“Excuse me, ma’am?” I snapped at her as I pressed my mother’s tags against my neck.

“Give the ranger your tags.” She repeated flatly. “You will get them back when they are done with them.”

“I promise, I won’t damage them.” The robed mare who’d inquired about Laika’s pod spoke in a meek voice, and hid behind the form of her Griffon superior. “It is only to record the information written on them into the Galloway logbooks.”

“Captain Pastel, I know this must come as an odd request,” Delilah leaned back in her chair, slowly taking off her glasses and setting them down onto her desk. “But I have to ask that you keep no record of that inscription once we are finished, written or otherwise. It is for your own protection, rather than a simple request of privacy.”

“But that goes against protocol! We must keep-…!” The mare gasped as she began to speak quickly, but quickly quieted herself as Pastel held up a talon to her.

“Once we arrive at Galloway, I will convey your request to the elder. Keep in mind that I can not guarantee that he will listen.” He gave a small nod to the robed mare before looking back at Delilah, and then to me. “However, with all due respect, protecting the Steel Rangers should not be a concern of yours.”

“The one going after that inscription has already used two Road Crew union representatives to attack us, and is both well funded and equipped.” Delilah leaned forward again, steepling her forehooves on her desk. “It would be smart to heed my words, Captain.”

“Again, I will relay your request to the elder.” Captain Pastel turned and offered his talon to me. “However, I will still require the tags before we depart.”

Slowly, and with my mind screaming at me to stop moving, I reached up and hoofed at the tags around my neck. Carefully, I pulled them up, slipping them past my mane and over my head for the first time in goddesses know how long. With a small clink, I let the necklace slip from my hoof and drop into Pastel’s waiting talons.

I know that these were far too important to let go. They were the last memory of my family for Celestia’s sake, even before Delilah gave me the task of carrying the code. They better fucking not be lying to us like everypony else has been on this trip…

“Thank you.” Turning to the robed mare, he held my mother’s tags out to her. “Take great care in handling these, Scribe Bundt.”

“Sir, yes sir.” She nodded as she lifted her hoof and took them from him. Slipping them into some hidden pocket in her robe, she turned to step out.

“One last thing, Scribe,” Pastel held up his talon to stop her. “Tell Knight-Sergeant Parfait that he will be stationed on this vehicle for the trip through the tunnel.” Turning back to Delilah, I watched as her eye gave a subtle twitch. “I’m sorry, but the tunnel can be a dangerous place. There are many ferals wandering throughout the length of it, and they will be hard to outpace seeing as we will be relegated to no faster than fifteen kilometers per hour while inside.”

“Why the hell so slow?” I blurted out. Damnit, Night! You were doing so well right until then.

“So we don’t damage the rail lines running through the tunnel.” Delilah answered for him. “Normally it’d be my turn to tell you that protecting my convoy shouldn’t be a concern of yours. However, seeing as it will be inside a restrictive environment, and we are a crewpony down, I’ll allow it.” Pressing her hooves on the desk, she pushed herself up out of her seat and extended a hoof to him. “But he is only to guard the stairway, and not leave the reactor deck.”

“Fair enough.” Reaching his talon out, Captain Pastel took her hoof and gave it a firm shake. “We’ll be ready to get underway momentarily, and will radio you with directions as needed.” Pulling his talon back, he lifted it into a stiff salute before turning and heading out with the robed mare in tow.

I turned to follow, but stopped as Delilah gave a quick tap on her desk.

“Night, close the door behind them and stay for a moment.” She said as she put her glasses back on and opened a drawer in her desk. As the two left, I did as she asked and shut the door behind them. Turning back, I found Delilah slipping into her pistol harness as she drew her pistol from the desk drawer.

“Look,” She sighed as she spat the gun onto her desk. “I know we’ve had this conversation before, but given what you’ve been through, I’ve been inclined to be lenient. And it’s not that I don’t understand why you went after Galina.” Oh, great. Of course she was going to discipline me over what happened with Galina. “I just expected more from you is all. It may have been my mistake in assuming you’ve had time to adjust down here, but I do expect more from you in the future.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Again, I did deserve this though. Even though I had already done my best to get things back on track here...

“However,” She continued, pausing as she bit down on the pistol and tucked it firmly into it’s holster. “It’s only because of how far you’ve come in this short amount of time that I’m holding you to this standard. Not because Happy has been more than a disappointment to me. But just look at what you’ve accomplished since you got back here, Night. Hardcase is back, safe and sound. Happy’s dealings have been revealed and will be monitored. And most importantly of all, the crew seems to be in the best spirits since we left Pink Mountain.”

“For that reason,” She stepped around her desk, walking up slowly as she lowered her voice, “I will continue to give you the freedom of choice in how you act. But know that I do have a breaking point, Night. Don’t test my limits again, because more than the others could ever comprehend, I don’t want to lose another member from this crew. But I will fire you for good if you force my hoof.”

“Understood.” I nodded to her, eyeing her as she stepped past me toward the door. “Ma’am? If I might say something?” Turning to her, she cocked and eyebrow at me. “With all due respect, I owned up to my mistakes. If I do pull that shit again, you won’t have to fire me. I’ll already be dead.” I’d barely survived this last mistake and I refuse to make another like it.

“Then it would be best to see to it that a situation like that never comes to pass.” She muttered before turning around, opening the door, and stepping out.

We’d been back on the road for about an hour when we finally got word we were approaching the final settlement on the edge of the city. We’d left the towering skyscrapers behind us as the midafternoon sun dipped behind some roaming clouds coming from the west. Out on the outskirts of the once sprawling city, we rolled through the burned out remains of what at one time must have been a nice residential area. Still, the mountains that hugged the back of the neighborhoods loomed over us almost oppressively, as if to watch our every move.

Trying to ignore the creepy feelings that the supposedly cursed mountains gave me, I focused myself on what truly mattered. My friends. I’d spent some time lounging around with Lucky, talking with him some more, but the drugs Gearbox had given him soon kicked in. Rather than encroach on his experience, I let him enjoy his hallucinations in peace.

Checking in our container, I also found that the invisible Alicorn that had been inside had already gone. Thinking on it, she probably left before Buck came back, or he’d have sniffed her out. That, or maybe he had found her, and let her stay long enough anyway. Either way, I hoped that the Alicorn was safe, and that Lilac Lace was satisfied.

Of course with nothing else to do at the moment, I ended up waiting for Buck to finish helping Hispano move around a bit in the rec area. She looked a bit unsteady as she walked past me on the couch, but she was definitely looking better than she had been an hour ago. And that put a smile across my muzzle.

“You know, Dum Dum,” Hispano offered a sly glance back as she struggled to keep herself up. “I’d smack that smile right off your face if it weren’t for the fact you’ll be the one doing this once you lose yourself another leg!”

“Come on, Hispano. Be nice.” Buck childed her, hovering over her with his paws outstretched. “Alright, now turn around and let’s head back to the room.

“All… ack!” Hispano cried out as she tried to turn herself, but tripped over her own talons. With a black and white flash, Buck’s paws were wrapped under her, holding her over the floor. “Damnit, I said I‘ve got this! My muscles are just weak, not useless.”

“Let him help, Hispano.” Cora called down from somewhere above the flapping tarp above us. “Swallow your pride and keep working at it. You have no one to blame but yourself for this.” Wow, that was a bit harsh. “Well, yourself and Night I suppose.” Was that really necessary? I said I was sorry and got Hispano back! I’m not the bad guy here!

Well, I kinda was to be honest… but still!

“Hey, Night?” Hardcase called out as his door swung open with his magic. Poking his head out, he waved his hoof for me to come over. “I need you for a moment.”

Waiting for Hispano to wobble by again with Buck in tow, I gave him a wide smile as I trotted over into Hardcase’s container. As I entered, Hardcase’s magic pulled out the now polished bronze jump pack I’d last seen down in Boiler’s junk pile.

“Alright, nothing too major, but I need you to strap this thing on and tell me how the weight feels.” Tucking away some wires and electrical bits, he snapped a panel on the side of the pack closed and presented it to me. “I can adjust the number and placement of final heat sinks once we start flight testing her, but for now I just need to know if it’s too heavy.”

Taking the pack from his magic, I stopped as I noticed an etched and painted design on the smooth center section of the pack’s backside. My mind froze on it, unable to look away from the vibrant five petaled purple flower. It looked exactly like the one I’d seen on the filly sized Violet in that crazy dream…

“So… yeah.” Hardcase winced as he reached up and ran his hoof over the etching. “I figured that since nopony had ever seen it, I’d add…”

“Violet’s cutie mark.” My muzzle threw out the words, both interrupting him and making him freeze up as I had. It was so stunningly accurate to what I’d seen in my dream it was insane. But… how was this possible?

“How... could you know that?” He looked almost as astonished as I felt right at this moment. “She gave me a crude drawing years ago of it. Even then, I left it back at home.” But as much as I wanted to give him a valid answer, I didn’t really have a good way to explain it.

“I saw it. This exact cutie mark, in a dream.” Reaching up, I too ran my hoof over the etching before looking back to Hardcase. “After Galina tortured me and I passed out, I… I can’t really explain it. I remember something like a dream, but different. I’m not sure how this is possible.”

Sitting down hard, Hardcase hung his head. With a flicker from his horn, the illusion of him dropped, leaving the stark white buglike form of him sitting next to me. His tattered wings flopped limply across his back as he let out a soft whimper.

“I miss her… so much.” Glowing blue tears dripped down onto the floor as he spoke. “She didn’t care about what I was. She accepted me for who I was.”

“Hey,” Carefully, I set the jump pack back down and reached over, wrapping my hooves around him tightly. The stiff plates on his body felt… odd. Cool to the touch, and they flexed in strange ways against me. It wasn’t bad, simply unexpected. “I miss her too, but you know we accept you, Alabaster. The whole crew cares about you.”

“You didn’t see it. The way they looked at me after you went after Galina. After what I did to the Road Crew...” He whined louder as he slumped against me. “I know that look, the one they gave to the real me. They questioned if I had ever been truthful to them at all. They didn’t have to say it. I just… felt so alone without her here anymore.”

“But now that they know the real you, you don’t think they accept you?” Giving him a pat on the back, that got him to look up at me with his pupiless big glowing blue eyes. “Yes, they may have doubted for a moment, but everypony makes mistakes like that. Whether they call you Hardcase or Alabaster, you know they accept the real you. Just like I do.”

“I know.” He nodded and pulled himself back up to rub his watery eyes. “I… made a mistake in going down to that hive. I had convinced myself that I couldn’t live without Violet, and that the crew would hate me for what I am.” As soon as I’d pulled my own hooves back from the hug, he lunged at me. He wrapped his hooves around me in a tight hug of his own, whining again. “I know I already said it, but I can’t thank you enough, Night. For saving me. For accepting Salt and others of my kind.” Looking back up at me, a sad smile stretched across his chitinous jaw. “And for believing that Violet was worth saving from Solomon.”

I opened my muzzle to speak, but gravity decided that it was time to throw both Hardcase and I down to the floor. The feeling of the Hauler being forced to a quick stop, along with the sharp hiss of it’s massive brakes cutting through the air was disconcerting. At least, a bit more disconcerting than my new orientation of doing a headstand against Hardcase’s container wall.

“What the hell?” Hardcase groaned as his horn flashed. In an instant, his yellow maned, purple unicorn form reappeared as he picked himself up off of my jump pack. The both of us perked our ears as angry shouts were quickly followed by sharp impacts against the metal body of the Hauler. Though, there were no gunshots to accompany this hits, so we were both more than a bit confused. “Are we under attack?”

“Fuck.” I grumbled as I scrambled to get back to my hooves. By the time I had, Hardcase had already opened his door and headed out into the Rec area. With the door open, the angry voices were much louder now, but the hits on the hauler weren’t. Static over the picnic table radio set caught my attention as Hardcase flipped it on with his magic. I assumed Delilah had something to say about all this, but I already knew what the pit in my stomach was trying to tell me.

“Night, use the ice hold and get down to the reactor deck. No flying.” She sighed, sounding more like this was an inconvenience more than anything. At the very least, it meant that I shouldn’t be too worried, right? “To the rest of you on Bertha, stay in the Rec area until we get moving again. This shouldn’t take long.”

Trotting out and through the Rec area, I jumped as half a brick crashed down on the floor next to me. Looking out, an angry mob of road crew ponies were quickly surrounding Bertha, wielding pieces of scrap in their muzzles or rocks in their magic. Okay… Delilah might be underestimating how worried we should be.

Ducking down through the ice hold, I swung open the door to the reactor deck just in time to see another brick bounce off the Steel Ranger who’d been left with us. Thankfully for him, the bulky suit of power armor didn’t even look like it had been scratched by the meager attack.

His lack of a reaction to it made me just that much more weary of trusting this guy. No pony could be this calm around an angry mob. Maybe it was because the side of his helmet had the word MISFIT painted boldly onto it, and he was just that numb to danger. Though, that’s probably not the case, because it’s most likely the fact that he’s got a fucking minigun trained on the angry ponies trying to surround the stairwell. If I had a minigun, I’d probably feel pretty fucking confident as well.

Sitting just off to the left of Bertha, was Bessy. She was besieged by just as many ponies as Bertha was, but so far none of them had taken to climbing up top. None of this made any sense! What the fuck did we do to attract this sort of attention? Looking back, I found Boiler waving me over from the safety of the supply cage.

“What the fuck is going on?” I called out, finding it harder by the moment to shout over the angry crowd.

“How the hell should I know!?” She shouted as I ducked through the door. As soon as I had, I found the saddle I’d bought shoved into my face. “Get that on quick, cause I don’t think the folks here from Calamity are going to let us by without a fight.”

“Who the fuck is Calamity!?” Ugh! You know what I didn’t miss from our time on the road? Not knowing what the fuck was going on as I was forced to put on a battle saddle far too quickly.

“It’s not a who!” She snapped as she scrambled to hoof some bullets into one of the mags for my submachine gun. “Calamity’s the settlement we’re passing through. More specifically, it’s a road crew settlement. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why they’re a bit pissed off at us!”

“That shit at the pass was Galina’s fault, not ours!” I growled as I managed to wiggle myself into the harness.

“Well go fucking tell them that!” Boiler rolled her eyes as she went back into the cage and grabbed on of the magazines for my gun off one of the ammo crates.

Getting my wings up around the back straps reminded me of how uncomfortable my original saddle had been at first as well. Fuck it, now’s as good a time as any to break it in I guess. The sharp sound of feedback through a microphone made Boiler and I wince, as well as thankfully dulling down the noise of the crowd.

“What in Tartarus is wrong with you ponies!?” The angry voice of a stallion boomed through what I assumed was a megaphone turned up to the max setting, only to be spoken through yet another megaphone. Why did it feel like everypony in the wasteland wanted me to go deaf!? “I know you’re angry, but you’re still fucking Road Crew for Celestia’s sake. Have some respect for the goddess damned rules, or as forepony, I swear I’ll transfer every last one of you to work in the fucking gravel pits.”

While that seemed like an odd threat to make from where I was standing, I had to at least breathe a sigh of relief that somepony had reigned in that crowd before we had to start shooting. The crowd booed at the pony, but quieted even more at that. Standing on the tips of my hooves, I just managed to peek over the floor to see some of the ponies crowding around Bessy begin to leave. Alright, so maybe this was just a false alarm, and Delilah’s original assessment was correct.

I mean, this could still devolve into shooting, but since when has that ever happened with the Road Crew? Dear Celestia, what did I ever do to deserve my life?

“Alright,” Boiler snorted as she hoofed the mag up into my new subgun and flipped the trigger bit up in front of my muzzle. “I’ll get on loading another mag, but you’re good to go.”

“Don’t give me that fucking look, Berry.” The stallion on the megaphone barked sharply. “You all are the ones stepping way out of line here.” A hushed obscenity carried over the nearly dead quiet air that hung around outside. I didn’t hear exactly what they’d said, but that stallion on the megaphone seemed to hear it perfectly. “Oh, that’s real mature, Berry. Thanks for volunteering for the next rotation at Midway station.” The crowd came back to life with concerned, but still hushed words. “Yeah, and if anypony else wants to talk back, you’ll be joining him with the Rangers at Midway. So just go back to your homes and let me sort this all out.”

Walking around the side of the power armored stallion, I watched as the gathered crowd around both our vehicles decided to disperse a bit. A stallion in Road Crew forepony’s gear however still stood angrily on Bessy’s roof with megaphone in hoof. Frankly, he was an all over boring looking pony. Dusty grey coat, and a messy black mane that was sticking out from under the bright yellow construction helmet on his head. He sported a cutie mark that from here looked like nothing more than a simple cinder block, which sat on his otherwise unremarkable flank.

I couldn't quite be sure, but I think that I’d started to grow too used to how the ponies in the wasteland looked. Outside of the various races that stuck out in the crowd, I hadn’t even given a thought to the masses of ponies at Tephra’s gathering yesterday. Even now, I had to force myself to look around at the mob that was slowly filtering away from us.

I hadn’t even realized that we were sitting smack dab in the middle of their settlement. Houses built mostly out of sheet metal and wooden pallets sat scaling up the nearby rocky mountainsides. Sparse patches of soil had been tilled extensively to grow masses of sickly looking crops in the few places on the mountainside there was room enough to farm. Bits of construction supplies were dotted around under protective tents, and there wasn’t a single pony in sight among the whole settlement outside those who were just crowded around us.

The angry looking mob ponies didn’t hide their toxic glares from the convoy, but at least those of them who’d had rocks or weapons had decided to drop or holster them as they left. Seeing that the threat of an angry mob had for the moment died out, I felt justified in letting out a sigh and relaxing again.

“Well.” The amplified voice of the power armored stallion nearly gave me a heart attack, as well as momentarily deafened me. Seriously, what’s with all the loud noises!? “I’m glad that we didn’t find ourselves in a violent altercation.” I felt my heart wildly beating against my ribcage as the armored stallion turned to me and canted his head. He gave a quick laugh that made his armor jostle a bit. “Oh, were you so frightened by the prospect of fighting? Don’t be. This armor would have made short work of those foolish ponies before they could ever hurt a mare such as yourself.”

“That armor’s certainly made short work of your intellect more than anything.” Boiler muttered under her breath as she emerged from the supply cage and got settled back into her reactor cubby. Whether or not the stallion had heard her, I don’t know. However, I was fairly certain that he couldn’t have missed the snirk I gave in response.

Still, as accurate as her statement was, just what the hell was the issue that Boiler and Howitzer had with the rangers? I swear that even though I had grown to hate story time, I have to admit that I was getting far too curious to try not to ask. As I moved to turn and do just that however, Delilah’s voice came over the megaphone.

“Bombay,” The sharp tone she used was punctuated by her normal tone of apathetic annoyance, but also contained a bit of sharp anger. “I need you over here for a moment.” It was most likely because we had to stop in the first place, but I couldn’t help but immediately fear that I’d somehow, in someway, managed to do something wrong already.

Still, I pushed my wings open and climbed up onto the railing next to the stallion. With something between a kick off and just letting myself fall, I let the air catch me and pull me into a slow glide. As I neared Bessy, I flared my wings a bit and turned myself into a soft arcing bank around the zebra striped APC. Coming in to land in front of Delilah and the Road Crew stallion, I was surprisingly joined by Captain Pastel as he flew over from the ranger armored-train-thing.

“Alright, let’s make this quick.” Pastel grunted as he came down and immediately deadpanned at the Road Crew forepony. “Your superiors promised me that we wouldn’t have any more hold ups like this so long as we helped defend Midway Station and stayed out of your business. Do I…?”

“With all due respect,” Delilah interrupted him, “I’m afraid that this hold up was entirely our fault.” Turning back to the other stallion, she adjusted her glasses a bit and took a short, sharp breath. “What’s it going to take to keep my convoy moving?”

“What’s it going to take?” The stallion belted out a rapid succession of laughs that while they were short lived, seemed cold and hollow. “You’re lucky after what happened at the pass that we haven’t repossessed or scrapped your convoy. And that’s only because I got on the horn with the big boss herself and told her you helped us reclaim that old hardware your first time through here.”

Of course, even though I didn’t know much about the rangers, somehow the fact that Pastel’s plumage had perked up didn’t at all surprise me.

“What ‘old hardware’?” He asked, cocking and eyebrow and looking between the two leaders.

“Eh, Mrs. Delilah gave up the locations to one of her family's logging camps not to far to the east.” He gave a shrug like that wasn’t all that big of a deal, but I’m guessing from the sour look on Delilah’s face, she hadn’t even wanted to make that deal in the first place. “Had six whole traction engines just waiting to be reclaimed, along with two Hornsby chain tractors. Lucky for her, the engines were all still in good enough condition to be converted from wood burning over to a heating talisman-fired design, after the boilers were repaired.”

“Traction engines!?” Now it was Pastel’s turn to laugh it up. “Aren't those positively ancient tech? I think I recall a scribe mentioning they were common tech that existed before the war.”

I felt like this impromptu meeting had become an inside joke I was getting increasingly further from. Though, I really doubted that Delilah was at all finding this funny. She pressed her forehoof up onto her temple again in exasperation and looked at me with a tired gaze.

“My family is a prewar corporation that still holds plenty of more advanced assets than that one camp, Captain. Something you should keep in mind when I come to ask something of your superiors at Galloway.” She spoke up as she shifted her glare to the now starkly silent griffon. “And I’ll have you know that, for the time, those engines performed admirably at their tasks.” Turning from Pastel, she moved her softened glare over to the forepony. “My family paid good bits to make sure they’d last. Glad to know that we didn’t invest that much extra into them for nothing. Hopefully you and your group will make good use of them.”

“Yeah, that’s all and good, but it doesn’t change what you did up at the pass.” The forepony huffed and crossed his forehooves. “A lot of good ponies died up there. My friends, family even. Today’s incident here was tame compared to what you’ll find closer to headquarters. Calamity always has problems, but we aren’t fanatics like the crew in Cantercross. Lots of ponies are going to have a problem with letting you go by, even though I talked directly with Dozer. She can’t control everypony, not without a good enough reason to order it with any conviction. So, if you have one I can relay, maybe I will. But then again, maybe I won’t. It all depends on what you can offer in compensation.”

“Excuse me.” Delilah deadpanned at that, beating both Pastel and I to the expression without contest.

“You didn’t think you’d get off that easily, did you?” The stallion laughed again, visibly raising the blood pressure of Delilah to near boiling. “Oh come on.” He rolled his eyes at her. “With what happened at the pass, somepony has to get paid off. I’m just saying, why not me? I mean, Calamity here is no stranger to disaster, we always get the short end of the stick. It’s why we named it that in the fucking first place! But this way, we can both make the best of this situation, like with our previous deal.”

And as if she could just wish it away, the tension and anger in Delilah disappeared. It was unnerving to watch, actually. Unnatural and eerie, because I could still feel her anger radiating off her completely calm demeanor. A small smile even parted her lips and that terrified me.

“Posturing for another promotion already? Good, ambition to climb the ranks and get out of this hellhole is a valiant pursuit.” Delilah straightened up her forehoof, pointing it directly at me. “And I was hoping you’d ask for an explanation. Bombay, tell him exactly what happened at the pass if you would. And please, don’t hold back.”

If I had to equate the feeling of being put on the spot like that, it would have to be that Delilah had channeled Celestia herself and moved the sun to only shine right on me. You know, maybe it wasn’t that I already had done something wrong when she called me over. Maybe she sounded like that because I was about to fuck up right now.

Bombay.

The whisper of Lilac Lace’s voice in my head sent an electric tingle up my spine. I stiffened up as my mind started to process it, and by the time I’d opened my muzzle to speak, I’d already formulated just what it was that Bombay would say in this case.

“Listen up, asshole. We stopped when they asked. We abided by every fucking order that Knuckle Boom gave. But all of her crew ponies, your ponies, failed to realize that the one operating her machine didn’t even work for the Crew.” The words I spoke were as sharp as knives, and thrown at the Road Crew forepony with as much force as a hurricane battering a tree. “Since I assume you can call around, why don’t you call up north and ask Double Drum about our encounter as well?” Shifting myself, I gave a few heavy taps on the roof of Bessy with my prosthetic.

“Maybe it’s just the way the entire Road Crew is. Completely incompetent at anything but dumb labor, and if only passably repairing the shit that better ponies then them have built.” Leaning in as I continued the verbal assault, the wide eyed stallion shifted himself backwards a bit. “We don’t need your fucking permission to use your roads. It’s a courtesy we’ve extended while passing through. And seeing that we’ve shot our way through two of your union reps, maybe being the chatty pony you are, you should call ahead and make sure that the rest of your so called ‘friends and family’ stay the fuck out of our way.”

Giving a gasping breath, I pressed my hoof against my chest. As what I’d just said started to really sink into my own mind, I felt like a weight had been lifted from me. I still regretted everything that happened up at the pass, and everything after with Galina. But it felt good to just get everything out about it and leave it all here like the shitty city behind us.

“G-geeze lady, calm the fuck down.” The stallion seemed a bit shaken. Not as much as I’d have hoped for given the rant I just let loose, but enough that I knew I’d at least gotten the point across.

Was I disappointed by that? Did Bombay let me down? No. Sure, trees didn’t normally fall over from the force of a hurricane, but at the very least they never came out unscathed. Plus, they didn’t tend to fare well when a pony came by afterwards with a chainsaw to finish the job.

“Don't you dare pin Drake Pass on me or my crew because you think you're posturing to be the next in line for a promotion.” Delilah snapped, swinging her forehoof back and catching the forepony completely off guard. The hit smacked him hard, and sent his megaphone clattering to the ground. She nearly dropped him to the roof of Bessy with the hit, but the shocked look across his muzzle was all I needed to know that she wouldn’t have to worry about him being angry for that. “Say anything like that again, and when I finally do sit down to talk with Dozer Blade, I'll make sure you're doing nothing but digging roadside ditches for the rest of your damned life. Or I don’t know, possibly have you buried in one instead of being voted in as the next union rep of Mare’s Lake. Do you understand me?”

“W-what?” The stallion stammered as he hoofed at the quickly swelling bruise on the side of his muzzle.

“I said; do you,” She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper and towered over him. “understand me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He gave a quick nod.

“Get the fuck off of my convoy.” She grumbled and sharply pointed her hoof to the dirt beside Bessy. I couldn’t help but smirk as the forepony flinched as she did, complying almost immediately as he scrambled down. With another sigh that helped to release some of the tension that had built up, she turned to the nearly stark white looking Ranger. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Captain.”

“No problem…” He offered a nervous laugh to cover up the obvious fact that he was a bit more shaken up by that then the forepony had been. “Let’s… just get back on the road, er, rails, shall we?”

“My thoughts exactly.” Delilah nodded to him and gave him a dismissive wave. “We’ll await your instructions over the radio for following you into the tunnel.” Turning her attention to me, she gave a nod and just the hint of a proud smirk. “Thank you, Bombay. Please get back to the convoy rec area and keep watch over the rear of the Hauler. Make sure Hardcase and Cora know they’re on the clock too, as well as Hispano if she’s feeling up to it.”

“Alright, ma’am.” I gave her a quick nod and flared my wings. Turning myself, I gave hard flaps to pull myself into the air. As always, it sucked to fly my way even the short distance back over, but after what had just gone down on Bessy? I could handle a bit of annoyance today.

Okay, so that conversation with the forepony could have gone better, but once again, Bombay showed that she could get something done. From my seat behind the rec area railing, I couldn’t help but feel energized from the encounter. It felt good to be Bombay, like as her, I could do anything I set my mind to.

The afternoon sunlight disappeared slowly from above, and the thrumming of arcano engines resonated louder as the convoy slipped into the confining walls of the mountain tunnel. We had maybe a pony’s height worth of clearance above us, and maybe double that to each side of the concrete semicircular walls. Dozens of rusty and hole filled pipes still clung on their mounts above us, and the dim yellow light cast by the few and far between bulbs still burning in here were the only things that stood out in the pure darkness that filled most of the tunnel.

The three similar sets of silver rails that ran under us sparkled with the bright light outside the tunnel increasingly further behind us. The light stretched out a good ways after us as if it was trying to convince us not to leave it. But still, at what felt like a snail's pace compared to our normal speed, we pressed onward into the tunnel. After a few minutes, the sounds of wind and life outside the tunnel disappeared, and only the reverberating sound of the convoy and our Ranger escort met my ears.

Thank the goddesses for the florescent light from the kitchenette, or we’d be enjoying the rest of this trip in complete darkness. And while Lucky had been relegated to only see complete darkness since the loss of the runner, I couldn’t afford to do some drugs to keep myself entertained.

“So,” Hardcase sighed as he sat down next to me. In his magic, he offered me a steaming mug of green-ish looking water. “How’s the new rig feel?”

“It’s a bit stiff,” I took the cup with a nod and shifted slightly in my saddle, “but it’s pretty much the same as my last one. Only really remembered I was wearing it now that you brought it up.” Which was at least one nice thing about it. “That, and my new gun has a fairly similar weight to the old one, which is nice.”

“Ugh, you should just take it off for now.” Cora grumbled as he walked over from the kitchenette. He took a sip of his steaming cup of coffee, savoring it for a moment before elaborating with what was sure to be some sort of insult. “You’re more likely to injure one of us in here than anypony else. This tunnel is a dead zone.”

“In more ways than you know…” Hardcase muttered to himself. However, with us so close, it didn’t take him long to find that both Cora and I were waiting for some sort of explanation from him. “What?”

“Please, elaborate on what you meant by that.” Cora smirked as he turned and sat himself comfortably on the couch. “I’m sure at the very least, it’ll help pass the time.”

“Alright, so I’m guessing you haven’t heard any of the stories from our first trip up here, Cora?” Hardcase whined softly as his horn lit up. With a click, the latch on Lucky and Happy’s container opened up. “Hey, Lucky. You awake and lucid?”

“Enough.” Lucky groaned. “Wait, why does everything sound echoey?” He paused for a moment before he let out a small whine. “Please tell me we aren’t…”

“Yeah, Delilah’s actually taking us through the tunnel.” Hardcase facehooved and slowly dragged his hoof down his muzzle. “So here’s the deal. This tunnel used to be a gem mine that ran dry way back before the war. With the war though, came the idea that they could bore it out and turn it into a sort of hub for all sorts of trains to run through the north. They dug the main tunnel here, as well as twelve side tunnels that run out to different lines that go goddesses know where.”

“Yeah, I already know this.” Cora grunted. “Try telling somepony who gives a shit.”

“I’m telling Night, thank you very much!” Hardcase flailed his forehooves a bit before flopping against the railing. “Anyway, the first trip up here, we decided to take this way to avoid paying the Road Crew toll, which we’d gotten pretty sick of.” He deadpanned off into the darkness and slumped a bit before continuing. “Kinda like I’ve gotten sick of them recently…”

“It was a huge fucking mistake.” Lucky continued, not even skipping a beat. “This place is why I know these mountains are cursed. We saw all sorts of weird shit in here. The bones of mutated animals that were killed by goddesses know what. Anomalies like lightning that travel through the air of their own volition. And I swear on Celestia’s grave, there are actual ghosts that live behind those sealed off tunnels.”

“They aren’t ghosts.” Cora childed the both of them. “Those tunnels are still filled with residual magical radiation trapped in whatever gems are still in the walls. Two centuries of treasure hunters, outcasts, and suicidal ponies from Mare’s Lake mean that they’re probably just ferals you heard, if anything.”

“You don’t understand,” Lucky snapped back, “we have seen them. Apparitions that can walk straight through the sealed doors without a care. They chased us a good half of the way through this hellhole!”

“Oh my goddesses!” Happy shouted from the back of his container. “Could you all please keep your bullshit down!?”

“What, did we ruin your beauty sleep, princess?” Cora grumbled and rolled his eyes. “And who cares if you see ghosts? We’ve got some steel ranger nutjob down there with three thousand rounds a minute of ‘get the fuck away’, and the biggest damn vehicle that’s ever ridden the northern roads. Shit isn’t going to mess with us in the pitch black of this tunnel.” Taking a sip of his coffee, he wiggled himself further into the couch.

Which reminded me, there was still a steaming mug of… something in my hooves that I’d been neglecting. Pulling it up to my lips, I took a hesitant sip of it. It had a sharp, minty tang to it, that was also semi-sweet. It was pretty good actually! As I took another sip, I found Hardcase smirk.

“I’ve got plenty more mint tea bags if you like that cup.” Hardcase smiled before he took a sip of his own mug. “Anyway, Cora’s probably right. We shouldn’t worry ourselves.”

“But…” Lucky whimpered softly, “how can you just agree with him?”

“Look, we saw what we saw, but let’s try not to focus on what’s ahead. Keep our heads in the moment...” Hardcase paused as it sounded like Happy Trails ran right into his container wall. Even Lucky was caught off guard by it and gave out a yelp.

“Fuck it! I’ll be down in the hold below for some goddess damned peace and quiet.” Happy grumbled as he trotted out of his room. “Fucking talking about ghosts n’ shit. You’re all a bunch of crazy ponies.” He stopped right in front of me, glaring down the length of his muzzle at me. “I need you to move, Night.” Shit, I was standing on the hatch, wasn’t I?

Before I could move, there was a crackle from the radio. It caught all of our attention as a bit of static filled the air. Maybe Delilah had somehow overheard us and was calling for us to shut our muzzles. Or maybe she just ‘knew’ Happy was being an ass again and was calling to verbally slap him.

………....Kzzzkt………….

The radio fuzzed, giving us nothing but static for about thirty seconds. The only thing of note was the odd crackle there’d been for a moment. Maybe there was something interfering with the radio in the tunnel?

After another moment, the static became louder. Slowly, it built up, and in doing so, it made the mane on my neck stand up. Cora grunted as he pulled himself off the couch and walked over to the radio with a deadpan across his face. Reaching out, he shut the radio off and froze in place.

“Who was that?” Buck peeked his head out of our container. His fur was standing on end, and he seemed even more tense than I’d become.

“It was just a burst of static, maybe from the radiation in the tunnels around here.” Hardcase grunted, doing his best to visibly shake off the creeped out vibe he was exuding right now. “Anyway, thanks for shutting that off for now. We can turn it back on...”

“I didn’t.” Cora said coldly.

“What?” Hardcase stood up so sharply that even Happy had become unnerved. “What do you mean?”

“Well if it’s still on, don’t just sit there!” Buck blurted out before looking around to us like we were all crazy. “Pick up and answer the poor mare!” Rolling his eyes, Buck carefully pushed Cora out of the way of the radio. The griffon seemed to be in a daze as he stepped backwards, slumping back onto the couch. “Hello? Are you in need of assistance?” Buck spoke into the mic for the radio, keeping his attentive ears fixated on the radio for a response.

Yet none came.

“Hello?” Buck repeated himself. “Miss, are you there?” Okay, this was officially getting a bit too creepy for me…

“He can hear them.” Lucky spoke up from his room. “We can’t, but he can.”

“What? Hear who?” Buck turned to Lucky as the rest of us looked to him. “Come on you guys, this isn’t funny. She was crying and obviously in distress.”

“You’re the only one here with good enough hearing to listen over the static. To hear the dead.” Those words out of Lucky’s muzzle felt like it dropped the temperature of the air to record lows. I felt like shivering as just those simple two words bounced around in my head. Yeah, if I ever make it back up north again, fuck this tunnel.

“BOO!” Happy shouted next to me, making me jump back so hard I slammed against the railing of the rec area. I nearly slipped and went over backwards, and the thought of being left behind in this dark hellhole sent another spike of fear up my spine. All as that bastard of a mule laughed it up like it was all just a joke to him.

Thankfully, Hardcase’s horn flashed, and his magic caught around my back and helped to keep me from going over.

“You fucking moron!” Hardcase snapped at him.

“What? He’s fine, ain’t he?” Happy giggled as he rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a square. Lighten up and relax a bit!”

………....Kzzzkt………….

The radio flared up again, making Buck take a step back.

………....Kzzzkt...Mule...Kzzzkt………….

“What. The. Fuck.” Most of the color drained from Happy’s coat, and I don’t think any one of us wanted to move a single fucking inch.

“Y-you all heard that then?” Buck spoke at only a whisper. “T-the s-screaming?” Pinning his ears back, he too gave a shiver. And I know there’s no way in hell that Buck is at all cold right now. “I um… something’s not right about all this… at all.”

“Yeah, I’m not fucking going through this horror hour bullshit again.” Cora grunted as he stood back up. Wait, again!? Between him and our resident buffalos, why had that become the word of the day recently?

However this time instead of going for the radio, Cora headed to the kitchenette and opened up one of the drawers. Quickly he retrieved a bottle of Stalliongrad vodka and popped the top open.

“Time to drown this shit out.” Taking a few good gulps of it, he shuddered as he gasped for breath and wiped at his beak.

“Yeah... maybe that’s not such a bad idea.” Hardcase spoke up, using his magic to pry the bottle from Cora’s grasp.

“I-I’ll drink to that.” Happy nodded quickly. “You all mind if I just… chill out with you until we get out the other side?”

“Do whatever you fucking want.” Cora grumbled as he slipped his talon into his medical satchel. From it, he pulled his pistol. He pulled the slide back enough to see the round in the chamber before nodding to himself. “But if I see a single fucking anything come out of that darkness? It’s shoot first and ask questions never.”

“Damn straight.” Hardcase nodded before downing a good few guzzling gulps of the vodka. He gave a sputtering cough as he lifted the bottle from his lips, levitating the bottle toward me. “Here, a little liquid courage to calm your nerves.” Before I could even move, Happy had already reached over and grabbed the bottle from his magic. With a single swig, he managed to down pretty much the rest of it. “Damnit, Happy!” He barked, ripping the bottle from his muzzle and smacking him upside the head with it.

“It’s fine!” I lied.

It wasn’t fine. With a sigh, I turned myself back toward the darkness and stared out into it. Even for going as slow as we were, the entrance to the tunnel was only just a pinprick of light now. And for some reason, my new saddle was feeling incredibly uncomfortable now.

Maybe it was the fact that there were fucking ghosts on the radio that unnerved me, but Cora was right. If anything comes out of the darkness, it’s probably the best idea to just blast it without question. Almost as if to silently agree with that, Hardcase propped himself up against the railing again, and made sure that his SFG was propped up right next to him. I wasn’t sure how well it would work in a tunnel like this, but I prayed to Celestia we wouldn’t get to find out.

“Yeah,” I muttered to myself, “this is fine…”

Well, after another uneventful half hour sitting and staring into the darkness, most of the fear we’d felt earlier had sunk to a sort of background level. Sure, Hardcase and I still sat with our weapons at the ready, but Cora had gone into the remnants of Boiler and Gearbox’s container to keep an eye out ahead of the convoy, and Happy had returned to his container as well.

Silence had become our companion during this time. After the radio incident, it was our best friend. Only the sound of crunching gravel under Bertha’s tires, and the clacking of the Ranger’s weird armored train thing ahead of us filled the void outside the rec area. Though, a shifting from behind Hardcase and I prompted us both turning around.

Buck had poked his head out of our container, and while it looked like he was less unnerved than earlier, I could tell from his expression that he was still worried. Waving a paw, he motioned for me to go over to him. Hardcase gave me a simple nod before returning his gaze out to the darkness, and I got up. My legs protested as they were urged to move for the first time in a while, and even my stump seemed to ache around the base of my prosthetic.

Slowly walking around the couch, I made my way back into our container. Buck motioned for me to head over to the bed, and offered me a weak smile. I had to assume he had something on his mind he needed to get off of it because it was hardly the time for something like a quickie. Still, I hopped over onto the bed and sat down as he shut the door behind us. Carefully walking over, he sat down next to me and let out a sigh.

“Look, I wanted to talk to you now that I’ve had time to process our conversation earlier.” He began, keeping his voice quiet. “I mostly want to talk about what you did, and what you said you had to do to get back.”

“I understand it was wrong…” I began, but found his claw come up against my muzzle softly.

“That’s putting it mildly.” He grumbled, forcing out a laugh as he shook his head. “I've only ever once been as scared as I was when you went over that cliffside, and that was the day that Saxon told me we were done. I’d thought you were dead, gone out of my life. Just like that.”

“It was stupid, selfish, and I wasn’t thinking. I know that now.” I didn’t know how to better explain why I’d done it, but I don’t think that was the point. I think he knew the why, he just didn’t agree with the fact that I had done it. “I’ll never go running off like that again.”

“It’s more than that. You said you had to kill ponies to get back here?” He shifted his gaze to the ceiling, eyeing at the softly flickering fluorescent light above us. “I'd rather be heartbroken for the rest of my days than have the weight of another's life resting on my shoulders. You know what I mean by that, right?”

“The sheriff and his son didn’t deserve to die, but I can’t take back what happened.” Sitting there on the bed, I winced as I felt a dull ebbing return behind my glass eye, and slowly it spread out through the rest of my body. It was far from the pain I’d had before, but like the start of a headache, it was still there. “But I’ve paid for my mistakes. Maybe nowhere near enough of a price to justify what’s happened, but at least as much as I can.”

“Have you though?” Buck offered as he quickly turned his gaze back to me. “It may sound harsh, but you’re still here, Night. They aren’t, while you’re still alive.”

There wasn’t anger in his words, or hatred in his eyes. He spoke the simple truth both clearly and calmly, but all the same I felt the burden of my actions weighing down on me more than ever. Slowly, he reached his paw up and pressed it against the side of my head warmly. It was a comfort that I wanted to say given the circumstances, I didn’t deserve, but relished all the same.

“I’m glad you came back. Truly, I am, Night. But...” His tone shifted as again his voice grew softer. Looking up at him, the worried gaze had returned across his face, and I even through the warmth of his paw, I couldn’t help but mirror it. “You have to promise me that you will never leave like that again, and that you will find a different way to do things. One that never involves you killing innocent ponies. I won’t… I can’t live with that on my shoulders. At least, more than it already is.”

It wasn't like I had a choice when Jess fired at the sheriff. I mean, I HAD a choice, but I refuse to throw my own life away like that. Even if I stepped in, she might have killed them anyway. But I can't tell Buck that, can I? 'Sorry, but some ponies are lost causes?' Yeah, he himself had broken down about that, but he was the reason I came back. I want nothing more than to again see him as happy as he was when I first kissed him. But at the same time, I know that I shouldn’t lie to him. He deserves more from me than that.

“Night?” His paw slowly moved down the side of my face, curling under my muzzle so that it tipped my head upwards. “I need you to promise me that.”

“Yeah,” I smiled softly, “I promise, Buck.”

I wanted to say that making me lie to his face like that was a cheap shot. I was forced to confront his hope filled gaze, and chose yet another impossible choice. I didn't want to lie to him. Well, not a lie, but as I keep getting told, mistakes happen. You have to try to do better, but you can't save everypony in the end. I'd learned that the hard way, even if he hadn't quite realized it yet.

Sure he tucked away that little breakdown he had earlier, but that feeling will only fester and rot away his optimism. Worst of all, there was nothing I’d be able to do to stop it. All it simply meant was that I'd have to be ready and at his side when that inevitable realization finally eats through and sends him to rock bottom. Because more than anything, I wish I’d had someone there with me other than Galina when I hit it hard.

"UGH." Hispano groaned, giving a huff as she turned over and pressed her face into her cloud pillow. "You two done being sappy?"

Her muffled words didn't carry too much annoyance with them. I just kinda assumed that she was tired of feeling like crap still as she came down off her addiction. Plus, between the tension from the radio thing, and Buck’s talk, I’d completely forgotten she was still just across the container.

In a sharp move, Buck stiffened himself up. At first I thought he was going to stand up, but he simply sat there tweaking his triangular ears. A look of confusion washed over him, and at the same time, I felt that pit in my stomach start to form again.

“What is it?” I asked softly, leaning myself over towards the safety of his massive form. Hey, if shit was about to go down, I’d much rather be one hoof’s length closer to him than not.

“It almost sounds like… water up ahead.” He spoke slowly as he leaned forward. Getting to his paws, I stood up and followed as he headed for the door. “It’s odd, maybe we’re at the other side already?”

Once he’d opened the door, one thing was immediately obvious to me. Outside of the noises of the convoy, there was definitely something more out there in the darkness. With a squeak, the door to Boiler and Gearbox’s wrecked container opened, and an unhappy looking Cora stepped through. Shutting the door behind him, he stood there for a moment as he looked around at each of us with an unnerved look about him.

“What’s up?” Hardcase asked before my own muzzle had a chance to spit it out. “Everything alright?”

“No. I was right before.” He stated simply, shaking his head. “There’s ghouls ahead.”

“Oh, that must be what the noise is.” Buck nodded to himself. “How many are there then?”

“Lots.” Cora gave a nod before looking across the ground. Walking back over to the couch, he reached down and picked up the empty vodka bottle. Staring at it, he let out a sad sigh. “We’re going to need a lot more vodka if we make it through this hell...”

On this whole trip so far, I’d never seen Cora this unnerved. He may be an overbearing jackass when it came to butting into Hispano’s life, but I never took him as someone who could ever look this distressed. And something about that piqued my interest into solving this probably mortifying mystery.

Still, like always, I couldn’t help myself.

Turning, I reached out and hoofed open the door to the wrecked container. Stepping through the doorway to the blasted open area ahead, I was immediately met with bright lights. The low semicircular tunnel we’d been in slowly gave way to a great concrete dome. A bright ring of lights beamed down brilliantly from near the top of the massive concrete ceiling, illuminating a wide open area that looked like it could hold the entirety of the Roundhouse settlement comfortably inside it.

Ahead of Bertha, Bessy and the armored Ranger train followed the same sets of tracks that lead us in here, but those tracks soon diverged. They ran every which way across the floor of the sprawling open area, criss crossing and switching around to where most of them ended up turning and facing gigantic steel doors. The huge rectangular slabs were as tall as the tunnel we were in, and above each one, written on the concrete, was a number from one to twelve.

The door we’d come through was labeled six, and the open door ahead of us was labeled one. Looking to the right however, I noticed that door number two wasn’t closed like the others around us. Instead, it was sitting half open, and the darkness inside gave me a colder feeling than I’d had before. A few ghouls were milling around the dark entrance, making me question why Cora had been so upset about it.

“Goddesses, just look at Midway station…” Hardcase gasped from beside me, making me jump slightly. Looking at him, his eyes were locked in fear off to Bertha’s left side. I turned, following his gaze across the dome to a squat concrete bunker that sat tucked up against the door to tunnel number nine. But that’s when I too froze in fear.

At first I thought that the tunnel had flooded, and a putrid greenish grey layer of water was lapping up against the bunker. However, the longer I looked, the more that the writhing mass of grotesque bodies resolved into the nightmare inducing picture it was. It was ghouls. It was all ghouls.

Okay, so that’s why Cora was unnerved. Yeah, I don’t even care if it tasted twice as bad as that beer I’d tried before. I was pretty sure I could use some of that liquid courage right about now…

There was a crackle from the radio in the rec area that made me twist my ear back to listen to it.

“Alright everypony. The Rangers are asking for our help in thinning this horde out for the cleanup crew they’ll send in later.” Delilah’s voice came across as cold and ruthless as always. “Night, Hardcase, and Cora. I want you down on the reactor deck now. Not one corpse makes it onto my hauler. Got that?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I responded quickly, not even caring that my brain reminded me that she couldn’t hear me without my combat radio on my head. Still, both Hardcase and I turned around, and headed for the reactor deck. Like Cora had said, this was going to be hell.

Author's Notes:

As always, thank you so much to TheFurryRailFan for all his help in making sure this chapter is presentable! You're the best, man!

And of course, thanks to Kkat for letting us all use this amazing universe!