"Aw, come on!" Flurry Heart stomped her hoof on the ground. Like most fillies, she didn't like not getting what she wanted. Unlike most rich fillies, she took it considerably better than some of Lily's classmates. "Just once?"

"I don't want to upset your guards, Flurr," Lily said calmly. In effect, she was lying. She always enjoyed an opportunity to show off her strength. It was the consequences she feared. Silver said to keep a low profile. With Flurr making all that fuss, I might as well get it over with. It'll be quick. She smiled.

"Them? They're guards," Flurry Heart snorted in her childish fashion. "They're used to it. Daddy beats them up every day!"

That's hardly the same, kid. Across the table, the guards smiled politely — the smile one reserved for the boss' child. Lily knew the feeling all too well. Her mother had to deal with rich foals on a weekly basis. Always careful to keep them safe while not offending their parents was a thin line to walk. Luckily, Flurry Heart was a cute filly. Also, judging by her language, Lily suspected she spent a lot of time in the Web. The swear words were unmistakable.

"Maybe just hoof wrestling?" Lily suggested innocently.

"Yes!" Flurry Heart jumped in the air and made a double barrel roll. "Shit just got real!" she screamed, her childish voice very much in contrast to her words. A series of coughs filled the room. "Oops. Please don't tell mom." She flew back down, landing timidly next to Lily.

"Just to warn you guys, I've had training." Lily pretended to ignore the incident. "Be ready." It was obvious they didn't take her seriously. Their loss, ultimately. She was only trying to warn them.

Naturally, it was the rookie who accepted the challenge. Smiling and wide-eyed, he seemed fresh out of the military academy. The air of naïveté surrounding the stallion was so obvious that Lily almost pitied him. Of course the old guards would pressure you to take me on. They're smart enough to wait and watch. I bet they are itching to see you get your hooves chipped.

"Whenever you're ready." Lily placed her foreleg on the table. The guard muttered something about going easy on her, which she completely ignored. As casual as this seemed she was keeping an eye on the really strong guards. Taking on a rookie might be fun, but it also let her gauge the Crystal Ponies' abilities.

Don't break the table, she told herself. She only had to win, not make a spectacle of things.

"Ready?" Flurry chirped, wings twitching with excitement. "Set!" She paused for dramatic effect. Somepony has been to too many Bolt tournaments, Lily thought. "Go!"

The guard wasted no time. Putting in a moderate amount of effort he pushed against Lily's foreleg, aiming to win tactfully. The consideration made Lily feel strange. This was the first time somepony treated her like a mare. For a split second she was tempted to lose on purpose, keep a low profile and let him keep his pride. However, pity wasn't her nature. For several moments her foreleg didn't budge, remaining as stable as the an iron bar. Then she began to increase the pressure. It was easy. With nearly no resistance, Lily pushed against her opponent’s hoof, moving it closer to the table. The guard seemed slightly stronger than the average earth pony, but not enough to present any difficulty. The more he approached defeat, the more his expression changed: confident, concerned, worried, and finally red with tension.

"Crush him, Lily!" Flutter Heart yelled. It was quite obvious who she was rooting for.

The rest of the guards also seemed to have taken interest. Maybe going ahead with this wasn't the best idea. Too late now. Losing on purpose would only attract more attention to her. The best solution was to end it quickly, and that she did with the ease of a fox stealing eggs from a henhouse. The guard's hoof hit the table with a bang.

Sorry. Lily pulled her foreleg back. Beside her, Flurry Heart was shouting like crazy. One would think she was the one who had won. Is that kid really five? Lily wondered.

"So cool!" The tiny princess tugged her foreleg. "Bam! Just like that! Didn't stand a chance! You're really strong!" She said in awe. Meanwhile, across the table, the rookie wished he had never been born, surrounded by the snickering of his fellow guards.

"Dad is a body builder," Lily said casually, hoping that would reduce the sting a bit. "And a Wonderbolt reservist." One of the guards whistled, impressed. The jokes at the rookie's expense, however, intensified.

"Another go! Another go!" Flurry Heart shouted, drumming on the table.

"I've done enough for one night." Lily stood up, to the Princess' disappointment. "It's late and I must get some sleep."

"It's not even ten for h—" A deathly silence filled the room. "—heaven's sake!" Flurry twisted her lips. Nice save, kid. Lily smiled. If there was any doubt it had now vanished. Our little Princess is a Webber. Twist and Silver will be thrilled.

"I skipped sleep last night," the earth pony explained. It was sort of true. She had barely caught a wink the last two days. That wasn't the main reason why she wanted to get out of the barracks, though. "You can show me another cool place as we get back to the palace, if you want. And no teleporting." She added firmly.

"Humph!" Flurry sulked. Clearly she had hoped for a much more interesting evening. Or maybe this was her reaction to not teleporting? Lily had an idea what it was like to have to a skill she had to hide. I bet you wish you could teleport everywhere, don't you, filly? I feel you, but for what I must do we need to walk.

"You'll never get strong if you don't walk, kiddo." It was an open provocation. Anypony could see it, even a five year-old. However, Lily had one huge advantage — she was friends with Flurry's idols, and thanks to the recent display of strength, had made herself the target of admiration… at least for a day. The Princess might act disappointed, but Lily suspected that deep inside she was itching to impress.

Less than a minute later, Lily and Flurry Heart walked along one of the Empire's main streets. With the sun gone, the entire place looked like a copy of the Web. Crystal spires, shining rooftops, even some of the street's cobblestones glowed in bright luminescent colours. In comparison other cities in Equestria seemed centuries behind, even Manehatten. Apparently, being gone for a thousand years had made the crystal ponies determined to catch up with the times and then some. Every year the place became more and more out of this world. Unfortunately, its past wasn't as easily forgotten, as Lily had recently come to witness. According to Silver’s information, there was a growing number of Sombra sympathisers. Most of them were just juveniles, trying to make themselves special. Yet, from there it was only a stone’s throw away from becoming a cultist.

"Flurry, can you take me somewhere before we go back?" Lily asked. The princess' ears perked up. Whatever attempts she made to hide her eagerness and curiosity were at best partially successful.

"Sure... I mean, I guess." The filly's wings twitched.

Should I tell her? Lily wondered. Silver Spoon's instructions had been specific: "Do not get the Princess involved." However, this wouldn't be the first time Lily had done something her own way. That was what gave the team its edge. Both she and Twist had mastered the skill of breaking rules ever so gently so as to avoid any serious consequences. Should this be any different?

"Eight-five, Violet Jade." Alicorn or not, you're just a kid. Better keep you out of this. "Will you get in trouble if you take me there?"

"Very," the filly grinned widely. Here it comes. You'll ask me for something in return, aren't you? "Daddy doesn't want me going in that part of town after dark. And Mommy gets upset when I don't listen to Daddy..."

"But?" Lily smiled expectantly.

"But what?" The princess looked away feigning ignorance.

"Kid, you've been swearing so much that you made Twist blush." Not that she hasn't heard it all before. "And now suddenly you're concerned about 'mommy' and 'daddy'."

"You're good." Flurry nodded twice, her eyes sparkling as if she had found a new idol. "You're in the same class as Sweetie Belle, right?" As she mentioned the name, the sparkles grew even brighter. "So you're friends."

"Yep." So this is where it's going? Should've figured. "Twist is tight with her. I bet she could ask Sweetie to dedicate a song to—"

"I want to meet her!" The princess said firmly, her entire body was trembling. Right now it seemed as if she had asked the most important question in her life and was bracing for the answer. Cute. Lily had reacted in similar fashion when Rara had visited Ponyville. A pity she would have to crush the child's dreams.

"That might be tough." Hate to burst your bubble, Flurr. "With Bolt finals and school, Sweetie won't be able to make it anywhere out of Ponyville. Maybe in a few months, I can—"

"In-Web!" Flurry Heart said quickly. "Meet her in-Web! Pfft, clearly Sweetie Belle wouldn't come all the way here to see a jerk like me." She kicked some dirt with her hoof.

"Oh, Web? Sure." That sounded easy enough. All it would take was one message for Sweetie to agree. She loved foals, and one also had to keep in mind that Flurry Heart was an alicorn princess. Sweetie would probably jump at the opportunity.

"What? Really?" The filly's eyes grew as wide as horseshoes."That's fan-bucking-tastic!" she shouted.

"No biggie." Lily patted her on the head. This was one way to get a princess to like you. More important she could now go on with her business — checking out the home of the pony that was Dreamlocked.

* * *

The sound of shouting and smashing dishes made its way to Lily's room. Curled up in her bed, she desperately held the pillow over her head in the hope it would block the noise. It didn't. She could still hear them. She could always heard them. Why don't they just stop? Tears squeezed through her tightly shut eyes. Why do they see each other, if they fight all the time?

"You took him away from me and now you come to say it's a casual thing?" Lily could hear her mother shout from the room below.

Always the same argument. Lily was old enough to know that brawls between parents existed in other families as well. In her case, however, things were a bit different. Her mother had never married her father. Both of them had been too young and irresponsible, Cherry Berry had told her, yet Lily could sense she still loved him. The filly loved her father as well. He was nice, be it clumsy, helpful in his own way, and also incredibly massive. Ever since she could remember he would come every few weeks to see her and her mother. Those were always happy occasions during which Lily could almost feel like they were a true family. Sadly, there were other visits as well — Cloudchaser, her mother's childhood friend. Lily hated her.

"It's not like I planned it!" Cloudchaser screamed from below. "And, in case you've forgotten, Bulk used to be my coltfriend back then!"

"As were a dozen others!" Cherry Berry countered. "You changed them like you changed headscarves! I never should have gone with you to weather school!"

Leave. Just leave! Lily pulled the pillow harder. A tearing sound followed. A second later the pillowcase ripped apart, filling the room with feathers.

"I didn't come here to fight, Cherry!" The shouting was even louder now. "It's going to happen. I just thought it'll be better coming from me than somepony else."

"Lucky me!" Cherry Berry shouted back. "Do you expect me to thank you?!"

"When have you ever been thankful? It's not like I helped you take your weather school exams or anything!"

I need to get out of here, Lily thought. Gritting her teeth, she rushed out off her bed and jumped out of the window. She hardly felt a thing upon hitting the ground, one of the few benefits to having extreme strength was that she was granted extreme endurance as well.

The shouting in the house stopped. Her mother and Cloudchaser had probably noticed. Cherry Berry would be running out any minute to get her, yet Lily didn't wait to find out. Tears in her eyes, she galloped as fast as her legs would carry her. There wasn't any specific destination she had in mind. Anywhere would do, as long as it was away from the shouting. Why can't mom be happy? Why can't we be a normal family? She dashed forward barely looking. Why did Cloudchaser have to exist? If it wasn't for her they—

"Hey!" a pony yelled. Lily ignored it completely. She had no intention of stopping for anything. Suddenly, she was scooped up from the ground. It was a strange experience — somewhat similar to the times she was in the hot air balloon with her mother, yet also different. For one thing, Lily didn't feel any ground under her hooves. "You should be more careful, filly," the pony continued. "A little more and you’d have plopped in the river."

Cautiously, Lily looked down. A river streamed below, just as the pony had said. I didn't notice that, the filly swallowed. Good thing somepony had caught her in time. Despite all her strength, Lily still hadn't learned to swim.

"Thank you," Lily said timidly, looking up at the one that saved her. The pony, a pegasus as expected, was definitely older than Lily, but not as much as her mother. Her coat and mane were the same colour as Cloudchaser’s. Only the mane style was different. That, and the mare looked way nicer than that monster ever could.

"Always a good idea to watch where you're galloping." The mare winked.

"I suppose," Lily sighed. She was still thinking about the problems back home. This far away she could no longer hear the shouting, but knew the quiet wouldn't last for long. This wasn't the first time she had run away. It wasn't the first time she had jumped out of the window, either. Usually, her mother would catch up, smack her once across the muzzle, then hug her tightly. At times she would cry, at times she wouldn't. They would then go to Sugarcube Corner, where Lily would enjoy whatever pastry Cherry would buy her. A week later the shouting would start again.

"You're a bit young to be so blue." The pegasus put Lily safely on the ground. "What's your name? I'm Flitter."

"Lily." The filly avoided her glance. "Lily Longsocks."

"So you're Lily!" The pegasus ruffled Lily's mane with her wing. It felt nice. "I finally get to see you. You really are adorable!"

Before Lily could say a word, Flitter grabbed her again and threw her up in the air. The pegasus then zipped up, letting the filly land on her back. Balloon flying never felt like that! Lily stared in amazement.

"Bulk constantly talks about you," Flitter continued in the most casual fashion. "Two things mostly, that you're strong and cute. In that order."

Yes, that does sound like dad. He's been giving me dumbbells for every birthday so far. "How do you know him?"

"He lives with my sister at our place." You live with dad? Lily wondered. He never had mentioned her during his visits. Actually he didn't talk about anything other than weight lifting, exercises and protein shakes. The few times that he had tried ended up awkward. "I'm Cloudchaser's sister," the pegasus added. Instantly Lily felt a bitter taste in her mouth. The fun she was having melted away, replaced by repulsion.

"I want to get off!" she shouted. I don't want to have anything to do with you! I hate you! She kicked Flitter on the back.

"Hey!" the pegasus shouted. Despite her size, Lily was able to cause a lot of pain, and she knew it. Maybe it wasn't nice to be so mean, but she didn't care! Cloudchaser had stolen her father and made her mother angry! If Flitter was her sister, she was just as nasty! "Calm down, will you?" Flitter swooped down. It took her less than two seconds to reach the ground, time which Lily used to intensify her attacks.

The moment the pegasus touched the ground, the filly jumped off and demonstratively turned her back to mare. Teaches you for stealing dad! You were lucky you landed so fast! The bottled rage inside her exploded. As she stood, a tear rolled down her face, followed by another, and another. Lily was crying... silently, bitterly.

"Lily?" Flitter made an attempt to approach. "What’s—"

The filly pulled briskly away, pranced a few steps, then stopping again. She felt weak. As if every tear had halved her strength, until she could no longer stand.

"Daddy." Her legs gave in, bringing her to the ground. "Mommy..."

"Hey, now." Flitter moved closer, placing a wing on over the filly. This time Lily didn't protest. The wing felt warm, safe, comforting. Lily who it belonged to, she knew she hated her, and yet she still covered herself with it. "What's going on?"

"Cloudchaser," Lily uttered between quiet sobs. "She... she... she took daddy..."

"Yes," Flitter said with understanding. "She does that. I used to get mad at her a lot about it."

Curiosity made its way into Lily’s mind. This wasn't the explanation she expected. Usually older ponies would say that she should be strong, stop wasting time on blame, but find something to give her joy. Lily hated that speech. She could tell that none of them believe in what they were saying. Flitter seemed different. The filly could tell by the pegasus’ reaction that she knew precisely what was going on. She must had felt it too.

"That's why I stopped bringing my coltfriends to the house," Flitter said, then to Lily’s astonishment laughed. "Maybe I'll tell you that when you get older. The point is, I used to think that my sister was stealing them from me. Well, actually she was, but not deliberately. Oh, how crazy I used to get. I'd yell at her, do all sorts of things just to get back at her. Then, one day I realized something important."

"What?" The filly’s ears turned her direction. Could Flitter have the answer that would help her?

"Two things," The pegasus smiled. "No matter what you think or do, ponies will always choose what they think is better."

The words felt like a needle piercing through Lily's heart. That doesn't sound right. Mommy and I might not have wings but we really want daddy to come back and live with us. We want it with all our hearts. Shouldn't that matter? At least a little bit?

"And the second thing?" she asked, shivering with fear.

"The second is that tears don't help." Gently, Flitter brushed the Lily's tears away. "Never cry, Lily. Not unless you're happy."

* * *

Eight-five, Violet Jade — a two story crystal house that had definitely seen better times. Cracks were visible in several places along the walls, hastily repaired with low level binding spells. Quite the rundown place for a deputy weather coordinator to live in. It was located near the edge of town, in an neighbourhood reserved for crystal miners and their families. After the creation of the Web, mining had ceased to become a main source of income, transforming the area into a place for ponies without permanent residency. It was nowhere as bad as the ghettos of Manehatten, but definitely not anywhere a city official, let alone a pegasus, would choose to settle.

What are you hiding, SmokeScreen? Lily approached the door. Behind her, Flurry Heart fluttered about like an overexcited humming bird.

"That's Ray's place," the Princess attempted to shout while whispering. "He got a stroke or something a while ago and was taken to hospital. He's still in a coma or something." She moved closer to Lily, whispering conspiratorially in her ear. "They say that he was in the Sombra infected sectors. Saw it happen."

"Do they?" Lily put her hoof on the door. Solid construction, way too expensive to be part of the house. SmokeScreen must have installed it separately.

"Abso-bucking-lutely," Flurry continued in hushed voice. "A Web friend said he was into some serious shit. Like pro-hacker serious."

"Serious stuff." Sorry, Flurr. Time to get to work. "Listen, Flurr, you better zap home. Your guards probably want to go to bed."

"Hey, what the buck!" the filly shouted. "You can't drop me now! That's Glom crap!"

Glom crap? Guess I'm not the only one keeping secrets. "Do your parents know you're a dream-hacker?" She looked over her shoulder.

"Huh?" The alicorn filly landed on the ground. Her wings and ears were twitching. "I don't know what you mean." She looked to the side. "I just heard stuff..."

"Mmhmm. From a friend," Lily added. Gotcha! "Glom? Not the stuff a lifer would use. So, do your parents know?"

"Maybe?" Flutter heart looked at Lily feigning innocence. "A bit... that I roam the Web. Mom caught me somehow." The filly pouted. I wonder how that happened... Lily resisted the urge to laugh. "From then I'm under super-bucking-vision when I'm in."

"Tough." Lily sighed. "Look, Flurr, it's cool you want to stick around, but give a pony some free space. Plus, think what your friends would be like when you meet Sweetie."

The conflict within the princess was written all over her face. Clearly she wanted to have it both ways. Given enough time she might even figure out how. Her wings shuffled as she scrunched her muzzle.

"I'll get to meet her this week?" she asked.

"I'll talk to Twist tomorrow morning." Lily patted her on the head. You're way too star struck, kid. I'm not even something special. "Just promise, no sneaky stuff."

"Hey! I'm not some twerp!" Flurry stomped her hoof on the ground indignantly.

"That wasn't a yes, kiddo." Lily allowed herself a smile. Being in a class with Diamond Tiara and Snips had given her a life's training in evasiveness. Flurry was going to have to do better than that to trick her.

"Un-bucking-believable!" The Princess pouted.

"I know, I know." Lily shook her head. "Oh, and here's a big tip. When you see Sweetie, tone the swearing down. As long as you act like the sweet little princess, she'll melt. Just don't tell anypony I told you that."

"You're the best!" Any disappointment was quickly forgotten, as the alicorn jumped to give Lily a hug. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to see all my friends!" Of course the earth mare knew that meant Flurry was going to "show her" to all her friends.

"Sure thing." The older pony nodded.

A second later Flurry flashed away, potentially to the crystal palace. Lily waited a while longer. She wanted to be certain that the bundle of chaos wouldn't suddenly reappear. That, and she had caught sight of the guards keeping an eye on the Princess. It would be bad if they were to catch her invading somepony's home. Silver hadn't been exaggerating when she said Twist and Lily would be protected while with the Flurry Heart. So far there had been no less than three constantly keeping an eye on them, discretely hidden a short distance away. These ones seemed more impressive than the guards in the barracks. They also were thestrals.

Time to see what you've got, SmokeScreen. Lily approached the door. Taking a small circular device from her saddlebag, she placed it over the lock and gently tapped it. Eight metal claws shot out with a click attaching it in place. From here on it was a matter of time. Key-spiders, got to love them. According to the pony who sold it to her, the spider was capable of rushing through any basic lock within seconds, a bit longer if top level security was involved. Lily had tested it several times at various locations, and so far hadn't been disappointed. Quite the useful device and, paradoxically, still legal. Since it existed almost exclusively in the Conglomerate, there were no laws in place restricting its use in Equestria. As long as her target didn't belong to any division, which he didn't, local authorities couldn't do a thing until they caught her in the act. That said, Lily had no intention of anypony finding out. She had procured the key-spider on her own, and not even Twist or Silver knew. It was safer this way.

Twenty seconds on and the spider still hadn't broken the lock. Come on, come on! Lily looked around. The neighbourhood seemed deserted, but she didn't want risking being in the open for too long. There was no telling when a guard patrol might pass. As the seconds went on, her inner self became more and more nervous. It shouldn't take the spider that long. Even magic locks had been cracked faster! Ten more seconds, and I resort to brute force. Lily dragged her hoof along the pavement. It had been a while since she pulled a door out. A sudden click made her relax. You sure took your time. She pulled the device off, then casually opened the door and went in.

The house was better furnished than she had expected. Cloud carpet, solid cloud furniture, even a lightning fireplace, adding a touch of coziness to a place of hard crystal. Strangely enough, the were no pictures or family portraits anywhere to be seen.

Now where's your tech? Lily went to the second floor. As was with most pegasi, his bed was there — a princess size cloud monstrosity that took half the bedroom. No Web-gear, though. The guest room turned out also as Webless. The entertainment room had some equipment, but one look was enough for Lily to know it was a mislead. Both gear sets were obviously put on display; both brand new and covered with a fine layer of dust. No Dream-hacker worth his protocols would leave his tech unused for so long.

Where is your other set? Lily wondered. The logical place to look was in the cloud furniture. Everypony would start there; everypony probably had. The Crystal Royal Guard, the cultists, probably even the medical staff had been through the place. If they had found something Twist would have learned about it. Which meant...

If I'm a weatherpony, what can I do that nopony else can? SmokeScreen had to deal with clouds and winds on a regular basis, so he could make requests for lots of those. So could any other pegasus, though. What could possibly be restricted to only—

"Clever stallion," Lily smirked, then rushed back to the living room. Nopony but you would have a permit for handling lightning, and only an idiot wouldn't be scared of getting struck by it. Too bad I'm an idiot. Not giving it any thought, she reached into the fireplace. Instantly, the stored lightning bolts zapped her hoof. There was some pain, but nowhere near the real thing. Decorative bolts. I should have known Lily reached in further, sticking her head in. A miniature zap struck her ear.

“Annoooying!” The pony kept herself from hitting the fireplace. It’s just pain. She grit her teeth and looked about. As expected the gear was there, and not just any gear. For the first time in her life Lily was gazing at a custom built could set. Hackers and glommers alike would chew their hooves off at a chance to get one of these. A headgear made of pure cloud matter, delicately linked to an overclocked Dream-crystal — that was the beauty that hung hooves away from Lily’s muzzle.

Clever. Only a pegasus can use that. If I snatch the crystal I'll break the whole thing. I bet the same will happen if I try to tear off part of the fireplace. Lily felt the sudden temptation to tear the whole section of the wall off. She had the strength to do so. With some luck she could even make it to the palace. No. Too chancy. Twist will be in trouble if I mess this up. Besides, there’s one option you didn't think of, SmokeScreen.

Reaching into her saddlebag, Lily took her Web headset and put it on. Her surroundings instantly changed to the large white gym she used for exercise. Unlike Twist, she didn't particularly enjoy roaming the Web. Fortunately, that was not necessary for what she had in mind.

"I know you can hear me, Clairvoyance," she said loudly. "I want to make a deal."

Silence. Lily expected as much. Time to see if my hunch is right.

"If you don't, I'm dragging Twist here," she went on. "She's good, but sooner or later even she will get noticed. And the more she pokes, the faster the cultists will find out."

No reaction.

"Do you seriously think she'll leave this alone? Or that I will? Or Silver? Somepony tried to kill Twist. That's not something one ignores." She paused. Sorry about this, Twist. It's just words. "Without help she'll get herself killed or Dreamlocked. And when that happens Silver Spoon will break Tartarus open to find who's responsible. After that, friend or not, you won't be able to hide anymore."

Saying her piece, Lily waited. If Clairvoyance was keeping tabs on them, as she suspected, he’d appear soon enough. The sad thing was, that wasn't a bluff, not in the complete sense of the word. The moment the cultists found out about Twist’s existence they’d go for her like a swarm of wasps. Suddenly her entire scrollbox disappeared, replaced by a connection failure message.

"What do you want?” a modified voice asked. Time to get to business.

Author's Notes:

Cloud gear — Web headgear that has been modified using cloud matter. Explained away as a myth by the Starswirl Conglomerate, the cloud gear is said to have been created by pegasi hackers, and could only be used by a member of their race. Rumours also claim that it has increased efficiency, including zero lag, additional protocol space, and the ability to hold three avatars simultaneously.

Confidential
There are seven known cases of full or partial cloud gear. Analyses have confirmed all were created by the same individual, code named The Sculptor. All attempts to identify and apprehend The Sculptor have failed, leading to believe she has never entered the Web.