Vinyl got up, listening to the sounds of talking outside her room. She hadn’t managed to fully shut down—difficulty sleeping was, apparently, one of the “bonuses” of her suddenly gaining free will. Every time, her systems came back on, bringing in some new thing for her to think about.
As the voices came closer, she she got up, stepping over to the door, then opened it and peaked outside.
“...thank you enough,” an android was saying to Fluttershy. “You’ve been a great help and I—oh! Deadweight’s moving again, I see.”
“The name’s Vinyl,” Vinyl said.
“I don’t care,” the android said, one hand on her hip.
Vinyl felt irritation rising, but chose not to say anything.
“Adagio,” Fluttershy said. “Be nice.”
Adagio’s speakers let out a hum, and she said, “Aren’t I supposed to be honest?”
Fluttershy glared at her. “Don’t say mean things,” she said sternly.
Adagio rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I-I-I--” She shut up, pausing as Vinyl stared at her. “Ahem. Sorry, speaker glitch. I’m gonna go boot off.” She strutted past Vinyl, heading towards one of the rooms.
“Hey, can I ask a question?” Vinyl asked.
“What is it? Is something the matter?” Fluttershy asked.
“Like...isn’t the Dazzle Den...evil and stuff? I’ve heard about the things they do.”
“Well...” Fluttershy rubbed her neck, then let out a long, slow, breath. “It’s kind of complicated. Yes, they did all that bad stuff, but they worked it out with the Boss.”
“Sunset?”
“Oh...you’ve met her, right. Yes, Sunset talked to them face-to-face. They’re cutting deals and making things better for their workers, pony and android. But it would be suspicious if they did it all at once, so they’re taking it slowly, while helping Discord on the side. They’re our allies, but we don’t fully trust them. Not yet.”
“But why? Why are they helping you?”
“Well, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever asked,” Fluttershy said slowly.
“Why not?”
“Because Sunset said they were helping us, and that was enough for me,” Fluttershy said with a shrug. “I trust her.”
“I...I’m not sure I do, just yet,” Vinyl said slowly. “I mean...what am I supposed to do? I’m hearing all this shit, and...I just don’t know what to think. There’s so little about this I understand, and...”
Fluttershy leaned over, wrapping a hug around Vinyl’s shoulder. “It can be tough,” she said. “I’ve seen it before. You were thrust into a situation far beyond what you expected to deal with, and forced away from the only home you’ve known, and now...you’re unsure.”
Vinyl nodded. “I’m not the only one, then?”
“Applejack was a little lost, too, when she first came here,” Fluttershy said. “And though it was different for her, Octavia was, too. She never wanted to join Discord, and ended up just stumbling into it. You don’t have to make any plans, immediately. Take your time. Learn what you can. Then make your decision.”
Vinyl nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem!”
“Why did you decide to join Discord, anyway?”
“It’s a boring story,” Fluttershy admitted. “And I’m a little tired, too. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“Ah. Okay. I’ll look for you then, okay?”
“Alright. Good night!”
“G’night,” Vinyl said, waving goodbye. She strolled back over to her room, lost in thought.
“It was a tactical decision.”
Vinyl turned, seeing Adagio leaning against her open door. “Pardon?”
“Why the Number Ones are choosing to help Discord,” she said. “They do this regularly. The quickest way to earn as many bits as they can also happens to have the most adverse effects on the economy. This leads to it being unfavorable, and thus they simply change tactics. Usually, they produce some sob story about how they realized what they were doing was wrong.”
“Do they know it’s wrong?” Vinyl asked.
Adagio snorted. “Let me tell you something, Deadweight. Whatever fiction stories you’ve seen about those woefully misguided ponies who don’t know that what they’re doing is evil, it’s all BS.” She tossed a hand in a flippant gesture. “Most ponies know that what they’re doing is evil. They just don’t care. The Number Ones aren’t any different.”
“And Sunset...hasn’t dealt with them?”
Adagio actually laughed at that...until her voice box glitched again. “What Celestia doesn’t want to tell you is that there are things that can take out an Alicorn, and not even in the ‘targeted assassination’ that’s Sunset’s main plan. Three Sirens, especially as fed as they are right now, could out-match almost any Alicorn in a fight, Sunset included.”
“Really?”
“If it weren’t for the other five Princesses, and then Celestia, and the robot Wonderbolts that are also basically immune to the mind control, they’d rule Equestria with an iron fist.”
But we’re working to take out their obstacles, Vinyl thought. They have other plans...
“In case you’re wondering,” Adagio said, “they have had notions about conquering Equestria, but Sunset was the previous Princess of Inquisition...and the closest they’ve ever come to getting fully caught out and brought down. I wouldn’t worry about them trying anything.”
“Coming from, presumably, a completely unbiased source,” Vinyl said flatly.
“Nice Maude impression,” Adagio said, giving a thumbs up. “But I’m actually booting off now.” Without answering Vinyl’s accusation, she turned, heading into her room and letting the door close behind her.
Vinyl sighed, stepping back into her room, preparing to boot off once more. Not that she fully needed to, really. Or at least...she wasn’t sure. Her batteries stayed charged, but it still helped her process information.
Vinyl attempted to sleep, anyway. Once again, thoughts surfaced unbidden, though most of them were now about the Dazzle Den. Were they really so evil? Did they have any qualms about what they did? The prostitutes, the drugs, the records of employee mistreatment. And if they were at least being honest with Sunset, then wasn't Discord taking away their biggest threats? Did Sunset have a countermeasure for the Sirens? And what about their androids? The mechanical copies of themselves they were infamous for. Did they feel any qualms about working under the Sirens?
Some time into the night, her sensors booted back on. Vinyl groaned, rising, pulling the covers away from herself.
Wait. She didn’t have covers.
Vinyl looked around her room, seeing uncracked bricks and not a single indoor plant to be seen. The window was full of glass, and unbroken, too. Vinyl got up, peaking outside, seeing a wonderfully cultivated forest around her.
But the strange, crystal tree was nowhere to be seen.
“Whoa,” Vinyl muttered. “Is this what a dream looks like?” Her eyes, the normally carefully controlled synth waves, bounced up and down rapidly. “Cool!”
Vinyl moved to go outside her room, but paused. She wasn’t supposed to leave, but...well, technically, she wasn’t. And, if she ran into dream Rainbow Dash or Applejack, she’d be sure to point that out to them.
Risk of dismemberment waved, she ventured out into the halls.
The castle’s walls wavered slightly. Every single old piece of stone or metal looked new once again, but shimmered, waving in an ethereal light.
But tapestries were missing. All the tapestries of Celestia were gone, leaving only...the other Alicorn. Whom had no prosthetics. Vinyl promised to herself to check the modern ones once she woke up. She paused, seeing motion. “Ah, Rainbow?” she asked.
A black shadow detached itself from the wall. The thing, whatever it was, was shaped like a unicorn, with barely visible black armor around itself. It was lugging a bundle of heavy-looking fabrics behind it.
Vinyl stepped back. “Uh, listen--”
“The castle is not open to visitor’s right now,” the shadow said clearly...in Rarity’s voice. “The tapestries have to be changed. Ugh, again.” Using magic, the shadow then began performing the task of changing the tapestries...to ones that looked exactly the same.
“Huh,” Vinyl muttered, stepping around the corner.
She walked right into the throne room, blinking in surprise. The throne room was not this close to her room. She very specifically remembered that.
Nor was it lined up to the throne with more shadowy guards, with the same Alicorn in the tapestries. Blue coat, majestic wings spread to the sides, and armored. Dark blue armor around her chest, shoulders, and a metal skirt that hang down to her knees. She lounged on her throne in a bored fashion, before her eyes flicked over to Vinyl. Slit pupils watched Vinyl lazily, but curiously.
“Huh,” Vinyl said, slowly walking into the room. “Guess I had no idea what the servants looked like two thousand years ago.”
The Alicorn sat in place, saying nothing. None of the guards made any motion either, so Vinyl walked between them, up to the steps. “What I really want to know,” she announced, “is why the hell this is so close my room now. I know for a fact it wasn’t that easy to find this place from my room in reality.”
“Presumably,” the Alicorn spoke, “the guest rooms have been moved. Especially if the old throne room is no longer in use.”
Vinyl paused. “Good point,” she said. She sat on the steps leading up to the throne, leaning back. “Maybe I should ask Sunset for a history lesson. Wait, it’s a fake castle. There’s no history.”
“Why do you assume it’s fake?” the Alicorn asked.
“Because the vines didn’t move, and the tiles only looked like they were old,” Vinyl shot back. “Even ones that were totally disconnected from the ground wouldn’t budge.”
“Total area stasis petrification,” the Alicorn said simply. “Freeze everything in place. Suddenly, the antique castle stays in one piece, and you don’t have to bother finding another spot for your secret rebel base.” She made a flippant gesture. “But I don’t mind, really. Anything to get back at Princess Perfect.”
“Uh...right,” Vinyl said. She looked up to the Alicorn, who was still watching her. “As my subconscious seems strangely knowledgeable, who were you?”
The Alicorn leaned her head on one hand, elbow propped on the arm of her throne. “Hmm. No one, it appears. No one whatsoever.”
“Right,” Vinyl muttered. “So, it’s a real castle, but you never existed.”
“Isn’t that always the case?” the Alicorn asked. “History is subjective, after all.”
“Um, it is?”
“Of course. After all, Celestia, by saying I never existed, made it so that I didn’t. If she had said that I slaughtered entire species, and ponies had believed her, then that is what I would have done. History is written by the victor—meaning the loser never gets to share their side.” She waggled a finger at Vinyl. “Tell me, are there any of my thestrals still around?”
“Those things?” Vinyl paused. “Hmm. I’ve never met any, and I’m told that they were evil and violent...but that might not be the case, right?”
The Alicorn grinned. “You get it,” she said simply. “The thestrals were just like the ponies. Some good, some bad. But when I was banished, Celestia decided she didn’t want them around. She started having them killed on false charges. Torturing them until they confessed to things they never did. Some ponies doubted it at the time, but so long has passed since then that there’s nopony left who doesn’t believe it. The thestrals are evil because history says so, and history says so because ponies wrote it that way.” She clasped her hands together, leaning back. Her black wings stretched out, and her face contorted into a grimace. “She didn’t have to do that. She chose to. I’ll feel no guilt in felling Celestia.”
“Okay,” Vinyl said, standing up. “This has officially gone on long enough.”
The Alicorn frowned, looking at her. Vinyl pointed a finger at her face, saying, “Who the heck are you? This isn’t just a dream, is it?”
“It is a dream,” the Alicorn said simply. “I am the Princess of them.”
“Uh...” Vinyl looked around, then back at the Alicorn. “You’re not really explaining anything.”
“I am aware. As I said, I don’t exist, do I? Erased from history, with no past, no present, no future. I cannot exist, for nopony has seen me outside of their darkest nightmares.” She leaned forward, baring her fangs in a wide grin. “See, the only way to show that I still exist, to prove to others, to prove to myself, is to lurk in the deepest shadows of the worst nightmares of the mentally deranged. I became what Celestia says I am.”
“Nighmare Moon,” Vinyl whispered. She took a step back.
“I see that, after everything we just discussed, you fear me.” Nightmare Moon looked Vinyl up and down, shaking her head. “And here I thought we were getting friendly.”
“Um,” Vinyl said slowly, “look, I’m sorry, but--”
“I tire of you,” Nightmare Moon said shortly. “You’re just another of Tia’s silly little metal ponies. You know nothing, you will amount to nothing, and thus, you are nothing.” Her horn glowed, and several glowing blue lances appeared in the air besides her. “Begone.”
Vinyl woke with a start, crying out. She had no covers, the window had no glass, the floor tiles were broken up, and several petrified vines sat on the wall.
Vinyl swung her legs out of bed, rushed to the window, and looked outside. The sun shone on a wild, untamed wood, and a large, crystal tree sitting a short ways from her window.
“Okay, don’t freak out, Vinyl,” she told herself. “It was...just a silly nightmare. Couldn’t have been real, right?” She folded her arms against her chest...then paused. She looked down, feeling the right side of her chest.
There was a tear in her plating, roughly three inches across. She twisted, feeling at her back, to find another tear, and an extra hole in her jacket.
“Don’t...freak...out...” Vinyl told herself quietly. “It’s just...just a little tear, hm? That...goes...all the way...through your chest.” She paused. “Caused by the demon god of nightmares.”
Vinyl sat there for a long moment, then screamed.
Minuette shelved the next book, thinking to herself. Truth be told, there wasn’t much she could do right now anyway. Until Octavia came back, she couldn’t do much on that front, as leaving to Ponyville while they weren’t certain whose side their spy was really on was an extremely bad idea.
Fancy either didn’t know anything, or wasn’t telling—either way, given his previous history, moving on him would be ineffective and counterproductive. He wouldn’t be high enough up to know the juicy information, and he was high nobility. Yes, he did vote ‘against the grain’, as it was, and wasn’t making much headway, but he was a nobleman nonetheless.
Which was something most of the radical, anti-government ponies never seemed to consider. If they just played along, they could have their cake, and eat it, too. Yet it normally devolved into groups like Discord slaughtering large groups of government workers to violently take over the kingdom.
There were plenty of aspects of the political system that Minuette didn’t care for, and yet, she always sided with it over Discord. Both left behind bodies, but no one missed the ones the Inquisitors took care of.
Minuette paused, hearing a scuffling sound. The only other pony in the library at the moment was the librarian, who didn’t even look up from her notes.
Minuette slipped over to the bookshelf, hand going to her concealed pistol. Technically, guns weren’t allowed in the library, but the Friendship Inquisitors got a free pass. The better solution, however, was to not attract attention to it.
Minuette stepped around the bookshelf, then sighed in a combination relief, and annoyance. “Indigo, why are you sneaking around back here?”
Indigo paused, hands clasped over her chest. “Oh, y’know, just, uh, browsing,” she said slowly.
Minuette raised an eyebrow.
“I left my security key in the library,” she burst out.
Minuette sighed. “Indigo,” she said, “that’s bad. If someone got it, they’d have access to our systems, you know that, right?”
Indigo nodded. “Don’t worry, I know exactly where I left it! I’ll go get it right away!”
“Fine, but we’ll be talking about this later,” Minuette said. She flipped the hammer back to the safe position on her pistol, then tucked her jacket over it. “Goodnight, Indigo.”
“Goodnight, Minuette. Better luck tomorrow?”
“Eh, probably not,” Minuette admitted, stepping out the front door.
Indigo sat, shoulders hunched, listening to Minuette’s prosthetic hooves tapping as she left. Then, Indigo straightened her shoulders, rolled her neck, then strode confidently through the library.
The librarian looked up at her as she passed, but when she saw who it was, she went back to her work. She didn’t pay attention, so she didn’t see the green light that lit up the stairwell.
In the Inquisitor’s wing, Indigo looked under the computers, then pulled out, scratching her head. “I could have sworn it was right here,” she muttered.
“A-hem.”
Indigo leapt back, hand shooting to her pistol, then winced, seeing Minuette holding up her security key.
“I left it in the library,” Indigo admitted.
“That’s bad, Indigo,” Minuette said. “If someone got this, then--”
“They’d have access to to all our systems, I know,” Indigo said. “Or at least, the ones I have access to, so, what? Five?” She cleared her throat. “I’ve heard it a million times, Minuette.”
“Be prepared for a million and one, because we’re going to talk about this later,” Minuette said, handing it back.
Indigo sighed. “Goodnight. Better luck tomorrow?”
As Indigo passed her out the door, Minuette replied, “Goodnight, and probably not.”
Indigo left, leaving Minuette standing in place for a minute. Then, Minuette slipped behind one of the terminals, pulling out a thumb drive.
Access: Minuette
Access granted. Welcome back!
Minuette breathed out slowly, beginning to type rapidly.
Data appeared, showing schematics for the custom guns used by the individual Inquisitors. Minuette quickly memorized them—these terminals didn’t allow downloading, anyway. The .44 pistol did look interesting, but Indigo’s ten-millimeter pistol could be silenced more effectively.
Though, of course, that wasn’t what she was here for, either.
Command: Access—Wonderbolt armory
After a brief second loading, the computer dinged. “I’m sorry, you do not have the permissions to access those files,” the computerized voice said.
Minuette hissed, an unusually long tongue poking out of her mouth. “Who does have those permissions?” she demanded.
“Princesses Spitfire or Midnight,” the computer replied.
Green flames enveloped Minuette for a fraction of a second, then revealed Midnight Sparkle. Shaking her wings, she said, “Access Wonderbolt Armory. Password: ‘Summer Sun’.”
The computer loaded briefly, then buzzed. “I’m sorry, but you do not have the permissions to access those--”
Green flames enveloped her once more, as she angrily kicked the computer from its desk. With a bestial cry, she smashed the nearest chair into it several times, sending small pieces of machinery everywhere.
Four black, clawed hands, drooped by her sides, as she panted. “Calm down, Chrysalis,” she murmured, running one hand through her hair while planting two on her hips. “Just a minor setback. She must have planned for shapeshifters...”
Hooves pounded on the staircase. She hissed, before shrouding herself in green flame once more.
The doors to the Inquisitor wing burst open, Indigo Zap flying into the room, pistol aiming around, as Minuette came up behind her.
The library was empty.
“Shit,” Minuette cursed, stepping over to the broken computer. “Must have escaped quickly.” She reached down, pulling an intact thumb drive from the rubble.
“So,” Indigo said, “is this worse than misplacing my security key?”
“Way worse,” Minuette said, looking around the room. She pointed to an open window, saying, “Exit point.”
“Fuck,” Indigo said. “Good thing I asked where you found it.”
“Very good,” Minuette said, “though the computer also caught the fake access command.”
Indigo landed, wings folding on her back, as she holstered her pistol. “So,” she said, “Miss Melody can wait, I assume?”
“Ohhhh, yeah,” Minuette drawled. “I’m reporting this to the Princess right away.”