So the group split.

Those with Thunder and a now annoyed Charybdis took the corridor to the right where they soon met a sharp turn leading them into another stretch of smooth stone. On the walls hung things of varying relevance to the prison that they could inspect beneath the glow of the orbs lighting the way. Among them were photographs of ponies – one would guess them guards given their dress - an illustration of a ceremony of which the purpose was vague, and a few simple paintings of landscapes to break up the monotony of the otherwise drab décor. Thunder gave them quick glances as they walked while
Charybdis ignored them entirely.

Her focus was on the doors they passed by. Not a one was left in peace as she demanded to know the purpose of every room they found. Given that there were seemingly no guards on patrol within this hallway she suffered no consequence as she pulled back each door in turn and stole cursory glances to get a quick picture. One was a closet sporting brooms, sparsely populated shelves of bottles and boxes, and a stained ring on the floor giving off a sterile smell that she figured would make her dizzy if she got any closer. Moving on she found next a bathroom that held no surprises, then a small space with little more than a table and a few simple chairs and cushions for seating. While these doors had all been silent, the next, **** and leaking a soft sound of music, gave hints of life beyond.

Checking this door finally revealed the rec room and the small host of ponies within spending their time doing whatever. Three were gathered around a card table. They mumbled raises and folds as their drawn hands of playing cards decided and tapped at smoldering cigarettes while clinking bits into play. A lazy clack drew attention to a solo and dreary eyed stallion at a pool table knocking about the billiard balls with no apparent goal. In the corner was a record player crackling jazz while a mare sat snuggled up on a comfy looking chair flipping through a book. Aside from all this there was a couch, a small bookshelf and what looked like cupboards set on a wall behind a counter towards the back. The wall on the right caught Charybdis’ eye as well as she noticed it didn’t reach all the way across the room and instead ended some two meters or so short.

Deciding to investigate, Charybdis would break from Thunder here while he would only give the rec room a quick glance and move on in hopes of finding the canteen. Stepping inside, Charybdis immediately drew the attention of all those inside, activity ceasing for several seconds as they stared then exchanged glances. Apparently trying to play it off, the ponies inside would go back to what they were doing while not so subtly side glancing her and anyone else’s way with poorly masked suspicion.

Ignoring the occupants, Charybdis confidently strode forward, tossing a quick look over towards the back corners of the room as she went to check for anything she missed. Reaching the gap in the wall Charybdis found it indeed led to more room. Another room entirely in fact. A locker room, the state of which caused her to raise an eyebrow. Several long rows of lockers lined and filled the room as anyone would expect, but the lockers themselves were left looking like their contents were haphazardly stuffed inside. Numerous examples had their doors hanging wide open, and pieces of armor and various items decorated the benches and floor.

Tilting her head, Charybdis spotted a door on the back wall leading even further as well as a canvas laundry cart overflowing with laundry just beside it. Squinting, she thought for a moment that some of the clothes looked a little too rigid to be fabrics as they sported hard angles and corners. She’d would need to get closer to learn more, but she was reluctant to do so given her inexperience with the area. Instead she looked back into the rec room, the new position she was in allowing her to see behind the counter towards the back. There she could see a garbage can, again looking to be overflowing, this time with what looked to be snack wrappers and junk.

She gave a soft hum just before noticing that everyone in the room was looking at her. They did so from the edges of their vision, but as soon as she spotted them, they all quickly looked away. Well all but one of the ponies at the card table who instead continued to stare her down staring her down.

“… What?” she demanded to know.

“Are you lost?” the stallion asked her, the rest of the table watching her, “Do you need help finding something?”

Charybdis narrowed her eyes at the stallion then glanced at the table, the bits in play, and his current hand.

“I’m fine,” she harrumphed as began walking towards the door, “Just focus on losing your money.”

“Wha-I-hehe… I-I don’t know what she’s talking about…” The stallion attempted to save while his friends grinned like sharks.

---

Meanwhile, Thunder had kept on truckin’ along in search of his promised lunch. Trotting down the hallway he’d continued to give vacant glances toward the hung images and art up until he neared the end of the hall entirely and without any meals found. Worried he’d been duped and that there was in fact no food, he’d struggled to not show his brief panic attack just as the smell of something cookin’ caught his nose. The nearest door sported a small hand-crafted sign above it that simply read “Eats!” and had been decorated with an absolutely overjoyed little cartoon face next to a sandwich. Thunder had never felt a connection with anything else in his life more than he did with this sign.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” he said with an exaggerated sigh, speaking as if he’d just survived a trek through a desert with no water and had just spotted an oasis, “Praise the sun! Glory be! The goddesses provide and such!”

He grinned back at the others then looked down at the remaining length of hallway. There wasn’t much left, the remainder so short that he could see around the coming corner from where he was standing. There he saw a stallion like those he’d seen at the door, fully armed and presumably on duty. Thunder’s ears swiveled towards the stranger as he heard a muffled voice and noticed that they had been holding a hoof near to their lips. Assuming it was a comment about him (because who ELSE could they POSSIBLY be talking about when HE was around?) he struggled to listen for a follow up but was disappointed when the stallion lowered his hoof to a satchel on his belt without a word. There he seemed to drop some small object inside the satchel before leaning against the walls and crossing his front hooves. Thunder only saw it for a split second but would have bet at least half of the sandwich on the sign that it had been giving off some kind of light. For a moment he wanted to ask about it, but the stone-cold stare he was getting from the stallion was starting to make him uncomfortable, so he instead decided to head into the “eat” room.

Thunder was happy to find that the cartoon face outside hadn’t been lying and that this was indeed the food room. The room opened into a cafeteria with the serving tables being to the far left followed by a wide window and open door leading to what Thunder assumed would be the kitchen. Benches and tables were placed around the room to allow maximum capacity without getting in the way, and a few ponies sat here and there with trays both empty and occupied. A lot of trays actually. Too many trays. Why were there so many trays? And why were they dirty? Thunder would never pretend like he was the kind of person to wash his dishes regularly, but even he was surprised to find that some tables were cluttered with abandoned trays and utensils like dumping grounds for dishes.

Nearest the door was a stallion munching on what looked like roasted vegetables, the smell Thunder had no doubt noticed in the hall, and Thunder tilted his head at how it looked like he’d simply pushed aside the cluttered refuse and dishes to make room for himself.

“Hey, uh…” Thunder approached him and tried to spark an exchange, the stallion looking in his direction with obvious boredom followed by mild surprise when he failed to recognize the pony speaking, “What’s, uh… What’s cookin today?” Thunder asked with a jerk of his head towards the serving tables on the far left of the room. Being this close, Thunder noticed a number of the trays looked not only dirty, but dry, like they’d been there for a while.

Without speaking, the stallion looked at Thunder like he was an alien asking what food was entirely. He shrugged and pointed towards the kitchen then slowly resumed his chewing. Thunder gave a forced smile then backed away slow. Spinning on his hooves, he beelined for the kitchen as his tummy loudly demanded to be satiated. Reaching the serving tables, Thunder saw that they were on but empty and, like with he trays, in need of a good wash. Disappointed, but not deterred, he passed them and headed for the kitchen itself.

He didn’t notice the smell until he was already several strides into the kitchen. It wasn’t horrible, but it was noticeable. A mix of garbage and old food left out far too long. He’d been blind to it when he trotted directly for the cupboards but there were numerous bags serving as the sources of this smell. Piled in a corner and ignored, they sunk into each other and leaned against the walls furthest from the entrance. With a few slams of wooden cupboard doors, Thunder eventually was heard giving long sad sigh.

“This place is tapped!” he said, going from reaching up into a cupboard to falling back onto his rump, a small bag of peanuts being ripped open and poured directly into his mouth. He munched them down and tossed the bag over his shoulder with a pout.

“Where are all the cookies, potato chips, fruit, bread, candy, cakes, drinks, and… and… Man, I never realized how beautiful the castle’s lunch room was until now…” He sounded legit depressed as his mind ran with the thoughts of all the foods back home, “I guess what they say is right. You really don’t know what you got until its gone.” Being hit with a second wind, Thunder sprung to his hooves and rushed to the window overlooking the cafeteria.

‘Where’s all the food!?” he shouted at the scattering of occupants. They exchanged looks before one answered.

“There’s probably still a bunch of rice and potatoes in the pantry! Maybe some hay?”

“Wheres all the GOOD food!? And where did he get carrots!?” Thunder shouted more questions.

“These were the last ones!” The carrot muncher replied.

“How could you!? I’m going to starve here!”

---

“If you would just follow me then,” the stallion from the door said, motioning for Mana and Foxtrot to follow him down the left hall while the rest took the right. Mana nodded and followed, both he and Foxtrot being led further inside the first level of the prison and passing the occasional other pony who would side eye them as they went by. It was explained to them by the stallion that this area was the section of the level reserved for offices and administrative work, the doors they passed often being accompanied by a nameplate to make it clear which office belonged to who and the general décor being a mark better than what the rest of the group would have found on their end. Nicer paintings, better landscapes, and stuff that looked like it was worth something made the walls feel far less spartan. Honest to whatever god you favor, they even found a vase set on a pedestal and a couple of statues decorating an area cut wider into the surrounding stone than the rest of the hall. It was a sort of entryway that led to a library if the stallion was to be believed and Mana had to fight the urge to detour as his curiosity demanded to make time for a peek at least before he left.

A couple minutes of casual walking later and they closed in on the warden’s office. A larger more ornate door befitting the entrance to the room of the one in charge was the first giveaway. A deep brown in color, the doors were trimmed in gold and decorated with images of creatures and people carved directly into their face with an almost silly attention to detail as they carried out a scene of struggle and co-operation as the characters involved worked together to hold up what appeared to be pillars supporting the cavern above them. The doors looked heavy, expensive, and made of some kind of wood that Mana could not immediately recognize. Despite being in a prison, he couldn’t help but feel like he was about to enter into some kind of fancy mansion or noble’s foyer.

“Wow,” he commented with a whistle, “Those look expensive. How old are they, do you know?”

“Huh? Oh,” as if he’d not even noticed them, the stallion looked up at the doors then back at Mana with a shrug, “No idea. They’ve, uh… Heh… Been here longer than me. That’s all I know… I guess they do look expensive, don’t they…?” He hummed and seemed to appreciate the doors while Mana noticed that there was no nameplate beside this door. He considered asking the stallion the name of the warden, but they were already literally at his door, so he decided instead to just wait until he could meet the stallion himself.

“Anyway, this here is the main guy’s room,” the stallion said, shaking himself from his distraction and returning his focus to the ones following him, “just a word of warning that he can sometimes have a temper and that he doesn’t like to share so don’t ask. Seriously, don’t.”

“I don’t follow,” Mana said, confused as to what he meant. All he got was another shrug as the stallion’s interest seemed to be rapidly waning.

“You shouldn’t keep him waiting.” He informed both Mana and Foxtrot, Mana glancing back at Foxtrot with a raised eyebrow before realizing, several seconds later, that they apparently were meant to let themselves into the office. Feeling they’d wasted enough time as it is, Mana looked mildly annoyed as he took it upon himself to push the doors open and stepped up for the job. As heavy as they looked but not as difficult to move as he’d expected, the doors slowly swung open to reveal the room beyond.

Sizeable. Furnished. Luxurious compared to the rest of the prison they’d seen so far. And surprisingly messy. The room opened up wide with the ceiling reaching twice as high as that of the hallway outside. Boasting fine carpet and walls of paneling to imitate a wooden interior, the almost dome shaped room was going for and succeeding in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Large bookcases were situated against both the eastern and western walls. Areas for sitting and reading were evident with sperate furniture taking up space in a quit spot away from the door. A cabinet was proudly displayed with the tray, bottles and glasses set atop making its purpose – and recent use – clear. A large and fancy desk was situated on a rug towards the center of the room. Before it were two armchairs and behind it was one that put the others to shame. Even further beyond was something Mana was not expecting at all.

The back wall of the room looked like it had three very large windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling. The view was gorgeous. It had to have been magic - it obviously had to have been considering where they were - but the sweeping view of hills, grassland, edges of forest and a very clear river gave the impression of seeing a very real landscape from a high vista. “Natural” light flooded the room and lit everything fully and clearly, from the furniture, to the earth pony stallion sitting in front of the center window, a file splayed out on an end table beside him as he appreciated the view.

 His coat was a dark brown while his mane, very short as if it had been buzzed into a crew cut several weeks prior, was a very dark green edging close to full on black. He wore a light olive colored jacket with the frayed fabric indicating a loss of the sleeves that used to be present and on one side of his body hung a satchel bag while something metal on the other side glinted in the light of the windows.

Entering further into the room, Mana approached the desk and could hear the stallion speaking. Noticing that one of his hooves was raised near his face, Mana’s ears strained to pick up what was being said.

“…tychick. Keep watch on the rest,” the voice was rough and raspy, like someone who gave orders frequently and loudly, “Double up on the stairs. Wide berth. No tours. No noise. No exceptions.” That seemed to be it for now. The stallion lowered his hoof afterwards and Mana saw him fiddle with his satchel bag. The light of the window kept him from spotting exactly what he had done with it, but whatever it was took a mere second or two to complete. Then he closed the file he’d been reading and got up to turn and face his guests.

He looked mean. That was the first thought that came to Mana’s mind when he saw the stallions face. It was harsh and seemed creased in a way that suggested scowling came easy to him. A scar stretched from the left side of his jaw down near his throat and his hazel eyes seemed to look right through you and at something else inside. Mana’s eyes flicked from the stallion to the file on the end table near the window then down at the desk where he noticed many more, some open and scattered and the rest organized into three separate stacks. Papers, sketches and photos mixed on the table and a sweating glass of amber liquid and ice rested atop a hopefully unimportant page where it left a wet ring.

“This is rare,” the stallion spoke in the same rough voice and carried it across the room with ease as he drew nearer, a soft jingle type sound catching Mana’s ear as he walked, “Getting visitors has always been unusual for us here given how tricky it can be pinning down our location, and Guardsmen are even fewer since most of you seem to go out of your way to avoid us. Normally its family we deal with coming to visit inmates. The wealthy ones anyway. Seeing you guys tends to make us nervous, to be honest. It usually means something is wrong.”

“While it isn’t our intention to make you or your men nervous,” Mana replied, craning his neck enough to see a box of yet more papers and envelopes on the carpet around the corner of the desk, “I’m afraid that, if what you say is true, our visit may be more routine then I expected.”

“That’s a shame,” the stallion said, reaching the chair opposite the pair and taking a seat, the windows framing him with a sky that shouldn’t be there. Now that he was so near, Mana could see what had made the jingling and the glinting from earlier. A coil of chain was secured to the hip of the stallion, a metal ball dangling from the center and lightly brushing against the chain as it settled from the stallions movements. Beneath the coil Mana spotted something else, a short but viciously curved blade arcing from a wooden handle. To see the warden armed, and with a chain and sickle no less, caused the corner of Mana’s mouth to raise in confusion. “I was hoping this would be a mere check to make sure we were still kicking. I was willing to host and maybe even break out a game or two. I’m sure there’s a chessboard around here somewhere.”

“Sorry, not today,” Mana apologized, shaking off what he’d seen for the time being and moving on, “You already know this I’m sure, but my name is Mana Burn, and this is Foxtrot,” he introduced himself and his friend with a nod, “Royal Guardsmen, here on business. Urgent business.”

“Uh-oh,” the stallion picked up the glass that had been staining the papers and swirled its contents as he leaned back in his chair, “Urgent sounds bad. Well, Mana Burn and Foxtrot, my name is Bushwhacker, and I am the acting Warden of Tartarus. Welcome,” he casually swept his free hoof outwards, “to my prison.” He sipped his drink and watched his guests for a moment before continuing.

“Now… What can I do for you?”

“We knock.” Mana Burn answered plainly as if it they were visiting a friend at their house. He and Charybdis began walking towards the cliff they’d pointed out while Thunder rolled back over onto his hooves and used his wings to enter into a hover without any further complaint, his legs seemingly not as brittle as he made them seem. It didn’t take long to reach the wall though there was a brief pause when Mana slowed and turned to the others.

“It’s fine,” he assured them as if they had asked a question, Mana waving a hoof for them to follow him just before he turned and then appeared to… Disperse? It was as if he spread out and faded into the air the way a drop of food coloring does when it falls into a glass of water. Charybdis continued on without care, the same happening to her as she too faded into the air until there was nothing left. Thunder had a more cautious approach. He came to the edge where Mana had faded and squinted, trying his best to figure out what was going on up until a blue hoof sprang from thin air and pulled Thunder forward with a yelp.

Arriving on the other side, Thunder would be surprised to find that he’d felt nothing. As if he’d just stepped forward onto more grass, nothing was any different for him, Mana or Charybdis.

Well, aside from the now towering steel wall that suddenly existed on the rock wall before them. Curving in a soft arch at the top and decorated in glowing symbols, the wall was as imposing and cold as the material it was made from.  Nearly stretching as tall as the cliff itself and comparable in length for the width, Thunder was confused as to how such a thing could even fit into the cliff it was occupying, the edges almost seeming to adjust and shift whenever he wasn’t looking. It took Thunder several seconds of inspection before he realized that the wall divided at the center with a straight vertical line. It was, in fact a massive set of doors, two that possessed several small rectangular indentations at varying heights that Thunder could only assume were embrasures of some kind currently sealed with more steel.

“It’s fine,” Mana said again, walking forward with more self-control than Thunder and his wide-eyed feasting of the sight.

At the foot of the doors, towards the middle, were two smaller sections carved into the metal that revealed them as a much more appropriately sized pair of secondary doors fit for the group. Charybdis stayed a few strides back and watched Mana approach with crossed claws While Thunder stared up at the metal and wondered what the glyphs and runes did. Mana, as he said he would, took it upon himself to give the smaller doors a good solid knocking. There the group waited for a response.

Some time went by.

“Uh…” Mana suddenly wasn’t so sure about his methods. He caught himself before he could glance back at the others and show his uncertainty and could sense Charybdis rolling her eyes as he gave the door a second knock. Before he could finish, the metal swung back from one of the embrasures closest to the group and the head of a stallion popped out, his head wearing a helmet like that of the guards below although gray in color and lacking in the option of a plume.

“Hey, oh, what?” he half asked, and half shouted with darting eyes, “What’s this? What? Who-What do you want? How’d you find the door, what’s this? what’s going on? What do you want?”

“A shining example of Equestria’s finest,” Charybdis commented sarcastically, “guy sounds drunk and confused. Guess that explains that animal escaping a while back at least.”

“Hey-wh-that’s a bird! How’d you get a bird-cat this far west? What’s this?” There was the sound of a jostling set of armor as the head was pulled back from view, a second voice being heard through a muffle ordering the first to eat something just as a new face came into view. This second stallion looked the group over, then huffed and leaned over the edge of his vantage point.

“Lost? You better have official business if you’re coming up to us like this. Else we’ll have to kill you a little bit before you leave,” he casually informed the gathering, “just a little bit. Sorry, part of the job.”

Mana struck with temporary befuddlement over the exchange so far, did his best to shake it off and compose a proper response.

“We are,” his horn lit up and removed his badge from behind his armor, “My names Mana Burn, this here is Thunder and that’s Foxtrot,” nods given to each in turn, “We’re with the Equestrian Royal guard and require entry as part of an investigation. Is your warden available? We will need to speak to them immediately concerning an escaped inmate.”

“Royal guard, huh?” the stallion looked over the three mentioned then to the rest, “What about them?”

“Witnesses and experts relevant to the investigation.” A good enough answer, right? Technically true at least.

The stallion hummed for a moment then held a hoof up as if to tell them to wait before disappearing back behind the embrasure. The steel clanged shut back over the opening and left the group alone for nearly a full minute before swinging back open.

“Alright,” the stallion said, leaning back over to look at them, “I’m told to ask you what the password is. So, what’s the password.”

Mana looked over at Thunder then back at the stallion with a raised eyebrow.

“There is no password,” he replied, “we have our badges. Use them to verify our identity. We’re also very short on time and need to get moving.” Motioning for Thunder to get out his identification, Mana would do the same for Foxtrot if he hadn’t done so already.

“Yeah, okay, yes, I’ll be down in a second.” Mana could have sworn he heard the stallion sigh as the embrasure once again clanged closed. Shortly after one of the smaller doors before them creaked open enough to let the stallion step outside entirely, a few of the embrasures above opening up as well though it wasn’t clear if anyone was looking out of them.

“Alright, give ‘em here,” the earth pony as was now obvious took each badge in turn, flipping them around in his view and squinting really hard before giving each back. He frowned then put on a smile and gave Mana small shove on his shoulder. “Relax,” he told him, waving up at someone and causing the door to open further and open the way inside, “we’re just giving you a hard time. It gets boring manning The Wall and we never get visitors, so we try to make the most of it when we can.” He chuckled but Mana only bent his frown as his patience started to strain.

“The Warden is available for you to speak to him right now, if that makes you feel any better,” the stallion went on, motioning for the group to follow, “he’s in his office reviewing a recent transfer or alteration to a cell or some junk. I can show you the way.”

“Please,” Mana curtly urged as he and Thunder trailed behind the pony. Charybdis lingered behind them and gave the outside of the wall a long look before sighing and following the rest, the door creaking shut behind them once everyone who planning to come inside did so.

The door led to a square steel corridor stretching for just over three meters as the group passed under the massive set of doors surrounding them and were given an idea of how thick they were. On the other side of the doors the area opened into a large half cylindrical cavern of smooth stone walls that followed a similar shape to the doors outside though was a notable size wider to ensure the door could open and close without grinding against the walls.

This side of the doors was much different from the outside as while the outside was marked with runes, glyphs and the occasional scattered embrasure, this side was heavily scared with dents, scratches and scorch marks. On either side of the doors and curving with the walls of the cavern were a series of platforms and walkways allowing for a network of defensive cover and weapons to loom over the length of cavern leading up to the doors. Weapons the likes of scorpion turrets, ballistae - the ammo for which was so magically charged as to glow bright colors among the more drab battlements - and pots perpetually heated via magical flames  stood ready to face whatever tried to barrel towards the exit. Numerous ponies hefting crossbows and lazily leaning against their weapons meandered above, chatting among themselves and watching the newcomers as they walked further inside under the orbs of light that hung in the air to keep everything illuminated in a sterile shine.

It took several minutes for them to eventually near the back where the cavern tapered down and began to split off into more traditional corridors carved into the stone and lit by more orbs to ensure that everything remain clear as day. Another door, hefty but not as impressive as the first, took up another section of the wall just before the corridor began to shrink, Thunder being told it was the elevator used to transport larger inmates lower into the prison upon asking and wondering if the thing played any music as it went.

“Okay,” the stallion said, turning to face the group again with a small almost tired smile, “This is where I need you guys to split up.”

“Split up?” Thunder spoke with a scoff, “Why exactly? Do we need to find the office on our own or something?”

‘No no, It just that the Warden won’t speak to anyone who isn’t authorized to know the goings on here in the prison. You Royal Guards are fine, he’d be happy to help you with your investigation, I’m sure, but the rest of you are… what… civilians? That sounds right.

“You can head off to the rec room and relax while you wait,” he continued, pointing towards a corridor snaking off to the right, “there’s games and books and junk there for the off hours. Follow the corridor and just peek into the rooms until you see pool tables. If you’re hungry you can probably get something in the canteen. Same direction just don’t stop till you smell something burning.”

“What if we insist on joining the guards in speaking with he Warden?” Charybdis asked this, but it sounded more like a command.

“Then, uhm… I guess you’ll be here a while? Careful not to wander around lost or you’ll start making people jumpy. Just ask if you need help finding the rec room. Oh, and do not attempt to go any lower into the prison. If you aren't cleared to descend to any of the lower levels then you'll all be considered a hostile force and arrested.”

“I’m sitting this one out,” Thunder told the rest, “I’m actually starving to death as we speak. As in, I’m pretty much already a ghost haunting you. I’m going to go eat something, who’s with me?”

“Thunder, we need to-“

“Whose with me!?”

Distracted by Onyx's erratic behavior, Thunder abandoned the argument with Mana and smirked in her direction. "What did those mares at the Green Lion give you?" he asked in reference to her sudden shift in energy, "Your habits are tearing this family apart, Onyx!"

Expecting it to be another towns person coming to give their opinion on the cyclops matter or offer a poorly thought out offer of assistance, Mana was left to only raise an eyebrow at the mare claiming to be a reporter. "Even out here theres no escaping the press..." Mana mumbled under his breath, Thunder's ears perking at the mention.

"A reporter?" he trotted over with a beaming grin, "I love the press! I can give you an interview! To start off, we can describe my perfect sunday..."

"I'm not sure we have time for an interview, Miss Quill," Mana spoke, denying Thunder from rambling, "We can simply summarize instead that it was fortunate we all happened to be present and capable of handling the dangers encountered. Anything further I'm sure you can fill in given you were so close to what happened," yes, he'd recognized her, "jot 'no comment' down as our answers for your questions."

"I don't think I've ever heard of anything called Equestria Daily," Thunder commented, earning a snort from Charybdis.

"Its a rag in the bigger cities," she claimed, "fades in with everything else. Gossip and fluff pieces." Whether or not this was true was up to those more familiar as Thunder only read his choice sources and Mana - one to always avoid anything that involved opinion over fact - didn't know any better. "Is no one else bothered that people seem to know where we're going? Looks like we need to get moving sooner than we thought if we want to stay ahead of the info leak radiating from this place. Especially if reporters are already writing their pieces on you."

"We can't take you with us," Mana explained to her, "we can't worry about a danger seeking reporter getting in the way in case theres more trouble."

"Well, now, hold on," Thunder cut in, "we can make use of a reporter. If anything it would help us keep track of everything if shes jotting it all down and building my lege- uh- I mean... Keeping an eye on the facts."

"Until it gets spun for the story and drama," Mana said, skeptical and unconvinced.

"Well... If she comes we would at least keep her from publishing any stories for a while." Thunder pointed out with a shrug.

“I’m still not sold on them having gotten into the prison,” Mana states with a frown, “but I guess that doesn’t matter right now. We do need to go there regardless.”

“Then we should get moving immediately,” Charybdis said, “the sooner the better. If things are as bad as they could be we need to have been there yesterday to start fixing it.”

“You keep saying ‘we’,” Mana pointed out, “I don’t think that means what you think it means.”

“It means all of us,” she clarified with curt tone, “you, your friend, myself and the rest. I don’t have the time or patience to argue this with you, either we all go or I get there myself and you stumble around in the forest trying to catch up.”

“You won’t get in without someone to authorize you.”

“Which is why it’s faster if ‘we’ go. This is an emergency. Use your rights as a royal guard. Regardless, I’ll find a way without you if I must. Those mages did.”

“They won’t let Nivalia in,” Thunder pointed out, “seeing someone like that would lock the doors on us instantly.”

“It’s a changeling,” Charybdis reminded, “I’m sure it can work around that.”

“Not once were inside. They can detect that kind of thing. It’s a super max prison after all.”

“A fun surprise for them then. I’m sure they’d be interested to know what helped subdue their escapee. Either way, if you can’t see the value in something that can imitate a face and a voice then you’re a fool. We bring it.”

“You’re face is a fool.”

“You sounds suspiciously like your giving orders,” Mana seemed annoyed, “I’d like to remind that none of us are yours to command. Half of us aren’t even obligated to be involved.” He turned to the rest. “We can’t drag you further into this if you don’t want us to. If you don’t want to go but would still like to help then I’d ask you to go to Corona and speak to the mayor there about what happened. He’s looking into things and would probably like to be informed about this. With the train station wrecked it would probably take around a week to get there on foot. If you want to walk away that’s fine too, just please don’t go shouting about this to everyone you meet. We’ve seen the people responsible now so they’ll probably be moving to disappear and a panic would just make it easier. Keeping those investigating under as much cover as we can would be good as well. If you want to come with to Tartarus, is well... I guess warning you off hasn’t done much so far.”

“What about me?” Asked Arum asked with Charybdis answering.

“Keep an eye on Laurel. When things are settled here I want you to have get him taken care of then go to Berylsburg and check on things. After you’ve got a good grasp on the situation there send a messenger out and I’ll decide on a place where we can meet.”

Arum nodded then focused herself on the town and whatever needed doing.

“Oh, he got way worse than a slap on the wrist.” Thunder hovered his way down to join the others.

“That’s what’s been worrying me so much,” Mana added with a frown, “last I saw him he was shackled, neutralized and sent off to be kept in check. I figured we’d never see him again and was happy for it.”

“Wasn’t very shackled this time around what with the town smashing and all,” Thunder cast a glance over towards the townsfolk trying their best to tie up arms far larger than themselves, “freebird got an early release it looks like.”

“No, he still had decades left to serve. As for the next likely place for those mages to show up, Berrylsburg was a likely candidate but they were supposed to be targeted instead of Weaver. Other than there I’m not sure.”

“Where, exactly, did he the cyclops get shipped off to when he was detained?” Charybdis asked for clarification.

“The same place all big and dangerous things tend to go,” Mana replies, “Tartarus. I think he was on the third or fourth level? We didn’t go with when he was taken there so I can’t say I know much about the details, but I can say that it’s strange we hadn’t heard about him escaping as we and the rest of the team were meant to respond in case he got back out.”

The cyclops did not see the source of the pop as it no longer existed, but it did notice the mare and changeling toting around their weapon. It gave a brutish shout at them and pulled its hands apart where the magic arced and split free in chaotic ways, bits falling free and sizzling or exploding upon splashing to the ground. It reached upwards with a still glowing hand that dripped strange arcane energy that seemed not to fit with the rest of the world but was knocked off balance when Foxtrot’s attack struck true against its Achilles tendon. It cried out in surprise, tilted its balance and staggered. Arcing its view downwards, it would be stalled by the addition of Glory’s shot exploding near its face and causing a flinch that aligned his face just enough for the duo above.

It was a gross sound, a mushy squelch that seemed to overpower everything else and travel across town. Following it was an agonized cry from the cyclops that accompanied a reflexive but rushed grab at the stake that had impaled its eye as it staggered to maintain its balance. It missed at first and flailed at its face in futility as it sought the intruding object robbing it of its sight but lost its footing and fell backwards with a thunderous crash as it crushed the rubble in its path, Charybdis straining her wings to escape its path as it fell to the ground, its remaining magic gathered within its hands being released in a chaotic storm of random emissions.

While nearly a direct hit, the attack had been halted only halfway through what one would expect. Like striking a barrier, the improvised weapon sunk only a certain depth before stopping short with an abrupt bend and tear into the soft organ I had been driven into. As such the cyclops was very much alive though very distracted as it clawed at the intruding object, accidentally damaging its own face as it sought a sure grip in panic. It wouldn’t take long, unfortunate for the attackers, for the cyclops to manage a decent enough grip to rip the object from its softest part. Arcing away from the eye the stake would trail a stringy substance drawn from the innards of the eye in a way that Thunder would describe as “rad” while Mana would be thankful to miss it. Without sight, the cyclops struggled to stand.

“Easier for me!” Thunder triumphantly told himself as he believed his job had become =immeasurably easier only to be forced to dodge some stray magi9c from the cyclops hands reminiscent of random lightning bolts seeking earth but missing way too wide and instead reaching beyond the bounds of the town itself. He ducked and rolled but was interrupted by a tick in his wing as warned by Arum that caused a stumble in his flight path. He winced and tried to recover but was not quick enough to ensure his grip over the jar, the clinking sound of hooves against glass reaching Arum and eliciting extreme distress as she was forced to witness his fumbling and eventual loss of grip over what she viewed as their lifeline. It fell free and Thunder dived to catch it but was interrupted by another blast of magic seeking any target to release itself upon.

“Idiot!” Arum shouted as she swooped below, catching the Jar and zipping her way forward ‘neath the ensuing storm of directionless magic that kept Thunder at bay, “I told you!”

The royal guardsman sighed in disappointment but had little left to contribute from here as he sought cover. Arum kept on, narrowly avoiding the explosions and random melting of nearby buildings that the storm brought and managing well enough to gain ground towards the target. Nearly within throwing distance of the cyclops face a sudden rupture of concussive force blasted outwards in a final crescendo of the released magic. It caught Arum as she tried to gain altitude and gripped her wings in a way that sent her in a mid-air roll and put a stop to her advance, the struggle to maintain grip on the jar of dust slipping with every passing moment. Afraid she’d drop the jar and then have to face Thunder and admit to her managing what she expected from him, she was thankful when Charybdis, possessing much stronger wings that the smaller Pegasus, passed by and snatched the jar away.

Charybdis had caught sight of the pair of winged ponies zeroing in on the cyclops and had easily picked out the glowing pink dust she’d stolen just the night before. It didn’t take a genius to figure out their intentions, and their troubles drawing near had demanded she assist them. With the jar in her grasp she forced her way through the wave and circled the cyclops head amidst Arum’s shouted encouragement.

The cyclops was standing, a hand firmly and understandably placed over its eye as it groaned in pain. Being blinded it was throwing all care to the wind as it swung its arms and stomped with reckless abandon, the vulnerability thrust upon it eliciting a panic over how it couldn’t properly defend itself. Occasionally it peered without the protection of its hands to test its sight, the flooding glow of its eye suggesting some magic at work as it snarled and squinted at what it thought it could see. Timing her dive, Charybdis waited for the cyclops to remove its hand before twisting away the jars lid and dumping the contents in a single swooping dusting that trickled down just as the cyclops brought back its hand.

It must have stung as the cyclops pulled back when the bulk of the dust found its mark over the wet wound it was nursing, some amount of the dust trickling between its fingers and blowing in the wind as it pulled away. Reeling, it swayed and coughed as some found its nostrils and dug its way into its throat, most seeping into the gaping hole left by Nivalia and Onyx’s attack. The magic gathering in its eye flared for a moment, its struggle to defend itself bleeding into desperation as it could not stop itself from moving backwards. A few moments later it was gripping at the remaining bits of buildings tall enough for it to reach without stooping, its weight crumpling and snapping the structures as it sank lower to the ground in another fall that it had not agreed to. Landing in another tremor inducing collision with the ground, it lazily pawed at its eyes and grew weaker by the second, eventually its eye would finally close, the pain not even being enough to keep the cyclops from its powder induced slumber as the substance worked directly into its bloodstream via the opening made in its eye.

“Oh, wow,” Mana would comment as he helped dig away at the remaining civilian trapped beneath the rubble he had been working on, “They managed to do it.” He laughed in relief as he watched the cyclops’ hand go limp in unconscious relaxation. Turning back to the pony he’d freed he warned that the town was most assuredly still not safe to occupy given its current state and that they should meet with the rest of the evacuated civilians outside of town. Mana himself would head towards the cyclops to check on things and make sure no one was dead.

With the mare now safely away from the building, Mana released his magic over the building and allowed its supports to crack and bend until they gave way and allowed for the structure to collapse harmlessly to the ground. Well, as harmless as one can consider an example of extreme property damage. With that done he sighed, checked up on the trouble with the cyclops with a few quick looks around and resumed his gallop he’d started earlier.

Thunder’s progress was slow, the pile of debris he was pinned beneath being something he could only chip away at bit by bit. Eventually some aid came in the form of Arum whom re-entered the scene via a previously stuck door being bucked from its hinges. The shop she’d taken cover in had done its job though the small damage it had received had done a good job in wedging the door. Regardless, she lent a hand in removing Thunder from his entrapment then needed a second to look over the damage that had been dealt to her hometown.

“Jeez...” she said with a deep breath, “… I hate when this happens…”

“If I could just get it in a decent grapple,” Thunder started, watching as the Cyclops pressed its palms together in front of its eyes and began to rub them together, “I know I can get it in a headlock of some sort.”

Ignoring the harassment of the flying opposition around it, the cyclops drew some energy from its eye to its hands, both glowing a dull yellow and leaving a trail behind them as they were pulled apart. They weren’t apart for long as it clapped them together, a shockwave being sent from them that tumbled Charybdis as the cyclops tried to shoo them away. If given distance it would continue by launching bolts of magic from its hands. While not nearly as dangerous as the eye beam, each bolt still packed enough of a punch to blast apart the carts in the street, though each did dissipate at moderate range when compared to the beams incredible reach.

“Maybe a grapple isn’t the best idea.” Thunder decided to not try it.

Meanwhile, Mana was nearing the trapped civilians that the town watch was attempting to help after the beam trapped them beneath a building. While they were limiting their efforts to those immediately reachable out of the desire to not leave themselves in the open, few of them had any magical capabilities and were not suited to quickly extracting the ponies. Mana dedicated his efforts to remedying this by removing larger chunks of fallen wood and ruptured stone while insisting those not immediately useful to him leave for safety immediately. Unfortunately, with his identity not being immediately evident, he was forced to accept that half were refusing to leave now that they had a better chance at saving more people.

Charybdis was becoming frustrated with her lack of results. Similarly, the cyclops was growing angry at how Charybdis had continued to avoid his grasp, his attempts to grab her becoming wilder and resulting in damage to the structures around him as the seconds ticked by. Its patience wearing thin, it let loose a thunderous bellow just as Charybdis was passing near its face, the decibels achieved enough to cause those in the distance trying to put distance between themselves and the danger were forced to cover their ears. For poor Charybdis the force behind the shout was enough to throw off her flight and send her into a tumble, the volume dazing her enough to be open to the cyclops next swing that clipped her wing and sent her to the ground. She recovered enough to land and went about shaking her head to try and ward off the ringing in her ears and only just managed to notice the cyclops attempt to crush her beneath one of his cloven hooves. Throwing herself out of the way, she rolled just outside of its area of effect though the angle was such that the cyclops did not see her survival and laughed at its perceived success.

It laughed up until it turned and caught a look of the trebuchet’s payload with it having sailed relatively clear of the surrounding buildings and striking its target across the left side of its chest then sending him into a turning stumble. Clutching at fresh buildings he had been pushed towards to steady himself, the clutched at a freshly developing bruise then righted himself with purpose and scanned for the source, the combination of its height and the trebuchet’s many colors allowing him to spot it relatively quickly amongst the standing structures. Pivoting right, it gripped the upper half of a three-story building and tore it in half then hurled it in the trebuchet’s direction. It’s one eye did not allow for pin point accuracy but the method by which it was seeking to destroy the threat was destructive enough to batter against and roll over the rooves of the town protecting it, generating a significant amount of chaos and flooding the street with a torrent of rubble and debris as the cyclop’s own payload barreled down in Onyx’s general direction and toppled a few homes.

Not seeing a sign of the earlier flying problem, the cyclops turned to pick out the crowd of festival goers trying to flee. Its massive eye fixed on the nearest concentration and began to glow a bright yellow just as the shots from Glory and Harvestman struck its sides and earned a reflexive raise of its hand to shield against the incoming shots. It didn’t appear too terribly bothered by the fire or the explosive method of delivery, but it very clearly was not pleased with being interrupted yet again. Harvestman had been the second to fire and as such was the one to suffer the consequences. The cyclops again struck the earth but did so at an angle intended to tear up the ground. Chunks of cobblestone street along with a rain of rocks, pebbles and a few cart sized boulders of dirt and stone chased after the pony with enough force to crush the wooden walls of the town around them.

The cyclops was not happy about the introduction of another flyer to harass him and returned to the grabbing and swinging it had been trying with Charybdis to attempt to rid itself of Day Lily whom was just outside of its grasp. This was made only more frustrating when Thunder arrived and planted himself on the cyclops’ shoulder.

“Howdy!” He greeted the creature destroying the town, earning little more then an opportunity to avoid an incoming palm delivered as if the cyclops was trying to kill a mosquito. Thunder was quick enough to avoid it and was hovering a short distance away when he pointed his hoof at the creature with a sudden laugh.

“Hey, Mana! It… Mana?” Thunder looked around and failed to find his friend but was not allowed time for a serious search. The Cyclops’ eye had begun to glow again and started to emit a cone of sickly yellow light which it aimed for both Day Lily and Thunder. Thunder wouldn’t be paying attention enough to avoid it and would soon suffer the effects as the ray of energy being emitted struck him quickly with a dizzying sensation that made keeping his balance in the air difficult. Struggling to achieve a controlled crash, Thunder found himself reintroduced to the ground where he stumbled and fell to his belly as though he’d just spun in way too many circles.

Back at the crater, Foxtrot’s search would last for only a short time as a blue hoof popped out of the now much looser ground and worked to get a grip. With assistance a woozy Mana would be retrieved from the ground where he’d need a few seconds to remember where exactly he was.

“… That hurt a lot…” he’d grumble, his bubble having saved his life but not protected him from the entirety of the sheer blunt force behind the strike he’d been given. Once free from the crater and able to stand, Mana took in the surroundings and observed the struggle against the cyclops.

“We don’t have enough people,” he commented to Foxtrot, watching the building tossed by the cyclops soar over their heads and erecting a few staticky buckler sized shields to knock away some falling debris, “about 13 too short, I think.” Charybdis joined them shortly after, still shaking her head to try and do something about the ringing.

“Of all the things it could have been,” she started to say, a little too loudly for those around her as her volume control was a little wonky, “it had to be something I’ve never seen!”

“We need to mitigate civilian losses,” Mana started, “Right now the town i-“

“We need a plan!” Charybdis interrupted, turning on the others and pointing in the Cyclops’ direction, “Its eye is probably a weak spot, right?! Let’s just shoot it there!”

“Its eye is a focal point for-“

“What!?”

“I said: its ey-“

“That thing break your jaw, guardsman!? Speak up and enunciate!”

“BEING IN FRONT OF ITS EYE IS DANGEROUS!”

“Then I’ll go for its ankles and trip the bastard!”

Whether she was ignoring Mana’s protests or simply couldn’t hear them, Charybdis flew off to join Day Lily and Thunder in pestering the Cyclops, her reappearance earning an annoyed groan from the creature.

“Magic won’t contain it,” Mana warned Foxtrot when it became obvious that Charybdis wasn’t coming back, “It’ll tear right through any binds. I was hoping a solid barrier would at least stagger it, but I guess not. That trebuchet worked well, but it’s going to take a lot of shots to knock it out.

“I’ll help the civilians evacuate the immediate area and try to think of something,” Mana, back in control of his faculties, turned to gallop off, “just try to keep everyone alive!”