Rez: Eqstr[Tera]

by NiGHTcapD

18: Tone

I am highly curious.

Twilight skipped out on all of us for the simple reason of rage, given that most of us are not receptive to her effort towards the truth. Even I think she might be taking this a bit too far...but then again, it is her family and friends at risk. Everypony else, and myself, don't have those kinds of stakes.

Still...I can't help but wonder how hot the water is if we mess up. Or if we've already messed up. The shield is pretty much impenetrable-I've already checked-but what about before the shield? Could the threat already be in here? What if it's Cadance?

What if it isn't Cadance?

No time for what-ifs, as I can hear voices from Shining Armor's house. Coming through the open door nets me visual contact with Twilight, who looks back and notices me. She reacts only slightly, giving me a signal to be quiet as she walks towards an almost-closed door on the other end of the room and opens it up a crack. So I silently swoop to the flat end, close my eyes, and listen closely. In my mind's eye, I see two points in space, where the sounds originate from-their mouths.

"...made it perfectly clear I didn't want you to wear that." Cadance to Armor.

"This was my favorite uncle's." Armor's response.

"And?"

"And I think I should wear it."

"Are you disagreeing with me?" Yes. Yes, he is. This is his day too, remember?

"I guess I am-" and then he sputters out. Heard it before, he sprained his horn again.

"Oh, dear. Are you getting another one of your headaches?" And then a third point.

I recognize magic when I hear it, but what it does is up to the imagination. It "looks" like it's going from her horn to his, but I have to be somewhat su-

"Did you see that?"

"No, but I heard it. What did I miss?"

"Her magic was green!"

"Assuming you know best, that isn't normal."

"Feeling better?" Cadance again. Sounds sincere...

"Mm-hmm..." Sounds forced, but not sure.

Twilight must have seen something, though, because she then outbursts that "She isn't just unpleasant and rude. She's downright evil!" and rushes out, just as the to-be-weds open back up the door.

"Twili-Rez? When did you get in here?"

"While you two were in there. As for her, I think she remembered something for the wedding that was unprepared," I lied. I don't know how worried she is vs. the reality of the situation, but I'm going to cover for her as best I can. Whistle-blowers get a good rep in my community, as even crying wolf can put us on our guard for the real threat (they tend to come in clusters anyways).

"Just let her go." You tell yourself that.

"Huh. It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me."

"Well, I'll tell you to leave the barrier alone for the night, since you seem so strained. Get some rest. I'll take care of it as best I can."

"Who goes there?"

"That would be Twilight." In a softer tone, of course.

"Stay indoors, Twilight Sparkle." We watch as she runs into a building, then resume normal speaking volumes. "What is it that has you so troubled now, Rez?"

"For once, it's not about my problem but yours-your world's, rather," as I feel the need to differentiate between Luna's own issues and that of the city.

"I'm listening."

"Lemme bounce something off of you for a bit. What if you're keeping watch over the wrong place? What if those who threaten the city are already inside it?"

"I do watch inside the barrier as well, but I'm not fully sure what you're getting at."

"Me neither, but I've seen it bef-excuse me, I've done it before. It's not uncommon to only state ransom or threats once a vulnerability has been located, or already exploited-meaning the hacker is already in the system, already gets or has gotten what he/she wants. Or sometimes, they throw up an alarm in one place to pull everyone in meatspace towards focusing on security in a specific area-and when they've lost focus on a different area, the hacker strikes there."

"Are you saying that's what is happening here?"

"I'm not saying anything, not for certain. But I am asking if you've seen any vulnerabilities-inside the barrier and out of it. And physical, magical, or otherwise all count."

"...nothing I can think of." Twilight emerges from the structure, looking very much defeated.

"Well, if you ever figure anything out, please let me know. If you'll excuse me..." as I swoop my chrome creation down to the dejected mare. "Problem?"

"Huge problem. The others just became Cadance's new bridesmaids!"

I have to think a bit to see how that could be a problem, then grimace, then mutter "Stupid rose-colored glasses..."

"Looks like we really are on our own."

Entry Attempted

"There was attempted passage through the shield; I need to take care of that. You go to bed, you're gonna need all the rest you can to investigate this."

I locate it.