Silk Carnation was more than welcoming, inviting everypony inside the stable, almost giddy to get her party started. The lobby was predictably set up the same as the entrances to the Orthrus hangers, though with far less guards. Other than the single guard in the security booth, there were two more doing basic checks on the ponies coming in, and one with an old SMG hanging a bit further back.

The changeling mode for our disguise lasted just long enough for us to pass the guards pathetic excuse of a check point, albeit with one problem. Mayall. She was hauling Order for Harp, as well as all of our bigger weapons that we couldn’t hid on ourselves. Which of course, would be pretty essential if we got into a fight. Normally I’d trust her to slip past most ponies, but this time around she was going to need a bit of a distraction.

“Excuse me, sir?” I tapped one of the guards oh his side. He was a younger stallion, so he wasn’t likely to have been a guard for very long. “Can you direct me to where I can freshen up? I'm feeling a bit… less than clean.”

“Keep going down that way,” The stallion looked a bit confused, but pointed down at the only open door. “the mares room is the one on the right.”

“Thanks.” I responded. He nodded, going back to checking the ponies in the line. Turning back to the hall, Mayall was already ahead of us. I felt a poke on my side, and spun to see Sweet grinning at me.

“Less than clean, Viby.” She whispered to me and made me want to roll my eyes at her. “Your seductive game needs some serious work.”

I looked away, feeling a bit irritated at her ribbing me right now. “And you can do better?”

Sweet chuckled, throwing a hoof dramatically over her head. “Good sir, could you show me where I can freshen up? I'm feeling so dirty right now.” She then looked me in the eyes, fluttering them. “Like that.”

“No, like this.” Sorrow trotted up to Sweet, their sides lightly touching. “Excuse me.” She raised her head up to Sweets ears. Whatever she whispered, it was too quiet for me to hear, and as she trotted along, Sorrow let her tail caress Sweet’s chin.

Sweets wings poked straight up out of her disguise, of which she quickly forced back down. “Is it bad that I'm a bit turned on now?”

I held back a laugh as I pushed Sweet on to the party room.

“Don’t worry,” Sorrow gave us a smile. “I’ve had a lot of practice getting ponies all hot and bothered.” She looked over at Rototom, whom gave her a nod. “I’ll scout ahead, and find a place for Mayall to drop off your things.” I watched as Sorrow trotted ahead with Mayall following closely behind her. The two turned a corner as Silk looked the other way to chat with another pony.

What was the common gray of a stable-tec stable’s floors and walls, had been replaced with white stone floors that looks like hoof polished marble. The normally drab walls had been painted a velvet red, with a purple line going across it to accent bot it and the light blue colored ceiling. Complex tapestries decorated the walls, depicting ponies dancing, or in what looked like a royal court straight out of a fairy tale. Some even had Celestia and Luna standing among unicorns with crowns on their heads. A few of the open rooms also had masterful portraits on the wall. Unicorns all of then, of course, with each in fine and presumably royal clothing.

Each of the deep dweller unicorns here were accompanied by at least a few ponies. Most had a single earth pony or pegasus, but all of them had a one or more mirage pony attendant. It seemed strange at first, but following Silk, it quickly became obvious. As Silk Carnation trotted forward, the fog dress she wore would reveal a bit of the white dress underneath, with it’s talismans woven into it and shimmering with magic. The two mirage ponies at her sides were not simply just attendants, they were their to make her dress work. Two glorified walking batteries, nothing more than that to the likes of Silk.

“Alright, everypony!” Silk spoke loudly. “I don’t want any space left bare. Any day now I’ll be crowned queen, and this room must be fit for one.”

Entering the main hall as Silk strode in, it found that it was already overly decorated with flowers, candles. Gold inlaid fine silverware sat dutifully placed along long dark wood tables. Looking around the room, there were a few unicorns sitting around ignoring Silk. The one that stood out however, was one little filly waving at Silk for attention.

I looked over at Harp and got her attention. “Anypony important here?”

Harp nodded. “The filly trying to get attention is Silk’s second child, Cristal Lilly. She’s like a cute mini Silk, but she's deaf in one ear and has problems with her balance.” I watched as she slowly leaned to one side, falling over into a nearby pegasus maids hooves.

Continuing, Harp pointed to a stallion who looked a bit older than herself that had a short scruffy beard. “That's my nephew Silver Circlet. He’s a talented spell caster, and Silver Majesty's only child. He has the same asma as his mother, but luckily, not her disposition.”

Next she pointed at an elderly mare. “Aunty Fitting Dimond. She's nice, but developed dementia ten years back. It was a big scare when it first happened because we all thought she’d been poisoned when she started yelling about a small light clearing the sky. After that incident though, she hasn’t really talked that much to anypony.”

“Now listen up! I need more of the flowers over the doorway, in an arch.” Silk was directing a tiered looking unicorn mare, holding a string of flowers over the door. “A bit to the left, and... no... a bit more… and... yes! Put them right there, and then you’re dismissed. Very good, what next?” She clapped her hooves, and turn'd to us. “Oh you, you… who are you?”

Crap, talking to any pony was not included in the plan! “I... I'm just the help.”

“I'm not a fool.” She waved her hoof at me dismissively. “I know quite well what you are.” Silks hoof pointed at Harp. “You, however, I do not know. Who are you, and where did you get that adorable outfit. It's so... unusual.”

Harp looked to me as worry flushed across her face. Rototom cut in quickly, wearing a big smile on her face. “That's my cousin, Glitter Spork. She's a... a musician!” Rototom reached out her hoof to shake Silks. “The names Noon Snack, I’m quite the important pony.”

Silk examined my sister slowly. “Important, how?”

“Important enough to get invited to your coronation.” Rototom replied with confidence.

Silk paused for a moment, no way she was going to believe my sister. “Oh my apologies, I've been so forgetful lately.” A wide smile formed on Silks face and one of her mirage pony survants stepped forward and shook Rototoms hoof. “Forgetting that I ordered for minstrels, so silly of me! I however am glad that you have arrived. But... where are your instruments?”

“A sad case, really.” Rototom sighed dramatically. “On our way here, it was lost in transit. Truly a tragedy, but there is a silver lining. My dear cousin can play most classical string instruments, and if you have any to spare, I promise you she will make this a coronation to remember!”

“Classical string?” A nod came from Silk, and she pointed the far end of the room where there was a stage and podium. “We have our old lyra. I was going to have my youngest sister play it, the only thing she was good for to be quite honest. But, with her sadly still missing, I’m sure it could still be put to good use.”

Rototom gave her a bow. “We are most grateful.”

“If anything, I am generous.” Silk boosted. “But firstly, I'll need to see miss Glitter Spork perform. You see, I simply must make sure everything is perfect.”

I saw Harp swallow nervously as Silks eyes learned over at her. “I... I can do that.” Her voice quivered a bit as she nodded softly.

“That she can, along with our singer.” Rototom said, as she pointed at Sweet. “Miss Solo, are you ready to go on stage?”

Sweet straitened up in surprise, half a muffin in her mouth. She swallowed forcefully, following it with a glass of water. “Excuse me, say again?”

“I need you to get on stage and perform a song for Miss Silk.” Rototom told her “Glitter Spork will be playing the Lyra with you.”

“I see.” Sweet took a moment before nodding. “Any requests then?”

“I'm quite fond of Vera Lynn.” Temboril suggested, and Sweet cocked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, were you expecting some of DJ Cerberus's techno-mess?” With a sigh, Temboril pulled out a harmonica. “I’ll join in as well, so keep up with the beat Solo.”

“I don't know, it's an odd instrument choice. However, I’m curious enough I’d like to hear it.” Silk scratched her chin. “Vera Lynn has a few fans here at home. Of course, we do have a record of hers, signed by the late mare as well.”

Temboril trotted over to Harp, and whispered in her ear. “Just play along. Sorrow and Mayall are still out scouting the halls right now, so we just need to stall.” Harp nodded, and followed Temboril to the stage.

Rototom sat at one of the tables along with Silk. “Maid, go fetch me a glass of wine.” My sister command me. “And one for the soon-to-be Queen.”

I shared a glance with Silk’s two servants. They giving me a knowing look, sharing my irritation. I do not envy their day job in the slightest...

Two glasses of wine later, Temboril, Harp, and Sweet were on stage. Temboril was talking with them, showing her pipbuck and likely going over the song, Sweet still didn’t look happy about it, which didn’t really surprise me. Despite her tendency to draw attention to herself, she never did like being put on the spot.

After a minute, the three of them got into place, and Temboril started playing her harmonica. It was amplified by one of the microphones near the podium, and filled the whole hall with the tune. Sweets tapped along with the tempo for a moment before her voice joined Harp’s plucking of the lyra over the microphones.

Sweet voice carried through the ballroom, and was something that never ceased to amaze me. It was how, when she tried, she could match some of the mares from the old movies. She may not have the looks of Lilac Lace, but definitely had a voice like Vera Lynn.

Silk looked enthralled, her eyes closed as she slowly swayed with the music, and looking around, she was not the only one. All eyes were on her, no exceptions. Even Merit, who was watching the door, had become distracted by Sweet.

“So, what do you think?” Rototom asked Silk as the song ended.

“I like it, but it does not quite have that formal feel.” Silk said uncertainty. “How about I put you on hold. I know I ordered for a more traditional band, so let's see if they show up. If not, you will do I suppose. But now, it's time for me to move on. So much to do, you see.” Getting out of her seat, she yelled to the others on stage. “Encore, encore!” She clapped her hooves lightly before she trotted off to another table that was displaying an array of overly decorated cupcakes and muffins.

Rototom stretched herself a bit, glancing at me from the corner of her eye. ‘Bit of a bitch, bit idiot, and full on spoiled brat. Don’t you think?’ Her telepathy talisman came through clearly in my mind as she thought at me.

‘Yes, but don't you think it's dangerous for Harp to be on stage?’ I sent back using my own talisman.

‘She's fine.’ Rototom assured me with a light nod. ‘Nopony knows it’s her, and Sorrow should be back soon to provide the distraction. Just remember to slip out when the attention is on her.’ She finished off her glass of wine. ‘So, you mentioned nightmares earlier. If they get bad enough to bring them up, you should probably think about going to see a professional.’

I did my best to avoid eye contact with her, but it bothered me. It wasn’t the time to see if she was simply mocking me or not, so I had to assume she was serious. ‘I'm fine, or well, I will be once this is over.’

‘I know that feeling.’ Rototom pushed her glass away, and sighed. ‘You know, before all this shit with the pirates, and such, I was with Temboril on an investigation of the black market. The council had a bit of a scare with a new chill lab that sprung up. It got them thinking Mister Wizard had resurfaced.’

‘Mister Wizard?’ I telepathically asked.

‘Yeah. It's just a stage name from the wartime show the old ghoul staired in. Nopony knows his real name, and he probably had it erased after the old world ended.” Rototom scratched her chin. “The thing is, no pony’s seen the old ghoul in a very long time, but there's a standing order to search for him until confirmation that he is captured, or deceased. Every time the illegal chill distribution spikes, the council thinks Mr. Wizard might have set up another one of his factories. A pretty routine scare, but this lab was a bit more advanced in it’s setup than just your normal one.’

I picked up my sisters glass and took it back for a refill. ‘A factory, like back on the big island?’

‘Naw, bigger. Well, I mean more sophisticated, and built like a proper production line.’ Rototom explained as Sweet finished the song. ‘Well, long story short, Temboril and I found no sign of the old ghoul when we searched the place.’

‘Then what's the point of your story?’ I placed a new glass of wine in front of my sister.

She lifted the glass up, and took a sip. ‘Well, though we didn't find Mister Wizard, we came across a whole lot of bad shit. The worst was the child trafficking we found was being used to prop up the organ market. You think a liver would be expensive, but…’ She gave out a light shiver at that.

‘But it's the surgery that cost a lot of bits.’ Temboril cut in. ‘I'm sure you've found a dumping pit or two out on the big island.’ She took the glass of wine from Rototom. “Excuse me, madam.” Tipping her head back, she downed the whole glass of wine in one go. ‘I considered myself conditioned for such horrors, ready to take on anything. Nopony is ready to see a mound of dead foals.’

‘I get it.’ I relented. ‘When we're done here, I’ll check myself in. Frankly, I might be going crazy as it is.’

‘I agree.’ Sweet butted it. ‘You’ve been far more trigger happy then you’ve ever been.’ She sat at the table, holding out a bottle of wine. ‘And you didn't even have your eyes scooped out.’

“Mam, would you like a glass?” I asked Sweet.

She looked at me, back at the bottle, and then back at me “Right, a glass, go for it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Just a moment.” Picking up two more glasses I felt somepony getting a bit too close to me.

“He-helo.I d-don’t remember seeing you around.” A stallion said with a slight wheeze. It was Silver Circlet, whom was awkwardly propping himself on the table, nervous smiling at me. His icy blue eyes learn at me, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

“Sorry Sir, but I am currently busy. I'm sure other staff can help you.” I said, trying to be a polite as possible.

“I'm s-sure it can wait.” He placed a hoof on my shoulder, and I had to resist pulling out my revolver. “Right now I s-seem to having trouble adjusting my suit. If you could b-be so kind in helping me w-with that.” He had on a clean black suit, with a vibrant purple vest, purple tie, and a purple handkerchief tucked away in his chest pocket.

“I’m sure it can wait.” I had to remind myself that it was a bad idea to punch Harps nephew, but it didn’t make it any less tempting. “Just as I'm sure that you don't need any help with your suit.”

I pulled away from him, but he cut me off. “C-confident, aren’t you? I like th-that. A mare w-who takes charge, just like m-mother.”

Oh fuck no, I was not going to have this kind of talk with some prissy stallion. “Excuse me, sir, but I need to get back to my employer.”

“I’ll p-pay d-double. I am a p-prince after all.” He still had nervous looking smile, but I was starting to the feeling that it was an involuntary tick, and not something as simple as nervousness.

“I'm sure you can.” Harp spoke up.

I looked over and was surprised to find myself staring right at the undisguised form of Harp. She stood confidently, wearing the same purple dress on her that she'd had on when I first met her. For a moment, I was in full panic mode before I glanced back over at the table. There, the disguised Harp was still sitting, seeming just as confused as I was to see herself show up out of nowhere. Returning my attention to the ‘normal’ looking ‘Harp’, I had to assume it was actually Sorrow. From behind her, Merit and Mayall stepped up and took their places at her sides. Mayall herself was wearing my gas mask, which stuck out like a sore hoof in the room. So to me, it was strange seeing that everypony else around had so far been perfectly happy to ignore her entire existence.

“Aunty Harp, I heard you were missing.” Silver Circlet straightened up. “Glad to see that it was greatly exaggerated.”

“No thanks to your mother.” Sorrow narrowed her eyes. “Speaking of which, where is she?”

“Where she always is of course, entertaining some important guest or another.” He rolled her eyes. “But, she should arrive here soon.”

“Good, then I’ll wait here for her.” Sorrow pointed at the table where the others were still uncomfortably seated. “Would you care to join us?”

Silver Circlet eyes looked from the table, to Sorrow, to me, and then back to the table. “Alright, Mother did want to know if you were to show up.” Happily, he trotted over to the table while Sorrow and I held back a moment.

‘I found a room for you to hide Harp before taking her to her mother.’ Sorrow glanced at me as her telepathic voice buzzed in my head. With a small nod, she turned and to trotted over to the table with Silver.

Joining them at the table, I brought over an extra set of wine glasses, and of course another bottle of wine. Harp looked quite comfortable as she was flanked by both Rototom, and by Sweet. All that was important right now was keeping the princess safe from her nephew while we waited for our moment. Temboril was the one distracting Silver Circlet at the moment, chatting him up about something I didn't care to eavesdrop on.

‘When do we get moving?’ I asked as I glanced over to my sister.

‘Soon.’ Rototom thought back at me. ‘Just keep playing along, we’re just waiting for the biggest trouble maker to show up first.’ Trotting over, I poured another glass of wine for my sister, whom then nodded to Temboril.

Temboril lifted her glass to me, and I poured her some wine as well. ‘We’re going to wait for Silver Majesty, who’s of course, always fashionably late. But, she's pulling a lot of strings right now, meaning keeping her distracted should give Harp time to talk with the Queen without interruptions.’ I finished pouring the glass, and she gave me a smile and nod. ‘So, when we give you the sign, follow Mayall out of here and keep your eyes peeled.’

“So, Aunty Harp, what happened to you out there?” Silver Lining asked Sorrow. I saw Harp open her mouth, only to close it quickly.

“Lots of things, Circlet.” Sorrow responded, “I was able to visit the Pineapple Island’s Market, and toured one of Orthrus’ airships. Which by the way was so fascinating. You should go see them sometime, it’s quite the sight to see firsthoof.”

Silver Circlet rolled his eyes. “How is v-visiting anything maintained by m-mutts a fun thing? They just dirty everything they touch.” He them quickly looked around and leaned in. “However, is it true there's a c-club called the lucky rabbit's foot?”

“Mhmm!” Sorrow nodded and let out a conceited giggle, “and they do wear these funny little bunny suits.”

“Ah-hem.” A pony in a tan uniform caught our attention. “Sir Silver Circlet, your mother is here. Please make room, or find a new table.” The soldier said sternly.

Rototom cleared her throat. “Spork Dear, can you go check our luggage?”

Sweet got out of her seat. “I’ll go with her.”

The guard eyed me. “You, got get two wine glasses, and a bottle of red.” I nodded, and trotted off to the drink table.

From the doorway we had come in at, Harp and Sweet had joined Merit and Mayall. The four of them paused, waiting for me. Taking the two glasses, and a bottle, I returned to the table. As I approached, an older mare with an oxygen tank was being rolled in on a wheelchair to the table.

My guess was that this was Silver Majesty. The mare was all white in her coat and mane, but her eyes were a striking ice blue. Like herself, her dress was a radiant and pure white, with the exception of a purple flowered brooch, and a pair of purple jet earrings.

Standing next to her was a red coated pony with a silver mane, and who wore a dress that was red with silver trim… ‘Fuck, Red Steel is here!’ I shouted over my telepathy talisman.

‘Yeah, I can see that.’ Rototom asked back. “what's she doing here?”

Placing the glasses and bottle down, I gave Red another glance. Disturbingly, she gave me a little wave back. ‘don’t know, but we did tell you what she did, right?’ I thought out to the others.

‘Sweet filled us in on the details.’ Temboril answers. ‘But as long as they think Harp is here, it will buy us some time.’

Silver Majesty brought her breath mask to her face, and inhaled deeply before speaking. “Harp, sister… it is good to see you well.” I swear she held back a sneer. “I hope you had fun on your adventure.”

“More than I thought I would.” Sorrow answered. “But let's not talk about me, I'm amazed to see Lady Red Steel here.”

“Oh you know,” Majesty smiled. “new friends, new surprises.” Her eyes drifted to Silver Circlet. “So, my son, what do you think? She is considerably fetching, is she not?”

Circlet now looked properly nervous. “y-yes mother, she most certainly is.” He looked like he shrank a little when he answered. Red did seem to have that effect on particularly weak willed ponies.

I looked from Silver Circlet, to his mother, then to Red. Red was busying herself with eyeing over me. The slight smile on her lips made me feel uneasy enough that I didn’t want to risk her figuring things out. That is, if she hadn’t already.

‘I think I better get going.’ I said to the others.

‘Yeah, good idea.’ Temboril commanded. ‘With her here, we likely have less time than we thought.’

Trotting away, I joined Harp and the others. They all looked concerned with this surprising turn of events. With Mayall leading the way, we exited the party room, and quickly trotted down the hallway. A few ponies looked our way, but none stopped us or made any effort to see if we even belonged here.

Actually, other then the guards at the stable door, and the soldier at the party room, I had seen no other pony working security. It was all just maintenance staff, and a few nobles with their servants. Which of course, meant they wouldn’t even consider looking in our direction in the first place. Stopping at a door after rounding a corner, Mayall hit a button, and it hissed open.

“In here, no ponies using it.” Trotting inside as she spoke, Mayall hit the lights and closed the closed the door behind us. “I dropped your things in here.”

Despite our supplies being somewhat limited, what we brought wasn’t all that insignificant. I was still amazed that Mayall had snuck all of it in so easily. It helped that some of it was boxed up, mainly Sweets auto shotgun. But without any ammo, it was about as effective as a club. Which don’t get me wrong, could still be useful against some of these nobles to subdue them. And the three air rifles we had, even though I would have liked to have them ready on us, it would likely spook the locals into calling security. Harp’s drone, Order, sat quietly on the floor. It still had a few scorch marks, likely from taking a few hits from the Twittermites, but should still function well enough.

Looking around the room, it looked like it hadn’t seen a pony visit in a long time. A thick layer of dust covered everything, enough so that it reminded me a little too much of the bunker we’d stayed at before. A workbench tipped me off to what this room was once used for. The pipbuck maintenance tools, and pipbuck schematic book were covered in the same layer of dust as everything. Which actually brought that realization to my attention. Other then some of the maintenance staff, I didn't see any ponies in this stable with pipbuck on.

My gaze fell onto Harp, who looked back at me with heavy concern in her eyes.

“They’re going to be alright, right?” She asked.

“They know what they’re doing.” I nodded. “And remember, the plan is to keep eyes on them as we go see the queen.”

“So how much time you think we have then?” Merit asked.

“I don’t know,” Harp looked at her pipbuck, and shook her head. “with just my sister, maybe an hour at best. But Red already knew we had disguise talismans. I would bet she’ll figure out we’re here sooner than later.”

“Let's just focus on getting to the Queen.” I had to agree that Red being here added a hole new problem, but it might explain how Silver Relief got back here. “I'm sure whatever Majesty is plotting with Red, your mother is not going to approve. Now, get your things packed and you can take us to her.”

My eyes scanned the room some more, stopping at a few mid sized boxes stacked on top of each other. Opening up one, I dumped the contents out onto the floor, sending up a small plume of dust. A few tools and a roll of duct tape were all that had been inside, but none of them were important. Sliding the empty case to Harp, she looked a bit confused.

“It's for the air rifle,” I told her, and she lifted up her rifle and cocked an eyebrow as she looked down at the tools. “break the rifle down, and put it inside.”

“I’ve got it.” Sweet jumped in, taking the rifle from her “You focus on getting us to the queen.”

Harp nodded. “I already know a way.” she turned on her pipbuck and clicked a few buttons. With a flicker, Order turned back on, and the small drone quickly hovered up into the dusty stale air. “I used to take this route when I wanted to avoid my family. Though, most of the time it was just Majesty I wanted to avoid.” A weak smile parted her lips for a moment as she recounted her memories of it. “The staff would cover for me when I hid from her. The only pony that could find me was Stratus.” With that, her eyes became downcast as she clicked through her pipbuck. “She would always offer me pudding to get me out of hiding. She’d tell me things would be alright.”

“Because they will be.” I said to Harp, dumping out two more tool boxes. “But not because of anypony else. You’re the one who is going to do make everything alright. Trust me, once you talk with your mother, I think Majesty will be the one hiding from you.”

“Thanks,” A little smile formed on her face again. “I guess we should go then, before some pony checks in here.”

I nodded just before Sweet threw my rifle over to me. I quickly broke it down, and placed the pieces inside of the tool box. The toolbox looked a bit odd hooked onto my saddle bag straps, but it was better than just having the rifle hanging out right now. The case with Sweet’s auto shotgun was placed back in Mayall’s care, whom seemed not all pleased with being treated as our pack pony.

Stepping out first to see if the way was clear, I then waved Harp through. Merit, Sweet, and Mayall followed by with as light of hoofsteps as they could manage. Alright, now that we’re ready, this was going to be the trickiest part to get right.

‘You take point,’ Sweet spoke telepathically. ‘I’ll cover our flank, like always.’

I trotted up to Harp, as Sweet fell back. Merit and Mayall took the center. Further into the Stable, less ponies were out in the halls, making things a lot more quiet, bit it made us all more visible to anypony who simply glanced our way.. The tapestries now gave way to long murals painted on the walls, similar to the one outside the hotel.

“So, what was it like living here?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Suffocating.” Harp said with a sigh. “I mean I love it here, and I love my family. Despite what you’ve seen and experienced, they’re not as insufferable as everypony thinks.”

“And what about Golden Rule?” I asked as I tried to muffle my annoyance for the despicable stallion.

Harp stayed quiet for a few seconds before continuing. “I… believed he saw himself in the right. They all.. we all would have likely done something similar. We're expected to stand above other, and if we make a decision, it must be followed through with absolute certainty, or our authority is compromised. It's what mother always said to us; that a good ruler does not always mean a kind ruler. If you cannot fully follow through on your authority, then you have no authority.”

I glanced over at Harp, seeing her eyes were downcast again. “And you have nether the right to rule, or any authority, right?”

“I’m a princess in name only.” She looked up at me, a week smile on her face. “It's like having a BB gun, when everypony has proper rifles. I was raised to rule, just like my brothers and sisters. To be a noble and royal pony who maintained order, to keep ponykind civilized and at peace. Yet, that will not happen, because I have no right to it. I'm expected to be at the masquerade ball, but to never dance.”

“Masquerade?” I had to ask.

Harps smile lightened a little. “Like I said, my family is not that bad. They are just taught to keep up a strong front, a mask to hide behind so you never show weakness. It's why nopony has seen mother, it's to protect everypony. As long as nobody sees mother in her weakened state, then in the minds of everypony, they only ‘see’ her when she was at her strongest.”

Harp saw the confused looked on my face, and continued. “It’s... something mother told me years ago, about the years leading up to when she became queen. Her mother, my grandmother and the queen of that time, fell ill. And at first, things we're fine if a bit tense, just like things are now. Well, when the queen finally was well and willing enough to address our family, it became clear that she was dying.” Harp let out another sight, and shook her head in disappointment. “All the plotting and planning her own family did, the thought of the queen living for a few more years was only thing ever holding it all back. The moment she showed them that wasn’t going to happen, her mask was shattered, and everypony’s scheming became action.”

“The Orphic bloodbath.” I said, remembering reading it in a book years ago.

“It's why Silver Majesty uses a wheelchair most of the time.” Harp nodded. “One of mother's uncle’s tried to poison her food, but Majesty had stolen a bite of it first and ended up in a coma for a year. So I ‘ve been told. By the time Majesty woke up, Mother had killed nearly half of the family, and forced the rest to accept her as the new queen. And all that happened before my grandmother actually died of her illness.”

“And all of that happened because they saw the queen weakened?” It didn't sound far fetched, but I’d at least presumed that the book I’d read had exaggerated some bits. To me, it was a bit extreme to go through all of that just because you saw somepony as weaker than normal.

She continued. “And it was not just my family who suffered, but the staff, and the peasants too. They all relied on the queen as a pillar of strength. And when that piller they relied on for stability cracked, everypony panicked. It wasn’t as bad as what happened between my family. But from what Stratus told me, her grandfather, the former royal guard captain, had to deal with a spike in drunkenness and crime that bordered on full scale riots.”

“Alright, I think I get it.” Group psychology was not something I was all that knowledgeable on, though Orthrus did drill us to be stoic on the job. Something about the appearance of calm helped to keep other ponies around us calm. “So then, you left to get away from the masquerade?”

“I don't think it was that.” Harps eyes drifted upwards, washing over the ceiling that had been painted to look like a mildly cloudy sky. “That was the life I had grown up in, and only Majesty really went out of her way to remind me of my place in the family. If anything, it was the servants that made things hard for me.”

“What?” I had to do a double take. “How so?”

She rolled her eyes. “You heard what they called me. The Mirage Pony Princess. Well, they somehow got it in their mind that I was somepony special, that I could be queen. It caused friction among the staff, drove Stratus up the wall as they started bickering. Well, as you know rumours travel fast, and my family caught wind of these arguments. I don’t think they’d ever considered it before, but it was then that they started to see my existence as a threat.”

We turned a corner, and entered a room filled with water tanks, as well as a few ponies keeping an on some gauges. One old and round pony, stopped when they were doing, and trotted over to us. Before he could speak, Sweet cut him off.

“Worry not,” She offered a stern yet dismissive snort at him. “we are just passing through on an official royal request, and are too busy to stop.”

The old pony eyed us as we passed by, but didn’t make any move to stop us. Moving onward, we passed what was likely a water distillation room before we entered a stairwell. Following Harp, I couldn't help but pry for more information about her.

“So you left, because ponies wanted you to be the queen?” I asked as we started our way upwards.

“If only it was as simple as just that.” Harp took a hard step climbing the stairs, the thud from her hoof echoing in the stairwell. “No, all my siblings have their supporters. But from among the Mirage pony’s, who are normally unaligned, they were whispers of a coup. They spoke of installing me on the throne, and putting the rest of my family on the sword. Oh, and the best part, is that it was obvious that I’d only be Queen in name only, a puppet for them to pull the strings of.”

“So when Majesty gave me the opportunity to leave, I took it.” We reached the top of the stairs, and with it, a door that lead further into the stable. Harp looked back at me, hesitating with a worried look in her eyes. “With mother withdrawing from the throne, and Stratus rooting out the tractors, it was the only way. In one move, I saw fit to remove myself as the traitors keystone, as well as to help keep my siblings from plotting another bloodbath. But I might have miscalculated my solution, and only helped to lead my family into something far worse.” I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, but something in her eyes told me that there was no convincing her that she was not partially responsible for the pirates being here.

“Then let's finish the mission,” I offered to her instead. “and drive these outsiders out of our homes. Once they’re gone, you family and the islands themselves will be free to go back to the way things once were.”

Harp nodded and opened the door. Through it, we walked into a plain and undecorated grey room. It held flat empty walls, without paint or fancy tapestries like the others had. There were two ponytrons sitting in their deployment pods that were connected to a large terminal. A Mister Helper bot floated in front of the green glowing screen, watching it intently seemingly uninterested in our arrival.

A red painted securitron stepped out of it’s pod with a hiss, and turned to us. “This is a restricted area. Turn back or die.” The robot robot commanded in a deep tinny voice as the energy weapons on it started to glow and power up. “You have ten seconds to comply.”

“Sir Galahad stand down,” Harp dropped her disguise and took a step forward. “it's just me, Princess Harp Melody.”

“Lady Harp,” The robots red lights flickered for a second, and the energy hardpoints darkened. “it brings light to my day to see you well. I had become worried at word of your leaving us. I hope your travels have been safe.” The robot then looked over at the rest of us and back to Harp. “You as always, are permitted to pass. I’m afraid however that the rest must leave, or I am programed to turn them into a fine red dust.”

“Please don’t, they are my friends.” Harp said camly. “I ask that you stand down, as they are not here to hurt anypony.”

“Yes of course, my lady. However, I regret to inform you that I still can't let them in, as it is against my core programing.” Galahad turned to Order, and its energy weapons powered up, growing more intense than when it had been targeting us. “Orthrus tech is one hundred percent barred past this point.”

“Stupid robot hates other stupid robot.” Mayall snorted, somehow.

“Warning!” Galahad's light flashed. “Number of trespassers has increased by one! Biosignature unknown!” The robot pointed it's guns at Mayall, and the surprised lurker took a step back, hiding behind Merit.

“Calm down, Galahad, she's harmless.” Harp paused. “Well, mostly harmless.” The securitron lowered it's guns with Harps words. “Here, let me talk with Gareth, his programing is a bit more adaptable.”

“This is allowed.” Galahad's light dimmed for a moment. “Standing down.” The large red robot slowly backed up, but it's red light face kept watch over us.

The mister helper floated away from the terminal, and over to Harp. One of its three eyes swiveled on it’s stalk to look looked down at her. Somehow, in a way I couldn’t quite explain, that one eye held enough of an expression to it to come across as looking happy as it realized it was Harp in front of it.

“Lady Harp Melody! So pleasant to see you returned to us.” It spoke in a friendly, and polygon manner, reminding me of a butler. “I do hope that you’ve been eating well in your absence. I hear that some of the food outside of the stable can be downright dreadful for your health. Also, if I may ask you to clarify an error, sir Bedivere and sir Lucan have reported to me that you also seem to currently be down in the ballroom. Can you explain how is it that you're in two places right now?”

“She's a body double Gareth.” Harp chuckled. “While everypony is distracted by her, I need to talk with my mother, the queen. It is of the utmost importance, you see.” The tone in her voice dropped, the cherryness slowly fading. “I do not wish to wear on her, but from the outside, I bring both grave news, and heartbreaking news.”

“I see.” Gareth responded. “But these outsiders cannot step into the royal chambers. The guard captain would have us dismantled if that were to happen.”

“That's one of the things I need to talk to mother about.” Harps eyes became downcast as she spoke the words. “Like I said I have heartbreaking news.”

“Sorry my lady, but I do not under…” Gareth paused for a moment, and the gears inside the old Mister Helper whirred and clicked. “You must agree to leave the Orthrus drone, and everypony here must drop their disguises. Only then, you may take oneunarmed outsider with you.” Gareth floated out of the way as one of its eyes lowering down, looking to imitate a respectful bow.

Harp breathed deeply, exhaling slowly. Her head turned, and her eyes met mine. She didn't need to ask, because I understood that this was as good as it was going to get. This was our best shot, and we didn’t come all this way not to take it.

Dropping my disguise, I addressed the others. “Sweet, please don't go killing Mayall wile Harp and I meet the Queen.”

“Me, harm the trotting abomination?” Sweet feigned shock. “Well, I never!” She let out another mock gasp as I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her.

“Don’t worry,” Merit chucked. “I think we will be on our best behavior with that big robot watching us.”

“With any luck, we shouldn’t be long.” Harp said as she trotted passed Gareth, and I followed behind her. As we approached, the door ahead of us opened up automatically.

Much of the stable was impressive, but I was a bit dumbfounded by the wide hallway we had just stepped into. Not just was there plenty of room around us, but also above. The expansive hallway was at least double the height and width of your average stable-tec hallway. Covering the walls themselves was a deep red sheet, with a large purple ribbon draped on Golden hooks in front of it. The normal stable doors were painted to look like a dark brown wood, with Golden embroidered patterns of trees painstakingly and intricately applied.

The floor and ceiling’s weren’t exempt from lavish decadence either. Each one looked to be made of a single, long slab of white polished marble. Breaking up the flatness of it were half orbs of light that each looked a bit like a miniature shimmering sun. At the end of the ornate hallway was a large door with a platinum crown embroidered on it.

“Got to say, this is impressive.” I commented.

“Well it is based on Canterlot architecture, down to the marble.” Harp Bosted. “Also, stable fifty is actually a sister stable to stable one, the stable made for Celestia and Luna. My ancestor Majesty had stable-tec copy stable one for her on the island. We even have a vault full of canterlot artifacts, Including a big old painting of Majesty and Applebloom. I don’t know how true it is, but Majesty might have been a big investor of Stable-Tec.”

“Well the war did bring a lot of ponies to Stable-Tec” I commented. “A royal looking to get first class tickets to surviving the end of the world, makes a lot of sense to me.”

We stopped at the doors at the end of the grand hall. It opened up on it’s own as well, letting out a light hissing as the large door lifted slowly. Standing in front of us through the open doorway, was two more robots. A green and gold painted Mister Gutsy, and a silver plated assaultron.

Harp looked at the too and smiled. “Miss Vibraphone, let me introduce you to these two.” She pointed to the mister gutsy, “This is Sir Gawain,” Her hoof moved to the assaultron, “And Sir Lancelot.”

“It's a pleasure to meet a friend of our dear lady Melody.” Gawain bowed, speaking with a stern, yet caring voice.

“I wish our meeting was under better circumstances, but still, it's an honor my lady.” Lancelot had a fare more smooth voice, reminding me of some of the old movie stars from the wartime movies. “Now if you may, the queen is waiting for you.”

The robots moved out of the way, and we trotted inside. The room was much like the hallway before, but standing in the center of it was a large desk. Above the desk was a large glowing orb, radiating light that was soft and comforting. Behind the desk was another of the robot terminals, but this one looked bigger overall for some reason. To one side of the room, was a large round window with a chair and coffin table next to it, both were covered in books. On the complete opposite side, were four ponies. One of them was tucked into an extraordinarily large and exceptionally plush bed, and the other three standing at the edge of it.

Two of the ponies were in conservative maid uniforms, one was a unicorn, and the other a mirage pony. The third pony however, was a tall azure coated unicorn mare that rivaled Silk Carnation in beauty. Her flowing silver mane would glint with thin strands of gold, it accentuated the silver trim on her simple yet flawless purple dress. The only thing that took away from her knockout look, were the thickest glasses I had ever seen in my life. It was almost like it were a joke to have something so offputting on somepony so stunning.

“Rare Pearl.” Harp took a step forward. “Sister, how is mother?”

“Cancer of the blood. We don't know how long she has, but we know it's not long.” Her voice had a sorrowful softness to it. However, like most of Harp’s other siblings, it also still held a maturity that you didn’t expect from a family that fights as often as they do. “So, you said you have dire news, heartbreaking even?” Rare Pearl removed her glassed as she turned toward Harp, revealing pale blue eyes with heavy dark bags under them. “If you just came here to complain about Majesty, I will not be pleased.”

“I… we…” Harp took another deep breath. “I don't know where to start.”

A chuckle came from the bed. “Look Pearl, you’ve scared your sister and now she's going to stammer the whole message.” The voice of Gilded Gold was strained, yet dignified. “This is why you haven't picked up a decent stallion, my dear Pearl.”

“Mother! Can we not do this now?” Rare Pearl put on a stunned face as she blushed while struggling to place her glasses back on. “I mean, you must try to conserve your energy.”

Harp and I stepped up to the bed to see that Guilded Gold was indeed the pony I’d seen tucked into it. She was an older mare, with a sun yellow coat, and a long braided gold mane that was showing signs of graying.

“So, you went and finally met Phorminx?” Gilded Gold sat upright, eyes both Harp and I. “Does he still have that save charm like he was from an old spy movie or what have you?” she chucked, which devolved into painful strained coughing.

“H-how do you know?” Harp’s look of confusion was not lost on me, but I let it happen. I didn’t want to step in on her family affairs, at least, not if I didn’t have to.

“My darling, I’m not the queen simply because I wear a crown on my head and sit on a throne.” She took a moment to force herself to take a deeply pained breath. “I keep an eye on every noble, every royal, and make sure that they know that they only have freedom because I allow it. Phorminx may have turned the Specters into the metro’s greatest agents, but that’s only because he learned that from me. Even now, my spy network is solid, down to knowing about the training program Phorminx had you run thru.”

I felt my blood boil, a deep anger. “And yet…”

“Then tell me, Why is Red Steel in this stable?” Harp cut me off, her own voice carrying a deep anger in it. “If you know, how could you let somepony like her into our home?”

Rare Pearl took a step forward aat us, but stopped when Gilded Gold raised her hoof. “Trust me, I know about the outsider, and already know that Majesty is trying to give Silver Cricket away to her to foster an alliance. A foolish endeavor, I know. Your sister, Majesty, has always been bold in her ambition. But she is too eager to grab power before she knows what to do with it, and that’s why she will never be queen. Even now, in my current state, she is still firmly in the palm of my hoof.”

I went to speak again, but Harp leaned on me.

“Let me guess, mother,” She let herself be held up by my body as she took a deep breath. “you dispatched the royal guard to drag Golden Rule home, leaving Silver Majesty an opening to make her move so you could trap both in their attempts to take control.” Harp rebalanced herself, lifting herself back off of me and steadily onto her hooves. “Same how you let the traitors fester, even if in the end, it meant that I became isolated.”

“Child, don't dare to presume you know more than your own mother.” Queen Gilded Gold crossed her hooves. “Or do I need you to be re-educated about how harsh this world is? We are not just simple ponies, we are the very foundations of society and order.” Her glare, it was like a heavy stone on my back, forcing me to look away for a moment. “Once Stratus Dancer returns with my son, it will be time to put Majesty back in her place, along with all of her co-conspirators. After they have been all brought to heel, Rare Pearl here will take my place as queen. Though young as she may be, she at least understands her place, and will not get our family killed by the savage peasants.”

Harp took a step back, the look on her face downcast once more. “They’re not coming.” The words fell from her mouth with a cold resignation.

“That is correct!” Gilded Gold said with confidence. “Your attempt to bring Orthrus into the stable had failed before it ever started.” Her eyes softened as she looked at Harp. “I did have high hopes for you, you must believe me on that, my child. But it’s clear that there is too much of your father in you. An excellent orator, a pony who could lead an army to the gates of Tartarus would she only be willing.” She gazed off to the large window, looking like she was peeing somewhere far away, longingly. “It was charming, at first, but the longer he was around me, the more I understood.”

“Understand what?” Harp asked, her confidence quickly fading.

The queen chackled. “That he never could accept his place in the world. You do understand this my daughter, despite how high the pedestal he stands on, he is nothing more than a peasant. Orthrus and the Republic, it’s absurd how they claim to be the rightful authority in the metro, don’t you agree? Such bold and reckless claims, all without one ounce of noble blood behind them.” Guilded’s expression hardened as she gave a cold glare at Harp. “I had hoped that my blood would be stronger in you, that seeing the peasants for what they are would steel your resolve as part of our noble family. Yet here I am, once again proved wrong about you.” She turned her gaze, casting an indifferent glance across the room from us. “So what do you say to this, my foalish young daughter?”

A moment passed in silence. Harp shared a fleeting glance with me as the both of us understanded exactly what was going on.

“Mother,” Harp’s words were just above a whisper. Taking another deep breath, she was attempting to gather and project what confidence she still had. “My Queen,” Gilded Gold’s ears turned and focused intently onto Harp, even if she didn’t shift her gaze one iota. “I have dire news. The republic plans to go to war. They have stockpiled weapons in which to dominate the islands, weapons we could not hope to fight against on our own. But the Orthrus Group seeks an alliance with the Orphic Kingdom, an alliance that is our only chance to suppress the Republic’s hostilities. If the Republic are not stopped at their island, then the situation will become grim.”

A short pause from Harp came with no comments, just the watchful eye of the queen.

“In Recent Heartbreaking news, Uncale Minted Coin, Brother Golden Rule, as well as Royal Guard Captain Stratus Dancer have been killed.” Harp continued. “The two former by assassination, and the later fell in the line of duty to ensure I could make it back here. The perpetrators were the invading outsiders, and struck in a raid that caught the royal guard by surprise.”

The room fell quite, Rare Pearl looked to her mother, who pulled out a holo-recorder. With a crisp click, she pressed a small green play button. The staticy recording filled the air, and the voice of Stratus Dancer hit our ears. “Your majesty, I hope you find yourself well. We are still cleaning up the mess that Golden Rule had left behind, so we will be back much later than planned. I also have more bad news, the young Princess, Harp Melody, has fallen into the hooves of Orthrus. She passed through New Canterlot not long ago, where she attempted to assassinate her brother, along with two Orthrus Specters. I managed to prevent the assassination, but failed to stop her from fleeing. Be warned that she may be under Orthrus influence, and must be detained.” The recording stopped, and silence once more fell onto the room.

Harps look of disbelief filled me with anger, and made me want to pummel Red Steel’s face into nothing by bloody pulp. “Th, thats a lie, all lies.” Harp growled.

“How so!” Rare Pearl raised her voice. “We received this message from one of mothers most trusted agents.” She shook her head. “We have been having your movements tracked from they moment you left the stable Harp Melody, there's nothing you have not don’t that we don’t know about.”

I watched as Harps lips quivered as she fought to stay calm. “Then your agents are compromised, there's no way that was Stratus, I saw her die!” Tears formed in her eyes. “Please, you got to believe me. You need to act now, stop Majesty, and form an alliance with Orthrus.”

“Again and again, you disappoint me. You should have just stayed in your room like a good filly, and all of this would have never happen” Gilded Gold sighed “I have already had your cohorts detained, and sent to your room, sir Lancelot will escort you two there as well. You will wait for Stratus to return, and face punishment. As for the rest of you, you will be deported back to Friendly Island, and banned from ever setting hoof within the this kingdom again. Also, you are to leave all talismans and weapons with the robots, or you will be executed on the spot.”

That was it. I could see it in Gilded Gold’s eyes that we had failed. It was the look of a pony so certain that they were right, that they were so infallibly in charge of their situation. It was the same look that Andromeda had before removing Sweets wings and eyes. Claranet had something similar as well when she’d talked about how good the republic was. Harmon Keys also had that look too. So certain of his position, at least, right up until he was turned to dust.

There was no use in fighting this now, we would not win Gilded Gold’s opinion.

“Harp, let's go.” I spoke up. “It's clear that the queen made up her mind long before we ever arrived.” I passed my bags to Gawain, who then shook his claw and power up the energy weapon stowed in his body. I sighed, hoofing over my Lunar Eclipse to the damned robot as well.

Turning to the door, I looked back at the queen. “You know, I hope for your family's sake, that at least some of you will survive what is to come. Because under the hoof of the Republic’s equality machine, there will be no room for secrets and lies. This game you all are playing. Well, as mindless drones you won't need it.”

Trotting to the door, I was followed by a dejected Harp. I couldn't help but feel that at every turn, at every victory in sight, some pony had always beaten us to that goal. The feeling of failure was a hard pill to swallow, but at least I had a new goal.

I needed to get Harp out of here, along with everypony else. And if somepony tried to get in my way? Well, they were going to be a dead pony.

For some reason, with that thought, a cold feeling ran around my neck. I shivered as it persisted, even though I’d thought I’d finally been rid of it. But it felt like it was here to stay this time around, and worse than ever.

My room was as I’d left it what felt like ages ago, but now colder. The once comforting walls that protected me from the horrible outside world of the stable, now felt oppressive. They were bleak, oppressive, and felt like there were now trapping me inside this stable like a prison. A gilded cage for the others and I as we wait for our execution, either by the invading Republic, or by mother herself.

Vibraphone had a dead mare’s stare all the way back to my room. The moment we got in, it immediately tipped off the others that things didn't quite go our way. However, the fact that they’d all been stripped of their possessions and locked in here before we’d arrived mant that they’d probably already figured that out. It made me worried that Vibraphone was going to attempt something drastic if something didn’t change soon.

It was all almost to much for me. I wanted to cry, to throw myself onto my bed and wail. Yet, I didn't. One thing ran through my head, like a song you couldn't stop humming. Phorminx was right. I loved my family, and I want to save them, but did they even want to be saved by me? I could have just left this all behind, started a new life with the father I never knew I had.

Still, I had to do something. Maybe, just maybe I still could. The keystone to all this had to be Silver Majesty. Without her, the outsiders may be stalled long enough for Mother and Rare Pearl to finally get the truth into their hooves.

I had a good feeling that doing anything now would just force their hoof, and make me their enemy. I hated them for that, but I loved them even more. However, it was out of that love that maybe it was time to let them go.

The door hissed open, and sir Galahad rolled in.

“Wait here, prisoners.” As the robot entered, he escorted Rototom, Temboril, and Sorrow into the room with us. “Try anything, and you die.”

They gave me a less then happy smile, likely having figured out as well that we had failed on their way here.

Getting up off my bed, I nudged Mayall to get her attention. The odd lurker-pony gave me a confused look, and I motioned for her to follow me. Slowly, I trotted up to the new’ prisoners’ and Galahad.

“My lady,” He looked down at me, shining his red light on my face. “It's not my place to judge you, so worry not. However if it may calm you any, I will ask for the guard captain to be merciful to you.”

“Thanks, Galahad.” I took a deep breath, subtley waving for Mayall to come over. “It is comforting, and I appreciate the thought.” Concentrating, I gathered magic into me. “I wish that your recommendation was something they would take into account, but I don’t think they will.” Tears started to well up in my eyes as I focused myself, and the warm magics I possessed gathered through my legs from the ground. I breathed in the magic, felt it caressing my mouth and my nose. I could even feel it on my ears and my tail. “But Stratus is gone, and we will never see her again.”

The magic gathered into my chest and pumped through my veins. Galahad's voice cracked and sputtered as he spoke. “My… Lady… What… are… you… doing?”

“I’m sorry, Galahad. Truely, I am.” My tears could couldn’t be held back anymore as the blurriness of them were replaced by a strong shimmer. “But I'm going to play Majesty's game.” Looking over at Mayall, she gave me a nodd. “And I'm going to kill her!”

I placed my hoof on Mayall, and the air tingled as a single spark of magical energy jumped from me to her. For a split second everything became calm, and then with a blinding flash, the lights went out.

Galahad's lights went out.

Footnote:

Quest Fail: Orpheus and Eurydice

Addiction status: Chill Addiction (under control)