“Please be there, please-”
“Foxglove’s Flowers, how can I help you?”
“Hi! Hello! I was wondering if you had any white lilies in stock?”
“How many are you looking for?”
“About two dozen, if you please.”
“Two dozen…Let me check in the back.”
“I can wait.”
“...”
“...”
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is 18H. I need to leave immediately.”
“18H…Let me check.”
“Please, I know I’m not supposed to call unless it’s an emergency, but it’s an emergency. I think they know—”
“Slow down. I’m just trying to confirm…okay. Pink Orchid?”
“...”
“This line is secure. It’s going to be okay. I just need to get the right address so we can extract—”
“Yes! Yes, it’s me. Pink Orchid. 18H.”
“Okay, good. You realize that you’re not supposed to be collected for another three days, right?”
“I do.”
“We’re not going to be able to bring much with you, even—”
“I have a saddlebag. It has everything I need, including your payment and the documents. That’s all I’m bringing.”
“Just making sure. Okay, I’ll post a signal and we’ll see when we can get a team to—”
“They’re going to find out tomorrow! My husband, he — they’re going to find out I was his wife when they sweep the house tomorrow, I know they will, I tried but—”
“Hey. Shh. It’s going to be okay, Orchid. Breathe.”
“I got rid of everything. I got rid of everything, but they know, they always—”
“Breathe. I’m here. We’re here for you. It’s going to be okay. Calm down.”
“I’m trying! I’m trying. I…I’m so scared.”
“Stay on the line. We’re here for you.”
“Thank y-you. I’m…”
“We should have a team there shortly, 18H. I can stay on the line for you until they arrive. It’s going to be harder for us to extract you if you’re in the middle of a breakdown, so let me keep you company until they show up, okay?”
“O-okay.”
“Good.”
“I’m sorry, I…I know I promised myself I’d keep myself together for this, since I heard you were…”
“It takes a brave mare to try to leave Manehattan.”
“I’m not brave, I’m a coward. A coward. I should be…I-I mean, I should be like you, I should be…”
“Nopony should expect another to be an insurgent, Orchid. Not at a time like this. Even refusing to give the queen her due is enough.”
“But my husband, he…”
“Who was your husband?”
“Shadow Stubble. You might have heard of him, he…they…”
“The Baltimare Anarchist?”
“H-he never even went there! He…aheh. We never went there at all. But everypony said he sounded like he came from Baltimare. We were going to go there one of these days, find out what everypony there sounded like, see if it was…if it was true. But now it’s, now he’s…oh, Celestia…”
“...He was a brave stallion.”
“I…I know.”
“You must have been proud.”
“I was. I am. I…I don’t know anymore.”
“It’s okay. Just stay there and breathe. It’ll be okay.”
“I don’t want this anymore.”
“Nopony does, Orchid.”
“I mean, it…it wasn’t supposed to…first Nightmare Moon, then Queen Chrysalis and the changelings invading from the north, and everything just…it wasn’t supposed to be like this!”
“I know.”
“And now I’m just, I just, every day I wake up and I can’t even buy groceries without seeing the Königinsgarde and they’re everywhere, and I’m being watched everywhere I go, like they’re trying to figure out just how much they can squeeze out of me in the next love tax, like I’m just some kind of…I don’t even know, it’s too much…”
“It’s okay.”
“I hope they all burn. Queen Chrysalis, Protectress Lilac, every last changeling in every last filthy little hive, I hope they all…”
“That’s why we’re here, Orchid.”
“I know. I…thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I don’t know how you do it.”
“We think of ponies like you. The rest is easy.”
“Are…is the team…?”
“Hm?”
“I-I feel like I’m being watched. Is…are you sure they’re coming?”
“I just got the return signal a minute ago while we were talking. They’re on their way. Hang on.”
“What should I…what do I need to do when…?”
“Just do what they ask. They’re the professionals. As long as you follow orders, everything will work out. Can you do that?”
“Okay.”
“Can you do that?”
“I can do that.”
“Good mare.”
“How much longer?”
“Just a little longer. Are you sure you have everything in your saddlebags?”
“I’m sure.”
“You won’t get a chance to double-check.”
“I know. I’m sure.”
“Do you have somewhere to go out of the city?”
“I grew up on…grew up on a farm. It’s not there anymore, I don’t think, but I just…I mean, I know how to get by. I’m not a stranger to living…”
“Living off of the land?”
“Y-yeah.”
“I see.”
“You’re…I wish I could…I wish I could help more.”
“Your payment will help fund the cause. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”
“I could fight.”
“Can you?”
“I…I guess not. Not really.”
“It’s okay. Just a little longer.”
“Okay.”
“...”
“Thank you. Thank you for staying here with me. I feel a little calmer. I don’t know what I’d do without…”
“...”
“Hello?”
“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator.”
“Foxglove’s Flowers?”
“If you’d like to make a call—”
“Open up! Königinsgarde!”
“Oh, shit.”
“—Please hang up and try again. If you need help—”
“I won’t ask again. Open up!”
“I…C-coming! I’m…h-hello, officer.”
“—Hang up and then dial your operator.”
“Pink Orchid?”
“Y-yes? I-is there something wr—nnnnf!”
“If you’d like to make a call—”
“Nnnh! Nnnnh…nn-no, officer, please, I—mmfff!”
“—Please hang up and try again. If you need help—”
“Glk! Khhh…hhhh…hhh…hck…”
“—Hang up and then dial your operator.”
“...”
“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator.”
“...”
“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up…”
