The tunnel came to a end in another shady looking joint. This one looked like a bar, but with large booths, in which the few ponies that were here sat close to each other. The bar looked like it offered a choice of drinks, but from what they had on the wall, there was at best two kinds of alcohol, and the rest were flavoring. Seeing one of their Daiquiri’s made my mouth water a little.

“Mayall, one moment.” The Sparkle-Lurker dutifully stopped, her head slowly looking around, eyes bouncing from one spot to the next. “I need to recover a few of my bits”

Mayall dropped the gun case on the ground, letting me open it and look through. “Why need the bit’s. Should we get moving?”

“Yes, yes we should. I agreed with her. “But first I need a Daiquiri.” It was good to see that my air rifle was still in good condition, and the knife that went with it was there too. Leaving them alone for now, I rummaged through the packed gun case, the case was fuller than it should ever be. “There we go.” I pulled out a small bag, the bits making a clinking noise as I moved it.

Opening the bag, I pulled out a bunch of bits. They were old standard republic bits, so not worth all that much, but they should get me a Daiquiri or two. Looking back at Mayall, I closed the case. “Hey princess, you want a drink?”

The Sparkle-Lurker looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. “I am thirsty; drink would do nicely.”

I had to give bits to the bartender, so he would make a Daiquiri. The punga fruit rum didn’t sound like it would work, but it did. I was a bit worried when he added an artificial lime juice flavoring to the mix, but I was not going to complain. So the rum, juice, and syrup mixture was poured into the ice filled glass. One for me, and one for Mayall.

After taking the first sip, I wanted to kiss the bartender. but he was not my type, attractive yes, but a bit too prim for me, and the probability that he was probably not a he, or a pony, that did give him a few negative points. But still, i would give him a kiss if it was proper.

“What is this, the taste, not good… not bad?” Mayall’s face was scrunched up, looking at the Daiquiri with an intense stare. The poor dear probably never had alcohol before, if I was back home, I’d treat her to some more drinks, see how drunk I could get a Lurker. “Why?”

Rolling my eyes, I just took another sip of my Daiquiri. “Drink it and find out.” She lifted the glass and sipped it, this time looking less revolted then before. “Good job, Cheers to our health.”

As it turned out, she was a lightweight. The Daiquiri was barely enough to get a buzz going for me, but Mayall, she was not drunk, but she was halfway there. It was funny to see that her face could actually get redder, though it also meant that her face glowed more too.

“What are you two still doing here?” Sorrow trotted by in her mirage pony form, her thick glasses sitting on top of her head. “I’m sorry to sound pushy, but you can’t stay here.”

I sighed, “We’re just enjoying a Daiquiri before getting back out there.” I gave the Sparkle-Lurker a glance before looking back at the changeling. “And I know she should be just fine as long as she doesn’t draw any attention to herself, but you really think it’s okay to send her out there?”

Sorrow took a seat next to me. “Look, it’d be one thing if we were in the heart of the republic, that’d be a death sentence for her. But here ponies have busy lives to live, so they're more likely to just ignore anything that does not involve them. Looking strange, and being suspicious are two different things. As long as this Lurker does not go sneaking around, messing with anypony’s stuff, or throwing off her clothes, then just about everypony is going to ignore her.”

I chuckled a little. “You know what, it was the same thing with Turnip. I think most ponies thought he just had cybernetics done to his face. I mean, when they saw it.”

Nodding, Sorrow gave me a knowing look. “Life is like that, the things that are out of the norm in life get a glance, but rarely does a pony do anything unless it defies their reality, or seems wrong to them. As long as it stays safely in the odd category, nopony bothers with it, and nopony reports it.” She motioned to the door out of here, getting out of her seat. “We're closing this place down, so finish your drink, and I’ll be waiting for you out there.”

I downed the rest of my Daiquiri, and got out of my seat. Mayall on the other hoof moved at a slug's pace. “Is everything okay?” I asked her as she slumped out of her seat.

The Sparkle-Lurker was crying, not so much to be sobbing, but I could clearly see her eyes tearing up, and one side of her face having already let a tear run down her cheek. It was strange to see, as she had no fur to soak it up, so it had just ran down her cheek, clinging onto the edge of her muzzle. “He’s… he’s...”

Fuck me, Celestia just come down and ram me with your horn, I’m an asshole. “I’m sorry.” Was all I could say as I hugged Mayall. She just buried her head into my chest, and let it all out, using me to muffle her sobbing.

We sat like this for about a minute until she let me go, Mayall slowly walking to the exit without saying a word. I felt like she just wanted to move on and talk about it later. Though, it was probably just me, as that was how I felt. I knew Turnip for about a day, she knew him much longer than that. So much longer.

Outside of the bar was another long, dark, run down tunnel connected to Fishery Station. Not much of a station at first glance, but most stations looked the same. Sorrow waited for us next to the door, now having changed into a plain jumpsuit instead of staying in her normal business suit.

“Good. Took you long enough.” She motioned for us to follow her. “I’ve already talked with the rest of my clan, and we all agree that it’s time to move on. Your appearance just showed that we have been getting lazy, so we need you to help keep the Republic off our scent.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How so? When I ended up among them, the first thing they fucking did was scan my memories.” I shook my head in frustration. “I only got out of that alive because something weird happened.”

She gave me a confused look. “You got past a memory scan? That should be impossible. Well not without some tech to counter it.” She sighed, sounding frustrated herself. “If we had the time, I would look into that. Unfortunately, we need to get the gears moving quickly, or we risk the republic starting a purge.”

“A what?” in any context that never sounded good.

“A purge.” Sorrow huffed. “From how the current republic goes on about the revolution, you think that it was popular, and only a few greedy troublemakers had to be thrown out. In truth, whole stations were slaughtered.” She gave me a worried glance. “The opinions of the equalists were actually very unpopular, but they managed to worm their way into power, and get the support of a very vocal minority.” A little chuckle came from Sorrows mouth. “When I read about how it all started, it sounded funny at first, just a bunch of spoiled foals talking about things they know nothing about. But as it turned out, you don’t need to know how the world works to burn it all down.”

We reached the end of the tunnel, and now the sounds of ponies could be faintly heard. “Why have I not heard of any of this?” I had to ask.

With a sigh, Sorrow was engulfed in silvery flames, turning herself into a mirage pony mare with a gray coat and a dusty blue mane. “I’ll tell you more later. First, I need to take you to your room. Even if the ponies here mind their own business, talking openly about the truth will not end well for us.”

We trotted further into the station, which quickly became something different. Much of the structure was the same as other stations at first, but further in it completely threw the sameness out on its head. Fishery Station was not just underground, but it was underwater. The long hallway we trotted down even had a window to the outside.

I had to stop in awe of it all. The window I looked out was clean, besides a few scratches on the inside, but still clean. Some algae patches were on the outside, and a starfish firmly rested on the outer edge of the glass. The water itself was clear, and I could see a school of fish in the distance, and even a shark. It was mesmerizing, if a bit frightening to look out on.

Lowering my gaze, I could see the coral reef that sat along the bottom with us. It was teeming with just as much, if not more life in it than I’d ever seen outside the metro. The Reef was like a jungle of rock’s, with fish swimming from one to the other like birds. Strangely enough, though not seemingly out of place was a group of Lurkers. The oversized crabs simply walking through the coral reef, seemingly unaware of us.

Mayall waved at the Lurker’s, but unsurprisingly they didn’t pay her any mind. “They never wave back.”

“I don’t think they can see you?” I told her.

“They can see us.” Sorrow spoke up. “They just can’t get to us, so they ignore us.”

Mayall looked out the window and sighed. “They never wave back.”

Tapping at the goggles, I got Mayall’s attention back on me. “You should put those on, and get moving.” With a nod, the Sparkle-Lurker lowered the welding goggles over her eyes. Looking out at the ocean one more time, a robot drone flew in, and began to scrub the outside window. “So that’s how it’s so clean...”

The trip to the room Sorrow was having us stay at was as uneventful as we hoped it would be. At most, ponies we passed gave us a glance and moved on, and even the few security ponies around this station didn’t pay us much mind. What did concern me was the higher amount of robots in use here. Though not entirely out of place to see in some stations, they would make it hard to get around undetected.

Mostly I was worried about the old sprite-bots turned into security drones. They follow the security ponies around providing them with extra light, the ability to scan a pony, and probably an extra eye like the one did for Sweet. Though there were fewer security ponies, the sprite-bots would give them an extra edge.

There were other bots around to. Like the ones cleaning the windows from in the water, but this place also had plenty of ponytrons walking around. They all look like they had been reconstructed to do a new job, mostly for cleaning, but there was one other built up with extra armor as it guarded a door.

It didn’t take us long to get to our destination. With how adamant Sorrow was, we didn’t dare slow down to take a closer look at anything. The room itself was remarkable, though still small. It was far bigger than Clarinets place and felt like a real living space, not just some box that we pretended was a living space. Other than the central living space, it had a separate bedroom and bathroom. Most importantly, it had a shower! To top it off, it even had its own window to the outside, mostly clean like all the others. Through it, I could even get a view of the station.

From what I could see, the Fishery Station was half underground and half underwater. It looked like that this station, unlike most others, was made for ponies to live in it. The residential blocks were at most three stories high, with the bottom half submerged into the seafloor. Dotted around the reef, these structures stuck up out of the bottom all over. Over the two hundred years the reef had simply grown over the metal structure, making it hard to see the other blocks in detail. Connected by a large and long pipe was a building that sat on the edge of the ocean shelf, probably even over it too. And along the stone wall, and sticking out of the water was another building. It was all so much to take in.

A hoof rested on my shoulder. “impressive…”

I swatted the hoof away, pushing myself away from the window. My heart beat was moving too fast, my breath shallow. I had to collect myself.

“Are you okay?” Sorrow asked.

I took a moment to bring myself back down. The two just staring at me. “Sorry, I just… I just don’t do wide open water very well.” I looked at the window again, and winced. “just remind me not to look out the window for too long.”

Sorrow let out a long sigh. “Great. You’re going to have problems. I should be able to get some anti-anxiety medication, it’s not all that strong, but it lacks most side-effects.” Her eyes then moved from me and over to Mayall. “And you. Other than the obvious, will you have any problems here?”

Mayall tapped her chin for a moment, and shook her head. “Nothing I can think of.”

“Right, I’ll make an order for our supplies, and then we can talk.” Sorrow turned around and made her way to the terminal. Plugging in a pipbuck she had on her leg into the terminal. At first glance it looked like her legs were cybernetic, but the more I looked at it, the more it was apparent that they were simply covered in a metal bracing. It seemed so simple, yet I didn’t even see it until I took a closer look. It made me a bit worried to what else I was not seeing.

Feeling like it was best to just relax for a bit, I took a seat on the couch in the room. It was of classic Stable-Tec make, though the cushion was likely something more recent. Even if Stable-Tec made things to last, after a hundred years most of their stuff tended to start falling apart without extensive maintenance.

Mayall took a seat on the other side of the couch, letting a foreleg hang off the side as she looked at the window. The Sparkle-Lurker was both easy and hard to read. She was not a pony, and could live underwater, yet she was every bit a mare. The loss of Turnip must have hit her hard, yet she was here.

“You miss him, don’t you?” I asked, and she simply stared at me through the warped reflection on the glass. “If there was anything I could have done, I would have done it. I’m sorry.”

Mayall shook her head. “No, I was at fault. You were simply caught in mine own tragedy.” She took a deep breath, and gave a long sigh. “I dragged him and the others into it, full well knowing mine sister would not approve. Mother may be more tolerable, but she does not get in sisters way. Sees it as stifling her growth as a leader, as next queen.”

“I remember Turnip telling me about that. It sounded terrible.” The idea of Rototom ever hurting me was unthinkable, well not intentionally. “Why would she do that? She is your sister.”

“Berenices hates ponies. No, not that... fears ponies, yes. Ponies made the world we live in, destroyed the world before our creation. The piece’s left behind was what made us.” Mayall shifted her body so to lay down more. “We know this to be true, we are an accident, not meant to be. Berenices fears that ponies will come to understand that, seek to fix the mistake. So from fear, she hates. Feels that it makes her stronger, more right in her actions.”

I was a little confused. “Wait. So she hurts you because she hates and fears ponies?”

Mayall seemed to sink into the couch a little more. “We are young, and have no culture of our own. Mother, our queen, embraces the space captain. I found the old books in a vault, all the old books were from before the great war. My sister, she rejected everything pony, wanted Sparkle-Lurkers to be free from ponies. She could not challenge mother, but she could challenge me.”

I think I was starting to understand. “It was a cultural purge then, so that your sister could maintain her own order.” Mayall simply nodded, not saying anything more.

“All done.” Sorrow called out. “I guess it’s time I told you the plan.”

I sighed. “I just hope it involves getting me out of the republic, the longer I’m here, the harder it will probably get for me.”

Sorrow took a seat on a chair facing the couch we were on. “Will this get you out? No, not yet. But make things easier for you, yes it should. The basic idea is that we need you to throw the republic a red herring. As they follow the false lead you feed them, my clan will relocate to a new safe house. Of course, we will give them a win in the process, otherwise they might just do a purge just to make sure they get something. That’s why you will be leading them to a drug den, and help wipe out the pushers. And just for your information, no, they are not related to us. We may manage the speakeasy’s, but we have no interest in the drug trade.”

It was a bunch to take in, but I managed to understand most of it. “Okay, I got it. But can you explain two things for me? One is how does this help me. And two, a Purge? You think they would jump right to that?”

“How it helps you is that it scores you points with the M.o.A. higher ups. Be sure that as long as you’re on the wrong side of their radar, there is no way for you to get away from them. Not yet, anyhow, so it’s best to stay on their good side.” Sorrow took a long deep breath and slowly exhaled as she relaxed into her puffy seat. “As for the purge, it’s a worst case scenario. But from what my clan has recorded over the existence of the current Republic, it has happened enough to make it a realistic fear. Simply, the republic will wipe out an entire station just to root out any serious decent. To the powers at be, the loss of life is an acceptable loss, and frees up space for new, more loyal citizens.”

“So…” it all sounded bad, really bad. “You want me to simply give them a win, so that they don’t even have the inkling to go crazy looking for you.”

Sorrow nodded. “Putting it simply, yes. We didn’t think that the M.o.A. would simply stumble on us like that, but it seems that we were wrong. So gone are the days when the M.o.A. just did loyalty checks. That Baster Beam is something new. It’s going to force us to change our own approach.”

“So then you really think that I can throw her off your trail?” I wasn’t even sure Blaster Beam trusted me. Worse, if Theremin ever recovered, or that older pony ever saw me, I was royally fucked. “I don’t think I have that kind of pull.”

“You’re their only lead, so they're likely to jump at whatever you point your hoof at. We just need to make sure that you point them at something that will make them satisfied.”

I was still unsure, but at this point, I didn’t have much choice but to follow along. I could turn my back on them, but then what? Get shot and have Blaster Beam turn me to ash? I just wanted to go home, not play this stupid act any longer. When this is all over, I’m going to get drunk, get fucked, and lay in bed for a week. “Fine. Where do I start?”

Sorrow smiled, relaxing a little in her spot. “One of my kin is constructing a letter for you to send, you will just have to fill in the blank spots. The idea being that you were able to tail us to the drug den, and then scampered away. We just need to verify if our information is still up to date, and pick the right timing. So just relax for now.”

That was good enough for me. Looking over to my side, at the Sparkle-Lurker, I had another question. “So what are we to do about her? She can’t move about as simply as you can?”

“Yes, that problem...” Sorrow held onto the last word for an extra second, and waited for a moment before answering. “Well if she’s fine with it, we can just shove her out into the water. This place does have the airlocks to do it.” Mayall frowned, not amused by the changeling’s joshing. “But truthfully, we don’t know. One thing is for sure, we can’t let the republic have her. The ramifications of letting that happen is unknown, and potentially dangerous.”

“Her, Dangerous?”

Sorrow nodded. “Aquatic, a natural protective chitin, and that she does not appear on any magical sensor. If the republic knew of her kind, they would use the sparkle-lurkers as a new, devastating weapon.”

I sat up a little, cocking an eyebrow. “It can’t be that bad.”

She sighed. “No, they may not be. But any sensor that uses magic as more than a power source to work is not going to detect them. We’ve checked. Our pipbucks don’t see her, half our scanners don’t know what it’s looking at, including the ones used for turrets.” She rolled her hoof a little as she talked. “It’s not like we can’t recalibrate our systems to detect her, but with how reliant we are on magical systems, there is still going to be blind spots. The turret systems alone are going to have a delay in their targeting, even with recalibration.”

Checking my E.F.S. I had almost forgotten that the Sparkle-Lurkers never showed up on it. Even now I only got one green bar that pointed at Sorrow. “So then what, just keep her here?”

“Until we have a better plan, yes.” Sorrow answered. “We were already in the middle of figuring that out when you trotted right into our speakeasy. So we’re putting her on ice until the more pressing issue has been dealt with.” She put her head down on the arm of the chair she was on, and closed her eyes. “But right now, let’s just relax.”

Relaxing like she suggested, time went by quickly enough. Mostly with Sorrow sleeping, Mayall looking out the window, and me zoning out. At first my mind was ablaze with thoughts, and worries. But the sheer silence of the room quickly allowed me to focus, and my thoughts slowly drifted to Sweet. Last I saw of my good friend, she was pumped full of painkillers, and seeing through a drone. Getting new eyes was not something that came easy, or fast, so at best she was probably still in the hospital getting her optic nerves set up. I really could use one of her bad jokes about now, maybe even a show of bravado. If she was with me, I knew I would have not have ended up in this situation, we would have been back at home, getting drunk.

A buzz at the door announce the end of our quiet time. Sorrow quickly got out of her seat and trotted to the door with light and quiet steps. Looking through the peep hole in the door, she carefully opened it. Some chatter between her and the pony on the other side was too quiet for me to hear. When it was over, a package was slid through the doorway and she quietly shut the door again.

Trotting back, she placed the package in front of Mayall and I. “Okay you two, I’ve got what you need to survive out there, if only for a few more days.” Not the best way to put it, but I don’t think Sorrow cared about sugarcoating anything with us right now. From the box, she pulled out a holotape. “Here’s the mission report, you just need to copy what it tells you, and send your version to Blaster Beam. I’d advise sticking to what it says as much as possible, we don’t want her misinterpreting anything, and end up killing an innocent family.”

She then pulled out a small bottle, and tossed it to me. “Take this if you’re about to have a panic attack, it’s no cure, but it should help you not freak out as badly as you can.” I looked down at the bottle, it didn’t have a label on it or anything, just a bunch of pills inside, so I cocked my eyebrow at her. Sorrow just rolled her eyes. “It’s a mild form of chill made as pills. Most of you Mirage ponies have some form of phobia or tick, it’s amazing that your race gets anything done at all. If you’re going to do something that involves your trigger, just pop one of those and it should help you relax enough to deal with whatever problem you have.”

She turned her attention to Mayall, pulling out a pipbuck and a E.C.S. passcard. The pipbuck looked like the classic 3000 model, though it was clear that it had a few parts replaced. “With this, you will be able to interact outside of the safe house without drawing any dangerous attention to yourself. Just be sure to keep your mouth shut most of the time, and don’t let anypony get too good of a look at you.”

Mayall picked up the pipbuck, and put it on her wrist, the thing clamping down without a problem. The Sparkle-Lurker spent a moment looking about the room, her eyes looking at things we could not see. It was a little funny to see, though I hoped she had the fade out hud display option so that she didn’t get too distracted.

Looking back to me, Sorrow stretched out and relaxed. “You should go familiarize yourself with the holotape, and maybe practice a few lines before sending the message.”

With nothing better to do, I opened up Minerva, and placed the holotape into the reader. Activating the holographic settings, a screen appeared in my vision as though it was a terminal screen floating in air. The script was pretty basic, but didn’t feel forced. At first I wondered why they don’t just send the text, but then again, having me say it would add to its authenticity. For the most part, all the script was about how I got out alive and trotted down a tunnel, being completely lost. It went on about how I found myself at Fishery station, following the trail of a pony who had been seen in the club. And without drawing attention to myself, tailing the pony to their hideout in the station. I just had to read this all out, and not make it sound like I was reading from a script, simple enough.

I read it over a few times, first in my head, then out loud. The lines had a bit of a stilted report feeling to it, but I think that was the point. I just had to make it sound like it was coming from notes I did myself. After a bit, I felt confident enough to send the message, and trotted over to the terminal. Inserting my E.C.S. pass card, which I luckily still had, the screen scrolled down. It showed the information I had seen before, except my contacts were now at four, and I had two messages. Figuring it would not hurt to read my network mail first, I clicked on the messages button.

:: Where did you go? ::

-Clarinet-

Did you really have to sneak out like that? You made us all worry that something had happened to you. Well we're still worried, but we know you’re in good hooves, but next time you should let us know you’re leaving. Oh, and thanks for the snack bars, they’re doubleplusgood! Not to complain about the normal food I eat, but it does get boring after a bit. But still, send me a message when you get this, I know you're fine, but it be nice if you told me you are.

::end::

I couldn’t blame Clarinet for being worried. She does seem the kind that would, and I did leave without saying goodbye. I scrolled down to the next message on the list, and pressed enter.

::If you’re still alive::

-Blaster Beam-

Just reply to this message, I’ll send somepony to pick you up later.

::end::

Talk about short and sweet, I guess Blaster Beam really did have other things to do. Well that was probably lucky for me. Whoever she sends would have to be less insane than she is. Hitting the reply button, and selecting audio recording I prepared myself to send the message. It made me nervous, enough to shake a little, like I was a young mare asking a stallion if he wanted to go out with me. The difference here was that I was sending the message to a trigger-happy cybernetic mare, who’ favorite things seemed to be her job, her lasers, and killing with said lasers for her job.

Composing myself, I started the massage, keeping some of the nervousness as I felt it would help with its authenticity. It took me three tries before I felt that it was just right, the first time I repeated a few words, and the second time Mayall dropped a glass behind me. Pressing send, I had a strong feeling that this plan was just not going to work out, and that we were all going to die. Nothing ever went to plan, I could only hope that the M.o.A. fails to find me out long enough for me to get away.

I needed to get my mind off of my eventual doom. Scrolling back up to Clarinets letter, it only felt right that I reply to her. Though I wish I could also send one to my sister, or well anyone who could and would help me.

::I’m fine::

Sorry to make you worry. Miss Cranky Lasers didn’t seem like the kind who likes to wait around, and I didn’t want to do the long goodbye. I don’t know if I’ll be around to visit anytime soon, the job ended up being more complicated than I thought. Right now I’m at Fishery Station, if you haven’t been here, you should visit. It has windows here that let you see the ocean. Sadly, I have a thing about open water, and being under it, so the sooner I get to move onto the next station the better.

Tell the others I said hi, and don’t have too much fun. If I pick up anything interesting, I’ll be sure to send it to you.

::end::

Sending the message, I exited out of the program and pulled out my E.C.S. card. Looking at the terminal, I couldn’t help but feel that mine back home probably had a few messages from mom and dad, wondering where I had gone. I probably had one from Sweet too, letting me know about her recovery. Wiping away a tear, I trotted away from the terminal and sat back onto the couch.

“You’re done. Good.” Sorrow stated. “The day’s almost done, so I suggest you either do some shopping, or just turn in for the night. I don’t know how much time you have until the M.o.A. comes about to take down that drug lab, so it’s best to enjoy yourself a little.”

“Shopping? We don’t even have the bits for shopping.” I pointed out.

Sorrow scratched her chin. “Ahh, sorry about that. My kin should be cleared out by this morning, so if you pass me a list of what you would like, I’ll have someone grab a few things. Within reason of course.” She motioned to the door. “Clothing, food, and drink will be fine. But don’t ask for anything that could get you in trouble. I also suggest asking about the dress shop. No we will not buy you a dress, just let the owner know about our leaving.”

Not feeling like I had anything better to do, I popped one of the mellowed chill pills, and trotted out the door, Mayall tagging along behind me.

Now with time to take things easy, Mayall and I slowly made our way to the marketplace. The clean hallways really brought out the stable-tec feel to the place, the only real difference being the windows. It made me wonder how it would work if they built something like this on the surface. Orthrus had built a few structures topside, but nothing on a large scale like the metro. The vegetation, wildlife, and the toxic air made it difficult to build anything bigger than a large shack. It also seemed that the Rad-Boars loved to attack working crews, and some projects were abandoned due to a herd of rad-boars taking up residence at the construction site.

A drop of water on my head brought me out of my thinking. “Should I be surprised that this place is leaking?”

“Seawater hasth a corrosive effect.” Mayall spoke up. “It’s why anything made of metal along the coastline is beyond recovery. Future Land had a few water based attractions, but only rust remained when I started my reconstruction project.”

“Sounds about right, never saw anything standing along the coastline. Well other than the normal lurkers.” I looked over at her, she was definitely a little smaller than me like Turnip was. Yet, their queen seemed much bigger by comparison. “Quick question, how big do Sparkle-Lurkers get?”

Mayall cocked an eyebrow at me. “How tall? Well, I’m average for females. Male’s art a little bit smaller. Mother looks tall, but that’s because she hath platforms on her hooves.”

I had to keep myself from snickering. “Platform hooves. So, what, is she just like any other Sparkle-Lurker?”

She didn’t respond for a moment, taking a deep breath before responding. “Mother is smarter, and more eloquent when talking. The nest followed her at our old home, followed her to our current home. She is what unifies us all. But yes, she is a normal Sparkle-Lurker.”

This was something I had two wrap my brain around. “So your mother was not some monster with dark magical powers or something, she was just a, what… Politician?”

Mayall nodded. “Mother not only follows the laws; she must be the example of us all. If pony trespass on our home, pony must become food. Mother changed law to pony giving us food, after that, ponies started having more food on them when passing through our territory, even leaving it in baskets for us.”

I don’t remember hearing about that. Some stories of Bandits that will leave you be if you leave some food for them, but nothing about giving monsters food. “So then why did my best friend have to be hurt?”

Mayall looked down. “My sister wants to go back to older law, says it protected us better. Other Lurkers agree with her.”

Great, my best friend got maimed because of Xenophobia. “So then what’s your mother's opinion of ponies?”

“She doesn’t like the striped ponies, says they blew up the old world, so she seeks to kill the ones with stripes.” Mayall told me as she trotted along. “As for other ponies, she does not trust them, forbid us from interacting with them. Says that ponies are dangerous, ponies would not understand us.”

“And what is your opinion on ponies?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Was her response. “From the books, ponies are not all the same. Nice ponies may take the time to understand us, but ponies who are not so nice will seek to hurt us, maybe put us in a cage to show us off like a pet.” She shook her head. “I understand why mother and sister wish for us to stay away from ponies, and I agree. But I also understand that if we don’t make friends, we will only have enemies.”

I think I was starting to get what the situation was for the Sparkle-Lurker’s. “So is that why you left?”

She looked at me, a bit confused. “I… maybe. Heard sister fighting with mother, so much yelling. Sister was angry, very angry. Berenices is… not nice to me when angry, so I went outside, thought that she would be less angry after some time had passed. That’s when ponies showed up, something about them was wrong, so I hid. Berenices came for me, with other lurkers, armed with weapons. She saw the ponies, killed them all, so much gunfire. After, she called for me, it made me go cold, so I ran.”

“So, you thought she was going to what, kill you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know, I just wanted to get away from her. I was scared.”

That was understandable. “One last question, how did you end up on Pineapple Island?”

“Later I founded some old pony clothes, though that I could pretend to be pony, hide among ponies.” Mayall stiffened her walk, as though mimicking me a little. “Found somepony who said they were lost, so took pony to pony home. Was going to leave, but other ponies talked about some ponies that came true, said one didn’t take off mask, had a red glow inside.”

“I see, so you followed Turnip then.”

She nodded. “Went to next island, the moving box… the train made me not feel well, but I stayed strong. There, I looked, got hungry, and ate food. Pony said I needed bits for food I ate, made me clean floors to pay back small bit of food. One stupid pony started touching me, so I kicked the pony, pony was angry, called other ponies. I got scared again and ran, a smaller pony helped me, guided me outside. Angry ponies followed, but I get away by hiding in a pond where they could not see me.”

“Well that was an adventure.”

“yes, too much adventure.” Mayall agreed. “I stayed outside till it turned dark, but could not find my way back. It’s where I found a hurt pony, helped her up, came across another pony who told me to stay put. Then you and him showed up. He… Turnip told me I could trust you, you were good pony, you knew good ponies.”

It felt like a stab in the heart to hear that. I didn’t know Turnip for long, but I liked the guy too. I just wish he was around so that I could buy him a drink, goddess knows, he earned it. Looking at the Mayall, she was getting depressed again, and not wanting to go all teary, I pushed for us to get to the market. “You know what you need a pretty dress.”

Pushing her from behind, we picked up our pace and arrived at the market shortly after. Sadly, the market was less than impressive, looking like they only had the scraps of the scraps to sell. There were a few things to look at, but nothing that stood out, at least not from first glance.

Trotting up to one of the merchants, I gave her my best fake smile, and she gave one back. “Hello, I’m looking to cheer up my friend. Is there anything here that would be considered doubleplusgood?”

The fake smile faded from the merchants face. “We got what we got, everything made with equality in mind.”

Super, so everything is made to be equally disappointing. Looking over the products, it was mostly raw supply’s. Gray cloth, thread, a few tools that looked older then my grandmother. I could swear that this whole equality thing was starting to make me go insane. I shook my head. “Sorry, I guess I was not thinking equal enough, I was just hoping for something with a bit more color to it. Know anything about a dress shop?”

The merchant nodded, her mouth formed a small smile. “I don’t know about any dress shop, but there is a rumor about a shop. Can’t say if it’s real though. But let’s just say it’s around the corner, just behind me. It may have what you’re looking for. But don’t go telling anypony I told you about this, it’s bad luck.”

Giving the cloth merchant a nod, I quickly took a glance at the other stalls, all selling basic stuff, nothing that makes a good gift. Figuring it was worth a try, I motioned for Mayall to follow me, and we trotted around the corner.

We had to buzz our way in, but what was inside was interesting to say the least. The pony running the shop was far too well-groomed to be from the republic, her light green coat, complementing the red dress she had on, and her orange mane was accented with a blue cloth flower. The shop itself had a bunch of dresses hanging up, and along the walls were rolls of fabric in different colors. At the front desk was a bunch of jewelry on displays, that glistened and sparkled in the yellow light. “Wow, how do you even make these, much less sell them?”

The shopkeeper smiled. “Trade secret, but let's just say I have a few private buyers. So what interests you? Need a dress for a private dance, some undergarments to impress a special somepony. Or do you just want to look like a pretty mare?”

It all looked so lovely, but then I had to frown. “I don’t think I could wear any of this, much less afford it right now. Not with the M.o.A. coming in to pick me up.”

“What!” The shopkeeper shouted.

Looking over at the shop keeper, I suddenly felt a little bad. “Let me guess, you not equal enough for them.”

She huffed. “I’m as equaled as equality can get. Everything I have here I made myself. The M.o.A. and the I.o.E. their equality means everypony is equally poor, miserable, and unfashionable.”

Thinking for a moment, it hit me. “Are you connected with that bar that sells Daiquiris?”

She laughed. “Dear, I’m friends with anypony who can make a good Daiquiri.”

“Well they are packing up their stuff, and moving. The M.o.A. is onto them.”

She looked shocked for a moment, and then relaxed. “I see, so how long till their gone?”

“The morning.” I answered.

She rubbed her chin. “That should give me the time to pack up, no... more than enough time. Having to being where the business is means having to move out at any moment.” She looked over at me, and Mayall. “I should thank you for the information… I say a more discreet garment would suit the situation, would you be interested in some undergarments as payment.”

Mayall looked confused, and I bet I did a little as well. “I don’t think that’s necessary...”

The seamstress waved a hoof dismissively. “Oh don’t be so nitpicky. A mare’s secret is what makes her more alluring. Just get in the changing booth and I’ll pick a few numbers for you two.”

So we checked out the rest of the market, but found it overall disappointing. Mayall looked a bit uncomfortable for the rest of our little trip, as it seemed that she had never worn underwear before. The Seamstress had managed to get the Sparkle-Lurker into white lace panties, with white stockings and a garter belt. It was a bit funny to see the Lurker be embarrassed, it was also kind of cute too. I on the other hoof, managed to just get a pair of purple panties, which were much less rough on my fur then the standard ones that the republic had.

Before turning back, we decided to check out one last place of interest on the station, the aquatic research biome. I had to take two more pills as we trotted to the facility, as half of the long tunnel looked like it was made of just glass. It made me regret the decision, but the pills of chill mellowed me enough that I could fight through it. Though it didn’t help that I saw no reason to come here, it was Mayall who wanted to take a look.

Finally reaching the inside of the biome, we were met with what looked like a small jungle. Instinctively I reached for my gasmask, finding that I didn’t bring it with me. Closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath, I smelt something a bit off. The air felt… clean, and wet.

“Amazing, it’s like they built a jungle under the water!” Mayall said out loud, trotting onto the dirt filled floor.

“That’s because our ancestors did.” A nasally green Mirage pony mare in a dirty white lab coat spoke up as she trotted over to us. “May I ask to why you are visiting?” Surprisingly, the mare had all her legs. Though, she seemed lacking in other areas; thick glasses, skinny as a rail, and her brown mane, though cut short, was still considerably frizzy.

“Oh, sorry, we're here to just take a look. My friend here wanted to see what this place was before moving off to the next station.”

“I see. Well the forest ground is open to visitors, but you will need supervision to see any of the other areas. We may be a minor priority among the Ministry of Arcane Science, but our work is still important.” She rubbed some dirt off her lab coat, revealing a pin, one that looked similar to the old M.o.A.S. logo. “Do you have any other questions?”

Looking around, I had to say that this place was amazing, even the roof looked like a clear day topside. “How long has the M.o.A.S. been here?”

The lab mare giggled. “From the time of the war, though the records are spotty at best, it clearly states that this was a joint project between the M.o.A.S. and Stable-Tec. Centering around food production, and the possibility of building an underwater stable.”

“Wait, so you ponies have been here for over two hundred years, how did you make it through the revolution?”

Her overall happy demeanor dropped a little. “You know it’s impolite to talk about the revolution like that.” She sighed. “But back then this was an Orthrus controlled station, and shut its doors during the revolution. When the fires died down, Orthrus made a deal with the current republic, giving them the station in exchange for the safe passage of their ponies. Some ponies stayed behind, and joined the republic. And that’s what you see today, loyal members of the republic.” The tone in her voice didn’t hint at any deception, just a mixture of truth with neutrality. The best I could describe it, was if tomorrow, Orthrus toppled the republic and took charge, she would not have a problem with it at all.

The sound of rustling trees drew our attention to the greenery. Hopping out of a bush, Mayall had a big smile on her face. “It feels so nice here!”

The Lab mare laughed a little. “I can second that, I think it’s the trees, it just makes this place so relaxing.”

Trotting over, Mayall had a coy look on her face. “You’re a smart pony, do you have any books I can read?”

This time I chuckled. “Sorry, my friend is quite the bookworm.”

“Well we do have plenty of scientific journals.” The lab mare stated. “And I don’t think it would hurt to open up our library for you, but it’s getting late.”

“Could I borrow a book?” Mayall asked excitedly.

The lab mare though about it for a moment, and then nodded.

We ended up leaving with six books, it seemed that the biome had to get rid of them anyways, and was glad to give them to a pony who would read them. The books were actually two different sets of study, three of the books being about Seaweed and its different uses and health benefits. The other three about the mutations of the marine life over two hundred years. Mayall didn’t seem all that excited about the books, but she also didn’t want to hurt the lab mare’s feelings, so now She had some reading materials to keep her occupied.

The rest of the station was starting to wind down, with far less ponies moving about. The robots were still at their jobs, with a ponytron announcing how long until the curfew. So not wanting to cause problems, we made our way back to our room, not stopping to look at anything else.

Having a bed to myself was the best. No metal hooves in my back, unwanted cuddling, and the ability to stretch out and relax. Though it did feel colder sleeping by myself, not that I mind, but I don’t think I have had a bed to myself since this mess started.

Pushing myself up, I found that my left foreleg was detached, and on the floor. Shaking my head, I leaned down and pick Minerva up with my mouth, placing the pipleg on my lap, and slowly reattaching it. The hud and everything came back into my vision, and slowly faded out, not needed at this time. Now with four legs attached, I hopped off the bed, and stretched my back, getting a few pops.

It was odd entering the living room, with the big window to the outside, a small amount of natural light beamed in, making a rippling effect of light that started on the floor, and went up the ceiling. The room itself was decorated with old world artwork, though being both simple copies, and faded with time, It still gave the room a feeling of culture that seemed to be hard to find in the republic. All I ever remember seeing was propaganda posters, so this was a nice refreshing feeling.

As I took in the good energy of the room, I think I had zoned out for a few minutes. That is, until Mayall stepped in from the other bedroom. She, despite being a crustacean pony, actually looked like she had a bit of the bed head. Her floppy fin like mane wearily stuck up a little, and curled at the end, making it look like she got a bad perm. “Need me to brush your mane, sunshine?”

She shot me a dirty look, and trotted over to our bags. Rummaging through them, she pulled out a bottle of Sparkle-Cola, popped the cap off with her pipbuck, and chugged the drink. “Why you ponies not have any rad? As good as regular sparkle-cola is, it does not have the same kick!”

Great, she’s a caffeine addict. “It’s mostly outlawed in the metro due to it containing Flux as an ingredient. If you need a wake up, try Metro-Cola’s Lurker-Blue. The stuff has more than enough kick to it, to wake you up.”

She rummaged through the saddlebag some more, only pulling out another sparkle-cola bottle. I could only guess that she had collected them in her own journey. “Don’t see any.”

I sighed. “Then I’ll see if I can get a few later, maybe Sorrow could get some for us.” An audible grumbling came from my stomach. “Here, let's see if this place has any food I can cook up.”

Trotting over to the small kitchen setup, I looked through the cupboards. Predictably it was mostly empty. I did find some old world treats that expired over a hundred years ago. Powdered eggs, powdered potatoes, powdered milk, and even powered tomato soup. Just add water, and let the magic happen. Feeling like I could do far worse, I decided to make up a small feast for us, with some extra for Sorrow, whenever she returned. The instructions were simple enough, adding water to the powder, heat and stir it, after a bit of time we would have some food.

I was expecting something limp, and a bit bland looking, what I got was, well, food. I had only ever had eggs twice before in my life, and the powdered stuff looked almost spot on, the potatoes too, looking like thick mashed potatoes. I mixed the powdered milk and tomato soup together so that we would have a creamy sauce. All together I had made scrambled eggs, with mashed potatoes and creamy tomato sauce.

I think making the tomato soup into a creamy sauce was the best idea for the breakfast, as both the eggs and potatoes were a bit bland without it. Mayall looked like she enjoyed herself sipping on her sparkle-cola now and then, I also getting a bottle of the cola to drink. Sadly, the drink had long gone flat, so it didn’t have the same kick as Metro-Cola did, but it still tasted good.

Not long into our meal, Sorrow showed up all dressed up in a mechanic’s jumpsuit and hat. Pausing to look at us, she slowly opened her mouth, and then sighed. “What are you eating?”

Swallowing the eggs and mashed potatoes, then washing it down with some sparkle-cola, I gave her an answer. “over two-hundred-year old powdered food. Would you like some?”

She faced hoofed. “That’s my over two-hundred-year old powdered food.” She lowered her hoof to the floor, and huffed. “Fuck it, I’m hungry.”

The radio played the normal marching band music for a few more minutes, and as it faded out, the DJ spoke up. It was a bit odd how she never told us her name, I could only guess it was an equality thing. “Good morning citizens of the republic, and how fine of a morning it is. We have some good news today, and I am happy to report it to you now. Late yesterday, our good troops raided a nest of capitalist spies, who had been trying to corrupt the local population. And where was this capitalist hiding hole? Well right in that collapsed tunnel that fell apart a few days back. Though not confirmed, it is clear the tunnel collapse was done by the capitalists, probably to separate us from each other. But once more they have underestimated our strength and resolve. And for their misdeeds, security forces have tracked them down, and destroyed their base of operations.”

“Next up, President Garmon Keys is here in the studio right now to talk about the current events. Do you feel lucky? I know I do!” The DJ cleared her voice. “So mister President, what do you think about this latest clash with the capitalists?”

A sigh came from the radio, and Garmon spoke up. “Truly tragic. There were citizens lost this time, ones tricked into believing the lies of the capitalists. I do mourn for them, they were simply misguided, and could have been lead back to us. Now, they are lost to us, so we can only mourn their passing.”

“I see mister president; all our hearts go out to them.” The DJ added. “And about the collapsed tunnel, how soon will it be until it can be used again?”

“I’m sorry to say, but the damage seems to be extensive. Most likely irreversible.” Garmon answered. “From the looks of it, the capitalists made sure that the tunnel may never be used again. I’ve already signed the paperwork to have the tunnel sealed off to prevent any toxins from seeping in.”

“Though it’s sad to hear that we have also lost a tunnel, It’s good to know that your quick response will prevent anypony else from getting hurt.” The DJ’s voice sounded a bit more upbeat. “Another question, if it’s not too much. Do you have any response to this latest incursion by the capitalist’s? Surely they will not get away with this crime?”

A light chuckle came from Garmon. “Worry not, your government is working on a plan to insure the safety of the Republic’s citizens. The capitalists may think they can bring us down, but time and time again we have proven ourselves stronger. As long as we all stand together as one, there is nothing they can do to bring us down.”

Sorrow turned off the radio, looking a little irritated. “Always going on about the capitalists this, the capitalists that. I swear, everything that goes wrong for them, he blames it on capitalism.”

Getting out of my seat, I collected the dirty dishes, and took them to the sink. “I know Orthrus does not give too shits about them. If worse comes to worse, they’ll just seal off the republic for a few more years.”

“Like that worked the last time.” Sorrow huffed. “The equalists feed on isolation, it’s how they got so powerful in the first place. If Orthrus had allowed the revolution to spread out, yes the damage would have been more severe, but the equalists would have crumbled. But no, Orthrus put up their walls, and allowed the equalists to solidify their power, and now we have this cluster fuck of a mess.”

I didn’t have a response to what she had just said, so I just huffed and proceeded to wash the dishes. It was no secret that the methods of Orthrus, though effective at keeping order, never seemed to make things better. But that was never what Orthrus was about, and I think it was something that Orthrus tried to avoid doing. Not that Orthrus didn’t try to help, but it was easy to see that maintaining the peace and order was more important than uplifting civilization.

“So what are we going to be doing today?” Mayall asked, still sitting at her seat.

Sorrow trotted over to the tale with a rag, and started wiping it down. “You are going to come with me. My kin have a rail cart ready on an old line, and we will be taking you somewhere safer than here. Given a few days, an opening should show itself, and we can then smuggle you out of the republic. Your natural stealth versus magic sensors should make it easier for us.” Her attention, then turned to me. “Now for you, miss Echo, you should check if you have any new messages. If there are any from the M.o.A., do as it says. We will try to get in contact with you later, but for now play the part of the good citizen.”

I sighed. “Just don’t take too long. I know two ponies who know who I really am, and they are friends of Blaster Beam.”

Sorrow threw the rag she was using into a basket. “We thought as much, and already sent a pony ahead to M.o.A. HQ. If all goes well, you should sould be safe for a few more days. But it all depends on you playing along.”

“Right, I got it. I just wish I didn’t have such a pendulum over me.”

“Better than a guillotine.” Sorrow responded. “Now I just need to grab a few things before heading out. You to go on ahead, I’ll catch up later.”

Checking the terminal, and sliding in the E.C.S. card, I did have two new messages.

::Lucky!::

-Clarinet-

Fishery Station sounds doubleplusgood, I’d love to visit it one day. It’s good to hear that you’re doing good, and I hope you can stop by soon. My oldest was a little unhappy to not see you there yesterday. She wanted to know where the cool mare went, and I had to tell her that you were off working. Just let me know when you can visit, then I can set up a party for you.

::End::

::Report Received::

-M.o.A.-

Miss Chime Catbell. We have reviewed, and processed your mission report. And are now sending the proper response team to deal with the situation. Avoid interfering with operations, and an agent will come to collect you,

::End::

“To all of you my brothers and sisters, I have one clear message for you. We have nothing to lose but our chains! That’s right, the capitalists have once, and will try again to chain us down. They will take everything that is good about us, and denounce it as ungood. Lie to our faces about how the world really is, make us believe that they are the only ones who can be trusted. And when we are enraptured by their words, that’s when they will chain us down and take everything away from us, making us glad to have any of their scraps at all. So I tell you this, we have nothing to lose but our chains!” The pony sat on top of a box, shouting their little speech for everypony to hear. She was young, about around the same age as Harp would be, probably fresh out of school.

Sorrow came trotting up from behind us, joining us as we watched the speaker rant.

The pony on the makeshift podium continued their rant. “We have seen the true face of greed and hate. That’s right, greed and hate. The capitalists greed drives them to take all for themselves, and none for us. For you or you or even you, ma’am, nothing is given. And what do they do with their horde of goods? They sit on it like a dragon, not giving a damn to the damage they do to all around them. No, they do care, but only because they hate us. To them, we deserve to be poor, we deserve to be hungry. To them, we are but pests that must be killed off by their poison. Starve us, shoot us, drop the tunnels onto our head. To them this is not just an acceptable way to treat us, to them it is the right way to treat us. Their greed drives them to take all for themselves, but their hate for the common pony is what truly fuels their bloodlust.”

“That got… Dark.” Mayall pointed out.

Looking over at Sorrow, she looked a little irritated at the pony on stage. “So Sorrow, you seem well informed about the republic's history. How did this all happen in the first place?”

“Bombs fell.” What her answer.

“I know that part.” I retorted.

Sorrow sighed. “The rise of the equalists is just a repeat of how the world ended.” She motioned with her head for us to walk away from the small crowd of ponies who had gathered to hear the rant. “What that pony was saying was not wrong, not right either, but not entirely wrong. Greed and hate was the downfall of the world, both ponies and zebras didn’t stop, even when they knew it would end in fire. The same happened on this island.”

“So ponies are still blowing up each other. Makes my sister sound right.” Mayall commented.

Sorrow and I both gave her a confused look, but Sorrow cleared her throat and continued talking. “No, no bombs this time. What happened was that the corporations didn’t know when to just stop, when to get their fat hooves out of the public's business. By the time the equalists came onto the scene, the corporations had already taken over the government. So when the leader of the equalists ran for the presidency on the platform of restricting the powers of the corporations, they were met with massive resistance.”

“Mess with those in power, don’t be surprised if they use that power against you.” I added.

Sorrow nodded. “And that’s what happened. Except for one problem, the equalists had massive support from the working class ponies. So no matter what the corporations did to denounce and smear the equalist leader, she just stayed on top. It was like fighting a rising tide, and they knew it. So they had her assassinated.”

“Something I don’t remember reading in the history books.” I commented.

“Not surprising.” Sorrow agreed “Well this did quell the rising tide, for a short time. About two years later, a new equalist leader took the stage, a Livenka Fortissimo, who was far more radical than her predecessor. She would lead the Equalists to goad the republic to violence, calming that they were the voice of the public as the republic would attempt to silence them. Eventually Livenka did not just get the public on her side, she had wiped them up into an angry and armed mob. Soon after the revolution happened, and Livenka took control of the republic. The rest is what you see here.”

“So in short, the republic fell because it didn’t let the equalists win?” I asked.

Sighing, Sorrow gave me a little nod. “In a way, yes. The equalists only had the power they had because the working poor felt like they had none. So when the first equalist leader was shot down in the way she was, the ponies of the republic felt like not only didn’t they have power, but that their own government was holding them down. In a way, they were right. The corporations just couldn’t let go of any of their power, and in the end, they turned their customers and employees into their executioners. It was as simple as that.”

What Sorrow was telling me was not hard to understand, and made me glad I grew up under Orthrus. But it was a bit disturbing to know that all this anti-capitalist madness had some truth to it, even if it was used to control the population, not free them.

“Bouzouki!” A somewhat nasally voice shouted from the distance, Stopping Sorrow in her tracks. Looking over at the source, it came from the Lab mare I had talked with yesterday. “Long time no see.” She said wheezing a little. Even though she has galloped a short distance, it seemed a bit too much for the mare. Behind her floated a white painted sprite bot, Its mechanical eyes looking us over.

“It has, hasn’t it Tungso. Still working in the bio labs?” Sorrow calmly responded.

“Ya, we have had a few minor breakthroughs this year, but nothing significant. At least the robot lab pitched in and repurposed me an assistant.” She motioned to the sprite bot, and it beeped in a cheery tone. “Though it still a little disorienting having a floating third eye.”

Sorrow gave out a little sigh. “They really are mechanizing this station aren’t they. Makes me feel that ponies like me will soon be left behind.”

Tungso waved her hoof dismissively. “Don’t be that way, even if they do digitize all the books, the I.o.E. will have a place for you, I mean, the bookish ponies are their favorite.” She looked past Sorrow and at us. “I remember you two. So you were here with Bouzouki, that’s wonderful, we should all go to the biome together.”

Sorrow stepped in the way. “Sorry, maybe another time.” She motioned to Mayall. “This one needs to catch a train soon, and the other is getting picked up for ministry business. But maybe another day.”

The Lab mare looked a little disappointed, but then perked up a little. “Well, if it’s just you that’s available, we could meet up for lunch.”

Sorrow nodded. “Yes, let’s.”

Two security ponies galloped past us, their sprite bots following with flashing lights. If I had to guess, they were heading to the biome. “So what’s up with them? Did somepony start saying nice things about capitalism?”

“One, that was unfunny. And two, it’s not our business.” Sorrow said with a serious tone, almost like she was telling me that jokes were a very bad idea.

Tungso looked a little worried. “Oh I hope nothing happened at the lab. Last thing we need is for any of the experiments to get damaged.”

“Move along citizens.” A ponytron came trotting passed us. “This is official police business.”

Tungso looked even more worried, chewing on her hoof. “Oh I really hope it’s nothing.”

Click

The lights went out, leaving the only source of illumination coming from the window to the ocean. Sorrow remained calm, tapping her hoof on the floor to get our attention. “Now nopony panic, this station has backup power, and it should kick in soon.”

“What do you think is the problem?” I asked nopony in particular. “Most of these stations are so old that it could be anything really.”

“Well last time it was because sea water got into the generator room, it might be that.” Tungso answered. “But why would security be running to the biome?”

“Could be lurkers.” Mayall spoke up.

“I don’t think Lurkers would…” Sorrow stopped mid-sentence, looking over at Mayall, who was looking out the window. “Well fuck.”

Trotting to see what they were looking at, the biome was covered in Lurkers. Closer to us were a few more lurkers walking along the reef, and some were on top of the structure, just standing there.

“This is... very unheard of!” Tungso stated. “I know that Lurkers travel in packs, but never of this size. It’s fascinating.”

One of the Lurkers came into view, walking right in front of the window. Popping one of the pills of chill, I took a closer look, something about the large lurker seemingly odd. I didn’t see it at first, but it quickly became apparent, the lurker had leather straps on it. “Mayall, what’s your kin’s relationship with the regular lurkers?”

“We use them to guard the nests, so most ways in and out of our home are through wild lurker nests.” She answered. “But sister likes using them for hunting.”

“Hunting them, or using them to hunt?” Sorrow asked this time.

“Yes.” Not the answer I wanted to here.

A loud crash from behind us made me and the others jump. Looking around, it was too dark to properly see much, the downside of living underground. “What was that?”

“Sounded like something metal hitting the floor.” Sorrow noted. “Light, thin, with an opening, like a small gate, or a-”

“A vent.” I finished. The light from the window was not helping my vision adapt to the dark, so I could not see what it was. At the edge of my vision was Tungso, the mare looking quite scared, and confused. The rules of surviving in the big Island's tunnels kicked in, one of them being to stay close to each other. “Tungso, come here!” I whispered at her.

She just shook her head, quivering. “I… I can’t”

“Yes you can!” I motioned my hoof at her to come over.”

She just shook her head again. “I” with a sudden loud pop, blood bust from Tungso’s eye, sending the spray of gore next to us. Tungso herself stood there for a few more seconds, with a look of shock on her face before falling over, blood pooling onto the ground from her now empty socket.

The emergency lights flickered on, giving us just enough light to see what had just killed Tungso. Standing before us was a pony like figure, holding what looked like a crudely made pistol in its mouth. The figure was dressed in Lurker chitin that covered it all over, and had been dyed a dark gray, all held in place by leather straps. On its side were what looked like a few crude but dangerous looking large knives, their rusted metal giving off little to no light.

We both stared at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up. “Minerva, S.A.T.S.” The attacker dropped its pistol and charged, as I entered into my tactical S.A.T.S. Time came to a near standstill, the attacker now slowly moving at me. I selected to draw my revolver, the act costing one action, the second action I chose to shoot the attacker in the face, it giving me a 86% chance to hit, which was slowly going up. Feeling good with my chances, I accepted the actions, and my body began to move on its own. In one fluid motion, the Lunar Eclipse was drawn into my mouth, and I fired the gun, sending a bullet right into the attacker’s head. The bullet ripped through the attacker’s chitin, and blasted a hole far bigger on the other side then the hole that went in, completely hollowing out the skull. I knew this because I saw it all happen in slow motion, sending a large spray of blue blood and gore off onto the floor and wall behind it.

When time returned to normal, I took a quick look at my gun, remembering the specialty bullets I had gotten before. Armor piercing shredder rounds. Frighteningly effective. Trotting over to the body of the attacker, I didn’t need to check it to know it was a Sparkle-Lurker. The pony shape and blue blood was all I needed to see. But looking at its weapons, crude was an understatement. The pistol was nothing more than a one shot zip gun, and the knives were just sharpened pieces of sheet metal. The only thing of quality on the lurker was its armor, as somehow they had managed to mold the Lurkers chitin to be placed over their own. I expected it to be brittle or flimsy, but the molded chitin was considerably sturdy, probably more than hard leather.

Looking back, Sorrow was standing over Tungso, crying. “She didn’t deserve this, not this.”

A crackling sound filled the room, and an automated message began to play. “Citizens please remain calm, professionals are currently working on the problem, and will have the station back up and running soon. Stay in your homes until an all clear is given, and sorry for the inconvenience. Message repeats. Citizens please remain-” The automated suddenly cut out with a crackling noise, followed by silence.

“Sister Mine! It’s time to stop running and come home sister mine. This game of hide and seek is over sister mine.” Berenices voice reverberated through the room, and the halls. “Maybe we should play a game of seek and kill sister mine.”

I looked over at Mayall, who’s face told me everything we needed to know, fear. This situation was bad, and it was only going to get worse.

Footnote.

Quest completed: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.

New Quest: They Came From the Deep!