It wasn't her first time in Canterlot, but it might as well have been a completely new city. Instead of crowds of well dressed ladies and suited gentlecolts in top hats, the streets were filled with silence and the chill of winter. The sun seemed to follow her as she shuffled along, but the beams provided little warmth. A few stray bits of litter rolled by; it was as if trash and debris were populating the deserted city, replacing the ponies who had once called Canterlot home.
Really, that was an exaggeration, Rainbow Dash had to admit. Every so often she'd see an old stallion slowly creak by or crawl to one of the dusty benches, too old to be of any use. Still, they were a reminder that Canterlot wasn't a complete ghost town, that there was life away from the blood soaked arctic wastes, that there was a reason she was here in this sanctuary for those too weak or old or rich to fight instead of on the frontline. The steel handle of her left wing dug into her shoulder, forcing her to set down her package and loosen the cold imitation.
Rainbow moved through the neighborhood, past empty faded homes and untidy lawns. Canterlot had lost its luster with its ponies. Her reflection in one of the dusty windows caught her eye, and with a groan, she tried to smooth out her wild unkept mane, flattening short tuffs of hair until it was passable. She pressed against the shirt of her uniform, attempting to do away with the wrinkles and lint on her collar and tie.
"Ms. Flare, I'm, no, I am sorry, um, I regret to," Rainbow Dash muttered as she continued her way. She stopped at a small house, one of the only ones on the block with lights visibly on. She made her way up to the front, took a deep breath, and knocked twice. Twenty six seconds passed, Rainbow counted, before the door slowly opened.
A dull-yellow mare had answered. "Yes?" she said hesitantly as she looked over Rainbow. When her eyes found the package Rainbow Dash held and the flag draped over it, the mare paled.
Rainbow took a step forward. "Stormy Flare?" She extend the package toward the mare. With shaking hooves, Stormy Flare accepted the box and slowly lifted the lid, letting the flag dropped to the ground. The thought to reprimanding her was swiftly crushed as Rainbow watched tears stream down Stormy Flare's features. They splashed onto the shiny gold medals that sat in the package, next to a single golden primary feather.
"Ms. Flare, I regret to inform you that your daughter, Capt. Spitfire--"
The door slammed shut. From the other side, Rainbow could hear the sobs. Slowly, she backed away from Stormy Flare's home, away from the cries of her captain's mother, away from the abandoned flag that laid on the doormat. She had done her job, she was done with this city.
Well, no, not yet, Rainbow reminded herself. Still, she thought to herself as she glanced to the sky, toward the sun, she had some time to spare before her next meeting. Somewhere in the city, perhaps somewhere closer to the nobility's section, there was an open bar.
And Celestia knows I need a drink..
*
Twilight Sparkle had been waiting at the arranged meeting point, the palace entrance, for a total of forty seven minutes, fifty two seconds (she had counted). That meant the military representative she was supposed to greet was exactly seven minutes, twenty nine seconds late. She had already practiced her professional salutation an excessive number of times by even her standards, and her notecards were becoming worn down by her reviewing. Her patience was running thinner and thinner as the established schedule was pushed further back each second.
At last the representative appeared, her colorful mane messy and wild and her tie missing. Her uniform was decorated with dust, and cider could be smelled in her breath. Frustration overcame professionalism, and Twilight's greeting came out as a simple, curt, "You're late."
"Sorry, I'm still on military time."
"That doesn't--." Twilight cleared her throat. "I am Twilight Sparkle, assistant to Dr. Moon Dancer, director of SpARDA." She held out her hoof.
"Sparta?"
"Specialized Armament Research and Development Agency."
"Oh, ah." Rainbow Dash took the unicorn's hoof and shook it. "Hey. Lt. Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolts, um, EUP."
"Right. Well, there is much ahead of us, and we're already behind schedule, so if you could follow me, Lieutenant." Twilight marched forward, toward the palace, with Rainbow close behind. Two old stallions in armor stood on guard at the entrance, saluting awkwardly as Twilight and Rainbow approached. Rainbow Dash winced as one of them dropped his spear and fumbled with it as he tried to pick it up.
"Not much point of guards here, is there?" she asked when they were a good distance away. "The princess isn't here."
"It keeps the nobles at ease," Twilight replied as they approached a mirror. She touched her horn at the base, then stared into her reflection's eyes. "Most of the palace's defenses are automated, one of our first projects," she added with a small smirk, "but some ponies just need to see a pony in armor. Ahem, user T Sparkle, password sigma pi kappa forty seven."
The glass suddenly melted away like ice. "Come on," Twilight said, stepping into the hole. "We shouldn't keep the director waiting."
Cautiously, Rainbow followed. She glanced over her shoulder and watched as the glass reappeared, blocking the exit. "Can't somepony just break the mirror to get in?"
"Without authorization, they'd just hit a wall," Twilight explained. "Think of it like a portal or a door to a completely different area. It's a redesign of the common teleportation spell with elements from Starswirl the Bearded's notes on what he described as 'mirror worlds', a phrase that has baffled researchers for--"
Rainbow's yawn sent a blush across Twilight's face. "Right, our facility is at the end of this tunnel. If you would follow me, please."
Light shined from the end. As they grew closer, Rainbow saw that it came from a small outpost dug out of the cavern wall. A single pony sat inside, wearing an odd vest and a pair of goggles. "Morning Ms. Sparkle," the stallion grunted. "Fine time to show up. The Director's pissed."
"Yes, our..." Twilight bit her lip. "...tardiness. I will do my best to explain, thank you. Now if you could just let us through."
"Nah, it's not that." The stallion shuffled through a folder of papers before turning to a control panel on the other end. "See, there was a, actually, you'll figure out soon enough." The stallion grinned, flashing a set of teeth stained yellow from coffee.
Twilight tapped her hoof impatiently. "Yes, yes, very well, could you please stop wasting my time?"
"Give me a sec, gotta reprogram the cannons so we don't have to explain why the EUP Guard's suddenly down one Wonderbolt. There." The stallion pushed himself away from the controls. "You ladies have a nice day."
The air seemed to shimmer as Rainbow and Twilight stepped out of the tunnel and into the light. Rainbow shut her eyes to keep the light from blinding her, and when she opened them, she found herself standing on crystal. Ponies in lab coats rushed this way and that, carrying vials and papers. The rapid taps of typewriters came from the cubicles sitting in the center of the massive room before her. To Rainbow Dash's right was a laboratory with machinery and devices she could have never dreamed of, all separated by a sheet of glass. More rooms were on her left, some stacked on top of each other. She looked up and at the floor of more laboratories, and when she tilted her head to floor, she stared down at more ponies running about in white coats.
"So, this is SpARDA." Rainbow Dash released a low whistle. "Why haven't we won this war yet?"
"Out of a thousand ideas, we might have the resources for a fifth," Twilight said as she led the way through the maze of ponies and papers. "A good percentage of those never make it through the research process, either because they're too impractical or they're taking too much time. And then there's development and production and testing and copyright lawyers and ethical ramifications meetings." The unicorn sighed. "I'm afraid we're not as impressive as we appear."
"But you've got something, right?" Rainbow quickly stepped to the side as a pony in a gurney was rushed past. "What's with that?" she asked, gesturing.
Twilight kept walking. "A failed trial, probably. And yes, there's a reason why Dr. Moon Dancer requested for a military representative. I understand that Sombra's been employing golems?"
"Yeah, the crystal beasts." Rainbow scowled. "The Crystal Empire's magic keeps them protected and us weak. You saying you've got something to even those odds?"
"I would like to believe so. Dr. Moon Dancer knows more about Project Fifty Three, and--"
More stretchers rolled by. Masked ponies in yellow, fireproof jackets pushed past, carrying a massive hose. Twilight frowned. "This will put us behind schedule."
Rainbow watched as pair of ponies dragged a third. "Shouldn't we help?"
"They have this under control, no need to interfere," Twilight answered before walking forward. "Now, as I was saying, Dr. Moon Dancer will provide any details you require. Her office is right this way."
They stopped in front of a simple glass door adorn with only a small plaque that read MOON DANCER, PhD. Unlike the other rooms that made up the walls, this one had curtains all along the crystal, hiding the insides from exterior eyes. Twilight Sparkle knocked once, then stepped to the side.
"Who is it?" came a weary voice.
"Twilight Sparkle, ma'am, with the military representative, Lt. Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts."
"Now?" There was an audible sigh. "Very well, come in."
Rainbow turned to Twilight with a questioning look, which the unicorn could only answer with shrug. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Ma'am, it is my pleasure to--"
Something small and purple rushed forward and buried itself into Twilight's chest. It released muffled cries as it shook. Clawed hands reached for the unicorn's back, stopped short by the length of the arms they were attached to. Twilight stepped back, surprised, then smiled and pulled the being closer into an embrace, carefully placing her forelegs between the green spikes that ran all the way down its back and tail. "Hey, hey, it's alright," Rainbow heard her whisper. "Everything's fine."
"Ahem."
The faked cough drew Rainbow's attention to the mare sitting behind the desk. Everything about her shouted stern, from the bun she wore her mane in to the glint of her glasses that hid her eyes to the downward tilt of her pursed lips. "So, you're Moon Dancer?"
"Dr. Moon Dancer, director of SpARDA," the mare replied curtly. "And I'm to understand that you are representing the EUP forces?" Moon Dancer's horn lit up, and she pulled out a chair before the desk and gestured toward it. "I'm afraid to say your trip has been for nothing, Lieutenant," she said dryly as Rainbow took a seat.
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Sorry, what? I thought you guys had a secret weapon for us."
Dr. Moon Dancer removed her glasses and shined them with the edge of her coat. "Ms. Sparkle, please return Project Twelve to, ah, their quarters."
Twilight bowed her head and led the purple being clinging on her to the door with gentle prodes. "Come on, Spike, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
The door closed quietly, but the director still winced. She exhaled deeply before ducking under her desk. She returned with a large binder and set it in front of Rainbow, opening it to a diagram of what appeared to be a large gray gorilla with a flattened head. "Project Fifty Three, designed specifically to combat Sombra's crystal automatons, provide protection against the Crystal Empire's innate magical environment, and operate as a siege weapon against Sombra's fortress when the time arrives."
Rainbow turned the page. Seeing nothing but equations, she turned to the next and found a photo of a pony at the feet of a massive metal brute. It stood on two legs, and two long arms extended from its broad shoulders, both of which carried giant cannons. "Whoa, that thing's huge!"
"As I said, they were designed to fight Sombra's golems. The armor was made from an alloy of multiple magic resistant metals, along with samples of the crystal golems themselves. And those cannons?" Moon Dancer pointed at the picture. "They're enchanted to fire a wide range of ammunitions, as well as the ability to infuse magical energy into the shells, giving them more impact than conventional gunpowder. A perfect accumulation of science, engineering, and magic. I'm sure you would have loved it." she said, breaking to a smile as she stared at the creation. A second later and Moon Dancer became somber once more. "A pity you had to waste your time."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash lifted her head. "What do you mean? I mean, this is perfect! I've got to see it in action."
Moon Dancer sighed and left her chair. She walked to the back of the office and peeked through the blinds. "About half an hour ago, somepony ran an unauthorized combat test with Project Fifty Three. There were good intentions, I'm sure, just making sure everything was in working order, though for the life of me I do not know how the pony who thought using Project Twelve as a test dummy was a good idea found a place in this agency."
"Uh, Project Twelve?" Rainbow shook her head. "Wait, I thought we were talking about Project Fifty Five."
"Fifty Three." Moon Dancer pulled aside the blinds, revealing the smoking wreckage on the other side of the window. "Or, at least, what remains of it."
Rainbow Dash slowly closed her mouth. She got up and made her way to the director's side at the back of the office. She stared at the twisted pieces of charred metal sticking out of the ash. She tried to recall the image from the photo, the giant colossal standing tall and formidable, with its cannons aimed menacing toward the sky, to compare it to debris before her now. "What happened?"
"A failed trial," Moon Dancer answered bitterly before returning to her desk. After one last glance at the wreckage, Rainbow followed.
"But you can remake it, right?"
"Given time, yes. We may have lost the prototype, but we still have the blueprints and everything." Dr. Moon Dancer slumped into her chair. "The problem is resources, especially for the alloy. It could be another year before we have enough to rebuild it."
"What? You're kidding me!"
Moon Dancer's glare sent Rainbow back down into her seat. "Do I look like a kidding mare?" She sighed and pulled away the binder on her desk. "Again, I apologize for wasting your time and for cutting this meeting short, but there's much more work to be done." She took off her glasses and rubbed the space between her eyes. "I'll have my assistant see you out."
"There's got to be something here," Rainbow protested, once again on the edge of her chair. "Something, anything we can use. This is your job!"
"And we are doing it the best we can!" Moon Dancer growled back. "What do want me to do, magically poof a brand new catapult that'll instantly blow off Sombra's head with a chorus from a choir of virgin models that serve you sparkling wine out of thin air? You see that?" Moon Dancer jabbed her hoof at the destroyed weapon. "You're welcome to any scrapes you find, maybe you can put it back together instead of us!"
Rainbow swallowed. "Look, sorry, I didn't mean--"
"No, I apologize." Moon Dancer turned away. "That was unprofessional, and I have no excuse. It's just, frustrating." She looked down at the binder in her hooves and sighed. "Our first big project, this close to being released, and it breaks down in the very last trial."
"I get that, yeah." Rainbow rubbed her foreleg, her eyes drifting to her metal wing. "I get it, being frustrated. Everything's so close, then something just takes it away." She turned to the window and stared at the ashy ruins. Moon Dancer followed her gaze and grimaced. She got up and let the blinds fall, blocking the view.
"Again, I apologize for wasting your valuable time," Moon Dancer said as returned to her seat. "There's not much I can offer right to you, but perhaps you would like a tour, maybe see what we have currently in development."
Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, uh, yeah. Maybe another time. Well, actually, I mean if you're testing any other combat trials anytime soon, I..."
Rainbow blinked. Her mouth slowly closed. She got to her feet and walked to the window at the back of the office. She brushed aside the blinds and tapped on the glass. "You said this thing was destroyed in a test against some other project, right?"
Moon Dancer frowned. "Yes, against Project Twelve."
"What can you tell me about Project Twelve."