Whipping discussions

Canterlot Castle was as sturdy and powerful as ever. Its white walls surrounding its grounds looked upon the surrounding lands with fervor as the guards stood upon it and watched for any movement. Thanks to the tending of many gardeners, the grass within the castle grounds were perfectly cut and a deep shade of green. Several pathways of brown gravel led from the massive wooden gates and stretched throughout the whole area. Many bushes spread randomly among the area were clipped to look like a wide variety of things, such as a giraffe or the ponies’ beloved ‘Celestia’.

The castle itself was enormous and rose high into the sky, several wings branching off into massive arms of bleached stone. The roofs were painted in a golden hue and were tended by the pegasi hired to maintain this monument’s glow and shine. Long, triangular flags fluttered from several poles built into the pinnacle of the tallest roof, letting everyone know the great symbol of Equestria being an alicorn of white and one of blue flying around a celestial body made from half a part of the moon, and the other half being the sun.

Three small steps led from the gravel pathway into the castle and into the main entrance. This place was quite enormous and led to a wide variety of different areas on the first floor of this building. There were several steps leading up to the second and third floors and were directly facing the entrance. Both the entrance and the beginning of the steps were guarded by several unicorn and pegasi guards. Neither of them had to worry about lighting thanks to the many tall windows letting in lots of the yellow sunlight outside.

The four guards at the entrance turned their eyes when they heard a loud rabble coming from the large gates atop the first set of stairs. The doors burst open from the forceful push of an extremely angered earth pony. His coat was a faded brown, and his mane and tail were a combed back color of dark gray and light blue. They both had a coloration similar to wet, gray clay. He was wearing a black suit over his two forelegs that stretched to the middle of his body. This left his cutie mark bare, allowing all to see a bit wrapped in a contract being pulled up like a bag.

“This is an OUTRAGE! I gave PERFECTLY REASONABLE demands to ease the tensions between our two countries, yet you refuse them WITHOUT even considering them?!”

“You asked us to give up our independence and live under the tyranny of the Anti-Copperlings, and that’s only ONE of the major issues!” a unicorn following after him shouted.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, Celestia rubbed her temples in irritation and Luna just slouched slightly in her chair. Both sisters had equally sized chairs sitting right next to each other that allowed for more serious matters to be discussed with both of them. The chairs themselves stood atop a large, round pedestal covered with a red carpet with golden trimmings, and this textile construct extended all the way to the two, large wooden doors that were being shut by two night guards wielding spears. The throne room was extremely tall. In fact, it required large pillars in sets of eight on both sides of this chamber to keep everything up correctly. The wall behind the thrones was rounded and the top most area was filled with five enormous windows letting light shine down upon the sisters. The floors were tiled in white marble and many many guards of all three tribes as well as the thestrals. They were all looking towards the thrones with concern in their still stoic eyes.

Luna glanced aside at her sister, adjusting from one side of her body to the other. A soft sigh escaped her lips. "Are we doing the right thing?" A brow raised slightly. "This seems a matter that could easily escalate."

Celestia turned her head slightly, showing only a tired eye from behind her hoof. “You know as well as I that those who rule over that island are devious tyrants that would destroy the lives of my little ponies. I worked so hard to make their lives as fruitful and calm as I could, but those...those ponies…” Celestia looked off into the distance.

Luna snorted, a look of irritation taking over her features. "They are right to fear magic. We should strike before they do, and bring them into line. Their abuses are worthy of swift and brutal punishment." She sunk her head onto two hooves. "I know you are wary of the idea of committing to battle, but it will come. It is only a matter of who has the initiative."

Celestia sighed and readjusted herself into her chair under the watchful eyes of the guards. “While I do appreciate your need for swift decision making, and it has served me...no, US well in the past, this is not a matter we can rush into. You weren’t here when they declared their existence to the world. They might fear magic, but they have technology we know nothing of. Nopony has ever seen the likes of it anywhere in the world.” The alicorn exhaled rather loudly and started to think to herself. “That alone makes me fear what would happen. Furthermore, simply attacking them would cause grave political consequences with the neighboring countries. Only we know what happens on Secantor. It would be seen as an act of war caused by our own dislikes of their ‘way of life’.”

"Then enlighten them." Luna waved a hoof in the air. "You are a pony with a silver tongue, speak to these neighbors of ours, and have them march at our side. This is not something we can simply ignore in the hopes it will vanish in time. Did that diplomat look pleased with us? Did he have the countenance of a peaceful pony, brokering for comingling of ideas?"

“You do have reason and I wouldn’t doubt the presence of a silver tongue in your own mouth, dear sister.” Celestia chuckled. “Unfortunately, I tried such a method. The one who leads the Anti-Copperlings at that diplomat’s country has a silver tongue of another league. More than once had I tried brokering an alliance, or a non-aggression pact at least, with the minotaurs and griffins, but they were not swayed. That stallion has managed to convince them to remain an ally of his without so much as a few words of disapproval. I have had my spies look into this, and they came back with nothing. The other countries ruled over by ponies have preferred to remain out of this discussion. Not just because they fear a war, but because they’re either too small to defend themselves or too far away that it does not concern them...or so they say.” Celestia looked away with skepticism, then turned towards her sister.

Luna raised her hooves towards the sky with a load groan. "We raise the sun and the moon! How hard can it be to impress our supposed friends?" Her face fell in a frown as she slipped from her throne, moving with a testy stomp. "Bribe them if we have to. Surely they can be shaken from their roosts long enough to get this done."

Celestia thought of the idea but immediately cast it aside with a head shake. “No. Bribery goes against my principles, and an alliance acquired from money and threats is no more solid than a bridge made from paper.”

Luna spread her wings. "It would only need last as long as their swift defeat." She moved back to her throne and slumped heavily into it. "Enough. This gets us nowhere." She shook her head a little. "What is next?"

Celestia nodded in agreement. “I understand your point of view on this, dear sister. It has simply lasted longer than I would have preferred. Neither of our countries knows much about the other, but a change of atmosphere would be best for both of us. Guard,” Celestia called out.

“Yes, princess?” one of them answered.

“Do we have further appointments?”

The guard took out a board from his back and began looking down it, then shook his head.

“No, princess. You both have at least three hours of resting time until the next appointment.”

Celestia clapped her hooves together and smiled widely. “This is fantastic news! Perhaps a treat for us both, Luna?” Celestia asked with a smile.

Luna waved towards the entry of the court. At her signal, a cart was rolled in with a large multi-layer cake with a small figure of Luna and Celestia perched on it in frosting. "I arranged a little way to pass the time. I am quite well informed you have a liking for this flavor." A knife drew from nowhere in particular, held firmly in Luna's magic as she advanced and cut out a slice and put it on a plate. "If it pleases you, my sister?"

“Oh. You always know what to get me!”

Celestia’s demeanor was that of a joyous pony, but Luna knew her sister very well. Even her foreleg stretching to grab a slice of cake was trembling ever so slightly. She was worried for the unicorns on that island. She was worried for everypony’s fate at Secantor Island.

Far to the north of Equestria sat an island near the country’s borders. It was a small island completely covered by buildings colored bronze and copper. Building after building piled on top of each other and chimney’s expelled vapor and steam with every turn of their insides. Several blimps floated slowly around this location without much movement. They were armored with thin plates of copper and moved around with the help of four propellers hanging on their sides.

While the highest tip of this island was the hardest thing to see, the enormous biodomes made for the farmers was not. They stood on extremely large and reinforced platforms standing away from the buildings and chimneys, allowing the glass domes to absorb all light and heat and let the farmers grow their crops for the island without many issues. However, they were the most protected by turrets piloted by griffins. All along the edges of the city sat extendable platforms where turrets would protect from potential, incoming threats. The majority were rounded shapes with the rotating base comprised of several gears. The seat for the griffin was made from brown leather, and the controls were basic handles and buttons to adjust rising and rotation. Ammo was funneled through a pack behind the weapon by springs and coils, allowing a sudden burst of steam to propel the tiny pellets out of the turret’s four barrels. Others had a single cannon made for long range combat, and all turrets were manned at all times.

Minotaurs policed the ground and all the floors. They were even tasked with making sure the markets were safe and in order. The width and sheer size of this place demanded a quick method of transport brought by steam boxes riding along reinforced wires hanging all over the city. Not one day would pass that a pony or griffin or minotaur wouldn’t see one of these boxes running along these cables and stopping at intersections. Others would park into an elevator and find itself brought to the lower or higher levels.

Due to the incessant usage of steam technology and gears, thick blankets of vapor could flood the whole island at times, owing to the malfunction of ventilators. The middle and high levels were lined with normal inhabitants, stores visited by many an eager customer attracted by the contents through the window and even the name of the store being illuminated by bright colorful lights. Several customized parts of the gray cement ground were carved open and filled with soil to accommodate grass, bushes, flowers, and even trees. All of these stood on supported platforms held aloft by outstretched, metal pillars coming from the lower level of a building, or tall, thick pillars coming from the true ground floor of this island.

Where farmers, the rich folk, and politicians remained on the highest levels; and the average pony lived in the middle area; the less fortunate lived at the lowest levels, far from the light of the sun, the comfort of clean streets, and the vanity of a good life. The lowest levels were turned into slums, at best, and were always filled with a copper-colored smog. This is where all unicorns were. It was a horrible place. Surprisingly, it was where the most police forces were employed, but also where they were the most corrupt.

The streets were often filled with junk that the cleaners would never take. Many a building was in a poor state, and most technicians would never go to this part due to the ‘dangers’ it held. Several buildings had been shut down or closed off due to structural integrity concerns, but they would never be fixed. Those that lived down here weren’t important enough and were hidden from the world. Mostly, it was where the hardest jobs were. These jobs were associated mostly to chain building of parts for the higher levels’ complex assembly lines, but the lowest levels had their own assembly lines, and woe be he who even stops for just a second of rest. Unfortunately, not everyone could get a job, so many a unicorn had to resort to some...unfortunate workarounds.

Due to its position near the base of the island, many gears jutted outside the walls, pillars, and even floors, and no preventative methods were employed to keep a pony from...falling in. No one dared to touch them, though, as the policing minotaurs and rarer earth ponies would viciously beat down on anypony crazy enough to to even look at them.

A white furred unicorn stretched as he slipped down his stairs towards the door leading out of his small apartment. The brown spot over his eye and splotched over his form gave perhaps a reason for the name that was called when he opened the door. "Hey, Milk Spot. You're running late?"

Milk nodded quickly, his brown mane bobbing about. "No time to talk, gotta run!" And off he went, galloping towards his duty with an expression of mild terror that increased with every tick of the gears he could hear grinding beneath his hooves.

As the pony hurried along, he narrowly avoid a very large unicorn walking his way with several pals. The large unicorn turned around to look at him with an intimidating glare. The whole gang there were covered in tattoos and seemed rather angry about everything.

Milk ducked down and around, trying to skirt the angry group of malcontents. "No time, no time!" he said to himself as he pounded the pavement with his hooves. Just up ahead, work loomed, a place of toil, and also salvation. He just had to get inside the building before… A soft bell began to rang and Milk dived, sliding across the threshold of the building just as a barred gate came down behind him. "Yes!"

Despite his near brush with certain pain and possible death, he had made it, and all was right with the world again. He whistled softly as he ambled inside, looking for where he'd begin the day.

Unfortunately, he’s joyful mood was interrupted by him smacking himself into a tall minotaur who was holding a golden pocket watch attached to his jacket’s pocket by a chain of white gold. The minotaur’s fur was green, and his eyes were copper colored, so it was nothing unusual. It was just his inquisitive gaze when he looked at his stop watch, every tick stressing out Milk Patch every time that sound resonated in his ears.

“You were nearly late by one minute, copperling,” the minotaur said as he folded his watch and placed it back into his pocket. He adjusted his glasses to have a better look at the pony in front of him.

Milk shuffled a little in place, his eyes going towards the ground. "Sorry, sir. It won't happen again, sir. I'll work twice as hard…" His form quivered in abject horror at the thought of what the minotaur could do, tail limp between his legs and ears fallen.

The minotaur hummed a bit and looked around to see the giant machines ready to start their shift and the other workers already prepared to start the day. “Mhmm. Well, ‘twice as hard’ is the ‘norm’ around here for your kind. What are you truly going to give me into return for your tardiness? After all, an hour early is an hour later around here,” the minotaur grinned at his bad joke. Was it a joke? Who knew?

Milk glanced left and right. "Uh…Whatever you want, sir?" A safe answer, perhaps. "Ready to get to work, sir. I've…uh…wasted enough of your precious time, sir."

The minotaur nodded and walked away, but several other minotaurs in a less casual outfit walked down from the stairs built into the walls, whips in their hands. One of them shout:

“Alright, you lot. Yer gonna stairt yer shift roight now, ‘n no pauses ‘ntil it be high noon.”

The ponies looked at him with confusion.

The minotaur simply chuckled at their confused expressions. “Means tree ‘o clock, it do. Now get to work!”

With that shout, the machines all started blaring their gears and moving their pistons. Bits of metal come from a forging pit started to roll along the conveyor belts, allowing the copperlings to work their lack of magic and control the machinery.

“Almost late, huh?” spoke a stallion next to Milk.

Milk settled into his post and let his magic get to work in the way the restraining device allowed it to, making the machine in front of him move along its singular path. Up, down, up, down. This was his life. "Yeah… I got up late. I stayed up at a birthday party. It was… fun, but I don't think it's worth all this for them." Not that there was a lot of time otherwise to get to social functions. "You?"

“Nearly ended up late like you. I think boss minotaur likes you. He had me whipped twice. Not much to do when you aren’t allowed much of your own life here. It’s…” the stallion sighed. “Yeah. Hey, have you heard about the legends?” The stallion sprung up energetically, brightening his features.

His coat was a bright shade of green with several streaks of cobalt that looked like they were carved into his fur. His mane and tail were a faded hue of orange and had not been tended to for quite some time, and his eyes were the same color as his mane.

Milk tilted his head. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that… I've heard what the minotaurs do with the ones they 'like'." He shivered softly, tail lowering again. "Uh, which one? I've heard a lot of stories." His eyes stayed rooted on his machine. Up, down, up, down.

The stallion chuckled. “It’s the one about this supposed ‘Equestria’. Apparently, it’s a place where copperlings live normal lives. Can you believe it?” he whispered.

Milk swayed a little left and right to the tune of the motions of his machine. "Sounds like wishful thinking. What would you even do…I mean…" He glanced towards the closest minotaur. "It sounds too good to be much more than a foal's tale."

The green stallion scratched the back of his head and waited for the watching minotaur to pass through the various lines. “Do you really think that this is all there is in life? To be slaves to these bastards?” He hissed and quietly kicked the conveyor belt with a forehoof. “I’m tired of this. We’re on an island. There has to be something else!”

"Verdure… You're rambling again. I mean, sure, those boats go somewhere, right?" He squinted at his machine, making it go up, down, up…He reached forward and knocked a bad part out of the way. Down. "But how are we ever going to find out more than that?"

Verdure’s eyes widened and he mentally strangled himself. “I don’t know. I...Maybe if we went to the forbidden zone below the habitations here and try to talk with one of the engineers? They must know? And it’s not like they’re having a better life than us.”

“Oy! What ‘tchu yammerin’ about?”

It was the minotaur from earlier, and he looked really angry...or constipated. The latter made Verdure chuckle a little.

Milk pointed at his machine. "Just some metal getting in the wrong parts, sir. All cleared up, sir." He gave a sharp salute and minded his machine. Up, down, up, down. He wasn't even entirely sure what his machine did, just that it had to keep going up and down in the right way, or he'd be sore for days at best.

Verdure just glared at the minotaur with narrowed eyes and a tightened mouth. “I really hate these ponies. What’s the most exciting thing we can do today? Get whipped more? Heheh.”

Milk gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, get whipped more, for sure." Little suck up.

Author's Notes:

What will happen next? Will the two stallions ever be freed from this torment? Will the minotaurs cease their violence? Will David ever discover the lit firecracker I hid in his trousers? Find out next time!

An uneasy trip

The working shift was finally over after what seemed like several days. Milk and Verdure were completely exhausted from the incessant repetition and had only managed to scrounge up a few pieces for that day of work. Everypony began walking outside of the industry, several of them stretching and moaning in satisfaction as their limbs cracked and readjusted themselves. It was hard to tell what the time was without a clock thanks to the lack of any sunlight, but Verdure was certain it was late.

Verdure, himself, began to stretch out his muscles. “Ugh. I’m beat,” Verdure strained.

"Not yet ya ain’t,” the new supervisor minotaur mocked from within the factory.

Milk perked an ear back at the minotaur, but didn't turn his head back, speaking quietly as he ambled away from the drudgery. "You're telling me? Let's go get something to eat and then bed's calling my name."

“You’re right, but I already had an idea planned on where to eat.” Verdure smiled evily and tapped Milk’s foreleg gently.

Milk Spot's head tilted curiously. "Oh? Lead on." His steps got a little more spritely, trusting in his friend to show him to someplace worth visiting.

The two had a little romp through the rusty roads of the lower levels, but the trip was rather...dull. Not much was happening, save for the few, less upholding citizens walking about carrying boxes of unknown content. Verdure decided to break the tension with a bit of talking, his eyes catching glimpse of an unsavory establishment with revealing posters on its wall and a name flashing in pink then yellow then back again.

“So, how long has it been since you were transferred here?”

Milk's eyes wandered over the posters with an expression between disquiet and some interest. "Where are you… uh… Not that long ago." He frowned with concentration. "I'm just getting used to the new machine they put me in front of. You know how that goes? What is this?"

Verdure noticed his initial discomfort and immediately quelled his worries. “Bah. You needn’t worry about those places. Ignore them. They’re just a bit more...numerous, here. To put it simply, I’m just taking you to a new bar that opened up. Strangely, nopony has bothered to sack it yet, so I wanted to show you a classy joint before we--” Verdure’s ears flickered a bit and his attention became alert and stressed out. He started looking around quickly like some sort of small animal watching for predators.

The immediate alert of his friend put Milk into a similar ready state, eyes and ears darting about as he did a slow turn in place. His body compacted, fearfully shrinking while preparing to bolt off in any given direction. His mouth went dry and he licked his lips uncertainly. He had no idea what had set off his friend, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Verdure casually put a foreleg on Milk’s shoulder without looking away from what seemed to attract his gaze. Milk looked down at the foreleg, then back at his friend.

Milk's nervous gaze dropped down to that leg to see whatever was being pointed out to him, ears up and alert. Unfortunately, it was not a warning. Verdure pushed the unwary stallion into a pile of garbage that was sitting in the uneven streets and dove in after him. The green stallion poked his head out and narrowed his gaze to see a group of gang members coming around the corner of a shut down building with all entrances and windows boarded up.

These unicorns’ manes and tails were mixed with black grease and slicked back. Small gears were placed, vertically through the manes and tails to appear as though there was a line of machinery extending from their body. The hair was twisted within the center hole of each individual gear, preventing one from properly removing them without great consequences. They all wore copper colored suits they made with patchwork, and a few other unicorns had a shoe or two on their hooves, although these were in a sorry state and looked like nothing more than an eaten up cloth for moths to feed upon.

The supposed leader, a mare, wore contacts on her eyes to make them look like six-winged, iron gears tilted slightly on their sides. She was laughing with her rather large group of fifteen ponies while four of them carried bags on their backs. Verdure didn’t know what was in them and worried a lot about the possibilities as well.

Milk leaned forward as much as he dared without making noise of poking his snout too far out of the trash, peering at the curious ponies and the even-more curious packages they held. He whispered in a faint harsh whisper. "Who are they?" The soft tremble spoke of his excitement and dread. He wanted to know, but pain was a powerful deterrent.

“Neh. They’re just one of the local gangs who thinks they’re going to control the lower sections of Secantor. Um...I think they themselves the ‘Greasy Cogs’.” Verdure narrowed his eyes and looked around for something.

Milk tilted her head a little. "I see the cogs. What make 'em greasy?" A silly question, perhaps, though he seemed unaware of any jest in his words. "What are they holding?"

“Probably something they stole off of a convoy to the higher levels. They’re the only ones who do that. As for the grease, they tend to slather grease in their manes and tails. That’s what makes them all black and gross. You never met gang members who did that in your section? It’s a common practice.”

Milk shook his head. "I try not to get involved in that. I like my parts where they started." He closed his eyes a moment before curiosity bid him look again. "Sounds dangerous. What… What's in the convoys anyway?"

The stallion looked to his friend with a face of disbelief. “Really? It’s the parts we made and worked on that get stolen. They’re worth much more than the few miserable coins we’re given. Rare is the convoy that has fully assembled mechanics or toys or whatever else is made.” Verdure looked back at the group and rubbed his chin. “That being said, they usually come back bruised up from fighting off the escort. Here, they’ve got nothing done them. I’m worried that those things were deployed again.”

"Those?" Milk looked aside at his friend, then sank a bit into the garbage. "Those?"

“They...uh-oh. Dive!”

Noises of steam and clockwork blared violently into the air as red lights glowed from the nearby pillars, deafening the gang members and their vile obscenities. It seemed as though the lights were flashing in a manner resembling a lowering elevator, and elevators they were. Two very thick, metal doors opened up and folded to the sides of the pillar as several bipedal monsters walked out from them. Their movements were static and undeveloped, but their sheer height more than made up for the intimidation factor.

They were made completely from copper and iron, giving their bodies a brownish tint. Their arms were very long and clearly covered with rounded plates to cover the extremely thin limbs below them. The legs and main body followed a similar style, but the feet ended in flat sheets of metal. Their hands possessed four digits and appeared to have holes in them, and their main body was fit with a green screen protected by reinforced glass. Verdure never knew what the screens were for, and although he really wanted to get up close to see, these weren’t just basic automatons without heads. In place of their heads stood a tall, rounded shape with several aqua-green lights scattered upon them. It gave this abomination a full three-hundred and sixty degree view. It also allowed it to see the less armored rear areas where the gears could be seen working full time and expelling steam and vapor.

The gang members looked around themselves as they watched these constructs slowly surround them after leaving the elevators.

“That’s what I was worried about.” Verdure shrunk as he pointed towards the creations.

Milk nudged against his friend lightly with his body. "Are they going to be, you know… Killed?" Milk looked between Verdure and the hulking automatons as if unsure where to be focusing on.

“Not if they surrender.”

The voice of one of the automatons was put on an internal loudspeaker, deafening everypony in the vicinity.

”COPPERLINGS. YOU HAVE STOLEN A PROPERTY RIGHTLY BELONGING TO THE ANTI-COPPERLINGS AND THEIR ASSOCIATES. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE IN POSSESSION OF AN OBJECT FAR TOO COMPLEX FOR YOUR KIND. SUBMIT THE STOLEN OBJECTS IN THE NEXT FORTY SECONDS AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN ONLY A WEEK OF PUNISHMENT.”

Verdure tapped his right ear a few times and bared his teeth in irritation. “I hate it when they talk. It’s always yelling,” he whispered.

Milk trembled softly. "The shouting's the least thing they're ready to do, I think. I'd put the things down and give up while I had the chance…"

“If only they had your intelligence…” Verdure facehoofed.

“Ahhhh, go eat a nail, rustbucket!” the leading mare yelled.

The others each grabbed an object from the streets and tossed them at the bots, one of them getting a rusted pipe across its shin guards. The plates were thin enough that they bent from the impact and slightly damaged the support behind, making the machine creak in pain and tumble down like a log.

”AGGRESSION DETECTED! SOURCE OF AGGRESSION: COPPERLINGS. EXTREME PREJUDICE EMPLOYED.”

The machines raised their hands like a clock’s arms, then began to fire off multiple rounds from their fingers, the flashes blinding everypony. After a few short moments, the firing and fighting stopped, and a few of the machines were on the floor and damaged, as were the bodies of the ex-gang members. A few of the remaining machines picked up the bags of stolen goods and walked into the elevators with them. The others remained behind to inspect the surroundings first and verify the proper status of the unicorns on the floor.

“And that’s what happens every time they come. These things kill everything in violation of the ‘law’ and the curfews imposed upon us. I hate them all…” Verdure sighed.

Milk gave a numb little nod, his eyes riveted on the death before him. "They should have given up…" He pawed at the ground, moving the trash slightly. "Now they're dead…" He tilted his head a little. "Do you think it'll ever stop?"

Verdure shook his head gently from side to side. He felt a little watery inside, but held it in like he always did. “I don’t know. All we can do is dream for better lives and hope that Equestria exists. At best, we can at least hope we can escape this place and go elsewhere. WHo knows what lies out there?” the stallion looked upwards with hope sparkling in his eyes.

Milk sank a moment, almost lost in the garbage. "Let's do it." He leaned in a bit closer. "Let's find out. I… I don't want to be here, forever. Not like this."

“Well, I only know we can confirm if it’s out there or not by talking to the engineers below, but--”

”COPPERLINGS. YOU HAVE BEEN SIGHTED NEAR THE CRIME SCENE. ARE YOU PART OF THE PERPETRATOR’S GROUP?” one of the machines blared.

It somehow snuck near the two while they were talking. They hadn’t noticed the loud noises of steam whisking out of tight spaces and gears grinding against each other.

Milk jumped in place, trash falling off of him. "No, sir! We were avoiding the troublemakers, sir!" He crumpled to his knees. "Sorry, sir!"

The machine seemed to bounce slightly as its gears worked out the scene before it and the answer given.

”COPPERLINGS ARE IN PRESENCE OF LOCAL FILTH. TIME WITHIN PREDATES ARRIVAL OF THIEVES. COPPERLINGS CLEARED OF POTENTIAL CHARGES. RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AT CURFEW OR PUNISHMENT WILL ENSUE,” it said before turning around and following its companions to the elevator with both unicorn bodies and bags in tow.

Verdure glared at Milk with a pushed up lip and narrowed eyes. “Brown nose,” he said with a faint tone of humor.

Milk watched the machine go before nodding at Verdure. "Better a living coward, for now… I'm serious, let's get… The engineers you said?" Milk turned in place in a nervous little way, seeing if anypony else was around.

“Yes. The engineers.” Verdure lift himself out of the junk and wiped himself off. “Perhaps tomorrow we can go down there and see one. For now, I believe it best to just go to the tavern I mentioned and relax a bit just to forget what we saw today.”

Milk shook himself like a dog, sending bits and debris all over before he looked faintly representable, if one discounted the odor that clung to him. "Alright, let's go!"

Blue eyes

They soon arrived at the bar Verdure had hinted at. Like much of the level, it looked more like rusted metal sheets hung up in a convincing veneer of a stout building. A sign hug over the top. "Last Call". They proceeded over the threshold to find it moderately occupied with idle conversation in quiet tones. There was some energy in the air, more than the street, but perhaps not as much as one would expect around a lot of drink and good times.

There were two copperlings, unicorns in other terminology, throwing darts at a board. Their horns could not be used for such tasks, so they flung them with flicks of their head. The wild array of darts around the target implied they were of mediocre skill at the game, but were giving it their all. In the corner, on a slightly elevated platform, another pony was singing along to a phonograph in a slightly off-tune but true enough attempt to mimic the song. A few eyes were resting idly on their performance.

The tavern had a very shiny and classic tone to it, although the round seats at the bar had a strange style to them. They were round, and the red cushions were overlapped on their sides by two rings of a silvery metal. The bar itself was polished wood of an impossible cleanliness. There was a large assortment of shelves behind the counter containing bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors, and this was discounting the many small barrels of basic alcohol below them. The tavern owner was cleaning a large, glass mug before placing it on his side of the counter to pick up another. There were quite a few long, red cushions along the walls with a brown wood similar to that used in the counter’s construction. These ones were elevated and housed a few minotaurs who paid little mind to anything around them.

The entire place was somewhat dimly lit by the lamps dangling above, but it was enough for one to view everything without much difficulty. Verdure and Milk looked at the tavern and saw two free seats.

“Hey. There’s some spots over there.”

Milk moved pointedly for the seat with a smile. "So what do they serve here that has your interest so worked up." An ear turned towards Verdure. "Has to be good if you're dragging me here."

“This lightweight want a Golden Ladle?” the barkeep asked Verdure.

The stallion pondered for a moment, then stomped on the bar with his hoof. “Sure. Give him that ‘gentle’ beverage.”

“Alrighty then.”

Without hesitation, the stallion turned away and grabbed some of the bottles from the wall and started to mix them up within metal shakers. Verdure leaned against his foreleg and looked at his friend with a smile.

Milk tilted his head at the mixing going on. "What's a 'golden ladle'? Sounds...more like soup?" Then he perked up. "Is it soup?" Maybe he liked soup.

The barkeep looked up from his preparation and looked at Milk with a very serious stare. “Yeah. Sure. ‘Soup’.” The atmosphere became slightly tense, but it quickly changed when the stallion’s rough voice changed tone. “It’ll be soup of intestines when it reaches them through your stomach.” He and Verdure burst into laughter at the joke.

Milk looked a little baffled at the joke, ears going back and an uncertain glance at Verdure. Deciding to just wait and see what was coming, he shuffled in place and shut his mouth a moment before curiosity built in him again, "Is it spicy?"

“It melts spice,” the Barkeep added. “It might even be used for steel beams.” He grinned a bit more while pulling out two small glasses.

Milk shrank a bit, gazing fearfully at the drink that may be the end of him. "Oh...OK…"

Verdure’s smile turned into irritation when a griffin’s claw landed on his left shoulder. The griffin was clearly drunk and came from the higher levels of the city. What he was doing down here was unknown. It was known, however, that he was acting...weird, and was holding a tall mug of beer in his right claw.

“I...Blah, I don’t know what you’re doing down here in this, woah...in this place of the town. Ah’m gonna give you what’s comin’ to a, griffin…”

Milk turned to look at what was bothering Verdure, looking uncertain at best. He peered at the odd birdcat as if he perhaps hadn't seen many griffons before in his life. A hoof reached out blindly for the drink half-heartedly, most of his attention on the interruption. The stallion was jolted back to reality when the Barkeep slammed the two new drinks on the bar. They were yellow colored but had a red film fizzing at the surface of the glass.

“There’s your new drink,” The stallion said with a smile.

“Hey. You...you look like a pretty MAre…” the griffin hiccuped when he looked at Milk.

Milk colored swiftly. "Uh, I'm… not a mare…" He pulled the glass closer into muzzle range and sniffed at it with building dread. "You're a griffon, right?" His voice quavered in a mixture of curiosity and fear, clearly uncertain how to react.

“Noooo. I’m a minotaur! Of COURSE I’m a griffon! What’d you think, taurus?” The griffon giggled a moment. “You’re really weird.”

“Get off me,” Verdure ordered.

“HEy! Who...who you think you are?” The griffin started shouting and waving his right claw, spilling beer everywhere. “I’m from the UPPER levels. I’m better than youuuuuuuu…”

Milk swallowed heavily before he marashalled his bravery and sat up straight. "So… what's it like up there? Is it nice?" Riding the same wave of bravado he suddenly took a deep sip of the drink.

“I’m...notallowedtotellyou…” the griffon was shoved off Verdure’s shoulder and bumbled his way across the floor. Then he spotted the special drinks on the counter. “Saaaaaaaaay...Is that a Golden Ladle?”

“Hey, HEY! Stop throwing beer everywhere! You keep that up and I’m going to make you lick every inch of this bar,” the barkeep threatened.

“Oooo...Can I do it anyways?” the griffon asked.

Milk gagged at the powerful taste of the alcohol burning its way down his throat, but the warmth in him seemed to bolster his spirit somewhat. "What can you say? Ever been down further?" Milk pointed at his drink. "I'll share if you share."

“Ummm...I don’t have any more mmmOney...I do have this pass for the lower levels...Only engineers can go down there,” he ‘whispered’ casually.

"It's your lucky day!" announced Milk, nudging the glass closer by an inch. "You can have this glass for nothing at all, just that cruddy pass. They'll replace it anyway, so it's basically free, right?" Milk gave his best big grin, trembling on the inside.

“Ummm...Sure! Here’s the pass.” The griffin handed over a plastic casing holding a paper id of the griffon, along with a folded batch of punctured cards. Verdure looked at them and had no idea what they were for. “Now lemme have that drink.”

Milk surrendered the drink. "Of course. A deal's a deal. Drink it in good health." He reached for the ID and cards and tucked them away quite hurriedly. "Oh look at the time! We'd better get home before curfew, right?" He looked at Verdure pointedly. "Thanks for the drink!"

“Ahhhh. A nice beverage of--” The griffin wasn’t able to finish his sentence that he fell, face first, onto the ground, dropping both the glasses of beer and Golden Laddle.

The Barkeep groaned in irritation. “Oh, come on! I just opened this bar! Ugh. Well, I guess every bar needs a drunk mascot.”

“Let’s get going,” Verdure said. “Ha. What an idiot.”

Milk hopped to his hooves and nodded at Verdure. "Yeah, let's go. Sorry for the mess!" He moved to hurriedly vacate the bar, as if the enforcers were already on his tail.

The two rushed out of the bar and into the streets, allowing Verdure to think for a moment as he tried to remember the direction for the foundations of Secantor.

“Never met a drunken idiot like that. What luck he came by us like he did.” Verdure rubbed his chin and had a look of suspicion on his face. “Kind of a bit too coincidental, if you ask me.”

Milk perked an ear. "Why look a good thing too closely? This is our big chance! We can, uh, say we're on a job for the griffon on the card, and they'll let us past."

“Hmmm. You’re right, but I never saw what the entrances look like. I’ve only ever seen the steps leading there. Plus, there’s these weird punched cards in this pouch that I don’t know the purpose of. What do you think they are?”

Milk shrugged softly. "No idea, and we won't pretend we know. We're just two stupid copperlings trying to get a job done. Right? Play the dumb we are, let them figure it out, and we're past."

Verdure frowned internally at the idea of being a supposed idiot, but this was the best thing they could do. The green stallion hurried his friend to the many steps going lower into the tower. They stopped briefly at a break in the steps, allowing one to carry heavier loads more easily or drop them momentarily for rest, but they still lead straight down into the city.

“Shall we?” Verdure asked.

Milk bobbed his head eagerly. "Yes, before I lose my will. Let's do it." He licked over his snout, then dug out the card. "Remember, we were told to report to the lower areas, and he gave us this card and told us to show it, and that's all he said. Why? Don't know. Who? Don't know. He just shouted at us and said go, so we went. We're good copperlings."

The two slowly descended into the dark intestines of this vile place, cautious for anything that might arrive and attack them. To their relief, nothing happened, but it was clear no one was allowed down here simply by the fact that there was no garbage of any kind.

They entered a tunnel at the end of the stairs and looked around to see a variety of pipes of and clockwork working in these hot and humid tunnels. A few pieces of large machinery could occasionally be seen through the wall, but they were protected by fences and grates. Continuing through, they started to notice something weird.

“Where is everypony?” Verdure asked. “I mean, we were told to stay out of here, so why isn’t anypony stopping us? You think they’re further in?” Verdure asked.

Milk shook his head slowly as his hoofs clopped on the floor. "Maybe… they only check when something goes wrong?" He swallowed ahd pushed onwards. "Let's hope we never have to find out. I don't… see anything yet?"

“Neither do I. It’s so dark in here. How do the engineers manage to see anything? Ah? I see something down there. It looks like a red light.”

The moment the two stepped too close to the red light, the floors shifted and two turrets came from the floor and the roof by flipping on a tile. They had a single gun mounted into the middle of their bodies, and a red light shining above the gun, but, besides the gears at their base and in their thin bodies to help rotation and elevation of the barrel, they didn’t seem very complex. They were protecting a checkpoint in the tunnels. A checkpoint that was much larger and less scalding and humid than the rest of these horrid pathways. There was no way to get the sentries simply due to the fact that they were standing in front of a fence with a locked door. A rounded cylinder, most likely a camera, stared at the two from its position and shone its bright scanner at them.

Milk did himself proud by not making a puddle on the floor. He held up the card with a quivering hoof. "Reporting f-f-for duty, sir?" His eyes darted from one death dealing tool to the next, wondering if his little life was about to end as sadly as it was lived.

There was only a virring sound coming from the camera and the turrets as they both followed every movement the two stallions made. Verdure lift his package and showed the card to the camera, hoping it would do something, and moved slightly forward, then a dangerous sound resonated from the turrets as they whirred and beeped at him, causing him to jump back in fear.

“No access without authorization,” a monotone voice spoke. It was from a recorded tape that was clearly in a poor state judging from the variations in tone the voice had.

“Woah. That was scary. I...My heart is racing and I feel like I’m sweating ice.” Verdure put a hoof to his chest and gasped for air.

Milk dug out the punch cards he had gotten and looked over the machines and the checkpoint in general before he spotted the slot that seemed to be the right size. "Uh, I'm going to put this in here. Please don't shoot me." He edged closer and held up a card in his mouth, trying to feed it in.

The turrets only produced a constant beeping sound, expelling steam erratically while Milk leaned closer to the camera. It did not react, but a large machine with a slot lit up on the fence and next to the door.

“Insert cards for authorization level approval.”

“Okay then. Here. Take the other cards. I think it believes you’re the quarter master,” Verdure whispered.

Milk took the next card from the stack and fed it in before moving right to the next. Unlike most unicorns, his mouth was his primary manipulator, and he had no idea how many cards the death-dealing machine wanted from him.

The machines whirred a bit, and the sound of something popping came from behind the walls, but the red lights on the sentries and camera turned blue.

“Authori-Authori-Authori-Authori…” The voice clip buzzed into a long bout of static, making the camera malfunction slightly.

The door clicked and screeched open rather loudly, making the two’s ears clamp against their skulls in fright.

“Eugh. That was still...unexpected. I really hope that we don’t have to deal with any more death machines today,” Verdure said.

Milk tilted his head with a sudden thought. "Do we get the cards back?"

“It might give them back when we leave.” Verdure shrugged.

The stars were especially brilliant that evening. Luna gazed at them proudly a moment before turning her vision onto the pony beside her, standing there in the silvery glow of her own moon. "Good that you could make it. This is a matter of utmost importance for all Equestria." She held up a hoof. "Before we proceed, I must have your word of secrecy to anypony, even should Celestia ask questions." Her wings fluttered with the faintest of unease, eyes wandering over the gardens they found themselves in.

The unicorn stallion in question was nothing but a shade of green. His coat was base green, his mane and tail were olive green, and his eyes were a bright, jungle green. Being a guard who took his work very seriously, he had his mane and tail shaved into flat tips. His cutie mark was simply a bullseye formed from three white rings and three red ones. He wore a golden armor, as did the usual solar guard, but it was, additionally, encrusted with several emeralds. Three were places in the armor around his chest, one on the front of his cornets, and a large one placed right below his neck. The stones didn’t agree with the blue light of the moon and did not shine in the presence of it nor its owner.

He coughed a bit then looked at Luna with droopy eyes and a faint smile. “Ya called, Luna?” he asked casually.

Luna softly snorted. "So casual. This is an important matter. Do I have your word?" She raised a brow at the unicorn high, watching him intently for any sign that would reveal hidden emotion. "If I have to find another, then so be it."

“Yes, Ah’m certain ya’ll find another of my rank ‘n ‘special’ talents that’ll go behind Celestia’s back.” The stallion stared at the princess with a rather aggressive ardor, but it quickly turned into chuckling. “Ah’m kiddin’, m’am. A ‘course ah’ll keep mah word.”

Luna gave a slow nod. "Save those glares for our mutual enemies, who I turn you against. You have heard of the island nation, where they hate magic, have you not? They continue to make outrageous demands, and Celestia plays them lip service while they grow in power." She clopped a hoof on the ground. "I will not stand for it any longer. They are a mounting threat to our ponies. Become as one of them, learn their ways, and see how they can be taken apart from the inside. Do this, and Equestria will be safer."

The stallion nodded and walked over to one of the many trimmed bushes in the garden to admire it while he thought. “Yes. Secantor Island, no?” He tapped his horn a few times and laughed quietly. “Yeah. Ah know ‘em. Quite a few of mah own cap’ns ‘n sergeants have been a bit on edge wif ‘em but put confidence in your sister.” He shrugged. “While unicorn magic comes from their horn, ah’m not yer usual unicorn. Whatever they do ta suppress unicorn magic or counter it ain’t gon’ work on me.” He turned to Luna and spoke in a reassuring tone. “Ah’m a bit of an aberration, ya know? Unless mah superiors di’n’t tell ya.”

She waved a hoof at Bullseye. "I will not lie, this is a most perilous task. Your superiors mentioned something of your abilities, enough that I thought you may be better suited than most to the assignment. All other agents we have sent have gone missing, I do not wish for another." She sucked air through her teeth in a hiss before clucking her tongue. "If you refuse, I will not think less of you, but Equestria requires your service, that other ponies need not die on the battlefield."

Bullseye waved a hoof at her. His casual attitude towards royalty, if not any social status, was somewhat irritating, although he always avoided to be too impolite. “Pffff. Ah’ve met quite worse ‘fore coming here to Equestria. Ya rest assured that ah’ll get the job done. Now, what exactly ya’ll want me ta find in that copper tower ‘o theirs?”

Luna smiled, a bright gesture in the darkness of her fur. "Good. I want to know what they do. Do they use magic? How? I am certain they are not telling us everything. They make mighty claims to the heights of their technology, but my intuition refuses to accept that at face value. Learn all their strengths, and bring it to us, and we will learn their weaknesses from it."

“Alrighty then. When do Ah depart, and what means of transport should ah utilize? I’m reckonin’ this is the kind of mission that prevents me from communicatin’ with the outside on account’a it bein’ a ‘secret mission’ ‘n all.” Bullseye sat on his haunches of waved his forelegs while doing the ‘oooo’ face.

Luna put a hoof up to her chin. "We don't wish to arouse suspicion. I will arrange for you to arrive on a common trade vessel, and you will slip off while they're docked. I will watch for you in your sleep, but there will be very few other ways to reach us, I'm afraid." She set the hoof on the ground. "At least there is that. Count it as a blessing."

“Oo hoo. I haven’t been neck deep in dangerous territory since Motel and I--” Bullseye cut himself off, realizing he was about to divulge something he couldn’t have. “Anyways, I’m excited to perform this task. By the way, it’s best you choose a vessel that doesn’t have Equestria’s markings or design.”

Luna nodded at him quickly. "Of course, a prudent thought…" She pointed at Bullseye. "Why don't you select the vessel? You have an eye for this work. You have our permission for funds to see the task done correctly. It may be better to have distance between myself and your departure in any event." She looked up to the moon then. "Harmony watch over your steps, and return to us whole."

“Oh, Ah won’t be needing your funds. Heheheh.” Bullsye rubbed his two forehooves together menacingly.