Seriously, Night, what’s going on with you?

First I’d felt like this place was way off, but… nothing looked off. Of course, then Buck started acting up, which only made me feel more nervous. Was I just being paranoid? Delilah had told me to listen to my instincts, but that’s what I didn’t understand. I get that this trip had been nothing short of one disaster after another so far, but… why were my instincts telling me this now?

“Night?”

Maybe this was all because of what happened to Violet. After everything I’d had to do to survive since then, I couldn’t really blame myself for feeling this way, right? Could it be that I’m just stressing out, waiting for the other horseshoe to drop? Where Solomon comes in with an army we couldn’t possibly stand against?

“Night?” Hardcase’s voice dragged me out of my own thoughts. He prodded at my side softly before taking a sip of his hot coffee. “Are you okay?”

“What?” I sputtered, nearly dropping my still steaming cup of cocoa as my mind raced to put together a response for him. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.” Looking over at him, I forced a nervous smile and brought the hot cocoa to my lips. Of course, he could see right through that lie. Quick, Night, throw together some other excuse that’s a bit more plausible! “Just… trying to remember what happened last night is all.” Not a great lie, but at least it was better!

“Ah.” Hardcase nodded with a smile as he pressed himself further back into the warm couch. “Yeah, I’ve had my own fair share of benders like that...” He shook his head as he seemed lost in thought himself for a moment, letting a sombre look taint his happy expression. “That was all before I met Violet, though. She was good at keeping me out of trouble.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, looking down at my own cup of cocoa. I bet she would have been able to help me figure out what was going on here. At the very least, if somepony like her had told me that everything was fine, even if it was a lie, I’d still be happy to have believed it.

*Squeak*

I nearly jumped out of my seat as a messy mained Delilah opened the door to the Ice hold. Peeking up, the very sight of Hardcase and I looked like it deflated the good mood she’d been wearing yesterday, and she let out one of her patented annoyed grunts. Hey, at least she still looked more relaxed than she’d ever been. Seriously, I knew that style of relaxed, and it only came after a fun night with Buck.

Still an odd thought though, to know your boss got laid...

“Not a word, you two.” She muttered as she climbed up the rest of the way. She avoided our gaze, but for as much as she tried, she couldn’t hide the deep rosy blush on her cheeks. “We leave in a half hour. Until then, I’ll be in my room.”

Before either Hardcase and I could even respond, she’d gotten into her room and shut the door behind her. We both heard the latch slide into place, and after that, silence. Well, that happened…

“It’s been nice, but I’ve got to get back to the grind.” Hardcase groaned as he pushed himself back to his hooves. “I think I’m going to use this time as an opportunity to do some maintenance on your jump pack. I’ll come get you before we get back on the road.” Giving me a pat on the side, he turned and headed for the Ice hold stairs. “Enjoy your cocoa!”

Taking a sip, I was once again left with myself in an awkward silence.

Looking out into the Road Crew worksite, I watched as more and more ponies started to go about their daily routines. Some were carrying supplies and tools, while others were chatting as they worked on various different little projects. Of course, my eyes eventually started to scale up the massive machine that was ‘Large Marge’, looking at the dozen or so ponies who were traversing her catwalks as the behemoth chewed away at more and more of the old city skyscrapers.

But my eyes stopped where Delilah had been standing earlier. At his size and bulk, even without his power armor, Motor Grader was nearly unmissable as he leaned on the railing and surveyed the ponies below. Next to him, stood a small red pony. I of course couldn’t be positive, but part of me was sure that it was the same stallion who’d shot Buck yesterday.

I kept my eyes on them, finding that the two of them looked to be talking. After a minute or so however, they turned to each other and shook hooves. As they did, Lustre’s words from the meeting yesterday drifted through my mind.

“You’re probably the most paranoid pony I’ve ever met when it comes to even just looking at you wrong...”

Then… why would he let that red pony near him? Why would they shake hooves? Unless… unless something is going on here! Maybe I’m not so paranoid after all!

Pushing myself to my hooves, I trotted over to Delilah’s door and knocked on it. I perked my ears, waiting for a response from her, but only got another one of her annoyed grunts. Which I’ll be honest, I probably should have seen coming.

“I um… I need to talk to you.” I spoke up. “It might be important.”

“Might, or is?” Delilah’s muffled voice exuded agitation through the walls. Seriously, I was pretty sure you could lock her at the bottom of the deepest mine shaft in Equestria and you’d still be able to feel her annoyance from the surface. “Can’t this wait, Night?”

“I don’t know.” I spit out, trying to keep my voice down a bit. “I just… we need to talk.”

“Fine.” She groaned. “Use your wing to unlock the door and come in.”

Forcing the door open a bit, I stretched my wing out and slipped it between the gap. With a flick, I raised it and knocked the latch from it’s hole, letting the door swing open freely. Stepping inside, I immediately used my tail to catch the door and swing it back shut again. With another flick of my wing, I sent the latch back over and into its hole again.

“Alright, you remember how you told me to trust my instincts?” The moment I started speaking, I watched her relaxed look tense up little by little. Each word added another notch toward her normal, annoyed look that I was definitely not wanting to put back across her face. “Well, there’s something going on here, Ma’am, I just know it.”

“This again?” She sighed as she walked over to her desk and sat behind it. Reaching down, she opened up one of the drawers and drew out an old ivory colored mane brush. “Look, you may not have caught on, but Lustre and I go way back. She wouldn’t let anything happen to us on her watch.”

“But I’m not talking about her, it’s Motor Grader I’ve got a bad feeling about.” I snapped back at her. Seriously, she could convince herself that nothing was wrong all she wanted, but I was at least going to lay everything out for her before she insultingly dismissed me again like yesterday. “I just watched Motor Grader shaking hooves with who I’m pretty sure was the pony who shot Buck yesterday, while outside of his armor.”

“Is that somehow a crime, Night?” She offered with a snort as she brought the brush up to her frizzy mane.

“Yesterday, he told us that nopony was to touch him outside his armor, no exceptions.” I tried to make my words as sharp as I could in order to see if they’d stick in Delilah’s thick skin at all. And from the way she drooped a bit and glared up at me from her brushing, some of them must have. “Lustre herself said that he was being oddly nice, and that he doesn’t like his crew touching him at all.”

“I understand your concerns, Night, but that doesn’t change anything.” Delilah dismissed my words short of actually telling me to simply get out. “You were there for the negotiations, and I’d thought you’d been listening to them. We won the bid, Night. We have a deal that they can’t break, end of story.”

“We don’t know that! Hell, we don’t even know what Solomon offered them!” I failed to keep a check on my voice, and it resonated a bit in the walls around us. I cringed at the thought that somepony else on the crew might have heard that, or even worse, one of the road crew. But that alone sparked a thought. “The maintenance crew…”

“We… we were all fairly distracted with the party last night, right?” My words drifted off as I continued and connected it all in my head. Yes, that would have been the perfect time to sabotage us. “They might have done something to the Hauler. Maybe I should tell Boiler to check over Bertha for anything that seems out of place…”

“That’s enough, Night.” Delilah groaned as she facehooved herself hard.

“No, don’t you get it? This could have all been planned!” I realized that I could have been jumping to a conclusion or two, but it certainly fit from where I sat. “What if that was the reason that Motor had even thrown the party in the first place? Even so, how could he have known that we’d all be away from Bertha? Delilah would never leave her unattended, unless…” I let out a sharp gasp. “unless Lustre was always supposed to keep you distracted…”

“Enough!”

Delilah shouted as she threw her hairbrush across the room. It snapped in half as it smashed into the wall behind me, bouncing and landing on the floor at my hooves. It distracted me just long enough that I didn’t hear Delilah’s heavy steps moving around her desk until it was too late. Looking back, I had just enough time to see her swing her hoof before it hammered me across my cheek.

“How fucking dare you, Night.” She screamed into my ear as I struggled to keep my balance from her hit. “You might have missed it, but Motor’s become a bit possessive of Lustre since his fucking wife died. Could be because while he already lost one, he doesn’t want to lose another, but it’s not my place to fucking judge him for it! It’s none of your fucking business either, Night, but while you were off getting plastered, Lustre had to beg Motor to spend the night with me. She didn’t have to, and I told her that she didn’t need to, But even though he never said that she could, she chose to spend the night with me anyway. So you don’t get to slander her, not when she has been nothing but kind to us.”

Delilah was heaving and shaking with each breath, and her face was so red that anypony might have mistook it for a bad sunburn. But right now I was the one under a gaze that felt like a million suns as she herself snorted what felt like dragons fire from her nose.

“I have waited far too long and been way too fucking patient with you. I will not let you fucking ruin my time with her, Night.” She snapped, raising her hoof again, but holding back when I winced. “The sheer audacity you have, after everything I’ve done for you, to suggest that I’m incompetent enough to let something like what you accuse her of, befall this convoy.”

“Night, you may think you’ve learned something about what it takes to keep this crew safe, but let me tell you something. You haven’t learned a goddess damned fucking thing about just how much shit that I’ve had to keep track of on this trip. Watching every approach, planning every move.” Her words were as razor sharp as ever, and they cut deep. “You can’t comprehend how much stress this has all been for me, and I’m beginning to think that you never will. I’m the boss, I’m the one who has to understand the deals we make, not you. So I don’t need your paranoid bullshit theories to fuck over everything I’ve worked for, not when we’ve come this fucking far!”

Closing her eyes, she ground her forehoof against the floor, taking a long and deep breath that didn’t look to calm her down at all.

“You know, Night? It used to be so easy to answer which of you had disappointed me more, you or my son.” Delilah’s tone had dropped down again, but it was much worse than her normal cold tone. It was hollow. Devoid of any feeling other than pure hatred. “But day in and day out, with every problem you’ve caused for me, that’s not something I can answer anymore.” Oh come, she… she can’t be serious. “And I’m sad to say, I’m not sure which mistake I regret making more. Keeping Happy around all these years, or not letting you die on the side of the fucking road.”

I felt a soft gasp leave my lips, forced out in a breath that left me almost frozen. For as sharp as I’d wanted my words to be earlier, they might as well have been as blunt as a rock for how deep that single sentence cut. I’d only ever felt like this once before, and it was the day I’d made my own mother cry because I was being a stupid selfish little foal. And while Delilah may not have been the same pony who’d loved and raised me, I’ll be damned if it didn’t feel like I was just disowned by my own parents.

“I… I just…” I almost couldn’t bring myself to speak as she heaved deep breaths and barely seemed to be holding her immense rage back. This isn’t like how things were up at Filly Crossing, where it was an issue of morals. This was her business that I overstepped in, which she was right that I knew nothing about how any of it worked. I guess… I really am just being a paranoid stupid foal... “I just wanted to bring it up, Ma’am. I’m sorry...”

“Get. Out.” She growled, shifting her raised hoof to point at the door. “And for the record, Night. The only things that are to come out of your fucking muzzle for the rest of the year, are: Yes, Ma’am. No, Ma’am. And I’m sorry I don’t know, Ma’am.” She snorted at me as she leaned in closer, making me wince and pull back. “Understand?”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I nodded before slowly turning away from her. The moment I looked away, it was like a curtain raised in the back of my mind, and the rational part of my mind could finally see what I’d done. As I moved toward the door, I couldn’t stop the shaking in my legs as a wave of shame washed over me.

Really, Night? You don’t even know a fraction of the history between Delilah and Lustre, and you just accused her of manipulating Delilah into sleeping with her? This was just supposed to be a bad feeling. How did that turn into a rant so damning that not even Bombay could have saved herself from it? Oh, right, it’s a brand new day and you hadn’t fucked things up yet.

Well if that was your goal, mission accomplished, Night.

I couldn’t help but sigh as my eyes scanned across the pristine skyscrapers that lined the edges of the old elevated highway. Ponies of every size, shape, and color went about their daily lives in their rebuilt old world homes. Foals played, families ate breakfast together, and a few stood on their balconies and watched as the convoy passed.

It was odd, how familiar it all felt to me. Cover the ground with clouds, have a few skycarrages going around, and wouldn’t you know it would be like I never left Neighvarro city at all. No wasteland to worry about, no friends to endanger, and no boss to disappoint. Right now, that was a fantasy I could lose myself in far too easily.

But this was my life now, where no matter how much I wanted it to be, Cantercross wasn’t Neighvarro.

“You’ve been awfully quiet up there, Night.” Delilah’s flat tone came across over my headset with an extra helping of annoyance. “You aren’t daydreaming now, are you?”

“No, Ma’am.” Was all I said as I went back to peering around.

The moment I had finished, I pulled my muzzle shut tightly, silencing the sudden urge to apologize again for what I’d said earlier. Looking over across to the other side of the air above the convoy, Cora gave me an odd look as he studied me. I’d worried that he was going to ask me about my quietness, but mercifully, he didn’t seem interested in pursuing it.

“Nothing to report so far, but seeing as we’re almost there, I’m fairly confident we won’t have any trouble.” He spoke up over his headset, turning his gaze off of me and back onto the ground below. “On that, it looks clear on the turnoff for Harmony Plaza.”

Bessy drifted slowly across the lanes as Delilah guided the convoy towards a curved off ramp. It was a tight fit, looking to barely squeeze through the buildings at the side of the highway. Now that I thought about it, the off ramp looked built into the tightly packed buildings. The closer we approached to the exit, the closer the skyscrapers had been built to each other. Some were barely wide enough to hold old fire escapes, which looked like they’d been built to serve the buildings on both sides of them. Other gaps were even thinner than that, barely wide enough for a pony to maybe scoot between if they were careful.

As I followed the Convoy into the turn, I watched as Cora drifted ahead of them. Slowly at first, but he stiffened as he flared his wings downward a bit. A droning wind picked up around me as I reached the turnoff, and I started to sink as the airflow under my wings began to drain off. The funneling offramp felt like it was sucking the air away from me, both pulling me deeper down it, and stealing what little air I could even get under my wings.

“Shit! What the fuck is up with this wind?” I grunted as I forcibly flapped my wings to try to keep myself airborne. But the further we went into the off ramp, the worse the wind got, and the faster I sank. “It’s going to force me to land if it gets any worse!”

"It's alright, we should go ahead and land. You first, I’ll follow." Cora spoke up as even he he struggled to keep himself in the air. Pointing his talon up to the bright multicolored tower that rose above the tops of the skyscrapers, he glared flatly at it. "It's only going to get worse the closer we get to that Ministry abomination." Really? It’s a tower, how the hell would it cause something like this?

“Night.” Delilah gave a growling snap at me over the radio. “Go ahead and land, but don’t get comfortable. You aren’t off duty yet.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I tried to force myself to not come across as annoyed as I dipped myself down toward the convoy, but I was pretty sure I’d done a poor job. This shifting wind shit wasn’t my fault! Whomever designed this place obviously didn’t have pegasi with flat feathers in mind. I came down hard onto my hooves on the floor of the rec area, coming to a stop right in front of Hardcase as he sat at the radio.

“Hey, I have a quick question for you.” Hardcase’s muzzle twitched nervously as he reached up and flicked off his radio. “What happened with Delilah earlier? Why’s she pissed at you?”

What, it wasn’t like with these paper thin walls they didn’t already know. Did he just want me to say it out loud to rub my mistake in? Even if he hadn’t heard, I wasn’t going to risk myself by letting anything slip out now.

“Don’t answer that, Night.” Delilah’s voice bled into my ear over my own headset. “Ignore him, and post yourself in Boiler’s destroyed container.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I sighed, frowning as I turned and walked past Hardcase to Boiler and Gearbox’s old, exploded container. Opening it, I paused as I found Lucky standing inside it already.

A simple looking wooden wheeled cart had been secured to his rear half by a dozen different uncomfortable looking ropes and straps, hugging him so tightly that it almost looked like he’d lost circulation there. Still, he looked back at me and smiled as he turned himself around. As I entered, he surprised me by flicking at my forehoof, messing with the controls of my radio headset.

“There. You’ll still be able to hear her, but she can’t hear us.” Lucky smirked as he looked over my shoulder and nodded. I barely had time to brace myself before Hardcase shoved me all the way into the open container and shut the door as he stepped inside after me.

“Sorry, Night, but the suspense is killing us.” Hardcase smirked as he latched the door shut. “We all tried not to listen before, and none of us have the complete picture.” Scooting around me, he took his place next to Lucky. “So, why is Delilah so mad at you?”

Really, nopony could piece it together? Between the two of them, I felt like the colt in school who had all the latest gossip and news about the cool ponies. And honestly, I didn’t really like to be put in the spotlight like this...

“Look, I made a mistake.” I wanted to lie to them, to say that Delilah was being unfair. But that would just prove I was as foalish as Delilah thought I was. Instead, I took a deep breath and looked straight at the both of them. “And trust me when I say that I deserve her anger because of that mistake. So I’m asking you, please, drop it before you two get her angry at you as well.”

“Night.” Delilah’s voice crackled into my ear, instantly drawing my attention through the wide hole in the container and down to Bessy as she drove ahead of us. “You better not be talking with those two.”

“Please, just trust me.” I offered to the two of them, holding up the headset controls to Lucky.

The two of them shared a worried look, but they both nodded. With another quick flick of his hoof, Lucky restored my coms to its previous settings. Alright, you’ve spared them for now. Just don’t screw this up, Night.

“No, Ma’am.” I offered over the headset to her. I don’t know if she’d expected an answer, but I figured it would be better to give one anyway.

As I’d responded however, the morning sunlight darkened slightly, forcing my vision up above the convoy. I hadn’t noticed it as we’d approached, but the road we were on had been built under the cover of a grimy, upwardly sloping glass roof. While the curved street that the off ramp had dumped us onto started to straighten out, I realized something odd.

While I had seen plenty of ponies inside their own buildings, there was hardly a soul on the streets. Trash kicked around in the winds that gust through the various artificial canyons. Not only that, but the closer we got to this 'Harmony plaza', the stronger the gust became. And if that wasn’t odd enough, the road itself was the blackest asphalt I’d seen on this trip so far, which raised even more questions. As the road finally straightened out, the glass roof above us afforded me a look at something that made my jaw drop.

The Ministry of Awesome tower that had stood out from the city as we approached, was actually at the center of what looked like a wide open park. Though it was still almost a half-mile off, the scale of the structure was unlike anything I’d ever imagined. The tower itself was huge, but I’d already gotten that from seeing it above all the other skyscrapers. But what I didn’t see was that this web of sloping glass ceiling had been built into its base.

This glass ceiling looked like it ran down every street to cover most, if not all of this end of the city. Tarps, canvas, and bits of scrap metal had been used to patch up the sections where the large glass panes no longer sat, but on most of them, I could still read the large printed letters that spelled out ‘Harmony Plaza’ as they ran overhead. It was insanely impressive to take in, but more than that, confusing.

Why was it even built here? What purpose did it serve? It didn’t look like any of the other weather control towers the Enclave had relied on. All of this was making my muzzle itch, and I struggled to keep my it shut.

“While you may not be allowed to speak up, nothing says that Lucky and I can’t talk to each other, right?” Hardcase smirked as he nudged me with his hoof. “So, you were wondering what this thing is, Lucky?”

“What?” Lucky sputtered as he cocked an eyebrow to Hardcase, but quickly went wide eyed. “Oh, right! Yeah, I’ve never seen it before.”

“Well you see,” Hardcase raised his hoof and pointed up to the city all around us, “when the ministries were formed during the war, they had a presence in each major Equestrian city. And for being the emerald of the north, and the largest city north of Vanhoover, the financial district of Cantercross was split to make room.”

“Oh, I see.” Lucky nodded slowly, clearly not caring one bit about what was being said. “Why a tower like this? What’s its purpose?” But his entertained glance and sly smile to me helped to cue me in on just what was going on.

Really, guys? I appreciate this, but please, I don’t want to get you into trouble...

“Well, as you may know, cities need power. And a city like this one, demands a lot of it.” Hardcase continued as he sat down next to me. “Far too much to be powered exclusively by already expensive coal. So, while the other ministry buildings were built to their normal ministry standards, the showboating Ministry of Awesome decided to do something a bit different. They used their knowledge of wind power to create a truly unique way to harness the energy it contained.”

“Using the solar updraft effect, right?” Lucky not missing a beat, nodded again as he pointed his hoof along the sloping glass ceiling. “Ground air heated by the sun is drawn through the city and channeled up through the base of the tower, where it rises and drives turbines, correct?”

“They harnessed the power of thermals…” The words, as always, just slipped out of my muzzle. However, I couldn’t care as I took in the impressive full view of the tower. That must also be why the asphalt was as dark as it was, to capture as much of the heat of the sun as possible, and use it to warm the air! It was almost genius of them, and would have provided a nearly limitless source of power during the daytime.

Oddly enough, Delilah didn’t speak up or make any comment about my slip up. Either she hadn’t been paying attention, or she was holding her tongue for now.

“Yeah, but like the ministries themselves, it wasn’t without its flaws.” Hardcase nodded and shrugged. “Turns out, most pony folk didn’t want to spend a day out in the city while there’s constant twenty mile an hour winds pushing you around.”

Oh, so that’s why there’s nopony on the streets. Shifting my wings uncomfortably, I figured that if Cora even had problems flying in it, then I could see how it might be annoying for non-fliers...

“That, and it only works on clear days. Which was almost everyday before the pegasi sealed up the skies.” Lucky continued, pointing up to the six multicolored rings that flashed brightly at the top of the tower. “I’m guessing that it’s only started working again now that the Lightbringer cleared the skies.”

“And I wonder how long it’ll be before any of you start working again.” Delilah snorted into my ear. “Enough playing with friends, Night. Tell them both to get back to work, and you get back to doing your job.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I spoke up as we reached the edge of the large park that ringed the ministry tower. Slowing down, we turned southward along a six lane main boulevard that followed the curve as it looked like it ran all the way around the sprawling park itself.

The rush of wind that swept through the numerous artificial canyons around the plaza all seemed to be drawn here, thankfully dropping down a bit in force. Green trees and lush grass was everywhere under the glass roof that hung a few stories above, creating fields and small meadows where hundreds of tents and small shacks had been built up. Though, as my eyes glanced around, they were always ultimately pulled back to the base of the enormous tower in the center of it all.

Buildings constructed out of scrap metal and reclaimed bits hugged the base of the tower underneath massive circular openings. Inside each one, sets of bladed turbines spun slowly in the wind, creating a low drone of their own that hummed through the constantly shifting air. The turbines were fairly corroded, which was hardly surprising given their age, and most were missing a few blades.

The rumble of multiple arcane engines ahead of us on the road quickly drowned out the droning of the turbines. Looking ahead, a pair of what looked to be miniature Bessy’s rolled toward us on each side of the boulevard. They were quite a bit smaller, had only six wheels rather than eight, and what looked to be a much smaller gun. Not to mention, they were painted a greyish blue and carried long antennae that bobbed about in the gusting winds along the road.

“CCPD Patrol twenty three to approaching convoy,” The stern voice of a mare as bored as Delilah normally was, crackled over my headset. “This is a reminder that the Harmony district is neutral territory, and you will follow Mr. Wizard’s laws while inside it. Weapons fire is strictly forbidden under the updraft collector glass, and lethal force will be deployed against anypony who violates this rule.”

“Acknowledged, Patrol.” Delilah grunted over the radio, prompting both of the approaching vehicles to split apart, each of them bouncing up as they began to drive on the empty sidewalks to stay out of our way. “You heard them, everyone. No weapon fire from here on out.” She paused for a moment, but part of me knew she wasn’t done. “Say that you understand that, Night.”

“Understood, Ma’am.” I gave out with a long sigh. Of course she had to point me out in particular.

“Take care, Convoy, and have a pleasant stay.” The mare’s voice crackled over the radio as we passed the two small wheeled tanks. As we did, I caught a glimpse of white painted letters of CCPD along the sides of the vehicles, and the faded image of a silver star over a shield underneath it. More interesting was the bright W painted visibly on the side of the turret, matching the w that flew on the flag I’d seen when entering the city.

“Alright everyone, this is where we split up.” Delilah snapped into my ear. Wait, what did she mean we were splitting up!? “Bertha is to turn at the next junction, and continue on until you reach Gateway Terminal at the southern edge of the city.” Oh thank the goddess, some time away from Delilah. You have no idea how much I needed that right now. “Night, you’re coming on board with Howitzer and I.” Fucking seriously!? “We’re going to stop at the library and see if we can find a way to decipher the code for the Ark.” Before I could tell her I understood, she spoke up again. “Just to avoid any accidents, you’re first to strip and leave your weapons onboard Bertha.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” I nodded and hung my head. “Of course, Ma’am.”

While I may have deserved to be treated like a foal, I couldn’t help but want it to stop. But, in order for that to happen, I needed to do as asked, and not screw anything else up. Which of course, was going to be incredibly difficult with her constantly staring over my shoulder...

Still, my hooves were tied. I had to buck up and act like an adult, as well as hope to Celestia above that my curse didn’t act up and ruin everything for me. Again.

After a cramped fifteen minutes inside the back of Bessy, we finally pulled up in front of the ‘library’, or whatever Delilah had called it. As I moved to open the hatch at the back, I lamented the fact of how naked I felt without the jump pack or any of my weapons on me. I know we needed to follow the rules here, and that meant I couldn’t have any incidents, but that wasn’t going to stop anypony that Solomon’s paid off from having an ‘accidental discharge’ at us.

At least the extra couple tabs of chill I’d used had helped to somewhat keep my anxiety about that at bay for now. I figured that since I didn’t know how long we were going to be out here, I might as well get ahead of the aches and pains today. Still, with the amount I’d taken so far, here’s hoping I didn’t have another concussion anytime soon...

Stepping out of the confining vehicle, I immediately began to shiver as I was buffeted by the winds the flowed toward the tower looming large behind us. The thick scent of saltwater hit me, and even though I couldn’t see it, I knew we must have been close to the bay that I’d seen on our approach to the city. Turning around, in front of us, was something else I’d seen on our way in that was just as intimidating as it was from that far out. The large radio mast.

At only a couple of stories tall, a set of interlinked buildings sat before us. They lacked the spectacular size that the rest of the city held, and it was actually barely squat enough to let the glass panels of the Ministry of Awesome tower flow over it. Though, the panel that would have covered the center of them was missing, and the intimidatingly large radio mast I’d seen from outside the inner city, stuck up through the hole. Something I hadn’t been able to see from afar, was the ringed structure that sat around the mast a few stories up above the glass.

It was a glass ringed multi-story building that peeked far enough above the other buildings that the light from the rising sun cast the old concrete in a soft orange hue. The old windows on it were tinted a dark black, but from the fact that they were all spotlessly clean, I figured that it was a somewhat important place. A small glass elevator rode up from the building in front of me, climbing along the tower slowly before disappearing into the underside of the elevated ring.

Shifting my gaze upwards, the large flying W I’d seen from outside the city loomed in the skies. The flag that flew on the mast looked almost as large as a whole city block from this close. Waving from the top of the tower, it only served to reinforce the deepening pit in my stomach.

Why the fuck did I feel so damn uncomfortable? This place felt like a ghost town with this wind, sure, but it didn’t seem all that bad. So what was it?

Turning my attention back to the buildings below the glass, I looked at the windowless and architecturally bland looking buildings we’d parked in front of. Only the sharp outline of the old Ministry of Arcane Sciences logo sat on the faded concrete side of the old complex, again making me feel as if this place was lacking any sort of interesting flourishes that made other buildings stand out. The hookups for what must have been the bright neon sign that once displayed the logo sat exposed along the side of the simplistic main concrete structure. The sign though was completely missing without a trace, though next to where it once sat, another of those red flags with the white W had been hung up.

I don’t know why, but I think it was specifically that flag that made me uncomfortable. I know I hadn’t learned all that much from my time in school, and that I hadn’t seen all the flags that the old world once offered, but I don’t remember any of them looking quite like this. This one was simple, bold, and to the point. Before I could contemplate it any further, Howitzer stepped out through the hatch in Bessy as well and obscured my view.

“Hello! It’s been awhile since we’ve had visitors!” The excited voice of a stallion called out from the other side of Howitzer, and I peeked my head around his large fuzzy form to get a glance of them. It was a lithe looking purple coated earth pony with a wild white mane who came trotting up towards us from the far side of the old building. He gave out a wave, taking a moment to push up the old pair of goggles he wore up over his unkempt mane. “What can we here at the CSC do for you fine folks?”

“CSC?” I asked out reflexively. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Delilah had heard me as she was carefully climbing her way down from the front of Bessy. Though, Howitzer had heard, and turned to me with a flat look across his one good eye and his broad muzzle.

“Cantercross Science Center.” He grunted, giving a subtle nod toward the stallion. “I would have liked to avoid this place. I don’t trust anypony who works for an asshole like Mr. Wizard.”

“That’s why it’s not your call.” Delilah spoke up as she threw a short glare at the both of us before turning around to meet the approaching stallion. “Hello, we’re here to make use of the library.”

“Ah, that can be arranged! Mr. Wizard encourages the use of his assets for all citizens to learn and grow.” The stallion’s excited tone and relaxed smile was at odds with the way that everyone talked about Mr. Wizard. With a quick wave, he almost spun himself in place before turning and heading towards the central building of the group. “If you’d kindly follow me, I’ll show you all inside and we can set you up with the information you’re searching for.”

“Thank you.” Delilah nodded as she hopped to the ground and moved to follow him. As she did, she brought her glare back to Howitzer and I. “Howitzer, stay with Bessy. This shouldn’t take long.” Turning to me, she gave me a rough nod in the direction of the stallion. “Come now, Night. And remember, no questions.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I offered with a sigh as I picked myself up into a trot.

Once beside Delilah, it was easy for us to catch up with the stallion, who at the moment, was humming a simple tune to himself as we headed for a short flight of steps that lead up to a pair of large, heavily carved out wooden double doors. The ornate carvings on them depicted an old tree that reminded me of the Ministry of Peace building that had been built in Canterlot. Though, this one didn’t look anything like the one I’d seen in the old photos, and well, it had been hard to see the one in Lil’ Canterlot, as it was designed to look like how Canterlot was before the war and the ministries.

“So, I don’t know if you folks have ever visited us before, but there is one stipulation of visiting the library.” The stallion spoke over his shoulder as he began to climb the steps ahead of us. “It can be jarring at first, but we need absolute silence once inside. The texts and records we keep are very old, and even the vibrations from sound could cause some of them to fall apart.”

“I understand.” Was all that Delilah offered as we climbed the steps after him. “We will do our best to keep quiet, won’t we, Night?” She only glared at me for a moment, but like always, her gaze might have well been as radiant and overbearing as Celestia’s great sun.

“You misunderstand,” The stallion gave out a short laugh as he stopped at the large doors. “The building is enveloped in a self sustaining silencing enchantment.” Pointing at the door, he gave Delilah an off putting wink. “Not that we don’t trust visitors, but we here feel this is the best way to avoid any accidents.” With an excited hop, he jumped over to the door and pulled it open, swinging his free forehoof across to direct us in.

“Alright.” Delilah nodded as she turned to me. Extending her forehoof, she motioned expectantly at me. “Night, if you’d kindly hoof over your tags.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded, slowly hoofing my mother’s tags off of myself again.

Not that I didn’t trust her with them, I was getting tired of leaving them with complete and total strangers. I know I didn’t have any right to hold back the information on them, I just… I didn’t want to risk losing the only thing that I had left that belonged to my mother. Still, it was for the greater good, so I had to suck it up and hope that these ponies could treat it with the respect it needed.

“Now, we do have a way to communicate inside,” The stallion spoke up as Delilah took the tags from my hoof. “The telepathy talismans we have available have a limited range and will broadcast your thoughts to others, but I’m afraid we only have a single spare for use with visitors. So either you or your young mare here will unfortunately have to remain silent.”

“Trust me when I say that’s probably for the best that Night remains quiet.” Delilah gave a little smirk at that, and I couldn’t help but think that she thought I deserved to be quiet for once anyway. And it’s not that I didn’t agree with her on that at least a little bit, but given the chance shit was going to hit the fan here? Yeah, it was going to make dealing with it extremely hard.

The stallion nodded and again motioned for us to enter. Following in after Delilah, we entered into a small enclosed hallway that held another pair of wooden double doors at the other end. These doors were not carved or decorated at all like the outer pair, but instead were flat panels that had been painted long ago with some sort of mural. It’s hard to tell what the mural originally was however, as most of it had more recently been covered over with the same red and white flag that was flying outside.

To our right, a set of what looked like coat racks that contained sets of off white lab coats. Most of them had simple labels pasted above them, listing various names of ponies who I could only guess worked here, either in the past or in the present. Still, the stallion closed the door behind us and walked over to the rack. He removed one of the coats, taking the one under the name Z. Boson and putting it on.

He quickly snapped together the buttons on the collar of the labcoat, causing a small green flash from the button that secured it. Instantly, there was a small sigh of relief from him, but it didn’t come from his muzzle. Instead, it sounded like it came from everywhere at once.

“Alright.” The stallion’s voice resonated through my mind from every direction. It was unnerving to hear just how his words bounced around slightly, giving a small echo like he was speaking from inside a large empty room. “Now for your coat.” Turning, he plucked a lab coat off of a hook that held the name W. Boson above it. With a toss to Delilah, she easily caught it and began to put it on.

Scanning across the line of names, I kept finding myself drawn back to the coat he’d taken for Delilah. W. Boson. It was the only name listed with a W in it, and I had to wonder if it was going to be the same W that was plastered across all these flags like some sort of propaganda. The snap and green flash from Delilah’s collar pulled my attention off the names and back to her.

“So, Mr. Boson...” Delilah began, somehow keeping the exact same flat and bored sounding tone as always, only now, that tone echoed and bounced around inside my head.

“Please, call me Quark. Mr. Boson was my father.” The stallion spoke up as he turned and headed for the inner doors. “We’re just humble researchers and public servants here, there’s no need to be so formal. Well, unless Mr. Wizard himself graces us with his presence, of course. Formalities do tend to please the higher ups, after all.”

“Of course.” Delilah nodded and motioned for me to follow her.

“Now,” Quark spoke as he pulled open the door. The moment he did, there was a sharp pop that felt like it swept across the room. “What is it we here at the library can do for you?” His voice resonated inside my head again as he used the talisman to speak. But, this time it was different, as now, his voice was even more present than before because it was the only sound I could hear at all anymore.

I couldn’t hear the sound of my own breathing, the sounds of our hoofsteps as we walked through the doorway. It was disorienting in its own way, and I found myself tweaking my wings as I nearly dropped into a hobble on my four legs. It was a struggle to walk at a consistent pace without feeling like I was going to fall over with each step. Even worse than feeling clumsy, was that in the absence of all other sound, the one thing I could actually start to hear with disturbing clarity was the beating of my own heart.

“We have an old world code that we need help deciphering.” Delilah’s voice filled the inside of my mind, not helping to quell the disorientation I was feeling. However, that all fell to the wayside as we stepped into the main hall of the library.

In many ways, it was a lot like the hangar that the Rangers stored their things in. It was a large open room, with a high ceiling accented by brightly glowing fluorescent lights and pipes that ran off through the far walls to the other connected buildings. Instead of rows filled to the brim with various bits of junk, enormous shelves packed with old books and scrolls filled most of the open floor space. The rows themselves were only just wide enough for a pony to squeeze through, and it left me wondering just how anypony was even supposed to reach the higher shelves at all.

Unlike the windowless front of the science center, the back wall was almost all glass. Much to my surprise, that glass was also remarkably clear. On the other side of it, was what looked like a lush garden, full of all sorts of different flowering plants and small brightly colored trees. A weathered brass plaque was inset above the midpoint of the large windowed wall, and as I read it, I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad.

I don’t know who this pony had been, but somepony cared enough to build a garden in their memory. And while I know that the war claimed a lot of ponies’ lives, this hit far too close to home for me. Instinctively, I lifted my forehoof to put them against my mother’s tags, only to feel my bare cold hoof against my chest.

It made me feel guilty. Sure, the pony who had built this garden must have had a lot of money to do so back in the day, but what sort of excuse did that leave me with? Just because this was the wasteland, and I couldn’t afford something as ornate as this, didn’t mean that my parents didn’t deserve more from me. They deserved to be remembered and honored for their sacrifices, even if… even if in the end they didn’t mean anything at all to anypony other than me.

“Night?” Delilah’s softer voice overpowered my own downtrodden thoughts, helping to pull me out of them. Looking up, I found Delilah’s flat gaze staring at me from through the gap between the bookshelves ahead of me. “If you’re not going to keep pace, then I expect you to stay right there until I return.” She sounded like she was speaking from across the room, and I realized that she must now be at the extreme edge of the talisman’s range.

I opened my muzzle, trying to say ‘yes, ma’am’, but only silence met my ears. Right, no sounds allowed. Instead, I just nodded to her.

She and Quark disappeared completely behind the far end of the bookshelves, and I let out a sigh of relief. Er, what would have been one if I’d actually heard it. Instead, the same pulsing of my own heart was all that I heard inside my own head.

It had started off as something soft, almost in the background of my mind as I stood there. However, the longer I sat in complete silence, the louder my beating heart got. It wasn’t a quick transition, but it was steady, and it was quickly reaching a near deafening roar. It was almost as if the more I focused on it, the worse it got, and I was hopelessly stuck in a loop that I was afraid would end up driving me crazy.

“Yo, bitch.” The sharp voice of another stallion in my head sent my mind scrambling to grab ahold of their reverberating words and pull myself back to sanity. “What the hell are you doing just standing around up here?”

I turned my head to find out where the voice was coming from, which almost caused me to fall over when compounded with the fact that this soundless environment was throwing off my balance. However, I managed to recover my balance a bit by locking my legs and moving my gaze around slower.

“Are you fucking stupid or something?” The stallion offered as I caught a glimpse of him standing in front of a stairwell off to my right. The neon pink earth pony had an incredulous look across his face, though most of it was hidden behind the clear lense of some sort of gas mask. The lemon yellow full body suit that he wore looked like it was built to keep out chemicals of some sort, but why he was wearing it in the library of all places didn’t really make sense to me. I mean, they didn’t give us those to wear… “You even paying attention, bitch? This ain’t a one pony job, so are you going to help me out, or do I need to tell Mr. Wizard about this shit?”

His rude words gave his stiff movements a more annoyed tone to them, and as he turned to walk back down the stairwell behind him, I wondered just what he was talking about. Still, if he needed help with something, I guess it couldn’t hurt. Yeah, Delilah told me to stay right here, but she also told me that I should ‘help’ out like I’ve been doing. And if he was as big of a deal as ponies made him out to be, Mr. Wizard could be the only other ally we’d need on this trip.

Turning, I made my slow, hobbling way to the downward leading stairwell that the stallion had disappeared off to. Reaching it, I found that it in fact, doubled back on itself as it lead further down. The faded and slightly grimy sign that still hung on the wall down the flight had a pictograph of an old train on it, as well as the words Intercity Transit Station printed on it.

Walking down, the stairs doubled back onto each other a few more times before dumping me in front of a large metal door. Just outside of it, the pink stallion waited next to an old locker for me to come down. Taking the last few steps slowly, he waited until I had my hooves off the stairs before tossing a yellow suit like his toward me.

“I know you’re new to this, but put this shit on unless you want to die.” He spoke up as he turned and opened the locker again. Just from the way he said that, I surmised that he probably expected me to be somepony else, possibly somepony who actually worked for Mr. Wizard. But I couldn’t really say that I wasn’t them, even if I wanted to.

“Come on, come on. We don’t have all day. We’d already be done with this shit if you weren’t drifting off into la la land.” His voice resonated in my head as I struggled to get on the yellow jumpsuit. I shot him a glare as I moved to wiggle the yellow suit up over my wings before he shoved a gas mask like his towards me. “Strap this on and I’ll get your back closed up.”

Grabbing the mask from him, I quickly worked to get it fit over my face. Now, I hardly knew how to make sure it was secure, as masks like this weren’t something the Enclave normally had to deal with up in the skies. So just to be sure, I hoofed at the straps and pulled them tight enough that the edges of the mask felt like they were digging into my skin every time I took in a breath.

“Alright, you’re all sealed up.” The stallion grunted and gave a firm set of pats against my back. “And before you try to ask, yes the talisman in your mask is busted. Yeah it sucks, but I don’t care to fix it because I don’t want to listen to your shit, got it? You’re just here to move product for a paycheck, and today you drew the short straw with helping me move compound instead.” Wait, move what now? “Oh, and it goes without saying that you don’t mention this shit you see down here to anypony. Working on fruit transport meant that Mr. Wizard trusted you to be discrete, and it goes double for this job.”

Turning, the stallion moved to the door and threw it open, quickly stepping inside. He kicked out his leg, holding the door just long enough for me to step forward and follow him inside. The moment we were through the door, we entered what looked to be a canvas tent held up by rusted metal rods with a single fluorescent light along the center of the roof. Beads of liquid rolled down the inside of the walls, and after a moment, I found out why.

Holes cut into the metal piping above us sputtered before spraying out a light mist of clear liquid. It washed over us for a few moments before it cut off abruptly, leaving the air and vision of our masks hazed up. As the two of us stood there in the haze, the light above went out momentarily before coming back with a slightly greenish hue to it.

“De-con is clear. Let’s go.” The stallion’s voice came up as he moved to the other end of the tent. He reached down and gripped a loose strap near the base of the tent, lifting it to unzip a section of the wall for us before stepping through the opening to the other side.

Stepping up to the hole, I noticed that the other side was quite a lot brighter than anywhere else in the library had been. And even though I was wearing the suit, I could also feel that the air down here was quite a bit hotter. Pushing my way through the opening forced a silenced gasp from my muzzle as I looked around.

The conservatory up above was nothing to what was down here. Bright lamps blazed above, affixed to almost every point they could fit in the ceiling, beaming down and bathing the entire area in warm slightly blue light. What had once been an old metro station had been converted to hold row upon row of metal plant beds, each one filled with three small leafy green trees. Most of the planters sat inside the wide trough where the old world subway trains would have run, stretching off Celestia knows how far into the tunnels in each direction.

Each healthy looking green-leaf covered tree was about a pony high, and sported three or four very plump looking spiky greenish-orange fruits from their branches. The trees glistened with a wetness that seemed to come from the reddish bubbles that constantly drifted through the air down here. Which, now that I think about it, is probably why we were wearing the suits.

But what really stuck out to me was the silver tubes that ran from each tree trunk to the next. The tubes ran around, between, and sometimes even straight through each and every tree in the station, punching into each trunk at some point onto it and dribbling down a thick looking sap from the entry point. What even was this place?

“Yo, quit fucking staring and get your ass over here!” The stallion’s voice ripped my gaze from the amazing underground orchard over to where he’d walked off to. “Yeah, it’s impressive, I get it. Everypony stares their first time down here. But once you’ve seen one station, you’ve seen all thirty five of them in the fucking city.”

On the platform off to my right side was what looked to be an old ticket booth. All of the silver tubes that were attached to the tree’s met up and ran through the booth’s windows where they fed into a healthy assortment of large standard sized fifty five gallon metal drums. Golden colored sap stained the lids of each barrel around where the pipes fed in, and I wondered just what somepony needed with this much tree sap.

The pink stallion detached one of the barrels and sealed it up with a screw on metal cap where the tubes had been. With a groan, he struggled to shift it out of place from where it sat. But with it being completely full, I figured that the whole thing probably weighed four or five hundred pounds. So this was what he’d needed help with, that’s not too bad! Honestly, part of me was glad it was just moving something around and not something super evil for once...

Trotting over, I put my hooves around the top of the barrel and gave him a nod. Together, we pulled, pushed, and managed to dislodge the heavy drum from where it sat. It felt like it took hours, but after a couple of minutes, we’d managed to scoot the barrel just outside the doorway where we set it down. By that time, it felt like I was sweating through my suit, and I had to desperately fight the urge to take off my gas mask.

“Fuck!” The stallion panted as we both stepped away from the barrel. “If we expand production anymore, I’m going to have to get a dedicated team to do this shit for us.” Hanging his head, he heaved a few times in his own head, which was… weird to me. Still, he reached up and gave me a few firm pats on my side. “No offence, but your lazy ass isn’t going to be on that team.” Looking up, he let out a laugh as he smiled at me.

I gave him a shrug, even though the Bombay part of me was telling me to throw off his mask for being a fucking asshole. As much as I’d love to follow that suggestion, I couldn’t act on it. No, that wouldn’t help anypony, and Delilah would probably kill me if I caused any more problems for her. At the very least we were finished, right?

“Alright, bitch.” The stallion spoke into my head as he gave a roll of his neck and stretched out his legs a bit. “Ready for the next half of this shit?” What do you mean, next half? Now it was my turn to shoot him an incredulous look. To which, he simply pointed his hoof over to the far end of the old platform where a rickety looking elevator sat. “The freight elevator? Unless you wanted to take this shit up the stairs on your own, in which case, be my fucking guest.”

Rolling my eyes, I let out another silent sigh. Might as well get this shit over with…

Turns out, maneuvering the barrel out of the room was the hardest part of moving it, as we turned it onto its side and simply rolled it over to the elevator. Though to be honest, I’d expected a barrel full of sap to be a bit easier to roll. Even though it was on its side, it took the two of us just to get it to move it anywhere at all. Once we got it going though, then we had to switch our effort into stopping it.

Of course, once it was on the elevator, we’d had to stand it back up and tie it down with a few rigging lines inside the small box. The pink stallion shut the door and hit a button on the exterior elevator panel, and the both of us watched as the barrel rose up into the shaft before disappearing out of sight. Part of me was curious as to where it went and what it was used for, but seeing as it was still impossible for me to ask, I had to force the questions from my mind before they turned into an itch that became far too distracting.

After going through De-con again, and returning the gas mask and yellow suit to the locker, the pink stallion pulled out an old, lumpy looking cloth sack and hoofed it at me.

“Your payment for having pulled the shitty job, one week’s salary. Enjoy.” He spoke inside my head as I reached out and took it. It was quite heavy, and as my curiosity got the better of me, I sat down and opened the top of it. Inside was a dozen or so of the plump looking fruits that I’d seen growing on the trees in the station. “Some of them might not look ripe yet, but trust me when I say that I hoofpick them to give to grunts like you. There aren’t any crappy ones in there, I don’t pull that shit. Give them a few days and they’ll ripen up.”

Looking up at him, I must have been a bit too forward with the confused look across my face. I mean, fruit? They pay their workers… in fruit? What the hell was I supposed to even do with these!

“You fucking want more?” The stallion snapped at me, shooting his hoof toward the stairs behind me. “Get the fuck out of here and go earn it then. Don’t look at me like I haven’t done shit for you, bitch.”

Yeah wow, this guy wasn’t just rude. From his tone, he honestly felt like he’d done me some sort of favor with this. Whatever, while I helped him out so Delilah wouldn’t get pissed at me, it didn’t mean I couldn’t think he was an asshole. Regardless, it was time for me to get back up there and wait for Delilah. Biting down on the sack, I turned and started to climb the steps back toward the Library. As I hobbled up the multiple flights and left the jerk downstairs, silence took hold again inside my head.

Of course as one would expect, the exertion that came with climbing several flights with a bag gripped in your muzzle got my heart pumping. The hammering, rhythmic beating felt like it was the starting bass line to a song which DJ Powercolt never really got going with. And by the time I reached the library again, I had to ‘shout’ my own thoughts inside my head about how glad I’d be whenever we left here. The moment my hooves hit the solid concrete flooring of the library, I looked back over toward the door.

The baseline in my head stopped momentarily, broken by the sight of Delilah’s burning glare at me as she stood where she told me to wait. She wasn’t being escorted by Quark, and she didn’t have the labcoat on anymore, so I had to assume we were finished here. Without a word, she turned and headed for the doors to outside.

Following her, I pushed through the first set of double doors and immediately winced as every little ambient sound came flooding back into my ears at once. The buzzing of the lights, the sound of the wind outside, and my own breathing came back to me in a disorienting rush. Seriously, were there actually this many sounds normally? Or did I just always tune them out on my own?

“You didn’t stay put like I asked, and instead went and picked fruit.” Delilah snorted as she stood with her hoof on the next set of doors. How did she know what was in the bag? “I don’t need any more disappointing news today. So tell me now, how did you get the fruits, Night?” So I guess the tags couldn’t be deciphered here after all.

As my brain caught up to the question she’d asked, she didn’t look back at me. I had a sneaking suspicion that it would just be another angry glare if she did look, but I got lucky as she simply waited. Seriously I know I might have screwed up with the Road Crew, but again, she wanted me to help out around settlements. As I spit out the bag into my hoof, I figured that maybe I should remind her of that.

“A pony asked for help, ma’am. These were payment.” I offered to her with as flat of a tone as I could muster. “You told me to continue to help out at settlements we stop in, and I did just that.” It was borderline talking back to her like a smart ass, but she needed to cut me a break. “Is that a problem?”

All she offered back was a growl as she pushed the door open ahead of her, and I had to fight off the smirk the Bombay half of me so desperately wanted to flaunt at her. And to be honest, it was hard to not give into that side of things after this morning. But for now, I just followed her through the door and filed it away in the back of my head as a win for now.

Because no matter how nice that ‘win’ felt, it’s still early in the morning, and there’s plenty of day left for me to screw shit up.

Author's Notes:

Woo! Chapter fifty already! It doesn't feel like it's been two years since I started this story, really it doesn't. It's been quite the journey so far, and there's still a lot more to come!

A huge thanks to TheFurryRailFan for helping to get these chapters into a postable condition ever other week. Seriously man, you're the best!

And of course, many thanks to Kkat for writing and allowing us to all use this fantastic wasteland setting!