A small section of hull plating popped outward and slid apart. A secondary door was revealed underneath and it promptly opened after the external one. From the threshold of the Desolus' entrance a ramp was lowered. It formed a shallow incline down to the starboard platform the ship was docked at.
Tsubar floated down it while Phineas followed him at a deliberately slower pace. The stallion watched was the arms of cranes built into each tier of the massive port swung about, tons of goods in motion at any given time. Orders were being barked amongst the workers, scores of ponies and non-ponies scampered across the many levels. There was no other way to describe it other than organized chaos.
With all the noise, the Shu'badi hadn't even bothered to start speaking until the shipyards were far behind them. They vacated the dock and were walking through a large, hexagonal hallway. The walls were segmented and a light purple in color. It had two rows of angled lights shining into the passage.
"Clearance hub up ahead. On the other side of that door will be the congregation center. Don't give the guards a reason to shoot you and they won't. Seems simple enough to me; what do you think, Startrot?"
"You mean if I obey the law I won't get in trouble with the law enforcement? My, you might as well remind me to breathe!" Phineas replied melodramatically, shifting his weight from side to side as if he were going to faint, a hoof raised to his face and his head thrown back.
"If you'd stop playing around you'd know I have my reasons to warn you. They already have enough to worry about without some vagrant fresh off a cargo ship causing trouble for them. No offense or anything - the whole vagrant business," Tsubar said without looking back at Phineas' foolishness.
Phineas trotted up to Tsubar's side. "So tell me about this clearance hub. For starters, what am I to expect, exactly?"
"A bunch of people on guard duty with serious firepower on them. They're there to make sure any weapons newcomers may have are out of sight and out of mind."
Phineas cocked his head. "They don't ask for ID; they just make sure somepony doesn't walk in guns blazing? If the concern when entering the city is people with weapons, why don't the guards confiscate them?"
Tsubar stopped floating abruptly and spun to face Phineas. He held the stallion by the shoulders, stopping him place roughly midway through the passage way. He was shaking his head while chuckling lowly.
"They can't just take the weapons of the patrons, you see," he said. "Lesson one is this Phineas: there is no true law. Only safeguarding of interests. Weapons happen to be the way many do their 'safeguarding', see?"
"... So the guards aren't on duty to protect anyone?"
"They're there to protect the interest of the city. Merchants being robbed, property damage and so on; so forth is what they cover. Everything else is left up to the individuals. Don't be surprised if you see someone's head get blown apart over a disagreement or something similar to the likes," Tsubar explained.
"...That is horrible," Phineas said flatly.
"That's life. Or at least, that's life here on Gallopso. There's a reason why these places are called fringe worlds, friend."
"The strongholds of what remains of Equestria abide by such... savagery?" Phineas inquired disbelievingly.
"I told you not to pass judgement until you learned more. Now you know why. And this isn't even the beginning of it all..." Tsubar said, chuckling some more afterwards. He turned around and continued to float off to the end of the hallway.
Phineas did not find this revelation amusing in the least.
***
The center of the door turned clockwise, another ring of metal around it turned counterclockwise. A hollow thunk marked the unlocking of the door, which shot straight down into the floor. Tsubar floated on through without so much as a glance toward the group of four which stood immediately beyond, two on each side.
The guards all wore dark blue plated armor which was suited to their unique builds. Two were ponies, one being a bat-winged Pegasus and the other was an earth pony. Of the other two, one was a minotaur and the last was a diamond dog. The ponies had their intimidating blaster rifles strapped onto their flanks while the minotaur and diamond dog held their weapons at waist level. They all wore headsets that had red visors extending across their eyes.
Phineas acted according to example. Apparently, ignoring the guards was the proper conduct. He followed Tsubar as the Seapony fell into line with the crowd of Equestrians walking across the silvery deck. While each level was very large, there was a hollow center to each one excluding the very top and very bottom, with chrome railing around the holes. The hollow center extended down from the glass dome at the very top level of the mega-ship so that it formed a pillar of empty space with each subsequent deck.
Opposite the pit were gigantic rooms the size of warehouses where countless merchant stalls had been set up, Equestrians and aliens alike all peddling their goods. They were all shady characters, all with some form of weaponry visibly holstered on their person. In spite of the intricacy of the ship the Equestrians called home, there was an undeniable lawlessness to it. Like a coiled spring, the latent tension was heavy in the air.
"I don't like it," Phineas thought as he walked past grizzled-looking ponies with plated barding covering their vital areas and weapons strapped to their sides. Their faces seemed to be perpetually locked in scowls, as if they were challenging the universe to stand against them. Gone was the warm comradery that once existed between the denizens of Equestria. Gone was the inherent spread of cheer and good will. It was if the magic of friendship did not exist at all; ponies coexisting on the ship but rarely acknowledging each other, and when they did they were unduly nasty in the encounters.
"I don't like it one bit."
Then it occurred to him that he -in his protective suit- fit right in. It did not help that he was armed as well, with his hover-platform rifles and energy blade. Tsubar had his laser weaponry integrated directly into his Arcane-Manipulators. In truth, while he was opposed to the power weaponry instilled in the average person, Tsubar and himself were no different than the great many that walked across the city's deck.
This in turn brought about an odd feeling in Phineas as he kept pace with Tsubar. It was a sinking feeling that accompanied the inward confession that he was an unintentional hypocrite -as if one could ever strive to contradict their self.
"I really, really don't like it one bit."
Some time passed where Tsubar seemed to be leading the silver stallion blindly without any actual destination, leaving Phineas to glance around at his shiny surroundings as he tread behind the Seapony. The walls of the ship still had their luster, shining in the bright clearness of the lights which offered ample illumination across the city. In spite of its great age and the caliber of its occupants, the ship stirred up the stallion's memories. For all intents and purposes, he was walking down the halls of a Federation ship, granted one many times larger and more advanced than any ship he knew of. With accomplishments such as this craft to claim, Phineas felt now more than ever that Equestria had been cut down in its prime.
"Aah, our pilgrimage will soon be at an end, Phineas!" Tsubar said to him finally after the prolonged silence between the two. Up until then, all Phineas heard was the muttering of nearby ponies and the frequent heated argument.
"You didn't say anything about any pilgrimage," Phineas replied.
"It's a figure of speech. There is hardly anything noble or exalted about the place I'm headed to," said the Seapony.
"There's hardly anything noble or exalted about this place in general, Tsubar."
"This is true. Puts it in context, doesn't it?" Tsubar responded with a dry chuckle.
"Puts what in context?" Phineas queried.
"You'll see."
"I'd rather be told," Phineas retorted, somewhat annoyed. He really was not in the mood for the Shu'badi's own foolishness.
"You'll only make dealing with all of this harder on yourself with that attitude. Lighten up and try to keep your head held high," Tsubar advised, "you'll only depress yourself if you take things for what they are."
Phineas growled irritably, but accepted this piece of wisdom. "Fine. I'll wait for your surprise, whatever it may be," he said.
"I don't think you'll be disappointed."
***
"By Celestia's mane, you have got to be kidding me," Phineas said flatly, staring at the entrance with a thousand things running through his mind. This place was indeed far less than noble and certainly no where near worthy of being revered in any way, shape or form. This was no place to make any sort of journey to!
"Is that how you react to entertainment? I think you've been staring at holograms for far too long, Phineas," Tsubar joked.
"I don't think I consider bars as... entertainment. There was once a time when they were a refuge for the likes of ponies like me... you can say I've developed a bit of an aversion to them since then."
Tsubar waved one of his graspers. "Eh, suit yourself. You can follow me in or wait for me outside and hope that you don't get shot at by some jackass who's in a bad mood. Choice is yours."
"It's not much of a choice," Phineas deadpanned.
"Indeed. So stop griping and follow me inside, a few drinks would do you good; I think."
Phineas sighed. "Fine. But as soon as my suit gives me a warning that something in there - be it the drinks or something else - is going to kill me, we're leaving. Deal?"
Tsubar tapped a claw to his chin in an exaggerated gesture of thought. "Eh, deal. Can't have the newest member of the crew dying; Romaz would never let me hear the end of it."
"Good to know you care," Phineas replied flatly.
Without another word, Tsubar floated up to the entrance of the tavern, the door's central piece turning clockwise, the ring around it turning the opposite direction and the whole thing dropping away before him. Tsubar floated into the pub with Phineas begrudgingly following suit. The stallion shot one last look at the holographic sign outside.
"Eztraal's Starblazer" flickered beside the doorway as a green hologram A subtitle in a deceptively elegant script read: "A place with a view!" A variety of scantily clad dancers were projected in miniature beneath the large and stylized font.
"It's one of those places. Some things truly transcend the test of time..."
To Phineas, his cynicism was well founded. The tavern was a very large chamber with many tables and counters located immediately after walking through the door, most of them occupied already. Large groups crowded the tavern, standing around the dimly lit room and conversing; music pulsating and throbbing in the air with flashes of light from glass fixtures where electricity danced wildly. The bar was further in, to the far left of the silver stallion. It was stocked with all kinds of strange beverages on cold metal shelves... some of which seemed to be glowing.
... And of course, there were the dancers the hologram promised on a stage dead in the middle of the tavern, mares and a few aliens that Phineas thought were female but dared not assume anything. A bunch of drunken equines -a few of them female- barked and hooted at the base of the stage while the dancers moved their bodies to entice their ravenous behavior. Phineas inwardly grimaced at the memories the sight brought up.
He did his best to zone it out as he he navigated his way to the bar, walking a meandering path through the arrangement of tables and avoiding the large groups that broke out into drunken laughter occasionally. He met up with Tsubar at the bar counter just as the Shu'badi was leaving it, all four of his graspers holding strangely shaped bottles of even stranger beverages.
"So do you normally drink this much, or...?" Phineas trailed off.
"Naaaaah... one of these is for you!" the mechanic countered.
"How... considerate of you."
Tsubar chuckled. "Well you know me-"
"Barely," Phineas interjected, but was ignored.
"- Kindness and generosity define me!"
"... Barely." Phineas stated again. The Seapony offered to help him come to terms with what Equestria had become, so he was dragged off to some lowly bar where the worst of people was usually laid to bare? How was that kind or generous?
"Wow you're a killjoy. I know how to fix that!" Tsubar replied, then sped off with his drinks held high. The glowing brews he held were a beacon for the stallion to follow, and follow he did.
"Like I'm some lost puppy," he thought bitterly, his mood souring further when he realized the figure of speech was far more accurate than he'd have liked it to be.
He met up with Tsubar in one of many rows of booths that lined the far side of the tavern. The seats were blue and black like the lunar princess. Her cutie mark was a decoration on the table itself. He was repulsed to find an association with the princess in a place like this. He was infuriated when he took notice of the moaning and grunting coming from other booths. His anger simmered underneath the plating of his suit.
Even when "sitting", the Seapony continued to bob up and down weightlessly. His mouthpiece retracted, allowing him to indulge in his drinking pleasure. Phineas laid across the booth in front of him, the silver glaring at the wall on the other side of the pub; expression hidden by his helmet.
Tsubar only stopped drinking when he felt it imperative to address the issue. "Oh, get over yourself!" he said to Phineas. "You act as if this never happened during your time, and considering this is par the course for most pubs across the galaxy, I'm going to have to disagree with that!"
"There is a reason why I have an aversion to places like this," Phineas replied, trying his utmost to stay leveled. "I don't like them and I am in one. It is only natural that I am going to have a problem, so I'm just going to sit here quietly until you've finished your business; then we go somewhere that I don't feel so... uncomfortable."
"Well you haven't even touched your drink! How are you going to have a good time if-?"
"I would rather not get drunk in order to enjoy myself, thank you very much. I have put those days far behind me."
"... Ah ha. You've got yourself some issues!" Tsubar replied. Phineas saw that he had a strangely broad smile on his face. If he wanted to shove his hoof into the Seapony's face before, then he wanted to utterly clobber him now for patronizing him.
Before he could indulge the thought however, Tsubar's smile disappeared completely. "Aw damn, they found me," he said flatly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Phineas asked curtly.
"It's a story of the Megula-2 fringe world and a skilled young mechanic's bright idea of using magi-tech to rig a game of chance," Tsubar began to explain.
"You're like... centuries old," Phineas mumbled.
"Young by Shu'badi standards you jackass, but long story short: bunch of scary bastards got pissed and they have been trying to get me ever since. And now they found me."
"Because you're... I don't know... back in the same kind of shady place where your problems must've started?" Phineas asked sarcastically.
"Partly. Chances are they've been tailing us ever since we got off the Desolus and were just waiting for us - me - to get into a place where the law o' 'who has the bigger gun' is in full effect," Tsubar responded. His mouth piece slid back into place and he hadn't finished his drink. It was as if he were telling his pursuers "I know what's about to happen."
Phineas gritted his teeth. Just perfect! He was just at the end of his patience when the two newcomers appeared at the booth; two bat-winged pegasi. They wore blue and white plating with the crimson insignia of splayed gryphon claws emblazoned on their shoulders. They wore similar headsets to the ship-city's guards and they didn't waste time with small talk. They bucked their hind legs and from cases on their flanks, the barrels of two light energy rifles extended.
Tsubar's own guns were also trained on both his would-be killers, his four tentacles arcing around the booth to keep them locked down. "Hello girls," he said with mocking politeness. "I'm afraid you've come at a most inopportune time!" Then in a sudden shift of tone he added: "Do anything that isn't involved in turning around and getting the fuck out of here and I turn you both into slag."
The one nearest Phineas swiftly turned her guns towards him. She smiled wickedly, exposing abnormally large fangs, her yellow eyes staring maliciously at the stallion clad in plating. "Reconsider your offer, fish bait. Unless you want your friend here to get a magi-bolt through the head."
"Wha-" was all Tsubar had time to say before his arms flopped onto the table and floor, himself ceasing to float after the other stamped some kind of inhibitor onto him. It looked like a parasite, it sticking to the Shu'badi's suit with a rubbery application that looked like a suction cup and a elongated metal capsule that stabbed into Tsubar's attire with many tiny mechanical claws.
Phineas snapped then and there. He sprung up from his seat, twisting through the air and coming down onto the table with a loud thud; the bottles on it jumping up and clattering noisily and messily on the floor; his hover-platform rifles deployed, one trained on either pony.
"I'd recommend you listen to him. Do anything less than savory and I'll send a magi-bolt through both your heads," he snarled.
A single glance between them was all Phineas had as an indicator of what was going to happen next... and it was something he expected. One of them aimed their guns to fire while the other lunged at him with another inhibitor in their mouth. Acting on a razor's edge, Phineas fired once, both rifles going off with a bright flash of blue and white light and a short squealing noise.
Both ponies slumped over and fell. Phineas was breathing hard, staring at the bodies for quite some time afterwards. He was expecting an uproar. He was expecting to be arrested and punished. But no one even gave the booth a passing glance. It was madness for him. It was Tsubar who ungraciously brought him back to reality.
"Oi, you think you can get this thing off of me?"
Phineas' gaze snapped to Tsubar and the stallion gave him a sharp look underneath his helmet, but relented. He hopped off the table and with careful aiming of his gun, shot the inhibitor right off of Tsubar's suit. The Seapony flexed his arms experimentally then resumed floating when he was assured they worked correctly.
"Thanks for the-" was all Tsubar managed to say before Phineas' hoof collided forcefully with his face, sending him spinning end over end while he hovered in place.
"We're going back to the ship. I've seen enough of this place," he growled.