//------------------------------// // Act 3 Chapter 62 : Live, From The Fortress Everfree // Story: Starlight Over Detrot: A Noir Tale // by Chessie //------------------------------// "Equestria has lived through long winters and scalding summers. Our rulers have survived bouts of madness, our government has survived bouts of democracy, and our civil order has survived bouts of social anarchy. We've stood up to tyrants and bowed down to princesses, but Equestria has always remained a land where hope for change may blossom. If there is ever a day this country falls, it won't be one land alone that burns; it will be the whole world, burning together." -History of Equestria, Volume XVI Taxi found me curled up in a ball in one of the cells near Tourniquet’s room, hugging some foal’s stuffed alligator.  I had the hem of my coat stuffed in my mouth so nopony could hear me screaming. I don’t remember crawling away from the smoldering body.  I don’t remember crawling under the bunk. I don’t remember biting my lip until it bled all over my chin and coat.     My driver stood in the doorway for a moment, then trotted inside and pushed the bunk away from my little hiding place.  Reality was reasserting itself, but it was taking its sweet time about it. Goldenrod’s burning body was still flickering behind my eyelids off and on like a neon light.  The smell of a burning body periodically filled my nose.     Gathering me up in her hooves, she rocked a little and I put my forelegs around her neck.  Crying seemed the wrong thing, particularly at the end of days, but I couldn’t seem to stop.  Every time I thought I might have it under control, another rush of terror would sweep aside my little stoic notions like a blast of icy water.  I couldn’t control it any more than I could have held back the tide.     At some point, she started dabbing my face off with a kerchief she’d retrieved from somewhere, wiping at my eyes as I stared up into hers.  She brushed a hoof through my mane and sighed.     “I can do this, Hardy,” Taxi murmured.  “Lim has a spell to make my voice sound like yours.  Say one word, and you can stop fighting.  They don’t need to see you. You can stay here.  I’ll make sure—”     I caught her hoof and held it tightly.     “Sweet Shine, you know nothing like that ever works out,” I said with more control than I’d thought possible in my state of mind.  “But...if I could, you’d be the first pony I’d trust to take my place out there.”     Taxi gave me a hard look and pushed back a couple inches.  “If it were any other stallion, right now, I’d think this was some kind of stupid ego thing.  What happened back there? I found what was left of Goldenrod—”     “That wasn’t Goldenrod,” I replied, wiping at my running nose with the back of one foreleg as I fought for composure.  “Diamond Wishes conned us.”     “He...oh...oh horseapples, I only stuck them in a closet!  Tourniquet said she’d watch them!”     “She was watching them.  It didn’t matter.  This isn’t a fair game.  But...he gave us a chance.  One chance. Maybe. I’ll need a favor, though.”     Taxi’s worried expression deepened.  “I can’t remember the last favor you asked me for.  We don’t do each other favors. I’d trust you holding a leash with me on the other end, so what could you possibly need that makes you think a favor is necessary?” I swallowed a lump in my throat and began to tell her about my conversation with Diamond Wishes, then my plan, then the reasons, and finally I sat waiting for her to respond.     ----     When I regained consciousness, Taxi had plugged me into a wall socket.  It was helpful, though the headache and black eye were still fading. Most ponies might feel a touch of resentment, but I’d asked for something that she couldn’t exactly give me without a beating, nor could she deny it to me.  Besides, the kicking had managed to knock loose a bit of the impacted terror in my brain and it seemed to be steaming along much better than it had been.     Sitting up on the thinly blanketed bunk, I pulled a deep breath in, then felt along my ribcage for anything that might have been broken.  She’d shown a bit of restraint, thankfully.     A faint buzz came from the edge of the cot and I rolled onto one side to come face to face with a giant insect, smugly chewing a bit of popcorn from a little bag clutched in its front claws.  It didn’t pause its meal, but only crunched a little faster.     “Am I that interesting to watch?” I asked.     “This one assures you, yes, oh yes!” Queenie chirped.  “You make no sense, and forever we try! What will you do next?  Get kicked into a ditch? Burnt alive again? A mare may hang you from a yardarm...no, wait...There are no boats nearby.  We must find a boat and give that one a chance!”  It waved a wing in the direction Taxi’d just left by.     “I’d rather not if it’s all the same.  What are they doing in Tourniquet’s chamber?”     “Adding nuance!  Much nuance. This shall be a plan to end all plans!  A smashing dashing crashing plan for blowing up the city!  We cannot wait!”     “So, they’re fleshing things out.  Good. Taxi will brief me when that’s done.  I don’t suppose you’ve figured out some way of punching through the interference?”     Queenie’s wings ruffled the air as it zipped up onto the end of my cot.  “This one has.  Slightly.  A little.”     “You’re saying that like I won’t care for the answer.”     Setting aside the bag of popcorn, Queenie settled down like a cat, tucking its claws under itself.  “We can place many of ourselves near certain ponies and...together, have enough to push away the horrible, nasty, no good nastiness so we can see.  But have to have five or more. We are not efficient anymore!”     “So, you’re saying...I can follow ponies, but only a few?”     “Hideously!  Horribly! Sad signal, spread across many bodies...But yes, you can follow.  Some. A tiny bit.”     “Alright.  That’s simple enough.  I want you to send enough so I can follow Limerence, Taxi—”     “Already have we done this!  Your friends will have many of us with them!  Silly, you, to think we would not know! We shall be as fleas upon their flanks!”     “Then why are you here?” I asked, gesturing at the door.  “Surely there have got to be more interesting things happening out there.”     “You, my sweetest sweet Detective, are where the action is!  Besides, do you not wish to see all the ponies out there, preparing for battle with your name on their little adorable equine lips?”     Pulling myself into a sitting position, I rested a hoof on Queenie’s carapace.  “You’re not altruistic enough to be showing me the sights for fun.”     “Of course not!  But, you do have a way of pointing the cameras in the right directions!   I suspect there is a lovely speech coming in your near future! One full of verve and passion!”     “This isn’t a damn movie, Queenie.  Ponies will die today!”     “So will many of us!”  it replied, cheerily. “We are looking most forward to the coming battle!  It is rare our network experiences death!”     That was enough to quickly sober my rising anger.  I sat back as Queenie crawled a little closer, keeping my hoof on its back.     “You’re not afraid?” I asked.     “We are terrified!” it said, still with that gleeful tone to its buzzing words.  “We have never been so close to the true end of the story! Will it be wistful? Will all skies go as dark as ours?  Will the monsters crush the last bastions of resistance? We cannot say, but we are not bored!”     Shaking my head, I dropped off the cot and realized somepony had pulled my coat off, folded it, and tucked it under my head as a pillow.  I picked it up and underneath lay my anti-magic body armor, a freshly oiled gun harness, a short barrel shotgun, and the Emblem of Harmony.  Lifting the Emblem, I stared at the tiny twig made of crystal inside the glass case. It was a funny thing to hold in my hoof. So much power, and yet, so worthless in the current circumstances.       ‘Funny,’ I thought, ‘I wonder how I wasn’t affected by the mental magics surrounding Starlight Tower.’     Nightmare made her presence known with a mental harumph, rather than any actual words.       ‘You have thoughts, Miss Moon?’ I asked.     ‘I have nothing but thoughts!  You allowed us to be beaten up again!  Why do you do that?! I may not feel pain unless I am controlling that body, but it is still frightening to watch!’       ‘Taxi has a certain way of dealing with stress.  So do I. Right then, we both had a certain need.  Besides, there are some things a stallion shouldn’t ask anyone and I asked her for one of those things.’     ‘Well, I do wish you should find some means that does not threaten your biological integrity!’     ‘It’s this or drink.  Either way, you didn’t stick your head up just to complain, did you?’     A picture of Nightmare Moon wearing a fluffy, blue bathrobe and drinking from a dainty little tea-cup appeared in my head.  ‘I do not complain!  You tasked me with keeping you alive!  If I am to do that, I must understand you.  But...I have a consideration.’     ‘Go on?’     ‘Twilight Sparkle is the caster of perhaps one of the largest scale memory spells ever cast in Equestria.  Might not the talisman she gave you have a magic that protects against those sorts of workings?’     I began wiggling into my gun harness as I replied, ‘Makes sense, I guess.  Wouldn’t do her much good to give me a way of summoning alicorns if I forgot they existed the second I’m out of her presence.  Why would it work on Starlight Tower, though?’ ‘How many such templates for large scale mind magic can there be?  There is bound to be some overlap in their structures.’ ‘Point.  What about this plan of ours?’ ‘It is going to kill you, again, and most likely permanently.  The being that created the Nightmare’s Armor imbued it with powerful precognitive abilities.  It is best to assume that the entity also has powerful precognitive abilities.’ ‘That’s what I thought.  Anything useful?’ ‘The future is endlessly varied and impossible to fully fathom, no matter the prophetic powers one might have access to. For now, do what the bug suggested.’ I hesitated, then snatched up my gun harness and started the laborious process of getting into it. “Queenie, in your cinematic experience, if I wanted to give a speech to those ponies upstairs, how would I get the most impact out of it?” ---- Swift met me at the door of Tourniquet’s chamber a few minutes later.  Her fur was mussed and her eyes low-lidded, but she still gave me a little smile.  I glanced around for anyone else who might be on the way out, then peered inside. Tourniquet’s inner door was shut tight. “Sir?  I saw what happened.  Goldenrodand the other two troopers—” “I know.  Bastard burned them.  Probably didn’t want us to get too close a look at them.” Swift leaned against the door sill and gave me a slightly smug look.  “Well, Tourniquet did get a look at them.  The closet she stuck them inside was one of the cells that still had all the old runes under the paint.  She says there was some kind of...magical signal coming from the general direction of Uptown.  It was probably what was controlling them.” “Ah...now that is useful,” I murmured.  “Wait, is that useful?” “Tourniquet thinks that if we cut off the signal, it may cut off whatever is making them obey orders.” “Right, but that leaves the issue of a horde of ravening monsters with nobody controlling them.  Best case scenario, they go psycho like you did back in that cafe and tear each other apart.  Worst case—” Her ears laid back against her head.  “—they eat anyone they can get their hooves on.” I patted my breast where the Emblem of Harmony lay.  “That sounds like a Princess sized problem. Twilight Sparkle gave me a way to summon her if we can manage to bring down the shield.  Could you get out to that phone box our secret agent friends use and tell them we’re going to assault Uptown in a few hours? They’ve got a better way of getting in touch with her.  Do not answer any questions.” Swift frowned.  “Why not, Sir?” “If I read that pony right, you’ll get her here ten times faster if you leave her curious and frustrated.” My partner’s expression dimmed slightly and her wings sagged against the concrete.  “You...want me to intentionally frustrate an alicorn.” “I don’t think I mumbled, kid.  See if you can piss her off a little, too.  If she’s been drinking, angry drunk is better than scared drunk.” Her pupils shrank to pinpoints as she swayed on her hooves.  “I-I don’t think I am going to be able to accept any medals for this.” “If we live long enough to see medals, I’m having yours engraved with a scared dragon peeing on herself while you stand on her nose.  I’m sure you’ll manage one grumpy librarian, princess or not.” “You saw what our grumpy librarian did to the last pony who made him angry, right?” “You’ve got your orders, kid.  Give her plenty of reason to storm in here with an army on her tail.  We’ll need it to contain this mess before it spreads to the rest of Equestria.” Swift shot me a halfhearted salute and trotted off down the hall towards the stairs.  “You owe me a chicken for this one, Sir.  Feathers and all.  And I get to eat it in front of you.” “Deal.  You can have it on your date with the Warden.  I’ll have Scarlet bring it round on a platter and we’ll scare as much of the upper crust as is left alive.” Watching her disappear around the corner, I looked up at the ceiling.  “So? Thoughts? I know you were listening.” There was a moment’s pause, then Tourniquet’s sheepish voice came from a spot next to my head.  “I don’t do it on purpose, you know.” “I’m aware.  Do you think this plan can work?” “I heard what Diamond Wishes said.  If you’re putting stock in mathematical prophecy, you can make it to the tower.  After that...who knows?” “Not quite what I hoped for, but not as bad as I worried it might be.  I need some special effects and a couple unicorns who can project a larger than life image—” “I was listening to you and Queenie, too.  I’ve already got them headed to the roof.  Gypsy is coordinating. Preparations are going to be as done as they can be in a few hours.  A day isn’t enough, but...I don’t think a month would be, either.” I bit off a sharp comment about machines with too much initiative.  “Can’t ask for more than that, I guess. Are the teams already set?” “In the meeting, yes.  You truly believe you can do what you said?” “It’s worse than that.  I don’t think anyone else can.” “Then go get some food and rest.  Without the concussion, this time.  I’ll call you when it’s time.” ---- You’d think it would have been impossible for me to sleep.  You’d think I’d have lain there, staring at the ceiling, pondering existence. You’d think I’d have shivered and cried some more.   I was unconscious before I actually hit the pillow. Part of me expected a visit from Juniper, but I suspected he was off the grid so long as I was inside the city and the Shield was up. In the darkness between waking and not, I wandered for a while until the black ‘floor’ of my dream space resolved into flagstones and a street rose up to meet my hooves.  Buildings sprang up on either side of me and low, damp, fog rolled in with just a hint of sunlight breaking through overhead as I trotted along the street. A rock appeared in front of me, just the right sort for kicking along while out on hoof patrol.  I gave it a little boot and it skittered up the sidewalk, right to the spot I’d aimed it for. The sun felt good.  Better than good. It felt like it only feels on childhood vacations, or when you’re in love, or in dreams.   Voices started to filter in.  A rushing mare in a red dress that I’d seen somewhere darted passed me, giggling to herself as she swayed her flanks at somepony behind her who called out a friendly greeting.   I walked on, enjoying the sweat that’d started to tickle my neck and the smells of the city on the thick air.   At some point, I became aware of a presence following along behind me.  I stopped and looked over my shoulder to find a small colt standing on the pavement a few meters back.  He wore a smart little trenchcoat, a black wide-brimmed hat, and a shiny toy police badge. Even his mane was the same mussed and messy grey as mine.     He had a quirky smile on his face, studying me like I’d just done something funny and he was deciding just how much laughter was appropriate.    “Gale?” The colt tipped his hat and stuck a hoof in the pocket of his trenchcoat, pulling out a tiny bag of jelly beans.  He flicked me one and I unconsciously caught it between my teeth. It was that same brand I’d had on me the day we found Ruby at the High Step.   “I can’t remember what I used to look like,” he said, chewing thoughtfully,  “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow, since it’s kind of ‘our’ face nowadays.” “Is Nightmare Moon out there wandering around with my...our body?” I asked. “No, she’s over there,” he replied, pointing to an empty cafe across the street where the dark blue alicorn sat at a table, distractedly reading a menu labeled ‘Hardy’s Best Dinners’. “If only the department shrink could see me now,” I muttered, then turned back to the colt.  “You have some input on what we’re going into, I guess?” “I just wanted to say ‘good luck’ and give you what might or might not be helpful information.  I think I can keep the Crusader from killing us, if you have to use it again.” “How does that work?  Scootaloo said there was an entire regime of mental training on top of all their augmentations.” Gale stepped closer and tapped me on the chest.  “What do you think I am, doofus?  I’m the best augmentation there is!” Reaching out I pushed his hat back so I could muss his mane.  “I agree, but what does that have to do with the Crusader?” He batted at my hoof, but it wasn’t much more than a gentle swat before sitting back on the sidewalk.  “Changeling hearts run on love. Who is the pony who carries the hope of all of Detrot?” “I—” “And don’t say any of that dumb ‘I’m not that important’ horseapples.  It sounds stupid after all the stuff you did. I can feel all those ponies out there and they’ve got images of you in their heads.  Mostly wrong images, but...I’m not picky and their admiration is tasty.” “Alright, fine.  A little creepy, but fine.  What about the Crusader?” “Right!  Yes. I think I can keep you alive!  It’ll...maybe involve making you fall asleep for a few minutes after it stops working, but you won’t be dead.” “If things are so bleak I have to use that thing—” Gale gave me a hard stare and I swallowed my words before I could say anything else stupid and obvious.   “Hardy, I know you’re scared.  I didn’t just bring you here to tell you about the gun thing.” I shut my eyes, but there was no peaceful darkness to retreat to.  “I spent the last few years drinking myself insensate. The literal weight of the world is on my shoulders, today.  A pony just told me I am going to die before bursting into flames.  In fact, I’m pretty sure he caught fire just to mess with my brain.” “And you got pretty close to ruining your liver before I got ahold of it,” Gale murmured, reaching up and pulling my face down to his level.  It was a little spooky, looking into the eyes of my much younger self. “I know I’m mostly a little kid, but I’ve been aware longer than you’ve been alive and I spend all day wandering around in your memories.” My ears pinned to the sides of my head. “Even the—” “Yeah.  Miss Tardigrade’s fifth period class.  I’m pretty sure the rabbit was just as embarrassed as you were.  That’s really not important right now.  What’s matters is I think you missed something.” I squinted at him and rubbed at my temple with one hoof.  “Missed something?  I assume something beneficial?” “Maybe.  You still remember a dream you had a month ago.  You were talking to Juniper and he said something important.” Swallowing, I thought back to the strange visions I’d had over the last few months. “That’s a little vague, but...go on?” “Juniper said ‘You don’t have a destiny’.  Nightmare Moon called you a ‘glitch’ in her predictions.  Those three old mares...the Aroyo Ancestors? You screwed up their entire yarn model of Detrot.  They had to ‘redo it’ just so it would be okay for you to exist.  Think about it.”     My eyebrows pulled together and I stared into Gale’s eyes for several seconds, trying to work out exactly what he wanted me to see.     Then I had it.     “Diamond Wishes...said he wanted to know if his benefactor was right.  He needed to know if it was infallible.  That thing predicted my death on the top of Starlight Tower—”     “And it might be right, Hardy,” Gale said, putting his hooves up on my chest.  “If you die, I die and I don’t want to die, but...but nopony else can stop the world from dying.  I’m only telling you this so you know that the...whatever it is...might also be wrong.”     “You think he meant what he said about letting me get to the top of the tower if I can make it into the building?”     Gale shrugged, expressively, and pulled his hat down over his face.  “How am I supposed to know?  I’m just your heart.  I’m going to keep you alive as long as I possibly can, but I don’t do the think-y stuff.  You want thinky, you talk to the loony alicorn. She’s thinky.”     I rested a hoof on his shoulder, then pulled him into a light hug.  He rested his cheek on my chest, and his breath tickled the underside of my chin.  “I do appreciate it,” I said, softly, then let him go and set his hat straight again.  “I don’t intend to die. One of these days, if there’s something I can do for you, let me know, alright?”     He smiled and poked me on the tip of the nose.  “If you’re going to drink really hard, plug me in first.  I hate using so much power on hangovers. And maybe go to a movie once in a while.  I like the movies.”     “Will do,” I replied, tapping my forehead in a half-salute.  I looked over at Nightmare who was face-first in a plate of spaghetti with sauce up to her ears.  “What do we do about her?  She can’t hear us, can she?”     “Not right now...and she doesn’t say it, but she’s pretty happy,” he murmured, shaking his head.  “She expected you to kill her dead.”     I scratched at my chin.  “You told her I wouldn’t, right?”     “Do you think Nightmare Moon is going to believe me?  I look like I should still be doing math homework and playing buckball! She’s literally made of jealousy and suspicion.  Besides, do you really want her reading your whole mind?”     “Not really, no.”  I lowered my head so I could look into his eyes.  “Gale, if it comes down to it and Diamond Wishes somehow gets control of my mind—”     “You’ll be dead before he knows what hit you.  I promise. Then Miss Taxi can clean you up and stick you in a drawer again until I can put all your bits back together.”     “I should be reevaluating my job if I’m taking ‘quick merciful death’ as a positive.  Thank you, though. Any suggestions for this speech?”     Gale backed away a couple steps, holding up his hooves.  “Oooh, no you don’t! Do your own chores! I just keep all the gooey stuff working!”     Pulling myself up straight I cocked an ear at the sounds of the street, filtering down through the foggy morning.       “Do you think it’s ever going to be like this, again?” I asked.     Shrugging his little shoulders, Gale conjured a bagel from somewhere with the flick of a hoof.  It appeared, dangling in front of me, smeared in cream cheese and covered in fresh onions. I snatched it out of midair with my teeth.     “Any world that still has bagels can’t be all bad, right?” he said, then looked up at the ‘sky’ and smiled.  “Limerence is about to draw something on your face.”     “Wait, what?!”     ----     I jerked awake to find Limerence standing over me with a marker clenched in his teeth.  He smelled like he’d just washed and his yellow mane was free of viscera, once more in the freely flowing style he tended to prefer.  He had his swordstaff across his shoulders and a fresh brace of knives strapped to his chest, having foregone his vest in favor of a pair of long blades in their own holsters dangling along his flanks.     “Aha!” the librarian exclaimed, spitting out the marker.  “Excellent. Hypothesis confirmed, then.”     I rubbed my cheek with a hoof; it came away clean.  “You...didn’t write on my face?”     “I was curious if one of the beings possessing you might be self-aware, even if you happened to be asleep.  It seemed an excellent test.”     “And you decided to experiment now?!” I snapped, sitting up on the edge of the bunk.       “What better time to indulge my curiosity?  We may all soon be dead. Then how would I find out?”       Pushing him back with a hoof on his chest, I dropped onto the floor, adjusting my harness and tugging the edge of my armor until its comforting weight settled around my barrel.  “Then you’ll be pleased to know the ghost in my heart found your efforts comedic.”     Limerence raised an eyebrow, his eyes glittering with mischief.  “If we survive, I shall have to get your heart’s opinion on a number of other things.”     “I’ll set you a complete interview if I’m alive to do it.  What’s our status?”     Pulling a notepad out of his bandolier, he flicked it open.  “Teams are in place. As much of our ‘army’ is ready to go as can be.  They are...technically armed, though better than a third have nothing more than handguns or rifles.  We have managed to distribute and teach shielding magic to more unicorns than I’d have thought possible.  The plan is to move through the sewers to our positions, then each point from underneath. Precious is already at the refugee camp and supposedly talking to their leaders.  Miss Shine’s ‘favor’ is ready as well. All that is left—”     “—is me.”     “Indeed,” he replied, tucking away his notes.  “I must get to my team. We are heading out ahead of the main force.”  Turning over his belt, he revealed a row of eight ladybugs tucked underneath.  “We have Gypsy’s modified walkie-talkies. What are these for?”     “Those are just to let me know when I can make my run on the Shield.  I want to see what you see in the pylon. I’m going after the Shield after you get in and make me a hole and once Swift hits the P.A.C.T. building.”     “Excellent.  A part of me feels slightly...ehm...guilty...for taking what may be the least dangerous of these jobs,” Limerence said.       “You’re going into a Shield Pylon.  I don’t think there’s anything about that scenario that could be described as ‘safe’.  Who did you decide to bring along?” I asked.     “The Aroyo ancestor Sweetie Belle, your grandfather, and the zebra warrior-ess, Miss Zeta from the Vivarium.”     “Are you sure four is enough?”     He snorted under his breath.  “Officer Swift, you, Miss Taxi, and myself have been ‘enough’ to cause nigh endless havoc.  Besides, to my knowledge, I am not headed into a combat situation.”     I laid a hoof on his chest and gave him a level stare.  “Saying that out loud is how you head into a combat situation, Lim.  Make sure everypony is armed to the teeth.” Rolling his eyes, Limerence pulled one of his knives from his bandolier and tested the edge on a hoof before slipping it back into the sheath.  “As though a Crusader would go anywhere not ‘armed to the teeth’.  Besides, I think our enemies will have their hooves quite full with Miss Swift.  Her godfather sent his regards along with several large crates full of weaponry and a third of the remaining Stilettos.  The rest are protecting the Vivarium’s hospital.”     “Good.  Any idea who Swift is taking along?”     “Her mother, obviously.  Iris Jade is in that taskforce.  If you want more specifics, ask Taxi.  She is doing the field coordination with Ancestor Scootaloo.  They intend to take on the dragons when they come.”     “A couple months ago I was asking myself if my driver’s incense habit was going to be the thing that killed her,” I muttered, trotting out the door into the empty hall.  I turned back to Limerence and asked, “Where is everypony?”     “There is a battle about to be waged, Detective,” Limerence answered, strolling along beside me as we headed toward the stairs.  “Do you think anyone will be sleeping anytime soon? They are outside, preparing. Tourniquet caught several mutated creatures attempting to creep in amongst their ranks, as well, so additional guards were needed.”     “I figured the bastards might try that again,” I said thoughtfully.  “The fight at the Castle more or less fell apart when one of them detonated all over our mages.”     “Indeed.  I was able to examine some of their ‘anti-magic slime’, and it is not corrosive.  A construction hat with a horn protector works quite well against it, so long as a pony can get to a hose with some expediency.  We didn’t have quite enough hats for everypony, but there were enough for the combat unicorns.”     “That wasn’t all they used against us at the Castle.  Big group tactics--”     He interrupted before I could finish objecting.  “Detective, we have accounted for their known weapons.  Squad level tactics only. We’re spreading our forces across the city via the sewer, both to mitigate the dragons and to create as much chaos as possible.  The Marked and Gypsy’s modified walkie-talkies will be distributed between our various squads to keep our forces communicating.”     I quirked an eyebrow at him.  “I’m glad I wasn’t in on this meeting.  I’m pretty sure I’d have made a hash of it.”     “True, though I must question the wisdom of going into Uptown...alone.  Pardon if I sound doubtful, but that seems madder than your usual demented behavior.”     I paused with one hoof in the air, then set it down and faced Limerence.  “Diamond Wishes offered me a...chance.  I’m pretty sure he wasn’t just screwing with me.”     “Taxi said something along those lines.  Considering what we have already survived, I shan’t be the one to tell you it is impossible.  Still, it is only a chance. The Crusader on your leg is proof enough of your intentions, but the coin—”     “—is still in the air, Lim.  If we die, we die. Equestria dies.  The world dies. If you have anything better, then tell me right this minute.  We have only hours left.”     Limerence was silent, then carefully stepped forward and put his front legs around my neck.  I pulled him tightly into the hug with only a little clatter from his cutlery collection. It should have been an awkward embrace, but it was too close to the end for self-consciousness.       “If my father could have chosen a third son, Detective...I’m sure it would have been you,” he said, softly, then stepped to one side and wiped at his nose with the back of his leg.  “You have your speech ready?”     “I’m going to do what I do best.”     “Improvise and somehow, against all odds, manage to survive without your brain matter splattered across the pavement?”     “Well, that wasn’t my initial thought, but now that you suggest it...”     ----     I pushed open the door to the rooftop, steeling myself against the icy air.  A few snowflakes had started to dust the gravel spread on top of the fortress, and the wind had a distinct bite to it that cut right through my pelt.  Still, I forced myself not to gather my coat around myself and marched out confidently, feeling more alone than I had in weeks despite the din of thousands of voices shouting back and forth in the dusty wastes surrounding Supermax.     Overhead, the File Cloud seemed frighteningly close, bubbling and grumbling as it dangled in the sky like an irate black cotton ball.  Flashes of light danced across its surface, followed by flickers of strange colors. A single curving tendril of cloud crept down onto the roof and formed the ephemeral shape of a pony, standing at the corner of the building staring out toward the city.  A second, less distinct but still equine, hung beside it by a wisp coming off the first.     Gypsy’s voice carried to me as she lifted one vaporous leg and waved me forward.  “Come on, Detective! I’ve got everything set up. Queenie sent ahead and described what you needed.  Most of the unicorns with projection magic are working, but I think I can do you one better!”     I took a few steps closer, gravel crunching under my hooves, before pausing to survey the giant army camp down below.  I could just make out the pickets at the very edges, where ponies stood guard behind bags of sand. Some smart cookie had managed to clear most of the magical mining tailings from the dirt surrounding the building, turning them into something of a low wall with layers of cloth thrown over them to keep the chaotically enchanted dust from blowing about.  It wouldn’t discourage any sort of determined assault, but it was a place a pony could keep their head down if they needed to. It’d been a while since I’d seen the city from up high and far away.  She was looking a little worse for wear; less city, more hellscape. Buildings that’d dotted the skyline were shadowy hulks, and there were more than a few holes where I remembered there being structures.   Over the city center, a vast storm was gathering.  I could just make out rain pouring from under it and was glad most of the army wouldn’t be making their ingress above ground.  The weather factories must have been chugging along at top speed, though it did make me wonder a bit who was running them. Lightning crackled through the clouds and the occasional belt of thunder reached across the distance. “I still don’t like heights,” I called, eyeing the edge, nervously.  “Who is that with you?” “Who do you think, Hard Boiled?” a reedy, but entirely pleasant to recognize voice answered.  The ghostly figure was only the vaguest outline of a torso and head, but as it turned toward me, soft, orange lights lit up roughly where eyes might have been on a normal pony and a pair of what might have been headphones morphed out of the fog, hanging around its neck.  I blinked a few times, then my front knees started to wobble. “T-Telly?!  Telly, is that you?!” “I feel like we’ve had that conversation before,” the form giggled, swirling in a dainty circle.  “It’s me, Hardy. At least, as much as I can manifest so far. I’m still working out the kinks in this place.  There’s no friggin’ manual, though I intend to correct that!”  She shot a pointed look at Gypsy, who rolled the bit of cloud comprising her shoulders a little.   “You look...not dead,” I said, lamely. She made a sound that was almost a snort.  “Really, Hard Boiled? That’s the best you can do?”   “I’m usually the one coming back from the grave!” I grumbled, pulling my coat in tight.  “I don’t have much experience from this side of things. It’s not like there’s a protocol for talking to someone defying the laws of nature.” “Eh, fair point, I guess.”  She hesitated, then gave her semi-transparent form a shake.  “You’d think the notion that my body is dead, but I’m still alive would disturb me more than it does.  By the way, I want my damn job back if there’s a new police department one day.” “It’s yours, so long as you give me one of the nice cells.” “You still think you’re going to jail after all this?” Gypsy asked, waving toward the crowd below.  “Because I’m pretty sure they’d disagree.  With bullets.” I held up my hooves.  “Let’s hope. I don’t much enjoy the idea of a role as national scapegoat so we can reconstruct our country’s power base once this is all over, but if that’s necessary, I’ll do it.  Equestria deserves a peace.” Telly shook her head.  “Man, you need to be less noble.  It’s gonna make me puke, and I’m not even sure if I can puke anymore.” “You can, but it tends to turn into butterflies and spiders in here. I don’t recommend it,” Gypsy replied, looking back toward the horizon.  “Hardy, are you ready to address the city?” My front knees locked up entirely as my lungs suddenly felt like somepony had filled them with hot lead.  I sat down hard enough to send up a puff of dust, my shoulders quaking as another rush of fresh fear set my nerves twisting.   Telly cringed and shot Gypsy a look.  “Did you really need to put it like that?  He’s already under enough stress.” “What did I say?” the DJ asked, sweeping her flowing tail around one thigh.   “Think about it, dinkus!  You talk to everypony in the city every day!  He spends all day creeping around like a rabbit in a wolf den!” “Oh...” I gulped down about six breaths, then steadied myself.  “One day Gypsy, you, me, and an industrial powered fan are going to discuss your tact.  Now where do I stand to say my piece?” “You can stand there, if you want to, but it would probably be more exciting if you stood right up on the edge,” she replied, pointing to the corner of the building. “Right.  Near the edge.  Okay. Then I guess it’s time.  Today we free Detrot.”