The door slammed open, rattling the room and its inhabitants. The woman glared at the pair lounging on the couches, shaking her head before walking past.
"Fired again, Night? You know, you could always, y'know, go int--"
"Shut up, Wildcat. I've heard enough today," she tucked a stray, electric-blue hair behind her ear. "I swear, one of these days—" Night clenched her fists— "One of these days, we'll get 'em, starting with that one blasted company."
Wildcat rolled his eyes. The oversized pullover beside him shifted. "Yeah, like that's ever worked. Two hits, and the whole operation fell apart. We’re low on money, too. You'd think that with someone like you leading this whole thing, we'd actually be able to get something do—."
Night whirled around, pointing at the pile of clothes. "That goes for you too, Pretty Lady. Do not question my authority. Get back to work."
"Unlike you?"
Night shot a death glare at her subordinate.
"Git."
Pretty Lady sighed, pulling back her hood to reveal a headset. "Already on it. At least somebody has been putting in their effort for the cause."
Deep within the Everfree Forest, the ground began to warp. A deep indentation began to form, swallowing up nearby trees and stones as it grew. A pony flickered into existence above the hole, sparks running across her body.
“Huh. Neat. That’s one more way to get in. I suppose now’s a better time than ever to actually get something done. I’ve messed around for long enough.”
The hole vanished without a trace, allowing the pony to land on the ground. She glanced around for a bit, taking in their surroundings; heavy foliage, far from civilization—a perfect place to begin. Smirking, the pony stomped a hoof on the ground. A nearby tree lifted, rising up into the air without any trace of an aura holding it. But that was enough horseplay. Night wants someone to infiltrate the simulations? She could do one better than that. After all, she’d earned herself the nickname ‘Pretty Lady’ for a reason. Infiltrating was the least she could do, with what she knew.
Green flames ignited at her hooves, inching their way up her body in a ring, leaving in their wake a mare whose looks could rival even best of Equestria’s own. Her pristine mane fell into perfect little curls, complementing the light curves of her body. This was what consistently caught the eyes of the nobility. She’d be the unassuming beauty; the pearl of the city; the innocent young mare—all for the sake of farming the information she sought from the clueless ponies of Equestria.
And her first stop? Ponyville.
She focused on a teleport. She didn’t have a horn at the moment, nor did she need one. With her target in mind, she let loose a torrent of mana, leaving a small crater in her place. The floating tree crashed to the ground without a sound.
Pretty Lady landed softly in front of the Cutie Map room. Twilight didn’t appear to be home at the moment, based on the fact that no frantic alicorn had teleported in just yet. Either way, it took quite some time to learn the ins and outs of the simulations just to get here, and she wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip. She cupped a hoof to her ear, mirroring her movements in real-life.
“We clear?”
“Clear. Go ahead, Pretty Lady.”
“Alright. I can take the job myself. The rest of you can have some time off.”
She lowered her hoof, taking in her surroundings. Given the castle’s composition, a simple explosion would probably do well enough to level the place. And unlike in real life, here she had as many resources as she wanted. An explosive charge materialized before her. A smirk grew across her face.
“Let’s raze this place.”
“Lisa!” Samantha stuck her head into her friend’s office. “Lisa, what are you doing? Didn’t you hear what happened?”
Lisa shook her head. “No, I was running through the last two students just a few minutes ago. Hopefully they’ll be good friends for Ellie, you think?”
“No, no—I mean, yes! But that’s not what matters right now! Pull up a viewport for the simulations, will ya?”
“O…okay?” Lisa reached over, clicking on an icon. “I don’t understand what you’re freaking out so much abo—”
Smoke filled her screen. A chunk of crystal tumbled to the ground off to the side, splintering into thousands of tiny fragments.
“…O-oh. That… that’s not good, is it?”