As I activated the memory orb, I was engulfed in a blinding light. When I awoke, I found myself staring into space with nothing but glittering lights scattered across my field of view. Then I began to spot patterns, with most clustered along a line, a few moving at steady speeds above and below it. Then I looked down and saw tall buildings arranged along streets leading up to a waterfront.

I must have been inside one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

My host, a large, muscular, and somewhat overweight pony, stretched his wings for a second to get his blood flowing through them and then retracted. He then turned around and looked at his surroundings: an employee’s lounge of sorts with a row of windows covering an entire wall, fine leather couches facing a large TV, and a small kitchen area with granite countertops and sleek black appliances. Much of the furniture featured a corporate logo, a yellow pyramid inside a circle containing a square, a compass, the letter ‘G’ between them, and an eye floating just above the compass.

My host became distracted by the television, which had been left on some sort of news program.

“A spokespony for Governor Hayes has denied rumors that the State of Emergency will end this week, stating quote: ‘The Roseport metropolitan area will remain under martial law for at least two more weeks to ensure that the upcoming general election occurs without interference from those whom the Minister of Morale refers to as, quote: “Bad, no-good, bad-awful ponies.” The Governor reserves the right to extend the state of emergency if needed, and is willing to maintain it until December if necessary.’”

My host yawned and raised a forehoof to scratch the back of his head. It was getting late.

“The next story in our series on the growing unrest across Equestria takes us to another west coast city, where a signing ceremony tomorrow will complete the merger of two of Equestria’s largest banks, Goldenstar Financial and Manticore Holdings, whose merger will create the largest bank in the world. Activists who believe that financial institutions already wield too much power and influence have announced their intent to demonstrate against what they see as ‘a monopoly in the making.’ Tonight, we met with the leader of the march to ask...”

My host was inattentive and struggled to keep his eyes on the screen. They instead drifted upward, falling on a clock. After a few seconds, he finally registered that it was almost 11:30, causing him to jump with a shock and scramble down the hallway. Galloping past a maze of cubicles, conference rooms, and corner offices, he finally reached two sturdy steel doors at the end of the building and swiped a badge through a keycard reader. With a loud beep, the doors opened to reveal a large surveillance room. The ceiling lights had been turned off, but the monitors on the wall opposite the door provided a dim light which suited the skeleton crew of bat ponies that manned it. Directly in front of the door was a large desk facing the monitors, with two bat ponies lounging in swivel chairs in front of it. A small radio placed on the desk played the opening chords of a somewhat dated upbeat pop song.

Sweet music -- ooh, sweet music
That’s what I hear when you appear
Sweet music -- ooh, sweet music
Life is in tune when you are near

My host gently scanned the room and noticed that all of the bat ponies were gently bobbing their heads to the beat… except for one, who was sleeping.

“Sleepyhead! Wake up!” he bellowed in a deep voice.

The sleeping bat pony awoke with a start.

“How many times do I have to tell you? No sleeping on the job! If the chief catches you--”

Then everypony heard some hoofsteps approaching from down the hall and were so startled that they froze for a few seconds.

When you are gonnnnnne, the song just isn’t thereeeee….
But then I see your face again, and music fills the air--

A tall, photogenic unicorn stallion with a yellow coat and a neatly combed black but slightly greying mane entered the room. His emerald green eyes glimmered in the light.

“Fills the airrrr!” he sang, then laughed.

Upon seeing him, the bat ponies immediately saluted.

“Goldenstar!” the two behind the front desk said in unison.

“At ease, gentlemen,” replied Goldenstar. “Nothing unusual, I assume?”

“Nothing tonight, sir,” one of the two bat ponies in the front said.

“Good,” Goldenstar replied. “And a good choice of music, too. An oldie, but a goodie. It’s a shame the band broke up… speaking of up, I’d like you to come with me, Pound Cake.”

My host began to follow Goldenstar down the hall.

“My mom loved that song,” he said. “She played it all the time when I was little. What happened to the band?”

“Oh, they broke up years ago,” Goldenstar replied. “There are all sorts of rumors why, but if you ask me, it’s because the world changed and they just couldn’t adapt. When their genre devolved into a parody of itself, ponies started calling for something more ‘sophisticated’ and ‘authentic.’ That’s why you hear so much swing music on the radio today: out with electric keyboards, in with the real keyboards; out with Melody, in with Sweetie Belle.”

Turning a corner, we entered a much shorter hallway with a bank of three elevators at the end.

“It’s a real shame though,” Goldenstar continued. “I’ve known Melody for a long time. Why, it seems like it was just yesterday she came into my office with her first royalty check, complaining about how her five member band had to share a three bedroom house. So I loaned her some money and she bought a big mansion on the coast.”

We reached the end of the hall. Goldenstar pressed the call button.

“She hasn’t made a mortgage payment in four months. If she doesn’t pony up the money by next Friday, she’s getting evicted.”

The central elevator’s doors opened and we stepped in. Goldenstar pressed the highest button and the elevator began to ascend very rapidly.

“She isn’t the first ex-celebrity I’ve evicted, and she certainly won’t be the last. In fact, all of Applewood is built around luring in young talent, chewing it up, then spitting it out. Only the best of the best can last for more than a decade, and even then it’s largely based on luck. Most ex-stars quietly accept their fate, but not Melody. She stubbornly clings to a house she can no longer afford and refuses to take the sensible option of moving to Las Pegasus like all the other has-beens.”

The doors opened to reveal the roof. It was mostly dark and empty, save for a nearby stairwell and several large air pumps for the HVAC system. Several yards away to the left was the western edge of the tower, where a gilded sky yacht was moored to the tower ready to go. We began walking towards the ship’s gangway.

“It’s a sad fact of life that change is constant and inevitable: you have to adapt or get left behind. A lot has changed ever since that one Summer Sun Celebration nearly thirty years ago. The only thing that hasn’t changed is...”

“Mister Goldenstar!”

A nervous-looking petite pink unicorn mare ran after them.

“Uh… Mr. Goldenstar, sir,…” the she said nervously. “I uh… just wanted to see you off before you go.”

“Certainly,” said Goldenstar. “Any news on our friends from Manehattan?”

“The executives from Manticore just landed at the airport fifteen minutes ago, and are en route to their hotel,” replied the mare.

“Good, good,” said Goldenstar. “When they come tomorrow morning, bring them straight to the boardroom without delay. Offer them refreshments and make them comfortable.”

“Will do,” said the mare. “But… may I ask you a question? Regarding… the acquisition.”

“As long as it does not pertain too closely to the details of the acquisition, then certainly.”

“Well, it’s just that… um… why is it that you’re leaving for that trip, like right now, and not be here for the biggest acquisition in the history of the company? You presided over all the other ones yourself…”

Goldenstar narrowed his eyes a bit, and then said in a low voice,

“I’ve been planning this trip for a long time. And it’s simply not something I can afford to miss. After all, I promised my niece I would attend her wedding no matter what. The acquisition deal came at the last minute, after I had already scheduled everything. And besides, I need…. A much deserved vacation. You know how long it’s been since I took my last one.”

“Oh,” said the mare, who was somewhat surprised. “B-but I thought you didn’t have any nieces...”

All the geniality flushed out of Goldentstar’s face.

“Don’t you have a report to prepare?,” he asked sourly. “For the meeting tomorrow?”

“Yes, yes, of course! I’ll get right back to it!” said the mare. “But it just doesn’t make any sense that--”

Goldenstar’s horn began to sparkle. Suddenly, the mare was enveloped in a golden aura began to float. She was pulled upward, then turned upside down so that her head hovered at a height of three hooves above the ground. She tried to scream, but her teeth and lips had been jammed shut by some invisible force and she had lost control of her hooves.

“You were my best secretary you know,” he said as he padded towards her. “You really were. And trust me, I’ve had many since I founded this company.”

“Unfortunately,” he continued,”The good ones tend to have a habit of getting too smart for their own good and ask too many questions. You see, it’s all about trust: good employees trust that their boss knows what’s best. Good employees will take initiative within a limited scope, and not interfere with matter that do not concern them. Soldiers aren’t allowed to question orders, and that’s why the army works as well as it does. Civilians however…”

He turned towards me and tiled his head towards the secretary.

“Finish it.”

My host stepped forward and raised his forehooves into the air. He grabbed the secretary’s head and twisted it like a pickle jar until he heard a faint crack. Her eyes bulged out for a moment, then her eyelids fell shut and her face began to grow pale. He drew his hooves back and saw they were covered from blood.

Goldenstar inspected the body and its severed head. With his telekinesis, he plucked the jewelry off her body and fished the wallet out of her purse. He gently lifted a wad of bills out of the wallet and brought then to his nose, then inhaled deeply.

“I might as well claim damages,” he said as he slid the money and jewelry into his pocket, then threw the corpse onto my host’s back and gave him a towel. “Now dispose of the body. Wipe your hooves before you walk back.”

He nodded and walked over to the edge of the roof, where he reared and thrust the corpse off his back. He wiped the blood off his forehooves, balled the towel up, then chucked it off the roof as well before trotting back.

“Why’d you--” he began to ask, but Goldenstar shushed him.

“Shhh! I think we have company.”

The faint sound of startled hoofsteps came from near the elevator, but there was not a pony to be seen. Goldenstar’s horn began to sparkle again and a golden aura appeared next to the elevator, revealing an invisible equine. It tried to run away, but it could only flail its hooves around as Goldenstar lifted it into the air and brought it towards him. When it was in front of Goldenstar, he ripped a small electronic device from its forehoof, causing the invisibility spell to disappear. His prisoner was a black insectlike equine with holes in its hooves, wings, and horn.

“Ugh, another one?” he groaned.

The creature quivered in fear and was too shocked to say anything. Goldenstar levitated it into the air until its head was slightly higher than his, gripping the creature by its neck.

“Your boss sure is persistent, isn’t she?” he asked. The creature responded with a weak nod.

Goldenstar moved the creature closer to him until their faces almost touched, and began talking to it as if it was a camera.

“I know somepony’s listening to this. Whoever you are, forward this message to your superior.”

He cleared his throat.

“I know you’re listening, Rainbow,” he began, “and I have to say, I would normally admire such effort if it were being used for anything but this. I don’t appreciate you snooping around in my buildings like this; who I choose to do business with is none of your concern. If it weren’t for my generous donations, your entire organization would cease to exist. You and your friends’ Ministries burn money faster than Pinkie pops pills with useless and redundant projects like this one... that is, when your subordinates aren’t outright embezzling it. Compare that to my company: very clean and efficient. Everything would be just fine if it weren’t for you and your constant meddling.”

He put on a smug grin for the camera, then concluded:

“You were always one of the smarter ones, Rainbow, but you were never truly wise… so let me give you a word of advice: don’t bite the hoof that feeds you, lest it decide to choke you instead.”

With that, he tightened his grip on the creature’s neck until its bones cracked and its head was severed from its body and fell to the ground.

On board the yacht, my host gazed at the city below as the ship sailed past Candlewick Park. The serenity of the night was shattered by four sailors dragging a stallion to the edge of the ship and thrusting him overboard. As he fell into the bay, his screams quickly faded into the night and were soon masked by the sound of the wind and the gentle hum of the ship’s motor.

Then hoofsteps. It was Goldenstar.

“Pound Cake, after careful consideration I have decided to name you Chief of Security. The title’s previous holder seems to have forgotten that we bribe the MoM agents, not the other way around.”

My host began to shake a little.

“Uhhh…. It’s a great honor, sir,” he said. “But why me?”

“Because trust is important,” Goldenstar replied. “And it will become even more important over the next few months. You see, a storm is coming...”

A lightning bolt flashed in the sky, soon followed by a thunderclap.

“Whoa, you can control the weather too?”

“No, you idiot. It’s a metaphor.”

Goldenstar began leading my host towards the door to the ship’s cabin.

“Let me explain it this way: every month for the past ten years, we run dozens of simulations on the ORACLE, to predict future market conditions and identify opportunities for investment. In other words, we use a supercomputer to try to predict the future. Most of the long-term geopolitical simulations end in disaster, and we get this result consistently. We thought it was highly likely that the war would go red-hot, with the megaspells being deployed and everything getting destroyed, so the board and I decided to prepare for it...”

“What about Stable-Tec?” Pound Cake asked. “Their Stables are going to save us, right?”

“Well... ” Goldenstar began hesitantly. “That’s what they say. But, as one of the largest shareholders in Stable-Tec, I pressured them into divulging some secrets about their operation that they would never tell the public. Let’s just say that most of the stables aren’t going to be saving anypony.”

Pound Cake was shaken by this remark.

“Then, if Stable-Tec won’t save us, who will?”

“That’s the issue here. We predict that many ponies will survive the blasts, with or without Stable-Tec’s help. They will all be starving, homeless, sick, desperate, and afraid. The government will not help them; it’s far too corrupt and top-heavy already, and if the capital gets hit, the rest will become fragmented and collapse within a matter of weeks... especially if the Princesses are lost.”

Pound Cake shuddered at the thought.

They had stopped right before the door. Goldenstar opened it and they went in. Pound Cake was temporarily blinded by the light emanating from within, which seemed bright at first but wasn’t actually much brighter than the lights on the ship’s deck. As his eyes adjusted he began to see a long oak table with several velvet chairs on each side and at both ends, suitable for conducting business meetings or serving meals. Tonight it did the latter, featuring a meal which fell far short of a proper banquet but was considerably larger and more luxurious than anything the typical family would eat. Its smell was a testament to its quality, a mix of flavors which I suppose nopony except the most experienced gourmand could accurately described. The main course appeared to be some sort of rare bird.

“That’s where Project Phoenix comes in: GFS will bail Equestria out as it has so many times before,” Goldenstar continued. “We’ve nearly bankrupted ourselves stockpiling supplies, building an army, and planning. But by Celestia, it was worth it.”

Only a third of the seats had guests. They all stood up and made shallow bows. Goldenstar gestured for them to sit down and began making his way to three empty seats at the head of the table, beckoning Pound Cake to follow.

“Earlier this month, my contacts informed me that the Zebra high command was starting to lose hope and began debating you-know-what with the Caesar. At that point we knew it was all over. We later learned the exact date and times.”

Goldenstar sat down at the end of the table and motioned for Pound Cake to sit at the seat on his left. Goldenstar turned towards the

“How much time do we have left?”

A small equine figure in a black cloak slithered in from the shadows. It was a short, skinny winged pony, with a coat as green as the unicorn’s eyes, and eyes a golden yellow, almost identical to the yellow of the unicorn’s coat. It pulled a small golden stopwatch out of its pocket, which it proceeded to read.

“Precisssely sssix hoursss, fifty-five minutesss, and twenty-one secondsss,” replied the winged pony in a slithery, serpentine voice.

“Excellent,” said the Goldenstar. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this.”

“And ssssso have we,” said the winged pony.

I could feel the confusion on my host’s face.

“Oh, right,” Goldenstar said. “Pound Cake, this is Sheguai.”

“Bu-but isn’t he a--?” Pound Cake sputtered.

“A chollima? Yes, yes he is,” Goldenstar replied.

“But we’re at war!” Pound Cake blurted out.

“Not for much longer!” said one of the guests at the table.

“After tomorrow, none of those old world political squabbles will matter,” Goldenstar said. “Tomorrow, we turn a new leaf, and all prior transgressions will be forgiven.”

“To the unity of our two lands!” cried another guest, raising a glass.

“To unity!” the guests said, and raised their glasses for a toast. Pound Cake raised his reluctantly.

“To Goldenssstar,” said the hooded pony. “Or, should I sssay, Lord Goldenssstar.”

Goldenstar chuckled.

“It’s too soon for that right now. Although, I suppose it isn’t too early for me to begin wearing this.”

From his pocket, he produced an arrowhead shaped amulet made of grey steel. In its center, a red diamond-shaped gem glistened in the faint light, and its shaft was a black unicorn’s head with tiny, angry red eyes. The great black and red wings which flanked the head on both sides only made it look even more menacing.

“Yes,” Goldenstar continued, pausing so he could don the amulet. As soon as he did so, his jade green eyes flashed with the same crimson hue as the amulet.

“To me!”

The next hour or so passed by in the blink of an eye. Bright lights and colors danced before my eyes as Pound’s vision became a blur. Sounds also became a muddled mess and the only distinct noises were laughing and the clinking of glasses and silverware. The next thing I knew, my host was outside again, lurching towards the prow of the ship. He bent over and almost vomited over the side, but something suddenly clicked and he no longer felt nauseous.

Then he just stared into the distant night for a while and brooded. The ship was now far away from the city, rendering the land below into a blanket of darkness, crumpled at points to denote rolling hills and ridges. The sky above was cloudless and featured a tapestry of constellations surrounding a waning crescent moon. The scene was calm, serene, and… almost too good to be real.

“I may not be the brightest tool in the shed, but somethin’s up,” Pound Cake brooded. “Those squinty-eyed pegasi across the sea who sided with the fucking zebras… an’ my boss is doin’ business with ‘em?”

He still held a glass of wine from the party in one hoof. He gently shook it to stir up the wine without spilling any, then watched as the blood-like substance swirled around in the glass, gradually losing its momentum until it barely moved.

“Maybe he’s right. Maybe we should let bygones be bygones, hold hooves and sing Kumbaya just like Twilight did at that school of hers...”

Then he picked up the glass and threw it on the ground, where it shattered into countless fragments.

“Damnit! I didn’t lose half my squad to those traitors for nothin’! Goldenstar might trust those fuckers, but when they backstab him just like they’ve backstabbed everypony else, I’ll say, ‘I told you so!’”

He looked down at the broken remains of the glass. The stem and the base had remained in tact. Pound Cake swung back his hoof and kicked it flying across the deck like a soccer ball, until it hit the cabin and shattered. Pound Cake gave a smug smirk at this accomplishment.

“And in the meantime, I won’t ever let them forget what they did… ‘Cause war… war never changes.”

Author's Notes:

I'm planning on rewriting this chapter soon. It will hopefully add more context to the rest of the story. Although he seems kind of superfluous, he will gradually become more and more important, and the first half of the story is just building up to when Silver finally meets him in person.
The chapter has been rewritten. I have also removed the 'introduction,' since it's just fluff that doesn't really contribute to the plot. We already know about the unchanging nature of war and don't need another soliloquy about it.