On our way to the train I was at least able to convince Xianzi to give me back my scarf, arguing that it could help keep some pony from knocking off my head. That, and that it would not draw as much attention as my horns would. I mainly wanted it for the added protection, in case I needed it’s throwing knives. It also didn’t help that I’d gotten use to having one on, and walking around without it left me feeling more than a bit underdressed.

Just as I’d thought, no pony paide me much mind, which was much less annoying than them averting their eye. I was basically a stranger among them, not even getting a bat of the eye. Now that I was thinking about it, it made any pony with this power dangerous. From simple theft, to assassination, how far could this magic be taken?

I held back from making a facehoof, as the fact that there is a race of crustaceans with this magic became all too real, and both Bernice and Mayal just recently left the islands. What was the phrase... cat out of the box I think, or genie out of the bottle. Whatever they could do, all I could do right now was wish Mayall the best of luck, and that Bernice fails in whatever she tries to do.

As the train car rhythmically cluncked along its track, the radio was playing soft rock music, just loud enough to hear over the train and ponies abort it. Fading, the music was then replaced by a quick drum solo that got every ponies attention, all befor a mare spoke up with exuberance. “This is radio station three, live from club three dogs, were one is the loneliest number, and two is still too few, find your fun in three, as four is far too many. But what you do in the privacy of your bedroom aside, I'm here to bring you the news.” The voice was similar to DJ Cerberus, but she now sounded like she’d smoked four packs of cigarettes a day. “Now first on the list is the arrivals of outsiders, and the madness they’ve brought with them. Not rioting in the streets, no no my little ponies, but the slashing of prices among the trade union. From what some little birds have told me, the trade union might be aiming on expanding their businesses passed the islands, with help from the outsiders. Now, take that with some sea salt, but it’s definitely alarming. I know what your thinking, these greedy assholes making even more bits has never been good for any pony that's not them. But, here's the kicker; not just the Trade Union is up to something. Word is, even Orthrus is hiring new employees in mass, with both factions preparing for an expedition to old Equestria. True madness, believe me, I know. Best of all, there's the cherry on top of the cupcake. The outsiders have openly made statements on this themselves, confirming what I’ve heard. And now, you’re hearing it here first, right from the horse’s mouth.”

The low playing party music faded, more than it was already, replaced by that of a brass band, similar to that if old world equestra music, catching a few ponies ears. “Hello, citizens of the Marewaiee islands. I am Vice President Feather Duster, of the New Cloudsdale Enclave, father of President Pillow Feathers. I will not lie, our population has suffered, long before we lost control of the sky. We were growing weak, arrogantly seeing ourselves as its sole masters. But when we finally decided to announce our superiority to the world, the world slapped us down, as it has the right to. Brought low, we now know where we stand, not as the supriors we’d wished we were, but the weakened nomads holding onto a past long dead. Through this revelation brought upon us by our own arrogance, we now see a future ahead. I don’t know where this path may lead us, but the fact that at least we will have a future, and I know it’s something you all may understand.” Duster paused, giving an audible deep breath. “I ask for you to help us in this time of great need. We cannot offer much, as through our own foolishness, we have lost most we once owned. Together, I know there's a future worth fighting for, worth building side by side. Something far better than what's waiting for each and every one of us if we stand apart. So again I ask of you, please help us, and in return, we will strive to help you in any way we can.”

The music faded, replaced by low electronic music. “That puts a tear to my eye, but can't feed my belly. Still, if ya think your some hero, then you might have your calling. Though take it from me, I doubt you will find fame and fortune in what’s obviously charity work. Now, if this Enclave broadcast hasn’t been enough to get you excited, do I have more news for you! Why don’t we listen in and see what the next group of outsiders to grace our shores has to say!”

As the train stopped as the music faded, and ponies exited, both Xianzi and I stayed, as it was not our exit. Like a shifting of ideas, a new group of ponies crowded in as the music changed, this time an orstica with a choir, sounding far grander than the old overused military band. Far more ponies seemed to respond to this music, seemingly igniting a sense of curiosity into the air. I couldn't say if it was because it was something new, or if they were actually excited to hear what the grand fleet had to say. But if I knew one thing, following the grand fleet would only lead to more war, and the likely subjugation of my mind… all for slaying Phobetor, to kill the greater evil.

“Hello Marewaii Islanders. It brings me so much joy to give you the great opportunity of joining the grand fleet, both as partners, or as members of our grand family.”

Red's voice was full of exuberance, almost as though she was not fucked in the head and in need of years of counseling. She was taking the spotlight as much as possible, and I bet if she could, she would make herself the saint of the islands. all the while being as much of a cut through bitch as Thorn Rosland was. But that's what I needed her for, to keep eyes on her, and as few looking for me as possible.

“Now I know there are those who have suffered at the guns of my own brothers and sisters, but let it be known that this grave and terrible mistake has been swiftly corrected. What is important now is to look toward the future! To see how great we can become as one whole. Not simply as friends, but as close as a family. As Saint Roseland once said, friendship is like the water which we all need it to live. And yet, blood is thicker than water, and we need it more than the water itself. Together, once you have a family made through friendship, you can never be without it. This I offer you, should you choose to join us. A bond, stronger than friendship, stronger than family, and a world to explore passed the metro that has entrapped and nearly suffocated you. If you believe you were meant for something greater, not to simply wither away in the dark, all you must do is to reach out to us, and we will be there to take you by the hoof. Trust me, as you are not the first to be saved, as even I was once thrown into darkness. I’d been lost, scared, and without hope. But Saint Roseland gave me the opportunity to become a greater pony, a better pony than I was, and I had the courage to take that opportunity.”

There was a pause, the choir quickly rose in volume, then slowly fading. I looked around, and several ponies seemed enthralled, like a light had been sparked in their eyes. The music faded down low again, and Red continued.

“So I ask you, the brave and long forgotten ponies of the metro, if you wish to be more than what you currently are, to take hold of your lives and to rise not just above the clouds, but above everything, even yourselves. Then all you need do is to take our hooves and become more then our friends, and join the strong and righteous family you are destined to have.”

The choir faded again, replaced by the same, normal electronic dance music of radio station three. “Well… that was a bit more cult like than I expected. But hey, if you want want to leave the metro and see the world, that's what they promise.”

I kept Xianzi in the corner of my vision, keeping stoic to not give my own feelings on the matter away. Mostly, it was to keep up the lie that was Red Steel, who I knew was giving everyone a half truth. If ponies knew that most who joined would start as ship slaves, then I doubt they see the grand fleet as a savor. Xianzi subtle looked over at me, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly before speaking. “Sounds too good to be true, especially from the descendants of equestrias royal navy. Sorry for sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but I'd love to know what Reds angle real is.”

My eyes shifted, seeing that no pony in the train cart paid us much mind.

“Not much different from any other pony.” I said feeling confident that she could not see thru the layers of lies. Well, at least not through all of them. “I won't deny she has her own ambition in all this, but the captain is at least honest in the opportunity she offers… at least if they survive the recruitment. Trust me on this, only those strong of both will and body will find success within the grand fleet. I dare not say more, as I may step on the hooves of those I’d rather not.” Last thing I needed was to piss off Red and ruin everything. She may be on board with me sparking this war, but I had no doubt that if crossed, she will take the ball and go home, with the ball being my head…

Xianzi pondered for a moment, seven scratching her chin. “We might have a few ponies like that we can send to your captain. Both strong in will and body, but too much trouble to keep around on the islands. If cut off from on any pony they know, they may become more... malleable.”

I didn't like the idea, but I was too in deep to change my tune. “I'm sure Red will take them off your hooves, she is always looking for competent pawns for the game.”

“Game?” Xianzi said looking a tad confused.

“Nothing you should worry about, it's just what some call the ebb and flow of power in the fleet.” Alright, guess I still needed to watch my words. “I don't know that much about it, as it’s not my place to care. It's Red who desires to play the game, and only she can answer any questions you might have.”

Xianzi nodded. “Then we will keep close contact with Captain Red Steel.”

I nodded in agreement, confident they would not press more. I knew they were good at keeping their secrets, and would likely silence any pony who knew said secrets if they wanted to keep them quiet. What bugged me the most was the the idea that Orthrus might already know all of this, and not have rid the metro of the syndicate despite knowing. Sadly, I was not in position to ask questions, much less change anything.

A bell rang and the train stopped. “Welcome to Curtius Station, please mind the gap, and enjoy your stay.” The recorded announcement spoke with a friendly and cheer filled voice. Both Xianzi and I stepped out with the crowd of ponies disembarking the train, and trotted a distance until we reached a bench.

Xianzi waited for a moment, carefully scanning the tunnels. “Good, looks like no ponies are following us. Now, when we get on our next train, we’re not to talk to each other. Not even eye contact can happen, you understand.” I nodded. “Good. Once we arrive at Valley Port Station, you are to conduct your mission and make as much trouble as possible. Unless the situation changes, I'll be waiting outside the Orthrus embassy, near the trains entrance, seek me out and our operatives will give you a hiding place to change outfits. After that, you’re free from our contract, as long as you don't name us that is.”

I nodded again. “As long as you keep your end of the bargen.” I said with authority and annoyance.

She once more roller her eyes. “Trust us, we want this war just as much as you seem too. It's going to be good business for us at least.”

“Fair enough. Just make sure I get my stuff back after I do your task.” I said with a stern tone.

“Don't get your panties in a bunch, pirate. We may not look it at first, but we’re professionals. Last thing we want to do us ruin the best business partnership we’ve had in over a hundred years, along with messing with our competition.” She flipped her mane back and smiled. “Just trust us. What your asking for is quite literally what were best at.”

I gave an exacerbated sigh. “I get it, I just have to have to have faith.” I did my best to not cringe as I copied what I saw the the other pirates do when bringing up Roseland, and pretended to pray. I had to sell myself as one of the pirates, and better late than never. “May Celestia and Luna watch over us, guide us to victory.”

Xianzi cocked an eyebrow for a moment, but the returned to her businesses here smile. “Yes, faith. You do that, and we will deliver. Now let's go, the train to Valley Port should be arriving soon. If they do anything useful, Orthrus at least makes the trains arrive on time.”

After a short trot, we arrived at the junction to Valley Port Station. Unsurprisingly, it was far more heavily guarded than any other stop I had seen outside of the entrance to either of the two Orthrus home stations. There were not just regulars manning the checkpoints, but commandos with cyberdogs checking the few ponies coming through this stop.

Frankly I was unsure how I was going to get in unnoticed. But as we trotted here the checkpoint, Xianzi turned to a nearby public restroom, and I followed her in, trusting her. Inside was what was to be expected, a relatively clean restroom with a dirty looking maid slumped against the wall.

“Great, another high vagrant dirting the walls we taxpayers put bits to keep clean.” Xianzi said in a hoity tone.

The dirty pony scrunched her nose. “Fuck you bitch, at least I don't got brown on my nose!”

“Because you wiped it on the wall, you lowlife!” Xianzi growled.

“That I did in stall three, if ya want to see?” The dirty pony then trotted off to the entrance and sat next to the door, not looking back at us.

Xianzi bugged me. “Lets go before some fool comes in.” She trotted over to the stall with a number three on it, an motioned for me to follow. Closing the flimsy door behind me, I watched as she reached behind the toilet, and maid an audible click sound. The wall behind the toilet pulled back, creating an opening, of which Xianzi quickly jumped through, and I followed.

Looking back, the hole seamlessly closed itself. “How many of these exist?”

“Best if you never ask that question again.” Xianzi calmly said to me as she smiled back at me. I nodded, getting the message. “Good, now let's get to the train, it should be here soon.”

As expected, this back way was full of cobwebs and small insects, of which we ignored as we passed through them. Xianzi remained quiet as we moved, and I took it as a sign to do the same. We came out at what was a maintenance closet, with barely enough room for the two of us to fit after the hidden door closed. Xianzi took a quick peek out before opening the door, and trotting out of which I quickly followed.

“You would be surprised how expensive those hidden tunnels cost to keep secret.” Xianzi said as she brushed a cobweb out of her mane. “But we’re here. Now all we need to do is catch the train.”

I didn't have as many webs on me as she did, but I still had to brush a centipede off my face. “Good, I'm getting tired of taking detours as is.”

Seemingly satisfied with herself dusted off, Xianzi once again trotted off, with me following. Entering the train’s platform, it was significantly depopulate compared to other train stops, with mostly just Orthrus regulars getting ready to board. There was one pony in a well kept, but clearly old world business suit. She eyed us as we got in line next to her.

“Your removing your assets from the Republic territory as well?” She asked bluntly.

Xianzi nodded. “Got a few things locked up in customs that are going to be a pain in the blank to get back, but if I don't do it now, they’re never coming home.”

The business mare gave an exacerbated sigh as she pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Best give up on that idea. The fucking equalists are seizing everything they can get their hooves on, saying that nothing belongs to just one pony. At least they haven’t started taking ponies just yet, as Orthrus doesn’t cover lost employees.” She took a long drag and puffed out a cloud of smoke. “But that's what I get for trying to sell to these assholes, and now I’m left with whatever my employees could drag out before the equalists took the rest.” She took another drag of her cigarette, it mostly turning to ash before she throwing it away. Turning to Xianzi, she extended her hoof out to her. “I represent Coffin Nails Cigarettes, interested in selling our product?”

Xianzi shook the mares hoof. “Work Counseling Department. Recently we have gained a new wealthy client that could be interested in your product. That is, if you’re willing to pay us a finders fee?”

A smile crept on the business mares face. “Ahh, the WCD, I see. Some of your mercenaries are loyal customers of mine. Maybe we can talk business later, when things are... less tense.”

“Would be a pleasure, just bring whatever you recover to any of our offices.” Xianzi smiled back, and broke the hoof shake, the two mares turning their attention on the now arriving train.

“Remember to mind the gap, as safety starts with you.” A message played on the speakers overhead. The train rolled in, slowing down as it bellowed out steam. It stopped, and the doors opened, letting out a flood of ponies, all scrambling with whatever they could carry. Adults and foals, the clean and dirty. There was one filly dragging a bunch of wrenches behind a mare dragging even bigger wrenches. It was an exodus, and the ponies fleeing had little idea where to go, except away from where the war was likely going to happen.

We waited for the ponies to clear out before we moved onto the train. The once packed cart now emptied of life, sat waiting for us. Xianzi boarded the lonely cart, but I stopped just shy of the doors. Noticing this, she turned around to me and shot me an annoyed look. “Getting cold hooves now, are we?”

I shook my head. “No, I just have one more thing to do. Just wait for me.” I looked her in the eyes, concentrating my power at her, freezing her in my gaze.

“Now leaving for Vally Port Station, mind the gap.” The speakers announced loudly as the doors slowly closed. For split second our eye contact was broken, and Xianzi stumbled back a step, looking confused. As the train began to move, I trotted along with it, the carts passing me as it picked up speed. Xianzi sat down on a seat, looking at me with both in annoyance and in confusion.

The last train car came, a conductor and troop transport cart full of regulars. I broke into a gallop as the cart was going only a bit faster than me. When the back of the cart came into view, I kicked off, jumping for the emergency door on the rear of the cart. My hoof caught on the security bars that were bolted over the door’s window, and I hung on tight.

Both my back legs dropped and hit the rail line below, almost dragging me down as they made clatter and ping sounds. Pulling myself up, I ducked just in time to avoided an Orthrus Regular from spotting me. She looked a bit confused by the noise my legs had made, but looked away with a shrug. Keeping low, I held on, the sound of the train deafening, and the rising air trying to pull me off.

_______________________________________________

Looking over the side of the train, both the wind and vibrations made it hard to keep my eyes open, and head on, but in little time I saw what I was waiting for. A faint light passed me by, marking that I was near an Orthrus maintenance post, and likely where the megaspell was being stored. Positioning my rear hooves firmly under me, I jumped back and curled up into a ball.

I hit the ground and rolled violently. Even though I did my best to reduced how fast I was going, it was likely still hitting the ground to hard for a normal pony to not get away without any severe injuries… Unfortunately I was indeed hurting,feeling like I was being trampled by a horde of redboars. Thankfully, I was a bit tougher than your average pony now, and as long as my head was safe, I had no trouble getting back up once I stopped tumbling. My jumpsuit received some damage, a few small tears and lots of scuff marks, but overall it was still in good condition.

Adjusting my scarf, I found that one of my throwing knives had gotten bent, so I used the rail line and my iron hoof to stomp it back straight, though not perfectly. Still, it should do, so I slipped it back into its place in my scarf. Satisfied, I made my way down to the midsection of the tunnel, towards where Orthrus was planning to blow the tunnel when things turned bad.

“Do ya really think the Republic is going to attack?” There was a pony standing in front of a door on the side of the tunnel. The Orthrus regular had large headphones on, covering her ears as she spoke into her pipbuck. Next to her was an air rifle I was not familiar with, and what looked like a small drone. “Ya, I know that. What I meant was are they going to attack here? Would it be better if I was at the other entrance, closer to where the Republic would be coming from?”

I kept to the shadows, getting closer. The mare was blocking the entrance to a deep maintenance station, the exact entrance that I needed to get to. As far as I knew, this was the halfway point for the tunnel, where Orthrus monitored its integrity and conducted maintenance from. Working down here was one of the highest paid jobs Orthrus offered due to its secluded nature, though I never met another pony who had worked here.

“Buzz!” The drone shot up, and turned on a light, almost blinding me as hugged the wall, staying as close to the shadows as possible.

“Hold on, number five picked something up on its censors.” The regular got up, and equipped her rifle. Trotting closer, I got a good look at her rifle. It looked like the standard rifle Orthrus used, but the magazine was under the barrel, much like with old world rifles. Both the mare and the drone got closer, and I pulled out two throwing knives.

“Ha!” the mare fired, and the rifle cracked loudly. A radroach scurried onto the side of the tunnel, the mare clearly missing the fairly easy shot. “It's always a fucking bug. Just once I want it to be an equalist, or something that’ll put this baby to a real test.” She aimed her rifle again, flipping a switch on its side, and fired in full auto. The radroach didn't stand a chance this time, it's blood smearing the wall. “Ya, ya, I'm not going to leave it out here, so stop bitching at me. Number Five come, where's there's one, there's others.”

Both the mare and the drone moved passed me, not even seeing me. I took the opportunity to move, trying to match my hoofsteps with the mare’s to avoid catching her attention. Reaching the door, I found it locked, something I was not going to let stop me. Pulling out a hairpin from my mane and one of the thinner knives, I quickly got to work. In only a few seconds, the door clicked open. If she’d been here, I was sure Sweet would’ve even been impressed with how quick that was. Looking back, the regular had picked up the dead radroach, and was likely about to come back. Not wasting anymore time, I entered through the door and softly pulled it shut behind me.

Passed the door, I found another, bigger door. It was the same kind of blast doors used near the entrance of a stable in case the main door fails. It was also locked, and needed a code to open. With an annoyed sigh, I pulled out another knife, and began unscrewing the face plate to the doors control. It didn't take long to remove the screws, as the magical blue flame I used to hold the knife gave me more strength and control then Minerva did. With the faceplate off, I looked at the mess of wires inside, then with a few cuts, and crossing of wires, the doors hissed.

Luckily there was not a third door for me to get past, but I was almost stunned when I saw the ocean. The hallway I entered had five large windows looking out into a blue abyss, and I watched as a school of fish passed by, with a shark following close behind them. Above each window were three letters, M.O.M.

“Great… this is a fucking secret Ministry facility.” I sighed to myself.

At the far end of the hallway was an open door, giving me a good view of what was further inside. The place was more than a simple maintenance and monitoring post, but a full on military listening post. There were six rows of ten cubicles, with at least six pink terminals each, all playing different videos. It looked like they were from security cameras, and robots, with how the videos seemed to move. There seemed to be no obvious pattern to what they were looking at, that is unless looking at everypony and anypony was a pattern.

I had to duck back as a pink spritebot floated by. “Remember, report any frowns you see! Unhappy ponies are easy targets for zebra infiltrators, so we must find those frowns, and turn them upside down!” The spritebot spoke in an overly cheery mares voice.

Once the bot had passed I took count of what I had to deal with. I saw at least six spritebots monitoring the main floor, both on and above. In the center was a pink securitron, something I hadn’t been expecting to deal with. The large killbot was connected to a terminal, it's screen showing the video feeds of the spritebots. I also counted at least four Orthrus troopers, heavily armored, all armed with the fully automatic airguns I saw the guard use earlier. Then there was the sixty ponies inside the cubicles, spying on everypony. Lastly I could see two groups of three ponies who looked like they were actually here for maintenance, each only armed with their revolvers.

Group one was busy at work fixing an offline terminal, while the second group was in what looked like a break room. This second group was standing around an armored suitcase, and each of them were armed with the fully automatic airguns. It was just a guess, but my bits was that the megaspell bomb I was here for was in the suitcase.

Sadly ,Sparkle-Lurker jumpsuit or not, there was no direct way to get to the suitcase without being seen, the place was too well watched. Something did catch my eyes, and that at least a forth of the floor under me was grating with cables running inside. It was a gamble, but I didn't have the time to wait for a better option. Waiting for one of the spritebots to pass, I quietly trotted next to one of the cubicles and finding a grate. With my magic, I lifted up, finding it opened easily, so I slid inside.

It was a cramped fit, but my suspicions were proven correct, and I was in an underfloor cable network, just wide enough for a pony to crawl through. Sadly it looked like I had entered a maze, with some parts in the distance blocked off by the cables. As I pondered about my next move, something poked me in the back, turning, I saw a toolbox half buried by cables.I figured that it might have something useful, so I checked the box, finding a wrench, a screwdriver, a hammer, two party poppers, and a pink envelope with a blue ribbon around it. The envelope was old, and had one sentence written on the outside. “Pinky Pie's order forum for a Vibraphone that Echos.”

… I had a bad feeling about this...

Quietly opening the envelope, pink glitter burst into the air, almost making me cough. Once the glitter had settled, I pulled out a piece of paper. One side had a simple map scrawled across it, and the other side had hoofwriting.

“To whomever this may concern. My name is Prancer Dancer, and ministry mare Pinky Pie has instructed me to map out the cable trenches of this facility, and the patrols patterns of the spritebots. I don't know why, but I have learned long ago to not question the wisdom of miss Pinky Pie. Anyways, our spritebots have E.F.S. installed, so even if a zebra gets in, there's no way for them to stay undetected. Still, whoever you are, good luck or whatever. I need a drink, and a vacation.”

I didn't have the time to process what I just read, nor had I wanted to. I flipped the paper over and looked at the map. It was rough to say the least, and being over two hundred years old didn't help, but it was easy to understand. The map had little notes all over, mainly about how to avoid the spritebots, and things I should not touch. There was also directions to where I should go, and oddly, it told me to avoid the break room, with the words “Baked Bads!” written in bold. The directions instead pointed me to a broom closet, where it was written “Here Be Cake!” There was one more odd notes in the corner of the paper, it a drawing of a clock going “tic-toc, tic-toc.” and saying under it “Beware of the naughty pony who only tells lies.”

Now I was not one to take ancient notes left by long dead ministry mares, but then again I was trying to kill an ancient nightmare on the behest of a literal grim reaper. At the very least I checkout this cake first, then pickup the baked bads.

Getting low, I crawled to the other side of this tight trench, doing my best to not make any noise. This brought me under the first row of cubicles. Looking up, I got a better look at the inside of it. The desk was covered in photos of cats, at least ten different cats, each posing with the same mare. The same mare in fact, who currently occupied the cubicle. The map directed me to crawl under to the second to last cubicle, and move to the next line. So eight more cubicles to go.

Cubicle two above me was really clean, and smelled faintly of bleach. The third had six plush dolls that looked like younger ministry mares. The fourth also had six plush dolls, but they were all Rainbow Dash. By the fifth I stopped looking, and carried on, where I almost kicked a bullet under the seventh. Annoyed, I looked up to see the pony at the cubicles polishing a gun, not the standard enforcer revolver, but a orange and black striped 10mm pistol. She had several other pistols of different models, each painted like exotic animal is in the old history books. Carefully avoiding the lost bullets under this cubicles, I pushed on, focusing on cubicle nine… and almost regretted it. The smell being the first thing that struck me, I looked up to see that the mare in the cubicle was masturbating, with several sextoys inside her. She was focused on one of her screens, were two ponies were getting it on. She had large earphones on, playing music so loud that even I could faintly hear it as she worked on herself.

I was to cross to the next row of cubicles, putting me at risk of being seen. There was a bit of the trench that stuck out to the side, likely for easy access for a pony to get in, and for me, to get out. Carefully once again, I crawled, ignoring the quiet moans coming from the mare above me, as well as the sticky floor under me.

“I see you!” I froze as one of the spritebots floated above me. “You have been consistently working for three weeks now, you deserve a reward for your dedication! Let's have a party!”

The mare in the cubicle above me glanced at the spritebot, sighed, and returned her attention to the screen.

“Ahh, you still have more work to do! Then carry on, the fate of Equestria is in your capable hooves!” The floating ball of a robot then drifted away in a bouncing motion.

With the way clear, and no spritebots coming this way, I made my move and lifted the grate next to the cubicle. Pulling myself out, I silently closed the grate and creeped to the next row of cubicles. The cubicle in front of me was blocked off with a sheet, making it all the more easy to sneak under.

*Clang!*

In my rush, I slipped, and the grate closed slipped from my cold after I went under.

“What was that?” a pony spoke up, their hoofsteps quickly coming my way. Backing up, I hid under the cubicle, it's sheet providing me extra cover. “Damnit, didn't I tell you to alt least keep this sheet open when working.” The sheet was thrown open, the pony on the outside was a gruff looking annoyed trooper. Inside, now that light was allowed in, revealed an albino mare, in a black dress with dark red frills, a style she shared with the rest of the inside of the cubicle… it reminded me of a phase I want through as a teen, but with more cloths, not less.

“Knock that shit off.” The mare hissed at the trooper before pouting. “It's giving me a migraine, the damned screens alone give me a headache, so cut me a break.”

The trooper sighed, “I get it, you don't like the light, and the high alert Orthrus is on has all of you stressed, but please just bear with it. Here, let me get you a new blood packet, yours is looking low.” The trooper trotted off.

Scanning the cubicle closer, I noticed that she had an IV drip attached to her, providing her with blood. Then we made eye contact, she looking down at me with red eyes that seemed to glow, her mouth agape, with what looked like two large fangs inside. Her red eyes seemed to glow, and she seemed to have two fangs. We stayed at each other for a few seconds, I sensing a familiar faint cold magic from her, then she went crossed eyed, and she looked away, shaking her head. I quickly shuffled back, out of sight.

“Nothing’s there… nothing. Get a grip on yourself, girl.” She said with a huff. “All this damned work is making me see things...”

I only needed to pass under two more cubicles, then get to the adjacent row before I needed to come out from under the grates again. The next cubicle had pristine white mugs stacked all over it, and the biggest cappuccino machine I had ever seen. The next was another mostly clean cubicle, though, I was a bit weirded out by the ten metronomes the pony had, rocking all in perfect unison. Here I was able to pass under to the next row of cubicles, and l get ready to surface.

I stepped in some fungus and mold, and before I could ask why it was here, something made a wet slap above me. An overweight pony had dropped a greasy looking greenwrap onto the grating, and was now reaching down to grab it will keeping their eyes on the screen. I had to bite my tongue keep myself from retching, as the grating above had grease and food drums stuck all over it. The fat pony continued to try and recover.. his… her… its food, and so not to have another close call, I used my magic to lift the greenwrap. Ugh, I could feel the greasiness through my flame magic. Oddly enough, the pony dextrally took hold of the greenwrap, that now had the grate grease on it, and lifted it up, immediately taking a bite out of it.

After seeing all of this, I was starting to get a bit worried that some of the highest paid regulars in Orthrus were fucked in the head. But then again, if your job was to spy on ponies all day, you can't be a totally sane individual.

Waiting for another spritebot to pass by, I got ready to surface again. This bot was humming a song that made me want to smile for a second, but the moment passed, and I focused myself once more. This time went smoother than the last, and I had crept halfway down the cubicles before going back under, which left me exposed for even longer. Once the spritebot had gotten far enough away I crept out again, and began crawling to the other side.

It went well with no pony seeing me, and now I had to move another four cubicles down. I took care to check the cubicles first of course. Both of the first two had ponies focused on their job, same as most of the others had been. One was naked for some reason, and the other had bundles of garlic all over her cubicle walls along with a few symbols of Celestia hanging about.

“Time to piss!” The pony in the next cubicle said as she stepped out. I hugged the wall, out in the open as this here quickly scanned the room, with a mug of coffee floating next to her. Her eyes scanned over me, but then she yawned, and trotted off.

Waiting for the pony to pass, I saw a spritebot turn the corner, and start heading my way. Jumping into the now open cubicle, I found myself surrounded by cartoon art of ponies that covered the walls. Waiting for the bot to pass, I couldn't help but take a closer look, only to find that the cartoons were not ponies, just pony looking animals, and with their genitals exposed. Dogs and cat ponies were the most prevalent, and the majority of them sported neon colors, as though some pony barfed a rave on them. The more I looked, the more erotic art I saw, some consisting of a few extreme fetishes. The cherry on top of this sunday was a photo of a mare in a latex cat costume, with two other ponies in similar outfits. One I recognized as the masturbating mare from earlyer, dressed up as a dog, and ballgagged. The third pony, though in a dog costume, somehow seemed normal, but with a slight annoyed look on her face.

I left as soon as the spritebot had passed, and didn't even check and see if the cost was clear, getting under the cubicles like some monster returning to the dark. Luckily I managed to not get anypony’s attention, and this was the last batch of cubicles I had to pass under.

Fortunately nothing but a few cables were in my way, and I was done looking into other ponies personal space, so I crawled to the end of the trench. Here I simply had to survive for a moment before going under again, and passing next to the baked bad marker on the map. Once more I waited for a spritebot to pass, their pattern now becoming predictable enough, but no less dangerous if I slip up.

Entering the new trench, I was in what was clearly a drainage trench, likely the same purpose as the others, but with far less cables obstructing my path, and more slime. Moving along, I got a better look at the break room and the briefcase guarded by the three ponies. It was an armored case with a shiny stainless steel finish, but thinking about it, too obvious as something important, like Orthrus wanted it to be taken.

I knew that no pony knew I was coming, so this was likely a trap for Republic troops if they ever infiltrate this place. That was at least a guess, but after seeing a little of this place, I had no doubt that this was their contingency plan. With how important their reputation was, blowing this tunnel was less of a loss then having this place found and revealed to the rest of the islands.

“I know tensions are high, but does that specter need to be such a bitch about it?” One of the three mares in the breakroom spoke up.

“Be quiet dumbass, last thing we need is to piss off the council. Just let the Specter do her thing, and bight your tongue.” The second regular commented.

The third mare huffed. “You don't have to say that again, we all know they have a licence to kill any pony they don't like.” She shook her head. “Personally, getting triple the pay to guard a poison bomb is well worth the annoyance. Not like the damned republicans can get in here without triggering a war, so just relax.”

The first mare sighed. “I know, but don't you got a bad feeling about all this?”

“A bit.” The third pony said. “But look on the bright side, I got myself a date with that albino mare, she likes that I'm an O+.”

The second mare sipped on her drink. “Were going to war soon, no way around it. All we’re waiting for is for somepony to make the first move.” She sipped her drink again. “Personally, I don't know why we tolerate all their mocary, their just begging for us to kick their flanks. I mean, If we made the first move, no way they would be able to organize in time to stop us.”

I rolled my eyes at how little they knew. Though, I did agree that a preemptive first strike was the best option for destroying the Republic. But I also knew that the C.C.N. would give the Republic the ability to mount a strong defence faster than any pony should, and that they would defend the line with a suicidal dedication. What was truly needed was to break their unity, to kill the brain of the operation.

Moving along was much easier without the cables in the way, giving me a straight shot to my goal, but I still had to be careful to not slip on the slime that covered this trench. The broom closet was just farther in, only to find myself looking at one of those blast doors Stable-Tec used, forcing me to ponder on how dumb this looked. My best guess was a misdirection in the blueprints or something, keep outside ponies guessing on what was built here, as the old ministries were known for their secrets. Now the big problem was trying to not draw too much attention to myself when opening the door, with how the ponies on guard were definitely going to hear it open, and likely investigate.

Swallowing my own sense of caution, I lifted the grate with my magic flame, and with my other, I pressed the button to open the door. Quickly hiding back down under the grate, I waited to see what happened.

“You hear that?” one of them spoke up and trotted over. The trooper looked around, her disguised as a maintenance pony not fooling me, as no simple Orthrus regular was ever given advanced weapons like that. She scanned the area, her eyes slowly lowering as I backed away.

“See anything?” One of the other troopers yelled out.

The Trooper here me frowned. “No, just another glitch. I swear this place is fucking with us.”

“Well, Pinky Pie is watching you.” The other trooper replica.

“Ya, and I wish she just fuck off already.” The nearby trooper huffed, trotting away, not closing the door.

As I waited for the mare to get further away, I looked down at the strangely useful map, with far to covenant instructions. It instructing me to close the door behind me once inside, and be ready for a surprise party… I didn't like that last part. Feeling confident, I left my hiding spot and entered the broom closet to take the cake.

Said broom closet ended up, unsprisinly, to not be a broom closet, but an administrators room, built much like an overmares office. On the desk was an armored suitcase, just like the one the three fake maintenance ponies were guarding. “I guess the cake was a lie, but even so, I'll take this.” I said with a sigh as I trotted over to the case.

Looking at the case, I found it had an electronic lock on it, a kind I didn't know how to remove. From the design of it, it would probably self destruct if tampered with. Looking around, I saw a card with the Orthrus symbols on the desk. Disturbingly, the cart itself had a few specks of blood on it.

I pushed the case to the side, and looked over the desk. Everything seemed to slow as I saw the body of a specter behind the desk, her throat slit, and a pool of blood under her. My mind ran a mile a minute, both confused and surprised. But the feeling of something on my neck, a thread, made me realize what had happened.

Pulled back, the thread constructed around my throat. Luckily, I didn't need to breath, and with how my head did not connect with my body, the thread only squeezed in on my sarf, and the knives contained inside. It all making me annoyed at the worst.

“I don't know who you are, but for the Republic, you must die.” A mare whispered, her voice sounding way too familiar. “I am very sorry”

Not having the time to fuck around, I turned my head all the way around backwards to see this equalist mare. She was a dark bluish purple mare with a pink mane, and red cyber eyes… it was Clarinet Reed!

Clarinet, fell back in surprise. The thread she was trying to strangle me with now pulled back, and knocked off my head, forcing me to use my magic to catch my head before it hit the ground.

“S… so, Orthrus has their own cyber soldiers then.” She squealed out as she lifted her hoof, and a small hole opened up in frog of it, followed by two quiet puffs of air.

I felt a pain in my chest. Turning my head to look at my body, two darts were lodged in my chest. This caused me to sigh as I felt some pain, and a slight burning sensation that was likely some sort of poison, but nothing that made me feel that I was in danger. Channeling for my two flames, I pull out the darts, letting them fall to the floor. Feeling depressed about the situation, I turned my head to look at Clarinet, she likely a fully cybernetic reaver now.

Clarinet looked at my head in shock, aiming her other hoof at it, but my body responded quickly. I stomped down my iron hoof, blocking the two darts from hitting my face.

“Capitalist scum!” She whispered harshly at me.

Using my magic flames, I lifted my head back up and over my neck, letting it hover. It was a gamble, but I needed to know how blown my cover was, while not giving myself away. Narrowing my eyes at her, I spoke carefully and purposely as I lifted my gassmask.

“Calm comrad, are you not connected to the C.C.N?”

She tilted her head with a cocked eyebrow. “Why do you ask… Comrad?”

I adjusted my scarf, having it a bit more loose, and a bit easier to access my knives. “The hounds know of it and how it's used, meaning you could be compromised. Blaster Beam wants you disposed if that’s the case.” I bullshitted in hopes to get her guard down.

She seemed to relax, putting a hoof down. “N… no, this place is blocking my signal, is it for you?”

I didn't let myself relax, but this did confirm that I was in the clear, that Phobetor hadn’t spotted me yet. Now the problem was how to deal with Clarinet, which only made me feel even more depressed. “Yes, but that's fortune for you, as I have a countermeasure system for you to install. It will prevent the capitalist from using the C.C.N. agents us.”

I just needed her close, make it quick and painless. It’s the best I could do for her. Clarinet was a sweet mare, and though I don't know why they’d turned her into a reaver, but I can't let her live after seeing me and my magic. It just felt like a shame it had to end up this way.

She sighed, and stepped towards me. “Yes, we cannot let them harm the people more than they already have. Thanks comrade.” As she got in close, I readied two knives. Though small, they could still be able to cut into her spinal cord, after which I’ll finish her off.

She stopped a few footsteps away, intently staring at something on my face. A long thin blade sprung from her hoof with a clang, it sparking with electricity. She charged.

“You think me an idiot, traitor!” She growled. I just barely dodged the swing she aimed at my face. Stepping to the side, I slashed with my two knives, but she quickly knocked them away with her blade. “Was it all lies? Did you just use me to get in the Republic, Catbell?”

Great, she knew. “What gave it away, Clarinet?”

She pointed to her lip. “You still have that scar, and your stripes are in the right place.” Then she became blurt, slowly vanishing until she became invisible. “I helped show you what made the Republic great, then you assassinated our leader. Why?”

I pulled out two more knives, unsure where she was now, but ready to fight. “I doubt you would believe me even if I spoke the truth. Actually, no, I know you won't.” I shook my head. “As part of the C.C.N., you're nothing more than a puppet.”

“I'm not the one slaving for a few bits, under the control of capitalist boars” She growled back.

“Right, then the truth… it was all an accident…” Something then clicked in my mind, and it all fell into place, causing me to laugh. “No, now that I think about it, it couldn’t have been. It had to be a setup. My job was to send a message through the radio tower, an in and out thing. Then the place blew up, and the pirates so conveniently already there...”

A glass bottle on the floor behind me clinked, and I jumped to the side just as a spark cracked on the floor. “Nonsense, you’d better start making sense Catbell!”

I chuckled under my breath. “Sorry, but the more I tell the truth, the more madness this will sound to you. But I will say this; I was no spy. I was just the wrong mare in the wrong place, and I had to lie to survive. Just like myself, you are just a victim of powers greater than ourselves.”

Another glass bottle clinked, and I jumped out of the way, but no strike came, just silence and… A wave of electricity jolted through me as something hit my side. It was a feint attack, and I fell into it, giving Clarinet the opportunity to strike. My body fell over, stunned by the blade, causing my head to roll until it hit something. That something was unfortunately Clarinet..

She retracted her blade and picked up my head, looking me in the eyes. “You know that the capitalists manipulate you, yet you let them. Why? What do you get out of it?”

I sighed, she clearly just as brainwashed as before. But the saddest part was that she wasn’t entirely wrong, just that how much she could see was very narrow. Orthrus was manipulating as much as they could. Fuck, starting this war was going to be a huge benefit to them, it could just never be officially tied to them.

“I have my own interests, that is true. And Orthrus share similar goals with me.” And now, for the madness. “But if you really want to know the truth, the Republic has been taken over by an ancient nightmare, and I'd been tasked by a grim reaper to kill her before she gets too powerful.”

Clarinet frozen for a few seconds before pulling her electro blade from her hoof. “You read too many books.”

“I wish that was my problem.” I said with a smile, which quickly became a grimace. “I'm sorry, but I'm going to take that bomb, start a war to draw out that nightmare, and blow her back to Tartarus. Lots of ponies will die, both Orthrus and the Republic.”

“Then you must die.” She pulled back her blade, getting ready to swing it on my head, all as tears poured from her eyes. “For the good of everypony, you must…”

I froze her in place with my evil eyes, sending the feeling of helplessness and fear at her. This gave my body the time to get up, and trot over, grabbing her blade hoof, then pulling. Clarinet dropped me as my body pulled her leg from its socket. Cable's and white fluid gushed out of her, like she was some robot that was pretending to be a pony. She didn't make a sound, not even a whimper as she fell over.

Putting my head back between my shoulders, I looked down at Clarinet as she struggled to get back up. Using her own blade, still attached to her leg, I plunged it into her chest, causing her to spasm as it released the rest of its charge.

“I could have made it quick and easy for you, as painless as possible. I didn’t want this, Clarinet.” I growled, feeling frustrated that this even had to happen. “Why does everypony have to fight? Why can't I just do what needs to be done without having to cause even more suffering?”

“We all want to live.” Clarinet coughed, milky white fluid coming out her mouth, nose and eyes. I watched as she struggled to get back up, the white fluid pooling on the floor under her. “What's so wrong with that?”

“I'm trying to save lives, so many lives you can’t even imagine. Please, stop struggling to live, stop making this…” I was stopped by a weak kiss, Clarinet lightly touching her muzzle with mine.

“All for the greater good, I can understand that.” She pulled back and smiled. “But if you really want to help, then join us. All you have to loose is your chains.”

I smiled back. “Sorry, but the chains that bind me are not my own, and to loose them now would be to die.”

Clarinet nodded. “Then that's a shame.” I nodded back, and pulled her blade out from her side, and with my magic, I swung it as hard as I could muster. Her own head separated from her neck, spraying white fluids all over before hitting the ground. She was still smiling, as though released from a curse, or more likely, just trying to make me not feel so bad.

I fucking hate this. That there is no fix everything button, that we were left to rot in this shitty world. A world where nightmares schemed, and so many had to suffer so needlessly.

With everything now calm, I wiped the fluid off my face, collected my knives, and trotted over to the case to find that it had an electronic lock keeping it shut. Looking behind the desk, where the dead specter was, I looked in the drawer to mostly find useless junk, and a revolver that I left alone. Turning my attention to the specter, I checked her pockets and found a key card; it looked like an ID with a faded photo of a mare on it,the name tag had long ago peeled off.

Using the ID key card to open the case, inside was a large and brightly glowing orb connected to half a pipbuck. Cable's were run everywhere inside the small container, with two switches sticking out between the orb and pipbuck. The pipbuck screen stated ‘solar flair ordinance unarmed’, and below that, sat an inactive timer.

Closing the case, I put it on my back, and trotted to the door. Looking at the map one more time, It had no instructions on what to do next. With a sigh, I put the map away and opened the door. Quickly I made my way back under the grating, feeling that I just needed to get out fast, but not loud just yet.

Crawling past the break room, I saw the three ponies on guard were fighting over who was going to check the room, meaning I had some time before shit hit the fan. So back into the terminals room, I climbed out, and looked for where to go next.

“Hi!” Aa high pitch robot spoke up behind me, making my blood run cold. Turning, I saw a pink spritebot looking back at me. A few seconds passed by before it made a ding sound. “Oh, miss director, almost didn't sense your ID Card there! You do know you must keep it displayed on you at all times, otherwise the securitron might think your a spy.” I took out the ID key card, and pinned it to my jumpsuit. “Ah good. Always remember, safety first! But now that I’m thinking about it... you don't seem to look like the director...” I quickly hurried passed the spritebot, and around a corner so to break its line of sight. “Huh, I might need maintenance! Oh well, off I go!”

With the ID on display, I made my way to the other exit, not wanting to go back the way I came. I did run into two more spritebots, but trotting passed them as fast as I could, they didn't have the time to pin me as an intruder, making it easy to get out. Even the blast doors opened for me as I approached, keeping me from having to waste time forcing them open. Now I had one more door, and a guard to get passed, easy enough. Slowly opening the door, it wasn’t locked on my side, and the trooper on the other side was unaware of me.

The alarms blared, and the trooper jumped up, rifle ready. Quickly, she turned herself around. She looked at me in confusion, and had to rub her eyes for a second before glaring at me.

“You!” before she could say another word, I threw a knife into her throat, causing her to stumble back in shock.

Trotting over, I pulled the knife out. Blood spurt from her neck, indicating that I’d hit an artery. The mare was going to die if she didn't get immediate help, and sadly, I had other things to do. Turning down the tunnel, I had a long way to go, and no way to catch a ride. Looking back at the dieing mare, she had her hooves pinned to her neck, uselessly trying to stop the blood from leaving her.

“Death comes to us all,” I sighed and told her, “just embrace it. Then, there's nothing to fear.”

Turning back to the way ahead, I picked up my hooves and got moving.

“Yes, death comes for every pony, be it the simple, or a mad nightmare.” I said to myself before turning back down the tunnel, and braking into a gallop. “And me. One day, it’ll all be over, and I can finally be done with everything.”

_______________________________________________

Footnote:

Quest item obtained: megaspell bomb. (The tool that ended the old world is now at your hooves, how you use it is up to you alone.)