It was the eve of another Festival of Friendship. It had been years since Princess Twilight Sparkle had come into power, and she and her Council of Friendship had presided over a new golden age of peace over the Equestria. This new age also meant the inclusion of the many other races throughout Equestria, including the Hippogriffs of Hippogriffia. The hippogriffs had previously lived in the underwater kingdom called Seaquestria before the climatic defeat of The Storm King.

Seaquestria had prospered in this new age, greatly expanding its borders and buildings in thanks to new discoveries and its attractive qualities. Right now, a social gathering of the who's-who of new Equestria, including Wonderbolts, celebrities, leaders, and other assorted famous individuals, was taking place within the prestigious Novo Lounge.

The crowd of creatures stood in front of a curved wall entirely made of glass, giving a view into Seaquestria's globular city beyond. Glasses clinked and light conversation chattered around a large metal statue of a rearing Alicorn. Classy music emanted from a small orchestra of instruments magically floating through the air.

Gustave le Grand, the esteemed griffon chef, walked up to a group of chatting ponies with a covered silver tray. "May I, Gustave le Grand, present to you, my especially exquisite éclairs!" He lifted up the cover to reveal... an empty tray. The partygoers feigned expressions of surprise. Gustave le Grand beak turned up in a smirk as he snapped his claw, causing a swirl of magical green flames to appear, filling the tray with éclairs. "Voilà," the griffon kissed his claw, "très magnifique!" The partygoers gaily laughed as they picked out éclairs with magic.

It had been a whole new fad to show off one's magic skills in Seaquestria now that anypony or creature could do it. Thanks to scientific discoveries and rigorous testing by the Princess herself, any earth pony, pegasus, griffon, or other non-magical creature could gain their own magical abilities.

Seaquestria had been the logical first choice for the application of this magic, with its modern infrastructure and wide variety of magic-supported services. As such, Seaquestria had become well-known as the magical capital of Equestria, attracting an influx of visitors and residents which had helped to grow the city ten-fold since the old times. In fact, the city had made its own magical guardians through unknown means; these "mechanicals" regularly patrolled the waters outside the city.

One of the partygoers, a unicorn named Fancy Pants, politely wiped his mouth after finishing his éclair, "I do say, it is a shame I'm missing the Princess's ceremony this year."

"It's her fault for having the Friendship Festival Ceremony in Cloudsdale," Fleur de Lis, another unicorn, snootily replied, "Imagine, choosing a boring floating city when she could have chosen an underwater city!"

"It's her choice," said Hoity Toity, "Not matter how droll it is." The earth pony's hooves glowed a faint pink as he levitated another éclair into his mouth.

"Never mind the Princess," Fleur de Lis dismissably waved, "Did you hear who's attending this party?"

Hoity Toity gulped down the éclair, "Anypony noteworthy?"

"I heard there's royalty here tonight!" Fleur de Lis whispered excitedly.

"Fleur my dear," Fancy Pants, "Of course Queen Skystar would be here tonight. She is the ruler of the city after all."

"No, not one of the hippogriffs," Fleur de Lis continued, grinning like a filly, "One of the sitting members of the Council of Friendship!"

Hoity Toity choked on his éclair, ruffling his mane in the process, "Really? Who?"

"I haven't gotten a good look at her, but I think it's-"

She was interrupted as the magical lights above suddenly cut out. Clatters echoed from nearby as creatures dropped their drinks and the floating instruments fell to the ground. Quiet complaining bounced amongst the partygoers as Fancy Pants stepped forward with an indignant expression, "What is the meaning of this?"

His question was quickly answered as metal alicorn exploded into a blue fireball, sending partygoers ducking to the ground. Fancy Pants stared in horror as magical blasts shot out the kitchen, scattering creatures while incapacitating several others. Mask-wearing individuals swarmed out of the kitchen. Most of them were ponies, but several were hippogriffs and at least one was a dragon; but they all shared one trait, they were all completely insane.

Fancy Pants ducked as the dragon shot out a blue fireball from his hands, vaporizing a nearby table. He crawled underneath a table and began to desperately send out a communication spell, his horn beeping out a code. It was only moments until the table was flipped over, and the shaking Fancy Pants found himself looking at the cracked hooves of pegasus with a stylized mask of Nightmare Moon. The pegasus flapped her wings, charging up a magic spell, and...

Meanwhile, Fleur de Lis had galloped straight out of the Novo Lounge. While being crushed in the throng of fleeing creatures, she looked up. The attending Wonderbolts had taken to the air in an desperate attempt to keep the peace. Several of them used magic against a large, disheveled yak that had burst out of a nearby clothing store. Screaming incoherently, the yak shot a beam of electricity from between his horns, distracting them. The two remaining Wonderbolts looked around in a panic, until one wickedly grinned, vanishing a blaze of green fire. The changeling revealed herself mid-air, her exoskeleton sinewed with orange cracks. She promptly launched herself at the last Wonderbolt, shoving him into the wall overhead Fleur. She screamed as the tussling pair fell straight at her...

At the same time, Hoity Toity had shut himself in a nearby broom closet. "Gotta make it out," he sputtered to himself, drinking down another magical potion, "Gotta survive!" There were guidelines for the magic of course. "Don't overindulge", "Don't use more than two spells at once", "Levitation spells can be hazardous when mixed with elemental spells"; Hoity, of course, ignored these suggestions. His hooves shook as they pulsed with pink energy. But it wasn't enough. Luckily, Hoity always brought extra potions with him, the allure of magic for an earth pony was simply too much. Another bottle clattered to the ground, then another, and another, until he was all out, and was sitting in a small pile of empty bottles. But it wasn't enough! He still felt weak, he needed more power! He glanced around until his eyes met that of Zesty Gourmand's, another unicorn that had been in there the whole time. Sweating profusely, she met his hungry eyes in silence. Slowly, Hoity got to his hooves, maybe he could? Yes, yes he could. Anything to satisfy his hunger, his need...

This was the beginning of the end of Seaquestria.

The train to Hippogriffia traveled on tracks alongside the cliffs that dropped off directly into the sea below. Only a few ponies were onboard, it had been a year since Hippogriffia had fallen on hard times, and the coastal city had difficulty attracting visitors. Among the passengers on the train was Bluejacket Seabreeze. He was fairly normal looking as earth ponies go, with a white pearly white coat, tussled brown mane, and a cutie mark that resembled an ace of spades. He sighed and read over the letter in his hoof once more. His parents in Hippogriffia had asked him to visit, so here he was, taking the train to the city.

Except, that was not to be. In a second's notice, the train flew off the tracks, plummeting down the cliffside to the sea below. The passengers onboard spun around screamed as the train cars disconnected and scattered. Some unfortunate ponies were trapped in the train cars that smashed into wooden bits against the jagged rocks below. The rest of the train, engine included, plunged into the water.

Bluejacket woke up submerged in the water. He desperately swam his way upward, brushing past loose luggage sinking to the depths below. With a gasp, the stallion burst from the water. In a daze he looked around, the train engine floated next to him, flames billowing from its burst seams as it began to sink. The rest of the area was unclear, for it was a foggy night, with the moon rising to its peak above. So, not knowing which way to go, Bluejacket followed his intuition and swam in the direction of the moon.

Several minutes passed as Bluejacket began to get tired from the paddling. But, in the distance he saw something. A silhouette came into view, it was a... lighthouse?

The stone tower jutted out from the sea like a singular tooth, its elegant masonry reminiscent of old constructions from the era of the two sisters. Most notably was its light, which bellowed out in the middle and pulsed with a pink glow.

Bluejacket was at a loss for words, and he was already a pony of few words. His hooves clutched the stone bricks at the base of the tower, and he climbed onto a stone staircase that curved around. It was completely silent except for the ocean lapping at the tower's base. Bluejacket slowly clopped up the staircase, and found himself facing a large door, engraved with a gold depiction of five ponies and an alicorn defeating some kind of hairy creature.

With no other choice, Bluejacket let out a large sigh and pushed the door open. It opened surprisingly effortlessly, revealing a pitch-black interior. He put a single hoof forward, causing a tinkering sound to echo throughout the lighthouse. Magical lights turned on, exposing a large bronze bust of an alicorn. Bluejacket recognized her, it was Twilight Sparkle. Underneath the depiction of the Princess hung a faded blue banner that read, "NO RESTRICTIONS, NO RESTRAINTS, FRIENDSHIP FOR ALL." Meanwhile, a tinny version of the royal fanfare played from unseen speakers.

Bluejacket's eyebrows raised; the Princess didn't do anything small did she? He proceeded the only way forward, down the stairs deeper into the lighthouse. The stairs ended at a small chamber that only contained a single lever. Bluejacket looked around for anything else, but there was nothing; so, he shrugged to himself and pulled the lever.

He jumped as the door clamped shut behind him. He put his hooves on the singular window as the room, no pod,
began to descend. Ten fathoms, twenty fathoms, thirty fathoms, and so on. Overhead, a small chute opened, magically projecting an image onto the window.

"You may know me as Twilight Sparkle," the familiar voice of the Princess stated as her face was projected, "And I am here to ask you a question. Is every creature not entitled to friendship?"

The image changed to show cartoon unicorns looking down upon an earth pony and pegasus, "'No' says the classist upper wealth, that is not how things are."

The image changed again to show pony mages staring down at a dejected looking griffon, "'No' says the 'experts', it goes against the natural order."

The image changed to show a mob of ponies angrily shouting at a dragon, "'No' says the specie purists, such things are not to be shared."

"But they were wrong," the image switched back to Twilight's face, "Instead, I chose to gift those less fortunate, I chose to do the impossible, I chose... Seaquestria."

The image flickered off, the pod ascending over an undersea hill to overlook a magnificent city built in and around a large abyss. Hundreds if not thousands of bubble-like buildings climbed out from a central dome-shaped palace that hung like a chandelier. More cubical pony-built structures lined the sides of the abyss like lichen, each magnificently lit with glowing signs that shined with magic. Branches of floating buildings spread out across the abyss, interconnecting with the main city floating above.

"In this city, a creature is not bound by biology," Twilight's voice continued, "A creature does not have to worry about being looked down upon, because every creature is equal. Magic helped bring me and my friends together, and I hope, with a little help from Seaquestria, that you can create a lasting friendship as well."

As she finished, the pod weaved through the floating buildings of the city, swerving through schools of fish, eventually slowing to a stop in a large clam-shaped structure. The pod shuddered to a stop and began to ascend.

The pony's voice crackled through the radio, "Come on Clamshell, what's the holdup?"

Clamshell, a blue colored hippogriff, turned his head to see the still surface of the water begin to bubble. "Just one more minute! The pod, the pod's coming up now!""

"Clamshell, that thing's alerting security all over," the pony responded over the radio, "It'd be best that you hurry before some of the enfused come!"

Bluejacket in the meantime, looked out the window as the pod bobbed into the exposed air of the building. He saw the Clamshell hurriedly attempting to open the pod with the control panel, the hippogriff failing to notice a shadowy form drop down behind him.

A wicked giggle made Clamshell spin around. Fear filled his eyes as he held up his claws in defense. "Please lady, I didn't mean to trespass," He took out and placed a small glass vial on the ground. "Just don't hurt me! Just let me go! Thats all the essence I have! You can-"

In an instant, the figure swept out a hoof, cutting open the hippogriffs neck. Clamshell gurgled, blood pooling down his long neck, before the figure shoved him off the walkway and into the water.

Breathing more heavily now, Bluejacket took a step back from the window as the murderous stranger stepped into the light.

The figure paused before tilting her head in interest, "Is it somepony new?"

She was a pony, a unicorn to be exact, but something was definitely wrong with her. Her body was emancipated, her limbs long and gangly. Her azure coat was dirty, and her light blue mane had clearly not been maintained in some time. Dark stains of what could only be blood was scattered on her legs. Most noticeable was her hooves, the skin cracked and flaking off, revealing a blue glow underneath that pulsed with every step. The unicorn had a crazed look in her eyes, which faintly glowed blue.

"Did somepony bring a new friend for the Great and Powerful Trixie?"

This, Trixie began to madly laugh as her front limbs shuddered. Jagged hook-like crystals grew from her hooves, the skin peeling away from the glowing gems.

With a mad scream, Trixie agilely leapt onto the top of the pod. Bluejacket braced himself as the pod violently shook, the screams of the pony outside echoing as she tried in vain to rupture the pod open with her crystalline claws. The pony ceased her attacks, leaping back onto the walkway. Her head twitched to the right as if she heard something.

"Later, friend" she whispered.

Trixie giggled as she jumped onto the wall, using her claws to climb it like a spider before crawling out of sight.

As the unicorn's laugh faded, the door to the pod opened with a hiss. As Bluejacket stepped out, the radio, which had been discarded on the ground, crackled to life once again.

"Would kindly pick up that radio?"

Bluejacket did so, picking up the radio and fiddling with it until the static faded. "I don't where you came from or how you survived the attack, but I could really really use your help."

Lights overhead magically flickered on, revealing the rest of the room. It was some kind of terminal for the underwater pods, with multiple walkways that led into pools of water. Only one of the walkways had a pod with it, Bluejacket's of course, the rest were empty, with magic scorch marks signifying that a struggle had happened there some time ago.

"Now, you'll have to get to a higher ground if you want to make it out alive," the pony on the radio continued, "Oh, and before I forget, my name is Fluttershy, and I aim to find you and me a way out of here."

Bluejacket nodded in response, not caring that it would be impossible for the pony to see him. So, he made his leave of the station, exiting up some stairs. The next few rooms were just as derelict as the pod station, with some sections being filled with collapsed rubble. The next staircase up was completely blocked by debris. In order to deal with this, Bluejacket picked up a wrench that was laying nearby and pried apart the pile.

Fluttershy's voice chirped up again on the radio, "I know you're confused, and you may feel like the unluckiest pony in Equestria, but you're my only hope I'll ever see my friends and family again. Would you kindly go to Aston Landing... Please."

Bluejacket didn't answer this time, instead proceeding up the stairs. He exited into a lounge of some kind. The red walls and carpeting gave the room a cozy vibe. Posters and signs adorned the walls, each advertising magical spells.

"Get a magic enfusion today!" "Teleportation, now not just for unicorns!" "Magical essence now available for all!" "New! Flora and Frenzy!"

Largest of all was a mural on one wall. It depicted a griffon, a hippogriff, and an earth pony filly all happily shooting magic out of their hands. The text below read, "Join a bright new Equestria! Try out a Magical Enfusion today!" All of the advertisements had the royal emblem of Equestria pasted onto the bottom.

Bluejacket of course didn't know what any of these advertisements meant, so instead he looked for a way out. The only door in the room was a large metal thing that apparently led to the waters outside, but it was sparking and apparently didn't work.

At the top of another set of staircases, there was a small hallway with a vending machine of some kind. The machine was graced at both sides by metal statues of cutesy cartoon dragons. "Lil' Sparks Depository," read the sign on top. The machine had an assortment of glowing vials and bottles behind glass, but one vial, full of some kind of blue glowing mixture that fluctuated, had fallen out.

"Those are what we call magic essence," Fluttershy stated on the radio, "I would normally advise against drinking them, but it seems that you'll have to drink that if you want to get out of here."

Bluejacket picked up the vial, it looked harmless enough; so, he popped off the cork and gulped down the liquid. It left a fiery sensation as it trickled down his throat, but the feelings didn't end there. His brain began to buzz as it suddenly became hard to stand. He looked down, sparks of electricity began to jitter between his hooves. He screamed as his skin suddenly lit up with a fluorescent blue. In a panic, Bluejacket began to run around, launching himself over the balcony railing and to the lounge floor below as everything went black...

Breathing heavily, Bluejacket slowly opened his eyes to the sight of a dragon staring him directly in the eyes. The black-scaled dragonling jumped back in alarm, "Ah! Not gone! Not gone!"

With a low rumble, something big leaned into the baby dragon, as if it was reassuring the dragonling. It was some kind of large stone and metal construction. It had a hunched over appearance with brown joints, oversized arms, tiny curved legs, and a pointed mask with six glowing spots. Glowing pink light emanated from between the cracks in its joints.

The black baby dragon giggled, "No worry, Mr. B, I'm okay! And pony..." The dragon glanced back to the Bluejacket one more time before leaving, "Pony will be gone soon..."

Bluejacket awoke to find the lounge empty once more. He looked at his hooves, they looked normal, but something felt different. Something that felt like energy inside.

He thrust a hoof forward, making a small bolt of electricity shoot out. So, that's what the magic essence did, it gave him, a normally non-magical earth pony, magical abilities, particularly an electricity spell.

Without a moment's delay, Bluejacket shot electricity at the malfunctioning door. The shuddered with a jolt, then slid open. Beyond was the open sea, or moreso a glass tunnel with a view of the open sea. The tunnel ran between two Seaquestrian buildings that floated near each other.

As Bluejacket walked through the tunnel, a muffled noise from overhead made him look up. The train engine from the crash earlier slowly sank down into Seaquestria from overhead. With a worried thought, Bluejacket realized it was heading straight for the tunnel he was standing in.

The stallion began to dash to the next building, turning a corner to a tall domed building. The tunnel creaked and groaned as the sound of shattering glass echoed down the hall. Looking behind him, Bluejacket saw that the engine had punctured the tunnel, ripping it in half, causing a tidal wave to flow down the hall. He leapt through the next door just as the wave hit the entrance, causing a magical failsafe to take effect and seal it off.

Bluejack found himself standing in a dimly lit room. The glass walls to the left were leaking in several places, puddling around several bodies slumped against the wall. The bodies, most of whom were ponies, were bloody and beaten, and one body, that of a griffon, disturbingly looked like he had a bite taken out of one of his legs.

Then Bluejacket noticed he wasn't alone. At the other end of the room, a brown earth pony looked at him curiously. The pony was just as dirty and scrawny as Trixie earlier, his hooves cracked with pink light. He had cutie mark of a disco ball with confetti and wore an eloquent mask in the shape of a parasprite, the four translucent wings hanging off his covered face.

The earth pony gave a slit-eyed stare at Bluejacket, "Hello new friend, do you have a gift for me?"

"You might want to put that magic of yours to use," Fluttershy commented.

The earth pony charged, screaming as his hooves glowed with a pink aura. Bluejacket jumped aside, letting the earth pony ram into the sealed door. The mask flew off from the collision, unveiling the pony's sunken eyes and bleeding nose. Bluejacket took the opportunity to launch electricity from his hoof. The bolt hit the earth pony squarely in the chest, who convulsed as the electricity coursed through his body. Bluejacket swung his wrench at the pony's head, creating a sickening crack as the pony's cries of pain fell silent.

The now dead earth pony slumped onto the floor, the sparks of magic flickering out of his hooves.

"That pony right there," Fluttershy began over the radio, "That's what I call an enfused. They are, or were, ponies and creatures who used the magical essence. They said it it safe, that Twilight had tested it herself, but they were wrong. Magic essence changed everything. Most creatures couldn't handle their new power, it destroyed their bodies, their minds. It even corrupted the magic down here, ruining unicorns and changelings, creatures who already had magic. Best friends murdering each other, colts butchered in the streets. The whole city went straight to Tartarus."

The next room was tall with multiple elevators and shops up above. Only one of the elevators seemed to be working, with two being destroyed hunks of metal. Banners hung from the ceiling, each labeled with its own term, "HONESTY, LOYALTY, GENEROSITY, KINDNESS, LAUGHTER, MAGIC." These qualities of friendship stood in stark contrast to what Bluejacket had seen so far.

As Bluejacket rode the sole operational elevator up, the voice of a mare came into earshot. At the top, there was a shut-off store, and another place called the Novo Lounge, which was where the voice could be heard coming from. Bluejacket crept around a corner, seeing the shadowed silhouette of a pegasus standing over a baby carriage. He turned his head to get a better look.

"My little pony... my little pony," the pegasus sang to herself. Her dark pink coat was muddy, and her blue wings were frayed with many feathers missing. Bluejacket quietly exhaled, could she be a normal pony?

The pegasus stopped, she heard him. The enfused pushed the carriage aside and screamed, "Don't you dare touch my filly!" She began to furiously flap her wings, which began to glow with blue energy. Feathers flew out from her wings, transforming into diamond blades mid-air, embedding themselves in the wall where Bluejacket had been a moment earlier.

He ducked, narrowly avoiding another feather which bounced off the railing; and bucked his rear leg. The hoof connected with the enfused pegasus's snout, snapping it the wrong direction. The pegasus snarled with rage and leapt at Bluejacket, who sidestepped the uncoordinated attacker and kicked her in the rear. The pegasus bounced off the ground and collided with the railing, her front legs snapping as she tumbled off the edge.

Bluejacket watched her fall down, her now diamond wings flapping uselessly as she collided into the glass floor below. As one more measure, Bluejacket checked the pegasus's "filly" in the carriage, discovering she had in fact been singing to a dagger encrusted with dry blood. Maybe it could be useful later.

A large-scale party seemingly had taken place within the Novo Lounge, though now it looked more a war had occurred there. There were many tables, most of which were overturned or scorched with magical burns. There were surprisingly few bodies though, only about two, both of which were ponies in various positions around the dining area.

The lounge curved wall entirely made of glass, giving a view into Seaquestria's globular city beyond. Several parts were noticeably cracked, spraying water that gathered around a large metal statue of a rearing alicorn that had at one point, had one its sides blasted open.

"Gotta be around here," commented a voice. Bluejacket ducked behind a table. An enfused pony and hippogriff waded in the water around the statue, looking for something.

"I know I saw it, and you know what a runt like that can do," the hippogriff answered. His beak was chipped in several places, and one the wings had apparently been cut clean off.

"Well, if the whelps not here, I'll make you pay," the pony snarled in response, using her magic to threateningly wave a sharpened stick about.

Bluejacket looked over the enfused again, they were both standing in the water, which was a good conductor. That gave him an idea.

Bluejacket jumped out and shot out a full blast of electricity from both hooves at the water pool. Both of the enfused screamed as the magical electricity burst across the water, thoroughly roasting each of the insane magic users. The pony fell face-first into the water as the electricity frayed her mane. The hippogriff unfortunately remained standing, screaming horrifically until the back of his head popped open, splattering green goo on the wall.

Fluttershy's voice spoke up again, "Killing them might seem cruel, but trust me, killing enfused is an act of mercy." Bluejacket had to agree, none of the creatures he was killing seem sound both physically and mentally.

Bluejacket searched through the Novo Lounge. There were the bloody remains of something in the broom closet. There was another body in the kitchen who carried a significant number of bits. But eventually, he stumbled into the restroom, in which one of the walls had been conveniently busted open.

The hole opened up onto a catwalk above a performance area. As Bluejacket crossed, he heard a familiar babbling below. He jumped and slid down a pile of rubble and looked through a glass wall to see the black dragonling from earlier, who happily burbled as it bit a chunk out of a body of a pony on the floor.

Fluttershy spoke up over the radio, "Careful now... Would you kindly not attack that dragonling?"

Bluejacket stood down, watching as the baby dragonling chewed on the hoof of the pony.

"You think that's a baby down there, don't you? Well don't be fooled. That's a Little Spark now. Somepony went and turned a bunch of sweet little baby dragons into that monster you see before you. Those Little Sparks, they create Dragon Fire– the magic spark that makes up the core of magical essence. Everycreature wants it; everycreature needs it."

Suddenly, two more creatures entered the theater. Two enfused, a large yak who had lost much of his fur, and a griffon who had carved a bloody cutie mark onto his thigh.

They both slowly approached the Spark hungrily, "Don't worry little whelp," said the yak, "Magic yak won't hurt you; magic yak just want friend."

The Little Spark did not buy their act for a second. "No no no," it cried, "Big B Big B! Help!"

"You're mine!" the enfused griffon hissed, lunging at the dragonling.

A roar rang echoed out through the theater. The stone and metal mechanical charged into the room, tossing the yak into the opposite wall with a single smack. The joints of the thing bristled with rage, and the pink magic had shifted to a crimson shade of red.

"And that's a mechanical;" said Fluttershy on the radio, "they protect the Sparks. The Sparks make Fire, the mechanicals protect them."

The yak howled with anger, charging down the mechanical. The mechanical stood its ground, grabbing the yak's horns and twisting. The enfused yak's neck snapped as the mechanical lifted up the body and threw it at the glass wall, cracking the glass.

The griffon, meanwhile, had a claw wrapped around the Spark's neck and had backed away to the glass wall. "Stay back! I'm warning you! Or the runt gets it!", his outstretched claw glowed orange, being aimed at the Spark's face.

The mechanical seemed to regard the warning, turning and standing still for a second.

Then, without hesitation, the mechanical thrust an arm forward, the magic flowing out and solidifying into a large crystal spike that impaled the griffon straight through the glass wall. Bluejacket jumped back as the now dead griffon fell over onto his side of the wall.

The Spark babbled happily as the mechanical calmed down. "Yay! Do that again! Do that again!" The mechanical rumbled happily as it used its large stone hand to gently grasp the Little Sparks claw as the two left the wrecked theater.

Once the rumbling steps of the mechanical faded away, Bluejacket carefully stepped over the shattered glass wall, turning at a sign that pointed to the transit center.

The transit center had more staircases and two doors, one labeled Aston Landing and the other Medical Pavilion. The glass ceiling in this room was even more cracked than usual. A waterfall poured downward, drenching the body of an assumedly dead mechanical.

"You made it!" Fluttershy announced over the radio, "Now just go the Aston Landing station."

Bluejacket did so accordingly, starting a gallop to his only means of escape. Of course, it wasn't meant to be, as Bluejacket ran face first into the door as the Aston Landing entrance magically sealed. The magical lights in the room turned red as sirens rang out.

Bluejacket looked around in confusion, a security lockdown? But he stopped short as he heard the cries of enfused growing in the distance. He quickly turned tail and dashed into the Medical Pavilion entrance. He turned a corner and entered a square, metal room. The doors slid shut, bathing the room in complete darkness.

Bluejacket sighed, trying to think of what to do next when magically suddenly projected onto the glass wall. A still image of a seapony's face appeared. She had light cyan fins with a brilliant yellow coloration.

"So, tell me intruder," the seapony's voiced asked, "which one of those royal mules sent you? Was it the ever-obnoxious Flurry Heart? Or was it that liar Twilight Sparkle? Here's the news: Seaquestria isn't some sunken ruin for you to take advantage of just because you abandoned it, and Skystar is no longer a giddy socialite who can be slapped around by Canterlot royalty. And with that, farewell, or goodbye, whichever you prefer... friend."

The image vanished as muffled cries and screams approached the room. The silhouettes of several ponies appeared on the other side of the glass, the eyes faintly glowing with magic. They began to bang on the wall with their hooves and other weapons. The wall began to give way with cracks forming across its width.

The door behind Bluejacket abruptly opened as Fluttershy yelled out, "Quickly! I got the door open! Get out of there now!"

Bluejacket ran inside the bulkhead room and slammed the heavy door shut. The room shuddered as bubbles appeared in decorative glass panels along each wall.

Bluejacket's radio crackled to life once again, "And that my friend, was Queen Skystar. The seapony who still claims to be queen of Seaquestria," Fluttershy sighed over the radio, "Now that the way is blocked by security and a horde of enfused, you'll have to find your way to Aston Landing through Emergency Access. And if you want to use the emergency access, you'll need Photo Finish's key. She's kind of the most important pony down there. But I don't expect her to hand it to you out of friendship. Photo Finish isn't known for her sharing and as you might guess, not entirely there either."

This Magic Essence presents new problems for the professional. As your skills improve, so do your standards. There was a time I was happy enough to design a simple gown, photograph a model for Prance, put plain beauty on the covers of a magazine. But that was then, when we took what we got, but with magic... the flesh becomes clay, beauty becomes obtainable. What excuse do we have not to sculpt, and sculpt, and sculpt, until the job is done? ~ Photo Finish

Bluejacket stepped out into the entrance area of the Medical Pavilion. Bodies of what used to be pony nurses and doctors lay strewn across the tiles. The area was bathed in a red light from the magical lights.

His radio crackled to life once more, "You can access the emergency access to Aston Landing through that doorway next to you," said Fluttershy's voice, "Though you'll find that the whole area is sealed with a magic barrier. Luckily, Photo Finish should still have her override key. How you get it isn't my problem, so would you kindly go and retrieve the key?"

Bluejacket proceeded forward, entering the main Medical Pavilion. Right at the entrance, there was already a grim site. Photographs of pony models were pasted all over the wall, with various parts of their faces crudely scratched out with ink. A mannequin was a set out, with a bright yellow pony hide draped over it that dripped blood onto the ground. Not a good sign.

Further in, the rest of the main area of the pavilion was in no better shape. Trash was strewn about, scorch marks from spells were sporadically peppered on the walls, and frantic mumblings of unseen creatures echoed from the shadows.

"Photo Finish is probably still in the makeup lab," stated Fluttershy over the radio, "Thats where she 'touches up' her models. But firstly, you'll need something, a bit of magical essence. So would you kindly go to the crematorium and retrieve a flame spell?"

Bluejacket did so, turning left and approaching the crematorium. A large sign hung over the entrance, proudly proclaiming, "The Dragon's Flame: Proper Funerary Services Straight from the Dragon Lands!" A single enfused hippogriff banged a claw on the sealed door.

"Let me in!" she shouted, "Get out here and face me!"

Bluejacket readied himself for combat, but jumped back when the door suddenly exploded, splintering the sealed entrance and sending the charred body of the hippogriff flying back into the wall. Standing in the doorway was a nirik, her flaming body glowing bright blue, her mane glistening unnaturally with a rainbow of colors.

The enfused nirik snapped her head to Bluejacket as she snarled with rage and shot out a plume of flame at the pony. Bluejacket jumped out the way, rolling behind a pillar as the flame blackened the ground around him. He rubbed his hooves and shot out a retaliatory blast of electricity. The nirik dodged the electricity as it flew past her head, stamping a hoof on the ground and launching a fireball out of her horn.

The fireball exploded against the pillar, causing rubble to spray down onto Bluejacket's head. He glanced back again and shot out another bolt of electricity. This one hit the nirik squarely in the chest, stunning her for a second. Bluejacket took the opportunity to rush the fiery creature with his wrench, but she recovered faster. Realizing what he was trying to do, the nirik roared with fury, her mane turning a deep shade of crimson. Before he could react, Bluejacket was flung back by an explosion, sending him colliding into a wall.

The pony slowly stood up and coughed as the smoke cleared. He winced, clutching the burns on his body. Looking up, Bluejacket saw that the nirik was gone, or more so, dead. In the middle of the blackened crater stood the nirik, a charred statue; the angry equine had self-immolated. Bluejacket walked past the statue, the thing crumbling into a pile of ash as he brushed a hoof against it, and into the crematorium.

As this was part of the Medical Pavilion, the crematorium still had a paltry number of medical supplies, though the entire front area had been burnt to oblivion by the nirik. Bluejacket hastily slapped bandages on his wounds and went further into the business. Upstairs was what he was looking for, a Lil' Sparks Depository. The vending machine was in its own corner, and still had a singular bottle of bright orange essence.

Popping off the cork, Bluejacket downed the essence. The tingling sensation down his throat was much like before, however the feeling was different. It became hot, very hot. He looked down at his hooves, watching as an orange glow curled up his limbs. He yelled in panic as his hooves blackened and cracked as flames trickled out from beneath his skin. And just as a sudden as it started, it ended. His hooves were intact, but Bluejacket felt different, more powerful.

Just to his luck, a voice ringed out as Bluejacket finished the potion.

"Attention all inhabitants of Seaquestria," announced the voice of Skystar, magically projecting from the walls, "A reward of a thousand pounds of magical essence is being offered as a reward for a certain... intruder. Bring his head to me, and you shall have all the magic you want."

Bluejacket didn't need to ask to know who she was talking about for as soon as the announcement finished, the yells of enfused rang out from down the stairs. Bluejacket readied himself, before noticing a conspicuous amount of oil on the ground. Oil that was flammable.

He stomped a hoof on the ground making an orange light pulsed on the ground and spiral up his leg. He held up his glowing orange hoof, concentrated, and ignited a small flame at its end. The enfused rounded the corner, screaming and charging at Bluejacket, but he was prepared. He leapt back and shot the flame from his hoof at the oil.

Immediately the oil spill ignited, the flames roaring to life and spreading across the floor. The enfused ponies had barely a moment to panic as they were quickly covered in the fire. Bluejacket made leave, galloping out of the crematorium, ignoring as the bloodcurdling cries of his assailants faded to whimpers accompanied by the repugnant smell of burning fur.

As Bluejacket made his way to the makeup center, his radio crackled to life, "I see Skystar has it out for you," Fluttershy said with an air of amusement, "Thing is, she can do whatever she wants down here. From her throne, the Queen has domain over all magic in Seaquestria. The enfused, the mechanicals, the Sparks, they all dance to her little tune."

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion echoed down the glass hall. Bluejacket's head raised to attention, and he ran down the hall. The lobby of the makeup center was large and dark, with two balconies and a doorway that led deeper in. Unfortunately, the doorway was blocked by a pile of rubble. More importantly however, were the two enfused unicorns that were engaged in a feud.

"Here's a gift friend!" yelled the mare on the balcony as she telekinetically tossed hoofmade explosives about the room. The second unicorn only laughed maniacally as he returned with a magical blast. However, his laugh was cut short as an explosive landed between his hooves.

Bluejacket ducked as an explosion sent unicorn limbs flying across the room and looked up. The orange unicorn narrowed her eyes as she turned her attention to him. Quickly and aggressively, the unicorn tossed her makeshift grenades. Bluejacket swerved left and right, dodging the small-scale explosions. The enfused unicorn didn't like this, screaming in anger as her horn flickered with magic and launched five explosives. Bluejacket paused and breathed out, adjusting his rear for the right angle.

As two of the grenades flew right at him, he bucked both his legs, knocking both of the explosives back through the air. One flew right at the pile of rubble, exploding upon contact, collapsing the wreckage. The unicorn glanced down in shock, not noticing the second explosive arcing through the air. The balcony exploded, the enfused unicorn with it.

As the explosions stopped and the noise faded to silence, Bluejacket left the lobby and to the heart of Photo Finish's lair. The dirty halls of the makeup center had more of Photo Finish's hoofwork. More pony hides, scratched over portraits, and blurry closeups of ponies graced the walls. The shelves of the center were still full of bottles of various makeup products, many of which glowed bright pink in the dim, green light of the hall.

Eventually he reached the heart of the facility, a viewing area for what used to be a place where models would practice. Through the dirty glass, Bluejacket could see that Photo Finish had converted it to her workstation. The earth pony still had on her trademark large, dark pink sunglasses though they were cracked in places, revealing the crazed eyes of the pony underneath. Her dress was dirty with bloodstains spattered all over. Her hooves were cracked with glowing green lines that illuminated the piles of the photos Photo Finish had laid out before her.

The former photographer was deep in work, muttering to herself as she examined the nonsensical photographs on the table.

"No no no!" Photo Finish shouted as she swept her hoof across the table, tossing aside her photographs, "Ach! Sweet sweet princess of beauty! Why vont you give me beauty! I vant to capture it, but zey always turns out wrong!"

Above her head lights magically flashed on, revealing ponies, strewn across the ceiling, their hooves outstretched. Blood dripped from the sacks that had been tied over their heads, and their coats had been skinned off at several places.

Photo pointed to the unicorn, "Zis one! She is too fat!"

She pointed to the pegasus, "Zis one! Her wings, zey are too long!"

She pointed to the earth pony, "And zis one! She is too symmetrisch!"

Suddenly, Photo paused. She hunched over, her head twisting behind her, looking right through the glass at Bluejacket. "What's this, my princess? An intruder?" her voice raised in volume as she whipped around with anger, "He's ugly! Ugly ugly UGLY!”

With a roar of anger, Photo Finish tossed the table aside and stomped her hoof on the ground. Green light pulsed from her legs into the ground traveling to the window before erupting in large growths of coral that shattered the glass. Bluejacket jumped aside to dodge the flying glass and rolled out into the practice area.

Photo Finish howled, sending out more bursts of flora magic. The aquatic plants sprouted to life around the room, climbing up the walls, ensnaring mannequins, and curling at Bluejacket. He fought back, kicking at a glowing anemone that had burst from the tiled floor. Seaweed attacked from behind ensnaring his rear hooves. Bluejacket shot out electric bursts from his hooves, but it was too much. Soon enough, the pony found that he was ensnared by Photo Finish's hostile plants.

She walked up, laughing maniacally, "Now you shall be beautiful!"

Bluejacket grunted, thrusting out one of his front hooves. A small fireball shot out, colliding with the seaweed wrapped around his leg. Photo Finish screamed with horror as the plants around her erupted into flames, their magically created forms crumpling in an instant.

Photo Finish angrily grunted, but Bluejacket attacked before she could use more magic. He hit the former photographer across the head with his wrench, causing her to collapse to the ground with a sickening crack. Bluejacket rustled through the enfused photographer's body, pulling out the access key before leaving the room.

As he left, his radio buzzed as Fluttershy's voice rang out, "Are you alright? It was about time somepony took care of her. She was sick, in the mind I mean. Make sure you get the key off Photo Finish and head back to Emergency Access. I'm working my way to the back side of Aston Landing myself. We'll get there soon enough."

The hallway back to the Medical Pavilion was blocked. Photo Finish's out of control flora magic had promptly wrecked the makeup center. The walls were covered in plant growth, the makeup had been knocked off the shelves, and the hallway had completely collapsed.

So instead, Bluejacket had to take an alternate route through the center's waiting lounge. The lounge had many windows, multiple balconies, and a Lil' Sparks Depository. As Bluejacket entered, he jumped in alarm as one of the windows exploded. Through the glass flew the burning body of a mechanical while collided with the wall and fell limply to the floor.

"That's mechanical's dead," commented Fluttershy over the radio, "That means there's a Little Spark around here, unaccompanied. Find that thing and you can get all the dragon fire you want."

Into the lounge ran the Little Spark, the baby dragon crying with alarm as it scampered into the center of the room. The Spark was followed by an enfused hippogriff, who spread his wings and swiftly caught up to the dragonling. The purple hippogriff cackled as he lifted up the babbling baby in his claws.

Suddenly, a loud sound rang out through the room as an arrow pierced through the hippogriff's claw. He shouted in alarm, clutching his bleeding limb, and twisted his head to see the attacker. Another sound, and another arrow shot out, piercing his skull.

Bluejacket stepped forward as the hippogriff fell to the ground, dropping the Spark. "Don't ya get any closer to that dragon or you'll be the varmit who's shot next!" shouted the pony up on the balcony.

The older orange mare held up a cross bow, pointing it right at Bluejacket. She was overall dirty, a dirty shawl, a dirty hat, and a dirty blond mane. She wore an expression of tiredness and anger at the same time.

"Easy now Applejack," Fluttershy announced over the radio to the mare on the balcony, "He's just looking for a bit of dragon fire."

"I'm not about to let him hurt any of them little ones," Applejack muttered, "One would think a pegasus like you would believe that, Fluttershy." She finished the sentence abrasively, Fluttershy's name dripping with contempt.

"Don't worry," Fluttershy's voice said, ignoring Applejack, "That's no baby, not anymore." Bluejacket stepped closer to the Spark, the dragonling crying with fear as it tried to crawl away.

"Stop!" Applejack yelled, "Have y'all no heart?" She paused, before pulling a small bottle that glowed cyan. Applejack tossed it over the balcony, where Bluejacket caught it. "There, take that," stated Applejack, "That should help y'all... save those little Spark fellers. I've already lost too many ponies I care about in this city; Photo Finish, Stygian, Trixie..." she paused, "Fluttershy, but as long as I can help somecreature down here, I'm gonna keep trying. I just hope you will too."

With that, Applejack left, leaving Bluejacket alone with the dragon. After a minute of contemplation, he leapt forward, grabbing hold of the baby. The dragonling struggled in his hooves as Bluejacket made his decision. His hooves began to glow as he directed at the dragonling's head.

Suddenly, with a flash of light, the glow in the Spark's eye's vanished, making the dragon fall to the ground with an oof. Wearily, the dragonling stood up and toddled away. Bluejacket smiled, having chosen to save the baby. The baby smiled too, waving back at Bluejacket before crawling into one of the designated Spark chutes.

Having made his decision, Bluejacket left the lounge, left the Medical Pavilion, and made his back to the entrance.

Over the radio, Fluttershy sighed, "Applejack's playing you for a sap. Those things may look like baby dragons but looks don't make it so. You're going to need all the magic you can get to survive down here, and trying to save the lost isn't going to help. Anyways, are you almost back to emergency access? Come through as soon as you get there. You've got Skystar's attention now. You won't hear her coming, but she'll be there before you know it."

In the emergency access, Bluejacket pulled out the access key and inserted it. With a rumble, the door slowly slid open. Once inside, the door sealed itself shut with a hiss. The room rumbled as it began to move.

"I don't know how you managed it, but you did," said Fluttershy over the radio, "Come through to Aston Landing now. I'm looking forward to shaking your hoof."