"YEEEEOUCCH!!!" A sharp jab in my flank dragged me out of unconsciousness, blinking woozily at the gloomy room I found myself in.

Realizing I was strapped on my back to a medical table under rusty spotlights, I felt a surge of panic and fear. The last time I woke up in this situation, I had been jabbed with Moondancer's version of the I.M.P., made an experiment and turned into an alicorn after a week of misery. I still had nightmares about waking up like this, having it actually happening again had my heart pounding as I struggled and strained against my bonds.

"Mergin sina sho teir na!"

"Suna nin minat loma su!"

"Sha! Sha! Korin mi felas!"

A trio of squeaky voices chattering behind me gave me something to focus on, swinging my head to my side to see a big needle in my flank. Thankfully this one was filling with blood, not injecting me with Luna knows what. The medic taking my blood was enough to cease my struggles and stare blankly at the tiny creatures staring back.

Breezies... a trio of little Breezies were at the edge of the table, ready to flitter away on those bright wings, but holding their ground. I'd seen a few of them enslaved at Summerset Plantation, but these weren't quite as skittish and nowhere near as abused. Like those, the three before me were a little bigger than breezies I remembered before the war, with larger wings as well. A pale yellow one was pulling the plunger of the needle impaling me back, a flowing pale blue mane waving back from her antenna sticking up in alarm and wearing a tiny little lab coat.

Next to her was a light purple one scowling at me with angry blue eyes, wearing ...armor? Yes, it had armor on, very small armor... A bottlecap formed a round breastplate, snips of metal from a few different types of cans and odd gold pieces made plating over the (relatively) thick security barding, more gold plates made a weird helmet over his silvery blue mane. He also had a scalpel held in his teeth menacingly, the medical implement decorated with bright feathers making an effective spear in his grip.

The third pale green Breezie looked like she was in charge, wearing a doll sized MoP nurse's outfit of pink and yellow stripes, looking back serenely with her bright pink eyes under her long golden mane. She reinforced the idea when she chattered at the armored guard breezie and fluttered up to land lightly on my chest, looking up in thought a moment as the other two returned to their work drawing my blood.

"Yuuu hold steeel pony, vee take de samples, yes? Yu uhnderstand?" The robed breezie spoke thickly accented pony uncertainly, pointing up to the faded stenciled words on the wall not obstructed by cabinets or medial equipment reading; 'ARC Specimen Collection Room #4'.

I yelped when the other two moved on to yanking a few hairs out of my tail, unsettling the third standing on my chest with a flutter of diaphanous green wings. "Ow! What are you doing? Where am I? Where are my friends!? Jade! Glitter! Lemme go!"

Resuming my struggles looked to annoy her, flapping up again until I settled down. I didn't sense any obstruction to my magic though, I was on the verge of testing that out and forcing my way loose in my concern for Jade and our daughter, but wasn't sure how they'd take it.

"Yuu invade Breeze Nation pony, yu no ask de questions, vee ask. Others go vhere de great tree wills, yu sent here because yu not in ARC, never see pony like yu before. Ve take samples, den ve decide vhat to do vith yu. Yu be good, ve let go. Now, give samples." The breezie landed on my chest again, riding the rapid rise and fall of panicky breaths and glowering right in my face, her mane blown back by my angry snort of air through my nostrils.

The doctor and guard breezies by my tail moved down to work together clipping my newly regrown hoof, making a trip over to one of my splayed and tied down wings to yank a feather with a yelp. The pilfered feather looked like a long fan in the guard breezie's mouth as they trotted off, towards a crystalline container the hair and blood had already been stashed in, stowing it and the clipping in as well and lifting out a plastic container, trotting right between my outstretched hindlegs with it between them.

Samples? The ARC project? The Brotherhood ponies I had arrived her with mentioned that, samples of plants and animals from all over Equis, preserved in case the worst came to pass during the war. They wanted samples? Of me? Why would be continuing to do the prewar project? Or want them from me, surely they had plenty of Ministry of Peace ponies to donate samples to... Oh... probably no samples of a male alicorn though...

"Umm... f-fine, sure, whatever, take samples then. I just reeeeally don't like being restrained like this, so if you could hurry up and let me go that'd be great. Er... I'm Fast Times, nice to meet you.... umm..."

"Whisper Whip, ve see, haf tu take tu Willowheart, yu be good, be easier. Give sample." The nurse bedecked Whisper stamped a tiny hoof on the fur of my naked chest, though a frantic glance around the dusty exam room showed my armor and saddlebags in a bin near the door at least.

The pair between my legs popped the top off their specimen jar and peeked up over my waist impatiently, chattering to Whisper in their own language and moving the jar over... "H-HEY!! W-What!?!..."

"Sample. Yu give, hurry up, make de tinkle in cup." I blushed furiously at Whisper's firm answer, they wanted a urine sample too?! Come on!

"Ugh!... F-Fine! J-Just stop touching and I'll try!" I yelped back, eager to just get this insanity over with and get free without spooking the breezies away. They lived in here apparently, they knew where the others were, if I could get their cooperation I was willing to go along with this for now.

..............

"Give sample, vhy take so long?"

..............

"Nnnn... I'm trying ok!"

..............

"Hurry, hurry! Sample!"

------------

"I can't with you watching alright! Turn around! Go run some water or something! It's not easy to... ahhhh there we go..." I finally managed to give up what they wanted with a sigh of relief, wriggling against my bonds once I heard the top seal on the jar. "There, happy? Now can I please get up and..."

Another, smaller cup came out of the kit and I heard the top being popped off as the breezie dressed as a doctor disappeared between my legs again, straining to lift my head up far enough to see what the hell they were getting up to now. The light stroking of a tiny hoof on a sensitive bit of anatomy helped me figure it out, squeaking at the uninvited contact and what kind of sample I assumed they wanted now.

"HEY! T-THAT'S CROSSING A LINE!" I squirmed and cursed my automatic reaction down there and blushing at the 'Woooo!' from the doctor breezie responsible. I stammered at the tiny mare on my chest shifting with my struggles and turning an interested eye over her shoulder to the other two somewhere down there.

Whisper mostly ignored my red faced protests, chattering back and forth with the others a moment before turning that way and trotting down my stomach, absently replying on her way. "Yu give sample, ve help... Tink happy thoughts and hurry pony."

What had been a gentle touch was joined by a firmer grip of little legs wrapping around... "C-CUTITOUT!!" I bucked and thrashed on the table. My magic reached out and surrounded the ropes and straps holding me down, blood and a feather here or there were one thing, but I was getting loose now! The sharp scalpel pressed against my inner hindleg got me to stop in a hurry though, both because of the femoral artery the cold metal had paused on, and because of the way it traced menacingly up towards the focus of their groping. "N-NOT LITERALLY!!!"

The pale mint green breezie trotted back up to my chest with a distracted, annoyed huff. Rather than address my complaints about the gross invasion of privacy, she simply reached back to the saddlebag of woven reeds on her flank and flipped the top open to reveal a pile of glittery golden nectar.

She seemed to consider a cotton swab strapped to her back, then opted for sticking her little hoof in and bringing it back out dusted in gold. Before I could shut my complaining mouth up, she shot it forward past my teeth and on to my tongue, instantly causing a wonderful tingle along with the sweet flavor of Nectar.

"Zats no fair... c-cut it out... I don't wanna-" As soon as I slurred my complaint, Whisper dunked her leg into her basket of nectar and stuck it back in my mouth again.

She held my muzzle firmly with surprising strength with her free foreleg, then smiled when I started sucking on her tiny appendage despite myself. I was mad about ...something... but I reeeeally liked nectar. Why should I be so upset at the cute little breezie, letting my lips smack all the way up to her chest, she was being so generous!

"Dere, now tink happy thoughts yes? I take sample, yu hold still."Whisper nodded in satisfaction and pulled her leg free with an audible pop, wiping the slobber into a tiny little vial from her other pack and turning to cross my chest again at a brisk trot.

"What were you doin' again? Sample? Sample... Saaaaam-pullll... that's a funny word when you say it enough isn't it? So what am I 'posed ta... woooo! H-Hello! Zat feels nice... yer really, wow... reeeeally good at... whoa! T-Too bad Jade's not here, if yer this good at... "

I had been upset for some reason... I still didn't really like being tied down like this, but with the intense pleasure of so much nectar, plus the talented pair of breezies down there, I couldn't really think of any reason I should be that bothered. I couldn't think of much at all really, just wishing Jade was here. The big blue alicorn would be an even bigger job but talent like this should be shared with the mare I loved, why wasn't she here actually?

"Jade! Nnnn! I wantsss my snuggle wuggle bootiful blue wifey poo! Yooous guys just quit it an lemme go!" I didn't quite remember how I wound up here or what I should be doing, but Jade wasn't here for sexy fun times, which was wrong!

I started struggling again and imagining the light touch down there was a pair of disgusting radroaches instead of cute, tiny-pony looking breezies, grateful for all Jade's work forcing me to learn hard won self control. At my resumed fighting and faltering enthusiasm, Whisper huffed angrily and clambered back up my chest again, planting her forelegs on my muzzle to glare eye to eye.

"Yuu give sample! No floppy-floppy! Be strong like bull! Is almost dun!" The breezie in charge looked flushed and sweaty, and very agitated at my uncooperativeness. Why wasn't I cooperating again actually? The little doctor was still enthusiastically trying and thinking of dead kittens and naked Grandma Skies wasn't fun... oh yeah! Jade!

"Nnnno! Don't wanna! Lemme go! Jade has'ta say it's ok, you can't just go grabbin'! Buy me dinner first! I wants ah fresh strawberry milkshake, an' daisy sprinkles! An' a movie! AND JADE!!"

Whisper was pretty brave compared to the only other fairy breezies I had met, yelling with her right over my mouth blew her wavy mane back but she didn't fly away. Instead she dug in her basket saddlebags again, coating her foreleg thickly in more nectar and moving to shove it in my mouth again.

Tasty as that actually looked, I clamped my muzzle shut and puckered my lips in, shaking my head and clenching my eyes shut, getting an angry squeak out of her. "Open!"

"Mmm-nnn!" I mumbled back and stuck my nose up away from her reaching leg.

"Open!!"

"Mmm-nnn!" She jabbed out again and my muzzle dodged away again, acting like a certain little filly I knew when she didn't want to take her Rad-Away.

"Open!!!"

"Mmmm-nnn!!"

"OPEN!!!"

"MMM-NNN!"

Growing frustrated, Whisper spun on my chest and started chattering to the others, getting some backup to force me to open up. She had her slender legs spread in an angry stance, head down as she yelped, giving a good view under the skirt of her doll sized MoP nurses outfit and that pert little rump stuck up right under my nose... like a couple grapes stuffed in a hanky... I goggled at it dizzily and had a fun idea...

Lunging forward and opening wide just like she asked, I glommed on to the breezie's rear carefully and slurped her legs up. I didn't want to just chomp her in half and was glad my fangs didn't extend and give that impression, but I caught the bossy little mare with my lips around her chest and her hindlegs scrambling madly against the inside of my cheeks, getting whacked repeatedly by frantically flapping wings in my face but holding tight.

Her screeches brought her armored guard zipping right up with his decorated scalpel-spear held at the ready, but he didn't know I wasn't going to bite so it was a standoff. At least the one dressed like a little doctor stopped her ministrations, that was getting distracting again... So was the delicious, sweet taste flooding my mouth too actually... Did I slurp up her little basket of nectar too? Wooooo.... Oh nope, there it was, brushed by my darting tongue but still closed.

"Lemme go! Lemme go! Beeg stoopid pony! No bite!" My captive kept kicking and thrashing in terror. I see, fine to ignore me asking to be let go, but totally different when I had her caught.

"Hooo rmmemme guhhh urst!" (You lemme go first!) I mumbled back around the frantically fighting breezie, absently rolling my tongue around the legs wriggling in my mouth and gagging on her long tail a moment.

The guard had galloped up and had his spear pressed against my jugular, but personally I was much more interested in discovering breezies tasted like nectar... she was practically coated in the stuff dusting her thin coat of fur! Even better than the normal stuff no less! New heights of euphoria brightened the room, empty sample jars strewn across the room started flapping their lids up and down in song, the wide eyes of the little doctor climbing up to join the fun sparkled with whirls of color and her antenna spelled out JADE in looping cursive, keeping me mostly focused.

Mostly... I was slurping and sucking on the half breezie in my mouth happily, she wanted me to take more nectar anyway right? If I got to that little basket of hers and took it away, she'd be forced to give up, if I didn't overdose or get too stoned to care in the process of course. There was an especially sweet spot of nectar flavor my agile tongue kept trying to pin down over her increasing struggles, that had to be her baskets!

The high pitched wail she gave when I brushed it made me worry I hurt her for a second, then I saw how red the other two got... The guard's scowl got rather tomato faced, while the doctor blushed so brightly her antenna glowed a matching crimson. "Haaaa haaaa hiiiii Yu s-stop! L-Leggo!" Whisper panted from the end of my muzzle, drumming her forelegs against my chin weakly.

Another experimental lick got the same noise out of her and I felt a lecherous grin spread on my lips around her, not her nectar basket after all... "Whhhmm's mmttrrr? Dnnn hi gtta mmrtrrn mmavor? Mmnne mrr nuu ta duu mmmhhe." (Whassa matter? Don't I get ta return the favor? Fine for you ta do ta me.)

I gave her just enough slack to wriggle her way around and face me, sticking one foreleg in my nostril and the other atop my nose to lean up and stare eye to mismatched, loopy eye. "Iz not same! Iz holy meeshon! Yu leggo, stop funny bizness and- AHHHH!! MIGIR SHA NUNKA! SHA! SHA! SHA!!!"

Curling my tongue and slurping again cut her off magnificently, not to brag, but I had been put through a lot of training when it came to this kind of thing. Whisper's grip on my nose squeezed tightly for such slender little legs and her back arched as she slipped back into her own language. The guard looked flustered and drew the scalpel away from my throat, while the doctor mare turned neon red and threw a foreleg over her face, then immediately peeked around it anyway.

"Msss smme mming! Nnont wwnna! Lggo, mmmke muu Jdde! Nnwww!" (It's the same thing! Don't wanna! Lemme go, take to Jade! Now!)

Before this bizarre standoff could go any further, I felt the soothing thoughts of Ivy speaking in my head and paused. (Fast? Oh thank goodness! There you are, are you alright?!)

(Super duper Ivy Wivy! We're havin' a regular breezie party! Bondage and everything! Why was I... Oh yeah! JADE! Where's Jade? Where're you?! You ok? I wish you were here too Ivy, I wish you tasted like nectar like these guys do too! You gotta try it, you taste good anyway though, just not near as loopy, goofy feelin', cept that one time I started runnin outta air and...) I jabbered back in my head, continuing to suck on the breezie like a lollipop absently while I was distracted and ignoring her rising cries.

(Okie dokie lokie! Ummm I been tryin', they want saaaaam-pulls though... Not that it was bad, reeeeeally good actually... You think we could convince them to join in sometime? That'd be awesome! Maybe Jade would...) My tittering reply brought a wave of exasperation flowing through our mental connection, then a tightening of focus as the telepathic alicorn seemed to force my brain back into working, lending me her focus.

The need and anxiousness shared through unity helped me concentrate even after another absent lick. (Ok Ivy, are you sure you're ok?)

(I'ma comin' then! No problemo!) I giggled back with renewed purpose getting through even the intoxicated fog clouding everything, Ivy needed me, Jade, Glitter, everyone! I had to get loose and find out what the hell was going on here.

Returning my attention to the breezies standing on my chest and in my mouth, I saw the guard and doctor standing together, well at least the scalpel to my throat was pulled away... Whisper was still flopped over my muzzle to face me, weakly hanging on with her head resting on my nose, panting with a very sleepy, lidded look on her face... I had kept right on sucking on her like a lollipop that whole time hadn't I? Whoops...

"Hhuu! Lmmmee guh, utt rrppss! NNWW!" (You! Lemme go, cut ropes! NOW!) I mumbled at the guard breezie with a dazed scowl, fighting through just how fucked up I was with Ivy's psychic help.

"Buut... meeshon... Must h-haave de samples fer de holy ARC, please?" My dazed captive gasped into my face, they were awful determined to get that damn sample.

Feeling a little sheepish for my actions, even though they felt it was perfectly ok to do the same to me dammit... turnabout was fair play... No, more important things to deal with, had to get free and I was highly motivated to do it by whatever means necessary. I growled and spit Whisper out to land with her friends, soaked in slobber from the chest down and limp as a wet noodle, but free to their relief.

"No, no more samples, no more fooling around. I want to go to my friends, right now. If I hafta to get violent to do it, I will... You're holding me against my will and trying to force me... you could have asked! I let Spring Gale and da others go when bad ponies locked them up, you can let me go too!"

At the mention of the breezies I had freed at Summerset Plantation, the guard tromped forward and raised his scapel-spear menacingly, jabbing the business end in one nostril, shoving up with the blunt side to make me stretch up uncomfortably. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! W-What'd I say!?"

"Nulia sha mika neer Spring Gale? Nunka liw pa zir sha! pilita na kos Shroud!" Whatever that meant, he sounded really upset...

"H-He say... 'Vhere yu hear a-boot Spring Gale? Yu probably lock up! She save by big-big hero Shrouded Stallion pony.'" A trembling Whisper translated as she staggered up to her hooves, raising a suspicious eyebrow while her guard jabbed my nostril a little higher.

"Zat's me! I swear! Zat's my armor right over there see? I found Gale locked up as a slave, sos I let her go! Can't you return the friggin favor?"

The lavender guard didn't take his scowling eyes off me, but chittered out the side of his mouth to his companions. At his low hiss, the doctor breezie fluttered up and across the room, dipping down into the bin where my gear had been stashed and digging around. My black hat seemed to float by itself out of the container after a moment, bobbing and weaving its way back over my head, left to fall back to my brow when the breezie inside zipped out.

The blunt edge of the scalpel jabbed my nose up again when my horn glowed, quickly extinguished after setting the cockeyed hat back to its proper angle and hoping that was good enough as I continued. "See! Shrouded Stallion, right here! I promise!"

The stern little guard glowered dubiously for a long minute, tilting his head back and forth before finally removing his weapon from my face and hopping down to the table. As I wrinkled my nose and really wished I could rub it, the ropes holding me down parted with a tiny twang and the click of the first strap buckle let me move again, looking down to see the guard breezie cutting more lines holding my wing down with his spear and walking to the next buckle.

Whisper leapt after him and a furious back and forth ensued, her screeching after him as he kept right on letting me go and answering in a calm, unbending voice. When the last lines were loose and I sat up, all three flew off the table to continue their bickering, Whisper finally giving up with a shout and zipping right in my face. "He say you short for beeg hero, but dat iz vhat she say hero pony in silly costume look like. Owe debt, save his seester so he no do what I say! Yu should steeel give sample doh!"

Great... called short by a breezie... It was like a hellhound saying maybe you were a little too violent... I groaned and gave a grateful bow to the stone faced guard anyway, hopping off the table to trot over to my gear and ignoring the pesky Whisper buzzing my head the whole way. "No. I want to go to my friends, I'm not playing around here trying to be nice anymore. Why are you even so obsessed with taking samples anyway? The whole ARC project thing was a long time ago, what do you care?"

"Iz holy meeshon! Voice of great tree wants samples, ve chosen for holy pilgrimage to take! Iz beeg honor und yu screw up! Me never show face again after dis shame!" Whisper crossed her forelegs over her chest angrily and huffed, still red faced and glaring at me shrugging back into my coat.

I really hated getting back into this thing with my wings, usually I had Jade to help me... falling over on my second try and rolling on the ground in a circle. "Nnngh! Dammit... Voice of da great tree? Da Hub? It talks?"

In answer, a voice did indeed start speaking from crackling speakers overhead, an artificial stream of breezie-speak my three companions all bowed and listened to attentively;

"MULA NA SHIR PU BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE NUNKA LA. MIKIR UN LALA WILLOWHEART"

I stared up at the sparking speaker embedded in the ceiling in surprise, turning on my pip-buck light to get a better look around while I strapped my saddlebags on again. An exam room basically... like a doctor's office, the exam table was bigger and had those annoying straps, shelves and cabinets of cobwebs and dusty medical tools.

The walls were square and sparkled a bit under the light, other than the spotlights over the table it was the brightest source of illumination, the ceiling lights were dim or totally dark and only buzzed weakly. The door out looked like it was unsecured, though it had another little door in the middle at the floor. A glowing terminal at the end of the longest counter drew my eye and I headed that direction.

Whisper's annoyed pout got me to pause on the way to patching my pip-buck to the waiting computer, having tried and missed repeatedly with the patch cable already. I turned to the breezie in the nurse's outfit as she landed on the counter beside it. "Great tree says no need full sample anyway... no good for ponies... Ve not take pony sample since first beeeeeg beeg pony's come to Commonwealth, und dey all females. Steeel beeg dishonor! Yu come tu Willowheart vith us, dey decide vhat to du."

"You didn't even need it!?!? What da hell!?! Wait, Willowheart, dat's where you took my Jade too. Okie dokie... I'll go, but I wants to go other places too, the rest of my friends!"

"Uthers sent to deel vith invaders, yu no choose vhere ve go. Willowheart first." Stamping a tiny hoof on the keyboard used up another chance to crack this terminal, earning the blushing breezie a glare that made her flitter off the machine at least.

Alright... This 'Voice of the Great Tree' had to be the advanced maneframe running the place, unless the tree really did talk... It did have faces on the walls, wait no, that was just me hallucinating the faded MoP posters were moving... Ok, focus... if it was like Goodneighbor than any terminal on the network should give me access, let me get an idea what kind of insanity I was dealing with here, maybe a map to go along with the locator tags I had been cycling through. Everyone had been split up and strewn to the winds, Ivy and Glitter's marks weren't that far apart from me or each other at least, then Jade's by itself, and finally Val, Zed and Witchy together furthest away.

Once I was through, the prompt waiting seemed like a translation of what the voice from above had told the breezies;

BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE SUFFICIENT, ARC REQUIREMENTS FOR PONIES MET. LOG SAMPLE, RETURN TO WILLOWHEART.

Below this blinking missive was just what I wanted, a glowing image of a basically round map, branching out here and there to different sections. The objective marker was dead center, while a glowing path made a circuitous route from where we were to there. I downloaded the map and looked over my locator tags again, now to better tell where it had teleported my friends.

Ivy and Glitter were in the same wing close to each other, Jade was in the large chamber in the center, and the rest were spread out in the same wing to the east of Jade. It would take a detour from the path the computer wanted the breezies to take, but I could get to Glitter and Ivy first.

Right then, I had a goal and knew how to get there, no matter what was in the way I'd just... Oh no... What the fuck!? Going to draw my weapons in determination just left me with nothing! I checked over my pip-buck's inventory and gaped at what I found, nothing was under the weapons tab... absolutely nothing... No Best Served, no Terrible Shotgun, no Vengeance or Deliverer, no Blue Moon battlesaddle, no grenades or mines, not so much as a pointy stick!

"Wheres da hell are my weapons!?!" I glared woozily at the nurse breezie Whisper pouting back at me, cantering back a step and knocking over a dusty glass jar of tongue depressors.

She was brave given my angry snorting down at her, sticking her nose up and directing her fellows to seal the odd crystalline container holding my sample, then carry it over to a drawer on the wall. The receptacle inside was the perfect size to take the gem shaped box, grabbing it with rusty clamps and shutting with a whir and pneumatic whoosh of air. Finally she deigned to answer in a huff, "Pony weapons bad, no allowed in great tree, confisskated by Securi-tribe."

The breezie stallion who freed me landed beside her and gave a curt nod, chirping up to me and waiting on Whisper to translate again with a sigh. "He say; 'Weapons go tu Hubsec Village, dey safe, he take yu tu dem if Queen say ok.'"

It took weapons away!? Ok... I could see the Ministry of Peace hub doing that, it must have stripped them away during teleportation. Val had to be furious... "Is this place safe? Don't tell me it's crawling with slimy zombies outside..."

"No zombees, eet hard trip doh, Fallen und critters... Ve protect!" Whipperfly's proud declaration wasn't that reassuring... despite her stern guard giving a yip and waggling his spear around. Critters?

Grumbling about being totally disarmed, I turned back to the terminal and tried to keep my brain functioning at something approaching sober. I had to shake my head to try to focus on the text, still trying to drift off into the clouds under all that nectar. Once past the alert sent to this room by the hub maneframe, the system itself listed a few files, mostly a list of samples taken with a few notes here and there;

Sample #33023 - Toucan
Sample #33024 - Ferret
Sample #33025 - Racoon
Sample #33026 - Possum
Sample #33027 - Orthus - Wasn't sure which head to take saliva from, did both.
Sample #33028 - Bobcat -
Sample #33029 - Tailsmanian Devil - Glad for our little helpers calming it down, vicious little bugger.

Animal samples... Little helpers? Were the breezies here then? It seemed like a good bet, either there were really good tailors among them, or somepony made those doll sized MoP outfits and security barding before the war... Having learned all I was likely to from this terminal, I disconnected my pip-buck and turned to the door, weapons or not I had to get to the others, hopefully it wasn't too bad.

Coming face to rump with the doctor breezie on my way brought me up short. Trying to go around just resulted in her zipping in the way again, stopped by the inviting wiggling and blushing face looking back. Whisper put a stop to it finally, flapping up on her bright wings and whacking the tiny doctor mare over the head repeatedly, driving her off in a chittering back and forth that ended with Whisper sputtering and turning red down to her hooves.

"Er... problem?"

The embarrassed scowl she turned on me was withering, hovering away and down towards the door in a huff. "Ve never talk tu beeg ponies und be friends before. She vant try licky-licky, like ess fun! Vas scary beeg pony! N-No like!. Yu no need more silly medicine anyvay!"

I giggled madly at the pair and followed them to the door, answering with some difficulty. "Sorry... for scaring you then, but to be fair you scared me... And you was basically doing the same thing to me whether I liked it or not, when you didn't need to even! Though I wonder, do you all taste the same? I gotta tell ya, nectar is awesome enough, but you were even better! I haven't been able ta get drunk in sooo long, you guys are great! Ask my Princess doctor breezie, I'm game though!"

While the male guard glowered and took a few flaps back, the doctor nodded her head rapidly with a grin, getting an exasperated hiss from Whisper as the bigger door slid open to the dusty hallway outside. "Stoopid doctor ees Misty Wisp, disobeying guard ees Blowing Storm. Vhy I get silly, dumb-dumbs tu go on important meeshon!? Ve go!"

I copied her toss of her mane and proud strut through the door, getting a giggle out of Misty Wisp and weaving my way after them. "Right... Ve go!"

Our trip through the faceted hallways littered with junk was surreal, even discounting how intoxicated I was. It was like a miniature wasteland...

Every hallway had strips of dried, brown grass growing at the edges, blackened limbs of little shrubs and wilted stalks of flowers mirrored the world outside. What was really weird were all the ruined little buildings on the way... There were tiny huts shaped like mushrooms and little cottages and even stores crumbling in on themselves at regular intervals. Built on shelves in the walls or down in the corners, all had the same look as the wasteland ruins around Trotson, just muuuuch smaller.

With my breezie guides to go along with it, the comparison was even stronger. At their size, they were traversing the wasteland in a party, going from ruin to ruin as we went. Juxtaposed with the pony sized artifacts of clipboards that looked like billboards among it all, gurneys that rusted away like towering cliffs, pencils like strewn logs... it was really, really weird...

The building itself wasn't in fantastic shape either, the walls were all that glittery white with the grain of wood on the surfaces, and fairly square, like roughly cut, milky quartz, but with rotting carpet down the center of the halls and posters on the walls. Sliding doors led to other sample collection rooms, some of which were obviously for much bigger samples by the huge exam tables and chains replacing the straps. The last I stuck my head in had a skeleton still strapped down, a Yao Guai from the look, or a bear most likely since it was there a long time by my peek at the dusty interior.

There were cracks in the walls and the occasional dark hole in the floor, making me wonder where they led enough to stupidly stick my face right in one. A hairless rat the size of a retriever snarled out and nearly bit my face off for that, sending me falling back to my rump and scrambling back at the vicious little beast wiggling out with more on its naked tail. They had sores and scars on their rubbery pink hides, wasteland mutants of unusual size that the breezies attacked immediately.

Blowing Storm knew his business with that scalpel, flitting in and out and drawing bleeding lines on the rat's hide as I got to my hooves again. Misty had a blowgun that looked like it started life as a mechanical pencil, shooting tiny little darts that slowed the enemy down and gave me an opportunity to run over, rearing back and giving a buck that slammed it into the wall with a splat. Bucking with earth pony strength was going to take some getting used to, at least I wasn't totally defenseless.

Another of the beasts leapt to my back and started biting with long fangs, making me buck and struggle to dislodge it while another snapped at my prancing hooves. With a growl, I gave a hard flap of my wings straight to the ceiling, smashing the rat on my back against it with a sickening crack. The other had grabbed hold of my foreleg and I flung it free, glaring down at it and diving that way to land on top of it and snap its spine, as Blowing Storm killed the next.

Afterwards the breezies urged me towards a wide intersection of halls with glittering stairs leading up, while the doors on this level led to the central circle of the map. A tiered fountain stood in the center, a trickle of brackish water leaking down the stained stone bunny at the peak, down to a small bowl at the top, atop a bigger bowl, which was atop the biggest bowl at the bottom that was left with a few inches of water and lots of gleaming golden bits and ancient fish bones below.

Quite a few ruined breezie buildings were built up around and on the fountain, tiny water wheels by dry channels that should be rushing with water from the fountain, crumbling little houses along each bowl's edge and planters of desiccated flowers. At the breezies size, this would constitute a fairly decent city. It was here they landed for a rest, having come miles already at their scale.

Again I thought of a tiny wasteland, they traveled the fading ruins of the villages or odd homes so far and stopped at the biggest spot of ancient civilization to rest before moving on, their guard even poked his head in a few buildings to scavenge... I was also surprised to find that breezies possessed magic... sort of.

Misty Wisp landed by my bleeding foreleg and her long antenna brushed the wound, glowing with healing magic that soothed the wound and smiling up at my surprise. Not a unicorn's horn or a healing spell from Jade, but effective first aid treatment from the little doctor during our break I thanked her for.

The algae covered bunny statue at the top was scowling and thumping a wide hindpaw at me rapidly... No, no it wasn't, come on wear off dammit... Nectar was great, but I really needed to sober up, that and stop drooling after Misty Wisp's flicking tail hungrily, she had more nectar in those little baskets... Not to mention they apparently produced it from other fun places... Hell she wanted me to suck on her like rock candy! It'd be fine!

Ivy's telepathic shout gave me a guilty start and I thunked my brow, taking what help I could get from her and shaking my head. (Sorry! Really sorry Ivy! I'm trying.... they taste soooo good though... We're almost there, promise! Are you and Glitter ok? Any luck getting ahold of Witchy? The Brotherhood even?)

What she could tell me was a relief anyway, the breezies were friendly and my daughter and Jade were ok. A little worrisome she couldn't telepathically find the others she was able to do so with, plus Val and Zed were beyond her ability to psychically talk to no matter what. I spotted a slightly bent old metal medical cane near the stairs and floated it to me, testing the swing with the makeshift club and nodding to myself.

(We're on our way, keep trying and see what all you can find out from these breezies, you're better at talking... stuff... than I am. I'm gonna try with the ones with me on the way and be right there.)

Whisper was down in the puddle of water in the basin below my tail, washing her hindlegs off with a scowl up at my questioning look. "Pony slobbers... yu needs tu brush teethies tu! Ick!"

"I said I was sorry, you didn't give me much choice you know. Sooooo... are you too mad to talk? My princess and I came here hoping for help, but we didn't know you guys lived here, you did before the war too didn't you? So what's the deal? Tell me about the fairies, or do you prefer gremlins? You guys mess with anypony in the forest don't you, screw up all the machines?"

"Ve is not gremlins! But yes, Tinker-Tribe helps keep bad pony machines away, no hurt... just discourage. Dis our home, ve no vant mean ponies here, yu invaders first to get inside since beeg booms." The little nurse groomed her tail in a huff as she answered.

"We're not invaders... er... Ok, I guess we are from your perspective, but we don't mean any harm. Ok, so you were here when the bombs fell, how come you do what the maneframe... er... the voice of the great tree says to do still? Dress like MoP ponies?"

Pointing at her pink and yellow striped outfit as an example, I listened with interest to her proud answer. "De Great Tree is our home and protector, eet tell us tings to do since we come back from deep dark. Ve follow words of Flutterpony, she holy savior tu breezies, save us! She give ancestors home, give us work vhen turned away frum old breezies, dey probably all dead now... Breezie nation live on doh! No more talky, yu ask questions of Queen und uder breezies in charge, ve complete pilgrimage und bring you back, dis way."

'Dis way' was not the way I wanted to go... She wanted to lead us directly to the center of the hub, while Ivy and Glitter weren't far away to the northwest, through the hallway to the left of the door Whisper fluttered beside impatiently. I joined her and tried to sound sober and reasonable, pointing 'dat way' and going there instead.

"My friends are there, my daughter, I need to get her first."

The breezie leading our expedition darted in front of my face and started shoving my muzzle back the way I came, chirping in agitation. "NO! Ve go home! Uders watching dem, dey be fine, yu come now!"

Opening my mouth wide in front of her got her to zip out of my path in a hurry, though I did catch a little shiver down her spine... 'Awareness!'. "My daughter Whisper... Daaaaaughter... I'm going to her first. It won't take long, you can always ride on my back if you're tired of flying."

Another sliding door waited up ahead, leading to the outermost curving hallway of the central hub, which in turn led to the wing I wanted. I reached for the controls over my annoyed guide's protests. "No!! No go dat way! Ees bad to..."

What waited on the other side of the door cut off any need for her to continue... Muddy globs of breezidore nests... lots of them... I slammed my hoof to the controls and the door slid shut again, a few buzzing breezidores darting in under the barrier before it closed that sent the others zooming into the air. Shit! I couldn't keep up with their darting progress in the two story fountain room, the monstrous breezies were extremely focused on the normal...ish ones too, ignoring me in favor of the three of them.

Blowing Storm proved how deadly he was at his scale, engaged in a furious aerial battle on butterfly wings that put me to shame, even with my larger feathered ones. The other two breezies weren't as good at fighting though, fleeing and trying their best against twice their number, thanks to me.

All I had was a cane... not my knife, but something to take consolation in. "Bring them this way! Hurry!" I floated the bent hunk of metal up in my magical grip and waggled it like a batter at the plate, never much of a sportspony... but I could do this.

Misty Wisp followed my request instantly, zipping down to floor level and right at the practice swing I took to demonstrate. As soon as she passed by, I swung for the fences, bashing one of the nasty pests up to the wall to ooze down while I got ready for another pass by Whisper.

She looked less trusting, but did come right down the middle like a winged fastball with two on her tail. I clipped one, sending the snapping breezidore to the floor on broken wings, the second was annoyed by the attack and darted right at me, scratching my neck on its way to bite my flank.

I swatted at the needle sharp teeth and stomped a hoof down on the first struggling on the ground, looking up dizzily to Storm finishing off the last. The breezidore venom made my heart speed up a bit, but apparently sucking down as much nectar as I had already gave some protection, only forcing me to fall to my rump panting and wince at Whisper's furious screeching.

"I say no stoopid pony! Ees Fallen territory! Haf tu go around! Ve live here, yu don't!" Having a breezie whack my nose was humiliating... especially since she was right. I could have gotten one of them hurt, or me for that matter.

It still didn't change anything though, there wasn't any quick path that way, just a lot of circuitous routes that looked like tree rings. "I'm sorry! But I have to go that way, I need to get to my daughter, now! Hmm.... the hall isn't that long, then it opens up to another intersection like this one it looks like, see here? Is it safe on the other side?"

It took a second for Whisper to fly over and look at my pip-buck screen, going over the television sized screen for her and spotting where I pointed on the map. She gave me a dubious stare, but nodded reticently. "Ees safe dere, daughter fine, in between is dead zone, no go dere. Ve go to Willowheart, den yu go dat way if yu want."

"No, it's not that far, I can go fast... I'm going straight through, here, get in my bags where it's safe."

All three didn't look happy at my open saddlebag, looking to their leader skeptically as she snorted at me. "NO! Yu do vhat ve say! Ve no go in steenky bag!"

"Then get out of here before I open the door again, 'cause I'ma goin' that way. See you later Whisper."

I stopped at the door again and waited, starting to get annoyed at the furious little mare kicking my hat. "I hate yu beeg pony! Ve no can go back vithout yu! Make dishonor worse! Already bad enough yu shame me!"

"I'm openin' dis door... 5...4...3..."

"AAARRRGH! Fine stoopid stubborn dummy! Yu better live! Ve hide in bag!" She hated it, but at her shout the others all slipped into my saddlebag in a huff.

That meant it was safe to summon my lightning aura... I wasn't quite sure what getting zapped by it might do to them, but they were safe in the leather pack. With the spell cast and draining magic, I took a deep breath and hit the door again, blasting through it and the dozen surprised breezidores thunking against it on the other side.

When Whisper said 'dead zone' I thought she was being figurative, an area infested with breezidores would be off limits, so dead zone seemed apt. Apparently she was being literal though, the pale crystalline walls here were grey and dead looking, more cracks filled them where they weren't covered with muddy hives, the lights were completely out leaving me to rely on alicorn senses to let me dodge my way through at full speed.

I was quickly attracting a growing swarm right on my tail, some closing in did indeed get zapped by the electricity arcing around me, but for the most part I was fast enough to stay ahead. I was grateful there weren't a lot of turns or obstacles to navigate, it was just one long, gentle curve of hallway leading to the next wing of the complex. I shot past a pretty big hole in the outer wall and got a fleeting glimpse of the outside on the way, the sun was setting and the grassy grounds outside were cloaked in gloom.

Taking a look nearly made me run right into a clicking horror of an obstacle, an... ant?! A reeeally big ant... more clattering up from a rubble strewn hole in the floor I had to flap over. Giant pincers clamped down on my stumbling foreleg and I had to bash it repeatedly with the cane to get loose, stung several times by the first breezidores to catch up, then free to blur down the hall again in an electric flicker.

By the time I spotted the door at the end of the hall, my heart was going a mile a minute and most of the pleasant buzz of the nectar was overriden by the pain and shivers making my steps falter, almost there dammit! I flapped up from the ground enough to spin and turn back, skidding to the door and pressing the panel with my tail as my horn crackled lightning and I took aim at the swarm filling the hall behind me.

I lifted off the ground on fluttering wings to let the recoil blow me back through the opening door, scorching the cloud of breezidores and hitting the door control with my magic in time to cut off the survivors. Dismissing the aura of electricity still arcing over me, I staggered to the matching fountain with a humming bird top in this intersection, managing to fall over on the side the breezies were not hidden in and calling to them weakly.

"S-See... all clear.... easy peasy..."

I felt the rustle of movement on my flank a moment, them peeking out cautiously after all that noise and getting tossed around with all my toys and junk on that side. When they crawled out, Misty was quick to trot to my gasping face and coat her foreleg in nectar, shoving it in my muzzle while pouting at Whisper landing nearby.

She was sticking her leg in a lot further than her leader as a kind of protest apparently, and taking her time playing with my tongue with widening eyes, but the delicious nectar eased the poison back off quickly and let me reluctantly pull away from the tiny filly. Just in time to face Whisper's wrath...

"Vould only take a few hours long vay stoopid pony! Yu happy now? Yu just vant to get more medicine, play vit Misty, I see!" The bossy little mare's admonitions made me groan, lightly patting Misty's pale mane in thanks and using the fountain to crawl my way up, accidentally smashing a decrepit breezie home on the edge in the process.

"Yup, you guys are definitely better than plain ol' nectar, what? are ya jealous? Wanna nother ridey poo? C'mere! What da hell is those nasty bastards anyway? How comes they're in here?"

Now that we were close, the trio of breezies had to follow my weaving progress towards Glitter's nearby arrow on my compass. Whisper snorted angrily at my gaping mouth and waggling tongue opened invitingly, smacking Misty Wisp away and glaring at me. "N-No!! Dey is Fallen, dose left behind, dey hate us who got away frum beeg booms on de last day. Yu ask Queen more, vey stay away!"

Blowing Storm's stern eyes stayed focused straight ahead as he chattered a terse response, forcing me to cough for a translation out of the scowling Whisper. "He say; "Ve should fight, keel fallen. Ees blasphemy, ve no fight und war like dumb ponies Blowy!"

"Sounds lika plan! Why not, they're bad guys right? Like zombies for breezies? This is your home? Be pretty scary if home was infested with those thingys. Be lots easier if'n I had my guns... Okie dokie... almost here, which dooooor..."

My answer seemed to win me some respect from the guard breezie, nodding sharply and flitting ahead of me, past the cheery cartoons in peeling paint on the walls to hover directly in front of the next door. The flickering sign above it read 'Pediatrics', made sense... the computer running the hub teleported Glitter to the area for foals.

"GRRRRRAAAAAA!" Glitter's voice as the door slid up made me focus, charging into the large room of ratty, rainbow colored carpet to spot the pale filly in the middle of all the chaos.

She was in the center of the room, amidst all the ancient toys of a children's hospital waiting room. Several dollhouses or actual breezie buildings were arranged in a pair of rows and it was at the head of this aisle my little filly was rearing up angrily, roaring to the ceiling and stomping down on her hooves by toy carriages and tanks. A trio of breezies squealed and ran for their lives away from her, ducking into the dollhouses or cowering around the corners as she stomped after them, growling and snarling as she came.

"GLITTER! What are you doing?! Did they hurt-"

The rest of my yelp was cut off by a pale blur rocketing into me, sending me rolling across the floor with my breath knocked out and a delighted filly nuzzling me. I absently noted the breezies she had been chasing had fluttered up curiously, all their fleeing terror forgotten, come to think of it, why didn't they just fly away to begin with?

"Daddy!!! LOOK! Fairies!! This is Grassy Breeze and this is Winter Shiver and this is Valley Wind and we been playin' angry dragon and scared villagers! It's awesome, now I know how Aunt Swan feels! Where were you, was it fun too?! This place is great! I was scared when I woke up alone, but then my new friends came an' we been havin' fun, they said you were ok and I knew you'd come, then Aunt Ivy did that funny talking in my head thingy and I was sure and... OH you have fairy friends too! HI!!"

She finally released her deathgrip to wave cheerily to my own trio of breezies, letting me up again to check her over frantically before letting her loose. She was fine... they were playing a game and she was having a grand old time, of course she was... She was way too hyper to be under the influence of their wonderful nectar too. I breathed a sigh of relief and trotted over to the breezies that had been her babysitters chattering with Whisper.

When their high pitched conversation hit a low point, I took a low bow in front of the pastel group, green, blue and orange. "Thank you... for taking care of her, I'm her father Fast, umm... nice meeting you."

The pale blue mare in a tiny nurse's uniform like Whisper's fluttered up on glittery white wings that matched her mane, giving a midair bow back and a tinkling giggle. "Yu are daddy pony? Ve know all aboot yu, Glitter pony tell us all aboot famous hero Shrouded Stallion pony. Ve happy to watch, ees nice leetle filly, ve have fun together!"

The chirp from Misty Wisp spoken around Glitter's side sounded suspiciously like 'So did Whisper', supported by how red the breezie in question got and Misty's long squeal of laughter. After leaving them to chatter back and forth, ignoring some of the stares from the pair of breezie mare's Misty managed to hover off to herself with to whisper to... I gave Glitter time to learn every new breezie's name and even speak a few halting words in their own language... (how did she do that?!) I finally nudged her up and to the door, walking with purpose towards Ivy's nearby mark.

"Ok, now we just have to find Ivy, then we go to this Willowheart place, ok? Just like you wanted Whisper, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Was so bad! Und who says yu can take girly out of..." My burning stare cut her off and shrank her tiny blue eyes to minuscule little dots. 'Be Dark...' yawned and stretched awake at the mere suggestion they were separating me from my daughter. "F-Fine... ve take girly too, uders say is ok a-anyway. But no go anywhere else! Vhy need find uder pony here?"

I cantered happily down the dusty halls, bumping flanks playfully with Glitter skipping along at my side and beaming. She never had any doubt, waking up alone in a strange place and just completely sure I'd come, turning to fun and laughter with new friends instead of worrying. She continually amazed me and I told her so, ruffling her mane and planting a sloppy kiss on her brow with half a dozen breezies in a cloud around us.

"Daaa-aaad! Ick! N-Not in front of my friends! Aunt Ivy's close right? I found her map thingy, why wouldn't we go get her too?" Glitter giggled and answered for me effectively, wiping slobber from her forehead in an embarrassed pout.

She was just down the brightly decorated pale hall, past this series of ruined offices and to the left. "Good question sweetie, why wouldn't we? Let's see... right down here, little further... I'll let her know we're almost here!" (Ivy! We're right nearby, just another second ok? Glitter's with me and we'll all...)

(You can tell me to my face! We're just outside, right down to this door under the sign for...) My relieved smile froze and my mouth dried up, reading the rusty sign above the door, then reading it again, then one more time... shaking a little more each time I went over the stark word there. I checked the map again, just like the mark on my compass was pointing towards, Ivy was right on the other side of that door...

The door labeled MATERNITY...

Glitter saw no issue, hopping up to push the control and squealing through the door after more fairies inside, all fluttering around an overstuffed waiting room chair and the big green mare sitting in it, anxiously tapping her hooves together as I gaped from the door. The breezies had found a ratty blanket to drape over her hindlegs and lots of musty looking pillows to prop behind her outstretched wings. A bright silver one was midway from the counter leading to the rooms beyond, with a glowing Sparkle Cola in its legs and I spotted a few Fancy Buck wrappers on the magazine strewn coffee table beside her.

She had said she was well attended to... She had also said 'a mare in my condition' but I was too inebriated to put it together...

The glowing alicorn gave an unsteady smile and shrugged weakly. "S-Surprise..."

"Jade! We're getting Jade right now! Then the others! Then we're getting out of here, flying right to Goodneighbor, no... Goodneighbor's no good, Trinity Tower maybe? But there's a new town there now... who knows what it's like. No, no, no, no good, Sanctuary, we're going to Sanctuary! Won't that be fun Glitter? W-We'll just go home! Yes, home is best! I'll... I'll add rooms on! Or Sunset's house! She wouldn't mind I'm sure! Yeah, and a walkway connecting them, and a wall... a big wall... with turrets, and robots! and..."

"F-Fast! Slow down!" Ivy's hurried voice behind me got me to stop stomping down the halls at a rapid clip, turning back to see the beautiful mare trotting to catch up with Glitter bounding beside her.

"OhmigoshI'msosorry! I w-was going too fast! We should be walking! Slowly! N-No jumping around Aunt Ivy Glitter! You could trip her and..."

The light touch of Ivy's verdant feather under my chin paused my jabbering, leaving me panting in place and shivering under her soft smile and giggle hidden under her hoof demurely. "Fast... slow down... get it? Slow down Fast?"

"B-B-But..."

"It is fine Fast, there were many ancient medical machines back there that still functioned, sister Jade was beside herself talking about the level of prenatal care preserved here she could use outside. It was quite advanced to even detect it this early, but yes, I am. This was the purpose for all our fun remember? Though a bit disappointing to learn this soon... I will have to talk to my sister about continuing regardless... But either way, apparently you are a viable male, just as we hoped. This is what we wanted, it is good!" Ivy beamed in joy over my hyperventilating, totally unconcerned when...

"Good!? No! Not good! I mean it is!! Sorry!! Really great! Wonderful! Just not good right this second! Who knows where we even are, what's going on, how we'll get out! Then Gunners! The Institute! Zombies!! We're in a world of zombies!!! Just casually wandering around chomping ponies, ho-hum! Mutant turtles! RAIDERS! KILLER BUGS EVEN!" I stood on my hindlegs to hold her warm cheeks in my hooves, one eye twitching as I started foaming from the mouth and shaking.

Her just smiling sweetly and nodding made it worse... "The world is the same as it was an hour ago Fast, I was aware of these things then and am unsurprised now. Only one very small thing has changed."

"S-Small thing!?! Y-You shouldn't be here, we need to get you back home and make it safe! You shouldn't even fly back yourself! Bus... I'll fix the bus somehow, then I'll haul it back to Sanctuary, then the wall, then the turrets..."

"Daaaad? You're kinda freakin' out... are you ok? What's Ma-tur-natty mean?" Glitter had slowed to a wary trot between us, looking up with those innocent pink yes.

"It means... it means... meeeeee........."

Everything started getting grey again and Whisper zipped up to slap my face, clearly relishing it as things came back into focus. "Yu no sleepy fainty again silly pony, ve let biggest pony out to carry yu, don't make du again if yu so vorried!"

That got me to shake it off again, biting my tongue to stay conscious rather than make a repeat performance of my fainting act back in the Maternity ward. One minute Ivy was sitting there smiling, the next I was on her back being hauled down the halls towards Willowheart, waking up to hurry the pace once it all sank in again. It meant...

"It means I will have a foal Glitter. I am pregnant, isn't that lovely?" Ivy spoke softly, probably trying not to set me off again, though Glitter's immediate shriek of joy ruined the quiet approach.

"YOU WILL!?! That's great Aunt Ivy!! Yay daddy!! A little brother or sister! Eeeeeeee!!!" Glitter and Ivy squeeing to themselves made me lay my ears back and wince, how could they be so happy?! We had just gone through a town of breezidores to get here, she could have been hurt...

(Fast... I know this is a lot to take in for you, but you need to calm down. I am not suddenly made of glass, it is barely a cluster a cells and a change in my hormones according to sister Jade, it will be some time before I show at all or it affects me in the slightest. I'm not going to run away and hide in your Stable for the for the next several months...) Ivy arched an eye down at me in a smirk and tried talking where Glitter couldn't hear and my panicky voice wasn't getting in the way, giving me something to latch onto.

"PERI!?! Peri's... Peri's prob.. prooooooobbbb..." I yelped aloud and froze, everything getting cold and loopy and...

THUNK!

"Fast... Faaaast.... Wakey-wakey love, it is alright, come back and join our delightful tea party!" Jade's melodious voice dragged me out of the black, blinking up to her radiant face over me in confusion. Her blue eyes sparkled and were mismatched sizes, under her costume tiara laced with a crown of bright flowers in her cloudy mane, lit in warm yellow light.

"Wha.... wuzzat... wha happen... IVY!?!" I slowly came around, my addled brains trying to pick up the last thread of consciousness and finding it in a panic, sending me flapping up frantically, only to be held in place by a lot of blue alicorn squeezing me back to her chest tightly and nuzzling my cheek.

"There you are! I do like cuddling you when asleep, but I wish to play! Look at all the wonderful fairies Fast! They are Followers like me and so hospitable! Drink!" Jade cooed and shoved a cracked teacup to my muzzle, flooding my sputtering mouth with sweet tea and a strong hint of nectar to her giggles.

The warm mental fog and Jade's iron grip made figuring out where I was hard, she was sitting with me between her outstretched hindlegs, both forelegs crossed over my chest and still nuzzling gleefully. While this made for an excellent way to wake up and try to calm my racing heart, where we were was seriously screwing with me.

A city... A bustling little metropolis of mushroom cottages and flowering towers was spread all around us, which Jade towered over like some gorgeous blue skyscraper with me curled in her lap. The only thing that overshadowed even the big blue alicorn was the weirdest building... The royal palace of Canterlot... but not?

It looked an awful lot like the graceful cliffside structure, delicate towers and bright onion domes, though these were made of the bulb shapes of closed flowers instead of gold and stone, and the towers had a light brown color and were bark textured instead of smooth stone. It was covered in carefully manicured leafy branches, flowers and vines as well, but it looked like a miniature Canterlot spread all around and above us.

Shaking my head to make sure I was really seeing this, I looked all around and tried to clear away the persuasive feeling Jade and I were giants among the capital of the old world. All those residents around us looked like skinny ponies, but the glittery wings were definitely breezies, and the profusion of bunnies, raccoons, birds, and other critters roaming about helped break the illusion, a breezie city?

We were still inside the hub, far above us was a huge crystal spreading dim artificial daylight from the ceiling. This mini-Canterlot was in the center of a very large, round chamber, to either side of where I could see were two curving staircases leading up to higher levels overlooking the open room. The wide circle dominating the area was covered in springy green grass and profuse with flowers and vegetation, planters on the mezzanine above overflowed with more bright plants and flowers and lots of pastel breezies watching. It all added to the image of a perfect old world metropolis, a naturally grown sister city to Canterlot almost.

Jade had me pinned in what looked to be a wide, central park before the palace, the only other things that gave me a sense of scale were Ivy sitting nearby, sipping tea politely and taking up the rest of the available space, and Glitter prancing down the wide streets radiating away from where we sat. She was beside herself in joy at what had to be hundreds of breezies flittering in the vast chamber and trotting the streets.

I watched her playfully stomping amongst the little denizens playing along with her, alternating between her game of dragon and scared villagers on a much bigger scale with a model city around her, to gentle giant filly peeking in two story buildings that were at eye level and carefully crawling among the diminutive populace.

The grand wooden palace was at Jade's back, making it hard to see with her kissing and nuzzling my face trying to turn that way, a prim 'Ahem!' that direction finally got her to blink and flutter up on her wingtips, dislodging a dozen breezies that were settled atop the blue alicorn and turning in place to face that direction, leaving me looking up to a fancy breezie standing on a balcony, bizarrely formed over a glowing terminal screen near Jade's head.

She was a brilliant, snowy white, a pale, flowing pink mane and long wings trailing behind her. Her long antenna poked out of a tiny golden crown and she wore a glittering gown of rich rose with white trim, a golden teaspoon with gems glued into the scoop served as a scepter held by one foreleg, this must be the Queen... A pair of gold and ruby Cybreezies flanked the arched entrance from the balcony gave me pause, what were the advanced robots doing acting like knights for a Queen?

A quick chatter of her own language in a regal voice brought one of the breezies landing on Jade again up and to her side, while the rest went back to... braiding her mane and tail? Yes... Jade had a regular royal retinue of breezies attending her titantic form, brushing her silky fur and braiding her mane and tail, decorating her with bright blossoms, a necklace of flowers joined the halo wound around her silvery costume tiara.

The breezie hovering by the presumed Queen smiled at me brightly, a light lilac filly with a blue mane, wearing a pink and yellow nurses uniform, like Whisper who I spotted pouting nearby, redfaced and surrounded by a group of chittering breezie mares with Misty in the group. The familiar breezie coughed politely and drew my eye back to the palace, taking in the tall statue looming above it from behind, Ministry Mare Fluttershy...

"Announcing Queen Ether of de Breezie Nation. Dis pony be beeg hero Shrouded Stallion who saved breezies yur highness, hello again Shroud pony, happy to see you!" The breezie waved to the Queen, giving me something to focus on woozily figuring out who she was.

"S-Spring Gale? Is that you? Er... you look better since the last time I saw you, good! Umm... w-what's going on Jade? I was on the way to... IVY!? Jade! Ivy is..." I scratched my mane in thought, remembering the condition of the big green mare beside us and struggling to reach her again, held still by Jade tittering to herself and floating the refilled teacup back to my muzzle.

Jade beamed and bobbed her head rapidly, giving a polite nod to the Queen watching with amusement and nibbling my ear as she tried to calm me down again. "Sssh! I know! Is it not wonderful Fast? We are so happy, Queen Ether has offered her congratulations already and been most gracious, be polite and say hello my shmoopy pie! She is a fellow Follower! Of sorts, we have been having a delightful conversation on the subject while waiting for you! Forgive him your highness, my Fast is a bit overwhelmed at the moment."

"Is ok Princess Jade, breezie fathers feel same way often. Is good ting Shrouded Stallion Fast, new life always to be celebrated, we have feast und talk! Voice of Great Tree wish to speak vith you too." Queen Ether spoke pony with very little accent, in a kind, soft tone and slight smile curling her tiny muzzle.

She clopped her forelegs together and a buzz of activity started from the gathered breezies, flittering off through the big chamber and down side passages, coming back in a parade of Sparkle Cola bottles, snack cakes, canned food, flowers, berries, and fruits, dishware and hotplates, setting up at the edges of the city and putting together a pony sized meal at their Queen's order.

I was still struggling to catch up when Glitter dove into me and Jade around me, squealing ecstatically. "Daddy! Isn't this awesome!? There's so many fairies!! There's even lots from different tribes, and a Queen! Mom says this is what Canterlot looked like, is it? It's so cool! They even play with me, Aunt Swan must hafta be reeeeally careful though, it's hard not smashing stuff like this! C'mon, try it with me! You can fit down the streets too! Mom can't though!"

Jade sputtered and blushed brightly, turning sheepishly to a crumbled shed at the edge of the central park that had a distinctly 'rump-shaped' impression cratering it. "Er... y-yes... It seems my sister Swan is a good deal more graceful than I am unfortunately. Terribly sorry again, at least it wasn't anyone's home! I have been quite content to sit still anyway..."

A prim cough from Queen Ether got everypony's attention again and at an arch of her brilliant blue eye Spring Gale fluttered over to land on my shoulder, hugging my face tightly and speaking up to my ear. "Queen decide fellow Follower of the Shy is not invader, vant make nice, be friends. I tell history of Breezie Nation tu Shroud Pony, Voice of Great Tree say yu help, ve ask. Come-come, dis way!"

"Umm... o-ok? Er... Jade, gotta lemme go a minute, not that I don't like wooo! t-that... but... w-what's going on here?"

Jade gave a reluctant whinny, but loosed her hold and let me carefully pick my way clear of her reaching hooves. I took an offered bottle of carroty Sparkle Cola and trailed after Gale leading me away from the city, towards the round walls of the room. I had to cautiously flutter my way up to go over the sprawling breezie city, pausing at Ivy and only starting to hyperventilate before she booped my nose.

(Go on Fast, do not pass out again. Honestly you are going to be a hooffull. Let it sink in and speak with our hosts, we have been unable to speak with the 'Great Tree' effectively without you, focus on your talents and we will have time to talk later.) Ivy sipped her tea as she answered, like a ventriloquist trick drinking and talking at once. The scent of the tea made me yelp and turn to Jade drinking her own in a panic.

"Tea!? B-But Ivy's... s-should she be drinking...that!?!"

"It is fiiiine Fast, Queen Ether assured me some time ago it is completely harmless! Very delicious too, you should have more and calm down, listen to our host's story, it is fascinating!" Jade tittered back and took another drink, waving me on and wiggling happily to herself.

My eye still twitched and I lunged forward into a hug with the nickering green mare, trying to do as she had telepathically soothed and let it sink in slowly. She was pregnant... we were in a tiny version of Canterlot and Ivy was going to have a baby... my baby... all perfectly sane... no problems...

(We are getting out of here as soon as possible Ivy, I don't care about anything else, we're getting you somewhere safe and... I'm happy ok, just freaked out, I'll get over it. I love you and I love that foal already, so I'm taking care of you, like it or not.) I looked into Ivy's shimmery green eyes sternly, hovering at her level before being scooped into a warm embrace and passionate kiss that kind of ruined any attempts to put my hoof down.

(I know. We both love you as well. We will have plenty of time to talk about it Fast, it will be fine. Remember, I'm not made of glass, nothing has really changed that much for now, be happy! Now go on, I'm interested in hearing this too.) Ivy wiped her cheek and beamed, releasing me with a soft nicker and nudging me on with a smack to my flank.

Glitter pranced along the streets below my weaving progress, skipping along as I landed as lightly as I could and followed Spring Gale to bright paintings making a mural coming up to my chest on the glittery, faceted walls. I looked up to the multiple levels above and took a better look at the breezies watching from the overgrown planters and railings, there were tattered banners over different sections and the breezies under each all seemed slightly different... Glitter said something about tribes?

Yes, there were differences... A large flock of them were dressed almost entirely in plants, pretty flower dresses and leafy tunics, thorny wooden spears and kind eyes. Opposite the upper level from these, were another group wearing furs and bones, skull helmets or stuffed hats of animal heads, these had more sizable weapons too, knives and rubber band crossbows among them.

A third most distinctive group was odd... wearing miniature security barding like Blowing Storm, like a doll sized version of what mom wore for Stable security. They also wore gleaming bits of golden armor that made them look far too much like a Cybreezie and carried the best weapons, tiny prods arcing with electricity, miniature magical energy spears and blades like Storm's scalpel, battlesaddles that carried derringer sized weapons.

Finally there was a cluster to the side that had my interest personally... These wore grease as a kind of warpaint or markings, had pale yellow jumpsuits with many pockets, under barding made of small gears and wire, little rods and snips of steel, wrenches small enough for them to carry as staffs and sharpened screwdrivers, helmets made of fuses and gems and little nuts worn as bangles. Gremlins... my people, repair-ponies... er... repair-breezies I guess.

They were all watching solemnly as I returned my attention to Gale, tapping at the painting on the wall I was forced to crouch down with Glitter to get a good look at. A tiny trail of breezie icons were depicted in a wavy line leading to the right, then a cluster of the little pictographs were shown being blown away from the line in a swirl. The next image was a picture of a young Fluttershy herself, a serene, closed eyed expression on her face, light yellow wings spread wide with beams of light radiating from her form, like she was an angel.

"Long, long ago, breezies get separated frum migration, lost in pony vorld vith no way home, ve saved by holy Fluttershy pony..." Gale trotted along with the paintings, forcing me to crawl after her to keep up on the way to the next.

Here were pictures of breezies and a stylized little cottage on a hilltop, a glowing spot in the sky looked like a narrow oval, barely showing shadows of breezie buildings on the other side that the uninterrupted wavy trail headed towards. "Breezies stay vith holy Fluttershy, she care for us, take us in vhen ve no able to go home."

Next was a picture of the hub, a vast, pale willow with rainbow colored fronds hanging down in a curtain, that's not what it looked like now though... The few breezies pictures before were now much more numerous, following in a train behind an image of Fluttershy with a little grey in her long pink mane, time had passed then. "Holy Fluttershy bring us tu new home in Commonvealth vhere ve be safe und have purpose."

Now the breezies were wearing cleaner, newer looking versions of some of the clothes I saw them in now. Little lab coats and striped nurses outfits, all bowing below the cross and butterfly mark of the Ministry of Peace. Images of the uniformed breezies helping the sick were scattered about, though each showed breezies blown aside or struggling in some way, fearfully cringing from big hooves, trying to lift heavy purple potions under the caring, sad gaze of Fluttershy reaching out to help from the left.

These images led right, to another picture of a radiant Fluttershy, her foreleg wrapped around the shoulder of a pale blue pegasus with a wild grey mane and big, swirly circles of thick glasses for eyes. A glowing golden potion was in his hoof, stamped with a tiny pictograph of a spread eagle pony in red. A bit crude but I had a good idea who that was...

"Ve try to help vhile ve vait for next migration many years, have more breezies und make life avay from home. It very hard doh, pony world too beeg, too dangerous. Holy Fluttershy very sad, vant vay for us to be safe und ve vant vay to help, have purpose. Here in Commonvealth, Fluttershy bring us Moby pony, he make magic tu help us!" Gale gave a low bow to the image of the pegasus before moving on, making me grit my teeth. The Institute... Moby... Mobius... The Institute 'helped' here...

The next images showed more breezies, going from tiny, smaller winged versions cringing in fear, to slightly larger ones with bigger wings standing up bravely. These did the same work shown before, but were depicted as much more successful, carrying the heavy potion without issue, flying freely without being blown away, a happy Fluttershy beaming proudly at their efforts.

"Moby pony make beeg magic, make us stronger, adapt tu pony world. Now ve help und have purpose, ve live in great tree und help sick und hurt ponies, help grow plants und care for animal friends, first King Sea Breeze proud!" She tapped her hoof on a blue and black breezie with a pink mane overseeing the others, though I didn't see a crown.

The now larger, stronger breezies pictured trailed off into a wavy line as the mural continued, heading towards a similar wavy line of the original breezie icons heading towards the glowing portal again, under the umbrella of white wings spread protectively against pictures of ponies and zebras fighting. Princess Celestia protected them on their course with Fluttershy beside her, her hooves held up to beg the fighting armies on either side of them. King Sea Breeze was at the lead of the fairy breezies, but the spread legs and wings of the other trail spoke of being held back, stopped...

Spring Gale's face darkened as she covered this one, sticking her nose up at the trail of smaller breezies and bowing to the black and blue King. "Next migration finally come thanks to beeg help from Holy Fluttershy und Princess pony like yur Princess Jade. Ve vant to go back, but old breezies no like us no more, say we tainted by pony war, beeger and stronger than them, no more welcome home...."

Glitter stamped her hooves and snorted beside me angrily, glaring at the smaller breezies turning the fairies away. "That's not fair! Those fairies suck!"

Gale brightened at her defense and patted her head before moving to the next image, a picture of the radiant Fluttershy and the bigger Princess Celestia placing a crown on King Sea Breeze's cloudy pink mane, a throng of his new fairy breezies circling and bowing around the first monarch. "Holy Fluttershy get idea doh, she ask Princess tu make King Sea Breeze... er King... ve stay, ve vork, ve live with ponies, not so bad. Ve still alive, dey probably all dead..."

The pictures next in the sequence were the largest so far, going all the way up to my eye level in a mushroom shaped cloud of green flame and destruction, I didn't need Gale to tell me the story here... I saw it. The Last Day... The next image made me freeze and stare in shock anyway, paying close attention as Gale explained.

"Beeg booms come, ve hide in deep dark like Fluttershy vanted. Hide many, many moons, untill Great Tree say ok tu come out again."

The deep dark she pointed at is what got me... The rough painting was mostly black, showing the dim outlines of roots all around, but the central image was very, very familiar... A large, gear shape of grey, yellow numbers at the center of it reading; 95.5...

"Wait, a Stable!?! You went in a Stable?! 95... and a half? What the hell?!"

"Oh yes, yu know old name for deep dark! Yes, is vhere ve hid, down in deep with ARC. Yu leesten doh, not done vith story time!" Gale tutted and moved on to the next pictures, giving me a moment to puzzle over the big image.

At the top was the MoP hub as it was now, pale from top to bottom, the roots stretched down to the dark and the gear shaped wedge of light that numerous breezie icons were flying up from. In the darkness outside this shaft of light, snarling from the roots and chasing the breezies away, were the twisted forms of breezidores being held back by gleaming gold and jeweled Cybreezies acting as guards.

"Great Tree say ok to come back up, we leave deep dark. Have tu run frum Fallen... dose ve leave behind on Last Day turn to monsters, infest tree und forest, only because of Great Tree we escape tu new home."

Finally there was mural of the western woods and the MoP hub at the top, superimposed over the pale tree was a simple image of the miniature city behind us. The small icons of hundreds of breezies were plastered all around it, spreading out into the grounds outside and the woods, spreading growing plants in their wake and gently pushing animals into the wild. Squinting at it closely, I could see some of the breezies in different areas were given unique depictions, small foreign symbols marked these. Taking another look up at the gallery around us, I saw some of the banners matched the icons there, different tribes... Surrounding all of it were shadowy threats, breezidores, bloatsprites, miretanks, and ponies... lots of wicked looking ponies.

"Ve continue work of holy Fluttershy, use ARC und Moby's research to make plantys grow again, heal woods, care for animuls, follow path of de Shy. Ponies come sometimes, but no can get in und we scare off, minotaurs come und hunt, but dey respect nature so we leave alone. But now yu invade, get in vhen no one else did, bring bad soldiers from old times..." As Gale finished her story, I could hear a rising chatter from the gathered breezies, they weren't happy about that last part...

"Bad soldiers... you mean the Brotherhood? Where are they anyway? and the rest of my friends! Where's Val an Witchy an Zed? What'dya want helps with too? Somethin' bout the 'Voice of the Great Tree' wantin' mee?" I slurred and wove my way back to Jade carefully, rubbing my head and trying to think clearly with little success, made harder by the big blue alicorn immediately glomming on to me and returning to her nuzzling affection.

"Oh they are fiiiiine Fast! I asked of course! Queen Ether has been kind enough to send her subjects off to fetch them, not the Brotherhood though, they can just sit right where they are as far as I am concerned. I would not expose my darling hosts to such military minded ponies! I had been getting concerned about you and Glitter... but now you are here to cuddle! I see no reason to be bothered now. Everything is woooonderful!"

"Here, taste! They make delicious little confections of their own! I've been taxing their gracious bakers since I arrived, but they assure me they are happy to make nutritious snacks for a mare in my.... oops! Allllmost ruined the surprise! N-Nothing! Try one!" Jade huffed and continued sipping her tea with a blushing giggle, I'd never seen her intoxicated before but she certainly seemed to like nectar. More interesting was what she was trying (poorly) to cover up, she was never much of a liar... Trying to go back over her burbling speech was hard though...

Queen Ether tapped her tiny golden spoon of a scepter for attention and spoke in a fairly ringing voice for such a small set of pipes, addressing all the gathered breezies. "Now den, ve decide vat to do. Ve like Follower Princess and she is royalty like great Princess Tia what help us long ago, so we agree to be friends yes?"

The squeaky chorus of 'Yes!' in return was broken up a little in the direction of the tribe in security barding and the ones in leathers, but strong from the others and the overwhelming winner, so that was a relief... The Queen continued regally once it settled down, waving out to the hallways stretching off into the hub to the east. "Good, good, ve bring Princess' retinue here, have feast! And now ve decide what to do about soldier ponies... Dey wear armor of past, bringers of war and bombs, you Shroud Fast, you say why you bring bad soldiers."

"Er... what? Oh... ummmm, well, they really wanted to come to the hub and I felt bad for them? I kinda... blew up something they wanted recently. They're not bad really, they're trying to do good I think. Though seeing all you guys living here... It's probably not a good idea for them to figure out how to get in, they're kinda bad about just deciding important old world places belong to them. I don't think they know though, we stumbled on a back door really so I wouldn't worry that much. I'll explain and tell them not to bother you and..."

The chatter in the room rose and the Queen called for quiet again in interruption, stroking her long antenna in thought. "Hmmm...You think they come back, want to get in and take home? There more of them? Armies like bad times? Hmmm... is bad then, maybe Securi-tribe right and we must put to sleepy... very sad."

A cheer rose up from the breezies in security barding, making me yelp as I puzzled that out. "Put to sleep!? H-Hold on! They're not bad! I don't think you need to go that far! Can't we work something out? Just let em go?"

In answer, Queen Ether fluttered down from her balcony and pointed to the glowing terminal screen built into her palace below, a self assured look on her small face of a leader whose plan was working out well, despite the bickering of her subjects. "You want save? They threat to Breezie Nation though, Princess tell us all about 'Brotherhood' ponies, they is everything Holy Fluttershy no like, they cannot come here and take home. You do us favor, we let go maybe though... You talk to Great Tree for us, help it, we help you."

Jade blinked in confusion over me, tilting her head cutely and seeming to realize they were going off her complaints about the military group to pass a death sentence. "W-Wait! No! I did not mean... I do not care for the Brotherhood, that does not mean you should... I am biased and merely grousing! They should not come here no.... but... F-Fast?"

The helplessness on her face helped me fight through the fog of nectar still clouding my thoughts, my Princess needed me to be clever somehow, do what they wanted and get out of this... "A-Alright, I'll talk to the Great Tree ok? How do you want us to help? What do you want?" As soon as I said 'help' I could feel another 'mission' just waiting... Everywhere we went it was never simple, my pip-buck seemed to delight in pointing out and keeping track of all the things others wanted in return for what we needed.

I had to fight my way loose of Jade's tightening grasp as she panicked, stumbling across the tiny park to the looming palace and waiting screen, finding a well disguised pip-buck port hidden in the bark and patching into it, while the Queen hovered nearby. "No know. Great Tree is sick, been worse since the skies clear, don't know how to talk to it right. Great Tree say you do though, say you... ummm.... 'Ministry level repair-pony' and want to talk to you. You talk to Tree, find out what it needs, help. You help us, we help Princess with Follower stuff, we like that."

'Follower stuff' must have been what Jade had been cheerily discussing this whole time, having a little tea party under the image of the Ministry Mare that she admired almost as much as this famous Velvet Remedy she truly adored. Fluttershy's serene face looked down as text started filling my vision and I dove into the advanced maneframe. I nodded and wiped the cold sweat from my brow to get to work, usually my computer skills weren't quite so life and death...

"R-Right then, let me see what I can see ok? No problem..."

.......AUTHENTICATING.... EXTERNAL DEVICE HOOFSHAKE COMPLETE, USER FAST TIME RECOGNIZED....

MINISTRY OF MORALE REPAIR CREDENTIALS RECOGNIZED....
UPDATING AUTHORIZED USER DATABASE... ADDING NEW USER... ACCESS GRANTED...

WELCOME REPAIR-PONY FAST TIMES - BADGER LEVEL CLEARANCE...

CRITICAL REPAIRS REQUIRED------

WATER TALISMANS OPERATING AT 12% EFFICIENCY....
INSUFFICIENT SUPPLEMENTAL WATER INTAKE = 7.3 YEARS
LIQUID RAINBOW POWER SUPPLY UNAVAILABLE = 198.4 YEARS
FOREIGN CONTAMINANT POWER SUPPLY UNTENABLE = PURGE REQUIRED
BLIGHT INVASION = 38% OF MOP HUB
STABLE 95.5 POWER SUPPLY FAILURE = RADIATION CONTAMINATION

REPAIR-PONY FAST TIMES -

FIX ME...

New Perk Added!-------------------

Flower Child---------
---Far out... Getting repeatedly dosed with breezie nectar has given you a greater tolerance to groovy drugs of all kinds! With this perk, you are 50% less likely to be addicted to chems and the withdrawal time is half that of a normal pony.

Reputation Change!----------------

Breezie Nation---Accepted
----The Queen of the Fairy Breezies is a fellow Follower of the Apocalypse apparently! Thanks to Jade's tea party, they're already amenable to becoming allies and working together, so you're well on your way to making new friends. Not that an army of tiny breezies seems like a good combat force to help in your fight... but you'll take what you can get at this point.