The Dissonant Infection

by the7Saviors

First published 2nd of September, 2019

Things haven't worked out quite the way I'd hoped, but we've all made our decisions, and I won't let any lingering regrets stop me from doing what needs to be done. We might be too late to stop what's coming, but we won't know for sure unless we try.

A deadly and potentially unstoppable outbreak, a country left in ruins in the aftermath of a brutal war, and six ponies destroyed and rebuilt into twisted monsters. These are only a few of the problems plaguing the world, and the Elements, displaced in time and now divided, must find a way to salvage their grim future, even as they try not to make it worse than it already is.

Retrace

Iron Wing City.

A city of progress, a city of industry, a haven for the technologically minded. It is the pride of every griffon who lives there, and—to many—a shining beacon of griffon superiority. For the better part of three centuries, Equestria had overtaken Griffonia when it came to advances in technology, and years of civil war, bloody coups, and self-destructive avarice hadn't helped matters in the slightest.

For the longest time, Griffonia had been an empire divided and it wasn't a stretch to say that griffon society dangled on the edge of total collapse... but that all changed with the Moon Princess's betrayal of her country and Sombra's return. It wasn't the griffons themselves, but the ponies that had brought about a major change. Together, in almost no time at all, Luna and Sombra had taken control of the Crystal Empire that had mysteriously risen with the dark stallion, and—even more surprising—both had immediately declared war on Equestria.

Griffonia generally tended to keep to itself and was wont to stay out of equine affairs, but then, a few months prior to the war, Princess Luna suddenly arrived in Griffonia with a small retinue of her batpony loyalists and a few unicorns and demanded an audience with Emperor Rödrun Brave Claw IV himself. Naturally she was dismissed outright at first; her claims of the Crystal Empire's inevitable return were left unheeded and ignored, and her intent to stand with this stallion calling himself the 'king' of an 'empire' and fight against Equestria for dominance seen as laughable. It was then that she offered a gift in exchange for the Emperor's audience—the beginning move in what would later become known as the Traitor's Wager.

Intrigued, the Emperor agreed to meet with the Moon Princess and her retinue. Her 'gift'—documents containing previously undisclosed and closely guarded details of Equestrian engineering—was enough to catch the Emperor's attention, but not enough to agree to the proposed alliance between Griffonia and the Crystal Empire made by the Princess once Sombra returned. The Emperor, unconvinced of the other Empire's return, refused, stating he wouldn't meddle in pony affairs. It was then that the Traitor Princess made her 'wager'.

Griffonia could do what they pleased with the knowledge she'd given them, and Luna would even provide the services of the unicorn engineers and scientists she'd brought with her, no strings attached. If, however, Sombra and his empire returned, and he and Luna together could show that they were a dominating force against Equestria, he would agree to not only form an alliance, but help fight against the Sun Princess and her ponies. The Emperor agreed—some would've said foolishly—to the wager. Celestia and the rest of the ponies were not much loved by the Royal Family of Griffonia, and the Emperor no doubt saw this as a possible opportunity to bring the Sun Princess low.

With her task seemingly complete, the Traitor Princess returned to Equestria, leaving behind her scientists and engineers as promised. The whole affair caused the Griffonian Emperor and many of the noble families of Griffonia to stand up and take notice of events outside their lands. The Emperor was quick to put the ponies, and many of the finest minds of Griffonia to use in bringing Griffonia to new technological heights. All the while, Griffonia watched with interest as events played out, content to stay back and await the coming war. The Crystal Empire finally did appear eventually and both the Traitor Princess and King Sombra had indeed struck a quick and decisive blow against the initial advance of Equestria's forces.

The battle in the Frozen North was only a prelude to the real war to come, but that it seemed, had been enough to convince the Emperor that this alliance was worth investing in. When the Traitor Princess—now calling herself a Queen—had returned to Griffonia with news of their overwhelming victory, the accord was struck then and there, and with that, the Crystal-Griffonia Pact was formed.

The foundation had already been laid for an industrial boom in the Griffonian Empire, and the alliance had only hastened Griffonia's already impressive push towards greatness. In only a few short years, the Empire of Griffonia was launched into a new age of science and technology. With Equestria tied up in the war and fighting a desperate and ultimately futile fight against the combined forces of two Empires, technological progress proceeded unhindered, and the finest minds of Griffonia were able to not only equal Equestrian engineering, but surpass it all together.

From the stronger and faster ships of both the sky and seafaring variety and firearms to the simple creature comforts you'd now find in any griffon home, Griffonia is now more prosperous than its ever been, and nowhere is that more prevalent than Iron Wing City. Originally born from one griffon's dream of turning his small, rural hometown into a bustling city of commerce and industry, the city has grown to become one of the world's largest sources of—

A boisterous knock at the door caused one of Twilight's ears to twitch and, for the first time in roughly three hours or so, she pulled her attention away from the myriad of books she had piled up atop an already heavily cluttered desk. The desk sat near the window of a small office, which itself was on the third floor of a multistory building.

Specifically the Iron Wing City Public Archives main building.

The mare flinched violently and snapped her gaze towards the door, her amethyst eyes widening with panic and her body reacting on what had quickly become instinct over the last few days. In a flurry of unnatural motion, the unicorn had shifted into something more fitting for a resident of a heavily griffon populated metropolis.

I wonder if this is what it feels like to be a changeling?

"Who is it?" Twilight snapped in a curt and somewhat nasally feminine voice that was very much not her own, "state your name and business. I'm very busy and have no time to entertain guests at the moment."

"Aww, but I bought these super delicious cinnamon rolls from the bakery down the street that I wanted to share!" came the disappointed reply from behind the door, "are you suuure you don't have any time?"

The voice was young and bubbly, and wouldn't have sounded at all familiar to Twilight a few days ago, but she'd gotten used to it now. Even if she hadn't, the bombastic tone certainly would've given away the identity of the creature behind the voice. All the same she furrowed the brows above her half-moon spectacles and her beak turned down into a wary frown.

"...Pinkie? Is that you?"

The question was quiet and tentative, and the response was anything but. Twilight had to resist the urge to leap out of her seat as the door was thrown suddenly open. A female griffon—grey feathered, black furred, and looking just out of her fledgling years—bounced into the room with a pink paperboard box in one claw and smile as bright as the sun on her face. She opened her mouth wide as if to announce her entrance, but stopped just short, looking as though she'd forgotten something.

A second later she turned and gently shut the door behind her before whipping back around and throwing out her arms in a grand gesture. Twilight breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the black fur and grey feathers vanished beneath a tangle of black tendrils, leaving a bright pink earth pony mare beaming at her from across the room.

"Guilty as charged!" Pinkie cried happily, "heya, Twilight! How goes it?"

Satisfied that they were alone and a little annoyed at the sudden and unnecessary outburst, Twilight shed her own disguise and persona of the no-nonsense elderly griffon archivist. She hated playing the stuffy griffon, but it was something she needed to put up with for now, given her current plans. Still, she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy having all the knowledge of the Archives at her hooves. It certainly made things a lot easier when it came to getting information while staying undercover.

"Pinkie, you scared the hay out of me!" Twilight breathed, frowning at the pink pony, "keeping a low profile means you don't do things like that, remember?"

"Right right, sorry, Twi," Pinkie replied, though her sheepish smile lasted only an instant before her regular grin returned. She hopped over to where Twilight sat and flipped open the box before shoving it in the unicorn's face, "want a cinnamon roll? It's suuuper gooey and full of cinnamon-y goodness~"

Twilight leaned away from the box and frowned, but gave the offer some consideration. While it was true that she and her friends could no longer be called ponies or technically even living beings if her hypothesis was right, and while she had yet to find any more information on what exactly had befallen them, Twilight had found out a couple of facts. One of these facts being that, while they no long had to eat in the normal sense, they could still indulge if they wanted to, and food even still tasted the same, much to the relief of the ponies-turned-viruses.

There were other things—other benefits—to consider, but Twilight set them aside for the moment and after a few more seconds of indecision, she reached out and took a roll from the box, giving Pinkie a grateful smile in the process. She took the offered treat, if for no other reason than to remind herself of what she and the rest of her friends had been—what Twilight herself was still trying desperately to hold onto despite everything.

"Thanks, Pinkie," she finally replied before taking a bite. She took a moment, humming in appreciation at the taste, "oh wow, that is good."

"Right?" Pinkie replied, setting the box down next to one of the large stacks of books on the desk and brushing her flat raspberry mane out of her face, "I asked Fluttershy if she wanted one but..." Pinkie's smile turned sad and slightly bitter, "...she said she didn't want one... that she didn't deserve one."

There was a long, uncomfortable beat of silence between the two viruses and a moment later Twilight sighed. She placed a nearby marker in the book she'd been reading and closed it before turning her attention to the window and the bustling Griffonian city below. In some ways it reminded her of places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia, but in so many others it was completely alien to her. Some of what she and the others had seen since their arrival in Iron Wing City mirrored what she'd find in the more modernized Equestrian cities, but when it came to most things in this place, it was as if Griffonia had entered an industrial revolution completely separate from their own.

All the metal and steam, the massive walking clockwork monstrosities patrolling the streets, the ever present smell of smoke, iron and gunpowder in the air, and of course, the various self-propelled vehicles that dominated the roads and skies of the city. Griffons no longer had to rely solely on their own wing power to get around, nor did they from what Twilight could see. Most traversed the roads of the city in strange 'steam cars' or used odd mechanical flying contraptions not dissimilar to the hoof powered helicopter Pinkie had used sometimes, though no hooves or claws or paws were needed to keep this machine afloat and moving—steam did that well enough, just like with most inventions Twilight and her friends had stumbled across.

And of course, there were things like the massive airship Twilight and Rainbow had seen back at Sky Talon Labs. Twilight hadn't seen any airships in the city so far, but she knew they existed, and that they had all been made in Griffonia, including the one Twilight herself had brought down just outside the facility. Though she'd found out the origins of that giant airship, where and how that silver golem had been created was still a mystery. This city was like a testament to everything they'd all missed in the last sixteen or so years, and somewhere down there in the hustle and bustle of griffons and the odd pony or two, was Fluttershy.

Twilight had been surprised at how much the mare had changed since they'd escaped the facility. She was the same Fluttershy for the most part, but there was something else there now that hadn't been before, and it wasn't just the uncontrollable rage she experienced in combat. Looking at the city and thinking back on all of their experiences thus far, Twilight was reminded of just how much had changed during their absence.

Too much has changed... far too much.

"I told her she could wait outside the city if she wanted," Twilight muttered, more to herself than Pinkie, "I told her what we might have to do, and she chose to follow after us anyway."

"It's been four days since we got here though," Pinkie replied solemnly, moving to stare out the window along with Twilight, "do you really think she would've waited that long?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure anymore," Twilight answered with a shake of her head. She glanced up at the grey afternoon sky above the city, then turned to address Pinkie directly, "where is she now?"

"She said she was gonna take one more look around the business district, then head back to the apartment," Pinkie replied, "she said she'd wait for us there, hopefully with some good news."

Twilight nodded once, and returned her gaze to the window. It had taken some time and a bit of careful maneuvering on Twilight's part, but the three mares-turned-viruses had found a suitable arrangement that allowed them to blend in while maintaining a position in which Twilight could find out everything she needed to know about the modern world—at least where the Griffonian Empire was concerned. Twilight had found out about the old griffon archivist by chance, and, with only a bit of reluctance, had taken the opportunity presented to her.

The griffon had been part of a small family that included her husband and their granddaughter, both of whom had been dealt with and replaced by Pinkie and Fluttershy respectively. While Fluttershy had already killed several griffons during their attempted escape from Squawken, she'd never consumed a living creature until now, and the experience hadn't sat well with her—not in the slightest. Both Twilight and Pinkie knew that's why she was out there now; they knew the real reason she'd offered to scout out the town and seek information on her own was so that she could ruminate on what she'd done.

"So... did you find out anything useful?" Pinkie tried, attempting to break the melancholy quiet of the room.

"I did actually," Twilight answered, giving a small nod, but not looking in Pinkie's direction, "I found a few books on microbiology, but oddly enough, not much on virology specifically. Even if I had found more in the field of virology, I don't think it would've helped much anyway, given the circumstances of how this virus was created," she frowned and glanced back at Pinkie, "I tried comparing what I found to the notes you took from the facility, but the information doesn't match up all that well, if at all."

"Wait, so if you didn't find anything out about the virus, then what did you find?" Pinkie asked with a bemused frown.

"Something that might potentially be much better," Twilight answered, fully turning to face Pinkie with a small smile of triumph—a smile that vanished into a concerned frown as she continued, "it was heavily restricted, but I managed to get the information on where Sky Talon Labs is located."

"Sky Talon Labs?" Pinkie asked, her bemused frown turning thoughtful. Recognition suddenly crossed her face and she gasped loudly a moment later, "isn't that the name of the place where we—"

"Yes, Pinkie," Twilight hissed, "it is, and I think it'd be best for us if you didn't go shouting out details best left unheard by anypo... anyone that might be listening in. Low. Profile."

"Right, sorry again," Pinkie apologized distractedly. Giving Twilight a worried look, she spoke again, albeit in a much quieter tone, "but how is finding out where we were being held better than..." she trailed off and this time a look of realization crossed her face, "....oooohhh."

"Exactly," Twilight answered, grabbing another cinnamon roll from the box and biting into it. She paused a moment to swallow the food and continued, "there's are a couple of things I figured out from my research, but nothing concrete just yet, and I'd rather not go into detail until we meet back up with Fluttershy, but as much as I don't want to, I'm willing to bet there's still a lot we can learn from that place if we go back."

Pinkie bit her lip and looked away, lost in thought. Twilight watched her as she quietly took another bite of the roll, waiting for her reaction. It was clear she was having reservations about going back to the place they'd just barely managed to escape from, and Twilight had no doubt Fluttershy would have something to say about it. If Twilight was being honest, she didn't really feel good about going back either, but she felt this was their best bet—not only in possibly stopping the potential outbreak at the source, but also in finding out just what this had all been about.

After all, Isn't this why they'd all decided to stay behind while the others had left for Equestria?

Pinkie seemed to realize this, because a few seconds later she gave a slow nod that picked up pace with her confidence.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Twi," the pink mare conceded. Twilight could still see some hesitation in her smile, but she was still on board. The unicorn's relieved smile dipped a bit as Pinkie's own smile disappeared, "I agree, it's probably the best start we're gonna get, but I also have a reeeaallly bad feeling something not-so-good is gonna happen if we go," before Twilight could reply, Pinkie held up her hooves, "I'm still with you, though, Twilight—one hundred percent... and I'm sure Fluttershy is too, or will be once you tell her."

Twilight noted the uncertainty in Pinkie's voice at that last part and her frown deepened. She looked down at the partially eaten cinnamon roll in her hoof and gave another, longer sigh.

"I hope you're right, Pinkie," Twilight muttered morosely, "because as much as I hate it, this is the only lead we've got right now."

Pinkie looked at Twilight; she took in her lost expression and—with pangs of guilt, sorrow, and longing—wondered not for the first time since they'd reached Iron Wing City how Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack were faring. She wondered if they'd already reached Equestria and what they'd find there. She wondered about her other friends and family back home and whether or not they'd survived the last sixteen years.

So much time had passed and so many changes had befallen the world that she wondered if Equestria could even be saved.

Author's Notes:

I felt I started The Viruses of Harmony without a proper foundation for the events that took place 16 years prior to the story, and I aim to fix that in the third 'book' of this tale, so expect me to throw in some lore (and possibly flashback chapters, as much as I hate them) every now and then between other stuff that goes on in the story.

I also plan on branching out in this one, so no more entire arcs taking place in one... place, as it were. One last note is that I'll probably be keeping the chapters a bit shorter (generally between 2k and 3k words long) in an effort to keep updates a little more quick and consistent. All that aside though, hope you guys enjoy!

Homecoming

Rainbow Dash was not a happy pony.

Well, she wasn't quite a pony anymore technically, but that was hardly the point at the moment—or perhaps that was exactly the point now that the cyan pegasus thought about it. Whatever the case, she wasn't happy with the current situation she'd found herself in. She'd also never been a particularly patient pony either, and becoming a shapeshifting death machine hadn't changed that; if anything, it had made it worse somehow.

It also could've been a side effect of that sleeping consciousness in her mind, but she didn't really want to entertain the notion; besides that, its presence seemed to be getting quieter and quieter anyway over the last few days, so she felt there was no need. Instead she busied herself by throwing an occasional glare in the direction of the mare who'd been responsible for her unfavorable circumstances. Rarity, who happened to be the focus of those glares, had very much noticed Rainbow's dissatisfaction, but had opted to ignore it completely. Given the current circumstances, both she and Applejack had agreed that patience and subtlety were virtues that would serve the three of them.

In truth, Applejack was just as impatient and irritated as Rainbow Dash, but, unlike Rainbow Dash, she had enough sense to see the wisdom in Rarity's suggestion. After all, they'd all only just arrived in Equestrian territory roughly an hour or so ago and had no idea of the current situation. It had been a long and ceaseless flight through most of Griffonia and across the Celestial sea, and while the trio were never physically hampered in any way, they were all mentally exhausted by the sheer monotony.

Thankfully Applejack had finally managed to form herself a pair of wings somewhere along the way and, while she was happy to be a pony again, her being a pegasus was a strange experience for everypony involved. Though she'd gotten the hang of shifting forms, Applejack still would've preferred the ground to flight any day of the week. Aside from that, there'd been small talk here and there—attempts to break a boring and sometimes melancholy silence unbroken save for the constant howl of the wind in their ears—but it always seemed to devolve into the same conversation between the three friends, and it always ended the same way.

There was always talk of what they would all do once they reached Equestria, of who and what would be waiting for them after all these years away. There was always the same worry of what their loved ones would think of them now, assuming they were still around to judge. In the end, the discussion would always leave them feeling scared and morose, with no answers or assurances for their worries. At some point they simply stopped talking and just dealt with the grim silence and constant monotony of their long, long flight back home.

And then, just as they could finally see the beginnings of the familiar Equestrian city of Manehattan on the horizon, they encountered an airship that just happened to belong to the Equestrian Border Patrol. More specifically, the trio of viral ponies had found that it was a border patrol consisting mostly of griffons in uniform.

They'd realized this only after a pair of armed and armored griffons had flown out to meet them while they were gawking at the airship and wondering, or rather arguing, about how to proceed. The airship was only about a fourth the size of the one they'd all seen back at the labs where they'd woken up, but the familiar symbol of a crescent moon over the black splotch that represented the night sky was plain to see on the midnight blue envelope of the ship.

The griffons had apparently spotted a group of suspicious pegasi nearing the Manehattan shoreline and had gone to investigate. One would've assumed that any pony making their way into Equestria wouldn't require any kind of permit, passport, or anything else of the sort to enter, but as had been established several times for the mares, times had changed drastically. Things weren't as simple as they'd once been and now the three had a choice to make. Rainbow Dash had initially planned on slaughtering her way through the griffons and moving onto their next destination, but a few more griffons had come out to see what the commotion was about, and once the griffons had identified themselves as part of the Equestrian Border Patrol, Rarity was having none of it.

"I know it might be frustrating for you dear, and in a way I do share your sentiments," Rarity had explained to an indignant Rainbow as the three were hoofcuffed and carried to the airship, "but this is an opportunity I'd rather not waste. There's still quite a bit we don't know, and this may be our first chance to gain some insight into what we might see."

"Bah, now you sound like Twilight," Rainbow groused with a roll of her eyes, "if we need to 'gain some insight' we can just—"

"I'm well aware of what we can do, darling," Rarity interjected in a low but harsh whisper. She threw the small entourage of griffons a quick glance and saw that some were watching them warily and a couple eyed them with strange smirks and smiles that Rarity didn't like one bit. She frowned and turned back to Rainbow Dash, "...but I'd rather not cause a scene unless we have to. If we were to do anything... untoward to our captors then word might get around, and that would make things that much harder for us."

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue, but Applejack spoke first, her tone bitter, but resigned.

"Ah'm with ya, Rainbow, believe me," the cowpony said with a grim frown, "but ah think it's best we listen ta Rares fer now. If it turns out certain things need doin', we'll do 'em, but until then, let's just see where this goes."

Rainbow still wanted to argue, and was ready to, but then she stopped, taking note of the oddly strained tone of Applejack's voice. She frowned and took moment to observe the griffons that had surrounded them. Looking at a few of them, Rainbow could immediately tell something was off about them, but she could put her hoof on what. She returned her gaze to Applejack and saw that the orange mare was wearing that look. It was that same look she got when she knew somepony wasn't telling the truth. Even without the connection to her Element, Applejack could still sniff out dishonesty and deceit like nopony else.

Normally this would've set Rainbow off, and she would've acted despite the consequences, but something told her to wait—that if she waited, she'd find far more satisfaction. Reluctantly, and with an irritated snort, Rainbow acquiesced. She wasn't pleased with the outcome, but that was fine with Rarity, so long as the rash pegasus was willing to cooperate. And so it was that the three had found themselves blindfolded and thrown into a dark and dingy brig aboard the Halvmane. The blindfolds had been removed shortly after the trio had been contained, but the gaurds hadn't said a word, despite Rainbows antagonistic outbursts.

That all had been roughly five minutes ago and Rainbow was getting more impatient by the minute. The cell itself was essentially a closed dark grey metal box large enough for maybe one or two more ponies than were currently trapped in there. The door was much the same as the walls with a small slot for the guards to peer through and presumably deliver food if necessary. There hadn't been much to do while the three waited for whatever was to come other than talk, and talk they did.

"Somethin' ain't right," Applejack muttered, "Equestria ain't never had a 'border patrol' before, least as far as ah could tell—don't think we ever needed one."

"Well, a lot can change in sixteen years," Rarity replied with a weary sigh, "and war just by itself can cause quite a few changes..." she grimaced in displeasure, "...especially if you're on the losing side. Still, I do find it rather strange that we haven't at least been questioned about who we are."

"They just threw us in here, without a word! With blindfolds!" Rainbow growled, her wings twitching irritably, "just left us here while they go off and do who-knows-what! I agree with Applejack, those griffons are up to something," she snorted, "I'm pretty sure they're not who they say they are. I mean what kind of border patrol uses blindfolds and throws ponies into prisons no questions asked?"

Applejack gave Rarity a sidelong glance, her expression unreadable.

"Ah know ah agreed ta wait, but..."

"My reasons for waiting still stand, darling," Rarity finished, shaking her head, "even now more than ever. You saw Luna's cutie mark on the airship. Border patrol or not, these griffons are working for the crown—or what passes for the crown nowadays. We shouldn't get on their bad side just yet, lest we invite the wrath of the... ah... Queen and this King Sombra. We shouldn't pick a fight until we know more."

"Those are more or less my thoughts, little lady."

At the sound of the slightly accented voice, the girls snapped their gaze towards the metal door. They heard the sound of someone fumbling with keys, and a moment later there was a sudden click. The door slowly swung open to reveal two griffons on either side of one of the largest pegasi the three friends had ever seen. The stallion wore a crisp and vaguely militaristic double breasted uniform of dark blue, and while not as big as a draft pony like Big Mac, he was fairly close in size. His coat was a sandy brown color and his mane and tail were both a rusty red and short cut. The pegasus stepped into the cell wearing an amiable grin, but it didn't reach his hard green eyes—eyes that swept over the three mares with something like amusement.

Those green eyes fell upon three pegasi mares; the one to the far left had a deep red coat, a dark green windswept mane and tail, and pale orange eyes brimming with suspicion and distrust. To her right was a mulberry colored mare with a perfectly coiffed mane and tail the color of fresh snow, bright cerulean eyes, and a calm, even expression. The last mare had a forest green coat, a wild black mane and tail, and golden yellow eyes trained on his own. The glare she gave the stallion was as caustic as he'd ever seen, and the large pegasus had seen a lot of glares over the years. Satisfied with his observation, the stallion chuckled lightly.

"You know," he said after a long moment, "it would behoove the lot of you not to discuss possible motives so openly while your captors are within earshot, just a friendly word of advice."

"Pfft, like it matters," Rainbow shot back, switching her glare for a confident smirk, "It's not like you'll be able to do anything if we—"

"What my hotheaded and overly pugnacious friend means to say," Rarity cut in, giving Rainbow a disapproving scowl before smiling diplomatically at the stallion, "is that we're all just a bit upset at having been accosted and arrested without any proper context."

"Other than your unauthorized entry into Equestrian lands?" the stallion replied with a raise of his brow.

"You'll have to forgive us, darling," Rarity answered apologetically, "though we're originally natives of Equestria, we've... been away for quite some time, you see. My name is Rare Gemstone," she gestured to herself before sweeping a hoof over to Rainbow, "this rather bellicose mare is Sparkling Rainbow."

The stallion squinted at Rainbow Dash for a second, then gave Rarity a quizzical look that complemented the incredulous stare Rainbow herself gave her disguised friend.

"Sparkling Rainbow you say?" the stallion said in a slow, bemused voice, "I... don't see it."

"Yes, it doesn't seem to fit her looks or personality," Rarity replied with a light chuckle, "but I'm afraid it is what it is. Poor girl suffered terribly for the name back in school."

She shot Rainbow a pitying look, silently begging the disbelieving mare to play along. Apparently Rainbow got the message, as she huffed in indignation, but didn't say anything on the matter. Instead she returned to glaring at the uniformed stallion while Rarity introduced Applejack.

"And last but certainly not least," Rarity continued, placing a hoof around Applejack's withers, "this quiet mare is Brilliant Sunrise."

Applejack gave no response or reaction other than to give a curt nod to the stallion. Her frown deepened as the stallion gave one of the griffons behind him a significant glance. The griffon in question wrote something down on a clipboard he'd been carrying and gave a grim nod to the stallion a moment later. Applejack narrowed her eyes at the exchange, but maintained her silence.

"Charmed to meet you all, I'm sure," the stallion replied, turning back to the mares and nodding to each one of them in turn, "you may call me Shimmering Sands, the current head of our little patrol while our... boss is away," he gave Rarity an apologetic look, "forgive me for not being able to meet you under more... cordial circumstances, Miss Gemstone, but with times being as they are, it's generally easier and safer to detain first and ask questions later."

"Okay, I get that, and I get these," Rainbow chimed in, raising her cuffed hooves, "but what's the deal with the blindfolds?"

"Among patrolling Equestria's borders, we have many other responsibilities," Shimmering Sands replied smoothly, "some of those responsibilities require the handling of certain things that are not meant for civilian eyes. King's orders and all that I am afraid."

"Yeah, I'll just bet," Rainbow muttered.

"More importantly, I have some questions of my own if you don't mind," Shimmering Sands continued, turning back to the mare who seemed to be in charge, "Miss Gemstone, would you mind sharing with me the details of how and why you came to enter into Equestrian airspace with no passports, documentation, or any kind of permit?"

"Well, as I mentioned before, we've been away from Equestria for some time—years unfortunately," Rarity answered with a sorrowful sigh, "we're all sisters that were separated from our family during the war. Our parents helped us flee the country and we'd been living in Saddle Arabia up until recently. We only just now got the chance to return home, but back when we escaped, there was no border patrol, so all of this comes as a bit of shock you understand."

"I do," Shimmering Sands replied with a sympathetic smile, "and it must have been especially hard for you all when the King invaded Saddle Arabia three years ago."

Rarity blinked.

"P-Pardon?"

Shimmering Sands' smile widened slightly and he took a step closer to Rarity.

"Yes, you three must have the worst of luck, escaping one country at war, only for the land you thought a sanctuary to suffer the same fate. You have my condolences, truly," he stepped back and gave a sorrowful sigh of his own, "in truth, my own Saddle Arabian blood cries out for justice at what has become of my homeland, but I know better than to go against the King, and so here I am, though I do worry for my own family back home."

Both Applejack and Rainbow looked to Rarity, but Rarity could only return their looks with a concerned frown, the mare unsure of how to proceed. That, at the very least, explained the sheer size of the stallion.

"Well, it is a tragedy of course," Rarity finally replied, her tone now a bit more tentative than it had been before, "but through a few lucky coincidences, my sisters and I managed... to..."

Rarity trailed off and a sinking feeling rose in her gut as Shimmering Sands laughed. It was an amused, mocking sort of laugh that told the mare she'd made a mistake somewhere along the way—a feeling that became a certainty as the stallion spoke again.

"La tujad harb fi Saraj Alearabiat ya 'ahmaq!" the stallion exclaimed with a chuckle, "muhawalat jayidat, lakunani la 'ankhadie bisahula."

Rarity had no idea what to say to that, and it was clear from the looks on their faces that neither Applejack or Rainbow Dash did either. Though they didn't understand a word of what Shimmering Sands had said, they could all tell they'd been caught in the lie just by the tone of his voice.

"This has been an amusing distraction, really it has," Shimmering Sands continued after a beat. He was no longer laughing, but still smiled a cold smile, "but I am afraid I have other duties to attend to and must hurry this current business along."

Apparently this was taken a cue by the two uniformed griffons, because one of them smirked and brought a rifle strapped to his midnight blue armor to bear. The other stowed his clipboard away in a satchel and did the same as the the large stallion spoke once more.

"In all honesty I do not care where you come from or why you have entered Equestria," Shimmering Sands all but whispered, moving in and leaning uncomfortably close to Rarity. She grimaced at the stallion's leering face, but said nothing, "all that matters is that you have come bearing none of the proper documentation to enter this fine country," he stepped back straightened up before speaking in a louder voice, "and so you have two choices ladies..."

He took another few steps back until he was standing outside of the cell. The two griffons stepped in to replace him, their rifles raised and their claws on the trigger. To Rarity's disgust, one of them licked their beak in anticipation.

"...you can either earn your citizenship through back breaking labor, digging around beneath the ground like a lowly diamond dog," Shimmering Sands exclaimed, "or my two friends can put you all down in the name of protecting this great nation from malicious spies like yourselves. I don't think it is such a hard choice to make, do you?"

"Nope."

There was an odd sound and a brief flurry of movement, and a dark shadow passed over both griffon's eyes. Neither had any time to squawk in surprise before two massive black claws latched itself onto each of their gawping faces and squeezed. There was a grotesque mix of cracking and squelching and a second later the two griffons fell to the ground, their features nothing more than a pulpy mess of red, pink and grey from the neck up.

It had all happened in an instant, and the sudden burst of violence had been so outrageous and unexpected that Shimmering Sands could only stare in disbelief at the two very dead guards laid out before him. In the thick silence that followed, the stallion slowly raised his face to meet the three mares and he froze. His eyes locked onto one mare and gradually widened with horror at the twisted black limbs that had erupted from where her front hooves had once been. His mouth flapped uselessly for a few moments before he finally managed to choke something out in a hoarse whisper.

"Ealaa daw' alshams al'iilhi..."

"Ah got no clue what any o' that means," Applejack replied, pulling the ropy black claws back but keeping them out, "but ah made my choice."

Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash watched with resignation and surprise respectively as the mare shed her red coat in a mess of black tendrils and replaced it with a more familiar orange coat and stetson. Applejack looked at Rarity and snorted before glaring at the stunned and horrified stallion.

"Sorry, Rares, but it looks like certain things need doin' after all. Ah got a family ta find and ah ain't getting held up here."

Author's Notes:

To those who actually speak some form of Arabic, I apologize for the possibly poor translation. Google translate was all I had to work with. And yes, I'll come back to this in another chapter, so no worries there.

Panic

Shimmering Sands was a stallion that had seen and experienced quite a lot in his life.

Growing up as a half-breed in Saddle Arabia hadn't been easy on him as a colt, not in the neighborhood he lived in. When you're a couple of heads smaller than everyone else you tend to draw the wrong kind of attention from your peers—at least that was Shimmering Sands' experience. Bullies came and went, but the colt had made it out of foalhood relatively okay, if a bit more ambitious to prove himself in the eyes of others. It was when he'd moved to Equestria a few years before the war that things finally started changing for the better.

He'd suddenly gone from being the smallest horse in his neighborhood to a pony that was rather large for his size, and certainly one of the largest pegasi anypony had ever seen. That he'd been born a pegasus was something he could take pride and joy in. Though he'd been smaller than the other foals in his youth, none of them could boast of being able to fly like he could. Looking back on it, Shimmering Sands realized that his wings might've done more to instigate abuse from his peers than his smaller size, but that was all in the past now, so it didn't matter.

He'd left that life behind to make something of himself in Equestria, and he had. He'd joined the Royal Guard, and while Saddle Arabian horses didn't get cutie marks like ponies did, his mother was a full blooded pony from Equestria. He'd never gotten a cutie mark as a colt, and thus he and his parents believed it wasn't meant to be due to his Saddle Arabian blood. In actuality, his mixed blood had only delayed the inevitable and it wasn't until after he'd moved to Equestria and joined Celestia's Guard that his own mark had appeared.

It wasn't a cutie mark for bravery or combat like many of the other cutie marks proudly displayed on the flanks of other Guards. One could guess, but to most it wasn't readily obvious what his cutie mark meant just by looking. It was a simple image of a door just slightly ajar, and for many months after he'd obtained it, Shimmering Sands wondered what it could mean. He still had no idea what it meant, even when Sombra had marched on and destroyed Canterlot after the ponies had refused to give in to his demands. It wasn't until he'd personally been brought to the new King and Queen to be executed along with the rest of the surviving Guards that had survived the seige of Canterlot that he understood just what his cutie mark meant.

Whether it had been through his own wit, someone else's folly, or sheer luck, the larger than average pegasus had always managed to slip out of harrowing situations virtually unscathed. It had been that way his entire life and it took talking himself out of his own execution by swearing absolute and undying fealty to his King and Queen to realize this. For whatever reason, King Sombra had seen something in him, as none of the other Guards who'd sworn the same had been spared the King's cruelty that day. Shimmering Sands alone had been given mercy, and after many other life changing events during that time, he'd gone home with a new truth in his mind. It was a truth represented by the mark on his flank, and it was a truth that he'd lived his life by ever since...

"No matter how dire the situation, there is always a way out," the stallion muttered to himself as he fled down one of the many narrow corridors of the Halvmane as fast as his hooves could carry him, "there is always a way out, you just have to find it."

This he told himself over and over again as he fled for his life from the three monsters he'd mistaken for prisoners—for ordinary mares. By the divine Light of the Sun he knew better now. He'd narrowly avoided having his own head lopped off when the mares attacked, and by some miracle he'd managed to escape from the holding cells while the beasts had been distracted with something else. He didn't particularly care about what had caught their attention, only that it had bought him enough time to book it out of the room. That had been several minutes ago, and he had stopped to catch his breath and try to sort out what had happened, when the screams began.

Shimmering Sands knew those screams.

He'd heard those kinds of screams back during the siege of Canterlot—the horrible, blood-curdling screams of the maimed and dying, usually cut mercifully short once the enemy had finished what they'd started. Those had been the screams of the griffons and ponies under his temporary command, he knew. They were being slaughtered elsewhere on the airship by those things, and where was he? Was he heading for the bridge to give orders to his surviving crew? Was he warning those who had yet to comprehend what was going on? Was he gathering those under him to fight the threat aboard his ship?

No.

Shimmering Sands, Royal Guard, war veteran, and second-in-command of the Special Operations Unit of King Sombra's Crystal Guard, was making a beeline for the nearest emergency hatch. The stallion told himself he'd escape the ship and find help, that he would warn the contingent of Guards stationed in Manehattan of the new threat to the Crown. While he would certain do all of that and more, he knew deep down the real reason why he was abandoning his crew. Even as he raced down the last few corridors and found one of the hatches he'd been looking for, even as strained to turn the large metal wheel and push the heavy door open he knew, but tried to convince himself otherwise, just like every other time he'd escaped on his own.

He'd heard it many times before, whispered behind his back or said out loud to his face by those in higher standing than him—so many times during the war that he'd become numb to the word. He took one last look behind him just in time to spot that cyan coated, rainbow maned monstrosity round the corner and spot him, and he heard it again. With its coat dyed almost completely red with the blood of his subordinates and black ropy blade tipped tentacles flaring out from where its wings should've been, the beast in the guise of a mare cried out her own rendition of that old familiar line he'd gotten so used to over the years.

"GET BACK HERE AND DIE LIKE A STALLION YOU BUCKING COWARD!"

With those words ringing in his ears, Shimmering Sands leapt from the Halvmane, every instinct in his body telling him to put as much distance between himself and the ship as possible as fast as possible. As he emerged from the hatch and hit open air he descended into a nosedive, wings pressed tightly against his barrel and speeding towards the ground far below. He wasn't sure whether or not the creature would follow, but he didn't allow himself to think about that. The only thing that mattered was his escape; everything else would work itself out, he was certain.

No matter how dire the situation, there is always a way out.

Rainbow Dash lashed out with one of her whips, only to growl in frustration as it whistled past, just shy of piercing the stallion's skull. Shimmering Sands had thrown himself out the hatch an instant before the whip hit and in moments he was gone from the corridor.

"As if it's gonna be that easy," Rainbow muttered darkly, her black whips reverting to cyan wings, "I could've flown circles around you way before all this happened."

She spread her wings and shot off towards the open hatch, fully intending to silence the cowardly stallion and move onto her next objective, but instead found herself suddenly and violently pushed back by a hail of bullets and spellfire from the opposite side of the dark corridor. Evidently some of the crew of the Halvmane had taken it upon themselves to fight back against horrifying creatures that had invaded their ship. Rainbow Dash, inwardly cursing at the timing, retreated back around the corner and away from the group of griffons and unicorns, taking a moment to regroup. The wounds closed themselves well enough, and the bullets weren't that big a deal, but the spellfire actually hurt quite a bit.

"You guys do know your boss is a cowardly son of a nag who abandoned you, right?" Rainbow shouted over the noise of the rifles and spells, "seriously, the guy just up and left!"

But they either didn't hear or didn't care, because the assault didn't let up in the slightest. Rainbow cursed and resigned herself both to waiting for an opening and to the fact that Shimmering Sands was probably going to get away at this rate.

It turned out that Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity hadn't been the only prisoners on the ship—far from it. They'd all been held in a large room full of small holding cells like theirs, each one holding all kinds of creatures. It was mostly ponies that had been captured, but there'd been a few diamond dogs and even some griffons in the mix. One thing they'd all had in common though, were the broken and defeated look in their eyes. None of the girls wanted to leave them there, but Shimmering Sands and his crew needed to be dealt with, and so Rainbow had volunteered to go after the stallion while Applejack was supposed to find a way to take control of the airship somehow. Rarity meanwhile, had opted to stay behind and try do something about the other prisoners, but apparently things weren't going to go so smoothly if Shimmering Sands' escape was anything to go by.

"Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash ducked another spellfire blast from around the corner and turned to see Applejack coming up from behind her. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the cowpony and she nodded towards the rain of fire just ahead.

"Nice timing, AJ," Rainbow exclaimed as Applejack slowed to a stop before her, "could you gimme a hoof here? I found that Shimmering Sands guy, but he escaped out one of the hatches that leads out of the ship and these trigger happy bozos are blocking the way."

As they'd fought together, Rainbow Dash had begun to notice that, though they'd all been changed into the same thing, not all of her friends had been rebuilt to be exactly the same. Rainbow Dash herself had already been incredibly quick and agile, and that had only increased tenfold when she became a virus. Applejack on the other hoof, had grown far more sturdy and powerful than she already was. She wasn't sure about the others just yet, but Rainbow knew they most likely had their own quirks, strengths and weaknesses as viruses.

"Ah, horseapples," Applejack growled before adjusting her crimson stained stetson with a crimson stained hoof and stepping past Rainbow Dash, "alright, ah'm on it, but we need ta wrap this up, quick. With all the fights an' panic breakin' out onboard, it's only a matter o' time before somepony breaks somethin' important, an' then we'll really be in it."

"Oh buck," Rainbow muttered, before speaking a bit louder, "so what's the deal with the other prisoners? How are we gonna get them all out of here if things go bad?" she grimaced and glanced back at the stream of fire that still hadn't let up, "well, worse than they are?"

"In all honesty, ah ain't too sure, Rainbow," Applejack sighed, "ya'll saw 'em back there in those cells. A lot of 'em were in pretty bad shape. Rarity's doin' what she can, trying to figure some kinda way to get 'em out o' here but... well... ah don't know," she shook her head and continued forward into the relentless assault, her face set with grim purpose, "fer right now, ah think it's best ta focus on what we're supposed to be doin'."

Rainbow Dash stepped aside and prepared to follow after Applejack as she rounded the corner to confront their attackers. She watched as Applejack stopped just shy of the edge and cracked her neck.

"Here goes," she turned to Rainbow, "ready?"

"You know it," Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk.

Applejack nodded and her legs disappeared behind a wall of black tendrils. At the same time she removed her stetson and held it out before her, morphing it into a large somewhat flat shape that vaguely resembled what Rainbow guessed was a shield that attached itself to one of her hooves. Before the black armor around her legs and the shield had even finished forming, the orange mare was off, and much quicker than Rainbow was expecting. Surprised but no less quick to react, Rainbow Dash followed Applejack out into the storm of bullets and fire, taking cover behind the large shield.

In a matter of seconds, Applejack had charged straight through the line of fire, bullets plinking harmlessly off of her shield and spellfire bursting apart with little to no effect. Rainbow Dash stopped once she reached the open hatch, but Applejack kept going further down the corridor until Rainbow heard the terrified screams and squawks of the crew cut short by the heavy thuds and crunches of Applejack's fatal impact. Applejack finally stopped amidst the now broken and twisted bodies around her, the blaring alarm the only sound remaining in the corridor. As she changed her limbs and stetson back to their original shape, she turned to address Rainbow.

"Ah'll head to the bridge an' see what ah can do about the ship," she said, "you just make sure that varmint doesn't get away. Take 'em alive if ya can, eat 'im if ya can't."

"Lemme guess," Rainbow replied with an exasperated groan and a roll of her eyes, "Rarity's orders?"

"We need info, Rainbow," Applejack reminded the pegasus, "an' Rarity thinks that stallion knows a few things that can help us."

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow quietly grumbled, spreading her wings and turning to the open hatch, "seriously, who died and made Rarity the boss?"

Applejack, knowing full well that Rainbow wasn't expecting an answer and not really feeling like giving her one anyway, turned and headed further into the airship. Rainbow for her part, prepared to make like Shimmering Sands and leap out of the ship. Both she and Applejack paused at the sound of a muted explosion somewhere in the ship. Neither mare had any time to wonder what the sound was before the Halvmane lurched violently, causing both mares to stumble. The sudden shift was accompanied by an ominous metallic groan that seemed to echo throughout the entire airship.

"What the hay was that?!" Rainbow cried as regained her footing, "did somepony attack the ship or something?"

"Ah don't know," Applejack replied, a grim frown crossing her face as she looked around the narrow hall, "but ah think we mighta ran outta time here."

As if to punctuate the statement, another muffled explosion rang out, quickly followed by another and one more though quieter. The entire airship shook and shuddered beneath Applejack and Rainbow's hooves and the two turned to look at each other from across the corridor. Applejack opened her mouth to make a suggestion, but was cut off by yet another explosion, this one sounding much closer.

"We need ta find Rarity an' get the hay outta here," Applejack decided, "now."

"Well yeah," Rainbow replied, turning to the open hatch with an uncertain and slightly frustrated frown, "but what about—"

"Forget about him fer now," Applejack interjected, motioning for Rainbow to follow her further down the hall, "ah think we got bigger trees ta buck right now."

"But..." Rainbow gave the open sky one last look before giving an aggravated snort and following after Applejack, "ah buck! Don't blame me if this comes back to bite us in the flank."

"Noted," Applejack replied as they both raced down the narrow halls, "now let's find the bridge, we're supposed ta meet Rarity there, so that's probably where she's headed."

With that destination in mind, the two made their way through a maze of small metal corridors, pushing past several panicked crew members going in the opposite direction. It looked as though the majority of the ponies and griffons were too preoccupied trying to abandon ship to deal with the two blood drenched mares heading thier way. Most gave them a wide berth as they fled, and Applejack and Rainbow ignored them in turn. Many of the pegasi were following Shimmering Sands' example and throwing themselves out of emergency hatches. Those that weren't lucky enough to have wings made due with parachutes, though in the pandemonium, some were outright pushed out without anything to break their fall. Those that tried to fight were cut down in passing and quickly forgotten as the two searched the listing ship for the bridge and Rarity.

At some point, Applejack had consumed one of the crew and obtained the memory of where the airship's bridge was located, but even with that knowledge, it was far from a straight shot. The Halvmane may not have been nearly as large as the airship back at the facility, but it was still a fairly massive ship, and the maze-like layout of the various rooms and corridors didn't help navigation in the slightest. The explosions had stopped thankfully, but the shaking was getting worse by the minute.

By now it was clear to all involved that the ship was falling out of the sky. As the ship began its slow descent out of the sky, it became somewhat harder for Rainbow and Applejack to keep their footing, though the problem quickly resolved itself thanks to the same miniature tendrils that allow them to scale the sides of buildings with ease. Eventually, after being held up by a few griffons who'd decided taking the them out was more important than fleeing the ship, the two reached the double doors that led to the bridge. It slid open on its own at their approach, revealing a large semi-rounded room dominated by windows that had replaced much of the walls.

Applejack noticed with some unease, that the majority of the view outside the windows were taken up by the Celestial Sea far below. Rainbow however, noticed something else entirely. The two stood on a slightly raised platform that overlooked a long row of seats lining the windows from left to right. At the seats were a series of complex looking controls, none of which the cyan pegasus understood save for the steering wheel set up near the front of the raised platform they were standing on. The bridge had been completely abandoned by the crew, but more important than that, at least to Rainbow, were the few ponies that were left.

"Rainbow Dash, Applejack!" came the relieved, if somewhat flustered voice of Rarity, "glad you could finally make it you two."

"Rarity?" Applejack replied, a bemused frown making its way onto her face as Rarity approached and wrapped her in a quick hug, "glad we found ya, but... who're these folks?"

Rarity turned back to the figures she'd been conversing with before Rainbow and Applejack had arrived. Standing off to the side near the end of the platform were four creatures; One was an older looking griffon with a burnt orange coat and feathers, a mean scar below one of his pale yellow eyes, a chipped beak, and a hard scowl. Behind the griffon were two ponies—twins that looked to Applejack to be barely out of their foalhood years. One was a pegasus mare and the other a unicorn stallion, though it was difficult to distinguish the two given their similar features.

Both had off-white coats and brown manes and tails streaked with cream colored lines. With a wince, Applejack noticed the two ponies were horribly thin and incredibly dirty. Their faces were gaunt and their manes long, flat and filthy, but there was something in their expressions that the cowpony couldn't quite place. There was a strange sort of light in their sunken green eyes as they stole glances at Rarity and the newly arrived Applejack and Rainbow. Applejack raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, instead turning to the last creature on the platform.

The last creature surprised both Applejack and Rainbow, as it was of all things, a Zebrican mare. The zebra was older, though she didn't look as old as the griffon. Unlike Zecora, this mare was mainly black with white stripes lining her frame. She was thin, but not as thin as the twins, though she was just as dirty. Rather than the traditional mohawk that Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity had seen from Zecora, this mare had tied her white mane into a series of intricate braids that fell to one side, though some of the braids had come loose and several stray hairs stuck every which way. Of all the creatures in the room, the zebra seemed the most detached from the situation at hoof. She allowed her deep and calming blue eyes to glide from face to face, taking in the others with something like idle curiosity.

Rarity looked at each of them, watching as another shudder of the ship caused them to adjust their footing. She turned back to her two friends with an oddly strained smile.

"Well, we don't really have time for proper introductions at the moment, but of all the prisoners that horrid stallion had locked away along with us, these are the only ones that decided to actually join us in our own escape—something we should be getting to posthaste I might add."

Author's Notes:

I'll come back to this in a couple of chapters, but for the next two chapters we're returning to Griffonia. As a side note I'm still trying to decide how to separate the different plot threads so just bear with me here on the possibly awkward pacing guys, I'll figure something out.

Plan

In most things, Hoffnarr Feather Song was a fairly average griffon who lived a fairly mundane life.

He was an older griffon, just recently into his mid-sixties in fact. He kept in decent shape by visiting the gym near his home three times a week. Like many griffons, he was a frugal sort, though he spared no expense for certain things. Between his wife's job as an archivist and his own work as a bank teller, there was no shortage of bits, and they'd managed to find a nice apartment in a good neighborhood near the business district where Hoffnarr spent most of his day.

He'd lost his one and only son several years back in a terrible accident, and his daughter-in-law had chosen to move out of the city with his granddaughter of only a few years shortly after. That had been at a time when the city was still growing, but once Iron Wing City had become a thriving metropolis, their granddaughter, newly out of her fledgling years and now a full grown adult, had decided to come live with them in the city. It was surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, though somewhat bittersweet given that Hoffnarr's daughter-in-law refused to join her own daughter.

Still, no love was lost and both Hoffnarr and his wife were happy to have their granddaughter around. She'd been a small ray of sunshine in a life that had become somewhat dreary and monotonous for Hoffnarr over the years. It wasn't a perfect life, but neither Hoffnarr's wife, nor his granddaughter could've asked for more. Unfortunately Hoffnarr had only grown more restless as time went on. He began to feel that something was missing from his own life—a slowly widening void that needed filling, a growing itch that needed to be scratched, a thirst for the kind of adventure one couldn't obtain by being tied down by his family and job like he'd been for so many years.

He'd tried taking his wife and granddaughter on an exotic vacation to Asterios, the country of minotaurs and a place famous for its many sprawling mountains, beautiful hot springs and ancient cities dotted throughout the land. It was a fun experience and Hoffnarr's granddaughter had enjoyed herself quite a bit, but it hadn't been what the older griffon himself was looking for. He'd tried spicing things up in his love life, even going so far as to try and convince his wife to try a few new things in the nest they shared, and while that had been a bit closer, it didn't quite hit the mark.

Deep down, Hoffnarr knew what he really wanted—what he began to feel he needed, but for the longest time he tried to deny it. More and more often he found his eyes wandering to the younger hens he worked with or saw on the streets; more and more often he had to pull those eyes away as certain thoughts began to form, causing no end of guilt and shame. The more he denied it, the more miserable life seemed to become. The drinking started not long after that, and things quickly began to spiral out of control from there.

Work suffered, fights began to break out with the wife at home, a rift started to grow between Hoffnarr and his granddaughter, the barriers cracked further and further in Hoffnarr's mind. Eventually, they broke down completely, shattered by a co-worker who'd been making some not-so-subtle attempts to bed the older griffon. He didn't know why, and though he'd always tried to ignore the hen before, now he didn't particularly care why. On that day, after work had let out, he followed the mare to a certain kind of hotel in the shadier area of the entertainment district.

Broken and desperate, Hoffnarr committed the worst breach of trust one possibly could between a husband and their wife.

It was everything he'd been craving and more, and yet it had also left him feeling sick and hollow—a shell of the griffon his wife had married. To make matters worse, he'd found himself waking up in that hotel alone and without a bit to his name, his bit pouch no doubt snatched away by the very hen who'd been fawning over him just the other day. Played like a fool and too ashamed to return home, Hoffnarr made use of the hotels amenities to ready himself for the day and left for work. The hotel had already been paid for the night prior, a fact that brought little comfort to Hoffnarr as he walked into the bank that day.

Not long after he'd punched in, he'd been called to meet with his boss. He entered the office to find his disgusted and irate boss and a pitifully sobbing and intimately familiar co-worker waiting for him. Hoffnarr had taken one look at the two, and realized in an instant what had happened, and what coming next. Accusations were made, tempers flared, threats were issued, and in the end, Hoffarr found himself out of a job. It was here that Hoffnarr felt he had reached the lowest point in his life. Robbed of his bits, he couldn't even afford to drink his problems away, and so, bitter, angry and hollow, he headed home.

Naturally, there'd been an altercation between Hoffnarr and his wife when he'd gotten home. His granddaughter tried to intervene, but could do nothing but watch as things began to turn violent. Fortunately a third party had arrived just as things were about to spiral out of control, and the griffon family was surprised to find their horrible situation interrupted by none other than a trio of ponies... or so they thought. Unfortunately, it quickly became apparent that these were no ordinary ponies, or even ponies at all, but something else entirely. Their surprise didn't last long before things took a turn for the worst...

When Fluttershy closed her eyes, she could still see the scene play out in vivid detail. She remembered the argument she and her friends had witnessed as they peered into the window, preparing to make their move. She remembered how things had escalated—the words that had been said, and the horror she felt. She remembered how that horror had turned to anger when the husband had attacked his wife, striking her across the face and leaving a deep furrow of bloody gashes where his claws had swiped. The last thing she heard before everything had gone red was the sound of the granddaughter's terrified scream, then... nothing.

There was a large hole in her memory, and in its place were the memories of Hoffnarr Feather Song. His entire life had played out in her mind, giving her the full story to what she and her friends had bore witness to through the window. She remembered it all from his perspective, and she had not liked what she saw, how she, as Hoffnarr, had felt in those last few days. When she finally came to, the main room of the apartment was a complete wreck and she sat amidst all the carnage, an old and tragic griffon blinking stupidly at his family. They watched him with no small amount of concern, his wife and granddaughter, only they weren't really his wife and granddaughter anymore, and she wasn't an old griffon.

It took Fluttershy a moment, but eventually all the memories of what she, Pinkie and Twilight had come to do came flooding back. There'd been a brief panic attack on her part, but her friends had helped her calm down soon enough. Still, even now, as she stood out on the balcony of the fifth floor of the apartment, watching the endless crowds of griffons pass by below, Fluttershy hadn't completely recovered from the experience. Hoffnarr had never actually gotten to tell his family about his infidelity, and Fluttershy herself hadn't told Twilight or Pinkie.

It just didn't feel right for some reason; none of it felt right, being in the guise of another creature, and of a different gender no less. It had been a couple of days since the incident, but she still hadn't fully gotten used to her shapeshifting abilities, and somehow she doubt she'd ever fully get used to it like the others had. Since she was outside where everyone could see her, she'd once again dawned the guise of Hoffnarr, and while she could just go back inside and revert back to her normal pegasus self, she opted to stay on the balcony and creature watch for a bit longer.

It was getting late in the day and Twilight and Pinkie would probably be back soon, though Fluttershy was still unsure of whether or not she was ready to talk to them about how she felt. She'd gone into the business district alone looking for clues to their current predicament, but had gotten sidetracked by her—or rather Hoffnarr's—memories. She'd wasted the last few hours wandering around in a daze and had eventually wound up standing outside of the very bank where Hoffnarr had worked. She didn't know how long she'd been standing there, and the only reason she'd snapped out of it and left was because the manager had come out and shouted that he'd file those charges if she didn't leave the premises.

And so she'd returned back to the apartment without finding out a single thing.

Fluttershy had no idea why her consumption of the griffon had affected her so strongly. She couldn't help but compare it to what had happened to Rainbow Dash when she consumed Svanhild, but the problem was that Hoffnarr hadn't been a virus like Svanhild, or even infected at all. Was it Fluttershy herself? Was this just a side effect unique to her? Or was it something else? Something that had to do with who or what she used to be? She didn't know the answer, and she didn't know what she was going to tell the others, but she'd have to come up with something soon.

Closing her eyes and casting out her still relatively new senses, she could feel both Twilight and Pinkie heading up the stairs and towards the door to the apartment they'd taken over. With a resigned and weary sigh, Fluttershy turned away from the city and stepped back into the apartment, shedding her disguise and dawning her normal yellow coat once she was inside. The interior had been cleaned up since the incident, and the girls, disguised as the family currently living there, somehow managed to explain away the disturbance as a simple misunderstanding. Fluttershy wasn't sure whether or not the manager of the apartments had believed them, but thankfully there had been no follow up investigation.

Fluttershy had barely made it to the front door before it was thrown open and she found herself staggering backwards, wrapped in a tight pink furry embrace.

"We're baaaack~" came the ecstatic voice of Pinkie, "did ya miss us, Fluttershy? 'Cause we definitely missed you!"

"Oof... h-hey, Pinkie," Fluttershy replied, patting the pink earth pony on the back, "I'm glad to see you, both of you," she looked over Pinkie's shoulder just in time to see Twilight enter and close the door behind her before shifting back to her lavender unicorn self. She frowned slightly as she watched Twilight, "so... how did everything go? Did you find what you were looking for yet?"

"One of the things I was looking for, yes," Twilight replied making her way toward a small white couch in one corner of the room and all but throwing herself onto it with a sigh, "it took some time, but I found the route to our next destination."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked, eyes widening with surprise as she pulled away from Pinkie, "I thought..." she paused and shook her head with a small hidden smile of relief, "...well that's good then, I suppose. Where are we heading next?"

Twilight grimaced and Fluttershy's smile faded at the sight.

"Well... before I get to that, did you find any information in the business district?" Twilight asked instead, "anything that might be able to help at all?"

Now it was Fluttershy's turn to grimace.

"No, nothing," she replied quietly after a moment. She looked away, turning her gaze to the darkening grey sky outside the window where the balcony was, "...sorry, Twilight."

There was a brief silence in which Twilight and Pinkie studied their pegasus friend. The moment passed and Twilight shook her head, an understanding smile on her face.

"It's alright, Fluttershy," Twilight finally answered, "I'm sure you did what you could."

"Yeah," Pinkie chimed in, wrapping Fluttershy in a one legged hug, "we have a lead now anyway, so it's all good, right?"

"Exactly," Twilight agreed, though her reassuring smile cracked slightly as she spoke her next words, "although... I'm not so sure you'll like what I have planned, or where we're going."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, trying to push down the guilt at Twilight's earlier statement, "why wouldn't I..."

She trailed off as she thought about what Twilight could've meant. Unless Twilight was talking about some place they'd all gone before their transformation, there were only three other places in Griffonia that they'd all been, and going back to Squawken or the forest at the edge of the mountain didn't really seem make all that much sense given what the lavender mare was looking for.

"...You're planning on going back to that laboratory," Fluttershy deduced, her expression falling slightly as the realization hit, "that place where we all... where we were all... changed."

"Right now, that place is our only lead, Fluttershy," Twilight answered in a slightly placatory voice, "not only that, but if we're going to make any headway in stopping a possible outbreak from spreading, we would've needed to go back there at some point, and the sooner the better."

"And Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked, turning to the pink mare after a beat of silence, "what do you think?"

"Hey, I'd rather not go back if we don't have to, trust me," Pinkie answered with a sad, sympathetic smile, "but I also think Twi's right, Fluttershy. What else can we really do at this point? Where else can we really go besides Equestria? We all agreed to stay here and do something about this nasty virus problem, and there's really no better place to start doing something than that horrible facility."

Fluttershy fell to her haunches and frowned in thought. She knew Twilight had a point, both of them did. She didn't like it, but she couldn't argue that it was probably the best place to start. Still, she searched her mind for another way—any other way that could help them stop the outbreak. Maybe if they cut it off at the source—

"The source..." Fluttershy muttered, "maybe..."

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, hopping off the couch and making her way towards Fluttershy with a bemused frown, "what is it? Did you find something else out?"

"We... what if we went to this Crystal Empire?" Fluttershy suggested, "that's where Princess—er, Queen Luna and this King Sombra are both supposed to be, right? A-And this whole thing was because of Luna, right? So..."

She trailed off and let Twilight put the pieces together, which she was doing if her thoughtful frown was anything to go by.

"I... guess that's an idea," Twilight replied slowly, "we'd need to find the specific location, and prepare. The Frozen North isn't someplace we can just stroll into; even taking into account what we are now, I don't think just waltzing into that frozen wasteland is a good idea."

"Wait, but didn't you say Luna was plotting and scheming in some lab underneath Canterlot?" Pinkie asked, pressing a hoof to her chin in confusion, "so wouldn't we need to go back to Equestria?"

"Maybe," Twilight replied, a plan forming in her mind as she spoke, "but that was over sixteen years ago, Pinkie. If Luna moved to the Crystal Empire, she might've moved the lab with her, or at the very least brought the resources within the lab to another lab somewhere closer the Empire if not within the Empire itself," she shook her head, "but we don't know if she actually moved to the Crystal Empire is the thing. For all we know, she could be ruling over Equestria from Canterlot in... in Celestia's place."

Twilight winced at the thought, not at all wanting to entertain the possibility, but unable to deny it. The thought hurt, but if it were true, there was nothing she could do about it now, not at the moment anyway. Instead of dwelling on the matter she moved on.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," Twilight decided, "I still think we should pay Sky Talon Labs a visit to see what we can do and find out about the virus. Whether or not we get our answers, we'll find some way to deal with the infected in the facility if need be, then our next objective will be to head back to Equestria and meet up with the others. Once we do that, we can all search Canterlot for the lab beneath the city. If it's not there, then we'll all make preparations and head for the Crystal Empire," she looked from Pinkie to Fluttershy expectantly, "does that sound good?"

"No complaints here," Pinkie replied, clopping her hooves together in satisfaction, "I wanna do what we can to make sure that virus doesn't spread here, but the sooner we get back to Equestria, the better."

"My thoughts exactly, " Twilight replied with a nod. She turned to Fluttershy, "and Fluttershy? What about you?"

"I... I think it sounds like a good plan," Fluttershy conceded hesitantly, "but... what are we going to do about Bright Fang? He's infected too, and I don't think we can just leave him out there in that forest."

"Bright Fang?" Twilight asked, bewildered. A moment later her eyes lit up with recognition, "oh, right, the wolf," she frowned down at her hooves, humming in thought a moment before looking back up at Fluttershy with a shrug, "he does have to be dealt with somehow, but I think I'll leave that up to you, Fluttershy. If you want us to go back for him, we will, but whatever you decide, we need to make sure he can't infect anypony, or anyone else. Also keep in mind, we can't just have him strolling around populated areas. It would kind of cause a panic."

"Right, I understand," Fluttershy replied, perking up somewhat, "if you don't mind, I'd like to visit him before we head back to Equestria then. Bright Fang and I will discuss what to do then, and let you know."

"Sounds good," Twilight nodded, satisfied with how the plan was shaping up, "now if everything is sorted out, we should probably leave as soon as possible."

"Wait, Twilight," Pinkie said suddenly, her tone somewhat solemn as she looked at Twilight, "before that, how's your whole magic situation? Has it returned yet?"

"My..." Twilight's brows shot up in surprise and disbelief, "my magic! I can't believe I... I completely forgot about... I've gotten so used to not using it... had so much do to... to think about, that I..."

She wanted to laugh, to berate herself, to hide her face in embarrassment, to do a lot of things. Instead she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, gathered her wits and attempted to reach within her wellspring for the magic she hoped was still there. She felt for the familiar spark, and to her surprise, found instead something wholly unfamiliar—something black and twisted, but powerful. Tentatively, with both hope and caution in equal measure, she reached for it and pulled gently, attempting to cast some simple telekinesis.

The couch she'd been resting on only moments ago was suddenly wreathed in black and promptly crushed into a hoof sized ball of cloth, cotton and wood, causing both Fluttershy and Twilight herself to cry out in surprise. There was loud crack as the ball shot upwards like a bullet, tearing a small hole in the ceiling above the three stunned viruses. It had all happened in an instant, leaving Twilight with a mix of emotions, a large portion of which consisted of shock and disbelief. For a few seconds, the three stared up at the small hole in silence as the black aura arund Twilight's horn quietly faded out. Then Pinkie spoke, her earlier seriousness and whatever else she'd planned to say replaced with the same surprise as the others.

"Welp... I guess that answers that question..."

Author's Notes:

In all honesty, Hoffnarr's story wasn't supposed to go that deep, but apparently once I start writing backstory, it's kind of hard for me to stop.

Defenses

With the slightly worrying, yet no less welcome return of Twilight's magic, it was decided that the three viruses would leave as soon as possible. While Fluttershy hadn't told the others about what Hoffnarr had done, they'd all heard enough to know that it was only a matter of time before they couldn't afford to live in that apartment anymore, even with Twilight's job as an archivist. With Hoffnarr no longer working they wouldn't have been able to afford the rather expensive abode. Aside from that, there didn't seem to be anything more to be gained from staying in Iron Wing City—at least not when they had other, more pressing matters to attend to.

If Twilight was being honest, she wouldn't have minded learning more about the city and the technology that had helped build it into what it was now, but that would have to wait. Rather than gripe over it, the studious mare instead went over what little she had found out with Fluttershy and Pinkie as they headed towards the Doldao Plains to the far east. As it turned out, the Sky Talon Labs were situated out in the wide-open grasslands of Griffonia's easternmost reaches. At first, Twilight had thought it strange that they'd decide to build such a secretive place in such a visible spot. Then she realized that it made a certain sort of sense when one thought about the testing that must've gone on and the possible widespread damage it could cause.

Not only that, but from what she'd read, there was some sort of protection or deterrent around the perimeter of the labs to keep away prying eyes, and whatever protection it had, was spread far and wide. To add to that, the area was practically uninhabited otherwise—the land nearly unexplored by anygriffon. Those few that did live in the area were associated with Sky Talon Labs in some way or another. What worried Twilight the most were the mysterious measures put into place to ward off those who attempted to trespass into the vicinity. She wasn't able to find any information on that particular subject and had even seen evidence that the information was deliberately removed, with large chunks of the documents she'd read redacted.

Still, if she could visibly see the labs before they ran into whatever measures were put into place, and assuming those measures didn't involve some kind of anti-magic field, she'd be able to teleport right to their destination. Of course, given how much more powerful her magic had become, and the fact that she'd only ever used it in that state during one of her... episodes, there was a small worry that things may not work out exactly as planned.

The whole situation was rather galling, but not unexpected, and again, rather than get frustrated about something she could do nothing about, she focused on what she was able to discover. The three friends had left the city as the small griffon family to avoid suspicion, then had reverted to each one of their respective forms capable of flight once they'd reached a reasonable distance. Fluttershy neither needed nor wanted to change into anything other than her own pegasus body, Pinkie had once again shifted into a thestral version of herself, and Twilight flew steadily with carefully modified pegasus wings. She'd finally gotten them down to a normal size befitting a pony of her stature, and that had made flying a lot easier. As for how she managed it...

"I don't know all the intricate details yet," Twilight was explaining to the other two as they soared high over a small mountain range far below, "but based on what I've gathered, a good portion of our abilities as viruses have to do with biomass and the manipulation thereof."

"Biomass?" Fluttershy repeated, "I'm not really an expert or anything, but that's what makes up living organisms, right?"

"Sort of," Twilight replied, "it's any kind of organic matter, living or otherwise, that can be used as an energy source," she slowed slightly, her face wrinkled in thought, "again, I'm still hazy on the details, but as viruses, we can consume biomass as fuel to regenerate damage taken, and have almost limitless control over our own biomass, which is why we can shapeshift.

"As far as I know, the material we consume doesn't even have to be one hundred percent organic, but I'm not sure if consuming mostly inorganic material is beneficial for us," Twilight paused, thinking back to the anti-magic ring she'd consumed and grimaced at the memory, "...in fact, I think it might be harmful in the long run, though I don't have anything to base that off of right now. It's just a hunch at this point."

"So... the more we eat, the stronger we get?" Pinkie surmised, flying slow, lazy loops around the other two as she pressed a hoof to her chin in contemplation, "that's... pretty neat, I guess."

Twilight took note of the uncertain tone in Pinkie's voice but didn't say anything about it. Instead, she shook her head and replied.

"I don't know about getting stronger, Pinkie," she responded slowly, "but consuming more biomass to add to our own would certainly keep us... healthy, for lack of a better word," she hummed in thought, "or maybe... maybe 'stable' would be a better word?" she thought back to Pinkie, Applejack's and Rarity's fight with Svanhild and the condition they'd been left in, how it had taken a lot more regenerate the damage than normal, and her eyes widened in realization, "yeah... stable would be a better word. The more damage we take, the more biomass we lose, and the harder it is for us to maintain our forms—at least that's what I believe based on what I've seen so far."

"But what about what you and that meanie Jeger were talking about before?" Pinkie asked, cutting off Twilight's forward momentum as she dropped down in front of her, "something about 'unique signatures' and 'disrupted bonds'?"

Twilight blinked in confusion, trying to remember what Pinkie was talking about. Then it hit her a moment later and she frowned, uncertain of how to answer. She had discussed something like that with the viral griffon scientist, hadn't she? He'd explained how Svanhild was able to injure her friends so badly by disrupting the viral 'bonds' that held them together.

"Well, honestly I'm not... wait a minute," she stopped and blinked again, this time frowning at Pinkie in bemusement, "you were listening to that? Weren't you fighting Svanhild with Applejack and Rarity?"

"Eh, I managed to pick it up," Pinkie replied with a shrug, "you two weren't exactly quiet, y'know?"

"Huh," Twilight replied, uncertain of what else to say, "well, that aside, there might be some overlap, but I'm not so sure the two phenomena contradict each other. Remember, there are two aspects to the virus: the physical and the magical. Biomass may have more to do with the physical aspect of things and it could be that these 'bonds' and the unique 'signatures' found in each infected creature are purely thaumic in nature," she shook her head and frowned in slight frustration, "ugh... this is why we need to find out as much as we can. I want to be sure of what I'm talking about here, and right now I'm not."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out once you have what you need, Twilight," Fluttershy chimed in as she moved to fly next to Twilight, "there's no need to fret over it right now. Just take things one step at a time."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Twilight replied, still somewhat bothered but giving Fluttershy a grateful smile nonetheless, "you're right Fluttershy, I should probably just—"

A bright flash in the distance.

That small pinpoint of light and the sudden searing heat like that of a scorching desert sun were the only warnings any of the girls received before the sky lit up around them. It was with reflexes none of them knew they'd possessed up until now that they only just managed to roll out of the way of a massive pillar of blinding white light that came screaming from the heavens above. Shocked but otherwise okay, the three tried to regain their bearings but didn't get the chance as another pillar of light slammed down from above, then another, and another, and yet more. There was no time to talk, no time to scream; the only thing the girls could do was react, and react they did.

Though they'd done well to avoid the beams so far, they most likely wouldn't be able to keep up the effort forever, nor could they afford to. With this in mind, Twilight took a risk; during one of the brief intervals in which death wasn't raining down from above, she focused on shifting her eyesight to that of a griffon's. It was a far more complex process than shifting just her wings, but with the amount of practice she'd had by now, it was well within her ability. That done, she searched her surroundings, trying to spot the source of the assault and noticed two things. She looked up just in time to see the sudden appearance of a multilayered sigil flash into existence followed by several more. They flashed brightly for an instant before firing a thick ray of light to the ground below.

It's a series of offensive spells, but I've never seen offensive magic implemented like this before. Is it a pony? It couldn't be, at least not just one. The magical burnout would be enough to kill a single unicorn in seconds...

Having confirmed what she already suspected, Twilight continued to look for the caster using her enhanced sight and a few close calls later, she spotted what she thought might be the culprit. Far in the distance, she could just barely make out the outline of what looked like a tall tower, its black and featureless cylindrical surface reflecting the sunlight. Further observation revealed two more on either side spread roughly a kilometer apart from each other, and Twilight had no doubt there were more she couldn't see lined up in a row. From so far away she couldn't tell the exact size of the towers, but Twilight could see the same type of magic sigils form just above each tower before encircling the structure and vanishing into the ground beneath it. The phenomenon happened with alarming frequency—enough to convince the mare that these towers were what was causing the attack.

That must be the 'deterrent' they put into place to keep out intruders, but this is insane! There was no warning! After what we saw in those labs I can understand the need for secrecy and even defenses, but this is ridiculous! And just how are they powering those towers? Does it work by the same principle as the golem we fought before escaping? How—

One of the beams slammed down right next to the inattentive mare, clipping one of her wings and sending her spinning in the air. Her resulting cry caught the attention of the other two, but there wasn't much either of them could do, distracted as they were by their own problems. Thankfully Twilight managed to right herself just in time to twist out of the way of another blast, but she doubted she could keep up the pace much longer. The thought of casting another barrier came to mind, but with that idea came the memory of what happened before and the fear that she'd lose her magic again, so rather than burn out her own magic and leave them all scrambling to survive, Twilight instead narrowed her eyes and took another gamble.

Darkening her horn with corrupted magic and making sure she had a clear image of the terrain in her mind, she sought out her friends from among the rain of death. Thankfully it didn't take long before she found Fluttershy weaving in and out of the light pillars, her eyes wide and full of constant panic and terror. Seizing the opportunity, her horn flashed and the yellow pegasus vanished with a strange electrical sounding pop. The sudden dip in her magic was immediately noticeable, but well within what she could accomplish for all three of them, much to her relief. She wasted no time in seeking out Pinkie and wasn't surprised to find the thestral flitting to-and-fro whooping and giggling like a filly at an amusement park as she deftly avoided each and every strike with seemingly no effort whatsoever.

For an instant Twilight thought back to their battle with the denizens of Squawken and wondered about the mare's behavior, but then realized this might not have even counted as a life or death situation for Pinkie. Or perhaps it was just the fact that there were no creatures to brutalize. The thought would've sent a chill down her spine if she herself weren't trying to suppress a sadistic smile at the idea. Pushing that to the back of her mind, her horn sparked to life once more and Pinkie disappeared in a black flash. Wasting no time, she pulled from her wellspring one last time and vanished just as another pillar of light hit the air where she'd been a mere second ago. She reappeared roughly a kilometer and a half away where she'd judged the opposite side of the line of towers to be. Unfortunately, she'd been in the middle of an evasive maneuver and the momentum had carried over after the teleport, causing her to hit the grassy knoll rolling for a few yards.

Aware that she and her friends may not have avoided danger, she pushed herself off the ground and back into the air with a snap of her wings and scanned the area, eyes alert for more magical lasers. She relaxed slightly when she realized the sky wasn't alive with deadly magic and relaxed fully when she spotted Fluttershy and Pinkie a dozen or so yards away, dazed but otherwise fine. Her gamble had paid off, and just as she'd predicted—or rather just as she'd hoped—the spell didn't activate past a certain point, and she'd managed to teleport them all past that point to safety. She was vaguely aware of a strange sensation in her chest, and it took a moment to realize it was the pounding of her own non-existent heart. It was a strange feeling—something she could only describe as phantom limb, but with a heartbeat. The comparison probably wasn't entirely accurate, but then again, she didn't really care all that much.

Twilight was just happy to see her friends alive and well. Confirming that gave her a chance to focus on the other oddity she'd seen during their harrowing situation. Beyond the perimeter of magic 'mortars', even further into the distance by about a two miles or so where Twilight had expected to see the facility, she instead saw the top of a large silvery dome just past a large hill. The sight had confused her at first, but now that she had a moment to breathe, she understood the strange structure for what it most likely was, though she had no idea how they'd managed to build something on such a scale. The realization made her frown, a mix of concern and relief flooding her mind.

Of course the ones in charge would've tried to do something about the mess we left behind...

"Is everypony okay?" Twilight called out, turning away from the distant structure and making her way to where the others were, "Pinkie? Fluttershy?"

"Whoooo!" came Pinkie's ecstatic voice as she flew up to meet Twilight, "I have no idea what that was all about but we gotta do it again! Please, Twilight? C'mon, one more time?"

"No, Pinkie, that wasn't like fighting off a bunch of ponies and griffons. If even one of those spells hit us, I don't think even we would've survived," Twilight chided before her frown turned thoughtful. She turned to one of the black towers standing tall just half a kilometer away, the construct completely inert now that there was no target in range, "in all honesty I'd like to figure out how their defense system works, but we have more important things to take care of and I think I've taken enough of those kinds of risks for now."

Infectious as her smile might've been, and as curious as Twilight herself was, she had no intention of indulging the grinning thestral or her own thaumatological interests. This entire venture might've proven to be risky enough as it was and she didn't want to fail before they'd even gotten their proverbial hoof in the water.

"I agree... I'd rather not go through all of that again if we don't have to..." Fluttershy chimed in, moving to hover beside Pinkie. She turned her fearful gaze back to where they'd all come from and swallowed visibly before giving Twilight a small but grateful smile, "...thanks, Twilight. I don't think we would've made it if you hadn't teleported us when you did," she glanced at Pinkie and frowned slightly, "well... I don't think I would've made it anyway."

"I'm sure both of you would've done the same for me if you could," Twilight replied, returning Fluttershy's smile with one of her own, though it dropped back into a frown as she turned back to the silver dome still quite a ways away, "but we're not out of the woods yet. Odds are we set off some kind of alarm when we triggered the defenses. Whatever force is holed up in the facility will most likely send somepony or somegriffon out to investigate."

"Um... actually," Fluttershy began, looking in the same direction with a worried frown of her own, "I'm not sure if they're ponies or griffons, but there are already a few creatures on their way here... probably less than a mile away."

"Already?" Pinkie replied with a raised eyebrow, "but we just got here! And it didn't us that long to get through the deadly lasers... at least I don't think it did..."

At Pinkie's words, Fluttershy winced slightly and looked away.

"Well... um... to be honest," she continued hesitantly, "whoever's out there has probably been heading this way since before the... before all that happened. I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, but I wasn't sure what I was feeling at first, I think maybe because of the distance. By the time I was sure there was somepony out there, we were already being attacked... sorry, girls."

"Aw, that's okay, Fluttershy," Pinkie replied, pulling the yellow pegasus into a reassuring hug, "it's not like that Flutter-Sense of yours is an exact science, just like my Pinkie Sense!" Fluttershy felt Pinkie twitch slightly, but the mare continued as if nothing happened, her bright tone unchanged, "and besides, if anypony does show up and decides they wanna be a buncha grumpy party poopers... well... I'll just have to throw 'em a party they won't forget."

Fluttershy grimaced and pulled away from Pinkie, only to see her pink friend giving her an innocent smile, just as if she truly meant to throw their potential guests one of her patented Pinkie Pie parties. To most, it probably would've been a heartwarming gesture, but Fluttershy could see the truth behind that smile, plain as day. Thinking about it, Fluttershy had gotten the impression that Pinkie and Twilight were beginning to settle into their new existence as monsters, just as she'd felt Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity had before they separated. Even Fluttershy herself had to admit that she was starting to feel less like a stranger in somepony else's skin, but that didn't mean she'd accepted what they'd all become. She wasn't sure if she ever would.

Lost in her rage as she was at the time, she hadn't heard Twilight's speech to the others back before they were all about to fight the golem, but as she spent the last few days in Iron Wing City impersonating Hoffnarr Feather Song, she began to understand what Twilight was trying to convey. Deep down she'd knew; she'd understood Twilight words without having to be told. They weren't ponies anymore, they were monsters in a new and unfamiliar and monstrous world, and they had to adapt accordingly. She knew this, but she refused to completely accept it because she remembered the words Twilight had told her directly when they'd both awakened in Squawken.

They might've been vicious killing machines capable of horrors the likes of which the pegasus could've never imagined, but as long as she remembered who she was and where she came from—as long as didn't grow complacent in the horrid acts she committed, she would still be 'Fluttershy'. Even if Twilight hadn't truly believed her own words back then, Fluttershy would take them to heart, whether she actually had one or not. With that in mind, she gave the pink batpony a disapproving glare and turned to address Twilight. She was about to ask what Twilight wanted to do about the situation when she noticed the mare in question staring out at the silvery dome with a thoughtful expression.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy began tentatively, "is... something wrong?"

"Hey... Fluttershy," Twilight's replied without turning in her direction, "how many are coming out here, and how long do you think it'll take them to show up?"

"Oh, um... I can feel... five of them," Fluttershy answered, not liking the tone in Twilight's voice, "at the pace they're going, they'll most likely be here in... a few minutes, maybe? Why?"

"Ah... well that's a bit more than I was hoping for, but I think we can still make this work," Twilight said instead before turning to Fluttershy with dark eyes and a smile not too far removed from the one Pinkie wore, "and to answer your question, I don't really want a repeat of what happened last time, so this time we're gonna sneak into the facility... and it looks like the perfect opportunity to start this mission off right just fell into our laps, girls."

Author's Notes:

To those who played PROTOTYPE and remember the infiltration missions, you might have an idea of what to expect here...

Rendezvous

A lot could change in the span of sixteen years, and Ponyville seemed like a testament to that fact—one of many testaments spread across the war-ravaged land of Equestria. What had once been a relatively small and arguably peaceful podunk village south of the old Equestria capital city of Canterlot had effectively become the new capital city—a city which now went by several different names depending on who you asked. Nowadays, there were two types of citizens who lived in what was now Equestria's largest agricultural city.

Those who moved to the town from Canterlot during and after the war for various reasons—mostly refugees, workers, and those desperate creatures who felt they couldn't or wouldn't survive what the old capital had become—had taken to calling it New Canterlot despite the town having none of the splendor of the old Canterlot. These days the 'new blood' outweighed the other type of citizen living in the city—that is, those who'd lived in Ponyville before the war and either never left in the first place or returned after the war from wherever they'd moved or been stationed at during the war. Though it was where they were born and raised and while it was still the little rural farming village they knew and loved at its core, not even the 'natives' could bring themselves to call the town Ponyville anymore—the town had simply changed too much.

Officially, after the fall of the old Canterlot, Equestria's seat of power had moved to the second-largest city in the kingdom and though the general populace refused to acknowledge the fact, Manehattan had become the real 'New Canterlot' and what was once Ponyville had been renamed Pone City. The natives, however, simply referred to the town as Appleville in honor of a certain foolish pony whose actions during the war had prevented things from being much worse than they could've been for the then-struggling town. With the town's growth from a small countryside village into a full-fledged city, the move from old fashioned farming to urban agriculture was a swift one; economically speaking, there were no issues these days. The few factories built to mass-produce the more common consumable goods across Equestria and beyond provided enough jobs to keep most creatures living in the city off the streets, so finding work wasn't too much of an issue either.

Overall, things had gotten much better since the war, and some of the newer citizens even considered the town a paradise compared to some of the other places they'd lived before. Still, whether one was new blood or a native, the general mood in the city was vaguely melancholic, and it had been for several years now. Though life had finally stabilized for most creatures living in Pone City, there weren't very many who were happy to live under the ever-watchful eye of Sombra and Equestria's own Traitor Princess. To those who couldn't let go of past resentments and regrets, the imposing industrial structures that occasionally belted white smoke from their filtered smokestacks and the switch from thatch and wood to brick and mortar were both constant reminders of everything they'd lost over sixteen years ago.

The quality of life in New Pone City had certainly improved from what it had been; there was no denying that the village-turned-city was even more prosperous than it had been before the war. The problem was that in most of the larger cities across Equestria including Pone City, the hooves of the Crystal Empire could be felt far too keenly for anypony to relax completely. The ones who'd lost the war could see signs of Sombra's reign clearly in the armored crystal pony soldiers that patrolled the streets. Long gone were the bulky slave helmets used in the war, the hideous things now replaced by magical brain implants that not only made one absolutely loyal to Sombra and Sombra only but increased physical strength and allowed for the limited use of dark magic to attack and restrain in non-magic wielding races like the crystal ponies.

In his borderline obsessive quest to build perfect soldiers with absolute power and loyalty, Sombra had embraced the use of both magic and technology to further his aims. These horrific super-soldiers had been created near the end of the war through means unknown to most of the world. It wasn't a stretch to say that they were the deciding factor in the Crystal Empire's victory. Now they roamed the Crystal Empire and the many cities of Equestria watching for any rioters and rebels with blank faces devoid of mercy and piercing eyes that burned liked bright green coals, and that was just the Crystal Empire. Sombra's pact with the Griffonian Empire brought its own batch of troubles to the downtrodden citizens of Equestria and some of the other countries surrounding it.

Honestly, thinking about those kinds of issues was enough to drive a creature to drink, and in Pone City, there was no better place to do just that than the Sour Apple—at least in Silver Crescent's opinion.

There were a few pubs and taverns in the city, most of them downtown, but the Sour Apple was in the northernmost part of the city. If you were to arrive in town by train it would've been one of the first establishments you'd see after leaving the train station. Furthermore, it was likely the first genuine smile and kind word you'd see and hear would've been from the mare mixing drinks behind the bar. In Silver's opinion, the hard cider was fairly subpar—not that he had discerning taste given he wasn't a fan of cider in the first place—but that's not why the thestral stallion spent almost every evening drinking at the Sour Apple. No, it wasn't the cider or any of the other beverages that drew him, but rather it was the atmosphere and the sense of safety he felt within the tavern's walls—specifically safety from suspicious or hostile stares.

Before the war with the Crystal Empire, there wasn't a single pony in Equestria who didn't revere Princess Celestia to some degree, but thestrals were different. They may have been accepted in the pony race as their own tribe just like pegasi, earth ponies and unicorns, but their much smaller population and the fact that they were largely nocturnal predators set them apart from the tribes—some ponies thought too far apart. On top of that, and unlike many of their diurnal counterparts, a thestral's true loyalty lay not with the Solar Princess, but the Princess of the Night. Being largely nocturnal, it was only natural, and naturally, many thestrals chose to side with Luna when she betrayed her sister and her country over one thousand years ago. Now history had repeated itself and just as they had so long ago, many of the thestrals had turned against Celestia in favor of who they believed was their true ruler.

Yes, many thestrals had turned traitor along with their Lunar Princess, but not all of them.

Silver Crescent was one such thestral, not that it mattered much to most of the ponies around him. He could explain that he'd never even considered turning on Equestria until he was blue in the face, but these days that wasn't enough. Ponies were bitter and angry and needed to vent their frustrations somehow and he couldn't blame a single one of them. The stallion understood where they were coming from so much it hurt, and while he'd gotten used to the unpleasant treatment, it was still unpleasant at the end of the day. That's why he came to the Sour Apple almost every chance he could get; despite the name, the pub was essentially a safe space for outcasts and those whom society had deemed degenerates at a mere glance. It was a place with an unspoken rule against any kind of discrimination from or against any creature that walked through its doors.

It was a rule enforced by one of the toughest mares Silver Crescent had ever met, and he'd met a lot of them over the years. It also helped that the mare behind the bar—the mare smiling as if all was right with the world—was the daughter of that brute. No creature who didn't want to leave the pub whimpering with a limp they didn't have when they came in would cause trouble while the barmaid was watching, and for all her kindness and her gentle nature, she was always watching. The barmaid was a pegasus who at her age would just barely pass as a mare by Silver's standards. She went by the name of Tabula Rasa—a name that always brought a wry smile to Silver's face when he thought about what it meant. Even now he couldn't help but crack a small smile as he sat at the bar, staring into the less-than-ideal beverage that was his frothy mug of hard cider.

"Bit for your thoughts?"

At the soft-spoken question, Sliver raised his cold grey eyes from the untouched mug to the mare watching him with a smile equal parts gentle and curious. Tabula Rasa wasn't exactly a bewitching beauty, but she certainly had a youthful charm about her nonetheless. The mess of icy blue curls that made up her mane and her wide and strikingly scarlet eyes combined with her light pink coat and smallish stature never failed to give Silver Crescent the impression that he was talking to a foal. It was especially disconcerting because her bubbly, foalish appearance didn't at all match the calm and collected way she carried herself. She may have looked like a foal, but to anypony paying even the slightest bit of attention, it was clear that wasn't the case.

Frankly, Silver Crescent didn't trust her.

He never outwardly showed it, but something about the mare rubbed him the wrong way. He was a stallion that prided himself on seeing through to a pony's true character at a glance, and he didn't know what to make of this pony. Her peaceable and understanding words and expressions were genuine—of that, he had no doubt—but when he looked into those scarlet eyes, the thestral could see that there was something else hidden just beneath the surface, something that made him shiver slightly when they first met. In a way, Silver Crescent had to wonder—and often did whenever they talked—if she was just like all the other patrons in the Sour Apple. He'd asked her something to that effect once, if she had her own story to tell, but all he received, in turn, was a kindly smile and a smooth subject change.

And then there was that name...

"Ah, it's nothing really," Silver replied with a small chuckle and a shake of his head, "just wishing I'd ordered some brandy instead."

"You say that, but you never order anything else," Tabula replied coolly. She turned away to focus on the dark stain she was attempting to rub out of the thick wooden counter between them with a wet cloth, "it's obvious you like hard cider more than you let on. I don't know why you won't just admit it."

"...Yeah, I guess you could say I've acquired a taste for it," the stallion conceded, "I'd still prefer brandy anywhere else though, or maybe some of that lemon vodka they serve at the Hanging Mare in Hoofington."

"Well, to each their own I suppose," the mare said after a small pause and a shrug, "you probably won't find better cider anywhere else, hard or otherwise."

"Since I'm not really a connoisseur of the stuff I can't say one way or the other so I'll take your word for it," Silver Crescent answered. He raised his mug in acknowledgment before taking a sip. After a moment he set it back down and cast a quick glance around the bar, "so is Berry around tonight?"

"Mom isn't here tonight, no," Tabula answered with a small frown, her eyes still on the counter and the stubborn stain, "she doesn't usually come in on rainy nights like this. Says it makes her bones ache and that makes it harder to work or something. She stayed home and left Hard Tack in charge."

"Hard Tack, huh?"

Silver scanned the pub until he found the stallion he was looking for. It didn't take very long to spot the bulky brown earth pony in question sitting at a small table by the entrance. Silver Crescent didn't know what Hard Tack's relationship with Berry Punch was, but the stallion often acted as a stand-in whenever the mare couldn't or wouldn't come in. He didn't have a head for management, but that was fine. Tabula Rasa could fill in the role of actually running the pub just fine even as young as she was; Hard Tack was simply a deterrent for anypony who got a bit too rowdy.

His imposing physique, bald and battle-scarred face, and permafrown were all enough to make any rabble-rouser think twice. That said, the stallion acted more like a patron than a bouncer. Even now he'd made himself comfortable at his own little table with a mug in hoof. His posture was laid back and his guard looked loose, but his mean cobalt blue eyes were sharp and Silver Crescent could tell he was ready to leap into action at moment's notice. Compared to Hard Tack, Silver Crescent himself wasn't much to look at. In fact, Silver Crescent was completely average looking even by thestral standards. His coat was a uniform grey and his rather wild mane and tail were a deep blue. He'd built his body with speed in mind, but that was the norm for a thestral and really any sapient creature with wings. Still, his plain appearance didn't bother him too much and honestly he preferred it that way. It helped immensely with his particular line of work.

"By the way," came Tabula Rasa's voice, "are you waiting for anypony?"

Silver turned to see the barmaid giving him a curious stare. He frowned a raised an eyebrow at her.

"What makes you think that?" he asked somewhat warily.

"You've been glancing around the bar every now and then ever since you walked in," she answered as if it were an obvious fact, "and I'm not the only one who noticed. You're starting to attract some attention. The bad kind of attention."

She gestured behind the thestral and he turned to follow her gaze. Sure enough, he could see two stallions at one table and a zebra mare at another all giving him suspicious looks. He grimaced at the sight, sighed in resignation, and turned to face Tabula Rasa again.

"Yeah, you got me," he admitted, "well, it's not like I was trying to hide it, but... yeah. An old friend was supposed to catch the last train from the Old Capital. Told her to meet me at the Sour Apple when she got here, but she's late and I'm kinda worried."

"Ah, yeah I guess that makes sense," Tabula said with a sympathetic smile, "if she's coming from the Old Capital I don't blame you. Frankly, I'm still surprised the transit system in that Tartarus forsaken place is still running."

"You and me both," Silver muttered before taking another more liberal swig of his cider, "...but it's not the thugs and bandits that worry me; my friend can take care of herself, believe me," he shook his head and returned his somber gaze to the mug he'd put back down on the bar, "no, there are worse things out there than that. Much worse."

A brief silence followed the quiet statement, both ponies at the bar reflecting on just how true those words were. The Equestrian wilderness had become a dangerous place full of all kinds of horrors lurking just off the beaten path. Just traveling the well-worn roads between towns, one was liable to lose their life if they weren't careful. Riding the train or traveling by airship wasn't even a guarantee of safety in some regions of the country. Needless to say, traveling at night was far from advisable and traveling alone at night was considered the height of insanity.

And yet...

"That crazy mare went ahead and decided to go off on her own anyway," Silver grumbled, "if she keeps disregarding her own safety like that it's gonna come back to bite her in the flank..."

"Soooo... this friend of yours..." Tabula began leaning on the bar and eyeing Silver with a smirk the thestral didn't like one bit, "she's the oblivious type, huh?"

"It's not like that," Silver replied with an exasperated groan, "she's well aware of the danger, she just... forgets that she's a lot more vulnerable than she used to be is all. She's a strong mare don't get me wrong, but she's not nearly as strong as she thinks she is... not anymore anyway."

"Sounds like a real hoofful."

"You can't even imagine..."

"So how long have you two been together?"

Silver Crescent shot the mare a look, to which Tabula Rasa shrugged and smiled back.

"Okay so it's not like that either then," she surmised, "relax, I already figured that was the case. So what's her name? Anypony I'd know? Oh?"

At that moment the wooden double doors that made up the entrance were pushed open, catching the attention of both the thestral and barmaid as well as a few others around the pub. Standing in the entrance was a pony, their slightly ratty dark brown cloak dripping wet from the rain outside and most of their features hidden by the hood pulled tight around their face. For a few seconds, no one said a word as the pony looked around the interior. In the dim light of the pub, Silver Crescent could see a few hints of the pony's feminine visage. A slender white muzzle adorned with a wary frown, a sliver of pink mane with a white horn poking out from underneath, and the dull hue of magenta in the pony's narrowed eyes was enough to tell the stallion the newcomer was exactly the mare he'd been waiting all this time for.

It wasn't long before their eyes met and Silver could see the cloaked mare's wary frown soften into a small relieved smile. The stallion gave a relieved sigh of his own as he watched the mare deftly make her way over to where he was. Out of his periphery, Silver could see Hard Tack eyeballing the mare with a cautious grimace, but he didn't say anything or make any sudden moves, nor did the mare pay him any mind as she passed. He didn't know what Hard Tack's problem was, but Silver was thankful it was nothing more than that.

"Looks like I'll get a chance to ask her myself, huh?" Tabula Rasa whispered to the thestral across from her with that same unpleasant smirk.

Silver Crescent ignored her in favor of the other mare who'd just reached the bar. With a weary sounding sigh, she sat down on the stool next to Silver and pulled back her hood, revealing a brilliant cascade of bright pink hair that spilled somewhat wetly across one side of her face. Even with the light bags beneath her soft eyes and a mane partially wet from the rain, the mare now sitting next to Silver Crescent could be called nothing less than stunning. Unlike Tabula Rasa with her youthful charm and foalish appearance, this mare was the very definition of a mature beauty. Her snow-white coat and svelte figure were far more appealing to Silver than the filly-like mare wearing that teasing smirk.

"Sorry I'm late, Silver," the mare said, giving her best apologetic smile to the stallion, "I got caught up in an... incident on the way here. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?"

"Longer than I would've liked I admit," Silver replied with a concerned frown, "but nevermind that, what's this 'incident' you got caught up in? Did it have to do with the—"

"We can talk about such things a little later," the mare interjected with a pleasant smile that brooked no further discussion on the matter. Silver Crescent opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it and shut it again. With that, the mare nodded in satisfaction and turned to the grinning barmaid, "besides, it's been quite a rough journey and I'm rather parched. What would you recommend, Miss..."

"Rasa," Tabula finished with a friendly chuckle, "Tabula Rasa or just Tabula is fine, and if you're as worn out as you look, I'd recommend a Crimson Stallion to start with."

Tabula Rasa's smile fell into a slight frown of concern as she waited for the mare to respond. The mare for her part merely stared back at the pegasus with a look Silver couldn't quite place. The two shared a confused glance before looking back to the quiet mare.

"Um... are you okay, Miss?" Tabula asked carefully, "I know I'm a bit on the shorter side, but it's rude to stare, y'know?"

The mare blinked.

"Hm? Oh! I'm so sorry!" she replied looking flustered, "I was... lost in thought. Please pay it no mind. And yes, a Crimson Stallion sounds just fine, thank you," she collected herself after a second and her soft smile returned as she addressed the other mare, "and my name is Cloudy Dawn. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tabula Rasa."

News

"So how was the trip? Didn't run into too much trouble I hope?"

Cloudy Dawn didn't respond to Silver Crescent right away; instead, she took a moment to down a good bit of the bitter drink she'd ordered while she thought about how best to answer the question. In truth, the mare had never had a Crimson Stallion and was rather curious about the taste. After one hearty swig of the stuff, she could honestly say she wasn't a fan. Then again, she wasn't much for alcohol anyway and the bitter shock of it definitely woke her up. After a second or two she set the glass back down on the counter, thanked Tabula Rasa for the drink, and turned to Silver Crescent. Keeping her grimace at the taste of her beverage completely internal, she finally spoke.

"I ran into a few hiccups here and there but it was nothing I couldn't handle," she replied easily, "the hardest part was convincing the conductor and engineers to do their job," she chuckled slightly, "that's actually a large part of why I was so late."

Something about Dawn's smile told Crescent there was a bit more to the story than she was letting on, but Silver let it go for the moment.

"Well, what's important is that you made it," he replied instead, "still, you can't really blame them for not wanting to run the train this late, even if it was still scheduled to run when you arrived at the station," he frowned, "getting anypony to do anything in the Old Capital is a chore and a half these days."

"Oh, it's not all bad," said Dawn, "there are still a few good souls here and there willing to lend a stranger a helping hoof," her smile wilted slightly, "...and not ask for all that much in return."

Silver Crescent didn't say anything in response to the statement; Both of them understood the implications and it showed on each of their faces.

"Not much love and tolerance to go around in these troubled times," Tabula Rasa casually commented from behind the bar, "it's sad, but unless the Elysian Fields bless us with some kind of miracle, that's the way things are gonna stay."

Dawn turned to see the pint-sized mare cleaning out one of the many empty glasses lined up in the back. She grimaced at Tabula Rasa's words, but the mare simply continued her work as if she hadn't said anything wrong. She hadn't really, but her words still rubbed Dawn the wrong way.

"I'm sure Equestria and its citizens will recover given some more time," Cloudy Dawn replied, "this isn't the first war this country's been through."

"But it is the first war Equestria's lost as far as I know," Tabula challenged, "and to an honest to Faust tyrant of all things." She set the glass she'd been cleaning back in its place and calmly turned to face Cloudy Dawn, "the war's been over for a while now and I hate to say it, but even if we'd won I don't think things could've gone back to the way they were—not after a war like that."

Dawn opened her mouth to reply but hesitated. A second later she sighed and looked away, unable to refute the barmaid's argument and honestly too tired to try. She knew Tabula Rasa was right; So long as Sombra was on the throne, Equestria and the creatures therein would never be free of his shadow and the future would remain bleak and hopeless. Perhaps the barmaid was right; perhaps Equestria was forever changed for the worst, but Cloudy Dawn couldn't bring herself to give up her vision of a better future. With that vision in mind she turned back to Tabula Rasa with a bit more strength in her expression.

"You may be right at that," Dawn replied after a moment, "Equestria... it might never be what it once was, but even so, I still have hope that things will get better eventually," she gave Tabula a mysterious smile, "...perhaps much sooner than any of us expect."

Tabula Rasa gave the mare an inscrutable look at the response, as though she couldn't quite comprehend the other mare's words. Something about the look unnerved Cloudy Dawn, but the strange expression passed so quickly it may as well have not even happened at all. Before Dawn could fully register what she'd seen, Tabula was giving her a soft, indulgent smile. It was the kind of patient smile a mother would give their foal who'd come dashing back into the house with bright eyes and muddy hooves. Silver caught the look and glanced over to Cloudy Dawn with a bit of worry, but if Dawn was offended, she hid it splendidly behind a gentle smile of her own.

"Well, it's nice to have hope if nothing else," Tabula said a few seconds later, "I can't really deny that the world would be a much darker place than it already is without hopeful ponies like you."

"Oh, I agree," Dawn replied, her smile widening slightly, "when you've reached the bottom and have nowhere to go but up, hope can be a valuable lifeline."

"Indeed."

With that, Tabula Rasa gave Dawn one last smile before turning to continue her work on the glasses behind her. The conversation, it seemed to Silver Crescent, was over, and from where he was sitting, it had ended somewhat awkwardly.

"So..." he began in an attempt to break the strangely tense silence between the three of them, "judging by your earlier statement about how soon we can expect things to start looking up, I assume you found something out?"

"Possibly," Dawn replied with a single nod towards the thestral, "I suppose you could say a little birdie sent me some very promising news."

"Oh?" Silver's bemused frown twisted into something resembling a smile, "and I suppose you called me out here to share that promising news?"

"Not here, no," Dawn said, shaking her head and casting a subtle glance around the bar, "this is a fine meeting spot and I've heard the cider is divine," she frowned at her still very full glass, "why I didn't simply order it is a question that will no doubt haunt me for the rest of the night..."

"Didn't meet your expectations, huh?" Tabula Rasa asked, chuckling as if the oddly strained conversation of only moments ago had never happened, "yeah, the Crimson Stallion isn't exactly renowned for its taste. Most consider it more a bitter medicine than a decent beverage."

"And after having consumed such 'bitter medicine' myself, I would have to agree with that assessment," Dawn replied before turning back to Silver Crescent, "...but as fine as the rest of the menu likely is, a pub is no place for discussing sensitive information."

"Ah, guess you have a point there," Silver nodded in agreement, "so we're heading out then, I take it?"

"Honestly, I'd like to stay a bit longer," Dawn sighed, looking around the bar, "I rarely get a chance to visit places like these nowadays. I can't remember the last time I was able to simply sit down and have a drink with a friend."

"I thought you weren't too keen on the hard stuff?" Silver questioned, "that change since last I saw you?"

"I may not be particularly fond of alcohol but I won't say no to a drink or two if I'm in good enough company," Dawn replied with a playful smirk, "that said, I don't have much time spend on pleasantries so yes, I think it's best we moved on for now," she turned her attention to the barmaid, lighting up her horn and pulling out a small worn brown bit pouch from her tattered cloak as she did so, "it was lovely meeting you, Tabula Rasa. I do hope you can forgive for having hardly touched my drink."

"No, don't worry about it; like I said, the Crimson Stallion isn't for everypony," the diminutive mare's polite smile twisted into a sly grin at the sight of Dawn's bit pouch, "and you can keep the bits. I'll just put it all on Silver's tab. I know he's good for it."

"My, what a kind soul you are!" Dawn gasped and raised a hoof to her chest as though pleasantly surprised, "it's been quite a while since I've received such hospitality."

"Yeah, she's a real saint," Silver muttered, "a mare so sweet and adorable it makes my fangs rot right out of my skull."

He shot the mare in question a flat look but both mares ignored him as they continued to say their goodbyes.

"Well, all kindness aside, we really have to speak again when I have more time," Dawn said as she returned her bit pouch to the inside of her cloak, "but for now, I wish you a good evening, Tabula Rasa."

"Yeah, it was... interesting," the barmaid replied with a nod and a small smile of her own, "make sure to try the cider next time if you ever come back in for a drink. Way better than a Crimson Stallion."

"I don't doubt that for a moment," Dawn laughed before gesturing to Silver to follow after her, "good night."

And with that, Cloudy Dawn and Silver Crescent turned and headed out of the pub. The rain had let up for the most part, but Dawn pulled her hood up nevertheless. As they stepped out into the humid night, the mare took a sharp right turn and led Silver back towards the train station. She moved quietly and with a purpose but not so quickly as to draw any attention to herself or her thestral companion. Silver said nothing as he followed behind, fully aware of the countless ears all around them.

Though it was fairly late, there was no shortage of creatures and crystal soldiers walking and patrolling the streets. Ever since the little town had become a major city it seemed like everyone constantly had somewhere to be no matter the time of the day. You'd need to head to the outskirts of the city to get any real privacy and even then complete solitude was never a sure thing. With that in mind, Cloudy Dawn made her way past the train station and into the abandoned warehouse district that sat at the very northern edge of Pone City.

The warehouse district had once been home to many of the goods manufactured by farmers and industrial workers that had moved into the then growing city. As that city grew, however, more and more workers started migrating further south. Eventually, a new warehouse district was built downtown. The mayor at the time deemed the complete destruction of the old warehouse district too costly after the construction of the new district so it was left alone and ultimately left behind.

There were some squatters and a few gangs that had made certain parts of the old district their turf, but on the whole, it was still a relatively safe spot for clandestine meetings compared to everywhere else in the city. It had the least amount of crystal soldiers patrolling the area at any rate so it wasn't any wonder Dawn had chosen to have their private discussion there... at least, that was the plan.

"Dawn," Silver muttered.

"I know," Dawn muttered back, her eyes still locked on the path ahead, "just keep quiet and keep moving."

There'd been some changes and updates to the train station, but the station itself remained where it had always been. It hadn't expanded with the rest of the city so the tracks cut right through the old warehouse district before heading out into the Equestrian wilderness. It was as the two made it past the worn and rusty chain-link fence that separate the old district from the rest of the city that both felt another presence following them a short distance away.

Beneath her hood, Dawn closed her eyes and her horn flared to life with a soft golden glow. Silver watched in silence as the mare grimaced in concentration. A moment later Dawn smiled and her horn flared a little brighter.

"Now isn't that interesting?" She opened her eyes and caught Silver's questioning look, but only shook her head in response, her smile growing amused, "you needn't worry about our extra tail, but I still think it's best we change our meeting spot. Get ready."

Silver had just enough time to brace himself before Dawn's horn flashed and they both vanished with a muted magical pop. They reappeared an instant later on scaffolding near the top of a partially built water tower that stood at the far northeastern corner of the warehouse district about 1200 yards from the station side entrance. Like the rest of the district, the tower had been abandoned, the construction halted two-thirds of the way to completion due to the mass exodus of workers from the district.

"I should probably be used to that by now," Silver grumbled once he'd gotten his bearings. He scanned the area for a moment before his eyes fell on the scaffolding he and Dawn stood on. He frowned at the way the wooden boards creaked at the slightest bit of movement, "kinda precarious, don't you think?"

"Oh it's fine," Dawn replied dismissively, "you've got wings and I'm not so delicate a flower that I'll be hurt from a fall of this height. More importantly, we've escaped our little add-on for the time being."

"You sounded like you knew who was tailing us," Silver commented, "mind sharing?"

"Hmmm..." Dawn hummed in thought for a moment before shaking her head and giving Silver the same amused smile from earlier, "no, I think I'll leave it to your imagination," she chuckled at the thestral's unamused look, "oh relax, Silver. If it'll put your mind at ease, I'm fairly certain they meant us no harm and simply let their curiosity get the better of them."

"...If you say so, Dawn," he finally sighed after a moment, "getting back to the matter at hoof, what's the word? Does it have anything to do with Selene?"

"As a matter of fact, it does," Dawn replied. Her smile fell into something more serious as she spoke, "evidently our friends in the Empire have gotten their hooves on some information regarding her whereabouts."

"And the info is on the level?"

"It was Philomena who delivered the letter to me," Dawn replied with the barest hint of a smile returning to her face, "we can trust that it's true. Or that it came from a trusted source at the very least."

"Ah, well that's a relief," Silver sighed, "so, what? They've finally tracked her down?"

"We can only hope at this point," Dawn cast a wistful gaze out over the countless darkened rooftops spread out beneath her, "Time Turner sent the message all the way from Manehattan. I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow afternoon to discuss the details."

"In Manehattan?" the thestral's brows rose in disbelief, "he wants you to come all the way out there? You do realize—"

"He isn't really in a position to meet me anywhere else, Silver," Dawn interjected sternly, "remember, he's more or less the only pony we have left on the inside," she frowned, "and besides, according to his sources, Commander Willows is out of the country on military business and Chief Officer Sands and a large majority of the Special Ops Team are going to be too busy patrolling Equestria's borders by airship to interfere."

"So this might be the only chance we have then," Silver surmised, "well damn, I still think it's a bit too risky, but if it's the only opportunity we have I suppose there's nothing for it," he looked the taller mare in the eye, "just... be careful alright? It only takes on misstep to buck everything up."

"I'm fully aware of that, Captain," Dawn replied with a smirk, "I've been around a while and seen a thing or two."

"Not a Captain anymore, Dawn," Silver groaned, "and it should say a lot that I'm still reminding you about this kind of thing," he gave another long-suffering sigh before straightening up and joining Dawn in staring out over the dark and cloudy horizon, "so when are you heading off then?"

"I managed to get a decent amount of sleep on the train so I plan to leave as soon as we're done with this conversation," Dawn replied solemnly, "rather than snap directly over to Manehattan I think it wiser to save that kind of energy for if, or when, things go south."

"Ah, so you have been listening. Good to know," Silver joked before stretching out his wings, "well, if that's the case, I think I've taken up enough of your time. You've got places to be and I have a lead of my own to check up on."

"Oh?" Dawn raised an eyebrow, "do tell."

"No, I don't think I will," the thestral replied with a haughty grin, "not until I'm sure of what I'm dealing with."

"Killjoy," Dawn pouted.

"Don't dish if you can't deal," Silver shrugged. With a flap of his wings, he lifted himself off the scaffolding and turned back to Dawn, "stay safe out there, and don't forget to call on me if things get bad."

"I'll be sure to keep you in mind," Dawn promised, "go on, then."

Silver nodded once and took off into the cloudy night sky. Dawn watched him go for a long minute before letting out a deep sigh of her own.

"Well, here's hoping she hasn't been broken too badly..."

A sad and bitter smile crossed her face at the thought before she shook it away and vanished from Pone City in another brilliant golden flash.

Flames

Time Turner had a lot to worry about as of late.

The stallion had a quick wit and nigh unmatched prowess in general engineering. Both traits had earned him a fairly lofty position within the dismal era that was post-war Equestria, but such a position came with its own set of problems.

There was a time when he built all manner of wacky and whimsical odds and ends for the simple joy of it. There was a time when his sometimes useful and sometimes impractical inventions brought joy to others. There was a time when his passion for engineering was as limitless as his own imagination—as endless as the sky above.

That time had long since passed.

The war had stolen all that passion away from him in the blink of an eye. Had it been just that, maybe things would've been different—better even. Maybe he could've found the resolve to stay and fight with the rest of his comrades back in Ponyville all those years ago. Maybe he wouldn't be a shell of his former self, smiling his empty smile and putting on a friendly face—all the while kowtowing to the demon calling itself the 'king' of an empire.

Ah, but I suppose it's too late to worry about what could've been, eh?

The weary stallion heaved another sigh as he gazed out at the cloudless afternoon sky. It was possibly the third or fourth heavy sigh in as many minutes, but Time Turner couldn't help himself. They always slipped out whenever he dwelled on the past or his current lot in life for too long. Of course, if one were to look at his position objectively, one would think he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

After all, the stallion had more bits than he knew what to do with. He was the head of a research and development team consisting of dozens of the most brilliant scientific minds in Equestria. What's more, by working directly under King Sombra he was given a fair amount of clout and the opportunity to bring the country he loved into a new modern age.

Slowly but surely, through his tireless efforts, Equestria was beginning to retake its position as the most technologically advanced country in the world. There was still much work to be done and by no means was any of it easy, but there was also something to be said about finding satisfaction in the process itself, even if it was somewhat hollow.

Yes, Time Turner could lament his life and what could've been all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he was still able to reflect on his life from the balcony of his fancy penthouse suite at the top of a ritzy high rise hotel overlooking the entirety of eastern Manehattan and the Celestial Sea beyond. From the outside looking in, his melancholy was more than an insult to the countless others who were far less fortunate.

And yet, for all his vast fortune and ritzy hotel rooms and fancy morning suits, Time Turner couldn't help but lament and worry nonetheless.

It was only from the outside looking in that everything seemed fine; in reality, there were plenty of issues to fret over, even without taking the past into account. These days even good news carried with it the risk of increased stress, but then again, Time Turner couldn't say he hadn't brought it on himself from time to time.

Take the letter he'd received only two days ago for example.

To any officials checking the contents, the letter would've looked like a thoroughly complex report on some of the existing scientific projects in the works at the behest of His Majesty. In many ways, that's exactly what it was, but encrypted within those reports and written by a certain bespectacled subordinate was another message.

It was this message that brought Time Turner both the current relief and anxiety that he was feeling now. Relief because he could finally feel like he was doing something for the good of his country for once, and anxiety because of the risks that 'something' carried with it—anxiety because this information was something that needed to be shared with a certain somepony using a method he wasn't overly fond of.

But really that anxiety was supplemental to what already existed due to simply knowing and conspiring with that 'certain somepony' in the first place. There was pride and even a small sense of self-worth in collaborating with that pony certainly, but again it was the risks that made it that much more stressful.

He didn't have much more to lose, but what was left was something he desperately wanted to cling to. A hollow comfort though it may have been, he still had his work as chief engineer and a place in which he could put his skills to work. Working with that mare and those who would still fight back against what Equestria had become, Time Turner was walking a tightrope with potential death awaiting below should he ever fall, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Apt, considering how much of my life has become one big circus act," the stallion muttered to himself with a humorless chuckle, "performing little tricks for the ringmaster in front of a crowd that despises us both."

"Oh, I'm fairly sure you still have a fan or two out there somewhere in that crowd."

Time Turner started and whipped around to face the very mare that had been on his mind only moments ago. She stood there as calm and as casual as could be in the open doorway leading to the balcony he'd been brooding on. There was no sound, no indication at all of when or how the mare had arrived, and yet there she was.

Her attire consisting of nothing but a homely and simple brown cloak but her visage was radiant and beautiful if marred slightly by a somewhat weary expression. The mare's appearance, though startling, wasn't entirely unexpected. In fact, Time Turner had been waiting for her to arrive at some point soon given he'd been the one to arrange the meeting.

I just wasn't expecting your arrival to be so... sudden.

"I wonder if that's really true," he finally replied with another chuckle devoid of any humor, "well, it's good to see a friendly face again in any case. Thank you for agreeing to meet me here, Miss Dawn."

"The pleasure is all mine, Time Turner," the mare replied with a warm smile that turned to a small smirk at her next words, "doubly so if the information you have to give me is as good as I hope it is. Your letter didn't go into much detail, but I gathered that you had quite a bit to tell me about."

Time Turner winced.

"Well... there is some good news, yes—fantastic news in fact—but in actuality, I'm afraid I must bear some bad news to go along with the good," he sighed as he watched the hopeful smirk dip into a concerned frown, "look, I know we're both busy and you meeting me here like this is already risky enough, so I'd like to cut to the chase as it were."

I still remember a time when I could take as much time and as many risks as I wanted and damn the consequences, but alas...

"I... suppose you're not wrong," Cloudly Dawn agreed hesitantly. She closed her eyes a moment and let out a soft sigh of resignation and what Time Turner though might've been exhaustion before giving a firm nod, "...very well, give me the bad news first."

Time Turner furrowed his brow for a moment and turned his attention back to the cloudless blue sky. It looked to Cloudy Dawn like the stallion was debating the best way to approach the topic at hoof and that did nothing for her quell her sudden unease. After a tense minute or so, he finally spoke, his voice quiet but steady.

"If I'm being honest, Miss Dawn, the bad news... is really quite bad," he said, his tone as grim as his words, "in fact, I tried to sugarcoat it in the letter, but I'd go so far as to say that it might outweigh the good news, and the good news is really quite good."

He fell silent again, no doubt waiting for Dawn's response, yet his eyes remained fixed on the horizon before him. There was no immediate response, but after another moment of tense silence, the stallion could hear soft clop of hooves as Cloudy Dawn approached. The mare continued to move forward until she was standing right alongside Time Turner, gazing out at the same scene with the same troubled expression.

"Go on," she began, "as you said, neither of us have much time to waste, so tell me... what has Sombra done this time, Time Turner?"

At that, Time Turner gave a deep and remorseful sigh.

"Shortly before I was... coerced into joining Sombra's research team I made you a promise," he said before shaking his head, "no, you made me promise to find out what had happened to Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements after Sombra took the Crystal Empire... and I did."

"That you did, and I can never thank you enough for the work you put in to fulfill that promise," Cloudy Dawn replied. Her tone was calm and even but Time Turner could almost physically feel the weight of her short response, "and since you've chosen to bring up such painful memories I can only assume this 'bad news' is related in some way?"

"It is," Time Turner replied simply, "Sadly, I'm not part of the R&D division headed by Doctor Base Pair so I couldn't find out all the details, but contrary to what we initially believed—contrary to what was made public, rather—it seems the Elements... those poor girls are alive."

"Alive...?" Dawn whispered, her tired magenta eyes wide and her voice suddenly hoarse with disbelief as she rounded on the stallion next to her, "Twilight Sparkle, the girls, they all survived?"

"They did... in a sense," Time Turner added, "but before you go celebrating, Miss Dawn, remember that you asked me to give you the bad news first, and that's exactly what I'm doing."

"What do you... ah," it took a second, but Cloudly Dawn's half hopeful, half bemused expression turned dark and though it was difficult to see with her white coat, she'd gone slightly pale as sudden realization set in, "the experiment..."

"Indeed," the engineer nodded grimly, "the good news I've obtained came from our mutual contact within the resistance, but this information I acquired myself from a... friend who works closely with Base Pair."

"They never returned from the Empire," Dawn mused, her composure regained for the most part but her voice still somewhat strained with emotion, "I wanted to send a search party, but..."

"But then Sombra and your 'sister' occupied the Crystal Empire and that wretched stallion declared that he'd taken care of the Elements of Harmony himself," Time Turner finished solemnly, "and that's what officially announced to the public, but you weren't having any of it. I don't blame you in the least for begging me to do what you couldn't—after all, by the time we were able to send anypony in to retrieve the girls, there were no bodies to be found."

They both fell silent for a moment as they thought back to the horrid events of sixteen years ago. It was a dark day—the first of many dark days to come over the next couple of years. It wasn't until long after the war was over that the truth of what had happened that day was revealed to either of the ponies standing there on the balcony.

"From what I understand, the experiment was deemed a catastrophic failure that resulted in the death of Twilight... of all the Elements," Dawn continued, "but you're telling me it was a success and now after all this time, they're..."

"What they are, Miss Dawn, are deadly and potentially unstoppable biological weapons," Time Turner said with another sigh, "weapons, I might add, that have managed to escape captivity."

Cloudy Dawn's demeanor shifted back to one of shock at the news.

"They escaped the lab?" she asked, "how? When?"

"Only a few days ago it seems," the stallion answered, "I don't know all the details just yet, but if the experiment really was a success then we can assume Twilight and the rest may have become a threat the likes of which we've never seen, not even during the war."

Cloudy Dawn didn't reply right away. Instead, she continued to stare out at the bustling city far below, her face twisted into an expression that was hard for Time Turner to read. Eventually, the mare spoke, her voice slow and contemplative, but filled with a conviction that wasn't there before.

"Weapons though they may be, I think it's too soon to assume anything just yet," she said before turning to the stallion beside her, "from what you've told me, you don't know whether they're in their right minds or not, correct?"

"Well, no, the information I was given didn't say one way or the other," Time Turner replied uneasily, "but neither do I want to rule out the possibility that they're minds have been twisted by the virus," he frowned, "and I'm sorry to say this, but even if the Elements were in their right mind, we have another issue to worry about."

"There's more?" Dawn furrowed her brow, "this little rendezvous is turning out to be far worse for my poor old heart than I initially expected, Mister Turner."

"And I can't apologize enough for that, I assure you, Miss Dawn," Turner gave the mare a wry grin, a grin that quickly fell into another grim frown, "I'll preface what I'm about to say by giving you the good news next: Shining Armor has finally escaped captivity and reunited with Cadance and the rest of the resistance."

"Really now?" Dawn replied, her brows rising in surprise, "they finally managed to break him out? How did they do it? Did Sweetie Belle—"

"No, evidently it wasn't any of the ponies from the resistance," Turner interjected, "from the report I received, it was none other than our false Queen herself and her children that did the deed."

"Chrysalis? But why would she...?" Dawn murmured before shaking her head, "no, I think I have an idea, but I'll leave it at that for now. In any event, that really is great news and I'm happy that my niece was able to live long enough to see the return of the love of her life. And if Twilight returns..."

"Yes," Time Turner said with a small smile to match Cloudy Dawn's, "I still think it's rather a long shot, but if she's still the same mare she was before the experiment, then I'm sure she'd be delighted to know that at the very least her brother and sister-in-law are safe."

"One can only hope," Dawn replied, "these days all one can do is hope... but if I remember correctly, you had more to share?"

"I do, one more piece of both good and bad news," Turner affirmed, "following Shining Armor's return to Cadance and the others, and the reason I brought up what happened to the Elements, is because it seems Sombra is planning to revive that ghastly experiment once more... this time with Chrysalis and her children as the new test subjects."

Time Turner's words seemed to stun the mare into shocked silence once again, but the shock quickly gave way to incredulity and—once the realization set in for Cloudy Dawn—outright anger, much to the stallion's surprise.

"Just how far is he willing to go?" she ground out, "he already has both the Crystal Empire and Equestria beneath his hoof and an alliance with the Griffonian Empire. Why does he need more soldiers? Does he mean to try and take over the world?" she snorted derisively at the idea, "And what of her role as Queen? What does he intend to do about that? What excuse will he use for her absence?"

All these questions and more raged in Cloudy Dawn's mind, but the one question that rose above them all escaped her lips in an almost agonized tone.

"What does this mean... for her?" she muttered weakly, "Chrysalis is the only one who knows where she is, and now..."

"Ah yes, about that..." came Time Turner's oddly chipper voice, "looking at you now, I suppose I should've mentioned this much earlier, but apparently Chrysalis has chosen to give the resistance the location of your... well I believe we're calling her 'Selene' now, aren't we?"

"She... Chrysalis did that?" Dawn asked, her voice once again hoarse with emotion, "so then Cadance and the rest... they know where to find her?"

"Indeed they do!" Time Turner replied with an enthusiastic nod, "and it seems the False Queen has given the resistance not only her location but an entire wealth of additional information regarding Sombra and his forces... or so says the report I've been given."

Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but closed and looked away, her expression growing distant and thoughtful.

"I see... I had my suspicions but it looks like I was right," a small smile crossed her face as she raised her eyes to the sky above, "after all that... she may have had her reasons but in the end, she chose to side with Equestria over that tyrant."

"That's the way it appears at any rate," Time Turner agreed, "given the circumstances, I find myself feeling a bit torn over the grisly fate that awaits her and her 'children'."

"'The fate that awaits her'..." Dawn repeated with a thoughtful glance in Time Turner's direction, "can I take that to mean that Sombra has yet to enact his plans for Chrysalis?"

"Well if he had, I assume he'd have already made some kind of announcement to the public," the engineer replied, "but I believe our mutual friend in the resistance mentioned that testing had yet to take place in the reports."

"Do you know how much time we have left?"

"Knowing Doctor Pair, I'd say not much," Turner scratched his chin and furrowed his brow in thought, "I'm not too familiar with his methods, but I'm almost certain we can expect the procedure to begin by the end of next week at the latest."

"Then I believe it's high time I paid the Frozen North a visit."

Time Turner was about to ask what Dawn was on about when the mare turned and began making her way past him. Her words sunk in a second later and he stared at the mare in disbelief.

"W-Wait just a moment!" he cried out, "you're not really planning to—"

"Don't get me wrong, Time Turner, I hold no love for Chrysalis after everything she's done... after everything she's put our nation through..." Dawn paused in the doorway for a moment before glancing back at the bemused and panicky engineer over her shoulder, "but at the end of the day, she chose to do what was right."

"I... I understand that, but—"

"And that's not all," Dawn interjected, now fully turning back around to face the stallion with eyes full of determination, "if that were all it was, then maybe I wouldn't bother, but you know as well as I do—better than I do even—that if we let Sombra turn Chrysalis and her 'children' into what Twilight and her friends have most likely become, then there really would be no more hope for Equestria or any other nation for that matter."

That was enough to stymie the stallion for a moment. Time Turner knew what Sombra's goal had been in having that virus created and if he was starting the project back up again, it could only mean that he found a way to perfect it—or rather make it work the way he intended. At the very least it would be safer to assume that was the case.

There's no arguing Dawn's words, but all the same...

"What about Selene?" he decided to ask instead, "what about your sister?"

"I plan to meet with Cadance about the matter once I reach the Empire," Dawn replied readily, "but if they truly know where she's being held, then I'm almost certain she and Shining Armor are already making plans to rescue her on my behalf," she paused again, "that is, unless Miss Night Waltz mentioned her whereabouts in the letter?"

"Er... well, no she didn't," Time Turner admitted with a displeased but resigned frown, "in fact, she wanted me to let you know that the resistance would handle the retrieval of Selene and they wanted you to focus on doing what you could from within Equestria's borders and away from the Crystal Empire."

"Ah, perfect, then it's just as I suspected and I can leave my sister's rescue to them," Dawn replied happily, "in the meantime I will do what I can to stop another horrific disaster before it begins."

"But..." Time Turner gave a long-suffering sigh, another one to add to the many he'd given today, "oh what's the use? Really, I wonder how many ponies would've looked at you differently back then if they'd known you were this obstinate."

"Oh, I'm sure many of them already knew and agreed that it only added to my charm," Dawn chuckled, "don't worry, Mister Turner, I still have quite a few tricks up my sleeve. Sombra and his soldiers won't catch me that easily."

"Fine, fine, I won't try to stop you, but..." the stallion reached into the pocket of his navy blue morning suit and pulled out a copper pocket watch and eyed it for a second, "...I'm scheduled to board a private airship back to the Crystal Empire in about half an hour.

"If you can disguise yourself a bit more effectively I'll cover for you," he put the watch away and returned his attention to the bemused mare in front of him, "so at the very least, could you please follow my lead and accompany me for the time being?"

"My, what a gentlecolt!" Dawn replied, feigning surprise before giving the well-dressed stallion a playful smirk, "such a risky move! And to think, I'd taken you for the cautious, pragmatic type."

"I'm trying to minimize the risk, believe it or not," he argued, "this should be the fastest way to the Empire without exhausting your magic or exposing your identity and having you immediately shipped to the Empire in chains."

"Well, I suppose you have a point," Dawn conceded with a pout, "very well, I shall accept your generous offer," her smile vanished as she gazed one last time out at the sky, tracking a distant airship as it hovered lazily over the Celestial Sea, "truth be told, I would much rather be searching for my sister or Twilight and her friends, but as things stand now... I feel this is the best thing I can do at the moment."

"Personally, I'd rather you stayed here in Equestria as well," Time Turner agreed, "but then again, you were right. I understand all too well the need to put a stop to... Sombra's..."

The stallion trailed off at Cloudy Dawn's expression. The mare's brow had furrowed, her eyes narrowed slightly in bemusement as she looked past him and towards the sky.

"...Miss Dawn?" he asked with a concerned frown of his own, "are you alright?"

"...It's listing."

The words were muttered and barely audible, but they hit Time Turner strangely all the same. A sudden pit formed in his stomach and with a sudden and inexplicable sense of dread, he turned his own gaze to the sky to see what Cloudy Dawn was referring to.

Though his eyes weren't nearly as sharp as Dawn's he could just make out an airship on the horizon, and just as Cloudy Dawn had said, there was something off about the ship's movement. Even from a distance, it was clear that its trajectory was wrong somehow. Before Time Turner could comprehend what he was seeing, something unexpected happened.

Both he and Dawn saw the firey flash light up the airship's stern before they heard anything. A few seconds later there was another flash and another and one more before the ship began to dip towards the sea. The distance between the airship and the balcony where the two horrified ponies stood meant that they wouldn't hear the explosions for another few moments.

But the sight alone of the flames beginning to engulf the ship's envelope would be enough to make the minds of all the citizens of Manehattan run wild with confusion, speculation, and most of all, fear of what was to come.

Author's Notes:

Sorry for not getting this one out sooner. More distractions led to a bit of procrastination on my part.