The gun obviously exploded. The echoing boom! deafened Octavia, sending her flying back. Sunset's forcefield broke, fizzling out, as the Alicorn herself stumbled away, hitting her desk with, Octavia could only guess, a grunt.

Octavia herself flung through the door. The massive, metal blockade crunched and screeched, breaking free from its hinges immediately, and skidded across the ground outside Sunset's lab.

On the plus side, the explosion had made a sound that was vaguely reminiscent of jazz. How Beethooven's fifth had turned to jazz, she didn't quite want to know, but it was better than thinking about her potentially shattered eardrums.

Except...she could hear things again?

She sat up slowly, wincing, and noticing she was enveloped in a green light. Her ears popped a second later, and she gasped, as all the sound in the world returned as a crashing wave.

Rubble fell from the ceiling, 'total area petrification' or no. Sunset had the Olden Pony mask on, horn covered, as she stepped out of the room, wobbling slightly.

"You alright?" she said.

"Somehow?" Octavia said slowly. "I should be deaf. Permanently deaf."

"I picked up a healing spell or two over the years," Sunset said quietly, leaning down next to her. "Well, the good news is that that thing could absolutely stop an Alicorn. Downside is that it might kill everypony around it, so we'll need to turn it down just a skosh."

"More like a lot of skoshes!" Octavia snapped. "That thing almost killed me! When it fired the opposite direction!"

"Thanks. You were a great help working out the theory, and being a living battery to charge up quickly. The theory works, now I just need to refine it. Which will involve it exploding a few more times, but you won't need to be there for that."

Octavia struggled to her feet, wobbling unsteadily. "I'm glad for that," she said finally. She dusted off her undershirt, then said, "Did my jacket survive the blast?"

Her jacket had been deposited on a bench during the busy work of making the bass cannon. Sunset looked back inside the room, then pulled over a mostly intact jacket with her magic.

Octavia let out a growl.

"Oh, hush up, you. The experiment was a resounding success! You only got some cuts and a patch job on your coat. No big deal."

"I almost died, Sunset! Can you try to take this seriously?"

Sunset flinched. "Well...sorry." She hesitated, then gave Octavia's coat to her. "I'm used to doing this on my own. If it explodes in my face, no worries. It can't hurt me. But...I tend to forget that you guys are...ah, how to say this? More mortal than I am."

I suppose that's why we're building things like this in the first place, Octavia thought. "Well, I suppose it turned out alright," she admitted aloud. "Just next time let's put up more safety precautions."

"I might have picked up a few inventing habits from the former Princess of Research," Sunset said. "Wonder if she passed her eccentricity onto the new one."

"From what I've heard, yes," Octavia said.

Sunset chuckled. "I'm going to start getting this cleaned up, then I'm going to talk to D-5. We'll work out your anonymous tip that had you going to talk Fancy after that."

"We're really doing this, aren't we?" Octavia said with a sigh.

"We're not ready to go to war with the Inquisitors," Sunset said. "Too many bodies. We have to dissuade them from looking into you, or they'll just write you down as another strange Discord terrorist. And you're too valuable where you are to have you only allowed on expeditions like Rainbow Dash, or stuck holed up in here like Fluttershy."

"How am I valuable? All I do is talk to ponies."

Sunset picked up the lab's door, pulling it upright with a grunt. "Well, you look more sane than most of us," she said. "And you are officially with Everfree, which Rarity isn't. If they started sending her out and the Inquisitors looked into it, there would be questions. You, however, aren't particularly remarkable."

Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"You're specialty, Miss Melody, is being normal. No pony questions that you exist, wherever you are, because it isn't surprising." Sunset clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Go get some rest. You've got a long train ride ahead of you."

Octavia nodded, slipping her jacket back on as she walked away. She opened the door, reentering the parts of the castle everypony was allowed in. Sunset's lab wasn't the only forbidden place—Fluttershy had a similar one, though, to Octavia's understanding, it was more because they dealt with hazardous materials in there.

Bio-weapons. A very, very scary last resort that Discord had prepared. Sunset had put a strict ban on developing anything contagious, and most of what they had was non-lethal, but it was still a concerning road to go down.

Octavia stepped out of the stairwell, dusting off her sleeves. The main hall sat before her, with its ominous banners and imposing throne. The castle doors, as was normal during the day, were wide open.

Octavia stepped over by one of the banners, examining it closely. Unlike Vinyl, she'd recognized depictions of Nightmare Moon her first day here. It had been...unsettling. All religious doctrine taught that Nightmare Moon was the opposite of Celestia, and though she hadn't ever been a devout Solarist, it was difficult to shake the dogma.

The tricky part had been trying to figure out who was lying. Discord, or the Crown, both calling each other the epitome of evil.

The banners hadn't helped, but whenever she thought back to the Inquisitors, she was filled with rage. All they had done in the past, all they had done to others, and what they had done...to her.

Goldbricker was a good stallion, Octavia thought. They didn't need to kill him, just to keep him from talking about their stupid cybernetics.

It had come to her, finally. Nightmare Moon and Celestia were both ponies. Neither was a god, neither was a devil. Maybe there was one up there, but she hadn't found Him yet.

"What was it like?" she asked the empty room, "to be worshipped?"

The banner didn't answer. A voice behind her, however, spoke. "We weren't worshipped back then. At least, not in the literal sense."

Octavia whipped around, gun out, but the hall was still empty. Even the rare operative moving past with boxes was absent.

"Hello?" she called out, stepping forward. "Who's there?"

Can she talk to us outside of dreams now? Octavia thought. Or is something else going on?

Maybe I just need a rest.

A shadow appeared on the wall behind her. She snapped her elbow back, hitting something that grunted, then slung her elbow down, hitting somepony in the gut. She grabbed them by the front of their shirt, throwing them down onto the ground in front of her, then put her gun to their temple.

"Sky!" she snarled.

Two bat wings fluttered weakly, as the light-blue thestral wheezed. "Yeah, you got me. You can let me up now."

Octavia hissed through her teeth, holstering her gun. She got off of Sky, letting the bat-pony up. Sky dusted herself, blue armor rattling slightly.

"I almost killed you," Octavia said.

"I'm a good prankster, though. I knew you wouldn't." Sky dusted off her shoulders, then gave Octavia a big, freckled grin. Her poofy, curly mane fell over her forehead, not reaching her eyes but suggesting it might.

The bat-ponies, declared demons by Celestia so she could be rid of them, had been another obstacle to her joining Discord.

"No you fucking didn't," Octavia swore. "Don't sneak up on ponies who roam armed. And don't sneak up on Fluttershy, either!"

"Oh, la-ighten up, Chuckles," Sky said, dusting off her skirt one last time. Then she reached up, hands on the back of her head, leaning back in the air, with wings fluttering for balance. "You were talking to an embroidered curtain. You were askin' for it."

"It is not an embroidered curtain! It is a tapestry!"

"What is a tapestry?"

Octavia hesitated. "Well, I'm not sure I know the exact definition--"

"So you're just arguing semantics?" Sky asked with a stupid grin.

Octavia groaned. "Fine. But there is a difference."

"Well, yeah. We're both ponies, but no one would call us the same."

"That's different entirely. You could have two tapestries that show two entirely different things," Octavia argued.

"But to someone who had never seen a tapestry before," Vinyl said, coming into the room, "would they be the same thing at all?"

Octavia frowned, seeing Vinyl come in with Rarity through the main doors.

"Perspective is funny that way," Vinyl said. "To you, it is the most obvious, basic thing in the universe, but to someone else, they have no idea what you're talking about."

Since when does Vinyl think about philosophy? Octavia looked back to the tapestry. "Well, I suppose you make a point. How'd it go with Fancy, anyway?"

"Oh, amazingly. Absolutely stupendously. No hitches whatsoever. On a completely unrelated note, you and Rarity need to talk to the Boss."

"What kind of stink did you get in that the Boss has to get involved?" Sky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We had a chat with one of the Inquisitors," Rarity said.

"Oh. That'll do it," Sky said. "Nice knowing you, Octavia."

"What happened?" Octavia asked with dread.

"Well, they seem to want to meet you for unknown reasons," Rarity said. "But it looks like they're not investigating you specifically."

"That..." Octavia paused. "That is perfect. Come on, let's go work this out with the Boss."

"Oh, Vinyl, do you need help getting back to your room?" Rarity asked.

"I can take her," Sky said.

"I can probably find my own way back," Vinyl said. "Assuming Rainbow Dash won't kill me."

Octavia snorted.

"Oh, rela-ax," Sky said, waving it off. "She ain't killed anyone yet. Or, uh, anyone in Discord, anyway. Or, was in Discord. Even if some of us made a game of sneaking up behind her when she first joined."

"It is truly a wonder no one's shot you yet," Octavia said.

"Well, the Boss is actually one of the only ponies who drew a gun on me," Sky chuckled. "Her and Octavia."

Octavia shook her head again. "Come on, Rarity. Let's get this done."

Octavia trotted down a side room with a big sign reading "ACCESS RESTRICTED", with Rarity right behind.

"I don't believe we've met yet," the thestral said, holding a hand out.

"Vinyl. Vinyl Scratch." She took the hand, shaking it.

"Sky. Sky Watch." She grinned. "Ever see a shadow over your shoulder, it's either mine, or my target."

"Huh?"

"Oh, you're new new. I'm one of the only snipers we've got around here. Damn good at it, too."

"Nice," Vinyl said. "Sniping would be where it's at, huh?"

"You bet, though you need to keep up with a lot." She hesitated. "You'd be good at that, though."

"I mean, yeah. Six-T processor and all."

"I am not a computer gal, I have no idea what that means, so I'm just gonna say 'noice'," Sky said with a chuckle.

"It's very noice," Vinyl said.

"Gotcha. Well, I've got actual work to do," Sky admitted. "Big Bro's bringing in a big batch of bots from Vanhoover. Twenty, the biggest group of rescues yet. And, as a bonus, he somehow got the locals to move to make using androids in brothels illegal."

"Yeah, I heard about that...Discord was behind that?"

"Yup! The government bends a little sometimes, though, in all honesty, I think that raping your slaves shouldn't have ever been allowed." She snorted. "Stupid fucked up world."

Vinyl punched her shoulder. "Hey. We're making it better. Need any help setting things up for the androids?"

"Can you tell the difference between a nitro core and a fusion couplet?"

"Um...fifty-fifty odds, right?"

"Yeah, me neither. Either way, the Doc might need help moving boxes. Her usual assistants aren't here today." She pointed off in the vague direction of the medical rooms.

"Got it. Nice meeting you!" Vinyl said, waving goodbye as she took off.

"Great meeting you, too!" she called out. She watched Vinyl as she disappeared, then stepped over to the tapestry, tracing a crescent shape on her face with one finger.

"I sensed...your attention," she muttered. "But why her?" She looked after Vinyl, then shook her head. "Ah, what-evs. I'll keep her safe for ya, Miss Moon."

Indigo looked up at the old abandoned building. "This place looks roughed up," she said.

"Well, if it has been hiding around Manehattan for years, then this would make a good place to keep low," Minuette said, stepping up to the door. She tried it, listening to a chain rattle on the other side. "Give me a minute. I want to avoid shooting the lock." Her horn glowed as she knelt in front of the door, closing her eyes in concentration.

Indigo took the moment to examine their surroundings. Late in the day, but cars still zoomed down the road with reckless abandon. One or two ponies walked the sidewalk, but they usually kept their eyes on their surroundings. Deserted alleyways, in the poor quarter, at night were not a place to let your guard down.

Admittedly, she felt rather nervous herself. She wasn't feeling particularly tired, but the possibility of getting jumped was scarier than actually being jumped.

Aside from the worries of some elite, shapeshifting monstrosity that had gotten close enough to steal Minuette's security key.

A light scuffling had her reaching for her gun, but all she saw close to them was a homeless stallion wrapped in a dirty blanket a few feet to her right.

She turned, watching Minuette glare at the lock. "Gemstone lock," she muttered. "Can't magic it, definitely can't shoot it. Guess we gotta try something old-school. Or a new take on old-school." She pulled out a set of special keys attached to a small pad. With a few button presses. the key's pieces rapidly interchanged with each other, then she put the reassembled key into the lock. It clicked, and she grinned. "Well, well, Princess, guess this gizmo worked," she said, smiling at it. "Chalk up another one for Princess of Research Trixie, unorthodox methods aside." She pushed the door open, watching as a padlock fell to the ground on the other side.

"Right behind you," Indigo said, drawing one of her guns. She took one last look at the empty streets to the sides of the building, then followed Minuette inside.

"What even was this place?" she asked quietly.

"I think an old drug lab?" Minuette said. "Back before you needed a license to make salt licks. Well before my time on the force, actually." She clicked a button on her magnum, shining her flashlight on a faded poster on the wall.

DOCTOR FLUTTERWONDER

FEEL GOOD AGAIN

"One hell of a slogan, for a drug dealer," Indigo scoffed.

"She was kind of a big deal back then. Maybe I'll ask Derpy about it when she comes back from Vanhoover."

"Derpy handled that case?"

"Wasn't much to handle," Minuette said, opening the drawers on the first desk she found. "Start searching, stay within line of sight. Don't let 'me' sneak up behind you."

Indigo nodded, pulling open another desk. She immediately found an ancient salt lick sitting in there. It was half-burned, leaving only a small white tube sitting in a pool of white goo. She gagged, covering her nose. "This place stinks," she muttered, slamming the drawer shut.

"Of course it does. I doubt they cleaned up regularly when they still worked here."

Indigo gagged, opening the next drawer. She paced along the wall, pausing behind a light switch.

"Reckon the lights still work?"

"Worth a shot," Minuette said. "It probably knows we're here anyway."

Indigo flipped the switch, watching as the lights came on slowly.

"The place looks even worse in the light," she muttered. "But not as dusty as I'd have thought."

"Someone's been taking care of this place," Minuette replied. "Hence the gemstone lock."

Indigo nodded. She pushed open a door, pointing her gun down the hallway, as the light flickered behind her.

"Move to the next room?" she asked, stepping closer to Minuette.

"Probably," Minuette said, stopping to open the bottom drawer. "Didn't expect anything in the first room anyway."

Indigo nodded, turning back to the hallway.

With a creaking sound, the light started swinging.

Indigo swiveled, firing several rounds into the ceiling, missing narrowly as the something lunged past her. She wouldn't have gotten a good look at it without the reflex chip, and she only barely saw it at that.

Dark, vivid green carapace, complete with small pointed spikes along its shoulders and elbows. It seemed to have a second pair of arms, with shoulder joints located along its upper back. A thin, yet silky mane swept behind it as it rushed down the hallway, hissing.

The wall exploded in front of her, Minuette's shot missing it just slightly. "Come on!" she said, rushing down after it.

"It had a horn," Indigo said. "Think it has magic?"

"No clue, but if that is it, then it's definitely magical." She trained her gun down the hallway, looking ahead. "Did you see where it went?"

"That door." Indigo pulled out a second pistol, moving right behind Minuette.

Minuette kicked open the door, gun ready to fire, then looked to the right and left. Then up. Seeing nothing, she stepped into the room.

"Come on, buddy," she said loudly. "If you're willing to talk, we can put down the guns and have conversation like civilized people. All you have to do is explain why you were impersonating government workers and issue an apology."

A thin, echoing laugh sounded throughout the building.

"I'm serious, actually," Minuette said. "If you're willing to talk, so are we."

"It's so funny to me," the voice echoed from all around them, "that you lot consider yourselves civilized."

"Uh, yeah. We kind of are."

"Every creature thinks themselves civilized," the voice continued. "We were the only ones who knew the truth. Everything is ugly. Everything is barbaric. Every creature does dirty, disgusting things when the lights turn off. We, who could be any of them, were the only ones who saw all of them."

"No one likes to acknowledge dirt," Minuette said, "but you can't clean it without looking at it. So, if you're willing to come out, we're willing to lower our guns, and we can talk about cleaning."

From around the corner, the thing came out. Its body shape was clearly feminine, though Indigo hadn't been certain about the voice. She had her upper arms folded over her chest, one of her lower arms planted on her hip, and her fourth arm hanging loosely at her side...with a gun.

"Manestay?" Indigo asked, nodding to it. "Good brand. My old guns were Manestays." She lowered her guns, following Minuette's lead.

Minuette took it a step further, holstering her gun. "My name is Minuette, though I believe you already know that."

The creature nodded. "My name is Chrysalis," she said, "and I am the very last Changeling."

Author's Note

I will be posting some art drawn for Cyberpony in a blog post today, so head over there if you want to look!

Here is the blog post!