Ok, I lied. They had pegasi with them. Two to be exact. They cut us off at some point near the Daycare. The encounter doesn't last very long. Short story made shorter, they’re now goop inside of me. Hey, at least I don’t feel hungry any more. It's a weird thing to say, but I’ll sort that problem out later.

We make it to the Daycare in one piece. Yay. No blue-eyes are patrolling the street, so we’re in the clear.

I was about to lead us into the window I entered the first time I was here, but I notice that all the trashbags that were blocking the main entrance are gone. Huh, they were there this morning. That needed an army of garbage ponies to clear out. I would say that’s the case, but there are still trash piles sitting out in the open by the nearby buildings. Odd, shouldn’t the garbage ponies have grabbed those too?

“This is it?” Tanya and I haven’t had the chance to talk while we were running away. This is the first time we said anything since the suitcase business. Hopefully we can push that aside for another time. “How did you end up hiding out in this dump?”

“I followed Pinkie Pie here.” That’s the skeleton of the story. The details are unneeded.

Tanya raises an eyebrow. “And what would Pinkie be doing in this place?”

“She runs a Blackwatch office here.” Tanya’s eyes go wide. Yeah, that’s not the best selling point of this hideout. “Relax, it’s cool. Blackwatch doesn’t give a shit about this place. They just put her in charge of improving moral or some crap and left her to it. It’s fine.”

The conversation with Arctic North pops back in my head. Oh right, I might have cost Pinkie her job. She’s going to be super pissed the next time we meet.

Eh, it’ll be fine. I’ll tell her to hide out for the night, I’ll get Rainbow Dash, and we’ll all get tickets for the next train to Las Pegasus. Hmm, now that I have Tanya with me, I can probably start a new scone shop next to a casino. That’d be fun.

Tanya gives me a worried look. “Did you sell your brain to get those claws? That’s the only reason why you’d think this would be a good idea.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to stay no more than a few hours. I just need to do a couple of things, and we can hightail it out of this city.”

Tanya stops walking, and it takes me a moment to realize I’m walking away from her. “You’re planning on leaving?”

“I got a militia hunting my ass. It’d be dumb if I stayed.” I don’t know why this is a shock. Anyone would hightail it out of this city if they could. The place is a madhouse.

We end up at the front of the building, and enter through the thick, metal doors. The inside is still kind of creepy, and quiet. I don’t hear anyone moving about. I still think this would make a great haunted house. Hey, I got whatever is in Tanya’s suitcase. That solves the money problem. The big problem is finding people who want to go to a haunted house during an apocalypse. Might be a slim market there.

“Is someone in here?” Tanya asks. “The lights are on, but the place feels abandoned.”

“Blackwatch buys the best of the best,” I say. “I think they shoved Pinkie in this place to get her to shut up.” And it worked. “There should be a few ponies hanging around in the back, and a bunch of kids. You’re good with kids, aren’t you?”

Speaking of kids, I hear the voice of a familiar one yelling my name down the hall. “Gilda!”

Tanya groans. “No, I do not like kids.”

“Too late. Here comes the fanatic.”

That little familiar green pegasus zips around the corner and pulls off an almost right angle turn. Iffy Sniff rockets towards us, calling out my name over and over. “Gilda Gilda Gilda!”

“That’s annoying,” Tanya mutters.

Okay, I’ll give her that. Iffy is an annoying little twat. But I like him. I’m just glad to see my one pony fanclub after the mess this morning. He’s going to eat that story up like the little happy snot he is.

As he gets closer, I notice something odd. He’s not smiling. No, he looks terrified.

“Get out of here!” the kid yells. Oh… That’s not good. “Get out before”-

A red glow catches Iffy in mid air, silencing him. He flies backwards against his will, waving his hooves out towards me.

“Iffy!” I yell before charging after him.

He ends up back at the end of the hall, where Cherry is standing with her horn glowing. She gives me an evil smirk and disappears around the corner with Iffy. Just before he disappears with her, he shakes his head and waves for me to go back.

I’m not going anywhere kid. I want an excuse to give Cherry the smackdown of a life time, and she just gave me one on a silver platter.

Tanya yells at me from behind. “Are you insane?! He told us to get out!”

I look back at her and shrug. “And I’m not listening.”

In less than a second, I round the corner where Cherry and Iffy went down. I find Cherry, with Iffy above her head. She knows she can’t outrun me, so she’s hiding behind this big, tall blue thing standing in the middle of the hallway.

Wait, big tall blue thing?

There’s a bright flash that dazes me. I cry out in shock as I cover my eyes. Son of a bison, that was like looking into the sun!

About a couple yards in front of me, I hear the regal sound of a familiar voice. “Strange, you should be petrified.”

I uncover my eyes, but my vision is still hazy. I still see that big blue figure, and something else blue glows. To my side, I hear Tanya screaming bloody murder. Another blue flash, and she goes quiet.

“If you have nothing to say but obscenities,” the figure says to Tanya, “then I suggest you hold your tongue, griffon.”

My vision is coming back to me fast. The hazy world becomes clear again. The triples turn into doubles and turn into singles. All I’m left with is a dry feeling in my eyes. And an itch behind an eyelid. That’s annoying.

With my vision clear again, I can see who’s standing in front of me now. The tall, blue figure spreads her wings, and her horn glows once more.

“I said I would come for you,” Princess Luna, Lord of Dreams and Ruler of the Night, says to me.

Oh… shit.

Her horn flashes one more time, and a blue tinted bubble forms around me. I give it a poke, but the bubble doesn’t react. Its walls feel pretty sturdy. If this is Princess Luna’s magic bubble, I might not be getting out of here anytime soon.

“I heard what happened over the radio,” she says. There’s no malice in her voice, but it is a bit tense. “If you surrendered yourself earlier today, there wouldn’t be a catastrophe in the Green Zone.”

She stands over the bubble, looking down on me. Shit shit shit, I completely forgot Luna was after me! I think we’re about the same height, but the bubble’s roof is lower than what I stand at, so I’m almost kneeling to her majesty. My mother would call this an embarrassment to the entire family. I call this an oh shit I’m fucked mommy save me thing.

I look around. Tanya is flailing around in Luna’s levitation spell. Iffy Sniff is flailing too in Cherry’s spell, and Cherry is smirking it up.

That bitch! My monster claws grow out, and I tear at the bubble. I don’t even make a scratch on the thing. “Cherry, you bitch!” I yell. “You ratted me out, you dirty snake!”

“Cherry Spice has nothing to do with this,” Luna says. If she’s at all fazed by my monster claws and what I can do with them, she doesn’t show it. “You’re the one who gave me the information I needed.”

I direct my monster claws at Luna, but the bubble still doesn’t pop. “You read my mind! That’s a violation of your treaty with Griffonstone.”

“You lack knowledge of our treaties, Gilda. No, when I visited you in your dreams, you spoke with your own free will, and you said you were with Pinkie Pie. I came here to ask her a few questions, but you arrived back before she did.”

Oh. My claws droop down. Of course this is my fault. Of course it is! “Do you mind letting me go for a bit longer? I’m this close to finding Rainbow Dash, and this is going to not help in that regard.”

“You are not going anywhere. For the chaos you committed in the past two days, you are formally under arrest and will await a proper trial. However, you are welcome to tell me anything you know of Rainbow Dash’s whereabouts, and I will gladly look for her with everything at my disposal.”

Well… shit, again. This puts a huge hole in my Las Pegasus plans! I need to get out of here now, or else everything is going to end here! I look down at my claws. They didn’t do anything with the bubble. What the heck can they do?

Wait, didn’t I… Oh right, the ground spikes! I can do this!

I shove my claws into the linoleum floor. I can feel the blades stretch out and dig underneath me, just like I did on accident at the medical tent.

“Sorry Princess, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I put all my will into making that blade bouquet pop up under the alicorn! The blades tear through the ground, ripping the dirt apart under my feet. But before they go anywhere far they hit something hard.

The ground cracks underneath me, and I have a quick moment to think, “Oh shit.” The sharp blades spike out. I yelp as they fill the rest of the bubble with sharp deathness. A bunch rip and tear through me. Some push my head in an uncomfortable spot. A lot of them tink against the bubble’s walls, unable to pierce the spell.

Luna looks down at the mess I made of myself. Cherry is laughing her ass off. Tanya is giving me her best deadpan look. “The spell goes underground as well,” Luna says. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“Escape?” I creak. So this is what the inside of a blender feels like. I don’t like it. I pull back the blades, and they slice through my flesh as I recall them. They snap back to my normal monster claw self, leaving me chopped up bleeding like crazy. “I didn’t think that would happen.”

Luna nods. “From what I understand, thinking is not your strongpoint. Come, we’ll return to Canterlot. And your friend can come along with us. I have a few questions for her on why I sense dark magic in her suitcase.”

Tanya’s eyes go wide. Then she looks at me, reaches her claws out, and tries to strangle me through the air. If she didn’t have that quiet spell on her, I bet she would be screaming death threats that would make even the vilest griffon sailors faint.

Dark magic? Hey Tanya, what the fuck is in that suitcase? Hope you get a chance to answer soon, because Luna caught me, you can’t talk, and now you got us both screwed double time. Can this get any worse?

Through the bubble, down the hall, I hear something flush. A few moments later, a door opens next to Luna with a “Colts” sign above it. A yellow pony, with huge, thick glasses, comes whistling out of that room. Eureka’s magic is twirling a red vial in front of his face. He’s so entranced by the vial he almost smacks his head into Luna’s flank. Almost. He gains focus in the last moment and jumps back in surprise. “My goodness, a full moon!”

Luna chooses to ignore the remark.

“And it’s Princess Luna!”

Luna pays attention this time. She smiles at Eureka, and gives him a little nod. “Good afternoon.”

Eureka’s shock only lasts for a moment. He shakes his head, adjusts his glasses, and waddles over to shake the Princess’s hoof. “I am so glad you’re here. I’m Doctor Eureka. I’ve been working on the Blacklight virus from day one, and I‘ve made some progress you’re going to love.”

Luna keeps smiling, but I can see a little twitch in her eye. I think she’s a bit anxious in getting me out of here. “I’d love to see your results, but it’ll have to be another time. I’m in the middle of something right now.”

Eureka body blocks her, keeping her from carrying Tanya and me away. “I know your busy, but take a moment for this. This is going to revolutionize everything!”

He holds the vial up to Luna’s face, who rears back for some space. “I’m glad you’ve made progress on the cure, but I don’t have time right now to see it. I’m sure Blackwatch will be more than happy to see what you’ve come up”-

“This isn’t a cure,” Eureka blurts. “This is the key to our evolution!”

Luna’s eyebrow goes up a bit, and my stomach sinks down a bit more. Whenever a mad scientist says something about evolution or some crap, it always means a big monster is around the corner. Happens all the time in comics.

Eureka continues. “I took samples from Miss Gilda, with her permission,” he nods over to me, just so I’m not forgotten. What sample? Is he talking about the goop on that broken scotch bottle? Damn it Eureka, what did you do with my goop?!

“Her cells are capable of mass regeneration, instant repurposing, and insane growth. I’ve been working with samples similar to this, but thanks to her, I’ve isolated what makes these cells so special!”

Luna’s eyes go wide. I can almost see the gears turning in her head as she figures out what he’s talking about. Tanya and Cherry still look clueless. It’s because they don’t read comics.

“What you have in that vial,” Luna says with a calm but firm voice, “is dangerous. I don’t know what you’ve done, but I can tell you it’s not good.”

Eureka waves a hoof. “Pfft, no it’s not. It’s perfectly safe. It’s just the next step in the Life Salts program. Here, I’ll show you!”

Before anyone realizes what he’s doing, Eureka yanks the cork off the vial, tips it over his mouth, and drinks all the red liquid in one big slurp.

Everyone is silent as Eureka patters his lips. “Hmm, strong iron taste.”

Luna’s horn glows bright again, and another bubble shield appears around Eureka. Her eyes are even wider before, almost as if they’re about to explode out of her skull. “What in Tartarus are you thinking?!” Luna yells.

“What? There’s more where that came from. We can easily make more with Gilda around.”

“You just drank pure Blacklight! Do you have a death wish?!”

Eureka pokes at the shield. I think his shield is more solid than mine. “Sure, I’ll stick around in quarantine for a bit. But you’ll soon see there’s nothing to fear. I’m confident in my math. Soon, the sample will turn me into a prime example of what pony kind can”-

Eureka stops mid sentence. He pauses for a moment, then shudders. Then he kneels over and pukes. The stuff that comes out of him isn’t normal puke, it’s black. It’s a black sludge that bubbles at the doctor’s feet. If he wasn’t trapped in a bubble, I bet the stuff would smell like the rotting corpse of Tartarus. He trembles before falling to his side. Eureka curls up and spasms. A retching sound comes from his throat, and he pukes again all over himself.

Cherry screams at the shivering scientist lying in his own bile. Iffy’s face is twisted in a grossed out look. Princess Luna is holding a hoof to her mouth. I see her eyes bulge for a single moment. Tanya has the sense to cover her eyes and pretend this isn’t happening.

The only person in this room not grossed out by this is me. Don’t get me wrong, this is beyond nasty. I’m beyond grateful to have two magic shields between me and that mess. But I’m not reacting like everyone else is. I’m getting an odd feeling from looking at this scene. It’s not disgust, but warmth? Comfort? I feel like I can go up to him and be alright. Looking at this… feels like home?

It’s that thought makes me sick.

Luna half burps, and shudders, something you’d never see a Princess do in public. She tries looking at the sputtering Eureka, but her constitution isn’t strong enough. She looks away and blocks the scene with a hoof. “You idiot.”

Cherry, still in the back, now done screaming, covers Iffy’s eyes and pulls him down the hall. “I’m done here. I’ll call a crew to clean up the mess.”

Luna nods. “That’ll be most wise. I’ll keep the shield up until then. Keep the kids as far away from here as possible, but don’t have them leave the building yet.”

Oh right, there are still kids here. For fuck sake Eureka, why did you have to pull this stunt off in here? Now Blackwatch is going to put the kids in Black Quarantine or whatever. Thanks, you bastard.

“It appears we’ll be here for a while,” Luna says, looking at me. She’s keeping her hoof between her eyes and Eureka. Smart move. “This is… unplanned, to say the least.”

“That sounds like my life, lately.” I can’t turn my eyes away from Eureka. He’s so pathetic looking, like a sick child you can’t do anything for. I’d argue he’s exactly that. His back hoof kicks out, and I can hear him mutter something.

“Sea Salt… Sea Salt…”

“So this is what Blacklight does?” I ask.

“I haven’t seen a case this extreme, but yes,” Luna says. “Eureka doesn’t have much time left in this world.”

I want to say I’m sorry for him, but I can’t. I’ve seen the theater. I’ve seen his lab. He’s a messed up pony doing messed up things. Figures he’d die by his own experiment. “Princess Luna, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?” the princess says.

I have a thought that's been nagging at me for a bit. Might as well get it out in the open while I have the chance. “I might have screwed things up for Pinkie Pie. Like really screwed things up. When this is all over, can you make sure she’s alright?”

She’s silent for a moment, taking her time to look away from the Eureka mess. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Eh, that’s the best I can hope for. I don’t know what Arctic North plans to do to Pinkie. Whatever it is, I hope Luna can help her before he gets to her. I don’t see a way for me to get out of this shield and help her myself.

A few more moments pass without anyone saying anything. Tanya has given up trying to escape. She’s looking at the ceiling with her arms crossed, tapping a talon on her elbow. Luna is gazing off into the distance, probably thinking about what she’s going to do to us. A rampaging monster and a griffon carrying dark magic, now there’s a good case for the courts.

I hear Iffy flying down the hall before anyone sees him. He rockets around the corner and flies up to Luna. “Blackwatch, they’re already here!”

“They’re quick,” Luna remarks. "I thought they would be a while. Hopefully they can clean this up just as fast.”

“They’re not here for the scientist,” Iffy blurts. “They’re here for Gilda. They’ve come to kill Gilda!”

I put my claws up in a wide shrug. “Luna already has me. Not much they can do.”

“Cherry said that, over the radio. They don’t care. They still want you dead.”

Luna and I exchange looks. Tanya’s head perks up. I think we can all agree how not good this situation is.

“Are they going to play nice and follow your orders?” I ask.

“They should,” Luna says. “Anything less is treason.”

We’re still in the front hall of the day care. There’s a large thud that comes from the front doors. Dust falls from the ceiling tiles, and anything not bolted down rattles a bit. Heck, I’m in a shield, and even I felt that thud.

Another, softer thud comes from outside. Then another, and another. The thuds stop, and in their place, a knocking comes from the front doors. “Knock knock, open up, Zero,” a voice booms from the other side. “Blackwatch is here to give you some payback!”

Lots of thuds, a large booming voice, payback, I am already not liking what’s behind door number one.

After a moment of quiet, door number one explodes in a burst of green flame. The front door flies above us, smashing into the ceiling and tearing through the tiles and the florescent lamps. A power line must have broke, because most of the lights go off, leaving the hall mostly dark, aside from the light coming from the gaping hole that was once the front entrance.

A tall, thick figure ducks through the hole and steps into the daycare. He has to keep his head low to avoid hitting the ceiling. That ceiling is about three ponies tall, and he’s taller. With the dim lighting, I can make out the outline of a large pony. And not just a regular pony, a pony covered in thick, heavy armor. “Well, isn’t this my lucky day. Two tricky griffons in the same building. Both of you won’t make it out alive.”

Nope, I do not like this one bit! Luna must share the same feelings, as she steps in between us and the giant pony. “Stand down soldier. These griffons are my charges.”

“Princess Luna, I’m honored.” The giant gives a half bow, which is easy for him considering he’s almost bowing just to fit in this hallway. “But I must ask you to step aside. That monster is marked for death.”

“By Royal Order, you are not to hurt these griffons!” Geez Luna, turn down the volume. Your voice is going to burst my eardrums.

“Normally, I would obey my Princess.” There’s a black box on the giant’s side that I didn’t notice before. The only reason I notice now is because there’s a green light glowing from it. The box makes a high pitched sound as the light glows brighter. “However, I really want to rip and tear into that griffon.”

It’s treason then!