The Moon Has a Harsh Mistress

by levarien

Ch. 5: Betrayal

Derpy shivered as she stood in the middle of the frozen lake. Her gaze wasn't fixed on the thin layer of ice suspending her over the icy water, nor was she paying the slightest attention to the nervous whickers and whinnies of the ponies beside her. No, she was staring at the small filly waving from the inviting lakeside beach. In contrast to the frigid lake and the ponies perched precariously on literal thin ice, the beach was sunny and inviting. Butterflies swirled around the young filly as she capered about the warm sand.

"They need you," whispered a voice at her side. "We... need you."

Derpy broke her gaze away from the filly and addressed the tall alicorn standing beside her. "She needs me more," she replied, "and she needed me first."

"Thou wouldst make a terrible thespian," said the alicorn. "Tis the eyes: we have seen thunderstorms calmer than thine eyes." The alicorn looked down at the thin ice and the spidering cracks marring its surface. "That thy dreamscape would manifest itself thusly is proof enough that you understand the danger that hovers over our subjects." The alicorn mare turned her head to look at the ponies nervously staying as still as possible, despite the shiver inducing cold. "You must help them," she said mournfully. "Nopony else can hear us, it must be you. Soon, even thine own dreams will be beyond our reach."

"I just want to go home," said Derpy as she took a hesitating step forwards. She blocked out the sound of ice splintering under her hooves.

"She will not allow it," said the alicorn, "not now, not when she is so close. Tis not too late. You can still stop this." She seemed to stare through Derpy; towards something beyond her, beyond what a mere mortal could see. "You must tell Trixie to evacuate," she said fearfully, "Even now our friend courts her own doom. " The alicorn dropped to her knees onto the brittle ice. "Please," she pled, "Tis not too late."

Derpy looked at the desperate faces of both the alicorn and the ponies huddled behind her. It had only been a few short weeks, but their faces were familiar to her. Amber with her perpetual aura of determination; Flam with his ever calculating stare; Digger trying to pretend that he didn't have a care in the world; Felina, her small stature belying her keen mind and keener senses; and Trixie. Trixie, who above all seemed the most aware of the danger they were all in.

She looked again at the filly frolicking in the sand. "I'm sorry," she said with a choked sob. The pegasus jumped into a gallop across the frozen lake, the concept of flying over the dangerously thin ice not at all passing through her mind. The horrifying sounds of screaming voices being cut off by the splash of water followed her as she ran towards the smiling filly. The ice in front of her erupted in an explosion of frost and spray.

---

"Mmmmmm - oh!" moaned Felina as she wiggled around on her back. "Taking advantage of a lady while her hooves are full," she said between giggles, "I thought so much more of you Flam Flash."

"I'm... I'm sorry," said a shy voice from above her.

Felina rolled her eyes as the waves of ticklish pleasure subsided. She sighed and held the dynamo base plate up with her magic. A few passes with the torque wrench later and the heavy iron plate was securely attached. She shimmied out from under the assembly platform, floating her tools behind her. "I'm only teasing you Flammy," she said to the hunched over stallion. She very deliberately stretched her back at a near impossible angle and planted her lips on his cheek. "That felt wonderful," she whispered.

Flam's cheeks slowly began to match his neatly groomed mustache. "Well you were on your hooves all day," said the stallion shyly, "and you still volunteered to help me with the Mark Two generators. A little hoof massage is a poor payment for your expertise."

"Well, half of a hoof massage is certainly too small a recompense," said Felina with a Cheshire grin. She spun her body around and presented her forehooves to the flustered stallion. He took them in his and began lightly squeezing the sides of her hooves, paying close to her lightly tufted fetlocks . Felina closed her eyes and took a series of deep calming breaths. "You know Flammy," she said, "we should have plenty of free time if these generators perform as well as your prototype has."

"Freedom from hours of transferring our magic to the grid would be nice," he said as he focused his pressure on her cannons and knees.

"How shall we ever pass the time?" asked Felina. It took a conscious effort not to draw her hoof up to her forehead to complete the melodramatic pose.

"I had some ideas about variable direction thrusters to add -," he said excitedly before cutting himself off. "You didn't mean work did you..."

"No, I most certainly did not," said Felina happily, "but it's wonderful to hear you excited about your ideas." She pulled a hoof free and reached up to stroke the side of his muzzle. "I've heard of so many lovely museums in Selene, but have had so little time to go and see them," she said, "and it's such a long ride to take alone." She felt the stallion's hooves tense up.

"S... Selene?" he mumbled, "I, um... I don't know if I can..."

"Come now," she said huskily, "we could stroll through the hanging gardens; maybe find a nice hidden alcove..." She squeezed his motionless hooves with hers and gave him her best sultry smile. Felina gave an inward cheer as he dumbly nodded without speaking.

"Hello?" asked a voice from near the lab's entrance. "Anypony home?"

Felina leaned up and placed a tender kiss on the stallion's cheek before pulling her hooves free and standing up from the oil stained metal floor. The grey pegasus standing in the doorway seemed quite nervous for some reason. "Hello Derpy," she called out as she walked across the long room, "has the cloud generator seized up again?" She levitated a toolbox from the workbench and was ready to follow her to the dome. "Let's get it working and get you back up there."

"No, no, it's working great," said Derpy nervously, "I'm on a short break. I was actually hoping somepony could help me with a locked door."

"Locked yourself out?" guffawed Felina, "we've all been there. A little more tired than usual this morning?" Derpy blushed and stifled a yawn. "I'll be right back Flammy," called Felina over her shoulder. She followed as the pegasus led her further into the living quarters. "We usually don't see many locked doors," said the petite mare, "there's usually not much worth locking up around here." Felina mirthlessly chuckled as she considered what she had just said. "I should know," she thought to herself.

She watched Derpy's head swing from side to side. "I don't even know what's behind it," said the pegasus mare. "Trixie didn't have any keys for it."

"So... why do you need to open it?" asked Felina in confusion.

Derpy stepped into the Weather team section of the habitation. "Well, um," she stammered, "I figured I might as well see what's here. There might be something to help me with the work. You know, flight manuals, or special equipment the other pegasi might have left behind." She continued down the short hallway until it dead ended in a obviously little used security door. The hinges had a fine patina of rust and a fine layer of dust covered the door wheel.

"Ah," said Felina, "good instincts. I think this is where Daybreeze kept his training equpiment. The poor dear needed wing braces after his first few crashes." She examined the rusting door, tapping the handle of a screwdriver on the rusting iron facade. Flakes of rust shook free from the surface. "These first generation security doors are pretty pathetic," she mumbled while prying open the not so cleverly concealed maintenance port. "Sure, they look big, thick, and impregnable, but all it takes is a little pressure in the right place, and..." She found the tumblers and used the flat bladed driver to force open the device. With a click, the door bolt retracted. Felina turned back to Derpy only to find the Pegasus awkwardly hovering over her shoulder and staring intently at her handiwork. She smiled awkwardly and used her magic to pull open the rusted door. "There you go," she said, "anything else I can do while I'm here?"

"Nope," replied Derpy, "that's everything I need."

---

The stallion sat silently and glared at Moonburn. His hooves were shackled together, the chain between the two cuffs running through a loop welded to the metal table he sat at. The slate ring around his horn glowed with dull grey aura as it suppressed his attempts at using his magic. Moonburn had just slammed his hooves on the opposite side of the table, hard enough to leave two large dents in the surface. "Aw, what's the matter you fascist son of a nag," taunted Trouble Shooter, "can't deal with a free pony giving you the business?"

"Be reasonable Trouble Shooter," said Moonburn in a low growl, "you're finished. You and your whole murderous cabal; it's time to come clean."

The sorrel coated unicorn began cackling at the stern faced bat pony. "If it was over, you wouldn't be so desperate to know what's up in my noggin." He continued laughing until he lost his breath. After a few deep gasps, he smirked at the Moonburn. "She got away, of course," he said matter-of-factly, "Veil was always quick on her hooves, and quicker with that amazing invisibility cloak of hers." He turned and looked directly at Trixie. She raised an eyebrow: The stallion was behind a one way mirror; he should have only seen a reflection of his ragged self.

Moonburn chuckled as he walked behind Trouble Shooter. "She's next door with Trixie," he said, putting up a rather decent poker face as far as Trixie could tell. "If you think I'm mad, you should see her. She's like a mother griffin when it comes to her friends, and from what I understand, Ms. Veil nearly crippled one of them."

The shackled stallion clapped his forehooves together. "Bravo," he said mockingly, "truly a masterful performance Inspector, but again, based on your desperation, I'm betting that the princess-betraying piece of manure is watching us right now. He stared directly into the mirror and winked. "How does it feel Deserter?" he asked. "Your mentor, the very goddess who trained you, has judged you and determined that your life is forfeit. What does that say about you?"

Trixie glared through the glass, and reached out to the intercom panel on the wall. "It says she is afraid," she said angrily, "and that she's will to dispose of two of her tools to get to Trixie. So the Great and Powerful Trixie supposes that it says that she's worth more than the both of you combined." She let her words sink and tapped the window three times.

"Ouch," said Moonburn as he patted the top of the fuming stallion's head. "Trixie always knew how to cut deep." He walked around the stallion back to the heavily reinforced door. "Don't go anywhere," he said, "I'm sure we have more questions for you."

Trixie waited for Moonburn to join her in the observation room and thoughtfully tapped her hoof to her chin. "It's all wrong," she said, "it makes no sense." She threw the Lunar Authority report on the "accident" at the Shoot the Moon lounge onto the table and fumed in silence.

"What do we do Trixie?" asked Moonburn.

Trixie sat motionless, lost in her thoughts. Her eyelids were closed in concentration.

"That was her," said Moonburn, "I know I was the youngest, but I know what Princess Luna sounds like. Why would she do any of this?"

"Trixie tried to warn everypony," replied Trixie, "but nopony did anything about it. Trixie was exiled, and everypony forgot about her. Well, almost everypony..." She shook her head ruefully and rested it on the table. "She's insane you know," mumbled the unicorn, "Paranoid, power-hungry, straight up crazy; take your pick." She stood and grabbed her saddle bags from the floor. "She has to be stopped," she said, the glint of determination in her eyes, "before she brings us all down with her."

"Just like that?" said Moonburn, "You're just going to waltz into the Serenity Dome and, what, depose the Princess of the Moon?"

"Well what else can Trixie do?" yelled the unicorn, "she's willing to hurt ponies... kill them even! Should Trixie request a meeting? Perhaps Trixie should circulate a petition? A 'Please Stop Killing Your Subjects, and Kindly Step Down From That Damned Throne' form for everypony to sign. Yes, Luna will certainly appreciate that. Good idea Burnie: Trixie has once again underestimated your intelligence."

"Princesses above... would you just drop the 'Trixie this' and 'Trixie that,'" he yelled. "Do you have any idea how irritating that is?" He held out his right forehoof motionless before waving it slowly from left to right. "I agree, she needs to be stopped," he said, "there's no excuse for what I've heard and seen. Pitting these Loonies against the Lunar Authority makes no sense, as we serve at her request." He grabbed Trixie's hoof with his and looked her in the eyes. "You have to think about what happens next," he said, "there needs to be a plan, something agreed upon by ponies other than us two. Not to mention the fact that you'll never get into the dome on your own."

"What do you propose?" asked Trixie.

"A united front," said Moonburn, "something to show her, and any of the guard who defend her, that this is more than an accusation from a disgruntled unicorn."

"Trixie is not disgruntled," said Trixie, "she is completely... gruntled."

"Well that's what it will look like to anypony at the Serenity Dome," replied Moonburn. "If we go there alone, I doubt either of us ever see another sunrise." He began walking back to his office, beckoning to Trixie to follow. "Talk to the other administrators," he said, "tell them what Luna has done. That, along with those quotas she's put on you outer colony ponies should be enough to convince them that something should be done."

"And what?" asked Trixie, "Luna will see it and just give up?"

"Probably not," replied Moonburn, "but I doubt any guard, Lunar Authority or otherwise, would deny entry to the seven administrators."

"So it's six random ponies and the Great and Powerful Trixie versus a goddess and whatever thralls she still maintains?" asked the unicorn.

"No," said Moonburn, "I'm going to take what we've learned directly to the Marshall. We will gather the guard and follow you in. If she doesn't see reason, then we'll have what we need to pull her off of the throne." He reached up to his collar and buttoned the top few buttons of his uniform coat. "Assuming we get that far, you seven will be in place to take the reins, so to speak."

Trixie paced back and forth across the length of the lieutenant's office. "You think the old stallion will help?" she asked doubtfully. "He didn't exactly help Trixie when she was exiled, and Trixie still doesn't forgive him for Daybreeze."

Moonburn reached out a hoof and halted the pacing mare. "He'll listen to me," said Moonburn, "like you said, we're still Night Guard. You just go gather the others and meet back here as soon as you can."

"You think Trixie should visit them in pony?" she asked, "Trixie could easily reach them all from her terminal in Sin."

"I think coups are best discussed face to face," said Moonburn, "we wouldn't want word of this getting to the princess before we're ready to act."

"True," said Trixie. She floated her panniers over her back and tightened the girth with her magic. "Trixie will go to Máni first," she said while walking towards the elevators. "If Trixie must collect all of her colleagues, she'd rather have Anvil on her side first."

---

The station's dingy yellow lighting had nearly completely been extinguished when Derpy emerged from her quarters. Between a hard day's work above the fields and the previous night's lack of sleep thanks to another disturbing dream she couldn't quite remember, it took all her concentration to keep from falling into a deep slumber. She hadn't even removed her flight suit, as its rather uncomfortable fitting kept her from drifting to sleep. She patted a pocket for the twelfth time that night and began creeping her way out of the weather crew quarters.

She had free access to the work schedule, so she knew there would be no late night mining shift. Everypony in Sin Station was probably asleep, leaving the pegasus mare alone in a nearly completely silent series of hallways. She took careful steps, glad that the flight suit padding kept her hooves from ringing out as she crept along the hard metal floor. It wasn't long before she was standing before the sturdy looking door that led into Trixie's sleeping quarters. After one last peek down both sides of the hallway, she reached into one of her flight suit's pockets and pulled out a long flat bladed screwdriver she "borrowed" from Flam's lab.

The dim lighting made finding what she was looking for difficult, but it only took Derpy a few moments to discover the camouflaged access panel. She worked the blade of the tool into a narrow groove and popped the compartment door open. She moved her head from side to side, trying to allow enough of the fading light into the inner workings of the door to allow her to find the mechanism she saw Felina bypass. After several tense minutes of trial and error, she heard a click, and the door pulled open on well oiled hinges.

The room beyond was much as she remembered it. Mementos from years of traveling and performing all over Equestria and beyond lined the walls and furniture. She closed the door behind her and began her search. Derpy silently peaked under the bed, even going so far as to lift the mattress from the bed frame. She only found dust bunnies and a knotted old scarf. She moved around the room, carefully pushing furniture away from the walls, pulling drawers out of their slots, and lifting rugs from the floor. It all seemed for naught, leaving the pegasus with dirty hooves and a dirtier conscience. She sat on the bed and held her forelegs to her aching head. She had hoped this part would be quick, that it would be easy, but after an hour of desperate searching, she found nothing. A part of her was glad for it; the same part that had been calling her a horrible, traitorous, no-good nag.

From between her hooves, she saw the familiar poster. Memories from her first encounter with Trixie flooded her mind:

"Was there ever any doubt?" asked the boastful unicorn as she turned her back to the audience. Derpy clapped her hooves together along with the rest of the audience. Sure, this Trixie was a bit of a braggart, but if Derpy had that kind of talent, she'd be inclined to boast too. The shifting weight on her back forced her to adjust her precarious hover.

"Wow!" shouted Dinky, "Did you see that mommy? She turned Miss Rarity's hair green! I didn't know magic could do that!"

"Now DInky," chided Derpy, "that wasn't a very nice thing for her to do. Remember what I told you about responsibility?"

"Yes mommy," said Dinky, "but still; Wow!" The filly bounced on her mother's back, unconcerned with the five meter drop to the ground. "Do you think I'll be able to do that with my magic?" she asked excitedly.

"Absolutely," answered Derpy, "If you work very hard. I bet The Great and Powerful Trixie studied very hard to be able to do so much with her magic."

"I'll practice every day!" shouted the filly before another salvo of fireworks exploded behind the stage, effectively silencing the star-struck filly.

Derpy returned to the present to find herself standing next to the poster with her hoof reaching out towards it. As it made contact with the thick parchment, she could tell there was something behind it. The pegasus carefully pulled the bottom of the poster away from the wall. The adhesive that had held it in place gave way easily, and she was staring at the very item she had been questing for. It was as Diaphanous Veil had described: A flat obsidian black panel, nearly half a pony in length. The unicorn had warned her not to touch the front of it, lest she activate it. Derpy reached into her flight suit and produced the small box that Veil had given her. As small as a deck of playing cards, it seemed about as magical as a lump of coal. Derpy carefully reached behind the panel and, with a light *thunk*b the device seemed to attach itself to the screen. Unfortunately, she had forgotten Veil's warning about the shock. The pegasus nearly jumped out of her flightsuit as a jolt of magical energy arced through her. Her wings shot up and spasmed before she removed her hoof and held it to her muzzle. She took a moment to shudder and fold her wings back down before pulling the poster back into place. Turning back to face the rest of the room, she began cleaning up the mess she made before exiting the room. She was quite thorough, and had her plumage not matched the grey floor so well, she might have seen the scattered feathers that had fallen out of her wings.

---

Before her exile, Trixie would have dreaded having to visit Máni Station. The source of nearly all of the fabled Lunar Steel, Máni was a place perpetually in the process of converting lunar ore into panels of gleaming silver metal or components for the vast array of magical devices that made life possible on the moon. The non-stop industry left the colony covered in soot and unbearably hot. She recalled one particularly unpleasant visit with the princess in which she was forced to tour the central foundry. Earth ponies may be used to such conditions, but Trixie doubted any unicorn had ever been as miserable as she had for those few hours. Luna, of course, seemed completely unphased by it, as if she could simply force herself to ignore the stifling heat and dirty air.

So it was incredibly surprising to Trixie, when she stepped out of the Zoom Tube station and took a deep breath of pristine scrubbed air. There wasn't the slightest hint of acrid smoke or tang of pulverized iron. The walls and floors even appeared to be free of the black soot stains that had plagued the station on her last visit. She approached a bulkhead and took a deep breath to clear her mind. She pushed it open and gaped at the sight before her.

Gone was the perpetual haze of industry, replace with a skyline of gleaming silver and stark black night. "Princesses above," she muttered, "they scrubbed the dome." She was so taken aback by the cleanliness, Trixie didn't notice the pair of guards flanking the other side of the bulkhead door.

"Lulamoon, Trixie: Administrator, Sin Station. Your arrival is unscheduled," barked an androgynous artificial sounding voice, "would you like us to alert Administrator Anvil to your presence?"

Trixie gave a start at the pair of guards and gathered herself before nodding. "Yes," she said, "Trixie wishes to visit Iron Anvil. We have much to discuss."

"The administrator is in his office," said the other guard in a seemingly identical tone, "Do you require and escort?"

"No," replied Trixie, "Trixie knows the way." Anypony would be able to find their way to Anvil's office. The Forge was one of the most impressive structures on the moon, and the wide boulevard that stretched from it to the transit station left no doubts as to where the leader of the colony spent most of his time. Trixie started a slow trot towards the towering smoke stacks of the massive factory. She marveled at each pristine silver building she passed. On her last visit each had been full of ponies working on small anvils, producing metalwork both mundane and extraordinary. "Where are the piles of slag?" she asked herself. Even in its earliest days, Máni had trouble disposing of the byproducts of its prolific factories and workshops. She recalled carts of smoldering waste metal in every alley, waiting to be sent out into the far reaches of the Oceanus Procellarum and dumped into large pits. They seemed to have been replaced by Lunar Authority guards, resplendent in grey segmented metal armor. Everywhere she looked, Trixie spied another spear or shield armed pony, guarding Celestia-knew what; the whole place appeared to be on holiday. The din of machinery and ponies galloping about to support the colony were gone, replaced by an eerie silence, one she only experienced when exploring the lunar surface outside the domes. Not even the pleasant memories of gallivanting upon the grey plains with her friends could shake the unease that gripped Trixie. Undeterred, the unicorn strode towards The Forge.

She waved off the twentieth guard to ask her, "would you like an escort to the Administrator's office," and pressed her hooves against the towering, five meter high steel door that led into the factory floor. The insides of the great metal works were as silent as the outside: It angered Trixie. Every pony in Sin was pushing themselves to exhaustion to meet quotas, and here, she had apparently stumbled upon a colony on a self imposed hiatus. She climbed a series of stairs that led to the upper levels of the towering foundry. Below her, on the factory floor, sat row after row of unattended machinery.

Trixie pushed the unease into the back of her mind and came to a stop before the large wooden double doors that lead to Iron Anvil's office. He had considered it a mark of his station to keep the only flammable building material in the colony so close to his base of operations. She ignored the questions from the four guards flanking the entrance and pushed open the twin doors with her magic.

"Anvil," she said loudly, "Trixie has terrible news."

The stallion sitting at the gleaming silver desk looked nothing like the sturdy earth pony she remembered fondly. Instead of a thick blacksmith's apron, he wore a tailored pin-striped suit, complete with silver cuff links that caught the light and reflected it in every direction. His maneless head, which he considered a badge of honor, earned from countless mishaps at the forge, was covered in a stylish black fedora, its brim pulled low to obscure his face.

"So nice to see you Trixie," he said calmly, "what could be so serious to bring you to my doors, and in such a lather."

Trixie recoiled in confusion at the stallion's even tone. Iron Anvil had been one of the most boisterous earth ponies she had ever met, and that was quite an accomplishment as she had experienced Pinkie Pie on multiple occasions. His raucous bellows were legend, yet here he sounded as restrained as a Trottingham unicorn at high tea. "Princess Luna has lost her mind," she said, not quite as adamantly as she had planned. "Trixie fears she means great harm to all the ponies of Selene and the Seven Colonies."

"I assume you have some proof to back this up?" asked the stallion. He idly tapped a forehoof on his wide desk. "You haven't exactly had the best of reputations over the last few years."

"Trixie would ask you to consider her words," she said, "and remember that she speaks as the Princess's protégé."

"Former protégé," corrected Anvil, "she did strip you of that title."

Trixie stifled a growl and began to explain the last week to the hulking earth pony. From her marginalization in Sin Station, to the attack on her fellow citizens, to the bombing in Selene, she laid out all of her fears to the first pony she hoped would help her rein in Luna. "Trixie believes she has... changed. Trixie knows not why. If we gather the other administrators and confront her, Trixie is confident we can keep her from bringing us all down with her."

Iron Anvil chuckled and tapped his heavily muscled forelegs again his desk. "You always were a fan of the theatrical," he said. "Fireworks and grand displays of magic: You always considered yourself above the practical concerns of us ground pounders."

"Trixie excuses you?" asked the confused mare.

"How could our Princess be anything but the benevolent goddess she has ever been?" asked the stallion, motioning his hooves towards the wide window behind his desk. "Do you not see the advances we have made here under her direct leadership?" He smiled at Trixie and continued without hesitation. "Gone are the choking vapors and staining soot," he said. "Nopony goes home exhausted and hungry. Nopony questions whether or not their labor has been adequately compensated. All are content."

"What are you talking about?" asked the confused mare. "Trixie hasn't seen a single indication that anypony has been working here at all."

"But Trixie," said Anvil, "you have surely seen my ponies at every corner. They wait patiently for our mistress to command us to go forth."

"No," whispered Trixie. She cursed to herself for disregarding the unnecessarily high number of guards lining the streets of Máni Station; far more than a standard detachment.

"Yes," said Anvil, reading the shock in her eyes. "You understand now. Princess Luna has freed us from our toil. We are the vanguard of her new society. One where we, the ponies of the Moon, reign over our earthbound lessers. One where every Lunar Pony serves her eternal majesty."

Trixie couldn't believe the fanatic ramblings emanating from this formerly level headed pony's mouth. She bent down, her chin nearly on the desk, and tried to talk sense into him, eye to eye. What she found barely qualified as eyes. Strange ribbons of silvery metal seemed to crisscross his face sinking into his cheeks and eyes; his iris and pupil free eyes. A malevolent purple glow, previously hidden by the hat, emanated from his vacant eyes and bathed the stallion's face in a frightening magical aura.

"What has she done to you," asked the terrified mare.

"She has freed us," said the stallion, "as she will soon free you."

Trixie heard the door behind her slam open. She pivoted and saw the four guards, each equipped with wicked barbed spears, bearing down upon her. "Trixie will make this right," she said to the stallion, "Trixie promises she will fix this..." As the stallion began cackling, she gripped his desk with her magic and hurled it at the quartet of armored guards. She didn't wait to see what kind of damage she did, instead opting to dash through the open doors. The stairs leading up to Anvil's office were crowded with armored guards, each staring at her through armored helmets. Trixie took a deep breath and vaulted over the metal guardrail. Time seemed to slow as she reached for the distant chains of a block and pulley hanging from the ceiling. Had she not been on the moon, she would have come well short, but she soon was holding on for dear life as the chain swung her over the factory floor.

"There is no running from Her truth!" shouted a voice from above. Any further words were drowned by the sound of heavy machinery coming to life. Trixie held on tightly as the chain jerked into motion. All around her, the machinery of The Forge was on the move. Ceiling mounted conveyors began carrying her along a winding path through the large factory floor. With one hoof wrapped around the heavy chain, Trixie waved defiantly at the burly Earth pony and his armored guards as she was carried away from the balcony.

Klaxons began blaring throughout the building; an earsplitting accompaniment to the roar of the blast furnaces and the relentless crash of the metal stampers. Trixie slid down the chain and landed on the floor just in time to avoid a column of flames spewing from one of the magically powered kilns. She dashed through a shower of sparks, towards the exit. Through gaps between large machinery, she saw the forms of guards pursuing her. Barbed javelins streaked in front of her, drawing sparks as the impacted against the floor and machinery. Trixie was forced to turn away from the entrance and deeper into the mechanical maelstrom of the Forge.

Trixie eyed the upper reaches of the factory. Between the rows of heavy crucibles progressing along the hanging tracks and the towering blast furnaces belching columns of flame sat a ramp leading outside of The Forge. "The ore chute!" muttered Trixie excitedly. She hopped onto a conveyor belt carrying large flat plates of lunar steel beaten flat by the massive metal stampers. Trixie ran along the moving conveyor, hurling herself heedlessly past the enormous masses of iron that smashed the still heated metal flat. She lifted one of the colossal metal walls in front of her just in time to deflect several spears hurled by the pursuing guards.

"There is no escape Lulamoon," spoke an earsplitting voice over the factory loudspeakers, "Her immortal will cannot be opposed. All will serve her."

Trixie cursed under her breath as more javelins impacted against her improvised shield. It was only a matter of time before the guards surrounded her. It was only due to sheer luck that there wasn't a unicorn or pegasus among them. Máni Station was always a place for Earth Ponies: Their strength and way with the metal drew them to the hard work required at The Forge. The sound of hoofsteps ringing against the metal floor alerted Trixie to the approaching guards. Knowing she had no time to hesitate, she looked above her at the crucibles and used her magic to tip several of the now heavily loaded containers on their side.

Newly molten Lunar steel rained from above, showering the immediate area in searing death. She tipped the metal plate over her, creating a slanted roof over herself. Her magical strength held steady as hundreds of pounds of the liquid metal slammed against her barrier. The air burned, searing Trixie's throat as she gulped deep breaths. Trixie hurled the metal bulkhead aside and hopped off of the assembly line. She avoided the puddles of boiling steel that kept the guards from rushing at her and used her magic to upend even more vats of liquid ore as she ran, leaving a trail of scorching slag in her wake. Yet, not a single yelp or shout of surprise followed in her wake.

She pressed on, jumping into a recently emptied crucible as it swooped low to the ground after depositing its payload into an extruder. The acrid smell of burning hoof and hair filled her nostrils. Trixie yelped in pain as her ankles smoldered. Spears clanged against the underside of the vessel as she spied the slowly approaching chute that led to the outside. She ignored the pain and climbed onto the side of the container and balanced precariously on the edge. She rode the crucible higher and higher until the sloping ramp was within jumping distance.

"You would truly rather burn than serve her majesty?" asked Anvil in an amused voice over the factory loudspeakers. "She did not exaggerate when she called you the greatest of all traitors."

"Better a traitor in her eyes, than one in Trixie's own!" shouted the unicorn. She hurled herself from her perch, latching her forehooves onto the edge of the ore chute. She dangled off the edge, struggling to pull herself up. Below her, a cadre of guards stared up at her, their helmeted heads motionless and silent. A javelin streaked past her flank, slicing a shallow gash along her left rear leg. A pair of guards were climbing up the ramp, their progress slowed as they ran against the path of the conveyor belt that carried the ore to the furnaces below. Trixie hissed in pain and finished climbing onto the ramp.

She lowered her horn at the encroaching guards and detonated a particularly flashy set of magical fireworks in front of their faces. Trixie didn't wait to see their reaction, instead opting to flee up the chute. The spear that flew wildly off the mark spoke to the effectiveness of her distraction. The pulverized ore littering her path kept her from making much progress towards the top of the slanted chute. Trixie created a magical barrier in front of her, using it to push the ore forwards. As she ran, a small hill of the iron laced rock began to form. Knowing she was also making the path easier for her pursuers, she hopped over the pile and repeated the process, creating several of the obstacles before reaching the apex of the ore chute.

Trixie reached the top of the ramp and pushed through the black rubber curtain that was draped over the narrow opening that led outside of The Forge. The chute angled back down towards the ground, widening as it approached the automated feeders below. "Oh come on!" she shouted when she saw the ring of guards surrounding the bottom of the ramp. She growled under her breath and snorted loudly from her nostrils before kicking herself into a gallop. She again erected her magical barrier in front of her, scooping up a pile of ore as she ran. The rolling mass of rocks grew larger and larger until it began to reach a critical mass. Like a massive wave approaching the ocean's shore, the top of the heap of ore curled over on itself, starting an avalanche that only grew larger as Trixie continued pushing her way forwards at breakneck speed.

The tsunami of ore broke against the guards below knocking them from their hooves and pinning them underneath hundreds of pounds of meticulously mined lunar steel. Several exposed hooves, their owners unseen below the mound of rocks, reached out for Trixie as she galloped across the debris. With nopony in sight ahead of her, the unicorn ran towards the transit station. Anvil apparently hadn't expected her to escape The Forge; the streets leading to the massive factory were empty. The edge of the dome grew closer and closer, each stride bringing Trixie closer to relative freedom.

A look over her shoulder revealed to Trixie the location of Máni's population. Rows of armored ponies charged after her, their hoofsteps seemingly synchronized. They were still several hundred feet away, she observed, giving her ample time to commandeer a skimmer and escape. She darted through the dome-wall mounted bulkhead and through the narrow hallway leading to the Zoom Tube terminus. She used her magic to pull the door ahead open. The sight of a skimmer waiting for her was enough to elicit a now rare "Luna be Praised!" from the unicorn. As she hopped through the open doorway, the flash of movement from the polished floor ahead prompted her to duck under the pair of thick hooves that rocketed through the air where her head would have been. She rolled through the doorway, leaving a red streak on the floor from the open wound on her flank.

"Stop running Trixie," said Iron Anvil. "Accept your fate and surrender to the will of our Mistress." He had lost his ridiculous hat and shed his tailored suit. The silvered lines crisscrossing his face glowed with a malevolent purple glow, extending down his thick neck and through his well muscled legs.

"Sure," said the unicorn as she gathered her magic. "Here, hold Trixie's things." She surrounded a metal bench from one of the walls and flung it at the hulking stallion. Iron Anvil reared up on his back hooves and held his forehooves in front of him. The bench slammed into him and bent around his heavily shod hooves. He swept the twisted piece of metal aside and, with a loud snarl, charged at Trixie. The unicorn made the mistake of trying to grab the stallion with her magic. His significant weight advantage meant that Trixie was pushed backwards as he stampeded towards her. Her breath was forced out of her chest as she was slammed into the wall. Gasping for air, Trixie fought to keep the stallion's wide hooves from crashing into her head. With the wall bracing her, she was just able to keep him at bay. It wasn't right, she thought in a panic, her magic should have been more than powerful enough to pick up and throw the stallion back across the room with ease, yet here he was, fighting her to a stalemate with nothing more than his own brute strength. He stood before her on his rear hooves, his two heavy forehooves straining to complete their wicked kick. Never one to fight fairly, Trixie delivered a rapid succession of sharp kicks to Anvil's stallionhood. He didn't even flinch; if anything, his hooves inched closer to Trixie's neck. The sound of more hooves rushing through the hallway leading to the station reminded Trixie of the army of guards still pursuing her.

She took a deep breath, lifted her hooves from the ground and released her magical hold on the stallion. She slid down the wall just before his hooves crashed into it. He had been pressing so hard against her magical grasp, that his head soon followed, leaving a heavy dent as it smashed against the thick steel bulkhead. Trixie pressed her rear hooves against the wall and pushed off with all her might. She slid on her back between the stallion's rear legs and rolled to her side. Anvil stumbled about as if he had downed his seventh hard apple cider, blood trickling down from his split scalp. Trixie dashed to the Skimmer and quickly punched in Sin Station on the vehicle's preprogrammed destination list. The door slid shut and the pod began moving.

The first of many armored guards began pouring through the station's bulkhead just as Trixie's Zoom Tube Skimmer cleared the heavy Tube bulkhead. She sighed in relief as the doors slammed shut behind the vehicle, sealing her off from the horde of ponies out for her head. Moments later she was heading back towards Sin Station with a mind full of worries and few answers to soothe them.

---

Trixie ignored Amber and the others. There just wasn't time to explain what had happened. She slammed her door in the tall turquoise earth pony's face and ripped the large poster from the wall. She placed her hoof against her administrator terminal and waited for the screen to flicker to life. Her hoof shook as she held it to the obsidian screen and tapped out her password to access the device's suite of communication applications. The risk had to be taken, the other administrators had to know of Iron Anvil's fall, and this was the quickest way.

Seven portraits appeared surrounding the centrally positioned likeness of Princess Luna. Trixie narrowed her eyes at the sight of the smiling alicorn's face. It had been over a year since she had last seen it in pony, and she had never glared at it with such hatred as she did at that moment. She had always assumed Luna was acting under some misunderstood idea of what was right for the ponies of the moon, but now... now she had surrendered to the realization the one pony she had trusted most in the world was trying to hurt her. Not only her, but every pony who stood between her and some insane plan she had for Selene and the Seven Colonies.

Trixie quickly tapped the smiling faces of the six administrators who hadn't tried to kill her yet. A text box appeared at the bottom of the screen along with a virtual keyboard. Trixie began typing:

Fellow Administrators,

The Princess has lost her mind. Trixie writes not only of the most recent outrageous demands for resources and magic, but of a series of attacks most heinous and unprecedented in the history Selene and the Colonies. Trixie and ponies under her protection have been assaulted no less than three times under direct order of Princess Luna. In the first, Sin Station was vandalized by ponies calling themselves 'Loonies,' but, by their own admission, under the direct orders of her majesty. The second, a business, full of innocent ponies, was bombed and subjected to the vacuum by direct action of Luna. Third, the entire population of Máni Station has been conscripted into an army of unknown purpose with Administrator Iron Anvil at their head. Trixie heard him claim fealty to Luna with her own ears.

Trixie understands the bad blood she has had with our immortal patron may impact her credibility. Any who doubt Trixie's words need only contact Inspector Lieutenant Moonburn at The Stone. He is a personal witness to the second incident, and will vouch for everything Trixie has written here so far. If there is any doubt in your minds as to the path that the princess has set us upon, Trixie urges you to help her.

To that end, Trixie suggests a gathering of us all at The Stone; all save Iron Anvil of course. Bring as many ponies as you trust and meet us there tomorrow at noon, Selene Time. There must be a reckoning. Luna must account for her actions and explain why she still deserves our allegiance. We must be prepared to defy her.

Trixie Lulamoon

Administrator : Sin Station

Trixie sighed heavily and pressed the send icon. Her plea on its way, Trixie stumbled to her bed and fell to her haunches. She closed her eyes and tried to wish her worries away. She took several deep breaths and tried to seek the void her mentor had always taught her to seek. The sound of hooves pounding against her door faded away and the world dissolved to blackness. Her breathing steadied and Trixie let all her earthly and moonly concerns drift away. Pinpoints of purple light in the ethereal distance drew her attention. Trixie's neck began twitching as they rapidly approached. Her perfect stillness turned into a gale of black wind. A pair of great, malevolent eyes stared at her from the void. Trixie's head jerked up and her eyes opened.

*clang* *clang* *clang*

Hooves rang out against her door, followed by the bellowing of Amber Waves. "I'm not going anywhere Trixie," she shouted, "You can't just run your bloody self across my fields after being gone for the better part of a week without explaining yourself!" She punctuated the sentence with another series of raps against the heavy door.

Trixie sighed and rose to her hooves. She would need Amber's help, among others, she thought. She walked to her door and used her hooves to turn the locking wheel and pushed. The familiar faces of the Sin Station Team leaders looked back at her, each a mix of confusion and concern. Trixie hung her head low and began walking between them. "Trixie thinks this is best explained in the ops center," she said while slipping past a glaring Digger.

"You're Celestia &#$!ing damn right it is!" spat the stallion as he turned and followed her.

---

"That's the long and short of it," said Trixie, "Trixie has sent a message to the other administrators. If they have any sense at all, we will meet at Selene tomorrow and head to the Serenity Dome to confront Luna."

"Just like that?" asked Flam, "You'll just saunter into the Princess's throne room and demand she explain why she tried to have you killed twice? I honestly thought you smarter than that Trixie." He looked at the other ponies gathered, hoping to see agreement in their faces.

"Not just Trixie," said the blue unicorn. "The others will come; they will add their voices to Trixie's. Moonburn should have the Marshall and his comrades in arms there as well. Trixie hopes so anyways..."

"It really sounds like she had a plan," said a worried Felina, "She converted Máni Station into an armed garrison. She had our loyalty until her recent... moodiness. Why would she need an army now?" The petite unicorn sipped a steaming cup of tea from a porcelain cup she had brought with her into the meeting. "Sometimes it's the obvious provocations that you need to ignore. They often mask somepony's true intentions."

"Like?" asked Trixie in confusion.

"I don't know," replied Felina, "Our Luna has always been mysterious. Can anypony here say they understand the mind of a goddess? Somepony who has spent a thousand years in complete solitude and despair?" She took another dainty sip from her beverage and placed the cup into its matching saucer. "Maybe you're right, and she's not entirely in her right mind," said Felina. "In that case, better to try to understand Discord."

"Whether or not she has a plan doesn't really matter," said Amber, "If Luna's gone off the deep end, we're all in serious trouble."

"You all speak as if you believe Trixie," said the unicorn in a forlorn voice. "Others have reminded Trixie how others see her. Trixie trusts the other administrators will hear her out, but past that..."

"!@#% Trixie," cursed Digger, "Ya have more right than most to hate her royal !@%#*ness, but yer always the first to cuff my ears when I speak against her." The stallion spat at the floor and poked Trixie's chest with a thick hoof. "If yer saying she's got to go, I know it's serious. I say we head out there with a few of my bigger lads and lasses; give her a talking to."

"Is it really that bad?" asked Derpy, "nopony was actually hurt right? Maybe if we just stay out of her way, everything will just calm down."

Trixie and the other four looked at her with mixed expressions of shock and disgust. "She exposed dozens of pony to vacuum," said Amber, "and look at Trixie's flank. Does that look like the work of somepony who can be reasoned with?" She pointed at the red stained bandage that sat across Trixie's cutie mark. "I know you're new here Derpy," said Amber, "but this isn't right. It wouldn't be right on the roughest streets of Manehattan." The chastised pegasus looked down at the floor underneath her stool. Trixie saw the same mix of confusion and fear in the pegasus's face that she had been fighting the entire weekend.

"Trixie would have agreed with you Ms. Doo," she said calmly, "Trixie has always thought that Luna had our well being at heart, no matter what she did to Trixie." She winced as Amber lifted the bandage to apply another stinging ointment to her wound. "But this has gone beyond Trixie," she said, "this threatens everypony who draws breath on the moon. Trixie owes it to them to confront her." She batted Amber's hoof away from her flank and reached over the table. "Trixie is under no illusions; this is dangerous. So to that end, she thinks it may be time for her to pass her title and passcodes on, so that Sin will have leadership should her absence prove... permanent." She swiped her hoof over the table's surface and revealed a list of their names. "I think everypony can agree that Amber would make an excellent administrator," she said while placing her hoof on the other mare's shoulder. "Trixie knows any of you would do an admirable job, of course, but Amber's been here so long, she knows just about everypony in Sin."

"Pass," said Amber.

"Excuse Trixie?" asked the unicorn. She glared at the turquoise coated earth pony.

"I can't very well run this place when I'm with you in Selene," she said. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not letting you go without somepony to watch your back." She looked over at the other two unicorns. "Besides," she said, "I think Flam is far more suited to the job."

Trixie's gaze swiveled to the wide eyed unicorn stallion. "Fine," she said, "as long as he can keep his attention on the job. Trixie is looking at you Felina."

The mare gave a coquettish smile and patted Flam on the withers. "No worries there," she said, "as much as I'd like to be Flammy's distraction, I can't very well leave you and Amber to face such danger alone."

Flam reached up and patted Felina's foreleg with his own. "I wouldn't be up for the job anyway," he said. "It's better for me to follow you, Trixie. You might need my expertise."

Trixie squinted at the pair and growled in exasperation. The room was silent for several moments as Trixie shook her head from side to side. A pony began whistling, abruptly cutting the silence with a jaunty tune. Trixie shuddered and turned to face the large stallion sitting in the corner of the room. "Digger," she asked grudgingly.

"Yes?" asked the stallion, his muzzle turned up in an amused grin.

Trixie ground her teeth together and glared at the miner. "Forget it," she said, "you're coming with us." She turned to the long pegasus in the room. "No offense Miss Doo," she said, "but Trixie doubt's you're ready to take over for her."

"Of course not!" the wall-eyed mare nearly shouted. "I'd just mess everything up. You should just stay in charge."

"Trixie guesses she has little choice," she said while surveying her friends. "Trixie would welcome your help as well Miss... Derpy."

The pegasus winced before nodding her assent. "You've all been so nice to me," she said, "I guess it'd be awful of me to say no."

---

The door to Trixie's room silently swung open into the deserted hallway for the second time in as many nights. Derpy slipped the screwdriver into her flight suit's pocket and carefully stepped into the darkened bedroom. Her breath caught in her chest when she heard the soft snores of the azure coated unicorn. Knowing Trixie would be here, and actually seeing her asleep in her bed were two different things.

She took another step into the room and slammed her eyes shut as her hoof kicked a dented metal plate across the floor. It skidded underneath the bed and clanged against the wall. Derpy held her breath and slowly opened one eye. Trixie remained motionless atop her bed. The pegasus slowly exhaled and tip-hoofed towards the exposed alcove and the terminal installed inside. Derpy looked worriedly at the poster that had formerly concealed the obsidian screen. Its tattered remains, along with several smashed picture frames littered the floor below her. She tore her gaze away from the destroyed keepsakes and focused on the task at hoof. She rubbed her hooves together to keep them from shaking before reaching behind the terminal. She grabbed Diaphanous Veil's device from its hiding place, receiving another shock for her troubles. As she smoothed the ruffled feathers of her wings, Derpy noticed a small pulsing purple light on the rear of the small silver box. A wave of relief washed over her entire being. Nearly giddy with the lifting of the weight of uncertainty that had followed her for the last week, she leaned against the wall. The flash of light that washed the room in a dull glow shocked her back to attention. The pegasus burglar turned to see her hoof resting against the now active screen.

"Wuh...?" mumbled Trixie.

Derpy dropped to her stomach and began crawling towards the still open door. The rustle of blankets and bedsprings creaking covered the sounds of her flight suit brushing against the floor. Not waiting to see if she had been seen, she crawled from Trixie's room and towards the dome.

---

"Wuh...?" mumbled Trixie as she woke from the first solid bit of sleep she had managed that night. She looked over at her active terminal and rolled out of her bed, wincing as her bandaged flank protested the movement. She padded over to her active terminal and wiped the weariness from her eyes. "Why the hay are you on?" she asked while holding her hoof to the scanner. The screen flashed and loaded her message box. The blinking white text caused her eyes to snap open from their half lidded state. "Have they finally responded to Trixie," she asked nopony. She brought her face closer to the screen and read:

ONE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS ATTEMPT. 2:35am (20 seconds ago). IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THIS TERMINAL'S PHYSICAL SECURITY BE REVIEWED.

Trixie head jerked back in confusion. She pressed her hoof against the scanner and watched as the screen dimmed and shut off after a few seconds. She turned to head back to bed and nearly fell as her hooves slipped on the smooth floor. Cursing herself for her emotional tantrum earlier, she looked down expecting to see a ripped photograph. She used her magic to create a dim mote of floating pink light at the tip or her horn. She reached her hoof down and came back up with a few grey feathers. Her mind slipped back to a few days earlier, the voice of Diaphanous Veil whispering in her mind:

"I have somepony already working on that, and the mistress has forbidden any direct action against their administrator. Worry not though; if all goes to plan, we'll have our trump card in a matter of days."

Trixie crushed the feathers in her hoof and turned to her opened door. She growled and burst out of her room, her face a visage of rage. Heedless of the pain in her flank and singed hooves, she galloped up the wide hallway towards the agridome. As she passed the miner's barracks, she saw the a figure nervously skulking towards the dome. Her winged form was silhouetted against the wall by the strips of light that ran along the floor. "Derpy!" she shouted angrily, "Not. Another. Step." The unicorn galloped on as she yelled, each long stride carrying her closer to the traitor. The Pegasus' entire body jumped and her head snapped around. Without a word, she broke into a gallop.

Trixie cursed under her breath and reached out with her magic. The pegasus was still far enough away, that, even had Trixie not been exhausted from her exploits earlier in the day, she would have been hard pressed to keep the pegasus from dashing out into the wide open domed farmland. Even The Great and Powerful Trixie's magic had its limits. Still, she chased after Derpy, seemingly gaining ground on the pegasus by the second. "Good thing her flightsuit seems to be slowing... her... down. Son of a...!"

Derpy flared her wings out and leaped into the air. With a mighty flap she took to the black skies and propelled herself much faster than any earthbound pony could keep up with. For the thousandth time, she regretted not taking Sparkle up on her teleportation spell classes. Knowing that there was only one place that Derpy would flee to, Trixie gritted her teeth and dashed towards the opposite side of the dome and the Zoom Tube station beyond.

It took her a couple of minutes to gallop across the well irrigated farmland. She dashed through the open bulkhead leading to Sin Station's assembly and mess halls tracking thick mud behind her with every step. A few long tables were tossed aside with her magic as she approached them. She vaulted onto the front of the familiar stage, ran across its polished surface, and leapt back to the ground, angling herself towards the hallway that led to the station's exit. Through the open bulkheads she saw the pegasus reaching into her flightsuit. A shimmering mirage began materializing in front of her. From Derpy's outstretched hoof floated a small silver box. The now visible unicorn grabbed it out of the air with a hoof and slipped it into the pocket of a silk cloak.

Trixie gave a wordless roar as she burst into the transit station. Her horn was afire with magic as she charged; bolts of pink energy arced from the unicorn to the floor below. Diaphanous Veil grinned smugly and lifted the pegasus in her magical grasp.

"What are you-" shouted Derpy before she was flung towards the charging unicorn.

Trixie tried to sidestep, to slow herself, to grab the pegasus with her own magic, but her reflexes proved insufficient as the pegasus slammed into her back-first. Trixie felt something in her midsection snap as they both crashed to the ground in a heap. She tried to suck air into her lungs, but nothing happened. Rolling onto her back,Trixe brought her hooves to her chest and pounded at it. After a few terrifying seconds, she gave a gasping wheeze and drew the sweetest, most painful breath of her life to that point. She shook the blackness and fading stars from her vision and looked up at the opposite side of the station where the doors of a Skimmer slid shut behind Diaphanous Veil. The cloaked unicorn raised a hoof and gave a mocking wave as the vehicle began pulling into the exit Tube.

Trixie found a strength she didn't know she had and pulled her battered body off the floor. She gnashed her teeth and threw herself at the departing capsule. Her horn came to life again, licking flames of pink magic hung in the air in front of her as she directed the entirety of her soul at the Skimmer in front of her. Diaphanous Veil took a worried step backwards as the vessel began to labor against the pull of Trixie's magic. Trixie's hooves dug furrows into the metal tiled flooring as she pulled against side of the Skimmer. She narrowed her eyes and directed a hateful gaze at the unicorn while the pod shuddered. The wide cracks that appeared on the side of the vehicle quickly propagated along its polished surface. A large section of the Skimmer where she had latched her spell tore away from the capsule. Trixie fell to the ground again, her horn now aching as much as the rest of her. The Skimmer quickly moved into the Tube and the large blast doors began to close behind it. Trixie jumped down onto the tracks and banged her hooves against the closing hatch. The last glimpse she had of Diaphanous Veil was the unicorn hastily donning an emergency pressure suit. She continued pounding at the blast doors for a minute, the foot-thick iron bulkheads a poor substitute for the smirking face she wished she was bludgeoning.

The faint sounds of sniffling made their way to Trixie's ears, reminding her of the bit of unfinished business lying on the floor of the Zoom Tube station. She rose to her hooves and scrambled onto the station platform, cursing as a sharp pain radiated through her chest. "Trixie hopes you're satisfied," she growled at the prone pegasus.

"I just want to go home," sobbed Derpy. "I just want to see my baby."

"So you decide to help ruin our home!?" barked Trixie. "What did you give that psychopath? What did she want from Trixie's room?" She stood above the Pegasus and stamped her hoof on the floor with each question, causing the crying mare to shake with every impact.

"S... something on your t... terminal," stuttered Derpy.

"Trixie guessed that already!" shouted the unicorn, "what did she take?!"

"I don't know!" cried Derpy. The pegasus buried her muzzle into her folded forehooves and wept.

Trixie towered over Derpy, her anger reaching a crescendo. "Trixie was told to only use her magic in defense of herself or others," she said coldly, "but if she finds out that you are holding back anything..." She grabbed for her magic, intent on giving the pegasus a small static shock, but nothing happened. She tried again, with similar results. A slight *tap* *tap* *tap* sound drew her gaze to the floor below her. She watched as droplets of blood fell from the tip of her nose down to the floor below. A familiar dizziness grabbed a hold of the unicorn, followed by a tunneling of her vision.

"This again?" she asked herself as she collapsed to the floor.

Author's Note:

Derpy? J'accuse!

For anyone interested the colonies are:
Mani, Hecate, Artemis, Apollo, Sin, Phoebe, and Achelois.

Comments

[MrAskAPirate]

mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw2012-shit_just_got_srs.jpg

[RTStephens]

As if things weren't bad enough.

Jeeze, are things messed up. Even the "mysterious" alicorn couldn't fix things. And Trixie herself is about ready to come apart at the seems.

Nice action, though. Well thought out and exciting! Mind controlled pony army on the loose!