“Is it for all time or simply a lark? Is it Granada I see or only Asbury Park? Is it a fancy not worth thinking of? Or is it at long last love?”

“What the hell do you mean?” Cottage angrily screamed in my face as he slammed me against one of the steel walls in the command room of the submarine. I might’ve been strong, but no where near enough to beat power armor. My friends all clamored and pulled as well, but none of them could make him budge either. “He was right there!”

I couldn’t even answer him. His hoof had me pinned by my neck, and while I could still breath, it was only just by enough not to suffocate. Despite my friends trying to help, I deserved every second of it.

"You know how many rangers we lost? And for what?” He leaned into me, and slammed his hoof down next to my head. “The Facility is gone, the Nautilus is nearly crippled, and you let that fucker who would have made it all worth it, just slip through your hooves! It's unbelievable how much you just screwed us over!"

“Commander Cottage!” The captain snapped out with such force that she could have pinched right through his power armor with her tone alone. “Stand down before I have you demoted for conduct unbefitting of an officer.” She walked onto the con with an almost casual stroll.

With a snort, he shoved me down the wall and lifted his hoof from me. With a snap, he stiffened and brought his hoof up to her in a stiff salute.

“With all due respect, Ma’am.” He seethed with every word, struggling to hold back the rage that he felt. “We should have never agreed to help these filthy primitives.”

“You listen here.” She snapped at him. “If you want to share your opinion, then you will goddess damned ask me to speak freely. Am I making myself abundantly clear?” From the floor, I watched as she stood there, as imposing as any ranger in power armor with just the way that she carried herself. “As disappointing as this journey has been, this is all our fight.”

“Excuse me, Ma’am?” Gauge called out from across the room. She hobbled in on her three legs, covered from head to hoof in bandages. It only served to beat the reality of how much I’d failed them, into my mind. “Any word from home?”

“Coms, shipwide.” She told the mare sitting next to her. Sadly, she looked down with a sigh and reached out to the console she stood next to. She firmly took the radio in her fetlock and Alpha Command was overrun by the overwhelming forces we have been facing in the wasteland.” There was a hushed gasp and whispered murmurs all through the room. “The non essential personnel of the entire post was successfully evacuated and moved to outpost delta. Unfortunately, Star Paladin Suture and his squad stayed behind, giving their lives to ensure the safety of your families.”

Cottage Cheese slumped to the floor with the news, eyes wide in shock. “No, not you. Dad…” He whispered.

“This is a reminder, that even though we have a foremost duty to protect the wastelanders from the technologies of the old world,” She turned in the direction of Cottage with a blank expression, “that even though we have a duty to protect our own, there are still causes greater than us all. We didn’t ask for this enemy to be brought upon us, and we certainly had no interest in their war.” She stiffened up and turned her unseeing gaze around the room. “Still, we must all stand together. We must meet this common enemy head on, as we did before the war. United as one force, standing, fighting side by side. Your home may be gone, but the Wasteland is home to all of ponykind, and I will stand and fight for it because I believe in the good I can do. That we can do.”

She paused and dropped the mic down away from her muzzle, letting an eerie silence fall across the ship. Tears fell down her cheeks as she sat there in silent reverence. Slowly, after a moment, she pulled the mic closer again.

“I expect the very best from all of you, and I need to say this despite what happens when we rejoin the fight. It’s been an honor serving with all of you.” She frowned and closed her eyes. “That is all. Carry on.” Stiffly, she hoofed the radio back to the mare at the console, and walked over to Cottage.

“Tell me, tell me that it’s not true.” Cottage whined, his thousand yard stare pointed right through the Captains forehooves. “Tell me his isn’t dead.”

“Your father was a great stallion, and his time under Suture’s command was exemplary.” She spoke with hollow words. “I’m sorry, but he’s gone, Cottage.” With that, he was brought to tears. “Maple over in Forward Command has authorized me to give out a field promotion to fill the rank gap. Due to your own work under me, and the actions you took in evacuating the island, I’m advancing you to the rank of Star Paladin.”

“I don’t want your rank!” He half cried, half growled. “We shouldn’t have been in this fight to begin with.”

“We are at war, Star Paladin Cottage.” She snapped with the same ferocity as when she’d entered. With a strength that I hadn’t known she’d had, she hooked a hoof around his collar, and pulled him to his hooves. From there, she gave him a piercing look that instantly made him stand up straight. Her pupils dilated, and her angry eyes were as sharp as and knife, feeling out of place with the tears still coming down from them. “More than just you lost family today. I’m not promoting you out of pity, but necessity, so you’re going to suck it up, mister.”

“Y-yes, Ma’am.” He nodded sharply and took a step back. “I understand, Ma’am.”

“Good.” With that, her gaze softened again, returning to one that better fit the somber mood of the room. “Now go, all of you.” She looked in the direction of all of my friends, who had just stood in silence this whole time. “Get some rest. The journey back will take a bit more time with the rough shape that the Nautilus is in.” Wicking away her tears, she turned and walked back over to the con without another word, simply going back to work.

Gauge turned and headed back through the doorway towards the infirmary, and the others all headed back to the bunkroom. All except for Shadow, that is.

“Come on,” Shadow sighed, holding a hoof out to me. “Let’s go get some sleep.”

“You go, I’ll catch up.” I knew that after the amount of exertion that I’d been through, and with all my injuries, that I should have rested. Unfortunately, if I did sleep, I had the fear that I would find no rest within the confounds of my mind. “Just, need to clear my mind for a bit.” I tried to offer him a smile, but he only continued to look worried.

“If that’s what you’d like.” He sounded so dejected, I hadn’t meant for him to take it personally. Why did I have to screw up even the simplest thing? With my hoof in his, he pulled me back onto my hooves.

“Shadow?” I stammered and tried not to seem flustered. “When we get back, I wanted to talk again.” My words sent a flash of panic through his eyes, and I spoke without thinking. “It’s about you, I mean, about us.” Why was it that I couldn’t get my head around this? “I want you!” I blurted out.

Now he just looked confused.

“I want you to stay. You saved both our lives back there, and I know you weren’t planning on leaving, but I want you to stay.” I was wrestling the train in my mind to stay on track. “With everything we talked about, and how everything has been, we just need to talk, alright?”

“Sure.” He sighed and offered me the faintest smile. “I look forward to it.” Then he too trotted off down the hallway.

What was I doing with my life? Fighting Filius, watching my friends die, and generally being powerless to stop either of those things from happening. Then smack dab in the middle of it all, my feelings for some stallion I barely met but owe my life to crop up. A pain shot through my side as I stood uneasily in the hall, and I was ripped from my thoughts.

Maybe what I actually needed right now, was some goddess damned painkillers.

After taking a dose of Med-X, the rest of the ride back to Friendship City I’d decided to be alone. I’d had the feeling that the rangers didn’t like me sitting in the missile bay, but they were all too busy with their duties to really say anything. In my head, I ran through my encounter with Filius again and again. Maybe if I hadn’t stopped to say anything, maybe if I just payed more attention. Everything came down to the fact that even though I’ve seen his past, I really have no idea who Filius is.

“Hey, we’re docking right now.” Gauge spoke up softly from the doorway. She offered a soft smile that hid the tremendous amount of pain she was in. I wanted to ignore her and leave, but if the rangers didn’t like me in here, I’d be hard pressed to think they’d let me into the forward torpedo rooms. “Before we go, you got a minute?”

“It’s all I’ve got.” I sighed and Pushed myself back up to my hooves. “Though who know’s how much time we’ve got left because I failed.”

“I wanted to say thanks.” She spoke in a harsh tone. It was so much so, that it caught me off guard. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head in anger “But here I find you sitting there like all that was for nothing!” She glared at me. “My dad didn’t die for nothing, okay? You did what you could. We all did.”

“Gauge?” Her brother called out from behind her. “You shouldn’t be walking around on your own.”

“I’m fine, Diesel.” She snapped at him. “Just, make sure Tasteless is taken care of first, alright?” She sighed and hobbled forward again. As she did, the whole of the submarine gave a wobble underneath us, and a slight groan came through the walls. In a near comical fashion, she wobbled and fell over onto her side. I wasn’t in the mood for laughter, and neither was she.

A short alarm bell rang out, and one of the rangers at the top of the missile ramp threw a short lever. With a hiss, the metal doors to the outer deck of the submarine opened up. The normal, dull gray of Manehattan’s skies greeted us like an old friend. The rumble of thunder was the first thing that I heard, shortly before a sharp beep came from my pipbuck.

“Hey there again, sis.” Pai spoke up even before my pipbuck shifted to pink. “I’m glad you made it back.” Frantic hoofsteps along the deck prompted me to watch as Frosty’s teary eyed face looked around the missile bay.

“My babies!” She cried out and barreled down towards them. Gauge had barely had enough time to get back to her hooves before she was embraced in a tight hug. Diesel sighed and joined them in a hug. “I’m so sorry. I... ” She cried out into their necks.

Without a word, I left them.

Trotting up onto the deck, the quiet city greeted me as it always had. The dark skyline filled the air with a slight drone and the wind howled its way through the decrepit and crumbling skyscrapers. Even though it hadn’t been worth the cost, it was good to be back in the familiar city.

Crossing the crude gangplank that had been laid across to the prewar submersible, I made my way across the base of the city. Lost in thought, I didn’t notice that somehow, Predious had caught up with me. Silently, he followed alongside me. Just like I had before I left, I found the bench at the edge of the little island and sat down. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and popped one in my muzzle. Grabbing my lighter next, I gave it a flick, and lit up the relaxing carcinogen.

Pred sat down with me, giving me a glance and waiting for me to finish my drag.

“You know,” Damnit, Pred. This was supposed to be my thinking time. “I knew that we wouldn’t get him. I mean, there had to be something past this, and we’ve been reacting to every move he made.”

“Well I’m not fucking Madam Storm, psychic extraordinaire.” I kept my eyes scanning the dark shores across the water. If only I had been psychic, Fruit, Sky, maybe even Pallet would still be alive. Why couldn’t I have inherited Aunt Pinkie’s oddness without the drug addiction that it came with?

“We need to start moving proactively. To get a step ahead of him.” Pred stated the obvious like it was something I paid him exorbitantly to do. “Resting isn’t something we can afford to do if we want to win this war.”

“No, Pred.” I sighed, wincing from my own injuries. “It’s something we can’t not afford.” He looked to speak up. “Tasteless is still in bad shape. Gauge needs to fix her leg to be useful at all. Shadow has no guns for his armor anymore, and Ficha…” I didn’t think anything had happened to him. “He’s still a dick.”

“I see you fail to point out your own wounds.” Way to flip your argument around again. “If you plan to lead them, you’ll need to take care of yourself as well.”

“I’m fine for now, but I won’t have time to see a doctor if we’re chasing after Filius.” I sighed, groaning as my lungs didn’t seem to like the smoke after what they’d been through. “It’ll be dark soon anyway. All I’m asking for is one night for us to get prepared. One night to rest up. Filius still needs things for his ritual, and that will take time to gather.”

“If we let the rangers scout his location, they’ll be at risk to be killed.” He paused and let it sink into my mind. “Are you alright with that knowing you might be sending them to die, instead of you?”

“Yes.” I forced myself to say it, just to end this discussion. I didn’t want to ask them to risk their lives, especially right after they lost their home. “The two of us might not need that much rest, Pred, but I owe it to the others.”

“If you insist.” He sighed and stood up off the bench. I followed his gaze to the barge that ferried ponies over from the other side of the harbor. “If I may,” He asked with a curious tone, “what happened in that vault?”

“I saw into the heart of darkness.” I sighed. “Let’s go get the others. We have to make good time to the tower if we want any rest whatsoever.”

I sat by myself in the bar of Tenpony Tower, sitting with an untouched glass of whiskey as my only company. The trip back had been fairly simple. The attack at their base had forced the Rangers to evacuate along the common routes used to get through manehatten. The raiders, gangers, and normal monsters you’d find, were all cleared out. It left the dark city feeling oddly calm, and it just made me feel lonely.

From the moment we walked in, everypony knew what they had to do. Shadow went with Ficha to secure some more supplies for us to use, as well as something he could use as a replacement weapon. Gauge and her family helped to take Tasteless up to the doctor. Going with them, Predious had brought Skyline’s body back, wrapped in a stained linen sheet. I knew that Harmony and her brother would want to bury her with their family.

I also had someplace to be, but instead, I was avoiding it.

An elderly stallion grunted as he pulled out the stool beside me. He sat down weakly, the tattered and worn yellow robes he wore almost clinging to his body. For just a moment, I thought he was Filius, and my blood froze. My heart rate climbed, and I could feel my muscles ready to act.

“May I join you?” He asked in a voice that definitely wasn’t Filius’s. A soft smile pulled across his muzzle, and he turned to look at me. Kind blue eyes looked over me as he sat there. His scraggly white beard was more bleached than his faded coat, and almost reached over to me from his chin. My heart still thumped, but I did my best to relax. I’d really let Filius get to me, now jumping at every old stallion I met. I really needed to focus on getting some rest.

“Nopony’s stopping you.” I grumbled as I laid my head down on the bartop.

“Is something the matter, miss?” He asked with absolutely no regard for the peace and quiet I’d come in here for.

“A madpony is trying to take over the wasteland, and no matter what I do, I can’t seem to stop him.” I don’t even know why I cared to tell him. Maybe it was just because I’d said it so many times now in my head, that I wasn’t sure if it was real until I said it. “Maybe I’m not good enough.”

“You have done much more than me, and that’s a start.” He gave out a wheezing laugh that turning into sharp, hacking coughs. “Is that not a start?” I turned to ask why this stallion had taken an interest in me, but when I turned to the stool, it was empty.

“I am sorry, but I must be going.” He spoke from the door, already halfway out of it without having made a sound to get there. “We shall meet again soon, but I fear it shall be under dire circumstances and on familiar ground.” He slipped out the door, leaving on that cryptic note.

He was no normal stallion, he had to be involved with Filius some how! Galloping, I ran to the doors and slammed them open with a grunt. The tower ponies let out a gasp of surprise as I burst into the hallway. With a wide gaze, I looked up and down the hall for the robed pony, but he had simply vanished.

“Hey.” Pred’s voice came out of nowhere into my ear. I jumped at the surprising encounter, and spun around to find his uneasy look placed upon me. “Appologies, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Yeah?” I smacked him hard on the horn. “Then maybe you shouldn’t sneak up on ponies!”

“Okay, I will try to remember that for next time.” He winced as he rubbed at his horn. “I came to ask if you’d…”

“No.” I cut him off while I turned back toward the bar. “I just needed some time to think first.” I was kidding myself with that, of course. All I’d manage to do was spend ten bits on a drink that I simply stared at for twenty minutes.

“Here, we’ll go together.” He smiled at me and pointed his hoof toward the lobby elevators.

“Fine.” I gave up with a grumble. “I just, don’t know how I’m supposed to tell Longbow what happened.” I looked to Pred as we walked. “How can I tell her I failed to do any good for as hard as we tried?”

With a ding, the elevator ahead opened up, and we both stepped inside. The old wooden paneling in it had seen better days, and the musty smelling carpet did no favors for the place. Still, these things were merely distracting me from Pred’s silence. As we neared Longbow’s floor, he smiled and hooked his forehoof around my neck.

“Simple. You don’t.” He spoke as the elevator chimed. “I’ll talk to her.”

“But…” I tried to object, but found his hoof pressed against my muzzle.

“You were right, you all need rest.” He smiled and stepped backwards out of the elevator. “Let me do this for you. You just need to get away from things, to see them from another perspective.” His horn glowed as he hit a button for a higher floor. “I’ll see you when I’m finished.”

With another chime, the elevator doors shut, and I started to ascend again. I’d never been as high in the tower as he’d sent the elevator. Maybe he was right though, that I needed to change up how I thought about things. Could it just be that I’m still treating this as if I were Storm Rider the bounty hunter? Did it really make a difference?

As the elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors opened, I was met with a wide open room. Much like the room we’d been given at the resort, the room lead out to a wide balcony that overlooked quite a few of the shorter ruins of the city. I sighed as now he might have meant that I needed a literal new perspective.

My head hurt from all the maybe’s that had been running around in it, and I shook them clear as I stepped out.

Trotting to the old railing and looking up, the sky gave a quick rumble as the thunderous storm from earlier moved over the city from the south west. Casting a glance down below, I watched as the refugee camp went about life as normal. The ponies down there, oblivious to just what was really going on out in the wastes.

With a soft flutter, the sound of four hooves coming down behind me was barely noticable. Turning around, I found Shadow standing with his wings outstretched and a smile on his face. Without his armor on, I’d forgotten just how lean he’d looked.

“What are you doing here?” Not that I didn’t want him around, it’s just that I wasn’t prepared to have the talk that I’d wanted yet. “You should be downstairs with the others.”

“You seemed like you could use some company.” He replied, walking up to me. As he reached a wingtip out to brush my mane, I pulled away from it.

“I want to be alone right now.” I sighed, turning around and propping myself on the railing again. “I have a lot of thinking to do about where to head next.”

Without even asking, he slid himself up right next to me. So close in fact, that his hoof twisted the radio knob on my pipbuck. With a crackle, it came to life.

“...well tonight, because I’m certainly doing alright.” The DJ’s voice came across as smooth as it always had. Because I generally thought it might help me think, I refrained from turning it off. “It seems that for the first time in a while, we have a special request tonight, made by somepony here in the tower for the mare he admires. Here it is, Stand By Me by Pon E. King.”

“When the night is long...and the land is dark…” With a static pop, the stallion in the song started to sing. As he did, I felt Shadow’s hoof reach under my chin and pull my attention to him.

“What are you doing…?” I started to object, but instead, I found him press his muzzle into mine in a soft kiss. My head spun from the suddenness, and my mind went blank until he pulled back from it.

“No talking, just listen.” He whispered to me, wrapping his other hoof around my back. Slowly, he rocked back and forth with the song, eventually dragging me into a warm embrace. As much as I’d wanted to be alone, this helped me to relax immensely. I felt a small smile work across my muzzle as I pressed against his warm chest.

“You know,” I spoke with my face still buried against him, “I said no more than just friends.” The music continued, and now I’d joined in with him swaying with the tempo.

“I know, but what can I say? I’m finding myself loving you more each day.” He spoke softly into my ear. No stallion had ever been as gentle, or as honest to me with his words as he’d been. “I’m hopeless, really.” He chuckled lightheartedly.

It made me laugh as well, and the moment I looked up into his eyes, it hit me. The stallion that fell from the sky, fell not just to the ground, but into my heart. He didn’t deserve to be here, and he’d lost everything in his old life. In that, we were alike, and I think that it was what drew me to him the most. Was it foolish to care for somepony who was just as broken and lost in this life as you were?

“So darlin darlin stand by me, oh stand by me. Oh stand. Stand by me. Stand by me.” The radio was something that continued to exist, but I’d lost interest in it. All that mattered in that moment, was him.

“Storm? I don’t want to live another day in the wasteland with hiding how I feel.” He smiled and pressed his nose against mine. “I want to be yours.” He pulled his hoof up and put it on my lips before I could object. “I know you think that you’re flawed, and that you’re no good for me, but you’re wrong. I see a mare who’s so much stronger than she thinks. Who’s smart enough to solve any problem, and who’s beautiful enough to have any stallion or mare that she wants.”

The kind words coming from his muzzle definitely didn’t match the mare who he held. The truth was that I was just another wasteland mare, who’d simply gotten caught up in the wrong things. I wasn’t a supersoldier, fabricated in some pre-war lab, and I wasn’t the hero mare that he’s describing.

Even so, Tasteless’s voice rattled around in my head, telling me that any moment might be the moment that Filius ends it all. As much as I wanted to press on to save the wasteland, I wasn’t just fighting for the land anymore. I was fighting for them. Ponies like Shadow were worth fighting for, and if Shadow trusted in me so much to risk my rejection, wasn’t he worth the effort on my part? How could I lie and say that I didn’t feel the same way about him?

Shifting my hooves, I wrapped my forelegs around him in a hug. “That was what I was going to say.” Slowly, I felt him wrap his legs around my sides and pull close as well. “I wanted to say that I feel the same way.”

“You, you do?” He stammered with a laugh. I let go of him to see tears rolling down his cheeks. The smile he gave was one so filled with pride, that I’d never seen one like it even from Aunty Pinkie. “I… I love you, Stor…”

I dove at him, wrapping my hooves around him as I pressed myself into a long, much awaited kiss. It was like I was starving, and somepony had just placed a juicy apple in front of me. The weight of loneliness lifted from me, and I wanted to indulge myself with him in the passions of the moment. I felt a happiness in his hooves more genuine than I ever had, and I couldn’t believe it.

With a gasp, I pulled myself off of him for a moment. When I did, I bumped against something stiff behind me.

“Sorry, it has a mind of it’s own.” He sighed blissfully and looked into my eyes.

“I don’t even care.” I growled and pressed against him again. This time, it was him who pulled away. The blush across my face felt brighter than the sun to me, but it felt good to just let go.

“Don’t you think we should do this somewhere more private?” He laughed as I forced myself down against his chest, nuzzling against his neck. Being with him was something I wanted, and I wouldn’t give myself the chance to screw being with him up.

“No.” I whined and nipped at him. “You got me going, and you’re going to have to deal with it, mister.”

He smiled at that, and threw his forehoof up in a salute. “You got it, Ma’am.”

“Good.” I grunted and turned to look around. Honestly, I’d say fuck off to anypony else who walked in on us, but that would imply I’d want to share in the experience. Curious to see exactly what I was getting myself into, I looked down past my flank. “Oh, there’s no way it’ll fit…” I spoke without thinking. Before, I could do anything, he answered without missing a beat.

“Just like before, you doubt that I can make it work.” He shifted his hold on me, and my head spun as I realized what we were about to do. “And there’s only one mare I’ll ever say that to.”

I was too lost in the moment to care. Like a ravenous beast, I wanted to be sated. He wanted to be mine, and I would willingly obliged again and again. All night if need be, in fact. With a whine, I pressed myself against his lips again.

I wasn’t going to get all my thoughts sorted, and nowhere near the amount of rest I could have. Even so, as the hours dragged on, we moved our ‘activities’ from the balcony, to the elevator, to the hallway, and finally into Harmony’s guest bedroom.

I couldn’t help but think that it was all so worth it.

I awoke suddenly, staring into the black void that sat before me. One by one, the colored lights of my dreams beamed down onto me. I squinted as they basked me in their light, and I raised a hoof to cover my eyes.

“Child, you are ready.”

“Ready for what?” I called out to them. “I thought I was done!”

“Ready to be who you were born to be, to fulfil your destiny.”

With that, the lights flickered out one by one. I felt as each one left my mind, somehow leaving the dark space feeling even more empty than before. The last light to leave me, was the soft yellow light that had the voice of my mother.

“Wait!” I reached my hoof out to her, not wanting to lose her again. “I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

“Return. Find the answer in the place where everything for you first began…”

Slowly, she too faded, leaving me all alone in the dark void.

At least, I thought I was alone.

“Foalish mare.” The voice of Filius echoed and reverberated in my mind, his laughter picking up into a twisted hollow voice that filled the air around me. “So this is where you have been all this time.”

“How are you in my head?” I whispered, looking around for the bastard.

“When you stepped into my mind coming down here, it allowed me a small look into yours.” He sounded so bored as he spoke. “We are linked, you and I, but only in this place.”

“Tell me what you’re planning.” I smirked and relaxed. “I’ve seen your rituals. What could you possibly hope to accomplish.”

“In due time, my dear.” He laughed out, ending in an annoyed snort. “When I looked into your thoughts before, I found the most delightfully morbid memory in there.” The blackness around me shifted, building a scene. There, sitting at my hooves in the snow, was the little filly frozen in the snow. “It seems that this 'Sunshine' city holds a place of importance in your heart.”

“You bastard!” I snapped. “Your fight is with me, not them!”

“Oh, but my fight is with them, with the whole of the wasteland in fact!” He spoke with the same oily tone that Tempest had used, and it made my blood boil. “Anywhere that ponies think they live in safety is where I wish to go. I'll deal with this city of yours in short order. Then, perhaps I will move on to this 'Tenpony' place while you're crippled trying to convince yourself this wasn't your fault.”

Shit. I needed to wake up, and now.

“So take your time, rest up with that stallion you so covet.” He giggled like a colt, building it into a maniacal laugh. “It’ll be the last chance to do so, before I rip him and everything else you love from your pathetic, pointless existence.”

I screamed out at him, half in anger, but mostly out of fear.

“No!” I whined as I groggily flung myself from the bed to the floor in panic.

“Storm?” Shadow grunted as he woke from his sleep still covered in sweat and smelling of sex. “What’s going on?”

“We have to get to Sunshine city, now.” I scrambled to get to the door. “They’re about to be wiped out!” Please goddesses, if it’s the last thing I can do, just let us make it in time to save them!