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// Chapter 5: Mare In The High Castle 
// Story: Nightmare 
// by Salty Alty 
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I adjusted my tie nervously, the white dress shirt I had elected to wear rubbing against my blazer as I did so. I was, suffice to say, just a teensy bit anxious about today's meeting. I had barely been able to get a camera crew to accompany me given the... "less than ideal" time frame, but after some begging and pleading World Wide had gotten two ponies to agree to come with me, an earth pony stallion and a pegasus mare. I could nearly guarantee they had been promised some damn good pay for it, judging by the looks on their faces. The kind of look that screams "I'm only here for the money." You know the one. Not that I could blame ‘em, the request had been quite sudden, and had come in incredibly late. I was surprised I’d even gotten a camera crew in the first place, to be perfectly honest.

The taxi carriage was bumped and jostled around as we took off. The GenTech headquarters was actually built onto the other side of Canterlot Mountain entirely, right on top of the entrance to the old crystal mines. I would have flown there myself, but I doubted I could have hauled the ground-bound member of the camera crew with my bum wings, and the pegasus didn't look too particularly strong.

The flight was, for all intents and purposes, boring and uninteresting. I mostly spent my time getting the questions I wanted to ask Crystal Heart all sorted out, and any remaining time was spent bucking around on my phone, as my two companions were doing. 

Looking out the window near the final leg of our journey, I was able to see the gigantic, slate gray structure that clung to the side of the Canterhorn. A huge portion of the building was blocky and angular, each level optimized for maximum spatial efficiency, almost like a hornet's nest or a cargo freighter. The topmost level, however, was absolutely gorgeous. It was massive, and pretty much screamed "I'm obnoxiously rich, and buck you I get to have nice things!" It had been designed to mimic a lotus blossom, with each outstretched petal of concrete and metal playing host to a different pool or garden, and in the center there lay a large dome, which was likely her personal suite.

She sure had good taste, I'd give her that... even if it was over the top and fancy as all get out.

I swiftly tucked my notebook under a wing and switched on my recorder. I had the distinct feeling that if push came to shove, the footage from the main cameras would mysteriously "disappear." 

Suddenly, the carriage lurched to a stop, and everypony inside the cart was forced to hold on to their seats. "Oof! What the hay?! Don't they teach you how to land?!" the pegasus yelled at the poor carriage driver, causing me to frown.

"Seems somepony hasn't had her morning coffee..." I thought to myself snidely, giving her a glance out of the corner of my eye. I'd report her performance later. For now, we had a job to do, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with her attitude.

I stepped out onto the carriage pad below, shielding my eyes from the blinding light of the harsh morning sun. Thestrals, as anypony with half a brain could have guessed, didn't deal particularly well with bright lights. As my eyes finally adjusted, I found myself only now able to truly appreciate the structure in its entirety. I could see ponies flitting about to and fro behind glass as clear as crystal, and the windows stretched along the entire building, leaving nothing to the imagination. The loud, grating noise of machinery assaulted my eardrums, no doubt coming from deeper within the facility. 

The place was a veritable hive of activity, almost as if I was looking at the entirety of Manehattan stuffed into a single building. 

As my camera crew exited the carriage, a trio of ponies clad in suits and ties emerged from the entryway to the building proper. They all had some sort of enchantment on them that caused them to look the same, like the Royal Guard had. The one closest to me, whom I assumed to be the leader of the bunch, spoke up. "Miss Evening Shade, I presume?"

I nodded, holding a hoof out for him to shake, and he did so with gusto. "That's me. Thank you for inviting us on such short notice! These things usually take a while to get going." 

He shrugged, releasing my hoof. He had big, black sunglasses on, so I couldn't quite see it, but I was fairly sure he rolled his eyes. "We aren't bureaucrats. It doesn't take us ages to cut the red tape and get things done. If you would follow me, I will show you to Miss Heart." He, as well as his fellows, turned on their hooves and began trotting further into the building. I followed after them, taking in the sights as we walked through the halls. The interior was truly breathtaking, each and every tile on the floor was sparkling and spotless, and there were even more elevator tubes snaking their way throughout the building. 

Eventually, we arrived at what I could best describe as an exhibit room. There were dozens upon dozens of models, interactive terminals, and display cases featuring various feats of technological and magical innovation. Near an exhibit off in the far corner, sat a unicorn who I could only assume to be Crystal Heart, who was showing off an early prototype engine to a class of schoolfillies. Her coat was a luscious, milky white, and her teal mane was so glossy I could practically see my reflection in it. Her cutie mark was a simple green heart wreathed in black laurels. She wasn't dressed whatsoever, but that's about what I expected.

She had nopony that she needed to impress. Simply inviting us was enough of a courtesy. 

She looked up towards us, and smiled sheepishly towards the group of young ponies. "Oh dear, it seems I've lost track of time! I'll return later, little ones! Doctor Xeno is in charge for now though, okay?" The aforementioned pony, a black coated unicorn with a white mane, nodded at her. The group of little fillies let out a collective "Aww!" before turning and bombarding the stocky unicorn with questions. He looked at Crystal pleadingly, but all she did was chuckle at him as she trotted towards us. "Good morning! How was your flight over?"

I shrugged, taking in her appearance. her eyes, which were the same color as her mane, studied me, taking in all of the information she could, clearly sizing me up. "Not too bad, all things considered. I have to say, I love what you've done with the place!"

She giggled, leading me towards a large staircase that led up to a catwalk. "Thank you! It took us a good few years, but this building has been a labor of love that I think we're all proud of!"

Quickly glancing behind me, I saw that the cameras were already rolling. "I'm certainly inclined to agree with you there. It is rather impressive, what you've managed to do in such a short time." We were on the catwalk now, and I was able to observe all sorts of widgets and gizmos down below. Prototype generators, early drone models... You name it. 

She grinned at that, clearly enjoying having her ego stroked. I'd never pegged her for one of those ponies. "I suppose it is. Not to try and rush you out of here or anything, but would you like to begin the interview now? I have an appointment in an hour that I absolutely cannot miss."

I felt a bit surprised at how blunt she was, but I brushed it off as her simply being a busybody. The most successful ponies were often workaholics, after all. "Alrighty then, should I just go ahead and take it from the top?" 

"Mhm." 

"Gotcha. So, forty-two, born in Manehattan?"

She nodded. "Indeed."

"Okay, and at nineteen you founded GenTech. Why don't you tell me a little bit about your rise to prominence?"

She almost immediately swelled up with pride. Hook, line and sinker. "Well, as I'm sure you know, I pioneered the Helping Hooves initiative, which brought unemployment in Canterlot down to the lowest it had been in decades. I think our claim to fame had to have been the development of the Crystal-Hex hybrid engine, however, and you'll see that model on nearly all modern trains owned by GenTech and its subsidiaries, as well as some of its competitors. It is ninety percent more efficient than any other engine on the market at the moment."

I tilted my head at her, my ears flopping to one side of my head. "What exactly is the Crystal-Hex engine?"

She beamed at me, her expression both joyful... And yet, there was a flash of mournfulness in her eyes. "Its inception was the result of a collaboration between myself and the late Vexing Hex. It runs off of a fusion of normal magic and dark magic, using the unstable reaction between the two to power the engine itself. It's probably one of our greatest technological achievements thus far, and marked the beginning of our R&D division."

"I see. And from there you expanded into the pharmaceutical industry, is that correct?"

She stopped for a moment, grabbing a small tube in her magic and bringing it over so that I could examine it. It was a black tube, about as thick as a piece of small PVC pipe. "You'd be correct. We started off with the Vespis Auto Injector. At the time, it was a state-of-the-art delivery system for any potion or medicine you could think of, able to deliver the full effects of the substance in under a minute. Nowadays, we do provide far more effective models, such as the Lifeline and Med-Evac. From there, we've gone on to develop numerous medications and treatments for everything, ranging from the common cold to our most recent accomplishment, dementia." She thought to herself for a moment, and then placed the injector into my hooves. "Here, keep it. Consider it a gift."

I gave her an awkward grin as I stuffed the tubular device into my blazer. "See, to somepony like me that's crazy. You hear all these stories in your youth about Princess Celestia performing miracles and healing the sick, but you never see that anymore in this day and age... and then you come along and sort of just prove that it can still be done, by a normal pony no less! What's the secret, exactly?"

She clicked her tongue a few times, trying to find her words. "Well, I can't exactly just give that up, as our competitors are sure to read about this interview once it hits the web, but what I can say that it simply requires a far more... 'personal' touch." The way she said that just sent shivers down my spine, like I'd been stung.

"Uh-huh. So, another thing I'd wanted to ask you has to do with your company. What is GenTech's mission? Like, what's your goal?"

She hummed for a second, looking me up and down. "Well, that's a difficult question to answer, as our interests and the manner in which we pursue those interests are incredibly diverse in nature. But at our core? I'd say our goal is to help ponies. Everything we do, eventually, makes its way into the hooves of the common pony and helps to make their lives easier. We lead the way in prosthetics and medicine, and explore the cutting edge in technology every day. No other entity in the history of Equestria, other than the Crown itself, has done as much good as we have."

As she finished her sentence, we arrived at a pair of sliding doors, which opened to reveal a sitting room fit for nobility. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she thought herself a queen. "And to that end, we're now seeing Amoraphyll."

She frowned at that, though she tried to hide it. "Indeed. We've tried so very hard to perfect the formula over the last few years, and now we're finally close enough to taste it. Just imagine, the ability to end unhappiness with a single pill! We'd see an unprecedented rise in productivity, a sharp decrease in suicide rates, and perhaps we would finally be able to fix the skewed gender ratio. Can you imagine that?"

I had to admit, it did sound appealing. "I certainly can. Though I'd imagine that with that kind of effect, the side-effects from messing with those hormones could be catastrophic."

She sighed, grabbing a teacup and placing a tea bag into it. "Hence our issue. Rats and pigs can only go so far when you're dealing with pony emotions."

I figured there was no better time to address the elephant in the room. "And thus, the allegations. That your trial patients go mad. That they are so incredibly happy that they become slaves. That some go missing entirely."

She looked up at me sharply, as if I had slapped her across the face. "Those are baseless rumors and you know it." I could have sworn I saw fangs for a split second.

"Touchy, touchy... seems I've struck a nerve." "I never said they weren't baseless. I acknowledged that they exist. I was hoping for you to dismiss those claims and explain what actually happens, so that the truth is on record. We can certainly cut this from the main tape, however." 

Like a coyote cautiously approaching something new, she latched on to that with visible apprehension. "Well, half of our trials are successful, with those who have taken Amoraphyll going on to lead normal, happy lives. The other half however... the other half experience incredible hormonal imbalances, violent or otherwise, and a quarter of them need to be placed in intensive care facilities able to care for them until such a time that we may reverse the effects." I felt as if there was more to her story than she let on. It was just a hunch, but one I'd be able to verify. 

I made a note to investigate her claims further, after the interview, of course. If I could see for myself what Amoraphyll did to a pony, it'd certainly give me a few more pieces of the puzzle. But there was no reason to push that particular button at the moment. "And I assume their families are still allowed to visit them?"

She nodded. "Of course," she said, before a magical bell appeared next to her head and began ringing. "Oh dear, are you okay if we revisit this another time?" 

"Of course. Thank you for having us over for an interview! I should have the article ready in about a month or two, and I'll be sure to notify you once it is posted on our website!" As I sat up and straightened my tie, I flashed her a smile. "I certainly wish you luck regarding the Amoraphyll project. From what I’ve heard and from what you’ve told me, I’m sure it will be immensely successful!” I beamed at her, a bit of fang poking out from my grin. However, out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the vial I had forgotten to give to Dawn was poking out of my bags.

And just like that, almost as if I had flipped a light switch, every ounce of civility and affability vanished from her face. Her eyes widened as she looked me straight in the eyes, her face somehow going whiter than it already was... almost as if she saw a ghost. "I uhh... thanks. Mister Wasp, may you please escort these three back to their carriage?"

And so, we were very "nicely" taken back to our cart. If only I'd known what I'd just done...

I should have known better than to piss her off. 

Hindsight's a bitch.