“Um girls?” said a quiet, shy voice that belonged to Fluttershy. No pony stirred from their slumber however, each mare sleeping in a different spot across the rocky floor.
Ever since the Lunar ponies had left, the five of them had decided it was best to sleep in shifts. One pony would stay awake watching Twilight for about an hour while the other four got some rest. If anything happened with Twilight then whoever was awake would wake the others.
Now, in front of the shy pegasus, were her sleeping friends. Pinkie Pie lay on her back with her legs spread in all directions while Rainbow Dash used her puffy tail like a pillow. Applejack was also on her back using her hat to cover her face as she silently snoozed. Rarity, still in her dress, had curled up into a ball.
Several more times the timid mare tried to call out to them. When that didn’t work, she walked over to them to try something else. With her hoof she tried to nudge them, hoping that would wake them up. This, however, didn’t seem to work any better. Her friends either swatted away her hoof or acted like they didn’t feel a thing. So while letting out a sigh, Fluttershy decided she had to do something more drastic. Something that was mean and cruel for her to do, but it looked like it was the only way.
“Girls, cider season just started.” she said as loud as she could. Sadly, that made it barely above her normal speaking voice. “Better get up or you’ll miss out.”
As soon as she said the word cider Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all opened their eyes. Both Pinkie and Rainbow jumped into the air, screaming and hollering as loudly as they could which forced Rarity to awaken as well.
“What’s all this now?” demanded Rarity as she got onto her hooves.
“What in tarnation is goin’ on?” demanded Applejack as she sleepily did the same. “Did somepony forget ta tell me that cider season was here?”
“It’s here! It’s here!” shouted a bouncing pink ball of energy that was all over the place. “I’m going to get all the cider!”
“Not if I get it…” began Rainbow, but trailed off as she looked around the cavern. It quickly dawned on her where she was and that Fluttershy of all ponies had tricked her. She turned her head to look at the yellow pegasus with a deadpanned expression. “Not cool Fluttershy, not cool at all.”
“Oh, sorry.” said Fluttershy as she tried to make herself look small by lowering herself to the ground. “I, uh, just thought you all might like to know that Twilight looks like she might wake up soon.”
“Really?” said Rarity as she moved over to her shy friend and placed a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “Darling, that is wonderful news! As soon as she wakes up she can tell us who attacked her and then we can get out of this dirty cave.”
“And then we can have CIDER!” shouted Pinkie as she continued to bounce up and down.
“Pinkie ah.” began Applejack, but stopped herself and let out a sigh. She looked at her friend with a small smile. “Sure thing there Pinkie. There’ll be plenty of cider for everypony once we get back home all safe an’ sound.”
The delighted pink mare was grinning like a mad pony, showing off all of her teeth as she hopped over to where Twilight was while the other walked. They circled themselves around her cot seeing that indeed it looked like Twilight was beginning to awaken. Her body, which had remained completely still up to this point was making small movements here and there. Her eyes were twitching as her lips smacked against each other. As five head leaned forwards they saw the moment when Twilight began to slowly open her eyes.
They opened slowly, but not even Rainbow Dash let out a complaint. They were all happy to see her awake and well. They watched with smiles on their faces as Twilight looked back, her sleepy eyes moving from one face to the next until she had looked at all of them. Once she had looked at all of them a smile began to creep across her face. Her mouth open and it looked like she was about to say something but stopped suddenly as her gaze became focused on something past them. The five mares, seeing this, turned their head to look at what held their friends focus but found nothing. All that was there was the grey, rocky ceiling of the cave. When they looked back at Twilight they all could see a tremble that ran through the mare’s body as her face contorted into an expression of horror with tears forming in her eyes.
Before anypony could say anything, Twilight broke out into a loud scream. Her body began to flail about while her horn lit up brighter than anything they had ever seen before. While they had been startled for a moment, they quickly moved to hold her down as best they could with Rainbow and Applejack holding down her hind legs, Pinkie and Rarity held down the forelegs, and Fluttershy taking hold of her barrel. Whatever spell Twilight tried to cast fizzled out creating more panic for the purple unicorn.
“Twilight, ya need ta calm down!” shouted Applejack. “Yar stiches will break!” Twilight either didn’t hear, understand, or care as she continued to try to break free of the five ponies. Soon, the blanket covering her started to turn red right above where she had been stabbed proving that Applejack had been right.
“Fluttershy, use your stare on her!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she did her best to hold down one of Twilight’s legs. And was failing.
“B-But I.” began Fluttershy.
“Just do it!” yelled Rarity as she eyed the growing blood stain.
Fluttershy gulped before letting go of Twilight. She flew above the chaos as quickly as she could before lowering herself so that her face was inches above Twilight’s. Fluttershy took a deep breath as she prepared to do something she had never done to another pony before. Usually she only used her stare on animals as a last resort and even then she felt guilty about it. But seeing the danger her friend was in forced the mare to give in. Waiting only a second or two longer Fluttershy used her famous stare.
At first nothing seemed to happen as Twilight continued to flail about wildly, her horn beginning to glow once more. Fluttershy leaned forwards a bit, focusing more of her attention on her in order to increase the power of the stare. This seemed to work as Twilight stared back at Fluttershy, her limbs going limp. However she hadn’t lost the look of fear she had or the tremble of her lower lip.
Seeing that the stare was working, the four other ponies released their hold on Twilight. As soon as Applejack let go she went right for the bags that Shadow Blade and Land Share had left them. Inside these bags were all sorts of things that the mares could use like food, water, and many other things. But the most import thing that Applejack was looking for was medicine that Shadow Blade himself had secured and checked to make sure it wouldn’t hurt the mare he loved.
Eventually she found what she was looking for: a six inch long stick which Applejack held onto with her teeth. Remembering what Shadow had told her when he had given them the medicine, she walked over to Twilight and pressed the device against her neck. The thing made a hissing noise for a moment, but other than that nothing seemed to happen. Twilight still seemed to be freaking out.
Watching from above, Fluttershy fly down to land next to where Twilight lay. As soon as she could no longer see Fluttershy Twilight seemed to begin shaking again. But before she could start another full on freak out, Fluttershy began to gently stroke her mane while singing a song lightly. Her voice, calm and full of compassion, slowly drew Twilight’s attention towards her.
Applejack also found the melody enthralling, but the sound of something ripping behind her caused the cowpony’s ears to twitch. Looking behind her, Applejack saw something she would never of believed had she not seen it with her own eyes. Rarity had taken off her fancy dress and was now ripping it into long shreds! So far there were several of the torn off pieces on the floor with the gems that had been sown on them removed.
“Rarity, are you sure you want to do that?” asked Pinkie as she picked up one of the pieces. “I mean, didn’t you say that you say that was one of the best dresses you ever made?”
“Oh, I don’t mind darling.” said Rarity as she used her magic to pick up all of the torn fabric including the one that Pinkie had. “Twilight needs them right now more than I do.”
“That’s mighty generous of you Sugarcube.” said Applejack as Rarity moved over to Twilight.
Rarity waved off the comment with her hoof while her magic lifted the blood stained blanket off of Twilight. “Think nothing of it darlings.” she said while applying the fabric to Twilight in the hope she could stop the bleeding. “Besides, to tell you the truth, I was getting tired of that old thing. And at least this way Twilight will look slightly more fashionable as she heals.”
“Ah, didn’t you make that one like last week?” deadpanned Rainbow. Rarity ignored the comment, instead focusing on Twilight. Using her magic, she did her best to wrap the cloth around Twilight’s chest. However, she was afraid that if it was too tight it might hurt her and if it was too loose then she might not heal properly. If only she had paid more attention to that first aid class back at that unicorn summer camp her parents had made her go to. But how could she focus on anything other than how dreadful and tacky the uniforms were?
Luckily for her, Fluttershy was there to help. Without breaking from her song, she helped guide Rarity with her hooves and soon Twilight was all bandaged up as best as they could manage given the circumstances.
Eventually, Fluttershy stopped her singing. “There, there.” she said as she stroked Twilight’s mane.
“Gigawatt.” croaked Twilight catching everypony’s attention. However, it looked like her freak out had sapped her strength or she had been in such a state of fear that adrenaline had given her all of that strength. But regardless, right now it looked like it was taking everything she had to talk. “Shadow…Must warn…Princess…Land Share…”
“Don’t worry none Sugarcube.” said Applejack. “Everything’ll be alright.”
-x-
Shadow hated the Gen 3 armor. It was slow, bulky, and hard to move around in. It weighed soo much that he doubted he could fly in the void blasted thing even if he could get his wings out. Which he couldn’t! They were trapped in there along with the rest of him! And the helmet! Oh, that was what he hated most of all. Bad enough somepony though it would be a good idea to have a voice filter on it (which given the fact that it would only help somepony if they were doing a breakout in it like he had made it seem like an even worse idea) but somepony thought that the helmet should have apps. Really? Did he really need to know how many steps he had taken since putting the thing on? Did somepony in the Guard want to brag about that back in the day? No wonder the Gen 3 model only lasted three weeks.
However, despite how much he hated it, the Gen 3 model did have one saving grace. And that was allowing a pony to walk outside of Domes for several hours. Something that Shadow was extra grateful for as he walked over to Dome One. The long way.
Sadly, this was the only way he knew that would allow him to reach the LBI headquarters without anypony seeing him. Also the Gen 3 model didn’t have anything that would allow him flight or move faster than a basic walk (who designs armor that doesn’t let you move fast?) meaning that this was eating up more of his time. Time he couldn’t afford to waste. Every minute that went by was another minute closer to the start of the war. And the only app that was NOT included in this piece of junk was a void blasted CLOCK! What was with all of these design flaws?! It had to be on purpose.
As Shadow considered playing eye spy with himself in order to pass the time, and throwing the idea out the airlock seeing how pointless it was on the surface of the moon, he began to pick up some static on his head set as well as voice he could barely make out. As his equipment began to compensate automatically, Shadow could feel his heart begin to race.
‘That sounded like Applejack.’ thought Shadow as the voice on the other end began to clear up a bit. ‘I knew it was a good idea to give her that communicator!’
“Shadow, do ya hear me?” said Applejack. “How the sam pony hill do ponies-”
“I read you Applejack.” said Shadow quickly as he continued his trek. “Is everything ok? How’s Twilight?”
“Oh thank Celestia.” said Applejack. “Ah thought this here piece of junk ya gave me wasn’t working properly. Anyway, we’re all ok here and Twilight just got up. So ah guess things are lookin’ mighty fine.”
“Thank the stars.” breathed Shadow as he felt a weight being lifted off of him. While he would have preferred to have been there for her, Shadow was glad to hear she was awake. That was a good start.
“But there was a bit of a problem.” continued Applejack. “When she woke up, Twilight sorta went a little crazy. Started freakin’ out like chickens when they spot a fox entering the hen house.”
“She…oh stars above.” said Shadow as what he had been told sank in. “Please tell me it wasn’t too bad this time.”
“Why?” asked Applejack in a way that Shadow could hear her eyes narrowing at him. “Has this sorta thing happen before?”
“A few.” said Shadow as he tried to pick up the pace. The faster he got to the offices of the LBI the faster he could get back to Twilight. “It all started back when we were foals. There was…an accident. There was a plan years back spearheaded by Twilight’s father to create a series of underground tunnel connecting each of the Domes. A place where ponies could walk about and shop. On the day of the accident, both of our families were there. I remember that the adults were talking about something while me and Twilight were just playing around with Shining Armor only half paying attention to us while he played a video game. Then, without warning, there was a rumble. Things started happening really fast. I remember my dad picking me up with his teeth and tossing me. T-That’s how I got my scar, when I-I landed near Shining Armor. When I got up, we…there was only rocks around us while Shining Armor’s shield protected me and Twilight’s family.”
“Sugarcube.” whispered Applejack. “You mean…”
“They didn’t make it.” said Shadow slowly. “And sadly, Shining Armor’s shields weren’t as powerful back then and…and he couldn’t protect all of us. Or at least not for very long. Twilight, she got knocked out somehow so she couldn’t help and neither of Twilight’s parents were all that great with combining magic. I remember Twilight’s parents telling him to shrink the shield to protect just us. Shining tried to argue, but they said that they wanted us to live and made him promise to look out for Twilight. Then…Shining…he did what he had to do. Twilight, when she woke up, didn’t take it all very well. She exploded with magic and saved us, bringing us to the surface were Princess Luna was there.
“Once word spread that we were the only three to survive, ponies in the Republic treated like celebrities. And as we got older our fame seemed to grow with each accomplishment. But we never saw ourselves like that. We each bore different scars, some on the outside while others… Twilight, she could never be in a cave or anything similar to it after that day. Unless somepony like me, Shining, Land Share, or Princess Luna is there to calm her down she’ll go out of control. I’m glad you mares were able to do that.”
After that there was silence between the two. Shadow waited for Applejack to say something cruel to him. To yell at him for putting Twilight down there knowing what had happened to her as well as knowing what would happen to her if she woke up. And part of him wanted her to do that. The logical part of his brain told him that he had done the best he could in such a short amount of time and that the cave had been the best hiding place for her. Yet he knew he had hurt Twilight and for that he deserved anything Applejack dished out to him.
“Ya want ta talk ta her?” was all Applejack said.
Shadow blinked in surprise. “Y-Yeah.” he mustered. For a moment there was silence as Applejack was most likely moving closer to Twilight. Then…
“Shadow.” came Twilight’s voice weakly.
“Hey there.” said Shadow softly and warmly. “How’re you doing?”
“G-Gigawatt.” said Twilight. “Must…Gigawatt…Stop…”
“It’s ok Twilight.” said Shadow. “We’ll stop him, don’t worry.” While he said this, Shadow could pick up the sounds of the communication device being moved again. And in the background, he could still hear Twilight talking in broken sentences.
“Been like this ever since her freak out.” said AJ in a solemn tone.
“H-Has she said anything else?” asked Shadow. “Anything about what happened?”
“Sorry Sugarcube.” said Applejack in a way that told Shadow she was shaking her head while saying this. “All she keeps sayin’ are words an’ names. Same names over an’ over again in fact. Ah reckon she says your name an’ Gigawatt’s the most.”
“Well, at least she’s alright for the moment.” said Shadow. “Hopefully she’ll be able to tell us more as she gets…better…oh buck me.”
“What? Shadow, ya ok? Shadow?!” cried Applejack. However, Shadow didn’t reply right away. Instead, his gaze was focused on something in the distance that told him they were running dangerously short on time.
The sun was beginning to rise.
-x-
Back in the Everfree Forest, Princess Cadence was walking around the ruins of the castle. For a castle that was over a thousand years old, Cadence was impressed it was still standing despite the condition it was in. Even more impressive was all the items that had been left here by her aunt. Some of these things included suits of armor and a library containing enough books that could put the one in Canterlot to shame.
But what impressed her most of all was the work being done to repair it. Before, Cadence had only been given a glimpse of what Lone Wolf’s colony had been up to. Now she could see the extent of the repairs they had made, both successful and unsuccessful. Something that didn’t surprise her. After all, most of these ponies didn’t have a formal education or had taken up an apprenticeship making what they were doing right now more trial and error. Also, from what the princess could see, the materials they were using weren’t the best for this kind of job. They had no cement, ropes, nails, or any real tools. Instead they were using uneven rocks, vines, and branches to fix up what they could. It was impressive to see how much progress and determination they had, but they still had a long way to go.
Besides Cadence was Lone Wolf who had been showing her around while they talked. Well, mostly he did all the talking while Cadence asked questions. The main focus of this was to find out what Lone Wolf had planned, both short and long term. Even if Cadence already knew or had guessed, she still wanted to hear it all from Wolf’s mouth. So far the plan was to create a place where all of the colonies could live together in peace without fear of Equestria. Lone Wolf explained about all the natural defenses the forest gave them as well as a plenty of monsters that Poisoned Apple could tame for them and use them to scare away any foolish ponies who might enter. They had already gotten a general idea where all the nearby towns were that shared a border with the forest so they knew where to focus the monsters.
Along with Lone Wolf was Poisoned Apple, who walked besides him at all times. Skittering across the mare’s back and mane were at least a dozen or so star spiders, their many eyes focused on the pink princess who was doing her best not to shudder at the sight of them. Most likely Poisoned brought them along to help protect Lone Wolf should Cadence try anything.
Cadence had her own protection. Walking on her other side were Darkwing, Ruby, and even little Midnight. Despite the beating she had received, Ruby wanted to be there to protect Cadence as well as help with the proceedings as best she could. Darkwing served as an ambassador for the Appleloosa colony. And Midnight, well, Cadence wanted her daughter to be near her at all times.
“So there you have it.” said Lone Wolf as the entered the audience hall that had once belonged to the two royal sisters. “As you can see, we don’t want any trouble from the rest of Equestria. All we really want, all we have ever really wanted, is to live in peace and now we finally have the chance! A chance to do more than just survive.”
“That is true.” said Cadence with a nod. “But I worry how long this will last. Even though nopony wants this forest right now, there may come a time when that may change. Also, have you given any thought of how you will continue to find more bat ponies who are in need of a home?”
“What kind of foalhardy question is that?” demanded Poisoned as she stomped her hoof on the ground causing the star spiders on her to jump slightly before returning to crawling across her body. “We’ll just keep on doin’ what we’ve been doin’!”
“It’s not that simple,” said Darkwing. “If the bat ponies all come here, there will be a limit to how far they can fly without being spotted. In the desert, we don’t have to worry so much about being spotted but there is still a limit to how far out we can go. Usually we find bat ponies around the edges of the desert while the buffalo pick up and take care of any bat ponies they come across until they can meet up at the colony.”
Cadence nodded. “Because the colonies are spread out throughout Equestria, it has been easier for bat ponies to find members of their tribe and bring them to safety. However…”
“It…would be much harder to do so.” finished Lone Wolf in slow realization. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“And like the princess said, what will happen if you’re found out.” said Ruby. “Either somepony spots you flying into the Everfree Forest or hikers somehow get past the monsters and find the castle or a lumber company will show up or something else. The point is, sooner or later this place will be found out. And you know how ponies will react once they find you.”
“Most likely they’ll be accusin’ us of stealing this place an’ everything that ever went missin’ around these here parts,” growled Poisoned. “Great, just bucking great. There really isn’t no place we can settle down.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Cadence gently. “What if all this was given to you? Officially?”
Lone Wolf and Poisoned Apple looked at each other in confusion, not understanding what the princess was getting at. Seeing this, Cadence decided to continue while Midnight began to walk around the room as she spotted what could be something fun to play with.
“I have been thinking about this for a while now.” began Cadence. “I know that the issues that bat ponies have been facing won’t be fixed overnight. While there are areas, like Appleloosa, are trying to change I fear that other areas of Equestria will be slower. Then there are the bat ponies, many of whom are not willing to trust non-bat ponies giving their history. And I fear that there might be others like Jackal. I have gone over every option in my head over and over again, trying to figure out what I can do so that you bat ponies don’t suffer needlessly while I do what should have been done long before now. What I came up with was this: I can draw up a legal document with the royal Equestrian seal on it that will give the Everfree Forest and everything in it to the bat ponies, creating a temporary micro-nation.”
“A micro-whatis?” said Poisoned as she tilted her head. Even the star spiders scratched their heads, not understanding what Cadence was saying.
“Basically, a smaller country within a larger one.” explained Cadence. “Or, another way of looking at it, a sanctuary. A place where bat ponies can live independently from the rest of Equestria.”
Lone Wolf snorted. “Sounds like a fancy way of saying we’ll be caged up.” he said.
“No,” said Cadence as she shook her head. “Bat ponies are going to get the freedom to live as they so choose. If they want to try cooperation with other ponies then they can head to Appleloosa where they are giving the idea a shot. However, if bat ponies wish for isolation, then they may head here. In the Everfree Forest, bat ponies will be able to govern themselves and live without fear of other ponies. Steps will be taken to ensure your safety like having a few of my own personal guards patrolling the edge of the forest as well as having a magical fire placed within this castle so you may call on me for help should something happen. I will also work to ensure that any bat pony born in Equestria will be sent here if his or hers parents do not wish to keep their foal. And if at any time you wish to leave this place you may do so.
“However, I have to insist that this will not be a permanent thing. My overall goal is to see all of the ponies in Equestria living side by side. There will be times when I will ask you to try trading with the rest of Equestria and allowing non bat ponies to live here alongside you. If you do not feel up to it or feel that it is too soon I will understand. And then, when you are ready, when you give the ok, this land will return to Equestria.”
Lone Wolf tapped his chin with his hoof. It sounded promising. If Cadence gave them this land then no pony could say that they stole anything in it. There wouldn’t have to hide making it easier for them to expand and create a true home for themselves, a true identity. Also he could wait and see how things were going with this deal before he contacted the other colonies. If Cadence held up her end of the bargain then he could slowly invite the other colonies to live here. If this was a trap then at least the others would be safe. However…
“I have a question.” said Lone Wolf. “What would happen if, let’s say, a few ponies from Equestria came here and started causing trouble?”
Cadence looked him in the eyes. “You are free to do whatever it is you feel you must do.” she answered. “While I would prefer it if you were to detain them until both parties can agree what to do with them the fact is that this is your land.”
“That…sounds reasonable.” answered Lone Wolf, surprising Cadence a bit. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by the elder pony. “Cadence, I have been around long enough to know how revenge works. If we killed or beat or used excessive violence against anypony who came here for whatever reason, there would be those who would want revenge regardless of the reason. And that will only lead to more and more trouble, something that neither of us wants. Perhaps, after you make this document, we can talk about how this will work a bit more.”
Smiling, Cadence opened her out to reply. However, somepony else spoke first.
“Mommy! Mommy! Look at these!” Cadence looked to the other side of the room where Midnight’s voice had come from. The little filly was standing on top of a small pile of circular stone, five of them in total. Each one had a small shape indented into them, but other than that nothing else about them was worth noting. However to Midnight they were the most fascinating things in the world. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she jumped off of the small pile.
“What are those?” asked Cadence as she approached her daughter.
“I don’t know.” answered the filly as all of the adults approached her, she reached a small hoof out to touch the nearest one. “But they’re pretty.”
“Pretty useless if ya ask me.” muttered Poisoned Apple in a way that only the adults could hear her.
“Would you like them?” asked Lone Wolf. Instantly Midnight began to nod her head vigorously.
“Are you sure you want to give them up?” asked Cadence.
Lone Wolf nodded. “I’m sure.” he said. “We found the things here, but all they do is take up space. Must have been used as some sort of fancy art thing a thousand years ago or so. But to us they’re useless. And if they had any real value they would have been taken when your aunt left this place. Just think of them as a gift. A peace offering. Or-” Before Wolf could say anything else, Midnight had jumped into the air and wrapped her tiny hooves around his neck in order to give him a hug.
“You’re the best Mr. Wolf!” she said.
Cadence watched with a smile on her face as Lone Wolf patted the filly on the head, smiling as he did so. As the little filly hugged him, the light of the dawn began to flow through the cracks in the wall giving the scene an almost heavenly feeling. However the heartwarming scene couldn’t last. All too soon a bunch of branches fell from the ceiling and crashed onto the floor near them. Looking up, everypony as a single bat pony wave nervously through a hole with one hoof while holding a crude makeshift hammer in her mouth.
“Of all the times.” growled Poisoned as she took to the air. The other pony looked like she wanted to be anywhere else at the moment as Poisoned flew up to her. Once she reached the hole, Poisoned began to swear up a storm at the other pony causing Cadence to use a spell that encased Midnight in a soundproof bubble.
As the swearing continued, Cadence looked down at what had fallen and sighed. She knew that while this isolation would keep them safe, it would mean that they would be without supplies that they would need to build their new home. Then, as she looked back up, Cadence saw the cutie mark on Poisoned Apple’s flank causing an idea to pop into her head. An idea that might solve this problem as well getting the bat ponies to trust others. And maybe one extra problem.
“Lone Wolf.” said Cadence, getting the groups attention. “Perhaps we should also get you a liaison.”
“What the hay is a ‘liaison’?” asked Wolf.
“A pony who can act as your link to the outside world besides me.” explained Cadence. Lone Wolf narrowed an eye at this causing Cadence to explain herself quickly. “If you want supplies in order to get this place going quicker, you will need some help. I happen to know of a single family that lives near here who might be more than willing to help you out.”
“I don’t know.” said Wolf, uncertainty hanging in every word.
“Think about it.” said Cadence. “A pony who will go to the store for you to pick up the nails, lumber, stones, and anything else you need without raising suspicion for who it’s for or avoiding getting over charged for very little. Or what if there is a medical emergency? I won’t be able to get here quick enough to deal with that sort of situation, but a liaison will at least be able to provide over the counter medicine and the like.”
Lone Wolf mulling this over. Personally, he wanted to avoid other ponies right now. And how would he know if he could trust this family? For all he knew these ponies might take advantage of them or betray them. However, as he looked at the debris that had just fallen, he knew Cadence had a point. There was so much they needed and the only way they could get the right stuff was to steal it, something Lone Wolf was against.
“Very well.” said Lone Wolf with a sigh. “But I want to meet with this ‘liaison’ of yours first.”
Cadence smiled. “Well then, we better not keep him waiting.”
-x-
Gigawatt frowned as he sat in front of a large computer scene. Scenes from the camera flashed before him as he searched for the missing Equestrians. So far he had watched as the maids polished various items around the castle, guards preparing for war, and other staff members going about their duties. However there wasn’t a single pony that looked like the five escaped criminals or the unicorn they had taken.
This troubled Gigawatt greatly. He had gone through the castle’s surveillance footage several times now and there was nothing. But that was impossible! Cameras were placed everywhere so they should have been spotted by now if they were still in the castle. Escaping the castle was also impossible. Even if they could somehow slip past all the cameras there were plenty of guards outside who knew full well what Twilight and the others looked like making it impossible for them to just walk out the front door. And if they had managed to do that, Gigawatt had already pulled up platform information which showed that nopony had used it since an hour or so before the breakout was discovered.
Gigawatt brought both hooves up to his forehead to massage his temples. They couldn’t have teleported out of the castle thanks to the anti-teleportation field. As long as the field was in place no pony could teleport with the castle. And any pony trying to teleport into the castle would be redirected to one of the anti-magic holding cells.
As Gigawatt lowered his hooves he realized that there were only two possibilities that remained. Or at least as far as he could see at the moment. The first was that they were somehow deceiving the cameras and the other was that they were in an area within the castle that didn’t have any at all. Both options, however, required one thing: knowledge of where all the cameras were located. And the only way they could know that was if they had help
‘Of course they are getting help,’ thought Gigawatt angrily. ‘Not only did all the cameras in their cell turn off but all of the prisoners in their pods were put into VR therapy. Somepony is helping them as well as hiding them somewhere in the castle. But who, where, and why?’
Gigawatt closed his eyes as he began to think. As he did, his thoughts drifted towards Land Share. The stallion had been acting weird. Despite what he said he should have been more worried and frantic about Twilight. Given the amount of time between him finding out and making the suggestion not to contact Princess Luna, Gigawatt felt that there wasn’t enough time to compose himself. Then there was the fact that Land Share wasn’t pestering him endlessly for updates or anything similar. Simply put, he was far too calm.
Then there was the dirt that the Senator had left behind. It seemed odd that dirt would have been on his hoof given the fact that his Dome was no more. Nor was it the same kind of dirt that a pony would find in a farming Dome. No, it was more like the grey dirt out in the training fields, in the courtyard, or outside the Dome. Could he have just returned from talking to Captain Shadow right before they met? He couldn’t have been outside the Dome. The only other place Gigawatt could think of would be…
Gigawatt’s eyes shot open at the sudden revelation. A small smile appeared on his face as he lifted his head to look up at the computer scene.
“Computer,” said Gigawatt in a smug tone. “Pull up all activity for Senator Land Share. I want to see where he had been for the last several hours. Make a priority check for anytime he vanishes from the cameras with information on where it happened.”
“Command accepted,” replied the computer as the data appeared on the screen. Gigawatt looked at the screen, a small smile appearing on his face as he did so.