Now I knew what it must be like to be Jean or Hispano.

My heart raced inside my chest, begging, pleading for me to let it out. Similarly, my legs pulsed and flinched under me, just waiting to be let loose so I could run. My wings as I flew even flapped quickly on their own, it was great! I’m sure they actually moved slower than I thought, but I felt that they were beating so fast that an old world hummingbird would be jealous. All this energy and nowhere to spend it, the feeling was almost infuriating!

This drug was amazing!

Coming down for a stiff landing in front of the tipped over submarine’s conning tower, I was met at the door by the yellow brick of a stallion who’d captured us in the first place. As I struggled to keep myself from vibrating away with the energy coursing through me, I also tried to avoid looking at him as he towered over me.

“I should have known you weren’t to be trusted.” He snorted, making my mind race with just what he meant by that.

How could he have known!? Goddesses why did this have to go wrong again! I’m cursed, that’s why. I should have listened that she had ears everywhere, how could I have been so stupid? Now Hispano and Happy were going to die and it was all my fault!

“You’re just a fucking junkie like the rest of them, taking your sweet time to shoot up before you come back with Mrs. Tapit’s property hanging off your worthless stump.” The stallion grumbled. Oh thank the goddesses, that’s all? I would have breathed a sigh of relief if my fucking lungs would let me relax for more than a split second! No, relaxing is bad, need to stay awake. “Some fucking ‘bounty hunter’ you are. Yeah, right.” He nodded, turning and opening the hatch to get into the old submarine. “Come on, let’s go.”

Stepping in, my hooves clattered on the old rotting wood inside. It bowed down just as much as it did when I was here before, and I smiled knowing that it was probably because it was completely hollow underneath. My smile turned into a frown as the stallion gave out an annoyed grunt. With a loud squeal, the hatch in front of him opened, and we both stepped inside as the door behind us, shut with a slam.

Following the stallion through the maze of hallways a second time, my eyes darted around. It wasn’t until we passed the room where I’d been held that I was reminded of the large set of lockers on the far wall. Our stuff was inside there, so that would be the first stop once the deed was done. Trotting almost on the stallion’s heels, I cringed as he shot back a glare at me as I followed. Trailing back a bit, I decided it was best to give him some space, rather than risk pissing him off and getting beaten for it.

As we approached the door to Mrs. Tapit’s room, I noticed that the room outside of hers had been filled with tons of wooden crates in my short absence. Ponies diligently moved them around and opened them up, taking little notice as we entered the room. Inside some of the boxes were smaller crates, while others were filled to the brim with different chemicals and equipment. Some of the things inside them looked sort of similar to the equipment in various rooms on the H.M.S. Mercy. One crate however, stood out of place among the others.

Inside of it, was what looked like an oversized brass revolver. And when I say oversized, I mean by the fact that it’s cylinder was almost the size of my head. Each red painted revolver shell packed inside the box with it was dusty looking, and oversized as well. Reading the bold markings painted on the side of the box, it was apparently a 37mm signal revolver. Why they’d ever have a flare launcher that large was anypony’s guess. However, my guess would have to wait.

With a metallic squeal, the door to Mrs. Tapit’s room opened, and I was greeted by a warm smile on the other side. Mrs. Tapit nearly glowed with pride the moment she saw me. Even though I wanted to gallop over there and strangle her right now for the shit she’s put me through, I had to play this out the way that Dr. Kaio told me it had to.

“Well, well, well,” Mrs. Tapit’s sultry voice was like a hoof scraping along a chalkboard to me. How she thought that anypony could find that voice attractive enough to make her a Misses, I’ll never know. “Took your sweet time, sugar, but you have returned to me. Question is, did you bring me my package?”

Nodding, I stepped into the room. “I did, it’s…” That was as far as I made it before the yellow stallion reached out and hooked his fetlock around the peg leg from behind me. With an unceremonious yank, he pulled the leg straight off of me, sending me down onto the metal flooring between both sides of the doorway.

While it hadn’t so much been the plan, the second the leg came off, so did the plug to the canister Dr. Kaio had hidden inside of it. With a loud hiss, the compressed gas inside streamed out into the air. In but only a moment, everypony around me dropped to the floor and was out like a light. It would normally have been now that my heart would start racing to finish the job, but of course, it had been doing that for a half hour or so already. Even with only three legs, in an instant, I’d jumped back on my hooves and was ready to get to work.

As I came back down from my jump however, the boards under my hooves gave a disconcerting creak. Smiling, I used my energy to jump up again. Coming back down the boards cracked louder, but still sat firmly under hoof. Jumping over and over, each time I did it, I giggled a little more. Beating my wings, I propelled myself up to the ceiling for one last hit, and let myself drop.

With a tremendous crack, the whole rotten floor in the room gave out. Crates, guards, and even mr. yellow stallion himself tumbled ten feet down into the dark underside of the room. I was immediately enveloped in dust as we all slammed down on the bottom. I coughed and choked as the cloud cleared. Flailing my forehoof around, I cleared the air around me a bit, but froze as my hoof struck something metallic to my side.

Looking over, I gasped as the intimidating gaze from the Enclave power armor next to me bore right through me. Even with the drug in my system, it felt like my heart stopped. I barely even felt like breathing as I stood and waited to see what the pony would do…

...but it never moved.

Looking around, I found another three sets of power armor setup next to the one I’d hit. Each one was in a different state of repair, with tons of tools and equipment set around it. Spinning my gaze, I found that along with the armor, hidden under the floorboards, was a veritable armory. Magical energy weapons of all types lay about in various stripped or incomplete conditions. Metal cases of explosives were strewn about haphazardly, and wooden racks holding missiles lined the rusting walls. Taking a step back, I couldn’t quite be sure why Mrs. Tapit would have all of these down here.

Figuring that it didn’t matter to me at the moment, I flapped as hard as I could and pulled myself up out of the heap of broken wood and bodies. As I did, the hissing canister met my ears again. Looking up, it was still sitting up on the doorway to Mrs. Tapit’s room.

Quickly, I flapped my way over and grabbed it. The gas jet was still pouring out a thick cloud of the chemical into the air, and like an idiot, I stood there looking at it. Even with the drugs coursing through my veins, I felt woozy for a moment. Quickly, I tossed it down into the dark below as far as I could. With the gas now free to spread under the floor, I too was free to move on to the next part of the plan!

“Alright, weapon, weapon…” Looking around, I found that none of the guards had any weapons on them that I could see down in the pit. None of the energy weapons down there looked to be in good condition, and who the fuck knew where their ammo was, so they wouldn’t do. “I need something, anything…” My eyes stopped on the shiney brass flare projector that had fallen down out of the crate. “Bingo.”

Dropping down, I grabbed onto the gun with my hooves and shoved it’s grip into my muzzle. Now, I’d never loaded a gun like this, but it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Press the big lever on the side, put one of the giant dusty cases in one of the holes and then shut it again. Easy as pie. Speaking of, you know what I should have when I get back? One of Mrs. Green Leaf’s pies. I think I still have one left…

“Focus!” I told myself, accidentally spitting the gun out of my muzzle. It dropped to the floor with a clack before I slapped the side of my head. “Get a grip, Night. Do the job.” Getting that close to the active canister must have still had some effect on me. My heart felt like it had slowed, and my thoughts were drifting a bit. Figuring that I’d better finish this quickly, I hoofed the gun up and back into my muzzle again. Flaring my wings, I buzzed myself back up to the entrance to Mrs. Tapits room.

Aiming the enormous gun was hard, and it dragged my head down to the side a bit from the way it sat in my muzzle. Doing my best, I aimed the gun in the general direction of Mrs. Tapit.

Was this really it? Here I flew, gun trained on a pony who couldn’t even fight back. Was I ready to kill her, just this easily? I could simply go, gather Hispano and Happy, and then get out of here. Of course then what would happen? Mrs. Tapit and her cronies wake up and come try to kill us all? Best case scenario is she lets us go and goes after Dr. Kaio for tricking her.

I knew that Buck wouldn't approve, but unfortunately I saw no other way to get through this. Ever so slowly, I pulled the trigger.

The gun didn’t fire.

“Wha…?” Like an idiot, I spoke up again and the gun dropped from my muzzle. Scrambling to catch it before it dropped down, I grasped it by the hammer and the mouthpiece, which of course, then cocked the gun. With the hammer back now, it changed how the weight of the large brass gun sat between my hooves. Predictably, the unbalanced gun fell from my hooves again, and straight down to the floor.

With a loud bang, the gun struck the metal floor below and fired off. With a spectacular, brilliant red flash, the burning flare shot through the air. The bright projectile pinged and zipped off the rusting interior of the ship, ricocheting around like a pinball from the cloud arcades. Flailing my forelegs, I sharply arched my back as one of the ricocheting bounces sent the blazing flare only inches from hitting me. With one last bounce that sounded like a gong against the old metal walls, the round fluttered across the room before tumbling down into the hole where the floor once sat…

...and right into the straw filled crate where the other flares were still sitting.

With a panicked gasp, I bolted for the hatch of the room heading back into the center of the submarine. As I zipped to the door and threw it open, the heavy whump of the crate catching fire caught my ears. The moment I was through the door and into the next room, the room behind me sounded like it erupted into a warzone. Pops and bangs filled the interior as the other flares went off, setting fire to the other crates that had been in the room.

As I quickly made my way back through the maze of hallways, a flash through the cracks under my hooves met my eyes. A bright arcing red flare zipped along under the floorboards down the length of the ship, disappearing under the bulkhead of the next room. As it did, I began to recognize the telltale smell of burning wood coming from behind me.

Okay, uncontrollable fire, mixed with the stockpile of Enclave explosives down there was not going to end well! With my wings beating almost as fast as my heart, I pushed myself to fly. My wings would hurt when this was over, but at least I’d still be alive! Which of course, was more than Mrs. Tapit would be able to say. Then again, I’m betting on being able to get out of here faster than those explosives could cook off...

Gliding down the various hallways, I flew over numerous passed out guards. Each one of them had slumped over whatever it was they’d been doing. Fluttering past a room full of beds, I’d even found two stallions curled up together, having passed out partway through what had undoubtedly been a pretty fun romp from the way they were splayed out. Part of me was almost jealous they’d been having any kind of fun tonight.

As I was picturing the fantastic romp I’d had with Buck in my head however, I ran right into a bulkhead I wasn’t watching out for. “Focus…” I gave out a whimper and dropped down to my hooves. As I rubbed at my head, I looked over and found that this had been the room I was locked in for a bit. Looking across it, I found the large locker sitting on the back wall.

Quickly, I pulled out my gear and threw it on. As I did, two things came to my attention. The first, was that my heart rate was slowing even more. It was starting to head toward being normal now, and I could feel as my thoughts still wandered a bit. The second thing that caught my attention, was that the smell of smoke and the heat of fire was noticeably in the air now. I could only have guessed that most of the floorboards in the front were now on fire, and that could only mean my time here was getting shorter and shorter. Which of course was not good news, seeing as Hispano and Happy were most likely still somewhere on the other half of the ship.

Securing my saddle, I reached up and wrapped my hoof around Suiza. Giving Hispano’s ridiculously sized gun a yank, I found it barely swing out into my grasp. The sheer weight of it was incredible as it fell into my hooves. How the fuck does she even fly with something like this!? Straining to lift it up enough to sling it around myself, a few moments of awkward shifting passed before I got it loosely propped up on my back enough that it wouldn’t slip off. Turning around, I pushed forward with my hooves and began to hobble toward the entrance of the sub.

Having been in and out twice now, some of the path of halls was beginning to look familiar. I forced myself to stop once I’d found the entrance to the conning tower. Looking down the narrow hallway, the inner hatch was open, while the final hatch out was blocked by somepony.

Slumped up against the exit hatch, was Dizzy. I cursed under my breath. I know that Violet wasn’t on Delilah’s side, but maybe if I could save Dizzy as well, he could help change her mind. Sighing to myself, I realized that I could come back for him if I had the time. Happy and Hispano were my first priority.

Taking a moment to actually finagle Suiza’s sling a bit more, I managed to get the heavy weapon secured tightly on my back this time around. Great, now that I wasn’t managing a balancing act on my back, I might just be fast enough to get to the others just in time to have us all explode! Note for the future, don’t shoot flare guns around explosives!

Continuing onwards into the other half of the submarine, my heart was nearly back to it’s normal pace. Again, my thoughts began to wander even more than before. As I hobbled through the next room, my mind drifted over to how my dad would have freaked out if he’d ever seen a submarine. I mean, he loved Raptors more than anypony I knew in the Enclave, but I know that any sort of old ship would have made him smile.

As I’d ceased paying attention to the world around me, I tripped over one of the crumpled stallions inside the next room. From my new point of view on the floor, I realized that this room was almost laid out the same as the one I’d been locked away in. I picked myself up off the floor and hobbled forward a bit, finding another cage like the one I’d been in. However, this one had the sleeping form of an annoying red mule in it.

Grabbing at the bars to the cell, I yanked on them. They shook and groaned, but they didn’t budge. Spinning around, I made my way back over to the guard and did my best to pat him down. I was looking for keys, a prybar, or anything to help me get into that cell. But alas, in my quick search he didn’t have anything at all. Taking a step back, the floor under my hooves creaked. Looking down, I smiled, as I realized that this floor might be just as weak as the other one!

Skipping past the playful jumping, I spread my wings and leaped upwards. Flapping a few times, I found myself pressing my back against the cold metal ceiling, which was now hazy with thick, stinging smoke. With a grunt, I folded my wings, tucked in my legs, and put my shoulder down. Dropping out of the air, my body and head hit the wood hard. With the added weight of Suiza and my own battle saddle to help me, the wood under me cracked as I saw stars for a moment.

It was a struggle to try to pull myself back onto my hooves, but I couldn’t sit around when I could feel the drug in my system wearing off more and more. Slowly, I stood up, shaking off the disorientation just quickly enough for the soft crackling under my hooves to hit my ears. I didn’t have the time to react and open my wings before the wood gave out, and I was dropped back into the dark underside.

However, as I flopped down onto the broken wood, I found that the underside of the boat wasn’t so dark any longer. Down on the far side of the old sub, the burning floorboards had turned the whole area near Mrs. Tapit’s room into a raging inferno. The power armors, crates of weapons, and even the wooden racks that held up the missiles were ablaze. The clock was still ticking on the drug, and it was ticking down faster than I would have liked in regards to the rate that fire was spreading onto the explosives.

Looking over among the broken wood, I found Happy slumped down onto it. Hobbling over, I hoofed at him. He was just as heavy as I remembered him being from back on the Inuvik, that’s for sure. But with only having three legs and carrying Hispano’s oversized gun, he was now twice as inconvenient to carry. Still, as annoying as it would be, I pulled him up over my back and turned around. Fuck being even, he was going to owe me for this. Big time.

With Happy up on my back, I gave out a light yawn. Looking up, I hadn’t realized the consequence of breaking out the floorboards here. Even if I dumped Suiza, there was absolutely zero way I’d be able to fly him up the ten feet or so back onto the floor toward the front entrance. And there wasn’t a way to get above the floor any closer to the conning tower before the smoke and fire got to us.

Well, shit.

Looking around, none of the bits of broken floorboard toward the front were either long enough to reach up that high, or strong enough to support the both of us going up it. Turning around, the only piece of hope I had, was that the collapse of the floor extended into the next room over. While it was going to the far end of the Submarine, it still had most of it’s floor intact, and was sloped down towards us to boot. Attempting to reassure myself, I held my head high and remarked that there must be another exit to this place somewhere in the back.

“Yes, of course!” I spoke up to myself, trying to ignore the roaring fire that I knew was crawling it’s way toward us slowly. “Because only an idiot would have designed a submarine with only one entrance.” Then again, Night, it was designed by the same ponies who blew up the whole goddess damned world! But sure, nopony could ever be that dumb.

Grumbling, I reached out to the sloped floor leading up to the next room and pressed my hoof down on it. It bowed out slightly as I put more weight on it, but it didn’t crack. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. With it being the only real option we had, I held my breath and stepped onto it. Slowly, step by step, I dragged Happy and I back up to the doorway of the next room, stopping just in front of another sealed hatch. I nearly stumbled into it as my head felt lighter than a cloud for a moment, and I felt myself begin to tip sideways. Quickly bracing against the doorway, I barely managed to stop myself from dumping Happy back down the broken planks.

Quickly, I gripped the old door handle and yanked at it as hard as I could to the side. The heavy door swung open, and I squeezed Happy and I through the squat doorway. I was overjoyed to find that this next room was full of machinery. From what I remembered from the terminal screen, the engine room still looked like it had equipment in it, so we had to be getting close. Stepping in, I hobbled around the various stallions and mares passed out on the floor. Maybe they’d get up in time, and this place wouldn’t be a tomb for all the unfortunate ponies here. Shaking that thought out of my head, I headed straight for the sealed door that I hoped led to the engine room.

Then again, mom had told me that the engine rooms on some of the early raptors were midship due to weight concerns. She’d said that originally, there were balancing issues between the reactors and the cloud generation equipment, and that was the only solution. Dad would always refute that, saying that there were ‘certain zones’ in the ship’s hull that had already been used for counterbalancing anyway. He’d always said he wanted to crack open the seams on those sealed walls to get a look inside for what they used as ballast, but…

I banged my nose against the sealed door ahead, knocking me out of my rambling thoughts. Stumbling back, I sat down hard. This of course caused Happy to roll off my back and slump down onto the floor. Since when had I made it across the room? Giving out a long yawn, my eyes started to feel heavy, and they stung from all the smoke that now completely blanketed the ceiling. Reaching up, I hooked my hoof around the door handle, and yanked.

Mercifully, the door handle turned fairly easily, and the door itself fell open on its own. More old equipment met my eyes in the next room, but this stuff seemed like it was still working. Numerous blinking lights and flickering gauges surrounded what I could only guess was the arcane spell reactor that still powered parts of the old ship. However, none of that mattered to me, as on the center of a large piece of quietly humming machinery, was the small steel cage that Hispano was still locked inside.

“Okay, now we just need to find a way out of here.” I told myself, stepping through the door. I paused as I felt like I was forgetting something. Looking back, I laughed as I realized that Happy was still on the floor in the other room. “Oh, right. What a shame it would be to leave him behind!” Quickly getting him slumped over my back, I went back into the engine room to free Hispano.

Slumped up against the half inch thick iron bars of the cage she’d been put in, I noticed something under her. The iron bars were only a framework that was attached to a wooden floorplate. Wood that looked to be in just about as bad of condition as on the rest of the ship.

Smiling, I unceremoniously dumped Happy onto the floor again, and climbed my way up onto the machinery that the cage was on. Hoofing at it, I pulled the heavy thing onto it’s side. Hispano flopped about inside, but slumped off the wood as she did. Giving another good tug, I flipped the cage over and hammered at it’s wooden bottom with my forehoof. As expected, the old and rotted wood didn’t last, and easily cracked open. Like a foal on Hearth's Warming eve, I ripped and tore at the old wood until my prize was in sight.

Flipping the cage onto it’s side again, Hispano flopped out and onto the thrumming machine. Carefully, I hopped down and saddled myself up next to it so I could pull her down ontop of me. When I did however, the sudden weight of her buckled my legs and I flopped onto the floor.

“Celestia… the hell is she made of?” I whined, bracing my hooves on the floor again as I saw stars floating around in my vision. “And she think’s I’m dense?” Pushing Hispano and myself off the floor, I laughed at my own pun as I waited until my legs got used to the weight. Turning around toward the back of the ship, another door laid ahead of me. Above it still sat a sideways, faded metal sign. Tilting my head to read it, I became dizzy and almost fell over. However, after bracing myself, I tried again to read it.

Oh, torpedos! I remember reading about those! It was back in history class...

“No.” I hissed as I stepped forward and hit my head against the door. “Focus! That’s your other exit!” The sharp pain that ran through the shaved part of my head made me wince, but had the intended effect of waking me up a bit. Reaching up, I poured what strength I had into opening the door. Again, the old metal groaned and gave way.

Inside, the torpedo room was mostly empty. Not just of torpedos, but of ponies or other equipment, leaving a large, cavernous room. The room glowed softly from under the old floorboards. The lone flare that had shot it’s way down here had slowly heated the rotting wood, but it had yet to catch fire. Looking across, I found that the two heavy doors to the wide torpedo tubes in here were shut, and the lights on their attached control panels still glowed softly on their own.

Hobbling across the large room over to the closest tube, I cringed at how much the rotten floor bowed out under me. Tilting my head so that I could read the control panel, I found that under a large green button there was a label that read ‘Inner Door: Open/Seal’. Reaching up, I hoofed at the old button quickly. A loud hum startled me, getting my heart going quickly again. The large steel door over the tube next to me shuttered and opened slowly. The door opened upward, revealing a dark, rank smelling tube interior. From it’s current state, my guess was that nopony had ever thought to keep these clean.

Quickly, I maneuvered myself around and dumped Hispano into the tube. Turning back, I gave her a few good shoves with my hooves to make sure she was all the way inside. Now that I weighed half as much as before, I looked over the control panel again. Surprisingly, there was a large red button next to the green one that read ‘Outer Door: Open/Seal’. How fortuitous it was that the buttons were next to each other! Reaching up, I gave out another long yawn as I hoofed at the button.

An alarm sounded, and a dim red light flashed intermittently on the control panel. I paused for a moment, wondering if that was supposed to happen or not. However, I’d pretty much guessed that something had gone wrong by the way that the outer door hadn’t opened. Hoofing at the button again, nothing changed. Panicking, I tracked the flashing light down on the controls and read the text next to it.

Fuck! Didn’t this thing know how important it is that we get out of here? No, of course not, because it’s a machine. Focus, Night! Banging my head against the controls for a moment, I let out a frustrated growl. Turning around, I trotted back across to the other room and over to where I’d dumped Happy at. As I walked over toward him, there was an enormous crack, and the whole ship shook under my hooves.

Gasping, I scraped at Happy, tugging at him to get him onto my back. Turning around, another blast forced the air inside the ship to compress before a bright flame rolled across the ceiling. Pushing myself, I hobbled the both of us to the torpedo tube and promptly bucked him off my back. It wasn’t exactly a graceful flop that Happy performed as he slid inside, but he was safe all the same. As soon as I’d gotten him inside however, was when the big one hit.

The air shattered as an enormous blast blew apart the front end of the ship. The force of the explosion ripped through the sub, and unprepared, I found myself forced down the tube by the blastwave. The wave itself must have blown the hydraulics for the door, because the door slammed shut behind me with a sizzling hiss before the world flipped upside down.

I went weightless as it did, and a dreadfully low groan emit from the walls of the tube before we slammed down onto something hard. When we did, everything went black for what felt like only a moment.

With a choking gasp, I seized up. My eyes flew open as I coughed and writhed on the cold, wet grass that grew on the hillside. Looking around in panic, the bright flames that poured out of the burning submarine lit up the night sky. The roaring blaze had ponies running in from all over, hoofing buckets of water around to try to douse it. However, the cold air and dew covered grass that pressed at my skin helped me understand that somehow, we’d made it out.

“It’s alright, Night. You’re alright.” Hispano’s voice fought to get over the roaring fire, and her talon helped to prop me up. “Just breathe, deep breaths.” As I looked up at her, I found tears in her eyes, but her beak was split in a relieved smile. As my fits of choking and coughing died down, I found her lean forward and wrap her talons around me. “Thank the goddesses, you’re okay…”

Looking around, I saw the charred and slightly bent torpedo tube a few feet away. It had been ripped right out of it’s mountings by the blast, and we’d been tossed with it a couple dozen feet away from the ship. Sitting propped up against the outside of the tube was a fairly exhausted looking Happy. He gave me a light, guilty smile and waved his forehoof at me. I could breathe a sigh of relief that the two of them were okay.

I squeaked as I was embraced in a tight hug by Hispano. It was so sudden and so tight that it caught me off guard. As odd as it was, I could feel her tremble as she held me. I’d never seen Hispano like this, and though I didn’t want to lead her on more, I couldn’t deny that I was happy that she was safe.

“Everypony just fell asleep, and… I couldn’t fight it. Then I wake up hurting, and in that tube with you and that idiot over there. You had Suiza on you for… some reason…?” Hispano squeezed at me hard enough that I wondered if she thought that’s how she’d get an answer out of me. After a moment however, she let go. “What the hell happened in there? How did we get out?” Giving a sniffle, she wiped at her watering eyes.

“It’s… complicated?” I sighed and looked over to the burning hulk of scrap that had once been a piece of Equestria’s wartime navy. Looking around, my eyes drifted to the hard working towns ponies who were actively fighting the fire. I wonder how many were killed, or if there were any survivors other than us. “Look, I’ll explain it to you later, alright?”

Turning and looking toward the Mercy, my eyes drifted over to the gangway that led up onto the ship. Even from here I could see that someone was standing on it. From the coloration of her coat, to the fact she was probably staring directly at me, I was pretty sure it was Delilah.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Before I could think to myself about what I’d just seen, I had a lot of explaining to do…

I know that the war itself had been a horrible event, but thank the goddesses for the M.o.P. and their wonderful medical equipment.

After being fully treated for the few small burns I had, the only visible sign I’d even been hurt was the fact that my coat was missing in some places. Oh, and my wings were missing a few feathers now as well, but that’s neither here nor there. I didn’t get a chance to admire the work the doctors had done for very long, as both Delilah and I were escorted around by ship security from the moment we walked in.

Delilah hadn’t said a word since I landed next to her on the gangway, but unlike with Buck earlier, I hadn’t expected her to talk to me. Her expression however spoke volumes about how she both knew this was somehow my fault, and how disappointed in me she was. I couldn’t say I blamed her either.

We were led through another labyrinth of hallways, and forced to march up ten or so flights of stairs. The security here didn’t say much, but what they did say was spoken in whispers. It made me wonder just how many ponies Mrs. Tapit had under her employ before she died, and what they would do now. For all I know, most of these ponies could have been in the same position that Dr. Kaio was in, and her death was actually a good thing for them.

Looking ahead, we’d been led down a hallway that was wider than any other we’d walked through before. Wood paneled doors lined office like rooms to either side of us, and a double door lay directly ahead of us. As we approached, the doors opened, and a tall, lanky, yellow coated griffon with a broad beak stepped out. She glared at Delilah and I before ruffling her wings on her back, and tapping at the floor with her rear… hoof.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew what she was. She wasn’t a griffon at all, she was a hippogriff! Was it even possible? I mean, it had to be if she was standing right freakin’ here! Wow, we’d talked about it in biology class, but I’d never ever expected to see one! As she flicked her tail at us, I caught the sight of a cutie mark of three lined up cannons on her flank. Woah, they even get cutie marks!?

As I stared and smiled at her, her eye twitched. She puffed up the grey and red spotted plumage around her neck as she snapped her talons at me. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer, dweeb.” With a huff, she trotted off down the hall past us. I guess just because she’s a hippogriff, didn’t mean she couldn’t be an asshole…

“Come in.” The annoyed voice of a mare spoke up through the slightly ajar door. “Have a seat.”

Both Delilah and I stepped forward as asked. Reaching out, Delilah and I both opened the doors in front of us and stepped inside. I however, was the only one to freeze up from what I saw. Grey coat, droopy frowning muzzle, and the long ears of a donkey met my eyes. The ash grey mane she had was tied up tightly in a bun around the back of her head, and her flat gaze at the two of us gave me an all too familiar vibe.

“Hello, Mrs. Edith.” Delilah began so suddenly that I nearly jumped. I hadn’t realized I was so on edge, but Delilah simply rolled her eyes at me as she closed the doors behind us with her tail. “My name is Delilah. I’m the head of the Convoy that’s parked outside of your settlement. The bandaged one beside me is Night Flight, an employee of mine.”

“I could care less what your names are, or who you are at all in fact.” Mrs. Edith said boredly. Her old wooden chair creaked under her as she shifted herself forward. “What I want to know is what you intend to do about the crime your ‘employee’ committed against my settlement.”

“Crime?” I asked without thinking. It took me a moment to wonder what I did wrong, but then it hit me. Technically I was responsible for the deaths of all those involved. Being under the hoof of Mrs. Tapit hadn’t given me any authority to kill anypony at all. I… murdered those ponies...

“Why don't I start with giving you the reason you are here. Almost a half hour after you were sighted as leaving from this ship, Mrs. Tapit's submarine caught fire with you aboard. The result of which, was you, your companions, and a total of fourteen others escaping the burning wreck with moderate to severe injuries. The other thirty eight souls onboard were unfortunately lost when Mrs. Tapit’s ship, the Sunbeam, exploded." Mrs. Edith began. From what I'd now come to understand, she was the leader of Destruction Bay, and not somepony you wanted to piss off. Steepling her hooves on her wide, mahogany desk, she gave out a heavy sigh. "This settlement was founded under maritime laws at the end of the war. Laws which, with my and Admiral Broadside’s enforcement, have held this community together for nearly two centuries." She also happened to be the second scariest donkey I'd ever met. "Laws which you blatantly disregarded when you committed an unquestionable act of piracy against Mrs. Tapit's ship."

"While what happened was regrettable," Delilah spoke colder than ever as she glanced at me. "You can't fault those in my convoy for not knowing how things work around here."

"On the contrary." Mrs. Edith snorted. "I expect every outsider to respect and learn the laws here. If you aren't willing to learn them, I suggest you find refuge somewhere else out on the road." What? Was... was she serious? So I needed to know the laws in order to even exist in a place I've only just arrived too? What kind of outrageous crap was that!?

"That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever been fed, and I lived in the Enclave!" I laughed, being as openly blunt as ever. Of course, I could have predicted how that would turn out...

"Night," Delilah hissed at me, "hold your tongue."

I know that Mrs. Delilah meant well, but she hadn't been through the same shit I had in the last twenty four hours. So if anything, I'll deal with whatever consequences she hooves out to me once we’re done here. Right now, I needed to vent.

"Nah. I know what happened was a bit extreme of a response," I shook my head. "but I wasn't just going to sit around when Mrs. Tapit had taken my friends hostage." While the glare my current employer had certainly gave me pause about speaking my mind, the rage brewing in the gaze that Mrs. Edith held, told me that it was worth it. "I'm no expert on 'maritime law' or whatever, but is there some sort of rule stating that it's alright to foalnap outsiders in this town?"

"Mrs. Tapit was a sanctioned privateer of Destruction Bay. She, like any other business pony here, operated under my authority, and the authority of the H.M.S. Mercy." She grumbled, pressing her hooves down on her desk to push herself out of her seat. "And as I understand it, one of your 'friends' tried to cheat their way out of paying for the services they received at her brothel, and was thus detained legally."

"Well as I hear it from my crew," Delilah rose her voice as she took a slight step forward, "Mrs. Tapit was in the business of distributing shipments of narcotics over quite a few of the northern settlements." I never thought I'd say this, but thank the goddesses for our striped, drug addicted driver being so open about his habits... "And while my crew might not know Maritime law, it's been my family's business to know it for over two centuries. Under the Erie doctrine, this incident falls under the common law of Equestria, superseding your jurisdiction. And that common law states that the unlicensed distribution of narcotics, either from the Ministry of Peace or an independent corporation, is an illegal act, and considered misappropriation of strategic wartime assets." Taking a deep breath, I couldn't help but notice that Mrs. Edith was now fuming behind her desk.

"So, Mr. Night here did in fact under your laws commit an act of piracy, of that you are correct.” She continued, “However, in admitting that Mrs. Tapit was a sanctioned privateer of the H.M.S. Mercy, and of Destruction Bay, you're bound by law to accept all the consequences and repercussions of her actions.” Delilah calmly reached up and adjusted her glasses on her muzzle, looking just as ‘enthused’ as ever. “But I'm fairly certain that’s a little part of maritime law you're willing to overlook, isn’t it?"

Hot damn, Mrs. Delilah really knew her shit! I have no idea if anything she just said is true, but that’s why she was the boss. I don’t know if any of that would make a difference in this meeting, but I was happy that she still stood up for me. Come to think of it, after our argument in Filly Crossing, she’s seemed to be a little more defencive of the convoy overall. She may not have openly acted like it, but I could see it on her face right now that she was committed to defending us to the death if it came to it.

"Mrs. Tapit was..." Mrs. Edith said slowly, looking like she couldn't quite find the words she wanted to use. "Let's just say she was a necessary evil. One which I could keep in check. Yes, she distributed a few of the controlled substances my ship manufactures, but me looking the other way with this system was better than having any number of ruffians and gangs squabble for control in my city." Pointing her hoof sharply at me, she grunted. "Something your little act of piracy has now destroyed. You've left an enormous power vacuum, and damaged the fundamental safety of this city."

"Safety!?" I laughed out at that. "I fell through the boards on your shoddy dock earlier tonight. I was nearly killed by a changeling while in a hospital bed on your ship. Your doctors forgot to check about my implant before turning on your MRI machine. Hell, somepony put a bomb on our convoy while in plain sight of your guards." Pointing my hoof back at her, I smiled at the angry grimace that pulled across her face. "How about the fact that I was forced into servitude because of somepony else's crime? How about the arsenal of Enclave power armor and equipment that was underneath the floorboards of Mrs. Tapit’s ship?”

“What arsenal?” She spat at me, hammering her hoof on her desk. “Mrs. Tapit didn’t have a single gun on that ship that wasn’t registered to this city, let alone power armor. Weapons caches are outlawed outside of Admiral Broadside’s barracks to keep down the threat of mutiny! If she were hoarding weapons she’d received from the Enclave, either one of you featherheads would have slipped up and said something, or my informants would have told me.”

“Then let me ask you this. Just how do you think the ship exploded? Hmmm, could it have been all the missiles and explosives she’d had hidden inside there?” I don’t know what insulted me more, the fact that she thought that a pegasus would tell her about their shady dealings with Mrs. Tapit, or the fact that she was genuinely stupid enough to believe that it was impossible to have happened at all. “And you want to say to my face that it's safe here? That's not looking the other way, that's a blatant and willing disregard for what goes on in this place. You know what? Maybe you’re right and there weren’t any explosives inside. Maybe it was actually just all the hot air you’ve been blowing up this town’s flank with your placing blame on us outsiders who get wrapped up in your own sanctioned shady dealings!"

I froze up as I heard Mrs. Delilah laugh. Not just a single forced laugh, but she was genuinely giggling. It caught me off guard so much that I froze up in shock as I looked over at her.

"So," Delilah spoke up, wearing a wide smile. "What will you tell the citizens of Destruction Bay, Mrs. Edith? That this incident was an act of ignorance against the ponies of this city by not realizing that Mrs. Tapit was stockpiling arms to possibly stage a hostile takeover? Or, will it be an admission of corruption for knowingly sanctioning her illegal actions as your privateer and funding said impending violent takeover? Just my opinion here, but neither option really has a positive ring to it."

Sitting down slowly, Mrs. Edith looked tense enough that if she were to be pricked with a pin, she'd explode from the resulting release of pressure. "No charges will be pressed against you. What happened aboard the H.M.S. Sunbeam will be officially declared an accident caused by the malfunction of one of our standard issue emergency flare guns striking a shipment of chemicals." She muttered under her breath. "You have until your convoy is repaired to stay in my city. Not a moment after you are able to leave, are you furthermore banned from Destruction Bay. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Mrs. Delilah nodded, seeming to get control of herself again. Looking at me, her joyous expression deflated faster than a balloon as she nodded over to the door. The both of us reached out and opened the doors, quickly taking our leave of the fuming donkey and shutting her in behind us. After a moment however, both Delilah and I winced as we heard the distinct noise of a coffee mug being shattered, and papers being tossed around. Delilah gave a snirk at that, smiling again before shaking her head. “One of these days, Night, being blunt like that is going to get you killed.”

“Is that going to be before or after I find a way to piss off everyone in the wasteland?” I smiled at her as she snorted at that in amusement. I’d never seen her this relaxed before, and it gave me an odd, but good feeling. “Is everything alright, Ma’am?”

“Yeah,” Delilah nodded and gave out a happy sigh. “Just relieved to know that while I’ve made my fair share of mistakes in the wasteland, at least I haven’t gotten to be as bad as some out there.” Clearing her throat, she dropped her expression back to one that was closer to her normal look, but still a bit more relaxed. “You on the other hoof, are trying to set a record for mistakes made.”

Before I could tell her I was sorry… again, a voice down the hall caught our attention.

“Ahoy!” It was Double Drum, who for some reason had been escorted up here by none other than Jean. Thankfully for us, Jean was busy bouncing around behind him in and out of all the offices too fast to really pay any attention to us.

“Hey there again!” He called out, quickly trotting up to us with a relieved look across his muzzle. The moment he was in front of us, I found my hoof swept up off the floor and held tightly between his. “Mrs. Edith may not appreciate it, but you've done this town a great service. I'll do everything in my power to keep you from being held responsible for this. No reason that either of you should rot in a cell for what you did.”

“Actually, it's all been worked out.” Delilah snorted as Double Drum’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “We're banned from Destruction Bay once we leave, but there will be no repercussions until we do. Thank you though for the offer of support.”

Quickly composing himself again, Double Drum gave us a wide smile. “While I'm sorry I couldn't help on that front, I do have some good news for you. The forepony up at Carmacks radioed back tonight that earlier in the afternoon, he had engaged the convoy chasing you. They'd been forced to take a wide path offroad around the city's defencive range.” Oh, so that’s why they had the bulldozer with the artillery barrels on it! “But he also said that they disappeared before too long, like they just... vanished. Still, it's not much, but it should’ve slowed them down by a few hours.”

“That's welcomed news. The more time we can buy, the better.” Delilah nodded, only showing the hint of a smile. So… piss off the local leader, she gives a genuine laugh. Get the best news about Solomon in a while, she only gives a smile. Seriously, Delilah needed to sort out her enjoyment priorities…

“Then I hope you're ready for more good news.” Double Drum held his hoof up to his chest and looked proud of himself. “With my road roller unfortunately still knocked out, I got word that Knuckle Boom and her crew are on their way up from Mare's lake to take my place out on the road. You'll probably run into her once you leave, but I'll radio ahead and tell her to let you pass.” I wasn’t sure how he could sound so proud that his machine had been knocked out of commission. But if it meant more good news for us, I couldn’t really care.

“Thank you for all you've done for us.” Delilah stuck her hoof out at him sharply. I'll make sure to remember your generosity in the future.” Shaking his hoof, she smiled again, this time giving another genuine one.

“Just doing my job, Ma'am.” Double Drum looked over to me before nodding back down the hallway. “So, you going to have Jean lead you on down to Dr. Tibia now? She and Crystal Harmonium are the best in the northern wastes at making prosthetics. And after all, I still owe you one.”

Looking back at the moose, the chimes in her ears jingled as she stuck her head out of one of the rooms with a broad smile. “Did somepony ask for me!?”

Giving out a long yawn, I think that the excitement for the evening had passed, and I was ready to get to bed. “You know, I think I’ll wait until we get back from the job tomorrow. Even though it won’t be long until morning, I think getting any sort of rest would be better than none.”

“Again, thank you for your help.” Delilah nodded to Double Drum as she started walking. After a few steps, she stopped abruptly. “You know, it’s odd running into you up here. May I ask why you came?”

“I was supposed to meet Admiral Broadside here with a few of my closest friends for Mrs. Edith’s... ‘retirement party’.” Double Drum gave a sly smile and began to walk toward Mrs. Edith’s office. Giving a small wave to us, he pointed us to the rooms Jean had jumped between. As he did, a few hard hatted ponies stuck their heads out and smiled at us. “It seems like the Admiral hasn’t showed up yet. That or we just missed her, but all the same, it’s best if you two leave. What happens next may not be too pretty, and we didn’t really want prying eyes around when it goes down.”

“We understand.” Delilah gave a short bow before turning and trotting down the hall. “Come, Night. Let’s go.”

Trotting away with Delilah, I didn’t want to think about just what that meant. Though, I’m sure that it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. I mean, Double Drum seemed like an admirable guy, so I’m sure everything would be fine...

“Hi!” The jarring voice of Jean came before the jingles of the chimes hanging from her ears. “Do you two need an escort? I’d be happy to take you where ever you two want to go!” Seriously, how does someone her size get around so quietly?

“Sure, we could use an escort out.” Delilah stopped as the enormous moose nearly vibrated with each word.

“Oh, yay!” Jean gasped and bounced ahead of us on all fours. There was a particularly distressing groan that the ship itself gave, and a few of the pipes along the walls rattled with her heavy bounces. “Oh, did you two want to take the scenic route, eh? I promise I know all of the best sights to see onboard! I can even give yah some history of our humble home, if ya’d like!”

“Sure. Feel free to tell us all about it.” Delilah responded with a soft smile while my jaw felt like it hit the floor. It wasn’t even the fact that she’d asked Jean for the tour, it’s the fact that she had to know how tired I was! She most likely even knew that Hardcase, Hispano, Buck and I were going on that job tomorrow, so why would she even say yes?

“Why…?” I sighed, hanging my head as we began to follow the energetic, oversized medic.

“Consider this your punishment for blowing up the local drug dealer and her ship.” She said flatly. “I’d be thankful you got off this easy if I were you. Now pay attention to what the young moose has to say, you might learn something useful from her. There’s no tool more useful in a wasteland settlement than a overly social local. You’d be wise to listen to them.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hanging my head low, I kept my ears perked.

So, as it turns out, I did learn quite a few things from Jean. Mostly, that the H.M.S. Mercy was more than just a simple hospital ship. Those that returned to Destruction Bay aboard her and the H.M.S. Fairy Flight after ‘the great storm’, knew that for most out there in the southern ruins of Equestria, there was no hope for help. Captain Mending Tides realized that the greatest good that those aboard his ship could do, was provide for those survivors of the war who lived this far north. He understood that with their help, he could build a new city, train new doctors, and manufacture new medical supplies.

They accepted all survivors in need of help, no matter the race, no matter the lifestyle, no matter the injury. Those who come here who can be trained become Doctors. Those who can’t, are given work in either fishing, scavenging, or volunteering to deliver medical supplies and aid in monthly caravans. Through this aid, they are given the necessary supplies by settlements to operate, most of the time without even being asked. The settlements along highway five are only ever asked for one thing in return for their services, and it’s for those out there like Jean.

The wasteland that took Jean’s parents from her is a wasteland that I hadn’t yet met, and far in the eastern mountains from here. However, Jean and I aren’t alone in our parentless predicament. The orphans that the Mercy takes in are well cared for, and were normally adopted by the staff, which explained Balmy and Dr. Kaio’s odd relationship.

And while I somewhat feel sympathetic to those orphans for having lost their parents as well, it’s not something I’m happy to admit. Most of the orphans never got to know their parents, and I won’t lie that right now, I envied them a little for that. Still, they were the lifeblood of this city, and training to be doctors on the Mercy is something that brought them pride. Well, if Jean and the young stallion working under Dr. Kaio are anything to go off of, anyway.

Slowing my hobble along the streets with Mrs. Delilah, I hoofed at my mother’s soot coated tags still fortunately hanging around my neck. Those raised here are going to help so many ponies in their lives, and any parent could be proud of that. They’re going to be a force for good in the wastes, while me? I mean, I got my cutie mark in bombing. Could my parent’s really ever have been proud of who I am today?

“Everything alright?” Delilah asked, stopping just a few hoofsteps ahead of me.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “Just, hearing about the orphans got me thinking of my own parents again.”

“I understand.” Mrs. Delilah nodded firmly. “I know that it’s still fresh in your mind, but believe me, the pain you feel will eventually dull. You’re a survivor, Night. It’s what you do, and you’ll move on in time.” Looking around at the empty nighttime city streets, Delilah seemed to relax a small bit as we stood there. “But with what you’ve done for us, even with your limited stay so far, you’re part of my crew now, Night. Each and every one of us are there to help you move on if you need it.”

Not every one of us.

I snorted just at the thought of how Violet was lying to them all. I was going to have to confront her about it before we got back on the road. And I had to think of a way to do it that wouldn’t make the chip in her head act up. I knew I could make her see that she was wrong, that with her help we could beat Solomon to the Ark. I don’t know how I’d convince her, but I just knew that I had to do it.

“Actually,” I spoke up to Delilah, “can I ask you a question?”

“Depends on the question.” She replied in her normal, flat tone.

“What’s on the Ark?” It’s been something I hadn’t thought about too much since hearing the story of the great ship. But with the news on the radio yesterday, I remember that none of us had even ever asked about it. From the way that Delilah’s muzzle had fallen into a grimace however, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to find out from her. “I… understand if you don’t want to tell me…”

“I don’t know.” She stated bluntly. I stood in shock at her words, unsure of just how that could be. "The instructions that my ancestors left were less than clear. They only indicated that the Ark was to be retrieved if the world had become stable after it's terrible end, or if it was in danger of being reclaimed by those in Solomon's family. The fact that my town is in dire need of supplies only served as a good cover. While the town is pretty bad off, we've been through it before, and I’m sure we'll go through it again. Solomon arriving to look for it is what kicked this convoy off, but with the cloud cover gone and the new government they’re talking about starting, it’s now my job to go after it all the same."

"So, you don't actually know if there's anything on the ship?" There had to be some reason that her ancestors didn't want it to fall into the hooves of Solomon's family at all costs.

She chuckled for a moment. "I don't even know if there is a ship, Night." She shook her head and frowned at me. "I'm going to be honest with you, and not a word of this is to be repeated. I’m trusting you with this, Understand?" She glared at me, making the coat on my neck stand on end. Nodding at her, she looked around her for a moment. "Happy cracked the last deadbolt in the safe before we ran into Double Drum and his Road Crew. I gave him strict instructions not to tell any of you about it, and for once, he didn’t screw that up."

"What...?” Sitting down, I knew that if it had Delilah acting this odd, whatever was in that safe couldn't be good. “Wait, then what was inside?"

She shook her head again. "I don't know." Flashing me a sad smile, she reached up and pulled her glasses off of her muzzle. "I haven't opened it yet."

"But... you came all this way..." I was relieved to hear that it wasn't something bad, but still, the pit in my stomach hadn't gone away. "Why wouldn't you open it after waiting this long?"

She didn't immediately answer me. At first I thought that maybe she already knew what she’d find inside, but she didn’t seem like the type to have omitted that so far. The longer I waited and looked over her, the more I knew what she was going to say because I could now see it on her as plain as day.

"Because I'm afraid, Night." Holding her glasses out in front of her, she inspected them in a thinly veiled attempt to look like she wasn't absolutely terrified. "Inside that safe is what has separated my family from Solomon's for two centuries. It's the difference between making us a target, and tomorrow just being another day in the wasteland. And not knowing what's inside? I'm still not sure if that's a burden I want to place on everypony."

"I... I understand. But that's something you don't need to worry about." I said, trying my best to offer her a comforting smile. From the way she glanced at me, I knew I wasn't doing a very good job at it. "You know we're behind you, all the way..." My words drifted off as I was again reminded that that was true for all of us, except for Violet.

"It's more than just the convoy, Night." She sighed, sitting down right next to me and putting her glasses back on. "The moment I open that safe, I paint a bullseye on not just us, but my entire town, the relatives of all who live there, and everypony around us at any given time. And while those on the Convoy trust me, if I fail, the consequences could be the cost of all of their lives."

“You won’t fail.” While I could appreciate the fact that this must have been hard for her to say to me, or at all for that matter, the point was that she didn’t need to doubt herself. “You made the right call when I spoke up in Filly Crossing. You’ve held the entire crew together so far, and while we’ve had setbacks that may or may not always have been my fault,” I paused as she gave a snirk and a roll of her eyes at that. “there’s no way that you aren’t the right donkey for the job, and I’m happy to be a part of this crew.”

“Well said.” She nodded before eyeing me over out of the side of her glasses. “You’re right again, Night, in all but one regard...” She groaned as she pulled herself back to her hooves again. Reaching her hoof out to me, she smiled and motioned for me to grab it. As I did, I felt as she pulled and helped me back onto my hooves. “The crew as a whole have been why we’ve held together this long, not just me. That’s why they are the ones who deserve to make this call.”

“So we’ll hold a vote then.” I was pretty sure I knew the outcome of it, but if it helped to keep Delilah’s hopes up, than I knew that everypony would be willing to give their support.

“Tomorrow.” Delilah nodded softly. “Once the repairs are complete and we get back on the road.” Giving a sharp yawn out of her grey muzzle, I felt compelled to respond with one from my own. “For now, with Solomon delayed and the repairs looming, I’m not going to worry about the location of the Ark. You however, need to rest up.” Casting a glance to me, she smirked. “You’ve got work to do in the morning.”

Author's Notes:

As always, many thanks to KKat for giving us this wonderful wasteland world to journey around with!

As well as a big thanks to TheFurryRailFan, for his continued help on prereading and editing these chapters!