Chapter 1: First Big Job
The day was warm and the sun shining, not too warm and not too cold. It was approximately two in the afternoon, and a young pegasus had just finished his lunch. He’d been out of work for a while now, side jobs here and there to keep food on the table. His name was Highway South, a dark orange tone for his body and nearly white sky-blue mane. His hair in particular wasn’t combed too often, or even at all. In human years he would be about nineteen. He gave a long sigh as he exited the corner diner and out into the cold gray streets.
Out over the horizon was the Great Factory, an engineering and production achievement all on its own. From what he knew, it had the highest output of goods in the entire world. It had by far the most and best employees from the area working under it. Their products were top of the line, and the average salary per worker was quite high. Almost everyone wanted to work there, except for the “crazies.”
The streets were cold and bland but full of texture. The streets had been used so much that it were as if an artist had carefully crafted individual stones to tell a story. The buildings were standard around the factory; tall, three story apartments with not much class. The red in the bricks had faded a bit, and some owners had repainted theirs to make it not look like a total trash heap. Most of the people in the area seemed content with their lives, but why wouldn’t they be? For most, this is all they’ve ever known. So having a decent paying job and never leaving was standard.
Most citizens were so content that they didn’t even bat an eye toward the huge smoke stacks of the factory for a minute and think, maybe this is a bad thing? Never, that’s where a lot of their incomes came from.
‘It’s time,’ the young pegasus thought to himself now staring at the huge smoke stacks on the horizon. Today he was going to be interviewed for a job at the factory, and he was not going to fail. He was tired of small projects; he wanted to do more with his time. He wanted more; more money, more living, more exploration and most importantly more freedom.
You could say he was the dreamer type, but in a place like this who wouldn’t be?
He made his way down the street to the factory paying no attention to anyone around him until he got closer to the factory. A massive amount of ponies were going to the factory today, enough to occupy the entire street. “Oh come on!” he said in disgust. Cracking his neck, he stretched his wings out wide. “I have an interview to get to, and this isn’t going to stop me.” He leaped forward and was lifted by the strength of his wings. The air was rushing past him and there was nothing in his way. “Looks like its clear skies today!”
The ponies below mumbled and grumbled over the pegasus now flying over them. After all, they have to wait in line. “Boo!” one of them shouted kiddingly. This encouraged more shouts and mockeries, until the whole crowd had joined in.
As a result South shouted, “Oh come on! Are you really going to be upset over this?”
In a window high above the crowd there stood a very ornate unicorn, dressed in an expensive looking suit and wearing a monocle. He was stark white and had a combed back golden mane. He stood rather peacefully as he watched the antics unfold outside.
“Do you suppose that’s the stallion we have coming in for an interview today?” he said in a very sophisticated voice.
A dark and deep voice answered from behind, “That would be him.” The noise outside grew steadily louder. The deep voice spoke again, “I want you to handle this one, I have to check on production.”
“Of course sir,” the white stallion replied.
Highway finally reached the gate in front of the factory and was confronted by a pegasus bouncer. “You there!” he spoke in a stern voice, “what business do you have with the factory?”
Ruffling through his bag he was carrying South replied with, “I have a job interview today at two-thirty in the afternoon.”
“Oh really? What position?”
“You know, the standard laborer.”
“Oh…” he seemed to cut out suddenly. “Are you sure you want to do that? It’s good pay but, it’s awfully boring.”
“It’s alright, I need money right now so I’ll be fine with it.”
“If you say so.”
He pulled the temporary I.D. out of his bag and showed it to the guard. “Alright, good luck!”
“Thanks!”
He flew past the bouncer and into the factory grounds. The first thing noticeable is the two large rectangular buildings out front. They’re separated by a decently spaced gap. In between them is a double door leading into both of the buildings. ‘I guess that’s where I’m headed.’ He thought now flying a little slower. The buildings were intimidating after all, over forty stories tall and pitch black; except for the windows.
Upon arriving at the doors, he landed on the ground. Raising one hoof, he pushed the tall door open. It made a slight creaking noise and opened easily. Inside the room was nothing but white walls and a few plants here and there. In the far right hand corner of the room was a receptionist desk with two ponies occupying its domain.
‘They’ll know where I need to go.’ He walked over to the desk and confronted the one on the right. She was dark gray and a bit old. She was organizing papers on the desk when he decided to speak.
“Achoo!” he pretended to sneeze to get her attention. Dropping one of the many papers she let out a surprised noise.
She had a Brooklyn accent when she spoke, “Well, hello there. I didn’t see you.” Her coworker laughed, it seems this happens often.
“Sorry about that, I’m here for an interview. You know where I’m supposed to go?”
Recomposing herself, “Yeah, go through these doors and take a right. Follow the hallway until you reach the stairs; there is room for pegasus to fly over there as well. Go to the sixth floor, and the room is…uuhhh.” Looking down to her papers in search of the meeting room, “Ah! Room 669.”
“Thank you ma’am,” he replied in satisfaction. Turning to exit through the door the mare interjected, “Oh, good luck sir.” Highway turned quickly back and gave a nod before exiting.
These hallways were completely different; instead of white walls with plants, they were smooth black and had statues of famous employees. As Highway walked down the hall he tried to make out what the statues had labeled on them. The only thing mentionable on them was an engraving that said, “Distinguished Employee.”
“Hmm…” he mumbled to himself. It were as if the specific deeds that made the employees stand out were not to actually be documented. Their secrets kept only to those who knew them. Needless to say, it gave the hallway a darker and more isolated feeling; the empty stares of the statues watching you as you walked helped.
‘This place certainly seems different from the rest of the city,’ he thought flying up the section of the stairs made specifically for pegasi. Strangely, the area was quiet. One would think that having the largest production facility in the world would make some sound.
He arrived on the sixth floor and panned his vision left to right to check the numbers. “Alright, so I gotta go left,” he said to himself being a little more nervous than he was a minute ago. The pressure was rising, and questions filled a portion of his mind. ‘Can I actually get this job? Should I’ve applied somewhere else?’ He reached the door labeled 669. It stared him down, polished, heavy, important, and crystal black. ‘Maybe I should just go…’
A sophisticated voice came from behind the door, “You can come in.” He knew Highway was there, and the sudden voice made him jump. He gulped, and pushed the heavy door open.
There on the other side of the room sat a very rich looking pony staring him down with relaxed eyes. The room, like the hallway, was black. It was obnoxiously long and high for a simple little desk at the end of it. “You can come a little closer you know?” the unicorn asked slightly amused.
“Heh, of course,” he answered in a very embarrassed fashion.
He trotted his way over to the desk guiltily. Arriving in front in an unnecessarily and awkward time. A single chair was on his side of the desk. He flew up over the chair and landed perfectly on top of it. Now the unicorn’s eyes were staring at a much more intense range, and the wall behind him was entirely made of glass. Combine that with the setting sun’s rays in the background and you have quite the sight.
Highway noticed a golden folder on the desk, on it was his job application. “So, you’re applying for the average laborer hmm?” he spoke slower than before.
“Yes sir.”
“Well, let’s get you tested first.”
“Umm tested?”
“To see if you qualify for the average worker of course.”
“I thought we were just going to talk.”
“Well there’ll be plenty of talking but first of all, can you lift these?” He pressed a button underneath his desk, and the room made a large humming sound. The sound of steam being released came from behind him, and he turned startled. The walls opened and huge contraptions of steel and glass moved endlessly around each other, until finally stopping in a huge white box the width of the room, with silver stairs leading up to it.
Highway turned back to the stallion in the chair to see him with the same relaxed expression on his face. “What is that?” he asked desperately.
“That is the test cube. Go on, I’ll be right behind you.”
They both got out of their chairs and walked over to the stairs. “I-Is this safe?” South asked nervously.
“Of course it is!” he shouted back. “Otherwise we wouldn’t use it.”
They made their way up the stairs and stopped at the top. The cube had no roof so that they could drop down inside, the walls of the makeshift room were about half as tall as the actual room’s. Yet, the only thing awaiting them inside was an empty white room. “That’s it? I thought there’d be…more…” he said in disappointment.
The unicorn leapt down to the bottom and turned back, “There’s more to this than you think.”
“If you say so.” He said gliding down to the floor.
“By the way, my name’s Impound. I’m the second in command of the company.” He walked over to the left side of the room, then stomped on one of the floor tiles. The floor in front of him opened up, and another platform rose out of it. On it, rested a set of weights. Turning back to Highway he commanded, “Lift these weights.”
Looking at them uncertainly he replied, “I’ll give it a go.”
Walking over to the weights the tension grew. Like a weed that was slowly impairing all of his movements. ‘All right, just gotta lift these weights.’ Navigating his way under the harness that was holding the weights together, he breathed a little heavier. Taking a deep breath he lifted with all his might, but to no avail. He glanced quickly over to Impound, who was simply watching quietly. He took a quick break, and then tried again and again. Every attempt got more ridiculous, and he was wearing himself out as a direct result.
Impound suddenly spoke during one of his intermissions, “You know, you can use your wings right?” The event seemed to stop for a moment as the realization hit him.
‘Now he tells me!’ His huge wings opened faster than ever before, and he began flapping vigorously. Almost immediately he left the ground, soaring into the air like it was nothing. He flew nearly to the ceiling before stopping. Impound’s jaw dropped for a moment before shutting it in realization of what he was doing.
“Well,” he said breathlessly, “I think you’ve accomplished that task with flying colors.”
“I did!” he shouted in joy.
“Yes, now get down here for the second task.”
“Alright!”
South’s mark was an intricate wing to represent his special talent. He had always had bigger wings than average. Not to the point where they didn’t look like they belong, but somewhere close. The wings didn’t mean he was faster, just that he had more power behind them. He could outmaneuver other pegasi, and he was the first by far to fly in his school; two years to be exact.
He landed smoothly onto the ground without any sign of strain. A click was heard, and the next test was unveiled. A board stretching halfway to the ceiling appeared from the wall. On it were nine different screens. They each had something completely different on them. One screen had numbers, another a letter, an address, one a silhouette of a pony’s face, and other miscellaneous things.
“Now, I’m going to flip these images around and you’re going to tell me what they are alright?” This test was going to be difficult, what should he memorize? There’s no way he could remember all of it!
‘Think come on think!’ he stared at the board for the little time he had. Until finally in frustration, ‘FORGET THIS! I’m just remembering the hardest ones!’ Another moment, then the images all flipped around so that the backs of the monitors were visible.
“Now, speak.” Impound said in a very direct tone. A few moments passed, it seemed as though the pegasus was getting his mind ready. In partial curiosity and impatience he raised one eyebrow. “Did you not remember anything?”
‘Ok, just go for it, if you’re wrong…if you’re wrong…WHATEVER!’ He stomped one hoof in defiance. “The numbers in the upper left corner were three/thirteen/twelve. The address on the one in the middle is five sixteen Steel Rock Boulevard, room twelve.” A smile ran across Impound’s face. “Also, I believe the silhouette was mayor of The District of Quarry, but I’m not sire.” He closed his eyes thinking he’d said it all wrong. There was also the fact that he hadn’t memorized all nine pictures. “I’m not hired am I?” he whimpered sadly.
“Well, I appear to have good news and bad news.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
“The bad news is that you’re not getting hired for the job.”
“It’s alright, I know I’m not the best-“
“You’re getting hired for a different job.”
“I…WHAT?”
“Indeed it is a special job, not many ponies get offered the position.”
“SERIOUSLY!?”
“Yes, seriously. Now some of the information is classified, and we’ve been needing another employee lately, you just happen to fit the job description perfectly.”
Highway’s mind was racing, this time with complete optimism. What kind of job could it be? This was way better than he expected in the first place. Would he be a secret agent; undercover from the law and the people around him, not that anyone knew who he was in the first place. Still, he decided, being undercover would be cool.
“So what do I do?”
“Now, you have to accept the job before I give you any more information.”
In extreme delight, and some blind stupidity, he said, “I accept your job request! I will not let you down sir!”
“Good! Now you’re official job title will be ‘Delivery Overseer.” However, this is in truth only part of you’re job.”
“A delivery overseer? That’s my new job?”
“I can assure you it will be more than that.” He said in a warning like tone. “You will fly to the rim of the city and check all deliveries going in and out.”
“Seems simple enough…why do not many people get offered the position?”
“I was about to explain.” Pausing a moment for dramatic effect, he seemed a little disturbed by the sudden interruption. “Ahem, you must not talk directly with any of the workers delivering the packages.”
“Why?”
“You need not get distracted by petty commoners. Besides, you’ll be managing a lot of things anyway. You can trust me on that.”
In a way that last comment was an insult to Highway, but at the same time a compliment. He was a commoner in Dimsville. However, the way he didn’t include him in the same category of commoner meant that he considered him higher class.
“Fine, but how much does this job pay?”
“Around five hundred thousand bits a year,” or about three hundred thousand dollars a year in human currency.
This time Highway’s jaw dropped, and he stood there stunned. That was more money than he’d ever made in his life. Now puzzled, he questioned, “Where does all this money come from? The city’s poor but this factory’s making tons of money. We don’t even have anything around here worth that much! Do we?” he asked in a ponderous voice.
Impound laughed a little then replied with, “Oh we have some of the best resources in the world.” His tone was dark and sinister.
His response didn’t cause immediate worry, but it was already bugging him in a way. His imagination was starting to get the best of him. ‘No, he’s just talking about special stones or something. That’s what the Quarry District’s famous for.’ He had to reassure himself with this thought, or risk getting fired for asking a stupid question. After all, this was the most pay he’d ever gotten anywhere.
“Well,” said Impound giving off a slight sigh, “you should get to work immediately. Now go fly off, the workers there will give you more information.”
The happiness of having a good job radiated from him, as if it had its own force. ‘I’ll get right on it sir!”
“Good, I’ll see you later. Good day.”
With that the meeting was over. One final stomp from the unicorn lowered the walls of the cube. The room was looking unnecessarily long again. “Since you’re now specially employed you can use the sky exit.” His horn glowed with magical power and a loud click was heard. A decent amount of glass was seen sinking into the floor; the window opened like an automatic door. “You’ll also need this,” once again using magic, he floated a card over to South. It had yellow and black stripes covering most of it. In huge white writing it said, “Sky Clearance Card.”
“That card will give you full access to the skies above the factory.”
Highway put the card in his pack using his teeth, then trotted over to the exit. “Hey, one more thing before I go.”
“Yes?”
“Why the super expensive test machine?”
Without even hesitating, “We get a lot of job offers here, as you would imagine, so to speed the process up we built a super expensive machine. Also, because we can.” He gave a brief laugh at this, nodded, and took off.
The wind was flowing through his mane once again as he jumped clear out the window, and into the open sky. The relief of getting the job filled his heart, and he was happy as could be; even humming a little tune as he flew. He looked down as he glided over the factory’s roofs; there were some windows he could look through in the ceiling. In one, a few ponies were taking a break from their work and getting ready to go home. In another, the receptionists could be seen organizing their papers.
It was getting late in the day, the sun’s rays were now a deep red. Opposite the sun was night, visible from the sky was both night and day.
A whizzing sound was heard over and over again. Each time it got louder, until lights of all different colors were circling him so that he couldn’t move. Trapped in mid-air, he could do nothing but hover. The whizzing sounded more like a storm, until the lights decided to come to a halt directly in front of him. Five pegasus wearing black armor floated, moving only to flap their wings. Their faces and manes were completely covered in the armor, giving them the appearance of soldiers.
One spoke out in a sort of censored, robotic voice, “Halt! Present a pass or legitimate identification.” Started, Highway took a moment to comply with the request. ‘They must be talking about that pass.’ He reached into his bag, and pulled out the pass. The one who spoke came closer to inspect the pass. “It seems you have a legitimate pass, we’ve never seen you before. Are you new?”
“Actually, yes. I just got hired today,” he said cautiously.
“Sorry to bother you.”
“It’s alright, but who are you guys?”
He flew back over to the other pegasi, “We are the Neon Bolts; guards of the factory, and watchers of the skies. We make sure no unauthorized ponies get into the factory. Although we’re mostly active at this time through the night.”
“Wow, so you’re like the night guard, huh?”
“Pretty much kid. Make sure you always have that pass or we can’t let you through. Also,” he moved a little closer, “stay on our good side.”
This did not make Highway comfortable; in fact he just about flew away right there. These pegasi were scary. Just by looking at them you could tell they were strong, but their skill at flying made them even more dangerous. All five of them could literally fly circles around you, at the same time. Bottom line, don’t mess with the Neon Bolts.
“We sincerely hope to recognize you next time, and that this doesn’t happen again. You’re free to go.”
“Thanks…” he said automatically in fear.
In a burst of light they all disappeared. So fast that he couldn’t even tell where they went; and what was with that light anyway? Was it coming from their armor, or did they have some kind of spell on them; again, unimportant questions for the time. He flew off to his house, where he decided he’d stay for the night then depart early in the morning.
Back in the office of Impound, a secret discussion was taking place.
“So,” a deep voice started, “how’d it go?” In the darkness of the night a large shadowy figure occupied most of the room. With its glowing green eyes and two glistening fangs sticking out of the corners of its hidden mouth, the creature sat patiently for an answer.
“It went well sir, but I had a hard time keeping a straight face.” The familiar sophisticated voice spoke.
“Oh? Do tell.”
“He isn’t suspicious, but he’s definitely observant in the right places. During the tests he remembered the date, address, and even recognized the silhouette.” He took a swig of tea he had on the desk. “You don’t need to recognize the silhouette to pass the test, only know where it is. He’s obviously never worked for any part of the factory before that requires resource gathering.” He took another sip of tea, this time longer. “Which means that he’s more observant than most, and could catch on if he speaks to anypony delivering packages from out of town.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit risky leaving him close by the delivery workers?”
“Look!” he shouted sternly, “if he gets out of line in any way, shape or form, I’ll call him up and tell him his job’s on the line.”
“So you’re going to monitor him? Interesting. He’s that observant is he?”
“More than any others we’ve had. I suspect that if I’d put him in the standard job he would’ve figured it out and escaped before we could’ve done anything.”
“Well in that case should we just, you know, end him? It would be fun, we haven’t done something like that in a while.”
After taking another sip of tea he replied casually, “I admit it would be amusing, but then we’d have the whole fiasco of dealing with the police…again.”
A wide grin crossed the dark, monstrous beast’s face, “I’m the Spirit of Derailment and Loss. If I can’t lead them so far off track that, at the very least, they end themselves, then no one else can.”
“True,” he laid back in his chair, “then I guess it’s your call.”
They sat in silence for a few moments, as the mind of a monster put its devious thoughts to use.
“I’ve decided,”
“Oh?”
“To end him.”
“Marvelous,” he spoke pretending to be amused before drinking more of his tea. “So how’re we going to go about doing it?”
“In a couple of days he’ll get a call to come in for an urgent message that needs to be delivered in person. He already believes he’s on some classified job title, so he’ll buy it. When he arrives we’ll give him a tour of the factory; the real factory, as a parting gift. While on tour, we’ll have one of the Neon Bolts posted. At the end of the tour, he flies in and we have a little landing accident.”
Impound finishes his tea with a final swish, and the cup dings against the desk as he puts it down. “Solid, but it must be done perfectly. If he escapes-“
“He won’t!”
The shout echoed throughout the room as if the world was in shock of his powerful voice.
“Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you?”
The beast stood up and, using one of his sharp claws, poked a hidden button on the wall. The entire wall opened up with a low rattling of moving parts. It walked out, and down the hallway to the left. Every step it took was heavy and loud.
Then wall shut back up in reverse as it opened, closing with a bang that echoed as loud as his yell.
Impound swiveled around in his chair and stared out into the night. “And some ponies tell me they have scary bosses…”