“It is forbidden,” Toasty said, her ears folding back on her head as she backed away. “Shetland, I cannot have a gun!” Even as she spoke, her eyes were fixated on the weapon Shetland held out.

“And it’s stupid,” Shetland said firmly, stomping a hoof for emphasis. “It’s a retarded remainder of something that happened long ago.”

“It is still the law.” There was a slight echo in the robot’s voice as she spoke. She twitched back and forth, both wanting to get a closer look at the gun and to stay away.

“But there are some cases where robots were allowed to defend themselves!” Shetland argued. “Mom told me. There was that robot who defended a store with a shotgun, and he got off scot-free!”

Toasty shook her head. “Those were fringe cases in which individual robots were pardoned for breaking the law at the word of a princess. Tinkle Trumpet was exempt from punishment because he saved eight innocent ponies in the process.” she sighed. “That is not the same as his actions being legal, Shetland.”

“Well, I’ll legalize it then,” Shetland burst out, angrily swatting her hoof as if to chase away the argument.

Toasty’s eyes grew in size and brightness until they encapsulated almost her entire visor. Shetland blew hot air from her nose as she let out an angered neigh. “I will take the responsibility, Toasty,” Shetland said earnestly. “You will be safer if you can fight for yourself. There will be times…” she took a long breath. “There will be times when I can’t be with you, when I’m sleeping or Luna or Twilight force me away or…” she shook her head. “Nopony will know, Toasty, just you and me. And if anypony asks, we’ll say we’re searching for the missing robots, and I’m taking the weapons to protect both of us!”

Toasty stared quietly at Shetland as her mind audibly worked to consider the offer. As it did, her eyes were drawn back to the gun and she slowly stepped closer. “You will just give it to me?” she asked meekly.

Shetland nodded. “I’ll have it while we’re in the colony, but when we leave or something dangerous is happening, it’s yours.” She held out the weapon and Toasty hastily grabbed it, her eyelights brightening intensely as she weighted it in her hooves.

“Wow…” she whispered in amazement. “It is heavier than I anticipated…” Her head suddenly rose in alarm and she pointed it as far away from herself as she could. “Is it loaded? What about the safety? Is it engaged?!”

“Oh, Toasty!” Shetland laughed, unable to stay sober at her friend’s reaction. Under flashes of chuckles, she took hold of Toasty’s hoof to show her exactly where the safety was and how to disengage it. “Careful now,” she said, fighting down the last hints of laughter as she pushed the gun to point at the ground. “It’s loaded, so don’t wave it around.”

Toasty nodded, taking a moment to collect herself before she stood calmly, letting Shetland slowly guide her hoof upwards again. “Don’t do anything yet,” the earth pony warned her. “I’m just guiding your hoof.” She aligned the pistol with Toasty’s visor, pointing it at the rock furthest away. Then she turned to Toasty and grinned. “You wanna shoot now, don’t you?”

Toasty made a notion halfway between shaking her head and nodding. Her hoof began to shake until Shetland reached out to stabilize it.

“Whoa, there, Toasty.” A raised eyebrow accompanied her smirk. “Well, you’ll have to stay like that until I’ve explained to you how to treat a gun safely.”

Shetland chuckled, but she quickly adopted a stern look again. “Alright, first, guns are always loaded. Always.” She patted the robot’s shoulder. “That means you never point it anywhere it could hurt somepony, even if you’ve unloaded it, even if it’s in disrepair, even when the safety’s on and even if it’s just a toy. Though I guess that won’t be too hard for you, seeing as you can’t let anypony see you with it anyway.”

“Identify your target,” Shetland commanded. “Only if you know for absolute certain what your target is and that you are pointing exactly at it may you even think about the trigger.” She looked down at the hyper-focused mare below her. “Alright, now pick a spot on this rock you want to hit and try to put a hole in it.”

Toasty’s head rose and she looked to Shetland with wide eyes before focusing back on her target. Her hoof slowly swayed in the air as she attempted to align the weapon with her eyes, and pulled the trigger. The shock flew high as the recoil took her by surprise, her entire body lurching back in shock. It didn’t even hit the rock.

“Well,” Shetland whistled amusedly. “That’s the equivalent of missing a Buffalo charging straight at you.”

“I was just surprised by the recoil. It was more substantial than I expected,” Toasty said, her eyes gleaming. “I would like to try again if you do not mind.”

“Certainly!” Shetland chuckled and watched as the robot went to work with an eagerness she usually reserved for cooking. After a while, she stopped counseling the robot and went to devour her lunch packet.

Toasty was quick to pick up on how to load and clean a weapon, though when it came to her accuracy with it, she left a lot to be desired.

“That’s a fifth,” Shetland noted as another shot whizzed past the target. “You know, I kinda thought you would just make a formula after a couple shots and then hit every time.”

“It’s not that easy, Shetland.” Toasty sighed. “It would work like that if I had the formula for shooting this specific gun directly programmed into me. As it stands, I have to create my own imperfect one through trial and error.”

Shetland raised an eyebrow “So, basically, you need to practice like everypony else?”

“Pretty much,” Toasty nodded. “Additionally, my body was not made for this task.”

“The cameras that provide for my vision are not equivalent to an average pony’s ability of sight. Specifically, they do not direct light at the correct angle for my processor to always gain a clear picture…” she stopped her explanation when she noticed Shetland’s eyebrow reaching seldomly claimed heights. “I am short-sighted.” she closed her explanation.

“Oooh,” Shetland said and nodded, as if she’d been following her explanation all along. “How much? Do you need glasses?” She managed to stop herself from laughing at the mental picture, but just barely.

Shetland bit her lip, uncertain of how to reply to that. “Well, how does it feel to finally be blasting targets?” she said in an attempt to change the line of conversation.

“It is great!” Toasty’s eyes shone brightly. “I am now the mistress of my own fate. Do not mess with me, world!”

“Well, don’t get too carried away there, twirly gears, there’s some other stuff I wanted to show you as well.”

“Like what?” Toasty asked, her voice somehow managing to combine both eagerness and disappointment.

“Like how to brawl.” Shetland took a stance, stomping up some dust for dramatic effect. “If you don’t have a gun, it’ll be useful to know how to kick somepony’s flank right to Tartarus.”

Toasty’s eyelights swetpt up and down Shetland’s body. “I have severe doubts that your style would work for me, Shetland. I do not have the physical superiority to brainlessly overpower my opponent.”

“Hey, don’t mock the buffalo style!” Shetland jokingly protested. “But seriously, there are still things I can teach, and if you think I’m above using dirty tricks-”

That was the moment Toasty had been waiting for. Without a warning, the little robot suddenly launched herself at Shetland. Caught by surprise, the larger pony was knocked over into the ground. “OOUCH!” she shouted as pain exploded in her scarred flank.

“Shetland!” The startled robot nearly tripped over her own hooves as she tried to get away. “I’m sorry, are you okay?”

“Aooouh…” Shetland moaned as she rolled away from her landing. She grit her teeth, trying to force her tears back into their ducts. “I’m okay,” she reassured Toasty with a grimace. “I think I fell on a rock or something.”

“It hurts…” Shetland forced her features into a pained smile. “An ass-ton.”

Relief visibly washed over the small robot as her posture relaxed a little. “Haha,” she commented robotically. “But please answer truthfully, how much?”

“Like it was hit with a rock, Toasty.” Shetland groaned as she rubbed the stinging wrinkled skin, a pained grimace on her face.

“I’m sorry, I wouldn’t have pushed you if I’d thought I’d be able to actually push you over… o-or if I had known there was a rock!”

“It’s fine, Toasty!” Shetland said, a hint of agitation sneaking into her voice. “I’m not mad, so stop apologizing!”

“Sorry.” Toasty said. Her response was met with the sound of a hoof loudly smacking into a forehead.

“Toasty...” Shetland groaned, but the robot didn’t seem to notice, her eyelights fully fixated on a spot behind the earth pony.

But as her eyes fell upon the object, it was very clear what the robot meant. There was a cut in what was clearly not a rock, but a colored piece of cloth draped over and nailed into the ground to give it the appearance of one. But now, most likely caused by Shetland’s fall, it had been torn open.

“What the heck…” Shetland whispered as she took hold of the fabric, tearing it open further. Her veins suddenly froze and Toasty let out a loud gasp as several pistols came to light, coupled with an assortment of dangerous looking knives and a large wrench, easily capable of beating somepony’s skull in. Shetland turned to Toasty, who looked as startled as herself, and she pressed a single word through her dry throat: “Who…?”

But all Toasty could do was wordlessly shake her head, staring at the small assortment of weapons.

“They- they must have been stolen,” Shetland whispered as she looked around for any more suspicious-looking rocks. “There’s no other reason to hide them out here… and for it to be so ill-equipped,” she added with a frown. For a secret weapon cache, three pistols and a dozen or so makeshift weapons wasn’t much… and yet, who could say how many more hiding places there were? It was already a miracle they’d found this one!

“W-we need to notify the colony,” Toasty whispered, her eyelights tinier than ever. Her body shivered, making itself even smaller than usual.

Shetland bit her lip as she looked over the spot. They’d have to find another place to practise in, but this was too important to keep a secret. “Come along. Stay close!” She barked to the robot as she quickly packed up her weapons, keeping a fast firing rifle in quick reach of her hooves. “Keep your gun out, there might be hostiles around!” she ordered, throwing nervous glances at the surrounding area. If only she hadn’t left behind her armor, who cared if it's dark shade was easy to spot in the orange dust?! With a look back, she saw Toasty give her pistol a nervous glance. “Don’t fret about it, Mom will pardon you when I tell her, but now we need to go!” And with that, Shetland hurried for the spaceport, gritting her teeth to block out the constant pained signals from her side.

Shetland’s sides burned. She had no idea where to look for her mother. She would most likely still be in the central colony, but Shetland couldn’t risk letting that much time pass. Not to mention the intense, throbbing pain in her leg that was already slowing her down. If only she could find Magenta, then she could fly to Twilight, her oxygen-starved brain reasoned. Her air was starting to run low, but she didn’t want to stop to refill, she desperately thought as they entered the spaceport’s landing field. They were so close! Then Shetland blinked. She saw a small group of ponies, led by a larger figure, her flowing mane drifting despite the lack of wind. Shetland couldn’t believe her luck as she gathered the last air in her throat. But it was Toasty, who shouted: “PRINCESS LUNA!”

Shetland blinked, suddenly recognizing the much darker shade of the alicorn, who raised her head in surprise. After a word to her following group, she opened her wings, rapidly decreasing the distance between her and Shetland.

“What is the matter, Miss Sparkle?” The alicorn asked, raising her eyebrow at the exhausted, heavy breathing. Shetland wanted to answer, but now the last bits of air in her lungs vanished and she fumbled with her backup bottle. Toasty then slammed the breathing mask back on Shetland’s mouth, letting her take a deep breath.

“Robot!” she exclaimed commandingly to Toasty. “Where did you get that gun?” By now her accompanying group had caught up with them and they immediately started whispering among one another.

Toasty dropped the weapon like it was on fire. “I-I-I,” she stammered, lowering her head under the alicorns glare.

“It’s not important!” Shetland gasped, drawing a furious glare from the alicorn.

“Someone has stolen weapons!” Shetland shouted. “They’re back there, hidden away in a secrest cache!"

Luna’s voice failed as her face assumed the color of the moon’s surface. Behind them, the following group gasped. Luna whirled around. “Night shield!” she commanded a bat pony stallion. “How could this happen?”

The stallion shrunk under the princesses glare. “A few weapons have indeed gone missing.” he admitted ruefully. “We assumed they had been lost during the panic last week.”

“Investigate every case of missing weaponry. Now!” Luna snarled, sending the stallion to nearly stumble to the ground as he simultaneously tried to salute and run.

“And there is only one group with a motive!” a Pegasus mare called out as her face contorted into a hateful grimace. “Who constantly demands weaponry, who protests and cries for better rights? This is why we cannot allow robots the ownership of guns, if they will steal them for their own gain. This robot even held one just now!”

Toasty let out an indignant cry, but it was Shetland who furiously shouted. “I gave it to her so we’d be safer from whoever really hid the weapons, you retarded, bigoted old hag!”

“SILENCE!” Luna shouted, her voice rolling over the landscape like a hurricane. “The case of this robot will be discussed later, now we will address more important matters!” She turned to Shetland. “Sparkle, stay here while I gather Princess Twilight. Everypony else!” she shouted towards her followers. “Go back to your respective stations and send an alert to the Voidmarines.” She glared over the stunned faces of the unmoving group. “NOW!”

“Luna-” Shetland said, but the alicorn’s horn had already assumed a bright blue glow, and a second later, she teleported away.

The earth pony stared at the spot where the alicorn had disappeared, fuming anger rising in her throat. “Will be discussed later?” She spat the words out in disbelief as she stomped a hoof into the ground. “What does she think you’re trying to do, stage a coup?”

Toasty wordlessly shook her head and took a step away. Shetland’s hoof shot out, grabbing the robot’s in a firm hold.

“We’re not out of danger!” Shetland said, barely able to keep her fury out of her voice. “I don’t care what Luna thinks, you’re keeping it until we’re back to safety!”

“Do it!” Shetland demanded, nearly hitting the small robot with the gun as she pressed it into her hoof. Toasty took a step back, then her head made a tiny nudge up and down before she picked up the gun, her eyes unable to meet the larger mare’s.

Shetland looked up as with a loud crack, Luna returned, but she had no time to offer a greeting as a magenta aura immediately seized her shoulders.

“You’ve found a WHAT?” Twilight shouted, her eyes wide open. The Alicorn’s mane was unraveling before Shetland’s eyes, slowly assuming the appearance of an ethereal squid.

“A hidden weapon cache.” Shetland said as she brushed a hoof over her shoulders. Twilight, who got the hint, dropped her to the ground.

“How?” she asked, pressing a hoof to her forehead. “Who? Did you see anything else?”

A deep blue hoof grasped Twilight’s side, gently shaking her back and forth. “Calm, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said. “You are limiting your own reasoning with your panic.”

While Twilight took deep breaths, an unwelcome figure stepped around the alicorns, and Toasty scrambled to hide her gun. Khunbish, the hyena, approached them, flanked by Gan, her eyebrow raised high. “I should not be surprised to see you,” she told Shetland. “It seems many strange things happen around you.”

“Pure coincidence.” Shetland frowned and placed a hoof between Toasty and the hyenas. “What are you doing here?” she asked rudely.

“Why wouldn’t we be here?” Gan snorted. Khunbish gave him a sharp glare before turning her attention to Toasty.

“The entire time.” Shetland added feistily, crossing her hooves before her chest.

“I see.” Khunbish looked like she wanted to ask another question, but at that moment, Luna’s voice demanded Shetland’s entire attention.

Twilight cut off Luna. “One of us will bring her to safety and catch up with you in a moment.” She met the older alicorn’s questioning gaze with a nod.

Shetland raised her hoof to the rock formation in the distance. “Over there-”

With a sudden crack, Shetland felt like she was falling, yet she couldn’t say which direction. After a second however, her hooves were on solid ground again. With a blink, she realized Luna had teleported Shetland, Twilight and the hyenas just before the rock. Her stomach lurched and she had to swallow bile before she led the group around the rock formation.

Twilight reacted to the cache as Shetland would expect: With a moment of quiet, horrified contemplation, followed by a torrent of questions, none of which Shetland had an answer for. As her mother paused to catch her breath, Shetland threw a glimpse over to Khunbish. The hyena was currently examining one of the pistols, showing it to Gan. Maybe it was her imagination, since she wasn’t adept at reading their strange faces, but neither of them showed much in the way of surprise. Instead, they whispered to each other in hyenidae, possibly plotting-

“Do you have any idea who could have done this?” Twilight ripped Shetland out of her thoughts.

“Or,” Khunbish looked up from her private conversation. “Maybe it was the robots.”

“They have motives, so much is true,” Twilight admitted. She spoke slowly, as if her mind wasn’t fully in the present.

Shetland’s jaw dropped and she shot the alicorn an angry glare. Just when she’d thought her mother was finally on her side and now this? She clenched her jaw and swallowed her first retort. It stuck uncomfortably in her throat. “I don’t think we should point our hoof at those who are suffering the most,” Shetland growled.

“I am not pointing a hoof,” Twilight said. “But I am considering the possibility.” She met Shetland’s eyes with a stern look.

Shetland spat on the ground. “You’re right,” she grumbled. “But it pisses me off nonetheless.” She threw a sharp glare at the hyenas. “Some don’t think they need proof to blame others.”

“That good joke.” Gan turned, giving Shetland a dry smirk. “Good joke when comes from you.”

“THAT WAS NOT THE SAME-” Shetland took a sharp breath. “Good. One.” she hissed through her clenched jaw. Silently, she swore to herself that if he winked at her, she would beat his dirty grin into paste. Unfortunately however, he didn’t push his luck.

“Neither of you is wrong.” Twilight attempted to intermediate, but only caught herself a murderous glance from Shetland.

“I wonder,” Khunbish’s rough, silent voice tore into the resuming silence. “How did you find this?”

Shetland swallowed. She didn’t answer right away. She couldn’t trust herself as burning anger boiled her thoughts.

“Well?” Khunbish asked after several seconds, while Twilight gave Shetland a worried glance, as if she feared she’d knocked her head.

“We were...” Shetland swallowed again, speaking again with a less breathy voice. “We were going out here because I needed to do my daily routine. And we decided that maybe, we should do it outside just in case we happen to find one of the missing robots.” She instantly realized how thin her excuse was, as they each exchanged doubtful looks.

“Also-” Shetland wracked her brain, cursing herself for even saying the word, she should have kept to her first lie! A loud crack interrupted her thoughts of a second excuse however, and Luna appeared in their midst.

Shetland let out a relieved sigh. Now she had time to think of a proper story. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gan, a big smirk on her face. Then, slowly, his eyelid closed as he gave her a wink.

Darkness was sweeping into the colony, only sparsely eased by a few electronic lights. Shetland’s steps were heavy as she lurched towards her room, reminiscing over the softness of her bed, the quiet of privacy, the feeling of safety. A cynical chuckle took hold of her throat, and with a shake of her head she tried to push the thought aside, but it slipped past her mental grasp like oil on water. Why was there never any progress? She grit her teeth, feeling her heart’s rhythm inside her ears. The enemy was now armed. It was fact, there was no way that meagre cache was the only one. They had no idea who it was, not even a hunch! Shetland swallowed. Anyone could be out for their deaths. There was nopony she could trust. Her whole body shivered for several seconds before she let out an enraged shout.

Her voice reverberated throughout the empty tunnels. A sudden rush of embarrassment brought some color back to her face as she peaked her ears in case anypony heard her. Then she facehooved. Nopony could answer, the curfew had most likely already started. Which meant she should hurry. With a deep breath, she tried to calm her heart, despite, as the sound of her hooves once again broke the silence, the feeling that the shadows followed her.

It was a huge relief when she entered her home and two glowing green dots welcomed her in.

Shetland shook her head with a tired sigh. “No, nothing,” she whispered as she locked the door behind herself. “They’ll try and find out which weapons are missing and-” Her sentence broke as a yawn came out of her mouth. She blinked, and it took real effort just to open her eyes again. “Where was I?” she mumbled, her thoughts slow as snails.

“You look tired.” Toasty whispered caringly. “Today has been a lot. My own battery will have to be recharged tomorrow.”

“Yeah... “ Shetland felt her eyelids drooping again as she looked towards the bed with nearly closed eyes, every sleepy inch of her body begging her to give them some rest. And yet… her gaze was drawn back to the door. “Toasty… you were alone.” she swallowed as an ember lit up in her throat. “Alone and unarmed. Defenseless.” her eyes narrowed as she stomped her hoof, her anger allowing her to push past her fatigue. “Luna left you alone here like this!”

“It is fine, Shetland,” Toasty said, trying to appease the larger mare. “I am fine!”

“Toasty, locked doors don’t stop them!” Shetland exclaimed, glaring down at the little robot, ignoring the painfully bright glow of her eyes. “An armed guard didn’t stop them! Three robots didn’t! You were not safe!” She took a deep breath and shifted her gaze to the door, the most likely point of breach, and she clenched her teeth. “We’ll have to stay up,” she decided.

“No, you do not!” the robot crossed her hooves as she glared back, finally forcing the larger mare to avert her gaze. “You will not be able to protect me if you fall asleep on your hooves!”

“And I can’t do it when I’m sleeping!” Shetland argued loudly. “I can sleep tomorrow. I can drop you off by mom, I can-”

“Shetland,” Toasty said, once again trying to reach her. “You need to sleep. What you are doing is bad for your health.”

The look Shetland gave the robot could only be described as baffled. Her mouth silently moved, before she repeated her unspoken question: “My health? Toasty, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I can keep you alive, that I protect you, that I am not that kind of pony who-” she swallowed, her eyes widening at her own words. Her voice shivered as she shook her head. “Who cares about my health? The ponies who would are not here anymore, because I couldn’t protect them!.”

“Don’t say that…” Toasty said, her voice shaking with horrified disbelief. “Ponies do care, Shetty. Your mother cares… I care.”

“I can’t” Shetland hid her face under her hoof. “You don’t know-” she swallowed. “You don’t know what I did, Toasty. I’m… I’m a bad pony.”

“No, you’re not.” Toasty insisted adamantly. “You are my strong protector, who loves my cooking more than anypony else and who will go crazy if she doesn’t get herself some shuteye.” Reaching far upward, she managed to caress Shetland’s shoulder. “Please rest, I will look out tonight.”

“You can’t.” Shetland whispered hoarsely. “You still don’t know how to fight.” She pushed the robot away, rubbed the wetness from her own eyes and regarded Toasty with a stern look. “I am going to stay up.”

Toasty gave her a worried glance, but she knew she had lost the argument. “Please, at least for a few hours, I am certain I can look out for a little while.”

Shetland took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it,” she said. “Can you make me some coffee?”

Toasty gave her a worried look, but silently nodded and trotted into the small kitchen, leaving Shetland to fight her weighty eyelids. She took a deep breath. Only one night, she assured her exhausted brain. One more… The sounds from the kitchen brought a chuckle out of her. Of course Twilight would bring a coffee machine to a space colony, where even apples weren’t easy to come by. The alicorn was practically addicted to the disgusting sludge. She sighed, unwilling to think about her mother. It just brought her back to the mystery, which would inevitably haunt her all night, leading to nothing! If Twilight couldn’t figure it out… then what chances did she, the disappointing daughter, have? If only she could discuss all of it with a pony smarter than herself. She grit her teeth. Ciloa and Press had always been much better at riddles than she was, if they were here to help-

Shetland lurched forward, slamming her head against a nearby bedpost. Pain broke out in her forehead, freeing her from the veil of old, sluggish thoughts.

“Shetland?” Toasty’s worried shout came from the kitchen, shortly followed by the robot. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Shetland said, even as her face was still pressed against the bedpost.

“O-okay, then…” Toasty paused, uncertain what to say as she stared helplessly at the pile of misery. “There… there is a letter,” she finally said.

“Huh?” Shetland slowly rose her head, looking back at Toasty, who took the letter from the table and offered it to her. “What is this?” she mumbled.

“I do not know, it was addressed to you and I respect your privacy.” Toasty’s ear perked up as she forced a more jovial tone. “Though it was not easy.”

Wordlessly, Shetland took the letter. It was a bit of a struggle to open in the dark and without tools, but she eventually just bit into the paper and tore it open. Toasty, standing on her hindlegs, looked over Shetland’s shoulder, thereby illuminating the letter in green light.

I’m not sure how to write the address, I mean, you’re technically royalty, right? I hope it doesn’t bother you, but I just decided to write it like I would to a friend, which we are, right?

Things just seem to get worse, huh? Now that somepony even broke into the hyena’s room, I’m constantly watching my back with every step. Just saying that, so you know you’re not the only one. I mean, you were practically falling apart when you helped me and Pipe with those repairs and now this happened…

I know this is kind of a bad time, but if you ever feel like hanging out, you can visit me anytime at my dorm or the workshop, addresses are on the backside. You can even take Toasty, my co-workers are all pretty cool like that (I mean, it’s a given, we’re all tech nuts). Hope I can help.

“We’re not calling her that.” Shetland replied, a little smirk twisting her lips. With a small wiggle of her body, she made the little robot get off her shoulder. “We could visit her in the morning,” she whispered.

“You are not going anywhere but to bed next morning.” Toasty said sternly.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Shetland sighed. Her eyes were once again drooping as she set her gaze on the door. Then she blinked. She had to stay vigilant.

Maybe she was promising herself protection from the group. Maybe she wanted to move her legs, so the growing exhaustion wouldn’t sneak past her attention. Or maybe it was just a wish for company, Shetland couldn’t say for sure what drove her to move through the hallways and knock at Magenta’s dorm.

The pegasus gasped as she opened the door and instinctively took a step back from the towering mare. “Shetland!” she exclaimed, before lowering her voice. “What are you doing here? There’s a curfew!”

“Get in!” Magenta hissed. “Before somepony sees you.” She practically pulled the earth pony through the door, almost letting her head impact on the frame.

“May I come in, too?” Toasty’s voice took Magenta by surprise, who hadn’t seen her before. Nonetheless, she wasted no time in assuring her:

“Yes, it’s fine, just come in!” With that, she shut the door after the pair. There was barely enough space to stand, and Shetland felt herself uncomfortably squeezed against a cupboard, though at least she was able to stand upright. Pegasi, it seemed, got rooms with a somewhat higher ceiling.

“Your letter said I could come visit anytime,” Shetland whispered apologetically.

“In the middle of the night?” Magenta flapped her wings to jump on top of her bunk, allowing her sleep-ridden eyes look down into Shetland’s. “That’s a little of a stretch, don’tcha think?”

Shetland shrugged. “Can’t really tell you why,” she said simply. In truth, she didn’t feel like arguing the question. She didn’t even know the answer herself.

“Shetland got the heebie-jeebies,” Toasty whispered unmistakeably. “She is terrified someone could suddenly barge into our room.”

Shetland glared at the robot, but her irritated reply was cut short as Magenta sighed. “Aren’t we all? that’s why we have Voidmarines patrolling the colony at night. Kinda surprised you didn’t run into one.” She raised an eyebrow at Shetland, who simply shrugged. “Well,” Magenta yawned. “You can sleep here if you want.” She looked down into the lower bunk. “Might have to share, though.”

“That’s not necessary!” Toasty exclaimed quickly. “I do not require a bed, and I am doubtful it could handle Shetland’s… proportions.” She ignored the sour look Shetland gave her.

“I’m not gonna sleep anyway,” Shetland muttered. “I’m gonna watch the door.”

“You… do that.” Magenta yawned again. Despite her raised eyebrow, she was too tired to question Shetland’s decision. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Shetland and Toasty replied. Shetland leaned back, pointing her tired gaze at the door. A smile twirled around her lips as Magenta’s calm breathing reached her ears. Despite the fact that she was sleeping, her sheer presence had something… calming. Maybe Magenta could even help her next morning with the mystery stuff. The pegasus was certainly smart enough, probably smarter than she was. With a warm feeling in her chest, she leaned against the cupboard, barely noticing as Toasty shoved a pillow in between as a cushion. There are Voidmarines patrolling the colony, she thought. Plus, she and Toasty were watching the door. Her muscles slowly relaxed to the rhythm of Magenta’s calm breathing. Still, she called her attention to the present. No matter how comfortable she may feel in the moment, she had to stay on guard.

The next morning, Shetland was rudely shocked from her slumber as a pillow smacked her in the face. She shot up, knocking her head on the nearby bedpost, to the amused chuckles of the other two mares.

“Wakey, Sleepyhead~” Magenta called out from the top bunk. Next to her stood Toasty, a second pillow ready to toss in her hooves.

Shetland gave the pair a grumpy look. “Yeah,” she grumbled. But she was cut off from saying “Jerks”, as the second pillow smacked right into her muzzle.

“Then I am sure you won’t mind catching another!” Toasty and Magenta laughed, while Shetland rubbed her aching head. The earth pony’s face fell as she looked at the clock.

With a loud thwump, Toasty’s metal hooves landed in the ground. “That is because I let you. Do not beat yourself up over it,” she added in a worried tone.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Shetland snapped at her. “Don’t you get that I’m doing this for our safety?!”

“We were safe,” Toasty insisted. “There were Voidmarines patrolling the hallways, like Magna Opus said. Plus, I was up all night. If something happened, I would have called for help.”

“That-” Shetland shook her head. “Whatever, I told you I was going to stay up, but you didn’t let me!”

“You kinda fell asleep all on your own.” Magenta chimed in, catching a dirty glare from both earth pony and robot.

“Magenta.” Shetland corrected, equally sour. “We’re calling her Magenta.”

“I am sorry, but your assertion is not nearly as impressive than that of my large friend… Magenta.” Toasty said. Although she had no mouth to smirk with, it more than showed in her voice.

“We fully intent to,” Toasty said earnestly, garnering the hint of a chuckle from Shetland.

“You’re a comedy duo,” Magenta sighed. She stretched out her wings, before throwing a curious look down at the pair. “So, you have any plans? Are you gonna come with me to work?”

Before Shetland could answer, Toasty fell in: “Shetland has stretches she is required to do. She has been slacking off lately.”

“Hey!” Shetland gave her an indignant look. “That’s my personal biz, what do you care?”

At that, Toasty stretched herself to her full, absolutely unimpressive height. She could have stood under Shetland and barely touched her belly. Nonetheless, her formal speech carried authority: “As my guardian, I require you to be at your peak physical condition. That includes fulfilling your doctors orders and doing your workouts. Plus,” she added mischievously, “It gives you plenty of chances to show off your body.”

Magenta snickered, causing Shetland to throw her a confused glance. “I don’t know if I want anypony to watch this,” she said as she reached back and tapped her burned, scarred right flank. “I can’t go a day without realising how ugly that side is.” She looked up to Magenta, who gave no comment, but her averted gaze was enough.

Toasty however shook her head. “I do not think it is ugly. Think about it: You have a battlescar covering your entire limp. That is not ugly, that is badass.”

A sudden heat rose up in Shetland’s cheeks as she smiled. “Well, uh… thank you Toasty-”

Shetland blinked. Then, after a second, Magenta groaned loudly. Another second later, Shetland fell in.

“That was so baaaad!” Magenta complained, hiding her own eyes from the giggling robot.

“I like it,” Toasty said, unfaced by their reaction. “We should go, Shetland… Magenta, do you wish to accompany us?”

The pegasus seemed a little surprised by the suggestion. “Well…” she said, her eyes focused on the ceiling as she thought. “I probably could. Management’s been so wrapped up with all the bad stuff lately, they kinda forgot to give our department something to do. I probably could just pop in an hour or two later and nopony would mind…” She smiled down at the pair. “Yep, I can come with you. On the condition that you’ll use my real name!”

Shetland and Toasty exchanged a look. Then they answered in unison: “No bucking way.”

It quickly became clear that this was Magenta’s first time in a gym. The pegasus nervously glanced at the half-dozen machines, each designed to train a different part of the body.

“Don’t worry, you can go at your own pace,” Shetland assured her, although her lips were curving into a smirk as she eyed the barbell, its sides bulging with heavy plates stacked upon each other. “Why don’t you give that a shot?”

Magenta’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding,” she whispered breathlessly. “That’s like…” She circled the object, her eyes widening as she counted upwards. “That’s three hundred and fifty pounds! You know, we can’t all be giant muscle-mares, I’d like to actually start with something simple.”

“Oh, well,” Shetland smirked. “You should warm up first anyway.” She nudged the pegasus on a treadmill. “See if you can get to thirty minutes.”

Magenta gave her a doubtful look. “How long is this gonna take? Not the running, I mean all of it.”

“Well, you should plan in an hour or so,” Shetland admitted, ignoring the surprised yelp as she switched on the machine. “You said we had time right?”

“Yeah…” Magenta said, trying to run on three legs as she searched the treadmills menu. “Just don’t wanna be pushing it.”

Shetland shrugged, grinning as she saw the utterly untrained pegasus try to match the treadmill’s pace. She’d actually only set it to ten minutes, but by then Magenta should be plenty warmed up, she figured. Alas, as amusing as it would be to watch her friend struggle, her scars were already itching, reminding her of her own exercises.

Toasty stood aside, attentively watching the two mares exercise. “Do you require skin lubrication before you begin, or after?” she asked, holding up the lotion for Shetland’s scars.

“Let’s do it after,” Shetland groaned as she struggled to extend her leg, ignoring the spasm of pain it sent her. Despite the workout she’d given it, it still wouldn’t stretch fully, staying in a slightly bent position no matter her effort. But through Toasty’s encouragement, she swallowed her frustration and kept going. For a while, all that could be heard was the earth pony’s occasional grunt, masking the ever-growing panting of Magenta. The pegasus huffed deeply at the end, nearly slipping off the track. And as the machine suddenly came to a halt, she ran headfirst into the console, gasping as the remaining momentum took her off her hooves. Luckily Toasty was there to catch her before she hit the floor. The heavily breathing pegasus sank to the ground, sweaty drops falling from her forehead.

“It was… good for a start,” Shetland said slowly, unable to hide her chuckle. While her own forehead was spilling a few drops of sweat, her heart still kept to a fairly disciplined pace. “Ready for the next part?”

“Screw… you,” Magenta cursed, unwilling to get off the ground just yet. “Gimme a moment.”

While Shetland watched in amusement, Toasty was more sympathetic, and offered her a glass of water.

“Thank you,” Magenta whispered before greedily swallowing the cooling gift. With a sour look at Shetland, she grumbled, “Don’t you have something better to do than see me suffer? Lift some weights or whatever.”

“Oh, I will,” Shetland smirked as she casually went over to the hugely hung barbell and slid under the pole. “What do you say,” She grinned at Magenta. “Twenty bits I can’t get it to thirty?”

The pegasus threw a suspicious look to the weights, then to Shetland. “You would not propose that if you couldn’t do it.”

“Twenty bits,” Magenta said after a moment. “If you can do forty. With me and Toasty sitting on top.”

At that, Shetland bit her lip, throwing the weight a doubtful look. “I’ll do forty.” She spoke slowly, weighing the options. “And then you sit on it, and if I can still get it up, I get the twenty.”

With that, Shetland began to lift, delighted at Magenta’s involuntarily dropped jaw as she quickly got through her first five pushes. The huge weights gave the pole a curved shape, yet she wasn’t worried- they were shaped as large circles, so even if she dropped the barbell, it would impact on her left and right, without injuring her.

“Shetland!” Toasty whispered, just loud enough to pierce through her effort-laden mind. With a grunt, the earth pony let down the weight, gasping for breath as the tension in her body left all at once. Still, she wasted no time in sitting up and following Toasty’s eyes. A hyena, Gan, as Shetland assumed from his somewhat rougher fur, stood in the doorway. His eyes temptatively watched the trio, as if he wasn’t sure whether to approach or leave them behind. Well, Shetland thought as she narrowed her eyes, She wasn’t going to give him a choice.

“Hey,” she called out loudly, though it took her a moment to gather her breath afterwards. “Come here.”

Gan hesitated before he slowly approached, his eyes resting on Toasty for a long second. As he spoke, a hint of tiredness appeared in his voice, almost entirely concealed by the raspy tones of his language. <I would have left you to continue.>

Shetland’s eyes narrowed and she refused to leave out her friends by speaking his language. “I’ve never seen you before in the gym.”

<I didn’t know of this place.> He shrugged, glancing to Toasty, before letting out a groan and finally meeting Shetland’s language. “I just walk. Around.”

“Alone?” Magenta asked. Shetland blinked at her words, looking over the hyena’s shoulder. Indeed, Khunbish was nowhere to be found.

“W-well, I-it is…” Magenta stuttered, more and more unnerved. But Gan simply turned to Shetland again.

“Impressive,” he complimented her, a smirk on his face. “How many you done?”

“Twenty!” Toasty shot the reply before Shetland could even open her mouth. “And she will do twenty more.” she decided as she gave Shetland a look as if to say: and if not…

Shetland pursed her lips as she gave Magenta a questioning look. “Does it still count if I made a break?”

“Come on!” Toasty interjected, glaring so brightly the pegasus had to blink. “It is not her fault she was interrupted.”

“Alright,” Magenta rolled her eyes. Then she gave the robot a playful shove. “But if I win, you’ll have to make me dinner.”

“Breakfast.” Toasty insisted, her head snapping around, her eyelights shrinking to tiny dots.

“Dinner or no deal.” Magenta crossed her forelegs, beating her wings to avoid falling over. “I never eat breakfast anyway.”

Toasty staggered, as if Magenta had just kicked her in the face. “W-w-wha?” she stammered, her eyelights growing until her entire visor was nothing but unwatchable brightness.

Shetland stemmed herself against the weights, hoping the effort would deafen her to the inevitable explosion. Luckily, Gan jumped in, directing their attention back onto Shetland.

Soon, she became only faintly aware of the number Toasty counted. The effort drove a sea of sweat onto her forehead and from there it traveled down to her eyes. Thus, the only sign she had of the others presence was the occasional cheer and sometimes a cold hoof swiping over her forehead, just so it could drench itself again.

Air escaped out of Shetland’s lungs like a furnace as the barbell nearly dropped to the ground. She ground her teeth. It took her nearly a minute for the next push.

A freakish, convulsed snicker came from Gan, nearly costing Shetland her concentration as she pushed… stemmed her legs against the weight as it felt like they were breaking apart-

“FORTY!” Toasty cheered, and a second later, a massive impact shook the ground under their hooves as the weight smashed into the floor, leaving little dents behind. Shetland fell back on the ground, gasping for breath as she looked at her shaking legs, half-surprised not to see them covered in blood from bursting veins.

“Don’t rest yourself too much,” Magenta smirked, catching the huffing earth pony’s attention as she set her hoof on the barbell. “You still gotta do the extra~”

“Oh,” Toasty said quietly, giving Shetland a doubtful look. “Right.” she said slowly as she climbed on top of the weight. Gan followed them with his eyes, his jaw slowly dropping as he realized what they were doing.

Shetland was inclined to agree as she watched the two mares clambering onto the weights. There had been little time to recover from the strain of lifting before and this might be one of the heaviest she’d ever managed. Although, she thought as her eyes fell on Magenta, flappers are fairly light. And Toasty had dropped a lot of weight after the attack, with her new body composed of much lighter materials. Still… “Magenta… put one weight on your side, so it’s more even,” she muttered.

“Are you suggesting that I am heavier than her?” Toasty asked. “I am smaller.”

“And fatter,” Shetland joked, smirking as Toasty crossed her hooves. “And I just demonstrated it’s all muscle, so don’t even try shooting back~”

“Well,” Toasty poked a hoof into Shetland’s belly, so it sank in slightly. “Very well cushioned, your muscles.”

To her right, Magenta, with the help of Gan, managed to put the weight on the other side, then looked with wide eyes over the bar, and then Shetland’s smirk. She’d been lifting six of the weights the pegasus had just struggled with. “Are you ready?” she asked and focused back on the enormous task before her. She swallowed. Not a drop of saliva was in her mouth as she placed her hooves at the handles.

“I’ll do it when I’m ready.” She shot Magenta a glare before she could reply, then she wrestled control over her breathing. She filled her lungs with air, then let it all out in a shout as she pressed against the pole, feeling it bend to the point she’d expect it to break. Then, it rose, and her shivering hooves pushed, as pain spiked under the extreme pressure. With all of her might, she pushed as she simultaneously tried to draw in the slightest amount of breath. It now hung entirely in the air. With another shout, she tried to push, to extend her legs fully-

The bar dropped to the ground and Shetland screamed, clutching her agonized forelegs and cursing wildly. The dazed pegasus climbed off while Toasty nearly jumped over to shetland, worriedly examining her.

“I’m fine.” Shetland insisted, rubbing her forelegs with a grimace. “Did I do it?”

“Well…” Magenta bit her lips. “You didn’t get it up all the way, but… “ she hastily added at the look Toasty gave her. “I’ll let it count, I mean, heck, I didn’t think you could possibly get it up!”

That moment, someone offered Shetland a bottle of water, which she greedily emptied, splashing at least a third over her chest and hooves. As she looked up, she was surprised to see Gan, offering her a towel, displaying his sharp teeth in an awkward smile. “Never see before,” he complimented as she took the towel out of his paws.

“Thank you,” Shetland gasped as she waited for her drumming heart to calm down. “That impressive, huh?”

“If you need to hear it again,” Magenta rolled her eyes. “Yes, it was. Now stop swaggering!”

“Hey, I deserve to boast after pulling that off!” Shetland laughed. “Also, you owe me twenty bits.”

“I for one am very impressed with your prowess,” Toasty said. “Still, stop.”

Shetland crossed her shivering forehooves and made a pout. “Alright, killjoys.”

“Shut up~” Toasty amusedly shook her head. Then she suddenly grabbed the towel out of Shetland’s hooves and began to dry her off, despite the surprised look the earth pony gave her.

Wiping a hoof over her forehead, she decided not to pay the robot’s odd behaviour any more mind. Instead, she laid her eyes on Gan and whispered: “I haven’t seen you alone before. Why now?” Whenever she’d seen him before, he had been with Khunbish, or at least very close to her. Only one time, in the deep of the night, he’d been alone… or at least she hadn’t seen the other hyena. Back then, he’d been trying to break into Coltville’s mainframe. She frowned. Was that what he’d been trying to do now, before being briefly distracted by the sight of her workout?

Gan nervously shifted his weight as he looked over the trio. Then, he seemed to make a decision. “You are Sparkle.” he spoke slowly. “I respect you. Only tell you.”

Shetland’s frown deepened at the obvious attempt to keep Toasty out. She could just tell her afterwards, but it did feel wrong to break a promise, if he already came out to her. Well, that will depend on what he tells me. With that thought in mind, she nodded.

Gan lowered his voice, even as he switched into hyenidae. <Khunbish and me… had a disagreement. I…> He took a breath, looking at the ground. <I cannot say more.>

<No.> Gan shook his head. Then he snarled. <We have different ideas how to continue our investigation. That is all I can say> The last part was said with enough force that Shetland didn’t even try. Instead, she awkwardly raised a hoof, patting on the bewildered hyena’s shoulder.

“Alright.” Shetland felt a pang of disappointment, and yet, her mind was brightly lit. She’d made progress. Maybe, if she kept it up, she could coax even more out of him! “You know, if you’d like, you could come train regularly with me.” she offered. “Hopefully with you and Toasty?” she smirked at Magenta, who huffed.

“No way I’m coming here regularly. My schedule wouldn’t even allow it, and I am not getting up earlier.” Her eyes darted to the clock over the entrance and a frown appeared on her face. Then she jumped up, eyes wide. “HOLY HECK, I just realized something!” She looked to the clock again, then to Shetland and Toasty, who gave her strange looks. “You can’t fly!” Magenta exclaimed. “It’ll take you an hour or more, we have to go now! I can’t push my shedule harder!”

“Ugh… Can we at least take a shower? I am drenched!” Shetland complained. While that wasn’t quite true, the dried sweat still hung on her fur, making her itchy and smelly.

Magenta opened her mouth, but Toasty was faster: “THERE IS PROBABLY NO TIME. LETS GO!” As neither mare made any attempt to follow her order, the robot buckled under their glares. “Alright,” she huffed. “But I do not think you smell that bad.”

After advising Gan not to stay alone, the three mares made their way to the spaceport. Magenta was not used to walking the stretch, and continuously beat her wings in frustration, which slowly got on Shetland’s nerves. “Would you stop doing that?” she finally groaned.

“Some of us have to walk all the time,” Shetland explained with a snort. “Some do not have the luxury of flying.”

“I’d say flight is much more useful than carrying things,” Shetland scoffed.

“Girls, would you stop being jealous over one another?” Toasty interjected with a dirty look to both mares. “I’ll have you know, some of us cannot have orgasms.”

Magenta was stunned, but Shetland broke out in hearty laughter. “Yes, Toasty, you are by far the most pitiable of us,” she chuckled as she calmed down a little. Magenta however was looking at Toasty, deep in thought.

Shetland blinked over from Magenta’s thoughtful look, to Toasty’s piqued interest, and she decided that she was not comfortable discussing that topic seriously. Therefore, she had to subtly influence the conversation in another direction. “Who wants to hear a joke?” she blurted out loudly.

Thankfully, her masterminded plan kept them busy enough until they arrived, and Magenta led them into the workshop Shetland had already been to before.

“Not much. Which is the only reason I’m not gonna rattle you out for your tardiness,” a voice from above replied. A batpony mare was hanging from the ceiling, looking over the small room as if she was searching for something.

Magenta turned around. “That little ray of sunshine is Ocean Dew, she normally works to maintain spaceship parts, isn’t that right?”

“Yep,” Dew answered. “We were finally done fixing some of the parts of the hyena’s ship. Damn scrapeaters, how they crashed this ship…” she shook her head. “Speaking of scrap-eating, you missed lunch. I brought some for you, it’s over on the workbench.”

“Today we’re mostly listing stuff,” Dew continued. “After they found this cache, the bosses want everything triple checked, and a list of everything that’s not where it should be.” She gave Magenta a square look. “I hope you and Pipe properly catalogued?”

“Of course!” Magenta said indignantly. “We’re not sloppy here.” She looked to Shetland. “Uh, sorry, but if that’s our job, you’ll seriously be in our way and stuff.”

“Actually...aren’t you the mare who found the secret cache?” Dew chimed in. “I heard it was a huge mare.”

“You can stay in the back room then, if you want,” Dew offered. “Maybe you’ve seen some of the things we couldn’t find. You wouldn’t be alone either, “ she added. “We’ve got a visitor here from Coltville.”

“Oh, and Toasty?” Magenta excitedly appeared beside the robot. “We’ve got a place you can recharge, if you need to.”

That settled it. Shetland lowered her head in agreement and trotted into the said room. It was cramped in there, with boxes of screws and tools everywhere, but it was comfortably cool, unlike the hot outside that had once again driven the sweat on her forehead. Comfortably lying on the ground before her was a red earth pony stallion. He lazily raised his head as she entered, but then his eyes widened. “Shetland?” he stammered.

“Holy heck, I… I forgot how frikkin large you are,” he gasped as he jumped to his legs. “How have you been?”

Shetland silently stared down at him. She wasn’t quite sure how to approach the stallion that had tried to dissuade her from saving Toasty in the storm. Who suggested she replace her. Certainly not like nothing happened.

Crust winced at her look, biting his lip. “You’re uh… you’re mad at me?”

“Not… necessarily.” Shetland said. She wanted to sit. Her hind leg was once again aching, demanding her attention, but that would mean she’d not look downwards at him anymore.

“I… I don’t know!” he exclaimed. “It’s been a few days and that was really tense… I could have said anything…” he swallowed. “Look, I… I guess I know I’ve been an ass to your robot friend? I’m sorry for that.”

Well, that was something, Shetland decided and freed him from her glare. With a sigh, she lowered herself to the ground, finally able to scratch her scarred leg. “Good enough,” she informed the tentatively watching stallion. “I’m kinda surprised to see you here, though.”

“Well, I was just here for a brief visit, picking up some letters,” he said as he settled down. “But then this all happened, and since I was already gonna drive, they chose me to go around and fetch all the missing inventory lists. That is, once they’re done here,” he added, knocking at a box. It made a sound like it was full of a foal’s building blocks.

Shetland frowned. “But… can’t they just use a communicator to get them instantly?”

“Beats me,” Crust sighed. “I think Princess Twilight just has a paper obsession or something.”

“Yeah, that sounds like mom,” Shetland agreed. “But she’s usually more practical than that.”

“I’ve heard you’ve pretty much been at the center of everything lately.” Crust raised an eyebrow. “Would you mind helping me catch up with things?”

Shetland rolled her eyes as she began to explain. Occasionally Magenta or Dew would come in and take one of the boxes, or place it back on the shelves. One time, however, as Shetland was about to close her explanation, Magenta carried a photo. “Hey, Crust,” she called out. “I’d like to check something with you.”

He gave her a surprised look, but clambered to get on his legs. “What is it?”

“You know Scalloway, right?” she asked. “He’s been maintaining your equipment and stuff? You’ve been in his workshop?”

“Do you recognize this?” she asked, placing the photo between him and Shetland.

“You found in the cache? Exactly,” Magenta said grimly. “Crust, we don’t have that type of wrench here. And in Coltville, you only have Scalloway. Do you think it could be his?”

“No idea.” Crust blew out air. “One wrench looks like the other to me. Though… Scalloway has been complaining about losing things for a while. He gets upset, thinks it’s because poniess mess up his stuff.”

“Hmmm.” Magenta grit her teeth. “We should definitely inform the higher-ups of that. It means they could very likely be over all of Horizon.”

Shetland bit her lip, staring down at the photo. If that was true… “Hey Crust?” she whispered thoughtfully. “Has he been complaining about that before the hyenas arrived?”

“Oh yeah, yeah, he’s done that for a while now. But he’s always been a nagger, so I didn’t pay enough attention to say for sure.”

Magenta sighed. “You’re still on about the hyenas, Shetland? I assumed it was clear they weren’t the enemy when their room was robbed.”

“How that guard screwed up so hard is beyond me,” Crust grumbled. “Who thought it’d be a good idea to replace my cousin with that idiot-”

“Yeah, my cousin, Smelting Forge. I was actually here to give him a visit. And let me tell you, he’d never have fallen asleep on the job, disciplined to the core, that guy is. But then, someone from higher up had the brilliant idea of replacing him with that stupid activist-” He stopped as he gauged Shetland’s reaction. “Uhm… that unprofessional idiot.”

Under different circumstances, Shetland would have bashed him over the head for speaking against robot rights, but right now, she was focused on finding out more. “Did he say where the order came from? Does he know?”

“Not really.” Crust shook his head. For a moment Shetland ground her teeth in disappointment, but then he said: “But it was really strange, cause it was Princess Twilight who pushed it through. You’d think she’d see through a stupid decision like that, but I guess she’s too stressed out with all this crap… what do you think?”

But Shetland didn’t answer. Her mind was racing. Twilight had appointed that guard. On the day the break-in happened. And unlike Crust, she was certain the decree had originated from nopony but the alicorn herself. After all, did she not tell Shetland specifically not to question that stallion? Shetland swallowed, and a cold shiver ran down her back.

Void Trials 2: Horizon

by Obsi

Secrets