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...