A quick flash of gold enveloped Lyra and her new pet project, a low hum could be heard seconds later as she looked around for the source. She removed the tiny, vibrating screwdriver from behind her toolbox before returning it to its normal size and tightening the latest screw.

“Ah, so you are a proper unicorn after all!” Trixie teased “And here Trixie believed you’d forgotten that you even had a horn!”

“I use telekinetic magic all the time Trixie, you’ve seen it” Lyra answered flatly “practically required for some of the delicate parts I use.”

“Yes, but that would have to be the first proper Spell Trixie has seen you use,” Trixie countered “Always relying on your little toys instead.”

“Not every unicorn is a master mage Trixie, if they were you’d be out of a job” Maze intervened.

“Trixie is well aware not eveypony can be as great and powerful as herself” Trixie stated proudly before continuing with her training. It always impressed Maze just how much effort Trixie actually put into her craft. She wasn’t just milking a bit of natural talent; she worked hard to improve herself. She had a reason to be proud, maybe not as proud as she always boasted, but still.

“You don’t think they’ll just blow it up and you’ll have to make a new one?” Maze asked the engineer about the unassuming box.

“Most of the vital components are reinforced and the rest gets constructed by nano magic; as long as I have magic to feed it, it should be fine. And since I’m such an inadequate unicorn I’ll have magic to burn, right?” Lyra explained, the last part said pointedly at Trixie.

“Trixie was only teasing,” the magician countered “She actually finds your ability quite encouraging; she has encountered far too many unicorn with less magical ability than even that diamond dog of… mr…!”

Both Trixie’s and Maze’s pupils shrunk to pin pricks as the they stared at each other in terrible realization.

“WE NEVER GOT PAID!” the pair shouted in unison before slumping dramatically. Lyra just rolled her eyes and continued her work, having realized that truth long ago. She was just glad they got everyone out of there alive.

“Oi! Start packing up, the captain says we’re getting ready to dock!” The trio heard Crystal shout as she and Wolf were carrying some large crates up from below deck, the telltale click of glass hinting at their contents.

“Did they only just realize you never received your payment?” Wolf inquired regarding the pair's stupor, earning a shrug and a nod from the aquamarine mare.

“Enough lamenting!” Trixie suddenly brightened, a new fire of determination in her eyes “Tis’ merely proof that we must redouble our efforts this day!”

Trixie ran to the edge of the deck and leapt to climb her wagon already prepped to disembark, tripping as she reached the top but quickly regaining herself.

“THE SHOW MUST GO ON!” She shouted striking a heroic pose. Maze cheered a confirmation as the rest just ignored her, used to the theatrics by now.

“Let’s just hope this little show today doesn’t get us all caught…” Crystal muttered.

Celestia stood upon the docks, watching as the changeling ship docked; it was the last one from Baltimare that the guards hadn’t been able to search. With the ship secured and the boarding planks down she unclipped the handset from her belt, a burst of static crying out before she spoke.

“Harbor unit, begin the screening” She ordered simply, a static response answering to the affirmative. She sighed as she returned the boxy radio to her belt, wishing codecs were more prevalent and easier to make standard issue. They were just too difficult to configure per pony; as it stood only she, her sister, the elements, a few high ranking guardponies and certain wealthy ponies had them.

“Harbor unit reporting, all clear” the radio crackled. Celestia scowled at the report; she was sure Maze must have stowed away. Even Maze couldn’t have evaded the multitude of border spells and guard patrols saturating the coastal city and its surrounding areas without some kind of alert.

“Princess!” A pegasus guard shouted as he landed nearby “There’s a large disturbance on the south side of the city!”

Celestia nodded and took flight with the guard, heading towards the commotion and...

“Fireworks?”

“Behold one and all, The GREAT AND POWERFUL TRRRRRIXIE!” The showmare bellowed, rolling her ‘R’ as the dancing lights and fire erupted into the sky around her and the crowd cheered. The fireworks rained down upon the park, though instead of the trees and spectators catching ablaze, the sparks and embers popped and fizzled in impressive displays of alchemy.

Maze watched as Lyra ran back and forth behind the curtain adjusting valves and lights as Trixie continued the show, having been charged with the technical side of things. Crystal gave her a little wave as she donned the disguise of a yellow pegasus before leaving to blend into the crowd for her part. After a short while of the ‘ooos' and 'ahhs’ of the audience, Maze donned that last part of her costume, glancing up to see Wolf’s tail lazily wagging through the branches above the stage.

‘Good, still no problems then’ Maze thought contently before she heard her cue from Trixie 'Well, here goes nothing.'

“And as a special treat, it’s not just the amazing feats of Trixie you will witness today Mares and Gentlecolts, No! Trixie has prepared a show of physical greatness and skill for you as well!” Trixie teased the audience “But first Trixie will need a volunteer!”

The crowd exploded into raised hands and calls, several jumping up and down at the chance to join the magician on stage. Trixie scanned the mass of ponies with a shrewd smile before picking out the familiar shape, pointing out their plant.

“You there! The pegasus with the green mane and yellow coat! Trixie chooses you!” Trixie called, the disguised changeling faking excitement with impressive skill as she ran up to the stage. Trixie helped strap their volunteer in to a large round plank suspended just slightly off the stage.

“Now Mares and Gentlecolts, with our volunteer in place Trixie must introduce you! All the way from the harsh sands of Mexicolt, the master of blades and bullets-” Maze stepped out from behind the curtain, enshrouded in a large poncho, masked under a huge, matching hat and absolutely covered in bandoleers and throwing knives

“La Mariachi Misterioso!”

“~The Super-Duper Party Pony! That Pony Is Me!~”

Celestia watched as an earth pony with a curly brown mane and a rubber chicken zipped about, having somehow turned four entire city blocks into one massive celebration. Fireworks exploded above her every few moments and a seemingly limitless amount of confetti drifted through the air around them.

“This guy could give Pinkie Pie a run for her element…” Celestia muttered, sighing at the false alarm.

“Princess, we’ve received reports of strangers selling suspicious goods in the park to the north!” her radio crackled again, Celestia trying not to get her hopes up as she sprinted in the direction of the call.

“Yes Mares and Gentlecolts! From potions to plushies to personal protection; Trixie has a wide variety of personally certified goods you didn’t even know you needed!” Trixie boasted as the table unfurled before her; several trinkets, colorful bottles and even a few stuffed Trixie dolls lay upon the blue cloth. “But you don’t have to take just the Great and Honest Trixie’s word for it! Perhaps a demonstration is in order? You there! How you like to cast some magic?!”

"Me?! but ah don’t have no horn, ah can't cast any magic” a shy looking earth pony with tan coat replied, fiddling with her blonde braid.

“You can now!” Trixie announced as she dragged the blushing mare behind the table “With but a swig you will be able to cast all kinds of magic, maybe not as great as the powerful Trixie, but easily surprise your unicorn friends!”

“BULLSHIT!” A voice cried out, a maroon mare with a vivid burgundy mare stepped forward “Probably nothing more than a simple telekinetic potion! You can get one of those for half the price at a convenience store, let alone an apothecary!”

A murmur ran through the crowd, their blind faith in Trixie now shaken. Trixie scowled at the maroon naysayer before she pushed the small cup to the shy mare’s lips. As soon as she drank the shot of potion, a glowing blue stick flew at the mare like a javelin. The mare shrieked and threw her arms up when the twig suddenly exploded in a puff of tan smoke, a faint glow of matching color could be seen in the mare’s eyes as she lowered her arms

“D-did... Did Ah do that!?” she asked in disbelief.

“Of course! The great and powerful Trixie would never allow her name placed on a shoddy product!” Trixie confirmed, a small but exited smile forming on the tan pony’s lips.

“And how do we know she isn’t a plant?!” The burgundy maned critic demanded, several other spectators calling for proof as well. The tan mare looked confused and a little frightened as Trixie merely filled a row of shot glasses with the potion, smiling triumphantly at the gathered customers.

“Try me.”

Celestia watched as the guard fruitlessly interrogated the pair of red maned snake oil sellers in front of their strange automobile. She picked up one of the ‘miracle tonics’ the brothers were selling, looking over the ingredients; it was basically vitamin water. The results were nothing more than a vitamin boost mixed with the placebo effect, dishonest certainly but not exactly illegal.

She placed the bottle back down as the guard began to come to the same conclusion; with the tonic not being a legal concern and cider, along with some flimsy nick-knacks the only other things they were selling, they would be forced to let them go. Celestia still gave the pair a look of scathing disapproval though; causing them to quickly excuse themselves.

‘By the creators Maisie! You were supposed to have come to Fillydalphia! SO WHERE THE BUCK ARE YOU!?’

“This is Adorable!” Maze squealed as she snuggled one of the Trixie plushies “Thank you Wolf!”

“I recalled you enjoy soft and ‘cute’ things and I have little else to purchase with my share. You are welcome though” Wolf replied flatly. He had insisted on still paying Trixie for the doll because of the effort she had put in to making them.

“This is one bitch’n haul! I didn’t think you took in nearly this much Trix” Cyrstal admitted as they continued counting their newly earned bits as they waited for room service “granted my recipes reduced the cost of the potions but still…”

“You doubt the draw of the great and powerful Trixie?! Ponies know quality when they see it!” Trixie boasted before allowing a crack of humility to seep through “…not that the new variety wasn’t a welcome addition. Trixie always does well but even she must admit; bringing in this much would have been a challenge on her own.”

“So you weren’t the blonde then?” Lyra asked Crystal curiously.

“Oh no, most changelings know better than to pose as an Apple; some don’t even pose as earth ponies on the off chance they’d still look like one” Crystal confirmed “There's always the risk that one of them will blow your cover, and damn near half of all earth ponies are part of that damn family.”

“Well, casual racism aside” Lyra continued with a small chuckle “Why did you challenge the product then? That earth pony did perform magic, ponies would have seen it works.”

“It’s one thing to show that something works, it’s quite another to show that it can stand up to a challenge” Trixie explained “The first makes them believe in the product, have them tell others that it works; the latter makes them believe in the seller and have them defending them if it doesn’t work. Little tidbit Trixie figured out after she started performing.”

“I am relieved the guard did not cause us conflict” Wolf added.

“Yeah, I guess we really didn’t need you on watch huh?” Lyra admitted “Still, better safe than sorry in our situation. You sure you don’t want a bigger cut though? You still played your part.”

“What I took is more than enough; I require very little in the way of material goods or energy input. I am sure the remainder of my cut will be put to good use in furthering our journey” Wolf replied “If I require more for any unforeseen event, we seemed to have procured much more money than needed already.”

“It helps that we’re in one of the most expensive cities in Equestria” Maze added, still hugging the doll but quickly diving into the bathroom as room service arrived with their food. She cautiously came back out when they left, hoping they didn’t catch sight of her when Trixie finally responded.

“But of course! This is where the real money is! To Manehatten!” she toasted, raising her glass. The rest followed suit, even Wolf with an empty glass.

“To MANEHATTEN!”

“Well I’ll be damned, those blow-hards were right; they did just skip Filly and head straight here” the female said as she looked through her scope at the celebrating group “I can still take her out right now you know.”

“No, we need her alive. That means we follow the plan; you retrieve the package and deal with the cyborg when she’s drawn to the commotion” the shadowy figure instructed “She must be captured though. We still don’t know how she accesses or even stores the remaining data we need.”

“Yeah, yeah…” the female relented “Wouldn’t be as fun anyway… you did just say alive right? Not one piece?”

“Do what you must to disable her, she can survive much worse than most opponents; just don’t kill her” the shadow elaborated, hesitating before adding “And don’t let her kill you, we’ve lost enough assets to this cyborg.”

“Sweet of you to care so much” the female replied, sarcasm dripping from her words “And you should know better; no one can touch Lady Luck.”

“We will see” the figure concluded before simply vanishing from sight.

“I really wish he would just use standard communication…” she muttered.

“You didn’t tell me you guys had cars like this!” Maze exclaimed as several oddly configured but more modern looking automobiles flew past Trixie’s comparatively less impressive wagon “I thought it was just those old jalopies we've run across. Why the hell does everyone still use wagons then?!”

“We haven't been many places really designed for them or stayed long in those that were. Besides, they’re expensive and hard to maintain,” Lyra explained calmly “There also the issue that the military has most of the manufacturers busy building almost exclusively for them lately.”

“Still, we could have just stolen one or something! There would have been so much less walking!” Maze complained.

“Trixie has been considering converting her wagon for some time now; she could easily keep one with a magical fuel source charged but she has lacked the funds or mechanical know how to maintain one” The magician answered plainly.

“I could probably design you something simple enough, heck most of it would just need periodic mending spells. Anything big you’d still need to get fixed professionally but yeah,” Lyra told the magician “It’s what I’m doing with my motorcycle.”

“You have a motorcycle!?” Maze exclaimed “What the hell Ly!?”

“What? You never asked. I’m still rebuilding it anyway, it’s what was under that tarp in my workshop” Lyra replied nonchalantly as they parked the wagon in a side alley and walked to the courtyard of one of the city’s tallest buildings “And here we are! World Marshal incorporated: The largest independent research and manufacturing company of nano magic, IGs and cybernetics on the continent.”

“It’s also head of one of the top ranked PMCs in the world” Crystal added in an irritated tone “We’ve been trying to get operatives inside for a while now, with only minor success; if the ones behind the experimentation aren’t hiding behind the government than WM is our best bet.”

“Wait, World Marshal?!” Maze asked slightly shocked.

“Yeah… Why, something wrong?” Lyra asked confused.

“Well um… no, just… a weird coincidence I guess” Maze stuttered before clearing her throat and redirecting her focus “So I’m guessing we’re here to take a more direct approach?”

“Not the violent kind of that’s what you’re asking,” Crystal clarified “Like I said we’ve had minor success but the real records require too high of clearance for our plants to gain access to. They can get us close enough to get it ourselves though… assuming we can get in and out quietly enough.”

“We’ll take the tour today; I’ve done some freelance work for them in the past so I’m sure I can arrange something. Trixie, Crystal and myself will scope out everything we can from inside while you two see what you can gleam about the security from out here” Lyra stated “Sorry, but you aren’t exactly the most unassuming pair.”

“A surprising amount of intelligence can still be gleamed from even limited reconnaissance. I am just glad we are actually going to devise a strategy beforehand” Wolf replied “Our methods of late have been exceptionally overt and this would not be a situation where ‘going in guns blazing’ would be wise.”

“Yeah, it would be nice to do some actual stealth again. Everything's been all explosions and sword fights sine we left Ponyville,” Maze agreed, about to continue when as if on cue-

*BOOM*

“Well, that’s a bit of a hiccup in the plan isn’t?” Lyra asked calmly after the front of the building exploded outward, showering the courtyard in smoke and debris.

The group withdrew from the courtyard as four large, bipedal shapes rolled out from the dust surrounding a single lone figure at their center. A chocolate brown earth pony with a curly, bright blonde mane strode out confidently hefting a massive rail gun, completely unconcerned with the gathering security and guard forces converging on her and her escorts. She stopped and stood, almost amused as she allowed them to surround her and the towering, bipedal tanks; their rifles and mounted guns atop armored vehicles all aimed squarely at her.

“Grads” Maze muttered, recognizing the transforming IGs as the group peered around the edge of a nearby alley.

“You are surrounded!” one guard stallions announced, both the guard and WM security forces in prime tactical position “Relinquish what you have stolen and surrender immediately or we will open fire!”

“And here I thought you were going to threaten me” the mare cooed and brought the massive firearm to bear, the first round brutally bisecting an APC as if it were paper mache.

“OPEN FIRE!” the entire remaining force began to empty their clips at the mare, her mechanical escorts quickly converting to their ‘bunker mode’ as rounds pinged uselessly off their heavy armor.

The mare laughed as yet a single round had even come near her, the guards agape as their bullets looked to literally veer away once they neared their target. Seeing as their rifles were doing little good a few unicorns in the group unleashed magical beams at her only for those too to form near perfect arcs as they curved and bent harmlessly past their target.

“That’s no ordinary deflection field” Trixie told the rest as they watch the rail gun continue to tear holes through the gathered forces, the Grads now joining in to make quicker work of their opponents.

Most didn’t even notice when the music began to echo though the streets.

Maze burst from the alley in a beeline right at the mare, streaking straight past the hunkered down machines with ease. Enemies by circumstance or not, she wasn’t about to just let the defenders be slaughtered. She leapt at the mare who merely smirked up at her, her blade crashing to a halt just short of her prey.

“And there she is!” The mare announced as a large hammer materialized beneath the human's sword, a grunt heard as it swung out and threw her clear. Maze landed just in time to see the hammers wielder briefly appear before his stealth camouflage reasserted itself, a large minotaur in a very heavy exosuit. She caught a glimpse of at least two more distortions in the air before she had to dodge one of the Grads attempting to ram her.

“Berserkers, Grads and Fortune herself” Maze bantered as she tried to move to a more tactically sound position “All for little' ol’ me?”

“What can I say? My employer thinks you’re special” she replied with a shrug “Personally I'm not impressed, even if you did know my name without even a hint. I expected so much more, not some pink changeling with a sleeveless sneak suit and outdated hair.”

“Big words from someone in a leather leotard” Maze taunted, trying to buy more time for the guards to retreat as the Grads reverted to their bipedal forms “And those long thin parts of your jacket? Those are sleeves; they’re for your arms.”

“I expected better banter too” Fortune scoffed, hefting her massive rifle “You can die now.”

Maze barely leap out of the way as the round flew past her at blinding speed, receiving no respite as the Grads opened fire as well; machine guns, cannons and missiles all pressuring Maze as she was slowly driven back.

‘Lots of bullets! Lots of bullets! Lots of bullets!’ Maze thought frantically, feeling the micro shrapnel of the shattered rounds peppering her ‘Too many bullets! RAIL GUN!'

The magnetically accelerated slug smashed through a flash of violet light, its target vanishing only just in time. Maze reappeared to find a hammer careening straight at her face, watching it sail past as she bent backwards. Maze back flipped as the armored minotaur reversed his momentum trying to catch the cyborg on the return. The shaft rest on his shoulder as he wrenched down a section below the top, several parts of and around the hammer’s head shifting and snapping into place with the action.

“It turns into an AXE?!” Maze asked genuinely surprised as she dodged a down ward swing, preferring evasion over risking damaging her blade with parries “THAT IS SO COOL!”

She leapt on the shaft of the transforming weapon to deliver a knee to the minotaur’s face, sending the heavy soldier flying from the cyborg and his weapon. Maze’s minor victory was short lived as the Grads continued their overwhelming assault as several pops rang overhead, glowing metal shards and short pulses indicating the use of pulse chaff.

“So much for teleporting” Maze muttered, wishing she had her other sword to help deflect the wall of various death flying at her and shredding the streets behind. A sudden jolt of pain made her flinch, the wound from the zebra pirate’s rifle reopening under the stress. Even the momentary distraction was enough as she felt the rounds start to pierce her and one of the heavy cannon rounds glance her shoulder, knocking her back off her feet.

Maze’s pupils shrank to mere dots, seeing the curly maned pony in almost slow motion as she leveled her charging weapon. Her blood running cold at realization she was about to die, her typical easy going façade dropping as the fear set in.

A bright flash blinded her for a moment, forcing her eyes closed as she waited her fate. A loud shattering sound met her ears as she hit the pavement, blinking up at the sun wondering why she wasn’t dead.

“WHY THE BUCK DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO RUN OFF AHEAD!?” Trixie screamed back at her, a bright magical shield suspended before her hands defecting the lesser rounds with ease. Another rail slug slammed into the barrier, shattering on impact as Trixie slid back slightly but kept the shield intact.

“How did you teleport through the chaff?!” The rail gun wielder demanded as she continued firing at the blue glow, not understanding how it could withstand the assault.

“You expect the Great and Powerful Trixie to be deterred by those pathetic pop grenades?!” Trixie mocked haughtily behind her protection “A simple bypass for one as skilled as her!”

Fortune flinched as one of her minotaur guards deflected the rush attack of a large black Fenrir unit, only then seeing one of her Grads struggling with the tentacles of a changeling trying to rip it apart from atop its back. She started to take aim at the multi-limbed annoyance but stumbled as an explosion suddenly rocked another of the Grads, an aquamarine mare grinning at her as she fired another RPG, bisecting the gear.

‘Seriously, where the hell does she keep getting those?!’ Maze thought as she uneasily regained her footing, seeing the rail gun swing toward Lyra only for its wielder to stagger back covering her eyes against a blinding flash. Several more canisters launched from Lyra’s gauntlets as she sprinted toward one of the undamaged Grads, its AI confused by the unforeseen targets. Smoke shot from the canisters, covering the battle field and choking the unprepared adversaries as the Unicorn leapt on the IG, crawling up its defenseless back.

“Trixie cannot understand why eveypony is so obsessed with you when she is right here” Trixie complained as the remaining Grad crashed against her shield. She looked up in annoyance at the towering mech, snapping her fingers before her shield sent a torrent of electricity into the IG. “Seems like they set this all up just to counter your abilities… they must be mad if they think the same tricks would work on the one and only Trixie!”

The Grad rolled away, smoking but still functional as it prepared its guns. A heavy round suddenly tore through its armor from behind, followed by a pair of missiles knocking the Grad to the ground as they heard a short from the smoke.

“Rule number one when using assembly line IG!” Lyra called from the top of the other Grad as it came rolling out of the smoke and continued to fire on its former ally, a series of wires and cable spilling out of its ‘head’ and into Lyra’s gloves “Make sure you’re not fighting an engineer!”

Lyra yelped when the leg of her commandeered IG suddenly tore free from the rest of the mech, a rail slug flying from the smoke. Lyra topped from atop the mech and scrambled to get behind Trixie’s shield as more hypersonic rounds crashed around her.

“Rule number two! Don’t give away your position yelling like a fool!” Fortune mocked as she stepped from the smoke, glaring determinedly despite the tears running down her cheeks. She fired several more rounds against the blue barrier, cracks beginning to form against the relentless assault regardless of Trixie’s efforts.

“Forgetting someone?” Fortune heard behind her as the ground twisted up, a four tentacled figure seemingly made of the pavement standing behind her. One of the appendages lashed out at the mare; who just smirked in response as the limb halted and fell limp, the octocamo failing as it hit the ground.

“Not at all” She retorted to the confused changeling, swinging her rifle around to fire point blank when the dark blur of the fenrir knocked her target back into the smoke. She fired several rounds anyway but doubted she hit them “Hmmm…”

She stood looking around at the destroyed courtyard and street as the smoke finally cleared, giving an annoyed scoff at the sight of the last grad and minotaur guards on the ground not moving. She wasn’t surprised she couldn’t see the pair anywhere either, she did remember the file saying something about exceptional stealth skills; but she figured it was only referring to the cyborg.

“I always have to do everything myself” she muttered as she returned her attention to the trio behind the shield, knowing the tentacles and metal dog couldn’t get close to her. Trixie had restored the barrier but could focus on little else if she wanted it to hold.

“I can't keep this forever you two!” she urged the pair, the loss of her third person speech pressing the point as several more slugs shattered against the failing barrier.

“Can you keep her attention off me? That Grad still had some missiles in it” Lyra asked, earning a questioning look from the magician while Maze was still to winded from her injuries to really respond.

“Are you kidding?! Everything that gets close either veers off or shuts down!” Trixie berated the unicorn “We can’t even touch her!”

“Close is all we need…” She retorted, matching the magician’s stare. A sudden realization dawning on Trixie’s face as she gave a confident nod, Maze following suit as she stood straighter. A familiar red haze enveloped the cyborg as she spoke through her codex.

“Hear that you two? Distraction tactics on Lyra’s mark” Maze relayed as Lyra unhooked a smallish box from the small of her back, hurling it over the shield to clatter to the pavement a few paces from the hard to touch mare. She braced to sprint to her target, waiting only a moment until their chocolate colored adversary glanced curiously at the unassuming box.

“NOW!” She shouted as she rushed toward the fallen IG, Fortune snapping back to attention to adjust her aim. A sudden wave of magic distracted her as Trixie’s shield rushed toward her like a battering ram. A simple wave of her arm and the shield split before her, but served its purpose as Lyra slid behind the mech’s heavy armor.

“What are you hoping to achieve?! Nothing can touch Lady Luck!” she boasted as she tracked the sprinting cyborg, laughing at the pathetic peppering from Maze’s pistol “You could at least try something a little bigger, that’s just sad!”

“How’s this then?!” Crystal shouted from behind, hefting half of one of the destroyed APCs with her tentacles. The mass of twisted metal careened through the air until it practically shattered under the impact of the mare’s quick shots. Another wave of her hand and several knives clattered to the ground at her feet, Wolf sprinting past before her could get a bead on him.

The loud hiss of rocket propellant filled the courtyard as half a dozen missiles launched skyward from the commandeerd mech. Quickly righting their path they reared back toward the ground, pulling up to sail straight to their destination. The small box suddenly bounced into the air and a haze of nano magic danced across its surface as parts aligned and the whole landed as small turret, already firing at the villain from her side. The mare arched a skeptical eyebrow as both the bullets and missiles began to veer and tumble around her.

“It doesn’t matter how many angels you attack from little filly! You can’t touc-” Fortune froze mid rant, the rapid pings of bullets against metal sending a chill down her spine-

‘Clever Bitch!’ was all she could think before the missiles ruptured; fire, force and shrapnel slamming into the mare holding her massive rifle up in a futile attempt to shield herself. Her body flew from the fire and smoke, thrown free by the explosions. She landed in a heap, her weapon a pile of twisted slag next to her bleeding, unconscious form.

The group gathered around Lyra, still digging through the innards of the one legged Grad. Crystal looked over at the mare’s fallen form with a scowl as Trixie puffed her chest out triumphantly.

“Poor girl never stood a chance!” she announced.

“Yeah, you could almost say her luck ran out” Maze quipped with an entirely too proud smile “Rather Un-Fortune-ate break for her, eh? EH?”

The rest just groaned as Maze nudged Crystal over and over, eventually earning a shove and curse laden threats from the changeling.

The abrupt rattle of a machine gun fire forced them scrabbling for cover, a heavily armed chopper racing in between the buildings to hover over the fallen mare; the side gunner kept the suppressing fire going as several masked soldiers repelled down.

The group exchanged quick signals and braced to move when overwhelming sound and pressure assaulted their senses. The four females fell to the pavement clutching their heads, intense pain obvious on their faces.

“What is happening? I do not understand, I see no attacker” The girls could barely hear Wolf over the screaming in their heads, the mechanical hound sounding miles away. It was if something was tearing their brains apart from the inside out, disabling everything but their ability to feel pain. For an instant an image of what looked like a gas mask flashed by and as quickly as the pain started, it ceased.

“What in Tartarus was that…” Lyra asked weakly as the group rose on shaking limbs, sweating and gasping in complete exhaustion. They peered over the edge of their cover to see the chopper and Fortune were gone.

“You collapsed, clutching at your heads and screaming in pain” Wolf explained “Without knowledge of the proper course or a clear target, I remained to defend you as the helicopter extracted our opponent.”

“Good move” Crystal muttered, still trying to shake off the internal assault as she stood “That was no disabling signal.”

“No…” Maze returned, contemplating her brief glimpse of the mask and the implications that went with it “That was… something completely different.”

“I am afraid we cannot linger, I am detecting a massive heat source approaching from the south at incredible speed” Wolf informed them “Even if it is not who I suspect then I am sure the guards will not delay in their effort to regroup.”

Most of the group nodded and headed toward the alley where they hid Trixie’s wagon, faltering when they saw one of them had remained behind.

“LY! COME ON! LEAVE IT ALREADY!” Maze shouted as she ran back up to the engineer nearly shoulder deep inside the large IG.

“Just one more… GOT IT!” Lyra announced jubilantly as she pulled a large complicated component from the machine “Now with this we can-AH!”

“YeahgreatwhateverLET’S GO!” Maze rambled as she hefted her over her shoulder and ran the rejoin the others, snatching the unicorns turret along the way. She could almost taste the immense power headed their way.

The street's very foundations shuddered as Celestia slammed into the courtyard, immediately rising with her weapons held ready. She glanced about, quickly taking in the important aspects of the scene; demolished entrance, four fallen Grads, a trio of switch axes without owners, several destroyed vehicles, a lot of collateral damage and most importantly, no enemies in sight.

“DAMNIT!” She cursed as she punched straight through the thick armor of a nearby Grad; she arrived too late. She was relieved to see the absence of bodies, ally or otherwise; but she had still missed the battle, once again been unable to protect her people. A dark anger far greater than was warranted burned at her core until a shout drew her from her trance, returning her to the moment at hand.

“Princess!” A guard called out from an armored carrier, both royal guards and WM security personnel unloading from the back to secure the area. The guard dismounted as more carriers arrived and snapped off a salute “Lieutenant Shining Lance Ma’am, ready for instruction.”

“What happened here Lieutenant? Where’s your Captain?” Celestia asked quickly, her tone commanding and professional.

“Our second captain is in critical condition after the first assault Ma’am, our first was recalled to Fillydalphia” The captain answered and continued to explain the events of just moments earlier, Celestia interrupting at the mention of Maze.

“She was here?!”

“Yes Ma’am, the last we saw was her charging the primary suspect” The guard answered “We used the distraction to secure our injured and withdraw to regroup. My sincerest apologies for our inability to apprehend either the suspects your highness.”

“You got your ponies out alive Lieutenant; you did not make the wrong decision. I doubt you would have been able to detain her long anyway” Celestia consoled the stallion “Now, once your guards secured the perimeter, call in any available back up; I want a sweep from here outward throughout the city as soon as possible. All of this damage is still fresh, they can’t have gotten far.”

Maze ducked back behind the wall as another guard vehicle drove past, its lights sending searching beams across the darkening street as the sun dipped below the sea. She sighed and moved back to the group, they ended up back near the docks in a warehouse district; an old, rundown warehouse district. The maze of buildings and cranes would conceal them for a while but it was only a matter of time until they needed to move again.

Trixie sat atop her wagon recasting the cloaking spell for the third time today. It wasn’t easy sneaking around the city with the large, colorful wagon but with a quick spell Trixie managed to disguise it as something far lower key. It also helped keep them from showing up on any scrying spells; while that was something Maze didn’t have to worry about, the others weren’t so lucky.

Crystal and Wolf paced and kept watch while Lyra tinkered with the component she took from the Grad, saying it might give them a clue of who Fortune was and what she was after. Maze sat next to the focused engineer, slightly surprised by how non-chalant she was about this whole situation.

“Come to think of it, Lyra’s been a lot less panicky the past few weeks” Maze thought.

“Lyra can hear you too” Lyra pointed out “I thought you stopped that whole thinking aloud thing… And I’m not panicky. I’m just not used to this nomadic lifestyle or having to fight for my life every other week.”

“Oh, so you’re normally this unflappable?” Maze asked teasingly.

“Growing up around Twilight you get used to weird stuff happening a lot, and Ponyville wasn’t exactly uneventful either” Lyra answered back “even before Twi moved there.”

“You got to attend Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Trixie asked from above.

“Yeah, wasn’t a top student or anything though” Lyra answered, not noticing the slight envy hidden behind Trixie’s question “I’m surprised you didn’t, I mean I know there are other good schools out there but-”

“I didn’t live in Canterlot and my parents couldn’t afford to have me study abroad. I tried for a scholarship but was too late, later learning the last had gone to little miss perfect… We can’t all be handpicked by a princess, I suppose.” Trixie delivered the last bit bitterly “And after I los- *Ahem* …After that I began to teach myself, eventually studying abroad all over Equestria; wherever my show took me.”

Maze looked up at the magician to see a slight sadness to the stoic look Trixie was wearing. Maze was about to ask something when Trixie suddenly changed the topic.

“Though Trixie has no doubt Ponyville conditions a pony to the unusual, all the odd ones sent there after all” she delivered, back to her usual, protective façade.

“Oh don’t tell me you actually buy into those ridiculous rumors” Lyra scoffed.

“What rumors?” Maze asked.

“Everyone knows that Celestia sends or subtly encourages all the biggest weirdos to move to Ponyville, so that they’re all in one place to keep an eye on” Trixie announces confidently “And Trixie doesn’t need rumors, she’s seen it firsthand!”

Lyra was about to retort when there was the clopping of running hooves, a guard bursting around a corner with his weapon leveled. The group all responding in kind as the guard’s gun light illuminated them, Crystal right up front preparing her metal appendages for action.

“Siss-prea!” The guard shouted, instantly lowing the rifle as he ran to the changeling “Thank the makers I found you first!”

The group lowered their weapons, confused until the stallion’s features began to rearrange. They settled into a still rather ponyish muzzle, only now a dark grey and covered in yellow streaks across sleek chitin. He gave a slight bow when he reached the burgundy haired ‘Siss-prea’.

“Quickly, we have somewhere you and your minions can retreat to. Siss-prea Amethyst will be most pleased to see you” the changeling quickly delivered beneath the stolen guard helmet before gesturing them to follow “It is this way Siss-prea.”

“Minions?! Trixie is no minion!” Trixie complained as the group quietly followed the changeling guard’s lead, Crystal deflecting or just ignoring the group’s questions and looking very annoyed. They reached an old warehouse that looked just like all the others, only without any visible entrance. They parked the wagon in a large dark room through a hidden door that showed no difference from the rest of the wall; silhouettes of boxes and machinery barely seen as their escort lead them to a service elevator, pressing down as soon as they were all in.

“CRYSTEE!” a bubbly voice called before the gate even opened, Crystal groaning as she dragged her hands down her face. They could see a tall changeling at the other end of a large, but comfortably adorned cavern, leaning over a scaffolding. She fluttered down on gold tinted wings set by her shoulders, above a large stinger protruding near the base of her spine. The light caught her bright golden hair as she descended, looking almost like honey flowing delicately from her head.

“It's so good to see you little sister!” squealed the changeling as she gripped the blushing changeling in a rib crushing bear hug. She was strikingly attractive with clearly similar features to Crystal and at least half a head taller, reinforcing the older sibling image even further “But where are your wings?! And your Stinger!? You’re not even showing your streaks or carrying your glaive! Really now, it’s like you have no pride in your hive at all!”

“Hello Amethyst” Cyrstal replied dully as a snicker escaped the group. She glared daggers over her shoulder at them before continuing “Thanks for the assist and all but-”

“Ah ah ah!” the elder sibling interrupted, wagging her finger “We will not speak until I see the real you.”

Crystal literally growled at the older changeling, an entirely futile gesture as Amethyst just continued to stare expectantly back. After a few beats Crystal finally relented, rolling her eyes as she changed; a pair of red tinted wings unfurled from her back as a small stinger barely poked out from beneath her skirt. She shook her hair, revealing several golden streaks that did kind of clash with her natural burgundy.

“There, now listen we really need-”

“And your glaive? I know you lack a kinsect sister but we all still have the glaives- I have to know it’s really you after all” The elder sister interrupted again, the thorough enjoyment at the younger sibling’s embarrassment all too obvious. Crystal snapped her fingers and a mass of chitin appeared in her hand, with a flick the pieces detached from one another and extended into an impressive, embroidered glaive.

“Happy now?!” Crystal snapped, the irritation wafting off of her in waves.

“Yes!” Amethyst answered cheerfully “You’re a princess dear, fifth in line or not you should still represent your hive properly.”

“You’re a PRINCESS?!” Trixie shouted, not the only one taken aback but the sudden revelation “Trixie knew you held some clout but… a princess?”

“It’s not important!” She snapped back at the group, silencing any further inquiries for the moment and continuing before her sister could argue “Not now Ami! We’ve got the sun princess herself burning our backs she’s getting so close and a mysterious third party coming at us again and again from the front. Our best lead just literally went up in flames and unless you have something actually helpful to say then save it! I don’t have the patience for your Bullshit right now!”

The cavern froze, everyone looking back and forth between the two changeling princesses. Amethyst's gaze darted around, never meeting her sister's intense stare. Crystal finally broke the tension, sighing as she turned away.

“Whatever… thanks for the help Amethyst, it’s been nice seeing you again” she delivered solemnly as she retuned to the elevator and traveled back up.

She leaned against the window of the old forepony’s office she now found herself in upstairs, the glass cool against her head and horn. She looked out over the dark warehouse, not really seeing anything, not that she really could in the dark.

“Big sisters huh?”

“GAh!” Cyrstal yelped as she stumbled away from the unexpected voice, her back splayed against the glass as she clutched her chest, panting “Holy hate Maze… It isn’t easy to sneak up on a changeling, how did you-”

“Ninjaaa” the woman sang a small smile.

“Oh… right” Crystal sighed, sitting on the old office desk “Sorry I stormed off… she just never takes anything seriously, none of them do. Our people are being toyed with while she’s bitching about how I look.”

“Yeah, I have two older sisters myself… or had I suppose by now… Not that I don’t love them, but they could be a real pain in the ass sometimes” Maze agreed, joining Crystal on the desk “Granted, we weren’t princesses, but I think I can sympathize with the sibling part at least.”

“I’m glad she’s here, I am. We’d be under Celestia's hoof right now otherwise” Crystal admitted “And it is nice to see her safe; but whenever I see one of my family it always brings up the same old crap of why I stay away from the hive in the first place.”

“That why you hide the fact that you’re a princess?” Maze asked.

“I don't tell anyone because it doesn’t matter; I’m fifth in line for the throne, meaning I’m not going to get it and honestly, I don’t even want it. So I just try to be myself and live free from all the crap I don’t have the power to influence anyway. Even if I tried to start my own hive like Diamond did, I’d still have to answer to Mom” Crystal ranted “So fuck it all, y’know?”

“At least you rarely have to bow to anyone, that’s always a plus” Maze offered “And if it’s any consolation, I don’t care if you’re a princess; you can still go fuck yourself.”

Crystal just burst out laughing, very glad Maze was who she was right now. She hadn’t made too many friends in her life, too many were either intimidated by her status or put off by the fact she was a changeling; but Maze really didn’t care what she was. The others didn’t either she realized, sure it took a little time with Lyra and Trixie, and Wolf was as hard to read as ever but she hadn’t realized until now just how uncomfortable she’d been with others in general before meeting them.

“Thanks Maze” She muttered, not elaborating. She still had an image to protect after all.

“No problem, we all have our hang ups; I’m pretty sure I’m at least a little insane, like ACTUALLY insane after my imprisonment. Plus I’m straight up terrified of dying” Maze admitted, earning a skeptical look from the changeling “Yeah I know, it's a pretty common fear but it always seems to surprise people that the big bad cyborg is scared of becoming nothing. Not just scared either, straight up terrified… it keeps me up nights.”

“And if there is an afterlife?” Crystal asked.

“Then there are a lot of really pissed off people waiting to have a word with me… still, would definitely be better than simply not existing anymore” Maze concluded as the pair heard someone climbing the steps, Amathyst appearing in the doorway looking a bit abashed “I’ll leave you two to talk.”

Maze returned to the cavern below and busied herself trying to get any information from the changelings. None were being too forthcoming without their Siss-prea around so she sat with the others and just watched them buzz about. There was definitely a kind of honey bee or wasp theme going on with this hive, some even had the big stripped bulbs before their stingers.

“I wish we had snagged a couple of those axe hammer things” Maze commented.

“We could use more blunted weaponry and less lethal options” Wolf agreed “Given our tendency to avoid killing, it might be best to expand beyond our current cutting and piecing focus.”

“You don’t need those out-of-date designs,” Lyra offered, not looking up from her pad “I can add additional aspects to your current load out Wolf and I could probably integrate something into that Bo-staff made of arms… thing you’ve had me looking into Maze. And we can always just carry more stun ammo or tranq pistols or something too… we certainly have options; we don’t have to scavenge Everything we end up using after all...”

Maze listened as Lyra went on listing options while still working on the Grad core. She and Wolf did have a point; they often did avoid killing when they didn’t need to and a sword wasn’t always the best option for that, even with the tazer backside on hers. She considered what would be best for her as she watched one of the changelings buzz about the ceiling, a thought eventually making its way to her lips.

“I’ve never seen Crystal fly, it seems like a pretty good tactical advantage... I wonder why she doesn’t” Maze mused after a while.

“Because it’s difficult to use my tentacles without hitting my wings, not impossible but it’s easier to just do one or the other” Crystal answered unexpectedly, she and her sister stepping off the elevator “It's the same reason I don’t use my glaive often; a big pole tends to get in the way of long flexible appendages.”

“Just letting all that training go to waste...” Amethyst muttered, earning a glare from the younger Siss-prea “But it’s your choice, if it works for you then whatever.”

“So what’s the word?” Maze asked.

“Ami said we’re cool to stay here and recover for as long as we need. Even with the probability of World Marshal being behind everything being significantly less now, Ami has decided to keep her unit here to continue investigation and maintain a local outlet for the hive.”

“Well that and I like it here” Amethyst admitted without shame “It’s a very cushy post and pony made or not, there’s a lot to keep a girl busy in this town.”

“What about us though? Trixie cannot continue performing shows in the same city! Ponies can grow bored of anything eventually, even Trixie! As impossible as that may seem... ” Trixie asked, before a thought struck her and sent her spirits plummeting “assuming Trixie is even still able to perform openly after how many guards saw her fighting alongside criminals…”

“We need to go to Canterlot” Lyra suddenly declared calmly, still not looking from her pad “I just found data signaling this units home base as a compound hidden beneath the city.”

“Convenient timing” Maze commented, the engineers gaze finally drawn from the pad to shoot her a look “Just saying.”

“The city does have an extensive sewer system with many abandoned sections; it is certainly feasible that a decent sized operation could be maintained therein” Wolf added before the elder changeling princess interjected.

“So what? You expect to just waltz right through the multitude of guards, the most advanced detection and barrier spells in Equestria, past countless citizens who all now know your faces and crawl around a labyrinth of sewer tunnels ALL under the noses of two of the most powerful beings in the world?” Amethyst asked “Sure it wouldn’t be the first time, but only one of you is a changeling; and sorry little sis but even we Siss-prea are still a long way from a queen.”

“Between the princesses alone we’d never make it past the front gates” Crystal agreed, the group looking increasingly less hopeful except Maze; she seemed surprisingly upbeat.

“Well... what if they weren’t there?” she asked simply “I don’t suppose they have a distraction from Saddle Arabia coming up do they?”

Her companions stared at her confused, wondering where she pulled that random question from. Amethyst and the surrounding changelings however looked completely stunned; staring at Maze with curious disbelief.

“Actually yeah… The Saddle Arabian diplomats were originally scheduled to visit next month but with the recent incidents it was decided that the pony representatives would go to them. Celestia will be going herself while Luna stays to watch over the kingdom…” Amethyst answered still baffled “We only just received that report from our network this morning, how could you have possibly known-”

“Magic” the entire group answered dully over Maze, all too used to the smartass answer by now.

“Don’t bother, she won’t tell you” Crystal added to her sister as Maze wiggled her fingers mysteriously.

“Well one is still better than two, and if she still has what I think she has on display then I should be able to hold her off well enough if need be” Maze declared “We’ve got a month to prepare then!”

“Prep or not Maze, we still won’t force our way through those defenses on our own” Lyra pointed out to the cyborg.

“We’re not going to force or even sneak our way in” She said proudly “We’ll going to get them to brings us right through the front gates for all to see…”

Twilight looked around the town hall at the crowd; the entire militia had been called by the sudden detachment of guards that arrived in the town just moments ago. She stood next to the stage with her friends, fiddling with the recently converted Element of Magic around her neck. It wasn’t easy but they had managed to reshape the element into a necklace like the others; Twilight having pointed out the impropriety of it being a crown several times. She also enjoyed that it would be much less likely to fall off like the crown occasionally would.

“Twi! It’s your brother!” Dash nudged her as the guard captain did indeed appear from behind the curtain and stepped to the podium. Twilight stared on, confused at why her brother was here without calling ahead.

“Thank you all for responding so readily, I would expect nothing less from a group so able” Shining Armor addressed the gathered militia “I apologize for the sudden call to action but we've just received crucial information as to the immediate whereabouts of the kingdom's top fugitives.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed in focus, it was nearly a month after the Manehatten incident and there hadn't been even a whisper of Maze since. Twilight knew it was time to put an end to this, one way or another.

“We are going to try a new strategy in apprehending our illusive foe and we need your assistance. As your militia is not technically part of the guard though, I am first required to ask; do we have your aid?” Shining asked to which the cramped room immediately replied with thunderous confirmation “That’s what I like to hear! Now I must please ask you to wait just a moment longer, our specialist will be in momentarily to brief you all on your parts while I take the elements to prepare them for theirs. The Princesses thank you for all your support... we’ll get her this time.”

Shining gave a salute to the gathered ponies who most returned before he moved to the side of the stage, gesturing for the six friends to follow. They exited the building and began moving toward a guard vehicle in the large community space in front of the hall, a small squad of guards gathered around it.

“Do we actually have her this time BBBFF?” Twilight asked, sounding worried “Every time we’ve come close in the past she’s always managed to slip away...”

“Well Twily, that’s up to the six of you” Shining answered somewhat mockingly, pulling ahead of the group to join the guards.

“Stop!” Twilight held her arm out, Shining would never talk to her like that. She looked closer at the group of guards, sensing some sort of illusion “Something wrong! DASH! GET BACK INSIDE AND-”

Twilight was cut off as there were several loud bangs behind them, large boxes surrounding the building exploding in giant plumes of swirling cables. The large back cords crossed and weaved around the structure before smashing into place with a sudden jerk. She took a single step toward the net like devices and a crack of electricity echoed through the air, a vibrant orange glow encasing the town hall and trapping those still inside.

“T-T-T-Twilight” Fluttershy stuttered as she pointed behind them to the guards, drawing the groups gazes back toward the imposters.

“Sorry Twily” a changeling said as she tossed away a guard helmet, several metal tentacles materializing and hefting the burgundy haired imposter off the ground “But I’m not your BBBFF.”

“Madam I don’t know who you think you are, but I don’t believe you truly realize who you’re dealing with” Rarity threatened the changeling, a basket hilted straight blade flashing into her hand.

“Actually Rares…” One of the stallions said in a terribly familiar feminine voice “…We know exactly who we’re dealing with.”

“No way…” Dash muttered as the beat of her wings slowed. The air shimmered as the illusion fell away; two unicorns, the changeling and a large black fenrir IG stood side by side with the number one most wanted of Equestria. Maze stepped forward and drew her sword, pointing it challengingly at the mane six.

“The question is: Do you?”

Author's Notes:

Yeah, long chapter it long again but I’m already a week late of when I wanted to originally publish it so whatever- it’s as long as it needs to be I guess. Little ambivalent about this chapter but I think it still came out well enough. Still, very glad to be moving on to the next chapters- THEY'RE gonna be Fun!

550 views! OVER 550 views! You all are awesome! Thank you all for your views and likes and comments and just… all of it! Glad I’m bringing at least some joy to you peoples out there

Join us next time for the Mane Six Vs. the… Maze Five? No, that’s not clever… whatever- Vs. Them! As always readers; thank you all for reading, I hope you’re still enjoying it and I hope to see you for the next chapter! Have a good one!