C.

I’m glad you’re feeling better and I wish I had better news for you but I can give you strange at best. Let’s start with the bad news, just because I’m a killjoy as you always say, although you’re the one griffons are scared off.

One, food situation is getting worse. For now, we’re dealing with it as if it was just a normal winter, but since the darkness struck during the harvest our supplies are low as it is. I tried contacting Equestrian royals and Luna very politely told me that diplomatic channels are currently closed for business, although she did say that they’re working on a way to grow food even in this darkness. Our own experiments with UV lamps are in the early stage, to say the least. We can grow tons of weed if we want to, though.

Two, and this one genuinely makes me grind my beak - I had to send general Kasim and the Imperial Guard strike force down to Pawistan. On top of that, I’ve moved third of the southern garrison to the Saddle Arabian border as well. Some southern states are trying to use the growing chaos as an opportunity to move their borders. We can’t afford to deal with refugees as well as the potential famine. I’m thinking of sending our fleet south as well, whatever is still operational after the diplomatic incident with Twilight Sparkle.

Three, after examining the recent report summary from different parts of the Empire, I suggest removing some military presence from the Redtalon territory. Veronica is still safely behind bars, my spies haven’t detected any recent attempts at recovering her or mounting a rebellion, and there’s no other direct heir to the Redtalons. I believe that pushing the situation there further will do more harm than good and might incite civil unrest. Besides, corrupted territories are spreading slowly but surely and threaten to close off the entire northern section of their land. I doubt they’re planning another coup.

As for the good news, and I’m using the term very loosely, I think the changelings who helped you with the ambush were Guiding Light’s. Several weeks ago, right after the sky went dark, my border agents saw a prominent member of the Silver Sun, unicorn by the name Crimson Heart, travel into the Empire accompanied by five amazons and three ponies who were so ordinary it immediately drew our attention as to why they would be travelling with them. Further research revealed the disappearance of the dreamlings from Pine Hills, which leads me to think they’re here now. Unfortunately, we lost track of them with all the unrest happening everywhere. However, Guiding Light’s history makes me believe that she and her companions will be heading towards one of the corrupted territories and settle nearby. Dreamlings despise Corrupted. Should I send someone to take a look at Drachenberg or south from Bloodstone?

And one final thing - Bucket’s in our network. I hope that’s a good thing but you never know these days.

“Hi, you rusty pile of bolts and Silversmith tech, because I’m sure you’ll be reading this.”

Brother, I suggest that if you need to send something really private you should use a pigeon at least until we figure out a way to keep an A.I. like Bucket out.

N.

With Three’s unending sobbing in her ears, Thirteen follows Magpie through the maze of tunnels that by all means shouldn’t exist. At least until the griffon runs through a solid wall just like Three did earlier.

“Uh oh...” Thirteen stops, now wise enough not to try to force her way through, “Magpie?” she calls out.

The griffon’s head phases through the wall, looking at her.

“What do you see?” he asks.

“Just a wall,” Thirteen taps against the stone.

“And half of me peeking through isn’t helping?”

“No,” she shakes her head.

“Hmph,” the griffon frowns, “Let’s try this. Give me your hoof,” he raises his talons which grab Thirteen’s offered foreleg, “Now close your eyes,” he looks at Three, “Both of you!”

Thirteen does so and Three lies down on her back, covering his face with his forelegs. Next, she feels the griffon pulling and pulling until-

“There,” he says and she finds herself in the familiar long hall on one end of which she can see probably the only closed door in the prison through which they entered the underground floor. Despite Three’s continuous sniffling, she can’t help cracking a smile of relief which Magpie immediately interrupts with, ”We’re far from done. Let’s go!”

“We should say what we’re seeing, since this place is full of illusions, even if it sounds strange,” mumbles Thirteen. Why was talking to a minotaur double her size so much easier than to this griffon? She knows it is a good idea, it is a tested good idea, and yet even bringing it up in front of Magpie feels stupid. Everything he says, even his tone, it just makes her feel so… worthless.

It’s just like with her mother.

“Good call,” says the griffon, making Thirteen’s brain do a one-eighty.

“Wh- What?”

“I said good call,” he looks at Three on her back, “Can’t you shut him up?”

Three only whimpers, which makes Magpie huff and start trotting straight ahead.

“Why are you so mean to everyone?” asks Thirteen, following him.

“There’s a really pissed off blood mage down here with us along with a bunch of other evil assholes, our time is running out with every minute we spend here, and we still haven’t even found Gem and Harriet. I can’t afford sparkles and sunshine, and I couldn’t care less what you or anyone think as long as I get us all out,” hisses the griffon, “Straight ahead.”

“There’s a wall. I’m seeing just a T-section.”

“Yeah, we’re here. We should be right in front of a door,” he closes his eyes and reaches ahead, feeling for the handle he recalls being there. On a third attempt, his talons hit a handle, making him smirk and push it.

Thirteen has no clue what just happened. All she knows is that she blinked and suddenly Magpie is opening a familiar door that wasn’t there before. He slips inside with Thirteen in tow

“And here we were getting scared that you wouldn’t make it,” Gem’s voice hasn’t lost any of her dripping sultry tone even in these circumstances. At least until she notices Thirteen’s passenger, “Three, what happened?”

“He took a bite of a reality sandwich,” says Magpie, “His friend got ripped in half because of him, we’re running out of time because the unicorns whom he trusted to help us disappeared instantly after the wall upstairs blew up, and they also promised they’d help him with his Tartarus thing because of course they’d lie their ass off to someone who would believe anyth-”

“Got it, now be quiet,” Gem’s tone turns sharp as she strides towards the griffon, “Get this thing off of me,” she taps the multi-ring suppressor around her long horn, “With the power core off, the suppressor shouldn’t fry you too much.”

“I can melt it-” offers Three, stopping immediately as Gem shakes her head.

“You can’t. It’s a different alloy than in those what common unicorns have on.”

“I’ll take it off,” Magpie shrugs, “If you’re sure the feedback will be weaker, I might be able to do it, though I think Harriet is the best suited for this,” he nods to the big, quiet Corrupted waiting by the door who waves at everyone after finally being noticed.

“Sure, miss Gem has been keeping it on to maintain deniability in case guards got to us first and we could say we were hiding here from the crazy prisoners outside,” Harriet stands up, her back tentacles wobbling softly.

“Yeah,” Gem nods, “No offense, Harriet, but I want Magpie here working as intended, not randomly twitching and sneezing lightning. When I said the feedback would be weaker, I didn’t mean weak.”

“I’ll do it,” squeaks Thirteen, striding towards Gem with a determined expression.

“Suddenly, heroes everywhere...” Magpie rolls his eyes.

“I don’t know miss Harriet here, but she looks incredibly strong. She and Magpie can protect you better than I ever could and I can copy the painkillers like the time I took my own suppressor off,” Thirteen’s voice grows more and more sure.

“I don’t care who takes it off but if you keep talking about it I’m going upstairs and presenting myself to the guards right now,” the griffon sighs, “If there isn’t a small army on the way I’ll be damn surprised.”

“I hate to agree with the gloomy bastard, but as usual he’s right,” Gem lowers her head to Thirteen who lays whimpering Three down on the floor, “Go for it. It’s smooth, you just have to pull it off. The magic will make it kinda sticky, though.”

Thirteen nods and her vision starts swimming as her internal shapeshifting fills her body with a dose of chemicals making her numb already.

She grips Gem’s suppressor with both hooves, feeling stinging sparks run through her forelegs already, takes a deep breath, pulls-

-and shuts down.

Something is ripping her apart, rending her insides like a saw blade. Every moment is the purest agony and yet the physical pain pales against the feeling of doom, the chilling grip of hopelessness, the endless black hole draining every chance of possibly good future away.

It’s a sound, sound that’s making her inner self unravel into a pool of misery.

Hearing it hurts so much.

“Haaah!” Thirteen’s eyes shoot open, only to see slick black hair occasionally dotted by big black scales with a red tinge.

The sound keeps going, although it’s quiet. Barely audible, in fact.

It’s Three’s sobbing as he’s sitting upright on Gem’s back, his mouth open and tears streaming down his face.

They’re in the inner courtyard of the prison, which means Thirteen can’t have been unconscious for more than few minutes. The grass is dotted with wardens, most either choked or beaten to death, with some exceptions of electrical burns or magic. Several uniform-less prisoners are there too, but there can’t be more than ten of them. Whoever helped the majority escape into the city must have cleaned house here.

Through her hive link, Thirteen can feel the faintest echo of:

“This is my fault.”

How can she be the only one whose insides are twisting with Three’s every sob? Magpie sure doesn’t seem to care, rushing ahead towards the hole in the prison wall but he’s the one Thirteen would expect it from. Gem, on the other hole, isn’t even trying to calm Three down, instead following the griffon and scanning the area for any remaining or incoming threats. That leaves…

“Miss Harriet?” Thirteen quietly speaks up, only to see the ears of the Corrupted mare twitch.

“You’re awake?” Harriet shoots her a quick smile, “Don’t worry about anything. We’re almost outside and I can carry you all day.”

I bet. You look like you could give Cryo a run for her money.

“Three...” Thirteen realizes she doesn’t know what to say. How can she even begin to explain the physical nausea and pain she feels with the drone’s every quiet whimper?

To her surprise, one of Harriet’s back tentacles holding Thirteen in place twists and pats her head.

“I know how he feels but I agree with miss Gem that we can’t afford to stop. Miss Prominence and the guards aren’t inclined to talk these days but they don’t understand that we never wanted to harm anyone -heck, we’re not even completely sure how we did- and that holding us in prison won’t help them in any way.”

“How can you know how he-” Thirteen stops herself, recalling the absurd extent of massacre Prominence accused Gem, Harriet, and Magpie of, “You’re right, we can’t stop. We’ll talk about it later when we’re somewhere safe.”

As they run through a block after block of streets of the Crystal Empire lit by multicolored magical crystal lamps, they hear a kind of ‘whoosh’ that makes Thirteen’s ears pop. A quick glance backwards shows orange corona of flames dissipating above the prison in the distance.

“Well, looks like Promi has arrived on the scene,” comments Gem, now leading the way, “I doubt anyone will be stupid enough to try to fight their way out of-” another flash lights up the sky, “Oops, spoke too soon.”

“What’s the plan?” asks Magpie, “Once the guards secure the prison, they’ll be on our tails. We can’t stay in the Crystal Empire, and with how few roads across Equestria there are we don’t have a good way to go… where exactly?”

“Still working out several little kinks in the plan,” Gem shrugs, “I think we should go with my original idea. How we do it is the question.”

“Care to share?” Harriet speaks up, her breathing not even a bit faster after so much running.

“We’re getting you home,” Gem smiles, “Or at least to Griffonstone. Although now that I think about it, we could all use a little vacation away from Equestria.”

“Uhh, speak for yourself,” replies Magpie in a strangely hesitant tone, “Although I’m all for helping Harriet get home, so let’s start with that.”

“...a Redtalon...” whispers Harriet to herself under her breath so quietly that only Thirteen can hear it. It means nothing to the changeling, but she shelves the term as a question for later. Instead, she asks:

“Miss Gem, that’s all nice and good, but we can’t just walk all the way to… wherever this Griffonstone place is, can we?”

“How much do you know about the world outside of Brauheim?” Gem furrows her brows.

“Some stories I heard and I learned a lot from those comic books you brought for me. Mom said I was allowed access to the hive mind only when I earned it and, you know, I kinda messed up everything I touched.”

Gem rolls her eyes while shaking her head.

“Mom did one hole of a number on you,” she mutters. Out loud, she says: “No matter, I’ll brief you once we’re in my safe house. One that Promi doesn’t know about.”

“I thought you two besties share everything,” snickers Magpie.

“I’m a changeling infiltrator, and a good one. I always have a contingency for a situation in which I might not be able to trust literally anyone. Well, except dad. He’s kinda the last resort. I mean, he used to be until he kept me in the dark about the whole Flow thing which led to our current situation and- you know what? I should really update my contingency plans.”

“Whoah, you know a way to fight mom?” Thirteen blinks.

“Yes, there are ways to deal with mom as well...” admits Gem, “Though vast majority of those involve running away and finding the right kind of help.”

“Miss Gem?” they all hear a weak squeak none of them were expecting. Three gives Gem a hesitant, tearful look, “Can’t we really just explain-”

“Explain what?!” hisses Magpie running next to Gem with a furious glance that makes Three flinch, “Explain that you unleashed a gang of unicorn murderers upon the city? Maybe even that blood mage asshole if he got out before Prominence arrived? Or maybe even something worse from the underground prison that we were lucky to avoid? The guard we left at the door was dead when we came back and the door had freaking melted! Whoever or whatever did that is out there, likely doing the same thing to ponies who already have enough trouble on their plate. All that because you had a stupid idea about going to Tartarus and trusted the first criminals who would promise you anything to get out-”

“Catbird, shut up!” Gem raises her voice.

“Am I wrong?!” the griffon gives her a wild glance.

“Well, no,” Gem has to admit, “but now’s not the time.”

And that’s it. That’s the final blow. The admission that even Gem has to agree with that harsh assessment of what Three caused. The runes on Three’s carapace fade, he flops limply on Gem’s back and closes his eyes.

“B-But they promised they’d wait for us... now everyone is dead… bad guys are running around… they’ll hurt everyone even more… and we won’t even get to Tartarus… I was crazy to think I was more than just a brain-damaged drone without the boss...”

Author's Notes:

This was supposed to be a semi-independent, happy little story set after the end of Legacy of Light but then my head happened.
Siiiigh...
So I guess it'll be just another long-ass depressing lore dump.