Refreshed after our short nap, Hispano left to join Violet out on patrol, while I was stuck listening to the radio as Buck worked on changing out some of Lucky’s bandages. To be honest, the energetic and lively music that DJ PowerColt had been playing today didn’t quite mesh well with the mood we’d all fallen into. But, as he did now and again, he at least broke up the unique tunes with a bit of news now and then.

“Hello again to all you cool cats out there among the white tipped pines and frozen peaks of the northern wastelands. DJ PowerColt coming at you with yet another piece of fresh local gossip. It looks like after nearly a century, the settlement known to folks as ‘Stone Town’ is back on the map once more, and this time welcoming any and all who make the detour into the mountains along Highway Five. Now I know some of you have heard the old stories going around about that place, but you can bet that if DJ PowerColt says it’s safe, then you know it’s got to be true.”

Wait, what!? How the hell could DJ PowerColt know that? It’s only been a few hours since we left there! No, there was no way that he could even know that, unless… somepony up there had a way to contact him directly? To be honest, I was still at a loss about how he even got his news in the first place, but now I was even more confused. And here I was beginning to think that I’d actually gotten past the stage of being confused about the wasteland...

“You heard that right, folks. In fact, if rumors are to be believed, it’s actually thanks to the work of the same ponies who helped to clean up Destruction Bay’s drug problem. Now, we here at Factory Radio don’t normally like to call out those in our northern community, but these ponies are some smooth operators bringing wholesome change to our beloved home. So, on behalf of the whole northern wasteland, if you’re listening to this, thanks for bringing just a bit more sunshine into our lives. Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy this new beat, because it’s dedicated to all you fine ponies making a difference out there. You’re tuned into Factory Radio, with new music manufactured and broadcast to you northern wasters daily.”

“As much as I like the guy,” Hardcase called out as he stood on the roof of his container, “he’s going to call down all sorts of trouble on us if he gives out any more reports like that.”

I was about to ask him what he meant by that, but was cut off as the radio gave off a burst of static.

“Alright everypony, listen up.” Delilah gave off her trademark sigh of annoyance as I assumed she broadcast to everyone on the convoy. “While we’ve done well in beating down every obstacle that Solomon has put in our way so far, there is no benefit in padding our own reputation. I don’t know which of you called it into that damn radio DJ, but as of this moment, there will be no gossip broadcast from this convoy. Am I understood?”

At that, Hardcase lowered himself down off the top of his container and dropped onto the deck next to the radio with a thump. While using his ladder inside would have probably been easier, I guess that was one benefit of having lost the tarp up top. Still, Hardcase didn’t seem to mind as he picked himself back up and grabbed the radio receiver with his magic.

“To be fair, Ma’am,” He spoke with a straight face, “Nopony knows how DJ PowerColt gets his news. Violet, Lucky, and I tried to figure it out on our first trip up, but we could never get a solid answer from anypony on it.” Pausing, he gave a quick glance over to me that felt to me like he was holding back. “Plus, you would have heard any broadcast we made. My bet, is that if anything, we’ve got a tail of some sort hanging just far enough back that we don’t see them. Maybe somepony Solomon hired to keep tabs on us.”

“You’re damn right I would have heard any of you.” Delilah snorted, making Hardcase roll his eyes at the radio. “But I’ll default to your knowledge of the situation on this, and all of you on recon are now tasked with finding this ‘tail’. Make sure that Night understands to keep a lookout for any tails as well next time he’s up on patrol.” Hardcase gave a smirk before glancing over at me again. “Oh, and Hardcase? Because the Runner is now scrap, I need you to get to work on figuring out another way to get Night and Violet into the air quickly. Bring Boiler in on it with you if you need help, but I want a plan in place for something before we arrive at Mare’s Lake.”

“Alright, you’ve got it, ma’am.” Hardcase gave a nod before hanging up the microphone. As soon as it was stowed, he sighed and hung his head.

“Why did you lie to her about the DJ?” I spat out just as awkwardly as ever. Okay, again, I’ve gotta get some sort of handle on this blurting out thing.

“Well, I didn’t technically lie…” Hardcase cringed hard enough that he probably could have actually dodged a real bullet heading for him. However, metaphorical ones were trickier to avoid, and he hadn’t quite managed it this time. “You see, the rumors about him are… all over the place, frankly.”

“Like what?” I asked as I perked my ears and pushed myself up against the back of the plush couch under me. It was odd to think that some pony who so many seemed to listen to in the wastes, was such a mysterious figure. “How little do ponies actually know about him?”

“From what I understand, nopony has actually met the guy, or even knows where he broadcasts from. Stories about him span anything from him being an ghoul with an exceptionally smooth voice, to him using the old weather control towers around the north to spy on everypony. Though, with these mountains as rocky and tall as they are, there’s some serious doubt on that.” Hardcase gave a short giggle and looked at me with a ridiculous grin. “There were some folks who even thought he was some sort of alien from outer space.” He froze up for a moment, gaining an oddly serious look to himself. “Or… a time traveler...” Giving a few small nods, he stroked at his chin in thought. “Actually, that one would explain a lot right now…”

“If that were true,” Happy chimed in from the door to his container. “Why come here? Why not just go back and stop the war?” Huh, funny I hadn’t remembered hearing his door open… and I hadn’t remembered anypony asking for him to eavesdrop on us either.

“That’s not how time travel works.” Hardcase grunted flatly before pointing sharply at his horn. “Like with most magic, even if it were possible, there are rules to using it that nopony can break. For example, you can’t change the past without causing a paradox that could erase the universe from existence.”

“Unless!” Buck’s voice cut in through the container behind me. Right, nopony was eavesdropping because the walls of these containers might as well just have been thin air when it comes to muffling sound. With a squeak, the door to our container opened and he peeked his head out. “Unless of course, we exist in a universe that is flexible enough that it allows for alternate branching timelines to be created.”

“True, Doc.” Hardcase grunted as he fell back into his thoughtful look. “Of course, to test that theory, you’d have to attempt to change the past in the first place, which of course could accidentally lead to you destroying the very universe itself. However, alternatively to that, it’s completely possible that it could work. Which now that I think of it, means we could already be living in one of those branching timelines right now. Hell, we might not even be part of the original wasteland timeline, and we wouldn’t even know!” He let out a gasp, going wide eyed. “What if DJ PowerColt is one of us, but from the future?”

Even as a pegasus, master of the skies, this was all starting to fly way over my head. Alternate timelines, different pasts, future-selves? This whole conversation had spiraled out of control into something far too ‘meta’ for my tastes.

“So… one of us came back from the future to become a radio DJ?” Happy spoke up with a startling amount of reason to his words. “Seriously? Think about that for a moment.”

“Goddesses…” Hardcase facehooved as hard as I’d found myself doing in recent days. “Never thought I’d say this, but Happy’s right. That was probably the stupidest theory that’s ever come out of my muzzle.”

“I could think of a few dumber ones.” Violet called out as she swooped down from above. With a heavy flare of her wings, she bombed right out of the air and down onto the couch next to me. The old springs inside it gave a heavy squeal as they were compressed by the hit, but settled down as she bounced and landed deftly onto her hooves next to Hardcase. Her entrance had been so out of nowhere that I hadn’t noticed that she for some reason, had lots of pink accents in her neon streaked mane. “We’re just about to pull off toward the resort, and the road ahead looks clear for the moment.”

“Resort?” Both Buck and I asked at the same time.

You know, as curious as I was about this next stop on our trek, I’d become weary of finding things out. Sure, knowing what was coming up was important to know, but at the same time, I was afraid of just what would go wrong here. Then again, our stay in Whitehorse was thankfully completely uneventful. But on the other hoof, that was because they’d come out to cause trouble before we’d even arrived...

“Yeah, Pink Mountain is a nice place. Used to be a bunch of hot springs that they built a hotel around back before the war. However...” Hardcase hung on his words for a moment, giving me ample time to prepare for the inevitable danger this place posed. “The hotsprings are a bit... radioactive after the apocalypse. It’s mostly a ghoul resort, really. Still, it’s a nice place nonetheless!” And there it is...

“Oh?” Buck didn’t share my hesitation, instead now sporting a smile across his muzzle. At least, one that lasted until he looked down to me. “Oh…”

“Yeah, well it’s not that dangerous.” Violet did her best to step in and salvage my hopes. “The good thing about it is that the magical radiation pockets in the forest keeps most troublemakers safely away from the hotel.”

“Plus, some of the staff are ghouls that have been there since before the war ended!” Hardcase gave a nervous laugh. “If you don’t mind squishy hooves while sucking down some rad-away, they give some of the best massages in the northern wasteland! But, a word of warning, if a mare named Sweet Comforts asks if you want the ‘full’ package, it would be best to refuse, unless you’re into that sort of thing.” He cringed and gave a nervous glance over to Violet, who only rolled her eyes. “For a ghoul, she’s a bit more... ‘hooves on’ than one might be led to expect...”

“Don’t you two have an open relationship?” Buck blurted out in the same way I’d come to expect from myself. And from the blush that flushed across his cheeks, I could tell that he hadn’t expected to say that either. “Er, I’m sorry if that’s too intrusive of me.”

“Being open doesn’t mean we’ll sleep with any easy floozy who asks.” Violet snorted before ruffling her wings uncomfortably. “Especially ghouls with a reputation like hers.”

I was about to ask what exactly she meant by that when the entirety of Bertha shifted under our hooves. We’d begun to slow down as the road under us sloped up. As had become a pretty common sight, the off ramp pulled us away from the old highway we’d been traveling so long on. However, Bertha slowed to a complete stop as we reached the end of the offramp, and the thrumming of her and Bessy’s engines were all that hung in the air at the moment.

A high pitched whining droned through the air from somewhere ahead, and made all of our ears perk. The more we listened, the more recognizable another pair of arcano-engines became. However, no call had come up from Delilah to us. Looking up, I saw Hispano looking down at me. She gave off a shrug before continuing to hover around in the sky.

The rumbling engines were slightly muted by the cringeworthy sounds of heavy metal tank tracks rolling across the road ahead of us. Both Violet and I quickly trotted toward the back of the Rec area, leaning over the railing on the back to get a peek around us. As we did, the noise of the approaching tanks became near deafening. So much so that I reached up and pinned my hooves to my ears.

A pair of large, flat, boxy tanks pushed past us along the off ramp. They didn’t seem to be armed at all, and didn’t even sport turrets on top of their enormous white painted bodies. What they did seem to have in good supply, though, was an odd framework of tubing bolted to their roofs, and spools upon spools of thick cable wound around multiple winches. The Cordite logo had been painted along the sides of their hulls in bold black lettering, along with M88, which I could only assume like with Poppy’s BT-42, was their designation.

As the first tank passed, the open hatch near the front had a ghoul zebra that wore an angry glare as he drove past us. He gave a slow shake of his head before dropping back into the interior of his tank and pulling the hatch closed behind him. While I’d known that Poppy told us that Cordite wouldn’t be an issue for us, I’d failed to realize that it didn’t mean that all of the Cordite crews would be so friendly toward us.

The second tank however caught my eye as it passed. Sitting on it’s roof, was something that made me do a double take. A large, red and white furred hellhound with a pointy jagged jaw sat on it’s roof. Their body was a bit more… rotund than Buck was, but the icy blue eyes that peered out from under an old pony combat helmet were just as striking as his were. The smile that spread across their muzzle felt pretty much the same as well, but the more proportionately sized forearm for their build that waved to us looked weird to me compared to Buck’s oversized one.

“Huh.” Buck laughed, pulling my smiling muzzle back to his own jubilant look. “With similar breed and fur patterning such as that, maybe she’s a distant relative of mine?” She? Farbeit for me to start guessing the genders of others given my own looks, but as far as I could tell, the differences on Hellhounds were less than clear to me. Pausing, Buck tapped at his muzzle with a claw, and tore my mind from my own questions. “Still, I had no idea that any Hellhounds worked with Cordite. Is that very common?”

“Eh, some work with the tanks that they’ll actually fit inside. So… not too common I guess. Though seeing one on a recovery team isn’t all that surprising, as they’re great at the grunt work and heavy lifting.” Hardcase offered before turning and trotting into his room. “However, to answer your question, most of the long time Cordite crews are ghouls, and they need crews who don’t mind sitting next to old, leaky spell reactors. Thus, their options for new recruits are fairly limited to those who won’t die of rad poisoning after a week.” I perked my ears as Hardcase rummaged around in his room for a moment, before returning with an old red toolbox held in his magic “Still, you’ll find more than a few hounds up ahead at the resort, Doc. Just... be careful around them, and keep a close eye on Night there though, alright?”

“Why’s that?” Buck asked before I could.

“Not all of them are as…” Hardcase hung onto his words yet again, making me wonder if he was saving them for a special occasion or something. Seriously, most days he normally didn’t seem this reserved about things. “Civil? Er… let’s just say ‘welcoming’ of non-ghoul ponies and zebra.”

“Even less so of Pegasi more than any other race. They don’t trust us.” Violet chimed in as she stepped back from the railing. “But let’s not worry about that right now, alright? It’s been a long day so far, so let’s just focus on getting settled in for the night up there.”

“Alright,” Buck nodded with an odd tenseness to him. “sounds good.”

However, the nervousness in his words hadn’t been missed by me. He was worried, obviously, but about what I couldn’t be sure of. Still, there was plenty of time to ask once we’d gotten to the resort itself. Knowing what he’d talked to me about in the past, he’s probably just worried that I’ll find myself in some sort of trouble the second I step hoof off the convoy. And knowing Solomon well enough now, I can pretty much expect some sort of trouble to come and find us here.

Well, he can rest assured that outside of Solomon’s interference, I was going to do everything in my power not to fuck something up this time around. Which wasn’t saying much given my track record so far, but still! I at least had to hope that things wouldn’t always go terribly wrong at every settlement we stopped in, right?

Like most places in the north had been so far, this place was amazing in it’s beauty. I don’t know why, but the pinkish red hue that the snow around here gave was soothing to me. Even the jagged slate grey rocks that all the mountains had been made of had been replaced by a sort of rusty look that turned pink in the afternoon sunlight. The forests of cherry trees that packed every hill and mountainside around us were vibrantly flush with their own fluttering pink and white leaves, creating a veritable sea of sparkling pink.

At the very least, now I understood why this place was named Pink Mountain…

However, what was less welcoming than the overload of pink around us, was the imposing building that sat under the protection of the nearby mountainside cliffs. Standing five stories tall with a steep tile roof, the resort itself was huge. Hundreds of windows along the old resort faced down the slopes of the mountains, as if on the lookout for any who might be drawn into such an imposing looking building. It’s peeling old white paint and dark crimson colored roof made it feel creepy to me, and the large collection of Cordite tanks and their own various convoys parked out front made it look more like a fortress than a resort.

Hell, even the small vehicle the local contingent of Road Crew were huddled around looked like a miniature version of Double Drum’s roller. Which, for being a resort, the amount of Road Crew here numbered in the forty to fifty range from what I could see. That made it only the second largest concentration of them we’d seen so far, and made me wonder just why so many were stationed here. Though, I guess that while the resort was supposedly a nice place, nopony said it had to look friendly.

Finally disembarked from Bertha, and standing out in front of it, I was beginning to feel completely overdressed in the flowing white and gold dress I’d purchased in Carmacks. Buck had taken such care to wash it that it had been a shame that it’s radiance would probably be wasted on a place as dreary as it felt, even for the vibrance around it. Still, the noise of music softly playing from inside the open double door entrance at least gave me some hope that the place would be friendlier than it looked…

“How can you stay so damn warm in just that dress?” Happy muttered as his hoofsteps crunched through the hock high pink snow that covered the ground. “F-fuck it, you can freeze out here. I’m going inside.”

“Hey.” Delilah snapped, making the fur on both Happy and I stand on end. Turning around, I found Delilah slowly plodding through the snow behind us. Trailing along behind her, was a rope that bound both Guinness and Zibar together. The two were doing their best impression of a six legged race, with Guinness glaring at me as Zibar did all he could to avoid my gaze. “No gambling. No drinking. No sex.” Delilah prodded at Happy as she spoke, making him flinch with each word. “Got that, young colt?”

“Yes, ma’.” Happy grumbled, hanging his head before trotting off through the pink tinted snow again.

“As for you,” Delilah spoke flatly as she stepped up next to me. Taking a moment to push her cat-eye glasses up on her muzzle again, she waited until I looked up at her to finish. “Stay out of trouble, and keep your eyes open for anypony Solomon might have paid off.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I nodded to her, watching as her eyes moved over to the hotel. She was looking over it, scanning each window carefully as she gave a slight shiver. At the risk of asking a stupid question, I thought about biting my tongue. However, before I could, of course it slipped out anyway. “If I may ask, why are we stopping here?”

“The pass we’re heading toward is not drivable at night unless you want to fall straight off the cliffsides there to a painful death.” She said with the same flatness that I’d assume we’d be if we fell off of such a cliff. “So we leave first thing tomorrow, and I want you rested up for it.” Looking back to me, she cocked her eyebrow at me. “And while I don’t expect you will, don’t stay up all night.” Giving a snort, she pushed herself to turn around. “But if you’ll excuse me, as per our new talon’s ‘request’, I’ve got a couple of morons to turn over to Cordite. The sooner I never see their faces again, the sooner we can focus on what’s ahead.”

“Just, one second.” The words again forced their way out of my muzzle as my brain had a spark of inspiration. My request drew a deeper annoyed glare from Delilah, but it didn’t stop me as I turned around to face Solomon’s two former lackeys. “What does Solomon have planned for us up ahead?” I kept my gaze on Zibar for the moment, ignoring the eyeroll that Delilah gave me at the question.

“I’ve already asked, Night.” She gave a bored sigh before looking back at the hotel. “They either don’t know, or they won’t talk.”

“You wanted to say that tossing me under your running tank was water under the bridge?” I stepped forward toward Zibar, who tensed and stood up as tall as he could. Even as he turned his gaze toward the sky to avoid me, I waited for an answer. “Prove it.”

“What’s yer problem, lass?” Guinness grunted his own disapproval at me, but it was at least a response. “Ya already caused us enough problems. Just let us go an’ we’ll never see each other again.” While it was true that Hispano had been right in wanting to let them go, they didn’t have to believe that was what I thought about it at all.

“You know what?” I smirked, flicking my tail at Guinness. “You don’t belong to Cordite yet. You’ve caused us nothing but problems, and we don’t have to let you go. Without your tank, you are nothing to them, and because you no longer work for Solomon, you aren’t protected by him anymore either.” Turning my gaze back to Zibar, he snapped his vision away from me again. “So, answer the question. What does Solomon have planned?”

“You gonna let your wee lass talk to us like that?” Guinness offered with a chuff toward Delilah.

I perked my ear back to listen for her response, waiting for her answer as well. However, one didn’t come, and Guinness’ mood soured as the seconds ticked by in silence. His eyes shifted toward the sky as the flutter of wings picked up. Looking over, I found Hispano’s cold gaze locked onto the musclehead of an earth pony. Suiza sat firmly locked in her talon, pointed directly at him.

“You might want to give him an answer, or at least start making yourself useful to Night here in some way.” She cooed calmly, jabbing the barrel against Guinness’s chest. It was funny that up until that point, Zibar had been trying to look away from all of our judgemental gazes. Now? He couldn’t help himself as he trembled in the snow, watching Hispano threaten his friend. “Because if you thought Suiza here couldn’t do a damn thing to your tank, I assure you, she’ll do a whole lot more to ruin your day than she already has. I’m sure Cordite wouldn’t mind if we only turned over one and a half of you...”

“Fine!” Zibar blurt out. “Just… no more.” The Saddle Arabian stallion stumbled against his friend, pushing him away from the barrel of Suiza. “Solomon hasn’t relayed much to us, we’ve mostly been coordinating through Galina.” Ugh. Just the mention of her name made my blood boil. “She’s… setting something up ahead, at Drake Pass.”

“What is it?” Delilah grunted with a tone colder than the snow around my hooves, and sending a shiver down my spine. “Something similar to what we arranged for Solomon at Sparrow’s pass?”

“We ain’t got a clue.” Guinness grumbled. “But I’m pretty sure she ain’t been too keen on talking to Solomon about it either. She’s out fer blood, an’ she probably ain’t gonna’ stop until she gets it.” He paused, pointing his hoof at me. “Hers specifically, so the lass better watch her back.”

“She’d risk Solomon’s wrath in killing one of us?” Delilah curled her hoof around the rope that bound the two stallions. “Why. She knows Solomon doesn’t want to start this war. Because once the killing starts, it won’t stop until one side wins completely.”

“News, from Saddle Arabia.” Zibar shivered, lowering his head and pulling off his white and red checkered headwrap. “The king’s sickness has worsened, so it’s only a matter of time before he passes his crown to one of his sons. She knows it’s making Solomon anxious, and we think she’s betting that he’ll be flexible on the whole killing bit.”

“Sickness?” I spat out, drawing a sad glance from Zibar, who gave me a soft nod.

“A sort of wasting disease.” Guinness grumbled. “Those inbred fucks on the throne think they’re so much better than everypony else, but they can’t even keep their own bloody genetics in line.” Glaring at Delilah, he spat at her hooves. “By denying him the Ark, you’re damning the entire Saddle Arabian kingdom to the barbarism of his brothers, ye know that, right? You know Solomon is the most stable candidate for king that they have, but ya too much of a selfish cunt to let this old feud of yours go, aren’t ye?”

“Solomon knows that he doesn’t have long to get back, so he’s getting desperate which means Galina’s going to take her chances to end this when she can.” Zibar pushed against Guinness again while glaring at me. “But that’s all we know, so we’re even now, alright?”

“We’re far from even.” Delilah snapped, tugging on the rope that bound the two stallions. “But you two aren’t worth killing. Come on, time to go negotiate with your new bosses.” Yanking again, Guinness and Zibar stepped around Hispano and I, and began to once again trail behind Delilah. After receiving one last hesitant look from Zibar, I felt myself finally relax a little bit.

“Hey, Hispano?” I muttered, looking up to find her relax a bit as well as she lowered Suiza’s barrel down into the snow. “Thanks for helping me sell that bluff. You and Suiza always seem to find a way to get me out of the situations I get into.” My words made Hispano freeze up for a moment, and I paused as she flashed a nervous grin across her beak while cringing at me. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I um…” She paused before pulling off her leather flight cap and letting her plumage frizz out a bit. “I didn’t know you were bluffing?” She gave out a soft laugh as I deadpanned at her. “Hey, you’re technically my boss. I was ready to do my job if you asked me to shoot one of them. I’d just… even though we talked, I’d thought you might have had a good enough reason to actually want them dead.”

“Well, I’m glad it didn’t come to that.” I sighed and gave her a tap on the side with my hoof. “But now maybe we can relax a bit, what do you say?”

“Yeah.” She sighed, slinging Suiza up around herself before prodding against my dress with her talon. “By the way...” Her cheeks burned as she saddled up against my side. “You look stunning in that dress, just like the first time you wore it. Speaking of...” Letting her words drift off, she nervously pranced on all fours. “Maybe, if there’s somewhere to eat inside, we could…” However, I was pretty sure what she was trying to say.

“Do you want to try having another date? This would be what, technically our third?” I offered, making her plumage bristle as she nodded excitedly. “Hopefully this time around there will be less headaches involved.”

“Yeah,” Hispano laughed as we turned and headed toward the old hotel. “And less negotiating contracts this time. Who knows, maybe this time we can actually have a proper date.” Giving me a smile, she reached out and wrapped a wing around me. “Even if we’re already kinda together…”

“Eh, whatever.” I sighed. “I’m just ready to sit down and relax for today. Even though everything on this mountain will probably explode the second I try to do that.” My words made Hispano hesitate for a moment. “What? Everyone else can joke about my misfortune, why can’t I?”

“Eheh…” She offered a hesitant, forced laugh. “Yeah, but it’s only a joke if it doesn’t come true…”

This place didn’t seem so bad once you were inside of it. Sure, it smelled musty and kinda like rot, but unlike the old buildings we’d been in at places like Carmacks, this place had been kept up. The old dark wood still had a shine to it, and the marble flooring held an impeccable polish to it. Even the fancy silver lighting fixtures had only the slightest tarnish to them. It was amazing to me how this hotel seemed almost pulled out of time from everything. If it weren’t for the ghouls all over the place, I might have expected to see dozens of wartime ponies strolling around and enjoying themselves!

However, while the hotel was nice, the restaurant it harbored definitely showed the times. They served meat with almost everything on the menu, and anything else was just re-prepared versions of preserved canned food. Still, steamed mixed vegetables were never bad, and since Hispano had offered to get me whatever I wanted, I didn’t feel too bad for ordering them. Still, as hungry as I was, something still weighed on my mind.

“So… Solomon’s got brothers?” I asked, trying to pull Hispano’s attention away from the large chunk of broiled meat she was voraciously tearing into. “What makes that asshole any better than the rest of his family? Are they all really that bad?” It was hard to even imagine what somepony worse than Solomon even was like, but that probably wasn’t something I even wanted to ever figure out.

“I dunno’!” Hispano spoke through her meat, noisily chewing on it as she sat back onto her sister in the plush booth seating. “All I know is that my dad said it had something to do with genetics. That Solomon wasn’t a ‘pureblood’ Saddle Arabian, whatever that means.” Tearing into her meat again, she gave off a heavy shrug and spoke through her chewing. “Best bert? Ahsk Delilah.”

She actually had a good point with that. While I’d asked about plenty of other things, I’d never really had any reason to ask about just what’s driven Solomon to be who he is. And now that I think of it, maybe that could give us something to use against him down the road. Then I guess that after this, I’ll go find Delilah and see if I can’t get some answers from her.

A rousing laugh filled the air from across the seating area Hispano and I were in. At the bar, a whole group of ghouls dressed in only military uniforms were chatting, drinking, and smoking pipes. Huh, I guess a bunch of wartime ponies did still relax around here! Though, one of them stood out among the rest.

A ghoul with a red coat sat at the center, and had an odd looking plaid colored bag slung around his back. To be honest, I might not have noticed the bag at all had it not had a set of different length pipes sticking out of it for some odd reason. Casting a glance over to Hispano and I, he tipped back the early war style combat helmet that reminded me a bit of the one Jean had worn.

“Oi!” He called out to us as he pushed himself away from the bar. Oh goddesses, don’t let him be looking for a fight. I don’t want to already have gotten us into trouble after just getting here. “You two, canne’ ask ya a question?” Trotting over toward us, the ghoul seemed to be friendly enough, but both Hispano and I tensed up. However, Hispano was at least lucky she had her sister to help comfort her. “You two ladies happen ta' be from the north?”

His accent fell somewhere between Poppy’s rigid sounding one, and Guinness’s rougher version. Still, hesitant to answer, my mind was stuck on just one thing. Why the hell do I keep running into stallions with Trottingham accents? I mean, is it me? Do I just attract stallions from there for some reason? Well, at the very least I can be thankful that Buck doesn’t sound that way...

“Uhhh…” The ghoul stallion offered through a nervous, gravelly laugh, “I’m not meanin’ ta impose, just was curious if you’d seen our friend out on the road, is all.”

“Y-yes, sir.” I managed to stutter out through my nervousness. That pit inside my stomach that I’d hoped to fill with the mixed vegetables still steaming away in front of me grew as I sat there. Please, please don’t let this guy screw up this date.

“Did ya' happen ta pass a tank on yer way in?” He grunted, looking between Hispano and I. “A wee small one, with the designation of BT-42 on it?” Why, Celestia? Can I not just have one meal with Hispano where things didn’t go terribly wrong?

“Now that you mention it... we did happen to see them.” Hispano chirped up meekly, shifting in her seat to get better access to Suiza. “They might be a bit late…” At the very least, she was ready if things spiraled out of control into a fight.

“Oh?” The old military stallion shifted to a look of worry as he scratched at his scruffy chin. “It wasn't them who called out for the recovery vehicles, was it?” Giving a sigh, he hung his head. “I give him a bloody decade’s notice for a vacation here, and Pip still finds a way ta show up late...” Swinging his head around, the ghoul looked back over to the others still huddled around the bar. “Oi! Pip’s makin’ a fashionably late appearance this year, like usual. Next round’s on me in the meantime, boys!”

“I’m sorry we screwed up your vacation.” I sighed and flopped back into my seat, only facehoofing after I realized that I just told him that we were the ones responsible for Poppy not showing. Damnit, Night, keep your muzzle shut!

“What?” The ghoul looked over at me like I was crazy. “Lass, you just answered a question, that doesn’t make you responsible for anything.” A toothy grin spread across his rotten muzzle, and I felt a heavy hoof come down on my side. “Aye, in fact, I think I owe you two a drink for being helpful! It’s the lease a gentlecolt like me could offer to a pair of weary travelers!”

“No, that’s really not necessary…” Hispano chirped with a blush across her face, looking over to me and nodding furiously. “Right, Night?”

“You know, you’d best listen to old Mad Jack there.” One of the other ghouls at the bar shouted over. “He’s never taken a no lightly as an answer, let alone a bloody ounce of common sense. Why, not even back during the war would he listen to a single shred of it!”

“Nonsense, Ironside!” The ghoul laughed as he gave me a firm pat on the side. “If not for those bloody megaspells, Avery and I would have taken the war all the way to the zebra capital!” Looking back down to me with his deranged smile, I couldn’t help but offer a nervous one back and try to sink far enough into my booth padding that I’d eventually disappear. “So, what do you say, miss? Can an old stallion buy you and your friend a drink? It’s the least I could do for bothering you with my questions.”

“Jack?” The voice of Howitzer coming from the doorway to the restaurant thankfully saved me from an awkward answer. “Mad Jack, is that you?” Both the ghoul and I turned to find Howitzer wearing in uncharacteristically wide smile across his broad muzzle. With a booming laugh, he nearly charged at the old stallion. “I had thought that was Avery sitting around outside, but I never thought it could actually be her! You rascal, what are you doing all the way up here in the north!?”

Before either of us could realize what was going on, Howitzer had barreled into him and pulled him right off his hooves. The old stallion groaned as he was squeezed by the enormous buffalo. Walking in after him, was Boiler, who wore a bright, but worried expression across her muzzle.

“Mr. Howitzer!” Jack laughed, giving a few stiff pats at Howitzer’s side before his gaze turned to Boiler. “And Mrs. Leaf Spring, always a pleasure. What a tremendous surprise this is!”

“What are you doing up here?” Howitzer repeated himself as he set the old ghoul down. “Did something happen down at Maple Station?”

“Of course not! Maple Station and the others there are perfectly fine. Er, at least they were when I headed up this way!” Jack laughed and pointed over to the other ghouls at the bar who were all attentively watching the odd exchange. “Actually, I’ve come all the way up north for a little time off, and to see some old friends. Don’t know if you’ve heard, but this resort is the highest rated in all the wasteland! Nevermind that it’s the only one in the wasteland, mind you.” Unexpectedly, Jack turned to Hispano and I before pointing at Boiler and Howitzer. “The Buffalo are a tremendous people who gave a lot in the war effort for Equestria. You’ll be hard pressed to find a harder working race then them, and you’d do well to remember that.”

“Eh, they know all about us.” Howitzer laughed as he looked over at us. “Mad Jack, meet Night and Hispano. They’re two of our recon members in our convoy.” It was… weird to see Howitzer this friendly and open, but truth be told, I kinda wished he was this happy and carefree around the convoy. Like, at all. “Come on, I owe you a drink! I bet you have a dozen more adventures to recount by now!” Howitzer did us a favor by pulling the old ghoul away, and walking with him back over to the other ghouls at the bar.

I finally felt like I could relax a bit. From the sigh that escaped Hispano’s muzzle, I could tell that she too felt a lot more comfortable with the idea of being left alone again. However, I’d forgotten we still weren’t really alone.

“Sorry about that,” Boiler grunted as she came over and sat down at the end of our table. “Mad Jack is something of a legendary wartime hero, and Howitzer can’t help be as giddy as a young filly around somepony he admires so much.”

“It’s fine.” Hispano grumbled, crossing her talons across herself. “I mean, we were just trying to have a nice, quiet dinner for once.”

“Oooo! Like a date? Is that why you’re all dressed up, Night?” Boiler’s eyes lit up as she put her hooves on her cheeks. My cheeks however, were burning to brightly to answer. “My hubby and I did the same thing when we passed through here on our way up! You have to go to the movie theater, and while it’s small, they always have something entertaining to watch. And you have to go visit Madame Mystic! Gearbox and I were amazed by what she can do.” She tapped at her horns for a moment in thought. “Then again, we were absolutely zonked out of it by then on those pink mushrooms that one ghoul sold us… I can totally recommend him as well if I ever remember his name…”

“Madame Mystic?” I finally got the courage to speak over my glowing cheeks. “She’s not some sort of…” I paused, trying to find a more polite word for a working mare. However, I didn’t need to, as Hispano decided to be blunt enough for the both of us.

“I don’t want to have some threeway with a ghoul prostitute.” She grunted and glared flatly at Boiler.

“No, that’s not it at all.” Boiler flailed her forehooves. “She’s an old blind zebra mystic. Just… trust me and go see her on the third floor. You won’t be disappointed.” For better or worse, Boiler left us with that and joined her brother over at the bar.

Finally, we could just sit back and enjoy our meal in peace. Leaning forward, I took a few bites of my now only warm mixed vegetables. As I did however, I noticed that Hispano was still slumped back in her seat, despondently gazing at what was left of her meat like it had said something hurtful to her. After a moment, she looked up and offered a weak smile to me.

“Sorry.” She squeaked. “I guess I just always choose bad places for dates.” Shoving what I could of my mixed veggies into my muzzle, I scooted myself out of my cushy seat. Hispano’s face contorted into a confused look as I walked around the table and reached out. Grabbing around her talon, I swallowed the vegetables and pulled her along behind me. “Night, what are you…”

“Come on.” I grunted, pulling her closer to me. “We’re going to salvage this date if it’s the last thing I do.” I could almost feel the blush she gave off from my words as she pulled herself in stride beside me. “Why don’t we see what’s playing at the theatre?”

“Forget it, Blitz. It’s Zebratown.”

Hispano and I watched as the lone, battered detective was escorted away from the car where his most recent case had come to such a violent and unexpected end. The camera pulled back along the neon-lit street, and a somber jazz musical score started up while the credits rolled up from the bottom of the screen. I couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t the ending I’d wanted out of this film, but it was the one that it needed to have. Hispano however, sighed as she shifted against me and gave a small sniffle.

“That… that’s so unfair.” Grasping onto my side, and slumped and shook her head. “Who writes a story that ends like that? Aren’t movies supposed to make you feel good?”

“Yeah.” I nodded and gave a pat at her side. “I guess they just had weird ideas of feeling good back then. They did end up blowing up the world after all.” I’d walked in expecting to see another cheesy movie like the ones I’d seen up in Klondike, and even for having Lilac Lace as the lead actress, I’d expected something entirely different out of Zebratown. But I had to say after a performance like that, if anything I respected her more than ever as an actress now. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I smiled to Hispano and pushed myself to get out of the old theatre seat.

“Pony should sit. Stay.” A gruff voice spoke from the exit to the theatre. Looking up at it, a trio of hellhounds stood blocking the door. The three dogs all had a similar look to them, but the lead hound was the largest. Sporting a blocky square snout and glowing emerald green eyes, he smiled at me in a twisted way that made me feel the malice that he exuded. “Griffon should go. No hate for her.”

Of course things couldn’t have just gone smoothly, could they?

“I’m not leaving.” Hispano grumbled, hoisting her sister up from the seat beside her. While I’d argued against going so far as to buy Suiza a ticket for the movie, I’m starting to feel glad that Hispano at least brought her with us. “We don’t want any trouble.” From the way the two lackeys of the lead dog growled at her, I got the feeling that we wouldn’t get off so easily. Oh, where was Buck when I needed him?

“What do you want?” I grunted, pulling the attention of the dogs back to me. While I understood that Buck would be invaluable to have at my side right now, at the very least, I could act as he would. Maybe there would be some way to talk ourselves past this.

“What does dog want?” The hound laughed, pointing a thick ebony colored claw at me. “To hurt sky pony for betraying sun dogs. For ruining our home, forcing us to live here.” Okay, so we’ve gone way past just walking out of here after a few words. Great. “Pony thought was so smart to trick dogs, but now we the smart ones.” Tapping at his head, his eyes focused on me completely. “Even with wings, nowhere for pony to run inside.”

I’d give him that, there wasn’t much room to maneuver in here. Looking up, the few dimmed, sparkling glass-beaded chandeliers that hung down from the vaulted theatre ceiling weren’t all that high up or big enough to hide in. To be honest, the whole situation started to remind me of my time in the Wreck Room with Rosey, and these dogs probably wouldn’t think twice to tear me in half. As the credits to the movie finished, and the projector turned off, I was reminded that for as much of a similar cage as this was, there was still one other exit that existed out of their reach.

“Hispano,” I unfurled my wings and looked up at the projection room. “Let’s get out of here.”

The three dogs gave snarls at us as both Hispano and I ran and jumped off of the theater seats into the air. I beat my wings furiously, carrying myself up to the ceiling as quickly as possible. Reaching out, I grabbed around the solid iron post that the chandelier hung down from, and held tight. Which of course, had also been the situation I’d found myself in before.

The lead dog stepped forward, growling and crouching down like Rosey had. This time however, I knew what was coming, and the pole I was on wasn’t so rigid. As the dog leapt, I pushed off the chandelier backwards. The glass-beaded light swung into his face enough to block his view as Hispano and I bolted for the projection room window.

Thankfully, it was big enough for Hispano to fit through even with Suiza held close to her. I followed close behind her, not even fighting the smirk that the angry roar below brought to my muzzle. However, we weren’t out of this yet. With a yelping grunt, one of the two dogs below jumped and hooked their forearm through the window.

“This way!” Hispano shouted as she barreled through the door leading into the second floor hallway. The old door slammed outward against the wall from her hit, and a few of the ghoul patrons here gave startled yelps as the two of us made quick tracks out of the room. My hooves hammered the old carpeted floor as I raced down the hallway with Hispano. “Up there!” She shouted, sharply turning herself off toward a grand wooden staircase that looped up to the higher floors.

My heart hammered against my chest as I followed her as best as I could. My hooves slammed down on every other step as the two of us threw ourselves up another floor. But that’s where our momentum stopped as Hispano came to a screeching halt. We both paused, as a pair of unhappy looking Hellhounds turned their gazes to us from down one of the hallways.

“We have to get to the roof…” Hispano spoke out softly. To which, I had to think was going to be a bit tough to do with the tiled design of the resort...

“I don’t think this place has roof access…” I began to say. However, I was cut off as a heavy hoof came down on my back and I screamed out like a little filly.

“Celestia, calm yourself!” Mad Jack cringed and covered one of his ears. “I understand I may have startled you, but what ever for are you two doing speeding all around the hotel?” As he spoke, the trio of dogs who’d been chasing us scampered down the hall, coming to their own staggering halt at the bottom of the stairwell behind us.

“T-they’re trying t-to hurt us!” I managed to stutter out, garnering a low guttural growl from the lead dog.

“What have the staff told you about causing problems?” Jack grunted at the trio, pulling surprised looks from each of them. “You are bad dogs, and you will be nice to them.” His sharp words drew another growl from them. “Hey, don’t ye dare give me that tone, mister. They are guests here, and you bloody well know not to cause any problems among the guests.” I was given pause as the words he shouted at them actually made them pin their ears back to their heads. “Do we have an understanding, or do I have to remind you lot forcefully?” Much like Zibar, his rant had driven their eyes away, and they visibly shrunk back from him. “Now get out of here. Go on, shoo.” He waved his forehoof at them, and surprisingly, they turned and scampered off down the hall.

“That was…” Hispano gasped, “amazing!” She squeed and practically ripped Jack’s hoof out of the air. She shook it vigorously with a wide smile. “I’ve only ever seen griffons able to just speak opponents into submission! How do you hold so much respect over them? Or is it fear?” Okay, she’d gone from fight or flight, straight into fangirling. “Either way, I just have to know!”

“Well, you see, the trick is,” Jack smirked and leaned down closer to her, lowering his scratchy voice to a whisper. “most dogs have exceptional hearing, and there are few things that they hate more than one of these...” Reaching onto his back, he dragged his odd plaid pipe laiden bag into his hooves. Slowly, he hooved a slotted pipe on the bag up into his muzzle, and took a deep breath.

The noise that came out of… whatever that thing was, was inequine. Both Hispano and I cringed and immediately cupped our ears as Mad Jack began to emit odd tones from the bag. The two Hellhounds we’d seen down the hall were too busy fleeing to cover their own ears, and a few of the other ghoul patrons on this level were angrily sticking their heads out of their rooms and doing their best to shout over the irritating noise.

After what felt like an hour, the noise died off, and was replaced with Mad Jack’s cackling laughs.

“Eheh, it’s an acquired taste.” He gave a few heavy stomps as his own laughter died off. “Ah, if only I could have the joy of first hearing the pipes being played as I did when I was just a wee colt…” He paused as he stared in confusion behind Hispano and I.

“Madame Mystic will see the two of you now.” An instantly familiar voice met my ears from behind me. One that spoke with the sternness of a goddess as well as the wisdom of an actress, and that helped to calm my wild heart and unsteady nerves.. Turning around, I was about to throw myself out to hug Lilac Lace, but stopped myself short as a tall green alicorn met my eyes. This new alicorn squinted as I studied her, before tipping her muzzle up and turning around. “Come. The Madame is waiting.”

“We didn’t ask to see her.” Hispano grunted, hefting Suiza up.

“The Madame foresaw your arrival.” The alicorn offered with half a look over her shoulder. She ruffled the enormous wings tucked on her back before starting to walk again. “She is never wrong, you will follow us to her.”

“Eh, I think you two should go.” Mad Jack said with a nudge at my side. “She’s good for a laugh, but I wouldn’t take that old stripe too seriously.” Pointing down to Suiza, Jack smiled. “I’d put more trust in good old Trottingham engineering like that, than in the words of an old, drugged up stripe. But you kids have fun.” Turning toward the stairs, Mad Jack put the mouthpiece of his bag back into his muzzle and took another deep breath.

Before he could do anything, both Hispano and I bolted down the hallway after the green alicorn. While this might have not been the original plan, anything was better than listening to that wretched noise again. Which, thankfully, droned off quickly as we caught up to the alicorn. She turned a corner ahead, looking back to see that we were still in tow.

As we followed, both Hispano and I came to an abrupt stop as a pair of matching ghoul fillies stared at us from a few feet away. The two fillies just stood their in matching blue and white polkadot dresses, staring at us. It made my fur stand on end as even the air around us seemed to feel a lot more ominous.

“In here.” The alicorn spoke out, making Hispano and I jump slightly. Looking next to us, the alicorn was sticking her head out of a doorway that we’d missed right around the corner. Draped over her horn, was a dark black sheet, and under it flickered the lights from a dozen or so candles. Above her, and plastered in several different languages, was a plaque that read ‘Madame Mystic: Exotic Fortuneteller’. Under that, written in barely visible smaller text, was something I hadn’t expected. Certified Wartime Stress Disorder treatment provider, MoM licence 24601.

“Huh…” I felt oddly underwhelmed by the sign. You know, I remember the MoM as having all sorts of services to keep up morale during the war, as the name implied of course. However, paying ‘fortune tellers’ to give people ‘good news’ didn’t strike me as something they would have ever done. Then again, like with the movies I’d now seen, the ponies of way back then were quite weird with how they cheered themselves up.

Stepping through the curtain and into the room, an odd scent hit my nose, and I felt a wave of calm wash over me. My mind felt murky, and a few aches I didn’t realize I’d had disappeared for what felt like the first time in ages. I couldn’t quite explain it, but it was as if I’d been here a dozen times already, and that this place was already a sort of ‘home away from home’ so to speak.

The small room was sparsely decorated, and only held light from the dozens of candles in it. Wispy lines of smoke trailed off various burning sticks laid in holders on all the walls, bringing the odd smell with them to my nose. Other than the innumerous empty boxes of Mint-als that littered the room, various old cushions lined the floors from wall to wall. Most of them circled around a low sitting table that had nothing on it other than at the center, where a glowing crystal orb and it’s ornate stand both sat. A pair of wrinkled, striped hooves hovered around the orb, belonging to the dark robes around a hooded figure sitting across the table from where we entered.

“Come, sit.” The cloaked figure spoke with a maddening calmness to her ghoulish voice. The bleached bone of a skull stuck out of the tip of her robes, and the skinless grin that protruded with it as she spoke gave me pause. “Do not be afraid. I have the answers you seek, young stallion.”

“You know, we should go…” Hispano spoke softly, reaching out and grabbing around my foreleg. From the way she trembled, I almost got the sense that she was actually frightened of this place.

“Leave if you must,” The cloaked mare spoke, turning her gaze to look at us. “However, know this,” The mane on my neck stood up as the extent of her ‘decay’ became obvious. She was missing all the skin and muscles around most of her face. Only the muscles that moved her jaw and rotten tongue were still attached, and even those were black and sickly looking. Her empty eye sockets gave off the hint of a balefire glow, but I still got the feeling from them that she was looking right at me. “Should you leave now, you will never know who you truly are, or be free of the curse you know that you carry.”

That caught my attention more than anything. I… I didn’t know what to believe about anything since coming down here, and I didn’t want to fall for some wartime mental trickery. However, with everything that’s happened to me so far, even I’ve thought of it as some sort of curse. What if it is true, and there is something wrong with me?

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Hispano’s words matched up perfectly with the pit I felt in my stomach again. But for as much as I agreed that this had been a mistake, I couldn’t bring myself to move.

“Am I cursed?” I asked the ghoulish zebra, feeling as Hispano tensed up beside me.

“Sit, and Madame Mystic shall reveal its true nature to you.” Lifting her wrinkled hooves from around the ball, she pointed to a pair of plush looking seats across from her at the table. Of course, for as much as I’d tried to push my legs to carry me out of this place, they worked on their own to move me to take a seat. Looking over to Hispano, I could tell that she had tried her best to fight the urge as well, but ultimately failed as I had as she sat down next to me on the surprisingly cold pads. “Good,” The mare spoke before calmly returning her hooves around the glowing crystal ball before us. “Now, ask and you will be answered.”

“Am I really cursed?” The words, as always, slipped from my muzzle. No, not this time. They felt like they were involuntarily pulled out in a way I couldn’t quite explain.

“Yes,” The mare’s empty eye sockets brightened with the green glow that sat in them, sharing a flicker that came into being inside the crystal ball on the table. “I can see a jinx that brings misfortune and suffering to all those around you. It persists like a parasite, feeding off of the very fabric of who you are, knowing that you cannot yet fight it off.” She gave out a sad sounding whine as she moved her hooves around the ball, and the glowing in her eyes dimmed momentarily. “Grave sorrow and pain threatens to consume your future should you not win your fight.”

“That’s not a prediction.” Hispano grunted, finding the strength to at least fold her talons across her chest. “That’s just living in the wasteland. Everyone deals with that.”

“How…” I asked flatly. “How do I stop it?” If there was something in my power that I could do to keep those around me safe, I had to try it. Real curse or not, I didn’t want to become a burden to those in Delilah’s crew.

“Discover who you really are, and you will have the tools you need to fight it.” Madame Mystic spoke louder than before. Her voice made her ball glow brighter, and for a moment, it outshined the candles in her room. “But you will not defeat it until you find the home in which you know is yours. However, know that the price of this home will be a cost you will not be willing to pay.”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough.” Hispano sighed and deadpanned over at me. “She’s speaking in generalizations, Dum Dum. Hoping that you’ll fill in the blanks yourself when it’s all bullshit.”

“Your sister would not take my words so lightly, and even now inside her prison of metal, she is trying to tell you to listen.” Madame Mystic spoke, turning her gaze to Hispano. I watched as Hispano froze up with her words, looking back at the old ghoul with a twitch in her eye. “For as gifted as you are, you are afraid that you should meet the same fate as her, however, you may rest easy.” Hispano turned nearly all white as her jaw hung open. Even I couldn’t understand how Madame Mystic could know that. “Of all those you keep in good company, it is you in fact who will emerge from your trials as triumphantly unscathed. Find peace of mind in that, for it will be the only thing to carry you through the suffering of those around you.”

Both Hispano and I sat there, both in shock and awe as those words sank in. So… I was going to bring nothing but suffering, and Hispano would get to watch as everything around her fell apart. My mind was struggling to process all of this when it was ripped away by a soft sound filling the room. I perked my ears, listening as Hispano softly giggled. After a moment, those giggles had turned into a maddening laughter that she almost doubled over from.

“You had me going there for a minute! What are you on, lady? It can’t just be mint-als to sound that crazy. What is it, wave? Chill?” She spat, trying to fight off her own laughter just the breath. But unlike the laughter I normally heard from her, this felt different. It didn’t bring a smile to my muzzle, or make me feel like she was actually happy. If anything, the laughter she gave felt hollow, and full of fear. “Still, you’ve just been having your alicorn read our minds or something, and I don’t appreciate others knowing my own personal shit. So you know what? Fuck this, I’m out.” She muttered as she pushed herself up and turned toward the door. “You can sit here, and deal with this, Dum Dum. I won’t sit here and listen to some drugged up hack and her psychic monstrosity friend tell me my ‘future’.”

“Hispano…” I reached out for her, only to have her ignore me and walk straight out the door. Turning, I moved to follow her, but felt a strong hoof hold me back. Looking down, the dried striped skin that barely clung onto the Madame’s leg tensed to reveal the few tendons still working it.

“You too should go, but first you must listen closely.” Madame Mystic spoke, in a cold tone that made me freeze up. Her boney muzzle leaned over the table as I turned and gazed back into her balefire eyes. Slowly, her other hoof reached down and pulled the crystal ball from it’s place on the table. “Be warned. Do not let the curse feed on your misfortune. Fight to find yourself, lest you become the monster that feeds on others misfortune like the curse does to you.”

Reaching her other hoof out, she pushed the glowing crystal ball toward me. Looking down at it, it pulsed softly as the light inside it swirled around before slowly turning green. As it changed color, it wiggled, propelling itself around inside like a fish trapped in a bowl. For a moment, I found myself lost inside the sphere, but then the green light dimmed and faded.

“Take it.” Madame Mystic’s voice whispered into my ear. “You may not understand the truth of my words yet, but you will.”

“What?” I was more than confused now, and that's saying something.

“You have wondered before if there was such a thing as fate.” Madame Mystic’s voice stayed low as she pushed the orb out toward me. “Those who come to expect something more, get less. Those who expect nothing, get something more. I have yet to know which end you will meet, but that does not mean it hasn’t already been set.” Again without control, I felt my hoof reach up and take it from her. “Like you, this token has it’s own fate, and that fate lies with you. It has it’s own purpose that will be revealed to you soon enough.”

“Give it to those who you trust to protect, and like you, they will soon see the truth in what I have spoken today.” Leaning back across the table, the green balefire glow her empty eye sockets held dimmed and faded as the light in the ball had. “Now go, for I have told you all you must hear.” Without any chance to object, I found a field of green magic wrap around me. The alicorn that had been silently watching me used her magic to pull me towards the door. “Remember my words, Night Flight. Your curse does not control you, but your mistakes will always be your own. Learn from them, and know who you are.”

And with that, the door to her room slammed shut, and I was left alone in the hallway. Freed of the alicorn’s magic, my hooves felt heavy under my own control again, and I dropped the crystal ball. It rolled across the old carpet for a moment, stopping as it rolled into the light cast by the hallway window. Reaching out I picked it up and looked at it closely.

None of what I’d just heard made any sense to me. As much as I’d like to just write it off like Hispano, part of me just couldn’t do that. Holding the clear ball in my hoof, I couldn’t help but wonder if a single word of any of that actually was true. But if it is, then I’d supposedly find out soon enough.

Still, I was supposed to give this to someone I trusted, and there were only a few on the crew who I trusted enough with it. But before anything, the only thing I could think to do was ask for Buck’s opinion on all this. Even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer, if anything Madame Mystic had said was true, then I was going to need all the help I could get...

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Kkat for creating FoE and letting us all run around in this wonderful universe!

Many thanks to TheFurryRailFan as well, both for being an awesome pre-reader, and lending me Mad Jack from Empty Quiver for a bit of fun!