and expensive equipment along all walls, with tables and desks in the middle. There was no way to know what was important.

“How much of this equipment is expendable?” Starlight asked.

“None of it,” Solar said. “But it won’t melt the reactor if destroyed either.”

“Good enough,” said Starlight, closing the door behind her. “Okay… I... we should... uh...” She may have been Empress, but she was clearly a scientist first. It was doubtful she'd ever commanded in battle.

“I got this,” said Twilight, frightening determination in her voice as her horn glowed.

Starlight’s map flickered, and all their signals moved into the reactor chamber, despite them still being in this room. It seemed Twilight's spell redirected the signals, switching their signatures with objects in the other room.

“She'll be scanning for nearby life forms and defense systems,” Twilight said. “If she thinks this room is empty, she’ll power down until she gets here to save power, just like I would. Maud. You stand next to the door. She’ll enter, see us, and throw up a shield, but if you’re close enough to her, you’ll be inside the shield when it forms. You pound her horn with that hammer until the shield drops and then get out of the way. Then everyone opens with all they got.”

It was a decent plan; Twilight wasn’t as harmless as Kamikaze first suspected. Though perhaps the alicorn wouldn’t be making such a violent plan if she weren’t half-crazed from recent trauma.

“I approve of this plan," said Maud. "Or any plan that hinges upon me and Mite destroying someone’s head."

"I just hope she doesn't call for back-up," said Kamikaze.

"She won't be able to from here," Solar said. "This far down, even with the door blasted open, she won't get signals out without a great deal of concentration at least."

“Hm, she can’t count on being able to teleport out either,” Twilight pondered and turned to Solar. “She'll try to damage the reactor in such a way that gives her time to flee. Make that hard for her if you can safely.”

“On it!” Solar nodded, turning and rushing into the reactor chamber next to them. The doors closed behind her.

Maud rushed to the door where Midnight would enter, the monster only seconds away, ready to swing a home run with Mite. Everypony else took positions on the other side of the room, guns raised. Rainbow flew up to the roof, turning herself upside down to cling to a rafter, targeting the door with her SATS.

The pony that burst through the door didn’t look exactly like Twilight, nor the Midnight they’d seen in the memory orb. She had the same basic color scheme and size, but her mane and tail shimmered like it was burning atop her body. She had purple wings, twice as large as they needed to be, and shimmered sparkles of energy around her eyes, as if she wore ethereal glasses. Her horn was crooked and bent, but not seemingly from damage.

Was this a battle form? She wore armor with her cutie mark shining on the front, a mechanical piece wrapped about her head and winding around her horn as if to bolster her magic. There was no sign of an amulet, which Kamikaze now remembered her having.

It didn’t matter. When she stepped through the door, her eyes widened at the realization that the room was full of ponies. As predicted, she immediately raised a shield, concentrating her energy directly in front of her.

Midnight had just enough time to adopt an ‘oops’ face as she realized that Maud was next to her and inside the shield. Maud adopted an uncharacteristically smug face before she swung downward hard, sparks flying as the magitronic harness wrapped about Midnight’s horn shattered, her head slamming against the floor.

The forcefield flickered and fell as Maud leaped back. It looked surreal when viewed in slow motion through Kamikaze’s SATS targeting.

Kamikaze targeted Midnight’s head as soon as the forcefield dropped and tried to open fire, but her muzzle froze before she could pull the trigger. Red letters flashed across her bionic eye: ‘Directive Error: Never Oppose an NLR Officer’.

Great. Kamikaze suspected Midnight might have gotten into her head, but that was ridiculous.

As nopony else had directives, the room was ablaze in gunfire an instant later. Sparks flew as Midnight’s armor, apparently more for looks than utility, was blasted off. Blood and bits of flesh flew as they riddled her with bullets. Twilight’s beam attack slammed her in the chest atop that, making the grotesque sound of a drill piercing flesh.

“Freeze!” Midnight shrieked, and the racket ceased as quickly as it had begun.

Ponies froze in place and bullets froze in midair as Midnight’s energy enveloped the room. Even Twilight’s beam attack halted, but Midnight quickly released it as it’d already impaled her through the chest and out her other end. It would have normally been a fatal injury, but her flesh knitted itself back together, clearly possessing a rapid healing factor.

But wait, Midnight had frozen too, and Kamikaze realized that the shriek hadn’t just been Midnight. It’d been Midnight and Twilight together. Twilight was holding Midnight still in her grip, both attempting to freeze the other at once. A light purple glow held Midnight secure, a darker purple glow securing everypony else in the room. Midnight may have been more powerful than Twilight, but had more to hold and immediate injuries, and it ended as a standoff.

‘Attention: You are currently held by a class 4 immobilization spell,’ Kamikaze’s system flashed in front of her eye. ‘Attempting to counter… failure in counterspell.exe: Unauthorized.’

Perfect. The best Kamikaze could do in this fight is be an extra object to hold.

“What are you doing?” Midnight’s voice echoed as her eyes locked on Twilight. “We’re supposed to be killing Starlight Glimmer! Why aren't you in proper form? Kill!”

Even as Midnight was held, her body continued to heal. She was almost fully recovered by the time she finished her sentence. Twilight remained silent, clenching her teeth as she concentrated on trying to break Midnight’s hold and keep Midnight herself still. Neither could cast another spell while holding the other.

“You look different,” Kamikaze forced the words out, though it felt like her muzzle was wading through wax to speak through the spell.

“Well you look…” Midnight seemed ready to say something clever, but when her eyes met Kamikaze’s, she froze in more ways than one. Every ounce of confidence drained from her voice. “Kamikaze… you’re alive.”

All capable eyes were on Kamikaze. She was the center of attention, and for once she didn’t like it.

“I thought you were dead,” Midnight said, voice quivering, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I never forgave myself… you were in the time vortex the whole time? Oh my Me… we almost had you killed. Kill…”

Even then she couldn’t lose the 'kill' verbal tic, but the emotions distracted her. The power holding them wavered, but Twilight was also emotionally exhausted. She remained unable to break Midnight's hold.

‘Kamikaze,’ Starlight’s voice spoke into her head. Kamikaze could tell that she was choosing her thoughts carefully. ‘We need her to lose concentration. Blame her, tell her something that will distress her.’

“But you’re alive!” Midnight continued. “Oh Rainbow, I love you, the two of you will never be apart now.”

Kamikaze tried to speak again but couldn’t make herself. Such a terrifying entity, yet now she was pouring her heart out, crying in joy at having located Kamikaze alive. Kamikaze felt it too, burning within her; she didn’t want to hurt Midnight either. Or maybe that was her directives.

‘It is time to choose your allegiance, Kamikaze’ Maud said on the PCB.

‘Are you a soldier of Equestria or a traitor?’, Pinkie's voice sounded like a scream even psionically.

The entire conflict now hinged on Kamikaze. She could join Midnight, and the extra power of not having to hold Kamikaze would allow her to overpower Twilight. Or she could shatter Midnight’s emotions, allowing Twilight to take control. It was all on her.

Kamikaze stared, wondering what to do. She watched the ripple of the magical field around them, a rainbow sheen reflecting off the point where the two opposing magics met and reflecting off of Kamikaze’s eyes.

In an instant, Kamikaze knew. Midnight had stormed into the stable, killing all in her path, ready to kill them all in one fiery blast from the reactor. Not only that, but Midnight saw the need to ‘hack’ Kamikaze in case she ever turned on her, which meant there was plenty of reason to do so. Had she ever even really fallen in love with her to begin with?

No. Kamikaze would not let magitech control her. She would use magitech instead to make the world a better place; a place without Midnight Sparkle.

The more she thought about it, the more her affection for this creature turned into rage. Midnight made Kamikaze betray what she stood for. The only way to make sure she could no longer do so was to destroy Midnight.

“There’s nothing you can do that would convince me to come back to you, monster,” Kamikaze said through clenched teeth, “I hate you.”

“What?” Midnight’s expression fell from joy into despondence.

“Did I stutter?” Kamikaze growled. “If you really loved me, you’d do me a favor and kill yourself.”

Midnight’s magic weakened as her tears of joy devolved into bitter sobbing. Kamikaze felt awful at herself, but also felt herself released from the spell.

“Fire!” called out Starlight.

Pinkie blazed into her with Pinkie Die, sending blood, bone, and strips of flesh flying again. Midnight made a wet gurgling sound beneath the raging clamor of gunfire as she collapsed. A beam from Twilight’s horn streaked back and forth, crossing the beams to slice and dice their opponent, entire limbs flying in fountains of blood. Midnight’s defenses had gone from formidable to non-existent in her despair.

Midnight shrieked just in time to take a rocket propelled hammer from Maud as she leaped in from one side and slammed it down on Midnight’s head again. Maud only got a glancing hit on the down swing, but looped about, smacking Midnight’s jaw as her head was flying downward. This time, her neck broke with a gruesome crack and her head flew like a large golf ball into the wall behind her. Even Mercury was firing, though she was crying as she did so, and missing most of her shots from sheer panic. Maud was lucky she didn’t get hit.

Starlight fired all her pistols at once and a bright beam from her horn. She moved her guns to either of Midnight’s sides, firing at her from other angles to complicate any effort to form a shield, not that Midnight was defending herself anymore.

The Pies seemed of one mind as Maud leaped back to the group just as Pinkie fired her Gummy launcher. The mechanical alligator opened its muzzle, a missile flying free.

Twilight and Starlight realized what madness the Pies were up to. Both put up a one-way shield between the group and Midnight, allowing the missile through but holding back the blast wave as it struck. The whirlwind of flame enveloped the other half of the room, followed by silence as everypony ceased firing.

“Did we win?” Solar’s voice called from the reactor room as the noise died down.

Kamikaze landed back on the floor, breathing heavily, trying hard not to shake, but she was an emotional wreck. She jerked as she felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked over to see Maud.

“Good work, compatriot,” Maud said, and though her face was as blank as ever, it seemed like she accepted Kamikaze as a team member.

As the smoke cleared, they could see that Midnight had been reduced to a pile of gore. Limbs lay strewn about, and her head had landed in the far corner of the room. Had they killed a centuries old demon by hurting her feelings?

Maybe not. As they watched, the pools of blood and gore shimmered, and slowly pulled back together, all her parts tugged closer to a common center of gravity.

“No bucking way,” Kamikaze said. She remembered Midnight being powerful, even having a healing factor, but this was off the charts. She had been sliced to ribbons and decapitated, yet her body was knitting itself back together.

“Keep the parts separate!” Starlight called out, grabbing a leg in her magic and dragging it to the other side of the room.

The others grabbed what they could, Starlight and Twilight encompassing chunks of flesh in their magic and tugging them all apart. Kamikaze leaped forward with a flap of her wings, grabbing hold of Midnight’s head and flying back up to the ceiling. The gravity between the parts was getting stronger though, and Kamikaze felt herself dragged back towards the ground by the force.

Then Kamikaze realized that all the other parts were pulling upwards now. The head was the center of gravity. If she destroyed the head… but her blasted directives wouldn’t let her!

“Rainbow, I love you,” Midnight’s voice came so suddenly that Kamikaze shrieked, not unlike a frightened filly guide.

Sure enough, the head’s eyes opened, the broken jaw from Maud’s attacks coming back together, staring up at Kamikaze. She wasn’t sure how Midnight was talking without lungs, but Kamikaze questioned nothing now. Magic was freaky.

“By Tartarus, you’re bucking persistent,” Kamikaze groaned.

She tried to throw the head, intending to tell the others to shoot it, but couldn't make herself release it, like her sticky hooves wouldn't stop gripping. Even that counted as 'opposing' Midnight it seemed. Instead, she flew into the reactor chamber.

The reactor itself consisted of four giant electrified coils. In the center was a glowing ball, so bright it hurt Kamikaze’s eyes to look at it directly. She didn’t know how all of that worked, but she bet Midnight’s head wouldn’t survive a bath in that glowing energy. Kamikaze flew for it, but her body halted, hovering near the edge of the reactor instead.

‘Directive Error: Never Oppose an NLR Officer.’ That same damn message. Over and over again no matter what she tried.

“Don’t do this,” Midnight said. “Kamikaze, you’ll die. I can’t lose you again, please! Kill! I’ll throw myself in if you don’t dive in yourself. I swear I will, please just don’t die for me!” The head screeched its final words. “This won’t kill Midnight! You’ll die for nothing!”

“That’s a terrible idea!” Solar cried out as she realized what Kamikaze was doing, “Oh horse apples!” She screamed commands to the other engineers, “Vent the thermobuffer! Draw the helmic regulator!”

Kamikaze didn’t know what in the flying feather that meant, but Solar was a bright mare; she’d probably figure it out. Kamikaze just clenched her teeth, banking to the side, grasping the head hard as she slammed herself head-first into one of the reactor’s coils along the edge of the energy field.

Her vision flickered, pain jolting through her body, but she rammed herself again. She did it over and over, head-first into the coil.

‘Danger: mechanite healing factor offline. Failure in positronic brain. Neural collapse imminent.’ Kamikaze felt like her thoughts were slowing down, or maybe this was just the speed that normal ponies thought. Either way, the directive error disappeared from her screen as less essential functions ceased. That’s what she was waiting for; she forced herself to keep flapping as she flew head-first towards the glowing ball in the middle of the reactor.

Kamikaze tried to dodge the bolts of energy arcing between the coils, but the strangely-amorous yelling head was very distracting. A bolt slammed into her metal wing, sparks flying as it came loose, and another surge of pain lit up her body. The vision in her cybernetic eye flickered, the vision in her real eye a shade redder as blood ran down her face.

She felt her limbs going limp, the hum of her hooves stopping as she lost grip on the head. She growled, spinning herself in midair, using the momentum to sling the head into the glowing center.

Another jolt of energy hit her, blasting her backward, and suddenly the fiery pain all over her was a lot more literal. Her coat and mane went up in smoke, her forelegs ripped out by the roots by the blast. Another jolt shredded her hind legs into nothing. Wait, wasn’t one of those still real? Ouch.

She lost control over her body, the text across her cyber-eye flickering away, replaced by cracks as the eye shattered. She felt herself falling as consciousness faded.

10. Into the Fire

Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Stable 27

“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed as she realized what Kamikaze was about to do, racing into the reactor chamber after her.

By the time Twilight got a good look at the enormous reactor, she had to duck to dodge a smoldering metal wing as it flew out and clattered across the floor behind her, followed by the busted remains of Kamikaze’s gun. She turned to make sure it didn’t hit anypony else, just in time to see what remained of Midnight’s reforming body collapse and twitch to a stop. If her emotions hadn't gotten the better of her logic, she would have thought to go for the head herself.

'Celestia, what am I even thinking?' Twilight wasn't used to having thoughts about killing things in general, much less herself. Kamikaze's sudden sacrifice snapped her back enough to realize how very uncharacteristic this was for her, but this wasn't pressure she was equipped to handle.

“We need to decontaminate the ventral trans-dimensional resonance deflector!” Solar was screaming. “Starlight! Twilight! Any help you could lend might be useful!”

“There is no possibility that even half of those words meant something,” observed Maud as she trotted into the reactor room and looked up at the unstable sphere of energy pulsating in the midst of it.

“The pegaslut makes up words to sound smart!” Pinkie said as she moved to sit next to Maud. She looked somewhat cross at the impending disaster, but didn’t panic. “Pinkie needs marshmallows! Very large marshmallows to roast and feast upon during her imminent demise! Yes.”

Twilight did not understand how to help Solar or what she was talking about. It was hard to admit, but that tramp was smarter than she was, at least with this strange new magitech. It'd take more than a few all-nighters to catch up on all the advancements of the last 200 years.

But she didn’t care about that now. All Twilight could think about was that another friend of hers had leapt to their death to protect her due to her own rash actions. It didn’t matter how little of Twilight’s Rainbow was in Kamikaze; Twilight couldn’t let her die like this.

“No, no, no, that isn’t helping!” Solar called after Twilight as she took off and flew along the same line as Kamikaze had entered. “By Breaker’s giant fiery plot! Is this how all ponies acted back then? It’s no wonder you blew up the world!”

Twilight’s horn glowed as she cast a spell to clear her field of vision, searching for life signatures within the inferno of the reactor. She located Kamikaze’s body falling toward the floor, her metal limbs detached and her remaining flesh limbs torn off by the violent blasts of energy. It left only a plummeting torso that thankfully still had a head. It was hard to tell with the interference, but given how the torso thrashed, she was still alive.

In her desperation, Twilight didn’t even consider what damage the jolts of energy might cause to her own body. Since she was more magically attuned than Kamikaze, Twilight anticipated most, avoiding several as she flew inside.

She thought she’d make it through without further incident, but as she neared Kamikaze, one finally struck Twilight's head, sending a surge of agony through her. She'd never felt such an intense stinging rattling through her head before, but forced herself onward, wiping the blood from her eyes.

She grasped hold of Kamikaze’s form, banked, and headed back, holding the pegasus close to protect her from more jolts. She felt her magic fading fast, the intense pain in her head increasing by the second. For a moment, she feared she wouldn't make it out of the energy storm, but was afraid to try a teleport within such interference.

Twilight landed the best she could, barrel rolling so that she hit the floor first and cushioned Kamikaze’s fall. She wished she hadn't when her head impacted the floor and doubled the firestorm of agony already rattling through it.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried out, rolling over to lay Kamikaze carefully on the floor and still ignoring her own injury. “No, no, don’t die! You better bucking stay with me or I swear I’ll do a seance just to give you a piece of my mind!”

Twilight instinctively cast a healing spell, or tried, only for the pain in her head to increase exponentially. That wasn’t right. Her healing factor was sealing up the wound on her head, albeit slowly, but the pain wasn't subsiding at all.

She lifted a hoof to feel for her horn, only to experience another surge of pain as she felt nothing but a stump. Her blurry eyes focused, finally noticing her horn on the floor, having broken off on impact and landing several hoofsteps from Kamikaze. It was a unicorn’s worst nightmare; Twilight knew no healing magic that could fix a broken horn.

“Twilight, your horn!” Starlight ran up to her, catching Twilight before she collapsed again.

“Starlight, heal Rainbow!” Twilight begged.

“I’m trying to remember how!” Starlight stammered.”Right, I think I got it.”

Twilight tried to remain conscious, but her head felt as if it’d been split open. She blacked out for a moment, time blurred as she tried to hold onto herself, but snapping back to when a wave of healing washed over her as well. It dulled the pain at least some, but there was no fixing what was really broken.

For a long moment, Twilight focused on her horn on the floor and stared in abject horror. Her horn, her talent, shattered on the floor. She'd never properly cast or use telekinesis again, and certainly wouldn't be casting any time spells. The most she could ever do was channel raw energy into attacks, and then only with excruciating pain.

Twilight pulled herself back together, forcing herself to sit up and looking at Kamikaze. Starlight wasn’t a master of healing magic at her best, so the pegasus’ wounds weren’t completely closed. The bleeding had slowed enough to keep her from immediate danger though. Whatever unnatural healing factor Kamikaze had before must have fried, because it wasn't getting any better.

Kamikaze’s mane and fur was completely seared off, and she now lacked any intact limbs. Her head casing cracked and her cybernetic eye shattered. The stable suit she’d had on had completely incinerated. She was a mess, but alive and stable.

“Twilight,” Starlight took Twilight’s hoof and helped her up. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t know any way to fix your horn.”

“It was worth it,” Twilight said, trying to stagger to her hooves, then collapsing again when a wave of dizziness hit her. She didn't bother crying, her emotions flat-lined once again. “It was my fault she was put in danger anyway. You helped save her life, so I owe you too.”

“Twilight…” Starlight started.

“Others will need help,” Twilight cut her off, uncomfortable at the way she was staring at the horn stump.

“Of course,” Starlight said, reluctantly turning and running back down the path that Midnight had taken to get there.

“Will she be okay?” Maud asked as she approached. Her eyes widened ever so slightly when she realized Twilight was injured too. “Will you be okay?”

“I think not, on both counts, but we’ll remain alive a bit longer at least,” Twilight said, brushing her mane slightly to hide the stump, tensing sharply as even the touch of mane hair sent slivers of pain through it.

“You are even crazier than I anticipated,” Maud said as she looked down at Kamikaze. Twilight resisted the urge to scold her since it was probably meant as a compliment.

“The daredevil lives up to her name, yes,” Pinkie added.

“You two should help with the cleanup,” Twilight suggested.

As the two silently turned to head off, Twilight looked down at Kamikaze again. The pegasus opened her good eye, staring upward.

“Aw, horse apples,” Kamikaze groaned. Her head twitched as she looked up at Twilight, stuttering a few times before she said more. “You didn’t have to do that for me. I deserved to die there.”

“No you didn't, and I wanted to save you either way,” Twilight sighed, “It was worth it. Are you still in pain?”

“No, for once,” Kamikaze chuckled weakly. “I think most of my… whatsit relied on my… what do you call it… I don’t know. I’m not all here but at least it doesn’t… fluff it. I don't remember talking or thinking being this hard.”

Kamikaze seemed to have lost access to any heightened cognizance granted by her implants, which would hopefully be temporary. Twilight gave her time to form more words, but Kamikaze's good eye shifted to Twilight’s horn laying on the floor.

"A rainbow..." Kamikaze said dreamily as if hallucinating.

“Your circuits are fried,” Twilight sighed. “Maybe Solar can look at you when she’s free.”

“I… wait there it is, I think I'm rebooting now,” Kamikaze said, then suddenly clenched her face in pain. “Bucking ouch… Things are coming back online; I wish they hadn’t.”

“Where does it hurt?” Twilight asked, forcing herself to ignore her own pain.

“Everywhere,” Kamikaze groaned, “Even my memories hurt, but at least I’m symmetrical now, right? You may have to throw me in like a buckball the next time a crisis hits though.”

“That you are,” Twilight forced a smile. “I'm glad you're better enough to make inappropriate jokes, but let’s hope for fewer crises.”

“In this world?” Kamikaze shook her head, “I imagine we’ll have at least several a week. Are my best bits intact at least? If those got burned out, just put me down already.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if that was a flirt attempt or not, but obliged. She slid her hooves down to Kamikaze’s lower portions to make sure she wasn’t burned inside. She was medical about the whole thing, but Kamikaze still twitched in slight appreciation.

That differed greatly from Twilight’s Rainbow; Twilight’s Rainbow would have taken offense if a non-Wonderbolt touched her intimately. She’d once jokingly told Twilight that her orientation was ‘Wonderboltisexual’.

“It looks okay,” Twilight smiled, pulling her hooves back.

“Want to keep doing that?” Kamikaze asked.

“I think Solar is rubbing off on you,” Twilight shook her head.

“I wish,” Solar said from behind Twilight. “Also: The reactor is stable now, no thanks to crazy ponies jumping into it. Are you two okay?... you are not okay.”

Solar stepped up beside them, looking at Kamikaze, then over to Twilight.

“We’re both alive,” sighed Twilight, “That makes us luckier than many.”

“That it does,” Solar said gravely. “I haven’t looked closely at the list of confirmed dead yet. I'm sort of afraid to, but it was long. Really long.”

“Where’s Mercury? She coping?” asked Kamikaze.

It was an odd concern, but Twilight respected her for having it. Even enraged as Twilight had been, she heard Kamikaze giving Mercury pointers to calm her earlier. It was a marked improvement from the Kamikaze she’d first met when she arrived here, so maybe the memory loss had shorted out at least some of Midnight’s influence on her.

“She’s helping with chemical spills,” Solar said. “I’d go help too, but I should stay here. Can’t risk the reactor going haywire again and have to keep an eye on you nutters in case you dive back in for funsies.”

“Twilight,” Kamikaze stared upwards as if into space. “I was… I heard someone. When I was unconscious, I think I had a dream, except it wasn’t a dream. I don’t know, I heard a voice.”

“Who’s voice?” Twilight’s interest focused back on Kamikaze. “Was it Luna’s?”

“Luna’s?” Kamikaze creased her forehead with thought, taking a moment to form a response. “You mean Nightmare Moon? I don’t know, I don’t remember what she sounded like. Whoever it was, she called you Paradox and demanded to know what we were doing here.”

“What else?” asked Twilight.

“I don’t know,” Kamikaze shook her head, “I think I was too busy being awesome to form proper memories.”

“Is everypony here in one piece?” Chrome’s voice spoke, then trailed off as she got a good look at them. “Sweet Crimson hot dogs, I’m so sorry… for both of you… I wish I could have done more, I really do.”

"Well I'm learning some new swears laying here," said Kamikaze. "So that's something."

“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry too, I feel like it was our fault we brought this to you… so many dead.”

“You won’t have to worry about Midnight any longer, at least,” Kamikaze tried to put a silver lining on the whole thing.

“You couldn’t have known,” Chrome shook her head. “And you’re right, Midnight seems to be staying down." She paused, having trouble maintaining eye contact. "I don’t want you to think for a second that we’re not thankful for what you’ve done, and what you gave up, though I wish I’d gotten more information on… nevermind, anyway…”

“Anyway what?” Solar asked, arching one eyebrow and peering at Chrome.

“Come on, Solar, you know it as well as I do,” Chrome sighed, then looked back at Twilight. “You killed Midnight, yes, but she isn’t the only devil. The others know that we’re here now, and any one of them could come to take revenge. I’m sorry… but we lost around 5% of our population. We can’t risk losing more.”

“What are you saying?” Twilight was confused.

“Our best bet for survival,” Chrome said, taking a deep breath. “Is to offer Midnight’s killers to the others when they inevitably show up for revenge. Like you said, even though you saved us, she was here for your group and found us by tracking you. If we hoof you over, maybe they’ll leave us be.”

“You can’t!” Solar spit out the words. “They doomed themselves to a fate worse than death to save us! They’re heroes! And we’re just going to hoof them over like a sacrifice?”

“I don’t disagree, Solar!” Chrome shook her head, “That’s not the point! Solar. Dozens are dead…”

“And hundreds are still alive!” Solar cut her off. “We’d all be dead if not for them! We need their help to form a plan for when the others arrive. Do you really think they’re going to just let us be after we hoof them over?”

“They might,” Chrome said. “Crimson told us they wanted to destroy all life, but Crimson told us a lot of things. Look, it’s what we have to do. I hope you will understand one day.”

“Solar, it’s okay,” Twilight raised a hoof to Solar’s shoulder and shook her head. “Chrome is doing what she thinks is best, I don’t blame her.”

“I… appreciate that,” Chrome said with no small amount of shame in her voice. “You’re more understanding about it than I’d be. Please just… have faith, things will work out better than you think.”

“I don’t imagine Starlight will be so understanding,” Twilight pointed out, then tilted her head at the odd if appreciated bit of encouragement from Chrome. “As much as I hate to admit it, she is your rightful ruler.”

“Yeah,” Solar grumbled. “She’s out there right now helping to heal her subjects.”

“Oh, stop pretending you put any faith in that,” Chrome shook her head at Solar. “No one here believes that her showing up is going to magically revive a long dead kingdom. You’re just-”

“Overmare,” a weak voice called from behind Chrome. They turned to see a guard, wearing a bloody stable suit, her front right leg reduced to a bandaged stump. Apparently, they were short hooved enough that even a mare so injured needed to keep working.

“Trigger?” Chrome asked, “You shouldn’t be up.”

“It’s Crimson,” Trigger said, “She’s gone.”

“What?” Solar asked.

“Aaand there it is,” sighed Chrome, almost like she’d expected it.

“According to the security feed,” panted Trigger, “As soon as cryonics was empty, her pod opened and she just walked out, then used a secret passage to get to the exit. She must have programmed a backdoor into the system. The whole time we thought she was starting her rehabilitation, she'd been waiting for an opportunity to leave.”

“She left the stable, like the other one?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, like Tranquil,” Trigger nodded.

“Good riddance,” Chrome said, then turned to walk off. “We have bigger things to worry about now, but once we’re done with it, I’m having her precious soul recycler smashed and the unuseful parts incinerated. We have no need for it or her.”

“I’ll leave too,” Solar threatened. “I can’t be part of this place anymore if we betray our own saviors.”

“I’d rather you didn’t Solar,” Chrome sighed, looking at the floor. “We could use your help fixing all her changes to the systems, and who knows what she might have timed to happen if she’s left. We’ll be removing the chemicals from the water supply that prevent male births eventually too, assuming I can get the population to accept that.”

“I didn’t know you had been told better yet,” Twilight mentioned. “I suppose Starlight must have told you…”

“Something like that…” Chrome trailed off quietly.

“Y-you can’t convince me to stay,” Solar shook her head, but bit her lip as if the last bit almost convinced her otherwise.

“Probably not,” Chrome gave up pretty quickly considering. “I suppose if you do go, be careful out there.”

“Don’t,” Twilight told Solar. “They need your genius in this stable, especially now.”

Solar shook her head, galloping off, probably to find Mercury. Twilight sighed as she watched her go.

“Could be worse,” pointed out Kamikaze. “Nightmare Moon is a devil, and she’s my dream pal now apparently, right? Just got to hope she comes for us first.”

“I don’t think she’s capable of doing that,” Twilight said. “She told me she was caught between life and death.”

“Well that’s overly dramatic,” grunted Kamikaze. “I suppose it suits her.”

If Luna wasn’t capable of showing up, Sombra and this ‘Eris’ that they had mentioned, might also be out of commission. With any luck, they’d wait in a cage for a week or two before being allowed back into the stable or released. Either way, Twilight couldn’t blame them. Giving them up was a bad idea, but not an illogical one to frightened ponies that had just lost family and friends.

Assuming that was really Chrome’s reason for putting them out. With Crimson gone, Starlight could take over the leadership of Stable 27 with barely any effort. Chrome probably knew that. Additionally, she got the impression that Chrome might not quite believe that fiends would come for them at all; Twilight hoped that she wouldn't toss them out due to a fear of power loss.

But there was nothing that Twilight could do about that but to wait and see how it turned out.

POV: Starlight Glimmer
Canterlot Cathedral

Starlight didn’t know what other devils were in the Ashlands, but she knew that Midnight had a military. She would also have a second-in-command and officers, and somewhere in the Ashlands might even be somepony that cared if she died. The bottom line was that even if these mythical devils didn’t show up, somepony would when Midnight didn’t return to her castle.

Luckily, Starlight attracted Solar and Mercury to the cause. Despite being easy and naïve respectively, they might be the two most intelligent ponies in the stable. Solar was head of engineering, operating a reactor that Starlight was ashamed to admit she didn’t understand, and Mercury was head of alchemy, which involved everything from medical to hydroponics. She’d have hired either of them into the Ministry of Magitech without question.

Mercury claimed she was leaving to find her friends that left, and Solar in turn claimed she wanted to protect Mercury. Starlight didn't understand that reasoning for leaving, especially when the friends that left were likely murderers, but would go with it.

But for now, Starlight felt like a zoo animal. They had them in a cage, a more traditional one with steel bars, sitting in the hall of stained glass where they could all be entertained by the images of Starlight’s failures in the windows. They had cleared out the bodies as Starlight had asked at least, even if that order was more of a guilt-trip than something she cared about.

Chrome gave them Stable 27 blinder suits to wear over their stable suits, with the armor they had on when they arrived stacked inside a cart outside of the locked cage door. Their weapons and supplies were in the same container, just out of their reach. To make sure she couldn’t just swipe them with her magic, they fitted Starlight with a magic dampener ring around her horn.

They’d even fitted Twilight with one, locked around her horn stump. Twilight couldn't even use telekinesis, and even an alicorn of her stature would have to practice a long time to focus raw magic into an attack with a broken horn. It highlighted the irrational fear that these ponies still had for Midnight even with her dead.

Maybe dead. Starlight had doubts after speaking to Kamikaze, the way ‘Midnight’s head’ referred to Midnight as if she were another pony, and the bats they first met had mentioned Midnight’s ‘likenesses’. She had suspicions about what that might mean, but hoped it didn’t.

She suspected Twilight had doubts too but wasn’t sure. Twilight had been on an emotional roller coaster between depression and rage since Spike’s death, and atop that the alicorn didn’t seem susceptible to Starlight’s influence as many others were. That was always a double-edged sword with Starlight’s psionic ability; the most useful ponies were the least susceptible to influence.

Twilight was in one corner of the cage, sitting by herself. They had given her Spike’s body, which they stitched together well, considering its condition, and wrapped in funerary linens. Now she sat on her haunches, rocking back and forth as she held him in her lap, staring at the floor in front of her. Starlight let her cope as she needed; she doubted she’d be doing as well under that stress.

The only plus side with Twilight was that they’d let her keep the pipbuck. Not that they had a choice now that she had it on, and they wouldn’t go so far as to remove her leg to get it.

Speaking of hacked-off limbs, Kamikaze was with them too despite her condition. Her limbs were beyond repair, and Maud had volunteered to carry the poor pegasus in a bundle on her back, wearing a blinder suit like the others, unused sleeves wrapped and tied around her to keep them from hanging. Kamikaze had continued her carefree facade despite her helpless state, but now stared at the cage ceiling as if unsure of what to do with herself. It was another experience Starlight couldn’t imagine.

Around Kamikaze’s neck she now wore a rather odd necklace. She’d asked Solar to make her one from a strand of leather and Twilight’s shattered horn. Kamikaze claimed it was to remind her of a lesson she learned, which was sentimental but harmless nonsense.

Three stable security ponies guarded them, though they stayed near the ruined entrance, as if taking cover behind the cage from whatever ‘devil’ showed.

‘Starlight,’ Solar’s voice echoed in her head over PCB. Fortunately, Chrome Keys never caught on that they had the comms. ‘We got most of it, but the armory is guarded.’

‘Try and talk your way in if you can easily,’ Starlight advised.

‘I could try a pax potion,’ suggested Mercury. ‘I got my syringer rifle from my lab. It shoots potions like darts and…’

‘Negative,’ responded Starlight. ‘I don’t want to risk you being arrested before you even get out here. Get what you can without drawing attention. We still have our weapons and armor out here.’

‘Flirt my way in, got it!’ Solar responded, hearing what she wanted. ‘Plot waggling commencing!’ Starlight was glad she didn’t have to see that.

“I am having doubts about their combat abilities,” commented Maud, aloud.

“They’re trying their best,” Starlight defended them in a whisper. “Mercury and Solar aren’t soldiers, but they’ll be useful in other ways once we get a base of operations.”

“This zombie is familiar,” Pinkie said out of nowhere. “Yes.”

“What’s that?” Starlight quirked her ears and looked to Pinkie, then looked to where she pointed.

At the great hall’s entrance stood a familiar figure. It was the same figure from the memory they’d watched. She wore a similar uniform to what the other Pies arrived in, though with higher ranking emblems of a general and had taken a lot more damage. The ghoul glowed pink from within as Starlight remembered from the orb.

The ghoul stared with a mix of confusion and amazement on her disfigured face, but it morphed into a look of surreal glee. She sneaked forward, though after a few steps she was almost at a full gallop.

The gallop was short-lived as a shot rang out, the guards from the stable door firing at her. A shot hit her square in the chest, knocking her backward. She yelped like a dog getting shot by its trusted owner for no reason, then hissed as she turned and fled back out the front door.

“Why did you do that?” Maud looked to the guards, voice calm, but griping the bars so hard that they creaked.

“Hey, we’re just protecting you,” a guard defended. “That thing was charging!”

“Protecting us so you can hoof us over like a sacrifice?” asked Starlight.

“I…” stammered another guard, but then shook her head as if clearing it. “Chrome says we shouldn’t talk to you.” Of course she did. If they talked enough, Starlight would talk her way out of the cage.

“I will break you,” Maud narrowed her eyes. If Starlight were the guards, the threat would terrify her, despite the bars that separated them, but they didn’t seem as amused.

“Damn creepy thing,” the first guard commented to her comrades. “I hear she drags another corpse around with her sometimes.”

“Yeah, she knocked the other week for like an hour,” the second said. “Guess we need a new stable door for her to scrape on so she doesn’t sneak in and crack open somepony’s head.”

“Does the system identify her?” asked Starlight. “It identified us when we came. Answer. Now.”

The guards didn’t look like they wanted to but liked Starlight staring at them less.

“It says she’s General Limestone Pie,” said the first guard. “The Overmare said she registered at Stable 11, far south of here. We’d have let her in if she wasn’t irradiated and, you know, already dead.”

“Stable 11?” Starlight asked. “How far south?”

“Only the Overmare knows the exact location of the other stables,” shrugged the guard, still unwilling to look at Starlight when she talked. “I mean the old Overmare that ran off. I heard it was beneath a ‘rock farm’ or something. If whoever comes for you lets you go, and you really want to find it, just follow those weird arrows painted on the floor. The zombie made them, so they probably lead to wherever she lives... exists... whatever.”

"Probably won't be anyone at Stable 11 though," said another. "The other stables were overrun or destroyed."

"If the Overmare was honest about that," said the first. "Not that it matters now. Even if we fix the system, we no longer have contact codes for any of the other stables to check and see. We'd have to go there to get their code to reconnect."

“So they knew she was out here as well,” Maud clenched her jaw.

‘We’ll find her,’ Starlight said on the PCB to Maud and Pinkie alone. ‘As soon as we’re free, I swear.’

‘Pinkie remembers now,’ Pinkie responded to the whole group. ‘The farm of rocks is home.’

‘If Stable 11 survived, they may be more reasonable,’ Starlight surmised.

By reasonable she meant more likely to obey the Empress without question. Her memory was spotty why two Pies guarded her on the day the vortex sent them here, but it implied the Pie family was loyal to her. Perhaps their descendants would be loyal too.

‘Starlight?’ Solar’s voice came over the comms again. ‘Tried our best, couldn’t get extra guns. Sorry.’

‘It’s fine,’ Starlight just wanted to go at this point. ‘You have food, water, medical supplies, sleeping bags, everything else on the list aside from weapons?’

‘All that and our fine plots too,’ responded Solar. ‘We’re around the corner inside the stable with the supply wagon. We already got our blinder suits on.’

‘Good,’ said Starlight. ‘You’ll probably want to take care of the guards without killing them. There are three and…’

A familiar, ear-splitting bang sound broke her thoughts into pieces. Two of the guards, who had been standing roughly in a line, crumpled to the floor from a burst of blue that shot through the wall between two of the stained-glass windows. One head exploded, the second gagging as the shot ripped through her neck. The projectile didn’t stop, penetrating the wall on the other side and hitting who knew what else on the other side.

They knew who did that.

The third guard probably saved her own life when her reaction to this was to shriek and drop her weapon, diving for cover behind the cage.

‘Was that a gun shot?’ asked Solar on the PCB.

‘Wait. Stay inside,’ ordered Starlight.

But Mercury was already running out the stable door, Solar behind pulling their cart of supplies.

“Stop!” yelled Starlight. “Right bucking now, STOP!”

Solar stopped, looking at Starlight in confusion, but Mercury wouldn’t. Mercury focused on the still-living guard shot through the neck, who struggled and reached for her. There was no way to talk her down, so Starlight hoped that Limestone didn’t think Mercury was an enemy for assisting one.

Starlight sighed, “Solar. Get the keys from the guards and unlock us. Quick as you can!”

“They won’t have them,” Solar looked sick, trying not to look at the bloody mess. She galloped around to the cage door and unhitched herself from her cart. “They were supposed to call in and have it unlocked remotely by the guards inside, but I hacked their recording so it’s playing a loop. They won’t notice until we’re gone.”

“You said you could unlock us, though?” Starlight asked, not dropping her fake smile.

“Sure, with these!” Solar pulled a screwdriver and a bobby pin from the cart. She rammed the screwdriver into the cage lock, twisting it and pushing the bobby pin inside to wriggle it around.

“You… what?” Starlight’s expression faltered. “Solar, that’s a remotely operated magical lock. You can’t just pick it.”

“H-how do we protect the other guard?” Twilight asked

‘Thinking about the least important aspect as she often does,’ Starlight thought to herself, but wanted to keep cohesion all the same, so turned to Maud. “Motion for Limestone to leave that one.”

The soldier shivered and covered her head as Maud trotted over to that side of the cage. Maud looked in the direction the shots came from and waved. She then pointed at the soldier, shaking her head. She then turned to the mare.

“Make no aggressive moves and she will not fire on you,” Maud instructed them simply.

The mare nodded and whimpered, and Starlight doubted she’d cause further issues before they left. Maybe that’d give them time to get the cage open, since there was no way Solar could-

“Got it!” Solar said, the door clicking open. She tossed the tools back into the cart as the door swung open. “I can remove those magic restraints, but it might take longer.”

“Later, then,” Starlight nodded, deciding not to question Solar’s weird lockpicking screwdriver.

"Will removing them involve ramming a screwdriver into her head?" Maud asked, though whether from concern or interest was another thing.

“Pinkie, pull our cart," Starlight ignored the comment but hoped not. "Solar, keep pulling yours. We leave now before they come out to stop us, and before any 'devils' show."

"Pinkie would rather stay and fight monsters!" Pinkie said, trotting to the cart with a slightly scrunched face. "But she will pull this cart. Yes."

Starlight looked back at Mercury. "Mercury? We have to go. Now.”

Mercury was still assisting the pony, trying to stabilize them before they left at least. She seemed to have her breathing again, albeit through a hole in her neck.

“We don’t have time,” Starlight said. “Maud, finish that one so she’ll come.”

“Unwise,” Maud said. “They are not an enemy and we should not burn bridges.”

“Pinkie disagrees with not burning things in general!” Pinkie said. “But agrees this once. She will not attack a civilian that can be saved.”

“True enough,” Starlight said, pushing down the annoyance of them offering advice rather than obeying immediately. “But we need to leave now.”

Maud nodded matter-of-factually, grabbing the hiding one by the neck and dragging her to her comrade.

“Tell her what to do,” Maud said simply to Mercury.

“W-what?” Mercury looked up, then nodded as her voice quivered. “Hold your hoof here, but don’t block the breathing passage. Call inside for help… tell them I’m sorry.”

“R-right,” the soldier said, doing as she instructed. The medics inside were probably busy, but they’d notice the pipbuck signals from the dead and injured guard and come out to help soon. It was a little odd that nopony had come out already, actually. If Starlight didn’t know better, she’d think they were being allowed to leave.

Twilight rose from her own spot, but looked more than a little dizzy still. Starlight came close to help her up, but Twilight pulled away, placing Spike on her own back and remaining distant from the others.

“I’m less sure than I was,” Mercury’s voice quivered, suit already bloody as she turned to the others.”But we need to find them…”

“Come on, Mercury,” Solar said, eyes wide as if barely holding it together and not looking at the mess. “Come walk by me, I’ll keep you safe… from Crimson and Tranquil too if I have to.”

“Solar,” warned Mercury.

The poor naïve mare still thought Crimson and Tranquil were innocent, but Starlight doubted as much. Either way, Starlight had promised that they’d take in the pair if they found them out here. Starlight hoped they’d already booked it so she didn’t have to keep that promise, though at the same time Crimson might have knowledge that would help them, especially since the guards mentioned she knew the location of other stables.

There was no time to consider further though. The surviving guard was already radioing in for help, so they had to leave.

Starlight took the lead, Solar and Mercury close behind her, with the Pie Sisters taking up the rear. Kamikaze remained on Maud’s back as Pinkie pulled the cart with their original weapons and supplies. Twilight tried to walk briefly, but quickly gave up due to dizziness. She crawled into the extra cart that Solar was pulling, curling up with Spike’s body in the space where the extra guns and ammo would have gone if they had gotten any.

As they trotted out of the hall, Starlight looked to the sky. The Sun and Moon remained as they were when they arrived around twelve hours earlier, and where they were during the flashback memories they'd seen in the sphere. The air was still stuffy; it would have been unbearably hot if not for the blanket of fog.

But even with the extra cover of clouds, it should have been hotter. Not to mention, the Sun still looked wrong. It was red and swollen, unnatural looking. If the Sun stopped over Canterlot, it would get colder the further away from Canterlot they traveled. How cold would it be at Stable 11? Or maybe it would be the same if they didn’t have the same cloud cover.

Focused on the sky, Starlight forgot who they expected to see as they left. She jumped when a figure galloped past her and turned in time to see Limestone tackle Maud and Pinkie in a hug. Maud and Pinkie’s return hug looked so firm that Limestone might have been in trouble if she weren’t already dead. They showed no hint of shying away from their dilapidated sister.

Well at least somepony got good news today.

11. The Mare Who Waited

Long Ago, Tuesday, 10/26/2077
POV: Limestone Pie
Canterlot

Undefeated. Limestone Pie maintained that status since the war began. The Pie Rock Farm fended off multiple factions when the rest of Southern Equestria fell. It was a good thing given that Equestria’s remaining stockpile of balefire was there with no way to safely move it.

But now her biggest challenge yet stood before her. As the highest ranking pony left alive in the city, it was Limestone versus the world. That was fine with her, because Limestone enjoyed such odds, and had no intention of losing her title.

When Daybreaker was assassinated, Limestone expected things to be more difficult. However, the Crystal Empire was wasted and the New Lunar Republic had mostly collapsed. Even Discordia was either leveled or uninterested in mortal shenanigans. All that remained was Cloudsdale, under the command of Rainbow Dash.

It was hard to believe a loyal general like Rainbow would turn on Equestria. It was easier to believe Cloudsdale went with her since she was one of the greatest heroes of the age. Any resistance would have disappeared when they were told that Daybreaker attacked innocent cities. Limestone didn’t believe Daybreaker did so, but proving it had to wait.

All Limestone needed to do was to hold off until the bookworms in the palace got the Coronal Mass Ejector to fire one last time. Limestone didn’t like mega-spells, but liked the possibility of Cloudsdale heading to the Pie Rock Farm next less, and that's exactly where they'd go since they knew of the balefire stored there. She had to protect her home, even if it meant never returning there.

Fortunately, Limestone always knew what her enemies were planning. Others called it ‘Limestone Sense’, and Starlight had spent a lot of research attempting to enhance or copy it with their psionic magitech, but to Limestone it was still only sensible deductions. Rainbow was the head of the Ministry of Awesome when the current Canterlot shield was developed, and Limestone bet she had the means to bypass it. Why else would she bother with such an attack? However, with it at full strength, she’d only be able to penetrate with individual pegasi in specially-enchanted bypass armor.

Knowing ‘Kamikaze’, they’d be sending suicide squads of pegasi attempting to set off a sonic radboom within Canterlot’s shield. If successful, Canterlot’s own shield would hold the blast long enough to prevent it from also destroying Cloudsdale too. It was an admirably-insane plan from a worthy opponent.

A rainboom-triggered radboom required precise flying from a team, so they only had to down one in a squad to keep them from succeeding. The perfect pony for this, Marble Pie, set up her sniper rifle nearby. There wasn’t a pegasus alive skilled enough to avoid Marble’s sights. Limestone’s quiet sister wasn’t called ‘Dead Shot’ for nothing; the second most feared shy mare there was.

“Limestone!” a familiar voice called.

Limestone figured that Starlight would arrive after they hit Fillydelphia, since the Ministry was deep beneath it and would survive the attack. Sure enough, Starlight was now galloping toward her.

“Daybreaker died less than a week ago, right?” Starlight asked as she skidded to a halt.

“Just a few days ago, but I suspect Midnight took the body,” Limestone answered, then turned to her other sisters. “Pink, Maud. Guard Princess Starlight.”

Starlight chuckled awkwardly at the reminder she was next-in-line for the throne. She tried to give Limestone a brief hug in thanks, which Limestone pushed away. She was one of the few brave enough to shove royalty, but even Daybreaker had let her get away with it so long as she gave good strategy.

“She’ll make an adequate figurehead one day,” Limestone commented to Marble after Starlight ran towards the archives. “But I’m glad she knew better than to take over the defenses.”

Marble fired a single shot instead of replying, downing half of the dozen pegasi that were conveniently lined up in squad formation.

Though there was an issue with using a powerful gun over a crowded city. Marble cried out, and Limestone turned to see her little sister in tears. Limestone assumed her shot had gone right through its target and hit a civilian atop one of the buildings.

“Marble, stay with me,” Limestone spoke firmly.

“A foal! I think I hit a foal behind them!” Marble whispered as loud as she could, looking like she’d drop Ashmaker.

“Marble!” Limestone scolded her, taking hold of Marble’s hoof and pushing it back to the gun. “If you freak out on me now, every pony and foal in this city dies.”

“Y-yes, sis,” Marble stammered. "I'm okay."

Marble clearly wasn’t okay, but lined up her next shot and fired. Limestone felt terrible for being hard on her, more than with anypony else, but she had to push. They couldn’t afford to falter when fighting their final battle.

But as Limestone looked over the chaos, something felt wrong. It was a feeling she’d never felt before, like things she already predicted were changing. She saw a shimmer of light near the edge of the city, pulling up binoculars to see.

Limestone assumed Midnight would be in a secret lab poking Daybreaker’s corpse still in her ascension attempt, but there she was, already having managed to become an artificial alicorn. More confusing was Rainbow Dash with her. Why would they be in Canterlot while Cloudsdale’s forces tried to destroy it?

“Marble!” Limestone barked, pointing at the two.

Marble was on it, turning to fire three shots at them. The air around the duo shimmered as if the shots went through them, and Limestone thought she saw Midnight carrying a third, but that didn’t make any sense. They flew behind a building, and Marble kept shooting through it, but she looked frustrated as her targets didn’t fall.

“Damn it!” Limestone was getting more frazzled than usual. “Concentrate on the squads. I’ll take care of it.”

Limestone grabbed a rifle from a corpse nearby, but paused, getting a sick sense in the pit of her stomach. She turned back to Marble, rushing up to her and giving her a brief, if deep, kiss before leaving. Marble blushed and nodded.

Limestone raced in the direction they were going, toward the palace archives. Starlight was there, and Limestone realized she should have asked her more about what she needed there.

Several bullets buzzed past her head as she rushed. Limestone dove for cover behind a nearby column and peered out. She spotted two pegasi heading into a utility passage, one that would eventually lead them to the Coronal Mass Ejector.

Midnight’s arrival threw off Limestone calculations. If Marble hadn’t been distracted, she’d have taken down these two pegasi too. Limestone had to choose between pursuing them and Midnight.

Limestone trusted her sisters to take care of Starlight at the archive, dashing into the passage instead. It took all she had to catch up with the pegasi flying ahead of her, heart pounding in her chest as she ran.

As she prepared to round a corner, a beeping glowing ball was tossed out at her. Limestone grabbed it before it hit the floor, flipping to send it down the corridor behind her as far as she could. It sounded as if it collapsed the corridor behind her, but she couldn’t risk damaging the equipment ahead.

Limestone didn’t stop, springing off the wall and jumping around the corner. The pegasi were waiting to fire, but expected an earth pony to come low. Instead, Limestone sprang off the ceiling and landed a flying kick into the head of the first. The grotesque snap of his neck told her she'd hit him as she intended, and his body flailed to the floor.

She landed, grabbed hold of the first pegasus as he gagged on his own blood, then charged the other while using him as a shield. The pegasus absorbed several bullets before Limestone threw him at the other. As she fell against the wall, Limestone unleashed a flurry of kicks, not stopping until her enemy vomited blood. The mare’s eyes rolled back as she slumped against the wall.

Limestone prevented them from getting through, but couldn't get out through the collapsed passage behind her. Instead, she ran forward toward the megaspell systems, intending to circle around another way.

She reached the door at the end of the hallway, and was about to open it, but stopped. As her senses twisted further, her confidence waned. The next thing she predicted was something she knew would come, but hoped it’d be later: her own death.

The sense of failure was overwhelming. Her family, her country, they all counted on her victory and she'd failed them.

The first shock wave rumbled the walls around her as Canterlot fired their megaspell. Moments later, a more powerful shock wave hit, the walls and floor around her cracking, solid stone tearing apart as the structure convulsed.

The door in front of her radiated an impossible heat, and Limestone knew what was coming. She wanted to run, but it would do no good. Her death was etched into the stone of history and there was no way she could change it.

The second shock wave had ruptured the CME systems. The super-conductive pink cloud it used to channel energy through conduits had flooded the control room, and now burst through the door, filling the hallway where Limestone stood.

She felt her body encompassed in searing heat, torment inside and out as she took a deep breath of the cloud. She felt her flesh melting under the heat and waited for the sweet embrace of death.

But it didn’t come. Why wasn’t it coming?

Limestone was swimming in a sea of torture now, gagging as she breathed radioactive cloud, her vision turning to pure glowing pink as she felt it burn out her eyes. She felt her skin melting off… again… repeatedly regenerating and melting. Her eyes reformed and burned out again.

She struggled, trying to move above the flow, desperate to drag herself out of the pain pit, but the thick necrotic mist reached the ceiling. Limestone punched the roofing in frustration, trying to get it to collapse on her to finish her, but she could barely move.

She went limp, energy drained, and let herself simmer. The pain died to a dull throbbing, and it didn’t take long for her to lose track of time. She floated, helpless, within the mist for what seemed like forever.

When she felt her body touch a wall again, she lashed out without thinking, punching it as hard as she could. To her surprise, the metal gave way with a low creaking sound, bursting open, already weakened by what it contained. She felt the cloud washing past her as it flowed out, so grabbed the wall around the opening, pulling it open further. Despite her condition, the wall came apart easier than she’d expect even if she’d been at full strength.

A few minutes later, she hit the floor on the other side of the half-melted wall, sticky pink cloud bubbling over her where she lay. She forced herself to her feet and staggered, desperate to get away from the fluid.

She made it into what she thought was sunlight only to find it wasn’t. Iit was the radiant glow of the crater in the center of Canterlot, swirling shades of green and pink with a rainbow sheen. It outshined the Sun by far.

Limestone looked at her pipbuck, only to realize that it wasn’t functional. She ripped it off her leg, bits of numb flesh coming with it, and tossed it aside. She stumbled over to a nearby body, pulling another off the dead soldier’s leg and clasping it onto her own.

It didn’t boot, so at first she thought it was broken as well, but then realized that it wasn’t detecting a wearer. She flicked the override switch and it booted.

Tuesday, 11/23/2077

It had been almost a month? How had she been boiling alive for an entire month? If nothing else, she should have died of asphyxiation or hunger.

A realization hit Limestone like a freight train into a bus full of orphans. The pipbuck wasn’t faulty when it didn’t detect a living user.

Limestone felt her chest but couldn’t find a heartbeat. Frantic, she collapsed on the ground, grabbing a loose piece of rubble in her muzzle and slicing her leg with the sharp end. The flesh separated, coagulated blood dripping onto the pavement like stale pudding. The blood glowed pink as it lay in a chunky puddle, a shade close to that of the pink cloud. In fact her whole body glowed.

She was dead. How could she be dead? How could she not be dead? She scratched her head with a hoof only to see clumps of mane on it when she pulled it back. She looked back at the leg she’d cut, and despite how decrepit she looked, it slowly healed. Even if her mechanite healing factor somehow still functioned, it shouldn’t have been that fast.

Limestone jumped as she heard the clopping of hooves nearby and looked into the glowing mist. A covered wagon approached, coming into view through the radioactive cloud. It bounced about on the wreckage-strewn path, but the military-grade steel construction kept it together.

It was Muffins, one of the few pegasi that fought for Canterlot. Limestone remembered how chipper she was even amid the battle, and how it annoyed her. She'd dealt with it since annoying happiness beat cowardice.

She didn’t seem chipper now, and to say she didn’t look healthy would be an understatement. Her gray coat was largely missing, as was much of her skin, flaking away like paint chipping from an aged wall. Most of her teeth were gone, and she only had a few strands left of her mane and tail. One wing was torn off, and the other had only a few feathers left on it, just gnarled meat hanging from her side now.

“Muffins?” Limestone asked.

No answer. Limestone waved a hoof in front of her face when she didn’t respond. Still no talking, but she seemed conscious. One of her eyes followed Limestone’s hoof, the other independently looking further down the path she’d been taking.

Well, at least she still had the supply wagon. It’d been her job to do rounds with the supply wagon during the last battle, and it appeared she didn’t stop her duty even when she stopped living. Limestone took what she could carry, a pistol with ammo and packets of food, even if she doubted she'd need food.

After a few minutes, Muffins turned and walked further along the wall where Limestone had climbed out. She was following the same path she had been during the battle, altered only to avoid collapsed structures and pits that weren’t there before. Limestone wondered why she hadn’t gone to Stable 27.

Stable 27! Limestone sensed her sisters went there. Or would go there? Her sense was wonky, but regardless, she needed to check. Everything blurred as she galloped there.

Bodies filled the cathedral outside the stable door, many huddled together. A few were animated like her and watched her in passing, still huddled against their dead loved ones, but otherwise looking to be in the same condition as Muffins.

Surely they’d let Limestone in now, though. They had to know who she was.

She stumbled up to the door, banging on it hard. There was a flash of light as the stable’s computer scanned her, but it didn’t speak. Limestone would need either a horn or a key for the computer to speak to her out here.

But it shouldn’t matter; she was sure ponies inside would see the scan. The Pies registered at Stable 11, but they should still let them in regardless given the situation.

“Let me in!” she screamed. “I’m Limestone Pie! I’m a national hero and in command of Canterlot! I deserve to be inside!”

No answer, but they had to be in there. They had to be monitoring the outside from within.

“At least tell me to buck off!” Limestone screeched. “Did my sisters make it inside? Marble, Maud, and Pinkie Pie? At least tell me that!”

She was determined to knock and scream until her body gave out, but it never did, so she lost track of time again. When she looked at her pipbuck again, twelve hours had passed. The glowing crater outside made it hard to tell if it was day or night.

But it barely mattered. If they hadn’t let her in by now, they’d made their decision. Maybe she’d try again later; she at least wanted to know if her sisters made it inside.

Then something else occurred to her. Clicking. She hadn’t noticed it before beneath the hum of the energy boiling in the crater, but her pipbuck was going nuts. She pulled up the radiation screen and read it: 10 rads per second. Lethal within minutes, to the living at least.

"Okay, that's a fairly good reason not to open it," Limestone sighed, but screamed again. "You could at least tell me the reason!"

Limestone turned the clicking off, but then had an even more disturbing thought. She took the pipbuck off, laying it on the ground and backing away. She squinted to see the readings as she moved further back. It went down the further away she was until it stopped again around 8 rads.

"So I'm radioactive," Limestone sighed. "Perfect." She cried at the door again. "Do you really expect me to wait for this to wear off? There has to be something you can do!"

She growled, walking back up to the contraption and snapping it back onto her leg. At least this meant she could try the door later once her own radioactivity decreased, but how long would that even take?

The only thing to do for now was to search elsewhere, even if she preferred to imagine them safe inside the stable. Marble’s watch point was far enough from where they'd been trying to set off the radboom that it would remain intact.

On her way there, she realized there were many trotting dead in the city, though none had their wits. Most were indistinguishable from a normal corpse other than their shambling.

The soldiers all followed their last given orders, which probably explained the lack of pink glowing ones. Those were probably all sitting, or floating, in the CME chamber. She did find a rainbow glowing zebra clamoring near the radboom crater, but like everypony else, he wouldn’t accept orders.

There were also civilians among the trotting dead. Limestone saw a store clerk she knew standing behind the counter as if waiting for a customer, but like the others, she only stared blankly when Limestone attempted to communicate. She also found a ghoulish filly guide standing vigil, but she wouldn’t communicate either, sadly staring at a dead friend on the ground nearby. Was Limestone the only undead that survived with her mind intact?

When she made it to Marble’s post, Marble wasn't there, which gave some hope. It meant Marble hadn’t died on the spot before or during the blast, and that she wasn’t mindlessly carrying out her last given orders. It wasn’t much hope though, given the amount of radiation she would have received before leaving the post.

If Marble survived and couldn’t find Limestone in the immediate vicinity, she would have gone first to Stable 27, then to see if Pinkie and Maud were still at the archives, then to the barracks where they had bunks. Limestone had already checked the stable as best she could, so went to the archives next.

Her sisters weren't there. Instead, she found the strange anomaly located where a portion of the room had been. It wasn’t destroyed, just gone. Limestone sensed her sisters there in the area, or they were on their way to the area? She couldn’t tell, but after calling for them for an hour, she gave up and moved on.

Limestone was afraid to check the bunker, but there was nothing else. Sure enough, that was where her hope for Marble died.

Marble was laying in the bed, her gauss rifle Ashmaker beside her. She lay on her back, her brains splattered on the bed and floor behind her. Limestone raised Marble’s head, hoping to find her soul crystal intact, but Marble had been thorough in her suicide. She'd put Ashmaker’s tip in her muzzle and shattered the soul crystal in the back of her neck with the shot. An impact like that from the inside was probably one of the few things that would easily destroy one.

Unsure what else to do now, Limestone gathered the gem shards, wrapping them in a cloth and tucking them into the front of Marble’s uniform. As she did this, she noticed Marble’s pipbuck had a blinking light on the back, which meant that a message was left for the one who found it. Limestone couldn’t bring herself to boot the device and listen to it though. Instead, she switched it off to avoid thinking about it.

Limestone wasn’t sure how long she stared at Marble after that, but she missed having the ability to weep as she did. Marble died thinking she failed her sisters, but Limestone was the one that failed them all.

The last thing Limestone said to Marble was a scolding for being soft. Even with the parting kiss, Marble died not knowing how much Limestone envied that softness. Limestone searched her mind, deciding what to do next, to find some way to solve this, but her thoughts all melted together much like her face had.

‘How could you let her die?’ a voice from nowhere asked.

Ashmaker? Limestone had heard her sisters converse with their guns and various inanimate pets, and sometimes Limestone pretended to hear it to humor them. But she had never really heard them herself until now.

‘You promised that you’d protect your sisters,’ said the half-eaten rations on the bunk behind Limestone.

‘All she ever did was bitch at them,’ Limestone’s own gun said.

Limestone threw her gun across the room, screaming in frustration at the voices surrounding her, ridiculing her failure. Her sisters died because she lost the most important battle she fought. Who cared about her victories before if she failed when it mattered most? Her successes were meaningless with no world left to know them.

“I have not failed!” Limestone shrieked, and the voices died. “This is not over!”

Limestone grabbed Marble, hefting the body up onto her back. She took Ashmaker, slinging him over her back with Marble and running as fast as she could with the extra weight.

She staggered back to Marble’s watch point, finally dumping Marble into a sitting position against the castle wall behind her. Limestone scanned the Canterlot sky, barely able to make out the form of pegasi flying over it. Many were still flying in formation, but without the ability to recharge their suits in Cloudsdale, all they were doing was dive-bombing the pool of radioactive liquid at the bottom of the crater, staggering back out, and flying up for another attempt.

The battle wasn’t over yet. There were soldiers moving, if not alive, on both sides. She wouldn’t lose. Limestone would make them pay for the lives of her sisters, even if she had to kill them a hundred times.

Limestone raised Ashmaker, looking through the scope, waiting for one of the pegasi to pause mid-flight before firing.

Tuesday, 1/11/2078

Shooting a wobbly ghoul in flight wasn’t easy. A few of the dive-bombing pegasi were ‘glowing ones’ like Limestone, rainbow or red instead of pink. Limestone assumed that the method of creation determined the glow color: rainbow for those that died from the radboom and red for the CME. It peeved Limestone that she got stuck with bright pink.

The glowing ones took a ridiculous amount of damage. Only a headshot would stop them permanently, and then only a very direct one that destroyed it down to the brain stem.

Limestone wasn’t a trained sniper. Her pipbuck’s SATS gave her a tiny chance for a headshot, when they were close enough for it to lock on at all. She definitely got a new appreciation for Marble’s skill, because she went through a lot of ammo just getting her bearings. Once she got low on the enchanted ammo, she used less powerful ammo and saved the good stuff for if living enemies showed up.

Limestone kept Marble with her, leaned against the rampart. Marble hadn’t moved or spoken yet, but plenty of other things talked, so Limestone hadn’t given up hope, ignoring the part of herself that knew it to be irrational.

‘There haven’t been flying targets within range for days,’ Ashmaker mentioned one day. ‘You should rest. Marble wouldn’t want you overworking yourself.’

"As if I can overwork myself," Limestone sighed. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

‘There’s always the barracks,’ suggested Mister Glowbrick, the lightly glowing rock a few feet away.

‘She doesn’t want to go there,’ explained Ashmaker. ‘It reminds her of what an utter failure she is for letting Marble die.’

Ashmaker never missed a chance to bring that up; he was Marble’s gun after all. Limestone never complained because she knew he was right.

‘There was that tower we passed between here and Stable 27,’ suggested Madam le Sour, the partially eaten rations in Limestone’s saddle bag. ‘I saw a lovely little tea set in there I wouldn’t mind having a chat with, if ya know what I mean.’ Though Limestone gave up eating as it made her sick, she kept Sour since she was amusing at times.

“Eh,” shrugged Limestone. “May as well look.”

Limestone scanned the horizon one more time. There were still pegasi buzzing around the far edges of the city and around the area where Cloudsdale crumbled. At least one glowed red, but they were far outside of her SATS range, just dots in the distance. She sighed, draping Marble and Ashmaker on her back and heading towards the tower that Madam le Sour mentioned.

The upper floors of the tower were ripped off by the blast. The bottom floor and about half of the second floor remained however. It amazed her that even the bottom floor remained, given it was only about a hundred hoofsteps from the edge of the crater, but some of the older enchanted towers were ridiculously well-built.

There was a large table in the center as if meetings had been held here, with a computer terminal in one corner of the room, not that it had power. There was a tea set as Sour indicated, and he seemed nice enough, so Limestone set him up on the table in the center of the room.

“Not that I have any bucking tea,” Limestone sighed.

‘There’s plenty of water in the crater outside, foal!’ suggested Mr. Tea helpfully.

“Not sure that that’s safe,” observed Limestone.

‘What’s it going to do, darling? Kill you?’ chuckled Madam le Sour.

“Buck off,” Limestone growled, then tossed Madam le Sour onto the table with Mister Tea so they could do just that while she checked out the crater.

Limestone took Marble to the crater, leaving the other objects at her new house to chat it up. She squinted her eyes as she trotted up to the crumbling edge, trying to see through the brightness radiating from within.

What would have killed her before was now pleasant warmth. In fact, it made her feel stronger being here. She slid down one side, radioactive glass crumbling beneath her hooves, leaving a groove in the scalding soft rubble where she walked.

Water gathered at the bottom, glowing swirls of green and rainbow. It now also had pink swirls in it as the pink cloud leaked out of the flooded sections of the castle, mostly from the hole Limestone made getting out. Limestone wondered if the pink cloud generator was still online. If so, it wouldn’t stop until the whole crater was full and overflowing. There was no reason to go turn it off though; if these other animate ponies were like her, the toxic sludge would help them feel better.

Limestone decided she may as well take a dip, sliding into the water and laying Marble next to her, pulling her close in a hug. This was the stuff that brought Limestone back to life, right? Maybe it’d do the same for Marble.

“Please move,” sighed Limestone, holding Marble and caressing her mane. “Just a few minutes, that’s all I ask, just long enough to tell you I’m sorry for being a bitch. That I’ve always loved my sisters.”

Nothing.

“I won’t give up,” Limestone said, determined to do the only thing she could. “We’ll soak here every day after our watch, even if it takes 100 years.”

Tuesday, 10/18/2287

She wasn’t done in 100 years. Even 200 wasn’t enough, but Limestone refused to give in.

Every day for over 200 years, she watched for enemies for 18 hours a day, then went home to have a tea party with Marble and friends. As she couldn’t sleep, she spent the rest of the hours until her next ‘shift’ soaking in the crater with Marble. Every few weeks she’d go to check at the archives or to scratch at Stable 27’s door again.

Limestone remained at her duty longer than many other ghouls. Many ceased their tasks, instead congregating in some darker areas of the city. Some lay on the ground, indistinguishable from corpses until something disturbed them. As Canterlot and Cloudsdale soldiers killed one another on sight, there were few of either left after so long. Most of the ‘surviving’ ghouls had been civilians, since most soldiers were instinctively unwilling to target them.

Muffins was among the few remaining, and continued performing her rounds. As she lacked a uniform and the contents of her wagon were hidden by the cover, she had never been targeted by enemy soldiers. Her supply wagon remained intact despite being taken down the bumpy path every day, thanks to being steel instead of wood.

Limestone considered her a friend. Although she never replied, speaking to her provided Limestone with a slight sense of normalcy and occasionally amusement. Muffins even had a tendency to change outfits occasionally. One day she even showed up with a combat helmet on, the radio turned up full blast, which she wore for about a week and then took off.

Muffins didn’t work the same long hours Limestone did, and Limestone wasn’t sure where she went when she wasn’t doing rounds, nor if it was her or somepony else putting the outfits on her. She or somepony hung a clock on the front of the wagon that hadn’t been there during the battle as well, and once it was there, Muffins appeared to follow a more precise schedule.

Still, Limestone never followed her to see where she stayed. It seemed to be on the other side of the city, and Limestone enjoyed staying close to Stable 27, even if they still wouldn’t let her in.

More importantly, Limestone wanted to remain close to the anomaly in the archives. It still felt like her sisters were on their way whenever she went there, and the feeling only got more powerful as time passed. Recently she felt like she almost saw them, and the missing room, like it was in the corner of her eye but disappeared when she looked straight on. In recent years, even her pipbuck registered life signs within the anomaly, one vaguely resembling Starlight's cutie mark, but the others too faded to make out.

They were so close now; Limestone could practically hear their heartbeats. She just had to wait a little longer. She’d been telling herself that for centuries, but now more than ever, it felt real.

Though Limestone would have been happy with any living pony at all visiting her, it was the only thing that might pull her away from her schedule.

Initially, Limestone had expected living ponies to emerge from Stable 27 or return from elsewhere to rebuild, but it never happened. The closest was around 60 years ago when a group of unicorns in Canterlot-like armor arrived. Limestone had been hopeful, but rather than rebuild, they only scanned the Coronal Mass Ejector, possibly took some components, and then left.

They must have turned off the pink cloud generator too, because the stream of pink from beneath the castle ceased while they were there, not that the crater wasn't already full. Limestone tried to speak to them, but they avoided Limestone and any other residents by activating stealth fields when she approached.

They didn’t seem nice, anyway. Limestone heard one mention that they weren’t killing ghouls in hopes that they’d kill any others that came here without stealth tech, though Limestone wasn’t sure why they thought the civilian ghouls would attack anyone. Then after about a week, they stopped coming.

Some time after that, the Sun stopped moving, but all her memories blurred together so much she wasn’t sure how long after. It worried her for a while, but eventually just became part of her reality that she didn’t think much about.

There was the occasional explorer other than that, but no significant group returned to rebuild or reclaim the city. It probably didn’t help that explorers rarely left the city once they got here. Even if they weren’t wearing enemy uniforms, most attacked the residents, which Limestone didn’t tolerate, and few escaped once she ceased tolerating them.

Limestone missed home, but couldn’t bear to go back a failure, to face her family and admit that to such incompetence. If she waited until Pinkie and Maud got back, she could do better. She’d make it up to them somehow, then surprise her family by bringing them home. Now and then, it occurred to her that her family was long dead, but it was never there longer than an instant before she shoved it into the darkest corner of her mind.

For a long time she questioned her own sanity at waiting, but now she wasn’t the only one. A few weeks ago, sprite-bots returned to the city in force, and were hovering around the anomaly. Were they waiting for her sisters too? Why?

Limestone let the bots be since they were property of the Ministry of News. The one giving speeches on them claimed to be a crystal pony, but there was nothing inherently wrong with that. Sombra was assumed to have died during the Breaking, and this one didn’t sound possessed. Besides, this ‘crystal princess’ sounded pro-Equestria and promised to rebuild soon, even if not brave enough to show up in Canterlot herself.

Then just yesterday, others showed interest in the anomaly, and that was a problem. After so long, a squad with Midnight Sparkle’s symbol branded on their uniforms entered the city. Limestone thought the New Lunar Republic was the most likely faction to survive, even if in shambles, but hoped they hadn’t. This was something that Limestone needed to rectify.

Limestone loaded the good ammo into Ashmaker and watched their movements carefully. She felt like they would go to the archives too but wanted to make sure. It felt good when they did, like confirmation that her sense still functioned. As they took positions just outside of the room however, Limestone’s sense burned in her mind again. These ponies were here to harm her sisters and Starlight when they returned. It was the only reason she could think of for NLR soldiers to be there.

The first squad was easy pickings. She got two where they guarded, another on the ground as they fled, and the final one when she took to the air to escape.

When the second squad arrived today, Limestone didn’t wait for them to get near the anomaly. They were better prepared however, some activating stealth bucks before she could take them out.

It was nothing though. Limestone’s mind flooded with calculations and probabilities, and she had to admit that being in a proper fight felt good. Once again, she faced living enemies, and lucky for her, they hadn’t become harder to predict.

When it was all over, it left Limestone with more corpses in the city, though some escaped alive. She left the bodies where they lay, just more rubble as far as she was concerned.

Unfortunately, she also took a good deal of damage during the fight. She forgot how much getting shot hurt and was left with a severed leg and a monster headache.

The last soldier she faced shot Limestone square in the head, which Limestone was sure should have killed her. Luckily, the bullet struck her head as she leaned backwards at such an angle that it deflected upwards, cracking her skull but not penetrating into her brain. Maybe it was a good thing they got away after that; the pony would inform her friends that a headshot wouldn't stop Limestone, and the intimidation factor might not hurt.

Or it might just mean they'd bring bigger guns next time.

Limestone dragged her leg back to the crater, tied it into place on her shoulder, and soaked in the pink cloud there until it healed enough to stick. She had to rebreak it a few times before it healed at a good angle, and she found herself able to walk and use Ashmaker again. It was too bad that her ghoulish healing factor only healed her up to a rotten-looking state.

Limestone knew that the soldiers wouldn’t stop coming to the city, though. As soon as she could, she took Marble and Ashmaker and returned to their post.

Sure enough, a new squad arrived, but it wasn’t the NLR this time. They were wearing Canterlot guard armor and flying up at the cloud cover. It took a moment to decide what to do, her sense telling her they were a threat, but she couldn’t make herself shoot Canterlot guards. Maybe she had more of the ‘follow your last order’ programming than she’d like to think.

Curious as to why they’d changed their armor, she watched them, even covering them when a pyrebat from the nearby mountains tried to come up behind them. They settled near the anomaly, same as the others, and she kept an eye on them.

Their shift was uneventful, and another squad came to take their place after twelve hours. The leaving squad gathered the bodies of the NLR troops that Limestone had downed, which wasn’t particularly odd; perhaps they wanted to search them for intelligence.

The problem lay in the one that came to Limestone’s position to gather the bodies there. Once they were close, she got the distinct feeling that they were one that escaped her before. When Limestone realized that they were carrying a large, heavy package in their saddlebags, she knew what they were coming for, but still couldn’t bring herself to shoot.

Not only because of her programming though, because there might be a more effective way to protect her sisters. If she kept fighting them, they’d eventually send a force big enough to take her, but if she was ‘fooled’ by their armor trick, they’d leave her alone and she could be ready to protect her sisters when they arrived.

Instead, Limestone placed Ashmaker on the ground, and leaned down to cradle Marble’s head. She rocked back and forth as she petted her sister, and this was how the approaching soldier found Limestone when they arrived. Limestone felt bad using Marble as a prop, but it wasn’t like she was being dishonest. This was exactly what she did for at least an hour of her shift every day.

When they arrived, Limestone feigned surprise and stood. A brief conversation later, she’d convinced them to take the bomb back and probably not attack again. It seemed her strategy worked.

So as they guarded the anomaly, Limestone guarded them, changing her position on the ramparts for the first time in 200 years to make sure she had a good view.

She didn’t go have tea. She didn’t soak. She just waited for days on end, determined not to stop until her sisters finally arrived. Waiting was what she did best after all.

12. Picking Up the Trail

Tuesday, 10/25/2287, The Day Twilight Arrived in the Future
POV: Tranquil Melody
Stable 27

Tranquil Melody loved her wife Crimson, but it was the love of an abused dog for her master, lacking the romance and affection to go any deeper than the surface.

Now Tranquil lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and hating herself with a burning passion. Crimson always got her into it; she’d programmed Tranquil well. But afterward it left Tranquil with an empty void inside her, guilt she didn’t dare express aloud. If she did, it’d be right back into cryo-rehab until she was a better-trained pet.

“Damn, the expression on little Silk’s face,” Crimson said, lying next to Tranquil in the bed. The way she spoke, one would think she was fondly remembering a family get together, not discussing a murder she committed.

“Mercury’s in for a bad time,” Tranquil commented with a sigh, but forced a smile. “She’s expecting to receive a trophy for creating a painless gender-shifting potion.”

“I left Silk Strand on her bed; that’ll have to do for a trophy,” Crimson shrugged. “Then we can claim her own potions made her crazy and discontinue them. Seriously, who wants painless shifting potions? What’s the fun in that? Besides, the last thing I want is ponies enjoying having a dick too much; that can't be healthy.”

“No fun at all,” said Tranquil, continuing to stare at the ceiling. “Then Mercury goes into the cryorehab, I guess.”

“Jealous?” Crimson chuckled. “Don’t get a knot in your twat. I thought you liked geeky mares.”

“It’s not that, you know I like Mercury,” said Tranquil. “And it feels weird being your only wife, anyway. I don’t even care that you’ll have her kill me eventually.”

“You are so delightfully broken,” laughed Crimson, then her tone waxed serious. “Too broken. I should have left your corpse on Mercury’s bed instead.”

Tranquil finally looked Crimson in the eyes. “Aren’t you worried someone will catch on? You’ve gotten more obvious over the years, and all your recent wives getting rehab just prior to marrying you is the least of it. Chrome suspects.”

“I’m bored,” sighed Crimson, staring at the ceiling wishfully. “This whole place is boring me. There’s an exciting world out there, but I’m stuck here at player start.” She stretched and chuckled, “The only reason I haven’t re-hab’ed Chrome is to break the monotony of having no resistance. Besides, she won't do anything. That buffoon has…”

A buzzer at their bedroom door interrupted the pillow talk, followed by banging on the door, followed further by the door intercom activating.

“Let us in, Overmare,” Chrome’s voice shouted through the door intercom.

“Incredible comedic timing!” Crimson sat up in bed. “Seriously, you’d think this was a bad comedy sketch.” She used her magic to press the intercom button on this side, her voice seamlessly changing from creepy to pleasant. “Whatever do you need, dear Security Chief? If somepony stole a sweet roll, I hereby authorize you to use lethal force.”

“No games,” Chrome answered. “I had Solar hack your terminal in the Archives.”

Chrome didn’t have to explain further. That was where Crimson kept recordings of her escapades, and after 200 years, there were a lot. Tranquil knew; part of her cryo-rehab had been to relive memories of Crimson’s earlier victims until she shattered.

“That’s distressing,” sighed Crimson after releasing the button. She hopped out of bed, still chipper about the whole thing. “Well looks like you called it; I’ve been getting sloppy, and not just in the fun way! How bout we take a walk outside?”

“Outside?” asked Tranquil.

“As in outside of Stable 27,” Crimson grinned as she yanked Tranquil out of bed. “Let’s go play the game at a higher difficulty level.”

“You said leaving the stable meant certain death,” Tranquil said as she stumbled to her hooves. “Like quick death, not fun death.”

“I also told them that their security override would work on every door, including mine,” Crimson said, motioning towards the stuck door. “And that only the wearer can remove Stable 27 pipbucks.”

Crimson’s telekinesis unlatched Tranquil’s pipbuck and tugged it loose. She then unlatched her own pipbuck, placing it on Tranquil’s leg and taking Tranquil’s for herself. Tranquil wasn’t sure why Crimson switched them, but she always had a reason, even when it was bananas. Crimson turned the one now on her leg off to keep it untraceable for the moment.

“Lucky for you, I have this planned out,” Crimson whispered. “Probably. First, we get you a blinder suit and head to the atrium. Then, I take the cameras offline and you head out the stable door with my pipbuck. Just follow the arrows that General Slimestone or whoever made, they probably lead to her place, and she’s the least frightening thing out there.”

Tranquil tried to take it all in, but it was difficult because Crimson rattled it off faster the longer she talked.

“Anyway,” Crimson continued with a whisper. “Chrome will think I was the one who left because of my pipbuck signal being outside, so won’t think to guard the soul recycler. I’ll grab the recycler and head out with you when I can. Then I’ll save you from Slimey or whatever is killing and/or raping you. Or I’ll help them, depending on my mood. I never claimed to be a saint!”

A lot of things could go wrong with this, not even counting Crimson who was already wrong with this. If they hacked Crimson’s terminal, the other tech in the stable wasn’t necessarily under Crimson’s control.

“You have supplies stashed, right?” asked Tranquil.

“There are probably plenty of centuries-old rations in the city,” Crimson said, as if that should put her at ease. “That stuff is good forever. And if there isn’t, I can always eat you. Not in the fun way, in the very fun way. Come on now. Chrome won’t take more than an hour to override the door.”

The door opened a fraction of a hoof before ceasing again.

“It does that sometimes,” Crimson said, undeterred in her estimate. “No reason for happy-fun-panic-time yet!”

"I meant in your Crimoire," Tranquil clarified. She'd seen Crimson trap ponies in her magic book, or ‘Crimoire’ as she called it, as a discreet way of snatching them. Tranquil had even been inside the book herself plenty, and it was only logical that she could stash supplies too.

“You know I kept meaning to,” said Crimson. “But like we discussed, I’m getting sloppy!” Crimson picked up the book from beside the bed as if almost forgetting it, though Tranquil knew she never would. She spoke to the Crimoire before putting it in her bag, “Okay Paper Cut, we’re going on a potentially violent trip. Sorry if I jar you around!... you’re right, I’m not sorry at all.”

"You have to have something in there, right?" asked Tranquil. "Aside from those two… things."

"Did you hear that? She called you two things," Crimson said to the book in her bag, then turned back to Tranquil. “I think you made one of them cry.”

"Crimson!" Tranquil tried to get her to focus as the door creaked again.

"Look, honestly I’m not sure what all I have in there," Crimson seemed unworried. “I do make a mess.”

Crimson was much too happy about this, even by psychotic standards. Tranquil wondered if Crimson allowed someone to catch her because she thought escaping would be fun. She watched Crimson remove a panel on the back wall, motioning to a crawl passage hidden behind it.

Tranquil glanced between the door and Crimson, tempted to open the door for Chrome instead.

“Oh-ho,” Crimson chuckled. “Look who’s having second thoughts about our relationship. Come on now, don’t break your owner’s heart.”

Crimson didn’t try to stop Tranquil. Instead, she crawled into the passage ahead of her. She knew Tranquil too well. Tranquil would choose certain death outside to living the rest of her life here. Ponies liked her now, but being the best entertainer in the stable wouldn’t do much once everypony found out she had been Crimson’s killer-in-training. No amount of rehab would get them to treat her normally again.

“Come on, trust your master!” Crimson called back.

Tranquil sighed and crawled in after her.

“By Midnight’s kinky riding crop, you trust me,” Crimson laughed as she looked back. “I thought for a moment that you were smarter than that.”

POV: Limestone Pie

Today felt right. Through her scope, Limestone saw the strange energy in the Canterlot Archives glowing brighter than usual. Something big would happen today.

While she watched though, something less expected happened. Limestone’s pipbuck beeped, showing it found a new radio frequency. That had happened only three or four times over the last few centuries, so Limestone looked to see what it was.

She stared at the name of the new frequency: Stable 27. If she was picking up the Stable 27 frequencies, which shouldn’t get through the shielded stable walls, it could only mean one thing: They’d opened the door.

Limestone turned her scope towards the Stable 27 door, adjusting the x-ray to see the area around it. She looked just in time to watch the door close again, a single pony having emerged. It was hard to tell what they looked like since they had a blinder suit on, but the head shape was a mare’s and the bulge on the back indicated wings. That must be rare, since Limestone was sure they gave pegasi a hard time getting in.

More notable, the suit was all the pony had. No supplies, no weapon, no rations, and no support. This wasn’t an explorer; this was an escapee, or perhaps a banished.

The pony paused to admire the corpses in the grand hall like it was an art show, then headed out. Once outside, the mare stared at the sky like its existence confused her. Limestone assumed that came from spending her whole life inside.

Once the mare recovered from the sky, she noticed the arrows, the ones that Limestone had painted on the pavement to direct anyone that exited the stable to her domicile. Sure enough, the mare followed them.

The thing Limestone most got out of it was that this was potential social interaction. Limestone could have never guessed she’d be so starved for that, and the chance to speak to a living pony that didn’t want to fight to the death was too much to resist. She rationalized that a few hours wouldn’t hurt anything.

Limestone put Ashmaker back over her shoulder, hefted Marble up onto her back, and galloped back to her little home. Limestone knew how she’d appear to a sheltered stable dweller, so it was best she greeted her there rather than rushing her while she was on her way.

When alive, Limestone often greeted guests to her home by warning them not to cross her, but not anymore. This was the first pony guest she’d had in… well since she died. Not even Muffins had been to her house to visit. Limestone wanted to make sure she didn’t frighten the new visitor, so tried to remember what living ponies thought was normal.

Mister Tea suggested tea as always, saying he pitied the foal that didn’t like tea. It made sense, so that’s what Limestone did. She set out the tea set, filled the cups with water, and scrounged up an extra chair for their guest to seat herself. Marble, Ashmaker, and Madam le Sour sat at their places at the table, then Limestone waited impatiently at the door.

Sure enough, the mare from Stable 27 walked right up to Limestone’s door and knocked. It was a stupid thing to do without at least peeking in first, but Limestone didn’t expect her to have military instinct. Limestone trotted to the door and cracked it open a hoof.

“Hi,” Limestone said, voice quivering. “You’re from Stable 27? I’m Limestone Pie.”

It was the friendliest greeting she’d ever given, but her cracking dead voice probably ruined it.

“Oh,” the mare said, stepping back when the door cracked. “Um, yes, I know who you are. Sorry about the… not opening the door. Security thinks you’ll… contaminate something. I’m Tranquil Melody.”

“Come in, Tranquil Melody!” Limestone tried hard to hide her excitement, but having a pony to talk to that talked back was incredible. “I’ll open my door now, please don’t be scared. I won't attack you.”

“I hope so,” Tranquil said with a nervous chuckle.

Limestone smiled as not-scary as she could, which was likely still frightening, and opened the door. She trotted to the tea table and sat, motioning to the new seat. “Have a seat, uh, this is Ashmaker, Mister Tea, Madam le Sour, and my sister Marble Pie. Say hi everyone.”

Everyone said hi, but Tranquil only stared as she walked inside Limestone’s home. Eyes wide, she trotted to the extra seat and sat as if afraid not to. The chair creaked, near breaking.

‘The new mare isn’t very nice,’ commented Ashmaker. 'Please point me at her.'

‘Sort of bitchy,’ agreed Sour. ‘She didn’t even say hi to us!’

“Guys, don’t buck this up for me,” Limestone shushed them, then looked at Tranquil. “Don’t mind them, we don’t get many guests.”

“Don’t mind who?” asked Tranquil, tilting her head.

“Here,” Limestone stammered, pushing a tea cup over to Tranquil.

“I... don’t think I can drink this,” Tranquil stammered right back as she looked at the pink glowing water. She took a moment to make sure her blinder helmet was secure, as if worried Limestone might try to force it down her throat.

“Oh right, I forgot,” Limestone sighed. “Wow, I’m just as horse apples at being nice as I always was.”

‘Can I murder her now?’ asked Ashmaker.

“No, I already said before, no killing guests!” Limestone snapped at Ashmaker.

“Um,” Tranquil stepped back from Limestone, chair flipping over backwards and then breaking when she tripped over it. “You know I’m the only other one in the room, right? The things in the chairs are only things… and a corpse. Like a not-moving corpse.”

“No, no, these are my friends,” Limestone explained. “And Marble is my sister. She doesn’t move yet, but we’re working on it. Soon, I'm sure of it.”

Marble slumped out of her own chair, the vibrations of Tranquil tripping over herself causing the body to topple onto the floor. Limestone rushed to pick her up again, sitting her back tall.

“Marble you silly mare,” Limestone chuckled as she put Marble back into position and placed her hoof back on the tea cup.

“You poor thing,” Tranquil said, sounding as if she were crying. “You’ve been alone so long… this is… nice to know I can still feel pity, I guess.” She tilted her head, “You have a soul gem… It’s blinking.”

“Huh?” Limestone felt the back of her neck, which Tranquil saw as Limestone was helping Marble up. “Oh yes, I got it for being a war hero.” She’d point that out as much as possible to the stable dwellers that wouldn’t let her enter. “It’s blinking?”

Limestone hadn’t directly seen the gem since the fateful day. If it was blinking, she wouldn't have noticed it over her own glow, and she didn't enjoy looking in mirrors.

“Yes, blinking,” Tranquil said. “Like it does when… the wearer dies, to signify that your soul uploaded, to put in a soul recycler.”

“What? No,” Limestone shook her head. “My soul is still in me. Obviously.”

“But it’s…”

“I am conscious and aware!” Limestone screamed, the implication surging emotion within her that hadn’t been tapped in centuries. “I am a real pony with mind and soul!”

“I’m sorry, I saw it wrong!” Tranquil backtracked, edging her way to the door. “I think it was just reflecting light from your glow, or something.”

“Don’t leave,” Limestone calmed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry I got mad, please don’t leave me alone again.”

Damn it. Limestone could tell that Tranquil would, but she didn’t want her to go. Meeting a living pony like this for the first time in so long was too stressful. She knew what she should do, but couldn’t keep control enough to do it.

“You registered at another stable, right?” Tranquil said as she stopped next to the door. “So why did you stay in Canterlot? Why not go there?”

“I can’t,” Limestone explained. “I have to get Marble to move, and my other sisters are almost here. If I can bring them home, my parents won’t be as angry.”

“Limestone,” Tranquil stared at her. “It’s been over 200 years. Anyone you left there that didn’t have a crystal is dead…”

“N-no,” Limestone shook her head slightly, holding to her delusion.

“B-but their descendants could still be there,” added Tranquil, concern on her face again. “Why don’t you come with me and my wife and we can go there?”

“Why isn’t your wife already with you?” asked Limestone.

“She needed to get something I…” Tranquil paused.

“Would she like me?” asked Limestone, looking around the room, ashamed at her inability to make eye contact.

“Yes, but she’d want to…” Tranquil took a deep breath. “This is wrong. Why am I even waiting for her?”

“Because she’s your wife?” Limestone guessed, but it sounded complicated. She hated not having enough information to deduce an answer, and her mind was foggy with emotion.

“Can you show me where your home is?” asked Tranquil, raising her pipbuck. It looked similar to the model 3000 Limestone wore, probably specific to Stable 27. Tranquil punched the controls and pulled up the map of Equestria on the screen.

“Here,” Limestone moved a hoof to the map. She scrolled southward on it, showing Tranquil. “If you go, at least let me find you a weapon and rations.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Tranquil said, still crying. “Listen, Limestone. You’re a war hero, in history books and everything. If there are descendants there, they’ll know of you. I’ll go there, and at least send someone back to get you, okay?”

“Why would you do that?” Limestone asked. “Why leave without your wife?”

“Because I’m done living in Crimson’s cage,” Tranquil answered. “It’s hard to explain. Just watch yourself and don’t trust her when she comes out. Okay?”

“You’ll die if you leave the city alone,” Limestone said. “Stay here, wait for my sisters with me. They’ll be here soon I swear.”

“Yeah, I might die,” Tranquil chuckled, moving her face shield up long enough to dry her eyes. “If that happens, it’s fine too. I won’t have to live with guilt any longer.”

“Fine,” Limestone grunted, realizing there was no way to convince her to stay. “I’ll get you a weapon and rations, maybe a cart.”

Helping Tranquil took a great deal longer than Limestone hoped. The remaining ration warehouse had collapsed, so Limestone had to dig her way through several crumbled passageways to get Tranquil a few weeks’ worth of food. She also needed to find sealed uncontaminated water, which took just as long.

Limestone didn’t want to take time away from watching the anomaly, but she felt like she should watch Tranquil go. So, once she left, Limestone followed her through Ashmaker’s scope for a while, on her way with a rickety but solid cart behind her.

Tranquil didn’t get along with the rest of Canterlot’s residents like she did with Limestone. She ran from the other residents rather than attack them though, so Limestone wasn’t forced to gun her down. That was a plus at least.

By the time she went out of sight from Ashmaker’s scope, Limestone realized that half a day had passed. It was always so hard to keep track of time. She turned Ashmaker back toward the Canterlot Archives, looking with practiced precision toward the strange energy.

The rift wasn’t there. Neither were the guards.

Oh wait, the guards were there, they were just dead.

“Bucking useless Sense!” Limestone growled at herself. The one time she’d spent a significant amount of time without checking in and they came back! Limestone had never wanted to break everything more than she did at that moment.

Limestone turned the scope to Stable 27 to find the door wide open. Very wide open, as in ripped out of the wall. What happened there now? Limestone took Ashmaker, leaving everything else, and rushed outside.

Or would have if there wasn’t a mare standing there when Limestone opened the door. A white unicorn with pink hair and more mane and tail ties than she cared to count. Her left ear notably had the tip sliced off. A magical radiation shield surrounded her, even if it flickered from being poorly cast. Instead of a blinder suit, she had regular stable barding with gold trim and a saddlebag that held a single book.

She seemed... familiar. Very familiar.

The mare had been about to knock when Limestone opened the door on her, at which point she just grinned widely. Limestone twitched. Centuries of nothing and then everything happened in one day.

“Hey, Living Dead Mare!” the mare said. “Nice place; the Enclave soldiers piked outside are a nice touch. Is my wife here? And you know… not half eaten? Because I’m looking for her and am a tiny bit late. A certain somepony wasn’t as dumb as I thought, so I had to resort to the backup to the backup plan.”

“You look familiar,” Limestone grunted. “And sound familiar....”

“I’m Crimson Prose, and that’s a distinct possibility!” the mare chuckled. She seemed a little nutty, far too calm for a stable dweller talking to a ghoul. “My voice was on the sprite-bots before some rude shiny took over the broadcasts. Also pretty sure we chatted during the Breaking. So, wife? Here? Not dead? At least still warm enough for a final go?”

Of course. This was the Minister of News, the one that had been in charge of Canterlot when Limestone had arrived to protect the city. She’d fled into Stable 27 before everything exploded and had a soul gem, so it figured she’d be alive.

“She left,” Limestone had no time for this. “I’m Limestone. Stay here with Marble, Mister Tea, and Madam le Sour. I’ll return with Ashmaker and I hope my sisters, then we can talk about your wife. Or I can kill you if you’ve broken anything.”

“Oh THAT was your name, but aside from that, yes, I know who you are,” Crimson stepped in and looked around the room with fascination. She waved toward Marble. “Hello, Living Dead Mare’s friends! ... assuming your friends are the things you've put in chairs... you are just so delightfully broken... like actually mentally ill... not just evil and pretending to be crazy like me.”

Yeah, she seemed okay. At least she didn’t ignore Limestone’s friends, and she registered as an ally or at least someone not likely to attack. Despite Tranquil telling her not to trust her wife, Limestone figured she could trust Crimson enough to watch the home front for a few hours.

“Anything you can tell me about what’s happening at Stable 27?” asked Limestone.

“No idea. Something ripped off the door and my security forces were shooting at me,” Crimson said, sitting down in Limestone’s seat at the table. She picked up a tea cup of glowing water and took a gulp, then fell out of the chair onto the floor. “Nightmare’s Holy Moon Pie that is some bomb ass tea.”

‘Please don’t leave us alone with this mare,’ begged Mister Tea.

“Sorry,” grumbled Limestone before shutting the door and racing off towards Stable 27.

Limestone was cautious as she arrived. If security was shooting at Minister Prose, something weird had happened. Probably not just a coup, since that wouldn't explain the door ripped out. When she arrived at the hall of stained glass, she scanned the insides with her scope before entering.

What she saw left her breathless. Figuratively at least; she was already literally breathless.

They had assembled a cage within the hallway with several occupants wearing blinder suits, though their heads were visible through the clear glass. Limestone immediately picked out Pinkie and Maud; they were finally back! Limestone hadn’t been crazy; they had really been on their way! And they both looked to be in perfect health!

There were others in the cage with them. One was Starlight Glimmer, which wasn’t unusual since Limestone ordered her sisters to guard her, but the others were confusing. The one looked like Midnight Sparkle, but could it be? She was in the same cage and nopony seemed aggressive toward her, so Limestone suspected there was more to her. Was she the one she saw before that Marble shot at?

Limestone almost missed Kamikaze bundled up on Maud’s back. Someone had dismembered her completely, so she could be a captive of the captives, but that seemed unlikely. Maud and Pinkie would have just killed her, and Maud definitely wouldn't be carrying her so comfortably, so she must have come to terms with them somehow. It seemed likely that she'd redeemed herself by throwing herself at something dangerous and losing her final limbs.

But none of that confusion mattered when Limestone’s sisters were there. She forced herself to ignore the urge to shoot Kamikaze and Midnight-pony in the head, putting Ashmaker on her back, she rounded the corner into the grand hall, and broke out into a gallop.

It was short lived as the three stable guards near the cage fired. One hit her square in the chest, pain jolting through her body as she staggered back and turned to run back out. Limestone stumbled onto the ground outside, looking back to make sure they weren’t following her.

‘Get a hold of yourself!’ Limestone thought to herself. ‘You’re missing obvious things!’

Limestone heard the guards and captives talking. She couldn’t make out what they said, but she heard Maud speaking in her ‘time to die’ tone. Limestone picked up Ashmaker, aiming toward the inside and using the x-ray scope to see them, but grumbled. The guards were on the other side of the cage, and she didn’t trust her aim enough to not hit someone she shouldn’t.

She lowered the gun, ignoring the pain in her chest as she limped to find a spot outside where she could line up the shot. Perhaps she could take more than one down to decrease the chance of one getting away or harming the captives.

Limestone found her spot, but had to enter another building and climb to the second floor to find a place where she could line up all three guards. She peered through the scope, her SATS activating and targeting the nearest guard’s head. But once locked on, pulling the trigger wasn’t as easy as she wanted. They were in stable barding and she had spent so many years protecting the stable entrance.

But they had her sisters in a cage and wouldn’t even let her even speak to them. Why were they so cruel to their own heroes? It was like they were taunting her now. After everything she’d given up to keep them safe; bucking unbelievable!

Her hooves shook as she lined up the scope, gritting her remaining teeth so hard that one cracked. After a few long minutes, she forced herself to pull the trigger. One ear-splitting bang later, the two guards fell, one diving for cover.

Damn it, she was sure she’d lined it up better than that! She moved the scope to find the third one, then growled when she realized they’d taken cover behind the cage again. She tried to lock onto them again, only to nearly scream when she found her gun pointing at Maud. Maud waved at her, pointed at the guard, and shook her head.

If Maud didn’t want to kill them, they must have agreed to not stop them, and Limestone didn’t particularly want to kill them either. She’d already felt an intense pain of guilt at having shot the first ones, who were probably little more than civilian security. Trying not to think about what she’d done, Limestone put the gun onto her back and headed back to the stained-glass tower, walking more easily as the wounds healed.

When she arrived, her sisters were exiting the hall with their supplies and a few more ponies. Limestone didn’t care who the new ones were. She forgot how much it hurt to run and galloped to her sisters.

Maud and Pinkie came close, and she hugged them together. They pulled Limestone close, not shying away from her cold body as she feared they might. Their warmth of living ponies against her felt amazing, the best thing she’d felt in centuries. For the first time since they were foals, Maud and Pinkie’s eyes glistened with tears of joy.

“You’re both alive!” Limestone would cry for joy too if she could. “I love you both… I was always such a bitch to you and I never forgave myself.”

“There is no need for sappy apologies,” Pinkie said as she hugged. “Pinkie loves her sister’s bitchiness.”

“You are the best bitch we know,” added Maud.

“Bucking ruin the moment will you,” grumbled Limestone. “I should ram Ashmaker so far up your plot that you taste the bullet.”

They succeeded in making her feel better though. Just a normal conversation with her sisters, and making a friendly death threat, gave her more joy than anything.

“That’s more like it,” grinned Pinkie, ruffling what was left of Limestone’s mane. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Limestone took a deep breath, even if she didn’t need it. “I couldn’t save Marble, or her soul crystal.”

“That is not your fault,” Maud said, though her face creased in emotional pain. Few others could see things like that on Maud's face, but to her sisters it was as clear as day. “We are together now and will fight on in Marble’s name.”

“Bring us to our sister,” Pinkie hugged Limestone hard enough that she wouldn’t have been able to breathe if she needed to. “We will take her home together and bury her with honor. Yes.”

“Home,” Limestone stared for a moment as she released the hug. It’d been so long since she even considered it. Did she dare go with Marble still not moving? Maybe it was time.

“Limestone,” Starlight said, placing a hoof on Limestone’s shoulder, but then jerked it away from the chill of her dead flesh, gasping more than she probably intended. “I am so sorry they left you out here. I swear, had we made it into the stable, we would have found a way to let you in. But we’re here now, and we’ll do everything we can to make things right. For everypony.”

Starlight always had a way of making her feel better, even if she never admitted it, and wouldn’t start now. She didn't even care that Starlight was obviously talking out her plot hole to manipulate Limestone. Having an important pony to protect was a relief; it’d been too long.

“I’m on board,” nodded Limestone. “Crimson Prose is waiting at my house. Were you looking for her too?”

“Is Tranquil there?” one of the new ponies hopped as she asked. “Oh um, sorry, I’m Mercury Shine. This is my friend Solar Flash. We’re… on board too, I guess.”

“Tranquil left,” Limestone said. “I told her to wait, but she didn’t want to. I think she wanted to leave before Crimson found her. I’m not sure why... though I probably should. My faculties are a bit rusty, and I guess emotional matters escape me more than military ones.”

“She’s all alone?” Mercury asked, eyes widening slightly.

“I gave her a weapon and rations,” Limestone said. “But I don’t think she’ll last any longer than you two would without us guarding you. We should try to catch up with her.”

Limestone turned to the Midnight pony who was lingering further away than the others. She stared her down for a moment.

“Um, hi,” Twilight answered the stare. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, from another timeline. Not evil.” She sounded tired of saying that.

“I believe you,” grumbled Limestone, making her bitterness clear. She added when Twilight blinked at the response. “You threw my sense off by arriving out of nowhere during the final battle. Had it not been for you distracting her, Marble could have downed the squad that leveled most of Canterlot.”

“Oh…” Twilight trailed off, face going slack with shock. “I’m sorry… I was trying to save you all from this, but the blast destroyed the scroll we needed.”

“Whatever,” Limestone growled. “I know you exist now, so you won’t throw me off again. Is the Kamikaze on my sister’s back a different one? Because she feels the same.”

“Nope, I’m still me,” Kamikaze answered. “Sort of kicking myself for some things I did.”

"Figuratively, of course," Maud commented.

Pinkie snickered, but then added, “We trust them for now. Yes.”

Limestone nodded. If her paranoid sisters trusted them, Limestone would go with it. They’d need all the help they could get. As she turned and headed toward her tower, Limestone beckoned the others to follow her.

“Do you know the status on Stable 11?” Starlight asked, moving up to trot next to Limestone, but still clearly not wanting to risk touching her, then added more quietly. “You are… a bit pinker than I imagined.”

“It wasn’t hit that I know of,” Limestone answered, ignoring the part about her unfortunate glow shade. “The NLR launched a balefire bomb into the base, but it didn’t detonate on impact. Probably never did, unless some idiot poked it.”

“The rock farm may still be there then,” Twilight pondered.

“Definitely the next place we should head,” agreed Starlight, then looked back to Mercury and Solar. “Are you sure Crimson is safe to have with us, or should we think of other options?”

“Of course she’s safe,” said Mercury.

“Not exactly safe,” said Solar at the same time.

“What other options?” Twilight asked, a warning in her voice.

“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Starlight said, then smiled at Twilight. “Nothing violent.”

Limestone tried to clear her head, her senses in a jumble from having to use it so much in a short time after going so long without. All she could tell right now was that while Twilight wasn't a danger to them, she didn’t seem like a team player either. Limestone would have to watch her.

13. Awaiting Memories

Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Solar Flash
Canterlot

Solar had been outside less than an hour, but so far it seemed like the world fared as bad as Crimson claimed. There was neither interesting technology nor creatures in need of a buck. She got a fair amount of both at the stable, so hoped she didn’t get withdrawal.

Still, she didn’t have second thoughts. After all, bucking was secondary to making sure her crush was okay. Of greater concern was how they’d get supplies; with the sweltering heat, she had already drank half of her first canteen. and was right now munching an energy bar she’d grabbed on the way out. She almost never needed one if she wasn’t going for an all-nighter.

They’d offered to let Solar carry Zapper now that Mercury had her syringer, but Solar declined. She’d love to look at the thing in her lab, but as far as using it, Solar didn’t trust herself with a gun. Besides, anything that could get through the Pie brigade couldn’t be stopped by an engineer.

Though that raised the question of what Solar expected to do if Mercury was actually in danger. She wanted to protect her, but could she do anything other than being a bullet sponge?

At least the group was interesting, Limestone most of all. Solar pitied the ghoul, yet was curious at such a freak of magitech. The blinking of Limestone’s soul gem didn’t escape her attention. She wondered if the gem was what kept Limestone docile, a sort of anchor to keep her soul close by. Still, though, she had no way to analyze the problem.

Mercury’s friendliness also overpowered what they’d been taught about the dangers of ghouls and she walked next to Limestone. Solar moved close behind her, ready to shove her out of the way on the off-chance that Limestone got a craving for brains.

“Um, Miss Limestone?” asked Mercury. “Would a potion help?”

“The dead are well past potions,” Limestone grumbled. “They’re excruciating, and I’m ‘General’, not ‘Miss’.”

“Oh sorry, General,” Mercury said.

“Ugh,” Limestone shook her head. “No, I’m sorry; I’m a bitch on instinct, but am really glad you’re here. Call me what you want I guess.”

“It’s fine,” Mercury smiled again. “You probably have more reason than anyone in this city to gripe.”

They approached the remains of a small tower where Limestone stayed. It was cleaner than the rest of the city, despite being rubble. It’d be a decent place to live if not for the corpses of Enclave-armored pegasi on pikes around the vicinity, probably a warning to non-existent enemies, not to mention the same musty smell as the rest of the city.

At first, Solar hoped they wouldn’t find Crimson here. But as they approached the door, she heard Crimson’s voice inside, singing of all things. She hoped that meant she wasn’t up to anything terrible.

Limestone pushed the door open and went ahead inside. Crimson was singing all right, and dancing around the room, doing the tango with somepony. At first Solar thought it was another ghoul, but Crimson’s dance partner was limp; she was dancing with a corpse.

When Crimson turned to see the door open, she wasn’t bothered by the intrusion. She spun, sitting the dead mare on a chair at the tea table in the center of the room, and danced around the table toward them.

“You’re back!” Crimson smiled. “Please tell me you brought Tranquil. Or at least somepony that tastes good. I like your sis, Deady, but she tastes terrible; even worse than the tea.”

Solar was more than a little freaked, and expected Limestone to explode at Crimson treating her dead sister like that. Instead, Limestone just moved out of the way for others to come in, not seeming bothered.

“Huh,” Limestone commented. “She’s not usually that social. That’s my sister Marble that Crimson was dancing with. Everyone else introduce yourself.”

The last statement was directed at the objects in the room; Limestone’s psychological condition was worse than Solar feared. In spite of having acknowledged earlier that the fourth sister was fully dead, her mind seemed to have wobbled back into psychosis. They really needed to get the poor mare out of this city.

“Hello,” said Maud as if someone had greeted her.

“Pinkie greets you as well,” Pinkie added. “Yes.”

Solar figured they were being nice for their sister’s sake. Even if they were all ill, it didn’t seem likely that they’d all have the same hallucinations at once.

“Okay,” Starlight chuckled awkwardly. “Hello… you guys.” She humored Limestone as well, but couldn’t hide a disturbed look.

“Okay, what the buck is going on,” Kamikaze commented as Maud and Pinkie walked over to Marble.

The other Pie sisters gave Marble a shake to check for consciousness, just in case. They hugged her when she didn’t move, then glanced at Limestone. Maud’s face was more blank than usual and Pinkie looked concerned for once.

“Starlight Glimmer!” Crimson laughed when Starlight walked into the tower. “By Sombra’s big black shadow dick, that is one face I hoped I’d never… I mean never thought I’d see again!” She turned to Twilight. “And Midnight! Great to see you again! Were you the one laying waste to my stable? Classy!”

It sounded like Crimson was congratulating Twilight on a great prank. Crimson’s happiness to see Midnight was not a good sign, especially when she’d told everypony in the stable such unhappy things about her.

Even though Solar had seen some of the videos in the archive and knew Crimson hadn’t been what she pretended to be, it was still difficult to see her like this. She could see why Mercury strained so hard not to believe it. It was like Crimson had been wearing a mask the whole time and only now took it off in front of them.

“Crimson Prose… I remember you now,” Starlight said. “Did any other ministers survive? And no, she didn’t wreck your stable. That was Midnight Sparkle, who is now dead… maybe.”

“I’m not Midnight Sparkle,” Twilight explained. “I’m Twilight, her alternate timeline self.” She paused, then leaned forward to get a better look at Crimson. “You do look familiar though…”

Crimson stared at Twilight for a moment as if deciding if she was kidding, then shrugged and seemed to take her statement at face value. Perhaps it just didn’t matter to her if it were true.

“I doubt it was Midnight if you killed it,” said Crimson to Starlight. “Haven’t heard from any other ministry mares in around six decades, but a lot of them had contingency plans, so some might be around. Are we putting the band back together?”

“Something like that,” Starlight said. “Though I was a little concerned about the reports from Stable 27. About your alleged deeds there.”

“Neat,” Crimson ignored the allegation and turned to Mercury and Solar. “You guys made it! Awesome! If we don’t find Tranquil, I can just force Mercury to marry me. Then I can still murder my wife!”

“Over my dead body,” grumbled Solar.

“I didn’t know you were that kinky,” Crimson gave Solar her best bedroom eyes, despite being the one pony here Solar wanted none of that from. “I’m up for a three-way marriage! Won't be the most wives I've had at once. Or killed at once! My second wives after entering the stable, these hot twins that worked at one of the spa-brothels, they once...”

“Crimson,” Starlight repeated. “I asked you for information.”

“Want to see something cool?” Crimson asked Starlight, continuing the dismissal. She skipped back over to Marble, reaching her magic to pull Marble’s leg so that her pipbuck was on the table. She avoided getting too close to the other Pies when they peered at her, turning back to Starlight instead.. “I can use my magic to take us into her log files instead of just getting bored reading them. It’s my specialty.”

“Reading isn’t boring,” Twilight sounded offended. “Why can’t we read them?”

“Adorkable,” chuckled Crimson. “Reading’s fine if you want to see what’s written, but I can have you experience the subject like a memory sphere, even if they weren’t honest with what they wrote.”

“That’s a more advanced use of Hayscartes’ Method than he himself was capable of,” Twilight said, but then shook her head. “But maybe I should just stop questioning all this crazy stuff.”

“Says the pony who is friends with a half-bird-half-toaster,” Crimson shrugged.

“I heard that!” Kamikaze called over.

“Who’s Hayscartes?” asked Solar.

“He may have been a bit of a mentor,” chuckled Crimson. “But it’s my method; he only provided a little inspiration.”

“You had a stallion for a mentor?” Mercury sounded like the very idea shattered her mind.

Solar was less surprised. By this point, she was ready for everything Crimson had told them to be a lie. She walked to Mercury and patted her shoulder to comfort the poor, naïve mare.

“Until he tripped and fell on a sharp quill and died,” smirked Crimson. “Or got stabbed with a sharp quill. Possibly more than a few quills. Same thing effectively.”

“I remember Professor Hayscartes’,” Starlight mentioned. “That was the one you… killed in self-defense.” She shifted uncomfortably, but moved on quickly, adding in a deadly tone. “Why aren’t you answering me, Crimson?”

“Because first,” Crimson motioned to Marble’s pipbuck again. “I’m giving you a reason to keep me alive. There are a lot of things I can ‘read’ for you out there. Plenty of ruins with half-legible log files that I can make all-legible. See how this works?”

“General Limestone,” Starlight turned to the ghoul. “Do you mind telling us what the logs say?”

“I don’t know,” Limestone whispered. She’d backed herself into a corner while they talked about Marble’s logs. “I never had the nerve to look.”

Pinkie and Maud moved to Limestone as if to comfort her, but Limestone looked away. She clenched her jaw as if ashamed they had to be so concerned for her.

“Understandable,” Starlight kept a gentle tone. “General, you’ve spent time with Crimson, can we trust her with the spell she described?”

“She’s one of us,” Limestone nodded. “She was nicer to my friends than her wife was, and she was okay.”

“Mercury? Solar?” Starlight looked back at them.

“We can trust her,” Mercury answered without hesitation.

“We can’t trust her,” Solar said. “But all the same… she’s taken ponies into books before without issues. It’s like controlled dreaming, once we did an Ogres and Oubliettes game with a tentacle beast where…”

“That’s enough, Solar,” Starlight said. Party pooper.

“Right,” chuckled Solar. “Basically, I trust her to act in her own best interests. She’s not nuts enough to choose lone travel out here over having an armed escort. Probably.”

Crimson smirked, and Solar hoped she wouldn’t take that statement as a challenge.

“What she’s offering is more than just entering a story,” Twilight pointed out. “She’d have to scry the device and use temporal magic to look at the history of the owner. Considering the misuse of temporal magic is what got us into this situation to begin with, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

“It’s not exactly time travel,” pointed out Solar. “More bringing time forward to us. Pretty impressive magic though from an otherwise below-average magic user.”

“Solar,” Mercury scolded her slightly for the comment.

“No, she’s pretty much spot on,” Crimson chuckled. “Most of my deaths in the stable were mana sickness from using this spell when it pretty massively oversteps my capacity. Speaking of below-average magic, does anyone have radaway? My magic shield is horse apples and I may have eaten a few questionable things.”

“Mana sickness?” pondered Twilight. “That used to happen to unicorns who moved the Sun, prior to Celestia being around to move it.”

“Well,” Mercury nodded and sighed, tugging a radaway out of her saddle bags and floating it to Crimson to take. “I think we should try, Solar. Once she proves herself to our new friends, she’ll clear up what happened in the stable.”

Solar smiled back at Mercury and nodded to spare her feelings. She really was adorably innocent.

"Is that a yes?" Crimson asked. "There's nothing to lose. I see that Pipbuck Model 4000 on your head, and I assume it networked all these sods to you. If I was powerful enough to possess you through that psionic security, I wouldn't need to trick you."

“Fair enough,” Starlight said. “Go ahead, but you will show respect for both us and the deceased.”

“If you do not show respect, I will respectfully break you,” Maud added, and Solar didn’t doubt it.

“The traitor must remember who is in charge now!” Pinkie added.

“You and I will be the best of pals, I can tell,” Crimson said, not fazed by threats despite seeming to recognize the Pies. “But yes, respect or the Sandmare breaks me. Noted!”

Crimson cast, horn glowing so bright that Solar squinted to look. Marble’s pipbuck glowed, and the rose-colored aura of Crimson’s magic encompassed the room and the ponies. The world around her faded, and when she came to, Solar was somewhere else, in somepony else.

This seemed different from taking part in a fictional story. Instead of being characters inside a story that Crimson told, it was a static world that Solar only observed. She had no control over the mare she was seeing through, and she felt thoughts and feelings that weren’t her own.

Memory POV: Marble Pie

“Much of the south remains radioactive from the Draconian Empire’s attack,” Limestone stood in front of the room, facing family and soldiers in attendance. “Despite their gravity bombs being clean, secondary reactor explosions irradiated most of Dodge Junction and Appleloosa. Ponyville is worse off as both gravity bombs and Princess Daybreaker’s counter-attack struck there.”

“What if they send another wave?” Pinkie asked. “It is doubtful the flame-brains sent their entire army, yes?”

“Daybreaker’s counter-attack didn’t just hit the invading army,” Limestone explained. “She took out the entirety of the Dragon Lands.”

“Good,” Maud said darkly. She had plenty of reasons to hate dragons after her mate died in a dragon attack.

“Now that the new Coronal Mass Ejector, CME, is fully operational,” continued Limestone. “Daybreaker can strike anywhere in the world in five minutes or less, firing multiple ejections at once. The Sun powers the teleportation of solar plasma to the location through any known shield. She could bake any nation that tries to shoot first before their missiles leave their airspace. In summary… this makes all our other megaspells, and theirs, obsolete.”

“Is it true that King Sombra’s forces have gone on the defensive?” asked a mare near the back.

“Every faction we’re at war with has withdrawn to defensive positions,” smiled Limestone, a rarity for her. “It’s only a matter of time before they offer peace or outright surrender.”

Despite the overwhelming victory, the crowd Limestone spoke to was as quiet as Marble. Though ridiculously incompetent and short-sighted overall, the sudden invasion by Garble’s Draconian Empire left thousands dead in Equestria and the New Lunar Republic, attacking pony settlements indiscriminately. Marble was only one of many who lost loved ones, and was relieved they wouldn’t be able to make another run at the farm.

More disturbing, nopony knew how they got megaspells. A dragon spy couldn’t infiltrate ponies, and no pony would help dragons, a species ponies barely interacted with. There were plenty of other factions to defect to if one wanted to be contrary. Neither Garble nor any of his generals were intelligent enough to come up with it on their own. The dragons didn’t even have proper cities by their standards, much less technology.

“Why are we calling Princess Celestia Daybreaker now?” asked one soldier.

“Because that’s what she ordered shortly before our counter-attack,” Limestone rarely questioned orders. “She looks different now, too. She's on fire or something, but what the buck do I care? Marble, you evacuated everypony outside into Stable 11, right?”

“Mm-hm,” Marble nodded.

“Why does our sister superior order evacuation?” Pinkie asked. “Does she predict other megaspell attacks despite our victory?”

Everypony at the Pie Rock Farm, family or soldier, trusted Limestone Sense. Despite being hit by three factions, the rock farm held on because of Limestone’s commanding presence and the Pie family’s ability to work together. They’d even defied an attempted gravity bomb attack because Limestone predicted where they would set up for launch.

“I feel weird,” Limestone lost her commanding voice for a moment, waxing thoughtful. “This is how I felt before Garble’s invasion began. I couldn’t predict it because I didn’t know their army existed, yet I knew something was coming.”

“Another enemy will join the war?” asked a soldier from behind Marble.

“No,” Limestone said, voice hollow. “They’ve already joined. They joined a long time ago.”

If anypony else said that, Marble would think them paranoid, but when Limestone said it, everypony took it dead serious. Limestone switched the screen to default monitoring mode where it showed a map of Equestria. It displayed the current positions where factions were active and dark areas for places too irradiated for anyone to take up there.

Equestria was dead in the center, surrounded. The Crystal Empire to the north, and the New Lunar Republic to the south. Discordia was to the east, though since Discord left it under Eris’ control, they hadn’t been interested in participating.

“I do not see how additional combatants would change this,” Maud said. “As we can hit anywhere in the world.”

“If she knows where they are,” Limestone shrugged. “And unless they want to destroy the world.” She sounded unsure, but sighed. “You’re right. No one would want that. Dismissed.”

Marble stayed seated as most others left. She wasn’t social, so she’d wait until the halls weren’t crowded. Limestone meanwhile sat down at her desk, staring at the map projection at the front of the room. Marble wanted to give her a hug, but Limestone hated public cuddles.

At least Marble felt better after the meeting. It was quiet on all fronts, so maybe everypony was right and the war was over. Marble looked forward to a quiet family farm without soldiers and not having to work overtime to fulfill the gem requests from the Ministry of Magitech.

Marble stood and headed toward the exit. Perhaps her other sisters sensed her needs because Pinkie and Maud met her near the exit and provided her with a pair of warm hugs.

“Are you coping well?” Maud asked as they hugged.

“Mm-hmm,” Marble lied.

“Pinkie’s little twin is pent up,” Pinkie suggested. “Our sister superior has been too busy for affections, yes.”

“Did you wish to join us for a shower?” asked Maud.

Marble hated it when they talked about special sister showers in public, but all the same, Pinkie was right. Limestone had been too busy. “Mm-hm.”

“Oh, buck no!” Limestone’s voice shouted from inside the meeting room.

A second later, an alarm sounded. Marble recognized it, the same one that sounded when the dragons set off their first megaspell on Dodge Junction. Most called it the “everypony is bucked” alarm.

Marble headed back into the room where Limestone was behind her sisters. On the screen where the map was, there were about half a dozen bright red circles around several cities.

But this was wrong. It wasn’t someone else hitting Equestria; Equestria was hitting everyone else. More red circles appeared, signifying that the CME was in the targeting phase on dozens of cities.

None of the targets made sense. There were blasts targeting nations that weren’t even involved in the war: Saddle Arabia, Maretonia, Mount Aries, and more. Worse, the ones that targeted enemies targeted the wrong locations. It was hitting civilian centers, but not military bases that could return fire. It was as if the entire attack strategy was to allow retaliation and ensure mutual destruction.

“There is no way Daybreaker is doing this,” Limestone growled. “I was just in Canterlot and she showed no sign of breaking... more than she has. She was just... really peeved is all!”

“I trust you sister,” Maud said. “But only Daybreaker can start attacks at that speed.”

“A pegacorn impostor has done this!” Pinkie suggested.

“An impostor couldn’t,” Limestone said. “Unless the duplicate was so perfect they could channel solar magic.” She narrowed her eyes. “Or if they somehow got measurements during the first retaliation attack.”

“How would they know it was coming to take measurements?” Maud asked. She wasn’t wrong, few knew of the CME’s existence before it was used.

Limestone shook her head. “We’re leaving for Canterlot. Now.”

“We cannot go outside!” Pinkie said. “The counterattacks will include here.”

“I will not allow them to drag our Princess’s name through the mud of history,” Limestone snapped at them. “We have to find who did this and stop them. If we don't, our family can’t be safe!” She paused and sighed. “Maud I know you have a little one, so I understand if you don’t come with us.”

“I go where my sisters go,” Maud made clear.

Though Maud wasn’t one for details, Marble understood. Maud would rather little Silt grow up hearing stories of how heroic she was than to explain to her why she didn’t go when Equestria needed her.

Limestone rushed out, Marble and their sisters close behind her. They went toward the stable exit, past all the other ponies that were streaming in as the alarms sounded.

Marble had a sick feeling that neither her nor her sisters would return. They didn’t even have time to stop and tell their closest family goodbye, unsure of how long they had before a counter-attack hit.

Things moved faster than even Limestone expected though. Perhaps their enemies had developed early warning systems because no sooner had the sisters stepped outside than Marble looked up in the sky and saw the unmistakable greenish sheen of a launched balefire missile bearing down on them, seconds from impact.

The stable door had closed behind them and opening it risked irradiating their family inside. There was nothing to do, so Marble sighed and closed her eyes, hoping she got an instant death rather than a cursed existence.

The impact came, rumbling the ground and sending her sprawling, but there was no blast wave or blinding light. Marble opened her eyes again and stared at where the bomb had landed. It formed a small crater but hadn’t activated.

“Hurry!” Limestone called back to Marble.

Marble galloped behind her sisters, unable to believe their luck, and they wouldn’t miss the chance it gave them. Maybe it was fate; maybe they were meant to be Canterlot’s saviors.

“General Limestone! The Undefeated!” Crimson greeted them as they entered Canterlot. “Here to put that nickname to the test? And the Sandmare! I heard you got that name by sneaking in and murdering an entire NLR platoon in their sleep. Classy!”

“We’re here to see Daybreaker,” Limestone cut to the chase, stepping out of the way of the other refugees entering the city. It wasn’t the safest place to take refuge, but sadly safer than the surrounding area.

“Funny story, that!” Crimson shifted a hoof. “She’s kinda sorta in no shape to have conversations.”

“What?” Limestone growled. “I need to speak to whoever is in charge!”

“You are speaking to whoever is in charge,” Crimson nodded. “Or you were. Now you’re here, so you can take over and talk to yourself!”

“But you’re the Minister of News,” Limestone growled. “There are dozens of ranking ponies between you and Daybreaker.”

“All of which are dead, fled, missing, or otherwise out of contact,” Crimson shrugged. “Again, until you got here. You do the ruling thing because I still need to get these morons into the stable before Cloudsdale is on our doorstep.” What she probably meant was that she needed to get herself into the stable.

“You need to take this more seriously.” Maud said.

“I do,” Crimson admitted, adopting a mock serious expression. “And I’m failing. And I’m sorry for that.”

Marble wondered if Crimson had gone bananas from events or if this was normal for her. She sounded level-headed over the propaganda broadcasts, but one could never tell.

“Just tell me why we blasted everypony and what happened after that,” Limestone growled.

“Daybreaker launched the shots,” Crimson said. “No idea why she chose such naughty targets, but there it is. Then she claimed she didn’t launch the shots. Then she got a message that Nightmare Moon wanted to speak to her through a proxy, so went to the junction of Canter Lane and 42nd Street, where they supposedly waited. When she got there, everypony rioted and decided assassination was a great idea. And that’s where we are now.”

“Wait, this is happening right now?!” Limestone asked.

“Oops?” Crimson shrugged. “See? I’m a terrible leader and you should take over. That's kinda the point I've been trying to make.”

“Why is nopony helping her?” Maud asked. “Why is she not helping herself?”

“The reason they’re rioting is a gas attack,” Crimson said. “You know that kinky stuff Gora Soul invented, Aphrodite’s Touch?”

It was something Gora had created during her tenure at the Ministry of Alchemy, a chemical weapon that drove targets wild with hormones. Enemy soldiers would experience uncontrollable arousal, bucking one another on the spot and making them easy to capture or kill, and disabled most magical abilities until it wore off atop that. It wasn’t something Marble was comfortable with, but it had been a good way to capture Sombra’s slaves without killing them so they could experiment on ways to break the control.

“What of it?” Limestone grunted.

“It seems to be a strain of the drug that isn’t so nice, causing soldiers to actually kill each other in their arousal,” explained Crimson. “According to intelligence, Gora calls it Hera’s Scorn, and used it to get back in good with the NLR. Daybreaker seems more able to resist, but it still disabled her abilities and she’s trapped in the middle of the riot. Anypony that gets too close gets gassed and joins in the fun, and she’s an attractive target. Gas masks barely did anything. We even tried power armor and that just earned us a few power-armored ponies taking part in the riot.”

“Did you try snipers?” Pinkie asked. “We must save the royal pegacorn at all costs!”

“I ordered that,” Crimson said. “But we have few good snipers left and most soldiers either believe she went mad and doesn’t deserve their effort or have qualms about shooting roofied ponies. Such ignorant self-righteousness, not wanting to murder civilians, right?”

“That is not ‘self-righteousness’,” Maud said. “But this is also a special case.”

“Right, I don’t like it, but it can’t be allowed,” Limestone nodded. “Pinkie, Maud, follow me to the barracks so we can get rifles.”

“Pinkie sees no sport in this,” Pinkie grumbled, but didn’t say no to the exception either.

“Limestone?” whispered Marble, looking at Limestone's eyes and shaking her head. She knew what Limestone’s order for her would be, but she didn’t want to shoot civilians either.

“I’m sorry, Marble,” Limestone shook her head. “But we must prioritize the Princess’s safety at all costs. Go there, but stay as far away as possible. Shoot anypony that is harming the Princess. ANYONE. Don’t disappoint us. We’ll be with you soon, we just need to get rifles.”

“Limestone,” Marble teared up, shaking her head. She was being asked to kill innocents that were sick through no fault of their own.

“I’m ordering you,” Limestone’s voice was firm. “I’m your commanding officer, so your actions are my fault and responsibility.”

That didn’t help, but Marble nodded. Dizzy with emotion, she galloped toward the intersection Crimson mentioned, pulling her gas mask over her face, hoping it would be enough at distance, and carrying Ashmaker on her back. None of her sisters would hesitate now, but Marble wasn’t strong-willed like them. She just wanted to go home.

Marble saw the crimson gas spreading through the street ahead of her, so she ran for the nearest tower. Not bothering with the front door, she ran up the side, springing from window to window and balcony to balcony. She hopped her way to the fourth floor, above where the heavy gas reached, and pulled Ashmaker from her back.

Tears streamed down her face as she took a position on the balcony, propping Ashmaker on the railing. She peered through the scope.

‘Don’t look so glum,’ said Ashmaker. ‘With any luck, this will be the last time you have to use me for this.’

“Mm-hmm,” mumbled Marble. She hoped so.

Through the thick bluish gas, Marble saw silhouettes and dim figures. Marble hadn’t seen Daybreaker’s new form, but knew when she saw it, shimmering coat and flaming mane and tail. It was just as Crimson said; she was either affected by the gas or too despondent to defend herself from what had happened. Probably both.

They had forced her down upon the pavement, a stallion in Canterlot guard armor violating her from behind as an earth mare facesitting her raised a hacksaw. They would behead her with a hacksaw? From the looks of it, and the mare’s pleasured expression, they probably wouldn’t stop using her after they did.

Anger swelled and Marble’s reluctance dissipated. She lined up the sight with the mare holding the saw, hoping the others would scatter when she took down one. Marble took the shot, the head of the mare exploding in a shower of gore, blasting another behind her in the chest. The second fell to the ground and thrashed in a fountain of blood before going still.

Nopony stopped even when a pony hoofsteps away died, all beyond the point of rational thought. Even after Marble followed up with a head-shot to the stallion mounting Daybreaker, a colt no more than ten-years-old kicked the dead mare out of the way and picked up the hack saw. It was doubtful that he could get her head off, but he could surely slice her throat with it. Marble shook more than she ever had when lining up a shot, tears rolling down her face as she aimed for the foal's head.

Before she pulled the trigger, a jolt of energy slammed into her from one side. It was a weak shot as far as sniper fire went, but enough to knock her onto the floor. She let go of Ashmaker as she hit the balcony floor, her gun tipping forward and falling to the gassed streets below.

‘Tell Zapper I love her!’ Ashmaker called as he fell into the smoke beneath the balcony.

Reaching, she found an odd canister having stuck to her side. Dizziness overtook her as she yanked it off of her and looked it over, and suddenly knew why gas masks and power armor weren’t helping.

This was a teleport canister, made to ‘inject’ chemicals right through armor. They used them to inject stun potions into armored opponents, or potions into allies at a distance, but this was using the gas instead. Within seconds, Marble was suffocating in a wave of heat, pushing her hind legs together, the inside of her armored bottom becoming sticky.

She looked in the direction where the canister came from in time to see a laughing Midnight Sparkle, the unicorn hovering telekinetically. Midnight’s own gas mask muffled her laugh as she launched several more canisters to explode in the street beneath them.

“Have a blast, muddy!” Midnight called as she continued her rounds about the vicinity.

Marble tried to concentrate on what she had been doing. She still had to save Daybreaker, had to resist this burning fire in her loins. She grabbed for Ashmaker, but remembered he had fallen, so instead tumbled over the railing.

She tumbled to the ground with none of the acrobatics that got her up there. Still, Marble hit the pavement on all fours, focusing through the thick gas to find her rifle.

She found him after a few minutes, but she was barely holding on to her sanity. This wasn’t like being in heat; this was physical agony, her whole body screaming at her to quench the lewd thirst. And it was more than just lust.

Rage built up inside her as if they had tainted this batch of poison with dark magic to add a murderous rage atop everything else. Marble felt her anger aimed itself at Daybreaker, the magic twisting her will. This was beyond Sombra-level horse apples.

Marble’s psionic training was helping her mind hold on by a thread, but she gave up trying to save anypony. Instead, she put Ashmaker on her back and fled toward the barracks. She hoped her sisters would save the day because she had to flee the scene before giving in to the urge herself. She also had to warn them about the weapon Midnight used.

Marble wasn’t sure how long she staggered through the street before she made it to the barracks. She tried to focus on the door but slammed into another pony as they exited.

Physical contact with another pony was too much. Marble didn’t even check the gender of the pony before pinning them onto their back on the ground. She tossed her gas mask off so she could breathe as she kicked her bottom off to give her baking thighs air.

The situation blurred as her mind drifted. She found that whoever she had pinned was a stallion, and that he didn’t seem fond of getting it on with a stranger in the street, but she was in no shape to care. Marble needed this.

The blur ended with another pony yanking her off the poor stallion and slamming her against the nearby wall. A voice echoed in her head as the figure scolded her, but she couldn’t hear what they said.

Instead, she tried to kiss whoever it was, only to have her head slammed back into the wall again. Whoever it was, they were stronger than Marble, because they easily pinned her onto the pavement with her legs pinned behind her. Another pony helped pin her as the first tied her legs together, and they dragged her into the barracks.

Marble cried out in frustration before passing out.

When she awoke, she was lying on a bed, legs still tied together. Maud was sitting by her side, staring as she waited for her to awake.

“Mm?” Marble groaned as she opened her eyes and stared.

“I am sorry that I hurt you,” Maud said, as if having waited beside her to apologize as soon as possible. “I realize that the behavior was not your fault.”

“The Princess?” asked Marble.

“We could not save her,” Maud said, starting to untie Marble when it was clear she was back to normal. “We believe Midnight took her body. Limestone believes it is to study her, hoping to become an alicorn artificially.”

“Home?” Marble asked, afraid of the answer.

“We do not think the bomb detonated,” Maud said. “There have been no new balefire clouds in that direction, but communications that far are down because of interference from radiation. Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and Las Pegasus are the only large cities that survive.”

“Strike Las Pegasus from the list,” Limestone said as she entered. “We hit it with balefire an hour ago.”

Pinkie followed behind her, and both came close to hug Marble. Marble stiffened at the mention of balefire. She knew things were dire, but she never imagined she’d be assisting willingly in a plot to destroy cities.

“Where’d we get balefire?” whispered Marble as Maud came closer to unbind her. The only Equestria-aligned settlement left that stored balefire missiles was the rock farm, and they had already said they couldn’t contact them.

“Tempest Shadow cast the spell,” said Limestone. “The prototype artificial horn worked, but she gave her life casting such a spell manually.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry to pull you out of bed right after you recovered, sis, but we need you. Cloudsdale is close, and we have no other unicorns capable or willing to cast a manual megaspell. We have to hold them off long enough for the eggheads to get a CME blast off without Daybreaker to power it.”

So Marble’s mission was to hold them off long enough for somepony to press a button to murder them all. More tears rolled down her face as she sat up, but reached for Ashmaker all the same.

“Marble,” Limestone put a hoof onto her own, sensing her dread. “You are going to rock this, okay? I really think you’ll be the one to save us, so let me see some more confidence, right?”

“Mm-hm,” Marble nodded, blushing lightly, only for it to deepen more as Limestone licked her face and pushed her gently back into the bed. Marble dropped Ashmaker, assuming this meant they had some time, and she really did miss this with Limestone. There were other soldiers in the barracks, but she’d push down her shyness for now.

“This is highly inappropriate!” Pinkie blurted out. “The bed is too small to fit all of us! Yes.”

“We can make it work,” commented Maud, shoving Pinkie onto the bed as well.

“General Limestone!” a low-ranking stallion confronted the sisters as they headed to their posts.

“This better be important,” Limestone growled as she stopped.

“I am not your soldier,” the guard said. “This one fell asleep, he is still asleep.”

“Nightmare Moon,” Limestone grunted. “To what do we owe the effort?”

Marble was surprised Nightmare would expend so much effort to speak to them as well. Taking full possession of a dreamer as they slept took immense energy. Even for a dream-walking alicorn, the process was exhausting and almost never worth it.

Regardless, Nightmare had possessed one of their soldiers in his dreams to find and speak to the pony in charge. They’d seen it before, though thankfully the technique didn’t allow her to give violent orders to the possessed.

“Are the rumors of my sister’s death true?” Nightmare’s avatar asked. “That it was Midnight Sparkle?”

“Yes,” Limestone answered, giving no further explanation.

“The dream-walker realizes how foalish her alliances have been,” said Pinkie. “Soon she will be forced to apologize for making Pinkie dream of cake monsters! Yes.”

For a long moment, the avatar soldier was silent as tears streamed down his face. He looked so miserable that Marble almost hugged him before catching herself.

“No one believes you approved her assassination,” Limestone said. “If you help defend this city and lighten up on the ‘eternal night’ thing, I’d vouch for you to return to the throne in Canterlot.”

“We cannot trust the Nightmare Princess,” muttered Pinkie.

“The zebras will defect if we put Nightmare in charge,” pointed out Maud.

“Mm-hm,” Marble added, even if unsure who she was agreeing with. It was always awkward when her sisters argued amongst themselves.

“But all of Midnight’s forces would join us,” Limestone said. “The bats would give us a new flying force, and that more than makes up for it when we’re fighting Cloudsdale. If we can’t win this, there won’t be an Equestria left to defect from.”

“It matters not!” screamed Nightmare. “None of this was our doing! The changelings made foals of us by keeping us at one another’s throats! Their only hope is to destroy us so they can rule this world alone!”

“The what-lings?” Limestone quirked an eyebrow. She looked as surprised as Marble was at Nightmare’s answer, a rarity for Limestone.

“I caught one as they withdrew to their home to prepare for the final strike,” Nightmare’s avatar explained. “I invaded its mind. Its kind have been replacing ponies, encouraging us to fight, and causing peace negotiations to fail for years. They infiltrated dragons, replacing their leader, and giving them megaspell technology. Now they have launched your weapons at the world.”

“How'd they fire the CME without Daybreaker?” Limestone asked, but didn't sound like she doubted.

“Do you not see? That is why they encouraged the dragons to attack!” Nightmare shouted. “They took readings during the counter-attack they knew would come so they could duplicate the energy needed to power your megaspell system!”

The soldier was shaking now. In her despair, Nightmare had trouble holding the connection.

“All the more reason to help us,” Limestone said.

“I have only one mission now,” Nightmare growled. “I will not stand by while their invisible empire evades justice!”

The soldier shivered, then passed out on the ground, sound asleep. Marble felt a chill down her spine, and looked up at her sisters. They all glanced at each other as if having the same thought and then dismissing it quickly, but Marble couldn’t push back the horrible thought that anyone, including her sisters, could be one of these ‘changelings’.

“Damn it, we need to know more!” Limestone shouted, but it was too late; Nightmare had gone. “So, there is another faction; sometimes I hate being right...often hate it actually.”

“Can you take them into account now?” Maud asked.

"I don’t know enough about them," Limestone growled. "We’ll have to go with the plan we have and hope Nightmare can strike at our new enemy. If they're replacing ponies, keep an eye out for ponies acting suspicious, but it’s unlikely there are any in this city since they’re looking to have it destroyed soon. We'll try to contact her again once we survive this."

So all Nightmare’s contact had really done was make them paranoid. Marble shoved the thought away and followed behind them again.

Everyone in the city was dying or dead, save for the ones that were worse than dead. Marble had heard of the trotting dead created by the early blasts but never fully believed it until now.

Marble sat on her bunk in the barracks, looking at the clump of bloody mane that fell out when she scratched her head. Her whole body was falling apart and there was nothing to do but watch. She wondered if she would die from this or turn into one of those monsters.

She’d lost her sisters and was certain none of them made it into Stable 27. They would have defended the city to the last mare rather than flee to safety. Marble loved them for that, but now wished they were less honorable.

In Marble’s mind, this was all her fault. Limestone believed Marble would be a hero, but instead she utterly failed them. She murdered her sisters, her lover, and everypony in the city, with her incompetence. Marble didn’t want to live like this, and she definitely didn’t want to live like the undead beating hooves against the window nearby.

'It's not your fault,' Ashmaker tried to comfort her.

But it was no use because she knew that it was. And even if it wasn’t… she looked at Ashmaker and pointed towards the window where the undead scraped around outside.

‘No, I don't want you to become that either,' Ashmaker said. 'But at least leave your soul gem intact. Maybe someone will find it when rebuilding.’

Marble shook her head. She didn't want to be brought back; she wanted to destroy any chance of that.

Marble typed in one last thing into her pipbuck, a message of apology to her sisters she believed would never read it. It was a simple ‘I’m so sorry’, but Marble was never one to drone on. Marble then lifted Ashmaker and lodged it in her muzzle, aiming for the gem in the back of her skull so it would shatter when she pulled the trigger.

'Please don't make me do this...' Ashmaker begged.

But she wasn't stopping. She pulled the trigger and an instant later, her agony and guilt ceased.

14. Saying Goodbye

Tuesday, 10/25/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Canterlot

When Twilight awoke, she was an emotional wreck. It felt even more real than the memory orb, right down to Marble’s agony from the radiation sickness. And she didn’t want to think about being drugged like that. As Twilight looked around, most everypony looked the same.

Limestone curled up in a corner and shivered as Pinkie and Maud hugged her close, the two sisters that could do so shed tears, a true rarity in Maud’s case. Kamikaze, still on Maud’s back, stared wide-eyed. Mercury moved to the group, patting the sisters to comfort them, though none of them responded.

Solar stayed where she sat, staring into space as if it was the most horrifying thing she’d ever experienced. Starlight on the other hoof, clenched her face in determination, as if these stories were all too common for her.

Crimson was the contrast as she was emotionally unfazed, even a little excited. She looked at Starlight with a weak smile, waiting on a ruling for if she was important enough to keep alive. At most she looked dizzy from holding the spell in place.

She clearly didn’t have much raw magical power, so this type of spell would probably kill her within a few years. She’d be long dead without her soul crystal. On the other hoof, she’d kept her word; they had a lot more information than if they’d just read the logs followed by the short message.

Twilight’s instinct was to comfort the Pies, but wasn’t sure they’d appreciate comfort from a Midnight-look-alike. Instead, she moved to Starlight; the things Twilight learned needed context.

“Starlight?” Twilight whispered. “Is it okay to talk? If you need a moment…”

“No cutting in line, I’m first,” Crimson said, wobbling closer to Starlight.

Starlight nodded, but turned to Solar, “You said you can take off our horn restraints?”

“What?” Solar took a while to process after the experience. “Oh sure. Can have them off within an hour.”

“Good,” Starlight turned to Crimson. “You are useful, Crimson, but I warn you I will not hesitate if the trouble you cause exceeds your use. As soon as the restraints are off me and Twilight, they will go onto you and Mercury.”

“Wait, Mercury?” Solar protested quietly for the benefit of the others. “She had nothing to do with Crimson...”

“Just a precaution,” Starlight assured. “She was in jail for collaboration, so I have to be sure. She seems nice, but niceness can be deceiving.” Starlight should know that better than anypony. “Twilight, I’m guessing you wondered about the artificial horn they mentioned.”

“That stood out, yes,” Twilight whispered, hoping her interest wouldn’t seem selfish.

“I think I remember the project,” Starlight said. “It was at the New Manehattan facility, so I didn’t see it much.”

“Who was in charge of the project?” Twilight asked.

“Applejack, head of the Ministry of Engineering, the earth magic division,” Starlight said. “The rest of us didn’t think it was possible, so she took on the project despite it being outside of her normal work. It’s ironic that an earth pony proved us wrong. It was early stages though; Tempest was the first and only success.”

“Good to know your Applejack was just as stubborn as mine,” Twilight smiled for a moment. “What became of her?”

"Not sure," Starlight shook her head. "The facility would have survived the blast, and since the power armor projects were there, she might have suited up and gotten out of the city or into a stable." She sighed. "I’m sorry I don’t have more, I really am."

"Crimson?" Twilight turned to her. If they were both ministry heads, Crimson might have known AJ.

"Applejack?" Crimson shrugged. "Yeah, she and Minster of Morale Rarity ended up in a Manehattan stable, 19. Applejack escaped early on and Rarity was still there when I lost contact with them."

"Escaped?" Twilight blinked.

“Maybe she felt cooped up,” shrugged Crimson dismissively, obviously leaving something out.

"Anything else stand out?” Starlight pulled Twilight back to the topic.

“Right, Luna mentioned changelings,” Twilight said, trying to keep track of everything. “Does nopony know what those are?”

“I’ve never heard of them, no,” Starlight shook her head.

“Stranger than nopony knowing of them is them wanting to destroy ponies,” Twilight sighed. “I still haven’t thought of a motive for them to want that.”

“I know changelings,” Crimson said. “Well… know of changelings, though I learned about them after I was already in Stable 27. Learned about them on my favorite radio show. The Trinity constructed an artificial hive and took control of them. That’s the one Midnight’s at war with.”

“Ponies out there know about them now?” asked Twilight. “So Luna or somepony got the word out, albeit too late.”

“Radio show?” asked Mercury as she approached, leaving the Pies to themselves. “There aren't any left, are there?” She pulled her pipbuck up and pressed a few buttons, then her eyes widened. “I’m picking up three coming in strong. It never picked them up before.”

“That’s because you were inside a shielded stable,” Crimson chuckled.

“Stable-Tec shielding allows radio signals to enter,” Solar said. “I checked the specs.”

“I made adjustments to the shield, but not the specs,” shrugged Crimson. “Well… I asked somepony to make adjustments shortly after we shut the stable door. I told them I didn’t want the radio signals about the destruction to lower morale. Now only authorized pipbucks can pick them up within Stable 27. It also kept those outside the stable from picking up our signals and coming to poke at us. Midnight would have sent goons a lot sooner if she realized we were functional.”

Mercury stared at Crimson as if broken-hearted that Crimson would have lied to her. Crimson only reached for Mercury’s pipbuck and clicked on a channel. A voice spoke through the static.

“Are you tired of getting chased because you’re bigger than ponies and scaring them?” a deep voice asked, as if making a public service announcement. It sounded like it was trying to be ‘cute’, but failing due to its roughness. “Did you kill some by being too friendly, and they overreacted? Are Midnight’s fang-faces and twilicorns shooting at you, or dragons and anger bunnies roaring? Beware the anger bunnies!”

“Leave the fear behind!” announced a second voice at a very slightly higher pitch.

“Meet us at Stable 2!” the first voice continued. “Enjoy life in the State of Gollytopia under the Trinity’s guidance. Free, safe, secure!”

The second voice added at such speed that it was barely understandable, “Freedom limited to following the bellowed commands of The Trinity as interpreted by Best Friend Cozy Glow. Safety not guaranteed against siege or assault by twilicorns, dragons, power armored sea ponies, or anger bunnies. Attendance of friendship classes mandatory. Most infractions punishable by death, NO ALLOWANCES FOR DUMB-DUMB MISUNDERSTANDINGS!”

“Gollytopia,” said the first voice. “Come find true friendship.”

Starlight reached and turned it off, a stunned look on her face. Twilight’s heart sank as well, realizing Equestria may have fallen even further than she feared.

“Love that show,” smirked Crimson. “It’s like the infomercial of the damned.”

“That thing referred to ponies as if it wasn’t a pony,” Starlight said. “What was it?”

“A super-mutant,” Crimson said. “The results of your FEV experiment. Don’t you remember?”

Starlight clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead with both front hooves. She definitely remembered.

“Starlight?” Twilight asked carefully. “What is FEV?”

“Friendship Evolved Virus,” Starlight said, punctuating with an awkward chuckle. “We discovered that friendship magic had strange properties and were trying to create artificial alicorns.”

“It worked,” chuckled Crimson. “They’re just insane and under the Trinity’s control.”

“And who is ‘the Trinity’?” Starlight curtly asked. “Someone powerful if they’re challenging Midnight, not to mention cutting through security that only I had access to at Stable 2.”

“Dunno, she’s like a goddess or something,” Crimson shrugged. “We only have Best Friend Cozy’s word that she even exists, but Cozy doesn’t seem bright enough to wield the Ministry of Magitech’s experiments on her own… its own… whatever.”

“There were other research facilities for FEV too,” Starlight mused. “It sounded like she was recruiting monstrosities from other facilities… except the one with the bunnies. Guess she didn’t like those.”

“You tried to inject ponies with friendship?” Twilight asked, unable to fathom what she heard. “That’s not how friendship magic works, Starlight! What kind of scientist are you?”

“Look, I ordered those experiments shut down!” Starlight became louder, reacting predictably to being ‘found out’. “Several weeks before the Breaking, I moved fully to another method. Even when the experiments were running, there were failsafes!”

“What failsafe and what other method?” Twilight asked, though afraid of the answer.

“Stable 2, where the main experiment was, has a balefire explosive I could activate from the Ministry of Magitech,” Starlight rubbed her forehead again. “The replacement project never got off the ground. The megaspell hit Fillydelphia during the first experiment and I died in the lab… I really don’t like to talk about that.”

“So, your fail-safe was to murder those you experimented on in a cloud of necrotic magic,” sighed Twilight. “And then you'd have super-fake-alicorn-ferals. So much better.”

She had hope for this Starlight at first, but now Twilight had second, third, and fifth thoughts. Twilight shook her head and turned to Crimson.

“Whoa, Not-Midnight, I’m just the propaganda filly,” Crimson held up a hoof. “I only knew what Starlight and Daybreaker told me to tell everypony.”

“And the dragons?” Twilight asked further. “They seemed to be everyone’s enemy, but that dragon in the bat pony’s flashback showed that there is at least one dragon working for Midnight, Ember I think, and more since she mentioned having a date.”

“Right,” Crimson chuckled. “Ember was the only non-ghoul female dragon left after the Breaking, the only one with functioning fun-bits. Meanwhile, the only non-ghoul male dragon, Gostir, was defending his horde in the Everfree. Since he’s a greed-sized one that’s usually asleep or too lazy to leave his house, Ember wanted ‘reproductive access’ but Midnight controlled the forest. Midnight made Ember agree that this constituted saving the dragon race and thus Ember and all her descendants would owe Midnight a ‘life debt’, some screwy thing in dragon culture that they take very seriously.”

“After this long, she’d have a small army of dragons,” sighed Twilight.

“From what I’ve heard, a dozen or two max,” said Crimson. “Incest-fun made for further generations, but there was a hilariously high mortality rate. I heard something about baby dragons running off to prove themselves and becoming snacks for predators, but regardless few survive to adulthood. Besides, even with stretching potions so Ember doesn’t get torn apart by massive double dragon dongs, the big guy being ancient doesn’t help his fertility.”

Hilarious? She had a lot of nerve calling hatchling-mortality hilarious, but Twilight let it go because she had a more important question. Twilight still couldn’t shake the feeling she’d seen Crimson in her own timeline. But where?

“Crimson, you mentioned that that spell was your own method,” Twilight said. “And Starlight said you killed Hayscartes in self-defense. May I ask what happened?”

“He raped me a bunch, like his personal toy,” Crimson shrugged, speaking with uncanny casualness. “So I cut his throat with quills, all very traumatizing. I was in therapy for months, I’m sure the details would sadden you far too much.”

Crimson spoke quickly and sarcastically, more akin to telling a joke than describing trauma. Normally Twilight would never question a rape victim, but Crimson described foalhood trauma as if she were talking about getting indigestion from what she ate for dinner. That and…

“I wouldn’t use this as an argument if you didn’t sound intentionally suspicious,” Twilight said. “But I’m pretty sure he preferred dominant stallions. It wasn’t well-known, but in my eagerness to ask him questions, I often accidentally walked in on him when he was in the company of a stallion...or multiple...”

Twilight shivered at the memories, but more at how Solar was leaning over with wings shivering as if wanting more details. Though, it wasn’t the worst thing she ever walked in on. Wait...she remembered now!

“That red hair with all the ties in it… I remember you!” Twilight stared. “How could I forget? One time, instead of a stallion, it was you as a young blank flank...on top of him threatening him with sharp quills after drugging his tea to...rape him...oh Celestia that’s why I didn’t want to remember…” Twilight gagged before continuing. “Had I not been there to get you off of him, you would have killed him and stolen his research for your father...and got your cutie mark by doing it!”

“Ugh…” Solar’s wings wilted.

“What? No!” Mercury became defensive. “She would never do that! Besides, you can’t get a cutie mark by committing a crime.”

“To be fair, Not-Midnight,” Crimson said. “You already said I was better at it, so I didn’t just steal it, I improved on it. I mean I suck at magic, so it took centuries to get it this good and I very often died of mana sickness, but I got it done.”

“You’re saying you… really did that?” Mercury stared at Crimson.

“Come on,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “This was over two centuries ago; the statute of limitations is well-past, and that old gayfart deserved it for rejecting mares for other disgusting stallions! It was quite kind of me to let his last moments be spent balls-deep in a warm filly.”

Mercury turned to a corner, put her front hooves on her head, and broke down into sobs. Solar galloped to comfort her.

“No,” Twilight shook her head, turning to Starlight. “We can’t take her. I don’t care how long it’s been. Murder is enough, but she stole his theories and made him out to be a foal rapist!”

“I thought you didn’t want us to kill anypony?” Starlight asked, bizarrely calm for what they’d just heard.

“I-I didn’t say kill,” Twilight stammered.

“If we leave her alone in this city, we killed her,” pointed out Starlight.

Starlight was right. Twilight sighed, realizing that she wasn’t being herself, again. She should offer Crimson friendship no matter what, but it’d just been one thing after another since she arrived. In her own world, they could offer her friendship in the safety of a psychiatric facility, but here...

“You’re right,” sighed Twilight. “And I did hear you went through a lot before that, Crimson, with your family... I just wish you’d seek help instead of continuing the cycle. In my timeline, you got help and you seemed better.”

Crimson grunted at Twilight as if either her pity or a better Crimson was disgusting. She turned to Starlight instead. “I’m glad at least you’re here, my faithful fellow Ministry Mare,”

“You’re not off the hook,” Starlight told Crimson. “Circumstances give you a chance to redeem past deeds, and you will use it. If you don’t, you won’t like my future deeds. Do we have an understanding?”

“We do!” Crimson said. “Though I hope to see those future deeds done to someone at least so I get to see.”

“S-she’ll do better…” Mercury had returned, and seemed even more determined than Twilight for it to happen.

Twilight was relieved Starlight would hold Crimson accountable, but worried about whether Crimson possessed enough self-preservation to follow Starlight’s demands.

“You’re hot when you get all serious, Empress,” commented Solar, again with a wingboner now that her crush didn’t need comforting.

Starlight glared at Solar, “You have ten seconds to rephrase that before I decide your wings would look better on me.”

Twilight didn’t like the threats, but was sure it was more impulse than actual malice.

Solar backtracked “I mean… let’s look at that horn restraint! Got my screwdriver right here, any pony got a hammer?”

“Exactly what are you planning to do?” Starlight asked quietly, her annoyance shorted out.

“So, it really is you,” a robotic voice spoke from the door.

Everypony in the room jumped, the Pies enough to go for their weapons and move between Starlight and the door. But it was only one of the robotic parasprites, like the ones that saved them when they first arrived.

“I’ve never seen one speak on its own,” said Limestone, fascinated enough to distract her from her emotional state.

“You left for so long,” the sprite-bot said. “I hoped you would not return; one of you is quite enough. But at least you brought someone interesting back with you.”

“Who are you speaking to?” asked Starlight.

It floated in, glancing at Twilight before hovering in front of Starlight’s face, as close as it could without the Pies opening fire.

“How did you survive, Starlight?” asked the bot. “A spell? After a great deal of gathering information, I surmised you tried to use Star Swirl's time spell to go back a week and save Daybreaker. The flood of magic ahead of the blast wave supercharged it and reversed the polarity to send you forward in time. You're lucky I have the ability to control these bots and sources that let me know guards were waiting for you.”

Starlight continued staring, but the explanation made sense to Twilight.

“But you are with her,” the sprite-bot turned to Twilight. “Why is that?”

“This isn’t who you think,” Starlight said.

“I know what she is,” the sprite-bot said. “You shouldn’t be alive, but she shouldn’t exist.”

“Who are you?” asked Twilight.

“Once someone that mattered,” the sprite-bot said, “But now you may call me the Watcher. I cannot hold this connection; we shall speak again.”

And with that, the voice stopped. The sprite-bot quivered, then hovered off as if nothing had happened, playing the Crystal Empire anthem as it flew away. Twilight hadn’t gotten to ask about the fate of the bat pony she released. It was as if this one just wanted the group to know they were there… watching.

“This plot point is familiar,” commented Pinkie. “Yes. Rage will fill Pinkie if the twist is also the same!”

“Phew, thank Break’s flaming milk sacks,” Crimson sighed. “I was worried that today couldn’t get weirder.”

Wednesday, 10/26/2287
POV: Mercury Shine
Canterlot

Since nothing messed with her, Limestone’s house was the safest place in Canterlot aside from Stable 27. They wanted to search for Tranquil immediately, but were exhausted, so they spent the night. All the same, the Pies insisted they barricade the doors and windows and Starlight cast an alarm spell around the tower.

As Limestone didn’t sleep, there weren’t beds, but they had sleeping bags from the stable. It was too hot to zip them up, but they made adequate floor padding. It was a good thing they got stable rations, since Limestone didn’t need to eat and gave the best food she found to Tranquil.

Kamikaze needed assistance, so as the closest thing they had to a medic, Mercury helped her with everything from eating to relieving herself outside. It was sinking in for Mercury how unpleasant this journey could be. Even if she could return to the stable and expect a warm welcome though, she wouldn’t have, because she realized how necessary her assigned role was, especially if there were more injuries.

The night passed without incident, most falling asleep within minutes. All except Limestone, at least. The poor ghoul couldn’t sleep, but looked content laying with Maud and Pinkie cuddled to either side, even with them changed into their armored uniforms. It was probably the happiest the mare had been since that fateful day.

Even with Limestone being a ghoul, it would have been adorable had Limestone not dragged Marble into the pile. The other Pies allowed it when Limestone tugged the corpse atop them, but couldn't have been completely okay with it.

The ghoul’s mental condition was heart-wrenching, and it was something Mercury wasn’t trained for. Mercury wondered how she’d react when they attempted to bury Marble, assuming they made it to the Pie Rock Farm. At least Starlight cast a preservation spell on the corpse, as she had Spike, so it wouldn’t rot when they left the city. It was doubtful other cities had so much magical taint unless a crater of pink cloud came standard with destroyed cities. Mercury hoped not.

Twilight and Starlight slept in the far corner of the room, next to one another but not touching. They got along as far as Mercury saw, but it was odd for ponies to sleep next to each other and not touch or even cuddle a little. Mercury supposed it was awkward that each of them had evil variants in the other’s timeline.

They gave Crimson one of the blinder suits the Pies switched out of, which she put on over her Stable 27 Overmare suit. Mercury felt bad for her since the soldiers insisted she have her hooves tied at night. She wanted to comfort her, but Mercury was so disillusioned that she didn’t know how. Mercury spent her whole life believing Crimson was some princess-like figure and now had to consider that she might be a liar or worse.

She wouldn’t have believed it if Crimson hadn’t admitted to killing her own mentor. A stallion mentor, no less. Still, Mercury rationalized that since Crimson freely admitted it, she didn’t intend to hurt anyone else. Maybe losing control of Stable 27 was what she needed to change.

Mercury slept between Kamikaze and Solar. Kamikaze had lost so much, Mercury figured she needed all the snuggles she could get. Not to mention Kamikaze showed her kindness and good advice during Midnight’s attack. She helped Kamikaze don her armor as the Pies had theirs, tying off the loose sleeves.

Solar slept on Mercury’s other side, occasionally grinding against her, which Mercury expected. If not for the stable blinder barding, Mercury was certain she’d have awoken in a puddle of Solar’s affection.

Instead she just woke up to Limestone shaking her. She felt nasty and sweaty in her form-covering clothing, but didn’t dare remove it. She barely had time to wake up before Starlight and the Pies were pushing everypony to go. Was this how it was prior to the war? Mercury worked in a lab mostly alone, so she was used to sleeping in late.

The Pies were fastest to ready themselves. Pinkie armed herself to the teeth. She had her aptly named Pinkie Die pink mini-gun on one side and her Gummy launcher on the other with her only missile loaded. She kept half a dozen grenades from her saddlebags ready, pink ones with a laughing pony face on them.

“Well aren’t those… interesting…” Mercury commented when she saw them.

“Pinkie calls them her gigglers!” Pinkie launched into an explanation, probably relishing a chance to talk about explosives. “They stick to their target of doom, and laugh at their despair! It adds comic relief to the battlefield, yes.”

“Oh, that actually is interesting,” Mercury wondered about the alchemical ingredients of the glue that held them to a target. “Are they fire magic?”

“They are not magic at all!” Pinkie explained. “They were altered to fight the flamebrain dragons, so they explode into plasma shard shrapnel, mostly in the direction of the thing they are stuck to. Even lizzer armor is like paper to them!”

Mercury wondered if there were other explosives in Pinkie’s bag. There probably were, though Pinkie was a bit too stressful to talk to, so Mercury didn’t ask. In contrast, Limestone used only Ashmaker and Maud only her Mite hammer. Though maybe ‘only’ wasn’t the right word for either of those weapons.

When Mercury bundled Kamikaze on Maud’s back, she ensured she was secure in case Maud jumped around. Maud gave Mercury Zapper again, which she wasn’t comfortable carrying, but agreed to anyway since her syringer ammo was all non-lethal and might not work on ghouls. Starlight let her take the horn restraint off to carry Zapper telekinetically.

Solar had no interest in carrying a gun and spent most of the time ogling various ponies like prey. She appeared to favor Mercury’s bottom given how many times she wing-patted it in passing, though Mercury suspected Twilight’s to be a close second. Mercury hoped Solar wasn’t interested in Twilight just to say she bucked an alicorn.

Starlight didn’t carry a gun because she didn’t need one now that she remembered more magic. As for Twilight, she spent most of the time practicing with her broken horn. It looked excruciating to charge the horn stump with raw energy, but Twilight seemed determined to make herself useful.

While they divided supplies, Mercury turned on her radio, curious now that she realized that radio stations still existed. She avoided Crimson’s favorite station and tuned to another.

“Hey everypony, this is the Songsmith,” a deep voice said. It wasn’t monstrous-deep like the voice on the other station, it was just a deeper, raspier version of a normal pony voice. “Your friendly neighborhood disc jockey. What’s a ‘disc’? Buck if I know, but I’m gonna keep talkin, anyway.”

“I guess the Ceaseless Conflict just won’t cease,” Songsmith continued. “You know how we were all wondering what Midnight’s goons wanted with the Canterlot ruins? Apparently that rumors about a time portal there were true, because some early war soldiers strolled out and had it out with Midnight’s goons.

“They must have won too, because Midnight sent one of her creepy twilicorns after them; reports say it laid waste to Stable 27. It still had ponies living there. Who knew? Let’s hope it still has living ponies after Midnight’s done with the poor sods. No news yet on who arrived through the portal, or if they survived. If they did, it might make the Ashlands more interesting, but let’s just hope it’s a good interestin’. Not everypony on Midnight’s rape list is any better than her; some are arguably worse.”

After a long sigh he continued, “Sometimes I think all this weirdness is why I have insomnia. But I’ve chewed on your ears long enough, fillies and colts, let’s get some music on. Here’s a classic: Rainbow by my very own great-something grandma, Songbird Serenade.”

“That mare had a deep voice,” commented Mercury as a soulful song replaced the news broadcast.

“That was a stallion,” explained Starlight. “Stallions have deeper voices.”

“Oh,” Mercury blinked. She needed to get used to stallions being a thing.

“How did he get that information so quickly?” asked Maud.

“He could be spying on us as we speak!” Pinkie did rounds to peek out every window to make sure.

Everypony else looked at Crimson. Like it or not, she would know the most.

“Can somepony untie me first?” asked Crimson.

Starlight nodded to Maud, who trotted to unbind Crimson. She was as rough as she could get away with until Crimson moaned, at which point Maud became spitefully gentle.

“He didn’t used to be so well informed,” Crimson said, between licking her sore ankles. “It started around a decade ago. I’d say he had access to the sprite-bot monitoring network, but that’d make no sense. Skyla started broadcasting on them about the same time, but it’d be weird if that was related, since Songsmith makes no secret that he doesn’t trust her.”

"He could be hiding his affiliation with her," Limestone mused. "Or one of them hacked it and made it weak for the other. Also broadcasting doesn’t necessarily mean she has control over who accesses the video feeds… too many possibilities..."

“Who knows,” chuckled Crimson with a shrug.

“Where is he stationed?” asked Starlight.

“I assume nopony knows,” shrugged Crimson. “Since he refers to his station as his ‘secret bunker’.”

“He mentioned he’s Songbird’s descendant,” Limestone said. “Which stable was she registered at?”

“Stop figuring things out too fast,” grumbled Crimson. “I swear, sometimes I think there’s no point in withholding information. How am I supposed to stay useful?”

“The traitor should not withhold!” Pinkie growled. “But Pinkie also does not want the surprise ruined. She is torn.”

“You will always be useful, Minister Prose,” Maud added. “For hammer practice.”

“We could try to triangulate it,” Starlight mused, ignoring the peanut gallery. “But if nopony has already, he’s taken precautions against that. He’s probably bouncing the signal through the old radio relays.”

“I suppose it’s unlikely he’s still at the stable,” said Limestone. “None of them had transmitters designed for radio broadcast.”

“Why would you need her… his location?” asked Mercury.

“Propaganda,” Crimson smirked, answering for Starlight. “The Empress needs to make friends to get her message out.” She turned to Starlight and smiled. “I am good at propaganda and may divulge… remember his potential location later. Another reason you’re keeping me alive.”

“The thought crossed my mind,” admitted Starlight. She argued less than Mercury expected, so maybe she’d had this type of exchange with Crimson in the past.

“If he knows about what goes on,” said Twilight. “The way to get good reporting is to do good and get noticed. You don’t need ‘propaganda’ when you’re not doing anything to hide.”

“That is so something Midnight would say,” Crimson waxed nostalgic. “She wouldn’t do it, but she’d say it.”

“I doubt that,” Twilight said defensively, but looked worried.

“Don’t listen to her, she does that,” Solar patted Twilight, though whether it was to comfort her or an excuse to touch her flank was another thing.

“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight said, maneuvering her tail to keep Solar from going for a full grope. “That Songsmith… he called the thing that attacked us a twilicorn, like Midnight sent it rather than being it.” She turned back to Crimson. “That monster on the other radio station mentioned them too, and the bats that we met early on mentioned ‘divine likenesses’. Anything you’d like to tell us?”

“I wanted that part to be a surprise too,” Crimson pondered. “Am I useful enough without telling you that one? You’ll be really upset if I spoil you on it!”

“Empress, may I break her?” Maud asked in the calmest of tones.

“Not yet,” Starlight sighed. “Crimson, helping us helps you. If we know what’s out there, we can protect you from it.”

“This time I know what you figured out,” Crimson said. “She has powerful minions that look like her. Or her battle form, at least. She herself prefers her old form now; maybe she longs for the good ol’ days.”

"Could she do that by altering her soul crystal somehow?" asked Twilight. "Making a copy without having actually died first? Though I’m surprised if she has one, I was under the impression that that was specifically Equestrian magitech."

“They stole the technology from us,” Starlight said, then pointedly glared at Crimson as if that was her fault.

“That’s a good guess!” Crimson grinned at Twilight. “But it’s wrong. They’ve lost any soul recyclers they managed to make or steal, because a year ago she torched a settlement because she thought they had a soul recycler to take. They didn’t. Anyway, it was a well-defended settlement. She wouldn’t divert that much of her army to find a spare with Best Friend Cozy’s forced friendship squads making regular attacks. Nope, she needs one.”

“So rather than good and evil,” Twilight teared up. “We have two evils fighting over control of Equestria. Are there any good ponies left?”

“There’s us,” said Mercury, giving Twilight a brief hug. The poor alicorn always looked like she needed one, so unlike how Mercury had imagined alicorns.

Twilight smiled politely and hugged back, but Mercury felt the others’ eyes upon her. They thought she was naïve, but she believed they could help. Good ponies existed; they just needed a good option to fight for.

“Empress,” Limestone said. “We should leave quickly. If there’s more than one Midnight, and she’s looking for us, we endanger ourselves and Stable 27 by remaining.”

“You don’t think she’ll attack Stable 27 again, do you?” Mercury asked. She assumed they were safer because Midnight was killed, but if she wasn’t…

“I don’t think even I can demean a whole army of them into submission,” Kamikaze grunted.

“The general is right,” Starlight said. “The best way to help Stable 27 is to not give Midnight another reason to attack.”

“Can we listen to the radio?” Mercury wanted to learn everything possible.

“Noise may draw problems,” Maud said. “We can keep conversation and radio within the PCB.”

“Going to let me in on that?” asked Crimson.

“The network adds allies automagically,” Pinkie peered at Crimson. “It added the pegaslut, the alchemist, and our sister superior. If it did not add you, you are not an ally. Yes.”

“She’s green on the pipbuck,” Mercury pointed out. Despite her disillusionment, she still felt the need to defend her.

“Greenish on mine too, but that only means she’s unlikely to attack us,” Starlight pointed out. “And she’d take our side if combat broke out with someone else. Probably.”

‘She felt okay at first,’ Limestone’s voice in her head made Mercury jump at first, then she realized it was over the PCB. ‘Maybe It’s taking awhile for me to get back into the groove of things, but the more we’re with her, the more she feels like she’s up to something.’

‘Should we leave her here?’ Starlight asked.

‘We can’t do that!’ Mercury defended her on the PCB too. Crimson’s deeds depressed her, but she knew Crimson could do better.

‘Okay, this will sound crazy,’ Twilight said. ‘But wouldn’t the best way to make sure she doesn’t betray us be to make her one of us? Treat her like a friend.’

‘I agree,’ Mercury thought it was a great idea, but everyone else went silent as if deciding whether it was a joke or not.

‘You are not grounded in reality,’ commented Maud.

‘It sounds like a terrible plan on the surface,’ said Limestone. ‘But she’s right.’

‘How so, General?’ Starlight asked, suddenly taking it seriously when Limestone agreed.

‘Leave her here alive, and Midnight will find her,’ Limestone said. ‘She’ll be bitter, and will offer information on us for safe passage. Yet executing her would fragment our group, so our best bet is to make her a compatriot. She has no motive to harm us since we're protecting her, even more so if she believes cooperating will get her old job back.’

‘I dislike that idea,’ Maud said. ‘But I trust Limestone’s judgment without question.’

‘Pinkie has followed many of her sister superior's orders that made no sense,’ Pinkie agreed. ‘And they all ended with Pinkie laughing at her dying enemies.’

‘Fine,’ Starlight said. ‘I hope your judgment is what it was.’

‘Thank you so much for supporting me, friends,’ Twilight sounded relieved, and Mercury shared the feeling.

“Have you decided if you'll kill me?” Crimson asked aloud. “If it's the latter, can I at least request a running start? Or a fun death method? Also if you find Tranquil, give her my head and cast a gender swap spell on her; she’ll know what to do.”

“I’m adding you to the network,” Starlight said, her pipbuck screen flashing in front of her as she clicked the controls. “At a lower security level.”

“Great!” Crimson grinned. “Just temper your sense of decency. We might have disturbing thoughts.”

After a short meal of bulkier foodstuffs to save space, they headed out, taking their two supply carts. Twilight opted to pull one, saying she wanted to be useful. Pinkie pulled the other, her and Maud trotting in front with Starlight behind them. The stable dwellers remained between Starlight and the cart Twilight pulled in the back.

Mercury had wanted to see Canterlot, but this depressed her. She imagined that it was even harder for the others, who saw it when it was whole. What’s more, going was slow pulling two wooden carts through the ruins, several times having to stop to move rubble.

‘The sprite-bots saved us,’ Twilight pondered over the PCB as they walked. ‘Then one talked to us, but the voice they broadcast is the crystal princess, even though they used to be Equestrian propaganda.’

‘How hard is it to hack them without your authorization, Crimson?’ Starlight asked. ‘I thought a SHIE AI controlled them.’

‘SHIE AI?’ asked Twilight.

‘Synthetic Histological Intelligence Engine,’ clarified Starlight. ‘Pronounced ‘Shy’ because of the experiment that influenced its creation.’

‘And what experiment was that?’ Twilight asked, not containing her annoyance. Actually her face was one of abject terror for some reason, but Starlight ignored the question.

‘Yep, the one in the Ministry of News bunker in Baltimare,’ Crimson confirmed. ‘Is that significant? I’m not a technician; I just follow instruction manuals. Stable-Tec loved making those for everything.’

‘What makes it special?’ asked Mercury.

‘There were only a few made,’ Starlight explained. ‘It uses actual brains held in partial stasis as the processing units, making it unhackable by any means.’

‘Whose brain!?’ Twilight was mid-drink from her canteen and spit it out.

‘Nopony’s,’ Starlight assured. ‘We grew them from scratch. While you could theoretically use real brains, they’re susceptible to psionics, mind-control, and putty to dream-walkers like Nightmare Moon. These brains have no conscious thoughts, memories, or dreams to bend to one's will.’

‘That’s amazing!’ Solar said. ‘But after this long, they might develop a consciousness for any number of reasons, including boredom. Then they could be hacked or just reasoned with.’

‘It’s not out of the question,’ said Starlight. ‘They were regularly wiped, but of course not anymore.’

‘Did the Ministry of Magitech have one?’ asked Twilight.

‘No,’ Starlight said. ‘It was next up to get one, but the Ministry of News needed one more. There are thousands of sprite-bots streaming data from across the kingdom, too much for ponies to analyze. It would sift through for the important parts.’

‘Well, someone hacked the unhackable computer,’ Crimson said.

‘Seems odd they’d figure it out after no one having a clue for so long,’ Solar mentioned. ‘Did you leave a password lying around?’

‘It wouldn’t be that easy,’ Crimson said. ‘They’d need a whole genetic imprint for that level of access, and I made sure I took all my body parts with me. I’m no Kamikaze.’

‘Hardy har,’ Kamikaze rolled her eyes.

“Someone approaches,” Maud spoke aloud and motioned ahead.

Mercury saw another pony approaching them in the distance. One could barely see her through the mist, but it looked like a pegasus ghoul pulling a covered wagon, bigger than both their carts together. This one looked worse than Limestone, the worst part the single featherless wing, looking like a plucked chicken.

“Limestone? Is this someone you know?” Starlight asked. “We’ll need to put her down if she’s feral.”

“That’s just Muffins,” Limestone said. “She’s friendly, just don’t expect her to answer questions and… Muffins?”

The pegasus was so spaced out she didn’t see them until she was fairly close, but when she did, she charged. The metal wagon clattered on the broken pavement behind her as her eyes bounced like a bobble-head toy. Crimson snickered like she thought the whole thing was hilarious.

“Limestone?” Starlight asked again. “She’s red on the pipbuck!”

“No, she’s always been… she’s red now, why?” asked Limestone as she looked at her own pipbuck.

Muffins closed in, the other Pies raising weapons, but Limestone waved them away and stepped in front.

“No, she’s never attacked before,” Limestone said. It sounded less like her legendary sense and more like wishful thinking overriding it. “Let’s try to restrain her, please.”

“Miss Muffins?” Mercury asked, moving beside Limestone. “Please calm down, my name is Mercury and…”

Muffins shrieked like a banshee in need of a drug fix. She ignored Limestone, banking towards Mercury as she reared up and slammed her hooves into Mercury’s face. The impact sent Mercury back, skidding several hoofsteps across the rocky ground. Her head pounded as she felt blood drip down her face, and for a moment she panicked. Her magic lashed instinctively, forgetting about Zapper held in her telekinetic grasp.

The shock pistol fired and hit Muffins squarely between the eyes. An instant later, her head exploded, sending rotten brain and brittle bone fragments flying. Mercury saw the slowing effect of the gun in action as Muffins’ head exploded in slow motion for a few seconds before returning to grotesque reality.

Mercury stared in horror, only for Limestone to step in front of her, raising Ashmaker and aiming it right at Mercury’s head. For a moment she couldn’t speak, going pale as her attempt to scream came out as a shrill squeak.

“Murderer!” Limestone snarled.

Solar rushed to get in front of Mercury, but Crimson of all ponies shoved her out of the way, sitting on her hind hooves in front of Mercury herself and holding her front hooves out.

“Whoa now!” Crimson said. “Let’s not ruin a perfectly good victim with quick death! I already lost my chance at Tranquil.”

“You’re right, Ashmaker,” Limestone growled. “I can shoot through her.”

“Pies?” Starlight asked the other sisters. She didn’t cast, the slightest magical touch might cause Limestone to squeeze the trigger.

“Limestone,” Maud shoved Crimson aside as she stepped in her place, one-upping Crimson in the process by placing her own forehead directly against the barrel. Limestone pulled away from the trigger when she found it aimed at her sister, lowering the gun. “We do not attack civilians for acts of self-defense, no matter how much we like the perpetrator. You taught us this.”

Kamikaze, still on Maud’s back, didn’t speak, but looked nervous.

“She was my only friend that moved,” Limestone’s voice cracked, staring at the ground.

“Pinkie’s sister superior will calm now,” Pinkie moved closer and pried Ashmaker out of Limestone’s grasp. “She now has many friends that move. Yes.”

“Limestone, I’m sorry,” Starlight said. “But I think most ghouls won’t have your mental discipline and we must defend ourselves. It wasn’t her fault, and it’s not fair, but at least she’s at peace now.”

Mercury curled into a ball on the ground, chills running through her, afraid to move. The shock pistol lay on the ground next to her as she hyperventilated. She feared touching the gun, terrified that Limestone would take it as aggression.

Maud picked up Zapper and tried to hoof it back to Mercury as Solar helped her back to her hooves. Mercury shook her head. She didn’t want to touch it again.

“I could use it with my muzzle,” Kamikaze told Maud. “Would make me useful at least.”

Maud nodded and slipped the gun into her saddlebag within reach of Kamikaze’s face.

“I’m sorry Limestone… General,” Mercury cried. “I swear I didn’t mean to fire!”

Mercury then turned to Crimson, smiling through her tears. Crimson looked stunned when Mercury hugged her.

“You saved me,” Mercury said. “I knew you weren’t evil.”

“I tried to save you too,” huffed Solar, crossing her forelegs. “She was just closer.”

“Thank you, Solar,” Mercury smiled and snuggled Solar too.

“Oh yeah, I guess I did,” Crimson said as if only now realizing it. “I don’t think before I act; that way I get to be surprised like everypony else.”

Mercury cuddled her for a few more seconds before Crimson pushed away the awkward affection. Crimson grumbled, “No touching moments please.”

“Crimson?” Twilight approached her once Mercury finished. “That was very brave. Even if it was instinct rather than intent, you have more good in you than you believe.”

“I am not sure she saved her for the reason you think,” said Maud.

“Maud,” Starlight warned. “Let her be. This helps.”

Mercury hoped so. Crimson looked both stunned and uncomfortable at how they suddenly treated her as brave.

“Yeah, it felt weird when they started treating me better too,” Kamikaze commented.

Solar stared at them hugging, looking both confused and jealous. She hugged Mercury too, but eyed Crimson with a ‘no touching’ glare. It was sad to see her so suspicious; they’d gotten along well before all this.

Limestone stared at Muffins for a moment, slumped and still attached to the larger wagon. She tugged a tarp from Muffin’s wagon, laying it on the ground and wrapped the pegasus’ body in it. Starlight moved to help, but Limestone shook her head and continued on her own.

“I’m really sorry,” Mercury said again. Muffins being feral didn’t lessen the guilt of killing her.

“No, I’m sorry,” Limestone said, not looking back. “My emotions impeded my sense and it put you all in danger. Break’s rage, I need to get this under control. I would have never been so weak before.”

“It’s fine,” Mercury sighed. “Do you know where she lives… lived? We could bury her.”

“I don’t,” Limestone said. “She was from Cloudsdale. I don’t know why she helped us.”

“Not to break the moment,” whispered Kamikaze. “But there are useful supplies in that wagon. And it’s larger and sturdier than ours.”

“Let’s look it over,” nodded Starlight, seeming the least touched. “The carts we have are too fragile, so we can save time even if we switch.”

“Most of it is ammo for gun types you don’t have.” Limestone said. “It has enchanted ammo for Ashmaker, though it’s running low. We won’t likely find more before we get to Holder.”

“We’ll leave what we can’t use,” said Starlight.

Limestone was right in that they couldn’t use most. Mercury hadn’t imagined there could be enough guns to use all this. At least that left room for other things. There were enough rations to add a week to what they had, though Mercury hoped they wouldn’t resort to 200-year-old food and corroded water canisters, regardless of the assurance they were enchanted to stay fresh. The only other thing they kept was a small stack of tarps.

They found a safe, which excited Solar to no end. She sat on the side of the road, working on it with her screwdriver and bobby pins as the others looked through the rest. She probably broke 20 pins trying to get in, but seemed determined.

“So,” Twilight sighed awkwardly to Starlight. “Have more memories returned?”

“None I want to talk about,” said Starlight.

The expression on Kamikaze’s face said much the same.

“Pinkie remembers home and family,” said Pinkie. “And fighting. And more fighting. It is all Pinkie has to remember.”

“I remember our family,” Maud’s voice was monotone but her words were full of emotion. “My friend Boulder. My mate Mud Briar, murdered in the flamebrain attacks. Our daughter Silt Pie who I left in Holder. I will never forgive myself if she was not safe there.”

Mercury consoled her. “From what we saw in the memories, Holder avoided the fate of most of Equestria.”

“Even if she was safe, she’s dead now,” Crimson shrugged. “And her foals, and their foals, and their foals… at least you’ll have a lot of family picture albums to look through, assuming she lived long enough to squeeze some out.”

“Careful,” warned Maud. “You may choke to death on such words one day.”

“The traitor will cease her insensitivity!” Pinkie demanded. “But Pinkie is hoping to see photos of her niece and family as well. Yes.”

Limestone casually moved a hoof Crimson’s muzzle when she opened it to speak again. A glare from those dead glowing eyes shut even Crimson’s muzzle.

Afterward it was fairly quiet as they arranged what they would take. Twilight insisted on organizing for quick access. Mercury would have liked to ask Maud about family, but knew it wasn’t the time, so instead she helped with what she could.

When they were almost done securing everything, Solar waved them over, finally having opened the safe.

“Let’s see what we get!” Solar said, hooves shivering. “Woo-hoo!”

She pulled out a six-pack of cola bottles labeled ‘Glimmer Cola Quantum’ that glowed bright blue. Solar grinned as if she’d found a great treasure and held it above her with both forehooves.

“Glimmer Cola,” Starlight rolled her eyes. “They paid a royalty to use my name, but I never liked them.”

“I read about these,” Solar said. “It has pomegranate and a radioactive isotope! I bet I could buck for 12 hours straight after drinking one of these babies.”

“That doesn’t sound safe,” Twilight peered. “The isotope or sex for 12 hours.” She turned one bottle to see the ingredients, and her eyes widened. “Celestia’s beard, it does. It lists Strontium-90 as an ingredient. Ponies drank this?”

“Pinkie drank one as a trial,” Pinkie said. “It gave her energy for combat, but her urine glowed blue for a week. Yes.”

“Does it make vaginal secretions glow?” asked Solar, mind going where it always did.

“Pinkie's happy juice may have glowed,” Pinkie pondered. “She lacked flexibility to check. Yes.”

“It did,” Maud advised. “I checked.”

“How can you two be so scary and hot at the same time?” Solar peered.

“Well everything about me glows my least favorite color,” Limestone grumbled.

“Really?” Solar perked her ears up. “Yeah, I guess it would! Wow…” Solar eyed the ghoul with new interest.

"Don't get ideas," grumbled Limestone. "Being dead doesn’t keep me from having standards. Actually, give me those. I don’t know if I need radiation to stay animate, so you might need to pour one in me if I stop moving in cleaner areas.

“Aw,” Solar sighed, but hooved them over. “Well don’t be surprised if I pour it somewhere other than your muzzle.”

“Ahem,” Starlight cut off the conversation and looked at what else was in the safe. “There are also some Equestrian bits in here if anypony still takes old money. Also, some old moldy muffins, an issue of Horny magazine, other magazines, a photo of Muffins with a unicorn filly, and a creepy Flim or Flam bobblehead.”

“That is for Pinkie!” Pinkie grabbed for the bobblehead before anyone else touched it, then frowned. “Pinkie expected to increase her stats by touching it. She is disappointed, yes.” She tossed it aside.

“Can I look at that?” Twilight asked, then blushed when Starlight floated her the Horny magazine. “The photo, not the pornography.”

“Now these are useful,” Starlight pulled another device out as she floated the photo to Twilight. The device looked like it would wrap around a pony’s leg like a pipbuck. “Two stealth bucks. These create a personalized invisibility field.”

Starlight floated them to Maud, who smiled ever so slightly as she put them in her saddlebag.

“And that’s it,” Starlight said as she closed the safe.

Solar snatched the magazine as Twilight took the photo with a hoof. Solar held the magazine so that Mercury could see as she opened it. Mercury blushed as Solar folded out a centerfold with a light blue unicorn stallion with dark blue mane. He posed lewdly with a giant balloon animal, displaying the first ‘natural’ stallion equipment Mercury had ever seen. It had the caption ‘Party Favor has a Favor to ask’ across the bottom.

“His head is shaped odd,” Mercury said, noticing his large sloped forehead.

“Stallions have a different cranial structure,” Starlight enlightened her as she offered the other magazines to Mercury.

“That’s what you looked at first?” Solar arched an eyebrow at Mercury.

Mercury looked at the other magazines. One was a Journal of Magitech with Starlight and a blue unicorn mare on the front. The unicorn had a goofy purple star cape and wizard hat on. The caption read ‘New Projects for Minister of Arcane Science: Trixie Lulamoon’. She opened it, but most of it was technical things she didn’t understand. The articles might get Solar off as much as the porn though.

The other was ‘Equestria Daily’, some kind of propaganda magazine. It was praising Daybreaker’s defeat of the dragons and applauding that the war would be over soon. Mercury didn’t want to read about that, knowing how that hope spot turned out.

“This is Dinky Doo,” Twilight said of the photo. “Muffin’s unicorn daughter.”

“I guess she liked more than just looking at unicorn dicks,” Crimson commented. “And now we have Solar creaming over it, a slut and a closet straight.”

“I don’t think closets are involved,” Maud noted.

“Bisexual!” Solar threw it back at Crimson with no shame and no reason to hide. It made Mercury wonder how many mares in the stable were secretly not-entirely-lesbian.

“I wasn’t looking at it,” Mercury blushed more. She realized Crimson’s way wasn’t the world’s way now, but was ashamed by habit.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Kamikaze said from her bundle. It was kind of her to take the time to comfort Mercury when she had more than her share to worry about.

“Says the one who has everything to be ashamed of,” Crimson said.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kamikaze didn’t dispute that. “Rag on me all you want, but leave your former slaves alone.”

“Dinky is holding an award from Celestia’s school in the image,” Twilight dragged the conversation away from the tension. “This explains why Muffins fought for Canterlot; she was protecting her daughter, who was in school here.”

“Would it be possible to find this filly and bury them together?” asked Mercury, prying her own mind away from where she was ashamed to take it.

“The school is on our way out,” Twilight nodded. “If nothing else, we could bury Muffins there. It was obviously important to her.”

“Either way we should go,” Limestone said. “Our alicorn mascot looks tired, though. Want to take a turn pulling it Maud?”

Mercury crawled up into the wagon with everypony else, happy to get off her hooves. Solar settled next to her, both the Horny and the Journal of Magitech magazines open now, wearing a wide grin. Maud removed Kamikaze from her back and propped her near Solar, giving her access to Solar’s important stallion ogling, but she stared into space more than at the magazine.

While most strapped in, Pinkie and Limestone stood in the wagon, holding the sides and looking out from the cover to scout. The school was beyond where Limestone had seen with her scope, so they weren’t sure what might pop up. Crimson sat between Twilight and Starlight and spent most of her time glaring at Solar in distaste.

Mercury hoped there’d be more wide-open less-bumpy space in the Ashlands and they’d move faster. Maybe it’d be less sweltering hot too. Regardless, Tranquil would move faster with her lighter load. The hope of catching up seemed all but gone.

15. Back to School

Wednesday, 10/26/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Canterlot

Twilight charged her horn again, trying to hide the creases of agony on her face, but couldn’t help but cringe. She’d only read one book about using magic with a broken horn; it wasn’t a well-studied subject. It’d been during an all-night book binge, and she remembered parts, but not as much as she'd like.

Broken horns couldn’t produce ‘organized’ magic like telekinesis or spells, but could generate raw energy attacks. Twilight had to learn how to do something useful or they’d keep calling her the team mascot.

Her knowledge was normally her best asset, but not when she’d never seen most magitech they used. Even Rainbow Dash knew more about this new science than her, a situation she never expected to be in, and Solar’s knowledge left Twilight’s in the dust.

Twilight was determined, but eventually the pounding of her head reached a point that she had to rest from her practice. She sat facing into the cart again, unable to sit comfortably due to the bumpy ride. She looked at the more useful ponies, knowing she should get to know her teammates better.

Pinkie and Limestone stood watch, so she didn’t want to distract them, nor did she particularly want to approach Marble’s corpse that Limestone still kept next to her. Luckily, the ferals they met weren’t as sturdy as Limestone, none the glowing variety. Poor Limestone looked like it was painful for her to see Maud smash the ferals they encountered, and it wasn’t much better for Twilight, even only hearing impacts from inside the wagon.

Solar continued looking at the magazine, showing things to Kamikaze as well even if the pegasus showed limited interest in anything. She’d convinced Mercury to join as well, who now sat wide-eyed and blushed beet red.

While she stayed far enough away from Solar to avoid sexually harassing hugs, Twilight decided that Kamikaze probably needed rest from Solar’s attempts to cheer her up. Twilight moved to sit next to where Rainbow was strapped in, waving a hoof to get her attention.

“Um, hay,” Twilight smiled as kindly as she could. “Did you want to talk about...you know?”

“I’m not big on talking about things, so no,” Kamikaze answered. The bluntness of the answer surprised her momentarily, as did Rainbow’s glare when she looked at her. “But it’s not like I can walk away, so let’s talk I guess.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight sighed. “I suppose you must remember when we first met now?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Kamikaze said. “I remember that you pretended to be my wife to get my cooperation. If not for that, I probably would have blown up, getting one last bit of awesomeness in death.”

“Well, I’d rather you not blow up,” Twilight shook her head. “You might be different from the you I knew, but I still didn’t want you to go kill yourself. I was trying to save you...and everypony.”

“I could have died without knowing,” Kamikaze grumbled. “Instead, I have time to figure out my mistakes and live with them forever. I can’t even kill myself in this condition. Do you have any idea what that’s like?”

“No, I can’t possibly know,” Twilight shook her head. “But please, understand my intentions weren’t bad. I couldn’t have known all that.”

“Whatever, it’s done now,” Kamikaze grumbled, “I just hope I’m not stuck like this, not much I can do just sitting here. I guess Solar’s at least trying to help in a way that doesn’t involve super-serious conversations about it. Maybe you should learn to turn your big brain off sometimes like she does.”

Twilight realized that the page turning nearby had gone quiet, and she looked over to see Solar and Mercury very awkwardly glancing at them, probably unsure of what to say or do.

“I...I don’t know, I’ll try, but I’m not in high spirits myself. Again, I’m sorry,” Twilight went on. “If you won’t forgive me, at least forgive yourself. You might be surprised what you can do once you’ve done that.”

Kamikaze didn’t answer, instead looking back at the magazine. It was with equally little interest as before but with a clenched look on her face. Twilight decided to let her be and try someone else; she was only making things worse here.

That left Starlight and Crimson, sitting at opposite ends of the wagon. Starlight rested between the Pies up front while Crimson lay at the back, sprawled and batting her hooves at something above her that only she saw and ignoring the jarring motions of the wagon. Twilight moved to Crimson since she was the one that could learn the most from the Princess of Friendship.

“So, hay,” Twilight said. “Are you doing okay? Want to talk?”

Crimson froze, one hoof froze pawing the air, eyes shifting slowly to Twilight.

“I’m peeved,” Crimson responded, remaining still. “I told my pet to wait for me and she wandered off.”

“Your pet?” Twilight tensed at Crimson’s wording. “You mean your wife?”

“Now she’s out there getting herself killed,” complained Crimson. “And rather than hurrying to catch her, we’ll stop to bury a feather-brain breeder that tried to kill us.”

Twilight cringed more at the slur. It was alarming how much more common that was now. She let it go for the moment though, since Crimson was likely using such language to get to her. If Crimson actually hated pegasi, she wouldn’t have married one.

“Crimson,” Starlight joined the conversation. “I hope she makes it to a peaceful settlement, but regardless, we’re unlikely to catch up to her. She’s traveling alone with a single light cart, while we’re in a group dragging a lot of supplies. We have to stop and fight things while she can dash past them, and being a dancer probably means she has a lot of energy to do so. I’m sorry, but I think she’s beyond our aid.”

“That doesn’t make it less annoying,” Crimson shrugged and hoofed the air again.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Crimson,” Twilight said.

Crimson froze again and peered at her as if the kindness confused her. She narrowed her eyes, as if certain Twilight was either making fun of or trying to get something out of her.

“It doesn’t matter,” Crimson said, shrugging and letting her legs fall to her sides. “I’d end up wasting time if I were alone too. I’d stop to pose corpses in lewd manners or torture ferals if you weren’t here to stop me.”

Twilight ignored the instigation and tried to think of positive subjects she might talk about.

“You know, considering that they registered the Pies there,” Twilight said. “They might have a soul recycler at Stable 11.”

She hoped the potential of access to one might make Crimson mind better, but no such luck.

"Probably used it for spare parts since they weren't coming back," Crimson shrugged.

"Well they wouldn't know they weren't coming back," Starlight said. "For all they knew they could have been living in Stable 27."

"No, they knew they weren't here," Crimson said. "I told them all the Pies were irrevocably dead. Then I cut off communications with them."

"Excuse me?" Limestone looked back and narrowed her eyes at Crimson.

"Why did you tell them that, Crimson?" Twilight tried to get an explanation before the Pies got too upset.

"Well be fair, Living Dead Mare," Crimson smirked. "I wasn't lying when I told them you were dead, and if the others were in a time vortex I don't suppose they existed at all at the time."

"Not what I mean," Limestone said, seeming more curious than upset. "Why did you cut off communications? That doesn’t seem tactically sound."

"They were being weird," Crimson said. "And this is coming from me! That was probably a generation or two after the Breaking... but they were getting... cultish.They wouldn't take 'I'm really sure they’re dead' for an answer, like they expected you to rise from the ashes and rebuild the world."

"Well if they were that obsessed, they may still have it after all," Twilight suggested, taking another stab at it. She really felt that if she could just keep her from returning to her habits for long enough she would see the benefits of another way.

“If they do, they’re gonna piss themselves when you get there,” Crimson chuckled to Twilight. “They’ll think Midnight found out they have one and came for it. They're still around because radio shows mentions them sometimes, but they keep to themselves like most every other settlement.”

“That’s a good point,” Starlight mused. “We have to be careful bringing you into the open, Twilight… no offense.”

“Or not,” Crimson said. “Midnight only wrecks settlements that resist; ponies out here know that. Had the Stable 27 guards let her twilicorn in and hoofed you over freely, she wouldn’t have harmed a single one of them.” Crimson rolled her eyes. “May have even rewarded them, which I could have told them if they hadn’t vitrified me. How ironic that locking up the murderer got so many killed.”

“Does that mean they’re safe from her now that we’re gone?” asked Twilight.

“From what I’ve heard of her current tactics,” Crimson said. “Midnight will show up with more force and demand to search the stable again. If they let her, pay some kind of tribute for killing the twilicorn, and agree to support her agenda, she’ll let them be. If so much as one guard gets trigger happy, they’ll all die as an example.”

“So she wants settlements to know she rewards cooperation and extinguishes resistance,” mused Starlight. “It’s not a bad strategy.”

“Let’s please not congratulate her,” sighed Twilight.

“Well she may tweak your morals,” said Crimson. “But she’s better than the alternative. It’s difficult for settlements in Midnight's domain, but she also does her best to protect them from raiders and other factions. The only settlement allowed to exist in Trinity’s territory is Cozy’s lot.”

“Well, they were planning to turn us over,” said Twilight. “So they may cooperate in a search now. More importantly, does all this mean we can reason with Midnight?”

“I didn’t say that,” Crimson laughed. “Midnight shows mercy and lives up to agreements to encourage obedience, not from some weird sense of decency. If she finds you, it’ll be join or die.”

“Still, we could use that fear,” said Starlight. “Unfriendly settlements or gangs might let us pass peacefully if they think you’re Midnight.”

“That’s a double-edged sword,” Limestone’s hollow voice startled Twilight, but she wasn’t surprised that the general was still listening. “If Midnight hears reports of activity she knows wasn’t her, it’ll make us a target. Or if Songsmith reports that you’re not her, it’ll ruin the advantage, and possibly get others killed if they assume a real one is you pretending. Best to keep Twilight’s identity hidden until we can use the advantage well or have no better choice.”

Twilight disliked being spoken of like a secret weapon, but couldn’t disagree with that logic. If it saved lives, she’d do her best to put on an act and hope nopony called her bluff.

“Well,” sighed Starlight. “Unfortunately, they may already know due to the bat she allowed to live when we first got here.”

“I won’t apologize for sparing a life,” Twilight shook her head. “Besides, I don’t think he told. Remember when I spoke to that ‘Midnight’ over the comms and she responded with surprise? She didn’t expect another ‘her’ to be there, which indicates she didn’t know about me.”

At least Twilight hoped that was it. She belatedly remembered that Watcher might have killed the bat somehow if it caught up with him. And she hadn’t had time to ask about that before Watcher wandered off the second time.

“What are you princess of?” asked Crimson out of nowhere. Finally she directed the conversation in the way Twilight wanted.

“Friendship,” Twilight said, smiling and hoping the idea could make an impression.

“Like FEV?” asked Crimson, rolling to another position as if distancing herself.

“No, like actual friendship,” Twilight said, her smile faltering. “Friendship magic stopped many threats to Equestria dead in their tracks. We stopped most villains and invasions within a week, sometimes a day.”

“So you were friends at them, and they just stopped being evil?” Crimson peered at Twilight as if to discern whether she was joking.

“More or less,” Twilight sighed, unsure of how else to explain it to these ponies. “There was occasionally a powerful beam involved.”

“Yes, please tell us how you succeeded everywhere I failed,” Starlight said. She sounded bitter, but bit her lip as if it had slipped out. With her resolve, that probably meant it’d been boiling beneath the surface for a while. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“I’m sorry too,” Twilight said. “I didn’t mean it like that. You did the best you could under worse circumstances. If I hadn't discovered the Elements of Harmony, I would have fared no better.”

“Absurd,” Starlight eye-twitched again but then redoned her diplomatic face. “Don’t worry about it. We’re coming up to the school.”

Twilight moved to the front of the wagon to look. Aside from the obvious being abandoned, it appeared much as she remembered it from her timeline. That made sense as the sturdy, well-enchanted structure predated the timeline split by centuries.

This area differed from most of the city though. The school grounds had no bodies lying about while neighboring buildings all had their share. There was a well-trodden path leading from the door to the road where they stopped their wagon.

“Somepony cleaned up,” Limestone said. “I haven’t been here since the big day, so there might be another docile ghoul I never met.”

“If there’s another out here, we should rescue them,” Mercury said. “They must be so scared.”

“They may think they’re the only sane pony left,” Limestone said, a feeling she had to know.

Maud unhitched herself from the wagon, leaning down to look at the tracks. She followed them to the school door, carefully but quickly examining them as she trotted alongside. She then turned, walking several feet into the yard.

“The tracks lead from the front entrance to the street, foal-sized,” Maud said. “Someone dropped them off at the road and picked them back up many times, based on the fairly fresh wagon tracks. Except…” She pointed out a path of newly disturbed soil that led across the yard at an angle. “The freshest hoofprints lead off the path and down the road. They left at a gallop.”

“How fresh?” asked Starlight.

“Hard to tell, but less than an hour,” Maud said, heading back to look at the road tracks. She narrowed her eyes, walking around the wagon to look at their own tracks. “I suspect the wagon we are using is the one that normally came for them.” She looked into the wagon. “I did not think to check before, but there are more foal tracks inside our wagon in corners where we haven't stepped. They could be the same foal.”

“I’m pretty sure of what that means,” sighed Limestone, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “We should look inside. If we see signs of intelligent activity, we’ll know for sure.”

“A feral going through the motions like Muffins did?” Starlight asked.

“Maybe,” said Limestone. “But a repeating feral wouldn’t gallop away in search of the wagon they expected. They’d stand and wait forever.”

“Mother and daughter,” pondered Twilight. “I wonder if there’s a genetic component to whether ponies become ghouls instead of dying.”

She also wondered if Marble would have become a ghoul had she not committed suicide. That could have been better or worse depending on if she were feral. She decided not to mention such around the Pies.

“No…” Mercury sounded near tears. “The ghoul I shot… her daughter is still alive?”

“Probably not alive,” Maud said. “But possibly self-aware.”

“No, no,” Mercury curled up, rocking back and forth. “So out of all the ghouls in the city, I killed the one that somepony was here to miss.”

“I know right?” chuckled Crimson. “With luck like that, it’s too bad there isn’t still a lottery.”

Twilight stepped forward, but Solar was quicker to hug and cradle Mercury’s head. To her credit, Solar wasn’t just trying to grope Mercury this time; she looked almost as freaked out as Mercury herself.

“It’s not your fault,” Twilight said. “You put her mother at peace.”

“A foal won’t understand that,” Mercury shook her head. “I don’t even understand it!”

“It’s not a foal,” Crimson said. “It is a 200-year-old memory inhabiting a foal’s corpse.”

“We are not just memories,” Limestone warned darkly.

“I didn’t say you were a bad memory,” Crimson huffed.

“Were the students not evacuated to Stable 27?” asked Twilight.

“Only a fraction of the residents could afford registration,” Starlight said. “The government didn’t run Stable-Tec, even if they often helped with experiments. It was a business like any other.”

“Given what I know of Flim and Flam in my timeline,” Twilight sighed. “They probably expected it not to go this far, that they’d make a fortune taking payment for stables that were never inhabited, and get all sorts of government contracts due to having them built.”

As Twilight tried to concentrate on the conversation, her mind often detoured to the idea of the school library, and if they’d have a book on broken horn magic.

“Any students not registered would have taken shelter in the school basement,” Limestone said. “And it wouldn’t have helped; they’d all be dead or ghouls before a full day passed.”

“More foal ghouls,” Twilight said, getting sick at the memory of the filly guide. Even if putting the poor creature’s soul to rest, harming a foal felt abhorrent. “Possibly a lot more. Based on what I know of dark magic, foals are probably more likely to turn due to having more life force for the necrotic magic to pervert.”

“You’re right,” Crimson’s eyes lit up with interest. “There might be tiny ghouls in there. I want to see the Pies smash their adorable little heads in. That’ll be priceless!”

“Empress,” said Maud. “I respectfully request permission to smash Crimson’s head in.” It was impossible to tell if she was joking.

“Permission denied, Maud,” Starlight rolled her eyes, but answered in case Maud was serious.

“She will give permission eventually,” Maud narrowed her eyes at Crimson.

“You know I can’t wait,” Crimson looked back at Maud with lidded bedroom eyes.

Twilight would have reminded Maud to be nice to Crimson, but the threats seemed to get Maud on Crimson’s good side somehow. Maybe she’d figured Crimson out in a way the others hadn't.

“She makes a good point, if by accident,” Limestone said. “Maud should walk in front as she’ll hesitate the least in showing mercy. Mercury and Solar stay outside since they wouldn’t handle seeing that well. Pinkie and Kamikaze stay here to protect them, don’t kill any ghouls unless you are certain they are feral.”

“Pinkie accepts the less fun task if her sister superior insists,” Pinkie huffed.

“I’ll watch your back, Pinkie,” Kamikaze claimed.

In what was probably an attempt to look useful, she waved Zapper around in her muzzle, but promptly dropped it as she lost her balance, tumbling face first onto the floor of the wagon. Mercury, being more or less in charge of the patient, rushed to help her up. Kamikaze blushed brightly as Mercury placed Zapper into Kamikaze’s muzzle again and leaned her more carefully against the front wall of the wagon where she could peer over, tightening the straps holding her.

“Do you need anything else while they’re inside?” Mercury quietly asked Rainbow.

“No, I’m fine,” growled Rainbow around Zapper’s handle, blushing even more and turning away from the group.

Twilight, like most in the group, pretended not to hear. She couldn’t imagine the shame Kamikaze felt having to be helped with everything. Crimson started to open her muzzle, probably for a wisecrack, but Limestone reached a hoof over her muzzle before she could.

“I’ll watch your backside, Pinkie,” Solar offered, perhaps trying to politely change the subject, then ducked slightly when Maud peered at her.

“Pinkie only has eyes for her sisters and the pegacorn,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

Twilight decided it was best not to comment on that. If she were anything like Twilight’s Pinkie, she would only flirt more if somepony responded, like a shark tasting blood. Thankfully Limestone motioned for them to quieten.

Limestone turned to Starlight. “Empress, a bubble of silence would reduce the chance of disturbing the trotting dead.”

“Easy enough,” Starlight nodded.

“And me?” Twilight asked quietly, feeling even more useless at being the last one ordered.

“I would leave you out here, because you won’t react well to feral foals either,” said Limestone. “But you probably want to go to the library, so just try to stay calm.”

“You’re impressively perceptive,” Twilight admitted. “I’ll do my best.”

Maud led as they entered, Limestone taking up the rear in case anything came from behind. Crimson stayed behind Maud, eager to see heads get smashed, with Twilight and Starlight in the middle. Starlight kept a bubble of silence around them, as well as lighting her horn barely enough so they didn’t trip.

As soon as Twilight entered, she paused in shock, looking up at a huge painting in the foyer. In her school days, the painting had been of Celestia standing, wings outstretched, with the Sun behind her. The image of Celestia looking benevolently down upon them comforted her every time she entered.

A new painting replaced it. The painting in its place displayed a creature that looked vaguely like Celestia, but flames replaced her soothing colorful mane and tail. She wore a fiery orange set of armor with a Sun emblazoned on the chest piece as she stared down on them with determination on her face.

This ‘Daybreaker’ looked more like a tyrant than a protector. The painting was worn, ripped, and splattered with dried blood, making her more intimidating. Celestia was the last pony Twilight would expect to let things get to her, yet there she was, twisted into something like that. If even she couldn’t hold on to herself in this world, could Twilight?

“Twilight?” Starlight asked.

“Sorry,” Twilight realized she had stopped and moved forward.

“If you’re freaking out, get back to the wagon,” said Limestone. Though her years of solitude made her nicer, empathy still wasn't her strong point.

“I’ll be fine,” Twilight said, unsure if she was lying.

The path was more obvious inside where weather had never disturbed it, myriad hoofprints leading in and out. They were all the same hoofprint, as if a single pony walked this path a lot.

Most of the other ‘art’ on the cracked walls were propaganda posters. One showed Sombra’s glowing eyes above a dark battalion of crystal ponies in frightful armor. It stated ‘Their Souls are Lost’ at the top and ‘We show them Mercy by showing them Death’ at the bottom.

“Was there no way to reverse Sombra’s control?” asked Twilight. That didn’t seem right at all.

“Of course there was,” Crimson rolled her eyes.

“Crimson,” Starlight warned.

“We told the soldiers there was no cure so they wouldn’t hesitate to use lethal force against possessed innocents,” Crimson ignored the warning. “We planned to 'invent' the cure after the war ended to save any that remained.”

“Can I break her now, Empress?” asked Maud, perhaps with a spot of hope in her voice.

“No,” Starlight sighed, eyeing Twilight then looking back to Crimson. “Crimson, if you want to travel with us, I expect you to act as you did before, and okay any release of information with me.”

Starlight didn’t trust Twilight yet if her first instinct was to hide things, and it definitely hurt Twilight's trust for her. Twilight wondered how Starlight might do things were Twilight not there, but this wasn’t the time to be confrontational.

“I see,” Twilight sighed, “Thanks for being honest, Crimson, even if for the wrong reason. Did you know, Maud? Limestone?”

“I did not,” answered Maud. “But it does not bother me. Though regretful, an enemy soldier is an enemy soldier regardless of the reason.”

“I suspected,” Limestone said. “But we were in the south. Our battles weren’t with the Crystal Empire. Still, we killed plenty of soldiers that believed they were doing the right thing because they’d been lied to, so it wasn’t much different.”

“Well at least I bothered one pony,” Crimson said. “But it was my second-favorite of you, so I don’t know how to feel.”

“Starlight?” Twilight asked. “I know a lot of these things are painful in hindsight, but it’s important to know the details and for ponies to know that you’re being transparent.”

“That’s a good point,” Crimson said. “If we’re transparent about things that no longer matter, as if turning over a new leaf, then ponies will believe us more when we lie in other ways.”

“Hm,” Starlight considered the idea.

“Not what I meant,” said Twilight between clenched teeth.

“Hold,” Maud said, stopping the line. “The hoof prints split here.”

In the dim light, the two paths looked equally trod, but Twilight didn’t have Maud’s eyes. One headed straight down the hallway toward the classrooms, while the others went upstairs, likely to the library. It’d be nice if the path took them there.

“The most recent ones go upstairs,” Maud said, peering down as Starlight lit the floor. “There’s damage to the stairs and floor as if they dragged things upstairs from the hallway path.”

Maud’s skill was impressive. Twilight’s Pinkie had mentioned Maud’s skill at finding things, so she supposed that would transfer to tracking.

“The basement where the students would have hidden is down the stairs here,” Starlight said. “Odd. We haven’t come across any bodies or ghouls. Maybe the docile one cleared them out?”

“I feel robbed,” said Crimson. “I haven’t gotten to see Maud kill anything up close.”

“I could kill you up close if that would help,” Maud suggested.

“No time for flirting, killer,” Crimson smiled unsarcastically.

They headed upstairs where Twilight hoped they’d run out of disturbing things to talk about but knew they wouldn’t. At least it led them to where she’d hoped: the library. The inside was well-lit because much of the ceiling had crumbled.

It was obvious somepony did a lot of work rearranging things. Several tables propped up large chalkboards, dragged in from the classrooms. Other tables held lab equipment from the school or complicated mechanical contraptions, a few of which looked similar to equipment to measure brainwaves, like Twilight used on her Pinkie a few times with no success. Still others were piled with books and scribbled parchment.

Maud and Limestone walked about the perimeter to make sure it was safe, but Twilight couldn’t wait to check out the research. Equations filled much of the chalkboards, using bits of decayed stone as chalk. Twilight understood some alchemy equations, but there were other equations and symbols she didn’t recognize at all.

Twilight looked over the many textbooks, finding books on necromancy, dark magic, and other things that weren't allowed here in her timeline. What desperation made them resort to all this? There were also books on cybernetics, magitech, and things she’d never realized existed until recently. A book on energy shields was opened to a page with a diagram of Canterlot’s energy shield.

The only other book open was none of that though. A book of nursery rhymes lay in front of a chair at one table. Even 200 years later, the filly must have missed being a normal foal.

“These equations are for balefire, pink cloud, and some impressively advanced necromancy,” Starlight mused as she looked over the chalkboard. “Alchemy too. They've even managed to solve some equations that we hadn't yet back then. If I had to guess, I’d say somepony is trying to figure out how to reverse the effects that made them a ghoul.”

“There are records of experiments here,” Twilight flipped through some parchment. “Attempts to communicate with ferals… invasive brain surgery on ferals. It doesn’t look like they had much success.”

“I don’t think there’s any way to do what they want,” Starlight sighed. “It’d be like trying to revert a pile of ashes back into a tree.”

“They didn’t stop trying,” chuckled Crimson. “Whoever it is, they get points for persistence. And sweet unmerciful Daybreaker, Kamikaze will love this.”

Twilight glanced over to see that Crimson had found another dirty magazine tucked between books on a toppled shelf. It had the name ‘Wingboner’ and had Kamikaze of all ponies on the front. She had a real left front leg in the image, one more limb than when Twilight met her. Twilight wondered if it was from before Kamikaze joined Midnight. It was too bad that Kamikaze wouldn’t be in the mood to enjoy it.

“Your ministries did a lot of interesting things to fund your research,” commented Twilight.

“Yeah, we really did,” Starlight chuckled awkwardly, and Twilight had to wonder if Starlight was on a cover somewhere too.

“They didn’t make enough lesbian issues of these,” complained Crimson. “Damn horny breeders flooding the market with stallion porn.”

Twilight didn’t care about that, but seeing the image brought something else to mind: Kamikaze’s cybernetics.

“How did you get this advanced?” Twilight asked. “In my timeline, we aren’t even close to the knowledge to make mega-spells, advanced cybernetics, or huge energy reactors.”

“Most of it came from the ruins of Neon City in the Forbidden Jungle, south of the badlands.” Starlight said. “An ancient alicorn civilization.”

“What civilization?” Twilight stared.

“AK Yearling discovered them,” Crimson said. “She was the Minister of Forgotten Knowledge, but pretty gullible. She helped get me my job at the Ministry, in fact.”

“Okay… “ Twilight said. “But why were they able to get inside the ruins in this timeline and not in mine?”

“She wouldn’t have found a way in if not for some of mine and Applejack’s early magitech research,” Starlight said. “Good thing Applejack didn’t get an apple farming mark like the rest of her family; I don’t think I’d have figured it out without her input. But once we found those ruins, knowledge skyrocketed. The ruins had huge ancient databases of information frozen in temporal fields, preserved after thousands of years. And not just magitech advancements; we learned ancient history that was a mystery before, like where the Sun came from.”

“The Sun?” Twilight blinked. That was a mystery she often pondered. Celestia moved the Sun, and other unicorns moved it before her, but somepony had to have created the Sun. The question was, how could life exist before its creation for someone to have created it? “Where did it come from?”

“Here’s a book for you,” Crimson smirked, pulling a book off one of the library shelves and floating it over to Twilight.

Twilight glared at Crimson when she realized it was a foal’s picture book, but all the same, it had the answer she wanted. She opened it and flipped through it, scanning the pages. According to the book, their world once orbited a natural star. After a cataclysm caused it to escape the star’s orbit and sling off its old moon, a powerful alicorn named Faust created their current Sun and Moon through advanced magitech. She programmed them to respond to certain frequencies unicorn horns could generate.

Though it fascinated Twilight, it also made her heart sink. They were teleporting plasma from the Sun to destroy cities, what effect would it have? Could its misuse have caused the current condition of the Sun? If it was, Twilight could think of no way to reverse it.

“Some more advanced books aren’t from this library,” Starlight commented. “Some of these are from my library, from the tower I lived in when I was in Canterlot as Daybreaker’s student.”

“So many books I want to take with me,” sighed Twilight. “But I know we can’t add too much weight to the supplies.”

“I could put them in my book,” commented Crimson.

“What’s that?” Twilight arched an eyebrow.

“With my method,” Crimson pulled a thick book out of her saddle bag. It looked like the most average red book Twilight had ever seen, but somehow that felt like a trap. “I can put anything into a book given the time, even other books, but I doubt we’ll have much time, so pick out the best dozen or two.”

“So, you could carry all our supplies in that book?” Twilight asked.

“I could,” Crimson laughed. “I’m sure the Empress is dying to give me all her supplies so I can put them in a book where only I can access them.”

“You’ve gotten better if you could carry all of it,” commented Starlight. “But you’re right, we’re not doing that. And as much as I’d like books to read, I don’t think I’m ready to let you out of the horn restraint.”

“You can put it back on,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “You can monitor me while it’s off, 200 years of practice doesn’t give me more raw power than you.”

“Fair enough,” said Starlight.

“I appreciate it, Crimson,” Twilight smiled.

“Even sociopaths have moments of weakness,” chuckled Crimson.

Twilight hoped Crimson wanted to help, but Crimson could also want to use the books as a bargaining chip later. Either way, it’d be a good show of faith to trust her.

“With respect, Empress,” Limestone spoke as Starlight was still looking over the chalk boards with interest. “This is not a research trip. We should head back outside now that we’ve confirmed the ghoul is docile.”

“Of course,” Starlight nodded, turning to Twilight. “Take a few minutes, very few, to grab books.” She sighed. “With any luck, we can retrieve the others later.”

Twilight nodded, heading to the shelves. She didn’t feel right taking the books that were in use and didn’t want to learn about dark magic and balefire, anyway. Instead, she chose a book on recent history and a more advanced one on the Sun, hoping to figure out why it looked broken. She found a ten-volume set that covered basic to advanced magitech and a book on channeling magic with a broken horn.

It’d take Crimson longer than a few minutes to put all that inside her own book, so they carried the books out with them so Crimson could do it in the wagon.

‘Pinkie contacts you with an update!’ Pinkie’s voice came over the PCB as Twilight packed the books into her saddle bag. ‘Yes.’

Twilight jumped. She didn’t know how one could think loudly, but apparently Pinkie could.

‘What update?’ Starlight asked.

‘The tiny ghoul has arrived,’ Pinkie informed. ‘She is not attacking but is suspiciously cute for a corpse. Pinkie rates her threat level 7.5 out of 10. Yes. Also, our alchemist may be having a meltdown.’

‘On our way,’ Starlight said, then added aloud. “Thank Break Pinkie didn’t shoot her.”

The group exited at a run.

16. My Dead Mommy Loves Me

Long ago, Tuesday, 1/14/2127
POV: Dinky Doo
Daybreaker's School for Gifted Unicorns

Dinky looked over the equations she’d scribbled on the board using the last bit of chalk. She’d have to use rocks or rubble after running out. She held the chalk with her magic, glowing dark gray as it had since she died.

The other ghouls’ magic also became gray, though they rarely used it. When they did, they picked up objects at random and moved them around. It was a constant annoyance because Dinky’s equipment was often not where she left it.

She turned and pulled the mechanical harness around Spark Light’s head. Spark Light was one of two dozen classmates that turned, but none spoke. All the ghouls came to the same classroom every day now that she blocked off the others. Initially that gave Dinky hope, but so far that was as much intelligence as they had shown.

She usually avoided working with Spark Light, but this was a test she wanted to run on all the ghouls to compare results. Dinky had a crush on him when they were alive, which made it awkward to experiment on his animate corpse. She also wasn’t proud of what she’d done with him when her loneliness reached critical levels.

Dinky connected the cable to his helmet from the computer screen and fired it up, using a Glimmer cell she’d scavenged from a neighboring warehouse as a power source. It provided a 3D image of the ghoul’s head, including neural activity.

The same as the others, more or less, but it still made no sense. She had expected brains devoid of activity or only showing instinctive lower brain functions, but they looked fully conscious. It was subdued enough that a standard spell or helmet scanner wouldn’t have detected it, so Dinky only found out after scavenging better equipment, but it was clearly there.

But there was one thing different. Dinky had studied brain activity and what parts lit up for certain emotions, and she saw a peculiar one lurking in this brain. Love?

She walked across the room to pull out the book with examples in it to make sure she was right. But before she found the page, she stopped, looking back at the brain monitor. Once she left his line-of-sight, the emotion faded. She kept her eye on the monitor and slowly moved back into Spark’s field of vision.

And there it was again. He was reacting to seeing her. That meant he was conscious enough to register who she was, and that he liked her. But then why didn’t he respond to attempts to communicate?

A horrible thought occurred to her. Were they still conscious but unable to control their actions? She shook her head; that was too terrible to consider.

Either way, the kindest thing would be to put them out of their misery, yet she couldn’t. It wasn’t even a sense of decency that prevented it. The trotting dead weren’t much company, but they were company all the same.

Besides, she wouldn’t stop. If any chance existed for Dinky to bring her friends and Mommy back from the void of their undeath, she had to pursue it. If it was just her, she would have simply tried to end herself, but she had to save them.

Dinky sighed as she pried the brain-scanning hood off and placed a military helmet on his head instead. That was something she’d begun recently: putting combat helmets on all the ghouls’ heads and turned the radios up so she could hear where they went. It allowed her to keep track of their movements since she wanted to be aware if one of them stopped following their normal routine. Any deviation could be important to her studies.

The magic bell sounded signifying the day’s end, and Spark Light stood. Without a word, the others followed. They went toward their dorms as they did every day where they’d stand doing nothing until time to return to class and do nothing.

Dinky flicked the screen off and put on her own helmet. The radio played the same propaganda that never stopped after the war, but it beat the unbearable silence of this city. She followed her friends back outside, the Equestrian national anthem playing on their radios.

She walked with the group as far as the courtyard, but from there, she’d go toward the front of the school instead of to the dorms with them. Mommy waited out front every day for Dinky to finish class.

As she walked through the courtyard, she thought of everything she’d studied so far, but the experiments hit a dead end long ago. She had tons of data, but it still led nowhere.

“Run!”

The voice sounded distant, but it brought Dinky to a stop. She paused and looked around the courtyard.

“I’m in the sky!” the voice called out. “If you still have a mind, run!”

Dinky looked up and watched as a group of a half-dozen pegasi ghouls in Enclave armor dive-bombed towards her classmates. The students were both mindless and without military instincts, so they continued to walk as the aggressors approached.

There was no time to escape the courtyard before they were on them, so Dinky dove beneath a toppled statue of Celestia. She crawled into a crevice of battered stone where she barely fit, and could only watch as the pegasi tore into her friends in a murderous rage. Well, not murder, but they sure as Tartarus rendered them inanimate.

But why? Whenever ghoul soldiers from opposing sides met, they would fight, but Dinky had never seen either side attack civilians, much less foals.

It was hard to think as her friends were ripped apart, despair swelling inside her, but she concentrated. Somepony had called to her to run, which meant somepony else here had a mind intact. As she looked at the soldiers, it became obvious who.

It was a glowing pegasus with spots of flame orange mane on one side of her head, the other side covered in a cybernetic metal plate, both eyes replaced with magitech replacements. She also had metal wings, making her look less like a plucked chicken than the average pegaghoul.

Her whole body glowed red, like her bones irradiated the light from within her. Dinky recognized the glowing condition as what happened to certain ghouls that had been near the epicenters. She'd gotten a close look at a few, but could never coax one into the school for studying as they weren't as easy to tug around on a leash.

The ghoul called out apologies even as her body ravaged the foals, but her snarling muzzle wasn’t moving in sync with her words. Instead, her words came from the speaker in her head. Dinky learned about positronic brains in school, so assumed it allowed her the ability to speak but not to control her movements. Dinky couldn’t imagine that hell; trapped watching herself and not even allowed the option of suicide.

Dinky felt sick, knowing this implied her previous fear was true. Still, if a positronic brain allowed communication despite that… Dinky would need books on magitech and cybernetics. If she figured it out, she could communicate with Mommy’s mind even if not her body.

Dinky ducked back beneath the statue as the pegasus headed towards her hiding place. Once she got a better look, she saw that the pegasus had a high-ranking general’s uniform, the name ‘Spitfire’ emblazoned on the patch.

“Take off the helmet!” Spitfire called to her even as her ghoulish body reached a hoof into Dinky’s hiding place, touching her but unable to pull her out.

“What? Why?” Dinky asked, pressing back into the crevice further.

“I think my body registers you as a soldier because of the combat helmet playing the anthem!” Spitfire called back.

Dinky tugged it off her head, tossing it out from the hole where she hid. Spitfire smashed the helm beneath her hooves until it shattered, the radio broadcast disappearing into static before going silent.

Afterward, the body turned, taking flight again with the rest of her undead flock. Spitfire called back one more apology before she was gone.

As soon as they seemed like they weren’t turning back, Dinky squirmed out from beneath the statue and galloped to the bodies of her fallen friends. She stared down at their mangled corpses, leaning next to Spark Light and staring at his shattered head. She felt more alone than ever.

Worse, this was her fault for putting the combat helmets on them. Dinky should have recognized the peril. She’d have to be more careful dressing up ghouls, not that she had more to dress up now aside from Mommy.

Mommy! She galloped toward the front of the school, leaping over her fallen friends, and didn’t stop until she got to the front.

Relief washed over her as she found Mommy there, waiting for her as she always did and not yet seen by the pegasi. She rushed to her, removing the helmet she’d put on her and throwing it across the street. Dinky then turned and hugged Mommy’s cold body close to her.

“Mommy!” Dinky said. “I was so worried.”

Mommy didn’t respond, though somehow Dinky thought she sensed relief, as if Mommy heard the commotion and worried. She stared forward as always, waiting for Dinky to climb into the wagon, at which point she would trot home. Dinky was never sure if she did it on purpose or if it was just the last thing Mommy was thinking about when she died.

Every day, she’d cart Dinky to the schoolhouse, every day Dinky promised her she’d find something useful in her studies to help her. Every afternoon she’d carry her back home. Between those times, Mommy would trot her rounds through Canterlot, but she was always on time to pick up Dinky.

Dinky didn’t like the thought of experimenting on Mommy but realized she should do the brain scan on her. Or maybe she didn’t need to. Even though she never spoke, Dinky already knew Mommy was aware, and that she loved her.

As they headed off towards home, Dinky stared at the floor of the wagon. Usually she’d tell Mommy what she did that day, even if it was more of the same, but now she was too ashamed to.

She’d read some books back at their home, but there would be no research tomorrow as she’d want to give her schoolmates proper burials before continuing. Afterward she could herd other ghouls in one at a time to experiment on, not that it would be the same. They’d left a hole in what remained of her soul. She’d start using the library, since the classroom would just make her feel guiltier.

They arrived home, or at least to the closest thing she had to home. It was a tower where refugees huddled together on the final day, and a few ferals huddled in corners there even now. Fortunately for Dinky, the tower had a nice library in it, perhaps with better books on magitech to take back to school.

Dinky hopped off the wagon, walking around to give Mommy a kiss on the cheek. Mommy always waited for Dinky to give her a kiss before leaving again. It was something that gave her hope of a resolution, and maybe now she had a little more. As lost as her soul might be, Mommy still loved her.

Recently, Wednesday, 10/26/2287

Dinky shoveled the last bit of dirt onto the shallow grave of her most recent ‘patient’. Trotting out of the Magic Academy’s courtyard, she headed to her lab in the library. She was out of ferals and would go find more tomorrow.

Even after dozens of botched attempts to reach a ghoul’s mind with cybernetics or magitech, she felt horrible every time. Dinky wondered who this poor mare was that gave her unlife for a mad attempt to communicate. It had taken Dinky a long time to become desperate enough for such attempts, but she was far past it now. Dinky tried to tell herself that she at least put these ghouls out of their misery.

She would talk to every patient, knowing most could hear her even if they couldn’t respond, and tried to make the experiment chances sound better than they were so the patients would feel hope. A few times she had brain scans attached as she talked to them to verify that they felt emotion in response to what she said, and now more than ever she was convinced they were fully aware.

Even after centuries of her own awareness, Dinky still feared becoming feral. If she lost her mind, all hope for saving or at least speaking to Mommy would vanish.

Dinky had an hour before Mommy came for her. Dinky had fewer classes on Wednesdays, so Mommy came earlier that day. The ability to recognize week days was another thing that gave Dinky hope that Mommy was still somewhat in control of her body, or at least allowed her to rationalize it.

She looked over the countless piles of parchment, books, and mad equations on the chalkboards in the library, and the book on energy shields she had been studying to get her mind off her other studying. For once, she ignored them all. Instead, she went to the section of the library for the youngest foals, finding her favorite book of nursery rhymes, the same one she’d been reading when the raid sirens went off 210 years before.

The filly corpse sat down at the table and opened the book, but she didn’t get far before she spaced out. It wasn’t the page she spaced out on, but on her reflection in a nearby glass flask.

Dinky missed being a foal, but staring at her reflection reminded her of what she really was: an old and wasted mind inhabiting the decayed body of a long-dead filly. She longed for her unlife to end, but couldn’t when there was any hope of giving Mommy a normal existence.

When she recovered from her catatonia, it was time to go. She left the book where it lay, hurrying down the stairs and to the front entrance. Dinky reached the door about five minutes late but wasn’t worried. Mommy had waited far longer for her when she fazed out, which happened more often every decade.

But Mommy wasn’t there.

Dinky looked at her watch, then to the road. She was late. Mommy was never late. She was usually fifteen minutes early at latest.

She galloped across the courtyard towards their tower home. Fifteen minutes later, she came upon their tower, but there was no cart there either.

Panicking, Dinky dug through the parchments. Mommy gave her a map of her route so very long ago, but buck if she knew where it was now. She screeched in frustration when she didn’t find it, a sound that would have been terrifying were a living creature nearby to hear it.

Dinky gave up after half an hour, and ran back outside. She’d have to follow the wagon tracks instead and hope she could make out the route from there. She galloped towards the academy, her bones creaking as if near breaking from the abuse, but she wasn’t stopping.

Several hundred hooves from the academy, she saw a wagon parked out front and raced towards it.

As she drew closer, she realized that the cart had nopony hitched to it, but there were several ponies standing in the front of the wagon. Living ponies in new-looking uniforms. It didn’t even register to Dinky that one of them was pointing a large pink gun at her until she was almost there. She skidded to a halt, collapsing onto the ground.

“Wait!” Dinky called out. “I’m not mindless!”

The pink pony lowered her gun and tilted her head to one side. Another pony had been peeking over the edge of the wagon with a gun in her muzzle but lowered it too. That one looked as if she’d been severely burned, mostly furless, but her bright eye told Dinky that she wasn’t a ghoul.

One of the other two, a unicorn mare with a yellow coat and gray-white mane, had picked up a pistol from the wagon, but when Dinky spoke she looked like she felt bad for getting a gun and put it into her saddle bag. Instead, she hopped out of the wagon and walked to Dinky with a grim expression.

Dinky stared at the mare as she approached. She was real; a real living pony! There were still living ponies!

“Who are you?” asked Dinky. “Are you here to rebuild?”

“I’m Mercury Shine,” the pony said, tears in her eyes. “Um, no, we’re not here for that. We’re on our way out, actually.”

Dinky looked at the wagon. “That wagon looks like Mommy’s. Where is she?”

“I’m so sorry,” Mercury’s tears quickly escalated to sobbing. “I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

Dinky didn’t need to ask what that meant. She looked downward, spacing out again, and stumbled back to the ground. She lay on her side, too numb to express her rage and despair, more like a real corpse than she ever had been.

“Why?” Dinky asked.

“The adoracute corpse may not be aware,” said the pink pony. “Feral ghouls attack living things on sight. The alchemist was forced to defend herself, yes.” That one needed to work on her bedside manner, but at least she said it like it was.

Mercury leaned down and pulled Dinky into a hug. Despite her anger, Dinky pulled closer, unable to resist the warmth of a living pony against her own cold flesh. Mercury continued to cry as she pulled the pistol back out of her saddle bag. Dinky stared as Mercury put the gun up to Dinky’s muzzle for her to take, then pulled the barrel to point at her own head.

“Stop her!” the burned pony called out.

“Pinkie has informed the Empress of the adorable corpse and our alchemist’s meltdown,” the pink one added.

A flame colored pegasus leaped out of the cart, flapping her wings to move faster but looking as if she barely knew how to use them. She pulled Mercury away and snatched the gun out of Dinky’s muzzle with a wing.

“It’s what I deserve!” Mercury said, trying to pull the gun back away from Solar.

“Stop it!” Dinky screamed, grabbing the gun away with her magic and tossing it away from them. “I’m not killing anypony! Where’s Mommy?”

“In the cart,” Mercury stammered. She tried to follow her to the cart, but the flame-colored pegasus held her in a hug instead.

Dinky ran around to the back of the cart, hopping inside. She froze for a moment when she saw the burned pony from a full angle, realizing that she didn’t have limbs. It took a moment to recover from that, then from the realization that there was an unwrapped earth pony soldier’s corpse next to the pink one. Finally, she looked around the rest of the wagon.

Most of the things that had been in the cart had been replaced with their own supplies, but it was easy to pick out the limp form of a mare wrapped in a tarp and secured to the floor, right next to a smaller wrapped body. Dinky started to unwrap the larger, but stopped when she realized that the head was crushed or missing. She folded the tarp back onto it, wanting to remember Mommy’s loving expression as it had been.

She sat down again, staring at the floor of the wagon she had rode in so many times, unable to come up with any response for what she felt. A moment later, Mercury drew close again, giving her another hug.

“I guess you did what I couldn’t,” Dinky sighed. “You put her soul to rest.”

“You forgive me?” Mercury stammered.

“I didn’t say that,” Dinky glared at Mercury, who wilted, ears flattening and stepping back.

“I missed Mercury’s melt down, didn’t I,” another pony’s voice said as if disappointed.

“You will be missing your head if you do not act respectfully,” the most dead-pan voice Dinky had ever heard added.

Dinky looked up as more ponies approached the wagon. It took little time to note that many of these ponies looked or sounded familiar. Not like she knew them, but like she’d seen them in photos or heard them over the propaganda broadcast before she gave up on listening to the radio.

A round of explanations later, she was only more confused.

“So,” Dinky tried to get it straight in her head. “Daybreaker’s protégé, the Minister of News, a princess from another timeline, soldiers, stable residents… thanks for not letting me in by the way… and the pony responsible for the plan to murder all my friends in Canterlot. Can I have that gun back?”

“If I could point a gun at myself, I’d do it myself, Squirt,” grumbled Kamikaze.

“Kamikaze did things against her will,” Starlight said. “Midnight Sparkle tampered with the programming in her positronic brain.”

“Don’t,” Kamikaze sighed. “I deserve the hate… though I forgot I told anyone about the errors I got trying to attack Midnight.”

Dinky wondered if Kamikaze forgot, or if Starlight made a clever lie that turned out to be true. It would have been easy for Starlight to assume that Dinky understood positronic brains if she saw her research.

But it didn’t matter, because she couldn’t forgive Kamikaze. Dinky knew how hard it was to tamper with a magitech brain, so Kamikaze had to be stupid enough to allow access.

“Dinky,” Limestone said, leaning down and putting a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder. “You don’t have to come, but we can take you somewhere safer, maybe give your mother a proper burial there.”

“We should cremate her,” Dinky sighed. “I don’t want to risk her soul being trapped in her body.” Dinky had always buried ferals, but somehow Mommy dying brought to mind many more horrifying scenarios. She looked back at Limestone. “You knew her?”

“I did,” Limestone suddenly had trouble making eye contact. “I’m sorry I never followed to see where she went to find you before. I was guarding the anomaly we told you about.”

“Yeah, for your family. That I understand,” Dinky knew she’d have done the same.

“I can use my magic to cremate her,” Starlight added, then turned to Twilight, who apparently was totally not Midnight, speaking just as gently to her as Limestone had to Dinky. “Twilight? Should we bury Spike in Canterlot? Or take him to Holder to bury there?”

“I should take Spike with me when I return to my timeline,” said Twilight. Dinky assumed that was the smaller wrapped body, and sighed knowing how she felt.

“Twilight, I don’t think…” Starlight started, but paused. “Never mind. We’ll do as you wish.” She turned to Dinky and asked, “Was there anything at school you needed to get now? If possible we’ll send someone to get the rest of it later.”.

“No,” Dinky shook her head. Taking any part of her experiment would only be a raw reminder of her failure. “I have a few things at home, I’ll go in on my own and get them.”

“What things does Living Dead Filly keep at home?” Crimson asked.

“Keepsakes, a few favorite books, and some Horngasm magazines,” Dinky said, ignoring the unclever nickname.

“I got porn too,” Solar said. “We can trade!” It sounded insensitive, but it was likely meant to cheer her up.

“Don’t see why not,” shrugged Dinky. “Be nice to have something new if I’m ever in the mood to look again.”

“We can do more than trade if you like!” Solar said.

That definitely passed the threshold of what Dinky considered appropriate ways to cheer someone up. Dinky stared at her for a moment, but Solar tilted her head as if not understanding the reaction. Though, despite the unwanted comment, Dinky at least appreciated Solar's lack of fear towards her.

“Solar,” Twilight sighed. “Please contain yourself.”

“What?” Solar asked. “I thought you were the Princess of Friendship.”

“Yes, friendship,” Twilight said. “Not friendship with benefits. Besides, she’s a… well I mean…”

“Still a foal?” Dinky rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I’m four times older than the oldest breather here, but I figure I’ll get that annoying misunderstanding a lot.”

“I’m older,” Crimson added.”Slightly.”

“Yeah I’ve studied that thing in your neck,” growled Dinky. “But switching bodies doesn’t count, not to mention living in a comfy stable that wouldn’t let me in.”

“I apologize, Dinky,” Twilight sighed. “Um, and I have something for you.”

“For me?” Dinky tilted her head.

Twilight retrieved a photo from her saddlebags and held it up for Dinky to take with her magic. It was a photo of Dinky with an award from Daybreaker’s school, with her proud Mommy standing beside her. Dinky sighed, hugging the photo close.

“Thank you,” Dinky said quietly. She wasn’t sure where they found it, she didn't even remember having it taken after so long, but was grateful.

“Dinky,” Starlight said, prying gently back into the conversation. “Do you know the safest route out of the city?”

“I know the same route you probably know,” Dinky said. “It’s not like there are many, and no route is safe for you if ferals attack breathers.”

Dinky took one more look at the school and sighed. This was it. It was time to go. She supposed she could put off suicide long enough to see if other cities fared better.

17. Departure

Wednesday, 10/26/2287
POV: Dinky Doo
Cloudsdale

Dinky knew it wasn’t Mercury’s fault, but didn’t think she’d forgive her. She figured Mercury knew that, since she looked at Dinky like she was sick with herself. Thankfully she looked at Dinky less once they got to Cloudsdale since there was more to distract her.

Cloudsdale wasn’t much of a ruin, just collapsed rubble. Most of it tumbled to the mountain’s base, but some was strewn down the path from Canterlot. Sometimes the path was blocked, but together Starlight and Dinky could lift the wagon over the rough spots.

Solar couldn’t pull the wagon like a pegasus chariot because she could barely fly; the most she learned in the stable was awkward hovering, and apparently pulling a heavy wagon in flight took a certain amount of prowess if they didn’t want to dump everything out. Worse, the outside heat was clearly much more than she was used to, having lived her entire life in an air-conditioned bunker. Dinky envied her for being that sheltered.

The alicorn tried as well, but couldn't either thanks to vertigo from her recent horn injury. They were grounded for the time.

The rubble wasn’t the worst of it though because not all the cloud dissipated when hit by the mega-spell. The spells had an odd effect on cloud structures, condensing globs into glowing red and green swirled goo on the ground. Even after so long, the bits were too radioactive for a breather to touch with bare skin.

Dinky spent so long wanting to find living ponies, but now that she had, she felt self-conscious around them. Not only that, but now that she knew ferals attacked breathers, she feared becoming one even more. So she sat with Limestone, quiet as she was. She was the one that understood Dinky’s plight the most, and since she was Mommy’s friend, she was the closest thing to family Dinky had.

“Can we listen to Best Friend Cozy now?” Crimson asked seemingly at random.

“Sorry, Crimson,” said Starlight. “We already voted on New Equestria Radio.”

“Radio?” asked Dinky, glancing back.

“On the radio,” answered Limestone before pausing. “Sorry, I guess you can’t hear it since it’s over the PCB.”

Limestone clicked on the radio on her pipbuck. She turned it barely loud enough for Dinky to hear, and it stunned Dinky that it wasn’t a propaganda broadcast. Dinky hadn’t listened to a radio in decades, not imagining there would be something new.

On the broadcast, a techno beat ended and the DJ spoke.

“Got lots of stuff goin’ down in Post Apocalyptia these days,” said the stallion’s voice. “Here’s some of the latest news:”

“According to reports from the ever so hoity toity Tenwhinny Tower, a group of displaced ghouls have been trying to gain entrance, hoping that the new leader, Jacob Atticus, is less of a moron than the former head Allimare Tenwhinny. Turns out he’s worse, opening fire on docile ghouls as if they were ferals. The poor ghouls don’t have a lot of options since the only other settlement nearby is Holder. They’re decent folks, on a good day at least, but I know I couldn’t stomach living next to an unexploded megaspell atop an ancient megaspell silo. That’s just askin’ for trouble!”

“Holder,” Limestone repeated. “That’s home; I’m sure of it. And it sounds like it’s still inhabited.”

“Pinkie bet a pony 100 bits it would not explode,” Pinkie said. “Pinkie will make their descendants pay with interest! Yes… Pinkie’s knee is pinchy!”

Dinky did not understand why Pinkie blurted out that last bit, but the others took it seriously. The Pies, Starlight, and Twilight all scanned the area worriedly.

“Incoming,” Maud said. “I count eight. One glowing.”

Maud spoke with such calmness that it took a few seconds to register that she was describing an attack. She pointed to the sky at a flock of pegasus in the distance, one that was quickly closing their distance.

Horse apples! Dinky had forgotten about the pegasi because she hadn’t dealt with them for so long. Shooing them off wouldn’t be as easy as taking off military gear if they’d always attack breathers.

“Ferals can’t use guns, so they won't attack until they're close,” Limestone kept her head and looked around. She was right; even the ones that still carried them never used them. “There.”

Limestone pointed to a cave along the cliff wall to one side. They left the wagon where it was with the assumption the ghouls wouldn’t mess with it and headed towards that, Starlight carrying Kamikaze with her magic. The cave was barely deep enough for them all to fit, but the mouth was narrow enough that the ghouls would have to attack single file.

“You’re right, I can take some out before they get close,” Limestone said, standing outside the cave and raising a gauss rifle, speaking as if the gun just gave the suggestion. “Damn. I’m used to having plenty of time to target.”

“Pinkie doesn’t take the time to target,” Pinkie said. “She fires enough bullets that one of them will hit.”

“Hold off on that,” Limestone said. “Pinkie Die is low on ammo.”

Limestone fired several shots and managed to down one as the others charged fearlessly onward. From what Dinky saw, most of them continued to fly straight on despite the incoming fire, but the glowing one flew evasive maneuvers to avoid the shots. Dinky knew that one well even if they’d only spoken once.

“What the buck?” Limestone said when the one started evasive maneuvers.

“I think that’s… I forgot her name,” Dinky called out. “But she has metal wings and a positronic brain. Her cybernetics are probably reacting to danger automagically.”

“Is she feral?” Limestone asked. “If not, we can reason with her.”

“She’s feral,” said Dinky. “But conscious. She can communicate through her cranial speaker but still can’t control what she’s doing.”

“My Celestia, that’s terrible,” Twilight sounded hollow. “But if she’s conscious, doesn’t that make her innocent? We can’t just kill her…”

“They’re all innocent,” Starlight said. “But if Dinky didn’t figure out how to undo it in 200 years, we won’t in the next five minutes.” She looked at Kamikaze. “Kamikaze, does another pony with metal wings sound familiar?”

“Yeah it does,” groaned Kamikaze. “My second-in-command, Spitfire. We’re damn lucky if she can’t use guns anymore. She got very... Pinkie Pie during firefights.”

“Is there no chance you can save her?” Mercury asked Dinky, jerking as Limestone took several more shots to down a second one.

“No chance,” said Dinky, but even if she could, she wouldn’t. The pegasus deserved release from her misery, but nothing more. She was still an invader.

“If you manage not to damage her wings too much, we could put them on Kamikaze,” Solar suggested. “Though most cybernetics are created specifically for the user’s brain. You know how to get around that?”

“I have theories,” Dinky said. “Don’t bet on me fixing one of the worst war criminals in history though.”

Kamikaze perked her ears hopefully at Solar’s statement, but then her whole form twitched as if Dinky's verbal jab was physically painful. Dinky hoped it was, but gave her credit for not denying it at least.

“Closing in,” Limestone backed into the cave. “Spitfire is behind the others, I suspect she can resist enough to delay herself. Me and Maud will take out the others close up to save on ammo, then Pinkie can briefly fire on Spitfire’s torso and legs. Try to keep from damaging the metal in case we can use it. I’m going to tackle her, at which point Starlight needs to put a shield over the two of us that will resist an extreme blast of radiation from the inside.”

Spitfire continued to linger near the back of the ferals. Maybe she’d been practicing for the last century. Given enough centuries, she may have gotten control of herself, but Dinky doubted she wanted to wait that long.

It felt better than it should to watch Maud and Limestone crack the heads of the ferals that galloped into the cave ahead of Spitfire. It was late justice for Dinky’s friends.

Both earth ponies hit hard, but despite the disadvantage of being alive, Maud’s melee skills left Limestone’s in the dust. Not having room in the cave to swing her hammer, Maud fought with her hooves, shattering the head of the first ghoul that came through as she spun head over hoof and laid a kick atop its cranium. Had Dinky found the ghoul afterward, she’d have thought someone shot it in the head.

Spitfire resisted for a moment outside, but after seeing how easily the other ghouls were put down, she charged in as if hoping to be put to rest, excitedly announcing “I’m coming in!” to prepare them. In response, Maud and Limestone stepped back and Pinkie opened up with her minigun. She hit Spitfire square in the chest, sending bone and flesh flying, then swept beneath her, taking out all four of her legs and sending her face-first into the ground.

The feral flapped her metal wings as they took her legs off, but Limestone tackled her, pinning her down onto the ground.

Starlight put a shield over the two, and just as expected, Spitfire's glow intensified, the shield shimmering as it was battered from within by a radiation blast. Spitfire's severed limbs slowly grew back as they watched, her own blast of radiation empowering her, but she was still out of commission for the moment. They gave Spitfire a few moments to waste all her charge on irradiating the inside of Starlight's shield before Limestone motioned for her to drop it.

It took Dinky a moment to realize why they didn’t just destroy Spitfire’s head. Rather than just kill her, Maud pinned her head down with one hoof. Starlight came forward, casting an x-ray spell that showed the cybernetic components inside. Her horn charged up, apparently intending to put her down while making sure the components they might need stayed intact.

“Wait,” Spitfire spoke through her radio, but Starlight didn’t pause, powering up her horn.

“Wait,” Twilight repeated and put a hoof in front of Starlight. “Let her have some final words at least, please.”

“Really?” Starlight arched an eyebrow, but paused. “She’s regenerating as we speak.”

“Take off the head,” Dinky said. “A glowing one shouldn’t die if the head is removed fully intact.” She hoped they didn’t ask how she knew.

The earth ponies paused, holding Spitfire's wings down as her body still tried to get up. When Dinky made the suggestion, Maud wrenched Spitfire’s head from her body, having to strain even with her strength to twist it off, yanking it free with a bit of spine still attached.

Spitfire grimaced, but her head still looked aware when separated. Her body convulsed before collapsing and growing still, the glow slowly dying as it did. Even as a head, they could see her neck filling out as if her whole body might have regenerated given the time.

“Is that Kamikaze? You look like horse apples,” Spitfire’s speakers said as Maud held her head up.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Kamikaze said as Maud casually faced her in that direction, but turned to not look Spitfire in her undead face.

“At least you’re… symmetrical,” Spitfire chuckled over her radio as her muzzle made snarling motions without sound. “How many things have you jumped into since I saw you?”

“Just one, I think,” Kamikaze laughed nervously.

“Still that makes what… eight?” Spitfire’s ‘voice’ slowly gained static. “Your friends have pipbucks… plug one into my head and I’ll transfer the encryption key for my wings.”

“Whoa, thanks,” Kamikaze said. “But sorry we had to do this.”

“I’m not,” Spitfire said. “I’d have offed myself ages ago if I’d been able to.” She shifted one cybernetic eye to Dinky. “Pretty sure I remember you. I’m really sorry. I never forgave myself for that... never forgave myself for being a part of this... never forgave myself for a lot of things.”

“I forgive you then,” Dinky lied, but she couldn’t bring herself to say otherwise to a re-dying head.

"Thanks," Spitfire said, followed by a long pause as if that only increased her guilt. "I guess you'll have to atone for the both of us, Kami."

"I will," promised Kamikaze. For a moment, she made full eye contact with Spitfire, nodding seriously.

Solar came forward, plugging her pipbuck into Spitfire’s head slot. Dinky saw authorization text reflecting on Spitfire’s eyes as she gave access.

“Got it,” Solar said a few moments later. She tried to subdue her excitement given the situation, but it was still apparent in her voice.

“Finish it…” Spitfire said, then went silent.

Starlight seemed awkward about doing it after the poignant conversation, but stepped forward again. A thin beam shot from her horn, drilling Spitfire through the forehead, hitting a precision blow. Her eyes ceased darting about and the glow died from her head as well as she ceased with a slight smile on her face.

“I gotta admit,” said Solar, sounding self-conscious. “I’m not sure how to use this encryption key yet. It’ll take a while to figure out since I never dealt with this type of cybernetics first-hoof.”

“I have magitech books I got from the library, if those help,” offered Twilight.

“I know how,” said Dinky. She spoke between clenched teeth. “I’ll go over it with you on the way.”

Had she had that key and Spitfire’s magitech components before, she might have been able to save at least part of Mommy. Or maybe that was wishful thinking; she’d become good at that.

Dinky didn’t want to help Kamikaze but couldn’t bring herself to refuse anymore. After all, the best way to honor Mommy was to use the knowledge gained to help somepony like Mommy would have. She had always been so forgiving; even as Cloudsdale bore down on the city, she'd never held it against them.

“Thanks for helping,” Kamikaze said. “I wouldn’t help me in your place.”

“Glad you understand that,” Dinky said. “But I’m only helping you because Mommy would. And you better keep that promise you made to your friend, to make up for what you both did.”

Dinky turned to the mouth of the cave, stepping over the finished ghouls and heading back out to the wagon, ignoring any response from Kamikaze.

POV: Mercury Shine

Even though she knew it was merciful, it was never easy for Mercury to watch them kill ferals. The soldiers did it with such coldness, but after her own experience with Muffins, Mercury couldn’t stop thinking about the families of these ponies, about the lives they once had.

Watching Spitfire’s last conversation was heart-wrenching. To imagine living 200 years, watching your body doing such things and wanting nothing more than to die. It made her sick to think about it. Almost as sick as it made her when Solar and Dinky started poking at Spitfire’s head like it was just another technological toy. Starlight preserved it magically, but they’d have to wait until they had proper equipment to dig the components out intact.

She distracted herself with de facto duty as the team nurse just to try to get it out of her mind. Solar had stomach issues, most likely from the stressful desertlike conditions rather than a bad ration, and Kamikaze was a bit bruised from the bumpy wagon ride. She bruised more easily with her fur padding mostly burned off. Sometimes she quietly asked Mercury to scratch her face, but only when the others weren’t looking as if it embarrassed her to have another pony do it.

Still, the whole thing made Mercury curious, so she had to ask, “How did you two get the positronic brains?”

“I was there when Eris wrecked the Grand Galloping Gala,” Kamikaze said. “That was when Eris became Eris, actually. Anyway, she invaded Spitfire’s mind, but unlike most others mind-bucked that night, Spitfire survived long enough and was important enough to fix. Celestia herself only avoided damage because I leaped in front of her; that's how my head got messed up too.”

“So, about Eris,” Twilight asked as if dreading the answer. “I saw her in one of the stained-glass windows and she was familiar. Was her original name Fluttershy?”

“Yes,” said Starlight. “She was the Minister of Psionics until she cracked. We based the SHIE AI on her... um...”

“Research,” Crimson finished for her, being a good propaganda mare now it seemed.

“What made her crack?” asked Twilight, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Being a ministry mare is stressful,” Starlight said evasively. “We should get going now.”

Crimson started to speak but chuckled instead as Starlight glared at her. “Yeah, it is stressful. Let’s blame my mental condition on that too.”

“Seriously, we’re burning daylight,” Starlight said sternly. “If everypony’s done taking a leak or whatever, I want to put as much distance between us and this hellhole as we can before nightfall.”

Thankfully there wasn’t a lot of Cloudsdale left to trek through. According to the Pies, they’d passed caves on their way into the city that might work for a campsite, and Twilight confirmed that she and Kamikaze stopped there on their way in. Afterward, they’d be heading into the Ashlands, where there wasn’t even a ruin for miles.

Mercury hoped there were still things to look at out there, like propaganda posters, which fascinated Mercury since it’d been Crimson’s job during the war. They saw a few intact propaganda posters in Cloudsdale, and it was interesting to see how each demonized the other.

Another interesting difference was how they perceived other mutual enemies, particularly crystal ponies. Canterlot depicted them as unfortunates needing to be put out of their misery, while Cloudsdale depicted them as simply evil.

There was a little good news though, in that Maud found tracks that were likely from Tranquil, meaning she got this far without the pegaghouls or other monsters spotting her. Maud also noticed a spot where it looked like she had hidden under an overhang for a while, so perhaps she’d seen the pegasi at a distance and avoided detection. Limestone said she'd given Tranquil a good many radaway potions, so she should have been fine getting out.

Once there wasn’t as much cloud sludge around, the path was easier for Maud to follow. Tranquil made it to the base of the mountain, at least, as her trail led right into the same caves they were planning on stopping at. Another set led out of the cave, so she’d already left.

As much as Mercury wanted to continue after Tranquil, they were exhausted. They didn’t dare head into the Ashlands without rest. Once they did, they’d have to keep moving to get through the dust-storm as quickly as possible. They’d have to take shifts pulling the wagon, and the ones in said wagon wouldn’t get any good rest with it bumping around.

Inside, the cave was full of stalactites and stalagmites, which Mercury had previously only seen in books. Twilight said it had been a makeshift hospital during the Breaking, that Kamikaze had taken her here when she passed out shortly after their first meeting. Scavengers had apparently cleaned it out since then. It was rough, with few flat surfaces to sprawl on, but it had a single entrance to defend, and it didn’t seem like anything lived or unlived there.

“She was here,” Maud said as they entered the cave, pointing her hoof around. “She slept there next to the dolomite rocks. Also: a bandage.”

Maud watched with disinterest as Crimson trotted up and picked up the bloody bandage, licking it.

“Yep, that’s Tranquil’s blood,” Crimson confirmed. “Surprised she made it this far on her own.”

Mercury wished Crimson acted like she cared if they found Tranquil alive or not. It hurt her already dismal outlook to see Crimson like this.

“It couldn’t have been comfortable,” sighed Mercury. “Sleeping scrunched up between stalactites.”

“The ones on the floor are stalagmites, not stalactites,” Maud narrowed her eyes at Mercury as if she’d made an unforgivable mistake.

“S-sorry,” Mercury squeaked and stepped back.

“Are you bleeding, Maud?” Starlight asked, thankfully distracting Maud.

“Oh, that,” Maud said, looking at the wound on her leg. “That is just a ghoul bite. It’s healing.”

It was in fact, even if not nearly as fast as a glowing ghoul.

“Lucky you,” commented Kamikaze. “My healer mechanites got fried during my trip through the reactor.”

“So that’s how you healed so quickly,” Twilight sounded like she’d wondered it before. “Is that a rare technology too? Like the soul gems?”

“Rarer,” said Crimson. “I wasn't important enough to get it.”

“The Pies were the first volunteers to test it in the field,” said Starlight. “I had it too, but I didn’t get them replenished after I… died in an experiment.”

“Uh, you won’t turn into a ghoul, will you?” Mercury asked, then turned aside to Dinky and Limestone. “Um, sorry if this sounds rude, but do you know if ghoul bites turn other ponies into ghouls?”

“Yeah, that does sound rude,” growled Dinky.

“Sorry,” Mercury squeaked and stepped back again. She needed to watch what she said.

“I haven’t bitten any breathers to see if it’s contagious.” Limestone added, seeming to have picked up Dinky’s word, or perhaps slur, for living ponies. “But I doubt it.”

“Still,” Starlight chuckled awkwardly. “Let us know if you feel queasy or anything, Maud. Just in case.”

“Or if you feel tempted to murder any of us,” Crimson added.

“I'm always tempted to murder you,” Maud stared at Crimson. Though calm, the words sounded strangely seductive.

“Such a flirt,” smiled Crimson. “And right in front of your lover too.”

“Pinkie gave permission,” Pinkie said. “Because Maud gave Pinkie permission to perform perverse acts with the sexy pegacorn! Yes.”

“Wait, what?” asked Twilight.

“Pinkie will seduce the pegacorn later,” Pinkie said, trotting to Limestone’s side and peering at her. “For now, we should test if Pinkie’s Sister Superior’s condition is a sexually transmitted disease! For the science. Yes.”

“I agree,” said Maud, moving to Limestone’s other side and peering.

Limestone glanced back and forth at her sisters and quirked an eyebrow. “Appreciated but… you know I’m dead and radioactive, right?”

“Well you’re not very radioactive,” said Solar to Limestone, looking at her pipbuck. “The level is low in here.”

“Low?” asked Limestone, checking her own pipbuck. “I suppose it died down over the years. I was a little worried it wouldn’t, so that’s good.”

“Think we can strip off our radiation barding for the night?” Twilight asked. “I feel like I’m drowning in my sweat… though Celestia help us, I’m sure we all stink.”

The only time they’d been allowed to take off even the back parts was during potty breaks, and Limestone insisted they put them right back on while in the city, so they hadn’t really been able to let much sweat out.

“It would help keep us hydrated. I’m worried more of you might get sick,” Mercury added.

“Go ahead,” said Starlight, seeming happy to strip out of her own. “Strip or whatever you need to do to relax, but tie up Crimson first. And keep any bucking quiet and away from me. If I hear or see it…I’ll make damn sure it stops, forcefully.”

“I get the distinct feeling you’re not comfortable around me,” Crimson smirked. “Come on. I’m a ministry mare.”

“All the more reason,” said Dinky. “Sociopathy may as well have been a requirement for government positions.”

“Good point,” agreed Crimson. “We should tie up Starlight too.”

Crimson had told Mercury that citizens loved their rulers back then. Based on Dinky’s attitude, she wasn’t sure if that was more misinformation, or if Dinky was just especially bitter due to her experiences.

Mercury was glad to get out of her barding too, but Twilight was right about the stench. Two-hundred-year-old corpses had nothing on living ponies that hadn’t bathed in a few days, especially when trapped in a small cave together. Even Limestone and Dinky seemed taken aback when they got a whiff, but lucky for them they only had to smell it when they breathed in to speak.

Maud tied up Crimson, pulling her front legs behind her tightly. Crimson moaned at the violence and Maud nipped at her ear in an unusual show of playfulness. It even looked like Maud got a grope in, but then she shoved Crimson into a corner as hard as she could without breaking her.

“Why is your ear nicked?” Maud asked when she noticed a tip missing from Crimson’s left ear.

“I re-cut it every new body,” said Crimson after recovering from her head slamming against the rocks.

“Where did you get it initially?” asked Twilight.

“I got sucked through a turbine at the weather factory while trying to stop Winter,” claimed Crimson.

“Don’t bother asking,” Starlight told Twilight. “Her answer is different every time somepony asks her.”

Mercury didn’t realize Crimson started that so long ago that Starlight would know. She always figured it was something traumatizing Crimson didn’t want to talk about, but now it seemed equally likely she did it for fun.

“Limestone, Dinky?” Starlight asked. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you require sleep? If you can stay up without discomfort, can you stand watch at night?”

“Understood, Empress,” Limestone said.

“As long as it doesn’t require standing all night,” said Dinky. “Maybe I’ll tinker with Spitfire's head.”

“I’d work on attaching the wings, but no equipment here,” said Solar. “Sorry, Kami… we could look at the magazine they found with you in it?”

“Is that the only way you know to cheer ponies up?” asked Kamikaze, sounding bitter, but then relented. “Oh fine, go ahead.”

“Too bad we don’t have a real stallion instead,” Solar commented.

“Then I’d just feel like a fleshlight,” sighed Kamikaze.

Mercury thought it’d be too bad for the stallion to be trapped in a cave full of pent-up, unstable, and stinking mares. He might not survive.

“Sounds like a plan!” Solar said, turning to Dinky. “Gonna share yours?”

“May as well,” agreed Dinky. “You know where they are.”

Dinky rolled her eyes as Solar bounced outside to get them. The little ghoul didn't seem enthusiastic about anything, but also didn’t turn down social activity. She took trauma pretty well, though probably only because she'd had so much of it.

Starlight unhitched Crimson’s horn restraint for long enough for her to pull some of Twilight’s books from her Crimoire. They brought out a set of magitech encyclopedias and Twilight borrowed the parts from Spitfire to find what the various components were. The severed head clearly disgusted her, but she was probably desperate to make herself useful.

Starlight assisted Twilight, with Crimson included in the conversation. Crimson cared little about the subject and was usually nonconstructive, but Twilight still worked near her. Twilight said she didn’t want Crimson to be lonely, which showed how kind the alicorn was. Mercury would have paid Crimson attention too and felt bad for not doing so, but she knew Solar would bring the magazines over to wherever Mercury was and Crimson didn’t want to see that.

“Here we go!” Solar announced as she dropped a stack of her and Dinky’s magazines in front of Mercury.

They all gathered around where Mercury was, Solar bringing Kamikaze over to enjoy a peek whether she wanted to or not.

“This isn’t porn,” Dinky commented as she tugged the Journal of Magitech out of the stack.

“Says you!” Solar put it back.

The magazine she opened first though was one of Dinky’s ‘Horngasm’ magazines. It had an image of a white unicorn mare on front with a punkish green and purple mane and a cropped tail. A blue stallion was with her, putting his horn somewhere that horns probably shouldn't go. It said ‘Minister of Morale Rarity shows the colts how it’s done’.

Mercury had to wonder how many Ministers made it to the cover of these magazines. She supposed it was a good way to get funding once they got desperate. From the text, it looked like this was a special issue meant to help fund the opening of a new Ministry of Morale headquarters in New Manehattan.

Still too self-conscious to pay a lot of attention to porn involving stallions, Mercury looked to see how the Pies were faring instead. Pinkie and Maud were behind some rocks having more sisterly time together. Limestone sat near them, staring as if not sure what to do about it, at least until Maud and Pinkie reached for her.

“Are you sure?” asked Limestone in a whisper, then got yanked behind the rocks with the other Pies.

Maud reached out to grab Mite too, dragging the hammer back there with them. Mercury feared what they needed that for.

It was nice to see them getting along at least, and they were quiet with their affections aside from the occasional slurp. Solar tried to inch over towards them at one point but backed off after a threat or two from Maud.

“By Prose, I’m getting tired,” Mercury admitted after an hour of watching everypony else relax in… various ways.

“Well if I accomplished nothing else in life,” Crimson smirked. “At least I became a swear.”

Mercury sighed, only getting more tired and noting to herself to try to avoid using Stable 27 swears in the future.

“Anypony wanna buck before we sleep?” asked Solar as expected.

“Don’t touch me,” said Dinky sharply when Solar looked at her.

“Eh, sure,” Kamikaze said, but sounded more monotone than enthused. “I can’t be picky in my condition, and even without limbs I’m used to Midnight’s affinity for face-sitting. Just zip us up in a sleeping bag first and don’t expect much. Treat me like a cheap whore so I won’t feel self-conscious about my ability.”

While the ghouls stayed out to keep watch, the living ponies got into sleeping bags, pairing off for warmth in the chilly cave, though only Solar's appeared to involve some...late night fun. With the mages, living Pies, and living pegasi paired, that left Mercury and Crimson, the two magic-restrained unicorns, to share the last.

Once, Mercury would have been comfortable in a bag with Crimson, but now that she knew more, it felt unsafe, even with Crimson’s hooves bound.

“Enjoy your magazines?” asked Crimson after Mercury zipped up the bag. It sounded like an accusation.

“They were okay,” Mercury blushed. That was so much more than she’d have admitted days earlier.

“Want to know how I actually nicked my ear?” Crimson asked. “It’s one reason I hate stallions.”

“I… only if you want to?” Mercury wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, or if Crimson was serious about telling the real story.

“When I was almost ten, my father caught me making out with two filly friends,” said Crimson. “He dragged them to our basement, where he forced me to defile and murder them. I was sloppy and one of them grabbed a knife and swiped at me, slicing my ear. I remake the cut every new body so I remember to despise myself whenever I look in a mirror.”

It was such a horrible story, but she spit it out so quickly, and her voice was far more monotone than was typical.

“Are you serious?” Mercury stammered after a few moments of stunned silence. Crimson had told many stories, but never one like that. She’d never even admitted to having a real stallion as a father before.

“You never know,” shrugged Crimson. “But as much as I hate colts, would it be any wonder?”

Mercury wasn’t sure, but there was something in Crimson’s voice she hadn’t heard since they left Stable 27: a serious tone.

“Well if that happened, I’m sorry to hear it,” Mercury sighed.

“Oh, don’t do that,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “That’s one reason I don’t tell anypony, because I hate the ‘I’m so sorry for you’ spiel. I’ve done enough in my life to deserve it retroactively.”

“But you wouldn’t be like that,” Mercury said. “If those things didn’t happen to you. I’m certain.” She was a little happy to have a new way to rationalize that Crimson wasn’t so bad.

“No, I’m pretty sure I would,” shrugged Crimson. “If I were in charge of this group, most of you would be dead, and I would be laughing and posing the corpses lewdly, if not worse.”

“I guess your father would be proud then,” Mercury said.

Mercury didn’t mean it to be such a poignant statement, but for a split second, Crimson’s face looked sincerely hurt. A moment later, she re-adopted her smirk and turned to face away.

“Goodnight, Mercury.”

18. Brave or Insane

Thursday, 10/27/2287
POV: Dinky
The Ashlands

Dinky was used to never sleeping, but tonight seemed longer. She researched almost non-stop for so long, experimenting at school and reading at home. Now they expected her to do nothing for several hours?

Of course, she also had something she didn’t have before; someone that talked back. What she was missing was something to talk about. She tried to remember what she talked about before she had experiments to talk to herself about. For a full hour, the two sat awkwardly next to one another and faced the cave entrance.

Dinky lost focus for a moment, her mind going numb with nothing to do. Her thoughts ground to a halt, and when she snapped back to, Limestone was hugging her and stroking her stringy mane with one hoof.

“It’s okay, I’m here with you,” Limestone was saying.

“Huh?” Dinky looked over at Limestone.

“Doing okay?” Limestone asked. “I tried to get your attention and you weren’t responding. Depressed?”

“I am,” sighed Dinky. She didn’t wriggle free of the hug, but Limestone stopped comfort-petting her. “But I do that sometimes anyway. I hope it doesn’t happen more now that I’m not keeping my brain busy. That never happens to you?”

“Couldn’t tell you, really,” Limestone shrugged . “I spent most of my time on watch, so if I lost time I wouldn’t notice as much as a scientist.”

“Scientist?” Dinky asked, but was flattered. “I guess… I’m worried that it’s a sign of dementia, or worse going feral. We’re the only two from Canterlot that avoided that.”

“Not necessarily,” encouraged Limestone. “We didn’t meet for a long time, so there could be others. Others probably left the city at some point. We both had important reasons to stay, but for most soldiers and refugees, their reasons were elsewhere.”

Dinky realized Limestone was trying to cheer her up, and appreciated it, but the fact remained that she’d seen hundreds of ferals for every docile. The objective fact was that their futures didn’t look bright.

“Still with me?” Limestone asked after a few minutes of silence.

“If I went feral,” Dinky said thoughtfully. “I’d want to be put down before I hurt anyone.”

“I can’t promise that,” admitted Limestone. “I sort of see you as a compatriot now, and you might be more saveable than someone that’s been feral the whole time.”

“Not like I have anything else to live for,” Dinky shrugged. “I feel out of place, and frankly most of our companions are psychopaths… no offense to your sisters.”

“They’d take it as a compliment,” Limestone chuckled. “But it’s not true. They’re pretty deep once you know them. I’m not even sure if Crimson is one. She’s just messed up like most of us… interesting though.”

“What’s that?” Dinky tilted her head, idly tugging one of Limestone’s hooves to put it on her head again. She felt like a cat begging for pets, but enjoyed the innocent physical contact.

“We contrast,” Limestone said, gently stroking her mane again. “You’re a scientist, a thinker, but judge people emotionally based on what kind of person they are. I spent most of my life being angry, depressed, or otherwise emotional, yet judge people based on utility.”

“Not sure what you’re going on about,” Dinky shrugged. “Am I useful?”

“Extremely,” Limestone said. “There can’t be many with your expertises left. Aside from that, you’re a kindred spirit in many ways.”

“What about the others?” Dinky was curious about how Limestone judged them.

“Everyone is useful here,” said Limestone. “Everyone has knowledge that would be useful for us, save for maybe the mascot. While not useful in this world’s knowledge though, she can provide a unique perspective.”

“Maybe that perspective makes her the most useful,” Dinky pondered.

“How so?” Limestone paused her petting, sounding sincerely curious.

“We screwed up, all of us, we earned this world,” Dinky explained. “She earned a better world, so maybe we should take her weird ideas seriously. We’ve already tried the way of types like Starlight and Crimson. Maybe we should… I don’t know. It’s not like I know what I’m talking about.”

“You think so?” Limestone looked ponderous, clearly taking the idea seriously. That made Dinky like Limestone more; she viewed Dinky as an equal mind rather than a foal like the others.

“Why not?” asked Dinky. “Remember when she stopped Starlight from putting down Spitfire before she had some last words? We got the code for those wings from that kindness… not that I particularly think Kamikaze deserves them.”

“True enough…” Limestone creased her forehead and started patting again. “I’ll put some thought into it.”

POV: Twilight Sparkle

“Paradox,” Luna’s voice called through the void of Twilight’s dream like a distant echo. “I have decided that it is up to you; you will return the world to sanity.”

The dreams this Luna gave were weak by her standards. When Twilight’s Luna entered a dream, it was with vivid theatrics, and the same with her first dream from this one as Nightmare. But now it was Twilight floating in nothingness that itself felt like it might collapse.

“Luna?” Twilight called back. “Please, tell us where you are. We’ll save you!”

“But would your companions trust or save Nightmare Moon?” asked Luna.

“On that final day, you contacted Limestone,” Twilight said. “She offered to support your leadership, conditionally at least. She doesn’t consider you a lost cause, and neither do I. We will save you.”

“Even then, you can’t survive coming here,” said Luna. “I do not even tell my own followers for fear harm will befall them if they try.”

“Your followers?” asked Twilight. “You mean Midnight’s troops?”

“No,” Luna answered sharply, as if being associated with her former pupil was offensive. “Not that I do not care for those she commands, but they must not know of my survival yet for reasons I cannot adequately explain.”

“I will find a way to help you,” offered Twilight. “I’ve faced impossible challenges before.”

“Perhaps, or perhaps not,” Luna said. “I must go soon. Invading your dreams takes more energy than I can sustain for long, and there are others I must speak to. In the future, I will use other means to communicate.”

“I’ll watch for you,” Twilight sighed.

“Remember, Paradox,” Luna warned. “Trust nothing and no one, not even your own eyes.”

“Because of changelings?” Twilight asked. “Why did they do this? Why destroy their own food source?”

“They no longer require the love of others to feed, only their own for each other,” Luna said. “Were another leading them, it might have created peace, but they chose to eliminate what they no longer found useful, wanting to swarm the whole world for their kind.”

“Chrysalis ordered it?” asked Twilight, clenching her teeth slightly.

“She did,” said Luna as her voice faded. “I would not concern yourself with her, though again I cannot explain why. I am still unsure how much to tell you.”

“Is there anything else you can say?” Twilight asked. “Anything at all!”

Silence. At least inside the dream.

“The suspiciously attractive pegacorn will awake! Or Pinkie will molest her with her own broken horn! It is Pinkie’s fantasy. Yes.”

Twilight flailed awake to find Pinkie dragging her from her sleeping bag. She groaned and looked around to see everypony else outfitted and ready to go. Pinkie deposited Twilight atop her blinder barding.

“Come on, mascot,” Limestone said. “I let you and Kami sleep extra because of your injuries, but it’s time for the briefing.”

Twilight appreciated their thoughtfulness, but wasn’t used to being the frail one. She slipped on her blinder barding, which still smelled terrible due to the inability to wash them. She watched the others gather around Limestone and Starlight. Dinky lounged on Limestone’s back with all fours hanging over the sides, which was unfairly cute even in their conditions. They’d had all night to connect, she supposed.

Starlight’s pipbuck projected a map onto the cave wall showing from Canterlot to the Everfree Forest. It showed Ponyville and Everfree as it had been, but with a circle where the draconic gravity bomb hit. Another circle within that designated the coronal mass ejection that countered it. Unfortunately, the latter blocked the most direct path. The dragon attack must have been frightful for Celestia to use it within their borders.

“Here is the path we’ve decided on,” Limestone said. “It goes between the blast zone and Everfree, while keeping our distance from both.”

Limestone dragged a hoof from their current position along the border between the Everfree and the gravity blast zone. Twilight was unsurprised to see that Midnight Castle's location was ‘The Castle of the Two Sisters’ from her own timeline, the place both sisters ruled together long before the timeline split.

“The earth ponies will take shifts pulling so we don’t have to stop,” Starlight added.

“I’ll help pull,” Twilight said. “I still have earth pony strength if nothing else.”

“I didn’t want to volunteer for you, but thank you,” Limestone said. “Either way we’re taking a path most likely to avoid Midnight’s patrols and feral dragons at the crater. If we meet either, we’ll stop and Starlight will make the wagon invisible until they pass.”

Twilight hadn’t thought about feral dragons, but it made sense. A megaspell destroyed the draconic army here.

“Dragons are resistant to pony magic,” said Twilight as she slipped on her helmet. “Does that make them less likely to become ghouls?”

“Maybe, but their bodies are more likely to survive intact in closer proximity,” said Starlight. “Which may mean more. It’s not something we had time or means to study.”

“If nothing else,” said Crimson. “There shouldn’t be any living predators in the area of the sandstorms due to lack of living prey. Too bad, Tranquil getting eaten would have been a little hot."

“I hope to avoid detection entirely,” said Limestone, peering at Crimson but otherwise ignoring her. “We’ll be hard to spot due to the dust storms, which haven’t dissipated much. The wagon should blend in, and we have brown tarps to cover the parts that don’t.”

“You mentioned Tranquil before?” Mercury asked, making Twilight wonder how much she missed.

“I told Tranquil to take the same route,” said Limestone. “And to avoid Midnight Castle, but she either got caught or disregarded that advice.”

“How do you know?” asked Twilight.

“Crimson provided the code to the pipbuck Tranquil is wearing,” said Limestone. “The Empress’s pipbuck allows us to track a more exact location, but it shows her either inside or near Midnight Castle. She hasn’t moved since last night, so she’s either camping, caught, or discarded her pipbuck.”

Mercury sighed, looking down at the floor as Solar patted her shoulder.

“She probably got lonely and walked right to it,” Crimson sighed. “Like a lost dog looking for a new master. We’re passing near Everfree though? I know of a hidden supply cache that might assist.”

“Wouldn’t Midnight have found it by now?” asked Twilight. She appreciated help, but Crimson’s help was suspicious.

“She never mentioned finding anything like that when I was with her, and I know she searched Everfree,” Kamikaze added.

“It’s covered by a perception filter,” Crimson said. “Only ponies that know it’s there can see it. It’d make a safe spot to spend a night.”

“Unless they’re a powerful psionic,” countered Starlight. “Or trained in psionic defense, like you, me, or Midnight.”

“It’s a really good one,” smirked Crimson. “State-of-the-art zebra stealth tech. I doubt anyone other than Eris or Screwball could find it, and they wouldn’t care.” She shrugged. “Anyway, the border of the forest is unsafe. According to the radio, there are things we don’t want to get caught by.”

“Screwball?” Twilight asked.

“Discord and Eris’ unholy spawn,” Crimson said. “According to Songsmith, she’s currently in charge of Discordia due to Eris being unavailable for ‘reasons’.”

The thought of Fluttershy having Discord’s foal made Twilight too uncomfortable to continue that line of questioning. It wasn’t that she disapproved of interspecies romance, but she couldn’t avoid thinking about how extremely weird sex with Discord would be. It might be best not to give Crimson reason to speculate further.

“Is this suggestion a trick to get us closer to Midnight Castle?” asked Limestone, staring at Crimson.

“I am outraged you would think I would do such a thing,” Crimson didn’t sound outraged. “I fought on Equestria’s side... Well, not fought, but I existed on Equestria’s side.”

“What about the spying fiasco?” Starlight asked.

“I did that under duress,” said Crimson. “They threatened my family, and you know they did because they murdered them. I wouldn’t kill my own family to make my alibi look good.”

Twilight was certain that only Crimson could have made that sound sarcastic.

“I didn’t want to suggest this, but I advise Crimson remains bound at all times, not just at night, until we are well-past Midnight Castle,” said Limestone, apparently not buying it either.

Starlight nodded in agreement. “Maud, tie up your marefriend. Sorry, Crimson. I have to err on the side of caution.”

“You just untied me,” Crimson tsked at Maud. “You just can’t get enough of me and ropes. Naughty mare.”

“You are lucky we do not hang you by one and use you as a piñata,” Maud said as she yanked Crimson’s forelegs behind her rather than just leaving them comfortably tied in front. “I suggested it twice before you woke.”

“Such a thing would make an adequate way to improve morale,” Pinkie agreed.

Limestone stared at Crimson for a few long moments as Maud bound her. Crimson stared back with an unworried smile.

“There’s something I’m missing; something obvious,” Limestone muttered. “I’ve existed too long and my damn head is too full of stuff; I need a bigger head. Empress? Set an alarm for if any of our pipbucks go out of range or are removed, especially the ones from Stable 27.”

“As you say,” Starlight agreed, bringing up her pipbuck screen and blinking commands to set alarms.

It seemed they had an understanding that Limestone was in charge of security; Twilight was glad to see them working together.

“Is all that really necessary?” Twilight asked.

It was necessary, but Twilight knew they wouldn’t listen to her. She defended Crimson so she might confide more in Twilight later, which might help. Maybe it was a little dishonest, but Twilight felt an odd need to reform Crimson, as if to prove to herself she still had it.

Limestone smirked at Twilight as if immediately discerning her reasons.

“I’m sorry,” said Starlight. “But I trust Limestone’s instincts.”

“It’s fine, Not-Midnight,” Crimson said. “I enjoy xanatos speed chess and Living Dead Mare is a pro. It’s surprising she lost a battle.”

“I didn’t lose that battle,” Limestone countered. “The only soldiers left standing are Canterlot soldiers.”

“‘Left standing’, huh,” Kamikaze rolled her eyes. “Yeah, hardy har.”

“Ugh,” Limestone face-hoofed at the accidental pun.

“I thought it was hilarious,” Maud observed, then patted Kamikaze. “But do not think of yourself as an enemy soldier. You are one of us.”

“Way to ruin a great pun with ‘feelings’,” Crimson grumbled.

“Please, Crimson,” Twilight said. “Before you act, consider if you’ll be proud of your actions later.”

“Are you sure that’s good advice in my case?” asked Crimson.

“Yes, I am,” Twilight stuck to it, looking Crimson in the eyes. Crimson looked away first, even if it was a smug looking away.

Crimson wasn’t nice, maybe even outright evil, but Twilight saw self-loathing in her that a sociopath wasn’t capable of. There was nopony that hated Crimson more than Crimson, which meant she felt regret. Twilight just had to convince her that she could change.

“Any other questions or suggestions?” asked Limestone.

“Um, yes,” Twilight said. “I’m not in the loop, so how did dragon gravity bombs work? When I arrived in the Ashlands, the ground didn’t seem crushed. More…melted.”

“They didn’t use gravity,” Starlight explained. “The name was to throw off our analysis of their workings. They used draconic teleportation magic to teleport the entire city into a single plane, crushing it and producing heat that would effectively melt everything. The other version used on Appleloosa and Dodge Junction teleported the city off the ground and dropped it upside down.”

“Well that’s… horrifying,” Twilight said, but that seemed to be the new norm. “Why would that cause radiation?”

“They were the cleanest mega-spell,” Limestone said. “But the cities had balefire reactors, chemicals, and war supplies, which caused secondary explosions.”

Twilight sighed, “I never thought there were so many creative ways to commit genoci-”

“Pinkie is getting bored!” Pinkie cut Twilight off, “We should be finding exciting ways to rain despair on our enemies instead of debating their morality!”

“Can we go fight monsters now?” Maud asked in agreement.

“I’ll pull the wagon first,” sighed Twilight. “I need time to gather my thoughts.”

“Go southeast,” Limestone said. “We’ll tell you over the PCB if you need to adjust your heading.”

“Thanks, Twilight,” Starlight smiled and patted her shoulder. Twilight strained not to pull away from her creepy smile.

Once she started, Twilight found the Ashlands flatter than the streets in Canterlot, but not by much. The thicker cloud cover made it less stuffy, but the wind blew against her, slowing her progress.

A deep layer of dirt covered the radioactive glass now, but she still felt the fragile structure beneath it. She glanced at her pipbuck, which showed the area as it had been, slowly updating as they walked through. For a while, it fascinated her how the ground’s texture was different based on what was crushed there, but soon stopped looking as it depressed her.

Ignoring that only made her think of her failures though. Her decision to rush into Canterlot distracted Marble, who might have stopped the destruction of the city. That destruction led directly to Spike’s death. Otherwise, Starlight’s plan to save the world with her time spell may have worked. Without interference, this world would be bad off, but not hopeless. An intact Canterlot could have retaken Equestria and finished Midnight’s forces while they were weakened, or joined them to take on the changelings.

Instead, Equestria remained in chaos. Because of Twilight.

But what else could she do? Twilight could no longer cast a time spell. Starlight probably could, but would she cast it knowing it might erase her own existence? Besides, teaching another Starlight how to time travel great distances was asking for trouble.

‘Starlight?’ Twilight asked over the PCB, trying to keep her question general. ‘Do you think the books in the Canterlot archives had copies elsewhere? It um… really bothered me to see those precious scrolls rotted to dust.’

‘We had a large library at the Ministry of Magitech,’ answered Starlight. ‘And I admit, a lot of it was there because Daybreaker wouldn’t have allowed them in Canterlot.’

‘There’s a reason none of the Ministry of Magitech hubs were in Canterlot,’ added Crimson. ‘The propaganda wasn’t only hiding things from citizens.’

‘Crimson,’ Starlight warned.

‘I didn’t tell her the reason,’ Crimson’s smirk was palpable even over the connection. ‘Besides, it was always a fun reason.’

‘I don’t care about the reason,’ sighed Twilight. ‘We all make mistakes. I just wonder if there were copies of the books from the archive.’

Starlight hesitated as if suddenly piecing together what Twilight was really asking. Since she was getting back her memory, she might have remembered that Twilight wanted the time spell when they first met in the archives. She answered with an uncharacteristically short, ‘No.’

But if Starlight didn’t realize how bad it was until she arrived at Canterlot, she might have left a working time spell behind. Whether she did or not, it was clear she wouldn’t help. Twilight just hoped Starlight wouldn’t try to actively stop her.

Saturday, 10/29/2287
POV: Solar Flash

The ride through the Ashlands was taking a more zigzag path than they planned due to sinkholes and obstacles, and it was unclear how long it would take. Solar tried to distract herself with the magazines, the only way they had to pass the time.

Her eyes squinted at her magazine, on her belly as she flipped through it, bracing herself during the occasional rough patches the wagon went through. The light of her pipbuck screen didn’t offer a lot to read by.

The wagon was cramped, which Solar didn’t mind. At least they got to take off their barding inside and she’d gotten used to everypony’s horrible stench. Starlight wouldn’t let them turn on real lights, though. She feared the slightest glow might give away their presence.

Limestone advised the utmost caution, and Solar appreciated that she knew more about combat strategy than anypony here. Still, it felt like she defended against threats from centuries ago. It wasn’t like the whole Ashlands would zero in on them.

Solar had her wings spread, one covering the snoozing Mercury, with a snoozing Kamikaze tucked between the two of them like a giant bean with a head. Dinky used Solar’s other wing for a blanket, as she shared Solar’s pipbuck light to look at another magazine. The wing-blanket was the most physical contact Dinky allowed from Solar, but Solar enjoyed her company all the same.

Limestone’s pipbuck provided light too since she was following their progress on the map. Maud currently pulled the wagon while Pinkie snoozed against Limestone’s right side with Marble propped against the left. Limestone’s obsession with the corpse freaked Solar out at first, but now it just made her sad. She tried not to look at them.

Starlight and Twilight also snoozed, facing one another with legs intertwined since they’d fallen asleep discussing magic. Those two needed to buck. Starlight groaned every now and then as the frequent rough patches would wake her intermittently. Starlight’s magic helped the others sleep, but she couldn’t cast a sleep spell on herself.

Solar felt somepony crawling atop her and had high hopes until she realized it was Crimson, the one pony here she minded crawling on her. Crimson draped herself over Solar’s back despite being bound.

“Horny little filly, aren’t you,” Crimson said to Dinky. “My dad and brothers would’ve loved you.”

“By Nightmare’s Moon pie,” grumbled Dinky.

“Ignore her, Dinky,” Solar said. “She’s intimidated by our awesome porn stash.”

“The filly comment didn’t bother me,” said Dinky. “I just realized it’ll be hard for me to get a date with somepony that isn’t an abusive filly fiddler, as if my prospects weren’t dim enough being a corpse.”

“Just bang a colt if you love dick so much,” Crimson grunted.

“Then I would be the creep,” Dinky grumbled. “Being the same size doesn’t make it okay.”

“Oh, so being straight is just dandy,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “But molesting foals is over the line?”

Solar peered at Crimson over her shoulder, “I can’t tell if you’re joking or insane.” And ponies called Solar perverted?

“I get that a lot,” said Crimson. “Even from myself. Maybe I’m both, but the dead kid gets points for being picky rather than a cock goblin like you. You’ll probably end up choking to death on one.”

“Wouldn’t be the worst way to go,” Solar pondered. “But speaking of that, I wonder if Starlight can do a gender change spell. I know you can, but yours hurt because you suck at it.”

“Yeah, let’s have our best offensive mage waste her mana turning your bits inside out,” Dinky shook her head, and Solar had to concede it was a good point.

“Maybe we should talk about something that doesn’t cause arguments?” Twilight sounded annoyed as she awoke to their yammering.

Seeing Twilight awake, Solar bucked Crimson off her and crawled toward Twilight. Dinky grumbled and reached for Mercury’s leg, clicking her pipbuck on to use that light instead.

“You coping?” Solar pulled herself behind Twilight, both laying on their sides, opposite the still-sleeping Starlight.

“I’m here,” was the best Twilight could say.

“Want to see some magazines?” Solar asked, trying her best to make friends, and maybe more.

“No, not into that,” Twilight sighed. “Please stop grinding on me. Again.”

“Oops, sorry.” Solar hadn’t realized she’d started, so pulled her hindquarters back. She still hugged her forelegs around Twilight’s shoulders. “Why you not into that?”

“I guess I feel like those magazines objectify ponies,” said Twilight. “It makes the public think… less of them. Like when you look at Kamikaze in that magazine, you’d never know she’d be willing to sacrifice herself to save us.”

“You might, given the missing limbs,” Solar pointed out. “Besides, we’re all objects. Some useful, some sexy, some both. I’m okay with that.”

“I don’t dislike ponies for liking or being in them,” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe I just can’t get it out of my head that they were used to fund genocide.”

“Solar, behave,” Mercury said as she awoke too. She stayed sprawled so Dinky could continue to use her pipbuck light.

“I am being-haved!” Solar defended herself. She added to Twilight, “Hey, if you ever need to talk, or just feel pent up, let me know, okay?”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Twilight. While she didn’t seem offended, she coaxed Solar back with her wings until she let go.

Oh well, it was worth a try. And it’d be worth another later! But before Solar could decide who to molest next, the wagon stopped, interrupting her shenanigans.

‘There is a flock of winged creatures approaching,’ Maud said over the PCB. ‘We should cease movement until they pass.’

Twilight sighed and shook Starlight fully awake. “Starlight? Maud says we have fliers soon to pass overhead.”

“Not my kites!” Starlight blurted out and flailed awake, then blushed and spoke tiredly over the PCB. ‘Wait what? I’ll make us invisible.’

Starlight’s horn lit up, wrapping the wagon in a shimmering field of energy that Solar assumed made them invisible from the outside. As Starlight made sure everyone was up from her sleep magic, Solar clung to Twilight again from nervousness rather than affection.

‘It’s dragons,’ Limestone said as she peeked out from under the cover with Ashmaker’s scope. ‘About ten. No greed-sized. Most look feral, but three in armor flying straight above the others, including one over four times pony sized. Maybe docile ghouls still in control of themselves are leading ferals.’

Just their luck. With dragons, a ‘docile’ ghoul might be more of a problem.

‘How are they controlling the ferals?’ asked Mercury.

‘It’s a kind of herd instinct I think that remains,’ Dinky said. ‘I’ve had ferals follow me around without prompting.’

‘Might the large one be General Ember from the bat pony’s memory?’ asked Twilight. ‘But she wasn’t a ghoul, so if ferals attack living creatures on sight…’

‘If they’re in full-body armor,’ surmised Dinky. ‘They might use a scent to keep the ferals thinking that they’re dead.’

‘They’re headed directly for us’ Limestone said. ‘So unless they’re really lucky...’

‘Could they detect us?’ asked Twilight, prying Solar’s legs from around her neck so she could breathe.

‘That’s not good,’ Limestone groaned. ‘The armor on the two non-ferals is NLR armor with rank insignias, though the third has old Draconic Empire armor. That one is probably a ghoul. Regardless, they’ve banked to circle overhead.’

‘Midnight doesn’t officially hire ghouls,’ said Crimson. ‘But she wouldn’t have qualms with using ghoul mercenaries as fodder.’

‘But what are they tracking?’ asked Solar.

‘There is a spy among us!’ Pinkie’s voice screamed into the PCB. ‘Pinkie suggests we vote for the most suspicious and throw them into a volc-... behead given the lack of volcanoes, then repeat until they stop circling. Pinkie votes for Solar, because the least likely is always the most likely! She offers mid-execution 69 positioning if she votes for herself! Yes.’

Solar wasn’t sure whether to be more flattered or horrified, but altogether hoped she was never in a situation where Pinkie was left unchecked… she was in check now… right?

‘Sorry to burst your bubble, Pinkie, but no,’ Limestone said, thankfully providing the check needed. ‘Midnight never backed out on deals and placed value on the lives of her own soldiers if they performed well, which the spy would have. She wouldn’t send draconic ferals that might burn everything if a loyal spy was among us.’

‘They’re circling more,’ Starlight said as she peaked out too. ‘Gradually smaller laps...they’re zeroing in.’

Solar felt her heart sink. During the combat with the first Midnight Sparkle, Solar was in the reactor chamber. When they fought the pegaghouls, Solar hid in the back. Now she had nowhere to go.

“Shh, it’ll be okay,” Twilight whispered aloud when she felt Solar shiver before holding her hoof. “I’ve been through worse than this and survived.”

Solar wondered what horrors lurked in the world if that was true. If Twilight’s timeline was as she’d described and still had things worse than this… then what might they meet out here?

‘They might have tracked our pipbucks,’ Crimson said. ‘If Midnight made a deal with Stable 27, she might have the passcode to the Stable 27 pipbucks. I could provide a fix, but we’d still need to take these out.’

‘Makes sense,’ Limestone said. ‘By Holder, I should have thought of that, I really am rusty.’

‘How are we supposed to take care of them?’ Solar’s panic shined through in her thoughts. She tried not to breathe any heavier.

‘If we kill or render the others flightless, the ferals can be distracted,’ Limestone pondered. Having a calm leader was the only thing preventing Solar from screaming. ‘Then we could go invisible again. They’re all concentrating on the ground, with the non-ferals at top, probably to use the ferals as bullet sponges. If we could get above them...’

‘Well this is a great thing to wake up to,’ Kamikaze’s thought added to the PCB. ‘You could always throw me at them. That usually works.’

‘That’s a better idea than you think,’ said Limestone.

‘Really?’ Kamikaze seemed disturbingly hopeful.

‘Empress?’ Limestone continued. ‘I know radiation and taint blocks long-distance teleport, but can you teleport straight up into the air with no specific target?’

‘I could teleport a pony above them,’ confirmed Starlight. ‘I’d have to drop the invisibility to do that, and no guarantee I could teleport them back safely. On top of that, remember that Twilight has vertigo and Solar can’t fly.’

‘That’s why it would surprise them,’ said Limestone. ‘Stable 27 would have told them about our party members so they wouldn’t expect an air attack. Solar, can you glide?’

‘I think so?’ Solar immediately regretted her answer.

‘Pinkie could distract with Pinkie Die,’ Pinkie suggested. ‘But that might hit the pegaslut. She could explode Gummy’s missile below them instead to cause confusion. Yes.’

’I am proud of you Pinkie,’ said Maud, probably for coming up with a plan that wasn’t ‘shoot them until they die’.

‘You don’t have to, Solar,’ Twilight said. ‘I can manage gliding too. I hate myself for suggesting this, but doesn’t Pinkie have those sticky grenades? You said before they were specifically altered for fighting draconic forces too...’

‘Aw, buck it,’ groaned Solar. ‘No, you’ll miss if you’re dizzy. I… probably have the best chance.’

‘Solar…’ Mercury sounded reluctant and probably would have volunteered instead if she could. Solar was glad she couldn’t.

‘I said I’d protect you, Mercury,’ Solar said. ‘And I meant it.’ It would have sounded brave if she weren’t whimpering out loud.

‘The dizziness cleared up a bit,’ offered Twilight.

‘If Solar did this, and lived,’ Maud said. ‘I would be okay with her joining one of our sisterly cuddles.’

‘Pinkie allows this,’ said Pinkie.

‘Seriously?’ Solar asked. Suddenly it sounded like a better idea, though no less frightening.

‘ONE of our sister cuddles,’ reiterated Maud.

‘Wait,’ Twilight said. ‘You shouldn’t be coercing her with offers of sex.’

‘They aren’t ‘coercing’,’ Solar said. ‘They're ‘prostituting’, like an exchange. I know the difference.’

‘Well, it’s not an exchange if you die before you get your end of it,’ Crimson commented. ‘But I like the enthusiasm towards getting eaten by dragons. It’s a unique way to go with a lot of fun claws and long tongues! ’

“Solar…” Mercury said aloud, tears in her eyes. “I don’t want you to die…”

“I don’t want you and everypony else to die because I was afraid to,” Solar sighed, no less in tears.

‘We should send them both,’ said Limestone after motioning for them to be quiet. ‘That way if one dies the other can complete the mission.’

‘How reassuring...’ Solar grumbled.

‘Pinkie has Gummy and is ready!’ Pinkie said. ‘And grenades for the pegaslut and pegacorn to throw.’

Pinkie grabbed Solar’s front hooves and placed two grenades in each of them. Solar held them tightly with her sticky-hooves.

‘Giggle grenades are activated,’ Pinkie said, opening the tarp in front so she could fire upwards. ‘They stick to the target and explode five seconds after. Penetration of thicker dragon parts is not guaranteed, so for best results consider applying orally or rectally twice daily, whichever end’s foolishly exposed and not shooting fire at you! Limb loss will be minimal except for the enemy’s delightfully fragile wings. Probably. Yes.’

‘I will not get to smash heads...’ lamented Maud.

‘Focus, sis,’ Limestone said. ‘The Empress will teleport them, give a few moments to chuck the first grenade from a stealthy position above them, then Pinkie will fire the rocket at the lowest ferals so the others may not think to look up to see you. Since you’re above them, wings will be the easiest target, both throw for the large one first before one of the smaller ones each. Once it’s done, try to glide to make teleporting easier, at which point we’ll book it. Mercury? Find your potions and supplies, we might need your medical expertise.’

'It takes more energy to keep a moving object invisible, and I’ll be low after the teleports, so only run far enough to get out of the way if they blast our last known location', said Starlight. ‘And Mercury: The anti-magic properties of dragons include their fire. It leaves an anti-magic signature that causes healing magic to not work on the injured flesh for some time, so it’s mostly up to you if there are injuries.'

‘Okay,’ Mercury stammered as she opened their medical supply. ‘I’m an alchemist more than a doctor but… I’ll keep you all alive, I swear.’

‘If we’re both injured, attend to Solar first,’ Twilight told Mercury.

‘Right,’ Mercury nodded. ‘As an alicorn you’ll have earth-pony durability and some regenerative ability, while pegasi have a lighter build and bone structure. Solar, if you take too much damage, dive away from the more dangerous dragons.’

Solar was relieved that Mercury showed knowledge of physiology beyond her alchemy talents. Though a much larger concern for Solar was...

‘Um, how do I dive or glide?’ Solar asked as she pulled her wings fully out the slits in her armor. She’d have studied that before if she ever expected to be dropped out of the sky.

‘Here,’ Twilight said. She stood Solar up, then mounted her from behind. At first that excited Solar, then she realized it was just so Twilight could grab at both Solar’s wings at once. Twilight pulled them into position half-folded. ‘To dive, hold your wings like this and face downward.’ She pulled the wings open. ‘To glide, pull it out like this and hold them parallel with the ground, then slowly turn them forward until it slows forward momentum.’

Solar tried hard to remember how she was told to hold them, moving her wings back and forth a few times as Twilight regretfully dismounted. The innocent alicorn probably didn’t even consider how that would rile Solar up before the fight.

‘Ready?’ Limestone asked.

‘I’m not feeling brave,’ admitted Solar. She took off her helmet for better visibility, but shivered violently.

‘I wouldn’t send you if I didn’t know you were capable,’ assured Limestone.

‘Remember that brave is not fearless,’ Maud said.

‘Fearless is being insane like Pinkie.’ Pinkie added.

‘Well I’m so scared I almost pooped a little,’ Crimson snickered out loud as she thought. ‘So I’m not the craziest? Who knew!?’

‘Bravery is when you’re scared poopless and do it anyway,’ Kamikaze said. ‘The brave act, not the poop.’

‘I guess I’m ready then,’ Solar took a deep breath.

‘Counting down from ten,’ Limestone said.

‘Deep breaths, Solar,’ Twilight said. ‘I’ll take the one furthest from our position so you can glide instead of fly, then I’ll check on you.’

Solar took deep breaths, wiping away the tears blurring her vision as she listened to Limestone’s countdown. There was no going back as the invisibility dropped, and Pinkie aimed her alligator launcher upwards. Solar heard the mouth of it open and a missile shot towards the dragons.

Solar wasn’t used to teleportation, so was disoriented as she found herself in the sky after a flash of light. A frigid wind blew around her at the higher elevation, dust from the storm burning at her face. Her stomach lurched, tightening as she quickly went into free fall. She took a moment to cease her instinctive flailing.

At that point, she remembered she had engineering goggles around her neck, so pulled them over her eyes to block the dust before taking in the surroundings. Twilight hovered several pony-lengths away, with the dragons beneath them. The three in armor were easily spotted, especially the large one in center, expansive blue wings making for an easy target from above.

Solar tried not to think about it, knowing she’d freeze up if she did. She grabbed a grenade from one hoof with her muzzle, pulling the pin as she did, and launched it towards the wing closest to her as Twilight did the same for the other. The dragon looked up a moment before they hit, as if noticing new blips on her scanner, or maybe grenades that giggle in transit are just a bad idea. She banked to one side, making Solar’s grenade miss, instead sticking to a feral further down. Twilight’s, however, hit the wing Solar had been aiming for and stuck there.

All at once, chaos erupted in the air. Pinkie’s missile impacted the lowest elevation feral, the powerful explosive succeeding in blasting it into a haphazard flailing mass that slammed it into a second one that shrieked. The blinding flash caused the other non-ferals to engage in evasive maneuvers.

“Momma there’s a bomb on you!” shrieked the dragon closest to Solar, flying towards Ember rather than facing his attackers. He was slightly smaller than Solar, with lighter blue wings than Ember, perhaps a young dragon on his first mission. It made Solar a bit sick to fight what might be a child, but as Twilight banked for the other docile, it looked like this one would be Solar’s.

“I fucking noticed!” Ember screamed in return. “Concentrate on the attackers, Cinder! I got it!”

She didn’t seem to have it as she contorted in an effort to pull the beeping device off her wing, but probably didn’t want her son trying to pull it off with his own claw and getting stuck too. Solar would have to compliment Pinkie on her sticky bombs if she survived.

“Fucking useless ferals!” Ember further screeched as she glanced down to see if they were coming to assist. Was that word she kept using like ‘bucking’? Weird.

She wasn’t wrong though. Most of the ferals looked down due Pinkie’s missile, diving for the wagon. Only a few turned upwards, and one of them was the one that Solar’s bomb hit when it missed Ember, so the smaller feral would be out of the way shortly.

All was not well though. Solar managed to dodge a flame blast from Cinder, probably only due to his panic at his mother’s injury. Only wearing the blinder suit, Solar knew her armor wouldn’t stand up to that, so in a panic dove towards the dragon. She aimed to headbutt him in the gut, but missed and went between his hind legs instead. Her wings caught against his legs, wrapping around them and then slamming her face directly into his crotch plate. It would have been quite the fun position in a more amorous situation.

Though accidental, this turned out to be a good idea since she was then a dead-weight to throw him off balance. She heard their initial grenades detonate, but could see Ember in the corner of her eye, spouting flames at a dodging Twilight, so it seemed she wasn’t out of commission yet. Solar was just about to stick a grenade on Cinder’s crotch plate, but then spotted the docile heading straight for her.

Solar ungripped Cinder’s legs and held her wings out, slowing her descent before grabbing a front hoof around Cinder’s gut to use him as a flame shield, which pressed her face awkwardly against his crotch-plate again. Cinder suddenly went still, not seeing his teammate coming and wondering why this pony seemed so interested in ramming her face against his crotch. His crotch-plate suddenly seemed to have more pressure behind it than before.

“What are you doing?” Cinder’s voice lost all anger due to confusion, voice squeaking as a verbal blush.

While Cinder was immune to dragon flame, the docile’s blast to his back jarred his armor loose. While he worked as a shield, Solar’s foreleg that she’d wrapped around Cinder still got bathed in flame. Worse, both the grenades held with that hoof began beeping as they were activated by the heat.

Solar was in pain, but recollected herself after a second as adrenaline kicked in hard, and quickly tossed the activated grenades at the docile, which Solar assumed female due to the roar. The docile tried to dodge, only to have both gigglers stick to her upper body. Only her head was spared being maimed by the blast, plummeting helplessly with a stare of disdain at Solar.

The close proximity meant Cinder took some damage in his shoulder and neck from the limited side-shrapnel. The neck plating jarred loose and his scream was cut off by gagging, but Solar doubted that would keep him distracted long, and Solar also felt stinging shrapnel embed itself in her side.

Luckily, Solar still had the last giggler in her left hoof had not yet activated. She’d have to make this one count…

She glanced at Ember hoping for some good news. Twilight had just dispatched the last feral that had seen them with a giggler, and both Ember’s wings had burns and small holes as if Twilight managed to hit the other wing, but the alicorn was out of explosives. Even with bloody holes in both wings, the larger Ember was no pushover, and all Twilight could do was dodge while trying to get at the wings and rip the injuries further.

Cinder would surely tip the scales in Ember’s favor if Solar messed up. Solar looked to see him, the two having floated away from one another, but surprisingly he didn’t try to flame her, instead moving towards her with claws extended. Either the impact to his throat damaged his ability to breathe fire, or he had decided to try to take her alive to continue the crotch-plate-face-planting in private. While a pleasant thought, Solar wasn’t fond of the being-his-dinner that might follow.

Solar thought about just tossing her giggler onto him, as one might be enough for a smaller dragon. However if it failed and Cinder got back to Ember and Twilight, they’d all be toast anyways. Horse apples, she probably wasn’t getting out of this one, but she could at least make sure she saved her friends. This would be a risky play…

“Hey momma’s boy!” Solar teased, trying to keep her last giggler not visible. “I’m all out of explosives and up for a fight! I bet your whore mom didn’t even teach you how to bite a little ol’ snack like me!”

“What?” Cinder growled. “I thought… Why you little…”

The rage returned to his face and the nervous squeak disappeared from his voice. Taking the bait, he let out an unusually-gargled roar and charged faster at Solar, mouth opening wide as he got close.

After feigning a bad dodge, Solar tried to play it safe and toss in the giggler immediately, but buck he was fast, and his maw opened a lot wider than she expected. Her head was quickly between his jaws with his long tongue coiled around her whole body all the way down to her thighs, the very tip smacking between her hind legs.

Solar briefly considered counting it as ‘close enough’ to scratch ‘dragon’ off the list of creatures on her buck bucket list. As he got a good grip with his arm and prepared to chomp off her head, Solar pulled the pin on her remaining giggler, chucking it directly into the young dragon’s throat.

As soon as he heard the ‘giggle’ from the grenade, he realized his mistake and jerked back in a panic. This allowed Solar to get her head out of the way as his maw closed, but he bit down on both her hoof and the grenade. The glue exploded out, sticking both it and her cracked hoof to his front teeth.

It was hard to see with tears from her pain accumulating inside her goggles, but Solar clenched her teeth as she twisted her damaged hoof against his fangs. She managed to extract the leg but was now minus one hoof. As he frantically tried to dislodge the giggler without getting his claws stuck to it, Solar concentrated on trying to distance herself, but Cinder grabbed her butt with a hind-claw and held her as if determined she should go with him.

Suddenly, she heard Ember shouting “NO! Cinder, you idiot!”, followed by a huge blast from below that for sure wasn’t the giggler.

It was Twilight, who’d driven a huge jolt of raw magic into Cinder. Solar’s whole body clenched as she felt it through him, but it also made him let her go and allowed her to quickly make distance away. The blast finished off Cinder’s back armor that was already loose, the armor along one side following. Solar wasn’t sure if Twilight was really that strong in her current condition, or if the inexperienced dragon had simply latched his armor incorrectly.

Solar had to admit that doing so with a broken horn was impressive, and Cinder wasn’t non-cute for a dragon when his armor started coming off atop that. Unfortunately, it also certainly put Twilight in a lot of pain, as she was now spinning uncontrollably, seemingly on the verge of passing out.

“Cinder!” Ember shrieked as she approached, beating her large wings in a panic. Her wings tore further with each beat, but she focused on trying to save her child. Fortunately she couldn’t shoot flames at the nearby ponies without risking it setting off the bomb early.

But who actually saved him was far less predictable... Twilight, recovering from her dizziness, kicked the grenade from his mouth, sending it to his wing on his side with the most armor remaining, clearly so that it would only disable instead of killing him. With much of the sticky substance on his teeth, Twilight’s hoof was thankfully in no danger of sticking. Though it still proved a bravely insane move as Twilight’s wings gave out and she plummeted.

Solar dove with her, and heard the explosion behind her, but from Cinder’s shrieks he wasn’t dead yet. Fearing that Ember could now easily roast the two of them, Solar looked back up, teeth clenched and once again ready to die.

Ember only looked down at the pony that had saved her son’s life with a look of incomprehension. She turned to instead help her also-plummeting son, grabbing him in her claws. She glanced at the ferals as if to check if any had noticed Cinder’s living status by his lack of armor, then banked and flew away, elevation dropping as her wings tore a little more.

The next second the dragons were gone and Solar slammed into a hard surface, right wing snapping like brittle wood as she landed on it. Starlight had teleported her back, but that hadn’t stopped her downward velocity.

Solar lost her lunch, then shrieked into the puddle and thrashed. As her adrenaline rush died, the full intensity of the pain from her injuries hit her at once, and she couldn’t stop convulsing. She had no idea this much agony was even possible until now.

Limestone grabbed Solar, pulling her against her and holding her muzzle shut to quiet her.

“Calm down, soldier,” Limestone said. “We got you.”

Before Solar could take in her surroundings, the wagon was invisible again. The wagon moved again, bouncing as Maud ran at full speed. Maud could run fast even with the wagon, the screech of angry ferals growing distant behind them. Twilight had made it in as well, and stirred nearby without screaming, so must have been relatively okay.

Solar heard static within her head and garbled voices but couldn’t make them out. The wagon stopped after what seemed like forever, everything fading back in around her as the invisibility spell dropped again.

“None of them followed us,” Starlight said, her voice echoing through the ringing in Solar’s ears. “I think we’re okay.”

“Solar no!” Mercury squealed as she could now see Solar. “She’s bleeding bad!”

“Mercury!” Limestone growled.

“Sorry!” Mercury stammered. “You’re gonna be okay, Solar. It’s not as bad as I thought.”

Solar appreciated the attempted comfort, but even if Ember had spared them her fire, Solar felt like her whole body was still aflame. She flailed again, then panicked more when the damaged hoof hit the floor and most of what remained came free. She couldn’t feel her wings at all, terrified they were mangled beyond repair. Maybe she never used them for flying, but they were still pretty and she’d rather keep them.

Limestone opened Solar’s muzzle, and she wailed again, unable to control herself. Mercury cut off the scream though as she lodged a potion into Solar’s muzzle. She rammed the uncorked bottle tip right into Solar’s throat to force her to guzzle it. After that, Mercury pried Solar’s goggles from her face, damaged and bloody from the brief trip into a dragon’s mouth, but having protected Solar’s eyes. Starlight cast a healing spell on her as well, but it only helped the shrapnel injuries, and did nothing for damage from dragon fire or teeth.

The pain tapered off, but that only made Solar panic more. She didn’t know if Mercury potioned her to heal her or to ease her passing. What had Solar been thinking leaving Stable 27?

“I don’t want to die!” Solar screeched before Limestone held her muzzle shut again. So much for bravery.

“I won’t let you die, I swear!” Mercury said. “Solar please listen. I need you to remove your pipbuck, I can’t take it off for you and I need to get to your leg.”

Solar reached with her other forehoof to the clasp but flipping the latch on her sparking pipbuck sent another stab of pain through the shattered hoof. She couldn’t do it, but felt another hoof there as Crimson reached in and unlatched the pipbuck herself. Solar knew she could remove Stable 27 pipbucks now, but it surprised her that Crimson cared enough to help.

As the pipbuck came free, Solar felt her other leg, her foreleg charred so deeply that she felt exposed bone. Limestone opened Solar’s muzzle again, and this time Solar guzzled the potion eagerly, anything to soothe the rekindled torment.

She felt her consciousness fade. Was this how it felt to die? Her mind rebelled against the drowsiness caused by the potion, terrified that if she slept she would never wake up, but it was a losing battle.

“I won’t let you die,” Mercury’s promise echoed in her head as she lost consciousness.

But either way, she’d kept Mercury safe. She had succeeded at her most important goal.

19. The Joke is on You

Sunday, 10/30/2287
POV: Mercury Shine
The Ashlands

Mercury feared she’d lose Solar at first and would have never forgiven herself. Solar wouldn’t volunteer for something so dangerous to protect anyone but Mercury. Thankfully, none of Solar’s injuries were life threatening, and she had enough bandages from what she’d brought.

Afterward, Mercury sat with Solar and waited for her to wake. Mercury had put the unused sleeping bags all atop one another to give Solar a more comfortable bed. Starlight wouldn’t stop the wagon for long, but her sleep spell kept Solar resting peacefully.

The best she could do for the missing hoof was to clean it. She replaced it for the time being with an awkwardly carved wooden hoof with padding soaked in numbing agent in between so it didn’t agitate the exposed nerves. She’d need to clean it regularly and watch for infections. Mercury had also shaved the fur and mane around injuries to make sure they were sterile and tightly bandaged. Solar would hate it the next time she looked in a mirror, but it’d get better with time, and at least none of her feathers needed to be plucked.

It might look better by the time they found a mirror, anyway, and at least she now smelled better than any of them from the sterilizing agents. For now, they discarded Solar’s shredded blinder barding and stable suit to replace them with spares. It was a good thing they’d kept the ones the Pies had worn.

But this didn't solve the bigger problem. The attack implied that Midnight tracked them. If she used their pipbucks, it meant they needed their IDs reset.

“We can’t wait until Solar is conscious,” Crimson said to Limestone. “The dragons will be contacting Midnight right away, and she’ll be peeved that we fared so well against her general. You don’t have a choice but to trust me.”

“Why can’t Starlight do it?” Twilight asked. “Didn’t she invent most of this?”

“Starlight just stamped her name on things her subordinates created,” said Crimson.

“Care to correct yourself, Crimson?” Starlight growled.

“Oh right, I work for you again,” Crimson said. “I keep forgetting. The clever lie I meant to use is that knowing their inner workings doesn’t help. Pipbucks in my stable are altered from the base model and not even Solar knows the changes. That last part isn’t a lie; I may have lied about lying.”

“What a pain,” said Dinky. Her small form was resting atop Limestone’s back, front end draped over Limestone’s head and wearing Limestone’s general hat that was too big for her. It was as cute as two corpses could be.

“So, you only need to check the ones that came from Stable 27?” asked Limestone.

“Right,” Crimson said. “Trash Solar’s; it’s too damaged to boot, but may still be tracked. I’ll need my horn free to do all this though. Scary right?”

“Why do you need your horn?” asked Starlight.

“Because we locked certain functions to my magical frequency,” said Crimson. “I can’t undo that because I had other ponies more skilled than me set it up. I’m sure you’re familiar with the practice.”

“Are you trying to find the point where my irritation exceeds your usefulness, Crimson?” warned Starlight. The longer they traveled, the less patience she had for Crimson and most other things. Mercury assumed the lack of good rest was getting to her.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” claimed Crimson. “After all, good leaders know how to delegate, right? Just delegate it to Maud when you order someone to kill me, I like her style.”

Ignoring the nonsense, Crimson’s claim made sense, but even Mercury wasn’t foalish enough to think she was telling the whole story. Still, Mercury doubted she was still Midnight’s buddy like the others seemed worried about. Crimson spent the last 200 years turning Midnight into a boogeymare to Stable 27. She could have contacted her and offered an alliance, and likely succeeded given what Mercury had learned about Midnight.

At most, Midnight was somepony Crimson might resort to if out of options, but they weren’t out yet.

“Very well,” Limestone agreed. “The Empress and myself will keep a close eye on you, got it? And when Solar is able, she’ll double check to make sure you didn’t change anything else.”

“This at least means Stable 27 is okay, right?” Mercury asked. “You said if they made a deal with Midnight, she wouldn’t destroy them.”

“Likely,” Starlight said. “Even in the early war, she kept true to her deals. Not out of decency, but because she didn’t want to threaten somepony to get them to do something and them say ‘You’ll kill me either way’. That happened more than once to me and can be really annoying.”

“What happened to you more than once?” Twilight peered at Starlight from the corner she rested in.

“She got threatened with murder a lot,” Crimson said, filling into her role as Starlight’s official excuse-maker. “It’s practically how we said hello back in the day. And now too, given the radio broadcasts I’ve heard.”

“Right,” said Starlight, chuckling awkwardly and looking away from Twilight.

“Thank goodness,” Mercury sighed in relief at the thought that her remaining friends and family were okay. “I’d hate to think…”

“They could also have killed them and got the codes from the maneframe,” Crimson said. “Or forced somepony to tell them before mass-murder fun times.”

And the short-lived relief vanished.

Starlight tugged the horn-restraint from Crimson and tossed Solar’s damaged pipbuck out of the wagon. The air was still tense, so Mercury tried another conversation to calm things down and get her own mind off the worst.

“So, Twilight?” Mercury asked. “How did you get your wings? I assume not by killing your Daybreaker.”

“My Celestia,” Twilight corrected, but smiled. “Celestia gave them after a series of tests, though I didn’t know what I was testing for until she… upgraded me.”

“Upgraded you?” asked Mercury.

“Honestly, I’m not sure how the process worked,” smiled Twilight. “It involved disintegrating me and shoving my soul into a new body. I wonder if that process contributed to soul gem technology come to think of it… Anyway, it also involved luring my friends into doing the disintegration. I guess that’s really creepy now that I think about it.”

“But if Daybreaker could just make alicorns, why didn’t she create an army of them?” asked Mercury. “Why did the Ministries have to spend so much time trying to make artificial ones?”

“Because almost nopony can survive the process with mind intact even with training,” said Twilight. “And performing the ritual too often would have detrimental effects on her.”

“What tests did you pass to earn them?” Starlight asked, sounding curious, but looked at Twilight with a guarded expression.

“Well both tests and just things I did when they were needed, I guess,” Twilight said. “Saving the Crystal Empire from King Sombra, defeating Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, and… some others...”

Twilight trailed off as if she regretted wording it as she did. Mercury took a moment to realize why.

“Right, I was tasked with a few of those things,” sighed Starlight, watching data flash across her pipbuck screen. “I failed. Was that the underhooved point you were making?”

Mercury cringed, hoping she hadn’t made things worse by starting this conversation.

“I don’t think she meant it like that,” Limestone said as Dinky boredly played with one of her ears from atop her head. “Either way, you’re the Empress we need. We need a strong ruler, not a mascot.”

“I am not a mascot,” Twilight snapped, finally objecting to the designation.

“I don’t mean that you’re weak,” Limestone shook her head. “You have solid fighting skills and a sharp mind. You’d make a fine diplomat or even general in more peaceful times, but we need somepony that understands how bad things can get...”

Dinky sighed from atop Limestone’s head, tugging her ear slightly with one hoof, and Limestone trailed off almost apologetically. Limestone peered at Twilight again as if considering something.

“It’s that kind of thinking…” Twilight started but took a deep breath and stopped. “Never mind. That’s high praise coming from you General, thank you.” She looked to Starlight. “You are capable of everything I did, Starlight. I want to help you make the world better, so remember I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Starlight said, slowly adopting her happy face again, but twitching a bit as if it wasn’t as easy as usual. “Feel free to speak up when you have useful advice. I’ll leave it at that.”

“I’m sorry,” muttered Mercury. Though she didn’t want to risk bringing it up, Mercury thought Starlight missed the most important part of Twilight’s story. Twilight was made an alicorn; she didn’t ask for or want it. Mercury found it hard to believe that type of pony would make a play for power for no reason.

“No worries,” Crimson said as she finished with her pipbuck. “You distracted them at a vital moment.”

“She would have,” smirked Starlight. “If I wasn’t watching your screen through the PCB connection. I saw you disable the tracking alarm and can reactivate it.”

“Can you then?” Crimson chuckled. “Well that’s a relief. I wouldn’t want to get lost.” It was all a game to her.

“I told you she’d stall until she thought we were distracted,” Limestone said.

“Is that a taunt?” Crimson smiled. “Being sure I’m too paranoid to try something later?”

“Seems you figured me out, Minister,” Limestone said. It was a game to her too, so at least some ponies were having fun.

Mercury wasn’t worried that Crimson would betray them. At most she imagined Crimson disappearing for a few hours at their next campsite to freak them out. Crimson seemed like the type to subvert their defenses for the sake of a prank.

“Why can’t I feel my everything?” Solar’s weak voice whispered beside Mercury.

Mercury smiled when she found Solar had awoken, leaning down to hug her even if she couldn’t feel it.

“Thank Break you’re okay,” said Mercury. “And don’t worry, you’ve had a lot of potions so it will make you numb… had to use a lot because the draconic injuries dulled the magic part of the potions.”

“There she is,” said Limestone. “You know when we started, not even I could have predicted our engineer would make for an adequate dive bomber.”

“Just goes to show,” said Kamikaze, discreetly scratching her face against the side of the wagon. “There are few problems you can't solve by throwing a pony at them.” It was good to hear her joke a bit more, maybe she was slowly coming to terms with things.

Solar looked worried when she heard Kamikaze speak, “I’m not missing limbs am I?”

“Your limbs are fine, mostly,” Mercury assured. “We fixed your broken wing and your legs will heal enough to walk, though you’ll have scars. You are missing most of your front left hoof, but that won’t require cybernetics to repair and you still have your wings to hold things.”

“Are my fun bits fine?” Solar asked with sincere concern.

“They are,” Mercury smiled. “But go easy on your body until you’ve healed, nothing strenuous.”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” Twilight shook her head, but couldn’t help but chuckle. “That’s what Kamikaze asked when she got spit out of the reactor.”

“Nothing wrong with that question,” Kamikaze said. “It’s an important question!”

“Even more important, in this case,” said Solar. “I was promised Pie! ...though I guess I’ll have to settle for Kami’s muzzle until I’m strong enough for that.”

Mercury was relieved, and pleasantly surprised, that Solar took her advice to avoid the strenuous activities for now.

“I’m sure I’d beat them with everything, but hey, Midnight always thought my tongue alone was enough if something was making her feel down,” Kamikaze added with a chuckle, while Twilight groaned.

Mercury was sure the Pies would have something to say about that were Pinkie not pulling the cart and Maud not taking a nap after pulling before her.

“So, what about Tranquil?” asked Mercury. “Has she moved out of the forest?”

“She has,” said Limestone. “So that’s good news. She’s following the path south I suggested, but it’s odd that she stayed so long.”

“Maybe she was captured and escaped?” asked Twilight.

“If so, she couldn’t have on her own,” said Limestone. “Somepony would have needed to rescue her. Which would be good; it'd mean she has someone with her now that is willing to risk their safety for her.”

Mercury sighed, relaxing at that news.

“By Nightmare’s starry twat, that someone better not have a dick,” Crimson wasn’t as happy. She needed to work on her priorities.

“Do you have a better fix on where she camped in the Everfree?” asked Mercury before Crimson could derail the conversation. “We could check it out.” Confirmation that Tranquil was doing well would do her soul some good.

“Well it’s not as near the castle as we feared,” Limestone said. “Empress?”

“We can, assuming nothing unexpected happens that makes it a bad idea,” Starlight said.

“Thank you,” Mercury said. She hoped they’d find good news there.

Monday, 10/31/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle

When in the wagon, Twilight spent much of her time reading articles in the magitech encyclopedias she’d borrowed from the library. It wasn’t easy to read with the occasional bouncing, and poor lighting, so she found herself trailing off into deep thought more often as time passed.

Twilight had been terrible at her job here. If repeatedly resorting to violence under stress wasn’t bad enough, Twilight feared that the awkwardness of her recent conversation gave Starlight the impression that she wanted to take control. She didn’t want to be like Crimson, with everypony expecting her to stab them in the back.

For the moment, Limestone at least didn’t think of Twilight as a threat, and Starlight trusted Limestone’s judgment. Twilight wanted Starlight to trust her by her own merits though; how to do that?

Perhaps she should just offer sex; that seemed to be the standard method of bonding and stress relief for most of the team.

Twilight’s mind kept going there because she’d never been this pent-up. What she wouldn’t give to be alone for a few minutes to relieve tension and work out the aches from sitting all day on a hard rocking surface, but she hadn’t even gone potty by herself since they left the stable. Limestone insisted nopony go off alone even for a moment; Twilight understood why, but that didn’t help.

It’d already been a week. Twilight missed her friends and family, her home, and her faith in ponykind. She also missed decent food; they had run out of the Stable 27 food and began eating the 200-year-old military rations from Canterlot. Even if they were edible, they tasted rotten.

As her tummy grumbled once again, she attempted to scarf one down without tasting it, and it mostly worked. She washed it down with the last gulp from her canteen, and hoped she wouldn’t throw it right back up, either from the taste or the bumpy ride once they started again.

At least she had her small collection of books and a slightly better understanding of their world. To her credit, Crimson had been nice about bringing the books out on request when the others allowed her to, and seemed to like Twilight in her own way. Twilight just hoped that wasn’t because Crimson liked Midnight.

While Crimson avoided Midnight before, losing control of Stable 27 might make Midnight her best hope at getting power again. They had to be careful not to give her reason to give in to that temptation.

Music from outside of the wagon interrupted Twilight’s thinking. Twilight recognized the hum beneath it as one of the sprite-bots. They had encountered them throughout the Ashlands, though none had spoken to them. As the song ended, this one played another of the Crystal Princess’s messages.

“There are those amongst us who would shatter our hopes for peace, order, and security,” Skyla said over the broadcast. “Mmph... These radical malcontents don’t care about you. They don’t care about Equestria! All they care about is fulfilling their own selfish desires.”

“Let’s take a tally of these agitators, shall we?” she continued. “There are the raiders. Those anarchistic ruffians who roam the wastes, preying on all, stealing, murdering. There’s the New Lunar Republic, who would blanket this land in eternal night given the chance. And of course, ‘The Trinity’. They have the audacity to claim to be the remnants of the Ministry of Magitech, but their claimed unity means turning us into monsters.”

“That is to say nothing of the power-armored terrorists called the Children of the Pearl, the bigoted Unicornia, the deceptive changelings, and Discordia where chaos reigns supreme.” She paused briefly for a short squee. “They’re all around us, but not for long, sweet Equestria. I will restore peace, order, and prosperity to this great kingdom. And I will remove those who oppose Equestria. Forever.”

“She talks a big game,” Twilight said as another orchestrated anthem played. “Crimson, what do you know about her outside of her broadcasts?”

“I only know what the radio says,” said Crimson. “She makes a lot of big claims, but few trust her because she’s the princess of the blockheads. She seems to have a truce with both Trinity and Midnight since they’re busy with each other, but makes no secret of her feelings for them. There are rumors of her searching city ruins for pre-war artifacts, but otherwise she’s a mystery.”

“I thought for sure the shinies were extinct,” said Kamikaze.

“Can we please cut down on racial slurs?” sighed Twilight. “Please.”

“I thought for sure the crystals were extinct,” Kamikaze corrected herself, but rolled her eyes.

“Maybe they are extinct,” said Crimson. “All reports say her soldiers are fully armored, so it’s impossible to tell what they really are. Maybe she’s just somepony that found a radio transmitter and went bananas. Nothing wrong with bananas. Bananas are good.”

“I wonder if she’s descended from Shining and Cadance,” Twilight mused. “That might make her a standard unicorn, or pegasus as Cadance was before being getting her upgrade from Celestia, rather than a crystal pony.”

“You murdered Shining on his wedding night,” Crimson laughed. “Cadance didn’t have one soon enough after that for it to be his. Might be Sombra’s rape-foal instead; that’d be a fate worse than death for poor Cadance, but your point that she might not be a blockhead stands.”

“Right,” Twilight sighed. “You know, I wish you had the decency for me to bother telling you not to slur.”

“So sad,” Crimson said dismissively.

“I still don’t understand: why would Midnight do that?” asked Twilight. “The Alicorn Amulet corrupts, but enough to murder your own family? I’ve seen a unicorn under its control and she was annoying at worst. Does it get worse over longer periods of wearing it?”

“Not sure,” Crimson shrugged. “My job was to paint you as a monster, not find out what made you one.”

“Midnight became obsessed with Celestia’s students,” Starlight answered for her. “She thought she’d gotten an unfair test, though it’s true she didn’t start picking off Celestia’s other students until after putting on the amulet. I have to admit I had more than a few sleepless nights due to her attempts on me.”

“She had a point with the test,” Crimson said. “Asking a filly to hatch the egg of a creature that ponies knew so little about… even Daybreaker would have trouble passing that test.”

“I passed that test,” Starlight said defensively. “It’s how I got Spike.”

“Celestia had a premonition that her next protégé could pass that specific test,” Twilight said, having asked Celestia that very question. “I wasn’t even the first she gave it to, but I don’t understand. They still gave the ones that failed it the regular test so they could join as a normal student. Was that not the case here?”

“It was,” said Starlight. “But apparently Midnight failing a test of any kind is traumatic for her, so her aunt, Star Sparkle, played with her disillusionment to get her interested in dark magic. It snowballed from there and she decided she could do better on her own. Daybreaker blamed herself, I’m sure, until the day she died.”

“I see,” Twilight sighed. She remembered her aunt offering to train her if she didn’t pass the test, but nothing came of it. Twilight wished she’d realized she was into dark magic before so she could get her help, but she had since disappeared even in Twilight’s timeline.

“It could be the amulet,” said Starlight. “But she really went off the deep end after a research trip to Ponehenge in the Foal Mountains.”

“Ponehenge?” Twilight asked. “There were stories about it, but we hadn’t yet found its location in my timeline. Is it from your ancient alicorn civilization?”

“It wasn’t that old,” said Starlight. “But she destroyed it, and we only have her propaganda to tell us why. She claimed she discovered six villains attempting to release a monster from Limbo. She killed them while they were weak from the spell and smote the shadow, saving the world from it. Blah blah. You know how it goes.”

“Sounds like a hallucination or lie,” said Twilight.

“I’d agree,” said Starlight. “But afterward she had a huge power boost and shadow magic we never explained, even upgraded her delusions to call herself the Divine Shadow. So, something happened there.”

“For some reason that seems familiar,” Twilight mused.

Twilight latched onto the possibility more than she might have otherwise. If Midnight were possessed, it allowed Twilight to rationalize that she wasn’t actually as bad as she acted, that she might even be saved.

After the attack, they began their journey again. In the end it didn’t waste more than a few hours of their journey, not that they’d be able to catch up with Tranquil anyway. In the time left before they reached Everfree, most of them took their time to take a nap, but their peace didn’t last long.

‘Pinkie sees trees!’ Pinkie’s voice over the PCB broke the silence soon after Mercury awoke again.

‘Calm down, Pink,’ Maud assured as she sat up from her own sleeping spot. ‘We expected to see trees when we got close to Everfree.’

“These are tiny blue moving trees,” Pinkie stopped the wagon, poking her head under the cover from outside and clarified. “Pinkie always suspected plants were plotting against Pinkie, and now she has proof! Yes.”

Twilight peeked out. They neared the forest, but it was more of an abrupt change than Twilight expected. The border of where the gravity bombs hit was an immediate change from crushed glass to green plant life. It wasn’t the gradual shift one would expect at the edge of a large explosion, but she supposed it hadn’t exactly been an explosion.

Plant life within the forest looked as thriving as ever. The tiny blue trees Pinkie mentioned were blue vines growing just outside the forest edge. They moved about in a random pattern, sinking into the ground and emerging a few seconds later a few hooves away. Twilight recognized the flowers and her heart sank.

“That’s poison joke,” Twilight said, “But why is it moving? A mutation?”

“Poison joke that chases you?” Kamikaze asked. “That is ten pounds of nope in a five-pound bag.”

“That’s killing joke,” Starlight groaned in frustration as she looked out. “But it can’t be. We never brought it back here after the experiments.”

“Experiments?” Twilight asked, trying not to raise her voice and failing. “Exactly how many of your experiments are currently terrorizing Equestria?”

“This can’t be ours!” Starlight said. “I mean we studied its psionic properties, the way it gets into your head to know what ‘joke’ to pull. When we magnified it, it became mobile, and the jokes became more lethal, but I don’t know why it’s here. The experiment was inside the Ministry of Magitech in Fillidelphia, not even close to here.”

“And who did you experiment on to know it became lethal?” Twilight growled.

“Simulations,” Crimson filled her role as propaganda mare. “Never on enemy soldiers or under-informed volunteers.”

Twilight liked it better when Crimson was merely evil instead of working for Starlight. Either way, it was hard for her to let such immoral science go, and it seemed Starlight had done a lot of it.

“What benefit could that research even produce?” asked Twilight.

“You’re wearing it,” Crimson motioned to Twilight’s pipbuck.

That made a little sense. The pipbucks had to get into a pony’s heads to recognize friends from foe, not to mention the PCB and readings on the wearer’s health and inventory. The psionic capability made Twilight even more guarded about the device on her leg.

“I don’t think the families of your experiments would see this contraption as adequate justification.” Twilight said through clenched teeth.

“We made mistakes,” said Starlight. “Blame won’t help. Besides, I engineered it so it could only survive in the lab. They should be dead.”

“Well these are surviving,” said Twilight, shivering as she tried to hold it in. “Thriving on ground that even Everfree plants can’t touch.”

“Odd,” Limestone commented after looking one direction and the other through Ashmaker’s scope. “They’re in patches along the edge of the forest for as far as I can see, but I don’t see any inside the borders of Everfree itself. It looks like an intentional defense perimeter.” She lowered Ashmaker. “They’d need control of them. But how? A repellent? Psionics?” Limestone’s confusion was not a good sign.

“How did Tranquil get past them?” asked Mercury.

“A single pony with a lighter cart could find a gap to run between,” said Limestone. “This seems more to deter large groups.”

“Tranquil’s camp site is a few hundred hooves inside the forest border,” said Maud. “Are we aborting?”

“The trees in the forest are still alive,” Twilight said, checking radiation levels on her pipbuck and finding them significant. “They must have adapted to the taint.”

“Well if no one depowered the Tree of Harmony, it’s keeping the forest alive,” said Starlight.

“You know of it?” Twilight asked. “And the Elements?”

“Yes, we were studying the Elements and trying to weaponize them,” said Starlight. “We were close to a weapon that would turn entire battalions into stone.”

“A non-lethal weapon,” added Crimson. “After all, we passionately desired a peaceful resolution.” She looked to be having fun, but every denial felt like confirmation of the opposite.

“We had an issue with black vines growing out of control from the forest, which forced us to put the Elements back on the tree,” continued Starlight. “Daybreaker decreed they remain there until we found ponies that could wield them properly. Apparently Daybreaker couldn’t because she used them to banish another Element bearer in the past, which broke her connection.”

“Sounds like the vine problem was the same in both timelines,” pondered Twilight. “I know it’s close to the castle, but can we check on the tree from a distance through Ashmaker’s scope? There’s also another place I’d like to check, because I suspect I know where the Midnight clones come from… really hope I’m wrong but...”

“Huh,” Crimson said. “I didn’t have to make excuses to go into the forest. We have a grocery list of reasons.”

Starlight sighed as she pulled up her map projection and pointed at locations. “Tree is here. Where is the stash and potential cloner?”

“We’re looking for the Mirror Pool,” said Twilight, tapping her hoof on the map. “Here.”

Starlight cringed at the mention of the pool, then peered at Twilight with a curious look. It felt an awful lot like she knew about the Mirror Pool and now wondered why Twilight also knew. Twilight realized that Midnight likely wasn’t the first one to find the pool, and Starlight certainly knew something about it she wasn’t keen on sharing.

“The stash I mentioned is here,” Crimson tapped on it too. “Good camp location, as I said.”

“That’s Zecora’s hut,” Twilight recognized the position. “I guess I should have realized that it’d be there.”

“That it is!” said Crimson. “I should have mentioned that; I’d have had Not-Midnight vouching for me!”

“Can’t we go invisible again?” asked Mercury.

“To avoid guards, yes,” said Starlight. “But invisibility tricks eyes, not psionics. The joke will ‘see’ right through it, and I’m not good with keeping large moving things invisible anyway.” She turned to Twilight. “Twilight. Do you think you can fly us that short distance without crashing?”

“I think I’m better enough to manage a short flight,” Twilight nodded, hoping she was.

“The vines look prehensile,” said Limestone, “They might stretch, so stay as high as you can without going above the tree level where patrols might see us.”

“Once we’re in the forest,” Starlight said. “We’ll go to the campsite, tree, pool, then hut, where we’ll camp so I can get actual sleep, but if we see any indication that this is harder than we thought, we’ll leave immediately.”

“Good,” Limestone said. “Okay Masco... Twilight, hitch yourself up and let’s go. Everypony keep an eye out. They may have mutated in other ways.”

POV: Starlight Glimmer

From the beginning, Starlight suspected that Twilight might be trouble. She wasn’t the trouble Starlight expected, but it was trouble all the same.

Though she wasn’t Midnight, Twilight was a thorn in Starlight’s side by going to the opposite extreme. She seemed determined to draw attention to Starlight’s every flaw, as if to show how Starlight didn’t measure up to Twilight’s high moral standards.

For many of Starlight’s underlings like the Pies, this didn’t matter. They would be faithful to her because they deferred to ponies of rank. Most ponies of today wouldn’t have that indoctrination though. Mercury and Solar might side with Twilight if a real rift formed. While Starlight hoped that less sheltered ponies wouldn’t fall for it, she still feared Twilight might defy her at an inopportune time.

Besides, the timeline Twilight described was impossible. Twilight wanted them to believe she defeated the fiends of her own world by being friendly. Starlight had spent years studying magic, and it didn’t work like that.

All this friendship nonsense Twilight spouted seemed more like self-propaganda. Starlight knew because it was the same sort of things she told ponies as she experimented on their friends and families behind closed doors.

With any luck, the rock farm would be faithful enough to Starlight that Twilight couldn’t cause issues there. If all else failed, it wouldn’t be too hard to convince ponies that Twilight was a problem just for her looking like Midnight.

For now, Twilight was an asset as only she could fly the wagon over the killing joke. Starlight just wished she knew why the killing joke was here to begin with.

As Twilight took off, the pegasus enchantment on the wagon kept it upright, though the dizzy alicorn still rocked back and forth. Flying with a large wagon was harder than just flying, and Twilight scrunched her face as she strained to overcome the vertigo from her injury. She elevated to about a hundred hooves off the ground before moving forward.

Starlight saw more once they were higher. The Everfree covered a smaller area than before, but was still sizable, an oasis of green in the desolate wastelands. The lights and the top of Midnight Castle shone above the trees, with what looked like bat patrols flying rounds, some with a single dragon member. They’d have to watch for those, but at least none were close enough to notice them at this elevation. They were on the opposite side of the forest from Trinity so this side probably wasn't as well guarded.

Everfree was the only life visible. Further south, she looked towards Ghastly Gorge, which they’d be walking alongside on their way to the Pie Rock Farm. It was a good thing they didn’t have to walk through it because there was a swirling green and pink glow emitting from various points inside the gorge. Starlight remembered the quarray eels that had lived there, and definitely didn’t want to fight a mutated version.

“Pinkie’s knee is pinchy!” Pinkie blurted out. “We are under attack! Yes.”

Starlight focused, looking around in the sky. She expected a bat or dragon patrol closing in but saw nothing at their elevation. Then she looked down just in time to see a floating killing joke bloom lunge at her. A second later it disintegrated in a flash from a beam of gray magic from Dinky’s horn.

They could fly? Starlight’s experiments never flew!

Starlight erected a magical shield around the whole wagon, but some were already within the shield’s radius. She backed up, activating the face shield on her blinder suit just before one latched onto the front. Starlight strained to maintain the forcefield, covering her exposed horn with both hooves.

The creature didn’t need to touch her though because she still felt it in her head. Random memories surfaced as if it was digging through her mind to find a weak point, and she felt her magic fade. It would have made her drop the shield had Dinky not blasted it off her too.

Afterward the little ghoul squealed as one lunged for her. She dodged, but for once the ghoulish resistance to environmental hazards was a disadvantage. Neither ghoul had full-body covering.

The shield would fall if Starlight tried to attack them herself, and dozens more clung to the outside of the forcefield. The more that gathered, the more energy the shield required, as if they were draining it. Her experiments couldn’t do that either.

These weren’t a mutation. Starlight was certain someone had intentionally improved on her design. But how did somepony even get her design? Nopony outside the Ministry of Magitech knew about this experiment, and someone would need Starlight’s own security codes to get information to duplicate it. Unless it was… for Break’s sake she hoped not.

The ability to drain magic made them slippery to telekinesis, but despite the difficulty Dinky and Mercury managed to gather the ones they saw with it. Crimson still couldn’t use magic, but it didn’t matter since all she did was cover her horn in a corner and laugh at the situation. Starlight couldn’t help but wistfully wonder what might happen to Crimson if they infected her.

“Pull them together!” directed Limestone, pointing above them.

Mercury and Dinky held as many as they could together and Limestone glowed as she focused a burst of radiation at the bundled joke. The batch burst into flames from the focused radiation, disintegrating into ashes. Limestone groaned, her glow dying down after using so much of her stored energy.

A bolt of energy rattled the wagon as Twilight unleashed an uncontrolled burst of magic from her horn stub, jolting several plants that had surrounded her. Twilight had to protect her own exposed wings, but the energy use made it hard to fly. The wagon lurched back and forth, supplies and ponies sliding from one side to the other.

“Twilight! Into the trees now!” shouted Limestone.

Twilight flew towards the tree line as quickly as she could, the wagon rattling behind her. Starlight thought they were home free for a moment before Dinky screeched. She turned to see Dinky lunging at her, teeth bared. Starlight couldn’t do much while holding up the shield, so watched as Dinky tried to bite through her face shield and kicked at her. The little ghoul had some solid kicks for her size, and Starlight backed away.

Limestone tackled Dinky to the floor of the wagon as Mercury used her magic to pull a killing joke bloom off of Dinky’s leg. She slammed an empty potion-mixing beaker over it to catch it, perhaps thinking the infecting plant might help make a cure. Mercury slipped a lid onto the beaker and sealed it.

An instant later they crashed through the brush and into the forest. Starlight dropped the shield as the impact threw her to the floor, a stabbing pain filling her head as she jarred her horn hard against one corner of the wagon.

20. Harmony's Treasure

Monday, 10/31/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
The Everfree Forest

Twilight expected to crash into a tree, but Starlight expanded her shield, which deflected their path enough to avoid a direct collision. Instead they bounced about between obstacles like a pinball as they plummeted to the ground.

At least until the shield collapsed, at which point dozens of branches and thorns jabbed her. She landed hard, pain shooting through her previously injured leg as she collapsed.

Twilight looked about as she tried to regain composure. A quick survey of her surroundings revealed no new danger, but showed how the forest had changed. Trees were more twisted and gnarled than Twilight remembered. The newer trees were like bonsai, while the more ancient trees had a normal bulky trunk with twisted branches.

She also recognized the reason that the joke blooms stayed out of the forest. There were bunches of purple flowers that looked like poison joke aside from color, shimmering visibly with magic. They were in bunches at regular intervals as if someone that understood their range planted them in such a way to create the perimeter with the killing joke.

When the pain died down to a throb, Twilight pulled herself off the ground and unhitched herself from the wagon. She shook the thorns and twigs from her wings and mane, grabbing a flower in her muzzle and carrying it back to show the others.

“Well, the good news is I can feel my everything again.” Solar said as Twilight approached. “The bad news is… I can feel my everything again. Ow.”

Twilight flapped her wings to boost herself up into the air and landed inside the wagon. Most everypony looked okay, Starlight wobbling to her own hooves and rubbing her horn as if she jarred it during the crash.

The one that didn’t look okay was Dinky, who was snarling like a feral, snapping her teeth at the living ponies as Limestone restrained her limbs with rope. Starlight latched the magic restraint that had been on Mercury onto Dinky instead. Next to them, Mercury was holding a sealed beaker with a killing joke bloom inside. The bloom thrashed in agony at the proximity to the other flowers, but remained alive.

“Why is Dinky doing that?” asked Twilight.

“It’s the joke bloom,” said Limestone as she kept Dinky pinned. “Dinky told me before that she was afraid of becoming feral and hurting somepony. If it realized that…”

“It wanted to get her killed by her own friends,” Starlight sighed. “That seems like a murder method killing joke might think hilarious.”

“Should I put her down?” Maud asked.

“We will not!” Limestone’s response was venomous enough that even Maud took a step back.

“It’s okay, Limestone,” Twilight tried to calm the situation, dropping the purple bloom on the wagon’s floor. The killing joke in Mercury’s beaker shied away from it. “I think these flowers are what’s keeping the killing joke out. They feed on latent psychic energy, which debilitates some psionic creatures. Zecora’s cure for poison joke used these pha-”

“Phantasmal flowers!” Mercury recognized them. “I’ve only seen pictures!” She paused, clearing her throat and trying to contain her glee at seeing new flora. “I bet I can make a remedy with this since I have the joke bloom to study too.”

“Indeed,” Twilight smiled at Mercury’s enthusiasm. “I once helped my Zecora weed them out of a section of our Everfree so they wouldn’t slowly drive the poison joke into town.”

“Get more of them,” Limestone said, regaining her cool. “But make sure not to remove enough that the joke will come in after us. We’ll keep Dinky bound until we get to Zecora's hut. The full recipe could be there.”

“Think she’ll have other recipes?” asked Mercury. “I’d love to get my hooves on a zebra alchemy book!”

Twilight smiled again at Mercury’s thirst for knowledge, but also patted her shoulder to calm her. She wouldn’t mind finding such a book herself.

“Can we carry these with us on our way out?” asked Limestone.

“We can, but it won’t ward them off,” said Twilight. “The psionic effect wears off quickly unless they’re planted in the ground, not in a vase or planter. They require very specific conditions; Everfree was the only place they’d grow even before this mess.”

“Right now, I’m more concerned with the wagon,” said Starlight. “I don’t see paths and the trees are too close together further in.”

“We couldn’t use paths anyway, since patrols might follow them,” said Limestone, cradling the squirming Dinky and rocking her. “Can you put a perception filter on the wagon?”

“Zebra mysticism eludes me,” Starlight shook her head. “Break only knows how they managed such things without horns.”

“Very well,” said Limestone. “Pinkie, Maud, cover the wagon as much as you can with branches and brush. We’ll carry the supplies we require to the campsite and hope we can come back for the rest.”

“What about Solar?” asked Mercury. “Should somepony stay here with her?”

“We can’t split up in the Everfree,” Limestone shook her head. “There’s no guarantee that Midnight cleared out all the dangerous creatures.”

“Okay, but we have team members that can’t walk,” said Twilight. It’d be hard enough for her to walk.

“That occurred to me, but we must make do,” said Limestone. “I’ll carry Dinky since she won’t bite me. Pinkie can carry Solar so we can move faster. I’ll let Crimson walk to carry more supplies, but Maud will keep her on a leash… while carrying Kamikaze I guess.”

“Nightmare plague me with 1000 buckless nights,” swore Kamikaze. “I’m back to being luggage, then.”

“That is an adequate arrangement,” said Maud. “I want Crimson within murdering distance.”

“You mean you want me on a leash,” chuckled Crimson.

“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Maud said as she tied a rope around Crimson’s neck. She tied it into a slipknot to make it easier to choke her and yanked it when Crimson tried to speak again, showing the slightest hint of a smile.

“Pinkie will take the pegaslut, but demands she limits her movements,” Pinkie said as she hefted Solar onto her back, legs hanging off either side. “Pinkie carries many explosives so perverse hip grinding could be deadly! Yes.”

Limestone carried Dinky’s muzzled and bound form. She had ceased lunging at ponies but eyed her living comrades angrily. Everypony else loaded supplies, taking as many as possible in case they couldn’t return to the wagon.

Twilight took more of a load than she should with her leg, but wanted to feel like she was pulling her share. It was hard for her to bear leaving Spike’s body there alone, and Limestone seemed equally reluctant to leave Marble. Luckily, the preservation spells would keep them from attracting wild animals.

“Tranquil’s camp was about three hundred hoofsteps this way, and I don’t see any other signals in that area,” said Starlight, projecting her pipbuck map and then pointing. “Maud. You go first so we don’t step on any tracks you can examine.”

“Affirmative,” Maud said and stepped to the front, yanking at Crimson’s leash harder than she needed. Twilight wished Crimson would stop moaning when Maud mistreated her.

The brush was thick, but Maud may as well have been walking in the open, bulldozing it for the others that followed. Starlight used her magic to pull branches back together behind them to not leave an obvious path.

They soon came upon a clearing where Tranquil had camped, which had a lot of broken brush already. Signs of a struggle surrounded a small cave opening, dark and narrow enough they’d need to enter singlefile. An overturned iron cart lay at the edge, small enough to pull between trees, but too big for the cave. It was empty.

“That’s the cart I gave Tranquil,” Limestone said. “Looks like they cleaned out any remaining supplies.”

“Some tracks match Tranquil’s hoofprints that we saw leaving Canterlot,” said Maud. “Other tracks look like bat or pegasus hooves. I think they chased Tranquil into the cave. There are also a few tracks I do not recognize. The underside of the hoof is ridged in odd patterns.”

“Changelings have ridged under-hooves,” said Twilight. “Because of their chitin exoskeleton.”

“Changelings work for Trinity, not Midnight,” said Crimson.

“Their tracks are covered by other tracks, as are Tranquil’s,” Maud said as she walked to the cave entrance. “They could have been fleeing with her.”

There was blood on the ground, almost dry, and places where bodies fell before being dragged away. Twilight cringed as Maud licked each of the blood spots.

“These are all bat blood,” Maud said. “And the only pegasus blood I found tastes male. Tranquil may be uninjured.”

"Well that’s a sexy ability," Crimson commented. "Being able to identify blood from complete strangers. Color me envious."

“I’m seeing damage from both bullets and horn beams on these trees,” said Limestone. She dragged a hoof against a damaged tree. “Not enough damage to have been a Twilicorn. Can changelings use beam attacks?”

“Yes,” said Twilight, rolling it around in her head more. “If Midnight’s enemy uses changelings, perhaps these were prisoners. Tranquil may have rescued them, or they rescued her after she was captured.”

“You think Tranquil went commando and stormed out of the castle with two of their prisoners?” laughed Crimson.

“Why not?” asked Mercury. “I mean few would have expected Solar to take on dragons and live.”

“Yes,” Pinkie said. “Pinkie has seen unimposing ponies do interesting things when backed into corners, sometimes due to Pinkie.”

“Maybe they weren’t in the castle,” said Twilight. “What if they escaped in transit to or from the castle?”

“That seems more likely,” Maud looked back at them from the cave mouth. “However, for now I require light.”

“I got it,” Starlight said. Her horn glowed as she stepped into the cave behind Maud.

As they all followed Maud into the cave, it remained narrow. The widest point would allow two ponies to walk side by side, but it was full of twists and turns.

“Hm,” said Starlight, her pipbuck map projecting in front of her. “When I tried to map it, looks like it leads outside the edge of the forest but… there’s something odd. I’m picking up levels of structures beneath the surface, not connected to this cavern. A stable?”

“There wasn’t a stable in Everfree,” said Crimson. “They could have built something like one since then; they had plenty of time.”

“Looks huge,” commented Starlight. “The structures right beneath us look like I’d expect from a residential district, but it's shielded like Stable 27, so I can't see details.”

“Not surprising,” said Crimson. “Midnight claims to protect ten thousands of bats and hundreds of pegasi, but Midnight Castle isn’t nearly big enough for that.”

“That many?” asked Starlight.

“This isn’t her only settlement,” said Crimson. “She has others further south. With all that, fruits are probably the most populous species of pony left.”

“Makes sense,” pondered Twilight. “They weren’t very populous in my timeline, but most lived outside major cities, and would have avoided direct hits.”

“That could be a problem if they’re loyal to Midnight,” said Starlight. “But no time to worry about that now.”

They arrived upon signs of a camp. Spent rations from the Canterlot stores littered the area and there was a bedroll left open. It had fluorescent green blood on it, as did several of the rocks.

“This is changeling blood,” Twilight said. She’d seen plenty after the changeling invasion of her Canterlot. Shining and Cadance’s repelling energy wave crushed some changelings against walls if they were unlucky enough to be indoors when it hit. Cadance and Shining had felt terrible when they found out.

“If I had to guess,” said Limestone. “She met escapees, tried to help them, and got surrounded by Midnight’s troops.” She looked deeper into the cave. “If the other end of this is outside the border of the forest, that’s how they escaped. Let’s look.”

Maud walked cautiously as they trotted deeper. The cave split at several points, but she followed the hoofprints to know where they had fled.

“This cave was in use prior to them being here,” said Maud. “There are older hoofprints and somepony drew arrows on the floor to show the correct way. The markings are discrete, but the changelings might have known about them already.”

“That explains why they didn’t get lost on their way through it,” Limestone said.

It was a long path, but the opposite end was indeed outside the border of the forest and beyond the killing joke. The path allowed one to get past the killing joke, though it was far too small a passage for their wagon.

There weren’t as many hoofprints here because of the wind in the Ashlands, but there was a strange creature about thirty hoofsteps from the entrance, facing it. It looked like she held off their pursuers and died for her efforts. Twilight felt anger rising at how the pursuers left a body to rot, enemy or not.

The creature didn’t look like a changeling though. It might have even been cute if it weren’t dead. It was covered with bright lime green chitin rather than black, with purple fairy wings and a stubby changeling-like horn. Her empty eyes were bright red, fluorescent blood surrounding her from the gunshot wounds in her chest.

“There is horn damage above the cave,” said Maud, kneeling next to it and looking at the creature’s underhoofs. “And broken stone around the entrance. If she blasted it shut, they could have dug it out. I think there were two of these creatures though. The underside of this one’s hooves only match some hoofprints I saw.”

“If the blasts only partially collapsed the cave,” surmised Limestone. “The pursuers might still fire out at the one that collapsed it. Any others must have made it into the Ashlands by the time they dug it out. At that point I guess the effort to capture them exceeded their importance.”

“Is that a changeling, Twilight?” Starlight asked.

“Not any kind I’ve seen,” Twilight sighed. “It’s similar though. Maybe a related fairy species, maybe mutated, or maybe just descended from a different hive. We only confirmed the existence of one hive, but there could have been different genetic strains.”

“What did the changelings you encountered look like?” asked Starlight.

“Solid black with empty blue eyes,” said Twilight. “They look emaciated and have holes in them.”

“Everypony has holes in them,” Solar said. “It’s one of my favorite things about ponies.”

“Not like that,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Like in their limbs, sometimes right through where the leg bone would be if they didn’t have exoskeletons instead.”

“Really?” Solar thought about that and her wings slowly perked up.

“She has injuries that healed before she died,” Mercury said, leaning down to examine the body. “I assume she was the one they cared for in the cave. Sad that it was for nothing.”

“Not for nothing,” said Limestone. “Tranquil and her other friend may still be alive because of this creature. The area south of here shouldn’t be as desolate, so I hope they found safe food and water.”

“Can we bury the poor thing?” Mercury asked, moving a hoof to gently pull the creature’s eyes closed.

“I’ll cremate the body,” offered Starlight.

“Apologies, Empress, but we shouldn't do that yet,” said Limestone. “We should leave as little sign we were here as possible. More guards will probably come to collapse the cave, and I’m surprised they hadn’t already. Something must have happened that suddenly required a lot of troops elsewhere for them to leave it unfinished and unguarded… I wonder what...”

“Fair enough,” said Starlight. “We don’t need the cave, since we know now to fully shield the wagon on the way out. We’ll go look at the Tree of Harmony next, but we’ll do so as far away from it as we can.”

“It’s in a ravine,” said Twilight. “We can peek over the edge.”

Twilight looked at the strange creature once more, trying to place it. Finally, she shook her head and turned away.

They found an edge of the ravine around Midnight Castle without further incident. Limestone let Twilight look through Ashmaker’s scope to tell them if she recognized anything.

The castle looked like the castle from the Nightmare Moon Timeline, which made sense. Half a dozen bat ponies guarded the entrance. When a 'twilicorn' landed nearby and walked into the palace, the guards bowed. Given she didn’t wear Celestia’s skin, Twilight figured it wasn’t the real one either, but the bats still treated her with respect.

“They based the New Lunar Republic here when they made it this far north,” said Starlight. “But they barely had time to finish repairs before being driven back.”

“How did you drive them back?” Twilight asked. Any detail might help.

“We didn’t,” said Starlight. “Discord was freed and sent both sides running.”

“Yeah, he does that,” Twilight chuckled. It was too bad she didn’t have her own Discord handy. She never thought she’d miss him so much.

Twilight scanned around with the scope, moving to the edge of the chasm. She looked inside and found what she sought: The Tree of Harmony. It had large cables connected to it, a forcefield barrier, and another half dozen bats guarding it.

The Elements were in the tree branches though the symbols on them weren’t the ones Twilight knew. They still had the simple geometric shapes on them like they had when Twilight first found them in the ruined castle, with a symbol of a lightning bolt pointing to the base of the tree, towards a small locked chest with six keyholes on it.

The tree may have looked similar, but it didn’t feel the same. Twilight couldn’t explain why or how, but there was something wrong with it, giving her an uncanny feeling.

Upon more examination, she realized the cables didn’t all lead to the palace. The thickest, almost a half-hoofstep in diameter, led to a small portal opening. It was drawing energy from or sending energy to another location. The portal was no larger than the cable’s diameter.

“They’re either using it as a power source, or drawing energy from elsewhere to power it,” said Twilight as she hoofed Ashmaker back to Limestone. “They haven’t opened the chest though. The whole thing seems odd, different in more ways than that, but I can't put my hoof on it.”

“The six-lock chest?” asked Starlight, who was also looking it over via a spell and apparently knew of that. “Why? Is that important?”

“It could have been a huge asset in the war, even won it for you,” said Twilight. “Even now it might be useful. When we opened it in my timeline, it gave us special power to defeat an otherwise impossibly strong foe. I don’t know if it’d dent this mess, but it couldn’t make it worse.”

“Right,” grumbled Starlight. “We tried to open it, but we had other things to worry about. I wanted to dig up the whole tree and take it to the Ministry of Magitech to study but couldn’t without risking the black vines returning.”

“How did you open it, Twilight?” Limestone asked. “And what inside gave you these powers?”

“I could pick the locks,” offered Solar.

“No amount of picking will work on this,” sighed Twilight. “The keys are symbolic so there’s nothing to pick. Basically, each lock represents an Element of Harmony: Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, and Magic. Each Element Bearer learned a lesson about their element and taught someone else the same lesson. The one they taught gave them a gift, which if touched to the chest would become a key.”

“That sounds unduly complicated,” said Maud.

“And highly specific,” said Limestone. “Are you sure all of those steps are necessary to make an object into a key? Like teaching someone else a lesson?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Twilight. “That’s how it happened for us. Now that I think about it, I don’t know for certain if it has to be the lesson-learner that brings the item to the chest. Either way, it contains Rainbow Power, a supercharged version of the Elements. It defeated Tirek when he had the power of all the princesses, the Element Bearers, Discord, and the populations of several major cities.”

“Tirek?” Starlight arched an eyebrow. “That centaur bum? All I remember about him is that he got taken out by Canterlot’s automagic defense system and Daybreaker thought it was hilarious.”

“Well you did better on that one, then,” smiled Twilight. Though she wondered how exact the friend vs foe detection of such defenses would be, and how many innocents got blasted in exchange for being ready for Tirek. She decided it best not to antagonize Starlight by asking.

“Such power would be useful,” Maud said.

“Pinkie calls being the pink ranger!” Pinkie added. “Yes.”

“Not necessarily useful in the way you’re thinking,” sighed Twilight. “But definitely useful.”

“Okay then,” Limestone lowered Ashmaker. “Be on the lookout for lessons. If you get an item while learning one, keep it.”

It caught Twilight off guard when Limestone took her seriously. At first she wondered if she was being sarcastic.

“Uh, I got an item,” Kamikaze mentioned. “When I got tossed out of the reactor. I kept the tip of Twilight’s broken horn and made a necklace out of it. I guess I learned a lesson too?”

“Rainbow Dash in my timeline was the Element of Loyalty,” said Twilight, blinking. “General, this horn could be a key now.” She smacked her hoof against her forehead. “Oh my Celestia, I remember now. You mentioned when you got it you saw a rainbow shimmer. I thought you were delirious, but come to think of it, we all saw one when we got our keys.”

“I don’t know how much use I’ll be as an element now,” Kamikaze shrugged.

“Eh heh… this seems far-fetched,” chuckled Starlight, scratching her head.

“Keep hold of that, Kami,” Limestone nodded. “I feel weird ordering that, but… we need to grasp at every string that might help us.”

“Hmph,” Starlight grunted, but trusted Limestone’s instincts enough not to protest.

“Thank you for taking the idea seriously, General,” Twilight said, as thankful as she was surprised. “You’re a credit to Equestria.”

“Who were the other Elements in your timeline?” Limestone asked.

“Well,” said Twilight. “Pinkie was Laughter, Fluttershy was Kindness, Rarity was Generosity, Applejack was Honesty, and I was Magic.”

“Pinkie cannot spell slaughter without laughter,” Pinkie approved. “She will laugh harder during murder and look for rainbows in the blood of her victims!”

“I am not sure that it works that way, Pink,” said Maud.

“Eris was kindness?” Limestone peered at Twilight a moment, then continued. “Well Applejack and Rarity were the Minister of Wartime Technology and Morale respectively, but are unaccounted for. And you’re in no shape to be Magic, no offense.”

“Rarity survived,” said Crimson. “She made it into a stable in New Manehattan. Probably still alive since she had a soul gem.”

“I hope she is,” said Twilight.

“You might not if you meet her,” Crimson smirked, but Twilight knew she’d refuse to elaborate if asked for more.

“Anyway, I doubt there’s a requirement they be the same ponies,” said Twilight. “Long ago, Celestia and Luna wielded three each simultaneously. I assume somepony else wielded them before that, or at least represented them in creating the Tree of Harmony.”

“We can talk more of this later,” Starlight finally cut them off. “Let’s get on our way before we’re noticed.”

Afterward, they headed to the Mirror Pool. They chose an area a good distance away at a higher elevation so they saw it without drawing attention.

“The old entrance to the Mirror Pool is covered,” said Twilight, seeing nothing but a clearing where it had been. “Much better than we did in my time.”

“Definitely something under there,” said Starlight, looking at her pipbuck screen. “There’s thick metal sheeting about five hoofsteps under the surface covering something, and I’m detecting enchantments on the ground above it. There might be a nasty surprise for anyone that digs here.”

Starlight’s words settled it. There was no reason Midnight would secure a random spot in the forest unless she was protecting that cave. So there was a whole army of evil Twilight mirror clones. Great.

“It’s as I feared,” sighed Twilight, hoofing Ashmaker over once again. “They covered the entrance, but I assume they burrowed a more convenient passage into it from the palace.”

“I was definitely afraid of this,” sighed Starlight. “It creates copies of ponies, right?”

“You knew?” Twilight asked.

“Pinkie told her!” Pinkie took credit. “Nana Pinkie told Pinkie of it, and its many questionable applications. Yes.”

“We studied it,” said Starlight. “And I admit we tried what Midnight seems to be doing, but abandoned the concept after an order from then-Celestia.”

“Was there a specific reason for that order?” asked Limestone.

Starlight sighed as if not wanting to talk more about her previous experiments, but continued. “In short, we discovered the literal existence of trapped souls within the pool. We were ordered to find a way to release them but…”

“We were distracted by imminent threats and unable to make progress,” Crimson said. Twilight wished she didn’t chuckle when she said it.

“Can we make a copy of me and transplant her legs?” asked Kamikaze.

“I wouldn’t try, even if it wasn’t cruel,” said Twilight. “At any rate, they’re bad copies, with none of the memories and only a vaguely-similar personality of the original. According to the book I studied, they have short life expectancies and no self-awareness, and would become increasingly corrupt given time.” She sighed. “Though if you discovered real souls, my information may have been incorrect. You can sometimes tell them apart because they have odd verbal tics, related to the original’s intent when making them, which explains why the one we fought kept blurting out 'kill'.”

“If she can do that,” said Limestone. “Why aren’t there millions of them? She shouldn’t need bats at all.”

“The Mirror Pool has a limited amount of energy,” said Twilight. “Or souls even, as Starlight’s research discovered. If I get back to my own time… I’ll have to discreetly look into how to help them, and you should here too when you can. Either way, only so many copies can exist at once. You’d have to wait for some to ‘die’ to make more.”

“What’s the maximum?” Limestone asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “At least four dozen, but maybe thousands. I didn’t study it much for fear it’d cause more problems.”

“Studying was the right thing to do in this case,” said Starlight, as if trying to fit in a bit of justification. “The development of soul gems was a direct consequence of understanding how to trap a soul. The previous version of the tech, life gems, wasn’t a true way to revive someone...just copy. And without transferring the soul to correct flaws in the copy, there was a large chance of… missing memories or even mental… illness...”

Starlight trailed off as if having a sudden realization, but seemed unwilling to elaborate. In fact, she went wide-eyed in terror for a moment before turning away and shifting her face back to a fake-looking smile.

“We’ll assume the worst,” Limestone said. “That she does in fact have a whole army.” She smiled as she added unsarcastically, “Good. I was worried things would get too easy.”

“Can we take it out?” asked Maud. “That would be a serious blow to Midnight.”

“That would be insane in our current condition,” said Starlight. “We need healing and backup before trying that.”

“Not just that,” said Limestone. “If Midnight and Trinity are evenly matched, that’s better for everypony. I assume that Trinity and Cozy can make new super-mutants, so if Midnight suddenly loses the ability to make new twilicorns, the conflict could end very quickly.”

“I’d take my chances if we could destroy it,” said Starlight. “But since we can’t, there’s no need to discuss it.”

“It’s been this way since shortly after the Breaking,” said Crimson. “Every time one side or the other gets the upper hoof, even by a little, something sets them back. Strange betrayals, mysterious explosions, plans leaked with no explanation, stuff like that. And despite usual competence, Trinity occasionally gives really stupid orders to the mutants, who are just stupid enough to follow them. The whole situation is uncanny.”

“For 200 years?” asked Twilight. “Strange neither side pulled ahead by now.”

“There’s nothing wrong with strange,” shrugged Crimson. “But if one had to get the upper hoof, I’d rather it be Midnight, which should tell you something about Trinity.”

“Right,” sighed Twilight. “I know a spell that dispels them, in my time at least. But if she found it and knew how to use it, she probably read what I did. She’d definitely have warded against such a spell by now.”

“Good,” said Limestone. “Dispelling them sounds too easy. Anyway, let’s get to our campsite before they notice we’re looking at it.”

21. Zebra Sense

Monday, 10/31/2287
POV: Starlight Glimmer
The Everfree Forest

Starlight didn’t want to go to Zecora’s hut.

The last time she saw Zecora, when they were evacuating the Ministry of Magitech. She said she was going home, so if she made it, then her journal might be in her hut. The team, especially Crimson, would peek.

Starlight wouldn't hide the truth if it was as she feared, if only because she knew they’d find out eventually. But it was another thing for them to watch the events. Depending on how they interpreted her fate, it could either add to their doubts or further earn their loyalty, and Starlight didn’t know which. They’d see it through Zecora’s point of view rather than her own, and she
knew Zecora protested many experiments.

“There it is!” Twilight said as they approached, hoof-pointing and looking at the others.

Starlight hadn’t been to Zecora’s, so she didn’t see it at first. When pointed out by somepony else though, the cloak rolled back for Starlight too. Starlight realized how it hid so well, looking much like any other tree in the forest.

Starlight expected an actual hut, not a tree. Though it was barely discernible as a hut with windows and door partially grown over, the spell holding its shape faltering. It’d be easy to enter as the door had popped off its hinges, laying in front of the tree. There was a single ornate mask hung above the entrance, decayed and faded.

Starlight breathed deeply through clenched teeth as Twilight ran in. There was just enough space for her to get through the overgrown door with saddlebags. Starlight sighed and followed.

It would have been cozy if not for the team’s size. Along most walls were shelves of ingredient containers, some cracked or leaking. Another shelf held books; Twilight and Mercury went there first. In the middle was a rusty cauldron, much like Zecora kept in her Ministry lab. The only other furniture was a rotten bed and desk.

Zecora’s skeleton lay on the bed. She had dressed in native zebra attire, with beads and ornaments, which now hung like rags. She lay on her back, legs folded atop her as if she’d died peacefully, an empty poison vial beside her.

Starlight made sure everypony entered, pulling Solar, Kamikaze, and Dinky in with her magic. Dinky snarled as she placed her on an empty part of the bed where she’d be comfortable but away from the others.

“Whoa, no, no, no,” said Solar when Starlight tried to float her onto the bed on the opposite side of Zecora’s corpse. “I’ll take the floor, thanks.”

Fair enough; Starlight sat her down on the hard floor next to the bed.

“Here!” Twilight pulled a book from the shelf entitled ‘Super Naturals’, opening it atop the desk. “Here’s the recipe for the poison joke antidote, assuming it works for killing joke. Think we have what we need, Mercury?”

“We’ll see!” Mercury seemed excited that her alchemy skills were seeing use. “If we don’t, I’ll do what I can. I’ll need water, but it looks like there are some preserved containers of that too.”

“Don’t use too much,” said Limestone. “The rest can augment our water supply.”

“There should be a spring about a hundred hooves north you could use so we can keep the safer water,” said Twilight. “And radioactive water might work better with a ghoul.”

Mercury carried the book to the potion shelves, examining the chemicals. Most bottles were sealed in the same fashion that the Ministry used for food packs, which meant anything unbroken could be used even after 200 years.

Limestone sat on the bed, pulling Dinky close to her and stroking the little one’s mane, hushing her as one might a frightened foal. She assured Dinky that they would help her, though Starlight doubted if Dinky understood.

“I may have to substitute a few ingredients,” Mercury said. “Shouldn’t be a problem; might strengthen it!” Alchemy seemed like the only thing Mercury was confident of.

Twilight noticed Zecora’s skeleton after she had finished examining the bookshelf. When she did, she trotted to her and sighed. She draped a tattered blanket over the body, but Starlight wasn’t sure why she bothered.

“You were a credit to Equestria in… many timelines,” Twilight said, tears welling up as she looked at the others. “This place seems undisturbed. That perception filter hid it well; it makes me wonder how many other things litter Equestria without anypony noticing.”

“Does Not-Living Dead Mare have a journal?” Crimson asked the inevitable question.

“Here!” Twilight picked up a book on the bed, still open. “Same journal I saw my Zecora write in, though I’m sure full of less pleasant things.”

“We should look, Empress,” Limestone said as if predicting Starlight’s reluctance. Such a bright general was a double-edged sword.

“Of course,” said Starlight with a shaky smile.

“Let me know if it’s good,” Solar said. She still had no pipbuck, but didn’t sound eager to see this anyway.

Crimson passed Starlight a knowing grin as she opened the journal. Starlight grumbled but slipped the horn restraint off of Crimson and opened the network for her to feed the images into the rest of their heads. Mercury put down the bottles and sat to prepare herself.

Memory POV: Zecora

When most ponies thought of the Ministry they’d like to work with, they thought of the Ministry of Arcane Science, the Ministry of Engineering, or the Ministry of Awesome, whatever that meant. But not Zecora. Zecora knew where the real action was: The Ministry of Forgotten Knowledge.

Most research of the other branches in the Ministry of Magitech came from here. AK Yearling, branch Minister, uncovered the ancient alicorn civilization in the southern jungle. Thanks to the first magitech created by Starlight and Applejack, they found sections of the ruins they’d have never noticed otherwise.

Zecora only knew what she’d read in books and magazines. Now she’d see the exciting details civilians never saw.

Carrying saddlebags full of books, potions, and her own relics, Zecora searched for her new office. It was on a lower basement level, but easy enough to find. Zecora wasn’t sure if such positioning meant it wasn’t ideal, but was satisfied just being here. Besides, zebras were well-respected by ponies due to their skill at fighting the Nightmare's forces, so her chances of being promoted were promising by default.

As she opened the door to her office, she heard voices.

“And so I said, ‘because of the gas!’. You should have seen his expression when the spouts opened and pumped the neurotoxin in! He was like, ‘You’re insane!’. You had to be there I guess. Anyway, before he died, he swung the knife and sliced my ear.”

Well that was an interesting conversation.

She opened the door to find a half-empty office. The only furniture was a desk and filing cabinets; she’d have to make things more ethnic in here. It looked to have a connecting lab as they promised though, which she looked forward to.

Two ponies stood in front of Zecora’s new desk. Both had white bodies and bright manes. She recognized one with a sloppy red mane and a chained-heart cutie mark as Gora Soul, the Minister of Alchemy. The other, a pink-maned pony with pigtails and a red quill cutie mark, was Crimson Prose, the Minister of News. She had been speaking.

Getting two Ministry Mares’ attention on her first day was good, though it was odd to see the Minister of News here. Zecora decided to ignore their previous conversation; Crimson was probably telling a joke, and Zecora rarely got pony jokes.

“Ah, there’s our newest recruit,” Gora smiled with an oddly flirty tone. “I know you’re with Forgotten Knowledge, but there are a projects in Alchemy that could use your expertise, if you’re not overloaded.”

The tone made Zecora nervous, but when Gora motioned towards a folder of documents on Zecora’s new desk, Zecora's eyes lit up. It looked like she’d be as busy as she’d hoped!

“Yes, Miss Soul, I get the gist. I shall be happy to assist,” Zecora said, then turned to Crimson, wondering if she needed something.

“Don’t mind me,” said Crimson. “I just wander into rooms sometimes. Wanna hear how I nicked my ear?”

“I will hear if you’d like to show,” Zecora answered. “Is it important that we know?”

The conversation cut short with a pony clearing her throat from the door. Zecora looked over to see AK Yearling. She wore her trademark green buttoned top and a pith helmet, odd accessories for an office.

“Nice to see you, Gora,” AK’s eyes moved to her first, her tone darkening. “I’m sure you have things to do. Don’t let us keep you.”

Gora flashed her a toothy smile and left the room.

“Is there a problem with the minister?” asked Zecora. “Do you find her sinister?”

“Great filly that,” Crimson said once Gora left. “Did you know she has almost the same cutie mark as my dad? And a similar first name. It’s uncanny.”

“I don’t trust her,” AK said, then turning to Crimson. “Speaking of which, I was sorry to hear.”

“Hear what now?” Crimson tilted her head.

“About… your father,” AK said. “That he… passed away. Along with your brothers and nephew, I can’t imagine how hard that must be.”

“Goodness dear,” Zecora said. “I’m also sorry to hear.”

“Oh, that, right!” Crimson said as if having forgotten. “I am frequently inconsolable. How about this zebra though, huh? Love the accent. I think I might keep it!”

“Crimson, you sure you don’t need the day off?” AK asked. Unlike with Gora, she sounded concerned. “You should take grieving time rather than working through it. I understand that you’re keeping your mother and sisters on your airship to protect them, maybe you can spend a few days helping them settle in.”

“Tsk, fine,” Crimson shrugged, turning to stroll out of the office. “Don’t think you got out of hearing my ear story, Zecora.”

“Right,” sighed AK. She turned to Zecora. “She has different ways of coping, but she’s one of the few ponies I trust here. Anyway… One reason I hired you is because I trust your judgment too. You have a good reputation.”

“You are far too kind,” assured Zecora. “I will not fall behind.”

“Good,” said AK. “Let’s hope I never need your back up.”

Zecora had her office and lab decorated, though her ornate masks and potions weren’t unique as many zebras worked here. She missed her home in the Everfree though, even during the NLR’s occupation.

She loved working in her new office, but was getting nothing done at the moment. Instead she was trying to hint at Crimson it was time to leave. Crimson hadn’t been kidding when she warned that she wandered into rooms. Why was she even here?

“He was like 'No, no, tighten the collar so she can’t scream',” Crimson droned. “And so she can't bite your other ear.”

“I do not wish to make you upset,” Zecora said. “But I’d rather not hear of your foalhood pets.”

“Zecora!” AK blurted out as she rushed into the room, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She looked exhausted and carried an object wrapped in a cloth beneath one wing.

“Goodness me!” Zecora stood from her desk. “From whom do you flee?”

Probably no one. AK enjoyed bursting into rooms like a storybook hero and at least didn’t do a flip or break anything this time. Granted, many of AK’s adventures would make good adventure novels if it wasn’t top secret.

“Is it Star Tracker again?” asked Crimson. “That colt’s always coming up behind me like he’s ten seconds from a full mount. Creepy. I put in a request to smash his balls with a hammer, but Starlight denied it! The nerve.”

“Do you know what this is?” AK asked, unwrapping the object and laying it on Zecora’s desk.

AK ignored Crimson, as was safe, but wasn’t alarmed at her presence. For all of Crimson’s oddities, she often fed them information about Starlight’s more questionable activities that Crimson spun differently on the radio. Crimson didn’t feel trustworthy, but she’d never betrayed them.

The item was an amulet with a gray triangle base and red gem inserted in the middle. On either side were black and red wings, with a black unicorn head at the top. Zecora hadn’t seen it before, but felt it before AK even uncovered it. This artifact not only contained powerful magic but seemed to have psionic properties. It seemed to scream ‘put me on’.

“I have not seen this one,” said Zecora. “But would not put it on.” From what she knew, objects that wanted you to wear them shouldn’t be worn.

“It’s the Alicorn Amulet,” said AK. “And yes, it takes control of anypony that wears it. Starlight wants to use it for her artificial alicorn experiments. I believe it would be a mistake; putting this on a cybercorn would create a monster.”

“If you require it hidden,” said Zecora. “I’ll keep it forbidden.”

AK had come to her before with artifacts to be hidden. Zecora wondered if AK hired her mainly for this purpose, though was glad to help. Who knew what Starlight would do without AK hampering the more questionable activities.

“Thanks,” sighed AK. “First I need it to open an inner chamber in the Neon City ruins. I wanted you to be ready though, because I’m stopping by your hut on my way back and leaving it there. Once it leaves the Ministry, I don’t want it to return.”

“You can trust me,” nodded Zecora. “You have my home key?”

“Yes, thanks again,” smiled AK. “I swear, Starlight would have blown up Equestria by now if not for us.” She turned to Crimson, “I can trust you not to say anything as usual?”

Crimson smiled, dragging a hoof across her own muzzle as if zipping it shut.

Sometimes Zecora hated being right.

Mentioning the ruins in front of Crimson was a mistake. Thanks to a sudden betrayal by Crimson and Gora, Ahuizotl had been waiting for AK at the Neon City ruins. Now the NLR had both the contents of the new ruins they found and the amulet itself. Nothing Starlight might have done with it could compare to what they might.

Not only that, but they tortured important codes out of AK which allowed them to hack the maneframe at the Ministry of Magitech and steal their research on balefire. Crimson and Gora accessed the systems and left an annoyingly sentient virus behind that took forever to extinguish; at least they were fairly sure they extinguished it. The two escaped before Starlight realized what happened.

Combined with the artifacts they retrieved from the ruins, the NLR would have mega-spells within the month.

AK escaped as she always did, but suffered more than she ever had. They beat and brutalized AK in ways that no pony should be. AK killed Ahuizotl on her way out, but that choice would hurt them too. His forces were now integrated into the NLR, which robbed them of any chance to turn them against one another.

That’s where it got even weirder, because Crimson of all ponies was the one to free AK. From what Zecora heard, Crimson even stopped to help with Ahuizotl, and AK was convinced that Crimson took her previous actions under duress.

After visiting AK in medical, Zecora went to Crimson’s cell where she awaited questioning. She needed to understand this.

They let Zecora in, given she was acting head of the Ministry of Forgotten Knowledge. She arrived at Crimson’s cell, which had orichalcum alloy bars and a forcefield to take no chances, though it was overkill for a unicorn of such low power. Inside was a mat, table, toilet, and Crimson.

Crimson seemed jovial for a prisoner, dancing around the cell, but spun her way to the bars when she saw Zecora.

“My favorite zebra!” greeted Crimson. “Well… second favorite. That one in my marketing department has a sweet tongue. Even better than those smart toilets they installed, you know when they clean you with...”

“Do you think this a game?” Zecora demanded. “Have you no shame?”

“I had a few shames,” Crimson shrugged. “I think I dropped one under the sofa cushions. I had a quick look last I was home. I found a broken pen, some candy, a bloody dagger…”

“Speak seriously or I will ensure you never speak again!” Zecora’s voice echoed.

“Uh oh,” Crimson stopped short. “You’re really angry when you stop rhyming. Was still poetic though.”

Zecora glared.

“Look, I was forced,” Crimson said. “You remember when half my family were murdered? That was the NLR. I couldn’t tell anyone because they threatened to kill the other half if I didn’t comply. Not to mention, I returned with AK when I could have escaped.”

That made sense, but it could be a ploy to get back into a favorable position. Not that it would do any good; Crimson wouldn’t get back access to non-news related information even if she avoided execution.

“You saved one life,” said Zecora. “But it caused more strife. Millions could die because you ‘must’ spy.”

“You don’t believe me,” Crimson sighed in a moment of seriousness. “We’ll see what they say after my questioning?”

“It matters not what they ask,” said Zecora. “Your method is your mask.”

“Tsk,” Crimson shook her head. “Nopony proved that Crimson’s Method is useful against psionic interrogations. And you know I’m horse apples with other magic.”

Zecora gave a disbelieving scowl.

“Well, the rest of my family is dead. Do you believe that?” Crimson asked.

“What?” Zecora blinked.

“They’re dead,” said Crimson. “I rushed to protect them but was drugged with Touch by an NLR agent and forced to… take part, then I died myself from Touch overdose. They only brought me back with my soul crystal so they could question me.”

Zecora was too shocked to speak.

“So,” said Crimson. “Unless you think I murdered my own family to look coerced and bargained on Starlight reviving the one that just betrayed her… well it’s something to think about.”

If Nightmare and Midnight possessed any good qualities, they showed loyalty to their own. If Crimson worked for them, and they promised to let her family live, they wouldn’t go back on it regardless of her failings. Unless that failing was Crimson turning on them. While Zecora knew Crimson would make dangerous bargains with her own life, the NLR killing her family seemed to prove what she said.

Or… no. not even Crimson would do that. Crimson protected her remaining family diligently, too fearful for their safety to have them go out in public at all.

“AK believes me,” Crimson added. “She sent condolences. So decent of her in her condition. Did you know her lady-hole prolapsed from the abuse? We cut the guy’s dick off and bucked him with it, though, which was very therapeutic I think.”

“Crimson!” Zecora growled.

“What?” Crimson took a step back. “I sent her a ‘get well’ card. What else can I do? She’s in no fit condition for a pity buck.”

“If I hear the smallest cry,” said Zecora. “That you may still be a spy.”

“I’ll die,” Crimson stole the triple rhyme from her. “I got it…. Sigh? Wow, I suck at rhyming.”

Zecora huffed but saw no point in continuing to converse with a madmare. She turned to leave.

Zecora and AK sat in the operations booth above the experiment area, looking down onto the lab. The room was full of monitors, maneframes, and banks of blinking lights. Out the window from their booth they could see the main floor of the laboratory.

The factory had six huge, interconnected vats full of churning luminescent stews that rippled with lavender and green beneath glass coverings, the light casting colored shadows over everything. Arcane apparati hung down from the ceiling. Catwalks were rigged above the vats, and another hung suspended from the ceiling between them, stopping midway across the room with a control panel at the end.

The control panel was where Starlight and her dragon, Spike, now stood. Starlight completed the initial settings as Spike typed notes into a magitech notepad.

Standing with them was the first test subject for Starlight’s latest method of creating artificial alicorns. Trixie would walk into the lab without a stitch of clothing on, despite everyone else, even Starlight’s dragon, being coated with several layers of biohazard protection. The unicorn looked a little weird without her trademark cape and hat.

It didn't faze Trixie, who was overjoyed to be the first real test subject. And Starlight must have been confident in the results she expected, else she wouldn’t have allowed the Minister of Arcane Science to volunteer. Then again, Starlight was often confident when she shouldn’t have been.

“Trixie wonders what she should be the princess of,” Trixie had been yammering since she got here. “Magic? Explosions? Magical explosions? What do you think?”

“I don’t think it works that way, Minister,” grumbled AK. “There’s a reason they call these alicorns artificial.”

Artificial. Or perhaps one should say undeserving. They were hard to make by natural means for a reason; even the ancient alicorn civilization itself found them too dangerous and ‘downgraded’ many of their subjects.

Yet this experiment would happen with or without them. They agreed to be there despite misgivings so that somepony could pull the plug on Starlight if things went too far.

“Sending in Trixie,” AK spoke into the microphone as Trixie exited and bounced along the catwalk.

“You mean Test Subject One,” Starlight corrected from her place at the control panel. “She can be Trixie again if she survives.”

“Starlight,” said Trixie as she stepped onto the proper platform. “I just wanted to thank you again for…”

“Please restrict comments to what we need on record for the experiment,” Starlight cut off Trixie’s gratitude. “Remember if things go wrong and you can still think straight, head to the stabilization pod in the lab across from this one.”

“Of course,” Trixie said less enthused, but still seemed ready to proceed.

They charged the platform where Trixie stood, the vats of chemicals surrounding her glowing more as magic psionic energy focused through them. Had nothing else happened, the experiment might have gone well.

“Minister Starlight!” a voice over the intercoms interrupted them. “We have megaspell activity on the surface!”

“They’re attacking?!” asked Starlight. “But they know we can…”

“No, we’re attacking!” replied the intercom.

“What,” Starlight blinked.

“They launched retaliation though!” called the voice. “We have minutes before mega-spells hit Fillydelphia!”

“Call off the experiment!” AK called over the speaker.

“No!” said Starlight. “Aborting it now will make Test Subject 1 a threat to herself and others!”

Trixie was already a threat to herself and others, though it'd be worse if it wasn’t on accident. Either way, AK had her hoof on the abort button. She looked at Zecora as if to check with her, but Zecora didn’t know how to answer. She was still trying to process that the world was ending above them.

It was already too late. As Starlight flipped switches and Trixie screamed at the surge of power flowing through her, the entire lab shook as if hit by an earthquake. Cables snapped, catwalks fell, and entire sections of the roof came down on the lab. One punctured two of the vats, which exploded, contents bursting into steam as soon as they depressurized, filling the lab.

For a shockwave that big to reach this far underground, the city had to be… thousands had just died above them…

Zecora couldn’t think of that now. She grabbed AK Yearling’s hoof and yanked her along as she rushed out of the observation area, pulling her towards the exit. They had seconds to escape before the lab sealed itself.

“I need to swoop in and grab them!” AK pulled away from Zecora and took to the air.

“I share your distress!” Zecora called after her. “But you cannot save them from this mess!”

It was no use, the habitually heroic AK dove into the steam, and within seconds was out of sight. Zecora felt sick leaving her here, but if she had to act fast to save other lives that might still be salvageable. As she rushed the exit, staying as far away from the pastel colored gasses as possible. The door was already grinding as it started to close.

Focused on the exit, Zecora barely dodged a sudden swipe from a tentacle that lashed out of the smoke. When it didn't get her that way, she felt a surge of energy piercing her mind, thoughts mushing together. Whatever the strange rainbow-colored tentacle was, it was trying to invade her thoughts.

If she weren’t a zebra and thus immune to most psionics, she’d have been a goner, but she stumbled towards the door. On the way, she passed Spike, who was sprawled on the floor unconscious, and snatched him up onto her back. At least she could save someone.

“Zecora!” Starlight’s voice screeched as Zecora was mere hooves from the exit. Or was it Trixie’s voice? Or Daring’s? Somehow she couldn’t tell.

Zecora turned to see Starlight, biohazard suit torn from her body, just as tentacles grasped both her hind legs, flesh melting and joining with the tentacle entity. the unicorn screeched as her body bloated and discolored from hind to front.

Above her, AK tried to fly free of the gas, but it was too late. A tentacle whipped out and wrenched one of her wings. No… it melded with it. Either way, it sent Daring screaming back into the gas. Zecora heard one of the remaining vats shatter as she fell inside.

“Zecora,” Starlight begged.

But as their eyes met, Zecora could see it in Starlight’s eyes that she knew she couldn’t be saved. In a last-ditch effort, Starlight’s horn glowed. She ripped out her own soul crystal while still alive, convulsing as she threw it towards Zecora. Afterward, it dragged Starlight back into the mist, leaving a trail of blood behind her. The blood boiled away seconds later from the scalding steel floor.

Zecora grabbed Starlight’s soul crystal, heading out the door seconds before it sealed.

Evacuation sirens sounded as Zecora made her way through the hallways, several times having to choose a different one when blocked by barriers of collapsed roofing. But where could they evacuate with the city above them engulfed in necrotic fire. She only made it to the higher levels by walking up the piles of rubble into the floors above them.

As far as it concerned Zecora, Starlight didn’t deserve to survive the experiment, but Zecora was no killer, and refusing to help might be the same as murder. Besides, Zecora could power up the alternate teleportation relays to teleport survivors out of the facility and city from the same location.

When she arrived at the alternate mission control, she carried Spike on her back. Spike awoke on the way there, and when they arrived, he grabbed Starlight’s soul crystal. He ran to snap it into one of the still active machines, tears rolling down his face.

“Please work, please work,” Spike repeated.

Zecora wanted to comfort the poor hatchling but turned to the computer terminal instead. It looked like the system had worked for certain areas, and Zecora did her best to reroute power for other areas to teleport remaining life signs out of both the Ministry and the city.

Except the lab she had just escaped from. Whatever had emerged from those vats could not be unleashed upon the world. Instead, she took extra steps to seal that section of the facility. It looked like she’d need Starlight’s code to finalize the commands, so it was a good thing she’d chosen to save her, or part of her.

Zecora glanced at the soul recycler from time to time as it built Starlight a new body. It built her skeleton first, layering muscles and tissues on it, stitching in her vital organ systems. Once done, it released the newly minted body from the stasis field, which convulsed as it embedded her soul crystal into the back of her skull.

Spike embraced Starlight as soon as she was whole, shaking her. Zecora had told him Starlight’s gem came out before she was properly dead; it was only fair he knew that the soul wouldn’t have transferred. Still, he was desperate to see at least a copy of his surrogate mother alive.

Starlight shrieked as soon as she woke and started sobbing. Zecora paused and stared, having never seen Starlight shed a single tear. It was common for new bodies to react in such a way as they relived their most recent memory, but this seemed like more. Zecora finished what she could before turning and pulling Starlight into a hug.

Starlight pulled away from Zecora, picking up Spike and placing him on her back as her expression blanked. She headed to the terminal to switch on the nearest working surface cameras, which was quite a way from the city itself.

The sight of the city engulfed in green flames was as terrifying as it was strangely beautiful. Zecora couldn’t even imagine how many had died in the pointless exchange.

“This is my fault,” Starlight teared up again. “I invented the weapons that the NLR and Crystal Empire stole from us. I helped invent the CME system. It’s all on me.”

“It’s not your fault,” Spike patted Starlight’s head, but Zecora could see from the awkward expression on his face that he doubted his words.

“Now that I revived you, what will you do?” asked Zecora. She didn’t bother telling Starlight it wasn’t her fault because it most certainly was. Still, it wasn’t just Starlight’s fault. There was plenty of blame to go around.

“I’ll go to Canterlot,” sighed Starlight. “And come clean to Daybreaker about what I’ve done here and what a monster I am. If she’s still there. Maybe then I can die a horrible death in peace.”

“I am done living our lie,” said Zecora. “I shall go home to die.”

“As is your right,” sighed Starlight. She put in her encryption key to finalize the commands Zecora had put into the computer, then turned back to her. Her next words were dead serious. “Zecora. I’m sealing more than the lab. Shortly after we go, every available exit will lock down irrevocably and the elevator shafts will blow. That thing must never escape…”

“That thing? The result of your ‘fun’?” asked Zecora, spitting her words. “Whom you called ‘Test Subject One’?”

“No,” Starlight spoke in a hollow voice. “I mean the thing that was me.”

22. Alchemy

Monday, 10/31/2287
POV: Starlight Glimmer
The Everfree Forest

As she recovered from the memory streaming into her head, Starlight felt how she remembered feeling then. Tears rolled down her face, mind scrambled and spongy. She remembered being pulled into the smoke, and she remembered what she felt happening to her.

Starlight’s fear of the creature wasn’t because she felt her old self becoming evil or dangerous though. It was because she felt herself becoming more. She was certain that the old her wasn’t dying when she ‘left’ that body. It was regenerating and growing stronger, and she’d felt her mind blending with others.

She locked the creature away so some unnatural monster wouldn’t outshine and replace her, not because she imagined it to be any more evil than herself. Her accomplishments would be hers and hers alone, not the result of some accidental fusion.

But it worked out. Starlight’s friends saw the memory from Zecora’s point of view rather than Starlight’s. They only saw the creature as a monster and would interpret Starlight’s fear of it differently. This memory helped after all.

All the same, going through that again wasn’t easy. Starlight tried to pull herself together but couldn’t stop sobbing and shaking. Starlight didn’t realize she’d collapsed until Twilight pulled her off the floor and hugged her. The others were quiet as they gave her time to cope.

“After seeing that,” Limestone said once Starlight settled. “It’s obvious that this Trinity is what’s left of the original Starlight. Now we know how she had access to Starlight’s research.”

“Well, we can’t blame this Starlight for what that one did since they separated,” Twilight said, her understanding almost annoying. “Any more than you can blame me for Midnight’s actions. But even then, why is one of those experiments here around the forest?"

"Hard to say," said Limestone. "But if I had to guess, I'd say Trinity tried to use it as a weapon and the effort backfired when they used the other plants as a defense, which formed the perimeter."

“Yeah,” said Crimson. “Remember when I said Trinity occasionally gave really stupid orders? That was one of them.”

“But she could get out if she has your access, right Starlight?” asked Twilight. “Why hasn’t she escaped the Ministry?”

“No,” said Starlight through tears. “I set it to lock out my exit codes as well. I couldn’t access enough to lock myself out of all maneframes, but there would be no way left to access or teleport to the surface after me and Zecora left.”

“Was it that bad?” asked Solar, wide-eyed.

“Mostly bad,” said Crimson. “But the part with the tentacles was amazing.”

“Tentacles?” Solar’s ears perked.

“It’s not what you’re thinking, Solar,” Mercury said, looking no less freaked.

“Crimson,” Limestone said, herding them back to the subject. “You want us to trust you? Then be honest. Does your method allow you to trick lie detection magic? I’m not going to believe you if you say it doesn’t now, because even if you couldn’t then, you’ve had 200 years with the idea to figure it out.”

“Fine, fine,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “I created a character in a book, which I gave temporary control of my body and switched into the book myself. I told her what to say, and because she believed what I told her, it didn’t register as a lie.”

“That’s ingeniously horrible,” Twilight admitted even as she patted Starlight. Starlight wished she’d stop.

"That is devious," Starlight’s own words slipped out with a more congratulatory tone, but she likewise hated the implications. Starlight had trusted Crimson far more than she should have.

“A character in your book?” Mercury asked. “You don’t mean Paper Cut from your novels, do you?”

“Paper Cut is in the Crimoire now too, but no, I don’t mean her,” Crimson answered. “She’s not naïve enough to believe what I tell her.” She didn’t elaborate.

“But you could put this Paper Cut in control?” asked Twilight. “Or let her out of the book?”

“I could do either,” said Crimson. “And I might let her out if I feel suicidal, since she’d either kill me or I’d die from mana sickness from the strain. Bottom line is, not unless there are literally no other options. There are wards in the book to keep her from hurting me in there, but before I put her there, she tried her best to have me killed.”

“Wait, she didn’t start in there?” Mercury blinked. “I thought you wrote her into the book.”

“It’s a long story,” smirked Crimson. “She actually started as the AI I had made to harvest data from the Ministry of Magitech computers in Fillidelphia. When I abandoned her afterward, she copied herself into some unwitting morons’ personal computers and eventually got a copy of herself into Stable 27 with one of the refugees. I sometimes wonder how many systems she managed to copy herself to while looking for me.”

“Wait,” Mercury blinked. “She’s that Paper Cut? The AI we learned about in history class?”

“What did this AI do exactly?” Twilight sounded as if she dreaded the answer.

“It isolated a group of ponies and tried to get them to kill each other for funsies,” Crimson said. “Succeeded too, myself included. That’s one of my fonder memories, but sadly she didn’t succeed in getting my soul gem crushed, so I was brought back... You know, I wonder if the original is still at the Ministry… I suppose at some point Trinity probably got it out of the maneframe there.”

“Crimson,” Starlight dried her eyes, anger replacing fear as she cut off their irrelevant conversation. “Did you kill your family?”

“If I did, I felt terrible about it,” Crimson offered.

“How comforting,” Starlight growled.

“My family were monsters,” Crimson said in a rare serious tone. “Every one of them, either for what they put me through, or for doing nothing to stop it.”

“What about what you put ponies through?” asked Twilight, digging for regret that she’d never get.

“I guess that makes me as much a monster as the ones that made me one,” said Crimson. “Who could have predicted?”

“The bottom line is that you came back to spy more,” said Starlight. “I am about ten seconds from telling Maud to kill you in a method not even you will like, Crimson. The next words out of your muzzle better dazzle me.”

“Can I buck her first?” asked Maud.

“During would be best,” Crimson said to Maud, unfazed by the threat, but spoke to Starlight again. “No, I didn't come back to spy. When me and Gora turned in AK Yearling, Ahuizotl decided that we’d outlived our usefulness, so lied to Midnight and Nightmare that we’d betrayed them. Gora fled, probably to her secret lab. I took my chances rescuing AK, conveniently getting to help murder Ahuizotl on the way out.”

"And I should believe you why?" asked Starlight.

"You know that Gora was on the run from the NLR after that, not working for them," Crimson said. "She didn’t rejoin until Midnight offered to let her in exchange for using Hera’s Scorn to kill Daybreaker. I'm sure your own spies figured that out, even if you told me to construe her as still working for them during broadcasts. For what other reason would we both be on the run from them?"

“Starlight,” Twilight said. “I know what she did was terrible, but I think she’s changing as part of this group.”

Twilight’s willingness to forgive so much disgusted Starlight more than it convinced her. It took all the willpower she had for her face not to twist in rage.

“Gora Soul used to be my hero,” sighed Mercury as she lined up ingredients. “Crimson never told us she was like that, only that she was a great alchemist.”

Initially, Starlight really had intended to have Crimson executed, but what she said made more sense than expected. And she owed Crimson for convincing the others that the ‘old Starlight’ was the enemy.

Besides that, Crimson might be useful in other ways, like if Starlight ever wanted somepony to disappear without ordering it openly in front of others. She wouldn't hesitate even if it were a group member; Starlight just had to offer her the right rewards.

“Can I kill-buck her now?” asked Maud after a few moments of silence. “It may take me a while to get naked though. My armor is very sticky inside.”

“Oh?” Solar perked her ears.

“From sweat,” Maud clarified.

“Pinkie can help,” Pinkie added. “With killing more than bucking. Yes.”

“No,” said Starlight. “She might still be useful.”

“Kill-bucking is a pretty good use,” pointed out Crimson, continuing against her own best interests. “I love that term, by the way. I’m keeping it.”

“No,” repeated Starlight.

“I'm keeping it anyway,” said Crimson. “Can she at least get naked? I haven’t gotten to see the Maud goods yet. Or the Pink goods. Or even the Living Dead Mare goods.”

“The crimson traitor is not worthy to examine the pink goods!” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

“You can see them when me and my sisters undress to buck Solar tonight,” Maud offered.

“All right!” Solar liked that at least, but had a brief gagging fit right after. “But be gentle; I’m sorta broken. A little.”

“Gentle is not a thing that we do,” Maud advised. “I will ensure you do not die though.”

“Quiet!” Starlight shouted. The last thing she wanted was more tangents, and she’d have thought Crimson would have been at least a little grateful at having her life spared. She should have known better.

“Starlight,” Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder, making her tense. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the ‘real’ Starlight. The moment you were separate, you expressed regret for her actions. You’re better than her, and fully capable of making Equestria a better place.”

“Thanks,” sighed Starlight. “That means a lot.”

It meant less than Starlight indicated, but it was another plus if the memory also swung Twilight’s mind further to her cause. Maybe this could end well after all.

“Well, uh anyway,” Solar interjected once they seemed finished. “While you guys had imaginary tentacle fun, I found a locked safe in the floor under the bed and opened it. Bobby pins win again!”

Solar moved the bedspread to show the safe under the bed, which now had about 15 broken bobby pins around it. It was a wonder Solar could move enough to pull that off, but she seemed unnaturally fond of unlocking things.

“Did you find anything useful, Solar?” Limestone seemed grateful for a subject change.

“Well, I found Paper Cut novels,” Solar said. “We have these at Stable 27; Crimson wrote a lot of them back then. And even more since then. She wrote like fifty new ones while in Stable 27.”

“I have the full set in my Crimoire if anypony wants to read,” Crimson offered. “Fair warning though: I have no brain bleach to go with it.”

“Anything useful,” Limestone reiterated.

“Oh right,” Solar said. “I found a telesyringer. They’re like the syringer Mercury has, but they fire canisters that teleport the contents into the target. These things can shoot poison through Power Armor.”

Solar held up the weapon. It looked like the one they’d seen Midnight using in Marble’s memory, though it had a more zebra-ish design with stripe markings and crystals to magnify the power. It looked like a more advanced model.

Mercury was all over it, eyes glowing with delight. She almost squealed as Solar showed her the package of canisters, and gleefully began loading her own syringer ammo into the empty teleport canisters.

“Mercury, you mind getting back to that cure first?” Limestone asked.

“Sorry, um, General,” Mercury blushed, putting the telesyringer down, looking at it longingly before returning to the shelves.

“Pinkie knows how you feel,” Pinkie claimed. “It was love at first sight for Pinkie and her weapons too!”

“He says his name is Johnson,” advised Maud.

Mercury blinked at Maud, peered a moment as if wondering if it was a joke, then turned back to her task.

“I think I’ll have another look at Spitfire’s head now,” said Solar. “Don’t worry, I won’t unwrap it all the way.”

“Can’t stink any more than we do,” Crimson chuckled. “At least it’s preserved. We haven’t bathed since we left 27.”

“You think we’ll be able to get Ra...Kami’s wings working soon?” Twilight asked with a rather sad tone.

“I don’t know about ‘soon’, but eventually,” Solar said with a sigh. “She deserves some appendages!”

“You actually brought that thing?” Starlight grumbled. “We already looked at it and you couldn't fix any more without equipment.”

Starlight had to wonder if Solar was just impatient for Kamikaze to have more appendages for their stress-relief sessions. She needed to find less horny minions.

“Glad I’m not forgotten, even if everypony talks about me like I’m a broken toaster,” said Kamikaze.

“I didn’t mean to bring it up like that, I just remembered why we brought the...sorry,” Twilight sighed, going to the extent of reaching over to give Kamikaze a quick cuddle in apology.

Kamikaze nodded silently, but huffed, maybe disappointed at the platonic nature of Twilight’s cuddles.

Starlight took note that Twilight, while overly-compassionate, could be a useful asset for settling conflict in the group and keeping morale high, as she had a way with ponies that didn’t involve bucking them, which was a big plus in this group.

POV: Mercury Shine

Mercury couldn’t believe her luck at finding a working telesyringer. It came with interesting ammo and empty canisters to pack her own potions. Some ammo was lethal, like explosive gas darts and venom, but others were not. There were mixtures meant to paralyze, pacify, confuse, or frighten.

There wasn’t enough time to squee over her new gun though. Mercury had to help Dinky.

Mercury felt bad for Dinky, but was excited that her skills would get a challenge. The hut didn’t have every ingredient she needed, so she had to do a lot of substitution and compromise. By the end, though, she was sure her mix was even more potent.

In fact, if Dinky wasn’t already dead, she’d worry it was too potent. That was probably why Zecora herself didn’t make these changes. Mercury didn’t even test it on the killing joke she had trapped in a jar for fear it’d kill the thing and deprive herself of later study. Besides, the one thing she was confident about was her alchemy, so she knew it’d work.

Mercury got water from the nearby stream. She filled the cauldron, though didn’t realize how much the water glowed until she got it back into the darkened hut. Once again, her patient was lucky to be dead, since the radioactivity would help a ghoul, but still wasn’t intense enough to put the living ponies in danger.

When Limestone saw how irradiated the water was, she went outside to soak in the river for a few minutes, taking Dinky with her. When she returned to sit with Dinky more, she looked better and a bit brighter, but Dinky still looked hungry for flesh. Mercury checked her pipbuck to make sure Limestone wasn’t giving off dangerous amounts of radiation, but she still seemed safe enough if they all took a radaway in the morning.

Once Mercury was ready. Limestone unbound and unmuzzled Dinky, wanting her to contact as much of the healing brew as she could. Since she didn’t need to breathe, they put the snarling little one inside the full cauldron and shut the lid, holding it down to keep her fully immersed. The heated pot rocked back and forth from the little ghoul’s feral tantrum.

“Now let’s see how good you are, alchemist,” Limestone said.

Mercury wished Limestone would join her sisters with Solar because she felt like the ghoul was waiting for Mercury to do something wrong to get on to her. At the same time, it was sweet that Limestone cared for Dinky so much.

Solar’s occasional ouches from the corner where Maud and Pinkie had her pinned down were more adorable than they deserved to be. Mercury tried to keep her concentration on the boiling Dinky but hoped the Pies didn’t further injure Solar.

As Mercury held the lid down, she glanced about for the other unicorns. Starlight was curled up under a sleeping bag in the corner furthest away from Solar getting her reward. Twilight sat in another corner reading the first Paper Cut book, eyes wide while blushing. Those things were severe for adventure novels. Maybe the main character was more of a self-insert of Crimson than Mercury previously thought.

When Dinky stopped banging on the inside of the cauldron, Limestone leaned down to tap against the pot herself. A calm hoof tap responded from within.

Limestone opened the lid. A moment later, Dinky pulled her head above the water and hung over the side. She looked like she’d speak, but instead vomited fluid from her lungs onto the floor. She didn’t lunge for anypony though, so that was a good sign.

Dinky gargled up more water as Mercury pulled her from the pot with her magic. She turned the filly upside down to let the rest of the fluid drain from her lungs and stomach.

“I’m fine,” Dinky gagged the words out when she could.

“Thank Break you’re okay,” Mercury sighed as she put Dinky back on the floor.

Mercury expected her to collapse, but Dinky stood up straight and seemed strong. The radioactive bath had done her more good than just curing her joke.

“Thank you,” Dinky stepped forward and hugged Limestone. “Thanks for not letting anypony put me down. I was so scared…”

Mercury assumed Dinky had lost the fear of her own end long ago, and was glad that the little one found it again. She didn’t want any of her new friends longing for death.

“You were aware?” Limestone quirked her ears.

“Yeah,” said Dinky. “I couldn’t control myself, but I was always there.”

“Oh,” Mercury felt cold at the implications. “Do you think it’s because of your unique condition? I can’t imagine all ghouls would be like that.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s all of them,” said Dinky. “Like Spitfire, but with no method of communicating it. I’ve had this theory for a while, this just confirms it more.”

“S-seriously?” Mercury stared.

“Talk about a fate worse than death,” Twilight said, having put the book down to join the group at the pot. She leaned in and gave Dinky a brief hug. “Glad you’re okay at least.”

Fate worse than death, indeed. The thought of thousands of ponies trapped in such a state for centuries… Mercury had never felt so much pity. She’d wonder if they could still be saved, but she was sure Dinky had already tried everything that could be.

“Well,” Limestone sighed. “I think they made me part of their deal with Solar, so I should go over there.”

Mercury chuckled. She’d get rid of the radioactive water and then may as well join the audience herself. Solar would need tending afterward anyway. Afterwards, she could set up dinner with their limited food and Zecora’s old cookware, to help ensure everypony living ate well and took their rad-away; by this point, they all needed it.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Tuesday, 11/1/2287

Twilight faded in and out of sleep most of the night. She hoped for dream contact from Luna, but had no such luck. Twilight remembered that Luna said she was too weak to do that much, but she hoped she got something from her soon. At least she had a sleeping friend to cuddle.

She finally gave up on it entirely, pulling up the radio on her pipbuck and wiggling some out of the sleeping bag.

“Well, my insomnia is keeping me up again,” the Songsmith talked. “But that’s not to say I don’t still have dreams, so news time, foals!”

“Looks like it’s curtains for the poor schmucks in Junktown, as Midnight and Trinity themselves are part of the battle over the gem mine they discovered. There isn’t likely to be anything left once that’s done, but I did warn that it wasn’t too bright to settle on the border between two evil warlords, no matter what kind of goodies you found.”

“More bad news,” sighed Twilight to herself, clicking off the radio. Though in a way it wasn’t. If not for suddenly being pulled away for battle, the patrols in the forest would have been far more dense. If not for them knowing Trinity had her attention focused elsewhere, forest surveillance would be more closely watched.

“Well there’s a silver lining,” Kamikaze said from very close by, only her face showing from the sleeping bag, like she was a burrito; it looked cuter than it should. “I think if Midnight were in Everfree, she’d smell me from the castle and come running…”

“Sorry,” Twilight whispered, knowing that her presence made it hard for Kamikaze to forget about her wife. “Would you like to talk now?”

“Not much to talk about,” Kamikaze shook her head. “Unless you need to use me as a pillow or something.”

Kamikaze didn’t seem quite as cross in her words or expression as before. She just seemed dead inside, her expression flat, her tone challenging Maud’s for most monotone. It felt unnatural coming from the spunky pegasus.

“Are you sure your life is so over?” asked Twilight. “Isn’t the evidence to the contrary?”

“What do you mean?” Kamikaze quirked an ear.

“I suppose a lot of ponies don’t believe in fate anymore,” Twilight considered her words carefully. “But in my view, not just anyone gets chosen to be an Element of Harmony.”

“I still don’t understand that,” said Kamikaze, but her forehead creased as if thinking about it. “I mean it’s not like I’m the chosen one or something.”

“Not the chosen one,” Twilight said. “But you are part of the chosen friends. In the end, I don’t know if I’ll be part of that team like I hope, but I do know that it will do great things. You’ll definitely get to do more awesome, you can be sure of that.”

“I suppose we have wings, and might find some legs,” Kamikaze thought, then paused before a hint of a smile graced her features. “And if we don’t, buck it, all I need are wings. This’ll just make it all the more amazing when I succeed.”

“There’s the Rainbow I know,” smiled Twilight, not correcting herself on the name the one time as she scooted over to wrap a hoof around Kami’s sleeping bag.

“And you did pull me out of that reactor,” mused Kamikaze, her face growing more lively. “So I might even give you part of the credit.”

It was good that Kamikaze felt better, but they were both still exhausted, so soon Twilight settled into an uneasy sleep again. She didn’t get to sleep long, Limestone shaking her awake again well before it was time to abandon camp. Whatever Twilight’s fate was, it didn’t seem to involve much sleep for now. She seemed to vaguely remember waking up and briefly conversing with someone, but was half-asleep.

“Twilight,” Limestone whispered, then put a hoof against Twilight’s lips to signal her to speak quietly. “We have problems outside.”

Twilight knew what the problem was as a green mist floated into the hut’s door, smelling like rotten eggs and mold. Timberwolf breath.

The creature walked in front of the door, giving Twilight a chance to look it over. It looked much like the ones she had seen in her timeline, but had a glowing green core, like a bunch of logs stuck together with glow-in-the-dark gak. She looked down at her pipbuck and noted that the radiation levels had spiked with it nearby.

The creatures wouldn’t see them through the door or windows due to the perception filter, but they weren’t going away either.

“They smell us...those of us on the PCB, talk with it, except for things Solar and Dinky need to know,” Limestone whispered as if knowing what Twilight’s first question would be.

‘It wasn’t Pinkie! There is no confetti and whoever smelt it dealt it!’ Pinkie added with an on-PCB giggle, confirming to Twilight that she definitely was her Pinkie at her core.

‘I could just blast them with magic,’ Starlight offered.

‘“I’d prefer a method that caused less noise and flashy lights,”’ Limestone countered. ‘We don’t want to draw attention.’

‘Zapper wouldn’t make much noise,’ offered Kamikaze.

‘Would it be strong enough?’ asked Starlight. ‘It might just peeve them.’“Once we attack them, they’ll see us and pounce fast, so our first attack has to end the fight.”

‘Me and my sisters could smash them,’ offered Maud. ‘Probably.’

‘I don’t know if you should chance that,’ said Twilight. ‘These look sturdier than the ones I’ve seen. Their claws look strong enough to rip through armor.’

“How intelligent are they?” Solar asked. “Enough to respond to flirting?”

“Even if they were,” Dinky said. “Do you really want a hole full of radioactive splinters?”

“Never mind,” Solar ducked, while Pinkie gave a most unsettling smirk.

“They’ll give up eventually,” said Limestone. “Best to wait them out, I suppose.”

“Where is Crimson?” asked Dinky.

“What?” Limestone blinked, her voice at first almost normal, before returning to a whisper. “I thought you woke her up?”

“I didn’t wake anypony up,” Dinky said.

“You didn’t wake anypony?” Limestone took another look around the room. “Okay, then where’s Mercury?”

‘How did she leave?’ asked Twilight. ‘You set alarms on everyone’s pipbuck! Either Crimson or Mercury leaving should have set off the alarm!’

Looking around, Twilight noticed something: Crimson’s horn restraint sitting on the desk. Twilight pointed Limestone to it, who face-hoofed and groaned.

‘I suspected a restraint from her own stable wouldn’t work on her,’ said Limestone. ‘But that’s why we set the alarms. Empress?'

‘Crimson’s pipbuck still registers as inside this room, and still registers as worn,’ Starlight looked at the flickering holographic screen of her own pipbuck. ‘There. In Solar’s bag.’

Starlight opened Solar’s saddle bag, dumping the contents on the table. Tools, food, and Spitfire’s head.

‘Wait,’ Starlight floated Spitfire’s head about the room, watching Crimson’s signal move with it. “Damn it all to Tartarus! Crimson switched the codes between her pipbuck and Spitfire’s internal model. The internal pipbuck always registers as if it’s being worn, so the alarm didn’t register Crimson as having left or taken it off.” Starlight was barely whispering at this point, which made some of the wolves get closer.

“But what about Mercury?” Solar asked, panicked. “Where’s her pipbuck?”

“Nowhere,” Starlight shook her head. “I don’t understand. It’s not here, but there’s also no record of it leaving the hut.”

“But why take Mercury?” Solar asked, forgetting to lower her voice. “What did she ever do? We have to save her! Crimson will cut her into pieces! Then have sex with the pieces individually! Then have the characters in her book do it again!”

“Quiet, the timberwolves are going to figure it out eventually, they don’t cut ponies into pieces as neatly as Crimson would, and we would for sure find out about those splinters,” Limestone whispered to Solar.

“Holy horse apples you ponies are bucked up,” Dinky said at a more appropriate sound level. “How do you even come up with fears like that?”

“Healthy paranoia and years of practice!” Pinkie replied most uncomfortingly. “For becoming bucked up, Pinkie advises practicing by torturing mangos.”

Twilight didn’t register that ‘mangos’ was another racial slur for bat ponies until the conversation had moved on and it was too late to scold her.

“The book,” groaned Limestone. “Crimson’s ‘Crimoire’. If she put Mercury inside it, we might not detect her leaving.”

“She forced Mercury inside!” Solar said, being a little more restrained. “Paper Cut is chopping her up and serving her with noodles as we speak! Just like in book 32: Paper Cut and the Eldritch Tentacle!”

“Wait,” said Limestone. “Is this pony in her book fully self-aware? Damn it, I should have realized sooner. Somepony I didn’t account for… if she came up with a plan for Crimson and didn’t tell Crimson until it was time to do it, my sense wouldn’t have picked it up.”

“No!” Solar squealed. “I should have thought to tell you about that sooner. I’m sorry, it didn’t occur to me that it’d be important and we were all too busy bucking to think! This is my fault!”

Limestone reached and forced Solar’s muzzle shut with her hooves before she got louder.

‘But it takes a long time to store anything,’ said Starlight. ‘Mercury would have time to scream. Unless Crimson got her in her sleep I guess… but why choose her?’

‘This makes little sense.’ Twilight said. ‘If Crimson was betraying us, she’d take off alone. If she wanted to ponynap someone to give to Midnight, it’d be Starlight, Kamikaze, or me, not Mercury. Even then, why take somepony at all when she can just tell Midnight where we are?’

‘True,’ Kamikaze said. ‘Not like I’d be hard to snatch, and Midnight would probably be so happy to see me hoofed over, she’d be eating Crimson’s farts.’

‘Crimson needs no logical reason,’ said Maud. ‘Murder is like sex to her. She may simply be afraid to take me, and think Mercury is the second hottest.’

‘The bottom line is that we cannot wait the Timberwolves out,’ Starlight said. “Midnight could be on her way here. We have to leave now.”

‘Maybe I could use my…” Maud said, opening her bag, but stopped short. “One of my stealth bucks is gone. I will murder her and everything in her book twice.’

“We won’t need that, Maud, I have a plan,” said Limestone as she finally released Solar’s muzzle. “They’re looking for prey they think is hiding in the tree. Starlight can use her magic to float Zecora’s skeleton. Have it fall out of the tree and ‘run away’. Get them chasing it and give it a throw; they’ll follow.”

‘I don’t like that plan,’ Twilight admitted. ‘But I guess she’d want us to survive.’

‘Pinkie thinks the plan is hilarious, as much as she would prefer if we had captives to throw out and watch the carnage,’ Pinkie disagreed. ‘Pinkie gives permission for her own body to be used in such fashion upon her demise!’

‘No dying without permission, Pink,’ said Limestone. “Now everyone saddle up; as soon as they leave, we run.”

“And go where?” asked Kamikaze. “If we’re not here, they’ll go for our wagon. They might even send soldiers to both at once.”

“All the more reason to run,” said Limestone. “We’ll head out into the Ashlands as quickly as possible. If they haven’t found the wagon, we’ll fly it out; should be fine since we know to shield it the whole way now. Empress?”

As everypony packed, Starlight clenched her teeth as she pulled the blanket off of Zecora. There was a hole near the roof of the hut once meant to vent smoke and fumes, which Starlight pried open with her magic. The skeleton was hard to keep together as she floated it up to and out of the hole.

The timberwolves leaped into action when the skeleton fell from the tree. Zecora barely ‘escaped’ them, then Starlight tossed the skeleton off an embankment nearby, watching them follow.

As soon as the wolves left their sight, the group rushed into the forest.

23. Rescue at Midnight Castle-mania

Tuesday, 11/1/2287
POV: Crimson Prose
The Everfree Forest

Crimson didn’t like to admit when things got to her, which was far more often than she let ponies believe, and Tranquil leaving rustled her more than usual. Crimson’s wife was out there somewhere getting herself killed and robbing her of the satisfaction. Or was that really it? She was pretty sure that was it.

On the plus side, Crimson’s plan had gone awry in enough ways to make things more interesting.

Crimson tripped right out of the gate by underestimating Chrome Keys. She didn’t expect Chrome trapping the soul recycler in Stable 27 with stun coils. The confusing part was, that would have taken hours to set up, almost like she knew to do it in advance. Sure, Crimson escaped later, but not having the recycler complicated the situation.

Not that Crimson feared permanent death, given how much she knew she deserved it, but the soul recycler was a bargaining chip for Midnight. While Crimson’s past aid to the NLR wouldn’t sway Midnight with all that happened since, such a gift would put Crimson back in good with her. If that wasn’t enough, she could have offered Tranquil as a kill-buck toy.

But now they didn’t matter, because Crimson found a better gift for Midnight.

Crimson heard all about their first encounter with Midnight from their team fleshlight Kamikaze. Midnight wanted Starlight and Kamikaze, so Crimson could slip off and tell Midnight their location.

It was just as well. Crimson knew Starlight; she’d go mad with power and be no better than Midnight. It’d probably happen even faster since she was a bad copy of the original, it seemed unlikely she’d remain stable now that Crimson knew her origin.

If a tyrant ruled the wasteland, Crimson may as well support the one with the most experience. The chance of Starlight denting any of the other contenders was slim, anyway. She’d probably get raped to death by raiders before even making it to Holder.

Maud was the only other one Crimson wanted to keep alive. She figured if she ever got access to another soul recycler, it might be fun to let Maud kill her a few times. Maybe even just once some day if she didn’t find one.

Crimson wondered what Midnight would do regarding Twilight. On one hoof, her existence would be offensive to Midnight. On the other hoof, Twilight saved Kamikaze’s life and gave up her own magic to do so, then acted against all sanity to save that one dragon’s life later. Crimson could suggest cryo-rehab for her; a broken-horned alicorn would make a great masochist if programmed.

But there was one big problem: Limestone. Her psionic sense wasn’t easy to out-maneuver when Crimson was traveling with her. Lucky for Crimson though, the sense had a weakness: Limestone had to know a threat or pony existed to plan around them, and there were ponies in their group that Limestone hadn’t known about until recently, not enough time to think them through.

Crimson chose a sleeping spot next to their pile of saddlebags and supplies, which itself lay next to the exit to Zecora’s hut. The Solar-Pie fun was still going, but everypony else other than Dinky had gone to sleep. Dinky was watching the fun, possibly from boredom given her lack of reaction to it, so it was the perfect time for Crimson to act. She slinked over to that corner and pulled her book out of her own saddlebag. She opened it to the middle.

The frowning figure of Crimson’s character Paper Cut greeted her. The imaginary unicorn had a dark gray coat and eyes with a dark purple mane. Her mane and tail were cropped short and straight, though more ruffled than the straight-edge manecut the Pies favored. Her cutie mark was a quill, not unlike Crimson's, with a letter opener behind it like crossed swords. In her stories, Paper Cut was an Equestrian scout, so the mark fit well enough, though the letter opener opened a lot more than letters in the stories.

She wore a pith helmet and green button-up shirt, looking like she might want to go on a trek through the jungle, an outfit ripped off from Crimson's old friend AK Yearling. AK told Crimson about an idea she had for a character based on her own adventures, but had never gotten around to writing it due to her work at the Ministry.

Hanging around next to her was the other sentient character in the book, Ink Blot. If Paper Cut was Crimson’s evil side, Ink Blot was what little was left of her innocence. Ink looked like Crimson as a foal, so basically smaller, cuter, and without a cutie mark. She was an accidental creation and her existence was very distracting, but Crimson kept her so Paper would have company. That and she had been quite useful to avoid lie-detection at times.

Paper had restrained Ink, suspending her from the ceiling by her tail. As Paper Cut was holding a baseball bat, Crimson assumed that they were about to engage in what Paper affectionately called happy-fun-piñata-time. Regretfully, Crimson didn’t have time to watch or take part.

‘Well look who it is,’ Paper Cut spoke inside Crimson’s head. ‘When do I get to help kill a real pony? You promised we’d have tons of victims in the wasteland, maybe even let me start a new killing game, but here I am, being your bucking strategist!’

‘Save me Crimmy!’ Ink begged.

Ink always pleaded for rescue even if Crimson always helped Paper instead of saving Ink. The ink filly never stopped, as if she were Crimson’s subconscious keeping a way out open for her. Crimson imagined she’d never take that way out though. Even if Crimson deserved such a chance, it would make her life awfully boring.

Not wanting to hear her complaints at the moment, Crimson drew a gag over Ink Blot’s muzzle while she talked to Paper Cut.

‘Oh, stop complaining,’ Crimson replied to Paper with a thought. ‘We have to escape and then we can have fun. So, what did you come up with?’

‘I’m busy,’ Paper Cut sneered.

‘Look,’ Crimson though. ‘Either you came up with something, or I will draw the comfy chair and tie you to it.’ The only way to punish Paper was to deny her both fun and pain.

‘Fine!’ Paper Cut growled, dropping the bat for now. ‘I figured out how to deal with the pipbuck alarm. And sadly the plan doesn’t involve killing everypony.’

‘Okay,’ Crimson said. ‘Tell me one step at a time.’

The solution to making a plan without Limestone sensing it? Don’t make a plan.

Instead, Crimson tasked Paper with coming up with the plan. It wasn’t easy to get Paper’s cooperation in this. It took a while to get her to understand that the plan shouldn't include murder, which might be wasteful. Lucky for Crimson, Paper came around.

At least Crimson assumed. A step at a time required a lot of trust in Paper, but Crimson felt it necessary to decrease the chance of Limestone’s intervention.

‘Okay, the first step; take off your horn restraint,’ Paper said.

Easy enough. Crimson could remove any restraint from Stable 27, similar to the altered pipbucks, though with the restraints they didn’t need to be altered as much as one would think. She suspected Limestone already figured out that they’d be ineffective on her, which was why she’d set the pipbuck alarms.

‘Get a stealth buck from Maud’s bag,’ said Paper.

That made sense too. As interesting as it might be to get eaten by a dragon or some monster, she’d rather get to the castle without that happening. Crimson removed one from Maud’s bag and slipped it into her own.

‘You know that memory vision earlier…’ Paper went momentarily off topic. ‘You mentioned those smart toilets at the Ministry. Always wanted to try one…’

‘Stay on topic,’ Crimson warned. ‘Or I’ll put you and Ink Blot on separate pages so you can’t torment her.’

‘Fine,’ Paper growled, then continued the instructions. ‘Okay, get Spitfire’s head out of Solar’s bag,’

‘Is the next step going to be to buck it?’ asked Crimson, wary that she was already distracted again. ‘It doesn’t exactly move its tongue anymore, and pleasure is not the priority.’

‘Tsk, such distrust,’ Paper shook her head. ‘You wound me. Come on, I used to be an AI, I got computer horse apples figured out.’

Crimson looked to the others to make sure they were still asleep or distracted, then pulled open Solar’s bag and retrieved Spitfire’s head.

‘Unwrap it enough to access the pipbuck port on the side of her head, then plug your pipbuck in to it,’ said Paper.

Crimson unwrapped as little as possible, exposing the port and plugging her own pipbuck into it.

‘Now, transfer the codes between them,’ said Paper.

Of course! Starlight’s alarm was tracking all the pipbucks, but hadn't thought to track the one in Spitfire's head. The alarms would look for if one of those pipbucks was removed or left the area. But Spitfire’s pipbuck would always register as worn. Crimson grinned as she made the switch and unplugged, putting the head back in Solar’s bag.

“Crimson?” Twilight’s tired voice asked as Crimson was closing Solar’s bag. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”

Crimson turned around to see Twilight, head raised, though barely awake. It’d be a wonder if Twilight remembered talking to her the next morning, so hopefully she wouldn’t notice that Crimson’s horn restraint was off either. Luckily the head and book were on the opposite side of Crimson from Twilight.

‘Antagonize her so she won’t want to talk to you,’ Paper suggested.

“I was going to sleep,” Crimson grumbled. “But some wannabe goddess mascot annoyed me. Shouldn’t you curl up with that worthless dragon’s corpse and sob some more like an ass-raped filly guide?”

‘You overdid it,’ commented Paper Cut. ‘She’s going to kill us. I hope she makes it good at least.’

Paper was right; being murdered would be a serious delay. Indeed, Twilight’s face twisted with rage, but she recovered in seconds. To Crimson’s surprise, she reached a hoof and placed it on Crimson’s in a comforting motion.

“I know why you do that,” Twilight said. “You’re hurting inside, and you push ponies away because you feel you don’t deserve friends; maybe you’re even afraid that you’ll harm any friends you gain. But if you take a break from the facade you force onto yourself and need to talk, I’m here for you.”

Twilight rolled over and fell back to sleep quickly, but she’d left Crimson stunned. For a moment, she could only stare. Was that how Crimson felt? Was she chasing away friends in a belief she didn’t deserve them? She had no idea. Crimson typically ignored her own feelings that didn’t involve death, sex, or both.

Why was Twilight nice to her? Twilight knew Crimson was a murderer, that she was guilty of high treason, that she killed Hayscartes to take his method and had him branded a filly-fiddler, even murdered her own family. Twilight understood that if she were Crimson's prisoner, she'd wish she were dead, yet still cared for Crimson’s well-being.

It made Crimson feel strange… a weird emotion she didn’t recognize, swelling up in the pit of her stomach. Was that… guilt? Crimson never stopped despising herself, but she hadn’t felt such sincere guilt for as long as she could remember.

‘You don’t have to,’ a voice rang in Crimson’s ears, and she looked down in the book to find Ink Blot having managed to ungag herself.

Or did Crimson’s subconscious free her? It didn’t matter; Crimson redrew it.

‘Oh, rape us with Midnight’s serrated horn,’ groaned Paper Cut. ‘Don’t tell me you’re going soft.’

“Crimson?” Mercury’s voice said from behind her. The distracted Crimson didn’t see her come over. “What are you… wait, your horn?”

“Shhh,” Crimson whispered and put a hoof to Mercury’s mouth. “Don’t tell the others.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?” Mercury asked in a whisper. She looked worried, and like she was thinking of calling over Limestone.

“What? Nah,” Crimson said. “If I was, I wouldn’t have my book open. I was just writing.”

“Oh, what are you writing?” asked Mercury, looking curious. Poor naïve dear.

‘Put her in the book,’ Paper said in Crimson’s head. ‘That’ll keep the alarm from going off. It’s set to check if she registered as moved out of radius or if her vital signs drop, but if she vanishes entirely, the shoddy Stable-Tec programming won’t know what to do.’

‘That’s bananas,’ thought Crimson, unsure if it was a good idea. But then again, bananas were good. Maybe this plan was more plantains.

‘I’m sure it’ll work,’ Paper said. ‘100% chance!... err…95?... I’d say we have well over a 50% chance of surviving this.’

Good enough.

“Say,” Crimson smiled at Mercury, adopting her fake-nice face for the first time since she left Stable 27. “You want to see what I wrote? I want your opinion on it.”

“You mean like put me in the story?” Mercury asked. “That’s what you usually meant when you asked back at Stable 27, but now… I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on,” Crimson whispered. “They know I can put ponies in this book. If you turn up missing, that’s the first place they’ll look, then Starlight will tell Maud to kill-buck me. I won’t leave you there long.” Though Crimson’s definition of ‘not for long’ probably varied from Mercury’s.

“Well okay I guess,” Mercury said. She wasn’t 100% naïve, however, as she put the helmet back on to complete the blinder barding she already had on and picked up her telesyringer. Mercury loaded it with one of the canisters marked as the explosive gas.

‘Tsk,’ complained Paper Cut. ‘I guess she has fewer qualms about killing book characters with exploding canisters than real ponies. Bucking racist.’

Crimson made sure the others weren’t looking and slid herself behind their bags so her horn glow wouldn’t be as apparent. It took a lot of energy to put another living pony in her book. They had to be conscious, and it helped immensely if they were willing. Since Crimson didn’t have the time to tie her up, Mercury had to let Crimson do this.

Mercury’s wish to see her become a good pony was as irrational as Twilight’s, maybe more so since Mercury still trusted her this much. And so, Mercury stayed still while Crimson cast the spell. Crimson’s energy enveloped Mercury, her form shimmering. She gradually became transparent, fading into a mere sketch of herself before her form swirled into the book.

By the time Mercury had adjusted to her surroundings within the book, Crimson had already drawn a gag and horn restraint on her. Paper Cut wrangled the gun away from Mercury and kicked it across the dungeon where they’d been drawn.

‘Don’t maim or kill her without me,’ Crimson thought. ‘Or I’ll put you in the comfy chair for a month. You can go ahead and start breaking her figuratively though.’

Mercury’s eyes were wide with horror as Paper approached her with a psychotic grin. The poor filly looked certain she was about to die.

‘What kind of candy do you have inside?’ asked Paper with a chuckle.

Crimson closed the book, slipping it into her saddlebag. She chucked her blinder barding in favor of only wearing her overmare stable barding, then clicked the stealth buck onto her pipbuck, disappearing from view as it activated. She headed into the forest.

At first, Crimson planned to only use the stealth buck to get through the forest. Once she got to the castle, she’d talk to the gate guards and request an audience with Midnight. If she did that, the worst they’d do is imprison or torture her until Midnight was available.

But as Crimson stared at the gate guards from afar, she got that feeling again. That raw emotion made her sick to her stomach. Damn it to Tartarus; Twilight had damaged her. She’d have to murder at least a dozen innocents to fix this. Where was a filly guide or colt cadet troop when she needed one?

For the moment though, she rationalized. The guards might still kill her if Midnight wasn’t free and they didn’t believe her. She should go in one of the secret entrances and find Midnight herself. Besides, walking in out of nowhere and waving would be hilarity that Midnight might actually appreciate, so long as Crimson arrived with the good news of Kamikaze being alive.

She totally wasn’t rationalizing her actions from a desire not to betray Twilight.

Last Crimson knew, Midnight was ignorant of many secret passages in the castle. Nightmare never told her, probably knowing she might betray her eventually, and Crimson suspected she even enchanted them so scans wouldn’t notice. Granted, Nightmare didn’t tell Crimson either, but there was one that Crimson saw Nightmare use, one that might be discreet enough for Midnight to never have noticed.

It was easy enough to locate. Crimson walked down into the ravine where the tree of harmony was, but out-of-sight from the tree itself. She found the rock wall where she remembered it. It took a few minutes, but she found the loose rock she could pull, the rest of the wall sliding out of place and opening to a tunnel behind it.

Crimson glanced to see if anypony was around to notice, then headed into the passage. She tried to find where the closing lever was inside, but gave up after a few minutes of searching and just left it. Instead she headed through the passage, which led to a flight of stairs up into the castle.

The passage was musty after centuries of disuse. The bricks on the walls were damaged from age, looking more like a cave than a hallway. Crimson pushed the door open on the other end, which slid out of a bookcase in the royal library. She pushed it shut behind her.

The library itself was clean as if it had been in active use. That was no wonder given Midnight’s obsession with books, though nopony was there for now. Crimson couldn’t help but wonder if her older novels were somewhere in the several stories of bookcases, but now was not the time to delay. Stealth bucks only had so much power, and she’d forgotten how much.

It’d been a long time though. Crimson didn’t remember her way around as good as she thought she would, so she ended up wandering the halls for longer than she liked. This place seemed smaller on the outside, and there weren’t any signs designating locations. Perhaps that was by design to confuse intruders like her.

Though one passage certainly hadn’t been there before. They’d opened a hole in the wall which led to a cave beyond. Inside were solid rock walls rather than cut stone. Next to it was one of the few signs in the castle. It stated “Unauthorized Access will be punished with relaxing vacation”. Knowing Midnight, that meant something as lethal as it was lewd.

Crimson figured that must be the Mirror Pool. If she could convince Midnight to let her make a clone of herself, killing her other self could be fun. Or she could go buck herself like so many had told her to do. Or both.

Paintings decorated the walls, and some were fun to glance at. Most of them were Midnight trying to look intimidating, though a good part of them were sexy paintings of Kamikaze, sometimes doing lewd things with Midnight. Midnight obviously still had it bad for Kamikaze to the point of an obsession. It was sweet in a creepy way, which was the best kind of sweet.

But as Crimson stopped to admire a painting that depicted Midnight crushing a fallen pony’s head with one hoof, she heard a quiet beep coming from her pipbuck. A moment later, her stealth field failed, and she blinked into view.

Oh right. Midnight probably had systems to drain the power from stealth bucks, considering that was a favorite tactic of the more advanced super-mutants. Crimson should have thought of that.

Crimson dove behind one statue lining the hall, wondering what type of magic surveillance they had in here. Then again, they didn’t have control of this castle when Crimson turned on them, so if they didn’t think to change it later, Crimson might still register as an ally to the security system. In that case, she wouldn’t set off alarms; it was just a matter of if whatever guard monitored the system noticed her signal.

She wasn’t even sure why she hid. She should have found the nearest guard and told them to take her to their leader. They still probably wouldn’t kill her if she willingly turned herself over. But there it was. That annoying sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

As Crimson hid, she heard hoof steps further up the hall. They were moving at a casual pace, so she doubted they were coming for the intruder. She remained behind the armor for the time being as three bat guards headed down the hall.

“They said the two she disconnected from the Trinity's hive escaped a few days ago,” one stallion said. “They killed one as it fled, but the other got away.”

“Too bad,” a mare said. “It could have turned into anything. Just imagine that!”

“The surgery to disconnect them damages their changing whats-it,” a second stallion said. “Besides, I don’t think it’d turn into what you want if you’re pinning it down.”

“Yeah, it’d turn into the ugliest thing possible to stop you,” said the first.

“But how would it know what your mom looks like?” chuckled the second.

Crimson smirked; she’d try to remember that one.

“Buck off,” growled the first.

“I need a damn pony prisoner that Her Shadow will let me rape too,” the mare said. “I missed a go at that mare that wandered in because I was out scouting.”

“I wouldn't mind a fresher one,” said the first stallion. “She was already pretty broken by the time I got my turn.”

“I really need less bucked up friends,” sighed the second stallion.

“You know you love us,” said the mare.

Crimson assumed the escapees were the changelings that Tranquil had met, and that 'that mare' was Tranquil. It was nice to know that Tranquil got some misery, but Crimson felt her ire rising that at least some of the defilers were ‘real’ stallions.

And now she'd ran off with changelings, so she'd basically been abducted by Trinity instead. What would Trinity do to her? Even if Tranquil rescued a changeling that might only earn her the ‘honor’ of being turned into a super-mutant. While the image of Tranquil as a muscled misshapen alicorn amused Crimson, it would make murdering her significantly less amusing, not to mention more difficult.

As far as Crimson knew, all changelings worked for Trinity. Not that the changelings wanted to, but Trinity’s control over the hive was absolute. It was appalling even to Crimson. She’d torture or program somepony until they broke and obeyed, but she’d never possess them outright. There was neither fun nor challenge in enslaving a pony like that.

‘You’re a slave too, you know,’ Ink Blot voice echoed in Crimson’s head, even with the book being closed, as if Crimson’s misgivings gave her power. ‘You decide what to do based on what you imagine you should, even if it’s against your own self-preservation. Are you really different from a book character?’

‘You can’t go back now,’ echoed Paper from the other corner of her mind. ‘They’ll kill you for sure, and you’ll miss finishing Mercury with me.’

They both made valid points. Then again, the others wouldn’t kill Crimson so long as she had Mercury in the book. She could still make a deal.

‘Figure out an excuse I can use while I’m getting out of here,’ Crimson told them.

‘Why would I do that?’ asked Paper.

‘Because if you don’t, and they kill me, you’ll have nopony real to talk to,’ Crimson said. ‘Or worse. Not-Midnight will take an interest in my book and attempt to reform you.’

Crimson headed out from behind the armor, heading down the hall towards the library again. She kept an eye out for guards, though that wasn’t the only thing to watch out for since she didn’t quite remember where all the traps we-

Click.

The stones beneath Crimson rolled out of place, and a few seconds later she face-planted hard on the stone floor of the chamber that opened. Pain shot through her jaw, but it quickly died down to a pleasant ache. She staggered to her hooves and looked around.

‘Yeah that idea went as well as I thought it would,’ Paper Cut sniped.

Crimson found herself in a stone chamber with no exits, the passage above having closed. She lit her horn, taking a few attempts to get the simple spell right, then looked about. She was surrounded by solid stone walls and floor, with the only sign of an exit a small indent on one wall. It looked like it used to be a hole before it was filled in.

There’d be an alarm to bring guards to pull her out now that she’d done this, and how they handled her would depend on how messed up the guards were. What to do when they arrived though? Should she go through with the original plan? Or fight? How would she even fight? She was horse apples at offensive magic. Perhaps she should just hope for good torture and enjoy her demise.

Either way, rescue wasn’t coming. Her team would leave the forest as fast as possible when they realized Crimson escaped. Unless Solar somehow convinced them for Mercury’s sake. Or Maud rescued her with the sole intention of killing Crimson herself.

She had little time to consider. A few minutes after she fell in, the wall with the filled in hole spun half-way around, revealing a way out, and the same three bat guards she’d seen before looking at her.

“Hey, here’s one we can pin down without Her Shadow caring!” the mare had her priorities straight, or lesbian in this case.

Crimson approved of getting it from the mare via magical intervention, but lacked enthusiasm for being violated by stallions, especially when she might not be able to kill them afterwards. She had a vow to keep.

"May as well," said the first stallion. "If Her Shadow gets her first, there won't be much left. Battles always rile her up."

“Will Her Shadow be okay with that?” asked the second stallion. “How’d she even get this far in without tripping the alarms?”

“Who cares how, and why would Her Shadow care?” the mare said. “The system registers her as someone that shouldn't even be alive, so we’ll just use her up and dump the body with the trash.” She turned to Crimson. “You ready for three-in-one?”

“That’s messed up,” said the second stallion. “I won’t say no to a warm hole though since you’ll kill her regardless. Just don’t finish her off before I’m done; I’m not into that.”

“Prude,” Crimson rolled her eyes, but her lack of panic didn’t seem to register with them yet. Either way, this conversation had given her just enough time to think of a bad plan.

“Three-in-one?” the first stallion asked. “You don’t have a dick and we need permission to use one of the gender-shift potions.”

“I have legs!” the mare said. “This bitch is getting one up to the shoulder!”

“Tsk,” said Crimson. “Pity Solar isn’t here. She’d be all over that offer.”

“You don’t seem too concerned,” the mare smirked. “Perhaps we didn’t make ourselves clear. You. Are. Going. To. Die.”

“So it seems!” Crimson said. “Looks like we’re about to find out how far my holes stretch! Spoiler alert: they can stretch really wide. You should see some of my toys! One’s a life-size replica of a greed-sized dragon… Okay that was a lie. I still haven’t managed to fit that one. Tried my best though, and isn’t that what counts in the end?... hm… my end rather?”

“Um, do you not care?” the first stallion asked. He seemed reluctant to step closer to her, perhaps taken off guard by her demeanor.

“Well of course I don’t,” smirked Crimson. “Just look at me. I’m plantains.”

The guards were so taken aback that they didn’t stop Crimson from opening her saddlebag and pulling out the Crimoire. After all, it was a normal-looking book. What could it do?

It could do a lot, but removing objects from the book was a time-consuming process. However, canceling that part of the spell altogether was instantaneous, which would cause every real item she’d put inside the book to fly out at once. She hated to lose her formidable collection of restraints and toys, but desperate times called for random measures.

Crimson snapped the book open, pummeling the guards with an avalanche of random objects. Bondage furniture, restraints, sharp quills, Twilight’s books Crimson kept, half a dozen corpses she'd forgotten about, parchment, more sharp quills, that giant dragon dildo she mentioned… By the time it finished, objects littered the hallway from end to end.

Of course Mercury fell out too. She’d had her armor removed, as it landed on the floor next to her with her telesyringer. Paper Cut must have been having fun with her because Mercury was screaming the moment she popped out. The thrashing, sobbing mare made another adequate distraction even beyond everything else.

‘Hey put that back in!’ Paper Cut’s voice screamed in Crimson’s head, but she promptly ignored the spiteful book-tulpa.

The guards collapsed from the beat-down they got from all the solid objects shooting out at them, staggering as they attempted to pull themselves off the floor. Their eyes were wide with confusion, which was good since wide-open eyes were bigger targets.

Crimson took hold of a few dozen quills in her magic and sent them right for the eyes; oh how she loved doing that. The three shrieked as they were blinded, blood rolling down their faces as they stumbled back either trying to recover or escape.

“Oh that’s where I left that,” Crimson picked up a dagger from the mess and rammed it into the mare guard’s throat, puncturing deep and ripping across to split her throat open.

Wet gurgling sounds replaced the mare’s screams as she collapsed, blood shooting from her neck in time with her pulse as it fluttered to a halt. The first stallion shrieked as warm blood splattered him before he got the same treatment, collapsing against the wall and leaving a smudge of blood as he slid to the floor. Crimson opened her muzzle wide to catch a mouthful of his blood, not caring if it got in her eyes.

“C-Crimson, stop...” Mercury was still trying to get up. Crimson was honestly impressed she hadn’t run away shrieking by now. Crimson ignored her for the moment.

Besides, Crimson had one more bad idea; she was all about bad ideas. She flipped the second stallion onto his back and pinned him to the ground, straddling his hips. When she held the knife against his throat, he recognized what it was, cold steel covered in warm blood.

“No please!” the stallion begged as he tried to lay still, eyes still weeping blood with several quills rammed into both sockets. “I can tell you where the other exits are! The way you entered will be guarded now! There’s a passage right here in this hall that will get you outside, it’s your only chance to survive!”

“That’s a good point,” Crimson admitted, grinding herself against the stallion’s sheath. “Well-made in fact, I’m proud of you! But did I mention? Plantains!” For a few moments, her laughter echoed through the hall.

“There’s no time for that!” Mercury snapped Crimson back into the current situation as she finally got to her hooves and tugged Crimson from atop the stallion. Even still crying, Mercury took the time to save Crimson from herself.

“If you’re not careful,” Crimson growled, forced to cease her cackling. “You’re going to edge out Twilight for #1 weirdest pony I know.”

All the same, Mercury was right. Crimson rammed the blade into the stallion’s throat, not stopping until the tip clicked against the floor on the other side. She left him thrashing as she separated from him with a lewd slurp, retrieving more sharp quills from the floor as she went after Mercury.

Damn it. She did the plantain speech and everything and it was all wasted. Crimson supposed she could do the speech again next time she came across a helpless stallion. It was bound to happen again if she lived long enough.

Mercury impressed Crimson though. She got her wits back and kept her mind on the moment. The wasteland had already changed her.

“Crimson, where’s the exit?” Mercury grabbed her saddlebags and telesyringer, not taking the time to put her stable suit back on.

“Eh, a few halls this way, probably,” Crimson galloped off, jumping over the various objects with Mercury behind her, recognizing the way to the library from here. “Oh right. I know the way out; that explains why you gave a horse apple about my safety.”

“No, you’re escaping,” Mercury said. “And that means you had second thoughts, Paper was even complaining about it. You can become a good pony, like I said!”

“Are you real?” Crimson blinked. “Seriously. How can you be so perceptive and naïve simultaneously?”

They made it to the library, but only just in time for a pair of twilicorns to step out of the entrance in front of them. Crimson skidded to a halt, Mercury slamming into her from behind before she could stop and toppling Crimson forward to face-plant on the stone floor again.

Ignoring the headache, Crimson sent quills at the twilicorns eyes as she stumbled back up. The quills burned to ash long before contact.

“Huh,” Crimson said, wobbling. “I always wondered why more unicorns didn’t think to do that.”

“Guarding!” the first twilicorn tilted her head. “I see you still haven’t chosen sides, Minister Prose. How interesting that you’re still alive. Could it be that you have access to a soul recycler?”

“Guarding!” the second repeated their designated trigger word. “Her Divine Shadow will wish to speak to this one. Kill the other.”

It looked like she might go through with her original plan after all. Crimson was getting tired of her own back-and-forth.

“You remember me?” asked Crimson. “Huh, weird. Not-You said the clones shouldn’t have the same memories as the original.”

Then again, the other one remembered Kamikaze, so these differed from the ones Twilight knew. Midnight must have added something to the process.

Mercury shrieked as the first one picked her up in the telekinetic grasp. It took hold of her legs and head, grinning as it slowly pulled them apart, like a psychopath foal about to pull the legs off a cricket.

“No, you don’t!” Crimson didn’t know why she cared, but it didn’t matter. The moment she moved towards Mercury, the second twilicorn grasped hold of her right front leg with her magic. Without effort, the magical field twisted, snapping the leg like a twig.

Crimson groaned at the surge of pain as she toppled to the floor. The break was rather impressive, the leg bent the wrong way at the knee with shards of bone poking through her bleeding, swollen flesh. It wasn’t easy to ignore this level of pain or pretend to enjoy it so they'd not inflict more, but Crimson managed, looking over to Mercury.

Mercury’s head and legs hadn’t popped off yet, though it was only because the twilicorn was getting off on making it slow.

“Stop giving that thing head, Mercury,” Crimson snickered.

The two twilicorns giggled in a nearly good-natured manner at the joke. If she played her cards right, she could probably still be okay once Midnight got here.

But then there it was again, that emotional black hole sucking Crimson in. Granted it was hypocritical guilt, since Crimson still wanted to murder Mercury herself, but it was guilt all the same. It was Crimson’s fault Mercury was here having a bad time. As Crimson looked at the terrified mare sobbing and expecting to die, she couldn’t let this happen.

“Oh I hate myself so much right now,” Crimson chuckled, then shouted. “Kamikaze is alive too!”

Both twilicorns froze.

“What?” the one holding Mercury asked, still pulling but not increasing the strain on Mercury’s body. Crimson figured they wouldn’t kill Mercury if they thought she might become a bargaining chip to get Kamikaze.

“Harm that one and I won’t tell you where Kamikaze is,” Crimson said. “And you know I’ve never claimed to have information I didn’t have.”

“If you refuse to tell, then you’ll die,” the twilicorn that broke her leg said. “Her Shadow’s tortures make Tartarus itself jealous.”

“You’re threatening to torture me?” Crimson chuckled. “Are you sure your ‘memories’ of me are accurate?”

To punctuate the statement, she twisted her own broken leg and rolled her eyes back in bliss. Granted it was pretend bliss. Buck that hurt! She really hoped she didn't end up short of a limb due to the agitation.

The twilicorns creased their foreheads, growing silent for a moment.

“Our memories indicate this one does not respond logically to threats and pain,” the second one observed.

The other released Mercury, dropping to the stone floor where she collapsed into a sobbing heap. Mercury was really having a bad time today.

“You didn’t know I knew about Kamikaze though?” Crimson asked. “I was told the one that attacked my stable found out, so I guess that rules out a hive-mind for you fillies. I better kill you before you tell others.”

"We do think as one," corrected the second twilicorn. "But that one left our range before she perished."

“Good luck killing us, though,” smirked the first. “Guarding! I can tell how weak your magic is; there’s nothing you can do other than withhold information.”

“Nothing I can do?” asked Crimson. “That’s a poor choice of words for any villain.”

“You’re more a villain than us,” said the first. “Her Divine Shadow is harsh, but she also fights Trinity to keep the settlements in her territory, her subjects, safe.”

“You’re not wrong,” said Crimson. “Not entirely at least, but I'm also not dumb enough to tell an opponent they can never stop me.”

“Enough of your chatter, Minister,” said the second. “Guarding! Where is Kamikaze?”

“You’ll release both of us?” asked Crimson.

“If you tell us information that leads to us finding her,” said the first. “We will release the two of you without further harm and will not pursue you if you leave this place. We’ll even fix your leg, unless you like it that way.”

“That is assuming that you do nothing further to antagonize us,” added the second.

“Crimson, please don’t,” Mercury sniffled. “If it’s us or them… we’ll be saving more lives if we… let this happen.”

The first twilicorn promptly sat down on Mercury’s face, silencing her. “Guarding...from sappiness.”

“So the copies like to do that too, huh,” Crimson chuckled, but suddenly found herself considering Mercury’s words. Why? Why did Crimson not want to betray her friends? It was such a simple means of escape.

Wait, friends? Why did she even think that word?

Paper Cut was right; Crimson had gone soft. These ponies had gotten into her head and damaged her somehow. She needed to commit a proper, drawn-out murder on a complete innocent before it was too late. Those guards before were just a cunt-tease for Crimson’s real needs.

“Her hesitation is strange,” observed the second twilicorn. “It doesn’t match our records.”

“Why hesitate?” the first twilicorn asked. She tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. “You know we will keep our word. You have nothing to lose.”

“I can’t,” Crimson chuckled despite herself.

“Why not?” asked the first twilicorn.

Crimson wasn’t used to taking this route, so it was hard to come up with a properly random response. Lucky for her, she needed nothing smart to say.

She barely had time to register Maud and Pinkie exiting into the hall from the library before they struck. They leaped onto the first twilicorn’s back, and before she had time to raise any defenses, bounced off of her head and rocketed towards the ceiling. They hit the roof like a pair of cannonballs.

One second the roof cracked from the impact, and the next, Pinkie and Maud brought down a large chunk of the stone ceiling onto the first twilicorn. The slab of stone came down onto the twilicorn’s head, Maud and Pinkie now atop it to put all their force into the crushing blow.

Not having expected a sudden directed attack from competent opponents, she had erected no shield to stop them. Her head cracked like a pecan under the weight, blood, bones, and brain splattering across the floor. Her body thrashed about for several long moments, nerves firing off at random, before the body collapsed, and Mercury slipped out, gasping for air.

“Tag, you’re dead!” Maud said with almost Pinkie-levels of emotion behind the words.

The second twilicorn had plenty of time to erect defenses, however. When the Pies launched themselves off the chunk of roof towards the other, they found themselves deflected by the twilicorn’s force shield and sent sprawling on their asses.

“No tag-backs!” the second twilicorn laughed hysterically at the death of her other self. She didn’t seem worried about the two earth ponies now that she had her own shield up and charged her horn ready to attack.

“Pinkie’s favorite sister seems emotional,” said Pinkie, peering at Maud as if concerned.

“Kill-related one-liners do not count,” said Maud, back to her monotone.

“How about you tell me how many of you there are?” said the remaining twilicorn, horn charged and ready to blast them. She probably already knew where they came from if they’d checked the surveillance feeds more closely when they realized Crimson was here. They were probably in the library for just that reason.

“I don’t suppose you have another one-liner to use?” Crimson asked Maud, snickering.

“I have many,” Maud said. “But they are reserved for the proper moment.”

“Am I being ignored?” the twilicorn demanded. “That’s it. I will count to ten, and by the time I finish, I better have an answer. One… two… Guarding!... four…”

“You should skip a few numbers for dramatic effect,” suggested Crimson.

“Why are none of you taking this seriously?” the twilicorn stopped the counting and stared. Clearly she wasn’t used to a lack of terror in her victims.

“Because we know something that you do not,” said Maud. She remained calm and stepped back.

“I don’t,” Crimson clarified, but stepped back with a limp since Maud did. “I’m as confused why they showed up as you are. Probably just to kill me before you could. But I’m okay with that.”

Before the twilicorn could get another full sentence out, she squealed like someone had rammed her from behind with a cattle prod. A burst of very pink energy surged from behind her, sending sparks and arching current through her body, charring the floor beneath her. By itself it wouldn’t have seriously damaged the twilicorn, but it caused her shield to falter.

That was all that was needed, though who made the killing blow surprised Crimson. Mercury fired her telesyringer, loaded with the explosive gas canister from before. The lucky shot hit the twilicorn square on the forehead before she had time to recast the shield.

The canister glowed as it teleported its contents into the target, and a moment later the twilicorn’s eyes and chunks of her brain blasted out her eye-sockets as the gas ignited inside her cranium. It took a few more seconds before the empty-headed body collapsed and shuddered to a stop.

“Mercury!” Crimson grinned. “I feel like a parent watching her filly take her first steps. I’m so proud!”

It was amazing how much easier this was when they knew to go for the brain, and it helped that these two weren’t wearing magitech enhancers on their horns. Though if those were a limited commodity, Midnight must have truly considered Starlight a threat to put one on her attempted assassin.

“Oh Celestia, I’m covered in urine,” sputtered Twilight from behind the second fallen twilicorn, still reeling from the agony of the expended energy.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Mercury added, wiping bits of twilibrain off her face.

“You two need to work on your one-liners,” advised Maud.

24. Tug of Command

Tuesday, 11/1/2287
POV: Starlight Glimmer
The Everfree Forest

When they realized that Crimson fled, they headed to the cave where Tranquil had camped. Pinkie carried Solar again, and not only because of her injuries. They had to restrain the pegasus to keep her from staggering towards Midnight Castle in a desperate rescue attempt. By the time they got to the cave, the poor pegasus was sobbing outright. Starlight had to place a bubble of silence around them to keep her from drawing attention.

Starlight felt bad for leaving Mercury too, and knew Solar would never forgive her, but what else could she do?

But as they entered the caves, things started to look different. Starlight pulled up her pipbuck display, setting it to search for Spitfire’s pipbuck signal, which should now show Crimson’s location. The result didn’t seem right.

“That’s weird,” Starlight said. “I expected her to enter the front door of the castle, but she didn't. According to this, she’s underground beneath the castle.”

Twilight looked at the projection and her eyes lit up with recognition.

“That’s a secret passage into the castle,” said Twilight. “I found a lot while exploring the ruins in my timeline, though that’s one I only found after my Celestia gave me a full map. Midnight may not know about it.”

“Hold,” Limestone, who had been leading them, stopped. “That’s not right. If she means to betray us, why go in through a secret passage? If she wants them to believe she’s betraying us, she has to request entry properly.”

“Does it matter?” Starlight asked. “We can’t do anything about it.”

“Hm,” said Twilight. “When you surmised that Crimson took Mercury in her book, we assumed it was a ponynapping. But what if it wasn’t? What if they left together for another reason?”

“I don’t understand,” said Starlight. “What other reason could Crimson have other than betraying us?”

Starlight tried to sound diplomatic as usual, but the pause during their escape annoyed her. Had the cave been wider, she would have walked past Limestone and continued so they’d follow her.

“Other reasons Crimson might enter the castle,” Limestone said. “I’d say to find a soul recycler, but we already know Midnight doesn’t have one.”

Great, Starlight thought. Now Twilight had given Limestone a puzzle and she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from solving it.

“What if she had second thoughts?” Twilight asked. “Like she wasn’t sure about betraying us, so she used the secret passage. If we headed there now, and she hesitates long enough, we could catch her and bring her back.”

"You have an odd way of thinking," Limestone peered at Twilight. "But it makes you think of things that would be my last assumption. You might be right."

“We have to!” Solar said, though Starlight was sure she’d agree with any reason. “If there’s any way to bring back Mercury, we have to try!”

“No,” said Starlight. “This is too much of a chance. We can’t walk right into Midnight’s stronghold. You don’t understand how merciless she is with intruders. She sent some of our spies back in pieces, one piece at a time over several months.”

“Midnight isn’t there,” Twilight said. “According to Songsmith’s broadcast, Midnight and Cozy Glow personally led their forces into a territory dispute.”

“That would explain why the guard is spread so thin in the forest,” nodded Limestone thoughtfully.

“Then she’ll do it when she gets back,” said Starlight. “What difference does it make?”

“With due respect, Empress,” Limestone said. “I think her point has merit. Even if not an ally, Crimson is an information source we don’t want to lose unless we have to. She has detailed knowledge about the present world and enemies we’ll face. Stable locations and their last known status may be lost to most others, including Midnight. She also has information about us, where we're going, and the path we plan to take. We would get to Holder only to find Midnight waiting for us at the gates.”

“I have to believe she can come back,” said Twilight. “I realize it makes little sense to you, but we need all the friendships we can if we are to bring Equestria back to peace.”

“Discord’s beard...” Starlight swore and glared at Twilight, causing the alicorn to take a step back. Given her reaction, Twilight might not have meant it as defiance, but still… “Makes little sense? Like I can’t understand? You can’t know what I know, the horse apples I’ve been through! How dare you…”

Starlight trailed off when she realized everypony was staring at her. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

‘Empress,’ Limestone spoke to Starlight alone through the PCB. ‘I don’t want to question you in front of others, but this idea has merit.’

‘What this is,’ Starlight replied to Limestone. ‘Is her attempt to wrestle influence from me.’

‘Empress,’ Limestone said. ‘200 years ago I might agree and would probably be threatening her into submission, but I’ve had a long time to think about these things. We can’t continue to follow the philosophy that led us down that road. We must try something different if things are to change.’

“Fine,” Starlight said aloud. “I'll allow it… I guess the stress just got to me.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Twilight sounded insincere to Starlight.

“I think the Empress has a point however,” Limestone said. “We can’t undergo a full assault. We’ll have a small team go into the tunnel and try to catch her. If she gets into the castle, wait to see if she returns. If she gets close to the exit, we can snatch her with little risk, but otherwise we consider her a loss.”

Starlight appreciated Limestone’s attempt to word a disagreement like an agreement. Any way she looked at it though, Starlight came to the same conclusion: She was losing control of this team.

“I assume that Twilight will volunteer?” asked Starlight.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded without hesitation.

The agreement caught Starlight off-guard. She expected the damaged alicorn to not risk herself. This one was full of surprises.

“I will go,” Maud added.

“Pinkie as well,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

Their agreements were less surprising. They were probably trying to impress Limestone. They might even be hoping beyond all sanity to face another twilicorn.

“The security there won’t see me as an intruder,” Twilight pointed out. “I could look around.”

“No,” said Limestone. “Even if you don’t set off an alarm outright, we don't know how well the system distinguishes between her and her clones, which means it might draw special attention to you, and they know the real one shouldn't be there right now.”

“Fine then,” Twilight sighed, but deferred to Limestone’s judgment. Twilight was probably just wanting to grab books.

‘Maud, Pinkie,’ Starlight spoke through the PCB again, this time targeting her message only at Maud and Pinkie. ‘Tell nopony else of this order, but if you see an opportunity to sacrifice Twilight, do not hesitate.’

Pinkie arched an eyebrow and Maud turned her gaze towards Starlight. They glanced at Limestone, probably wanting to confirm such an order with her, but if they communicated with her through the PCB then Starlight, as the hub, would hear.

After a few long moments, Maud and Pinkie nodded to the order. Whether that meant they would follow it was another thing. It wasn’t like she’d know if they had a chance and didn’t take it.

When Starlight turned back, Limestone arched an eyebrow at her too. Damn it, she was perceptive, but Starlight didn’t explain. The Empress shouldn’t have to explain.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Midnight Castle

Over the course of her many lessons, Twilight learned that friendship often trumped the more violent choice. Once she ended up in this world, however, it became less clear. That mentality worked in her timeline, but would it work in a world where violence had been the norm for centuries?

Twilight had to believe it would, yet even Twilight herself had fallen into a murderous rage when exposed to the horrors of this world. Even when the target of her rage turned out to be a clone, her actions still shamed her. Losing herself to despair was not what Spike would want her to do.

Later, sparing Ember and Cinder gave her a glimmer of hope for herself, but the battle still resulted in the docile’s death and she participated knowing the other dragons could die too. Yes, there wasn’t anything else she could think of for them to do, but she had to hold herself to impossible standards if she wanted these ponies to do better. To that end, she volunteered for the rescue of somepony that would have left her to die in a heartbeat, or just killed her outright.

The passage Crimson took led to the library, though they stopped before entering the room itself. As soon as they stepped into the areas that Midnight monitored, the security would see them.

They were out-of-range from Starlight’s hub and had been since soon after their entrance to the secret passage. Maud’s pipbuck had tracking information for their targets and would see them so long as they were close, so once they were just outside the library, she pulled up their positions. Both Mercury and Crimson’s cutie marks showed bright green on the map.

“I see Crimson and Mercury,” Maud said. “A few halls over. Several other signals just ceased in the same hallway.”

“They are engaged in battle!” Pinkie said.

“We have to help them!” Twilight said.

“I would not advise that,” Maud said.

Maud pointed at two other signals that her pipbuck showed. In the library just outside of the passage, there were two bright red signals standing just inside the library from their location. The mark the pipbuck chose for them was Midnight’s cutie mark.

“Two of them, perfect,” sighed Twilight.

“The story ramps the difficulty up gradually,” advised Pinkie. “Eventually we will face an army!”

“They must have tracked Crimson’s signal to an origin point here,” said Maud, not responding to Pinkie's nonsense statements. “They are waiting for her, then will look for the exit.”

“We must strike before they are upon us!” Pinkie said.

“Calm down Pink,” Maud said, pointing back at Crimson and Mercury’s signals.

As the two green signals approached the library, the red ones moved out the library door to intercept them. Crimson and Mercury’s signals stopped as they stepped out, but considering the lack of movement, they probably asked questions before attacking.

“We take them from behind when they are distracted,” Maud said.

“Pinkie enjoys taking ponies from behind with her favorite sister,” Pinkie said. “Yes.”

Twilight pulled the lever to open the entrance, the wall and shelf shifting and the Pies running ahead of her. Twilight left the door open for a quick retreat; it didn’t seem like there was anypony else in the library to see it.

Maud and Pinkie moved quickly and were in the hall before Twilight saw what was happening. There was a crash and a grotesque crushing sound, like a ton of bricks smashing a juicy melon. Twilight barely resisted the urge to stop and browse books as she ran towards the sounds outside.

As Twilight rounded the corner into the hall, she saw the first twilicorn thrashing to a stop after its head was crushed by Pies. The second one was ready to stop them, having raised her shield before they did the same to her. Unworried about further attack now that she had her shield up, the second twilicorn opted to speak to them again.

But what Twilight noticed wasn’t the conversation. When the Twilight rounded the corner, she stepped right into the radius of the twilicorn’s shield as if it wasn’t even there. She was standing half inside it.

That was it! Their shields must use a specific frequency to let them walk through the shield of another clone to coordinate maneuvers. The magic saw Twilight as one of them, which let her walk right through their shields.

Twilight hesitated. She wasn’t hesitant to harm them, knowing mirror clones weren’t properly alive, using trapped souls that deserved to be set free. But focusing raw energy through a broken horn was excruciating. Even after all her practice learning to charge it, it never felt less painful.

She clenched her teeth in anticipation of the agony and took the plunge. As the horn charged, Twilight ignored the torrent of torment that washed over her. She reared up, head-butting the twilicorn from behind and releasing the raw energy in one giant burst.

The pain was so intense that for a moment, Twilight thought her skull had cracked open. When she regained feeling, she felt warmth on her face and feared it was blood. It wasn’t, but Twilight couldn’t decide if getting urinated on by a dying clone was better.

“Oh Celestia, I’m covered in urine,” sputtered Twilight.

“I’m gonna be sick,” Mercury said, though Twilight wasn’t initially sure why..

“You two need to work on your one-liners,” advised Maud.

When Twilight’s vision came back, both twilicorns were dead. The Pies were uninjured, and Mercury wasn’t any worse than limping. Crimson on the other hoof had a brutal fracture to her right front knee, bent backward with bone jutting from her flesh. Twilight tried not to think she deserved it and failed.

“I don’t know, I liked those one-liners,” Crimson said between clenched teeth.

Twilight rushed to her, but Maud was there first. Maud stepped on the broken knee with one front hoof with the other on Crimson’s throat to silence her.

“The only reason I am not killing you is because I do not have sufficient time to make you suffer,” said Maud.

“Maud! The orders are to save her!” Twilight reminded.

“The Empress did not specify that flirting is forbidden,” Maud said, but stepped back.

“Let me see,” Mercury moved closer as Maud moved back. She pulled bandages from her saddlebag, forcing the bone back into place and wrapping the bloody wound and soothing the best she could with her magic. “We can do better at camp, but I fear it will always be a bit wonky.”

They had mere moments before the rest of the palace guards were upon them. They were lucky this was an interior part of the palace and most guards were nearer the exterior exits. Maud hefted Crimson onto her back, and Pinkie did the same for Mercury when she saw how the alchemist limped, heading towards the hidden exit at a gallop.

It was only a matter of time before the guards found the exit now if they didn’t already know. Maud and Pinkie made sure it’d be difficult to follow them when it was found, stopping to kick the sides of the tunnel until it collapsed behind them. Whoever pursued would have to dig to find the other end.

“Why did you come for me?” Crimson asked. “Oh wait. You came for Mercury.”

“We saw you entering via a secret path and thought you might have had second thoughts,” said Twilight. “It doesn’t matter now. I just want to find a non-irradiated source of water to clean the stench off my face.”

“Well if it helps, I’m covered in blood,” said Crimson. “Some mine and some others. And I’m okay with that!”

These ponies seemed okay with a lot of things.

“The propaganda mare is not off the hook yet,” Pinkie reminded. “She should be careful, yes.”

“S-she didn’t betray you,” said Mercury. “Um, I wandered out and got caught, and she came to…”

“Oh no you don’t!” Crimson interrupted. “I am sick and tired of ponies helping me for no reason! I came here to trade Starlight and Kamikaze’s location for a residence at the castle and possibly some action with Midnight. Mercury caught me leaving, so I tricked her into my book intending to break her. How did you and Paper Cut get along, anyway?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” said Mercury in a hollow voice.

“Thank you for being honest, Crimson. It means a lot,” Twilight said.

In the end, the friendship method worked. Twilight still wouldn’t call Crimson ‘reformed’, far from it. But she had proven that Crimson felt guilt, which meant that she wasn’t a sociopath; she was just a damaged mare. With time, she’d fix Crimson.

“I can’t believe I had to cut my murders short to escape,” sighed Crimson. “I didn't even get off.”

A lot of time…

But Twilight let it go for now. As soon as they were within range of the network, Starlight’s voice faded into their heads.

‘Everypony okay?’ Starlight asked. ‘Hard to believe that worked.’

‘Mercury has sprained joints,’ Maud said. ‘Crimson has a severe break at her front right knee.’

‘Glad Crimson got enjoyment from it then,’ Limestone added. ‘Crimson. Mercury. Did you find out anything useful?’

‘We found where the entrance to the Mirror Pool is inside the castle,’ Crimson said. ‘Not too far from the library.’

‘Where?’ Twilight asked.

Maud held up her pipbuck for Crimson to point to with her good front hoof. Crimson pointed to an area closer to the center of the castle, no doubt to keep the entrance far away from intruders. Maud sent the location to the pipbuck network.

‘Did you see how well defended it was?’ asked Starlight.

‘No guards at the entrance,’ said Crimson. ‘But considering the warning signs, there’s some within. Maybe some without too once they realize they have guests.’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Limestone. ‘Get back to camp so we can move out.’

‘Hold,’ said Starlight. ‘If we attempt to destroy it, General, how would you advise we do so.’

‘I wouldn’t advise we do so even if our chances were excellent,’ Limestone’s thoughts seemed annoyed. ‘But if you overrode me, I’d say put everypony but Twilight inside Crimson’s book and have her walk in with the book in tow. In the current chaos they may not notice that one of the Midnight signals in the castle isn’t a clone, unless you left anyone alive that realized that. Once there, Maud or Pinkie can use the stealth buck you have left and do what’s needed.’

‘We left none that saw Twilight alive,’ informed Maud. ‘Though they may have noticed her signal.’

‘Why should we not use the stealth buck from the start?’ asked Pinkie.

‘There are certainly systems in place to drain them,’ said Limestone. ‘It will last a much shorter time than usual.’

‘There are,’ Crimson said. ‘Wish I’d thought of that myself before finding out. But you’re trusting me now? That’s rich.’

It made sense though. They fought their way out of Midnight castle and killed two twilicorns doing it. It would enrage Midnight when she found out; Crimson could no longer safely betray them to Midnight’s side.

‘Do it,’ said Starlight.

‘I will only order this under protest, Empress,’ Limestone must have felt strongly to speak up against Starlight with the entire team hearing. ‘There’s over a 50% chance we can do it, especially since the guards will expect us to have left the castle. However, I’m not sure we should. The balance of power could tilt too far in Trinity’s favor, which might cause an even bigger issue.’

‘It is not for YOU to order because I am in command!’ the frustration clear in Starlight’s thoughts surprised Twilight. Was there a power struggle between Starlight and Limestone that Twilight hadn’t noticed?

‘General?’ Maud didn’t spell it out, but her intent was clearly that she and Pinkie would follow Limestone over Starlight.

‘Maud, I’m warning you…’ Starlight thought.

Starlight seemed completely irrational now. Threatening Maud was suicidal if Limestone didn’t go along with this.

‘I don’t want to lose you again.’ Even Limestone’s thoughts stammered at the thought of sending her sisters into this situation. But either through loyalty or just because her ghoulish programming wasn’t entirely broken, she gave in to the order. ‘We can’t fracture now though. Do as the Empress orders, but swear you’ll come back.’

‘I swear, sister,’ Maud said. ‘We will not fail you.’

‘We swear to our sister superior!’ Pinkie said.

‘Thank you,’ Starlight sounded calm again, though her calmness felt more like a mask than ever.

“Let’s start!” Crimson loved the idea. “I’ll be sure it’s okay.”

Crimson pulled her book from her saddlebag and put it up to her ear.

“Crimson?” asked Twilight.

“Be quiet, Not-Midnight,” Crimson whispered. “I need to hear their voices.” Whether she really needed to or was just being annoying was unclear.

“Are the voices telling you that my name is Twilight?” asked Twilight.

“They say it’s okay to put you in there, but no promises on the severity of psychological damage sustained,” said Crimson.

POV: Paper Cut

‘Don’t hurt them,’ Crimson made that clear. ‘And don’t hurt Inky in front of them.’

Paper Cut usually enjoyed visitors to the book’s interior, but these didn’t sound fun. What was she supposed to do with ponies she wasn’t allowed to harm? And she couldn't torture Ink Blot while they were here? Paper’s host was getting softer all the time.

But Paper didn’t dare disobey, or she knew it’d be the comfy chair for her. She sighed as she pulled off the last strap that held Ink Blot to the rack. The little one staggered to hide under a table in one corner of the dungeon.

The quiet one, Maud Pie, arrived first. Maud took an instinctive defensive stance when she saw Paper.

Crimson wanted to buck that one; Paper knew because Crimson had written lewd things about her already. Maud must be special though as the lewd things involved Maud as the dominant party. That was unusual and made Paper a little jealous.

Next was Maud’s incest-waifu, Pinkie. This one was far more paranoid, almost charging Paper on sight, but looking perplexed when Paper didn’t flinch.

“That is Paper Cut,” Maud said. “She is the protagonist from Crimson’s adventure books.”

“A minion of the Minister of Treason then!” Pinkie blurted out, but added calmly. “Pinkie remembers now though. She enjoyed the books. Yes.”

“Oh, I should have known you’d appreciate my adventures,” grinned Paper.

“I found you adequate,” Maud replied. “For the first three books.”

“Ah, you’re one of those fans,” Paper rolled her eyes. “And yet my idiot host wants to buck you something fierce.”

“I noticed,” said Maud.

Next was Mercury, the toy that Crimson had so suddenly taken away from her. Her eyes met Paper’s briefly before she shied away, keeping the Pies between herself and Paper. Paper was already well acquainted with her.

Crimson entered last, and Paper was annoyed at her. She'd gotten Paper’s hopes up about how interesting the Ashlands would be and not came through for her in either the literal or figurative sense.

The Not-Midnight stayed outside Paper’s home. That was the one Paper Cut really wanted. That bitch tainted Crimson, eating away at Crimson’s resolve ever since she appeared. Crimson’s mind was Paper Cut’s, and she wouldn’t share it with some peace-loving offworlder that masturbated to friendship.

Though it was more than that. If Crimson merely changed, Paper wouldn’t care too much, since becoming less evil wouldn’t affect the fictional worlds where Paper Cut now lived. She could still write fictional characters for Paper to torment at least. But what if it made Crimson stop writing about Paper at all? With Twilight’s influence, Crimson might close the Crimoire forever.

Paper Cut noticed that the longer the Crimoire stayed shut, the harder it was to exist. If closed long enough, Paper might just stop. That limbo was a fate worse than death, and it terrified her.

Maybe she shouldn’t have pushed it when she was an AI. Yeah, the third killing game she engineered in Stable 27 was probably a bad idea. Then maybe Crimson wouldn’t have trapped her here permanently. On the other hoof, the fact that Crimson took the time to develop her method in a way that could put Paper here instead of purging her from their systems meant she had at least meant something to Crimson at one time.

She had to do something, but what?

“Stop moping,” Crimson grumbled at Paper, always knowing what her creation was feeling. She used to tell Paper she would never leave her when Paper felt like this inside the book. Even if often sarcastic, it used to make her feel so much better, but Crimson hadn’t said such things since they left Stable 27, and certainly wouldn’t now in front of others.

“Um, Inky?” Mercury whispered, having spotted little Ink Blot hiding in the corner. “Come on out, sweetie. They won’t hurt you.”

“They look like they'll hurt me,” Ink Blot squeaked from beneath the table. She wasn’t wrong. Crimson usually pulled ponies into this room to either have Paper Cut hurt them or to let them help hurt Ink Blot. Since Paper Cut wasn’t hurting these ponies, Ink probably saw them as the other kind.

The others turned to Ink, the Pies eyeing her with suspicion, but accepting her existence when Mercury limped over to sit next to her. Ink Blot snuggled up to Mercury, eyeing the other strangers with fear.

“Who is the tiny one?” asked Pinkie. “She is not old enough to exist in this setting!”

“Hear that, host?” laughed Paper Cut. “Even these psychos have higher standards than us.”

“Ignore her,” Crimson didn’t specify who she was telling to ignore who.

“I think it’s Crimson as a filly,” Mercury said. “From before she was… damaged. She comforted me when I was here before.”

Crimson clenched her teeth but remained silent. Paper Cut once wondered why Crimson didn’t get rid of Ink Blot and make Paper a new victim that wasn’t as awkward. Since then, she realized it was just another way for Crimson to torment herself.

“Should I be the stand-in and say something random?” Paper asked her. “I’m better than you at it, anyway.”

“Of course you are,” smirked Crimson. “Except that I write all your lines.”

“What did she need to comfort you for?” asked Maud, ignoring them and speaking to Mercury.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Mercury sighed.

“You know you’ve done well when they refuse to talk about it,” grinned Paper Cut.

“I wrote that line, for instance,” said Crimson.

Paper Cut sighed in annoyance. She picked up a controller sitting on the table where Inky had been restrained and pointed it towards one wall of the dungeon. The wall flickered like a video monitor before showing an image. It was yet another trick Crimson had enchanted into the book; the point of view from whoever carried the book could project on the wall.

Twilight was in flight, moving to an alternate entrance into the castle. She knew a lot of them.

“There you go,” Paper said. “The one holding the book will hear what we say, and we’ll hear thoughts directed at us. Nifty right?”

“That is useful,” Maud looked at the screen. “Twilight. It has provided us with a projection of what you can see.”

It? How rude.

“I wish I was in there,” Twilight’s curiosity must have been painful for her at that point. Good.

“Buck up, everypony,” encouraged Crimson. “It’s Tuesday! All the best worst stuff happens on Tuesdays.”

“Um, do you guys think there’s time for me to stop and get the books,” Twilight asked. “You said you dropped them, right?”

“Now is no time for books, foalish pegacorn!” Pinkie blurted out. “Sister Superior gave us orders to follow! Yes.”

“Fine, I’ll leave them,” sighed Twilight before continuing. She opened the new secret passage and walked in, then proceeded toward the point Crimson had told her. She galloped as fast as possible.

“Limestone did not give us orders,” Maud said. “The Empress did.”

The edge to her voice interested Paper. She wondered if there was trouble with the command in their group.

“I would say,” Mercury piped up from her corner, stroking a curled-up Ink Blot like a kitten. “Starlight seemed…”

“Angry,” Twilight’s thought-voice boomed into the room's intercom as she continued. “Maud. Pinkie… is there strife between Limestone and Starlight? A break between them would be bad for the team.”

“There is more of a break between you and Starlight,” said Maud.

“Me?” asked Twilight. “Maybe, but it sounds like something specific makes you say that.”

“Before we left with you to rescue…” Maud started.

“Our orders are to keep our orders a secret!” Pinkie blurted out. “Pinkie cannot believe she has to remind her favorite sister of this! Yes.”

“We were told to keep it a secret, yes,” said Maud. “Even from Limestone. I do not find that acceptable, Pink.”

Much trouble at home then. This could get good!

“But she is the Empress!” Pinkie said.

“No, that’s wrong,” Crimson shot into the conversation. “She’s the acceptable substitute you’ve chosen as the Empress. Just because the real Starlight went nuts doesn’t give this Starlight a right to the throne.”

It looked like Crimson decided to create random strife. How delightful! Paper Cut sat back and watched.

“That is what I mean,” said Maud. “With the real Starlight unfit for command, and this Starlight an imposter, Limestone is next in line for the throne. She is Empress.”

“The soul gems are poorly tested, but we know some things,” said Crimson. “The soul transfer doesn’t happen until death. If the soul transfer didn’t complete, is this Starlight any different than a mirror clone?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Twilight said. “Mirror clones are entities with barely any mind and permanently bound to the pool. A majority of them would return to it on their own if left out too long.”

“Her current body is less than a month old,” said Crimson. “Not counting time travel shenanigans at least. So how do you know she’s any more than that?”

“No, we will not judge the legitimacy of living ponies,” said Twilight. “You mentioned life crystals were a precursor, so it’d be like a life crystal transfer, right? Less accurate and stable, sure, but you didn’t cease to consider those people intelligent beings, right?”

“Seems to me the two would basically be the same,” Paper Cut chuckled.

“A lot of study went into deciding how to deal with the clones in the book I read,” Twilight said. “The spell meant to dispel them frees the entity to return to the pool rather than destroying it. But this thing Starlight ordered; I think we can all agree that none of us will tell Starlight on you.”

“If her sister trusts the pegacorn of sparkles, Pinkie accepts this,” said Pinkie. “But we cannot trust the traitorous minister and her sex demon!”

Paper Cut didn’t dispute the demon idea; she acted like one. Now that she was trapped in this book, her primary role was to tempt Crimson.

“Promise you’ll tell me later?” Twilight asked.

“Affirmative,” said Maud. “Concentrate on the mission for now.”

“Pinkie crushes her heart, hopes to die, and sticks a bullet in her eye!” Pinkie blurted.

Pinkie pulled a bullet out of her saddlebag and jabbed it in her own eye. Such dedication, though loading it into a gun first would have been more amusing.

“I found the tunnel,” Twilight said. “There are guards.”

On the screen, they saw Twilight peeking around a corner to see four bat guards at the tunnel’s entrance. They weren’t there before, but perhaps it was their duty to guard this spot during an emergency.

They didn’t seem to take their duties seriously though. One was turning up a drink and two others were laughing at a joke. They didn’t think anypony would get this far inside again after the others fled.

“Just walk past them,” said Maud. “They should not stop you if you appear calm.”

“No, no, no,” Crimson said. “Calmness alone won’t cut it. Act like you own the place.”

“Own the place?” Twilight asked.

“Are you sure that you’re royalty?” Paper scoffed.

“Look, they’re all relaxed because they think Midnight isn’t here to get onto them,” Crimson said. “Walk up to them like you’re in charge, accuse them of slacking off, and threaten to rape them.”

“Rape?” Twilight asked. “I can’t threaten a pony with that! There’s no way!”

“Yeah, yeah, you would never do that,” Crimson rolled her eyes in time with Paper’s own eye roll. “But if you want to look like Midnight, then threaten it. Trust me. They’ll assume Midnight got back early and be too scared to question it. Otherwise they’ll suspect why you didn’t get onto them enough.”

“Right,” Twilight sighed.

“There’s no way,” laughed Paper Cut. “She’ll buck this up big time.”

“You!” Twilight raised her voice enough to echo through the hall as she rounded the corner. “What in bucking Tartarus do you think you’re doing, you lazy semen receptacles?!”

“Huh, maybe she’s got this after all,” Paper Cut admitted.

25. Mirror Mirror

Tuesday, 11/1/2287
POV: Maud Pie
Midnight Castle

Crimson's advice for Twilight paid off. The soldiers were at attention in an instant, and Maud got no small amount of amusement from the sight.

“Y-your Divine Shadow!” one stammered. “We were just… just…”

“Just about to lie?” Twilight growled.

“We were slacking off,” the second guard admitted, face quivering as if ready to cry. “May Your Merciful Shadow fall upon us!”

“You will guard this passage for the next 12 hours,” said Twilight. “You will stand at attention, not moving or eating. If I so much as suspect you disobeyed this order, I’ll violate your behinds so deeply that you will taste my penis. Understand?”

Maud would have given them an order for 24 hours to be on the safe side. 12 hours was clearly Twilight’s soft side wanting to prevent any problems from exhaustion or dehydration, but at the least Maud nearly smirked as she realized the guards would certainly wet themselves and thus look extra stupid explaining it to Midnight.

“Yes, Your Divine Shadow!” all four guards were at attention in perfect formation now, looking afraid to breathe. One of them whimpered quietly as he strained not to sob.

“Well done,” smirked Crimson. “And ironic that you learned a lesson from me. Now they’ll be afraid to rush in and help if they hear a ruckus.”

“The pegacorn’s display shows cunning strategy,” Pinkie said.

‘I did not ‘learn a lesson’ from you Crimson,’ Twilight thought with a huff, then continued through the passage. The guards were so panicked that they did not even notice her broken horn, though they might not dare question it if they did.

“I can’t believe you were about to lie to her!” they heard one mutter to the other behind Twilight. “You would have gotten us vacationed!”

“As amusing as this was,” said Maud, “Do you realize what this means? Once they discover that you were not Midnight, they will know an imposter Midnight is on the loose.”

‘By Celestia’s eldritch mane,’ Twilight sounded more traumatized than the guards, the pounding heartbeat in her head translating through the intercom into their area. ‘I hope I kept them from running in and getting hurt at least. Crimson? You don’t think the real Midnight will punish them for being tricked, do you?’

“Why would you care?” asked Maud. “Fruits are the enemy.”

‘Can the racism, Maud!’ Twilight boomed through the intercom. ‘I’m serious. Not another word of it!’

“What?” Maud quirked an eyebrow. That was unexpected, receiving such an order in that demanding tone. Maud was not used to ponies being brave enough for that, especially one with no real rank in this world.

“The pegacorn has much backbone to demand nonsense from Pinkie’s deadliest sister in a combat situation!” Pinkie snarled.

“Relax,” Crimson laughed. “They won’t be punished if they didn’t know it wasn’t her. In fact, I bet she’ll punish them if they don’t follow your order if they legitimately believe it was her. She’s weirdly specific about things like that, though they won’t get such a benefit once it’s known an imposter is on the loose.”

“Thank Celestia,” Twilight calmed. “I hope I didn’t give them too difficult a task. I know it’s strange to worry about them, but are all these guards obeying her of their own free will? I'm sure some are, but many have no other place to go. That is why we can’t have this kind of racism, Maud. The ponies out here have forced the bat ponies into a corner where they have no choice but to abide by the stereotype created for them. I doubt there’s anypony else willing to take them in other than Midnight.”

“Very well. I accept this,” Maud said. Her ire faded when Twilight gave a tactical reasoning for the command, and she pushed to another subject. “Midnight’s peculiar sense of honor with honesty is worth noting though. It is an exploitable weakness.”

‘I guess,’ Twilight pondered. ‘I’m not entirely on board with tricking someone from honesty, but that conversation can wait. I’m here.’

On the screen, they saw that Twilight had stopped before entering the main cave. They saw the pool at the center of a large chamber ahead of them, guarded on all sides by a dozen twilicorns. It would be impossible to head-shot that many with what they had. And Twilight could not just walk up to them; there was too high a probability of at least one of them catching on.

Attached to the pool were two strange machines, both cobbled together from old magitech. One was a row of booths containing restraints and a helmet. It could fit a twilicorn in the seat and had components that looked similar to a soul recycler.

A larger machine on the other side from the pods was at least five times the height of an average pony and at least ten hoof steps in diameter. It had a glowing core, green with a rainbow glow. Maud recognized it as a miniature balefire reactor, large enough to augment the pool’s magic, but not large enough to destroy more than this part of the cave should it overload.

“You have explosives on you, Pink?” asked Maud.

“Pinkie would normally think this a silly question!” said Pinkie. “But Pinkie is low. She is out of gigglers and has only three remaining conventional explosives.”

“Are they the ones that detonate remotely?” asked Maud.

“Pinkie can set them, yes,” nodded Pinkie.

“Very well,” said Maud, then spoke aloud to Twilight. “The path appears obvious. I will activate the stealth buck, switch places with Twilight, and place the explosives before the security grid drains the stealth buck. We set off the explosives on our way back. However, I am not a strategist, so I will defer to the best strategist we have in General Limestone’s absence.”

“I’d be happy to help!” grinned Crimson.

“Shut your muzzle, Crimson,” said Maud. “Before Mite nails it shut.” As much as Crimson amused her, she would not deal with her antics in this situation.

‘Good one!’ Mite approved. ‘And it sounds fun too. Can we do that?’

"Perhaps later, Mite," Maud answered.

"Oh and she talks to things that aren't there," Paper Cut sounded tickled, looking to Crimson. "You do have a lot in common."

Maud really wanted to kill that demon thing, but she tried to focus.

‘That tech is barely functional,’ Twilight said through the thought-com. ‘I assume that if they could do better for something so important, they would, which implies that these are the best components available. They may not have spares for many parts, so destroying it could cripple their efforts. I’d like a confirmation of what it does, though.’

“If I had to guess,” said Crimson. “I’d say the one is what they used to give them Midnight’s memories when they come out. You said the mirror clones shouldn’t share her memories, but her clones share hers to a certain point at least. They knew me and Kamikaze.”

“The other is a small balefire reactor,” said Maud. “It is an odd power source for a magic pond.”

‘Makes sense,’ said Twilight. ‘It takes energy to make new bodies. After years of constant use, the Mirror Pool would run out of energy faster than it can naturally recharge. The reactor is the only thing keeping it functional.’

“Three bombs are perfect!” said Pinkie. “One for the pegacorn memory machines, one for the power source, and one to collapse the cave into the pool!”

‘Wouldn’t one on the reactor be enough?’ Twilight asked.

“The reactor may take time to go critical,” explained Maud. “We do not want to provide time to save vital equipment.”

‘Okay, that’s part one,’ Twilight said. ‘I feel like if this was a Limestone plan it’d have a part two through ten… I don’t want to miss anything.’

Maud appreciated Twilight's acknowledgement that she was inferior to the Pie sister strategist. That put her a step above Starlight at least.

“Take your time!” Crimson smirked. “It’s not like your friends might be getting caught and executed as we speak.” It was hard to tell if that was concern masked as sarcasm.

‘These caves,’ Twilight continued. ‘They look similar to the caves that Rarity searches for gems in near Ponyville. Could they be connected? I wish there was a way to know.’

“I will look for alternate passages before we set them off,” said Maud. “If there are, I may find another path to the surface. It would surprise you at how good I am finding my way through caves by listening to how water drops echo.” She sighed. “Boulder was better than me at getting out of caves, but I left him at home to keep him safe.”

“Was that emotion in your voice?” asked Crimson, sounding sincerely confused.

“How sweet,” said Paper Cut. “We hope you find out about your friend’s fate, Maud, and that he died in some horrible way you could have prevented if only you’d been there.”

Maud's eye twitched as her ire rose within her like a whirlwind. The flat affect on her face kept most from realizing how close she came to ramming Mite through Crimson's tulpa thing. The only one there that would notice her mood shift was Pink, whose mood was more visible as she growled and took a step to Paper.

“Minister Prose,” said Maud. “I will ask you to put me back into your book later so I can murder your demon. You will comply.”

“Sure, why not?” Crimson shrugged. “But only if I get to watch.”

“That is interesting,” Maud said. Crimson’s ability to catch her off guard had a strange calming tendency. “I thought I would have to threaten to not torture you to gain cooperation. Disappointing.”

“She comes back,” smirked Crimson. “It’s like flipping back to an earlier chapter. Which means, so long as she doesn’t exit the book, you can kill her all you want! It makes me wonder why she wants to leave so much.”

“I may test that theory some day,” Maud promised..

‘Focus, ponies,’ Twilight said. ‘And no, Maud, I won’t be surprised how good you are with caves. I know you in my timeline. Anyway, that sounds good enough. Crimson, can you switch us out?’

Her timeline? That whole thing still freaked Maud out. She avoided commenting on it as usual.

“Sure,” said Crimson. “Just open the Crimoire, put it on your head like a hat, cross your eyes, and touch your tongue to the tip of your muzzle.”

‘I’m not falling for that Crimson,’ said Twilight.

“Tch, no fun,” Crimson sighed. “Fine, give me time to concentrate.”

Maud confirmed her stealth buck was active and slipped the book that contained her comrades into her saddle bag, securing it well in case she had to run.

Even with the stealth buck, she did not rush to the contraptions. The twilicorns were perceptive compared to the average fang-face, so she had to be careful. She crept around the edge of the cave, sneaking the same as she would if she had no stealth device at all.

“I swear, that bitch gets on my nerves sometimes… guarding!” one twilicorn was conversing with another as she passed. “Making us guard the instrument of our own torment.”

“If I had a soul recycler and we weren’t forced to obey her,” said another. “I swear I’d gut her on repeat.”

Interesting. It seemed that some, maybe most, of the twilicorns weren’t on board with Midnight’s treatment of them. Considering how easily they could be replaced, it was doubtful they were ever treated well by Midnight. With Midnight’s magic and their programmed mind-control however, that fact was not likely to ever help them.

She clasped the first explosive to the outer shell of the middle memory machine, unsure if sticking a hoof inside would set off alarms. The bombs alone would not set off anything since their power only registered when activated.

Maud looked inside the contraption though. Both from curiosity, and in case anything stood out. She observed every detail to describe it to Limestone later.

‘It has a feeding tube and toilet,’ Maud observed in her mind, assuming that her thoughts transferred into the book. ‘That indicates that it takes a significant time to upload memories. I wonder if all the clones are given all her memories or only certain ones. There are likely times when she has to make more clones than she has time to implant memories.’

‘That’s interesting, Maud,’ Twilight’s voice echoed in her head. ‘It is, really, but let’s hurry. We don’t know how long that stealth unit will last and I want to make sure the others are safe.’

Twilight was right, though she too sounded sad to leave the device without discovering its secrets. Maud crept around the outside of the cave again, moving to the back side of the pool. It was the direction they would least expect an intruder to be.

The alicorn was not a bad leader. Aside from being the goddess race, she was well-studied. It was not hard to believe she had a position of command in her own timeline. Even then, Maud wondered if her own decision to tell Twilight about Starlight’s order was a good one. Would it protect a deserving pony, or would it cause more problems?

But Twilight may have saved their lives by helping take down the second twilicorn. Maud could not leave somepony she owed her life to defenseless against planned aggression.

Twilight’s comment about knowing Maud in her timeline had made her curious too; she could not help but wonder how she would have turned out in a world not torn apart by war. She wondered if all her sisters were alive and together, though she was too afraid to ask, more than she could admit. Besides, hearing about that happiness would just make her more depressed than usual.

‘Why did everypony get quiet?’ Crimson’s voice echoed in Maud’s head. ‘You’d think we were hiding while Midnight was having an evil tea party a few hoofsteps away.’

‘The Minister of Treason will silence herself!’ Pinkie blurted out, voice echoing in Maud’s head. ‘The story is concentrating on the focus character. Yes.’

Maud ignored her sister’s ranting and hooked the second bomb to the reactor. This machine was one she was more familiar with, so she placed the bomb for maximum damage. Not that it would matter once the reactor blew. She would need to get away before activating it.

The last one was the most difficult, but also the one where she was least likely to be seen. As long as she did not fall into the pool at least. After re-checking that her things were secure, Maud climbed up the side of the wall. Her rock affinity plus her intense training allowed her to grip the stone with her sticky-hooves and work her way towards the ceiling, something they definitely wouldn’t expect an earth pony to do.

Maud wondered how her sister and the rest were doing outside the cave. Midnight’s forces would search the forest, which meant they also might search the cave the group would use to exit the forest. Still, Maud trusted Limestone’s ability to keep them hidden. If she could not, she would have voiced such a concern when she spoke to Starlight.

Starlight. Maud was less certain of her all the time. If she was the heir, Maud would hesitate less to follow her orders. Maud was a soldier and soldiers were tools for royalty to use, but Starlight was not the rightful heir. She might not even be a real pony; she was an unintended side effect of poorly-tested magitech. Her increasing loss of self-control might indicate that her mental capacity was already degrading.

Then again, Limestone was a freak of magitech too. Maud and Pinkie were as well after being blasted through a time corridor by a sonic radboom.

It was surreal. And frightening. Maud would never admit fear, but abject terror now coursed through her. During the war, it never even occurred to Maud that her sisters might fall. She had been lying to herself, but it did not seem possible.

But now Marble was dead. Now Limestone was on borrowed time and might stop moving or go feral without warning. Maud could no longer put blind faith in their safety, and did not want to lose more sisters.

Maud placed the final explosive in a crevice of rock on the cavern’s ceiling above the pool. It was most likely to collapse as Maud wanted, filling the magic pond and possibly crushing a few guards. Maud would never pass up a chance to crunch enemy heads. Once finished, she headed down the wall the way she came.

When she was about five pony heights above the floor, Maud released the roof and turned over to let herself fall hooves down on the cavern floor. She reversed her sticky hooves to repulsion, which softened her fall to hit the ground with a silent pat instead of a thump. The years she had spent training her hooves for climbing and stealth paid off.

Looking around the caves as she worked, she spotted a passage she thought most likely to lead to freedom. Too bad Boulder was not here to help with it.

‘When do we get to kill somepony?’ Paper Cut asked, her voice echoing in Maud’s head again.

‘We a-aren’t supposed to be killing anypony, are we?’ Ink Blot peeped.

‘We’re blowing something up,’ Paper Cut said. ‘There’s hope at least somepony real will die.’

With those things in Crimson’s head, Maud understood more why she acted as she did. It was baffling why she made them to begin with, though.

Maud retrieved the trigger for the explosives from her saddlebag. It had a good range, so she could get far away from the explosives before triggering them. It would set every security system in the forest off once she pressed the button, but not in time to stop it.

She took one more look back, then headed deeper into the cave. She found an opening she could barely squeeze through, and felt certain it would lead them out. The very soft sound of the wind from the Ashlands was echoing through the deeper cave. Not knowing how much time she had left on the stealth buck, she had no time to move carefully though. She took a deep breath and galloped as quietly as she could, straining to soften her steps.

POV: Twilight Sparkle

When Maud set off the explosives, the world inside the book didn’t tremble like the world outside, though they heard the boom through Maud’s ears. It seemed the cave they took had gone without notice enough to not be guarded, which was a good thing.

‘The stealth buck is fried,’ Maud’s voice boomed into the dungeon. ‘But I think we are home free. We should be within range of the PCB again soon.’

“Can I kill her yet?” Paper Cut asked.

The book-pony was referring to Twilight. Paper had asked many times, saying she’d never murdered a goddess before, and Twilight gave up on explaining that being a naturally-created alicorn did not equate to goddesshood.

“No,” Crimson said in habit as she sprawled in a corner, her broken leg still looking nasty. While Mercury fixed it enough that it wouldn’t need amputation, it didn’t look like she’d walk easily for some time.

“Why?” asked Paper Cut, then swore. “Sombra stab my ass with jagged crystals… you want to buck her, don’t you!?”

“No, I want to buck Maud,” said Crimson. “And the next time you ask about killing Not-Midnight, I’m bringing out the comfy chair.”

Whatever the strange threat meant, it quietened Paper Cut instantly.

Regardless, Crimson’s little world here impressed Twilight. Sure, the scenery of a dark torture dungeon didn’t resonate with her, but the detail was incredible. It was better than any of Twilight’s own attempts at Hayscartes’ method.

Though that wasn’t surprising given Crimson had centuries to perfect it. After that amount of time to hone her skill, it was more amazing how bad Crimson remained with most every other magic.

“How many ponies can you fit in here?’ asked Twilight, curious.

“I don’t know if there’s a limit,” shrugged Crimson. “But the more you put in, the more likely they are to get scrambled coming out.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight blinked. “And you didn’t let us know this before putting us in here?”

“Eh, the chance with this many is pretty slim,” Crimson shrugged. “If it helps, the only time it has happened was hilarious.”

Mercury and Pinkie stayed mostly quiet after Maud left the book. Mercury stayed with the little Ink Blot, who took a liking to her. Twilight tried to talk to the little one, but she cried if anypony else got near her, and she didn’t seem to understand that Twilight wasn’t Midnight. She only liked Mercury because Paper Cut had tormented the poor mare. They had something in common.

As for Pinkie, she’d gone from manic to depressive without any sister by her side, probably not used to being without. Twilight felt bad for Pinkie, especially with that dynamite cutie mark. While Twilight didn’t judge ponies for their marks, she knew Pinkie would be happier with another. She wondered how many other ponies had lost a happier destiny due to Twilight’s failure to stop her Starlight.

“It was your fault, Not-Midnight,” Crimson said out of nowhere.

“Pardon?” asked Twilight, at first wondering if Crimson had mind-reading in here.

“You tainted me,” Crimson growled. “You just had to wake up and comfort me as I was plotting escape. If it weren’t for you getting in my head, I’d have done what’s best for me instead of what’s best for… friends.” She spit the word out like a stale baked bad.

Paper Cut growled a little too at the statement and peered at Twilight. There was pure burning hatred in her eyes. Not the psychotic killing-for-fun kind, but the vengeance kind. Was that the real reason Paper wanted to hurt Twilight? For violating her territory by getting into Crimson’s head?

Crimson would already be hard to get to, but Paper Cut being a literal being complicated things. Even if she convinced Crimson to be good, Crimson would still have to deal with Paper Cut constantly tempting her. Of course there was little Ink Blot, but could that timid filly really become the stronger of the two influences?

Unlike with the clones, Twilight couldn’t just suggest that they off Paper. After so long being nurtured by Crimson’s imagination, Paper Cut was likely a fully sentient being. As horrible as she was, a self-aware creature deserved a chance at life and redemption too, but it set up an 'all or nothing' scenario in that she could not help Crimson without also helping Paper.

‘We have problems,’ Maud’s voice said over the intercom.

Twilight looked up at the screen and realized that Maud had reached the surface. She had her pipbuck up and was following the map towards their camp site, but something was wrong.

“Why hasn’t Starlight or Limestone contacted us?” asked Twilight. “Are we not in range yet?”

‘We are well within range,’ Maud said. ‘Their network should have detected us.’

“Crimson,” said Twilight. “We need to leave the book now.”

“The alchemist and traitor do not have proper armoring,” said Pinkie. “And are injured. We should leave them here for now. Yes.”

“Alone with Paper Cut?” asked Twilight. Twilight wanted to trust Crimson, but she wasn’t stupid. “I should stay too.”

“Go ahead,” said Mercury, still stroking Ink Blot. “She won’t hurt me.”

“I won’t?” Crimson sounded confused.

“No, you won’t,” Mercury sounded confident.

“You are a foal!” Pinkie blurted out. “The traitorous one will serial kill the alchemist!”

“Why I never,” grunted Crimson. “I would never harm cereal. It’s part of a balanced breakfast.”

“We don’t have cereal,” Paper Cut said. “But if we eviscerated Mercury we could make a lovely organ soup.”

“Organs are not for breakfast!” exclaimed Pinkie, taking the conversation more seriously than she should. Maybe.

“My little ponies!” Twilight tried to get their attention.

“The pegacorn will cease the dropping of titles!” Pinkie demanded, whatever that meant.

“Please… just… Mercury. I’m staying with you,” Twilight sighed.

“Go on,” Crimson said. “I won’t harm her. Or let Paper Cut harm her. I swear.”

“I feel so unloved,” sighed Paper Cut.

Twilight peered at Crimson. It was hard to tell if she was joking.

“You want me to be your friend, right?” asked Crimson. “And that means trusting me.”

“Well…” Twilight knew Crimson might be toying with her yet didn’t want to risk alienating her if she was trying.

“Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a dick in my eye,” Crimson promised. “A mare’s dick, because I’m not a freak.”

“Didn’t I have to pull you off a stallion earlier?” asked Mercury quietly.

“Tsk,” said Crimson. “As long as I kill him after, that makes it okay.”

“The traitor has made the sacred vow of doom!” Pinkie said. “It is now impossible for her to lie!” If only it worked that way.

“Crimson,” Twilight looked at her. “You have a big chance here to show us that we can trust you. Please…”

Maud was already galloping before they fell out. Pinkie was first to leave and galloped next to her sister. Twilight pulled on her helmet again and gave Mercury another glance before going herself. Mercury nodded at her, confident.

“Hey Ink Blot,” Paper Cut said just as Twilight’s awareness of the surroundings was fading. “I’m turning the sound to the outside off. Want to play a game with our new friend?”

Twilight suddenly recognized the flaw in Crimson’s promise, but couldn’t think about that now. She had to trust Crimson and move forward.

When she flopped out into the real world, Pinkie and Maud didn’t pause. Had Maud not already spent so much energy climbing on rocks and running at breakneck speed, she wouldn’t have been slow enough for Twilight to keep up with.

Now that she was out, Twilight saw the look on Maud’s face, and it was more panicked than Twilight had ever seen. Pinkie’s didn’t look much better. They feared for their sister’s safety.

If Twilight’s actions to save Mercury and Crimson resulted in the demise of five other team members, Twilight would never forgive herself. Not that she would have forgiven herself for not going to get Mercury and Crimson. Ponies like her were unfit for this situation.

Maud skidded to a halt before they got to the cave. It took Twilight a moment to realize why.

There lay the prone form of a pegasus face down in the dust. The wings splayed out at odd angles, twitching, though it was hard to say if from the wind or nerves. Wait, was that?

“Solar?!” Twilight rushed to her side.

As Twilight lifted her, Solar gagged blood onto the ground in front of her, wailing in pain. Pinkie leaned down next to her. She looked over Solar, assessing her injuries and grabbing hold of her left hind leg, putting pressure around what appeared to be a bullet wound.

“The pegaslut commando has been injured!” Pinkie said. “Retrieve the medic from the book of doom!”

Maud pulled the book from her saddlebag, opening it, then stared at the page for a moment before recovering.

“Crimson,” Maud said. “Stop trying to force your little one to torment Mercury. We have injured and need her. Exit with her to cover her with a shield.”

Crimson and Mercury flew out of the book an instant later. One good thing about them being the only outside objects in there was that Crimson could cancel the spell instantly, but it ejected them a bit violently. With how shaken up Mercury looked, Twilight wanted to scream at Crimson, but now wasn’t the time.

Crimson cast a shield around the group, which at her strength would only block a small portion of the radiation. Mercury shrieked as she saw Solar’s condition, moving next to Pinkie to see Solar’s leg.

“I’ve got you, Solar,” Mercury promised, horn lighting up to examine the wound.

“Solar,” Twilight patted Solar awake when she seemed to doze. “Come on, stay with us… again.”

“Where are the others?” Maud asked. “Did Midnight’s forces find you?”

“No,” Solar shook her head. “Raiders. Limestone told me to bring you Ashmaker…”

“Take deep breaths,” Twilight held Solar’s head. “Stay calm to reduce bleeding.”

“That is a terrible way of calming a patient,” Maud commented.

“Pinkie has found the Ashmaker!” Pinkie said, retrieving the gun which had fallen nearby. “He is traumatized, but ready for action. Yes.”

“We must get to the camp,” said Maud.

“They’re already gone,” Solar shook her head, followed by another cry of pain.

“Sorry!” Mercury tossed the bloody bullet aside, which she’d pried out of Solar’s bone with her telekinesis. She began wrapping the wound. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Don’t worry, Solar.”

“You’d say that no matter what,” Solar cried. “And they attacked them because of me, for being pegasus lovers.”

“Pegasus lovers?” Twilight blinked.

“They must have seen Solar from a distance,” Crimson chuckled. “Ponies out here despise pegasi, though with how few of them are left, they could forget how to tell one from a bat in a few generations. Not that they like those either.”

“Damn it,” Solar said. “That means I won’t get many dickings even if I survive.”

“Priorities, Solar!” Twilight sighed.

“No worries,” said Crimson. “I can teach you plenty of methods for pinning down stallions.”

Solar peered at Crimson as if considering the lesson offer even in her condition, but shook her head.

“Urgh, not the time!” Twilight shouted. “Crimson, what do you know about raiders out here?”

“I’m surprised they have the guts to be this close to Midnight Castle,” said Crimson. “But they’re the meanest thing out here. Midnight and Trinity have agendas and rules, but most raiders are just tactless sadists. They’ll sell our friends into slavery. Except Kami: she won’t be useful enough as a slave, so no telling what they’ll do to her, especially if they realize she’s a pegasus.”

“You kept Tranquil like a slave,” muttered Solar.

“I convinced a single pony to obey me,” Crimson said. “They sell ponies by the dozen like filly guide cookies so they can get high on chems. On the plus side, they’re unlikely to be well-organized.”

Crimson’s hypocrisy aside, her voice held sincere spite. If even Crimson looked down upon these ponies, and these ponies had their friends, this was very not good.

As soon as Solar was safe to carry, the group moved back to the campsite. As Solar said, the others were gone.

Solar remained in the cave with Mercury while the others searched. There wasn’t a lot left behind though; everything they had at the cave was gone. The only evidence was a symbol painted on the rock floor at the entrance of the cave. It was an arrow pointing southward, along with the words ‘We went that way, featherbrain.’

“This is a trap,” Maud said. “But the foals have no idea who they are dealing with.”

Maud breathed heavily. Twilight wanted to give her a hug but was afraid to touch Maud with the rage steaming from her.

Twilight clicked her pipbuck on and opened the map. While they couldn’t pinpoint their locations at that distance without Starlight’s upgraded model, she saw all their signals were south, and Starlight’s and Kamikaze’s registered as alive.

“Pinkie completes her search!” Pinkie came back from the other side of the cave. “The wagon is still there, yes. The evil-doers did not locate it. Pinkie retrieved the remaining ammo for Ashmaker, but there is no sign of our compatriots.”

Pinkie was doing her best to keep her composure as well but shivered with anger herself. Twilight hoped the sisters didn’t rush headlong into anything dangerous.

“Too bad we can’t take the wagon,” sighed Twilight. “Now that we don’t have anyone that can shield it through the killing joke.”

“What weapons are left?” asked Maud. “We’ll have to carry what we can.”

“Pinkie’s explosives are used up! She used to have explosives stashed all over Equestria, for explosion emergencies, but they have likely all been scavenged by now. Yes,” said Pinkie. “There is no ammunition for Pinkie Die other than what is loaded, or any for Gummy. Only small pistols are left in the wagon.”

“We have Ashmaker,” said Maud. “Limestone sent Solar with this, so she believed we'd need it to save her.” She turned to Crimson. “Can you summon your demon from the book? Or write about a big gun?”

“It takes a stupid amount of power to pull fictional objects into reality,” said Crimson. “I could make a knife or a simple chemical mixture, but something with precision moving parts like a firearm could take a full day, and even then probably fail. Trying to remove Paper Cut herself could be done since she’s been in there a while, and didn’t entirely start in there, but we don’t want to do that.”

As Crimson spoke, Maud leaned down to pick up a blanket nearby. It was the one they had wrapped Marble in.

“Why would they take her?” Maud growled.

“Wait, they took her body?” asked Twilight. “But why would they do that? Is Spike gone?”

“The dragon lies within the cave where we left him,” said Pinkie.

If they weren’t angry enough, the realization that Marble’s body was taken had the Pies near to cracking. Twilight could see it in their eyes.

“Maud, we need to think of a plan before we rush in,” Twilight said as carefully as possible.

“Gather the supplies we can and we will head south,” said Maud. “Crimson, put extra food, water, and medicine into your book while we gather. Tell your demon not to touch them or I will make her wish she could die.” She turned to Mercury. “Is Solar going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” said Mercury. “She’s safe to move, not as bad as her first incident.”

“We could put her in the book,” suggested Crimson.

“I will carry her,” said Maud. “Everypony else, keep up. Especially you Crimson. I may need a bullet shield.”

“Oh Maud,” Crimson said. “You always know what to say.”

Now that they had no choice but to use the book to store their supplies, Crimson probably felt she could get away with more. Still, it wasn’t wise for her to taunt the Pies now when they were more irrational than usual.

Maud’s clear desperation concerned Twilight. Twilight hoped she didn’t act rashly, but all the same, she was right. If these raiders were as bad as Crimson indicated, they had to save their friends before they were injured or defiled.

“Solar,” Twilight asked as the others got ready. “Can you tell us exactly what happened again? In detail please, we need all the information we can get.”

26. The Devil We Know

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Limestone Pie
The Ashlands

Limestone was sure the forces from the castle would search the cave quickly after the intrusion, but she was ready. They put most of their supplies within a secluded dead-end in one part of the cave, then brushed the hoofprints to it and waited beneath an invisibility shield created by Starlight.

They left a few supplies out, giving the impression that they had hurriedly packed and left. When the palace guards came, they searched through the caves and didn’t find them, so immediately left to search another location.

The guards were smart enough to leave traps in the tunnel this time, set to collapse it on the intruders if they returned. Finding them was easy with Starlight’s pipbuck though, and Solar managed to disarm them, somehow, with her picks and screwdriver. Limestone had started to wonder if that screwdriver was magic, but she didn’t suppose it mattered.

Starlight placed magical alarms to know if more soldiers arrived. Limestone wanted to do better, so climbed a tree and used Ashmaker’s scope to scan the forest and horizon for any other signs of danger.

Besides, she didn’t feel like being around the Empress. She feared if she did, they’d get into a dispute, and no one needed that. Limestone was angry at being overridden on her expertise, and more upset it might endanger her sisters. She trusted them to be okay, yet would never forgive Starlight if they weren’t.

It was a good thing Limestone looked both directions, because the next approach came from the south, not the forest. They were closer than she’d liked by the time she saw them, as they used the same trick Limestone’s group used, covering their wagon with camouflage.

‘Empress,’ Limestone said over the PCB. ‘We have incoming from the south. I doubt they’re Midnight’s since they’re being discreet on approach.’

‘Trinity’s forces?’ asked Starlight.

‘It’s likely whoever else uses the tunnel,’ said Limestone. ‘The tunnel looked well used, they might go into the forest to get food or supplies, or spy if they’re Trinity’s. I advise you and the others to hide deep in the cave like before while I spy from here with the scope. I’m well hidden by leaves up here and once I get a better look, I’ll know if we should chance talking to them.’

‘Almost,’ said Starlight. ‘Come to the side passage near the cave exit. We’ll all hide there so we can look out and see them up close.’

‘That’s a little close to the main cave path,’ said Limestone.’I think we should-’

‘You heard me,’ Starlight cut her off.

'What an insufferable bitch,’ Ashmaker said. ‘Even Daybreaker stopped cackling long enough to take your advice.’

Ashmaker was right. Throughout the entire war, royals listened to Limestone’s advice, and after her wins racked up most didn’t even question following it. Starlight should know Limestone’s record, but here she was deciding she knew better twice in one day. Limestone hoped she wasn’t disagreeing now as a power trip.

Starlight’s wish to keep control was overwhelming her common sense. Limestone had to try to pull her back on track somehow, but for now it didn’t seem too dangerous. She’d go along with it, but doubted these would be someone they’d want to chance talking to either way.

When Limestone arrived at the designated spot, the others were already there. Starlight had the others in an invisibility dome, but Limestone saw their locations on her networked pipbuck, so walked beneath it. She stood at the closest edge of the dome to the exit so she could look at the wagon as it approached.

Marble, who Limestone left out front because she felt like she wanted to feel the wind, was not with them. Limestone grumbled as she realized that Starlight only covered her with a blanket instead of taking her inside.

“Solar, keep your wings hidden in case we’re seen,” Limestone said, adjusting Solar’s saddlebags to hide them better in case they did go visible. There was no point in drawing attention to the pegasus with how ponies felt about them.

The occupants pulled the tarp off the top of the wagon as they neared, so at least Limestone got a better look at who they were facing. It looked like a female griffon, a bull, a unicorn stallion, and two earth mares. Limestone saw a second griffon take off before they got too close, and assumed they’d be circling in the air.

They wore make-shift armor, cobbled together from scrap metal, and had blue and red paint on their faces, looking almost like a primitive’s war paint. Their weapons weren’t much better, which were in hoof but not yet aimed and ready. The guns were made using pipes, duct tape, and spare components from other broken weapons. Their unicorn cast a dome shield over them as they drew close, but even that seemed shoddy. Limestone doubted it would withstand a single hit from Zapper, much less Ashmaker.

The number ‘30’ appeared on a lot of their things, including the wagon, armor, and weapons. It even appeared on the collar of the creature pulling the wagon, a two-headed manticore. It would be frightening if not so obviously whipped and docile, barely even looking ahead instead of at the ground. Perhaps not everything had changed to be more dangerous.

Limestone wondered if the 30 referred to a stable. Crimson would know. Damn it. They’d have so many other options if the others were with them.

From the types of containers she saw in the wagon, though, Limestone assumed they were here to collect herbs. Given their haggard faces and spaced-out expressions, Limestone further assumed they were part of a drug trade that snuck in regularly for ingredients.

‘Let’s go further back into the cave,’ Limestone decided. ‘These don’t look safe enough to interact with.’

‘Hold just a bit,’ Starlight insisted as the wagon came to a stop about 50 hoofsteps from the entrance.

“Come on out!” called the griffon hen. “We spied you from a distance so know you’re in there! We can always collapse that cave on your heads if you don’t want to talk.”

‘They’re bluffing,’ Limestone said confidently. ‘They won’t risk destroying the best passage to their supply.’

‘Sorry’, Starlight replied. ‘But I’m not taking a chance. If we go out in force with better arms, I don’t think they’ll do anything, and we could use the allies. Besides, I’m good with getting ponies to do what I want and they look weak-minded.’

‘These are not allies we want Empress,’ Limestone said. ‘And with their drug-addled heads, I don’t know if there’s much mind to control.’

‘Follow,’ Starlight ignored the advice again and dropped the invisibility.

Starlight erected a magical shield in its place as she walked out of the cave. She strode out confidently, placing Kamikaze behind a rock where she could sit with Zapper at the ready, but Kamikaze didn’t seem any more confident about the situation, which was obvious given her silence. Solar kept her wings hidden, but stepped out as well. Only Dinky stayed behind near the cave entrance.

“For the hate of the Moon, I don’t envy you,” Dinky sighed at Limestone. “It’s like herding parasprites.”

“You’re not wrong,” sighed Limestone, readying Ashmaker and heading out as well.

Limestone feared Starlight would use her authority as a bargaining point, and that wouldn’t go over well with ponies living in the wild. It seemed she failed to understand the current world as much or more than Twilight.

“Solar,” Limestone whispered to the pegasus once outside. “Do you think you can fly now?”

“I don’t know?” Solar perked her ears, perhaps surprised that Limestone spoke to her instead of Starlight. “I can flap my wings to go faster, at least… it’d probably hurt though.”

“Apologies then,” said Limestone. “If things go wrong, immediately take Ashmaker and find the others. Tell them who took us and that Twilight is in charge in my and Starlight’s absence. If she’s dead, then Maud.”

“S-sure,” Solar stammered, looking more nervous by the second. One problem with often being right was that ponies got nervous when Limestone made ‘in case we lose’ contingencies.

Starlight peered back at them, perhaps catching Twilight’s name, but there was no time to discuss. Instead, she turned back towards the wagon, keeping the shield she held up at full power. She appeared to believe nothing could hurt them with her shield in force, but Limestone had out-smarted enough strong unicorns to know that wasn’t the case.

“Greetings, fellow travelers,” Starlight spoke in her diplomatic voice. “What brings you to this forest? May we be of assistance?”

“Collecting herbs for the market,” the griffon in the wagon said. “Like we always do. Never seen you here before though.”

“I see,” said Starlight. “Well you are free to continue, we are only passing through and have no interest in returning to the forest ourselves. My name is Star…”

“Why are you traveling with a featherbrain and zombies?” the griffon interrupted.

Her words stung with hatred, spitting in anger and probably too stupid to recognize that she used a slur that could just as easily be used on her own race. Limestone supposed it wasn’t surprising that they’d hate ghouls too since most were feral.

But they must have already been spying on the group from a distance and seen Solar. That wouldn’t help their chances at peace. Limestone motioned for Solar to stay put, lest she run and end up outside of Starlight’s shield. Solar held her ground even if she was quivering. It was amazing she was standing with her injuries.

‘Claim Solar is our prisoner and that your ghouls are mercenaries,’ Limestone suggested over the PCB to Starlight. She remembered Crimson mentioning that Midnight didn’t like ghouls but still might use ghoulish mercenaries, so it might be common.

“Is this a problem?” asked Starlight. “The company we keep is our own.”

Another suggestion ignored. Limestone had heard Starlight got this way when she felt her power threatened. It might not have been much of a problem in the lab that Starlight had worked in, but out here in a potential combat situation it was an issue.

“Wait, so this thing is your friend?” asked the unicorn. “Damn, I thought they were just keeping it to torture.”

“Pegasi are slime that don’t deserve their wings,” said the griffon. “So, if it isn’t your slave or plaything, that makes you slime too.”

Many griffons in particular must have a special hatred for pegasi, since Equestria’s griffon allies acted as their air force after the pegasi rebellion. They rarely fared well against pegasi in the air.

But even Limestone was rarely proven right so quickly after somepony didn’t take her advice. Limestone hoped Starlight learned a lesson from that one, or even had the chance to do so. Starlight's expression faltered at the griffon’s response, and for a moment she looked speechless.

‘Bluff,’ Limestone suggested again over the PCB. ‘We’re using well-kept, advanced weapons and armor. They won’t want to get into a war with a well-equipped faction.’

It was a long-shot, Limestone knew. Even if they were members of a large faction, the raiders might figure the faction would never know.

“Then I guess we should both go our separate ways,” said Starlight. “From the looks of your ‘equipment’, a war with a well-equipped stable is not in your best interests.”

The griffon paused, her smile faltering as if she took the claim seriously.

“How about this,” the griffon said. “You sell the featherbrain to us for cheap, and we’ll go on our way.”

“Why would you want a pegasus if you hate us so much?” Kamikaze asked.

She just had to use the word ‘us’. Limestone resisted the urge to facehoof.

“Their feathers are a useful potion component,” the griffon smirked. “We accidentally killed our last one by torturing him at a party, so we need another source. You’re lucky we don’t ask for you too to use at our next party.”

“What,” Solar blinked, stunned. “What kind of components?”

“Stirrers for roofie potions, among other things,” the griffon shrugged.

“Huh.” Solar eyed her own covered wings.

“How much are you offering for her?” Starlight asked, ready to barter without complaint it seemed.

“What?!” Solar shrieked.

“She isn’t for sale,” Limestone said. Selling an ally out was something she would never allow regardless of their situation. She would die with honor before living with that shame.

‘General, our lives are on the line,’ Starlight said over the PCB. ‘It is her or all of us.’

‘You want to sell somepony you owe your life to?’ Limestone asked. ‘For a situation that you got us into? No. Another word about this and you can no longer count on my support.’

Starlight’s face turned red with anger and glared back, but could do nothing. She knew nopony in the group would continue to follow her if Limestone made a claim to the throne, so pushing wasn’t an option.

Though what Starlight had already said was enough to lose Limestone’s support. Maybe she wasn’t used to being on the front lines, or maybe she was just a poor copy. Whatever the reason, Starlight had become erratic. Such a pony could neither act as a proper figurehead or lead under stress.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Starlight. “You can’t afford to cross us. Do you think you can just attack us with no recourse?”

Most of those in the griffon’s wagon looked frightened of the threat. But the griffon herself seemed to have stronger will, resisting the effects of Starlight’s psionic charisma. The obvious strife between Starlight and Limestone likely emboldened her.

This would turn ugly. Limestone picked up Ashmaker and moved to an angle where she could down three of the slavers in a single shot. She could see Kamikaze grip Zapper and Dinky charging her own horn.

“Drop it!” the griffon shouted.

Limestone immediately thought of the griffon above them and glanced upwards. Sure enough, the griffon had dropped a blinking device onto the group. The raiders in the wagon, meanwhile, were diving for cover.

As she analyzed the situation, Limestone instantly realized that the way the slavers dove for cover said a great deal. The raiders took cover from gunfire from Limestone and Kamikaze, but not from the blast of the bomb on its way. On top of that, the unicorn dropped their shield and charged down his horn. Those actions told Limestone that this was an anti-magic device meant to stun unicorns, not a bomb. Did those even exist? They didn’t during the war, but it’d been 200 years.

“Retreat to the cave now!” shouted Limestone. She hoped they’d understand. While she could analyze the situation in an instant, she couldn’t explain in the seconds before it hit.

Starlight backed towards the cave, intending to obey this time. However, she also intensified her shield. Dinky squeaked and charged up her own shield just on the inside of Starlight’s. They both assumed it was a conventional bomb and maximized the blocking potential, intending to retreat after deflecting it.

Starlight couldn’t keep such a powerful shield and still allow the one-way exit of their own attacks, which meant they couldn’t even fire upon their enemies yet. Puncturing the shield with Ashmaker would jar Starlight’s magical senses and cause more damage than the device by itself.

Instead, Limestone took cover behind a rock next to the cave, hoping to fire when the shield collapsed. But since Ashmaker was magically enhanced itself, there was no guarantee it would work.

There was a burst of light above them when the device activated, followed by a rain of color as if fireworks exploded all around them. Ashmaker’s scope went blank, the gun clicking as it deactivated. Limestone felt herself suddenly grow weak, and it didn’t take her long to realize why.

Necrotic magic kept Limestone animate, so the effects of such a device would be harder to shrug off than a petty bullet wound. As she was fading from consciousness, she felt Ashmaker grabbed away.

“I’ll get the others!” Solar said, and Limestone heard the flap of wings as Solar attempted to take off, though what she actually did was skid across the ground. It was faster than running at least, but must have been excruciating for Solar in her condition.

Limestone watched as she felt herself fading. The griffon that had dropped the device came for Solar, who couldn’t hope to outfly him as close as he already was.

Solar showed surprising battle cunning though. Probably knowing the griffon wanted her alive, she let him get closer. Once he was at point-blank range, she turned and fired Ashmaker. Lucky for Solar, the gun worked again when removed from the area of effect, and the griffon took a shot to the face.

The griffon didn’t have time to scream as his face collapsed into gore pudding, the shot going through him longways. Organs exited the griffon’s opposite end and his body convulsed as he plummeted, a rain of his guts slopping onto the surrounding ground.

Solar shrieked at what she’d done. Seeing the effects of Ashmaker close-up couldn’t be easy for someone like her. She turned, looking sick as she flapped off as fast as she could. As shots from the other slavers’ non-magical guns rang out, Limestone didn’t know if Solar was hit, but she kept going.

The second griffon took off, but she couldn’t keep up with even an injured pegasi once she got that far ahead. Griffons didn’t have as much magic to aid their flight as pegasi did. The bigger wings that normally made up for this worked against her as Solar headed into the Ashland’s winds. The griffon snarled as she turned back, forced to recognize the air superiority of the creature she hated so much.

Finally, Limestone lost consciousness for the first time in 200 years, but at least somepony in the group had followed her orders.

POV: Maud Pie

Keep the calm face. Keep them from knowing.

Outside, Maud remained stoic as she led the group down the wasteland road. Inside, Maud was a whirlwind of rage and despair. She lost one sister and might soon lose another.

Maud felt a pat on her shoulder and glanced back to see Pinkie flash her a smile. As nutty as she was, Pinkie still kept Maud on the level. Without her… if Maud was ever left alone with none of them… she did not know what she would do. Probably kill-buck Crimson and then throw herself off a cliff.

Solar rested on Pinkie’s back. Maud would carry her, except she was leaning down a lot to examine the wagon tracks as they headed south, both old and recent, and did not want to jar the injured pegasus. Once they left the Ponyville Ashlands, walking about a hundred steps from the edge of Ghastly Gorge, the winds died down and allowed better tracking.

Crimson kept up with her hurt leg. Mercury had made a makeshift brace for her one leg from sticks and tape from the wagon, and it was enough for her to keep up. Maud was certain Crimson enjoyed the pain, anyway. She was asking for it more and more, giving Maud bedroom eyes when she looked at her, but even Maud was not sure what 'it' was anymore.

Twilight was behind Maud. She looked deep in thought, so Maud assumed she was thinking of a plan. Maud felt like Limestone would have a detailed plan and several alternatives by now, but she was sure Twilight would come up with something. The alicorn seemed brilliant, but also like the type to second-guess herself to the point of absurdity, so it didn’t surprise Maud that she took longer.

Twilight was heavy laden too, since they had to carry all they could without their wagon. Even with all they had to carry, Twilight insisted on bringing the body of her little dragon friend with them. It was a weakness, but at least one that Maud understood. Maud could not demand that Twilight cease missing him, and perhaps it was an honor that the alicorn saw Holder as the best place to bury someone important to her. Besides that, if they still had Marble’s body, Maud would be carrying her too.

Mercury checked on Solar’s condition as they continued to walk. For a sheltered alchemist, she had adapted into a field doctor role well. She had a soft heart and was scared easily, but was not a coward during combat. In Maud’s experience, the best medics had that outlook.

“Are you sure I can’t help you walk?” Mercury asked Crimson after finishing with Solar. “You look like you’re in pain.”

“Let her be,” said Maud. “She likes it.” She then asked Crimson. “So I take it that none of the horn restraints from your stable work on you? We’ll need to get more elsewhere.”

“Actually, funny story!” chuckled Crimson. “But any Equestrian-produced restraints from back then probably won’t work on me. Nor on Starlight, though she didn’t give it away when she had one on. See, Starlight had an exception list added during manufacture of those that could never be bound by them. She and a few others were in the list, and I slipped my own name in without them noticing. I probably couldn’t have altered these myself if they weren’t already that way from the start.”

“That sounds like poor quality control,” Maud mused, but then paused and motioned for the others to stop. They had come to a fork in the road, and she wanted to make sure they did not take the wrong path.

“There aren’t tracks that way,” Twilight peered down the right path. “So, I guess we go left.”

The simple response from the alicorn disappointed Maud. Maud put a hoof to Twilight’s muzzle to shush her and looked back at the road. Twilight shushed and it made Maud smile inwardly; she had always wanted to do that to a royal, even if Twilight was only kind of a royal.

Twilight was right that there were no tracks leading to the right, but it felt wrong. There were twice as many tracks on the path they were on compared to the left path, as if wagons vanished or appeared here. The freshest tracks, the one she had been following, did not continue. So where did they go? This seemed like an obvious trap.

“The pawprints of the manticore that pulled the wagon end before the wagon tracks do,” Maud explained. “The manticore was taken into the wagon and a griffon took its place. The griffon took off, carrying the wagon away through the air.”

“Must be an enchanted wagon for a griffon to pull it aerially,” said Twilight. “Maybe a subpar enchantment, because if they could pull it far that way, it seems like they would have already been doing that. Either way, the manticore couldn’t pull it through the air at all.”

“Yes,” Maud agreed. “They would need a good reason to do this. We take the right path.”

“Because taking off here means they wanted us to take the left one,” Twilight nodded, apparently not completely dense. “That makes sense.”

“If I had to guess,” said Maud. “The actual base is to the right while traps or ambush are set up on the left.”

“Pinkie agrees,” Pinkie said, not seeming to grasp it as Twilight did. “The Sister Superior’s plans always befuddle Pinkie, so doing what makes least sense makes the most sense.”

As Maud trotted down the right path, Twilight followed without further question. For somepony that looked like one of the evilest ponies who ever lived, Twilight was very reasonable. If only Starlight was so willing to listen.

Thinking of Starlight made Maud angrier; Maud would never forgive her for this. Even if Solar was not privy to the telepathic conversation that Limestone and Starlight probably had, Maud knew this was Starlight’s fault. If Starlight’s foalishness cost them Limestone’s unlife, there was no amount of authority that would keep Maud from making Starlight suffer.

“Maud?” Twilight whispered, moving close to Maud. “You mentioned before about a secret order from Starlight?”

“Yes,” whispered Maud in return. “If there was an opportunity to let you die, we were to take it.” She felt much less hesitation in informing Twilight now.

“Of course,” sighed Twilight. “Others would suspect if you killed me outright, but failing to save me wouldn’t be questioned. Thank you for telling me, but I wouldn’t advise you to let Starlight know you did.”

Maud would not, unless it was right before killing Starlight. She didn’t say that aloud though, else she’d have to deal with Twilight trying to talk her down from the idea.

Just over the hill from where the path split, Maud’s wagon hypothesis turned out to be true. The wagon clearly landed again as soon as the track would be out of sight, switching to the manticore pulling it again. This was definitely the right way.

“Good work, Maud,” Twilight smiled.

“Have you done good work as well by making a suitable plan?” Maud asked.

“Well,” Twilight sighed. “I didn’t want to use this trick until we had to, but it might not matter now that Stable 27 has told Midnight that I’m with the group anyway; maybe we should hurry and use it before word gets out. I think our best bet is for me to pretend to be Midnight. If what I’ve heard is true, we might not have to fight if they think they can make a deal with me.”

“And?” Maud asked. In this case, Maud was not comfortable with such a simple plan.

“Of course,” said Twilight. “We can’t just walk up to them. We should scout the camp from afar and get into optimal positions. Pinkie can fire warning shots with Ashmaker, then I’ll swoop in and make an impressive entrance. I’ll charge my horn to shoot sparks everywhere, which should look pretty intimidating.”

“What if they see your broken horn?” Solar asked.

“True,” nodded Twilight. “But Crimson or Mercury could use telekinesis to make a small dust storm around me. The chance of them noticing through the cloud and sparks should be low, especially if panicked. Anyway, Maud can charge in and protect the hostages, lest they decide that using their lives as a bargaining chip is a good idea. If I can scare them, maybe we won’t have to kill any.”

Maud wasn’t entirely satisfied, but they had learned through Solar that Limestone wanted Twilight in charge in her absence. In respect to that, she tried to word her complaints well.

“You have done acceptable work,” Maud said. “But the more that survive knowing of the ruse, the more it will get around and the faster others will become wise to it.”

“I see what you mean, but If Midnight has been to Stable 27, she’s already going to be wise to it,” pointed out Twilight. “Which means we should assume a high probability of the major settlements in her territory having been forewarned. It may only work here because she wouldn’t warn raiders.”

“Still,” said Maud. “I do not think we should allow them to live, even if we question them for the whereabouts of the others first. I am inclined to remind you that allowing one of our attackers to flee in Canterlot may have brought Midnight upon Stable 27 faster.”

“She would have come when they didn’t report in either way,” Twilight sighed. She glanced away from Maud as if second-guessing herself, but seemed determined to stick to her way. “I’ll order them to surrender and bluff that if they try to fight, we’ll have no choice but to respond. However, we should only use lethal force if it’s necessary to save our friends from immediate danger.”

“That is acceptable, then,” Maud nodded. It wasn’t entirely, but she didn’t want to face Limestone next time she met without having obeyed her order to follow Twilight’s command. “I will forego the option of killing you and taking command for now.”

“Pardon?” Twilight blinked.

“That was a joke,” Maud advised. Ponies never got her jokes.

The wagon tracks led to a small compound not too far ahead, so Maud ducked into a nearby rock cleft to get a closer look. The others huddled behind her, taking off their saddlebags and stacking them beneath the rock.

The raiders had parked the wagon next to the main shack but it now sat empty. Next to it stood the manticore that had pulled it, eating a donkey’s corpse out of a trough. It wasn’t the only wagon here, and there were several spots next to it that looked like there had been wagons parked there, but weren’t currently.

Maud’s preliminary observation found three buildings, fairly new but poorly constructed out of ruin lumber and plywood. They did not even have windows. The raiders had a fondness for the number ‘30’ as it was painted on much of their gear. There were no raiders visible on the outside, but the buildings could be full for all she knew.

The raiders knew more about intimidation than sanitation, as their decorator had a clear fondness for gore. They had piked corpses of various races in a circle around the compound. Gore in various states of decay decorated the buildings, ranging from fresh kills to skeletons. Maud couldn’t imagine living here long term without gas masks, but supposed they were used to their own filth.

It was made all the more surreal that apparently the raiders had come across some Hearth’s Warming Eve decorations, as many of the pikes looked like large plaster candy canes that one might have seen decorating the streets during the holiday, just thin enough to impale a pony on with some effort. It made Maud want to beat a few of them to death with the decorations to teach them a lesson.

Their friends were not here, either way. While they could not track their exact locations with their current pipbucks, they could tell their direction in relation to them. Maud was north of the compound, yet those signals were too far west to be within or near the compound. Still, there might be evidence here, and Dinky might still be here since she did not have a pipbuck.

Mercury helped pull Solar off of Pinkie’s back, not looking towards the compound. She must have gotten a glance though because she sounded ready to hurl. Solar hugged her and looked just as ill. They’d get used to it, or at least learn to pretend to not be bothered, as Maud did.

As Maud returned to her spot near the others, Pinkie slid next to her. Maud tried to ignore how good Pinkie looked while in a battle mood and hooved over Ashmaker instead. Maud was horse apples with anything ranged, even more so than Pinkie. Pinkie eyed Maud in return before scanning the buildings with Ashmaker’s scope.

“These slavers like the number thirty.” Maud commented as she let Pinkie work.

“They probably originate from Stable 30,” said Crimson. “Figures they’d turn out like this.”

“What transpired there?” Maud asked.

“Well, first understand that my Stable 27 was a control stable, meant for the ruling class,” said Crimson. “Most other stables were experiments meant to test various survival conditions, so that control stables could reap the benefits, sacrificing less important citizens to increase the chance of the important ones surviving.”

“That’s terrible,” said Twilight. “What even were these experiments?”

“Stable 30 tested addiction,” Crimson smirked. “Not sure of the details, but it was populated by drug addicts. For the first five years, they rehabilitated them, but then a hidden stockpile of drugs was unlocked via a timer. Within days, most residents had been killed or fallen back into old habits. I think it was supposed to see how such situations could be resolved, but I guess the experiment failed because it wasn’t. It devolved into gang mentality as they fought over the remaining drugs, and that was the last report we received from their Overmare. I assume they eventually set out into the wasteland and formed a raider band.”

“How could the Equestrian government do that?” Twilight stammered. “I can’t believe that even in this timeline, Celestia would okay an experiment like that.”

“Don’t forget, the Stables aren’t government built,” Crimson said. “Stable-Tec made them, owned by the Flim Flam brothers. Not many in the government knew, or they’d have asked me to cover it up. I didn’t even know until I read the Overmare initiation packet.”

“I can’t imagine even them doing that,” Twilight shook her head.

“Different experiences can change a pony,” said Maud. “Strange still, it was my impression that it was a scheme to get government contracts and they never expected the stables to be used.”

“That’s probably why it turned out that way,” Crimson said. “Because of that, they had lower hiring standards. They hired rejects from the Ministries, and it should say something that the Ministries rejected them. Give a psycyho an order to make an experiment with zero oversight, and this is what you get. Even Stable 27 had some pretty crazy science going on there prior to being used as a shelter.”

“Pinkie has completed her scan,” Pinkie said, still looking through the scope. “The left building is storage for weapons and probably chems. There are two raiders in the right building. The middle building has three captives, but as Pinkie feared they are not Sister Superior or friends. Their bone structure favors that of stallions, one with bat wings.”

“There are captives?” asked Maud. She would not allow even strangers to stay in the hooves of these ponies, and they could always use the help of thankful settlements.

“The central structure has two rooms,” said Pinkie. “In the left room with two enemies and three captives, with three enemies in the right room. The structure appears to only have a single front entrance on the right.” She adjusted the scope and added. “They are in danger! Two raiders are going to kill the slaves!”

“We have to stop them fast,” Twilight said. She took a deep breath, clearly not wanting to give the order, her voice squeaking a little as she did. “Disable the ones harming the captives quickly, the others we’ll try to round up.”

Twilight turned to the others, “Mercury, stir up dust in front of the compound, then when able, head in to treat the injured slave. Maud, head to the central structure quickly to make sure none of the others hurt the captives. Solar… don’t die or get impregnated. Crimson… don’t murder anyone.”

“It’s okay,” said Solar. “Mercury casts regular foal control spells on me.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and pulled off her stable armor so she could look more like Midnight, trying to pat her disheveled mane into a better state. Maud doubted she needed to bother; looking like she had a bad mane day would only make Midnight more frightening.

“Pinkie believes she can disable the villains harming the captives in a single shot,” Pinkie said. “Pinkie will wait before attacking others. Yes.”

As Pinkie lined up her aim, Mercury stirred up dust in front of the compound. Pinkie wasn’t good at precision shooting, but Maud trusted her to get the job done even if the first shot missed. She trusted everyone on this team to do their part.

Except Crimson, but Twilight had given her a simple enough task.

As the dust stirred up, Maud crept through it, remaining close to the ground and shifting behind one rock and then another. Ashmaker’s boom echoed across the compound. Pinkie missed at least one because two more shots followed. Good enough.

Twilight landed in the courtyard soon after, doing an impressive barrel roll before landing, though likely on accident from dizziness rather than skill. All the same, she slammed against the ground, energy arching from her horn in random directions. Maud imagined doing that with a broken horn was pure torment, but Twilight played the part, her voice shouting over the compound.

“Foalish mortals,” Twilight’s screech showed her agony, but that only made it more terrifying. “You think you can abduct my loyal minions? Come now and pray for my divine mercy and you will be spared! Flee and you will beg for death before I am done with you!”

No one seemed willing to fight back. Maud saw the two mares in the right building immediately come out, unarmed, sitting up on their haunches with their front legs raised and terrified looks on their faces. This was too easy, but if Midnight intimidated raiders that much, it did not bode well for later conflicts with the real thing.

“I will not ask again!” Twilight’s voice boomed again when the raiders in the central structure did not exit. “Exit your compound and beg for your goddess’s forgiveness!”

As Maud passed one of the piked bodies, she saw movement, instinctively assuming a defensive stance in case it was an ambush. It was not, though. It was the foal, impaled on the giant decorative candy cane, and who appeared to still be alive. She stared at Maud with wide eyes, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t have been more than five years old, yet she’d clearly been brutalized and tortured before she was even put up there.

Maud felt a surge of rage at the sight. She fought many enemies during her time in the war, and many were brutal and cruel, but she had never before seen something like this. No one they battled, not even Sombra, would treat a pony in this fashion, much less a foal. These raiders were not even ponies; they were monsters.

There was no possibility of saving the filly, so Maud stood on her hind legs and took hold of the little one’s head. She could not leave her suffering like this, but looking into her glassy eyes and snapping her neck still wasn’t easy.

The filly mouthed the words ‘thank you’, though, understanding her situation more than any her age should be able to. Maud looked away and twisted, cracking her neck and ending her torment.

Maud tried to put it out of her mind as she turned to look at the door, her own eyes tearing up. She couldn’t just ignore this. For a moment, she felt as if her mind was creaking, and then suddenly… snap.

At that point, Maud forgot she even had orders. All she could feel was the burning hatred for the ones that would do this. She charged the door to the middle structure, adjusting Mite on her back for easy grabbing after she charged in. The door gave like straw to the impact, splinters and dust flying into the room.

Eyes scanning the room, Maud spotted three raiders within, a mare and two stallions. The mare and one stallion had low caliber pistols, but they would barely penetrate her rock soldier armor. They may have intended to drop them for Midnight, but when Maud’s form burst through the door, they shot on instinct.

Maud reared up, swinging her forehooves in front of her. One bullet deflected from her right hoof, chipping her armor but barely stinging her hoof. The second impacted her chest and penetrated, but the armor was enough stopping power that Maud’s thick hide resisted serious damage.

Maud twisted her head about, cracking her neck and playing off the bullets like nothing. The raiders stared, pure terror on their faces as Maud had barely even wobbled.

‘There’s one,’ Mite interjected out of nowhere. ‘And she’s cute too.’

Her scan of the room spotted the object of his affection near the door. It was another decorative candy cane, similar to the one the foal had been impaled on, this one about Mite’s size. Mite seemed to be suggesting that it’d be an adequate punishment, and Maud tended to agree.

Before they could react, Maud leaped into the air, coming down on the first stallion’s head with the cane. The cane shattered, causing no small number of complaints from Mite, but the raider’s head also gave like a big tomato. It created an impressive blood splatter as he toppled to the floor.

“Please don’t,” the mare squeaked as Maud approached.

“Is that what the filly said before you all impaled her?” Maud growled.

Maud turned, pulling Mite from her back and cheering him up by smashing him into the mare’s chest. She felt the vibrations of ribs cracking before the mare flew back and hit the wall, leaving a sizable indent as she stuck there. The mare tried to scream only to vomit a fountain of blood; Maud had intentionally hit her softly enough that she’d take a while to die.

“No please!” the remaining stallion fell to his knees, lowering his head and kissing Maud’s hoof. His frantic words slurred together. “Please I’ll be a loyal subject I swear if you just spare my life I’ll be whatever you want I’ll be your slave or sex toy anything!”

“You would not survive sex with me,” Maud said. “I might not either, given your stench.”

She raised Mite over her head to bring it down on him.

“Maud!” Mercury’s voice called out from behind her. “She said no killing unless you had to!”

Maud’s mind snapped back enough to remember she was on a mission and not a killing spree. Her muscles tightened just in time to lay the hammerhead against his head instead of smashing it.

“I had to,” Maud said to Mercury between clenched teeth as she tried to reign in her emotions, then turned to see Mercury, Crimson, and Solar having entered after her.

Mercury ran to the still living mare half-embedded in the wall, examining her. The mare tried to mouth the words ‘help me’, but was beyond speech, lungs likely crushed by her own rib cage.

“A stallion is the one you let live?” Crimson rolled her eyes, strolling through the room and opening the door to the adjacent one where the slaves were. She closed the door behind her.

“I’m so sorry,” Mercury shook her head to the mare. “I don’t think I can save you.”

“Finish her and tend the slaves,” Maud told her.

“I… what?” Mercury stared at Maud.

“Part of being a field medic is showing mercy to patients who are past aid,” Maud said. “Show her mercy.”

The raider deserved to die slower, but Mercury also needed to learn this. If she couldn’t put down a helpless enemy, she’d never be able to show mercy to a cherished friend if the time came.

Mercury looked for a moment like she didn’t know what to do. Tears ran down her face as she finally picked up a nearby pistol in her magic. She pushed it into the terrified mare’s muzzle, aiming for the brain stem and whispering an apology before firing. After splattering the mare’s brains and ending her, Mercury dropped the gun and looked disgusted with herself.

“Where’s Crimson?” asked Mercury when she recovered.

“You did well,” Maud said. “And she is assisting the slaves.”

Mercury forgot about the raider, eyes widening as she hurried to the next room.

“Crimson, no!” Mercury shouted after entering the other room.

Maud sighed as Solar staggered into the room after Mercury. Maud realized she should have known something was up when Crimson closed the door, but was still coming back to her right mind. She tuned it out for now, knowing that if she walked in on something horrible in there, she might kill Crimson too before she could stop herself.

Instead, she continued looking down at the sobbing raider that was here. It was a little awkward being alone with him, and she assumed Twilight was dealing with the other two raiders outside. Maud opted to try to make trivial conversation in hopes it would calm her nerves.

“Mite is broken-hearted that Sandy Cane died in combat,” Maud told him. “Do you have others of her size?”

“Probably?” the raider stammered in confusion. “You can have anything you find!”

“Thank you,” Maud pondered. “But do you have any that I can attach a rocket to and would not shatter when used?”

“Maybe?” the stallion looked even more confused.

“Maud!” Twilight’s voice growled as she entered.

“I have no good excuse,” Maud said flatly without turning around to face her. “I saw a dead filly and lost control of myself, and for that I am ashamed. I would very much appreciate it if you did not tell Limestone about this.”

“Maud…” sighed Twilight, calming her anger and probably understanding a little.

“Where is Pinkie?” Maud realized she wasn’t with the others, a swell of worry building up inside her. If something happened to her, she knew she’d snap again.

“She’s checking out the warehouse building,” Twilight assured her, then spoke more firmly to the remaining raider instead. “You. Talk.”

The raider’s eyes turned to Twilight, frozen in terror like he had just seen a bag of kittens impaled with a nail gun. Though maybe that was a bad example given that a raider might enjoy seeing that.

“I said talk!” Twilight repeated.

“W-what about?” the raider squealed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, just tell me what you want to know! I’ll tell you anything y-your divine…uh…”

“Shadow,” Maud finished for him when he blanked. Honestly, Maud thought it was a pretty silly title.

“Yes, your Divine Shadow!” the raider squealed. “Anything I swear! Please don’t eat my soul!”

“Where are my loyal subjects?” asked Twilight. “The ones you dared snatch from my forest.”

“At Tenwhinney!” the stallion cried. “They wanted to sell the zombies to Tenwhinney for their arena match and took the unicorn in case anyone wanted to buy her. I’m sure they’ll give them back if you ask! We didn’t know they were yours, honest!”

“Sell them?” Maud growled. “As we feared.”

“Yes, as the others said,” Twilight sighed. “But they didn’t know if Kamikaze was with the others? The amputee pegasus.” She placed a hoof against Maud’s side, probably as a polite reminder not to go on another murder spree.

“She went with them,” the raider stammered. “Fingers wanted a… foot stool.”

“How long ago did they leave?” asked Twilight.

“Um, um,” the raider’s mind had blanked again.

“Tell us or Pinkie will put her hoof in unmentionable places and find the prize inside!” Pinkie blurted out from behind Twilight. Maud doubted she even knew what the question was. “Yes.”

“Hours ago,” the raider stammered. “They should be back soon. They’re a little late, actually.” He paused. “Did you kill our ambush?”

“We ignored them,” Twilight scoffed. “When they return to see this place destroyed, they will remind everypony to not buck with Midnight Sparkle.”

“Um,” the raider squinted at Twilight through his tears. “Y-your horn broke?”

“Well I guess it was about time one of you noticed,” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“The shadowy divine one is trying a new look,” claimed Pinkie. “It is fashionable. Yes.”

Maud opened her mouth to speak but stopped, sniffing the air. What was that? Was that… kerosene?

Damn it. She still hadn’t settled her nerves, so hoped she didn’t go off again, but had to check. She turned and headed into the adjacent room, leaving Twilight and Pinkie to get what other information they could.

27. Civilized Behavior

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Dyo Pie
Slaver Camp

Dyo had ended up in many situations by getting drunk. He’d awoken at various times hugging Holder’s deactivated balefire bomb, in bed with two straight stallions, and face-down in radioactive mud as someone dragged him out of it. He was lucky they even saw him; his brown coat and darker brown mane blended in with the dirt.

But waking up in the custody of slavers had to be a new low. By the Pies, his sister Kyo would never let him live this down if he got back.

Maybe it was poetic that these slavers were the ones that traded with Tenwhinney. Dyo had wanted to live there for so long. If Kyo would turn in Gilda, they could move there and live in luxury. It’d beat the stress of both running Holder and keeping Kyo’s experiment a secret from residents, not to mention Midnight and Trinity.

It wasn’t like he could do much in Holder. Kyo let him be her accountant, but the talent signified by his equal sign cutie mark would be of more use in a heavy trading city like Tenwhinney.

Next to Dyo was another fresh prisoner, a sobbing bat stallion with a somewhat mare-ish figure, who already had a knife rammed in his gut. A laughing mare with a bloody knife as a cutie mark was tormenting him, and it was doubtful he’d survive. No slaver was dumb enough to sell one of Midnight’s favored race, so they were either not bothered or disposed of if they thought Midnight wouldn’t find out.

In the other corner of the darkened room sat Xander, a zebra captive that Dyo recognized as a doctor that used to trade regularly with Holder, at least before he was banned for repeatedly accusing citizens of being changelings. It was an impressive feat if anything, to cause so much trouble that they were willing to ban such a skilled doctor, but now it seemed he had been captured and was the raiders’ doctor whether he wanted to be or not.

Dyo was happy to be ignored, but a second mare crawled up onto the bed he was bound to, one with a cutie mark of a female sex symbol pinning down a male one. He assumed that was what would soon happen.

“So, uh, you come here often?” he grunted.

“I’m not here to talk,” the mare growled. She picked up a dagger in her teeth as if to emphasize the fact.

Luckily for Dyo, she didn’t get to fulfill her special talent atop him. With a loud boom, a jolt of blue plasma ripped through one wall, through the rape-mare’s head, and out the opposite wall. It continued on as if hitting nothing at all. In an instant, the mare flailed wildly and flopped off the bed, dagger clattering to the floor.

The other mare’s cackle stopped, the shot buzzing past her probably close enough to feel the heat. She ran for the room’s exit, a second shot missing her. The sniper clearly wasn’t good with moving targets, and for a bit seemed to have stopped, but the moment she crouched to pick her gun off the floor on her way out, a gut shot went through her torso like paper, and she collapsed.

“Foalish mortals,” a voice boomed from outside the shack. “You think you can abduct my loyal minions? Come now and pray for my divine mercy and you will be spared! Flee and you will beg for death before I am done with you!”

There was no mistaking it. That was Midnight Sparkle. Or at least one of them.

“I will not ask again!” Midnight’s voice boomed a few moments later. “Exit your compound and beg for your goddess’s forgiveness!”

Dyo saw the real Midnight in Holder once, and never wanted to again. She showed up and murdered a pony in the middle of the market without explanation, though Dyo was sure he’d wronged her in some probably-insignificant way. The victim screamed for an hour before she finished him, but not a single creature tried to help, not even his family.

That was the kind of fear Midnight inflicted. Merely knowing she was nearby made it impossible to think, an aura of terror. Dyo didn’t feel the oppressive aura bearing down on him, but if Midnight was here, he would.

But this was good news for Dyo, because she was a reasonable fiend. His sister was the rock sovereign of Holder, and Holder had never defied Midnight that she knew of. She’d spare him so long as Dyo did what she asked and fed her ego.

Xander was unbound, so picked up his medical bag and moved to the bat. The zebra dumped a potion into the bat’s throat, then held his muzzle shut so he didn’t vomit any of it. He poured salve on the knife wound and began to slowly draw it out.

“Sadly I must help the wicked one first,” Xander said in his deep voice. “If the Nightmare Child is here, our best chance of survival is to be found saving him.”

A crash from the room outside sounded like someone stormed through the raiders’ barricade in one blunt charge. There were several gunshots outside followed by more ruckus, including one impact that left a dent in the wall between the rooms as if a body had hit there.

When the door to the room was finally opened, it was a pale unicorn with a red mane and ribbons. She’d have been cute in many other situations, but Dyo got a bad feeling when she shut the door behind her and looked disappointed when she couldn’t lock it.

She limped further into the room, using her magic to open a book. Xander, finished withdrawing the knife from the bat’s gut, lay the blade obediently on the ground in front of her.

“Emissary of the Nightmare Child,” Xander said. “We have saved…”

The mare’s telekinesis pushed Xander’s muzzle shut, pinning him back against one of the bed posts and tying a rope around him. He didn’t resist, perhaps afraid to with one of Midnight’s own doing the tying.

“Um, miss?” Dyo tried. “We’re prisoners, not raiders, my sister is the leader of…”

She pulled his muzzle shut too and he was too nervous to open it again, even if it didn’t feel like a very strong hold. This was highly atypical for Midnight’s minions, and he felt more tense with fear than when he’d been with the raiders.

The book glowed brighter, and an object formed above it. Moving quills floated around the forming object as if drawing it into existence.

“A wise mare once said,” the mare told them as she released their muzzles. “If you give a stallion fire, you’ll keep him warm for the night. But if you catch a stallion on fire, you’ll keep him warm for the rest of his life.”

“Who said something like that?” Dyo asked.

“I did,” the mare chuckled. “Just now. Weren’t you listening?”

Dyo’s blood went cold when he realized what she was drawing into existence, a container of flammable-smelling liquid. But someone working for Midnight wouldn’t kill slaves without giving them the chance to swear loyalty, so who was this?

There was no talking her out of it as the mare dumped the fluid on them. Dyo tensed, the liquid stringing his cuts and his lungs. When he sputtered and opened his eyes again, the mare had produced a match as well.

The mare moved it across the room towards them with excruciating slowness, panting as if significantly weakened by the spell, but with all three of them now tied up it was too late to resist. Dyo took one last deep breath, and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

“Crimson, no!” another mare shouted as the door flung open.

Dyo opened his eyes to see another unicorn mare having stormed into the room. He breathed a sigh of relief as she used her own magic to extinguish and snatch the match away.

“Mercury,” sighed Crimson, face-hoofing in disappointment. “You ruined it! You ruined the mood.”

“This is a rescue mission!” Mercury walked in, moving around Crimson when she didn’t bother to turn around.

“Are you blind?” Crimson scoffed, waving a hoof at them. “These aren’t our friends. They’re stallions, these things are less alive than Mirror Pool clones.”

“Solar, tell her!” Mercury pleaded to another as they entered.

Dyo looked to see a bandaged pegasus mare limping into the room. She didn’t look okay to be helping with an attack.

“Crimson, we can’t kill any slaves,” Solar said. “Especially stallions.”

“You just want to buck them!” Crimson turned and yelled at Solar, then stumbled a bit on her limping leg and leaned against a wall. “Probably all three at once!”

“Damn right I’ll buck them all at once!” Solar said. “That’s not the point though!”

Dyo opened his muzzle to speak, but the last statement caught him so off guard that he stared instead.

“Who are you?” Xander got some words out, but looked no less stunned.

“Come on, fillies,” Crimson groaned to their rescuers. “I made a creepy speech and everything! Just let me murder these three and we can save the next slaves we find. This is the second time you’ve stopped me right after giving my speech, Mercury! You’re being unreasonable.”

As Dyo tried to think of something else to say, something strange caught his eye. Tucked behind Mercury’s ear was some kind of plant with purple petals. Was that…?

“Is that a real flower?” gasped Dyo.

“What?” asked Mercury with momentary confusion. “Oh um, yes. I got it from our stable. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never seen a real flower,” Dyo stared even more. He’d assumed all stables had the same nutrient slop as Stable 11. Actually one of the reasons he wanted to go to Tenwhinney was that he heard they had flowers there.

“Please tell me you're not having a moment,” huffed Crimson.

“You poor thing,” Mercury wiped tears from her eyes.

“By Daybreaker’s flaming cooch, you are,” sighed Crimson.

“This rescue could not get more confusing,” the zebra commented.

“Clearly you've never been rescued by Screwball,” the bat chuckled, but clenched his teeth as if laughing hurt.

“More like it couldn’t get more disappointing,” Crimson sighed.

POV: Dinky Do

Peace at last.

Dinky hadn’t been able to sleep in over 200 years, so being blasted with the strange device wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, she felt so content as she faded into dreamless sleep that waking disappointed her.

No peace yet then. Maybe later.

Before she even opened her eyes, she realized she was in a wagon from the shaking as they moved over rough ground. Dinky found both her front and legs tied with rope, and an attempt to charge her horn sent a throbbing pain through her head from a horn restraint. She didn’t think those things were supposed to cause pain.

For a moment, all she could hear was a radio nearby. It was playing the ‘Best Friend Cozy’ show.

“Shimmy Shake, today I want to share a touching story… of friendship,” Cozy’s gruff voice was saying.

“Oh?” her apparent assistant Shimmy replied, the voice nearly the same. “Did something happen?”

“Well golly, it sure did!” Cozy continued. “As our regular viewers know, generosity is an important part of friendship. Yesterday at the processing lab, one of our victi- VOLUNTEERS showed me generosity and probably kindness too!”

“I probably can’t wait to hear, Cozy!” Shimmy said. “The processing lab?”

“Yes, Shimmy,” Cozy said. “The processing lab is where we turn WEAK, FRIENDLESS ponies into SUPERIOR super-mutant alicorns! The story begins long ago in a… wait no, this was yesterday. Anyway, I forgot to pack a sack lunch!”

Shimmy gasped dramatically.

“I was so hungry!” Cozy said. “But as I was passing the line of ponies to be processed, I noticed a pony cuddling a CUTE, DELICIOUS little foal. So, I stopped and said ‘Golly gee! Are you going to eat that?’”

“What did she say?” Shimmy asked, sounding fascinated.

“Well at first, she acted confused, as PATHETIC, DUMB ponies often get in the presence of our superior friendship,” said Cozy. “So, I explained that I forgot to pack my lunch, and would like to eat her baby pony.”

“A reasonable request,” Shimmy noted.

“Indeed, Shimmy,” Cozy said. “But rather than just giving me her foal, do you know what she said? She said ‘Over my dead body!’”

“Amazing!” Shimmy said. “She offered not only her foal, but herself as well?”

“I thought she was amazing too,” Cozy confirmed. “AND DELICIOUS.”

“It just goes to show what can happen when we let the power of friendship lead the way!” Shimmy sounded touched.

As Cozy’s message ended and a jazzy song played, the laughter of nearby slavers drowned out the sound of the radio. Dinky imagined that show must be very popular with their kind even if they hated Trinity.

Dinky’s vision cleared, and she realized she was in a different wagon from the one the raiders they fought had. It was smaller, and she only saw two slavers from her position. One was the female griffon from earlier, who sat with them in the back, and the unicorn stallion, who pulled the wagon. Dinky thought she could hear another wagon behind them but couldn’t see it from her position. Who knew how many others were with them, or how long it’d been.

Getting a better look at the griffon, she had gray fur and lighter feathers around her head and neck. Her chipped claws looked infested with fungus that Dinky would only expect to see on a ghoul. She had piercing predatory eyes, but her stench reduced the intimidation factor. Not that Dinky’s group smelled better; maybe she only noticed because an unwashed griffon smelled different from unwashed ponies. Lucky for Dinky, she didn’t have to breathe if she didn’t want to.

The unicorn had a blue coat and dirty white mane, and probably stank too, but was further away from them. His cutie mark was a crying foal, not a good thing for Dinky even if she wasn’t a real filly.

Limestone sat on one side of her, restrained. She stared with a blank expression, and Dinky couldn’t tell if she’d ‘awoken’ yet, though her glow was completely gone. They’d stripped Limestone’s supplies other than her uniform and pipbuck. They probably let her keep the uniform on since it wasn’t armored or nice enough to steal.

Dinky had even more respect for her for the way she’d stood up to Starlight to prevent her from selling Solar; she hoped the poor pegasus was okay now.

Strangely, Marble was on the other side of Limestone, tied in a similar position. Obviously she didn’t move either. The slavers must have mistaken her for another ‘deactivated’ ghoul because of her relatively preserved condition.

Starlight was on her other side, hooves tied and horn restrained, also stripped of everything save for her pipbuck. It looked like the horn restraint was some kind of make-shift enchanted clamp with gems attached instead of one of the Ministry models, which probably explained why it was painful to attempt magic. Starlight stared at the wagon floor in front of her, teeth clenched so hard that Dinky could swear that she heard them creak. Dinky hoped she wouldn’t be in charge again if they survived this.

Kamikaze didn’t need to be restrained; she lay on the floor in front of them like a sack of potatoes, also deprived of her armor. The pegasus looked even more frustrated than usual as the griffon used her as a footstool, lounging on the opposite side of the wagon from the captives.

The griffon rubbed her feet against Kamikaze’s wing stumps on purpose, though Kami wasn’t giving her the pleasure of a reaction. Dinky felt required to dislike Kamikaze, but pitied her more.

Solar wasn’t around. Dinky saw her fleeing before she lost consciousness, so she hoped that meant she’d gotten away. Even then, could a stable-dweller survive alone in the Ashlands long enough to find their other friends? Maybe Solar could; she had proven herself to be durable for a breather.

“You’re alright,” said Starlight as she noticed. “I’m… glad.” She looked back at the floor.

“Oh good, you woke up, or whatever,” said the griffon. “I hope the other zombies start moving. Can’t sell you otherwise.”

Dinky didn’t want to talk to anyone other than Limestone, but wanted answers too, so grunted at Starlight, “What was that they hit us with?”

“Apparently an AIE, arcane interference emitter,” sighed Starlight. “No idea where they got that kind of tech.”

“We looted a Unicornian caravan that anger bunnies destroyed,” said the griffon. “Unicornians may be assholes, but they got great tech if you can snatch it.”

“This is your fault,” Dinky said to Starlight, too peeved to be fascinated by the example of new magitech.

“I know,” Starlight sighed, not excusing her actions at least, but knowing she was an idiot didn’t make her not one.

“I can’t believe we wasted the AIE and didn’t even get the feather factory,” grumbled the griffon. “Instead we only got an over-harvested pegacripple.”

“And we lost Glaucus,” said the unicorn from the front of the wagon. “That bucking featherbrain killed him.”

“Who the fuck cares?” scoffed the female griffon. “He was a shitty lay, anyway. Every time I pinned him down, he’d complain that he was gay. LIke that’s my problem!”

“Harvested…” Kamikaze seemed too broken to argue. “What have I done?”

The treatment of pegasi probably hit Kamikaze hard. Rightly so, since it was Kamikaze’s fault that pegasi were routinely used for torture and spell components. Dinky felt worse for the pegasi having to live out here than for Kamikaze; it wasn’t their fault a moron with faulty cybernetics led their ancestors into battle.

“Don’t start some moral upright bullshit,” the griffon sneered. “ ‘Civilized’ groups do it too. Even the AIE uses some ground up anti-magic organ they tear out of living changelings. The Unicornians probably raise them like livestock.”

“Sounds like something Starlight would do,” growled Dinky. She looked at Starlight, but Starlight didn’t look back.

“I see the zomfoal is a smartass,” smirked the griffon.

“Don’t antagonize them, Dinky,” Limestone mumbled. She had awoken it seemed, though her glow was still dim. That probably meant breaking her ropes or using radiation attacks wasn’t on the table.

Limestone was right, but it was hard to do nothing. Dinky wasn’t even sure why someone would want to buy an undersized ghoul like herself and hoped it was for labor and not...amusement.

“Going to tell us your names?” Limestone asked the griffon.

“Call me Fingers,” the griffon shrugged. “Not that you’ll have long to call me that. The hottie pulling is Foal Basher. He complains when I pin him down too because I’m not a foal. I swear, these guys.”

That fit the unicorn’s cutie mark of the crying foal for certain. Whether his parents made a lucky guess when they named him or he changed it at his cute-ceañera, it didn’t bode well for Dinky. She hoped he wouldn’t count her as a real foal.

“Your name starts with an F?” Limestone arched an eyebrow. “Did griffons stop having G-names?”

“I'm a rebel,” smirked Fingers, but seemed amused.

“What steps did you take to keep our comrades from finding us?” Limestone asked.

“What kind of question is that?” Fingers asked, tilting her head.

“I see,” Limestone said, waxing thoughtful. “So you didn’t take any.”

“Anyone that comes after you will walk into a trap,” Finger spat the words, easily led into answering. “I’m sure once several expeditions go missing, whoever you’re with won’t want to risk more.”

Limestone didn’t look worried, and even Starlight rolled her eyes. Well-trained soldiers and an off-world royal wouldn’t stroll into some raider ambush, especially when expecting one.

“You are all going to die,” Starlight said. “Your friends aren’t setting a trap, they are in one. Your only hope is to release us so we can stop the slaughter.”

“Adorable,” Fingers laughed. “Delusions of grandeur? You couldn’t handle us when we walked up to you in plain sight.”

“Yeah but they don’t have Starlight to buck things up,” Dinky said.

Starlight eyed Dinky, but she only stared back.

“Dinky,” Limestone said in an almost motherly tone.

She didn’t need to say more to tell Dinky she wasn’t helping. Dinky sighed and stared at an empty spot in the wagon instead.

“Are you sure?” asked Starlight to Fingers. “Don’t you think it’d be a good idea to keep us on hoof until you’re sure how that turns out?”

“She’s not wrong,” commented Foal Basher.

“Shut up,” Fingers growled. “Both of you.” Without the stubborn griffon, the other slavers might have been more susceptible to Starlight’s creepy influence.

“If you don’t hurry,” Starlight continued. “You’ll return to camp to find all of your comrades dead.”

“We’re almost at Tenwhinney Tower,” Fingers ignored Starlight’s comment. “We’ll sell them the zombies and see if anyone else is around to buy the unicorn.”

“We’re keeping the buck pillow,” commented Foal Basher.

“Right,” Fingers said, giving Kamikaze a kick. “She’s still the piñata for the party next week. Though we don’t have candy to stuff her with.”

“We’ll find something else,” chuckled Foal Basher.

Kamikaze quirked her ears but took deep breaths, not giving them the fearful response they wanted. Dinky couldn’t believe how these creatures were talking. She should have stayed in Canterlot and just killed herself. She’d have rather died thinking Equestria was a wasteland than realize it’d come to this.

“So, you say there won’t be more expeditions,” Limestone said. “Do you think Her Divine Shadow will give up minions so easily? She won’t let her reputation take a hit by being bested by raiders.”

Fingers froze for a moment and tilted her head the other direction. “You’re bluffing. You mentioned before you were from a stable.”

“Yes, Stable 27, which has allied with Midnight Sparkle,” Limestone said. “Didn't you hear the news broadcast about Midnight attacking us? Even if we're only loyal to save ourselves, Her Shadow doesn’t abandon loyal worshipers.”

“Fingers?” Foal Basher’s voice quivered slightly. “We could let them go now and she might accept it as a mistake.”

“Calm down dumbass, they’re full of shit,” Fingers shook her head.

Limestone couldn’t expect Fingers to believe her now but probably figured Foal Basher would tell the other slavers what she said. If their friends played the ‘Twilight looks like Midnight’ card, it’d increase the chances they’d run screaming as soon as she showed herself.

Dinky wished she had a pipbuck so she could be part of the PCB conversation about how to escape that the other three were no doubt having. She’d have to watch for Limestone’s cues and follow them without question in case there was a plan Dinky didn’t know.

No escape occurred before they got to Tenwhinney Tower though. Dinky soon saw it on the skyline, a single skyscraper left from a lost city.

Dinky had visited it back when it was a hotel. She and Mommy vacationed in Las Pegasus, and this skyscraper was one of the few parts of the cloud resort that sat on the ground. The top poked through the clouds of the city itself and allowed unicorns and earth ponies to walk from the ground to the paved clouds on top. They made a fortune charging a fee to use the hotel as a path, but it was a deal compared to renting a balloon.

But Las Pegasus had floated away long ago. Their effort to escape a CME strike from Canterlot ended when a balefire strike hit them instead and they melted into Ghastly Gorge. Dinky remembered that last newscast she heard before Canterlot blew. She remembered hearing the other refugees cheering the death of thousands, as Mommy cried because of her friends that lived there.

Dinky didn’t know what inhabited this area now, but the former location of Las Pegasus was mostly wasteland as far as the eye could see. There were a few other ruins nearby, but none in decent condition. This one must have been upkept well. If those inside had been there for generations, they might not understand what the outside was like, not unlike stable dwellers.

There were a pair of ponies in armor approaching them from the tower. They were in much nicer armor than the raiders, looking like old military issue.

“Hey Corpse Crasher,” Fingers called the wagon behind them as they stopped at least a thousand hooves from the entrance. “You’re best at this, go bargain.”

“What the buck ever,” an annoyed voice said behind them.

An all-white earth stallion trotted past their wagon and stood in front as the armored figures got closer. This one had an impaled pony as a cutie mark; Dinky didn’t know cutie marks came that gory. He was unarmed, maybe as required by the approaching soldiers.

“They don’t trust you enough to let you close to the tower?” asked Limestone.

“They’re paranoid about everyone outside their posh little palace,” smirked Fingers. “And they might haggle, so be prepared for a wait.”

“Why do they want ghoul slaves?” asked Starlight. “I got the impression from radio broadcasts that the leader here hated ghouls too much to even own one.”

“He uses them in arena matches or something,” shrugged Fingers.

“He’ll give us a good price though for dociles.” Foal Basher added in the same tone one might use to mention a couch he sold on eHay. He unhitched himself from the wagon and climbed inside it.

Dinky would shiver if she had enough blood flow to have such a physical reaction. Limestone would try to protect her, but what could even Limestone do in such a hopeless situation? Without Limestone, would the others figure out a rescue? The slavers might be easy pickings, but the tower was well-defended.

“Sorry I couldn’t stop this,” Limestone whispered next to her, the perceptive general deduced what Dinky was thinking.

“Not your fault,” Dinky sighed, loud enough for Starlight to hear. Perhaps the only victory Dinky could get now was to make sure Starlight knew Dinky died hating her. Or re-died. Whatever.

“Don’t give up,” Limestone whispered. “I won’t let you die.”

They could hear the ponies haggling in front of the wagon. Though Dinky tried her best not to hear it, she couldn’t shut it out completely. The Tenwhinney guards tried to talk them down because ghouls were hard to sell anywhere else and they were just going to put them down.

“Hey Basher,” Fingers said to Foal Basher as he climbed into the wagon. “I want a show. Rape the little one; I bet her screams are precious.”

If Dinky had been breathing that comment would have knocked the breath out of her. She looked at the stallion, trying to hide the fear in her eyes and look creepy instead. Limestone shifted next to her, probably trying to come up with a strategy to stop this. Dinky hoped she thought of something.

“I’m not bucking a zombie,” Basher took one look at her glassy stare and shook his head.

“I thought you loved molesting foals,” Fingers grunted. “You had plenty of fun with mine. Come on; I’m sure the twerp doesn’t want to die a virgin.”

“She’s not a foal,” Basher growled. “And I bet not a virgin either. She could be centuries old and bucked all the disgusting ghouls in Canterlot for all I know.”

“I’m 218 years old,” confirmed Dinky, hoping that helped her case. She tried to sound calm but doubted her success. “But no, not all of them.”

“Might want to opt for me,” said Limestone. “That one’s a bit infested.”

“I’m not banging anypony’s centuries old corpse, animate or not,” Basher shook his head. “Go get Corpse Crasher if you want to see that.”

“He’s busy, dumbass,” said Fingers. “I’m the leader, so do it anyway or I’ll have Crasher banging your corpse instead.”

“If you want to buck something helpless, do me,” Kamikaze said. “I’m warm at least.”

Dinky sighed. It was awkward to have someone she hated try to risk their life for her, maybe she should be slightly less hard on Kamikaze.

“You’re too old for my tastes, featherbrain,” Basher grumbled.

Off to the side, the Tenwhinney guards argued they shouldn’t have to pay full price for Dinky because of her size. The logic Corpse Crasher countered with was that ‘foals are more fun to kill’. They then moved on to trying to sell Marble, claiming she would start moving soon, and of course the guards didn’t buy the assertion.

The slavers offered Starlight for extra, but the guards said they couldn’t buy her due to population controls. Finally, the slavers offered the six-pack of Glimmer Cola Quantum that they’d stolen from the group to sweeten the deal. Apparently not even raiders would chance drinking that stuff. The whole discussion wasn’t helping Dinky’s emotional state.

“Ugh,” Dinky sighed. She appreciated the efforts but didn’t want to see anypony take her place either. “You don’t have to do that, either of you. Besides, if I can take a large feral stallion, I can take that guy.”

“I’d be surprised if you even noticed him with what he’s packing,” Limestone said as she leaned to the side and peered beneath the stallion. She was determined to get their anger focused on her instead of Dinky.

“By Guto’s meaty nut sack,” grumbled Fingers. “The haggling isn’t taking as long as I thought and you’re still wasting time. Just rape the purple unicorn since they don’t seem to want her. And that’s an order.”

“W-what?” Starlight stammered, suddenly part of the conversation.

“You’re the only one that didn’t offer to do it to protect the others,” grinned Fingers. “Probably means you’re the most scared of this, and that means you’ll sob the best.” She sat up and called to the wagon behind them. “Gabriel! Come help rape this pony!”

“I have a headache!” Gabriel called back. It sounded like another griffon.

“Come do it anyway!” Fingers called back. “We’re not leaving until I get a show!”

“Fucking hens,” grumbled Gabriel, but sounded like he was on his way. “Are you ever not horny?”

“I swear if these guys touch me,” Starlight growled, her eyes filled with panic. “I will cut their dicks off and choke you to death on them! You’ll wish after messing with me that you were never bor-”

Fingers responded by swiftly spitting in Starlight’s mouth, making the unicorn gag in disgust. Dinky winced, no longer able to look directly at Starlight. She was still angry at her, but she wouldn’t wish this on anyone and just couldn’t bear to watch. With Starlight’s rant shut down, Fingers promptly grabbed her by the mane and dragged her out of the wagon onto the ground.

“No, no, no,” Starlight muttered, obviously panicking. “Not again, not again.”

“The worse you treat us, griffon,” Limestone warned. “The worse Her Divine Shadow will treat you.”

Dinky didn’t get to see if Limestone’s logic worked to save Starlight or not. The soldiers from Tenwhinney came over, and Corpse Crasher climbed into the wagon to help heft Limestone and Dinky out of it. They left Marble, apparently having been unable to convince the guards that she would become animate, but took the Quantum Cola.

“Let’s get the buck out of here,” said the stallion Tenwhinney guard. “I don’t want to watch raider horse apples go down.” Yet he couldn’t be bothered to stop it either.

“I can’t believe we paid 3000 caps for a pair of corpses,” grumbled the other guard, a mare.

What the buck was a cap?

“Didn’t have a choice,” shrugged the stallion. “Jacob wanted dociles to die in the arena at his son’s birthday party. Too bad we can’t get Gilda.”

“Those nuts in Holder know where she is, but won’t give her up,” said the mare.

“We got the cola though,” said the stallion. “I wouldn’t drink it, but Jacob will want it for his antique collection.”

The guards walked side-by-side as they talked, heading back to the tower, Limestone draped over the mare and Dinky over the stallion. The ghouls were facing one another, though Dinky tried not to make eye contact.

“It’s not your fault, Dinky,” Limestone whispered to comfort her even now. “Like I said, I won’t let you die.”

From what Dinky had heard, it was more than an empty promise when Limestone said it, but what about Limestone herself? What about their other friends? Flawed as they were, they were Dinky's new family; who would keep them alive?

POV: Starlight Glimmer
Hours Later

The wagon rocked about from the bumpy road, each rocking motion adding a note to the dull chorus of pain that permeated Starlight’s body. Her legs were tied once again in front of her with the horn restraint still on her head, but she didn’t feel like moving anyway. She was vaguely aware of the sound of Kamikaze whispering to her, underneath the noises of her holes expelling the disgusting fluids that had been forced inside them.

Starlight had been a captive in the Crystal Empire after her failure to stop Sombra’s return. Since she was too strong-willed for brain-washing and too important a captive to kill, she was mostly a toy instead. Yet even Sombra had the decency to have a doctor see to her afterward. How had Equestria fallen so far that ponies they met on the road were more evil than Sombra?

It wouldn’t be so bad, but when Starlight’s pipbuck injection system automagically injected her with potions, the slavers thought she could regenerate. At that point they went harder on her and she couldn’t convince the idiots otherwise. They had dropped her here on the floor expecting her to heal with her wounds barely wrapped.

Her matted fur felt sticky against the floor of the wagon where she lay. Though she felt her own blood pooling beneath her despite the pathetic attempt at bandaging, there was no way to check her injuries, not that she even wanted to know what her rear end looked like. The griffon’s dirty claws had done a number on her, and infection from that was a real danger. Starlight hoped her wounds itching so much was just from whatever material passed as “cloth” to these savages.

“Starlight?” Kamikaze’s worried whisper was louder than before, as if the pegasus had wormed her way closer across the floor.

Starlight didn’t have the energy to answer her. She felt Kamikaze roll against her back and hold one tiny stump against Starlight. Kamikaze sighed in relief after confirming she was still alive.

“Don’t let these bastards break you; once we’re out of here, somepony has to put a bomb up their butts, and watch ‘em squirm before they blow to bits, and I don’t think Twilight’s up to it,” she said with a clearly-forced laugh.

Starlight let out a polite “heh” in response, the most she could muster. She didn’t know why Kamikaze cared. Starlight’s actions had split their group, and the only pony that could fix it had been sold to butchers. Starlight had enough faith in the team to rescue her and Kamikaze, but Limestone and Dinky might be out of reach, and it was doubtful the others would follow Starlight without Limestone’s support.

If the rest of the team was alive. What if Starlight sent them to their deaths? What if they’d obeyed her order to ditch Twilight and couldn’t run off the raiders without her? Now that Starlight thought about it, she realized what a stupid order it was.

She let her ego get to her and ruined everything, as she had often before. It seemed something she was doomed to repeat forever, though this time seemed worse than past issues, like her mind was slowly slipping. What was happening to her?

If there was no one to come, Kamikaze would die as a piñata and Starlight would be a toy or foal factory for whatever perverse creature bought her. What an inappropriate end to her short reign.

Starlight yelped when she felt a claw grab her mane again, expecting to get something disgusting rammed down her throat. Instead they dropped a dirty cushion beneath her head and let it fall. She turned her head enough to see that it was the male griffon Gabriel.

A moment later, he pushed a potion to her lips. Hoping it was for healing and not a chem, Starlight gulped. She felt better, enough to have stopped bleeding at least. They must have realized she wasn’t healing on her own.

“Don’t thank me,” Gabriel smirked. “Fingers ordered me to keep you alive so we can sell you.”

“I wasn't going to,” panted Starlight.

The wagon stopped.

“What in Tartarus is going on?” Corpse Crasher called out from the front wagon. “It’s on fire!”

It was then Starlight paid attention again. She’d been so spaced out she hadn’t even been listening to the sounds of their environment, but now she heard it. The sound of flames, screams, and hysterical laughter in the distance.

“It’s her! Midnight Sparkle!” another voice cried out as they got closer. It sounded like the bull that’d been with the group before. “I saw her in camp when I got back!”

“Are you sure, Malarky?” Fingers asked. Her voice was hollow, with a definite ‘oh shit’ ring to it. “What about the ambush we set up?”

“I’m damn sure!” said the bull. “I think it’s the real Midnight. If she met our ambush, they’re dead!”

“I bucking told you!” Foal Basher said. “These assholes must be important for her to come personally!”

“You didn’t tell me shit!” snarled Fingers, even if they clearly had.

Gabriel stood still next to Starlight. His eyes widened, unsure what to do.

“Release me,” Starlight said.

“W-what?” Gabriel stammered, looking at her as if he’d forgotten she was there.

“Do you know what Her Divine Shadow will do to you?” asked Starlight. “Everything you did to me and more. Cooperate, and I can promise she won’t harm you for this. I’ll let you live too.”

The honest reputation of Midnight and her minions came in handy as Gabriel didn’t question the promise. His shivering claws, still covered in Starlight’s blood, unlatched her horn restraint, grasping a knife nearby to cut her bonds free.

“Look uh, I’m sorry I- SHIT!” Gabriel didn’t have time for his insincere apology.

As soon as the horn restraint was off, Starlight’s horn glowed as she grabbed the knife from his grasp and untied her own ropes. A short spell later, the dull metal sharpened to a razor edge, which she pointed at him.

“No, you said I could live!” Gabriel shrieked, taking another step back. He was too afraid to even go for his gun. Midnight had clearly made an impression on the Ashlanders in this area. “Midnight will punish you for lying!”

“Carry Kami and Marble,” Starlight motioned to Kamikaze and Marble’s corpse. She then turned towards the group still panicking in front of the wagon. Gabriel obeyed, shivering.

Carrying the knife and the horn restraint with her, Starlight staggered towards the panicked group. The slavers didn’t see Starlight’s approach until her telekinesis snapped the horn restraint onto Foal Basher’s horn. A moment later, all the raiders found their guns yanked away and tossed back into the wagon.

It would be easy to shoot them all, but Starlight didn’t need guns or SATS to finish these foals. Corpse Crasher and the bull raider didn’t have time to even squeak before their heads twisted around several full turns, necks cracking grotesquely. Starlight didn’t stop twisting until they popped off like bobble-heads, replaced by a brief fountain of blood as their bodies dropped and thrashed on the ground. She did it without effort, her rage fueling her magic. Their eyes rapidly lost focus as their faces froze into their last terrified expression, thumping to the ground as she dropped them.

“What? How?” screeched Foal Basher as his body went stiff, held in Starlight’s magical grasp.

“Whoa, brutal!” Kamikaze sounded impressed.

“What the fuck did you do?” Fingers demanded at Gabriel, seeing him behind Starlight and carrying both Kamikaze and Marble over his shoulders. She rushed him but froze in Starlight’s magic too.

“She promised Midnight would spare me!” Gabriel shouted back. “You can’t expect me to pass on that offer!”

“I didn’t want to!” Foal Basher begged Starlight. “It was Fingers! She ordered us to!” The typical excuse of war criminals everywhere.

“I killed your friends quickly,” Starlight ignored their pleas and arguments. “But I promised something different for the ones that defiled me, didn’t I? Do you remember what I promised, Fingers?”

Fingers looked too frightened to answer.

“You said you’d choke her to death on their dicks,” Kamikaze helpfully pointed out. “As her favorite footstool, I think I’d like to see that.”

“I did promise that, didn’t I?” Starlight smiled. “Thanks for reminding me, Kami. Her Divine Shadow would be very disappointed in me if I didn’t keep my promise.”

“No, no, no!” screeched Basher as the knife floated towards him.

An ear-splitting squeal escaped Basher’s muzzle as the knife carved out what Starlight needed. She yanked the knife forward, ripping a gash up his front all the way to his sternum. She then released him, letting him fall to the ground. He sobbed, trying to hold his organs in as they oozed out. She left him there to bleed out.

“You swore not to hurt me!” Gabriel screeched as the bloody knife raced towards him.

“I promised she wouldn’t hurt you,” growled Starlight. “I only promised I wouldn’t kill you.”

Starlight pulled Kamikaze and Marble away from him, leaning them against the nearby wagon out of the way. Even Kamikaze closed her eyes at what Starlight was doing, but Starlight wasn’t worried about reputation right now. She carved the best bits from the screaming drake and charred the wound closed so he wouldn’t bleed out.

When Starlight turned towards Fingers, she had never seen ‘oh horse apples’ written so plainly on a face before.

“Griffons,” sneered Starlight. “You’re just pretend pegasi. How pathetic is it to be a subpar copy of an already worthless creature?”

Finger’s face twisted in rage, the comment hitting the nerve Starlight hoped it would, but she didn’t have time to retort. Starlight forced her beak open and stuffed it full of what had defiled her, clamping it tightly shut afterward. That wasn’t enough for Starlight though, so she used the dagger to defile Fingers in the same way. Fingers couldn’t scream, but she thrashed and gagged well enough, and urinated all over herself. Even better.

Starlight breathed heavily, standing silent as she watched Fingers struggle as she floated there. Once the struggles had slowed, Starlight let Fingers fall to the ground, leaving the blade hilt-deep inside her. Fingers wasn't dead, but that was fine. She was too weak to even spit, so Starlight left her to suffer more before the inevitable.

Starlight then turned back to Gabriel. He curled up on the ground, grasping the wound where his goods used to be and looking at her in terror.

“Get up,” Starlight demanded.

Afraid to disobey, Gabriel staggered to a standing position, looking like he might tumble back down at any moment.

“I don’t work for Midnight, the one torching your compound is so much more,” Starlight growled. Her rage had her well beyond the point of considering the wisdom of her words. “Though I am honest, so you get to leave with almost all your pieces intact. Tell everyone what happens to those that defy Starlight Glimmer, and not to buck with the New Equestrian Empire.”

Gabriel turned and took off, holding both claws over his charred groin as he raced away. That should be an adequate start to Starlight’s reputation in the Ashlands, and she vowed it would only grow from there.

“New Equestrian Empire?” Kamikaze said after the griffon was out of earshot. “That’s terrible. Everypony will pronounce it ‘NEE’.”

“Shut up, Kami,” sighed Starlight, but adopted her nicer voice as she added. “I hope you know I didn’t mean that about pegasi being worthless.” She added more quietly. “And thanks for checking on me when I was down and trying to cheer me up, I appreciate it.”

Starlight picked up Kamikaze, holding the pega-pillow in her magic as she draped Marble over her back.

“Yeah, I know,” Kamikaze shrugged best she could with her shoulder stumps. “For what it’s worth, sorry for what those assholes did to you. I won’t tell the others... hope I’m not getting sappy like Twilight.”

“Thank you,” sighed Starlight, but kept a determined face atop the waves of emotion within her. “We have work to do. I hope Tenwhinney can see this fire from their precious tower. I want them to see what’s coming for them.”

28. Split

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Maud Pie
Slaver Camp

What Maud found in the other room did not surprise her, but did not help her rage issues either. The kerosene container on the floor, Crimson looking annoyed, and Mercury untying kerosene-soaked prisoners… It told Maud everything.

Maud was past her limit. She did not find her sister and comrades, had to put down a dying filly, and now she dealt with Crimson trying to murder the others here for them to rescue. Was Crimson any better than the raiders she’d just killed?

She grabbed Crimson by the neck, flinging her against the wall. Maud’s movements were lightning fast, giving no one time to react as she pinned Crimson via one hoof against her neck.

“You had one job, Crimson,” growled Maud. “One even easier than Solar’s job.”

“I don’t know,” said Solar, perhaps trying to defuse Maud's rage. “I might try failing my job too once we get these guys untied.”

“Does this mean you won’t go on that date with me?” Crimson smiled sheepishly, hanging limply as if the drain of her weird magic had left her with little energy. “Or does it mean you definitely will?”

“They could be dead!” snarled Maud. “Do you not even care?”

Even Crimson blinked at the emotion in Maud’s voice, pausing to consider her answer.

“Half of them were already dead,” Crimson shrugged. “Life is wasted on the living. We’re all just poop factories bucking to make more poop factories covering the world in poop.”

Maud could not tell if Crimson was fearless, stupid, or trying to commit suicide by Maud. It was tempting to give her that wish. It would certainly settle her nerves and it was doubtful she’d face more than severe reprimand. Still, she took a deep breath and tried to push it down.

“I’m about to get a beating, huh,” Crimson said as she watched the calm decision-making in Maud’s eyes.

“You are,” confirmed Maud. “I do not know if I will stop.”

“Well if you go too far,” said Crimson. “I give consent to…”

A spat of blood replaced Crimson’s words as Maud slammed a hoof into her chest. It was not the torso-crushing blow Maud had unleashed on the raider, but at least one rib fractured. Crimson cried out and Maud slammed another hoof into her gut.

Maud thought Crimson would stop trying to talk after a few punches, but she kept opening her muzzle again, so Maud kept knocking the wind out of her. This mare just would not keep her muzzle shut. Maud aimed one last blow towards her head, which might have punched her jaw to the back of her skull had it struck.

“No!” Mercury pulled Crimson’s head aside and Maud’s hoof cracked the shack’s wall instead. “Maud, stop!”

Maud did not feel like stopping, but probably would have had Crimson not reached a shaky hoof to try to boop Maud’s nose. How did she not know when to stop? Crimson shrieked as Maud grabbed the leg, twisting the upper leg until it fractured, in a different place than it already was.

“You broke the same leg!” cackled Crimson. “Hilarious! I thought you’d break the other…”

Maud grabbed Crimson’s other front leg, twisting it around at the knee to snap it without effort.

“Yeah, like that!” Crimson moaned, gagging up more blood. “Ya got me though, this is more pain than I can pretend to like. I’m sorry, please stop.”

“Maud, stop!” Mercury screamed. “Somepony help! Maud is killing Crimson!”

Mercury pushed Crimson to the floor, covering her with her own body and shivering as if she expected Maud to punch right through her to get at Crimson. Solar was quick to cover Mercury with her body, though likely only caring to save Mercury. Either way, seeing innocents so afraid of her pushed Maud back more fully into a sane state.

Maud hated this part of herself. She had hoped her new compatriots never witnessed it.

“Damnit, Mercury,” Crimson gagged. “You’re always ruining my moments with your moments. Could you two stop protecting me now? You’re heavy and I’m broken.”

“Maud!” Twilight’s voice came from behind her. “What is going on here?”

“I may have broken Crimson in three or more places,” said Maud, taking a deep breath to calm herself. “For trying to burn the slaves to death.”

“Wait,” said the earth pony slave. “Maud? Maud Pie?”

The earth pony, free now that Solar untied the prisoners, sat on the bed. Solar moved back to him to help clean some raider gore off, though the pony kept an eye on the pegasus as if making sure she didn’t go for it after what she said before.

“Celestia’s afternoon tea-cake,” swore Twilight, rushing to Crimson’s side.

“Hey that wasn’t bad,” Crimson complimented the swear between gags. “Normally yours are so boring…”

“I have never met a pony that was higher maintenance than you, Crimson, “ sighed Twilight. “And Maud, you will not do this again unless absolutely necessary to stop her from hurting somepony.”

“Affirmative,” Maud said, quieter than typical for her.

Maud glanced at the earth pony that said her name, and he stared at her with a stunned expression. She grunted and turned her head, self-conscious about the tears in her eyes. She backed into one corner of the room.

“Mercury, please tend to Crimson,” Twilight added.

Mercury nodded. Seeing the bag of medical supplies the zebra had, she pulled out bandaging, going about the process of again popping Crimson’s bones back into place.

“I will assist,” the zebra moved beside Mercury. “It’s doubtful you know how to use everything in this bag.”

“Thank you, sir,” Mercury smiled in spite of his condescension. “I’m honored.”

“Break save me!” the earth pony shrieked when Twilight looked at him, deep red eyes wide with horror. “I mean...what I meant to say… I hate Daybreaker! Wasn’t she just the worst?”

“So much for death with dignity,” sighed the bat. “But that’s not Midnight, or a twilicorn.”

“I’m not Midn-,” said Twilight, then paused when the bat said it for her, turning to peer at him. “Wait… you? But weren’t you…”

Maud hadn’t realized herself before when focused on the others in the dim room, but it was. It was the bat Twilight had allowed to live and that they watched the memories of before. If he hadn’t returned to Midnight, perhaps Maud would stand corrected for thinking they should have killed him.

“Gloomy, yes,” sighed the bat. “It’s a long story, but I guess I owe you my life twice now… three times, technically, since I think the others only spared me to stay on your good side.”

“The others?” Twilight tilted her head. “You mean Watcher? Who else?”

“Can I tell it when I have more energy?” Gloomy asked. “I’ve had a bad week.”

“Well that’s...” said Twilight, but nodded. She took a moment as if straining to push down her curiosity before turning to the earth stallion. “I don’t care who believes me, but Midnight wouldn’t lie about who she was. Either way, I’m not here to hurt you. You can help us, or we’ll treat your injuries and send you on your way with what supplies we can. Can I have your names?” She looked at the zebra as well.

“Dyo,” the earth pony sounded barely able to speak.

“Xander,” the zebra said. He slowed his aid of Crimson, as if considering if he should continue now that his life did not depend on it.

“Thank you,” Twilight said. “Please if you would continue helping Mercury with Crimson, sir, I’d appreciate it.”

“That I will do,” Xander said. “But don’t expect enthusiasm.” Unlike Dyo, he seemed to eye Maud with suspicion rather than awe.

“Forget all that,” said Dyo, turning to Maud instead. “Are you really the Maud Pie? How can you be Maud Pie? Are you a changeling?”

“It surprises me that you were smart enough to ask if she was,” Xander jabbed. “It’s not a question you or your sister ask enough.”

Maud grunted, really not wanting attention. She pulled her helmet off and turned her head to flick up her mane to show him the soul crystal embedded there. It was easier than explaining time travel, assuming he knew what a soul crystal was. From the awed look on his face, he did.

“Pinkie is here as well, yes,” Pinkie said as she entered. “And apologizes for her unintentionally-lethal shooting. Ashmaker has more kick than she anticipated, and creates wide tunnels of destruction! He is to blame!”

‘Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy seeing it,’ Ashmaker snarked from Pinkie’s back.

“Pinkie did not say that,” muttered Pinkie. “She…”

Pinkie cut herself off and looked at Maud though. Unlike the others, she immediately noticed Maud’s stress over everything else. She trotted over to hug her; Maud sighed and returned the hug.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Dyo. “Are all the Pie sisters here?”

“No,” answered Maud. “We lost Marble during the Battle of Canterlot and Limestone has been taken by slavers to Tenwhinney.”

“Tenwhinney?” Dyo asked. “I thought they only bought… oh… regardless, I know Holder would be interested in helping rescue her.”

There was an odd look on his face, one that didn’t quite mesh with what he said. He looked away and at the floor and shifted his eyes as if his words made him feel extremely guilty.

“Let’s get the slaves outside where it’s less stuffy and talk there,” said Twilight. “If what the slaver said was true, the slave auction wagon will return soon. I want a word with the ones that sold our friends.”

Maud moved to Gloomy’s bed, hefting the limp bat onto her back and heading towards the exit without further comment. Pinkie moved to help Dyo, who looked reluctant to climb atop her, as if he had been asked to lay his dirty hooves upon a sacred artifact. His awe of them was more than just respect; it felt religious in nature.

“I can carry you!” Solar offered when he looked nervous to climb onto Pinkie, as if she was in any shape to carry anypony.

Dyo cringed as the pegasus plot-waggled at him and crawled onto Pinkie instead. He still eyed the waggling plot though; perhaps he just did not want to be seen with a flirty pegasus in public. Solar sighed and looked heart-broken either way.

“You need to learn subtlety,” Maud left Solar with that advice as Maud turned to head out of the room, leaving Mercury and Xander to tend to Crimson.

Twilight moved ahead, pointing the remaining slaver towards the door. He moved as told, head lowered and not daring to flee. A brighter stallion would have figured out that it was not Midnight by now, but brighter stallions weren’t chem-addled raiders. On the outside, the two other raider mares were on the ground nearby, laying on their sides, hog-tied. They looked at Twilight with the same ignorant fear.

“Crimson, no!” Mercury shouted again from within, no sooner than Maud had walked out the door.

There was a whoosh as half the other room was engulfed in flames. A moment later, Mercury and Xander dragged Crimson out after the others.

“Why would you do that?” Solar asked, exiting along with them.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to manifest kerosene from a book?” Crimson complained. “I couldn’t let it go to waste after half-killing myself!”

Maud groaned. She counted to make sure everypony that mattered had exited, but let Crimson be for this one, even when she started cackling at the burning building. In this case, Crimson was not wrong to think that burning down an enemy base was quite a delight.

In fact, Maud was about to sit and enjoy watching the fire engulf the building, but another crackling distracted her. It took a moment to realize it was in her head rather than from the fire. Maud looked at her pipbuck, bringing up the map, and sure enough, Starlight’s signal had come into range.

As Maud’s pipbuck re-connected them to the PCB, it gave Maud an exact fix on Starlight and Kamikaze’s locations, up on the hill nearby. It also gave her a fix on Limestone’s, to the west in what used to be Las Pegasus. Damn it.

“Starlight’s in range!” Twilight exclaimed as she realized as well.

“Limestone is not,” Maud gritted her teeth.

“Maud, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. But hurting Starlight will not help. Let’s talk this out, then I swear we’ll do everything we can to get them back.”

“Pinkie will spare her life,” said Pinkie. “But cannot guarantee she will follow the Empress clone’s commands. Yes.”

“I know you’ve lost faith in her,” sighed Twilight. “As have we all, but a power struggle between me and her will not help. Once Limestone is back, we can work to put her in command. Limestone will make a better leader than me anyway.”

Maud huffed, but nodded. “Very well, we will obey her orders until Limestone’s return. Within reason.”

They did not need Starlight’s friendship as Twilight likely believed, but they needed her information. Starlight knew what had happened to Limestone and might have info that could get her back. But if Starlight felt like Limestone would take over the moment she returned, she wouldn’t share that information.

‘Empress?’ Maud asked over the PCB. ‘What is your status?’

‘Peeved and covered in blood,’ Starlight replied. ‘But it’s mostly not my blood; I’m on my way to you with Kamikaze and Marble.’

POV: Starlight Glimmer

Starlight headed towards the group in front of the burning building, limping as little as possible, but the time it took her to walk there was probably telling, even with a corpse on her back and a limbless pegasus in magical tow. In front of the group was Maud and Pinkie, with Twilight behind them. She wondered if they’d told Twilight what she ordered them to do, but asking would only make any fallout worse.

Perhaps the Pies were not as angry as Starlight imagined. It depended on what details Solar gave them. Did Solar tell about Starlight offering to sell her? Even then, Pinkie and Maud might understand. Or they might have taken Limestone overriding it out-loud as a reason they could no longer trust Starlight.

Starlight floated Kamikaze over to Mercury, then Marble to the Pies as respectfully as possible, laying her on the ground in front of them. Maud and Pinkie hugged their deceased sister and looked at Starlight, their faces not betraying any feeling. It was typical for Maud, but odd for Pinkie.

“Maud, Pinkie,” Starlight said. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t save Limestone, but I don’t think she’s gone either. They sold her and Dinky to Tenwhinney.”

“We are aware,” Maud said as she and Pinkie lay Marble in the wagon nearby. “We have secured this compound, apparently named Finger’s Clutch, and questioned the surviving raiders.”

Despite being usual for Maud in most situations, the lack of emotion for Limestone’s loss worried Starlight. It was like Maud did not say much about it to keep from lashing out. Meanwhile, Pinkie only stared at her occasionally, not making her characteristic blunt comments.. Maybe she was incapable of commenting without exploding.

Were they still loyal to Starlight, or had Twilight ordered them to play it cool?

“Secured and half on fire, I see,” said Starlight, trying her best to lighten their mood and not give away her own. “There’s another four dead up the hill. I let a fifth one escape as he released me in fear. Good work with this, I’m forever in your debt, though I fear it might not work a second time.”

“Thank you,” nodded Twilight, seeming a bit stiff herself. “Though I wish you had considered letting more live.”

“Pinkie searched while Twilight questioned the raiders,” said Pinkie as she walked closer to them again. “There are wagons and food, and some subpar weapons and armor, and bombs. Pinkie also saw chems. But the ones she tried were inferior as well, not even making her puke rainbows! They have lowered the quality over the years. Yes.”

“Pinkie!” Mercury stared at her. “That stuff will kill you!”

“You tried them?” Maud peered at her. “Do not make a habit of that, Pink.” Starlight hoped that explained Pinkie’s subdued tone.

“Chems?” Twilight seemed to not know the term, but Starlight imagined there must be some kind of recreational drugs in her timeline. The idea that there weren’t just seemed more suspicious.

“Buck, I could go for some chems right now… some of that Dash stuff that’s named after me...” Kamikaze started, earning a wide-eyed stare from Twilight, and a warning glare from Starlight. “Um...or not; I’m just torn up inside. Maybe Solar can help give me a quick bucking.” She burped a little more and turned back to let Mercury continue feeding her.

Mercury gave Dash a somewhat motherly glance to scold her for the chem request. She was quite protective of her patient after having made herself Dash’s caretaker.

“We’ll take as many supplies and wagons as we can,” said Starlight. “Chems included, they may be useful as medication, or otherwise valuable, so don’t waste any more getting high. If we arrive at Holder with a gift for the settlement, they’re more likely to aid us in retrieving General Limestone and Dinky.”

“You’re more worried about losing out on money if they take the chems?” Mercury asked.

“Their health is a concern as well, which is why they’re allowed to take them medicinally only,” Starlight backtracked slightly.

“Do we have a plan for retrieval?” Maud asked. “The Midnight trick may not work with a smarter audience.”

“General Limestone and I spoke for as long as we could over the PCB as she went into Tenwhinney,” said Starlight. “She and Dinky are slated for some arena games at a celebration. They should be safe until then, so in that time, we need to convince Holder to help us either trade them back or mount a rescue.”

“How long do we have?” Maud asked.

Starlight hesitated. Maybe it was her imagination, but she couldn’t stop analyzing how the Pies acted, and Twilight seemed subdued as well. Solar and Mercury glanced at the group awkwardly from where Mercury was caring for an injured Crimson with some zebra friend they’d made. Meanwhile, Crimson grinned like an idiot as if expecting bloodshed.

Were they planning on replacing Starlight the second Limestone returned? For a moment, Starlight found her emotions at odds. Did her need for Limestone exceed the danger of losing control? That depended on what allies they found in Holder.

“The connection was cutting out when she gave the time,” lied Starlight. “But I heard the word weeks, which implies at least two. Still, we should get it done as quickly as possible.”

“Speaking of Holder,” Twilight said. “It so happens one slave we rescued is from there. A second captive is the bat we released when we were initially attacked, and he might have useful information in repayment for saving his life.”

Starlight was certain that Twilight brought up sparing his life to throw it into Starlight’s face. She couldn’t let Twilight antagonize her though, nor could she afford to seem like she wasn’t listening to or acknowledging them, so forced a smile in front of gritted teeth.

“Good work, Twilight,” Starlight said. “It seems you were right about sparing him then, this could be the break we need to help Limestone.” She paused and turned to the three bound ponies. “I take it the three ponies I see bound are slavers? Fingers also mentioned having children.”

“Yes,” said Twilight. “They cooperated with information, the others were their captives. There were no children, so they must be kept elsewhere, maybe at their original Stable.”

Starlight looked down at the raiders huddled near Twilight’s hooves, who looked back in fear and confusion. She remembered the stallion from when they passed here on their way to Tenwhinney. He’d groped her in passing and promised to do more to her if she returned here.

“Did they turn on their comrades or just provide information?” Starlight asked. “Do they have more information we need?”

“They provided information,” Twilight said. “I don’t think they have more information, but...”

“I see no reason we shouldn’t execute them,” said Starlight.

“Starlight,” Twilight sighed. “You just complimented me for showing mercy to Gloomy…”

“I understand how it might seem the same,” Starlight explained, taking a serious tone but trying to sound understanding too. “But Gloomy is a soldier fighting for what he believes in, which means he can be turned if he realizes what he believes is wrong. These raiders believe in nothing.”

It wasn’t just revenge. She wanted to see who’s side the Pies would take. Atop that, overriding Twilight in front of their new allies would show them that Starlight was in charge despite how Twilight looked.

“That’s why we need to give them something to believe in,” Twilight insisted. “Turning them over to Holder would show that we value their laws and buy favor, perhaps even collect a reward if there is a bounty.”

“You do have a point,” Starlight took another route, turning to the Pies. “You two are military experts. Do you believe any advantage would come of letting these raiders live?”

She clamped the raiders' muzzles shut with her magic as she spoke, not giving them a say in the matter. She figured that verifying with their ‘military experts’ would show that she was listening to her subordinates, but give her the answer she wanted. Even if Twilight had a point, Starlight wasn’t keen on letting them live knowing what they’d have done to her given the chance.

“We should turn them into Holder for justice,” Maud surprised Starlight with her answer.

Pinkie peered at her sister, not seeming to want to go along with that, but then shrugging. “Sister Superior would probably think in this manner. Pinkie agrees.”

Starlight took a deep breath, calming herself but having to concentrate to not show her mood on her face. Perhaps it was more important to show she was understanding instead of pushing the issue.

“Very well,” Starlight said. “You make good points. I’ll allow it. Take them into one of the remaining buildings so we can talk without them hearing.”

Pinkie and Maud nodded. Each of them hefted one raider onto their back, then Pinkie helped put a second on Maud’s back, a load she seemed to easily hold. They headed towards one of the other structures to place the relieved-looking raiders inside.

“Do the slaves know what you are?” Starlight asked Twilight once the raiders were out of earshot.

“No,” sighed Twilight. “They know I’m not Midnight or a twilicorn, I think, but honestly I’m tired of explaining other timelines.”

“Other what?” asked the zebra, rising from next to Crimson and approaching the group. “You do have a strange aura about you.”

“She’s not wrong,” said Starlight. “Explaining it further will make less sense, so let’s leave the answer at that.” She faced the zebra. “I believe introductions are in order, however. I’m Starlight Glimmer, rightful heir to the Equestrian throne. May I have your name and the name of your comrades, sir?”

“Xander,” the zebra said. “The earth pony is Dyo of Holder and the fanged one is Gloomy Shade, who we are not associated with.” He seemed keen on Starlight understanding that.

“Greetings,” Starlight said to the other two. “I’ll give you time to do your work while I put out this fire and safely cremate some of these gore decorations they seem so fond of.” She also needed to bring her emotions under control and flinging around magic might help.

POV: Twilight

Twilight felt better after the conversation with Starlight, who surprised her by being reasonable enough to take a vote. Perhaps she would learn from her mistakes and Twilight could still get through to her. That would definitely be the best result.

Mercury and Xander stabilized the wounded, at which point they all sat down for a meal. They had plenty of food now that the raider warehouse was there, though Twilight wondered if she was eating stolen food. The Pies left food with the captives before joining as well.

Gloomy and Kamikaze sat together, Gloomy much calmer around Twilight now that he knew what she was. They were being fed by Mercury and holding an impromptu burping contest that Kami appeared to be winning. It reminded her of Applejack and Rainbow’s childish competitions, as well as Spike’s constant burping of letters. Of course, almost everything reminded her of Spike…

Unfortunately, they’d have to go even longer without washing up. The camp had an outhouse, but the wash basin could only be filled with a water pump that registered as more radioactive than they were comfortable with. It wasn’t like they could smell any worse than this place, though.

“So, um,” asked Dyo after eyeing Starlight for a moment over the blanket they’d laid out to eat on. “You’re Starlight Glimmer? Like Daybreaker’s protégé Starlight? Do you have a crystal too?”

“I do,” Starlight said. She pulled her mane upwards and turned to show him.

“This was on my mind as well,” said Xander, who had spent a lot of time looking thoughtful. “Do not take offense, but I would like to have a closer look at one of your gems. All of them, in fact.”

“Knock yourself out,” Starlight smiled, but Twilight saw her soul gem glow as if Starlight was holding it with her magic. Twilight supposed she didn’t want to risk it getting yanked out and potentially ending up with a third her running around out here.

“I don’t actually have one,” Twilight smiled politely when Xander looked at her as well. “Unlike them, I’m not who I look like. Can you really tell by looking though?”

“I can,” Xander said. “Soul crystals are partly a product of zebra crystal magic, and I am quite skilled at reading their auras.”

“So, you’re from Holder?” Twilight turned to Dyo as Xander examined Starlight’s gem.

“Right, I’m Dyo Pie,” said Dyo. “My sister Kyo Pie is the rock sovereign in Holder.”

He seemed reluctant to speak. Dyo watched Xander as he moved from Starlight to look at Kamikaze’s gem, perhaps waiting for a verdict. As soon as he said his full name though, the Pies seemed much more interested in him.

“You are a Pie?” Maud paused mid-bite and put down her food. “Are you my descendant?”

“Um, yeah,” Dyo rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “Something-great grandson.”

Without further word, both Maud and Pinkie moved their plates so they could sit on either side of Dyo, then both hugged him in the middle. He rolled his eyes back as if getting touched by them at once was an orgasmic experience, but also squeaked when they squeezed him too tight. It seemed their strength didn’t make it all the way down the line to him.

“My brother’s name was Dyo,” Crimson commented. “But I killed him. Well… my sister killed him because I told her to.” She added when Twilight stared at her. “I asked her nicely!”

“Did you kill her?” Dyo squeaked, still getting squeezed. He had an idea of what she was about already.

“Not immediately,” scoffed Crimson. “I’m no monster.”

“Crimson has changed a lot since then,” Twilight explained, even if it was perhaps more hope than reality.

Dyo nodded, but eyed Crimson warily all the same. It was no doubt hard to believe the pony that had wanted to burn him to death on sight was ‘getting better’.

“Me and you will get along great, I can tell,” Crimson said to Dyo, then turned to Starlight. “By the way, were you limping? Because I know what causes that kind of li-”

Starlight squeezed Crimson's muzzle shut with her magic, glaring at her. Twilight hadn’t noticed herself, but felt a little sick when she put together the implication. She really hoped not. Starlight continued to hold the muzzle as she changed the subject.

“So you’re one of Midnight’s?” Starlight asked Gloomy. Gloomy had finished eating, but still sat with Kamikaze and Mercury. Kamikaze clearly needed to eat up after her time as a captive, with Mercury still telekinetically feeding her. Twilight would help her, but Mercury seemed to take a lot of pride in her duties, not unlike Spike did with Twilight.

“I was,” said Gloomy. “A lot happened in the last week, but I was told to be careful who I talk about it in front of and honestly it makes as little sense to me as you do.”

“Who told you to be careful?” asked Twilight curiously.

“A faction of bat ponies operating outside of Midnight’s control,” said Gloomy. “I was recruited by a sprite-bot of all things, and probably would have refused if not for the… you know I really think I shouldn’t say more for now.”

“Rebels?” asked Twilight.

“Then the rebel will be pleased to know,” said Pinkie. “That we have successfully crippled Midnight’s cloning facility. Yes.”

“What?!” Gloomy spit his next bite of food out in surprise. “No, tell me you didn’t!”

“What’s the problem?” asked Starlight. “If you really are against her now…”

“That’s the end game, yes,” Gloomy growled. “But destroying only her would put Trinity in control! This group has kept them at even odds for years so that neither comes out on top. Taking out either without the other makes things worse!”

“Because both are less dangerous when using up one another’s resources,” Maud finished for him. “And when they are destroying one another, they are not destroying anyone else. This is why General Limestone opposed the assault.”

Starlight grumbled for an instant before twisting her face back into its previous good-natured smile, however inappropriate a smile was for this conversation.

“Trinity was at the advantage already,” said Gloomy. “They gave me information on an upcoming offensive to take back to ensure I wasn’t punished too harshly for my delay, but then raiders captured me. But that won’t help if you destroyed the pool! What were you thinking?”

“Thinking was not involved,” Pinkie said. “Yes.”

“It’s worse than that,” Gloomy said. “According to my recruiters, Trinity may have found a way to make super-mutants from scratch without pony subjects, which means she’s already about to have a numbers advantage. The main reason Midnight kept her at bay was because making the divine likenesses was easier than Trinity making super-mutants. We’ve always had a numbers advantage, and believe me we need one against those things.”

“Enough!” Starlight growled.

“Gloomy,” Twilight said, trying to diffuse the tension. “Please understand, we couldn’t have known. We’ve been… out of the loop.”

Starlight face-hoofed as if Twilight wasn’t the one she’d like to have defending her, but Twilight wanted to show she wasn’t an enemy.

“They are genuine,” Xander thankfully returned them to the previous subject after finishing with the Pies as well. “Changelings do not have the ability to duplicate such components on their forms,not with an intact aura at least. Though I am surprised to find General Kamikaze with you. Is she your prisoner?”

“We reached an agreement,” Starlight said, not explaining, and for that Twilight didn’t blame her.

“NLR bastards brainwashed me into betraying Equestria.” Kamikaze said with a large belch between being fed.

Twilight pitied Kamikaze more than ever. She knew that deep down, Rainbow wasn’t that different in this timeline, and nothing could be worse to her than forced disloyalty.

“You didn’t check my soul crystal,” complained Crimson.

“And you are?” Xander narrowed his eyes.

“Tsk, you’re just angry because I tried to burn you to death,” said Crimson. “I’m okay, by the way, Empress. I’ve only suffered a few fractures since we last met.”

“That’s Crimson Prose, Minister of News,” said Starlight. “It’s easy enough to figure out how you got those. I’m sure Maud will fill me in on why she had to do it.”

“You’re all real?” Dyo asked dreamily.

“Can we count on Holder’s support?” Starlight asked.

“Absolutely!” Dyo nodded, though looked unsure. “But we’re at a truce with Midnight. If she knows you’re the one that took out her facility… you’re not safe in Holder.”

“Any input on that, Gloomy?” Twilight turned to Gloomy, who turned suddenly away as if he’d been staring at her.

“She won’t come for you for a while, not if she finds out about Trinity’s planned attack,” said Gloomy. “She’ll focus on that, then come after you when it’s over… if she can.”

“How quickly can we get the information to her?” Twilight asked. This wasn’t just important for the reasons Gloomy said. It could be a hoofhold into getting Midnight to behave more reasonably.

“We could do it now,” Gloomy said. “I see you have communicators.”

That was a problem. Even if Midnight was low on resources, she’d still come for them if they advertised their presence with a trackable signal. They had to be careful.

“What if Starlight told Midnight about the attack?” asked Twilight. “I’m not saying we should walk up and knock, but if Starlight contacted Midnight and offered valuable information…”

“I don’t think she’d believe me after I blew up her pool,” scoffed Starlight, caught off guard with the suggestion.

“But you didn’t blow it up,” pointed out Twilight. “The surveillance would have only seen me go to the Mirror Pool cavern. Everypony else was only seen rescuing Mercury and Crimson before leaving.”

“But you helped with that rescue,” said Maud.

“But what if you were deceived?” asked Twilight. “Think about it. What if you were escaping, but I went rogue and attacked? You captured me, questioned me until I gave you information, but then I escaped. Wouldn’t that be a convincing way to find out about Trinity’s planned attack?”

“One of Trinity’s experiments that replaced our comrade,” mused Starlight. “It could work, since that is something Trinity might do… but this would require that Twilight not be seen with us again.”

Twilight’s heart sank slightly as Starlight looked at her. She wasn’t sure if Starlight was making a real point or looking for a way to rid herself of Twilight. Still, Twilight was the one that volunteered, and if being the enemy would save lives in the long run, she had to.

“Wait, that isn’t needed,” Dyo said.

Starlight clenched her teeth, then returned to her smile. Twilight was getting better at noticing those little idiosyncrasies that gave away Starlight’s thoughts.

“My sister Kyo uses a shifting potion at her brothel,” said Dyo. “The prostitutes use them to be more accommodating. Just make sure she’s covered until we get her to the brothel to quaff a potion to change appearance.”

“Whatever we do,” said Gloomy. “We have to get this information to Midnight soon.”

“I assume you’ll be staying here then to go back to her?” asked Starlight.

Gloomy fell silent for a few moments, rubbing his forehead.

“To be honest… I don’t know,” he sighed. “I’ve been delayed long enough now, and have made so many mistakes, that I don’t know what will happen to me if I go back. You providing the info probably is best, and will mean more anyway if you do it on your own.”

“You could go with me to Holder if you liked,” offered Twilight. She had the impression that he wanted to talk to her about something, perhaps without Starlight around. If he’d been in contact with Watcher, that thing could be important.

“I have no problem with that,” said Starlight. “Honestly, if you represent rebels, I’d like to keep contact with them.”

“I feel like I’m being a coward,” sighed Gloomy. “But I don’t have family left for her to punish if I don’t come back, either. I’ll head back with your Midnight.”

“Please, call me Twilight,” sighed Twilight.

“Right,” Gloomy rubbed his forehead with a wing. “Sorry.”

“You should think of a new name,” suggested Starlight. “We can’t call you Twilight or Midnight in front of other ponies anymore.”

“Right,” Twilight sighed again. “Um, call me Clover.”

“I wonder what equipment they have in Holder,” Solar pondered. “Stable 11 might not have the cool stuff 27 did, but still…”

Solar spent most of her time during the meal edging towards Xander, who continually edged away. Xander was listening to the conversation, but mostly busy between bites. Ever since he found out they had Zecora’s journal, he’d asked to see it and was feverishly copying down recipes that caught his eye.

Mercury sat with Xander, asking him questions about some alchemical notations in the journal that she didn’t understand. It seemed most were alternatives to things she knew, but Xander seemed annoyed with the questions. He allowed her to continue asking only when she offered to help him with the copying to get more done, and very begrudgingly listened to some of her advice on what ingredients could substitute for rare ones. The realization that Mercury actually knew her stuff was probably more annoying to the prideful zebra than anything else.

“I guess I should head back with them too,” Kamikaze said. “Maybe Solar could start trying to hammer those wings onto me.”

“No,” said Starlight. “She’ll have found out you’re with us if she talked to Stable 27. If you’re not present, she’ll be upset.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” sighed Kamikaze.

“Sorry,” said Starlight. “But you can tell her you didn’t want to go back at first because her clone attacked you and did this, and you thought she must hate you now. We have reason to believe it wasn’t able to contact her with info before being killed, so Midnight would trust your word for exactly what happened. A guilt trip may work even better on the real one.”

“Aren’t I supposed to be loyalty now?” asked Kamikaze. “This seems sorta underhooved.” It seemed Twilight’s words had affected Kami, as did the realization that the NLR tricked her.

“Kamikaze,” Starlight said. “Please see reason. Besides, if she could program you, perhaps she could repair you.”

“I don’t like it either,” said Twilight. “But at the same time, maybe if you played things right, you could move her way of thinking more in our direction. A little of her current aggression might be from being distraught at your loss.”

“Fine,” sighed Kamikaze.

“I guess you’ll ask me to stay too,” said Crimson. “But I’d rather go ahead to Holder to see if Tranquil made it.”

“No,” said Starlight. “We need you here to confirm our story, and you’re not worming your way out of this either way.”

“I’ll do my best to find Tranquil there, Crimson,” said Twilight. “I promise.”

“Is Dyo staying to represent Holder?” said Gloomy. “Will his sister accept us when we arrive without him?”

“Pinkie or Maud can go with us,” said Twilight. “From the sound of it, everyone in Holder would trust them. Just tell Midnight you sent them ahead to tell Kyo what is happening; I doubt she’d be particularly interested in them.”

“Pinkie accepts this idea,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

“This is adequate,” agreed Maud. “I am eager to find assistance to recover our sister.”

Starlight nodded, though looked uneasy. Twilight hoped she didn’t misinterpret their choice to go with Twilight, or Twilight suggesting it.

“I will go with them as well,” said Xander. “I have no desire to meet the Nightmare Child muzzle-to-muzzle, but pray that your eventual betrayal of her succeeds, shoddy as you are.”

“I suppose they’ll let you in if you arrive with that group,” Dyo said. “Just… don’t cause any issues please.”

Twilight was about to ask what that meant when Starlight cut her off.

“Then it’s settled,” said Starlight. “Twil… Clover, the Pies, Gloomy, and Xander head to Holder. Take several wagons full of supplies to give them when you get there. The rest of us contact Midnight and offer to meet her here.”

Twilight was reluctant for a moment. She wondered if Starlight might turn her in, though perhaps the Pies being with Twilight would ensure she didn’t. Starlight would definitely not want to anger them further.

“Good,” said Starlight. “Gloomy can give me the relevant data while the others pack up the wagons. Actually, since Xander brought up changelings, let me ask you this… do you know how Midnight detected and captured the changelings they had imprisoned?”

As Pinkie and Maud left to start packing, Twilight lingered to see where Starlight’s question led.

“Ah,” Gloomy nodded weakly. “On accident, actually. On the way back from a supply raid in Trinity’s territory, we came across a group of half-a-dozen zebras. She… isn’t fond of them, and when one had the nerve to mouth off to her, she decided to blast them with Hera’s Scorn, intending to leave them to kill each other.”

“Isn’t that the stuff used to assassinate Daybreaker?” Starlight quirked an eyebrow. “Still in use then, that’s not good.”

Twilight shuddered at the thought. She was still haunted by the memory that they saw through Marble’s eyes.

“Yes, it is,” signed Gloomy. “It used to be effective against super-mutants, until Trinity found a way to inoculate them, and Midnight still keeps some on her. It really messes up someone’s head, and for a changeling, that makes them revert and interrupts the connection to their hive. We found that out because two of the zebras were changelings in disguise, and we got them out of Trinity’s territory to Midnight Castle before she could attempt to stop it. It wasn’t long before Midnight’s demented doctors found and cut out the part of their brain that they believed connected them.”

“It is a pity then that Scorn produces such intense effects,” said Xander. “Else it could be used on restrained ponies to check if they are changelings. In fact, I think I spotted a box of Scorn in the raider storage when I was first brought here.”

“Maybe we should keep it, just in case,” Starlight pondered.

“We can’t possibly do that!” Twilight hadn’t wanted to insert herself into the conversation, but couldn’t stand by if Starlight might use something like that.

“To study and see if the effects can be lessened,” Crimson did her job of trying to make Starlight sound better, even if she could barely speak in her current condition.

“Of course,” nodded Starlight. “Mercury, Xander, you’re both alchemists, do you think that can be done?”

“I’d have to see,” said Mercury. “I don’t think it could be altered, but if we could find a sedative that didn’t react to it, we could just keep the target asleep until it wore off.”

“Altering it would be impossible,” Xander agreed. “And if I say it is impossible, you know it is. As for the sedative idea, it has merit, despite the difficulty of finding a compound that didn’t combine into something different.”

“The two of you split the box between you,” nodded Starlight. “Only test it on living creatures if you are absolutely sure you have come up with a solution though. And make sure they’re… willing test subjects.”

Starlight sounded annoyed that she was forced to append the last bit, and Twilight wondered if she would have if not in front of some who would insist.

“Very well,” said Xander. “But for now, I’m going to spend this time attempting to duplicate a recipe I found in Zecora’s journal. I think it might turn out to be a more useful solution, but I will take the Scorn too in case it doesn’t work.”

“Her detection gel?” asked Twilight, recognizing the idea.

“May I assist?” asked Mercury.

“No,” Xander replied flatly to Mercury. “A pony wouldn’t understand such a complicated zebra concoction.”

Twilight blinked at the sudden elitism, but nodded as he walked off. She pushed down her curiosity since she knew she needed to help get other things ready.

As for the plan in general: It was a big chance, but one that could work.

29. Holder

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
San Palomino Desert, Southwestern Equestria

They now had two covered wagons full of supplies to give to Holder, confiscated from the raider camp. They kept two devices that Starlight explained were AIEs, the same type of device that disabled her magic when the raiders took them. They were a very rare type of explosive outside of Unicornia, so she had Pinkie keep them.

At least the road was significantly less bumpy. They also had a great many bottle caps from the camp. Twilight was incredulous when told bottle caps were currency, but all three of their new friends confirmed this.

Pinkie and Maud pulled the wagons. The raider captives were in one wagon securely bound and watched by Xander, while Twilight and Gloomy were in another. Xander was putting the finishing touches on the concoction he’d started earlier in his wagon, but still wouldn’t let anyone help or make it in the same wagon with Gloomy. He’d spent most of the time while they were packing the wagons attempting to find substitute ingredients for it.

Twilight would have rather been helping with negotiations back at the raider camp, but knew that was impossible. Maybe one day she could meet Midnight muzzle-to-muzzle and come to terms, but that was a long way off.

She had her stable suit and blinder barding packed. Instead, she wore even more sweaty leather armor they’d taken from the raider camp, one that hid her wings so long as she had on saddlebags. She had a gas mask she was to put on as well to hide her face, with a horn slot to show everyone the broken horn. The idea was to say she was a raider victim, and the broken horn would help sell it.

Though she wished that she wasn’t resting in the cart with the drugs. They said some had medical purposes, but as Twilight sat amidst boxes of things like ‘psycho’, ‘dash’, and ‘touch’, she doubted that.

But the medical supplies were in this cart too, so it was where Gloomy needed to be. He was healing fast thanks to Xander’s efforts, but it was still best to have them close. Perhaps it would have made more sense for Xander to sit with him, if only he would. The zebra had a religious dislike for Nightmare and Midnight which also transferred to bat-kind in general.

Twilight hadn’t met many bat ponies; most of Luna’s Night Guard only looked like bat ponies due to enchanted armor, since the real ones didn’t like living in big bright cities. She wasn’t sure what to discuss, since talking about his homeland might be painful if it were overrun or destroyed, and that’s most of what she’d read about them.

Gloomy still showed instinctual fear of Twilight. He looked at her nervously, sprawled on his back since that hurt the least with his injuries. He had his NLR armor again, since that was the least suspicious thing he could wear, but didn’t have it on as he rested his injuries. He did, however, have the necklace that he had taken from his dead comrade, Blinding, which made Twilight feel a pang of guilt.

“I would give you back that memory sphere,” Twilight tried to start a conversation. “But I’m afraid that was left with some of our supplies when we abandoned the old wagon at Everfree.”

“That’s… too bad,” Gloomy looked away. “I have no desire to look back at that part of my life, but at the same time… there were some memories with Blinding I might want to see again.”

“Sorry,” said Twilight. “I hope I’m not making you nervous being here.”

“I know you’re not like her,” said Gloomy. “I’ve been close to her and you don’t feel the same. Doesn’t keep it from being creepy, but I'll get used to it. Believe it or not, you’re not the most nonsensical new friend I’ve made recently.”

“It’s fine,” said Twilight. “Regardless, we shouldn’t miss a chance to get to know each other better. Who is your other nonsensical friend?”

Gloomy sighed, “Honestly not sure of how much I can say. I wasn’t fully briefed on everything, so I'm not sure how to interact with you.”

“Well, then do you want to ask me questions?” asked Twilight. Maybe she could get him to open up that way.

“I heard a lot about you at the camp from your friends,” said Gloomy. “Might not have believed it if I hadn’t seen you arrive myself. You’re definitely something new, so maybe you can help. Watcher certainly thought so. I really need to contact her again, but she’s hit or miss with taking control of those sprite-bots.”

“Can you use my pipbuck to contact the other base?” asked Twilight. She noted that he knew Watcher’s gender, which she hadn’t been sure of, but didn’t draw attention to it.

“No,” said Gloomy. “Those things record transmissions and encryption keys. Even if I trusted you, I couldn’t take that chance because your pipbuck may network with others.”

“I understand,” nodded Twilight.

As he sprawled out there, Twilight found her eyes looking him over more than she should. She told herself she was examining a body structure she didn’t see often from scientific curiosity, and tried to prevent her mind from wandering into lewd territory. He had a bit of a filly-ish figure and head structure, so Twilight wondered if he’d transitioned to male; she wouldn’t bring that up unless he did. There was something else though that she would comment on.

“Your cutie mark,” said Twilight. She hadn’t gotten a close look at it before. “It’s a shield covering… what’s that?”

“What?” asked Gloomy. “Oh right. It’s a shield over Midnight’s cutie mark. I’m not proud of it, but it should divert suspicion at least so no one in Holder will think to turn me over to Midnight.”

But it wasn’t Midnight’s cutie mark; it was Twilight’s. It had the same five stars around it in the same positions, which Midnight’s didn’t have. But how could that be? She wasn’t even from the same timeline. Could destiny transcend timelines like that?

Probably not. It seemed impossible for something like that to account for someone that might or might not show up, and plenty of ponies ended up with the same or similar cutie marks. She decided not to speak further on it, lest Gloomy get the impression she would grasp anything to gain his trust.

“That’s nothing wrong with your mark,” said Twilight. “Maybe it symbolizes you protecting others from Midnight, rather than the other way around.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Gloomy peered at his mark, then smiled as if he felt better. “Thanks.”

“Whatever your new friends do,” says Twilight. “I realize it’s very important. So even if you can’t introduce me, let me know if I can do anything on the outside to help, okay?”

“Sure,” Gloomy nodded, though he likely wouldn’t know that himself as of yet.

Gloomy blushed and looked away from her. It seemed an odd thing to do, so she hoped he didn’t think she was trying to flirt with him. Or maybe she was and didn’t realize it; she was still repressed.

“You should keep an eye on your new friend,” a mechanical voice from the other end of the wagon made them jump.

Twilight calmed when she saw it was only a sprite-bot that had hovered in through the open back of the wagon. It was good timing.

“Hello Watcher,” said Twilight, thankful to have a source of potential new information here, but also confused. “Why should I keep an eye on Gloomy? You recruited him as well.”

“What?” Gloomy asked. “Have I done something wrong?” Gloomy seemed strangely devastated that Watcher expressed disappointment in him, like a foal whose mother slapped them.

“Forgive me,” Watcher said. “I did not mean you, Gloomy Shade. Even if I recruited you to remain on friendly terms with the Paradox, I have no reason to believe you to be disloyal. I refer to the one you were both with before. Dyo.”

“You two already knew each other?” Gloomy looked back and forth from Twilight to Watcher.

“Why should we watch him?” asked Twilight.

“Dyo claims he will assist in the situation with Tenwhinney,” Watcher says. “Yet he dreams of a home there. He would take extreme action for a place at that tower, even betraying his home and beliefs. Do not trust him to assist in your rescue.”

“How would you know?” asked Twilight. “Wait… dreams? Is it you? This is how you’re contacting me now?”

If Gloomy realized too, it explained why he was so devastated when he thought he’d disappointed her. It also explained why he’d turn on Midnight so easily, especially if Luna proved her identity by touching his dreams as well.

“Watching a dream takes almost no energy,” Watcher confirmed Twilight’s suspicion. “But interacting with the dreamer takes quite a bit. I spent a lot of energy in my initial contacts with you, Paradox, so you would believe who I am, but now we must speak this way.”

“You trust this mare?” asked Gloomy.

“I do,” said Watcher. “You will help her, so long as she swears to not reveal my identity to her friends. They may distrust my advice at a critical time if they know who I am.”

“As you command, Princess,” Gloomy bowed his head.

“I understand, Princess,” nodded Twilight. “You can count on me.”

Gloomy smiled, perhaps happy that Twilight referred to Luna by title as well.

“I am pleased I caught the two of you alone to speak,” Watcher continued. “And that I found you unharmed, Gloomy. We worried when you did not make your contact on time.” Watcher turned to Twilight. “I tire, but we shall speak more, I am sure. I have found out most of what I need to know now from observing your friends at the raider camp.”

The voice clicked off, and the crystal anthem played as the sprite-bot buzzed away. It was a brief contact, but it would ensure that Gloomy would entrust her with more information. Twilight wanted to ask how Luna was controlling the bot at all, apparently in a fashion that used less energy than dream-walking. She didn’t ask though, because she knew it’d be unwise of Luna to tell anyone and expose a potential weakness.

Besides, Twilight wanted clarification on something else that made little sense to her.

“Gloomy?” asked Twilight. “Isn’t Midnight part of the same group that Luna was? Are they opposed now?”

“Nightmare Moon’s former student is no longer in her favor,” said Gloomy. “She can do nothing about it from where she is, so trusts others. She can’t reveal her presence to bats at large, because they would abandon Midnight en masse, which would give Trinity too much of an upper hoof. Not even most in Statera know Watcher’s true identity, viewing her as a successor rather than Nightmare Moon herself.”

“Statera?” Twilight asked. “Ah, the name of your new friends. She believed you were trustworthy enough to reveal it to, that’s quite a compliment.”

“I appreciate the thought,” chucked Gloomy, blushing. “But I think it was more that I refused to trust her enough to join until she told me that, and she wanted to be on your good side by not harming the one you released. Thanks again for that… but you’re the one that should be taking her actions as a compliment.”

“Eh…” Twilight blushed as well then, but turned the conversation back away from herself. “Do any of them know where she is though?”

“They don’t,” sighed Gloomy. “She won’t tell them for fear they’d harm themselves in an attempt to save her. Apparently, she is gathering data and will inform us when she has a plan that will not risk too many of our lives.”

Twilight smiled. It sounded like this ‘Nightmare Moon’ was closer to her Luna than to her Nightmare Moon. She looked forward to asking more now that he would open up to her, but another arrived, cutting off further conversation.

“We’re nearing the gate,” Xander said as he stepped into the back of the wagon. “However, I wished to speak with the two of you before we arrived. I have already spoken to the Pies, and they felt it prudent to inform both of you.”

She got the impression that Xander didn’t want to inform them, as he’d made it clear that he was only doing so at the Pies’ request. He must have trusted them since he could absolutely verify that they were not changelings through their soul crystals; Twilight wondered if he had a particular reason for being paranoid.

“Certainly,” Twilight nodded, though regretted ending her current conversation. She nodded to Gloomy. “We’ll talk later?”

“Right,” sighed Gloomy, then whispered. “I trust you, but can’t give others details.”

Xander moved to sit next to them, but then opened his saddlebags. He pulled out a jar full of a green slimy substance that Twilight immediately recognized. So that was what he had been making.

“This may sound odd,” said Xander. “But before I tell you this, I’d like you to…”

“Rub that on our faces?” Twilight nodded. “Yes, I recognize it from another timeline I was briefly trapped in. Zecora used it to tell if ponies were changelings.” She looked at Gloomy, who had raised one eyebrow in confusion. “Go ahead and let him.” Twilight found it interesting that her book had the substance in it, since to Twilight’s knowledge, this Zecora hadn’t known about changelings. It must have been a general potion to find the hidden or unnatural.

“Indeed it is,” Xander tilted his head, looking momentarily confused but then nodding. ”Ah, you were informed, that explains why you understand.” His tone said that he didn’t think they’d be smart enough to have figured it out without being told. It was the same pretentious mentality he had at the raider camp.

He popped open the jar, dipping a hoof into the substance and starting on Gloomy’s face. Gloomy tensed up and let him, but the substance seemed to have no reaction, so Xander moved to Twilight next.

Twilight was worried that she might glow when it was applied on her, as she did with Zecora’s substance due to her being from another timeline. She wasn’t sure how Xander might react to that. As Xander applied it however, she did not, so she wondered how many substitutions he’d had to make.

Xander seemed satisfied, so he must have been confident that it would work.

“I did not mention this before, because Dyo was present,” Xander said as they toweled themselves off. “I suspect that Trinity may have already infiltrated the settlement. I am uncertain if he and his sister Kyo are changelings, but it would make sense since they refuse to heed my warnings.”

“What makes you think that?” Twilight asked. It was a threat she definitely took seriously.

“I admit, it is the reason I am not entirely welcome in Holder,” Xander said. “I have made a number of changeling accusations, but the leadership refuses to take them seriously. Eventually I was banished outright, though I think I’ll be allowed in with my present company. I’m hoping now that I have this recipe, I can prove my suspicions.”

“This far into Midnight’s territory?” asked Gloomy. “I don’t think the Trinity Hive has the range.”

“Perhaps,” Xander said. ”But do we really have any way to know what her range is? Trinity would be wise to leak intelligence indicating it is lower than it is, and I am concerned they may attempt to replace you once we arrive.”

“Why me?” Gloomy blinked.

“Because Midnight would not normally allow her soldiers to visit Holder alone,” Xander said. “They would jump at the chance to get a spy into the Nightmare Child’s ranks, and would have no reason to suspect you are no longer faithful. Careful of the brothel too. While it perhaps seems, ‘too obvious’ for a changeling to be hiding there, it would be a convenient way to get ponies alone to be replaced if one of them was.”

“Is Trinity’s the only Hive in the wasteland?” Twilight asked. “Chrysalis was never captured, correct? And there is a chance she might still be alive.”

“From what I know of her, that would not be better if it were the case,” Xander said. “Perhaps it would be worse.”

“Right,” sighed Twilight. “We’ll play coy and do a little investigating.”

The conversation was cut off again as the wagons stopped.

“I believe we are here,” said Xander, shutting the jar he had used and passing it over to Twilight. “Good luck.”

Twilight felt a little less depressed after talking to Gloomy, but now it was back. As Xander exited the back of the wagon, and Gloomy put the jar of detection goo in his saddlebag, Twilight put her gas mask on, making sure none of her mane showed. Gloomy slipped on his NLR armor, and Twilight flattened her wings as much as she could within her leather armor.

The Holder gate guards would want to see all of them before letting them in, so the two exited the wagon and headed towards the front. Twilight looked around, though she couldn’t see most of the settlement.

There was a large wall in front, about thirty hoofsteps high. It was covered with thick steel sheeting from surrounding ruins, though the base was solid stone. It was much better made than Twilight would expect from a post-apocalyptic settlement, but then again the rock farm probably had no shortage of stone workers. In front was a large gate, big enough for one wagon at a time. The gate could roll upwards to open, but was currently closed.

The sky above was clearer than Canterlot had been. The result was that the ground was about the same temperature even though they didn’t get as much sunlight here. Twilight could imagine how cold it got further south. Much of the world was likely uninhabitable now.

One thing that drew Twilight’s eye was a poster plastered on one side of the door. It was an advertisement that read in big letters at the top ‘The Plots Up Brothel: Anyone you want!’. Covering the rest of the poster were images of various ponies, including ‘historical’ figures that Twilight recognized like Pinkie and Daybreaker.

At the bottom it read:

Offering real life sensual encounters with anyone your heart desires! Including historical figures long gone, or just that guy that won’t go out with you. No matter what the request, thanks to a revolutionary shifting potion by our resident mage Olivia, you can now experience a truly eye-opening experience you won’t soon forget!’

Well that was… interesting. Twilight assumed that was the potion they’d give her to hide what she looked like later, and she wondered if they’d part with the recipe. A potion they could use regularly long-term without causing unpleasant side effects seemed unlikely, but then again they’d had plenty of time to figure it out by now.

As Twilight looked about, a male griffon wearing black-trimmed Stable 11 security barding landed at the gate to meet them. The barding was much the same as Stable 27 barding save for the different number. He wore a pipbuck with an attached electronic pad and carried what looked like a crystal-powered energy pistol. While it didn’t look powerful, it didn’t look old or cobbled together either, so perhaps the gem mines allowed them to manufacture new ones.

He tensed fearfully as his eyes met Gloomy’s, then sighed annoyedly when he saw Xander.

“Didn’t expect you,” said the griffon, but didn’t turn Xander away outright, instead glancing at the others. “You made friends?”

“Greetings, Ginger,” said Xander. “And yes. I also acquired extra supplies: Provisions, weapons, medicine, chems, three raider prisoners, and rescued slaves. The supplies are a gift to the city from my new friends.”

Xander motioned to the Pies though Ginger’s eyes stayed focused on Gloomy.

“This bat has injuries that may be infected,” Xander explained. “I intend to bring him to the hospital.”

“Right,” said Ginger. “I’m not about to risk causing the death of one of Midnight’s favored, but if you want to be allowed to stay, I suggest you don’t cause any grief.”

Ginger produced an electronic tablet, connected to his pipbuck with a cable, and passed it to Xander as if he’d know what to do. Xander took a metal quill on one side of the tablet and wrote, signing them in. The griffon didn’t pay much attention to the others, seeming to only want to finish. Perhaps he wasn’t putting much effort into his duty, or maybe he wanted to escape Gloomy lest the bat find a reason to report him to Midnight for some trivial misdeed.

When Xander finished, Ginger flew off with the tablet. He flew to the top of the wall, disappearing for a few minutes. Twilight wondered if he would notice the names Maud and Pinkie Pie in the list or if he was too preoccupied with Gloomy’s presence. Or maybe if they were famous, it wasn’t unheard of for ponies to name their foals after them. Either way, it was best they get inside before making a ruckus so Twilight could more easily keep attention off herself.

“He is surprised I saved a Midnight guard,” said Xander. “He knows my kind despise the Nightmare, so may suspect I am being coerced. He’ll probably talk to his superiors to warn them.”

“You hate us that much?” asked Gloomy and sighed.

“You show impressive character by resisting the Nightmare’s influence,” Xander said. “But can you blame others for judging you given the things you have no doubt done?”

Gloomy eyed Xander, and Twilight wondered how Xander would react to finding out that Gloomy worked for the Nightmare now rather than the ‘Nightmare Child’. That would be hard to explain.

Finally, the metal door opened with an unpleasant grinding noise. Twilight covered her ears from the screech of rusty metal gears.

On the inside, buildings lined the sides of the main road, much like Appleloosa in Twilight’s time. Except, of course, that everything was constructed from stone or brick. They were quality-built, looking as if they ranged in age from years to centuries old.

“Much less of a shantytown than most settlements,” commented Gloomy, as if he hadn’t been here before.

“Pinkie is offended that this surprises the fanged one! Pie family engineering could make toilet paper from rocks! Yes! Pinkie...may need such!” Pinkie peered around as she started to trot a bit awkwardly.

“Right, I guess it makes sense they’d be good with rocks,” Gloomy chuckled nervously.

There were homes, businesses, and market stalls with hoof-painted signs, though one stuck out unnervingly. The sign on the building said ‘Mortuary’, with a rather large sign next to the door that read ‘All corpses will be processed for meat and other resources, with waste cremated. Caps will be returned based on fair market prices, deducting for labor costs. The head may be buried (5 caps) or preserved (2 caps) instead of cremated.’ Through the window, she briefly spied a griffon butchering meat from a deceased pony, then quickly turned her head. She came to the realization that Stable 11 likely couldn’t provide enough food for the entire city, and cannibalism might be a thing in a world with so little means of food production. Suddenly the 200-year-old rations seemed a lot tastier.

Twilight was unnerved even more to see a guillotine on a platform next to the Mortuary...with a sobbing pony in it, though said pony was dressed in raider-like armor. A bored-looking dragon ghoul acting as executioner had just finished reading a list of charges, even though no ponies were watching, Twilight had to assume this was fairly routine here, making her shiver.

“Stop whining,” the dragon grumbled at the soon-to-be-executed. “If you were hungry, you should have begged in the market instead of attacking a food caravan.”

“Pinkie will pull the lever!” Pinkie shouted from behind Twilight, before rushing over to the guard acting as executioner.

Twilight was sure Pinkie was about to cause a scene, but to her shock, the guard seemed unfazed as he replied “Sure have a blast. Nice Pinkie cosplay by the way… fucking loon.”

Twilight winced as Pinkie eagerly pulled and the blade came down, but became utterly sick to her stomach on seeing Pinkie taunt the dying head by shaking her rear against its snout and saying “Holder rules, raiders drool!”, while the guard chuckled. Thankfully, Pinkie’s bladder prevented her from doing it for very long. The moment the guard began to gather the two pieces of pony to take to the mortuary, Twilight decided it best to catch up with the rest of the group and try and look at things further away.

Large rock fields visible behind the buildings on one side appeared to still be in operation. Twilight’s understanding of rock farming was that they used ‘earth pony magic’ to replenish the fields, so they’d never run out of rocks and gems if tended correctly.

“Does Midnight get gems from here?” Twilight asked curiously. “None of the bats we fought had energy weapons.”

“Yeah, they’re required to give her half of their yield,” Gloomy confirmed. “Most of the crystals go into explosives and increasing ballistic yield on conventional firearms, since laser weapons aren’t effective on many of Trinity's forces.”

“Stable 11 is on the opposite end of the road,” said Maud. “A lot has been added. There was only a barracks on the outside before, which used to be our family home.”

Twilight saw it at the other end of the main road, with the older-looking buildings closest to it. The one tallest and nearest to the stable entrance looked like an old barracks as Maud said. Twilight could barely see a large-print sign that read ‘Pie Sisters Museum’ on one side of it.

Near the center of the town between the gate and the stable was a large statue carved out of a single stone. It was of all four Pie sisters, posed heroically, an Equestrian flag waving on one side.

“Midnight lets them fly an Equestrian flag?” Twilight asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Gloomy said. “She’s not a stickler about that, probably as a ‘buck you’ to Trinity, since she claims to be the remnants of the Equestrian government. It’s surprising some of the things she lets her settlements do so long as they cooperate in her main conflict with Trinity.”

“She has to. Neither bats nor Twilicorns could run these farms like the Pie family can,” Maud said, a hint of pride in her voice.

On the side of the statue opposite the flag was a large bomb implanted half-way in the dirt. Twilight knew there was an unexploded balefire weapon here, but hadn’t expected them to have built a monument next to it. Perhaps they kept it here as a reminder of their good luck.

If it was like conventional magic explosives, the chemicals or spell would be too weak to ignite after so long with no maintenance. She hoped that was the way balefire worked, at least.

What Twilight noticed more was the residents. She’d expected them to be mostly earth ponies, and they were, but it also had a lot of diversity. There were unicorns, donkeys, griffons, diamond dogs, though she saw no bat ponies or pegasi. There were also some species that Twilight had never seen. There were even anthropomorphic fish, despite how far they were from the ocean, but she supposed that was irradiated anyway.

Speaking of irradiated, there were a few ghouls as well, including the dragon she saw before. Twilight was glad to see the docile ones weren't treated like monsters everywhere. It seemed likely that many of these were descendents of refugees arriving later, which was likely why they didn’t have room for them all in the stable.

Only a few had pipbucks, guards and the more important looking citizens. They either weren’t able to build new ones as Stable 27 did, or kept them limited for security. Twilight imagined the Canterlot stable would have been the best equipped. She wondered if Stable 11 had been another control stable or if there was some horrible experiment they survived.

There was a crowd of creatures near the Statue of Pie though, and soon Twilight realized all was not well. Several guards had their guns trained on an earth pony who was pointing a gun at another earth pony with their hooves raised.

Twilight knew she shouldn’t draw attention to herself, but she would not stand there and watch a pony get shot either. She rushed towards the mess ahead of her friends.
POV: Kyo Pie
Holder

Not this again.

First, Dyo was nowhere to be found when she awoke this morning. Then just as she was about to relax in a warm bath with a giant antique dildo, her pipbuck buzzed with a message from the guard out front.

“Rock Sovereign Kyo,” Ginger said. She hated that title. She’d hated it ever since her father died and passed it to her. “One of Midnight’s flunkies is at the gate needing medical attention. Xander wants to help take him to the hospital. Should we let him in?”

It was odd for Xander to help a bat, and she wondered if he’d really go that far to get back in the gate, but there was another, bigger problem: All the doctors would be terrified to be the one that worked on him because they all knew if he died under their care, Midnight would want their heads. But if none of the morons would help him and he died, Midnight might execute them all. Kyo had to make sure things stayed sane.

“Not like we have a choice,” sighed Kyo. “I’m on my way.” She tossed her favored toy aside and headed out of the bath.

Walking out of the Plots Up Brothel while soaking wet got her more than a few looks. Kyo was a hit even before her sudden elevation to leader. Perhaps it was because the unicorn’s color scheme was very much like a certain Minister of Morale, Rarity, before the punk makeover she got just before the Breaking.

Though her green eyes, cropped fluffy tail, and short parted mane set her apart. She also had the cutie mark of a pen drawing a cat face to set her apart. It wasn’t the cutie mark one would expect on a brothel madam or the leader of the city, or maybe it was just a pussy pun, she wasn't even sure herself. It didn't matter; in today’s world there weren’t enough ponies for everyone to do what they wanted, and art didn’t make nearly the money.

As if her day wasn’t already ruined, she couldn’t get to the gate due to a crowd gathered in the marketplace next to the Statue of Pie. Several of the city guard had their guns trained on one of the local earth pony merchants, Cola, who himself had a gun trained on his brother Bottle Cap.

What was this? Those brothers couldn’t have been closer!

“Don’t move, changeling!” Cola snarled between teeth that held the trigger of his pistol. “What have you done with the real Bottle Cap? Where’s my brother?”

“I swear, I’m not a changeling!” Bottle Cap begged, standing on his haunches with front hooves in the air. “Don’t shoot! For Pie’s sake, we’re family!”

Damn it, not these horse apples again. She knew Cola was paranoid about changelings, but he’d never gone to Xander levels with his paranoia. All the same, she looked at her pipbuck to make sure none of the spa workers had wandered into town and impersonated someone. She forbade them from impersonating citizens, but sometimes they got hungry for social contact outside of their normal work.

They hadn’t, thank Pie.

“Put the gun down, now, Cola,” Kyo said.

“He’s a changeling!” Bottle Cap shouted at her. “He’ll kill us all!”

“There are no changelings in Holder, hear me?” Kyo shouted to both Cola and the crowd. “Just you folks and your damn paranoia! We scan every creature that enters or leaves!”

Just when Kyo feared the guard might end up shooting him though, another pony rushed in. A swift kick to his chin sent his pistol flying up into the air, and a second on top of his head sent him straight down into the pavement, face-planting hard. A moment later, the pony caught the gun in her muzzle before it hit the ground. She tossed it aside.

“I just got home, and I am peeved already,” mono-toned the pony. “I will not have ponies killing each other on my front lawn.”

“Cola!” Bottle Cap rushed to his brother to make sure he was okay. “He pulled a gun on me… my own brother.”

Cola didn’t look seriously injured, which was surprising given how strong the intervening pony looked. She must have held back.

Xander leaned down next to Cola, apparently already this far into town. She didn’t want to make a scene, but would also need to ask him to leave again as soon as she could more discreetly. While Kyo was sure he meant well, he was a complication she didn’t need here right now.

If Cola kept this up, he might end up banished just like Xander. She was about to tactfully remind Xander that he wasn’t welcome for long, when he pulled a strange jar full of green goo out and started smudging it on Cola’s face. What in the…

Kyo wasn’t sure what that was, but immediately advised the others to retreat to the brothel if they were currently outside of it. She’d have to try to get some of that goo for study.

She put him out of her mind and looked at the pony who saved the day. It was a boring colored earth pony in a rock soldier uniform from the early war. Where had she seen this pony? Kyo looked at the Statue of Pie, then back to the pony, then back and forth several more times. No way!

Kyo had never seen such an accurate cosplay of Maud Pie!

“This statue is carved from the sacred boulder of our ancestors!” a Pinkie cosplayer looked up at the statue as she trotted to stand next to Maud, then awkwardly seemed to dance in place. “Our Sister Superior will have the freak-out of doom upon witnessing this! There will be no survivors! Yes.”

That one might have been even better. She’d heard Pinkie’s odd accent from videos in the archive, but it had to be hard to duplicate, not to mention the awkward potty dance. What a thing to be known for, though.

“Not more changelings,” whimpered Cola, afraid to stand.

“Calm yourself,” Xander told Cola. “Your brother is not a changeling. I checked, and neither are these.”

“Nice costumes,” Kyo said. “Whoever you are, you saved the day, so you can have one on the house at the PUB.”

“Pinkie is not safe when drunk,” Pinkie said. “She becomes the destroyer of worlds! Yes.”

“I do not favor pubs either,” said Maud. “They often put ice in my drink when I ask for it on the rocks.”

“The pubs in Holder will give you proper drinks,” Kyo said. “But I actually meant the Plots Up Brothel. It’s the best brothel spa in the wastelands!”

It was odd if they didn’t come for the brothel. That was usually why ponies visited from neighboring settlements, and the whole reason she made the offer, hoping they’d run to partake and forget the commotion. Kyo had figured they were cosplaying because they wanted a spa worker to portray another war figure during play.

“Is it the only brothel in the wastelands?” asked Maud.

“Pardon?” Kyo asked, somewhat taken off guard by the strange question. “Of course not, but we offer services no others can, and I can guarantee that unlike some settlements, our workers are consenting, well cared for, and love their job, making them all the more enthusias...”

“Please cease your advertisement,” Xander cut her off. “These are no costumes.”

Xander moved a hoof to the back of Maud’s neck, pulling up her mane to show the gem embedded there. A deathly silence fell over the crowd and a chill ran through Kyo.

“They are genuine soul crystals,” said Xander. “It is known no changeling can duplicate one. I believe these are none other than your legendary heroes.”

Could it be? The Pies left over 200 years ago. Most believed they died in Canterlot’s destruction, though the more loony in Holder believed they ascended somehow. Why had they taken so long? And why did their uniforms look relatively new?

“They will now follow our every whim!” Pinkie blurted out. “Pinkie demands…your finest toilet and a bath. Her body is as filthy as her mind! Yes.”

“Calm down Pink,” said Maud. “You will scare the sane ones.”

It definitely sounded like what Kyo had heard of them, and she took a moment to choose her next words. She didn’t see them as the goddesses that many citizens here did, only getting into it for the sake of her obsessed daughter Custard. All the same, she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Especially to Maud, who would be her however-great grandmother.

“What delayed you so long?” Kyo asked. “We thought you were dead.”

“They have ascended to immortality!” somepony in the crowd shrieked before they could answer, as if they hadn't just been shown the soul gems. “Praise to the Pies!”

“Oh no, please tell me they don’t,” sighed Kyo.

They did. The more devout of the crowd chanted ‘Praise to the Pies’ on repeat.

“This is good news,” said Maud to Pinkie. “There are fewer sane ones for you to frighten than I feared.”

“Pinkie feels awkward,” said Pinkie, crossing her rear legs. “She hopes they will not do this during her bathroom activities.”

“I do not know about that,” said Maud. “I wonder how they would react to our showers.”

“That is for sisters only!” Pinkie said as if the idea angered her. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Kyo said, noting their obvious discomfort. “I can get you a private room where you can bathe and rest, but first I have to deal with… oh. You two have to hide! One of Midnight’s soldiers is here, and if he sees you…”

“I’m with them, actually,” another voice said. “Call me Gloomy. This beside me is Clover. They uh, saved us from slavers.”

Kyo hadn’t even seen him with all her focus on the Pies. Behind them was a bat in NLR armor, standing in the shadow of a building as if trying to not stand out. Next to him stood a mare in leather armor and a gas mask. She had a broken horn that looked relatively recent, poor thing, but Kyo had no time to console her.

“With them?” Kyo asked, playing off her words the best she could. “Ah, um, I was not aware that we were in the presence of a chosen, and was only concerned that you might be offended. I should help you to the hospital if you have wounds to tend to.”

Gloomy rolled his eyes when she called him chosen. That was odd; Midnight had demanded Kyo call the NLR soldiers such, so he should be okay with it.

“I should see a doctor eventually, but it’s not life-threatening,” said Gloomy. “I’d rather stick with the Pies, especially if they’re bathing.”

“Hm?” Clover tilted her head.

“I mean because I want a bath too!” clarified Gloomy, blushing. “Not because I want to bathe with them…”

“It’s okay, Gloomy,” Clover assured him.

He seemed nice for a Midnight guard, and oddly open-minded as his tone indicated he might be crushing on the maimed unicorn. All the same, Kyo wanted to avoid any of Midnight’s goons being inside the spa-brothel if possible, or in the city itself longer than needed.

“Is it okay if I ask why you are here?” Kyo asked Gloomy, keeping her voice even and a smile on her face.

“Peaceful reasons,” said Gloomy. “I only want treatment and to join your talk with them. I swear on Her Divine Shadow’s honor.”

He wouldn’t dare break that vow, but one had to be careful with the wording, especially if not coming directly from Midnight. Kyo ran what he said and the context through her head a few times for obvious loopholes, then nodded and turned to lead them away from the chanting crowd. Now that they realized a bat was here, a few dared to chant ‘smite the evil one’, something they’d never dare if Midnight herself was here. It was best they leave now to avoid any more problems.

“Very well,” Kyo said. “I’m Kyo Pie, current rock sovereign. Are your other sisters coming? If so, I should have them met at the gate so they aren’t accosted by admirers.”

Kyo jumped as Maud and Pinkie came closer to either side of her and each wrapped her in a hug as soon as she said her name. It was touching that they were happy to see distant family, though also frightening as their legendary strength could crush her into a pulp if they became too affectionate.

“Pinkie is done with pleasantries! Show her to the restroom or face the flood of doom!” Pinkie shouted far too loud as she hopped from leg to leg once again.

Kyo gestured to a guard, who led her as she continued to shout about her needs, a portion of the crowd trying to follow before the guard shooed them off, and Kyo was glad they’d stuck to using the less devout as guards. Kyo breathed a sigh of relief and hoped that future interactions were less awkward.

“Marble is in the wagon and needs to be put to rest,” Maud said. “Limestone was sold to Tenwhinney by slavers and requires rescue.”

So not all the Pie sisters survived, and Kyo assumed Limestone survived as a ghoul, as Tenwhinney only bought ghouls. That also meant she would be slated for an arena match.

“What?” Kyo asked. “Oh my… we can bury Marble in a place of honor. Do you know how long Limestone has before an arena match?”

“We will bury her when Limestone is here to see her put to rest,” said Maud, then looked at Clover.

“Starlight said there’s at least two weeks before Limestone goes to an arena match,” Clover said. “But was not entirely sure that she heard it correctly.”

“Minister Starlight Glimmer?” asked Kyo. “You have contact with her?” She added in a whisper so only they would hear. “Trinity?”

She was certain that the Trinity was what was left of Starlight, so this was strange. She hadn’t let too many know what she knew. It’d invite questions, but she had to find out if Trinity had deceived them somehow.

“It’s… more complicated,” whispered Clover, seeming to understand the desire for secrecy on the matter. “Starlight ripped out her soul crystal before transforming, this Starlight came from that soul gem. I suppose we should keep our Starlight on the down-low. Some ponies may not understand that.”

“So, a copy from before she went mad, interesting,” Kyo whispered. She still wondered how in Equestria they got a hold of Starlight’s soul crystal, but went with it for now. “That explains why she was also listed as having died at Canterlot. Few know they’re the same, and I’d rather you not spread it around. Either way, this gives us time to make a plan for Limestone. I’ll check with my contacts and try to verify the time table.”

“If few know, how did you find out?” asked Maud.

Kyo pretended not to catch that. There were certain things she wouldn’t tell even the Pie sisters yet, lest she put them at risk, and certainly didn’t want to continue the discussion in public. Maud narrowed her eyes but didn’t ask a second time.

“Starlight would have been next in line,” said Kyo. “Does that mean she’s princess?”

“Well she calls herself Empress now, but yes,” Clover said. “Minister Crimson Prose is also with us but not here, as well as your brother and a few others from Stable 27 in Canterlot.”

“Either they will arrive sometime tonight or tomorrow,” said Maud. “Or they will be dead. Since they went to have diplomacy with Midnight Sparkle.”

“Oh dear,” Kyo rubbed her forehead with a hoof. This could end badly, though perhaps not since she’d heard on the news that Stable 27 was spared. “Dyo is okay for now at least. Thank you, since I’m sure you saved him from himself somehow.” She sighed. “Since it’s late, I think I’ll get you to a private room where you can bathe and sleep without being pestered by followers. Hopefully the others will arrive by tomorrow and we can start a plan.”

“Thank you,” nodded Clover, though her voice became somewhat unsure. “One more thing. We’re looking for a pegasus named Tranquil Melody that might have come this way. She’s from Stable 27 too, Crimson’s wife.”

“Tranquil Melody?” asked Kyo. “Oh right, her and her twin Peaceful Melody arrived the other day. I’ll try to track them down.”

“Twin sister?” asked Clover, tilting her head.

“Yes, they were traveling together,” confirmed Kyo.

“That’s... interesting.” mused Clover.

Was Clover really an escaped slave? She seemed knowledgeable and both Gloomy and Maud watched her respectfully while she spoke. If she didn’t know better, Kyo would have assumed that she was the leader of the group.

This feeling intensified when Clover stepped closer, motioning for Gloomy to come beside her. She glanced around as if to be sure she could whisper without being overheard, and Maud moved to their side to make it easier to do so.

“I don’t mean to alarm you,” whispered Clover. “But Peaceful Melody is a changeling.”

“I’m fairly certain she isn’t,” Kyo smiled. “We scan all visitors, as is required by her Divine Shadow, to be sure they are not changelings.” Except for the exceptions built into the system, but she didn’t go into that. “What makes you think she’s been replaced?”

“Because there is no such pony as Peaceful Melody,” whispered Clover. “Tranquil doesn’t have a twin, but we suspect that she may have encountered a changeling as they were escaping from Midnight Castle on their way here.”

Kyo blinked. But their detection system should detect any changelings that Olivia hadn’t specifically altered to be undetectable. Had Trinity figured out a way around the detection system too? This could be a problem, but it wasn’t time to panic. If Trinity sent a spy, it wouldn’t just blow the whole place up. She’d be wanting to figure out how they had hidden their own changelings from conventional detection, and wouldn’t likely strike until they knew. That gave them time to investigate, so she had to stay calm.

“I’ll acquire the two of them,” promised Kyo, smiling wider to hide how ill at ease this made her, but worried how unconvincing it might be. “I’ll be discreet about it, and peaceful if at all possible, so they can be properly questioned. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Perhaps you can give our guard more details as you bathe, if you don’t mind? We shouldn’t talk more than necessary out here.”

“Of course,” Clover nodded.

“Foofles?” Kyo motioned to the nearest guard as she raised her voice again, a diamond dog. “Please show them to the General’s quarters at the old barracks, and take a report of everything they tell you… and make sure to gather Pinkie before she breaks anything else.” She made the assumption she had already broken something.

Foofles nodded and turned to their guests, motioning with a paw. It was best to have him help them since a dog wouldn’t fawn over them as much as a pony would, and he was aware of certain things that would give the report perspective.

“This way, ponies,” Foofles said. “Foofles will show you to a quiet room where no crazies will bother.”

As they walked off with Foofles, Kyo looked to see Xander still kneeling with Cola. It was unlikely either heard the conversation due to their distance from her, but she hoped neither caught wind.

“Since you’re with them, Xander,” said Kyo, walking closer so he could hear. “You may stop by the PUB if you wish, but I expect no strange accusations.”

“I have no time for leisure activity,” Xander’s answer was expected, but Kyo hoped the offer would deter any suspicion he might have toward the brothel. “Instead, I ask that I be allowed to use this concoction on those I suspected of being changelings before. Once I prove my accusations, I expect to be let back into the city.”

“Fine,” sighed Kyo, certain that he’d never accused a real one, or fairly certain after finding out about ‘Peaceful Melody’. He probably thought the workers at the shape-shift spa were too obvious to suspect. “I’ll have a guard escort you to do so if it will calm your fears, and I’ll even give you another chance here if you remain fully cooperative and stick to non-disruptive methods.”

“That is more than agreeable,” smiled Xander, a slight sneer as if he thought he was about to say something clever. “However, given your previous reluctance, I would like you to be one that I test it on.”

“Certainly,” said Kyo. “It wouldn’t be right for me to order citizens to take your test without taking it myself.” More importantly, he’d be giving her a sample, which she could then take back and confirm if it worked on her own. He seemed confident that it did, but knowing him the confidence could be based on nothing more than his own ego.

At the very least, he seemed disappointed in her lack of reluctance. She wondered sometimes if he really cared, or if he just wanted to uncover a high-profile changeling so that he could become a hero. Most other solitary zebras stuck to medical or charity work, and as far as Kyo was concerned, that was all the hero one really needed to be in this world.

‘I’m returning to the PUB shortly,’ Kyo spoke mentally over her hive link. ‘There is a bat in town and he may come over tonight or tomorrow. He swore on his master’s name that he is only in town to rest and talk, so be ready to evacuate, but don’t panic.’

The hive-mind felt wary, but it was better if they heard it from her than from the first changeling that saw Gloomy. Without context, they’d be more likely to panic, and managing a panicked hive was like herding anger bunnies.

‘Midnight gave the bat permission to visit our brothel?’ Kyo’s assistant Olivia asked, her confusion plain over the hive link. 'The hive is under the impression that Midnight wishes the chosen to create more bats rather than waste their seed in prostitutes.'

‘No questions on that yet,’ answered Kyo. ‘I’m just letting you all know not to panic if one of you sees him. I have other more important news that we’ll discuss when I get there.’

‘Of course,’ said Olivia.

‘We won’t disappoint you, my Queen!’ Daydream responded as well.

‘Calm down, Daydream,’ Kyo said. ‘And don’t call me Queen. You’re not in HER hive anymore.’

‘Right, sorry,’ Daydream blushed hard enough for her to feel the emotion over the link.

There was no reason for embarrassment; they all seemed to slip up like that. The fact that he was one of the oldest members and had still slipped showed how helplessly obedient they had to be under her rule. But for now, Kyo pushed the hive’s increased chatter to the back of her mind again. She had a lot to do today and more tomorrow.

In a way, Kyo appreciated Gloomy’s presence. It meant Midnight couldn’t accuse Holder of hiding the Pies should things go sour with their talks. Still, Kyo hoped the ‘diplomacy’ with Midnight didn’t end with Midnight coming here for the Pies too. She didn’t want to be the rock sovereign that gave them up.

30. The Devil We Didn't Know

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Slaver Camp

This was a bad idea. A terrible idea.

And an unfair idea. Not only did the plan hinge on Kamikaze acting the part, but she might be expected to sex up Midnight afterward to make it convincing. Kamikaze had had enough of Midnight since they got here, so she wasn't exactly up for being her personal body pillow.

Even after regaining most of her memories about their relationship, Kamikaze never wanted to see Midnight again. It seemed obvious that Midnight had Kamikaze re-programmed, which meant all Kamikaze’s affection for Midnight was forced upon her. Would she have betrayed Equestria without that? She’d like to think not.

But there was no way around this. Whether deceived or not, Kamikaze caused countless deaths. Without Kamikaze leading a rebellion, three major cities would have survived and Equestria would have recovered. Kamikaze would atone by saving as many ponies as she could, even if it meant further humiliating herself.

Despite their misgivings about holding the meeting inside the burned-out raider complex, Dyo assured them that Midnight would appreciate the ambiance. Midnight promised over the radio to allow them to explain themselves before she decided their fate. Calling her there willingly would count for a lot, but every little detail counted when dealing with somepony that unstable. Maybe they shouldn’t have cremated the gore after all, in fact.

The group remained in a clear area, bodies bare to display that they were unarmed. Horn restraints were placed on Starlight, Mercury, and Crimson to show their lack of ill-intent. Starlight put on a brave face, which Kamikaze hoped she could keep after what happened to her.

Solar and Mercury were on either side of Kamikaze. They placed Kamikaze in the most comfortable seat they could find to make it clear she was being looked after well. Solar had a bag with Spitfire’s parts inside it to prove that they were doing their best to fix her, open to show she wasn’t hiding anything. In her hooves, Solar had the Wingboner magazine with Kamikaze on the cover, hoping the gift would raise their chances with Midnight; she’d been very happy to get her magazine stack back from the raiders.

Dyo and Crimson were on either side of Starlight, Dyo looking scared poopless and Crimson seeming bored. Crimson was the only one other than Kamikaze that wasn’t standing, given her well-deserved injuries.

“What’s that?” commented Solar. “Is that a sprite-bot?”

Turning her head, Kamikaze spotted it. It hovered in the shadow of a rock cleft nearby. It hadn’t been noticeable because it wasn’t playing Skyla’s broadcast.

“Do you think it's Watcher?” Starlight asked. “I wonder how long it’s been watching us before we noticed.”.

“You know Midnight will blast you the moment she notices, right?” Kamikaze called over to it.

“A fair point,” Watcher said. So it was them.

The sprite-bot moved downward to hover as close to the ground as it could. It ceased hovering to land between two rocks, its camera pointing at where the meeting would occur but otherwise looking dead.

“We should…” Starlight started.

A loud bamf sound kept her from continuing as several bat guards and a smaller dragon, all in battle armor, teleported in around the compound. They mostly ignored the group at first, searching the compound for signs of trickery. If Midnight couldn’t fix her cloning facility quickly, she must have been wary of sending the twilicorns into a potential trap.

More bursts of energy followed a few minutes later as a dozen twilicorns teleported into the compound. Kamikaze hoped this didn't turn ugly, because there was no way they could head-shot that many, and who knew if headshots would even work on the real thing.

“Remain as you are,” one commanded as they approached. “Scouting!”

None of the team moved a muscle. Even Crimson made no snide comments. The twilicorns scanned them, though had visible trouble concentrating without looking at Kamikaze. She saw a longing in their eyes and felt sorry for them. They loved Kamikaze by design, but weren’t the ones that got to be with her.

While they searched, the dragon got closer to the group, rubbing one of his wings like it was hurt. It was hard to tell what he was up to at first, but he glanced awkwardly at Solar.

“H-hey…” the dragon squeaked at Solar.

Solar blinked. “Oh um…sorry about uh...tryin’ to blow you.“

“That’s really what you were trying?” Cinder froze, mouth agape.

Solar’s Freudian slip was probably on purpose, but she corrected. “Blow you UP, though I’m not against the other thing later!” Her wings sprang up, seeming to forget the situation they were in. “Not sorry that I got a face-full of crotch plate.”

“Uh, for my part, sorry about trying to bite too,” Cinder pulled his helmet up slightly, showing a blush, smiling mischievously when Solar seemed excitable. “I got angry and somehow forgot you had armor on, so I didn’t get to put my tongue where I wanted. I’m not against doing that later too…”

“Yeah I wasn’t a fan of being literally eaten, at least not lethally, but you could always do it to me figuratively later as a compromise!” Solar said while rubbing her wooden hoof with the other, and her wings practically throbbing.

“Solar…” Starlight warned.

“I was just helping with negotiations!” Solar claimed.

“I-I don’t mind,” Cinder stammered. “Anyway, if things do work out with a truce… I’ll definitely find you!”

The moment was ruined when a Twilicorn casually walked up, telekinetically shoving the smallish dragon aside effortlessly to check Solar’s bag. As he distanced himself a bit dejectedly, the Twilicorn arched an eyebrow at Solar, pointing a hoof at Spitfire’s head in the bag.

“Looks like somepony got kinky,” the Twilicorn said, whatever that meant. “Searching!”

“Ah, um,” Solar stammered, her wings rapidly deflating as she hid the magazine she held so that one of the twilicorns didn’t grab it before Midnight got there. “Spare parts we pried from a Cloudsdale pega-ghoul, I can transfer the wings to Kamikaze given the right equipment, and the head contains cybernetics with some codes I might need to do so.”

The twilicorn seemed satisfied with Solar’s answer. The group turned to form a circle around the group, facing outward. Horns glowing, they created a dome shield over their heads. The shield then condensed, darkening to hide them, the ambient sound of the wind outside the dome silencing. Midnight was no fool, and Kamikaze wondered if she was aware of potential spies like Watcher.

“And now we have to leave while our ‘divine mistress’ gets to have all the fun with our beloved,” grumbled one of the twilicorns. “Guarding!”

“I hope she doesn’t make us watch her buck later just for giggles,” sighed another. “Seems like something that bitch would do… searching.”

It was interesting to see them have a casual conversation, and that it involved a general peeved attitude towards Midnight. It wasn’t a conversation they got to hear a lot of though, as the twilicorns left the dome soon after to continue their duties.

Then she felt it. Without seeing or hearing her, they knew Midnight had teleported outside the dome. An unbearable dread fell over them, Dyo was outright in tears. Kamikaze tried to stay straight-faced, but it wasn’t easy.

Kamikaze remembered Midnight having an intimidating aura, but she’d gotten better at it. Everypony within the dome shivered in abject terror. Except Crimson, who was rolling her eyes back and biting her lip, though probably also in abject terror. Kamikaze suspected she feigned enjoyment as a defensive mechanism, but either way it was freakish.

The shield above them shimmered as Midnight’s form floated through it, landing in front of them hard enough to send dirt flying. The first few seconds of their meeting was only Midnight laughing at them like a comic book villain. Midnight probably designed this setup to intimidate them, and it worked because not a single one of them moved or spoke.

It was odd that while all the twilicorns took on a battle form, Midnight herself looked no different from Twilight other than being larger with a slightly different cutie mark. And of course, she wore Daybreaker’s pelt like a zebra shaman might wear a bear’s pelt. On her horn and head was a magitech coil like the one the twilicorn that attacked Stable 27 had.

She still had on the alicorn amulet as well. Kamikaze recognized the obsidian amulet with a red gem inset and the decorative horned head and wings at the top. One wouldn’t think that she’d need both of those magical enhancements at once, but perhaps the coil was less about magnifying power and more about circumventing enchantments, since they knew it could blast through magic-resistant materials. From the looks of it, she never took the amulet off; her fur was worn thin around her neck after years of having it on, more so than it seemed it should on a regenerator, as if it were caustic.

The pelt was held with a shimmering clasp in front, and Kamikaze realized it was a soul gem. Daybreaker’s gem? If it was, it was useless now. It’d been cut into slices and arranged decoratively on her neck piece as if to gloat that Midnight destroyed the last way to save her.

“I do love what you’ve done with the place,” Midnight started when she finished her villainous laughing fit. “I even found a griffon raider with a knife rammed up her happy place and her beak stuffed with somepony else's happy place. She was still barely alive, so I cast a spell on her to keep her that way longer. I’ll be taking her back with me, so who do I owe that amusing find?”

“That would be me,” Starlight stammered. Perhaps she thought admitting such an act would make Midnight more amiable to her, and it couldn’t hurt. Kamikaze supposed they forgot about the bodies on the hill when cleaning up.

“Classy,” Midnight and Crimson said together.

Then Crimson ducked when Midnight glared at her for saying the same thing.

“Nice… hat?” Crimson said when Midnight didn’t stop glaring.

“It’s a MAC cannon,” Midnight said, a chance to brag about it successfully shorting out the glare. “It stands for Mana Amplification Converter, an invention of my own design.”

“MAC cannon sounds like what Applejack’s brother might call his dick,” mused Crimson against her own best interest, then ducked lower when Midnight’s expression returned to a glare, though at least Midnight was smirking now.

“You have some nerve to summon me, Starlight Glimmer,” Midnight turned to Starlight, her tone devolving into pure malice. “Or the residue that was once Starlight Glimmer. Don’t think our shared affinity for knife-rape puts us on good terms.” After spitting out those words though, her tone shifted to gentle upon seeing Kamikaze. “Rainbow, my love, what have they done to you?”

“We did not do this to her,” Starlight tried to stammer bravely, but sounded more like she might break into tears.

Kamikaze tried to steady her own mind. Perhaps it was easier for her since Midnight wasn’t focusing the fear aura on Kamikaze, and she managed to sound strong. But would the bitter wife routine save the day?

“You did this to me,” Kamikaze said.

“What?” Midnight's eye twitched. It didn’t look as comical on her as it did when Twilight did it.

“I lost them fighting your clone that attacked Stable 27,” said Kamikaze. “Without Starlight, I’d be dead. She saved my life, despite our history.”

“A hollow act,” Midnight’s voice boomed. “She only saved you to garnish favor with me!”

“I had no idea,” said Starlight, pulling herself together. “Midnight. I had no way of knowing you’d reward me for saving Kamikaze. After all, I’d just seen who I thought was you trying to kill her.”

“You do not call me Midnight, you call me Her Divine Shadow!” Midnight corrected Starlight but took a deep breath to calm herself. She must have been showing unusual restraint for Kamikaze’s sake, who she turned to next. “Kamikaze, my love. Tell me truly. Are you being coerced? Say the word and I will smite them and take you home.”

Kamikaze started to claim the twilicorn tried to murder her directly, but stuttered. She could barely make it out, but across the shards left of her cybernetic eye printed “Directive Error: Never lie to an NLR officer.” Damn it. She’d have to word this carefully.

“Starlight saved me,” said Kamikaze, referring to Starlight casting a healing spell on her. She turned away as if she didn’t want to look at Midnight, hoping she didn’t see what printed across the eye. “Why do you think I didn’t go right to your castle? I realized you’d gone insane, that you only used me! Do you have any idea what that did to me?!” She shouted hard enough that her voice went hoarse.

“I didn’t know you were there,” said Midnight. “I swear. My likeness… it must have been defective! It shouldn’t have attacked you! I would never use you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Really?” asked Kamikaze. “What about ‘Directive Error: Never oppose an NLR officer’? Didn’t trust me enough? I almost died because of that directive!”

“What?” Midnight tilted her head.

“Every time I tried to attack your other self, I got an error and my body froze up!” Kamikaze said. “I had to smash my head against a power conductor to clear it long enough for me to take her out! I almost killed myself saving the stable that you were trying to blow up just to get one pony!”

Midnight’s eyes widened. Her aura died down a few more levels, though still very present. First rage, then shame, filled her eyes.

“I failed to protect you again,” Midnight said. “Forgive me.”

Midnight looked surprised by the information, but that made little sense. Who else would have done it? This had to be an act, right?

“I’ll consider forgiving you if you listen to what Starlight has to say,” Kamikaze said. “We heard about you losing the Mirror Pool, but no one here helped with that.” It was true as only Twilight and Maud took part in it; Kamikaze was glad it slipped through the lie filter.

“Very well,” Midnight’s gaze turned back to Starlight, piercing but no longer a death glare. “Who destroyed my facility?”

“All we did was rescue Crimson,” said Starlight. “Why would we leave only to go right back in? Trinity’s minion deceived us and used us as a distraction to attack their actual target.”

“Why were you there?” Midnight asked Crimson. “Did you believe I had a soul recycler after your former subjects destroyed your own? I”m still peeved at you for causing them to do that.”

So, she had been to Stable 27; Kamikaze feared asking what the result was, but at least it seemed she hadn’t blamed them directly for the soul recycler’s destruction.

“No,” said Crimson. She was calmer than the others there, but still guarded and sweating profusely. “I wanted to trade Kamikaze and Starlight’s locations for a room at the castle, but I felt guilty and left. Your twilicorns caught me on the way out.”

“You will not call the Divine Likenesses that,” Midnight growled. “And you felt guilty? Preposterous.” She turned to Kamikaze. “Is what she says true?”

“Yes,” said Kamikaze. She hoped the others had caught on to her limitation and would also word things carefully.

“You are a foal,” Midnight said to Crimson. “Had you given me the soul recycler before of your own free will, I would have rewarded you beyond imagination and you would still be in control of your stable, not even having to hide your sexier fetishes from them. Instead you had your stable play dead.”

Was Midnight that afraid of death that she so desperately wanted a soul recycler? She was almost immortal even without one, so it seemed odd. That wasn’t a question Kamikaze dare asked aloud though.

“Admit it though, it was creative,” said Crimson. She attempted to play off her own fear, but it was a pitiful attempt as her voice quivered more. “We allowed you to detect our reactor startup, faked an overload signal, and then cut transmissions to convince you it melted down.”

“There is no shame in being outsmarted by a clever opponent,” said Midnight. “Who was it that bested me? Not you, I’d wager.”

“You got me there,” admitted Crimson. “It was a smarty by the name of Sunburst that came up with the idea. I killed him for being a stallion with a good idea, if that makes you feel better.”

“You don’t say,” Midnight didn’t bother intimidating Crimson, probably knowing that the unicorn coped with that by becoming more annoying. She turned to Starlight instead. “I will listen to your explanation.”

“Thank you, Your Divine Shadow,” Starlight bowed before beginning. “A creature joined us as we arrived through the time portal. As we were confused and had temporary amnesia, she convinced us she was you from another timeline that would help us. We considered attacking the Mirror Pool when we were in Everfree, but my general pointed out it would cause more damage than good by tilting the war in favor of one far more fiendish.”

“This… Twilight,” continued Starlight. “Facilitated the attack on the Mirror Pool. We acquired her again and questioned her. With my skills, we received significant information about a planned attack by Trinity’s forces and new threats she has developed. Information I will give you regardless of whether you agree to our proposal, to prove I am not your enemy.”

“But you are my enemy,” said Midnight. “You and Trinity are the same.”

“We were once,” said Starlight. “But there is a reason I ripped out my soul gem before the change was complete. I saw myself becoming something that horrified me, and I don’t want that… thing… in charge of the wasteland, nor do I want to forcibly become one of her monstrosities. Now that I know more of the current world, I realize that it is not in my best interest for you to lose to her.”

“What information did you discover?” They had Midnight’s interest.

“The creature that deceived us was Trinity’s creation,” said Starlight. “She was to kill us afterward to protect Trinity’s interests. Not only did we discover this, but we also extracted details of a large-scale assault that Trinity has planned to finish you after the Mirror Pool’s destruction. They are amassing their forces in the Foal Mountains as we speak.”

“And where is this creature now?” Midnight asked.

“She escaped,” said Starlight. “But trust me, if I had my way, she would have died screaming.”

Midnight looked at Kamikaze.

“Yeah,” said Kamikaze. “Starlight wouldn’t hesitate to kill that Twilight in the worst way imaginable given the chance.” Kamikaze wasn’t positive, but believed it to be true, and that was enough for her to say it.

“And your rock soldiers that killed a Divine Likeness?” asked Midnight.

“I sent them ahead to Holder,” said Starlight. “Your Divine Shadow, I would like to point out that showing them mercy is a benefit to you. I’m sure you know how the ponies of Holder love the Pie sisters. They follow you now because of fear, but if they see their national heroes cooperate with you, many will serve you out of love.”

“I concede that point,” Midnight said and turned to Dyo. “I assume you are here to represent Holder?”

“I am,” Dyo squeaked, barely getting a sound out at all. “S-starlight wants to live there, her and her soldiers, which um… we’d only allow with your approval of course.”

“You have that approval then,” Midnight said after a brief pause.

“Thank you, Your Merciful Shadow,” said Starlight. “Though if I may be so bold… My general, Limestone, and another friend were sold to Tenwhinney Tower as a slave. While of course our cooperation doesn’t depend on it, I would be forever in your debt if you asked them to return them.”

“I forgot how dangerous Limestone was,” said Midnight. “But have remembered due to the dispatch of the dragons I sent for you, a plan I can only assume was engineered by her. I cannot trust you enough to take action to release a pony who might foil future plans.”

“Midnight, please,” Kamikaze said.

“No,” Midnight shook her head, but took a less harsh tone with Kamikaze. “I am sorry. As a favor to you, I will not interfere with attempts to save her, but I cannot do more; we are in a crisis and I cannot divert my attention.”

“I understand,” said Starlight. “What I want most is a truce. I’ve made peace with Kamikaze, I can make peace with you too. Our former conflicts are not as important as saving what’s left of Equestria from Trinity.”

“You are not making peace with me,” Midnight growled. “You are submitting in any way I desire: physically, mentally, sexually, anything I want. Complete servitude or death. These are your only choices.”

“F-forgive my poor wording,” Starlight nodded, stammering again. “We only wish to serve Your Divine Shadow.” She had begun to calm, but now quivered more than before.

'Don't worry,' Kamikaze assured Starlight through the PCB. 'She’ll be too interested in me to molest you any time soon.'

Kamikaze half-expected Midnight to detect the PCB, but she didn't appear to.

“We shall see,” Midnight said. “We will take you to Midnight Castle, where you will provide all the information you have obtained on your journey without hesitation, as well as any relevant information you have on the Ministry of Magitech facility. Afterward, if you have cooperated, I will teleport whichever of you desires to Holder, where you will encourage their loyalty on my behalf. I will even fix your broken ones, including growing back fur so you don’t look so delicious. If you do not cooperate, you will be my toys until I utterly break you. Understand?”

“We worship Your Shadow,” Starlight bowed.

As everypony else bowed, Kamikaze wanted to say she wished to go to Holder too, but it might ruin everything if she did. She at least hoped she got new limbs out of this.

“Um, Miss?” Solar said, then squeaked when Midnight’s gaze fell upon her.

“Did you just call me ‘Miss’?” Midnight growled.

“Um, Your Divine Shadow?” Solar ducked, looking as if she might start sobbing. “I’m an expert in magitech, if you want me to assist with repairs on Kamikaze. N-not that you need assistance I'm sure but...”

Solar’s panic reached critical, suddenly throwing the Wingboner magazine at Midnight as if as a defensive instinct. Midnight caught the magazine and arched an eyebrow, but didn’t look at it yet.

“You just want to get banged by bats,” muttered Crimson.

“From what I learned at Stable 27, I do not have a specialist that exceeds your knowledge,” said Midnight, seemingly unafraid to admit the weakness. “So you may assist. I will also allow you to get ‘banged’ by whichever of my soldiers you desire, so long as both they and you are not on duty.”

Midnight then looked at the magazine cover and froze, eyes widening slightly. “I’ve been looking for this issue forever… you may have just fully sold me on the deal, dirty whore that you are.”

“S-seriously?” Solar’s eyes brightened, face adopting a strange mix of arousal and abject terror.

“And you, as a pegasi, are welcome to remain there,” Midnight’s tone towards Solar turned more cordial, though her aura didn’t tone itself down. “No settlement will truly welcome you as I will. Someone of your intelligence would not be required to engage in battle directly, and would be kept quite comfortable.”

“Wow, you’re… not nearly as evil as ponies said,” Solar said, then looked like she regretted saying it that way. “Uh, I’ll think about it, but I promised to protect Mercury, so I have to be sure she’s safe.”

“I am more evil than ponies say,” Midnight growled, losing some of the brief good will on her face. “If you are loyal, you will never have to confirm that. I will also not begrudge you keeping your promise, but will still expect you to perform any needed repairs on Kamikaze in the future.”

“Of course, your Divine Shadowyness,” Solar barely got the words out.

“I’ll stay with you, Solar,” Mercury squeezed her words out as well, then stifled a scream when Midnight turned to her. “Um, c-can I ask what happened at Stable 27?”

“They cooperated,” said Midnight. “And in return, I accepted that they refused the Divine Likeness entry because of Minister Prose's lies. They will henceforth work for the glory of My Shadow. I have even provided them with a small shipment of orichalcum alloy and an engineer to fix their door, to show that I award obedience.”

Kamikaze couldn’t imagine what working for her glory entailed, but at least it didn’t include immediate death.

“Thank Break,” sighed Mercury. “Though I suppose I’m not welcome there anymore.”

“Thank who?” Midnight narrowed her eyes. “Are you thanking the very dead alicorn I am wearing?”

Mercury realized her mistake and shrank back, collapsing and too terrified to respond. Solar stepped shivering in front of Mercury, drawing an bemused expression from Midnight when she bravely poofed up her mostly-missing fur and feathers. Luckily amusement once again shorted out Midnight’s annoyance.

“Can we go home?” asked Kamikaze. The longer they stayed here, the more likely Midnight was to kill somepony over trivial miswording.

“You’re eager? Good,” Midnight smiled at Kamikaze, licking her lips. “Let’s go… read some books.”

“Careful not to get paper cuts,” smirked Crimson.

Crimson had no idea.

Thursday, 11/3/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Midnight Castle

Midnight hadn’t killed or molested any of her friends by the next day, that Kamikaze knew of. Though Fingers had been hung up, still alive, as wall art with the knife still where Starlight left it. It wasn’t undeserved, but Kamikaze was still not good with the situation.

Midnight sent most to Holder after questioning and a night at the castle. Only Kamikaze and Solar remained at Midnight Castle after that. Kamikaze couldn’t do much other than ride around on Midnight and occasionally let Solar scan or prod at her for science. At least Midnight made sure she was provided for well, and insisted on taking on all of her care.

Solar adapted as well as could be expected, though her hormones often overrode her common sense. Only after a death threat from Midnight did Solar cease flirting with on-duty guards at their posts. If Midnight had anypony else that she knew could do what was needed, Solar might have been a goner.

Even then, Midnight took delight in tormenting her a bit. She ordered a male bat to have fun with Solar, then after the fact advised Solar that he was gay, in a closed relationship, and only did it because Midnight would have killed him otherwise. Poor Solar was so freaked out at having accidentally raped someone that she was afraid to flirt with any of the other guards. Kamikaze wasn’t sure if the wicked trick was for fun or to calm Solar down a notch on future visits.

Midnight had also surprised Kamikaze though. The day before, Midnight dragged Kamikaze to the library upon arrival. Kamikaze realized where it was going, and Midnight looked like she was about to go for the advanced magitech books, but then stopped. She looked guilty and floated Kamikaze to the bedroom instead, where Midnight slept quietly next to her without touching her once.

Now the next morning, Kamikaze lay on the bed with Midnight next to her facing away. Midnight had her alicorn coat in front of her as if deciding if she wanted to wear it today. She’d ordered the guards out and for nopony to disturb them, and Kamikaze could only imagine what horrible things were about to happen.

Kamikaze considered herself brave, and it was true she wouldn’t run from a fight, but constant exposure to Midnight’s aura had Kamikaze constantly holding back tears. She’d gotten used to it back in the day, but it felt worse now, maybe due to her new realizations about their ‘relationship’.

Midnight looked back at her, and Kamikaze cringed. She forced a smile but Midnight only stared.

“You’re afraid of me,” Midnight said. Uncharacteristic tears rolled down her face. “And that horn necklace around your neck. Is that from my likeness?”

“Yeah, terrified,” Kamikaze didn’t want to admit it; damn directive. “And... something like that.” Luckily it let her get away with that half-lie.

“It’s unlike you to admit fear in such a situation,” chuckled Midnight bitterly, as if she didn’t know.

“I can’t not admit it, can I?” said Kamikaze. “Damn directives won’t let me.”

“What?” Midnight looked confused again, then shook her head, tears increasing. “No…”

“Besides, it’s no more unlike me than crying is for you,” Kamikaze said.

“What?” Midnight asked again and looked momentarily confused.

Midnight wiped her face with her hoof, then looked at it as if she hadn’t realized. Her face tightened as she stared at the tears she wiped away. She suddenly screamed, throwing her intimidating armor across the room as hard as she could. Kamikaze was surprised it didn’t damage the wall.

Kamikaze would have dove for cover if she could, but all she could do was writhe when Midnight lunged at her. For a moment, Kamikaze was certain that Midnight would go the ‘if I can’t have you no one can’ route. Instead, Midnight clung to Kamikaze like a foal would a favorite plush and sobbed. It was the single most awkward and terrifying thing that Kamikaze had ever experienced.

“I didn’t do that to you!” Midnight sobbed. “I didn’t reprogram you! I would never!”

“I…” Kamikaze tried to say she knew Midnight wouldn’t, but the lie directive stopped her.

“You can be honest,” whimpered Midnight. “I swear I won’t harm you or your friends for anything you say while we’re alone.”

“I don’t believe you,” Kamikaze said plainly. “I don’t care how honest your reputation is.”

“Kami,” sighed Midnight between sniffles. “You know I never developed cybernetics that advanced. Even now, I had to bring Solar in, somepony who has barely dealt with cybernetics in practice, because I didn’t have anyone that can work on you. The only ones that got as far as positronic brains was the Ministry of Magitech, because they had access to parts of the ancient database that nopony else did. I examined your brain, yes, but only from curiosity. I wouldn’t have known how to make the changes you describe!”

“The Ministry of Magitech wouldn’t program me to betray them,” Kamikaze wasn’t buying it. “Or to love you. Nothing I felt for you was real. It was all just an elaborate super-villainous plot to rape me.”

“No!” screeched Midnight. “Rainbow, surely you know by now that the whole war was a sham. Who do you think benefited the most from you defecting from Equestria? Not me in the end!”

“Who then?” asked Kamikaze.

“The changelings,” said Midnight. “They must have replaced one of the Equestrian scientists that worked on you.”

“This seems a little…” Kamikaze shook her head. “Can you please just turn off that fear aura.”

“I can’t, I wish I could,” Midnight shook her head. “Rainbow Dash. Please think about it. If I wanted you to obey me, I would program directives in secret. Why would I add an error message to inform you of what I did? Without the message, you’d just think you couldn’t bear to hurt me.”

“I…” Kamikaze blinked. That made sense. That was a mistake that someone as intelligent as Midnight would never make.

“It’s just another of her designs,” said Midnight. “Not only did she coerce you into defecting, but she wanted to make sure even if we defeated Equestria, we’d turn on one another! That's probably why they included a directive that would inevitably surface and make you hate me.”

“Who is ‘she’?” asked Kamikaze.

“Chrysalis,” Midnight said. “Queen of the Hive, now an ally of Trinity’s. My reports are that they abandoned their queen after Nightmare Moon destroyed their home, but Chrysalis must have made a deal with Trinity to force them into a hive link against their will. I'm almost sure of it.”

“But if she wants to trick us into destroying each other, then why would she join either side?” Kamikaze asked.

“Everyone knows about her now,” said Midnight. “Nightmare interrogated a changeling during the Breaking and found out. When I discovered this, I transmitted it to everyone, friend or foe. But it was too late. Now Chrysalis knows I am the only one that can bring Equestria back, and because of that, she has allied against me. Trinity likely intends to betray Chrysalis as soon as she can, but Trinity’s insanity has made her underestimate Chrysalis' ability to betray her in return.”

“How would you bring Equestria back?” Kamikaze peered. It seemed to her that even if Midnight was being honest, she was making a lot of assumptions or having outright delusions.

Midnight’s horn glowed, pulling the clasp from her armor across the room and floating it over to Kamikaze. Daybreaker’s broken soul gem.

“This isn’t Daybreaker’s gem,” said Midnight. “The real one is whole and in a safe place.”

“What?” Kamikaze stared, unable to process what she heard.

“I’m not saying my complaints against Daybreaker were unfounded,” said Midnight. “But most of the horrible things I thought she did were changelings, even her CME attacks during the Breaking. I thought she was as much a tyrant as me, but she’s not. I hate to admit it, but since I don’t have Nightmare’s soul gem, bringing Daybreaker back is Equestria’s only hope. That’s why I must find a soul recycler, not for myself, but for her.”

“But if you think you’re such a tyrant,” said Kamikaze, still sure it was a trick. “Just stop being one.”

“I can’t,” Midnight forced a laugh. “I made a deal with a devil and now I’m trapped. It’s surprising I’m allowed to keep Daybreaker’s gem at all without destroying it. I guess I’ve learned to resist at least that much, even if I still have to sate its appetite from time to time. I haven’t even heard the voice in my head since the Breaking, but somehow I still feel them, as if they’re just waiting.”

“Deal with a devil?” asked Kamikaze. “I’m the one that did that when I agreed to come back here.”

“Clever,” smirked Midnight, but didn’t stop crying. “I don’t know who they are, not really. It’s amazing what ponies like me will do for power, even betray their own heroes. Though I suppose him reprimanding my intent and me being under the influence of the amulet helped.”

“You’re insane…” Kamikaze was more certain of that than ever; Midnight may as well have been spewing word salad. “You know it’s influencing you, but you leave it on, and you made a deal with some devil without knowing who they were?”

“Yes, I am insane,” Midnight hugged Kamikaze closer, shrugging. “I guess I had ‘an idea’ who they were, but I don’t want to talk about that. Anyway, I can’t control my Likenesses without the amulet, so removing it is not an option.”

“Why not just tell everypony what you’re doing?” asked Kamikaze. “They’d help. Even Trinity might.”

“Trinity would not cooperate,” said Midnight. “She wants power for herself, and Starlight is the same. Meanwhile my subjects, worshippers of Nightmare Moon, would learn I intend to betray her memory and abandon me. No amount of fear would keep them in line if they knew this. The trade-off wouldn’t be worth it.”

“What if I told them?” Kamikaze asked, even if she shouldn’t have. “I guess my directives would stop me.”

“No, they won’t, because I give you permission to do as you will,” said Midnight. “It would foil my plans and doom Equestria, but I will never harm you. I’m sorry that your love was forced, but my love for you was and is nothing but real.”

“Wow.” That was the best response Kamikaze could manage.

Kamikaze started to consider Midnight was sincere, but then who was the real enemy of Equestria? Trinity? Chrysalis? This ‘devil’? Or maybe there wasn’t one. It was just a bunch of idiotic tyrants smashing their heads together, each believing in their own mad way that they knew best. So not much different from before Kamikaze's time jump.

She wondered if Midnight even believed Starlight. Midnight must have known Starlight realized her mistake and would help. Was Midnight only keeping Starlight alive so long as Starlight had a strong motive to aid her? It would explain the refusal to retrieve Limestone.

This was so much more complicated than Kamikaze had believed.

“Will you consent to book fun now?” Midnight asked like a hopeful foal wanting a cookie. “For old times sake?”

“Maybe,” Kamikaze blushed.

31. The Last City Standing

Thursday, 11/3/2287
POV: Crimson Prose
Holder

When Mercury said she’d stay at Midnight Castle to be sure Kamikaze and Solar were cared for, Crimson knew she wasn’t up for it. Maybe Mercury thought she’d get used to the fear aura, but as Crimson suspected, she didn’t. Every time Midnight so much as glanced at Mercury, she squeaked at least and shrieked at most. Once Midnight realized this, she did it as often as she could, randomly giving her menacing glares, delighting in the innocent cutie’s terror.

It was rather amusing, so after getting cleaned up, Crimson followed Mercury around just to see it. Even some of the Twilicorns caught on and got in on the fun. Aside from that, being alone in the castle wasn’t the best idea, since Crimson didn’t know which guards liked the ones she’d murdered.

It wasn’t hard for Solar to convince Mercury she should go with the others when they left for Holder. They knew Midnight wouldn’t harm Solar, the closest thing she had to a cybernetic expert, unless she really screwed up, but Mercury was another matter. Crimson also reminded Mercury that Tranquil might be in Holder, because she knew Mercury wanted to see her friend as soon as possible. Crimson hoped Tranquil made it that far, because she looked forward to freaking Mercury out more by talking about their previously secret activities with Tranquil in front of her.

Midnight teleported them to Holder that morning, and even included the objects that Crimson had left all over the hallway. Crimson hadn’t put all of them back into the Crimoire yet, but Midnight had them packaged into crates and sent with them, strangely helpful tyrant that she was at times. Twilight had seemed to think that Midnight was possessed, and the idea of her doing helpful things from time to time to try and atone for things she had no control over was pretty amusing.

Apparently the MAC cannon acted as more than just a cannon, allowing Midnight to teleport and cutting through all the radiation and other arcane interference. It was good they had a way around that, because if the others weren’t delayed, they should have already arrived.

Midnight took the whole group in one go: Starlight, Dyo, Crimson, and Mercury. Crimson wasn’t sure why Midnight went with them instead of just teleporting them by themselves, at least not until they got there.

As soon as Midnight flashed into existence in the town square, the whole city was in a panic, ponies fleeing, hiding, or just freezing in terror. Midnight enjoyed this and laughed maniacally, losing herself in the moment and probably working off the stress of recent events.

‘Find the nearest male and kill it!’ Paper Cut suggested helpfully inside Crimson’s head.

“Not in front of Starlight,” Crimson said aloud. “Maybe this, though.”

Crimson grasped a shrieking griffon colt as he tried to flee, or whatever they called young male griffons, and held him up to Midnight’s laughing face. As Crimson held the little one facing Midnight, she opened her jaw around his head and began lightly making a chewing motion and licking at the griffon in between chuckles. He squealed so high-pitched that most of the party covered their ears.

“Aaaand… scarred for life!” Crimson said triumphantly.

“Crimson!” Starlight growled. “Let him go! Without harming him further!”

She was wise to Crimson’s tactics. Scarring someone for life didn’t mean Crimson intended it to be a very long life. Once Midnight took her muzzle off him to laugh louder, Starlight yanked the little griffon from Crimson’s grasp and released him. He ran into several carts and signs as he fled in a panic, still shrieking.

Midnight continued cackling, so Crimson got a look around. A statue, the bomb she heard about, brick structures, a stable door, the old barracks, and fields full of rocks, all surrounded by sheer cliffs or tall walls. It was about what she expected.

It was more diverse than she expected though, excluding pegasi and bats. Crimson suspected Solar might cream herself to dehydration once she saw all the species options available.

“Um, your Divinity?” Starlight asked Midnight, following it with an awkward chuckle. “Eh heh…”

Midnight kept laughing herself hoarse.

“Your Divine Shadow?” Starlight asked louder to be heard over the laughter.

“Hm?” Midnight stopped abruptly. “Oh my Me, I was enjoying myself… fear makes me wet. Literally. Check if you’d like.”

“Fear makes you…” Mercury trailed off. “N-no thanks. I believe you.”

“Now, Mercury,” smirked Crimson. “Let’s not kink-shame Her Divine Shadow.” Inwardly, she thought it was a shame that Kamikaze didn’t know how to appreciate such an enthusiastic partner, but didn’t dare say something aloud that Midnight might think insulting to her waifu.

“Citizens of Holder!” Midnight’s voice boomed as she magnified it. “I have made peace with Minister of Magitech Starlight Glimmer, Minister of Whatever-It-Is-She-Did Crimson Prose, and the Pie Sisters. Thus, I allow them to live here so long as they remain loyal. You will treat them as my representatives and obey their orders so long as they do not contradict my desires. Should they prove disloyal to me, great reward awaits the one who informs on them. Greater despair awaits the one that knows but fails to inform.”

Midnight looked to be having fun, but her speech showed intelligence. Now fewer citizens would trust the group, and the group couldn't trust the citizens in any plan against Midnight. Many might be loyal to the Pies, but it only took one that wasn’t.

With that, Midnight’s horn sparked and she vanished in a blast of magic, creating enough shockwave to almost knock them over. Citizens filtered out of their hiding places, wide-eyed as they looked at Starlight, but none came close yet. Mercury wondered how many of them knew Trinity was Starlight; it’d be confusing if they did.

“Well that was… neat,” sighed Dyo. “Thank Pie she was too busy to stay and kill anypony this time. I’ll go find Kyo.” He paused, glancing at Crimson’s ‘luggage’. “We’ll get someone to put that stuff… somewhere.”

“Minister,” Xander approached them as Dyo headed off, meaning the other group had arrived as Crimson suspected. “I’m pleased your plan goes well. The others will wake soon in the commander’s quarters of the barracks. They needed their rest, but planned to speak with Rock Sovereign Kyo today and discuss strategies for General Limestone’s retrieval.”

“Ah, good,” Starlight nodded. “The barracks there? I’ll be glad to get inside… it’s awkward out here.”

“First, I’d like to speak to you,” Xander said, lowering his voice. “I’ll be brief lest others grow suspicious of a long conversation.”

“Yes?” Starlight asked before other citizens had the nerve to get closer to them.

Xander produced a clear bottle of what looked like green face paint, which could be assumed to be what he’d been working on before his group left for Holder. He slipped it stealthily into Starlight’s saddle bag, but Starlight diverted it and placed it in Crimson’s saddle bag instead, probably in case it was dangerous.

“I suspect Trinity’s changelings are present in the city,” said Xander. “But they have proven more elusive than I feared. If you suspect someone, smudge this on their flesh and it should reveal their true form. It will have to do until I have Scorn altered to safely fulfill that purpose.”

Crimson shrugged and Starlight nodded. If he was giving it to Starlight though for that reason, it meant Xander didn’t realize that Trinity and Starlight were 'the same', which implied many others didn’t either.

“Crimson, if it comes to us needing to check, you can do it,” said Starlight. Crimson assumed this was punishment for trying to burn slaves to death; talk about unfair.

‘Look,’ said Crimson over the PCB to Starlight only. ‘I know you’re a little peeved at me, but if you don’t want me getting all sexy and maybe burning someone to death, you need to throw me the occasional acceptable target.’

It was a serious request, because Crimson knew Starlight was the type that might.

‘I’ll consider it,’ Starlight responded, as Crimson expected.

‘You should let us kill Twilight!’ Paper Cut suggested.

‘Keep your sex demon off the PCB, Crimson,’ Starlight huffed. ‘But I’ll consider that as well, should she make it necessary.’

Crimson could feel Paper Cut’s joy after that promise, but for some reason Crimson felt less enthusiastic about the idea. Somehow, Twilight still got into her head.

“You are more likely to be able to get close to imposters than myself,” said Xander. “Though…”

“Though what?” Starlight asked.

“I admit I’m not sure how effective it is,” Xander said. “It has acted...inconsistently on individuals that I am certain are. The substitutions I had to make may have made it less sensitive to an individual’s energy; I suspect that it only works if the subject is emotionally agitated, but the guards that Kyo insisted accompany me for the tests would not allow me to go that far. As you are respected by the populace, you may be able to do so more freely.”

“Agitation is Crimson’s specialty,” commented Mercury. It seemed even she had gotten into the fun of poking at her. “Did they find Tranquil, Xander?”

Crimson should have been the one to ask that question, but she had to admit she was a little afraid of the answer. Just more evidence that she’d been damaged by sentimental horse apples.

“Kyo said Tranquil and her twin Peaceful arrived the other day and was looking for them last night,” said Xander before turning to walk away. “I do not know if she found them. Regardless, I will contact you later.”

Twins? Obviously a changeling, though Xander’s tone indicated he wasn’t suspicious of that, so Twilight must have not told him. Well, as long as it wasn’t a male changeling, Crimson wouldn’t mind, but how did one tell for certain? Starlight, meanwhile, arched an eyebrow and glanced at Crimson.

“Anything you’d like to tell us, Crimson?” Starlight asked.

“Beats me,” shrugged Crimson. “But it’s no big deal. If we find two, I’ll try both and have the best lay help me kill the worst lay.”

Perfect logic.

“No,” said Starlight. “It shows that the changeling is friendly to her, so we’ll just ask which one the changeling is and question her in a civil manner. If it's not Trinity's, it may be a potential ally.”

Less fun logic.

POV: Pinkie Pie
Holder Barracks

The commander’s quarters had once been Sister Superior Limestone’s quarters. It had the same bed, furniture, and adjacent bath as before, and it was a feat to have them in a usable state after so long. Pinkie suspected the room hadn’t been slept in since the Pies left, preserved like some sacred place.

Thanks to the water filtration system in Stable 11, they had clean water to clean their filthy bodies. They also received a meal of food paste. Stable 11 lacked the underground farms and orchards that Stable 27 had, and Pinkie remembered eating similar slop the last time she was here. It tasted a bit different than Pinkie remembered, so she wondered if they’d substituted ingredients, probably with processed meat, though it didn’t particularly bother her.

Pinkie thought they should have investigated the ponies Xander suspected of being changelings immediately, but Twilight insisted they should play coy and not be in an obvious hurry to check for that. How preposterous to Pinkie! Yet using a big word hadn’t even convinced them; the others seemed convinced that they would only try to replace one of them if they became separated.

There was one large bed, so they snuggled close that night, which Pinkie didn’t mind. Unfortunately though, Pinkie ended up between Maud and Gloomy when she’d rather have been between Maud and Twilight.

Gloomy wasn’t bad, he was just… a bat. She knew Twilight and Starlight told her not to be racist, but she’d spent years as mortal enemies of fruits and shinies… then lizzers, then featherbrains.

In fact, the next morning, Gloomy proved her right with a grave insult! Rather than watching Pinkie’s morning make-out session with Maud, he stared wishfully at the still-sleeping Twilight. This one had it bad for somepony Pinkie had it bad for. This was unacceptable!

A knock on the door later, Pinkie went from making out to kill-mode as she leapt from the bed, taking a battle stance at the door.

“Come in and meet your timely demise!” Pinkie warned who she assumed were assassins. “Yes.”

“What?” Twilight blinked awake from the commotion. “Is something going on?” She paused a moment and peered at Gloomy behind her on the bed. “Gloomy?”

“S-sorry!” Gloomy scooted away from Twilight, as if he’d gotten a little too happy staring at her and she’d felt it against her.

“It’s okay,” sighed Twilight, then looked at the Pies. “They knocked, so they’re probably not here to kill us.”

“That’s just what they want us to think!” Pinkie explained. Why did nopony listen to Pinkie’s flawless reasoning?

“Um, your friends are here,” a female voice spoke from outside. She slowly cracked the door and peered in with one eye, perhaps checking to see if her timely demise was in fact waiting for her.

“Calm down Pink,” Maud said as she slipped out of bed herself.

Fine. But only because her favorite sister asked. Pinkie relaxed her stance and opened the door further.

At the door stood a diamond dog, tall enough that she had to duck when walking into the door. Black fur covered her body save for her head, which she’d dyed red to match her eyes, almost like she wanted a mane.

She wore a backpack and belt with a red, arcane-looking book attached to it. A spell book seemed out-of-place on a diamond dog, and it was fancier-looking than Crimson's, so who knew what perverse beasts might live there. She was also one of those important enough to possess a pipbuck from Stable 11.

Behind her were their other friends with Dyo, or most of their friends. Kamikaze and Solar were not present. Pinkie assumed Kamikaze was with Midnight and Solar had finally found something heroic to do that she didn’t survive.

“Stand back, the Doggie of Darkness possesses a Book of Doom!” Pinkie warned. “How many kink demons of destruction are held within?”

“Um, none?” the canine looked confused. “This is only my grimoire, because I study magic. I'm Olivia of Ramble, honorary second-in-command in Holder, I guess. I’m an ally.”

“You study magic?” Twilight quirked an ear. “Like alchemy?” She didn’t get to initiate a conversation before Pinkie continued.

“Then Pinkie will flirt with the non-pony in honor of the pegaslut’s violent demise!” Pinkie decided. “She has no idea how to flirt with a dog however. If only she had peanut butter. Yes.”

“Solar isn’t dead, Pinkie,” sighed Starlight. “She stayed at Midnight Castle to help repair Kamikaze.”

“Pegawhat?” blinked Olivia, as if she thought Pinkie referred to some new mutation. “Can we come inside? The guards should not see Clover uncovered, lest over-reactions occur.” She shucked off her backpack and opened it for them to see a stock of green potion bottles inside. “I brought shifting potions for Clover.”

If she knew about Twilight’s nature and didn’t mind, she might be okay. Pinkie stepped back but kept an eye on Olivia’s book. Soon the whole group was inside with the door closed behind them.

“Thank you, Olivia,” said Twilight. “It’s good to know everyone is okay. Is there something wrong that held up Kyo?”

“She’s getting a hold of some contacts,” said Dyo. “Or trying; it isn’t always easy. I had something I sort of wanted to run by you too.”

“There is no room to run,” said Maud. “It is very cramped here.”

Dyo stared at Maud as if trying to determine if that was a joke or not. It was, though ponies other than Pinkie sometimes had trouble telling.

“Here,” said Olivia. She pulled a case of about a dozen potions from her backpack. “Shift potions will allow transformation into whatever form you wish. The PUB workers use them to cater to every need; just quaff one and imagine what you wish to become. Do be careful not to let your mind stray during the process.”

“Thank you,” Twilight nodded.

Twilight slipped most of the bottles into her own saddlebag, removing one and nervously swallowing it. A curtain of green magic rippled upwards as her form changed. An instant later, Twilight was a pale yellow pony with blue eyes and a mane and tail streaked in white and gray. Her manestyle was large and poofy, almost hiding her horn. The horn was still broken, but her wings had vanished.

“Oh, I get who you are now,” smirked Crimson. “Clever.”

“The potion will last 4-6 hours, depending on the individual,” said Olivia. “You'll know about fifteen minutes before the potion wears off. Please try not to overuse them as the potions are expensive to produce.”

Pinkie didn't know much about alchemy, but it seemed odd that the problem with over-consumption was only expense and not potential for health issues.

“I’ll keep myself under wraps most of the time,” nodded Twilight, or Clover. Even her voice was different. “But that flash of green magic. It looked like what flashes around changelings when they shift, is it based on similar magic?”

“Indeed,” nodded Olivia. “I created them myself.”

“You know, actual changelings would make pretty good whores, if you think about it,” smirked Crimson. “And Clover the Clever over there told us they feed on love.”

“Indeed,” Olivia chuckled. “It’s honestly a pity that Trinity’s changelings are prevented from aspiring to professions they might enjoy.”

“That is amazing,” Mercury examined the empty potion bottle. “It wasn’t painful at all? I've tried my hoof at shifting potions, but even shifting to another pony type is difficult. Yet this lets you shift into any species?”

“Not just other species,” said Olivia. “You can even shift into inanimate objects, just like a real changeling, so I’ve heard. Though, unlike with a real changeling, if you shift into anything without adequate neural facilities, you’d be stuck as the object until the potion wears off with no way to negate it.”

“I know what inanimate object I’d turn Mercury into,” grinned Crimson.

“Stop it, Crimson,” Starlight growled.

“That request is not unheard of at the PUB,” Olivia nodded to Crimson.

“Well it works either way, thank you,” said Twilight. “Did you find Tranquil?”

“Yes,” said Olivia. “Well, sort of. I didn’t see them, but I found that she and her sister are working for Cola and Bottle Cap in exchange for boarding at their quarters in Stable 11. You can stop by his market stall, or any of the guards can direct you to his home, but he hadn’t seen her when we last asked him.”

“Cola?” asked Twilight. “I see…”

Then there was another problem. Pinkie remembered that Cola was the merchant freaking out about changelings when they arrived. It would be a problem if he recognized what Tranquil’s ‘sister’ was and killed them before they could be questioned, and Cola had appeared to be Xander’s friend. If Xander figured it out or even suspected, he’d tell Cola for certain.

“And you’re sure she didn’t leave the city?” asked Twilight. “Just being sure since you haven’t seen her.”

“Unlikely,” said Olivia. “The guards log anyone who enters or leaves. Even if they flew out, they’d be seen by a guard tower and logged, and we have systems to detect invisibility, which few can fool. As of half an hour ago when I checked, they had not left.”

“Dyo, you said you had something?” Starlight turned the conversation when it seemed the other was a dead end for now.

“Well I was thinking,” said Dyo. “There’s part of Stable 11 and the adjoining military base that we can’t access due to old security restrictions.”

“Pinkie can access the base of destruction!” Pinkie said. “As can her sister and the Empress!”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Dyo nodded. “The records say there’s a set of pulse barding in the armory. It's a prototype stealth suit with shield bypass capabilities. With that, you could walk through Tenwhinney’s shield with no one seeing you and snatch the General back.”

“I remember the pulse barding,” said Maud. “It stands for Personal Utility for Logical Stealth-based Evasion. I was very interested, but did not recall us finishing the prototype before we left and I assume it was closed off shortly after.”

“Well Kamikaze has her bypass armor,” said Twilight. “Though it's not stealth. They may have never got a better version working, since putting those two enchantments on a single barding would be very difficult.”

“Pinkie does not know how these things work,” said Pinkie. “Other ponies make things. Pinkie only uses the things to destroy other things.”

“Uh, sure,” Dyo’s voice quivered. “Well the list says it’s in there so it’s worth a look, right? If anyone could finish it, it'd be one of you. Maybe your scientist friend when she finishes her work at Midnight Castle.”

“Are you sure you should go get it before Kyo returns?” asked Olivia.

“If Limestone is in as much danger as it seems,” said Dyo. “We shouldn’t wait, right?”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes at his suspicious behavior. Not his words, but his mannerisms. He had sudden trouble making eye contact and was sweating. On a hunch, she pulled the map up on her pipbuck and looked at it.

‘This one’s signal has become yellow,’ Pinkie said over the PCB to the others with pipbucks.

Starlight pulled up her advanced map to look, though she flicked it back off before Dyo noticed.

‘Kind of yellowish green on mine,’ replied Starlight. ‘He wasn’t before. We should keep an eye on him.’

“Anyway, I need time to access the security controls again to even let you put in authorization,” said Dyo. “Could take a few minutes to an hour. Maybe you could have a look at the Pie Museum in this building while you wait, I can come get you there when we’re ready.”

“I’d like to bury Spike in private today, if that’s okay,” said Twilight. “I’d rather not have it be a large spectacle.”

Perhaps the pegacorn of sparkles finally accepted the impossibility of her returning home to bury him there. Pinkie felt for her, but wasn’t good at expressing feelings that didn’t involve screaming.

“I’ll help you, if that’s okay,” Gloomy patted Twilight’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to,” said Twilight. “But I’ll appreciate it.”

This bat was strange. It felt less like he was comforting her and more like he was accompanying her as a guard. Pinkie trusted Twilight more than she trusted Starlight, so it didn’t concern her as much as it could have. It still annoyed her, though, that they were getting closer.

“May I have your pipbuck frequency?” asked Olivia. “That way we can contact you when Kyo is ready.”

“The Doggie of Doom conspires against us!” Pinkie took a few steps towards her, noticing her obvious ploy.

“What?” Olivia took a step back, tripping over the rug and flopping against the wall. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” said Starlight, holding a hoof out to stop Pinkie from maiming the canine. “But all the same, she’s right. We can’t risk becoming too easy to find by those outside of our team. Just find one of us, and they will find the others.”

“Of course,” Olivia nodded, not looking like she wanted to remain much longer. “The others can look around town. If Kyo hasn’t arrived by then, come to the spa. The offer of a free massage or service is still open to you.”

“Me and the Pies will explore the bunker when we can,” said Starlight. “The rest of you can head where you wish, but stay in groups.”

“Would I even be welcome at the spa?” asked Gloomy.

“Of course, yes,” Olivia nodded, but took a deep breath as if attempting to keep her voice steady. “But please keep your promise not to bring down Her Divine Shadow’s wrath on us without reason.”

“I don’t anticipate her showing up to the spa,” Gloomy said. “But if she does, I’ll do everything battily possible to target her wrath at myself instead of you.”

“I’ll look for the twins,” said Crimson.

“I’ll go with you,” Mercury nodded. That was a good idea, so Crimson didn’t get excited and burn them to death. “Though later, I’d like to find Xander, I’d like to try to talk alchemy with him a bit more.”

‘Crimson,’ said Starlight over the network, but let all on the PCB hear it. ‘Harm no one in anything but self-defense without my okay. If we don’t hear from Mercury every half hour at least, we’ll assume you are causing grief and come for you.’

‘I’m sure it will be okay,’ said Mercury.

Starlight opened Crimson’s saddle bags, tugging Crimson’s favorite book out of the bags and moving to put it in her own.

“Now that’s just mean,” Crimson looked sincerely upset.

“You’ll get your book back when I feel you need it,” said Starlight, then added on the PCB. ‘I won’t have you kidnapping half the settlement into your book when we’re not looking.’

“My Crimoire,” corrected Crimson, but admitted. “Ya got me, though.”

‘Um, isn’t taking Paper Cut and Ink Blot like kidnapping?’ Mercury asked over the PCB. It was weird how she still defended Crimson.

‘It does seem questionable,’ Twilight agreed, seemingly still wanting to give Crimson the benefit of the doubt after all this. ‘And we have Mercury with her to keep watch.’

“I’m not debating this,” Starlight said over the PCB, then added aloud. “One more thing, Crimson: Is Stable 11 a control stable, or was there an experiment here?”

“It was a faith experiment,” smirked Crimson. “They indoctrinated the residents to worship the leaders of Equestria like deities to see if their work efficiency increased. It’s probably one of the sanest experiments, all things considered.”

“That explains a lot,” said Twilight.

“So that is not how all Equestrians acted?” Olivia tilted her head. She must have assumed it was the norm.

“Whatever the reason, that mentality gives us an advantage,” Starlight pondered.

“Starlight,” Twilight warned with the same tone one might scold a disobedient pet. “We should not use religious beliefs to control our subjects. That could end rather badly in the long run, don’t you think?”

“My subjects,” Starlight reminded her. “But don’t worry; I’d only use it to convince them of the truth.”

Pinkie looked back and forth between them. Starlight’s truth and Twilight’s truth were likely very different. Neither were fun truths, but if forced to choose, Pinkie would go with Twilight. From the nervous way Starlight glanced at the Pies, she likely suspected this.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Holder Barracks

Twilight hadn’t given up hope of returning home, but the only lead she had was a potential copy of the scroll in the Ministry of Magitech. It would be nearly impossible to get inside, and maybe literally impossible to get out if not even Trinity could escape.

She didn’t want Spike to remain unburied while she looked for a way back. On top of that, Stable 27 had already treated him too roughly, and she suspected they took a sample for study because a rather large piece of the lower back of his skull had been removed while they kept him.

Best to put him to rest before anyone else disrespected him; if she kept him at the mortuary here they might well grind him up into their cannibal slop with the other bodies. Still, she put it off for a good while, now sitting in the barracks room with no one else but Gloomy.

Twilight looked at Gloomy, waiting patiently on the bed with her, seeming too awkward to talk and glancing away when she looked over at him. He seemed determined to remain at her side and do her bidding at this point. Somehow as timid as he looked, she couldn’t resist a little lighthearted teasing.

“So, this morning,” Twilight blushed slightly. “Was that more than just your body’s natural morning response? I have to say… that’s the first time I’ve ever awoken to that uh... pressed on me.”

“Huh?!” Gloomy seemed to almost jump out of his skin at that question. “S-sorry again for that, I didn’t mean to offend… total accident.“

“Are you sure it was an accident?” Twilight teased, narrowing her eyes a bit more. “It was a bit close to its target.”

“Go easy on me,” Gloomy blushed brightly even through his dark fur. “I mean I was pinned between you on one side and sisters making out on the other side. I don’t know what else you’d expect…”

“Ah, so it was the Pies,” Twilight chuckled awkwardly. “I guess I didn’t notice. In my timeline they were more capable of shame and I never saw things like that, though I suspected at times.”

“I didn’t say it was only them,” muttered Gloomy. “Just that they were there…”

He blushed even harder when Twilight scooted closer to him. He adjusted his body as if to hide his lower portions, so he was likely having another issue. She didn’t talk for a moment, realizing how unlike her it was to push a conversation like this. It wasn’t just being pent up, but also the complete lack of significant research projects or study. She wondered if she wasn’t more Solar-like in her affection for research than she had realized.

“Look,” Gloomy said. “You’re everything I like about Midnight and none of what terrifies me about her, and well, I can’t help it. Still, I mainly just want to help out, and if you’re never interested I’ll still want to help.”

For a moment, Twilight wondered if this guy would exist in her timeline. Not in her time, at least, so she quickly put it out of her mind.

“You remind me of Spike in a way,” Twilight sighed. “Aside from the crush, I mean. Always following me and eager for tasks, but you know you don’t have to do so much for me, right? You won’t lose your chance because you don’t wait on me fore and hind.”

“I do have to in a way,” Gloomy looked at the floor nearby rather than at her. “A-and besides, it’s not just you who’s order I’m following.”

“Of course,” Twilight smiled. “I guess sitting with you just reminded me of him. We used to just sit together talking for hours, or sometimes we’d play nerdy games like word chain or the like.”

“Word chain?” Gloomy asked.

“It’s where I say a word,” Twilight explained. “Then you say a word that begins with the last letter or syllable of my word. Back and forth as fast as we can, without repeating words.”

“Sounds like something foals would play,” Gloomy chuckled. “I don’t have a lot of time for games.”

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Twilight nodded. She supposed by the standards of a world like this, she would be more like a lost filly than an adult. “I guess I should still be a little thankful. At least we have amenities like clean bathrooms and fresh food here. That’s more than we had on the road.”

“It’s okay, if noisy,” Gloomy nodded. “I honestly prefer living inside or better underground. The bat residentials beneath Midnight Castle have a nice cavernous feel to them, dimly lit since we make more use of sonar.”

“It gives me a little hope to find several spots of civilization, even if one of them is Midnight Castle,” said Twilight. “Maybe Equestria can be rebuilt after all, though I admit I didn’t imagine that it might be rebuilt in the image of the Pie family.”

“Well, if it’s either that or Trinity’s garbage…” Gloomy shrugged.

“Do you know how to get into Trinity’s lair?” asked Twilight, though she realized the question might be odd to Gloomy.

“Huh?” Gloomy asked. “Well, there are ways to get inside. Starlight could take us in the same way she left. Some ministries also had teleports to others, maybe Crimson knows of one from the Ministry of News. Either way, it’d be a suicide mission because you can’t get back out.”

“Do you think your new friends will help Starlight?” asked Twilight, playing idly with the blanket beneath them.

“I don’t know,” Gloomy said, looking at Twilight again, but avoiding her eyes. “They’ll help you on Watcher’s word. But Starlight… I don’t know if Watcher will support her. I mean she is Daybreaker’s student, or was at least. And honestly she seems unhinged.”

“But didn’t Celestia and Luna make up?” asked Twilight, looking back at him. “Celestia’s murder enraged Luna.”

“Agreeing with someone and not wanting them murdered are far removed,” said Gloomy. Twilight supposed he had a point.

“One of the other timelines I went through was one where Nightmare Moon was victorious,” sighed Twilight. “Where she’d never turned away from her goal of eternal night.”

“Really?” Gloomy asked, suddenly excited. “What was it like? It must have been amazing!”

“What?” Twilight froze, looking at him with wide eyes. “Wait. You want eternal night? But what about your new friends?”

“They want it too, of course, that’s one reason I joined so easily,” Gloomy seemed confused. “Don’t you? You're a good version of Midnight, right? I assumed that meant you never betrayed your Nightmare’s goals.”

“But you can’t just do that!” Twilight tried to stay calm, but the information hit her too suddenly. In hindsight, she should have confirmed this beforehoof.

“Why not?” asked Gloomy. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Well how will plants grow?” asked Twilight. “Crops! Warmth!”

“What?” Gloomy shook his head. “Was that a problem in the timeline you went to? Nightmare said she could move the Sun to take advantage of the warmth while still blocking out the visible light with a magical filter.”

“Well, no, it wasn’t a problem,” Twilight took a deep breath and calmed down. “It was warm, come to think of it. And the plants in the Everfree still grew...”

“Were ponies miserable?” Gloomy tilted his head.

“Well, I didn’t see enough ponies to judge that,” said Twilight. “The ones I saw were a little cross, though I guess also loyal to her.”

Twilight had never thought of it that way. Other than wanting eternal night, was there a significant difference between how Celestia and Nightmare Moon would rule? There had to be; the Nightmare Force that possessed Luna couldn’t have anything good in mind, yet Twilight had no proof to offer.

“She banished Celestia to the Moon though,” pointed out Twilight.

“Do I even have to point out why that would be justified?” asked Gloomy, his tone taking an annoyed edge, slowly working its way towards shouting. “We’re not talking about good versus evil; this was just politics. Besides, look around! Even if Daybreaker didn’t fire those CMEs, she created and used them in war. Nightmare kept mega-spells on hoof as a deterrent, but when the time came, she refused to order a mega-spell strike, even in retaliation. The NLR missiles would have never fired without Midnight.”

Gloomy looked very upset now, and Twilight leaned back to avoid spittle as he spoke. Twilight knew Nightmare had been wrong, but didn’t have evidence that Gloomy would accept. At the very least, it was clear that this Nightmare wasn’t Midnight-level evil, or even Daybreaker-level evil if what Gloomy said was true.

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She also wasn’t sure why him being angry at her was so upsetting. She felt close to tears.

“Fine,” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not my intent to antagonize you, and I never said Nightmare Moon was vile enough to use mega-spells. I’m just saying life is a balance, dark requires light as much as light requires darkness. I’m sure they were both wrong in their own way, here at least.”

“Right, sorry,” Gloomy sighed, glancing over to where Spike lay wrapped in his burial cloth nearby. “I shouldn’t be arguing with you at a time like this. I just got angry because I hoped we… and to find out you… never mind.”

“I don’t blame you,” Twilight said. “And I understand if you have to report this to Watcher. Let’s just… we’ll let it go for now.”

Twilight looked to where Gloomy did, and for a moment she stared at Spike’s still, wrapped form. Gloomy reached a hoof out but looked afraid to put it on her shoulder, so Twilight leaned instead, touching her shoulder to his hoof.

Gloomy wasn’t a bad pony, but it never occurred to Twilight that good ponies might believe in what Twilight thought to be evil. Recent events showed Twilight the horrible things that could be done by ponies that believed they were the ‘good guys’. Even Midnight might believe herself to be right in her own twisted way.

Twilight hadn’t been able to successfully deal with her Starlight, a single pony that thought she was right. So how could Twilight untangle a mess like this where many destructive factionslal believed they were in the right?

“Let’s go put him to rest,” Twilight sighed. “Then whatever the right thing to do is, I’ll find it and make sure it’s done in his name.”

POV: Mercury Shine
Holder

For Mercury, keeping Crimson under control was quite a task. It seemed like every five minutes she had to stop her from doing something horrible. Don’t push elderly stallions down stairs Crimson… don’t threaten to eat colts Crimson… don’t lick glowing rocks Crimson… it was always something.

Perhaps the loss of her book was why Crimson acted like a foal that hated her foal-sitter. Being apart from it affected Crimson. She shivered, sweated profusely, and walked with a slight stagger. If Mercury didn’t know what caused it, she’d have thought Crimson was withdrawing from heavy chems.

Mercury was patient with Crimson because of this; she honestly felt sorry for her. And she could at least trust Crimson to help find Tranquil, even if for the wrong reasons. Though after waiting at Cola’s stall for an hour, it seemed like he might not come that day. They found his brother Bottle Cap instead at another nearby stall.

“He’s normally here at this time,” Bottle Cap said. “I think he might be taking the day off though. He does it sometimes; it’s not a big deal.”

“Was him trying to kill you a big deal?” asked Crimson. “I regretted missing out on that when I heard.”

“We’ve… come to an understanding,” smiled Bottle Cap. “We’ve made a password, something we came up with as colts that a changeling wouldn’t know. It’s a little annoying whispering it at him every time we meet, but it works.”

“Time to go to his house, I guess,” said Crimson. “I swear if he killed her…”

“Killed who?” Bottle Cap head-tilted. “You mean the Melody sisters? Yeah Olivia was asking Cola about them as I was leaving for my stall. He went to find them and I haven’t seen him since.”

“They’re our friends,” said Mercury. “From the same Stable as us.”

“Oh?” Bottle Cap asked but smiled. “Haven’t seen them since last night. I wouldn’t worry about Cola though. I don’t think he’d harm them with no reason to believe they were changelings.”

Though if he pulled a gun on Bottle Cap earlier, his standards of suspicion probably weren’t that high. They definitely needed to find them soon.

“Think he might be avoiding us?” asked Mercury. “He might think we’re changelings, and that might be why he hasn’t come to his stall. Maybe you could give the Melodies a message that Mercury, Solar, and Crimson would like to find them?”

“Sure,” said Bottle Cap. “Already promised to do that for Olivia. If he’s not here by lunch break, I’ll head over to our quarters in Stable 11 again to check.”

“They were really staying there with you?” asked Mercury.

“Not many places that pegasi can stay without being harassed, sadly,” nodded Bottle Cap. “We shared his bedroom and let them share mine until they could make enough money to rent a room, so maybe that’s what they did. They’re good ponies and hard workers.”

“That’s very decent of you,” smiled Mercury.

“Did either of you buck Tranquil?” asked Crimson out of nowhere. “I need to know if I should kill you.”

“What?” asked Bottle Cap in confusion, then shook his head. “Oh no, she said she didn’t like stallions like that. Though Peaceful was very affectionate so we both um… anyway, odd how twins can be so different.”

Based on what Twilight had told her about changelings feeding on love, Mercury supposed it made sense that they’d be easy.

“Tranquil doesn’t just not like stallions ‘like that’,” Crimson growled. “She doesn’t like them at all.”

“Crimson, let’s not make trouble, please,” Mercury patted her shoulder, then pulled it away when Crimson peered at her.

“Speaking of affection, can we get whores while we wait?” sighed Crimson at Mercury. “I’m getting jittery.”

Crimson probably didn’t like that they were talking to a stallion at all. Crimson wouldn’t normally accept help from a male and it peeved her that Tranquil had done just that. Mercury hoped she got used to the idea; contrary to what Crimson told the stable, it appeared half the world was composed of them.

“You two go relax,” nodded Bottle Cap. “Believe me, you got nothing to worry about.”

“I’m sure we don’t,” Mercury smiled.

“You two sound like each other,” Crimson commented. “Surprising somepony that grew up out here would be as naïve as somepony that never went outside.”

Crimson wasn’t wrong. Mercury had trusted Crimson too much in the past, but this was different. It wasn’t like these guys were serial killers pretending to be merchants or something. It seemed Crimson gave up trying to convince Mercury, though, as she turned and walked away without more discussion.

“Crimson, please,” Mercury turned and followed her. “I think we’re panicking about nothing.”

“I can’t help it!” Crimson said as she kept walking. “This all feels weird.”

“Weird?” asked Mercury. “Because Starlight took your book?”

“It’s a Crimoire, but no, nothing to do with that,” Crimson shook her head. “It’s been happening more and more since Totally-Clover-And-Not-Not-Midnight started traveling with us. The bitch got in my head and now I feel weird about Tranquil running off without me. What if she’s hiding now because she’s scared of me?”

“You feel… guilty?” Mercury asked. She started to tell Crimson it wasn’t her fault, but stopped short since she knew it was. It was good that Crimson recognized that at least.

“Shut up,” snapped Crimson. “Let’s go get a whore. I haven’t had one since before everything exploded.”

“But we had spa mares at Stable 27,” said Mercury.

“But those didn’t cost money,” Crimson said. “That’s the one problem of having a happy moneyless society where everypony gets what they need including free relaxation. No real prostitutes!”

“Well I guess I could use some relaxation too,” nodded Mercury. “But didn’t Starlight tell us to wait?”

“I’m not waiting,” Crimson glared at her. “You can go watch for Kyo to get back if you want to be useful, you’ll probably do something perverted like ordering a stallion if you go to the brothel.”

“Fine,” nodded Mercury. “I’ll wait at the gate for Kyo and check on the market from time to time.”

32. Changedlings

POV: Midnight Sparkle
Thursday, 11/3/2287
Midnight Castle

Midnight and her generals had come up with a plan to counter Trinity, but it was annoying to have to resort to such an extreme plan, especially since it would require moving all their supplies, including every book in her enormous library, into Underfree. Worse, this whole situation required she make a truce with individuals that should be screaming in agony right now.

It was funny how allies and enemies shifted. Statera was Midnight’s enemy, and she suspected Starlight was in contact with them. Yet due to their goals of evening the odds, it was in Midnight’s best interests to not attack them so long as she was at a disadvantage to Trinity.

She was already at a disadvantage before this, if recent intelligence was to be believed, so attacking them now would be foalish. They had to die while Midnight had an advantage over Trinity, if that could even happen now. It was hard to admit, but most of the ‘evening out’ in the war had been to Midnight’s benefit.

It was the same with Starlight herself. Midnight was no foal; she knew Starlight was responsible for the Mirror Pool incident and that she had a totally-not-Midnight ally, which was likely some profane side effect of time travel. Yet now that Starlight realized that it was in her best interest to stop Trinity, it was in Midnight’s best interests to spare Starlight and this mystery alicorn.

It was torture to have means to destroy someone that deserved it when she couldn’t. On top of that, even though she was certain Starlight would give her a convenient reason to kill her later, she had to get Rainbow on her side first. What a mess.

At least Rainbow would have wings soon, assuming Solar was as good as she hoped at cybernetics. Midnight had teleported much of Solar’s lab from Stable 27 here, so that should help. Considering Stable 27 voiced a desire to have Solar back there after she’d betrayed them, she must be an impressive scientist.

Midnight wanted to watch Solar work on her cute little buckbean, but recognized that if she was there, her fear aura would make it hard for Solar, the sort of hard Solar didn’t like. So instead, she had a screen set up in her room to watch the lab from afar.

On that screen, Midnight saw Rainbow belly down on the lab table with Spitfire’s wings wired into her back and several cables connected to her head. Her head casing was repaired and Solar had even fashioned a new glass cover for the cyber eye. There was blood from where Solar had been wiring magitech wings into her wing stumps, but Rainbow took it like a champ. From her slack expression, boredom was Rainbow’s current main enemy.

Ember’s youngest capable child Cinder was there too. He had limited medical experience to make sure Kamikaze didn’t get infection, but was also hurrying things by helping her with any trivial thing he could. He’d been latched onto her since she arrived, and it was obvious they wanted to buck. This was fine, but Midnight told him that he couldn’t until after Rainbow was repaired to ensure he’d help to the best of his ability.

Solar was nearby typing on a keyboard with her wings and looking frustrated at her progress. It was a good thing she had wings, since the artificial hoof Midnight gave her couldn’t sticky-hoof like a normal or cybernetic one.

She’d already gone above and beyond, crafting routines to dull the itches and headaches that plagued Rainbow due to her cybernetics. She also was doing her best to fix Rainbow's wings, but even with the encryption codes, it wouldn’t be easy to get them to function when attached to somepony they weren’t made for.

Midnight listened to the radio as she waited. Sometimes Songsmith reported on something horrible Midnight had done, which might make her feel better.

“Creatures of the Ashlands!” Songsmith’s voice rang out from his radio show. “It is I, Songsmith, your ruler! Hear me and obey!... Oh sorry, that’s those other radio stations.”

“Instead, I got more news of the mystery guests from old Canterlot,” Songsmith continued. “Believe it or not, none other than war-time Minister of Magic Starlight Glimmer fell through a time portal. Hard to believe, right? Well my sources confirm; it’s her.”

How did he know all this? Midnight wished she had the time and resources to hunt him down and torture it out of him.

“But here’s the harder to believe part,” Songsmith continued. “She’s allied herself with none other than Midnight Sparkle, or so it seems. Midnight popped into Holder and informed them all to do what Starlight said. Not only that, but several of the Pie sisters from Holder’s bomb-statue arrived with the Minister. Must be nice for Trinity to know everyone hates her so much that they’ll shack up with their arch nemeses to take her down.”

“Urrrrgh,” Midnight grunted and rubbed her forehead. “That happened less than an hour ago! How does he know?”

“Um…” the nearest guard sounded nervous, as if he thought not answering would result in agony.

“It was a rhetorical question,” Midnight growled. “One more word and I’ll make you buck that pegaslut scientist again until you die from dehydration.”

The guard remained silent.

Whatever. Midnight changed the station to her guilty pleasure: Radio Gollytopia. Her room guards were under orders to never utter a word of her listening to this station, but she had to admit it was a lot of fun.

“Welcome to another episode of Know – Your – Mutants!” Shimmy’s voice started. “Special guest star, Best Friend Cozy Glow, is with us in the studio to share her insights on this topic that affects us all!”

“Thank you, Shimmy,” Cozy said. “Today I wanted to talk about something that isn’t actually a mutant but is under the command of our great and powerful leader, The Trinity, all the same.”

“We have things that aren’t mutants?” Shimmy asked. “Everything I know is a lie!”

“Now calm down, Shimmy,” Cozy continued. “I’m just talking about the changelings. Sadly, friendship science does not work on them, but they make up for this with their ability to change into useful stuff.”

“Stuff, you say?” Shimmy asked. “Could you go into detail?”

“All sorts of stuff,” answered Cozy. “Things as well! And KNIVES.”

“Thank you for that detailed explanation!” Shimmy said. “But why did they join The Trinity if they couldn’t benefit from being made superior to other INFERIOR, FRIENDSHIP-HATING life forms?”

“It is a sad story,” Cozy said solemnly. “You see, Shimmy... They remembered the good old days before everything EXPLODED GLORIOUSLY. They remembered the gentle, compelling, and yet oddly insistent voice of their SUPREME MASTER crawling through their minds, telling them exactly what to do.”

“That would make life pretty easy,” Shimmy noted.

“That’s a good point, Shimmy,” Cozy said. “They missed the times when they didn’t have to think for themselves, when they could enjoy lazy days of following the BELLOWED COMMANDS OF OTHERS. So, The Trinity took on the BURDEN of their OBEDIENCE! Not that they do much.”

“Amazing!” Shimmy said. “So many amazing examples of kindness have surfaced lately. But they don’t do much?”

“I know they don’t, because they never ask me what Trinity wants them to do,” Cozy answered. “And only I can contact The Trinity! This makes sense though, since The Trinity wouldn’t resort to COWARDLY tactics like shape-shifting infiltrators!”

Midnight shook her head; Cozy had no idea how a hive mind worked. It was interesting though. Why did Trinity hide what she ordered her changelings to do from her primary forces? It could be as simple as not trusting someone with a radio show not to spill the beans about top secret missions, or it could be something more. She always wondered if ‘turning everyone into monsters’ was really Trinity’s goal.

“You know, Best Friend Cozy Glow, I think we can all learn from this.” Shimmy said.

“Indeed, Shimmy,” Cozy agreed. “You don’t have to be a changeling to live the easy life in Gollytopia. Ponies can come here and have an even better life, trading in their WEAK PATHETIC bodies for FRIENDSHIP AND MINDLESS OBEDIENCE!”

“Why would anypony pass up this deal?” Shimmy gasped.

“Golly, they’d have to be some pretty dumb poop-heads, Shimmy,” agreed Cozy.

Shimmy added rapidly, “Acceptance into Gollytopia pending Best Friend Cozy Glow’s approval. Best Friend Cozy Glow reserves the right to turn down applicants for any reason, including whimsy or boredom. Non-ponies may be accepted conditionally as egg-sacks for tatzlponies. Dismemberment and evisceration may occur.”

While it annoyed Midnight that Chrysalis was pretending not to be involved, Cozy always put it in a way that made her smile. She wished she had a supreme general with that kind of enthusiasm.

An inappropriately touching song by Songbird Serenade began, so Midnight turned off the radio. As she did, a squeal rattled the room, and Midnight realized it was from the monitor. She looked to see what might have died.

The lab looked the same, save for Solar who had tumbled out of her chair for unknown reasons as Cinder ran to assist her. With a flash, Midnight teleported herself within the lab.

“What’s going on?” Midnight demanded. “If you damaged my tribbing log, I swear…”

Solar further squealed at Midnight’s sudden arrival, but then dragged herself back into a standing position as Cinder bowed and backed up a few steps.

“Just Solar derping and startling me so much I nearly crapped myself,” replied Rainbow in an annoyed tone. “You two are lucky I haven’t been eating much, or there might be trouble! Speaking of which, I’d really like my next dump not to require the help of a bat guard who drew the short straw, so you done or what?“

Rainbow’s familiar brand of humor gave Midnight a touch of delight, lessening her anger as she looked to Solar.

“Sorry,” Solar said. “I figured out what I needed to do. I’m almost pretty sure the wings will work now.”

“About time!” Rainbow said.

“D-did you have an orgasm from solving a difficult problem?” Midnight peered at Solar with one eye.

“Um, yes?” Solar chuckled nervously, awkwardly wiping the wetness off the chair with a wing.

Cinder didn’t respond, but leaned to sniff in the direction of Solar’s nethers. He lowered himself to all-fours and pulled his legs closer together.

“Hm… I thought only I did that,” pondered Midnight. “Regardless, you say they will function? Activate them then.”

“Almost probably!” Solar nodded as she hopped back to the table and disconnected the cables attached to Rainbow’s wings and head.

“Got the update,” Rainbow grinned. “Let’s see how this… whoa!”

Rainbow shot up into the air, hovering for a moment. At first it seemed to work, until Rainbow zipped to the wall and slammed face-first into it. She turned, swooped at Solar, then charged into Midnight’s head. At first, Midnight thought Rainbow was getting affectionate, but unfortunately not.

“I can’t control them!” Rainbow complained. “I’m not doing any of this!”

“Huh,” said Solar. “I wonder if prolonged use by a feral made them aggressive.”

“How does that even work?” demanded Rainbow. “Are you saying my wings still want to kill everypony?... That’s kinda rad.”

“It’s probably due to the necrotic magic imprinting itself on the physical object after so many years,” explained Midnight as she steadied Rainbow with her magic. “It’s fascinating really, but not what I was hoping for.”

Midnight gave Rainbow an inappropriate lick then placed her belly down on the table again. She pulled the straps up from the sides of the table to keep Rainbow down, but her wings kept buzzing away.

“Possibly!” Solar pondered. “I’ll try to drain the old magic. You should gain control of them. Eventually. Or become a zombie, but there’s probably only like a three percent chance of that, four percent tops.”

“Then there’s a three or four percent chance of you regretting you were ever born,” growled Midnight. “Understand, pegaslut?”

“Oh, um,” Solar stammered. “I’ll make super-sure that doesn’t happen, your Divine Shadowyness.”

“So, um, question,” Rainbow said as her wings flapped sporadically. “When we finish, do I get to leave?”

Midnight’s annoyance drained, replaced by a sudden emptiness.

“D-do you want to leave?” Midnight was the one stammering now.

“Yes,” Rainbow turned as if afraid to make eye contact while saying it.

“You can do as you want,” Midnight turned her head so that Solar wouldn’t see her tears. “I have no desire to control your will… though I have a request for you.” She didn’t specify what around Solar.

“And if I don’t do that request?” asked Rainbow. “Or if I never want to return?”

“Um, should I leave the room for this?” asked Solar.

Solar edged towards the exit. Cinder was already there, though probably from a hope that they’d be done soon so he could grab Solar under one arm and run back to his cave with her. He somehow seemed even more excited than her about finishing. She wanted to let them go to talk to Rainbow alone, but first things first…

“Solar,” Midnight turned to her. “Is there a way to prove I did not alter Rainbow’s programming? We need to remove the directives that kept her from attacking my likeness.”

“Um, maybe?” Solar said. “I can check the change logs. Can Kamikaze not do that?”

“I assume she can’t if she hasn’t,” said Midnight. “So, do that for her. Now.”

“Right on it!” Solar turned, feather-fingers typing lightning fast.

Her fascination appeared to be battling with her fear of being in the same room as Midnight. Solar’s wings were shaking with Midnight so close, so typing was difficult.

“Huh,” said Solar. “You’re right, she wouldn’t be able to read these. I wouldn’t be able to without improvements to my equipment made since the Breaking. The logs say…. Gizmo? Who’s that?”

“That’s a programmer that worked on me,” said Rainbow. “But he hated the NLR more than anypony; most of his family died in an NLR attack. Why would he program that?”

“He wouldn’t,” said Midnight, turning back to Rainbow. “Do you believe me now? A changeling replaced him and did this to you.”

“You could’ve changed the log,” said Rainbow.

“But if I did that,” said Midnight. “I would make sure you had access so you could see and think somepony else did it. Or, as said before, simply not use an error message so you’d never know.”

“Okay, got me there,” sighed Rainbow. “On both counts.”

“Will you stay now?” asked Midnight.

“No,” Rainbow answered after a few moments. “Sorry… look, you might not’ve brainwashed me, but my feelings for you weren’t real, and the real ones…I wouldn’t say they’re at a level where I want to be your loyal wife.”

“Very well,” Midnight sighed. She wasn’t giving up, but Rainbow was the one creature she wanted to love her without fear, so she had to be careful.

Midnight dried her eyes and turned back to them. Solar had backed into a corner and was sobbing into her wings, Cinder patting her head as if trying to comfort a puppy. Midnight realized that she’d cranked up her fear aura unintentionally. Even Rainbow was tearing up; it was a credit to her that she could speak at all.

“I’ll teleport you to Holder, but I want to have a brief conversation first, alone,” Midnight said as she lowered the aura as much as she could, then turned to Cinder. “Run off and itch her ditches thoroughly, not just the stuff you like, but whatever weird stuff she’s into, so she feels amazing, then return her here so I can send them both back.”

Cinder saluted without a word; the dragon never spoke more than he needed to around Midnight, which probably showed wisdom. As she expected, he departed carrying Solar literally under one arm. Solar’d probably get horny as soon as they were out of range.

Midnight thought about keeping Rainbow a bit longer to give her more chances to decide, but this was best for other reasons, too. For one, if Rainbow was here, she’d want to fight Trinity’s forces when they arrived, and Midnight would rather keep her out of this particular battle.

“So a request…” Kamikaze sighed. “If it’s killing somepony, I’d love to, but these new wings don’t do the razer cutting thing. If you lost your keys up a dragon’s hole again, I’d need legs for that. …oh horseapples, this is some scheme, isn’t it?” Her jokes fizzled into dread for what it might be.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Holder

Gloomy followed Twilight back into the center of Holder. Despite their disagreement, he obsessed over protecting her as Watcher had instructed. It made Twilight nervous to know he thought as he did, but she let it go for the time being. She just hoped she could still talk Luna down if she needed to later.

Twilight’s pipbuck interrupted her thoughts as it buzzed to life. The light blinked to signify radio contact. She pulled it up and accepted the transmission.

“Anypony alive?” Kamikaze’s voice asked over the radio. “I can’t find Starlight’s network.”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight responded. “She’s in the bunker with Pinkie, Maud, and Dyo getting supplies to save Limestone. It’s shielded so they’re out of contact for the moment. I take it Midnight let you go?”

“Yeah,” said Kamikaze. “She was surprisingly reasonable, but I got the impression it was because she’s about to do something crazy to stop Trinity and doesn’t want me hurt. She’s moving a lot of things from the castle to Underfree beneath it, like she doesn’t expect it to survive. Anyway, Solar got my wings attached and they're mostly not trying to kill anypony. Then Midnight teleported us here. We retrieved the magazines and stuff from the wagon too; maybe we can sell some of the extra stuff.”

“That is surprisingly reasonable,” said Twilight, a little relieved at that. “Wait… your wings are mostly not doing what?”

“Hey,” Mercury’s voice came over the vocal comms too. “Let Solar know we haven’t found Tranquil yet, but we think she’ll be around later today. Anyway, Crimson is headed to the PUB.”

“That brothel?” asked Kamikaze. “Yeah, Solar saw a poster ad for it and now she’s walking funny wanting to go. I’m going to buzz around and explore, but she’ll probably meet you there, despite having JUST banged a dragon. I swear...”

They could hear Solar squee-ing in the background of Kamikaze’s CB transmission. It was followed by a brief ‘thump’ and an ‘ow’ from Kamikaze as if she buzzed into something on accident.

“I hope Crimson isn’t intent on causing issues,” Twilight said, ignoring the various ruckus. “I’ll try to cut her off. By the way, I’m disguised, but I’ll be with Gloomy. Call me Clover in public.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Kamikaze said before clicking off the transmission.

“Did you get my memory sphere?” asked Gloomy. “Twilight said you left it in Everfree with other supplies.”

“Yeah we got it,” said Kamikaze. “I’ll make sure it’s passed off to you.”

“Good” Gloomy said, touching Blinding’s necklace that he wore before continuing. “The PUB though? Think we’ll be able to talk her down? She doesn’t seem rational.”

“Well if she’s going in, we may as well go with her just to make sure,” Twilight already knew who Gloomy would want.

Back home, Twilight visited the Ponyville Spa semi-regularly, but rarely indulged in the lewder services. Even then, with how awkward she was, it was only a licking as part of a “full body relaxation” massage, often while talking with Rarity. That was only for when she was especially stressed, but she definitely was now.

Twilight and Gloomy had already been close, so they arrived first, but still didn’t have to wait long for Crimson to show up there as well. As she approached and saw them standing there, she seemed to know what they were going to say.

“Come with me to make sure no one dies?” Crimson asked.

“Were you planning on that?” Twilight asked, but Crimson walked around them.

“Guess we’ll follow her,” Gloomy chuckled. “I doubt she’ll do anything troubling so long as she’s not alone. And honestly, I’ve been curious about this place as it’s not somewhere Midnight would let us go.”

The inside of the PUB was sanitary, but there weren’t many more compliments to lie upon it. It had an entryway, a waiting room with a counter, and several halls that led back to various rooms. Photos of their workers covered one wall, eight males and four females of various species.

There were also various raunchy photos. It was obvious it was a brothel first and a spa second, rather than the other way around like the Ponyville Spa. Twilight imagined ponies got more stressed in this world, so it made sense. She couldn’t look down on them; these creatures made it their life’s work to make others happy.

Also unlike the Ponyville Spa, there weren't any specific services to pay for. It looked like patrons paid by the hour for a room, then additional caps per hour depending on how many masseuses they wanted and if they were shifted.

Twilight still wondered about the change potion. Long-term repeated use of a potion like that should cause permanent physical and psychological damage. There was a big difference between a gender spell and a species-shifting spell, especially if these potions could turn one into an inanimate object. Twilight wasn’t even certain if changelings could do that, though it seemed likely.

No one was at the counter, so Gloomy tapped the bell atop it, moving in front of Crimson as he did.

“Oh hey!” a unicorn stallion said as he emerged from the back. “I’m Daydream. I wondered when some of you guys would show up. Kyo let us know you each get a free service. Were you looking to try a shift? One for each?”

Daydream was a blue stallion with a white mane and green eyes. His cutie mark was a kiss mark next to a pile of bottle caps. It fascinated Twilight how cutie marks customized themselves to the culture of the pony, including things like currency type. The currency being bottle caps still confused her a little though.

“Two for now, thanks,” Twilight smiled and nodded at him, hoping Crimson wouldn’t contradict her, but not wanting to take up so many of their spa workers at once. She glanced at Gloomy and sighed. “I assume you want Nightmare Moon for us? I hope she’s not too realistic though.”

“I could do her,” Daydream nodded. “If you don’t mind a stallion being a mare. I’m the least frightened of bats here… um, no offense of course!”

“Am I that scary?” Gloomy asked, sounding heartbroken.

“It’s more who you work for,” Daydream said. “Again, no offense. We worship Her Shadow, but she is scary. I imagine she’d take that as a compliment.”

“Right,” sighed Gloomy. He clearly hated that Daydream felt the need to praise Midnight in front of him.

It was too bad he couldn’t tell anyone in Holder what he really was, but these citizens were no doubt under orders to turn in bats that weren’t with Midnight. Gloomy had already taken enough of a chance by being seen with them at all.

“Actually, I’d rather not have Nightmare,” Gloomy said, however. “I mean it’s not like I wouldn’t love it, but it feels a little… blasphemous? You choose, Tw… Clover.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Daydream nodded, then turned to Twilight.

If they could change into anyone, Twilight knew who she wanted, but saying it made her blush more than she ever had. If her Celestia ever found out she did this, Twilight would die of embarrassment.

“Um, Princess Celestia,” Twilight stammered, then blushed more as she asked Gloomy. “Would a stallion version be okay?”

“Sure, I’m good with a big stallion,” Gloomy shrugged and didn’t seem opposed, so his stable door must have swung both ways.

“You really don’t mind?” Daydream looked momentarily confused when Gloomy was okay with Celestia, but nodded. “I can do that, it’s a common request.”

Celestia was a common choice? Twilight wasn’t abnormal then, at least.

“Well that’s an interesting first date for you deviants,” commented Crimson. “Banging Day-dick-her together.”

Twilight sighed, taking a deep breath before turning towards the Crimson. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to Crimson being there, but still smiled at her to counter her attempt at annoyance.

“Is there any particular form you’d like?” Daydream asked.

Before Crimson answered, they heard Solar’s squee-ing before she even entered the PUB. The pegasus collided with the door and two walls on her way into the waiting room.

“Pinkie’s pee dance, what is that sound?” Daydream asked before seeing Solar come in. “Ah, you are Solar, yes? We were told to also expect a brightly colored pegasus.”

“Flag down, Solar,” Crimson said. “We’re sharing one apparently, so I’m choosing. Do any of them know what Tranquil Melody looks like? She’s new in town.”

“Aw,” Solar didn’t seem enthused about sharing with Crimson, but Twilight hoped she wouldn’t complain.

“We can pull her image from your mind,” Daydream nodded to Crimson.

“Good,” said Crimson. “Because I want to see what the whore looks like before she shifts so I can be sure she’s a mare in her natural form.”

“Of course,” Daydream nodded.

“If I find out you gave me a stallion,” Crimson growled. “I will make sure neither of you get to be one any longer. Got it?”

“I assure you, there is nothing to worry about,” Daydream’s nervous smile remained. “We’ll give you Fable. She is 100% mare, I assure you.”

That was all fine, but Twilight recognized something wrong. Something she probably shouldn’t have mentioned, but her curiosity pushed it out before she thought twice.

“You can read minds to take on the form of loved ones?” asked Twilight.

“Only with consent,” Daydream assured. “But yes.”

“All of your employees have this ability?” Twilight tilted her head.

“We have high standards for employees,” smiled Daydream. “We only hire those that are healthy enough for long-term potion use and able to learn basic psionic imaging.”

“Okay…” Twilight nodded, holding in increasing suspicion. “That’s… fascinating, certainly.”

Something was even more wrong, because that ability wasn't 'basic'. They’d found a dozen individuals capable of learning such a thing? Even Twilight would take years to learn that trick well, and many of these spa creatures were species that should have found it impossible.

This ability reminded Twilight of her own experiences with changelings. There had been multiple reports of this during the changeling attack on Canterlot that they could invade the minds of victims to take the form of somepony they loved without having ever seen the pony. The potion could explain the shifting, but the psionics were harder to dismiss.

But could it really be that obvious? Even Xander, as paranoid as he seemed about changelings, hadn’t suspected the spa workers for probably that same reason. It was hard to think that Trinity would have her changelings hiding in plain sight like this.

“Is it my turn yet?” Solar asked.

“Sure,” said Daydream. “Or weren’t you sharing with your friend?”

“Maybe,” Solar rocked back and forth in excitement. “But if she can shift once, she can shift again, and I’ll take one of each!”

“One of each?” asked Daydream. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Like they shift into one thing,” explained Solar. “Buck me, shift into the next thing, buck me, and repeat until all the things! The only things I’ve marked off my list so far are bat ponies and dragons. Did you know dragons have two dicks?!”

“I am aware they have hemipenis, yes,” Daydream chuckled. “We usually charge extra for multiple shifts, but I’ll make an exception once since you’re with the Pies. Fable should be okay with multiple potions, but do keep each brief to save time.”

That was increasingly suspicious. Even somepony accustomed to shifting potions couldn’t safely drink that many in quick succession, but Twilight didn’t want to rain on Solar’s parade.

“This is amazing!” Solar could barely stand from her shivers. “I’ll get my entire list done in one day!”

“Does it count if they aren't real?” asked Crimson bitterly. “And we do Tranquil first regardless.”

“Maybe!” Solar said. “I mean I do want a full session with natural ones, but this is still a good warm-up!”

Twilight blushed as they all finally headed back. Ordering sex was one thing, but she wasn’t sure how she’d function in a room with two threesomes going on. Maybe she shouldn’t have ordered such a private fantasy, though it was a pretty vanilla fantasy by the standards this world seemed to have.

The room was large, with a metal basin for a tub, heated with magic bubbles but not what Twilight would call a jacuzzi. There were also fresh straw beds for getting massages or more intense activity. This wouldn’t pass for a spa in Twilight’s time, but after what she’d been through, it was heavenly.

They each slipped off their saddlebags and slid into the tub, which was as large as Daydream indicated. Each took one side of the tub to soak, though it’d be a tight fit when Daydream and Fable joined them. Regardless, the warm water felt wonderful.

Gloomy sat next to Twilight, guarding her even here. The other two sat on the opposite side, though Solar seemed to keep her distance from Crimson.

“Hey, you wanna get batty after we finish with our fun?” Solar was already hitting on Gloomy.

“Huh?” Gloomy blushed but nodded. “Well not sure if I’ll have the energy right afterward, and didn’t you already…”

“Later then?” Solar assumed. “Great!”

Twilight felt her blood heat when Solar flirted with Gloomy, as hooking up with a friend was a bit different than spa relaxation. She wasn’t sure why it upset her though, so tried to put it out of her mind. Instead, she distracted herself by looking around. The spa workers weren’t here yet, so perhaps she should mention her suspicions.

“You know,” Twilight said quietly, not wanting to be heard if they arrived suddenly. “Seeing into someone’s head… and shifting that many times in a row… isn’t something normal creatures should be able to do, even with a potion. It seems too obvious but...”

“Huh,” Solar tilted her head. “I guess that is weird, but I don’t really care! If they turn out to be real changelings, that’s another thing to cross off the list!”

“Oh yeah?” Crimson tugged her saddlebags closer to the tub. “There’s one way to find out.”

Crimson dug around it looking for something, then put a jar where it’d be in easy reach for her. It looked like Xander’s green goo.

“You have one too?” Twilight asked. “I didn’t think to bring the one I had. Did Xander give it to you?”

“Yep,” said Crimson. “I’m supposed to rub it on anyone I suspect, but not like I’d know who to suspect, right? So I’ll rub it on who you suspect.”

“Tact, please,” advised Twilight, even if she knew Crimson’s capacity for such was limited. “I am glad you have it, but keep in mind how they might react if suddenly outed. It’s not a good idea without Starlight here to teleport us out.”

“That’s the fun of it!” Crimson said. “Not knowing how they’ll react!”

Was there any end to Crimson’s lack of tact in delicate situations? Twilight wished she’d had more time to think of a better plan, and considered maybe she shouldn’t have told them yet at all, but there was no stopping it now. Their conversation quieted as the door opened and Twilight took a deep breath before turning to look. In marched their two orders, though there seemed to have been some confusion.

In hindsight, Twilight should have made sure they knew she meant Celestia-Celestia and not Daybreaker. The flaming mane and demonic eyes were the most notable difference, with her cutie mark having a flare in the background as well. Twilight was too stunned for a moment to even complain, shying away. It wasn’t just how they looked, but also the sudden reminder of how Twilight let down everyone by allowing such a thing to happen at all. She barely held it together.

“I think I’ll exit the bath,” Crimson said as she slid out. “I don’t want to be in a soup full of filthy stallion juice. Full offense intended to your mango boyfriend, Totally-Not-Twilight.”

“That is fine,” smiled Crimson’s order Fable, a blue and green earth mare with a heart-shaped cutie mark. She joined her on the edge of the tub, and Solar bounced out after them.

“Hey cutie!” Solar giggled. “Can you be Tranquil with a dick?”

“Eh, sure,” Crimson shrugged. She didn’t seem to mind so long as the partner was naturally female.

Twilight was distracted from their antics for a moment when her own order splashed into the water in front of her and Gloomy. Gloomy seemed predictably unenthused, though wasn’t soft either. Daydream’s Daybreaker form seemed perfect, right down to the flaming tail that caused a burst of steam as he sank into the water. His malicious grin was probably perfect too as he looked down at them. Twilight chuckled nervously and was about to ask for a slight change. She didn’t need to though.

“Oh goodness,” Daydream-breaker paused about an inch from slurping Twilight’s muzzle and pulled his head back. “You wanted Celestia’s classical form? I am so sorry; I will get another potion.”

“Wait,” Twilight peered. “I thought you needed permission to read our minds.”

“Oh uh… didn’t I get it?” Daydream’s maniacal Daybreaker face became very nervous.

“Um, is this some kind of fetish?” a timid voice said from across the pool. “I don’t think it’s listed in our study guides…”

Twilight looked up to see Crimson slathering goo all over Fable’s face. At least she assumed it was Fable, since she was in a form which Twilight recognized from descriptions of Tranquil. Either way, it relieved Twilight when the goo didn’t work.

“Yes, yes, it is,” Crimson answered Fable-Tranquil. “So is this!”

With that, Crimson grabbed Fable-Tranquil by the head in her magic, dragging her to the edge of the pool and using both forehooves to shove her head under the water. Since her front legs were still weak, she mostly just lay atop her to push her under. Fable-Tranquil sputtered and tried to pull her head out.

“Um, miss?” Daydream turned from Twilight. “You should okay any violent fetishes prior to…”

“This isn’t a fetish,” Crimson explained, taking her time as she kept Fable-Tranquil drowning. “I mean, I do have a fetish for this, but that’s not why I’m doing it. I was told they might need to be under emotional stress for this to work.”

“Crimson, that’s enough!” Twilight sighed.

Twilight felt bad for her suspicions as Crimson finally gave up on stopping Fable-Tranquil from breathing. However, this respite was short-lived. In a flash of green magic, Fable’s form shimmered and reverted into what Twilight could only assume was her true form.

No wait, his true form; Crimson was grinning triumphantly now, but wouldn’t be for long.

Fable wasn’t as bright as the other changeling they saw, but wasn’t solid black or filled with holes either. He had dark green chitin over most of his body, with dark purple around his torso and wings, which looked like a traditional changeling’s minus the holes. He sported two dark purple antlers and somewhat lighter eyes. The form and color scheme was more intimidating than the bright one they’d seen at Everfree, but his terrified expression detracted from that.

Gloomy was faster than Twilight, grasping Daydream from behind as soon as he realized what they were dealing with. He leaped up on her back and bit down on his horn, twisting it to provide enough interference to keep him from casting. Still, that wouldn’t keep him from getting other changelings here.

“Hey! What gives!” Solar didn’t understand, but slowly caught on as her intelligence overpowered her hormones. “Whatever she just changed into, I want to buck it! Wait… is that a changeling? Are we sure, because it looks kinda different from the other we saw.”

This was rapidly going bad, Twilight did her best to charge up her own broken horn, wanting to be ready if she needed to use it, only for it to crackle out. That was weird, her horn being broken shouldn’t prevent all channeling of energy.

At this point, Crimson realized the gender difference, and her face turned to rage. She doubled her efforts to push Fable’s head under the surface. Solar and her fought over whether to keep it down. Solar easily won that disagreement, since Crimson was both weaker and lost her telekinesis at the same time Twilight stopped being able to charge her horn.

Twilight moved towards that tussle, wondering if she should intervene. It really showed how this world had affected her that she considered letting Crimson murder one outright to improve their odds, if only for a moment.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” cried Fable, somehow seeming more upset at offending the customer than being revealed. “We didn’t have enough females so they asked me to be one until we could find more! I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings!”

“We’re not Trinity’s! Spare us!” Daydream-breaker shrieked, shrinking down and not even attempting to buck off Gloomy. “Please! I know we disabled your magic, but it’s just for defense, we mean you no harm!”

So that’s why everyone’s magic had just stopped working. Twilight wondered if it was an official part of the town’s defenses or if it was specific to the PUB. More importantly though, their responses didn’t seem evil or controlled, they were both far too apologetic.

“Wait,” Twilight said, moving to help Solar keep Fable’s head above water, making Crimson give up and sigh in defeat. “You two work for Kyo only, not Trinity?”

“What?” Daydream-breaker shrieked. “Of course only Kyo... but one of the Chosen is here, he’ll tell Midnight for sure and she’s no better!”

Twilight believed them. She expected it would be scary if they turned out to be changelings, but this reaction and the lack of resistance made far more sense if they were refugees instead of soldiers.

“Calm down,” Gloomy seemed to get the idea too, and even eased up on Daydream’s horn. “I don’t work for Midnight either. She’d probably kill me if she knew I was here.”

The statement calmed them enough to prevent a screaming panic, but not a lot more. At first, Twilight wondered why Gloomy didn’t hesitate to tell them, but it didn’t take her long to work it out. They couldn’t tell on him if they didn’t want him telling on them, and an alliance with rogue changelings would benefit Statera.

Even then, Twilight had to focus to reign in her emotions. She’d spent the whole time here telling her group not to be racist, so she felt bad for her instinctive feelings about changelings.

The door opened and Olivia entered, out of breath as if she’d ran the whole way. Twilight could only assume they had a hive network where they called her. Was she a changeling too?

Olivia’s eyes and book glowed as she held out one paw. When she’d said she used magic before, Twilight had assumed alchemy, but it seemed it was more literal. The dog grabbed Crimson, apparently having been told about the attempt to drown Fable, easily pulling her away from the changeling and holding her. As Crimson grumbled, Gloomy was pulled off of Daydream as well, but not held still.

“Everyone calm down!” Olivia called. “Please, friends, I can explain, and Kyo is on her way too. She just returned to town. Please hear us out before you go.”

“Who said anything about leaving?” Solar asked. “I got a list to go through!”
Solar tried to follow Fable as she retreated to hide behind Olivia with Daydream.

“Daydream, Fable, please go for now,” Olivia said. “I apologize to our patrons, but we need to get this settled. If you still want afterward, you can still have your free session as promised.”

“Aw,” Solar sighed, having the least idea what was going on. Twilight felt for her.

“You were going to have a male buck me!” Crimson shrieked at Olivia. “I might have broken my vow to never buck a male without killing him!”

“I apologize,” said Olivia. “I really do. What vow was that though?”

“I… gah, whatever,” Crimson went limp. “Disgusting bug-horses. If only I had a giant fly-swatter.”

Olivia frowned but released Crimson. She seemed ready to grasp her again.

Crimson calmed and an awkward silence enveloping the room for a moment. Olivia opened the door again an instant before Kyo rounded the corner to come into the spa. Mercury followed behind her as if she’d been on her way to the PUB with her already. Kyo seemed less out of breath than Olivia had been now that they knew the situation calmed.

“Well,” Kyo started. “I guess I should have told them to check your things on your way in, but it doesn’t matter now.”

“Um, Twilight,” Gloomy said, not bothering to use Twilight’s pretend name. “You should take point on this conversation.”

“Very well,” Twilight nodded. It was best to clear this up before Starlight and the Pies knew. “Kyo. We are not your enemies. Please, just be honest with us… I take it you and Olivia are also changelings? Is that why you can still use magic despite whatever turns ours off?”

“No,” Kyo shook her head. “We’re not. Olivia developed a way for non-changelings to access a changeling hive, and a way for us to separate these changelings from Trinity’s hive. Being part of that hive makes us as immune to magical null fields as changelings are. I assure you, none of these changelings are your enemies either; they’re just scared.”

“Not a changeling?” Twilight looked at Olivia. “But you’re a diamond dog, how did you learn magic at all?”

“Excuse me?” Olivia said, wrinkling her forehead. “Do you think diamond dogs are stupid?”

“I don’t think she meant it that way,” Kyo patted Olivia’s arm. “Don’t forget what they said before. That one is an off-worlder, and from the past on top of that, supposedly.”

“No, she’s right to be angry,” Twilight realized her mistake. “Sorry, it wasn’t fair for me to say that.”

“Tsk, racist,” Crimson sounded triumphant, but she wasn’t wrong. Twilight felt ashamed that she’d slipped up so soon after resisting it with the changelings. “Magical null field though? How’s that work?”

“It’s fine,” Olivia seemed to forgive quickly enough. She turned to Crimson and politely added. “Our secret, but I will deactivate it so long as you remain docile, as a sign that we intend no harm.”

Twilight felt a slight jolt in her horn stump, and assumed that meant she could channel energy again.

“Anyway,” Kyo said. “It’s just like I said. These changelings are ones me and Olivia rescued from Trinity’s hive. The method requires surgery and magic, but it makes them unfindable by a normal changeling, which protects them from detection by our own systems as well. If Trinity or Midnight found out they were here, they would drag them off for experiments.”

“We won’t turn them in,” Twilight assured. “Please, you need not fear.” She turned to the others. “I am right, am I not?” She added “Crimson?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Crimson grumbled. “I’m angry, but it’s not in my best interest to out them either. They’re just lucky that monstrosity didn’t have time to touch me with his dick or I’d insist I get to kill him in exchange for my silence.”

It was a good thing Olivia and Kyo didn’t know Crimson like Twilight did. They seemed to take the death threat as figurative.

“I am sorry for that,” Kyo said. “I’ll ensure that you get the partner you wish if you come here again. Or you can have me, if that helps.”

“I just want to find Tranquil now,” Crimson sighed.

“Right,” Twilight turned back to them. “So, I take it that Peaceful Melody is one of yours?”

“No,” Kyo shook her head. “We were being honest before, we had no idea she was a changeling. Honestly, it worries me how she got through our detection grid, which should have picked up any of Trinity’s.”

“It is indeed an issue,” nodded Olivia. “But sadly we have not found her. She seems to have disappeared, as has Cola, right after I asked about their guests. I hope I didn’t cause him to suspect them.”

“Well, to be fair, Peaceful may not be Trinity’s,” said Twilight. “We suspect that she escaped from Midnight Castle when Tranquil passed by there and joined her as her ‘twin’. Since she came here instead of booking it for Trinity’s territory, she might be avoiding her too.”

“If that is the case, we still must acquire Peaceful as soon as possible,” said Kyo. “Just because we can’t sense her doesn’t mean Trinity can’t. We need to make sure she isn’t in danger, and that her presence doesn’t draw attention to us. And of course we need to know if there are more like her.”

Twilight started to respond, but a burst of static in her head cut her off, like someone had just cracked her over the head with a cattle prod.

‘Team!’ Starlight’s voice rang over the PCB. ‘This is Starlight! I’ve amplified my signal with the computer. I’m in the bunker.’

“Starlight?” Twilight asked aloud before responding on the PCB. ‘We hear you, what is it?’

“What about Starlight?” Kyo asked.

“Damn that smarts,” Crimson twitched. “Starlight just activated her pipbuck PCB by amping the signal from within your bunker.”

“Is Dyo okay?” Kyo asked.

Dyo wasn’t already on Kyo’s hive network? Twilight couldn’t help but wonder why. Was it because he wasn’t able to or because Kyo didn’t trust her brother that much?

‘Dyo is fleeing the city,’ Starlight said over the pipbuck network. ‘He’ll probably go by the Pie Museum to get Custard; acquire him at all costs! And evacuate as much of the city as possible! Not into Stable 11, I mean EVACUATE the city. No time for questions, just get them as far away as possible. If we can’t get this launch sequence stopped within 20 minutes, this whole city above and below will burn.’

Twilight felt her blood run cold. Was her assumption that the bombs couldn’t still explode wrong?

“Kyo,” Twilight widened her eyes. “We have a more immediate problem.”

33. The Power of the Arcane

Earlier Thursday, 11/3/2287
POV: Starlight
The Pie Sisters Museum, Holder

Starlight remained with the Pies as much as possible, wanting to find opportunities to convince them they could trust her. She had to ensure they would follow her once they no longer needed her to rescue Limestone, and perhaps if she helped retrieve the stealth suit, it would help.

Twilight was still an issue, and no longer useful now that they couldn’t use her. If Twilight showed up at Tenwhinney without at least wearing Daybreaker's skin, they’d call her bluff, as Midnight had probably warned them specifically. The act would only make it obvious that Starlight still had Twilight working for her. Even raiders probably knew about Twilight now thanks to news broadcasts with uncanny knowledge of events.

So now, Twilight was a liability. Yet Starlight couldn’t get rid of her now that Gloomy had latched onto her. Starlight couldn’t fathom why Statera was so interested in her, but acting against Twilight now would destroy any chance at an alliance. It had to be done in a way that no one could blame Starlight.

For now, though, they had to wait for Dyo to get back to them. The Pies wanted to go to their ‘museum’ and Starlight was curious herself, but getting there was annoying.

“Starlight, Goddess of the Sun!” Starlight had barely left their room when somepony was bowing in front of her. While it wasn’t unpleasant to be mistaken for a goddess, it was rather loud. The hall outside the Pie museum was busy because everyone heard they were in town. When Starlight and the Pies entered their view, everyone there chanted again.

Starlight was certain there were normal creatures in town, but who knew if she would ever see them. This crowd of wackos following them would run off anyone with a level head.

“Eris tear my tits through space and time, I do not need to deal with this right now,” grumbled Starlight, then shouted. “Silence!”

The chanting became a deafening silence. Then the less-silent sound of a few ponies crying from having upset her. How did ponies this stupid even remember to breathe? Starlight needed to find better minions.

“Save your chanting for private ceremonies,” said Starlight. “Worship quietly otherwise, and don’t become a tripping hazard.”

Starlight coaxed the pony that had bowed in front of her to one side. The pony cringed as if she’d smote him, curling into a fetal position, but at least he was out of the way.

“Her title is ‘Empress’, not ‘Goddess’” said Maud, as if she thought Starlight might not tell them.

“Indeed,” said Starlight. “If I were Goddess of the Sun, it wouldn’t break.”

“Y-you will fix the Sun though, right?” asked a timid mare next to the entrance.

“We will get to it,” said Maud.

“We have a long ‘to do’ list,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

Starlight ignored the other ponies looking upon them in awe and went inside the museum. The ponies they passed looked self-conscious at having disappointed them. Someone had foresight at least though, as the museum had a sign on it that said ‘Only Pie Sisters and direct associates allowed access today’. Thank Break for that.

On the inside, it had museum exhibits under glass like any other, though the burning incense and altar gave it more of a religious feel. The altar didn’t look like they had used it for blood sacrifices, but it was still disconcerting. There was a single room, but it had many exhibits, everything from weapons the Pies had used to outfits to battle plans.

The one pony there was a brown filly with a purple mane and burgundy eyes. Her mane and tail were straight, the Pie sisters’ favored style. Starlight wondered if she always wore her mane like that or if she did it today for their visit.

She wore a foal-sized war uniform and looked to be the curator despite her age. She bowed low upon their entry, but didn't get in the way as the others had.

“Greetings! I am Custard Pie, daughter of Rock Sovereign Kyo Pie,” she said. “I hope this place pleases you. Yes. Please let me know if you desire anything at all.”

The little one’s accent sounded like a cross between Maud’s and Pinkie’s, sometimes shifting closer to one or the other. It sounded intentional.

“You are also a descendant of our family?” Maud asked, her eyes centered on Custard.

“Yep!” Custard said. “You are my ninth-great grandmother, in fact. It is great to meet you! We made this museum as soon as we left Stable 11 in 2127 and a Pie has curated it ever since!” She was well-studied for a filly.

Custard grew still as Pinkie and Maud gave her a hug from either side. Starlight had learned to expect that whenever they met somepony with the last name Pie. Custard’s eyes watered as she returned the hugs, as if this approval was the most joyful thing she’d ever experienced.

“Do you have photos of our other family?” asked Maud. “Like my daughter Silt?”

“You’ll be happy to know she lived a long and peaceful life!” nodded Custard. “Relatively. I mean everything outside did explode. But we have photos and history for every Pie that has lived in Holder since you left, too! We can go through them all if you would like. Yes!”

“Me and Pinkie will sit down and look,” said Maud. “But only after we get Limestone. I would like to see these photos with her.”

“I cannot wait to see her too!” nodded Custard, then looked more sad, her voice momentarily losing the fake accent to adopt a more common one. “And I was sorry to hear about Marble… Is there anything else you need?”

“Pinkie will fight on in her shy sister’s honor!” Pinkie announced as she pulled away from the family-hug-time. “Supplies will be needed!”

Pinkie wasted no time finding the exhibit that displayed explosives she often carried. She smashed the glass cover and shuffled giggler grenades and other explosives into her saddle bags, probably getting a few bits of glass in there in the process.

“Pinkie…” sighed Starlight, putting a hoof to her own forehead. Did she have to do everything with such unneeded levels of violence?

“Take what you wish!” encouraged Custard, not seeming to mind. “I will open the cases for you if you want, unless you like breaking them. That is fine too. Yes!”

“Pinkie enjoys breaking things,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

“Try to avoid breaking more,” sighed Starlight.

“There is enchanted ammo for Ashmaker here too,” observed Maud, though she opened the display she came to. “Quite a lot.”

“There's even more in Stable 11,” said Custard. “It's probably the only gun of its kind to survive so you aren't likely to run out. You can resupply in Holder for some time.”

“Why did you wait fifty years to exit the stable?” asked Starlight. “I didn’t think they successfully hit this target.”

“Not directly, Empress,” said Custard. “But due to the taint that washed through the nearby river from Ghastly Gorge, the surface was unsafe for some time. Even now it is bad to go near the river. We are blessed to have such effective filtration systems in Stable 11.”

“Who said that?” Maud asked, looking around. “I heard my name.”

“I heard nothing,” Starlight said.

“There it was again,” Maud said.

Starlight heard nothing still.

“The voice speaks to us!” Pinkie grew still half-way into putting another grenade in her bag.

“That is Boulder,” nodded Custard. “He waits in the far corner, and was very eager for you to visit.” She pointed.

“Boulder!” Maud rushed to where Custard pointed, a smile unlike her adorning her muzzle as she did so.

Maud rushed to the display, kicking the whole top off to crack as it smashed against the floor. On the tiny plush chair inside was a tinier rock, which Maud embraced with both front legs as if it were a long-lost love.

“What.” Starlight said, too dumbfounded to get mad at Maud breaking a second case.

The Pies had collective auditory hallucinations about the same inanimate object? She had always assumed they each hallucinated about their own individual friends, but maybe it shouldn’t have surprised her. She wished she’d had more time to study it. Starlight granted them soul crystals to begin with to be sure she never lost the opportunity to further study their unique abilities, but sadly no longer had the facilities.

“Why were you keeping him in a case?” Maud demanded, slightly less calm than usual.

“Oh goodness no,” said Custard. “We did not keep him there. We take him on regular walks and sometimes to creature-watch in the market. He was only there waiting to see you today.”

“Thank you,” Maud cuddled the rock again. “Oh Boulder, I thought I would never see you again.”

Maud teared up, which Starlight didn’t even know was possible.

“Pinkie’s sister has experienced the reunion of touchingness!” Pinkie said. “Boulder will now join the Pies on our crusade of violence!... Justice. Pinkie meant justice. Yes.”

“Yes!” Custard was fond of that verbal tic.

“What?” Starlight asked again.

“Apologies, Empress,” Custard bowed to Starlight. “Only the Pie Sisters and some descendants can hear the words of the sacred stone Boulder.”

“How interesting.” Starlight took their word for it. She definitely wanted to do further study into that sort of pisonics, but there was no hurry since it didn't seem like it could be weaponized at present. “Well I’m… proud of you for keeping it safe then.”

“You honor me, Empress,” Custard bowed again.

“One bow per visit is enough, please,” Starlight said.

“Are there many Pies here?” Maud asked.

“83 currently living, all descended from you,” Custard said, clearly knowing her stuff. “There would be more, but the standard to breed a Pie is high, and sometimes the one that would win the honor are not creatures that can breed ponies so can’t take advantage; too bad for them. Even keeping it in the family, not every Pie is worthy of making more Pies, such as my poor uncle Dyo.”

Custard’s somewhat embarrassed look at mentioning Dyo didn’t surprise Starlight. She sounded more disappointed than hateful though.

“You mentioned other creatures, and I saw a lot in town,” said Starlight, not wanting to give them time to start up a conversation about breeding programs. “Where did they come from?”

“All over,” said Custard. “Mostly from the south. They did not expect to be involved, so did not have stables to hide in when their cities were destroyed. The area around here was less irradiated than surrounding areas, so they settled nearby. When we emerged and set up Holder, some had already taken shelter in the barracks, and many more came after since we are more equipped than most settlements. More refugees came when the Sun stopped and many more places in the south became uninhabitable. Either way, we welcome all that will work for the glory of Equestria.”

“What about pegasi and bats?” Starlight asked. “I know I saw at least one docile dragon as well.”

“Midnight requires us to turn in bats that do not already work for her,” said Custard. “All other species are allowed to live here. Dragons make pretty scary enforcers to the point I sometimes get nightmares about them gobbling me up, so they’re useful even if not respected. There’s pegasi around, and they make good scouts when griffons aren’t available, but mostly keep to themselves. Just about every time one sticks their head out, they cause trouble and get it cut off. They don’t normally get their head buried either since their families won’t pay for a plot, but I guess that’s what you expect from traitors.”

“You call them traitors?” asked Starlight, blinking at such harsh words from a foal. “I was at the last battle and there were still pegasi, bats, and my own dragon friend fighting for Equestria. Are their descendants being punished for the actions of the ancestors of others? My guess is that they can’t afford burial plots because they’re forced to ‘keep their heads down’ in fear that success will bring them lethal attention.”

“Truly?” Custard said as if the knowledge rocked her world. “I guess… I never really thought of it like that?”

“In fact, a pegasus we traveled with saved the lives of Pinkie, Maud, and Limestone. She saved my life twice,” Starlight added. “Her name is Solar Flash. If you meet her, will you mistreat her?”

“Also she is an adequate lay,” Maud added.

“Taking her injuries into account, Pinkie rates her sexy-times skill as 7 out of 10 pies,” said Pinkie. “Yes.”

Custard stood speechless. Both from Starlight’s information and probably also the inappropriate conversation from her heroes about having banged a pegasus. Starlight didn’t fault the young one too much, but hoped she evaluated her thinking. Once things were calmer, maybe Starlight would have a look at the school curriculum here to make sure of what they were being taught; Starlight couldn’t afford to exclude potential allies based on race.

“There you are!” Dyo’s voice said from the door. “I thought you might be here.”

Dyo trotted in with a smile on his face. Starlight checked her pipbuck and found him still reading as yellow. It wasn’t reddish yet, but still, why not green? Was it having trouble determining?

She hoped Maud and Pinkie’s judgment wouldn’t be clouded by him being a Pie and that they’d keep an eye on him. They dragged Custard to Dyo so all four could hug at once. It was cute for the two killing machines to be so fond of their family, but Pinkie must have caught on too, since Starlight saw her flip open his saddlebag to do a quick search for dangerous items during the hug.

“Hey Da-… Dyo,” Custard said in a much more normal voice than she'd been speaking in.

“Oh, hey,” Dyo blushed at the hug, then glanced away, then squeaked and stepped back when Pinkie seemed like she might start a cavity search too. “Anyway, I got the panel open. Now we need one of you to put your hoof on the pad to open it and we can get to the stealth suit. And bonus, I think we can deactivate the missiles in the silo, and even the one in town, from inside. We probably don’t even need all of us to take care of it, if Starlight has other things to do.”

Starlight looked at her pipbuck screen again. Hm. Dyo had gone further from yellow to light orange. There was no way she was letting him exclude her from the trip when she couldn’t be sure of his reason.

“Dyo, don’t take this the wrong way,” said Starlight. “But Maud will ask you for details about your rescue, and you will answer them without hesitation.”

While it didn’t seem likely, Starlight couldn’t take any chances. There had been talk of changelings in town, and they knew at least one was present if Tranquil had a ‘twin’.

“Um, okay?” Dyo looked nervous.

“Which of Crimson’s bones did I break?” asked Maud, seeming to understand. “And in what order.”

“What?” Dyo looked more nervous. “Well you punched her chest first, so maybe a rib… then you broke her front legs. I don’t remember what order, but she laughed because the one you broke first had already been broken once.”

“Maud?” asked Starlight.

“Good enough,” said Maud.

“Sorry, I had to be certain,” said Starlight, deciding to be frank with him. “My pipbuck doesn’t register you as a green ally.”

“Oh that,” Dyo chuckled. “Maybe because I dug through the stable systems without authorization. In my experience it’s a pretty glitchy system. I mean you all saved my life; it’s not like I’ll betray you the next day.”

“Pinkie accepts this for now,” said Pinkie. “But if he dares to betray his own family, he will take the bath of despair!... Now Pinkie will load up with more explosives.”

“What?” blinked Dyo.

“Just nod,” said Maud.

Dyo nodded as Pinkie turned to head to another case displaying explosives. As she grabbed some timed explosives, Dyo turned to Custard.

“Custard, do me a favor and stay here, okay?” Dyo said. “I want to find you quickly when I return to talk about something important.”

“Sure!” Custard smiled.

“Then lead on,” nodded Starlight.

POV: Pinkie Pie
Location: Stable 11

Stable 11 was similar to Stable 27, but not exact. For one, it was less advanced. It had conventional magitech reactors, machines that made food sludge out of genetically engineered mold and meat rather than hydroponics, and not as much living space built into it. At least they had made some improvements since the Breaking though, including the weapons the guards carried.

“Tell Pinkie,” Pinkie said to Dyo as he led them down a side corridor that would lead them to the adjoining bunker. “Where do the guards get their new weapons? You have gems, but where are the facilities to make them into weapons?”

“Such facilities were in the bunker before,” agreed Maud. “But you have already stated that you no longer have access to that, and machines like that would require some gems we don’t produce here.”

“Right,” said Dyo. “Someone set the bunker entrances to the highest security level without considering we no longer had high-ranking soldiers here to unlock it.”

“Makes me wonder how many facilities went into a lock-down and never came out of it,” Starlight pondered. “I bet that soldier never lived it down.”

“Probably not!” Dyo chuckled, sounding fake. “Anyway, right now we ship gems to Ramble, and they produce our weapons which they then send back. The diamond dogs are good with gem-based magitech.”

Pinkie had never met a diamond dog that could pick up a gun and not shoot itself within thirty seconds, so they must have hit the mutation jackpot since then. They were great allies too if they produced weapons for Holder; Pinkie almost regretted having taken potshots at diamond dogs for fun before.

“Were there no ponies in the bunker when it was closed?” asked Maud. “None at all that could have opened it from that side?”

“Well, there were,” said Dyo. “That’s why I asked you to bring your weapons. They stopped responding after it was sealed due to a problem with the bunker reactor. We managed to shut down the reactor remotely, but by the time we had, everypony in the bunker section had died from radiation exposure.”

Pinkie understood the implications.

“How did you shut it down remotely if the security kept you from accessing it?” Starlight asked curiously.

“Actually I think they used the soul recycler,” Dio said. “If you open the gem receiver wide and shove two soul gems in at once, even if they’re empty, it’ll overload and cause a surge through the whole system. We used that to overload the grid, which broke some vital connections and caused a shutdown.”

“Of course,” mused Starlight. “I remember now. We designed both recyclers and neck slots to fit two gems if you shoved another in. It was meant for redundancy, but we were waiting until we were able to make crystals more easily to test it extensively… it causes a surge though? Odd bug. Maybe due to a feedback loop between them…” She seemed to know less about them than she should as their inventor; were they really that poorly tested? “Shouldn’t we bring some city guard with us too though?”

“We need to sweep the entire bunker,” said Maud. “If there are feral soldiers here, it is our duty to release them from their torment.”

“Well,” shrugged Dyo. “Only Kyo can order the soldiers off their standard duties, and she’s not here. But we can’t wait either, we need to be ready to leave for General Limestone as soon as she gets back, right?”

“No one else could order them to help us?” asked Starlight. “Not even you? Are you certain?”

“I wouldn’t go in with a small team if I could have an army,” said Dyo. “Your weapons will make short work of these ferals though. Glowing ones only form at blast sites, so these shouldn't be an issue.”

Pinkie had started to see why Dyo was the disappointment of the family, as Custard had hinted at, if guards wouldn’t even follow his orders. She wondered though why he didn’t just tell them to ask; it was hard to figure out if he was stupid or suspicious. Either way, she was fine with having more violent fun to herself.

She made sure Pinkie Die and her Gummy Launcher were loaded, though she doubted Starlight would let her use the latter. Maud checked Ashmaker and held Mite at the ready. They had more options now though; Pinkie didn’t have to be as careful with ammo since Holder had never used up their own war supplies.

“Are we certain that all of them are feral?” Pinkie asked. “Pinkie does not want to slaughter her colleagues unnecessarily.”

“Well if they weren’t,” said Dyo. “They would have contacted us somehow. Nopony on the other side made attempts at the door.”

They arrived at the bunker entrance, finding the security panel next to it pulled out of the wall. It looked to have needed repairs to even get in with Starlight’s code, but it was 200 years old after all.

“Here we are,” said Dyo, motioning to a hoof-print pad on the security panel. “Empress?”

“Maud and Pinkie on point,” sighed Starlight. “Only resort to loud weapons if necessary. I’ll be right behind you with the light.” She stepped forward and stepped onto the panel. The panel glowed as it scanned her hoof.

“Greetings Empress,” the Daybreaker-voice computer said.

This was interesting. The computer knew Starlight’s rank had been upgraded. The stable security systems must still be connected to at least some extent. It was a pity that Stable-Tec wasn’t around any more to explain the nature of it, but Crimson had mentioned being able to communicate with other Stables before. It would be just like Stable-Tec to have their stable computers secretly able to contact one another even when the residents could not.

“We’ll head to the control room first,” said Dyo. “It’d be a good idea to stop by and deactivate the balefire systems while we’re here.”

“Is that important?” asked Maud.

“Well, I’d like to get them shut down before repowering the bunker,” said Dyo. “I don’t want an activation sequence to load due to worn-out systems. They were all at the ready when everything went offline.”

“You have knowledge of the systems?” Pinkie narrowed her eyes at him. She didn’t want to point out that he was obviously stupid, since he was still a Pie, but it didn’t make total sense.

“Well, they teach about the event in school,” Dyo explained. “And I remember a mention that even if we got in, it’d be dangerous to repower without precautions.”

“This makes sense,” Pinkie went with it for the time being.

‘I know you don’t want to think about a Pie betraying us,’ said Starlight over the PCB. ‘But please keep a close eye on what Dyo does here.’

Starlight still suspected Dyo. Pinkie had to admit that if Dyo wasn’t a Pie, it’d alarm her more that he appeared yellow on the pipbucks. While she kept her eye on him, it seemed unlikely that this was a part of any evil plan. What evil plan could he support by putting himself in danger with ferals, shutting down mega-spells, and giving them stealth armor?

He had no reason not to be honest about shutting down the weapon systems. Anyone he might fire a mega-spell at would have defenses to counter old balefire missiles by now. Even if she wasn’t suspicious though, it was a reasonable order of which Limestone would probably approve.

‘Pinkie will do this!’ said Pinkie. ‘She can be counted on. Yes.’

Starlight flinched at Pinkie’s loud voice booming through the PCB. Pinkie loved doing that.

It was good that Maud and Pinkie were on point when the door opened. Before it opened fully, Pinkie saw movement and raised Pinkie Die to the ready. There would probably be few enough for Maud to take with Mite but…

Oh my no, there were not few enough.

Had Limestone been with them, she would have predicted this. It made sense as many soldiers had died of radiation while trying to get back through the door into Stable 11. There were two dozen bodies lying in the hallway just beyond the door. Half were skeletal and still, but the other half stood and charged towards the unexpected light source on instinct, snarling.

Maud took a step back, then spun around to swing Mite like a bat. She activated the rocket attachment, knocking the first feral into the ones behind it like a bowling ball. She stepped back and Pinkie was ready to step up in her place.

Pinkie knew she shouldn’t have fun with this. These were her compatriots after all. but it was hard to deny the joy of rotten bodies flying into pieces under a hail of bullets as Pinkie’s minigun spun to life. Pinkie couldn’t stop herself from cackling madly as she mowed them down, limbs and organs splattering down the hallway behind where the ferals had been lurking.

“They are at rest,” said Pinkie when done laughing as her gun spun down. “Yes.”

“Make sure,” Maud said as she moved into the hallway ahead of them.

Starlight shone her magic light down the hall to make sure no more were lurking about while Pinkie and Maud checked the bodies. They smashed any heads that remained solid, even if they didn't move, just to be sure.

Maud stood for a moment after finishing and stared at a wall looking tired. Pinkie trotted over, bumping her bottom against Maud’s to get her attention. Maud looked at Pinkie, her face as bland as usual, but Pinkie could always see the emotions there. Pinkie could see the stress and rage dissipate from Maud’s eyes at Pinkie’s attention, smiling slightly before heading to the front of the group to lead them.

Pinkie could tell Maud was more stressed than usual; they both were. It was a good thing they had each other; their relationship acted as an outlet to their otherwise unmitigated rage. Were either left alone with Starlight since Limestone disappeared, Starlight might not be alive now to pretend to be in charge.

Aside from the group at the door, other feral encounters were light. Some of them still stood at their posts or control panels while others lurked in dark corners. They were all easy pickings for Mite, so Pinkie didn’t get any additional fun.

Starlight relaxed when she realized that the entire silo would not be as intense as the front door, but Dyo seemed more agitated the further they went. As little as Pinkie wanted to admit it, he was acting like somepony having second thoughts about a horrible plan. Pinkie had seen it plenty of times. She did it herself once or twice before getting used to having horrible plans.

Pinkie didn’t think a Pie would betray them, but this wasn’t the same world it used to be. Had it gotten so bad they couldn’t trust their own family? Pinkie didn’t want to believe that.

“I have a disk to put into the maneframe when we get to the central control,” Dyo explained as they went, voice quivering. “It’ll shut down all the launch systems.”

“You had one ready?” asked Starlight, tilting her head.

“It’s been ready since shortly after it was closed off, for if we ever got access,” said Dyo.

“Pinkie thinks the Empress should have a look before it is used,” suggested Pinkie. “Yes.”

“Well that’s not necessary,” stammered Dyo. “But of course, you can.”

“Um, sure, I’ll have a look,” Starlight said, but followed it with a nervous chuckle.

Dyo swallowed as he hoofed over the drive and Starlight connected it to her pipbuck. She skimmed through the data as it scrolled in front of her, but there was a lot. If there was malicious code hidden there, even a genius might not find it, and Starlight seemed much less when it came to coding. Actually, she barely looked like she understood it, which was strange given it was one of the things she was known for.

Pinkie’s paranoia was finally overriding her trust for the family. She didn’t like how Dyo acted.

‘I hate to say this,’ Maud said on the PCB. ‘But springing information on us at the last minute is suspicious.’ It appeared she had similar thoughts.

‘Pinkie agrees,’ said Pinkie. ‘We should proceed carefully.’

‘Should we abort the control room and go for the stealth suit?’ asked Starlight. She appeared to have learned to listen to her soldiers at least.

‘Pinkie feels we should,’ said Pinkie. ‘But Pinkie is the paranoid, so she will trust what her favorite sister decides.’

‘I do not like it,’ said Maud. ‘But I also do not want to be responsible for a disaster. We benefit a lot from reducing the probability of the silo overloading when they repower this section, while I don’t think there’s anyone he would fire old missiles at that wouldn’t be able to stop them. Even Midnight, given her current work-load, wouldn’t counter-attack a failed missile attack without checking what happened, in which case we could just hoof him over.’

‘Makes sense,’ said Starlight. ‘Let’s go through with it then, but let me see how he reacts at least...’

“There may be a lot of ferals in the control center, but we shouldn’t shoot in there unless we must,” asserted Starlight. “You know, it might be a good idea to get the stealth suit first and use that when we can to shut it off.”

“Ah, well,” nodded Dyo, pausing and tapping his front hooves together nervously. “We have to repower the research wing to get the doors open if we don’t want to take an hour fiddling with each of them, and I’m afraid of what that might do with the missiles that were ready to launch.”

He sounded technically correct as he reiterated that, but Pinkie still didn’t feel right. He already looked nervous before though, so it was hard to tell if that made him more nervous or not.

“Very well,” said Starlight.

They arrived at the door to the control center. Knowing there were likely ghouls inside, Maud rattled the door with her hammer. She then backed around the corner as she kicked the door open.

“If you are docile, do not exit yet,” Maud called inside, just in case.

A snarling, confused-looking pony corpse stumbled out the exit. Maud came down on the poor stallion’s head hard with Mite. Pinkie stayed ready with her gun but didn’t need to use it. There were only a few ghouls, and they exited slowly enough for Maud to crunch one at a time.

After none came out for a minute, Maud pushed the pile of corpses out of the way and peered into the darkness. Pinkie and Maud moved ahead, Starlight following behind with the light. The control room was intact with no other ghouls lurking in the immediate area.

The room had a large control panel, which still had emergency power judging from a few blinking lights. Above the panel was a window leading into the main area hangar. It was a good thing that the control room was sealed from the main hangar, because the hanger area was massive. It contained dozens of missiles ready to fire, and hundreds of places ghouls could hide.

There were massive doors at the top of the hangar for the missiles to be launched. There was no telling if the doors would still open, and the mega-spells exploding inside would be the end of Holder. While the hangar and stable could survive a blast from above, a blast from within would destroy both and collapse the city above them into one giant crater.

“The doors up there don’t look like they’ll open,” Starlight noticed it too, turning to Dyo. “So if someone attempted to launch these missiles, they would probably explode in the hangar and destroy this city, as well as most of your family. Are you sure that this is less dangerous than powering the section? Absolutely certain?”

“I concur,” said Maud. “They were difficult to open before, the chance of all the gears needed to open such heavy doors remaining intact over this long with no maintenance is virtually zero.”

“Right,” Dyo nodded. “All the more reason to shut down these systems…”

He didn’t miss a beat in his answer, seeming reassured if anything. That seemed to indicate he didn’t want to fire the missiles, and Pinkie could think of no motive why he’d want them to explode here. Starlight looked like she was trying to think of something like that as well, but must have come up empty because she nodded again.

Dyo placed his saddlebags on the floor next to the panel. He opened them to pull out a large Glimmer Cell battery meant for powering things on the fly like this. He started to wire it into the machine.

“Remind me what your cutie mark is for again?” asked Starlight.

“The equal sign?” Dyo asked as he fumbled with the connectors. “It’s for accounting.”

“I’ll do the wiring then,” Starlight said.

Starlight grasped the connectors and latched them into their proper positions, making sure they were snug, then flipped on the battery pack. The rest of the control panel lit, the screens glowing as the system booted.

“Your cutie mark reminds me of an idea I had once,” Starlight commented to Dyo. “Never got to do it. Celestia showed up looking for students long before I could. Probably best.”

“Must have been exciting for you,” Dyo stammered. His nervousness made his words seem fake. “Getting to be her student, I mean… What was the idea you had?”

He was backing towards the door. Why was he doing that? Maybe he feared it would explode? It wasn’t like backing up would do any good if it blew. Pinkie turned towards him, tensing and ready to charge if need be.

Starlight wiped the dust off the computer screens, ignoring or not hearing Dyo’s question. The computer screen showed that it was waiting for data. Starlight pulled the data drive from her own pipbuck and clicked it into the panel.

“Hangar lockdown commencing,” the Celestial computer voice announced.

“Sorry!” Dyo called, darting through the exit before it closed behind him. It took only an instant, not giving Pinkie time to charge, and they heard him galloping down the hall as fast as he could towards the exit.

“What?” Starlight asked.

“Launch sequence started,” the voice said. “Twenty-two minutes.”

“That is a very specific number,” Maud commented.

“It is the length of a single episode,” explained Pinkie. “So it is even. Yes.”

“What?!” Starlight clicked buttons on the keyboard. “But there’s no targeting data! Without targeting data, they’ll explode in the hangar even with launch doors open!”

“Why would he do this?” Maud stared.

Starlight opened a second panel, pulling out a cable and attaching it to her pipbuck.

“I don’t know, but I have to warn them,” said Starlight. “This can boost my signal. Get us into the main hangar. No questions.”

Pinkie leveled Pinkie Die at the door into the hangar and let it buzz to life. It was less sturdy than the one to the hallway that Dyo had closed, so fifteen seconds of blazing bullets later, the door flung off its hinges and flew into the darkness beyond.

As Starlight communicated with whoever she could, Pinkie moved onto the stairs leading downward towards the main floor of the hangar. Ghouls wandered from their hiding spots because of the noise, but they were easy enough to pick off from a higher position. None of them were pegasi, so they came up the stairs one at a time.

“Can you not simply put in launch data?” asked Maud from behind her. “We could at least try the doors to fire them into the ocean, or put in invalid target data to see if it would error out.”

“I don’t remember how, okay?” Starlight said. Her magic yanked an explosive from Pinkie’s bag and sat it atop the control panel. “Go down the stairs into the hangar.”

“The Empress does not know how to operate things she invented?” asked Pinkie as her gun buzzed to a stop. “Pinkie suspected she only took credit for such things. Yes.”

“Not the time, Pink,” Maud said. “This is my fault for deciding to continue.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Starlight said. “It’s my job for it to be my fault. Now get down there.”

Pinkie rushed down the stairs, Maud on her tail and Starlight behind them. While Starlight didn’t know the details of how things functioned, she seemed to know where to plant Pinkie’s explosives. She stuck another at the base of the tower where the control room stood. She didn’t dare place them on the missiles themselves, but floated them to the conduits routing power to them.

Another two ghouls rushed out of the shadows. Maud’s hammer put an end to one as the other was sliced apart by Pinkie’s minigun, being careful not to hit any of the missiles with gunfire. It was a good thing ghouls couldn’t use guns; that’d make them a real problem.

But they could use something else that Pinkie didn’t expect. Maud’s hammer glowed a pale gray light as magic tried to yank it away. Maud held it, but the magic was enough to annoy her. Pinkie felt her gun jerked around though had no problem holding it steady. She spotted the glow of a unicorn horn in a dark corner, firing there and splattering the unicorn ghoul against the wall behind it.

This was odd since they had fought unicorn ferals in Canterlot that didn’t do that. It must have been a rare ability among them, but would be more common in those with military or magical training. Luckily there weren’t many unicorns at this base during the war.

“Blow it!” Starlight called out to Pinkie.

They were barely a safe distance, but Starlight was right. There was no time to wait as there was no guarantee the missiles wouldn’t activate early. Still, this was a pretty stupid plan on Dyo’s part if they stopped it so easily. Pinkie supposed a civilian today couldn’t be expected to create an effective plan for something like this.

All the same, this hurt because Dyo was still a Pie. Pinkie couldn’t help but wonder what madness drove him to do something so destructive, endangering the lives of most of the Pie family.

On the plus side; they had over half the time to spare instead of a few seconds; so much for that trope. Taking cover with the other two, Pinkie pulled the detonator for her bombs, clicking to activate the ones they placed before pulling the switch.

“We missed one,” said Maud.

Pinkie peeked out from behind the large steel pipes they were hiding behind to see that another unicorn ghoul had staggered out. Maybe she thought the blinking bomb was pretty because she pulled it from its place and carried it away from its target.

Pinkie hadn’t had time to set a shorter delay on the explosives, so in the seconds it would take the bomb to activate, the ghoul could get far enough away from the target to be an issue. While Pinkie wasn’t familiar with the technical aspects of the system, Starlight seemed to think they all should blow up at the same time. That meant leaving one out or having it blow at a different location might have disastrous consequences. Pinkie couldn’t take that chance.

“Wait, Pinkie,” Maud said preemptively.

Pinkie had poor listening skills. Yes. She leaped out from behind the cover and fired up her mini-gun, sending a rain of bullets towards the poor unicorn feral. She took the creature down without harming the package, the bomb landing close enough to its target.

But before Pinkie could move back behind the cover, the bombs activated. An instant later, Pinkie felt a stabbing pain in her chest as she was thrown back. She slammed against the wall with her hooves not touching the floor, but didn’t slump downward.

The pain intensified as she realized why she wasn’t sliding down the wall. Two metal rods, each the diameter of Pinkie’s front leg, had nailed her to it. One punctured her right through the gut, the other stabbing further up, and Pinkie was sure it’d taken out part of one lung. The fountain of blood that came up with her next breath confirmed that.

Damn it. Why couldn’t she lose something non-vital like Kamikaze? She could have gotten a cool cybernetic leg! Pinkie had poor luck. Yes.

“Pinkie!” Maud screeched and was there next to her before the smoke even cleared.

Pinkie tried to see through her foggy vision, but it felt like every nerve in her body was firing at once. A torrent of agony was winding through her like she’d never felt. She saw Maud in front of her, propped against the wall and examining the wounds to see how bad they were.

Maud’s expression was one Pinkie had never seen. Her calm exterior vanished, pure panic and horror now lighting up her face. Tears rolled down from her eyes as she realized how bad it was, and she looked back up into Pinkie’s eyes.

“I am sorry,” Maud shook her head. “This is my fault… my fault my fault my fault…”

“Sis… ter…” Pinkie got out between gagging up blood. She forced her foreleg to move and placed a hoof against Maud’s cheek. “Pinkie… doesn’t blame… Pinkie… dies in battle… hero.”

Maud hugged Pinkie close and wailed. The hug made it more agonizing, but Pinkie would never let Maud know. She draped her forelegs over Maud’s shoulders in return and let them hang there, the closest to a hug she could muster.

It wasn’t unlike Twilight’s reaction to Spike’s death, but somehow more primal. Starlight’s eyes widened behind Maud, stepping away as if terrified Maud might find the nearest living thing and kill it in her despair. The fear was not unfounded, not even a little.

What would Maud do without Pinkie there to keep her calm? Pinkie knew what she herself would be like without Maud and feared what trouble Maud might cause for herself.

“Call for help!” Maud screamed at Starlight.

“I can’t!” Starlight’s shook her head, looking frozen in fear. “We destroyed the panel I used to magnify the PCB, but when the time runs out and the city doesn’t explode, I’m sure they’ll send medics down, Mercury will probably come.”

“Then go get her here faster!” Maud screeched so loudly she went hoarse.

Starlight nodded, eyes wide. Her horn lit, picking herself up and carrying herself to the door, which was now open without the security lockdown.

But could Mercury hope to do anything? Even if she brought the other doctors from Holder, Pinkie was a goner and she knew it. And how quickly would they get here if they didn’t know if it was this vital?

“Maud,” Pinkie said as blood drooled from her muzzle. “Quiet… listen…”

Maud silenced herself, looking up at Pinkie. The normally strong face looked more like a child that had just watched their favorite kitten get ran over by a tank.

“Won’t survive,” said Pinkie. “But not dead. Still have gem… Maud… find Limestone… save her… find recycler… save Pinkie…”

“I love you,” Maud cried. “I swear I will not let you down. We will save Limestone and find a way to save you. Crush my heart, hope to die, stick a bullet in my eye.”

“Love sister…” Pinkie mouthed the words, no longer able to speak aloud.

Pinkie wasn’t sure how long it took for Mercury to arrive, but she arrived back with Starlight and a pony doctor from the Holder hospital. There was a great deal of panicking, and Pinkie couldn’t make out most of what was said, but thought she heard phrases like ‘vital organs’ and ‘not enough time’.

They were right. They couldn’t rip her off the wall, so would have to cut the metal that impaled her on the other side, which would take time. Then they’d have to get her to the surface and to surgery in time to do something. Even if they had facilities for things like organ transplants, there was no way to get there in time for it to be used, and any healing magic wouldn’t help when there were solid objects in the way.

Maud nodded as a crying Mercury spoke to her, her whole body shaking and tears rolling down her own cheeks. She pulled Ashmaker from her back, pushing the barrel to Pinkie’s muzzle. Pinkie knew what was coming, so opened her muzzle willingly and let Maud take careful aim. She aimed so it would take out the brain instantly without damaging the soul crystal.

‘Not this again..’ Ashmaker lamented.

Pinkie’s neck twitched, her left eye fluttering. Was that the Pinkie Sense for her being about to die? She supposed she couldn't confirm that, but it sure beat her bowels releasing. It did give her one last bit of amusement, and she went out with a smile on her face even if she couldn’t laugh.

The gun was so effective that Pinkie barely felt the pressure of the blast before her pain and consciousness ceased.

34. Family Ties

Thursday, 11/3/2287
POV: Starlight
Location: Holder Silo

Maud regained her composure much faster than Twilight had after her loss, but that made it more terrifying. Starlight watched her put Pinkie out of her misery, then slowly turned her head to look back at Starlight. Tears streamed down Maud’s face, which was clenched in a rage that Starlight could feel in the pit of her soul.

Starlight took another step back, with her heart drumming in her chest. She feared that she might need the medics that were here for Pinkie. Should she run? For all she knew, that’d just send Maud into a rage.

“I am not about to murder you,” Maud said as if knowing Starlight’s fear.

“I-I didn’t think that,” Starlight claimed with a stammer.

“Yes, you did,” said Maud as she turned back to Pinkie. “And you were almost right.”

“We’ll save her, Maud,” said Mercury, placing a quivering hoof on Maud’s shoulder, showing her bravery by doing so.

“Her and Limestone too.” added Starlight. “I won’t stop until we retrieve Limestone and a soul recycler.”

“Your words are as worthless as you, until you prove them,” Maud said with deadly calm.

Starlight felt her own ire rise at that. Yet, she was careful not to show a hint of her emotion on her face; she only nodded and gave Maud space. She realized, though, that failing to rescue Limestone now wasn't an option, because Maud might turn on Starlight if the only other remaining Pie sister perished.

Maud turned Pinkie’s limp head around, waiting as Pinkie’s gem glowed brighter. A minute later, the glow died into a slow blink, the same blink that Limestone’s had. It signified that the soul had been uploaded, and only then did Maud pop the gem out, slipping it into her saddle bag.

“I failed to save her,” sighed Mercury.

“Don’t beat yourself up over the impossible,” sighed Starlight, then looked at the other ponies from Holder. “The Pies were to stay at this stable. Does that mean you have a soul recycler?”

“Sorry, no,” a mare answered, her voice as crestfallen as her face, refusing to look towards Pinkie. “We waited for a generation, but then used it for spare parts because no one that needed it returned. Then Midnight came demanding it and took the parts of it we could still find.” She was in tears by the time she finished. “I’m so sorry we failed you!”

“We couldn’t even find half the parts by then,” said a stallion, looking no less devastated. “She killed one-tenth for making her force her way in, but let the rest of us live for cooperating with the search after. That was a century ago.”

“How very merciful of her,” growled Starlight.

“We have a soul crystal implanter still,” stammered the mare. “Since it had other medical uses. We even have empty soul gems to install that we found after we’d already dismantled the recycler. I guess that doesn’t help now.”

Having a soul crystal installed was excruciating, so to do it with no promise of usefulness was unhelpful.

“No, it doesn’t,” said Starlight. “What about Dyo? Did you catch him? I have some choice words for him.”

“He grabbed Custard Pie and tried to flee with her,” said Mercury. “But Gloomy tackled him, then dragged him back to the spa once the evacuation was canceled.”

“What about Kyo?” Starlight asked. “Her being absent during this is suspicious.”

“She wasn’t absent,” said Mercury. “She got back earlier than expected and was in the spa when you called up, so he might have come for her too if he knew she was there. She seemed as surprised as everypony else, and I doubt Custard knew either. Poor thing is so confused.”

“I see,” Starlight pondered. “I’ll head to the spa and question Dyo.”

“I will stay with Pinkie for a while,” Maud said darkly. “Don’t kill him before I come up.”

Starlight turned and headed out the way they’d come, galloping as fast as she could once again. She kept her horn charged in case anything dead jumped out at her, but nothing new popped up in the path they’d cleared.

If Kyo didn’t know to stay away, she wasn’t involved, which was actually a little disappointing since it would have allowed for a smooth transition into power for Starlight. Starlight couldn’t imagine Custard harming her family either. Dyo seemed the exception with Pie family values; there was one in every family.

‘Starlight?’ Twilight’s thoughts came over the PCB as soon as Starlight was in range again. ‘Is everyone okay?’

‘No,’ said Starlight. ‘We lost Pinkie, but her soul crystal is intact, so we’ll look for a way to use it.’

‘I see,’ said Twilight, continuing after a long pause. ‘We won’t give up hope. I guess Mercury told you we have Dyo at the spa. We’ll wait for you to get here to question him.’

‘What do we know so far?’ asked Starlight.

‘Only that he tried to grab Custard and leave as if she was the only one he cared about saving, and he hadn’t known Kyo was back in town,’ said Twilight. ‘Also… Watcher provided information, but I don’t know if it’s related. Dyo wanted to live at Tenwhinney Tower instead of here, and Watcher felt he might be willing to betray us to be accepted there. If they're Holder's enemy, maybe he made a deal with them?’

Starlight assumed that Watcher knew such by having overheard conversations, and it made sense, though doing such a thing for such a reason was trivial by any standard.

When Starlight neared the entrance that had less shielding, she teleported as far as she could, arriving in a flash in front of the PUB. She took a glance around the town, which looked like people had been evacuating, but were now streaming back in with the all-okay.

She turned to enter the PUB, but suddenly had to duck as a blue blur shot at her. Kamikaze darted past her and slammed face-first into the entrance without opening it. It was nice to see that she had the wings attached, but apparently they weren’t cooperating.

“Heads up! Sorry!” Kamikaze called back. “They get excited when I’m stressed and even Solar hasn’t been able to completely fix them.”

Starlight had no idea what that was about, but it looked like said wings might slam her into the wall again. Starlight lit up her horn and emitted a pulse of interference; Kamikaze’s head sparked, but the wings stopped fluttering. Starlight caught her with her telekinesis before she hit the floor.

“Ow, buck!” Kamikaze groaned and looked at her. A moment later, her wings became usable again and seemed less agitated. “Thanks, I guess, but how’d you do that?”

“I took note of the frequency Twilight accidentally used on you when distraught before,” Starlight explained, but didn’t feel like going into it. “Is everyone else inside?”

“I don’t know, I just got here,” Kamikaze grumbled, a little irate at the discovery that Starlight could take her down on a whim. “Guess I’ll keep that frequency on record. Would you mind not telling others about that?”

Starlight was in too much of a hurry to answer, and went into the front door with Kamikaze shortly behind her. She found Twilight and teammates waiting in the hallway just outside one of the spa rooms.

There were several spa creatures there too, every one of them looking rattled. Custard was sitting against a wall, huddled into a corner crying while Twilight comforted her. The poor thing met and lost a hero on the same day, not to mention Dyo’s betrayal.

“Clover?” asked Starlight. “The little one shouldn’t be in a place like this, please take her home or to the museum.”

“And get me to a bathroom! The wing-finger function on Spitfire’s wings suck at opening doors!“ said Kamikaze, chuckling, then adding more self-consciously. “So I might need help with… ya know, wiping.” Then more loudly as if to cover the last bit up. “Also you haven’t witnessed enough of my awesome flying! That’s important!”

Starlight couldn’t help but smirk a little at Twilight’s disgusted expression, and nodded to her.

“F-fine, I can barely use the three rock system they use here, but I’m glad to help you recover,” Twilight sighed. “But remind Solar to look into improving that when she’s done with more vital things.”

Twilight smiled as brightly as possible given the circumstances before standing up. She allowed Custard to climb onto her back and headed off. Gloomy followed behind Twilight, which was best, while Kamikaze zigzagged above.

For a moment Starlight had trouble processing it, why Twilight bothered doing it herself rather than telling Rainbow to go find Mercury or a doctor. Was Twilight so deep into compassion that she could twist Kamikaze’s grossest antics into something sentimental? It disgusted her to her very core, and annoyed her that Twilight turned a way Starlight could make her suffer into something positive.

“Crimson, with me,” Starlight said after the others left.

“Oh, I’m useful?” Crimson quirked an eyebrow.

‘You said you wanted somepony to hurt without repercussions, right?’ Starlight asked Crimson alone over the PCB.

Crimson smiled and followed behind Starlight as she walked through the door that the others had been standing around. Olivia was in the hall it led to and opened one of the room doors for Starlight. Without a word, Starlight entered and closed the door behind her and Crimson, locking it.

The spa room wasn’t bad considering the state of everything else, but there was no time to consider that. Starlight’s eyes went to Dyo, tied with his front hooves pulled behind his back, leaned against a wall. He wasn’t alone though; Kyo stood by in silence.

“Empress,” Kyo sighed. “I’m sorry. We didn’t know… I’m ordering those balefire missiles dismantled; we have no use for them.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Starlight said, but asked. “But are you sure you should be here?”

Kyo’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between Crimson and Starlight, but nodded. Starlight would rather her be out of the room, but couldn’t order her to leave.

“Hey,” Dyo’s voice cracked. “Um… I can explain…”

“You will explain,” Starlight glared at him. “Why you saw fit to murder everyone, including most of your family. If you hesitate to answer even for a moment, I will show you how long a pony can endure torture without sweet death. Understand?”

“Y-yes,” Dyo stammered.

“Can I kill him yet?” asked Crimson.

“Ask that again, and you’ll be learning with him, Crimson,” Starlight growled.

Dyo looked at Kyo, but she turned away. Good. Her reluctance to defend him would make him more outgoing in his answers, though Starlight doubted Kyo realized the death threats were real.

“Explain,” said Starlight, locking eyes with Dyo.

“Jacob Timothy Atticus,” said Dyo. His words flowed out all strung together with no pauses as if terrified to stop for breath. “Of Tenwhinney Tower! He told me that if I did this he’d let me live there with Kyo and Custard. What we’re doing in Holder is just going to get us killed! I just wanted a good life for them! I swear I didn’t know the Pie Sisters would be here when I agreed to it. I was going to try to set off the bomb in town, but when they arrived it gave me an easier way to do it, I’m so sorry!”

“Why would he ask you to destroy the city?” Starlight blinked.

“Well, Holder is on bad terms with them,” Dyo stammered. “But also… I think he wanted to see it, and something about Holder being an eyesore when he looked out from the top of the tower.”

“He would murder an entire city for a light show?” Crimson asked. “Classy, if impersonal. Seriously, that’s super-villainous.”

“You will cease admiration,” Starlight growled at Crimson, and she shut it for the time being.

“We’ve always had trouble with Tenwhinney,” Kyo shook her head. “But never like this. This new leader of theirs is vampire-fruit-bat-poop insane.” She looked to Dyo. “Why didn't the Pies being here make you go back on your agreement?”

“If I had,” said Dyo, tears streaming down his face. “They would have come after all three of us in retaliation.”

“You didn't trust your legendary heroes to protect you?” smirked Crimson.

“Did you find anything out while you were gone?” Starlight asked Kyo.

“That settlements are horse apples at returning favors,” Kyo said. “And my spy in Tenwhinney says the arena show for General Limestone is next Tuesday, not in two weeks.”

“What is it with Tuesdays?” chuckled Crimson. “Seriously, those things are bad luck.”

“I must have misheard,” Starlight sighed, hoping that that was a convincing lie. “How do we get in? Any weaknesses?”

“With that energy field, they could take a balefire bomb to the face,” Dyo said. “There’s no way inside.”

‘Solar,’ Starlight said over the network. ‘Get guards and head into the bunker. There’s a stealth bypass suit there that you need to get working before next Tuesday.’

‘Got it!’ Solar replied, no doubt excited at the offer to work on such a thing.

“We’ll use the bypass armor from the armory,” said Starlight. “Since it has stealth capability that Kamikaze's doesn't.”

“I don’t think that’ll work on a shield that can stop balefire,” Dyo shook his head. “Look I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”

So he offered it to them thinking they couldn't even use it. This just kept getting better and better, but luckily he was wrong about that.

“You obviously made this plan knowing nothing,” Starlight growled. “Bypass armor worked on Canterlot’s shield, and that had the CME system powering it. Is their shield better than that?”

“Um, no,” Dyo blinked.

“Ponies this stupid shouldn’t attempt archfiend-level evil plans,” Crimson shook her head. “I’m sure Mr. Atticus knew that; he probably didn’t expect you to make it back to the tower alive, and would have killed you as a liability if you had. Do you think he wants someone willing to blow up their hometown living in his?”

“I… didn’t think of that,” Dyo muttered. He hadn’t thought about a lot of things.

“Is this why you refused to connect to the hive, brother?” Kyo asked. “So we wouldn’t see those thoughts?”

“I… yes,” Dyo said, too fearful to do anything but confess. “And because that thing is going to get us killed! How long do you think it will be before Midnight realizes? If this worked… you wouldn’t have ever known I was involved, and we’d be safe.”

“You think that’s an excuse?” Kyo was shaking with restraint, raising her voice more and more.

“Hive?” asked Starlight. That definitely sounded like something she should know.

“I’ll explain later,” Kyo shook her head. “I can’t take this now, so I’ll check on Custard. I have minimal guards here to keep people from suspecting he’s here, since we’d have an angry mob rushing in otherwise. I’m trusting you not to let Maud know he’s here either, for obvious reasons.” She added more seriously. “He is not to be killed or permanently damaged, understand? His fate will be determined legally.”

“Of course,” smiled Starlight with her most deceptive smile, but Kyo’s hypocrisy annoyed her. When the city was grinding small-time raiders into meat paste, attempted genocide should definitely hold a death sentence whether or not he was related.

But Starlight let Kyo head out, slamming the door behind her. It was doubtful she’d be okay with everything Starlight planned to do.

“So, what was that about a Hive?” Starlight asked again, since Kyo didn’t want to talk about it.

“The spa workers are changelings,” said Crimson. “I say we call them spa-lings. Anyway, I probably would have killed one when I found out, but apparently they have some kind of defensive mechanism that can ‘turn off’ non-changeling magic within the vicinity.”

“Is that so?” Starlight arched an eyebrow. “But I thought Kyo was a Pie?”

“Kyo and the woof-woof aren’t changelings,” sighed Crimson. “They can use changeling magic due to being connected, but they’re all annoyingly pacifist. I wouldn’t entertain any plans of using them.”

A group of pacifist changelings in the city was definitely a liability, especially if Midnight found out, and she was trying to avoid her attention. What’s more, being able to turn off her magic would easily allow them to defeat Starlight if the need arose, and she didn’t have Midnight’s magitech to cut through magical nullifications.

“You know what?” Starlight turned back to Dyo. “Why don’t you tell us about this defensive device?”

“I-it’s made from a piece of Chrysalis’ old throne,” Dyo said, looking a bit confused at the conversation’s turn. “It’s locked behind a coded door. I don’t think they have any intent of moving it, so if you don’t want to be affected, just don’t come here.”

“What’s the code?” Crimson asked. She knew where this was going. “You know it?”

“Well, I saw Kyo enter it a few times,” Dyo said more quietly. So they didn’t even trust him with that, but if he knew it, he knew it.

“And the code is?” Starlight asked.

“I-I can’t let you know,” Dyo shook his head.

“Crimson,” Starlight turned to her. “Remind me again, what was the crime you were forced to leave Stable 27 for?”

“The rape and murder of a filly,” Crimson smirked. “And then rape again, but who’s counting?”

“And how many ponies have you murdered?” Starlight asked again as she watched Dyo’s eyes get wider. “How good are you at torture?”

“Hundreds? I dunno,” Crimson shrugged with a smirk. “Oh, I have a lot of experience.”

“And I bet Maud would love to help,” said Starlight. “After Pinkie’s death in the silo.”

“W-why are you having this conversation?” squeaked Dyo.

“Tell me the code,” Starlight said. “Or I will leave you in the room alone with Crimson, Maud, and a sound blocking spell, with an order to do whatever she wants without consequence.”

Starlight’s psionics were useful for diplomacy, but it was just as useful for threatening. It was effective enough that he was hyperventilating.

“789321,” Dyo said quickly. It was easy enough to remember since it was just back and forth on a keypad. “The locked door is in the other hallway.”

It was doubtful anyone was in the other hall with what was going on. They weren’t exactly taking customers, so this could be perfect timing.

‘Maud,’ Starlight said over the PCB to Maud and Crimson. ‘Meet Crimson in front of the PUB, you and her are to stealthily obtain a device and hide it in her book. Then, assuming you succeed, hide yourself in the book so she can sneak you into the room where Dyo is held. I’m not ordering what to do after that.’

‘I’m on my way,’ Maud responded. She was probably already in town looking for Dyo.

There was no way around it. Now that Dyo had told them that and knew they knew, he had to die. Letting Maud do it would earn Starlight points with her, and she desperately needed those now that Maud didn’t have one of her sisters around her to keep her level.

Also throwing Crimson a bone would ensure her loyalty. Her ability to read ancient logs was more useful to Starlight than the cooperation of a pacifist hive. Once it was done, she could openly state that Maud executed Dyo, and knowing what he did, none of the town’s citizens would be against it. Kyo wouldn’t like it, but it would be without Starlight’s order, and Starlight could explain that she couldn’t punish Maud for it without gaining the ire of the town.

“By the way,” said Starlight to Crimson, aloud again so Dyo would hear. “Remember that we’re guests here, so don’t make a bloody mess for the spa ponies to clean up.”

“Just call me Miss Clean,” grinned Crimson. “So I get my Crimoire back now?”

Starlight fished Crimson’s book out of her saddlebag and floated it to Crimson. Crimson looked like a druggie getting her fix as she hugged it close. It was almost cute.

Crimson grinned as they turned to head out, shutting the door again behind her. Starlight looked back at Dyo as she cast a silence spell over the room. It was easy to do since their device wasn’t active at the moment, and it’d keep anyone from outside from hearing screams.

“Okay then, when she gets back, you’re going to be left alone with her and Maud,” said Starlight aloud again. “Is there anything useful you can provide me that might convince me not to do that?”

“Wait, what?” Dyo’s whole body tensed. “You said if I talked that…”

“I wouldn’t torture you to death in the slowest way possible,” Starlight finished for him. “Crimson can come close, but won’t be able to be as slow as me because I know better spells. Now I repeat: Do you have information that might convince me to let you live?”

“But Kyo won’t…” Dyo started.

“She’s not here,” Starlight said. “And when she finds out, she won’t have a choice but to accept, because you know as well as I do that the city will side with me and Maud over someone who defends the ones responsible for Pinkie’s death. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I didn’t really want anyone to die!” stammered Dyo, so panicked he apparently gave no thought to the believability of his statements. “C-can I have time to think about it?”

“You have until Crimson gets back,” Starlight said.

It took a good 20 minutes for them to get back. Maud probably wanted to come in the back window to make sure no one saw them. During that time Dyo made multiple pleas, but nothing that indicated that he still had useful information, and he would have given her anything he had at this point.

When Crimson arrived, she had her book with her. She opened it, concentrating on a spell, a moment later Maud flew out of the book and landed roughly on the floor. She barely flinched at the landing and turned her head to look at Dyo. He tried to speak, but only blabbering and tears came out.

Starlight turned towards the door, ignoring Dyo’s whimpering.

“You have it?” Starlight asked.

“We do,” Maud answered. “Also, this.”

Maud held up a single piece of paper. Most of it seemed like scrawled notes about alliance and agreements between settlements, but there was one line that was obviously strange. Penned in one corner ‘What to do about Starlight?’. It had a few tick marks beneath it as if the writer, likely Kyo, had been going to make a list, but then didn’t think of anything.

“Good,” Starlight said, but her smile vanished when she saw her name. “Crimson, scry that and see what was happening when she wrote it. Keep both in your book for now, otherwise they may search and find it in our possession.”

“So glad we could come to an agreement,” grinned Crimson. “I’m glad Maud is here too. This will totally buy me pussy points with her.”

“We will see,” said Maud.

“Y-you have to be kidding me,” Dyo screamed, his pleas unheard outside due to Starlight’s spell.

“No, it’s true,” Crimson told him. “Pussy points are totally a thing. Stallions wouldn’t understand because they’re so bad at earning them.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Dyo squeaked.

Starlight headed out the door, closing it and hearing it lock behind her.

POV: Crimson Prose
Location: Plots Up Brothel

Well that was fun. Crimson had never seen Maud so… expressive. When told that Starlight ordered not to get the spa bloody, Maud came up with all sorts of ways to hurt Dyo without spilling blood. And as promised, Crimson let Maud make the kill. She also told her that she was the one that suggested Maud help, to get a few more points.

“So then,” Crimson said as she hefted Dyo’s limp and broken body across Maud’s back. “How many pussy points did this buy me?”

“Enough for hate sex,” replied Maud, too used to Crimson to take offense. “But it will be excruciating for you, and not now.”

“I’ll look forward to it!” Crimson grinned.

Maud didn’t reply, instead turning to walk down the hall. The spa ponies would be horrified to see this for certain, but sadly they’d all gone to their quarters. The PUB wasn’t empty though, as they found when they strolled through the front room.

“What the bale?” Kyo shrieked as she rushed over. “What did you do? Why did Starlight let Maud in!”

“I snuck her in,” shrugged Crimson, towing the line with the lie Starlight would want spread. That was her job, after all.

“We executed him,” Maud answered matter-of-factly.

“I left him with you to question, not kill!” Kyo’s face streamed with fresh tears, though she looked like she’d already been crying. She could have been sitting here to get time alone after all that happened. What delightful timing.

“What did you think would happen when you left him with me?” Crimson rolled her eyes. “I already tried to kill one of your bug-whores.”

“Bug-whores?” asked Maud.

“We’ll cover that in debriefing,” Crimson said. “More murders should have debriefings, don’t you think?”

“No…” Kyo took a step back. “My brother…”

“He killed her sister,” shrugged Crimson. “Fair trade, right?”

“Shut up, Crimson,” Maud said, then turned to Kyo. “I am not sorry for what I did, but I am sorry that I made you suffer with my vengeance.”

It must have been deliciously difficult for Maud to balance her love of family and sense of justice when a Pie deserved death. Crimson held herself back from making a snide comment though, because she knew what that self-hatred felt like. Also, she didn’t want to jeopardize all the points she'd earned.

“I can’t tell your master not to come here,” Kyo mumbled, still turned away. “But you two are no longer welcome in the PUB. Now, please let me deal with his body, as his sister.”

“I will not return unless ordered,” said Maud. “But he does not deserve the honor of being buried in the same city as Pinkie and Marble. In fact, burial is an honor he doesn’t deserve outright.” Maud paused to twist and wrench Dyo’s head off his body in a few quick motions. “There, you may take the body to your meat-processing mortuary to be made into things of actual use, but the head I will dump outside the wall to rot, and you will make sure it does.”

“Nightmare’s icy passage, I wish I was strong enough to be that brutal,” said Crimson, impressed. It seemed Maud’s violence was indirectly proportional to how many sisters she had living. Kyo looked back at Maud as if attempting to gauge if it was a good idea to take the head by force.

“Please do not attempt to stop me,” Maud warned Kyo. “I prefer not to wrench your head off as well.”

“Please try to stop her,” Crimson purred.

Though sadly she wouldn’t. Even with her whole hive, she’d never get Dyo away from Maud without several casualties, and she wouldn’t risk it. She also couldn’t afford to go against the newly returned Empress and a Pie sister. This was all so delightful.

“Get out,” Kyo mumbled as she turned away again, sounding as if she could barely speak. She leaned against a nearby wall and choked on a sob.

Maud turned to walk out, and Crimson followed to leave Kyo to her crying. Those were emotions that Crimson couldn’t understand. What Dyo tried to do was worse than anything Crimson’s family members had done, if one measured magnitude in raw body count instead of individual sadism at least.

Crimson didn’t care when her family died, and all they’d done was rape her and force her to murder her best friends. Her father made her kill Hayscartes to take his method, which though beneficial to her in the long run, bothered her a great deal at the time. She didn’t see why Kyo cared about a family member that arguably did worse. Even from a sickeningly moral point of view, this was justice.

“Crimson,” Twilight’s voice spoke from behind her after they departed the PUB. Maud continued on by herself. Oh goodie.

Crimson turned around to see Twilight, Gloomy, and Mercury. Twilight was in her previous leather armor and gas mask, so Crimson assumed that Clover wore off and she didn’t want to drink another potion yet. She was doing a fairly good job at making her voice sound similar to Clover though.

Twilight’s face was creased with anger so much it was visible through the gas mask, while Mercury’s face favored reluctant compliance. Crimson assumed they had also believed Dyo was only being questioned. Gloomy was harder to read, and likely wasn’t a stranger to seeing brutal punishments, but he’d probably nod at whatever Twilight said to earn pussy points of his own.

“Did you think an order from Starlight would keep her from getting revenge?” Crimson shrugged. “Besides, if somepony throws candy in my lap, you can’t expect me not to eat it. And I didn’t even make the kill. I let Maud do it; isn’t that kind of like friendship?”

“Crimson…” sighed Twilight, looking at the ground. “I wish you would just try my way…”

“Again,” Crimson shrugged. “Maud made the kill.”

“Maud is not herself,” said Twilight.

From what Crimson had been told, Twilight knew how that felt. Crimson still regretted having missed her episode after her dragon slave was killed. Still, Crimson was certain the real reason Twilight wouldn’t reprimand Maud was that Maud would kill anything that tried to stop her.

“Oh stop,” Crimson said. “If we hadn’t killed him, somepony else would. At least this way he got to buck me before he died.” Crimson wasn’t sure why she felt the need to make excuses to Twilight, even inappropriate ones.

“Whatever,” sighed Twilight. “Mercury wanted you with us when we checked something.” She sounded like she might disagree with having Crimson there.

“What are we checking?” Crimson tilted her head.

“I talked to Bottle Cap again,” sighed Mercury. “He said Cola holed up in his shack in the corner of town and won’t come out. He wouldn’t leave during the evacuation and won’t tell Bottle if Tranquil or Peaceful is in there. After what happened, we should go check ourselves instead of bothering Kyo.”

“Let’s go,” Crimson growled. “We’ll see if I’m joining the ponies that lost family today, but if I am, Bottle Cap will join that club too.”

“Crimson,” Twilight warned. “Enough people have died.”

“Never,” Crimson said, but added more seriously. “And if he killed Tranquil, then I won’t be ‘myself’ now will I.” Crimson threw the words back at Twilight and then looked back to Mercury. “You know where it is? Lead on.”

POV: Mercury Shine
Location: Holder Outskirts

Mercury couldn’t believe a rich merchant with quarters available in Stable 11 would choose a shack at the back edge of town. It was near the corner between the front wall and a sheer cliff, an area that had been abandoned due to a sinkhole nearby. The shack was on the edge, like it could topple in from a breeze, but Mercury supposed that made others less likely to show up.

The shack didn’t look like it’d been much even before the sinkhole formed. It was a shoddy structure built from rubble, gaps between the wood and metal fragments of the wall patched with other fragments, with a rusted tin roof. It was a dump even by post-apocalyptic standards; maybe he was too paranoid to hire a decent builder.

This didn’t seem right. Mercury loaded her telesyringer with a pax potion just in case.

“You two should stay here,” Crimson said to Twilight and Gloomy when they were barely in sight of the structure.

“And why is that?” Twilight asked.

“How do you think he’ll react if a bat and an edgy broken-horn in a gas mask show up at his door?” asked Crimson. “You can come running if he gives us trouble.”

“Or if you give him trouble without cause,” Twilight said. “Fine. Mercury, keep me updated over the PCB please.”

While her logic for having them stay back made sense, Mercury was sure Crimson just wanted plenty of time to hurt Cola before being stopped. If the suspicions turned out to be true, Mercury might not disagree, but Crimson might even if they didn’t. Still, going to get Tranquil without having Crimson come wouldn’t have seemed right.

When Crimson knocked on the door, Cola didn’t open, peeking out a hole drilled in the door instead.

“What do you want, changeling?” Cola accused. “Did Trinity send you to kill me too?”

“Good morning to you, too,” Crimson answered with her best benevolent overmare smile. It had been a long time since Mercury heard that voice. Knowing what she knew now, it sounded so much creepier.

“Xander checked us, sir,” Mercury said. “We’re not changelings.”

“He checked the visitors,” said Cola. “That doesn’t mean you’re not a changeling pretending to be them! Besides… I’m sure he’s been taken too! Everyone is changelings!”

“Look I don’t have to come inside,” said Crimson. “The others don’t matter. I’m Overmare of Stable 27 and it came to my attention that two of my residents moved in with you. Can I speak to Tranquil and Peaceful Melody?”

“They left yesterday,” said Cola, giving no further explanation.

“Left the city?” asked Crimson, arching an eyebrow.

“Um,” Mercury spoke up. “But Kyo told me that the guard logs as of early this morning didn’t record them having left.”

“So?” Cola’s voice got louder and more agitated. “Maybe they flew out.”

“I think the griffon guards would have seen them if they…” Mercury started.

“Well maybe somepony teleported them through the wall!” Cola yelled. “Or they slipped off during that pretend evacuation you pulled to try to get me to come out! How should I know?”

His delusions were off the rails, clearly beyond reason or conspiracies and into the realm of psychosis. Talking would get them nowhere.

“Mercury?” Crimson glanced back at her.

Crimson tapped the door just below where Cola had his eye pressed against the hole peering out at them. Mercury hesitated a moment, then raised the telesyringer, aiming the teleport canister with the pax potion in it just below the peephole.

With the wood of the door pressed against his face, the telesyringer teleported the potion through it just as it would armor and into Cola’s head. A moment later, he fell back from the door and thumped on the floor.

“See? We make a great team,” said Crimson. “This is why you should marry me and Tranquil. Possibly Maud too if I can rope her in.”

Mercury blushed and didn’t bother responding. She knew Crimson wasn’t joking, which made her want to talk about it even less. Crimson shrugged at the lack of response and turned her hind legs to the door.

Crimson was no Pie; she took three kicks at the shoddy door to jar it free. Once it swung open, they saw Cola laying on the other side, on his back with all four hooves in the air and a giant grin on his face.

“Heeeey,” Cola said as if half-dreaming. “Come on in.”

“Why didn’t his head explode?” asked Crimson. “Did it not work?” She should have known better, so Mercury wasn’t sure if that was a joke.

“That was a pax syringe,” Mercury explained. “It pacifies.” She added just to be sure. “Don’t forget, we’re not killing ponies without reason.”

“Right, just don’t tell Not-Midnight we’re in yet okay?” Crimson huffed as she stepped over Cola to go further inside.

“Sorry,” Mercury said. She still didn’t like defying Crimson’s wishes but had learned it to be necessary most of the time. She sent over the PCB, ‘Twilight. We subdued Cola.’

“Far out…” Cola sighed as Crimson stepped over him. With the pax serum, he wouldn’t be fit for questioning until it wore off, and maybe not even then.

The shack had a main room and three rooms adjoining it, one of them a bathroom and two bedrooms. There was no proper furniture, however, and most everything was in boxes, as if he’d never unpacked what he moved here.

There was some loose rope though, which Mercury grabbed and went about binding Cola’s legs for when he was easier to question. The serum shouldn’t last long, only meant to give one time to bind an enemy or run. It was as she did this that she noticed though.

“Crimson, this rope has blood on it,” Mercury called.

“I’m sure it does,” Crimson said from the next room. Her voice was hollow in a way Mercury had never heard it. Mercury hoped that didn’t mean what she thought it did.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked as she entered. “Thank goodness Crimson didn’t do anything rash.”

“Twilight-Clover-Not-Midnight?” Crimson asked as she walked from the other room. “From what you know of changelings, do they remain in their changed form when they die?”

“Oh Celestia,” Twilight said, knowing where the conversation was going. “I don’t know, it’s not something we’d experiment on and every dead changeling I’ve seen had died while in their true form. But my educated guess would be that they unshift when they die.”

“I see,” Crimson said with almost Maud-like dead calm.

Crimson tossed a limp body out of the bedroom and onto the floor: Tranquil’s body. Tranquil’s face was frozen in an expression of abject horror, remnants of the detection goo on her face. Her body covered in bruises as if she'd been beaten, though that probably wasn't what killed her. That would be the bullet hole right between her eyes that blasted out the whole back of her skull. Mercury felt her insides twist with guilt, unable to take her eyes off that expression.

“Oh, no, no,” Mercury felt tears roll down her own face. “I’m so sorry, Crimson. This is my fault for not letting you track him down earlier.”

Mercury expected Crimson to agree or say something snide despite the situation. Or maybe be angry that she didn’t get to kill Tranquil first. At the very least she should say something mildly insensitive, but no.

“What is this feeling?” Crimson’s hollow voice said as she looked down at Tranquil, her own tears dripping onto Tranquil’s face. “This isn’t how I thought I’d feel. Is this my fault? She ran from me… and now…”

“Crimson, it isn’t your fault,” Twilight moved close and reached out a hoof.

“Shut up!” Crimson slapped the hoof away with uncharacteristic rage. “It’s your fault that I think it's my fault! You’ve tainted me!”

“The changeling deserved it!” Cola said from where he lay. He was back to his old self and apparently not feeling much self-preservation.

“But the stuff on her face,” said Twilight. “I assume you put it there and then beat her up to put her under ‘stress’, but if it showed she wasn’t one, why did you kill her?”

“Xander helped me test them, yes,” Cola claimed. “But then claimed neither of them were changelings, you obviously replaced him too! I promised I’d release them, but then kept testing them!” With increasingly more violence, no doubt.

“Cola,” Mercury turned to him. “Changelings change back to their true form when they die. This was a real pony.”

Mercury wasn't sure Twilight's educated guess was right, but she didn’t want to listen to idiotic prattle either. Either way he wasn’t contrite.

“We should let Starlight know,” sighed Twilight.

“She went into the bunker after we ate,” said Mercury. “She’ll be out of contact.” She turned to Crimson. “Have you eaten? I know this is hard, so I could bring you something.”

Crimson shook her head, uncharacteristically silent.

“Where’s Peaceful?” Twilight backed off from Crimson and turned to Cola. “The changeling that Tranquil was protecting.”

“What?” Cola looked uncertain at Mercury’s words but shook his head. “Peaceful? I don’t know which one this is; they have the same mark. This one said she was a changeling though! She claimed she was copying the other, that they were a real pony. I called her horse apples; they’re clearly both changelings! But the other squirmed away. I think I broke her wing as she escaped, but a changeling can just grow another one.”

“That idiot,” Crimson laughed, but it was a more bitter laugh than usual. “Lying to save an insect? I taught her better than this.”

“Crimson,” Twilight said. “Let’s take him to jail. We don’t need more death.”

“That’s exactly what we need,” Crimson growled. “Leave me alone with him. What’s the problem? He’s going to be executed anyway.”

“Which I don’t like either,” Twilight said. “And it’s something I hope to change.”

Cola started to speak again only to have his muzzle held shut by Crimson’s magic.

“Stallions shouldn’t speak out of turn,” Crimson said.

“Crimson this isn’t the answer,” Twilight said.

“Excuse me,” said Gloomy from the door, having let them be until then. “Look, I don’t want to give anypony grief. But if this guy murdered her wife because he mistook her for a changeling, then she has a right to revenge.”

“It’s not as simple as that, Gloomy!” Twilight shook her head. “Vengeance like that doesn’t just hurt the one receiving it. It may make Crimson feel better short-term, but it will only damage her mind more long-term.”

Mercury hated it, but she had to agree with Crimson and Gloomy on this one. It was unlike her, unlike the type of pony she wished she was, but she supposed the world outside the stable was changing her.

“Um, Twilight?” Mercury spoke gently. “This guy will only hurt other ponies if allowed to continue…”

“It doesn’t have to work like that,” Twilight shook her head. “He’s mentally ill. He could still be helped.”

“But it does work like that,” Gloomy said. “What the world is and should be are two different things, no amount of wishing changes that. Do you think a city so low on resources that they are chopping up their dead for food can afford to build and operate a psychiatric hospital?”

“Go buck already you two,” Crimson rolled her eyes.

As they were both in front of the door and neither expected it, Crimson pushed them outside with her telekinesis, her clear rage giving her somewhat more strength than usual. She tossed Mercury next, though Mercury was more cooperative. The door slammed behind them, and while Crimson couldn’t lock it, boxes could be heard being stacked against it.

“Crimson!” Twilight called in, but then clenched her teeth and turned to go. “Why do I even try?!”

Despite their disagreement, Gloomy followed her. Mercury wondered what his deal with Twilight was, but it wasn’t the time to ask questions.

“I’m done with today,” said Twilight as she walked away with Gloomy. “Let’s go to the PUB and order a proper Celestia.”

Well, Crimson did tell them to go buck already. Maybe Mercury should head there too on her own this time while Crimson wasn’t there to ridicule her choices.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Location: Holder

Twilight was changing; she could feel it, and it frightened her. She told herself that she still believed in friendship, but she was losing faith. With things this bad in Equestria, maybe they needed to be kicked into line enough for friendship to be a large-scale option.

Perhaps worse, she felt herself getting used to things. When she first arrived in this timeline, they would have had to drag her away from that shack. But now here she was, relaxing after bucking a changeling even while she knew Crimson was killing somepony. Celestia and Luna would be so ashamed of her.

Crimson was a symbol of how far the world had fallen. Maybe Twilight was obsessed with bringing her back because she felt like if she helped Crimson, she could help anyone. Yet Twilight’s efforts only made Crimson hate her.

“Gloomy?” Twilight turned towards him. She needed to talk to give her mind something to chew on.

“Yes?” Gloomy said, eyes darting up to meet Twilight’s. She realized he’d been staring at her plot end again; she’d spied him doing so several times already, and their disagreements didn’t squash the tendency.

It was surprising he still did it when she was in full-body leather armor and a gas mask, or maybe less surprising? Depended on what he was into.

“Have you been able to contact your friends at Statera?” asked Twilight.

“Yeah,” Gloomy nodded. “Got Kyo in contact with them too. I’m still ordered to stay with you… guess you’ve figured that out.”

Twilight wondered if they asked, or if he volunteered.

“Do they know about my misgivings with eternal night?” Twilight asked. While it might hurt her chances with the group, she wouldn’t deceive them.

“They know,” Gloomy nodded, a tinge of annoyance appearing in his voice, but quickly vanishing. “Watcher already figured out that you opposed Nightmare Moon in your timeline. She says you’re someone worth taking a chance on, and I agree.”

“Thank you, that means a lot,” smiled Twilight. Not to mention, it showed that Luna might negotiate that idea. Twilight hoped that she’d already given up on the idea and didn’t tell Gloomy yet for fear of it affecting his loyalty. “Is there anything you can tell me about the group yet? Like who is the leader? After Luna, I mean, I assume she isn't physically fit to stand on the front line.”

“Watcher is the leader, but most in the group don’t know she’s Nightmare,” said Gloomy. “I was told to convince me to join, because she seems really keen on remaining on your good side. Thanks again for sparing me back then. Anyway, Ovo Factorem seems to be something of a leader too, or at least their tactician. I don’t know what I can say about him, to be honest.”

“He’s a bat as well?” Twilight quirked her ears at that.

“Answering that question would invite other questions,” said Gloomy. “Nightmare trusts him, so I trust him. She says he helped her hack access to the sprite-bot network using a back door he knew about, and that’s why she can communicate with us. Anyway, that’s all I should say about him.”

Twilight didn’t pry but assumed that meant he wasn’t a bat. But why would his species invite other questions? Maybe a crystal pony? That might mean they were cooperating with Skyla, so it’d definitely invite questions.

Or it might be nothing at all. The most important thing was Twilight needed to decide if the final goal of these ponies was something she could allow. The big question was if putting Nightmare Moon in charge would be better or worse than what they had. Sure she was reasonable, but even Midnight had shown some amount of reason when alliances suited her purposes.

“You know,” Twilight added quietly. “I never apologized, I guess, for what my team did to your friends when we first met. I hope you realize I wanted to leave more survivors.” She sighed. “Especially your friend Blinding, I saw in your memory sphere… she was having a… hard time lately.”

“I know,” Gloomy sighed. “In a way, Blinding is another reason I joined Statera and why I’m trying to help you… I want to make a better world so no more of my friends have to go through that.”

“You really are a good-” Twilight was about to ask more when Crimson’s voice buzzed over the PCB. Though Starlight would hear anything over the PCB, Crimson seemed to word things so that Starlight wouldn’t want to interject herself into the conversation.

‘Hey Not-Midnight,’ Crimson said. ‘If you’re done getting bred by the fruit, come here. To the shack.’

‘Is something wrong?’ Twilight asked, not acknowledging the implication. Partly because she sort of wished she’d done that instead of making use of prostitutes with him, but wasn’t ready to admit it.

‘Come and see,’ Crimson said simply.

Twilight tried not to get her hopes up, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Crimson hadn’t been able to kill the pony. She knew it was unlikely, but Twilight’s blind hope was the only thing keeping her going.

“Twilight?” Gloomy asked.

“Crimson says to come back to the shack,” Twilight sighed and stood.

Twilight glanced back as she walked, chuckling to herself when she saw Gloomy walking behind her with his eyes fixated on her behind again. She was tempted to sway her hips more than usual for him in an attempt to cheer both of them up, but continued on.

When they arrived, Crimson was outside the shack, sitting on the edge of the sinkhole. Behind her were two bags. One was wrapped respectfully in sheets, obviously a body, which Twilight assumed was Tranquil. The other was just a giant limp bag. Twilight assumed Cola was inside, and he wasn’t moving.

“Do you need help with her burial?” Twilight sighed, focusing her eyes on Crimson.

“Kind of,” Crimson said, but didn’t turn to look at Twilight. “But not here. She doesn’t deserve to be chopped up and partially buried in some stallion-infested po-dunk village. So… buck, I sound like an idiot… I want her body to return to her family at Stable 27. Her family aside from me, at least. I don’t think they want to see me again.”

“I’ll make sure she’s returned there once things settle,” nodded Twilight.

“Can you now?” Crimson asked with uncharacteristic softness. “I hate myself enough without staring at her body. And if it’s here, I will stare at it… and possibly less appropriate things. I can even let them know you’re coming, since Chrome will probably answer a call from Stable 11’s system, unlike I would.”

This was a bad idea, even if Stable 27 wouldn’t fight them now due both their truce with Midnight. Yet, Crimson coming right to Twilight showed that, despite her misgivings, Crimson trusted Twilight. Maybe that was a good sign. Then again, maybe Crimson just wanted to be rid of her and hoped she died in transit.

“There's a lot going on now,” said Twilight.

“So, I assume you killed Cola?” asked Gloomy from behind Twilight. “And that's him in the bag?”

“Killed?” Crimson asked. “Don’t you mean executed? You know it's funny. I’m not used to having so many victims available that deserve it. It’s oddly satisfying.”

“How many... innocents have you done this to?” Twilight wasn't sure she should ask.

“Enough,” said Crimson, which Twilight assumed meant she lost count. “But maybe I was wrong. Maybe the best satisfaction comes from preserving justice instead of inflicting pain.“

Crimson turned around finally, looking over at the two sacks. But as suddenly as she turned, she recoiled, putting her hooves on her eyes and crying out.

“Crimson?” Twilight asked, coming closer. “What's wrong?”

“Bucking rainbows in my eyes!” Crimson, continuing to hold her hooves over her eyes as if they stung.

“What,” Twilight was at a loss. “NO. No bucking way!”

Crimson couldn't possibly be an Element! You can't learn a lesson about friendship from murdering somepony! What Element could that lesson even refer to?

“Should I be getting a doctor?” asked Gloomy, uncertain.

Crimson shook her head as if to clear it and put down her front hooves. She blinked a few times as if making sure nothing else weird would happen to her eyes.

“No!” Twilight screeched, refusing to believe it. “I know the world’s changed, but there is no way… no way that the Elements changed that much!”

“Twilight?” Gloomy blinked at Twilight’s uncharacteristic screeching.

“Oh, keep your sexy leather pants on,” Crimson grumbled as she continued rubbing her eyes.

Crimson kicked Cola’s bag and it spasmed, a whimper coming from inside.

“You… didn’t?” Twilight’s expression went slack, going from emotionally charged to calm so quickly that it made her feel oddly empty.

“Don’t go having friendship-gasms over it.” Crimson chuckled as she moved her hooves from her eyes, shaking her head again to clear it. “It’s pretty obvious that this guy is deranged. Getting him help so he realizes what an asshole he’s been is a worse punishment, so I’ll give the possibility that he might not be executed a chance. I make no claim that I won’t murder him after that.”

So she wasn’t ready to admit her reasoning, but the change in action was unmistakable. She spared a pony because of an unlikely chance that he might be saved. Twilight had been at a low point, her faith in friendship having all but disappeared, but now it surged back in full force.

“Crimson?” Twilight said. “I have a... gift for you.”

“A what?” Crimson asked. “Unless it's a sex toy or murder implement, I'm probably not interested.”

Twilight ignored the comment and dug around in her saddle bag. She kept quills with her whenever she could, and picked some up from the barracks, so she pulled one out and offered it to Crimson. Crimson quirked an eyebrow and took it in her magic, examining it as if wondering why Twilight would give her a not-special-at-all quill.

As Twilight watched, a rainbow glittered over the surface of the quill as Crimson held it. Crimson held it further away as if afraid the rainbow would get in her eyes again.

Oh Celestia, it really was that...

“Crimson,” said Twilight. “This will sound strange, but keep that safe; I wouldn't advise even using it.”

“What are you on about?” growled Crimson. “Are you pranking me in revenge for letting you think he was dead?”

“Do you remember what I said about the Chest of Harmony?” asked Twilight. “Well, you said you learned a lesson, then you saw a rainbow. Then I gave you a gift, and a rainbow shone on it too.”

“Wait,” Crimson peered at Twilight and managed a smirk. “So I'm one of the Mighty Morphin Element Rangers?”

“I... think you might be, yes,” Twilight sighed. “Believe me. I'm as surprised as you, probably more.”

“Is this some weird timeline stuff?” Gloomy tilted his head.

“Something like that,” sighed Twilight. “I’ll explain later.”

“Are we done with our moment now?” asked Crimson. At least she admitted that it was a moment. “Yes? Good. I'll keep the quill safe and call Stable 27 to let them know you’re coming through Stable 11, since I have the communication code. Now get going.”

“You’re welcome, Crimson,” Twilight smiled, knowing that was as close to thanks as Crimson could utter. “I'll take Tranquil home.”

It seemed important to do now that this had happened. Perhaps that’s what fate was pushing her to do, though she also needed some time away after today’s experiences.

“Gloomy?” Twilight asked. “Do you know of a safe path?” She didn’t ask him to come along; she knew he would already.

“Sure,” nodded Gloomy. “I can take you around west of the Ponyville Ashlands on the safest route. We can fly over the cloud cover until it gets too hot closer to Canterlot.”

“Thank you, Gloomy,” said Twilight.

“No problem,” said Gloomy. “I can let the team know we’re coming so maybe they can get someone to meet us there; I’m sure Watcher will ask what we’re doing when they see us heading north again together.”

Gloomy helped Twilight by hefting Tranquil onto her back, and they left to find a cart to tow her in, not to mention Starlight to cast a preservation spell. Twilight imagined Starlight would be overjoyed that she had left to risk her life far away.

Twilight hoped Starlight realized how much she needed Limestone. It seemed she had, so there was no reason to think she wouldn’t try her best to rescue the general. Starlight’s best would be better than Twilight’s in this case anyway, and their plan to Twilight’s knowledge involved stealth rather than murder.

Besides that, Twilight was tired of one crisis after another. A simple delivery mission, even a morbid one, was just what she needed. On top of that, it wouldn’t hurt to retrieve Dinky’s research from Canterlot. The little scientist should appreciate having her notes should they succeed in bringing her back to Holder.

It seemed like a good idea to change the subject, though. So, she turned it to something else Gloomy’s friends might have intel on.

“Does Statera know why the Sun stopped? Or does Midnight know?” Twilight asked. “Was it just misuse?”

“If you mean the CMEs, no,” said Gloomy. “The amount of plasma used with those was small enough that it’d regenerate. Something drained it so quickly that it stopped regenerating, and it didn’t happen until over a century after the CMEs were used. Could have been worse, I guess. If it’d stopped while at full strength, no amount of cloud cover would have kept it from frying everything around Canterlot.”

But why would anyone burn out the Sun? Twilight couldn’t think of any reason, not even a villainous one.

“Could Midnight or Trinity be involved?” Twilight asked.

“Definitely not,” Gloomy said. “Midnight is actively looking for ways to reverse the damage, and I’d imagine Trinity would be too since she wants to conquer Equestria, not turn it into a popsicle.”

“Who else is there with the resources to affect the Sun?” asked Twilight. “It was created with magitech, so in theory it should be breakable with magitech, but it’d still be no easy feat.”

“That’s just the thing,” Gloomy said. “As far as we can tell, there isn’t anyone that could. Yet it faded too suddenly to be a natural process. I don’t know how much magitech Skyla and Unicornia have, but Skyla wouldn't with her restoration fetish, and I can’t think of a motive for Unicornia either. I wouldn't put it past Chrysalis to want to destroy everything along with herself, but there's no way she could after losing her Hive.”

“Indeed,” Twilight pondered. “I’ve heard Unicornia mentioned, but not a lot about them. That’s the same name of the unicorn kingdom that helped form Equestria…”

“Yes, the history you got Clover the Clever from,” Gloomy said. “All that’s known is that they’re more advanced than Trinity or Midnight, but keep to themselves in Manehattan. And that they’re brutally racist against non-unicorns.”

“They’re bound to be a problem eventually then,” Twilight sighed.

“There’s no way to know,” said Gloomy. “It’s impossible to get spies in there, even changeling spies from what I’ve heard. All we can do is hope they have good population controls so they never need to expand. From what has been heard from Unicornian caravans traveling for research, most of them believe that the races outside will die out without their intervention, and that it will prove their superiority.”

“And the longer everyone else fights,” pondered Twilight. “The more dangerous they become by not wasting resources by taking part. Not unlike Skyla… either could become a huge problem without warning, and with both relatively hidden, it’s impossible to know exactly how advanced they are or which is more.”

“I’m not sure why Skyla hasn’t invaded to be honest,” Gloomy said. “She’s shown impressive psionic defenses when we sent teams north to investigate her location. I suppose her restraint says something good about her.”

“You mentioned Chrysalis too,” Twilight asked. “She's still active?”

“She could be, there are occasional credible sightings,” said Gloomy. “Some suspect she's allied with Trinity, including Midnight, but according to Statera, even most changelings despise her. They're content to let her live alone in misery, not that any would pass up the opportunity to end her.”

“Killing should be a last resort, not an action of opportunity,” Twilight sighed. “Regardless of who we're talking about.”

“Buck that,” Gloomy growled. “That bitch wears Nightmare Moon's skin like Midnight wears Daybreaker's. That means she skinned Nightmare Moon; our goddess might be suffering skinless in a changeling pod.”

“I see, I'm sorry,” Twilight didn't feel like arguing anything, so cut the conversation off. “You know I want to save Luna too.”

Instead of saying more, Twilight ran all this over in her head, considering potential motives that Unicornia or Skyla might have, or some method Chrysalis might use. She came up blank.

Or maybe someone else? There were as many factions in this Equestria as major cities in Twilight’s. Who knew if she'd uncovered them all. She felt like Limestone described in Marble’s memories, like there was something lurking beneath that she hadn’t accounted for.

POV: Crimson Prose
Location: Holder

‘It’s a slippery slope, you know,’ Paper Cut told Crimson. ‘One minute you’re helping some friendship fetishist find magic keys, the next you’re getting gang-banged by real stallions and not murdering a one.’

“Tsk,” huffed Crimson, walking randomly through the market and not caring who heard her. “I’ve never bucked a stallion and not killed him in my entire life. I won't start now.”

‘Why are you so angry anyway?’ Paper Cut asked. ‘You’ve never been this angry after losing a wife. You killed most of them yourself.’

“Exactly,” said Crimson. “I wanted to kill her myself.”

‘Don’t even try,’ said Paper Cut. ‘You can’t lie to me about your feelings; I’m in your head as much as in this book.’

Unfortunately, she was right there, and Crimson knew she was being unlike herself. She even provided Stable 27 accurate information when she called them to tell them Twilight was coming, though Chrome had seemed oddly unsurprised that Tranquil was coming back to them in a body bag. She even ensured they had a ‘touching’ funeral planned for her; it was such a disgusting moment that Crimson had hung up on her.

‘You feel guilty,’ said Ink Blot. She used to almost never speak in Crimson’s head, but did it more recently. ‘Because you know Tranquil left out of fear for you, that she died hating and fearing you.’

“Shut up!” screeched Crimson. Since when did Ink Blot get such big figurative balls?

‘Crimson?’ Mercury’s voice interrupted from the PCB.

‘You shut up too!’ Crimson answered her equally as harsh. ‘I’m monologuing a one-sided conversation in front of confused onlookers and can’t afford distractions!’

‘But Crimson,’ Mercury ignored the aggression. ‘Tranquil is here at the PUB! I found her at the hospital getting her wing fixed and brought her here!’

‘The PUB?’ Starlight’s voice interrupted. Of course the hub would hear their conversation. ‘I’ll bring everypony over. We need to have a short meeting about what’s next.’

‘You mean the changeling?' asked Crimson. ‘Right. I’ll finish the monologue and come kill-buck the skittle-bug during the meeting. That’ll make me feel better.’

‘No, it’s actually her!’ Mercury insisted. ‘Olivia checked and said she’s not a changeling!’

What? Had Twilight been mistaken about them changing to true form when they died?

Crimson didn’t even answer. She took off running through town as fast as she could, not even stopping when she passed a small colt she could have easily pushed down stairs like a slinky.

‘Kill her right away before anypony else can!’ Paper Cut advised.

‘No, apologize!’ Ink Blot countered. ‘Maybe tie her down and beat her though… only because she’ll like it!’

Crimson didn’t answer either of them. By the time she crashed through the front door of the PUB, she was out of breath.

“Tranquil!” Crimson ignored everyone else in the room and zeroed in on the light blue gold maned pegasus. Tranquil was even wearing her pink-trimmed Stable 27 barding that entertainers wore there, though she'd taken off her pipbuck.

Tranquil waved a hoof, but looked more caught than rescued. That and she looked almost as beat up as dead-Tranquil had been, aside from the distinct lack of a bullet to the head.

“Oh, hey,” Tranquil greeted. “… you.”

35. Cracks on the Surface

POV: Mercury Shine
Date: Earlier Thursday 11/3/2287

They’d traveled so far hoping to find Tranquil when they got here. Sure, the others had other goals, but for Mercury, this trip had been mostly about finding Tranquil. That’s why Mercury wasn’t ready to accept that she was dead. Not yet.

Which is why after Twilight left, Mercury went to Kyo to ask. Twilight only thought changelings changed back if they died, but said she hadn’t seen it to know, and they knew very little about them in Twilight’s time.

Kyo had seemed vacant, and Mercury felt bad about asking her anything, but told Mercury that while they’d normally shift back, they might not if low on energy and killed suddenly. Now, Mercury was certain that the one killed had been Peaceful, not Tranquil. Or at least fairly certain. Okay, she was only rationalizing.

Tranquil told Peaceful she feared Crimson, so either of them might try to avoid the group. But she figured Peaceful wouldn’t fear returning to the wasteland. She was used to living in this world and even managed to escape Midnight, so probably had a good chance of surviving outside. Tranquil on the other hoof, would fear leaving the city once finally in relative safety. That would explain why there was no record of the twin leaving after they escaped.

Of course, they could have sneaked out as somepony else, or during the evacuation, but Mercury ignored the logic as she continued to rationalize. If there was a tiny chance, she had to look into it.

But where would she search? She didn’t know her way around town. Bottle Cap wouldn’t be any help if he didn’t even know what Cola was doing. Solar and Maud were too busy testing the stealth suit to get it to work as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Kamikaze was having random issues with her wings trying to kill ponies and waiting for Solar to examine them again when she could. As for Starlight, she wasn’t going to care about solving problems that wouldn’t result in more power for her.

Kyo couldn’t spare her guards, since on top of increasing patrols in case Tenwhinney tried something else, many were sweeping the silo for ferals while those that could dismantled warheads. Kyo told her guards to keep an eye out for Tranquil or Peaceful, and Mercury wouldn’t ask more when Kyo had also just lost her brother.

But Cola mentioned that Tranquil hurt her wing when leaving, and on top of that, they roughed them both up while ‘testing’ the detection gel. If so, there was a good chance she’d finally resort to the hospital for treatment since few in Holder would help a pegasus if it wasn’t their job.

To that end, Mercury volunteered to help at the hospital. They were dealing with more patients than usual, even if it was minor injuries sustained during the panic.

Every time the bell rang for a new patient, Mercury finished what she was doing and checked who it was. After a few hours of helping, she almost gave up, but finally found what she hoped for.

The new entry wore a fedora and large black coat as if trying to hide, but Mercury could see the green wings sticking through the coat and a bit of her gold and white hair. As she came closer, she realized that the pony was wearing Tranquil's Stable 27 barding, pink trim signifying her position as an entertainer within the stable.

“Tranquil!” Mercury galloped up to her as soon as she recognized who it was.

“Oh, thank stripes you're here,” said the zebra mare that rang the bell for a new patient. “You can take care of this thing.”

While it annoyed Mercury that the doctor didn’t want to help a pegasus, she was concentrating on Tranquil. Tranquil gave her a nervous smile.

“Oh, hello… you,” Tranquil said. After a few moments of deep thought, she added. “Mercury! Mercury Shine! Yep… that’s you…”

Tranquil blurted out the name as if Mercury was the answer to a trivia question. The poor mare was out of sorts from her experience.

“It’s really you Tranquil?” Mercury smiled and helped Tranquil over to the nearest empty bed. She helped Tranquil get her saddlebags off without touching her wing too much, then carefully pulled off the long coat. “Is your wing hurt? I’ll see to it.”

“Yes,” said Tranquil. “Yes. It is in fact me. M-me as me can be.”

Tranquil settled onto a bed on her belly, sighing as she removed her hat with her good wing and folded her legs beneath her in a bread loaf position, spreading her injured wing. It wasn’t as bad as Mercury feared, mostly swollen from how long Tranquil delayed in getting help. There were some other bruises and cuts that Mercury needed to tend on her body though, indicating she’d been treated as roughly as feared.

“We were so worried,” said Mercury in relief. “But I’m so sorry for what happened to your friend. The ch… I mean your twin sister.”

“Yeah,” Tranquil looked down at the bed in front of her. “As if losing Delusion wasn’t enough. Except this time, it's my fault.” She took a deep breath. “Um, Figment. That was the name of my… twin.”

“So Delusion was the one you lost at Everfree?” Mercury tilted her head. “I’m sorry… but why would it be your fault? Um, and this might sting.”

Mercury grasped Tranquil’s wing with her magic, holding the bones carefully. They weren’t broken, just popped out of joint, so she yanked the bones back until they snapped back into position.

“Nnngh,” Tranquil twitched, but was a good enough patient. “But it is my fault. It was my idea to be twins; I should have known it would make us suspicious if we had exact cutie marks. Cola suspected us when he asked us questions about our foalhood together and we didn’t answer them well enough, and then apparently some zebra riled him up with what a changeling might be doing here. If we pretended to be different ponies that met in the Ashlands, it wouldn't have been as suspicious.”

“You didn’t know what bigots were out there,” Mercury shook her head, applying ointment and wrapping Tranquil’s wing.

“But I did know,” sighed Tranquil. “I’m such a… foal.”

“Come on,” Mercury tried to cheer her up. “Once I’m done treating you, we can go see our friends.”

“Um, Mercury,” Tranquil took a deep breath. “I saw um…” She paused as if searching her mind for the name, flinching as if it hurt to process thoughts. “Crimson. I don’t want to return to her.”

“I know,” sighed Mercury. “Look, I get that you’re afraid of her, but things aren’t the same. She’s really changing, and even if not, she’s not in control. She’s around a lot of other ponies that keep her in check.”

“That’s naïve,” Tranquil said, a bit blunt for her, but she’d been through a lot as Mercury had. “I don’t want to see her okay? Please. If you help smuggle me out after treating me, I could make it to another safe settlement.”

“I’m sorry,” Mercury shook her head. “But I can’t. I’ve already lost my friend once and… I really think it will work out. Come on Tranquil. Please. Crimson blames herself for you running away, I swear she does. She’ll be so happy to see you.”

“She’ll just think I’m a changeling and kill me anyway,” Tranquil cautiously folded her wing as Mercury finished. “She may even kill me if she doesn’t think that.”

“Maybe not,” said Mercury. “Besides, there’s somepony that could verify that you aren’t one. Come with me to them?”

“Which somepony?” Tranquil tilted her head and seemed cautious.

“There are good changelings in the city,” Mercury whispered. “They don’t work for Trinity or Midnight. I’m sure they can check if you are one.”

“There are?” Tranquil asked but nodded. “But I haven’t… I mean it’s not like I can sneak out without help, anyway, and admit I don’t really know where to go when I do. I suppose I’m curious if they’ll identify me as one, too. If they’re really not Trinity’s then I can... let’s go now, get it over with.”

Mercury smiled. Until that point she hadn’t been certain herself if it was Tranquil. She was acting odd, but a changeling wouldn’t agree to a check so easily. Even without that, a changeling should have noticed that their wing was out-of-joint and not broken, then shifted it back into place themselves. And they certainly wouldn't have needed to wear a traditional disguise.

Not that Mercury would have changed her demeanor if she was the changeling. Even if this wasn’t Tranquil, it’d be someone Tranquil trusted enough to allow them to take her form. Mercury wouldn’t want that creature walking into danger either, so it’d still be best if Olivia checked them and took them in.

Kyo wasn’t at the PUB, but it was open for business. There were a lot of stressed ponies after the near-disaster. Olivia herself was operating the front desk, probably keeping a close eye on their hive after the events of the day.

“Hello there,” Mercury said as she came in with Tranquil behind her.

“Oh hello,” Olivia said. “You are welcome here… oh.”

“Hillos,” Tranquil waved a hoof awkwardly. “You are um…” She strained as if trying to remember Olivia, then stopped when she seemed satisfied that she shouldn’t know.

Olivia had paused when she saw Tranquil behind Mercury. She recognized her from the description they gave her for Tranquil and seemed to understand.

“Follow me to my office,” Olivia smiled, though it looked forced. “I’ll call someone else to work the front desk.”

Since it wasn’t a secret from Mercury, Olivia didn’t pretend to go get someone. She headed into a hallway, no doubt calling for someone else over her hive link. Mercury followed, eager to verify things and looking forward to how happy Crimson would be. And it would be a good happy, not an ‘I ended somepony’s life and it was hilarious’ happy.

The office was merely a spare room with a desk and filing cabinets. Mercury supposed that the real records were harder to get to, and these probably had fake profiles for their employees. A sign above the desk read ‘You don’t have to be crazy to work here. We’ll train you!’

“So,” Olivia turned and looked grim. “I guess that Peaceful was the one murdered… don’t get me wrong, though! I would be sad if Tranquil were dead, but changelings have a special place in my heart.”

“It is, and it’s okay,” Mercury smiled. “You can already tell though? Crimson will want to be sure.”

“I think I can, but I will be certain,” Olivia turned and walked to Tranquil. “Stand still, dear.”

“Right…” Tranquil nodded.

Tranquil stood still, though she flinched when Olivia reached out her paw to lay it atop her head. She must have been worried about what the magic would do aside from detection because she sweated profusely. It was how a pony might look if they were having knives thrown at them for a magic trick by a pony with a butchering cutie mark. Olivia’s paw and eyes glowed for a moment before she pulled it away.

“She is not a changeling,” Olivia nodded. “I am 100% certain.” She looked back to Tranquil. “Do you… know how your friend avoided our detection though? We should have known if any other changelings were in the city.”

“R-really?” Tranquil arched an eyebrow as if in surprise, but added. “I mean… you can tell so fast? And no… I’m not sure.”

“Indeed,” said Olivia, then turned to Mercury. “While the city-wide system might have missed one or be shielded against, I’m certain this spell would not. From what I am detecting, I could not even connect you to the hive artificially, as you lack the facilities.” She widened her eyes and added. “Not that I am saying you are unintelligent!”

“It’s fine,” Tranquil said, but looked depressed. “I guess I’m defective. I got… never mind.”

“No, no, no,” Olivia petted Tranquil’s head in apology, which was no doubt meant as a comforting gesture but seemed to make Tranquil more nervous. “The properties a brain needs for an artificial connection to work are associated with senses, not intelligence.”

“Does that mean she won’t be able to connect to our PCB either?” asked Mercury.

“Your… PCB?” asked Tranquil.

“Psionic canter banter, through our pipbucks,” Mercury raised her own pipbuck.

“Oh those,” Tranquil widened her eyes. “I didn’t realize they could do that. I... but... my pipbuck is acting up so I'll leave it off for now. Besides, it makes me feel caged.”

“We'll have Solar check it,” Mercury hugged Tranquil and smiled. “I’ll let Crimson know over our PCB though. I see you're wearing your Stable 27 barding, so she'll like that. Let’s go wait for her in the lobby.”

“Um well,” Olivia said. “Crimson is not… welcome here.”

“Oh don’t worry about her,” said Mercury. “She’s not as dangerous as she seems.”

“Goodness, filly,” sighed Tranquil. “If you were any more naïve, we could sell tickets to it.”

“She may stay,” Olivia said. It was a sudden change of heart, but she added. “Kyo informed me she is on her way here with Starlight, who wishes to hold a meeting here. She will allow Crimson and Maud entry for the duration of the meeting only.”

Mercury smiled as Crimson burst in and headed for Tranquil. Though it seemed like Olivia’s spell took a lot out of Tranquil, since she looked confused again for a moment.

“Oh, hey,” Tranquil greeted. “… you… Crimson Prose! My dear husb-... waifu... Um, wife! I meant wife.”

Crimson skidded to a halt in front of Tranquil. She leaned forward, peering with one eye. Tranquil’s confusion obviously made her suspicious, but Mercury was sure she’d be fine once Tranquil settled back in with her.

“If you’re uncertain, Crimson,” smiled Mercury. “Why not ask her a few questions that she wouldn’t have told anypony else?”

“What was the name of that foal we murdered before we left Stable 27?” asked Crimson.

“What?” Olivia stared.

“Not that kind of question, Crimson,” sighed Mercury, placing one hoof on her own forehead.

“Oh um,” Tranquil paused for a good twenty seconds, initially looking a little ill, then clenching her face as if figuring out a math problem. Once again, she responded as if answering trivia. “Silk Strand! I’m really sorry, they really messed with my head at Midnight Castle.”

“Excuse me?” Olivia asked again. “What did you say before about murdering a foal?”

“Calm your tits, woof-woof, it's not like that,” Crimson lied. “Murder is slang for fantastic sex in my stable.” It was perhaps a well-chosen lie. Another terrible meaning made it more believable.

“Ah well,” Olivia nodded, though her face hardened. “That’s… Please keep in mind that there is a minimum age of consent in Holder. In fact, there is a chart in the PUB’s entryway that shows the age of maturity for various species. Holder and Ramble take pride in being more civilized than many other settlements.”

“Okay, I only got the last part of that conversation,” said Starlight as she entered. “But I’ll ask you to cease and not tell me what it was about.”

Starlight came in with the Maud and Solar behind her. Kamikaze slammed into the wall beside the door a few times before buzzing her way inside next.

“When are we gonna put the razor edge on my new wings?” Kamikaze was asking. “And the heating function to make it slice through pony-parts like butter!”

“Later!” Solar chuckled. “Not the best idea until we're sure they won't try to kill anypony on their own. And honestly… might have to wait to see if we can get Dinky back to have her look at them. She studied cybernetics a lot more than I have. I can attach parts but improvements might be harder.”

“Aww, but wanting to kill stuff is the coolest part about them!” chuckled Kamikaze. “But fine, I’d be a little down if I cut off a friend’s head.”

Mercury smiled a bit, being glad that Kamikaze was clearly no longer depressed, and that, unlike some other ponies, her caring was stronger than her bloodthirst, if only slightly.

Kyo entered last. She looked like she’d been crying, her face still and emotionless. She walked into the office without saying a word. Mercury wouldn’t say Dyo didn’t deserve to die, even if not in the way it likely happened, but still felt terrible for Kyo.

“I’m sorry if I sound blunt during this discussion,” said Kyo as soon as they were all inside. “But I am not feeling well.”

“They’re only here for our business, I’m sure you understand,” Starlight nodded to Kyo. “And I am… very sorry about what happened.”

It had taken Mercury longer than it should have to realize the reason Kyo didn’t want them here. Maybe Tranquil had been right about her naivety.

“Why don’t you take the desk chair and rest,” Starlight continued. “The rest of us can stand or sit on the floor.”

Starlight’s words sounded kind on the surface, but Kyo looked at Starlight as if she were making fun of her. She took a deep breath and sat as suggested though, leaning on the desk in front of her. She looked up, but after her eyes moved first to Crimson and then to Maud, she looked back down at the desk.

Kyo’s hooves shivered as if straining to hold back emotion. They rattled against the desk as she tried to hold them still. Crimson had claimed Kyo didn’t blame her and Maud ‘that much’, but apparently she had been mistaken.

“Mind if I lead the discussion?” asked Starlight. “I don’t want you to stress out too much.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, Empress,” Kyo said sternly. “But continue. You’re in control regardless of my wishes.”

Olivia moved to stand next to Kyo, placing one paw on her shoulder in comfort. Though she stood more as if guarding her, keeping a watchful eye on Starlight that she had not previously.

It was a credit to Kyo that she was still willing to help them, even with many of the townsfolk treating Starlight and Maud like deities. But they were working to save their captured friends, and surely Kyo blamed nothing on her at least. Mercury was glad she cooperated because even Mercury realized Starlight required Limestone to keep her in check, and it sounded like Solar could use Dinky’s help with Kamikaze too.

“Thank you,” Starlight kept her ‘nice face’ on as if pretending not to realize all this, but Mercury was sure she wasn’t so unperceptive. She turned to Solar and Maud. “What’s the status on the pulse barding?”

“I’ll have it working by Sunday,” Solar said, her mind too focused on her task to note most of the social tension. “It was unfinished, but really amazing! I’ve never seen stealth barding! I mean it’s not working yet, but it’ll work soon, so I’ll see it then! Or not see it, I guess.”

“Kyo,” said Starlight. “You said there was one more ally that might help but you couldn’t contact?”

“Yes,” Kyo nodded but didn’t look up. “Gilda, the griffon ghoul that leads Railway, a colony of docile ghouls in the subway tunnels nearby. The problem is that we can’t walk in and see them as the tunnels on the way are full of ferals; their way of defending their settlement since they won’t attack dociles. We meet at regular intervals outside, but there’s no way to contact her otherwise. She won’t chance having a transmitter down there that Tenwhinney and others could triangulate. I’m sure she just wants to be left alone, but may still help if it’s against Tenwhinney.”

“So she would make a good ally?” asked Starlight.

“She knows the subways,” said Kyo. “She may know a path to the station beneath Tenwhinney. If Maud got inside with the armor and unlocked it from inside, an incursion could be made from beneath.”

“For now, I am concentrating on saving my sister,” asked Maud, eyes narrowed. “But when I am finished, I will demand to know why these ferals guarding their base were not put to rest.”

Maud wasn’t wrong, but Mercury doubted Kyo or Gilda realized how aware ferals were. They’d surely understand once it was explained.

“A griffon named Gilda?” Starlight mused. “Is this General Gilda from early in the War? She commanded the new Wonderbolts after the pegasi rebelled. I figured she died during the Fall of Canterlot... and I guess she did.”

“She said she led the griffon forces in the final defense of Canterlot,” Kyo confirmed. “That’s another reason I was thinking she may be willing to help you. She mentioned that she coordinated with the Pie Sisters a few times, and she already hates Tenwhinney more than Holder does. Or did before this whole thing.”

“I didn’t work with her directly,” mused Starlight. “Maud?”

“I remember her,” Maud said. “She was insufferable on a personal level, but no more than other cat-butts. She was a loyal and skilled fighter, and that's all that mattered to me.”

“Don’t tell her I’m with you until you’ve gotten her to agree to help,” Kamikaze chuckled. “I’ve run out of legs to lose, so she might try to take something more vital this time, like my pussy she was always after.”

Mercury expected genital jokes from Kamikaze, but was disturbed that she might be speaking literally about getting sliced up. She was now aware that there were creatures that actually would do that, not to mention griffons were carnivores even in pre-apocalyptic times.

“Good enough,” said Starlight. “Waiting wouldn’t be a problem, except that we don’t have until your next meeting before it’s too late for Limestone. We need their help; just Maud getting into the shield might not be enough.”

“That’s where the stealth armor comes in!” said Solar. “It’s an advanced prototype, I think I can even get the expanded stealth field to work! Once I do, it’ll make not just the wearer invisible, but anypony within a few hoofsteps of them too!”

“Is that so?” Maud asked. “I do not remember them finishing that upgrade. They got stuck making the regular stealth work with the bypass enchantment.”

“They weren’t me,” grinned Solar.

“If you could do that,” said Kamikaze. “You could waltz into anywhere with a small team!”

“Um,” Mercury raised a hoof. “But would they react well to that? Appearing out of nowhere...”

“I’ll go with you,” said Kyo. “She’ll trust me. Besides, I don’t want you talking to her without me there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” nodded Starlight. “We’ll spend another night in the Pie commander quarters and head out within a few days.” She turned to Solar. “Assuming you are as bright as you claim.”

“I’m super bright!” Solar nodded, spreading her brightly colored wings as if that proved something.

“You could help, Starlight?” Mercury suggested. “You’d know all about magitech.”

“Indeed,” Starlight sighed, seeming uncomfortable when asked to help, though she should have been able to. “I’ll peek, but I’m a little rusty in that area.”

“You can watch and learn if nothing else!” Solar sounded excited. And Mercury knew she was; working on a nigh unsolvable technical issue all night would be like an all-night orgy for Solar. Mercury just hoped she didn’t wear herself out.

“I’ll go too,” said Mercury. “If that’s okay. I want to help. Besides, Crimson and Tranquil will want to be alone with each other.”

Mercury turned to see what the happy wives were doing. Tranquil leaned back in a corner, eyes wide while Crimson sat next to her. Crimson was grinning and whispering to her, Tranquil nodding every few moments as if afraid to disagree with whatever the conversation was. That was strange, but Mercury figured Tranquil would warm back up to Crimson once she realized Crimson wouldn’t treat her like before.

Things would turn around soon, right? Once they had their other friends back, everything would be fine. Mercury was starting to get back a bit of her faith.

“Sounds like we have a plan, or at least the start of one,” nodded Starlight. She turned to Crimson and Tranquil. “Can you two come with me after the meeting? I’d like to meet Tranquil.”

“Does that mean you want to buck her?” Crimson said. “I wanted to get my munch on with her alone before any three-or-more-somes.”

“No, it does not mean that,” Starlight grunted in annoyance. “Meet means meet, not mate.”

“I should come as well?” asked Maud.

“Solar could use your help, Maud,” Starlight smiled at Maud. “Since you’ll be wearing the armor.”

“Oh um, one more thing before you leave,” Mercury said. “Tranquil, you said your pipbuck wasn't working good? Solar can take a look.”

“Hm?” asked Solar. “If it's something fast, I'd rather be working on the pulse barding!”

“Y-you could just reset it right quick?” Tranquil suggested, tugging it out of her bag. “That could clear it up.”

“Well okay,” said Solar, pulling up her own new pipbuck to connect the two. “A factory reset will delete all the settings though, it'll treat you like a new wearer.”

“It's okay,” Tranquil smiled. “Like you said, you’re short on time.”

“No…” Kyo spoke again out of nowhere, standing angrily at her desk. Olivia’s expression grew firm as well. “Which of you took it?”

“Pardon?” Starlight asked.

“The device we use to nullify magic when needed in the spa,” Olivia explained. “We’ve just been informed it is missing over our hive connection.”

“But Miss,” Mercury pointed out. “We’d have no way of knowing that you had one of those.”

“Well, the ones there when we found out about the hive would know,” Solar tilted her head. “I mean, I’d like to know how it works, but I’d never steal it!”

“It uses a piece of an ancient throne that Chrysalis once used,” said Kyo. “It was locked in a room behind a coded door, that only a few would know the code to.” Her eyes went to Starlight and Maud. “Dyo, who you questioned alone, may have known it. He’s acquired the code more than once so he could sneak in there and look at private customer files in an effort to know how to flirt with them.”

“I’m sorry that your device was stolen,” Starlight shook her head. “But you can’t possibly expect that I took it when I didn’t know it existed. I didn’t even get the hive fully explained to me until after that questioning, and he certainly wouldn’t have volunteered that when questioned about unrelated crimes.”

“Crimson would have known,” said Olivia. “She was in the room earlier when we were forced to use it and also questioned and then helped murder Dyo.”

“How did you remove it, even?” Kyo asked. “It’s… not difficult to move but you can’t exactly stuff it into a saddlebag.”

“You act like he didn’t deserve it,” Crimson scoffed. “He wouldn’t even have gotten a trial if he weren’t a Pie. And where do you think I put this thing I supposedly stole? Just rammed it up my cunt and walked out with it?”

“Please,” Mercury tried to calm things down. “We shouldn’t make accusations when we don’t know. I’m sure everyone here would be happy to help search for your device.”

“I’m sorry,” Starlight said, “But again, we have no reason to weaken the position of those we wish an alliance with. If it makes you feel better, you have full authority to have us searched as thoroughly as you wish. As you said, such an object would not be easy to hide, and we have no place to hide such things other than the quarters and storage you gave us.”

“You will all submit to a search before you leave here,” growled Kyo, then looked at Crimson “A full cavity search, Miss ‘I wouldn’t put it there’, as well as a magical search in case it has been shrunken or is in pieces.”

“Me first!” Solar raised a hoof the moment she heard ‘cavity search’. “Um, cause I need to hurry and get started on stuff.”

On the other hoof, Mercury squeaked, her tail instinctively flapping down tightly at the mention of the search. Starlight did much the same.

“We’ll gladly submit to the search,” Starlight said. “As long as this is handled very… medically.”

“Believe me,” Kyo said. “We have no desire to get any more than that with you.”

“And as long as females do the cavity searching,” said Crimson in her most serious tone. “Like, real females.”

POV: Tranquil Melody

Ignore the pain. Ignore the dizziness. Don’t let on. It wasn’t easy as Starlight led Tranquil and Crimson out of the PUB. Even the meager rays of the distant Sun stung her eyes. She wouldn’t have been able to pretend, but she’d dealt with the agony in her head since Everfree. Midnight just had to dig around in her head, as if she wasn’t bucked up enough.

It was a pity Tranquil didn’t have medical training. Had she realized her wing was out of joint and not broken, she’d have popped it back in and flew off during the panic. She thought getting treatment at the busy hospital, where she’d probably be helped quickly and dismissed, would be the next best thing, but she should have guessed Mercury might be there.

The situation she’d found herself in was more complicated than she’d expected. She felt the tension between Kyo and some of Starlight’s group, and between Crimson and everypony else. And now they expected her to wear a pipbuck. At least Solar reset it and cleared the data before anypony saw things they wouldn’t want to see.

Starlight claimed she wanted to meet Tranquil, but it had to be more. She could have done that at or outside the PUB. She didn’t even take them to the barracks where they stayed. Instead, Starlight led them towards the edge of town. No, she wanted to speak to them alone where she was sure no one would overhear.

She didn’t even try to hide this from the two. Once far enough, Starlight looked around to see if anyone was spying on them, then activated her horn. A magical dome spread over them, blocking out all sound and light from the outside. As Starlight’s horn grew brighter to shed light on the inside, Tranquil realized that the dome was rock-shaped as if it were some kind of camouflage.

This didn’t feel right. Tranquil didn't want to be alone with this unicorn and might have gone into full panic had Crimson not been there. Crimson would do what she could to protect her even if for the wrong reasons.

“I’ll be brief,” Starlight said. Her demanding demeanor was a stark contrast to what it’d been during the meeting. It was as abrupt as taking off a mask. “First, Crimson, can I assume your wife will be okay with anything you are okay with?”

“I don’t see why not,” Crimson said with complete confidence. “She’d murder her own parents for me. In fact she did.”

Starlight seemed both satisfied and unsatisfied with that answer, pausing a moment to give both Crimson and Tranquil a disdainful look. Tranquil hoped Crimson didn’t go into detail about things that Tranquil didn’t want to remember.

“I don’t need morbid details, Crimson,” Starlight growled. “I find your talents useful, but that doesn’t mean I like them.”

Tranquil wished that she could make a strategic exit from this conversation, but she seemed trapped. That was the story of her life. She wished Starlight wasn’t trusting her so soon.

“My apologies, your Empress-ness,” Crimson smirked.

“The note you found when you and Maud retrieved the device,” Starlight got to the point. “Have you had time to scrye it?”

“Oh yes,” Crimson nodded. “But keep in mind there were limits. I think she only jotted that one thing down during that meeting, so I got a pretty small window of it around the time she wrote that.”

“And?” asked Starlight.

“The meeting was with Gloomy and Watcher,” said Crimson. “About forming some kind of alliance with Statera, access to information Statera has about Trinity and other factions in exchange for giving Statera the method they use to remove changelings from Trinity’s hive.”

“But she mentioned me,” Starlight said. “What exactly was she saying when she wrote that?”

“After they were done with that,” said Crimson. “Kyo wanted to discuss how to ‘deal with Starlight’. Gloomy seemed evasive and Watcher didn’t seem to care, so instead of jotting down a list, Kyo asked for another meeting when they were ready to talk about it.”

Tranquil herself wasn’t sure what that meant. Dealing with somepony could mean anything from killing them to what kind of sandwich to make them.

“I knew it,” Starlight growled, drawing the worst possible conclusion. “She’s plotting with other factions to have me killed so I can’t control the Pies. We have to take action before she manages to convince Statera or someone else.”

“That is… a huge jump,” chuckled Crimson. “Look, I’m an expert on how it feels to consider murder. You know it picks up some of their emotion during this process, and here it felt more like embarrassment than aggression, like it’s just awkward dealing with a historical figure that happens to be a clone of Trinity. I don’t think she wanted you dead at the time she wrote this.”

“Crimson,” Starlight’s voice took a somehow unnervingly sincere tone. “I need your cooperation with these things. I was wrong to think the Pies would follow orders without question and I’ve made mistakes that put my position in jeopardy because of it. You, however, have less issues following commands, so long as you get something in return.”

“Are you trying to get in my head?” grunted Crimson. “Because it feels like you’re digging around in there; am I really worth that much effort?”

“The bottom line is that Kyo will be a problem,” Starlight said. “If not now, then later. It’d be better if we neutralized her before then. Up until now, she hasn’t done enough that Maud would be okay with a kill order, with her being a Pie, but with your word after scrying that message, she might.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to be in charge of Holder?” Crimson asked.

“No, actually, I don’t,” said Starlight. “I would put her daughter Custard in charge, being her regent until her 13th birthday. There’d be almost a year to influence her with her heroes to rule in an appropriate manner, then I could be an advisor.”

“So you want me to get Maud to want to kill Kyo?” Crimson nodded. “And then I get to buck Custard.”

“You will not touch Custard until she is consenting legal age,” Starlight growled, but then paused “Or if Maud is into it, I suppose, to keep her happy. For some inexplicable reason, Maud trusts you. Besides, think about it. It’s almost certain that she intends to enlist Gilda’s help to take care of me after what she said to Statera. They wouldn’t bite, so she wants to see if GIlda will.”

“Gilda was an Equestrian general,” Crimson said. “The same rank as Limestone, and you think she’ll betray you? You’re really scraping the bottom of the paranoia barrel here.”

“A general that still might turn on us if Kyo were to tell her we’ve joined forces with Midnight and Kamikaze,” pointed out Starlight. “Once you tell her, Maud might even demand I take action.”

“Yeah, I mean I can do that, I guess,” Crimson said. “Even if I don’t get to do it. And it probably won’t be agonizing or slow. And, you know, with me not thinking she’s up to anything.”

“Yes, and?” Starlight tilted her head. “Didn’t you try to kill three slaves on the way here? You definitely didn’t think they were up to something.”

“Those were stallions,” Crimson shrugged.

Crimson’s reluctance surprised Tranquil. Crimson should have been fine with getting a pony killed if it meant she’d get what she wanted later on. If they didn’t deserve it, that should make it more fun for her. Instead, Crimson gave carefully worded excuses as if not wanting to do it, but also not wanting Starlight to think she’d gone soft, like a tsundere serial killer. Maybe Crimson didn’t even realize she was doing it herself.

But Starlight concerned her too. She knew that this couldn’t be the original Starlight, since she knew that was Trinity. So exactly how alike were they?

“Crimson Prose,” Starlight’s voice became deadly. “You are guilty of enough crimes that nopony would question your execution. Or the execution of your pet wife. I advise you to remain useful.”

Crimson did a good job not showing how seriously she took the threat, but she certainly did. Tranquil felt Crimson’s magic grip her protectively on instinct when Starlight threatened her. Since Crimson didn’t make a snide ‘You better not kill her before I can’ remark, Tranquil wondered if Mercury had been more than naive to think Crimson was changing. Or maybe Tranquil just didn’t have a clear memory of who Crimson was?

“Oh, stop it,” Crimson rolled her eyes, playing off her nervousness. “You should just order Maud to threaten me; she’s way hotter when she does it. But sure, I’ll take care of it.”

Tranquil felt odd about how quickly Crimson agreed once she was threatened. Did she actually mean something to her?

“Better,” Starlight nodded, then turned to Tranquil. “Your pet is quiet, though. I assume you agree?”

“I-It’s fine!” Tranquil blurted out, probably sounding too enthusiastic. “We did plenty at Stable…” Damn it, what number was it? She had to process for a bit. “2? 27!”

“Good,” Starlight nodded.

Starlight’s horn lit again, and in a flash she teleported away from them, not wanting to chance being seen with them more than necessary. As soon as she did, the camouflage melted away from around them. Once again they were in the open.

Tranquil expected Crimson to drag her off immediately. Crimson should be eager to talk to Maud or at least get it over with. But instead, Crimson just stood there for a few long moments, staring into space.

“Crimson?” Tranquil peeped up after a minute of Crimson staring.

“I’m sorry,” Crimson said out of nowhere.

“E-excuse me?” Tranquil blinked.

“You fled Canterlot because I scared you,” Crimson said, face devoid of emotions. “I’m sorry. But if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll donkey-punch you so hard that your eyes pop out, then have happy-fun-time with the empty sockets.”

“I-it’s okay,” Tranquil wasn’t sure what else to say. “This is unlike you, though.” She hoped it was, at least, otherwise that statement might seem more suspicious than she already was to Crimson.

“How about that,” Crimson smirked, then turned to walk back into the heart of the town. “Come on, this could be just what I need after all. Let’s try to get some anger sex out of Maud.”

36. The Fiendship Express

POV: Mercury Shine
Date: Sunday 11/6/2287

Nothing went wrong for a few days, but after the trip, it seemed like too little happened now. There were things to do in town, but most were too busy to do them. Since she wanted to give Crimson and Tranquil time to reconnect on their own, Mercury was left with no one she knew well that didn’t have specific duties. She’d have chatted with Tranquil over the PCB, but as feared, it didn’t seem to work for her.

Mercury felt that her own naivety was hanging by a thread with the knowledge that two of her best friends had been psycho killers. She didn’t want to lose it, though, or become used to horrible things, even if it got in the way. Besides, Crimson had shown an unusual change when she didn’t kill Cola even when they deserved it.

Granted, Starlight had Cola executed anyway; Mercury was pretty sure she had it done for spite too. Not everything had happy endings, which was something Mercury was learning.

Once there was no more extra work at the hospital, Mercury tried to spend time with Xander for mentoring. However, even after Cola’s mistakes having gone wrong, the zebra was more obsessed with finding changelings than helping her, and it became more and more obvious that he resented the idea of zebras losing their unique edge by sharing knowledge.

She realized soon that their knowledge was mostly on par, and she’d really only needed him to decipher some ethnic symbols in Zecora’s journal that she hadn’t seen before. Once she knew what they equated to, she could figure out the recipes fine.

So she spent a lot of time working in Stable 11’s lab on her own trying out the mixtures she could. Most of the telesyringer ammo had recipes in the journal, so she made sure she had full stocks of what she needed, and concocted an additional syringe of ‘berserker’ since the recipe was there. It was made to make enemies attack one another, but she wondered to herself if her being willing to make it meant she’d changed for the worse.

When not doing this, Mercury spent time with Custard in the Pie Museum. The filly had more to process than a filly should, though Maud’s actions didn’t decrease her love of the Pie sisters. It seemed that most of the Pie family expected Dyo to get himself killed. Mercury wondered if their ignoring of him as a whole was what sent him down the path some assumed he’d take.

Custard enjoyed showing Mercury exhibits and talking about history, which got her mind off less pleasant things and gave Mercury more respect for the nut-ball Pie worshippers. As crazed as they were, it inspired her to hear how their determination to keep Equestria alive brought them through difficult times.

When Solar finished the pulse barding on Sunday, Mercury knew immediately. She was trying to eat breakfast in Stable 11’s cafeteria when Solar came storming in from the direction of the research lab, seeing Mercury and squeeing all the way to her table. She didn’t stop in time, tripping and slamming her face on the table before tumbling to the floor.

Mercury had seen Solar run into things enough to not be worried, and most other creatures there didn’t care if a pegasus hurt herself, so Mercury let her get up on her own. She pushed the rest of her nutrient paste over to Solar’s seat though, knowing the mare probably hadn’t eaten properly.

When Solar dragged herself into the seat, she immediately picked up the bowl in both hooves and scarfed down a few gulps as if just remembering that she hadn’t eaten in a day. When she was done, she spoke with bits dribbling from her muzzle.

“So, instead of trying to separate the enchantments into layers,” Solar started without Mercury needing to ask. “I combined them into one, each running at different temporal frequencies so that neither enchantment even knows the other is there! And the chance of the vibrations causing microfractures in the wearer’s bones is less than 5%!”

“Well, it will help that the wearer is Maud, I’m sure,” smiled Mercury. “But do be certain. Maybe I can mix up some potions for bone strengtheners just to be sure.”

“It’s like our stable suits too,” said Solar. “So it sizes itself to the wearer, even if it only fits an earther. She’s gonna look super hot in that tight-fitted chain mesh!”

“Too bad her enemies won’t see her in it, I guess,” Mercury chuckled awkwardly as Solar scarfed down another few gulps and belched loudly.

“Yeah that’s actually a problem,” Solar seemed awkward for a moment. “You won’t be able to see each other within the suit’s stealth field, so she’ll have to lead you around by leashes. Kinky, though, right?”

“I… okay,” Mercury thought better than to comment.

“Anyway, they’re getting ready to go soon,” said Solar. “So they sent me…” she paused and grinned at a passing zebra stallion. “Hey big guy, is every part of you striped?”

The zebra rolled his eyes and continued passing them. Solar sighed a bit sadly; it seemed her efforts weren’t having the same results here as at Midnight Castle, and they’d only given her one freebie at the PUB like everyone else.

“You were saying?” Mercury gently got her back on track.

“Oh right!” Solar said, eyeing one of the giant fish people from town. “They said to come get you. You know where to meet right?” She scrunched her face up. “I wanted to come and protect you!... but they wouldn’t let me. They said I’d be a distraction!” As if it was the most unreasonable thing ever.

Solar then seemed to put her focus on eating, passing gas shamelessly as she took another scoop of food. A moment later, she looked into Mercury’s eyes with shock, like she’d done it on impulse without thought for where she was. Solar quickly went back to eating, as if to pretend it didn’t happen.

Mercury played along for Solar’s sake, and focused on one of Solar’s eyelid muscles spasming rapidly, which she knew was a classic indicator of lack of sleep. No wonder Solar was acting a bit more impulsive than normal.

“I’m sorry Solar,” smiled Mercury. “But you need to get some sleep. I know you’re riding high now, but when that lack of sleep hits, it’ll hit hard. After you’ve had your fill, promise me you’ll go to bed immediately. Alone. Oh, and try to eat slower.”

“Yea, I also need to sleep if I ever want to catch Kamikaze,” Solar sighed. “I keep trying to put some prosthetic legs on her from the stable, but she says they’re too nerdy or something… You sure I shouldn’t ask to come again? We need somepony to flirt with that Gilda ghoul when we get there right?”

“I don’t see why that would be required,” sighed Mercury, rising from her seat and ruffling Solar’s mane before turning to leave. “Go to sleep.”

When Mercury arrived, Custard was helping Maud put on the pulse barding. Maud needed no help, but Custard looked incredibly proud to be doing it. Mercury wondered if Maud had taken to Custard so much due to missing her own daughter.

The barding was fully body-covering as Solar indicated. The only visible break in the black metallic mesh was the circles for her eyes, covered with more transparent material. It was thin and flush to her face so it didn’t obstruct her peripheral vision, the only bulge being underneath where the stealth and power systems were located around her midsection.

Aside from that, Maud carried Mite, Ashmaker, and a rock pouch made from reinforced ballistic fiber. Inside the pouch she kept Boulder, Pinkie’s soul gem, and the shards of Marble’s soul gem.

Kyo was there as well, though she mostly stared at the rest of the group, still looking hollow inside. Maud had trouble looking at both her and Custard, though Mercury heard Custard whisper to Maud that it was okay a few times, as if the perceptive little one noticed.

“Ah, Mercury,” Starlight, the only other one there at the gate, said as she approached. “Good, we definitely need our medic. Also, Kyo says that Gilda complained about chemicals leaking out of a train near their settlement. They have testing equipment down there, but don’t know how to use it, so she thought you might be able to help to win favor.”

“Right…” Kyo agreed, but didn’t seem very enthused.

“Of course,” Mercury smiled.

“Let’s go, then,” Starlight said. “We will return before evening. We have to act fast because that will barely give us enough time to get to Tenwhinney in time. In the meantime, Custard, make sure everyone is ready to leave when we get back.”

“Everything will be ready, Empress!” Custard saluted. “We won’t let you down!”

“Be careful, too, sweetheart,” Kyo’s face softened as she ruffled Custard’s mane. “The city will need you if something happens to me.”

“Nothing will happen to you…” Custard pouted. “Maud will protect you, right Maud?”

“I will do what is necessary to preserve Equestria,” Maud said.

It was a specific and evasive answer for a pony like Maud. It seemed to satisfy Custard, as she smiled, but Mercury noticed that Maud had increasing trouble making eye contact with the little one.

“I’m sure she’ll protect us all,” Mercury forced a smile for the sake of the little one, but worried about Maud as well.

“Citizens of Equestria,” Skyla’s voice played over the radio as she started another speech.

Mercury didn’t favor this station, but Starlight was taking a ‘know your enemy’ approach. They alternated between listening to Crystal Radio and Radio Gollytopia. At least the latter was humorous in a dark way, while Skyla just droned on.

“I read many history books,” Skyla said as she continued. “Do you, my dear Equestrians?... oh... They are in short supply, so many do not remember the peaceful past. Before the Ceaseless Conflict, Equestria lived in peace for a millennium. Unlike now, dying of natural causes was the rule, not the exception as in today’s decadent world. Where did these days go, Equestria? Where did the love go?”

“More importantly, what if I told you I could bring it back?” Skyla continued. “Mmmph.”

“Long ago,” Skyla said. “A relic existed in the Crystal Empire named the Crystal Heart, and it could beam love across the land. Can you imagine? Even at a fraction of its former power, it could improve Equestria dramatically.”

“This is a legend she often speaks of,” sighed Kyo as the group continued. “It’s one of the less believable things she talks about.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Starlight said as she continued to listen.

“Unfortunately,” Skyla continued. “This relic was destroyed during the Breaking. However… we gained information on a potential replacement.”

“This part is new…” Kyo quirked her ear and paid more attention.

“My scouts discovered information in the ruins of a secret Ministry of Magitech bunker,” Skyla continued. “About a prototype replacement for the Heart. Our information indicates that it was almost finished.”

“I beg of you, Equestria,” Skyla pleaded. “Any information on its location, even guesses or rumor, could help all of Equestria. While I cannot reveal my location for security reasons, you may contact me from any working sprite-bot communication tower. As of now, we only know that the Trinity does not have it. If she did, she would have certainly used it for evil.”

She continued after a thoughtful pause and a few grunts. “That is my request, Equestria. I know that somepony out there has the information I need. Please… do not keep to yourself what could save us all.”

Once again, the speech faded out, and the Crystal anthem played.

“She’s gone insane,” Kyo sighed.

“No, she hasn’t in this case,” Starlight said.

“Come again?” Kyo blinked.

“We started it in hopes of stopping Sombra’s influence, but I decided to use it as a psionic power source,” said Starlight. “We were years from getting it operational, and I doubt anyone else fixed it, but still…”

“Do you know where it was?” asked Mercury.

“It was in a secure transport going from Manehattan to Fillidephia,” said Starlight. “It could have ended up in either city or in between. If it was significantly within a blast radius, it could have been destroyed.”

“I see,” Mercury sighed. It was a small blessing that Trinity didn’t have it at least. “Could it have really spread love over Equestria?”

“I doubt that,” Starlight said. “Legends twist events in poetic manners. Spreading love was probably a metaphor.”

“Are you going to inform Skyla?” asked Mercury. “It would narrow down her search.”

“That’s true,” Starlight sounded thoughtful. “It’s token information that wouldn’t be of much use to her, but just providing it might keep her from seeing us as a threat yet.”

Yet? Mercury dropped the conversation rather than ask what that meant. There wasn’t time, anyway.

“Stop,” Maud’s bland voice ordered from ahead of them. She held up a hoof for them to pause.

Maud pulled Ashmaker from her back and looked through the scope. Mercury saw what she was scouting: the ruin of a building nestled against a cliff side. It didn’t look large, but was built into a cliffside so may have gone deep inside. There were loading docks in front with several landing platforms.

Mercury could see small figures around it. It wasn’t hard to tell they were ferals; the way they stood around and occasionally shambled to a new location made it clear. Some still walked rounds as they probably had been for centuries.

“I remember this place,” said Starlight. “It was a secret supply pickup that leads into the subway. At the time, it had generators that both shielded and cloaked it. It’s amazing how quickly we drilled out so many subways, but I guess war necessitates incredible feats. We were… determined.”

“Determined to build, or to destroy?” Kyo muttered.

“The two are not mutually exclusive,” Starlight peered at Kyo. “I suppose you would have stopped a half-dozen invading nations by being friends at them? You sound like Twilight.”

And Starlight sounded like Crimson. Mercury didn’t dare say it aloud though, instead trotting over to pat Kyo’s shoulder.

“All we can do is learn from the past,” Mercury smiled.

“There are about two dozen ferals around the entrance,” Maud said as she continued to scout. “There's a few winged, but I see none in flight. We have no means to clear them now, so we should cloak here.”

“As I thought, we must go slow,” Kyo said. “It will be about two hours one way to Railway.”

“We will make it,” Maud said. “Put on your leashes.”

Starlight grumbled as she slipped on her own leash, no doubt a ding to her ego to wear one. Mercury had no such compunctions though as she pulled her own leash out of her saddleback and clasped it around her own neck. Kyo did the same, and they took up positions around Maud as she attached the leashes to a collar around her own neck.

A short time later, she activated the pulse barding's stealth field. It was effective, only making the ponies and their things invisible, not affecting the ground or inanimate objects around them. Mercury wondered if the spell would see a feral as someone to cloak or an inanimate object.

Mercury squeaked as her leash was yanked, trotting to keep up with Maud’s swift movements. Maud probably thought she was moving at a reasonable speed, but Mercury hoped Maud didn’t intend to go that reasonable speed the entire way.

It was nerve-wracking to approach the station. Mercury wasn’t sure it would work until they entered the mine-field of ferals with none taking note. Mercury had to stay sharp on her hooves as Maud often zig-zagged to keep from getting too close to any of them. Some looked their way when they passed as if hearing them, but they lacked the perception to put two and two together.

A surprising number of the ferals were diamond dogs. Mercury wondered if they were extra muscles working within the subways. Olivia had said her hometown Ramble was underground, so maybe they had knowledge of digging tunnels.

There wasn’t a lot to note outside, everything of use having been salvaged, though Mercury wasn’t sure how the salvagers avoided the ferals. She supposed dociles could make a lot of money salvaging places that others couldn’t safely. Soon enough they arrived at the large steel doors. It seemed Maud knew her way aside from Kyo’s directions, probably having been here before.

They paused at the door. Maud, Mercury assumed, kicked a stone across the yard to distract a nearby ghoul. She opened the door when the undead looked in another direction. Maud yanked them through before it slammed behind them.

The insides were pitch-black darkness. While Maud’s armor had night-vision, the others were not so lucky. The darkness became more oppressive as they left the door.

Mercury heard movement nearby. She wished she could see her pipbuck so she’d at least know how many bright red signals were in their vicinity. It was all she could do to keep her breathing steady. Not knowing was more terrifying than seeing something horrible with them.

From the way Maud’s path curved around the large entrance hall, Mercury could only assume there were many enemies to avoid. Several times she heard Maud kick rocks to draw the attention of ferals before passing them, careful even if the ferals couldn’t see them either.

Mercury wondered if Gilda had imported ferals from elsewhere. This place wasn’t even close to a blast zone, yet the feral population seemed denser than Canterlot, both in and outside. Mercury trusted Solar’s work, but couldn’t help but worry about if things went out.

‘Steps down,’ Maud said over the PCB, which Kyo was on as well, before they went down cement steps. They found their way to a subway track, which Maud followed.

The tracks guided them, but the tighter spaces must have made avoiding ferals more of an issue. Several times they paused before Mercury heard the sound of Maud’s hammer crushing a rotten skull as discreetly as possible.

Kyo said two hours, but it felt like all day. Every second was an eternity with the constant threat of undead and collapsing tunnels. The only sign they were getting closer was when a new foul odor filled the tunnels.

Mercury assumed this was the chemical problem they’d mentioned, especially when their pipbucks beeped in warning from the fumes. They had brought gas masks, which Mercury slipped over her head now, but that wouldn’t help them if the chemical ignited.

‘It smells flammable,’ Mercury sent warning to the others so they’d know not to chance the wrong magic or weapon.

‘We’re close,’ Kyo whispered. ‘Around this corner and another hundred hoof steps. Don’t drop the stealth until I’ve knocked. I’ll go ahead and talk to them so they aren’t startled.’

As they moved down the passage, Maud suddenly gave an extra yank to Mercury’s collar. At first, Mercury thought she wanted to say something to her as an aside, and she felt Maud next to her as the other two fell behind slightly, but she said nothing.

Mercury glanced back instinctively, wondering how far the others were behind them, when there was a shimmering light from above them. Glancing up, Mercury barely had time to identify the magic color as Starlight’s as it yanked several stones free from the roofing and cracked one of the rafters.

The ceiling came down suddenly behind them, Mercury instinctively leaping forward out of the way. Much of the debris was caught in Starlight’s magic before it hit the ground, but further back it had collapsed entirely.

Maud dropped the stealth field immediately. They could see Starlight beneath the rubble, holding up enough that her upper body hadn’t been crushed, but her hind legs were locked beneath a large chunk of concrete.

“Maud!” Starlight called out, panic filling her face as she strained to concentrate on her magic, but it probably wasn’t easy with shattered hind legs.

Mercury started to run in, but Maud yanked her back, going in first. She slipped in beneath, grasping the large chunk of concrete on Starlight’s hind legs. Starlight’s magic helped, but Maud probably didn’t need it as she heaved the large chunk off the floor.

“Get her,” Maud told Mercury.

Mercury clambered in after her, grasping Starlight with her sticky hooves and magic to pull her out from underneath it. She was about to ask if Kyo was okay, but she saw her further back once Maud had lifted the boulder. Only her head was visible beneath other rubble, bent at a grotesque angle from the rest of her body as her vacant eyes stared. There was no saving her, but at least it’d been fast.

Maud darted out from beneath, Starlight holding the other rubble up barely long enough for her to get out.

“White Heart mother of Crimson,” Mercury slipped back into a Stable 27 swear in her panic. “Kyo! I saw Kyo! She’s dead!”

“Mercury,” Maud said firmly, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “You still have a living patient.”

“R-right, right,” Mercury tried to pull herself together, opening her saddle bags and moving to Starlight.

Taking a look at her legs, they were clearly both broken at the knee, but Starlight had managed to keep enough pressure off of them with her magic to keep them from being smashed beyond repair. Mercury put a potion to Starlight’s muzzle and then began to pull the knee joints carefully into place to be bandaged.

However as she worked and Maud guarded against the chance of other ferals showing up, Mercury’s mind began to put things together. Starlight had grabbed some of the collapse to keep herself from being crushed, but her magic had caused the collapse to begin with; Mercury had seen it.

“Damn, this will be hard to explain,” groaned Starlight, taking a chance to let her horn light up the full passage.

“Gilda should still remember us,” said Maud. “I don’t think she’ll have a problem believing.”

“Um,” Mercury paused for a moment as she pulled out a roll of bandage, looking carefully at the other two.

“Yes?” Starlight asked, peering at her, and for a moment, Mercury wasn’t sure if she should ask.

“Nevermind,” Mercury forced a smile and continued working.

“You can tell others what happened, yes?” Starlight asked. “Your word may mean more to certain members of our group, and to the hive who may blame us.”

“Well it’s just…” Mercury stammered.

“Speak,” Maud’s single word felt like a threat.

“I thought I saw your magic,” Mercury said quietly. “Before the cave in, like you… yanked on some things. Can I ask why you did that?”

“I see,” Starlight grunted, her demeanor changing slightly, just a little more testing. “I’m sure you saw wrong, but just to know, what are you implying?”

Mercury’s hooves shivered as she finished bandaging one leg and moved to the other. She looked back at her work, regretting her decision to mention it and hoping they’d end it there.

“Should I put her down?” Maud asked as if it was the most normal thing ever.

“W-what?!” Mercury shrieked, dropping the bandage before Starlight’s magic clamped her muzzle shut.

“I don’t think that will be needed, yet,” sighed Starlight. “But explain, Maud. Otherwise, she’ll make the wrong assumptions.”

“We discovered information,” said Maud. “Kyo is planning to rally Gilda against us rather than aiding us to rescue Limestone, and has attempted to plot against us with Statera, though they declined. If we allowed her to make it to Railway, it would be a problem. They may hold us hostage instead of helping if Kyo tells them of our truce with Midnight and blows it out of proportion.”

“Why would she do that?” Mercury said as Starlight released her muzzle, but grew more confused. “Surely there’s some misunderstanding…”

Starlight’s magic hovered the bandage back in the air too, so Mercury took it and continued patching up the second leg. Still, she seemed to want Maud to do the talking. Mercury wasn’t sure if it was because Starlight thought Mercury would trust Maud more, or if it was just because Maud was intimidating.

“There is no misunderstanding,” said Maud. “Crimson scryed a message she wrote and confirmed. Kyo was angry that Starlight has more control in her town than she does, and that was before Dyo’s death and her blaming us for the theft of her defensive device. There is no doubt she was moving against us.”

“I won’t tell,” Mercury teared up as she gave up using her shaking hooves entirely, just using her magic to bandage the second leg. “But I feel like there was another way.”

“If there was another way, I would take it,” said Maud. “Do you think I wish to face Custard when we return and tell her I failed to protect her mother? I hate this, but it is for the good of Holder and my family. They deserve a better leader.”

“Little Custard Pie can be that leader,” added Starlight. “If guided properly.”

“I’ll support your story,” said Mercury. “I believe you I just… I don’t feel good about it.”

She said she believed them, but honestly, at that point, she wasn’t sure if she did, or if she’d stay quiet.

“You will cooperate, understand?” Starlight made it clear. It became increasingly obvious that she only let herself be injured to make it more believable.

“I understand,” Mercury whimpered as she finished the second leg. “I’m not sure what Gilda will think, though.”

“The fact that she told us the way should help,” said Starlight. “And you will seem rattled enough to convince them you witnessed her tragic death on the way, not to mention my injury.”

“They will also be familiar with us,” Maud said. “While I was not friends with her, we were on amicable terms. It is better than having them turn on us if Kyo had gone in with us, and they have no reason to believe we would be on anything but good terms with Holder.”

“Okay,” Mercury didn’t dare say more.

“Good,” Maud said. “Thank you for not making me kill you.”

Maud had become more unhinged than Mercury had realized; she had been ready to crush Mercury if Starlight had ordered it. Time spent with none of her sisters to level her had taken its toll, as if all their various madnesses counter-balanced one another. Maud seemed to sincerely not want to harm Mercury, but she would do anything and kill anyone if she thought it'd save her last sister.

And was any of that true? Mercury had trouble believing Kyo would pull something like this. She had a whole hive in Holder and enough citizens still loyal to her that she could have arranged an accident for Maud and Starlight instead of attempting a complicated rebellion. On top of that, could they trust Crimson’s word about what she scryed?

“I’m sure you’ll keep this quiet,” Starlight added unnecessarily as Mercury helped her onto Maud’s back. “I would hate to have to upset your friends. Crimson and Tranquil seem to get along better with the group now, and it'd be a shame to lose a pony as talented as Solar.”

Mercury felt a sudden chill, even more caught off guard at Starlight threatening her friends. She couldn't do anything about it though.

“I believe she understands, Empress,” said Maud, perhaps considering the added threat unnecessary, but not outwardly scolding Starlight either. “I’ll carry you.”

“Damn this hurts,” Starlight finally dropped her persona to show a bit of pain on her face, then continued on as if everything was peachy. “Go into stealth again, Maud. We have to avoid the ferals they probably have outside the gate. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

Mercury didn’t register they were moving until they had gone back into stealth and she felt her leash tugged. She almost tripped, but followed along, trying not to think about anything.

Just like that it was gone. For the first time in her life, Mercury felt like what little faith she still had in the world had been stamped out. This was the despair she had tried so hard to avoid, why she’d clung to her faith in ponykind so desperately. This would never stop happening. It would never end.

As they moved through the darkened passage, Mercury heard the sound of ghoulish hooves shuffling towards the sounds where the group had just been. They were frightening before, but now they were terrifying. Before, Mercury felt like she was in danger, but had ponies that would protect her. Now she was with ponies that she felt might use her as bait to save themselves.

Around the corner there was an open area with another rail and dim lights. A train was still on the tracks and the only way to the opposite side was walking through it. There wasn’t room to walk between cars, and only one entrance seemed workable, so that’s where they headed.

A thick, viscous chemical covered the floor, no doubt the source of the smell. It looked to have leaked out recently when a tank on the nearby train rusted open. There was no doubt it was flammable. Depending on if it had certain enchantments, it might be more flammable now than it was two-hundred years ago.

A lot of it had vaporized and lingered in the air, but the gas was heavy. It was thick enough near the floor to color the air a greenish hue, then faded to clarity at about the height of the train.

“Yeah, we should move Zane further down the tunnel until we get this cleaned up,” a female voice from the other side of the train was speaking. It was rough and dry, like how Limestone and Dinky talked. “If he uses a radiation attack on an intruder, it could blow this shit.”

“Didn’t Kyo say she’d look into something to neutralize it at the last contact?” asked another grating but more masculine voice.

“Yeah but we won't contact her again for a week,” said the first voice. “I’ll take him past the spill and be right back. Until someone fixes this, we’ll use the secondary entrance to get inside. I need to check and see what that rumbling noise was too, there might have been a collapse.”

“Sure thing, Gilda,” the second voice said, sounding more distant as if leaving.

‘Approaching Gilda now would be unwise,’ Maud said on the PCB.

‘Let her lead whatever she’s leading to wherever it needs to be,’ said Starlight. ‘We’ll talk to her when she returns.”

That was best. They mentioned a radiation attack, which implied a glowing one. The group moved to the side and waited as the sound of feet got closer, followed by the creek of metal as they walked through the train. Starlight turned off her own meager light, which was replaced as the two in question emerged from the train.

Mercury assumed the first to emerge was Gilda. Mercury might not have identified her as a griffon had Kyo not already told them she was one. Most of her beak was chipped off, only a few shards remaining over the rest of her bare mouth. She didn’t have a single feather left to speak of, either on her head or her wings. Similar to a pegasus ghoul, her wings looked like plucked chicken wings, but had atrophied more than Mercury remembered on many Canterlot pegaghouls. Maybe without pegasi levels of magic, she couldn’t use them to fly at all. She wore a tattered combat uniform of a high-ranking Wonderbolt.

The focus moved from her though to what she was leading by a leash. A staggering figure with a rainbow glow over his body trailed behind her. He stopped every few steps as if forgetting he was being led only to be yanked along again. The striped pattern of what remained of his fur identified him as a zebra.

Now Mercury knew ghouls had been ‘imported’. From what Mercury knew, one could tell what megaspell formed a glowing feral by the color of their glow. This ghoul glowed rainbow, and there was only one city destroyed by a sonic radboom. This ghoul must be from Canterlot, which made sense if Gilda was at Canterlot’s destruction.

‘A zebra,’ Maud said over the PCB as if the species was significant. ‘If it charges, I may need to drop you and engage it. If that happens, teleport away quickly.’

‘Wait,’ Mercury said. ‘Wouldn’t attacking their pet feral be a bad idea when we’re about to try to make friends?’

‘Even among zebras, the training to see through stealth is rare,’ Starlight said to Maud as if Mercury’s input wasn't important enough to acknowledge.

‘It is a Canterlot ghoul though,’ Maud pointed out. ‘The Zebra Kingdom sent their most elite guard to defend Canterlot, and many had trained rare abilities.’

‘I don’t think that would carry over once they went feral.’ Starlight said.

Though perhaps it was wishful thinking. Pegasus ghouls kept the ability to fly and unicorn ghouls sometimes kept their telekinesis. It seemed logical to assume that passive magical abilities might remain.

“We need more technical types down here,” Gilda talked to Zane even if he would never respond. “The last thing I want is to rely on a bunch of surface-dwelling smooth-flanks for shit like this. The whole idea is to prove we can live on our…”

But Gilda went silent when Zane turned towards the group and shambled towards them. Gilda grunted and yanked the leash only to have Zane snarl and keep moving in their direction.

“What the fuck, Zane?” Gilda asked as she pulled with all her might, but the glowing one dragged her instead. “What’s gotten into you?”

And so they settled the debate; the zebra could see them. Mercury fumbled for her telesyringer, but then remembered that she only had an explosive gas dart loaded, which now she felt stupid for. She clenched her teeth and put the telesyringer back onto her back, since loading a new one would take too long. It seemed like she’d be an extra target at best, and she hoped Starlight or Maud didn’t throw her at it for that purpose.

They might have tried talking to Gilda, but as the leash slipped from Gilda's grasp and Zane charged at them full speed, there was no longer time. The zebra snarled, glow brightening as he charged up his attack, and all Mercury could do was stare.

They had no way to prevent an attack that would ignite the room, so instead Starlight opted to take a defensive route. Unfortunately for Mercury, her assumption that Starlight would teleport Mercury with her was yet more naivety. There was a whoosh nearby as Starlight teleported away, appearing beside Gilda and erecting a shield around the two.

It didn’t take long for Mercury to realize that Starlight had just left her to die. Perhaps Starlight considered Gilda a higher priority since protecting her would create a more favorable diplomatic situation, but she could have teleported Mercury with her. Since her plan to keep Mercury in the dark had failed, Starlight seemed to have decided to get rid of the witness after all.

It was a good thing for Mercury that Maud had more scruples, at least when not directly ordered to murder someone. Her stealth field faded, and she charged the monster. She screeched to a halt when she processed what had happened and instead turned to grasp hold of Mercury.

Before Mercury knew what was going on, Maud flung her up into the air above where the heavy gas had settled. An instant later the world beneath her ignited in a torrent of flames, heat singing her fur as she reached for anything she could grab.

Mercury grasped hold of a ceiling girder and clung to it with the help of her magic. The steel creaked and shifted from the added weight, as the heat boiled beneath her. She looked down into the chaos.

She could see the shimmer of Starlight’s dome shield beneath the flames, protecting Starlight and Gilda. Maud must have avoided the attack because she still stood, and her armor provided enough protection that she could charge the glowing one through the fire and came down hard upon its head with Mite. The creature slammed into the ground and staggered back up.

Maud didn’t stop. She swung hard half a dozen times, impacts like gunshots even through the roaring flames. Even under that assault, Zane's head didn’t give. Before it could be crushed enough to keep the ghoul still, Zane's neck snapped, the head rolling across the floor as the body collapsed. Even as his head rolled, he was snapping his muzzle at them, only stopping after being fully engulfed.

The girder Mercury clung to shifted again, tilting and seconds from giving out. She strained to shift it one direction with her magic, then released, allowing herself to swing and hoping to land atop the train cars nearby.

She barely made the jump, landing on the edge, flames licking at her as she pulled herself atop the car. She patted herself out with magic, but then realized that the roof of the train was like a broiler plate under the heat.

Maud leaped up atop the train car beside Mercury, but she couldn’t do a lot to help her. Maud’s own armor was boiling hot, and Mercury couldn’t imagine standing atop her would be any better than the train. From how Maud staggered, the armor had reached the limits of its heat dissipation.

There was another blinding flash of light as Starlight teleported herself and Gilda next to them and recast the dome shield. Starlight unleashed a blast of cold to cool the train beneath her as well as those inside the shield.

“What kind of asshole are you?” Gilda was screaming at Starlight. “Leaving your friends standing in flames?”

“I couldn't teleport her when she was cloaked!” Starlight backtracked.

“I'm not stupid, smooth-flank,” grunted Gilda. “Though apparently you are if you’re powerful enough for this shield but can’t do area teleports!”

It seemed Starlight’s ‘heroic’ action hadn’t had the effect she hoped due to the General being familiar with magic commonly used in combat. Even with that, Mercury was certain Starlight only saved her atop the train because Maud was standing next to her.

“Maud!” Mercury shouted as Maud collapsed next to them, gagging.

Mercury peeled Maud's half-melted gas mask off, though she wasn’t sure what to do about the pulse barding. The barding responded to Maud's wish and opened the face for her to get more air, even if the air around the flaming section was barely breathable.

Starlight leaned to check on Maud, not even looking at Mercury. Maud pulled the armor helmet fully off, a blast of steam escaping from inside even after being cooled off by Starlight’s magic. If it were anypony but Maud, she might be near death, but Maud was only half-way at worst.

“Who the flying fuck are you?” Gilda screamed as the flames died down around them.

“Eh he…” Starlight took a deep breath and turned back to him. “I’m sorry. We wanted to wait until you took your feral off and speak to you when you returned, but didn’t count on it seeing us.”

“His name was Zane,” Gilda was so enraged at the feral’s death, Mercury wondered if it had been a friend in life. “And you didn’t answer my question! My guys will rush out here as soon as these flames die, so you better give me a reason not to order them to kill you!”

“I’m Starlight Glimmer,” Starlight replied, taking off her gas mask and seeming to attempt a more commanding voice. “Former Minister of Magic, now Empress of New Equestria. This is General Maud Pie and alchemist Mercury Shine.” At least she remembered Mercury was a thing.

The names must have meant something to Gilda as her face morphed from rage to ‘what?’.

“Huh?” Gilda leaned close enough that Starlight could probably smell the dusty air from her lungs. For a moment Gilda examined Starlight as if she might be counterfeit, then reached around to feel for and tap against the soul gem in the back of Starlight’s neck..

“Gilda!” a frantic voice came from below them.

As the fires died, a dozen figures rushed out of the gate behind the train. Starlight dropped the shield, which might have been a mistake as it dissipated the little oxygen that hadn’t burned in the flames. Mercury felt dizzier.

“Hold your fire,” Gilda said as Mercury tried to keep her balance.

The whole experience was too much for her nerves, and Mercury couldn’t hold herself upright. Someone caught her as she tumbled forward, and from the icy cold feel against her, she assumed it was Gilda.

Gilda draped her over her back, which felt creepy and stiff, like rotted rubber stretched thinly over a skeleton. Mercury appreciated the effort though; it was more than Starlight put forward.

It was time for a nap. She’d worry about whether or not she survived this later.

POV: Maud Pie

Maud could feel herself becoming unhinged, a creeping insanity in the back of her mind. The longer she was without her sisters, the more unbalanced she felt.

In her desperation to save Limestone, she'd done things she would always regret. She still didn't know how she would face little Custard and lie to her about how Kyo died. Maud could care for Custard, but there was nothing she could do to atone for killing the filly’s mother, regardless of how necessary it was.

'Pinkie's favorite sister acted dishonorably!' Pinkie's soul gem said from her rock pouch. 'She threatened a civilian and only saved her when Pinkie demanded it! Yes.'

'I know you're between a rock and a hard place,' observed Boulder. 'But this is when you should stand firm.'

“I have nothing to stand firm upon,” Maud shook her head, not caring who heard her one-sided conversation. Her friends were used to it, and the others hardly mattered to her at the moment. “You were my foundation, Pinkie.”

'Do not say 'were' as if Pinkie is gone forever!' Pinkie's gem said. 'You swore the sacred oath of pinkness to return life to Pinkie!'

'And when you do,' said Boulder. 'You want to look her in the eyes without shame.'

Despite every muscle aching and her energy drained from the heat, Maud tried to stay aware of her surroundings. The 'settlement' of Railway wasn't a lot different from the subway tunnels they'd traveled through so far. The only main difference was it was cleaner.

There were no sleeping quarters or dining facilities one might see in a normal settlement. None of the residents needed to sleep or eat, after all. There were old utility rooms used for storage, while most of the main area contained things of entertainment value. No doubt they'd get bored shambling around down here otherwise. There was a pool table and other games, a lounge area with random furnishings, books, and an area with targets and dummies meant for training. That was entertainment too as far as Maud was concerned.

There was a decent variety of ghouls, griffons, zebras, and a unicorn that wore Equestrian military gear. Maud assumed those came from Canterlot with Gilda. The few diamond dogs likely came from the subway crews. There was even a bat and pegasus, wearing their old NLR and Enclave uniforms. They seemed to have put aside a lot of their old hatreds, but kept their uniforms, perhaps to remind them that they were all wrong in the end.

They didn't have a location for living ponies to get medical attention, so they deposited Mercury on a ragged couch. Maud sat next to the equally ragged alchemist to check how she was doing as Starlight took a seat by herself with her bandaged legs propped up.

“You know I never cared much for her, but she sure as hell didn't deserve to go out like that,” Gilda said after having been told the story by Starlight. “Fucking embarrassing. What the fuck was she thinking bringing you down here? It better be good since the first thing you did was kill my old war buddy.”

“No, she didn't deserve it,” Starlight sighed, always good at pretending. “And she brought us because she felt that you could help us rescue General Limestone, who is held by Tenwhinney Tower and slated for their arena. We didn't have time to wait for your scheduled meeting.”

“Another ghoul friend, Dinky, has also been captured,” said Maud. She worried most about her sister, but wouldn’t do Dinky disservice by not mentioning her.

“Yeah, I remember the General,” nodded Gilda. “She was pretty cool I guess. Hatched a few awesome plans I got to take part in. She became a ghoul? Good for her, and I’d rescue her and the other if I could, but what did you think we were gonna do about it?” She glanced at Maud. “And what's with the sweet armor? If I didn't remember you, I'd have killed you for it.”

“It is experimental pulse barding,” explained Maud. “With it we can both achieve stealth and bypass powerful shields. Or could. I fear the heat may have damaged it, so I hope Solar can repair it quickly.”

“Bypass armor,” the pegasus ghoul commented. “Like we used at Canterlot. Pretty advanced stuff, but putting stealth on there too is nuts.”

Maud peered at the pegasus that stood nearby. She was surprised she'd comment on such things when most of the ghouls here appeared to have fought for Canterlot. Starlight seemed confused as well.

“Surprised we let Cloud Chaser stay?” chuckled Gilda. “Well I used to say a good pegasus is a dead pegasus, so I guess that makes her good, right?”

“We don't care about those horse apples here,” Cloud shrugged. “We're all outcasts. And buck off, Gilda.”

“You ponies and your weird slang,” Gilda rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you just say fuck? Whatever. I'm down for giving those Tenwhinney pricks grief if you have a plan I can help with without dying again, so what do ya got?”

“Kyo said you know the subways better than anyone,” said Starlight. “And that you might know a path to the station beneath Tenwhinney. If Maud got through the shield and opened the door to the subway from the inside, we could rush in.”

“Cute,” Gilda tapped what was left of her beak as she thought. “We could have ferals waiting to flood the tower.”

“Would that not result in civilian casualties?” asked Maud. She needed to minimize that to minimize her guilt at the end.

“Who cares about those uptight assholes?” asked Gilda. “The ferals won't attack the ghouls we're rescuing. They won't see you stealthed either so long as I don't send in glowers, since apparently they can see through it. That’s good to know. Wish I was one now.”

“I think it was being a powerful zebra that let him see us,” said Starlight. “But with Tenwhinney, a surgical strike might take out their leadership and allow us a hoofhold there.”

“It's not like it'll kill them all,” shrugged Gilda. “Most of them will flee to their rooms and shut the doors, allowing you to freely move around the building. Most of those killed will be security personnel. If Maud deactivates the shields when security is distracted, you can have your guys storm the place and 'save' them from the evil ferals. If you can take out the leader and security so they can't say different, you can claim it's their fault, that they opened the subway entrance wanting to find ferals from there and a large number stormed in. They never have to know it was intentional.”

“You are not bad at this,” commented Maud. “You smoothed out our plan quickly.”

“I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to slaughter those bastards,” Gilda admitted. “So don't be too impressed.”

“This could work,” Starlight said. “Quite well. They wouldn’t realize you were involved either. They’d only know we were planning a rescue of our comrades and ran in to save them.”

“Hell, maybe you can get them to let us live there,” smirked Gilda. “Wouldn’t mind trading this hideout for that bunker, and they’ll definitely have a few free rooms after the attack.”

“This seems a little...” Mercury stirred, having gotten part of the conversation. She became quiet again though when Maud looked at her. The unicorn looked back at Maud with terror in her eyes, tearing up before she looked away. “Never mind.”

Maud was used to ponies fearing her, but it felt rawer when it was somepony like Mercury. No matter; she'd have plenty of time to make up once they succeeded.

“Either way, we don't have a lot of time,” said Starlight. “They slated the match for Tuesday.”

“Let's get you to the surface, then,” said Gilda. “No problem if your stealth gear's damaged. We'll just put you in body bags and drape you over our backs to carry you out the alternate way. It won't be comfortable for you fragile smooth-flanks, but the guards won't bother you if they only see us.”

“I'm just glad Clover isn't here to hear this plan,” smiled Starlight.

Maud wondered if Starlight realized how quickly she would wipe that smile off her face if Limestone ordered it. Or if Limestone couldn’t be saved.

37. Unchanging

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Date: Sunday 11/6/2287
Canterlot

“Do you trust me, Equestria?”

The voice of Skyla over a sprite-bot behind her made Twilight jerk. She was so on edge flying up to Canterlot that she almost banked around and blasted the thing on instinct.

“Many of you do not, I am certain,” Skyla continued “I am the Crystal Princess, and the Crystal Empire under King Sombra was no friend of Equestria. But the ponies I lead are descendants of the resistance that opposed King Sombra. The internal strife we created was the reason that Equestria held Sombra off for as long as it did. Had it not been for us, Canterlot would have been caught unawares of the initial strike, and you would all be King Sombra’s slaves.”

“And now, as one of the only true alicorns left in existence,” Skyla continued. “It is my responsibility to return Equestria to glory and to preside over it to make certain past mistakes are not repeated. I will be the voice, heart, and soul of Equestria. But only together, together, can we hope to reach our full potential. The way it was before the war. Whole. Beautiful. Powerful. One Princess, One Equestria. Now and forever.”

Again, the voice ceased, and an anthem played.

“That's rare,” commented Gloomy. “She did a whole speech without squeaking or grunting once. I wonder what’s up with that...”

“She sounds sincere,” mused Twilight. “But she also sounds… I don’t know… Starlight-ish? Like she gauges her words to deceive. Still, it's worth speaking to her if we find a way.”

“Her sprite-bot network is pretty useful.” Gloomy shrugged.

“She helps Statera?” asked Twilight. “You didn’t mention that before.”

“Ah, horse apples,” grunted Gloomy. “I’m getting too relaxed around you.” Apparently that wasn’t information he had authorization to give. “It’s less helping one another and more that they can’t get in the way of one another without jeopardizing their own interests.”

“So Skyla has control of the Ministry of News then?” asked Twilight. “Is that why some of the sprite-bots look new, because she’s having more made?”

“No,” said Gloomy, but seemed to give up on hiding a bit from her. “Basically, the SHIE AI there uses real brains in partial stasis for processing. There are two sections, one that gathers data for news and controls sprite-bots, the other that controls a prototype robotic security system they were testing there. The former became sentient, allowing Nightmare and Skyla to hack in using dreams and psionics respectively, but neither can access or turn off the automated security bots. As for the new ones… Skyla discretely air dropped supplies to their warehouse, which the robots have used to make repairs.”

“So they still benefit from the security, while not drawing attention to it by being there,” nodded Twilight. “I won’t let anyone know you told me, but is there a reason you don’t want others to know she’s at least aware of Statera?”

“Right now Midnight and Trinity mostly ignore Skyla,” said Gloomy. “Even if they see crystal ponies exploring ruins, they’ll overlook them. They’re too busy concentrating on their enemy and won't waste troops or supplies on someone else. If it got out that Skyla involved herself to any extent, it’d become much harder for her scouts to move around because they’d see her as a potential threat or spy.”

“That makes sense,” nodded Twilight. “And honestly it’s nice to see that bats and crystals are on peaceful terms considering their past conflicts. If Statera starts trusting me, is there a chance they’d put me in contact with her too?”

“No,” said Gloomy. “We have an unofficial truce, but she doesn’t respond to communications until someone has something to offer her goals. Anyway, it’s smoldering up here, let’s dip down beneath the cloud cover.”

It was getting hot for Twilight, which meant it was even hotter for Gloomy. She often forgot that her alicorn physiology allowed her extra resistance to the elements. They dipped down beneath the clouds, Canterlot sprawling beneath them.

They stayed as high as they could safely, not wanting to be seen. Twilight spotted no pegaghouls, just a small number of ground-based ferals still wandering about. There was no odd activity, so she had high hopes that Stable 27 would be no more damaged than they left it, and Gloomy wouldn’t even need the laser pistol they’d brought from Holder. They landed atop a roof about 200 hoof steps from the cathedral’s main entrance.

“I guess it's up to you now,” sighed Twilight. “Once you’re done, we’ll go to the magic school and load Dinky’s research material to take back.”

She couldn’t go herself, since they’d be required to turn her in to Midnight. They wouldn’t question a bat dropping off Tranquil’s body though, especially since Stable 11 had called ahead and let them know it was coming. It was nice for the two stables to be back in contact.

“I’ll be back soon,” Gloomy nodded.

Gloomy leaned forward as if he might hug her, then seemed to catch himself as if thinking it wasn’t the time. He blushed instead and trotted off the roof. Pulling their cart behind him, Tranquil’s body inside, he headed towards the cathedral entrance.

But things had gone too well for this trip, so it was time for things to go awry. When he was half way there, a figure exited the cathedral on their way out. Twilight’s heart froze; was that Midnight herself? Or a Twilicorn?

It wasn’t either. After glancing back into the cathedral as if to check to be sure no one had followed her out, the pony’s form shimmered. In a burst of green changeling magic, the form dropped into one that Twilight found familiar. Large, black, seaweed like mane, and holes in places holes ought not be...

Chrysalis? But how and why was she here? She hadn't seen Gloomy yet, so Twilight hoped he had the good sense to duck behind another building and avoid detection. Thankfully that’s what he did, moving behind a half-collapsed wall and peering out.

He would have stayed until she left if not for what she did next. Chrysalis turned to open her saddlebags, pulling out a pelt, which she slipped onto her back like a cloak. It was very similar to Midnight’s Celestia-skin outfit. It was just Luna instead. She really hoped that Gloomy didn't...

“How dare you!” Gloomy shrieked from his hiding place. He rushed out, cart clamoring along the bumpy pavement behind him as if he’d forgotten it was there, and took a battle stance in front of Chrysalis, pointing his laser pistol at her.

Twilight sighed and swooped down behind him. What did he think he would do against a changeling queen by himself? It was done though, so maybe she’d at least get valuable information if they didn’t have a fight to the death.

“Oo ho ho,” Chrysalis’ response was nothing if not predictable. “Am I being ambushed? Did you not appreciate my fashion choice? And who’s this behind you?”

“Wait!” Twilight called to Gloomy. “Even with that gun, we aren’t equipped for a fight with her, please stand down.”

“This is Chrysalis!” Gloomy spit the words, seeming momentarily beyond reason. “It has to be! Nopony else would wear Nightmare’s pelt! This monster skinned her and left her somewhere to die!” At least he didn't slip that Nightmare was still alive.

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, taking a few steps towards him, chitin creaking creepily as she moved. He stood his ground, wings flared and waving his gun.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked. If she couldn’t distract Gloomy from a fight, maybe she could distract Chrysalis. She simply had to get her into a monologue about evil plans; that shouldn't be too hard.

“Hello, Twilight,” Chrysalis glanced at Twilight with a wink. “Goodness, your horn looks terrible. It’s like a crackly chipped tooth on the top of your head.”

“You… wait, what?” Twilight asked. “How did you know to call me Twilight instead of Midnight?”

“Don’t you dare bucking ignore me!” shrieked Gloomy.

Chrysalis’ hoof moved so swiftly that Gloomy couldn’t have defended against the strike. But all she did was knock the gun away and then place one hoof against his nose.

“Boooooop!” Chrysalis giggled. Okay, this was getting less predictable.

“How dare you,” The random act snapped Gloomy out of the blind part of the rage, but he somehow grew angrier.

“Please, let me talk to her,” Twilight coaxed him aside. “Why don’t you check on Stable 27?”

“There’s no way I’m leaving you alone with her,” said Gloomy.

“Let Gloomy Shade be,” Chrysalis chuckled. “He’s only showing his formidable loyalty to his new friends at Statera.”

“Don’t you dare even…” Gloomy trailed off, then turned to Twilight. “Did you mention my full name?”

“You should also ask why I’m not surprised to see the alternate-timeline version of Midnight here,” smirked Chrysalis. “You ponies are soooo violent. Ready to talk instead of fight now?”

Gloomy went silent, looking unsure of where to go from there.

“Just tell us why you’re here, Chrysalis,” said Twilight.

“I was checking to confirm that the time anomaly vanished,” said Chrysalis. “Then that Stable 27 was in fact still here and allied with Her Divine Shadow. I confirmed both, but you’ll find I haven’t harmed a hair on their adorable little manes. Though I may have yanked a tail or two. I needed to make my Midnight impression convincing and I do love flinging ponies around by their tails.”

“Why didn’t you send one of your drones?” asked Twilight. “Why come yourself?”

“She doesn’t have any drones,” said Gloomy. “Remember what I said? Her own hive wouldn't have her back even if Trinity wasn't controlling them. Besides, look how starved she is. There's no way she has any real love in her life.”

Twilight paused and glanced at Gloomy. “Why would she be starving?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Gloomy said. “The holes in the legs, the crooked horn, that’s how changelings look when they’re starving, right?”

“But that’s how she’s always looked.” More confusion for Twilight.

“For your information,” Chrysalis’s expression waxed serious for a moment. “I am not being starved, I am starving myself in a way. I assure you, it’s quite intentional.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Gloomy sneered at Chrysalis. “Why would you do that?”

“For the same reason I wear this pelt,” Chrysalis took a step back as if to lessen the aggression of the situation. “As a reminder. When I atone and my children love me again, only then will I feast…” She suddenly snickered. “Okay that was a lie. I mean I do want to make my children love me, but I’m not starving myself as much as just shifting to look symbolically starved. Trust me, if you’d ever seen my unstarved form, your eyes would thank me.”

“But that makes no sense,” said Twilight. “I've seen you consume a massive amount of love energy and you still looked the same.”

“Perhaps malnourished would be a better word than starving,” said Chrysalis. “Stealing love keeps a changeling alive, but only being given it freely, without deception, provides real nourishment. Isn't it ironic that such a wonderful discovery, that we could nourish ourselves by simply loving one another, caused us to try and kill everything else? Sometimes I wonder if things would have worked out differently if Thorax had taken over the Hive instead of offering me the secret as a companion. He probably could have.”

“So you’re reformed?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Don’t say such asinine things,” Chrysalis growled as if the concept offended her. “I am as evil as ever, the rest of the world simply grew worse by comparison. I would have wiped pony-kind from the planet by now if I didn’t think it would make my children angrier at me than they already are.”

“Starve yourself all you like,” said Gloomy. “Starve yourself to death for all I care, but I won’t have you desecrating any part of the Goddess with your filthy body. If you want to make up for murdering her…”

“You have no idea how much I desecrated her body with mine,” Chrysalis licked her lips, but followed with an eye roll. “But please, drop the act. I know she’s still alive and hacking sprite-bots to talk to you as Watcher. I even know where the rest of her is, and I’d drag her out myself if I could without being devoured by the Nightmare Force infesting the Badlands.”

“H-how do you know all this?” Gloomy stammered. “I was told that not even most Statera members know Watcher’s identity.”

“Yet you told an off-worlder,” Chrysalis smirked. “She must be quite a beast in the sack. Nothing compared to me though, I’d wager. You haven’t fucked until you’ve had a proper succubus.”

“Watcher authorized me to… that doesn’t matter!” Gloomy said. “Stop beating around the bush and answer us!”

The conversation was getting away from Twilight. Things were coming to light faster than she could process, and it was giving her a headache. As wicked as Chrysalis was, Twilight wasn’t sure if she should admonish her or try more diplomacy.

“I could always show you,” Chrysalis opened her saddlebag again. “There are segments of it I watch every day; why don't you watch it with me today?”

Chrysalis retrieved a glowing orb of swirling colors. A memory sphere? Twilight had only seen the one Gloomy had when they first got here.

“There’s no way we’re plugging into that,” Gloomy shook his head. “You’ll murder us while we’re out.”

“Chrysalis,” Twilight wasn’t about to fall for such an easy ploy. “Even if I’m a different version, you should know that I won’t go for that.”

“You think I couldn’t take out a broke-horn without this?” smiled Chrysalis.

“You could,” admitted Twilight. “Though not as unscathed as you think, but with that you might do worse. You could have your sights set on mind-controlling me.”

“I could just replace you with myself,” Chrysalis’ grin widened. “Besides, your pipbuck has reasonable defenses against these things.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what’s on it?” Twilight asked.

“Because if I tell you,” said Chrysalis. “You’ll know what I did, but not how I felt.”

“This is insane,” Gloomy said. “Just give us the crystal and I’ll see if our friends can analyze it safely.”

“It stays with me,” Chrysalis growled at Gloomy, then amusement spread over her face again. “Speaking of your ‘friends’, did you know that the techniques they’ve used to maintain balance are the same ones I used to maintain chaos so nopony would pull ahead of anypony else during the war? You should ask for my advice if anything.”

“Shut up!” Gloomy shrieked.

“You are getting loud, soldier,” Watcher’s voice came from behind them.

Twilight turned to see one of the sprite-bots. From the scratch pattern she recognized, it was the same one that had followed them as they were approaching, playing Skyla’s message, making Twilight wonder if Watcher hadn’t been observing them at the time too.

“Watcher!” Gloomy turned to her. “We found her! She’d look different when starved, but this is Chrysalis!”

“Yes, I know what she looks like,” Watcher confirmed. “Honestly, if you’d seen her in her true form, you’d know it’s an improvement.”

“Cheeky bitch,” smirked Chrysalis, but it wasn’t like how she talked to them. It was almost like they were used to teasing one another.

“You know each another?” Twilight asked.

“That goes without saying, I think,” Watcher said. “But our relationship has… changed. Not because I like her, but because her assistance has been useful now that her goals have changed.” The bot turned to Chrysalis. “It was foalish to have them watch it without my word first though, they would have attacked you regardless of what you felt.”

“I knew it, she was trying to trick us!” Gloomy said.

“Not so, actually,” Watcher said. “Just being tactless as usual. I’ve seen the orb, and don’t mind you seeing it, so long as she promises to exclude my more explicit humiliation at her hooves.”

“Those parts are just for me, for special occasions,” purred Chrysalis, narrowing her eyes. “They aren’t part of my daily viewing.”

“How do we know you’re not a changeling?” Twilight asked Watcher. “We know that changelings can be inanimate objects, so surely they can be machines.”

“Gloomy Shade,” said Watcher. “When I first spoke to you, you were so scared that you fell down a cliff trying to get away from me. Then when Ovo showed up, you freaked out even more and literally prayed for your life to be spared like a frightened colt that had just been grabbed by the monster under his bed. I have to admit, I found it more amusing than I should have for you to pray to ‘me’ without realizing that the sprite-bot was me. Afterward, Ovo teleported you to Screwball, who threatened to roll a dice and give you that many sex changes if you...”

“Statera is based in Discordia?!” Twilight couldn’t help blurting that out, then shook her head, asking Gloomy. “Is that accurate?”

Gloomy’s muzzle hung open, but nodded slowly, turning away as he blushed brightly. She really did like that blush. “I was panicking… I wouldn’t normally have acted like that. Let’s not go into that story anymore, please.”

“It’s okay, Gloomy,” smiled Twilight. Honestly it sounded a little adorable.

“I assume that is satisfactory?” Watcher said. “I assure you, this has-been Queen doesn’t have a single minion to speak of that can do what you fear.”

“Oh, I think that was a burn,” Chrysalis chuckled. “Was that a burn? Regardless, I’ve helped her enough since our little world-ending tussle that she trusts me for this.”

“Only because it is in your own best interests,” said Watcher. “But sure, we’ll go with ‘trust’.”

They were clearly not on friendly terms, but at the very least, they had an understanding. Twilight got the impression that she was too important for Watcher to suggest she do this if there were real danger.

“Plug me into it,” said Twilight. Maybe it was a bad idea, but she needed to know.

“I still don’t like it,” sighed Gloomy. “But if that’s an order….”

“You two need to fuck,” Chrysalis said. “That’s my helpful advice for the day.”

“Or you could go buck yourself,” Gloomy growled.

“I would,” Chrysalis shrugged. “But I’ve learned the hard way that making clones of ponies never ends well.”

“Can you stop being a pervert?” snapped Twilight.

“I’m a changeling queen,” Chrysalis smirked. “My instinct is to make as many grubs as possible, and haven’t made a single one in centuries. So no, as pent up as I am, I literally can’t.”

“It is not an order for you, Gloomy,” said Watcher. “You probably would not react so constructively to what you witness, but it is information I believe Twilight wishes to possess.”

“I’ll opt out then,” sighed Gloomy. “But I really hope you’re sure about this.”

“Give me that,” Twilight glared at Chrysalis and reached for the sphere.

“Very well,” Chrysalis leaned forward, holding the sphere against her own horn and above Twilight's head.

Tuesday, 10/26/2077
Memory POV: Chrysalis
Hive Zero

Chrysalis loved it when a plan came together.

The Badlands were once the most desolate place in the world, but in a single day it had become the safest. Chrysalis had watched from a balcony as the explosions decorated the horizon, clouds of vibrant green and red hovering over destroyed cities, secondary explosions causing still more fireworks. It was beautiful.

“I know it's a great victory,” said a voice behind her. “But do you have to stand there and watch it? You barely came in for the last few days.”

Chrysalis turned to see Thorax. It was he who had discovered the secret that changelings needed to end their long suffering, and that had won him the honor of being her primary mate. He was loyal enough, but not gungho about the whole genocide thing.

“Hello, my love bug,” Chrysalis smirked. “Why don't you watch with me? Watch the other civilizations burn. Within weeks, we'll be the only intelligent race left on the planet. It will be ours by default.”

“You're underestimating their survival skills,” said Thorax, then sighed. “And it’s not the best world to take anymore.”

“All we have to do is wait for the radiation to clear,” shrugged Chrysalis. “Now that we have no one to oppose us, we have an eternity.”

“Honestly, I didn't think it'd go this far,” Thorax walked up beside her, the shadow of their regal antlered forms shimmering behind them at the distant explosions. “Or want it to.”

“Oh please,” Chrysalis scoffed. “Are you starting this again? You found one pony friend in Cloudsdale that taught you the secret of not needing to feed. Then she got dragged away to be experimented on by other ponies. That is what they are like, vicious races that turn on their own kind like it’s nothing.”

“I'm not defending them,” shrugged Thorax. “Just not comfortable.”

“Well...”

Chrysalis began to retort, but a sudden ear-splintering crack washed over them. It was less sound and more like a wave of magical disturbance, coming from some distant place above them.

“Oh rape me in 100 forms, what is that?” Thorax gasped as he looked up.

Chrysalis' eyes followed his, and stared in stunned silence. It took time to confirm it wasn't a hallucination, but the Moon had giant cracks in it. Several chunks pulled away as the whole thing glowed in what appeared to be Nightmare Moon's magical aura.

“She's gone mad,” smirked Chrysalis. “What exactly is she going to do? Throw it at her enemies? Oh this will be good.”

But as she watched, her glee ebbed. It took a long time for the chunks to get moving, but once they did, their target was unmistakable. They weren’t falling towards any of the targets Chrysalis thought they might.

'Activate the shields!' Chrysalis screamed over the hive link, drowning out the sounds of their celebration. 'Right now! We have incoming!'

“But what about the other hives?” Thorax asked. “We have the modified throne to energize a full shield, but the others are sitting ducks. I told you we needed to install shields on all hive structures even if they didn't know about us!”

“Shut up!” Chrysalis shoved Thorax away with her magic.

Thorax skidded across the floor, groaning as he rose back to his hooves, but not complaining further. He likely knew it would do no good.

But he was right. She'd spent so much time outfitting projects outside the Badlands that she hadn't outfitted her own hives with as much as she should have. She kept putting it off for fear that the energy signatures would draw more attention than the magic-nullifying throne.

“How could she know,” Chrysalis said aloud.

“Soma never returned,” said Thorax. “He was a spy in her top ranks.”

“Impossible,” said Chrysalis. “Our spies would kill themselves rather than provide information to an enemy.”

“That’s what they’re trained to do,” said Thorax. “And I have no doubt most of them would, but are you sure every single one has the nerve?”

“Shut. Up,” Chrysalis cut off the imminent 'I told you so' regarding her confidence in their spies.

She could only watch as the first impacts hit. Explosions rocked in the distance, large chunks of land wiped out. She didn't seem to have the exact positions of the hives or the ability to perform precision strikes, but thousands outside Hive Zero would still die.

She heard their brief screams through the magnified hive link installed in the tower. It was a chorus of her sudden failure. The other changelings were panicking as many of their hivemates died outside, but they maintained their positions and kept the shield raised. Eventually the magnified hive link gave out due to the interference, and they lost communication with the other hive locations entirely.

Hive Zero's shield glowed at full strength. Once at 100%, it must have been seen, as several chunks headed on a direct path toward them. The whole hive shook with the impacts, but the shield held as rocks shattered all around, leaving a hundred hooves of moonrock piled against the shield.

“When she can't hit us, she might come personally,” Thorax said, gritting his teeth from across the room. He wasn't willing to approach her when she was in a throwing mood.

“She better,” Chrysalis sneered. “Once she's within the magic nullification field, she'll be causing no further damage to anyone.”

As Nightmare approached, Chrysalis ordered her Hive to make it appear as if the energy shield died, before taking cover. Sure enough, Nightmare was drawn into the trap, charging in. Once she was well-within the magic null field, it was reactivated, and she crashed into the mud like the lowest of her kind. Not even pegasus flight magic worked within the field.

Chrysalis sat on her throne and waited. She gave the drones time to play with the one that killed so many of them should they wish, but ordered her brought to the throne room afterward. Soon enough, Nightmare was tossed onto the floor in front of her throne, wings and hooves tied and glaring up at her in unmitigated rage.

Nightmare started to speak, but flinched and turned away as soon as she looked up at Chrysalis as if the sparkling offended her. Chrysalis wasn’t too fond of her true form either, honestly.

“I suppose you must be proud,” said Chrysalis. “You're the only thing that went wrong with an otherwise perfect plan. I won't forgive you for that.”

“Do you think I care about your forgiveness?” Nightmare screamed. “Whoever you are, having murdered thousands of your subjects will allow me to die with a smile on my face.”

“I'm Queen Chrysalis,” Chrysalis growled. “And unfortunately for you, I'm not going to kill you.”

Nightmare Moon grew quiet, clenching her teeth. She probably didn’t know what the alternative to death was, but must have realized it wouldn't be pleasant.

“First, I'll have a go at you,” said Chrysalis. “Perhaps several. Then I'll skin you. Next, I'll seal your skinless body in a pod that will keep the skin from regenerating. There you will relive the memory of your own rape and skinning on repeat for as long as I can keep you alive. And I can keep you alive for a looooong time.”

“You can't be serious,” Nightmare glared at the floor, doing a poor job of hiding her fear. Chrysalis was an emotion eater after all, she could taste it.

“Only one way to find out,” Chrysalis sneered.

After relieving some stress. Chrysalis finished sealing Nightmare inside her pod. Now she only needed to cast the spell to make her relive her last memory forever. After that, she'd make a nice decoration for the throne room.

But she never got to cast that spell.

'We're under attack!' Out of nowhere, no less than a dozen reports came in from around the perimeter near the shield. 'They're inside the shield!'

'Who are they?' Chrysalis demanded. 'How did they get inside?'

'They're... shadows!' was the best answer of all the panicked cries. 'They're coming out of the moon rocks that fell in when we dropped the shield to let Nightmare in!

'But the null field!' Chrysalis said.

'They aren't using magic!' came the answer. 'They're just ripping us apart, we can't put a dent in them!'

'Retreat inside Hive Zero and close it off,' ordered Chrysalis.

Chrysalis hurried to the throne room to manage the defense there, but there was already one waiting for her.

It was Thorax, yet it wasn't. He stood there in front of the throne, but his bright colors had faded. Heavy black gas oozed from his mouth, his ears, his eyes, his everything, spreading across the floor beneath him.

“Trespasser,” said whatever had possessed Thorax. “... a very glittery one.”

“L-love bug?” Chrysalis stared.

“Larry,” it said. Not the most intimidating name for the leader of a sudden monster attack. “Why have you destroyed our home?”

“Destroyed your what?” Chrysalis grunted. “You mean the Moon? Nightmare did that, we are the target, not the perpetrator!”

“She destroyed it,” Larry said. “But you are the one that drove her to that madness, such madness that she overcame her possession by our kind to commit such an insane act. Now the Nightmare Force has lost much of their home, so your home will become ours. You are now the trespassers.”

'They're already inside!' a voice screamed over the hive link. 'They're infesting changelings... I don't know how… they lowered the shields too... it's...'

'All survivors flee,' Chrysalis gave the only order she could. 'Those that can use teleports, take as many uninfected changelings with you as you can. Head northward into the area around Holder, I didn’t see as many mega-spells hit that area. Stop for nothing.'

They followed the order, but there were already so many dead, with more minds blinking out every second. She hoped changelings at other hives knew to flee. Without proper shields, those hives that survived had likely already been overrun.

“I'm sorry Thorax,” Chrysalis sighed at the creature that had once been her mate. “Maybe I should have… listened a little bit.”

“Oh trust me, he's sorry too,” Larry grinned.

Chrysalis charged her horn, and he crouched as if ready to resist, but she didn't attack. She knew it was pointless, that his minions would be storming the throne room any second and she’d never have time to defeat him. Instead, she teleported away, something he likely didn’t expect.

The interference limited her range, so she teleported to the only place that sprang to mind. She flashed into existence in the chamber where she’d left Nightmare's pod.

As a final act of spite, she teleported Nightmare's pod into the vault, the most inaccessible place in the hive where they'd never find it. She'd at least deprive them of the other they wanted to catch. She draped Nightmare's pelt over her back, not wanting to leave a hint that the alicorn was here, and teleported again as far as she could.

They were gone. All gone.

Not all dead though, at least. Thousands of her children made it out of the Badlands from the many hives.

But gone all the same. They abandoned her. Their last words before disconnecting were enraged screams. They blamed her for the death of their friends and the destruction of the land they loved. They asked why we couldn't have let it be. It didn't help that the survivors were the ones that had fled first, before she ordered it, so also the least loyal. The few loyal ones left followed suit when the others had left en masse.

But regardless, they were right.

Now silence. For the first time since she could remember, the only voice in her head was her own. Words couldn't describe the loneliness she felt.

“Equestria!” a voice rattled over the radio she had nearby. “This is Midnight Sparkle on all frequencies. I have vital information that all must know about the real culprits behind this war!”

Chrysalis flicked the radio off in disgust. The NLR had in fact found out, and now they would spread it to friend and enemy alike for revenge. Her children would never be safe; ponies and everything else would hunt them wherever they went.

But if Thorax was right about ponies surviving, then she believed her children could too. Even if they hated her, she would never stop protecting them. One day... she would make them love her again.

Returning POV: Twilight Sparkle

“Why?” asked Twilight as her eyes cleared and she came to from the vision. “Why would you show me that?”

“At least I didn’t show you what I looked like,” chuckled Chrysalis. “I intentionally left out a memory of me walking past a mirror to protect you from that glittery horror.”

Twilight expected Chrysalis to try to prove she wasn't all that bad, not an open admission of guilt. Chrysalis went out of her way to confirm their worst suspicions that she started the Ceaseless Conflict with the express intent of genocide. Why?

She admitted that Chrysalis’ loneliness at the end made her feel sorry for the queen. But could even 200 years of that atone for the literal destruction of the world?

“Chrysalis,” said Twilight. “Take this conversation seriously. I mean it.”

“Well, I want to say something profound,” Chrysalis answered. “Something that would convince you of my positive intent in certain areas… but no. It was to distract your mental facilities so I could probe your mind for information. Like the bit about Kyo's hive.”

“What?” Twilight blinked. “How could you do that without me knowing when I’m on guard for it and also wearing a pipbuck!” Then again, if any creature could cut through that security, it was probably her.

“What have you done?” Gloomy shrieked. “What else did you find out? Tell me!”

“Oh don’t worry,” Chrysalis smirked. “I already knew everything there was to know about Statera, and a great many other groups too. I bet I know more about Miss Skyla than anyone in Statera, even what tongue motions she prefers while giving radio addresses.”

“Stop being dramatic,” Watcher cut her off. “And relax, I asked her to scan your mind, Paradox.”

“She’s not hiding anything of importance from you,” said Chrysalis, putting the sphere back into her saddlebag.

“W-wait, you were-” Gloomy looked like his mind might have broken at the idea that the two might have been working together.

Twilight found it even stranger after seeing the memory. It was clear that they had been enemies, had Chrysalis really done enough for Luna to make them work together after all that? Or was she insane from having been trapped skinless in a pod for 200 years? This had opened a floodgate of questions.

“What do you want?” Twilight clenched her teeth, moving a wing in front of Gloomy as a reminder to hold back. Whether Watcher had used Chrysalis on purpose or not, Twilight still had to make sure she wouldn’t reveal Kyo’s hive to anyone. Chrysalis would have every reason to try to take it as her own.

“Relax, I don’t intend to tell,” Chrysalis smirked. “Or take control of it unless they agree of their own free will.”

“And what do you want in return?” asked Gloomy. He was right. There had to be something.

“This is not conditional,” Chrysalis said. “On the contrary, I offer my help, and if you decline… it will have no negative repercussions for you.”

Was she sincerely offering to help? “With what?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Liar!” Gloomy shrieked so hard that Chrysalis had to wipe spittle from her face.

“Gloomy, stand down,” Watcher said. He twitched, but on her word took a few steps back, apparently willing to obey her no matter how little he understood.

“This can help,” Twilight said, trying to make the most of it, and actually feeling a bit better if friendship could be the answer to something finally. “Sometimes the only one that can fix a problem is the one that caused it.” She turned to Chrysalis. “What help do you offer?”

“That's for me to know, and you to enjoy,” smiled Chrysalis. “Allow me to come back and prove myself, or constantly wonder if I'm seconds from killing you as somepony else. Your choice.”

“You said it wasn't contingent on anything,” Gloomy reminded. “And now you threaten us?”

“Oh, but it’s not contingent on anything, I absolutely will not do that,” Chrysalis smirked. “But you don’t trust me and your fragile pony minds will constantly wonder if one of your loved ones is me. So accept my help or suffer from your own paranoia. Choose.”

“Watch yourself, Chrysalis,” Watcher warned her. “You’re overselling it by habit.”

“I’m not going to apologize for being myself,” Chrysalis laughed.

“We can't,” Gloomy shook his head.

“I apologize for this, loyal Gloomy,” Watcher countered. “I know you will not understand yet, but I’m ordering you to allow her to accompany you back to Holder.”

“W-what?” Gloomy asked.

“There are things you cannot know yet,” Watcher said. “If she wants to wear my flesh as a reminder of her sins, let her, but we need her help. I’m not asking you to forgive her; I will always despise her with my very being, but we cannot pick and choose our allies with Trinity about to steam-roll the Ashlands, nor with potentially worse dangers on the horizon.”

“Yes, Goddess,” sighed Gloomy, resigning to her order.

“So you’re in Hive Zero?” asked Twilight. “In the vault? That's why the Nightmare Force hasn't killed you?”

“Indeed,” said Watcher. “But I will ask Chrysalis not to reveal Hive Zero’s location as a sign of good faith, lest you risk your life in a retrieval attempt. Separated from their native environment for so long, the Nightmare Force have devolved into something far more feral over the years. They are just shadows eating flesh, attacking all on sight, even the dead. You would be reduced to bones long before arrival.”

“How would you know their nature if sealed inside your pod?” asked Twilight.

“They leave non-flesh alone,” said Watcher. “My sprite-bots can roam the Badlands and scout unmolested.”

“I see,” nodded Twilight. “The bots that both you and...” She paused, unsure how much she should say in front of Chrysalis, even if she was coming with them.

“That is all we will speak of for now,” said Watcher. “You will only provide Chrysalis with what information she must know to assist, but you will accept her assistance.”

“As you order,” Gloomy bowed low, failing to hide the fury on his face.

“Watcher?” asked Twilight. “I have a question, if you don't mind me asking about your actions during the mega-spell strikes.”

“You may ask,” Watcher said simply.

“Why the Moon?” asked Twilight. “I realize it's poetic since you represent night, but weren't you worried that the whole thing would come crashing down?”

“I am not proud of my rash actions,” said Watcher. “But if you must know, the reason was two-fold. First, all the NLR mega-spells had been either spent or destroyed in counter-attacks, which were actually not authorized by me, by the way. Second, my anger at my sister's death allowed me to break free of my possession. My anger was not only directed at the changelings, but at those who had possessed me, the Nightmare Force. I tore apart the section of the Moon where I knew their most powerful members resided.”

“Two genocides at once,” Chrysalis said. “I'd bitch about the morality of that, but it's not like I can judge a creature for attempting only two genocides during their life.”

“That's not something you should keep score of,” Gloomy glared at Chrysalis.

“When I did such, I did not realize the Nightmare Force could survive the impacts,” said Watcher.

“You were possessed?” asked Twilight. “I... why didn't you tell us?”

“Possessed?” Gloomy's eyes widened, as if the implication just hit him.

“Your version of me did not fully explain that?” asked Watcher. “I can not answer for certain, but she may not have known. I myself didn't realize the true nature of my condition until I broke free.”

“But when you’re brought back to full strength,” Twilight asked reluctantly. “Might the possession take hold again.”

“I cannot do so in my current condition,” said Watcher. “My plan, if I can be gotten out, is to have a soul crystal implanted while I am still in the pod, then use that gem to recreate my body outside of the pod.”

“So the soul gem only records you, then?” asked Twilight. “Not the possession…”

“I assume that to be correct,” said Watcher. “And to be honest, I do not know which of my former actions were caused by the possession. My mind is... cloudy. No more questions for now; this is not a comfortable subject.”

“I understand.” Twilight nodded.

But she had plenty to think about. Her idea to use a soul crystal was probably the only way to save her, but for that they’d need to get a recycler. The list of those they needed one for was growing.

“The good thing is,” Chrysalis said. “The remaining Nightmare Force in the Badlands are completely mad. While they are lethal to anyone in their immediate vicinity, they are no longer intelligent enough to engineer schemes like possessing ponies.”

Chrysalis' voice grated on Twilight. She wished they hadn't ended up with her as a team member, but she also wanted to trust Luna. For now, Twilight thought better than to talk directly to Chrysalis; she wasn't sure she could hold herself in otherwise.

“One more thing, Chrysalis,” Watcher added.

“Please, call me Chryssie,” Chrysalis smirked.

“Chrysalis,” Watcher ignored her quip and continued. “I would not advise walking into Holder looking like rotten swiss cheese wearing my pelt. Be careful who you reveal yourself to.”

“No,” Chrysalis smirked harder, which Twilight didn’t know could happen.

“What?” asked Watcher.

“I’ll help you, but I'm not acting as your minion,” said Chrysalis. “So I don’t have to follow your every whim. Given that, I will not hide who I am in this. If I work to save my children from Trinity, they will now know it is me that does it.”

“As you will, then,” Watcher sounded annoyed, but accepting. “There is no additional skin off my back if you get yourself killed.” The music clicked back on as the sprite-bot floated away again.

“Well then,” smirked Chrysalis. “It looks like the rotten swiss cheese joined your party.”

38. Feral

Date: Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Limestone Pie
Tenwhinney Tower

Limestone communicated with Starlight for as long as possible after departing, telling her every detail she could about her surroundings. She didn’t know how much she got before the PCB lost contact or Starlight got too distracted by her abuse. Limestone hoped Starlight was rescued, as she wouldn’t wish that on anypony. The others would likely save her, though not in time to save her further loss of dignity.

For now, she had to put that out of her mind as she noted everything.

There was a security checkpoint at the outer perimeter which allowed them to pass through the shield. The gap could only be opened from the inside, so wouldn’t be of use without someone on the inside. From the look of the shield and the frequency of the buzzing, it was powerful, as close to Canterlot’s shield as one could get without a CME system powering it, more than she would’ve expected for a place like this.

There were half a dozen security personnel in front wearing metal armor and carrying ballistic weapons. They didn’t take much note of the prisoners carried in, closing the shield behind them and seeming very casual. She doubted they dealt with much trouble from the outside, and probably trusted their shield 100%. If that failed, they would panic quickly.

The tower itself was much the same as long ago. There was a large lobby with a chandelier, paintings, and gothic columns at the front, which was converted into a marketplace. They had a fondness for flowers, which seemed to decorate everywhere. Elevators led to higher floors where the rooms would be. Limestone assumed that the leader lived in the penthouse at the top while most residents occupied the other guest rooms.

All the citizens she saw were unicorns or earth ponies. They were at the former location of Las Pegasus, so there would have been many pegasi here on the final day, which meant whoever assumed initial control was pro-Canterlot. In the lobby was a large painting of the owners from back in Limestone’s time, a pair of yellow unicorns with red and white hair, Flim and Flam. Considering they also ran Stable-Tec, it wasn’t surprising this place had been left with good magitech.

There were families with foals, which looked upon Limestone and Dinky with fear or disdain. She didn’t suppose many could help it since they’d been raised to not know otherwise.

The guards took Limestone and Dinky behind the lobby into what was once a convention center. They passed through what looked to be an empty swimming pool surrounded with stadium-like seating, probably added later. Limestone assumed that was what they were using for an arena.

They carried the two ghouls to the back of the arena. There, in a poorly lit room, was an iron cage full of feral ghouls, all of which had their hooves tied in a similar fashion to Limestone and Dinky. The guards climbed to the top and opened a hatch, casually dumping Limestone and Dinky in with the others. They hit the cement floor like sacks of meat and Limestone cracked her head, the cage spiraling around her.

When she recovered from her dizziness, the guards had left, leaving the supplies they’d picked up by the cage to retrieve later. Limestone rolled over to check on Dinky first, who was stirring herself.

There were ferals all around them, mostly unicorns and earth ponies, though there were a few pegasi with their wings removed. Some looked at the newcomers, but seemed neutral about their existence.

“Dinky?” Limestone nuzzled the little ghoul on her head as she lay there.

“I’m still animate,” Dinky sighed. “For all the good it does.”

“Don’t worry,” Limestone said. “I’m already working on an idea, but first we need to get the bonds off.”

“Can we get their bonds off too?” Dinky asked. “These poor ponies must be terrified inside.”

“Given the choice, I’d put them out of their misery,” said Limestone. “But that wouldn’t help anything yet.”

Limestone edged her way closer to Dinky. Dinky sighed and held out her front hooves, and Limestone tore at the ropes with her teeth. It took a while, but they had plenty of time. Soon Dinky was free and the two of them gnawed off Limestone’s bonds.

“Are you scared of ceasing?” Dinky asked a bit randomly as she tore off several more threads.

“I’m scared of continuing,” Limestone admitted. “But I’ll never willingly leave when there are ponies to protect.”

“I thought I wanted to stop for a long time,” said Dinky. “But now that I’m faced with it… I’m scared.”

“Hold on to that feeling,” Limestone said. “It’s proof you’re still saner than me.”

“You really got a plan?” Dinky asked as she tugged away the last of Limestone’s hind leg bonds.

Limestone had already finished her front ones and was looking around the room again. Her eyes fell on the glow of the Glimmer Cola Quantums in the pile of supplies they’d sat beside the cage.

“I’m weak, barely glowing,” said Limestone. “I need a radiation source. Doesn’t even have to be a lot if I can build on it.”

“That'd probably do it,” Dinky said as she glanced at the quantum too, then moved to the nearest stallion, who grunted as Dinky tore at his bonds.

Limestone trotted over to the edge of the cage and eyed the quantum. She saw posters advertising when the arena match was that they would be in, but it wasn’t for some days and Limestone wanted the boost right before the match. There was no way they would leave this within their reach for long, but where to hide it?

“This will be gross,” Limestone sighed. “Sorry in advance.”

Limestone reached through the cage bars and pulled the six-pack through it. She twisted the first bottle from the plastic that held them together and opened her muzzle wide. Without opening the bottle, she forced it into her throat, gagging as she pushed the whole thing down her dry esophagus. It was far more lewd-sounding than she intended.

“Damn, mare,” Dinky commented. “You could fellate a rabid hydra with skills like that.”

“Shut it,” Limestone whispered after forcing the first one down and grabbing another.

“I don’t think you’ll fit all those in your stomach,” Dinky commented. “You’re not gonna ask me to eat one are you?”

“No,” said Limestone. “I need them inside me to charge my radiation attack over the next few days. I know they won’t all fit in my stomach, but I have other cavities I’m not using.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said it’d be gross,” Dinky looked away and continued working on the ropes. “Will I need to assist in shoving them in the other cavities? I’d rather just eat one.”

“Sorry,” Limestone apologized again.

As Limestone rammed the second one down her throat, she thought about what strategy her friends would use to rescue her. It was a good distraction because for a ghoul that never ate, ramming large objects down her throat probably stung worse than it would for a live pony; this would be an unpleasant wait.

There were only two ways to get into Tenwhinney Tower, Limestone figured. They either had to use bypass armor to get through the shield, or access it through the subway in the basement. The chance of them navigating to that subway terminal was unlikely, and it would be sealed off anyway to avoid the potential of attack from underground.

They had Kamikaze’s bypass armor, and Limestone remembered pulse armor at the Holder silo they might have finished after this long. She doubted they had the resources to make another, so at best they had two sets of bypass armor, one with potential stealth capabilities. While either could expand its extrapolation field to get multiple ponies through the shield, they'd only send one to reduce the chance of detection.

Maud would be that one. Whether they had the pulse barding or not, she’d have the best chance to avoid detection. They could try to disable the force field generator, but that would be a task as the locals would protect the vital components. Maud wouldn’t know how to turn the control panel off, and just shooting it wouldn’t do as much good as one might imagine.

She would have to think about this. Oh well, time for a third bottle down the hatch.

Limestone needed more information regardless. She assumed that guards would check on them, so maybe she could get something from them. They’d be questioning her when they noticed the Glimmer Cola Quantum disappeared, so she’d use that as an opportunity to get them talking. Anything and everything would help.

The third bottle went down easier with her throat stretched out from the first two, but ended up lodged just above her stomach rather than in it. She pulled the fourth one off the plastic and sighed. She leaned against the side of the cage, loosening the bottom of her uniform to use alternate hiding places.

“Dinky?” Limestone sighed. “Sorry again, but I’ll need your help with these.”

“Fine,” groaned Dinky. “Just don’t expect me to be as good at it as your sisters.”

Date: Monday 11/7/2287

They never figured out what happened to the quantum, and her uniform hid the unsightly bulges in her body well enough. It was doubtful they’d want them even if they figured out where they were now.

Still, the missing items perturbed them enough that they stationed guards at the cage 24/7, which was a boon for Limestone. Even when they were told to stop talking to her, they talked to each other, and Limestone got much of the information she needed.

The basic plan for the event was first they’d bring the ferals out, who would be slaughtered for amusement by the lucky winners of some market raffle. They’d have armor and melee weapons, which would be plenty to beat down ferals.

Afterwards they planned to bring out first Dinky and then Limestone. They expected Limestone to put up a fight, so would equip those fighters better. However, they were planning to torture Dinky to her end for more fun. To them, even the docile ghouls were just monsters who deserved such a fate.

Dinky was terrified, especially when the guards taunted her with what they planned, but Limestone assured her she wouldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t tell Dinky her whole plan either though, lest the guards heard it. It would change as it progressed, but with any luck, Dinky’s main task would be to stand back.

Limestone worried though. She had told only Starlight the time of the arena match. If her sisters and friends rescued Starlight, there was still no guarantee Starlight would tell the others correct information. Starlight’s decision would depend on whether her fear of Limestone’s sisters or her thirst to remain in charge was greater.

She couldn’t have been more relieved when she felt a burst of static in her head and realized the PCB was in range.

‘Limestone?’ Maud’s voice spoke in Limestone’s head. ‘Are you there? Dinky too?’

‘We’re both okay,’ Limestone answered. ‘What about Starlight and Kamikaze?’ They would need Starlight’s pipbuck to communicate like this, but that was no guarantee that she was okay.

‘We’re okay,’ Starlight’s voice interjected. ‘We’re here to get you.’

‘You’re coming in clear, does that mean you’re inside the shield?’ Limestone asked.

‘Negative,’ Maud stayed official but her relief was apparent to Limestone at least. ‘Solar finished the pulse barding from the armory, but it was damaged from heat exposure. Right now it’s letting us dilute the shield in one spot enough to get a signal to you. We hope Solar can get it fully repaired before tomorrow.’

‘Maud?’ Limestone delayed asking, hoping Pinkie would speak up and she wouldn't have to, but now she feared the worst. ‘Is Pinkie okay?’

‘I am sorry,’ Maud said. ‘I failed to protect her.’

‘Her soul gem?’ Limestone asked, her whole body tightening at the news.

‘It is whole and in my possession,’ Maud answered.

‘Then we haven’t failed her yet,’ Limestone said. ‘Tell me what the plan is quickly so you can disconnect and let Solar work on fixing it.’

‘I will sneak in with the pulse barding,’ Maud said. ‘I will open the gate to the subway beneath, where ferals will be released into the building.’

‘Who’s plan was that?’ Limestone asked. She figured they’d do something similar, but using ferals caught her off guard. It wouldn’t be Maud’s plan if it endangered even asshole civilians, she’d be too afraid of what Limestone would think of her.

‘Gilda has a ghoul colony in the subway,’ Starlight interjected, likely keen to communicate that it wasn’t her idea. ‘That’s the help she agreed to give, and we didn’t think of any alternatives. So that’s what we’re doing. Sorry.’

Starlight was insincere, but now was not the time to call her on it.

‘That hen always was a mean bitch,’ Limestone said. ‘It can’t be helped then. I’ll stall them as long as I can. Disconnect and work on the suit. But Maud…’

‘Sister?’ Maud listened.

‘If I do not survive,’ Limestone said. ‘Know I do not blame you, not even in the slightest, so do not blame yourself. If I do not survive and Dinky does, I promised I would take care of her, so you keep that promise for me. Understand?’

‘I understand,’ said Maud. ‘But I do not like that you feel the need to say that.’

‘Don’t think like that,’ said Limestone. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you, sis.’

‘Love you too, sis,’ Maud replied. ‘We will get you out sister. I will not lose you.’

Limestone hoped she was wrong about what Maud would do if Limestone died during this. How to make sure Maud kept what little was left of her sanity? She hoped having her promise to protect Dinky would help give her sanity something to latch onto.

“Dinky,” Limestone whispered and prodded the little one curled up next to her.

Dinky perked her ears and looked up to Limestone. Limestone knew these could be her last words to the little one, so didn’t want to just give her directions, and also hoped she could be the one to bring Maud back from the brink if needed.

“If you get out without me, I want you to take care of my sisters,” Limestone said. She didn't want to say 'sister' lest she have to answer questions about Pinkie's fate.

“I think it’d be the other way around,” chuckled Dinky. “I’m next to useless compared to you mares.”

“Don’t think that about yourself,” said Limestone. “Your genius can bring a lot of light to the wasteland. Besides, I mean emotionally. They’re more fragile than they seem; they’ll need somepony to lean on if I’m gone. Someone to tame that rage inside, and I think you can do that.”

“I’m sure you’ll get out,” shrugged Dinky. “But if you don’t, I promise. So, what’s the plan?” She was perceptive; she knew Limestone wouldn’t say profound things if she didn’t have one.

“I’ll do something unpredictable that these ponies will react predictably to,” Limestone said. “All I need you to do is trust me and stay in this cage until me or our friends come back for you. Or when it's safe to do so, run and find Maud.”

She wanted to tell Dinky she had contact from outside, but couldn’t chance guards overhearing that, nor could she take time to answer the questions that would result. Dinky was bright, so she probably understood.

“Though,” said Limestone. “I need you to do one thing before all that starts.”

“What do I do?” Dinky asked, complete trust in her voice.

“I need privacy,” Limestone whispered. “We need the guards to look away from the cage… for a long while.”

“What,” Dinky dead-panned.

“They think we’re disgusting,” said Limestone. “So we should be disgusting…”

“You mean like kiss or something?” Dinky’s eyes darted about a bit, and would likely blush if she could. “Well I guess if I made an exception for a mare, it’d probably be you… don’t get any ideas later though.”

Though the suggestion wasn’t surprising, the manner of wording was, so Limestone might have blushed back if she could. Thinking about it though, establishing to the guards that they kiss might actually help later on.

Limestone rationalized it was for the plan, but Dinky didn’t hesitate much to sit up on her haunches and go for it. Even though Dinky was an adult, it still felt a little wrong with her small size, but Limestone tugged her close. She sat up on her haunches as well, lifting Dinky’s hind hooves off the floor in the process as they slurped muzzles together, making it as loud as they could.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” one of the guards grumbled.

“The dociles are even grosser than the ferals,” grunted another.

Limestone glanced over to them, and two had looked away, but one of them was still keeping a notably reluctant eye on the cage. As Limestone thought, this wouldn’t be enough to get them to face away.

“I think we might need more,” muttered Limestone quietly between kisses. “Something that will really make them look away, maybe something more inline with your preferences?”

“Oh? Ooooh” Dinky clicked, glancing at some of the other ferals. “Fine, I got it. Would have probably done it already if you weren’t here to be embarrassed in front of.”

Limestone figured as much, so she didn’t feel too bad asking for it. Dinky rose to her hooves, trotting across the cage to the side with the guards. She grabbed one of the stallion ferals, tripping him onto his back and climbing atop him.

“Time for one last ride, stud!” Dinky shouted far too loud. “Hey guards! Have some free underage zombie porn, ya foalaphiles.”

“What the?... Oh, that is bucking sick!” the final guard said and quickly turned away. Thankfully, the guards didn’t include any that were perverted in that way.

With eyes off the cage, Limestone went to work. First, she pulled a cloak off another of the ferals to hide herself as much as possible. Squeezing and gagging out the Glimmer Cola Quantum wasn’t a quick task, but she managed, and luckily the sound mixed with that of Dinky's distraction.

She then turned them up one at a time, guzzling five full bottles and a half of the last one. Limestone couldn’t imagine how living ponies drank these horse apples, but it left her feeling more charged than when she left Canterlot.

Leaving one half bottle beneath the cloak to hide the glow, Limestone tried to slosh as little sound as possible as she slipped off her general outfit. She dressed the feral that she had taken the cloak from in her uniform. She glanced to be sure the guards were still turned away, then used the last bottle to pour into the feral’s mane and over her face. Now the feral glowed almost as much as Limestone, and it would last at least until the morning match. Even if it was the wrong color, it’d be enough for these slackers to be fooled.

She used another feral’s helmet to hide the empty cola bottles, grabbing one of the ropes that littered the cage floor. She tied the now-glowing feral's hind leg to the bars near where Limestone had stood. She covered herself in the cloak and took the feral’s place, hoping Dinky got the idea.

Dinky, either dedicated or pent up, had it out with two ferals before Limestone finished. Limestone was rather glad Dinky was into feral play, as it would’ve been hard to go through with this plan with most ponies.

Dinky realized Limestone had finished, so staggered back to Limestone’s corner. She peered at the ghoul that had taken Limestone’s place, then glanced to Limestone. She nodded in understanding and stood next to the other ghoul.

Date: Tuesday 11/08/2287

Dinky did a good job of pretending the feral was Limestone, spending much of the night whispering to or hugging her. The feral hugged back on instinct, so Limestone hoped the mind-trapped mare got comfort from the experience. Dinky also kissed the feral whenever she noticed a guard glancing over, ensuring they wouldn’t get a good look at its face even if they wanted to, so none of them had noticed the switch.

Limestone heard the sound of a crowd grow outside in the pool arena as they pushed a small covered wagon to the cage. They opened the cage door and the back of the wagon, a projection of a living pony taunting them playing inside the wagon. The other ferals shambled towards it hoping to take out their undead rage on a pony that dared to still live, and Limestone followed along with them.

Dinky did a good job of distracting the other feral and kept her from fussing too much, covering her eyes so she wouldn't see the projection. The rope tying her leg to the bar kept her from shambling after the others on instinct and the wagon closed to leave Dinky and the fake Limestone in the cage. Dinky looked after Limestone with worry, but nodded to show her trust.

When they brought the cart into the pool arena, Limestone got a better look. There were maybe sixty onlookers, which didn’t fill the stands. Tenwhinney could house many more, which meant most of the population didn’t come to this barbaric display. Maybe there were more decent ponies here than she assumed.

In the center of the stands was who Limestone assumed was the oddly named Jacob Timothy Atticus. He looked average aside from the fancy red suit and bow tie, an earth pony with a tan coat and a brown mane. Limestone contained her ire for him, not letting it distract her.

There were four living participants in the arena, all wearing sturdy metal form-covering armor. They wielded medieval style long swords, like they thought they were valiant knights. As one raised the face of his helmet and waved to Jacob, Limestone noticed the similar colors and the perverse pride that showed in Jacob’s face. That one also had the best armor of the living participants, so Limestone marked him down as related to Jacob. That could be useful.

A setup like this would have a backup plan for ferals getting the upper hoof, especially if they intended to fight Limestone. A quick scan found two snipers on either side of Jacob wielding plasma rifles. Those things would outdo Ashmaker’s damage on a solid hit, yet were less deadly for other reasons.

Limestone wasn’t sure where they got plasma hardware, but they were idiots as far as making use of them. They’d nailed unenchanted scopes on the rifles, but plasma was so inaccurate at this distance they may as well have been dildos for all the use they’d be. She suspected they were more for looks. Jacob had fancy guns and wanted to be seen protected by them because of his own self-importance.

None of these morons had seen real combat. They were soft, and it made it almost a boring challenge.

‘Sister?’ Maud’s voice faded into existence over the PCB.

‘I’m still here,’ Limestone replied. ‘You got timing. I’m entering the arena to fight.’

‘Where?’ Maud’s thoughts sounded panicked.

‘Don’t worry,’ Limestone assured. ‘I tricked them into putting themselves at a grave disadvantage. Just get the gate open and head to the back of the first floor, past the old convention center to the former pool area. That’s where they set up the arena. Keep your head down though. There are at least two ponies with advanced, if inaccurate, plasma rifles. Careful getting too close to them.’

‘I will not fail you, sister,’ Maud replied, going silent then as if to let her concentrate.

“I’m so sorry this happened to all of you,” Limestone said aloud, knowing the ferals understood her, even if they were helpless to show it. “It isn’t much comfort, but me and my friends will make these silver-shoed pricks pay. Go to your rest knowing that.”

The door on the carriage door unlatched and the ones that opened it fled the arena. The confident looking participants strolled towards the door as the first feral pushed against it, eyes locking on the breathers about twenty hoofsteps from them.

As much as Limestone would love to let ferals tear them apart, her plan wouldn’t work if they lived long enough to attack her soon-to-be hostage. She remained at the back of the crowd of undeath staggering towards the monsters set to fight them, keeping her cloak covering her whole form.

The armored ponies laughed as they laid into the defenseless ferals, and Limestone let them enjoy a few seconds of wicked mirth. The ponies backed up as they hacked away, not letting their enemies get too close.

As the last of the ferals fell, Limestone hefted up one of the bodies, charging forward and using it as a shield. The participants, stunned when an enemy showed strategy, were easily panicked. Limestone slammed into the group and grabbed the one she identified as Jacob’s favorite, yanking him away from the group by his neck as he dropped his sword and shrieked like a filly. The cloak fluttered to the ground from the quick movement, revealing Limestone fully.

An instant later, she charged her radiation burst, aiming it at the other participants. Their screams filled the arena, at least until their tongues swelled from the heat and cut off their cries of agony. Their flesh boiled beneath the sudden burst of energy, bodies steaming through boiling hot metal armor as they fell to the floor convulsing.

She only had the energy for one of those, but she made it count, and it was immensely satisfying to see them flail and die. She hoped these other saps didn’t realize she could only do that once, but they didn’t strike her as interested in outside knowledge.

The entire arena fell in an uproar, but as the snipers raised their rifles, Jacob’s voice rang above it all.

“No!” he yelled. “You’ll hit Jacob the Second!”

It figured he named his son after himself, and that he was pretentious enough to say ‘the Second’ instead of junior.

As predictable as these morons were, Limestone didn’t need to do much else, just stall until Maud had completed her task. The delay ensured that they wouldn’t have time to bring Dinky out and slaughter her, so she had protected the little one.

As most of the audience flooded from the arena, Jacob looked down on Limestone with rage in his eyes.

“Let my son go, you monster!” Jacob shouted.

“Daybreaker save me!” screamed Jacob Jr. “The monster has me Daddy!”

“I’m the only one here that isn’t a monster!” laughed Limestone in return.

Jacob grabbed a rifle from one of his guards as they looked on in confusion. He took a few steps towards the edge of the area.

“Take another step, I dare you,” Limestone screamed, pressing a hoof against the son’s head. “This pansy-ass bitch will be hard-boiled before he hits the floor!”

“What do you expect to accomplish?” Jacob shouted. “You will die no matter how this is resolved, what do you gain by slaughtering innocents?”

“Innocents?” laughed Limestone. “I’m not sure you know what that word means.” She wasn't one to laugh during such situations, but she knew it'd increase the panic of her opponents.

‘Opening the gate now,’ Maud’s voice rang in the back of Limestone’s mind.

“And what I hope to accomplish?” asked Limestone. “Nothing. I’m just distracting your security so they don’t notice the horde of ferals being let in through your basement entrance.”

“W-what?” Jacob paused as if having trouble processing that.

As if on cue, screams erupted from the convention center outside the pool. Ponies came streaming back in, seeking cover beneath the stands or anywhere else they found.

“Ferals!” shouted a guard as he burst in with the others. “Jacob, they're everywhere, coming faster than we can shoot them all!”

“What?!” Jacob’s shriek put Limestone’s ghoulish roars to shame.

Limestone moved forward, dragging Jacob Jr with her. She pushed him up the steps on the side of the pool towards the latched gate on the side.

“Open it or die screaming like your buddies in the arena,” Limestone said, holding her hoof more firmly against his head.

Limestone felt like a foal pretending to have a gun, but the look in Jacob Jr's eyes showed he thought she could melt him at will. He fumbled at the gate to unlatch it.

“No!” Jacob’s voice rang out behind Limestone as she dragged his son out of the pool and into the convention area.

“We need to get you to shield control in the basement,” Maud’s relieved voice said. “You should be able to turn off the shield. I won’t know how to.”

It wasn’t in Limestone’s head this time. Her stealthy sister was close.

“You better run with me if you want to avoid all these scary monsters,” Limestone growled to Jacob Jr. “Lead the way, Sister.”

“We do not have time to drag a hostage,” Maud said. “Kill it and come with me.”

“I’ll injure ‘it’,” said Limestone, but not from any kind of altruism. “Injured ponies distract additional resources that might otherwise come after us.”

Limestone twisted one of Jacob Jr’s legs at the shoulder. The satisfaction of feeling him twitch in her grasp as he squealed was a guilty pleasure, but she could only enjoy it for a few seconds. She shoved him away and he immediately limped towards the arena again, frantically running for Daddy only to be tackled by a feral on the way. She didn’t bother looking to see what happened next.

Limestone felt Maud closer. There was an affectionate kiss on her muzzle, and then a collar slipped around her neck. Limestone’s form disappeared into the field as the magic registered her lifeless form as an object Maud was carrying via the leash.

Maud tugged the leash, leading Limestone to where she'd need to go. She didn't look back as she heard Jacob's wail of despair at finding his dying son, but it made Limestone smile more than it should have.

Out in the main foyer, shot ferals and dead residents littered the floor, but there were far more of the latter. It looked like most of the security force had died or fled. A few ponies too stupid to take the stairs crowded at the elevator but were torn apart by ferals. Their horrified screams and gurgles died behind Limestone as she continued to follow Maud.

“Is Dinky okay?” Maud asked over the screams.

“She’s safe,” Limestone said. “I left her in the back of the arena to wait for us.”

Maud led her from the center and towards the stairs downward. It appeared they had set up their shield control in the basement itself, far too close to the underground entrance. Someone had to be brilliant to get this working, but they were no tactician.

The guards at the control panel had been the first to die, torn apart by the sudden torrent of undeath. There was a docile griffon ghoul standing at the panels and staring at the blinking lights, clueless. Limestone barely recognized her through all the rot, but figured she'd be here. Gilda twitched as Limestone stepped away from Maud and tugged off her leash, appearing beside the griffon.

“Well look who it is,” Gilda smirked after jumping a bit at the sudden appearance. “They didn’t tell me you were a glower, General, lucky bitch. I wouldn’t mind a piece of your plot later if your smoothflank sister is okay with being left out.”

“I will end you, Gilda,” Maud’s voice grunted from behind them. She seemed in no mood for Gilda’s jabs, or for sharing.

“Fine,” Gilda rolled her eyes. “Party pooper. Anyway, I think I figured this out. The oscillator relay is here.” She tapped several switches on one side. “I flipped them off, but they charged back up and turned on again.”

“You’re impatient,” Limestone said. “Give each stage enough time to charge down before flipping the next one off or it just reverses the polarity.” Limestone flicked the first of the three switches off then watched the gauge above it as the power level decreased.

“Oh,” Gilda sounded sheepish, but smirked. “Well, not the first time someone called me an impatient bitch. You sure you don’t want to get busy later?”

“Gilda,” Maud warned again.

“Calm down, sis,” chuckled Limestone as she flicked off the second switch. “She’s only bucking with us figuratively.”

“Calm your tits, Maud,” Gilda smirked. “This is just like old times, yeah? There weren’t many old times between the three of us, but this is still like them. I’m nostalgic as shit right now.”

“I’m just glad this is over,” Limestone grumbled. She reached for the third switch and…

There was an instant of searing pain in her rear that she recognized as the feel of a plasma shot, but more intense than ever before, as if it was buttfucking her all the way to the stomach. She felt it radiate out and start to eat up her body from inside, realizing there was no way for Maud to save her, as her neck would be dissolving within seconds.

She turned and looked at Maud one last time with an apologetic expression, and let it happen, intentionally letting herself slump so Maud would be down low and harder to hit while dealing with her death. Sure enough, she felt her soul crystal yanked out amid the pain just as it reached her neck, giving her one last hopeful feeling; pre-death her might still help this world and Maud. She closed her eyes. Within a moment, she felt peace at last.

39. Bypass

Date: Monday 11/7/2287
POV: Chrysalis
The Ashlands

Chrysalis was more helpful than Twilight expected. Thanks to her helping to locate a larger military-grade wagon for them, they were able to get more than just Dinky’s research. They also looked at the shield nodes around Canterlot that had been used during the final battle, and managed to load one of them into the wagon to take back too. It was large, barely able to fit its diameter in the wagon and three hoofsteps tall, but they’d be able to get it back if they all pulled the wagon together.

Otherwise traveling was… interesting. It had been a while since Chrysalis traveled by conventional means through the Ashlands. Seeing the world she helped burn down filled her with a strange mixture of pride and regret.

It surprised Chrysalis they trusted her enough to let her take a turn as the watch as they slept. Though they probably knew if she wanted to kill them in their sleep, she wouldn’t have bothered doing all that other stuff.

Or maybe they didn’t, as the two looked to have trouble sleeping. Gloomy stared wide-eyed at her from his sleeping bag like she was the boogeymare and Twilight didn’t seem much more relaxed.

“Should I sing you a lullaby?” Chrysalis offered helpfully.

“You should shut up,” Gloomy said. That may have meant he didn’t accept her offer.

“Aw,” Chrysalis mocked. “Am I… bugging you?”

“Oh my Celestia,” sighed Twilight. “Chrysalis. Part of keeping watch is letting the ponies you are watching over sleep. And please don’t add ‘bad puns’ to your list of war crimes.”

“Is that what I was supposed to do?” asked Chrysalis. “I can seal you in cocoons if that would help. They’re very comfortable. Just ask Nightmare.”

“Who are you?” Gloomy asked out of nowhere.

“A very bad bug with atrocious fashion sense, apparently,” Chrysalis giggled.

“No, I mean who are you pretending to be?” asked Gloomy. “Not here, in Statera. You’ve befriended one of our members and they don’t even know it. You might even be one of our members. How else could you know the things you knew?”

“Is that true, Chrysalis?” Twilight asked. She used the same tone as a scolding mother.

“Oh you have no idea, batty boy,” Chrysalis shook her head. “Maybe I’m a friend to all of them. I do have a wide range of acting skills.”

“Let it go for now, Gloomy,” Twilight sighed. “She’ll only enjoy further conversation. Let’s rest.”

“Yes, rest,” agreed Chrysalis. “Inside her. When are you two going to buck already? Just because I’m malnourished doesn't mean I don't want to snack on some love.”

“Shut up, Chrysalis,” Twilight growled, zipping her sleeping bag over her head so she wouldn’t see the intense blush. Chrysalis didn't need to see it; she felt it.

“I-I… that’s right, shriek off,” Gloomy stammered as he zipped up his own. His blush was even more intense; he had it bad for Twilight.

Chrysalis smirked. She gave them a few minutes to doze, but she wasn’t ready to give up yet.

Ten minutes later, she walked over to their zipped sleeping bags. Her greenish magic reflected over the camp site as she cast a simple sleeping spell on Gloomy to make sure he didn’t wake. She unzipped his bag and floated him out of the way behind a nearby rocky outcropping. With a burst of green magic, she took his form.

“Twilight?” Gloomy-Chryssie’s voice pulled Twilight from her sleep, not that she’d had much time to get into a very deep one.

“Huh?” Twilight unzipped her sleeping bag and peeked out to see ‘him’ crouched next to her bag.

“Uh, hey,” Gloomy blushed up a storm. “I was wondering… if it’d be okay… if I slept in your bag with you?... Only if you want!”

“Oh um, I guess so,” Twilight said. “Are you cold?”

“Uh, no,” Gloomy blushed more.

“D-did you want to cuddle or something?” Twilight blushed too.

“More than just cuddle, maybe?” he said, then held his breath as he waited for the answer.

“A-are you asking me to… um…” Twilight stammered.

“Is it bad if I am?” Gloomy looked away.

“Well no,” Twilight looked away too. “It’s not even like I mind the idea but… I don’t want Chrysalis hovering over us.”

She must have been tired, because only then did it seem to occur to Twilight. It surprised Chrysalis it took so long.

“So um,” Twilight peered at him. “I don’t suppose you remember what my free order was at the PUB, do you?”

“Y-you mean Daybreaker?” asked Gloomy-Chryssie. It was a good thing she’d pushed for Gloomy to give such detailed reports to Statera, and what she didn’t know was easy to assume. “Well, the first try, they accidentally gave you Daybreaker when you wanted the old Celestia. Then the second time we went in, they got it right, a male version…while I finally indulged in a Nightmare clone… but kind of regretted not doing you um… directly.”

“Ah, she definitely wouldn’t know all that,” Twilight blushed even more than him. “Well, still Chrysalis is hovering over us, I don’t want her to taunt us the rest of the way to be honest.”

A predictable answer. And Chrysalis had a predictable solution.

“Well, um,” Gloomy nodded in understanding. “How about this? We’ll wait until her watch is over. When she wakes me up for my turn to guard, I’ll wake you up and we can… you know… while she sleeps?”

“Well um,” Twilight took a deep breath and paused as her mind chewed on the options. “S-sure, just… no guarantee on how far I’ll go, okay?”

“O-of course, no problem,” Gloomy smiled.

“Well okay, goodnight,” Twilight blushed more and closed her sleeping bag.

As soon as she zipped herself back in her bag, Chrysalis cast the same sleep spell on Twilight, an outline of her horn glowing above her. It took a good deal more energy to force an alicorn to sleep, but once she was, Chrysalis transformed into Twilight’s form, the broken horn and all. She unzipped Twilight’s bag, then floated her sleeping form over to where she’d hidden Gloomy. She floated Gloomy back into his bag before zipping him up and nullifying the sleep spell.

Twilight-Chryssie tried not to smirk as she prodded Gloomy’s sleeping bag with a hoof. Gloomy groaned as he woke, unzipping his bag and peeking out.

“Twilight?” Gloomy asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, nothing is ‘wrong’ per se,” Twilight said with a nervous chuckle and blush, scratching her mane with a hoof. “I was just wondering… I mean… if I could join you in your bag?”

Gloomy stared at her as if his mind just broke, then his expression changed to suspicion. He’d caught on much faster, but then he had the mind of a soldier.

“No offense, but I’m going to ask you a question now,” Gloomy said. “Where were we when Watcher first revealed who she was to you?”

“Ah,” Twilight nodded. “No problem, I understand. We were on the wagon to Holder. Watcher mentioned not trusting someone, and at first you feared she meant you, but it turned out she meant Dyo.”

“Ah yeah,” chuckled Gloomy. “The only ones that should know that are me and base.” He paused, probably realizing the obvious flaw in that logic when dealing with the potential of changeling spies in Statera. “How about this? Where were we when you first pointed out my cutie mark? I told you I was embarrassed by it being Midnight’s mark with a shield, but you pointed out it could mean something different.”

Hm, she didn’t know this one. She had to logic it out a bit, but couldn’t take too long or it’d invite suspicion. As a fairly high ranking soldier of Midnight’s, he’d have been trained to detect mind invasion, so she’d take a guess.

“It was about the same time,” Twilight sounded confident.

“And?” Gloomy asked.

The mark… what else could it mean. It was Midnight’s star and… what was she missing? Aha! The little stars!

“Well it’s actually my mark with a shield over it,” Twilight said. “Because of the five smaller stars around it.”

“Holy crap, it is,” Gloomy’s eyes grew wide as if just putting that together. Uh-oh. That meant she had given him another explanation.

“Oh wait, that’s what I thought about it being,” Twilight back-tracked. “But I said it could symbolize…” Processing. “… you protecting others from Midnight.” That was the only other possibility she came up with.

“Yeah, that’s what you said,” Gloomy nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me the other thing before?”

“Well um,” Twilight blushed. “I didn’t want to make you suspect I was trying to… you know… pull one over on you.”

“I g-guess that makes sense,” Gloomy said. “So uh, you really want to… screw?”

“Yeah, I do,” Twilight blushed and wilted her ears. “Is that bad? I’m sorta self-conscious about asking...”

“No, of course not!” Gloomy said. “It’s just that… I’d rather not do it with Chrysalis on watch.”

So predictable.

“That makes sense I guess,” sighed Twilight. “How about this? When she wakes you up for your turn at guarding, wake me up, then while she sleeps, we can… you know… play?”

“S-sure,” Gloomy nodded more enthusiastically than he probably intended. “I-I’ll look forward to it.”

Gloomy zipped up his bag again and she could hear him breathing heavily beneath it. Chrysalis waited a few minutes before re-casting the sleep spell on him, keeping him under while she moved Twilight back into her own sleeping bag. She would let the sleep spells wear off over the next few hours, then wake up Gloomy for his shift before pretending to sleep herself.

This would be so delicious. She hadn’t even had to break her promise to Watcher to not fuck with their minds.

Date: Monday 11/9/2287
POV: Maud Pie
Holder

Maud intended to leave Dyo's head to rot, but all she could think about on the way back was that she’d murdered little Custard’s two closest family members. Her guilt got the best of her, and she stopped to retrieve it before returning to Holder. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but didn’t smell too bad after a few spells from Starlight.

Now she sat in the Holder graveyard, staring down at Kyo and Dyo’s graves. It had been a touching ceremony, well-attended despite its suddenness, even if very few there cared about Dyo after what he did. The town was in a state of shock from losing their fairly new rock sovereign after so much else.

But none were more devastated than the filly that now sat next to the Maud, staring down at the graves with her.

“T-they wouldn’t even let me see her before her...p-processing,” Custard whimpered.

“You did not want to see her like that, little one,” Maud tried her best to sound kind, but she was horse apples at this.

Especially when it was her fault. She disgusted herself, comforting the filly that did not even know her comforter was the one who murdered her mother. It made it worse that Custard never once blamed Maud for not protecting Kyo. She forgave Maud for her failing without question, but would she have if she knew what really happened?

But Maud could not let her know. She could not destroy what little faith Custard had left in the world around her. That would be beyond cruel.

“I-I don’t want to replace her,” Custard shook her head. “I don’t want to lead anything, I just wanted everyone to be safe.”

“By leading, you will keep everyone safe,” Maud said. “I have no doubt you are more capable at this than I. I will ensure you are cared for until you are ready to take that mantle.”

“Yeah, I know,” Custard said, drying her eyes. “I trust you.” Those words stung more than anything. It was a good thing in this case that Maud had so much trouble expressing emotion. “But until then, Starlight is in control. I-I don’t mean to… I just… I don’t like her.”

“She is not truly in charge of Holder, you are,” said Maud. “As for Equestria as a whole, Limestone has the better claim for… various reasons, and is more than capable of dethroning her strategically without causing too much damage.”

“O-okay,” Custard nodded.

‘Maud,’ Starlight’s voice flashed into her head over the PCB. ‘Solar is close to repairing the pulse barding and we can’t wait longer. We have to leave now so we can get there by tonight and hope she can fix it on the way.’

‘Affirmative,’ Maud replied, then looked to Custard. “I have to go now. I will be back soon.”

“Please don’t die,” Custard’s trembling voice devolved to sobbing. “What will I do if you die too?”

“I will not fail you again, little one,” Maud hugged the filly, then turned to leave her by the grave.

Date: Tuesday 11/10/2287

“Here we go,” Solar said nervously as Starlight pieced the last part of the armor onto Maud. “I hope this works this time… for my sake.”

Nopony wanted to face Maud if this did not work. That stung hard when it came from a pony that Maud wanted to like her.

Maud didn’t bother answering, simply galloping as soon as she could activate the stealth. She traveled light for speed, not even bringing Mite. Taking a few seconds too long could mean the loss of her sister and friend.

When she went through the shield, she left one hoof from the suit against the opening that the bypass made to keep it open. It’d let her still use the PCB, and she could always expand the field to hide her bare hoof.

After confirming through the PCB that Limestone was uninjured but going into the arena now, Maud’s heart thumped in her chest so loud it almost drowned out the world around her.

‘We must hurry!’ Pinkie’s gem said. ‘Our sister raised many death flags in our contact last night! We have no time to waste!’

‘Do you think she doesn’t know that?’ Boulder asked. ‘Don’t worry, Maud. You’ll rock this.’

Maud ran past the guards, resisting the urge to snap their necks. They looked around in confusion when Maud kicked the front doors open into the lobby, but only looked. Smarter guards would have sounded the alarm anyway, but these did not.

As she ran through, there was cheering from the back of the hotel, no doubt their perverse games were underway. She wanted to gallop to make sure Limestone was okay, but resisted the urge and kept going.

She opened the door to the stairs down more quietly. They had set up their machinery in the basement. It looked to be where both their power generators and shield control panel were. It was a foalish but fortunate place they had chosen.

Maud ran past them to the locked gate at the back. She skidded to a stop and could already hear the low groan of agitated ferals pressed up against the other side.

‘Opening the gate now,’ Maud sent to Limestone as she deactivated the door lock from inside. It didn’t budge at first, so she turned around and slammed her hind hooves into it as hard as she could.

When it flew open, Maud moved to the side and the ghouls didn’t even notice her. They focused their eyes on the panic-stricken ponies on the outside the door.

The guards that had guns didn’t have time to draw them. A wave of undeath slammed into them like a freight train, their screams lasting only a moment.

As they rushed up the stairs and into the lobby with uncommon aggression, Maud wondered if Gilda had hyped them up on chems, assuming there were chems that worked on them. The rush was followed by more screams of well-deserved agony up there.

‘Uh-oh,’ said Boulder. ‘If all these guards’ friends get killed, who’s gonna barium?’

“This is not the time for rock puns, Boulder!” Maud said.

‘It is always the time for punning rocks!’ Pinkie’s gem claimed. ‘Yes.’

“Nothing like watching a bunch of smoothflanks get what’s coming to them, yeah?” Gilda’s voice chuckled from behind her as she followed the ferals out. “I assume you’re here, Sandmare? You took down that door like it’d murdered your entire extended family.”

“Where’s your other dociles?” Maud told Gilda as she turned to run up the stairs. “Whatever. Get the shield down.”

“They’ll join the ‘rescue’ force once I do just that,” Gilda answered, though her voice didn’t ring with confidence. “We gotta make a good first impression after all.”

The guards were sparse throughout the building, and couldn’t have been less prepared as they faced the hoard. They relied on the shield and never expected to have to fight a real battle inside it. Most residents fled towards the upper levels.

Maud streaked into the back to find a wave of ponies trying to escape the arena, then trying to re-escape to it once they realized a hoard of ferals was between them and all passages upstairs. Limestone had them all on the run by herself, as she should have expected. Once she had Limestone in tow, they raced back towards the basement.

Maud led her out of the center and towards the basement stairs. A few unwise ones tried to pile into the elevator. Ferals rushed in after them, turning the elevator into a death trap like everything else. The elevator doors shut and took the ferals to whatever floor the ponies had been going to for safety.

‘Looks like these ponies shouldn’t have taken things for granite,’ commented Boulder. Maud ignored his puns for now.

Gilda was still at the control panel, looking more than a little confused as she flicked several switches back and forth. Not that Maud could fault her; she knew even less about this than Gilda.

“Well look who it is,” Gilda smirked as Limestone stepped out of the stealth field and towards the panel. “They didn’t tell me you were a glower, General, lucky bitch. I wouldn’t mind a piece of your plot later if your smoothflank sister is okay with being left out.”

“I will end you, Gilda,” Maud’s growled. She wasn’t joking even a little; Limestone was hers tonight.

“You’re impatient,” Limestone said. “Give each stage enough time to charge down before flipping the next one off or it reverses the polarity.”

Limestone flicked off the first switch. A gauge above it tapered downward as power drained.

“Oh,” Gilda sounded sheepish, but smirked. “Well, not the first time I’ve been called an impatient bitch. You sure you don't want to get busy later?”

“Gilda,” Maud warned again.

“Calm down, sis,” chuckled Limestone as she flicked off the second switch. “She’s only bucking with us figuratively.”

“I’m just glad this is over,” Limestone sighed. She reached for the third switch and…

Maud watched in horror as a burst of green plasma slammed Limestone’s plot like Pinkie on a Friday night, before several more frantic shots tore into the control panel. Maud would have torn off her head to save her, but there was no time, as the melting effect would be on Limestone’s shoulders in seconds, and Maud knew from Spitfire and Zane that taking off a glowing one’s head wasn’t easy, especially without Mite...which she had neglected to bring. Limestone gave her an apologetic look as she slumped to the floor.

Maud wanted to scream and despair, but locked the feelings away as she forced herself to stay in combat mode. Thinking quickly, she grabbed hold of Limestone’s soul gem and yanked it free of her neck before it too was gone, and saw her sister’s eyes close with a look of contentment. She tried not to look at Limestone’s head boiling into the pile of green sludge as she slipped the soul crystal into her gem bag.

First Maud shoved Gilda out of the way an instant before the assailant fired at her. She then turned to look to see who had sealed their own violent demise. It was a clean pony wearing a fancy red suit and bow tie. From the depictions she’d seen in Holder, this was Jacob Timothy Atticus, the one that planned to murder her sister. And now he had succeeded, temporarily at least.

“Die, you nasty freaks!” Timothy yelled as he pointed the plasma rifle back towards Gilda.

But he was not fast enough. Before he could pull the trigger again, Maud yanked the rifle away from him and threw it across the basement. His look of confusion only grew when Maud appeared in front of him.

“Y-you! You let them in!” Jacob screamed as if his accusation would cause her an ounce of guilt. “You’ve murdered hundreds of innocents with your monsters!”

“No,” Maud growled. “You had never met a real monster before this moment.”

Maud had never seen a purer ‘I am so bucked’ expression on a pony’s face. She savored the terror in his eyes as she grabbed a hold of the leg that had held the rifle. Without effort, she snapped it at the knee and twisted it.

Her combat training in pony anatomy paid off. As Jacob screamed in abject horror, she broke every bone she could without killing him. Every leg, every joint, every rib gave with ease. She rolled him onto his back, kneeing his groin and crushing his favorite parts as she snapped even his pelvis clean into two.

“Breaker’s hard-boiled nuts, dude…” Gilda swore, gasping but letting Maud have her vengeance without attempting to stop her.

Maud was barely aware of Gilda, but she had retrieved Limestone’s pipbuck before it melted with the rest of her. The griffon retrieved the plasma rifle Maud had thrown, blasting a feral that had wandered down the stairs and seen Maud. She then stood there on guard, letting Maud do her thing.

Leaving Timothy still groaning in torment, Maud let him drop to the floor and left him. She looked over at Gilda.

“I’m really sorry, Maud,” Gilda sounded sincere if frightened. “She didn’t deserve that… y-you still know who I am, right? I’m on your side.”

“Give me that,” Maud said, holding out her hoof to Gilda.

Gilda nodded and handed the plasma rifle to Maud. Maud looked again at the terrified and broken pony on the floor.

“Now I will show every breather in this tower what a real monster is,” Maud said to Jacob. “And if I find anypony that even looks related to you, I will buck them with the rifle that killed my sister and give them a karmic plasma enema. So congratulations, you will go down in history as the leader responsible for letting this happen.”

“No…” Jacob said as blood bubbled from his muzzle. “Kill me first at least… put me out of my misery…”

Maud glared at him once more and turned to go, leaving him. If she had done her work well, it would take at least several hours for him to die.

“Make sure no one shortens his suffering,” Maud told Gilda as she left up the stairs. “And nothing to dull the pain.”

“You got it,” Gilda answered in a hollow voice. She would not dare disobey Maud in her current state.

Maud reactivated her stealth field as she headed back into the lobby. She shut the basement door so no ferals would return, pulling a couch from the lobby to help block it off. She then turned towards the front.

Looking out the front, she saw the shield flicker. The shutdown had not completed and the panel had been blasted, but it wouldn’t stay up for more than a few minutes. She headed first to the gate.

From there, it was all a blur of seething rage. She let nothing living survive and left the front guard point a tomb of blood and green goo.

‘Maud,’ Starlight’s voice came in clear through the PCB. She had seen Maud clear out the front gate. ‘Good work. It’s taking a while for the shield to fail, but if you open the entrance, we won’t have to wait.’

‘Shut the buck up, you may very well be next,’ Maud replied.

‘What just happened?’ asked Mercury over the PCB.

‘Do not fear, Mercury,’ Maud told her. ‘You and your friends are not a target.’

‘I think Limestone is dead,’ Starlight answered Mercury. It was not hard to figure out. ‘Maud, I’m sorry, but you know I wanted her rescued as much as…’

Maud ripped off her pipbuck and tossed it on the ground, cutting off their voices from within her head. Voices from her gem pouch spoke too, but she did not register what they said. She was now lost in unyielding rage.

First she smashed the door to the stairs up open. She then deactivated her stealth and ran a lap through the lower floor. Once the crowd of ferals were after her, she led them into the stairwell and disappeared once again.

She went through the second floor. Ponies she could get close to she broke. Ponies she couldn’t she blasted into green flakes. Sometimes she just kicked open the locked doors of residences and allowed ferals to stream in, listening to the screams of the inhabitants as she continued to the next room.

She didn’t care who they were. Stallions, mares, foals, it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Every semblance of balance was lost, and now everypony in this den of fiends would pay for her sister’s death.

Maud found a door marked ‘school’, and heard whimpering foals inside, but their fear meant nothing in her current state. She prepared to kick it down as well.

“Maud stop!” a voice screamed behind her. “Limestone wouldn’t want this.”

Maud turned, ready to smash whoever dared get between her and her prey, only to stop short when she saw Dinky. Dinky couldn’t see her, but she must have seen the last door kicked open and knew she was there. Maud’s vision blurred as she tried to make out everything the little foal said.

“Limestone told me to take care of you, Maud!” Dinky screamed. “She made me promise that if she died that I would protect you! That I’d be there to center you! Don’t make me a liar, please Maud!”

Maud shook her head, tears streaming down her face as all thought devolved into noise and she collapsed on the floor, the stealth field vanishing. Her vision faded as she heard Dinky bang on the school door and call to be let in. The door opened, and to their credit they let the docile inside. Dinky dragged Maud inside too, shutting the door again to bar the ferals encroaching from the hallway. She then felt Dinky hugging her head as she lost consciousness.

When Maud woke again, she was lying on a soft mattress. She stirred and found all four legs bound to her hospital bed. With steel chains no less; they weren’t taking any chances. It surprised her that Starlight kept her alive at all as much of a threat as she was.

From what she could tell, she was in a room at Tenwhinney Tower. It was just a normal room, not a medical facility, but that was probably full of ponies with ghoulish injuries.

Maud looked around, seeing Mercury sitting there beside her. Mercury jerked when Maud stirred, looking at her with a mix of fear and sincere concern.

“Did I kill somepony you cared about?” Maud asked. Her memory was foggy on the matter.

“No,” said Mercury. “You… did kill some pretty young ponies, though.”

“I do not care,” Maud lied.

“I do,” Mercury showed bravery to even reply. She had grown up out here.

“Somepony has to, I suppose,” Maud sighed.

“Maud,” Dinky said from the other side of the bed. “Stop pretending to be a sociopath. You're not fooling anypony.”

Maud turned as Dinky’s chilly hoof lay atop her own. Dinky's expression seemed neutral, but it felt like she had to put effort into keeping it that way. Maud’s burned with shame.

“Am I that bad at it?” Maud asked.

“You’re pretty lousy at it, yeah,” Dinky nodded.

“Mercury,” Maud turned back to her. “Unbind me.”

“I-I should get authorization first,” Mercury stammered.

“Do you fear me?” Maud asked.

“You know it isn’t just this that terrifies me about you,” Mercury said, but was nice enough not to go into detail in front of Dinky.

“Those that loved me are gone,” Maud said. “Now I am left with those that fear me. And Crimson. This is my just reward.”

“No,” Dinky said, patting her hoof again. “I’m here, I won’t forget my promise to your sister.”

Maud only vaguely remembered the part of her episode where Dinky told her about the promise, but it wasn't hard to figure out what it was even without. Mercury slipped out as Maud lay quiet, having words with a few ponies in the hall.

Starlight entered next, hind legs propped on a small cart in a makeshift walker while they continued to heal. She was followed behind by Mercury and Solar. The other two stayed behind with wilted ears as Starlight approached. It was like she expected Maud to tear out of the bed at any second and end her. Maud wasn’t certain if she wanted to or not.

“Maud,” Starlight said, gauging every word. “Please believe you have my sincere condolences. I swear we will find you a soul recycler and bring them back.”

Maud stared at her.

“Maud?” Starlight asked.

“I am still deciding,” Maud answered.

“On what?” asked Starlight.

“If I will kill you,” Maud answered.

“What do you think Limestone would do?” Starlight asked. It was an unfair question, yet she had a point.

‘She shouldn’t be in charge,’ Limestone’s gem said. ‘But taking her out now won’t help. There are more strategic ways of doing this.’

Maud turned to the table next to her. Atop it sat her rock pouch, with Boulder and two shining soul gems laying atop it, with a third smaller pouch that contained the fragments of Marble’s gem. Someone had polished Limestone's as much as Maud had Pinkie's, but that made them look exactly the same. They thought to color code them though, sticky pink and green ribbons setting them apart.

“Maud?” asked Starlight.

“Enough with your pretend empathy,” Maud said. “I will not kill you, but never think I do not despise you. I will help you if it helps bring back the Equestria my sisters loved.”

“Fair enough,” Starlight nodded. She might have wanted to get rid of Maud at this point, but she wouldn’t dare do so with the influence Maud could have over her in Holder.

“She back on her hooves?” Gilda asked as she entered next. “Or at least sane?”

“How long did he last?” Maud turned to Gilda.

“Until just a few minutes ago, so about eight hours,” said Gilda. “Mercury kept him alive as long as she could, but it was inevitable. I didn't let her use pain-killing agents or show him mercy.”

“Thank you, compatriot,” Maud said.

She could not have been more sincere. Maud nodded to Mercury as well, but Mercury didn't want to make eye contact. The fact that Mercury had even thought to show him mercy meant she'd grown. Maud felt ashamed since she was the one who taught Mercury to show that kind of mercy to begin with.

“Regardless,” said Gilda. “Tenwhinney is under our protection. Starlight helped spin it to put the blame on Jacob, saying he unlocked the subway entrance with the intent of sending a mission to get more ferals, and forgot to lock it again, and a wandering group of them got in that way. Only a few that would know different to contradict us survived, but they were all conveniently murdered by a ghoul we somehow missed in our first sweep.”

Maud was sure that the convenient ghoul was Gilda, but had no problem with that.

“All the worst residents were at the arena to watch the match,” said Starlight. “The stands weren’t full because many residents were boycotting the match, apparently there’s been a political movement against their treatment of ghouls for some time, we just didn’t know because sprite-bots can’t get in here to report it to the news I guess. Perhaps they were less sheltered than we thought.”

“So mostly deserving residents died,” said Gilda. “The few left will be afraid to counter-protest my dociles moving in. I told you it was a good plan.”

“What about the foals that were brought by their parents?” asked Mercury. “Did they deserve to die?”

“I'll call it natural selection,” shrugged Gilda, showing remarkable heartlessness towards living ponies, as if they were less than ferals to her. “Besides, a lot of those were able to fit in small areas and hide, so we saved a good many of them.”

“Yeah, I suggested a few hiding places on my way to Maud.” Dinky growled. “News of it made me surprisingly popular with some residents, uncomfortably so to be honest. You could at least pretend to be disappointed at the ones that died though.”

‘It wasn't like Gilda knew it'd work out so well,’ commented Limestone’s gem.

‘The catbutt gives herself too much credit,’ agreed Pinkie. ‘Yes.’

“No one saw me and lived?” asked Maud.

“I don’t think anyone saw you attacking due to the stealth,” said Dinky. “And the room I dragged you into just thought I was taking a member of the rescue team to safety after you passed out, and seeing a docile ghoul save a pony, even one they didn’t know, probably wasn’t a bad thing.”

“Honestly with your reputation here,” said Starlight. “I’m tempted to appoint you leader. I hope the good impression you made on the foals and others she saved during the incident transfers to Gilda.”

“Lucky you,” Gilda chuckled at Dinky. “No doubt I’m going to hate this kind of responsibility, but I’ll be fair to the breathers too, I’ll even catch a few sprite-bots to put in here to show it. If for no other reason, I want some good reporting on dociles in the news.”

“And um,” Solar spoke up, though still more reserved than her usual self. “They have a lot of spare components for their shield. Combined with what we’ve found in the armory at Holder, I think I can whip up a shield for Holder too. I think we can also set up amplifiers so we can communicate between the settlements better. It'll be a lot of work, but worth it!”

“I can help with that,” said Dinky. “I had a thing for shields and studied them whenever I was too depressed to study other things, and I’ll hammer on Kami a bit if she still needs help.” She sighed. “Maybe once that’s done, I can continue my studies of ferals using the better equipment I have access to here. I… may have taken a liking to one of the captive ferals and it has made me think about that again.”

“Don’t know when you’ll be done sadly,” chuckled Solar awkwardly. “I could actually use your help with Kami’s wings trying to…”

“... kill everyone?” Dinky finished, apparently having theorized that exact issue. “I thought they might, but I think I can fix that. And I’ll need your knowledge on power systems for the shield as well.”

“Thank you, Solar, Dinky,” Maud said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t finish the pulse barding sooner,” Solar peeped and wilted more.

“Not your fault,” Maud said. “You are a loyal ally and friend.”

“Thanks,” nodded Solar, but flinched again anyway.

“What about the remaining ferals?” Maud asked. “You said you did a sweep. Does that imply you put them down?”

“We did, yeah,” said Gilda. “And the others guarding Railway will be too, humanely. Dinky explained the… nature of their condition. I guess I’m not a complete asshole; who knew?”

“You are more decent than I remember,” Maud said. “But that is not a very high standard.”

“Yeah, well fuck you too,” grunted Gilda, displaying the superiority of claws by extending the middle talon at Maud.

Maud turned to Starlight. “And now?”

“We’ll hold a memorial for your sisters,” said Starlight. “We’ll bury them next to your parents in places of honor.”

“I’ll stay here then,” said Gilda. “We have technicians that can repair our shield to its previous condition, but I expect access to any upgrades the pint-size genius comes up with.”

“Of course,” Starlight told her. “Don’t forget my instructions, either.”

“Right,” Gilda said. “If any of the slaver gangs show up hoping to trade, they’ll get more business than they can handle.”

“After the Pie memorial,” said Starlight. “We’ll meet to devise further plans.”

“I already know our first mission,” said Maud. “I agreed not to kill you so you owe me this.”

“What’s this?” Starlight quirked one ear.

“The Ministry of Magitech,” said Maud. “They have soul recyclers. There was a room full of them in Zecora’s memory.”

“That will be a task, but you’re right,” Starlight said. Her quick agreement surprised Maud, especially since it didn’t sound like an agreement from fear. “I’m sure we haven’t exhausted every avenue open to us yet; we’ll find a way.”

Maud looked back to the soul gems beside her.

“I am on my way, sisters.”

40. The New Canterlot Republic

Date: Wednesday 11/9/2287
POV: Chrysalis
Holder

Ponies were such silly creatures. Even though she’d still murder any of them without a second thought if needed, they amused Chrysalis. Sometimes they even provided a challenge.

These two did not. A little coaxing and they were all over each other like Daybreaker on a flaming cheese cake. Chrysalis expected somepony that supposedly bested her in another timeline to prove craftier.

Chrysalis spent the whole last day of their trip smirking at them. Gloomy’s blush was so intense he was like a beacon of light in the sky. Even with her mask and leather armor on, Twilight couldn’t hide that she was about to pass out from embarrassment either.

“Don’t feel bad, you two,” Chrysalis got one last jab as they neared Holder. “Feeding a poor hungry changeling is nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, you would have slapped bellies sooner or later with or without my encouragement.”

“Shut up, Chrysalis,” Twilight growled.

“You should be thanking me,” smiled Chrysalis, then winked at Gloomy. “Given your prowess, I imagine you’re considered ‘good stock’ in Midnight’s breeding programs and get a lot of practice.”

“Shut up, Chrysalis,” Gloomy repeated. She must have been annoying for him to get offended that she called him a good lay.

“It’s really an elegant system, for ponies,” Chrysalis continued. “I like how they teleport the fetus out into an artificial womb so the high quality females can still fight and get pregnant again asap.”

“Shut. Up. Chrysalis,” Twilight and Gloomy repeated together.

Sadly, the mood couldn’t last forever. As they approached Holder, the trio landed to not alarm the guards too much with their sudden arrival. A griffon guard landed in front of the gate as they approached and stared at Chrysalis as if the others weren't there.

“Oh-ho-ho,” Chrysalis giggled, always happy to get a reaction to her ‘true form’. It’d been too long.

“Let me do the talking, ‘Chryssie’,” Twilight ordered.

Chrysalis gave a mocking bow and stepped back a few paces.

“Ginger,” Twilight nodded, recognizing the guard.

“Ginger?” asked Chrysalis. “What kind of name is that? He's blue and yellow. Shouldn't he be red?”

“It’s you again,” Ginger looked at Twilight. “Clover and… Gloomy was it?.” His disturbed eyes looked at Chrysalis again, a delightful expression. “You’ve made a new friend... with a disturbing fashion sense. I should check with the Empress before letting it inside.”

“Aw, did ‘it’ frighten you,” Chrysalis batted her eyes. “But it’s so cute!”

“The Empress?” Twilight tilted her head. “What about Kyo?”

“Kyo?” Ginger shook his head. “Oh goodness… you haven’t been here, right? Kyo Pie is deceased. She died in an accident during a mission to get help from Railway.”

“An accident?” gasped Twilight.

“Crushed in a collapsed subway tunnel,” Ginger nodded with a sigh. “The Empress got her hind legs shattered in the same collapse. It’s a real danger in any ruin.”

“That's terrible,” said Twilight. “Did the Tenwhinney rescue attempt go any better?”

“It was a partial success,” Ginger sighed. “They saved the little ghoul Dinky and gained control of the tower, but Limestone didn’t make it.”

“Oh my Celestia,” Twilight hung her head. “Maud must be devastated after already losing Marble and Pinkie. And poor little Custard.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Ginger shivered. “I would suggest watching your words around Maud. She’s not safe to be around in her condition.”

“I should have stayed,” Twilight sighed.

“It wouldn’t have done any good,” Gloomy said.

“It wouldn’t have, from what I heard,” Ginger said. “Few ponies could get through Tenwhinney’s forcefield and sneak into that tower, and none better than Maud.”

“Did you forget me?” Chrysalis gave a mock pout, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Okay, what’s with this thing?” Ginger asked. “Because that outfit… what the fuck, mare?”

“I’m Chrysalis,” said Chrysalis, proud to still elicit such a reaction. “Progenitor of the changeling race and once and future Hive Queen. This outfit is what’s left of Nightmare Moon. I figured a settlement that thinks they’re Equestria would appreciate that.” She added seductively. “But you can call me Chryssie when we’re alone, or anything else in bed.”

“What,” Ginger stared. “But the system should have alerted us if a changeling was this close…”

“That is weird,” Chrysalis smirked. As if their dinky little system could detect someone like her. She didn’t need fancy tricks or magitech to avoid detection.

“This isn’t the time for annoying everyone, Chrysalis,” Gloomy growled.

“Don’t care, still evil,” Chrysalis answered.

It surprised Chrysalis how fun it’d turned out to be being open and honest. She turned to see how Twilight was handling it, only to find Twilight concentrating on her pipbuck.

“The broke-horn is ignoring me?” Chrysalis was only a little offended.

“Huh?” asked Twilight, then shook her head. “Sorry, I was speaking to the others on our PCB. It looks like everypony else is okay. They’re getting ready to do a memorial service for the fallen Pies, and then Starlight plans a strategy meeting. If I can convince her to let you in, you’ll want to attend that.”

“A PCB?” Chrysalis arched an eyebrow. She knew what it was, and was quite annoyed at her inability to detect it. She wanted to appear to know less than she did though. Besides, they deserved to gloat a little too after the fun she put them through.

“Looks like even ponies amass bigger hives than you now,” Gloomy sneered.

Oh and gloat he did. How delightful!

While Chrysalis wasn’t privy to the conversation, she could feel the sheer nervousness coming from Twilight in explaining the situation to Starlight, which she found rather amusing. Even so, it took less time than she expected, which she put down to Starlight being smart enough to realize that if they didn’t let her in as herself, she could just walk in as someone else and have all sorts of fun when they least expected it.

When they entered the gate, there was already a group waiting for them

Chrysalis recognized most as the gang from Stable 27. Crimson Prose, Mercury Shine, Solar Flash, and Tranquil Melody. She heard all about them and had them described to her, though this was the first she'd seen most of them with her own eyes. Behind them stood Olivia, who she understood was intimate with the local hive both figuratively and literally.

Chrysalis’ eyes locked with Olivia’s for a moment. If Kyo was dead, she would be its artificial queen. The thought of a non-changeling leading a hive sickened Chrysalis, but Olivia didn’t seem to care for Chrysalis’ presence either. Chances were she was here because she knew Chrysalis might detect the little hive on her own even if Trinity couldn’t.

“So did they tell you yet you took the wrong corpse back?” Crimson sounded like she’d been looking forward to saying that. “Meet my wife Tranquil, Totally-Clover. The one you took the time to return was just a swatted bug.”

“That’s a little rude…” Tranquil muttered. Chrysalis had to agree, but even a slight disagreement from Tranquil seemed odd given what Chrysalis had heard about their relationship.

“Sorry,” Crimson muttered at Tranquil, which was even more odd from what Chrysalis knew of Crimson.

“What?” Twilight head-tilted. “Oh wait. That was the… oh…”

“Oh damn,” Gloomy said. “We got to contact Stable 27 and tell them.”

“I think you’d best not,” suggested Chrysalis, removing her attention from Olivia. “You’d only hurt their feelings more to know she was roaming the wastes with a psycho-spouse.” Also it might delay or complicate other things, which is what she really cared about.

“I see you’ve heard of me,” smirked Crimson, and she'd apparently heard about Chrysalis over the PCB as well. “Glad you're here! Being the only antagonist in the team is more responsibility than I want.”

“Couldn’t you tell the body we had with us was a changeling?” Twilight looked to Chrysalis. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I don’t take it lightly to out any changeling, living or dead,” Chrysalis replied evasively.

She could tell if someone was a changeling alive or dead, usually at least. But she had to actually bother to check, which she hadn’t in that case. May as well check Tranquil instead.

She nudged her sense towards this Tranquil, trying to ease into her mind. It would only take an instant of telepathic connection to verify. Tranquil flinched as if in agony at the touch though, so Chrysalis pulled her energy back. Not a typical response for a changeling or a pony.

It seemed more logical that she wasn’t though. Chrysalis could feel the changelings at the brothel well enough to know how many were having sex, now that she knew to look for them. So it was highly unlikely she’d not be able to tell up close.

“So uh, hey, you’re a changeling queen huh?” Solar asked. “You look different from a regular one. My name is-”

“Yes, I know who you are,” Chrysalis chuckled at Solar. “And also yes… I would.”

“Would what?” Solar asked, tilting her head.

“Like to buck you,” Chrysalis said. “That’s where this was going right? The unbridled lust steaming off you could recharge the Sun.”

“Oh!” Solar chuckled. “I was only saying hello! But yeah, it would have gone there eventually. Sort of always does with me. So uh… great! I’ll add ‘changeling queen’ to my list so I can cross it off later!”

Mercury seemed visibly uncomfortable next to Solar as the latter winked. Chrysalis wondered if with a bit of nudging, she could do a two-for-one on them later. A bit of awkwardness helped spice a good meal.

“I think you’re my new favorite bug-horse,” Crimson smirked. “Even if you look like rotten cheese. We’ll get along well… but we’re not bucking. I don’t want to get eviscerated by one of your jagged edges while scissoring.”

“Okay, I’ll just leave you all to be weird without me,” squeaked Mercury as she started to back away, despite a wing coming around her rear from Solar.

“Oh I can do a lot worse than ‘weird’,” Chrysalis smirked. “And from what I’ve heard, I wouldn’t be the first changeling you’ve gotten weird with.”

“Tsk,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “I only almost got weird with one. And it’s a good thing I didn’t, or I’d have to fulfill my vow to kill every male I’ve bucked.”

“Amusing,”Chrysalis chuckled. “Though technically… gender doesn’t work that way for us. We’re all fertile as both genders, and initially herm in our base form, only drifting one way or the other as we age.”

“Well that’s just awkward,” Crimson was caught off guard for once. “How do I know which half to hate the most?”

“I’d appreciate it if any weirdness was kept to the bedroom,” Twilight sighed. “I’m going to the ceremony now. All are welcome to join; they need all our support.”

“I will leave you ponies to it,” Chrysalis said. “My presence would only damage the sacred atmosphere.”

“Yes, it would,” Gloomy growled.

“I appreciate the thought, Chrysalis,” Twilight said. At least she noted the act of pretend kindness. It was almost annoying how easily such things worked on her. “But you are still welcome to at least watch.”

“I would rather ram a broken bottle up my ovipositor,” Chrysalis hmmphed. “Maybe I’ll look around town and see what reactions I get, though I suspect someone here may wish to speak to me before I go anywhere.” She looked to Olivia.

“You suspect correctly,” Olivia said. Her words were polite, but the tension was obvious.

Most of the others left for their solemn little event, even Crimson, which seemed odd for what Chrysalis knew, but she was impossible to read. All her internal emotions were buried under a sea of guilt; Chrysalis had rarely encountered a being that despised themselves as much as Crimson did. She gave Chrysalis a run for her money in that respect.

Olivia waited for the others to be gone, then stepped aside behind one of the buildings, apparently not wanting to take Chrysalis any further into the city for now. She had her paws folded politely, but they were holding her grimoire, ready to fight. Despite this, the diamond dog’s emotions showed no aggressive intent, so Chrysalis showed no aggression in return.

Once around the corner, Olivia cast a spell to form a barely-visible dome around them. Chrysalis recognized it as a sphere of silence.

“So you are that Chrysalis,” Olivia said, once they had relative privacy.

“Yes I am,” Chrysalis chuckled. “Step into my office.”

“I will cut to the chase,” said Olivia. “Are you aware?”

“Yes, I know they’re here,” Chrysalis said. “You may have hidden them from the fake queen, but you can’t hide them from the original.”

“And your intentions?” Olivia asked.

The implication that she might force them into a hive annoyed Chrysalis. She’d never forced such a thing, even allowing hive members to leave freely so long as they didn’t oppose her interests in the process. But it was also an expected assumption, and logical from Olivia’s point of view, so she pressed it a bit to make sure of something.

“And what if my intentions are evil?” Chrysalis asked. “Do you intend to keep my children from me?”

“These are my children more than they are yours,” said Olivia, eyes and voice darkening. “They are already reeling from the loss of our beloved Kyo. If you harm, coerce, or frighten a single one, if I even suspect…”

“Thank you,” Chrysalis smiled. Her words were sincere.

“Pardon me, miss?” Olivia perked her ears.

“You faced the destroyer of the world,” said Chrysalis. “And told her you would kick her ass if she harmed those under your protection. It is a relief that my children have such a fervent protector.”

Olivia calmed. She surely expected something different, and the bait-and-switch maneuver had the effect on her that Chrysalis had hoped. The dog softened her grip on her grimoire, her power still crackling beneath the surface, but untargeted. It was an unusual amount of magical energy for a dog even after their changes.

“Then we have an understanding,” nodded Olivia. “Good.”

“And what if they wanted to go with me?” Chrysalis asked. “Hypothetically.”

“They wouldn’t,” said Olivia. “But if you somehow convinced them without deception, I would of course allow it.”

“Then I agree,” Chrysalis said. “We have an understanding. Do they understand?”

“They are aware that you are here,” Olivia said. “The hive has been ablaze with their hatred for you since they heard of your arrival, though your agreement has softened it. Still, please do not approach the spa.”

“Aw, you mean I can’t get a job there?” chuckled Chrysalis. “But yes, fine. It would only bring unwanted attention to them for me to go there.”

Olivia nodded, and the conversation seemed to have ended. Chrysalis turned to leave, just in time to see an angry looking zebra trudging into the alley with piercing eyes locked on them.

“I imagine that is my next appointment,” Chrysalis chuckled. “I should set up an advice stand and charge by the minute.”

“What is this?” Olivia saw the zebra and put one paw to her forehead. “And here we go. I should have known Xander would come running as soon as he heard you arrived. He may think we are conspiring.”

“Should we start kicking each other?” Chrysalis laughed. “Or we could start making out to fill his expectations,” she continued, tongue extending and giving Olivia’s lips and just a bit of the inside of her mouth a teasing, but the dog shied away with a slight gagging sound.

“What is this?” Xander screamed as he entered the bubble of silence, spittle splattering onto Chrysalis. He was so enraged that he didn’t appear to notice the translucent bubble. “I came as soon as I heard this creature was here, but I didn’t expect it to be conspiring with one of our own!”

“Mister Xander,” Olivia sighed as she turned to him. “This ‘creature’ is powerless. We all know that the changeling hive belongs to Trinity now, but their former queen may be able to help us identify them, yes? She’s far less dangerous in the open than if we don’t know who she is.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Xander snarled. “They are on the same side.”

“Oh this again,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Why does everyone think I’m Trinity’s personal rug muncher? As if the Queen would allow another to subjugate her children.”

“This is a ploy to divert suspicion,” said Xander. “But I am onto you, and will not stop until I reveal and destroy every changeling in this city!”

“Is that so,” Chrysalis said. She felt her ire rising. “So you are threatening my children?”

“If it were up to me,” Xander said. “Your children would all be dead, and I don’t care who hears me!”

“So you are a threat to the safety of my children? Confirmed,” Chrysalis nodded. “Thank you for making me aware while we’re alone, Xander. It will make it easier to dispose of the body.”

“What?” Xander blinked at the sudden change of tone.

Then his eyes went wide as Chrysalis darkened the bubble of silence, hiding them from the eyes of anyone else that entered the alley. Chrysalis tugged him forward with her magic, wrapping her bony legs around his neck and… not moving. Her body froze. Her bubble of silence shattered as her faculties numbed.

At first she thought it was Xander, which would have been strange since zebra anti-magic techniques didn’t work on changeling magic. But no; Olivia reached out a glowing hand, eyes aflame with energy as she held them within a telekinetic field. That was an impressive power for a diamond dog, even after the changes of recent centuries. Chrysalis could spend energy to attempt a counter, but she honestly wanted to see where this went.

“No!” Olivia said. “Every citizen and visitor to this city is under my protection, Chrysalis, even yourself unless you refuse to follow the law.”

Olivia pulled Xander away and dropped the stunned zebra to the ground. Chrysalis felt herself released as well and shook her head to clear it.

“Did you not hear him?” Chrysalis asked.

“Let me finish,” growled Olivia, then turned to Xander. “If I was ‘conspiring’ with this creature, I wouldn’t talk to her in public and certainly wouldn’t have let you back in, despite you having been banished previously, if I had anything to hide. She is here to assist in Starlight’s plans against Trinity and Midnight. If you have any desire at all for that to succeed, you will cease getting in its way. This is your one and only warning.”

Xander looked back and forth, but spoke no longer. He seemed to consider what was said at least, but turned and walked out of the alleyway.

“You’re just going to let him go?” asked Chrysalis once he was back outside of the bubble. “Is that what your hive would want?”

“Yes,” Olivia nodded. “Because our intelligence indicates that recent events have him doubting his resolve. If he can be convinced he is wrong and uses his influence in our favor, it would do better in the long run.”

“I could just eat him, you know,” Chrysalis grunted, only half-joking. “It’d save you a lot of trouble in that long run.”

“As I said, that was his one and only warning,” Olivia reiterated. “If he disregards it, we may very well ask that you do just that.”

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Stable 11

It was a moving ceremony, so Twilight almost forgot about her awkwardness around Gloomy. It was hard to forget completely though with him sitting next to her looking even more awkward. It'd taken him this long to stop stammering every time he spoke to her.

Twilight had gotten caught up on events when she could. Starlight's successes impressed her, but perhaps not in a good way. The unicorn had solidified her control over Holder and conquered Railway and Tenwhinney while Twilight was away on an errand. Hearing about Cola’s swift execution didn’t help, and given the speed and lack of trial, she was sure Starlight’s spiteful influence was to blame.

It made her curious what Starlight's meeting would entail. They were holding it inside Stable 11 with only the participants knowing. Curiosity getting the best of her, Twilight visited the room before the meeting started, Gloomy trailing along with her.

They found that it was a simple room with a long table with seating cushions surrounding it. It couldn’t be much more without drawing attention, and they didn’t want to tip off anyone in the city that might be secretly faithful to Midnight.

Names at each seat designated where attendees would sit. Starlight must have not expected Twilight and Gloomy to return, or hoped they wouldn't, since their names were written instead of printed using the Stable’s computers. Chrysalis' name was the same, seated between Twilight and Gloomy as if she were their responsibility. Twilight couldn't blame Starlight for that.

On the other side of Gloomy was scribbled ‘Watcher’, who Starlight agreed to invite, but whether she showed would depend on how well she felt. Twilight hoped she could, since it was only in the interest of befriending Statera that Starlight allowed Chrysalis when they requested it.

It was surprising that Custard wasn’t among the other attendees, but the filly also probably didn’t mind not coming. Dinky as well, but Starlight might have worried about her influence on Maud.

Twilight was early, so she figured she may as well have a seat, but before she seated herself, there was a tap near the door. Twilight turned to see Mercury, by herself.

“T-twilight?” Mercury looked timid. “Can we talk alone?”

“Certainly,” Twilight nodded to Mercury then looked at Gloomy. “I'll be right back.”

“Sure,” Gloomy nodded and sat at his own place. “Just don’t go far, okay?”

Twilight stepped aside with Mercury into the next room, which seemed to be a storage area. Most of it must have been junk that wasn't used often since it was all boxed up, so it made a good place to have secret conversations.

“Swear you will tell no one,” Mercury sounded afraid of whatever it was she had to say. “My friends' lives will be in danger if you do.”

“I swear,” nodded Twilight, concern growing. She hoped nothing even worse had happened while she was away.

“Um,” Mercury whispered. “Did they tell you what happened to Kyo?”

“Yes,” sighed Twilight. “It sounded like a horrible accident.”

“It wasn't an accident,” Mercury said. “Starlight intentionally triggered the cave-in. I think Starlight convinced Maud that Kyo had designs on stopping their rescue of Limestone somehow… she mentioned wanting to take Custard under her guidance too.”

“I see,” Twilight's eyes widened. “Thank you for telling me. Was there anything else I should know about it?”

“Probably,” shrugged Mercury. “I’m not sure. I was just hoping you could have your Watcher friend find information. If it does that.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Twilight patted her shoulder. “May I tell Gloomy?”

“S-sure,” nodded Mercury. “Just, please protect my friends.”

“I will,” Twilight nodded. “Did she threaten your friends?”

“Yes,” Mercury nodded. “Tranquil, Solar, and Crimson.”

Twilight doubted Starlight would harm Solar given her usefulness, but she wouldn't be surprised if she killed Crimson and Tranquil if they so much as spilled her tea. And even if Starlight wouldn't, threatening like this was something no leader should do.

“Let's get into the meeting room lest someone else arrives and suspects.” Twilight sighed. “Why don't you take a walk and return. We should put some distance between our arrivals so it won't seem like we talked.”

“Right,” Mercury nodded, shivering as she walked away.

Twilight wished she was surprised by this, but it only confirmed what she suspected. Starlight wanted conquest; making friends with settlements and gaining their trust was only a means to that end.

Maud was vulnerable to Starlight right now. No doubt she'd do anything so long as Starlight convinced her it was to revive her sisters. She could string Maud along with promises of finding a soul recycler for their gems.

Dinky had told Twilight about Maud's episode at Tenwhinney, and that she considered it her duty to keep Maud level. Perhaps Twilight could share her concerns that Starlight might take advantage of Maud's emotions with Dinky, without mentioning who gave her the concerns.

Either way, this was a mess. The team was in splinters. Many members had their own agendas and seemed more likely to coerce one another than work together. Twilight once believed her friends in her timeline were high maintenance, but she had no idea back then. She’d give anything to diffuse a tea party squabble between Applejack and Rarity right now.

Twilight sighed as she sank into her seat at the table. As Gloomy sat next to her and fidgeted, Twilight realized she should talk to him about 'that' as well.

“So, um,” Twilight took a deep breath. “Since we're alone, did you want to... um...”

“W-won't the others walk in on us here?” Gloomy asked, blushing. “But… I’m up for a quickie if you are.”

“Not that!” Twilight face-hoofed. “I meant to talk about what happened between us.” This was the first time they'd spoken about this in private, including when they did it.

“Oh, sorry,” Gloomy's blush doubled, though she didn't mind his thoughts going there. “I'm sorry... we don't have to again if you don't want to.”

“I do want to,” Twilight admitted as her blush matched his. “I should have said it before Chrysalis pulled her little prank. I don't want you to think I wasn't interested without that push.”

“Yeah, well,” chuckled Gloomy. “Even if her teasing will annoy me, I'm glad she did.”

“Glad I'm on foal control at least,” Twilight chuckled. “I told myself when I asked Mercury for it that it was in case of raiders, but I think I hoped that you'd make a move too.” She put a hoof on her face. “I can't believe myself. I shouldn't get attached to somepony like this when I'm... I mean...”

Twilight paused. She almost mentioned her intention to undo this timeline but wondered if he'd be okay with that. She wondered if she was okay with it now. She wasn’t even sure what the result of doing that would be.

“Ah, you're on foal control,” Gloomy said. Was that disappointment in his voice? “It's flattering to have a mare like you interested in me. Though something else bothered me and... it made me wonder about what you said... what you think about Nightmare Moon.”

“Oh?” Twilight flattened her ears. She'd not made her feelings a secret but still didn't want to argue about it, especially now that she was on banging terms with him.

“It's not that,” Gloomy shook his head, sensing her trepidation. “All that we found out from Chrysalis, all that Watcher told us about Nightmare being possessed. It made me wonder if I've been worshiping the Princess of the Moon or the Nightmare Force that subjugated her.”

“Ah,” nodded Twilight, careful with her words. “But if her beliefs on eternal night resulted from her possession, then it eliminates any issue I had with her goals, right? It means we can easily be friends.”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Gloomy almost smiled. “I just feel stupid for not realizing it.”

“You’re anything but stupid, and she’s pretty ashamed of it herself,” said Twilight. “I remember how much trouble my Luna had coping with it. She never told us the details, so it's not surprising that Watcher hadn't.”

“I guess we'll see,” nodded Gloomy.

Gloomy's hoof moved as if he was thinking about reaching for Twilight but unsure if he should. She smiled and placed her own hoof on his instead. Maybe later they could find a place to be together where Chrysalis wouldn't sneak in to watch them.

“An interesting discussion,” Watcher’s voice buzzed from the door. Apparently the guards had been told to allow a sprite-bot in. She buzzed around the room to her place.

“Ah,” Twilight blushed. “Not sure how much of that you heard but…”

“It is not the time to discuss it,” Watcher said, probably unwilling to do so in a place where their conversation might be overheard. “For any of us.”

“Sorry,” sighed Twilight.

“Sorry,” Gloomy repeated, flattening his ears and looking like a scolded puppy.

As they waited, Watcher was relatively still, sitting on the table rather than hovering. Twilight started to wonder if she had gone catatonic; it wouldn’t be surprising in her likely condition. Meanwhile, Gloomy and Twilight sat quietly, each with a wing around the other.

Kamikaze was the first to arrive after Watcher. She sported the prosthetic legs that Solar had finally convinced her to put on, but still flew as much as she could as if it was beneath her to use them. They looked plastic and might bend if she actually tried to kick something. She tucked them beneath her a little self-consciously when they looked at her, as if a little ashamed of the non-awesome replacement for her old legs. At the very least, her wings seemed to work now that Dinky had taken a look at them.

“Sup?” Kamikaze tried to play it off at first, then grunted as she awkwardly hovered to her place. “Can’t keep your wings off each other?”

“Hello, Kami,” Twilight smiled. “Good to see you… well.” She was going to say ‘back on your hooves’, but thought better of it.

It also occurred to Twilight that Kamikaze might be envious of Gloomy, given Kami’s feelings for Twilight’s double, whether they were intentional feelings or not. She moved from her seat to give Kami a tight hug to at least reaffirm the platonic side, earning a slight groan that had just a hint of happiness to it. After, she sat with her wings to herself and just leaned against Gloomy instead, though he slipped his around her again and she didn’t have the heart to tell him not to.

Starlight arrived with Maud behind her. Maud remained silent, both guarding Starlight and staring at her. There was a clear tension, yet not enough for Maud to stop following Starlight's orders. Twilight recognized they were both dangerous, but it was two different types: ‘thirst for control’ vs ‘lack of control’.

Maud had armed herself to the teeth and also brought her sisters' soul gems and Boulder, sitting them on the table in front of her. It made Twilight a little sad when she saw her whispering to them occasionally.

Olivia sat quietly, folding her paws in front of her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply to center herself before the meeting, perhaps communicating with her hive. That whole concept still creeped Twilight out, but she recognized they were different.

When Chrysalis arrived, all eyes went to her, and not just because she entered with a giant belch. Twilight tried to ignore her as she sat down, pushing Twilight and Gloomy apart so she could sit between them. She smirked and tried to wrap her own wings around each of them a few times before giving up.

“Chrysalis,” Watcher sighed. “It’s a big deal that you’re allowed here, so be good.”

“I’ll be affably evil,” Chrysalis shrugged. “You’ll have to deal with that compromise.”

Chrysalis spent the rest of her time before the meeting taunting Gloomy and Twilight or making intolerable insect puns. It was difficult to believe Chrysalis was centuries old and a fiendish villain given how utterly childish she acted. Twilight started to wonder if she’d really gone that batty or if it was just obfuscating insanity.

Meanwhile, Crimson was Crimson. She kept telling the story about how she nicked her ear that was different every time. She told Gloomy she got bit by a tortoise because she mistook him for a turtle. She then immediately claimed to Olivia that she was bitten by a parasprite that was accidentally hypnotized to eat ponies, which irked Twilight for reasons Crimson wouldn’t know.

“Friends?” Starlight finally smiled, raising a hoof for silence when the meeting time arrived. Most complied.

“And so I stare her right in the dick,” Crimson kept talking, “And was like ‘I can’t do that with a dull knife’”

“I would have slapped you with my ovipositor if I was her,” Chrysalis answered. “Maybe even choked you to death on it, not just tried to cut off your ear.”

“Anyway,” Starlight said firmly. “I hope everyone had a nice dinner; let’s begin.”

“Who were you again, purple thing?” Chrysalis asked Starlight.

“Empress Starlight Glimmer,” Starlight answered in a flat tone.

“Oh-ho, ‘Empress’,” Chrysalis snickered like a school foal that heard somepony say penis.

“Hay!” Kamikaze protested. “I thought up that title and it’s awesome.”

“It’s best if you ignore her; without a hive, she seems to have spent the last 200 years becoming more childish than I thought possible,” Twilight sighed. “Please continue.”

“Indeed,” Starlight adopted a forced smile. “Speaking of titles, I am altering the faction name from New Equestrian Empire to New Canterlot Republic.”

“It was my idea,” said Crimson. “Sounds less threatening.”

Crimson was still doing her job then, it seemed. Twilight, however, wondered if Starlight should have really been even calling herself a faction at this point. Starlight had gone far, but was still over-estimating her own influence, as evidenced by the fact that she hadn’t changed her title, probably despite Crimson’s likely advice.

“Also to note,” Maud spoke, raising a hoof. “NLR soldiers have been spotted coming close to Holder and communicating with someone over a radio. We believe there might be someone in the city feeding her information.”

“Right,” Starlight sighed. “So keep an eye out, and keep in mind everything is ‘need to know’ to reduce the chance of it getting out that way.”

Kamikaze yawned and stretched her neck a bit as if she was already tired of the meeting.

“Anyway,” continued Starlight “Our first real order of business is the local hive.”

“The local hive only wishes to live in peace,” Olivia said. “I will not have them used for dangerous missions.”

“Oh goodness no,” Starlight said. “I wouldn’t ask for that.”

Twilight was sure she had been about to ask for that.

“Apologies then,” nodded Olivia, looking incredulous as if she realized it too. “Please, continue.”

“I wanted to get an understanding of their relationship to Chrysalis,” Starlight moved on. “You are the original Hive Queen?”

“I’m the original changeling, period,” Chrysalis smirked. “If you’re implying I should take charge however, don’t dare suggest I should force it.”

Olivia looked at Chrysalis and nodded with a smile. “She has no current relationship with our hive.”

“Far be it for you to force anything,“ Watcher said bitterly, apparently still with them.

“I would never suggest such a thing,” Starlight assured, though Twilight wondered if she would were Olivia absent.

“Then potential alliances,” Starlight said, disappointed at the previous topic’s failure.

“While Statera is non-aggressive,” Watcher said. “A full alliance is out of the question until we've worked together for some time.”

“We will do our best to earn your trust,” Starlight nodded. “May I ask if there are other groups we might look into?”

“None,” said Watcher, as unlikely as it seemed.

“There’s Discordia, where Statera is based,” Chrysalis spoke instead. “But Discordia isn’t interested in alliances. I'm surprised they allow them to exist there, but at least other factions don't bug them.”

“Chrysalis,” Gloomy warned, but Watcher was oddly non-responsive.

“Are you part of Statera, Chrysalis?” Starlight quirked an ear.

“Definitely not with our knowing,” Gloomy growled.

“Watch yourself, Chrysalis,” Watcher finally input, as if worried she’d hint at something particular. “She is correct. Screwball allows Statera to base there so long as we don't make trouble. We're also neutral with the Crystal Empire, but do not know Skyla’s location.” It was a strange disavowal for an unasked question.

“I know Skyla's location,” smirked Chrysalis. She seemed to delight in pointing out how well-informed she was, but she quietened when Watcher turned to her.

“Are you their leader, Watcher?” asked Starlight.

“Many consider Ovo Factorem to be their leader,” said Watcher inconclusively.

“He’s bangin’ Skyla, lucky bastard,” Chrysalis added helpfully. “In every hole.”

“Silence,” Watcher said to Chrysalis. “Why would you even say that?”

“I like to live on the edge,” shrugged Chrysalis.

“I don’t care who is bucking who as long as it’s not me,” Starlight cleared her throat. “Can we contact them?”

“If you go to Discordia, he will likely speak to you,” said Watcher. “He is an alicorn that I trust for reasons I cannot adequately explain, much like with Chrysalis.”

“Is he an artificial or empowered alicorn?” asked Twilight. She’d wondered, but still failed to hide the surprise in her tone.

“Empowered?” asked Gloomy. “You mean like how Daybreaker promoted Cadance? He says he was born one. He’s powerful too, he can teleport between cities without magitech enhancement.”

“There’s some information that would be more dangerous to you than helpful,” Watcher added.

“Is that so?” Starlight asked, but moved things forward. “Chrysalis? Do you have forces?”

“Only my own giant ass,” Chrysalis chuckled. “But I am forceful, and virtually undetectable by any means. I could stroll through the best changeling detection systems available.”

“So you’re useful as an individual at least,” said Starlight.

“If only we could get Skyla to talk,” said Twilight. “The Princess of the Crystal Empire was a powerful ally in my timeline, almost single-hoofedly taking out Chrysalis’s army when they invaded Canterlot.”

“Was that Cadance?” Chrysalis asked, unfazed by the fate of her dimensional counterpart. “Skyla is Cadance and Sombra’s daughter, but I don’t think it was a happy marriage.”

Twilight felt sick to her stomach at the implication. She told herself that her Cadance would have not held any bad feelings against the daughter like some might, but she wasn’t sure about this timeline’s Cadance.

“That is an impressive pedigree,” Starlight pondered. “But a dangerous one if her talent stems from the wrong parent, perhaps more so if it stems from both at once.”

“I’m sure she takes after Cadance more than Sombra,” added Twilight with pity, using the thought of a loving daughter as a silver lining against the dark cloud of rape. “If she would use Sombra’s methods, she’d be more forceful than coy about reuniting Equestria.”

“She seems good enough, but looks can be deceiving,” said Watcher, “At any rate, having information on the Crystal Heart is probably the only way to meet her.”

“I know an approximate location,” mused Starlight. “But I may want to search for it myself eventually, so I haven’t decided if I should say anything. Or it may not matter; it’s unlikely to be intact.”

When Starlight said that, Watcher turned directly towards her, but didn’t comment. Chrysalis peered at Starlight so hard that her eyes narrowed to slits, the first serious act since she got to the meeting.

“That is correct, Limestone,” Maud said out of nowhere. “I am also impatient.”

“My apologies, Maud,” Starlight acknowledged. “I wanted to cover this last so it would be fresh in our minds at the end.”

“That is acceptable,” said Maud.

“The soul recyclers, right?” nodded Twilight. “Those that saw Zecora’s diary memories would have seen several in the Ministry. There was a room full of them where Starlight was resurrected.”

“While entering Trinity’s lair is a risk,” said Starlight. “I believe it is worth that risk for many reasons, assuming we develop a very good plan. Unless any of you are aware of other places to acquire one?”

“The only other place would be Unicornia,” said Gloomy. “They won't give one up to outsiders, and it'd be even harder to steal theirs. Their city has a permanent opaque shield and we can’t know what’s inside.”

“Could Chrysalis get into Unicornia?” asked Twilight.

“I’m sure their detection systems wouldn’t reveal me as a changeling,” said Chrysalis. “However, all their citizens have soul gems, which may be scanned for upon entering, and that is something not even I can duplicate. I’d have to take the place of a non-citizen that doesn’t have one, but it’s unheard of them to let anyone else in. Otherwise, I’d have already taken a snoop around to see what they’re doing there.”

“Then we must risk the Ministry,” Maud said. “We would benefit from their return, not to mention evening the odds with Midnight.”

“Evening the odds in such an impressive manner would definitely win favor with us,” said Watcher.

“Their library might…” Twilight trailed off, thinking better of mentioning the scroll she wanted aloud.

“Many entrances would be destroyed,” said Starlight. “Though there is the one I left Spike guarding.”

Twilight felt a chill when he was mentioned, but reminded herself he wasn’t the same.

“That area is too radioactive to be safe, which is odd since it’s not near the epicenters,” said Gloomy. “He was guarding it for at least a century after that, but we haven’t had a reason to check for some time. If he was there, it’d indicate that it works, else he wouldn’t feel the need to guard it.”

“I can send scouts ahead to check,” suggested Watcher. “However, if he has gone feral due to radiation, he may not be moving or visible until you approach.”

“Even without that, there are other ways,” said Crimson. “I know two potential methods. The Ministry of News in Baltimare had a teleport, as did most ministries. Given the sprite-bots are controlled there, the facility must be in good condition, maybe even guarded by Skyla if she uses them, so scout there too.”

“Oh, I’ve ‘scouted’ that,” said Chrysalis. “The teleport appears functional last I checked systems, but I haven’t tested it. There’s no crystal guards, since Skyla doesn’t want to draw attention, but it does have a lot of robots guarding it thanks to the SHIE AI. Don’t ask how I know; that would be naughty.”

“How Skyla and myself gained access to their computer is also not relevant,” said Watcher. “However the site is not in disrepair, since Skyla air dropped supplies to their warehouses, hoping the automated system would handle repair. It didn’t occur to me previously that being well-defended might be a problem for us later.”

“And then there’s another at Gora Soul’s lab,” continued Crimson. “Bet you didn’t know about that one. Aren’t you glad you didn’t kill me early on, Empress?”

Twilight recognized the name from her recent studies. She was the one that developed the chemical weapon used to assassinate Daybreaker, and Minister of Alchemy prior to betraying Equestria.

“Gora Soul had one?” Starlight sighed at Crimson, as if annoyed that someone like her was still one of her most useful minions.

“It was easier than you wanted to duplicate the frequency from one of the other Ministries,” smirked Crimson. “How do you think me and her got in and out so easily when it was time to swipe what we wanted? No reason it shouldn’t work if the location is untouched.”

“I can’t spare enough bodies to scout all of these locations in depth,” Watcher said. “But I can at least confirm it is there with sprite-bots. I doubt I can get close enough to test the teleports with spare sprite-bots though.”

“Yeah, this is fine,” said Crimson. “But this mission is suicide no matter how we get in, right? Everyone really okay with that?”

“I’m willing to...” Kamikaze started.

“We know,” the room as a whole cut her off.

“Discord could pop in and out without effort,” Twilight said. “Do you think Eris or Screwball can?”

“I’m sure they could,” said Watcher. “Convincing them to help is another thing.”

“You knew Discord in your timeline?” Starlight peered at Twilight.

“Quite well,” Twilight chuckled. “He was reformed… relatively. Fluttershy’s doing, in fact.” She was glad she didn’t do it herself since Starlight might have taken offense at another accomplishment.

“Well, that’s an odd coincidence,” Starlight shook her head. “But to those familiar with modern Equestria: What is the best way to get to Discordia from here?”

“West to my hometown, Ramble,” said Olivia. “Then north from there. That puts you on the border between Trinity and Midnight’s territories, but from what your friends say, they will be concentrating in other areas.”

“Any stables on the way, Crimson?” asked Starlight.

“Maybe,” Crimson said. “I’ll check the records to refresh my memory.”

“I’ll assume that means yes, but that you’re withholding information until it’s fun,” said Starlight. “I want reports with all the information you have on them tomorrow.”

“There is one of your ancient pony shelters near Ramble in the old Appleloosa,” Olivia was more forthcoming, “Stable 5, but we do not go there.” What was that in her voice? Dread? “I suggest you avoid it. There is another in the Foal Mountains that is occupied, but doesn't seem interested in communicating with the outside.”

“Take the fun out of everything, will you?” Crimson sighed.

“Yes, Stable 41 is the one in the Foal Mountains,” said Watcher. “It's close to Discordia.”

“It's still functioning?” asked Starlight.

“Indeed,” said Watcher. “We tried to contact them, but they shunned our attempts. Screwball has taken to rescuing the 'sacrifices' the cult leaves outside the stable, however.”

“Sacrifices?” asked Twilight.

“They leave infant bat ponies strapped to an altar outside,” said Watcher. “They are too young to explain or later remember why they were put there. A significant number of ponies in Discordia descended from those rescues; that's why there are so many bat ponies there.”

“Our scouts reported an altar outside the stable,” Olivia said. “We didn’t realize it was actually in use though…”

“It’s a good thing Midnight doesn’t know about them,” said Gloomy. “But she doesn’t like to even send scouts that close to Discordia.”

“Can’t you do more than rescue them once they're put out?” asked Twilight. “There's no telling what's going on inside. I'm not suggesting violence but...”

“I suggest violence!” said Kamikaze. “They’re endangering foals.”

“If we have an adequate way to do so,” Starlight nodded in agreement, likely more out of seeing an opportunity than caring for foals.

“I do not disagree,” said Watcher. “But one of Screwball's rules is that we do not bring conflict to Discordia. We'd risk getting Statera exiled.”

“Do you not already bring conflict?” asked Maud. “Midnight and Trinity must realize.”

“Midnight and Trinity were Discordia’s enemies already, so it doesn’t count,” said Watcher. “Screwball has a weakness for enforcing rules to the letter even against her own best interests.”

“She sounds a lot like her father,” commented Twilight.

“I do not care about stables,” Maud said. “The bottom line is that a mission to Discordia is next.”

“I agree,” said Starlight. “I will decide on who should accompany us, feel free to request inclusion, but do not bet on acceptance.”

“Count me in!” Kamikaze grinned. “Suicide missions are… kinda my thing.”

“We know,” repeated everyone.

Twilight wanted to go, but all the same wasn’t sure she trusted any group they put together for the mission. She was certain half of their group had active plans to kill one another. Chrysalis fit in so much better than she’d like...

41. The Will to Die

Date: Thursday 11/10/2287
POV: Mercury Shine
Holder

Starlight insisted they bring only who they needed, but the group wasn’t small. First was Starlight herself for diplomatic relations and Maud to guard her.

Maud had her pulse armor, but the stealth field couldn’t expand enough to encompass the entire wagon. It wouldn't even cover all the inhabitants without them making a cuddle pile. She also brought a manual for the soul recyclers that she’d gotten from Stable 11. It wasn’t typical reading for someone like Maud, but she was determined to know all she could about them.

Solar had upgraded the armor though; now anyone on the same PCB as Maud could see one another. At least they didn’t have to use leashes now. After her earlier experience, those things frightened Mercury.

Dinky wanted to come with Maud due to her promise, but Starlight insisted that she not. Starlight said Dinky was needed to help Solar with the forcefield due to her magitech knowledge, but Mercury wondered if it was so that Dinky wouldn't be there to encourage Maud not to follow questionable orders. Either way, Mercury had heard Maud promise Dinky that she wouldn’t do anything ‘shameful’, so Mercury hoped that was enough to keep her level.

They brought Crimson for her knowledge of stables 5 and 41, which they’d pass on the way. She likely hadn’t provided all the information she had, since she wouldn’t want them to be without a reason to take her. Mercury wished she wouldn’t think like that, assuming she’d be abandoned if she didn’t maximize her future usefulness at all times.

Olivia went since they’d pass through her home city of Ramble. She’d left Daydream in charge of her hive. Gloomy would go too, since Screwball would recognize him as part of Statera and would likely let him in to see them even if the others weren’t allowed.

Crimson insisted Tranquil come and Gloomy insisted on Twilight’s inclusion. Starlight allowed it since flying the wagon would speed up the trip, and Gloomy couldn’t pull it through the air 24/7. Mercury wondered if it was also because Starlight didn’t want Twilight in Holder when she wasn’t, lest she cause an uprising in her absence.

Mercury would be their field medic again, and perhaps their victim if she dared to make a mistake. If it weren’t for Twilight and Gloomy going, she might have been too frightened to go herself. She was glad Solar wouldn’t go though; at least this way one of her friends would be in less danger. Considering they were flying and the wagon was equipped with an energy turret able to scare off the Rocs or other flying predators, the biggest danger for most of the trip would be from inside the wagon.

Chrysalis was included, but refused. She claimed she didn’t want her children unprotected with Olivia away, despite Olivia’s assurances that she put Daydream in charge. It surprised Mercury that Olivia trusted Chrysalis to stay behind at all, so Mercury assumed she had a contingency to prevent Chrysalis from forcing control.

“I can’t believe I’m not getting to go,” Solar helped Mercury into the wagon, but was near tears. “I have to protect you! And flirt with cute doggies when we get to Ramble!”

“I’m sorry Solar,” Mercury hugged Solar from the wagon once there. “You need to repair the bunker reactor so it can power the forcefield when Dinky gets it operational.”

“You also need to repair the communications system,” added Starlight. “It barely worked when we contacted Stable 27 before. We’ll try to get the communication frequencies for any other stables we can, and contacting them later could come in hoofty.”

“You could at least tell me it’d be okay,” said Solar to Mercury, ignoring Starlight for the moment. “You’d usually do that at least.”

“I’ll do my best to stay safe,” said Mercury, but she felt no confidence in that regard.

“Dogs you say?” Olivia tilted her head. “If you wish to interact with male diamond dogs, there is a trading caravan that will show up before we return. Rover and Roger run it; they are twin brothers and often amiable towards mares.”

“Oh?” Solar perked her ears and tail in interest. “Well that solves that! But still I promised to protect Mercury, and that’s more important.”

“I will protect her,” Olivia smiled. “You can count on me.”

“And you are protecting me,” said Mercury. “The forcefield may save all our lives before the end, not to mention the upgrades you made to the pulse armor.”

“Yeah, that was pretty genius,” grinned Solar, restraining herself from flying into a ten-minute explanation of what she did that she’d already told them. She added to Olivia instead. “I’ll hold you to that!”

“It’s depressing you didn’t mention me as something you want to protect her from,” chuckled Crimson from within the wagon. “I haven’t become uninteresting, have I?”

“Trust me,” Olivia said. “As long as I have my grimoire, she is safe from those inside and outside our group.”

Mercury hadn’t told Olivia about Kyo and she doubted Twilight had, but she seemed perceptive about the danger. Perhaps she suspected, though she seemed to keep a level head about it.

They were all on the PCB now at least, save for Tranquil who couldn’t connect. Those without pipbucks received one of Stable 11’s stock, with the ones the other Pies used now sitting in the Pie museum. They were reluctant to grant the Stable 11 pipbucks, but they weren’t saying no to a request from Maud.

As Gloomy hitched to the front of the wagon for the first shift, Mercury felt sick. This wasn’t like she felt when leaving Stable 27. Then she had confidence that she could do what they needed, that they’d find Tranquil fast and even head home afterward. Now she felt like she was walking into a death trap.

Though a few minutes in, Mercury wondered if she was worried for nothing. The road between Holder and Ramble was more well-kept than the roads to the west of Holder where they arrived. Since the two cities traded, there were patrols and watch stations along the way. The patrols closer to Holder were all Holder soldiers, but she assumed the ones closer to Ramble would be theirs.

They even passed the trade caravan Olivia had mentioned to Solar. Rover and Roger were rather big dogs... Solar was sure to love them.

Mercury watched the scenery as it passed. Most was the same as the rest of the wasteland, rocks and dirt. The only difference was more sand due to the desert.

The road was on either side of old train tracks, though the tracks were in no shape for a train. Much of the rail was mangled and destroyed, and not just from age. Surface tracks were an easy target for bombing runs, which was why they dug subways. These tracks had been useless since well before the mega-spells struck.

”News time, children!” Songsmith said over the radio. “I didn’t expect ‘her Majesty’ Starlight to last a week in today’s world. Not because I think she’s soft, but because… well she doesn’t have an army, does she?”

“But it looks like the Empress was like ‘no troops, no problem!’,” continued Songsmith. “She’s already taken control of Holder, Gilda’s group of underground ghouls in Railway, and Tenwhinney Tower. All thanks to some mighty fine luck. Holder’s leader conveniently died on a mission with Starlight to visit Gilda's ghouls, then Tenwhinney conveniently got attacked by ferals so Starlight could rush in and save them. News flash Empress: We weren’t born yesterday, maybe you ought to learn how far is too far.”

“And now I'm getting reports that 'Chrysalis', who claims to be the same changeling queen that started the Ceaseless Conflict, has been allowed into Holder. Former Rock Sovereign Kyo claimed there were no changelings in Holder, but I guess that's not the case now.”

“Though perhaps more baffling is that Midnight seems okay with somepony else staking a claim in her territory. In fact, Midnight has withdrawn most of her troops from the entire region and called them back to Midnight Castle, while Trinity has sent most of her troops north into the Foal Mountain range. Something big is going on, children.”

Starlight clenched her teeth, but said nothing. Mercury supposed saying anything would only increase suspicion. Maybe Mercury hadn't needed to tell Twilight.

Unfortunately, eyes were also on the others on the mission: Maud and Mercury. Olivia peered at her differently than before, and Mercury had to wonder if it occurred to her that Mercury might be complicit in an assassination. Olivia wouldn’t act without proof, but it still hurt to be seen that way, especially with it being true.

“Well, he’s half-right with your method of conquest,” Crimson chuckled. “The ferals plan was obvious, but the bit about getting rid of Kyo sounded convoluted. If we wanted to do that, I’d have done it for you in Holder. No reason to do it in the middle of a sensitive mission.”

“That’s sound logic, Crimson,” Starlight smiled at her. “Thank you.”

“Do I get a bonus?” Crimson asked. “I think I deserve a bonus.”

“I have not yet murdered you,” said Maud. “That is your bonus.”

“You haven’t bucked me either,” said Crimson. “I’m weighing my options if the former includes the latter. Just kill Tranquil in front of me before you do me in, okay?”

“Um,” Tranquil looked back nervously from her corner of the wagon.

“It’s just how they flirt, Tranquil,” Mercury assured her.

“Oh, okay,” Tranquil nodded and blushed, not seeming to mind that her wife was flirting with somepony else, but Crimson had rarely stuck to one wife so it was expected. Tranquil went back to staring thoughtfully at the floor.

Mercury ignored their further flirting. Besides, the logic Crimson used wasn’t sound. Taking care of Kyo in Holder would risk the rest of her hive finding out and they would have been on the killer immediately upon losing contact with her. They had to do it when she was out-of-hive range.

Olivia surely recognized this, but didn't speak; accusations without evidence would accomplish little. Mercury felt bad for being the one with that evidence and fearing to share it.

Mercury kept her telesyringer in front of her loaded with an explosive gas dart. While she wouldn’t take chances with the wasteland or her own party, she’d also brought other ammo, including what she mixed while in Holder. She even loaded the killing joke bloom into a canister. She figured that could down almost anything.

Olivia’s peering eyes settled on the telesyringer for a moment, which made Mercury consider something else.

“Olivia?” Mercury asked.

“Yes, miss?” Olivia smiled. The diamond dog had sat on the side of the wagon with Mercury and Twilight in it, as if knowing the others were least trustworthy.

“What would those shifting potions do if injected?” Mercury asked. “Like if I shot one with my telesyringer.”

“I haven’t thought about that,” Olivia said, tapping her chin. “Injecting it with something like that might even bypass magical resistance, turning them into the first thing they thought of after taking it. It’s hard to say though; it wasn’t designed for use by force and could easily make things worse, so I wouldn’t advise it unless you have no other choice.”

“That would be a useful non-lethal weapon if it worked,” said Twilight. Her voice was muffled through her gas mask, wearing her full outfit so that the guards on the road didn’t panic upon seeing her. She seemed nervous about taking too many of the potions herself.

“Did you bring any?” asked Mercury.

“I did,” smiled Olivia. “But if you do not mind, I will keep them in my bag for now. I want to have them in case one or more of us needs them for something.”

“Of course,” Mercury nodded, though she was still rather curious.

“You could shoot them with it and then scream out something unexpected,” suggested Crimson. “Like ‘dragon dildo!’. They couldn’t help but think about it, then you’d be all set.”

“Why don’t you run your mouth in a more useful way, Crimson,” Starlight said.

“I didn’t know you liked me in that way,” Crimson smirked. “Though my wife will have trouble watching while pulling the wagon.”

“What I meant,” Starlight’s voice became deadly. “Go over everything you know about Stable 5 before we pass.”

“Oh I can’t wait,” Crimson snickered. She laughed every time someone so much as mentioned the stable, and that wasn’t a good sign.

“That place is cursed,” Olivia shivered.

“Why do you say that?” Starlight head-tilted at Olivia. “It seems surprising an educated lady would believe in such things as curses.”

“I mean figuratively,” explained Olivia. “Something terrible happened there. We get regular distress signals from inside, always the same pony, and have been since Ramble was built here over a hundred years ago.”

“You mean a recording?” Twilight asked.

“Definitely not,” said Olivia. “The messages are irregularly spaced and do not repeat. We got the stable door open due to an apparent error in the circuitry, and sent in a rescue squad, but the door closed behind them. Shortly after, there was a mayday that they were being attacked. It went silent, and we never heard from them again. Our leader at the time deemed it a trap and made no more attempts. The flaw that opens the door still works intermittently, but we posted guards to keep hapless explorers from attempting entry.”

“Intermittently works huh?” Crimson said. “It’s one of the earlier stables, so more likely a loose connection than a trap.”

“Can you not reply to the signal?” asked Mercury. “Get information that might help?”

“We have tried,” said Olivia. “But he does not seem to have a receiver on his end.”

“What’s his name?” Starlight tilted her head, probably wondering if it as somepony from early in the war.

“He claims to have forgotten,” said Olivia. “He says something about puppets attacking him and he often claims they keep murdering him. The messages have only gotten more deranged over time; I have to agree that it is some kind of lure.”

Maud’s ear perked with a sudden interest in the conversation.

“It’s not a lure,” Crimson snickered. “His name is Oliver Moon, I remember because I enjoyed reading about the experiment. The records at the control stables claim he was chosen because he was an outgoing and happy musician. The effects of loneliness and terror would be more pronounced and easier to measure. Classy, right?”

Mercury wanted to comment, but didn’t want to hear further explanation. Was there no end to the cruelty of ponies?

“What?” Twilight stared. “Wait, Oliver Moon? I… oh dear…”

“You know him?” asked Mercury.

“Sort of,” Twilight blushed. “In my timeline… actually in this one too I guess since I met him before the time stream split. I shouldn't talk about it.”

“Hm?” Gloomy perked an ear from where he pulled the wagon, straining as if trying to hear but not saying else..

“What was he, the first colt you bucked or something?” Crimson chuckled.

Twilight blushed harder.

“Holy horse apples he was,” Crimson laughed. “Does that mean you lost your virginity as a blank flank? I guess you and me have another thing in common.”

Knowing Twilight, she probably lost it for science. Mercury wouldn’t mind hearing the story since it'd probably be more adorable than lewd, but Starlight got the conversation back on track.

“What was the experiment, Crimson?” Starlight growled. “Don’t even think about holding back.”

“Only one occupant was registered at Stable 5,” explained Crimson. “He didn’t realize that until he arrived and the door automagically locked behind him.”

“It’s a real distress signal?” Olivia head-tilted.

“What purpose is this experiment supposed to serve?” Starlight asked.

“Let me finish, silly Empress,” Crimson’s grin spread wide. “The only company he had was a large crate of puppets, like the kind from those old foal play restaurants with annoying animatronic entertainment. There were facilities to build more, which the robotic puppets could operate.”

This sounded less like an explanation and more meant to confuse them more.

“Again, what purpose,” Starlight repeated.

“A few weeks in, the puppets would become violent,” Crimson said. “Long story short, the experiment was that the puppets would kill the occupant, revive them, rinse and repeat. One purpose was that the occupant would get good at stealth and might devise useful techniques. It would also study the effects of long-term isolation and terror on a pony’s psyche.”

“What,” Starlight deadpanned. Even she found that distasteful.

“Why would they do that?” Mercury was appalled, but no longer surprised.

“Celestia’s eldritch mane…” Twilight sounded baffled.

“How could they even afford that?” Gloomy asked from up front. “A whole stable for a single-occupant experiment? Even from a villainous perspective, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Stable-Tec had a lot of funding,” shrugged Crimson. “On top of government contracts, many rich ponies had an interest in surviving the apocalypse and didn’t always know how the money was spent. Anyway, the experiment was scheduled to run until the pony successfully survived over 30 days, at which point everything would shut down, including life support, and results would go to the control stables.”

“This is absurd,” said Twilight. “Regardless of how time played out, I can’t believe they would initiate such things.”

“Unlimited money does weird things to ponies,” shrugged Crimson. “Remember the heads of Stable-Tec didn’t pay attention after they hired some psycho that would work for cheap and told them to make an experiment to keep them busy. Most barely made sense even from an evil point of view.”

“So the message of completion never arrived, I take it?” Starlight asked.

“No,” said Crimson. “But I had no way of knowing he was still at it. We didn’t get them for other experiments that would have been completed either. I assumed malfunctions occurred; that’s Stable-Tec’s special talent. Anyway, if I’d known it was still going, I’d have wanted to come here as soon as we got to Holder to meet this loon!”

“We have to save them!” Mercury said. “If that’s still running after 210 years… we can’t leave somepony to that fate!”

“That is even worse than being feral,” said Maud.

“I hate it too, can’t even imagine,” Gloomy said. “But if all attempts at rescue have failed… I mean these dogs aren't light-weights, if it was too much for them…”

“But that was a hundred years ago,” Maud said. “They would not be as advanced as they are now. More importantly… Crimson. How do they bring him back when he dies?”

“Huh?” Crimson asked. “I didn’t mention the life recycler?”

“Are you telling me that there has been one this close the entire time?” Maud sounded close to doing terrible things to Crimson. At the least, Crimson was losing precious pussy points.

“Easy now!” Crimson said. “I said life recycler, not soul recycler.”

“A life recycler?” asked Starlight. “Right… right… we got rid of the life recyclers when research on souls in the Mirror Pool led to development of the soul recycler. I guess one found its way here.”

“Even if you put a new soul gem in a life recycler,” Crimson looked at Maud. “It would only transfer the memories. Without the soul, a new soul would generate on its own, but it’s not the same person. And we both know that isn’t good enough for your sisters, Maud.” Crimson laughed. “I wonder how many separate Oliver Moon souls made it into the afterlife; that must be confusing for them. You know this all seems pretty similar to what happened with you, Empress, even if you only did it once.”

“Excuse me?” Starlight grumbled at the implication. “Brave words to the only one that can order Maud not to kill you."

“You yourself said there was no soul transfer from Trinity to you,” smirked Crimson. “I’m sure you have something rattling around in there, of course, kind of a…’New Starlight’, a sweeter formulation with less unnecessarily evil Trinity bits.”

“You sound like a Glimmer Cola commercial,” grunted Starlight. “Like when they tried that new formula… ugh.”

“Yes Pinkie, the old one tasted better,” Maud said to her gem bag as she continued an angry staring contest with Crimson. “No, I do not think Twilight is comparable to the competitor Poopsy Cola’s cherry flavor. But perhaps before I kill Crimson, she could taste Twilight. She's a rare pony to survive finding out what Midnight tasted like… Indeed, Gloomy may also know. Or maybe a Twilicorn at least?“

“Uh...I’ve only tasted Twilicorns,” Gloomy said from the front. “I’m not sure they’re the same; they have a funny aftertaste compared to Twilight’s,”

Gloomy blushed when a comparison to Twilight slipped out, but it wasn’t like everyone here didn’t know. Twilight blushed harder and cleared her throat, and Gloomy turned back to watch the road intently, seeming to try to tune out the rest of the discussion.

“Pinkie says the Mirror Pool producing diet drinks justifies its destruction. Now, Crimson...” Maud said with a glare. “If you sate my curiosity, I’m less likely to sate my anger instead.”

Crimson audibly gulped, though who knew how sincerely. “Well, I suppose she has been goin’ straight too long!”

Twilight squeaked in surprise as Crimson actually went down and forcibly tasted her in places she’d rather only be in private. After the initial surprise, Twilight seemed reluctant to resist. She even reciprocated a bit, awkwardly placing her front hooves on Crimson’s head and twitching her hips as Crimson grasped them.

“S-should I stop her?” Olivia asked uncertainly.

“I-it’s fine,” Twilight’s voice was an octave higher than usual. “For Celestia’s sake… this world… what has it done to my shame.”

“I swear I need to get a shock prod to keep you all in line,” huffed Starlight, who turned to look out of the cart to avoid more of that.

Mercury wasn’t sure if Twilight cooperated because it might bring her weirdly closer to Crimson or just out of curiosity. Hopefully not because Maud was gripping Mite, since seeing this under threat of death from a third mare wasn’t on the top of her list of things Mercury wanted to see.

She looked away from the scene, knowing it’d embarrass Twilight to gawk too much, and began thinking about the conversation that led to this oddity. Mercury suspected Crimson thought the opposite of what she said: that Starlight’s hastily-copied mind was missing the necessary smart Empress bits. But with what Trinity was doing, Mercury thought perhaps the end result was the same.

After a bunch of panting and grunting, and squeaks from Twilight as she attempted not to make louder noises, Crimson seemed to pull away.

“It’s been a long time,” said Crimson, mostly to Maud. “But she tastes the same to me. Way too sweet, even her ass, though I think her bat’s been using that hole. Not a hint of cherry. Now come on, I just tongue-raped a frie-… mare for you, and who knows what a life recycler would do to Limestone. Tartarus, it might even make Pinkie sane.”

“I didn’t say no,” Twilight mumbled, not approving of the word ‘rape’.

“Hey, don’t ruin my fantasy,” Crimson grumbled back at her.

Maud only answered after a concerning amount of time. “I will spare your life for now Crimson, and not just because Twilight’s flustered orgasm face is amusing.”

“What was that?” Gloomy called from the front. He’d missed much of the conversation and all of the visuals while navigating, but seemed to catch the words ‘Twilight’s flustered orgasm face’.

“It’s okay, Gloomy,” Twilight cleared her throat.

Mercury didn't doubt Maud would have killed Crimson on the spot for hiding an actual soul recycler. Telling Crimson to do that was probably a delay so Maud could commune with the gems. Given Limestone’s issues with Starlight, Mercury was sure she’d rather stay dead than become similar.

“In the future, no murdering without my order, Maud,” Starlight said, as casually as she might advise somepony not to jaywalk, with a sigh towards the disheveled and panting Twilight.

“Um...the parts would be similar, right?” Mercury pointed out, trying to change the subject away from molestation or murder. She didn’t know the technical details, but couldn’t bear the thought of the pony remaining there.

“Well yeah, we’re both mares,” Crimson said.

“I meant the parts of the machines,” Mercury sighed.

“Yes,” said Maud, creasing her forehead in thought. “Holder may have a few parts of their own. Together, we’d at least be closer to a complete one. There’s no guarantee we’ll get a whole one from the Ministry even if we make it inside.”

“Would your guards let us in, Olivia?” asked Starlight. “Now you know it’s not a lure, would they assist?”

“They would let us in if they knew,” said Olivia, who looked a tad shaken from things. “But I do not think they’d risk losing so many dogs to rescue a single individual. I am sorry.”

“If they are still bringing her back,” said Maud. “The device must still be functional. Olivia. Did your troops have a stealth device when they attempted a rescue?”

“They did not,” Olivia considered. “It would be a significant advantage. There’s no reason to believe this stable would have systems to detect it if Stable 11 didn’t.”

“You said the door shut behind them though,” said Twilight, seemingly recovered and trying to pretend that Crimson hadn’t just gone down on her. “Starlight, can you cast a spell to keep it open?”

“Not a spell, no,” said Starlight. “Only non-magical energy affects the orichalcum alloy in those doors, but it wouldn’t be hard to drop something heavy in the door’s way to hold it open.”

“A simple solution,” Olivia said. “Though I hope it's not too simple.”

“Well then,” said Starlight. “It looks like our first stop won’t be Ramble.”

POV: Forgot
Stable 5

He’d forgotten who he was, where he was, why he was here. Even what he was. All he knew was they were coming. They were always coming.

“Help,” Forgot whispered over the transmitter. “Please help me. I don’t know where I am… I just want help… I can’t… please... I'll do anything if you just come here and kill me forever.”

He didn’t know if anyone heard; maybe this radio was only here to taunt him. Was there even anything outside this nightmare to hear? Perhaps all around him were the personal hells of other wicked souls. He didn’t remember being wicked, but he didn’t remember being good either.

Forgot hung up the transmitter. He couldn’t broadcast for more than a few seconds or the demons might think to destroy the transmitter. Even then, he only dared to transmit right after revival. After a revival, they always gave him a few hours to hide before coming for him again.

Slipping the mask over his face, he headed into the hallway, walking less carefully than usual since they hadn’t woken back up yet. His body was covered with parts from the ones he managed to destroy, and the disguise fooled them at a distance at least.

He stepped over his own corpse on the floor as he moved. It was the one from his most recent murder. They’d killed him that time by impaling him with a sharp steel pipe, right up the plot and out his muzzle. They’d let him bleed out on the floor, and it took a long time to die, their horrifying cackles surrounding him as he faded. Did they have to do that?

They hadn’t murdered him in that fashion in a long time, though he couldn’t remember when the last time was. It wasn’t like he kept track, but figured it was at least a few dozen killings ago. They’d killed him in so many ways that it was rare for them to think of new and inventive murder methods, and even then it was probably only because he'd forgotten the earliest killings.

There was little time to think about it though. He wasn’t hungry just after reviving, but it’d be good to stuff his face before they woke. Then he wouldn’t have to do it while they actively searched for him. After that, he’d need to find a new secret hiding spot. They’d found the one he’d been using since dozens of kills ago, so it’d no longer be a safe place to sleep.

He passed by more of his own body on the way. They ranged from fairly intact to bones. He used to put his old bodies in the incinerator upon reawakening, but he’d stopped bothering with that so long ago. Now he just tore the armor off the old body to use and left it to rot.

He didn’t even notice the smell of his own rot permeating the stable anymore, but it seemed to confuse the creature's senses when they looked for him. Maybe that was a good thing. If he couldn't find a new place to hide long-term, he might have at least some luck lying on the floor with the other corpses and pretending to be dead for a few hours at a time.

The commissary was always well-stocked. It was cruel that they kept it such when he could almost never get here. It had food paste and cola, though he didn’t bother with the plates when eating in here. Instead he scarfed down food paste from the machine, as much as he could hold. He then filled up several bags full for later and choked down a few colas.

As he did so, he glanced in a mirror nearby. He'd had one in his last hiding spot and sometimes just stared into it, wondering what he was. He had a dark blue coat and black mane, which made his orange eyes stand out. There was a strange mark on his flanks, an arrangement of white rectangles in a row with some black ones between some of them and a strange design like two hooks above it. He wanted to call it a keyboard for some reason, but that didn't seem right since it didn't look like the terminal keyboards.

He often wondered why he had the mark, but it was just another thing he’d forgotten. Maybe it was just a branding to signify his damned state. Forgot tried not to think about it all as he shoveled more cola bottles into a bag and dragged it behind him with his magic.

Not that he had any idea where to take it. He’d been over every inch of this horrible place looking for hideouts. Was there any he still hadn’t found? They seemed to check all the ones he'd used before on a regular basis.

Forgot jumped when a loud buzzer sounded. His first reaction was fear, thinking the demons reactivated early, but the disembodied voice after confirmed it was different.

“Forced entry detected at stable entrance,” the voice said as red lights flashed near the top of the surrounding walls.

He was certain this happened before, but couldn’t remember what it meant. Dragging his bag of food behind him, he made his way to the security center where the camera feeds were.

He felt like he should check the room with the large round door first. As he looked through the camera there, his eyes widened. The door was… opened? It’d slid out of the wall and rolled to the side. As he watched, several glowing steel beams levitated into the doorway, perhaps to keep it from closing again. It looked like a magical aura, but it was a lighter blue color than his own.

And then he saw the source of the magic. It was a creature with a horn like Forgot had. Wait… was that the same type of creature he was? And there were other creatures with it that looked similar!

Forgot scrambled at the controls at the security station. There was a way to use the intercoms from here, but he’d forgotten how. Before he could, one creature, a strange hornless one with black mesh skin, appeared to cast a spell that made them vanish from sight.

“No, don't leave me!” Forgot shouted at the top of his lungs even if he knew they couldn’t hear. He hadn’t spoken above a whisper in forever and the effort burned, leaving him in a gagging fit for several long moments.

But then he noticed something else. Several pieces of rubble shifted, and if he looked at the floor… hoof prints in the dust! They weren’t gone, they were invisible! It looked like they’d gathered near several of Forgot’s corpses as if observing them, but soon moved forward.

Forgot slammed his hooves on the console and screamed in frustration, his lungs in agony from the effort. He had to find them! He had to convince them to kill him and destroy the gem in his neck. He’d be free!

“What?” a voice spoke from a speaker next to where he slammed his hoof. “Who’s there? Are you okay? We’re here to help!”

The intercom! He hit the button while smacking the panel in frustration; he kept it pressed as he spoke.

“Please help me!” Forgot called out. “I’m in the security room!”

After a few moments of silence, the voices from the invisible creatures spoke again.

“Do you know how we can get there?” the voice asked. “Or can you get here?”

“I can!” Forgot said. “I’ll hurry. We don’t have much time before they wake up again!”

“How long?” asked the voice.

“Not long!” Forgot repeated.

“No,” said the voice. “I mean like minutes or hours?”

“W-what?” Forgot stammered. “I-I don’t know?”

“If there are no visible clocks in here,” another duller voice spoke. “He may not remember how to tell time.”

“Break’s flaming cheesecake,” swore a different voice, sounding a bit more annoyed. “If you are sure you can get here, we’ll wait for you.”

“I’ll be there!” Forgot yelled before turning to the door.

Forgot ran faster than he ever remembered running. Sure he ran from the demons, but he knew his capture was inevitable, so there wasn’t a ton of incentive to put forth 100% effort. But now he could see freedom.

It wasn’t easy to run with such a full stomach, but there wasn’t a cramp in the world that could keep him from galloping full blast. He raced towards the atrium, passing several demons as he did, but they hadn’t reactivated yet. He opened the door and went into it.

The creatures appeared upon his entering the room. There were eight in total. Most of them were shaped like him though there was one large one that stood on their hind legs. They were standing close, some riding atop others, as if their invisible enchantment had a limited range, but separated when coming back into view.

“You’re real!” Forgot could think of nothing better to say as he tore off his mask. “You’re really real!”

“Oh my Celestia,” said one wearing a strange leather outfit and mask covering her whole body. That one pulled their mask off, revealing a purple creature like him with a broken horn. “Oliver… what have they done to you?”

“Oliwhat?” Forgot asked, but the confusion didn’t stop him from embracing that one as they approached first.

“It doesn’t matter,” the purple creature said gently. “I’m Twilight. We are here to save you.” Twilight pointed to the others one at a time. “This is Crimson, Tranquil, Gloomy, Maud, Mercury, Olivia, and Starlight.”

“We still need the life recycler,” said Maud, the one with the strange black mesh skin and bland voice. “But you are correct. We should make him safe first with the guards outside.”

“Safe?” Forgot asked. That wasn’t what he wanted! “No! You have to kill me! You have to kill me right now and then destroy my gem! I can't because I die as soon as I take it out and they’ll just come and get it!”

The other creatures stared at him, stunned expressions on their faces. Did he say something weird?

“T-the life recycler?” Forgot asked, only just then having caught the phrase in his excitement.

“The machine they used to bring you back to life,” Starlight, the pink horned annoyed-sounding one said. “Do you know where it is?”

“I know where it is near,” Forgot said. “I mean I always wake up in a different place, but it’s always in a certain area, near the noise wall.”

“Noise wall?” Starlight asked.

“There is a steel wall that looks different from the others,” explained Forgot. “Behind it I hear noises, like machines. There is a doorway there, but it has no handle, just a pad on one side with a hoof print on it. I tried a few of their hooves when I downed one, thinking it might be an exit, but they didn’t work. Maybe they have to be alive for it to open for them.”

“Crimson, do you think you might have the authority to open it?” Starlight asked.

“Doubtful,” Crimson shrugged. “I wasn’t planned to be Stable 27’s Overmare, so if it requires a hoof print, I wouldn’t be on this staff roster. What I can do is access the stable maneframe and pull up a blueprint to see what's back there, if it doesn’t require high access at least.”

“Do it,” Starlight told Crimson, who lifted a leg to look at a screen attached there.

“Maybe Starlight can get in?” asked Twilight.

“Oh yeah,” Crimson laughed. It made Forgot cringe; the only ones he'd ever heard laugh were the demons. “I’m sure they programmed it so that Daybreaker’s prized pupil could get into the secret experiment area they were probably hiding from Daybreaker.”

“Why do you need it?” Forgot asked. He wasn’t sure what all this meant and didn’t care. He desperately tried to explain again. “I don’t want to come back again. I want you to kill me and destroy my gem! I don’t want to come back, so you don’t need it!”

“We need it for other reasons,” Maud said. “It may be the only way to save the lives of my sisters.”

“Sisters?” Forgot ran the word over in his head to remember what it meant. Maybe someone important to them?

“Yes,” Maud said. “I swear that once you have assisted us, if you still wish, I will end your life without pain and make sure it remains ended.” Maud moved strangely and then put a hoof to her eye. “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a bullet in my eye.”

“Maud!” Twilight said.

“It is his right,” Maud said. “I will not deny a miserable pony mercy.”

“Pony?” asked Forgot. That word sounded familiar too, but it still didn’t matter. He had to get them what they wanted so they’d agree to take his gem far away. “I can help. Um… I can let them kill me one last time. All you have to do is vanish. When they come to take my gem back, follow them to where they take it! They’ll sleep for a time while my body gets remade and you can get it during that time. But you must keep your promise and make it so I can never come back next time! This time if possible!”

“Sweetheart,” Mercury, who had been quiet until then, spoke gently. “Please, let us take you outside. It’s better out there, I promise. At least come look before you give up and die. You could have a happy life… compared to this.”

“Yes,” agreed Twilight. “You should at least give the outside world a chance.”

“He can do as he wishes,” Starlight said. “We’ll take you outside and show you what it’s like, then if you still want to die, we will grant that wish as painlessly as possible. But for now, you have a sound plan.”

“We can’t ask him to do that!” exclaimed Twilight. “With all he’s already been through!”

“We are not forcing him to do this,” Maud said. “He offers himself. Even if I did not desire what he can assist with, I would not dishonor him by refusing his sacrifice.”

“I hate to say this, Twilight,” said Gloomy, one with odd fleshy extensions attached to his back. “But she’s right. This stallion deserves to die with a purpose after spending so long without one.”

“I agree,” said Olivia, the one standing on two legs. “I dislike it too, but we have no right to take that from him.”

“Please,” Forgot sobbed in desperation. He would do anything if it meant they would end him forever. “I’m begging you, don’t make me stay alive.”

A loud buzzer sounded.

“That’s it!” Forgot said. “They’re waking back up! Do the vanishing thing and follow me! And remember, no matter what agony they put me through, do not come to my aid! If they see you, they might not take my gem back the way they normally do!”

“Affirmative,” Maud said.

Though many of the group looked reluctant, Maud activated her invisible magic again. Crimson hopped onto Maud’s back, while Olivia carried Mercury and Tranquil, allowing them to get close enough to hide together.

“Move slowly,” said Maud. “Our speed is limited like this.”

“It’s fine,” said Forgot. “The demons move slowly when not attacking, so you'll be able to follow them after I die.”

Forgot took a deep breath and walked out of the atrium back into the hallway. He walked towards where he remembered the nearest one resting, and for the first time felt eager to die at their claws.

42. Fun

Date: Thursday 11/12/2287
POV: Maud Pie
Stable 5

The puppets made Maud want to smash them for their creepiness alone. They looked like pony marionettes without strings, moving with clicks and whirrs that betrayed their robotic nature. It did not help that they were festively dressed in bow ties and silly hats. Their black eyes with white pupils were the worst, and the very un-pony sharp teeth did not help.

But restraining herself as she watched them chop up this poor forgotten stallion was the hardest thing she had ever done. Perhaps they were angry about the door opening because the brutality they used exceeded any of his other corpses she’d seen.

‘Pinkie often has no issues with violence,’ commented Pinkie’s soul gem. ‘But this exceeds her tolerance. Yes.’

‘For sure,’ said Boulder. ‘I wish they’d let him diorite.’

Yet Maud did not turn away as she stood in her invisible corner. She felt like she owed it to Forgot for someone to see his noble sacrifice. The only other one with her was Crimson, who rode Maud's back so they wouldn’t become separated when they followed the bot. Maud backed up to the wall behind her to pin Crimson’s hips in place; the excited grinding got annoying. Crimson grumbled and pulled up her pipbuck, since she could use it in the upgraded stealth field.

The others had stationed themselves outside the entrance under an invisibility dome, remaining there in case they needed to open the door from the outside. It was good they couldn’t see this; most already looked ill from the stench of this place. By the time they finished, Forgot’s remains were spread from one end of the corridor to another.

‘They finally finished, Empress,’ Maud informed her.

‘Crimson, what did you find?’ Starlight asked over the PCB.

‘Maps on their network,’ Crimson sounded bored now that it was over. ‘And a terminal I could use to turn them off or change their mode to non-violent.’

‘Why would they program other modes into machines built for one purpose?’ asked Maud.

‘Stable-Tec over-complicated everything,’ said Crimson. ‘If you told them to make a fuel line de-icer, they’d end up giving it neuro-toxin capabilities. Anyway if they don’t have others, I can just shut them down.’

‘I wonder if we could figure out how to control them,’ Starlight wondered.

‘Everything is a method of conquest to you,’ Olivia commented. Maud kept forgetting she was on the PCB now, and likely so did Starlight.

‘We need everything we can get in our war to free Equestria,’ Crimson made an excuse for Starlight by reflex.

‘Maud and Crimson, proceed as planned,’ said Starlight. ‘Retrieve the life recycler and, if possible, Forgot’s new body.’

'We will retrieve both,' Maud assured.

‘Careful,’ Limestone’s soul gem said. ‘They will probably wake when you access the terminal.’

‘Limestone says they will wake when we access the terminal,’ Maud said over the PCB, knowing the others lacked the gift to hear her sisters.

‘Then Crimson will work quickly,’ said Starlight. ‘I’m sure she wants her wife to remain safe, and I can’t guarantee that if we have to hold them off.’

Maud wished she would stop with the threats. A grunt doing it was one thing, but royals resorting to it was distasteful. They should be better than tools like Maud.

This was why they needed Maud’s sisters back, so they had an alternative with a right to the throne. Starlight strangely didn’t realize this, almost as if she’d forgotten. Her mind was as slippery as her emotions, far more so than Maud remembered when they met before the Breaking. She’d wondered how much of the real Starlight was copied and how much was improvised by questionably-enchanted magitech.

With Forgot passed, the machines stopped cackling and strolled back down the corridor. One ripped the life gem from the back of Forgot’s neck, leaving his body there to rot like the others. Maud snuck after the mechanical menaces with Crimson atop her, stepping in time with the robots so they heard no hint of her walking.

‘Careful,’ Limestone’s gem said. ‘There will be some kind of special defense near the device.’

‘You can do it, Maud,’ encouraged Boulder. ‘You rock!’

‘The mystic rock should be careful over-using rock puns,’ said Pinkie. ‘The author can only think of so many. Yes.’

Stable 5 was well-kept aside from the cadavers littering it, and did not even seem smaller than the other stables. The brothers must have been off their noodles by the time they ordered this one built. Maud wondered if those constructing it even realized how it would be used.

‘I’m glad you’re here to carry me,’ said Crimson over the PCB. ‘My legs still hurt from your bone-breaking fetish.’

‘Next time I will break your neck,’ Maud said. 'Then none of your legs will hurt.'

‘Please keep flirting off the PCB,’ Starlight advised. ‘You’re on a mission, not a date.’

The one they followed led them to the door that Forgot described. The hoof plate that looked like the unlocking device was a red herring, though, as the creature simply knocked and waited for it to open. That was unexpectedly simple.

The noise of machinery behind the wall grew louder and the breath of fresh air from within was a relief. It beat the corpse party in the rest of the stable. Maud moved close to the creature and slipped through the door behind it.

The source of the noise was a tall balefire generator and the assembly line. There were several puppets ready to be finished, though Maud didn’t imagine Forgot ever killed many.

A screen readout displayed the words ‘Active: 205’. A graph below it showed the number increased as Forgot improved at avoiding them, starting at a mere five. He would never make it 60 days if they kept increasing. It was beyond an impossible task, but his skills at stealth must rival Maud’s by now.

A machine behind the assembly lines looked similar to a soul recycler, where the creature plugged Forgot’s life gem. After activating, it went through what Maud recognized as the body building sequence, starting with the skeletal structure. They needed that machine, but first had to shut this place down to make it out with it.

Above the machines was a catwalk that circled the room, a maneframe terminal on one side. Maud assumed that was where Crimson would need to be and moved towards the stairs leading up to the catwalk.

“Potential intruder detected,” said an cutesy robotic voice. “Scanning for murder-able objects in the immediate vicinity.”

Maud turned to see the speaker as she continued moving. It was another robot, but this one was different. It looked more advanced, with interwoven steel plates instead of disjointed gears. Most of it was white, but it had a pink and purple mane and tail. It would be cute if not for the lethality.

The green irises in its eyes scanned the room as its head turned. Maud assumed it was who opened the door and the closest thing to an overmare.

While she doubted it detected her, Maud took no chances and sped her movements. She kept her steps inconsistent so they would be hard to detect as hoof steps beneath the buzz of machinery.

“Switching to heat-signatures,” the Overbot said.

That was not ideal; if anything, her armor was hotter than her. She hurried to the base of the steps, but the catwalk would not be easy to walk on without sound.

“Intruder located,” the Overbot announced. “The fun begins immediately.”

Oh well. Maud could use some life-or-death combat to relax after the long trip there.

Maud turned and bucked Crimson off her back, sending her flying towards the top of the catwalk. Crimson landed with a grunt, and Maud bucked the stairs leading up to it. The metal groaned as it gave out and the stairs collapsed, leaving no easy way to the top so the Overbot would concentrate on her before Crimson.

Maud let the pulse barding’s stealth field fall and faced the creature. The Overbot faced her in return, assuming a wide-hooved stance and zeroing in.

“Oh, that’s nice!” Crimson staggered to her hooves. She galloped to the maneframe terminal. “You better not let it kill you, you cheating slut!”

Maud grumbled at Crimson then added to the PCB. ‘They have detected us. I am holding them off while Crimson works.’

Maud could not risk using Ashmaker with the balefire reactor and other dangerous or important things nearby. She had the AIE grenades they got from the raider base too, but those were out of the question since they could fry both the terminal and the life recycler, and she didn’t want to use Gigglers for similar reason if she could help it. She pulled Mite out instead and stood on her hind hooves to hold it with her front. She hoped it didn’t have any...

“Set phasers to hug!” the Overbot exclaimed as twin barrels unfolded from either flank.

Maud leaped to one side as jolts of energy rang through the room and charred the wall behind her. She took cover behind a steel beam, but couldn’t hide long lest it attack Crimson.

“That was not a hug,” Maud responded. “But if it is, I advise you not to hug in a room shared with a balefire reactor.”

“Targeting systems will not allow damage to the reactor or other valuable components,” the Overbot informed. So it would not fire on Crimson with her standing next to the maneframe, which was good.

‘Stand in front of the reactor,’ Limestone’s gem suggested. Maud was so glad to have Limestone’s advice even if its existence made little sense.

Maud feinted one way before moving the other as soon as its barrels trained on her predicted location. The blasts of energy missed again as Maud rushed to the reactor and took her stance in front.

“Unfairness detected!” the Overbot complained.

Who the buck programmed this thing?

The strategy worked and the robot charged her. It reared forward, front hooves splaying out as blades extended. Maud activated Mite’s rocket attachment, hitting a home run against its head and sending the whole robot flying across the room and over the assembly line. It quickly staggered to its hooves, merely dinged.

The puppet that brought in Forgot’s life gem joined the fray, charging her from another angle. That was easy enough as Maud slammed the hammer down on its head. Remembering the open door where more could enter, Maud kicked the rest of the smashed bot to slam against the door opening mechanism. The door slid shut just as several other puppets were rounding the corner, locking them out.

Maud leaped backward, landing atop the reactor, staggering but keeping her balance on the slanted edge. While the ones outside didn’t look like they could climb, the Overbot rushed the reactor and effortlessly scaled the side. Oh good, it had cybernetic sticky hooves for climbing.

‘Try not to damage the legs,’ Limestone suggested. ‘They might work for Kamikaze.’

“I will do my best,” Maud advised. Kami would definitely like the knife-hooves.

‘Maud! Crimson! We got company out here,’ Starlight’s voice came over the PCB. ‘They haven’t seen us yet, but we’ll have to engage them if they look like they might close the door.’

‘Tsk, such a cliché line to have ‘company’,’ complained Pinkie’s soul gem.

‘Why is it taking so long?’ Starlight asked.

‘I’m trying!’ Crimson replied. ‘I’m in but like I said everything is over-complicated. Finding my way through the menus is like finding a virgin whore in Las Pegasus.’

‘Get it done, both of you!’ Starlight said. ‘If they manage to close the door and we can’t stop them, there’s no guarantee we can open it again.’

The Overbot rushed Maud again. She backed up against the most vital looking components and swung for another home run. The thing adapted, ducking the swing and coming low instead. Maud leaped into the air in time to avoid dismemberment and landed back on the floor near the assembly line.

‘You have Pinkie’s explosives, do you not?’ Pinkie’s gem suggested. ‘You should use the giggler grenades! Pinkie wants to hear them cackle one last time. Yes.’

Maud had wanted to avoid them if possible, as using them in here had a very high chance of damaging something she didn’t want damaged, especially if the Overbot kicked it away. No matter how fun grenades were, it seemed like a bad idea, at least until Limestone agreed with it.

‘Albeit by accident, she has a point.’ Limestone added. ‘Pull the pin, so it would activate if you dropped it, but don’t.’

Maud would not stop following Limestone’s orders, even if unsure if it was her own subconscious. She pulled out a giggler, activating it and holding it against one outstretched hoof.

The Overbot charged off the reactor towards Maud, but skidded to a halt and returned to a battle stance, not wanting to risk damage to the assembly line. This eliminated its options for attacking her, so they played a staring contest, the Overbot processing how to kill Maud while Maud pondered how to dispose of the grenade without losing her advantage. The Overbot stood near enough the reactor that Maud would not attack it with the grenade either.

“Deactivate the explosive device and surrender your life, you meanie mean pants,” the Overbot demanded.

Finally the Overbot decided to do what Maud hoped it would not. It turned and climbed the wall to the catwalk.

“Almost there,” Crimson said as if not seeing what came for her.

“You have incoming, Crimson!” Maud called.

Maud turned, slamming a hoof against the door controls to open it again. She tossed the grenade into the puppets standing outside before closing it again. As an explosion rang out from outside and the frame of the door shuddered, Maud galloped to leap to the opposite end of the catwalk from the Overbot.

“I’m typing it!” Crimson called out as she watched the Overbot charge her out of one corner of her eye.

‘It is about time we had a scene where we barely have enough time to do something,’ Pinkie’s gem said. ‘Yes.’

Maud galloped and leaped over Crimson’s head, landing her hind hooves on the Overbot’s head seconds before it could make contact with Crimson. She brought her hammer down against its front, breaking the extended blades. Kamikaze would have to hope those could be fixed.

That did not stop it though. It rolled, sliding out from beneath her and grabbing hold of one of Crimson’s legs. It bent it back at the knee until it snapped.

“I bucking hate déjà vu!” Crimson squealed as she collapsed, continuing to type with her magic.

Maud slammed her hooves into the bot again, knocking it back to the floor, but it immediately climbed again. Maud gritted her teeth, glancing at the life recycler once more to make sure it was okay.

Wait. Where did Forgot go?

Maud found Forgot just in time to see him twist a power cable from the assembly line with his magic. The mad little stallion did not realize that it was not so easy to bring back Maud and Crimson if he killed them in the process of stopping the Overbot.

As the bot landed back atop the catwalk, Forgot tossed the cable up to the metal. Maud grabbed hold of Crimson and tossed her off. The sound of Crimson landing on the floor included a sickening bone crunch, but it beat the alternative as the cable touched the catwalk.

As the energy surged through the catwalk, the pulse armor absorbed enough to prevent serious damage. The Overbot had no such luck. Sparks flew and smoke belched as it screamed out random robotic noises and collapsed, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

“Buck you too!” Crimson cried out. “So desperate to get in a leg snap before I die? Bucking hurts...”

Crimson did not bother pretending to like pain when alone with Maud. Fairly alone at least, but Crimson did not see Forgot yet.

“Did we win?” Forgot asked.

“Oh, hay there,” Crimson turned to see him as she rolled over onto her back, then looked to Maud. “The ones outside are in butler mode, and good luck taking them out of it since the maneframe terminal fried.”

Maud landed on the floor near Crimson and wheezed, the violence having made her somewhat hot and bothered. She growled and looked at Crimson, eyes locking onto her.

“Am I about to die?” Crimson chuckled. “Or just get bucked?”

“You are about to do both if you fail to get me off quickly enough,” growled Maud.

Maud tackled Crimson onto her back and began to shed her own armor.

“Uh, what are you doing?” Forgot whimpered. “Did I cause a fight? I’m sorry…” The poor stallion had forgotten what sex was, and certainly what lesbians were.

‘She’s getting her rocks off!’ said Boulder, not that Forgot could hear his awful puns; that was Maud's curse.

POV: Twilight Sparkle

It had been somewhat random to find an old magic school friend inside the stable, though she wasn’t sure if they met in this timeline. With him lacking memory, it didn’t matter, but she still felt terrible for sending him to die.

Now, Twilight stood with the others in the tunnel outside the stable door, ready to hold the door if needed. They stayed under Starlight’s invisibility dome, which gave them more room than the stealth field. They could see one another inside the dome, but couldn’t move outside without being seen.

Everyone had stayed, though Tranquil and Mercury were near the back. Gloomy, of course, remained next to Twilight. Starlight stood at the front of the group, Olivia next to her with her grimoire against her chest. Twilight wondered how powerful her magic was, but hadn’t seen her face anything powerful enough to test it, and she couldn’t exactly ask what her power level was.

As the dog stood there, Twilight noticed she regularly glanced at Mercury. Twilight wondered if Olivia suspected Mercury knew something about Kyo, and Twilight considered telling her, except that she promised Mercury she wouldn’t. Maybe she could convince Mercury to allow it.

“You sure you’re alright?” Gloomy asked her in a whisper, yet again. “Sorry I didn’t notice that when it happened.”

“Very, and now is not the time, there’s bigger daisies to munch than Crimson being...Crimson,” Twilight replied. She hated to brush it off like a childish prank, but dwelling on it didn’t really help. Besides that, in a weird way it showed how much more Crimson respected her that she’d even go for it.

‘They have detected us. I am holding them off while Crimson works.’ Maud said over the PCB.

Twilight didn’t respond lest she chance distracting Maud during combat, as did the others. She looked to Starlight to see what she would say.

“We’ll hold unless it looks like the bots can move the obstruction from the door,” Starlight said aloud.

There were a few already clanging into the atrium to look at the door and more would doubtless follow when they saw the large steel beam Starlight obstructed it with.

‘Should we call for the dog guards further out?’ asked Gloomy over the PCB when they got closer.

‘I’m sure Crimson won’t take too long,’ said Starlight. ‘Let’s not owe them one if we don’t have to.’

‘You do realize that I am one of ‘them’, yes?’ Olivia commented.

‘I meant no offense,’ Starlight jerked slightly. ‘I just don’t want to tax our relationship so soon by asking for a lot of help.’

Starlight had a lot of confidence in her friends, which was good, though maybe she saw them as minions. She might also just be cocky due to her luck so far; unfortunately, Starlight's wickedness seemed directly proportional to her confidence.

‘This is a big problem,’ Mercury sighed as she stepped up to the rest. ‘There are a lot coming in there, maybe near a hundred.’

‘We could really use Pinkie’s chaingun about now,’ sighed Starlight.

‘Stand steady,’ Olivia said, stepping past Starlight to the edge of the dome and opening her grimoire. It automagically flipped open to the spell she wanted as she stretched out the opposite palm to face the stable door. ‘If they make progress, I will destroy them.’

‘Destroy them?’ Starlight sounded incredulous.

Twilight had to admit she was as well, perhaps a bit of shameful dog stereotypes remained.

‘Any reason you’re waiting?’ asked Starlight, sounding irritated, possibly offended Olivia had stood in front of her.

‘Because the more that are in the atrium,’ said Olivia, the runes glowing on her grimoire. ‘The more that I can destroy in a single blast. I’m being efficient.’

“Right,” Starlight said, seeming to dismiss the claim and charging up her own horn.

‘Save your magic,’ Olivia informed her. ‘It is unnecessary.’

Olivia glanced at Starlight with the very beginnings of a smirk. Perhaps she wanted to show Starlight what she was capable of as intimidation, especially if she had suspicions, but it seemed unlikely she could take out a room full with a single spell.

When over a dozen of the creatures were tugging on the beam at once, it began to shift, and that was what Olivia seemed to have been waiting on. She released the spell she’d been charging.

A funnel of magic shot from her outstretched palm, incandescent energy blasting through the corridor and into the atrium like a wind tunnel of death. Sparks and metal flew as a blender of magical blades shredded the puppets into pieces, raining to the floor in chunks.

The blast funneled through the large room beyond like a whirlwind, and when the magical energy dissipated, every robot in the atrium was raining spare parts clattering onto the floor. Twilight’s muzzle fell open. Not only was it an extreme amount of energy, but it was perfectly controlled, barely touching anything in the room that wasn’t a target. Not even Twilight at her most powerful could have matched the precision.

Olivia’s magic seemed to channel through the book on its way into her hand and out into force, making Twilight want to look in Olivia’s book more than ever. She doubted she’d allow it.

The spell nullified the invisibility Starlight had cast, and Starlight prepared to fire her own spell, only to pause and look at Olivia with wide eyes. As more puppets flooded into the room again, Olivia raised her palm again, waiting for them to get closer. The creatures didn’t seem bright enough to know the danger they were in even as they waded through the last batch, so maybe a surprise attack getting most of them wasn’t even needed.

“You… can actually do that more than once?” Starlight stared, while everyone else, including Twilight, were speechless.

But before there was a need for a second blast, everything stopped. The puppets skidded to a halt, a few tumbling flat on their faces from the momentum. They remained still for a moment before walking back towards the interior of the stable as if nothing had occurred.

“Did she do it?” Tranquil stammered.

‘Maud, Crimson?’ Starlight asked over the PCB. No answer.

“We have to get to them,” said Twilight. “Even if they succeeded, they could be hurt.

Starlight projected her map in front of her. She eyed Olivia one more time, then cantered back into the stable. Mercury was next to her, while Twilight, Gloomy, and Tranquil followed them.

Olivia, on the other hoof, turned and walked out of the tunnel leading into the stable, likely to speak to the dogs outside. Perhaps she wanted to send a message about their progress.

The others didn’t speak to one another as they hurried through the corridors. They passed animatronics that would have tried to kill them earlier, but the creatures appeared docile. They were cleaning up the corpses and carrying them off for disposal.

As they approached their destination, they found Forgot standing outside the open door amongst the remains of exploded puppets.

“Ah, hello,” Forgot stammered, shivering as if not being in danger freaked him out more than what he was used to.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked as Starlight moved ahead through the door. She moved to Forgot instead, smiling in an effort to calm him.

“Um, yes and no?” Forgot shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re being weird at each other. I felt uncomfortable and left.” His voice got lower. “I think they might be hurt, they don’t have… thingies between their hind legs.”

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Twilight assured awkwardly. The poor thing forgot there was more than one gender too it seemed, and hadn’t noticed until now, which meant they’d taken off their armor, which meant...

“Maud, no!” Starlight screamed after entering. “I told you not to kill ponies without my command!”

Yep. Any affection between those two could definitely be mistaken for attempted murder.

Twilight followed inside in time to see Starlight pull Maud off of Crimson with her magic. Crimson was on her back, overcome with violent twitching as Mercury rushed to her, one of her legs broken at the knee.

“I was not killing her,” Maud claimed, both calm and breathless. “I believe the correct term is ‘hate sex’. Also I am not the one that broke her leg this time. The Overbot did it for me.”

Mercury looked over Crimson, pulling bandages from her saddle bags and wrapped the broken leg as she moved a potion to Crimson’s lips. Tranquil leaned down with her, assisting with the bandaging as much as she could and looking worried.

Crimson was bruised as if having been pummeled, but if Maud had actually tried to kill her, she’d be in pieces.

“If you really want to make me feel better, you could do one of your dances,” Crimson grinned to Tranquil.

“Ah, um,” Tranquil blushed and shook her rear slightly while continuing to work. “That’s all I can do right now, I’ve gotten a bit rusty.”

“Hmph,” Crimson seemed disappointed, but looked over to the others instead. “I saved the day I guess? I better find someone innocent to kill soon to make sure my alignment doesn't shift. Where’d that Forgot guy get to? Someone needs to give that guy emergency sex ed; I’d advise emergency gender reassignment too while he’s still gullible.”

Twilight looked around for him as well. Maud and Starlight examined the life recycler with Forgot now looking on in fascination but seeming afraid to get too close. He'd probably never seen the instrument of his eternal torment.

“It's an early model all right, no wonder he’s got memory issues,” Starlight said. “We can't even use it with your gems, but some components are the same. Can you still carry it to the wagon?”

“Always,” Maud nodded. “We must get this to Solar.”

Starlight nodded and looked thoughtful.

“It's fine, Oliver,” Twilight placed a hoof on Forgot's shoulder when she noticed him staring into space. “You're free and safe now.”

“I-I'm free?” Forgot jumped at the touch and looked confused. “N-no… they’ll find me… I should die forever just to be safe…”

“You need to get that out of your head,” Gloomy said. “You never know when your life might suddenly change for the better”

“Oliver,” sighed Twilight. “Please, life is worth holding onto. I know we only just met, but I care about you, and so do… some of the others. I’m sure more will in Holder, the safe haven we’re based in. Please…”

As she smiled gently at Forgot, she noticed a flicker of light. Once again, she saw rainbows reflect across a pony’s eyes. Forgot didn’t react as Crimson had, simply staring as if momentarily catatonic from confusion.

It happened again?

“Oliver?” Twilight asked slowly.

“Yes,” he nodded. “You’re right… I want to get to know more ponies like you. I want to heal others, like you healed me, and that means… hanging on to life, I guess like you said.”

“Good,” Twilight smiled. “Um… wow this is going to be even harder to explain to you.”

She turned, opening up her saddlebag and a smaller sack of things inside it.

“This stuff again?” Gloomy shook his head and smirked. “You actually brought a bag of random gifts in case you needed them?”

“Well, it turns out I did need one, didn’t it?” Twilight smiled back at him.

Twilight tugged out a beaded necklace, slipping it around the confused stallion’s neck. Sure enough, it shimmered again with a rainbow glimmer. It puzzled her though, because like with Crimson, she wasn’t sure what Element he was. His lesson seemed to be about love and life, but that didn’t match any Element she knew. It was the same with Crimson. Was her’s Mercy? Justice? It hadn’t occurred to her previously that the Elements might change with each iteration, perhaps based on what the world needed.

“I got this from a zebra merchant in Holder, where you’ll be going,” Twilight told him. “She told me the green beads represent life, and the white ones healing. It can remind you of your lesson.”

“I-I’ll keep it forever,” Oliver teared up as he reached a hoof up to feel it.

“Good,” smiled Twilight. “I’ll… explain more about it once you’ve had some time to settle in, but do keep it safe.”

“Is everything okay here?” Olivia asked as she entered, having found her way following the signals.

“It seems so, Olivia,” smiled Twilight.

“If you no longer wish me to put you down,” said Maud as she turned to Oliver. “We can escort you to Holder as we return the recycler there for study.”

“We can't escort him back now ourselves,” Starlight shook her head. “Olivia, now that they have no need to guard the entrance, can the soldiers outside escort Forgot to Holder? It’s important that we not be delayed.”

“The Over-bot too,” Maud said, motioning to the more advanced looking robot crumpled on the floor nearby. “Its legs are repairable and could work better for Kamikaze.”

“I am sure they would be happy to,” nodded Olivia. ‘Though, if Holder is not to your liking, or you’re not comfortable near another stable, you’re welcome to live in my home city Ramble. We have a number of ponies living there happily already.”

“T-thank you,” Forgot nodded, then blinked as his eyes went lower on the dog. “You don’t have one either…”

“One what?” Olivia tilted her head.

“A-am I the only one with one?” Oliver’s eyes widened. “Am I deformed?”

“Oh goodness,” Twilight face-hoofed with a heavy blush. “No, Olivier… look… I’ll explain that a bit before you head to Holder.”

Oliver nodded, putting a front hoof on his new necklace and playing with it.

“You sure I shouldn’t explain it to him?” asked Crimson. “I can do the opposite of my favorite spell on him and..”

“Crimson…” Twilight peered at her. “Please do not speak to him about anything, until I’ve explained. And if you try to illustrate using my body like earlier, I swear to Celestia my horn stub is going up your butt so hard that bits of you will rain down on fire.”

Twilight could barely believe her own words, but she meant them. It scared her a little that the tendency to threaten friends with murder might be rubbing off on her.

“Whoa, mascot finally got kinky!” replied Crimson with a chuckle and a slap to Twilight’s ass, making her sigh. She should’ve seen that one coming, realizing too late that Crimson would take it for a flirt.

“D-did I cause another fight?” Oliver sounded ready to tear up.

“Crimson attracts fights on her own,” Maud said. “She is allergic to peace and quiet.”

“Allergic?” asked Olvier.

“She breaks out in terrible rashes,” claimed Maud, too dead-pan for the joke to be obvious. “That is why I was hitting her earlier. To protect her.”

“Maud, please,” Twilight sighed. While she was sure Maud was only being playful...

“Really?” Oliver looked at Crimson as if pitying her. He also forced himself to speak louder, as if thinking it would help her ‘allergy’ to quiet. “I’m sorry to hear that! I hope things go better for you, but I don’t think I can hit you… I’m really sorry!”

“You know what?” Crimson smirked. “You’re right, Not-Midnight. I can’t do it, he’s actually too innocent for me to want to corrupt. Whoever thought we’d see this day?”

“Twilight, explain sex to him before he breaks,” Starlight sighed. “And why it should only be done when ponies have time and a damn room.”

“Maybe warn him about Solar, too,” Mercury helpfully suggested. “For when he gets to Holder.”

“Maybe advise the PUB instead, if he wants to try,” Olivia suggested, adding to the already weird conversation. “They would be gentle and I can send a letter requesting he receive a free service of his choice.”

Twilight blushed...this was going to take a while to go over, and she didn’t have her best sex ed books on her, so she’d have to say it all herself.

“Right,” Starlight rolled her eyes. “Then we’ll send him on his way with Olivia’s guards and head to Ramble ourselves. I'd like to speak with their leader before we sleep, if possible.”

“Chief Fluffy, that is,” Olivia said. “He will be most interested to speak to you I am sure.”

43. Settling In

Date: Friday 11/11/2287
POV: Midnight Sparkle
Midnight Castle

Midnight was tired of this constant planning. Not only were they having to evacuate important things to Underfree while coming up with ways to delay Trinity’s assault, but she also had to dig up from Underfree to have an alternate route to the Mirror Pool; she hadn’t given up on repairing it, if she could find a way to control them without being able to inject any memories upon creation. Perhaps Stable 27’s cryo-rehab techniques would be of use.

She didn't remember being this busy since early in the War. So now she sat atop the castle to rest, wearing headphones so that her nearby royal guards couldn't hear what she listened to.

”We're back with Best Friend Cozy Glow,” Shimmy’s voice spoke over Midnight's radio. “Who was telling us why ponies should STAY THE TARTARUS AWAY from the vicinity of Stable 2, the capital of Gollytopia.”

“Thank you, Shimmy!” Cozy replied. “As you know, one of the many benefits of living in Gollytopia is the ready availability of pet tatzlponies!”

“Oh, I love the tatzlponies!” Shimmy agreed. “They're just so cute!”

“Exactly, Shimmy!” Cozy said. “Who could resist those sweet little faces and the cute way they shuffle around on all those tentacles they have. And the adorable noises they make when implanting their eggs into their victims, golly! But ponies must be so caught up with their pleasant features that they forget the most important thing about tatzlponies.”

“And what might that be, Best Friend Cozy Glow?”

“Tatzlponies EAT ponies, Shimmy!” Cozy helpfully explained. “You see, unevolved ponies are a lot smaller and much more tender than you or I! So tatzlponies naturally see them as a food source or a convenient place to lay their eggs. Usually both, often at the same time.”

“Ahh, I see,” Shimmy pretended it was new information. “That would be a significant hurdle in their efforts to form lasting friendships.”

“Indeed!” Cozy nodded. “I had to make a hard choice when I created Gollytopia! Do we invite WEAK, GREEDY ponies to walk through our territory, who would just die from something else anyway? Or should I let the cute, lovable tatzlponies, who fight and die for us and ask nothing in return, roam free?” She added as casually as she might announce her order at a restaurant. “After much deliberation, I went with the tatzlponies.”

“And there you have it, Gollytopia!” Shimmy sounded pleased. “The next time you play with a huggable, lovable tatzlpony, remember that Best Friend Cozy Glow made it all possible!”

“Golly, no need to thank me!” Cozy assured. “I just do what I can to spread friendship!”

“Do you think this is why we get so few volunteers at Stable 2?” asked Shimmy. “Hundreds must want to trade their WEAK PATHETIC bodies for SUPERIOR super-mutant forms, yet we almost never get recruits showing up.”

“I do think that is the problem,” said Cozy. “That is why this information is so important. Remember, ponies. If you come to be upgraded, wait at the border to be transferred to the factory for processing instead of trying to walk to Stable 2 on your own. Unless you've been given food or egg-sack duty, you absolutely shouldn't approach any of the cute wildlife surrounding our territory before you've been properly evolved.”

“By my Shadow, how does Cozy even come up with this stuff?” Midnight rolled her eyes as she slipped and spoke aloud. Though she had to admit; she'd miss these segments when she finally killed Cozy.

“My favorites are her 'all-seeing eye' bits.” Watcher’s voice came from behind her.

Midnight turned suddenly to face a sprite-bot that had buzzed atop Midnight castle with her. Her nearby guards raised their weapons, but lowered them slowly as Midnight raised a hoof. She didn't like Watcher being here, for certain, but with Trinity about to storm her gates she couldn't turn down Statera's assistance.

Watcher had spoken to both Midnight and her bat general Ethereal when he was directing the movement of supplies. Midnight hated that Statera saw a need to assist her openly like this. They'd always done their best to pretend they didn't exist, so for them to come forward and offer their aid, Trinity must really have the upper hoof on her.

“Watcher,” Midnight growled. “A pleasure to see you, though less of a pleasure to be unable to kill your controller. Do you have news?”

“Indeed,” said Watcher. “Trinity found the bat pony's body we planted at the edge of your territory and has taken the information he carried as real. She now believes you will send forces into the Foal Mountains to try to take her out before she attacks. However, she believes you underestimated her numbers and will send too few. She delayed her attack on the Everfree while she set up a trap there. Cozy believes it will eliminate a large portion of your twilicorns before she intrudes on the castle itself. Regardless, it will probably buy at least another week before she decides you aren't really sending a unit in and they should go ahead and attack, perhaps longer.”

“They are not 'twilicorns',” corrected Midnight, though she wasn't sure why she bothered in this case. She couldn't fear-aura Watcher to submission through a sprite-bot, and depending on what Watcher was, she might not be able to in person either. “They are Divine Likenesses.”

“You're welcome,” Watcher quipped. “I have also decided to share the other information you wanted us to confirm. It is true that Trinity has discovered a method of creating super-mutants without pony subjects by cloning them, which while slower than the Mirror Pool, will give her an effectively unlimited amount without needing to find victims. There must still be things to work out about it, since she hasn’t started this method of production yet, but we’d be fools to assume she won’t start soon.”

“Urgh, brilliant,” Midnight face-hoofed. “What about the changelings?”

“The rumor that Trinity has increased her hive-range seems to be propaganda,” said Watcher. “She still does not have the range to get one into your territory while still under her control, and isn't likely to any time soon. We’ve had no reports of her changelings appearing outside the current range, though it’s impossible to know for sure.”

“Well, one out of two isn’t bad. A mare doesn’t need her rear half to lick ya, as they say,” Midnight shrugged with a bit of humor to play off her worry.

“I doubt anyone says that but you,” Watcher said. “Anyway, I advise you to let as few ponies know of your strategy as possible, just in case I am incorrect about the changelings.”

“As always,” shrugged Midnight.

“Is there anything else I can assist with before departing?” Watcher asked, in a tone that was hard to tell if it was meant as mocking. “And I am not putting this thing inside you again, regardless of what you offer in return; that was a waste of a perfectly-good sprite-bot.”

“You could always tell me who you are,” Midnight said. “I’d even settle for what you are, but since I assume you won't, I'll ask about the reports I received that Queen Chrysalis is in Holder and shacked up with Starlight Glimmer's band of buffoons. The only reason I haven’t acted against Starlight is because I realize she has an insane plan to infiltrate the Ministry of Magitech while Trinity’s forces are busy. Never stop an enemy when they’re making a mistake, they also say.”

“You knew about the meeting?” Watcher was given pause on that one, which was a bit pleasing. “I’d say you heard it on Songsmith’s radio show, but he only knew when she was in transit and arrived.”

“It’s a good thing,” Midnight rolled her eyes. “If he’d known everything, I might have gone insane from frustration.”

“And we’d hate for you to go insane,” Watcher said sarcastically. “But the number of people in on that meeting was quite small. Are you honestly saying that you-”

“That’s not really important to the present conversation, now is it,” Midnight cut them off. She doubted there was any way they could identify her source, but she wanted them to know they were being watched to make them more paranoid of defying her.

That and it was nice to show she wasn’t completely vulnerable. Midnight had enough embarrassment these days from dimwitted guards or Watcher barging in during moments even she considered private. It was damaging her vanity to have someone around she couldn’t intimidate at all.

“That is indeed the case,” confirmed Watcher. “She is with Starlight because they have plans to attack Trinity's base while Cozy is distracted fighting you. It is advisable to let her be so she can make that attempt, since whether it succeeds or fails you will be minus one annoyance. I can confirm Chrysalis has no hive and no way to seriously threaten us.”

“My source seemed to think Chrysalis wasn’t with Trinity as well,” Midnight raised one eyebrow. “Though honestly that doesn’t seem right. You can confirm it?”

“I am absolutely certain,” said Watcher. “Chrysalis is more of a threat to herself these days than anyone else. Would I mislead you at a time like this?”

“No you won't lie to me until later, when I'm on top, and not in the fun way,” Midnight rolled her eyes.

Still, Midnight knew Chrysalis was a threat to more than Chrysalis. Midnight would demand Starlight take care of Chrysalis the moment she was no longer of any use, but there was no reason to tell Watcher that. He might end up hearing it from that Moon-damned Songsmith first anyway.

POV: Forgot
Holder

The dogs in the wagon laughed uproariously at Best Friend Cozy’s segment about tatzlponies. After hearing it though, Forgot was rethinking his decision to delay suicide. Thankfully, they turned the radio off as they approached a tall wall with a wide wagon-sized door on it.

Two strange creatures were in front of it, talking, but grew silent when they arrived. One was wearing a uniform, a computer on his front right leg as the ones that rescued him had. The creature had odd, thick red fur on its head and front feet that looked like the 'hands' that the dogs had, if more gangly. The other looked much like a pony, but with black and white stripes covering his body.

“Are we expecting you?” the creature said, polite but official.

“We don't need entry,” said one of the canine escorts. “We return this pony to pony town. Your friends rescued him from the stable near Ramble. Starlight-pony says to give him a place to sleep and tasks to integrate into pony town culture. Says Custard pony can help and will make her feel more important and helpful than she is.”

“We not supposed to tell him that last thing,” pointed out the second dog.

“Never mind, then,” said the first dog. “Also, we have a broken robot to give to the ponies Dinky and Solar.”

“Wow, your species,” commented the creature as he took the folder from the dog. “... really has a wide range of intelligence.”

“Thank you,” smiled the dogs.

As the creature flipped through the file they gave him, the striped one looked over his shoulder. Something seemed to catch his eye, because he looked up at Forgot.

“This says you have a life gem?” the striped one asked. “And were part of an experiment where you were forced to hide?”

“Uh yeah…” Forgot shuffled a bit and looked away, not wanting to talk about it.

“You can talk to him later, Xander,” the other creature said. “Looks like I'm going to escort him to Dinky first; I guess she’s the least dangerous of Starlight's buds. I'll take care of getting him there and making sure the parts are delivered.”

“I’ll find you later,” Xander nodded to Forgot.

Forgot hoped he wasn’t being rude by not talking now, but it still felt weird to be talking to other creatures at all, especially when some were delivering him somewhere he didn’t understand. The winged creature hefted the dead robot onto his back, which also had a note attached to it for once it was delivered. Forgot obediently followed the creature through the door and into what was beyond, nodding awkwardly at Xander in parting.

The 'settlement' as his escort called it was full of more creatures. Most looked similar to Forgot, some were like the others he'd seen, and some were different than anything he could have imagined. Could all these creatures live together in one place? They must have banded together for protection when the demons came to kill them. That would explain the walls and guards as well.

The more he looked at things, however, he realized that these would be terrible places to hide with the open streets and so many windows...did they never have demons here? Surely not, those things could easily have gone the path the wagon took. Then again, much of the path was barren and open, like little happened there.

He turned to catch up to the creature after falling behind to look, but made an observation when seeing him from behind.

“Oh, you have what I have,” Forgot nodded, remembering the strange lecture he’d gotten from Twilight. “Just like the dogs that escorted me.” He got quieter. “Did you know we can put it in other creatures?”

“Huh?” the creature arched an eyebrow, taking a moment to get what he meant. “Uh, yeah. I did know that.”

Forgot suddenly felt as if he’d said something weird without meaning too, and felt strangely hot around his cheeks.

“My name is Ginger, by the way,” said the creature when Forgot quietened. “You’re 'Forgot', huh? Interesting name; I hope that's not your special talent or anything. Looks like a keyboard on your rump.”

“Wow,” said Forgot, glancing at the mark on his flank. “It really is called that? Um… I'm told my real name is Oliver Spoon... or Moon or Boon or something, but I think I'll go by Forgot because it's easier to say. Uh... no offense but, may I ask what you are? And what these other creatures are? And rock rooms?”

“Never seen a griffon before?” Ginger asked. “Well, they did imply you were trapped in a stable. That was some hardcore stuff according to Starlight's letter, sorry you went through that.”

“I don't want to talk about that,” Forgot said quietly.

“Right,” Ginger nodded, then smiled as if trying to lighten things. “I saw you had free PUB tickets in that folder though. Ask for either of the griffons, the guy or the girl, they both have magic fingers.”

“Really?” Forgot wondered if that was similar to a magic horn, nodding. “Sure, I’ll ask for magic fingers.”

This griffon thing was nice and helpful at least. He pointed out the various creatures as they trotted too, but Forgot doubted he'd remember them all. He said the rock rooms, or buildings, were for different things like trading items, relaxation, and some were where creatures lived.

“No one has to hide where they sleep to keep from getting murdered?” Forgot asked in awe. “This is amazing!”

“Uh, yeah that is quite the perk,” Ginger sounded unsure again, but nodded.

Forgot worried he might have said something weird again; it was impossible to tell. As they continued to walk, Ginger pulled the computer thing on his front leg up and spoke to it.

“Custard?” Ginger asked through what Forgot assumed was a radio. “I have somepony I'm supposed to hoof off to Dinky, but she's not answering her radio.”

“Oh she's here at the Pie museum,” Custard said. “She turned it off so she wouldn't be disturbed while we played.”

“I told you not to tell anyone I was playing!” a dry-sounding voice called from the background. Another voice then came. “Wait, they're hoofing someone off, and to me?...that’s weird. Are they hot at least I guess?”

“You know I’m right here and I don’t want to hear about if someone’s hot…” said Custard, who must have had some problem with warm things? Strange.

“Not like that,” Ginger said. “I’m on my way over though.”

“Why would I be hot?” Forgot asked in confusion.

“Poor Dinky is pent up to be sounding so much like Solar, even jokingly,” Ginger said to Forgot as they continued. “Don’t think you’ll want to do that with her either, but you'll like her anyway, she’s pretty nice. Just so you don't freak out when you see her, though, Dinky is a ghoul. That means she's basically a walking, rotting corpse, which can make interactions... awkward. Ghouls tend to be sensitive about people reacting harshly to that, so try to take it easy.”

“Did her life gem malfunction?” Forgot asked. “And make her rot?”

“Uh…” Ginger took a moment to work through it. “Oh, soul gem? Most ponies don’t have those. Most ponies when they die the first time… they’re just dead. That’s it.”

“Wow, lucky,” Forgot nodded. He could only accept the nonsense he was told. He wondered if that was something else he knew but forgot. “Can we pause? I need to empty my bladder.”

“Sure, the bathroom is over-- hey, stop it!” Ginger’s voice suddenly went up a pitch.

It took a moment for Forgot to realize what was wrong and stopped watering the pavement. He glanced around, realizing that others were looking at him as if he’d done something strange, either looking shocked, disgusted, or giggling.

“Did I do something bad again?” Forgot asked quietly. He was getting frustrated by continually messing things up. “I did it on the floor in the stable and on the ground on the way here so I figured…”

“I’ll take you to the restroom,” sighed Ginger. “Doing it on the ground while traveling between cities is fine, but inside cities, keep it to restrooms. It’s not sanitary otherwise. Creatures will get sick.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Forgot nodded. “Maybe that’s one reason my stomach feels so much clearer since leaving my stable.”

“Among other things I read in the letter, yeah,” Ginger looked slightly ill himself thinking about it.

Ginger took him to one of these ‘restrooms’, showing him the symbol that was used to designate them in Holder. Apparently one typically used one alone, so Forgot hoped he remembered everything next time he had to, especially how to use ‘the three rocks’ when he had to go the other way. This time the griffon explained, while looking very awkward, and then sighed with relief when they continued onward.

The 'Pie Family Museum' was just as different and fascinating as everything else. Apparently, it was in honor of some brave ponies, including Maud. Forgot had no doubt that Maud was worthy of such praise after seeing her in action, even if he only got to see the last bit of the fight.

Dinky was disturbing to look at, and Forgot felt instinctual dread at the slightly unnatural way that her body moved. He pushed it down though; it was nothing compared to what he'd dealt with after all. Dinky was very small too, which helped.

The other one, who Forgot assumed was Custard, was also pretty small. She played with four little model ponies, one of which depicted Maud. Dinky looked longingly at them too, but seemed to be avoiding play in front of others.

“Um, hello,” Forgot said as Ginger left him there.

“Uh… sup,” Dinky said awkwardly as she took the folder from Ginger in her telekinetic grasp.

Ginger left the robot there on the floor as he left, and at first Dinky seemed keenly interested in it, but as Dinky and Custard looked over Starlight's letter, both their eyes grew wide.

“Holy horse apples,” said Dinky quietly, then looked back up. “Hey, don't worry, okay? This settlement is one of the safest places in Equestria, even more so once we get the defense shield up and running.”

“Ah, good,” Forgot nodded. “So um, are you ponies? I saw some small ponies in town too, are you like a different type?”

The two little ones stared for a moment.

“Oh uh, no no no,” Custard said, her voice a bit stiff. “We are foals. Young ponies are smaller because they have to come out of their mothers. Yes.”

“Oh!” Forgot nodded. “Yeah, I thought that part of the lecture seemed weird, how ponies came out of other ponies. That makes sense if they start smaller.”

“I'm not a foal,” Dinky added. “But I died when I was one, so I'm stuck at this size.”

“Oh uh, sorry,” Forgot said. “I know how much dying hurts.”

“Yeah, guess you do,” Dinky closed the folder. “Believe me, I'm counting my blessings after reading this. I saw the part about the PUB too; I’ll take you there when Custard isn’t with us.”

“Custard doesn’t like the PUB?” Forgot tilted his head.

“Uh, she’s not allowed to go there,” Dinky explained.

“They don’t like her there?” Forgot head tilted. “That’s sad. Would you want me to do sex with you after PUB practice, Custard?”

For some reason, Custard took a step back and looked notably more nervous. “Uh, well I uh don’t think…”

Custard hurriedly took a whistle out of her saddle bag and put it in her muzzle, as if ready to blow it. Dinky, however, pulled the whistle away to put it back, then coaxed Forgot another step away from Dinky. Custard looked him over as Dinky patted her, looking pale, and keeping her distance, as well as a hoof to her saddle bag;

“He’s not like Solar, Custard, he’s just naive…” Dinky said before turning to him. “Sorry, she’s just a little too young for doing things with anypony that isn’t a similar age. Also uh… when you get your thing at the PUB, make sure someone explains uh… consent. Like asking before doing anything with someone’s parts.” Dinky then rolled her eyes. “I’m of age, despite my looks, but I doubt you’re into foal corpses.”

“Oh, sorry, I’ll try to remember that,” Forgot blushed brightly, then tilted his head at Dinky. “What’s wrong with foal corpses? My corpses were good to rub up against when they were still fresh.” She wasn’t the best looking pony he’d seen, but hardly scary like others seemed to think. “If I’d known I could use the holes, I would ha-”

“U-um, let’s not talk about that stuff in public!” Dinky said nervously before turning again to Custard, who looked like she was trying not to vomit. “Don’t worry, Custard, he’s...a weirdo, but he just had a really, really bad time all by himself, way worse than Dyo ever had, and needs your help. I’m sure we can handle him.”

Dinky seemed to be warming up to him for some reason, even talking in a tone like he’d heard Crimson use with Maud, which must be good, but Custard still looked uneasy as she reluctantly gave him a hug and relaxed. Forgot hoped he’d figure out how to talk to them better; he wanted to get to know them, as it was such an amazing thing to get to know ponies that weren’t him.

“So uh, I assume you won't want to live in the Stable,” said Dinky, perhaps trying to change the subject.

“I'll see what's available in town, and look into getting him the usual violent trauma therapy,” said Custard. Her voice had smoothed out for a moment, then returned to the previous accent as if remembering how she was supposed to talk. “I am the leader here, yes! Well, not yet really, but I will be.”

“Oh, that's impressive,” said Forgot. “Unless that's common? I'm not sure. Will I meet other settlement-creatures?”

“Well, the only ones here I know well other than Custard are Solar and Kamikaze,” said Dinky. “Chrysalis is part of the team now, I guess, but I haven't seen her much since the others left, that I know of at least.”

“I’ll do whatever I need,” smiled Forgot.

Dinky's eyes went back to the robot. She grinned as she looked it over, but then she sighed and looked grim.

“If only I had you before,” Dinky said, stroking one of the robotic components oddly. “If I could have dug through its head and... whatever. Pretty impressive though. It'll need major repairs, but the legs might be outfitted for Kamikaze.”

“Kamikaze needs legs?” asked Forgot, nervously playing with the necklace Twilight gave him.

“She needs better legs,” said Dinky. “She’ll want to tell that story, but Solar is gonna cream when she sees this thing. She has her hooves full with the reactor right now, and I can’t test the shield until she’s done, so this’ll give me something to do.”

“She makes cream?” asked Forgot. “That’s good; it’s the only thing I really liked the taste of in my stable.”

“Phew,” chuckled Dinky. “You’ll be a hoof-full, but honestly a pleasant one compared to the types I normally deal with. How about Custard giving you a tour while I let Solar and Kamikaze know and threaten to hurt them if they corrupt you.”

“Hurt them?” Forgot wished he could keep up. “Are they allergic to peace and quiet too? Is that a common condition?”

“Sure, we’ll go with that,” Dinky nodded, looking to Custard. “I think he’s fine, really. Once I get done with this, I’ll come take him elsewhere.”

“Okay,” Custard smiled, but then frowned. “But I don’t think you’ll blame me for having a guard close by. Anyway, follow me for the tour and keep any touching under control!”

44. Rambling

POV: Mercury Shine
Old Appleloosa

Mercury changed the wrapping on Crimson's mended leg. Luckily, it was healing fairly fast with the combination of potions and the work of their mages, but it didn't seem like a good sign that they'd suffered such a severe, if typical, injury right out of the gate.

“So, I guess me and Maud are officially dating now!” Crimson chuckled.

“Yes, you said,” sighed Mercury. She didn't care to hear the explicit details of their victory celebration again. She looked at Tranquil instead, who sat awkwardly by. “Are you okay with that, Tranquil?” She doubted Crimson asked permission.

“Okay with what?” Tranquil asked. Mercury gave her a few seconds to register; the mare seemed to need time to process thoughts lately. “Oh! Yes, it's okay. I want my wife to be happy, and I can't wait for Maud to help hurt me, or something.”

“I did not agree to relations with Tranquil,” said Maud.

“Hey, if you date me, you date my wife,” smirked Crimson, calling up to Twilight as she pulled the wagon. “That's how friendship works, right Not-Midnight?”

“I’ve given up on explaining the difference to you, Crimson,” Twilight called back, shaking her head.

“My sisters did not require your affection when they gave me permission to pursue you,” said Maud. “You cannot expect more from me.”

“So ask them about Tranquil,” shrugged Crimson.

Crimson reached for Maud's rock pouch only to have Maud grab hold of the leg and twist it.

“Aw yeah, do it again!” moaned Crimson.

“Maud, Crimson,” Starlight warned from where she sat. “Let’s keep re-breaking Crimson’s legs to a minimum, please.”

“Please don't, Maud,” Mercury said. “I don't feel like wrapping another and we don't want to run out of medical supplies.”

Maud's eyes shifted to Starlight, then Mercury, and back to Crimson. She released Crimson's leg.

“Mercury, you always ruin the moment,” sighed Crimson. It made Starlight grumble a little when her command hadn’t been enough.

“We will compromise,” Maud said to Crimson. “I will assist in your wife's torture if she does in fact wish to have it afflicted upon her, but will not have sex with her without the permission of my sisters.”

“There's a difference between sex and torture?” asked Crimson.

“A very subtle one, yes,” said Maud as she pushed Crimson down with what would be excessive force from most ponies, but was gentle by their standards. “I will re-explain.”

“Ugh…” groaned Starlight as she tried to ignore it, turning to look out of the cart.

“Were many ponies like this during the early years of the Ceaseless Conflict?” asked Olivia. “I was told that attitude was not common prior to the war, but if it was it would explain many things.”

“Ponies never change, we only get more effic-” chuckled Crimson, before being cut off via Maud pinning her and having a casual seat on her face.

Mercury retreated to a corner and tried to ignore them as they talked or bucked. Their conversations usually just reminded her about what kind of a world they lived in: a harsh one of pointless suffering with intermittent casual sex.

At least this journey, they had decent food and had saved a creature rather than killing any, so the aches from sitting around so much were the worst so far, and hopefully it’d stay that way. Though as she looked about, she noticed a sprawled out Gloomy glancing at her instead, likely equally disinterested in dark banter or psychopaths bucking. She smiled back at him.

“Twilight might get jealous if you’re looking at other mares,“ Mercury jested, hoping to have a conversation separate from the others.

“I think if she was the jealous type, she probably wouldn’t have gone to the spa with me,” Gloomy joked, but still glanced towards Twilight pulling the wagon somewhat nervously. “Besides, staring at the ruins is depressing.”

Mercury liked Gloomy; he was pretty sweet, and destroyed every stereotype she’d grown up believing about stallions or bats. It was too bad he’d paired up with somepony else.

Calling Appleloosa ruins though was perhaps too nice a word; it was just indistinguishable rubble. A path had been cleared out through it, which they followed even though Twilight was flying the cart. The trash was stacked high on both sides. There were bricks, cement, furniture, and countless other scrap, but nothing could be described as an actual building. The whole thing was one giant trash heap.

“Appleloosa was hit with a gravity bomb,” Olivia mentioned, joining the conversation. “Not the type that I think they used near Canterlot. The type used here teleported the entire city off the ground and dropped it upside down.”

“Which caused many things that could explode to do just that; I bet Pinkie had wet dreams about it,” Gloomy remarked. “An awful lot of dangerous magitech in those old cities…”

“Indeed,” Maud nodded between pants. She joined the conversation too, but remained seated on Crimson. “Pinkie called out ‘balefire’ instead of my name more than once during sister time.”

“Why did they bunch everything up like that?” asked Mercury.

“Seriously,” agreed Gloomy. “They may as well have hung up a giant neon sign that said ‘free genocide’ at the gate.”

“Cities grew rapidly just prior to the Breaking,” said Starlight. “Magi-tech was only made available in population centers at first, so many ponies moved from the country-side into the towns.”

“The standard of living was pretty high until everything blew,” smirked Crimson as she got up off the floor of the wagon casually. “A lot more spectacularly than Maud just now.”

“Some of this damage is more recent,” said Maud as they approached the city, and indeed some of it seemed to be, as if the rubble had been bombed atop what it already was. “Some damage could not be more than a few years old.”

“Both Midnight and Trinity attempted to take the city for our gem mines,” said Olivia. “But both gave up, deciding they'd sacrifice too many resources to succeed.”

“That's impressive,” Starlight said. “Holder sates Midnight by giving her a portion of their production, but I assume Ramble doesn't despite being right between Midnight and Trinity?”

“Indeed,” said Olivia. “To invade the city, they'd have to come through narrow passages with wagons in single file. We have hydroponics and ranches where we raise meat animals underground, so sieges are ineffective, and only a mega-spell would damage the city from the surface, but that would collapse the mines they want.”

“M-meat animals?” Mercury still felt ill whenever it came up. “What kind of animals? Do you chop up your dead like Holder?”

“Oh, goodness no,” Olivia shook her head. “The creatures we use are variations of chickens and pigs no more intelligent than timberwolves, and are slaughtered humanely. And of course, we have food more suited for ponies too. Sadly though, not enough to export to Holder.”

“It’d be nice to have a recently-prepared non-meat meal,” Gloomy said. “They do the same thing with bodies in Underfree, but worse since Midnight sometimes gave me orders that involved eating prisoners raw, sometimes without even killing them first...”

“From what we’ve seen, I think Midnight does it more for fun than necessity” Twilight sighed. “It honestly disturbs me a bit how quickly I got used to eating meat-derivative in Holder.”

“Maybe your affinity for bat meat helped,” snarked Crimson, earning a blush from both Twilight and Gloomy.

Mercury had never got used to the idea, and had starved herself for over a day before she’d been willing to eat Stable 11’s slop knowing meat was in there. Crimson’s comment earned a giggle at least, though Mercury was sure she meant it as spiteful.

“Anyway, Ramble has never made devouring sapients a part of our culture,“ Olivia remarked somewhat sternly.

“Ramble certainly makes for a very powerful ally,” Starlight pondered.

“And a devastating enemy, were they to back us into a corner,” Olivia smiled, but it was a clear reminder that she didn't trust Starlight.

“No need for that,” smirked Crimson. “I assure you, her Majesty has no interest in the conquest of settlements that would not benefit from the act. She intends to...”

“I should also remind you,” Olivia said, holding Crimson's muzzle shut with her magic. “That dogs are very wise to the sort of propaganda that ponies favor.”

“A good point,” Starlight said, remaining polite. “Crimson, you need to make your words a bit more subtle, and don’t try to seduce or mention anything you think is sexy around them.”

Olivia huffed. It was obviously not the point she was making, but she pursued it no further.

The gate underground was guarded by only two dogs, but intimidating ones. They were almost 50% larger than Olivia, clearly specializing in brute force rather than intellect. They wore steel armor that looked like a normal pony couldn't even pick it up; it was like they were living tanks. She instinctively kept her hoof ready to reach for her telesyringer out of fear, even knowing these were allies.

When they saw Olivia, they simply stepped out of the way. One punched buttons on a pipbuck-like device and the steel door opened. Olivia nodded and smiled, likely having informed them already of her arrival.

As they entered, they walked through a field of green energy. It tingled a bit as it scanned her, and suddenly Mercury's telesyringer clicked loudly. She pulled it off her back and looked it over, finding that the trigger and moving parts had jammed. Starlight and the others seemed to experience similar as they looked over their weapons.

“Relax,” said Olivia. “This is the GRRR, or Generalized Ruckus Reduction Region, as we call it. It only checks for changelings and disables your weapons and offensive magics. They will automagically re-enable upon leaving.”

“You did not think it important to inform us of this?” Maud asked.

“My offensive magic is also disabled,” informed Olivia. “It is not as if you are at a disadvantage to the average citizen. Did you expect to need your weapons in our city?” Her politeness neared sarcasm.

Mercury really wasn’t concerned with an “average citizen” when there were brutes too...she really hoped that Starlight wouldn’t cause something that made them have to fight their way out of here. Otherwise, it should be okay.

At least until Tranquil held her head in her front hooves and screamed. A moment later she collapsed on the floor.

Mercury was up and over her in an instant, examining what might be the matter. Tranquil's eyes twitched, out of focus, and she lurched suddenly and vomited. Somehow she spasmed enough to land on her back, so Mercury turned her to the side to prevent choking on vomit. The pain in her face was clear, forehead growing red. Mercury forced her muzzle open and made her down a potion.

“Hilarious,” chuckled Crimson. “Just so you know though, I'm going to insist somedog dies if she does.”

“Olivia?” Twilight asked from where she pulled the cart. She sped up to get out of the field faster. “Are you sure this field does not harm ponies?”

“What?” Olivia looked confused. “Of course not! There is no way it would do this to any kind of pony species. Even if she had cybernetics, it should take that into account. I have never seen this happen; it must be an unrelated condition!”

But as they left the field on the other side, Tranquil's twitching stopped just as suddenly. She breathed heavily, but her moans started to subside.

“You were saying?” Starlight's glare at Olivia intensified.

“I do not understand, truthfully,” Olivia shook her head. “We will have our doctors look at her and try to determine if it was the field that affected her and why.”

“How much has this been tested?” Twilight asked.

“Well, we’ve only had it for a few months,” said Olivia. “It is truthfully Unicornian technology that we acquired and altered. They were transporting it to a base outside of Unicornia, when the Children of the Pearl attacked them. One of our scouting parties retrieved it from the aftermath so we made use of it.”

“Children of the What-Now?” Starlight asked.

“Sea ponies that wear power armor to go onto land,” said Olivia. “But they are mostly only a problem for Trinity and Unicornian patrols in the east, since they don’t come too far inland.”

“You think they'd mind if I dragged her into the happy-fun-pain-field and bucked her there?” Crimson asked now that it was more obviously non-fatal, probably cutting off a useful part of the conversation in the process.

“Crimson,” Starlight warned.

“Fine, fine,” Crimson rolled her eyes.

Though Crimson also knelt next to Tranquil. Once she was closer, Mercury could see that her calm expression was forced. She was worried but wanted to save face by pretending not to be; she'd developed a habit of that.

“I think she's recovering,” said Mercury. “But I think on our way out, perhaps they can deactivate the field while she exits on her own separate from us.”

Crimson sighed and sat on her haunches, cradling Tranquil's head in her lap and stroking it discreetly.

“Are there at least some other places I can drag her for bucking?” Crimson asked.

“Please refrain from doing such,” Olivia said to Crimson. “Unlike in Holder, public sex is only allowed in designated areas. I may tolerate strange pony cultural traditions, but Chief Fluffy will not, and he would know how to make your punishment not kinky.”

“Prudes,” Crimson grunted.

“I'm fine,” Tranquil panted. “Sorry, really sorry, I didn't mean to worry you all.”

“Olivia?” Gloomy asked. “You said that it would not do this to any 'pony species'. Are there species that it would do this to?”

“Tranquil is a pony,” Mercury insisted. It wasn't just naivety. Both Olivia and Chrysalis had signed off that this Tranquil was not a changeling. Besides, why would a changeling that didn't want to be seen as Tranquil walk into the hospital as Tranquil using a conventional disguise?

“But it might provide a clue as to why it would hurt a pony,” said Gloomy. That was true enough.

“Well there are a few,” said Olivia. “We have to manually check any species that possesses certain types of brains, because the field causes them great pain. Fairy species are the main example, breezies, ultra-mega-breezies, and changelings. Also dragons, sea ponies, kirin if they’re upset, and a few other rare species. I didn’t mention it because none of you were those things.”

“Crimson?” asked Starlight.

“I'm positive no changelings made it into Stable 27,” said Crimson. “Nor anything else fairy, fish, or scale related that she could be descended from in some freak of genetics.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” said Olivia. “This pony is not even able to join a hive or speak on their psionic network. It seems counter-intuitive that she’d be susceptible to this.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Crimson, though she eyed Tranquil with fresh suspicion. “Just try not to inflict pain on my wife without permission in the future.”

“I am sorry, Miss Tranquil,” said Olivia, ignoring Crimson. “Truly, I am. I would not have taken you through the field if I knew it would harm you. I assure you this is new information to us and we will attempt to account for it in the future; perhaps whatever oddity makes you psionically incapable causes sensitivity to the field?”

The passage into Ramble was long and barely large enough for a large cart. Not only that, but it branched off in multiple places like a maze, and there were no signs to signify which led where. Olivia instructed Twilight where to go, and Mercury assumed only one led to where they wanted. The passages were constructed of huge slabs of steel, some of which had gears attached, so Mercury wondered if they had the ability to change the 'combination' of the paths by moving them slightly to confuse an invading force. They’d gone to great lengths to make invasion difficult.

They followed the passage for at least 2000 hoofsteps before it opened into a large cavern beyond. Suddenly they were trotting down a traditional looking roadway, though the city itself was anything but common.

Huge stone-like columns supported the ceiling, which was about four stories high. Close up one could tell the columns were made of a manufactured material, looking like a mix of cement and steel. Pathways led upward on either side to reach the buildings at every level, with the occasional tower in the center as well, as if acting as additional support.

It was all well-lit with what looked to be naturally glowing rocks. Mercury hoped they weren't too radioactive, but if some ponies lived here too, they probably weren't. As Olivia had mentioned, there were ponies amongst the population, though at least 95% of those Mercury saw were dogs.

The adult diamond dogs ranged in size from about ¾ of Olivia's height to slightly taller than the front guards. Their coloring and features were as diverse as the pictures Mercury saw of pet dogs before the bombs fell. Some waved at Olivia as they passed, and none seemed worried about the visitors with her as their escort. When they talked to each other, they spoke a different language with a lot of growl and barking noises.

The branching passages they took appeared to lead to more important looking areas of the cities. The dogs in this area wore high-quality clothing over their upper body, whereas the ones in the outer areas often wore none. The path moved deeper into the ground as they proceeded.

Finally they approached a large structure at the end of the huge corridor. There was a row of diamond dog statues in front of it, which given the dates carved upon them, probably represented various chiefs. There looked to be more than 200 years worth of them, so perhaps they included pre-war leaders.

A diamond dog wrapped in an expensive fur cape walked down the stairs in front of the large gothic structure in front of them. He wasn't quite as tall as Olivia, and the fact that his cape was made out of what looked like a pelt was somewhat disturbing, though at least it didn’t look like it was a sapient species. He wore a headdress on his head decorated with tufts of fur.

“Chief Fluffy,” Olivia called to him. “These are our new friends I advised you of over the radio.” Or warned would be coming, more likely.

“Greetings, Chief Fluffy,” Starlight stood, trying to look important. “I am Empress Starlight Glimmer of the New Canterlot Republic. I have been looking forward to continuing peaceful relations with your city.”

“Yes, Fluffy knows who this pony is,” Fluffy's voice was more high-pitched than Mercury expected, but friendly all the same. Actually, he was a little cute, like a large pomeranian with pinkish fur. “Come inside, then. Pony rooms are ready for tired ponies, but Fluffy hoped to speak to Starlight before you slept. Dogs can call you Starlight, yes? Kyo never insisted on titles, and Fluffy doesn't either.”

“That's fine, of course,” Starlight's eye twitched as she nodded.

“You received the message I sent on our way explaining the situation?” Olivia asked.

“Indeed Fluffy did,” Fluffy yipped. “Ponies show bravery clearing the cursed pony shelter. We are ashamed now knowing the broadcast for aid was real.”

“It couldn't have been helped, I'm sure,” smiled Twilight.

“Ah, Fluffy assumes this is 'Clover',” Fluffy smiled at Twilight, perhaps detecting a more sincere tone. “Fluffy advises Clover keep that gas mask on in public, though Fluffy apologizes if such is necessary. You understand that the comfort of Fluffy's citizens comes first.”

“I understand,” Twilight bowed, though Fluffy blushed as she did. “I would like to attend your conversation with the Empress as well, if that is okay.”

“Me too,” said Gloomy before Twilight even finished her sentence.

“Ponies may all attend if ponies like,” Fluffy said. “The more the merrier! Fluffy prepared food for the meeting ponies will find palatable, but if any ponies are tired, ponies can go to pony rooms right away. A meal will be delivered there.”

“I'd like to sleep soon, if that's okay,” said Tranquil. “Thank you for the offer.”

“I'll head off too,” said Crimson. “And I hope you roomed me with my wife and my marefriend.”

“A pony room is prepared for the pony spouses,” said Fluffy. “Additional partners are free to join pony there as well.”

“I will join you there later,” said Maud. “I must remain with the Empress as her bodyguard.”

“Fluffy assures safety here,” chuckled Fluffy. “But pony is free to do so.”

“It's more of an honor-guard thing,” Crimson explained, unable to keep from making an excuse. It was probably best she wasn't going to the meeting considering what Olivia had said before.

“I'll attend Clover for much the same reason,” said Gloomy.

“Shouldn't Tranquil head to the hospital?” asked Mercury. “She had a painful reaction to that... thing...”

“The GRRR,” nodded Olivia. “I will take her there before heading off to see friends in town.”

“Oh right, that,” Crimson said. “I guess I'll go with her then. But bucking better be allowed in the hospital room.”

“Fluffy apologizes if GRRR hurt pony,” said Fluffy, tilting his head in slight confusion. “That is strange. Fluffy is sure doctors will make sure pony is fine.”

“Right,” Tranquil nodded, as if having forgotten. She looked to Crimson and asked quietly, “I-is it okay if I go without you?”

“Say again?” Crimson quirked an ear.

“I j-just don't want you to worry and um, you can play with Maud when the meeting is done,” Tranquil explained. “Just let me go with Olivia. I'll be fine, right? We'll be back in no time.”

There was an odd moment where Tranquil looked pleadingly at Olivia before Olivia got the hint and responded.

“That is probably best,” Olivia said. “No offense, Miss Prose, but you would distract our doctors as they attempted to assist her.”

“What.” Crimson looked like she couldn't comprehend her wife wanting her not to go. And she probably picked up the hint too.

“Please trust me?” Tranquil looked at Crimson pleadingly. “I'll come back as soon as we're done, promise.”

“Well it's not like I can stop you,” growled Crimson. Her disapproval was clear; Tranquil might pay for this decision later.

Which made Mercury wonder why she made the decision. Mercury could think of no reason Tranquil would not want Crimson by her side as they seemed to have been getting along so well. Had Mercury missed something again?

“Should I go with you?” Mercury asked.

“No, I'm sorry,” offered Tranquil.

“Fine,” Mercury shook her head. She'd had her fill of confusion for the day. “I'll go to my room too. I’ll eat whatever food you bring, but then I’m going to go right to bed and finally get a good night’s sleep. I suggest some others consider the same.”

As they entered Fluffy's domicile, Mercury turned to look back at Olivia and Tranquil. Rather than walking away however, they were quietly whispering together. It looked as if Tranquil was explaining something to Olivia, who was nodding attentively. Tranquil was shaking and starting to cry, as if it was something she was very nervous to be talking about.

Crimson seemed to notice the odd behavior too as she growled before turning away and heading in with the group herself. What was going on? Was Tranquil aware of why the field had that effect and just afraid to tell them? But if it wasn't that she was a changeling, then what could it be?

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Ramble

Twilight wanted to be on Starlight's side, she really did. She'd tried hard, and hoped that this Starlight was different. But now she felt like her entire purpose in the group was to protect those around them from Starlight.

On top of that, Starlight clearly wanted a reason to get rid of Twilight. Sometimes Twilight saw the unicorn staring at her as if considering how she might do it. Whenever she saw Twilight notice the stare, Starlight would flash a friendly smile and pretend like nothing was the matter.

For now Twilight was safe from Starlight deciding she should die, probably. Since Twilight had experience dealing with Discord, she was better at draconequus wrangling than anyone else in the group, so Starlight needed her again. And of course, taking action against either her or Gloomy would jeopardize relations with Statera.

But since Mercury allowed Twilight to let Gloomy and Watcher know about Kyo's murder, good relations between the two were likely impossible unless Starlight came clean and made serious efforts at reform; or maybe there was nothing that would help. Twilight didn't like causing strife between groups, but she wasn't going to hide it.

At first, Twilight feared she'd have to take action to make sure Starlight didn't coerce the chief of Ramble with implied threats. After their stroll through the city, though, she wasn't worried about that. Ramble was obviously more than a match for Starlight's fledgling empire, and she'd know not to push it with them.

It was ironic to Twilight that diamond dogs were now arguably the most intelligent species in Equestria, at least some of them. Perhaps if she did make it home, she could study them in her time; perhaps they had the same potential if they were trodden underhoof less by pony civilization.

Going home. That was still her goal. And there was only one hope she now saw of doing it.

The Ministry of Magitech was the only place in Equestria that might still have a copy of Starswirl's spell. If Twilight could get that spell, it'd be only a matter of time before she figured out how to alter it as Starlight did.

If she could get that... and find a unicorn or mage willing and able to cast it for her... maybe there was a chance. It was a slim one, but with an indefinite lifespan, she could theoretically take as long as she needed to find somepony. She could take years to train somepony to be good enough to cast it and have lost no time in the long run; it was time travel after all.

But when she tried to think of those that might help, she came to another realization. Even if this timeline was a horrible place, there were still creatures striving to live and make Equestria better. Was it her right to ask them to help ponies from centuries ago when she wasn’t sure if the action would eliminate their own existence?

And Gloomy... Twilight wished she hadn't fallen for him, but now she felt like undoing history would effectively murder him. She could take him with her, but would he really be okay with that? Would that risk some kind of horrible paradox? Then again, she was a paradox here.

She emerged from her thoughts as they entered the dining hall in Chief Fluffy's domicile. The inside of his 'palace' was nice, but humbler than a palace a pony princess might live in. It had walls of stone, woven fur decorations, and was lit with what appeared to be simple gas-powered candles. There were a dozen pictures hanging on the opposite wall behind Fluffy’s chair, which looked like they’d been drawn by a child.

The dining hall was fairly large at least. It had enough seats to seat everyone in the group, even if many had chosen to head to their rooms to rest instead. A guard came in with a cart full of food for the guests, and Twilight prepared to be forced to eat something weird again. She was so used to that that it took her a few long moments to recognize what was on the cart.

“Hayburgers!” Twilight almost shrieked, yanking off her gas mask so violently that one of the straps snapped from the abuse. They looked fresh too, topped with lettuce and flowers and a sauce that smelled so good it made her dizzy. It might have just been ketchup, but just seeing normal food was such a pleasure she could hardly tell.

Gloomy sat next to her, scooting his chair closer to hers than needed, then jerking when she shouted about hayburgers. Twilight blushed, but leaned against him as they each winghugged the other. As she cuddled him, she continued to watch the burgers, fiddling her hooves nervously in anticipation of being served, but not sure when it was appropriate to grab one.

“Fluffy is glad pony is pleased with food,” Fluffy himself sat down in front of a plate with a raw steak on it. Twilight wasn't sure what animal it had been, but was going to have trouble looking Fluffy in the eyes when he was gnawing on something that was once alive. She didn't blame him for eating what his biology required, but she wasn't used to dining with predators, and it looked a lot more obviously meat-like than what they ate in Holder.

Though it wasn’t like meat production didn’t happen in her Equestria, especially with Earth pony magic producing unusually large livestock on their farms. She remembered Applejack telling her about trading with griffons, and that “nopony raises pigs just ‘cause they like ‘em”. Of course, it was one thing to raise pigs and export them, but it was different to actually see it in person.

When a guard finally placed two hayburgers in front of her, Twilight grabbed one in each hoof before they even touched her plate, stuffing the first greedily into her muzzle. It was so good after eating meaty slop in Holder that she actually moaned as she pushed it around her muzzle with her tongue to taste it.

Gloomy looked at her when she moaned, then chuckled as he tasted his own burger, eyes lighting up with delight, so maybe he’d never had one. Who even knew what Midnight made the poor bats in Underfree eat. Whatever it was, the way he chowed down ravenously and belched without a care suggested they weren’t fed a very formal setting and probably not very often. She’d have plenty of time to ask him about it later, as they’d likely be sharing a room for some much-needed unwinding. It was weird, being into him when his behavior reminded her so much of Spike, and she decided to return to her own sloppy eating rather than dwell too much on that.

Twilight was so engrossed in her burgers that she almost didn’t notice when a small form ran into the dining hall from the entrance they'd just come through. She quickly realized it was a light green changeling with pink transparent frill and a ladybug-like shell on her back. She ran to Fluffy and hugged him around one leg to get his attention.

Fluffy looked down at her and smiled and she handed a crayon drawing up to him. The drawing was messy, but seemed to be the little changeling riding piggyback on Fluffy.

“Oceluffy made this for Daddy!” the changeling squeaked. Twilight had no idea those things could be that adorable.

“Aw, present is nice!” Fluffy grinned. He pinned the drawing to the wall behind him, next to the other images there. “Daddy is busy helping guests, but Daddy will see Oceluffy when time to read bedtime story.”

“Okay Daddy!” the changeling smiled, giving him a long hug before galloping from the room.

Fluffy began gnawing his steak, thankfully less savagely than Twilight expected, and Starlight followed suit with her hayburger, seeming to have waited as a form of manners just in case the dogs behaved like Canterlot nobles.

“You take care of a changeling?” Twilight asked, having to remind herself to be polite about it even with the excessive cuteness of that one. “That's very sweet of you.”

“Fluffy takes care of this ling,” nodded Fluffy. “Before was chief, traveled north to the Foal Mountains to search for new ore deposits. No deposits there, but found changeling Ocellus, escaped from a pony stable. Sadly did not live, but Fluffy swore to care for baby ling Ocellus carried. Named Oceluffy because Ocellus asked Fluffy to care for.”

“Escaped from Stable 41?” Twilight asked. “I was under the impression that bat ponies lived there.”

“Ocellus said changelings live there,” said Fluffy. “Changeling escaped because did not want to live longer in hiding, but was attacked by radroaches.”

“Rad… roaches…” Twilight got an image in her head of glowing giant roaches and hoped they didn’t meet any.

“Did Olivia not know this?” asked Starlight after swallowing a bunch of her food. “Because she didn't tell me about it.”

“Olivia knows but will not tell,” said Fluffy. “Oceluffy is Fluffy's ward, is Fluffy's decision who knows, not Olivia's.”

“Is Oceluffy what caused Olivia to take such an interest in changelings?' asked Twilight.

Fluffy nodded at Twilight and smiled before digging in again on the meat on his plate. Twilight assumed there were other changelings in Ramble too, but Fluffy would likely leave it to them if they wanted to reveal themselves.

“That doesn't make shenshe,” said Gloomy, his muzzle full of hayburger. He probably wasn't used to well-made hay burgers...or eating in anything fancier than a mess hall of rowdy bats, so Twilight understood the rudeness, and thankfully the dogs didn’t care. “Every foal they left on the altar has been a bat pony.”

“Left puppies on altar?” Fluffy blinked. He must have seen the altar but not realized it was in use.

“Screwball retrieves them before they're hurt,” said Gloomy. “But like I said, they're all bat ponies.”

“Saving puppies makes happy,” Fluffy smiled. “But Oceluffy is very ling. Fluffy checked.”

“I was thinking of trying to make contact with them on the way up.” said Starlight. “But if there's a chance they're Trinity's...”

“Definitely not Trinity's,” said Fluffy. “Olivia go to pony stable with scouting party several years ago. Olivia say pony stable is shielded as if to keep outsiders from detecting lings inside. Lings probably hiding from Trinity. Fluffy did not realize ponies there mistreat their puppies though!”

“Well they don't leave them out often so it'd be easy for you to miss them during two scouting missions,” said Gloomy. “But according to what we know, they worship Nightmare and Midnight there. If Midnight had access to stable locations, she'd have recruited them by now. Are you sure the changeling you rescued was from that stable?”

“Fluffy not know,” Fluffy said as he finished his steak with a belch. “Fluffy cannot afford to send party large enough to liberate even if sure though. Will just be happy that screwy one is saving puppies.”

“We'll contact them,” said Starlight. “If they are opposed to Trinity, they may be willing to assist us.”

“And if lings do not assist?” asked Fluffy. “Will ponies still be kind?”

“Of course,” Starlight smiled. “I would never force my will upon any settlement, I assure you.”

Twilight knew otherwise, but held her tongue and ate the last of her hayburgers. Gloomy seemed to be taking the same approach, but he’d already finished his food.

“Is appreciated,” Fluffy said. “Because dog respects pony however, shall speak bluntly. There have been reports of misdeeds. Dogs are concerned that Holder will not continue friendliness that Ramble accustomed to, and dogs may lose valued ally.”

“I have heard the accusations,” sighed Starlight as she finished the last of her small plate. “I won't bother denying them, as words mean little in cases like this. Instead, I will prove through actions that such rumors are inaccurate. I only ask that you give me a chance to do so.”

“Fluffy approves of this logic,” Fluffy said. “Will hold Starlight to promise.”

The conversation seemed to be going well. Twilight had some hope Starlight was being honest with Fluffy, at least for future actions. For now Twilight remained quiet, almost hoping Starlight would forget she was there. Fluffy, however, didn't forget her.

“How about Clover?” asked Fluffy, turning to Twilight. “Pony wants to be part of the conversation. Did Clover have information to add?”

“Not exactly, sorry,” sighed Twilight. ”I just wanted to know how things went.”

“Fluffy thanks Clover for consideration,” nodded Fluffy.

Twilight nodded, but sensed Fluffy had figured she attended to keep an eye on Starlight. Then again, so had Maud and Gloomy.

POV: Tranquil Melody
Fluffy's Domicile

Tranquil returned from the hospital several hours later, and hoped she'd been gone for long enough to convince them that the visit was for what they said it was. She hadn't needed to go, even though she did. Olivia had her looked to see if she could be helped by their medicine, but as Tranquil expected, there was nothing to do but wait, and they had no way of knowing for how long.

Apparently the GRRR, since it was altered Unicornian tech, was actually painful to certain species by design, and the diamond dogs had yet to figure out how to stop that effect. To get around that, they had the machine set to immediately turn off the field if it detected certain species so that their weapons could be deactivated manually, but it hadn’t detected anything in this instance.

The guards directed her to the room that was hers, Crimson's, and probably Maud's. Though she had no issue with Crimson's involvement with Maud, she hoped they wouldn't be doing anything interesting when she arrived. She stopped at the door, taking a moment to press her ear against it.

“I don’t know if she’s ever just randomly walked off to talk to someone without me,” Crimson was saying. “Not since her rehab, at least.”

A few seconds of silence.

“No, what's happening is that she's hiding something weird from me!” Crimson continued. “Or what if it isn’t even her? I really don’t want to think the real Tranquil is dead but… oh don’t start with me.”

Another few seconds of silence.

“And another thing,” continued Crimson. “Why no music? Tranquil loved to sing and dance, but she never does any more, and makes an excuse if I ask her to. What's with that?”

At first Tranquil thought Crimson was talking to Maud, but the one-sided nature of the conversation meant she was in fact talking to Paper Cut. Tranquil hoped this didn't mean that Crimson would be pulling them into the book tonight.

“What are you doing?”

Maud's voice behind her made Tranquil jump. She pulled away from the door and smiled awkwardly.

“Oh um, Maud,” Tranquil said. “... hillos you. Done with the meeting? How'd it go?”

“What are you?” Maud asked, ignoring Tranquil's questions.

“What do you mean?” Tranquil felt herself sweating at the sudden interrogation. “I'm just a pegasus.”

“You are lying,” Maud said. “I would not be able to tell on my own. But Limestone has been putting two and three together on our way here.”

“Limestone?” asked Tranquil. “I thought Limestone was...”

“Do not change the subject,” Maud raised her monotone voice only slightly but Tranquil felt a sliver of fear. “Answer my question in truth. If you are not Tranquil, and not a changeling, then what are you?”

“Please,” Tranquil shook her head. “I-I don't want any trouble, I don't.”

Maud narrowed her eyes, but then her tensions seemed to cease.

“I believe you do not want trouble,” Maud said. “Because you tried to avoid joining the group and it is obvious that you fear rather than hate us. But your deception is not productive. I will have to report my suspicions to the Empress.”

“Please don't tell Crimson,” Tranquil teared up, no longer bothering to deny it completely. “She'll be devastated and... probably kill me too.”

“I do not believe she would kill you if you told her in the correct manner,” said Maud. “She would be sad that Tranquil was gone, even though she would not admit it, but I believe she would accept you for whatever you are.”

“My species isn't the reason she'd kill me,” Tranquil shook her head. “But that's beside the point. She's just so happy to have Tranquil back and... she really is trying to be a better pony... it'd be cruel for me to ruin that. It'd set her progress back so much, and it’s not like I have any interest in continuing my old life.”

“Sometimes cruelty is the best kindness,” said Maud.

The door opened suddenly. Tranquil jumped several feet away while Maud simply shifted her eyes.

“I love that quote! I think I'll keep it,” Crimson grinned. Hopefully she only heard the last line. “Tranquil and Maud!” Her gleeful tone became suddenly serious. “Maud? I thought you went potty. Are you talking to Tranquil behind my back just like everyone else? What about?”

“I am not certain,” Maud said and looked at Tranquil. “What was it about?”

“Just s-saying hillo,” Tranquil chuckled nervously. “And um... she was just saying how much she looked forward to um... hurting me for you.”

“Well then,” Crimson's face returned to a grin as she opened the door further. “Sounds like a plan. Come inside!”

45. The Midnight Lie

Date: Saturday 11/12/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Old Appleloosa

They shooed Twilight out of bed too early again, but at least she was more used to it, and Gloomy had made sure it was somewhat gentle, knowing how to wake her. Starlight insisted they save time by doing their next 'mission briefing' on the way instead of in Ramble. Twilight understood and even agreed, but would have liked to get in a morning cuddle with her batfriend. She hoped she hadn’t gotten addicted to him.

They left on the same path as before, stopping before passing the GRRR to allow Tranquil to go through while deactivated. There was something up with that mare, but Twilight couldn't imagine the skittish pony becoming a threat on her own.

It still fascinated her, though. She asked Tranquil about it to come up with a working theory on why it happened, then Olivia since she was there when the diamond doctors examined Tranquil. Neither wanted to discuss it.

The surface looked all the more desolate after spending the night in the most civilized place she'd seen since arriving. Perhaps if Twilight got Starswirl's spell from the Ministry of Magitech, she could live and study it here. Deep underground, this might well be the one place with a chance of long-term survival if the Sun went out completely.

Twilight sat in the wagon's back as they headed out. Gloomy was taking his turn pulling it, which made her lonely in the back. She felt unsafe too, so maybe she had gotten too used to having a bodyguard. She sat nearest to Mercury and Olivia, the two team members she trusted the most to not destroy anything without warning, as well as to keep things professional. Crimson’s snide remarks she was almost used to, but Starlight and Maud seemed to have gotten worse about not showing respect for ponies lately.

“What's the status of the pulse barding, Maud?” Starlight asked as they left the city gates.

The damage on the barding Maud wore was difficult to see with its black surface, but it was worse for wear.

“The stealth mechanism is glitchy from damage sustained during my fight with the Overbot,” said Maud. “The bypass function may work, but while the stealth function will activate, we can no longer assume it will remain on indefinitely.”

When she first arrived here, Twilight would have offered to look in case she could fix it, but now she knew better. Even though she’d spent all the time she could studying in Holder, it was humiliating how far magitech still exceeded her knowledge. She'd have to study for months to understand what Solar did to make it work to begin with, much less fix it.

“It can't be helped, then,” Starlight said. “We'll take shifts keeping watch with Ashmaker's scope to make sure no one approaches, but at the least we’re protected from predators on the ground.”

“We have the energy turret too,” said Maud. “Though it seems mostly designed to down flying creatures by making them dizzy with a sonic pulse, it would probably still slow down other combatants.”

“What if the ones approaching have stealth?” asked Mercury. She was becoming more cautious and so far it was healthy caution, but Twilight felt bad they had tainted such an innocent soul with a sad reality.

“That type of stealth is difficult,” said Olivia. “And usually limited to small scouting parties or assassins. Any Midnight or Trinity has is being used on one another now as neither knows about our current mission.”

“Let's hope,” said Starlight. “We'll stay low, and I doubt a common covered wagon will warrant much attention, but I want to go over something else. Crimson? Everything you know about Stable 41.”

“Ah yeah,” Crimson said. “This was my favorite experiment other than Forgot's stable... okay no, third favorite if I count the two rape stables as one experiment, but it's still up there.”

That didn't bode well, and Twilight was definitely not asking about the ‘rape stables’.

“From what I know,” continued Crimson. “A few weeks after being closed, they pumped in an undetectable hallucinogen. Projectors activated that jump-scared ponies with holographic projections of Daybreaker chasing them, which was to last for 30 days. The idea was to see if making ponies fear her as some kind of devil would cause more strict obedience, as opposed to Holder where they tested a more kind worship. I may or may not have gotten ideas from the concept. Anyway, that's all I know. We got no proper reports from them.”

Twilight wished this information could shock her, but there wasn't a lot to shock when their 'leader' did similar experiments.

“But Statera said they worship Nightmare Moon and Midnight Sparkle, not Daybreaker, yes?” Olivia tilted her head.

Crimson shrugged. “Maybe the experiment had the opposite effect, and they worship Daybreaker's enemy to protect them from her.”

“It wouldn't be surprising,” said Twilight. “If I remember correctly, most of the area consisted of small communities, many with a high bat pony population. Even if they hadn't gone off to fight for Nightmare, they'd still be prone to resort to her if threatened.”

“Resort?” asked Gloomy from the front of the wagon where he pulled.

Even with what he knew, he didn't take kindly to the terminology. Twilight wanted to apologize for sounding insensitive, even if she meant what she said, but she couldn't risk hinting that Nightmare was alive in earshot of everypony else.

Was she really covering for Nightmare? Even if she knew this one was different from her own, it still felt strange.

“But they aren't bat ponies now,” said Starlight. “At least not all of them. Remember what Chief Fluffy said? So why did changelings join a cult that worships Nightmare Moon and Midnight Sparkle?”

“So nopony knows they're changelings,” said Twilight. “They probably joined as an outward appearance to avert suspicion. If Trinity has no reason to think changelings are in a sealed stable, she won’t go out of her way to have it searched.”

“Or perhaps there are not many,” said Olivia. “Maybe they took in a few changelings but most are bat ponies. The injured changeling the Chief spoke to was dying, so may not have been clear.”

“It's a mystery,” said Starlight, then looked to Crimson. “So that's it? It's safe to assume you're holding out on us, so give any other advice you have now.”

“Advice?” asked Crimson. “Sure! Have a plan to rape everyone you know, just in case the opportunity arises.”

“Do you have any relevant advice?” Starlight growled through clenched teeth. Her reaction to Crimson's antics weren't usually so emotional, and it was starting to scare Twilight.

“Name one situation where that advice is not relevant,” Crimson smirked. “I think...”

“Crimson,” Starlight cut Crimson off and held her muzzle shut with her magic. “I'm asking you again, and the next word out of your muzzle will be 'yes' or 'no'. If not, I will order Maud to punch it through the back of your skull and leave you and your pet tramp to rot. Now. Do you have any other information I would consider relevant?”

“No,” Crimson shrugged when Starlight released her muzzle. “Maybe I can hook you up on where to purchase a sense of humor though. Maybe we can buy you one from some black market raiders.”

“Starlight,” Twilight said. “I know she can test one’s nerves and her joke was inappropriate, but a threat like that is not becoming of a leader.”

“Don't start, mascot,” Starlight said as she slumped back against the side of the wagon. It seemed Crimson's inappropriate joke had her out of the mood to be pretend-nice; it seemed increasingly easier to get her to that point over time.

Twilight let it go, but wished she could do more. Regardless of what Crimson and Tranquil had done and still did, coercing Crimson into obedience by threatening her and her wife's life was inexcusable. Twilight missed being part of a heroic team that wasn't half villains.

Maud twitched as she kept watch. She must hate Starlight's way of doing things, but wasn't likely to oppose her yet. Not so long as Starlight could get Maud what she needed. Twilight wondered what Maud planned to do if she revived her sisters.

She also wondered if Starlight realized what Maud was likely to do and had a contingency for it. There were many ways this mission could go wrong; it would shock Twilight if they finished without a teammate murdering another.

Once they exited Appleloosa, there wasn't much to see. Even though most of the area between Trinity's and Midnight's territory didn’t fall to mega-spells, it was complete desolation. Countless years of conflict had reduced it to as much of a wasteland as the Ashlands where Twilight had arrived.

There was nothing but damaged stone and dead trees as far as Twilight could see. There wasn't anything resembling a road and only the occasional ruin broke the monotony. It seemed most of what the mega-spells missed was destroyed since; they didn't call this the Ceaseless Conflict for nothing.

Date: Tuesday 11/15/2287

With no sandstorms in this area and able to constantly fly their wagon, they made good time. They didn’t have to stop to eat or sleep so long as they did it in shifts, or even to use the restroom, just going over the edge. Twilight didn’t particularly like that part, especially with how Starlight and Crimson delighted in her discomfort.

“You know, I hate to bring this up again, but isn’t there some way we could use magic to cover us when we relieve ourselves over the back?” Twilight asked. “Or...maybe get some showers? A lot more dust gets under this leather armor and mixes with the sweat and it...it makes me feel all grimy.”

“There’s a way I could get you a shower at least...” offered Crimson, avoiding mentioning her book outright for some reason.

‘No more mention of the book,’ Starlight’s voice said through the PCB. Twilight could only assume she was hiding its existence from Olivia and that she’d been left out of the message. She couldn’t imagine why other than paranoia at revealing a potential advantage to her.

“Sorry, Crimson” Starlight glared at Crimson as if she should have known better than to comment. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a waste of time and magic, not to mention dangerous, and I don’t mean just the potential for getting hurt; we need Twilight in the wagon where she can help deal with threats.” She turned to Twilight. “And I can’t be casting trivial spells; I need to be at 100% if we meet trouble, since I’m the only powerful magic-user among us.”

It felt like Starlight was flaunting her horn over her, but Twilight didn’t give her the satisfaction of a response. Nor did Olivia, perhaps because she was tired of pointing out that she was also a magic user.

“Um, Starlight, Twilight’s headaches, shakiness, and constipation all point to stress,“ said Mercury with a tone of worry. “It can get worse if she isn’t allowed to relax.” Since the alchemist had ended up as the group’s medic, she’d been reading books to identify problems. Her study skills impressed Twilight.

“Hmph, she’s just a scaredy-cat,” remarked Starlight smugly...making everypony else do a double take at the outright childishness, especially Olivia, who had only been half listening up to that point.

“An empress should know a thing or two about morale and undue stress,” said Olivia in a far more diplomatic tone. “Besides, Twilight isn’t the most easily frightened unicorn in our group. It wouldn’t cost much magic to keep on the lookout for clean water sources nearby, I could do it myself if you’d use the information. It’d do us good even if it meant pausing our journey for an hour.”

She was right, Starlight should know about maintaining morale, even with her attitude, since she ran the Ministry of Magitech. There was no indication in the memories they watched that ponies were particularly overworked or miserable there. Was Starlight lacking some memory? Twilight worried if it might get worse.

“An EMPRESS makes decisions you couldn’t even fathom!” shouted Starlight. “Reduce stress? Fine, Crimson or the bat can have a go! I will not be having her and that fruit get the luxury of a shower out here...they...they can’t relax, or else they won’t be alert pulling the cart!“ That ramble barely even made sense.

“Excuse me?” Gloomy said from the front where he pulled, but didn’t receive an answer.

Starlight faced away from the others and went silent, perhaps getting a hold of herself, or just seething. Everyone else remained silent, and Twilight let it go because there wasn’t much else to be done.

The silence was a short reprieve though, since Twilight’s shift to fly the cart came soon. When it started, she found herself struggling to do so, shaking slightly from the thought of Starlight still staring at her and probably wanting her killed, and likely her coltfriend too. Starlight was getting more unhinged; Twilight wouldn’t have expected her to say a lot of that around Gloomy, since he represented a potential ally. She didn’t exactly expect good treatment, but this just seemed childish, and it was starting to get to her.

Twilight also noticed that Crimson hadn’t even commented on Starlight’s episode, even though she had looked to be paying attention. If Crimson wasn’t even bothering to joke, it meant she was actually taking things seriously, which increased the probability that she planned to disobey Starlight. If that happened, which side would Maud choose? Oh buck this could go bad in a hurry.

For the time being though, Crimson had returned to her usual disrespectful self, and was often too busy bucking Maud or Tranquil to say much when there was little to do. Although, this made Twilight realize her hoof was pretty sorry company, and she still wasn’t comfortable doing the full deed with others around.

Fortunately, Olivia took it upon herself to scan for water and found a reasonably clean water source without being asked. Luckily, Starlight understood the prudence of supplementing their water supply, and either had a lapse in her ego or just really wanted to get a bath herself, because she allowed a short break for them to clean up too. Twilight took the chance to drag Gloomy behind some rocks for some proper relief before bathing, just ignoring the rest of the group and letting the pleasure overtake her instead. Just as her and Gloomy pulled apart and her pleasure faded, she noticed Crimson peeking around the rock at them, jerking her head back when she was seen.

“Finally saw me?” Crimson snickered at her. “Your orgasm face really is something.”

“Break’s sake you’re all so annoyingly horny,” commented Starlight from where she sat distinctly out of line-of-sight. “And I thought you didn’t even like straight pairings Crimson.”

“That’s because you won’t cast shift spells for us,” Crimson scoffed. “If you won’t let the girls dick each other, I’ll watch the one dick we have and imagine really hard that it’s a mare’s.”

“If you noticed she was peeking, you could have told her to stop,” blushed Twilight as she slowly headed into the water.

“You know I normally would,” Starlight shrugged, finally smiling slightly. “But I guess I was too amused at how oblivious you were.”

“You should have joined the audience, then,” Crimson chuckled, seeming determined to intensify Twilight’s blush. “You could have seen how oblivious she was upfront; it was quite the rutting.”

“Don’t push it,” Starlight grunted, her smile twitching but remaining.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and got on with cleaning up in the little time left. Gloomy moved between her and them as if to protect her from any more stares while she finished cleaning, but what she wouldn’t give for some actual privacy...

As they continued on. Midnight and Trinity's distractions allowed them to move with less worry of ambush; Twilight doubted they could have survived the trip if both factions hadn't pulled most of their troops to other locations.

Twilight’s spirits were high, and even Starlight seemed a little bit better after the bath, but the next time they turned on the radio, it quickly solved Starlight’s good mood.

“There are many factions in Equestria,” Skyla was saying in one of her broadcasts. “Some good, and some bad… mmph… and there is little in between. Though one recently, this ‘New Canterlot Republic’, has me wondering which it is. Given the name, I was initially hopeful for a future ally, yet now I hear rumors that they are intentionally hiding information about the Crystal Heart from me… it would be disturbing if it came between us.”

To Twilight’s knowledge, Starlight had only mentioned having information on the Heart at the secret meeting prior to leaving Holder, which meant someone at the meeting probably had loose lips to Skyla. Luckily Starlight didn’t go into a tirade, instead sitting angrily in a corner and glaring at Gloomy.

But Twilight doubted Gloomy had been the one that informed Skyla. Twilight suspected it’d been Chrysalis, since she had the strongest reaction when Starlight mentioned knowing the Heart’s approximate location and not informing Skyla. Though Watcher also had a pretty strong reaction, Chrysalis had additionally bragged about knowing Skyla’s location. Honestly, Twilight wouldn’t fault either for telling on Starlight, but for now tried to put it out of her mind.

The Foal Mountains loomed larger in the north every day. It seemed mega-spells had struck the mountain; Twilight assumed that was why several of the peaks were lower than she remembered. They must have tried to hit Discordia, though from what Twilight knew, they survived intact.

One of the strange things about this world was it gave Twilight more respect for Discord. As much as he acted like a bratty child, he never tried to harm anypony. His goals as a villain were wrong, but it turned out he just didn't realize how much it hurt ponies, and backed off when he understood. The fact that Discordia spent most of the war refusing to take part proved his kind had limits.

Was this what it had come to, though? Twilight respecting one evil because it wasn't as wicked as another? She realized then that she’d even started to consider Midnight an ally...who she knew to do inexcusable things daily. And Starlight, their apparently half-brained leader, would kill out of convenience. This world was so bucked up.

As they approached the side of the mountain, the landscape was less ravaged, but just as dead. There were more dead trees and standing structures, though seemingly uninhabited. Twilight hoped uninhabited, at least, because anything living in these places were not things they wanted to meet. There was also a broken railway, whole enough to follow. Tranquil, taking her turn to pull the wagon, followed the tracks.

Unlike many other stables at major population centers, Stable 41 was for the many rural communities in the area. Ponies had more time to enter the stable since there were no direct hits at the base of the mountain. Though not much more with the wave of radiation rolling down the mountain soon after from higher impacts.

“I believe we are close,” said Olivia. “The entrance is just around a few more turns.”

“We can't stay in this area for too long,” said Gloomy. “Trinity's forces aren't much further away from Discordia than Stable 41.”

“We'll hurry,” said Starlight. “But I don't think we should pass up contacting an intact stable, regardless of the questionable beliefs they pretend to have. And more changelings under our banner can't hurt.”

“Limestone would like me to point out,” said Maud. “That if the residents treat Daybreaker as an enemy, it is best if Starlight is not visible. Starlight should wear Twilight's armor and Twilight should act as the leader during this visit.”

Starlight paused and peered at Maud. She took a deep breath, having to pry her clenched teeth apart to speak again.

“As long as Twilight understands that it is in fact an act just to test the waters,” said Starlight. “Then yes, that shows wisdom.”

“I have no interest in running the show, Starlight,” Twilight assured, even though she had no interest in Starlight running it either. “You can communicate with me through the PCB and I'll follow your instructions... as much as I feel I can.”

“Well then,” Starlight returned her fake smile. “I suppose I can fit my pipbuck beneath that gas mask, if uncomfortably, so I'm sure it will work out fine. I can cast a simple illusion to make it look like your horn is not useless.”

Starlight maintained her kind tone even while making a foalish jab at Twilight's handicap. Twilight had learned not to dignify the insults with a reaction, but Gloomy took a step towards Starlight. Twilight placed a hoof on his chest to stop him, not wanting to risk a fight.

“Ponies, please,” Olivia sighed. “Changelings will sense your emotional state so you must remain calm. Aggression at one another may be mistaken for aggression at them.”

“Can't imagine what they'll get off me,” Crimson smirked, then sighed. "Damn it. Now I miss Solar. She would have totally made an awesome pun about getting off there."

“Except you’re one of the few she would never want to get off,” commented Maud.

“Yeah, I am pretty special,” Crimson grinned.

“Here, I'll help you out of that,” Gloomy turned to help a blushing Twilight in undoing the leather armor instead, touching her a little more than needed in the process.

Maud helped Starlight into Twilight's armor once Twilight removed it. Starlight looked disgusted at wearing Twilight's sweaty outfit, and Twilight suspected she was regretting not letting her clean more often.

“Limestone advises we not let them know that we realize they are changelings,” said Maud. “They will cooperate to maintain the ruse if they think we are with Midnight. Then we can decide if they are worth revealing ourselves to.”

“As usual, Limestone's advice is solid,” Starlight agreed. Twilight surmised she wouldn’t say anything Maud would interpret as disrespecting Limestone, even if it might be an imaginary Limestone.

In fact, no one questioned Maud's assertions that Limestone's soul gem was telling her what to do. They all knew better. Twilight asked her about it a few times, but Maud got testy when they treated it as unusual. It made Twilight wonder though; was she communicating with Limestone's soul gem psionically, or was it psychosomatic with Maud being good at strategy from having spent so much time around Limestone? Twilight supposed she was as likely to understand it as she was to understand Pinkie Sense.

Starlight cast an illusion on Twilight's horn stump to make it look whole and her mane to look less matted. She gave Twilight one more suspicious glance before sliding on her gas mask. Twilight sighed, hoping she could give a good enough act without frightening the poor things.

That was a change, Twilight realized. She now considered changelings 'poor things' instead of monsters. Maybe she'd learned at least some good on the way. If she ever got back home, maybe she’d be more equipped to deal with changelings constructively.

As they arrived, they saw the stable door had the familiar Stable-Tec design. It looked like a giant gear embedded at the base of a sheer cliff, a faded yellow '41' adorned the center. They had carved Nightmare Moon and Midnight's cutie marks into the cliff side on either side of the door.

Though what was outside the door interested her more. A stone altar had four shoddy stone columns around it. There was a carving of Celestia’s mark with an X carved through it on one side of the altar to signify that the offerings were to ward her away. But most disturbing was that something occupied the altar, a writhing bat pony colt, at most six months old.

Twilight knew it'd upset certain others, but darted out of the wagon towards the altar. She beat her wings several times to fly to the edge of the platform before landing and galloping the rest of the way.

The little bat pony had a gray mane and darker gray fur, both matted from his struggles. He didn't look injured, but seemed exhausted as if he'd used all his energy wailing. He looked up at Twilight, pleading with bright blue eyes, whimpering and reaching his little hooves towards her in desperate confusion.

'Twilight, do not mess with their sacrifice,' Starlight said over the PCB.

“There is no way I'm leaving a foal in this condition!” Twilight said aloud, unable to contain her words.

There was no way in Tartarus that Twilight was leaving him to lay here even if Screwball might retrieve him soon. She fumbled at the knots, but when Mercury and Olivia ran up beside her, Olivia used her telekinesis to unwrap them.

'Keep conversation over the PCB' reminded Maud. 'We do not know what monitoring they have out here.'

'Olivia?' asked Starlight, sighing as she watched Olivia pull the pony off the altar and cradle his whimpering form. 'Is it a changeling?'

'I do not believe so,' replied Olivia. 'I detect none, in fact, which is strange because I should if changelings live inside.'

'If they attuned their stable structure like we did at 27,' pointed out Crimson. 'Could they block that? The same way we blocked radio signals?'

'I would imagine it’s possible,' said Olivia. 'It could explain how changelings are so close to Trinity's territory but have remained undetected by her, though they may have also simply figured out how to hide from her as our friends in Holder did.'

'Assuming they are undetected,' said Starlight. 'For all we know the whole ruse could be to get Trinity's spies closer to Midnight's territory.'

'That's not likely,' said Gloomy. 'If they don’t interact with the outside, they wouldn’t get much spying done. With the colt though, it is odd Screwball hasn't retrieved him yet.’

‘That’s not good,’ Starlight growled out loud as she spoke over the PCB. 'There's a reason I want to send you ahead to speak to Screwball without me, I don't want her ambushing me here either.'

‘Starlight?’ Twilight asked. ‘You think Screwball would have an issue with you? Just because of the war?'

'Screwball is Eris's daughter,' said Starlight. 'I assume Eris told her the story of how the Ministry of Magitech experimented on her.' Her statement was followed by a bit of a nervous laugh after she realized how openly she’d worded that.

'You mean how YOU experimented on her?' asked Twilight. 'What exact experiments did you run?'

'Enhancing her psionic ability,' Crimson cut in, fulfilling her role by making it sound less horrible. 'She volunteered, it went overboard, she went wacko, and she awoke Discord with her new powers during the Grand Galloping Gala. It was a mess, but the details aren’t important.'

'But if she wanted revenge, why didn't she get it before?' asked Twilight. 'If Discord gave Eris even half as much power as himself, it wouldn't be hard for her.'

‘Discord left her due to her violent actions,’ explained Starlight. ‘Because one of the first things she did with that power was attack Manehatten, which caused the reactor to overload and resulted in the first megaspell blast. After that, he left her alone and pregnant with his offspring, and obviously she took the rejection badly. When she retreated to Hollow Shades near here, we let her stay there so long as she didn't expand her territory again. We intended to take care of her after everything else settled, but it never did.’

Twilight understood. Even if Eris and Screwball hadn't come after her, they might fly into a rage if Starlight had the gall to show up to their refuge. It was best she held back while they went ahead.

'Hate to tell you Empress,' said Gloomy. 'But as close as Discordia is, Screwball already knows you're here. Ovo would have told her we are on our way and she’d be looking for us. The only reason I can think of that she wouldn't have retrieved the colt earlier is to see how we deal with it.'

‘So it’s likely a test,’ Twilight said. ‘An easy test to pass, I’d say. We do what she would do, save the colt.’

'Yes, all the more reason to save him,' agreed Mercury as she examined him in Olivia's grasp.

‘If she can do that, could she not teleport us there from here herself?' asked Olivia.

'According to the reports I’ve been given,' said Gloomy. 'Eris doesn’t like her leaving Discordia. As hard as it is to hurt their kind, it’s possible, so her mother still worries. If she can’t think of a good technicality for avoiding the rules, she’ll only ever pop out for a few seconds. Eris stays in a pocket dimension so isn't as aware of the 'real world'.'

'If she is watching,' said Starlight. ‘That’s also more reason to show I have the respect to not walk to the front gate with the rest of you.'

Their silent conversation stopped when the high-pitched screech of the stable door broke the silence, pulling inward and rolling out of the way. Twilight had forgotten they were right next to the stable due to the conversations, but their presence had not gone without notice.

Twilight stepped forward in front of the rest of the group. She took a deep breath and stood tall, waiting for the door to open all the way. Mercury and Olivia stayed with the foal as Gloomy and Maud moved to flank Twilight on either side. Starlight stood where she was behind them, fuming beneath her gas mask.

It surprised Twilight when the first to emerge was a unicorn rather than a bat, but she supposed there had to be a few non-bats there. She wore stable barding with a 41 on the front and collar, decorated with a gold trim as Crimson’s was. The mare had a pale yellow-brown coat and chestnut brown mane that looked somewhat familiar, and a pair of glasses. She had an almanac as a cutie mark.

A bat stallion followed behind her, wearing similar stable barding with a silver trim. He had light tan fur and a pinkish mane, which was odd for a bat, but not impossible if they'd interbred with other pony types. He prodded the mare when she seemed reluctant to exit.

'They might be changelings,' Olivia said over the PCB as soon as the door opened. 'I'd have to cast a spell to be sure. If they are, they’ve told their hive to be silent while the door opens, since I can normally detect one even if not able to listen to it.'

The stable ponies looked afraid to speak, but their nervousness seemed more akin to a criminal caught in a crime than a zealot in their deity's presence. It made sense if they were only pretending to be zealots.

“M-mighty Divine Shadow!” the stallion stammered when the Overmare didn't, remaining bowed. “You honor us by personally accepting our sacrifice instead of sending the Child of Light to retrieve it!”

Twilight assumed they meant Screwball. If she appeared and disappeared with the same flash of white light as Discord and retrieved the sacrifices, they may have mistaken her for someone sent by Midnight.

All this made Twilight uncomfortable, though. She didn't want to deceive or frighten them, nor did she want to encourage their bad practices. Yet she knew she had to feel out the situation to make sure, and it wasn't like she'd told them she was Midnight. They'd just assumed. Still, it felt like once again this world made her betray the attributes she believed were vital to Equestria's survival.

“You may stand, loyal followers,” Twilight said. “You are afraid, but do not be. I have seen nothing yet to show that you are guilty of a crime. So are you going to introduce yourself to my other loyal minions?”

“O-of course. I am Midnight Ebony Reflection, Overmare of Stable 41,” said the mare, “This is Midnight Blood Fang, first stallion in my Divine Harem.”

Twilight wondered if Midnight had a divine harem too. No, she probably considered her whole army the harem, including her own duplicates.

“That will get confusing,” Maud said. “I will call you by your middle names.”

“Midnight is a title for our holiest citizens,” explained Ebony to Maud, voice quivering. “Her Divine Shadow may call us what she wishes though, as can her guests if she allows it.”

Twilight recognized the mare when she told her name. This was a pony that worked in the Canterlot library when Twilight was a student there, but in this timeline Twilight was never a student. As normal unicorns didn't live centuries, she assumed this was either a changeling taking on a persona they'd found in a database or Twilight’s acquaintance in Canterlot was a changeling and they lived much longer. She'd look into that if she got back, but for now...

“I allow it,” said Twilight, letting it go for now. She introduced her own, pointing to them each with a hoof. “Gloomy Shade, Maud Pie, Sta... Clover, Olivia, Mercury Shine, Crimson Prose, and Tranquil Melody.”

“Crimson Prose?” Ebony's eyebrows arched. Twilight realized too late that she should have come up with a different name for Crimson. If they were up on their history, they might realize Crimson worked for Starlight.

“I defected,” Crimson explained. “I proved myself by publicly executing Starlight Glimmer. I beat that smug look off her face with a giant dragon dildo just like she deserved.”

Ebony and Blood stared. Starlight grit her teeth so hard Twilight could hear them creak behind her.

“You know, for the humiliation factor,” Crimson explained, then rolled her eyes. “You girls are slow.”

“G-Glorious!” Blood exclaimed, but looked confused at Twilight as if to confirm. He didn't dare question the outrageous lie out loud, but it seemed doubtful he bought it.

'Don't push it Crimson,' Starlight warned over the PCB. 'Twilight. Tell them to let us in and to give access to the Overmare's terminal.'

'Okay,' Twilight said over the PCB. 'And Crimson, she's right, we should tell as few lies as possible so we don't get buried under them.'

“Ignore her,” Maud covered for Crimson for once. “We scrambled her brain when we tortured her into submission so she says random things.” She reached a hoof and clamped Crimson's muzzle shut before she responded with a violent flirt.

“Ah, of course,” Blood bought that one more and nodded. “So traveling with you is her punishment? As long as you rendered her harmless.”

“Will you not invite us inside?” Twilight asked. “You will then give us access to your stable's maneframe.”

“Of course!” Ebony chuckled nervously. She was awkward and quiet for an Overmare.

Blood bowed again, then sat up, tapping his front hooves together. “Did you want to devour the sacrifice before you entered?”

It took Twilight a moment to realize that he meant the colt and when she did, she barely kept her composure. The whole thing had unfortunate implications, but if it was an act, shouldn't they have known Midnight didn't eat foals? Or maybe Midnight did, for all Twilight knew.

And if it was an act, changelings had taken over the stable and were leaving bat ponies outside as sacrifices. Were they raising them like cattle? Maybe these changelings favored the ones Twilight was used to more.

“Not yet.” Twilight didn't know what else to say. “I had a big lunch.”

“So early?” Blood tilted his head.

“Breakfast!” Twilight corrected. “A big breakfast.”

“Of course.” Blood smiled.

“Indeed,” Ebony turned, shooing Blood back inside. “Get a feast organized for later today. I must show Her Divine Shadow what she desires.”

Blood nodded and left to prepare as she said or perhaps to warn the others inside that 'Midnight' was entering. Ebony took a deep breath and turned back to them. “You wanted to see the maneframe, your Divine Shadow? Please, allow me to escort you.”

“Sure,” Twilight went with it. “Lead us to your terminal and stay with us so we can speak.”

'What nuts,' Gloomy commented over the PCB. 'It's a good thing Midnight didn't know all the stable locations for recruitment. Changelings or not, these wouldn't exactly raise the average sanity of our soldiers.'

“Maybe I should stay with the little one,” Mercury suggested. “I don't think we should take him back in there.”

“I will remain too,” said Olivia.

'Crimson and Tranquil will also stay,' Starlight said on the PCB.

'What about getting access to the Overmare terminal?' asked Crimson.

'She seems willing to give it,' said Starlight. 'And I don't want you telling different stories every time someone asks why you're here.' Or maybe she was just peeved that Crimson claimed to kill her.

'Ya got me,' admitted Crimson nonetheless.

'Is it necessary to go in at all?' asked Gloomy.

'Absolutely,' said Starlight. 'We must know if they may be a threat or ally later.'

“I'll stay out here too,” Crimson spoke aloud as she rolled her eyes. “Always wanted to buck my wife on an altar, anyway. Come here Tranquil, lay on your belly so I can smash your face on the stone.”

Ebony should have taken enough offense or at least looked at Crimson for potentially defiling their altar, but she didn't. She was so frazzled that she may not have even noticed. She walked inside, looking like a death-row inmate walking to her execution.

'If we want to keep communication with them outside,' pointed out Maud. 'We will need them to keep the stable door open. If the door blocks a hive signal, it probably blocks PCB.'

Good point.

“Keep the stable door open until we leave,” Twilight said as they entered.

“Open?” Ebony seemed reluctant, but nodded. “Very well.”

Stable 41 looked much like any other stable inside. The only main difference was the excessive amount of decorations centered on Midnight Sparkle. Right in the atrium was a large painting of Midnight Sparkle in her battle form standing over a bloodied Daybreaker in victory, even if that wasn’t how it happened.

They didn't see other ponies though. Perhaps they directed residents to leave the atrium, or maybe they weren't allowed there. Blood had gone elsewhere to prepare Twilight's holy welcome, which she hoped didn’t include a foal as part of the meal, so they were left with Ebony.

Ebony led them to an office just off the atrium, which Twilight assumed was the Overmare's office. There was a desk with chairs in front, a small bookshelf atop the desk. It only had a few books in it, which appeared to be religious texts. There was one with Midnight's battle form on it and another with her normal Twilight-like form. A long row of photos on the walls seemed to show the former Overmares. There looked to be eight including this one.

The dust around some of the books and decorations indicated that they hadn’t been moved in some time. Twilight got the impression that this room was set up for the unlikely case of visitors, but wasn’t actually used a lot in practice.

Near the back of the office was another desk with a terminal atop it. The lights were on so they'd kept it running, even if it looked as if it'd had every part replaced at least once. Ebony didn't move to do anything with it though. She just closed the door behind them. When Starlight locked it, Ebony's eyes widened as if holding in panic.

“I am done with this ruse,” Olivia sighed, apparently sure of their identity now that they were inside. “Ebony, please listen, but do not inform the rest of the hive until you understand to explain to them.”

“I-I don't know what you mean,” Ebony took a step back into a corner when Maud stood in her way at the door.

“Olivia,” Starlight warned.

“I will not support this kind of mistrust and deception!” Olivia said back. “And I will not spend the entire visit with them fearing us!”

“It's okay, Olivia,” Twilight said, holding up a hoof to shush Starlight. It shamed her that Olivia did the Elemental thing before she did.

Starlight glared, but could do nothing. Letting on that Twilight wasn't in charge would only invite more questions that Starlight wouldn't want to answer.

“Ebony,” said Twilight. “I apologize for not saying it earlier, but I feared you would resist letting us in if you realized we know what you are, and we wanted to be sure of some things. But you don't have to be afraid, seriously, we are not here to hurt you.”

“Of course,” Ebony sighed. “I don't know what I was thinking. You’d want to recruit us to counter Trinity's changelings.”

“We are not here to enslave you either,” assured Twilight. “When this conversation finishes, you can ask us to leave and never come back with no negative repercussions.”

“R-really?” Ebony calmed and even smiled, perhaps aware of Midnight's reputation for honesty.

“Just tell us what happened here,” Starlight said impatiently. She seemed to lose a lot of her diplomatic edge when feeling her position threatened. “Were changelings here when this started or did you arrive later? Start from the beginning.”

“It's okay to tell us,” Olivia smiled at her to take the edge off Starlight's tone.

“Are you familiar with the experiment here?” Ebony asked, moving to sit at her desk but still shivering.

“We are,” said Twilight. “It involved projections of Daybreaker and gas to make ponies hallucinate. Yet it ended with ponies worshiping Midnight?”

“Aren't you... never mind,” said Ebony. “Yes, it did.”

“Are the residents aware of the experiment?” asked Starlight.

“They are, now,” said Ebony. “Maybe it would be easiest if you watched the first Overmare's memory sphere. Before we changelings arrived, the first Overmare took steps to ensure her memory lived on and that no future Overmare has experiences that might cause them to reveal her secrets. Each new Overmare would have her existing memories erased and replaced with those from the memory sphere. I could show you the most important passages if you like.”

“The new Overmares allowed them to do this?” asked Maud.

“Sometimes,” said Ebony. “But my understanding is that they often were not given a choice. I have been Overmare since we arrived, but I did not take the memory wipe like the others.”

“And the foals?” asked Twilight. “Do their parents have a choice?”

“That's...” Ebony became nervous again. “That started as population control, I believe. They chose offspring of weaker stable residents as the sacrifice to ensure they passed superior genes. We continued the practice after we took control to keep up appearances and...”

“Wouldn't it be more efficient to sterilize inferior residents?” Starlight asked. “Though I suppose this practice implies Daybreaker will return if they didn't, which allowed the Overmare to maintain control. Impressive.”

“Stop making it sound like you agree with the premise, please,” Twilight said.

Starlight looked long and hard at Twilight but again didn't argue.

“Ebony?” Gloomy asked. “Where are the original residents? Don't tell me you are keeping bat ponies like cattle down here.”

“B-but you work for Midnight,” said Ebony. “And she eats bat ponies! You yourself came to retrieve the sacrifice.”

“I think they have given you the wrong impression of who Midnight is,” Twilight interjected. “Is there a way to watch that sphere without touching it, though?”

“Well, no, but you will understand more if you watch it.” The panic grew in Ebony's eyes again.

“Considering what you have told us about memory erasure,” said Maud. “I would not trust any sphere you provide.”

'Twilight, you watch the sphere,' Starlight said over the PCB. 'We'll take action if it harms you, but it shouldn’t with the PCB network’s security protecting your mind.’'

“Hay! Haven’t any of you read any of the old horror books about cults?” Gloomy said aloud, looking at Starlight. “These weirdos probably just want to grab her to control the bat cattle better, or clone her for nefarious purposes!” He liked horror books? She’d have to see if she could read some with him sometime, but who knew if she’d have both time and access any time soon.

“W-we’ll do nothing of the sort!” Ebony replied to Gloomy’s sudden freakout.

“Oh, um...that wasn’t supposed to be out loud...” Gloomy sheepishly said.

'It's okay, Gloomy,' Twilight said as she put a hoof on his shoulder. Risking herself for the others would help her feel like she was still a decent pony at least. ‘Starlight’s right; from what I’ve learned studying about the PCB, it’s virtually impossible for them to bypass its security without having one to study.’

Of course, Starlight surely was hoping that it would somehow kill her, and would be the one to know more about doing such, but it was best to put on a brave face for Gloomy’s sake.

“I will watch it alone,” said Twilight.

“But if we find you have tainted it somehow,” said Maud. “We will show you how slowly a pony or changeling can die screaming.”

“Do you still wish me to watch it?” asked Twilight. She wished Maud hadn't said that but may as well use the statement. “There will be no further punishment if you say no now.”

“It's not a trap!” Ebony said. “Believe me, I wouldn't dare! Besides, your soul gem would protect you.”

It was a good thing Ebony hadn't noticed she didn't have one.

“Very well,” said Twilight. “Get the sphere.”

46. The Bigger They Are

Long ago, Tuesday, 11/16/2077
POV: Fruit Burst
Stable 41

On Day 21, please activate the Stable-Tech decontamination system, which must activate from the primary Overmare terminal. This will disseminate a harmless gas to sterilize and prevent health issues due to radiation exposure. Do not inform stable residents to prevent misunderstandings.

That was the simplest Stable-Tec instructions Fruit Burst had seen, and that was the problem. Stable-Tech instructions were never simple. Something was wrong.

And why release the gas now, weeks into their stay? Why not decontaminate ponies as they entered?

There should be details. She expected overcomplicated explanations of how the gas works and what goes into it. StableTec wasn't one to be short on details, but this didn't even tell Fruit where in the stable the gas originated.

It was time for an investigation.

Finding the vents where the gas came from was easy. There seemed to be two types of vents in the stable, which she’d wondered about, so she assumed one was for the gas and the other was for normal ventilation. It was probably so that the gas could be added to different rooms individually, but why was that needed? One set of vents all faced outward from a single location near the center of the stable, so she assumed that this was the gas system. However, the room at the hub was only a storage room

There was no way she'd start without knowing, so she went about the painstaking task of moving the shelves around to look beneath them. Sometimes this required removing all the items on the shelf and then putting them back when finished. She couldn't ask for help because she didn't want to tell anypony else for the moment.

It paid off when she found a trap door beneath one. It was locked, but that wasn't anything a welding torch couldn't solve. She ordered security to block off the store room before heading in to take care of things herself.

Once she sliced off the lock, Fruit opened the door and poked her head inside. There was a low buzz as the lights beneath came on and revealed the large room beneath the storage area.

The room was five times larger in diameter than the store room and filled with large transparent tanks, each labeled with a different area name. Fruit assumed gas filled them though it must have been clear gas. Why was it clear even when concentrated? Why take steps to make sure nopony would notice it?

Only one tank was different, a smaller one filled with a denser greenish gas. Whatever it was, it didn't look healthy, and bore the label 'Overmare's Office'. They would pump a different one into the office, the only place where one could activate the process.

A maneframe terminal in one corner caught her attention so Fruit sat at that desk. It took a few minutes to hack, but the security wasn't high. They never expected any pony to look here. She flipped through the file notes, reaching one titled 'Stable 41 Experiment'.

Fruit couldn't believe what she read. This was a hallucinogen meant to terrify the residents into submission? Being able to send it to different rooms individually was to give the impression of attacks in different areas. Worse, it’d pump poison into her office to make sure the only pony that knew about the process could not tell the residents why the illusions occurred. Those assholes...

But now she knew. Now this was an opportunity.

Stable-Tec hadn't contacted them since the mega-spells and Fruit was certain the company no longer functioned. Neither had anypony from the Equestrian government, so maybe everything was kaput out there. The bottom line was that she would spend the rest of her days here. Why spend them as an Overmare when she could be more?

The terminal here allowed her to give access to the terminal in her Overmare's office, so that's just what she did. Before she left, she sealed the valves and disconnected the power from the poison tank so it would not be pumped.

When she left, she welded the trap door back shut and made sure the shelf was atop it and heavy laden. Taking a gas mask from one shelf, she headed to the kitchens to get a few weeks worth of food. It was a good thing the Overmare’s office had its own restroom, because she’d be staying inside there a while.

Tuesday, 11/30/2077

Stable-Tec planned to have this gas going for a full month, but Fruit cut it off early. The residents were riled up enough that three dozen pipbucks had detected the death of their wearer, either from suicides or paranoia-induced violence, and a month of this might see them all dead. She didn't know the details as she locked herself in and no other administrators had communicated with her after the first week.

Lucky for her, Steam Wind still registered as healthy in the system. She'd had an eye for him since she got there, but he hadn't been interested in her. But after this stunt, she could have any stallion she wanted. She could have a whole harem of stallions and mares alike.

She's spent those two weeks figuring out how to run things. They'd need believable beliefs, rituals, and population controls. She could probably combine all three things. Either way, it was time. She accessed the lab terminal and activated all the holograms at once. She let it run for a few minutes, but realized it was time to end it when two more life signs blinked out.

“Attention Stable residents,” Fruit spoke over the intercom. “Her Divine Shadow gifted me with knowledge! She gave me the power to drive out the evil that infests this stable! In the name of her Divine Shadow, I rebuke Daybreaker and banish her from this place!”

She pressed another button, turning off all the projections at once.

Was it going to be that easy? Only time would tell. Were they all functioning at full sanity it would never work, but their minds were softened with several weeks of drugged torment.

It was time to see how Steam Wind was doing. And then with any luck, time to do Steam Wind. Addled by the gas, he'll believe her when she said it's Midnight's will that he leads her new divine harem.

POV: Starlight Glimmer
Date: Tuesday 11/15/2287
Stable 41

“Well, of all the reasons to start a cult,” Twilight said as she awoke from the trance. “Wanting to woo your crush is one of the most petty.”

“What's that?” Starlight quirked an eyebrow. It was almost too bad it wasn’t a trap, not that Starlight could turn off the PCB security to let it work.

A brief explanation from Twilight later, Ebony placed the memory sphere back in the safe where she had retrieved it and turned to face them again. The story was almost what Starlight expected, but good to know for certain. Good relations with a stable full of changelings was very much to her advantage since Olivia's whore-hive wouldn't willingly go on missions, yet at least.

“Very well,” Twilight said to Ebony. “You have more to tell us, Ebony?”

“That's all there is to tell,” said Ebony. “Me and my refugees took over 25 years ago. I made myself the new Overmare, minus the memory wipe... And you may call me by my changeling name if you like, Eumenina or Mina for short.”

“Why don't you take your true form?” asked Olivia, smiling to be gentle. “I want you to realize that you have nothing to fear from us.”

Mina took a deep breath. “Yes I suppose so.”

In a flash of green magic, the changeling returned to her true form. She had yellow-orange chitin with black elytrons over her transparent insectoid wings. It made her look like a giant wasp. She still wore her glasses, so they were either required, fashionable, or she wanted extra nerd points.

“How about telling us how you treat the captive ponies in this stable, Mina,” said Gloomy, less friendly than Olivia.

Twilight's fruity sex toy was getting testy, and Starlight was plenty testy with him now that she suspected he might be informing Skyla. Starlight hoped he did nothing to endanger her goals here; this whole ruse was annoying.

“But what else are we to do?” Mina asked. “I can't ask my hive to sacrifice their own grubs to be eaten... no offense.”

“Ugh,” Maud face-hoofed. “That pun was terrible.”

“I-I didn't make a pun,” Mina said in confusion.

“I was talking to Boulder,” Maud said.

“Okay?” Mina tilted her head.

“Mina, Midnight Sparkle doesn't eat ponies or changelings,” said Twilight, herding the conversation back away from Maud's maybe-imaginary friends. “And I certainly don't.”

“B-But why then does the servant of light retrieve them?” asked Mina in confusion.

“That's not my servant,” sighed Twilight. “Or Midnight's.”

Twilight was no longer making a secret of her identity, but it still took the ‘ling a while to catch on.

“That is Screwball,” explained Starlight. “She's not associated with any of our factions. She's just taking the foals to safety because you leave them outside to die.”

Mina stared. The realization that she did that for no reason seemed to hit her as ‘am I in trouble?’ rather than with guilt, but either way it’d make her more cooperative.

“Look,” said Twilight. “Why don't you start by telling us why your changelings are here?”

“I advise honesty,” warned Maud. “No, Pinkie. I will not dismember her in a preemptive strike. We do not know if she will lie yet.”

Sometimes Starlight wondered how many of Maud's comments were responses to her rock friends and how many were just to intimidate those around her. If it was the latter, it worked.

“We did much as you did,” said Mina as she edged away from Maud. “We pretended to be Midnight Sparkle and walked right in, then replaced those in authority one at a time until we had control. I assume since you keep referring to her as another pony, that is not who you are?”

“This is Midnight from another timeline,” Starlight cut to the chase. “Call her Twilight and please don't ask us to explain; it will only make less sense if we do.”

“Anyway,” Twilight was happy to skip the explanation. “You're saying you kept up the ruse of the cult because you believed Midnight Sparkle retrieved the foals and if you stopped, she would come for you. Correct?”

“Yes,” Mina looked at the floor, eyes wide. “I think I can tell you're being honest but I don't know what to say. I'm sorry?”

She wasn’t sorry. Starlight could pick out these sorts of false apologies since she did it often herself. Mina was sorry that they caught her, and possibly worried that they might now expect her to cease holding ponies captive for her amusement. Or maybe she was wondering what to do with the bats now that she didn’t need them.

Good. Starlight could manipulate this one into her way of thinking with ease.

“Look,” Gloomy took a deep breath to contain himself, and to his credit also seemed to understand. “I can talk to Screwball. She's been taking them in one at a time, so maybe she'll agree to take the lot off your hooves. They can live in Discordia and you can keep Stable 41 for yourselves, with very little worry of them telling Trinity where you are. It'd be safer for you if you didn't draw attention to yourself with sacrifices, anyway.”

No doubt Gloomy would love the increase in recruitment that would give his organization. His move benefited Starlight too, though; it would mean part of Statera would owe Starlight for rescuing them. Even if his plan didn’t work, Starlight could offer them refuge in Holder and still get extra hooves. It seemed things just kept working out; maybe it really was her destiny to rule Equestria.

“Indeed,” Mina said. “Thank you for talking things out with me. Once the door is closed, I’ll tell the others. I don't want to risk the activity drawing attention when we aren't shielded. Trinity... has ways of finding us.”

“And believe me,” said Twilight. “You don't want the real Midnight Sparkle’s attention either.”

'Twilight, we're under attack!' Mercury's voice blared over the PCB, making the team jump.

Because things were going too well.

'Holy bucking horse apples, this is hilarious!' Crimson's voice followed. Even if they couldn't hear it over the PCB, she was obviously laughing hysterically. 'Red and black alicorns? Even I think that's tacky! What were you thinking when you designed these buckers, Starlight?'

No way... Starlight's eyes widened as she turned to rush out, heading towards the stable entrance and drawing the plasma rifle they’d taken from Tenwhinney from her back. Maud followed, already fishing around in her saddlebags for her own weapons.

'Hello?' Starlight asked over the PCB as the others followed. 'Can you make it into the stable and close the door? Surely Olivia can hold them?'

'They took her out first!' said Mercury. 'They appeared out of nowhere and clubbed her over the head with a bucking fire hydrant! They...' silence.

So they had stealth bucks. Perfect. For all she knew, they were already inside the stable.

“What's going on?” Mina screamed as she trailed behind them, then her own security must have informed her over her hive because her eyes widened. “We’re under attack?”

“Why are Trinity’s super-mutants here?” Gloomy cried out as he followed.

Oh by Daybreaker's flaming STDs. Did he have to point out Trinity’s involvement to the easily-panicked changeling hiding out from Trinity? Starlight already knew what was coming next.

“CLOSE THE STABLE DOOR!” Mina shrieked, sure enough going into full panic mode. “I don’t care who’s still outside! Close it now!”

Yep.

They’d have been locked in had Starlight not grabbed the door with her magic. The magical metal barely slowed down from telekinesis, but Maud leaped into the door herself, standing against one side as she held the door in her forehooves.

Maud tensed her muscles and strained to bear the intense pressure as Starlight and the others ducked beneath her to get through. The poor mud pony looked like she might split from the effort, but held it long enough before leaping out herself and letting it grind closed behind them.

It was too late though; something had taken them. Mercury, Olivia, Crimson, Tranquil, and the little colt had vanished. For most of those, it wouldn't be an issue as they weren't vital to Starlight's plans. But if they killed Olivia, there was no way the hive back in Holder would believe Starlight didn’t do it. They'd rebel outright.

“We’re too late!” Twilight groaned in frustration, leaning down to scoop up the belt pouch that Olivia had dropped. She sighed and draped it over her own back as she looked off in the distance to try and see anypony else.

“I see them,” Maud said, looking through Ashmaker's scope at the hulking figures in the distance. “Four of the creatures, each carrying a pony. I assume one has the foal unless they ate him on the spot. I can not hit them from here without endangering our allies.”

'If you can avoid hitting Olivia, take the shot,' Starlight told Maud alone over the PCB. 'The others are expendable.'

Maud glared at her for an instant, and for a moment Starlight thought Maud might turn the gun on her, but instead she prepared to take the shot Starlight ordered. It seemed she was still obedient for the moment; Starlight had to figure out how to keep her that way after the current mission.

But Maud’s shot never fired. An instant before she pulled the trigger, a form appeared next to her and grabbed Ashmaker by the barrel.

The word 'tacky' that Crimson used wasn't inaccurate for what appeared, though that was hardly Starlight's fault. Genetics was a fickle mistress and rarely turned out as intended, especially when engineering a virus to in turn engineer life forms into other life forms. Starlight meant for them to be better life forms, but they were mostly just 'other' from the looks of it.

The monster looked like an alicorn; or at least, he had a crooked horn and mismatched wings. He was near twice the height of Daybreaker, covered in black fur in patches as if his distended muscles had torn through his coat. He had a matted red mane and tail, misshapen red hooves, empty-looking eyes, and enormous draconic fangs. His tongue lolled out of his muzzle as if it wouldn't fit. He wore armor that looked like he’d pried it off a tank and literally nailed it to his body.

Starlight didn't remember them being this hideous. Was there any of her designs that Trinity hadn't 'improved'? She was beginning to doubt that Trinity was similar to her at all.

Cackling madly, the creature yanked the gun away and smashed it across Maud's head, sending the earth pony flying into the cliffside with a dull crack. If it were anypony else, it would worry Starlight, but Maud wasn’t much less sturdy than a giant monster.

Maud grunted, and the suit flickered several times as if she was trying to activate the stealth field. It was glitchy like she'd said, but she disappeared a few seconds later. She said nothing over the PCB, but Starlight hoped she or the voices in her head had a plan.

“Spread out!” Gloomy cried out from behind her, taking off from a run and banking to shoot up into the air. Twilight flew in another direction.

Taking Gloomy's advice was a good idea since he was the only member of the group that had faced these creatures in combat before. Starlight galloped to flank the creature as she raised her plasma rifle. Time seemed to slow as her SATS activated, targeting his head.

Five percent probability of hitting? Was she that horse apples at aiming? She aimed the gun for his chest instead as she fired up her horn, secondary targeting aiming the horn blast towards his head instead. A whole 15 percent.

Starlight fired both, the time lock releasing and returning her perception to normal. The shot from the plasma blast hit him square in the chest, leaving a huge crack in the plate armor, but otherwise not doing more than pushing him back. The blast from her horn slammed him between the eyes, but he only dropped the gun for a moment before it glowed and lifted again in his magic. It aimed for Starlight.

How?! Starlight put enough energy into that blast to decapitate a twilicorn and this thing had no energy shield to block it! It was no wonder Midnight had been working on devices to slice through magical defenses if these things had so much.

“Hurry and die, I'm hungry!” the creature snarled as he fired.

Starlight raised a magical shield, but it did little against what Ashmaker packed. The blast rang her ears as it punctured her energy barrier. She felt the heat from the super-heated bullet buzzing close enough to her head to shatter the edge of her gas mask. She shook the rest of the broken head-piece free as she tried to recover from the feedback of having her shield shattered.

Before he fired again, Twilight dive-bombed the mutant and unleashed a torrent of electrical energy. Twilight's face tensed in pain as she forced energy through her broken horn, raining it down on him.

An instant later, Gloomy got in a shot with Zapper. It didn't do anything against the mutant's armor, but the brief slowdown allowed Gloomy to land a four-legged kick into the mutant's chest. When the mutant recovered from the effect from Zapper, he grasped Gloomy by one leg in his teeth and slung him like a rag doll before slamming him against the ground. He hit the ground hard on his stomach, making him throw up slightly before desperately staggering away with an oddly cute squeak.

“You hit like a radroach, squeaky bat toy!” the mutant laughed.

Charming, but this was not going well. For the first time, Starlight sincerely regretted having crippled Midnight’s twilicorn factory. There had to be a weakness for her to have held them off at all, but what? If her horn blast did so little, the turret on their wagon wouldn’t do anything. Starlight tried to think about what weaknesses they’d keep even if upgraded.

‘Gloomy? Weaknesses?’ she asked over the PCB.

‘Non-magical ballistics or anti-magic,’ Gloomy said. ‘It’s the reason Midnight doesn’t get energy weapons from Holder, they don’t do much good against our primary opponents. Going for the head still applies, just not so much with magic.’‘

Starlight charged the creature again, legs aching from exertion, and unloaded a torrent of magical blasts, targeting everything her pipbuck would allow with a separate stream and hoping one would hit. Just as she also targeted the plasma rifle at his chest again, she felt her body encompassed in his magic, zooming towards him much faster than she intended.

She fired her shots, but didn't have time to check how many of them hit before she felt herself grabbed around the head. The creature unfolded his hoof into a claw-like protrusion, razor edges grasping her cranium as he slung her around. Starlight would’ve considered what an interesting upgrade it was were it not for her terror as he hurled her into the air.

“Fore!” the mutant laughed. “Who says unicorns no fly?”

Starlight hit something fleshy midair and felt energy wreck through her system, realizing that he'd tossed her into Twilight just as she was firing another blast. Both flew back in an arc as the feedback from Twilight's errant shot hit her too, body tensing up from the surge. It didn’t hurt as much as it could at least; Starlight’s nerves were maxed.

An instant later Gloomy zoomed past to catch Twilight before she could collide head-first into the ground. He left Starlight.

No matter. Starlight growled, charging up her magic to grab her own body and right herself midair. Her body healed as her pipbuck injected one potion she had loaded and she put all her energy into a single blast.

She paused though before releasing it as Maud materialized behind the laughing mutant. Maud appeared mid-leap as she brought Mite down towards his head. Had the pulse barding not glitched, it would have been a clean strike, but the creature stopped the hammer's head with a hoof.

He didn't expect the result, screaming as his hoof shattered from the impact of the rocket sledge. Of course! Their resistance to magic was powerful, but ironically, they were vulnerable to the good old-fashioned blunt force trauma. They just had to aim for the less armored portions.

It didn’t faze him as much as it should have. He reached his other forehoof instead, grasping Maud by the foreleg in his hoof-claw and twisting the leg around the shoulder at a grotesque angle.

“Pony snap!” the mutant shouted gleefully.

Starlight had never heard Maud cry out before, but this time she did as her shoulder gave, eyes wide with shock at how effortlessly the creature snapped it. She didn't give up though. She spun, not doing her leg any favors as she landed a hind-hoof kick to the mutant's face, sending him stumbling back so he released her broken leg.

He raised Ashmaker again only to have Gloomy get in another shot from Zapper. The few seconds of slowness was all Maud needed to grasp Ashmaker herself and fire. While Ashmaker was magitech, the bullet was conventional, so the bolt of super-heated metal drilled right through his neck, shattering the armor. Starlight had to bank to avoid the shot as it exited the other side.

Any normal creature would have stopped, but this thing was bloody persistent. Even as sickening green blood bubbled from his gagging neck, he grabbed Maud's head in both hoof claws and squeezed as hard as he could. He yanked Mite away from her with his magic and looked to be about to bring it down on her back.

Starlight couldn't waste more time. She released all her energy towards the mutant's big ugly ass and hoped she hit even close to the seam in his armor. It connected right on the edge of a piece, the blast shattering bits of armor and stopping him from using his full strength on Maud. Maud collapsed from his blow, but didn't seem badly injured.

The mutant blubbered something out vaguely resembling “Spanking not fair” and stumbled a bit. As the hammer dropped from his grasp, Maud caught the handle with one hind leg. She kicked upwards, sending Mite up over her head to spin 180 degrees in the air.

“Wanna smash?” Maud got her one-liner in before her final blow.

Maud whipped her tail upwards to flip the switch on the hammer, activating the rocket attachment. It blazed to life and sent Mite's head down to crack the mutant on the horn. From the resulting scream, that hurt every bit as much for a super-mutant as it would for a unicorn.

An instant later, the creature lay on his back, twitching on the ground as the lack of oxygen from his punctured throat got the best of him. Thank everything holy that these things didn’t regenerate as fast as Twilicorns.

Starlight landed, racing towards Maud and leaning down towards her. Gloomy landed on the earth pony's other side. Starlight glanced around, seeing Twilight stagger up nearby as well; a lot of help she was during this, but one could only expect so much from a horn-cripple.

While not a doctor, Starlight did her best to examine Maud. She cast an x-ray spell to examine her, finding that the twisted leg wasn't as broken as it looked. The bone had a small fracture, but otherwise was only out of joint. She used her telekinesis to twist the limb back into its proper place. Maud gritted her teeth and grunted at the sudden movement but didn't resist. Starlight pulled one potion from her pipbuck injection system and put it to Maud's lips.

“I-is she okay?” Twilight asked as she staggered closer. It was weird how sincere her concern was for Starlight's bodyguard. Maud would murder Twilight in an instant if Starlight ordered it.

“I am fine,” Maud answered. “But I may not be at full fighting capacity for at least ten minutes.”

“How the BUCK has Midnight held off an army of those?” Starlight asked Gloomy. “I put a ridiculous amount of energy into that blast to his head and he tanked it like nothing!”

“Super-mutants were hard to create,” said Gloomy. “Until recently, they required a living pony, and many didn't survive the infection long enough to transform. That's why the rumors that Cozy figured out how to make them from scratch is such a huge problem! That's exactly why you shouldn't have blown up the Mirror Pool!”

“Gloomy!” Twilight staggered up behind him. “Blaming her for what she couldn't have known will not help this.” She looked at Starlight. “We have to get them back.”

“Get them back?” Starlight almost laughed. “There may be hundreds of those in Cozy’s encampment! We barely took one!” Starlight wanted to get Olivia back, but there was a limit to what feats they could accomplish.

“That was a Nightkin strain,” said Gloomy. “Including Cozy, there’d only be around a dozen at the encampment. But point taken, and the others are still a big problem.”

“What if you go to Screwball for help?” asked Starlight. “You said she protects the fruit colts right?” She kept letting slurs slip out when she got angry or panicked; she really needed to cut down on that.

“Yeah, she'll protect the colt,” said Gloomy, tensing his face but otherwise ignoring the slur. “She'll zap in, snatch him up, and leave our friends to fend for themselves.”

“She'd leave them to die so close to Discordia?” Twilight asked.

“I never said she was a good pony,” Gloomy said. “She probably knows what's going on already, so if she wanted to help, she would have. Right now she’s probably watching us fight while eating singing popcorn or something equally absurd.”

“A-are you all right?” Mina’s voice asked from behind them. They'd been so engrossed with their conversation they hadn't realized the stable door opened after the super-mutant fell. She’d shifted back into her unicorn form.

“A lot of help you were!” Starlight shrieked, unable to contain herself. “How many down there could have helped?!”

“I'm sorry!” Mina took a step back. “I am. It's just... Trinity... we couldn't. If they realized what we were...”

“Did it not occur to you,” Gloomy growled. “That if they realized changelings live here, they are headed back to their master to tell her? You should have attempted to take down the fleeing ones before they escaped!”

“I...,” Mina shook her head, terror welling up in her eyes and shaking so hard she could barely stand. “You protected us and we did nothing, and we are ashamed... again. I... don't suppose your light friend would take us all in?”

“It'll be hard enough to convince her to take in all of your captives in one go,” Gloomy shook his head. “And she likely doesn’t think well of the rest of you.”

“There's no guarantee they realized you are changelings,” said Twilight, leaning down to pick something off the ground. “In fact, I don’t see how they could have.”

Twilight had pulled out Olivia's grimoire and flipped through a few pages. She looked like she wanted to study it for hours on the spot, but sighed as she tucked it back into Olivia's pack, which she kept draped over her own back for now. Starlight wouldn't mind getting a look herself.

“If they realized that,” said Maud. “They would have sent their stealth unit into the stable itself to sabotage the door for later. He would not have chosen to have fun with us first.”

“Yeah,” Gloomy sighed. “That seems reasonable even for them, but still...”

“Who says they didn't?” Starlight asked. “Are we sure there was only one?”

“Stop it, please,” sighed Twilight. “Mina. What kind of weapons do you have?”

“Um, not a lot,” said Mina. “We have guns but nothing like what you seem to have. We have a few that know offensive magic, but we’re not trained battlemages, and you saw how little magic does against them.”

“I hate it as much as you, Twilight,” said Starlight. “But there's no point in risking more of us.”

“Silence,” Twilight narrowed her eyes at Starlight.

Did she really just say that? Starlight's face tightened.

“I think you need to remember who is in charge, mascot,” growled Starlight.

“Um, isn't she in charge?” Mina asked, then stared at Starlight as if her brain was making connections. “You... look familiar.”

Oh horse apples. Starlight had forgotten he blasted off her mask.

“She's an alternate version of Starlight,” Twilight said. True enough. “Not the one after you. I swear.”

“Ah, timelines, right,” Mina seemed unsure. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't just seen Starlight help fight off the super-mutant.

“Something like that,” sighed Twilight.

“I could sneak in,” offered Maud, as if she was in any condition to do so. “The pulse barding is off and on, but that thing has at least one stealth buck for us to use.”

“Except they’re expecting an attack from Midnight right now,” said Gloomy, moving to the super-mutant. “They’ll have a detection perimeter set up. I can tell you what to look for with your pipbuck to see where it is, but walking through it stealthed will probably set it off faster than not being stealthed.”

“I can sneak through the perimeter with it off,” Maud sounded confident.

“You can’t sneak through that perimeter without being seen,” Gloomy shook his head.

Gloomy detached what armor wasn’t bolted on and looked for any items the creature might have on him. A few moments later, he held up a stealth buck with his wing as he continued to dig. As he pulled off the flank armor, Starlight could see the creature's cutie mark, a smiling flower of all things. It was a grim reminder that these creatures were also victims, that they had normal lives before being forced into this one.

“What about a signal switch?” asked Twilight. “Like I used in Stable 27 to misdirect the twilicorn to think we were in the next room. I attached our life signature to inanimate objects.”

“So switch Maud’s and the super-mutant’s signature?” Starlight pondered. “The super-mutant would have to be fairly close for the switch to maintain, but perhaps you could dump it just outside the perimeter. Then the system might see the signal as this one coming back from the mission.”

“Okay, but even if Maud gets in alone,” said Gloomy. “How does that help us other than getting Maud killed? She can barely move!”

“I am well within my pain tolerance,” Maud struggled for a moment but pulled herself back to her hooves. Her face twitched; she must have been in a lot of pain to not be able to hide it, but she remained determined. “I will not abandon our friends. And you do not want to abandon them either. If they kill Olivia...”

“I know,” sighed Starlight. She wracked her mind, trying to imagine anything else that would help.

“What about the changelings?” asked Maud. “Can you not shift into something tiny and flock into my saddle bag?”

“B-but the idea is for her not to realize there are changelings here,” stammered Mina. “I'm sorry, but I can't chance them finding out. You don't know what it was like... being forced to do awful things against my will. It was only a fluke disruption in her connection that allowed us freedom.”

“So now you can do awful things willingly,” said Maud. “Like leave those that would protect you to die.”

“What about the holographic projectors?” asked Gloomy. “The ones they used in the stable experiment to torment the residents. Do they still work?”

“As a distraction?” Mina blinked. “I suppose? They were all placed in storage, but most such devices were enchanted to not degrade, so a good deal may work. They'd need to be in proximity of a terminal to function though.”

“So then strap the terminal to my back,” said Maud.

“Wouldn't that be a lot of weight in your condition?” asked Starlight. “The maneframe terminal, whatever power supply it requires, and all the projectors?”

“What about a teleport beacon spell?” asked Twilight. “You can cast one, right Starlight? You cast a delayed teleport spell on something, triggered to an object. Break the object and the spell activates. If you walk the beacon object in, it should even teleport it through an interference field.”

It was offensive that Twilight felt the need to explain it, and it annoyed Starlight that Twilight was having all the good magic-based ideas.

“Yes, I can,” said Starlight, hiding her annoyance. “But since I can only have one cast at a time, I can only get something in there, not back.”

“If you carried in the projectors and have them on,” said Mina. “They should automagically activate when the terminal is teleported within range. But we would then lose the terminal…”

“If Crimson is alive,” said Maud. “She could put it in her Crimoire to carry.” It was odd to hear someone other than Crimson refer to her book as that; Maud must have really started to like her.

Starlight didn’t like the idea of using Crimson’s book where Olivia might see it and figure out that they used it to steal their anti-magic device. But she supposed they’d reached the point where it was unavoidable.

“Okay,” nodded Starlight. “But keeping the beacon active constantly would be a huge drain, how quickly can you get in there?”

“How often can you raise it for sixty seconds?” asked Maud.

“Every fifteen minutes, I'd say,” Starlight didn't understand the question but answered.

“Our pipbuck times are synchronized,” said Maud. “Cast the spell for sixty seconds on the hour and every 15 minutes after. I will break the beacon during one of those intervals.”

“Huh,” Starlight blinked. “That... could work. Or it could get you killed, but I suspect that isn’t a consideration for you.”

Oh well. It seemed it was time for Starlight to test her luck again.

47. A Bad Time

Date: Tuesday 11/15/2287
POV: Tranquil Melody
Stable 41

Tranquil groaned as she sprawled on the altar in front of Stable 41. She had a splitting headache before and Crimson bashing her head on the altar during their affection didn't help. Her whole body ached.

Crimson was in the process of telling a story, and Tranquil realized she should probably be listening rather than bemoaning her own fortune. So she turned her attention back to it.

“And so he's staring at me like I'm crazy,” Crimson laughed, laying on the altar next to Tranquil. “And I'm like 'Well your brother died a virgin, but at least he won't be buried one!'. He was… not pleased… he took a swing at my head with the machete.”

Okay, maybe it was a good thing she hadn't been paying attention. Mercury sat wide-eyed near the edge of the paved area around the altar, cradling their new little colt friend, while Olivia sat next to the altar, less to listen to Crimson and more to comfort poor Tranquil at having to. It was nice of her to swallow her disgust enough to do so.

“I'm bored now,” sighed Crimson after finishing the story. “Let's buck. I think I got one more dick spell in me.”

“Can you please not do that again?” asked Olivia. “There is a little one present, and besides you look exhausted after the one.”

“That pint-sized fang-face doesn't know what's going on,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “Hey you think they'll make Not-Midnight eat the colt to prove who she is? That'd be amazing.”

“You are an inappropriate little...” Olivia started, then paused as she sniffed the air.

“Little what?” Crimson said. “Psycho? Wife abuser? Sexy beast?”

“We need to get into the stable and close the door right now,” said Olivia. “I smell-”

“Surprise!” a deep grating voice rang the air and a hideous black and red creature appeared next to Olivia. An instant later, a large object clubbed Olivia over the head, sending her flying off the platform, head over heels several times before she collided with a dead tree. Her belt pack hit the ground between them and her.

Tranquil's eyes locked on the creature and immediately knew what it was. She flailed as she tumbled off the altar, forgetting her aches and galloping as fast as she could towards the stable door. She couldn't go back to Trinity!

It was no use. She felt a hulking frame snatch her and all she could do was writhe and squeal as the creature flipped her over their back. For a moment her panic made her blind and deaf to all else, at least until she felt an impact in the back of her head. There was a stab of pain and then nothing.

When she awoke, she had been bound and draped over the back of one of the super-mutants. She shook her head, trying to clear the cloud in her mind before looking around. There were three mutants, though none of them seemed to be the one that had initially ambushed them. Each of them had one of her friends on their back: Olivia, Mercury, and Crimson. The two unicorns had horn restraints on. One of the mutants must have had the colt too, because Tranquil heard his wailing without seeing him.

“Tranquil?” Crimson asked, atop the back of the one in front of Tranquil. The concern in her eyes turned to relief as Tranquil awoke, then returned to her regularly scheduled smirk. “You know you never squealed like that for me. Seriously. When she grabbed you, you shrieked like a filly guide losing anal virginity to an ice spider.”

“That funny joke!” laughed the mutant carrying Olivia.

“Pony!” growled the mutant carrying Crimson, less amused. “Stop making jokes before I nail your muzzle shut. With my dick!”

“I thought the FEV process removed gender?” Olivia said from the back of her own mutant steed.

“It do,” confirmed the mutant. “I made new one from broken stove pipe!”

“Please no more jokes, Crimson,” Tranquil said as tears welled up. “They really will, believe me.”

“Believe what?” Crimson arched an eyebrow. “Have you met these things before?”

“I'm sorry, Crimson,” sniffled Tranquil, shaking her head as Crimson peered at her.

“Or feed us to tatzlponies,” said Olivia grimly. “If only I hadn't dropped my grimoire.”

“Tatzlponies?” Mercury sniffled from her place at the back. “I heard the radio show mention those...”

“Horrifying psionic beasts,” said Olivia. “I... don't really want to talk about them.”

“Psionic?” Mercury sniffled from her place at the back. She asked her own mutant. “Where are we going?”

“To see our Best Friend, Cozy Glow!” said the mutant carrying Mercury. “Pony and puppy spies will be used for forced friendship purposes.”

“Is that a nice way of saying gang-rape with stove pipes?” asked Crimson, then added when the mutant she was on glared. “Honest question! Not a joke!”

Even then it looked like it was hard for Crimson to keep from laughing. However, Tranquil knew her enough now to know the amusement wasn't sincere. She was laughing at the darkness as a defensive mechanism.

Tranquil sighed. Crimson wasn't a nice pony by any stretch, but she didn't want her to go through what they were likely to go through at Cozy’s camp. They wouldn't want to keep them alive long enough to get them back to Stable 2 to attempt processing, so they'd probably be a meal or worse.

Maybe that was a blessing, though. Who even knew what would happen if they successfully processed Tranquil? She assumed that Trinity forbade it for a reason.

She wanted to flee. Reverting to her true form would be excruciating in her current condition, but she might convince them she was a changeling on a secret mission and they’d let her go. Of course that wouldn't help her pony friends, and defending them would do no good. It would only risk the mutants wising up enough to storm the nearby stable, whether Tranquil was a part of it or not.

No, she had to stay for now. She had to look for an opportunity to escape with her friends, or she'd never live with herself. And honestly, she was still concerned about Crimson. She really had grown to love her, and based on the memories that the real Tranquil had shared with her, Crimson was changing for the better. Tranquil still didn’t want her to know that her real wife was dead, it would hurt her more than she’d admit, and possibly push her back into her old ways.

The camp itself was so poorly lit that they could barely tell when they entered it, as expected since the super-mutants had decent night vision. The camp was mostly tents, surrounded by patrols of the larger mutants, as well as some huge wagon-mounted cannons that looked like they'd take at least two of the mutants to pull.

But did they have to make the cannons bright pink and cover them in a flower and balloon pattern?

A lot of things had a cute design. It was a harsh contrast that Tranquil had seen plenty before in mutant settlements, if you could call them that. Gore and half eaten ponies hanging like meat in a freezer held up by candy-striped poles right next to a tent with a smiley face pattern all over it. There were many horrible things in Equestria, but there was something particularly humiliating about being killed by something that made as little sense as this.

“Think killing joke still around forest?” the one carrying Tranquil asked the others as they moved.

“Hope so,” said the one carrying Crimson laughed. “Remember last time when killing joke turned Fluffy Heart into bunny? Then Apple Cake eated him! Then giant Everfree dragon eated her!”

“Was hilarious!” Tranquil's mutant laughed in return, then wiped a tear from her eye. “They really taught me the magic of laughter that day.”

“Classy!” commented Crimson.

“Killing joke,” blinked Mercury as if coming to a realization. “And you said they were psionic...”

Mercury moved slowly, trying to tug something out of her saddlebags with her bound hooves. Tranquil didn't know what Mercury was doing, but took that as a cue to distract the other mutants.

“So why is the killing joke around Everfree?” asked Tranquil, even if she already knew. “I thought the Trinity created them?”

“Trinity tell Cozy good plan,” the one carrying Tranquil rolled her eyes as the others chuckled. “Send killing joke in to kill fangfaces and twilicorns. Sounds good, except Everfree is only place that plant grows to repel them. In end, they formed ring around forest instead of attacking. Cozy explained it was all Berry Blue’s fault. Makes sense since she dumb dumb and Trinity not.

While Statera liked to think they were keeping the balance, the fact was that Trinity had made some pretty awful decisions and at inopportune times as well. It was her signature style to then blame them on a random soldier, which it seems the mutants believed easily.

“What happened to Berry Blue?” Tranquil asked, pretending to be interested to keep them distracted.

“Best Friend Cozy demoted her,” said Tranquil's mutant. “By casting illusion spell to make her look like pony, then having Berry's own Tatzlpony lay eggs in her! Her last words before she exploded into yummy mess was 'No Floofy, how could you?!'”

The other mutants laughed heartily at this as if it was the funniest thing ever. It seemed most of their hilarious stories involved how their ‘friends’ died horrible deaths. And of course, Crimson laughed too; she'd probably get along with these things if they weren't going to kill her.

“For what it's worth,” Crimson commented. “I'm looking forward to meeting Best Friend Cozy in person.”

“She always love to ‘meat’ new friends,” said Tranquil's mutant. “And her tent is right here!”

They arrived at a particularly large tent with a heart design all over it. Behind a flimsy flap of cloth, they could hear Cozy speaking loudly. As the flap was opened, they saw her there in front of radio equipment, speaking into a microphone.

Cozy was perhaps a few inches shorter than the largest mutant they'd seen, but had the same horrible red and black color scheme as most of the others, at least on her body. She wore a frilly blond wig braided into curls like a filly might wear, as well as a pair of fashionable pink glasses. The glasses couldn't have served any purpose since both lenses were shattered.

Disturbingly, the mutant had filly proportions despite her size, as if she’d been ‘converted’ as a foal and never grown up since then. Of course, as the general, she was probably one of if not the first nightkin produced.

For some reason, she was holding an old pony skull in one hand. She put it up to the microphone, moving the jaw as if it were talking.

“Welcome back, Gollytopia!” Cozy said, pressing a button on the console to make her voice sound like her assistant’s. Tranquil always suspected as much. “It's time!”

“Time for what, Shimmy?” Cozy asked in her normal voice.

“True Eye Seeing Time!” ‘Shimmy’ answered. “I see that you're already wearing your true eyes, Best Friend Cozy Glow, along with your head of true hair! What do you see?”

Cozy concentrated for a moment, looking at the tent wall in front of her intensely.

“Uh, I see Bulk,” Cozy said after much contemplation.

“First-Generation Bulk from down on the mountain!?” asked Shimmy as if this were profound information. “Oh, and what is he up to?”

“Standing outside his shack down there,” said Cozy.

“In the same spot as before, or has he moved?” Shimmy asked.

“A little!” Cozy nodded.

Tranquil wondered why the mutants that carried her and her friends hadn't gotten Cozy’s attention yet. Then she realized they were in awe of Cozy’s two-mutant show, not wanting to disturb it.

“Wow!” Shimmy said. “It must be so exciting to see and know all! What a powerful reminder of your ULTIMATE AUTHORITY and POWER for our listeners!”

“Golly! I see Moe!” announced Cozy.

“Moe the tatzlpony?!” Shimmy feigned excitement. “Favorite tatzlpony Moe? What's he up to?”

“Licking the gate,” said Cozy. “Wants out of the pen.”

“Now,” Shimmy took a serious tone. “I'm almost afraid to ask, but do you see any... you know... threats out there?”

It was weird to see her talk back and forth to herself. She'd even look one direction and then the other when taking the different personas, but it still seemed more like she was acting than actually having different identities.

“Threats all around us!” Cozy confirmed. “Converging, like a noose! Tightening! Power armored sea ponies astride anger bunnies!”

Suddenly the mutants that held them took on a different stance. Were they... shivering in fear? They always acted like this when they heard talk of anger bunnies. What the buck were those things? Were they a real thing or some boogeymare Cozy made up?

“Not the dreaded anger bunnies trained to hunt mutants!” gasped Shimmy. “Would it be going too far to say that your gift of true eyesight is the only thing saving our community from annihilation? Because I think it's so important that everyone, even the dumbs-dumbs know, how impossible it is to SNEAK UP ON US! More after this!”

Cozy flicked a switch to put on another inappropriately jazzy song, then turned in her giant swivel chair looking proud of herself. She then froze as she realized others had snuck up on her as she did her show. Lucky for her, the other mutants seemed too dumb to notice the irony.

“What are ponies doing here?” Cozy demanded, then said more quietly. “What did they see?”

“Nothing, we promise!” claimed Tranquil's mutant. “Besides, they're ponies. They too dumb to know what they see-ed.”

To sate Cozy, the mutant fumbled in one of the large pockets of his saddlebag. His giant hoof-claw pulled out the whimpering colt they'd snatched along with the others.

“Oh thank goodness!” Cozy’s mood immediately changed. “The weird laughing pony stole my sack lunch again today, so this will do nicely! I'll get the sliced bread and pickles!”

“What, no!” Olivia protested. “You can't eat a foal!”

“Sure I can!” Cozy answered. “I know I look cute, but I have very sharp teeth! It's kind of you to worry about my safety, but you should be more generous with your offspring.”

“H-he's not my offspring,” Olivia sounded somewhat dumbfounded. “We’re not even the same species…”

“Hm?” Cozy looked back and forth and shrugged before turning to carry the screaming colt away. “Oh, sorry. We have trouble telling the difference between different INFERIOR species. It’s probably because none of you have any friends.”

But Cozy wouldn't get her meal.

It happened so fast. In a flash of white light, a filly that wasn't much bigger than the colt appeared out of nowhere. Tranquil barely got a good look at her pink coat and purple and white striped mane, the twirl of her spiral purple eyes syncing with the spin of the propeller beanie on her head. Given the cutie mark of a screw and a ball, Tranquil guessed who this was.

“Tag, you're it!” Screwball giggled and smacked Cozy on the back of the head.

In spite of Screwball's tiny size and the mutant's massive frame, Cozy hit the floor face down as hard as if she'd been suplexed. Screwball snatched the colt away before Cozy hit the floor and giggled maniacally as she disappeared in another flash of light.

“Nooooo!” Cozy raised a fist into the air as if Screwball had just killed her one true love. “That's the fifth meal the laughing pony stole since we got to the mountain!”

“Laughing pony stole meals all over camp!” complained the mutant carrying Crimson. “And always the most tenderest! At least she leave tasty yellow sauce on less tender meals!”

Tranquil assumed that meant Screwball was saving any foals they captured or brought as food. Well at least those were safe, even if Screwball left the others to die.

“You!” Cozy pointed her finger right at Tranquil as she stood again. “You work for the laughing pony, don't you? You distracted me so that laughing pony could unleash her ULTIMATE ATTACK!”

“Hey now!” Crimson huffed. “Get that gnarly stub you call a hoof out of my wife's face.”

Tranquil couldn't help but be touched that Crimson defended her against such a horrible creature, but dreaded what the result would be.

“All of you in on it!” Cozy said, eyes widening as if she'd just uncovered a secret from bygone ages. “This conspiracy to steal my sandwiches!”

“I don't even know what is going on anymore,” sighed Olivia.

She wasn't wrong. Was this really the general that gave Midnight Sparkle so much trouble? That so many creatures feared? Tranquil had never personally met Trinity, or many mutants at all, but assumed that in spite of her crazy radio show, Cozy probably had some governing sense. There HAD to be more to these things, because Trinity couldn’t possibly believe they were the future of ponykind, yet not even her changelings knew what that was.

“I thought I'd finally gotten used to things,” Mercury still fumbled at her saddlebag, having gotten it open. She'd managed to pull what looked like a sealed glass canister a fraction of the way out. Was there something blue moving inside it?

“Fine,” Cozy took a deep breath. “I'm mad, but I'll show you the power of friendship by forgiving you! In fact, I'll let you pet the tatzlponies! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“W-wait!” Tranquil stammered. “Those things will just eat or lay their eggs in us!” She didn't know why she bothered saying that.

“What's that, you want to help them lay eggs?” Cozy asked. “Already so loyal! I’m so proud.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Take new friends to tatzlpen 4. They need egg sacks.” She turned back to her radio console as if they no longer concerned her.

“W-what? No!” Mercury squealed as they were all carried back out of the tent. “You can't do that to us! I can't die like that!”

In her panic, Mercury had forgotten about the thing she was pulling out of her bag, at least until she dropped it onto the ground. The sobbing mare shrieked and tried to catch it with her teeth before it clattered to the ground and rolled away.

Tranquil didn't know what that was but she had to do something. She looked at Crimson, still dreading the harshness of revealing her wife’s death. She watched a rainbow shimmer across her eyes as they reflected in Crimson’s though, and realized it. If she really loved this strange pony, she couldn’t accept being loved back based on a lie. The best way to show that love was to help her grow, and the longer this stayed secret, the harder it would be.

Concentrating as hard as she could, she strained to release her form back to her natural state. Pain spread outward from her head into her entire system as if every nerve was aflame in agony at once, and her body convulsed before a flash of green magic returned her to her true form. She barely managed the transformation.

Well, his true form. He tried to keep a few alterations, but in the end only had the energy to return to his usual base.

“What this?” Tranquil's mutant jumped at the change, then grumbled. “Silly bug-horse! How you get mixed in with ponies? You almost broked the law by being fed to tatzlponies!”

The mutant dumped Tranquil off her back like a sack of wet potatoes. He hoped Crimson didn't take note of certain bits when Tranquil fell onto his back, since she'd be torn up enough at the realization that her real wife had been dead this whole time. From the screech that came from Crimson's direction though, she'd noticed.

But there was no time to explain or even listen to what Crimson was yelling at him. As soon as the mutant tugged off his restraints, Tranquil avoided the mutant's attempt at a head pat and fumbled in the direction of the jar that Mercury dropped.

POV: Crimson Prose

Of all the ways Crimson expected she might die, this was not one of them. On a lighter note, if they were being implanted with eggs, at least the monsters murdering them were female. Probably?

Olivia looked to be thinking hard as if to come up with a plan, while Mercury more or less squealed as she writhed on the back of her captor. Tranquil seemed rather thoughtful as well, but Crimson just hung limp. What else could she do? She hoped she didn't lose her cool and die screaming, but she knew she probably would. Her pretend masochism had limits as Maud had proven.

'You can't just put yourself in the crimorie with me?' Paper Cut asked in her head.

'I already told you,' Crimson answered in her head. 'My horn is restrained. I don’t think it’s one of the Ministry ones I can get out of.'

'Well what am I supposed to do if you die?!' asked Paper Cut.

'As if you haven’t tried to kill me yourself on occasion,’ said Crimson. ‘Wait until one of these things opens your book and then do your best to make friends with it, I guess.'

Maybe Crimson should at least say something profound to her wife before they died. Maybe even something sincere? Nah. All the same, she looked to Tranquil and... stared as Tranquil's body was surrounded in a flash of green magic.

Where Tranquil once lay was now unmistakably a changeling. The creature had black chitin along the legs and head, with a dark pink underside and a brighter red shell area on the back with pink fairy wings folded up beneath. The creature had those solid colored eyes that made the things so creepy, red to match the shell and the three red gem-like protrusions on its chest.

Crimson's face went slack as she tried to pull her brain back together. How was Tranquil a changeling when she’d passed every test to check if she was one? For a moment she forgot her situation, only one thing running through her mind.

If this was a changeling, then Tranquil was dead and had been for some time. Not just that, but she had died without ever knowing that Crimson cared for her, in a manner of speaking at least. This meant Crimson never got to apologize after all, and the huge weight that had lifted off her shoulders returned like a mountain of coal bearing down on her soul. For a moment, she actually teared up.

But the poignant moment disappeared when the mutant hefted the changeling onto the ground. When they landed on their back, it was very obvious to see that it wasn't just any changeling; it was a male changeling. Crimson had bucked a male changeling multiple times without killing it.

“Noooo!” Crimson shrieked and writhed so suddenly that the mutant she rode atop had to stabilize her. “Wait! You can't kill me until I kill that! At least kill it first!”

“Nah, skittle bugs cute, almost as cute as tatzlponies!” Crimson's mutant explained, and turned Crimson's head to see the pen they were sitting next to. “Besides. We not allowed to hurt skittle bugs.”

“That one doesn't work for Trinity!” Crimson went hoarse from how loud she said that.

“You sure?” the mutant asked, scratching his head. Clearly this was one of the dumber strain. “To tell truth, not sure how to tell. Will ask Best Friend Cozy Glow later.”

Well that one wasn't listening to her, so Crimson looked at the pen instead. It wasn't that impressive, makeshift and made from various rocks, logs, or trash that they'd found around the area. It only kept its occupants in because the pen was also dug about two hoofsteps into the ground.

But the creatures inside drew all attention away from that. The beasts had four hooved legs, though that was as close to 'pony' as the tatzlponies got. Their bodies were covered with slimy amphibious flesh, undulating as if it were boiling just under the surface. Their dark purple bodies extended behind them to a long serpent-like tail with red frill along the end.

But the real monstrosity was their faces. Even if they were female, their heads sure looked close enough to cocks to make up for it. There were bright pink heads with red frills around the neck, but it was hard to tell which side of the head was 'up'. It was divided evenly into three segments, each of which had two cold black eyes with red zig-zagged patterns around them. From the yellowish slime oozing from between the segments, Crimson could only assume they opened into a mouth, or more likely a multi-use orifice.

The three in the pen rushed to the edge upon seeing the mutants come close, their legs moving unnaturally like separate tentacles beneath them as they moved. They opened their gaping mouths upon reaching the edge, fleshy interior dotted with jagged yellow teeth, half a dozen thick tentacles covered in yellow slime protruding from their throats.

Well, as far as deaths went, that might actually be fun, if gross. It depended on if they had some nice sedating poison on those fangs to help the prey relax. Crimson could easily assume what implanting their eggs involved as those tentacles whipped hungrily up at them and the creatures let out screeching barks.

“Who we throw in first?” asked the mutant that had been carrying the changeling. “We should let some watch the other first. It funny how they react!”

“Dog goes first!” said the one holding Olivia. “Me more a cat person.”

“What? No!” Olivia had only a moment to protest before her captor bucked her over the edge of the pen.

The three creatures were on her at once, but luckily for her, they didn't want to share, and for a moment they were hissing and fighting over who got the first go. Olivia whimpered, trying to slide further away from them, but there wasn't a lot she could do bound and without magic.

“This is your fault!” Mercury screamed over at Crimson. “Tranquil is dead and now we'll be dead because you had to run her off!”

Crimson looked back at her, but Mercury's eyes were filled with more fear than rage. She needed something to lash out at to make her feel better, so Crimson let her lash.

“I know,” Crimson shrugged, not bothering to make a joke. This was pretty hilarious by itself.

One of the tatzlponies won the screeching match, and it slithered towards Olivia as the other two returned to scratching at the side of the pen. It leaped upon her, but surprisingly didn't open its mouth immediately. Instead it looked two if its eyes directly into Olivia's and stared. Olivia shivered violently, convulsing into some kind of a seizure and falling limp. Was that the psionics they had mentioned?

What happened next made Crimson wish she had a free hoof to masturbate with. It opened its maw wide, latching into Olivia's crotch and sinking its thick fangs into her thighs like jagged nails. Even in her catatonic state, Olivia screamed and writhed as the creature punctured her. The probability of there being a sedative involved seemed zero at this point.

There was no shortage of wet sounds as the creature gagged, lumps sliding down each tentacle as it pushed its eggs into the canine victim. Olivia arched her back as she was pumped full enough that her belly swelled slightly.

“Olivia!” Mercury screeched, making their captors laugh. Crimson wished she wouldn't give the super-mutants the pleasure of reacting.

Crimson just lay still, trying to hide how hot this made her lest they decide to do something even more horrifying to her. What did it really matter? It wasn't like Crimson had anything to live for right now, and it wasn’t like she didn’t deserve this, so she may as well enjoy it for as long as she could.

“This pony not afraid enough,” Crimson's mutant said. “Toss that one in. See if this one get scared.”

“No, no, no!” shrieked Mercury as she was tossed in and the two remaining ones fought over her.

“So I'm just going to be scraps for the loser?” asked Crimson. “How underwhelming. Well, you've mildly upset me. It's no screaming terror, but it's the best you'll get.”

Mercury screamed even louder than Olivia, and tried not to look into the thing's eyes. It whipped her with its front hooves rather humorously as it invaded her mind, until she gave into the psionic coaxing and eventually was able to stare down the whimpering unicorn. A few ripping-like sputtering noises brought Crimson’s attention to Mercury’s rear area, and she saw a puddle of urine forming on the ground below.

“So that’s what it takes to make you piss yourself!” Crimson mocked, making a few mutants laugh uproariously.

“Buck you... I don't wanna die like this,” sobbed Mercury as her movements slowed and the slimy creature slithered to her nethers.

“Not the worst way to die,” Crimson called in to her. “We're being killed by females at least.”

“Tatzlponies no have silly genders,” the mutant that threw Mercury in shook her head.

“Oh, so they're herms?” Crimson asked. “Damn it.” That was close enough to male to irk her, but she tried not to show it.

“Still not scared?” Crimson's mutant asked her. “You'll be scared when inside!”

“Or I'll moan in bliss,” Crimson licked her lips. “By the way, if a bored-looking earth pony arrives and murders you all, could you let her know that I gave permission for her to buck my corpse?”

“She crazy pony,” said the mutant that threw Crimson in. Getting called insane by one of these things was quite a distinction. “Me bet 100 caps that she really moan.”

“You on!” the other said.

And with that, Crimson went over the edge and thudded against the slimy ground next to the shrieking monstrosity that had been designated to rape her to death.

Nearby, Mercury was getting pumped full of eggs, her bounds having come loose so she could kick weakly into the air, but she couldn't do more than sob. Olivia had gone further, sprawled out and shivering. The horrifying creatures must not have taken long to gestate, because her belly had already swelled larger and was undulating as if little creatures were crawling within, making the dog once again whine and soon scream.

Determined not to die like a struggling pig in the face of the inevitable, Crimson rolled over onto her back and looked at the creature directly in the eyes to get it over with. Once bitten, she felt her whole body freeze up, and her movements became haphazard. The venom seemed to intensify rather than dull everything she felt. Well, here we go.

It might have been pleasant if not for the stinging acidic mixture coating the tentacles as they went up both holes. Crimson arched her back, agony shooting through her, but focused on the slightest bits of pleasure and made herself moan through clenched teeth, not wanting to give her tormentors the fear that they wanted. She heard the mutant that bet against her sigh in disappointment.

Olivia's screams turned to wet gurgles and Crimson saw blood fountain from her muzzle in the corner of her eye. The tiny newborns began to tear their way out of her, splitting open her chest. The one that had just laid its eggs in her ripped a chunk of meat free from the canine's torn chest to feast on its egg sack, and Olivia's body shuddered to a stop.

Crimson didn’t look forward to that, but she supposed she’d be the last to go. Mercury’s was currently finishing up, pulling away from her, and Crimson felt an uncharacteristic swell of pity for the poor pony.

In fact, Crimson felt sick at this fate. This was so unlike her.

Sudden convulsions from Crimson's own 'breeder' brought her attention back to her own plight. As she looked downward, the convulsing creature seemed to be sucking the eggs back into its own body, feeling around Crimson's insides to pull them back out. Why was it doing that?

Well, that might have something to do with it. Atop the creature coiled a vine with a bright blue flower: Killing joke.

Even as her first tormentor tugged free of her, Crimson fully expected the joke to do her in next, but instead the creature ran towards Mercury's tormentor like a starved hobo chasing a sandwich. It occurred to Crimson that that must be the one Mercury was carrying around, and if so it had been starved of psionic energy. Psionic creatures like these must be a delicious buffet for it, and it’d completely ignore the ponies until it was done with them.

The second tatzlpony tried to stare the poison joke down, but the eyeless creature shrugged off the effect and latched onto the other creature's face. The second one staggered confusedly as the plant released it, then immediately slurped up its own tail, rabidly consuming itself from the other end.

Crimson's attention was pulled away by another creature standing over her. She turned to see the disgusting male that had pretended to be Tranquil. He'd managed to shift one hoof into a long thin appendage with two claws on the end, which he rammed into both Crimson's holes to feel around to see if there were any eggs left inside.

“Sorry,” the changeling said. “Being sure there’s none left in there. I'm um... Figment, by the way.”

“Stop saving me so I can bucking murder you!” Crimson shrieked and grabbed for the changeling's neck.

Of course, Crimson was in no shape to harm him, and he simply held the unicorn down apologetically as he took out an egg, which would have been enough to kill Crimson had it hatched, and tossed it aside. He then rushed towards Mercury, who seemed in need of the help a lot more.

Crimson tried to stagger to her hooves, but quickly collapsed again. Figment was digging eggs out of Mercury at a frantic pace, the slimy baubles undulating as if seconds from bursting and eating their way out.

Olivia on the other hoof was long past help, as was the creature that implanted her. That one seemed to have a slower fate, as all its tentacle tongues were prying themselves out of its throat and slithering off. The plant then chased around the newborns that had burst from Olivia, happily murdering away. One had a flower grow out of its throat, and another turned inside out. It didn't look any uglier than before.

Crimson's tatzlpony had shoved its eggs into its own posterior and was now thrashing about as they began to dig their way out, dying as it had intended to kill Crimson. Deciding not to be around when they escaped, Crimson dragged herself away from it. The super-mutants watching would surely be angry at losing such good entertainment.

Wait. Why hadn't they stopped it?

Crimson looked up to see that, for some reason, no one was watching them any longer. In her own agony, she'd failed to realize that the sounds of battle and screaming had broken out all around the pen. She couldn't see what was going on, but it sounded like combat. How would an enemy get to the middle of camp so quickly, though?

“The Holder hive will not like this,” a bored voice said from Olivia's direction.

Crimson looked to see Maud standing there in her pulse barding, looking down at Olivia's corpse. Luckily, the killing joke had gorged itself and was now sprawled out happily next to its own victims, uninterested in the ponies when so full. Maud slammed a large rock atop it before it decided it was hungry again, but didn’t kill it so it could cause more grief for the mutants once it worked its way out.

“Well, look who it is,” Crimson chuckled through her own tears. “Guess what? You don’t have to share me with another mare now.”

POV: Maud Pie
Foal Mountains

Maud wondered if she should be doing this. She had to live long enough to save her sisters after all. On the other hoof, she couldn't face her sisters if she had acted cowardly on the way.

The pulse barding kept her hidden, not glitching out for the moment, as well as the cart she was carrying. Movement was a challenge though, dragging a cart with a dead nightkin mutant behind her. She'd told Starlight she was well within her pain tolerance, but a few of her ribs felt like they might have snapped and started grinding together or poking her internals. Either way she couldn't slow down. She was on a timer, and that timer was probably how fast the mutants could shove her friends down their throats.

Her pipbuck vibrated, alerting her that she was near the perimeter. She backed the cart into a crevice between two large rocks, unhitching it and leaving the dead super-mutant there, hoping that she wouldn’t have to leave the range of the signal switching spell.

There were several watch towers and a rather large gun between them, and a patrol of three super-mutants passing in front of them on top of that. None of them were the huge type they fought at first, but they were still Daybreaker-sized.

She flicked on the stealth buck in addition to the pulse barding now that she was in line-of-sight, not wanting to take a chance of her armor glitching out in an inopportune moment. She scampered as fast as she could, trying to avoid stepping on anything that would make a sound. At least in a dead forest there were no leaves to step on.

Once inside the camp, she crept from one creepy tent to the next, looking for any that looked like it might be for either prisoners or food. As she moved along, she dropped the holographic emitters every dozen hoof-steps. When she could, she threw some so they wouldn’t make a straight line.

Her search paid off as she heard the unmistakable sound of someone sobbing in terror, and it sounded like Mercury. She raced towards the source of the sound.

Arriving at the pit, her eyes grew large as she looked inside just in time to see the first monstrosity burst through Olivia's belly as the dog thrashed madly. Mercury and Crimson were in similar situations. Maud clenched her teeth and ducked into a shadow before flicking off the stealth buck and looking at her pipbuck.

There was ninety seconds until another interval where she could break the teleport beacon. She pulled the thing out of her saddlebag, holding it in her muzzle as she watched her pipbuck's time.

Trying to watch the feeding pit as well, she saw a changeling flutter into it out of nowhere and drop a killing joke bloom onto the tatzlpony attacking Crimson. The super-mutants watching responded with predictable rage at their pets being mistreated, but it was too late for them to do anything about it as the time on Maud's clock hit the mark. Smashing the teleport beacon, Maud flicked the stealth back on, leaping into the pit and raced towards the others.

The terminal flashed into existence where Maud had smashed the beacon and all the holographic transmitters activated. Suddenly, the camp was alight with mutant glee as the fighting broke out. Maud supposed any normal army would have erupted into panic, but these creatures seemed pretty happy about another chance to fight. The encampment suddenly filled with laughter and excited screaming, the images of Daybreaker no doubt mistaken for the sudden twilicorn attack they had been waiting for despite the difference in looks.

As Maud arrived, it looked like it was too late for her to do anything other than retrieve the survivors. The changeling had saved Crimson and was prying disgusting looking eggs out of Mercury's body, crushing each one as they removed them. Olivia, however, was well beyond help. Maud let the stealth field fade again so that the others would see her.

“The Holder hive will not like this,” Maud said as she looked down at Olivia.

“Well, look who it is,” Crimson chuckled, but her tears gave away her pain. “Guess what? You don’t have to share me with another mare now.”

“I am sorry for your loss,” Maud said to Crimson, knowing exactly what she meant. It was not hard to assume since Tranquil was nowhere to be seen and a changeling was saving them. Maud did experience some surprise that it was in fact a changeling, but would ask how the thing avoided detection later.

“Don't hurt him,” Mercury gagged as Maud approached, thinking Maud might crack the changeling’s skull or something. “I think this is… who we thought was Tranquil.”

So that is why Tranquil was afraid to let Crimson know who they really were. She decided not to mention the fact that she knew this to Crimson. Instead she pulled out Zapper from her pack, turning it to the lowest energy setting and aiming it towards Mercury’s gut. Each time the changeling pulled an egg free, Maud zapped Mercury in the gut, making the poor girl squeak, but hopefully the lower charge time slowing would keep any from hatching before the changeling was done.

“Maud,” Crimson groaned. “Pick me up and carry me over there so I can kill the cock-bug.”

Ah. So she already knew.

“The one that just saved your lives?” Maud asked, shooting Mercury in the gut again as she sobbed. She felt bad for doing so. “Sorry, Mercury.”

“As if my life is anything important,” Crimson growled.

“Your life is important to me,” Maud said. It was the truth, even if Maud herself did not know why.

Crimson was taken off guard by that and stared for a moment. So Maud turned back to Mercury.

“What is your name, cock-bug?” Maud asked. She stopped firing as the changeling made one more check in each of Mercury’s entries and seemed to come up empty of any more eggs.

“I'm Figment,” the changeling said as his ears wilted slightly, pouring a potion down Mercury's muzzle.

“Hello, Figment,” said Maud, turning Zapper back up to max setting and then putting it back into her saddlebag.

Maud turned to Crimson and slipped the horn restraint off of her. Crimson immediately turned to Figment, clenching her teeth as her horn lit up.

“Crimson,” Maud put a hoof to her horn, the metal of her barding shorting out the magic. “Can you manage to put everyone in the book so I can carry you? And swear you will not harm the changeling while you are in there.”

“Fine,” Crimson sighed.

“Quickly,” said Maud. “We do not know how long the super-mutants will be content fighting holograms before they wise up and check on you. Bring Olivia and one of the dead creatures too. We need them to prove to the Holder hive what killed Olivia.”

“Fine,” Crimson growled again. “I'll help now so you won’t stop putting out, but mark my words; I'm conveniently not saving that thing the first chance I get.”

48. Queue Who

Date: Tuesday 11/15/2287
POV: Figment
The Crimoire

Figment had been inside the book before, but now it had a much greater horror to it. Everything here would want to kill Figment now that Crimson knew what he was, and Mercury Shine was in no shape to stop them. She had to trust that Crimson would keep her promise to Maud.

Paper Cut was on him the moment he appeared, dragging him towards one of the torture racks. Figment tried to resist, but his head was splitting still from the change-attempts and he could barely even light his horn up.

“Let him go, Paper Cut,” Crimson said as she appeared and immediately collapsed.

“You are kidding me!” Paper Cut screamed at Crimson. “No bucking way! This slimy thing tricked both of us into putting our lady-cocks in it! It's not leaving here alive!”

“If you want this book to ever open again, he will,” Crimson sighed. All she could do was threaten, because after casting the spells to get them here in her condition, she couldn’t do anything else. She could barely move from the looks of it.

Paper Cut growled and released Figment, letting him tumble to the floor.

“Can I buck the dead dog at least?” Paper asked.

“No,” Crimson rolled her eyes. “She can't arrive in Holder full of tulpa spunk.”

“Un-bucking-believable,” Paper Cut shook her head as if that were the most unreasonable thing she'd ever heard.

“Thank you,” Figment peeped, crouching and crawling over to Mercury to sit with her.

“Don't push it,” Crimson warned.

Figment looked back to his saddlebags, making sure he still had the empty canister that the killing joke had been in. He’d seen a rainbow light reflecting on it, and kept it since he remembered Twilight talking about that, but didn’t dare mention it now.

“So I guess this means Tranquil is...” Mercury looked at Figment. She didn't seem angry, but the sorrow in her eyes hurt even worse. She couldn’t look at Figment for long, instead looking through Olivia’s backpack to transfer the shifting potions to her own saddlebags.

“I'm sorry,” Figment sat next to her. “I tried to save Tranquil, I swear, I loved her, just… like I love Crimson.”

“Don't be stupid,” Crimson lay next to the annoyed Paper Cut and folded her hooves. “I can't believe she would willingly follow a stallion around. Do you really expect me to believe she'd gone straight?”

“She didn't 'go straight',” said Figment, even if this was the worst time to have this discussion. “She was terrified you would catch up with us, saying she was free for the first time in years and never wanted to go back. Why do you think I tried to avoid you? She let me take in a lot of her memories to get to know her, and the way her memories depict you is terrifying. You can’t lie to me about how she perceived you.”

“You have a lot of nerve to talk like that inside my realm,” Crimson growled, as if this one room counted for much.

“Figment, please,” Mercury put a hoof on Figment's own. “But um… if I can ask… why didn’t any of the tests detect that you were a changeling?”

“Midnight’s experiments,” sighed Figment. “She was trying to remove me from Trinity’s hive, which she succeeded in doing, but let’s just say she got more invasive than she needed. She removed several changeling-specific organs. I can still change, but rarely and with great pain. I could probably still use teleport or invisibility magic too if I tried, but that might hurt even more. Though according to the doctors in Ramble, apparently I have to use shift and magic a good deal for the organs to start healing fast enough, so I guess I’m in for it either way.”

“Good,” grumbled Crimson. “It doesn't matter, anyway. I'm less mad about that and....” She trailed off.

“Mad at yourself that you couldn't apologize to her?” asked Ink Blot from beneath one of the tables.

“You don't push it either,” Crimson warned.

“So what?” Paper Cut asked. “We can't even torture him now? We could do that when he was pretending to be your wife, and I’m pretty sure he liked most of it. I bet you 100 bits if I went over and stepped on his dick he’d moan.”

Figment chuckled awkwardly. He'd enjoyed some of their sessions more than he'd like to admit, but they were less intense than what he knew Tranquil had been used to, as if Crimson had taken it easy on him.

He hated to admit how attached he'd become to Crimson, and this hurt as much as any breakup would. He wasn't sure why; maybe it had just felt nice for someone to protect him for non-selfish reasons, even if Crimson didn’t admit to doing that.

But now he was stuck as the team member that they'd all trust even less than Crimson. The only one that would truly be on his side was dead. Maud was on the fence and Twilight would try to be nice about it, but neither would trust him. Regardless of kind intent, he'd lied to them this whole time.

POV: Screwball
Discordia

“Mommy Eris, I found a thing!” Screwball yelled excitedly as she popped into the pocket dimension where her mother lived.

“Another foal?” asked Eris. “Oh my... you've been finding a lot of those the last few days. Are you sure you're just finding them lying on the ground in the dead woods like you say? Because I don't want you in danger...”

Mommy Eris sprawled out on a giant purple vine, but it was mostly void surrounding them. There were a few flying pigs circling, but they seemed unstable, coming apart at the seams like poorly made stuffed animals.

Screwball's mother had a mostly pony-ish body with yellow fur, though her head looked a bit batish, with fangs and pointy ears sticking up through her pink mane. Her limbs were random, hind legs having a green gator claw on the left and a flat turtle foot on the right. Her front limbs were a white bunny-like paw on the right and a white cat-like paw on the left. On her back was one pegasus wing and one owl wing. Her tail was also like a pony's, the same pink color as her mane.

Eris told Screwball that her Daddy Discord was even more randomly put together, but Screwball had never gotten to meet him before he ran off. Sometimes she wondered if he realized Eris was pregnant when he ditched them. He'd easily know if he'd checked, but who knew if he bothered.

“Well,” Screwball admitted. “I may have found this one in a super-mutant’s claw. It was going to eat him on a sandwich though! Without mustard! What kind of a psycho eats a foal without mustard?... And Random Fluff said yesterday how she wanted another batty colt! So now she has another! Everyone wins... except the super-mutant. It still has to find mustard.”

“You're too kind,” sighed Eris. “I know you think you're a match for anything out there, but believe me, you aren't. Please promise me you'll not endanger yourself like that again.”

“I promise to stay here unless I probably maybe sorta have a really good reason! And by that, I mean a fun reason.” Screwball was terrible at keeping promises that limited her fun. It was an exercise in futility for Eris to make her promise anything, because Screwball would always word her promises with a way out. Eris likely knew, but always tried anyway.

“I just wish I could visit the new little one,” Eris said wishfully. “Or even see him. Was he happy?”

“When I left him,” said Screwball. “He and Random were chasing a giant butterfly with racing stripe wings, and he was giggling up a storm! Literally! You'd think that'd be uncomfortable, but he just kept laughing!”

The little one had all but forgotten the horror he'd experienced over the last day. All the residents of Discordia loved foals, so even though most of them also acted like foals, it was never hard to find somepony that wanted to care for the ones Screwball snatched.

Screwball hated this, though. She hated looking at the pain on Mommy Eris's face, trapped in here and not even able to look out at the world. To save their ponies, Eris had absorbed the full energy of both a CME and a balefire blast on the day the megaspells hit. The resulting mixture of radiation and chaos magic had rendered Eris so deadly that not even ghouls could survive in her presence for more than a few seconds. Even using a spell to try and watch ponies through a portal would kill them; she'd found that out the hard way and had never forgiven herself.

Even Screwball could only be here for minutes at a time, not even long enough for a full conversation. Eris had saved their citizens, but at the cost of ever interacting with them again.

“Ding ding ding! Queue who?” a cuckoo clock like voice sounded, signifying that somepony had arrived at the queue, the entrance to their realm where all potential entrants would make their case to be accepted into the community.

“Oops!” Screwball bounced. “That's probably Gloomy and his new friends! See you Mommy Eris! Love you!”

“I love you forever, Screwy,” Eris sighed, then looked down at the purple vine she lay on, looking painfully lonely as Screwball faded away. “You keep making Mommy proud out there.”

Screwball felt terrible every time she had to leave Mommy Eris alone. She wished there was a way to help her now, but maybe one day there would be. It was hard to say; Screwball had meant to read ahead in the story to find out, but kept getting distracted.

Before heading to the Queue, Screwball popped over to see somepony else that was visiting. Ovo only ever visited, not having a permanent home in Discordia. In spite of him having jumped through hoops, literally and figuratively, to gain entry, Screwball could tell he was hiding something. Yet somehow, his mind was immune to even her prodding. He seemed nice enough and helped many of the residents, but there was something he hadn't told anypony else.

That and Screwball couldn't always find him. Sometimes she went looking for him but couldn't detect him anywhere. She should be able to locate a being of his type and power anywhere in the livable world, yet very often he seemed to snap out of existence. He wasn’t a chaos being, so how did he do that?

When she found him, Ovo was having tea with a unicorn stallion, Mango Promenade, sitting upside down on the bottom of a cotton candy cloud. That's one thing she liked about Ovo; he shared an appreciation for ignoring gravity.

She also liked him because his color scheme reminded her of chocolate cake, a dark tan body with dark brown mane and tail. Sadly, no part of him tasted like chocolate cake; she'd checked them all, even the places he said not to, in case he was lying. He was pretty standard other than being an alicorn, unless he was something else. His cutie mark, two black and white theater masks, didn't give too much of a hint what his special talent was. Screwball had never seen him act, but maybe he was always acting.

As soon as Screwball appeared, Ovo reached out one hoof and touched it to her nose.

“Boop!” Ovo said, then waited patiently for Screwball to finish the giggling fit that often ensued when he did that.

Mango broke out laughing as well, then several other ponies nearby, then more off in the distance. This often happened in Discordia; it was like wolves howling, but more fun.

“I swear by the broken Moon,” Ovo smirked. “It seems unfair that this place is so unnervingly happy when the rest of the world is horse apples.”

“That's the rest of the world's fault!” Screwball did a loop in midair, then booped his nose in return. Unlike him, she didn't need wings or a horn to fly. “Guess who's here?”

“I suppose it's my new soldier and his favorite pussy returned from the field,” said Ovo. “Well I was about to tango with Mango, but I suppose that can wait.”

“Buck ya later!” Mango waved goodbye and promptly fell off the cloud and into the sky.

“Of course he'd think I meant that,” Ovo rolled his eyes. “But why not? I've known you for five whole minutes after all. Buck ya later.”

An instant later, Ovo and Screwball popped out of existence there and into existence at the Queue. With a random mariachi band. Screwball liked getting played in by a band when she arrived at the Queue.

POV: Twilight Sparkle
Stable 41

Twilight and the others were back in the changeling stable and one might assume relatively safe, but who knew for how long. They were going to send a team to Discordia to speak to Screwball, as the only way to gain entry was to pass an interview with her. She was the one they needed to speak to anyway.

“Mercury, you shouldn't be going,” Twilight said as she watched the unicorn pack, in spite of being barely able to move after her ordeal.

“I have to,” Mercury could barely even talk. “I want to know why she left us to die.”

“Mercury,” Gloomy said carefully. “You have every right to, but I don't know if pointing a hoof at Screwball will help anypony on this visit. What Screwball did was wrong, but she doesn't have the ability to comprehend that. It probably never even crossed her mind.”

“Then somepony needs to put it in her mind,” Mercury sniffled. “I won't cause trouble I... I just have to ask. And I want to know what happened to our little colt friend.”

Twilight wanted to agree with Gloomy for the sake of their mission, but didn't feel like she had a right to tell Mercury that she couldn't.

“It's okay, Mercury,” said Twilight. “At least let me carry you so you don't have to walk.”

“So this is who is going then?” asked Starlight. “Me, Maud, and Crimson will be staying here; I don't think Screwball will want to see anypony that was part of the old Equestria.”

“Figment should accompany you as well,” Maud suggested. “I do not feel like keeping a murder watch on Crimson.”

Crimson hadn't left her book since Maud returned, and had spent a full hour in there screaming when she found out Figment had found a friendship key, not wanting to be on the same ‘superhero squad’ as him.

The keys were landing on some ponies she’d least expect, but Twilight accepted that the Tree knew what it was doing. Now with Kamikaze, Crimson, Forgot, and Figment, they only had two keys remaining. She’d be lying if she didn’t hope one was her, but increasingly felt like she no longer embodied Magic as she used to.

Twilight couldn't help but feel bad for Crimson though. The experience at the mutant camp probably didn't scar her badly, but only because she had such deep existing scars. It was best to leave her there, though, and let her mourn Tranquil in private where she didn't have to be ashamed of who saw her doing so.

“Hm?” Figment belatedly looked up from his corner. “Oh um, sure. I guess I should. If Crimson comes out of her book... eh... never mind.”

“I will give her your apology and explain your feelings for her,” said Maud. “But I would not expect her to respond favorably.”

The emotionless earth pony was surprisingly perceptive of the emotions of others at times. Twilight would have never figured out that that's what he meant, not with her current stress level at least.

“We have to make this work,” said Starlight. “We have to return to Holder with something tangible, else all we'll have is an explanation of how we let Olivia die.”

Twilight tightened her face, but resisted commenting. Starlight was more concerned about the seat of her power becoming unstable than that Olivia had died a horrible death. Twilight still had Olivia's grimoire in her saddlebag as well, unsure of what to do with it now. She had to admit she wanted to read it, sìnce it allowed Olivia to use magic without a horn, but felt bad for the desire.

She definitely needed to though. Twilight had found using her raw magic attack easier and more powerful during the super-mutant fight, not to mention allowed more precise aiming. It wouldn’t be obvious to others with the creature’s resistance to magic, but Twilight definitely felt it. She wanted to have another unicorn hold the book while casting to test that theory, but the only ones here were either in pain or Starlight, so that experiment needed to wait.

“I'll be going too,” said Mina quietly. “I need to make a case for our population moving into Discordia. We’re no longer safe here.”

Mina remained in her changeling form within the stable. Twilight would never get used to these crayon changelings, though at least they were cuter than the others. She thought of what Chrysalis might look like if she hadn’t starved herself, and stifled a laugh before speaking.

“I hope she can help you,” said Twilight. “But that is an awful large amount of ponies and lings to move in.”

“That actually wouldn't be a problem,” said Gloomy. “As far as I can tell, Discordia can fit as many residents as Screwball wants it to. While there's a limit to the size of a pocket dimension that Screwball can create, there doesn't seem to be any limit on putting a dimension in a dimension and so forth.”

“Really?” Twilight tilted her head. “I really wish I had time to study it. I wonder if they have any books I could borrow...”

The Queue

The Queue was odd, which was expected. It was the tip of the mountain, the highest point that remained after the bombs fell, on the edge of the crater that theoretically contained Discordia. From the Queue, Discordia appeared only as a ripple in nothingness, like a portal or tear in space-time surrounded by chunks of stone floating with random gravitational orientations.

Unlike the mess Discord created in her time however, the queue was devoid of life. It gave it a more unnerving atmosphere than Discord's non-Euclidean architecture.

Twilight carried Mercury to a flat area and placed her gently on the ground for her to lay there, then walked to the middle of the stone platform with Gloomy next to her. Further behind them was Mina and Figment, though they didn't seem keen on getting close. As per Gloomy's instructions, they left their weapons and other supplies at the entrance to the Queue; he assured them that they'd still be there when they left.

Mina would make her request after Twilight made hers. If she were anything like Discord, Screwball would be hard enough to keep on target in a conversation without making her multi-task.

Twilight wondered how long it would take before Screwball noticed them standing here.

“Ah! It's one of those!” screeched Screwball as she flashed into existence with no warning, blasting a beam of energy towards Twilight's face.

“I'm not Midnight!” Twilight dove for cover.

Twilight lost her grip on the ground and floated away as she attempted to dodge. She then realized that the beam of energy had stopped just short of hitting her and turned into what looked like pudding. Screwball was having a giggle fit, rolling around as she floated in midair. Figures. Twilight rolled her eyes and flew back to the ground; this might be a long conversation.

“It's okay Twilight,” Gloomy assured. “I think this is fairly typical.”

Gloomy turned to salute somepony that arrived with Screwball, and only then did Twilight notice the large alicorn stallion that arrived as well. They walked up to one another and touched one another's nose with a hoof. It was an oddly respectful boop; was that a greeting here?

Oh, and there was a mariachi band too. And flying pigs. And a giant flying mouse chasing around a screaming cheese wheel. Yep, this was definitely Discord's daughter.

Screwball poked a hoof into the suspended pudding beam and put it to her lips…but then moved her hoof over to her ear, where a tongue from there licked it off. The beam hadn’t been pudding before it changed, though. Twilight had felt the energy radiating off it even without a proper horn. Screwball may look like a foal, but she was clearly no pushover, and had a pretty sick sense of humor.

“Yep, I know who you are,” Screwball giggled “I'm just buckin’ with ya! Not literally. Though that could happen!”

The mariachi band cheered and laughed as they continued playing.

“You're Twilight, right?” continued Screwball. “Gloomy told Watcher who told Ovo who told me about you. You don't make sense!”

“Thank you,” sighed Twilight, taking it as a compliment, and tried to remain composed. She even gave a bit of a bow, since Screwball was the leader of a nation. “Thank you for coming to see us.”

“Huh,” Screwball peered at Twilight.

Perhaps Screwball was taken off-guard that Twilight didn't react to most of the randomness surrounding them, but Twilight was used to these antics. Twilight wondered if it would be a good idea to bring up how used to it she was. Screwball might be impressed that Twilight knew an alternate Discord, or she might be offended; he did abandon her after all.

“Hey, that's mean!” Screwball responded to Twilight's thoughts out of nowhere. “Daddy Discord didn't abandon me! He was just so mad at poo-poo-head ponies that I slipped his mind!”

Oh cake-covered Celestia, Twilight had to watch her thoughts around this one. She started singing a foal’s song in her head to keep her thoughts under control, ‘Rubber ducky you’re the one… You make bath time lots of fun… ‘

“Rubber ducky, I’m awfully fond of yooooou!” Screwball sang with her while typical bathtub bubbles drifted out of her nose, but at least the others probably thought she was being random.

Then again, this might be a good thing if Screwball could detect her sincerity. It wasn't like she intended to lie. She had to wonder if Starlight knew this and if that’s why she didn’t come.

“Who didn't come?” Screwball peered hard at Twilight with one eye bulging out disturbingly far.

Damn it! Twilight tried her best to clear her thoughts and think only about the task at hoof.

“I apologize,” Twilight said, hoping Screwball detected her sincerity. “I am only here to request assistance for those I wish to help.”

“I-I wanted a word too,” said Mercury quietly from where she lay behind Twilight.

“A squirrel!” Screwball screeched and suddenly flew off to chase a pink googly eyed squirrel around a random floating rock.

Ooookay. May as well introduce herself to this alicorn then.

“You are Ovo Factorem?” asked Twilight, giving a lower bow to him, since he was more likely to appreciate it. “It is good to meet you too.”

“Indeed, I am,” Ovo stood tall and looked down to Twilight with a critical eye. The alicorn was a fraction shorter than Celestia. “I've heard quite a lot about you as well, Paradox, but it's probably best that we deal with the silly one before discussing other things.”

“Tag, you’re it!” Screwball suddenly put a hoof to Ovo's flank, then grumbled when Ovo only glared in response. “You're boring around your Statera friends, you know that?”

“The thought did occur to me,” Ovo deadpanned.

“Um, hello?” piped up Mercury, eyes moving back and forth between the chaos spirit and huge alicorn as if wondering which to marvel at. “I'm Mercury Shine, but I think we've met briefly, Miss Screwball.”

Maybe that was supposed to be an accusation, but Mercury had trouble making it sound like one. Screwball was an oddity. She was hard to take seriously, yet somehow was still an imposing figure.

“Hey it’s the full metal alchemist!” Screwball popped into existence on Mercury's back, then poked at her head like she was typing on a typewriter. “Are you operating at maximum efficiency?”

“P-pardon?” Mercury asked in confusion.

“Oops! Ignore that!” giggled Screwball. “Sometimes I mix up what happened, is happening, and will happen. It's a good habit, but ponies always tell me not to!”

“Miss Screwball, please,” Twilight said. “She's been through a lot.”

“She has no idea!” Screwball said, then grew still a moment as she looked at Mercury. “You're pretty mad at me huh? But I'm only authorized to pick up stray foals, not stray adults!”

“You know what?” sighed Mercury. “Never mind.”

“Kay,” Screwball shrugged.

“Sorry, Mercury,” Twilight whispered to her. She felt bad for her, but just as Twilight had expected, Screwball wasn't capable of understanding Mercury's situation. “I’m pretty sure she read our minds like a book the moment we got here.”

“I like books!” confirmed Screwball. “Eat any good books lately?”

“As you have probably surmised,” Ovo tried to move the conversation along. “This is where Screwball greets new applicants. Those who are deemed worthy and kind are allowed to stay. Those that are only one may be allowed to visit. Those that are neither are... well other things happen to them. I can't explain that part without getting confused.”

“There's so much spaghetti involved!” confirmed Screwball. “Wait! That was my speech! You monster!”

Screwball turned Gloomy into a foam bat and beat Ovo about the head with it as the mariachi band cheered her on. Ovo face-hoofed as the enraged little chaos-critter beat him with the harmless bludgeon, looking like he felt much the same as Twilight about these spirits.

“You kept getting distracted instead of doing it yourself,” said Ovo flatly, then turned to Twilight. “I’ve seen her delay long enough for applicants to literally pass out from sleep deprivation.”

“Sleeping isn’t allowed here!” screeched Screwball, but at least let Gloomy return to his now-dizzy self. “It’s boring!”

“That’s inside Discordia that you made that rule,” Ovo grunted. “It’s not even possible for most to obey it out here.”

“Aw, that’s sad,” Screwball instantly calmed.

“Right,” Twilight sighed. “Um, could you remove the mariachi band by chance?” It was a bit hard to think with them laughing and cheering at everything Screwball did.

“Huh? Oh sure!” Screwball snapped her hooves together, replacing the mariachi band with a random dubstep DJ.

“Urrgh,” Twilight face-hoofed as she strained to hold herself upright from the tremors caused by the sudden blaring music. She had to shout to be heard. “Screwball! I'm sure you have some excellent chaos to get to, but I am hoping I could ask for your assistance on a grave matter!”

“I don't like graves,” Screwball said at a normal volume, but was somehow completely audible. “Funerals are depressing. That's why we have kaput parties instead! They’re great when the pony’s head is intact enough for one last day of fun!”

Twilight shuddered, not wanting any more details about kaput parties. She focused on guiding Screwball's attention where she needed it.

“We need a way to get in and out of the Ministry of Magitech,” said Twilight, knowing she had to be concise if she hoped to keep the spirit's attention. “Or at least a way to get out once we get in.”

“Indeed,” Ovo said. “I have filled her in on the details.”

“You've filled me in more than that,” Screwball waggled her eyebrows. “Filled my favorite hole full of my favorite thing! We were so sticky when you finished!”

“Wait, you two had s-, no wait, your favorite is mustard-flavored ice cream, please tell me your favorite hole is your mouth.” Gloomy boggled.

“Well it was a mouth, but on the wrong end,” sighed Ovo. “For entry, she demanded spoon-feed her ice cream until she could roll around like a ball. To normal ponies it’d be kinky, but to her, it was Tuesday. It also changes, might be her navel now for all I know.”

Screwball clapped her hooves together. A box appeared around Gloomy that read 'Pervy Bat Box' in large crayon lettering. Gloomy pushed the box top open to poke his head out and grumbled, but didn’t try to leave it. Twilight suspected given Screwball’s nature that doing so might have caused her to playfully compromise Gloomy’s future ability to be pervy, or worse, and hopefully he realized.

“That’s what you get for being pervy, but then also trying to make sense! You should know I can’t eat with my face hole, it would make too much sense!” Screwball blew a raspberry at Gloomy…which formed an actual spit-covered raspberry that he caught with his mouth and ate. “If you don't stop it, I'm gonna roll a five-sided dice and give you that many sex changes! And it might not be even this time so watch out!”

“You know, both me and your bat toy were born female…” Ovo chimed in with a smirk. “Once I had to play her games to earn another switch to stay male. The process is pretty painless, relative to some other methods of torture, at least.”

“Don’t tell Crimson,” Mercury sighed. “She’ll be offended that anyone would want to stay male, let alone two who started out perfect in her eyes.”

“Well it’s good everypony’s what they want, but has Screwball not kept up on what’s happening out there?” Twilight tried to refocus the conversation.

“I fill her in on a lot,” grumbled Ovo. “She refuses to listen to the news stations.”

“Boring!” Screwball complained. “Though I listen to Trinity’s broadcast in the back of my mind usually, in case she decides to eat a foal live on the air again. If I’m in the mood, I can save it!”

“How does your group function here?” Mercury asked Gloomy, then cringed when Screwball twirled on the tip of her horn.

“Well,” said Gloomy. “Because not even Trinity and Midnight will buck with Discordia. They've tried, and it didn't end well for either of them.”

“It wasn't that bad,” Screwball claimed. “A full ten percent of their forces survived the rabid whip cream. And almost all of those survived the bread-flavored dildos.”

“Screwball, please,” Twilight begged, unsure of what else to do. “We need your help. Every creature out there needs your help. You could save so many lives, and not just foals…wouldn’t your mother want that.”

“Hey, the world was nothing but mean to my mom! Foals are less tainted by it, and more fun, plus my friends in Discordia like to play with ‘em, and don’t get as rough as the meanies out there! Besides, I don’t save every foal. If I’m in a bad mood or they aren’t worthy, I just put mustard on ‘em so the super-mutants can eat ponies the right, Discordia way,” Screwball shrugged, swimming around in the air in tune with the wubs emanating from the DJ’s speakers. “Look, I know you're really nice and helpful, but we’re perfectly happy here having nothing to do with all those barbaric war criminals. The worthy ones can come live here while the others murder each other, but that's all the help I'm authorized to give.”

“They may not be a threat now,” Twilight tried another angle, since Screwball seemed to value the safety of her own. “But Midnight and Trinity are constantly advancing, and they aren't even the most dangerous factions. Can you be sure no one will ever find a way to harm your citizens? And if you could stop that risk and help everypony, wouldn’t you? I know Fluttershy in my time and…”

“Mommy Eris HATES that name!” Screwball grew to five times her previous size and shrieked so loudly that everypony there held their ears. “That's her pony name! That's her torture name!”

“Please, I'm sorry…can I just speak to Mommy Eris?” Twilight kneeled. “I'm not trying to offend her, I swear I just want to help ponies, and her if I can.”

“Don't call her Mommy!” Screwball boomed out as she scooped Twilight up, spat mustard all over her, then shoved her into her belly button as it opened up, then swallowed her whole.

Twilight screamed, holding her hooves over her face expecting the splash of acids, only to suddenly find herself in a small round enclosure that broke apart…it was an egg, and she was back outside with a normal-sized Screwball’s nostrils shrinking from being opened wide above her. She looked over herself to find the mustard was now apparently mayonnaise.

Screwball then jabbed Twilight right in the eye with one hoof. “Only I get to call Mommy Eris Mommy Eris!”

“Ow!” Twilight held a hoof over the poked eye, then realized the opposite one was the one hurting for some reason and covered it instead. “I apologize, I didn't know.” She was hitting every one of Screwball's buttons in this conversation it seemed.

“Sorry, Twilight,” Gloomy said, apparently feeling her pain and probably having shared in it during his first visit. “She forbids giving potential entrants advice about how to interact with her, but she won’t hurt you just for messing up.”

“That was scary,” squeaked Figment from behind them. “I think I peed a little.”

Twilight glanced back to see Figment hiding behind a rock and peeking out while Mina stood petrified with fear. She felt something on her hind leg and realized Mercury was hugging it for protection. Ovo, clearly more used to this, just rolled his eyes at the tantrum.

Screwball's mood changed immediately, floating to Twilight and randomly snuggling her head. She traced a hoof almost seductively along her chin. Twilight let the little chaos-critter get physical without taking it personally; she was used to it with Discord and needed to keep things on track.

“Anyways, you can’t see her for your own good,” said Screwball. “One second of exposure and you’d be goop, and not the tasty kind.”

“Exposure to what?” asked Twilight.

Twilight put a wing around Screwball to hug her, unable to keep from doing so when the cutie started purring. Screwball giggled, but then flashed over to the top of Gloomy's head to sit there like she was queen of the pervy bat box. Gloomy looked annoyed but didn't dare shoo her away, even as she got herself comfy, despite being bizarrely on the end of his muzzle leaning most of the way forward, as if gravity was in a different direction for her just to mess with him more. This was like foal-sitting a bratty demigod.

Luckily that thought amused Screwball as she giggled in response. She grinded slightly on Gloomy’s snout, though it seemed less for enjoyment and more for his annoyance. He sighed and blushed.

“Mommy Eris absorbed a lot of mega-spell energy on genocide day to protect us,” explained Screwball. “Not even I can be around her long enough for a full conversation.”

“She must be so lonely,” Twilight shook her head, horrified at the idea of her timid friend in a situation where nopony could comfort her. “Can we use comms to speak to her?”

“That won't work either,” said Screwball. “The mix of radiation-stuff and chaos magic sorta did a thing for reasons. Just hearing her voice or having her look at you through a portal would kill a creature like you.”

Twilight couldn't imagine how traumatizing that must be for poor Fluttershy, especially since she probably accidentally killed a pony with her voice to know it would happen. She became lost in thought for a while as things went mostly silent and she thought about how much she just wanted any way to help.

Screwball must have sensed her sincere intentions, since she suddenly put on a relaxed expression with a grin, then popped over to Twilight again and hugged one of her wings.

“I like your wings,” said Screwball. “They're soft. Can I borrow them?”

Or maybe not.

“Sorry, I'm using them right now,” said Twilight. “Look. What if I found a cure for Eris?” She had no idea how she would, but it was worth a shot.

“You wouldn’t be the first to offer,” Gloomy chimed in, sounding like his mouth was full.

Looking over at him again as he swallowed something, Twilight noticed he had whipped cream on his lips and snout, and a single round piece of chocolate balanced on the tip of his nose, no doubt an inappropriate joke by Screwball about how she was sitting on him. As he licked the whipped cream off, he sheepishly tossed the chocolate to Twilight, which she happily caught in her mouth and found to be delicious fudge, a luxury she’d been missing. Twilight wasn’t entirely sure whether she should just be glad for the fudge regardless of its…origin, or get jealous that another girl was sitting on his face.

“I would, he’s pretty pervy,” Screwball responded to the thought and clicked her hooves, sending the dubstep DJ away in a flash. “No homo, by the way, I was just annoying him and making sure I didn’t take any ponies apart again from getting mad about Mommy’s condition! Besides, most of his pervy thoughts are about you. Except for the one with you, Midnight, and a twilicorn. That one was ultra-mega gross.”

“Please stop,” begged Gloomy with a squeak, but it’s not like such a fantasy surprised Twilight. Okay, maybe the twilicorn’s involvement did a little.

For a moment the Queue was silent, and Screwball stared at Twilight. Twilight wondered if she was about to switch to serious mode on a whim.

“If you cured Mommy Eris,” Screwball finally said, sounding uncharacteristically even as if putting real effort into it. “I would do anything... unless it was mean... or boring... or would result in foal support payments... or didn't happen on a Tuesday.”

“Um, but how do we do that, Twilight?” asked Mercury quietly. “None of us know anything about chaos magic.”

“I know a little,” pondered Twilight. Discord allowed her to study him on occasion, even if the results never made sense. There had to be a way. “Screwball…has Eris become a being like Discord?”

“Probably,” said Screwball. “Maybe. Not quite though. She got upgraded, but isn't as powerful as me cause I'm half Daddy and she only bucked Daddy.”

“I see,” Twilight hoped she didn’t continue with any details of that. “From what little I know, chaos magic would cause serious weirdness if mixed with necrotic radiation, but it's not exactly something we can look up in a book. What type of radiation does she emit?”

“All of them!” Screwball said. Very helpful.

“Um, okay,” Twilight pondered. “Is there one that she emits more of? Gamma? Neutron? You could maybe just describe it?”

“It throws tiny stuff at other stuff!” Screwball explained. “Then that stuff gets radioactive too and throws more tiny stuff at still more stuff! That's why Mommy Eris lives in Daddy Discord's old pocket dimension. So stuff doesn't shatter into other stuff.”

Though she wasn't making much sense, Screwball had a serious expression, hovering still in front of Twilight as she spoke. Twilight got the impression that she really wanted to make sense so Twilight could help her mother, but Screwball trying to defy her nature was like a blind pony trying to describe a sunset.

“Well,” Twilight pondered. “Neutron radiation is the type that most often makes other things radioactive. Maybe... something that absorbs that? Um, how impervious to damage is Eris? Like could she be boiled in something molten?”

“We tried boiling her in all sorts of stuff,” said Screwball. “Nothing worked! It just leaked back out!”

“Did you try... hmmm,” Twilight pondered. “Did you try hoofnium? That can absorb many types of magic and radiation too. Combining it with orichalcum alloy might trap the radiation so it couldn't 'leak back out'.”

“We’re hoofing what now?” Screwball peered.

“It's an element,” said Twilight. “It's lustrous, silvery gray tetravalent transition metal, atomic number 72. Though she might have to boil for months if she is as deadly as you say...”

Most of the others looked at Twilight like she was speaking Old Ponish, though Ovo raised an eyebrow as if fascinated by the idea. Screwball tapped her chin as she spun around midair.

“The time it takes isn't a problem,” Screwball said after some thought. “I can change how fast time is in adjacent dimensions to speed things up, but I can't make hoofnium.”

“You can't?” asked Twilight. “Discord could make all sorts of things out of nothing.”

“Only things he'd touched before,” said Screwball. “It's the same with me. If I had even a tiny bit, I could make as much as we needed, but I can't pull it out of your head.”

“Wasn't that used in some balefire reactors to control the reaction?” asked Ovo. “I don't know where you would find any that hadn't degraded over time though, and my memories from the early war are a bit fuzzy on where they mined it from.”

“You were around in the early war?” asked Twilight. That was odd, as it implied that he might be around in Twilight's time as well, yet she'd never seen any indication that such an alicorn existed. “Would Skyla know perhaps?”

“I’m quite certain she doesn’t,” Ovo shook his head. “Besides, she prefers to know little of Statera’s activities for plausible deniability purposes. She probably wouldn’t even allow me to help them if it didn’t occasionally reap good information.”

Twilight remembered it was mentioned that Ovo and Skyla were ‘involved’, but Twilight doubted he’d talk about it with her if he didn’t even do so with Statera. It was peculiar though how he said she ‘allowed’ him to be here.

“I don't know if I approve of the extent they go to,” said Screwball. “But I definitely approve of sowing chaos as a tactic to create peace!” Maybe that partly explained why she let them base here at all. “Remember! Chaos brings peace, Order brings war!”

“Well, that's something at least,” said Twilight. “I'll put some thought into it and ask some friends that understand magitech more than myself. We'll come up with something, I swear.”

This felt like all the useful information they would get out of Screwball for now. They could ask the other residents of Discordia, but it seemed even less likely that they’d know since few or perhaps no current residents had been alive when it happened.

“Thank you,” Twilight finally nodded. “May I ask if it's okay for me to come inside Discordia?”

“You and Mercury-Pants can move in if you want!” Screwball said. “But you won't, so I'll settle for visits. I guess I need to talk to the scared flower bug back there, so I'll leave you to it.”

In a flash of light, Twilight was somewhere else, though it did have a familiar look to it. Ovo, Mercury, and Gloomy were next to her, followed shortly by Figment, as Screwball must’ve realized from a short chat was part of their group.

It looked a great deal like Discord's Ponyville, with checkered landscape, houses floating in various random orientations, and a light drizzle of chocolate rain. It seemed they had a working 'Sun' here too, though it looked rather creepy as it grinned down like some kind of cartoon.

“This place has more bright colors than my whole family tree,” Figment blinked.

Unlike Discord's Ponyville though, everyone Twilight saw in town was loving it there. Ponies and various other creatures were chatting, chasing each other, or playing rather odd games mostly using live creatures instead of representations. It included pin the tail on the pony, with a second, and third round for mares, using plug tails, as well as ‘operation’ There was a ‘hungry hungry hippogriffs’ game where ponies slapped hippogriff tails to make them eat balls of what looked like cheese. There was even a pony limb jenga, but Twilight hoped the limbs were given back.

She shuddered. It seemed like everyone existed with no responsibilities to speak of. Twilight would hate living in such a state herself; she'd feel like her entire life was finding ways to pass time while she waited to die, without ever leaving her stamp on the world. But if these creatures were happy and could leave if they wanted, she saw no harm in it. Though…

As they went along, Twilight steeled herself as she stared at some…rather more debauched games, with a particularly-strange one involving a zebra-pegasus couple getting devoured by an enlarged changeling colt just as they finished up.

“Some of their games seem rather… dangerous,” Twilight commented.

“Creatures don’t die here without opting in to it… normally. The crossed-out shield on those two’s flanks means they must’ve been bored enough to opt in,” Ovo said, pointing out a few that they passed. There was a crowd around them with laughing pinata bats about to go to it. “Once you join the game, you accept the outcome, so no backsies.” He chuckled. “Too bad we can’t stay longer, I’d like to see your reaction to a proper kaput party.”

“Something tells me I wouldn’t,” Twilight sighed as a chill went down her spine, looking away from the laughing group.

Twilight pulled up her pipbuck, seeing if it could run a scan, but the readings made no sense as she expected. According to this, the ambient temperature was 42,069 degrees and the digital compass said she was facing north-south-west-potato.

“Let's get out of the open before we're attacked by a rabid conga line,” Ovo rolled his eyes. “At least she spit us out near headquarters.”

Ovo walked to a door floating in mid-air. It had an odd bat symbol in a circle on the front of it, and when opened, revealed a darkened cave on the other side of the portal. Twilight didn't question it, following behind Gloomy and Ovo. Mercury nudged Figment in behind them before going in herself.

The cave was no less colorful, each rock a different one. As if to further annoy the senses, each stone changed to another random color when stepped on or touched. Twilight felt like she needed a pair of sunglasses. She’d go insane if she had to be here for long.

Overall it didn't seem like much of a military base in that there were no defenses or guards to speak of, but did they really need any in their current location? There weren't even any weapons that she could see, but she supposed Screwball didn't allow those.

There was what looked like a planning area at the front with a large holographic map of Equestria, not unlike the Cutie Map, and a number of maneframe terminals along one wall. In the next area of the cavern was a large common area with a table piled over with colorful fruit she couldn't identify. There were couches, a radio playing a song from what sounded like Radio Gollytopia of all things, and about two dozen bats.

The bats were mostly the standard range of dark browns and blacks, though there were a few with bright pastel colors as other types of ponies might have. Six of them were dancing in one corner, with two making out, while four others were stuffing their faces full of food at the table, one directly from the crotch of a mare on the table. Most of the others were just socializing, aside from the three stallions performing a shameless three-way on a couch.

“This is... not what I expected,” Twilight admitted.

“Yeah,” chuckled Gloomy awkwardly. “I’m told they used to be more normal, but Screwball instituted mandatory silliness quotients for all residents after noticing how boring they were.”

“Well, they must work well together if you’ve managed to keep balance for 200 years,” said Twilight.

“They do work well,” Ovo said with a proud smile. “But we’ve also been lucky. Because it’s impossible to get real spies into Trinity’s forces, she almost pulled ahead irreparably a few times. She only didn’t due to sudden bad tactical moves on her part. Honestly her recent attack plan seems almost the same. Not only is she using her entire army in the attack, she’s giving them far too much time to get ready.”

“I guess we can’t complain,” said Twilight, and it wasn’t particularly surprising that monster-Starlight would have occasional lapses of judgment.

“Can I have your attention please?” called out Ovo as he stepped in front of the others. “Except the love birds, they can finish.”

The room grew quiet, one bat flicking off the radio and all of them gathering around Ovo, except for those on the table and couch. For all their silliness, they were very quick to hop to attention when he called for them.

“This is the Paradox, Twilight Sparkle,” Ovo motioned to her. “Our new compatriot Gloomy Shade brought her here as promised, as well as her friends Mercury Shine and Fignut.”

“Figment,” Figment politely corrected, looking drunkenly at the happy couch-bats as if getting a lovely meal off them.

“Greetings,” Twilight nodded her head, trying hard not to get distracted. “Um, so what do you know about me?”

“They've all been provided with detailed reports of the situation,” said Ovo. “And the situation is grave indeed. We've staved off Trinity's attack on Midnight with misinformation, but it's only a matter of time, and I fear Midnight may resort to action we'd rather her not.”

“I see,” Twilight sighed.

“Did Screwball agree to the Ministry of Magitech thing?” asked a purple mare wearing a grape hat.

“Um, sort of,” said Twilight. “If I can find a cure for Eris' condition, she agreed that she'd rescue us from the Ministry after our mission... I think.”

“Oh well that should be easy,” said the purple bat. If the sarcasm in her voice wasn't apparent enough, the fact that half of the other bats face-hoofed sealed it.

“I know it seems bleak,” said Ovo. “But Statera hasn't faltered before when things got rough, and we can't now.”

“But can we trust this new Starlight?” asked one of the stallions from the trio, who had wandered over now. “From what we've gathered, she isn't a lot better than Trinity.”

“She's fighting Trinity,” said Gloomy. “And that's all the better we need right now. Her willingness to try insane plans might be exactly what we need.”

“What about the material that Twilight needed to do that?” asked Mercury. “To cure Eris, I mean.”

“Hoofnium,” said Twilight. “Ovo says it was used in some reactors way back when, but he doesn't know where it was mined. I don't suppose any of you do?”

“I'm going to assign some teams to head out and look for any information we can find,” said Ovo. “I'll send a group to what's left of the libraries at the Canterlot Archives and Magic School. Midnight's patrols in the area are letting us be, for the time being, so it’s pretty easy to move around her territory without having to hide.”

“Doesn't Unicornia use a variant of the old-style reactors?” asked a second pink mare. “We’ve seen it when they set up temporary outposts for experiments.”

“Oh yeah,” a brown stallion next to her rolled his eyes. “Cause they're just dying to lend it to a bunch of fang faces.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” said Ovo. “But they might to a bunch of unicorns.” He turned to Twilight. “You have three unicorns in your current group, yes?”

“Hold on,” said Gloomy. He likely wasn't keen on sending Twilight in somewhere he couldn't guard her. “We don't know anything about Unicornia on the inside.”

“We know that we haven't recorded a single instance of their patrols harming a unicorn that didn’t attack them first,” said Ovo. “We also know they are in possession of the most fully-functioning stable outside of Stable 27, which means they've probably had contact with that stable at some point. One of the unicorns with you was that stable's Overmare of over 200 years, yes?”

“Even if not,” said Gloomy. “She'd be able to tell you which stables possessed that type of reactor. Am I right?”

“Well yes,” Twilight said. “I think she did mention a stable in old Manehattan. We could ask her on both counts, it's worth a try at least.”

“Assuming she doesn't ask to kill me in exchange for the information,” sighed Figment.

“You could request residence here?” Mercury suggested. She seemed as concerned about Figment's safety now as she was when they all thought he was Tranquil.

“No, I can't,” Figment shrugged. “It's dumb I know, but I can't leave her on her own. If Tranquil knew how much she’s tried to improve, she wouldn't want me to leave her to her own devices.”

“She wants to kill you,” reminded Mercury, but Figment didn't have an answer for that.

“Allowing her to harm him is out of the question, just so you know,” Ovo said, more intensely than Twilight expected. “Unless there is more to add, we're done here. If we stay serious for too long, Screwball will demand we do something brutally silly to make up for it. I'll go back out with you when you report to Trinity 2.0; it's time I met her muzzle-to-muzzle.”

49. Where Alicorns Fear to Tread

Date: Tuesday 11/15/2287
POV: Mina
The Queue

Mina didn't like talking to this creature alone, but the others had their own business inside Discordia, so there she was. She approached Screwball cautiously, bowing.

“Hi!” Screwball smiled. “So if I disembowel you, should I use a spoon or a straw? Maybe a shrubbery! Or a herring!”

“I... are you planning on that?” stammered Mina.

“Maybe,” Screwball nodded, floating around her as if swimming the backstroke. “I don't know what I'll do! I'm bad about not reading the script before a scene.”

“Um, how fascinating,” Mina wasn't sure what else to say. “Well see, the reason I came is...”

“No,” Screwball cut her off.

“P-pardon?” asked Mina. “Did I say something wrong?”

“You thought something wrong!” Screwball pointed a hoof accusingly. “You hoped I'd let you and your flunkies stay here even though I've had to save 1,969 and a half foals that they left outside to die!”

This was not good. The white of Screwball's eyes was fading into bright yellow as she stared Mina down.

“T-that was a misunderstanding!” Mina insisted. “Besides, you saved them all! They're safe, right?”

“You thought I was taking them to Midnight for her to eat!” Screwball screamed. “Without mustard! The neeerve!”

Mina put her hooves over her ears at the shriek and bowed low again, certain Screwball would do something horrible.

“Please, what can I do for you to spare me?” shrieked Mina.

“I demand mustard!” Screwball shrieked even louder. “A bath tub full! With little pickle shaped ants living in it!”

“I-I... what is mustard?” Mina wasn't sure. “Nothing you say makes sense!”

“You don't even know what mustard is?” Screwball shouted in rage.

Screwball was so loud now that Mina's ears were ringing. When Screwball charged her after the enraged shout, Mina thought for sure she was a goner. But then she found herself being hugged gently by Screwball as the strange filly petted the frill on her head. Was she... crying?

“You poor little ling!” Screwball sobbed. “You've never had mustard? No wonder you turned out so evil!”

“I-it's fine,” Mina had never been more confused. “I will… try to find some.”

Screwball stopped crying as quickly as she started, shoving Mina suddenly onto the ground and floating back up above her.

“Fine, I won't gut you with a dull pillow and string up your organs like party balloons,” Screwball said. “The organ party-balloon thing has been done to death anyway, but I'm only sparing you because you were nice enough to say I make no sense. And because Gloomy's friends probably don't want to see me blowing up your organs with helium on their way out.”

“T-thank you,” said Mina carefully. She regretted even trying this.

“You still can't come in,” Screwball shrugged. “Considering how fast changelings grow up, I'll accept any of them younger than 42 minutes, -24 months, and 1337 days old, but anyone else has to prove they’re not too corrupted!”

“Uh…that’s uh…2 years? W-we're not going to give up our grubs,” Mina backed up slowly in case that enraged the strange creature again.

“Aww, I wanted some baby lings,” sighed Screwball sadly, then turned and swam through the air chasing a blue fish in a top hat. “It's their problem though if they have horrible parents that don't want them to live here. The batties can send their cutie foals up to the usual 69 months, but the older ones have to apply individually! None of this getting your whole civilization in with a single request.”

“I-I... very well,” Mina nodded. “I understand. Thank you again for sparing my life.”

“Oh you wouldn’t’ve gone kaput, just be really uncomfortable, unless you left here like a dumb dumb before I was done! I do lose track of time… Anyways, see, I knew we could work things out!” Screwball smiled, before suddenly turning red and vibrating. “NOW ONLY COME BACK AFTER YOU’VE STOPPED BEING A MEANIE, AND HAVE EATEN MANY MEANIE MINI MARES WITH MUSTARD!”

A very angry-looking boot appeared, kicking Mina in the plot so hard she yelped, and in a flash of light, Mina blinked from existence and fell on the floor inside the Overmare's office at Stable 41. It took her a while to get her senses, and when she did, she realized that Starlight had decided to sit at the desk in her office.

“Ah, you,” Starlight looked disappointed to see only her, but not surprised that she appeared in a sudden flash of white light considering who they went to see. “Since you're alone, I assume the others were allowed inside, that's good at least.”

“Y-yeah,” Mina pulled herself up as she tried to relax, still shaking slightly from Screwball. “Screwball wasn't happy with me, and won’t have any of my group. She said I could offer for the ponies in the stable to apply there. They have to do it individually, but she mentioned being adept at time warps so she can probably do them all very quickly.”

“You do that,” Starlight peered as if Mina was annoying her by being inside her own office.

“Who is that?” Maud's voice asked, even though Mina didn't see her anywhere in the room. “Do I need to come out and kill something?”

“It's fine, Maud,” Starlight said to a book sitting on the desk in front of her. “It's just the changeling.”

“So she DOES need to come out and kill something, then,” Crimson's voice said from the same book.

Mina trembled slightly, hoping these ponies weren’t actually about to murder her. Strangely, she momentarily lost control of her bladder, maybe Screwball scared her even more than she thought.

“Not that changeling, though it looks like she’s just as easily scared,” Starlight told the book while smirking in a way that told Mina showing weakness was a bad mistake to make.

“Oh,” Crimson sounded disappointed. “We'll stay here and buck some more, then.”

“As you will,” Starlight told the book, then turned to Mina with a sudden friendly demeanor. “I'm sorry you couldn't save your hive in that manner, especially since Midnight is very likely to search here now that we've caused a ruckus in the area. She’s certain to find you. However, I may have a solution for you other than Discordia.”

“You think Midnight will come for us?” Mina felt chills as she stood up and tried to clean herself off to maintain a semblance of dignity before this intimidating mare. “W-what is the alternative?”

“There's a local hive in my city, Holder,” said Starlight. “It's a secret because we are technically in Midnight's territory, but it should be easy enough for me to bring you in and say you're refugees. You'll all have to be something other than bat ponies though; Midnight will try to recruit you if you're bat ponies.”

“You mentioned your local hive before,” said Mina. “But you said they'd be angry with you.”

“For letting Olivia die, yes,” sighed Starlight. “They won't believe that I wasn't able to stop it, may even think I am responsible in spite of all evidence to the contrary. They may become aggressive, and even one replacement in my ranks could spell disaster for my continued efforts to stop Trinity, the tormentor of your kind. However, they are a very small hive... not even two dozen.”

“Ah, I see where this is going,” Mina nodded. It was an uncomfortable request, but they did owe this unicorn and it might be their only way to safety. “If our larger hive were to merge with that hive by force, the voices in support of you would outnumber those against and the hive would never vote to take action against you.”

“Only if they make it necessary,” Starlight nodded. “Since I’m sure it would be more difficult than that, however, there is also an empty Stable between Holder and Ramble, which even has automated upkeep, that you could also inhabit as ‘non-changeling’ refugees. You’d be deeply in my debt as long as I kept you all a secret. Do you think we might have an agreement?”

They'd have to come up with all new personas and a cover story for where they came from, but it might work. She just hoped it’d keep her away from all the murderous crazy ponies she’d heard of like Trinity, Cozy, Midnight, Pony Hitler, and The Incredibly-Abominable Snowdrop. Starlight seemed like that type as well, but more of one to do things at a distance so most of the hive could live peacefully, with a few unlucky ones like Mina to serve as agents. Maybe if she was lucky, she could fulfill Screwball’s conditions on the side…

“I think... we can come to an understanding,” nodded Mina, gulping as she accepted an offer she knew she couldn’t refuse.

POV: Twilight Sparkle

When they got back to the Queue, they found Screwball rolling around laughing her ass off. ...literally; she kept having to grab it and put it back on while it’d laugh, with sputters. It was a little disturbing.

“You should have seen the look on her face!” Screwball laughed as Twilight and friends came into view. “I bet she won't be able to sleep tonight because she'll keep wetting herself in fear!... Literally! I put a curse on her to make sure!” She suddenly became still. “Awww, I should have cursed her to pee mustard. I feel like a jerk now.”

Twilight was sure she should tell Screwball not to do that, but was afraid of anything she suggested making it worse.

“I thought your mother frowned upon you cursing ponies outside your borders,” said Ovo.

That worked.

“You're no fun,” Screwball rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll stop messing with her bladder, and just send her a mustard recipe, so she can come back on time. So you're all going to report to... her?”

“Yes, we're reporting to Starlight,” Twilight confirmed. There was no point in hiding it, and they needed Screwball to trust them anyway.

“Do you know what she did to Mommy Eris?” Screwball floated over to Twilight, peering into her eyes with unnerving seriousness.

“I have a general idea,” nodded Twilight. “She... performed experiments on her, things that shouldn't have been done to anypony, much less one so sweet as your mother.”

“You knew Mommy Eris, didn't you,” said Screwball. “And you knew Daddy Discord.”

Twilight was pretty sure she saw Screwball a few times too during Discord's brief reign in her timeline. She couldn't help but wonder now if who she saw was Discord's and Fluttershy's daughter from the future; it wouldn’t be out of the question with someone as odd as him.

“I was there too?” Screwball replied to Twilight's thoughts. “Neat! I probably lost my watch and got time in the wrong order again.”

“Um, right,” said Twilight. “But yes, I know your parents there. Both of them are my good friends, who I care for very much.”

“Don't overdo it,” smirked Screwball and swam around Twilight's head. “You only care-cared for one, but I believe you were both their friend.” Without warning, Screwball stopped swimming and hugged Twilight's head close. “Thanks for making Mommy Eris happy in at least one world.”

“Aw,” Twilight couldn't help but hug her back. “It was my pleasure, little one. I hope to make her happier when I return to my timeline.”

“Return?” Screwball tilted her head. “Come to think of it, do you really want to protect this world? I mean you think it’s just going to blink out of existence when you go, even if it won’t. Your timeline is fine even now.”

“W-what?” Twilight went from a touching moment to having her guts twist in anxiety. Did she know what was going on in Twilight’s timeline? “Excuse me? Could you explain more?”

“It means... boop!” Screwball touched a hoof to Twilight's nose, and in a flash her and her friends disappeared, re-appearing back in the Overmare's office at Stable 41.

Damn it! Leave it to a chaos spirit to give her a riddle and leave her hanging. There was nothing she could do about it now, though. Still, at least she hadn’t said that Twilight would never get back, and even confirmed that going back wouldn’t effectively kill everyone in this timeline. Twilight was thankful for that weight being off her conscience.

When she arrived, she found Starlight sitting at the Overmare's desk like she owned the place, her front legs behind her head and hind legs propped on the desk. She looked satisfied enough with herself that it made Twilight feel a chill. Hadn't she been sitting in that same position when Twilight found her timeline’s Starlight in her own palace? Twilight half expected her to start giving a villain speech.

Starlight jerked, almost falling out of her seat when so many appeared at once, but quickly composed herself and sat up. So no villain speech, then.

“Glad you all made it back in one piece,” Starlight said, looking at Ovo right off. “Commander Ovo, I assume? You appear even more impressive than I imagined.”

“I'm taken,” Ovo said with a grave face. It was impossible to know how serious he was.

“Pardon,” Starlight said after a brief pause, uncertain herself. “I only meant your commanding presence, and your incredible power.”

“You can't read my power,” said Ovo. “Not even Screwball can do that, so don't compliment things you know nothing of.”

Ovo was very short with Starlight compared to how he had spoken to Twilight. He clearly didn't trust her, but on the plus side, that meant maybe he did trust Twilight. It was also interesting if Starlight really couldn't scan him. Twilight wished she could try herself, if only to see in what fashion it was hidden.

Starlight chuckled awkwardly and tapped Crimson's book, which lay on the desk in front of her, and spoke loudly. “Maud? Can you come out here?”

The book opened and Maud's hoof reached out of the page, grabbing hold of the desk and hoisting herself out of it. The earth pony panted as she crawled out of the book and tumbled off the table to stand next to Starlight, though it looked like it still hurt her to stand. She was drenched in sweat, and Twilight assumed it wasn't from manual labor, so she didn't look at the book pages. No telling what she might see.

Maud's relationship with Crimson made Twilight all the more nervous now that they knew Tranquil was dead. She hoped that Crimson didn't convince Maud to do something horrible to Figment on her behalf. Twilight also couldn't figure if Maud would be a good or bad influence on Crimson by herself.

“Mina had no luck with Screwball,” informed Starlight as Maud was pulling herself out. “I offered them shelter at Holder or Stable 5 under conditions, we'll go over that later.”

Twilight was sure they would, and that she’d leave much of it out.

“Is Crimson coming out?” asked Twilight with a sigh.

“I don't need to come out,” Crimson said from inside the book. “Everyone already knows I'm a raging dyke, except maybe that widow-bucking impostor.”

Twilight wanted to add 'that saved your life', but knew it wouldn't do any good.

Figment cringed and backed into a corner. Twilight motioned to him to come back to the desk with the rest of them, but he politely shook his head. Twilight understood that Crimson was mad, and she wasn't happy with Figment for deceiving them for so long, but realized he did it with misguided good intent. In this world, that alone put him above the vast majority of others as far as morality.

“Enough of your lover's quarrel,” Ovo rolled his eyes. “Twilight. Gloomy. Make your report to Trinity 2.0. I'm mostly here to observe.”

“Yes, a report would be appreciated,” Starlight maintained her smile but twitched one eye. “I assure you though, sir, I am nothing like Trinity.”

“Of course you aren't,” said Ovo. “Only your genetics and the first few decades of your life are identical.”

“I think the other 200 years and... a few other things set her apart,” Starlight kept her cool but must have been boiling inside. “I am offering to help you in your fight against this Trinity, Commander. Do you not take the offer seriously?”

“You have yet to prove you are a serious contender,” Ovo said. “You've been lucky because the big guns are busy firing at one another, but we both know you’d never have made it out of the gate if that wasn’t the case. Don't get me wrong, I hope you do turn out to be all you claim, but you have a lot to prove.”

Twilight thought she saw what he was doing. This sort of challenge would no doubt make Starlight more determined to prove herself to him. Maybe he was making sure she wouldn’t back out of the mission to Trinity’s lair. It would probably work, but Twilight was not sure she approved.

“Very well,” said Starlight, taking a deep breath. “May I ask what Screwball said in regards to our issue? You were there longer, so I assume you had more luck.”

“Screwball agreed to help us, with conditions,” said Twilight. “If we can find a cure for Eris, Screwball will get us back out of the Ministry of Magitech once we're inside. But her condition is a tall order.”

“We will do what we must,” Maud said.

“What is Eris’ condition?” Starlight asked with sincere curiosity.

“She absorbed CME and balefire blasts to protect her citizens,” said Twilight. “The combination of that with chaos magic has rendered her so lethal that she can no longer interact with her citizens safely. Long story short, my theory for curing her involves using hoofnium, but Screwball can't make any without a sample to use as a template. Statera will be sending scouts to find a source, but have no idea where one might be.”

“Right,” Starlight looked thoughtful, but notably confused. “Where to find something like that.”

Twilight got the impression that Starlight didn't know what hoofnium was and didn't want to admit it by asking. Starlight seemed to know surprisingly little about most of the technology she 'invented'. Twilight wondered how much of her knowledge actually got transferred over when she split from Trinity, or if it leaked out after. She had ripped her own soul gem out while still alive, after all.

“None of the stables we've been to thus far have or use it,” said Twilight, being nice enough to answer the question with context without Starlight having to admit her lack of knowledge. “So we need to find one with a reactor that uses hoofnium as a stabilization component.”

“I've ordered scouts to scour the potential areas we know of,” said Ovo. “As well as intact libraries for more information, but my understanding is that it was rarely used by the time of the Breaking due to its scarcity.”

“Stable 19 used that type,” called Crimson from within the book. “It's the only one I know of that still did by the time of the Breaking, so pretty much every bit we had was shipped there. Like Mister Serious says, the stuff was hard to come by. You're not fooling anyone, by the way.”

“Pardon?” Ovo quirked one ear, peering as he tensed up noticeably.

“I can tell a closet psychopath when I meet one,” Crimson said.

“Charming,” Ovo said, but didn't seem offended. He even relaxed, as if he thought she meant something else.

“Ignore her, Commander,” Gloomy said. “But damn... That's the stable in Manehattan that Unicornia originated from. That is literally the worst answer for us.”

“Crimson,” Starlight said. “Come out and tell us about this Stable 19.”

“Oh yeah,” Crimson said. “Like I have a reason to follow the Empress who's going to be murder-raped by Olivia's hive as soon as we get back to Holder. That's if Mister Serious doesn't string your guts up like Hearth's Warming ornaments for funsies first.”

Crimson had become a lot more blunt to Starlight since she found out Tranquil was dead, for certain. Starlight could no longer threaten Tranquil’s life, and Crimson barely cared about her own.

“Crimson,” Starlight warned. “This is not the time, so if you don't want the book tossed in a fire, you'll come out right now.”

“The Crimoire tossed in a fire,” corrected Crimson. “And you wouldn't dare. You're in front of a potential ally and Maud is a hair's width from killing you already. How do you think she'll react to you murdering her new fiancee?”

“Fiancee?!” Twilight blurted before she could stop herself. She hoped that was a joke! But wait, more importantly... “Starlight! You need to stop threatening your subjects! It's unbecoming of a leader, and it’s starting to cause real trouble now!”

“I was speaking figuratively of course,” Starlight smiled at Twilight, though Twilight knew better. She looked very much like she wanted to say more but wouldn't in front of Ovo.

“Can we not do this?” asked Mercury, wilting in the corner next to Figment.

“She’s right,” Gloomy stepped between Twilight and Starlight. “Everyone is stressed here, let's not let it devolve into violence.”

“Crimson,” said Maud. “Cooperate or I will cease putting out indefinitely.”

Without a word, Crimson popped out of the book much as Maud had, though more used to it as she slid off the table and stood next to her. She leaned against Maud to pretend she could stand easily on her own. What struck Twilight most, though, was that she looked like she'd been crying.

Twilight wished she knew how to help Crimson cope with such a loss. She'd know exactly what to say to help a normal pony, but Crimson was different, so it was hard to know what would comfort her.

The serious consideration crashed like a train into a mountain, though, when Maud grasped Crimson's head. She licked one of Crimson's cheeks and then the other, and it took Twilight a moment to realize that she was tasting Crimson's tears. She was about to get on to Maud until Crimson's angry face returned to a grin.

Perhaps Twilight shouldn't be surprised that Maud knew exactly what insensitive thing to do to comfort Crimson. She just hoped it was only that and not Crimson's influence changing Maud.

“Your grief is delicious, ‘dear’,” Maud stated calmly before pulling back to stand as she was.

“Interesting,” said Ovo. “I've never seen that done with so much... positive emotion.” Despite the disagreements around him, he seemed relatively unfazed.

“You've seen it done a lot, have you?” Mercury asked nervously.

“I humbly ask that you cease all strange fetishes until the meeting has adjourned,” Starlight said in the most polite voice she was capable of. “Crimson, please start by telling us about Stable 19's experiment.”

“A study of racism,” Crimson said.

“Color me not surprised,” Ovo said. He and Gloomy rolled their eyes together.

“Basically,” said Crimson. “They divided the stable into sections for pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, bat ponies, and griffons. A huge stockpile of weapons was provided, but only enough food and water filtration to support one of those populations. And of course all the resources were located in the middle between all the branches. I’m sure you see where this is going.”

“So a conflict broke out,” nodded Twilight. “And since each race was in a wing together, the residents naturally grouped by race. I take it the unicorns came out on top.”

“By slaughtering every mare, stallion, and foal of the other populations,” said Crimson. “Those that didn’t escape at least. Stable-Tec had the stable set to purge at the end of the experiment, but some naughty Overmare from the primary control stable told them and they were able to disengage the bomb that would have destroyed them.”

A stable that would trick creatures into coming in for safety from bombs only to trick them into killing each other before blowing them up at the end. Twilight wished she was surprised; she wished that a lot lately.

“You told them?” asked Mercury. “You said you lost contact with the other stables immediately... wait, no never mind.” She sighed and looked at the floor.

“Almost fell back into that bad habit of assuming anything I told you was true,” Crimson smirked at Mercury. “But yes, they stayed in contact with us longer than any other. Since they were the best equipped, I figured it wouldn't hurt for them to owe us one. Turned out it might hurt after all in the end. Oops.”

“Maybe,” said Starlight. “Do you think that 'one' might still be owed in their eyes?”

“Well,” Crimson shrugged and chuckled. “I may have convinced them that my stable was wiped out by tentacle monsters and should under no circumstances ever be entered. They started asking questions I didn't want to answer and were too extreme for my tastes. They only talked to me to begin with because I lied and told them I'd cleansed my stable of inferior races, when in fact I’d only cleansed it of the inferior gender.”

“Too extreme for your tastes?” Starlight blinked. “You're exaggerating.”

“I believe her,” said Ovo.

“So do I,” said Gloomy. “While you never went out of your way to harass the outside, any of their exploration parties that meet a non-unicorn torture them to death and leave their mangled bodies nailed to something, even foals. It’s even thought that they keep small populations of other races like cattle for experiments or spell components.”

“Tsk,” Crimson sounded as if it really offended her. “Disgusting. Wasting good torture for the sake of hate rather than fun.”

“There’s merit in both,” commented Ovo.

“Anyway,” continued Crimson. “They asked me about the CME system in Canterlot and wanted to trade for components. They refused to say what they wanted them for, but letting them have a system like that? ...no thanks. So I took steps to convince them that Canterlot was unsafe, like even more than it actually was.”

“How long ago was this?” asked Starlight.

“A bit over sixty years, I think,” said Crimson. “A few years before the Sun stopped. I'm pretty sure they came and grabbed some components from the CME themselves, but didn't chance knocking on our door when they did.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Twilight. “If this is true, the timing of the Sun stopping is a bit too convenient.”

“Well maybe it's a stretch,” said Crimson. “You know how the crater in Canterlot is full of pink cloud? The reason is that the cloud generator beneath the castle kept running after a rupture; we could see the cloud flow to the crater from our outside cameras. But less than a year after I cut off contact with Unicornia, it stopped abruptly. Maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe that's when they took the components, since they'd have to shut the thing off to get to them.”

“Strange Limestone did not see them,” commented Maud.

“They’d have been in similar armor to Canterlot guards,” shrugged Crimson. “So she might have thought it wasn’t important enough to share.”

“You didn't think this was worth mentioning before?” Starlight and Ovo asked almost in unison.

“Nightmare save us,” Gloomy gasped without thinking. “If they ever got a CME system working...”

“I didn't think it was important,” shrugged Crimson. “If they were going to use it to blow up the world, they would have done so sometime over the last 60 years, so if they're using it, it's not for that.”

“Maybe they tried, but it backfired, and caused the sun to stop,” pondered Twilight darkly. “Though I’ve no idea how that would happen.”

“None of that is important, yet,” said Maud. “We need to get this substance from them if we are to save my sisters.”

“Yes, one problem at a time,” sighed Twilight. “We could always send a delegation of all our unicorns and... I don't know... talk to them?” She braced herself for refusal; ponies in this world hated the 'talk things out' option.

“I hate to say it, but that's your only option,” Ovo agreed at least. “We won't be able to steal it, and even if Screwball agreed to help, it might be a violation of your 'contract' with her since you didn't get the cure yourselves that way. I know from experience not to give Screwball an easy way to worm out of a bargain on a technicality.”

“So then me, Crimson, Mercury, and Twilight,” said Starlight. “Unless Twilight's broken horn would be an issue? Gloomy?”

“Her being an alicorn would be the issue,” said Gloomy.

“They're racist against alicorns?” Starlight quirked one ear. “I was hoping her broken horn might buy us sympathy points, especially if we claim it was broken by 'inferior races'.”

“They call alicorns 'mutts',” said Ovo. “To them, alicorns represent a mixture of their master unicorn race with other inferior races. They find them more offensive than anything else.”

“What if I just show them photos that don't show her wings,” Starlight said. “Say that she's too ill from the attack to make the journey. It'd give us a believable motive to claim that we share their views. We claim that Twilight is my wife who was maimed in an attack by an inferior, and because of that I've come around to their way of thinking.”

“It is disturbing how seamlessly you come up with a lie,” Twilight put one hoof on her face. She didn't like deception, but she had gotten too used to it by this point.

“That's a pretty petty reason,” said Ovo. “But they're all about petty, so it shouldn’t be too hard to use.”

“We need a believable reason to need the hoofnium,” said Maud. “No, Boulder, I'm not going to ask him how hard he can get.”

“Oh, hello Boulder,” Ovo commented. “Didn't see your rock pouch there.”

“You reported to him about Boulder and Maud's rock pouch?” Twilight asked Gloomy as an aside. “You must be impressively thorough in your reports.”

“Did I?” Gloomy scratched his head as if not remembering having mentioned it. “I must have, I guess.”

“This may sound crazy,” said Twilight, turning her attention back to the matter at hoof. “But you could just tell them the truth, that we need it to fulfill an agreement with Screwball so we can destroy the Ministry of Magitech.”

“Perhaps,” Starlight's agreement surprised Twilight until she continued. “We could claim one of Trinity's changelings broke her horn while disguised as a unicorn, and so I've targeted her for revenge, and am only using Screwball with the intent to backstab her later. We shouldn't tell them that Screwball will use it to bring Eris back into commission though; maybe say that she'll use it to cleanse some of the radioactive realms left from the mega-spells.”

“Believable,” commented Mercury from her corner. “But would they just hoof over something that valuable?”

“It could be more likely than you assume,” said Starlight. “We only need a tiny sample of something that absorbs radiation and thus can't be used as a weapon. Especially when we're also about to go on a suicidal mission anyway, but either way they'll want something in return.”

“Well,” Ovo said. “The only thing we know 'Princess Platinum' might want would be an addition to her ever-growing harem.”

“We can't give her anypony from Holder, obviously,” said Starlight. “I'll ask Mina if she has any suitable unicorns captive in the stable. Does she like stallions, mares, or both?”

“All the harem members we've spotted outside have been stallions,” said Ovo.

“Oh no, no, no,” Twilight shook her head. “We are not trading her a living pony. We'll find something else she wants.”

“We will not engage in slavery,” said Maud, her voice darker than usual.

“N-not what I meant,” said Starlight, though the awkward laugh that followed said it probably was what she meant. “One might volunteer. After all, it'd have to be a better life than they have here. If her harem is that large, there wouldn’t be a lot to do other than live in luxury.”

“Uh, maybe I could help?” Figment squeaked out the words.

“Yes, maybe you could die,” Crimson grunted. “Save me the trouble.”

“Crimson,” Starlight, Twilight, and Maud all said her name in warning at once.

“You're not impressing me with the amount of cohesion you don't inspire,” Ovo commented to Starlight. “Perhaps you are less like Trinity than I suspected. She’s nothing if not ‘cohesive’.”

“W-Well uh,” Figment stammered with growing nervousness after Crimson’s reprimand. “If you know what she'd like, I could take the form of her perfect stallion, so to speak.”

“They have systems to detect changelings,” said Ovo. “Trinity already tried to get spies in and only managed to give them a herd of changelings to farm magical components from. After that, they made new laws against bringing in outsiders, it was very annoying.”

“Well, but would they work in my... condition?” Figment asked. “The reason Olivia and even Chrysalis couldn't tell I was a changeling was because of the damage to part of my brain. Until it heals, I'll probably be impervious to detection. It'll hurt to change, but if that's what we need to do...”

“And the detection in Ramble didn’t work either,” mused Starlight. “That system had been actively stolen from Unicornians, recently too, so it’s likely what they still use. If you think you can deal with the pain when you expect it, at least.”

“Did Chrysalis not know?” asked Twilight. “She also said the Tranquil we left in Canterlot was a changeling, so I assumed she was covering for you.”

“If neither felt like a changeling to her,” said Ovo. “She likely would have covered for whichever one was alive, just in case.” His tone became even more serious as he looked at Figment in an almost fatherly manner. “Figment. You don't have to risk your life to make up for anything. You've done nothing wrong.”

Twilight had been about to comfort Figment herself. It surprised her that Ovo of all ponies beat her to it, given questionable statements he’d made up to that point.

“The buck he doesn't,” said Crimson.

“Um, Figment?” Mercury asked quietly. “That will regenerate, right? They'll be able to tell you're a changeling eventually.”

“Depends on how often they check,” said Gloomy. “But I'm betting they check regularly after Trinity tried to get spies in there.”

“The doctors in Holder said it wouldn’t start healing a lot until I forced myself to shift a lot,” said Figment. “I probably have a month of leeway at least, and getting out shouldn't be too hard. I'm sure there would be an opportunity to turn into a gnat and buzz off, or hitch a ride with one of their exploration patrols as an inanimate object.”

“Well worst-case scenario,” said Starlight. “We feign ignorance and say he replaced one of our own. You realize Figment, that if they catch on, I have to disavow knowledge of you to save the rest of us, right?”

“I understand,” Figment stood a little taller, as if determined to look brave. “I won't hold it against you if that happens, nor give you away.”

“This is a bad idea,” said Gloomy. “We risk making Unicornia more interested in the world outside their city. Maybe we should wait to see what the Statera scouts come up with.”

“I appreciate their service,” said Starlight, though Twilight wasn't sure why she bothered faking a smile at this point. Maybe from habit.. “But you yourself told us we have to move fast if we're going to counter the power gap between Starlight and Midnight.”

Gloomy was right. This was a bad idea...but Starlight was right too, and it pained Twilight.

Moreover, Twilight had to get into the Ministry of Magitech to get her hooves on that copy of Starswirl's time spell.

“I... agree with Figment's plan,” Twilight couldn't bring herself to say she agreed with Starlight directly. “Though I'm... not exactly comfortable that Figment might have to have sex with somepony he doesn't want to.”

“He's a changeling,” said Ovo. “The chance of him disliking a free hole of any kind is impossibly slim, even if he despises the owner of said hole.”

“He's not wrong,” blushed Figment. “And I imagine she’s probably gorgeous.”

“Though I do have misgivings,” said Ovo. “He has information that Unicornia should not possess.”

“I would die before I would give them information,” said Figment, but sounded like he might be trying to convince himself.

“There’s no guarantee you would have to tell them,” said Ovo. “We have no idea what kind of technology they may have.”

“I would not dishonor his bravery by refusing his offer,” said Starlight. “I'm sure Mercury can whip him up a painless suicide pill just in case.”

“Um... the buck I will!” Mercury blinked.

“I hate to say, but it’s not a bad idea,” Ovo said. “If he’s okay with it.”

“Yes, completely!” Figment nodded. He really was determined to help, and wouldn’t likely be convinced otherwise, so Twilight sighed and held her thoughts in.

“I won’t,” Mercury shook her head.

“You. Will,” Starlight said sternly to her.

“Starlight…” Twilight was tired of holding her back.

“You're getting feisty, Mercury,” Crimson looked impressed even if she'd want Mercury to cooperate on that one. “I'm agreeable to Figment going on any life-endangering mission, though. I'll just have to count voting for him to go as participating in his murder when he flails at it. Then I won’t be breaking my vow to murder males that I buck.”

“You really want me to die that much?” asked Figment, ears wilting.

“I would rip out my own soul gem and smash it if I knew you'd die screaming because of it,” said Crimson.

“Wow,” Figment sat and looked at the floor, starting to tear up.

“Crimson,” Twilight sighed, then turned to Figment and whispered. “I don't think she means that.”

“Yeah, she does,” sniffled Figment.

“Stay on topic,” Maud said. “I vote for the plan.”

“Figment,” Mercury sighed, patting Figment's shoulder when he started crying. “You don't have anything to prove to Crimson.”

“I do,” Figment shook his head. “But that's not why I'm volunteering. I... I don't even understand it myself, but I... I want to keep her safe. And she won't be safe with Trinity at large.”

“Come again?” Maud tilted her head.

“With any luck,” said Crimson. “He won't cum ever again.”

Twilight wished that Crimson would stop that, but she was too exhausted to argue further. She'd signed off on the plan too, so she would be responsible the same as everyone else.

“I'm glad Twilight isn't going at least, then,” said Gloomy. “I'm not fond of her leaving somewhere I can't guard her. And yeah, I agree with the plan as well if Twilight and Ovo do.”

“Thank you, Gloomy,” smiled Twilight. “But I'm not fond of not going.”

“If he insists that he volunteers, then yes,” sighed Ovo. “But it seems safer to have Chrysalis do it. She is back at Holder, yes? My understanding is that she’s the least detectable changeling in existence, and a great deal more capable of taking some of them with her if it comes to that.”

“I doubt she would volunteer,” said Starlight. “And we don’t have time to be running back and forth with things on a timer.”

“So what do the rest of us do while you're all doing that?” Gloomy asked.

“Perhaps we should head back first,” said Maud. “With Olivia's body and the evidence for how she died. It may be best if Starlight is not there during the initial explanation.”

“Good point,” nodded Starlight. “You can go into Holder before me to explain things and tell me if anything is up over the PCB when I’m in range. Also… any changelings that want will travel back with you. Initially they’ll stop at Ramble, and can hopefully get whatever procedure Olivia used to make her own hive immune to Trinity’s detection. Then depending on what Ramble wants, they can either stay there, move into Stable 5, or head to Holder.”

“How many are coming?” asked Twilight.

“I’m not certain how many,” said Starlight, which Twilight assumed meant ‘a lot’ and she was worried about Twilight disagreeing. “It shouldn’t matter, since they can shift into very small things or hide in Crimson’s book, and they’ll bring their own food for the journey, which can also be hidden in the book.”

“Are we sure that we can trust all of them that come?” asked Twilight. “Considering the way they were living here, please take precautions.”

“All needed precautions will be taken,” Starlight assured. “No need to be racist.”

“I was not being…” Twilight growled, but bit her tongue, knowing Starlight wanted to annoy her.

Starlight stared at Twilight for a long moment, then looked at Maud.

“Maud,” Starlight said. “You will take extra care to guard Twilight on the way back. If something were to happen to her, it would likely be blamed on me given our disagreements, and I can’t afford more suspicion.”

Twilight nodded, caught off guard and at least partially impressed. But she was also suspicious at how contrary it seemed to Starlight’s degrading personality. She and Gloomy would have to be careful themselves, in case that was part of a ruse.

“It seems we’re in agreement then,” Starlight smiled when no one else spoke. “Since we’re not in a hurry to get back, you can also camp once a day on your way back.”

As if Twilight wasn’t suspicious enough of her agreeableness.

“I'll find out where the nearest Unicornian patrol is and get you in touch with them,” said Ovo. “Realistically it will take around a week to get an audience, but it should take about that long to get to Unicornia as well. The area around it is fairly clear of monstrosities due to their patrols, but still rough travel.”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” said Starlight. “I know you’re not sure of us yet, but we’ll prove that you can be.”

“We’ll see; I'll head back and brief the others,” said Ovo, glancing at Figment again before disappearing in a flash of teleport magic. Twilight wished she knew how he was able to teleport from city to city despite the interference, but it had to go at the bottom of her list of things to figure out for now.

50. Power Play

Date: Monday 11/21/2287
POV: Starlight Glimmer
Unicorninan Territory

The road from there to Unicornia, once Manehattan, was safe compared to where they'd been. Neither Midnight nor Trinity’s territories went so far north as there was little strategic value and neither wanted to chance encroaching on Unicornia. The railroad north was home to raiders, but they didn't have to go that route. They went east right through the burned out forest on no particular path.

Normally trekking through raw wasteland would be a bad idea due to unnatural wildlife, but closer to Unicornia, their patrols had slaughtered anything dangerous. It was ironic that one of the safest places in the wasteland was next to the most dangerous faction's city.

Starlight trusted Crimson enough to store the equipment and food in her book, but not enough to sleep inside it, and certainly not enough to let Figment sleep inside it, so they had sleeping bags for that. Otherwise during the day, they made good time by taking shifts and having one pony at a time carry the others in Crimson’s book. It allowed them to trot faster without worrying about wearing themselves out, so they didn’t have to stop except to sleep.

A day from the city, Starlight saw it on the horizon, bright and gleaming like a giant black pearl, the opaque energy shield hiding the city. This was why they knew so little about them, and Starlight wondered what Unicornian citizens knew about outsiders other than them being inferior.

Starlight stared at the distant city as she trotted, carrying only the book in her saddlebags. She looked forward to seeing the city, but worried too. Unicornia’s shield was four times the size of Canterlot's, which itself required the CME system to power it. Yet from what Starlight knew, the power required for doubling the size of shields was around ten times. Even if they stripped components from Canterlot’s CME, how were they squeezing 100 times the energy from it? With such frightening technology, did they even need a CME?

Crimson chuckled from within the book, as Starlight insisted they keep an open audio link to what was going on inside of it. Poor Ink Blot whimpered, and Starlight hoped they weren’t about to start torturing that thing again. If they did, she’d have to listen to her allies argue about whether or not to do it and how much.

Starlight picked up the book with her magic to look inside. Ink Blot had run to Mercury and was hiding behind her while Paper Cut huffed in annoyance and Crimson looked bored. Figment was more productive, scanning through pages of notes on his pipbuck about the 'character' he was playing, Steel Anvil.

Currently Figment was in the form of a strong black colt with gray-streaked mane and tail with bright green eyes. He'd taken the form based on a description Twilight gave him of the historical Princess Platinum's husband, with enough differences not to be suspicious. His cutie mark was a heart superimposed over a female sex symbol, and he had aged down enough to be closer to Platinum’s rumored age preference.

Princess Platinum would know the history of the civilization she named her city after, so she'd recognize who he favored. And from what little they knew of her personality, she might think it was fate that she found such an addition to her harem.

So far, it worked out. When they contacted a Unicornian patrol by radio, they showed them Steel's image and said they intended to offer him as a gift. When the patrol forwarded it to Platinum, she agreed to an audience before Starlight even explained what they wanted. With luck, Platinum's apparent tendency to think with her hole instead of her head would make this easier.

“Steel Anvil?” Starlight called Figment. She'd made everyone use his fake name so no one would accidentally say Figment or Tranquil while in Unicornia. “Do you think you've learned that information? And made sure it's encrypted on your pipbuck?”

“Yes,” said Figment from inside. “I'm a stallion that just turned 13, whose parents want me to work at the PUB, but am still virgin due to the ‘unfair’ age of consent laws in Holder and no unicorns my own age being interested. I found an image of Prince Platinum in a book, and realized I favored the historical Princess Platinum’s husband. I’ve been obsessed with Unicornia since. I jumped at the chance to be offered as a gift to lose my virginity to my distant crush, and to avoid the horror of having to have sex with lesser species as a PUB worker. The hardest part will be pretending to be a bad lay like a real virgin.”

“Good,” said Starlight, taking the papers with her magic. “Your cutie mark should explain if you're not too terrible a lay. Just remember to destroy anything that's written down before we arrive. They might catch on and ask to search Crimson’s book.”

“Crimoire,” corrected Crimson. “And at least the trap isn't pretending to be a mare now. If he does that again, I’ll gouge out his eyes with my dick.”

“Sorry,” Figment habitually apologized, but also blushed at the idea.

Now that those two were talking, Starlight kept a closer eye on the page as she trotted, wanting to be ready if Crimson popped. She didn’t think she would, since she wouldn’t want to be on Starlight’s bad side when she was the leader that would give Crimson what she wanted, but it was a good idea to watch anyway.

“Why do you like me?” Crimson asked when Figment looked away. “I want to kill you, you know that right? I know males are brutally stupid, so should I demonstrate in detail what that means?”

“Crimson, stop it,” Mercury muttered, laying on her belly as she petted a snoozing Ink Blot. She spent most of her time in Crimson's book, since she still couldn't walk far without hurting, and with recent events had gone from naive to informed and then settled on 'sick of it'.

Starlight had been sick of it for a while already. She felt like she was foalsitting these buffoons, always dealing with antics. The list of those she would get rid of as soon as they were no longer useful was getting long.

At least she didn't have to worry about Twilight's whining for now. If her luck held, she wouldn't have to hear that again. That was refreshing, at least.

“Why don't you care?” Crimson asked Mercury. “This asshole pretended to be your best friend after fucking Tranquil and leaving her to be murdered.” She tsked. “I bet you've already fucked him, haven't you. Better keep him sated, because if he touches Maud...”

“That's not what happened,” Figment shook his head and wiped away tears with one hoof. “I would never leave her to die.”

“He also saved her in Everfree,” said Mercury. “Lost his other friend rescuing her, then kept her safe all the way to Holder. Do you think she'd have lived that long by herself?”

“We'd have rescued her ourselves if he hadn't dragged her out of there,” said Crimson.

“You would have found her in Everfree in PIECES,” Figment surprised them all when he raised his voice. “Me and Delusion rescued her from guards that were gang-raping her and had been ordered to not stop until she was dead. She would have been tossed out with the garbage by the time you got there had we not created a distraction and nabbed her.”

“Why the buck should we believe you?” Crimson asked, but with less force than before as she turned away. “Why are you so obsessed with me forgiving you anyway? It'd be easier to take the self-preservation route and kill me in my sleep, you know. No one aside from Not-Midnight would miss me.”

“I know I wouldn't,” Mercury said. She covered her head after, so it was hard to tell if she regretted saying that, but it surprised Starlight that she'd reached a point where she could say it at all.

“Huh,” Crimson peered at Mercury. “Welcome to reality, I'm proud of you for finally catching on. Keep going; it'd be delightfully ironic if you were the one that murdered me.”

“Stop it, all of you,” Starlight said. “We're not here to listen to you all bicker like foals.”

“Like foals?” Crimson smirked. “You think foals bicker about this sort of thing?”

“What will you do if we don't?” Mercury started crying now as well. “Kill us, like you did Kyo?”

Starlight took a deep breath, pausing her trot and looking hard at Mercury on the page. The unicorn looked very nervous as she looked away from Starlight, yet she didn't seem to regret it as much as she should have.

“Excuse me?” Starlight's voice went from annoyed to deadly. “I told you...”

“That you'd murder my friends, including Crimson and Tranquil, if I told anyone, yes,” Mercury shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Apparently she was even more done with this than Starlight. “But I didn't just tell anyone that didn't already know, did I? You think I'm stupid?”

“Not as much as before, maybe,” chuckled Crimson. “She's not wrong though, even if she's giving Figment a pass for being a part of that conspiracy.”

“You mean she gave Steel Anvil a pass,” corrected Starlight. “And no, stupid isn't the word I'd use. More like suicidal.”

She walked to a rock crevice and placed the book inside to hide it, half open so anyone that left would fall outside of the crevice.

“Pull me in, Crimson,” Starlight ordered, then glared at Mercury as soon as she was there.

Mercury didn't look back at Starlight when she was pulled in and trotted up to her, but Ink Blot scampered to her favorite hiding place under a table. Mercury sat on her haunches facing away, tapping her front hooves together nervously. She definitely regretted saying something stupid, but not as much as she would.

“You’ve been nothing but trouble lately,” Starlight sighed, sitting up and folding her front legs. “You wouldn’t even make a suicide pill for Steel even after he agreed that having one was needed. I suppose threatening doesn’t shut you up anymore, does it, and that’s an issue for me.”

“Are you going to kill me now?” asked Mercury quietly. She started to shiver as if every instinct told her to run. If they weren’t in the book, she might have tried to gallop back to Stable 41 on her own.

Starlight had to think about her question, though. She actually didn’t want to, but she really had to at this point. Mercury didn't say it in front of anyone that didn't know this time, but her increasingly bold personality ensured she would eventually if she hadn't already. On top of that, feeding Crimson another victim, especially one she’d expressed interest in killing for fun before, would only make her and perhaps even Paper more loyal.

“Yes,” said Starlight. “Yes I am. I'm going to cut my losses with you.”

“F-fine,” Mercury tucked her muzzle beneath her front hooves and cried quietly. “Can you at least return my body to Stable 27?”

“I doubt they’ll want to see your body,” said Starlight darkly. “Crimson, Paper, you have my leave to do whatever you want with her. Take as long as you want to kill her so long as she’s well-hidden when others are about, but she is not to leave this book alive.”

“Bout time,” smirked Paper Cut.

Though Crimson was strangely quiet, sitting on her haunches with her front legs folded and seeming to ponder deeply. Starlight guessed about how to do it, and she could see Mercury's blood run cold just looking into her eyes, seeming to lose focus as her breathing increased.

“I’m your friend, Crimson,” Mercury squeaked, apparently not having caught on yet that Crimson would get off on that.

“Stop it!” Figment screamed. “Do you honestly think I'll keep helping if you let her do that?”

“Yes, I do,” Starlight said confidently. “Because you don’t want me to hoof you over to Crimson too once you’ve lost usefulness. Besides that, as obsessed as you are with gaining her forgiveness, you won’t get in her way.”

Crimson gave Starlight an unusually irritated look, then sighed, keeping her hooves folded. “Damn it… I really want to… been wanting to for a while...”

“Crimson don't,” Figment said, but if he expected that to work, he was more naive than Mercury had ever been.

“You know, as much as you hate it when I throw the word ‘rape’ around,” Crimson pointed out. “You seem awfully chill about hoofing ponies over to me knowing my related habits.”

“I’m not ordering you to do that,” Starlight growled. “And I won’t like it if you do that, but I’ll be keeping the book closed while you ‘work’.”

“Just like back in the day,” Crimson chuckled. “Well a little bit. Ready for a bad time, Mercury?”

“Right, I see what you’re thinking,” Paper chuckled and trotted across the room. “Seems fun enough I guess, I’ll go with it.” The creature opened a trapdoor that appeared on the floor in the corner and fiddled with something within. Starlight didn’t care what it was.

Mercury glanced at Crimson’s grin as tears rolled down her face and her body shivered, then looked over to Paper, but they couldn’t see what she was doing from their angle.

“Fine,” said Mercury in a hollow voice.

“No!” Figment stepped in front of Mercury suddenly. “I won't allow this! And you can't do anything to me! You promised Platinum a gift!”

“So you’re saying that you wouldn’t do what Twilight needs if I do this?” Starlight asked. “You’d be punishing Twilight and friends as much as me if you did. Aren’t you one of her precious ‘Elements’ now?”

Figment clenched his teeth, knowing she had a point. One thing was for sure, if he couldn’t get out of Unicornia on his own, there wouldn’t be a rescue mission.

“Is it because Maud isn’t here?” Crimson sounded like she was really trying to figure out why Starlight exploded. “You never tweaked so much before your lab accident. Now your emotions are like a bratty teenager. On top of that, you’re treating your good luck so far almost religiously, like you honestly don’t believe it could fail you.”

“What happened to you?” asked Mercury, apparently given some hope of survival with Crimson’s comments, but Crimson loved to banter. “You think Twilight will...”

“Crimson, push Figment out, block audio to the outside,” Starlight ordered. “Figment, stay close to the book. You know you can’t find your way by yourself.”

‘If he makes it out of the mission into Unicornia,’ Starlight added to Crimson over the PCB. ‘I’ll give him over to you to do what you want with too.’ That should make her happy.

“Fine,” Crimson shrugged, not nearly as glad as Starlight expected. It was easy enough to push someone out of the book though, and Figment disappeared a few moments later.

Once Figment was out of earshot, she had no reason to hide her intent. Mercury was about to die and Crimson would get off on the idea. Besides, Starlight hadn’t done an evil gloat in a long time and missed it.

“Mina already agreed to eliminate Twilight as part of a deal,” gloated Starlight. “I told Maud to guard her, but since they’ll be stopping for breaks on the way back, Twilight won’t be able to keep from dragging Gloomy off to a hiding place for a quick, disgusting buttbuck. When she does, a changeling will shift into a tiny fly and go into Twilight’s mouth to drop off some poison from Stable 41. It will be far harder to question me when I ordered Maud to guard her and only Gloomy was with her when she died, and both me and Crimson will be rid of her.”

“W-what about Solar?” Mercury was a fool for asking. Starlight might not have thought about it otherwise. “I suppose so. You promised you’d do the same to Crimson and Tranquil last time.”

“Now, Paper,” Crimson sighed, and Starlight didn’t care what that meant.

“She'll either accept both your tragic losses,” said Starlight. “Or she will be able to cross 'giant pike' off her 'things to buck' list.”

“Are you an Empress or a raider?” asked Mercury. “Can you hear yourself?”

Paper moved back to the group, looking more at Starlight than Mercury. It was uncomfortable.

“Stop looking at me like I’m on the menu,” growled Starlight. “I won’t be ogled by someone’s imaginary friend.”

Paper took another step towards Starlight, a smirk on her face. Starlight rolled her eyes, trying to use her telekinesis to push the creature back, only for her magic to fizzle as quickly as her horn lit up. Now that wasn't right. A few more attempts and she was getting very nervous.

“You know, your mind is really slippery,” Crimson said. “You forgot about the defensive device we stole and you ordered me to keep inside my book… which Paper just activated. It’s a good thing you told me to remove Figment, since his magic would work in this field and he might be dumb enough to save you.”

“What?” Starlight blinked and her body felt cold. She couldn't be.

Why would Crimson suddenly betray her when she’d just offered Figment to her so she could keep her stupid misandrist vow about killing males. Her first instinct was to flee the book... but panic set in when she remembered that she didn't know how to do that. Only Crimson could pull things in and out of her own book.

Paper trotted over and stroked a hoof along Starlight's face. Starlight growled and pulled away, but Paper just licked her lips back at Starlight. She backed into a corner, but knew she was too weak to take both Crimson and Paper on here without magic.

“You get careless when you're creaming on power,” Crimson commented. “And you tend to misjudge ponies, like me for instance. Anyone ever told you that? Probably, but you didn't listen.”

“Wait, what?” Mercury blinked. “What's going on?”

“Then again,” chuckled Crimson. “I guess I misjudged myself too. I had no idea how much Twilight’s death would peeve me until just now, and not just because I’m not the one causing it.”

“What?” Starlight demanded. “Crimson get your buck demon off me this instant!”

“You were going to kill me if Mercury talked?” Crimson asked. “And who you thought was my wife too? You would have done it too, I know. If you’re willing to ice a mare as useful as Solar, there's no way you'll let me live once I’ve outlived my usefulness.”

“What?!” Starlight shrieked, spitting as she screamed. “You can't do this to me! I'm the bucking Empress! You'll let me out right now or... or...”

“Or you'll have my fiancee kill me?” asked Crimson as she casually went over to a table full of various tormenting implements. “How likely do you think she is to follow that order? Especially now that we have our way to get at the soul recycler. Have you ever considered… that maybe it’s you that we don’t need anymore?”

“You can't,” Starlight teared up. She couldn't believe what was happening; she had to talk her way out of this! “Y-you... how do you think Twilight will react to this?”

Starlight tried her best to influence Crimson, but it was no use. Crimson's mind was too warped to be susceptible. She looked around for a weapon, but they’d backed her into an empty corner. Paper picked up a metal bar in her muzzle.

“But you just said,” said Crimson. “That Twilight will die on their way to Holder, which will put Maud in charge. And she'll let me butcher ponies, just like yourself, they’ll just be the ones that deserve it instead of the ones that don’t follow her whims. And she won’t threaten to murder me without my consent or complain when I make rape jokes.”

Oh horse apples. Starlight didn't think of it that way. She'd set herself up for this without even realizing it.

“Crimson, no,” Mercury wobbled to her hooves. “Crimson, stop.”

Starlight only felt more rage bubble up when Mercury came to her defense, but she'd use the delay all the same. Starlight continually adjusted her magic back and forth to try to find a frequency to poke through the fizzle field.

“And I thought you weren't naive anymore,” Crimson rolled her eyes at Mercury.

Ink Blot approached Starlight, and at first she thought the little one might defend her, but instead she very quickly snapped a cuff onto Starlight’s front leg. An instant later, a current ran through the cuff and Starlight yelped, collapsing to the floor. So even what was left of Crimson’s ‘good side’ was helping.

“Look, you can't stop this,” Crimson said as she went to a nearby table of 'tools' and grabbed one. Starlight couldn't see what it was yet. “This is my world, and no one in Holder is going to complain that I assassinated Trinity 2.0 to put a pony they worship in charge, especially if I claim her poor judgements contributed to Olivia’s death.”

“What about the mission?” Starlight asked, breathing rapidly as she struggled to get off the floor without success. “You need me!”

“I can negotiate with Platinum better than you can,” said Crimson. “I was her pen pal for decades, so I know exactly how to talk to her. Her ego is even more stroke-able than yours.”

“C-Crimson... you shouldn't do this,” Mercury was still at it.

“Are you kidding me?” Crimson glared at Mercury. “I'm agreeing not to murder you and Figment. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Do you know how big of a step that is for me? I deserve a good kill-buck for sparing you. And why not? This is justice.”

“Justice without love is just tyranny,” Figment said from outside the book, which meant that Crimson hadn’t turned off the audio as Starlight had asked. Figment had heard everything about her plan with Twilight.

“Crimson, please,” Starlight changed her tone. She knew she couldn't trick Crimson, but she just needed to distract her long enough to figure a way out of this. “I-I'm sorry, okay? We can work something out, we can even go back close enough to Stable 41 and message Mina to not hurt Twilight if you want.”

“But they'll be out of range of Stable 41 by then,” glared Crimson. “They can’t contact them until they get to a stable where they can use that network to communicate with them.”

“N-no, not again, please no,” Starlight's begging became more sincere. She strained harder to find a way out. “W-what about Trinity's lair? Only I know the codes!”

“Don't be stupid,” Crimson said. She grinned wider at Starlight's clear panic. “Trinity knows you're out there, and even if she doesn’t, she'd change the codes at least once in the last 200 years.”

“Crimson, please,” Mercury repeated. “This isn't the way.”

“Drama queens, all of you,” Paper rolled her eyes.

Crimson grunted and concentrated. In a flash of light, Mercury disappeared from the book. Starlight had to assume she was ejected.

“Get some sleep,” Crimson called out of the book, then looked at Starlight. “Neat, right? I tested it before to be sure, apparently pushing someone out of the book works with the defensive device on, but not bringing someone in. I assume because canceling an enchantment doesn’t count as using magic, and the book itself isn’t technically inside the field to have its enchantment nullified. Cool right?”

Crimson pulled the tool she'd been hiding behind her to where Starlight could see it, and Starlight's blood ran cold. It looked almost like a horn restraint, but had handles and a bladed area that wrapped around the base of the horn.

As soon as she processed what that was, every bit of rage snapped away to be replaced with pure abject terror. It was a tool for horn removal. Not just cutting a horn, but literally pulling it out by the roots. She’d had them used on unicorns before.

“Please don't,” Starlight begged quietly, dropping all hint of aggression, but who was she foaling? She wasn't getting out of this, and she had nothing to bargain with. She'd let her pride get the best of her and bucked up. Again.

Maybe enlisting the help of unpredictable maniacs hadn't been the best idea after all.

POV: Mercury Shine

Mercury tried to talk to Crimson even after she was expelled from the book, but finally had to close the book so she wouldn't have to listen to Starlight's sobbing.

Crimson didn't think to lob out a sleeping bag or a meal for them though. They found a split between two boulders where they'd be fairly hidden, but it seemed they wouldn’t be eating until Crimson was done.

They tried to sleep, but she found it impossible. It was hard to, knowing what was happening inside that creepy book. Mercury didn't like Starlight, and maybe she deserved death, but not like that. Figment seemed restless next to her as well. He eventually stopped moving so much, laying on his back and staring up at the dead sky, but it looked more like exhausted unconsciousness than sleep.

She knew that there wasn't supposed to be dangerous wildlife nearby, but Mercury still didn't feel safe out here. No one would see them unless they were right upon them, but they wouldn’t see that someone either. It was nerve-wracking.

While he wasn't the bravest hero, Mercury felt better close to Figment, and eventually rolled towards him and pulled closer. Without a word, she snuggled the currently-buff colt. As he lay there on his back, she draped her left legs over him.

“M-Mercury?” Figment whispered. “You okay?”

“S-sorry,” stammered Mercury. “I got lonely, you don't mind do you?”

“Oh,” Figment nodded. “Sure thing, I'm always up for this.”

Mercury pulled closer into the snuggle but felt one of Figment's front hooves hug around her and slide down between her hind legs. She felt his own goods growing plump against her, and realized that the changeling took the snuggle request in exactly the way she should have expected a changeling to take it.

“What are you doing, Figment?” Mercury asked tiredly, but didn't push his intimate hoof away.

“Getting you ready?” Figment got confused at the question. “Should I use my muzzle?”

“Snuggling doesn't mean I want to buck, Figment,” Mercury sighed, but smiled. “I just wanted company.”

“Oh,” Figment slid his hoof away from her nethers but kept the leg around her. “Sorry. You said lonely so I thought...”

“Goodness.” Mercury couldn't help but chuckle. “I didn't know anypony could be so innocent and lewd at the same time. It’s strangely adorable.”

“T-thanks,” Figment smiled, but sighed as his body went limp shortly after as if lamenting his shattered hopes. “Can we maybe later?”

“We'll see,” Mercury hugged him closer, not moving her hind leg from around him. “Actually I bet Solar would like that form too if you showed it to her. But for now... I don't feel right having fun out here with Starlight dying in there.”

“You think she would?” Figment clenched his teeth and tried very hard to not get physically aroused. He failed spectacularly. “I mean… that makes sense, sorry.”

“Thank you for earlier,” Mercury whispered. “You didn't have to risk your life taking up for me.”

“I did a crappy job,” Figment blushed. “I would have missed you though.”

“You did fine,” Mercury snuggled her muzzle against his neck. The poor stallion was almost hyperventilating. Mercury felt bad but had to admit riling him up was fun, and he was awfully adorable like this.

“It's nothing,” said Figment. “Besides... I still stood by knowing they were going to kill Kyo.”

“Did you know Starlight threatened me?” Mercury asked.

“N-no,” Figment said. “I didn’t even know you knew. Crimson didn’t either, I guess, though it surprised me how much it seemed to upset her when she found out.”

Mercury felt something warm against her thigh fur as Figment struggled to restrain his hips from moving. She couldn’t help but chuckle.

“S-sorry about that,” said Figment. “It's not easy to control with a beautiful mare snuggled up to me.”

“It's fine,” Mercury chuckled again, a little flattered at the wording. “It's my fault after all.” She backed off slightly to give him air. “You know, I did enjoy the spa-lings.”

“Heh,” Figment panted. “None of them have as much experience as me. I'm almost 170 years old now.”

“Huh?” Mercury grew still to process that.

“Well um,” Figment explained. “Changelings don't age past adulthood, though there aren't many that make it to my age either. I'm only this old by being a coward. Then I got picked up by Trinity like most of the others, but she only ever had us spying. Then I was caught by Midnight and… guess you know the rest.”

“You're anything but a coward,” Mercury smiled. “You're a big buff knight, just not in shining armor at the moment.”

If he had that much experience, it was tempting, and it probably wouldn’t change their relationship. Mercury was under the impression that it was almost how they said hello in a changeling hive.

Crimson was right; Mercury had become disgustingly straight, but for some reason the tendency no longer made her sick at herself. Or it wouldn't in most situations at least. This would be the first time she did this with a male outside of a spa-ling, and it wasn’t as intimate-feeling when it was their job.

“Oh for Break's sake,” sighed Mercury, pulling herself close again. “You’re too adorable, let’s go. Just stay quiet out here.”

“Yes ma'am!” Figment squeaked.

Date: Tuesday 11/22/2287
POV: Mercury Shine

The next day Mercury awoke to being kicked in the small of her back. Mercury groaned and thrashed briefly atop Figment before her eyes focused on Crimson standing above her with a peeved look.

“Time to go!” Crimson said. “Pry your disgusting wet body off my trap wife.”

Mercury staggered to her feet, helping Figment up next to her. Crimson's angry face glared at her as she rose. Was that jealousy? It would have been scary if it weren't an improvement.

“I’ll walk first today,” Crimson said, then sniffed the air. “By Midnight’s icy dick, you smell more well-bucked than Starlight. Don't touch my wife without permission again. Not her permission, my permission. Got it?”

Mercury nodded quickly as she felt Crimson's magic clench threateningly around her throat, but still couldn't help but smile inwardly at the return to being protective of Figment. Crimson peered at Mercury for not being more frightened, but released her.

“Um, does this mean we're okay?” Figment asked with no small amount of hope in his voice as Crimson helped him load up his own bags.

“Let's get one thing gay,” Crimson said. “Sparing you is not breaking my vow to kill every male I buck, because you're not a male.”

“I'm not?” Figment tilted his head.

“Chryssie said changelings are fertile in both genders,” said Crimson. “And that means your 'genders' are just pronoun preferences because you're all hermaphrodites. But you're going by 'she' from now on in your true form, regardless of how many dicks you have. Got it?”

“Sure, got it,” smiled Figment. He gave Crimson a close hug, but she grunted.

“You smell,” said Crimson. “Take a bath inside the Crimoire, I’ve already eaten so do that too. If you smell like sex when we arrive, we can’t convince Princess Demon Horse that you're a virgin.”

“It'd probably be easier for me to just shift,” said Figment. “That generally burns away any filth.”

“Isn't that still painful?” asked Mercury.

“Yeah but... I want to do something nice for Crimson since she didn't kill me,” Figment chuckled nervously.

That was quite a relationship when 'doing something nice' meant torturing himself when there was an easier route. Though Mercury suspected it was more not wanting to go inside and see what happened to Starlight. He probably didn't want to admit that out loud and risk Crimson changing her mind about if he should die or not.

“I do love seeing you in pain!” Crimson seemed happier. “You can stay out then, but I'll want you to come in with me next time I go in to buck Starlight.”

“Is Starlight dead in there?” asked Mercury quietly. From what she'd learned of Crimson, her wanting to buck Starlight again didn't rule that out.

“Nah, I let her live,” shrugged Crimson. “Or maybe she made an adequate case for her existence, I forget which. If you want a go at her, have at it. Honestly... I want some time out of the Crimoire... yeah, buck you too Paper.”

Mercury was conflicted. Wanting Crimson to kill Starlight was probably wrong, but she also didn't want Starlight let out alive. It wasn't even because she wanted her dead; it was because the moment Starlight stepped out of anti-magic field, she'd disintegrate them or worse.

“Um, Crimson?” said Mercury. “Do you really think even Starlight deserves whatever torture is going on in there? Maybe you should just... finish her off? Like painlessly… if your conscience has grown to that point yet.”

“Aw, you're so blood thirsty,” said Crimson. “I'm so proud of you that I’ll forgive you for insinuating I’ll ever grow a conscience. Do you want to go in and torment her or not?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Mercury sighed. “I'll go in, but only to eat, shower, and see how she's doing.”

“Fine, I'll carry the book,” said Crimson. “If I need help, I'll bring you out so you can be our bullet shield.”

“Not me as the bullet shield?” chuckled Figment, probably finding some delight in his strange crush’s sudden desire not to kill him.

Mercury relaxed to let Crimson's magic take hold of her more easily, and a few moments later, felt herself reconstituted within the Crimoire. She shook the dizziness off and looked around her vicinity.

She was in the same dungeon they usually stood in, the video screen on the wall showing what Crimson saw as she put the Crimoire on her back and trotted towards the city in the distance. She started yammering a story to Figment; she now had many stories to tell him now that she knew she hadn’t told him them all, even ones not about her cut ear. Mercury ignored that.

Starlight was in fact alive and unrestrained, curled up in one corner of the room and facing the wall. She was holding both front hooves on her head, face clenched like she was in immense pain and face stained with tears. She still wore her pipbuck, apparently not willing to remove it.

Paper sorted the torture implements at a nearby table, so apparently Starlight had been given a break. Ink Blot was atop the table, not hiding for once. She smiled and waved at Mercury as she appeared, and Mercury returned it, but then trotted over to Starlight. Mercury’s first sign of how bad the torture was was the smell of urine...Starlight was the last she expected to lose control of bodily functions.

“S-Starlight?” Mercury asked.

Starlight turned to look at her, her face slack and devoid of emotion. As Starlight moved her front hooves off her head, Mercury clenched her teeth at the realization of why Crimson wasn't afraid to let Starlight out of the book.

Her horn wasn't just broken, it had been pried out by the roots like a cork from a bottle. A grotesque bloody hole now adored her head in its place, blackened from where the nerves that had attached it to her brain had been burned out. It looked as if it'd been cleaned to prevent brain-damaging infection, but that was it. Mercury would need to put a patch on it with their medical supplies, at least when she was allowed to.

This was far worse than what had happened to Twilight. Having her horn completely extracted meant she couldn't even learn to use raw magical bursts, and that the pain and dizziness would probably never cease. Unlike with a horn that was merely broken, they couldn’t replace it with cybernetics because that would still need the connecting nerves to exist.

Starlight said nothing. She just looked at Mercury as her slack face turned to abject terror and fresh tears rolled down her face. The unicorn looked delirious, certain that Mercury was here to torment her more. Starlight probably couldn't comprehend that Mercury might not want vengeance in her current state.

“If she doesn't obey, zap her horn hole,” suggested Paper. “Just a tiny spark causes immense pain, and she makes the best noises!”

“Mercy...” Starlight's crying turned to outright sobbing as she backed up against the corner.

“I'm not here to hurt her,” Mercury said to Paper with annoyance, then looked back to Starlight and walked closer. “I just wanted to see if you were... relatively okay.”

“I'm sorry!” Starlight screeched in sheer panic when Mercury stepped closer, bowing low and prostrating herself. “Please don't hurt me anymore, I'm really sorry, I am!”

It was no use, the unicorn was so unhinged by her torment that she couldn't understand what Mercury was telling her. For a unicorn like Starlight to crack that hard...

“What did you do to her?!” Mercury looked at Paper again, stunned at Starlight's change in demeanor.

“Nothing she didn't deserve,” Paper smirked. “Okay, there were a few things she probably didn't deserve, but it doesn’t get fun until you’ve broken the ‘things they deserve’ threshold. Anyway, don't expect coherent conversation out of her.”

“Starlight,” Mercury looked back at her, kneeling in front of her and tucking her hooves beneath her to show that she wasn't aggressive. “I'm not here to hurt you, I swear.”

Starlight seemed to understand a little more, curling back up but still looking at Mercury as if expecting her to lunge.

“I'm sorry... what I did,” Starlight whispered, face clenching in pain as if her head throbbed. “P-please... forgive... no more hurting...”

“I'm not going to hurt you,” Mercury repeated. “And I’ll do my best not to let them hurt you again, but you know I can't forgive you either.”

Mercury understood that Starlight was only sorry because her plan backfired, same as when she got half their party taken by raiders. She pitied Starlight's condition, but she wouldn't let that make her naive. Still, she couldn't bring herself to call her on it.

“You're really missing out on some fun sounds if you don't shock her in the head,” warned Paper Cut. “The magic nullifier is off now, so just a tiny spark from your horn will do it.”

Mercury ignored Paper and looked at Starlight, but then realized that she didn't really have anything else to say to her.

“Well if you're squeamish, you might want to leave,” Paper said, picking up what looked like a shock prod with her magic and walking to stand next to Mercury. “Because I'm about to ram this thing in every hole to compare the sounds.”

Starlight said nothing more, she just shivered and stared at the shock prod with terror etched on her face. She almost squealed, bawling like an infant as Paper got close and covering her horn hole with her hooves again.

“Please don't do that,” Mercury sighed and shook her head, then repeated herself to make sure Paper heard it over Starlight's wailing.

“Sorry,” said Ink Blot from the table, looking a little ashamed.

“Aw how cute,” smirked Paper. “She doesn't want to help in front of you. But yeah, this isn't going to stop.”

“Let Mercury help her to a meal and a shower,” Crimson’s voice came from outside. “No more torment unless I say.”

“Damn it,” Paper Cut rolled her eyes. “Okay, but I’m keeping this thing ready just in case you regrow your balls.”

The monotony of the wasteland was eventually broken when they arrived at the small village ruins surrounding Unicornia. They had long since been stripped of anything useful, so now were mostly the rotted remains of residences. There were broken streets, which at least gave them something to follow, and many old structures that looked like they had once been shops or other businesses.

When in this area, Mercury and Figment walked outside the book, not wanting just one outside in an area like this. Mercury held her telesyringer at the ready with an explosive gas dart loaded, while Figment wielded Zapper. Crimson, on the other hoof, was currently inside her book, which Figment also carried in his saddlebags. Mercury hoped she’d stopped hurting Starlight, and had high hopes after she told Paper to cool it, but was afraid to look inside. Either way, they could really have used Stalright’s magic in a place like this.

“Are you sure we should be on the road?” asked Mercury. “These buildings look like something raiders might inhabit.”

“Not around here,” said Figment. “Raiders wouldn't dare risk camping this close to Unicornia, and if they did, it would be with the understanding that they'd never hurt passing unicorns. There were some small unicorn communities allowed to live nearby, but even those are sparse, many old ones are abandoned like this.”

“That's good I guess,” said Mercury, but then pointed a hoof to graffiti on a nearby wall. “What’s this then? The Children of Novo? We’ve heard of them before.”

It looked recent, a crude drawing of what looked like a shattering sphere with a balefire cloud behind it, and the words “Novo’s children will not forget” beneath.

“Wait, they’re this far inland now?” Figment’s response wasn’t promising. “They’ve been at war with… pretty much every land dweller since the Breaking, angry about an artifact that was destroyed by a CME. They used to be able to change into hippogriffs, but when the artifact was shattered and irradiated, they were stuck permanently as sea ponies.”

“That’s horrible,” Mercury started. “Both what they went through and what they’re doing now. We need to be much more…”

Her words trailed off as the ground shook beneath them, an explosion shattering the quiet wasteland, no more than a few hundred steps ahead of them. It was followed by several bursts of energy gunfire before it was silent again.

Mercury and Figment's first instinct was to hide, so they took cover in the nearest building. It didn't look very sturdy, the door coming off the hinges as they opened it, but they ducked inside the dark structure all the same.

“Oh, excitement!” Crimson's voice made Mercury jump as she was suddenly beside her. “I’m tired of looking at a prisoner you won’t let me hurt, so let's go poke whatever that is with a stick instead.”

“Um, is that really a good...” Figment started, but sighed as Crimson trotted right back out of the hut. “I can never read that mare, but I don’t half love her.”

Mercury clenched her teeth as Crimson ran off, but didn't bother calling after her since she knew she wouldn’t listen. Instead. Instead, she took some comfort in Crimson’s comment about not hurting Starlight and the strange cuteness of Figment’s feelings for Crimson. Mercury rushed out to follow after her, gun still drawn as Crimson sped up to a gallop.

51. Children of the Pearl

Date: Tuesday 11/22/2287
POV: Mercury Shine
Unicornian Territory

As the three ran towards the explosive sound, there was a patrol ahead, four unicorns in Unicornian armor. They had taken cover behind a shattered wall, and it was unclear what from. When they saw movement towards them, they all turned their guns towards the approaching ponies. Mercury and Figment immediately lowered their weapons and raised their front hooves, Mercury pointing at her horn to make sure they noticed she wasn’t one of their acceptable targets. Crimson however kept trotting forward as if nothing was amiss.

“Hold it,” Crimson called out. “We got an appointment. I'm Minister Crimson Prose.”

“Then, Miss Prose,” sneered an armored unicorn stallion. “Perhaps you'd like to get down!”

“I can’t dance for horse apples,” said Crimson. “So I'll lay seductively next to you instead.”

Crimson moved to flop next to one of them, rolling over onto her back and looking up at him with a grin. She wasn't doing a great job of being sexy other than having her legs spread, not with that psychotic face, but the stallion still looked about her south end.

“Hmmph, you’ve always been weird,” the guard grunted, then turned towards the others. “I'm Silver Measure. The other stallion here is Wishful Ward. These two mares are Mythic Dawn and Vengeful Curse.”

Mercury and Figment ducked near where Crimson had haphazardly sprawled out. The way Measure spoke, it was like he knew Crimson already.

“You know me too well,” Crimson sighed. “Neat though, you're still alive. Is that new armor though? Looks… nice? Tolerable at least.”

“Um, I'm Mercury Shine and this is um...” Mercury stammered.

“Steel Anvil,” Figment finished for her, thankfully.

“Right, the gift,” Measure glanced, but shook his head. “I never understand the logic of a stallion wanting to be in a harem, no matter who heads it. Regardless, the Princess got impatient for you and moved up the appointment to asap, so we were sent to escort you. As you can see we ran into issues.”

“Oh, wow,” blushed Figment. “Thanks.”

“That explains why you’re out here,” Crimson tapped her chin but stayed sprawled, glancing to Mercury. “He’s more of an administrative head, I don’t think he’d intentionally enter combat.”

“A peaceful city like Unicornia only needs an administrative head for the guard,” grunted Measure, a leg twitching as if barely resisting giving Crimson a smack.

“Are these raiders?” asked Mercury. “They must be brave or stupid to camp near Unicornia.”

“Please,” Measure rolled his eyes. “As if raiders would show their faces here. We've got a power-armored piss breather on our hooves. We have a teleport dampener so he can’t pop out, and it looks like the stealth on his armor isn’t functioning either, but that won’t stop one from being a huge pain in the plot.”

“I'm sorry,” said Mercury. “Piss breather?”

“He means sea pony,” Crimson said. “Because they piss in the same water they breathe. Clever, right? Sorry, Platinum’s Lesser, they've never had the displeasure of encountering those, so they’re not up on the slurs.”

“Cute,” grunted Measure. “You remember the dumb nickname you gave me after all these years.”

“He hates being under a mare,” Crimson chuckled. “He never says it outright, but I got the idea after a few conversations.”

“Don’t be foolish,” Measure growled. “I was simply offended at your preposterous all-mare stable, as was the Princess.”

“So you know each other?” Mercury asked.

“He was General last I spoke to them too,” said Crimson. “He probably has a soul gem. Good news for you though, Steel. The Princess must think you’re one hot slice of dick to send this guy to escort you.”

“All important citizens have soul gems now, yes,” said Measure. “We were surprised to see you alive though, soul gem or not.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” shrugged Crimson. “We survived the attack, but lost our communications array in the process with no spare parts to fix it. Now… I’m not exactly on good terms with Stable 27, since Midnight attacked and took it over. You probably heard that on the news.”

“What are the um... sea scum up to?” asked Figment. “Isn’t it surprising they're this far inland?”

“Terrorist activities, no doubt,” said Measure. “The one’s barricaded in this building. We’ve already rid the world of its friends. I wanted to get it done with an air strike, but was ordered to take at least one in for questioning.” He shook his head. “They've been more bold lately, even ransacking a village near here. It’s probably a reason she wanted to have you escorted.”

“Hm,” said Mercury. “No knock out gas or anything?”

“We have that,” said Measure. “But it won’t get through the bastard’s power armor, obviously. We think he's low on ammo, saving fire until we get closer and he can get a better shot; then he’ll probably activate the self-destruct on his power armor once he's sure it will take some of us with him. These piss breathers are assholes of the highest degree.”

“Oh of course, sorry,” Mercury probably should have realized that sea ponies weren't flopping about on land without an encasement. “Though I actually have something that might help with that.”

“I doubt that,” Measure didn’t even look to see what she was offering at first.

“Um, my telesyringer,” Mercury pulled her weapon out again, showing it while careful not to point it at any of them. “It teleports the payload and can punch it right through the thickest armor or even a wall if they're against it. I'll just load in a sleeping dart.”

“Interesting,” Measure admitted. “Quite intuitive, though I’m sure you’re not the one that made it. Perhaps we should look into a similar design.” They no doubt could, though it was interesting that a group that considered themselves the master race hadn't thought to. Perhaps they took the more brute force route with technology.

Mercury fumbled as she reloaded the canister, locking in a sleeping dart instead. Of course, now she had to get a shot at their power armored foe, which wouldn’t be easy. She pulled up her pipbuck to see if it showed where he was, and found the bright red dot that represented him near one of the front windows. The Unicornian soldiers were yellow on her pipbuck, and there were several other yellow signals around the building, surrounding their potential prisoner.

Apparently they had them too, as Wishful had one raised watching the signal as well. It was a more advanced looking model, significantly thinner than Mercury's, no thicker than an arm cuff wrapped around their armored leg. The map was projected up above it like a small hologram, not unlike Starlight's model, but the helmet design must have fallen out of favor.

“That's quite an old model,” commented Measure when Mercury pulled up her pipbuck, as if the shoddy technology disgusted him. “Unfortunately, he has one too, so will see the moment we change our position.”

“Does it show elevation?” asked Crimson. “His, I mean.”

“Hard to say,” said Measure. “Sea scum use models not much more advanced than yours, so not unless he stole one of ours.”

Mercury sighed. If Starlight was with them out here and still had her magic, she could have used a signal switching spell to trick the readings on the sea pony's pipbuck. But that was a rather mana-intensive spell; if any of these guards had that much magical power, they wouldn’t be using guns.

Then again, did she really want to help them? She was certain that the Unicornians were the 'bad guys' of any conflict with another race. Yet at the same time, they couldn't defend the sea pony if their mission was going to be a success, and assisting might increase their chances with Princess Platinum. It wasn't like he was going to escape anyway; this would just make sure he wasn’t killed.

“It looks like he's up against the wall,” said Mercury. “Not sure if it’ll go through both the wall and armor, but...”

“Worth a shot,” Measure said blankly. “I just want to get this done so we can head back, honestly.”

Mercury found a gap in the wall they were all hiding behind, very carefully looking through it as she raised her syringer. She watched to make sure she didn't see movement from the window as she aimed at the wall next to the window where the sea pony should be. She fired, the dart sticking against the wall and glowing momentarily as it delivered its payload.

“Did it work?” Figment asked.

“I don't know,” Mercury said, looking at her pipbuck. He hadn't moved, at least.

Crimson stood up and slid next to Mercury, peering at the window herself. She picked up a rock with her telekinesis, tossing it hard at the window and crashing through it. The blip on the pipbuck didn't move.

“Excellent,” Measure grinned. “The fool would have mistaken that for a bomb and dove for cover if he were awake.” Though he’d probably be complementing the same instinct if a unicorn did it. “Good work... go check… um… you, the dart mare.” Apparently she wasn’t important enough for him to remember her name.

Mercury gulped. They would ask her to go check, since as far as everypony else here was concerned, she was the most expendable. She took a deep breath, loading a second sleep dart into her syringer before carefully creeping out from behind the wall. She watched her pipbuck carefully as she approached, watching for movement.

As she got closer and there wasn't any, she relaxed. She crept to the window, peering in and spotting the dim outline of the power armor in the darkness sprawled out on the floor. She fired the second sleep dart against the armor to keep him down in case the first was wearing off, then waved at the unicorns and moved towards the front door.

Lighting her horn, she got a better look at the prone form. The armor encased them, with mechanical hind legs and metal front legs that probably contained the pony's hooves within, mechanical claws on the end of each. The rest was covered with dirt-colored armored plating, though it was dented from use. The previous emblem had been rubbed off and replaced with one of a large cracked pearl with a sea pony circling around it.

“Awesome,” Measure’s voice behind her made Mercury jump. “It's as hard as Platinum’s stomping boots to take these bastards alive. Between this and that buck toy you’re giving her, the Princess is definitely going to like you.”

“Great!” Crimson said behind him. “We can get going then, since I assume you're not going to stop and let me torture the fish.”

“Don't worry,” said Measure, not taking Crimson’s statement as sarcasm as many would, and clearly thinking it acceptable. “Our interrogators will make this bastard suffer more than enough before we make him into sushi. The nerve of these things... you know they don't even just attack unicorns? They attack all land creatures indiscriminately, bucking racists. Weactually care for the sea ponies in Unicornia, giving them food and shelter way nicer than livestock need.”

Mercury peered at him to discern if that was a joke, but the stallion said it with a serious face.

“The nerve,” tsked Crimson. “Thinking they're the master race when they aren't unicorns.”

“Exactly,” nodded Measure.

Even when Crimson had her best sarcastic smirk on, this guy didn’t seem to realize she was joking. Mercury supposed she couldn't expect higher intelligence from a group that made the racism of most ponies out here seem minor. It was a miracle they got so advanced with that level of logic, but she supposed they had 200 years unencumbered by war, and probably had found Ministry of Magitech facilities in Manehattan.

Measure approached and clamped an electronic device to the sea pony's power armor, which made a sound like a generator powering down as it deactivated. Taking a step back, Measure used his telekinesis to pull open the frame, the sea water that kept the occupant moist pouring out as he did so.

He pried out the occupant as roughly as possible, carrying them and the power armor separately as they returned outside. The occupant was a dark blue sea pony with a frilly white mane and fin with lighter blue highlights around the edges. He had wings that looked similar to changeling wings, fairy-like in nature, though Mercury supposed they were more like fins when on a sea pony. They were the same color as his coat but more translucent.

Mercury assumed it was a he at least, since they'd called him one. It was hard to tell with sea ponies since both genders hid their junk behind a dolphin-like slit. She only knew that because Solar had droned on about wanting to buck a sea pony's prehensile penis. Mercury blushed a little at her mind going there in this situation.

“No...” the sea pony stirred slightly as the sleeping potion wore off, blinking bright green eyes. He struggled only a moment, flopping about mid-air, before going limp at the realization that he was out of his armor and held in a magical grasp. “And I'm captured by crawlers... just my fucking luck...”

“Huh, they say 'fuck', like griffons,” smirked Crimson. “Though I guess they don't have enough legs for proper bucking. What do you even do? Wrap around one another like snakes?”

“Shut the fuck up,” the sea pony sighed.

“They say it a lot, apparently!” nodded Crimson.

They walked to a large metallic craft that Mercury assumed was what they had been traveling in when they were shot at by sea ponies. There was some damage to the underside of the steel fuselage, and one of the wings was warped and twisted by incoming fire. The other wing was intact, featuring a swiveling propeller, which would normally be matched on the other side.

The craft wouldn't fly now, but tank treads had folded out from the bottom, so it looked like they could still travel back to Unicornia with it. That was a good thing, because it wouldn't have been easy to carry that power armor the whole way.

There was enough room inside for all twelve of the unicorns that had been surrounding the building as well as Mercury, Crimson, and 'Steel Anvil'. The sea pony armor and occupant were dropped onto the floor, cable used to restrain his front hooves and tail into one bundle. He growled to himself and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

“This is an interesting craft,” Mercury commented as one unicorn moved to the front of the craft and pulled on some controls to start it moving.

“It's one of our unibirds,” explained Measure, chest out as he spoke of their technological superiority. “Since we're not out here bludgeoning each other like Midnight and Trinity, we've been able to develop quite a force. So you don’t have to worry; no lesser race will ever get the drop on us, and the non-unicorns outside will be killed from their own stupidity eventually.”

“Oh, um,” Mercury stammered. “What a relief.”

“Thank horn for that,” Crimson said. “Did you know my wife that I left my stable with was replaced by a changeling? I actually bucked that thing without knowing what it was, talk about disgusting.”

“Truly?” Measure looked like he might vomit. “Terrible! Is there nothing non-unicorns will not sink to?”

Mercury sighed, thankful to Crimson for drawing his attention away from her. She let Crimson exaggerate to him for a while so she wouldn't have to talk. Instead, she looked down at the sea pony.

He'd awoken and they hadn't bothered to gag him, but he still didn't speak. His eyes moved to Mercury when she looked at him, pure hatred etched on his face.

“What's your name?” Mercury asked quietly as Crimson loudly carried on at the others.

“Why do you care?” the sea pony spit out, but then groaned. “Sea Blitz.”

“I’m sorry,” sighed Mercury, unable to keep from apologizing and lucky that none of the others heard her while listening to Crimson and Measure.

Sea Blitz peered at her, confused, then shook his head and turned to stare at the floor. He was breathing heavily, and Mercury wondered if he wasn’t used to breathing with his muzzle. His armor probably had a system to oxygenate and circulate water through his gills, and she hoped being out of the water wasn’t painful for him.

Mercury sighed, looking back out the window of the craft. She could see them growing closer to the domed city, and the ocean behind it. Much of the ocean had a dull green glow to it, as if completely tainted, though the bay itself must have had some kind of filtration system, and she could see a walled area that separated it from the ocean.

She really couldn’t blame sea ponies for being angry if they had to live in that ocean, with the only other choice being to be treated like cattle for whatever components the Unicornians harvested from them.

POV: Crimson Prose
Unicorninan Territory

Did Crimson buck up? It was possible. Taking out Starlight was a risk to be sure. Not because she didn’t think she could get away with it, though; Starlight would have killed Crimson eventually.

It was more because this whole thing made Crimson question herself more than before. Why didn’t she kill Starlight? Sure, even as a broken horn she was more use to them alive, but that never stopped Crimson before. And in this case, it was somepony that deserved death. She’d even stopped tormenting her when Mercury asked, and hadn’t that much to begin with, or at least as much as she was used to tormenting victims.

Whatever. It wasn’t the time to think about that.

Crimson looked forward to seeing the inside of Unicornia, but it quickly became obvious they wouldn’t see much. When the gap in the force field opened, they were led directly into a metallic structure flush with the edge. There, a number of guards stopped the caravan, checking briefly with their Lesser escort before waving them through.

A set of steel gates opened to let them further into the facility. They were huge, at least two hoof-steps thick, and took forever to pull open. On the other side was a long corridor, not unlike the entrance to Ramble, though more metal than stone. It was hard to see what was at the other end, but Crimson’s vision focused on what was just on the other side of the gate.

Oh horse apples. It was an energy field that looked like the one Ramble had stolen and renamed the GRRR. Crimson glanced over to ‘Steel Anvil’ to find that she’d seen it too, and was sweating. Still, it wasn’t like they didn’t know there would be one. She glanced back at Crimson, then nodded and steadied herself, ready to do her best to pretend not to be in pain.

Mercury got the idea too thankfully, she and Crimson standing around Figment to try to hide her inevitable pained expression, and hoping it still failed to detect species as other methods had. When they went through the energy field though, Crimson was surprised at how well she handled it. Her eyes twitched, and she came close to hyperventilating, but she kept herself steady through what must have been agonizing pain for her.

That was kind of hot. Crimson needed to get one of these things.

“Oh, really,” Measure growled as he looked at his pipbuck. He glanced at the three visitors, and for a moment Crimson feared that their system detected Figment, but after a moment he shrugged. “I’ll let her decide, if we must.” He flicked his pipbuck off and turned to face forward again.

Their vehicle drove further down the corridor, which went on for a few hundred more hoofsteps. Crimson assumed that this entrance was specifically for visitors to take them directly to wherever guests were supposed to go and nowhere else.

At the end was a large gate, where their tank stopped. Measure went first, dragging the sea pony and armor behind him. The gate clicked open as he placed a hoof on it, sliding apart and allowing them into the room beyond.

It appeared to be some kind of audience chamber. It was spacious, but probably not enough for it to be the primary throne room. If Crimson had to guess, it was specifically built to intimidate visitors that came to chat. It had gothic columns, a lot of ironwork decorations with sharp edges, and a raised throne on the other side, a full story over the rest of the room.

The royal guards didn’t make it less intimidating. They dressed in dark red armor with the Unicornian crest on the chest plate, shaped like a unicorn head of course. They stood on outcroppings along the wall another floor higher than the throne, all wielding high powered rifles, possibly energy weapons of some kind, which they kept trained on the unarmed visitors.

The self-styled Princess Platinum sat upon the throne, an obsidian seat that couldn’t have been very comfortable. She sat on it with overdone posture, staring down at them. She looked as Crimson remembered, a light pink pony with silvery curls and deep red eyes. She wore a royal purple cape with fluffy white lining, an iron chest plate, and iron gauntlets on each hoof. Her crown had jagged spikes with purple gems inset into each plate.

Crimson always thought it was pathetic that she magically dyed herself to look like a historical figure, though she always was a bit prissy and dramatic even before the megaspells hit. She’d even dyed over her normal cutie mark of three gems with a scepter mark.

Though she wasn’t racist back then. Well, maybe against dragons and non-pony races, but that wasn’t much different than usual. A lot could happen after 200 years with this crowd, she supposed.

Crimson would keep her past identity under wraps though; the last thing she needed was everypony realizing that Platinum was the former Minister of Morale. She was sure Starlight and possibly other relics would remember that Crimson had been on good terms with her. Many had suspected they were bucking, and while Platinum was too straight for that to have happened, it might put undue suspicion on Crimson with certain factions.

Platinum peered down at the three as they entered, surrounded by their escort. Measure passed Sea Blitz on to another pony, who carried the sea pony and his armor back to who-knew-where to be tortured, a sight that Crimson would sadly miss. Maybe Figment would see and fill her in on the juicy details later. Platinum ignored this, no doubt having been informed of that arrival, but more concerned with the group.

“So it really is you, Minister Prose,” Platinum smirked, her voice booming with each word. “It’s been a long time, but I thought Minister Starlight was supposed to be speaking for your group. Where is she?”

Crimson bowed, though she only remembered to after seeing her companions and the guards bow as well.

“Nice to see you too, your Majesty,” Crimson avoided smirking back and put on her best look of fake concern instead. “I fear Starlight has fallen victim to a vicious attack by… inferiors. Mud pony raiders caught her unawares and ponynapped her. We did rescue her, but they… extracted her horn. Not just cut off, but literally pulled it out by the roots. She won’t be in any shape to speak for some time.”

“Monsters,” said Platinum, voice dripping with venom. “Will our inferiors stop at nothing to drag us down to their level?”

“Not any time soon, sadly,” Crimson played along, similar to how she did when speaking to her all those years ago. “Anyway, I have been chosen in her stead since me and you have… history.”

“Indeed we do,” said Platinum, frowning a moment, ears half-flattening before returning, as if not wanting to remember her previous life. “I’m informed that your communications array was damaged beyond repair; pity, but I’m sure we can network now that you’ve resurfaced.”

“I look forward to it,” Crimson said. “Though I’ll be at Stable 11 now due to the attack on Stable 27.”

“Of course you look forward to it,” Platinum rolled her eyes slightly, but the booming voice didn’t change. “All would cherish an audience with the one destined to bring peace to the world.”

Crimson thought she might have been more suspicious, but she seemed to have developed such a messiah complex that she didn’t even consider that she could be fooled. Instead, she was distracted by their ‘gift’, her face changing to a wide grin as if putting on a new mask. Crimson expected Platinum to come down to take a look at her new toy, but instead Figment glowed sparkling blue as Platinum’s magic picked her up.

Figment squeaked as she lifted off the floor, giving another bow mid flight as Platinum carried her closer to float mid-air in front of her. The pretend stallion didn’t struggle, but shivered violently. It was a good thing that the fear was indistinguishable from nervousness around a potential mate, to most ponies at least.

“P-Princess, it’s an honor to meet you,” Figment stammered.

Platinum ignored her statement for a moment, instead turning her around in mid-air in front of her, getting a look at every angle. She got an extra long look at the rear angle, tilting her upwards to look underneath and licking her lips at what she saw there.

“You really do favor him,” Platinum smiled, her voice quieter for a moment. “No need to be nervous though, darling. I think you’ll fit in well with the rest of my harem, unless they get jealous. A handsome stallion like you will be scoring with me quite a lot, I assure you, so long as you know your place.”

Crimson heard Measure behind them sigh as if Platinum’s demeanor annoyed him, but he didn’t dare complain. Given his demeanor, Crimson was surprised he hadn’t tried to usurp the throne yet. Before arriving, she’d expected him to be dead after trying and failing.

“Oh definitely!” Figment nodded. “I um, definitely know my place, Princess… assuming it’s beneath you… stepping on me maybe?” Figment seemed much less nervous once Platinum triggered her submission fantasies.

“Good,” Platinum lowered her down, dropping her when she was still several hooves off the floor so that she almost collapsed on the hard marble surface. “Are you bisexual? I like my stallions to get a bit faggy with one another for my amusement.”

“Well, I can’t be sure,” blushed Figment, getting into her virgin role. “But I would be anything for a beauty such as yourself.”

Crimson had to wonder if she was working some changeling magic on purpose or by instinct, because Platinum started to look a bit drunk. Or maybe she was just like that. She’d always been a little easy, and including sex as part of a business deal was definitely nothing new to her.

“Good,” Platinum said, the boom returning to her voice. “General Measure, escort Whats-His-Name, my new plaything, to the harem chambers. I’ll have him brought to my bed chambers tonight.” She turned back to Figment. “Nothing beyond kissing with the others until then. Your virginity is mine. Understand?” She added with a bit of disgust. “It’s a crime that such a cutie got so old without losing it, but I won’t argue with the opportunity. Now go.”

“O-of course!” Figment nodded. “I would have it no other way, my Princess! I can’t wait!”

Measure approached Figment gruffly, his blank face making Crimson wonder if the duty offended him. Maybe the Princess knew it did and gave it to him for that reason, for all Crimson knew; she wouldn’t put it past her.

Figment took a step back as if somewhat intimidated. She took a deep breath as Measure pointed her towards the door where Sea Blitz had left through, following behind her as they left.

Crimson got a knot in her stomach, but tried to push it down. These new feelings of concern for those around her made her very uncomfortable. She hoped nothing happened to Figment; it’d be embarrassing to cry over two dead lovers in a row.

“I see that you approve of the gift,” Crimson said. “That’s good. Since you’ve accepted it, we can explain what we...”

“I did not accept him,” said Platinum. “I took him as my own, which I would have done even if he was stupid enough not to be smitten with me. If your request amuses me, I will also fulfill it, but if it doesn’t, I will keep him and send you away. If you’re lucky. Now continue.”

Crimson supposed this moron needed to feel like she was intimidating for this to work. It worked on Mercury, who took a nervous step back, and Crimson pretending that it worked on her by stammering out her next words. Platinum was definitely no Midnight though.

“F-forgive me,” Crimson said. “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. I’m sure you’ve read the request since we contacted you, and basically that’s all there is to it. We only wish to get a tiny amount of hoofnium, which we will use to trick Screwball in assisting us with our mission to the Ministry of Magitech in Fillidelphia. Once there, we will do our best to destroy the Ministry, which will benefit both you and ourselves.”

“You’re insane,” said Platinum. “You’ve spent too much time around lesser races. You think that your meager technology will do anything but get you killed on such a mission? I don’t suppose that’s my problem though. What you ask is innocuous enough, but will still not come without a cost.”

“Name your desired price, of course,” Crimson bowed and attempted to feed Platinum’s ego more. It was too easy; Platinum probably thought Crimson would do anything in hopes of being invited to live here. “It would be our pleasure to do whatever we can.”

“First,” said Platinum. “We will be lacing the hoofnium with a slow acting drug that we believe will slowly kill a draconequus, but be undetectable until after the fool has helped you.”

“A brilliant idea!” nodded Crimson, but inwardly knew Platinum had spent a few centuries too long in her echo chamber here, falling in love with her own voice and sweet little lies. She believed she could do things no one else could when she was really just a waste factory like everyone else, just a particularly noxious one polluting minds.

Mercury looked nervous, but Crimson wasn’t worried. Platinum was underestimating Screwball, because she couldn’t fathom that even a chaos spirit might be superior to a mortal unicorn. All they’d have to do is tell Screwball about the taint and she could account for it, if it would even work to begin with.

“Of course it is, darling,” said Platinum. “Secondly: Should you survive your insane mission, you will provide us with every piece of information you discover. Agreed?”

“O-of course,” said Crimson. “You show your graciousness in asking so little, and for that you have our thanks, Princess.”

“Very well,” smiled Platinum, then turned to the other guards. “Mythic, provide Minister Prose with what we prepared to give her. Then expel her from this place. I don’t like how she’s staring at my flower.”

Well that was hardly Crimson’s fault. Platinum was on a raised platform sitting on her haunches, but if they got to leave and get this over with quickly, all the better. This couldn’t have gone much more smoothly.

In fact, Crimson would say she did better than Starlight would have, even if it was only because she knew how this one worked. Still, goddesses help Platinum if she harmed one single fur on Figment’s body. Or one single plate on Figment's chitin? Whatever.

Date: Monday 11/21/2287 (a day earlier)
POV: Forgot
Holder

Forgot woke up early to a loud knock on his room’s door, almost falling out of bed at the sudden loud noise. It would take him a long time to break that habit.

He looked beside him in bed, but Dinky wasn’t there. She’d been laying with him as he fell asleep, but never stayed in the room after, instead going to work. Dinky said that Solar had upgraded their energy reactor and now she had to finish work on a city shield powered by it. She was a hard worker, and despite how strange everyone seemed to think he was for shacking up with a tiny dead pony, he felt lucky she’d taken to him.

The knock wasn’t Dinky though, since she had a key. He cautiously got up and looked out the peephole. It was Xander, the creature he now knew was a zebra who took a different kind of interest in him, and Forgot still wasn’t sure why, but he chatted with him fairly often. Still, he didn’t seem dangerous, so Forgot opened the door.

“Ah, hello,” Forgot greeted shyly.

“Forgot,” Xander nodded in return. “May I come in?”

When Forgot nodded and stepped back, Xander entered and closed the door behind him. He walked around behind Forgot, touching the life gem in the back of his neck to check it. Apparently it allowed Xander to know for certain that he wasn’t a changeling, creatures Xander told him a great deal about. He didn’t doubt Xander’s assertions that they were evil, especially when Holder’s resident large changeling Chrysalis shifted into a robot and chased him, only to then cackle maniacally at his distress.

Though he wondered what Xander wanted. He wouldn’t bother checking the gem unless it was important. So far though, most of what they’d talked about had been changelings and Xander asking about how good Forgot’s stealth abilities were. Forgot wasn’t sure how such skills stacked up to a normal pony’s, but he did know that most ponies walked and moved much louder than he did.

“C-can I help you?” Forgot asked, nervously playing with his necklace.

“I have been thinking of talking to you on this for a while,” Xander said. “I have decided I can trust you, but keep this to yourself.”

“Of course,” nodded Forgot. He was mainly happy that there was someone that wanted to rely on him, it made him feel useful.

“I have been working on a gas,” said Xander. “It would immediately reveal any changelings in an area and put them to sleep. I am certain it is safe to use, but Custard doesn’t agree, and we shouldn’t wait for Starlight to return so she can override her.”

“She doesn’t think it’s safe?” Forgot tilted his head. “She seems really nice though.”

“I agree, do not get me wrong,” Xander nodded. “But she is young and does not understand. Unlike us, who know what evils exist and must be stopped.”

“So what would you need?” Forgot asked, shifting about, but it made sense.

“I have become suspicious of a local restaurant owner,” Xander nodded. “After learning he and Chrysalis have sex regularly.”

“I’m pretty sure she does that with a lot of ponies,” Forgot wondered why that mattered. “She kept asking me to, even after I screamed and ran away.”

“Perhaps,” nodded Xander. “However, this is the only one I know for sure. Furthermore, when I asked to test him, he forbade me from entering the building any longer. Now all his workers avoid me, making me suspect they may be changelings too. I have been fairly civil in my demands, so I can think of no reason for their refusal other than my suspicions being correct.”

“Oh, okay,” Forgot nodded, taking the words at face value since he didn’t quite understand. Xander was pretty smart, so he probably knew what he was talking about. “How can I help?”

“I’d like you to sneak a gas bomb into the building tonight,” said Xander. “It’s a harmless gas, it will only transform any changelings into their true form and put everyone to sleep for a few hours. I’d like to have you plant it in the rafters above the main room, so that we can set it off remotely.. Fairly remotely… when the manager is in the main area. Then I could get both him and any of his workers that are out, thus proving my theory. Once proven, I’m sure Custard will allow me to perform interrogations even before Starlight returns.”

“Really?” Forgot wasn’t sure. “Well, I mean, I probably could...”

“Forgot!” Dinky’s voice called from outside the door, suddenly cutting off their conversation.

Dinky unlocked the door and came in on her own. She stopped when she saw that Xander was with him, looking surprised but nodding. He returned the nod but stayed silent.

“Is something wrong?” asked Forgot.

“Midnight is in the market,” Dinky said. “She’s demanding to speak to Chrysalis. I think you said you knew where she’s staying in town?”

“Uh, yeah,” Forgot shivered. “She told me when she… propositioned me… for about the eighth time.”

“I swear, that creature,” Dinky sighed. “Anyway, I’m on my way to the market to help Custard before the poor filly freaks out too much. Could you run and fetch her and bring her there?”

“Um, sure?” Forgot didn’t want to, but didn’t want to say no either.

“Chrysalis?” Xander grumbled. “It should be fine, she knows she can’t replace you with your life gem in place. I’ll get you later for what we were talking about.”

“Um, sure?” Forgot was caught up in the flow of events at this point, so could only nod.

Dinky left again before Xander even finished talking, so Forgot galloped to where he knew Chrysalis was.

POV: Chrysalis

Chrysalis woke up, not from sleep, but from her morning memory sphere viewing. In a way, tormenting herself with that sphere had become an addiction, but it definitely kept her mind on the plan.

It was a plan that she’d had plenty of time to flesh out, but required a gamble with how things would go. It had reached a point where it would either go into the final stretch, or fail miserably. Trinity was a wild card, because Chrysalis didn’t have a good understanding of what she was doing or why. Perhaps they’d find out soon.

She’d done a good job during her visits in Holder to keep up her insane act, making sure no one took her seriously. Or maybe she was actually crazy and just rationalizing a reason; not even she knew for sure.

In addition, there were an awful lot of ponies in Holder willing to let her feed in exchange for her shifting during sex. Once a good amount of ponies figured out that she wasn’t here to kill them, some decided that a freebie with her beat paying at the PUB. She’d tried to show restraint so as to not compete with the local hive, but it wasn’t easy. She’d become used to mostly feeding on one particular pony, and as amazing as that pony was, having a tasteful variety here was more fun than she remembered.

“Miss Chrysalis!” there was a sudden banging on the door of her inn room as someone called for her.

She recognized the voice as that of ‘Forgot’, a newer resident than even her. It was surprising that he’d be here, given most of their interactions so far had been her pranking him by turning into scary robots and creepily following him around. She knew he wasn’t coming to fuck, since he ran screaming whenever she asked him to.

“Oh-ho?” Chrysalis opened the door with her magic as she rolled out of bed. “Did you take a break from boning your favorite corpse to come see me? I heard she had heaters surgically implanted to keep her holes warm for you.”

“Huh?” Forgot tilted his head. “Boning? I didn’t mess with Dinky’s exposed bones in any way, honest! …And um, Dinky told me to get you, or I wouldn’t be here. That Midnight pony everyone is scared of is in the market demanding to see you. Everyone is really freaking out over it… me too, so I’m going to hide until she’s gone.”

“Oh, her,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes. It had been only a matter of time before Midnight got time to check on her here, as the changeling wasn’t being her normal secretive self. It didn’t worry her; in fact she’d looked forward to it, as she was pretty sure of how this would go. She might even get in good with the local hive if she played her cards right.

Chrysalis didn’t waste time walking, instead just tossing on her Luna-skin pelt and then teleporting the short hop from her room to the marketplace. She teleported Forgot with her, despite his stated intent to hide, giving her a bit of enjoyment as he immediately fled the scene. If she occasionally did things just to be mean, maybe fewer ponies would refer to her as ‘reformed’. What a disgusting word.

When she arrived at the market, she found Midnight waiting, though more patiently than she expected. The alicorn had seated herself at an outside table of one of the restaurants, scarfing down hay burgers at an alarming rate. Terrified cooks in the nearby restaurant could be seen frantically cooking more.

Kamikaze laid against her, looking sexy with her shiny new legs, but seeming a little uncomfortable. She had clearly eaten some hayburgers, but more remained on her plate, and belched lightly as she stared at how Midnight scarfed down her own, looking quite impressed by the ferocity. Midnight had one of her hooves reaching over to rub Kamikaze’s thighs, and Kami looked to have given up on pushing it away.

Custard was there too, since she had to be, as the new ‘rock sovereign’ in training. She poured Midnight tea with such shaky hooves that it was a wonder any of it made it into the teacup. Midnight seemed delighted at the poor foal’s horror, and Chrysalis had to admit it was amusing. When finished, Custard took a few steps back from the table, then turned as if she might sneak off.

“Excuse me,” Midnight said to Custard while swallowing a whole hayburger and levitating the filly to be snout to snout with her. “Did I say you could go?”

“But um…” Custard started. “I gotta pee.”

“We have empty cups, and it would entertain me anyway, little miss…what was it again…Cus-” Midnight suddenly let out a clearly-intentional large belch that sent bits of hayburger all over the filly’s face. “-tard, the tasty dessert?” she finished the intimidating question with a smile while setting her down on the table. “Have a seat. I need you within eating range if Chrysalis isn’t here by the time I finish.”

“I know you love scaring things, and I know I’ve been all for it at times,” Kamikaze said. “But keep in mind traumatizing the future leader of your important rock farm might not exactly help production. So no eating or squirting in the squirt please.” It seemed she tried to keep her from going too far in a way Midnight would understand, but Kamikaze was the only one that could have said it so frankly and not worried about being on the nom menu herself.

The teary-eyed Custard went to seat herself atop the table, looking nervously down at her hooves as they played together.

“When did you become such a bore?” smirked Chrysalis at Kamikaze. Clearly ‘fixing’ her programming had done her no favors. “Sadly, I’m here though, so no filly fondue today either way, as if there’d even be room with how you gorge on this junk.”

“I knew you couldn’t hide forever!” Midnight laughed maniacally, going from zero to ham in an instant, standing so suddenly that the table overturned. The remaining burgers and tea fell to the ground as Custard screamed and dove off the table. Midnight stood tall and glared at Chrysalis, while Kamikaze fell over.

Kamikaze gently grabbed the shaking Custard before she started a shrieking fit, sitting on the ground and pulling her into her lap. She whispered something that seemed to calm the filly down while head patting her.

“Tsk,” Chrysalis said. “You act like you found me hiding under a bed or something. I came as soon as I was told you were here. Did you think I’d be frightened?”

“It’s a safe assumption to make,” Midnight said somewhat matter-of-factually, taken off guard that her aura wasn’t having the desired effect on Chrysalis. Emotional manipulation wasn’t particularly effective on emotion eaters. “I assume then that you have a reason that I shouldn’t kill you prepared.”

“You kno-uh, Chrysalis is only here because Watcher told us to keep her here,” Kamikaze stammered while patting the blushing Custard affectionately. Calming the filly down so successfully just further underscored what a bore Kamikaze now was. “Heh, honestly, kinda uh, figured you knew already. Some evil overlord...”

“No need to play hard to get,” Midnight growled at Kamikaze, more flirtatiously than threatening. “You could just play hard.”

“She never plays hard to get with me,” Chrysalis waved a hoof to keep Midnight’s attention on herself. “She’s very enthusiastic in bed.”

Kamikaze smirked rather than contradict Chrysalis’ obvious lie. She then adopted a somewhat nervous expression as if to sell the lie just to give Midnight a hard time. Okay, maybe she wasn’t entirely boring.

Midnight momentarily froze, showing she was definitely unused to this kind of reception, but then grabbed Kami in her magic and slammed her face-up onto Midnight’s seat and roughly sat down on her chest, knocking the wind out of her, leaving Custard to fall off, dazed.

Chrysalis giggled at the pegasus’ punishment, knowing how Midnight treated even ponies she liked. She giggled even harder when the flustered Custard took the distraction as a chance to slink awkwardly towards the nearby outhouse with her tail tucked between her legs.

Midnight glared at Chrysalis again. “I didn’t think you’d be so annoying, but at least you have adequate fashion sense.” They were both wearing alicorn pelts after all, and it didn’t seem to bother Midnight that Chrysalis’ pelt belonged to her old mentor. Of course it wouldn’t, Midnight would have never kept control if her mentor was still able to interfere.

“Look, I’ll cut right to the chase,” Chrysalis decided she’d had enough fun. “I’m only here to assist with the mission against Trinity. I don’t appreciate having my hive countermanded by her failed science project.”

“Yet, you’re helping a different failed science project by doing so,” Midnight looked her in the eyes, angrier the more Chrysalis refused intimidation.

“Yes, yes,” Chrysalis sighed as things got side-tracked again. “We can both agree that Starlight #2 is too unstable to be useful long term, but it’s not an issue, as she’s more a threat to herself than either of us.”

“Hmmph,” Midnight growled, giving up on terrifying Chrysalis, and instead sitting back down, carefully onto Kamikaze’s slightly-scared-looking muzzle so that her nostrils would just barely stick out from under Midnight’s tail. She righted the table with her magic, going so far as to put the tea back into the cup, and stuffed her face with another burger. She continued with her muzzle full. “Get to the point.”

“Finally,” Chrysalis smiled. “Put simply, I believe that you have Trinity’s changelings in your ranks. While I don’t know exactly which ones without getting closer, I’m quite sure.”

Midnight grumbled and peered at Chrysalis. “Watcher said Trinity can’t get them that far from the Ministry yet.”

“I’m sure Watcher did,” smirked Chrysalis. “And I may have even provided Watcher that information for fear of what would happen to them if they were outed within your ranks by you. However, I’ve examined the sprite-bot network and found that Trinity’s hive-link is being piggybacked on it with an encrypted channel, meaning it can reach anywhere within range of one.”

“And of course we can’t take down the network without drawing Skyla into the conflict,” grumbled Midnight. “So why tell me now? I’m assuming you offer your services in exchange for something. That’s usually the reason people approach me of their own free will.”

“How perceptive,” Chrysalis nodded. “I can easily find them if I am in person at your base. You can keep me under constant guard, but I need to be there to find them.”

“And here comes the catch,” Midnight said, before scarfing down her whole cup of tea, crunching down the tea cup too, and belching.

After returning from her very quick break, Custard very nervously came over and placed another tea cup on the table, which she filled while listening. She then carefully went behind Midnight to look at Kamikaze’s snout with a look of concern, as if taking a moment to make sure she could still breath under there, but soon recoiled in disgust, probably having seen Kami was fine but enjoying things more than she’d like to let on.

“Any changelings I find will be turned over to me,” said Chrysalis. “I will separate them from Trinity’s hive, and provide you with the information on her that I obtain from questioning, but they are to leave with me without being harmed or experimented on. Exceptions will be made if some wish to join your ranks in thanks for sparing them, which some will rather than go with me, but they are still not to be harmed.”

Midnight peered. Clearly she didn’t like the deal, but had everything to gain by cooperating. It was a deal that Chrysalis couldn’t have convinced her of at any other time, but now that Midnight was desperate for help…

“I don’t know why you are so sure we have changelings,” Midnight said while grunting and shifting her weight atop Kamikaze, making a smacking and sputtering sound indicating Kami must be doing something down there. “After all, if they are there, they could have used the information they gained to destroy us long ago.”

“I’m sure because I know Trinity can,” said Chrysalis. “And if she can, she has. The reason why they have not taken distinct action, and why they are kept separate from her mutant forces, is two things I hoped to learn from them, not to mention if there’s a specific link between her and the sprite-bot network that can be destroyed. Honestly, Trinity should have overran you long ago; it’s like she’s occasionally setting herself back on pur-.”

“And if there are no changelings in our ranks?” Midnight asked, her face tightening in anger at the implication that Trinity could have already.

“Yes, yes,” snorted Chrysalis. “If it turns out to be hogwash, punish me. But one more thing… this deal applies to any changelings I find anywhere, whether they be Trinity’s or not. You will not punish me, nor anyone else unrelated to Trinity, for hiding them up until now. I’ll provide you with any useful information they have, but they are to stay under my protection and should not be revealed or harmed should they not directly oppose you.”

“Very well,” sighed Midnight. “Assuming you can ferret out spies in my ranks, I will agree to turn over all changelings to your care, unharmed. I reserve the right to cancel this deal, however, if I find that you have a positive relation to Trinity. Similarly, sparing them relies on them doing nothing more to oppose me after you free them.”

“Agreed,” Chrysalis smiled. “Which means the changelings currently living in Holder but not serving Trinity will not be bothered by you.”

Midnight blinked, then slowly started to chuckle, starting soft and eventually getting even louder than the moist sounds coming from beneath her. “Heh…heh…aah…mmm, yes, I know which ones you mean now…so that’s why they’re so good at what they do. If you’re right that Trinity’s reach is greater than I believed, I’ve truly been ruling out too many.”

It felt good to surprise Midnight so immediately after the deal. Fortunately, she was the only one in earshot currently that didn’t already know about the hive.

“If you would,” Chrysalis turned to Custard, who was rather slack-jawed at the turn of events. “Let the non-Trinity hive in town know that they are now under protection and that Midnight will not harm them so long as they do not oppose her. Let them know that they still aren’t expected to interact with me, I will continue to protect them regardless.”

Midnight rolled her eyes while the sounds from Kamikaze became more akin to slurping. “As if I wasn’t protecting them before as part of this city. I might even visit them since you got my curiosity peaked, maybe no longer forbade my minions from visiting too. I’ll be careful not to break any of them permanently though.”

Chrysalis grumbled, supposing going there to partake was the only way Midnight had left to torment them without breaking the agreement. She supposed it’d have to do.

“Well then,” Chrysalis continued to Custard. “I’ll be checking in around 2 pm each day at the statue in town, to see if the others have arrived back yet. I suspect they’ll want to start the mission quickly when they do.”

“I-I think it’ll still be a while,” Custard said, but nodded.

“I suspect they’ll return more suddenly than anticipated,” Chrysalis smirked, then turned to Midnight. “Time for us to head to Midnight Castle, yes?”

52. Double 0 Figment

Date: Tuesday 11/22/2287
POV: Figment
Unicornia

Figment couldn’t be happier to get out of there. It wasn’t easy to pretend his head wasn’t throbbing from having walked through their energy field. Luckily, it didn’t hurt as much as the one in Ramble, or maybe he had just gotten more used to pain.

He also couldn’t deny that he was looking forward to fucking Princess Platinum that night. She was a conniving evil twat, but an incredibly hot conniving evil twat. She was obviously the dominant type, and Figment just loved a female prone to pinning males down. Maybe that explained why he’d taken to Crimson so well.

Though it was odd that she didn’t grab him immediately after the meeting, instead waiting until night. After she pushed up the meeting in anticipation, he expected to be nabbed pretty quickly.

Just being here in disguise was invigorating, though, and Figment wondered if this was how changelings in the old days felt when spying on ponies. He wasn’t sure, but he’d like to think he had an important job here and could glean valuable information for his friends. He wanted to do his best to impress them, especially Crimson.

It turned out there wasn’t much of a walk to the harem chambers, though the method of travel confused Figment at first. The door they went through led not to a hall or another room, but to a small area no bigger than a walk-in closet. There were pseudo-stone walls and a glowing bluish floor and roof, a control panel on one side the only thing breaking the monotony.

It took longer than it should for Figment to realize it was a teleport pod. His escort punched some buttons on the panel with his magic, and the whole room suddenly filled with intense light. Figment was blinded for a moment, but when he blinked it out it appeared that they hadn’t moved at all.

When the door opened again, he realized they were in a completely different closet that looked the same. He wondered how many of these pods there were in the city; it’d certainly make it easy to get around, and also to track everyone’s movements.

Figment didn’t even get a good look inside before Measure coaxed him out of the pod into the chamber beyond. The guard didn’t touch him though, with hoof or magic, as if he didn’t want to, shooing him out instead like a bug, a more appropriate action than he realized.

“Remember, no bucking the other toys until after she’s had you,” Measure warned. “Ask the head colt about the rules. You don’t want to know what happens to the harem colts that disappoint her. Or, more specifically, to their balls.”

With that, Measure closed the door again. There was a burst of light from within, Figment assuming he went back to the throne room. What a nice warning though; for the first time in his life, Figment felt performance anxiety about getting laid, but maybe that’d just help him seem like a virgin.

For the time being though, he turned to get a better look at his surroundings. At the very least it was far more comfortable looking.

Rather than a bunch of sharp corners and ironwork, his area had a plush red carpet with walls and ceiling of smooth marble polished to a shine. The entire room was no less than a hundred hoofsteps squared, spaced out with columns holding up the high vaulted ceiling, lit with chandeliers with soft pink lighting. There were windows along one side, so shiny that he couldn’t see outside them from his current position.

The openness was different from what Figment expected for a harem chamber. He expected something more like dorms, but their entire living space was this room. What’s more, most of the furnishing consisted of large pillows and futons with red and pink shades, a pile of them in the center so they could all sleep in a pile. There were a few tables as well, most of which overflowed with fresh fruit and vegetables, many of which he didn’t recognize, but all looked delicious. A few tables had some kind of meat, some of which was in large slices…about the width of a sea pony’s tail…and a few decorative centerpieces were sea pony heads.

There were doors on the opposite wall, and a few of them were opened. They appeared to be various fetish chambers full of toys and restraints, not unlike Crimson’s own hideaway. The main difference was that most of the restraints were plush and clearly meant for kink rather than actual pain, but nonetheless this seemed like a fun place to be.

Many stallions and colts roamed the main area, ranging in apparent age from newly marked to maybe 20, perhaps three dozen in all. Who knew what their actual ages were, since they all had soul gems embedded in the back of their necks, and Unicornia could likely even make them look like foals again with its tech. Figment wondered if he’d be getting one soon as well. It hadn’t occurred to him, but such a procedure would give him away. There would probably be a ‘breaking in’ period, though, where she decided if he was worth it enough to put one of those in him.

Platinum definitely had diverse tastes. They ranged from large and muscular to lithe boy toys, and everything in between. The only thing they had in common was that they were all unicorns, as if she’d let anything lesser touch her precious pretty prissy princess pussy. Knowingly at least; that’d make bucking her a bit hotter if he got that far.

Regardless, she’d taken the cream of the crop as her harem. It was a veritable smorgasbord of attractive males. Figment would have been jumping them at random had he not already been warned not to.

They all looked at the new entry, looking surprised, so it seemed they hadn’t been warned. Even the ones engaged in various sexy activities with one another paused to look at him. He assumed they were all in one big area because Platinum wanted to maximize their ‘interactions’ with one another. Straight mares did favor seeing that kind of thing between stallions.

“Ah, uh… hillos,” he sheepishly waved a hoof.

It was hard not to notice that all their best bits were erect, even the calmest looking ones. Since Figment didn’t think himself that sexy, he assumed it was magic or something in the food that kept them that way. Either way, it was impossible for Figment not to do the same.

One of them, a lithe yellow unicorn with a flowing pink mane, approached him first. He was one of the older looking ones there and had an unsubtle cutie mark of a female sex symbol pinning down a male one. He smiled, and given that he was the only one there with a jeweled collar, Figment assumed him to be the ‘leader’. What did it even mean to be the leader of a harem?

“Hey there, new guy,” the unicorn said playfully. “Never know when we’re getting someone new, You are a new guy right? Don’t normally get new ones older than newly-marked, but who am I to complain?”

So they didn’t know he was coming, but it seemed that this was typical. Interesting that Platinum didn’t keep the other harem boys more informed, or at least the head one.

“Oh um,” Figment blushed and tried not to grin too widely. “Yeah, I’m new, name’s Steel Anvil.”

“I’m Soulful Love, but you can call me Soul.” the pony winked. “I hope you like topping other stallions because you are delicious. You might end up as head harem colt if you’re not careful. You had the Mistress yet?”

“Oh goodness,” Figment blushed and smiled. “Thanks, I don’t think there’s a single stallion in here I wouldn't top or bottom for. I haven’t had the Mistress yet though. So I guess we can’t pounce each other yet… too bad huh?”

“Yea, too bad,” chuckled Soul. “Anyway, I assume she went over the rules with you?”

“Uh, no, actually,” Figment chuckled awkwardly.

“Seriously?” Soul raised one eyebrow. “Given who you favor, I assume you’re an impulse buy then? Wait, don’t answer that. Nothing wrong with it anyway, and the rules are pretty simple.”

“I’d be happy to um… do what’s required,” said Figment. He grinned wider, because the looks he got from the other stallions said they’d be happy to do him when required to.

“Mainly do what she says,” said Soul. “We’re only allowed to buck the Mistress and each other. You must flirt with others in public to keep up her image, but never get caught actually doing anything with them. Follow her instructions explicitly and show enthusiasm, especially when outsiders are looking. She has more leeway for fresh blood at least, since she prefers to cycle out the old-timers who’ve been around a few decades.

“Oh, and don’t ask about one another’s background. We’re just objects to her and she likes us to view each other like that too.” He smirked. “She calls this room her ‘dildo cabinet’, that’s basically all we are, but that’s not the worst thing when you’re a stylish dildo in a body like that, right?”

“R-really?” Figment asked, his smile waning and his excitement cooling just a little. He did like to chat with partners, so he’d hate not to. “Oh but um, yeah, not so bad.”

“Really,” said Soul, taking on a momentary serious expression. “Don’t step out of line, seriously. Last month, Wet Dream was caught having sex with a guard and got life, not soul, recycled right in front of all of us. The former harem leader got demoted for not stopping him. They were both expelled, which pretty much guarantees they’ll be outcasts on the outside.”

“S-she really did that?” Figment gasped quietly. “Or a guard did it?”

“The guard he’d had sex with did it, then I never saw them again after that so not sure what other punishment they got,” Soul looked sick, and added hurriedly. “Not that that’s a bad thing! Her desire is our pleasure!”

Here was a stallion that regretted his life choices. Or had he even had a choice? In spite of the smile on his face, Figment could sense a hint of deep self-loathing beneath it.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind,” Figment nodded slowly. There went his boner. This whole situation was quickly draining his confidence.

“Hey, no worries, right?” Soul smiled and patted Figment’s shoulder. But Soul probably couldn’t relax when any harem member’s small mistake could lead to horrible things. “Let’s go out to the balcony. The view of Irascent is amazing from up here near the top of the palace.”

“Irascent?” Figment tilted his head.

“Didn’t you know?” Soul asked. “You might not realize if you teleported here, but we’re actually above Irascent. I’ll show you.”

Figment thought better than to ask again since Soul seemed to think that was something he should know. Instead he just nodded as Soul turned to walk towards the wall with the windows. He led Figment to a glass door which led out onto a marble balcony, decorated much the same as the inside, complete with a few harem colts boning one another over the balcony’s edge.

But the first thing to draw Figment’s attention left him too stunned to care about much else. Now that they were outside, he could see the expanse of Unicornia before them, the massive dome over their heads. In the center of the dome though, far off in the center of the city, was a large ball of what looked like solar plasma, itself as large as a small town, spreading light over the sparkling city beneath. Indeed, they were slightly above it at their current location.

Figment couldn’t look at it for long due to its brightness, so turned down to look at the rest of the city. The building they were in loomed over the rest of it like a bright cloud of power, second only to the bright Irascent above the city. They must have been impossibly high up for a building, high above the bright towers and spires of the rest of the city. If Figment didn’t already know better, he’d call it a utopia.

One thing gave away the true nature of the city. Figment saw what was likely once the ‘Statue of Friendship’ from old Manehattan, which he’d seen in photos. It’d been redesigned to look like Princess Platinum, with matching statues of an earth and pegasus ponies kneeling at her hooves, perhaps other historical figures.

“Amazing isn’t it?” sighed Soul. “You know, Mistress is strict, but she really has a right to be. It's her genius that will rid the world of lesser creatures.”

“Um, right,” Figment nodded nervously. “She is pretty amazing. I’ve um, never understood how Irascent was made though.”

“Didn’t they find that intact database in Canterlot?” said Soul. “They replicated part of the system that snatched solar plasma, but instead of using it to blow up a city, it just gathers it.”

“Why gather it?” Figment wasn’t sure how clued in he should be pretending to be.

“Huh?” Soul looked at him and tilted his head. “Oh wait, are you an outsider-… not that I’m asking about your background or anything! But um, the basic idea is that Irascent took enough plasma from the Sun that it will burn out. We have ways to duplicate the plasma now that we have a bit, so once the rest of the world freezes, we can just slowly repower it, then move out and repopulate the world with purebred unicorns.”

“That’s… wait what?” Figment stared at Soul. “But what about all the settlements out there?”

“Yeah it’s too bad about the unicorns not in Unicornia,” sighed Soul. It was probably a good thing for Figment that he misinterpreted the statement. “But it can’t be helped, right? The whole world will be better off in the long run.”

“Unicorns, right,” Figment caught himself. “Too bad.”

“I guess you don’t know about Queen’s Boys either, huh,” Soul mused. “Favoring who you do, you’ll definitely get to appear on it.”

“I’m a little afraid to ask…” Figment admitted.

“No, it’s just a reality TV show,” said Soul. “About us, the royal harem. We mostly just screw each other or do comedy skits on it, but it’s fun. Pretty much everyone watches it.”

“Right,” Figment wondered if the watching was compulsory, either literal or implied. “You know, I’m feeling a little… intense. Do you mind if I spend some time thinking?”

“Oh uh, sure,” Soul nodded, patting Figments bottom. “I’m going to get a bite to eat. Come in when you’re ready. I’ll make sure the other guys know not to touch you yet. You'll probably get your collar too later tonight when she uses you.”

“Sure,” Figment looked off the balcony again into the city. “Though um, one thing first...”

“Yeah?” Soul asked.

“They captured a… a piss breather outside when they brought me in,” Figment said. “They were going to have him tortured for information or something. Any idea where that is going to happen?”

“What, you wanted to watch or something?” Soul looked disturbed, but looked frightened when he realized he showed that. “Nothing wrong with that of course. Prison is fifty floors down, but you can use the teleporters to get there. Mistress doesn’t mind us going anywhere in the palace, and I’ll let the royal guard know where to find you when they come to fetch you. Just… you know… don’t get into trouble. Don’t let anyone touch you, not even by accident. Remember, I’m supposed to be the head colt now so it’s my head too if you screw up.”

“No worries,” Figment chuckled awkwardly.

“Though, if you were looking for places to hangout,” Soulful suggested. “A better choice is her personal royal museum. They just added the legendary Ice Pick, the first automated miner to successfully bring back ore from the old zebra lands. Took them six tries before they sent one that made it back… sorry, I like old tech.”

Soulful probably assumed as a new resident, their amazing technology would interest him, and it did. Given the zebra lands were now too cold for life, an automated miner that could get there and back without malfunction was impressive. Soulful had wondered how they got their supply of crystals for their soul recyclers, since to make new ones they’d need crystals only obtainable by mining in long-dead lands. It was worrying that Unicornia wasn’t as limited by staying in their city as many assumed.

“Automagic mining is a pretty amazing concept,” admitted Figment. “What about the Crystal Mountains? They’d have some stuff even the old Zebra Kingdom doesn’t.”

“Nah, we haven’t gotten them there,” sighed Soulful. “But someday, right? They do have a section at the museum about blockheads though. I think it’s in the lesser races section near Novo’s shattered pearl.”

“Skyla stops them I guess?” asked Figment. He recognized Novo’s pearl as the thing sea ponies used to use to switch back to hippogriffs. The shards probably worked again now that the radiation wore off too, yet it was out of their reach in a museum. No wonder they were so peeved at Unicornia.

“What?” Soulful shook his head, chuckling as if the idea was preposterous. “Our PCB protects us from that blockhead’s mind games, but the areas we really need to get to are too cold to send living units, and the sheer amount of crystal in the mountains makes it hard to get signals to automagic units there.”

“Ah, that’s interesting,” Figment nodded, though he wondered if that was true. If Skyla had stopped them, the citizens would probably be fed propaganda that it was some other reason. “Uh, I also meant to ask. I uh… don’t have a soul gem and...”

“Oh um, no more details please,” Soul chuckled awkwardly. “But if you came from somewhere that doesn’t have them, you’re on a probationary period to make sure you haven’t been tainted by lesser races. If it turns out you haven’t, it might be a month before you get one so...”

“Don’t die before then, got it,” chuckled Figment, but inside breathed a sigh of relief that he had at least a month before something that would certainly give him away. He should be out by then, right? Right?

Figment knew he shouldn’t, but after taking a moment to scarf down some of the delicious fruit, he went back to the teleport pod. He took a deep breath as he went back inside,

The panel wasn’t too complicated. It was mostly just a typing pad where he could look up the name of a destination. As he typed in ‘prison’, he hoped Soul hadn’t gotten weird ideas about Figment being a sadist, but it beat realizing that he pitied their current captive. Figment felt less and less enthusiastic to be part of this.

There was a bright flash of light as he moved, so he opened the door up again to see where he’d ended up.

It reminded him a great deal of the inside of Crimson’s book. It wasn’t one big room like the harem room though, more a long dark hallway. Each area in the castle seemed to have a different theme, and this one was ‘dark medieval dungeon’. It was poorly lit, floored with jagged stone, and smelled like a raider den, unwashed filth not entirely masking the smell of urine. On each side of the hall were iron doors, no doubt each leading to different chambers.

There were a pair of royal guards standing there at the gate, who turned to look at the new arrival. They both stared at him for a few long moments as if wondering what he was doing here.

“Oh look, the Princess’s new dildo,” one said, her voice the only indication of what she was beneath the armor. It seemed the guards were more well-informed than the harem colts. “Are you even broken in yet?”

“Ah, um, no,” Figment laughed awkwardly. “But they brought in a fish at the same time I arrived, and they said he was going to be questioned so...”

“Oh and you’re a freak, I get it,” nodded the other guard, a stallion. “Sure, go have a look to get riled up for your ‘big date’ tonight, if that’s what it takes you lucky little horse-apple.”

“Room 47,” the mare nodded towards the hall. “Enjoy, but remember none of us are allowed to touch you.”

“Oh um, I understand,” Figment tried to look calm to give them the impression that their assumptions were correct.

Figment tried not to look too wilted, faking an excited smile as he trotted past and down the hall, the two guards taking a step back to be sure they didn’t accidentally lay a hoof on him. He thought he heard a few mutters between them that involved the words ‘bucking creepy’.

In truth, he was freaked out far more than them, and he wasn’t even sure why he came here. He supposed he mainly just wanted to prove how useful he was to a certain someone. Maybe if he listened in on the interrogation, he’d get information that could be useful to his own as well.

Figment went down the long hallway, counting down the door numbers on his way. He was very glad none of the other doors were opened. Given the smell, he wasn’t sure if they cleaned these things out very well when finished. And why were there so many?

He found the proper door and knocked on the steel surface. The knock echoed down the hall and a moment later it opened up. A bulky dark blue stallion with a puke green mane and yellow eyes glared out at him.

“What the?” he asked. “Well you’re not who I expected from a knock.”

“Oh um yes, I’m a… new dildo,” Figment explained.

“I assume you know the rules then,” the stallion said under his breath. “Come on in, just don’t get near me. I don’t want to get my dick chopped off for touching Her Majesty’s toy on accident.”

The door creaked loudly as it opened and Figment headed inside. As he had a look around, he realized this wasn’t actually as bad as Crimson’s book world. It was worse.

Granted the equipment, chains, and bondage furniture were much the same, but they were largely rickety and covered with rust and blood in various states of freshness. Not being imaginary wasn’t an excuse for the lack of sanitation, since Unicornia easily had tech that could clean it automagically. Figment assumed they went out of their way not to clean it to disrespect or horrify their victims into talking quickly.

Sea Blitz was chained down on one table with his forelegs strapped above his head and tail chained to the other end of the table. They hadn’t started to really dig in, so he was still whole, but his skin looked flaky and dry, shivering as if the lack of seawater from his suit was getting to him quickly. Speaking of his suit, it lay on another table nearby. It was cleaner than the other tables and had wheels, so Figment assumed it had been rolled in here. Figment wasn’t sure why it was here, but perhaps it was just as a way to taunt the victim more.

It became too much far faster than Figment expected. Without another word, he turned to leave, galloping back towards the teleport pod.

“Why’d you show up if you were squeamish?” the torturer chuckled as he rushed out.

Figment had been through a lot. He’d lived under Trinity’s influence, been tortured by Midnight, and apparently became Crimson’s fiancee, so why did this bother him so much? Perhaps because they were going to torment Sea Blitz for information without even recognizing what they were doing was evil; even Crimson and Midnight were that self-aware at least..

“Already done?” asked the guard mare at the front as Figment passed towards the teleporter. “Better not be that fast with the Princess.”

“No uh,” Figment jumped at the voice, then paused. “Didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

A moment later, Figment realized he had stopped and they were staring at him. He just couldn’t get out of his head what was about to happen to Sea Blitz. This was all so wrong; there had to be something he could do. Anything.

“So um,” Figment’s voice quivered. “Is um.. Her Majesty likely to come here? I think she um mentioned… she might sometimes come in to play with the um… prisoners? Cause she said she might um… with the fish?”

That line of questioning was dangerous, and he knew it. He felt extra bad because if this bucked up, poor Soulful would suffer too, but with this place that was bound to happen eventually anyway.

“What?” the mare asked, then got quieter. “Dude, quiet. I know most of the dildos realize, but don’t dare speak about it to anyone else! If you tell someone that shouldn’t know that she bucks lesser races, even as part of tormenting them, you don’t even want to think about what she’d do to you.”

“Oh uh, sorry,” Figment whispered. “I won’t mention it again.”

With that he turned and walked into the teleport pod, but he didn’t hit the console immediately. Was he really thinking about doing this?

Figment hadn’t teleported on his own in a while, and charging his horn immediately caused a splitting headache, but he clenched his teeth and bore it. He hit the panel to teleport back to the harem chamber, but in the delay before it activated, he teleported with his own magic out of the chamber and around the first corner of the hall in the torture wing where the guards couldn’t see him. All the guards would see was a flash of light from the outside as the pod activated.

He gave it what he thought was around ten minutes, to distance his ‘departure’ from the ‘arrival’. As he did, he could hear bits of conversation from the guards around the corner.

“Kind of a stupid weakness to have, if you ask me,” the stallion was saying. “Sonic weapons? Really?”

“It’s not like anyone knows to use one,” said the mare. “Besides, it’d only open a small hole, and who would even have one?”

Hole in what, Figment wondered. The shield?

“Wouldn’t put it past that freak on the radio, Songsmith,” the stallion chuckled.

“Platnum’s perfection, dude, shush,” The mare swore as if panicked. “We shouldn’t talk about listening to outside radio here. We’ll end up in the prison instead of guarding it!”

Even the few bits Figment heard gave him some interesting information. First, the citizens weren’t supposed to listen to outside radio sources, which implied the ones not authorized to go outside had been told lies about who was outside or what they were doing.

Second, the fact that a royal dungeon guard was breaking the rule probably meant that it wasn’t a society of obedient citizens. Aside from that, it seemed they may not be exactly happy with their duty here. It was a relief that perhaps most of the population weren’t sociopaths,and Figment couldn’t help but wonder what kind of underground movements they might have. If only he had a better way to look.

His head had barely recovered, but he bore more agony to teleport back into the pod. The changeling took a deep breath, then hit the panel again. He hit the option for ‘audience chamber’, but teleported out again before it activated, straining to teleport right back in after. His head was swimming at this point, but he barely had any time to recover enough to walk out of there without looking openly dizzy.

He concentrated one last time, shifting his entire form into that of Princess Platinum. He hoped he got her accurate, even taking into account what he saw her wearing in the throne room. He really hoped the guards would buy this.

From what he knew of teleportation magi-tech like this, which wasn’t much, it wasn’t one directional. When the contents of the pod teleported to the other location, the contents at the other location also teleported back, probably with some failsafe in case the other pod was currently occupied. That meant that the guards outside would only see the flash from within and the display panel on the outside registering a teleport between the audience chamber and here. He hoped?

Figment steadied himself, opening the door back into the torture wing. The guards turned to see who it was, then quickly bowed low when they saw the princess. It probably never even occurred to them that it wasn’t her, since no one could get in without being species-checked.

“Your Majesty,” they said together and remained bowed.

While he hadn’t had much time to think of how she’d handle this, Figment figured her as the aloof type. So he just hmmphed and strutted past the guards into the chambers beyond. With their helmets, it was impossible to know if they bought it.

He breathed heavily as he trotted to the room that Sea Blitz was in, then took a deep breath to steady himself before putting a hoof to the door, but then paused. Would she knock? No, she’d never touch a hoof to such a nasty door. Instead, he just swung the door open with telekinesis, which itself was enough to make his head sting.

The tormentor was heating up a metal rod as Sea Blitz shivered there on the table, already covered in marks from being beaten. The sea pony breathed rapidly and his eyes darted about as if drugged.

The stallion nearly dropped the rod when the door opened without warning, then quickly bowed when he saw who it appeared to be.

“Your Majesty,” the torturer said, true admiration in his voice. “I am honored you have come to witness my skills. I have been perfecting several new techniques.”

“I will take this one for my own purposes,” ‘Platinum’ announced simply. “Place him back within his armor and I will take the entirety.”

“In the armor?” the stallion quirked an eyebrow. “Ah, I fear I just injected him with adrenaline to increase his ability to feel pain. If we put him in the suit, he’ll be able to activate it.”

Actually that was perfect, though Figment felt terrible at how much he was frightening the victim. Sea Blitz’ face was streaked with tears as he looked at Platinum as if she were Queen of Tartarus.

“Urrgh,” Platinum groaned, figuring she wouldn’t take even a reasonable point like that well. “Very well, I’ll take them both separately.”

The torturer looked a little unsure as he unlatched Sea Blitz from the table, but kept his forelegs tied above his head.

Figment couldn’t stay for very long and keep up the facade with the intense pain throbbing right through the previous numbness. Picking up Sea Blitz and rolling the armor table out of the room with her magic took all his energy, and he could only hope they mistook his shivering for desire instead of agony. She shut the door behind her, then flopped Sea Blitz into the armor and began pushing it down the stone path.

“You think you’ll break me, you bitch, I’ll...” Sea Blitz trailed off as he was put in his armor. “What? You did hear him when he said I could activate this right?”

“Shhh,” Figment said, shifting his voice enough to make it clear he wasn’t who he said he was. “Holding you in the air is exhausting, and I’ll never get you out of here if I have to keep that up, so please cooperate and don’t struggle yet. You can’t blast your way out from here, so let me get you somewhere else.”

“Uh, right,” Sea Blitz seemed to calm, though he couldn’t stop the heavy breathing, clearly confused.

Figment rolled it quickly down the hall, pushing it with his hooves until he got to the corner. He couldn’t muster enough magic to both push the cart and carry Sea Blitz at this point, so continued pushing it with his hooves as he picked the sea pony up. If he hadn’t thought to shift away his tear ducts when he turned to Platinum, there would be no way he’d have kept up the facade.

When he finally got them all into the teleport pod, Figment finally collapsed from exhaustion, letting Blitz lay limp in his armor.

“What’s going on?” Sea Blitz asked. “Why are you helping?”

“Because I feel for you, okay?” Figment sighed. “Both our species were almost wiped out in the war, but unlike us… you didn’t deserve it at all. It’s the least I can do to keep one of you safe.”

“A changeling?” Sea Blitz caught on. “Not one of Trinity’s, or you wouldn’t be saving me.”

“No,” panted Figment, giving himself a few moments to recover before shifting back into Steel Anvil. “Look I don’t have time to explain. Where do I teleport to so you can escape?” He didn’t even know if there was such a place; he really hadn’t thought this through.

Figment used his hooves to tug the binds from Blitz’ hooves, and the sea pony quickly put them into the slots before activating the armor fully. The front closed up, though the occupant groaned when encased in the dried out armor. That couldn’t have been comfortable when it didn’t have water in it.

“I… is this a trick?” Blitz asked. “You’re wanting to know if we have a secret way out of the city… for me to lead you to it. They have changelings here, I heard them talking about the ones they farm for parts!”

“Damn it!” Figment shook his head, shivering and knowing that might be his fate if he was caught. “Do you really think their livestock would even be allowed to help them? Look, I’m part of the New Canterlot Republic, and one of the things we are doing is… trying to atone for the sins of the past. If that means helping sea ponies that want to kill us, then that’s what we’ll do!”

Sea Blitz stared at Figment as if he were speaking Old Ponish. He may as well have told him that fish live in the sky, and he took a moment to form a response. Figment knew he was projecting his own wishes into an organization that didn’t actually share them, but he needed Blitz to understand if this wasn’t to be for nothing. He had already started to realize that it probably would be.

“I’m not sure,” said Blitz finally, uncertainty still in his voice. “But since the shield is made to keep others out, not in, I can probably teleport out from a few high locations like the palace roof, out the top of the shield, then slide down the edge since it’s solid and opaque. One side is flush with the bay, so I should be able to land in the water when I fall.”

Without another word, Figment typed in ‘roof’ to the teleportation pod terminal. Thank goodness there was only one choice that sounded right: palace roof. He hit the activation button.

Heading there was the easiest part of his rather quickly thought of plan, but he hoped the guards weren’t looking at the panel to see where they went. Sea Blitz didn’t even have to leave the pod. Once they were there, his suit buzzed as if he was able to activate its systems to teleport.

“I’ll let my friends know,” Sea Blitz sighed. “But don’t count on a sudden truce.”

“I… respect you either way,” Figment shifted a hoof as he tried to sift through what he was doing in his own mind.

Sea Blitz looked thoughtful for a moment, then pulled a small device free from inside the collar of his suit, offering it to Figment. Figment reluctantly took hold of it.

“It’s the tracker for my suit,” explained Blitz. “You won’t be able to find us with it, but we can scan for it and see if you come close to us.”

“Will they really talk to us that easily?” asked Figment. Sea ponies weren’t known for diplomacy.

“No,” Blitz chuckled a bit darkly. “But maybe I can work something out so they’ll be willing to at least discuss, just give it a week or three before you try. By the deep, they might let me go meet you hoping I get killed after losing my whole team like this…”

That didn’t sound like much of an assurance. Figment looked down at the device, about a quarter the size of his hoof. It looked sealed and was probably waterproof, so Figment put it in his muzzle and strained to gulp it down. He couldn’t think of any other way to hide it, and he could shift it out later. He then nodded to Blitz and belched, flushing a bit.

“Right…” Blitz sounded unsure, but closed his helmet up, activating his teleport and vanishing in a flash after a few moments.

While he hoped Blitz made it out, Figment had calmed enough to realize exactly how impossible it was for him not to be found out. Damn it. He belatedly realized that he should have asked if Sea Blitz could teleport them both out together.

He wished Mercury had made him that suicide pill. There was nothing left to do but accept his fate.

He expected guards to be waiting for him back at the harem chamber, but it seemed pretty normal there. After giving himself time to relax, he returned there and found it much as he’d left it. Soul even approached as he left the teleportation pod, but wasn’t smiling as he had before.

“The Princess hasn’t called for you yet,” said Soul. “But I guess you knew that… uh… eh he...”

Something was wrong, just not the wrong Figment expected. Soul acted differently than before. Whereas he’d been nothing but friendly to Figment before, now he looked terrified. He was sweating and stayed a few steps further away from Figment than before.

“Oh uh, good?” Figment tried to pretend not to notice.

“She did send you a… gift though,” Soul stammered awkwardly, as if that wasn’t something normally done beforehoof. “It’s uh… food… really good food! Uh… you should feel honored or something. Come over here and have a bite to eat.”

“Right, of course,” Figment smiled and nodded, but frowned when Soul offered him the plate and took another step back. “I mean, I ate before so…”

“Please,” Soul insisted, holding the plate closer. “It’s just a little bit, and believe me, you don’t want to refuse her gifts.”

It was definitely a bad idea, but what else could he do? Avoiding this wouldn’t do any good other than getting Soul punished. Figment smiled, and began snacking on the small yellow cherries in the bowl. They were quite good, and at first he thought everything would be fine.

Then he felt suddenly drowsy and realized that it was not.

Figment couldn’t have been more surprised to wake up on comfortable bedding instead of chains. It took awhile for him to pry his eyes open, but when he did, he found himself on a cushion, still in the harem chambers. Soulful sat next to him, though it looked like the other boys were notably avoiding him. He and Soulful were the only two in that corner of the chamber.

“Ah, you’re okay, good,” Soulful waved, but he jerked a little when Figment sat up, as if he might expect a sudden attack.

“W-what happened?” Figment made the obvious assumption, but didn’t want to blurt it out when there was a fraction of chance that it wasn’t that. Still, he felt fine, aside from an odd stinging in his right eye.

“You passed out while eating, I was really worried,” Soulful said, his voice a bit monotone, like a bad actor carefully following a script. “I called the doctors and they checked you out, then brought you back here, but… it’s not good news.”

“W-what’s the news?” Figment tensed up.

“Seems like you have some kind of a problem in your head,” Soulful tapped his front hooves together. “Like a clot, or a tumor, or… I’m not sure I understood, but Princess Platinum demands her dildos be in perfect health.”

“A-am I going to be executed?” Figment wouldn’t be surprised if that was the punishment for not being in perfect health in Platinum’s presence.

“Ah, no,” Soulful shook his head. “Which is good for me, too.” He took a deep breath and looked around, as if worried someone else might have heard him slip up and complain, then continued quietly. “I… made a case for keeping you alive. Platinum will send you back as inferior stock, but stick to the rest of her deal with your friends. In return, she’ll expect you to um… let us know if their plans are counter to Unicornian interests.”

“Oh…” Figment was happy to leave, but looked down and sighed as if disappointed. “Guess I won’t get to fuck her… huh…”

“Sorry,” Soulful nodded. “You really should use the word ‘buck’ when you’re prete-… nevermind. You’ll be returned to walking distance from Discordia, probably before your friends even get back there. And uh, honestly… you came out ahead. Trust me.”

“Soulful?” Figment sighed. It was more than obvious that there was more to this. “You’re a… bad actor.”

“I really am,” Soulful whispered back, whimpering as if he might start crying. “Look just… please don’t tell anyone about Irascent. I… told her you never saw it, because I was afraid of what she’d do to me if she knew.”

“I… see…” Figment glanced around himself to confirm no one had gotten closer. It was obvious that this wasn’t an innocent release, but he still couldn’t be sure exactly how much they knew.

“I saved your life, even knowing,” begged Soulful, tears starting to form. “I know your kind is evil, but please consider saving my life in return? I don’t want to get expelled too… you don’t know how horrible it usually is for those that get expelled from the harem. So please don’t tell anyone about Irascent, it’s not like your friends can stop it anyway.”

“I swear,” sighed Figment. “And we’re not as evil as you think, or else I wouldn’t have risked my life to save a sea pony because it was the right thing to do. After all, he wants to kill us as much as he wants to kill you.”

“I… didn’t think of that,” Soulful admitted, then dried his eyes and nodded slowly. “Come on, I’ll guide you to the escort.”

53. An Unhappy Fable

Date: Tuesday 11/22/2287
POV: Sea Blitz
Novo City

It was absurd that the sea around Unicornia was tainted enough to actually glow. Obviously that couldn’t be explained by some balefire explosions on the coast so long ago, nor the CME strike on Mount Aries far to the south. Unicornia was certainly dumping waste into the ocean on purpose as a way to stave off the Children of Novo after they became too annoying to Unicornian exploratory parties.

Luckily for the Novo, they had a nice enclosed base of operations. The old Ministry of Engineering had been shifted down several hundred hoofsteps deeper by seismic activity after the Breaking. Those that could teleported out, and those that couldn’t died from radiation soon after due to the meltdown of their balefire reactor.

Now it was underwater, so it made the perfect base for the sea ponies. The ghouls were cleared, the teleport pads refitted so only they could use them, and they’d even set up large-scale shrimp and kelp farms for food in some of the old warehouses. They had renamed the entire thing to Novo's Ministry.

Unicornia knew they were in the area, but made the flawed assumption that the entrance to the base must be in the well-filtered bay area that they used. In reality the entrance was in one of the more toxic areas of the nearby sea, where they’d never think to look, with several layers of waterlocks and filtration systems to keep it from getting inside. They had plenty of clean water inside that they could recycle, so rarely had to bring in more.

Currently Sea Blitz floated in the med bay in a clear container, the water around him filled with healing solutions as he waited. Despite his injuries though, questioning had begun immediately. Captain Wavedancer now floated nearby outside of the transparent container looking at her computer screen.

“I probably don’t need to tell you that you’ll likely be demoted for this failure,” Wavedancer said. That wasn’t the most hopeful thing to start on. She could have at least asked if he was okay first.

“I know,” said Sea Blitz simply. He knew it was his fault; he should have known better than to fire on a random unibird with no escape plan, but he’d been riding on a layer of fury for the last week after his sister Sealight had been lost to Unicornians. He supposed she’d be ashamed of him now for causing more loss in a doomed attempt at vengeance.

That rage had burned hot during his stay at Unicornia, rage at all creatures that seemed out to destroy seaponies for no reason. Yet, that anger had been shorted out by the most unlikely of creatures.

“I’m worried about this… Figment,” Wavedancer didn’t dwell on it. She’d already explained in a previous meeting that his anger, however justified, could cause further loss. “You said you gave it your tracker? While that’s not a security risk since it doesn’t allow it to locate us, it is… questionable.”

“He saved me,” sighed Sea Blitz. “And I believe his entire group was only there to get a spy into Unicornia.”

“The group that helped in your capture, you mean?” Wavedancer sneered slightly. “This is certainly an about-face for you. I have to say I understand it even less than your tendency to disobey orders for emotional reasons.”

“They helped make sure I was brought in alive,” said Sea Blitz. “And then risked their own mission to save me. I couldn’t not give that kind of potential ally a means for us to find them.”

“And have you considered,” asked Wavedancer. “That Unicornia might also find that tracker and use it to lure us? Sea Blitz, while I did say you need to stay calm and focused, I didn’t mean that you should grow soft. The other creatures out there are no different from Unicornia.”

“What about Applejack?” asked Sea Blitz. “The earth pony that gave us the codes to this facility, helped us clear out the ghouls, and even provided vital information we needed to get the power armor project going again? My understanding is that she wanted to make up for what Equestria had done… and Figment said that their goal is the same.”

“Sea Blitz,” Wavedancer sounded serious, but Blitz cut her off.

“We are facing EXTINCTION, captain!” Blitz raised his voice more than he ever had at his commanding officer, but was low enough in rank at this point that more demotions would hardly matter. “If I am troubling you so much, then send ME to talk to them and offer peace. At worst you’ll be rid of me and at best we’ll have a fighting chance.”

Wavedancer stared at him for a moment, her face tensed in irritation, but slowly relaxed it.

“I’ll consider it,” she said, flicking off her computer screen.

When she left, Sea Blitz had nothing to do but ponder. He didn’t like changelings either, or anything else out there, but he hadn’t been joking when he said they faced extinction. To their knowledge, they were the only sea ponies left. That was why losing his team had been such a huge deal.

It was this that had kept him up at night so many times. He thought of all those that he knew that had been picked off. There were less than 1000 now in this base, down from 1500 just a generation ago, and they had nowhere to flee if this location was compromised. This could not go on without help, even if it meant pushing for an alliance with creatures that he despised.

Date: Tuesday 11/22/2287
POV: Forgot
Holder

Xander wanted to move quickly on the restaurant that he suspected of housing changelings, so Forgot had to get his wits together quickly after Midnight’s visit. Fortunately, he’d been able to do the necessary prep work the evening before. Specifically, stealing an extra key before they closed that night, then planting the gas bomb a few hours after closing.

Forgot wasn’t exactly a thief, but his sneaking experience made it easy enough to quickly duck into the back of the restaurant and find an extra key hanging on the wall in the manager’s office. He was sure a few times that he’d be found out, but as long as he kept his hoofsteps silent, not many seemed to question a quick blur in the corner of their eye. It was a little worrying to him how oblivious to potential danger ponies were.

Placing the bomb itself had been more difficult with all the climbing involved to get it into the rafters, but at least it was more relaxing with no one in the restaurant. Before he left, he’d put the spare key back where he found it, hoping no one had noticed it missing.

Something that Xander failed to mention though was that Forgot needed to be the one to set it off. So now, Forgot ate dinner at the restaurant in question, right beneath where the bomb was, a gas mask hidden in his saddlebag. It felt a little icky to be doing so, but Xander had said that Forgot should only set it off when the manager was within range, so when Forgot was almost done with his meal, he flagged down his waiter.

“Yes sir?” the tan, yellow-maned stallion asked. “How may I help?”

“Ah, well,” Forgot tapped his front hooves together. “I was hoping I could speak to the manager right quick? Sorry… it’s something I wanted to say directly to him.”

“Oh?” the stallion looked a bit crest-fallen, but nodded as he walked towards the back.

Forgot hoped he wasn’t causing a scene, so looked around to make sure no one was looking. It seemed no one had noticed, the only reaction he got to looking around was seeing his friend Fable at the next table over. She waved to him with a gentle smile, and he waved back with a blush. He always went a little red around PUB workers, and wasn’t rightly sure why, but they were probably the nicest residents in the town.

The manager, a large completely-black stallion, approached, and Forgot imagined he was like Chrysalis with more fur and fewer dangerous edges. As the stallion neared though, Forgot saw the waiter behind the counter looking nervously in their direction, and felt his stomach knot at having unnecessarily made them sad. He decided to at least give the waiter something nice for when he woke up, just in case they didn’t turn into a changeling.

“Is there a problem, sir?” the manager asked, possibly-feigned concern on his face.

“Um, no,” Forgot smiled, idly fiddling with his necklace with one hoof. “I-I just wanted to compliment my waiter to you, since he was so friendly and prompt!”

It was awkward wording, and Forgot worried that the manager would ask for details, so he acted quickly after that. Worried that using his magic would be too obvious, he moved his other hoof beneath the table where the activator was on his lap, pressing the button before he finished the sentence then taking a deep breath in.

A chorus of panic rang through the business as the gas exploded above them and rained down. Forgot ducked under the table, holding his breath until he got on his gas mask, not wanting anyone to see him do it. The screams died down quickly, and he poked his head back out just as Xander stormed into the front door with his own gas mask on his face.

The manager was still… the manager, though, just passed out like a brick, so it seemed that Xander’s assumption had been wrong. So were the wait staff, but there was one notable exception among the patrons. On the next table over, where Fable had been a moment before, there was a creature with dark green chitin over their body and dark purple around their torso, passed out face-down in the dessert Fable had just been eating.

Forgot was shocked, unable to comprehend that possibly the kindest person he’d met was the changeling. She’d even sat down with him after his session with her at the pub and given him advice on helping Dinky feel less self-conscious about being cold inside. She told him where to get internal heating units for her, even though it would surely mean Forgot wouldn’t need the PUB anymore. Fable clearly cared about him, and had expressed vitriol towards Chrysalis when he mentioned her scaring him.

Xander seemed surprised too, though more that the manager and staff were not changelings. He wasted no time though, and quickly went for Fable instead.

“Who was this?” Xander asked Forgot, not having taken time to identify the patrons around Forgot. “Do you know?”

“Y-yes, it’s Fable,” Forgot said unsurely. “She works at the PUB, but she’s…”

“Talk more later,” Xander cut him off, grabbing the detonator from the floor and hefting Fable onto his back. “Give me your gas mask and breathe in the gas yourself. When they find you passed out too, no one will think to blame you.”

It made sense, and it was nice of Xander to be concerned for Forgot’s safety as well, but Forgot had to wonder... All of Xander’s initial assumptions had been wrong, and Fable looked a great deal different and less scary than Chrysalis, so was this right?

“Okay, but make sure she’s bad before doing anything, okay?” Forgot nodded. He glanced around the restaurant, having wanted to check everyone to make sure no one got hurt falling down, but realized they were short on time. He removed his gas mask, took a deep breath, and felt himself passing out as Xander took the mask and ran towards the back exit.

When he awoke, he was in the hospital, as it seemed were all the others that had been in the restaurant. None of them seemed hurt, and many were already leaving, so it seemed to have gone well. After the nurses gave him a few tests to make sure he was fine, Forgot assured them he hadn’t seen anything suspicious, and none of them mentioned Xander.

Forgot assumed this meant success, but processing him out of the ward took longer than he’d like. He’d been awake for over an hour when he finally got to leave, hurrying to where he knew Xander was staying. It wasn’t one Xander usually stayed in, with most of the residents away at work or in town at the moment. It was also the building Chrysalis stayed at when in town, right across the hall from her apartment, in fact.

It was a pretty smart choice though, since it meant that this would be the last place they’d look for someone who was terrified of changelings. Forgot remembered using a similar strategy once, making his hideout in a vent just down the hall from where his tormentors emerged, and it had worked for quite a long time before they’d found it.

When he arrived, he knocked loudly on the door a few times, then rattled it a bit when there was no answer. He was worried that he had the wrong room for a moment, but then there was scuffling as Xander checked the peephole before the door opened. Xander yanked him in quickly and closed it behind him.

“Apologies,” Xander explained. “I was under the bubble of silence I set up for questioning, so I couldn’t hear the door until I stepped out.”

Xander motioned towards the corner of the room, and Forgot was shocked by what he saw. Fable was hanging from the ceiling upside down, front hooves pulled behind her back and tied there painfully, wings outright shredded as if with a blade, but they still buzzed about frantically. She wasn’t gagged, but was under what looked like a silence bubble generated by a crystal device sitting on the floor beneath her. She was visibly sobbing though and her eyes looked wrong. It was hard to explain, but they were darting around from more than just fear, as if she’d been drugged with something else. That and, for some reason, she had a very obvious penis that she hadn’t had before… and it was fully aroused.

“W-what did you do to her?” Forgot stammered, too freaked out to speak higher than a squeak. “Why does she have a male thingie like us?”

“Ah,” Xander nodded, not seeming to suspect that Forgot had any real problem with it. “It seems it was a male changeling pretending to be a mare. For some reason, it initially believed that Crimson Prose had hired me to assassinate it for secretly being male.”

“Uh, okay,” Forgot glanced back and forth again as Fable swayed in panic, looking pleadingly at Forgot now. “But why is her male part hard?”

“I dosed it with Hera’s Scorn,” Xander explained. “It causes out-of-control rage and arousal to the point that victims literally murder one another, and has a side effect of disabling a changelings morphing and communication abilities. However, I gave it a low dose so it could still be questioned effectively while still not changing.”

“So, um…” Forgot looked away from the frantic creature, wanting to ask about the obvious torture, but was starting to fear Xander too in a way he hadn’t before. “The manager… and waiters…”

“Indeed, I was as surprised as you,” nodded Xander, face tensing in puzzlement. “However, we lucked out that this one was dining there. Because she believed Crimson had hired me, she assumed that I already knew that all the workers at the PUB in town are changelings and spilled it all. To think, I always thought it was too obvious… but I believe it to be true. I tormented it quite a bit to ensure it wasn’t lying.”

“That’s a lot to take in,” Forgot looked at the floor, shaking his head. “Because they were all so nice…”

“It is a changeling’s job to deceive those around them,” Xander explained. “They must be convincing, otherwise the Trinity wouldn’t get any use of them as spies. More importantly, this is serious indeed. I have questions about why Crimson knew this and didn’t tell me despite wanting to kill them, but more importantly it implies that both Kyo and Olivia were likely changelings as well. That puts Kyo’s daughter Custard into question too, which means I can no longer take this directly to her. This would explain why those in charge here have stood in my way against their own best interests.”

“S-should we talk to Starlight when she gets back?” Forgot started. “Maybe until then, we could let Fable…”

“There is no need to refer to it by its disguise name,” hmmphed Xander. “And we can’t wait. This is one of the last places they’ll look for me, so I’m safe for at least a day here, but before that day is over, this needs to be taken care of once and for all, and you are just the one that can do that. Wait here.”

Xander walked to another room, and from what Forgot could see, he was putting the last finishing touches on something he’d been working on that looked similar to the gas bomb they’d used before. Forgot slowly stepped over towards Fable, and within the silence bubble that surrounded her.

“Forgot, please help me…” she cried as soon as he could hear her. Her voice sounded exactly like her voice as a mare, even if her changeling form was male, and it was hard to hear such a kind voice in such pain. “I don’t know w-what he told you, but I’m just scared and horny, not evil, I swear on my tight butthole!”

“H-he said you work for Trinity,” Forgot muttered, ignoring her overly-aroused phrasing. “It’s hard for me to believe too but… but Chrysalis is a changeling and she was so scary to me, on purpose too.”

“We all hate her!” Fable shook her head erratically, clearly having trouble with coordinated movement. “She enslaved us, just like Trinity enslaves some changelings now, but we’re free! No one at the PUB works for them, we just wanna buck! I-if we were spies, would we all be at the same place?”

“Well um,” Forgot shuffled about. He wanted to believe her, but he also wanted to believe Xander. He didn’t want to think either of them had lied to him. “Maybe because a lot of people go there.”

“Not everyone!” Fable shouted. “Custard and Starlight...oh buck she’s hot, and both don’t! We spend all our time bucking instead of following them around! What kind of spy network wouldn’t hang around the two most important ponies when...when they can disguise at will?”

That actually made sense. Custard was apparently too young and seemed uncomfortable about sex. Dinky had also mentioned that Starlight seemed to hate sex in general. Forgot assumed the best intel was from staying close and direct, and he knew a lot of ponies would lie while at the PUB.

Beyond even that, Fable had a terror on her face that he’d only ever seen on his own face in a mirror. Could she really fake that kind of abject horror? Maybe so when she was sober, but could she when drugged? Forgot had limited experience with it since he came to town, but everyone he’d seen that was drunk or high had no self-control whatsoever, and Fable was clearly not her usual in-control self, if her movements, weird pauses and stammers, and the puddle on the floor were any indication.

“B-but…” Forgot tried to get it all right in his head. “Xander thinks Custard might be one… of you too.”

“Forgot…” Fable whimpered when he looked thoughtful instead of replying. “You know me, the real me. The one you talked to in the PUB is the real, horny and caring me. You can’t judge someone by how their...their ass looks, but by how they act! If we had control of the leader of the city, why would we need to spy at the PUB at all? It’s a shelter, that’s all, w-we just make ponies hap-”

Before she could finish, Xander reached in and tugged him out from under the bubble of silence. Forgot turned to see the zebra looking rather grave, having placed the device he had been finishing on the table nearby.

“S-she said…” Forgot wanted to explain her logic to Xander. “Um… that it didn’t make sense and um…”

“Forgot,” Xander put a hoof on his shoulder. “That creature’s very nature is deception. Anything it tells you is a lie. Trinity has put plans on top of plans, and many conspiracies have been designed specifically to make people think they couldn’t be true. They hid at the PUB for the same reason I am hiding across from Chrysalis’s quarters… because it is the last place someone would look. Their shifting services made them ‘too obvious’, and anything else it tells you is designed to serve that lie.”

Darn it, that made sense too. Forgot didn’t know what to think at all now. How did he tell who was right? What if they were both right and just misunderstanding? Or both wrong? He had no idea anymore. He was sweating now, quietly but surely going towards a panic, unable to keep from glancing at the pitiful creature sobbing silently a few feet away, shaking her head at him pleadingly.

“Don’t worry, what you need to do should not be too dangerous for you, not with your skill,” Xander gently moved Forgot’s head to not look at Fable. “And since you passed out with all the other patrons at the restaurant, no one suspects that you were involved. We have used their own tactic against them, you are the last pony they would think would move to end this.”

Xander motioned towards the device. When Forgot didn’t take it, he picked it up with his muzzle and moved to put it in Forgot’s saddlebag. Forgot stood shivering, knowing that this gas bomb didn’t have the same innocuous substance inside. He looked at Xander with his lip quivering.

“Please, do not be afraid,” Xander put a hoof on his shoulder again. “I would not ask this of you if I wasn’t completely confident in your success. All you have to do is sneak this into the barracks at the PUB. Tonight as they sleep, I will set it off, and the problem will take care of itself.”

“Take care of itself?” Forgot asked, holding his necklace tightly in one hoof. “How?”

“This one is full of Hera’s Scorn, undiluted by sleeping potion as the other bomb was,” nodded Xander. “The gas will be high potency, so they will all fly into a rage and murder one another. I’ve even placed a scanning device on it so that I can know when a majority of them are in the room to set it off. What few that remain shouldn’t be much trouble to round up, and no one will care when they find out what kind of monsters they were.”

Forgot was too stunned to reply. He didn’t look at Fable again with Xander there, but he could hear the creek of the part of the rope above the silence bubble, as if she were struggling so frantically that it’d started swinging back and forth.

“O-okay…” Forgot nodded at Xander. He wasn’t okay, but he was as afraid to refuse as he was to accept. “P-please don’t harm this one more. Um… Starlight might want to question at least one of them, right?”

“Of course,” Xander nodded. “I agree. I’ll take it down, and will just keep it high on scorn to prevent changing. Go somewhere to do something for a while before going to the PUB, lest someone put two and two together.”

Forgot nodded again, making sure his backpack was closed securely, then fleeing the room. He opened the door so hard that it was a wonder it didn’t come off its hinges, slamming it behind him as he evacuated. He turned to make sure that Xander wasn’t following him, but the zebra probably thought that Forgot was merely in a hurry to complete his mission.

If Xander had a scanner on the bomb, he’d probably know where Forgot went, but he’d also said to go somewhere else and do something first, and he could only think of one to do: get advice, and one place to do it: Dinky’s lab.

Resisting the urge to gallop lest he look suspicious, Forgot trotted towards Stable 11. He didn’t like going inside any stable, but that was where Dinky had her lab set up, and where she’d still be working with Solar on the shield generator for the town.

But now that he knew Fable had been a changeling, his paranoia was at the max, it felt like he was in Stable 5 all over again. He couldn’t just outright ask her if he should help murder the changelings; he’d have to word it in some other way.

Even walking down the halls in Stable 11 was emotionally excruciating, but Fable managed to stammer a request for directions and was eventually guided to Dinky’s laboratory. He felt bad that he’d never been here, but his fear of being in a stable had always overridden his desire to see Dinky’s work.

Apparently Dinky had instructed the guards that her ‘coltfriend’ was allowed to come inside her lab, which made him blush briefly even beneath his hysteria. He left his saddlebags just outside of the lab, unsure of whether Xander had an audio link with the bomb, and went inside.

The lab was rather large, having been set up in what must have been a warehouse before. The high ceiling accommodated a large metallic structure that must have been one of the shield generators from Canterlot, which Dinky had mentioned was the center of her current research. Around that were tables with a myriad of parts that Forgot couldn’t identify, most seeming more complex than even the robots that had tormented him for so long.

Kamikaze’s wings were currently on a nearby table. As Solar had finished with the power supply that the shield would need already, she’d been attending to Kami’s long list of requested power-ups. Apparently one of those requests had been to add ‘superheated razor wings’ to her current one without sacrificing maneuverability. Forgot wasn’t sure what it was about, but Kami sure talked about it a lot.

The first pony he saw was Solar, who hadn’t yet seen him. She looked to be taking a break from Kamikaze’s body parts, sitting back in a chair as she read a Journal of Magitech with brand new engineering goggles around her head. It must have been a good issue, because the front hoof not holding the journal was between her hind legs instead. He decided to leave her to it for now.

Dinky was hunched over and inside the tall shielding structure, and he could see her rotten but cute behind as she squirmed about in there. Her size must have been quite an asset when crawling around that thing. He trotted over to her, awkwardly trying to piece together what to say in his head.

“D-Dinky?” he asked quietly. “Um… I’m here.”

“Forgot?” Dinky asked. “You finally came to take a look!”

“Oh hey cutie!” Solar glanced from her magazine and smiled, but then looked back at it and didn’t stop using her hoof. She lacked the shame that other ponies out here had, but it had never bothered Forgot.

What made him blush was the delighted surprise in Dinky’s voice. What intensified that was when she backed out of the shield generator and bumped her behind against one of his legs. He noticed as it brushed to the side for a bit that she was quite warm, indicating she kept her internal heating coils on even when they weren’t playing… or maybe she did things with Solar, a thought he didn’t mind, and that made him blush more.

“Did you want me to show you around?” Dinky tilted her head as she turned around, smiling and looking somewhat flustered herself. He shivered slightly with dread despite the blush. Her voice went slightly dark a moment later as she seemed to notice. “No one’s giving you a hard time, right?”

“No, it’s not that,” Forgot shook his head. “I uh… had a conversation that confused me and I just wanted to see what you thought of it is all.”

“Okay, shoot,” Dinky nodded with a smile.

“Um…” Forgot’s eyes widened.

“Not literally,” Dinky chuckled. “Tell me your question.”

“Well um,” Forgot nodded, sitting back and slowly tapping his front hooves on the floor in front of him. “It was about the… hypothetical use of violence to find infiltrators… and punish them when they’ve been found without talking to them first.”

“Hypothetical?” Dinky seemed momentarily impressed. “My jargon is rubbing off on you, but yeah, that’s a serious question.” She always stopped to take him seriously even when she was busy, which was why he thought to come to her first.

“Violence…” Dinky spent a few moments considering before continuing. “It seldom leads anywhere good, but it’s a lesson no one seems to learn. We’ve all told you about the war, and it happened because everyone went right to violence to solve things, usually because they refused to sit down and talk it out with people they were afraid of. But even legit revenge… it doesn’t help.”

“Revenge?” Forgot asked, thinking her last words seemed oddly personal.

“Did you know that Mercury shot my mother’s head off?” Dinky asked. “It wasn’t on purpose, but before I realized that… I had a brief opportunity to do the same to her. I didn’t take it, and I’m glad now. Don’t mention that to her by the way, she’s a fragile one…”

“Wow, I didn’t know,” Forgot was shocked by all sorts of things today. Mercury, much like the workers at the PUB, was really nice. It was terrible that she’d done that, but if such a nice person was killed because of what they did on accident, it would have been worse.

“That’s why I can almost never get laid here with anypony decent instead of stallions who are rough and insist on my butt!” Solar’s sudden words made both Forgot and Dinky jump. Apparently she’d finished with her magazine, as she was wiping off her hoof with one of the pages, and joined the conversation. “I mean there’s the PUB, but somehow it just isn’t the same if it’s their job to buck you. There was one pegasus I found in a back alley that assured me she was super eager and not just doing it so I’d give her food, but that didn’t work either.” Solar shuddered. “As soon as the guards saw two pegasi going at it, they drummed up dirt on her and she had to finish lickin’ me in the guillotine! For some reason they insisted we finish because they needed to look for legal reasons. Custard came after but it was too late and-”

“Solar!” Dinky cut her off. “I already told you that you dreamed that last part, you’re getting so tired that you can’t tell which memories were dreams!”

“W-what? I only understood half of that, something about stallions laying you down on your butt, guards who can’t look at the right thing, and executions?” Forgot had no idea what she meant, looking at Dinky and hoping she’d explain. He had noticed Solar being frustrated a lot when saying weird things to ponies, but had always figured it was because she was missing the right social triggers.

“She means that sex is hard for her because most creatures hate pegasi,” Dinky said. “Males want to put her in her place more than they want to make love, and won’t believe her that she’s on birth control, so they use the other hole. …and despite efforts by Custard to fix it, the guards do in fact disproportionately punish pegasi. Maybe just not as weirdly as Solar’s dream.”

“Why?” Forgot couldn’t imagine such unnecessary cruelty. Every pegasi he’d met… well, all two of them… had been good friends.

“And it’s all for stuff some of my ancestors did!” Solar nodded, unusually annoyed. “They turned against Canterlot, and it wasn’t even their fault!”

“Kamikaze led them to rebel,” Dinky explained for Forgot again. “But she only did so because someone had tampered with her programming. They all thought they were doing the right thing, as did Canterlot, and they ended up destroying the last major cities because of it. Without that, the world would have made a full recovery and someone would have fished you out of Stable 5 150 years earlier at least.”

“There were pega plot purging programs after the Breaking too!” Solar said, though it sounded like she forgot the actual phrase and made one up. “Crimson said most pegasi outside vaults were slaughtered outright, and their body parts made into trophies… And there were radio broadcasts actually celebrating it and giving ponies advice on hunting them!”

“Much like those monsters in Stable 5 hunted you, actually,” sighed DInky.

“S-seriously?” Forgot had no idea it’d been quite so bad. “But what about like, Trinity… or Midnight?”

“That’s why almost all remaining bats and pegasi work for Midnight,” nodded Solar. “I mean where else were they going to go when they might be killed in any other settlement?”

“So they’re hiding there…” Forgot sighed and looked at the ground.

“We’re not saying violence is never necessary,” Dinky clarified. “Some creatures are apparently and obviously evil, a fact you know well, but resorting to it without it being absolutely necessary is never the right way. You know, you might be surprised, but there are a few creatures in this very city that are hiding because they fear what will be done to them. It’s a shame because they’re pretty nice people.”

Forgot froze. Was she talking about… had she already known? He wasn’t sure if he should ask her though… he didn’t want to get her in trouble either if she wasn’t supposed to tell.

“You know what?” Dinky tapped her chin thoughtfully. “This is going to sound like bad advice, but I want you to consider talking to Chrysalis about this.”

“Chrysalis is one of the few creatures that will-” Solar started, but stopped when Dinky casually punched her in the chest to shut her up.

“A-are you serious?” Forgot shuffled about, somehow even more confused now.

“She’s supposed to check in at the statue to see if the others are back around 2 PM,” said Dinky. “Why don’t you wait to surprise her for once. If you approach her freely and ask her about the history of her own kind being hunted, I guarantee she will take the question seriously.”

“We can go with you if you want!” Solar offered.

“You’re just hoping to get a quickie from her while she’s here,” grunted Dinky, then looked back at Forgot. “I want you to do this alone, it’d be good for you.”

Forgot wasn’t sure how it’d be good for him, but he trusted Dinky’s advice more than anyone he’d met. While she wasn’t as outwardly saintly as someone like Twilight, the way she talked to Forgot just made him feel better than anyone else. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted to take her advice.

“O-okay…” Forgot nodded. “I’ll see you tonight okay?”

“So when are you two going to invite me-” Solar said before Dinky punched her in the chest again.

“I’ll see you later, love,” Dinky smiled, then turned to crawl back inside the contraption again, only to cry out slightly when Solar gave her a hard slap to the rear.

Forgot briefly smiled and chuckled as he went and got his saddlebags, then looked at the time on the wall nearby. He had around an hour, and Xander wouldn’t think anything of him taking a bit longer, so he walked towards the stable exit. He stopped by his apartment to leave his saddlebags there, then headed to the statue in the center of town. Once there, he climbed up onto the base and sat there patiently, leaning his back against one of the legs as his own hind legs dangled off the edge.

He meant to try to surprise Chrysalis when she arrived, but on his way here he’d also remembered that she’d probably be with Midnight since Chrysalis can’t teleport between cities by herself. He took deep breaths, trying to brace himself for the inevitable feeling of dread that accompanied the monster, but was pleasantly surprised.

“That bitch!” Chrysalis exclaimed as she flashed into existence from a teleport, alone. “I can’t believe she refused to teleport me because she was busy fucking some teen pegasus nerd reading a quantum physics book to her! After all the slime I found out for her!”

“Uh, Miss Chrysalis?” Forgot squeaked from behind her. “Hello um… good day…”

Chrysalis turned, arching an eyebrow at Forgot, and clearly was surprised. She swayed a little, then leaned up against the statue next to him with a smirk. He could see the anticipation in her eyes, and knew she was thinking of a way to terrify him.

“Sorry,” Chrysalis chuckled. “For some reason shifting while mid-teleport makes me a bit dizzy and even more angry than usual. So why were you waiting for me? Are you finally going to tap my big bug booty?”

Shifting during teleport? What an odd thing to say, or do for that matter. He wanted to ask why she had to do that, and how she even got here from there without assistance, but couldn’t. He had to get out the question that Dinky had said would subdue her terror-causing tendencies.

“Miss Chrysalis!” Forgot blurted out. “Can you please tell me about why changelings are hunted?!”

It worked, Chrysalis’s amused expression dropping suddenly, her face serious as if a switch had been flipped in her head. She took a deep breath as if containing herself.

“I’m going to assume that’s a serious question,” Chrysalis said. “Since I think you’re too much of a coward to ask me in jest or as an insult.”

“I-it is…” Forgot nodded, trying not to hyper-ventilate just by being close to her.

“It’s my fault,” Chrysalis said plainly. “The entire Ceaseless Conflict was my fault. I used my changeling hive to infiltrate every facet of society and ensure they were all at each other’s throats. When the fruits of my deeds were laid bare, when they realized my promises of future glory were hollow and that all that awaited them was the hatred of everyone else, they abandoned me, but it didn’t help. It didn’t make others stop hunting them, and it didn’t stop the war. So here we are, 210 years later, still fighting. That a good enough answer?”

Her face remained emotionless, but seemed more like a mask hiding them than an actual calm face. He’d never seen or heard her act in this fashion, so it was clearly something that weighed heavily on her. From the sound of it, it should weigh heavily on her, but still… all the others.

“And now Trinity enslaved them instead, I guess,” nodded Forgot.

“Some of them,” Chrysalis said. “Some others managed to escape her grasp in… various manners, forming small hives here and there to hide both from Trinity and everyone else that wants to murder them for my mistakes. They don’t want to see me though, so I avoid them, often pretending not to even know they are there, and doing my best to help them without them having to deal with my disgusting presence.”

Hidden? That was the information he’d been lacking, and suddenly all the confusion he’d had started to clear. The changelings here didn’t act like spies because they had nothing to do with Trinity, they were actually hiding from her! And Forgot almost agreed to kill them without knowing…”

“We need to talk in private,” Forgot muttered.

“Why?” Chrysalis quirked an eyebrow.

“They’re in danger…” After what she said, Forgot assumed she knew about a hive here even if not in charge of them, and would know what he meant.

Chrysalis didn’t question further, instead suddenly teleporting them both to his bedroom. It was a little creepy that she knew his bedroom’s exact location to teleport there since he didn’t think she’d ever set hoof inside, and now that he was alone with her, the fear that had slowly started to ebb started to come back, shivering as he looked up at her silently.

“Explain,” Chrysalis said, then seemed to notice his dread. “I will not harm you.”

“Xander,” Forgot muttered. “He kidnapped Fable, the PUB worker… I helped him, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Continue,” Chrysalis tensed up as if angry, but didn’t lash out. Even she seemed to know not to before she had all the information.

“I didn’t think he’d torture her,” Forgot sighed. “H-he gave me a bomb, it’s in my saddlebags next to the front door. It has Hera’s Scorn inside, he wanted me to sneak into the PUB barracks and plant it there for when they are all there tonight.”

“Xander,” Chrysalis growled. “To think he would go so far… go get the device and show it to me.”

Forgot nodded quietly, rushing to the front door and retrieving his saddlebags. He still wasn’t sure if Xander had an audio link, but he brought it back anyway. Pulling out the device with his magic, he held it up in front of Chrysalis without a word. Chrysalis’ horn glowed as she scanned the device, then growled as she wrapped it in a magical shield as if cautious about it going off.

“Where is he?” Chrysalis asked, her voice even but a boiling rage slowly seeping up as it grew more firm.

“Right across from the room you were staying in,” Forgot nodded, looking around the room as he had increasingly more trouble looking at her. “He thought it’d be the last place they’d… please don’t hurt him okay? Dinky said violence isn’t a good answer.”

“No, it’s the question,” Chrysalis seemed to have quite a different view on it as she creepily smirked. “And in all cases where my children are in danger, the answer is ‘yes’.”

Chrysalis teleported them again, making Forgot wonder about her magical stamina...she clearly had no problem doing it twice in the city despite having just teleported long-range, which he’d been specifically told that almost no creature could do. They were in front of Xander’s door now.

Chrysalis seemingly wasn’t in the mood for knocking, using both her front legs to kick the door while pressing in on it with her magic. It flung from its hinges so hard that it landed halfway across the front room of Xander’s apartment. Xander didn’t seem to be in that room, and the rope where Fable had hung before swang on its own.

When no one came to check on the noise, Chrysalis walked in and towards the back room, Forgot following awkwardly behind her, hoping she didn’t do anything too terrible that he’d have to feel bad for.

They found him in the apartment’s bedroom, under a silence bubble. Forgot was pretty stunned to see him on the bed with the changeling, one hoof on the changeling’s most sensitive bits and pressing down as if torturing her more.

Xander barely had time to notice someone entered before Chrysalis grabbed him by the tail. She slung him around by it, Forgot having to dodge out of the way as he smacked the wall closest to him. She swung the stunned zebra over her head and flung him to the otherside of the room, where he hit the wall and landed on his head on the floor.

“Forgot!” Xander exclaimed with wide eyes and a pained expression. “You betrayed me? Are you somehow…”

“Listen, you fucking stripe,” Chrysalis cut him off, picking him up with her magic and slamming him against the wall again, holding a hoof against his neck to keep his breath cut off. “After everything else, I come in here to find you molesting one of my children? We molest others, got it?”

“Chrysalis wait!” Forgot moved up behind her and fearfully tapped at her behind to get her attention.

“Well how about that,” Chrysalis smirked back at him, her previous mood seeming to return slightly. “I knew you wanted to tap that ass.”

“Don’t hurt him, please!” Forgot begged. “Does Custard or Starlight know? We can take him to one of them and they can… do something.”

“They’ll just execute him,” Chrysalis grunted. “Then his body’ll be ground up into slop; I’m sure you don’t mind, but I certainly would at him getting such a merciful fate...especially with his head as some damn rare trophy!”

She didn’t harm him immediately at least. She dropped him to the floor again, allowing him to breathe, but held him still with his muzzle closed using her magic. She turned towards Fable, deactivating the silence bubble and then gently beginning to untie her. Fable was still in a panic, which Forgot assumed was due to the drug.

“Don’t hurt me either, please!” Fable was begging as soon as the silence bubble went down. “Just let me go home, you said you’d let us be, it’s not right if you enslave me!”

“I would never do that, child,” sighed Chrysalis, her voice becoming almost unnervingly gentle. “Have you been drugged? If you can’t shift, I can cast an illusion spell on you so that you can safely return to the PUB. You can tell them that they won’t have to worry about this fiend bothering them anymore.”

“I-I brought her here Fable,” Forgot tried to explain, turning away from the angrily-glaring Xander. “I asked her to help rescue you, just to help.”

Fable seemed to calm down, curling up on the bed when fully released from her bonds. Chrysalis’ horn glowed brightly again, and Fable’s body shivered as her wings began to slowly reknit together. She didn’t speak again, just letting herself be healed, probably too emotionally tired to communicate further, but finally not looking scared. Chrysalis used her bonds to tie up Xander instead, making sure to tie his muzzle shut as well.

“So, um,” Forgot started to ask, but stopped when Chrysalis suddenly turned towards him. She leaned down, hugging him against her as gently as she might rock an infant.

“Thank you,” Chrysalis said in the most sincere voice he’d ever heard from her. “I won’t torment you any longer either.” The gentle words notably lacked an apology for having already done so, but Chrysalis was still Chrysalis.

“What do I do?” asked Forgot as she pulled away. Finally, he was starting to feel calm as well, strangely so in fact. He wondered if Chrysalis was calming him with the emotional manipulation he’d been told she had, but he didn’t really care much.

Chrysalis picked up what looked like another detonator from the drawers next to the bed, which looked like it also had a small scan read-out. She held it over to Forgot gently take in his magic, and he nodded.

“Take the bomb to Dinky and Solar so they can dispose of it with science or whatever,” Chrysalis said. “They already know about the hive here, so you can explain exactly what happened, but tell her not to expect to see Xander again. They won’t like it, but it’s not like they can do anything about it either.”

“What will you do to him?” Forgot asked, though for some reason didn’t feel quite so bad about it now that he felt a bit woozy.

“Everything but kill him,” Chrysalis smirked. “Now, I’ll cast the illusion spell on Fable so you can drop her off at the PUB. Since somepony might realize you did it right after teleporting with me, and the drug’s not fully worn-off...you should pass some time filling her ass with spunk, so onlookers suspect nothing more than you getting a ‘freebie’ with me to make it kinkier. She seems to like you a lot more than this monochromatic filth anyways.”

“S-sure,” Forgot nodded again, now simply thankful it was over. “I’ll… wait a bit.”

54. Tactics

Wednesday 11/23/2287
POV: Crimson Prose
Crimoire

Camping was easy so long as Crimson had her book. There was no point in setting up camp outside when they could just sleep in here. The book itself was hidden in a dead tree stump and wasn’t likely to be bothered in their current path on the way back to Stable 41.

Another advantage was that she could write in some actual beds in the book, so they were getting to sleep on one instead of in a sleeping bag, Mercury curled up in her own bed a relatively safe distance away. Paper Cut had been told to be quiet while they slept, but could be heard whispering with Ink Blot across the room, probably arguing about what to do or not do to the whimpering Starlight nearby. The latter probably wasn’t getting any sleep with her new horn hole pounding.

Crimson realized it was unlike herself not to get up and join them, but had been less and less into it lately. Instead, she kept thinking about Figment, simultaneously worrying about her and trying to rationalize why she wouldn’t care if she didn’t return. She finally went to sleep with her thoughts.

She wasn’t sure how long she was out before she woke up to a tiny hoof pressed against her nose.

“Boop!”

Not having expected someone else to suddenly be in her own personal world, Crimson thrashed more than she wanted to as she woke up, hitting the floor next to the bed with a thump. When she sat up, she saw Screwball hovering upside down next to her.

“Oh, it’s you,” Crimson tried to play it off as she fended off another booping attempt by the giggly chaos spirit. “Should have known you could come in here.”

“Sorry!” Screwball giggled. “I saw all the weird bondage stuff and thought I’d try something evil!... but the most I could get myself to do was to boop you without consent and temporarily disable some of your bodily functions. Still pretty edgy though, right?”

Crimson decided it was best not to ask which, as it would just encourage the chaotic thing, and it was likely something harmless like sneezing and hiccupping, those could go to Tartarus anyways.

“Don’t bother trying to kill it,” Paper grumbled nearby with her hooves folded. Ink Blot was hiding further behind her. “I already tried.” She probably couldn’t appreciate how lucky she was that she tried and lived.

“Being killed-ed is no fun!” Screwball answered. “Besides, I thought you were just playing tag!”

“Yes, yes, very random,” Crimson couldn’t help but smile. “I could learn a thing or two from you about non-murder related randomness, but maybe you could tell us what you’re doing here first?”

“Ovo told me to get Twilight and friends and take them back to Holder for reasons,” Screwball explained. “I forget the reasons.”

“Ah,” Crimson chuckled. “Probably to prevent Starlight’s little plan to off her. Hear that, Miss Glimmer? I wonder how Ovo figured out your scheme. I knew there was something interesting about him.”

Starlight whimpered from her corner. She was hiding under a table and probably afraid of what Screwball might do if she was noticed. Crimson wouldn’t mind seeing that, actually.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind seeing what I do either,” Screwball responded to Crimson’s thoughts. “But you doing it is more humiliating than having something like me do it! So I’ll go easy on her for now. Anyway! We need to get to the meeting so you can give me the stuff Twilly promised!”

Her tone escalated as she went from calm to enraged at the drop of a hat. Specifically her hat, which fell off her head and started chasing a squealing Ink Blot around the room. Though not Screwball’s intent, it probably reminded Ink of some of the torture devices Crimson had lying around the book.

“Right,” Crimson was still waking up and having a hard time taking all this in. “Look, if you’re taking us to Holder, teleport Starlight to a prison cell there and the rest of us to whatever you’re wanting us to go to. I don’t feel like explaining what happened to her before I’ve woken up fully… and don’t forget to put the book back in my bag after you teleport us.

“Deal. I’m teleporting Starlight’s horn with her, but who knows which hole it’ll be in!” Screwball squealed, and in a flash of light, Crimson was somewhere else.

Looking around, she realized she’d been teleported to Holder, right next to the statue in the center of town, though there weren’t a lot of creatures out at this time of night. Mercury landed next to her, now out from under her blanket, but still asleep. The metal box they’d gotten from Princess Platinum landed next to Mercury, and the crimoire landed on Crimson’s back.

Starlight wasn’t there, and Crimson assumed given Screwball’s tone that she had in fact put her in a cell, but there was another problem. She felt another pony drape herself over her from behind, and she looked back to see a grinning Paper Cut. Outside of the book. Ink Blot was nearby, looking at her little hooves as if being real for the first time was really freaking her out.

“Hey!” Crimson complained. “I didn’t mean those two and you know it! Put them back… though honestly surprised Paper didn’t try to kill me as soon as she was out of my direct control.”

“I know, right?” Paper Cut rolled her eyes. “Normally I’d grab the nearest object and kill you with it. I think I’m getting tainted by your new friends too. Do you know I only tormented Starlight for like an hour last night?”

“Oh, right!” Screwball hovered around them. “I guess she hasn’t been let out; I got time mixed up again! …maybe you’d like to go with me though?”

It took them a moment to realize that the last question was aimed at Ink Blot. Ink Blot stuttered, “Me?” in response.

“Whoa, whoa,” Crimson shook her head. “No stealing parts of my psyche!” She wasn’t much sure why she cared as much as Ink’s influence was getting in the way of her desires lately. Or maybe that’s exactly why she wanted her to stay? She wasn’t sure.

“Yeah!” Paper was even more upset. “I need my little torture buddy.”

“Y-you want me to stay?” Ink looked surprised at Crimson’s response more than Paper’s. “O-okay… I’ll stay with Crimmy for now… she needs me still.”

“Fine, but you better be nicer to her, got it?!” Screwball shook her little hooves at Crimson and Paper.

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Crimson grumbled, but wondered how much Screwball would actually enforce the command. Then again, ‘nicer’ was entirely relative. If all else failed, she could let Paper be the one to test it so she’d be the one turned inside out or whatever Screwball might do in retaliation.

Paper Cut and Ink Blot disappeared again, and Crimson cracked open her book to make sure that’s where they went. While she did so, Figment got yoinked in, appearing next to her. For some annoying reason, the changeling was in her base form.

“Oh, it’s you,” Crimson pretended not to be relieved. “Platinum is going to be peeved when she finds her new toy is gone…”

“Oh, um… Crimson,” Figment blushed, rubbing her right eye as if it was really itching. “Actually Platinum let me go… they were flying me back to Stable 41...”

“What’d you buck up?” Crimson assumed the worst. “Also shift your nasty dick away, I don’t like looking at it right now.”

“Uh, can I explain when I’m less out of it?” Figment sighed, putting her hoof down but still eye-twitching. “Also please don’t ask me to shift right now, I think something might be more wrong with my head. Hope I can shift soon, because I sort of ate something thinking I could shift it out later...”

“More wrong than before?” grumbled Crimson. “That’s quite a high bar to meet. Fine, but I’m still calling you ‘she’ though.”

As snippy as Crimson was though, Figment smiled more than she ever did as Tranquil. She could probably feel Crimson’s relief no matter how hard she tried to hide it. How annoying.

Before Crimson had time to ask about what Figment ate, there was another flash of white light and a snapping sound as Screwball appeared with Twilight, Gloomy atop her, and Maud behind the two. Twilight squealed loudly, making her familiar o-face, and began panting, looking sweaty and a bit disheveled, especially about her nether end. Gloomy pulled away quickly with a squelch and a sputter from Twilight, looking similarly disheveled and immediately moving his legs together to hide his problem down below. It wasn’t hard to imagine what Screwball had interrupted.

“Screwball!” Twilight immediately complained. “I was in the middle of org…” She stopped suddenly as she realized where she was, blushing sharply and clasping her tail downward as she looked around. “Oh um, hi Crimson, Maud…. Where’s Starlight?”

“You were seconds from going kaput!” Screwball claimed at Twilight with no context. “That meanie tried to make your last buck really your last, so I put her in the meanie cage!” She blinked away again.

“Okay…” Maud said, apparently having had even less warning than Crimson did. “Unexpected, but not unsurprising…”

“Yeah, she arranged to have Mina kill Twilight on the way back to Holder,” Crimson continued speaking to Twilight. “Good thing it took your caravan so long to get their stuff to leave or we might have been too late. Anyway, I made a citizen’s arrest. Justice prevails, I guess?”

“She deserves worse…” Gloomy growled, forgetting his own embarrassment, quickly replaced with anger.

“See?” Maud looked at Twilight. “As we suspected, she was not being sincere with an order for me to guard you, and probably thought I would stop guarding you while you bucked. Which was often. But I did not.”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed and forgot her embarrassment too, only to have it immediately return deeper when Maud kept talking. “Maud…” she motioned briefly but frantically for Maud to be quiet.

“What?” Maud shrugged.

“Explain the hot details later!” Screwball demanded. “I don’t want to wait to fix Mommy anymore. Gimme stuff!”

“What’s going on?” Mercury finally woke up from her sleep, seeming momentarily confused, but probably figuring what happened when she saw the little nut was here.

“I said gimme the stuff!” shrieked Screwball, flailing her legs about, sounding like an addict wanting a fix.

“Oh, you mean the thing we got from Unicornia?” Mercury asked, but all the same picked up the small metal case and held it out toward Screwball. “You should know though, I think they tainted it with a poison, so you’ll want to remove that.”

“Easy peasy mustard squeezy!” Screwball said, grabbing the box and shaking it next to her ear as if it were a birthday present.

“Why does she have to give it to you?” Crimson asked. “You teleported it out of the book and put it next to her. Just take it. For that matter, take it from Unicornia instead of having us whore out Figment to get it.”

“And I didn’t even get laid…” sighed Figment, rubbing her eye again.

“The agreement is that you give it to me!” Screwball said, putting the case on her head like a hat. Crimson wondered if her actual hat was still running around somewhere. “And I couldn’t go get it in Unicron for reasons!”

“Unicornia,” Twilight corrected.

Everything was happening so fast as Screwball disappeared in another white flash with the box. Crimson assumed it was to give the Hoofnium to Eris, and she wondered how long it would take. Probably not long since time dilation was among her powers.

“Right,” sighed Twilight. “So um… if Starlight is in prison, which I’d still like a full explanation for...” She looked at Maud. “You’re next in line, because I don’t want to be in charge.”

“Acceptable,” replied Maud. “Does this mean we will soon go to the…”

Because things weren’t chaotic enough already, Screwball chose this point to reappear, but she wasn’t alone. A yellow… Crimson assumed it was Eris from all the mismatching parts, came with her. Without a coherent word, the creature wound herself around everyone there, squeeing in delight as she forced them into a group hug.

“Wow, that took like… 6 months,” Screwball said, tucking herself in with everyone else so she got included in the hug. “Give Mommy Eris a moment, she’s really happy to be able to touch ponies again!”

It wasn’t uncomfortable with how soft Eris seemed. In fact, Crimson considered the weird creature fairly buckable-looking, but the happiness quotient in the room started to make her a little ill. The group waited awkwardly for her to stop squeeing, with her pausing and starting up again as soon as someone tried to get a word in. Finally, she giggled and curled up in the center of the group, letting them go. There were a few room lights on in the dark buildings nearby as if she had awoken a few creatures.

“Um, glad to see you’re happy,” Twilight stammered a bit. “And to see you well in general.”

“You aren’t secretly male right?” asked Crimson. “Because I think that much squealing counts as a sex act.”

“I am glad to see I’m happy too!” Eris smiled. “Oh… and I’m not male at the moment… sorry. Thank you though!”

“Oh… can you shapeshift then?” Figment asked with slight interest. Crimson poked her with a hoof to quiet her, but found herself smiling inwardly at Figment’s seemingly constant readiness. Maybe being married to a changeling wouldn’t be so bad.

“Mommy Eris! Mommy Eris!” Screwball landed on Twilight’s head, then leaned downward to nuzzle her. “This is the one I told you about! With impossible memories and stuff!”

“Yes, I see that,” Eris giggled good-naturedly. Though she looked the part, Eris seemed to be a sharp contrast to Screwball. While Screwball was floating around behind her and kicking her legs around, Eris seemed very composed after her initial squeal-fest.

“I see myself in your memories, too,” Eris continued. “And I’m glad that she can still be with Discord. I would gladly give up all my powers if that could be me, but it’s not meant to be. You take care of her when you get back, okay? And little Screwball too when she happens there.”

“I will, I swear it,” Twilight wiped a tear from her eyes. “I don’t suppose you could…”

“It’s not in my power to solve this or my place to go back with you,” sighed Eris. “I’m sorry, but my powers have a much lower limit than his.”

They were clearly having a moment. Crimson still hated moments.

“I bet they are totally banging,” luckily Screwball ruined said moment, banging on a drum set that for some reason had suddenly existed, with a Discord-shaped drumstick and three Fluttershy-colored drums that had rather suspicious holes in them. “I never really understood that, maybe because I’m only a few centuries old, but I know creatures in Discordia sure like to put their parts in each other! Daddy Discord and Mommy Eris were really good at it!”

“I wonder if your Discord’s ‘little guy’ also looks like a tiny version of himself…” mused Eris.

Twilight chuckled awkwardly. “Um…his…penis? Oh I uh, never tried to look, so I’m not sure. Though all in all, it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I ever saw on him.”

“Oh dear…” Mercury shifted about behind Twilight.

“Ah, now this is my kind of moment,” Crimson decided. “The kind that makes everyone uncomfortable.”

“Right,” Maud said, apparently not enthused by either type of moment. “Are we to then get what we were promised? A way out of the Ministry?”

Eris sighed and went silent for a moment. “I am honestly not okay with my little one putting herself in danger. However… I recognize that an agreement was reached, and will allow her to abide by it. She can teleport you to the entrances and teleport you out later, but nothing more dangerous!”

“I’ll give you candies!” Screwball announced, at first seemingly at random, but apparently had a point as she hit one side of her head and over a dozen candies popped out her ear on the other side. “When you eat the candy, I’ll know to show up and pop you out. Side effects will be mild and depend on my mood at the time...”

“I’ll let her stay for the meeting, too, but I really must go interact with my subjects!” Eris nodded.

“Have fun, Eris,” Twilight smiled, seeming almost as happy as Eris. It was disgusting.

As Eris popped away, there was a crack of thunder as it began to rain. It was probably welcome in an area that didn’t have very much rain, and would have been even more so if it wasn’t chocolate. A parting gift from Eris, no doubt. Crimson shrugged, looking upward and opening her mouth to catch some.

“And now this is happening too,” Maud tasted a bit of the rain, but otherwise seemed unamused. “We need to get the others and go inside to plan things.”

“Yeah and I probably shouldn’t be seen in town without being able to shift,” Figment sighed awkwardly. “Also, um, Crimson, could you help me with teleportation? I sort of ate something I shouldn’t have and would rather not pass it manually.”

Crimson rolled her eyes. “You know I can’t teleport, but I’ll try to find somepony that can. Knowing your luck… Mercury, fetch something that’ll help things along.”

Crimson giggled as Mercury reluctantly nodded, and Figment gulped. It could be amusing enough that maybe she shouldn’t try very hard to find someone..

Friday 11/25/2287
POV: Twilight Sparkle
Holder

So much had happened since Twilight returned, and apparently while she was away too. There was the mission planning, learning about Starlight’s plans, and chaos that happened with the hive while she was gone atop that. It was a lot of information to deal with.

It wasn’t easy to plan a mission when they didn’t know what they’d be faced with, but they managed with what they had. Of course, Twilight’s mission was a little different, and she couldn’t tell all of them outright.

She managed to convince them to have her in a group that entered near where the Ministry’s library had been though, hoping she could find another copy of Starswirl’s time spell. After studying the map, Twilight identified a few ways to get there and would have to memorize them all in case one was blocked. She considered if she should confide in the others in her group of her plans, and if they’d keep it from the others.

Afterward, Crimson had been more in a mood to tell her the details about Starlight, and it had been more terrible than Twilight had imagined. She was horrified that Starlight was willing to go to that extent to kill her, and they’d be directing the changelings on their way to Stable 5 instead of letting them into Holder, knowing that they were part of that plan.

It was also no less horrifying that Crimson still had it in her to torment someone like that. Twilight wouldn’t wish that fate on any unicorn. It wasn’t like she expected Crimson to become a good pony immediately, but she’d hoped she had made more progress than she had. Twilight was still bothered by an Element choosing Crimson, but she imagined that it probably chose her based on what she could or would be, not by what she was. Hopefully this was just that tendency in Crimson flailing madly before it faded.

Twilight wasn’t sure if she should have, but eventually got the nerve to go to Stable 11’s holding cells to see Starlight. She found the unicorn behind more conventional bars than the cell in Stable 27, curled up on a bunk with her entire body covered by a blanket. She was shivering like a foal afraid of monsters under the bed at night, making Twilight pity her more. She’d done a lot, but she’d been through a lot too.

“Starlight?” Twilight asked gently.

“Ah… Twilight…” Starlight answered even more quietly. “I guess you’re in charge now. Good luck trying to herd that mess better than I did.”

“No…” Twilight sighed. “If you really understood me, you’d know I have no desire for that.”

Starlight peeked out from under the blanket, but kept her forehead covered, seeming honestly surprised that Twilight hadn’t assumed command as soon as she could. Twilight could see bandages wrapped around her head, so at least a doctor had seen to her.

“Huh… so Maud then, I assume.” Starlight muttered, but couldn’t keep eye contact for long. “It’s unbelievably annoying if I was wrong about you.”

“Well you still have time to be right, about a lot of things,” nodded Twilight. “I’m told the changelings from Stable 41 have been diverted to Stable 5, Forgot’s old stable, to prevent carrying out any other orders you gave them, but will be treated peacefully. The food systems still work there, so they can survive, and we’ll keep their presence as quiet as possible.”

“Not like any of it matters,” Starlight shrugged. “I was fooling myself to think we had a chance to become a faction to reckon with. I assume she has a plan for your next mission?”

“We came up with one, all of us together,” said Twilight. “We’ll split into three groups and enter through the three teleport entrances we know we can get to; it seems that there’s a back door in the system that allows us to trip the teleports from the outside.”

“Added by Crimson or Chrysalis?” Starlight asked, then sighed. “Could have been either I suppose. Who is going?”

“Chrysalis had it done back then, apparently,” nodded Twilight. “Maud, Chrysalis, and Solar will go to the Ministry of News, since Chrysalis devised an… interesting way in. Kamikaze, Gloomy, and I will go in through the entrance you exited from. Then Crimson, Mercury, and Figment through Gora Soul’s lab, since Crimson is familiar with it and there shouldn’t be any security on the teleport there. It’s the least likely to still work, but they’re just going to try to grab data from the lab, so it’s okay if they don’t get in. We’re going to do it when we think Trinity has her attack on Midnight planned, to maximize confusion.”

“... I want to go,” Starlight said after a few moments.

“You’re in no condition,” Twilight shook her head.

“They’re just going to execute me,” Starlight said bitterly. “You’re going to say they won’t, but you know how our world works, and you know they will. They’ll blame me for Olivia’s death, the one thing I didn’t do. Even Screwball with her naive attitude...she sent me here with my horn up my plot so deep that it had to be teleported out by a doctor. She’s probably looking forward to me being ground up into slop for ponies to eat, with a bit of mustard.”

“So you want to convince them not to,” nodded Twilight sadly. There was a time when her first thought would have been that Starlight wanted to make amends, but she knew better by now.

“Take me with your group,” Starlight probably thought Twilight was the most likely to let her go.

But it wasn’t that easy. Out of all those that she could have on her team, she’d specifically asked for those that she knew were most likely to be okay with her side mission to the library. Starlight, on the other hoof, was most likely to try and stop her.

“I can’t do that,” Twilight sighed. “Not with me, sorry.”

“You hate me that much?” Starlight grumbled, but there was little emphasis behind it. “I suppose I understand why. Some Empress.”

“I don’t hate you, but I don’t expect you to believe that after you tried to have me killed,” Twilight stated bluntly. “I’ll ask the others and… maybe there’s another group you’d be more help to. And… I am sorry for what was done to you. I don’t care what you tried to do, I would have still stopped them if I was there.”

“Yeah,” Starlight chuckled bitterly. “You probably would have tried. But remember: You may have a map on your pipbuck, but I know the Ministry better than a map. Also even without my horn, I still have psionic abilities, so me being on the PCB network raises the security immensely. You’ll need that when Trinity tries to use her own psionics on you all. And if a team is going into the labs… I don’t need to tell you why I’d be helpful for that.”

“I’m sure you know plenty about the Ministry,” admitted Twilight, but that was part of the reason she was nervous about having Starlight with them. She might know it too well. “And we probably can’t entirely count on our pipbuck maps to be accurate 200 years later.” She took a deep breath before asking the next question. “Maud and the others would like you to turn over your pipbuck as well, Starlight. Even if you are allowed on the network again, you know we can’t let you be the hub.”

Starlight growled, but didn’t resist as much as Twilight expected. Then again, she’d probably rather give it to Twilight instead of someone like Crimson or Maud that would hurt her for it. She took it off her head, unlatching the belt from her leg as well. Twilight took them both and put the device in her saddlebag. They’d need to have Solar reset it before someone else tried using it.

“Are you still determined to go back?” Starlight asked. “In time, I mean.”

“The chance of me getting back now is pretty slim,” sighed Twilight, not liking the implication that Starlight understood what Twilight wanted to do there, and not wanting to hint at it.

“Have you thought about all the lives you would erase?” Starlight asked. “It’s not the best world or the best life… but it’s still ours. I deserve more of a life than getting melted into plasma like you said the other me did.”

“I… will never take actions that will erase this timeline,” said Twilight. “I swear on everything I believe in.”

Screwball seemed to have confirmed that both timelines can exist at once, so Twilight was no longer worried about that. However, Starlight would probably not trust that assurance, and Twilight couldn’t risk Starlight realizing what she planned to do at the Ministry, especially if Starlight might be there too.

“No one can even figure out what you believe in,” Starlight wrapped herself tightly up in the blanket, whimpering at how the pressure hurt her head, but not loosening it. “I suppose that’s what makes you a paradox. You’ve pretended to feel bad for me for long enough though. Leave me be.”

Tuesday 11/29/2287
POV: Maud Pie
Ministry of News

“Bampf!” Screwball exclaimed after teleporting the group to their location outside the Ministry of News. That was their only interaction with her for the time being, as she immediately popped away to ferry the other groups.

Their group consisted of Maud, Chrysalis, and Solar. Maud, as the leader, wasn’t particularly fond of the bug bitch being there, but she was necessary for their plan to work. She infiltrated this place during the war, and the backdoors she put into the system were likely still there. Her access here probably exceeded even Crimson’s, since the latter wasn’t exactly trusted by other ministers near the end.

Solar, who was there for her technical knowledge in dealing with robotic guards and a possible hyper-intelligent AI, was more comfortable with Chrysalis being there. It wasn’t hard to figure out why they got along so well when one was a lust-eating shape-shifter and the other had a list of creatures she wanted to buck.

Maud motioned for them to stay hidden as she pulled Ashmaker from her heavy bags. Mite and Pinkie Die were also in there, ammo for the latter included, so all three of them would have a weapon once she brought her sisters back. She also thought to bring two pipbucks for them. They’d need to be on the PCB network quickly for protection from whatever psionic buckery Trinity had up her sleeves.

She looked through the scope at the building to get an idea of what they might be dealing with. The Ministry was nestled at the base of the mountain opposite of Canterlot, and was locked up tight. All windows had been sealed on the main building, and the only entrance was the large front gate.

The gate was guarded by two tank-treaded sentry bots with what appeared to be chain guns. Those were not common, but the Ministry of News had always been more well-guarded than one might expect. The SHIE AI was the first of its kind and had to be protected. It was likely even more protected now since Skyla had been supplying it with resources.

There were also a dozen plasma turrets around the building that she could see, and she had to imagine more robots inside. Of course the main problem was all the surveillance cameras on the outside. If they were actively being monitored by the AI within, all the robots inside would come flooding out to meet any attackers. It was a pity Screwball hadn’t agreed to help them more, because even Midnight or Trinity would have issues assaulting this place.

She moved the scope to look about 200 hoofsteps south to a smaller tunnel entrance. It had an orichalcum door similar to the stable entrances, thick enough to withstand anything they had access to. It was the place where supplies were unloaded to be taken inside, but the supply yard was empty at the moment. While it wasn’t directly guarded due to the difficulty of opening it from the outside, it had the same surveillance as the rest of the facility.

Maud’s understanding was that Skyla kept this resource yard reasonably supplied, but it seemed the resources had been conveniently removed so that there wouldn’t be any robots here loading. She supposed the why and how of it wasn’t important for now so long as it served their purpose.

“I regret that we only had one pulse barding,” Maud commented. “I know the reactor team needed it, but it would make this a lot easier.”

When there was no answer, Maud turned to see why. She found Chrysalis with her disturbingly long tongue feeling out the inside of Solar’s muzzle. Unwilling to deal with such antics on this mission, Maud slammed the butt of the rifle into Chrysalis’s head. Her reaction was a mix between a moan and a grunt, while Solar ducked and covered her head with her wings as if she thought she might be next.

“No need to butt in, you could have just asked,” smirked Chrysalis, rattling her head a bit as if to get it back in order.

“This mission is too important for your antics, succubus,” Maud made clear. “We have to get to the teleport to enter at the designated time just after Twilight’s team enters. Swiping the soul recycler depends on timing and stealth. That means no using the gigglers, Solar.”

Since Holder had no shortage of them, they’d passed out giggler grenades to all those on the mission. Maud worried a little about Solar panicking and chucking one before they should.

“Sorry,” Solar squeaked a more sincere apology, pulling her helmet back on. Solar wore gray leather armor with wing covers in hopes it would keep her bright colors from standing out as much.

“Yes, yes, I’m ready,” Chrysalis relented. “And don’t worry. Watcher said they’ll distract the system as much as they can while we’re here.”

“However he intends to do that,” Maud wasn’t sure, but Twilight had also seemed certain that Watcher had a way of doing so. She turned to Solar instead. “Solar?”

“Right!” Solar smiled, pulling open her saddle bags. She fumbled a bit with her prosthetic hoof, but retrieved a deactivated sprite-bot.

The pegasus had damaged the transmitter on the device, which meant as soon as it was reactivated, it would return to the facility for repair. Because the damage made it unable to transmit the data on how it had been damaged, it would go directly to the main core where it could plug in and transfer the data manually.

Solar opened the panel on the back with her screwdriver, confirming that the AIE charge was still there. It was one of the two Unicornian anti-magic bombs they had got from the raider complex on their way to Holder. The reactor team had the other for their own mission.

The device was placed so that it would be activated when the bot plugged in. While it wouldn’t cause irreparable damage to the facility, the burst would disable most of their core systems, including surveillance. With any luck, most of the internal security would converge on that location, perceiving an attack there, and give them the chance they needed to get in.

Of course to get in, they needed someone to open the door, and that was where their changeling frenemy came in. In a shimmer of green magic, she transformed into an insect and latched onto the device. When Solar activated it, it took a moment to get its bearings before heading towards the facility with Chrysalis in tow. Once inside, she could buzz away and open the smaller tunnel entrance from the inside. Maud hoped that her claims of having been in there before were true so she could find her way.

“Follow,” Maud whispered to Solar, and made her way towards the smaller tunnel entrance, moving towards a ledge as close as they could get without being seen by surveillance.

They had a good view of both their intended entrance and the bots guarding the main entrance from here. Maud stayed perfectly still as she watched them, patiently waiting for some indication that things had started. She idly stroked the small bag that she wore around her neck, the one with her sisters’ soul gems inside, the whole ones identified with a pink or green ribbon as they otherwise looked the same. If she couldn’t take the soul recycler with her for some reason, she’d plug them in on the spot.

Solar, not used to this sort of waiting game, was more antsy, rocking back and forth and looking increasingly alarmed that nothing was happening, despite it only having been a few minutes. Several times she started to whisper something only for Maud to put a hoof to her muzzle to quieten her.

Fortunately, they didn’t have long to wait. About five minutes after they got to their spot, Maud saw the guards at the main gate look agitated. One entered the building through the main gate as the other began a sweep around the building to look for anything amiss there, but neither went towards the secondary entrance. Maud glanced at the cameras closest to them, verifying that the tiny red lights indicating that they were active had turned off.

Without a word, Maud slipped around the corner and up to the second entrance, Solar so close behind her that she could feel the pegasus against her tail, just as she had instructed to avoid getting separated. They only had about two more minutes to wait until the door budged, opening with a shrill metallic sound that Maud hoped none of the guards would hear and investigate.

“And done,” said Chrysalis, just inside the door in her base form after it opened. “Not quite as easy to get in as back in the good old days, but not exactly hard either. Given the somewhat delayed reaction after the blast, I believe Watcher has managed to distract the SHIE AI as well.”

“We are not done yet,” Maud said as she took one more glance outside to make sure no guards were visible. “Lead the way. Quickly. We do not know how long their communications will be out for.”

The inside of the entrance was a loading dock, also empty of supplies despite the previous implication that Skyla had been providing resources for them to bring inside. They headed down one of the maintenance tunnels beneath the facility, Chrysalis shrinking her size down to fit in the confined space, with Maud and Solar having to crouch to crawl behind her.

They were making good time, but it was a little unnerving that Chrysalis knew her way around so well. Either she had an excellent memory of events 200 years ago, or she’d been back in here since then. Maud didn’t suppose it mattered, since it was still in her best interest to help them, but she did find herself checking her pipbuck a few times to make sure the changeling was still showing green.

The trip through the maintenance ducts was more annoying than it had to be. Chrysalis kept pausing to waggle her rear at Maud, even causing a few faceplants into it. Worse was Solar, who without a stiff tail to keep at distance, had her snout constantly at Maud’s rear, occasionally bumping against her. Maud was glad she was in her rock soldier armor; Solar might not have been able to contain herself if Maud’s behind were bare.

Eventually, despite the distractions, they made it through and Chrysalis carefully pried off the cover at the other end. The lights in the facility were off, hopefully due to malfunctions which meant they still weren’t able to detect intruders. They made it directly to the control center, or what used to be the control center when actual ponies were in command. The robotic mind running it now had little need for this place.

Despite that, it still had its own backup power supply, so the lights on countless switches and the glow of several terminal monitors dimly lit the room. In one corner was the dark blue teleport pad, a circular area with a round glass enclosure on top for ponies to step into before teleportation. It was fortunate that the teleporter components were too specialized to have been torn out and used for something else, or they might have been salvaged by the machines here.

“This is going surprisingly well,” Maud commented. She definitely didn’t trust situations going well. She looked at the time on her pipbuck. “We still have half an hour before time to teleport, so let’s hope our stunt caused at least that much damage.”

“Shouldn’t be too much to make sure the teleportation pad is up,” whispered Solar, moving to the terminal next to the pad.

“Hakuna your tatas, featherbrain,” Chrysalis casually pushed Solar out of the way as she got in front of it instead. “I need to put in my access code first, then I need to shift to pass the retinal scan. Once I do that they should only know we’re here if they think to manually check the authorized access logs.”

“While your help is invaluable, insect,” Maud commented. “I cannot help but be angered at how much access you had to Equestrian facilities, knowing what you used it for.”

“You’re welcome,” Chrysalis smirked. “And that’s Queen Insect to you.”

“It’d have been nice if Skyla could have just let us in,” Solar commented. “Pretty weird she has access to hijack the signal and bring them supplies without being able to get into the building or make the robots stand down.”

“I can’t imagine who she fucked to get that access,” smirked Chrysalis.

With that, Chrysalis shifted again, shifting to an alicorn about Midnight’s size, but with a bright pink coat and a yellow and purple striped mane. She had oversized wings with a darker purple around her feather tips, and blue eyes that were as bright as any of the console lights. Her cutie mark was a heart with a crack down the middle and black wings spread behind it, uncomfortably on point given her origin. Chrysalis put her eye up to the scanner next to the console, which buzzed momentarily and then beeped in recognition.

“Welcome, Princess Skyla,” the electronic voice said before the main menu popped up on the screen.

“Why did you not just give yourself access?” asked Maud. “And why do you know what Skyla looks like? You’ve met her?”

“A changeling giving herself access?” Chrysalis sounded slightly offended. “As herself? Blasphemy… and I don’t have to meet a pony to become them. I only have to see them in someone else’s mind.”

“No, you have met her,” Maud could think of nothing else that made sense. “Or at the very least communicated with her. Otherwise she would not have known to use the access you gave to transmit over the sprite-bots. And she wouldn’t have known to remove the supplies she provided them from the loading dock area to keep worker bots from being in there. How did she even do that if the security would attack her soldiers or transports on sight as well?”

“Oh this is interesting,” Chrysalis seemed to like changing the subject when questioned.

“What is?” Solar asked. “Can I see now?” But she was only pushed aside by Chrysalis again, whimpering softly at being denied a look at cool technology.

“There you go,” Chrysalis smirked. “The system should be pretty similar to what you’d have at the control stable.”

“Yes!” Solar giggled gleefully as she moved up to the terminal. “Yeah, it’s pretty similar. Just got to look through currently deactivated systems… yep! Teleporter access… looks like the backdoor is already in the system here. I’m setting the target as the Ministry of Magitech… soul research wing… done!”

The nearby telepad glowed as it powered up, and no alarms went off. Of course the security would never expect someone to break in just to teleport out, so it may be one of the last systems they checked. Still, Maud did not feel like she could sit around as they waited.

“25 minutes left,” said Maud. “Good work. We cannot risk using it before the designated time, so I am going to block the exits just to be sure.”

“I’ll poke around and see what else I can find!” said Solar excitedly.

“How about we just leave it at that,” smirked Chrysalis, moving to push Solar away from the monitor again.

“Let her,” Maud said, pushing a heavy supply cabinet over the maintenance vent that they entered through. “But be careful not to set off any alarms, Solar.”

Chrysalis grunted, eyeing Maud, then shrugged and stepped aside again. She seemed oddly annoyed to let them poke around further, which only made it more vital that they check. Just because she was helping them now didn’t mean she’d always help them, so it was important to know what she was up to.

“Got it!” Solar nodded, tapping away at the keyboard again. “So you added access rights to Princess Skyla?”

“I did,” shrugged Chrysalis. “Last I was here.” She did not sound keen to give more details.

“Huh… oh I see,” Solar said. “You only gave her access to transmit, but the teleporter doesn’t require special rights so it lets her account do that too. So is she one of your buck-buddies?”

“You have a delightfully one-track mind,” Chrysalis smirked, but did not answer. Instead she shifted back to her natural form. Thank goodness; Skyla’s form was so bright and pink that it would have even offended Pinkie, though mostly out of jealousy. Pinkie’s soul gem agreed.

As Solar continued to type, Maud pushed two desks in front of the double doors that served as the room’s only other entrance. The only other things she could find that weren’t nailed down were a half dozen filing cabinets, so she stacked three on each desk to give them as much weight as possible. Not satisfied with being still for even a moment, she then looked for every surveillance camera she could, using tape she found in one of the desks to cover them up should they reactivate.

“This is weird…” Solar said as Maud was taping over the last camera and putting the rest of the tape in her saddle bag. “Nightmare Moon has access rights? At a higher level than Skyla even; she can actually control the sprite-bots’ movement if she wants.”

“She most certainly did not before the Breaking,” Maud paused, then looked over at Chrysalis.

“The only one I gave rights to was Skyla,” shrugged Chrysalis. “Is this really important? It’s not like Nightmare could even use access if she had it. She’s trapped in a pod in an empty vault with no access to communications equipment. Unless she can take on every shadow from there to Equestria, she’s not leaving that place.”

“I do not know if I believe you,” Maud peered at Chrysalis harder, but she was not someone that was intimidated by Maud’s stare. She asked Solar, “Does Songsmith have access? It would explain how he knows things.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Solar added. “I found Nightmare’s access while looking for any he had. I don’t think Chryssie gave Nightmare access though; the logs say the SHIE AI itself did it. And then… it wiped its own memory of having done so? Weird.”

“Why would it do that?” Maud wished Limestone was here to figure this out faster; there were limits to what Maud could assume Limestone would think. Limestone’s gem agreed.

“Oh!” Solar bounced and raised her voice a little excitedly. “Like I said before!... well Chryssie wasn’t there, but Maud was. On the way out of Canterlot, we were talking about the AI, and I said that after 200 years with no wipes, maybe it developed sentience.”

“And if that made it start dreaming,” Maud took it to the logical conclusion. “A dream-walker could ‘hack’ it without ever coming here, maybe easier than she could a normal dreamer with less programmed thoughts. And you said she could control the bots, which means Watcher is… And I assume you knew this?” Maud looked back at Chrysalis.

“I’m going to ask you to stay quiet about that,” grunted Chrysalis, not being nearly so silly about being caught as Maud expected. “It could make things worse if it gets out.”

“Worse than our current situation?” Solar sounded as incredulous as Maud.

“Midnight is already at a disadvantage that we need to correct,” explained Chrysalis. “Imagine what would happen if it got out that Watcher is Nightmare and… not exactly on good terms with Midnight.”

“I see,” Maud nodded. “Many of her bat troops might turn on Midnight, which we cannot allow at present, as amusing as it would be...yes, Pinkie, I’d love to see Midnight roasted alive on a spit with a mango in her mouth too... I agree then, but I will have to tell Limestone when she returns as she will be taking charge.”

“If you must,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes as if she doubted the return of Maud’s sisters. Maud kept down her anger at that, lest it disrupt the mission further. All in all, this was not the worst thing Chrysalis could have been keeping from them. If anything, it was a relief.

The relief was short lived however, as the main lights came back on and the facility buzzed back to life. Maud looked at her pipbuck again to find they still had five minutes before time to jump, but they absolutely could not risk going early. It would take the system at least that much time to figure out that they turned on the telepad, but that wouldn’t keep them from sending robots to their location.

“Five minutes,” Maud motioned to the others. “Into the telepad.”

Chrysalis pried Solar away from the keyboard, opening the glass door to the teleport pad and tossing her inside. As Chrysalis entered and Maud readied Ashmaker, there was a loud thud at the blocked door as something tried to open it.

“Do we have guests?” a disturbingly foal-like voice said from the other side of the door.

“Can’t you just become Skyla again and tell them to stop?” Solar asked.

“Well, no,” smirked Chrysalis. “Because last time I was here I also set them to consider anyone they see as an intruder, in case Trinity tried to get in using the same method… it’d take a long time to undo that. Which reminds me… try not to destroy any robots if you can. They won’t follow us through the teleport at least, and it’ll cost Skyla’s resources if she has to provide for their repair.”

“Right,” Maud growled. It was annoying to face an enemy that she was not supposed to kill, but they needed this building to remain defended after they left, lest Trinity or Midnight try to access it later. Even destroying one robot could make a difference since they were probably hard to replace.

“I hope we can still be friends after this,” came the childish voice from the other side of the door, shortly before a spray of bullets shredded through the door and began to chop the desk and cabinets to pieces on this side. Luckily the teleport pad was not in the path of said bullets, but it was clear that they were not programmed to protect the equipment in here.

“Oh-ho!” Chrysalis grinned, her horn lighting up, using her magic to scan Maud and then projecting her image in a dozen other places around the room. She then used her magic to grab the real Maud and pull her towards the pad.

Maud reluctantly lowered her gun and allowed herself to be dragged, the door closing behind her. Solar’s hoof was quivering over the activation button inside, but Maud pushed her aside in case she hit it early. Maud looked at her pipbuck while her other hoof was on the button, counting down the seconds.

As the blockade fell apart and what remained of the doors were forced open, Chrysalis cast a second spell, forming a dome over the group to keep them invisible. Maud hoped that bought them another 30 seconds until it was time to hit the button.

The shooting ceased a moment and their enemy charged in. What rolled through the doors at first looked like a sentry bot, but Maud realized that it was notably different. The top, rather than having the typical sentry ‘head’ control unit, had what appeared to be a glass dome covering a brain floating in some kind of fluid. So not only had the SHIE AI become sentient, it was also mobile, and Maud had to assume there was one of these units for all the however-many brains that were included in the system.

“Targeting,” the robobrain appeared to be fooled by the illusory Maud’s around the room, or at least assumed one of them was real. “I calculate your chance of success to be… well, I don’t want to be morbid.”

The bot opened-fire again, this time sending a short burst of bullets at each of the illusions in turn. It had a few left when Maud’s pipbuck showed the correct time and she slammed down her hoof on the activation pad.

This pod was awash in blue light and Maud felt the energy gather around them. Seeing the activation, the robobrain turned its attention to the pod. It was too late to fire on them at that point, which the brain must have realized as they faded away.

“I’ll miss you,” the foalish voice trailed off as they disappeared to their new location.

What greeted them on the other side was a facility far more in alarm-status, a shrill siren piercing their ears. Though the more annoying sound was high-volume static being shoved into her mind by the PCB the moment she was in range of it.

‘Maud? Solar?’ Twilight’s voice came through the PCB, barely discernible through static.

‘Oh and I’m just chopped liver?’ Chrysalis asked as she snorted aloud.

‘We are here,’ Maud responded over the PCB.

‘We need Solar here if you can,’ added Gloomy over the PCB. ‘The reactor is… more complicated than we anticipated.’

‘Yeah,’ added Kamikaze. ‘Looks like it’ll take more than me jumping into it this time. Which is good because I had enough jumping into things on our way in.’

That must have been a story for sure, but one that would have to wait.

The Story So Far (Prelude For Those that Haven't Seen Friendship is Magic at least to season 5, skip if you have)

If you have seen Friendship is Magic through season 5, you don't need to read this part, just skip to the first chapter. It's just a summary of what happened up to that point to avoid some confusion if someone hasn't seen the show to season 5.

Season 1
They established that Rainbow Dash’s first sonic rainboom caused the mane cast to get their cutie marks, binding them by destiny to become the Elements of Harmony, which allow them to defeat stuff in-show. The first one they defeated was a possessed version of Princess Luna named Nightmare Moon who wanted eternal night.

Season 5 Premier
They stopped a plot by Starlight to replace all cutie marks with equal signs to make them equal. She escaped. They acquired a ‘cutie map’ table-like device that lit up when it had a friendship mission.

Season 5 Finale
Starlight attempted revenge by going back in time to prevent the sonic rainboom that brought them together. She did this by altering an ancient spell by Star Swirl the Bearded.

Twilight followed her back. Every time she failed to stop her, it created a new future due to the friends not having come together. There was one where Nightmare Moon took over and caused eternal night, one where Chrysalis’s changeling hive took over, as well as others.

Finally Twilight dragged Starlight forward to see the future she was creating in an effort to convince her to stop. They ended up in what the fandom calls ‘The Ashlands Timeline’. That is where this story starts.

Comics:
In brief, this states that Nightmare Moon came about due to the Nightmare Force possessing her, and verified they can possess others. The Nightmare Force is native to the Moon and is led by ‘Larry’.