Machine oil and wet dirt. The smells tumbled into each other creating a loose sort of haze in the room. Alongside the chugging and repetitive turning click of gears, a song was sung. Light melodic notes bounced and whirled with the metronome song of the dampening machine. The pegasus pony who sung the song practiced a muted form of dancing as she shifted from hoof to hoof. Her wings flapped to the beat of the music, and every so often she spun one of her tools in a flourish.
And there. A scant few meters away from her dancing hooves. Two creatures that she aimed to kill with her machine hide in plain sight.
Krane, the leader of his small team's hap dash mission, found that the smell of wet dirt was much stronger on the floor. Having Deon's sweaty wing cover his body, and inadvertently funnel the scent to his head, did not help. Not that he would tell Deon to get off him as Deon was the only thing protecting him from the pegasus.
As if hearing his thoughts. For the sake of his blood pressure, let that not be the case. The pony turned her head to look in their general direction.
The pony, who went by Sprocket, smiled widely, “Hey Faceless! You still there?”
More carefully than Krane had ever seen him act, Deon raised his wings and chirped out a sound. Krane did not know how Sprocket heard a 'yes’ from that noise, but she did. Her neon green eyes lit up and she laughed.
“Ha, you see. That's the kinda support that I need. Not that the King's Army isn't supportive but a girl needs some positive feedback, you get it right?” Sprocket absentmindedly dug through her toolbox, “I get it. ‘You’re the perfect pony. Thousands will bow to you. Your splendid hooves will never have to work another day in their lives.’ Flowery words are nice but I want them to complement my work.”
Ponies are loud.
They didn't have to drag it from her mind. Convince her to speak. Or beat it out of her. All she needed was the tiniest reassurance that someone was listening and she wouldn't shut up.
Krane was sure that Alec was going to sprain his hand with how fast it sounded like he was transcribing Sprocket’s words.
“You would think they would have captured a human to test this thing on before asking me to build it.” Sprocket sighed. “Yeah, the one human they know about is under the care of the traitor princess, but still. They should have been able to capture him, right? I'm sure they could have baited him with something.”
Further confirmation of things that they already knew. This was one of the King's army’s bases. The King's army wanted to obtain at least one human. The ponies here thought that humans found food irresistible.
Like any self-respecting human would let themselves be baited by something like that.
If this whole thing isn't a charade they have already fallen to.
That thought had curled around his head more than once as he waited for Arden to modify the machine. How could it not? Were they that lucky that Sprocket was nearsighted and had forgotten her glasses? Of all the things that could have gone well for them, why would it be that? Which made him question if he was being cautious or if he was being paranoid.
He got his answer when Deon tensed beside him and whispered, “Incoming. Two ponies. They will reach our position in about five minutes.”
Sprocket continued to work unaware, or seemingly unaware, of the three humans hiding in the room with her. She was so taken up in her work that she barely twitched as the door to the small room opened.
Krane felt Deon grip his arm and pull him back as an earth pony walked into the room. The stallion stood beside the doorway his head held high and his shoulders set straight. His dark purple hair was cut short to his head and every inch of his sun-bleached green coat was covered in interlocking metal plates. Another earth pony stepped into the room. A mare. Her curly mane was a light mix between green and dotted brown, and her coat was orangish-yellow in colour.
The most noticeable feature of the mare, other than her being someone important enough to have a guard, was the deep-set scowl that seemed to be burned into her face. The mare stomped in, her head lowered as if she was about to charge Sprocket who wilted under her glare.
“Sprocket!” In the coolness of the subterranean base, steam poured from the earth pony mare’s nostrils. “You said that you would be done by now.”
Carefully, as though she was walking amongst a minefield, Sprocket spoke. “Honey Ribbon, creating a magic dampening device for a species I've never seen before isn’t easy. I can’t just push a button and make it work.”
Honey Ribbon stalked further into the room. “I’m sorry I seem to have you mistaken for somepony else. Is your name Cinnamon Sprocket?”
“Yes.” Sprocket said warily, “Yes, it is.”
Nodding along as if she had just gotten new information Honey Ribbon said, “So that would make you the pegasus mechanic that told Mr. Harvest that she could make any machine the King’s Army might need?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, I hope not, because earlier it sounded like you couldn’t do the one job that you were given.” Honey Ribbon said sweetly and so very thickly, “And that would be bad. Do you know why that would be bad, Sprocket?”
“I-”
“Let me tell you why that would be bad. It would be bad because that would mean that I, Golden Leaf, and Mr. Harvest would have no way to protect ourselves from the human that saw us. That would mean that the traitor princess’s pet human knows who we are, and we have no way to properly defend ourselves.” As she spoke Honey Ribbon advanced further into the room. And now she was close enough to jab Sprocket with her hoof. “If you lied to us that could mean you purposely made us vulnerable. Which makes you a traitor. Luckily we don’t have that problem, right Sprocket?”
Sprocket with her ears down and her hoof clutched tightly around her wrench simply said, “Right, luckily we don’t have that problem.”
Honey Ribbon stepped back her deep-set frown back on her face. “Good.” She then waved at the machine. “When will this thing be ready?”
“Soon.” Sprocket said, “I was just about to test the field again. Do you want to see?”
“As if I would come down here for any other reason than making sure that you do your work.” Honey Ribbon said. “Hurry up and do it. I have other places to be.”
“Right. Right.” Sprocket muttered. She put down her wrench and began to press buttons and pull levers on the clunky machine. The machine rose to life. It gave a deep heave as hundreds of unseen parts whirred to life. The chugging became near deafening as lights that seemed to be haphazardly installed into its siding blinked in epileptic waves. Through this Sprocket continued to push buttons and turn dials. At times the machine would make a different sound and she would either curse under her breath or smile and nod.
A sickening hum gradually began emitting from the machine. A thousand wasps slowly waking up and angrily buzzing at being disturb. An earthquake deep under Dissimulare that made familiar walls and earth bend and buckle around a safe haven that no longer felt so safe. A sickeningly unsafe rejected atrophy of nature. Pulling off the legs of a bug simply because one could. The device that was meant to vivisect humans and pull away familiar magic gave off its pulses.
Through this, through the worming ichor that brushed against his mind, Krane did not feel the painful clawing pulse that he had associated with the machine.
Esthetic that her device was apparently working Sprocket laughed out loud. “See, I told you I could make a dampening device. No human can get within five miles of this place.”
“And you’re sure about that?” Honey Ribbon said her ear flicking at the noise that the machine made.
“If Twilight’s suppressors do what you say they do, I am completely sure.” Sprocket said her wings fluttering at her sides. “Chains that separate humans from their stolen magic. If she wasn’t a traitor I would compliment her.”
Honey Ribbon’s hoof came down callously on Sprocket’s shoulder, “But she is a traitor, Cinnamon Sprocket.” Honey Ribbon hissed out. “And we don’t give traitors the honour of using their names, remember?”
“Right, I forgot.” Sprocket said wiggling under, but not being able to get out of, Honey Ribbon’s hold. “Just being a bit of an airhead pegasus. Too much time talking to myself, and Faceless.”
Honey Ribbon pulled away from Sprocket confusion twisting her face, “There’s a changeling here?”
A weak smile lived and died on Sprocket’s face before she collected herself enough to speak, “No, there isn’t a changeling here. I got a little lonely down here, so, I made friends with a bug.”
“A bug.”
Sprocket shrunk further under Honey Ribbon’s scrutiny, “I named him Faceless since, you know, he’s a bug. He’s right over there.”
Honey Ribbon turned to the spot Sprocket pointed out. “There’s nothing there.” Honey Ribbon said.
“Oh.” Sprocket said, “He was just there. He agreed to stay with me.”
Honey Ribbon scoffed, “It’s a bug. You should know that they lie. Enough of your, whatever this is. Just tell me your report so I can go.”
“Right. Right.” Sprocket said. She went into the odds and ends of the machine. Its reach and the supposed amount of damage that it could cause. A long-winded description that pulled the two ponies focus from anything else in the room. For example, the freshly dug hole in the wall of the room mear inches from where Sprocket thought her bug-like friend was.
It was cramped. The didn’t have the time to plan out how they would place themselves. Unfortunately, this left them in a very uncomfortable form of contortion. This was punctuated with the fact that Krane found it hard to breathe as Deon had his knee pressed against his sternum.
“Fucking Rule.” Deon hissed through his teeth. “I knew something like this would happen.”
It wasn’t a direct condemnation, but Krane knew the meaning behind Deon’s words. And he agreed with them.
Krane rolled his shoulders back as he tried to get what little distance he could get from Deon’s surprisingly bony knee. “I hear you, it’s time to go.” He dug his fingers into the wall and wormed his way to the entrance of the hole.
He poked his head out and came to the stark realization that he had no way of actually contacting Arden from his position. Muttering to himself he pulled his shoulder up to tap his earpiece.
Static flickered in his ear before Alec’s voice came through the speaker, “You are late.”
Krane worked his jaw and ignoring the irritated monotone he replied, “We got held up. Tell Arden that we are leaving.”
“Understood,” Alec said and Krane could hear the soft clicks that his laptop made. “The sun will be coming up in a few hours, we should not be here.”
“Yeah, I know,” Krane said before shifting away from his mouthpiece. A few more shifts and he could see a sliver of Deon’s black hair. “Deon, start digging up. We’re done here.” He got a grunt of confirmation and looked back into the room.
The earth pony stallion was holding one of Deon’s feathers.
The large stallion lifted the large feather to the single light bulb in the room. Stained yellow light pushed through the feather’s vanes illuminating natural and unnatural colours. It had been weeks since they had last dyed their feathers. Deon’s wings were mostly black and brown now. However, in the light that the earth pony held it up against traces of blue and grey clung to the feather.
Strangely the pony moved to the feather to its nose and breathed in. Krane froze as the pony snapped to attention and started to scan the ground.
“Honey Ribbon.” The stallion said, “I don’t think we’re alone.”
Honey Ribbon perked up, the tone the stallion used putting her on edge, “What’s out there?”
Krane pulled back into the hole, cursed as his shifting caused more dirt to dislodged, and the stallion followed the noise.
Hazel-green slitted eyes looked into surprise round dim-grey eyes.
Krane barely had time to shout before the stallion’s sun-bleached green hoof was upon them.
The stallion stomped above their tunnel and Krane blacked out as the pressure, vibrations, and pure deafening sound ricocheted his head against the dirt wall. Grey static rolled in fitful waves across his vision as his ears rumbled and whined. A hand smacked his face and his eyes blinked away dirt. He could feel his body but he couldn’t move. With some difficulty, he stopped his eyes from continuing to roll around in his head and focused on bright glowing green eyes.
The hand smacked his face again, and he could make out Deon’s rambling words.
“Come on, come on. You need to get up. Fuck! Why did you have to be right there? Can you hear me? Do you even know what’s going on?” Deon pulled on his face as he inspected his eyes. “If your brain or spine is gone I can’t do shit for you.”
Words came to him tangled and unmanageable as bramble thick weeds. “I.” He spat out mud, “I can hear you. I can feel my body.”
Deon's hands hovered over him and a weak smile broke out on his face. “Alright. We’re about to be swarmed by ponies, but your brains weren’t liquefied and you aren’t paralyzed. Positives, counting the positives.” Deon said, “That hit only made the cave collapse on us instead of pancaking us flat and instantly killing us. Another positive. Can you get out on your own?”
Could he? Krane wiggled in place allowing his hands some moving room. Blue magic pulsed over him and he was able to cut through the wet dirt around him. With some pulling and maneuvering, he was on his knees and could stare into Deon’s eyes.
“What, what are the negatives?” He said pulling the words from deep in his bruised chest.
Deon's eyes swept across his face and he said, “Arden is still in the machine room. Some ponies might have heard the noise of the stomp. If they didn’t hear that, they will hear the racket that the ponies in the room are making.”
Past rolling wet dirt Krane could hear muffled shouting in the machine room. Krane pulled on his ear and some dirt fell out.
There. Now he could hear them shrieking about the human that they had seen.
“Also.” Deon said, “The vibrations from that stomp fucked our communication devices. Well, it fucked mine. But you were closer to the impact so your’s are probably gone too.”
Just to do something, Krane pressed against his ear that held the earpiece. Nothing other than the empty clicking of a button. “Then we’re deaf. Is it possible that we still have eyes?”
Shrugging Deon blinked a couple of times. “Alec and the other infiltrators topside might be able to see us. But that won’t help us.”
“It might help Arden. Look at me.” Krane said his own eyes shifting to glow green. Their eyes did not create a lot of light. Though if you only needed to see hand signals it was enough to get the general meaning across.
‘ALIVE’ ‘NO MEET UP’ ‘ESCAPE’
Deon repeated the same hand signals in his line of sight.
“Alright, that’s all we can do,” Krane said. He pushed the dirt ceiling above him. “We’ll dig straight up. It might take the rest of the night, but it’s safer than going back the way we came.”
The walls around him shook and Krane found himself clawing at the moving dirt. The wet dirt moved around him like water and he was tossed around in the flow. Through the squeezing turning mud he heard a muffled sound. Shouting? Someone calling his name. Krane lifted his hands determined to claw his way out of the landslide. Except he had become too used to the mud. The wet muck that pulled feet and arms down into the earth. He simply forgot the more tricky components to a landslide.
When his head pushed out of that slow churning mud it was left exposed to the dangers of the faster moving top layer.
He breathed in stagnant air and saw darkness as a cluster of loose stones collided with the back of his head.
Thick mud slogged off Deon’s face as he surfaced. Coughing, he scraped wet clay-like soil from his goggles. Some of the brownish liquid had slipped through the seal and his rapid blinks only succeeded in spreading dirty water into his eyes. Blinded and breathing hard, he shoved his hands into the body of the mudslide and felt for movement.
Detecting the small vibrations that indicated breathing through mud was hard in the best circumstances. Trying to get a constant sense on anything through still falling silt and muffled yelling was nearly impossible. It slipped through his hands and in a few scant, yet panicky moments, he lost it but he found Krane’s heartbeat. Krane’s lungs expanded and shrank in smooth constant beats, and Deon knew that, for now, he would be okay.
Air curled in Deon’s lungs and he pushed his senses down. Past the toe of the landslide and to the other creatures in the room. This was easier. Pushing magic into the ground and feeling around for things living in or on top of the earth. He knew how to do this like he knew the trees and lumberyards of his birth city of Sequoia. Ponies far above him. Worms, bugs, and other earthen creatures close under him. If he really pushed he could just about feel the roots of the strange forest that grew around them.
He felt four creatures. The large stallion who had tried to crush them was no longer facing them. The stallion pawed the ground in front of him and shifted his stance. The pegasus's body shuddered as she flapped her wings as she basically terror danced in place.
The earth pony mare, Honey Ribbon, was being held by Arden.
Deon pulled his goggles up and rubbing his eyes raw he could finally see the standoff.
Arden had Honey Ribbon by her mane. He gripped her so tightly that his knuckles dug into her scalp. Wide-eyed and struggling to keep her balance on her back hooves, Honey Ribbon looked panicked. Arden held her in front of him as a sort of shield and in his other hand, he held a screwdriver pointed directly at her eye.
“Hard Tack, help-” Honey Ribbon’s words were cut off as Arden yanked her head back.
He didn’t speak, instead, he hissed low next to her ear snarling a bastardization of a shushing sound.
Hard Tack stepped forward and Arden leaned back baring his teeth. Ignored by the others in the room Sprocket breathed, “Oh sweet Celestia.”
When Arden spoke he did so in purposely broken Equestrian, “Back.” Their mechanic said choking and snarling each letter out.
“You’re surrounded.” Hard Tack said inching closer, “Your allies are dead. If you surrender and let her go, the next few hours will go easier for you.”
Arden twisted his head left and right as if he was trying to hear something. Hard Tack stepped closer, and the screwdriver cut into Honey Ribbon’s cheek.
Bright red blood spilled down the sharp metal and onto Arden’s tightly clenched hand. Honey Ribbon screamed and thrashed in his grip. The first few panicked stomps met with nothing but air. The fifth stomp landed squarely on Arden’s foot and he cried out as a crunch of bone rang out through the room. Honey Ribbon fell on her front hooves and she bucked back and a sickening crack followed.
And Arden’s leg went wrong.
Screaming, Arden rolled onto his back. His hands reached for, legs don’t bend that way. Honey Ribbon joined Sprocket at the side and they both started shrieking at each other and Hard Tack. And Hard Tack charged forward and Arden was still screaming.
Deon threw off his goggles and ripped himself out of the pile of loose debris. Green magic whipped around his body and his newly formed insect wings propelled him forward. He spun through the stomping legs of the stallion and ripped off his medallion.
The world violently twisted and he bent with it. Brown magic bolted down Deon’s leg and hardened black and serrated. Two sharp claws lurched over his boots and he lashed out swinging his foot in an arch. The sole of his foot collided with the side of Hard Tack’s jaw. The claws. The claws dug into his skin and tore his face open splashing the room with a not insignificant amount of blood.
Honey Ribbon and Sprocket were shrieking again though this time Hard Tack’s wailing was twisted into the mix.
Arden. Arden did not look good. Deon’s bent down and his hands hovered over Arden’s broken leg. It almost looked like a compound fracture. Though the fact that his bone didn’t fully break through his skin was a fairly weak silver lining.
“You absolute fuck. Couldn’t you have just left us?” Deon said in Common Tongue as he opened a pouch on his leg and pulled out a thin chrome cylinder. “We would have been fine.”
Flicking off the cap he plunged the needle into Arden’s leg. Colour flooded back into Arden’s face and his asymmetric breathing stabilized.
“The stallion was going to crush you.” Arden coughed out his voice raw.
Deon briefly looked at Arden’s clearing eyes before turning away to keep track of the still cowering ponies. “You didn’t know that.” He said, his eyes taking in the piles of discarded junk in the room.
“Alec connected me to Krane’s vision. When he surfaced, before he was hit with that rockfall, I saw that the stallion’s hoof was coming for him. If he started stomping both of you would have died.” Arden said and pulled himself up into a sitting position. He swore through his teeth as he looked at his leg.
Yeah, that needed surgery. How the hell are they going to bring him back to the sub for surgery?
“Don’t look at it.” Deon said, past a dry bitterness that collected at the back of his throat, “And I wouldn’t try to move too much either. I just need to secure the perimeter before I get to your leg.”
Arden stilled. He looked at the three ponies still huddled at the far side of the room and to the pile of debris that Krane was still under. Then he looked at his leg mangled beyond their immediate capacity to fix.
“You have to leave-”
“No.” Silence hung in the air and Deon stood up. “I’m going to wake up Krane and tie up the ponies. Just wait here.”
Getting Krane up was easy enough. A few seconds of sifting through mud and stone and a couple of taps to the stomach and he was up. The ponies made their noises when the resulting swirl of blue magic produced another human, but Deon was too preoccupied to care.
Krane had looked better. His lip was split and there was a mix of blood and mud smeared across his face. He, however, wasn’t limping which could be counted as a positive.
“Welcome back, things went to hell,” Deon said in Common Tongue, a disingenuous smile pulled tightly across his face. “We need to block the door with something before other ponies come down here.” He pointed to the ponies in the room. Sprocket was trying to stem Hard Tack’s bleeding and Honey Ribbon looked like she was going to puke. “We also need to tie those fuckers up ‘cause they broke Arden’s leg and I hate them.”
Krane rolled his shoulders back, hissed low through his teeth, and looked at him, “I don’t suppose you think that waiting for more information would have prevented this?”
Deon shrugged before looking up at the rooms unstable ceiling, “I don’t know, maybe? Honestly, we were probably screwed the moment we came in here, waiting or no waiting.” He said before turning around, “Let’s talk schematics later. We still got work to do.”
“Work to do?” Krane said glancing between him and the sagging ceiling that he had been looking at. “We’re done here. When the sun fully comes up the base is going to wake up. They will know that something is wrong.”
Deon nodded sparing a look at the three ponies. “They will probably have people looking for them. We can’t stay here, but we can’t leave yet. The machine may be busted, but Alec needs time to make a new escape plan for us.” Deon said picking up two rolls of thick cable before walking up to the shaking ponies. “While we wait let’s see what we can get out of them. This time let's try to be a little more careful, okay?”
Straining, Krane breathed out as he gathered his thoughts. Dirt scratched at the back of his throat, a side effect of being buried alive unprepared. Though he would have preferred to have been saved quicker, Deon made the right choice to go after Arden first. Deon, their team’s pessimist, who was ignoring the severity of Arden’s injuries.
Right now he could hear Deon speaking in that bright negative way of his, and Arden. Arden wasn’t pale or panicking despite the unnatural bend to his leg. Their mechanic looked resolute. None of them would admit it. Speaking it out loud might as well set it in stone, but they very well might lose-.
Air hissed through his teeth on his next exhale. He rolled his shoulders back and felt the eyes of their pony captives on his back. On his honour and the blood of the Three, he would not let Arden’s sacrifice be in vain.
He turned around and faced the ponies. His posture relaxed and his eyes softened. He let one arm hang down, almost lifeless, as he approached them. And when their eyes raised to meet his he tried to quietly hide his supposed injury. Hard Tack and Honey Ribbon focused on the weakened limb and Sprocket relaxed.
As one platinum blonde woman had told them before they left Standing Refuge, ponies take everything at face value. Krane sat down with a grunt and took a fraction of a moment to catch his breath.
If you look weak and act weak they will think that you are weak. Krane raised his head to look at Sprocket they only pony that wasn’t gagged on top of being bounded.
If you have to lie use your whole body to do so.
Sighing softly he looked at Honey Ribbon, not directly into her eyes just a bit off-center, and spoke, “This was unfortunate.” He said his voice temperate as pastel colours, soft and rounded as perfectly sanded wood. “While my friend was trying to protect us. I don’t think he was trying to cut your face.”
Sprocket’s ears flicked back and as if compelled by some inherent instinct to react to someone being kind, she replied, “What about Hard Tack?” Sprocket said, “Did your friend intend to attack him?”
Honey Ribbon looked between them and started yelling into her gag. Her words came out hollow and muddled through the thick wires Deon had braided together in lieu of finding cloth. Sprocket heard her of course. But there was a reason why they chose not to muzzle Sprocket.
Krane hissed as he moved his weak arm into his lap and Sprocket immediately turned to watch him. A smile that he hoped looked unplanned and self-pitying slipped onto his face, “My friend may be a bit impulsive, but he was only protecting us.” He said loud enough to just skate above Honey Ribbon’s noise. Sprocket accordingly leaned forward as she struggled to hear him, “Like I’m sure you want to protect your friends.”
Sprocket grumbled pulling closer to him as she spoke, “Don’t even try. Humans can’t use the Magic of Friendship.”
That was new. “The Magic of Friendship?” His confusion tinted his words.
I have no idea what that is. This is your chance to educate someone who wants to hear you talk. So talk, Sprocket.
“It's what makes a pony a pony.” Sprocket said, her head held high as a weakened, but still active, self-inflated sense of purpose drenched her words, “Other creatures can’t use it as we can. I don’t know what you call friendship, but I know humans. And I know that they can’t feel love.”
He blinked somewhat slowly, and Sprocket twisted a little in her binds. She wasn’t so much as trying to escape as she was just moving for the sake of moving.
“You’ve met another human before me?” Krane asked as her movements tapered out.
“I, no. But I don’t need to.” Sprocket looked up at him with defiance that neither of them believed in. “I know ponies are good to each other and I know humans are violent.”
“And you know that ponies are good at friendship.” He said his eyes sliding over to Honey Ribbon and Hard Tack. Now that she knew that they weren’t going to kill her outright Honey Ribbon had regained some of her lost brazenness and glared at him hatefully. Hard Tack, on the other hand, was a bloody mess, and Krane wasn’t completely sure if the earth pony was still conscious. Krane shifted his gaze back to Sprocket who was still focused on him and not on the ponies around her. “Then these are your friends?”
Sprocket’s ears lowered and she sputtered, “Y-yes they are my friends.”
Krane nodded along and asked, “And ponies are good to each other?”
“Yes.”
“But she,” Krane said pointing to Honey Ribbon, “was mean to you.”
“She wasn’t mean.” Sprocket said and she slumped after another half-hearted attempt to wiggle out, “She was stern. Honey Ribbon has to be, she is the leader.”
“Right.” Krane said his full or most of his attention on Sprocket as he agreed with her, “She’s your superior and it is a superior’s job to lead the people under them.”
Sprocket nodded firmly, “Right, it’s her job.”
“That means being stern.”
“Yes.”
“That means disciplining you when you don’t do your work?” Krane asked leadingly.
Sprocket hesitated and looked away, and Krane let his ‘hurt’ arm droop further. Scoffing the dirt ground. Sprocket turned back to him and he grimaced.
“Sorry. It’s the arm.” He said, “I got distracted and forgot to hold it up.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me.” Sprocket said numbly and her ears twitched as Honey Ribbon started to furiously struggle.
Krane smiled his teeth hidden behind his lips, “Right. We were talking about Honey Ribbon, right? She disciplines you when you don’t do your work?”
“Yes.” Sprocket said with some reluctance.
“And if that turns physical.”
Sprocket flinched and did a horrible job of trying to cover it up, “No. Ponies don’t hurt each other.”
“Not on purpose, no.” Krane acknowledged, “But work can be stressful. And sometimes when work gets behind schedule accidents happen.”
“Yes.” Sprocket muttered under her breath her gaze somewhere under his chin.
Machine oil and the smell of wet dirt curled inside the room. Deon was done patching up Arden and they both watched him. The taste of mud hung at the back of his tongue, and the ambient sounds of the ever so slowly collapsing ceiling drifted at the edges of his hearing.
“How many accidents have you been in?” Krane asked.
Sprocket jolted, “I, it happens sometimes. There’s so much work to do. It’s a lot, okay?” She exclaimed still not quite looking at him, “There’s only one of me and I have to go to every base in Equestria. I mean some of them are close together but others are spread apart. I’m either travelling or working. I get, I get tired.”
“That does sound tiring.” Krane spoke softly, “At least they thank you for your work, right?”
“No, they don’t!” Sprocket shouted and Krane leaned back from the force of her proclamation, “No pony does. Ponies say that I’m great and, and they say these things. But no one will just talkto me. They only call me when they want something done!” Sprocket breathed hard, unable to get a proper lung full of air due to the binds. “And if I can’t do one of the thousands of things they tell me to do, they call me useless.”
Krane let her breathing even out before saying, “That’s not fair.”
“No,” Sprocket agreed, “It’s not.”
“What about your other superiors or their superiors?” Krane asked gently, “Maybe one of them will acknowledge your hard work?”
“Hah. Golden Leaf is an asshole. He thinks that since he’s a champion fighter directly appointed by the King he is better than any of us. And Mr. Harvest? He’s too busy ruling the Army of Rejuvenation from Lantern Spring to pay attention to any of us.” Sprocket said. And she blinked. The colour drained from her face turning her sand brown fur peach white. “Wait. No.”
The burning poison that writhed in Honey Ribbon’s eyes hooked into his stomach. Krane looked away from Honey Ribbon and stood up and acknowledged Sprocket through her building tears, “I’m sorry that things have been rough for you.” Krane said a throwaway pleasantry that both parties knew really didn’t mean anything at all, “I hope it gets better soon.”
Like the last string of a marionette casually being sawed through Sprocket slowly sagged in her bindings, “What did you do to me?”
“I only talked, you yourself said that you needed the company,” Krane said. Smoothly he plucked up the third gag with his ‘bad’ arm and tears ran freely down Sprocket’s face. “Speaking with you was, nice, but I need you to be quiet now.”