"...and here we have Madame Nightshade's vision for the future: cities that run off of steam, independent of mana. As a proponent of technological innovation and energy conservation, Nightshade Industries has led the charge into hitherto unexplored territories."
As Kera, Bellesmith, and Phoenix shuffled deeper into the presentation, they marched straight through a model city complete with puffing smokestacks and rotating model zeppelins. Deep blue and violet spotlights illuminated the tiny scale skyscrapers and spires flanking them as the ponies made for the far end of the exhibit.
Above, the speaker continued to crackle against a musical backdrop of jubilant fanfare:
"As the Confenderacy's reserves of mana crystals run low, it will be up to pioneers such as Madame Nightshade to pave the way for our children and our children's children's future. Envision, if you will, a society that runs on steam powered machina, with moisture fueled from the grand, untapped Alabaster Mountains to the north. Magic would still have its place in the community, but it would be reserved for the finer things in life, such as healthcare, music, family interaction and the arts. With the latest advances in steam refinement, Nightshade hopes to maintain a Ledomaritan culture where the family ritual can be fully realized, with autonomous machinery providing for our every need, independent of mana recharge."
"Steam powered cities...?" Phoenix made a sense. "Now that's a laugh." He turned and cast Belle a tired smile. "Seems an awful lot like backtracking, to me."
"How do you mean?" Belle asked as Kera skipped ahead of the two of them.
"Well..." Phoenix shrugged as he ducked a model steamship floating over his skull. "Mana-powered machinery, transportation, and industry is a great deal more efficient than steam-based tech."
"That's something that stands to be fiercely debated."
"'Debated,' my flank! You think the Confederacy is capable of altering their entire industrial output? At a time like this?"
Belle shrugged. "Nightshade seems to think it's a good idea."
"And she'd be shooting herself in the hoof! A company as big as Nightshade Industries couldn't afford to push Ledomare in that direction. The military wouldn't have it, and I'm pretty sure the Council would brand Nightshade's corporation as traitorous!"
"Since when did you care so much about the ponies who run this place?"
"Well... I-I don't! But forgive me for still being a soldier beneath all of this lameness, Ms. Belle," Phoenix stammered. "The Xonans would practically eat Ledomare to bits if they tried switching their machinery to steam, especially with the arms race as hot as it is right now."
"Makes you think..." Belle murmured without thinking. "...that the only way for Nightshade to make such a thing work would be if the war ended overnight."
Phoenix scuffled to a stop. He turned back to look at the mare with a pale expression.
She was biting her lip, staring back at him.
He exhaled through his nostrils. "I hate to see any country fall to a foreign aggressor, no matter how full of jerks it may be..."
"Is that what think is at stake here with Nightshade Industries?"
"Quite frankly, Ms. Belle, I don't know what to think," he grumbled while looking ahead. "I wanna get through this dayum sideshow—is what I want to do."
"Well, if you wanna get out, then stop yapping and get over here!" Kera's voice squeaked.
Belle blinked. She stretched her neck to peer over the many miniature buildings and props. "Kera? Where are you, darling?"
"Over here." A tiny, pale hoof wafed from between to tiny factories. "And stop calling me 'darling!'"
Belle winced. With a sheepish breath trot, she approached a black wall where the foal stood. "What is it, Kera?"
"It's a way out of here," Kera said.
"Uhm..." Phoenix shuffled up, blinking. "It's a wall."
Kera spun and kicked him in the fetlock. "I know it's a wall, dummy! There's also a secret passageway on the other side!"
"Well, I know better than to doubt your little horn, kid." Phoenix stood perfectly still... and then suddenly rubbed his fetlock with a frown. "And... ow, by the way."
"Why would a passageway be here of all places?" Belle asked.
"Beats me. But do you guys really wanna trudge through the rest of this stupid thing?" the filly remarked.
Belle sighed and smiled tiredly. "Well, do you suppose you can open it?"
"Lady, I was born to open crud like this." Kera smirked proudly, her horn and tattoos already glowing with blue and silver lines. "I hid around in compartments like this a few days before I finally made it to the building's lobby and—beyond that—freedom!"
"I suspect it's a mantenance passage," Belle thought aloud, glancing at the wall as the presentation's audio crackled in the background.
"Nah. It's something different," Kera said, her face sweating in concentration. "I... can feel it..."
"How so?"
Kera's expression brightened. "See for yourself!" Just then, the wall slid open in two ways, revealing a thin corridor with metal grated floors, all illuminated in a dull blue aura. "Tadaaaa!"
"That... doesn't look like any mantenance hallway that I've ever seen," Phoenix muttered. His nostrils flared. "I smell mana exhaust."
Belle raised an eyebrow. "Have we stumbled upon the Closet of Hypocrisy?"
"I seriously wouldn't doubt it." Phoenix stepped ahead. "Ms. Belle, kiddo, I hope you don't mind if I lead the way this time..."
"Hey..." Kera gestured with a hoof. "After you, big boy."
"Unnngh—Spark..." Phoenix shuddered as he marched before the two other ponies. "Please don't ever say that again."
Kera giggled. She trotted gaily ahead while casting Belle a wry smirk. "Seriously, what do you see in the stallion?"
Belle sighed. "Nnngh... his big head dives in front of things for me."
"I heard that."
"I know you did, Mr. Phoenix."
The door closed behind them. All three were cast in the dim blue light. It did little to illuminate their paths, and they had to march slowly so as not to stumble into a partition or a sudden step. Eventually, the narrow corridor opened up. Phoenix stepped out first, and he whistled in amazement.
"What?" Belle craned her neck. "What is it?"
"Hypocrisy indeed..." His voice said from up front. "Now I know that they're not wanting to abandon mana tech whatsoever."
"How do you mean?" Belle finally emerged with Kera. She squinted to see a cramped office lit up by various blue lamps that hung over a dozen desks and whiteboards cluttered with innumerable paper files.
Phoenix turned, floating a clipboard over for Bellesmith to see. "Take a look for yourself."
Belle sat back on her haunches. Her body shivered from the cold kiss of metal grating against her coat as she cradled the clipboard between two hooves. She flipped through the pages, staring at health reports and data logs. Every other page featured a detailed illustration of a completely different equine, quadruped, or animal.
"'Mana-conductive neurological restructuring...'" Belle murmured aloud. She flipped a page. "'Inner-alicornia transplantive reconstruction...'" She flipped again. "'Synaptic enchantment and unimatrix junctioning...'"
"Make any sense to you, 'Doctor' Bellesmith?"
She grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes..." She gulped. "These schematics are detailing the... injection of mana conduits into living tissue..."
"So, basically, experiments," Phoenix muttered with a cold gaze. "Typical, Ledomaritan experiments..."
Belle fidgeted. "But... but I don't think this is quite the same."
"Care to humor me?"
"I-I mean that it doesn't seem like Nightshade is acting within compliance of the Council of Ledo. Not that the Council is any cleaner in their scientific 'research,' mind you... but..."
"See any ponies in that list?" Phoenix muttered, meanwhile rummaging through a pile of similar notes left on a work desk.
Belle flipped through the clipboard once more. "I see buffalo... rams... giraffes... squirrels... even falcons... but no. No ponies or unicorns."
"I'm not seeing any here either," Phoenix said. With a groaning breath, he said, "I think I'm starting to understand Nightshade's real vision of a mana-less future. It's only the ponies who don't have to use magic for labor." He swiveled to face Belle. "As for the... minorities of the Confederacy..."
Belle's brow furrowed. Her tone was an icy one. "I've seen this sort of thing before." She got up and trotted in a swift stride past Phoenix and Kera. She picked an architectural schematic off the wall.
"What is it?" Kera asked, her face scrunched up. "That evil-sounding place that all the suited ponies were talking about earlier?"
"Yes..." Belle said with a nod. "This is indeed labeled 'Ridge Side Research Facility.' I suspect most if not all of these documents pertain to Nightshade's experiments there. But this..." She clenched her teeth as she picked up another layout. "This says something else."
Phoenix craned to look. "And what's that?"
She gulped. "Blue Shelf."