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@@Marathon Glacier nodded and growled slightly as Lila continued talking to her. Although she hadn't been told much yet, Glacier now had some info to work with. 'Doctor Fireheart, eh? Either she's got Doctor as an extension like PhD or BSc or I'm in a hospital of some sort. Wait... Hospitals and jail cells. This is an institute! What the hell am I in an institute for?' ​Realising where she was, Glacier trotted to the other side of her cell with her razor sharp teeth bared from fury. She gripped the floor tightly and let out a furious shout.

@@Marathon Glacier was still struggling with the object on her horn when a soft voice spoke up from outside her cell. She stopped dead and slowly turned her head to the voice's origin. She furrowed her brow and moved slowly towards the cell door. 'Somepony is trying to make contact. Save the high and mighty act for some other time. This pony could be of use to you. Then, once she's expired her useful period, kill her and make for an escape!' Through the bars to her cell, Glacier could see a purple unicorn looking back. She reached towards the cell door and gave it push and a tug. It was locked and remained still. The failure at such a simple task elicited a growl from Glacier.

@@Skycoaster, and Pondah's pupils enlarged slightly. "What?" he said; the suprise of not being fired but instead being offered accommodation knocking. "Really? Those things sound easy enough to do." ​After taking a moment to calm down and become more serious, Pondah resumed talking. "I was already planning on apologising to Bubble and I can hopefully obtain a bit a month. I'll take your offer." ​Turning to face the larger desk to assist in moving it, Pondah could see Sunny straining whilst carrying it solo. Pondah trotted over and put himself beneath the middle of the desk. It was hard, but Pondah was eventually able to stand and support.

@, and @Skycoaster With the three ponies now working in unison, the three regular desks were swiftly put into place and their chairs put behind them. All that remained was for the large desk to be moved into place on the other side of the room. "Good work," ​Pondah announced. "Now we just need to team up on this large desk." As Pondah was moving into position, he felt a hoof on his back. He turned whilst flinching to see Sky standing high above him. His eyes stared deep into Pondah and his constant gaze caused Pondah to start sweating. He stuttered as he answered Sky's query. "Th... there's this nice spot outside a hotel," ​Pondah stammered. "It's a little dusty but after today, I think I'm used to dust."

Glacier's cell was not the conventional idea of a cell. True, it was concrete but it was warm, not cold. It was dry, not wet and full of mold. Many who have been in a cell would beg for one as nice as Glacier's. It was the first-class of cells. Not that she cared. She sat in the corner, her blue eyes darting frantically around everything she could. She did not know where she was and why she was there. The last thing she could remember was being handed over to some ponies by another she'd met in the Everfree the same day. Fear had erased everything after that. Glacier winced as she slowly stood up. Small cuts and bruises littered her body and a long, thin, red and green leaf was wrapped around the centre of her body. She steadied herself, ducked her head and pointed her horn towards the cell door. With all of her remaining strength, she attempted to shatter the doors hinges. Nothing. Rubbing her head, Glacier began to wonder why her usually mighty magic has no effect. 'This is strange. That door should be completely flat. Wait... what the hell is on my head!' Whatever it was, it was cold, hard and had a tight grasp on Glacier's horn. She tried to lift it off. Her efforts were futile. She tried harder and harder to remove the object but nothing worked. Eventually, she became so frenzied that she dropped to the floor and tried to use all four hooves to remove it. 'I need to get some answers. I have no idea what may happen next. All I need is for somepony to turn up and answer my queries. ​Then I could kill them and escape!'

When Sky said he'd need to ask Pondah a question, he stopped dead in his tracks. His pupils narrowed to pin-points and he gulped loudly. 'Oh no... not good! This is not good. He says "it's not bad"; what if it is just to keep me calm so he can fire me? Technically zero days working and I'm already at risk of losing my job!' Pondah tugged a regular table to the corner spot he'd pointed out earlier at a high speed, determined to prove that he could work at a high intensity. He pointed to a different spot on the left of the room with a hoof. "Ember," Pondah said quickly and with a croaky voice. "Please move a desk there."

Pondah turned back towards Sunny and placed his hoof on hers. He looked towards the mound of furniture and counted up what needed to be arranged. "We've got four regular desks, four chairs and one large desk," Pondah announced. "I reckon that we put the large desk opposite the entrance, two of the regular desks on the left and right facing each other and then put one in the corner." Moving towards the furniture, Pondah tried visualizing what his arrangement would look like. The "U" shape idea he'd come up with would allow for a large open space in the centre and mean that everyone could see each other and communicate easily.

@ and "Welcome to the office, Sunny and Ember," Pondah said with a warm tone. "There's no need for you to worry about the desks and chairs. I've got it under cont..." Pondah broke off during his sentence as his mind caught up with what he was saying. 'You're being offered help! How hard is it to just say yes?' Pondah glanced at the ground with mild shame before looking back up at Sunny. "If you really want to help," Pondah said quietly. "Then go for it." @ Pondah's smile grew smaller as Sky walked into the room. "Oh... thank you." Pondah said quietly in response to Sky's compliment. It took Pondah a few moments to realise what Sky's outstretched hoof ment. Gingerly, Pondah placed his hoof on Sky's.

@ & Pondah looked up from the desk he was facing with a small smile on his face to see two new ponies had entered the area. "Well that's good timing," Pondah told the pair. "A few moments ago there was enough dust in here to give you pneumoconiosis! But anyway, I am indeed Pondah. Feel free to tell me your names if you want to." Pondah pointed towards the mound of chairs and desks. "I'm not going to be that talkative as I've still got those desks and chairs to move."

Pondah lept into the cleaning cupboard and began looking around for anything to help him clean the floors. 'Step 1: Finish up here. Must be something I can use. Surely I can find a bin bag for all this dust.' In the darkness of the cupboard, it was hard to find a black bag. After some rummaging and use of both eyes and ears, Pondah left the cupboard with a roll of bin bags. He tucked them into his mane and resumed cleaning with the dustpan and brush. With determination coursing through his body, Pondah had very quickly swept all of the dust into one corner. ​Ripping off a bag from the roll in his mane, Pondah crept up on the large dust pile. It stood high and ugly like a spot on a teenagers face. With a swift movement, Pondah scooped Mt. Dustmore into the bag and pulled it shut. With a quick dash, he made his way outside and dumped the bin bag into a large bin. 'I'm finally done cleaning! Just need to reposition the furniture and then step one is complete!'

Pondah shuffled towards the cleaning cupboard with these words still weighing on his mind. He picked up a hard dustpan and brush and began to sweep the carpets as he thought. 'I've become my worst enemy. I hate seeing ponies ruin the lives of others but I've been ruining my own life all along. I've become the one thing that I hate more than anything else.' 'Well then, what are you going to do about it?' ​Pondah stood bolt upright when he heard the new voice in his mind. His dilated pupils scanned the room for something that could be the source of the voice. From what he could see, he was alone. 'Who's there? Show yourself!' 'Damn it! You say you want help yet for the second time when you've been offered some, you become scared. You don't want to change!' 'I do! I don't want to stay like this.' 'Stay like what?' 'Stay like what I am. I've cooped myself inside and believed that it was doing me good. I thought that being a recluse would be good for me and that by staying alone I would be safe from all of my troubles.' 'It didn't protect you from your main trouble. There was one thing holding you back more than anything - yourself. So tell me, if you want to change, how will you change?' 'I don't know...' 'Exactly! You don't know because you haven't thought properly about it once! You're satisfied with eating from bins, you're satisfied with running from your troubles and you're happy to make others fret and worry about your pathetic life you're doing nothing to change! You don't care that your actions are hurting you, just as long as you can delude yourself into thinking it's good.' 'Grr...' 'Awww... what's wrong? Is wickle Pondee Wondee sad now that somepony has shown you how stupid you are? That's so sweet.' With a thunderous clack, Pondah threw the dustpan and brush to the floor, his head pointed straight toward the door and the sorrowful look in his eyes had been replaced with one that burned with the flames of determination. He stomped hard on the floor. 'Enough! I don't know who or what you are but I will prove you wrong. I'm not going to be the failure they said I'd be and I'm not going to let myself be destroyed by myself. It will be hard and there may be blood, sweat, tears or any combination of the three. Even though you've insulted me, it has given me the smack in the face I've needed.' A smile etched its way into Pondah's face as the fires of determination burned brighter than before. 'There we go! That's the epiphany! You keep that determination going and you'll conquer this challenge. Now finish up here, apologise to Bubble and get to work.' 'I will! Thanks... whatever you are.' 'Still desperate to find who's helping, eh? I'll tell you something. Look in a mirror at somepoint. I, your hero, will be staring back at you.'

Pondah's head dropped even lower as Bubble's fury was concluded with a strike and lecture from Sky. He saw the two move away in the same direction and by focusing hard enough, he could hear their conversation. With a frown as deep as those he had during his childhood, Pondah made his way back into the office. He sat in a chair and began to think aloud. "I used to think that the world was against me, that it was on a mission to make life as much of a challenge as was within its power to do so. I used to believe that being banished and sent to the moon was a blessing; that it would protect you from the horrors that the world tries to unleash upon you on its quest to inflict pain. I believed in the old mantra of 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.' I realise now that words do hurt. A stick or stone can break a bone but a word will wound you deeper and it will stay with you forever and poison your mind with hate. I considered myself strong enough to handle my past, strong enough to try and recover alone. I see that now, more than ever, I do need help. The world isn't on a mission to hurt me. I am." ​TO BE CONTINUED

@ The instant Bubble began her rant, Pondah jumped. He turned to face the assaulting words and had no choice but to stay and listen. The frustration and fury filled the room with an air of hostility. Bubble's words were bullets, tearing into Pondah's body and alerting him to the biggest threat in the room. Himself. The anger ended with a pair of goggles being thrown across the room. They hit a nearby wall with a tremendous thump with a chip of crystal smacking into Pondah's neck. He did not cry. The fire in Bubble's eyes burnt with the brightness of a thousand suns and with glared into Pondah's like a laser beam. Pondah let out a shaky, worried breath. "I understand..." ​Pondah said quietly, his eyes unable to escape Bubble's furious stare. "I'm sorry I've locked you out. Even though you've held the answers, I've been too stupid... too satisfied with my feeling of subservience to see that you're the ticket out of my mental incarceration." ​Pondah moved tentatively towards the door with his head hanging low, hesitating should another verbal barrage by fired his way. "I need a moment outside; I've got a lot to think about."

@ "Don't worry," ​Pondah replied, his frown straightening to a blank face. "I'll try not to inconvenience others with my problems and make them depressed from now on." ​Pondah waited a moment to feel calm before he slid out from underneath the desk. Immediately, he went back to sweeping the desks. His head hung low out of sadness and shame. Now that he was calm(er), the desks were cleaned quicker and more thoroughly than before.

@ Pondah took some deep breaths to settle himself and reduce his shakiness. A frown tarnished his face as he moved his hooves in front of him. He gazed at them pleadingly, wishing they could hold some sort of answer to his problems. They didn't. "That was what was wrong," ​Pondah whispered. "I was worried I'd upset him. Worried that I'd failed in some way. Worried that I'd managed to make a complete mess of things on day one. I've never had a job or anything like this in my life. I'm scared Bubble. If I mess this up, I may never have a chance like this again. I've hardly had a good start by irritating my boss already...."

A hoof slid down Pondah's face as he shielded himself from the dust cloud Bubble created by kneeling. When he felt stable enough, Pondah replied to Bubble's question. "He was really angry," ​Pondah whispered. "I was worried that I'd caused the anger or at least done something to make it so bad." 'Please don't shout at me...'

@@Skycoaster "N... no," ​Pondah stuttered. "I haven't got anything to get out of my system... nothing that's legal." ​Taking a step away from the desk near Sky, Pondah began to dust down some other nearby desks. He wasn't doing a particularly good job, but the feeling he was helping made him feel slightly calmer. "As for friend or boss," Pondah said quietly. "I'd say you're a mix of both but leaning towards boss." 'Idiot! I've just told the angry pony that he's not my friend.' ​The realisation of his believed stupidy caused Pondah to curl up in a ball with his hooves on his head and shiver with fright.

@@Skycoaster Pondah flinched when Sky addressed him, causing him to knock his head on a shelf. He slowly moved out, still keeping low to the floor. Shaking, he stood up and began to walk slowly over to Sky. The room was silent save the soft sound of hooves on carpet. Pondah stopped just short of Sky and gulped, a nervous frown on his face. "Wh...what do I have to do?" Pondah queried quietly.

@@Skycoaster and Pondah listened to the conversation as he continued cleaning the windows. Hearing Sky's angry tone encouraged Pondah to work quicker and harder. 'I hope that anger isn't directed at me! I'll leave Bubble to calm down Sky; she's better with emotion than I am.' With the unnecessary worry over receiving Sky's wrath egging him on, Pondah had soon finished with the windows. They were now shining gates to the outside world. He went over to the cleaning closet, returned the window cleaner to its original place and shut the door. Taking cover in a dark corner of the closet, Pondah lay with only his flank in sight. 'I'll just wait here until Sky is finished being angry.'

@ Pondah stumbled to his hooves with a grimace on his face. "I'm going to feel that in the morning," he muttered. Bubble's statement elicited a shrug from Pondah. "Hey, it's better than nothing," ​he protested. "Besides, we can use this stuff. And who's to say we won't find somethingof worth? We haven't rummaged through the desks and cabinets yet." ​After picking up a spray bottle of window cleaner and a few cloths, Pondah squeezed past Bubble and left the cleaning closest. He hobbled towards a window, closed it and sprayed some cleaner on it. The cloth and cleaner combo tore through the dirt on the window and in a minute or two, it was completely clean.

@ Pondah shielded his eyes from the barrage of dust launched into the air as Bubble jumped behind him. When the dust settled, Pondah gave the wall a nudge. Nothing. "Whatever this is, it's built strong," Pondah declared as he moved to the other side of the room. "I'll try a harder push. It doesn't look like the wall slides so it either pulls or pushes open. Let's try pushing." Accelerating as fast as he could in the small space he had, Pondah galloped and jumped in an attempt to barge the wall open. As he hit it the wall, it swung open and dust poured from above, covering Pondah's entire body. He kept going through, eventually reaching a stop as he collided with the back wall with a thunderous crash. "I'm ok!" Pondah announced with a cheery voice most ill-suited to a pony that had just slammed into a wall. "I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that this isn't the final resting place of anyone... I hope. The good news is that I've found the cleaning closet."

@ "I guess I did tell you," Pondah said. "I just can't remember when... When's your birthday?" Pondah began looking at how dirty the windows were and whether he'd need any cloths and water to clean them of. They were incredibly dusty but it wouldn't be too hard to clean them. As Pondah looked at other windows, he noticed a small crack in one of the walls. He put his face closer to see if he could see through it. He couldn't. Pondah tapped a couple of times on the crack and area around it with mild frustration. As he did, his ears picked up something strange. "Hey Bubble," Pondah said, beckoning Bubble over with a hoof. "Listen to this." Pondah tapped again. Rather than giving a solid knock, the wall emited a hollow sound. "There's something behind here."

@ ​Pondah thought about the sort of things that he could get Bubble as a present. "You're right..." ​he said. "That being said, we'd both have problems buying birthday presents; neither of us no the others birth date!" ​After taking a step back, Pondah smiled as he admired Bubble's and his work. It was still incredibly dirty in the office but now that the furniture was in one spot, they could set about cleaning the floors. "This is looking good," ​Pondah agreed. "Now we just have to do the floors, windows and dust off the furniture." @@Skycoaster ​Just as Pondah has finished talking, Sky came into the room. "Thank you for both the compliment and the offer," ​Pondah said quietly. "But I'd prefer to stay and try and make a dent in this dust."