Author's Notes:

Just finished editing this chapter as I watched a rerun of the season 8 premiere. Gotta say, I'm both overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. Is that possible? I think that's impossible... You know what? why don't I just split the difference and say that I'm just 'whelmed'. I like how it's not just about ponies anymore, but introduces the creatures from the other kingdom as whole (oh yeah, spoilers). Hooray for world building!! Yet, the whole concept for what I see to be the overarching story line for the season just seems, 'meh'.

Welp, maybe it was just the premiere and I can look forward to the rest of the season (seeing as I've avoided most of the spoilers and leaks to the best of my ability). In the meantime, what better way to add to the hype than a new chapter of your favorite wisecracking, fun-lovin' wire conduit?

Also, you see that title? Could it be? Is CiE getting close to the end? Will the forces of evil be defeated by the paragons of justice? Will Sam be able to return home? And has anyone seen my pants?!?!... Seriously, I just a load of laundry done and I swear I put them in the closet to use for tomorrow... I'll check my clothes drawers after I'm done uploading this. Enjoy!

Thanks Regreme for proofreading and editing. You're the best when it comes to making sure I don't end up typing like a 5-year-old on acid.

“And you’re certain that this device will work?”

The captain of the royal guard, Aegis Flare, inspected the device on the table in front of him with a critical eye. Within the western wing of the Canterlot Castle, the royal research laboratory and some of Equestria’s brightest minds had been hard at work. The fruits of their labor had finally come to pass in the form of the device on the central work table that the good captain stood by.

The head researcher, and archmage, a stout unicorn mare with a penchant to adjust her glasses every so often, nodded in delight, “Oh yes, Captain. At least, in theory. This is only the prototype, and we have yet to test it in a practical application. For that, all we need is the test subject.”

Captain Aegis Flare grunted in acknowledgement, picking up the device delicately between his wingtips to examine it from every angle. The contraption was heavy for its size. Clunky, and all together, looked like it had been cobbled together in the last few days. Exactly so, since the good captain did instruct the archmages to ready this device as soon as possible. He only hoped that this new device would be the key to evening the battlefield against Visionary Dusk and his assailants. Though, for now, all that was left to do was wait for the one being that could help them test this device.

“Ooooh, Cappy~! I’m hoooome~!”

If only that being didn’t have to be the one human that Equestria and the royal family now housed. The captain breathed in and closed his eyes before slowly exhaling to ready his nerves for what was inevitably to come. Setting the device back on the table, Aegis Flare turned on his hooves and watched the door to the lab from where the human’s voice called behind from.

As expected from the human, he couldn’t just enter the room normally, opting to instead kick open the ornament teak wooden door like some kind of rock star. The door itself swung open wildly, hitting the stone wall on the inside with a loud bang.

“Hah, boom baby!” the wire conduit cried out with a smirk, striking a pose with his kicking foot forward on the ground and his hands spread out at his sides like someone commanding the room’s attention, “Oh yeah, that’s how you make an entrance.”

Unimpressed as always with the human’s antics, Captain Aegis Flare glared at wire conduit and waited. Many of the archmages in the lab on the other hand nearly jumped out of the their own skins at the sudden intrusion. Sam was at least amused by their reactions, especially so when a few of them actually made hilarious whinny sounds in fright.

“Sam, this is the royal research lab!” Twilight scolded from behind him in the doorway, “You can’t just barge in like that. What if somepony was in the middle of an experiment?”

The purple unicorn maneuvered her way around the conduit in the doorway to enter the room, expressing many apologies to the recovering archmages as they went back to their work a little more wearily. Sam took the opportunity to examine the room that he and Twilight had been led to upon returning to the castle.

Twilight’s lab may have looked sophisticated, for pony standards, but the lab that he was now in put hers to shame. It was nearly three times the size and with enough room, even with all the equipment about, to fit over a dozen ponies comfortably. Which it did, as the ponies that busied themselves around the lab stole intermediate glances to the new arrivals every once in a while.

Tables with more bunsen burners, beakers full of colorful fluids, and loose pieces of various equipment were scattered throughout the room and created a maze-like floor plan that only those that worked there could easily navigate. Many devices and pieces of machinery that Sam was already acquainted with from Twilight’s lab were present, although they were comparably industrial sized and a few more with which he was unfamiliar with that ‘beeped’, ‘sputtered’, and ‘whistled’ as they worked.

Off to his right, the illustrious Aegis Flare waited patiently for the conduit to recognize his presence and the inevitable tomfoolery that he had come to know from the human.

“Hey, Cappy!” Sam obnoxiously waved and crossed the section of the room needed to meet with the captain of the royal guard.

Narrowing his eyes only slightly, the captain stared the conduit down, “Human, I asked for you to be here as promptly as possible. Would you kindly explain to me why it took you nearly two hours to return to the castle?”

At first, the captain had planned on waiting for the human conduit to return near the castle gate. Though as time passed with no human in sight, the captain had no choice but meet with the head archmage on the device’s development when he was informed on its completion, which left him to have a runner escort the human and Twilight to the research lab upon their return. To say that the captain was fuming at the human’s lack of punctuality would be an understatement.

“Sorry, Cappy,” Sam through up his arms defensively, “but when you’re just this handsome and popular, it’s hard to keep the fans off you!”

Captain Aegis Flare ground his teeth silently, and his left ear flicked in annoyance. If this human was one of his subordinates, he would have had him court marshalled on the spot. Luckily, Twilight had just finished apologizing to the last mage and stepped in to clarify.

“I’m so sorry, Captain. Many news reporters were flooding the main roads back to the castle in hopes of catching Sam for an exclusive, since we usually return here after an outing in the city. Sam, unfortunately, thought that the best way to get around them was to find some disguises to sneak past them,” Twilight explained, adding a narrowed glare of her own in Sam’s direction at the horrifically failed plan.

Sam backed away from the angry purple unicorn as he tried to defend himself, “It would have worked too, but you had to go and reveal our hiding spot while I was putting the finishing touches on myself.”

“You were taking over fifteen minutes deciding on ‘the right pair of glasses’!” Twilight shot back with an accusatory hoof.

“Yes, but the perfect disguise requires the perfect set of clothes to truly blend in.”

“Oh, for the love of- Both of them were equally obnoxious and oversized pairs of sunglasses! Nopony would have been fooled by it in the first place!”

Sam snorted in defiance, “Says you.”

“And the clown wig would have helped, too?”

“Hey, no one expects a silly disguise til they’re too shocked to do anything but stare.”

“The point of a disguise is to blend in, not stand out like the circus just came to town!” Twilight shouted.

“Enough!” Aegis Flare shouted over the two of them, unable to take much more.

Twilight’s ears folded back as she bowed her head, clearly feeling embarrassed. Sam just coughed a few times into his hand before stuffing both into his pockets.

With a deep sigh, the captain reigned in his outburst, “I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle. I didn’t mean for you to feel at fault. As for you...”

Sam looked over his shoulders playfully before pointing to himself.

“If you delay the next time I summon you, so help me, I will have your stipulations reduced back to confinement of the castle. Are we clear?”

Glad to hear that his dessert privileges hadn’t been revoked, Sam settled with a few gestures of a thumbs up, followed by a respectful bow. Captain Aegis Flare knew that Sam was only making the gesture mockingly, but if it meant that he could move on to the reason why he had brought him here in the first place, he was going to ignore it. Turning back around, the captain took another moment to go over everything he was about to say and finally request from their resident conduit, something that neither of them were about to readily enjoy.

“Those kids enjoyed the show at least.”

“Shut up, Sam!”

The captain heard the comments from under the conduit’s and Twilight’s breath while his back was turned. The human was a foal in most ways in Aegis Flare’s eyes, but his antics always seemed to find a way to endear himself to the general public, which only helped his image to Equestria as a whole and showed them that he was a friend rather than an just an alien, which also made what he was about ask all the more harder.

“Human,” Aegis Flare began, “You know that my guards and I are still not capable of taking on these assailants on our own. As much as it pains me to say it, we’ve come to rely on you, your knowledge, and your combative skills to fight them back.”

“Hey, I just hate to see some lunatic going around, kidnapping innocent ponies, and giving conduits a bad name,” Sam said, clenching his fists to the point of them cracking on their own.

Aegis Flare grunted his acceptance of the conduit’s reply, “I understand, but we simply cannot expect you to fight all our battles for us, human. It’s simply unacceptable for us to rely on you to do such a thing.”

“Honestly, I don’t mind,” Sam countered.

“Be that as it may. There may come a time when we must be able to fight for ourselves. You still have your own friends that you have to return to, yes?”

Sam choked on his reply. The captain apologized silently with a bow, knowing that this was sore subject. Sam knew that his time in Equestria could only be for so long. The captain was right in that he couldn’t stay forever to fight against these D.U.P. wannabes, but these ponies simply had no way of defending themselves effectively against them.

Sam’s thoughts were halted as the captain continued on with his prepared speech, “Your training with my guards and I have greatly helped us in understanding how to combat those with conduit abilities. Your knowledge and insight on their general strengths and weaknesses have also allowed us to expand our strategic capabilities. Though, there is one thing that we have yet to do to solidify our advantage: An ideal means of safely containing these assailants once we’ve detained them.”

The captain let the last statement sink in before picking up the device once more from the table front of him in one hoof. Turning back to face the conduit, the captain presented the device for the conduit to look over. Sam at first looked over the curious contraption, questioning what the thing even was. His eyes grew wide with shock once they spotted the faded black lettering against the yellow tint of the large, metal ring. ‘D.U.P.’, the letters spelled out, if only roughly around the weld marks where the metal was crudely fused together to make the final shape.

Tendrils or wire snaked across Sam’s forearms as he backed away from the ring like contraption in the captain’s hoof. A primal fear threatened to overtake him and demanded that he found the quickest escape route out that room and possibly the city, just to not be in the same space as the device.

“Captain!” Twilight stepped between Sam and the captain, “Put that away, and for that matter. Why do you have something like that here?”

Aegis Flare looked at Twilight with an apologizing look, “I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but this is simply our only means of combating Visionary Dusk and his assailants.”

“Excuse me, but I’m with Twilight on this one,” Sam cut in, “Well, also, what is that?”

Aegis Flare sighed heavily, having already anticipated this sort of reaction from the conduit before him. His posture was tense, arms raised and threads of metal slowly bending around his forearms at the ready for a retaliation. It was the same as when they assaulted Visionary Dusk’s shelter. The good captain could see just how adept a fighter he was just by his stance, and all it took was a simple device with a logo to push him to this point. If that’s all it took, Aegis Flare found a bit of sympathy for the wayward conduit and his distress toward the ones that instilled this fear in him.

“It’s a detainment ring,” Aegis Flare simply answered, “Archmage Scarlet, if you could explain to them on the specifics of what I’ve called them for?”

Archmage Scarlet readjusted her glasses once more before hastily stepping forward and scooping the ‘detainment ring’ out of Aegis Flare’s hoof, “Of course, captain. Now, ahem. We here at the royal research facility have been working on a countermeasure, at the captain’s request, to safely contain these assailants and their supernatural abilities.”

The archmage happily spun the ring around her hoof as she turned to Sam with a smile, “Honestly, it was challenge. We never expected to come across such magical- er, I mean, supernatural powers ever in our lifetimes, but here we are! It was an absolute thrill to study such an untapped well of knowledge! Both for your world’s culture and your abilities! I only wish we could see the human world for ourselves. Oh, what a joy that would be, to immerse myself in the thick of human society.”

Captain Aegis Flare noisily cleared his throat, to which the archmage blushed in embarrassment at getting off track.

“R-right. As I said before, it was tricky to find the right method to properly detain these assailants with their abilities. Any of our normal shackles and cells just wouldn’t stand up against their power. Spells, runes, and other magical artifacts simply have no affect on them, nor could they negate their powers. We were honestly stumped, but after the royal guard successfully raided the assailants home base, we finally found our answers.”

The archmage’s features became a bit solemn as she added her next thoughts, “I’ve only heard of this pony, Visionary Dusk, while I was in the academy. He was said to be one of Equestria’s greatest mages and scientists. I once looked up to him, you know? It was kind of the reason I wanted to be an archmage myself, but after his unethical experiments came to light, nopony even wanted to remember him. To find out that he’s come back and restarted his experiments… I’m sorry, it’s just a bit hard to think about.”

The archmage lifted her glasses to wipe away the mist from her eyes. A renewed sense of purpose spurred the now determined looking unicorn into continuing.

“The raid, like I mentioned, was our key to figuring out a solution to safely containing the assailants aiding Visionary Dusk. You see, very little was recoverable from the hideout as it appeared that Visionary Dusk destroyed most of his notes before escaping. What little that we could get our hooves on was unhelpful at best, but there was one thing that stood out as me and the rest of the research team combed through what we could.

“There was a small footnote on a certain type of material that Visionary Dusk had worked with that seemed to able to negate all expression of the ‘conduit gene’ when a conduit was encased in it. We’ve been able to cross reference this info with debriefs of the abductees that were saved from the hideout and found the material that was mentioned in the recovered materials, also from the hideout.”

The unicorn mare fumbled around for a bit on the ‘detainment ring’ until a soft ‘click’ was heard, and the contraption swung open on a hinge on one side of the circular device.

“It took us a bit longer to fully develop this prototype, as the material itself is magic resistant, and we’ve had to resort to commissioning the guard’s forgemaster to cast it. With this device, the ‘detainment ring’, all one needs to do is put this around a conduit’s neck, and it should, in theory, negate their abilities.”

Sam stared at the contraption uncomfortably. The thing reminded him far too much of the suppression cuffs that he and all the other conduits of Curdan Cay were forced to wear each and every day as a part of their detainment in that horrible facility. Flashes of some of the more unpleasant times he experienced there surfaced in his mind. The urge to run as far away as possible grew steadily, along with his anxiety.

Twilight quickly blocked the conduit’s view from the device by placing herself between the two and softly brushed her cheek up against Sam’s side. The minor comfort only had a slight effect on the distressed conduit, but it was just enough that he no longer felt like the walls were starting to close in around him.

“Archmage Scarlet,” Twilight redirected her attention to the confused looking unicorn across from her, “I understand the need to develop such a device, but why is it that Sam had to come down here to see it as well?”

“Because, we have no other choice, Miss Sparkle,” Captain Aegis Flare cut in gruffly.

Twilight attention was drawn to the captain as she gave him an even more confused look at the statement. Behind his stoic expression, if anyone was paying close enough attention, the captain frowned ever so slightly that betrayed his regret in having to put forth this favor he was about to ask.

“This device is only a prototype, as Archmage Scarlet has already said,” Aegis Flare explained, “I cannot ask my guards to risk their lives on a chance that this device only ‘could’ work without a proper test of its practical use.” The captain redirected his attention toward the human before speaking again. “Which is why I called you here, human. Being the only one we can safely test this device on, you were the only choice we have in ensuring that I trust using this device in the field.”

“Oh, hell no!” Sam sudden blurted out, “I don’t want that thing anywhere near me!”

The wire conduit was already taking cautious steps back toward the door. The metal strands that shot out from around his forearms writhed like angry snakes, and every time two of them scraped against one another, a horrible screeching sound emanated from them. The show of fear induced intimidation set the rest of the room’s occupants at unease.

Twilight confronted the captain, attempting to diffuse the confrontation, “Captain Aegis Flare, there has to be another way. Can’t you see how uncomfortable Sam is by this?”

The captain shook his head, “I’m sorry, Ms. Sparkle, but there isn’t.”

“Sure there isn’t,” Sam bitterly laughed, “And seeing me completely powerless is just a bonus you can add to the sick kick you’re getting out of this. Bet it’ll be pretty reassuring knowing that you’ll finally have a trump card against me, just in case I become ‘too much of threat’, right?”

The captain winced like he had been slapped in the face. The mages and researchers alike looked alarmed by Sam’s now chilling expression of hostility, some even to the point of wishing that the only exit was not being blocked by the wire wielding human. Twilight tried her best to find the right words that would break the tension in the room non-violently, but none came to mind quick enough.

Though, before Twilight had time to speak up out of desperation, the captain stepped forth, “This has nothing to do with anything between you and me, human. This is about ensuring Equestria and her subjects’ safety.”

Sam scoffed, “And I just so happen to be the perfect guinea pig?”

“Please, human. I wouldn’t ask this of you if we had any other choice,” the captain pleaded.

Sam bit back the remark he was about to blurt out with a snap of his jaw closing. Never once had he heard Ol’ Cappy say the word ‘please’ when talking to him. Sam wasn’t even sure if he heard the captain correctly. Taking a step back, he finally noticed how the pegasus stallion seemed to bow his head just so, in a way that Sam could only interpret as ‘remorse’ for even bringing the request up in the first place. All arguments that Sam had initially thought up to get himself out of this situation seemed to take a backseat as he carefully weighed the captain’s words.

“...You really do need my help on this, dontcha Cappy?” Sam sighed, the flames of hatred finally dying down.

Captain Aegis Flare looked the conduit in the eye and nodded only once. The silent and simple reply spoke volumes above anything the captain could ever say to the conduit. Sam’s gaze slowly shifted between the captain, the Archmage, Twilight, and the device in the Archmage’s hoof. The room was oddly silent, and it was only then that Sam noticed that the rest of the mages and researchers had been silently watching the entire exchange from across the room. The extra attention did little to calm Sam’s nerves on what he was considering to do next after feeling so guilty for causing their panic.

The wires swirling around Sam’s forearms slowly retracted back into the conduit’s body, an act that both left him feeling exposed, but helped placate the ponies around him. Although as tense as a coiled spring, the wire conduit forced his body to move, first swinging his back foot forward til it came down in a step in front of him, then another. His movements were almost mechanical, like if he put any more thought into what he was doing he would have turned and ran the other way. His eyes remained fixed on the ‘detainment ring’ held aloft in Archmage Scarlet’s hoof, the thing looking far more menacing than a simple looking metal, collar-like device.

Without even realizing, Sam was already directly in front of the archmage. Her hoof remained outstretched with the ‘detainment ring’ still perched in her grasp, yet Sam was unable to bring himself to reach out and take it. A dark pit of fear welling in his chest made the wire conduit’s body shiver slightly as he tried a number of times to just get his body to move again.

The archmage was unsure of what she was supposed to do, so she cleared her throat and offered some help, “Umm... would you like me to help you get it on for the test?”

“No!” Sam snapped, only to realize how he reacted and how the little pony shrunk back in fear. Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down and answer more collectedly, “No, just-... just give it here.”

Archmage Scarlet wasted no time in hoofing over the device to the conduit’s outstretched hand and backed away slowly. In the meantime, Sam stared down at the open latched collar in his hands. The damn thing felt much heavier than it had any right to be, but only because of how much it reminded him again of standard issue D.U.P. suppression cuffs. It didn’t help that the thing was literally made from the same material, had the same color scheme, or bore the insidious logo. Sam’s hands began to shake once more, causing the metal contraption to jingle noisily.

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a hoof brush up against his forearm. The purple appendage jerked back, but the unicorn that it was attached to stood fast by the conduit’s side. Offering a sympathetic look, Twilight brought her hoof back up to the conduit’s side, showing her encouragement with a reassuring smile.

“I’m right here if you need me, Sam,” Twilight offered a more verbal support.

Between that and the light strokes of her hoof on his arm, Sam’s courage was bolstered just enough to get him moving again. Twilight’s hoof pulled away as Sam adjusted the collar in his hands, so he could put it on properly. His hands still shook a little, but he was able to get the collar to wrap around his neck. He pushed the seperated ring back together until it closed snugly against his throat, leaving no room for it to be pulled up over his head alone. He fumbled with the latch at the front, being unable to see it directly along with his unsteady grip, until he got it to snap in place.

It was subtle at first, the familiar feeling of his powers being suppressed. Maybe it was because of the freedom him as his friends enjoyed once they had escaped that transport crash, or the fact that he may have been subconsciously repressing most of his memories of his four years in Curdan Cay, however, once the feeling fully settled in, Sam nearly panicked. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to tear the damn collar off and run as far as he could. The only thing keeping him grounded was Twilight’s constant presence and the periodic brushes of her hoof on his arm. The small comfort helped him to maintain his courage and stay rooted...just barely

“... Well?” Archmage Scarlet asked, unable to hold back her curiosity for the results, “Is it working?”

This earned her a pointed glare from Twilight, and the stout unicorn shrunk back. Sam, meanwhile, focused on the sensations of being powerless once again. It was unpleasant, to say the least, like a part of him had been cut off and made to dangle in front of him, but kept constantly out of reach. The weight of the collar around his neck didn’t help in the slightest. It felt like it was choking all the air out of him and slowing getting tighter, even if it remained the same shape and size as when he put it on. He hated all of it all the same.

However, he needed to make sure to test it properly, for Cappy’s sake. He put too much faith in the wire conduit for Sam to half-ass this simple, yet unpleasant, test. Raising his left arm til it stretched out in front of him, Sam tried to use his powers. Try as he night though, nothing happened. He pushed harder, willing every fiber of his being for even the slightest reaction to occur. Yet, not even a single strand of wire appeared from his outstretched arm.

Finally giving up, Sam let his arm fall to his side and shook his head, “I can’t do anything. The collar… it works.”

Although being cause for a round of congratulations, the conduit’s words left the room’s occupants feeling terrible.

“Can I get this thing off now?” Sam asked quietly.

“Y-yes, of course,” Archmage Scarlet answered earnestly, “The latch at the front just needs to be flipped open, and the whole device will open back up. It only has the latch since we needed to make sure the device worked before incorporating a component as complex as a proper lock.”

Sam brought his hands up to the collar and began to fiddle with the outside of ring to find the latch. He initially began to panic when he at first thought the latch was gone, fear of having being tricked into detaining himself gripped him like an icy hand. In his mind, he could see the ponies around him giving him satisfied, sinister grins at having conquered a dangerous enemy before them. He had been duped, and he knew it.

Though before the full wave of terror could sweep him under, his fingers brushed against the lost grooves of the latch sitting over his throat. Pure relief rushed over him as the satisfying click of the latch popping open echoed in his ear. He at first wanted to throw the ugly, yellow device across the room and leave as soon as he could. Though, the relief of no longer having the collar on him helped to clear his mind, and he gingerly handed the device back to the Archmage, who was smiling apologetically.

“Thank you, human,” Aegis Flare said, walking up beside Sam, “We don’t need you here any longer. You’re free to go for the rest of the day.”

Somewhere in there, Sam wanted to say that he heard some genuine gratitude beyond the simple ‘thanks’ in the captain’s words. However, the prospect of being able to leave this room was too much to pass up. With a quick heel turn, Sam hurried to the exit, with Twilight hot on his heels, but stopped short and looked back over his shoulder to ol’ Cappy.

Sam thought for a moment before finding the right words, “Hey, good luck on the final design for that thing.” His sincere words were suddenly offset back the goofy smile he forced onto his face for what came next. “Though, can you get something comfy to line the inside? I don’t want it to chafe if I gotta model your terrible sense in fashion again.”

The little jab was just the right thing needed to get the good captain to drop his sympathetic frown and replace it with his trademark scowl toward the human. He raised his hoof and snapped it out to point out and around the conduit’s frame toward the door.

“Get out of here, human!”

Sam snickered at getting his daily rise out of the captain before turning to leave, “Love you, too, Cappy!”

The frustrated groan coming from the research lab as Sam left permeated the air and made the conduit chuckle even more. Twilight on the other hoof, although glad that the experience didn’t traumatize him, groaned in exasperation alongside the captain as she followed the conduit out of the lab. There was still her own studies with the wire conduit that she needed to get back to, but she decided that Sam deserved his own time to himself for now. So, she explained on their walk through the castle that she would be up in her own lab and wouldn’t need him til the next day.

“You sure? Not like I’ve got much better to do,” Sam asked after hearing Twilight’s words.

Twilight shook her head in reply, “No, just try not to cause too much trouble, for both our sakes?”

Placing both his hands over his heart like he had been shot, Sam smiled innocently, “Sparks, I’m hurt that you would insinuate that I would do anything to cause mischief.”

“Sam!” Twilight glared at the conduit flatly.

“Alright, alright. I promise not to do anything too crazy.”

The lackluster oath was all the unicorn was probably going to get out of her conduit friend, which was better than nothing she supposed, and she knew the wire conduit wouldn’t do anything to actually cause any real trouble, so it was enough.

With a quick wave of goodbye, Twilight turned at the next break in the castle hallway to find her lab. Sam waited til she was out of sight from around the next hallway before getting a devious smirk on his face. There were still two guards that were behind him, his ‘escort’, that he had to deal with, but that was an easy fix.

Mumbling under his breath, Sam pondered to himself, “Now, I wonder where they keep their closets full of toilet paper? The princesses’ ‘throne’ definitely needs a ‘restock’. Why even call it a ‘throne room’ if it lacks the basic necessities to perform its duties? ...hehe, ‘duties’.”

Visionary Dusk swept his gaze around his newest lab. A sense of familiarity washed over him as he smiled to himself over the work he’d done in this place. Everything looked almost like it did nearly seven years ago.

The interior of the lab, and the building as a whole, was greatly deteriorated and in much disrepair. The sides of the building outside were tagged in layers of graffiti from local hoodlums. Windows and even a few of the doors had been smashed in, due to vandalism behind the boarded up openings. There was a sickly-sweet scent that permeated the air from all the vagrants and squatters that used the old building as a refuge during the cold months.

Yet, even with all the damage and surrounding lack of upkeep with the area, the Canterlot committee never took the time to assign a crew to clean up or even tear down the old section of the city with the dilapidated research lab at its center within the lower ring. At first, it was due to the history that the place held and the fact that nopony wanted to go near the place. Though after a time, ponies forgot why it was still there, but could never bring themselves to go near it. A few more years, and the old section was just a place that was just forgot about unless some delinquents stumbled across it.

Now, however, with its original inhabitant once again making use of the old research lab, an aura of sinister intent could be felt chilling the halls. Visionary Dusk reached across the room with his magic for his saddle bags that contained the last of his belongings that he was able to salvage from the Geode Caverns and set about arranging them throughout the room in appropriate places. As he did so, he took another deep breath of the musty air and sighed in relief. The feeling of resuming his work was comforting to him, and soon, he would have exactly what he needed to complete the next phase of his research. He was so close that he could just feel it.

The last item to be plucked from his bags was the tape recorder that had been his only companion throughout this entire ordeal, which was fine with him, since the inanimate object cared not for what he did. Nor did it have a sense of right or wrong or a mind to judge unjustly the actions that were needed to bring his lifelong research to fruition. Yet, when the time came, Visionary Dusk would discard the device, for he wouldn’t need it when the world would know him as the pony that brought them into a new age. It was only a matter of time.

For now, however, he checked over the device to make sure it was still in working order. Once satisfied that it was, he checked the current tape inside of it and found a generous amount of tape left to record on. That left him in a better mood, as he wouldn’t have to waste time searching for a new tape before he had to get down to business. A small pulse from his magic and the record button was pressed, and the small ‘whirring’ noise from the device let him know that it was ready to dictate his words.

“Log number D-125. Relocation to new facility is complete, and research is ready to resume.”

Visionary Dusk walked over to an overhead cabinet above a rusted out sink and opened its doors with a flick of his magic. From it, he carefully extracted two items and levitated them across the room to the center table. The original structure may have been dirty, rusted, or neglected of maintenance, but the haughty unicorn had meticulously cleaned and sterilized every piece of his equipment, as to not risk contamination of his precious experiments.

“Although many of my experiments were lost due to the incompetence of my hired assistants, they had inadvertently provided me with some of my most sought after samples that I could have ever hoped for.”

Already back at the center table, Visionary Dusk looked over his samples with a predatory gaze. One was a small vial full of black hair strands. The other was another, larger vial of crimson liquid, filled to the brim. The viscous fluid shimmered in the light when held up, and the unicorn gazed upon it with a sort of reverence.

“Subject A-4 is unlike any other subject that I have come to encounter. Unlike subjects A-1 through A-3, subject A-4 has shown to have abilities that are even beyond those that have come before it. Also of note, whereas subjects A-1 through A-3 have had the same abilities; A-4 has been seen to have an entirely new set of abnormalities. Unfortunately, no opportunities are currently present to acquire the subject as a whole for further study. Luckily, hair and blood samples were acquired in limited quantities during the invasion of the Geode Caverns’ facility.”

The unicorn set the vials down for the moment while he walked about the room, picking out pieces of equipment for the ensuing experiments that he had been anticipating doing ever since he obtained these specific samples. His choices were limited, however, which caused him to frown, as he remembered how he was forced to leave quite a bit of his resources behind.

“Testing of samples will now commence to further understanding of the ‘conduit gene’. With luck, I will finally have what I need to-”

“Doctor! Doctor, you in here?”

Visionary Dusk growled at the sudden interruption to his crucial research. The one that dared to suspend such an important moment was none other than Aras, the griffon. The avian creature poked his head through the open door frame of the unicorn’s makeshift lab. His eagle-like eyes locked onto the unicorn near the center of the room, nodding to himself in approval at finally finding the one he had been seeking. Stepping fully into the room, his claws clicking noisily against the linoleum floor. He only took a moment to glance around to see all the equipment the unicorn had already set up in such a short amount of time.

In his most annoyed tone he could muster, Visionary Dusk directed his attention to the wandering griffon, “What is it, Aras? I’m in the middle of a critical experiment.”

Not caring for what the unicorn was doing, Aras replied with his own question that had been bothering him ever since they arrived at their new location, “I don’t mean to sound like I’m questioning your judgment, sir, but… Canterlot; we are practically right under the princess’ noses, and we risk setting up in a run down place like this? One slip up to be noticed, and all they would have to do is walk a few steps from their palace to come knocking at our door! What in name of the great eagle made you think this would be the best place for us to hide while you work on your stupid science project?!”

“Because it is necessary, you simpleton!” Visionary Dusk threw back with a bite in his tone at the last insult. His research was anything but a foalish ‘science project’. It was the key to a new era for both Equestria and the world, and his redemption in the eyes of those who thought they could shun him.

With a deep, calming breath, the unicorn straightened out his mane and continued his reply more calmly, “You simply just cannot see how glorious this will be once my work is complete. Plus, this place holds a sort of ‘sentimental’ value to me. To have it finish in the spot it all began? It’s almost poetic in a sense. Those that thought I was ‘a loon’ or ‘a criminal’ will finally see that they were the ones who were wrong. That I should have been lavished in praise and commended for doing what must be done to provide the world with what it was always waiting for!”

Aras backed up a few steps nervously as the unicorn ranted. When he first took on this job with his mercenary crew, he had had his reservations for working with the pony. Something about him just never really sat right with griffon. Yet, the unicorn’s bits were as good as any, and he only sweetened the deal when he promised each of the mercenaries with a way to achieve their own personal goals with power that he could only have dreamed of. Now though, Aras could see why the crackpot of a unicorn was banished from his own land. Yet at the same time, he and the rest of his mercenary companions had no way of cutting ties with the deranged pony, not with said pony being in complete control on whether they lived or died with a simple drug shot. Or the fact that the entire Equestrian military most likely had them at the top of every ‘Most Wanted’ lists in the kingdom.

The griffon was broken from his musings as he heard the off-white coated unicorn chuckle to himself. The sound was hollow and held no real warmth like a real laugh would. Visionary Dusk shook his head as he calmed himself down to finish off his rant, “It’s funny. That wretched alicorn thought that I was somehow misguided, and that by banishing me would somehow help me understand that my actions were ‘wrong’. Yet, it was only thanks to that banishment that I was able to finally come across the wealth of information that I needed to continue my research. As much I am loathe to say it, I have her to thank for this opportunity that I have been bestowed.” The unicorn turned to Aras with a serious gaze and flicked his head in the direction of the open doorway behind him with a wicked grin. “Now, as much as I enjoy enlightening you on the importance of my research. I must get back to work.”

The unicorn said nothing else as he turned away from the griffon and looked over his center table to find where he had left off. Aras clicked his beak a few times, biting back all the vulgar remarks he had built up over the one sided conversation. He wanted so badly to dig his talons into the pony’s face and gouge his eyes out, or even grab him and shoot off into the sky before letting go at the highest altitude he could reach and watch as the pretentious unicorn screamed in terror as he fell before splatting against the ground. However, Aras knew he would only be dooming himself and his fellow mercenaries to a slow and agonizing death once their serum-induced powers started to deteriorate them from the inside-out.

So, he left the makeshift lab and the rambling unicorn that continued his work to rove the old research lab they currently took shelter in within the lower ring district of Canterlot. He roamed the halls for a bit, periodically peeking out the boarded up windows at what little of the grand, equestrian capital he could see.

It wasn’t much, and there were no ponies to speak of in this old section of the city that he could watch pass by with mild interest, just cracked cobblestone streets and the few surrounding buildings that were in just as much disrepair as their own. Aras only hoped that the mad unicorn finished his research before the royal guard discovered where they had fled to, or they may not be able to escape for a second time.