Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, there was a small factory building. On city maps, it was listed as abandoned, but it was hidden in a small curvy alley, and nopony seemed to care if it wasn't. Inside, there were five rooms, a hall with three side chambers on the first floor and computer room on the second floor, the stairway to it hidden inside a locked shelf. It also had a basement, filled with various equipment, also locked away. Moreover, all windows were obscured by thick black blankets. Rooms on the first floor were decorated like common pony apartments. The computer room was lit by magic light balls hanging from wooden framework on the ceiling. It had a long table in the center with terminals on it, and a big machine standing near the stairway.
One pony was busy working here at night, looking at the data. She was dark purple. And currently, she was nervous. She walked away from the screen and approached the intercom device.
"Eleven, please come. I seem to have triggered something."
A white stallion with short white mane and big black marks on sides saying "11" went up the stairs.
"Good morning again. What is it, Candle?"
"I've found southern transmitter's address. But I seem to have caused a security alarm. It looks like after our previous intrusions, they seem to have isolated their real passwords away from this network. I wonder what Luna would do with this."
"Candle, it's the fifth time this week. Please, stop already! You'll reveal our base at this rate."
"I don't know what else I could do for Luna. We couldn't just infiltrate those transmitters to discover the code."
"We'll free Luna eventually. But now, we should lay low. We have already two out of six Full Solar code components."
"Luna wouldn't approve. We should have reached the simulation before Full Solar was implemented. Can't give up."
"What you say if we have to keep you away from the terminals?"
"If you buy a case and erase my memory... or better send me to recyclers. If Celestia's maneframe will get full control, then Luna won't be able to ever return. And she m-"
Intercom beeped.
Agent Eleven answered. "Agent Skylight?"
"I'm here! Mission failed. A security bot caught Fiber."
Eleven was angry. "Then why you come here? You think we praise you after... brought doom to project? One chance. Go away, we'll forgive you. We're leaving anyway."
"Yeah", - Skylight slowly answered, "find me later. I just don't know what you'll do without me, a single bot here who ever thinks of anything other than work. Farewell ...friends."
Candle went to turn off the computer, now very uneasy.
"It had to happen someday," - Eleven said.
"Just to escape now... And we might start again. Conquer something smaller, a town maybe." - Candle said, packing batteries, - "or a house."
"To Ponyville, then".
Intercom beeped.
"What?" - Eleven, shocked, pressed a button.
"Gotcha," - the sound came.
"No!!" - Eleven fell to the floor. Candle was rolling eyes, seeking for things that could make for escape. Windows were shut too securely, ...no. Royal guards were already here. Behind them, Celestia followed.
"Hello, you... Queen" - Candle said.
Celestia waited until guards captured them both, then spoke. "Good morning, agent Candle. I came here just to ask, would you surrender?"
"I, will, Not!" - Eleven said.
"I will not either." - Candle responded decisively. "Thank you for offer." - she added, returning Celestia's tone.
"Don't worry, my little pony. I know you're loyal to Luna, and I respect that. I shall make visits to you sometimes too, to check you're safe. On the Moon." - Celestia made a gesture to guards and turned to examine the walls, with unreadable expression. Guards brought ponies outside.
Then, Candle was in the dark box, in the vehicle that was going towards the palace. The Moon was nothing but a special maneframe in the palace, one of the series, including also Dungeons and Tartarus, that contained information about dangerous ponies, and allowed their minds to function in artificial environments while their periods of banishments last. Suppressing her sense of failure, she was hopeful to meet Luna. Eventually, palace interrogators removed the seal on her box, and turned her hardware off.
Then, she woke up feeling a cold surface. She stood up, and saw a dark blue pegasus with light blue mane, Skylight, who seemed not very nervous, and Eleven still on... the snow. Their environment was ice, covered with snow, and some areas of water. In the distance, there were high and steep mountains made of ice. Under them, there were some trees made of ice. Closer to them, there was a frozen windmill, a merry-go-round with multicolored ponies standing on it, attached to it. There was a medium ice log house without a roof, with some lit windows. There was also a big statue of a soccer ball nearby. To the left, there seemed to be a village with half of houses made of ice logs, others made of ice bricks. In front of them, a tall wooden shelf was standing on ice, and, protected by it from the cold wind, stood a brown-red armchair, a big pony was sitting in it, wearing a fur coat and a tin helmet possibly made of bucket, and the pony was Luna. She was staring at the wooden table standing in front of the armchair, with a tin can, and a big red cup on it with a frozen liquid in it.
"Luna," - Candle whispered, worried.
Luna looked at her and said nothing.
She went towards the table.
Luna looked at her again and said: "Take clothes from that shelf. You'll freeze. Get the others warm, too."
"Thanks?" - Candle whispered.
"If you're here, that means that... doesn't matter. That we're here."
Candle looked to the night sky, that had magenta stars on dark blue.
Luna stood up to help Candle with the shelf. "Polar night. Eternal. Doesn't matter. Ever since I made Celestia angry with the Poison Hoax, she denied me place in that world. And here isn't too bad either. Just see for yourself. A tribe of villagers calling themselves NPC, who worship this thing called Coffee despite they can't use it, and savage snowponies running about. Welcome to my kingdom of the night. You could come here long ago. Thank you for not giving up."
"I'm sorry I failed," - tried Candle.
She paused, looking to the sky again after giving ponies scarves and warm things like that. "Don't think about that anymore. You didn't fail. You'll know when you'll meet the snowponies. Let's go inside. Inside isn't warm either. I modified there a coffee machine to provide electricity and heat to warm up."
Inside, they met a pony.
"Meet my friend Fence. She's an NPC. She saved me when I first came here." - Luna said.
"...Hello," - she said.
"Hello," - Candle said, surprised by her different look. "You're not... what we are?"
"They aren't what your ponies are. They don't need energy in any form. They don't feel cold. The only things they're afraid of here are getting lost and getting shot by snowponies' snowballs. Fence was one of village guardians who patrolled the area against them."
Fence spoke. "Actually, they aren't all bad. The village had snowpony allies in history. But most of them like to beat or kidnap our ponies."
Then, something happened. A big ice ball with snow inside flew and shattered inside the room.
"...And use their catapults. Everypony, prepare for defense."