My low security cell was a tacky light blue and pale pink, with palm trees printed along the walls. Most of the stuff in here reflected the old world, Terminals, TV’s, clocks, all that stuff I was used to seeing rotting on the surface, but her it was clean and working. In the center of it all, agents the wall, was the bed, not as comfortable as it looked, but better than sleeping on the floor. It was made help a pony relax, but all I could think of it was some cheap motel from the old world, I think it was making my headache worse, stupid painkiller wearing off.

“So… Miss Vibraphone, can I call you miss Echo? Your name is a bit long.” The pony was with Orthrus Ponies Relations group, a mirage pony with a garish green coat and a luminous light blue mane. Her dress uniform was ridiculously clean, like fresh from the cleaners clean. She also had her nose up in the air, almost like she fed off her superior position.

“No, it’s a bit too formal, and makes me feel old.” I knew I had to play ball, but with this nag, it just hit a nerve. I know that before I would comply, it was the easiest, and best way through this, but somehow I felt irritated by her presence. I couldn’t help but resist.

Her facial expression did not shift, not even looking the least bit annoyed by my response. “I’ll call you Miss Phone then.” Ohh, this bitch really wanted to get under my skin.

“Just stick with miss Echo, like every pony else.” It felt petty to get mad over this, but I was getting a little mad. After the shit I had to deal with, I was not going to let some paper pushing head doctor get off easy.

“So, miss Phone,” Bitch “Let’s talk about your time in the Republic’s dark zone.”

I rolled my eyes. “It was all tea and cookies, felt like a real ministry mare there.”

“Really?” She was as poker faced as before. “If that is your official recounting of what happened, then this is going to be a short session.”

I rubbed my temples. “By Celestia, fuck no!” Taking a deep breath, I let myself calm down. The shrink just sat there, waiting for my next response. “I’m sure you’ve seen the memory; it was copied right out of my head.”

“I did review several parts of your debriefing, Miss Phone, but I’m here to get your personal account of how things went.” She pushed some paper and a pen to me. “Memory and personal opinion are different, and can skew the perception of certain events. We meant to do this earlier, but were are instead doing this now, so if you would kindly start from the beginning.”

I sighed. “I’d rather not, but fine, I’ll make it quick.” The mare nodded. “Well if I were to start, I was saved by one of their medics.”

“One Miss Clarinet, right?”

I nodded. “She was a sweet mare. A bit too caught up on the propaganda to think properly for herself, unfortunately.” It made me shake my head. “I can’t fault her, or the others. As good as it is here, many more are left out there to rot.”

“And how does this makes you feel?”

“In a single word? Lucky.” I like to think that Orthrus could do more, but I knew there was only so much to go around. The Republic had some solutions, but it included giving up most of any pony’s freedoms. “I had my family, and later Orthrus. Both gave me opportunities others didn’t have.” With what I knew about Clarinet, the Republic was probably the best thing that happened to her, as it was the worst this that happened to me. “Ponies who didn’t have the stable life I had, I can see why the republic is a good idea for them.”

“On the subject of the Republic, what do you think about it overall?”

“Free food, housing, work. Cybernetics stabbed into your brain. What’s not to love?” I gave her the widest smile I could until it hurt to keep doing it.

She paused for a moment, probably waiting for me to stop with the painfully fake smile. “Less sarcasm if you would, miss Phone.”

“Truthfully, the republic is a ball of propaganda, spinning lies and truths together so that its own ponies don’t know what to think.” I let my face take a rest, not that I could hold it for long anyway. “It’s hard to resist what you don’t understand, and when it controls your food and water, it’s simply harder to resist it. The republic is security at the cost of your freedom, and at the heart, it takes your freedom of personality in exchange for a pacified hive mind. It’s not a place for a pony who wants to be themselves, or accept the consequences of their actions. Those who come from the outside and seek a new life in the Republic are promised a happy paradise. But it offers only one thing. Conformity.”

“How did it feel to be part of…” she thought for a moment, finally showing some emotion as she scrunched her face, even if only momentarily. “Unity, maybe?”

“Not unity, more like a network. They called it the Collective Consciousness Network, or SYBYL. for short” I sighed, holding myself. “And warm. It felt... warm. Like a big hug from and uncountable amount of ponies. You weren't alone, unwanted, or looked down on. You were simply accepted. When you feel like that, why think, why be an individual, why go against the flow? I was a drop of water in a lake, no way to tell me apart from the others. And when I disconnected, it felt cold, lonely. Like I had made a mistake.”

“Do you regret it?” She asked. “Disconnecting from them?”

“Fuck no!” I spat out. “I’m just saying that everything felt right there. I know it’s all lies, but inside you don’t know that, you can’t know that. I only managed to get out because Slowtrot fell out into my head.”

“The dream pony right?” She flipped through a few papers on her clipboard. “There was another one too, correct?”

“Phobetor” I nodded.

“You mentioned them a few times, as well as how one of them helped you through your ordeal.” I nodded again. “We also noted that you have been taking pill supplements of chill from the time you got back. How much of it did you imbibe during your time in the Republic?”

“Oh fuck you!” I blurted out. “I wasn’t hallucinating! It all really happened!”

“It is known that toxin exposure from the surface can affect the mind, and with drug use, it tends to make things worse.” She flipped through a few more pages, reading a some of them. “I’m not here to judge what you had to do to survive out there, I’m simply here to help.”

“Well, you’re not!” I crossed my hooves, and glared at her. “And I’m not going crazy… even if it does sound that way.”

“And what about the continued use of chill pills now that you’ve returned…?” she gave me a sideways glance.

“It was stressful,” I huffed. “I needed to keep my cool there, and I’ve just weened myself off them? Even I know you can’t quit that shit cold turkey.”

She looked away, and back at her clipboard. “It’s noted here that security confiscated a small jar of pills on you at the checkpoint, and you were witnessed taking them before the checkpoint.” I kept my mouth shut. “Right, I’ll make an appointment for you later.”

“For what?” I glared at her.

She put her clipboard down and looked me in the eyes. “You’re clearly showing signs of addiction, miss Phone. Nothing bad yet, but if left uncheck, it will get worse.” I huffed, but I was starting to worry about that. “Also, I think it’s best if you go get a brain scan so we can see how sever the schizophrenia might me.”

“Oh fuck you, I’m not crazy, I’m not seeing things!” I shouted at her. “And there’s only one mare allowed in my head, and that’s me. So would you kindly get out of it?”

“It’s for your own good, miss Phone.” The mare didn’t budge. “The amount of drugs in your system has been severe, not to mention the inhibitors that were still in your system when you arrived.”

“What inhibitors?” First I’m an addict, then I’m schizophrenic. Now what is she trying to pin on me?

She sighed “From the notes, you had been eating something that was inhibiting your ability to think. It was in low amounts, making it hard to detect, but it was there. Medical notes that this inhibitor chemical, along with the drugs, has had the very real potential of altering your brain chemistry permanently.”

I had to bite my tongue as to not start screaming at her. I was not going crazy, but I didn’t put it past those equalists to do something like that to pacify the public. It was probably in the food, as everypony at some point had to eat the pink slime they served.

“Fine, whatever, but I still have a job to do.” I grunted. “I’m not going to let you or anypony keep me locked up in a padded cell.”

“Not your call.” The mare sighed. “Here, I’ll be back tomorrow. If your tests come back to show that you’re mentally healthy, then you’ll get my seal of approval to go.” She got up, and trotted to the door. “So until then, just try to relax.” Two armed security officers followed her out. I found it ridiculous that they saw me as a danger, so I stuck my tongue out at them.

The metal door closed, and locked. It was one of those high security doors Orthrus made for civilian use. Meaning that you could not get through them by force, well not without an angle grinder.

I didn’t bother turning on the TV, there were only two channels. One played over two-hundred-year-old shows and movies I’d seen a hundred times before. The other was Orthrus news, most of it was just subtle propaganda, or repeating what little news they had to talk about. The rest was static or music, and neither of those interested me at the moment. I tried the terminal, but it’s only use was either for contacting the guard, or to use as a chat room for other prisoners here. At the very least I found out that I was stuck in a low security lockup, so half the ponies here were Orthrus washouts. Most of them were only being kept for a few days to sober up, others in here for getting into brawls, or more commonly, both at the same time. I knew Sweet had been thrown in here a few times, but I had never been locked up before myself.

Sighing, I knew what had to be going on. Some pony, probably my sister, was pulling strings to keep me out. It was just like Rototom to put me in a mess, then pull me out. She liked being the hero, even when she was the cause of the mess. So here I was, stuck in what my big sister thinks she knows best for me. Shaking my head, I trotted and looked around the room, at least, in what little space I had. There was a vent along the wall that caught my eye, welded shut with some bars behind it, so no luck there. The door was not going to open, even with a lock pick. Electric locks were troublesome like that. The windows were fake, unless I was in a hotel room overlooking a pristine beach from two centuries ago. While it may have been low security, it still meant I was not going anywhere without help from the outside.

*BUZZZ*

Great, the ‘warden’ was here. A panel in the ceiling opened up, and a mechanical sphere-like eye descended.

“Time for your daily exercise!” I think this was part of the punishment for being sent here. The loud buzzing and the obnoxious robot were enough to make me want to kill myself. “Now, I want you to follow my movements. Get that neck moving.”

The robot extended to the left, and I followed with my head. He did the same to the right. So did I. Up, then down, my head followed.

“Good, now move your legs. Get that blood pumping!”

“I don’t have blood in my legs.” I said back at it.

“Not with that attitude you don't!” The robot eye did a little bouncing motion. “So get them moving.”

I was not going to stand for this. Locked up here, being told I was going crazy, and now had a fucking robot wanting me to do aerobics? At least I had an opening, I just needed to take it.

“Warden, my neck is still a bit stiff, can we go over the first exercise?” My question made the small robot pause for a moment.

*BUZZZ*

“Now I want you to follow my movements, get that neck moving!” It repeated in the same tone as it had before.

I leaned back on my cyber legs, doing as the warden said, and when he lowered, I pushed forward in a pounce. Sweet had told me about one time she was in here, she punched it. It responded by shocking her as a deterrent, enough to floor her, or so she said. Luckily, I had my tactical SATS, and before landing on the warden, I activated it and instructed it to keep my legs latch onto it. The spell did nothing to stop the electricity as it coursed through my body however. Even though it hurt a lot, my plan worked. I stayed latched onto the small robot, even when it lifted up and out of the room.

I hit the sealed metal hatch with a thud. Even with my tight grip on the robot, I was still shaken off soon after leaving the cell. It took me a moment to recover, but getting up, I found myself in the dirty outer workings of the lockup. It was a dark space where ponies rarely go unless for maintenance, so I at least had enough time before security knew where I was. Now I just needed to get out of here, and meet up with harp. Rototom may have thought she’s protecting me by sticking me in this place, but fuck her. If I dig my own grave, I’m going to get myself out of it on my own.

Security was not a bunch of idiots, so it would not take them long to find me. But again, as a low security facility, there were only a few of them here, so I was not in for a big fight if I happened to run into any of them. Looking around, I found a maintenance hatch that lead out of here not to far through the cramped space. Not waiting to waste time or be found, I made my exit. The maintenance route was not for the claustrophobic, but it was thankfully not in use at the moment, so I was able to make my way out of here without too much of an issue. With any luck, the rest of the facility would be just as empty today. Probably not, but hey, a mare can dream...

Traveling through the maintenance tunnels got me past one of the security checkpoints, but that’s where my free ride unfortunately ended. A few of the staff ponies here were a bit surprised to see me pop out of the panel, but it was nothing too out of the ordinary for maintenance, so they probably just assumed I was one of them and went on with their business. My main concern was the security here. It would not take them long to notice I was out of my cell, so I needed to move quickly. If I got caught now, I’d be put in a higher security cell, and while this place wasn’t a joke to get out of, anything tougher wasn’t going to be something I can get myself out of on my own, period.

Lucky me, maintenance had a storage room nearby, and it was just what I needed. Uniforms and tools were what I went for immediately, however a few other items I didn’t need caught my eye inside, including a promotional poster for the Lucky Rabbit's foot. I couldn’t help but pause for a moment, as the image of two stallions intertwined was rather enticing, but with a big something that could poke an eye out. I tried to shake off the thought, but the idea of going round two with Merit popped onto my head, along with Sorrow, as she had offered. Both encounters were of course something that wouldn’t happen any time soon if security caught up to me.

Closing the locker, I couldn’t help but feel that the maintenance jumpsuit fit my figure a bit too well. Body size didn’t seem to vary too much between mirage ponies, so it was not out of the norm, but still felt a bit... odd. Tieng my tail back, and pushing my mane under my newly worn hat, an old stable tech cap, I was ready to get moving again. I just had to make sure I didn’t stand out too much, and I should be good.

Back into the halls, I made my way to the hanger, where there shouldn't be any more security checkpoint. A few security ponies passed by, most not in any rush. If any of them were looking for me, then they overlooked the pony in the maintenance jumpsuit. It made me feel a little paranoid thinking that they were all looking for me, but it was better to be safe. Luckily it seemed that from where I was, security was not on high alert, so I had time to breath and plan out my next move.

First, I needed to get myself in position where security could not apprehend me. Of course that was easier said than done, but I did have the option of the council. If I remember correctly, there was another meeting at the council room for the upcoming operation, If I got there, security’s search for me would be canceled. Naqara was not one to suffer the insubordination of those around her, or ponies skirting her authority.

Entering the hangar area, the Scootaloo hovered above like a giant ready to break out of here, but tied down with chains. To my right the way was blocked by large metal boxes, and the ponies moving them around. It seemed that rail cannon ammunition was being loaded up, along with other various ammunitions, so they were unlikely to make way all too soon. To my left, security was bunching up, my best guess, work of my brake out got to the others, and they were planning to secure and sweep the area.

With no better direction to go, I chose to head straight through the ship. It was a bit tight on space, but maintenance workers were common on the over two-hundred-year old airship. Much of the ship’s parts had been replaced by more modern and less corroded replacements, but the council had both airships under constant care just in case they were ever needed. Knowing what was coming, it was going to be a good thing they were kept in such great shape.

I stopped almost as abruptly as I’d started to move onto the old ship. Blocked. My way through was clogged by another maintenance crew hard at work replacing the floor boards and wiring for the ship. It forced me to deviate and take another exit that sadly meant going onto the top deck. Most of the renovations at the moment were being done on that deck, with almost a constant stream of ponies going up and down the stairs with supplies. All the more chance to be discovered and called out, but I had no other option.

As I climbed up the stairs, the uptick in work here didn’t go unnoticed by me. It wasn’t just maintenance right now, I was sure that the Scootaloo Resolve was being prepped for the coming war. All her old parts were now being replaced with more durable, new parts, and soon she’d be one hell of a force to be reckoned with.

Nearly running into the flank of another worker, I was forced to stop in the cramped hallway crowded by the other crew. All ways through to me were blocked, including the way back down the stairs. Sure, I could try to pass myself off as one of the maintenance crews until security dies down, but they all knew each other, and would spot me as an outsider easy. All other ways off of the ship were probably covered by security, which by now had to be on alert for me. A pony overhead caught my eye as they climbed down a ladder that lead further up. As soon as they dropped off it, I took my opportunity and climbed up.

Quite quickly, I found myself on top of the venerable airship. It was strange to be on top of the airships rigging, the metal skin of the arship made a light clanek sound with each step I took. I’d only only been here once before, giving into Sweets curiosity at risk of getting into trouble, but that was years ago. The ceiling of the hanger was so close now that I could almost reach out and touch it. However, the peeling and cracked paint depicting a blue sky was now easy to see for the illusion it was.

Out of all the oddness of trotting on an air balloon, it had the one thing I needed, a way around most of the ponies on the job. All I needed to do is slide down one side, and hold onto the cable. I’d get rope burn for sure, but it would get me to the bridge to the other side easy. Sweet used this trick more than once, I having to wait for her on the other side.

The main problem was that I could not see the other side until I drop down onto it. There was a safety net to prevent any accidents from running into deaths, but that would get me caught. Luckily the particular cable I needed to keep an eye out for was easily found after looking around for a moment. Though most of the old red paint had long peeled off, it was still easy enough to find.

The sound of hooves hitting the rigging caught my attention, and a familar voive of a stallion spoke up. “I figured it was you when security started to get tight.” I sighed, and turned around to see Merit. He still had that rugged, I can take care of myself look to him. Never knew why I liked that about stallions, Sweet said it was because I wanted to be looked after, but still given freedom. “Didn’t think you were going to be up here?” He still had the jumpsuit Orthrus gave him, but no pipbuck.

I didn’t know to feel relieved or annoyed by his presents, but I knew what I was going to say. “You know that you have an almost kickable face, right?” That cocky smile, so sure of himself. But it was a little relaxing he was here, as I knew he was not on my sister’s side. Or at least, that’s what I hoped.

He turned his head, and pointed at his cheek. “Can’t say that it’s not the first time I’ve been in that position.”

I shook my own head. “I’d like to catch up and talk, but I have to get to the briefing. We must establish an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom or we’re going to have big problems. And I’d be damned if some greenhorn goes in my stead.” I rubbed my head, my headache still there. “Also, do you have some pain killers? I can still feel the brain surgery.”

“Sorry, no painkillers on me.” Merit sighed. “And I doubt they would send a rookie to do the job. So that being said, what’s really bothering you about all this? You should be relaxing, not trying to get yourself locked up.”

“Because I was just locked up, and somepony has to do something about what’s coming. If it’s not me, then right now, I don’t know who will.” I sat down, and groaned at the idea of it all. “But I’m just one pony, I can do only so much. Yet if I do nothing with everything I’ve learned, I feel like they win. That I’ve given up, and handed them a victory.”

“Them?” He canted his head and looked confused.

“The republic, the equalists. It’s hard to explain, but like I mentioned, they’ve got this whole brain in jars thing going on.” The thought of it made my stomach churn a little. “Think of it as army of not just brainwashed citizens, but mind controlled solders. Not to mention the reavers and the cybernetic monstrosities they are.”

“Still, you should probably step down.” He spoke with the best of intentions, but it was hard to hear. “You told them everything you knew, right? So let them fight it if this is a bit over your head.”

“No.” I said softly as I ground my hoof against the airship under me. Feelings of anger and hate welled up inside. I fought too hard to get back here, I lost turnup for this. I can’t just… drop it. “NO!” I shouted. “I’m not just going to sit by and just hope things will get better. I refuse to just act like if I play by the rules then I will get what I want. I tried that, and it failed!” Catching my breath, I calmed myself down. “Things are changing too fast for me to just let it happen on its own terms. I need to act, I don’t think I can afford to not to.”

Looking Merit over, something seemed odd. It wasn’t just that the pipbuck was not on his leg, but my own horn could feel some magic coming off from him. More than any normal pony should be giving off.

“I see what’s going on,” I smirked and shook my head. Of course it couldn’t have even been the real Merit. “Sorrow, you can cut the act. Or are you looking to fuck me?”

The fake Merit tilted his head, and sighed. “The changeling is currently elsewhere; she’s been bothering the council to give her kin safe harbor with Orthrus.” The image of Merit shimmered and faded, in it’s place was a pony in full Specter Gear. The pony took of their helmet to reveal Temboril Tablature, a top tier specter, and the daughter of council member Biwa Tablature. She also, happened to be a good friend of Rototoms. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to catch on. The armor makes it a bit hard to mimic their wings.”

“You forgot his pipbuck, but that’s not why you’re here. What do you want?” I asked flatly. Frankly, I was done with all this masquerading around whatever point ponies are trying to make anymore.

She nodded. “Yes, let’s not mess around anymore then we have.” The sounds of motors squeaked, and a ladder descended near me from... above. It was strange, I could not see where the latter had come from, like the old painted ceiling above me was an illusion. “I want you to take a detour, it will get you around your sister, but the rout is gose through a place we don’t have normal members go neare, so remeber that. The path is marked, so just follow the directions to the other side.” Looking at me she lifted up her leg, and a holographic image moved from her to me. The image was my sister waiting on a bridge to the Scootaloo, along with a few Orthrus guards. “One of the council members is against the operation you’ve agreed to, saying it’s too dangerous to have the princess take part. Your sister has taken upon herself to keep you out too, making it less likely the operation will start.”

The image faded, and a map appeared, along with a few other maps of the upper leves of the base, along with a route she wanted me to take. Temboril continued “Naqara is not one to just let herself be denied, she wants you to recover princess Harp Melody and deliver her the briefing room.” The map showed a few dots on the screen, a lot of red, one blue, and two yellow. “I’ve already recruited two allies for you, I suggest getting to them first.”

“Is Harp alright?”

Temboril closed the holographic window, it being saved on my pipleg. She’s fine, Phorminx just has her distracted at the moment.” Temboril rubbed the temple of her skull. “I hate it when council members fight like this, moving ponies around like chess pieces. She pulled out a gasmask, and tossed it to me. “You’re going to need this. The old parts of this station are close to the surface, so be careful.”

I had to think for a short moment. “Wait, if that’s true, then why have I not known about it?”

She rolled her eyes. “Because grunts don’t need to know where this stations weak points are. But you aren’t a grunt anymore, so it’s time for you to know.” She pointed up at the ceiling. “But since you’re going up there, there's a magical barrier acting as the ceiling you see. You should be fine passing through, so don’t worry. Just make sure to keep that mask on up there, because no pony will come looking for you if you end up choking to death before you make it out.”

“Duly noted.” I fiddled with the mask before putting it on, making sure it was properly fastened to my head. “Any more advice?”

“As a spectre, you’ll have access to these passages at any time you may need them, with one caveat.” She nodded. “Don’t try to bring any pony up there with you, the barrier will not let them through, and it will not end well for them.”

I cocked my eyebrow at that, but I probably didn’t have the time to ask why. Placing a hoof onto the ladder, I pulled myself up, step by step until I was at the ceiling, and then my hoof went through. All those times looking up at the illusion of the sky from the ground, and it turns out, that the illusion itself wasn’t even real either. If I had more time, then maybe I could have dwelled longer on how that seemed to have become a recurring theme in recent times.

“No going back now.” I told myself, and pushed myself onward.

It was immediately clear why Orthrus was so quiet about this area of the station. It looked like they had been having a long battle with the surface here, and they were currently on the losing end. Above me, the metal roof was rusting, with what was left of it’s paint flaking off all over. The walls had many little cracks in it, and clear signs of decades worth of water damage. Moss had spread to anything it could find, clinging onto the walls and ceiling, draping down, and spreading to the railing. Water dripped from the moss, hitting the magical barrier, and sliding off to the edges. I even spied a plethora of insects, scurrying around all over the place. Even if I hadn’t been in a rush, this was the kind of place I didn’t want to stick around too long, reminding me of more than a few of the unfriendlier overgrown tunnels of the big island.

Taking my first step toward my destination, my metal hoof slipped out from under me, forcing me to look down at the dark pink barrier showing my reflection back at me. Getting myself back up, I noted that some of the moss secreted some sort of slippery slime, making it hard to get stable hoof hold wherever it grew. Avoiding the slippery patches, I made my way to the end of the railings. If it hadn’t been so dark and cramped here, the draping moss all around me at times made me feel like I was topside again. Albeit, only temporarily.

Trotting along the railing, I followed the instruction on the map, taking me to a door that has the same moss problem. The door whined as it opened. Like everthing up here, it was clearly needing some attention form of maintenance. Inside looked like a fitting room, tools and biosuits, meaning it what was where this levels maintenance crew geared up. It was a mix of heavy duty cleaning materials, and heavy military pyro gear. The flamers were modified to send the fire wide, and the shaft was extended, making it safer for the user, but not as effective in combat. I’ve seen this gear used before to clear out unused tunnels for maintenance work, though the flamers here were a little heavier duty than even those were.

A blinking light drew my attention to a nearby terminal that was still active, an older model used by stable-tec. Looking at my pipbuck, the briefing was still not to start for some time, so i had a little bit time to kill. Now I know it’s improper to snoop, but learning one of Orthrus’s little secrests was a bit too tempting to pass up. It was not like I was going to coppy and sell the information, so what harm can it do. Looking through the open files, most of it was inventory checks, though there were a few reports that looked interesting.

----

: I know we all hate this moss, so stop telling me about it :

I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll put it here as a reminder. Just trim the stupid moss, the counsel does not want to use too much of our supplies too fast. The last thing we need is for every pony to find out we're having a problem up here. Trim it, and take it to the incineration room. And for the love of Celestia, make sure that no pony is in there before setting the shit on fire. You should be thankful that the suits we use are flame retardant, because I almost had a heart attack when one of you ran out on fire. Also on that note, no trying to play pranks in the burn room, you’re likely to get set on fire.

Lastly, even though it’s annoying, under zero circumstances are you allowed to skip decontamination. The last time some of the moss was found down below, I almost lost my head. This shit spreads like a mother fucker, so taking a magical shower should be the least of your worries. Were all being paid extra to be professionals here, so if I even here one of you joke about skipping decontamination, I will beat stupid out of you and report you to the counsel myself.

- Your Commander.

: Body Found :

Bad news, everypony. Looks like some ass hat found their way up here on our watch. A security detail already bagged them up and put them in the burn room, but I am extremely disappointed in you all for not finding them sooner. I know that nobody wants to do it, but were cremating the fool later. Whoever draws the short straw for that particular job should know that it’s business as usual. At the end of your shift, just throw the cut moss on top of the body and light it up. For any pony with questions, the pony looked like a greenhorn, and had come up here to use chill. Security won’t tell me much, but it seems that because of the mare, they located a minor breach, and are currently working to fix it. As for how she died, my guess is that she tried eating the moss, because she’d absolutely stuffed herself with it. Let this be a reminder to you all then about how toxic this shit is, and how important decontamination is. I hope you all understand now what’s at steak up here.

- Your Commander.

: Don’t walk on the barrier! :

The council just sent me a notice that reports of strange noises from above the Scootaloo have been sent to them. The noises are reported to sound like hooves on thick glass, which to the ponies down below us, is far out of place. As entertaining as it may seem to make this place feel haunted, I would like to remind you that nopony is supposed to know we’re up here, so knock it off. If I catch any of you on the barrier without my express permeation, I will be doxing your pay. Not only that, but you will be the one to explain to the council how you intend to make up for the loss in overall productivity due to ‘ghost story gossip’ down below.

- Your Commander.

----

I stepped away from the terminal, getting a better understanding of what was going on. If I remember correctly now, the moss out there was called Dead Pony’s Moss. I only rarely saw it up on the surface. Nasty stuff clumped on old ruins, or dead trees that was persistent as all hell and deadly if you ingested even a single bit of it. Quickly checking myself for the moss, luckily, I was mostly clean.

Feeling like I’d wasted enough time, I got back to my objective at hoof following the directions Temboril had given me. Even away from the hanger, the wear and tear of age was apparent. I could only guess Orthrus didn’t care about keeping up appearances up here anymore, maintaining only the vital parts of the structure to keep it from collapsing. There were a few more spots I spotted the moss growing, but it seemed more under control the further I traveled from the hanger.

Reaching a door that should lead me down, my eyes strained a little as it opened and I was hit with a bright exterior light. It also didn’t help with my headache still raging on non-stop, making it pound a little more than before even. Trotting through, I found myself in a much more modern room. Fresh paint, properly working lights, and the sound of a radio playing met my ears. The room was divided into two by a glass wall, with a separate glass box in the middle. On my side was a couch, and a coffee table with some books on it. On the other side was a security booth, the pony in there looking as bored as can be.

“Hello miss.” The security pony spoke through an intercom. “I was told to expect you, so please step into the decontamination chamber.”

I should have expected as much. Stepping in, I stood in the middle. “So, I’m guessing that I’m not to talk about what’s up here.”

“Correct.” The guard spoke dully. “I was also told that there is a medium security cell waiting for you if you do happen to speak of it to anypony.” I nodded to her, and she pressed a button in her booth. Mist burst into the glass box I was in, obstructing my vision. “Don’t take off that mask of yours” the guard mare spoke. “It’s mostly nontoxic, but you will get sick if your breath too much of it in.” I nodded, but I doubted that she could see me.

The decontamination went on longer than I’d have liked, but it was clear that Orthrus took this as a serious matter. With the log entries still fresh in my mind, I just stood there until the mist cleared up. Honestly, it didn’t feel all that bad, like a steam shower almost, making me at least feel clean. Warm wind erupted under me, drying me off after a minute and leaving my fur and mane feeling a little poufy.

The glass doors opened to the other side and I stepped out. The guard mare snickered a little from behind her glass cage. My reflection showed that my mane and tail didn’t come out of the decontamination without a scratch, having predictably become a bit poofy and going ever which way. Groaning a little, I did my best to put the maintenance hat back on to supress my messy mane, and left the gasmask behind as I made my way downstairs.

With a clang, the security door behind me closed, leaving me back in the main part of the station. From here it would be a short trot to find whoever these allies were that Temboril told me about. Security seemed to be a bit lighter here as well, though Rototom may have them doubling their numbers around the princess just to keep me away.

The map took me to me to one of the old recreation rooms, which from what I could remember, was currently used for storage now. The door opened, and I was hit with the sound of radio channel three. The electronic dance music loudly playing was something that the other channels would never do, but was a welcomed change.

In the room were four familiar ponies. Light Turbulence was on a treadmill, trotting along while happily reading a book. Wild Winds was at an arcade machine, bobbing and weaving as they played. While across the room, both Merit Cross and Sweet Sex Solo were watching an old movie on a big screen terminal while eating popcorn.

“What?” Was all I could say. This… wasn’t at all what I’d expected to find.

“Hay grumpy butt!” Sweet looked my way and smiled. “Wanna take a seat? Attack of the fifty foot mare is playing right now!”

I sighed as I trotted over. The large terminal was indeed playing the old pre-war movie. The actress, Lilac Lace if I remembered right, was stomping through a fake city, knocking everything over in her wake. Fake looking movie prop tanks futilely attempt to stop her as she let out an angry roar of protest. I’d thought it was a good movie when I was a filly, though I liked her portrayal as Shadow Spade more than early works like this. But, that was mostly because I like the old detective movies more overall than anything to do with her acting.

“I’d love to, but I got something to do first.” Temboril said there were two allies, not four, so I couldn't help but be confused. I was in the correct room, right?

Merit looked over “You mean picking up Harp, right?” I nodded. “We were asked to help you with that.”

“Temboril even bribed us with popcorn.” Sweet spoke up as she swallowed a hoof full of popcorn. “You want some? It’s good!” I shook my head. “Well more for me. But ya, Temboril asked us to wait here for you. Oh! And Wild and Light aren’t coming, as they got other appointments.” I was distracted a bit as Iooked at Sweets prosthetic eyes. Their color was slightly off, as her normally teal eyes now a sharp blue.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

She scrunched up her muzzle. “Other than having to take pain medication for a year, for the hundredth time, yes I’m alright.” She sighed and gave a flick to the hat I wore. “Anyways, I should be asking you that. Sure losing my eyes sucked, but at least I didn’t have my brain messed with.”

“Sorry, it’s just hard to get use too.” I sighed. “Maybe we should have just turned down that deal, you know.”

Sweet nodded. “I know, but what’s done is done.” She rested her head on her hoof, and gave me a smile. “But’s what’s most important is that were both alive. When this is all over, we can retire, maybe even have a chance to start a family.” She elbowed Merit. “What do you think? Vibraphone’s a good catch, and you both already know each other fairly intimately.”

“She is a lovely mare, to be sure.” Merit commented. “But you might be rushing things just a little.”

“How about we not have this conversation?” I interjected. “You know, on account we’ve got shit to do?”

Sweet giggled. “Come on now Vibey, mares like us got to get what we can! Remember that one colt when we were in school?”

I rolled my eyes. “How can I not, his little fan club gave me a black eye.”

“And we paid them back for it.” She winked. “But Merits free. No need to fight over other mares for him.”

“Do I have a say in…?” Merit attempted to speak, but Sweet quickly put her hoof on his mouth to shush him.

“It’s mare talk time right now, okay?” She said softly. “so be a good stallion right now just just quietly look pretty for us.”

I sighed. “How about we have a talk about this after the mission is over. Or do I need to talk to Guitar Strings about this?”

“Fine, planning your marriage out can be put on hold for a minute.” Sweet huffed. “but you should consider this, if I’m going to start a family, I want my foals to have friends their own age.”

It made me smile. “Ya, I feel the same.” Despite what she went through, Sweet was still the same mare that I’ve always known. Nothing could keep her down. “Now let’s get moving, we have time, but not that much time.”

Merit spread his wings, and flew over us in a hop like manner. “Agreed. Though, even with how amazing this place is, I do want to get home at some point. Maybe you can join me?”

It all sounded like a good plan, though knowing what the equalist had planned, I still felt very uncertain about the future.

“Maybe,” I smirked. “But right now we’ve got a war to stop.”

“I really don’t know how to feel about this.” Merit spoke up, a little uncertainty in his voice.

Sweet just laughed, “Oh come on, a stallion like you has got to be enjoying himself. One flustered mare after the next.”

He sighed. “I know what you mean, but it’s a bit too much, don’t you think?”

She was likely going to mock him, but I cut off Sweet before she could. “Just bear with it. Once we get the princess to the briefing room, we won’t have to rely on you like this.” Merit relaxed a little, until we rounded the corner and two security mares blocked our path. Of course, right behind them was the room that the princess was in. “Speaking of which.”

Merit rolled his eyes and trotted ahead of us. “Hay, I’m a little lost, can you direct me to the arcade?” It did feel a little wrong using Merit like this, but most of the mares here had such little experience with stallions that they naturally become distracted when one talked to them. Add to the fact that the majority of them were between 19 and 22, the 30 year old Merit was almost too good at catching their attention with little effort on his part. I didn’t know if I should be jealous, or embarrassed that I was just as easily taken in. I had to make a mental note to ask mom at some point how she got dad in the first place.

The two mares looked at each other, one cocked their eyebrow, the other frowned. “Yes, it’s on the third floor, south side.” One of the mares answered.

Merit scratched his head. “Sorry, I’m still new here, can you point it out for me?”

One of them sighed and walked to the railing, pointing her hoof down at one of the lower decks on the opposite side of the hanger. “You can see it right there.” The arcade, from where we were, was in fact obstructed by the airship, so asking to be shown was not as a stupid a request as you might think. “I suggest trying Fighting is Magic 2, is an oldy but goody as games go.”

“OH!” the other mare spoke up, trotting over to them. “Watch out for pipsqueak though. She looks like a weak character, but one of the more powerful characters due to the combos she can chain together.”

With both mares distracted, Sweet and I rounded the corner and quietly passed the group.

“She’s a glass cannon though, so she’s easy to deal with if you can get in some early hits.” the first mare spoke, “I prefer Gambler, honestly. Her cybernetic moveset gives her power and endurance all the way.” Gambler? Please, I personally liked Gunslinger. She was a trickier fighter to play as, but loved her style. Classic cowpony hat and duster, robot back legs, and six revolvers floating around her. I was shit at the game, but loved playing as her. That and the somber guitar solo that was her theme was one of the best songs in the game.

Sweet snickered, pulling me painfully back to what we were doing. “Jealous?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not now.” Yeah, I guess I was a little jealous, so what? Who could blame me?

“Fine, fine.” She said, trotting to the door we needed to go through.

*Buzz* the door responded as sweet tried to open it.

“Of course it’s locked.” She smiled at me as she pulled a small tool kit out of her saddle bag. “But you know that’s never a problem for us…”

I smiled back, taking the kit. The digital locks were sturdy, but not impenetrable. All I needed to do was get under the panel and I could open the door no problem. Most of the locks inside the hangar were like this because normally there were too many ponies around to worry about security on doors. Outside on the other hoof, Orthrus had a habit of welding the panels shut. With a light bounce, the panel came loose and I pulled it away to expose the wires. Looking inside, I could see that it was a magnetic lock. Almost impossible to pry open with sheer force, but not hack proof. For me it was as simple as tricking the system to reversing the power flow to the lock, opening the door with no problem. Of course, as the door opened, that’s when things decided to stop being so easy.

“Hay, what are you doing!?” one of the guards shouted. Sweet and I quickly jumped inside, and Sweet slammed her hoof on the interior panel, smashing the mechanism. The door closed on the guard’s mares before they could get to us, and the internals sparked and smoked as it locked us inside.

“So how long do you think it will take for them to open the door?” Sweet asked.

“Depends, have they worked with or dated any engineers that fixed doors?” A loud bang hit the door a few times, followed by muffled yelling. “Doesn’t looked like it.”

Sweet laughed. “I remembered doing those jobs. Those assholes kept on having us hold the live cables, thought it was funny that our mains were frizzed each time.” She gave a nostalgic sigh. “Good times, those.”

I nodded. “I remember Guitar Strings visited you one time, and burnt part of his lip when he kissed you.”

“I know, it came as a real shocker to him.” She looked at me as I deadpanned back at her. “What?”

“Put in zero effort,” I deadpanned at her. “Get zero points.”

Sweet rolled her eyes. “Fine, the joke was bad, now let’s go get the princess.”

It wouldn’t take long for actual capable pony to arrive and open the door, so we were on a time limit now. Looking around the room, I found that it was well kept. None of the walls had peeling paint, and much of the furnishings lacked the ancient signs of aging that was all too common other places in the metro. Also the room was a bit darker than I’d expected. A few lights were on, but they all were dimmed to the lowest settings. That is, all except for a large terminal screen pined up on the wall.

Quietly trotting over I could see that the terminal was playing a movie, not one I knew. Looking at the movie, the ponies in it were mirage ponies, so it had to have been made in the last 50 years. Though their manner of dress resembled a play for hearths warming eve. None of that was important however, as on the sofa in the center of the room was a pony bundled in a blanket with a bowl of candy next to it. For as little time as I’d spent with her, it was good to see Harp again.

Sweet rested her hooves on top of the sofa. “Lucky girl, you’re getting to see this show before it airs.” Harp nodded softly, taking a piece of candy and eating it.

“What show?” I had to ask.

“Thrown of York” Sweet said. “It’s a drama about Princess Platinum, Clover the Clever, and their rise to power. It’s dated to come out later this month, got all the top talents of the metro working on it. The orphic kingdom was a bit spazmatic about letting mirage ponies play any roll in it, but the pineapple island stopped giving a shit about what they think and produced the show anyway.”

“Shhhh.” The bundled pony pressed her hoof to her mouth. “keep it down.”

Sweet gave me a little smile, and spoke softly. “From what I’ve heard, the Orphic kingdom was more worried about a negative portrayal of princess platinum. You know, with their royal family being her direct descendants. Can't say anything bad about grandmother, ya know?”

“Right.” We didn’t have time to watch a period drama, so I reached over and pulled the sheet off of Harp. The sharp yank made her jump from her seat in shock. “Time to go!”

“What!?” she squinted as she looked at us, her eyes a little glossy. “Vibraphone, Sweet? What are you doing here?” we both nodded, and she knocked over her bowl of candy in surprise, almost falling of the sofa herself in the process. “Oh sorry, I didn’t realize we were going someplace. I’m... I’m not decent yet, just give me a few minutes.”

“Go ahead, Harp.” I turned my eyes away as the sheet slipped. It was easy to see that she was likely naked under the large cloth, and while it didn’t bother me, she was the one who didn’t seem to be comfortable with other mares looking at her. “We don’t have much time, but we do have enough for you to get dressed if you make it quick.”

She stepped of the sofa, letting the sheet fall off. Once again, I caught a glimpse of her cutie mark of the Harp with a crown of musical notes around it. I could only guess her talent was with music, and the crown marked her royal lineage. Then she trotted off around the corner and I could breath a sigh of relief as the lights brightened and both sweet and I could see things a little clearer again.

“Can’t deny that she is cute.” Sweet commented. “It’s a shame she’s not going to stay with Orthrus. They can offer a more peaceful life then the rabble in the Orphic Kingdom.”

“But that would be a life full of regret and homesickness.” I responded. “If times were more peaceful, then I agree.” I shook my head, feeling a little guilty about this path I’ve chosen. “But, the equalist are preparing for war, the Orphic Kingdom is ready to eat itself, then there’s also…”

“The Pirates.” Sweet cut me off. “a big unknown, and let’s not forget the coming enclave city and the Lurkers.” She placed her hoof on my shoulder. “I get it, things are going to shit right now. The longer we sit on our hooves, the worse things will be when somepony actually tries to do something about it. If it must be us, then so be it. But hey, at least we’re not going into this blind.” She poked herself in the face. “that’s why I did get new eyes after all.”

“Thanks.” I looked her in the eyes, they still didn’t feel right with me. “So how do they feel?”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “To be honest, like I lost a piece of myself. Keep thinking I can feel my wings too.”

“It’s not quite the same, but I can’t help but feel that there’s still some pony watching me, in the back of my head.” I gave her a push on the shoulder. “I’m just glad you’re alive, Sweet. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

“You really need to make more friends Vibey.” She said with a chuckle. “Maybe we can go clubbing when this is all over. Or hey, let me introduce you to some ponies I met at the hospital!”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ll make an order for some daiquiris to be made,” She smiled, nudging me and proving once again that she knew just what buttons of mine to press. “just name the flavor.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

She patted me on the shoulder. “That’s my girl.”

The door opened, and the two guard’s mares jumped into the room, air rifles at the ready. “Don’t move or we'll shoot!” shouted the first mare. We both raised out hooves into the air and slowly turned toward them.

“What is your business here!” Shouted the second.

“Calm down.” Harp spoke from behind us. “They’re my bodyguards.” She had on a red dress, gray boots, and stalking. She was also in the process of putting on an old stable-tec jacket. “For liability reasons, I have hired my own bodyguards. They are here to pick me up, and take me to see your council members.”

The two guards mares looked at each other confused. “Were told that no pony is to enter or leave here.”

“And a fine job you have done at that.” Harp said flatly. “I should contact your superiors about a promotion, I know my father would accommodate for you two.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.” The two mares took a step back, and saluted. “May we take you to see the council members?” Covering their asses, such an amature move. But if anything, Orthrus Regulars were good at doing that. At least this meant that we would not have the guards breathing down our neck or trying to cause further problems.

Outside the room, Merit was waiting for us. “So, things are all good?” I nodded, making him relax a bit. “Thank goodness. I may be a stallion, but today has been one of far too many mares. I think I’m starting to understand how some of my ex’s felt.”

“Never too old to teach a dog new tricks.” I spoke up.

“Huh? What’s a dog?” Merit responded.

“What’s a…?” I couldn’t help but freeze at his quick retort. “How do you not know!?”

“Canine, dog, wolf, coyote, and or fox.” Buzzing past us was the drone that belonged to Harp. In its mechanical grip, it floated along holding her saddlebag and heading for the door with her. “Dogs are the domesticated animal commonly used for companionship by ponies, and are the oldest known domesticated animals in the world.”

“You know what, lets have this talk later.” I spoke up. “We have some place to be.”

Luckily, Harp had diplomatic immunity, so the guards got out of our way as long as they saw that the princess was in tow. I was sure that they would at least detain me when we showed up at the meeting. I mean, I did break out of minimum security cell and all. I could only guess that they were receiving two opposing orders on me at the moment. Catering to Harp took priority, so they couldn’t come at me with anything dangerous, but they still needed to take me down. One of the few times I was glad to be around a rich pony.

The debriefing hall we entered looked more like a lecture hall, and each one of us took a seat closer to the doors up in the rear. There were a few other ponies here, all in dress uniforms, so It was hard to tell their rank from the back. In front of us was the holographic displays of the council, with three out of the five actually being projected in front of us.

Biwa Tablature, the council representative of culture and education was reading a book, calm as could be. Naqara, the council representative of Security and Law, looked like she was reading some documents. Then there was Phorminx, the council representative of Information and Investigation, tapping on a tablet and otherwise occupied by his thoughts.

A pony was standing before them, her dress uniform a bit disheveled, looking like it hadn’t been cleaned in over a week. Naqara looked down at her, and huffed. “We can’t just send another platoon over to Charon's Stop, even if the republic is applying more pressure there then ever. Pony power is starting to run thin as it is, so they’ll just have to wait.”

The mare looked down. “I see ma’am. But any support you can send will help greatly. Like the report says, two of our regulars were hurt in an ambush. We can keep the order, but I don’t know for how long without an extra contingent of security at the very least.”

Naqara placed her documents down, and Her eyes drifted across the room over to me before lowering down to the Orthrus mare before them. “Looks like we may be able to send a pony or two.” The disheveled mare seemed to be confused by that. “Specters to tell the truth, should that be enough?”

“Specters?” The mare nodded vigorously, “Yes ma’am, oh yes. That will definitely help.”

“Good.” Naqara’s eyes squinted. “Now keep a tight lip on this. Our specters work best when ponies don’t know that their around.” The mare made a motion of her zipping her lips together. “Very well, now get back to your post, and keep up the good work.”

The Orthrus mare quickly gathered up some paperwork, and rushed off.

With a sigh, Phorminx put down his tablet. “You sure this is wise?”

“What do you mean?” Naqara spoke, polishing her metal hoof.

“Continuing with that damned plan you have.” Phorminx spoke with a growl. “Those two specters were perfect choices for infiltrating the Orphic kingdom.”

“Perfection is a goal for the foolish,” She sighed. “it lacks the flexibility needed to survive in this world, or has your love child blinded you to this fact?”

“She has nothing to do with this!” Phorminx gave an offended look over to Naqara.

Naqara placed her hoof under her chin, and smiled. “She has everything to do with this, or have you forgotten who her mother is?”

Phorminx went silent for a long moment, locking eyes with Naqara, only ending it when he looked away in a huff. “She’s a better asset here, and shouldn’t be some sacrificial token.”

Naqara looked over at us, pointing over at Harp. “What do you think, dear princess?”

Harp stammered, but quickly swallowed her nervousness. “I think it’s every ponies best option. Things are going to turn bad if I’m there or not. As for being a token, that’s nothing new to me in the slightest. So if being one means that I can help at least some of my brothers and sisters, and help settle things before things get to their worst, I want to try. I have to do something to help protect my people.”

Silence followed for a few seconds, broken by Biwa clapping his hooves.

“Isn’t it true when they say family is so so important? When I heard Phorminx hear had a little filly of his own, I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed for him. And to see that she is such a beautiful, smart, and kind hearted mare. I wish my own could be like you, dear Harp.”

The door behind us open up, and a less than happy Temboril stepped through, followed by an equally less than pleased Rototom. “Maybe if you acted more like a father, and less like a giddy school colt, I might find room to treat you less sternly.” Temboril stepped down the stairs, and right up to the council. “And next time you all start bickering with each other, please don’t involve the rest of Orthrus. It’s shameful, that’s what it is.”

“Goodie four-shoes Temboril, coming to scold everypony again.” Rototom spoke as she rolled her eyes.

Temboril’s tail whipped at her. “You have no right to mock when you got your own sister involved in all this before trying to back out when it all came crashing down on you. Why don’t you take responsibility for once in your damn life!?”

“Enough!” Naqara spoke loudly, silencing Temboril and getting Rototom to stiffen up. “We can go over this later, but first take a seat you two.” Both Temboril and Rototom found themselves a seat far from each other. “Good, now with everypony here, we can begin.”

The room became dark, and a projector turned on. Looking around I could see a few other groups of ponies, two ponies stood out the most, only because one gave off a light red glow.

A screen dropped behind the council, the members that were physically here moved out of the way, and the ones who were holograms vanished from view. The projection flickered, momentarily showing the Stable-Tec logo with three happy ponies next to it. It then changed to that of the Orthrus symbol before going white.

“First thing’s first.” Naqara spoke up, “It should go without saying that what is said in this briefing needs to be kept secret. Loose lips will get ponies killed, remember that.” Everyone nodded. “Good, now let’s begin.”

The screen flickered once more, showing what looked like a republic hovercraft. “Though thanks to our intelegence programs we’ve have had information of the republics hovercraft for years now, only just recently have we gained certified information of the scope of their construction.” The screen flickered again, revealing the C.C.N. room with all the brains. Though a bit blurry, the screen switched through different slides that showed a few more images of it. “Along with the heart of what the republics true plan is. It seems that they are attempting to create a hive mind, their own twisted vision of ‘true equality’. This… this is an abomination of a machine, and we must put a stop to it.”

“Excuse me!” A pony spoke up. “But wouldn’t that involve attacking the republic, and starting a war?”

Naqara nodded. “You are right, but please try to keep the questions to a minimum until after the briefing.” The screen flickered again, showing a chart depicting the army size of Orthrus vs that of the Republic. “War at this point is going to be unavoidable, and sadly we are already spread thin as it is. If the republic makes a move on us, without help, were going to lose more ground than we can afford, and will be forced to take drastic measures.” The screen flickered, showing cylinder with a radioactive symbol on it. “Option one, which we are calling ‘failsafe’, is the most extreme of these. It’s simple really; cut the republic off from the rest of the metro using our limited stock of wartime tactical megaspells to destroy the tunnels to the valley island.”

There were several gasps coming from the other ponies in the room.

“Now, now.” Biwa spoke up. “This is only the worst-case scenario, and despite the name, I must reinforce that these are low yield tactical megaspells. The amount of damage they can do is quite contained, and given proper sealing procedures, will not be able to contaminated either side with much magical radiation.” He pulled out a remote control, and pressed a big red button. The screen flickered, and showed a map with the connecting tunnel between friendly island, and valley island. “That said, the first part of the plan is installing the megaspell bomb at the center of the tunnel. This way if things go bad, we can still prevent the republic from rushing the station. Now the problem is doing this without them knowing.”

Another pony raised their hoof. “Can’t we just close the tunnel for maintenance?”

Biwa shook his head. “They will no doubt suspect something if we did that, and we can’t afford tipping our hoof to them with a move this critical. That’s why we were going to do this as we recall back all Orthrus ponies from the valley island.”

This time I raised my hoof. “But wouldn’t that be and even bigger sign that Orthis is planning something?”

He nodded. “Yes, but it will act as cover. Moving the civilians out of Valley Island is at its heart, protecting our own in case of conflict. At the same time, members of the republic will also be asked to leave for their own protection. With the heavy flow of ponies, we will post multiple maintenance crews to make sure everything runs properly. During that confusing and busy time, that’s when a small team with the bomb will be snuck in to install it.”

“Yes, and with such crowds, it will be hard for any republic agents to sneak around.” Phorminx commented. “But this is only to stall the republic in case of war, we don’t plan on starting one, not yet that is.” The screen flickered, showing an image of the Marewaii Skyport. “Even if we cut the Valley Island off, that’s not going to stop the republic. That’s why we will attempt to contact New Cloudsdale, and seek aid from them in return for open diplomatic discussions about their needs.”

“What!?” Merit spoke up. “After turning us down, now you want contact my ponies and ask for their help!?”

Phorminx just sighed as the screen flickered, now showing a familiar cube on screen. “We currently have in our possession, a magical radio wave amplifying receiver cube, otherwise known as an advanced MoM bug. We will be sending a team to install it to the radio system up at the Marewaii Skyport, and use it in an attempt to contact New Cloudsdale. If we can establish an open connection with the cloud city, it may be enough to get the republic to pull back on any plans to start a war.”

“Or, if the republic is stupid enough to ignore the threat, it might just be what starts one.” Naqara, “However, that’s what the failsafe plan is for. Contacting New Cloudsdale will not guarantee that they will help us, but it will get the republic’s attention, the flaw of the MoM bug is that it’s anything but subtle to those who know how to listen.” The screen flickered again, showing an outline of the tunnel system for the Gathering Island, also known as the Orphic Kingdom. “Therefore, we will also seek to form an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom. The republic may be confidant enough to challenge us, but if were backed up by the royal army, even they won’t ignore those odds and will surely back off. If we can gather a large enough combined force, subjugating the republic should be possible before they have a chance to formulate a place on resistance. With the republic overwhelmed, then from there we can work on dismantling and destroying the C.C.N project.”

The screen flickered, showing three groups of ponies, one group of ten marked as ‘Tango’, a group of four marked ‘Charlie’, and a group of three marked ‘Foxtrot’.

Naqara continued. “Tango will be installing the bomb, and keeping an eye out for any republic agents. Now we do trust you all to keep a tight lip about all this, but we know that the republic has ways to get information out of ponies. So, each one of you will be fitted with a memory wipe talisman. If anything should happen to it, or if you are hit with and sort of memory magic, it will erase the last few days from your mind.”

She then looked over at us. “Team Charlie, your job will be to install the M.O.M. bug, and to deliver the princess to her mother so she can advise her on our plans moving forward. Of course in having to move her, we can’t have pones recognizing the princess or suspicious of mirage ponies while inside the kingdom, so you all will be given disguise talismans. They are only to make you look like full blooded unicorns, so avoided any pony who could recognize any of you, and keep your legs covered from view.”

“Last.” Naqara continued still. “Foxtrot will act as the decoy for Charlie. Miss Sorrow will play the part of the princess being escorted back home. Rototom and Temboril will tail them back to stable 50, removing any assassins and protecting Sorrow’s cover until they infiltrate the stable. When team Charlie arrives, team Foxtrot are to let them in from a secure location at the periphery of the stable.”

Harp stood up. “From there, I am to seek an audience with my mother. In which, I will explain the coming threat from the Republic, and convince her to form an alliance with Orthrus.”

Nagara nodded. “Yes, just make sure she understands that we don’t seek to take over, but simply to strengthen or ability to keep the republic in check.” Harp sat back down, and the projector flickered and stopped, prompting the lights to turn back on.

Another pony raised her hoof up, it having a familiar purple sheen, and red glowing highlights. “What’s mine roll?” Mayall was sitting at the front, with a white cap on her head. “Thee didst calleth for me.”

“Right, all this seriousness almost had me forget.” Biwa spoke up. “Your lurker kin have access to a working sub, correct?”

Mayall folded her legs in front of her as she sat up strait. “if 't be true thee wanteth ship, thee can’t has't. mine workers hath worked too hard getting it to worketh.”

Nagara rolled her eyes, as Biwa chuckled. “Though it would be lovely if we could, we’re not in position to start a fight with your kin. No, what we are more interested in is accessing its onboard computer, as it must still have the locations of sub pens across equestria.”

“It doest, and no, those gents wilt belong to us. We needeth new safe home, can’t stayeth on the islands.”

Biwa nodded. “I can understand. That’s why we ask, were willing to trade for it, you help us, we help you.”

Mayall scratched her head. “Then wherefore asketh hither, wherefore not someplace more private?”

“Yes, about that.” Biwa smiled. “We were hoping to avoid having team Charlie and Foxtrot from using the tunnel, or going over the top of the water.”

Mayall nodded. “We can doth, but we needeth something first.”

“That is?” Biwa asked.

“Pipbucks!” She answered. “And valorous ones, not the fusty rusty kind.”

I couldn’t help but feel the hairs on the back of my neck. I had been in the sub before, but it was hard to remember it very well. With all that happened before, I’d been too tired to care. But now that I think about it, being under the water, in a cramped metal coffin? It just didn’t sit right with me. Maybe I could convince them to let me take the tunnel and I could meet up with them on the other side?

“If I remember correctly, your kind don’t appear on magical sensors.” Temboril spoke as she walked up to the front. “If we give your kin some of our old weapons and armor, could it be possible for you to use your sub to scout a ship for us?”

“Maybe.” Mayall tilted her head.

“What if we also shipped a few cases of Metro-Cola to your sub?” Temboril added. “We know your kind likes it.”

Mayall looked like she was struggling to think, making a light groaning sound. “Oh fine, but no tricks.”

I know I signed onto this, but getting back on the sub? No, I don’t like the sound of that, not at all. On top of all this talk about tactical megaspells and submarines, it didn’t help that I still had this headache. I wouldn’t have been in this mess to start with if it was not for Rototom. She never could keep her nose out of my business, and now look at me.

“Hay?” Sweet tapped me on the shoulder. “You alright? You’re shaking.”

“What?” I looked down to see misled shivering like I was cold. Taking a deep breath, I got a hold of myself. “Ya, I’m fine. I just got the jitters, that’s all. Oh, by the way, I got this headache that won’t go away. Got anything to help me with that?”

“Ya, let me go check my bag.” Sweet nodded. “I think I have something that should help.”

It was annoying. More than annoying, really. All these hoops we had to jump through just to be able to get at the Republic, it didn’t seem fair. It’s not that I didn’t understand why. Orthrus protects the order of the metro, so they can’t just stir up trouble without a lot of innocent ponies getting hurt. But I so wish we could just drop in on Persephone Station, and action mare our way straight to the core of the C.C.N. and make those brains feel what is like to have some pony mess with their gray matter. At least in the Orphic Kingdom I’ll be as far away from the equalist as possible. Just… have to get there first, that’s all...

Footnote:

-Quest Start: Gear Up Spartan

-Status Effect: Chill Addiction (Withdraw) -1 to charisma and Luck.