The Immortal Dream

by Czar_Yoshi

Repeat Customer

I was locked up. Again.

And it was nothing like the first time.

Part of that was because I wasn't really imprisoned, imprisoned. The police wanted me because I happened to be in an adjacent room when something exploded and someone disappeared, less because I was an immediate suspect and more because they had no idea what was going on and wanted to keep immediate tabs on everyone involved. Was that grounds for keeping me in an upscale conference room for over an hour after the under-caffeinated detective finished getting my version of events, not legally jailed but expected to stick around as a person of interest?

...I kind of wished it wasn't. But when you ran the city, you got to do whatever you wanted, I supposed.

Idly, I rotated, lounging in a swiveling office chair and wishing I had brought a book with me. What I figured must have happened was that I ran into another crazed batpony-hater like the one in the clothing store, and the weapon shop duo staged a poorly-thought-out crime on the spot to try and frame me. Stupid? Definitely. But I could believe Ironridge was the sort of place where this just randomly happened from time to time.

The only thing that gave me pause was that if the police thought it had such a simple explanation, they wouldn't need to keep me here for so long. And they, being a watchful authority over all of Ironridge, would certainly have an idea of how common these sort of land-mine experiences were. So, the fact that I was still here probably meant there was more to whatever I walked in on than just a random act of opportunism.

Or I could be here because I was blank. The directors knew something about what I was, I was absolutely certain. Them wanting to get a closer look at me was a much more sensible reason for keeping me around than whatever had happened in the weapon shop.

But if that was the case... then where was everyone?

Bored, I drummed the edge of the table with my boots. This actually wasn't that different from Aldebaran, now that I thought about it. They, too, had locked me in a space of relative physical comfort with too many hints and no actual idea why I was there. And back then, like now, it had been extremely sudden. And involved a betrayal - by walking into a shop, I kind of trusted the proprietors to not devolve into hysterics about me doing something they knew I didn't do.

The real difference between then and now was me. Back in Icereach, I had a set of actions I could physically take to escape from Aldebaran and fight back, and I nearly tore myself in half fighting with my fear of taking on that much responsibility and pushing my limits so. Now, I also had a clear path to freedom: there was nothing stopping me from hitting the lights and shadow swimming under the door.

I wasn't afraid. Half of me was curious to see if I could pull it off. But I didn't have a very good reason to try and flee, either, and so I stayed put with no turmoil whatsoever. Just a little boredom. The difference was so striking, it made me want to laugh.

Maybe this was how Elise stayed as calm as she was during our exile.

I sure was bored, though. My thoughts kept swirling back to my emptiness, to what Samael and Estael might have sensed - or not have sensed - and how. To the me I used to be.

The fears I had left behind... Those all belonged to the previous Halcyon, I was all but certain, when I was more like her and hadn't fully grown into myself. All but certainly, they were meant to keep me away from things she didn't want me going near, for my own good. Or that she didn't want me bringing her near.

I wondered what could drive a pony so far that they wouldn't want to be themselves anymore. That they'd rather become forgotten and let someone else take the lead...

How had the old Halcyon made me, anyway? In that last memory, I got to see myself, the mask, a chunk of green crystal. Something magical and physical. How was it, mechanically, that she could edit my memories? This wasn't just a mental state, there was something real involved. Something that normal ponies just didn't do.

And she had made me afraid of pushing my limits and testing my potential. Odds were, she was afraid of me discovering something she already knew we could do. Something relating to how she made me, I guessed. Or how she left and made us blank in the first place. Or something completely different, related to why she couldn't live with herself anymore.

...That made me slightly less gung-ho about wanting to push myself just because I could. But only slightly. I had too many things to do with my life to want to throw it away over some piece of knowledge, no matter how eerie or sinister. And besides, how could I not be curious?

My thoughts were soon interrupted by a noise coming from the ceiling.

"What the...?" I squinted and craned my neck, tracking a series of clangs that sounded like reverberating metal hoofsteps coming from just above the roof. It was moving... No, it was right above the air vent.

The air vent caved in, and a pony fell into the room with an explosion of dust and a horrendous crash.

It was Kitty.

"Hiya, lady!" She stood up on the table where she landed, clad in her signature hoodie, apparently not at all bothered by the way she arrived there.

I gaped. "And just what are you doing here?"

Kitty winked at me. "Kitty heard you got arresteded. So she went somewhere important an' tipped over five whole vases to get herself caught and arresteded too, so she could keep you company!"

This didn't help with my surprise.

"...You knew what happened to me?" I pressed, finding something to focus on. "What about Jamjars? Does she know too?"

"Kitty has a psychic powers and knows everything in the whole world," Kitty happily explained. "Told Jamjars all about it!"

I frowned. "Seriously?"

"Yup!"

I glanced around. "Alright, where's Ansel? And why did... whatever just happened to me happen?"

Kitty's tongue started poking out. "Don't know!" She beamed proudly.

Right...

My gaze fell upon a trash can built into a countertop. You know, if I really wanted to talk to someone who probably did know everything he didn't have a reason to...

Nah, not gonna go there. There were backup plans, and then there were last resorts.

Before I could second-guess myself, or act on it if I did, the door opened. "What's going on in here?" a guard asked, poking his head through. He blinked when he saw Kitty.

Kitty stuck out her tongue and waved. "Hiya, mister!"

The guard swore, closed the door and went away.

"Is that bad?" I looked sideways at her. "You didn't just get me in trouble, did you?"

Kitty pranced in a circle on the table. "Nah. He's just happy to see Kitty. Everyone here knows her!"

"That's not how ponies sound when they're happy," I pointed out, eyeing the broken air duct cover. It would be pretty easy to jump up there and sneak away...

Kitty puffed out her hoodie-covered chest. "That's 'cuz the kind of happiness Kitty makes ponies feel is special."

"I'll say," I muttered under my breath, weighing what was least likely to get me in even more trouble.

The door opened again. It was the same guard as before. "Executive orders are in, the bosses want to see you," he said, making eye contact strictly with me. "Please, uh, come with me, preferably alone..."

Not a way out, but I'd take it over sitting here with Kitty. Instantly, I was at the door. "Thanks," I whispered, nodding in Kitty's direction with an I'm not with her look.

The guard looked relieved.

Of course, Kitty was far from dissuaded. "Silly," she told the guard as she marched past. "Kitty's a friend. Why be alone when you have friends?"

"You're not allowed here," the guard started to point out, but Kitty wasn't listening.

"You'll be arrested for trespassing-"

"If Kitty gets arresteded, she'll belong in jail," Kitty chirped. "Which is where she is now! Then it won't be right to arrest her so you can't do it and she won't belong there. You're a paradox, mister."

I glanced at her. "You told me you were already here because you got arrested for tipping over flower vases."

Kitty beamed at me with immeasurable pride. "Kitty arresteded herself!"

I was starting to revise my opinion on Kitty from my first few days in Ironridge. Jamjars was right. She was definitely being an idiot on purpose.

The guard just grumbled and kept his head down. "Worse than Valey, I swear..."

"Hey, uh, what about Ansel?" I asked as we walked, trying to distract the guard from my nerve-inducing companion. "You know, the guy who was with me?"

"Earth pony colt, same case?" The guard looked up. "They let him go immediately after questioning. No clue why you're different. Word on high from the Directors. Not worth trouble with that kid, though." He nodded at Kitty.

Kitty smiled fondly. "Kitty's always worth trouble."

I ignored her too, picking up that the guard seemed happy to have something else to think about than the fact that she was right there. "Big history with her?"

"Repeatest offender in all of Ironridge," he grumbled. "Usually turns herself in after infractions too minor to warrant calling the police. I swear, it's like she wants to be in jail. Wouldn't have a problem with it if she wasn't tied to influential ponies who can make trouble for us all..."

Right. So Jamjars apparently had enough sway that random prison guards were afraid of bothering her acquaintances. Good to know.

It was nice to have someone like that in my corner when I could apparently get shabbily framed for murder just by walking into a random store.

We rounded a corner, and ran into a second guard and one of the creepy teleporting unicorns. She blinked when she saw us.

"Taking her upstairs," my guard explained, pointing to me. "You here to deal with the kid?"

The new guard shook her head. "Directors want it hurried up. I have a teleport ready."

"That urgent?" My guard scratched his head. "She's been here for an hour, and they said walk like two minutes ago..."

The new guard shrugged. "Orders are orders?"

"Kitty likes orders," Kitty helpfully volunteered, gluing herself to my side.

"Hey, uh..." My guard glanced at her. "Summons are for her too? Because if not..."

The new guard narrowed her eyes at Kitty. "...I ain't moving her."

My guard sighed. "Kid, please step away... We can't teleport only one of you when you're standing that close together, and you're not invited."

"I know!" Kitty chirped. "Kitty's giving herself an invitation!"

"Kitty..." I shoved at her. "I'd really rather not get in more trouble over this..."

Both guards gave me an apologetic look. Which, normally I'd appreciate, but the fact that prison guards were being nice and understanding to me when I was being called before the head honchos was really starting to weird me out. I'd have expected guards to be just a teensy bit more power crazed and a whole lot more condescending to ponies who usually were here for doing crimes.

The guards gave each other a look that said together, and then they both took one of Kitty's sides. "Alright, kid, just a moment..."

I was free. Kitty looked disappointed, but didn't struggle. The unicorn was waiting.

Suddenly, I was nervous. But if Kitty could instill such dread in the guards via her connection to Jamjars, stemming from consequences that would first be felt by the higher-ups, hopefully I could do the same to the higher-ups directly.

I stepped up to the unicorn, and the circle began to rise. When I was out of this, I wasn't going to stop until Jamjars told me exactly what kind of leverage she had that put her in this situation.

Then, suddenly, there was a snap of cold air. Both guards yelled out in surprise, and Kitty lunged for me, tongue flapping and eyes wild with unwarranted joy.

Flash!

---

The teleportation circle receded. Me, Kitty and the unicorn were in a gilded white room that felt like a cross between a hospital, a preschool and a boutique. Samael and Estael were nowhere to be found.

Instead, there was Lilith.

Tall and black, with long green eyes and a jewelry-studded horn, swathed in silver and wielding an ornamental scepter in her aura, Cold Karma's Director of Societal Planning looked me over with a hardened stare. Not a pony I wanted to meet, or to work for, I had heard on many occasions. And, if my first night in Ironridge had been any indication, someone with ties to the Composer.

She looked at Kitty with a hint of surprise. "Bold of you to set hoof here in person."

Kitty smiled at her. "Didn't know where Kitty was going!"

"What's going on?" I asked, assessing the room for options. Three doors, though one was smaller and looked like a closet. No other ponies save for us, Lilith and the unicorn. I only saw one light switch, which meant I had a single target if I needed to get some darkness and shadow swim. No windows, or any indication of where in Ironridge I was.

"One moment," Lilith told me with a tone almost approaching fondness, but still cold as ice. She turned back to Kitty. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

"Shan't," Kitty pompously declared, glomming onto me. "Move Kitty, and she'll lick you an' cause five whole tons of pollution."

I nudged uncertainly at her. Much as I didn't want to be alone in a situation like this, I'd have a lot more confidence in my ability to navigate it if there wasn't such a wildcard on my team...

"Fine," Lilith sighed. "Then remain." Her gaze returned to me. "Halcyon. I've been waiting quite patiently to see you again. Welcome to my domain."

"...What do you want with me?" I asked, my fur prickling. "And how do you know my name?"

"I wish to protect my own," Lilith explained, her tone once again something approaching warm, by the standards of a world that had never known anything but snow. "Every sarosian in this city is known to me. I have been watching you since you first set hoof here. But though I care for all your kin, you are different. Your hope and innocence fascinate me. Either you know nothing of your race's destiny, or you have a resilience and ability to live with hardship I have never seen before. Or perhaps something more..."

She leaned minutely closer. "I intervened when I did because you were about to meet someone who might try to claim you for their own, instead. That would be an unconscionable tragedy. Something as pure as you ought to remain free."

"Oh, Kitty likes freedom..." Kitty breathed.

Lilith gave her a look that said if you're going to be here, stay out of this.

"You know, that's nice," I said, muscles tense. "But if you want me to be free, why bring me here instead of back home? Or out on the street, or wherever?"

Lilith chuckled icily. "You think that will cleanse you of Samael and Estael's attention? They'd just come find you again, and then they would claim you. Fortunately, Cold Karma's non-compete clause runs both ways."

Oh, I saw where this was going.

"And what if I don't want to work for either of you?" I asked, remembering the pre-written contract from Egdelwonk I kept in a pocket for just such an occasion. Hopefully this wouldn't be when I needed to use it.

Lilith watched me with interest. "It is a rare occasion that we get to choose our masters."

"And suppose I did have a choice," I countered. "Why would I want to throw in my lot with your team instead of anyone else?"

Lilith nodded, considering this. "I can see you value your freedom. What is it you desire to be free from?"

"Goons with agendas who think they can use me to get what they want," I countered. "Like a certain Whitewing who works for you, whom I've got a history with. Or whatever you're currently scheming."

Lilith and Kitty shared a look I couldn't read.

I frowned. "You two know each other?"

"Yup!" Kitty chirped.

"It would be hard not to," Lilith sighed. "But that's no story for your delicate ears. Tell me, how much loyalty do you feel to your race?"

"Why's it matter?" I asked, tilting my head.

"As a measure of your sympathy toward certain ideas," Lilith answered. "And aversion to others."

I met her gaze. "It's not the thing that gets me out the door in the evening, if that's what you're asking. Sure, I think it's tragic that we're almost all gone. I don't think it's worth doing anything dangerous or illegal over."

"I see." Lilith nodded. "Nothing you'd want to join a side over. What if some groups happened to be fighting over something different? Are there causes you feel strongly about, other things that could prompt you to pick a side?"

"I didn't come here to fight a war," I told her firmly. "I want to see the world, and I don't wanna get tied down with stuff like that. I already know all the Cold Karma divisions are after their own goals and don't care much about the company as a whole, and framing it as a fight is gonna be a tough sell if you want me to fight for you."

Lilith smiled. "So, you would be the kind of pony who would rather fight both sides in order to avoid compromising on your freedom."

I blinked. "Maybe. But if you're about to tell me that's what your team does-"

"Oh, not at all," Lilith chuckled. "I very much have an agenda. It is my desire to bring sarosiankind back from the brink of extinction, and I will stop at very little to see that done. A free, determined spirit like you... It would be very much a shame to waste you on a cog in a machine."

"You know, you could have just said that from the beginning?" I raised an eyebrow. "The part about what you want? Like, I already heard somewhere that's what you were up to, but all the questions and beating around the bush turned me off a lot more to your plans than whatever shady stuff you're probably actually doing to accomplish them."

Lilith met my stare. "But I care much more about how you feel than what you do. That is the reason I couldn't allow you into my allies' clutches. I am certain Samael and Estael would use you for ends sympathetic to my own. But would you be happy about it? You are a free spirit. Perhaps the last in the world sarosiankind has to offer. Above all, you must not be squandered."

"Really starting to creep me out, here," I warned. "I know you've got something you want me to do, and the more you stay vague about it, the less I want to join your team."

"...You're right," Lilith said. "I do want something, and it isn't for you to join me. Your species is dying, Halcyon. Slowly. Silently. Painfully. Even the sarosians who remain are consumed by the past. And someone like you can help with that in a way no one else can."

She stepped closer. "Don't worry. It's a simple thing."

I took a step back and focused on my bracelet.

"Stay free," Lilith whispered. "You reject my side? Then reject the others as well. Walk your own path. You have the power. I can feel it on you. A wall that even my magic cannot pierce. Fly, Halcyon. Fly above your species' fate. Don't become captive to a cause like so many others. Fly free..."

And then she was gone.

With a click, all the doors unlocked.

"What...?" I glanced around, alert and on edge. At some point - I hadn't noticed when - the teleporter unicorn had vanished, too.

"If you think you can do it on your own..." Lilith's voice echoed from somewhere. "Then how about a low-stakes test? Start by finding your way out of my facility. I'll be watching. I'm curious how you will react to anything you might find on your way."

Okay. Now I was a lab rat, and I was pretty sure Lilith was a psychopath. Not that I hadn't been warned, but now I had seen it for myself.

Beside me, Kitty burped. "...Kitty wants cake," she decided aloud.

I glanced at my companion. "Alright, you-"

One of the doors opened, and a bespectacled batpony stallion stumbled in. "Milady, there's a report..." He glanced around, seeing no Lilith. "You there," he said to me. "Where is Milady?"

I blinked. If Lilith wanted to screw with me... fine. I'd do it too. "Something came up," I explained, drawing up my posture. "She authorized me to handle any affairs in her absence. What is it?"

The stallion blinked at me. "Begging your pardon, but who are you? Should I know you?"

"You wouldn't," I explained with a shake of my head, keeping my voice just a little cold - but not too cold. "Lilith summoned me here for a direct interview for a leadership position in research. It's still ongoing, but this is the hot portion - seeing how I interact with staff in the role itself. You can give the report directly to me."

This was a ridiculous act, and if Lilith was watching, she would surely know it. Fooling the stallion wasn't my goal, though: I was more interested in seeing how and whether Lilith would react, and also whether her employees thought her an irrational enough leader to find this trick believable.

"I-I see," the stallion stammered, bowing. "I'm not sure it'll mean anything to you, then, but we've received a harshly-worded communication from the Directors of Public Security asking us to kindly keep out of their share of the network, please and thank you." He bowed again and made to retreat.

"Them? Showing emotion? That's a laugh," I remarked, adjusting on the fly to a level of harshness I hoped Lilith would find appealing in a new hire. "You, don't leave. I intend to tour these facilities. Guide me to a map."

The stallion sighed. "Mistress will please follow me..."

---

This was surreal.

Never before had I actually, honestly used my talent like this. Back in Icereach, from the privacy of my own room, I had reinvented myself time after time, as part of my quest for solidity in who I was. I practiced with my voice, my mannerisms, everything, until I could do a perfect impression of Mother or Corsica or Elise or anyone else. I worked my appearance, told myself my abilities were flawless, that I could become anything and make myself anyone.

But the truth, the one I never admitted even to myself, was that my abilities were completely untested. The most I had ever tried to do in public was make myself an awkward little nerd who would be very easy to ignore, which barely even counted as a disguise when it was the only thing I ever was. Out in public, in the real world, I had no idea how convincing my abilities were. Doing it now, I suddenly had a very new feeling I guessed to be impostor syndrome, was keenly aware of every chink and flaw in my act, every incongruity where I made something up that might not be perfectly consistent with every single thing I had done before. I was no longer performing for an audience of just my mirror. Instead, I was marching brazenly through the lair of a very unstable mare whose short-term intentions were every bit as difficult to parse as Aldebaran's.

And on her underlings, at least, it appeared to be working.

The stallion guiding me made a point of pretending Kitty was invisible, and she responded by nuzzling walls and wobbling around with her tongue poking out. I strode with my head held high, trying to look like I was leading while having no idea which direction I was going. Several times, we passed other batponies, and they bowed as we passed. Apparently, my fancy garb and high demeanor were all the indication they needed of who was in charge. Not the way I'd design a system if I really was in charge, but nobody ever said corruption wasn't easy to exploit...

We entered a room, just as white and sterile as the previous room, and the hallway connecting them. This one looked like a classroom, albeit not in session, filled with desks in the middle and countertops along the side. It was deserted save for two batpony mares talking in a corner. Both were visibly pregnant.

Definitely not a place I want to work for real, I reminded myself. Saving sarosians from extinction, indeed.

Both of them stopped talking and bowed when I stepped through, just as taken with my garb and indomitable posture as everyone else. "Madam!" the older of the two greeted, even though she looked nearly twice my age. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

But I had already spotted my prize: a wall-mounted map purporting to show the entire complex. "Is this accurate?" I asked, stepping up to it.

"I don't see why it wouldn't be..." the older mare said.

"Here's your map," the stallion who had guided me said. "Any chance I'm free to go now?"

"Yes, get on with yourself..." I dismissed him with a wave of a wing.

He was gone in a flash. The two mares stayed, trying to be unobtrusively curious about what I was doing.

They didn't say anything, and so I ignored them, committing as much of the map as I could to memory. This was a large complex, and depending how tightly its 'housing units' were packed, I estimated it could comfortably live about fifty to a hundred ponies. And it was clearly designed to be residential. That, or Lilith's employees had amenities fit for a king.

Unfortunately, that gave me a pretty good suspicion some of the names on this map had been sanitized for civilian use. There was a large wing of the facility labeled maintenance, which ordinarily wouldn't be labeled at all, and would have been up or down a floor instead of far off to the side. Also, I couldn't find an entrance anywhere. Plenty of rooms labeled research, though. And a VIP living quarters as well. As for the rest of the facilities... a bizarrely high number of them sounded educational. It was like Lilith was running an entire university down here.

"Hiya," Kitty told the mares, reminding me that she was dutifully following along. "What'cha doing?"

"Discussing today's coursework," one explained. "Who are you?"

"Name's Kitty!" Kitty puffed out her chest. "What's coursework?"

The mares, I noted out of the corner of my eye, looked somewhere between taken by her cuteness and unsure what was going on. "Schoolwork," the younger one said. "To learn? The thing we're here for? You go to school, don't you?"

"How did an earth pony even get in here?" the older one asked.

"Official business," I answered. "She's with me."

They both started, remembering I was there, and clammed up a little.

Okay. New hypothesis about this place: Lilith actually was running a school, but it was limited to new and growing batpony families. Encourage them to have kids, give them a competitive edge in Ironridge... That was slightly less shady than whatever other possibilities I had been imagining. But given her temperament, Gerardo and Slipstream's reaction to meeting her, and her involvement with the Composer, I was certain she was still up to no good.

If most of the ponies here were civilians, though, that was good to know. I had a much more low-profile option for blending in now, if I ever needed it.

I finished studying the map, feeling like I at least knew how to find my general way around. "Come," I told Kitty, ignoring the mares and striding towards the door. "Let's go."

Kitty followed. I could feel tension leave the mares as I left the room.

With a shudder, some tension left me, too. Pretending in front of a mirror was one thing, but a consequence of doing this for real I had never considered before was how it made the ponies around me feel. Acting like the kind of boss Lilith would hire... It was certainly effective, but anyone who needed a place like this, I wasn't sure I wanted to make their day any worse.

Unless it was just me who was on edge from the overly white architecture. Maybe they legitimately enjoyed it here. Who knew?

What was I doing? I was reacting to the situation in front of me, reading the rules as best as I could, but... ultimately, just like with Aldebaran, I didn't know the rules and the rules didn't make sense. What happened to me was, effectively, all up to luck.

Except for my bracelet. If I was physically imperiled and needed a nuclear option against an aggressor who meant me harm... Well, I didn't know exactly what it would do. But then at least I wouldn't be the only one whose fate was up to luck.

"Hey," I whispered to Kitty when no one else was in sight. "Is there a reason you're here? Like, following me, right now?"

Kitty smiled up at me. "Nope!"

I stared at her and sighed. "Listen. I'm kind of at my limits right now. I'm doing stuff that would have caused me to majorly freak out several months ago. I think I'm managing it, but I don't have any extra capacity for, like... anything. You see where I'm coming from? The whole I'm-a-dumb-kid thing is cute when we're at Jamjars' and she's the one to deal with it, but right now I need to feel like I don't have a wildcard tagging along for reasons I don't understand and also don't need to feel like I've got a dumb kid tagging along who needs me to look out for them. I know you're faking it, I know you and Jamjars have some kind of leverage on Cold Karma. You don't need to play games with me. Can I ask you to please be smart and trustworthy like I know you can be, at least until we're out of here?"

Kitty kept smiling. "Yup!"

I hesitated. "And will you actually do it if I ask?"

Kitty's tongue poked out. "Maybe!"

I gritted my teeth. "Come on, how do you want me to ask? Who are you and what do you know that lets you just wander around with impunity in all the most restricted areas in Ironridge?"

Kitty pointed to her hoodie. It still read 'Gamer'.

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that some kind of code phrase? A secret organization, whatever?"

Kitty stuck out her tongue further. "Nope!" she chirped. "It means Kitty's got skills."

"Every observation I have made," I whispered, "tells me I could ditch you right here and now and you'd wind up completely safe and sound at Jamjars' place by morning, which means either every single square inch of Ironridge is not a legitimate institution and doesn't have any rules or else you are a cheater to whom the rules of reality magically don't apply. Every reasonable expectation of sanity I have for the world tells me that's not how things should work. I am a scientist. I follow my observations. If you want me to use a lick of common sense and not just throw you to the wolves, I need you to make my life easier, here. Please?"

"If you want something, lady, just ask!" Kitty gave me a big, innocent grin.

"...Right," I sighed. "Like that's not asking directly enough. Do you know a way out of here?"

Kitty's tongue poked back out, as if she didn't understand the question.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I know you know your way around this place. Please get me out of here."

Kitty giggled. "Took Halcyon long enough to figure it out. Come on, follow Kitty!"

Right. Note to self, asking Kitty questions got absolutely nowhere, but if you gave her orders, she might potentially listen.

---

"So how do you know Lilith, anyway?" I asked as we crept through corridors that were probably in the maintenance wing I saw on the map, and didn't look very maintenance-y. By now, I had given up my act, tired of the looks it was getting me, and settled for shadow swimming in Kitty's shadow. Ponies still gave her baffled stares, but if anyone called anyone to do something about her, nobody came.

Kitty snickered. "One time," she whispered, "Kitty sat on a fence and sang songs all night long. Lilith hated it! They drove her mad. Songs Kitty wrote, too! Wanna hear?"

"Maybe later," I breathed, reminding myself once again to stop asking Kitty questions. "Maybe later..."

"Hmm." Kitty stopped at an intersection, tongue poking quizzically out. "Kitty thought it was this way... Maybe this way? Doesn't look right. Maybe here!"

There were no other ponies in sight, so I emerged from the ground. "You better not be lost," I warned. The lights here were dim enough and the architecture dark enough that I might be able to shadow swim even if I didn't have something explicit to hide in.

"Kitty's not lost," Kitty promised happily. "She's just on an adventure."

This was a bad place to be adventuring. A few halls ago, we had passed through a door, and the building went from sterile white panels to raw hewn stone. It was hot here, not scalding like the Night District but far more all-encompassing, with no hints of cool anywhere to be found. The facility clearly continued, divided into rooms and halls and the like, but I no longer saw ponies who looked like they could be easily cowed. In fact, I saw very few ponies at all.

"Fine..." I sized up our options for myself. We were at a four-way intersection, with more dim lighting down two of the prospective paths. But to the left, the tunnel bent again, and the bend was illuminated with glare from a very harsh light source. "What do you wanna bet that is?"

Kitty watched it too. "Maybe a party," she whispered. "With cake... Hey, lady, Kitty's hungry!"

"Take care of it yourself," I muttered, prowling closer to see around the corner.

Several large floodlights lit the room beyond, which seemed to be a broad corridor bordered by iron-barred cells. The iron looked twisted and wrought, as though forged under very imprecise conditions, and the lights were bright and certain. I would have know this was bad news even without a good idea of what it was being used for: a light that bright would surely make it impossible for batponies to shadow swim between the bars.

But I saw no guards, and my curiosity made it impossible for me to turn away.

One cell was empty. The next, empty. Empty. Empty. And...

My eyes widened. "Leitmotif?"

Comments

[KMCA]

the real one I assume?

[Boopers]

I just love every Kitty encounter, she's just great!

Ooohhhhh boy, that's not Leitmotiv, that's the real Senescey! That's gonna be interesting!

[PropsValroa]

Now that's unexpected!

[RoboRed]

I love seeing Halcyon pull of acting routines. It's really entertaining.

[Venlinelle]

You have an exceptional talent for writing eccentric but conniving weirdos. It’s bordering on the most defining trait of this series. Seeing Halcyon act is also really fun; it’s a character trait I haven’t seen much before.

It’s a real shame that Valey seems to be remembered so negatively. Her reputation seemed to be on an increase in Ironridge after the events of TOW; I hope something hasn’t happened to sour ponies on her again… or if it has, I hope she’s okay.