//------------------------------// // Chapter 3.15 - Building A Better World // Story: Fallout Equestria : Black And White // by Philweasel //------------------------------// It is day 82, almost half a year since the bombs fell. I am writing this to you now to give you an idea of what has happened since that day, since to you it has only been a single night since you were evacuated here. You will find we have made great strides on our research, that every day we inch closer to retake this country from Equestria. Make sure you read your notes early. I left them until I got to work and ended up near constantly distracted by other things. In the evening you should catch up with Philidous's revenge. I won't spoil it for you but the second chapter has a truly excellent conclusion. But really, this is your day to live. I'm told a version of us on the forty first day worked all through the night, ended cursing against the clock as the day reset. If you're feeling like going all out... well your body will still wake up in the morning exactly the same as today. Because it will be today as will every day until we are finally ready for what is to come. ...and I guess I should share the... other news. I broke up with Jessa. We both know why, though maybe you'll need to think about it for a little. I'll spare the gory details, but when I read through the logs, though about what I really wanted from this day... well maybe I hadn't realized it before but our relationship was only driving me down. At the end of the day you're just a tech assistant and she's a senior administrator, and maybe workplace dating across such a large gap was never a good idea. I know it's a shock, but by the end of the day... I realized it was for the best. And that cute systems admin that you've had your eye on for a while? Turns out she's single, so give it a try. Anyway, I've left the rest of the boring stuff below. Have a good day, and don't forget to write up a log for the next you! Chao! ¬ Adisa stared at the screen for quite some time, trying to work out exactly how he felt about all this. It certainly wasn't something he was very good at, eventually giving up and stepping away to busy himself with his daily tasks. He carefully stepped over a couple of piles of books, shifting aside a pile of shirts and snatching up his key card in his teeth, once again feeling a pang of jealousy over his... modestly sized quarters. With all the staff forced to move on site he had been forced to move to a smaller room to make way for some supervisor, as a result most of the available floor space was now used as storage. Though frankly it hadn't been much better in his old room. ...Jessa's room had been huge. That only drove home how far apart their worlds were he supposed. He sighed as he felt the sense of loss slowly fade, replaced with acceptance. He was good with acceptance, despiting knowing it wasn't a particular masculine emotion. And he accepted that maybe cutting Jessa loose was the best decision in the long run. Hell, he had never expected it to last a week, and though they had managed it somehow... ...half a year huh? Half a year since the end of the world. Maybe some flirtation with some non-threatening tech monkey might have been ok in time of prosperity and loose consequences, but she needed to get serious now. Spend time with some zebra as smart as her. He suited up in his maintance uniform, grabbed his tool bag and set off. ¬ "Good morning Adisa, I trust you have the maintenance reports?" Adisa nodded as he stepped into the hanger bay, currently housing a dozen Anansi Area Denial Bots all hanging from their gantries. Said maintenance report was currently resting in his hooves, listing unit thirteen as housing a stiff motivator and unit twenty as having a calibration error in it's energy blaster. Though it denied him the chance to tinker, he had to admit that already knowing exactly what would happen today (unit's Thirteen's coolant tank is a little leaky, he had to be careful not to get it on his shirt) saved a lot of time, "How are things on your end General? What's it like out there?" "Grim." The aging, heavyset zebra at the end of the bay reported with a frown. He sighed as he walked through the ranks of his robots, inspecting them with a heavy sense of regret in his face, "As far as we can tell, we might be the last above ground." Adisa knew it wouldn't be good. Still, he hadn't believed Equestria truly capable of doing it on such a large scale, "Really?" "Radiation out there is almost instantly fatal, from Garm to Karabivore the country has been pretty much wiped clean." The old man grunted, eyes narrowing, "The only things we've detected moving out there are Equestrian scouts in shielded power armor." Adisa lowered his eyes, feeling the guilt and grief flow through him. He had known it, Zenospira had warned them... but for it to finally happen, drive home his worst fears... "We failed." "We're still here son." The General intoned with grim determination, his whiskers drawing upwards with stern resolve, "And by the fire, my spiders will see Equestrian blood yet." Adisa gave a kind nod before setting to work, not feeling any better. After all, killing every pony in the world wouldn't bring back the countless billions Equestria had just wiped clean from the planet. The countless billions they couldn't save. ¬ With his knowledge of what exactly he needed to fix and how to do it, his assigned tasks went by quickly, allowing him to get down to the canteen early and go over some of the new advances they had developed in the past few months. Though still just a maintenance worker he had been assigned to tech support at the labs recently, and had certainly enjoyed getting to see the new technology with his own eyes. They had even started to include him in their debates and let him help with experiments, something Adisa truly appreciated considering he had never seen the inside of a university. And now he found himself feeling depressed again, remembering that day, not two months back if you discounted the time loop. A few casual comments and observations of his had managed to kickstart a massive breakthrough with a major project, leaving him on top of the world and almost dancing as he had left the lab. It was certainly enough to give him the confidence to intervene as he saw a pretty lady having trouble with her hoof computer, quickly moving to impress by identifying the problem and fixing it for her. And being a douche he had just started on the well worn story of how it was really just a shameless rip off of the pipbuck that shared all of it's design flaws along with many of it's own... when she had calmly, politely and with the barest hint of a smile told him that she had invented it. He still remembered her laugh as he had backed off, desperately apologizing. She had been in a suit, wearing the most strict and intimating pair of glasses, yet there she was, laughing like a little girl. She had invited him to lunch so they could discuss ideas... It had always been ludicrous. He was a street cleaners son, who had trained by taking apart old washing machines. He might have been good with a wrench, but he was still of lower stock than most of the common soldiers. And here she was, the scion of a great house, with emblem and everything. Her ancestors had worn crowns. And herself? Fresh from the most respected schools in the world, with the kind of grades that most considered theoretical. Though she overcomplicated her designs. The science was awe inspiring, but she always included too many points where the whole process could bottleneck or fail... "Adisa?" He looked up, eyes bulging as he saw her standing in front of him, "Gagh!" She gave a very soft smile, raising an eyebrow, "You never change." "I..." He averted his eyes, trying not to blush. He was such a doof, "You... um... I wanted... I'm sorry." "I am too." She sighed and looked away, studying the cheery (and extremely cheesy) motivational posters that covered the far wall. She looked back at him, not angry or sad, but... disappointed? "You have so much potential Adisa. Please, just promise me you won't ever settle for second best." He looked away. Everything really was second best when you compared it to her, "Jessa, I'm... I'm like forth best, or fifth best. Isn't it a little presumptuous of me to want more?" She smiled, that wicked little look she had in her eye when something challenged her, "We're the dreamers of the Zebra Academy of Science, fighting a war against Twilight Sparkle and Equestria. Presumption is our business." "Heh, I guess that's true..." He grinned, remembering why he had fallen for her in the first place, "So I'm like a metaphor for the whole zebra race now?" She gave a smart little smile, "What would that make me?" He sighed, looking her square on. Damn she was gorgeous, a living cliche that you never thought would really exist. Perfectly proportioned with a lively and expressive yet dignified face, her sharp jaw and long muzzle bringing to mind princesses of glorious dynasties. And smart, smart enough to be a senior administrator and nationally famous scientist just into her thirties. The metaphor was apt, "The technological, geographical, politically and militarily inassessable might of Equestria." He sighed, "We're losing the war Jessa." She smiled warmly back at him, just looking at him with those beautiful eyes for several seconds before leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "We've not lost yet." And then she was gone, turning and sweeping away with the practiced dignity of a thousand years of breeding. Damn... he had really screwed up this one. ¬ As had become normal he spent the second half of his day running tech support for the labs, today apparently he had been scheduled for the hostile research lab. It was one he was familiar with and certainly enjoyed working in, fond memories of seeing cool Equestrian tech in action... before seeing it blown up by even cooler zebra tech. The Anansi Bots had first been tested here, Adisa there to share in the thrill as it skittered from cover to cover before shattering it's targets apart with pinpoint shots of it's machine gun and energy cannon. Considering how much of his time since was spent maintaining the Academy's unit of them he couldn't help but feel a parental affection, the machines always looking so eager to please. "Right, we have a live field test people. I want strict containment." Supervisor Impovs declared sternly as he stood at the center of the observation room, eyes swiveling round to glare at each of the stations, "This is a live target, I repeat, a live target. We caught him carrying out a well planned assault on non-combatants guarded by a whole unit of ZIA soldiers, so this is a well trained Equestria operative with no care for civilian casualties." The chief researcher in charge, Doctor Ibas nodded gratefully, "Thank you Supervisor. This is the thirty seventh live combat test of the Olorun Combat Aperture, and the first of the version 10 model. This model has greater mobility at the cost of side armor, and it's legs are designed for fast elevation and descent. Today our Equestrian test subject will be armed with a Defender heavy shotgun with AP rounds and a Spitfire class anti armor rifle. He was offered, but declined, a suit of power armor." "Smart guy." A technician commented beside him, Adisa nodding in agreement. Against anything bigger than small arms power armor was a liability. The Equestrians were always complaining about zebra use of gas weapons, despite only ever being used on the battlefield and barely having killed a single pony in years. It did however force them into those big, obvious, bullet magnets where they were easy prey for snipers. "Deploying the opponent now." Another technician stated behind, Adisa looking up with interest at the monitor. He was surprised when the pony emerged from the transit lift, no trim, powerful special ops type but a old, heavy scarred brute, with a face that had been broken and repaired a dozen times and fur that spoke of long decades in the sun. The pony instantly bolted into action with more speed than he had expected, carefully huddling in some ruins that had been set out on the test course. Adisa figured that was the signal to begin, "Deploying test subject." The lift on the other side rattled upwards, the smooth carapace of the Olorun rising from the garage below. It looked considerably different to when Adisa had last seen it, then an intimidating, crude and solid looking thing. It had benefited greatly from all those recycled days of development, sleek, smaller, it's form moving slightly to achieve balance as the lift shuddered. It was vaguely insectoid in appearance, with six curving legs and a long tapering body, a bump on the center of it's back where the sensors were located. Protecting it were three 'arms', two on either side at the front, and one rising from the back. All included both a small claw for grabbing, along with a shielded underside, high caliber guns, and magical energy weapons with modular settings. The old versions he was used to had cut apart Equestrian forces in the few battles they had participated in, despite their power supply and maintenance issues. This thing looked like it could take a whole unit on it's own, "Test begins." The Olorun turned, scanning the area for a moment before locating the building the pony was hiding behind. A stream of weapons fire soon followed, the pony darting out and unleashing fire upon it's right claw. The Olorun quickly drew the weapons mounted on it upwards, exposing only it's armored underside. It cleared the line of sight for the left arm to draw a bead on him, swiveling rapidly to track. A precise blast of energy took the leg out from under the pony and sent him sprawling. He did well despite the injury, rolling into a set of stone ruins and away from any lines of fire. Adisa watched as he tried to patch up his leg, ignoring the pain as he bound the wound. It was for nothing however. The Olorun pivoted it's 'tail', sighted up and unleashed a soft, intensifying blue light that washed over the ruins... they exploded with a roar, masonry raining down around the test arena. "Matter disruptor cannon is measuring a 10 percent increase in effectiveness against stone buildings." The technician beside him announced. "Good." Doctor Ibas commented, narrowing his eyes at the window looking down upon the arena, "Is the test subject still alive?" They quickly had their answer, a bullet tearing through the dust cloud and striking the tail dead on. Sparks flew and the servos sent it twitching, forearms quickly moving to fire upon the source of the shot. The pony was already moving however. Adisa watched as he burst out of the smoke, heading straight for the Olorun, "Target on the move! He's heading under the machine!" "Ha." Doctor Ibas snorted, "We'll see how well the servos on the legs work." The pony darted under the machine, firing upwards with his shotgun. The Olorun predictably slammed itself downwards, the pony however was already rolling outwards. He paused and leapt atop the now prone Olorun, skidding across the smooth surface and over to the sensor hump. "No!" Doctor Ibas shouted, slamming his hoof down, "Lieutenant Dartius, I will have you replaced if you get the machine damaged!" It was only a brief moment however. The pony had fired two shots which had only just stripped away the armor on the hump when the Olorun lurched upwards, throwing the pony to one side. The Olorun scooted over on it's massive legs and sent one slamming down to catch the pony mid fall, crushing him against the ground before hurling him across the arena. He slammed into the wall and toppled downwards, the Olorun sighting up... one blast and it was all over, nothing left of the target but a small pile of dust. "Congratulations Doctor." Supervisor Impovs commented, breaking the silence, "A most impressive performance." Adisa heard the sighs of relief from around the room. Doctor Ibas sounded surprised, "But the test subject did so much more damage than before..." "This test subject is of a skill level far outperforming the previous examples." Supervisor Impovs commented, stroking his chin with a hoof, "I will recommend he is stored for future combat tests, it is about time we put our weapons up against Equestria's best. Good work everyone, please submit your reports as standard within the next two hours." ¬ It didn't take long for his work to finish after that, as the day would reset repairing the Olorun and cleaning the arena was pointless. He did help perform a analysis of the exact battle damage done, rather impressed to see that despite the relative thinness of it's armor it had stood up to more abuse than the version he was familiar with. It's shape helped with that he saw, enclosed in a single pressurized shell rather than individual sections of armor. It really was very impressive... "You helped design it you know?" One of the scientists pointed out at his observation, giving him a grin, "It's more expensive, but it really improved the weight and powerload issues." "Really?" The scientist nodded, "I wish more of the guys had your eye for efficiency, rather than simply bolting more tech to it." After that it was fair to say he was feeling pretty happy with himself, spending the next two hours just helping out around the lab and trying his best to not look too smug. Eventually he stopped by Dr Zoave's desk, the zebra as normal checking out a piece of Equestrian cybernetics. So far, so average... but this wasn't average. Adisa's eyes widened as he looked across the screen, then back at the cybernetic implant on the table, "Is this for real?" "Apparently so." Zoave answered with a grin, "This is the most advanced piece of cybernetics work I've ever seen, easily." "Wow..." Adisa looked at the connections, tiny little threads of nerve endings connected up to what appeared to be... some kind of stimulator? And the computer inside, it looked like some sort of solid state system... it was a work of art, and he found himself supremely jealous, "This could revolutionize treatment for any number of disorders! Stroke, spinal cord damage..." "And I've just got to figure out how it works." Zoave sighed, wearily tapping keys, "The pony this was attached to is a marvel in herself, apparently some sort of attempt to create a new super-solider capable of surviving the wasteland outside. She's been bonded with plant material on a deep, genetic level, enhancing her earth pony abilities. At the same time her Osselar glands are extremely overdeveloped, allowing her to manifest those abilities to a far greater extent than should be possible without a horn, and she even has some similarities with pegasus anatomy." "So, kinda like an alicorn?" "A rather crude one, yes, and something that makes our work even more imperative than ever." Zoave gave him a serious look, waving at the monitor, "If Equestria unleashed a hoard of these upon the wasteland they could conquer it in short order. Physically durable, immune to radiation and necromantic magic, capable of using zebra, earth pony and pegasus magic... it's an absolute marvel, and puts our genetic modifications to shame." Adisa looked across the data, having to admit a little jealousy, "I've no idea how they've managed to bond that plant material so completely into her nervous system." "Ah, give me a few days and I'll have an whole army of plant zebra." Zoave stated with a grin, giving an long sigh and turning back to his console, "So I suppose I better get on with it..." Adisa leaned down,studying the data with interest. As always he couldn't help but be disturbed by just what the ponies were capable of. Because these mutations... they were crude, unnatural things, experimental and untested research loaded into her body without thought to the consequences, "Her lower intestines have been removed, along with her reproductive systems." "Yeah." Zoave sighed, tapping the screen, "Heavy scarring to the cerebellum as well, looks like the mutations she was exposed too overloaded her brain. Nasty stuff, should have killed her really." He couldn't help but feel sickened. He wasn't a flag waving patriot, he didn't hate ponies... but this stuff just proved why they needed to keep fighting. ¬ It was a hour later when his next task came up, this one worryingly unexpected. Given the time loop unexpected was generally a bad thing, and it worried more after coming just ten minutes after the sixth floor was evacuated for 'decontamination'. It was also a job which required a full environmental suit and tools for fixing a gas administration system, which meant one of their security chiefs must have been hurt. That never meant anything good. In the end he decided against full suit, instead just taking breathing apparatus and protective mask from the preparation area lockers. He instantly felt rather claustrophobic under even that and though he was supposed to be fully suited he trusted her to keep it under control. Besides...he felt it was rather unkind and rude to work on her dressed like he was clearing up and industrial spill. He slipped inside the special operations command room, sterile surfaces, smooth pods and the heavily labeled tanks of Rokahemi gas infinitely livened up by ghost operative propaganda posters, a whole shelf full of plush toys and a massive painting of Caesar that had been hung above a saddle arabian reclining chair. Myrtis herself stood sulking in the center of the room, a plastic mask she had clasped across her muzzle feeding her the specific combination of gases she needed to survive. Her usual metal face mask lay on a table nearby, bent and twisted by some terrific impact, "Myrtis, can I come in?" She turned to face him, smiling through what he was sorry to say was still a face he struggled to keep a neutral expression towards. She was a camel, already an odd looking species before you stripped the fur and upper layer of skin, decayed the muscle into a burnt, necrotic black, and covered it in gently pulsing, pink veins, "You're already inzide. Iz a zilly queztion." He gave a nervous grin back, rubbing the inside of his foreleg, "I guess so." He coughed and walked over to look to her mask, wincing as he quickly diagnosed nothing less than a full replacement, "What happened? It looks like it got run over by a Dragonslayer." "No idea." She griped, sounding defensive, "Zome Equestria spy, with zome kind of enhanzement. Docz are prepping him for analaziz." He had to say he was worried, both that Equestrian spies had managed to infiltrate the building at that they could successfully take down Myrtis. Sure, she wasn't the most cautious warrior in the world, still she didn't need to be given her near invincibility, "Right, I'm going to have to fit a new mask..." "No!" She shouted, before her fleshless lips pursed together, "You never fit the mazk right." "Myrtis, if I don't fit it to the published standards I could get into a lot of trouble..." "Heh." She snorted loudly, giving him a toothy and deeply disturbing grin, "They haz to go through me." He had to admit, the two standing outside the chain of command did have advantages. In the absence of clear authority, it often tended to come down to 'who could tear off your hooves and beat you to death with them', "True..." "And I'll rezet tonight anywayz." She reminded, giving him a pleading look, "I am notz ztanding around this room all day, connected to a gaz cylinder. And I'm notz zpending the whole day tugging at my mazk either." "Myrtis..." "And I won't breath on anyone." She finished, turning her head and fluttering non-existent eyelashes, "Let me keep the conneczionz ... fire, juzt give it a patch job. It only haz to hold up for the rezt of the day." He sighed, "You are going to get us both in some much trouble..." "Hey, Adisa." She declared cheerfully, "Anyone givez you trouble, tell them to talk to me." He grinned, that certainly was something that would end most arguments, "Sure... I think I can get this working again, just give me a hour or so." "Yezz!" She declared cheerily, "I would hug you, but your face might melt off." "Yeah... please don't." ¬ It is day 1023, more than three years since the bombs fell. I am writing this to you now to give you an idea of what has happened since that day, since to you it has only been a single night since you were evacuated here. You will find we have made great strides on our research, that every day we inch closer to retaking this country from Equestria. And I got a transfer! An Equestria attack on the facility claimed a few of the workers, so I got transferred to the hostile storage floor as a technical officer. Kind of a jump in roles, but I quite enjoyed it and I hope you do to. All your notes are in an attachment to this file. In the evening you should catch up with Philidous's revenge. I won't spoil it for you but the second chapter has a truly excellent conclusion. But really, this is your day to live. I'm told a version of us on the four hundred and twelveth day worked all through the night, ended cursing against the clock as the day reset. If you're feeling like going all out... well your body will still wake up in the morning exactly the same as today. Because it will be today as will every day until we are finally ready for what is to come. ...and I guess I should share the... other news. Jessa broke up with me. Well I can hardly say it was unexpected, we both always knew she was just playing around. She finally confirmed it on the first day after we sealed ourselves in here. That she was just messing with me, a dalliance with a dirty serf just to have a laugh and pass the time. Her colleague Zephronius? She had been sleeping with him for a while, and she finally decided to make it official and kick us to the curb. I spotted her today and she didn't even look at me. So fuck her really. Personally I'm done with the dating scene, I just want to concentrate on making it into the science team like I've always dreamed. Anyway, I've left the rest of the boring stuff below. Have a good day, and don't forget to write up a log for the next you! Chao! ¬ Adisa sat back, thinking for a moment on what this meant. He felt it coming, unable to stop it when it did, "That..." He swallowed, not wanting to say that, not wanting to think that. He paced, knocking books about, his frustration rising as they scattered to the floor. He realized it was never going to last, but he couldn't help feeling aggrieved. It was just the other day after all that she had told him she loved him, as it was one day for her! And now, of all times?! She couldn't stay with him for just one day?! Instead leaving him to read this message over and over again... He had really liked her... he had met other mares before, but they had never made him feel like she had. All those nights just talking about the latest research, new ideas and concepts just tumbling out. After this was all over they were going to marry, Jessa's sister had been trying to retrieve the family ring for him to use. He couldn't take it anymore, turning on his heel and stalking out to find her. He passed colleagues and friends without a word, heading straight for the elevators to the executive floor. He pointedly ignored the security officer on guard as he charged onwards, focused entirely on the door ahead. Jessa stepped out, fully suited and immaculately groomed as always. She had just locked the door when she saw Adisa, blushing and turning away as she attempted to retreat, "I've got a rather busy schedul today and..." "You're really just going to walk away from me?" She paused, her hoof hesitating in place. Finally she just placed it down in front of her, her head bowed, "Adisa... it's for your own good." Really? Really?! "How do you figure that?" "Adisa, long term relationships for me involve a hundred page contract and the ability to withstand eight centuries worth of rarefied snobbery. I can't subject you to that." She turned facing him head on with tears in her eyes, "You deserve better." His lip quivered, finding it difficult to argue with that face. But if this was so difficult for her then why? "Don't... patronize me. You're perfect and you know it, better than someone like me could ever..." She cut him off with a shake of her head, "That's it, don't you see it? You think you're less than me, because... I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I'm making you feel bad about yourself, like you have to work harder to prove yourself to me." She averted her gaze with a sigh, "I don't always treat you like you deserve..." "Jessa... it's gone." He hated himself for saying it, but it was true, "I'm not going to have to meet your family, your holdings on the east coast of Equestria don't matter, your majority shares in five of the top thirty companies don't matter." He looked here, firmly and unyielding, "It's just me and you. And if you... don't want to be with me, don't hide behind your name." She looked him in the eye, then smiled. That soft, sweet little smile that he knew so well, "Adisa... listen to me." She hesitated for a moment before sighing, a troubled look in her eyes, "Believe me when I say that I would never cheat on you, and that... I love you, and always will." This made no sense, "Then why...?" "Adisa, it would be so much easier if you did believe all those lies." She moved forward and placed a single hoof against his lips, her eyes deep, soulful and full of regret, "Tomorrow morning you won't remember a moment of this, and everything will be as it should be. Today... stay away from me." He looked back at her, sensing... she was in trouble. And he wanted to be with her, wanted to help... but ultimately he believed in her, and that she knew what she was doing, "Take... care of yourself Jessa." She gave a beaming smile, nodding back to him, "Have a wonderful day Adisa, and don't you worry about a thing." ¬ He had to say he started his tasks that day with a little bit on his mind, not helped by being called in early to a task not on his schedule. That was generally considered bad, especially the way they described it. Security systems jumping at nothing, the network flagging up non-existent hacking attempts, servers complaining of particularly heavy loads. It spoke of some sort of assault, but Adisa knew that was impossible. He said as much as he made a tour of the high security wing, making sure the seals on the most dangerous prisoners were all working as they should, "You know as well as I do chief, that outside hacking attempts are impossible. We're sealed inside a temporal bubble, they're totally out of sync with us." Chief Oluwo simply grimaced, not looking reassured by his words, "Maybe someone inside the facility?" He didn't want to consider that. Privately he and the chief both knew the truth, "Well... maybe we should conduct a full search? While I'm making sure everything is working down here?" "This whole facility has security holes you could drive a truck through." The chief growled as he headed off to give the order, "I swear, it's just another one of Xenospira's sick jokes, like he enjoys watching us chase shadows." Adisa set off to the long, tedious task of checking the building's systems as asked, breaking the tedium by indulging his curiosity about the various prisoners they had locked up here. Most of them were a rather sorry lot, with a surprising number of zebra who had apparently been outed as Equestrian spies or who had joined up with their invading forces. Eventually though he came to a prisoner that gave him immediate pause, imprisoned alone in one of the most secure cells in the facility, with no less than five armed guards surrounding him. He certainly looked... dangerous, "Um guys... are you really all here to protect us from a small child?" The guards all shrugged at each other, one eventually speaking up, "We've been told that he's enhanced, some kind of genetic modification." Adisa looked into the cell, and at the small crimson buck curled up there asleep. He didn't look more than fifteen, "I think I read a book about that once." He had a job to do though, so he leaned down to inspect the circuits. He was surprised and relieved to finally find something worth looking at, several of the connections showing severe signs of wear, "Alright... just replace you and..." He rerouted the power, switched off the failsafes and reached for his tool bag... The lights went off, a loud crash filling the room. It was quickly followed by the sounds of struggling guards, Adisa feeling something grab his leg and hurl him against a wall. He gasped and thudded down sideways, his terror increasing as it all fell silent... The lights came on again, revealing the pony buck standing among the unconscious bodies of the security officers. He didn't even look out of breath, his penetrating pinkish eyes glaring across at Adisa with a look that suggested resisting was a bad idea. Then the radio suddenly crackled into life, "Sector 7, report. We lost you for a moment." The buck trotted over to the console, inspecting it for a moment before replying in a perfect impression of the first guard to speak, "Nothing to worry about command. Irad was helping with maintenance and he triggered the failsafe. All good up here now." "Roger sector 7, I'll put it in the logs." Adisa debated what to do, whether to call for help, or tackle the pony, or... his mind wandered as he watched the pony's hooves dance across the keys on the security console, the screen flashing as he simply rewrote huge sections of code. It was beyond impressive, Adisa wondering where he had learned such skills at such a young age. Then the screen changed, now displaying a camera feed from... somewhere. There was no sound and he was glad of that, dozens of zebra strapped to tables, screaming as bionics were wielded to them. They were all still conscious for the procedure, Adisa thinking it some Equestrian facility for a moment before he saw the words at the bottom of the screen, "Sector 52? That's on the 41st floor." The screen changed again, this time a camera displaying a long row of cages inhabited by broken, scared looking ponies. The camera then flicked to a pony in a glass tank, banging on the side before screaming as pink gas was pumped in and her flesh melted off. A pair of white coated zebra observed for a moment before scribbling down something on a clipboard. The pony swore, his face becoming angrier and angrier as he searched through the camera feeds, "Damn, damn... where is she?!" Adisa couldn't believe what he was seeing. Floor 41 was the biological research floor, and one he had never had the clearance to visit. Still... "Who are you looking for?" Then the camera changed again, now showing a large cell plastered with photos and articles from the war. If he was to guess a theme, he noticed that many of the articles had to to do with... Fluttershy... A elderly, butterscotch pegasus stood in the middle of the room, her head bowed and her white hair streaming across her face. She was placed in a pair of deeply uncomfortable looking hoof cuffs, and had clearly been mistreated. Bruises covered her body, along with the tell tell burns of riot prods. The pony at the controls looked deeply angry, pressing a few more keys and suddenly allowing sound to stream through the speakers. "How does it feel Fluttershy?" A cruel, reedy voice questioned, Adisa instantly identifying it as Xenospira, "To know that all those zebra, all those zebra who trusted you to save them died screaming. That a whole city died cursing your name, cursing that all of this was your fault?" "What... is this?" Adisa questioned. The prisoner tensed, leaning heavily upon the console, "A suicide note, if I have anything to do with it." "I couldn't have done it without you. If you hadn't given me the megaspells, this never could have happened." Zenospira continued, "But... oh, it wasn't you who gave me them was it? You sent your daughter Feathershine. Lovely girl, I hear she lived just on the outskirts of Manehatten... just far enough away for it to hurt." "Please..." The mare whispered. "Tell me, how long do you think it took her to die? Hours? Days? And all of it screaming your name, begging to it to stop." "STOP IT!" "Now now, we don't shout. Chief Pathrik?" At Zenospira's command a beefy security guard walked up, winding up before kicking the mare hard in the side. She screamed and fell to the floor with a whimper, bitter tears coating her cheeks. And then the console exploded. Adisa jumped back in surprise, feeling terror take his heart as dark magic rose around the prisoner. It suddenly began to feel much colder, the lights darkening and the prisoner suddenly seeming to grow and change... And then he shook his head, giving one piercing scream and kicking the console hard enough to shatter it apart. The pony then span round, regarding Adisa with utter loathing, "Did you know about this?" "I have absolute no idea what is going on!" He protested, waving at the smoking wreck of the console, "What was that? Some kind of interrogation simulation?" "That was Fluttershy!" The prisoner shouted furiously, his eyes burning with anger and magic, "You kidnapped her, dragged her here, tortured her! Why!?" This was... madness, "Fluttershy?" "Yes! You know, the mare who risked everything for you?!" "She's here? She made it all the way from Equestria?" Adisa supposed it wasn't implausible, but it certainly posed other questions, "What is she doing here, being... treated..." He fought for the words, "...roughly..." "I don't know." The prisoner spat, "While you think on that, you can also explain why you killed every zebra in the city, used them as test subjects!" Adisa blinked, "What?" "Those zebra on the monitor." The prisoner fixed him with furious glare, "Who do you think they were?" "No..." He fought for an explanation, "The only test subjects we use are captured members of the Equestrian army." "Equestrian army?" The prisoner questioned, "There hasn't been an Equestrian army in two hundred years!" "What?" "It's two hundred and eighteen years since the megaspells fell, wiped out both countries!" Adisa shook his head. No, these were just equestrian lies, "You're trying to trick me..." "I'll prove it." The buck stated with hard determination, placing a hoof on Adisa's shoulder, "The central data library." "Yes?" "Take me there." ¬ They reached it a lot easier than he thought, the buck seeming to disappear the second they exited the room. He contemplated telling one of the marching guards, still he was stopped both by fear and... curiosity. Who was this pony, and what did he think he would find in the central library? There wasn't any research data there, simply stuff you would find at any library intranet. He would find out soon it seemed, walking into the communal library down on the residential floor and immediately being directed to a private side room by the buck's voice just behind. He complied, entering a room set out with a large monitor, data terminal and projector for private meetings. The buck immediately reappeared behind him, walking over to the data terminal and immediately starting to work furiously at the keys. "Who are you?" Adisa finally asked, looking the buck over. He looked like he had seen a few fights, scars indicating he had been shot more than once and chipped hooves indicating he had used them in blunt force confrontations. The buck turned his head to him, those pink eyes once more boring into his skull. Eventually he looked somewhat regretful, turning his head away, "My name is Ace Gold. I came here from a country called the New Canterlot Republic, set up in what was once Equestria by Griffon, Pony, Zebra and Diamond Dog survivors of the war." "Diamond dog?" Adisa questioned, thinking that sounded unlikely. "Don't use that tone of voice with Fluttershy..." Ace Gold stated quietly before calling up an image on the view screen. Ace motioned to it, "This is the zebra territories, gathered by this tower's own sensors." He looked out onto the city beyond, then the wasteland around them. They... looked rather free of the choking clouds of radiation that had been reported. He located what looked like well established settlements, the marching armies of zebra, the flags bearing zebra symbols... he looked down at the time stamps... "Believe me yet?" "I... the time stamp does seem to check out with your story..." He tried to make sense of it all, with little success, "But why? Why would Xenospira lie to us?" "I couldn't tell you, I've never met the guy personally." Ace Gold frowned, looking around at all the monitors with a furrowed brow, "But look at all this. Black magic plundered from the Star Demons, an army of robots, super soldiers, biological weapons... he could conquer the wasteland with this. Given the speeded up time he's likely waiting for us to die out." "But..." Adisa was forced to admit, it sounded like something Xenospira would do. The zebra was a genius, but he was also arrogant and cruel, with a twisted sense of humor, "We write ourselves a message before the day resets. How could we have missed all this, not put it all together, mentioned the inconsistencies..." Ace Gold looked back at the console, grim faced for a moment before going to work. After a short while he stepped away, face ashen, "How many days has this day been repeating for you?" "1023." "It's closer to 20'000." "What?" "I've tracked the messages back to an AI. It's writing the messages to you based on samples of your previous work." He pointed a hoof at the read out, "It's right there." Adisa reached out desperately with a hoof, taking the console and trying to find the trick, running through all the options he could think of... but it was true, it was there. A part of the system that all the reports went through. And they didn't come back anything like they came in, "But why?" "To stop you questioning? A sick joke?" He moved back to the console, hooves blurring across the keyboard, "Makes me wonder what happened on those missing days..." And then the screen burst back into life, displaying images of pain and suffering that sent Adisa staggering backwards. He watched in horror as he saw the Anansi bots and the towers defenses cut the scientists apart, methodically moving through the building and wiping them out one by one. And then he saw himself fall, trying to defend a wounded Jessa with a small pistol. His bullets rang pathetically off it's shell, the Anansi bot cutting him down in an instant before advancing on a whimpering Jessa... "Shut it off!" Ace did, thumping a button on the console and deactivating the screen, "Sorry." "Why?" He asked, wanting to explain it away as a trick... but how did you come up with a trick like that? "Why would he do that?" "You all reset right?" Ace questioned, giving him a piercing look, "Looks like an excellent test of your droids, see how quickly and efficiently you can clear out the building." "But we're his colleagues!" "And these zebra you've been experimenting on?" Ace questioned, his tone becoming bitter, "They're innocent civilians. He pretty much emptied the entire city into your research labs, has been butchering them for a hundred years." "But... there isn't enough space for the whole city..." "That explains why he just gassed a lot of them, or had them shot." Adisa just shook his head, wondering just how to react to something like this. Eventually he just went with his gut, his response standard and predicable but honest at least, "If this is true... we have to stop him." "Yes." Ace answered, giving him a firm look, "We free my friends, and we end this." Now that was going a bit far, "If I just talk to him..." Ace raised an eyebrow, "How do you think that's going to go?" Fair point, "Well... I know a member of the senior staff. Maybe she can help?" Ace considered this for a moment before nodding, "What's her name?" "Jessa... um... Otani Kajessa Nanjyu." Ace rolled his eyes, "And you say ponies have silly names... right... hmm..." Adisa watched as Ace's expression became annoyed, then confused, then worried, "What's wrong?" Ace looked up from the console, his eyes concerned, "Jessa's tracking chip went off grid twenty minutes ago, while she was trying to access the mail AI from a secure terminal on the management floor." Adisa raised an eyebrow, "Tracking chip?" "You all have one." Ace stated, nodding at Adisa's chest, "Just behind your third rib." That was the first Adisa had heard of it, "What could have caused hers to go offline?" Ace hesitated, then finally spoke, "Internal sensors indicated security bots were called, and upon there entry there are reports of... weapons fire." Adisa felt a sick feeling settle in his stomach, "She... must have been hurt! We... we have to help her!" Ace didn't reply right away, eventually sighing to himself, "Looks like she suspected something too." Adisa remembered what she had said to him earlier, that she had obviously suspected the messages were a lie. What had she done? Had she tried to investigate too? "We... we have to find your friends, help her!" Ace Gold didn't look quite as pleased as he expected, the buck grim faced and resigned as he turned to Adisa, "I know where they are, follow me." ¬ "And that's why you need to release the prisoner..." The guards were looking less impressed with every second, the security head finally moved at this, grabbing his gun from his booth and starting toward Adisa, "Son, you're acting a little strange here. I think you better follow my men to the medical bay..." Ace Gold burst into action, his hooves too fast to follow as he flew past Adisa and hit their lines. The first guard hit the ground limp, Ace moving off before he had even settled and slamming into the second with enough force to hurl him into the wall. One shot at him but Ace simply erected an shield of pink light around himself, sending the bullet sparking away and giving him an opening to run under the guard's weapon and slam him backwards. "Wow... pretty impressive." Adisa commented with a little bit of breathless admiration, "You're like a superhero. How did you get so strong?" Ace Gold grunted with a hint of frustration, "Huh... it lacks elegance. And I can't help it if I'm a little angry, I mean... look at what's going on! It's just... difficult to maintain control..." Adisa frowned, Ace looking even more erratic than usual, "Maintain control of what?" "I'm normally a lot more easy going than this, that's all." Ace replied with a grunt, his horn shining with a fierce pink light that enveloped the door, straining for a moment before tearing it away with a crash. There were cries from beyond, power already charging at Ace's horn as he rolled out into the jail block beyond. Adisa watched in amazement, having never seen anything quite like it. A bolt of energy flew from his horn and shattered apart the barrier the guards were using as cover, flinging up a cloud of darkness and dodging away to avoid the return fire. Winds of magic blew up around him and sent Ace darting around the hall, pinpoint blasts of energy knocking the guards flying. Bullets fired in return were deflected away by shields of light, one cutting across Ace's thigh and another striking his shoulder but neither slowing the foal for more than a moment. Finally they were all down, Ace panting in exhaustion as a cloud of steam rose from his gently sizzling horn. "I've never even heard of a modern unicorn with those skills!" Adisa exclaimed as he followed him in, fanboying just a little, "You fight like some alicorn princess of old! ...though it would have been much easier to just use one of those energy rifles." Ace looked back at the rifles in question, mounted on the wall in case of prisoner escape. His mouth curled in slight amusement, "Would you believe I have no idea how to use them? My magical combat skills are... a little out of date." "Ace!" Ace's eyes turned as the voice called out, focusing on a cell block a little way distant. Inside was a middle aged pony, a little soft around the middle but powerful around the shoulders and flanks, the scared, weatherbeaten look of a warrior about him. Ace's eyes lit up in joy at the sight, "Dust Kicker!" He galloped forward a little but had to stop after a moment, his breathing still ragged from the fight. He held up a hoof in apology, only for his eyes to widen as another zebra stepped from the shadows. She was even more interesting looking than the pony, her body almost one big scar. She was very old and wiry of build, but likely looked older than she was due to the fact that it looked like most of her fur had been taken off a long time before. She bowed to Ace before turning to the prison cell the pony was inhabiting, extending a hoof and pressing it against the locking system, "Allow me to handle this." "Xaphina?" Ace Gold exclaimed, then grinned, "I should have known you would escape on your own." "I grew tired of imprisonment a long time ago." She answered, before blowing out the lock with a single thrust of magic. It burnt out in a shower of sparks, the force field around the doorway fading, "Are you hurt Dust Kicker?" "No, I'm fine." Dust Kicker answered as he stepped out, looking between the two of them in interest, "Looks like I missed a few things." Ace nodded, motioning to the zebra, "Dust Kicker, this is..." "The zebra who saved my life in Dusklight, when Starhammer's assassin tried to shank me?" Dust grinned at her, "Xaphina right? Thank you for that, and your assistance at Messonera as well." Xaphina bowed softly, "You are welcome." Dust's eyes turned now to Ace, "And as for the second thing... since when did you learn high powered combat magic, and gain enough power to tear a vault door off it's hinges? Not to mention... your eyes, they look healed." Ace looked away, "It's a long story..." "Pink eyes." Dust commented as he moved towards the boy, showing slight concern, "Ace, you didn't..." "It's not exactly important right now." Ace protested, looking annoyed by the questioning, "Puppysmiles and Selene are safe, but we still need to find Fluttershy and Easu." "Your entry wasn't exactly stealthy." Xaphina chastised, "I hope you have a plan for getting to them without having to fight the entire security force." "It's alright, I made sure to hack the communications hub, they have no way of..." "Watch out!" Ace's head turned at Dust Kicker's shout, giving him just enough time to get his shield up before a beam of light struck him head on and knocked him flying. An spider bot slammed down from the walkway above, the whole group yelling and running for cover... Adisa reached out for the machine desperately, trying to remember the right words, "DK2R access code! Reassess IFF data, target is friendly, target is friendly!" The robot lowered it's weapons, eyes flashing, "Reassessing. Target marked as hostile by local area codes." "Area code interpretation is faulty. Please power down for maintenance." "Command accepted. Powering down." The robot stated, legs and weapons quietly folding away. "Pretty quick thinking there." Dust Kicker stated after a moment for everyone to catch their breath, giving Adisa a warm smile as he stepped over, "Dust Kicker, real nice to meet you." "I doubt it's going to work twice..." He quietly muttered, before turning eyes up at Dust Kicker. Here at least was a chance to work out who was lying to him, "Who are you two? Who do you work for? Honestly." Dust kicker chuckled, "That's a real good question, but I'll do my best. Name's Dust Kicker, mercenary under the employ of the New Canterlot Republic of Equestria. At the moment however I guess you could say I'm Fluttershy's bodyguard." He stared the stallion straight on. It didn't look like he was lying, but he seemed the kind of stallion who would be good at it, "The Fluttershy?" "The very same." Dust grinned, rolling his eyes, "Ah, it's a long story. She kinda got stuck in suspended animation for two hundred years, so she apologizes for being late." "So it has been two hundred years..." He looked up at the old zebra, "And you?" Dust looked back at her, "I would like to know that myself." "She hasn't told us yet." Ace agreed. Xaphina looked at each of them for several moments, looking uncomfortable with this line of questioning. Finally she answered, smoothly and simply, "I am called the 'Mother'. I work for the High Shaman, Tandia of Garm." Adisa looked at her, thinking that all sounded like something from some high fantasy novel, "They call you 'the mother'?" "I don't know why." Ace stated with a hard tinge of bitterness, "But maybe I'm biased." Xaphina turned to him, eyes narrowing, "Ace Gold..." "I know who you are. You even look like her, and you can't disguise those scars." Ace Gold looked away from her, "You're right about your reasons for not telling me, it is distracting. And you're right that we have bigger things to worry about right now. Like saving Fluttershy." Dust Kicker nodded, looking across at Adisa, "He's right. If you want proof, Fluttershy is the one to give it." Adisa supposed that was fair enough, "What's the plan?" Ace Gold quickly called up a map on the far terminal, waving a hoof at it as it formed a side on view of the tower, "Easu is currently on the weapons testing level, 31st floor. Fluttershy is on the 42nd floor, biological research wing." "I will recover Easu." Xaphina answered, voice still a little shaken. "I'll come with you." Ace quickly replied, looking up at her challengingly. She frowned, "Ace Gold, I am more adept at stealth..." Ace scowled at her before flicking his head back, horn flashing out and bathing him in soft, concealing shadows that played on the light in a way that made it seem like no pony was there. Indeed when he spoke again it was from a totally different location, Adisa having to squint to make him out, "I've picked up a few tricks." Xaphina looked at him for a moment before bowing softly, "Very well." "I guess it's you and me then kid." Dust commented, padding over and giving him a smile, "I hope you know the way." "It's top secret but... well I've seen the plans." He looked across at Ace Gold, feeling rather torn at leaving the buck's side despite his grim countenance. Still he clearly had stuff he needed to do, "Follow me." ¬ He took the service stairs, dressing Dust Kicker up in a biological containment suit that covered his face. The pony expressed some concern about this plan and indeed Adisa considered it just a little cartoony, still it was the best he could think of right now. To his amazement it actually worked on the first two groups he met. Dust Kicker even managed a pretty good zebra accent when directly questioned, and soon they reached the door to the biological research floor. Adisa turned to Dust Kicker as he inserted a key and tapped out a code on the keypad, taking a breath to steady himself, "Now, I'm not actually allowed in here. We might have to improvise." Dust Kicker patted the toolbag slung across his side, "I'm ready for improvisation. Not got anything that can handle a spiderbot though." "They'll only be deployed when there's a conformed security risk, the building is too large to have one patrolling every floor." Adisa hoped he was right on that, but he reasoned that he knew as much about this tower's security procedures as anyone, "With communications down they'll likely deploy them in key locations like the reactor core and support pillars." "Fair enough." Dust nodded, "Let's go." Adisa took a deep breath and turned the key. The door drifted open, Dust leading the way as he hurried along the corridor. He was moving so fast that Adisa struggled to keep up, his heart leaping into his mouth as they turned the corner and ran straight into a pair of guards. Dust didn't slow for a moment. Instead he simply hurried up to them, his voice urgent under his mask, "Get these eggheads out of here, but don't raise a panic. Say it's a drill or something, just get them somewhere safe and keep them there until communications are back up." One of the guards looked across at Adisa for an explanation, "We saw communications were down. What's going on Adisa?" He was ready for this, "It seems to be related to those earlier glitches, we're losing systems all over. That means the containment systems here might already be compromised, and as such we're ordering a immediate evacuation." "Right... well better you than us." The guards saluted, moving off, "We'll get everyone out, don't worry." "Right, thanks." Adisa replied, taking a deep breath and continuing towards the lab number he had been given. He looked at Dust Kicker, smiling a little, "I'm worryingly good at this." "This is really your most important facility?" Dust noted with a hint of amusement, "These guards are a joke." "Well Zenospira likes to keep it informal... here we are." Adisa pointed out at they arrived at the lab where Fluttershy was supposed to be kept, "What's the plan?" "Hang back." Dust Kicker asked as he loosened the strap on his weapon, pushing open the door and moving into the darkened lab. It appeared to have been powered down, everything neatly filed away in the control room. Beyond was what looked like a surgical facility, a table in the center covered in a white sheet. Something lay underneath. You could have heard a pin drop, Dust Kicker totally silent as he opened the door to the surgery and stepped inside. A single scientist was within, standing at a rack of computers nearby. He lifted his head at their entry, looking huffy, "Do you have authority to be here? This is a... hey!" Dust didn't slow at the zebra's comment, simply walking over to the table and lifting the sheet. His expression twisted, anger flashing through his eyes. "Did you hear me!" Dust let the blanket fall, looked up at the scientist and drew his pistol. Adisa quickly raised his hoof, "No!" A single gunshot caught the scientist in the eye and sent him crashing into the workstation, sending both clattering messily to the floor. Dust looked down at him for a moment before sighing. He closed his eyes tight, gritting his teeth, "That was unworthy of you. I'm sorry..." Adisa gingerly edged forward, "Dust Kicker, sir..." The old pony looked across at him warningly, "Make it good kid, I'm not in the best of moods." "That... that is Fluttershy...?" "Yeah." He averted his eyes, "It is." "The procedure was scheduled for ten AM." Adisa didn't know where he was going with this, but felt there was some sort of plan in all this madness, "We are in a time loop, so if time reset again..." "I could get to her in time..." Dust answered, before his face soured once more, "But our memories are also reset." "...yes..." "So we would do exactly the same thing. And let's face it, you helping us all escape before ten? That would be difficult even if you did know what was about to happen." Dust shook his head, reloading his pistol and striding towards the door with a murderous look, "No, we only have one choice available to us. Taking this fucker down, and making sure he never hurts anypony else." Adisa followed, racking his brain for a solution, wanting to make this right... but Dust was correct. They had only one chance at this. ¬ They moved up to the management floor in silence, eery silence as far as Adisa was concerned. Defense turrets stood idle, the offices totally evacuated, no a sign of any security as they continued towards the directors office. Finally Adisa had to speak up, "This has got to be..." "A trap. Most likely." Dust Kicker grunted, his mouth curling into a harsh grimace, "Bring it on." Adisa looked away, not reassured. He wasn't quite so sure he was ready to die yet. Movement sparked nearby, Dust Kicker spinning to track it. He only hesitated as he saw it was Xaphina and Ace Gold, along with another heavily scared zebra he did not know. Dust's expression was complex as he waited for them to approach. "Dust Kicker." Ace asked, his tone confused, "Where's Fluttershy?" "She's back in the labs, safe for now." He responded, not very convincingly if Adisa was any judge, "We'll go get her after we've taken out this douchebag." The scarred zebra, Easu he presumed, and Xaphina didn't look very convinced, Xaphina eventually speaking up in her rough accented tones, "This was far too easy. I fear we're walking into a trap." Ace hesitated, then nodded, "Not to downplay my skills, but breaking into the computer systems was childsplay, and everything is placed onto the same network." Adisa admitted that one had gotten some criticism, "It was at Director Zenospira's request. To do with some experiment he was running." "Makes me wonder what kind of experiment..." Ace started, before his head flicked round and his eyes narrowed. Adisa followed them, settling on the smooth sleek forms of Invictus and Myrtis. Ace said it best, "Damnit." "Adisa, I'm disappointed in you." Invictus stated with his usual smooth tones, the red dots of his goggles locked firmly upon him, "You know these ponies are just manipulating you." "I've seen too much Invictus." Adisa replied, shaking his head, "How... how could you be involved in all this...?" Invitus cut him off sharply, his body tensing for a fight, "We are not here to talk." "Go, quickly." Easu warned, stepping out in front of them, "I've fought these operatives before, we will not be able to win." Ace spoke angrily at this, "Then what are you going to...?" "Take control of the time loop and you can fix this!" Easu stated firmly, before turning his attentions back on the operatives, "It is the only way!" "I stand with him." Xaphina stated, her slight form sliding into place beside the larger zebra. Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but carried an urgent weight, "Go." Myrtis giggled as she turned her head to observe them, "Well aren't you fun? So I have to get past you two before they reach the directors office...?" "Go!" Easu shouted insistently. They did, moving without another word. The two ghosts moved to stop them but were quickly intercepted, Easu spraying them with a barrage of pistol fire as Xaphina bounced off the wall to deliver a perfectly targeted kick that left Invictus's goggles flickering as he staggered blind. Myrtis charged in but Xaphina expertly rolled away, tripping the ghost and sending her crashing into her companion. All in all Adisa was even ready to be optimistic about their chances as they ran on ahead and left the fight far behind. Perhaps they were truly heroes, and against a pair of thugs, superpowered as they were... And then he heard the screams, Xaphina's first, then Easu's. After that was silence, Adisa just gritting his teeth and setting his gaze forward. Ahead he could see the entrance to Zenospira's office, their one chance at ending this madness. His hoof reach out as the galloped towards it, slamming the door open and charging into the room beyond... His brain couldn't take it. His legs walked forward on their own, his brain too dumbstruck to stop them. He had been in here before, he had visited Zenospyra in his office. Oval shaped, with glass pillars bearing elemental symbols arrayed around the center where the high scientist's holosweet was located. A parody of the throne room of the Imperial Palace, but a normal office none the less. This... stretched on for miles. It wasn't physically possible to fit all this inside the tower, he doubted you could fit it all inside the city. It was round, perfectly so, Adisa standing on a platform somewhere in the center. The walls as he said seemed some miles away, covered in metal protrusions from which radiated a faint yellow light. He looked behind him, seeing that the entrance was attached to a spire of steel and electronics, stretching straight through the middle of the sphere. After a moment he realized it was the academy of science itself, stretched and shrunk in an impossible, baffling fashion. All around the sphere crackles of magic arced, flowing, whispering, charged torrents of energy. His felt his fur stand on end just being near it. And ahead was a pod like construction, seeming tiny among the cavernous interior yet objectively massive in terms of dimensions. A central egg like construction was covered in layers of armor and sensors, it smooth, sleek surface almost seeming to glow from the inside. Adisa could only stare in equal horror and wonder, Dust seeming to be similarly enraptured. "Welcome, to my masterpiece. Very few have been lucky enough to see it." The voice boomed out from speakers situated around the pod, Adisa instantly recognizing it as that of high scientist Zenospira. He looked about for a moment longer before shaking his head, this just too much after everything else, "How... this doesn't make any sense..." "That's the point, isn't it?" Ace Gold answered, the buck's eyes alone untainted by confusion, "Time and space manipulation was always considered some of the most difficult magic to pull off, even a simple paradox creating enough excess magic to fry an unwary caster. But you've played that to your advantage haven't you? You're using the impossibility of this place to power your megaspell." "Very clever indeed." Xenospira answered, cameras swiveling to focus on the buck, "And from one so young. I will have to make certain to dissect your brain, I'm sure it would be a worthy avenue of study." "Why?" Adisa asked, finally finding his tongue, "Xenospira, I don't understand..." "Science dear boy." Xenospira answered, his voice cheerful, "What else?" Adisa shook his head, trying to be more specific, "They say it's been two hundred years..." "Indeed it has. Two hundred and eighteen years in fact, at least as time can be considered a universal constant." "But our records...!" "There may be some rounding errors." Zenospira answered with a chuckle, "Give or take a few hundred years. But the new world will not be built in a day." Adisa couldn't believe it. He wasn't even denying it, "And killing all those zebra?! Killing us!?" "Oh dear child... your time is over, haven't you realized?" He chuckled, voice high and sinister, "You cannot deny that the beings on this planet have clearly reached their evolutionary peak, and that sad as though it might be, they must clear the way for the new world to come." "You..." Adisa shook his head, "Us too...?" "For now, you are still useful to me." Xenospira explained, "But yes, when your value as test subjects comes to an end, you too will have to go." Dust growled suddenly, folding out his anti-tank rifle, "Ok, I've heard enough of your shit!" Dust ducked down, the weapon settling upon his shoulder. He fired, the bullet striking forward, screaming for it's target... before slamming into an energy shield around the pod and bouncing away. "You honestly believed that I would keep weapons that can harm me in my lair?" Zenospira stated with a laugh, the air sparking and igniting with green energy, energy that solidified into a three dimensional image of Zenospira himself. Robes billowed around him as he reared up triumphantly, flinging a hoof down and sending forward a blast of star powered energy. Dust dodged it just in time but a second was quick to follow. It hit him straight in the chest, bright light shining for but a moment... before he was gone, nothing but softly glowing starlight. "MONSTER!" Ace Gold screamed, pink energy crackling outwards from his horn and his fur turning black, expanding and strengthening into something malevolent and terrifying, "You're just like all the REST!" His energy blast flashed out, fierce pink magic striking against Zenospira's shields, shredding the holographic image of him and unleashing a shockwave that flung Adisa to the floor. The very air shook, the smell of mana and dark magic thick in the air. He covered his ears, waited for the barrage to end... And there there was silence, broken by a long, slow chuckle, "Is that all you have?" Ace Gold looked up in horror, not a scratch upon Zenospira's pod, "I don't... I can't..." "That's what I love about you ponies. All the power in the world, yet you wield it like a blunt instrument. Still, such potential." Zenospira crooned, his image forming once again to stare at Ace with a look of mild amusement, "I can see many months worth of experiments to work on you." And then his flicked his hoof up, a fierce bolt of star energy flashing out towards Ace. The buck didn't try to dodge, didn't even move... he just turned his head and gave Adisa a look of pleading desperation. Adisa was trapped there in those eyes for a moment, feeling the desperation... Before Ace was gone, atomized before his eyes. "You always were a sucker for a heroic cause Adisa, and far too curious for your own good." Adisa looked up at his master, now gloriously triumphant. He wasn't sure what to say, "Zenospira... how could you...?" "Because my ambition will be realized, even if I have to build them upon the ashes of this pathetic world." Zenospira's image gave a cloying, smug smile, "I regret that you will never get to see the perfect world that I intend to create. But you can at least have a part in realizing it." Adisa gritted his teeth, trying not to cry at the unfairness of it all, "I will never..." Zenospira simply cut him off with a laugh, "But you will. You will wake up tomorrow with no memory of this, no idea of what you learned today. And that day and every day you will help me build my new world, unaware of the fact that you will never live in it." Adisa dropped his head. It was all true, "What... what happened to Jessa?" "She's dead." Zenospira answered with a soft chuckle, "Just like you." There was another flash of light, and then only darkness... a dreams. Sweet, pleasant dreams, that embraced him as he fell ever downwards. "It's going to be alright." ¬ It is day 42, almost two months since the bombs fell I am writing this to you now to give you an idea of what has happened since that day, since to you it has only been a single night since you were evacuated here. I'm afraid things haven't gone too well for us, though maybe it's out own fault. First off, you got demoted down to garbage disposal. All the instructions are included in the document attached. And... well, Jessa naturally broke up with me. I guess dating a garbage disposal technician was just too much for her.. ¬ Adisa looked away from the document, knowing instinctively it was all lies. Besides, he had things to do. He quickly suited up, grabbed his ID batch and used his terminal to make a few quick edits to his access privileges. He would need it for his latest experiment, locating the morgue and noting it's location before hacking into the schedule for the biological research floor. Fluttershy's dissection could wait after lunch. He didn't know who Fluttershy was but he knew that was important. As he opened his door and set out he briefly contemplated how easily controlled he was. Hell, it was like he had no will of his own! It was a good job Nightmare Moon wasn't lurking around, trying to corrupt innocent zebra. He made it to the morgue with good time, accessing the database from a nearby terminal and faking a requisition order. He then locating a nearby lab that wasn't currently being used and booked it out for the next few hours. The zebra on duty barely looked up as he signed the documents, locating a suitable cadaver and collecting it from a porter as it was wheeled out. He took a quick look beneath the sheets, satisfied with what he saw. She was pretty, strong, a spear and shield cutie mark, how anachronistic... he felt a little unsettled for a moment by the fact that he was staring at corpses but he quickly placed such thoughts far from his mind, continuing quickly over to the lab. It was well appointed with precisely what he needed, placing the cadaver onto the table and preparing a table for surgery. He had no idea how he suddenly knew surgery, but inspiration couldn't wait. He had the perfect plan in his head, taking a energy battery and a nerve interface, reinforcing the wires and including a simple CPU device for precise control. He then found the required spot on the ponies back, cutting into her spine and carefully and precisely installing the device. It was like engineering. He had very agile hooves, he really should look into becoming a surgeon. Soon it was all done, Adisa feeling a thrill as the mare twitched, muscles going slack as the charge flowed through them. He looked across at the readout, approving as he noted the heart muscle spasm. A spasm was all it was, not nearly anything controlled enough to actually achieve circulation. Still if commands could somehow be given the body would certainly be somewhat functional at least. The battery would even allow the mare to use magic... He looked back at the body, feeling a brief moment of discomfort before everything lurched, a thick stream of black liquid streaming out of his body and into the body on the table. He fell forward with a gasp, and with that everything became clear once again. He... was experimenting with a corpse! He... he didn't even know what he was trying to achieve! He didn't know why he was here! It was... ...like something had been controlling him. The body moved. His scream sat frozen on the edge of his tongue, eyes wide and trembling as the corpse slowly lifted it's head, sightless eyes now struggling to focus. Facial muscles stretched, a look of pain and discomfort. It's mouth opened and the tongue lolled, the body giving a dry cough which made it's look of pain even more apparent. Adisa screamed, persisting for a moment before realizing that he had chosen a soundproof room. He immediately broke into a run for the door controls, reaching out with a hoof... Telekinesis took his legs and slammed him to the floor, Adisa desperately looking round at the corpse's glowing horn. Those eyes were now focused on him, the body rising into a crouch and wrestling with it's tongue for a moment before speaking in a dry croak, "...not... not gonna... hurt..." He stopped screaming, if only because it was starting to strain his voice. It did nothing to stop his heart from thumping within his chest, the squeak of terror in his voice, "What... what do you want with me?!" "...water..." He blinked, then stood up, the creature on the table watching him carefully as he mechanically walked over to the sink and filled a glass of water. He paused before moving over to the corpse, feeling his hooves freeze with fear. Fortunately he didn't have to go any further, the glass seized by magic and floated over to the corpse's mouth. It took a long sip, spitting it to the ground before taking another sip and swallowing it with a look of pain. The glass was then gently placed against the ground before the corpse lifted it's head, eyes focusing a little slower than normal as it turned eyes to him and spoke, "I'm not here to hurt you... and I apologize for tricking you, but it's very important." He shook his head, sure this must all have been a bad dream, "What are you?" The corpse gingerly raised itself onto all four hooves before looking at him once again, "My name is Puppysmiles, and you might just be my only hope." ¬ It was oddly anticlimactic, the rise of the living dead. It was mostly spent watching her practice her walking, along with brushing her hair and inspecting her body in the mirror. Her movements were stiff and hesitant, Puppysmiles wincing as she put weight upon her legs and practiced bending them. "You look like you're in a lot of pain." Puppysmiles paused for a moment at this question before giving him a sweet smile, shifting her weight from one side to the other experimentally, "This body was starting to decompose, there's acidic deposits in all the muscles and many of the soft tissues have become damaged. But considering the circumstances... well, I could have done a lot worse." "Can... I get you some painkillers?" She shook her head, "I can't metabolize drugs yet I'm afraid. But thanks." That... was a loaded answer, "Yet?" He had noticed she was moving a lot better than before, and her eyes were quicker to focus, "Can you repair that body?" "I'm not sure." Puppysmiles tilted her head, "I've never done this before. I'm not sure anypony has." "You're... some sort..." He decided to just throw it right out there, "Are you Nightmare Moon?" "Ha." She declared softly, her grin widening, "Yes, I am." Adisa sighed. Of course. He wasn't going to bother panicking, not like it would do any good, "I may be a coward, but I'm not a traitor. I'm... not going to help you willingly." Puppysmiles turned her head, admiring with wry amusement. Her tone when she finally spoke was affectionate, "You just called yourself a coward, then denied Nightmare Moon with only the barest of quivers in your voice." He couldn't help smiling, this being too surreal to take seriously, "I'm honestly surprising myself." "You are brave Adisa, and righteous, and loyal." She nodded to him, her voice oddly warm and affectionate for a age old terror, "I know, because I've been in your head. And I know because the other day you fought beside me, risking everything to save your fellow scientists." Adisa looked at her, realization dawning, "The other day... before time reversed itself!" "Yes." She nodded, "You noticed that your message to yourself this morning was strange, it was likely written in haste by that fiend Zenospira to punish you for your actions... what?" He had sniggered. He couldn't help it, "Sorry." "No, what?" Oh, she was going to steal his soul for this, "You... kinda talk exactly how I expected Nightmare Moon to sound. It's just a little ironic." Puppysmiles paused briefly before looking embarrassed, licking her lips before speaking, "Elocution. Circumstances. Equestria... oh fuzzlebunnies, I really do." He snorted. "Please forgive me, I've passed through several hosts, and it's obvious confused my vocal centers. I appear to have gotten stuck talking like Princess Luna at her most officious." She sighed, rolling her eyes before speaking again, "It's very frustrating going over this all again... ok, will you let me magically bind you to my will and make you my eternal servant?" He hoped she wasn't being entirely serious, "No." "A pity. You're rather cute." She gave him a big smile before angling her horn towards him, "Will you allow me to give you some of my memories then? You may find them enlightening." "I..." "I can explain more once I'm done, it's simply that we don't have a lot of time." Puppysmiles gave him a sincere nod, angling herself forward, "I promise it will not harm you, or force you to make any decisions that are not your own." Well he was already tumbling down the rabbit hole... "Ok." She gave him a grateful look before leaning her head towards his, horn pressing against his muzzle... ... He stepped back, breathing hard, "Oh shit... I mean... oh shit!" Puppysmiles gave him a concerned look, "Too much?" Adisa looked her in the eye, trying desperately to process all this, "It's been two hundred and seventeen years!?" Puppysmiles grinned, "You said that last..." "Yes, I know!" He placed a hoof on his forehead... then looked up at the clock, "Fluttershy's execution! And Dust Kicker...!" "Wait, you're ok with this?" She looked surprised, turning her head, "I expected you to be far more skeptical." "You... I know you." Adisa quite frankly surprised himself, but he knew it deep inside. It was honestly... quite beautiful, the sheer experience that had flooded his mind when she did that, "You walked with the Princesses and Shamans, you ARE a Princess and a Shaman! You stood in the halls of Garm when they were still new, you defeated Sombra and Discord! You... strode the wastes, a ghost warrior in the form of a child..." Puppysmile's eyes widened, "I didn't share any of that..." "You didn't have to." He placed a hoof on his chest, amazed by the feelings this evoked, "You were a part of me. I know..." Puppysmiles gave a look that was a mixture of horror and curiosity, "I... didn't mean to share so much. Are you alright?" "We need to get to Dust Kicker and Fluttershy." He repeated, annoyed she didn't share his urgency. "Yes... you're right..." She hesitated for a moment more before giving him a somewhat lopsided grin, "I don't suppose... you have a plan?" "You don't?" She averted her eyes, "I thought I did. But now I'm here..." She looked back at him, her voice trembling with a little bit of fear, "The last time I tried this, everypony got killed." "I understand." Adisa nodded, giving her a reassuring smile, "But I know someone who can help. And this time, I won't let her go." ¬ "Adisa..." Jessa stated with some surprise, looking away as he advanced towards her door, just as he had yesterday. She shied away from his confident expression this time, voice whispered and pained, "I..." "It's all a lie Jessa." Adisa stated, amazed at his confidence but feeling the vigor of a zebra who had already died once. And this was Jessa after all, she was smart, smart enough to already suspect the truth, "Those messages we get at the beginning of the day, they're written by an artificial intelligence based on previous writings. Zenospira is manipulating us." Jessa's eyes widened, "Well... that explains everything." "Wait... you knew?" Puppysmiles exclaimed from behind. Jessa looked round at Puppysmiles, her eyes narrowing "Who is this Adisa?" Adisa looked back at Puppysmiles, wondering how he was going to explain this one, "She's... a friend. I met her... yesterday." "I can tell this is going to be a long story." She stated with a nod, opening the door to her room, "Come inside." ¬ "I never trusted him in the first place, that's why." Adisa sat on Jessa's couch, taking it all in as Jessa spoke to him with the hushed tones of a true conspirator, the pencil attached to her hooves sketching furiously upon the papers laid out across her desk. He admitted that he already knowing was convenient, but it raised some other questions, "If you knew, why did you never tell me?" Jessa sighed, her sketching stopping for a moment, "I can't really speak for previous days." "Were you going to tell me today?" "...probably not." She looked back at him, giving a gentle, heartbreaking smile, "I was going to check things out myself, and that meant heading into the top secret levels. You don't have clearance Adisa." Puppysmiles stopped her pacing to give Jessa a hard look, "Since the days continue to reset, I think it's likely that Zenospira will be expecting any actions you take." Adisa shivered, "Jessa... we lost track of you. Security robots were called to your last known position." "Expecting or no, are you seriously saying Zenospira is a threat?" Jessa responded with a forced smirk, "He's a weedy bureaucrat who spends every day overcompensating for his undersized penis, and more to the point I know more about this tower than he ever will. I have the access codes, I have the clearance, and more to the point I designed most of it." Puppysmiles sighed, shaking her head. "Jessa... he's got total access. The whole system is rerouted through his office." Adisa stated with remorse, wondering which garbage disposal hatch she had ended each day before this one, "He likely changed the access codes a long time ago." "Impossible." She objected, "I would have noticed." "Jessa, there are days... where he set the defense network against us. Where he killed you." Her eyes widened slightly, "But... he resets each day too. How could he have pulled this off...?" "Either he's the only one receiving accurate reports, or he's not a part of the system." Puppysmiles looked up in thought, rubbing her jaw, "Thinking about it, we never saw him physically." "Has anyone?" Adisa questioned, thinking it would be a pretty easy ruse to pull off. Zenospira was never the most social of zebra after all, and he normally communicated through electronic communication. "I..." Jessa looked down, her voice a little panicked, "He's not smart enough to pull off something like this. To be honest he's never been that good a scientist, his main skill was in finding grant money, schmoozing with important zebra and making a speech to rich..." Adisa sighed, having encountered this blind spot too many times before. Really it was the same deal, vast intelligence but no appreciation of the details, "Jessa, you don't need to be a scientist to pull this off. He has you to work out the details." She blinked at him, sounding offended, "I would never help him with something like this!" "You likely didn't know it was this." He pointed out, "Jessa, you're... a little naive sometimes, and finding grant money and convincing nobles to support us proves that he's real good at stretching the truth." Jessa looked faintly ill as she considered this, using her hoof to support herself, "I'm not sure what to say. It... sounds convincing..." "We're telling the truth Jessa." He urged, "And we don't have much time." "Oh... was I really that naive...?" Jessa placed a hoof to her cheek, her expression quivering with silent emotion. She coughed for a moment before drawing herself up, taking a deep breath, "If this is true... well, I'm not sure how I can help. He's almost certainly ready for anything I could do to stop him, and if you're right he's already beaten me several times over." "Then it's a good job we're here." Puppysmiles stated confidently. She smiled at the both of them, looking efficient, "Adisa, hit me with your best shot!" He looked at her lopsidedly, "Me?" Jessa smiled broadly, "Adisa, you've always been a master at seeing through the overthought plans of self proclaimed geniuses. So see through this one." He coughed, no pressure, "Well... if Zenospira really is in a separate... timezone, dimension, whatever... can't we isolate him from the rest of the building?" Puppysmiles grinned wide at this, "That was his plan to neutralize Luna and Celestia during the bombardment of Equestria!" "I know it was, I contributed mathematics to that project." Jessa tapped her pencil against her chin, "And given the structure of the tower... I could certainly use it to replicate those effects. Depending on the exact specifics it should blind him for a least a few hours." "Which we can use to free Puppysmiles' friends." Adisa agreed. Puppysmiles frowned sadly, "They'll be watching Ace like a hawk, no way we're getting close. Dust Kicker too." "And Fluttershy is still in the most heavily guarded part of the facility." Adisa finished. "So we free Xaphina and Easu." She concluded, "Jessa, could you order a prisoner transfer, bring the 'two recently captured zebra' somewhere nearby for questioning?" "Certainly." She answered without hesitation. Puppy nodded, "And then we send them to free Fluttershy, while we save Dust Kicker. And once they're both secured, we shut down the internal security grid, free all the test subjects and take out Zenospira." "No. No, we're not doing that." Jessa quickly objected. Adisa looked at her, then nodded in agreement, "Puppysmiles, that would get a lot of zebra hurt." Puppysmiles frowned, Adisa seeing her mouth open and desperately hoping she wouldn't... "They killed my friends!" Jessa proceeded to not help in the slightest, "Do you know how many of my friends you ponies have killed?" "No! We're not going there!" Adisa quickly objected, holding up a hoof. He looked between Puppysmiles and Jessa, both looking ready to fight. And he wasn't about to let that happen, "This is about a unambiguous villain who's hurting everyone for the sake of his own ego. It's not about anything else!" "Like vengeance?" Jessa stated with a tiny bit of bitterness, "For say, the millions of zebra killed for your colonial ambitions?" "They're not my..." Puppysmiles started, before she suddenly stopped. A guilty look passed through her eyes and she sat back, sighing to herself, "Maybe I should apologize. Maybe in some way it's my fault." Adisa found that ridiculous, "Puppysmiles, you can't take responsibility for your whole race. And Jessa, you can't blame her for their actions." Puppysmiles looked at him for a moment with a reproachful expression before gazing across at Jessa, "I can take responsibility. I wasn't there, but my existence, my past and future..." Adisa felt a cold shiver run up his back, "Um... not helpful..." "...but this isn't about me." Puppysmiles continued, "Xaphina and Easu are both zebra who have spent their whole lives fighting for the future of their race. Xaphina is a native inhabitant of Equestria, an Equestrian hero who's statue stands in the palace of new Canterlot! Easu is a proud inhabitant of this very land! And Fluttershy has always fought for you, she came all this way to save you." Jessa averted her eyes, shoulders slumping slightly, "Fire, this is strange." Puppysmiles grinned wide, "Well I almost told you I was Nightmare Moon, possessing a animated corpse. That wouldn't have helped." Adisa looked at her, wondering quite what to say to that. Eventually he just shrugged, eying her witheringly, "No, it wouldn't." "Really?" Jessa asked with a rather skeptical expression. Adisa sighed, "It's a long story. Just... trust me." "Call me mad, but I do Adisa." Jessa smiled at him, her calm, genuine eyes making his heart flutter, "And you know, if this day does reset... then it's the perfect excuse to get a little wild. I always wanted to be a dashing heroine." "It's a lot of fun." Puppysmiles agreed. "We need to get to the central control hub." Jessa stabbed a pencil at the map, indicating the room in question, "And I need it empty." Puppysmiles grinned, "No problem." ¬ Jessa stepped into the control room with a look of firm authority, her eyes flashing and her voice proud, "Everyone, please step over here for a moment." The zebra all looked at each other before moving over to the door where she was standing. Adisa felt a little pang of conscience, feeling like this was a blow against 'his' people. The name 'central control room' made it sound more important than it actually was, every zebra here was at Adisa's level or lower, technicians tasked with making sure the little status bars didn't do anything strange, "Yes Director?" "Is this everyone?" She asked, then smiled as she saw it was, "I wanted to congratulate you all on your good work. Indeed you all deserve a rest." Puppysmiles stepped out behind her, the spell at her horn discharging with a flash, "Goodnight!" Adisa carefully stepped over the unconscious zebra as he entered the room, identifying the main consoles for Puppysmiles before moving over to a spare console and logging the central security system as 'down for maintenance'. That done he sealed the deal by breaking open the security hub and crossing a few wires, making sure any alerts sent would just go nowhere. "Communications are down, and it has been logged as just a simple systems fault! Nothing for anypony to worry about!" Puppysmiles declared cheerfully. Jessa was just staring at the console, understanding slowly dawning in her eyes as she studied the diagrams, "That little toerag, he's actually got it running and he didn't tell me..." She smirked, "Well, likely he did tell me, then conveniently deleted it from me logs. No way he designed those cross processors himself." Puppysmiles gave her a questioning look, "You know what he's doing?" Jessa chuckled, then nodded, "It was our project together. A super powered megaspell reactor chamber, capable of maintaining the stability of a megaspell far in excess of that Equestria could even dream of. We were almost there, but... well, it was ambitious, and the practical benefits were limited." Adisa gave her a skeptical glance, "Limited practical benefits to a superpowered megaspell?" "It would fall apart the second you removed it from the chamber." She explained, turning to look at them, "And though it would make an excellent power generator, it's initial cost is astronomical, and it's extremely vulnerable to attack." "So what is he using it for?" Puppysmiles questioned. "I'm an engineer, not a spell programmer." She counted, before turning back to her console and inspecting the energy readings, "But it looks like some sort of quantum field destabiliser effect. I also see a string for recompiling the resulting flux into a new form, one with targeted irregularities stripped. It's incredibly complex... and appears to have been somewhat crudely adapted from an Equestrian design. I can tell by the string ends, very clipped." She nodded firmly, "A clear sign of Gestalt and Mosaic's work." Puppysmiles took a breath, "So it is the Gardens of Equestria spell." Adisa turned to her, as did Jessa. He was about to admit ignorance, but Jessa spoke first, "I've heard only the vaguest details. It is some sort of terraforming project yes?" "Far more." Puppysmiles declared, eyes grim as she scanned the code on the screen, "It was designed to remove all taint from the Equestrian wasteland, remake it green and verdant as it was before. And it worked, we used the Elements of Harmony to power it." "Ah... that makes sense." Puppysmiles looked at Jessa, "What does?" Jessa gave a grim look at the code, "This will not work. It will create the patterns programmed yes, but all those patterns will be inert." "Inert?" Adisa questioned. "Dead." Jessa replied with a grim stare, "You can't just create life with magic, or forcefully remove taint in this fashion." "But..." Puppysmiles cocked her head, seeing her point but also seeing the logical flaw, "...it worked." "Because you used the elements of harmony." Jessa clarrified, "In many ways, this spell perfectly lines up with their intended purpose, purifying disharmony from an organism." She waved a hoof at the spell on the screen, "Without their guiding influence however this will just reduce the entire planet's ecosystem to mush." "Well..." Adisa wasn't sure what to say, "...that's unfortunate." Puppysmiles nodded, then turned to Jessa, "How do we stop it?" Jessa gave Puppysmiles a conflicted look, finally speaking after some thought, "Ordinarily I would say, 'let it decay', but the spell is highly unstable. Zenospira sits within the megaspell chamber, and attempts to remove him will inevitably result in damage to the containment protocols." "We fire it into space." Adisa stated, before feeling sure from their expressions that he was being stupid. "It's a sphere megaspell, if it's not given a precise target it will backfire." Jessa explained, "It has to be a terrestial target too, it can't break atmosphere." Puppysmiles suddenly broke out in a huge smile, looking at both of them, "I think... I have an idea. Well... to be precise, I think Adisa's idea has more merit than you think." Jessa gave her a sceptical look, "Shoot it into space?" "Kind of." She lowered her head in thought, "But I'll need to be outside." "There are several balconies around the building." Jessa stated, pointing them out on the map, "And getting to the point, we also need to think about your friends." "Xaphina escaped on her own last time." Puppysmiles mentioned, "So maybe she can do so again." "Hmm..." Adisa thought on this for a moment before a plan slowly started to come together, "Can we get a message to her? Tell her where... Easu is? He's on the same floor after all." Jessa tapped her jaw before shrugging, "I guess so. That's more your field Adisa." "I think I can do it." He stated with convinction, before returning to the others, "Then together maybe they can break Ace Gold out... oh balls..." Jessa looked up at his tone, "What?" "Dust Kicker's run against the Olorun is in ten minutes. I changed Fluttershy's but totally forgot about his... or rather you did Puppysmiles." Puppysmiles looked at Jessa, giving a embarrassed grin, "Whoops... cutting it tight..." "I can isolate Zenospira now, the other stuff can be done from the test control room." Jessa replied, stylus clicking across the control panel, "Dust Kicker is the mercenary with big guns right?" "Yeah." "Then he'll come in handy." She slashed her stylus across the touchpad, then pressed her hoof firmly down. After a moment a loud chime sounded out, a subtle hum in the air as the systems came to life, "It's done. Let's move." _ "Hey, you can't go this way! We have a live test...ugh!" Puppysmiles downed them with a quick pair of horn blasts, Adisa admitting she was a very useful mare to have on side. They might need it too, Dust Kicker having apparently already been released against the Olorun, "So what's the plan? Not to brag, but the Olorun is pretty tough, and it will be going after you." Jessa looked at Puppysmiles, eyes searching her figure, "How powerful are you anyway?" Puppysmiles hesitated at the doorway to the preparation chamber, "I... don't actually know. But I'm sure I'll figure something out." "Hmm..." Adisa wasn't reassured, "Jessa, do you think you can try to blag your way into the control room?" She nodded, "Most likely. I know the supervisor well." "Then I'm going with you Puppysmiles." He continued, calming his nerves at the idea of being in there with that thing, "I helped design it, and I've gone over all the plans." "Ok. Be careful." Jessa stated, moving off towards the control room access, "I'll try to shut the test down!" Adisa watched her go, then proceeded into the preparation chamber. It was dark and ominous, weapons and armor hidden behind heavy bars at the sides, "Can you use any of this stuff?" "Sorry, no." Puppysmiles admitted, "I can use a sword." "Not... recommended." Adisa replied, only imagining how that would go, "What's the armor penetration on your horn blasts?" "Um... is it magic resistant?" "Of course." "Then pretty non-existent." She grinned way too cheerfully, "I used to strip the armor away with my sword, then blast the fleshy parts with my magic." "There are no fleshy parts!" He was getting a really bad feeling about this, "You were a monster yesterday, with Ace Gold." "No, Ace Gold is a monster." She corrected, "I just amplified his talents. But don't worry, I'm smart, you're smart. We'll think of something." He climbed onto the lift beside her, starting the mechanism, "I hope so." The lift shuddered to a halt inside the testing chamber, already lit up by blasts of laser fire and explosives. He saw Dust Kicker sprawl, rolling behind some debris as the Olorun lurched towards him... "Hey, pick on somepony your own size!" Puppysmiles yelled as she brought a wall down on top of the machine, the brickwork simply shattering against it's chassis. It took notice of her however, spinning one of it's claws over to track her. She smirked at it, "Heh, this should be fun..." It fired a barrage of death at her, the unicorn disappearing in a flash and appearing half way up a rock formation. It fired again and tore through the rock like it was made of paper, Puppysmiles springing away and using her telekinesis to fling the column down upon it. Again it barely seemed to notice, marching through the rubble with dismissive kicks of it's legs to clear a path. "That's enough." Jessa's voice crackled in over the announcement system, "The test is over!" Adisa looked up at the window on the far wall, seeing Jessa standing there with a serious look. Damn she worked quick... "I was warned something like this might happen." A deep voice echoed from inside the Olorun, "In my message to myself this morning. And I looks like I was right, traitors in the facility. Boss said I get a bonus for taking you out." It levered it's claw up, a burst of weapons fire shattering the glass and sending Jessa diving to the ground. Adisa shouted for her and the others burst into action, Dust Kicker springing out and shooting it in the side with his anti-armor rifle. The bullet merely bounced away, Dust cursing as it returned fire with deadly accuracy. Puppysmiles yelled something and unleashed a blast of energy from her horn, to absolutely no effect that he could see. They were going to lose against this thing. He had to do something to help. He helped design this thing. He could... He took a deep breath and galloped forward, waving his hooves at the Olorun. It swiveled on him, Adisa wincing as it leveled it's weapons at him and pulling his id card from around his neck. The machine hesitated. He grinned, counted to two and shouted to the control room above, "Now, system restart!" Jessa appeared above the parapet, slamming her hoof down upon the console. The Olorun promptly shuddered, then powered down with a whine. Adisa galloped over before it could recover, slipping open the hatchway and tapping in the code. It opened with a swish and he reached inside, grasping the battery in both hooves and pulling it free with a twist. He dropped it clattering to the ground before backing up, amazed that had worked, "Yeah, still in beta." "What did you do?" Puppysmiles asked as she walked over, looking deeply impressed. "Memory overload error. If you reboot the control program while the pilot is accessing the system settings it crashes the whole OS." Adisa gave her a grin, "The Olorun recognizes me as staff. It wouldn't be able to fire on me without the pilot disabling the IFF, which can only be done in system settings." "And taking out that little battery will stop it from reactivating?" He nodded, "It's operating on emergency power, we haven't installed the main power unit yet." "No offense." A voice cut in from behind, "But who are you guys?" Puppysmiles' eyes widened, her grin spreading swiftly across her face as she turned to the voice, "DUST KICKER!" She launched herself at Dust Kicker with significant force, leaving the poor stallion deeply confused as she slammed into him and gripped her hooves about his neck. His confusion only intensified as she nuzzled him affectionately, eyes rapidly blinking in Adisa's direction. "You smell just like I imagine!" Dust gave a nervous grin, "Of confusion and blood?" "Yus!" She replied, before bouncing back and posing herself coquettishly, "It's me, Puppysmiles!" "Puppy?" Dust looked her up and down, understandably surprised, "How... did you possess that mare?" "I'm just borrowing her." She replied, tapping a hoof against her chest, "The original owner probably appreciates the chance to take revenge." Dust looked at her for a moment more before his eyes narrowed, "Is that mare... dead? Puppy, that might count as being slightly offensive to some ponies." "Do you want to be saved?" She questioned, pouting at him. "I guess..." He reluctantly declared before looking around, "Where are Ace, Easu and Fluttershy?" "Easu and Xaphina are helping free Ace. Fluttershy is your next stop." Jessa stated as she came out of the service door, galloping swiftly towards the immobilized Olorun, "Adisa, could you please reinsert the battery?" He looked round at her, she looked serious, "Why?" "Time for questions later Adisa." He knew that tone, leaning down and doing as she requested. The battery slid cleanly inside, resulting in a rumble as the Olorun's systems reset, "Um, Jessa..." She paused for a moment in consideration before nodding, "Oh yes. Base of the tail, can someone remove the pilot?" "Pilot...?" Then a section of metal plating slid away, revealing a hatchway that opened up to reveal a rather panicked looking zebra in a flight suit. He struck his controls a couple of times before reaching down and pulling out a side arm, struck a second later by a stream of energy from Puppysmiles' horn that knocked him sprawling. "Thank you." Jessa stated cheerily as she slightly clumsily attempted to climb the side of the Olorun, "Adisa, a hoof?" He obliged, placing a hoof under her own and giving her a step as she clambered upwards. It gave him a rather nice view of her rear as she did, which almost distracted him from the present situation, "Jessa, can you pilot this thing?" "Yes, actually." She stated as she walked over to the cockpit, gazing down at the unconscious pilot in irritation, "Puppysmiles, you couldn't be a dear and remove this zebra could you?" She eagerly jumped up, showing quite impressive strength and dexterity as she landed atop the machine in a few strides, "Okeydoki!" "I am a certified test pilot, and these controls are reasonably standard. I have also compiled a program that should grant me unfiltered control of the Olorun's systems." She nodded in thanks as Puppysmiles hurled the pilot from the cockpit, moving inside and setting into the harness, "I should be able to provide a distraction as you move on Zenospira." "A distraction?" Adisa protested, "Jessa, it's too dangerous." "Adisa, my combat skills are non-existent and we will have provoked a response with this display. I am far less vulnerable in here." She settled her hooves into the access panel and the hatch slid closed, her voice now crackling from the speakers, "Pretty much the entire defense force of the tower will be coming through that door at any moment. I suggest you get moving." Adisa was not happy with this. Jessa was no pilot, "Jessa..." The metal shutters at the end of the room slid open, revealing a legion of black carpaced Anansi bots with turrets deployed. Dust swore and pulled Adisa into cover as bullets slammed into the ground, Puppysmiles darting away from a storm of laser fire. The Defender weathered a few shots that weren't precisely directed at it before twisting it's claws round at the new arrivals, pausing for a moment as weapon systems warmed up... Adisa watched in awe, having never actually seen the results of this match up. Truth be told, the terrain wasn't exactly in the Anansi's favor, packed together so tightly that there was no way of dodging. They gave it good, one of the Olorun's claws falling limp with sparks flying, several sections of it's armor torn away and a hit to one of it's legs that sent it clattering to the ground... but at the end of it, the Anansi army lay in a pile of melted scrap. Adisa poked his head out, eyes stinging from the smoke, "Jessa?" "Well... that was exhilarating." She answered through the machine's speakers, "Now go, I'll try and keep up the distraction." Dust peered at her, "Distract how?" She forced the machine back up, leveled her weapon at the control room and demolished it with a few quick bursts. "Point taken." Dust conceded, turning to Puppy as she galloped over, "Lead on Puppy." ¬ Adisa winced as Dust Kicker burst through the door onto the biological research floor, his hoof immediately cutting out and knocking an unlucky security guard to the floor. The other tried to hit the alarm but Puppysmiles struck him with a energy blast before he had the chance, leaving him slumping unconscious against the wall. "You guys are very efficient." Adisa commented as he came through after them, "And thank you for not killing them." "I try not to as a rule." Dust commended, seizing some extra ammo clips from one of the guards and stowing them in his belt, "Which way to Fluttershy's cell?" Adisa pointed it out and they ran, Adisa unable to stop the memory of the previous day surfacing. He could only hope they weren't too late for a second time. They burst through the door into the control room, a group of scientists sitting behind a glass window watching the cell beyond. There sat Fluttershy, her head bowed, body lurching with painful emotion as a voice crackled through loudspeakers, "...and what of your companions? They are dead. Dust Kicker, Ace Gold... all of them died screaming, and it's your fault." Dust Kicker stepped inside, walked through the room and pulled open the door at the far end, some of the scientists standing up and yelling. A single guard in the room with Fluttershy turned, then drew a pistol as he saw Dust Kicker standing there. He didn't get further than that, Dust Kicker shooting him in both forehooves with a quick barrage of bullets and dropping him swearing to the floor. He followed up by placing bullets through the speaker system, silencing the voice with bursts of fading static. One of the scientists went for Dust Kicker, another running for the weapons locker. Puppysmiles demonstrated what she thought of that, dropping the one going for the weapons locker with a quick horn blast to the face. The one attacking Dust Kicker didn't even get close, Dust Kicker kicking him in the jaw without even looking. "Please, remain in your seats." Adisa stated as he held his gun on the two remaining scientists, feeling his hoof tremble a little, "I don't want to hurt you." "You should." Puppysmiles hissed. "Yeah..." He stated, looking up at Fluttershy in the room beyond. She was already bruised up, her wild eyes clearly speaking of the emotional pain she had been through. Those eyes quivered as she saw Dust Kicker, running at him and burying herself in his hooves. Then he saw one of the scientists move, looking like he injected himself with something. He turned his gun on the figure, "Don't move..." The weedy looking scientist flung himself forward, smacking the gun from Adisa's hoof before slamming him backwards through the door behind to sprawl into the corridor. Adisa gasped and rolled over, clutching his injured chest and wondering how many bones he had just broken. "Adisa! Ughn!" Puppysmiles tried to help but the scientist avoided her clumsy swing with such speed Adisa could barely keep up, the scientist flinging a hoof upwards and smacking her with enough force to break her jaw. He followed up by seazing her head and slamming it agianst the wall, an attack that left Puppysmiles slumping limp onto the ground. Then the window shattered, the scientist rolling under the desk as bullets flew. Dust jumped through the open window, landed in a combat roll that certainly impressed given the stallions size and age... but the scientist was already upon him, leaping forward to take him out before he could draw his gun. But Dust Kicker wasn't wearing his gun. Fluttershy came through the main door, Dust's pistol attached to her hoof. The bullet cut through the scientist's body before he could reach Dust Kicker, knocking him off balance and allowing Dust Kicker to catch him midair and slam him against the wall. He followed up with a fearsome set of hoof blows, striking the zebra five times before he backed away. Fluttershy moved beside him, Dust Kicker's pistol focused on the downed scientist, "Why...? Why do all this?" "Zenospira predicted you would come..." The scientist gasped, "And... I got a chance to check out our new combat drug... very effective..." "This is utter madness." Dust stepped back, looking the scientist over, "It's going to kill you, I can already tell." "And... I will come back tomorrow... glorified in his eyes..." The zebra gasped before his head slumped to the side, the life fading from his eyes. "Fucking hell..." Dust grunted, turning to eye the other scientists still sat in their seats, "Anyone else?" They all gave quick shakes of their heads. Fluttershy sighed at the sight before turning to smile at Dust Kicker, tears filling her eyes, "You came for me, you really did..." Adisa didn't want to break up this happy reunion, but... "Lady Fluttershy, um... Puppysmiles is wounded." As was he really, his ribs shifting painfully with every movement. Puppysmiles however wasn't even moving, her head a slightly odd shape where she had been slammed against the wall. Fluttershy looked deeply shocked as she looked across at the unconscious unicorn, still she moved with impressive speed considering her obvious age and poor condition. She grabbed a medical kit off the wall and quickly went to work, laying the unicorn out and cleaning the blood from her temple, "Oh my... this is really Puppysmiles?" Dust frowned, "Yeah. She going to be ok?" "I think so." She injected a few drops of healing potion into the wounded areas before applying a quick jolt of adrenaline, Puppysmiles eyes flickering open after just a moment, "Welcome back." Her face contorted with pain, eyes closing, "I feel awful..." "You should be dead." She warned, "That blow sent shards of bone straight into your brain." Dust frowned, "Good job she's already dead then." "Well this is certainly unexpected." She commented, helping the mare to her hooves, "I guess Ace's container didn't survive?" "No." She admitted sadly, "And neither did the shard of star metal. I've been trying my best to save you all, jumping from body to body." She looked Puppysmiles up and down, "One of his victims?" "Yes." "Zenospira..." Fluttershy's expression grew dark, finally looking away from Puppysmiles up towards Dust Kicker, "We have to stop him." "We have a plan." Dust replied, "You seem to know the guy." "Vaguely." Fluttershy grimaced, "I... didn't like him very much, but I didn't realize he was this bad." Adisa observed all of this, eventually deciding it was time to call attention to his own issues. He was starting to have trouble breathing, "Um... Lady Fluttershy? I think my ribs are broken." "Oh, I'm being rude!... ow..." Puppysmiles declared a little too loudly for her own comfort, wincing and rubbing her head before expending a hoof to Adisa, "Um... this is Adisa, he's been helping us." "Oh, you poor thing." Fluttershy soothed, moving over and gently indicating for him to move onto his side. He did so with a little embarrassment on his part, unsettled by both his rather vulnerable position and the fact that standing there above him was... her. He would only have been more unsettled by Twilight Sparkle herself, "This shouldn't take a moment, though you should be careful. There's only two vials of healing potion here, I'm having to spread it a little thin..." "You're really..." He started, gulping back a bit of air, "...Lady Fluttershy?" "I'm not a Lady." She protested with a rather exasperated grin, "Why do you all call me that?" "Sorry." He blushed, shrugging his shoulders as he got back up and flexed his stomach muscles to make sure everything was still in place, "Everyone does. Ever since the battle of..." "...Stalliongrad Valley, yes." Fluttershy sighed, looking him eye to eye with a smile. She was taller than he had expected, almost as tall as Adisa despite her age and species. More robust than he expected too, bulkier and more weatherbeaten than the shy, sweet girl he had seen in photographs. The bruises and the fact she hardly seemed to notice them certainly added a unexpected twist on his perception of the mare, as did her voice. Kind and gentle, but with a forceful edge, "I don't understand why. You all just had to fight the battle all over again." "It was proof of concept!" Adisa shouted excitedly, feeling the geek in him rise. Oh, if only Jessa was here, "The secrets of harmony opened up, the prophesy of the fire's maiden... even if you don't believe in that stuff, the science was simply breathtaking. I remember the day they brought the megaspell equations in here." She winced slightly, "Please... don't mention that..." Possibly a sore spot, yeah. But he couldn't just drop it, "Lady Fluttershy, that megaspell formula saved lives. The effect it had on our medical care, on environmental management..." "I didn't actually invent it you know?" She chided gently, "It was a set of very clever ponies I had the pleasure of working with, led by Professor Shine Bright. The most I helped was by securing funding. And... they also helped destroy the world." That made him pause. It was still a big thing to consider, took big to have really sank in yet. The whole world gone? "Lady Fluttershy... we never wanted that. None of us here wanted that." He bowed his head, wondering if it was somehow his fault, "We just wanted to defend our home... and it's not your fault. Science marches on, and the guilt is on those who misuse it." "Somepony wanted that." Dust commented, his tone biting. "Zenospira..." Fluttershy looked at them all, "You said you had a plan?" ¬ "Now this is what we need!" Adisa watched for enemies as Dust Kicker helped himself to the armory in preparation for the assault on Zenospira. Somewhat predictably he quickly moved for the huge Equestrian Anti-Tank cannon, Adisa rather impressed with the ease with which he carried it, "Wow, earth ponies really are as strong as they say." "Eh, it's all the balance... and here they come!" Adisa looked back round to see Easu and Ace Gold rushing down the corridor. He couldn't help a big smile at the latter, moving to meet him, "Ace Gold!" The buck stopped, looking confused, "Do I know you?" Adisa stopped there, studying Ace for a moment. He looked different, smaller, his eyes less bright and unfocused somehow... "He got reset along with everypony else." Puppysmiles reminded him, stepping up beside. "Oh, right..." He felt rather sheepish, and a little disappointed. Still he offered a hoof, giving his best smile, "You helped me quite a bit yesterday, I just wanted to... thank you." "Really?" Ace Gold looked uncomfortable, his eyes once more failing to focus, "Well at least I did something right." Then his head snapped up as someone moved out behind, Easu also looking instantly struck by whoever it was. Fluttershy quickly revealed herself, trotting up with gleeful enthusiasm, "Oh Ace, I'm glad you're ok." "Fluttershy! You..." Ace trotted forward to meet her, hesitated, then frowned deeply and struck her on the side with his hoof, "I told you! You almost get yourself killed, where does that leave us?!" She looked shocked for only a moment before smiling, rubbing her injured side and patting the buck lightly on the head, "It's ok Ace, we're all together again." "What about Zaphina?" Adisa asked. "Who?" "It's a long story Fluttershy." Ace quickly interjected before making a big sigh, "She's around, somewhere." "Then we're all set." Dust reported as he stepped out, fully kitted out, "Let's take this bastard down." "You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you?" They all hesitated, turning slowly to the voice from down the corridor. It had come from a pair of slinking, black clad figures, their high tech respirators and full body suits unmistakable. Adisa shivered, remembering what happened last time, remembering just how deadly this pair were, "Invitus, Myrtis, I..." "Quiet traitor" Myrtis hissed, "You alwayz were a weak link." Invictus's voice was much calmer, smooth and controlled as he inspected the ponies before him, "Zenospira is quite impressed. All the escape attempts, all the attempts to defeat him, to disrupt our work... this is one of the best." "But you do realize that he told uz not to interfere? That he purpozely left those holez in his zecurity network zo that you could escape, and try to ztop him?" Myrtis gleefully added. Adisa shook his head, it was crazy, "Why?" "You're all still part of the experiment." Invictus explained, "We're recording all of this, and it will be used as data for the next generation of zebra combat technology." "And with it, we'll finally free thiz land from you ztinking poniez!" Myrtis laughed. "Neither of you two have any idea do you?" Everything went silent, the two ghosts actually stepping back a little as Fluttershy stormed out. Invitus was the first to speak, "Holy fire, that's Fluttershy..." "Mizz Fluttershy?" Myrtis stated, her tone quietly awed, "It'z a trick, an illuzion..." Fluttershy turned her eyes to Myrtis, "You have a Saddle Arabian accent. Why would you let them do those terrible things to you?" Myrtis paused, frozen by those eyes, "...terrible things...?" "Chain you to a table, inject you with drugs, cut away at your body and pump pink gas into your veins." Fluttershy continued, her expression urgently insistent, "I've seen it happen with my own eyes, I've met Chigaru and the zebra he was before! Who were you? What was your name before all this?" Myrtis looked twitchy, her voice uncertain, "Invictus...?" "We let them do those things to us so we could fight you." Invictus declared proudly, "So none would ever suffer as we did!" "How did you suffer?" Fluttershy asked, her voice low and kind, "What did Equestria do to you?" Invictus hesitated at this, the hostility draining from his voice, "We... were slaves of Master Bitter Leaf, sold to him when we were children by camel slavers." "He waz a cruel mazter." Myrtis stated, with both bitterness... and fear. Fluttershy's eyes widened in horror, "But slavery was illegal in the zebra territories..." "Master Bitter Leaf told us that it didn't matter. That because he was an Equestrian citizen no zebra law would ever touch him, that through them he was rich and powerful enough to do whatever he liked." Invictus angled his body forward aggressively, stalking around Fluttershy as his voice rose to a hiss, "But Caesar saved us! He alone had the will to finally arrest our master for his crimes, free us from bondage!" Fluttershy nodded, looking down and remaining silent for several seconds. Adisa looked from her to the two Ghosts, waiting for someone to speak... "I knew Caesar, I was friends with him. And I knew your master too. He was allies with Centurius, he tried to have me killed once." The two paused, Invictus finally speaking after a moment, "We are aware. But our issue is with Equestria, and for all you did for us Lady Fluttershy you still led these ponies here..." Fluttershy cut him off, eyes coming up to stare straight at him, "Ponies and zebra." "Zebra traitorz, zerving Equeztria!" Myrtis shouted. "Equestria is gone." Fluttershy stated softly, "It's been two hundred years." "Liez! It'z been two hundred and thirty dayz!" "If it has truly been that long..." Invictus questioned, his hoof extending, "...how do you still live?" "It's a long story." Fluttershy answered, "But I no longer serve Equestria, and you no longer serve Caesar." Invictus froze briefly, but his tone soon filled once more with confidence, "That's because you killed him!" "No." Fluttershy shook her head, taking a deep breath as her eyes shook with emotion, "He's still alive, for what it's worth. He's alone out there, and has been ever since Zenospira killed ever other zebra in the wasteland, used them as test subjects for his experiments." "That... that'z impozzible..." Myrtis whispered, "We would have notized..." "You said it yourselves, you have records of two hundred and thirty days." Fluttershy stared them straight on, "He on the other hand has had had two hundred and seventy eight years to experiment." Invictus looked around nervously, no longer sounding so confident, "You lie..." "I am not lying, not to you." She gazed pleadingly at them, "Zenospira is a madman and a monster, who allowed both nations to burn so that he could inherit the future." "If he's willing to let his prisoners run loose, try to stop him... that means he doesn't care who gets hurt." Adisa pointed out, reaching out to Myrtis, "Myrtis, please trust me. I've helped you repair your suit, I've looked at you without fear. Caesar made you strong, gave you a purpose. Zenospira has told you he has inherited that loyalty, but when has he ever done anything to earn it?" Myrtis shook her head, "I..." "May I have every zebra's attention? I am administrator Otani Kajessa Nanjyu, and I have commandeered the emergency broadcast system in order to explain my actions here today." Adisa looked up, as did everyone else. The speakers above crackled slightly as Jessa's voice echoed from the PA system, her tone strident and confident, "If you would take a look at your consoles, you will see that I have removed the software blocks giving you direct access to the building's sensors, along with a log of all orders given to our security forces in the days following the megaspell bombardment. I'm sure it will not take you long to notice that they do not remotely match up with what you have been told, and here is why. Zenospira is lying to us, and has been lying to us all along. He has used us to kill our own people, destroy our own land, and he has shown clear intent that he intends to do the same to us once he no longer needs us." Adisa smiled to himself, then looked to the two ghost operatives, "She's telling the truth." "Please, just stay in your assigned spaces and wait for us. I intend to confront Zenospira personally, and free us all from his lies." Invictus paused for several seconds, finally letting out a long breath, "We must talk to Zenospira directly. He must have some explanation..." "Well done Jessa, nicely said." Zenospira's voice echoed from the PA system, accompanied by a reedy chuckle, "Oh, this really is wonderful, so much data, so much to work with! Those ponies really were a terrific find... and yes, I'm afraid what she said is all true." Myrtis gasped, looking up, "I don't...!" "But I'm afraid that means I've got no further reason to hold back. And that means you all have to die." A turret suddenly shot out of the roof, it's multiple barrels starting to spin up as it focused directly on Fluttershy standing bellow... it discharged with a roar, Invitus grunting as he threw himself in front of the mare and took the shots straight in his flank. A moment later and the turret was torn apart with a single shot of Dust Kicker's rifle, leaving the corridor silent... ...save for the sound of further gunfire and yelling from elsewhere in the building. "I... thank you!" Fluttershy lent down to the injured Invitus, leaking pink gas from his wounds, "Are you ok?" "Please... stay back." He warned her off with a hoof, staggering onto his feet as the holes in his suit started to close, "I will recover quickly. More importantly..." "Invitus!" Myrtis turned to him with desperation clear even despite the mask, "He'z turned the zecurity zyztems on the zcientists!" "Then the task is clear!" Invitus turned to the, tone sharp and demanding, "If you are going to stop this, do it quickly! We must defend the others!" Dust nodded, then looked across the group, "Ace, Easu, Fluttershy, go with them." Easu frowned, "Why us?" "Zenospira is sealed inside some sort of armored chamber. Neither of you are really suited to that sort of fight, but you are suited to helping get innocents to safety." Dust sighed, "And if we fail, at least you three will still be in the fight." "He's expecting us." Adisa pointed out, remembering how it went last time. "I've got a plan this time." Puppysmiles reassured him, "But I was hoping Jessa would be with us." "I will retrieve her and bring her to you." Invitus stated firmly, moving to leave, "I will not be but a m..." They all jumped away as Jessa dropped down from the roof above, the maintenance cover clattering onto the tiles a second before she hit the ground with all four hooves. She looked at them all for a moment, smiled, then looked up, "You can come down now!" There was no response. "Jessa, I'm so glad you're safe." Adisa declared with relief, running forward and hugging her tight, "That was... quick." "I figured he might try something like this, so I set the announcement on a delay." She revealed, then looked sadly back up at the hatch, "Another zebra helped me to escape, I think she was part of your group? Xaphina?" Ace smiled to himself, "Yeah, she's one of us. And don't worry, she's ok. She just doesn't do crowds." "She saved my life." Jessa stated sadly before looking up at everyone, "So what's the next move?" "The most... experimental part of my plan." Puppysmiles admitted with a slightly strained smile, "I need a balcony." ¬ Puppysmiles stepped out onto the balcony, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. It was getting dark, the moon just starting to peek out on the horizon, the city below silent and dead. It was an ominous sight, Adisa remembering it when it had been full of life, and also when he had looked from these windows and seen nothing but Equestria wrought devastation. A lie, an illusion, now cleared from their eyes by Jessa's disabling of the light generators. She stood with them now, along with Dust Kicker. Puppysmiles was now walking to the edge of the balcony, ready to do whatever she was doing. She had stated that it would take too long to explain and so Adisa just watched her, silent and still, her magic flickering occasionally. Time ticked on and he almost feared she had fallen asleep, just about to question her when Puppysmiles' eyes opened and she gave the sky above a determined look, "Here we go." She extended her head upwards and magic poured through her, exploding out from her horn in a fierce pink and blue spiral. Adisa gazed at the sight in wonder, he had never seen a pony produce two separate colors from their horn before, nor the kind of magic she was using. His wonder only grew as he looked up and saw... the moon was rising, "Great fire..." Dust bit his lip, looking worried. Puppysmiles meanwhile seemed to be clearly buckling under the pressure, her eyes tightening and her breathing becoming strained. A few grey hairs fluttered about her head, her whole body seeming to weaken and age. The moon reached it's zenith and still Puppysmiles didn't stop, her magic instead changing and shifting slightly. A crackle of energy lurched from the tower and fed into Puppysmiles' hooves, burning her fur and flesh and feeding into her horn as it vibrated and glowed from the pressure... The moon... was getting bigger. And then she released the magic, panting and falling to her knees. Above sat an alarmingly large moon that was bright enough to bring a eery, silvery daylight to the city, the night sky full of sparkles and shine. Adisa had to admit a touch of fear, he couldn't help but be worried that it would fall on them, "What did you do?!" "I... you should have discussed this with me." Jessa noted with a little shake of fear, "I cannot begin to calculate what this will do." "The moon... naturally absorbs magical energy." Puppysmiles stated firmly, forcing herself back to her hooves with obvious pain, "If we resonate it..." "You're talking about Moondancer's method?" Jessa stated with a look of disdain, "His methods are two thousand years out of date!" Puppysmiles hesitated a moment before frowning, her voice challenging, "Hey... I used to have a moon cutie mark. I... can do it..." "Have you ever fired a megaspell at the moon before?" "Well... kinda. Theoretically." Puppysmiles cocked her head to the side, biting her lip, "I was a megaspell fired at the moon once..." "Theoretically?" Jessa spat, "You do this wrong, you'll just bounce the spell off the surface and likely blow the planet in half. We need a clear plan, not guesswork and a prayer." Adisa sighed, this was getting them nowhere, "Jessa... then how does she do it right? We don't have a lot of time." She turned to him, surprised for a moment before holding a hoof to her chin, "Well... the problem is that the moon is quite smooth, you would need to hit it straight on. We're just too far off the equator for that." Puppysmiles thought about that for a moment before smiling, "Would it help if there was a structure you could fire it at? One with a mana channel straight down to the core?" Jessa's eyes widened, "Certainly... yes, that would work." "I should even bye able to work out the exact magical frequency." Puppysmiles stated, before giving a wide smile, "My friend Midnight Dreamer had a lot of books written by Princess Luna. One was a detailed account of the temple of Nyx." Jessa still looked apprehensive, however she finally gave a nod after a couple of seconds, "Be aware that I'm still not sure what this will do. I mean... this is a incomplete terraforming spell meant for the entire planet, firing it at the moon..." "The moon is dead anyway." Puppysmiles reminded her, "At best, this might revive it." Dust Kicker gave a nervous laugh behind them, "This is getting... intense. Puppy, are you sure about this?" "We don't have a lot of options... gak!" Puppysmiles stepped forward before suddenly coughing blood, stumbling slightly. She looked down at her hooves in confusion, her eyes drifting apart slightly, "...mmm..." "Puppysmiles!" Adisa quickly moved to steady her, noting that she looked awful. The color had drained from her skin, she barely looked more than a corpse again, "Are you ok?" "I... I'm fine." She looked up, wiping her mouth with a hoof and smiling weakly at them, "Those were spells designed for alicorns after all, they kinda... roughed me up a little is all." She took a deep breath, firming herself for a moment before speaking again, "And returning to the point... there's a unstable, planetary sized megaspell just above us, and Zenospira has a dead mare's switch. I know this isn't perfect, but can't think of anything else that would work." "I suppose If we're lucky we'll never have to fire it." Jessa admitted, "Only if we lose containment." "And we've been so lucky so far..." Adisa pointed out as he helped Puppysmiles to the door, sparing one look behind him at the empty city below. So that was what they were fighting to save. He wasn't sure if he was encouraged by the chance to pay Zenospira back for his crimes, or discouraged that there wasn't much left to save. After this day... there was a new world out there, a world he knew nothing about. So much of this was guesswork. Then he looked at Jessa, her mind obviously working furiously as she accessed a console and in a few moments managed to write a code that would fire a giant megaspell at the moon, to hit a target the size of a thimble. And despite having been thrown about, shot at and given the worst day of her life, managed to look more dignified as he did on his best. There was still something worth saving. That at least could give him hope. ¬ They opened the door to Zenospira's office, Adisa taking a little breath to steady himself as it opened up before him. Jessa and Dust Kicker both gasped, Jessa stumbling a little as she gave a look of utter horror, "I... never..." "So you have finally arrived." Zenospira crooned, his image appearing in front of his pod and giving a little clap of his hooves, "Both days you have spent here, both days you manage to get this far! You are wonderful little test subjects." Jessa finally got a hold of herself, looking about the cavernous room. She eventually nodded to herself, leaning close to Puppysmiles, "Puppysmiles, just try and keep him busy. I'll see what I can do." "I can do that." Puppysmiles looked to Dust Kicker as she moved forward, "Stay here, and don't move. I'm going to teleport you in a moment." "You've fought this guy before Puppy." Dust replied, with a little bit of uncertainty in his voice, "I'll follow your lead." Puppysmiles grinned at him, then advanced forward. She closed her eyes in concentration as she stepped along the walkway, her fur starting to stain black and her body increasing in size. Power welled up around her and blue light erupted from her horn, the mare now standing there none other than... "Nightmare Moon? Really?" Zenospira gave her a strained grin, "I'm really supposed to believe..." "I just raised the moon." Puppysmiles quickly cut him off, her horn igniting and forming a glowing crescent at the tip. She paused a moment for it to sink in before declaring loudly and sharply, "This is black matter around me, and I'm possessing a corpse." Zenospira hesitated, his tone now a little uncertain, "Then why are you here, oh Princess of Equestria?" "You're a threat to my ponies." She declared sharply, "The last true threat. And I'm here to shut you down, personally this time. You against me Zenospira!" Jessa looked across the tower they had entered from as Puppysmiles continued, her expression deeply troubled. Eventually she leaned over to Adisa, "I'm going to need your help Adisa. I'm not even sure where to start." He couldn't believe that, "You said you designed it!" "It's had two centuries of development." She countered, looking back at the conflict brewing behind, "When the fight starts, we pull panels off and start finding something to break,." “So Nightmare Moon herself!” Zenospira laughed, his teeth prominent upon his mocking face as he drew himself up to face Puppysmiles, “And how disappointed I am! A tiny fragment of a old, forgotten villain, inhabiting a corpse!” “Could say the same to you.” Puppysmiles replied with a smirk, “All those big holograms and loudspeakers, just to disguise the little zebra inside.” “Well, let’s test our worth then shall we?” Zenospira gestured with a hoof, the starcannon turret spinning out and focusing upon her, “The way it should be ended! A duel to decide the fate of the world!” The starcannon fired, a bolt of blue fire streaming at her with a deathly wail. Puppysmiles just stood before it unmoving, Adisa knowing he needed to focus but unable to keep his eyes off her... Then he was forced to as the whole room... lurched. Suddenly Puppysmiles and the walkway were in an entirely new location, the starcannon blast simply shredding emitters and pylons across the far side of the room. Her horn ignited again, Dust Kicker disappearing with a similar blue of compressed space to appear on another walkway far above. Dust Kicker recovered quickly, propping his rifle on the ledge and tightening his teeth upon the trigger. Zenospira held up a holographic hoof in defense, shields solidifying in front of him... The bullet had barely exited the barrel when the room lurched again and the bullet flew in from an entirely new angle. It hit Zenospira from the back, shredding the starfire turret into spinning fragments and causing sparks to fly from the pod and it's sensors. Jessa chuckled as she pulled a panel loose and started inspecting the components, "Not bad... your friend knows her science. She's only been here twice and she already understands it better than Zenospira, not that it surprises me." Adisa nodded, though he wasn't too sure. Zenospira undoubtedly still had plenty of... And then the battlefield did indeed shift once more. Zenospira screamed in anger as another of Dust's bullets struck across his armor, hoof slashing out and shattering emitters across the expanse of the room as space shifted with a lurching roar. Puppysmiles screamed out as she was hurled through the air by the sudden shift and sent crashing into the tower, Zenospira pounding her quickly erected shield with laser blasts, “Little bitch! You seek to use my own power against me?! A creature of magic and superstition, using science against me!?” Adisa winced as Dust continued firing, bullets just bouncing off Zenospira’s shields as he raised his hoof, firing a blast that shattered the pony's rifle into pieces. Dust hit the floor with a wounded gasp and Adisa closed his eyes as Zenospira span a turret to track him, power gathering at it's barrel... “What!?” Adisa opened his eyes, the turret suddenly falling silent. A moment later and Jessa spoke beside him, her voice clear and angry, “I always thought you were a egotistical prick Zenospira, but never dreamed you were this bad.” Zenospira’s eyes turned to her, Adisa seeing that she had several severed cables at her hooves. She endured his glare for another moment before she slammed two loose connections together, causing Zenospira to scream as his hologram flicked violently, “Gagggh! Jessa, do you wish me to destroy you too!? Stop this, before...!” “Destroy me?” She spat, her face twitching, “You’re even speaking like some clichéd divine wannabe! I respected you once, you were my friend! But you know what else you were?” Zenospira flung his hooves out, compartments opening up to unleash a hoard of spiderbots, “Kill them, kill them!” “A lousy scientist.” She grabbed something from the compartment below and pulled, yanking out a large metal cylinder and rolling it towards an exposed wire. She dodged away and Adisa shielded his face, a wise precaution as the cylinder lit up like a torch and hundreds of emitters suddenly exploded with a deafening roar. All at once the room started to shrink, spiderbots shifted through space to fall towards the bottom of the sphere still miles below. Jessa shook her head to focus herself, looking at Xenospira once again, “I built most of this! While you came up with your ideas, who were the ones putting them into practice? You built your success upon us, how dare you use us as pawns in your damn...!” "ENOUGH!" A bolt of searing star energy flew from the pod, cutting through her shoulder and dropping her to the ground with a look of bewildered shock. Her mouth opened, only delivering a gasping cough and a spray of blood. “Jessa!” He rushed over to her, pulling out a vial of healing potion, “Hold on!” “Fools... fools and ingrates... you throw away divine inheritance...” Zenospira’s hologram flickered and died, even as his voice became raspy and pained, “...even with everything, I am more powerful than you...” "You..." Adisa gritted his teeth, watching Jessa dying in his hooves. He injected a healing potion but it barely touched the injury, the cruel, still burning wounds getting worse by the moment, "...Jessa..." She managed to focus, her eyes joining his for but a moment, "...stop him..." Adisa gritted his teeth, furious, wanting nothing more. And as he sat there and looked at the wires beneath his hooves Adisa's contempt grew all the more, "You really are a lousy scientist." Zenospira laughed at this, "Oh, cutting words from the tech support!" "If you had brought me in, you would know better than to leave your main power cord exposed." He stated as he pulled loose a wide, thick wire and plugged it directly into the central processing hub. He heard a brief gasp from the pod, glad that Zenospira had just enough time to see what was coming. Then he pulled out the grounding cord. The room collapsed in on itself as a loud crack echoed outwards, shrinking at incredible speeds as the sound of shattering machinery filled his ears. He closed his eyes to spare his brain from all the laws of physics being broken, waiting until the room had stopped shaking before opening them again. They were in Zenospira's office, a large oval shaped room with field emitters protruding from the curved walls, most of them now broken. The rest of the room was empty, the furniture having been cleared to make way for the pod now standing in the center of the room, wires expanding in all directions in what looked like a hurried attempt to install it into the towers network. He saw Puppysmiles laying limp a short distance away, Dust grunting as he levered himself up. Jessa lay at his hooves, her breathing shallow and the energy wound still raw upon her flesh, "Jessa!" "Warning, tower systems have been compromised. Overload detected, primary generators have been severely damaged. Assessing... primary generators must be deactivated to avoid irrecoverable damage." The voice of the tower's maintenance system filled the air, perfectly calm despite the urgency of her words, "Switching to secondary power in thirty seconds. Warning, all non-essential systems will be shut down, please save all data and power down workstations." "No! No!" A reedy, pedantic voice echoed from the pod, followed by the sound of furious rattling, "This is not happening! This cannot happen!" Adisa gasped and backed away as one of the turrets span round, lit up... and then died, flopping down as the lights dimmed. "I'm sorry, but you have attempted to activate a non-essential system. The tower is currently in power-saver mode. If you wish to activate..." "Shut up!" "...a non-essential system, please set system as 'priority'. This can be done in the primary power settings panel." "Set turrets as priority!" "I'm sorry, but voice activation is listed as a non-essential system. The tower is currently in power-saver mode." "NO!" Dust grunted, lifted his pistol and fired. The heavy bullet punched straight through a large box at the bottom of the pod, causing the whole structure to power down with a whine. "Power failure detected in pod. Emergency hatch release engaged." The pod hissed, then opened up with a soft whine and the sound of swearing. Adisa couldn't help but feel the contempt flooding through him as it revealed the zebra inside, skinny and poorly built, his features pinched and sour. He sat there in mounting horror and desperation, his hooves struggling with the straps holding him inside. He shouted as he forced himself against them, now removed from the echoing interior his weak voice barely carried, "Don't you realize what you've done! When the field shuts down the whole facility will start to age rapidly, the megaspells will fall! This facility was to take a direct hit, we'll all be killed!" Dust grunted in frustration, "Then we need to escape. Adisa, grab Jessa, we're leaving." Zenospira spat his reply, "There is no escape, you've doomed us...!" Dust silenced him with a harsh glare, advancing on the struggling zebra, "You intentionally caused the end of the world? You intended the megaspells to kill everything?" "I..." Zenospira paused in his struggles, "...you don't understand. Your small little minds could never comprehend what I was doing, what I was trying to achieve..." "Oh, I can imagine well enough. The wasteland is filled with your type." He grunted, giving the zebra a look of quiet, withering anger, "I only wish we had the time to give you what you deserve." Zenospira panicked, struggling desperately against the wires that connected him into the pod, "You are not worthy to pass judgement upon...!" Then his struggles ceased, head slamming back against the padded backing as Dust put a bullet through his forehead. He slumped forward, heavy against the straps, tongue lolling as blood dripped across the controls. Dust took a deep breath before holstering his pistol, "I guess that will have to be justice." Adisa forced his eyes away, returning them to the mare currently struggling for breath in his hooves, "Jessa's really badly injured, and healing potions aren't doing anything!" Dust looked across at her, eyes narrowing, "Star blasters... damn, we need to find Fluttershy." "Zeno... Zenospira is right..." Puppysmiles stated as she levered herself upwards, clearly badly hurt herself, "...we have to get out of here." Dust looked up at the evacuation notice on the viewscreen above, "Right, yeah. Can you carry her Adisa?" He nodded, levering her onto his back. Fortunately she didn't weight much, and years of carrying heavy tools had made him stronger than most, "Yeah." "Then let's get out of here!" ¬ "Whatz goin on?" Myrtis inquired as they came down the corridor towards her, standing among a team of milling scientists and technicians. Adisa noticed the panic in them, and the fact that the corridor was barred with heavy shutters. Myrtis looked back at said shutters before coming to meet them, "The tower iz in lockdown, and our override commandz aren't working." "Where's Fluttershy?" Dust asked, voice insistent. "She'z leading the otherz here. Invictus is trying to zhut down the lockdown from the central zecurity hub." She looked at each of them, her head angled in worry, "What iz happening? Where iz Zenospira?" "He's dead." Dust intoned grimly. Myrtis hesitated in shock for only a moment before her radio suddenly burst into sound, distracting her as Invicus's voice sounded out, "Myrtis, come in." "Reading you Invictus." Her voice shook as she spoke, "Zenospira is dead." "I know." Invicus replied, his voice bitter, "He installed a dead man's switch into the tower's security systems. The whole tower has gone into lockdown." Adisa winced, feeling like a fool. Of course a zebra like Zenospira would do something like that, they were lucky the whole tower hadn't exploded, "Can you... shut it down?" "No." Invicus replied with no small amount of concern, "It can only be overridden by a zebra with a higher clearance." "We need to get out of this building." Dust reminded them as the corridor shook a little and dust drifted down from a crack forming above, "I know at least one megaspell is due to hit it any moment." Adisa blinked, "But... who has higher clearance than the director?" And then the lights switched back to green, and the security door slid open with a rush of air. There was a faint crackle of the speakers turning on, then the sound of a smooth, electronic voice, "Lock down canceled, tower is now operating in emergency mode. All power has been redirected to structural integrity and medical stations and weapon lockers have all been unlocked. Please all workers proceed to your evacuation points." Myrtis positively squeaked, "Invictus, you did it!" "I'm sorry to deflect praise, but I didn't do anything. The command was sent from a terminal just ahead... top secret level clearance, I don't even see it listed in the database." Adisa's eyes widened as he stared down the corridor and saw the figure, standing sheepishly by a control panel. He didn't look like a zebra of rank, thin and starved, with his skin heavily diseased and most of his fur missing. His clothes hung on him in rags, "Who are you...?" "Zebra must go, must escape!" The zebra advanced, his voice cracked and broken, "Unlocked doors for you Worthless has, cleared path." "And why should we trust you?" Dust answered rather aggressively from behind. He moved in front of Adisa and the others, his pistol already out, "You got me and Fluttershy captured, you were working for that bastard." The zebra hesitated, then dropped his head. His voice was barely a whisper, "Has right of it... Worthless deserves nothing better than Zenospira..." "You... look familar." Myrtis stated with confusion, turning her head to look at him from different angles, "Who are you?" "Worthless is no one..." He answered with a whine, "Worthless is..." "Remicon!" They all turned, Fluttershy standing just behind with a gaggle of scared looking scientists beside her. She had the burn of an energy weapon hit across her flank and her head was bandaged, still she seemed entirely unconcerned by her injuries as she advanced forward with a combination of concern and excitement. The strange zebra mirrored her expression before his eyes actually filled with tears, "Fluttershy is alive... Fluttershy is safe..." "You shut down the lockdown." Fluttershy exclaimed, then nodded with a huge smile, "Of course you did. You're..." Myrtis's breathless shout cut her off, her whole body moving to attention, "Lord Caesar!" The strange zebra's face filled with pain, "No..." Fluttershy gave him a broad smile, nodding softly, "She's looked for you a very long time Remicon." Myrtis looked back at Fluttershy, then turned to the zebra in front with expectation, "Lord Caesar, we are loyal only to you! Please, give us your orders!" Worthless stared straight at Myrtis for what seemed like a age, a look of deep, endless pain and suffering behind his eyes. And then with a heroic burst of effort his features finally firmed and he stared straight at them, "Get... get everyone to safety! This tower is coming down!" "Yes my lord!" Myrtis saluted before charging off into the facility, leaving the ghoul standing there with his expression slowly sinking back into despair. Adisa was forced to stop nearby, looking at the decrepit looking creature as it's posture slowly sank back to it's hunched, pathetic looking self.... Fluttershy's own expression dropped, staring at the zebra with remorse... "My lord?" Adisa extended a hoof, his voice soft. The ghoul turned his eyes to him, Adisa surprised that he didn't even have to force his smile as he replied, "We have to get out of here." "Yes..." Caesar finally replied, slowly turning to him and lifting his head to look ahead, "I must reach the palace. We have to warn them." "Warn who sire?" Caesar looked confused at the question, then a little sad, "My... my zebra. They must be warned that the megaspells are coming... I... I have to save them, give them time to evacuate to their shelters..." "Let's go!" Fluttershy called, advancing past them with a warm smile shot in their direction, "Follow me!" ¬ They emerged through the front door and into the open air, Adisa for a moment remembering the reports of radiation and fire... he panicked before finally taking a gulp of clear, cold air, looking forward into a city nearly completely intact, "I don't believe it, it's exactly how..." And then there was a deafening boom above, the sounds of screaming filling his ears. He looked up to a sight likely never seen anywhere in the world, terrifying and magnificent. A megaspell streaked down in a bright, glorious comet of unimaginable energy, crackling and shifting as it prepared to unleash it's payload. And then it suddenly slowed, too slow to maintain the arc it was displaying, finding itself stretched as some parts started moving faster than others... it finally came apart before his eyes, torn apart by internal stresses and detonating into a kaleidoscopic orb of magical energies that tore the clouds apart and unleashed a shower of sparkling blue particles. The megaspells were everywhere, streaking down and detonating above the city. One got a little closer than the others and flattened a district with concussive energy. And then... things started getting really strange. One exploded in a distant district of the city, then streaked back into the sky and hit itself as the area appeared to repair itself before his eyes. Another simply disappeared, and then the part of the city it was aimed at collapsed anyway. Fluttershy gave the scene a look a deep concern, then turned to a scientist beside, "Um... theories?" "The time distortion field is collapsing." The scientist replied, lifting his glasses and staring into the city beyond, "It is clearly uncontrolled, and we are experiencing... paradoxes." Adisa screamed, as did many of the others, as ghostly figures of zebra civilians filled the city for a brief moment before vanishing. "Should we stand here?" Fluttershy questioned, a pretty good one all things considered. "I believe..." The zebra scientist started before promptly disintegrating into dusty bones and collapsing to the floor. "Oh my!" Fluttershy declared in a very high voice, scampering away from the swirling cloud of grey sand that was a living zebra not a moment ago. Her eyes darted around as more of the academy workers suffered the same fate, falling apart before her eyes, "Oh no, no!" Adisa stared straight into the massed ranks of his co-workers, the zebra panicking and flailing about as megaspells exploded above them and those around them began to crumble to dust. He on the other hand felt perfectly calm, simply letting Jessa carefully and gently slide from his back and fall upon the pavement. He stared at the large, angry wound on her side, getting angrier and larger by the moment, taking a vial of Med-x from his bag and carefully injecting it into her bloodstream. She winced, then gingerly opened her eyes, "Adisa...?" "Zenospira's dead, we did it Jessa." He leaned down, gently taking the mare in his hooves, "Look up at the sky, it's... is it strange how beautiful it all looks?" She coughed, her breathing ragged for a moment before she forced a smile, "Adisa... look, flowers..." He looked up, smiling to see that the blue particles raining down from the exploding megaspells were indeed flowers, carpeting the city in a glorious bouquet, "The city looks alive again." "Then we did it Adisa..." She breathed, Adisa feeling her pulse beat ever faster, "...we saved the world..." "Yes... we did it." Their was a loud bang behind, Adisa turning to see the academy of science rock against a solid megaspell hit just above. The transmitter array crumpled and fell, most of the upper floors falling in on themselves. The energy that had been subtly radiating outwards suddenly collapsed with a roar, a beam of light flying straight at the moon above and a bubble of speeding time expanding outwards and carrying the dust of his disintegrating colleagues in it's wake. He turned and hugged Jessa tight as it hit them. He didn't know if they had made a difference. He didn't know if they were the heroes or the villains. He didn't know what kind of future this was. But he knew that he loved the mare in his hooves and she loved him. And as the field hit them his last thoughts were of the smell of Jessa and the rain of sparkling blue flowers over his city. It really was beautiful.