9 DAYS TO MIDNIGHT
"Trixie? Hello? Magic mare? Lulamoon? Ms. Great and Powerful? Dude, we’re here; can you wake up already?"
"Century, give it up. She's out cold. Let the poor mare rest."
"Well, she can't go to the train with that outfit on, ya dip. Am I supposed to undress her?"
"I'll undress her. You head inside and move our stuff into the carriage. The last train leaves at midnight. We can't afford to miss it."
"Alright, I'm on it."
Carefully setting down his satchel in the carriage, Century stepped down from said carriage and opened the door to Spirit's house. They'd returned from the Gala, the infiltration of the Royal Castle, and Princess Celestia's room. Now they were onto phase three of their impeccable planning timeline that absolutely wasn't just made up in Century's head five seconds ago. All they had to do now was escape the kingdom. And hope and pray Princess Celestia didn't show up out of nowhere, ready to banish them to Venus or something.
"Hey!" The driver called. Getting Century to turn around. "How much longer am I driving you three? It's gonna be midnight soon!"
Century rolled his eyes, "Dude, you're getting paid; relax. We just need ten more minutes of your time."
"And how much of that will be driving?"
"...Fifteen more minutes of your time."
The driver groaned, and Century entered the house. The cider glasses from the evening rested in the same spots on the dining room table. Century smiled, but it didn't last long as he remembered his current situation. Instead, he trotted to the living room. Where the trio's packed bags sat. They weren't all that big. Larger than the satchels—yes—but they only carried the trio's essentials.
Leaving his bag for last, he grabbed Trixie and Spirit's bags with his teeth and dragged them toward the door. He could tell from one of the bag's weight, Trixie's, that Miss Great and Powerful had packed some things that definitely weren't essentials. Go figure, Century thought.
He reached the carriage outside, but just as he let go of Trixie's bag, Spirit's magic took it and her own bag in her grasp and placed it in the package compartment in the back of the carriage. Century turned around, and his muzzle was smushed by Trixie's clothing.
"Here," Spirit spoke, inviting Century to take the clothes with his teeth. "Take Trixie's clothes inside and place them somewhere hidden as fast as you can. Then change out of your suit and bring back those hoodies on the couch for us to wear."
Century nodded, but before he bit down on Trixie's clothes, he asked, "What about your dress?"
"I'll fold it neatly and delicately into my bag."
"Won't that make using it on the hypercarrier's tower panel harder or something?"
"Century please, it’s fine. Not like I packed much anyway."
"Well, if the whole plan crumbles because you couldn't be bothered-"
"Hey!" The driver shouted, "What are you two talking about back there?"
"Dude, we said we'll be ready soon! Would you complaining; you're gonna be paid!"
The driver groaned louder than last time, and Century took Trixie's suit in his mouth. With that, he trotted back into the house. He decided to hide the outfit underneath the carpet, underneath the couch. A hole was made there some time ago. Apparently, you shouldn't bring a bison indoors. The dress wouldn't be impossible to find, assuming the Royal Guards would turn the house upside down for a possible lead. But by the time they'd found the suit, the trio would already be in Meridio.
He then began to button down his suit and tear off his bowtie. As the fabric tore with his force and speed, he cursed himself internally. He could've found a use for that suit again. It was absolutely gorgeous. The black bowtie, the black vest, and the merlot-red tuxedo to top it all off were exquisite. His handsome face and that killer suit were a match made in heaven. He could sense some mares at the Gala giving him certain looks. No way Rainbow Dash was only staring at him because of how ridiculously suspicious he seemed. Oh no, he thought. She liked what she saw.
...Or maybe I'm just that lonely.
Shaking his head, Century then locked onto the hoodies. They were pitch black and doubled as trench coats with their length. Thanks to the night sky surrounding Luna's moon, it would make them almost undetectable to the naked eye. Century approached them and put one of them on. And then his bookbag. He grabbed it with his teeth, heaving it into the air to quickly grab it and strap it to his back. Finally, the Earth pony was ready to hit it.
Then it hit him. Mayor Mare.
Being the incredibly tactful and considerate pony he was, he had forgotten that he'd essentially be leaving Mayor Mare all alone for days on end. But worse than that, he worried if she'd even still be bound to this world when he came back. To leave without saying goodbye or even acknowledging his disappearance would be awful. He had to do something.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Century galloped upstairs to Spirit's room and searched her closet. Finding a bin labeled "stationary." He cursed himself yet again for doing this at such a desperate moment, but he couldn't help himself. He had to do something.
So he did the best thing he could.
...
"What took you so long? The train leaves in five minutes!" Spirit shouted as Century burst through her door frame.
The first thing he did was rush down the steps and shove an envelope into Spirit's mailbox before lifting its flag. He then threw the other two hoodies at Spirit, who promptly caught them, galloped into the carriage, shaking it all about with the force of his movements, and replied, "Then we should start moving! Hop in!"
"What'd you put in my mailbox?"
"I'll tell you later; now park it!"
Without a second thought, Spirit jumped into the carriage, closed the door behind her, and quickly donned the hoodie. Then helped a sleeping Trixie into her own hoodie. Century reacquired his satchel, then knocked on the front carriage window. Exclaiming, "Canterlot Train Station, gun it!"
"Finally!" the carriage driver groaned before immediately hitting the road. The speed causing the carriage to bump excessively. The ground was practically being assaulted by the carriage. It'll live, Century thought.
Spirit nudged the stallion, who almost didn't feel it due to the vibration of the carriage. He spoke, "What?"
"Do you think we'll make it?"
"Yes, we will make it. Relax, like Trixie... Actually, Trixie WAKE UP!"
"Ah! What? What?!" Shouted the mare as she rose from her hibernation. "W-What's going on? Are we heading back t-to Spirit's? W-Why did you scream into Trixie's ears?!"
"I had to wake you up, silly goose! And no, we're not heading to Spirit's. Because we just left it."
"We did?"
"Uh, yeah."
"That's why your suit and tophat have been replaced with a long black hoodie," Spirit added.
"I told the driver to throw it into maximum overdrive to reach the station because we've got... four?"
"Three."
"Three minutes until the train leaves the station; And no other trains arrive in Canterlot for the night." Trixie blinked before peering over at Spirit.
"...Why’s he talking like that?"
"Just go with it; I don't know."
...
"Last call for the train to Manehatten! I repeat, last call for the train to Manehatten! Last train of the night, ladies and gentleco- holy crap!"
To say the carriage arrived in a bombastic display would be an understatement to the driver that night. And to the innocent ponies he nearly crushed with his immaculate drifting skills... Somehow. The pegasus ticket master at the front desk had jumped back, with his wings unfurled on high alert.
Century and Spirit, carrying Trixie, burst out the right door of the carriage and sprinted to the front desk. Almost crashing into it. Century spoke up in his most charming, diplomatic manner yet, "Good evening, my friend. My girls and I-"
"Shut it."
"My friends and I are looking to purchase three tickets to Manehatten. Would you be so kind, as a fellow gentlecolt, to hand over some for a couple o' good ol' bits?"
The ticket master gaped, still petrified.
"...Please?"
"Hey!" The carriage driver shouted, "What about my payment!?"
Century nudged Spirit, "My friend, pay the stallion! He's done his part outstandingly."
Agreeing without speaking, Spirit used her magic to retrieve the trio's bags from the carriage. She then opened Century's bag, grabbed an immense pouch of bits, took a hundred out of said pouch, and dropped them into the carriage driver's magical grasp.
He smiled, "Pleasure doing business with ya," before settling back into his carriage and leaving the station.
Spirit then levitated the massive bag of bits over to the front desk. Century smiled at the ticket master, "Listen, we'd love to stay and chat, but we need to be somewhere very important, so if you close your jaw and do business with us, that'd be great."
The ticket master stared for a little while longer. Analyzing his last few customers. A strange group, without a doubt, but business was business. Or, more specifically, he'd be fired if he didn't take the bits.
He gulped, "Uh... O-Of course." He exchanged three tickets from within his desk for thirty bits. Spirit holding all three of said tickets. He then hit a button on his desk that unlocked the doors to the train station platform. "I, uh... Have a nice trip, you... Three. And have a nice night."
Century grinned, "All the same to you, my friend! All the same to you." After Spirit shoved the bits back into Century's bag and zipped it up, the trio stepped through the doors and approached the trains. Spirit, holding onto the trio's bags. The train's doors sat open, waiting for the group to seat themselves.
They all decided to sit next to each other in the far back of the train. No particular reason why; they just followed Trixie. It wasn't long until the train blew its horn and began down the tracks. Its first movement on the tracks being excruciatingly slow. Making Century internally scream.
But he calmed down after the station left his peripheral view of the window. Trixie laid back down on the seat, and Spirit spoke up, "Back to sleep, Trixie?"
"Of course, why not? Especially after that... Display you two put on. Trixie is still baffled by whatever that was. You'll have to explain that all to her sometime later."
"Right. We'll do just that."
And with that, Trixie swiftly fell back into her deep slumber. Leaving Century and Spirit alone, yet again. For a couple of seconds, at least.
"I think I'm gonna hit it too, Century."
Century groaned, "Seriously? You're gonna leave me all alone?"
"You can stay on watch. It'll be fine. Wake me once we reach the city. I know how to get to the carrier."
"Uh, yeah. You better."
"Shut up."
Spirit then closed her eyes and drifted off. Leaving Century all alone on the train. Giving him ample time to think. About the Gala, about Celestia, about Meridio, about the crown, about the drill, the whole bit.
But that wouldn't do this time. He didn't feel like thinking. He wanted to talk to someone. He did in the carriage ride to and fro the Gala. But it looked like he'd be alone for this train ride. It was unfortunate, really.
"...I hate trains..."
Century didn't know how to describe the feelings and sentiment he got when the train passed Ponyville. He could see what little lights remained on. Street lights, and whatnot. He could see Rarity's boutique. Sugarcube Corner, and Twilight's massive castle. In the far-off distance, he could see Sweet Apple Acres. Fluttershy's house, although, was nowhere to be seen. Same for whatever cloud Rainbow Dash decided to rest on tonight.
But what hit him more than anything was the town hall building. He couldn't shake this awful feeling inside of him that it'd be the last time he'd ever see it. No, he thought. That wasn't it. It was the mare who rested inside. That's who he feared he'd never see again. Mayor Mare was bedridden the last time he saw her. It seemed like every day since Warner, that darn cosmic skeleton thing, she'd been getting worse. More sleeping, less walking; he even caught her coughing up blood the evening he returned from Twilight's castle.
All the signs were pointing to a conclusion Century refused to accept. But deep down inside, he knew fighting it was pointless. The inevitable was just that—inevitable. He couldn't stand it. This feeling inside his gut pulled and beat down on him. He couldn't help but feel like there was so much more to be learned from her. So much more to do.
And what would he even do when she's gone? By the time she passes away, the next election wouldn't come for another three years. Meaning he'd have to take up the position of Ponyville Mayor for himself. The problem wasn't that he was afraid of being Mayor, of course. He just felt like it was cheap. He'd always wanted to win an election before receiving any kind of power. Especially in the same village as the Elements.
Not to mention how the residents of Ponyville would feel. Mayor Mare was greatly known throughout the village, as opposed to him. And her policies and decision-making were unrivaled. She'd won election four times in a row, after all. Granted, the last Mayor was a real tool. He came in with all this talk of improving Ponyville to the standards of Canterlot.
Or even greater. And surprisingly, many ponies didn't oppose the idea. Except for the Apple Family, of course. But in the end, that Mayor only ended up making the town far worse. Apparently, paving every street with gold was both hideously expensive and dangerous.
If the last time Ponyville got a new Mayor ended in such a fashion, he worried that the citizens would be highly wary of a replacement. More than anything, he wanted to be appreciated by his people. In the same regard as Mayor Mare. If not higher.
He sighed and traced the window on the opposite side of the train with his eyes for the fifth time. First, clockwise, then anti-clockwise, clockwise, clockwise again, then anti-clockwise. Its square shape and glass pane framing his reflection in front of him. Perfectly capturing his figure.
His eyes had begun to droop, with bags becoming awfully noticeable. Casting a shadow just above his cheeks. His hair had once again gone against his foolish wishes and shot up to the sky. His coils were more locked in place than ever. Almost an hour after the trio left Canterlot, his forehead still remained sweaty. It wasn't much, of course, but it gave off an awful stench that only he could smell. He desperately needed to wash off. But there was a little problem along the way.
Lulamoon, the Great and Powerful.
While Spirit rested on the right side of the seat, a foot away from him, Trixie rested right next to him on his left. She'd even gotten so comfortable as to lay her head on his left hind leg. A terrible pillow, Century thought, but she'd likely had worse. That's another thing that bothered him. Surfacing to the top of his brain amidst his previous thoughts.
Who even was Trixie?
Not to say, of course, that Century was well accustomed to many of Ponyville's residents, and they certainly weren't with him, but she drew far more attention than the average citizen.
From what he knew, one day, a couple years ago, some unicorn strolled into town with a wagon and just put on a completely random show. Century remembered it vividly. In fact, he was in the crowd that surrounded her show. He remembered Trixie as being incredibly boastful, as the Elements first sentiment towards her. But she was indeed more talented than the average unicorn. She had all kinds of tricks and goofs up her sleeve. And she always succeeded in making the crowd laugh. Which is why as he looks back, perhaps the Elements were being too harsh on her. Then again, she made some incredibly bogus claims when she first arrived.
The unicorn was practically married to special effects. Fireworks, sparklers, and more always surrounded her on stage. And she'd never miss an opportunity to stand triumphantly next to them.
He chuckled as he remembered an argument between her and Twilight Sparkle. Trixie would not come down from her mountain of pride for even a moment to consider she was wrong for messing with other ponies as her main tricks. They had a dialogue Century still remembers to this day.
Twilight sighed, "Trixie, why can't you just apologize to Applejack for tying her up?"
Trixie scoffed, "Apologize for what? Being great and powerful? Perhaps Appletrash should try and be more like Trixie next time. Not a loser."
"I-I, do you really believe your own hype that much?"
"Trixie is the hype!"
Century swore she stole that from somewhere.
But besides that day, everything else was a blur. He recalled when Trixie got a hold of that Alicorn Amulet and forced Twilight out of the village, but he was out representing Mayor Mare in Fillydelphia. So he missed out on that little charade. Apparently, the magic mare returned to challenge Twilight to a rematch after their last duel with the Ursa Minor.
Trixie won the first duel, but she lost the next. Being fooled by Twilight to give up the amulet. Then, there was a grand show put on by the two of them. As Trixie begged for forgiveness. But the road to redemption and atonement was a long one. A road Trixie wouldn't finish until she assisted in stopping Chrysalis' plan to take over Ponyville.
But even then, Trixie's boastful nature would stay. Of course, she boasted in a joking manner rather than in a serious manner. She knew that humility would ultimately lead her to becoming the incredibly powerful unicorn, and the spectacular magician she always wanted to be. But even then, Century was left with a number of questions. Such as-
"What's with the staring?"
"Ah! Trixie?! Y-You're awake?"
"Just woke up now."
Century was pondering so intensely that he didn't even notice the magic mare awake and turn her head to face him. Her eyelids were still weak. Century protested, "Uh, well if you're awake, do ya mind moving? Like, dude?"
Trixie meagerly shrugged, "Why? You could've moved Trixie while she was asleep, but you didn't."
"I didn't wanna disturb you!"
"Surely by now, you've picked up that Trixie is a heavy sleeper. Besides, Trixie's too comfortable to move any more than she already has. Furthermore, she's interested in what's caused you to give such a stare at that window. Did it insult your parents?"
"No, I just..."
"...Just what?
"...Why don't you tell me about yourself, Trixie?"
The Great and Powerful was immediately perplexed by this question. Sitting upright and rubbing her eyes. "Uh, repeat that?"
Century shrugged, staring back at the window. "It's just... I-I don't know, we've never, like... Really talked, y'know? Like, yeah, we've talked; that's how we learned of the hypercarrier and whatnot, but... I just don't know you. Like, outside of what everypony in Ponyville already knows. So... Why don't you fill in some blanks? Y'know, if you're okay with that."
Trixie sat speechless at Century's inquiry. She fiddled with her hair, wrapping it around her left hoof. She turned to Century, who turned to her. She wanted to say something—anything—but her brain couldn't muster the words. Century stared into her eyes for a while. Intrigue and slight elation were on display, which gave him hope. But that hope died as he spotted insecurity.
Fear.
Trixie tore her eyes away from the stallion, "I, uh... I-I, T-Trixie... Trixie doesn't feel like... Like sharing that kind of stuff. I'm- She's sorry. It's just-"
"No, no, it's fine," Century replied, raising his hoofs in a surrendering manner. "I get it. Right now, we're just partners working on a mission. Nothing else to it, really... But... We're still, like, uh... Ac-"
"Acquaintances?"
"Acquaintances, yes, exactly... Aren't we?"
"...Yes, we are. It'd be a little absurd to say otherwise."
Trixie looked awkwardly to the left, and Century did the same to the right. The bureaucrat lightly tapped his hooves against each other while Trixie analyzed the ceiling of the train. Tracing the patterns of squares that decorated it with her eyes.
She sighed, "...Trixie will be heading back to sleep now."
"Uh, yeah, gotcha. We should be there in an hour. I'll wake you up."
Trixie nodded before lying back down. Away from Century, this time. The stallion would think about the two's interaction for the rest of the train ride. He hoped he wasn't being weird or anything. He just wanted to get to know the mare a little more. Perhaps her past was worse than he though. Or perhaps it just simply wasn't his business. After all, when he and Spirit originally went to the School of Friendship, they were looking for Starlight Glimmer. Not Trixie. Maybe that fact meant more to Lulamoon than he thought. But that didn't matter right anymoreHopefully, he'd have the chance to find out in the future.
Hopefully.
"Wow. They really did buff up the security around here."
"Buff? Spirit, this place has more guards than the Royal Castle!"
"Trixie would be surprised if they didn't."
The trio stood in front of the fence hole Spirit used to infiltrate the harbor. They arrived in Manehatten almost thirty minutes ago, strapping their bags to their backs and donning their hoodies. The dockyard was absolutely packed full of guards. Searchlights on every tower, searching every direction. Pegasi flew back and forth, surveying the ground while unicorns used their horns to light up the dark. Patrolling every inch alongside Earth ponies. The dockyard wasn't just on high alert.
It was on lockdown.
Century turned to Spirit, "Okay, I don't think our hoodies are gonna do it here. And I bet you're still drained from all that magic used at the Royal Castle. Aren't you?"
Spirit groaned, "I've only got enough magic to turn myself invisible for a minute at best. The warehouse is too far away to be reached in a minute. And I'm betting you're still more drained than me, right Trixie?"
"Indeed. It seems we may need to resort to... extreme measures."
Spirit and Century stared at the magic mare before staring at each other, and then back at Trixie. Century raised a brow, "...Being?"
"It's simple!" Trixie proclaimed. "There are guards everywhere, right?"
"Yeah?"
"And they all blend into one another, right?"
"Oh!" Spirit piped up, "We just need to steal some armor and get to the warehouse. But where are we gonna find three perfect sets of armor? Why would they just be lying around?"
"That isn't how Trixie intends to get ahold of them."
Century and Spirit's eyes bulged. Century stared at the ground before him for a moment. "...Oh..."
Trixie nudged the both of them, "Relax, nopony's gonna die or anything! We'll just give them a lil' knock on the noggin!"
"...And risk extensive brain damage?"
"Hey, you got any better ideas? Trixie's more than willing to listen."
"...No..."
Spirit piped up, "But we still have to find three guards in all armor. Two of them being unicorn armor. We can't do that in one place, can we?"
Trixie eyed the building just left of the hole in the fence. Putting a hoof to her chin. "Then we'll just have to take our chances..."
...
*BANG BANG*
"...Huh?"
*BANG BANG*
"Hey, who's knocking out there? We're on our break! Doors aren't even locked!"
*BANG BANG*
"Oh, for Celestia's sake, if I open this door, and it's something stupid, I'm gonna stick my hoof so far up your-"
*POW*
The metal doors to the building shot open at such speed and force it hit the guard pony straight in the face. Knocking him unconscious almost instantly. Behind it was Century, with his hooves pointing towards the door.
Trixie and Spirit rushed in with bricks in their magical grasp. Ready to fling them at the nearest guard's head. But there were no other guards in sight. The coast was clear. Allowing the two unicorns to drop their bricks and sigh in relief. Century stepped in and surveyed the area. He smirked in triumph.
"Jackpot."
Spirit wiped her forehead of sweat, "Man, that was insanely close. I genuinely can't believe that worked. Thought we were done for."
Trixie giggled, "Afraid, Spirit? C'mon, give a mare some credit. Trixie knew we were destined to succeed the second she laid eyes on this building. Along with the steam coming out the chimney, of course."
Century chuckled, "Weren't you the one who chickened out last second? You were all like, 'Guys, maybe we shouldn't do this,'?" Century mocked, and Trixie scoffed.
"Trixie has no idea what you're talking about. But it matters not because she was right!"
As she finished her sentence, Trixie cackled and trotted over to the unconscious guard. A unicorn mare. Perfect, she thought. "This building is for the showers! While the guards are getting clean, they take off their armor and leave them in these oversized lockers! And while they're gone, we have a plethora of armor to choose from! Spectacular!" Trixie exclaimed as she shot her hooves into the sky. The same way she would when performing.
Trixie turned about and bowed, "The Great and Powerful Trixie will take her applause now."
Century rolled his eyes, "Well done, Trix. Now shut up and suit up," He ordered as he walked past her and approached one of the lockers. Trixie huffed before methodically taking off the unconscious guard's armor. Spirit chuckled before approaching another of the lockers.
...
"Century, stop lagging behind! We have to move as one!"
"I'm sorry, it's just that this armor's really tight in the-"
"Halt! Who goes there?"
The trio, after walking for ten minutes, approached the warehouse docking the hypercarrier. Donning the royal armor stolen from the showers. Spirit used what little of her magic she had to make the trio's bags invisible. Making simple objects, as opposed to ponies, disappear was quite easy.
Unfortunately for them, the doors were now being guarded. Two bat-pony royal guards dressed in dark purple armor. Princess Luna's personal guards. Likely meant to guard the warehouse all throughout the night.
Spirit groaned, "Great, we're doing this, okay, hello! We're here to drop off some contraband. Orders specifically from the captain!"
The guard on the left stepped forward, "State your rank! Who's our captain!”
"Corporal! And our captain is Shining Armor- crap."
Spirit internally slapped herself with the wrong answer, making Century and Trixie tense up behind her. The guard on the right stepped forward, and both guards narrowed their eyes. "Shining Armor stepped down from the position of captain two years ago."
Trixie whispered, "Uh, Spirit? Century? What's plan B here?"
The left guard entered a battle stance, "Who are you! You're not royal knights-"
Cutting him off, Spirit used her magic to grab the two guards' heads and throw them against each other. Creating a deafening clash of their armor. Which resonated throughout the surrounding area. Trixie and Century stepped backward, taken aback.
Spirit whirled her head to the two of them, "Century, go on the lookout for any guards who might've heard the crash! Trixie, dump the guards' bodies in the container on the right side of the warehouse. It should be empty! I'll get this door open!"
Stuttering for a second, the two did exactly as Spirit ordered them. Century trotting back the way they came and observing the area. Trixie, though hesitant, picked up the bodies of the guards and rounded the right side of the warehouse. Spotting the empty container, she trotted over and placed them inside. Closing it, but not locking it, just to be safe.
Spirit opened her bag and retrieved the keycard. Along with the torn paper she stole from her first visit. She swiped the keycard in the slot, successfully passing that sequence of security. She then typed in the code from the paper into the keypad. "Okay... 57842," Spirit mumbled.
ACCESS DENIED
"I... What?" Spirit stared at the interface of the keypad, perplexed. She looked back at the paper before typing the code in again. Perhaps she messed up and typed something different. "...5, 7, 8, 4, 2..."
ACCESS DENIED
"You've gotta be kidding me right now."
Trixie returned from the container, and Century returned from scouting out the area. They both approached Spirit, Century questioning her. "Why isn't it open yet? What's wrong?"
Spirit stammered, "I-I, I don't know what's wrong. It's saying denied for some stupid reason."
Trixie stomped her left hoof, "Dang it! They must've changed the password from your first infiltration."
"Or maybe," Century began, "That code you picked up was never right. I hate to say this at literally the worst time, but you did take it out of the trash, after all."
Spirit turned, her eyebrows furrowed, "So what, we're just screwed then? What do we do?"
"I-I don't know, you talked to Starboard, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but he was just super old! He didn't say anything all that impor-" Spirit cut herself off as a thought entered her head. She stood in silence for a while as her mind raced.
Century and Trixie peaked at one another before looking back at Spirit. Trixie raised a brow, "...Important? Why'd you stop? ...Spirit?"
Spirit whirled her head around, fiddling with her hair, before typing again into the keypad. Dropping the paper in her grasp down on the floor nonchalantly. She mumbled, yet again.
"...0, 1, 1, 3, 4..."
ACCESS GRANTED
"Gotcha!"
Century's eyes popped as the warehouse doors gradually opened. "W-What?! How!? What'd you type?!"
Spirit smirked, "Back at the Gala, that old coot said 'hello' was his favorite word. Went on and on about how introductions lead to lifelong relationships and friendships and blah, blah, blah. So I thought, 'Hey, 01134 is hello upside down!' And voilà, doors open."
Trixie stammered, "Uh, wha- Y-You really think he'd be that stupid?"
Century nudged the magic mare, "Who cares? We're in, let's move!"
With that, the trio trotted inside the warehouse, and the doors closed behind them automatically. Spirit scanned the room and sighed in relief. "Well, looks like we're all alone in here. Hopefully, it's the same for the tower."
Trixie and Century gaped at the sheer size of the water where the hypercarrier would normally sit. Whatever this ship looked like, the word massive was an understatement. Heck, just saying it was an understatement was an understatement in and of itself.
Trixie piped up, "Uh... Spirit, you sure we weren't supposed to steal a smaller boat?"
Spirit shrugged, "Hey, you guys were the ones who talked to Capper, I just looked. Now come on, we need to get to the tower so we can board the darn thing." With that, the three of them approached the tower. Century standing rather hesitant at first.
...
ACCESS GRANTED
Spirit smirked as she dropped her dress from the touchscreen. "Like a charm."
The trio had reached the control panel, and thanks to Spirit's dress still having Starboard's hoofprint imprinted, they were able to successfully unlock said panel. Century gaped yet again at the amount of buttons and switches all over the console. Not to mention its touchscreen. This thing really was lightyears ahead of Equestrian tech.
Century raised his hoof to his chin, "Uh, Spirit? Are you sure you know how to get this thing going?"
"No."
"So, then how are we doing this?"
"We'll just wing it. It'll be fine, bum. How hard could it be?"
Trixie stepped down from the room upstairs. A scowl sat on her face. "If Trixie has to move guard ponies' unconscious bodies in the middle of the night for a third time, someone's getting a hoof to the face!"
Turns out, the warehouse wasn't completely void of guards. Two sat in the surveillance room just below the control room. Luckily, they had fallen asleep. Turns out even bat ponies get tired and fall asleep when they're doing virtually nothing.
Century chuckled, "Oh, relax, you're fine, Trixie. Now, could ya help us get to this ship?" He asked, and Trixie huffed before approaching the two of them at the console.
She yawned, "So, what are we doing here?"
Spirit swiped through multiple pages of files and prompts before spotting one called: 'ignition.' She tapped it, and read the instructions internally. As did Century, who's eyes traveled faster than Spirit's.
The stallion sighed, "Looks like all this tower does is open the warehouse doors ahead. But we can't do that now. It'd make way too much noise."
Spirit nodded, "Right, let's just board the ship for now. We'll be back in the morning."
"Wait," Trixie began, "What about the guards we knocked unconscious? What if they wake up before us? Not to mention the armor we stole."
"How about this: One of us will remain on watch—here in the control tower—while the other two head down to the ship. As soon as we're all up, whoever's in the tower will open the warehouse, and then head down to the ship. While the other two start up the ship and exit the warehouse."
"Well, if that's the plan, Century will have to stay up here then. Since only Trixie and you can start up the ship anyway."
Century nodded, "She's right, Spirit. You should leave the dress with me in case the panel shuts off again. But we'll need a signal of some sort."
"I got it," Spirit replied, "I'll just pull the ship's horn or something. We're underwater, so while it'll be loud, it won't be too loud. Just enough to get your attention."
"Willing to bet on that?"
"No, but do you have any better ideas?"
"...Guess not."
Trixie smiled, "Alright, then it looks like we've got a plan! Spirit, where's the elevator down?"
Spirit pointed behind Trixie, "According to that diagram, just down that hallway, I'm assuming. Though, it's probably much larger than a normal elevator."
"Great, then let's move," Trixie declared as she grabbed her bag and Century's before trotting down the hall toward the elevator. Spirit turned to Century and raised a brow. "You sure you won't fall asleep?"
Century rolled his eyes, "Me falling asleep? What about you? Besides, you said the horn would be loud enough, and I haven't gotten sleep in almost twenty hours, so give me a break. And how 'bout you just don't screw up down there?"
Spirit giggled as she picked up her own bag, "Right, I'll be sure to pull extra hard. Good luck, Century."
Spirit began trotting down the hall, and Century called out, "Please, I don't need luck! Good luck to you guys, though!"
Soon, Century could no longer see the unicorns. And a while after, he heard the loud hum of an industrial elevator moving downward. Leaving him all by himself above ground.
Century spotted one of the chairs nearby and decided to sit in it. Leaning back against the cushion as best as a pony could. He stared at the panel from afar and chuckled to himself.
In mere hours from now, Spirit Candy, Trixie Lulamoon, and Century himself would be setting sail in a giant, astonishingly advanced cargo ship. A centurion-class hypercarrier, to be exact. Of course, that would also mean hundreds upon hundreds of guards across the whole city would be targeting them with extreme prejudice.
Including one Princess Celestia.