//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 : Afternoon // Story: Friends With a Spy // by cakestealer //------------------------------// Later in the day after Octavia had gone back to her orchestra practice and Vinyl went home, Vinyl was playing a video game. It was a game called “Royal Guards : The Rogues. The plot of the game was that you played as a futuristic royal guard in high tech battle armor and had to take down an organization of rogue changelings. Why don’t I just play the single player mode. Every time I play with any other pony they’re all just yelling at each other over the microphone and not doing anything useful. For once if ponies just worked together and tried to do what we’re supposed to. “Hey do you guys think you could help me capture this point?” Everypony ignored the request except one guy. “Ooo look somepony wants to play the objective. Well you know what? Nopony is going to do that so just shut up and play the game.” “Isn’t the point of this game to work together you idiot?” At this point everypony was yelling over their microphones or saying something Vinyl couldn’t make out. She groaned and quit the game. Then came the pillow to the face. Mother of Celestia I just asked for some help doing what we were supposed to be doing in the first place. What is it with the lack of sensible ponies in this world. Vinyl remembered earlier when she thought about cleaning her window. I guess I should go do that. Hmm, I wonder where the window cleaner even is. Vinyl went to the kitchen and looked through all the cabinets and it wasn't there. None of the shelves in the storage room had it. She knew it wouldn't be in one of the boxes so she didn't bother checking. She spent a tedious hour sorting through almost everywhere she could think until she came upon the upstairs closet. She opened the door and started searching. Old clothes and blankets is definitely not window cleaner. Neither is this. Or this. Oh wait! No that's soap refill. She kept pushing things aside until she found the window cleaner. It was in the dark corner under a shelf. She bent down to grab it but fell over instead. As she fell it pushed the bottle of window cleaner and the floor around it down. The floor made a mechanical click as Vinyl stood back up. “What the?” Vinyl said wondering why the floor and window cleaner suddenly had become attached and pushed down. All of the sudden she heard a noise down the hall. What was that? It sounded like...a door. Vinyl cautiously crept down the hallway being careful to avoid the creaking floorboards. She reached Octavia’s room and peeked inside. Everything seemed normal. Her practice cello was in the corner on it’s stand, her bed was there, and the closet was closed. That leaves one room. Vinyl went to the side of Derpy’s bedroom door, held her breath, and slowly moved her head around the door frame. She looked in and didn't see anything. Not knowing if things were as they seemed Vinyl slowly snuck into the room. She turned her head to the right and there the floor was gone and a hinged mechanical plate with carpet had taken it’s place. It was tilted 90 degrees up leaving a gaping hole where the floor used to be. Oh sweet Celestia what in the world is that? It looks like a secret door. Does that mean there's a secret room? I guess I better check out whats down that hole then. She walked over to the hole and looked down. In it there was a ladder. At the end of the ladder there was a light and what looked like floor. It is a secret room! How long is that tunnel? How is it hidden? Oh it must go through that one section where the wall is super thick. Should I go down? What if there is something bad down there? I guess it would come out if I didn't go down anyway so I might as well. Vinyl cautiously got in the tube and started climbing down. It was dark and pretty cramped. Oh, I really hope this is not a curiosity killed the cat situation. Vinyl reached the bottom and stepped down. The light was blinding at first but then her eyes adjusted. There was a computer on a table and some switches on the wall. Well that's underwhelming. You know what? Maybe these switches do something. Vinyl walked over and flipped one of the switches. All of the sudden she heard a buzzing noise and a cylindrical metal column with hollowed out spaces containing black clothes and grappling hook guns came out of the floor. Vinyl stood there with her mouth gaping open. She walked closer and looked on the other side of the column. There were a bunch of stacks of files in the gap where they were contained and a marble crest above them that read “P.O.N.E.” All of the sudden Vinyl noticed a small wood table in the corner. On top of it was a basket with muffins inside, neatly wrapped in colored paper. “Well one thing in here is normal. Derpy and her muffins will always be together. But the rest of this stuff is insane!” Vinyl remembered how there were more switches and she eagerly went back over and flipped another. A flat wall like surface rose out of the floor with lots of weaponry attached. “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA?” Vinyl yelled. Out of nowhere a loud beep issued from back by the ladder. Vinyl glanced up and above the entrance was a camera! “Is that a camera? Oh no it is. Wait, somebody is probably watching me and now that I have seen all this they're going to send an assassin to take me out! I have to get out of here and tell Octavia! With that Vinyl rushed to the ladder and started climbing up. She reached the top, shut the secret entrance, and ran downstairs and out the door.