A Method to his Madness

by Luna-tic Scientist

15 -- Defence of the Realm

The aircar's autopilot had decided that he wasn't in a fit state to drive after he deviated from the standard air track for the fourth time in five minutes, deactivating the manual controls and leaving Neighmann to his anger. Deprived of any way to externalise his rage, he spent the remainder of the flight grinding his teeth and cursing Equilibrium and Neon under his breath. Only when the aircar was halfway into its parking slot did the automatics relent, and Neighmann gunned the turbine to slide the vehicle home with a satisfying crunch.

Stepping out, he slammed the hatch and stamped down the ramp to the ground floor, to be greeted by a chime from his phone. A quick glance told him everything he needed to know, and it took an effort of will not to hurl the thing against the wall. Bastard lawyer; should have known you'd be efficient. Looks like I'll be here the rest of the night. Now where did I leave my office keys? Neighmann groaned and changed direction, heading back to the Monster Room.

Chirr, the Night Guard on duty, waved him past after a friendly admonition not to forget his ID in the future. Neighmann gritted his teeth and smiled back, resisting the urge to swear at the pony; even in his anger he knew better than to irritate one of the Guard.

Inside the Monster Room he found his panniers, tucked under the console next to the meeting nook he'd shared with Neon only a few hours earlier. Grumbling, he dumped the contents of the bags over the console, catching sight of the time-trapped Discord grinning in the corner of his eye. The Monster Room was brightly lit, a shadowless light that left the Lord of Chaos' curves illuminated with a clarity that seemed to bring him to life. For a moment the grin seemed to flex, exposing uneven fangs.

"And you, you horror -- what are you looking at?" The anger that had never really gone away abruptly flared up, and Neighmann shoved the door open and stalked down the ramp towards the statue. Without thinking, he reached out and plucked a heavy focusing element from an optical bench and brandished it at the immobile shape that towered above him. "All you do is destroy; even while you’re trapped you’re ruining lives--" Neighmann, practically screaming in his fury, retained enough control to avoid locking eyes with Discord.

He flung the carefully shaped piece of glass at the statue with all his might, horn glowing bright enough to leave afterimages in his vision. The projectile struck the relativistic boundary surrounding Discord and exploded into fragments, the temporal gradient so sharp that it was like striking a solid wall. The small act of destruction did nothing to calm the fire in Neighmann's mind, and he cast about, hunting for something else to throw.

"I'll wipe that damned smile of your muzzle--" Neighmann wheeled, galloping back up to the ring of control stations. I'll put an end to you; I know all the codes for the defence systems... Barging through the heavy door he skidded to a halt, magic flaring as he brought the console alive.

The emergency systems were designed to be fully automatic, taking the power from buried coils of superconductors and channelling that energy into the six oversized spellcraft modules that circled the centre of the Monster Room. This was the only way to catch Discord in time; pony reactions would never be fast enough to stop the Lord of Chaos... but that didn't mean that he couldn't fool them.

Neighmann, magic made erratic by his rage, opened a link to the sensors and started to flip them into their test modes. The row of indicators started to turn red as each module reported activation, then a mournful siren started to sound somewhere nearby and red light began to flash.

There was the sound of wings and Neon burst into the workstation ring. "Neighmann, what's happening, the alarms--" Neon took one look at the stallion's wild-eyed stare and the warnings flashing over the panel, then charged. She hit him on the shoulder, shoving him away from the controls, then their legs tangled and they both ended up on the floor.

Neighmann snarled and kicked out at Neon, catching the mare in the belly. "Interfering featherbrain, you've done enough to me already," he spat, standing over the gagging pegasus. His horn flared, lifting Neon up and throwing her down the walkway. Wings flailing, she tumbled nose over tail and slammed into a row of consoles, her head striking the lower edge. She slumped to the floor and didn't move.

Neighmann spared Neon a glance, then turned his back on her... only to come muzzle to muzzle with a furious Chirr. The Night Guard, all wide yellow eyes and long sharp teeth, collided hooves-first with Neighmann and sent him tumbling. Stunned and gasping, Neighmann's horn lit up and he reached for the Guard's foxy face with his magic.

"None of that!" Chirr said, jumping forward on flared, membranous wings and tapped Neighmann sharply on the side of the head. The light went out and he slumped, eyelids fluttering.

The world moved in and out of focus for Neighmann, a shifting patchwork of grey fur and scales. A strap, tight enough to cut off the circulation to his forelegs, had been looped around his withers from a haul point on Chirr's armour harness. Neighmann tried to speak, but the memories of what he'd just done were almost paralysing in their intensity. Over and over he heard the sick thump as Neon's head struck the console, saw the look of confusion and pain on her face in the final moment before impact.

What has happened to me? What am I doing? The thoughts flickered and spun, spiralling around and dragging him down into darkness.

===

Neighmann watched the door through dull eyes. The weight of his memories was too much to bear and he crawled into the dust under the lowest shelf in the disused office and hooked his forelegs over his head in an effort to block out the world. This did little to his ears, and he could still hear little snippets of speech from the other side of the door.

"...don't understand it, he just came back from the hospital and flipped, tried to trigger the specials..."

He recognized the voice of Chirr; high-pitched and squeaky, sounding more like a young filly than the hulking chiropt it was coming from.

"Uh huh, will do. Not sure about the mare, the doctors are with her now..." A drawn out pause, the other party in the conversation inaudible. "So long? I didn't realise things were that bad. Don't worry, he's not going anywhere."

Sweet Celestia, how badly did I hurt Neon? I didn't mean to... His memories called out the lie and he knew that wasn't true. His anger had been calculated and he'd put his full strength into that throw, wanted to make sure she didn't try to stop him. Neighmann whimpered and curled into a ball, but those few seconds of intense satisfaction wouldn't go away. It's like I was somepony else, I've never lifted a hoof against another pony in my life, and now I've... The thought choked off he started to pant.

The door to the office rattled as something pounded on the other side. "Hey, Neighmann. Can you hear me?" Chirr's little filly voice sounded flat and professional, somehow sinister despite the high pitch.

"Y-yes, I can hear you."

"You're going to be in there for the night, until we can get you somewhere they can treat you. If you try anything stupid I'll have to restrain you, do you understand?"

"Yes, Chirr, I understand," Neighmann said dully. "Is-is Neon going to be okay?" There was a long silence, and he crawled out from under the shelf to get closer to the door. Still nothing, and he placed one ear against the panel, only to hear the quiet clip-clip of hooves walking away. Suddenly panicking, Neighmann pounded on the door with a hoof. "No, Chirr, don't go, don't leave me like this! Is she going to be all right, did I--" He backed away from the silent door, tears starting to roll down his muzzle. "What have I done?" he whispered.

===

The hours passed, broken only by an occasional visit from a cold-eyed Chirr to check up on him. The Guard didn't speak, just stared down at Neighmann for long seconds before closing and relocking the door. For his part, the unicorn barely moved between visits, just stayed at the back of the room and gazed at the patch of carpet between his hooves.

Neighmann had long since stopped crying, spending the time in a kind of mental haze that made the minutes seem to stretch to an eternity. Slowly he started to think; with no easy way to understand his own recent actions from the inside, the stallion fell back into the hard learned habits of scientific thinking that had ruled his life for the last two decades.

There was a pattern here, something beyond the simple panic and abuse that everypony was attributing to the problems in Canterlot. It was like I was somepony else... The thought rattled around Neighmann's head, and the more he thought the more he began to wonder. My Libi just wasn't there; it was like she'd been replaced by something else. Fantasies of changeling covert operations teams hijacking the Dreaming and replacing the passengers with Hive-controlled duplicates filled his head, using the distraction as cover to infiltrate the city and cause chaos as a prelude to...

Neighmann shook his head. No, not this time. The Changelings were in no position to mount such a raid; even with their breeding rates, their numbers were nowhere near the point where such a thing would be possible. Besides, they are good at this kind of thing. If Libi was a changeling I'd never know... and she's lost to me forever if that is the case. Encased in a cocoon and hidden deep within the Queen's territory, her mind linked into the collective and feeding information back to the duplicate by non-causal arcane channels, her body repurposed for the Hive.

"No," he muttered, "I won't believe it... and she's not the only pony to undergo a dramatic shift in personality, is she?" Neighmann replayed the painful conversation with Libi in his head, feeling the second-hoof ghosts of emotion that came with it. This time he felt only confusion and sadness, not the irrational anger that had flooded him back at the hospital.

Then there was Neon. Neighmann squeezed his eyes shut against the tears and waited for the almost physical feeling of sickness to pass. His self-assured and cheerful assistant had become silent and withdrawn, practically gluing herself to his side as they had moved through the oppressive environment of the hospital. And the other patients, they were like that as well, either shivering in their stalls or aggressive and antagonistic... does that explain all the drugged ones as well?

Neighmann opened his eyes and started pacing the cramped space behind the dusty desk. Something came off the Dreaming-- no, that's not right, either. The news had clearly shown that the ponies on board were acting irrationally mid flight. Neighmann wracked his brain for that half-remembered report, something about the crew having to barricade themselves in the bridge... The final piece clicked into place and he stopped dead, a shiver running down his spine.

It's like a mental disorder, one that is contagious, and those it infects become aggressive or overly meek. Neighmann swallowed. It infected me -- from Libi, or just from being in the hospital? All those doctors had no chance; it's amazing they were working at all. Then why am I fine now? That led to a worrying chain of thought as he tried to decide if he'd actually be aware of any changes in his personality from the inside. I think I'm fine. Neighmann chewed the inside of his cheeks, then dismissed the idea. No way to prove it, but I don't feel angry anymore.

What's changed? Neon must have been infected like me, when I left her-- A small figure, huddled against the inside of the parking bay, mane whipping in the exhaust from his aircar's turbine. --yet she worked up the nerve to try and stop me. Oh, Celestia, I hope she's alright. Neighmann took deep breaths and waited until he could think again.

What links her and me? We were both exposed, then... I've been left alone, and Neon... she must have flown here, again alone. Is it isolation, separation from infected ponies? When you are close to them it reinforces the malady, stay away and it fades.

"It's elegant, and if what I've seen continues it will pull Equestria apart," he muttered. "Could it really be the gryphons, without any warning at all? They've never shown much aptitude for magic... I could almost believe a biological weapon." Neighmann paused, suddenly horribly afraid. There are parasites, ones that affect brain function, have they engineered something-- "No, too fast, and why would it go away after I was isolated?" He resumed pacing, trying to piece together the puzzle from what little information he had.

Suddenly frustrated, he reared up and slammed both hooves down on the concrete floor. "Everything is happening at once; how can this be? The gryphons, riots in Canterlot, even the new sensors are all faulty. At least I can rely on my original research; that is showing something." All of this only a few years from Discord's release.

The Lord of Chaos... He froze again, the horror returning. "Data," he mumbled, "got to trust the data." The years of historical data from the original Palace site seemed internally consistent, correlating with a wide range of measurements and events, but there had been something odd about the test data from the new facility. Validation sets, recorded during commissioning of the new hardware, had been fed into the models, but the results had not quite been right. There were always problems with new systems, especially at this level of complexity, and the investigations had been delayed.

And we could find nothing from my hypnosis, or whatever that was. With the idea nagging at his mind, Neighmann examined the desk for the first time. Under its plastic wrapping it was just a standard workstation; a combined touch- and arcane-sensitive panel, hooked up to the Institute's internal network. "Please let them have hooked it up..." he muttered, pressing the floor-level power switch with one hoof. "Praise Celestia," he breathed, watching as the galloping pony icon ran little racetracks around the screen.

Finally it allowed him to log in, and Neighmann quickly connected to the machines holding the raw data. The statistical interpretation tools came next, although somepony had taken an axe to his privileges, and he was restricted to running them on the local processor only, rather than the main array with its room-sized multiply parallel system. "Luna made your kind efficient, didn't she, Chirr? What else have you done?" While the simulations ran, he poked around the network, trying to see what the Guard had left him with.

"I suppose I should be grateful you didn't just delete my account." No external communications, just the ability to read data he'd had a hoof in collecting. The model slowly built, with many false starts as Neighmann modified the processing parameters, trying to extract meaning from the sparse, near-random information.

===

There it was again, that odd pattern to the early data. Not really visible at all when using the majority of the standard transforms, but if you picked a particular set of processing parameters it was right there, a subtle periodicity in time and space. Neighmann stared at the screen with its holographic plot, a three-dimensional slice through the n-dimensional data set generated by the hundreds of sensors scattered throughout the Monster Room and the surrounding buildings. The multicoloured patterns juddered and twitched as the computer tried to move the slice along one of the many axes available to it.

"This would be so much easier on the main array," Neighmann muttered, eyes aching from staring at the slowly cycling display. He cleared the results, waiting impatiently while the slow machine saved the multi-terabyte file to its already over-stretched storage system. How do I know this isn't just some artefact of the processing technique? This was always a risk with this kind of analysis, the accidental introduction of a bias into already noisy data. Just because I want it to be there...

He shivered. "Do I? If I'm right then it's pretty much the worst case scenario. Got to be sure, got to have proof." Especially now they think you're mad... and who are you going to show this to? There are perhaps a dozen ponies in Equestria who'd be able to follow this sort of esoteric analysis. The little needling voice at the back of his head wouldn't go away, so Neighmann reset the software and loaded the data from the original site at Canterlot Palace. First convince yourself.

He eliminated all the really old stuff, filtering the inputs to the modern sensors they'd installed around Discord those last few years. The equipment he had now was better than the early devices, but they had kept most of the equipment, installing it at secondary locations. Neighmann filtered the list still further, looking at the responses of those individual sensors, comparing their outputs back and forth through time.

An hour of time and eleven datasets later he leaned back from the display, trying to escape the sick feeling of dread that was filling his belly. The sensors were the same, but the data was different. Even after making allowances for the different distances, it was still all wrong. "We didn't check, spent too much time on the new equipment. I didn't check." At some point in the last few weeks -- it was hard to tell exactly when, but it must have been during or shortly before the move -- the sensor outputs had changed from the characteristic chaotic dance to something subtly ordered. Something that looked artificial.

"Discord is out; he's been out for weeks, feeding me false information." There, said it. All your nightmares made real. So why hasn't he done anything, made his play for power? "...because he knows he can't face the Princesses directly, he's done that before and lost." Neighmann's eyes widened as the reason for the odd mental contagion suddenly became obvious. "This is his play for power, he's distracting us with a sideshow while he prepares the real strike." All of it; the coup in Razorclaw, the chaos here, all designed to fool the princesses while he prepares.

Does anypony else know this? They must have figured out about the disease by now... but they don't know what I know -- they can't. It's the middle of the night and I know for a fact that nopony has looked at this data like this. Neighmann sat bolt upright and leapt to his hooves. Wheeling, he charged the door, slamming into the panel and making it rattle in its frame.

"Chirr! Anypony! Let me out, you've got to let me out!"

Five minutes later and Neighmann gave up shouting, turned his back on the door and lashed out with his hind legs. A few good strikes and the hinges had rattled loose, the metal pins twisted and bent. Another couple, and I should be able to burn--

"Neighmann! What in rutting Tartarus do you think you are doing!?"

The unexpected shout made Neighmann stagger in mid buck, nearly toppling over when he pulled the kick. "Chirr, thank Ce-- Luna. You've got to let me out of here; I've got information that must get to the Palace."

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door, then the Guard sighed. "Nice try, Neighmann." The handle rattled, metal squeaking. "Step away from the door; you seem to have broken the lock." Neighmann jumped back quickly, just as Chirr kicked out at the door. On the second blow it popped open and the Guard stepped into the room.

Neighmann backed away nervously, stopping only when his rump banged into the desk. He'd never been on the wrong end of an angry Guard; the Day Guard were bad enough, but those who worked the Night added a whole new level of menace.

"You try any magic, and I'll hit you so hard--"

"No magic, I just want to talk. It's urgent." Neighmann talked rapidly, well aware that he'd used up any good will he'd had with Chirr. "I'm not mad, I promise. What afflicted me faded when you locked me in isolation."

"Not mad, right." The Night Guard snorted. "Have you looked at yourself?"

Neighmann winced, suddenly aware of his sweat-soaked flanks and straggly mane. Calm, be calm. He could feel his pulse pounding and made a conscious effort to slow his breathing. "I was mad, I think. I-I can remember everything clearly, the rage, what I did to Neon--" Neighmann stopped, his throat closing up. The dull thump of her head striking the console. Lowering his head he took a deep breath, then looked up to stare Chirr in the eye. "I'll never forgive myself for that, but it wasn't me. The panic and violence in Canterlot has been artificially induced. Equestria is under attack."

"Neon will live, although she'll have a nasty bruise for a while." Chirr drew his lips back from his sharp teeth in a rictus grin. "It's not just Canterlot. Manehatten and Fillydelphia and Baltimare. Whatever it is, it's spreading fast. Convince me that you're cured.”

Neighmann gaped at the chiropt. "You knew!?"

"We're not entirely unobservant, Director."

"Sorry." Neighmann thought quickly. How do I prove I'm not something? "I think the best proof I can give you is this conversation. The other me wouldn't have the restraint, he’d have charged you the instant the door was down."

Chirr looked thoughtful. "Perhaps. You do seem more like I remember. Do you know what happened to you?"

Part of Neighmann started screaming inside, wanted to push past Chirr and gallop to his aircar. He's testing me, trying to get me to react. He slowly folded his legs and sank to the floor, looking up at Chirr. "I'm not certain, but I think it was the hospital. I saw a lot of strange things there; aggressive doctors, frightened patients, loads of drugged ponies. It must have been there. Coming out the other side... it was the shock when you tackled me, broke something in my head, let me see what I'd done."

The chiropt nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll bite. You said you had something new for the Palace?" Chirr smiled at his own joke, a quick flash of his pearly-white fangs that made Neighmann flinch.

Remember, the chiropt only eat fruit... I think. "I've been running some simulations, and I think we've been tricked. Discord's out."

Chirr blinked, then grinned. "I never took you for having a sense of humour, Neighmann. Could have fooled me, the last time I passed the Monster Room."

Neighmann waved a hoof helplessly at the computer with its multicoloured display. "How's your grasp of chaos mathematics?"

"I know fifteen ways to break your spine, but they don't cover much in the way of math in the academy, other than a bit of orbital mechanics, you know, because of..." He waved a hoof, encompassing what would be the night sky, had they been above ground.

"No, that won't do it. The rest of the specialists in the Chaos Group could follow it, but they all live in Canterlot and that might take too..." Neighmann froze, mouth half open. She solves n-body gravitational problems in her head every night.

"If this mental thing is as bad as I've been hearing, going into the city could really give you a new outlook on things." Chirr noticed the look on Neighmann's face, and paused. "What is it? What have you thought of?"

"Can you contact your Commander in Chief? I really need to talk to Princess Luna."

"Right to the top, eh? You do know she's not really in charge any more, don't you? Everything goes through the Triumvirate."

"She's the one who set up the Institute... and I'd imagine that the Night Guard will follow her, with or without the government's permission."

Chirr looked uncomfortable. "The last time that happened, my mistress was exiled for a thousand years," he said softly, then glanced sharply at Neighmann. "Probably. Especially with this level of disruption and evidence that it's been caused by an external threat."

"And you, Chirr?"

"I would die for my Princess, but that's beside the point. Come with me."

"You believe me? You'll help?"

The chiropt said nothing, just waved a membranous wing down the corridor. Neighmann obligingly trotted at Chirr's side, stopping uncertainly when the Guard paused next to a small, blank door. "What are you doing?" he asked, staring into the dark opening when Chirr nosed open the door. Inside was a narrow storage area, walls lined with shallow shelves filled with cleaning supplies.

"You're a smart pony, Director, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Trust, Neighmann thought sickly, then bowed his head and backed into the storage closet. Chirr closed the door, leaving him in the dark.

===

Celestia paced the Sunset Room, her regalia scattered carelessly against one wall. These things they gave me, they are like chains. The rest of the elliptical room was a wide expanse of polished floor, intricate pseudorandom tiles in gold, orange and red that swirled and wove from wall to wall. The whole long, curving east side of the room was glass, a single huge panel that looked out over the city and towards the distant rise of the Unicorn Range.

It was after noon and the sun was behind Mount Aither-Erebos. Its shadow stretched across the city, but did nothing to hide the columns of smoke rising from various points. Celestia stopped in the middle of the floor, staring out at the fires, imagining the chaos in the streets. My poor ponies. For a moment, Celestia's thoughts reached out towards the sun, feeling its motion along an orbital track so regular it had almost worn grooves in space-time. I could move it, bring it around and bring light back to the city. When night falls things will only get worse.

The temptation was almost impossible to resist, but the thought of what it would mean for the other cities in Equestria tempered her instinctive reaction. She spared no thought at all for the countries on the other side of the world, the ones who'd suffer a sudden nightfall, or for whom the sun wouldn't rise at all. If I'd known, I'd have ordered the airship isolated. We're spread too thin. All those pegasi... The only pegasi left on the Dreaming were those too injured to fly, the rest had dispersed to the coastal cities.

"Your Highness, the Triumvirate is here."

"About time. Charter, show them in." The earth pony bowed, walking to the door on trembling legs. A group of ponies walked into the room; there were three obvious leaders -- a blue unicorn, a grey earth pony and an orange pegasus -- and each was trailed by several assistants. All looked harried and irritated.

The grey earth pony stepped forward, chin held high and staring the Princess straight in the eye. "What's going on, Celestia? We're too busy for this kind of spur of the moment meeting. In case you hadn't noticed--"

"Silence." Celestia's voice wasn't loud, but somehow still managed to echo from the walls. The earth pony's mouth snapped shut in shock, then his eyes narrowed. The Day Princess glared back at him. "I told you that this was to be a private meeting. The rest of you ponies, clear the room." There was a shuffling of hooves, and the assistants backed away, trotting out of the room with frightened backward glances. "Not you, Charter." Celestia pointed to the side of the room, and the earth pony practically cantered to the wall, pressing himself against the hanging tapestries and trying to vanish. The temperature in the room seemed to jump a few degrees.

"We are the elected representatives of our clades, you can't order us about like servants!" This was from the pegasus, her wings flaring in agitation.

"Praetors Green Flash, Cloudwalker and Kimberlite. You have all shown yourselves to be unable to control this matter." As she named them, Celestia shifted her gaze from unicorn to pegasus to earth pony. The last two stepped forward, ears folded back in anger, while the unicorn shrank back, nearly prostrating herself against the tiles.

"We are doing everything possible to--"

"It is not enough. It is plain to me that your methods are not working. As of now, I am declaring a state of emergency and invoking the Defence of the Realm Act. Your duties are suspended; Luna and I will resume direct rule."

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Praetor Cloudwalker jumped into the air, hovering level with Celestia's eyes. "You dare! As if we will trust the Nightmare ever again -- by doing this you are proving yourself to be just as bad as she was. What's next, will the sun never set on Equestria?"

A bubble of white light, the hard colour of the noon-day sun, materialised around the Praetor. For an instant the pegasus stared back at Celestia, eyes wide and all bravado gone, then he accelerated backwards, slamming into the wall. The bubble disappeared, leaving Cloudwalker in the centre of a circular crater four meters off the floor. The pegasus fell to the floor in a puff of orange feathers, one wing limp, sluggishly trying to get to his hooves.

The same white glow plucked the pony off the floor, levitating the weakly struggling form back to position next to his fellows. "You will keep a civil tongue in your head, Praetor, or the next time I will not be so gentle." The unicorn was now cowering on the floor and making little whimpering noises, while the previously aggressive earth pony was cringing and backing away.

"Yes, your H-Highness," the earth pony said, sweating heavily, "what do you want us to do?"

"Contact General Buckler and inform her that I have invoked the Act. I will need to speak to her immediately. Contact the dragons and tell them that we are declaring a state of emergency and that Equestria is closed to their kind... for their own safety. Arrange a meeting with the ambassadors of Whitefeather, Razorclaw, Goldenwing and Hookbeak, within the hour."

Celestia stepped forward, standing over the three ponies. Looking down, she smiled. "Better include the Zebra Alliance as well."

===

Neighmann fretted inside the storeroom. It seemed like an age since Chirr had locked him in, and he'd kindled a small light to relieve the absolute darkness in the small chamber. The back of the door was a featureless rectangle of dark wood, with only a push plate on this side. Like most of the doors it was fire-resistant and heavily built, but it wasn't a security door and he was sure he could manipulate the simple lock from the inside. And if I get out, he'll know I was playing him and everything will go south.

"Come on, Chirr, how long does it take to get word to the Palace?"

There was an odd, high pitched whine, brief and sweeping up through the frequencies into the ultrasonic. Neighmann twitched, then realised what it had to be. "I'm still in here, Chirr. Come on, let me out."

The door rattled and swung outwards. For a moment the chiropt stared at him, then he nodded slowly. "Okay, Director, you pass. Come with me."

Neighmann jumped up. "Oh, thank Luna."

"You're getting better at that. The Guard is too stretched to send a transport, so we'll take your aircar. I'll drive." Chirr accelerated to a canter, forcing Neighmann into a full gallop.

By the time they reached the aircar's parking bay, the unicorn was gasping, lungs working like bellows and foam dotting his sweat-soaked flanks. Chirr was in his aircar's control stall, flicking switches and spooling up the turbine to operating speed. The levitation drive was already running, the vehicle floating a hoof-span above the concrete deck. Neighmann dived in through the open hatch, thumping down into the passenger stall with a groan. A flick of magic closed the hatch and the aircar jumped backwards with a howl and a blast of dust.

"A little bit out of shape, Director? You should get out more."

"Says the pony who flew up the centre of the shaft," Neighmann groaned, trying to get his breathing under control.

Chirr just smirked, then tapped something on the control interface. "You might want to cover your ears."

"What? Gah!"

Chirr had opened his mouth, but what emerged wasn't speech. A teeth-aching skirling filled the small cockpit, stopping abruptly. "Night Guard five five seven one zero."

"Override accepted and logged. Safety systems are offline."

Neighmann worked his jaw and unfolded his ears. "I didn't know you could do that. That was your real name?"

"Uh-huh. You can see why I don't use it among you day walkers. Hold on."

The engines roared, far louder than Neighmann had ever heard before. There was a look of concentration on Chirr's face and the aircar jumped like a pony trying to rid itself of a biting fly. The unicorn started to slide backward in the stall as the acceleration climbed. Chirr kept the aircar low, dodging the spires of the tallest buildings and the occasional pegasus. "I didn't know my car could this!"

"You're probably going to have to get the turbines checked when we're done."

===

They landed at the Guard barracks, slotting in next to an armoured airtruck. The rest of the area was empty. Both ponies climbed out and trotted across the landing field, heading towards the wide gate surmounted by the royal sun-and-moon sigil. A harried-looking grey unicorn in gold armour came out from a side passageway, trotting up to the pair.

"This him?"

"Yes, sergeant." Chirr clicked his hooves together in salute, which the other pony returned with a distracted nod.

"Good. Both of you, follow me."

They trotted off, a journey taking them through deeper and deeper levels inside the Palace. How deep are we going? Neighmann thought. We must inside the mountain by now. This part of the Palace was obviously older than the rest, and a far cry from the white marble and gold inlay of the upper, more public, levels. Is this part of the Panopticon?

"Ah, sergeant, why--"

"Be silent, corporal. Do not complete that thought."

"Yes, sergeant."

Chirr sounded confused, and Neighmann started to wonder. I've been in the Panopticon, and I'm sure it didn't look like this. "Sergeant, I'm supposed to be seeing Princess Luna, what is she doing down here?"

"You'll see."

Neighmann opened his mouth to ask another question, then caught a glimpse of Chirr's grim expression and didn't speak. They rounded a corner, coming up on a heavy-looking door. There was a strange shimmer over the entire wall, something that seemed to tickle in the centre of Neighmann's head, in the place where his magic came from.

The unicorn did something to a wall panel, causing the door to open. "In," he said, gesturing curtly.

Dragging his hooves, Neighmann walked in, stopping to stare at a short corridor lined with transparent, thick-looking doors. He could see through the nearest panel; inside was a bare room with sink, latrine and sleeping pad. The whole area had that same subliminal tingle, and it felt like his head was being stuffed with cotton wool. The panel in front of him slid open.

Neighmann's ears folded flat and his flanks became damp. "Please don't do this. You don't know what's at stake," he said, turning to the Guard. There was no sympathy there, so he looked at the batpony. "Chirr, I thought you said...?"

"I did." Chirr's voice was flat, all emotion gone.

"Yes, he did. Get in, Neighmann."

He took two slow steps into the cell and turned to face the Guards. "At least tell the Princess I'm here," he pleaded. The oppressive feeling intensified as the door started to slide shut.

"Who do you think ordered your detention?"

Comments

[Cedric Bale]

That ending.

[ascendant]

he slammed the hatch and stamped down the ramp to the ground floor

Leaving a line of happy ponies!
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[Q07]

Oh boy. I really hope that feeling that Neighman has is going to keep the princess from Contracting the disease when she comes and speaks to him. If indeed that is what is going to happen. Celestia is about to go full-on sun tyrant.

[IceHawk]

This is honestly my favorite iteration of discord's mind magic.

The unknown is chaotic horror.