I couldn’t move.

No matter how much I tried, my legs refused to listen. It felt like my whole body had rebelled, freezing me in place as Jynx strolled closer to me. Even my eyes refused to turn to focus on her odd fuzziness as she approached. What the hell did she do to me?

“What did I do to you? I’m sacrificing everything I have to give us this moment.” The anger she held made her voice echo through my mind more than usual. “A question for you, my dear Night, why do I still exist?”

Why the fuck would I know that? It’s not like I asked for her to be here! If she wanted answers, then maybe she should have made her home in the mind of a zebra.

“You misunderstand,” She let out a short lived laugh as I felt her hoof caress under my chin, “You realize that curses like me were made for a purpose. We were meant to persist, but we do have a weakness. My kind was created to wear away at our hosts very will to live, to make them suffer. But even with the odds shifting away from them, there are some wills that can never be broken. Instead, they adapt. And normally that spells the end of things for my kind. We realize we’ve lost the fight and… poof.”

So what, I just needed to keep up my will to fight and she’d disappear? Sure that hadn’t been easy, but given the alternative, how could I have given in? Knowing this, why was she explaining it to me now? Just what the hell was she trying to pull with this stunt of hers?

“Again, you don’t really get it, do you, Night?” She let out another aggravated laugh. “Pure willpower is irrelevant. We were imbued to make the lives of soldiers a living nightmare even after they left the battlefield.” She stepped out in front of me again, placing herself at the right distance so my eyes could focus on her. Her whole form was hazy, almost gaseous and crumbling away in an ethereal wind. “You see, Night, curses like me weren’t supposed to ever resolve because our hosts couldn’t live with being the pony they’d become in the war. They couldn’t rest or relax after the horrors they’d seen. And yet…”

I think I understand now what Madam Mystic had meant by finding the home which I know was mine. I’ve accepted this as my life, that this was just how things would be for me. And now that I had, Jynx was about to disappear forever. Her question wasn’t why was she here, it was why was she still here when I’d won. I didn’t have an answer for that, but maybe if she was about to poof away forever, that was an answer I didn’t need.

“Actually, the answer is simple. Somewhere deep down, part of you doesn’t want me to go.” A sly smile pulled across her lips as she brought her hoof up and brushed it through her fading copy of my mane. “And I’m not gone yet. Thanks to that sliver of you, I’m still powerful enough to keep you held here in this single moment for now.” She narrowed her green eyes on me and widened her oily grin. “You see, you have a choice to make. Either you can give in to your fears and wash me away forever. Or… you can listen to that one, rational sliver of yourself, and keep me around.”

I wanted to deadpan at her. No, more than that, I wanted to straight up buck her to the moon for wasting my time like this. What mercy did she deserve after what she’s done to me and my friends? What sort of idiot would choose to keep her around?

“More like what fool would throw away a tool as useful as me?” A mirthful laugh pushed its way out from her muzzle that sent a chill down my spine. “Think of us, working together to change the odds in every fight. Why, without me, something… unfortunate could happen to Happy, Hispano, or perhaps even Buck.”

Okay, that’s where I draw the line. No one, no curse gets to threaten my friends, and that was a threat. Sure she could help, but she’s the only reason they’ve been in danger in the first place.

“Night, we both know that’s a lie. I’m not the one who decides to help the less-than-fortunate out there.” She shook her head as she sat down and used her forehooves to cover her heart. “I’m not the one who brings his family into rooms full of ponies whose intent is solely to destroy every shred of happiness in your life.” She held her eyes on me as she looked at me expectantly. “Really, I’ve only ever worked with what opportunities you give me. And if I were let’s say, well motivated to help rather than to harm…?”

No. Every fiber of my being said that she would never hold up her end of things. She’s a curse meant to make me suffer, so it would be a mistake to trust her. I’d be better off taking my chances without her.

With that thought, the whispyness around her accelerated. She let out a pained scream as parts of her hooves and tail were torn apart and carried off in the ethereal wind. She was running out of time, and she knew it.

“Heh, you are a stubborn one, Night.” Jynx forced out a pained laugh as she tried to stand on her slowly dissolving legs. “But who do you think will win the fight you’re getting into? Some Enclave kid with a few months of wasteland experience, or the psychotic soldier who’s list of kills include entire towns? Why not let me help even the fight? Nudge a bullet here, an unexpected sheering updraft there, and she wouldn’t last a minute against you and Hispano.”

No, she didn’t get it. Sure, Blue Bolt was more experienced, but she was alone. I trusted and believed in the abilities of my friends and my family to bring her down. And I didn’t need some mare in the back of my head pulling strings to help me.

“Okay… you drive a hard bargain.” She whimpered as the vaporization of her body accelerated. I watched as her version of my wings and flank started to dissolve into nothing but ashen particles as well. “I can deliver Solomon to you.”

With that single word, I could feel as she put a crack in the foundation of my mind. It was a shock like when you bite down on something hard, or when you prick your hoof on something sharp, but it doesn’t bleed. It was unnerving enough to realize something dangerous was there pushing against you, but your curiosity tempts you by saying ‘what if it actually can’t hurt you’?

“Yes, I know you feel it. I can help with him, Night.” No, we could do it ourselves. “Can you really, though? Solomon is better connected, and better equipped to fight you than you think.” She was pleading with me now, desperate. But… was she right? “Yes. I can help even that fight. Solomon, Rook, Xeno, I can deliver them all on a silver platter right to you!”

This should be an easy choice! There’s no guarantee, besides… I’ve never seen her this desperate before. She’s disappearing, I’ve won. So why was I hesitating now?

I could feel it, that one sliver of myself I had refused to pay attention to had finally won out.

What if I did need her? Could I really be okay with losing Happy, or Hispano, or Buck when I didn’t have to? Who then gave me the right to sign their lives away if we underestimate Solomon again? Could I really turn down the chance to save them when it came down to it?

“I’m... running out of time, Night.” She held back another pained scream as her entire back half unraveled. “I arranged this meeting to talk, to give you a moment to think about this decision.” All that was left of her was her chest, neck, and head. “But once I’m gone, you’ll lose my abilities forever. You’ll lose a perfectly good edge against Solomon.”

She was right, she was an edge. Something that Solomon couldn’t anticipate or fight against. But she also had the power to hurt everyone I cared about, and that alone almost made it a risk not worth taking.

“But it is worth it, let me prove it!” She whined as her chest evaporated like threads being plucked apart. “Do we have a deal?”

If only I had more time to think about it, to negotiate.

But… then again, I know who I am, and that’s her weakness. If I agreed, then she’d have to know I held this power over her. Looking into her frightened eyes, I knew that she understood what would happen if she decided to take advantage of my trust. And if she did? She wouldn’t make it two thoughts before I erased her from existence.

Fine, I accept.

There was a flash of magic, and in an instant, Jynx returned to her fully formed, normal copy of myself. She took a few gasping deep breaths as she all but collapsed onto the floor, but ended them with a cackling laugh. It sent a twisting feeling through my gut like I’d made yet another mistake, but I forced it back.

“Oh, thank you, Night.” She laughed as she pulled herself up to her hooves. “And believe me, you won’t regret this.” Slowly she raised her fearless, determined eyes. “For now however, I have a fight to win for you.”

With a snap, the world returned to it’s normal speed. I had to fight against my body as my momentum of hobble-galloping toward the roundhouse door was returned to me. I followed Hispano straight out into the snow as we both spread our wings out.

Along with the lights of the settlement, the moon radiated a soft light across the snow. It made it easy to see the fact that crowds of settlers were making their way over to see what all the commotion had been about. Given the fact that little miss Enclave badass didn’t care about collateral damage, we needed to move the fight outside of the settlement itself.

But as I looked to the sky, I realized we had a problem. The brightness down here made it nearly impossible to see where Blue Bolt had flown off to, or even if she was diving on us right at this very moment. Hispano and I were basically going to have to go in blind and hope for the best.

Or maybe not…

“Eliza,” I called out as Hispano and I flapped hard, taking flight., “I need to know if you can track Sargent Blue Bolt!”

“I am unsure of who that is.” Eliza’s mare popped up in my vision with a large question mark floating above her head. “Can you elaborate?”

“She’s the pony we’re after!” I spat out as I flapped hard. The gravity talisman on my back buzzed as it worked overtime to help get me up into the air. “She’s the only other damn pegasus in the air here!”

“One moment…” Eliza’s mare popped away before the flight display in my vision updated with a set of concentric green rings that looked like a crosshair set inside a compass. “I’ve linked your augment with the airborne proximity radar of the Arcturus.” There was a green Triangle next to me approximately where Hispano was, as well as a red diamond at the ten o’ clock position near the farthest ring. “It should be displaying the relative positions of Hispano, as well as the other Pegasus.”

“What direction are we heading, Night?” Hispano called out as he fumbled with securing his flight cap.

I pointed toward where the red diamond was as we continued to climb. The air was much colder than I’d expected for night time here, and after the short climb we’d had, a frigid wind swept down from above us. It forced Hispano and I away from the mountains themselves, pushing us out into the open air. While it gave us a path to dive toward if we needed to, I didn’t like the idea of that being our only escape for the moment.

“I don’t like this, Night.” Hispano called out to me as he kept his head on a swivel. “With that moonlight, if she’s above us we’re going to stick out against the snow and the settlement.”

“Yeah,” I panted as I pushed myself to keep flapping. “So keep climbing.” Altitude was life here, and I intended to have every second of it I could. My augment flickered as a small red diamond popped into nearly the center of my vision. It was moving slightly above us, but it was growing larger. “Shit, split now!”

A green bolt struck out from the red diamond as Hispano and I closed our wings and dove in opposite directions. The sound of the plasma discharge sizzling past us made my heart race as I rolled. Like normal, I built up speed quickly in my dive. Flaring my wings, I torqued them to pull up, and felt as my flight pack helped to turn me towards the sky again.

Blue Bolt let out a mad cackle as she let me know she was hot on my hocks. Close enough in fact that I could hear her plasma rifle charge up another shot. Fuck, I needed her off my tail!

Torquing my wings opposite directions, I spun myself to the side before trying to peel off to the right. Her rifle discharged and sent the bolt sizzling off into the cold air. As soon as I heard it, I leveled out again and pushed myself into a shallow dive.

Looking at the display on my vision, it showed her diamond trailing just behind me, and Hispano’s indicator just ahead. I leveled out having gained a bit of speed and did my best to fly straight. Hispano’s indicator came at me fast, and I only caught a momentary glance of her ahead before the flashes from Suiza forced me to look away.

The Sarge had anticipated the attack and pulled off as Hispano fired. A chattering burst sent red streaks through the air just above me. I made note that the Sergeant had peeled left, so I torqued and turned myself to the right again and aimed myself to turn my speed back into altitude.

The high pitched whine of the plasma charge caught me off guard. By reflex alone I snapped my wings shut and forced myself to dive. In that moment, I could feel the burning shot scraped just over my side. I let out a scream as the shot boiled a thin strip of skin, but the bulk of the bolt sailed off ahead of me.

That was a close one!

“You’re welcome.” Jynx’s jubilant voice reverberated inside my mind.

“Fuck off!” I growled as I twisted my wings and turned myself into a sharp dive. I pulled my wings in and pushed my foreleg in line ahead of me as I dove towards the snow covered mountainside above the settlement. With a glance at the display in my vision, I was happy to see the red diamond had formed back up behind me again.

Release.

My harness gave a soft snap as one of my grenades fell free. As soon as it was away, I flared out my wings again and rolled myself to the side. I pulled up hard, arching myself to follow the side of the mountain. As soon as I had, my grenade impacted the snow and went off.

The sharp blast lit up the night momentarily before it sent an obscuring cloud of snow showering outwards towards the mare hot on my tail.

Only, she wasn’t behind me anymore.

My augment showed that she hadn’t followed me all the way in. She was flying nearly perpendicular with me while holding a few meters in extra altitude. The moment I’d caught a glance at her, she torqued her own wings and began to climb again.

I pulled myself into a banking turn, moving to cut under her. The moment I had however, I only had a moment to watch as she flared her wings like an air brake and kicked her hind legs forward. As soon as I passed under her, I could hear as she flapped her wings hard and lined back up on my tail again.

Seriously, what kind of fucking bullshit maneuver was that!?

The charging of her plasma shot was short lived before Suiza’s profound reports tore through the air again. I didn’t see if the shots connected, but the green bolt of plasma streaked through the air down towards the settlement. It impacted in the snow just in front of the rail shed doors, which were being hastily pushed open by a few ponies to make way for Caution Tape’s gun bristled tank to come rolling out.

A glint of blue caught my eye from below, and the dark form of a flying pegasus resolved over the moonlit snow. The sergeant was in a dive, streaking down towards the onlookers in the settlement who were watching the fight take place above them. Even from up here, I could hear her plasma gun as it charged up and fired.

She pulled up sharply, her gun letting out another shimmering bolt. One of the ponies below screamed as the bolt struck them. In the time it took to blink, they were on fire and madly rolling around in the snow.

“Hey, this was our fight!” Hispano squawked over his headset. “Oh that bitch is so dead!”

Folding my wings again, I pushed myself into a dive after her. She was still in her climb, but was swiftly reaching her apex. With a snap of my tail and few adjustments on my end, I lined up my submachine gun.

She flared her wings and pulled her head back as she kicked her legs. Like with me, she forced herself to flip over for a dive. But from where I sat, she made herself quite the target.

Fire.

My subgun chattered away it’s remaining half magazine before running dry. Without any tracers, I couldn’t be sure my aim had been at all even close. But the shots rattled the mare, and she swiftly shut her wings and did her best to dive faster.

“Hispano!” I called out to her. “I’m going to try to intercept her mid-air!” I wanted to pull off, but if I did, she might take the opportunity to line up another shot with somepony on the ground. “If I can force her down, then Suiza can make short work of her.”

“That’s the stupidest idea as you’ve ever had, Dum Dum!” Hispano called back through her headset. “So don’t fucking miss!”

I slightly closed my wings and pushed myself into an even steeper dive. The red diamond in my vision faltered as it got closer to the ground, and the Sargent flared open her wings again. Surprisingly, she’d built up more speed in her dive than I’d thought she could, and she zipped over the snow towards the railshed and Caution Tape’s tank still trundling out of it.

The machine guns on the tank turned and opened up, filling the air around her with twin lines of blazing shots. They weren’t particularly well aimed, and they raked dangerously close above the crowd’s heads as they began to get the idea that an active warzone wasn’t a place for an evening stroll. But the frantic fire pouring out did it’s job and forced Blue Bolt to try to get back into the air.

With as much speed as I’d built up, all I’d needed to do was correct my dive slightly. I forced my wings out as my own terrifying speed brought me up on Blue Bolt. Flaring as hard as I could, I brought my three hooves up and tried to curl myself toward her.

There was only a single moment where I could see the surprise on her face as she caught only a glimpse of me, barreling toward her like a cannonball. I felt my body compress against her, and predictably, the medical warning flashed across my vision. However, with my painkiller talisman suppressing everything wrong, I did my best to push myself away from her.

The both of us streaked over the top of Deathtrap, sailing into the interior of the railshed. A half dozen ponies had to scramble out of the way as Blue Bolt came down hard on the concrete floor. I strained myself, keeping my wings flared and forcing my flight pack to work overtime as I did my best to slow down.

When I realized I was running out of railshed however, I tucked my wings and legs in, closed my eyes, and braced for a crash landing.

However, the impact I feared, never came. Opening my eyes, I found that I was instead floating just above the concrete floor. A soft magical aura glowed around me just long enough that I could get my legs extended again. As soon as I had, it gave out, and I was dropped firmly onto the floor.

“Scheiße, that is going to hurt in the morning…” A familiar accented voice called out from the rectangular boxy tank that sat at the end of the line of tanks in the shed. “But you are safe, and that is all that matters.” Rheinmetall flashed me a smile that only lasted for a moment before his horn sputtered and smoked as his magic gave out.

“Thanks for the assist!” I called out to him as I spun around. “Okay, now to deal with this bitch.”

As I looked across the floor, I could see Blue Bolt was still laying on the concrete. She was torn up with a few bullet wounds across her body, and both her left hind and foreleg looked broken. But her angry gaze was pointed my way, though not actually at me, and instead lead my eyes to the only thing in the room that mattered. Sitting almost equidistant between us on the concrete, was her still glowing plasma rifle.

She reached out with a scream, using both her broken and her good foreleg to drag herself up onto her hooves. It was all I needed to know that even like that, she wouldn’t give up. Willing to fight to the bitter end.

I pushed myself into a hobble forward, easily making it to her rifle before she could even manage to stand up. I planted my flank down and did my best to take the rifle in my forehoof. With a brace of it’s stock against my barrel, I looked at it. While from across the roundhouse it had seemed impressive. But now that I got an up close view, the modifications on it were almost haphazardly applied. Bits of wonderglue, tape, and a few errant screws were all that held it together.

“You fuckers will pay.” Blue Bolt let out a gurgling laugh that ended halfway through as she coughed up a glob of blood. She spat it out onto the concrete as she forced herself to stand again. Her limbs protested, and both her twisted wings bled as she wobbled and fought to keep them closed against her back. “I’ll murder you, just like the rest of these lowlife dirtponies.”

“Well, from where I sit, you...” I sighed and tried to shift my grip on her rifle. However, my forehoof slipped and I almost lost my grasp on the gun. Thankfully, or rather, somewhat unexpectedly, my fetlock found the perfect place to find it’s grip again right around the hoof-trigger assembly.

The gun let out a sharp whine as the bolt of plasma sailed true and slapped Blue Bolt right across the throat.

In an instant, her head burst into flames and melted. Her body collapsed as the green plasma ate through her flesh and used it to convert itself into more of the boiling green goop. Before the capacitors in the gun could finish their whine from their recharge, all that was left of the murderous pegasus mare, was a pile of foul smelling green goop intermixed with a set of half-melted enclave armor.

I blinked a few times as I looked between the smoking pile and the rifle still held in my grasp. Part of me wanted to feel disgusted by what had just happened, but I was too dumbfounded to listen to that. I… I didn’t mean to… even though I was going to...

My mind skid to a stop as Jynx stepped around my side with her devious smile and put her muzzle to the end of the barrel. With a sharp blow, she wafted the thin line of smoke coming from it’s tip. Then with a nod and a salute, she too blew away like smoke in the cold ambient breeze that flowed into the railshed.

“What the fuck!?” The angry squawking that came from the open door to the railshed caught me off guard, and again caused me to drop Blue Bolt’s rifle.

However this time, I managed to catch it around the bulk of the receiver and not go blasting random plasma bolts around again. Looking for the source of the voice, the pair of griffon’s we’d met earlier came flying in. I’d almost expected them to be looking for a fight, but rather than paying any attention to me at all, they both landed next to the bubbling remains of Blue Bolt.

“No no no!” The girl of the pair whimpered as she closed her eyes and ground her talons against the concrete.

“It… it’s fine, Royce.” Her brother sighed and wrapped his wing around her. “We’ll find another target.”

‘It’s not fine!” She screamed and shoved her brother away. Using the force of it, she spun herself around and pointed her shotgun right at me. “What the fuck is your problem! What did we ever do to you!?”

“My problem!?” I gasped as I tried to understand just what the fuck she was going on about. “I mean, are you fucking blind?” I did my best to gesture at Blue Bolt, but failed as I instead prioritized holding onto her rifle. Ugh, this whole one hoof bullshit was getting really old! “I did what I had to!”

“Royce, that’s enough.” Her brother stepped up again and wrapped his talon around the barrel of her shotgun. With a stiff yank, he pulled it away from her, earning himself an incredulous look.

“She didn’t have to fucking melt her!” She screamed at him as Hispano’s damn near angelic form fluttered in through the open railshed doors. “The sarge was our ticket, Merlin! And this bitch fucking melted it!” With some backup from Hispano, maybe I could turn this crazy train right back around.

“Look, I’m sorry you feel that way.” I grumbled as the mare tried to melt me with a burning glare. “But if you wanted her so badly, why didn't you, I don't know, help?”

“We expected you two to be the ones melting on the floor about now.” Merlin gave out a grunt of his own as his talons tightened around the barrels of his sister’s shotgun. “Just like you outside types to ruin everyone’s fucking day.”

“Yeah.” Royce growled as she turned her glare from be back towards Hispano as he landed behind them. “You’re as bad as that fucking Okona dickbag! You sweep in and take the good bounty contracts right out of our talons.”

“What bounty contract?” Hispano asked starkly as she shot a flat glance my way. “Okona didn’t mention he had a contract. Who gave it to him?”

Oh Celestia, I swear if this is going where I think it’s going...

“The job was to kill some stallion and his party coming in from the north.” She spat at Hispano as she fixed her shotgun to herself and stretched her wings out. “As for the client, fuck if I know. Some rich fucker and his convoy, I guess.”

“Say, sis…” Merlin spoke up as his eyes wandered back and forth between Hispano and I. “Didn’t the contract specify a pegasus, griffon, a donkey and a dog?” Fucking seriously, couldn’t we get one fucking break!?

“Yeah, a stallion,” Royce snapped at him, “a griffon hen, and a mule.” Both Hispano and I traded confused glances as again, she wheeled around on her brother. This time, she smacked him across the head with her balled up talon. “And unless you think I’m an idiot, I doubt the dog was a fucking hellhound!”

While that was thankfully the break I had asked for, unfortunately, it only made tonight more complicated. Buy hey, at least my guts were vindicated! Okona was indeed yet another one of Solomon’s lackeys afterall! One who we’d... brought right onto the Arcturus.

“Look, I’m sorry about melting your target.” I offered to them as I spread my wings and waved for Hispano to come over. She gave a short hopping flight over the griffon pair before landing next to me. “But me and my friend here need to be going.” Carefully, I hoofed the plasma rifle over to her and nodded towards the door. “We’ll try to stay out of your way for the rest of our stay.”

“Don’t bother, we’re out of here..” Royce snorted as she flared her wings and nudged her brother towards the door. “But if it’s all the same? Fuck you, and fuck everyone else in this dump.”

“Well, that went about as well as expected.” Hispano sighed and wrapped his wing around me as we watched the two of them take off into the night sky. “And hey, you even managed to get our friend back.” He held up Blue Bolt’s rifle like a trophy before hooking part of it around Suiza’s sling.

“Yeah,” I nodded before glancing down at the plasma gun. Hopefully we’ll be able to help Unit Seven out, but first… “maybe though we should go check on Buck.”

“You’re right. Knowing him, despite being stuck in your head, he’s probably worried sick.” She nodded and gave me a few pats on the side. “But then I think it's time we went and had a 'chat' with our newest crewmember.”

“You sure you’re alright?” I asked as I studied the still humming plasma rifle in Hispano’s grasp.

“Yes, and no.” Unit Seven sighed through Buck and I’s heads. “Technically, I am functionally complete inside this chip. However… I have failed in my service to the Architect.”

“I think a little leeway will be granted given what happened to you.” Buck offered to her as he flashed up a soft smile. “Besides, I’m sure the Factory will simply be happy that you are returning to them at all.”

“Perhaps, you may be correct...” She paused as if to ponder something for a moment, “Curious, I have yet to meet any organic who seems to value one of my kind as they would another organic individual. Yet you are oddly accepting of the concept.”

“It wasn’t always that way.” Buck offered as he brought one of his paws up to look at it. “Before the Factory, I… didn’t give any thought to destroying a machine if it was in the way.”

I thought back, remembering how we dealt with Radio when Short Wave wouldn’t give up half of his tin foil. That had to be what he was thinking about. But that was before we knew what the silverfish were, before we had any idea that machines this advanced even existed. Still, I think I could reach the same conclusion that must have been running around inside his head. Did it matter if we knew or not?

“Well, we know better now.” I smiled and placed my hoof in Buck’s paw. “We believe in what the Factory is trying to do, and I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the help, and faith, that Ping and the Architect gave us.”

“I know I can’t hear you, but we’re not all bad.” Hispano spoke up as he held the gun out in his talons with a curious look, “Most of us are just trying to survive out here, and sometimes… you find a few who are out to make things better.” He glanced over at me as his beak pulled into a small smile and a warm blush brightened on his cheeks. “What, I can’t have an opinion? Yeah it’s weird, but hey, it’s not the first time I’ve talked to a gun before.”

“Technically, you still haven’t.” Buck offered with a soft, static filled laugh. “Neither Unit Seven or Suiza are actually guns.”

The Remora shuddered as it linked back up with the Arcturus. The hum of the hatch above us opening was met with a rush of warm air pushing its way into the cold cabin. I myself couldn’t enjoy it as much as Buck and Hispano did, but I’m sure my body was absolutely basking in it. Before I could take a single step forward however, a pair of hooves came flailing through the open hatch.

“Eliza says we have a guest!” Tofu’s excited voice carried down as she flailed her hooves toward Hispano. With a flash from her horn, the plasma gun was ripped from his talons sharply. Hispano didn’t seem too happy at that, but didn’t do anything more than just glare up at the young unicorn. “Excellent, your dad and I will start working on a way to get her hooked up to the system!”

As Tofu disappeared with the gun, the three of us managed to get ourselves up and out of the Remora. With us inside, the hatch to the small skycraft sealed again, and I was able to let out a long, restful sigh. After everything we went through today, it was good to have all of us back home again in one piece.

The sound of music drifted through the air, coming from down the hall towards the infirmary. It wasn’t loud, or any tune that was recognizable, but it sounded like Happy was playing his ukulele. Buck looked down at me as I met Hispano’s confused gaze, but all three of us came to the same conclusion to sate our curiosity.

The curiously plucky and upbeat tune was drifting out from the open infirmary door. A shadow moved past the door, and for a moment, the tune stopped. Right then, I expected something to come through into the hall and threaten us. Call it pessimism or the consequences of living in the wasteland, I don’t care.

But what I couldn’t dispute, was the fact that this time, I didn’t feel a knot forming in my stomach. Slowly, the three of us leaned forward. Each of us were stacked under each other at different heights and poking our head through the open doorway. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected to see inside, but whatever it was, it hadn’t been this.

“Oh, you’re back!” Happy called out from his slouched position along the infirmary counter. “Guess what asshole we figured out was working for Solomon?” He gave a wave of his ukulele in his hoof before nodding over toward the occupied bed. “What can I say?” Giving a nod to me, he brought his wooden hoof up to his diminutive guitar again and gave a single strum. “Except, you’re welcome.”

Sitting strapped down tightly and with a gag duct taped in his muzzle and an annoyed glare in his eyes, was Okona.

“It’s funny,” Cora’s voice came from just inside the infirmary bulkhead as he tossed Okona’s saddlebags and gear on the floor at our hooves. Dozens of supplies, rations, and photographs scattered across the floor out of them. Photos of… us taken all over the north. “You’d have thought Solomon would have been smarter than this. He never gave me any photos of Delilah’s crew, let alone…” Stepping up next to the bed, he tightly grasped the odd double barreled pistol Rook had used on more than one occasion.

“Is that…?” Hispano gasped as she leaned forward into me.

“Rook’s pistol.” I nodded and finally forced myself to move into the room. “Yeah, we were actually just coming up here to say that we’d found out he was working with Solomon.”

“Then, this has to be a trick.” Buck growled as he reached up and scratched at his muzzle. “Solomon wouldn’t be this sloppy, so there has to be more to this.”

“See,” Cora nodded and tapped Rook’s gun against his head, “that’s what I thought, but I can’t figure it out. Why send him to get captured? What does he have to gain from that?”

“Well...” Hispano blurted out. “Solomon knows we aren’t liable to murder everyone we meet. And now that he’s here, we can’t turn our back on him. So my bet? He’s here to keep us busy and on edge.”

“You think he’s here just to slow us down?” Buck snorted and shook his head. “Okona caught us entirely off guard. With skills like that, why not just have him kill us?”

“Well,” Happy snorted and shoved himself down from the counter. “I say fuck what Solomon wants.” Setting his ukelele down, he reached his wooden hoof over and gave his sword a heavy tap. “He ain’t one of ours, and we can’t let him go. So, we kill him.”

That brought out a whimper from Okona’s muzzle. It wasn’t soft, or forced like one would expect from a hardened mercenary. It drew all of our eyes over to him as the zebra whimpered and stared at Happy’s hoof resting on the hilt of his sword. That wasn’t fake fear, that was real, but it still didn’t make sense.”

“First, why don’t we hear what he has to say?” I offered and nodded to Cora, watching as Okona swiftly did his best to nod and beg with a pleading look. Seriously, it didn’t take much to make him afraid, did it? “Can you remove his gag for me, Cora?”

“So he can talk his way out of this?” Cora snorted, but moved over past Happy. “I’m not sure this is a smart move, Night.”

“I never said we’d let him go, but…” I offered, looking up to Buck who for once nodded in agreement. “If he gives us something we can use against Solomon, then I don’t see the harm in keeping him locked up but alive until Solomon isn’t.”

“Fine.” Cora grumbled and brought his talon up to the end of Okona’s muzzle. With a firm yank, he ripped the gag free, tape and all.

“Fuck!” Okona shouted with a sharp wrench against his bindings. A trickle of blood ran down his muzzle from a split on his lips, and he stared knives into Cora. The zebra merc however took a moment to breathe and looked around the room at each of us. He shook his head before a predictable smile grew across his muzzle.

“Before you say anything,” I offered up, stepping up to the end of the medical bed. “Just know that you’re going to be tempted to lie and say anything to save your own life. But that’s not how this is going to work. If you lie, I will kill you. If you speak the truth, but omit something important, I will kill you. Hell, if you even say something I don’t like,” With each of my words, Okona’s smile only grew wider. “Well, I don’t have to repeat myself, do I?”

“No.” Okona did his best to shrug my threats off, beaming his smug smile to the ceiling as he laid his head back down against his pillow. “But you should understand, I do not control the prince. If he has decided to move on before you arrive, then would you murder me for it?”

“Well, that would make it untrue, and a lie, so...” Hispano mirrored his smugness across his beak and prodded his talon sharply at one of Okona’s legs, “for your sake, you better hope he’s still where you tell us he is.” He gave a few pats on Okona’s legs, prompting a flash of worry over the seasoned Zebra’s face.

“Saddlebrook.” Okona spat out and clenched his jaw. “He’s over in Saddlebrook.”

“Okay, that’s a start.” Buck nodded before rapping his metal claws along the infirmary door’s bulkhead. “Why? Why there?”

“My job wasn’t to kill any of you, it was to direct you.” Okona grumbled. “If I happened to get caught, I was supposed to turn this into a hostage situation.”

“A hostage situation?” Cora stifled a short laugh, “that’s messy, and you wouldn’t have had any backup.”

“I wouldn’t need any.” Okona smirked again and fidgeted against the straps before giving up. “My job was to bring you to Saddlebrook by any means possible so you could meet with the prince.”

“Again, I’ll ask why.” Buck let out a low growl which I one hundred percent agreed with. Solomon asking for a meeting? That didn’t make sense.

“He needs whatever you found in the public records vault.” Okona sighed and brought his head up again so he could look me straight in the eyes. “But it seems to me like despite the way things turned out, you still are going to be headed to Saddlebrook. You know, I’ll give your crew credit. I bet that my brothers and sisters back home underestimated you just like I did.” He cocked his eyebrow and let his oily smile shine brighter than ever, “Like Xeno has, but I’m sure you’ll prove him wrong soon enough.”

“So that’s it, huh?” Happy nodded and looked over to me.

“Eeyup, that’s it.” Okona nodded to me before laying back down with a sigh of deep contentment.

“So we go to Saddlebrook?” Buck asked as he too let out a sigh of contentment. “I’ll have Tofu ready some missiles then.”

“Hold on one moment, Buck.” I let the words tumble out as I spun and held my hoof out to him. “We’re not going anywhere near Saddlebrook.” Glancing over my shoulder, I found a predictable look of shock and anger across Happy’s muzzle. “Happy, do me a favor. Kill Okona.”

“But… you promised!” Okona gasped out.

“Night, you can’t!” Buck wasn’t far behind with his protest. “He’s right, you gave your word!”

“No, I lied!” I spat as I spun on my flank and jabbed my forehoof right at Okona’s dumb founded look. “The same thing Okona just did to us. No more, no less.”

“Night, you can’t know.” Happy took a step back as he stared at me. “I’m all for killing this asshole, but if Solomon’s there, then this could be our chance! We have to go!”

“He’s not there, Happy.” I smirked. “Then why send us to Saddlebrook, I hear you all ask?” Narrowing my eyes on Okona’s, I saw his sharpen to try to hide the fear he was desperately trying to keep at bay. “Because that’s not where Solomon is, it’s where Xeno is, isn’t it? Waiting with what’s left of Pentex to take us out while Solomon presses on toward the Ark, trying to create distance on the off chance we make it through his trap.”

“See, now that sounds like Solomon.” Cora smirked and gave me what I could best describe as a passing look of approval to me. “I think Night’s right, and I think you all know it.”

“No.” Okona shook his head again, but as he did, he stiffened up and let some more of his fear bleed out into his expression. “No, Solomon’s there, in Saddlebrook, I promise you!”

“Lying again isn’t going to change anything, Okona.” I was honestly sad to see him try to sell this, but I understood it completely. I did the same thing with Solomon, and though I’m sure he saw right through it, I did end up delivering the code right into his hooves. But we’d been the only one following the rules, and that wasn’t something I could do anymore. “Happy, kill this filth.”

“No!” Buck pushed his way into the room. He used one paw to scoop me out of the way, and the other to push Cora aside. With a static filled growl, he shot a burning glare at Happy as he drew his sword in his muzzle. “We aren’t like Solomon! We don’t just kill like this!”

“Normally I’d be right there with you, Buck.” Hispano offered softly. He stepped up and reached out, taking Buck’s mechanical paw firmly. “I know I’ve been hard on Night for being too nice, and that I promised the both of you I’d try to do better as well. But Okona is not innocent here.”

“Yeah,” I nodded to Hispano as I sat down and reached up for Buck’s paw as well. “What do you suggest otherwise? We can’t watch him without risking others on the ship because he’d slit our throats the moment we turned our backs on him.”

“I didn’t kill you before.” Okona offered with a crooked smile that felt more hollow than the fear that consumed him behind his eyes. “Doesn't that buy me anything? Any mercy? Let me go and I'll... I'll leave, and you'll never see me again!”

“More than that,” Happy mumbled from around the hilt of his sword, “even if we let him go, you know how Pentex operates. Are you really okay with that, big guy? Having them go about terrorizing settlements again?”

“I… I just…” Buck shook his head and closed his eyes. I wanted to reach out to him in his thoughts, but I forced myself to stop. This was enough of a struggle for him to add yet another voice in his head.

A deafening rattle filled the room. All of us froze up as sparks lit up the bed and wall under Okona, and his body was torn open. The smell of gunpowder and blood assaulted my nose, and the sight of Okona’s corpse etched itself into my mind. Smoke drifted from the twin barrels of Rook’s gun as Cora’s shaking grasp on it loosened enough that he let it drop to the floor.

All of us took a moment to process what had happened, but it was also Cora who broke the silence.

“Doc, if you think what Night was asking makes him like Solomon?” He brought his other talon up to stop the shaking. “Then maybe you’ve forgotten what it’s cost for you all to get to this point.”

“Dad…” Hispano let out softly as he watched Cora take a near stumbling step backward. He braced himself against the infirmary countertop before trying to catch his breath.

“You’re right.” Buck nodded and carefully turned himself back to me. As our eyes met, I could see the regret he held. “Solomon would never have weighed the options. I’m sorry, Night.”

“Up north, you tried things the nice way and lost.” Cora spun around and opened one of the infirmary cabinets. From inside, he dragged out a half empty bottle of Wild Pegasus, as well as a small beaker. “At least this way, at the end of the day,” He grunted as he brought the bottle to his beak and yanked out the cork, “the only bodies behind you are objectively those who only would have hurt others. You should take that as a win and get over it.”

[11:18PM]

Again, I was left staring at the clock because I couldn’t sleep. It didn’t help that Buck wasn’t back yet either. I think Okona’s death was weighing on him, but he asked for some time alone to sort it out, and I was going to give it to him. Still, though I enjoyed Hispano’s company, it wasn’t the same without him here.

“Can’t sleep?” Hispano sighed as he rolled over in our bed and pressed himself up against my back. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he worked a talon around me and pulled me closer against him. “I’m worried about him too.”

“I think… Buck will be fine.” I sighed, wanting that to be a lie. But Buck wasn’t a stranger to death anymore, and he knew we didn’t have any other choice. “Actually, I’m worried about the fact he still fought for Okona’s life when I didn’t. I think that says more about me than anything.”

“Night.” Hispano grunted as he squeezed his talon tighter and wrapped a warm wing over me. “You and Buck have saved more than enough lives to question yourselves.” I got what he was saying, but grunted and forced myself to turn over to rebut. The moment I did however, I froze as Hispano’s soft gaze and kind smile caught me off guard. “You saved my life, Night. Not just any number of times now, but… most importantly when we talked on the Empirica.”

“What?” That was all that could slip out of my muzzle as my thoughts derailed and piled up inside my mind.

“I meant it when I said it’s hard to believe that you’re the same pony I met in the north.” He leaned forward and nuzzled his beak along my muzzle. “And I’m not the same griff either. I’m free of the worries of being alone, of wondering if I’d ever find my own mate. I’ve done more in months with you than I could have imagined doing in a whole lifetime as a lone Talon. So whatever I do end up doing, it doesn’t matter, because I’ll be doing it with you.”

I wanted to tell Hispano that it had come with a cost. That we’d lost so much on the way to becoming who we were. But I couldn’t say anything other than a lie if I spoke. It was worth it, all of it, to have Buck and Hispano with me, to have Happy alive, to have met everyone we have.

Leaning forward, I pressed my muzzle into Hispano’s beak. I couldn’t spurn all that we’d gained, even with what we’d sacrificed. In fact, because of everything, I didn’t want to waste a single moment of my life with anything less than being with both of them.

So tonight, Hispano and I were going to enjoy what we had as best we could. As he used his talons to hold on and return my affections, I’m positive it’s something he was thinking about as well. That, and though I couldn’t be sure, there was a single thought I’m sure had punctuated Hispano’s thoughts as we kissed.

It’s about damned time.

A soft knocking ripped me from the bliss of sleep. Oh how much I wished it would stop. In fact, why did I have to answer it? I’m taking the day off to get some quality rest.

Annoyingly, the knocking continued. A groan escaped my muzzle as I forced myself to roll over. I was jarred awake by an odd stiffness in my remaining foreleg. Looking down at it, I was reminded of the myriad of scrapes and small cuts across my body from Hispano’s talons last night. Oh, it was amazing fun, but I can’t imagine how I’d be feeling right if I didn’t have this talisman in my head…

“Night, get up.” Happy’s stern voice came through the door. His knocking grew louder, becoming an almost spiteful series of hammering knocks that were swiftly becoming impossible to ignore. “You’ve slept long enough!”

“Ugh, leave us alone.” Hispano called out in her normal, feminin voice as she too rolled over and roused from her sleep. The two of us rolled against one another, and it brought our weary eyes to meet. The softer features of the griffon I’d grown to love had replaced the masculine, and sharper physique. She now had her normal sized body, and she pulled her normal sized wings back against her almost reflexively. She looked down at her talons, then over the rest of herself before she let out an elated gasp. “Night, I’m…”

“You’re normal again.” I didn’t know how, but even through my profound confusion, I could feel a small smile across my muzzle. It was good to have her back again.

A single, jarring strike against the door made the locking lugs on the bulkhead groan. Both Hispano and I nearly jumped right out of bed at the racket. Celestia, Happy, you don’t have to knock that damn door down!

“We’re up, we’re up!” I snapped back at the door.

“It’s about time!” Happy fired back, following up with another rough knock on the door. “We gotta talk, Night.”

“Give us a minute and we’ll be out.” Hispano answered for me as she sat down on the bed with a sigh. She held out her talons in front of herself again, looking over them like they weren’t quite real. “They said two weeks for it to wear off, right? So why now?”

“You’re welcome.” Jynx let out a sultry laugh as she appeared sitting on the edge of the small captain’s desk in my quarters. She was using her primary feathers to play with the small pair of scissors that’s normally inside one of the drawers.

Oh come on, Jynx. I don’t believe it. How the hell would my curse have helped Hispano out at all!?

“I assure you, I wasn’t responsible for resolving her joke.” She smiled at me, but let her eyes wander up and down Hispano’s normal griffon form. “Let me ask you a question, Night. What happens when a joke isn’t funny anymore?” How the hell was I supposed to know? “Fine, I’ll spell it out for you. Hispano wasn’t sure she’d enjoy your special night, but that all changed oh, about a half hour in. Her curse was supposed to resolve right there and then.”

That… didn’t sit right with me. We must have been going at it for a few hours at least. Though, it was hard to remember, as one moment of bliss had bled into another…

“And you’re welcome for that.” Jynx smirked and twirled the pair of scissors around her feather, flipping it between each one like it was a knife. “I let you have your fun, but… the scale does have to tip the other way at some point. It’s only fair, Night.” She brought the scissors down in front of her face, staring at them intensely. “You know, I think I’ll hold onto these for now.”

As she curled her wing completely around the small metal tool, her muzzle curled into a sickening smile, and I could feel a pit forming in my gut. As she let go, they were gone. Looking past her back toward the desk where they’d been sitting at… they weren’t there either. Had I imagined them the whole time, or...

Another set of knocks at the door jarred my attention away from her.

“Come on, I don’t have all fuckin’ day, Night!” Happy groaned out. “I’m fuckin’ starving out here!”

Starving? Really? What the hell was he jabbering about?

Hispano grumbled as she hopped down onto her paws. She nearly fell over as she took a minute to get used to her smaller stature again. But after only a moment, she had her legs under her and she plodded to the door.

With a screech from the bulkhead, she worked the door and unsealed it. A few sharp yanks later and she pulled it open, which let Happy stick his muzzle inside. He took a few sniffs before wincing and somewhat recoiling.

“Oh geez, you two were really going at it, weren’t ya?” He snirked as he looked between Hispano’s deadpan and the one I had fall across my own muzzle. “Anyway, the tank ghouls invited us down for lunch as thanks for taking out that bitch yesterday.” He smirked and held his head proudly like he had anything to do with it at all. “Oh, and another thing.” Happy’s look of pride was somewhat tarnished by concern creeping across his features. “The Doc locked himself in the infirmary yesterday, and he still hasn’t come back out. You might want to check on him before we go.”

Hispano turned to me as Happy’s concern infected her. And of course, I in turn mirrored it as well.

“He hasn’t come out… at all?” I asked, finding Jynx hop down from my desk with her normal smile before she disappeared out of sight.

“Nah.” Happy shrugged his concern off. “I tried to open the door, but it won’t even budge.”

“Alright, why don’t you head down to lunch.” Hispano offered with a smile as she planted her talons across the front of Happy’s muzzle. She gave a hard shove, pushing him out through the door and onto his flank in the hallway. “We’ll join you as soon as we talk with Buck.”

Before he could rebut, she shut the door on his face. As it sealed with a squeak, it twisted the knot in my gut like a knife was in it. I swear, if Buck was in any sort of peril…

“It’ll be alright, Night.” Hispano’s talons and wings wrapped around me as she pulled me into a tight hug. “Let’s go talk with him and make sure he’s fine.”

Arriving at the sealed infirmary, Hispano balled up a talon and rapped on the door. Both of us inclined an ear to listen for any sound inside, but neither of us could hear a thing. Again, my stomach twisted further with each moment of silence.

With a grumble, Hispano raised her talon again, but I caught it with my forehoof.

“Hold on, let me try something.” I offered to her. “Buck, are you there?” I thought out to him. He’d have to hear me this way, there’s no way he couldn’t. But, distressingly, I was still met with silence. “Buck, please, answer me.”

Again, nothing.

“It’s not working?” Hispano asked, pulling a confused look onto my muzzle. “Your mind-meld thing or whatever. He’s not answering, is he?” I shook my head, which put a frown across her beak. “Well, one more try before I get Tofu to force open the fucking door.”

Again, she brought the butt of Suiza up to the door. This time, rather than a few soft taps, she let Suiza’s weight do the work for her. Each hammering strike against the door sounded more like a gong. After the third, she paused as both of us heard movement on the other side.

The metal door gave out a squeak as it was slowly opened, revealing a tired, ragged, and overall irritated looking Cora. Beyond him, Buck was snoring softly, his furred form draped across the medical table in a position I wouldn’t think one could fall asleep in comfortably. Both Hispano and I’s eyes were drawn to the floor, and we stared at a number of empty bottles scattered across the infirmary before looking back up at Cora.

“Please,” He grumbled as he brought a talon up and rubbed at his tired eyes, “keep it the fuck down because I’m not blessed with any sort of pain supressing bullshit in my head.”

“Dad, what the fuck happened?” Hispano stepped toward him, but quickly found his talon pressed against her plumage to stop her cold. “You promised you wouldn’t drink like this again.”

“Yeah, and so what? I was fucking owed last night.” He scoffed and slumped against the doorway. “You think it’s been easy for me? Everyone else died, I got shot by that fucker, then you fell for some pony…” He brought his eyes over to me just long enough to glare before forcing them shut with another groan. “And then you turned into a fucking guy!”

“And as you can see, I got better, Dad!” Hispano squawked back. She shoved his talon away as her plumage bristled. “But I gave you months to drown yourself after mom died, and you said you were done with that.”

“Yeah, well it wasn’t just for me. Buck needed it, and I simply joined.” He snorted and waved his talon dismissively. “I thought ‘hey, it wouldn’t be right to let him drink alone’, so I guess I’m guilty of caring, okay? I don’t need my own son, excuse me, daughter to scold me.”

“I think you do.” Hispano let out a growl before reaching over and grabbing my foreleg sharply. “And Night’s going to back me up on that! Right, Night?”

“I…” I didn’t know what deal they’d had going on before we met, and I didn’t really want to put myself in the middle of another fight between them. But as Hispano shared a pleading glance with me, I realized that if we were going to be a family, then maybe that’s exactly where I needed to put myself. “Look, I thank you for wanting to make sure Buck was alright. But if you promised Hispano you’d stop, then maybe you didn’t do it for him. Maybe all it was, was simply just an excuse.”

“Bah.” Cora let out a growl of his own before he pushed himself off the bulkhead. “What the fuck do you know.” With a shake of his head he turned to head back over to the countertop. “Whatever, you two do whatever the fuck you want, but the Doc is going to be out a while. He turned off some of his fancy gizmos so he could get drunk, and I’m sure he’ll have a hell of a hangover when he gets up. But for now, let the poor dog sleep. And maybe consider letting me do the fucking same.”

“Fine.” Hispano grunted. “But this conversation isn’t over.” She let go of my hoof and stepped into the infirmary just far enough to get her talon around the bulkhead door. “Night and I are going down to get some food, so you’ll know where to find us.”

She didn’t wait for a response and simply shut the door.

Author's Notes:

First off, I want to give a larger than normal thanks to TheFurryRailFan. Not just for his continued dedication to continuing to give these chapters a once-over before they come out, but for allowing me to use the settings from his stories. It's harder than I thought to manage them without ruining the future that exists in his story, but I think the struggle is more than worth the chance to reference some things. So again, I want to offer thanks to TheFurryRailFan for all his help.

And of course, I give my thanks to Kkat as well for allowing us all to use the FoE setting for our own stories.