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// Chapter 26: Danburite 
// Story: Anemoia 
// by Starscribe 
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There was nothing unexpected in what happened next. The process of conversion to creatures of crystal was never intended to be explored by unscreened convicts in a nonmedical setting without support present. At least the victims were up on an isolated surface, where the crystal growth wouldn't spread to others. But all that could do nothing for the screaming.

Bit's ears flattened tighter to her head, and still the sound echoed through her. The cries of the dying, echoing so loudly that she would hear it in her dreams. You aren't supposed to be awake for this.

The crowd's attention was entirely fixed on the horror taking place before them. Thin strands of crystal glittered in the spotlight, spreading from where the catalyst had first made contact. What would that feel like, replacing the living flesh of their body one section at a time? At least the victims wouldn't be awake for much longer. Once the process reached their brains, it would render them unconscious. But that could take minutes, minutes they were free to thrash and squirm and struggle.

Idiots. Did you think such a complex treatment could just be used however you wanted? Bit backed out of the pavilion, into the field of undisturbed white snow. The screaming was louder now, and it didn't seem to be coming from the stage. But Bit didn't turn back to see what horrors they were screaming at. I didn't cause this. This isn't my fault.

Soldiers in black armor waited beside the tent, but neither reacted as Bit passed between them, leaving the ceremony behind.

At least she didn't have far to go to reach the welcoming steps of her tower. The door opened and shut again, and suddenly her world seemed safe. 

Except that she could still hear it. Over the gentle hum of the building's heater, she could make out the screaming.

She should go upstairs, maybe watch the recordings again. Anything to get away from the noise. She didn't, though. Bit remained just inside, listening for over an hour. It wasn't like she got sore sitting there. If only the Wizard could’ve joined her, watching by her side.

"This is how they're using your research," she told nobody. "I did everything I could to share what you created. What did I do wrong?"

No answer came from the empty room. She heard only the gentle hum of the heater, along with the occasional crystal hoofsteps of her patrolling assistants. One stopped on the bottom of the landing, looked out the window for exactly one second, then turned to resume the trip up without saying a word.

It doesn't know I'm in distress. I told it to patrol for danger. There was no danger it could protect her from right now. Now what might happen if all the unfortunates died, that was something else. Maybe she should be thinking of an escape plan.

Without Pathfinder? Can I really just abandon him?

She remained there for so long that she didn't even notice the tent emptying and the crowd dispersing. It wasn't until the bang against her door that she finally jostled from her reverie. There were several louder bangs only seconds later, impatient. Curious, Keen wasn't usually so impolite. She reached out, touching one hoof against the communications console. The screen lit up, and she looked out onto the porch.

Three ponies stood before her. Two were guards dressed in black, glaring at the door like they might be back to break it down. Just behind them was the Secretary of Labor, Sombra. "Wizard, open the tower! Your presence is demanded by your Secretary of Labor!" the guard shouted. She heard him through the crystal as much as the camera.

There was no screen out there, so he wouldn't be able to see what she was doing on the other end. She straightened, adjusting her cloak and taking a deep breath. Not that it served any purpose, she didn't breathe. But she felt better all the same. "Of course," she said. "I will be right there."

The guards looked furious at the delay—even a second was apparently too long for them. The secretary behind them seemed serene by comparison. He turned instantly to the camera and looked directly into the lens, identifying it instantly. "We must have a word about the result of our first experiment," he said. "Urgently."

Could he force his way in here if I don’t open the door? But maybe none of this was his fault. Those technicians had just been so eager to please him that they didn't respect the actual requirements of the procedure. The secretary might be a victim too.

Bit pressed the buttons that would open the door, disarming security in the same instant. "Secretary! There are things you need to know! I'm afraid you weren't told—"

The soldiers reacted almost like automatons themselves and had swords to her neck before she made it three steps. She froze at the touch of metal against crystal, though the threat was far less intimidating for her. She had no throat to cut—if anything, the blades would probably crack before she did. Now if they'd brought hammers, maybe she would be feeling a little more afraid.

"Wizard." Secretary Bolero didn't wave his soldiers off, the way he usually did. He walked past her into the tower's entryway. "Yes, this would be a better place to have this conversation. I always meant to inspect this place, see what the northern masters had discovered in their isolation. Follow me."

Only then did the swords fall away. Both guards were unicorns, and they kept their weapons close, separating Bit from the secretary.

He ascended the steps of the tower like an ancient archmage himself, inspecting art and functioning machines with a critical eye. "Today's first treatment was a decent promise of things to come. I admit, I expected a survival rate greater than seventy percent. I thought this procedure was safe."

"That's what you weren't told!" She sped up, at least until she met more furious glares from the guards again. They slowed as they reached the first landing off the central steps—the apprentice quarters, as well as the servants’. They lived closest to the ground floor, since they spent much of their time running errands in and out of the tower. "The way things happened out there, that isn't right! The technicians never asked how to administer the treatment! I thought I would be the one doing it!"

Sombra took one look inside, then continued up the tower. Did he know what was here? Was he searching for something? She tensed, suddenly self-conscious. Was there anything incriminating for him to find?

Sombra resumed his climb. He was surprisingly spry for the leader of a nation. The king he replaced had always felt old, even as Crimson grew closer and closer in years. "It was irresponsible of them not to tell you. But stress-testing is part of any experiment. We must know how the catalyst behaves under extreme conditions as well as those of the hospital and laboratory."

He stopped at the open doors to the manufacturer, where a solitary pony waited. They looked and dressed identically, so Bit couldn't tell which of her two automatons this was. She supposed it didn't matter. "Who is this?" Sombra asked.

Bit settled into her monotonous neutrality; eyes focused forward. That had once been so simple, it was pretending to act and think like a pony that took effort. She could barely manage now. "An earlier generation of experiments. A failed avenue of exploration." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "Return to storage," she ordered.

Sombra watched it go but didn't object. He took in the workshop at a glance, resting one hoof on a simple polymer printer. "This is all in perfect working order. I had no idea the city had so much hardware still intact after all these years. I will send somepony to collect all this—it belongs at my personal lab."

"You'll send somepony to—" Bit froze, neutral facade fracturing in an eyeblink. "Secretary, this workshop is how I've accomplished all my work. These machines belong in the tower. I will not be able to serve the city half as productively without my machines."

But Bolero hardly seemed to be listening. He circled briefly around the room, nudging a few of the most complex machines with a hoof. His touch was gentler than an apprentice, and he even seemed to recognize some of them. But Bit couldn't guess at which those might be. "Your service in this tower may have come to an end regardless. It was previously convenient to leave you where hardware already existed, despite the message it sent. The sunset of that moment has arrived."

He turned on her then, even faster than the guards. It was a good thing she wasn't an assassin, because that would've been the perfect chance to strike. "Laboring from this tower has created the illusion for some that you were a... remnant of the oppression that once ruled us. Many lost their lives to unseat the tyrants, and some whisper I have allowed them to retake their throne."

"I only wish to serve," she said quickly. But if he expected to be able to glare her down, he would be disappointed. Bit couldn't be intimidated when she told the truth. "I want to share the old Wizard's work. We can get far better than seventy percent if we follow the instructions he left."

Sombra sighed. "If ever I feared from counter-revolutionaries among my scientific minds, you are a lesson in the uneven distribution of competences. Wizard, this has nothing to do with the success of this experiment. I am pleased with its results, and have already begun preparations for a far larger, second attempt. We wait only to see if the individuals who survived tonight wake again, and behave as the individual you called... Pathfinder, that was it." His horn glowed brilliantly, and suddenly she jerked into the air, squealing in surprise.

But this wasn't an attack—before she could put together any kind of defense, they'd stopped beside the oversized window. Sombra held her there before the glass, gesturing down into the city below. It was a far brighter sight than it had been during much of her recent memories. Now there were three stations running, instead of just one. Not all the streetlights had survived in those sections, but enough that they still glowed through crystal structures.

"Your work will change all of Zircon, Wizard. We soon move into a new era, a new method of being. I cannot have ponies whispering that this transition occurred because wisdom was given to me from some remnant of the old world."

She shivered, but the grip of his magic was far too intense. If she had lungs, the pressure would probably stop her from talking. As it was, the spell didn't push intensely enough to do damage, or interfere with her crystal structure at all. What would happen if Sombra actually attacked her with magic? "You're going to... What will you do, Secretary?"

He released his grip, dropping her to the tower floor with a clatter of crystal hooves. "Bring you to the capital with me, of course. Relocate the lab, and remove anything of value from this place. Level it completely, when we get the chance. But in the meantime, one who serves the revolution will serve from within."

He reached into a jacket, removing a faint metal pin. A bright red star, with a little chain etched into the center. "In recognition of your service, I induct you into Zircon's revolutionary party.  Your duties will not change—you will use your knowledge of old technology to advance our goals."

She took the pin in her own magic. Sombra watched her, expectant, as she settled it into place on her collar. With a little piece of metal, she'd gone from basically nopony to just a step below a secretary herself. The members of the party were the ponies who were voted for and promoted to leadership—could she ever aspire to rise so high?

But clipping the pin into her jacket felt more like settling her hooves into lead weights. She could still hear the screams. "From Revolutionary Square... will I still work to spread this treatment to the ponies of Zircon?"

Sombra shook his head absently. "No, nothing like that. My technicians have your instructions. The procedure is mere mathematics now. Your talents are needed for a far higher purpose." He straightened, as if posing for imaginary cameras. "We must arm ourselves for war against our oppressors to the south. Equestria will fall at last."