"Hey."
He refused to open his eyes. The shade of the tree deepened the coldness he felt, even though the day itself was warm and cheery.
"...Hey, get up. You're needed somewhere."
"...No," he replied automatically. "I am needed nowhere."
He felt a dull kick in his sides. "Sorry, no. You're needed in Canterlot. Or would you rather let Gosthette chase down Bassino on her own?"
He opened his eyes with effort, rubbing them with a hoof. The voice was Vinyl, who was hovering over him. "And what of it...?" he spat. "The world can burn in a pool of it's own blood for all I care. Besides, the train is too slow."
"Train? We're not taking the train, Penhead."
He twisted his head weakly, glaring at her. It might have been his imagination, but the sun seemed to be setting already. "I'm not walking anywhere right now either. This patch of dirt suits a nopony like me just fine, thank you."
She snorted, grabbing his tail with her magic. "Who the hell said anything about walking to Canterlot? No, I have my connections. Neither of us are walking."
He resigned himself as his chin dragged on the dirt. What point is there...? I was hoping to at least make Lyra remember me. That way I could have someone at my side...
Yet her words piqued his interest. "Neither of us, you said? I thought you weren't going to help me."
"I wasn't going to help you convince Lyra, because I know that's who you were aiming for," she replied. "That's something you had to try for yourself. But in the meantime... I was setting up a little something and called a few ponies. We're going to Canterlot in a way that's not public whatsoever."
"You knew then? That I would fail?" he muttered dejectedly. "How perceptive of you."
"I'd prefer not getting Lyra mixed up in this," she said, sighing. "You'll have all the time in the world after this gets sorted out afterwards. Plus, You'll also have everypony able to tag along to help her remember you. But think of it this way: she doesn't know you right now. I'd wager to say that she knew the most about you. While she's unaware of you, she can't be used as a hostage."
"But..." he began. "It's Lyra. My life without hers, her life without mine... Where is the meaning?"
"You're forgetting that she has other ponies that care about her well being. Stop being selfish for once."
He reeled back, hurt. "I... What right do you have about telling me that? I have nopony, Vinyl. Gosthette would choose to live elsewhere, and I had chose to live with Lyra so that I might ease her burden, in heart and wallet! You know how hard it is to live on commissions, don't you? Or does your cushy job as a shady info dealer pay so well that you can afford to retire now? For somepony who prides herself in knowing everything there is to know, you are ignorant!"
She glared at him over her shoulder. "Man, you are in one sour mood right now. Of course, I can't blame you. You did just get amnesia-dumped. It ain't your fault."
"Thanks a lot, o' bitchy paragon of empathy. You're my damn savior in this bleak hour."
"Ha, well fuck you too!" she spat, laughing. "But stand up already, we're here."
He stumbled to his hooves. They were standing in front of a cliff wall, at the base of a mountain he knew to just outside of Ponyville's city limits.
"And is this stone wall's purpose for bashing my face in?" said Pennaprose. "Seems solid enough to make me forget today."
He moved forward to make good of his statement, but just as he was about to connect with the rock face, it gave way. He stumbled for a second before regaining his compose.
"No, but you can plant your face if the dash on the way there if you want," quipped Vinyl. A low rumbling sound was reverberating nearby, but it was too dark to tell from where.
He adjusted his glasses. "What does Rainbow Dash have to do with this and why should my face be inside her? Wait, back that one up..."
She smirked, her dazzlingly white teeth flashing a Cheshire grin through the darkness at him. "Wrong dash."
Without warning, light flooded the room, accompanied by what he first thought to be the roar of a dragon. "A little gift from PINCH for a particularly juicy tipoff that turned—oh wait, never mind. That's classified."
He rubbed his eyes, wincing from the harshness of the light behind his eyelids. He could hear a low, steady beat among the low humming.
"Like the paint job? Custom made it myself."
He wiped his eyes one last time and his mouth went agape. Before him was what appeared to be a midnight blue vehicle of sorts, curves sleek and smooth. As he watched, a few stray runes and sparks slipped out from under the hood.
"Say hello to the KB-455 Undertaker. Top engineering from the heads of PINCH, powered by electricity and magic. Can hit top speeds of 200mph in an emergency, but it puts a ridiculous drain on the battery. Only a unicorn with the proper passspell can activate it. AI enhanced, outfitted with a number of useful field tools including a drill, rocket launchers, all-terrain drive, fold-out canopy, king-sized bed, and most importantly, wine."
He stared, first at the car, then at Vinyl. She was grinning at it like it was her newborn foal. "This is... very nice. But I thought this world was mainly a magical agrarian society?" he asked. "How in the name of hell does this exist?"
"Ponies that aren't spies or spy affiliates scare easily to change, I'm afraid," she sighed. "A combination of commercial inviability and social inertia has kept things like this from hitting the roads across Equestria. Frankly, that SUNFEST project you gave a speech about is 'on the cutting line', according to civilians. But the tech and magic has been around for... about three years by this point?"
She opened the driver's side door; a torrent of music blasted into the enclosure and temporarily blinded him from sheer force. He winced and placed his hoofs over his ears until the peeling migraine faded.
"Sorry 'bout that. I forget just how good the soundproofing is as well," she said. "Anyway, get in."
He scowled at her as he carefully climbed into the passenger seat. The door slid pneumatically behind him as Vinyl did the same. She jammed her horn into a hole in the steering wheel; it made a few whirring sounds and revving died down to a kitten's purr.
"Running on silent mode. Co-run AI Countess."
A rainbow of lights swirled on a dashboard, forming an image of a pony without any notable features. A soothing feminine voice came from somewhere in the car.
"Hello, Vendetta. Where are we headed today?"
"Base. Take a route through the desert. When we get within the city limits, cast the para-stealth shield," said Vinyl. "Oh, and don't mind Penhead here. He's approved on my authority."
Though without facial features, the holo-pony seemed to look at him curiously before it nodded. "Understood, Miss Vendetta. Plotting route..."
Vinyl chuckled. "We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Chill, why don't you?"
She pushed a button atop the steering wheel. In a blur of metal, something extended from the armrest between them. Before he knew it, there sat a martini glass filled with a blood-red liquid. She took it in her magic and took a delicate sip as her chair reclined into a bed and the car smoothly glided forward.
He looked out the window as the car gained speed at a frightening clip. Trees seemed to fade into a blur as the vehicle seem to deftly swerve between them, yet he could hear nothing of the crunching of the leaves and branches as they went.
Perhaps I had hoped that I could ride this whole deal out and not get involved, thought Pennaprose. Gosthette, Bon-Bon, even Cadance would take care of it while Lyra and I could dwindle away the days in safety. Saving Equestria once is more than enough for me.
He scowled, thinking of Bassino's words last night, quickly suited by Vinyl's sentiment.
Dreams are writing fluff that do nothing but fill space apropos book length. They are empty... ...Having dreams are another way of saying you lack the will to make them a reality. Being inspired never helped anypony.
They know nothing of dreams, he fumed. Even if Bassino admitted it himself, he still underestimates them. Vinyl, as well... they do not know. They cannot know.
He felt a pang of anger flare, forming a lump in his throat and a pressure in his jaw. If not for Lyra's sake, then it seems I have more than just injustice to correct this time.
He just hoped he believed in them strong enough himself.
Pennaprose felt relaxed, even as the memory of Lyra's disillusionment struck a steady stake in his heart. The steady bump of the car wheels as they ran stones down flat on the desert ground seemed to rock him into a trance.
"So, Penhead," asked Vinyl. "I've been meaning to ask you a question."
He looked up from the game of poker he was playing with the holo-pony on the dash. She had consumed at least three martinis by now, if the olives were any indication. "...Sorry?"
"I wanted to ask you about Gosthette. Even for a spy, she seems to be hiding a lot of secrets. Know a few and care to share?"
He frowned. "No. I don't pry into her life. Besides the fact she tries to skin anyone who tries spying on her. I have no right or need to know."
"Spies never have a right to know. That doesn't stop any of them, however..." she said, chuckling. "I, on the other hand... heheh."
He sighed in annoyance. "At any rate... I prefer leaving Gosthette to her secrecy. I don't see the value in that kind of lifestyle, but that doesn't mean I look down on her for it. We are two separate beings."
"So you say."
He paused, glaring scrutinizingly at her. "Excuse me?"
"Nothing," she huffed. "Known secrets bring suspicion, suspicion engenders betrayal, betrayal begets hate, hate brings war. And war brings everyone down with it. You two are inexorably tied together; it's in your best interest to know as much about her as possible."
A low humming sound emitted from the dash. "That was the para-stealth shields. We're here."
He looked out the windows, thinking. Know as much about her as possible for my own safety? I thought that spies were expected to keep as many secrets as possible? Something she said yesterday came to his mind. He activated the word-thought processor and wrote it before him.
...Secrecy is the only defense against betrayal... Withholding your secrets may save your life. ...The most skilled spies invariably do everything with proxies and conceal their involvement with anything...
They can't both be right, he fumed. She wouldn't betray me, would she? As if I could be a threat to her... Or maybe she doesn't tell me everything for another reason?
He grimaced as he recalled the fact that she held all their human memories. I was hoping to interview her about them at some time, but she disappeared before I had the chance.
The white towers of Canterlot scraped the sky, eating at the horizon fast as they approached. The train tracks were nowhere in sight, plus they seemed to be headed straight for the mountain face that Canterlot stood attached to. He nervously poked Vinyl's shoulder. "Um, care to slow down?"
"Opening shutters."
They slowed down a minute amount before hitting it; like putty, it gave way and vanished for them. Lights sprung up astride them, pleasantly dim.
"Preparing bay."
Loud clangs of metal scraping against stone hit the air. They rolled to a stop, comfortably nestled in a dead end. Another voice, low and solid male one, cut through the windows as the music started ramping up again.
"Hello, Vendetta. You have 852 unread messages—"
"Yeah, yeah. Trash that shit, it's probably generic updates and Mers buggin' me again," huffed Vinyl, popping her door open. "Follow me, Penhead."
His door popped open as well; he walked out and began looking around.
Aside from the surprisingly metallic and warm floor, everything was as a normal cave was expected to be. He could hear a steady dripping from somewhere. "Where are we right now?" he asked as the floor seemed to sink into the ground around them, forming a kind of chute.
"Approximately 0.4 kilometers under and 0.15 south-southwest of Celestia's personal bathroom," replied Vinyl. "Don't ask me why I know that."
"Why the bathroom though? And not, say, her throne or bed?" he remarked, "...And for that matter, why not Luna's bathroom?"
She scowled at him. "Because fuck, that's why."
Light flooded the chute from the hoof up. He put up a hoof to protect himself, but something about the light seemed to pierce his very flesh...
"Welcome to the Pit," said Vinyl. "We'll get everything set right. You just wait and see."