Light shimmered from above me, rippling and dancing. Most would find it fascinating, beautiful even, but not me. I hated it, I feared it, I wanted to get up and run from it. Yet I couldn’t move, my legs were unresponsive, or not there, I didn’t know. Without them I couldn’t get the leverage to pull myself up, I couldn’t even flail in panic. All I could do was hold my breath, and look up. Hoping dad would pull me out.

A shadow loomed over me, blocking the light, and just sitting there. It didn’t move, like it was fascinated by my horror. Like it was waiting for me to die.

‘I could make your fear go away, but all good things come at a price.’

I opened my mouth to respond, but water flowed into it.

‘I could make you free of it, make you a stronger you.'

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see it.

‘A secret for a secret is the deal. I shall bestow upon you what you don’t know, and in return you will seek what belongs to me.’

I didn’t care, I just wanted to be out of the water, I didn’t want to die. I’d take it, just help me.

‘Then so shall it be my little pony. Like or not the deal is struck, you will seek out a secret I desire. You are already on the path to it, a marvelous secret that could topple the civilization it had built.’

My chest burned so much, I couldn’t hold it in any more, I was going to breath water. That’s when the shadow dove in, the black mare from my dreams, her deep golden eyes looking into me, through me. With an embrace she forced her lips onto mine, and breathed life giving air into my lungs. With the air delivered, she pressed her muzzle to my ear, and whispered.

‘The knowledge and secrets to your survival will be yours, and I’ll throw in something more.’ She pushed away from me, and blended into the darkness of the water. ‘That night, when you fell into the water as a filly, how the wire in your mother’s leg snapped. It was no accident, just ask your sister.’ The water around me bubbled and vanished, and now I found myself in a black void, with no light but from mare’s golden eyes. ‘Thy name is Phobetor, and I ensure you that our partnership will be most beneficial.'

I jolted awake, trying to cough up water that was not there. Everything hurt, both inside and out, and the distinct smell of burnt… everything was in my nose. Looking around, everything was a blur, my eyes too sensitive to look at even dim light. My body convulsed, and I threw up what food I still had in my stomach, along with some blood. I could tell because of all the red that was with it, and because of the rancid metallic smell it gave off.

“OH! This one’s awake!” the voice of a mare called, sounding far too chipper for my liking right now.

“Good, give her a healing potion, we can’t wait any longer out here.” This voice was of a synthetic mare.

A vial was stuck in my mouth, and the content was forced down my throat. I was also sprayed in my face, which made it feel a little better, and helped my eyes recover.

Blinking a few times, I could see properly again. Not that I could see much with a mare right in my face. She was a purple coated mare with a medium length pink mane that was a mess. Her smile was as wide as a pony could physically manage, possibly a little bigger.

“Oh plusgood, you’re awake! I had thought you were going to unlive.” She pulled out a rag, and wiped some of the muck off of me, before helping me up. She placed the rag back into a bag, along with the used healing potion vial and the small spray bottle. “I had to give you a bunch of chems to help you pull through, but I don’t know how it’s going to help with your pain, so does it still hurt anywhere?”

“Everything still hurts.” But the pain had dulled, if only a little. Some Med-X would help a lot, along with some more healing potions. “But I’ll be just fine.”

She smiled. “Good, it would have ungood if you had not woken up. Reaver Blaster Beam said we have to leave soon. If anypony has not gotten up, we have to leave them behind.”

“Wait, Blaster Beam is here?” I looked around, and my eyes were rewarded with finding that I was face to face with the mare.

“Yes, I’m here.” She said with her synthetic voice. “Now I need you to pack up and get moving, our ride won’t wait forever.” She backed off, and pointed to a pair of saddle bags. “You can get yourself cleaned up once we’re on board.” The reaver trotted off to another pony who was coughing up blood, offering the mare a small amount of healing potion.

I was baffled for a few seconds; all I could do was look around. We were all in what looked like an old recon post, from before the forest had completely took over, the plant life having long forced themselves in. But the place was secured, and the air, though foul smelling, was breathable. Equalists were packed inside the building, around twenty of them, with more than half looking like they just ran through a meat grinder, and six of them looking like they fell into one. Next to me was a pony covered in a sheet, same for the next one down the line.

Looking at myself, I still had the equalist jumpsuit on, though now dirty, blooded, and burnt. It then hit me what was going on, they had mistaken me for one of their own. Now grasping the situation, I figured that I might as well go along until I had an opportunity to get away. Lifting my right foreleg, I distinctly remember not having one before, this one looking like it was made from scrap parts. Complaining about having full mobility was probably a bad idea, so I bit my tongue and trotted over to the saddlebag. My legs gave out, and I hit the floor. I also puked again.

My head felt light, and it was hard to focus on one spot. If I didn’t know better I’d say I was drunk, but I knew it was the radiation poisoning. Getting back up, I took slow and careful steps, finally reaching the saddle bags, only stumbling a few times.

Inside the bag was a bunch of spark batteries, both older and newer variations, as well as mechanical and electrical parts. It was a heavy load, which I had trouble just getting it on my back, and even more trouble standing up with it on.

My left four leg felt off, not being as stable as it normally was. sitting down, I held my breath as I pulled back the sleeve of the jumpsuit. Minerva was gone, in it’s place was the same kind of scrap leg as I had on the right. Checking my back legs, luckily they were the same as before, so at least I knew I still had something I could rely on.

“Here’s your radaway ration!” The pineapple flavored radaway was forced into my mouth. The purple and pink mare pulled out a three small jars, and dropped out a few pills into her hoof. The levitation talisman she had must have been old, as everything she moved with the magic was slow to start, and jerky in motion. “Alright what we have here is some Rad-Safe to help fend of radiation. Some Med-Chill in pill form to dull the pain. And my plusgood choice, Rush, to help you stay awake long enough to get home free. Ungood recommended to take them together, but you look like you're going to need them.”

I looked at the pills, and sighed. I felt like shit, and was in no position to argue, so I opened my mouth. The pills didn’t go down easy, but I managed. I was fine with the Rad-Safe, but the other two from what I knew, were heavy duty medications. Med-Chill was an alternative for Med-X, refined Chill made into strong sedative, only used in small doses. Rush on the other hoof was strong stimulant originally made on the big Island. It allowing a pony to stay awake and aware for hours, if not over a day. Both started out as an inhalants, and is still used that way, but the modern powdered stuff is far stronger, with a high over dose rate. So I prayed that I didn’t just fall over and start convulsing.

“Feeling better?” the purple and pink pony asked. I was feeling a little better, as the pain started to melt away, and I no longer had trouble keeping my eyes open. So I nodded. “Good! And here, I’ll take a few batteries off of you.” Two of the spark batteries jerked out of the saddle bag, and into hers. “There, you should be ready to move out.”

Pushing up, I didn’t even feel the weight of the saddle bag, I also didn’t feel anything at all really. But I could hear the blood pulsing through my ears, which could get annoying. “Thanks, I thought I was a goner. Though I can’t for the life of me remember what happened.”

She nodded. “Ya, that was a doubleplusungood scene. You were cut up all over, and burnt. It looked like one of those ungood attackers must have hit you with a spark grenade, and thrown you into a thorn bush. If I hadn’t found you, you would have unlived.”

“So you saved…” I hacked up what seemed like a piece of my lung, I didn’t feel any pain, but the coughing was quite violent. “Saved me, thank you.” My voice raspy in a bad way, sounding like a smoke addicts.

She cringed, pulling out a vial of healing potion, which only had a minuscule amount in it. “This should help your voice.” I drank the small amount of healing potion. She looked at me, scratching her chin. “Now that I think about it, are you one of our new recruits?”

I almost shit myself, that or I already did and didn’t have any more in me. At least she gave me an out, but I knew I was not going to be able to simply play it off. So I could only hope she didn’t dig deeper. “Yes, but everything is hazy. I had my card with my right hoof, but it seems to be missing” Card, what card!?

“Oh, that’s ungood. You were missing that leg when I found you, both front legs actually. One of our comrades donated hers after… after she unlived.” The look on the mare’s face drooped, and some tears formed in her eyes. She wiped the tears away, and forced a smile. “Even if we few must sacrifice for the good of the many, it’s still sad to lose a comrade. The bed will feel much unwarm without her.”

It was too much sad information then what I wanted to hear, though I didn’t feel all that affected by it, probably do to the drug cocktail I had in me. “Sorry to hear. Was she your marefriend?”

She shook her head. “We just shared beds, and she didn’t mind my sleeping habits.” The mare straightened herself up. “But her sacrifice was not wasted, I was able to save two of our other comrades with her supplies.” She looked proud, sad, but proud. “Had to replace your jumpsuit too, it was in a ungood shape, even your clothes under it had to be thrown out. But your panties were okay, they’re adorable by the way.” I blushed a little, but was at least glad that I was not in tattered clothing.

Blaster Beam stomped on the floor, getting every ponies attention. “Alright comrades, move out, we have an hour to get to the ship, and another hour before daylight. Anypony who drags their hooves will not survive the trek, so keep your steps high, and quick. I’ll handle any of the nasty beasts out here.”

Everypony put on their gasmask, leaving me fumbling around, looking for one. The purple pink mare jammed a gas mask onto my face, and I quickly affixed the straps. With everyone ready, we all shuffled out of the cabin, following Blaster Beam.

The purple pink mare trotted alongside of me, helping me stay up when I stumbled out of the doorway. “Here, I’ll sponsor for you when we get to Valley Island, that way you don’t have to go through interrogation. My names Clarinet Reed, what’s yours?”

I opened my mouth, but caught myself before giving out my real name. Even if Blaster Beam didn’t know who I was, she might know my name. I had to think fast, and what came to me was “Chime.” Citole’s older sister. “Chime Catbell.” I could only hope nopony figured out that it was a fake name.

“Oh, what a lovely name.” Clarinet gushed. “I know we're going to get along just plusgood. I have a nice place you can stay at while you housing arrangements are sorted, one bed though, so I hope you don’t mind cuddling up.”

Clarinet was hard to read, both bubbly happy, and stoically sad at the same time, I didn’t know if I wanted to hug her, or be hugged by her. Truthfully I didn’t know what to think right now, I was glad to be alive, but it was a bittersweet feeling. I had failed in every way possible, and now was marching to what might be the heart of the equalists. Clarinet was both my savior, and probably my jailor, as I could tell she was not going to let me just wander off.

“So did you own any cats? I love cats.” Clarinet asked excitedly. “They’re the cutest thing ever.”

I shook my head. “My family was more into dogs.”

“Dogs are awesome too!” she was just too excitable, probably just distracting herself. In a way, she was doing a good job for me, as thinking about how I had failed was just too damned depressing, and painful.

The storm was still raging outside, so two equalists stood by the door, passing out raincoats. Most of them had seen better days, but it would be better than just getting drenched. Into the forest we went, looking back, the cabin we were using looked like one of the ones set up a hundred years back, when the forest was just starting to reclaim the islands, and the toxins in the air were thicker. Even if it was run down, it probably still had a few years left in it. Lucky break for the equalists.

The march through the forest was mostly uneventful, with the chems in my system keeping me from feeling the pain of moving around. The local wild life did pester us at a few points, but Blaster Beam made short work of them. The guns that had replaced her wings were automatic beam pistols, and her two forelegs had the equivalent to a magical energy musket built in. Small windows in her forelegs would glow red as she charged them up, and the beams would make that distinctive twang sound, tuning anything they hit into ash. What really caught me off guard was the built in flamer she had in her mouth, allowing her to breath fire. Overall, she was like a one pony beam platform, like how Theremin was a melee powerhouse.

Clarinet kept talking, though now keeping her voice low. Mostly it was about what she was doing on Pineapple island. It seemed that she was part of a group that set up a soup kitchen for the working poor, trying to get others to consider their ideology through good will. I never seen it myself, but I was told that aside from the free food, they spout anti-capitalistic propaganda almost nonstop as they pass out the food.

Then the big question came my way. “What were you doing, you know, before you joined up with us?”

I opened up my mouth, only to mumble a little before shutting it. I had to think fast, so I took a deep breath. “Most of my work… it’s on the big island… so I… only barely got by.” Vague, but I hoped that was enough.

“I see.” Clarinet looked up, as though in thought. “Haven’t been to the big island for a long time, it was an unfun place.”

I Nodded my head. “I know what you mean.”

The small talk thankfully remind light, so I wasn’t worried about getting stuck in a lie. Instead the conversation moved onto what life is like in the inner stations of the republic. From what Clarinet told me, everypony has a place to live, food to eat, and a job. It sounded nice, but from my time in Orthrus, having something for everypony never meant equality. A place to sleep could mean an old cot, or some sheets on the hard floor. Food for all could mean mass produced rations. And jobs, as my drill instructor would say, ‘We have job’s for everypony, do you want to stand guard for ten hours, or clean toilets for eight?’ so the concept of a job for everypony didn’t fill me with any hope of something dignified.

Which was fine for me, I just needed to slip away when the opportunity arises. I did think about pretending to be hurt, falling over and telling the others to forget about me. Though beaten and bruised, the equalists didn’t look stupid, and it would take just one of them to point out that I have Med-Chill in me to know I was faking. I just needed an opportunity, some place I could just slip away. Just bolting into the forest would be tempting, but I’d make a lot of noise, and from seeing Blaster Beam work, I’d not make it far. My best bet is in the metro, just find some dark corner, and sneak away when nopony is looking. Easier said than done, but these equalist troops didn’t look like a well-trained military, so it was a possibility.

Our trek went on a little while longer, stopping at a cove. Looking around, I didn’t see any kind of entrance to the metro, not even a structure from the old world. It was just a natural cove.

“Aren’t we going back to the metro?” I had to ask.

Blaster Beam laughed. “And let those bit grubbing hogs know our movements.” She lifted a leg up, pointing above the water, and fired a beam of magical energy. “We have other ways to get around.”

Nopony moved, or made a sound, the only sound was that of the rain and wind. That and a light from the water. A light that grew brighter, accompanied by the sound of an engine. The ship quickly got closer, showing no sign of slowing down.

Some of the other ponies began to panic, tripping over themselves as to get out of its way. Blaster Beam, Clarinet, and some of the others didn’t move, staying with the group. I chose not to move, trusting that they knew what was coming.

To my surprise, what I thought was a boat turned out to be a hovercraft, it hit the ground and circled around us. Some of the panicked ponies dove for cover so to avoid it. The hovercraft looked like it was made of scrap, had a thick cloth skirt along the bottom, and had two of what looked like a vertibuck propellers at the back.

The craft came to a stop, only dropping a little as the propellers slowed down. A pony looked over at us from a window, same raincoat, gasmask, and jumpsuit as everypony else. “Oy comrades, better late than never, but you're cutting it close don’t you think.” The pony opened a door, sending some steep stairs down to the ground.

First on was Blaster Beam, who then began helping others on. The same thing happened on the other side, Clarinet taking on the role to help the others, allowing us to quickly board the hovercraft. There was less room than in the building I awoke in, but everypony managed to squeeze in. The only seats were for the pilot and twelve others, six seats on either side of the hovercraft. Five others packed themselves in what was likely the cargo hold, a secure spot at the back. The three remaining without a seat were Blaster Beam, Clarinet, and me.

I had been distracted by the fact that I never even heard of this vehicle before. It looked a bit like the inside of a train, but with less space, and thicker metal. “What is this?” I couldn’t help but let the question slip from my lips.

The pilot got into her seat, and the engine revved up. Blaster Beam trotted up next to the pilot, sitting with her back to the wall, and looking at us all. “Alright, to all new recruits, this has been a true clusterfuck of a night, but this is where things change. What you are standing in here is a military transport hovercraft, called a M.T.H. for short. It uses cloud talismans to provide the hover, and high powered propellers to move it. This here beauty will help us unify the islands, allowing us to be free from Orthrus’ greedy control.”

There were a few ‘ooo’s’ and ‘ahhh’ from the other ponies. But with the rain pounding on the ceiling, I didn’t feel at ease. “Excuse me, but how does this craft keep from tipping in the storm?”

My question got a few worried mumbles from the others, but Blaster Beam stood firm. “The cloud talismans will allow us enough clearance to stay above the water. It takes more power, so our speed will be at a slower rate, but we will make it to our destination safely. We just need every pony to play their part and provide some power to the engines.” She pointed at the two groups sitting in the seats. “Attached to your seats are a magical connection cable. You can help supply this ship with extra power by simply feeding it the magic you can gather.”

The ponies in the seats did as they were told, pulling out the cable and holding it in their hooves. The hovercraft moved out, hitting the water, and shaking at first, but the movement quickly smoothed out. Much of the shaking came from the wind, but were high enough above the water that it didn’t affect us all that much.

“Hey, miss asks-a-lot-of-questions.” Blaster Beam threw a pair of binoculars to me, it was so sudden I almost dropped them. “Since you seem so lively, keep an eye out. I don’t want any of those flying doodads sneaking up on us.”

I was glad she could not see me glare at her through my gasmask.

“No, let me take care of that, she's still very much in ungood condition.” Clarinet interjected.

Blaster Beam Shook her head. “I need you to check the others. You’re the only one with medical training among us here.” Clarinet backed down. “And don’t worry, I have an extra Rad-Away for her.”

Clarinet stomped her hoof. “That Radaway was for you, just because you have a higher radiation tolerance does not mean you’re not cooking on the inside.”

The cyberpony laughed, waving her hoof at Clarinet. “I’ll be fine. You should have seen Theremin, that bastard got a bullet in his lung, and his two back legs blasted off, along with his flank. If he can survive that, I can survive a little extra radiation.”

Clarinet sighed and began taking a look at the others. I on the other hoof, trotted to one of the windows, but couldn’t find a latch to open it. Blaster Beam cleared her throat, getting my attention, and pointed to the ceiling. There was a retractable ladder with a door above it, meaning that I wasn’t going to stay in here.

The wind was worse here, with no trees to break it up, I was getting everything this storm could throw at me. I looked around, but there was simply nothing for me to see in the dark rain.

“Interesting turn of events, don’t you think.” A voice came out of nowhere, so clear that it surprised me so much that I almost dropped the binoculars. Looking around, I found a black earth pony mare lying down on the top of the hovercraft. She didn’t look wet, and her mane acted as though it was in a light breeze. The only thing not black about her was a white lab coat she had on, and her golden eyes that seem to look right through me. “Now, now, don’t do anything to embarrass yourself. I’d rather get this little chat out of the way as soon as possible.”

It was the mare that had been in my dreams, always the same, always unnerving. “Who are you?”

She laughed. “To be forgotten is such a wonderful thing. To have a secret that no others even know to look for, even if it is but a name. You can call me Phobetor, and I’ll be your ever present guide into this mad world.”

“Phobetor… right, so what do you want? Nothing's for free.”

The dark mare got up, and trotted to the other side of the hovercraft, unaffected by the wind. “A deal has been struck, and I seek my reward. A secret for a secret, I bestow onto you the knowledge you need to survive, and in return you seek out what is hidden from me.” Phobetor turned around and smiled. “I gave you the little things, like knowledge about the Republics ID’s, so that you can slip in without any suspicion falling onto you, and a few other little things. With that knowledge, you will go to the heart of the republic, and learn the secret to their power.”

I didn’t like this, not at all. But I was trapped with no way out. I know if I played nice, eventually I would have my opportunity to free myself.

Phobetor trotted up to me. “I know what you’re thinking, tricky ones like you always think the same.” Her hoof was gently placed under my chin. “Know this, if you break the deal, I will find a fate worse than death for you. Those Reavers for one, I don’t know what their plan is for you, but I’m betting you don’t want to find out first hoof.” She removed the hoof from my chin. “But if you insist on resisting, I’ll let you know this. If you do as I say, you will find your way home, very much alive, and free from the control of others. But only if you do as I say.”

I looked at her in the eyes. “And how do I know you’re not lying. Fuck, how do I know you're even real?”

Phobetor laughed even louder. “You don’t, but nor do you have the real choice to doubt me.” She turned her back on me. “It’s your faith in me, or be thrown to the wolves. You can choose, but I don’t see the point in suicide.”

She had me, I didn’t know what to do. Theremin said I was on a list, which meant they knew who I was, and actively kept tabs on me. I could fake it, but it was only a matter of time before they found me out. If what Phobetor said was true, at least I had some hope through her, even if she made my skin crawl. “Fine, I will find this secret you want, and you help me get out of this mess. That’s the deal.”

“That’s the deal, a secret for a secret.” Phobetor pointed to the right with her hoof. “You should stick with that mare, Clarinet was it, she will make good camouflage for you.” I looked to where she was pointing, and could see a dim light in the distance.

“What’s that?” I looked back at Phobetor, but she was gone. Turning back to the dim light, I looked through the binoculars. It slowly focused into view, the lights revealing themselves to be part of a large ship. Closer, I could see writing along the side. It spelled out “The Queen of Knives” in big bold letters. I could see what was likely cannons, along the side, big enough to blow us out of the water.

Dropping myself from the ladder, and back into the less wet, and warmer inside of the hovercraft, I took a deep breath as eyes fell to me. “We’ve got trouble, there's a large ship to our right, heavily armed.”

Blaster Beam trotted up to me, and took the binoculars, jumping up the ladder. She was up there for all but a few seconds before dropping back down. “Everypony hold on tight!” she quickly trotted over to the pilot. “Turn up the speed, I doubt they don’t know where here.”

The engine revved up, and the speed picked up. I could hear some of the others quietly mumbling to themselves, scared and just hoping to live through this. Suddenly the hovercraft shook violently, but didn’t stop. “Lucky break, if we didn’t pick up speed, we would be dead in the water.” The pilot called out.

I had managed to stay upright by holding onto the ladder, But Clarinet and Blaster both got knocked around in the shaking. Getting up, Blaster Beam looked at me. “You got a steady head on your shoulder there. Do you know how to handle a gun?” I just nodded. “Good, climb to the roof, were going to shoot back at this asshole.”

I didn’t argue, I just climbed up the ladder, this time stepping onto the roof of the Hovercraft. Blaster Beam followed, pointing to the front of the craft, as she went to the back. Complying, I used the railing along the side to keep myself from being knocked off the hovercraft, until I found what was likely a turret mount. The thing was in a cage that allowed 360 degree aiming, and the gun itself had a cover on it. Looking back, Blaster Beam was in another gun cage herself, pulling at the cover of the gun. This was not just a troop transport; the Hovercraft was a gunship. Pulling off the cover, I could feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach, it was as a IF-155 ‘Bad Seed’ attached to the turret mount. The hovercraft was armed with two .50 caliber LMG railguns, something that was overkill with just one.

Powering up the IF-155, I held onto it as another shell from the bigger ship landed near us, shaking the hovercraft. The pirate ship beamed lights on us, though bright, they were too far away to blind us. Our guns had a flood light attached to them as well, and in turning it on, I could see a few little specks flying off the pirate ship, and at us. Both Blaster Beam and I fired, in short bursts, as the attackers were too far away to hit with any accuracy. The pirates fired back, one shot landing near my back hooves, and ricocheting off into the storm. As the attackers got closer, I could see that they were griffins and pegasi.

We both fired another volley of steel balls at the pirates, talking down two of them, and forcing the rest to fall back. They returned fire, but the storm prevented them from properly aiming at us, and only rarely hitting the hovercraft.

The hovercraft shook again as shells landed near us, but the shots didn’t come from ‘the Queen of Knives’, but another ship we didn’t see. Shining some light on the other ship, I found another name ‘Bones of Sand’ it spelled out.

The hovercraft raced between the two pirate ships, our guns firing off to keep their troops from getting closer to us then we were comfortable with. A beam of energy cut the water next to the hovercraft, and another beam glanced off the side. A Vertabuck had positioned itself behind us. Luckily for us, we were armed with .50 caliber LMG Railguns, attached to an external power source. Blaster beam let her gun loose, and the Vertabuck quickly pulled back and away, smoke now billowing from it. A few more shells fell near us, shaking the hovercraft but nothing more. I could only guess that the shells were meant for blowing up boats, and we were in a hovercraft, unaffected by the explosions in the water.

I was able to knock a few more pirates out of the sky before they fell back, and we were too far away to give chase. The two pirate ships fired at us, but none of the shells connected. Soon the two ships were out of sight, only a quickly dimming glow to show where they were. I couldn’t help but feel that we got lucky, be it the storm, the cover of night, or that we were in a hovercraft and not a normal boat. We managed to avoided the jaws of death entirely.

Returning to the inside the Hovercraft, Blaster Beam and I were soaked. The raincoats providing us with only a small amount of protection. Blaster Beam hoofed over a packet of radaway to me, and I took it. “Good shooting out there, what did you do before joining up?”

I didn’t have to think too hard for a lie, as little bit of truth can go far. “Did a lot of work on the big island. Had to defend myself many times. Some bandits, but mostly the wildlife.”

Blaster Beam chuckled. “Well It’s good to have you in the family, we can always use more defenders in our ranks.” She shook off some of the water on her, much like a dog. “But fuck, who were those assholes. First vertibucks, and now, what… warships?”

I sighed, “Not only that, but griffins two.”

“WHAAAT!” Clarinet gasped. “You mean those bird-cat things from the cartoons! You saw one, a real one!?”

“Well, I think I did.” I know I did. “It didn’t look like a Pegasus.”

“I think that’s the least of our problems.” Blaster Beam slumped down onto the ground. “Whoever they are, they have vertibucks, warships, and what looks like a lot of troops to throw out. The general is going flip her shit over this. So much for unifying the islands when they’re around.”

Clarinet trotted up to Blaster Beam. “Oh don’t be that way, and this might be a good thing. If these big meanies threaten the metro, we just need to answer the call, and send them back to wherever they came from. If the ponies of the metro see that we’re there for them, they will see that we're right.”

Blaster Beam laughed. “That sounds like a good idea, I’ll run it by… by… the general.” The cyber mare collapsed onto the floor, Clarinet there to keep her head from hitting the floor.

“Oh no, she’s really burning up. Why didn’t you take the radaway like I told you!” Clarinet emptied her bag, but it didn’t have anything that would help with radiation sickness. “Please, just hold on.”

Nopony had anything to help. We were all out of any medical chems, other than ones for combat, which would likely make her condition worse. All we could do was give Blaster Beam some space, and hope she doesn’t take in more radiation before we get to our destination.

The rest of us took turns providing extra power to the engines, though the small amount of magical energy wouldn’t be enough to power the engine long enough to get to our destination, it did help provide it with the extra power to push through the storm. The hovercraft had the ability to get us where we were going, but without the power, it would have taken us twice as long.

After some time, the pilot let everyone know we were about to hit land. It only felt like a little bump, but the scenery through the window changed from a gray squall, to that of green. We didn’t stop, continuing down what I guessed was a road constructed by the Republic, the tall trees bearing over us, and probably hiding the road itself.

The ride was much smoother than when we were over the water, with the wind now being weakened by the surrounding forest. I could only guess that we had gone deep into the island, as we entered what was the ruins of a long dead city, and soon after, inside a large building.

The hovercraft slowly came to a stop, and looking out the window, there was a crew waiting for us. Clarinet and I both opened the doors on the side of the Hovercraft, and began helping every pony out. Last, we both helped hold Blaster Beam up as we exited the hovercraft, and a medical team took over as soon as our hooves were on the ground.

“So feeling any better?” Clarinet asked me cheerfully.

I paused for a moment. I was still wide awake, and numb. “I don’t know, maybe, I’ll find out when this medication wears off.”

Clarinet laughed, and leaned against me. “Well that’s better than ungood. Just let me know when you need more.”

I shook my head. “It’s best if I let it where off, last thing I need is an addiction.”

“Lucky you.” Clarinet became limp, forcing me to hold her up.

“Hey” I let her slide onto the ground, keeping her head from just dropping. “This is not the place to sleep.”

A medical pony came over and took Clarinet off my hooves, and another came to me, leading me to where some of the others were. We all entered a sealed enclosure, allowing us to take our masks off. It was for a medical checkup, the medical ponies checking our eyes, tongue, and blood. Seeing if we were safe to re-enter the population. With most of the islands vaccinated for most known pathogens, checkups were less common now, but some places still do it for the extra security.

After a half hour, I was cleared to move onto the next room. This time it was a security checkpoint, as everypony was hoofing over their ID’s, along with another card. Patting myself down, I was missing everything I owned, so all I could do was sigh.

“You there!” one of the security ponies called out to me. “Why have you not presented your papers?”

I took a deep breath and opened up my forelegs as I slowly exhaled. “They got lost in the chaos.”

The security pony didn’t look happy with my reply, and motioned with her hoof to another pony. “Then we're going to have to take you into custody.” This was exactly not what I wanted, but not something I couldn’t resist. “Do you comply”

“Yes, yes. I’ve had a long day, so please just give me a minute.”

The security pony squinted at me. “You got quite the mouth on you.” She levitated a baton up. “You should learn to shut it.”

I rolled my eyes. “I said I’m complying, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Sighing, I trotted up to the mare. “Listen, I know you have a job to do…”

The bitch stuck the baton in my mouth. “No you listen here, I say comply, and you respond with yes ma’am. You don’t look me in the eyes, swish your tail, or smack your lips. You do as I say, and nothing more. Do you comply?” she didn’t remove the baton.

I wanted to knock the thing away from me, and give her face a close greeting with my hoof. I backed up, but she just pushed, keeping the baton in my mouth, a grin on her face. I was really not in the mood for this shit, and glared at her.

“What did I say about looking me in the eyes.” She pulled the baton out, and hit me in the face.

I was still numb all over from the Med-Chill, so I didn’t even flinch. “As I was saying, you have a job to do, so sooner we get this over with, the less trouble you’re going to have with Blaster Beam.”

The security mare looked shocked, but soon started laughing. “Me in trouble with that freak. I’m so terrified.” She turned around and whipped her tail at me. “Come this way.”

Unsurprisingly I entered an interrogation room, the solid gray walls only accented by a mirror on one side, and a metal table in the middle. It was like out of the old detective comics, even having a lamp to shine in my face.

Another security mare took over the interrogation, predictably aiming the lamp so that the light was directed right at me. “Now we're going to ask you a few questions, and you’re going to answer. You understand.”

“Yes.” I raised a hoof to block the annoyingly bright lamp. “Is this necessary?”

“Is, this, necessary?” The mare chuckled. “You’re the only one to come without papers, or ID. We had reports of spies among your group, and everypony checks out but you. So yes, this is necessary!”

I suddenly felt strange, my head dizzy. Another pony trotted out from behind me, in medical attire. She was holding a few empty syringes with her levitation. “What did you do?”

The security mare lowered the lamp. “Just something to help you relax, and be more compliant. Memory extraction is a delicate art, and we can’t have you making fake memories on us as we sift through them.” The security mare pulled out a strange helmet from under the table. “So we're going to ask a few questions, and you’re going to tell us everything.” The medical pony lifted up the helmet and brought it over to me.

I felt well and truly fucked. Between the room starting to spin, and the feeling of weightlessness, I almost didn’t see the mare standing on the table.

“How barbaric.” Phobetor said, as she held my head in place. “Trying to steal what is mine. And in such a forceful manner. Not even a care to the damage that could be done in the process. They might as well try to steal a dragon’s horde by blowing up the mountain.”

“What…?” I felt numb and sick all at the same time. “is…” other than Phobetor, everything was spinning. “going…” The room itself looked like it was melting away, or flaking away. “...on.”

Phobetor smiled. “Don’t worry, this will be over soon.”

I was in some sort of void, everything was dark, and I was floating.

“Now, tell me, who are you?” The voice of the security pony echoed throughout my head.

Images popped up all around me, they looked familiar at first, but were all blurry beyond recognition. One image came in clear, it was of me and Clarinet. “Chime Catbell” the image spoke.

“Who are you” the security mare's voice was a little more forceful.

The other images shook, but didn’t become any clearer.

“WHO ARE YOU!” her voice made everything shake.

The images didn’t budge, but this time one of them warped, Phobetor seeped out like a black puss. She turned around, and tapped the image. It warped again, this time becoming clearer. It showed me as a filly, alone, in the dark. “Mommy! Where are you?” the image called out in a squeaky voice.

Phobetor seeped back into the image, becoming part of it. “I’m here Chime, just follow momma.” She took on the look of a scrapper, and the filly version of me hauling scrap metal. “Don’t fall behind or the rad-roaches will get you.”

The image began to repeat, without the sound. Next to it another image came into view, Phobetor jumping from the image she was in, and into the new one. It depicted me much older, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Hanging outside the lucky rabbit’s foot, dressed in what was a mock bunny mare one piece. I had a bad feeling about this, but couldn’t even turn my head. “CHIME CATBELL! I thought I raised you better!” It was Phobetor again. “Come home right now!”

The mock me looked away. “If I don’t do this, we're just going to be right back at Charon’s Stop.” Chime snorted at Phobetor. “And what about you, you’re not doing anything different. At least I can get a better price.”

The image slowed down and began to repeat itself. I didn’t like where it was going, but whatever Phobetor was, she weaved in and out of this memory scape quite easily. I just didn’t like the idea of pretending that I whored myself out in my youth.

“Why are you here?” the sultry mare's voice once more bounced into my head.

Phobetor jumped out of the image, as it faded away, and a bunch of blurrier images replaced them. The black mare touched one of them, and it warped. The scene was once more in the dark, but I could see some scenery, familiar scenery. It was the bandit camp that I met Merit outside of. Chime was pulling a dead bandit into the shadows, the pony's head half missing. Striping the pony of her cloths, Chime disguise herself as one of the bandits, and nervously trotted into the camp.

The bandits didn’t pay her much mind as she made her way through. Her destination was the prisoner cage. Phobetor seeped into it, and appeared in the cage, looking beaten and bruised. Chime got up close to the cage, and whispered. “mom, I’m going to get you out of here.”

Phobetor weakly sat up. “Chime, what are you doing here, you must leave.”

“No, I’m going to get you out, no buts about it.” Chime pulled out a screwdriver and a bobby pin, but dropped them when Phobetor moved into the light.

Her back half was burnt, the legs missing much of its mass. “I had a nasty run-in with some twittermight’s before the bandits found me. I think they're hoping I’m worth a ransom, that’s why I’m still alive.” She weakly trotted up to the cages bars. “Now go, I’m dead already.”

Chime backed away, shaking her head. “I hate you.” And with tears in her eyes, she ran off, surprising some of the bandits, but not raising any alarms.

The image came to its end, and Phobetor jumped from it, to another. It opened up outside of the Lucky Rabbit’s foot, Chime drunk on the floor. “You don’t look so good.” A mare said, looking down at Chime.

“Well I feel like shit, so I must look like shit.” Chime responded.

The mare smiled. “Why don’t you come with me, I can help you feel better.”

Chime grunted. “I’m not some two-bit whore.”

She giggled. “How about ten bits and a drink?”

Chime paused for a moment, and got up off the ground. “Fuck it, I got nothing better to do.”

The image came to an end, and Phobetor jumped to the next one. Chime was in bed with the mare, her face buried in the mare’s chest, and crying. The mare patted her on the back. “If you hate your life so much, you could always start a new one.” The mare spoke. “The republic is open to everypony. You can just throw this life away, and start one with them.”

“I…” Chime sniffled. “I don’t know; how can it change anything?”

She giggled. “First off, you’ll be joining one big family. Second, you can be with me, and teach me that trick you did.” She pulled Chimes head up, and gave her a kiss.

Chime smiled. “I think I might like that.”

The image came to an end, and Phobetor seeped out, trotting over to me.

“Now tell me where you got those cyber legs?” once more the words of the security mare forced images to pop up in my mind, but as soon as they appeared, everything went white.

“What’s going on, who gave you authorization to use the memory extractor?” it was the voice of a mare, squeaky in tone.

The security mare almost flat on the wall, saluting. “Captain!”

I wobbled my head over to the side to take a look, only seeing what looked a looked like a filly. Small for a pony, but definitely a full grown mare.

“So, who was it.” The mare jumped up onto the table, her coat was teal, and mane bronze. Her green fatigues showing little sign of a rank. “I know I didn’t”

The security mare looked away, and the medical mare cowered.

“Thought so. And what useful information did you get from this recruit?”

The security mare gulped. “She has an earth pony mother that worked as a scrapper, and joined up with us after she died. The pony who recruited her looks like one of the ponies who died on Pineapple Island.”

“Anything else” The Captain asked, and the security mare shook her head. “Such a waste of time.” She did an about face, tuning in a flash. “Now you… you don’t look good.” She got up closer. “How many chems did this idiot put into you?”

I had to wait for a moment for the room to stop spinning so much. “I have... Rad-Safe, and… Med-Chill… Rush… and, whatever they put into me… can you stop wobbling, you’re starting to look like jelly.” I had to shake off the dizziness.

The mare face hoofed. “Fucking seriously, you two drugged up a drugged up mare… I don’t even know where to begin. Your job was simply to detain suspected spies, not press them for information.” She put a hoof to her mouth and whistled, and a another pony came trotting in. “Go take that mare to medical for detox, she’s going to have a rough withdraw soon.”

The new pony tried to lead me out, but I couldn’t get my footing right, and just tripped over myself. Luckily another pony brought a wheelchair over, and soon I was being pushed to medical. It didn’t feel like I was drunk or high, I was simply numb, and very aware. The problem I was having felt strange, I had a hard time keeping myself straight, as though I was lacking the ability to move my legs and neck, but I felt entirely calm, relaxed even. It was strange, even when things would begin to spin, they’d quickly pass, and I remained calm.

Medical was what I expected it to be, sterile, white, and smelling of blood. It wasn’t a big room, so it looked crowded with all the beds hidden behind curtains.

“Who’s this?” A medical pony walked up to me, her white scrubs covered in blood.

The pony that was pushing me stepped to the side of me. “Security got overzealous in their hunt for spies, and this mare got truth serum injected into her.”

“I see.” The medical mare looked at me closer, her glasses had two specks of blood on it, on the right side. “Dilated pupils, Short and fast breathing.” She pulled up her stethoscope plugging it in her ears, and placing it on my chest. “Irregular heartbeat that’s too rapid.” A little metal stick was pulled out of her pocket, and she used it to open my mouth. “Dry mouth, with some foam forming.” Last she put her head to mine. “And she is heating up. This is not something that stupid truth serum can do, what else is in her?”

“Med-Chill, and Rush.” The other pony spoke quickly.

She face hoofed. “Of all the fucked up chems to have in her system. What’s her name?”

“Chime Catbell”

The medical mare trotted behind me. “Okay, your job’s done here, I’ll take care of the rest.”

I was pushed over to a bed, and helped onto it. On the next bed over was where Clarinet was sleeping, and on the other side of the room was Blaster Beam. The medical mare pushed a machine over to my bed, and a IV stand. A needle was inserted into my neck, it attached to the IV, and the IV was attached to the machine. “Alright miss Catbell, this will start flushing your system of the chems. I’m going to put you under so to prevent you from panicking when the chems wear off, and hurting yourself. Do you understand?” I nodded. “Good, now just close your eyes and count backwards from ten.”

Ten. I felt nothing, everything was muted and gray.

Nine. Color appeared in my vision, feeling warm and inviting.

Eight. The colors formed ponies, dancing in a ring, with soft music.

Seven. The ponies became more defined, having fancy dresses, suits and masks. The music was of the classical variety, that the ponies were dancing the waltz.

Six. Stepping into the crowed, I could see that they were dancing around something, giggling and laughing.

Five. Pushing through I saw what it was… Rototom, on the floor, blood pooling under her.

Four. The warmth became heat, giggles became screams, and the music tuned into the sound of fighting.

Three. Looking around, all the ponies were on the ground, dead, brutally shredded. So much blood surrounded me it was the only color I could see.

Two. One of the dead ponies got up, and looked at me. then another, and another. All their eyes a sickly green.

One. Rototom got up, a gash in her neck still pouring blood. She stepped towards me, and I could not move. “It’s fine sis, It’s fine.” She hugged me, and whispered in my ear. “I never wanted to hurt you.” Rototom let me go, and I fell, the dance floor above me quickly becoming nothing but a speck. It felt like I hit water, but it felt wrong. Looking around, I couldn’t see anything, nothing but two large golden orbs. No not orbs, eyes, and they were staring at me.

Whatever it was, it was big, bigger than any monster I had ever seen. It opened its mouth, showing me rows of dagger like teeth. I began to be pulled toward it, and unable to move, I helplessly watched as I moved closer to its mouth. With a snap It closed its maw around me, and everything became truly dark.

Footnote

New Quest: The Magic of Equality is not Friendship.