Preamble

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The soft peach light of the morning sun peeked into the second story of Rosewater, gently spilling across the dusty rose walls and onto the two occupants of the room, both sleeping soundly in their ivy green bed. Slowly it crept up their bodies, ignoring most of the room in favor of the slumbering couple, eventually coming to a rest across the eyes of the pegasus in back.

Ink Well squinted at the encroaching light, annoyed by the intrusion to his peaceful rest. With a yawn he shifted slightly, letting the light wash his ink black mane as he placed his ear against his partner's back. Snuggling against her warmth, he could hear her heartbeat, and soon his breathing fell in sync with hers, a gentle rhythm that soothed him back towards sleep. Just a few more minutes, that was all he needed...

A lurch from Rose brought him from his sleepy stupor, pulling him from the gentle caress of sleep once more. A second one wracked her body, along with a gag, and instantly his heart fell. Oh no, not again... Another gagging noise was accompanied by Rose shooting up in bed as Ink Well rubbed her back, calling out to the room at large. “Ellipsis, fetch a bucket, quick!” A worried bark sounded from the other side of the room, followed by the sound of paws on wood.

Ink Well continued to rub Rose's back, trying to soothe her through the oncoming storm as she tensed again, gagging once more before moaning horribly. “It's okay, Rosy, it's okay. You're gonna be fine,” Ink Well comforted, peeking over the bed to track Ellipsis' progress. On the other side of the room hurriedly trotted a black and white spotted collie, a metal bucket in her mouth. She ran over to the side of the bed, placing the bucket down just in time as Rose wretched again, followed by the wet rush of her stomach emptying. As it did, Ink Well sighed in defeat, doing everything he could to comfort the vomiting mare. Looking to Ellipsis, he smiled weakly at the dog named for the three white dots that ran in a line down her head. “Good job girl, you got it just in time.”

Rose brought her head up from the bucket, a few remaining strings hanging from her mouth. “I'm so sorry Ink Well, I di-” She retched again, forced to return her face to the bucket or mess up the bed.

Ink Well shook his head, patting her gently on the back. “No, Rose, it's not like you wanted to get sick. Neither of us thought that cloud walking spell would fail when it did. We're just lucky the lake hadn't frozen over.” Rose nodded weakly, agreeing about all she had the strength or time for.

As Rose busied herself with her sickness, Ink Well's eyes roved over the room, landing first on the crystal flower sitting in a vase beside the bed. It was five months ago that he had proposed with it, and yet it hadn't wilted at all, looking if anything to have grown more vibrant since it was clipped. It was just like their love: growing stronger every day. Rose had even believed his entire tale of its origin despite the craziness of the whole thing. Sure he had the scar, the crystal flower, and the psychic paper as proof, but it was still something special to be trusted so thoroughly. Nopony else would have ever believed him.

Ink Well ran a hoof through her rose and pink mane, making sure it was well out of the way of her sick, and smiled as his eyes beheld a glint on her left ear. It was a small golden earring with three sapphires set in its intricate engraving, designed to look exactly like Ink Well's cutie mark. He had a matching one in his left ear, set with a ruby and an emerald cut in the shape of a rose. This was how they had decided to show their union. Unable to wear rings like unicorns and unwilling to keep it to necklaces or trinkets like most pegasus or earth pony couples did, after the wedding they visited a piercing parlor, making their union permanent. Nothing would remove the ring from their ears, just as nothing would remove either of them from the other's heart.

Oh the wedding... that was a night to remember. At midnight in the Canterlot Gardens, with Princess Luna herself presiding beneath the silvery rays of her moon, they let the coming of midnight, the true start of a new day, signal the start of their life together. It had been a small affair, just their closest friends as witnesses: Lily, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Blues, Redheart, and Shoeshine, with Daisy as Rose's bridesmaid. Blues was going to be Ink Well's best colt, but just a few minutes before the event was set to start a blue box materialized in Ink Well's dressing room, from which came both The Doctor and Ditzy dressed in their very best. Of course, with an entrance like that, The Doctor got the honor, something Blues was more than willing to pass off. Afterward, Pinkie threw the reception, and what a party that was... It was a night he'd never forget, sitting right at the top of a growing list.

Rose heaved again, and the sound tugged at Ink Well's heart. To hear her in such discomfort hurt him, especially after all that she'd done for him just since their marriage. It was planned on very short notice, so as not to become too big a deal, and accidentally fell just a month before the Royal Wedding, that being kept a secret like it was. In the month after his wedding he was truly inspired, finally writing a second novel with the support and affection of his new wife. The book was remarkably successful, giving them a nice couple's income, and that success gave him confidence for a new venture, started off with yet another wedding.

The changeling invasion that took place at the Royal Wedding was perfect material for another musical, one he began work on instantly. He was still working on it, for while the interviews with Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, Princesses Luna and Celestia, and The Elements of Harmony were going well, he was at a slight standstill at the moment. He didn't want to go any further without an account of the other side, but with changelings so hard to come by after their expulsion, well... It was just going to have to wait until either he could get over it or he could find a willing interviewee.

However, the invasion had opened another avenue to him as well. Ink Well wrote an article on it after having experienced it firsthoof which was snatched up by multiple papers and magazines, getting published everywhere. His triumphant return to journalism, while not his passion in writing, felt right, and it had been successful so far. He'd written a number of freelance articles since, with varying success, but it was a nice steady source of money without waiting for the checks from Night's Wrath or either of his books. He'd planned to do some investigating for an article today, just a quick one for a few extra bits to spend on Hearth's Warming presents, but with Rose sick, he couldn't possibly leave her alone.

He continued to rub her back as she spat out the last of her mess, her body finally calming. When she was done, he hugged her close, nuzzling against her as she breathed heavily and put the bucket aside, shaking after the ordeal. “How're you feeling, Rosy? Any better now?”

Rose sniffled loudly through her stuffed nose, giving him a blank look with slightly glazed, bloodshot eyes. “Yeah, I feel great. Hurling when I wake up has been wonderful the past few days, and with the stuffy nose, the sore throat, the fever, the- ahchoo!” She rubbed her nose, which was bright red, then grabbed a tissue from a box beside the bed, blowing into it before continuing to talk. “The sneezing, the nauseousness... I feel amazing.”

Ink Well just looked at her sadly, wishing with all his heart that he could make her better. “I was hoping some of that might have been cured by today, but I guess no such luck... When you get sick, you really get sick.” He kissed her on the cheek, which caused her to smile warmly, bringing a cute joy to the mess that was her sickened self. “Do you need me here to take care of you?”

Rose shook her head, standing up on weakened legs. “No, it's alright. You can go take care of your investigation. I'll be able to hold myself together for the day.” She grabbed the bucket of sick with her teeth, heading to the bathroom, but sneezed halfway there, causing her to wobble a bit and drop the disgusting payload. Ink Well immediately jumped from the bed and caught it, signaling for Rose to lay back down once he was sure the bucket hadn't spilled.

Ink Well walked over to the bathroom, disposing of the mess as he talked. “Are you sure about that? I could put it off. The Weather Factory will open up for tours again right after winter ends.” He walked back to the bed, sitting next to her and surrounding her with his wings. “I don't want to abandon you for some silly story. If you need me here, I won't leave your side.”

“Oh, Inky.” Rose gave him a sultry look, leaning towards him before stopping, opting to tap his nose with her hoof to save him from the taste stuck in her mouth. “It's my own fault, and I can take care of the consequences.” She snuggled against him, enjoying his touch. “I was going to visit Sunshine and see if she could give me anything to help.”

Ink Well looked at her, relief apparent on his face. “Sunshine Redheart? Would you like me to run over to her? I could get you some medicine before heading off.”

Rose shook her head, disentangling herself from Ink Well's wings. “I'm not so sick I'm bed bound. I can take care of myself.” She then sat up, pushing him away gently. “You go on your trip. My plan for today is some warm carrot soup, a good book, and a dog to keep me company.” Ink Well was about to sit back down, but was stopped when Ellipsis jumped on the bed in his place, barking and wagging her tail happily. Rose just smiled, rubbing her on the head. “See! Ellipsis agrees.”

Ink Well just smiled at the two, shaking his head. “Alright, alright, I can tell when I'm beat.” He walked away dejectedly, though his face betrayed his amusement at the situation. When he reached the peg with his hat and bag next to the stairs, he turned back around, looking a little more serious. “But make sure that you don't push yourself, alright? Can't have you staying sick so close to Hearth's Warming Day.”

Rose nodded, holding a hoof to her nose to stop herself from sneezing. “I won't, don't worry.”

Ink Well smiled, slinging his messenger bag over his back and placing his fedora on his head. “Good. I'll be back this afternoon, evening at the latest.” He pulled a lanyard off of the peg as well, placing it around his neck while waving it at Rose. “If there's an emergency, call for me on the psychic and I'll be back as fast as my wings can take me, alright?” Rose just nodded knowingly, trying to send him off before he started worrying again. Ink Well nodded back. “Don't have too much fun without me!”

With that and a wave he set off down the stairs, walking through the distillery and out of the darkened shop. When the sunlight hit his eyes he squinted, a yawn escaping his mouth. It was still far too early to be awake, but it was probably better in the long run anyway. This way he could get to Cloudsdale in time for the early tour, getting him back home much sooner than if he waited. Fighting the urge to walk back inside and curl up next to Rose once more, he flapped his wings stiffly, loosening them up for the flight ahead. Then he leaped into the air, flying with the morning light towards his destination.

---

Ink Well delighted in each flap of his wings as he soared through the Equestrian sky. The wind in his mane, the gentle lift beneath his feathers, the open sky before him and the ground stretching around for miles, it all combined to a feeling he wouldn't give up for anything. Flying was always a good thing, useful for clearing a mind of writer's block or just easing the tensions of a stressful day. The fact that it often was also the fastest way to get anywhere was just an added bonus.

Yet, even the joys of flight were marred as he looked at his floating destination. Cloudsdale was his home city, where he was born and raised, and while there was so much good tied to that mass of cloudy buildings; getting his cutie mark, winning his first award, learning to fly at his father's wings; there was also much sadness. Working for the Equirer, his father's accident, struggling to survive on the bits he could scratch up, the failure of his first book, the fire that engulfed his house and all of his work... it was enough to leave a stain on anypony's memories.

Even so, he still wished he could show Rose around the city. The only regret he held about his love was that she couldn't share in his joy of flight. Sure, sometimes they could convince Twilight or another skilled unicorn to help them with a spell to simulate it temporarily, and on a good day he could pick her up for short glides, but it was inevitable that she'd forever be land locked while he'd eventually itch for the boundless grace of the skies.

Granted, when she fell from that cloud last week he'd nearly had a heart attack. It was purely by luck that they were over the lake when it happened, and even more so that the lake hadn't yet frozen over in the early winter storms. He couldn't bear to think what would happen if she'd been seriously hurt, or worse... No, he wasn't going to think like that. They'd both agreed after that that she'd stick to the grass for a while, after all, he didn't need to lose another pony to gravity...

Now if only he could stop her from being sick. Even with Redheart as a close friend, Rose was against visiting her for medical problems. “Things like doctor's visits cost money,” she'd insisted when she turned up sick after the fall, “and even with the income from your books, we don't have enough for something like that. I'm sure I can suffer a cold for a few days.” He tried to talk her out of it, but it wasn't until last night that she'd relented. But money wasn't the issue, and maybe if he'd just told her that, she wouldn't have suffered like she did...

Ink Well shook his head, looking down at the money green hills rolling beneath him, and frowned. The reason he'd given for this trip was to make a few extra bits for Hearth's Warming, but that wasn't really the whole story. The money he'd make was completely arbitrary, he had more than enough of the stuff at the moment. It's just that Rose didn't yet know, and he wasn't sure how to tell her. He was so used to living hoof to mouth, every single bit of pay going into food or shelter, surviving one cheque at a time. But after his show hit Bridleway, his first book saw a surge in sales that still hadn't let up, and his second one only saw more success. Then, with his new fame, magazines started writing the 'famous' Ink Well asking him to write for them like he used to for the Equirer, and he couldn't just say no, right? A dozen magazines snatching up his articles and paying handsomely, combined with everything else doing so well and, well, he was loaded. Not actually rich or wealthy, but definitely comfortable when it came to the money department.

And all of it was still in his account. He hadn't gotten around to merging it with Rose's yet, so while he was starting to add zeroes onto the money he had stored up, she still thought he was making meager pay. It wasn't a lie he wanted to keep perpetrating but... money changes ponies. From Filthy Rich to Hoity Toity and the rest of the Canterlot Elite he'd met at the last Gala, every last one of them had a dark secret to their money or the power it gave them. Just a little bit of digging had told him that. It didn't matter where you were, money did strange things to your head in large quantities, and he wanted nothing of it; not money, not power, and definitely not the fame he seemed to keep accumulating. He was perfectly happy with his love and his humble life. But ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away, it was just getting worse, and worse yet, it was tempting him. Occasionally he thought it would be nice to have a few luxuries, but then he figured he'd get a few more, and then some true extravagances, and then they be trying to live in a solid gold house and miss a payment and the whole thing would come crashing down, sending him and his beloved to the poor house.

No, he'd already looked into far too many stories on that subject to become one. It was just three months since he'd returned to journalism, and he'd spent that whole time snooping around dark secrets and uncovering them. The problem was that more than a few of them tied to those rich families of the elite, and that worried him. On the one hoof, the truth needed to be known, and some potentially dangerous dealings had been put to a stop thanks to him. But on the other, not everypony liked having their secrets out, and while none had done more than write angry letters, he couldn't help but feel that he was garnering the attention of too many ponies in power. Ponies in every town with something to hide would often give him dark looks, his reputation preceding him, and the reason was obvious. They didn't like his little hobby, and if he dug in the wrong place, he was sure they'd put an end to it. Quite possibly violently.

This was why he'd already decided that the Weather Factory was going to be his last story for a long while. Even with the charge to investigate these rumors swimming in his blood, the source of which he couldn't quite put his hoof on, he was going to give it up and make sure Rose and he could live peacefully. He'd tell her everything, beg her forgiveness for the secret he'd hidden from her, and maybe, just maybe, be able to put it past them. He even knew the perfect way to do it. Both of them had noticed how the addition of a dog seemed to shrink the apartment, and, since he had the money around anyway, what better present than that townhouse just a couple doors away she'd had her eye on recently? It'd just be them in nice, peaceful Ponyville, finally actually starting the happy, quiet part of their life together.

In all honesty he would have stopped before this story, but it was just too interesting to pass up. Apparently ponies had been disappearing for years now, in small amounts and normally those with few friends or relatives. Foals, mares, colts, the elderly, the sickly, all vanishing without a trace. Supposedly it had been happening for decades, and recently one curious pegasus reported seeing them taken into the Weather Factory, though the word of one conspiracy nut wasn't really enough to go on. Of course, the fact that, after contacting one magazine, The Inquisitor, with her findings, she disappeared under equally suspicious circumstances, combined with the large, impenetrable buildings left closed off to the public and the enigma the whole place held, well, it just screamed of foul play. And Ink Well wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Ink Well was pushed out of his thoughts by an errant gust of wind, forcing him to fix his flight path. The edge of the city was still far away, but already he could see the storm clouds and rainbow falls that surrounded the factory, and he steeled his gaze on them. Whatever was going on in there, be it just rumors or something actually sinister, he would bring it into the light. And no matter what the story was, this was it. He'd retire from his journalistic career, short lived as it was, and return to the hooves of his love.

Plan set in his mind, he put extra effort into his flight, eager to bring it all to a close.

---

Outside the foreboding walls of the Weather Factory stood a grey pegasus, her brown uniform, comprised of a messenger bag, a cap, and a button up shirt, rumpled with worry. This worry matched the look she gave the walls as her bright yellow eyes ran from them down to the package before her, crossing slightly as her confusion distracted her from holding them straight. She ran a hoof nervously through the part of her blonde mane that stuck from beneath her cap, then pouted, letting her eyes roam up the solid wall once more. Defeat in her voice, she spoke to nopony but herself. “Mr. Crate's gonna fire me for sure...”

That morning, as she rushed in five minutes late to Crafty Crate's Shipping Co. as she usually did, she was greeted at the door by Mr. Crafty Crate himself, a very stern look on the pony's features. “Five minutes late again, Derpy, that's the fourth time this week.”

Ditzy Doo looked to the ground, avoiding the grim look in his eyes. “I know sir, I'm sorry. I just can't seem to get here without-”

Mr. Crate stuck out a hoof, cutting her off mid sentence. “I don't wanna hear it Derpy. We got another complaint this morning. Three misdelivered packages in Manehattan, all of them from your mail bag. Care to explain?”

Ditzy shook her head, lifting her eyes just enough to see the other occupants of the room. Everypony in the office was watching her, not a one with a look other than 'glad that's not me' on their face. A couple even almost seemed glad to see her getting chewed out. She didn't know why, she'd always tried to be nothing but kind and friendly towards them, but they never seemed to appreciate it. She sank a little closer to the floor. “I must have just mixed up a few of the addresses, some of those numbers look really similar and-”

Mr. Crate cut her off again, sighing heavily and turning away. “Derpy, we haven't gone one week since you got here without something going wrong. Any other pony would be out of here in a heartbeat, but since you're a... special case, I'm gonna give you one more shot.” He held out a small plain parcel, showing it clearly to her before putting it in her bag. “This is going to the Weather Factory, top priority. If you don't deliver this perfectly, don't bother coming back. It's that simple, got it?” Ditzy held her gaze to the floor, nodding solemnly. “Good. Don't mess this up.” With that she'd flown out of the room, tears in her eyes and not a single pony trying to comfort her.

She'd flown as fast as she could to the factory, running in to reception and offering them the package. Without even looking at her the pegasus at the desk told her to go to the delivery dock out back, sending her on her way, which would have been fine, except Ditzy couldn't find the delivery dock. She circled the whole factory twice without luck before coming back in, meeting with the receptionist once more. The second time was even less cordial than the first.

“What, didn't you hear me? We don't accept deliveries here. Go to the delivery dock.”

Ditzy shied away from the desk, ears flat against her head. “I would, except that I can't find it. If you could just point me in the direction of-”

The receptionist snorted at her statement. “What are you, blind? It's right behind this building.” It was then that the receptionist noticed Ditzy's eyes, her expression getting even meaner. “Oh, great, they sent the delivery pony who can't even rub two brain cells together. Look, I'm not gonna foalsit you. If you can't find it, just run back to your little office and send somepony who can.” Dejected, Ditzy had left the room after that, beginning another futile search that brought her to the blank factory wall.

Those words had stung, but weren't unheard of by any stretch of the imagination. Everywhere she went ponies commented on her eyes, taking her friendly attitude and helpful ways as her being 'special' or just plain stupid, and those thoughts were only confirmed when she bumped into things, flew at odd angles, or dropped things with her clumsy hooves. In the past year and a half she'd heard countless ponies calling her Derpy, a name she'd once thought was a term of endearment, with venom and almost hatred in the word, and it was starting to get to her. She'd also gone through countless jobs, unable to keep them as, one way or another, she bungled something up. “Derpy, you're fired!” was becoming much too common a phrase for her to hear.

Ditzy looked at the giant cloud wall, feeling it a perfect metaphor for her life. Everything had been going fine, and then, suddenly, this wall blocked off her memory for two solid years, turning the whole time into a fuzz of vague feelings and nightmares. Then it stopped, the fog lifting and sharply as it came, and it was just her and Dinky, all alone in the world. From that moment on she'd worked hard to keep herself and her daughter fed, housed, and happy, sacrificing all of her time and, after one fateful run as a test subject in the Canterlot Academy of Magic and Science, her eyesight and balance to keep them safe.

She loved Dinky more than anything, and would do anything for her precious little Muffin. With what money she had after the botched test, Ditzy moved out to Ponyville with one of her friends, Golden Harvest, in the hope that they could work together to get ahead and Dinky could live a happier life away from the city. Looking back, maybe that wasn't the very best choice, but it had been working fine until about a year ago, when Ditzy was fired from the weather team for an errant lightning storm, which accidentally had damaged town hall. She wasn't sure where she'd gone wrong, but she knew they were right and left with dignity.

After that she'd gone just about everywhere for new work, doing everything from construction and maintenance to beauty parlor jobs, and all of it had just gone horribly wrong. Six months ago it got so bad that she'd even had to look out of town, and that was where Mr. Crate's had come in. Cloudsdale was the closest place to Ponyville she could get hired, and while it meant moving and leaving Dinky in Golden's care, she at least took comfort in the fact that she could visit her Muffin every time she made a delivery to Ponyville.

And so she went to work, sending half of her earnings to Golden, but something she hadn't foreseen happened: Mr. Crate wouldn't send her to Ponyville. He had a good reason for it after she dropped all of those things on that pony, but it still was a major problem in Ditzy's book. Combined with the fact that she'd been forced to fix mistakes on every day she'd had off, it was going on a full four months since she'd last seen her little Muffin! Golden made sure to write and keep Ditzy up to date on the latest news, explaining everything to Dinky and keeping her happy and safe, but that wasn't the point. Ditzy missed her daughter, pure and simple, and while she tried to send everything she could and make it seem like she was there, it just wasn't the same, and that tore at her heart.

And now she was going to lose the job, having wasted those past four months just to be unable to even bring back a decent amount of money, and she'd have to move even further away or poor little Dinky would starve, and then she'd never see her, and-

Ditzy shook that thought from her head, her face setting in determination. “No! Golden would never let that happen. And you are not losing this job!” She jumped up from the cloud, gliding into flight and circling the Weather Factory once again. Dinky was counting on her, and if she couldn't be there for her, the least she could do was do this right! If it took her all day, she would deliver this package, and that was final!

---

Ink Well landed at the visitor's entrance to the Weather Factory at mid morning, noting the well decorated landing area and the friendly sign before the door. 'Welcome to the Weather Factory, Creating Equestria's Weather since 1672.' Beneath it hung a much newer sign, its electronic display stating 'The next tour starts in: 10:00 minutes.' The cozy, sunbathed, fluffy front of the visitor center seemed completely contrary to the rest of the factory, which was constructed with stark, imposing, lifeless walls that swirled with storm clouds and lightning. It was like an idyllic park nestled in the shadow of a madpony's castle. An apt description, if the rumors circulating the place were true.

Smirking with anticipation, Ink Well took in a deep breath, ready to confront whatever waited for him within. However, before he could take a single step, he was cut off by a grey pegasus in a brown uniform, who landed sharply in front of him. Slightly offended by her rude entrance, he tapped the mare on the shoulder. “Excuse me, could you be more careful on your next landing? You could've hurt somepony.”

The mare in question turned towards him, words forming on the tip of her tongue as she looked at him with crossed, determined eyes. However any anger or rudeness her face held vanished the moment she laid eyes on him. “Ink Well! I'm so sorry! Please don't be mad, I didn't mean anything by it, I promise.”

Ink Well let his own anger drop, replacing it with a smile when he saw who it was. “Ditzy! Fancy meeting you here. Don't worry about it, no harm done.” He could see the relief wash through her, though it quickly turned back into determination as she faced the building once more. Curious, he asked her about it. “Is something the matter? You seem a bit worked up.”

Ditzy looked back at him, focus dropping once again. “Huh? Oh, it's nothing.” She turned back to the door, putting her game face back on. “I've just got a package to deliver.”

Ink Well tilted his head at the response, deciding to see what she meant rather than ask her. He followed her as she stomped her way through the open front doors and up to the receptionist. She drew herself up tall, pulling everything she had into one motion as she reached out and gently tapped the bell on the front desk. It's ding caught the ear of the mare sitting just behind it, her nose pressed in a magazine. “The tour starts in ten minutes, just get in that line over there,” said the receptionist in a bored monotone, waving her hoof at a small group of ponies on the other side of the room. Ditzy ignored the hoof, clearing her throat in an attempt to actually get the receptionist's attention. When finally the red maned mare looked up from her magazine, she just sighed loudly. “Great, we've got bright eyes in here again, what do you want?”

At those words all of the power and poise Ditzy had mustered evaporated, causing her eyes to shoot to the ground and her height to fall by a few inches. “I was still having trouble finding the delivery dock, and I was wondering if you could maybe-”

The receptionist stood, bearing down at Ditzy over the desk. “I told you I'm not gonna foalsit, and I ain't getting paid to do some nitwit's job for her. Come in here one more time asking for the delivery dock and I'm going to call for security, got that?” She waited for the slight nod that came from Ditzy, then smirked, returning to her magazine. “Good. Now get out.”

Ditzy slowly walked away from the counter, head held low and tail dragging on the ground, only to be stopped at the door by a friendly hoof. “Ditzy, what are you doing? Why are you letting her treat you like that?”

Ditzy just sighed, looking up into the friendly, angry eyes of Ink Well. “Oh, I'm used to it...” She then smiled, perking up a little. “It's not her job to do it. I can just look around again. I've got all day. I'm sure I'll find it.”

Ink Well shook his head, still furious at what he just saw transpire. “That's not the point, Ditzy, there's no reason for her to be that mean to you! How could they let somepony like her be in charge of pony relations? You need to stand up to her!”

Ditzy shook her head, looking at the receptionist with a scowl. “There's no use. She'll just call security, and it's her word against mine. She'll win in the end. They always do.”

Ink Well's blood boiled at the thought, but she was right. In something like this, the employee was definitely where security would side, and the only way to launch a complaint was through the problem itself. No, that would never do. He then looked across the room, watching the dozen pegasi of the tour group getting ready, donning lab coats and hard hats. As he watched them, he remembered his own reason for being there, and realized he was running out of time. He wanted to help her, but he needed to be on that tour if he wanted access anywhere deeper. That's when the idea struck him, a smirk spreading across his face. “Well, if she's not going to help you, then we'll go straight to the top.”

Ditzy tilted her head, looking back at him and eloquently stating, “Huh?”

Ink Well threw a hoof around her shoulder, pointing her towards the group. “Well, that tour goes into the factory, meaning we'll be in close contact with a lot of the workers. If you come with me on it, we can maybe find somepony to give that package to, and then problem solved, and you even get a free tour out of it! What's there to lose?”

Ditzy didn't seem fully sold on the idea, eying the group in the lab coats suspiciously. “I don't know, I'm not supposed to goof off on the job. Mr. Crate will be very angry if he catches me.”

Ink Well waved the thought away. “He's not gonna catch you. And it's not goofing off if you get the job done at the same time. Plus, whoever we give that package to is probably higher up the chain of command than the receptionist, meaning we can lodge a complaint at the same time, and then she'll be the one in trouble.” Ditzy seemed to consider it for a moment, holding silent, but still not moving towards the group, who were rapidly preparing to leave. At this, Ink Well gave one final nudge. “Hey, if that doesn't work, I'll help you look for it afterward. Deal?”

Ditzy looked at Ink Well's smiling face and nodded, smiling herself. “Deal.”

“Great! I knew you'd see it my way.” The two ran over to the group, putting on the helmet and white coat of the tour and falling into line just as the guide opened the doors to the facility.

Intentions Revealed

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Ink Well took off his fedora, replacing it with the white hard hat of the tour and placing it in his bag, which he managed to slide under his stomach and hide beneath the white lab coat provided. He wasn't going to go anywhere without it, and while it did make him move slightly awkwardly and look a little chubby, it didn't draw any attention. Really, that was the key to most investigations: getting information without drawing attention. More than once he'd been cornered by ponies who were tired of him asking too many questions. While claiming he was with the Royal Bureau of Investigations and flashing the psychic paper to prove as much got some ponies to back down, that never stopped the tougher ones from trying more physical measures. Measures he was never prepared for. Ink Well was a pony of words; when it came to a fight, his only weapon was the speed of his wings and his fleetness of hoof, both of which had gotten him out of more encounters than he cared to admit. And those few times he failed...

He shuddered at the thought. No, the best idea is to just stay low on this one. Observe what I can from the tour, sneak only if need be. It might take a little longer, but it's definitely better than worrying Rose with a stint in the hospital. Just then the tour guide entered the room, a pink pegasus mare with a cyan mane hidden beneath her own hard hat. She also wore the white lab coat, covering her tail and cutie mark. The only difference between her coat and those provided rest of the tour was an ID hanging on her breast, declaring her a member of the staff. “Hello everypony,” she said brightly, “and welcome to the Weather Factory! I will be your guide for this tour, so if you could all just kindly-”

“Um, miss tour lady? I have a question!” Ink Well heard the voice, striking stock still as he realized it came from right beside him. All eyes turned to face him and his companion, Ditzy, who had yet to put on her hard hat and still had her mail bag obviously present. Ink Well turned to look at her as well, slightly stupefied. No, Ditzy, not at the start. You must know better. Please don't- “I've got this package to deliver, and I was wondering if I could give it to somepony while on the tour.”

Ink Well's head swiveled from the grey mare to the tour group, seeing the array of confused, offended, and annoyed faces, along with more than one shaking head. He was about to move to distance himself from her, about to make it clear that he didn't know this mare and that they should not ever be associated, when he noticed something further about the looks on the other pony's faces. They weren't just angry, they were openly so, like they thought Ditzy wouldn't realize they were mad. Like she was too stupid for that, and that got his blood boiling. Writing off as clever a pony as Ditzy due to something as silly as her eyes... He wouldn't have any of that. However, correcting them would only draw attention, something he desperately didn't need, so he instead simply stayed by her side, giving her support through the visual onslaught.

Even the tour guide's smile had dropped almost immediately, turning into the barest hidden scowl as she responded. “There is no business allowed on the tour, and shirking your job to join it isn't going to help. There is a delivery dock for packages. I suggest you go there.”

Ditzy looked from the tour guide to the other angry faces, her confidence in her question melting as she saw them, her voice getting softer. “But, I looked for it, a-and I couldn't find...” her voice trailed off as she kicked at the ground, staring hard into the flooring beneath her.

The others then wrote her off, coldly turning to the front, listening to the tour guide go through what was and wasn't allowed on the factory floor. Ink Well ignored them, going instead to Ditzy and placing a comforting leg around her shoulder. “You okay, Ditzy?”

She shook her head, continuing to examine the flooring. “I messed up again, didn't I? I should just go out and look again for that darn door...” The way her voice was shaking, she was on the verge of tears, though she was strong enough not to show it.

That was too much for Ink Well, who was tired of seeing this side of Ditzy. C'mon Ditzy! You're a bright, confident mare! No need to sulk like this. We've got to get you back in form. Ink Well leaned in front of her, trying to look into her eyes, though they refused to rise. “Now, now. None of that. We're going to find somepony to give that box to, just your wait. We're just going to have to do it without them noticing, because they won't like it. Not because we're doing anything wrong, just because we're doing things differently, and not all ponies like it when things are different. But we're not going to let their opinions get to us, right?” She lifted her eyes, the pep talk bringing a spark of confidence to her, though it was hidden behind a wall of doubt. Ink Well just tried again, smiling to make her feel better. “Right?”

Ditzy smiled weakly back, some of her doubt disappearing. “Right.”

“Right! Now put on your helmet, follow close, and don't draw attention to yourself. We'll figure this one out yet.” Ink Well watched her jam her hard hat onto her head, smashing the brown cap beneath, and smiled at her determination. This looked a lot more like the Ditzy he knew. Turning, he found the rest of the group almost out of the room. He and Ditzy hurried, catching up with them right before the door closed.

Once the Weather Factory tour started it didn't stop for anything, the guide moving from room to room and describing each one as fast as possible. Cloud condensing, storm planning, sun scheduling, biome zoning, and wind control all sped by, the dozen ponies on the tour happily following along. The pace was conflicting for Ink Well; sure, he'd get home all the sooner for it, but the combination of her hurried path and the silence of the group left him wanting for information. He hardly had time to look at the machinery or examine the workers, only barely picking up anything but the slimmest principles of weather control, and what use was that in finding missing ponies? No, the tour had to slow down, ideally without him or Ditzy being the cause.

Luckily, the perfect way presented itself in the form of a young colt. As the trip went on, Ink Well began to notice the light yellow colt looking avidly at the machinery around them, wide eyed with every one he saw. And, more importantly, he saw the little guy's look of devastation and defeated curiosity every time he had to move to a new room. As they left the wind control room, Ink Well caught the colt sadly looking back at the machine and asked him about it. “Why so glum, buddy?”

The colt just looked at him with big, sad blue eyes, a sigh in his voice. “I had some questions I wanted to ask, but the tour guide is moving too quickly and I don't want to be rude.”

Ink Well pretended to ponder the problem for a moment, holding back his joy at the situation. This was exactly what he needed, now he just had to make it work. “Well, are you with your parents? You could ask one of them to slow her down.”

The colt just shook his head. “No, I'm just with my older sister, but I don't think she's very interested.” He pointed to a light blue teenage filly, with headphones beneath her helmet blocking out the world around her. Her head was bobbing to the beat, but the rest of her looked truly bored with the factory around her. This just made the colt look even sadder. “I asked her to take me here instead of giving me a Hearth's Warming present, too...”

Ink Well tilted his head, curiosity pausing him for a moment. “What's your name?”

Eventually the colt answered. “Nimbus...”

“You must really like the Weather Factory to want to visit it for your present.”

This perked him up, causing Nimbus to nod excitedly. “Oh, yes! I love the weather! It's my dream to be able to design it someday like the ponies here do.”

Ink Well smiled at that. “A noble dream to be sure! And to that end, I think I have some information you might like.” He then brought his head to the colt's level, talking in a low, conspiratorial voice. “I happen to know that the tour guides love to talk about the factory, and will strive to answer anything you ask them. All you have to do is speak up.”

Nimbus' eyes brightened. “Really?”

Ink Well nodded. “Yep. In the next room, when she tries to move on, don't let her. Just speak out and ask her anything you want to know, and she'll happily answer it! You have my word.”

Nimbus nodded happily. “I will! Thanks, mister!”

“No problem. Anything to brighten up your trip. And a happy Hearth's Warming to you!”

“You too!” Ink Well then watched the excited Nimbus as he ran to the front of the group, almost getting right on the tour guide's hooves.

As they continued to walk, Ditzy appeared by his side, slightly curious. “Is that all true?”

Ink Well shrugged. “Mostly. I do know that the tour guides are required to answer factory-related questions from foals like him in an effort to steer them into the weather teams of each town, but I doubt they do so happily. I suspect that's why she's been moving the tour along so fast.”

Ditzy smiled. “Well, she's going to have some work to do now.”

“Yep. Let's just hope she's been trained well.” Silently, Ink Well hoped for a never ending stream of questions. It might be a little cruel to the pink pony, but after how she'd treated Ditzy, he figured she could use a little cruel.

He didn't realize just how well his plan would work.

“Why are there so few ponies working on the snowflakes? Are there other rooms?” “Wouldn't it take millions of hours of work to make just one snowstorm, let alone winter in Equestria?” “The snow is hoof-crafted, but is it hoof made? Or do you have a machine that does that?” The flurry of surprisingly insightful questions exited the young colt's mouth immediately as he entered the snowflake crafting room, giving Ink Well plenty of time to survey the area. The room was sparsely decorated, with grey walls and giant snowflakes hanging from the ceiling above some work stations, where ponies dressed in essentially the tour outfit looked through magnifying glasses at their hoofiwork. There was a pair of small hatches set into one wall, one for incoming snow and another for outgoing, and three doors, one into the factory with an 'employees only' sign and the two the tour would take.

Really, there was nothing suspicious about it at all. Yet, looking around at the half dozen ponies steadfastly ignoring the tour to shape their snowflakes, Ink Well realized that little Nimbus had a point. There were things that didn't add up, primarily in the ponies here. It looked too idyllic for a large factory and too unrealistic for the demands of all of Equestria. It couldn't be this simple.

And the most interesting part was the lack of solid answers from the tour pony. “Well, winter is just one season, so we need to have ponies ready for other times, but every single snowflake is crafted in this room.” “Yes, but we at the Weather Factory work twenty-four seven to make sure the weather runs on schedule.” “The snow itself is machine made in full flakes, chilled to perfection due to a magical refrigerant built into the machine.” She was rattling off the required responses, that was sure, but magical refrigerant? Ponies on all day shifts? It sounded nice, but Ink Well suspected it would all add up to a load of bunk if put under scrutiny.

The next room didn't fare her much better, even though it simply contained a giant battery and a power meter reading 'full.' “And here, in this energy storage unit, is where we store all the electricity for Equestria's lightning storms.”

Nimbus immediately raised his hoof, innocent confusion on his face. “But wouldn't the energy needed for just one lightning bolt take a battery three times the size of the weather factory?”

The tour guide forced a smile, trained for this question as well. “Well, that would normally be true, but years ago we were able to, with a particularly smart unicorn's help, create a battery that can store infinite energy.”

Nimbus's curiosity didn't let up. “Where do you get all the energy from?”

“We build the energy from wind, solar, and watermills from all over Equestria.” She answered, content to let it rest there and let the tour continue.

Nimbus wasn't. “But I saw no wind turbines anywhere near the factory, and wouldn't it take a solar panel the size of Cloudsdale to generate that kind of energy? And there were no wires or cords, so how does the power get up here from the mills?”

Ink Well was the first to admit he didn't know anything about the weather, but he was completely blown away by the questions the colt was asking. They almost seemed to come out of a university class, not a single grade school colt. He really knew his stuff, and moreover, he knew more than the guide if the worried look on her face was anything to go by.

She was gritting her teeth by this point, using every ounce of patience to create a smile. “Well, there we again were able to obtain the unicorn's help, creating a crystal that we store in a special dome atop the factory, though which we funnel wind and amplify light, creating much more power than any machines could do on their own. It is also magically linked to every mill around Equestria, drawing power from them for our use.”

At this the colt looked very confused. “But I didn't see...”

“Moving on everypony! The next stop, the rainbow falls!” The tour guide swept the grumbling group from the room, cutting off anything else on Nimbus's mind, but Ink Well's was running wild. The way she dodged the inconsistencies was more than obvious, and the explanation of magic to waive away anything that seemed impossible was, well, impossible. Unicorns were powerful, especially those of old, if the stories were to be believed, but all of this just a few hundred years ago? No. Even with modern advances, magic had limitations like anything else. It wasn't a cure all, and it certainly couldn't explain all of this. Besides, I didn't see a crystal either Nimbus. It's just another hole in their story.

Ink Well's suspicions were confirmed in the next room, though the spectacle was quite the sight. Liquid rainbows ran from the ceiling and every wall, pooling in levels and running off into larger fountains and pools. A dozen pegasi in the factory uniform flew between them, stirring them with large paddles and taking samples to monitor and measure. It all looked very impressive, but all it took was a careful eye to see the samples went nowhere, and the workers were just making rounds. He looked to Ditzy, and she seemed to notice something off as well, though it didn't seem like she could put her hoof on it. Ink Well could. I know a set when I see one. Now the question is, how to get backstage?

While he surreptitiously searched for an exit, the tour guide led on, oblivious as she showed off the room. “And here we have the rainbow falls, where the beautiful rainbows you see after rains are formed!”

“What are they made of?” Nimbus asked immediately, bringing an audible groan from the group. They were as tired of his constant questions as the guide was, too busy taking in the show to ask for the facts. The only ponies who seemed to react differently were Ink Well and Ditzy, who were as interested in the answer as he was, and his sister, who turned up her Trotman.

However, the groan was exactly what the tour guide needed, and she leaped on the chance to be done with it. “That is a Weather Factory secret.”

“But...”

The pink mare cut him off, hissing in his face as she did. “No buts. If we answered that question, anypony could make rainbows, and then they wouldn't be very special, would they?” The venom in her eyes was enough to silence Nimbus, and with him quiet, she began to go through her prepared spiel, which the rest of the tour ate up.

Realizing he wasn't going to get anything else useful from her, Ink Well bumped Ditzy with his elbow. “I think it's time for us to head out.”

Ditzy looked at him, confused. “Huh? But the tour's almost over, and I still haven't found somepony to give the box to.”

Ink Well smirked, leading Ditzy slowly from the main group. “Exactly. Both of us have run out of things to be gained from this tour, and so...” He stopped, tilting his head towards the door now beside them. It was hidden from the room by one of the falls, with 'Do Not Enter: Employees Only' across it in bright red. “To deliver the box, we need to think outside it.”

Ditzy looked scared at the prospect, her head darting around as she looked out for anypony watching. “We can't go in there! That's for employees. We'll get in trouble.”

Ink Well seemed to consider it for a moment, scratching his chin with a hoof. “Well, I suppose that's true, but won't you get in trouble if you don't turn that thing in? And wouldn't an employee-only door seem the perfect place to find an employee to give that to?” He could see that he was getting to her, though she still seemed very worried by the idea. Come on, Ditzy! You were so eager with The Doctor, why the trepidation now? “Besides, aren't you a little curious about what's behind that door?”

A guilty look spread across Ditzy's face, her eyes slowly appraising the door. “Well...”

Ink Well let a smile back up his words. “Trust me, it'll all be fine.”

Ditzy took one look at his smile and nodded, her own appearing again. “Alright, maybe I am a little curious.”

Ink Well's smile deepened. “I knew it.” He turned the handle, feeling the door slide open without a hint of protest, and slipped inside, Ditzy on his heels.

Beyond the door was anticlimactic, a stark white hallway which didn't go very far at all before it bent off to the right. It was nothing like the bright, color filled room they'd just left. Backstage, where all the rigging shows. Now all we need to do is avoid the techs. Ditzy started to move, and Ink Well stuck out a hoof, holding her back. He then took his lanyard from beneath his coat, moving the psychic paper from it to his breast, right where an ID would go. When that was done, he turned to Ditzy, talking in a hushed voice. “If we run into anypony, let me do the talking, alright?” She nodded. “Good. Just look like you belong and everything will work out fine.” With that they stood up, went down the hall, turned the corner, and nearly ran face-first into a guard.

Really, it was the way he held himself and his build that screamed 'guard' instead of regular employee, as the outfit the dark grey colt had on was the same white lab coat and hard hat of the rest. But his firm build and his 'I am only allowing you to be here because it would be inconvenient to kick your flank out' attitude was a combination that belonged to all guards, and was instantly recognizable.

Ink Well recovered quickly, passing it off as a moment of clumsiness, while Ditzy hopped back, visibly shaken and quite nervous. This drew a suspicious eyebrow raise from the guard: already a step in the wrong direction. Ink Well just shook his head sadly and pointed at her. “Sorry about that, she's a bit on the skittish side. Got thrown off when the tour came through. You know how the newbies can be.” He then chuckled knowingly.

The guard was not impressed, his eyebrow lowering to his neutral, less than friendly gaze.

Ink Well coughed nervously, letting his chuckle die. “Right... Well, I'll just get her inside and leave you be, if that's alright.” He pulled Ditzy closer, stabilizing her despite the way her body was shaking, and offered his psychic paper to the guard. The guard leaned in closer, scrutinizing him, his 'ID,' and his companion much more closely, which just got Ditzy shaking harder. It got so bad that Ink Well had to tighten his grip to a point where he feared he'd hurt her just to make sure she didn't get them both vibrating.

After what felt an eternity under the guard's gaze, he flicked his head towards the door and stepped aside, giving them permission to get out of his sight. Ink Well just smiled meekly, leading Ditzy through the door and into the hallway beyond, where she broke out of his grasp and backed against a wall, still shaking. “How did we not get caught?”

Ink Well smiled, his own adrenaline pumping from those last few moments. “Luck, mostly, but I suppose the 'ID' helped.” He pointed to the psychic paper, then walked further down the hall to an intersection. The paths were identified with 'Processing, Holding, and Disposal' to the right and 'Administration' to the left.

Ditzy followed, her face furrowed in confusion. “ID? What ID?”

Ink Well turned around, also confused. “The one on my chest, what other one?”

“But that's just a blank paper.” Ink Well's heart dropped at the words, fear clogging up the back of his mind. Had the psychic not worked? Had the guard let them in just to trap them for others to come? If he started running now then maybe he could- Hold on. Check it first, then panic. He unclipped the psychic paper and looked at it, at once seeing the blank sheet it was and what he had meant it to be: a perfect replica of a Weather Factory ID.

His fears assuaged, he clipped it back on, frowning at Ditzy. “No, the psychic reads as an ID. Don't go scaring me like that!”

Ditzy tilted her head. “Psychic? What? It's a blank piece of paper!”

“Well, yes, but it's slightly psychic, and...” Ink Well frowned. “Wait, why do I have to tell you? You gave it to me.”

Ditzy shook her head. “I don't think I'd give something like that away.”

“No, you gave it to me right after the whole...” He stopped, a thought that had been nagging at him moving to the forefront. “Ditzy, how's The Doctor?”

“What Doctor?”

“The Doctor.”

Ditzy looked at him like he was slightly crazy. “I'm sorry, I don't know any doctors. I don't really like hospitals.”

Ink Well felt another pang of fear, a possibility he'd never even considered hopping into his head. No.... It can't be. “This may sound odd, but when was the last time we met before today?”

Ditzy didn't even take a moment to think, which was slightly odd in its own right, though the answer blew that out of the water. “It was right after the Grand Galloping Gala last year, when you gave me that story for Dinky. She loved it by the way, and I never got a chance to thank you...”

Ink Well's pupils shrank, his mind rushing in on itself. The Gala before last? That was almost two years ago. And to not know The Doctor...

No. That can't be right. You don't just forget about The Doctor. So maybe it's... “Ink Well?” Wait, what was it he'd said? In the TaRDiS, right after she'd gotten there. She was talking about something you did together, and he'd stopped her. What was it he said?... That's it! “Five months!” Five months... “Are you alright?”

Ink Well staggered on the spot, the connection made, and the implications much too powerful. My trip with him was five months ago, so that would make whatever happened... be happening. He looked at Ditzy, at once seeing her worried face in a new light and not seeing her at all. No wonder she hasn't been herself! She isn't her yet! She won't be her until after today. But... what happens today? “If it's about the blank paper, I'm not worried about it anymore. I'm not going to question good fortune.” Oh geez, what if I change something? What if I already changed something? Is that still a paradox if I don't know what's different? Those temporal phage things he mentioned did not sound pleasant. Maybe we can still get out of here and just go on our way.

No, that won't work, she said whatever it was happened at a factory. So I need to make it happen, but without changing what would happen, or I will destroy everything... No pressure. But. what am I supposed to do? “Ink Well? You're starting to scare me...” Well, I'll just have to make sure she is safe, because she was fine when I found her in the future... past... whenever that was. She just can't get hurt. But didn't she mention running? Then... Ugh, why can't time travel happen in order? It would make everything so much easier!

He felt two hooves land on his shoulders, bringing him back into focus on the skewed golden eyes of Ditzy. “Ink Well! Are. You. Okay?”

Ink Well shook his head to clear it, but no matter what he did, he couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that he was treading a knife's edge. “Yeah... yeah, sorry. I just...” As he tried to explain himself, he felt his attention pulled to his psychic paper, as though it were calling him. Glad for the distraction, he unclipped it once more, reading the words that wrote themselves across it.

'Ink Well, hurry home. Something important came up and I need you here as soon as you finish your investigation. And... be safe, okay? I love you. ~Rose.'

Just reading it, he could tell there was something on her mind... Oh, what he would have given to be by her side. But Rose said to finish the investigation, and time paradox or not, he was going to finish it. He replaced his psychic badge, then looked up to find Ditzy still waiting for an answer. Unfortunately, he didn't really have one to give her. He thought for a moment, then shrugged, going for the only thing he could keep in his mind. “This is all going to work out. I promise.”

Ditzy nodded, though not with the same confidence she'd had even just outside the door, and Ink Well didn't blame her. He wasn't so sure about it either. But a promise is a promise, and I always keep my promises.

---

Ditzy slowly followed Ink Well through the halls of the factory, trying to keep focused on the path, but her heart wasn't in it anymore. It hadn't been since she realized Ink Well didn't want her there anymore. He was nice enough on the trip, but the fear in his eyes, once they got into the halls and the way he'd ignored her told him a different story. And then, after his strangeness with the paper, he'd asked a few more questions, said something about her being 'immune to psychic paper,' and went quiet. They'd been walking the halls for about five minutes now, with just one factory pony entering their sight, and he hadn't said a word to her except to dodge and silence her questions.

He must have gotten tired of her, or maybe he was scared she'd mess something up. He'd probably just realized he'd been being friendly with Derpy and come to his senses... Whatever the reason, he was regretting her now. Her face ran hot as she thought about that, just one more pound of shame to add to the pile.

But if he was nervous, how did he think she felt? I only came in because it was you, Ink Well. You were so friendly and kind last time, and you were even being so nice out front... Guess an hour is as much Ditzy as anypony can handle... Pretty soon he'll start calling me Derpy and then it'll all be over. He looked back at her, giving her a half-smile before continuing on his way. His smiles used to profess that everything would be fine, that nothing could possibly go wrong, if you just trusted him, but now they were just to put a stop on his own nerves, which worked about as well as damming a river with a single stick.

He was channeling his energy well, using it by looking for something amongst the many offices that lined either side of the walls. As he did so, something felt odd to Ditzy, though she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. The administrative section was jammed full of offices, and yet there was hardly a pony to be seen. It felt wrong, eerie, like there was something big staring her in the face, but she just couldn't see it. Instead, she focused on more pressing matters. I need to just deliver the package and get out of here. Maybe I can just-

“Aha! Here's something! Ditzy, hurry up, we can't be spotted.” She let her thought slide as Ink Well ducked into one of the rooms, motioning her to follow. She came in after him, stumbling slightly and bumping against the door in her effort to move quickly. Silently she berated herself for losing control of her balance, but in the process she missed the next thing Ink Well said to her, only realizing he was talking as he finished his sentence. Annoyed by her own inattentiveness, she looked up to see him gesturing to the room, which was filled to the brim with rack after rack of cardboard boxes. The end of each row was marked with two dates, about two and a half years apart. Ink Well flew over to the nearest box, pulling it down and opening the top to reveal that it was packed full of papers, so she guessed they were records or something.

But, what were they doing in a record room? “Ink Well, I-”

Ink Well shoved his box towards her, looking at more boxes instead of talking to her directly. “Start going through these and look for anything suspicious. I'll go to the earlier ones and see what I can't pull up.”

She bent closer to the box, scanning the list of slightly blurry figures with confusion. “Suspicious? What would be-?” She looked up to see him leaving, her question dying before it could be formed. “Um, Ink Well, I don't...” she started, but he was already gone, disappearing between two of the racks further down.

Ditzy returned her attention to the papers beneath her, concentrating on bringing them into focus. Whatever it is, he trusted me to do it, so it must be important. That or he's getting rid of me... Shaking that thought away, she looked over the figures, what appeared to be a pay list for all the ponies in the factory. She tried to read more, but the numbers began to swim, and the names wavered, so she moved it aside, looking at the next one. Another pay list, identical to the first. And beneath it, another, and another, and another... it was full of them, and all of the tiny numbers were starting to make her eyes and head ache. She put them back, closing the lid and putting the box up before grabbing the one next to it.

This one had the same issue, with tiny written words for lines and lines, broken with dotted lines and so many numbers. She focused, forcing her eyes to stay for a second, and read down the line. This was for Ink Well, one of a hoof-full of ponies who still called her Ditzy. Maybe if she could just work hard enough she'd get on his good side again. With as few friends as she kept up with, she wasn't going to go losing one more.

Ditzy shook her head, focusing on the paper instead of the pony she was reading it for. It still looked like a load of complex things, but eventually two things popped out at her: That this was a delivery form, and that there were consistent, heavy crates coming in almost every day from all over Equestria. However, any significance from this was drowned out by a large, nagging thought. Don't you have a package to deliver? Looking through these papers isn't going to help Dinky.

Ditzy immediately stopped, dropping the few papers she'd been holding and scattering them around her. She looked at them for a moment, hesitating in her decision, then turned around, heading to the door. “I'm sorry Ink Well, but Dinky comes first.” She pushed it open, entering the hallway beyond. As the door closed behind her, she felt a tinge of guilt, but she pushed it away. I hope your search goes well, but I can't mess around right now. I'm sure you'll understand. With that she set off on her own search, all alone, as she normally was.

---

Ink Well was absolutely fascinated as he moved from box to box through the records, mostly for one simple reason: it was a treasure trove of information. Every single thing in there just screamed conspiracy. Like the pay lists, listing under fifty ponies as working at the factory. No matter how efficient it was, there had to be more. Just the number of offices made that obvious, even if they were mostly empty. And what was this large chunk of money simply labeled 'operating costs' that totaled more than three times the salaries combined? He'd been through enough shady records to recognize it immediately.

And then there were the deliveries, vague in all the right ways. Just listing after listing of 'raw materials' coming from every corner of Equestria daily, with deliveries from seemingly every post office and shipping company in every town. That in itself was strange, and Ink Well broke the silence in the stuffy room with his musings.

“Wouldn't they at least ship with the same company? There would probably be some sort of discount. And 'raw materials' every time? Not even logging what it is. And the weight differences, everything from fifty pounds to over seven hundred...” He moved on from that box, walking down the aisle to find one from a different year. Pulling it open, it was more of the same, though now there were orders coming in from outside of Equestria, primarily in the Gryphon lands, though it was still listed as more 'raw materials.' Ink Well held up the paper, staring at the words with so much curiosity running through his head. “Just what is in those boxes?”

Ink Well went from row to row looking for any clue to them, but there was simply nothing, a prospect that bugged him. There's just no proof if I don't get something clearer. Suspicion abounds, but then, that's why I'm here, isn't it? He slid the latest box back onto the shelf, then walked around the corner and directly into a cyan pegasus, who dropped her box, the papers inside flying everywhere. “What in the hay do you think you're doing?” she said as she ran to catch the ones still in the air.

Ink Well dropped to the floor, pulling together what was near the box while trying to get them in some semblance of order. “Oh, geez, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying any attention.” he said as he took a look at what he had, still on the search for clues. These were all recent delivery logs, and still, nothing but 'raw materials' in the descriptions...

The pegasus came to a stop next to him, front hooves full of paper. “Just watch where you're going next time, alright? It took forever to put these in order.” She dropped the papers in the box, which Ink Well then closed before picking it up and offering it to her. However, instead of taking it, her brow furrowed, and the last thing he expected to hear passed through her lips. “Ink Well? What are you doing here?”

It was then that Ink Well took note of the maroon eyes set into the cyan face, all extremely familiar, especially with the messy locks of rainbow mane framing the whole thing. He took a step back, equally as confused as she was. “Me? What are you doing here, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “I work here, Inks.”

Ink Well's confusion deepened. “Since when? Just the other day you were talking about your big break with the Wonderbolts tryout and how you were 'totally going to get in this time!' This seems a little off the mark.”

Rainbow got in his face, suddenly defensive, and Ink Well knew he'd hit a nerve. “I got recruited here instead, okay? They saw my performance and, with my work on the Ponyville weather team, figured I deserved a promotion.” She then backed down, looking towards the smooth grey wall instead of him. “Besides, who wants to work for the crummy Wonderbolts when you can work at the Weather Factory?”

“They turned you down, huh?”

Her tail flicked angrily, but her gaze didn't move. “They didn't even consider me. As soon as I was off the course Ozone said I was cut.”

“Ozone? Is that one of the Wonderbolts?”

“Pff, no, they didn't even have the time to talk to me. Sent over the guy from the factory that was keeping conditions stable.” She kicked at the floor angrily, then turned, her face slightly brighter. “But he saw my talent, and offered me the job here.”

Ink Well tilted his head. “So you just gave up on the Wonderbolts like that? That doesn't sound like the Rainbow Dash I know.”

Her face darkened slightly at that. “Look, just drop it, alright? What do you think you're doing here? It's employees only, and even if you got the badge, that can't be real.”

Ink Well took a step back, trying to calm her down. She was still really angry about whatever happened, and pushing it wouldn't help. However, he was caught red hoofed, and he knew it, so he just came clean. “I'm on an assignment and I needed a little info.”

“You're being a spy? I thought you were over that after the whole Equirer thing.”

Ink Well took offense at that. “I'm not spying, I'm investigating. And, believe it or not, this is a situation just like the one at the Equirer. There's something big going on here, and I aim to find out what.”

Rainbow looked at him like he was crazy. “Yeah, like they're doing something shady here. This place is more boring than modeling for Rarity.”

Ink Well shrugged. “So was the Equirer, and we both know what came out of that. Heck, you helped me break into that one.”

This caused Rainbow to chuckle, a smile forming on her face. “That was a ride, wasn't it?”

“A dangerous one.” Her smile vanished, and he could see the memory of the aftermath flit through her mind. He knew now was the time to make his move. “That's why, if you could, I need you to look away, just this once.”

“What?”

“Pretend I was never here. I can't have the guards chasing after me like they did at the Equirer offices, and I definitely don't need it getting back to Ponyville again. If you can do me this one thing, I will owe you big.”

Rainbow stalled, seeming to go over what he was asking in her head. It didn't seem like anything too big, but then, if she was actually intent on working here, this would be the end of the line. After a few moments of thought, she relented, nodding her head. “Okay. Just for today, I never saw you. But are you alone, or did you bring somepony else to help?”

Ink Well shook his head. “No, I'm in here with Ditzy...” A red flag popped up in his mind as the words left his mouth. Ditzy would have been spotted before him, if Rainbow came in the same way he did. And she never had checked in with him after he gave her that assignment... A chunk of ice formed in his gut, a cold fear slowly spreading through him. ...who I haven't seen in far too long...

Rainbow smiled, disbelieving, but Ink Well wasn't paying attention, instead trying to remember just how long Ditzy had been gone. “Wait, you're here with Derpy?” It has to have been at least fifteen minutes. No, a half hour minimum. No, it can't have been that long, can it? How many boxes did I go through? “I mean, she's nice and all, but she'd be better for breaking up the place, not sneaking through it.” If she left right at the start, she could be anywhere... and anything could be happening to her. And if something happens to her, then what does that do to me? To everypony in this factory? They could all be in danger! Rainbow Dash gave him a puzzled look, taking a step closer and waving a hoof in front of his face. I've got to find her. “Something on your mind?”

Ink Well's focus seemed to snap back on her as he dropped the box, making a mad dash for the door. “I'm sorry, I need to go!” He didn't even wait for a response, charging out into the hallway and looking both directions. There was no sign of the delivery mare anywhere, and really no clue as to where to start looking. He picked a direction and ran down it, one thought on his mind. Where is Ditzy Doo?

---

Ditzy walked through the administrative offices, looking from door to door for the best one to finish her job. She already didn't like being back here, so if she could just deliver the package and be done, maybe Mr. Crate would look kindly upon her. Unfortunately, the plain brown package didn't say who it was for, so she didn't know where to leave it. It would probably be safe to give it to the head pony. They'd know who to give it to! She scanned the many nameplates, growing a little more anxious with each one. Secretary... Head of Processing... Public Relations... No, there must be a President or an Executive or...

She stopped, her face lighting up as her eyes focused on the nameplate before her, reading it to herself. “Professor Ozone: Weather Factory Director! Perfect!” Smiling, she opened the door, walking into the room with a spring in her step. She walked up to a cloud desk in the center of the room, rummaging through her bag for the parcel. Oh, Mr. Crate will be so happy he'll give me a raise, and then-

“Can I help you?” Ditzy stopped, slowly looking up from her bag. In her haste to deliver the package, she hadn't noticed the pure white pegasus behind the desk, who appraised her from behind a pair of small circular glasses.

The two of them stared at each other awkwardly, the tension only breaking when Ditzy nervously smiled, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know anypony was in here...”

The aged stallion just smiled, laugh lines appearing at the edges of his eyes. “Worry not, friend, I wasn't doing very much anyway.” His calmness brought Ditzy's gaze back up, a sincere smile edging onto her face. It was then that she noticed the degrees hanging on the wall behind him, as well as the books and trophies around the room. It all felt very cozy, not at all what would be expected when looking at the outside of the factory. Eventually she brought her eyes back to the pony before her, and was confused by what she saw. When she looked into his silvery eyes she saw a kind curiosity, which he confirmed when he spoke. “Would it be safe to assume you aren't a member of our workforce? I think I would remember hiring a pony with such interesting eyes as yours.”

Ditzy blushed slightly, in part when she noticed she was still wearing the hardhat and coat of the tour and in part when she realized his tone of voice was complimentary. Feeling a little guilty, she took off the factory clothing, revealing her delivery uniform as she spoke. “Yeah. I'm sorry I had to sneak in, but I was sent to deliver a package, and I was having problems finding the delivery dock, and the pony at the front desk wouldn't help, and-”

The stallion held up a hoof, stopping her there. “Do not worry, though I hope you do not make sneaking into places a habit, young lady. It is not the best conduct for a mail mare.” Relived, she laughed to get the tension out, and he chuckled as well. When the moment passed, his curiosity returned. “Now what was this about a package?”

Ditzy pulled the parcel free of her bag, placing it on the desk between them. “Of course! Right here, mister...”

“Professor. Professor Ozone, Ms...” He leaned forward, examining the name tag on her uniform. “Ditzy Doo?” He chuckled again. “Fitting.” He looked her in the eyes again, seeming to take in every detail of them.

Ditzy just smiled, slightly uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving, and turned back to the door. “Well, I'm sorry to have troubled you, Professor, so I'll just see myself out.”

Ozone seemed let down when she said that. “Just like that? Aren't you a little curious as to what the parcel was, Ms. Doo?”

She hadn't been before, but now that he mentioned it... What could be so important for this factory in such a small box? All their normal deliveries are so heavy. And she'd come back here after one curious impulse, she'd just be lying if she ignored this one. She turned back around, taking a step closer to the desk. “Well, maybe a little...”

Professor Ozone smiled, taking a letter opener from his desk and cutting the tape from the box. “Ah! Wonderful.” As he carefully took care of the tape, he talked, excitement in his voice. “You see, it's not very often that I get to share my hobby with other ponies. It's a bit of a strange one. I collect oddities; misprinted posters, flawed statues, defective clothing; anything the world may see as imperfect.” He took note of her looking around the office and shook his head. “No, I don't keep them here, I take them in my home, placing them in my personal museum where nopony can see them.”

With the box finally open, he lifted the flaps and took out the cushioning around the object, revealing a stunning crystal alicorn, rearing up and wings spread wide. It would be beautiful, except that one of the front legs was damaged, extremely dull and a different color from the rest of the piece. He held it up for Ditzy to see, smiling sadly to himself. “Would you look at that? Such a work of art, marred forever by an error in creation...” He moved around the desk, revolving it so she could see it more clearly as he stood next to her. “It is truly unique, the very definition of one of a kind, and yet it could never be displayed. Just like you and your eyes.”

Ditzy felt a change in the atmosphere and turned to look at him, finding his attention locked on her. He continued to talk, regarding the statue, but looking straight at her, his face not quite so friendly as almost fearsome. “Imagine if this was the standard for these statues! Everypony would think that they were all this flawed, that it was normal to be disfigured, and that is just not true, now is it? No, things like this really have no reason to exist. They would make the world a better place by leaving it than by staying around, and so I hide them away.” Ditzy took a step back, feeling a chill going down her spine from his words and the way he looked at her. Yet, for each step she took, he took one towards her.

The Professor let the statue fall, keeping his eyes entirely on Ditzy, all the kindness and curiosity lost from them, replaced with a cold malice. “This piece is a monstrosity that shouldn't even go into the collection.” Ditzy took a few steps back, feeling the open door frame behind her, every muscle screaming at her to run, while at the same time they told her not to take her eyes off of the pony in front of her. He continued to advance, his suddenly angry rant coming to a calm conclusion. “The best thing to happen to this piece, were for it to be -” Ditzy's rear hoof reached the door and she spun, muscles tensing to flee. But before she could move, something impacted the back of her head, immediately causing her vision to blur. Pieces of crystal flew past her as she fell into the hall, everything going dark to the last word of the Professor's dark speech. “- destroyed.”

---

The white stallion looked at the mess strewn across the floor, running a hoof through his short white mane and fixing his glasses. With that accomplished, he let out a deep breath, regaining his composure and his slight smile. He then bent down, pulling the unconscious grey mare into his office.

When she was inside, he closed the door, then walked to his desk, calmly sitting down and pressing the button for the intercom. “Would the two nice colts at the delivery dock kindly come up to my office? The package arrived at the wrong door, and I will need your help to get her to processing. Thank you!” With that, he leaned back, looking over at the blood trickling from the grey mare's head and onto his floor, and leaned forward, tapping the intercom button again. “Also, if you could bring a dust bin and a mop, that would be lovely.” He then leaned back once more, looking to the ceiling and shaking his head. “Such a shame... I had the perfect place for that statue too.”

Dark Times

View Online

Row after row of empty administrative offices only amplified the dread growing in Ink Well's chest. Ditzy was nowhere to be found, and what's worse, there wasn't a single pony to ask. No matter where he looked, this wing of the factory was completely empty. How could there not be a single pony in all of these offices? It's a facade! There's obviously something dangerous going on here, and what did you do? Drag Ditzy into it! Brilliant! If you'd just-

Ink Well's train of self deprecation came crashing to a halt at the next hall when the sound of exertion made itself heard. He ducked into the nearest office, watching through the askew door as two burly guard ponies carried a lumpy package wrapped in white down the hall, followed by an aged pure white stallion, who smiled warmly and offered words of confidence to the younger workers. It may have just been him being paranoid, but Ink Well couldn't help but think that their burden was oddly pony shaped...

Careful to keep himself hidden, he watched them continue down the hall, only slipping from his spot when they threatened to exit his sight. They didn't once notice him, keeping focused on their task as they followed the hallway all the way to the far end before turning. As soon as they were gone, Ink Well was in action. He flew the way they came, scanning the hall for a clue, anything. He had a horrible hunch that he knew exactly what was in their mysterious package, but he hoped with every fibre of his being that he was wrong. Fairly soon he spotted what he was looking for: a bright red spot on the stone flooring.

It was just as he feared, blood, still fresh and soaked into the cloud beneath. There was a trail that slid into the office across the hall, owned by Prof. Ozone. The same one from Rainbow's story, I'd guess. The factory director? He must have his hooves in many pies to be able to speak for the Wonderbolts.

He quickly pulled his mind from that thought, putting it to work on more pressing matters. He had found blood, damning evidence wherever it was, but he still had a missing pony to find. He needed a solid clue for her, something like her bag or her hat or...

A glint of the light caught his eye as he moved, bringing it to about a dozen small pieces of crystal littering the floor. They were spread out, scattered from the door behind him, as though they'd been thrown or hit against something. Further inspection made small flecks of blood on some of the larger pieces show up, meaning that this was probably the weapon, whatever it was, but it wasn't until one final clue was found that Ink Well was sure.

There, stuck beneath the largest chunk of bloodied crystal, a blonde hair stared accusingly at him.

He turned tail and flew down the hallway, the sight of that single hair enough to send his pulse skyward as he chased the three ponies from earlier. He was too late... He was too late and there was no telling what would happen now that she-

No! She was fine. Well, not fine, but injured, nothing more. Sure, that's bad, heck, that's horrible, but that's still better than the alternative. All he had to so was keep her safe, and to do that, he had to save her. Luckily he remembered where those other ponies had turned off.

Banking sharply at the next hall, Ink Well noticed where they'd gone and stopped, wings snapping sharply to his sides and causing him to tumble awkwardly to a halt. They had taken her into Processing, which wouldn't have stopped him were it not for the addition of a guard to his pathway. This one was new, bright, and savvy to all of the rules in the book, if the air of how he carried himself were anything to go by.

That was a problem. He'd be looking for ponies to bust, not average workers; the psychic would give Ink Well away in an instant. Without that his costume was nothing, and since that was the only door he'd seen, sneaking wasn't exactly an option either. Angrily he backed up, appraising the situation for all possible outcomes. There were none that would end well, which unnerved him, but not nearly as much as the feeling of each second ticking by painfully slowly. Time moved agonizingly slowly as he waited for the guard to flinch or droop or yawn or anything that would give him a chance to get by.

But none came. After a minute that felt like an hour, Ink Well turned around, panic setting in as he ran back into the administrative section. Ditzy needed him, and he needed help. He ran down a few random halls, fear getting the best of him, before stopping and forcing himself against a wall to calm down. Stop! Right now! Panic will get you nowhere. Think clearly. You found Ditzy, now all you need to do is rescue her, and for that you need help. Who can help you that is in this building? In an instant he knew the answer.

Mind clear and goal set, Ink Well set off in search of Rainbow Dash.

----

The barren administrative section was completely silent, and even with a goal in mind, panic was growing in his chest once more. He'd already tried the records room, empty after his hasty departure, and random searching through the halls had been fruitless. The lack of ponies, suspicious before, had suddenly grown menacing, and the similarity of hall after hall of identical offices only added to the maze of thoughts addling his mind. Through each twist and turn, him mind was focused on one task: find Rainbow Dash. If anypony could explain or help, it would be her.

A flash of colour caught his eye, a rainbow shining out against the white and grey of the stone walls and floors. Immediately Ink Well ran after it, biting his tongue to hold back from calling out. If it wasn't Dash, he'd have to at least act calm while asking for her, which drawing unneeded attention to himself wouldn't allow for. Turning the corner, he saw the colourful phantasm disappear into a door. He ran to it, composed himself, and stepped through, ready for anything.

“Find whatever you were looking for, Inks?” Sitting behind a mountain of paperwork was Rainbow Dash, a confident smile on her face despite his intrusion.

Immediately Ink Well's shoulders dropped, releasing his cool act and letting his nerves show. “Rainbow, I need your help.”

The smile faded as she saw his expression, his worry infectious. “With what?”

“I need to get into Processing.”

Rainbow shook her head, shifting her focus to the paper in front of her. “No can do Ink Well, sorry.”

What little relief that had been building up from her forthcoming help vanished as Ink Well stared at her. “Huh?”

Rainbow reiterated, her attention still on the paper before her. “I said I can't help you.”

Ink Well could feel both frustration and worry building up within him, but he did his best to keep it at bay, channeling it into a piercing look he struck Rainbow with. “Why not?”

Instead of caving, Rainbow got aggressive under his stare, leaning over her desk. “Let's start with 'I work here and I'm going to be in serious trouble if you get found out already, so I'm not gonna push it trying to get you in deeper.'”

Anger flared up inside Ink Well, causing him to get into her face. “Is a little trouble seriously going to stop you? Weren't you the one reminiscing about the Equirer? What's changed since then, Dash?”

She looked him straight in the eyes, unwavering. “How about you? Weren't you the one worried about backlash? Anyway, it's not like I'd do any good. I don't even have clearance for that wing yet.”

Ink Well huffed, turning away from the desk. “Probably the only pony in this whole factory.”

The fur on the back of Rainbow's neck bristled. “What was that?”

Ink Well started to wander around the office, gesturing vaguely with a wing as he spoke. “Well, a hundred empty offices, all the ponies have to be going somewhere, makes sense they'd be there. You must really be a nopony to be the last one stuck.”

Rainbow began hovering over her desk, a frown set on her face. “You take that back! I'm the biggest thing to hit this factory in a hundred years, Ozone said so. I just need to prove I can deal with the paperwork before I can deal with the real stuff.” Ink Well shrugged, causing her to rear back, almost preparing for a charge. “What, you think I'm a liar?”

“No, but I'm pretty sure he is.” He spun around, staring her down where she hovered in the air. “I'm going to make three little assumptions about what I've seen. One: Ozone is the old white stallion in charge of this place. Two: he said you need to work on this paperwork, which is nothing but the transferring of 'Raw Materials' to Processing, with nothing at all to do with the weather. Three: the only ponies other than you who actually use these offices are you and those little actors out front. Sound about right?” Rainbow continued to hover defensively, but a hint of doubt in her eyes confirmed his suspicions. “Don't you think it's a little odd? There must be more workers than they could ever need in this factory, why would they need a talented flyer like you for simple weather control? What could they be hiding?”

Rainbow's frustration flowed through every fibre of her being. “Why can't you accept that I work for this factory? I'm no flyer, I'm a factory technician!”

“You're a racer, not an accountant, Rainbow! Is this really what you dreamed for your life?”

“Stop it!” Rainbow tackled him to the floor, rage burning in her eyes. “Don't you talk to me about dreams. Some dreams aren't meant to be.”

Ink Well just looked at her coldly from where he was pinned beneath her. “Is that really what you think?”

Rainbow glared at him a moment longer, analyzing his face to avoid thinking about the question. Eventually she pushed off of him, standing back up and facing away to collect her thoughts. “What do you even need in Processing that's so important?”

“Ditzy.”

Rainbow turned back around, thinking it was some sort of joke, but the serious look on Ink Well's face stopped her. “What? What is she doing in there?”

“Ozone and two guards attacked her and dragged her in there, and I don't want to imagine what they'd be doing...”

Rainbow shook her head in disbelief, the picture of the kind old stallion coming to mind, his perpetual smile and joyous blue eyes completely conflicting with what she'd just heard. “No way, Ozone couldn't hurt a fly.”

“I can show you the blood stain.” Silence hung in the room as both ponies studied the other, unwilling to speak until everything fell in line in their mind. Eventually, Ink Well took a step forward, his demeanor remaining dark. “Rainbow, Ozone isn't telling you something, and you can't keep blindly following without asking why. What are the 'Raw Materials?' What's going on in Processing? I know you must be asking yourself the same. I have spent months discovering what happens when a pony doesn't act on her suspicions. Somepony gets hurt. Somepony already has been.”

After a long pause, Rainbow sighed, resignation in her voice as her deliberations finished. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just distract the guard. I'll take care of the rest.”

----

A throbbing pain in the back of her head was the first sensation Ditzy Doo felt, groggily pulling her back to consciousness, though her vision wouldn't have told her as much. She looked around, blinking a few times to make sure her eyes were open, but they weren't lying to her. It really was pitch black, wherever she was. And oddly fuzzy... She shook her head to clear it, only to be rewarded with a fresh stab of pain, which caused her to fall back to the ground, eyes clenched shut and forehooves wrapped around her ringing head.

When finally the sensation dulled a little she was able to take in a few more details about her surroundings. The air reeked of strong chemicals and... something. It was powerful and distinctive, yet she couldn't put her hoof on that stench. What she could put her hoof on was a slightly squishy, fuzzy floor, like a carpet on a mud patch. She poked at it a few times in various places and was rewarded with varying firmness, from stone hard to jelly soft. The fuzz was poking into her side, which it shouldn't have been if her uniform was still on, so... She felt a little bit of disgust rising in her throat as she realized Ozone must have taken it off of her. That horrid pegasus had knocked her out, taken her clothes off, and dragged her into this smelly, muggy, stuffy room, all because she'd given him a package! Imagine what he must do to ponies he hated... Well, one thing was clear: wherever she was, it wasn't somewhere she wanted to stay.

Just as the ringing in Ditzy's head stopped and she was beginning to consider getting up again, a sound perked her ear, a sound a mother could recognize in an instant: a little foal was crying. It was echo-y and metallic, giving the room a small, circular feeling with the way it bounced, but as the only sound it was clear as day, and it was calling out to her.

Slowly she lifted herself up, but all of her limbs felt like weights and her head protested, causing her to groan in pain. In response there was a gasp, the cries quieting, replaced instead by fearful whimpering. The foal must have been scared out of its mind, which wasn't helping Ditzy at all with managing her own unease. Still, she powered through it, willing her heavy limbs to move across the uneven, mushy ground towards the source of the crying. Maybe she was alone in a dark room, unsure of how she got there or what would happen, but so was that foal, and that was no state for somepony so young.

It took a few moments, and even with the short distance Ditzy stumbled more than once in the dark, but eventually she was right in front of the foal, who backed up and whimpered at the pony in front of it. Ditzy reached out a hoof, eliciting a frightened squeak and a new wave of crying from the tiny form. The sound tugged at her heartstrings, pleading for all of this scariness to go away, something Ditzy wished she could do. In an effort to comfort it, she knelt down, bringing her face to where she thought its was and smiling gently, hoping it came across. “Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. I don't want to hurt you, I just don't want to be alone in the dark either.”

The crying calmed a little at that, the foal no longer trying to keep its distance from Ditzy, though it was still sniffling and trembling in the dark. Unwilling to let that continue, Ditzy pulled herself over to the foal, wrapping her legs and wings around it in a hug. She felt the form jump at first, then lean into her, hesitantly accepting the show of affection. Ditzy just redoubled her efforts, trying to make the hug as comforting as possible.

At that the foal burst into tears once more, wailing and nuzzling into Ditzy's chest. Ditzy just pulled it closer, rocking slowly and cooing to the bundle in her hooves. “There, there. You'll be alright. We'll get out of here soon enough...” Eventually her words got through, the crying lowering to a sob, then a whimper, then some trembling, and finally just a little bit of sniffling.

Ditzy was content to sit in the dark like this, but the foal couldn't possibly be enjoying it, and during the hug a horn had poked her in the cheek more than once, identifying a unicorn in this dark cell amongst the clouds. When it was calm, she pulled back slightly, just enough to look hopefully face to face at the foal before her. “Do you know a spell that can make some light?” she asked as kindly as she could.

The foal wiped a tear from its eye, then spoke for the first time since Ditzy had awoken. “I... I tried one earlier, but I just couldn't...” It was a filly's voice, warbling and threatening to break into tears once more.

Ditzy gave her a quick hug, trying to edge some of that sadness from the voice. “It's okay. I know it's scary in here, but just try your best. I'm sure you can do it.”

The unicorn filly nodded, then started to focus. After a few seconds, a small lavender glow formed around the filly's horn, which condensed at the tip before changing to a bright yellow. It wavered for a moment, but another encouraging squeeze from Ditzy brought it back even stronger, brightening it until it lit up Ditzy, the filly, and a little of the room around them. Ditzy kept her eyes on the filly, smiling and encouraging her the whole time. “There we go! That's great! I knew you could do it!”

When the spell was cast, the lavender coated filly breathed hard, her blonde mane swishing on her head as she tried to get find air amid the nasty stench. When finally she had, she smiled, looking up at Ditzy with bright golden eyes. A moment later her eyes widened, a look of unbridled joy and surprise appearing on her face. “Mommy!?”

Ditzy's own eyes had widened, welling with tears of joy at the sight as the light had come up. “Muffin!” Both ponies came together, their embrace tighter than ever. The love radiating off of them was palpable, heating the entire chamber as they tried to express how much they'd missed each other over the months of separation. Both of them nuzzled together, words unable to explain their happiness. She may have been so much larger than Ditzy had remembered, and so much better at magic than before, but there was no questioning it. The filly in her arms was Dinky, her own little Muffin, and nothing was ever going to separate them again. Just seeing that face had been enough to affirm that, a sight more precious than Celestia's light after her time spent in the dark.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Ditzy's eyes opened, the joy within them tempered by fear. What was Dinky doing up in the Weather Factory? And the question remained, where were they? She scanned the room, unable to comprehend the sight. They were in a cold steel cylinder, quite a bit higher than she was tall, though the top was hard to see in the dim light. Occasionally a drop of green liquid dripped from the ceiling, pattering against the floor and adding just a little more strength to the chemical smell in the room.

The floor, though, was what churned Ditzy's stomach. It was a mass of ponies: unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, laying in a jumbled mess that comprised the ground. And every one of them was completely still. Some looked like they were sleeping, peaceful, calm, even a slight smile on their face, but others... they stared blankly, endlessly, with eyes that screamed only one thing, their faces locked in a rictus of pain and fear. And they were all around the reunited family, accusing eyes cursing their happiness.

Ditzy's mind tried to shut down at the sight, the thought that she had walked on, and fallen into, the mess bringing bile to the back of her mouth. But she suppressed it all; the shut down, the bile, the horror; and tried to think rationally, fear for the daughter happily nuzzling her chest her driving force. “Dinky, can you turn down your light spell?”

Dinky pulled back, causing a small heart attack in Ditzy that was stopped when the two made eye contact. “But why? It was so dark before, I don't want to go back to that...” Dinky's head started to drift downwards, but Ditzy stopped that, placing a hoof beneath her chin and gently lifting it back to look at her.

She forced a smile, focusing on her daughter's face and not the one grimacing just behind her. “I just don't want you to get tired, Muffin, and if you're using less magic, you won't tire out as quickly.”

Dinky smiled innocently. “But I'm not tired at all mom! And it's been so long, I don't want to not be able to see you...”

Ditzy's heart warmed at that, even as she applied a little more pressure to keep Dinky from looking down. “I'm not asking you to turn it off, just to dim it a little, okay?” She then hugged her close again, pressing her close to her heart. “I promise I'm not going anywhere.”

Dinky leaned out of it, comforted by the gesture, and agreed. “Okay...” She then closed her eyes, and slowly the light level faded, dropping until it only lit up the two ponies' faces. After that, Dinky opened her eyes again. “How's that?”

Ditzy smiled, hugging Dinky close again. “That's perfect, Muffin.” Yet, even with them in the dark, she could feel all those ponies around her, staring, crying for help that she just couldn't give. What kind of horrible place are we in? She looked back down, ruffling Dinky's hair with a hoof, but the feeling of dread just would not leave.

Two Worlds

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Ditzy and Dinky remained silent, holding each other close against the dark of the chamber, but inside a question was burning in Ditzy's mind. However, looking down at her daughter's head pressed against her chest, she didn't want to ask it. She was happy, a fragile and highly pretext joy unlike any either of them had had in months. Did she really want to ruin that? Here, in the darkness, could she really take away the one thing they had?

She held against it for as long as she could, trying as hard as she could to let them be happy, but at the insistence of the memory of their surroundings the question broke free, her curiosity refusing to go unanswered. “Dinky, do you know how you got here?”

It took Dinky a moment to react to the question, giving it time to echo in the room unopposed. Eventually, sullenly, her head shook, and Ditzy's heart dropped. She'd already broken it... but for the sake of her own mind, she had to keep going. “Can you tell me what you remember?” When Dinky remained silent, Ditzy nuzzled against her, trying to cheer her up. “Please, Muffin? Anything at all will help.”

Dinky looked up at her, the happiness from before completely gone. “I don't know... Aunty Harvest said she was going to the market and not to go anywhere, and I was playing up in my room when my neck got stung by a bee and I got all dizzy and tired.”

That didn't sound like a bee to Ditzy. Dinky had never had that kind of reaction before. “Are you sure a bee did that?”

Dinky thought for a moment, looking down and causing Ditzy's heart to skip a beat. Luckily, Dinky's light was still rather dim, leaving her unaware of the floor they sat on. “I thought it was a bee... but I think I pulled a little feathery thing from where I was stung right before I fell.”

A dart? They snuck in and took her away? Golden is probably worried sick! “Do you remember anything else?”

“Right before I went to sleep I heard two big colts talking, and I think one of them picked me up... and then I woke up here.” Tears started to form in Dinky's eyes. “Mom, did I do something wrong?”

Ditzy was taken aback by the question. “No! What makes you think that?”

Dinky was fully crying again, and even Ditzy couldn't stop it. “The pony that picked me up said I shouldn't be allowed to keep living. He called me a freak!”

Ditzy cringed at the word. There were many words she'd heard used to describe her: Derpy, stupid, dumb; and she could take all of those without any problems, but for some reason that f word was the one that truly stung. She could be Derpy, it was even a term of endearment to some, but she couldn't stand to hear herself or anypony else be called a freak. “That pony was just being mean. You're a beautiful little filly, you're not... you're not a freak.”

Dinky pushed herself back, stepping away from Ditzy and leaving her in the dark. “I am! Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon said I was the daughter of a freak, and that made me a freak too! And now we were taken here because we're both freaks...”

“Dinky! You are not a freak. I am not a freak. We are different, we are unique, and while some ponies don't like it when things are different, that doesn't mean we aren't allowed to exist. We are one of a kind, as every single pony is, and just like everypony else, we're allowed to be happy and live.”

“But he hated me! He said I was just a two-hearted freak that would make more freaks, and-” Ditzy ran forward, collapsing around Dinky in a firm, loving hug. So that's what it's about...

One of the first solid memories Ditzy had after the fog was right after Dinky was born. Even while in the hospital, confused and alone, they couldn't let Ditzy rest.

“She's a scientific anomaly, Ms. Doo, you must understand that-”

Ditzy sat in the hospital bed, mere hours after her labor was completed, anger in her voice. “No, I don't understand!” She glared at the doctor, an eager young colt, and dared him to continue. “Why do you want to take my daughter from me?”

Despite the warning in her stare, continue he did. “Studying her could lead to so many breakthroughs! She is the first pony ever born with a functioning cardiovascular system containing two hearts! Any other pony born with a second heart is the result of a defect, and most defect born ponies don't survive. If you could just let us study her, then maybe we could-”

Ditzy shook her head, slamming a hoof on the bed. “She isn't going to go with you, she is coming home with me!”

The doctor backed away, smiling gently. “Okay, it's a start. We'll study her there.” He immediately pulled out his clipboard, ready to take notes. “To start, could you at least tell us under what circumstances she was conceived? Perhaps that could give a clue to the nature of the anomaly.”

Ditzy slammed her hoof the the bed again, fed up with this stupid doctor. Not even a day! Not even a night! She'd hardly had a rest since she found herself suddenly in the hospital in labor and they were already pestering her! It wasn't fair! “You aren't listening to me! You. Aren't. Studying. Her. I can't even answer your dumb question, I don't know!”

“Then why do you care about her so much?”

The temperature of the room dropped as Ditzy glared at him again, pulling herself out of bed on shaky legs. “Because she's mine.” She walked over to him, poking a hoof into his chest. “How dare you, how dare you even think that I would not care for my own foal!” She stormed from the room, pulling off the hospital gown as she went.

“Wait! You shouldn't be moving yet! It isn't-” The gown hit the doctor in the face, silencing his protest as she went to the front desk.

She checked out of the hospital that very day, Dinky in her hooves, and together set out, three fragile hearts against the world.

She hadn't remembered much then, and still didn't, but she had known Dinky was her family, and family means something. Especially when there's nopony else. She since had met so many wonderful and horrible ponies, but there could never be one she loved more than her own little Muffin, and her muffin needed to know it.

Ditzy spoke slowly into Dinky's ear, all the love in her voice that she could possibly muster. “Dinky, listen to my heart.” She gave Dinky a moment pressed up against her chest, letting the hammering within be heard. “I have one silly little heart, easily broken, easily swayed. You were given a second as a gift. It means you have twice the capacity to feel, to love, and to be loved, and I will not let anypony take that away from you. You aren't a freak, and you are never, ever hated.” She picked Dinky up, looking into her tearful eyes. “You are a brilliant little Muffin and always will be. This I promise from the bottom of my heart.”

Dinky sniffled, wiping her nose with her hoof. “You mean it?”

Ditzy hugged her close again. “I mean it.” As the two embraced once more, Ditzy listened close, just barely able to hear the four beat rhythm of Dinky's heart. It was always soothing to her, bringing with it feelings of love. Not just of her daughter, but of a time before, when the world was exciting and new. When somepony was next to her, somepony she would follow anywhere, somepony she could share her life with...

Somepony who marched to the beat of an unheard drum.

Her heart stuttered at that, a shock of fright shooting through her, though she couldn't find the source. It was in the fog... ever in the fog...

From against her breast her daughter spoke, mournfulness in her words. “I wanna go home... I don't want to be here anymore.”

Ditzy just nodded, pulling herself out of her thoughts. “Me too Muffin, me too...” Without thinking, she began to sing, a song which had always calmed the both of them, from both their foalhoods. “Hush now, quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head...”

“Hush now, quiet now it's time to go to bed...” Dinky replied, leaning into her mother. They looked at each other, a faint smile on their face as the song worked it's comforting magic. “But I'm not tired, mommy.”

“You don't have to be. Just think of home, and maybe it will bring us there.” She watched Dinky close her eyes, picturing her bed in her mind, and Ditzy did the same before she continued. “Drift, drift off to sleep leave the exciting day behind you. Drift, drift off to sleep let the joy of dream land find you...” The song echoed around the room, enveloping them in the comforts of home even in the cold, metal chamber. There, for just an instant, all was well once more.

---

The inner workings of Processing were as a maze as Ink Well slunk through them, his confidence in the Administration section failing here. Scaffolding and steel pipes criss-crossed the ceiling of the large, open concrete hall, while doors large enough for a stout train lined it, each sealed with a heavy slab of metal. Above each one was a different name painted in large, blocky yellow letters: “Holding,” “Preparation,” “Maceration,” “Extraction,” “Distillation,” and “Disposal.”

However, the scale wasn't the only thing differentiating this section from the previous one. It might not have been the number needed to fill all of those offices, maybe fifty ponies, no more, but compared to just himself and Rainbow Dash it was staggering. After the barren state of the narrow Administration halls, and the very presence of so many pegasi caused Ink Well to duck behind a large 'Raw Materials' crate on a dolly near the entrance, furtively peering out to make sure he wasn't seen. There he noticed two things: first, his costume needed modifications, as the ponies here had no hard hats, and second, the bulk of the movement was from Preparation, making it the most abandoned place and, therefore, the safest to investigate.

He had since left his helmet behind the crate, walking with what little confidence he had left through the ponies moving from section to section. However, one glance around him made him feel far less out of place. While he had slumped shoulders from trying to hide his identity, those around him were similarly slumped, their eyes exhausted, dull, and bloodshot, with large bags beneath them. There were even a few moving with a thousand-yard stare, a terror on their face that would not go away. Filling the remaining space was a myriad of pegasi in various stages of depression, from normal to downright miserable, the only smiles to be found strained, almost manic ones, and they were far between. What could they be doing that could be so... draining? They hardly look like ponies... A shudder ran through Ink Well, the thought horrible enough. Best not to think about it, at least until Ditzy is safe.

Slowly Ink Well edged his way through the tired ponies, slipping into Preparation through a small door set beside the larger metal one. Within were giant steel cylinders, like the vats of the perfumery back home scaled much larger, a pressure door built into the side of each. Every one of them had a large pipe connecting to the top, all filtering from a central one that wormed it's way across the ceiling from deeper in the factory. Walkways lined the top of the room, coming from those adjacent as well as the hall outside. The floor around each vat was grated, those all leading to a runoff grate that ran through the center and back the way the pipes came.

Ink Well wandered through the room with interest, trying the immobile hatches on the doors and hoping to get come clue as to what it was all for. There was no writing, no instructions, not even a sign that said 'X days since last accident' anywhere in the room, the bleakness perfectly complementing the still silence that hung in the air. Even with the ponies moving about outside, the only sound to be heard in here was the sound of his hooves

That is, until he neared the vat in the back corner of the room. As he walked by the door set in it, he heard a sound from within, very faint but definitely there. Puzzled, he placed his ear to the door, the muffled noise becoming melodic the more he listened. “Hush now, quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head...” It was a lullaby! And that voice... he couldn't be sure through the metal, but the hopeful excitement beating in his heart only let there be one pony in his mind that it could be.

“Hush now, quiet now it's time to go to bed...” And she was with somepony else. That voice sounded a lot younger, but Ink Well had no clue who it could be. Still, he didn't like the implication. Children too... how could they?

“Drift, drift off to sleep leave the exciting day behind you. Drift, drift off to sleep let the joy of dream land find you...” As the last two lines of the song approached, Ink Well leaned with his back against the wall, relief running through him. It was definitely Ditzy, it had to be, and she was comforting some scared foal in there... She really was a kind pony. And I'm a jerk for getting her into this mess.

Ink Well wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled to sing as well, joining the voice within the vat in harmony for the last lines. “Hush now, quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now it's time to go to bed.” He heard a sound of confusion within, and after a slight pause, he tapped on the wall of the steel prison. “Ditzy? Are you there?”
.

---

Both Ditzy and Dinky's attentions were drawn to the darkness as the muffled voice joined her song. It had been in perfect harmony, and though it was hard to tell through the steel, Ditzy felt hope lighting in her heart. “Muffin? Did you hear that too?”

Dinky nodded. “Yeah... who was it, do you think?”

As if to answer her question, a tap echoed through the chamber, the muffled voice sounding again. “Ditzy? Are you there?”

There was no doubt about it! Holding Dinky in her forehooves, Ditzy flew to the side of the tank, yelling to get through the metal. “Ink Well! Is that you?”

“Ditzy! I'm so glad I found you! Are you alright? Are you injured?” He'd come for her. Even after whatever happened earlier and after she left him in the records room, he'd looked for her. She didn't know whether to feel touched or honored, but hearing the happy sounds coming from her daughter, she decided joy was the best way to go.

“I'm fine. Can you get us out of here?”

“I thought I heard another voice in there. Who's with you?”

“It's Dinky!” There was a long pause after that, as though the words had just hit him like the revelation had hit her earlier. Except she couldn't remember if she'd told him about Dinky... She'd only met him the one time, and only mentioned Dinky in passing...

Just as she was starting to worry he'd left, there was a sigh of exasperation from the other side of the wall. “It's no good, the door's stuck tight. But I promise you're going to get out of there, alright? You can count on me!”

Ditzy looked down at her daughter, a huge smile on her face. “Did you hear that, Muffin? We're going to get out of here!” However, instead of the happiness she expected, Dinky looked puzzled, her head cocked to one side and her attention elsewhere, sapping some of Ditzy's energy. “Dinky?”

“Mom, what's that sound?” Ditzy stopped thinking about Ink Well for a moment, tilting her own head and listening as hard as she could. For a while there was nothing, but then, very faint, it grew edging on recognition. “It sounds like water going really fast.”

A cold chill ran through Ditzy as she remembered the drips from earlier. They were now getting harder to hear as the sound of water picked up to near deafening levels, but she could have sworn they were getting faster...

“Oh no... Ditzy, whatever you do, just stay calm and-” The rest of his words were drowned out by the downpour of liquid, crashing down in the center of the room and drenching both Ditzy and Dinky. Dinky yelped, jumping in the air and splashing when landing, the water level already higher than her hooves and bringing further panic from the filly.

Ditzy picked her daughter up, backing against the wall and as far from the foul chemical smelling liquid as she could. When her back was against it, she could here a pounding on the other side, Ink Well's voice barely pushing through. “I'll get you out of there Ditzy! No matter what happens, I promise you'll get out of there safe!”

Ditzy took it to heart, trembling as the cold rising water reached her thigh. I hope so, Ink Well, I really do.

---

The screams coming from within the vat only drove Ink Well on as he twisted the valve on the pressure door, trying with all his might to get it to unlock. Unfortunately it wouldn't budge, owing both to it's original locked state and the fact that this was exactly the type of thing it was created to prevent. This is pointless! C'mon Ink Well, think!

He ran around the steel cylinder until he found a seam in the weld, then he ran back and steeled himself. Not a second later he charged the vat, bucking it as hard as he could and feeling it ring beneath his hooves. But the sound wasn't nearly as hollow as his previous taps had been, and already he was worried he was low on time. As he ran back again, he heard a slam from the container, and when he turned he saw that it was dented out slightly right where he had just hit it. It was tiny, but it was something.

He charged again, turning at the last moment to buck with everything in his legs. The dent reversed, going slightly in, but he felt a lot of the power get absorbed by the water, bouncing from the wall and back into his legs. Undaunted, he ran back one more time, stopping against the concrete wall behind him. There he leaped up against it, springing off of it as hard as his legs could kick just as the vat pinged back out towards him. He flapped his wings, building up speed and tucking at the last second, impacting the dent with his shoulder.

Searing pain shot through his leg at the impact, throbbing over and over again at the scar on his hoof. He cursed as he realized which shoulder he'd just used, that leg still weak from when he'd broken it over a year ago. Sure, that impact had done something, but he was going to break if he did anything like that again. There had to be another way to save her, there just had to.

The water flow! Ink Well looked above him at the pipe gurgling and splashing away and nodded, his face set in determination. If I can't break the tank, I can at least stop the water. Pushing off of the ground with his three good legs, he shot up towards the pipe, turning around to stomp on it with one of his rear hooves. The impact was strong, leaving a large dent and a hoof print on the pipe. However, coming with that damage was a siren that blared through the room, with matching calls echoing throughout the factory.

Security... There were probably seconds at the most before guards showed up, or at least ponies investigating the problem, and that could not possibly end well. If he got caught, he couldn't hope to get back to Ponyville today. In fact, if he got caught, there was a strong chance he'd never get back to Rose at all... If he wanted to leave, he had to do it now.

Not without Ditzy. Ink Well dove to the floor, taking one glance at the door before kicking off again, slamming into the pipe with as much power as he could muster and denting it further, though another throb rushed through his leg. But the pain didn't matter to him. If something happened to Ditzy, I'd never be able to live with myself. I got her into this mess, and I promised I'd get her out. He landed once more, massaging his shoulder for just an instant as he looked at the pipe, now leaking but still resolutely open. “I always keep my promises.” He looked at the door once more, just daring a pony to come through it as he prepped to jump. “All of them.”

---

Ditzy kicked at the water, doing her best to keep her head above the turbulent wash as she reached over to Dinky, trying to do the same for her. Despite her best efforts, Dinky would occasionally sink, the ball of light on her horn dimming as it entered the sickly green liquid. When her head popped back up, Ditzy called out to her. “Dinky! Stop concentrating on the spell! Just focus on swimming!”

“Mommy!” Dinky yelled, getting sucked under the water once more. Ditzy immediately dove in after her, following the small form just before the light went out. Remembering where it was, she grabbed her daughter in her hooves, pulling her back up to the surface where both of them gasped for breath. Dinky coughed, sending some liquid from her body. “Mommy, I don't know if I can keep going.”

“You've got to Muffin! We're going to get out of here, okay? We're going to do it!” As she spoke, a thunk could be heard in the pipe, the rush of water slowing ever so slightly. “See! Ink Well's going to get us out of here! Just hold on!” Ditzy could feel Dinky's kicks getting weaker. It wouldn't be long at all before they stopped... At this rate she might not even reach the roof of the vat.

No! We're going to make it out of here! Whatever it takes! Just then her hoof bumped against something floating in the water, the image of the floor of bodies coming to her mind once more. What if they hadn't all been dead? What if they'd woken up as the water fell? Barely conscious, only to be drenched, unable to move, unable to breathe. The horror would just be...

Stop it, that isn't going to help anything! Another kick brought her hoof against the mass floating up again. Feeling Dinky sink a little more, a horrible idea entered her head. She gagged at the thought, but her words from earlier popped into her head once more. Whatever it takes...

Using her rear legs, she maneuvered the body as best as she could to the surface, feeling it pop up to the top and float just within her reach. She grabbed it, pulling it and Dinky closer together. “Dinky! Grab onto this, it'll help you stay afloat.”

Dinky grabbed on eagerly, though she flinched before fully latching on. “What it is?”

If she ever found out... “Just hold on and don't let go!”

“Okay...” Ditzy released her daughter, glad to feel her staying afloat just fine as her hoof moved away. Trying to check the water level, she reached up, the top of her hoof smacking hard against the roof. It was much closer than she expected.

Even with the water slowing, it wasn't going to stop in time. She had to do something, and she had to do it now. She remembered how far in the dent had pushed before the water covered it. It was their only hope.

She took in a deep breath, then pushed against the ceiling, diving deep into the liquid. Opening her eyes, they just stung, the chemical burning away at them while the darkness stopped any visibility there might have been. Squeezing them shut, she tried to remember the direction of the dent, swimming towards it in the churning, roiling waters. It took a few seconds of blind searching and bumping into uncountable floating horrors, but eventually she managed to find it. She pushed off in the opposite direction, her lungs starting to ache as she continued to hold her breath, but she muscled through, swimming to the opposite wall and pressing against it as her lungs started to burn.

There would only be one chance, and there would be no time for finesse. Luckily, she seemed to have a knack for a lack of finesse. Whether it was dropping packages or that incident so long ago with town hall, Ditzy had gained an almost supernatural destructive tendency when her eyes had gone strange. Probably just one more thing Ozone wants me dead for. It was a curse, something she worked as hard as she possibly could to avoid on a day to day basis, but today, it was going to be her saving grace.

She pushed off of the wall behind her with all of her might, the last of her air going into the action, and took off like a torpedo, both of her forehooves in front of her and her mind completely focused on the tip of the dent even as the edges of her consciousness started to fuzz. If this didn't work... It will.

The impact rippled through her body, the steel bending beneath her hooves, flipping inside out and then ballooning from the further force. Just as she slowed down, the fear that she hadn't made it edging into her mind, the metal gave, peeling open, the water pushing free and taking Ditzy with it. She hit the grated ground hard, bouncing to the side and gasping in pain, precious air filling her lungs as she did.

The sounds of sirens greeted her escape from the drink, followed by hooves landing next to her, a pair of them cradling her head. “Ditzy! Are you okay? Speak to me!”

“I'm fine, Ink Well... Just *cough* fine.” Ditzy spat out what gunk remained in her system, rolling over and trying to focus on the waterfall exiting the tank.

Ink Well looked as well, shock entering his eyes as mass after mass exited the tank, hitting the hard ground with a solid, wet thump. He was frozen by the sight as Ditzy shakily stood, walking back towards it just as one final form flew out. This one had a smaller unicorn attached to it, her eyes closed and her whole body trembling. Ditzy ran over, catching Dinky and pulling her free from the body, immediately turning her so that she couldn't see the pile that had formed under the vat. Dinky was crying again, still frightened from everything, and Ditzy shushed into her ear. “There, there. We're free now. Everything's alright.”

Ink Well walked up to the two, his shock and nauseousness only covered by the thinnest of veils. “Does... does she know about-?” He was cut off by Ditzy shaking her head. Taking that as a cue, both of them backed away from the pile, moving towards the center of the room.

Just as they reached it, the siren's call was heard. Guards burst in from the hall and on the upper scaffolding, cutting off their obvious escape routes and looking far more fit than either Ink Well or Ditzy at the moment. Ditzy's eyes widened in horror, her narrow escape from danger just a moment ago already feeling pointless, when her hoof was grabbed by Ink Well. “Run,” was all he said before he took off at a breakneck pace, Ditzy pulled along behind him.

---

Rainbow Dash kicked at the floor of the hallway, grumbling angrily as she walked back to her office. She'd just been chewed out completely by the guard for stealing his badge and running, the only thing that managed to get him to leave his post. When he finally caught up to her it was a solid five minutes of “What do you think you are doing? I am a member of the security team and rank higher than you, and here's a million reasons why that was a bad idea!” The things I do for friends...

But she was having a hard time even considering Ink Well that anymore. I mean, sneaking into my workplace, arguing with me in my office, calling me a nopony and then asking me to sell out my boss... Not cool. Except... she couldn't really be mad at him, because he did have a point. Even if Ozone wasn't lying and she was the biggest thing to hit the Weather Factory in a hundred years, so what? “Ooh, accounting! How awesome!” she said, kicking at the floor again. “The only thing cooler and more exciting is watching paint dry.” I could totally get out of here, go back to just low level clearing in Ponyville, practice my stunts...

But what then? This was the tenth time she'd been turned down for the Wonderbolts, the fourth after saving their lives! She could do a Sonic Rainboom on command, beat back an army of changelings, had more wingpower than any pony she knew, and STILL she wasn't good enough to be a Wonderbolt. Heck, Thunderlane got farther, and he's one of the dorkiest fliers on my weather team!Even if he does hide it under that wicked mohawk. Rainbow sighed. She wasn't ever going to be a Wonderbolt... they didn't even bother to tell her this time, just sent over the closest pony around.

And that was what bugged her. Sure, there was probably some reason she couldn't get in, like not being on the Varsity Fliers or something, or how they thought her mane wouldn't look awesome enough in the uniform, but come on! The least they could do is tell her. She saved their lives! She'd even hung with them more than once! Ever since she was a filly and saw her first flight show it was her dream to be a Wonderbolt, to soar with the very best, and they didn't even think her good enough to turn down themselves... Did she really want to fly with jerks like that? I mean, yeah, I suck, but... I'm not that bad, right? There is really only so much failure one pony could endure, and Rainbow had finally reached her limit.

Ozone thinks I'm good enough. He hired me right away, said I was going to the very top. So what if it's not as awesome? I'll be helping all of Equestria! What's better? A curtain of doubt hung over her last thought, dulling the whole thing. Does he really think I'm good enough. I'm, like, the only pony without Processing clearance. He probably thinks I suck too... Rainbow shook her head, throwing that thought out. “No! It's just like at the Best Young Flyer's Competition. Sure you're worried now. You've just gotta prove yourself and he'll come through.” Though that didn't help with the Wonderbolts, now did it?

Just as her thoughts began to circle on themselves, an alarm rang throughout the factory, calling all personnel to attention. As soon as she heard it, Rainbow took to the air, shooting down the hallways so fast it left a speed trail. This is it, Rainbow! Your chance to shine! Fix this and you're on Ozone's good side for sure! She shot around a corner, making a turn so sharp it could cut a knife in half, a move she'd practiced ever since Ink Well had outmaneuvered her after the Gala. Huh, I guess I still owe him something... Focus, Rainbow! Focus!

She came up to where the guard had been stationed, finding it empty, the hallway beyond free and clear. She flew through that, sliding to a halt outside a big metal door that said 'Preparation' where a spinning orange light and the loudest alarm of all declared something wrong. Inside guard ponies were moving, a whole bunch of them running together after a pair of ponies running into a back room. A pair of very familiar ponies...

Rainbow ran after them, ready to come to Ink Well's– No! He's the bad guy. You're with the guards! –the guard's aid. As she ran between the vats, the smell of decay and harsh chemicals filled her nose, causing her mind to reel as she searched for the scent.

A short glance around the room rooted her to the spot, jaw slack and hind end falling to the concrete. Horrible green liquid was pouring out of one of the vats, spilling over a pile of pony bodies, every kind and color heaped across the floor. She tried to speak, to ask somepony about them, but nopony paid them any mind, all of them too focused on the fleeing suspects. Which was fine, as Rainbow couldn't speak the question her mind was screaming.

“Oh dear... What are you doing here, Rainbow?” Rainbow managed to wrench her gaze from the carnage before her at the sound of her boss' voice, turning to find Ozone standing behind her, his trademark smile replaced with worry. “It's normally best to ease into these sorts of things, not toss them all at once.”

Rainbow looked from him to the bodies and back, baffled at how he could be so unfazed. It was then that she found her voice again. “Ozone, what the hay is all of this? What are those doing in the Weather Factory?” Another thought hit her right in the gut. “Were those...? Were those the 'Raw Materials?' Oh, geez, what kind of monster-?”

“Shh, now, Miss Dash.” Ozone walked towards her gently, a comforting smile one his face. “Let me explain everything.”

The Fall

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Ink Well and Ditzy burst through the back door of Processing, following the piping and coming out in another thin hall, small doors lining either side. A quick glance showed the hall the only viable path, as even as they hesitated the doors were opening, ponies in pursuit ready to surround them. “This way!” Ink Well yelled, nudging Ditzy to start her going. The fact that he'd had to tell her to move, had to grab her to make her escape, told him everything he needed to know. Ditzy didn't yet know how to run. While finding the simplest exit was second nature to him, it being his go-to action when words failed him, Ditzy was blind to it. She'd need a helping hoof, especially as she worried about Dinky, still clutching tightly to her back.

Ink Well shot down the hall, kicking doors shut as they opened and keeping a path clear for the mother behind him. He followed the water pipes from before. While they wouldn't lead him out, they would definitely lead him somewhere worth investigating. Above him they veered right, and so did he, ducking into a connecting hall as guards flooded the one before him. Ditzy skittered to a halt, eyes widening at the crowd before her even as the one behind caught up. Ink Well had reached the end of the hall and checked the door, seeing nothing in the room beyond, before Ditzy began running again, a solid wall of ponies behind her. Ink Well egged her on, holding the door open as he beckoned with a hoof and yelled at himself mentally. Darn it! Stay closer to her Ink Well, you know she needs the motivation. “C'mon! C'mon!”

Ink Well checked the room one more time, glad to confirm that nopony was about to jump on him. He also spotted something at the corner of his eye, a plan beginning to form as he looked back to Ditzy. She was almost there, seemingly a million ponies on her tail, but she would make it first. He held out a hoof, giving her all the encouragement he could with his eyes. She was going to make it. There was no other option. The gap closed, Ditzy giving one more full gait, then reaching out her own hoof towards his.

The two connected and in one fluid motion Ink Well pulled Ditzy through the door and slammed it shut on the horde. He then grabbed a cabinet by the door, pulling it until it tipped over, crashing to the ground and creating a makeshift barricade. Behind it the door moved, angry shouts filtering through the solid metal, but it held, the cabinet no more than scraping slightly on the ground. Ink Well sighed, the relief sinking into a smile. One more escape made. Now to get out of the factory...

“Ink Well... What is that?” Ink Well turned, about to ask Ditzy to clarify when the answer made itself apparent. In front of him was a massive ethereal steed, fierce eyes glowing white as it stared him down. Just the sight of it, the power radiating off of it and the despair just looking at it generated, caused Ink Well's heart to chill. It seemed ready to run him down, but something was holding it back...

It took Ink Well a few moments to realize it was captive, held inside a large clear container. Four more of the beasts swirled through the air behind it, running like a winter storm in the tiny area, all snorting and whinnying angrily, a flurry of snow flying in their wake. Around the viewing window, which took up much of the large wall behind them, were various dials marked as measuring temperature, snow creation, and activity. Painted above the whole scene, in large yellow letters like those that marked the rest of the wing, were the words 'Snow Generation,' casually downplaying the gravity of the situation.

“Woah...” Ink Well saw Dinky tap at her mother's back, running up to the window as soon as she was put down and looking into the creature's eyes. Ditzy kept a close eye on her, never more than a step away, ready to protect her child from anything.

Ink Well walked up behind them, stunned by what he was seeing. “Ditzy, do you know what those are?” Ditzy gave him a confused look, her mismatched eyes only adding to the effect, so Ink Well continued. “Those are Windigos!”

Ditzy's eyes widened and she looked upon the caged creature with new respect. “Windigos? Like from Hearth's Warming Eve? I thought those were a myth!”

Ink Well nodded. “They are. There hasn't been a single documented Windigo sighting in recorded history, as far as I'm aware. There just hasn't been enough general contempt or despair to keep them fed. But these ones look really healthy...” If the legends were true, the ponies outside wouldn't be nearly enough to keep these five fed and fit. It's an ingenious way to make snow, all truth be told, but where is the despair coming from?

Dinky frowned at the tank. “Mom, they look sad... can we help them?”

Ditzy looked conflicted, frightened by the beasts, but not wanting to disappoint her daughter, whose large eyes continued to ask the question. After a few seconds, she relented. “Of course dear. I don't know how, but we'll try.”

The cabinet by the door sliding stole the attention of the three from the tank. Immediately Ink Well's running instinct kicked in and he looked around, spying for an exit and finding one in the form of a catwalk running through the upper edge of the room. He had no clue where it went, but it was better than nothing. “Time to move, let's go!” He flew up to the walkway, looking along it to see if there would be any interference, but it seemed to have been forgotten by their pursuers. Satisfied, he turned back to find the others not yet with him. Both were on the floor, Dinky looking fearfully at the door, while Ditzy held her in her arms, looking fearfully towards him. Confused, he flew back down to her. “Ditzy, what's wrong? We need to move.”

“I... I don't want to fly while holding Dinky.”

Ink Well looked to the door, briefly making eye contact with a guard behind it as he shoved and pushed. They didn't have time for hesitation. “Can you not do it, or...”

“No, it's not that, it's just...” Ditzy looked to the floor, cheeks burning red with shame. “I don't always... fly right, and I'm afraid I might hurt her, or drop her when my balance goes... weird, or-”

Understanding her concern, Ink Well offered the easiest solution. “Do you want me to do it?”

“NO!” Ink Well jumped back as Ditzy's hug tightened around Dinky, true panic appearing in her eyes, which only seemed to fade after a good long while, recognition replacing the terror in her. “No... it's not you, it's just... I can't lose her again, and.... and I don't...”

Ink Well leaned down next to her, placing a hoof on her shoulder, which she ignored, looking down at the filly in her arms. “Ditzy, look at me.” When her gaze was pulled towards him, he met it with a serious one, holding her attention. She had to know that he meant every word he was about to say. “Ditzy, you will do fine. Just because you fly funny doesn't mean you're suddenly going to forget you love your daughter. In the short time I've seen you together I already know that you would never let anything happen to her, even accidentally. You need to have a little faith in yourself. You act like you're unable to do anything, like just because your eyes are odd means everypony has the right to treat you like nothing, and that simply isn't true. You are a pony, like everypony else, nothing more, nothing less. And while that may not seem like much, it's the most important thing there is. Because one pony, in the right place, at the right time, can change the world.” He paused, watching as the words sank into Ditzy, the fear still present in her eyes slowly disappearing, replaced by a cautious confidence. After a moment, he took a step back, extending his wings. “I know you have that potential, and what's more, I know that you would never let Dinky lose her chance at the same.”

With that, he took off, landing on the catwalk moments later. He took a couple steps towards the exit, looking ahead when he heard the cabinet slide and the door slam open below. In an instant he was ready to fly back down, prepared to hop into the fray when he heard another set of hooves touch down behind him. Turning, he saw Ditzy with Dinky delicately balanced on her back, a sureness in her that he hadn't seen since their time with The Doctor. He smiled at her, and she smiled back, opening her mouth to speak.

“Up there! C'mon colts, after them!”

The shout from below cut off her words, but Ink Well seemed to get them anyway, just letting his smile deepen. “You ready for another run?”

“It's better than staying here.” In unison their hooves rattled the catwalk, though it was quickly drowned out by the legion in pursuit.

---

Dinky seemed to weigh nothing at all as Ditzy galloped behind Ink Well, copying his every move. She didn't know what it was about his pep talk, but just hearing that she was worth something from somepony that wasn't herself, well... it made all the difference in the world.

Still, she couldn't help but feel awkward at the occasional misplaced hoof or slight roll on a spin. Ink Well was faster than any squirrel, darting down catwalks and gliding between floors, and Ditzy simply didn't have the capacity to keep up with him, try as she might. The worst part was every misplaced hoof would cause Dinky's grip to slip, and she'd have to slow down to make sure her Muffin didn't fall off. Behind them, hoofsteps, ever pounding closer, ever growing louder, and she dared not think about the pursuit, focusing completely on following the ink black tail before her.

Which is why, after another sharp down a hall, she was shocked to find it missing. Muscles burning and mind shocked from the disappearance, she didn't even have time to react as a hoof shot out to grab her, pulling her and her daughter into a side room where the door shut tight. She gasped heavily, preparing to scream before she was met with the sight of Ink Well, one hoof to his mouth to silence her as the sound of guards rushed past. Second by breathless second slowly passed, until, after an eternity, silence finally came. Knowing they were safe for a moment, Ditzy knew her first priority. “Dinky, how are you holding up? You alright?”

Dinky nodded, poking her head over Ditzy's shoulder. “I'm fine. Just scared.”

Ditzy smiled calmly, nuzzling her daughter. “It's okay Muffin, I'm scared too.” They both shared a nervous laugh, letting the tension ease for a bit as Ditzy caught her breath and Dinky stretched out her hooves. It was then that Ditzy realized Ink Well had moved off a way, leaning over a railing and staying oddly still. She walked over to him, an edge of worry for her savior on her words. “What's going on, Ink Well?” When he didn't respond, she looked over the railing, and in an instant she understood.

Below them were at least a hundred gryphons in strange machines that held them over treadmills, each of which was connected to what looked to be a generator, with wires running off to the side of the room. Not a single one of them didn't look thin and haggard, most limping or scrambling desperately at the rollers. Those who moved too slowly had sharp spines driven into their rear by the apparatus around them, urging them on past fatigue. Even as she watched, one particularly frail gryphon tripped on the machine, met only by a tether choking around his neck and long pines drawing blood from him. He gave out a tired screech, then went limp, not even registering as more and more of the cold metal sunk in.

Wincing and choking on the surge up her throat, Ditzy turned from the sorry scene, her own body aching in sympathetic response. By Celestia's mane, who could do such a thing? “Mom, what's going on over there?” Her face blanched when she heard her daughter's voice, thinking of what might happen if Dinky saw this... When she had swallowed down the problem and her breath was to a manageable state, she turned, trying her hardest to smile.

“I'm fine, Dinky, just... just stay over there, okay?” Dinky nodded and Ditzy inched next to Ink Well, her eyes still wide with horror. “What are they doing to them?”

Ink Well looked coldly on the scene below, an obvious anger on his face. “They're being used for power.”

Even though it fit what she saw, Ditzy mind couldn't actually process that thought. “What?”

Ink Well changed his position on the rail, his hooves clenching around the top of it. “Those sick monsters are using enslaved gryphons as a cheap energy source!” His hooves then relaxed, and with a severe look he locked eyes with Ditzy. “This has to be stopped. This can't just be told to the public or brought to light, this has to stop now.”

Ditzy could feel the seriousness radiating from his stare, the pure righteous anger that drove him just beneath the surface. This was past a moral objection, this was wrong for him on a fundamental level, and nothing was going to make him stop here. And if he was going... “How can we stop it?”

It was almost as if Ink Well only finally noticed her then, his anger immediately shifting to uncertainty. But before he could try to convince Ditzy otherwise, a slam sounded from the door, followed immediately by a cry of “Mommy!”

They both spun to see Dinky pressed against the door, her horn glowing brightly and sweat running down her face. Just above her head the lock was glowing as well, though that was barely holding the door together. They both ran over, pushing against the door with their own weight right as Dinky's horn flared, her magic going out. “Dinky! Are you alright? What happened?” Worried, Ditzy rubbed a hoof on her head until a jolt from the door brought it to her full attention.

Dinky shook her head slowly, one eye shut as she pushed through a pain in her head. “A bad pony was trying to sneak through the door, but I saw him and slammed it shut.” Outside shouting could be heard, the pursuit growing once more once their target was found. Dinky looked forlorn at that, her head sinking slightly. “I'm sorry. Now they know where we are...”

“No! Don't be sorry, we-” another jolt at the door pushed Ditzy off, but she shoved back, easing the pressure for a moment, “-we wouldn't have stopped them if you hadn't thought fast with your magic. You did amazing!”

Seeing Dinky perk up a little and lean her whole weight into the door again, Ditzy turned to Ink Well, where she already saw the gears of thought in motion. She didn't even need to ask him for a plan, as he had one ready before she was focused past holding the door. “Ditzy, on the count of three, take Dinky and fly over the gryphons and look for the nearest exit. You two are getting out of here.”

What? Is he crazy? “What about you? You can't hold this alone!” As if to prove her point, the pressure on the door rose again, causing all three of them to grunt with exertion as they put their entire body into holding it shut.

Ink Well shook his head, smiling a terribly confident smile. “I'll distract them, get them chasing me deeper in. I should be able to outrun them.”

Even with his confidence, Ditzy could feel doubt creeping in. “I can't move as fast as you, what if they catch me?”

Ink Well's smile faded, replaced with a serious promise. “They won't. Just remember, it's not about where you're running to, it's what you're running from. The 'to' will sort itself out.” A hard slam at the door pushed it open a crack, cutting off any further discussion on the matter. Ink Well swallowed, braced against the door harder, and began counting.

“One.” Ditzy took one last look at Ink Well, surprised by how calm he was, even under the strain of everything about to happen, and resolved to do what he asked.

“Two.” She tensed her legs, ready to grab Dinky and spring over the railing. They would be fine. They'd make it out. Ink Well had promised. Entire body prepared, she waited for the last count.

“Thr-”

Pandemonium struck as the doors flew open, bowling over the three ponies on the other side. Ditzy scrambled to right herself, he skewed sense of balance trying to fight her every step of the way. She had to run. She had to grab Dinky and run!

“Mommy!” Ditzy finally seemed to get her legs under her in time to spot Dinky being grabbed by a guard, her lavender coat disappearing beneath his burly sky blue hoof. Another glance to the side saw Ink Well held strong, two ponies on each limb and another clamped onto his back, preventing all movement.

Three ponies were advancing towards her, and her legs tensed, half of her head screaming to leave while the other half pulled her towards her friend and family. She panicked, both options fighting for control of her body, when she saw Ink Well slowly shake his head. Though his eyes were still filled with fury, his face was calm, telling her not to fight it.

Taking his advice, she relaxed, standing still and loose when the guardsponies took hold of her, roughly moving her to the others. Once they were together, the whole mob's attention shifted to the door, where two familiar ponies stood.

One was the wretched stallion that knocked her out, walking with an aloof, smug air towards them. Behind him was Rainbow Dash, whose appearance struck Ditzy completely off guard. Last Ditzy remembered, Rainbow had been yelling at her, firing her after the Town Hall incident. What was she doing up here? However, moreso than her location, she didn't look herself at all. She was obviously conflicted and confused, neither of which Ditzy had ever seen on her face, and they only got worse as she neared the railing and spotted the sight below.

She didn't have time to think about it as everything began happening at once. Ozone approached them, looking at them like a nuisance before turning and smiling to the lead guard. “Please take him to the extraction chamber and the others to the observation deck, will you?” The guard just nodded, motioning for those around Ink Well to follow him.

“Thanks,” said Ozone, giving them a friendly wave before turning to the remaining two intruders. He seemed to be inspecting them, but Ditzy didn't pay it any mind, instead watching as Ink Well's head bent low for a moment, then rose just as he left the room. Something white hit the floor behind the guards, ignored by them, but drawing Rainbow's attention. She hurried over, picking up whatever it was and putting it in a pocket on her lab coat quickly.

“Move,” said the guard behind Ditzy, pushing her with a hoof to get her moving and breaking her from her curiosity. Ahead of her, Ozone and Rainbow walked off in one direction, while the prisoners and their guards moved in the other. As she walked, she looked over at Dinky, still held by the other pony, her giant eyes showing nothing but fright. Ditzy's heart panged and every fibre of her being quailed, but she continued walking, putting on a strong front and ready for whatever was coming.

---

Rainbow followed Ozone unsteadily, looking down the hall and trying to see where Derpy and Ink Well had been taken. With all the things she'd seen just in the last few minutes, her mind was reeling, the horrors of Processing seeming to know no end. Yet, Ozone had promised to explain, and she had to give him some credit. This is going to need one heck of an explanation.

As if responding to her thoughts, Ozone's pleasant voice drifted back to her. “Ms. Dash, I am sure you have a lot of questions, especially after that little impromptu tour, but I hope that any misgivings you may have will be assuaged at the end of our talk.” He turned a corner, giving her a friendly smile as he did so, one that just unnerved Rainbow further. With all the things you see, how can you just smile like that?

If her wondering bothered him, he didn't show it as he spoke. “You see, Ms. Dash, the weather factory is about much more than just the weather. Although that is indeed one of the primary functions, the actual application and maintaining of weather is up to the separate parts of the nation. We simply make the clouds, they schedule and empty them, and the cycle keeps on turning. We then provide overseeing to ensure the weather is uniform, giving citations when necessary.” He laughed warmly. “Really, a paltry job, unworthy of the finest Cloudsdale minds. Still, it is a challenge, and we have done everything in our power to live up to it, including some things that many ponies below may find... questionable. However, Princess Celestia's wishes stand, and so they remain in the dark.”

Rainbow stumbled in her tracks, almost landing face first on the concrete, her mouth wide in shock, while Ozone just continued to trot along like nothing happened. “Wait, the Princess knows about all of this?”

Ozone stopped, turning with a slightly puzzled look. “Of course she knows. She's the one who told us to do it.”

Rainbow's mind shut down at that point. The image of the Princess, smiling, laughing, the benevolent ruler of the country, telling them to do unspeakable things to ponies, enslave and torture gryphons, and capture and feed Windigos just to keep the weather running... It couldn't be right. “She can't possibly have said all of this was okay.”

Ozone just chuckled, walking back and hanging a friendly hoof over her shoulder, drawing her to walk along side her. “Rainbow, she did. Three hundred and fifty years ago our beloved ruler, Princess Celestia, commissioned the weather factory to do two things: create, stabilize, and manage the nation's weather at any cost, and collect and store magic for use of the nation's unicorns. What you have seen either applies to one or the other. Windigos provide an endless source of snow while also being kept far from where they can harm any pony. As for the gryphons, they provide us an efficient, cost effective way of generating power for thunder storms. In return we give them shelter, food, and other gryphons to play with. It's a paradise.”

The image of the gryphon impaled on the machine below haunted her, the blood oozing from the wounds and his face locked in a soundless scream, while the others toiled away around him. It was no paradise she'd ever seen... For just a second, it was not his face, but Gilda's she saw, and her heart pounded in her chest, her head shaking to get the awful picture away. When it stopped, a new image held strong: the pile of bodies outside of the tank. “What about the bodies?”

Ozone seemed slightly saddened by that. “Ah, yes. Unfortunately, it is unsavory work, but I can assure you it is for the most noble of causes. And is much of the reason why you are here.” Ozone's hoof left her shoulder, and he took a few quick steps to be just ahead of her as they continued down the hallway. “You see, we are in a magic shortage, and have been since Nightmare Moon's Rebellion over a thousand years ago. It sowed the seeds of distrust among the populace, which grew to resentment, which grew to hatred, gnawing and tearing at the very fabric of magic, the rest of it being twisted by Nightmare Moon's own power until it was weakened considerably. In the years of the aftermath, unicorn magic began to fail, pegasi found flying and fixing the weather difficult, and even earth ponies couldn't grow plants as well as they hoped. Farms were dying, forests were shriveling, and if nothing stopped, Equestria was going to perish.

But, as the crisis reached its peak, Princess Celestia commissioned the brilliant minds of the Cloudsdale pegasi to solve the problem, masking it beneath the request to stabilize the weather. On her orders, the factory was built within months, and research began. It took less than a year to find the answer, and once they had, the founders were worried. For magic is inside of everything: the air, the plants, the ground, but most prominently, in us. Living things, particularly sentient ones, were the strongest sources of natural magic, and when they die, it slowly diffuses back into the system over the course of a decade. If we wanted that magic back, we would have to do something to the corpses, a great taboo of society, even back then. However, when brought before the Princess, she said but one thing: 'Let nothing stop you. Do whatever must be done.'”

Ozone turned to face her, a triumphant grin on his face. “That was a scant three hundred and fifty years ago, and the nation, thanks to our efforts, has prospered and thrived. We get magic into the system as fast as it leaves, through processes we have refined over the entire time, exactly to the Princess's orders. We remove the sick, the disabled, the ancient, and the dead and return them to the pure magic they came from, for the good of everypony. That was what you saw in that tank.”

Princess Celestia ordered it... Rainbow brought up the picture again: The Princess, the factory founder in front of her, approving of every action. Even in a time of strife, to let them happen... If she allows them, then it cannot possibly be all bad, right?

The very thought frightened Rainbow, but she found she wasn't actually frozen from it like she thought she might be. Yes, they were atrocities, but they were committed for the good of the country. For the betterment of everypony in Equestia. If that was the case, were they still horrible? Or were they something less... As Rainbow debated this, a comment Ozone had made nibbled at her mind, and she jumped on it. “Professor, how is this the reason I'm here?”

Ozone walked to her, looking her in the eyes. “Because you have a unique talent which could be a breakthrough in magic gathering. You have a move that you can complete, the Sonic Rainboom, which creates a rainbow in its wake. Apart from being a very nice effect, this has staggering consequences you're probably not even aware of. Rainbows are the visual representation of what happens when magic is separated from another substance. Liquid rainbows are the result of our process here in the lab, where it is bottled and shipped off to the various stations to follow the rain and ponies who use it for decoration. Your Rainboom, on the other hoof, is a result of you breaking the magic barrier with your flying, something nopony has ever done before.”

Rainbow blushed at the admiration seeming to flood from Ozone's eyes, the complement getting her to laugh nervously and lose some of her previous fears. “Yeah, I am amazing...”

“You are, Ms. Dash. You have a natural talent at magic collection, one you weren't even aware of. With proper training, you could lead Equestria into a new age of prosperity. This is why I sought you out. Under my wing, you will grow to become the leader this factory needs.” Ozone wrapped a hoof around Dash, pulling her into a hug while he showed her the future with his other hoof. “You, Ms. Rainbow Dash, will be the next head of the Weather Factory.”

The excitement caught up to her, sweeping her from her fears and placing her on cloud nine. “I will? I mean, of course I will! Who else is right for the job?” She could see it, Equestria bright and happy, stronger than it had ever been, and all because of her! She could be more than just one of the Elements of Harmony, she could be a true hero. She looked over to Ozone and beamed. “Where do I start?”

Ozone beamed back. “Wonderful!” He opened a door, ushering her inside. “Your first lesson begins now.”

Rainbow trotted merrily into the room, her mood dropping as soon as she saw what it held. A blur of grey and blonde lunged at her, held back at the last moment by two very burly guards. The fireball didn't stop, though, a clear anger in her eyes. “How could you do this Dash? How could you be a part of this?”

It took a moment for Rainbow to recognize the pony in front of her as Derpy, little Dinky being held behind her by just one pony, a hoof over her mouth, though it failed to hide her large, weepy eyes, which asked her simply 'Why?' At the accusation of both ponies before her, she stammered, no answer ready in her head.

Ozone walked past her, breaking the line of sight with the firebrand before her. “Ms. Dash, ignore her. The ponies below will never understand the truth of the matter, the reason this is all needed. They let their hearts cloud their minds.”

Derpy pushed forward against her guard. “This is wrong! Whatever you're going to do to Ink Well, it's wrong!”

Ozone just shook his head. “This is a perfect example. This is why we work in silence: to let them witness is to never get anything done. Air Pressure, please silence her.” Derpy was about to speak again, but a heavy hoof clamped down over her muzzle. As she struggled, Rainbow looked around the room. There was the panel of a machine set into the left wall, a door opposite the one Rainbow entered, and an observation window to her right. Curious of what was below, she walked towards it.

Below, Ink Well was strapped to a table, his four hooves spread open and his muzzle and wings strapped shut. His outfit had been removed, along with his bag, leaving him utterly helpless, though that didn't mean he didn't fight against the restraints. The rest of the room around him looked very much like a room in a hospital, complete with a tray of tools beside him, bright lights above, and a myriad of large needles and saws attached to a stand next to him. He was flanked by two ponies in goggles and surgical masks who were preparing the room, placing more implements on the trays and applying something to Ink Well's chest.

“Quite the sight, isn't it?” Rainbow jumped a little at the voice, ripping her attention from below and turning it to Ozone, whose face held a subtle smile. “It has been a long time since we have used this method, inefficient and barbaric with recent advances in extraction techniques. This was the first operating theater, right at the factory's core, when ponies were still unsure of the ethics. They even set an emergency shut off into the room, to bring down the entire factory if things went too far, only to be activated by the factory's head.” He laughed shortly. “A silly notion, but one that has been passed down just as faithfully as Celestia's own orders.”

He then looked from Ink Well to Derpy, a slight frown forming. “Unfortunately, these three have damaged our newer methods, and so we will have to practice the ancient, barbaric arts. It will only take a few hours to repair, but such a nuisance as the one they caused cannot be allowed to go unpunished.” He placed a hoof on her back, showing his trust in her. “This is your first test. If you hope to lead the factory, you must be willing to make tough choices without hesitation. You must deal with dissent swiftly and effectively.”

A yelp came from the guard, who shook his hoof in pain as Ditzy spat fur from her mouth to speak. “'Deal with dissent?' What kind of leader fights against saving ponies from being stolen from their homes and thrown in a tank to drown?”

Ozone spun on the spot, his smile strained as he walked towards Derpy. “This is for the good of Equestria, my dear Ditzy. We remove the flaws and imperfections of pony kind, returning them in the form of magic, pure and simple. The crime you state is a speck of dirt on an otherwise sterling action.”

“Sterling action? You hurt ponies! You hurt their families, their friends! They'll never know what happened to the missing pony! They will just wonder forever. What kind of leader would hurt friendships so-” Derpy's rant was stopped by Ozone's hoof striking across her face, snapping it to the side and sending her eyes rolling in her head.

“Silence! You could never hope to understand what we do here, you would only destroy it. This is why you will be removed.” As he walked away, the guard's hoof fell, covering Derpy's mouth once more. However, the guard holding Dinky began to struggle against the squirming, screaming ball in her hooves. Dinky kicked and yelled at Ozone from her prison, but he ignored it, instead straightening his glasses and his hair before smiling at Rainbow once more. “I'm sorry you had to see that.” He then pressed a button against the window, talking into a microphone beside it. “How far from beginning the procedure?”

One of the surgeons below turned back, her voice tinny in the speaker. “Just a few more minutes. Stitch went to get the anesthetic. When she gets back we will apply it and then we can begin.”

Ozone pressed the button again, his smile never fading in the slightest. “If you would be so kind, don't bother with the anesthetic. It will only slow us down further. Thanks.” The surgeon below nodded, and Ink Well began to struggle once more, his bonds holding tight.

Seeing him fighting, Rainbow felt a deep cold in the bottom of her heart. You can't let him do this! Ink Well's your friend! You can't let him die.

But he will bring it all to light if freed. came the response. He will ruin everything this factory does. Besides, he isn't even that close a friend. Would you really suffer if he were lost?

But what if it were Pinkie Pie? Or Fluttershy? Would you be so willing to lose one of them?

But if it would benefit Equestria, isn't any sacrifice worth it? If the Princess wanted it, would you go against her wishes?

Even if the Princess asked, could you really go through with it?

You could lead the whole factory. You could control the weather, the fate, of all of Equestria. You could lead it to a brighter future.

As a bureaucrat, and in a job you don't even truly care for. You're a flyer, not a factory pony... Do you really want to abandon your dream for that?

What is your dream against all of Equestria?

The argument played out over and over in her head, both sides repeating the same points, both sides pulling her in opposite directions, while she simply gazed into the room below, unable to look away. She could hear Dinky struggling, Derpy's muffled voice joining her after a little bit of time. She also heard Ozone chuckle warmly- though the warmth could no longer be felt, only heard- as the missing surgeon entered the theater with a large tank only to be told it wasn't needed. But none of them registered, her mind lost as it was in its own personal duel.

And then, like a bolt, a new thought entered it. Look at the paper. Thinking the thought strange, Rainbow's eyes slowly focused, noticing that Ink Well was looking directly at her. A moment later the thought repeated. Please Rainbow, look at the paper. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew it was from Ink Well, and she almost ignored it, but the thought that it may provide some sort of relief from the argument in her head caused her to follow the order.

It was just a blank piece of paper in a small leather holster, the front clear so it could be seen. She didn't even really know why she'd picked it up, just that she'd seen it fall and was drawn towards it. But it wasn't going to help! It was blank! Her argument started again in her head, driving her mad with the conflicted voices. She was about to throw the paper in anger when words appeared before her eyes, writing themselves out, then disappearing as she passed them only for new ones to take their place.

It read: 'Rainbow, I don't know what's going on up there or what might be going through your mind, but if I know you half as well as I hope I do, you're conflicted on what to do right now. What is the right move, who to believe, whether to jump in and try to save me or leave me to my fate... I don't want you to worry about that. Put everything aside: Ditzy, Dinky, Ozone, Equestria, your friends, me, your duty as the Element of Loyalty... everything. Don't worry about any of that.

Just be loyal to yourself. Follow your values, your heart and your mind, and do what you truly believe is right. The rest will follow. – Ink Well.'

As the paper returned to blank, Rainbow looked up around the room, the moment freezing in time. Derpy and Dinky, struggling and fighting against the guards. Ozone, confidently awaiting the process to begin. Ink Well, flanked by the surgeons, their tools in hoof as they readied for the procedure...

And everything was suddenly clear.

---

Ditzy yelled into the hoof clamped against her muzzle, trying in vain to bite it like before. She had to stop this, for the sake of Ink Well, herself, and her daughter. She had to make this happen, because it was clear Rainbow wasn't helping. If anything, Rainbow seemed to be in on it, and Ditzy was already prepared to fight her too, if it came down to that. But first she had to escape.

She tried to maneuver to kick the guards, but they were smarter than that, holding her in such a way that she just couldn't get an angle on them. And strain as she might with her wings, they were pinned as well, signaling she really was trapped.

She turned her head as far as she could, getting to see Dinky just out of the corner of her eye. Her Muffin was fighting away as well, little flickers of magic popping up, though they never lasted long. She had never been strong with magic, and with all the excitement, getting her to concentrate would be impossible. As if responding to her thought, Dinky tried to make a spell happen, only succeeding in shooting a spark from the tip of her horn. Her eyes spun slightly, the backlash from before still having an effect on her. She then slumped down, looking at Ditzy with eyes full of defeat.

Ditzy wanted to put on a brave front, especially with Dinky's pure eyes on her, but she just couldn't. Looking the other way, she was just barely able to see Ink Well below. However, instead of getting the inspiration she hoped for, her heart sank at what she saw. He was laying calmly on the table, eyes closed, breathing slow, as the surgeons' blades got ever closer to his chest.

He had given up. After all of his bravado, all of his promising, he had given up... Ditzy let her shoulders droop, looking down at her hooves, or she would if the hoof on her face wasn't blocking her view. It was over. Ozone had won.

She glimpsed up at him, anger burning in her as she watched him smile at the impending incision. He didn't care about ponies, and for all he spouted about the good of Equestria, he didn't know a thing about it. He was locked in a stale way of thinking, and it was going to carry on. Ditzy sighed at the depressing thought. He will go on, while Dinky will be snuffed out... She closed her eyes, body tensing for the pained screaming to come.

Alarms blaring caused Ditzy's eyes to shoot open, revealing the red glow that bathed the entire room. All eyes were on Ozone, who slowly turned around, confusion evident on his face. Everyone's eyes traveled with him, looking to the other end of the room, where Rainbow stood at the panel set in the wall, Ink Well's paper in one hoof, her other poised over a large red button, the glass case that had been protecting it raised.

Ozone's face became stern, a look more menacing in the red light, the alarms trying to drown out his words. “Ms. Dash, what do you think you are doing?”

Rainbow didn't move, her hoof not wavering in the slightest, her own face matching his. “I am doing what I should have done the moment I entered this room.”

Ozone seemed puzzled, like it was something that could never have occurred to him. “How did you open the case? Only the factory head has that authority.”

Rainbow smirked. “You kept saying I'd be the next head of the factory. I guess it heard you.”

Ozone took a step forward, a clear objective visible on his face as he cautioned Rainbow against her action. “Ms. Dash, I want you to think seriously about this. What you are doing will not just endanger the lives of everypony in the factory, but all of Equestria.”

“I know.” Her hoof lowered a little, just touching against the red metal.

Ozone took another step forward, a greedy grin on his face. “You could be a great leader. You could decide the fate of the world.”

Rainbow stopped, thinking about it, her hoof raising. “You know, I could...” Ozone's grin slowly became a smile, while Ditzy's heart stuttered. No! Rainbow! You were so close!

Rainbow tapped a hoof on her chin, then seemed to come to a decision. “A great leader has to be willing to make touch choices without hesitation.” Her hoof fell from her chin, slamming onto the button in full force. “And I'm choosing to take this factory in the right direction.”

Immediately the alarms stopped, as did the red light, and for just a moment everything hung in silence. Then the building shook with an almighty rumble, rocking and swaying before tilting heavily, gravity pulling it like a stone.

---

The sensation of the entire building falling was unnerving, like the ground beneath you, while still being there and solid, slowly pulling away from your hooves. However, that was nothing compared to the quaking, the tremors strong enough to throw Ditzy and Dinky free of the guards' grasps. The guards immediately ran for the nearest door, flying down the twisted hall in an attempt to escape the building. Ozone watched them go, venom in his gaze, but no attempt at stopping them made.

Once free, Ditzy looked around the room once, scanning over Rainbow and Ozone before coming to a decision. She leaped for the observation window, smashing through it and flying down to Ink Well below. The surgeons had scattered, their tools sliding across the floor with the titling of the building. Ditzy pulled rapidly at Ink Well's binding, watching as a surprisingly calm pony got up from the table, one sentence exiting his lips. “I knew she'd make the right choice.”

In the main room, Rainbow Dash stared down Ozone, whose so often kind face was a mask of anger. They simply stared for a few moments, both of them tense, and then, in unison, they moved, Rainbow shooting towards Ozone as he galloped for the door. Just as she was about to connect, he slid, causing her to slip, her momentum carrying her past him and hard against the microphone next to the window. The wind shot out of her system, but she fought it, forcing her unwilling muscles to continue the chase.

After what felt like an eternity, she was up, only to see Ozone had gone nowhere. He was tripped by the door, pulling on his rear right hoof, which was covered in a lavender glow. Behind him, Dinky was glaring at him, determination and anger on her face. “You do not hurt my mom!”

Ozone glowered at the filly trapping him, lunging and raising a hoof at her in anger. Before his hit could connect, he was slammed into from the side, Rainbow Dash pushing him against the back panel and pinning him against the wall. He coughed, glaring into her eyes with a frightened ferocity. “You foal! Do you know what you have done? If we don't leave now, we will never escape before the factory crashes! We'll all die here!”

“Then you are going down with us.” Ink Well landed behind Rainbow, a dark smirk on his face.

“After all, you brought us here, you get to live with the consequences.” Ditzy landed beside Ink Well, a matching look on hers.

Ozone looked between the three of them, hatred for them all seeping from his every fiber. “You are all foals of the highest calibre.”

“That's better than a monster any day.” Rainbow brought back her hoof, smashing it into Ozone's muzzle and slamming him against the wall, knocking him out cold. She then turned around, a sheepish look on her face. “I'm sorry everypony...”

Ink Well stopped her, shaking his head. “Don't be. You made the right choice, in the end.”

Rainbow looked surprised, expecting anger, not forgiveness. “But we won't make it out in time. We're gonna crash.”

Ink Well shrugged. “Yeah, but no matter what happens, we can take solace in two things. We stopped the Weather Factory...”

“...and we're all together.” said Dinky, running up and hugging her mother's leg. Ink Well just smiled. It was better than his second reason.

Ditzy looked down at Dinky, her victory bittersweet as the factory shook around them. “It's been a good run.” She leaned down, hugging Dinky back, then offering a group hug to the other two, who graciously accepted. Then, the four of them, together, braced and waited for the inevitable.

---

The wreckage from the crash and subsequent magical explosion of the Weather Factory wrecked havoc on the rolling plains beneath Cloudsdale. Wisps of low hanging cloud drifted, caught on jagged edges of metal and concrete that peppered the unpopulated area, while pools of rainbow formed in low lying vales. One hill looked like the center of a localized blizzard, covered in feet of snow, and the ethereal remains of two Windigos, while another had sprouted a glade of giant mushrooms, all of which glowed brightly with their own light.

Almost immediately salvage and search and rescue crews had descended upon the broken factory, joined by the Wonderbolts and the Royal Guard, both of which were led by Princess Luna, sent as an emergency responder from Canterlot. They dug through the remains of the building with two jobs: to search for survivors, and number the dead, and while they had been trained and mentally prepped for the job, they weren't prepared for what they found.

After just the first hour of digging through the rubble, over one thousand dead ponies had been identified and tagged, with many more being unearthed every minute. The work, gruesome as it was, led to the resolution of countless missing ponies cases, though it raised more questions than it answered. Of course, the relatively intact bodies seemed almost cheery compared to another find.

One room, primarily intact after the impact due to its solid construction, revealed hundreds of gryphons in tiny cages, many starved or showing signs of years of neglect and abuse. Bruises, cuts, and punctures covered them, many infected from the unsanitary conditions of the cages that had ironically saved their lives. As soon as they were found they were released, the Princess setting to work at once to find out more and set things right. They had been abducted from the gryphon homelands to the north for years, some of them even being born in captivity... They wanted nothing more than to go home, and there would be a lot of paperwork involved to make it happen.

Three hours into the rescue operation, the Wonderbolts managed to discover the first pony survivors of the day. Huddled together in the center of the factory, spared either by design or pure luck from the crushing tomb around them, were four ponies; three pegasi and a young unicorn, and the unconscious body of another. One by one they were extracted and taken to paramedics, Dinky, Ditzy, Rainbow, Ozone, and finally Ink Well. All of them sported bumps, bruises and scratches, but the worst injury among them was a twisted ankle, meaning all of them could walk away from the wreck. However, while the others were treated under kind care, Ozone was placed under watch, the testimony from the other four more than enough to build quite the interesting case around him. As soon as he awoke, he'd be asked to defend himself against the accusations, but that looked to be a long time off.

As the search efforts gained a new energy, the finding of survivors breathing new life into the crews, Ink Well found himself visited by Princess Luna. Despite his protests, he had an IV in his front leg and a scowl on his face, though he did bow as the Princess approached. “Princess, it is an honor to see you, especially when you are as busy as you must be.”

The Princess nodded to him, her eyes friendly, but filled with a coldness at what she'd seen today. “How could we not, after hearing you were found amongst the wreckage? We take it you know something about this?”

Ink Well smirked, shaking his head slightly. “Huh, my record proceeds me.” He stopped, nodding. “Yes, Princess, I do. I have uncovered quite a lot about this factory that I think the ponies of Equestria would like to know. I was hoping to publish an article should a magazine take it, but I will have it all in some form or another in the next few days.”

Luna looked slightly concerned when he said that. “May we see your findings before you send them to the press? It would mean quite a lot to us to know what it is that was going on here.”

Ink Well raised an eyebrow. “Is that 'we' as in you and your sister or 'we' as in you?”

“'We' as in my sister and I, though I admit I would prefer it for myself alone. She always has claimed some knowledge of the factory, and I cannot guarantee what will or won't be allowed to be sent for publication.” She sighed, looking at him no longer as a Princess, but as a friend with a problem. “Our sister has always had the ability to wear her face like a porcelain mask. Whatever her reaction, we wouldn't be surprised...” After a moment her regal demeanor returned, her face carefully neutral. “We can say that any information you could give to us would be greatly appreciated, and that any lost revenue from a delayed or canceled publication would of course be compensated.”

Ink Well nodded. “Of course, Princess, all of my findings will be sent through you. Though, if I may, I need something in return.”

It was Luna's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Oh? And what is this?”

Ink Well pointed to the IV in his arm. “I need you to get the doctor to let me leave. I asked her three times, and she keeps refusing, saying it's not safe to move yet. But I promised Rose I'd be back in Ponyville by this evening, and I'll barely make it on time if I leave right now.”

Luna smiled as he said that. “Ah, yes, you and your promises. And to your wife no less...” She nodded. “We'll see what we can do.” The Princess then gave him a slight bow, which he returned, before turning to leave. A few steps away, however, she stopped. “Oh, one more thing. We found this while searching. We believe it to be yours.” From beneath her wing she pulled a crumpled, torn and battered brown fedora, barely holding its shape after what it went through. Ink Well's jaw dropped, and Luna's smile grew. “Ah, we take it we are correct.” She brought it to him, placing it in his hooves. He turned it over, amazed to see anything survive the crash, let alone his hat. As he examined it, Luna continued. “Nothing else has been found, but should it be, we will be sure it gets to you.”

Ink Well nodded. “Thank you...” Luna just nodded as she left, returning to her duties with the gryphons and the search teams.

Ink Well returned the hat to his head, feeling right as it settled over his ears. Sure, it was dusty and misshapen, and he could feel his mane poking out of a few rips, but it was his, and after that mess inside, it was nice to return to a little normalcy.

Not five minutes later, Ink Well's IV was removed, though the paramedic continued to caution against him flying, especially any sort of distance. Ink Well just thanked her for her words of warning, tipped his hat, and took off, flying after the sinking sun.

It was a long flight to Ponyville, and he had a promise to keep.

A New World

View Online

Rainbow Dash smiled as the IV was removed from her leg and she was given the okay to go. It hadn't been long at all, only about an hour as a precaution, but she was already tired of being cooped up. It hadn't helped that she'd been stuck in the wreck for three hours, the consequences of her choices literally surrounding her, pushing in from every side and demanding attention, but after all that dark, cold concrete she needed the open air and the light. With a quick flap of her wings to test them out, revealing no unexpected amount of soreness, but nothing too major, she took to the air, immediately reveling in the wind running through her mane.

Oh, this was it. This was what she truly lived for, what she'd almost given up for some stupid dream of power. How she'd managed those long days in the narrow halls she'd never know, but she was sure glad to be out of it... even if it did mean there would be some problems. What would happen to the weather? Or the ponies that had worked in the factory? Would they blame Ozone or Celestia for what had happened? Or her and Ink Well for trying to stop it? And, of course, largest of all, had she made the right choice?

Rainbow rolled in the air, her torn lab coat spinning around her, and caught a glimpse of Ink Well's paper hooked onto it. Ink Well... he really knew how to use words sometimes. With all that mess going on in there, he'd managed to silence the duel in her mind, letting the answer screaming from her very core be heard. She smiled, grabbing his paper in her hoof before spinning again, letting the coat flutter away to catch the wind and disappear behind her. She may not have one for all her questions, but the answer to her last one was a resounding 'Yes!'

Free of the lab coat, she flew up higher, gliding in a wide circle to survey the damage from the factory's crash. A huge gouge had been taken from the hill it had struck first, which had once been a smoking, misty mess, but had since cleared. Chunks of concrete, come as big as a house, littered a giant area, while metal of all sorts and sizes glinted warmly in the late afternoon light. The snowy hill had melted, the water pooling with the liquid rainbow around it and running through valleys where it could, while the mystic mushroom glade continued to hum with its own power. Passing by that, Rainbow could just barely spot one of the furthest pieces of debris, what looked like a shard torn from a holding tank, spearing out of the overgrown remains of a burned down house almost a half mile from the crash site. It was pure luck nopony lived in the area, really. It was doubtful they would have survived.

Rainbow Dash continued her descending circle slowly, passing over a surprisingly huge body of gryphons freed from the factory. The fact that they had all been in there, enslaved to work and toil for no good reason, just burned her up inside. How could anypony ever let that happen? How could anypony think that a good idea? The anger threatened to boil over until she saw Princess Luna talking to them, calmly working with each of them in turn, trying to get them where they belonged. With the crowd, she'd probably be working on it late into the night, if not into the next day. At least somepony is trying to make it right...

Relieved from her flight, Rainbow pulled straight up, letting her momentum peter out until she just hung there, gravity not yet noticing her, a gentle breeze brushing against her face. She then fell back over her body, diving straight towards the ground. At the last second she pulled up, her rainbow speed trail zipping behind her as she skimmed across the ground before digging in her hooves and holding out her wings, coming quickly to a dead stop with a smirk on her face. Still got it. She flapped her wings once to loosen them a bit, then rotated each of her legs in turn to do the same.

As she did, a voice called out to her, causing her heart to clutch in her chest. “Hey, Rainbow Dash? You have a minute?” Rainbow turned around slowly, recognizing the voice, but still nervous all the same. Trotting up to her was Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts, simultaneously her idol, her friend, and the pony that had crushed her dream just days before. Rainbow's feelings were pulled in too many directions by the sight, and so she just stood and waited, deciding to hear Spitfire out before coming to a conclusion. Spitfire had a friendly smile on her face when she reached Rainbow. “I didn't expect you to be flying so soon after the crash, 'specially not like that. Guess you must have gotten out alright.”

Rainbow just shrugged, hiding the pain in her shoulder from the motion. “Yeah, I did. It's going to take a lot more than that to stop me from flying.”

Spitfire removed the goggles and mask on her suit, showing both the tired, almost hunted look in her eyes and the dirt and dust that clung to her from her hours of digging, missing from where it was covered. “Well, you're lucky. A lot of ponies didn't make it through the crash. Though, with the way things look, maybe none of alive to begin with...” She shook her head slowly, going over what she'd seen with a concealed horror. But, after a moment, she was smiling again with some renewed energy. “But that's not what I wanted to ask you about. What happened to you after the tryouts the other day?”

The anger and the hurt all rushed back at once, the rejection at the tryouts stinging Rainbow with just its mention. “What do you mean 'what happened'? Seems pretty clear to me.”

Spitfire seemed puzzled at that. “I mean, you just disappeared after the final phase. Didn't even stick around for the results. And you've been impossible to find since.”

Rainbow turned her back on Spitfire, flicking her tail angrily. “After I was rejected and found out you didn't even think I was worth talking to I didn't see a need to stick around.”

“What? Who told you that?”

The confusion in Spitfire's voice took some of the wind out of Rainbow's sails. “Ozone. He came up to me right after I finished my shoddy performance with a message from you to pack it up, that you didn't even want to deal with me.”

Spitfire walked around her, looking her in the face. “Rainbow, I don't know why you listened to some random pony, but he wasn't from us. And your flight? Shoddy? I mean, yeah, you bobbled once, but even Soarin' does that from time to time. I don't think any of us ever have a perfect flight.” Spitfire smirked at that, though her face soon went back to serious. “When you disappeared, we were really worried something bad had happened to our newest recruit.” She looked out at the ruins and shuddered. “I guess we were right.”

Rainbow's heart stopped, the whole world falling away as the important words reached her brain. “Newest recruit?”

Spitfire nodded. “We couldn't even find you to tell you. You didn't go back to Ponyville, and when she went to ask you friends, Fleetfoot ended up getting caught in the surprise party that was waiting for you. I don't think she'll be able to look at anything pink for a while without screaming. But you? You just fell off the map.”

Rainbow's voice grew a little tighter, as though not wanting to break a spell. “I am the new recruit on the Wonderbolts?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow's hooves shot to her mouth, looking like they were holding something back and causing Spitfire's head to tilt in confusion. “You okay there?”

After a few seconds, a shrill squeal broke from Rainbow's makeshift barrier as she threw her hooves around Spitfire in a hug. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!! You have no idea how– I just can't believe I– After all these years I'm finally– THANK YOU thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

Spitfire wrestled herself from Rainbow's hug, pulling herself free enough to breathe. “Woah! Easy! You're welcome, Dash. You earned it.”

Rainbow saluted, still unable to contain her joy. “You just have no idea how much this means to me! I promise I won't let you down, Captain!”

Spitfire laughed. “At ease, Dash! I'm glad to have you aboard. Just make sure to heal up, alright? We expect you in once you're better.”

“Of course! You can count on me!” Rainbow kept saluting as Spitfire left, who was chuckling even as she put on her mask and goggles again and got ready to work. As she left, the initial high faded from Rainbow's brain, letting a few other thoughts seep in. Ozone lied to me to get me to the factory. He tried to take my dream away just to learn about my Rainboom! If it weren't for him showing up, none of this would have happened! Rainbow started to get mad again, but the thought continued itself. If it weren't for him lying to you, Ink Well, Derpy and Dinky might have died in the factory, and all those gryphons would still be enslaved... Rainbow thought about that for a moment, the irony of the results of his action kind of funny to her. If it weren't for him trying to take her dream away, he'd still have a factory and nopony would know about any of this...

But it didn't forgive any of his actions over the last few days, and it certainly didn't forgive anything he'd done in the years he'd been the factory's head. She looked over to where he was in custody, surrounded by guards and shackled to the bed he lay unconscious in. She snorted again, looking away. “Whatever happens is too good for him.”

The anger leaving her, she turned to the wreckage of the Weather Factory, determination on her face. She'd caused this mess, she might as well help the Wonderbolts clean it up. After all, she was one now.

With one more excited giggle, she galloped after Spitfire.

---

Ditzy and Dinky were together, just happy to be free and in the warm rescue tent. Ditzy wasn't fully sure how they were going to get home yet, or where they'd spend the night tonight, but she'd already asked for a letter to be sent to Golden Harvest saying that Dinky was safe, so the most important thing to worry about was over.

She ran a hoof through her daughter's mane, smiling as she slept soundly against her side. It had been a long and trying day for the little filly, far more than anything she was used to, and it had worn her out. But Ditzy was more than happy to be a bed for her. Now that they were together again, she was more than happy to do anything for her.

A yawn struck Ditzy full on, pulling her eyelids half-shut with it. In the morning. She'd do anything Dinky wanted in the morning. Just as she started to lay down her own head, a bright voice with a northern accent spoke to her, whispering so as not to wake Dinky. “Excuse me, miss. Banana nut muffin? Compliments of the doctor.” A plate appeared before her, extended on a light brown hoof, the muffin sitting atop it. The warm, enticing smell drew her from her coming sleep as she took the plate, looking up at the pony that offered it. He had blue eyes and a shock of chestnut hair, a little nurse's hat sitting on his head.

“Thank you!” she said quietly, receiving a happy smile for it before the pony left. She smelled the muffin again, savoring the rich smell of her single favorite food. They'd even gotten the right flavor. How lucky! Gently, she nudged Dinky, causing the little filly to rouse sleepily, though she protested. Ditzy just smiled. “Don't worry, you can go back to sleep in a bit. I just think you should eat something. It's been a long day.”

Dinky smelled at the air, her tired eyes eventually finding the pastry creating the wondrous scent. When she did, Ditzy split it in two, giving half of it to her and keeping half for herself. As the two of them ate, Ditzy thought about the day they'd had. Getting lost at the factory, getting taken to the tank, the running, the crash... all of that was so horrible. And yet, even then, it ended with her and her Muffin sharing a muffin in a nice warm tent, together, not a care in the world.

In the end, it was a good day.

---

The sun was slowly setting as Ponyville finally came into view, Ink Well's sore wings pushing him ever homeward. It had been a long flight, and during it every single bump and bruise on his body made itself fully known. But now, gliding by town hall just as the sun dipped beneath the mountains, his trial was over.

He came in for a landing at the end of his street, all four hooves touching the snowy ground, sliding slightly as he stopped. However, the instant his rear right touched land, pain sung through his whole form, causing him to topple over face-first in the snow. In the frozen cushion he slowly got his feet under him, gently putting weight back onto his legs. The pain was a strong throb, but it would be okay to move on. Stupid twisted ankle...

Ink Well hobbled the last block slowly, taking care not to stress anything lest real injury occur. He was lucky enough to get out of that factory with his life, a saving grace not entirely unexpected, but still much appreciated. Sure, he'd had a hunch it would turn out okay. After all, what he'd seen with The Doctor had come about, hadn't it? But it didn't make any of it less frightening, or threatening. Really, he'd be glad to see it behind him.

Ink Well reached the front of his house, the shop section dark, but the lights above shining brightly. He looked up at them, taking in the sight of his house, the most beautiful thing in the world to him right now, and sighed, a final relief washing over him. I made it. Just as he was about to walk for the door, it opened, revealing Roseluck waiting for him, relief and joy all over her face.

He lied. That was the most beautiful thing in the world. Without even a thought to his injured leg, he ran towards his house, his wife meeting him halfway, where they hugged, all the worry and fear both of them had held releasing, allowing nothing but happiness to pour forth. They stood like that for a long while, holding each other close in the dying rays of the sun, until eventually Ink Well's ankle began to act up and he was forced to break the hug. “I'm sorry I was so late, Rosy, it was all a little larger than I thought it would be.”

Rose just shook her head, leading him into the house. “I could see the factory crashing from here! Please tell me you weren't in it...” She turned on the lights, spying in the light the bruises on his fur, the way he was favoring his rear back, the tattered state of his hat, and the small gash still open on his forehead. She sighed. “That's what I thought... You had me worried sick! And after this morning, that really wasn't a pleasant sight. I thought I told you to be careful.” She hit him lightly on the shoulder, getting some of her frustration out. “And you were the one telling me not to push myself.”

Ink Well smirked, letting her rant the restlessness out of her system. “I know, I know, I messed up. Believe me, there was nowhere I've wanted to be but here ever since I left. But for what had to happen... careful wasn't an option.”

Ink Well moved through the shop and into the distillery, noticing the coolness that pervaded the air. Not a single one had been fired up all day. She must have really been sick... He turned to ask her about it when he was silenced by the seriousness of her look. She was smiling, but there was weight there, even before she spoke. She walked up to him, kissing him lightly on the forehead before putting her own against his and holding his jaw with her hoof. “You can't keep going on like this, Ink Well. One of these days something bad is going to happen to you, and then...” Her eyes shone for a moment, just the barest hint of tears to come before they were pushed away. “I don't even want to think about it.”

“Oh Rose...” He brought his hoof under her chin, lifting her face so that their noses touched and he could look directly into her eyes. She was actually worried for him, even though she trusted his every movement. Really, he didn't blame her. He'd been worried himself for far too long. “I promise nothing like that will happen again.” He kissed her gently, then made his announcement. “I'm quitting.”

“What?” She asked it as a question, but it was undeniable that she lit up when he said it.

Ink Well just smiled. “I'm quitting. That was the last investigation I'm ever going to do, and after this next article, no more. Just fiction writing from here on out.”

Rose threw her hooves around him, pulling him into a close hug. “I hoped you'd say that. I had no clue how I was going to get you to otherwise. And, I have an announcement of my own...”

Ink Well cut her off, pulling away a little to look into her face again. “Not quite yet, I wasn't done with mine. I... have a confession. I kind of...” he'd been dreading it the whole way here, not at all sure what her reaction would be, but it was now or never. “I kind of have been making a lot more money than I've been letting on.”

Ink Well cringed, expecting Rose to be upset. She kept a strict track of their finances, something like this was sure to set her off. So the next few words from her mouth took him completely off guard. “I know. So have I.”

Ink Well looked at her, all guard dropped in the confusion. “Huh?”

Rose sat herself next to him, leaning into him a little. “I know all about the money from the magazines and all the investigations, and I also know how much you're getting from the play and your two books, and I don't mind.”

Ink Well looked down at the rosy mane leaning against him, not entirely sure this was actually his wife. “But you're always worried about not spending anything and how the shop is barely pulling through. How can you not be mad?”

Rose just smiled up at him. “Because I do it too. The shop has been doing amazingly ever since the opening, with sales from as far as Las Pegasus and Canterlot coming in so often these little stills barely keep up. But... money does weird things to ponies, so I stash the extra away and live like we're running low because it keeps me from going weird. I'm used to the shop barely making it by, why should a few extra bits make me act any different?” During her speech Ink Well had grown a smile that slowly spread across his face, turning into chuckles and full on laughter as she finished and drawing a confused look from Rose. “What's so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. It's just, I had the exact same thought this morning when I was debating how to break this to you. To think you've been doing the same...” He couldn't hold back his laughter any more, but he did manage to bottle it after a bit to finish his thought. “I just didn't know quite how well we worked together.”

Rose pushed him again, holding back her own laughter from his explanation. “Hey, you married me. I thought that meant you knew what you were getting into.”

He hugged her close with a wing. “It doesn't mean you can't still surprise me. Oh, and speaking of surprises...”

This time it was Rose that cut Ink Well off. “Ah! You finished your announcement, I get to do mine.” She waited for him to nod, signaling she had his full attention, before going. “After you left, I went to Sunshine about the cold. You know, getting medicine so it clears up before Hearth's Warming Day? Anyway, when I described all of my symptoms and what had happened, she decided to run a few tests. And, well... I'm pregnant.”

Ink Well looked at her, not wanting to react until he was sure he heard her right. “You're what?”

Rose smiled a little, leaning into him again. “I'm pregnant. You're going to be a father.”

Comprehension hit with the note from earlier, almost stifled by the thought of what might have happened had he not made it out, but both were swept away by the excitement that ran through Ink Well's veins as he hugged his wife even closer. “That's wonderful Rosy!” He then looked down at her stomach, like he could somehow see the life that was growing there. “How long until the happy day?”

Rose shrugged. “I'm not sure yet. We really need a unicorn to analyze it any more, but I'm gonna be a mom.”

Ink Well held her for a few moments, a smile playing on his face. “You know, that almost fits too well with another thought I had, but... you know that townhouse a few streets over? The one you've had your eye on?”

Rose turned around, anticipation in her eyes. “No...”

Ink Well nodded, “I'll put in the paperwork tomorrow.” Rose shot forward at that, kissing him deeply before pulling him into another hug. “Happy Hearth's Warming, Rosy.”

The two of them sat in the distillery for a long while, enjoying each other, being together, and the life they'd made and would be setting out on together. Even when Ellipsis came downstairs, they didn't stop, just adding the dog to the family hug.

There were dark things in the world. Things that would need to be taken care of, things that would need to be chronicled and written down. But they could wait until tomorrow. Tonight, the world was just the two of them, and it couldn't be happier.

--- One Month Later ---

Ditzy was outside as soon as the mailpony had left to collect the mail. Today was a special day, for it was the day that Ink Well's article would print and everything would be answered, and she couldn't wait. A lot had happened since, with all the celebrations around Heath's Warming and New Years Day, including the big Hearth's Warming House Warming party Pinkie Pie threw for Ink Well. All of Ponyville had been invited to their house, which really wasn't all that big, and celebrated the whole night away with games and dancing and gifts. Ditzy hadn't brought anything, since she was still a little strapped for bits since leaving her job, but she was there to see Rainbow Dash give him back his bag, tattered and barely holding together from the crashing of the factory. He ran to it like a foal to a candy store, thanking Rainbow Dash over and over again and saying how much it meant to get his bag back. Rarity gasped as soon as he'd tried to put it on, offering to make him a new one on the spot, but he'd refused. “This one's got a lot of history in its seams,” was all he'd say to her, and once he hid it from her searching, the party went back into full swing. It had been a wonderful evening, but somehow Ditzy was sure today would top it.

However, when she opened her mailbox, she found not one but two magazines waiting for her, both her usual Bloomberg Weekly and, with an artful painting of the Weather Factory mid-fall on its cover, The Manehattanite. She was confused by the second one because she didn't much like the fancy style of the magazine and had trouble with the tiny print it used. She also knew Golden Harvest didn't much like reading and, in fact, thought magazine subscriptions silly, so for a new subscription to suddenly show up, it had to be a mistake. Puzzling over the presence of both magazines, she took them inside, going to the nice spot in the living room where she liked to read.

She plopped down on her comfy cushion, tossing The Manehattanite onto the table and about to disregard it when a note slipped out, catching her attention. It read: Ditzy, if you're going to read a version of my article, please read this one. It's the only one that the magazine didn't cut anything from, and I think you'd prefer the whole story. ~Ink Well Curious as to what he meant, she looked at the article in the Weekly, then in the Manehattanite and found the second one to be five pages longer, even with the smaller print and the two columns to a page. Surprised by the sheer volume of the difference, she tossed the Bloomberg Weekly aside, ready for everything Ink Well had to offer.

He didn't disappoint.

Not only did he cover the holding of the gryphons and the harvesting of the dead ponies, but he went into the energy and magic production, the various methods that had been tried over the years, the scope and reach of the Weather Factory's collection activities, and even got a psychological report on the members of the factory after it had crashed. To top it off, both herself and Rainbow Dash were quoted in the article for what they had witnessed and experienced. Ink Well had also written in everything that had come about in Ozone's trial, which had found him unanimously guilty of crimes unspeakable and had him sentenced to life in the Canterlot Dungeon. But even that wasn't the most impressive thing.

Within the article was a series of statements from Princess Celestia herself, admitting not only to the founding of the Weather Factory for magic harvesting purposes, but also that she did, in fact, give consent to both the initial body snatching and the captured Windigos as 'acceptable means to ensure a prosperous society.' However, she claimed to have no knowledge of anything that had transpired in over three hundred years there, stating that she had simply neglected to oversee the factory in the time since and apologizing for everything that happened to the gryphons there and for the lives lost within the concrete walls. “It is a dark, barbaric stain on Equestria's bright history,” she said. “One that will never be repeated.”

The article ended with some predictions on how the fall of the factory might affect the nation, but was surprisingly impartial, just a detailed account of everything that had happened and everything that could. Ink Well wrote as though he hadn't been there, laying down the facts for the reader to draw conclusions from, but it was certainly effective. Over two hours after she started it, Ditzy finally put down the article, stunned by everything she had read and reread. She had been there and she didn't even know a tenth of it. Nopony had.

Golden Harvest came in from outside holding a bag of groceries and kicking the snow off of her boots, having slipped out at some point while Ditzy was reading. “Ah! Ditzy, I see you finished your read. Was it everything you were expecting?”

Ditzy looked at her, considering the best way to respond to that question. “No. Not at all. It was a lot more.”

Golden looked at her, just the slightest hint of worry on her face. “Are you alright? You don't look so good.”

Ditzy nodded, getting up and walking towards the door. “Yeah, I'm fine Golden. I just need to clear my head a bit. How's Dinky today? I must have missed her going to school.”

Golden nodded. “She's fine, all smiles and sunshine, like always.” Golden always seemed nervous on this subject now, ever since Dinky had been taken under her care, but her efforts had redoubled since. She kept very good track of Dinky, almost outdoing Ditzy some days, and she would never let anything happen again.

However, Ditzy didn't even note her nervousness. She grabbed her scarf and slipped on her boots. “Oh good. I'll be back in a bit.” She then stepped out into the biting winter air, letting both her thoughts and hooves wander.

Ever since the whole Weather Factory incident the world had been a lot larger, and it had been getting to Ditzy as time had passed. Her world had been very small, just herself, her job, and Dinky holding all of her focus. And then she met Ink Well again, and they entered this little factory to deliver a box. In the end the box held the key to a realm of secrets, revealing infinitely more questions than answers, and though Ditzy had simplified her world, dropping her job from the picture, it seemed to be growing instead of shrinking.

Except, she couldn't quite put her hoof on why. She couldn't explain it, but she just had a feeling that something big was going to happen deep down in her heart. One of the times when it struck particularly strong, she tried to think about it, to follow the path that might reveal why. But as she did, her mind turned up the wall of fog, pushing her away. It seemed to be doing that a lot more lately. Every little thing caused her to start thinking about... something. Something tugging at the back of her mind. It was important, but the fog held it just out of reach...

And she had a lot more time for thinking lately. On Hearth's Warming Day, Ink Well arrived at her house asking if she'd found a job yet. The truth was that she hadn't bothered to look, since she'd already been fired from most of Ponyville, so she said 'no.' When he heard that, he did something that she'd have never expected: he offered to pay for Dinky's care. Enough to keep the two of them fed and happy wherever they may want to go, and even offering to pay for Dinky to go to a high-end magic school in Canterlot is Ditzy so chose. The offer was too kind, and Ditzy had tried to politely refuse to no avail. In the end, she had to accept it, and already a cheque had arrived for a generous amount... She never had to work a day, if she didn't want to, and she'd have to repay him for that one day. For everything that he'd done for her. She wasn't sure how yet, but she would.

Stopping for a moment, she found that her wandering had taken her into Whitetail Woods, the many leafless trees giving a still air to the place, managing to hold back the little breezes even without any buffers. But, on the edge of her hearing, there was something making the faintest noise above her.

Ditzy looked up, her head tilting as she watched what looked like a blue box scream across the sky, smoke and fire billowing out behind it. It zigzagged and twisted a couple times, shooting sharply to the side and not moving like anything she'd seen fly before. Then, as if noticing her, it changed directing, flying straight at her in a giant fireball. Panicked, she jumped aside at the last section, hearing snow sizzle and melt behind her as it smashed into the ground.

As soon as it landed she was up and searching for it, though the look wasn't hard at all. Right behind her was the very large, slightly scorched blue box smoking in a small crater, the words 'POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX' barely readable through the smoke, though they didn't mean anything to Ditzy. Cautiously she stepped towards it, her foggy memory put on hold with the new puzzle before her.

Just as she got into range to consider poking it, a door on the front burst open, a fresh batch of smog belching from it and straight down Ditzy's startled throat. She began to choke, coughing, though hers were joined by somepony else inside the cloud. Ditzy squinted to look through it, watching with wonder as a pony stumbled backwards from it on his back hooves, coughing and waving a hoof to get rid of the smoke. He had on rather nice, if slightly outdated, clothing, but it was all much too large for him, his trousers pooling on the ground while the jacket and vest nearly slipped off of him, his shirt only staying on for the ascot tying it down.

Before Ditzy could consider the sight, the pony spoke in a bright northern accent. “Ah! Okay, girl, I think I get the idea with the smoke. Look at what you did to my clothes! All stretched out. They'll never fit. Granted, I suppose slipping through a rift in dimensions might stretch things out. I'm not sure. I haven't had much practice with this before... I think. Have I? I'm not sure.”

Watching the brown pony with the chestnut mane argue with himself was fun, but Ditzy had a curiosity that needed to be sated, and she had a feeling his conversation wasn't going anywhere. “Excuse me? Are you alright?”

The light brown pony perked up at that, turning around and smiling. “Yep! I'm fine. Fantastic, really! Ooh. I rather like that word. Fantastic. Never had much of a ring before, but this voice, I think it could handle it.” After a moment he looked confused, looking at Ditzy, then at the empty woods around him, then back to her. “A pegasus? In a snowy climate? That doesn't seem right. First off, you don't exist for another few thousand years if my guess is correct, and even then only in a few geneticist's personal zoos, and second pegasi seemed to like steppes, not snowy woods. You're not in the right place at all.”

“What do you mean by that? My house is just over there in town.”

The brown pony looked a little more confused. “A talking equine? Now that's a new one. Must have landed on a tourist planet.” He tapped her on the head with a hoof, frowning a little. “Except you don't feel like a robot. Do you feel like a robot, Miss Talking Equine?”

Ditzy furrowed her brow, not making any sense of what she'd just heard. “I'm not an Equine. I'm a pony. And my name's Ditzy Doo, though my friends call me Derpy, but-”

“Ah! Derpy! Wonderful, like the ring of that too. Derpy. Fantastic! Kind of innocent, but fun at the same time. Goes with the eyes.” He poked her on the nose, laughing as he did. “Derpy. Ha.” He looked at her unamused face and seemed to sober up considerably. “Anyway, I seem to have crash landed on your planet. Terribly sorry, I'll be on my way, just need to go inside and grab some tools and all will be well. Have a nice snowy time.” With that he turned around, walking awkwardly back into the large smoking box on two legs.

Ditzy watched him go, a smile forming on her face. “You are a really weird pony, you know that?”

“Weird? I will have you know I'm a perfectly normal...” Her words seemed to hit him then. “Wait, I'm not a pony. I looked a lot more homo sapiens last I checked.”

Ditzy giggled a little. “Homowhat? You look like a pony, from the tip of your hooves to the tip of your tail.”

The brown pony frowned, crossing his forehooves. “I do not have a tail! I know for a fact that you are lying to me, because when I turn around, I am not going to find ohmygoodness that's a tail. And chestnut? Again? I was really hoping it would at least be ginger.” He then looked the rest of his body over, including his forehooves trapped in his clothing. “Huh, I appear to be some sort of small equine. No wings... Shame. I would have liked wings.” He looked at her with his bright blue eyes. “Do you like wings? They must be nice.”

“They are.” Ditzy wasn't sure why, but something in the back of her mind was telling her to go with him... but he'd crashed. Where would he be going? “Anyway, I saw your... er, box crash and I was just wondering if you were alright, Mr...?”

The brown pony looked at her for a second, then recognition dawned. “Oh! Right, sorry. Call me The Doctor.”

“Doctor what?”

“Just 'The Doctor' is fine. And yes, I did crash, but I think the fires have stopped, so it should be alright. However, since I seem to be somewhere I cannot identify and suddenly transformed into a horse-”

“Pony.”

“-a pony, sorry, I could be doing better.” He turned to enter his box again, sinking to all four hooves for the first time, the strangest expression coming on his face. “Okay, that's weird. I would have thought that uncomfortable or odd or something, but that just felt natural. The body must be more in tune with the world than I expected... I must figure out a term for that.” He walked into the blue box, shutting the door behind him and leaving Ditzy alone in the snow again.

She stood there for a second, not entirely sure what was going on, when the door opened, The Doctor's head sticking out. “I'm sorry, this might seem a bit odd, but would you like to come with me?”

Ditzy raised an eyebrow. “With you where? It's just a box.”

“No it's not! It's a TaRDiS! Here. Step inside.” He opened the door, offering her a way in, which she accepted, stepping inside the odd blue box.

And into an amber colored wonderland, far larger than the box could contain. The room was a dome surrounded by little hexagon fixtures and supported by columns that seemed to grow through the space. A metal grille platform sat raised in the center, with a green glowing glass tube rising from it to the ceiling, a massive bulb at its base, while there were some doors behind it that looked far too big for a pony. Something about the space felt... right. And wrong.

Ditzy's head felt like it was being split open, causing her to stumble from the blue box and back into the snow, clutching at it with her hooves. Something... something REALLY wanted to get out of her memory. It was begging now, but she just... couldn't...

The Doctor watched her from his box, a look of confusion on his face. “I'm sorry, it normally doesn't have that reaction on people. Normally they only start doing that when I tell them it's a time machine.”

Ditzy managed to pull her head together, standing up on wobbly legs. “A time machine? That magic blue box?”

“Yup!”

“Prove it.” Ditzy covered her mouth as soon as she said the words, confusion in her own mind. Why am I so adamant about it? It's magic, why can't it be a time machine?

The Doctor just smiled mischeivously. “Oh? Alright. Tell me... your favorite comfort food and the last time you really needed it.”

Ditzy was taken aback by the challenge. He's actually going to do it? Okay... “My favorite food would be a banana nut muffin, and the best time would be... A month ago, after the fall of the Weather Factory.”

The Doctor nodded. “Alright, be right back.” The door closed, and after only a moment, this noise ran through the woods, accompanying the light on top of the box flashing on and off.

But the sound... it was familiar. It was right on the tip of her tongue! Why did she know it? She had never seen that box before, nor that pony. How could she possibly...

Before her the box faded away, pulsing with each flash of the light before becoming a little less and less there, until it finally vanished altogether, only a whine singing out that it was ever there. Ditzy walked over the spot, surprised by the disappearance, until, like an explosion in her head, it all clicked.

She HAD heard that noise before. Years ago, right before her memory came back... It was still in fragments, but if she tried a little harder, perhaps...

Pain. Confusion. Helplessness. All the muscles in her body tensed at once as something happened. Something was moving inside her... Scared. She was scared, unknowing of what was going on. There was yelling outside, some sort of a fight, but it was drowned out by her own cries... There was a lot of noise, then... the gentle tapping of hooves on the floor.

“Oh, Derpy... what has he done to you?” The voice, comforting. Soothing. Suddenly, thoughts are holding together just a little better, until another spasm sends them all apart again. The footsteps get closer, and then, blurred from the tears, a light brown face. She blinks them away, and there are piercing blue eyes, ageless, gentle, loving...

The pain comes again, and with it a cry. A hoof is extended, touching her own. She is calmed. “Derpy... I... I was too late. I'm so, so sorry...” He leans forward, his forehead now inches from her own, and steps over her, brushing over her large stomach. As he does, another spasm forces the air from her lungs and more tears into her eyes. “You're going to make it through this. You've made it through much worse already. You're strong, stronger than you know. This is nothing... Just relax.” Their foreheads touch, and a coolness sinks into her head, searching. Looking around. It is disgusted by what it sees. “How could he have done this? I can't...” He pulls his away, sadness in his eyes, infinite, and aged even more. “I cannot fix it, but I can try to ease the pain...” Again, foreheads touch, the cool presence enters her mind once more. It collects the shards, memories of the time. Each one jabs at her insides, drawing blood from her mind's own source...

She hasn't thought a sentence in months. Hasn't been able to. Each thought breaks like glass, and they cut her sanity to ribbons... The coolness brings them together, bundles them tightly...

The sharpness is gone, but a hole remains. Then, it is filled with fluff. Fog, cotton, swirling in her head, replacing the pain with gentle breezes... And the world goes dark. In it, his voice, clear as a bell. “I've done what I can, now I'll get you to the hospital. A real doctor is needed for this.”

That sound. That wondrous, glorious noise...

The noise was growing louder, all around Ditzy where she stood, hooves around her head at the new memory. He knew what happened to her! Or... would know... it's a time machine. One day he would help her, save her from something unspeakable, replacing it with the fog... Why would he do that? What would be worse than losing a part of yourself, even just a memory? She had to know. She had to go with him.

She stood up, her headache clearing as the noise ended. Except, she wasn't in the woods, she was in his box, standing before him. He was wearing a nurse's hat, a smile on both his face and his bright blue eyes. “Did you enjoy your muffin?”

Ditzy smiled, nodding. “I did indeed! My compliments to The Doctor!” She then ran to the central bulb, eyes rolling over the panel, completely uncomprehending of their purpose. “So! How do we begin?”

The Doctor's face lit up. “So you're coming?”

Ditzy smiled at him, all the excitement in the world on her face. “You're offering me a ride in a time machine and think I'll say 'no'? You don't know me very well.”

The Doctor shrugged. “Not yet, no.” Ditzy's smile faded, her memory playing for just a moment in her head. But you will... It was stopped as The Doctor ran to the central bulb, smiling and motioning to the controls. “All of time and space is at your fingertip... err, hooftips, Derpy! Where would you like to go first? It's all as new to me as it is to you. Who knows? You may be a the guide.”

Ditzy just shrugged, looking into the blue eyes that would one day show so much compassion. They seemed a lot younger now... “I dunno. Anywhere! Everywhere! Just make sure I'm home in time to pick Dinky up at school.”

The Doctor smiled, flipping down a lever as he brought down his hoof. “Fantastic!” He then galloped around the bulb, pushing buttons and spinning knobs, hitting things and flipping switches, until, at the end of it all, he stood before one last lever, a joyous look in his eyes. “We're off!”

The strange blue box disappeared, its whine traveling on the winds, through the woods, through Ponyville, until, faintly, gently, it alighted on the ear of a certain author. He looked around, not fully sure he'd even heard it, but not at all sure how he could mistake it. After a moment, a thought seemed to occur to him, drawing a smirk on him. “There you go, Ditzy,” he said to nopony in particular. “You've finally made it home.”

Weather Manifesto

by _Medicshy

Preamble

Intentions Revealed

Dark Times

Two Worlds

The Fall

A New World