//------------------------------// // Mistress Mare-velous and Humdrum issue 40/The Fantastic Filli-Second issue 28: Deadly Mists! // Story: The Power of Ponies // by Masterweaver //------------------------------// "Gruffington," Mare-velous snorted as she stepped off the train. "Remember the last time we were here, Humdrum?" "How could I ever forget?" The young dragon glowered at the city around him. "At least Vanglorium isn't here this time.(1) I'm looking forward to a nice, calm look through the library shelves. Maybe sitting down for a meal." "Yeah, after all that's happened I think we deserve a bit of a rest." Mare-velous rolled her shoulders. "How about we find a restaurant and ask one of the locals for directions?" Humdrum grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me." The two of them trotted down the street. But unbeknownst to them, a sinister plot was already in progress... Weak. The stallion passed over the unconscious unicorn mare, his coarse cape brushing her cheek as he opened the stairwell door and stalked up to the roof. All weak. Sunlight reflected off the thick black lenses of his bone white mask as he emerged into the day. Must be purged. He slung the thick rocket off his back, planting it firmly in front of him and running the blackened claws of his gloves over the small compartments strapped onto it. Only the strong remain. With a final nod of satisfaction, the stallion pulled out a match and lit the fuse. He turned and headed back down the stairs, not reacting to the sound of the explosion at all. He did not glance out the window as he passed it; he knew that the spinning disks were already spreading their twisting greenish fog as they spun out and down to the earth. He considered the unconscious mare for a moment, when he came back to her prone form. Then he stalked on. She would be dead soon enough. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Gruffington... "We're going to have to remember this place," Humdrum said with a smirk, biting into his gem sandwich. Mare-velous glanced around. "Actually, I think I do remember this place. This is the building that Vanglorium was threatening right before you threw that rock at his head." "...oh yeah! Wow, what are the odds?" "It's not as odd as you expect," a passing waitress said with a smile. "We were so grateful for how you saved us... well, we did some research and added a few things to the menu in case you came back." Humdrum grinned back, inclining his head. "All part of the job, ma'am." Mare-velous smiled and rolled her eyes. Flirt... "Actually, ma'am, we were hoping to find a library around here. Do you know of any around?" "Well... the public library is always open, of course, but if you can't find what you need there you might want to consult Professor Digit. He's a little bit kooky, but the man is a genius. Heck, while you were busy fighting Vanglorium, he and his daughter worked together to get the citizens of Gruffington out of harm's way!(2)" The heroine winced. "Wow. I should have thought of that." "Don't worry, they understood what you were doing--" A white disk suddenly smashed through the window of the restaurant, greenish mist spewing out as it skidded across the ground. "EVERYPONY DOWN NOW!" Mare-velous tackled the waitress to the ground, psychically directing her lasso around the disk and flinging it back out the window. Please don't be a bomb please don't be a bomb... Humdrum was already pulling the tablecloth off and throwing it over the gas that had managed to escape before she threw it out. "What is this stuff?!" the waitress cried, staring in horror at the faint trail of green. "Whatever it is, it's dissipating rapidly." Mistress Mare-velous let out a relieved breath, slowly standing. No explosion. Yet. She grabbed another tablecloth. "Could you head to the back room and get some duct tape? We need to cover the hole in the window. Humdrum--" The dragon tossed her a black object with an elastic band. "...always a step ahead." She grinned, donning the muzzle-covering gas mask. "I'm going to go out and see what the situation is." Thank the spirits that I took those ventriloquist lessons back in the circus. "I'll be back when I've figured out what the hay is going on." As Mistress Mare-velous stepped out, it became clear that the incident was not at all isolated. She could see various disks ricocheting down off the walls of Gruffington's buildings, the twisting mist slowly enveloping everything in a sickly green fog. Her eyes narrowed as she tracked the path of one of the highest disks. It came from around the center of the city... where the skyscrapers are. If only I knew what this gas was... She glanced back at the restaurant. "Excuse me, miss! Do you think that professor you mentioned would know what this stuff is?" "If he doesn't, his daughter will!" The waitress ran behind the counter, pulling something out and pressing it. "She gave us this after we were mugged by the Blue Coven(3), it'll call her right here!" "I'm not sure I can wait that long!" "Well then," piped up a new voice, "it is quite fortuitous that I have arrived already!" Mistress Mare-velous snapped her gaze around, blinking in astonishment. The entity before her almost looked like a filly in a skin-tight white suit... only the suit was apparently completely empty. Purple lines zigged and zagged in and around the material, and constant bolts of similarly colored electrical power collected into a chaotic simulcram of mane and tail. Strangest of all, though, was the face, a wireframe of glimmering energy that smiled up at her with big, eager eye outlines. ....what. "You're... the professor's... daughter." "Affirmative! Well, to be precise, that is the term we acknowledge as most accurate." The electrical face flickered into a frown. "Father is responsible for the construction of my core computer system, at any rate. My appropriation is Functional Intelligence for Logical Logkeeper Interface 2.0, but it is much more efficient to refer to me as Filli-Second." "I'll remember that..." Mare-velous managed, before shaking her head. "But first thing's first. Do you know what this stuff is?" "I will require a sample for analysis, but the attack is consistent with the patterns of Horse Cough." Filli-Second's mane flared for a moment, burning away some of the green mist. "In all probability this is an aerosolized bacterium or virus that he engineered with the intent of culling unacceptable deviants from a prescribed norm." "I take it this isn't the first time he's tried this." "Records state this is the ninth such occurrence." The wireframe face flickered into a worried expression. "However, none of the previous incidents covered as large a territory." The earth pony nodded. "Right. We need to get rid of this mist, then, and fast. Your... electric mane thing, it just burned it away. How big can you make that?" "That effect is localized to within one hundred thirty centimeters, with effectiveness decreasing as speed increases." Without warning, Filli-second's face shifted into a jumble of symbols before reforming into a lip-biting frown. "Even at optimal speeds I would not be able to purge the city for two hours. It might be possible to generate a mass electrolysis but I would require grounding points--" Mistress Mare-velous pulled out her hooferangs. "Would these do?" Filli-Second stared at them for a moment. "...thaumatically attuned horseshoes with earthbound and lifeseek runes carved into the surface?" "...I just call 'em hooferangs." "Hmmm. Yes. Yes, if I induce conductivity within the metal and form a magic power feedback matrix over the city the runic patterns could be channeled into the air and force the infection underground!" The filly-like entity hopped up and down with a bright smile. "This could work! May I have your permission to utilize--?" "You don't even need to ask, Filli." The older heroine hoofed them over. "Bring 'em back when you're--" One second she was there, and the next there was only a fading line of light. "...done. Huh."