“Was that the fucking plan all along?” I snapped and threw an empty water bottle across the room. “What did you put in the water?” I knew there had to be some reason she’d fed it to me so eagerly in the first place.

“Calm down, Night.” Hispano glared at me from on the bed. “I didn’t put shit in the water that you didn’t know about. You agreed that a little Wave would help to get you to let yourself go a bit, and I didn’t force you to take any of it.”

“So it wasn’t your plan at all then? Is that what you’re telling me?” I couldn’t fucking believe her. Seriously, after fucking everything that’s happened, with… how could she fucking pull something like this!? “So what then? You just stood back until I was out of it enough that you could just take what you’ve wanted all along?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Hispano brought her talons up to her head and pulled at her own feathers hard enough that I thought she was going to rip them straight out. “I didn’t take anything from you! I just… didn’t think you’d get that far gone.”

“And that makes all this alright!?” I huffed and clamped my own hooves around my head. Goddesses, Cora is going to fucking kill me when he finds out what happened. “Celestia, you’re fourteen, Hispano! I told you we couldn’t, but you didn’t listen! You saw your chance to fuck me and you took it. I fucking knew you couldn’t resist, and I hope you’re happy.” The brightest smile parted Hispano’s beak in the world’s sharpest moodshift ever. She let out a giggling laugh that was way out of place, and it only made me angrier at her. “What the fuck is so funny about all of this?”

“You think we…!?” She had to pause to gasp for air because she was laughing so hard. “Goddesses, Dum Dum. You’re a fucking idiot.”

“You’re saying we didn’t sleep together last night?” I mean how dumb did she think I was? I know what I saw and felt last night, and those stains on the bed sheets don’t lie.

“Fuck you, Night.” She forced herself to regain some of her composure. “I knew you were way far gone when you started calling me Salt out on the dance floor. I wanted to cut you off then, but… I couldn’t take that from you. You were letting everything out, so… I just continued to be Salt for you, to help you cope. And to be honest, I needed to see you smile. Why? Because that’s the only way I can cope with the shit that happened, Night. But once you had that Tequila, I knew I’d let it go too far.”

“But…” Okay, so… maybe that’s a plausible explanation. I mean, I have been imagining Violet the last few days… “What happened here then? I remember Salt and I…”

“Yeah.” She nodded, shaking her head and pointing to the empty bottle of tequila at my hooves. “After I went to get us more drinks, I came back and found you carrying on without me like he was really there with you. I knew you’d gotten so high and drunk at the club that you couldn’t think straight anymore, so I brought you back here. I got you into bed, where you kissed me like you’ve never kissed me before.” Her cheeks burned, but it was shame written across her face. “But then the next thing out of your lips were that you loved Salt. I was so upset that I went and cried in an hour long cold shower while you proceeded to get yourself off before you passed the fuck out.”

“So… nothing happened between us?” Be it because I was tired, coming down off the drugs, or because I was that damn stupid, my mind was having trouble trying to find a hole in her logic. But maybe… it’s because she was actually telling me the truth.

“You said you didn’t want that, Night. I promised you and Buck, that I wouldn’t pursue it until you said it was okay. And honestly, I don’t even know anymore if I even want more than what we already had!” She drooped a bit as she slowly pushed herself off the bed. She hid it well, but I could still hear how disappointed she was in me. “I know I’m young, Night, but you need to trust me because I care about and love you.” Slowly, she walked herself past me to the door. She stopped as she gripped the handle in her talon, keeping her eyes on the floor. “And now after this, I don’t know if I can trust that you love me at all.”

“Hispano…” Oh fuck. Great job, Night! It’s a brand new day, and you’ve already destroyed the last real relationship you had. “Please, I’m sorry…”

“Save it, Night.” She looked up at me as she cut me off. “You did what you had to given what you’ve had to deal with, goddesses know I did the same thing in Mare’s Lake. But… I just… I wish I’d been as important to you during it, as you were to me.” With a sniffle, she wiped a tear from her cheek before opening the door. “I… I have to go. I need to get the book.” Before I could say anything again, she was out the door and had shut it behind her.

So here I was, alone. Again. And just like before, it was all my fault…

The door opened again in front of me. Through it, a distraught but not annoyed looking Cora poked his head inside. Slowly, he walked in and shut the door behind him, giving out a sigh as he sat down. Alright, here it comes...

“Just know that I’m not mad at you, Night.” He kept his gaze down on the floor as he spoke, giving his words a distant and shallow feeling to them. “I know you’re just trying to look out for her, even if both of us could never stop her if she really wanted something. And though I don’t really get what she sees in you, even I know that she’d never betray you like that.”

“You’re right.” I huffed and made a note in my mind to kick myself for forgetting that earlier. “She’s smarter than both of us, and I do care about her, just as much as I care about Buck.”

“And she knows that. By the time she gets back, she’ll have calmed down a bit, and you can make it up to her.” Cora nodded and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. “But as hard as it’s going to be, I need you to forget about that for a moment. I know that the last few days have been hell for you, but I’ve got slightly distressing news that I’m not quite sure how to explain.” Bringing his gaze up to me, he let out a sigh as he somewhat steeled himself. “I went out there, along the highway. All the signs of what happened are still there, but… the wreck of the convoy is missing.”

“Wait, what do you mean it’s missing?” I spat at him. How was that even possible? Unless… “Was it the Road Crew? Are they trying to take the wreckage in for salvage?” The thought alone of them defiling what was left of my friends made me angrier than I was at Solomon right now. And let me tell you, I didn’t even think that was a possible level of hatred to reach.

“No, the Road Crew haven’t been out there yet. At least, they hadn’t been when I flew out there last night.” His gaze shifted again, peering right through me as he spoke about it. “There was… something in the fog that covered that valley. I don’t know what it was, but I could feel it in the air with me. It was something big, and it was far quieter than whatever it was had any right to be.”

“So then… they’re all just gone then?” I felt my stomach knot up at the thought. “Taken by something in the fog, just like that?”

I don’t know why it made everything feel worse to me to know that they just disappeared like that. It was already bad enough to live with the knowledge that Solomon killed them! But I’d hardly had time to come to terms with what happened, and they were just gone like they never even existed in the first place.

Letting out a sniffle, tears dripped down my cheeks as the events played through my head again.

The shot, the blast, and Delilah’s seering look before she and Howitzer went over the edge. They all deserved better than this, even Delilah. As I reached up and wiped at my eyes, I looked up to find Cora approach and hold out an open talon to me. In it, were a pair of Chill pills. The sight of the medicine made all the aches and pains across my body flare up, especially so with the sharp stabbing behind my prosthetic eye.

“I know it’s distressing to know that the wreck is gone, but it’s a mystery that can wait.” Cora’s softer voice held a delicate tone. It was like he knew I was made of glass right now, and the slightest nudge would all but push me down and break me. “Not to mention the fact that you need to be weaned off Chill. But for now, I need you to be a functioning adult today.”

Nodding, I reached for the pills. I half expected him to pull away from me, or to make some sort of deeper comment about my addiction. Instead, he dropped the pills into my hoof without a word. Looking up at him, my vision drifted behind him where I once again spotted Violet.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” She offered as she nodded to the door. “Numb that pain and let’s get going!” She brought her hoof up to her muzzle and motioned like she was popping the pills herself.

As much as I knew I needed to kick this stupid habit, Cora was right. There were more important things to do today, and I needed to be focused. I only hoped that Doc Sunshine has good news for me when we get there.

Popping the chalky tabs into my muzzle, I swallowed them quickly. My parched throat didn’t care for them right now, but as soon as I’d swallowed, some of the pain across my body dulled slightly. It was odd that I knew it wasn’t because the Chill had already started to work, but like always, my mind forgot that fact after a few seconds, and I became blissfully uncaring that I had an addiction again.

“Alright, get your shit on.” Cora nodded as he picked himself up and pointed to my jump pack and saddle bags across the room. “We’ve got a stop to make before heading out to where you said Buck is. I’ve got an ‘acquaintance’ who was asking around for the whereabouts of Happy for us. Might as well see if he’s got a lead by now or not.”

I nodded as I turned around and got to gathering my stuff. After slipping the jump pack on and strapping it to me tightly, I turned to pick up my saddle bags off the floor. On them, was a half full bottle of water and half a bar of chocolate. Quickly, I shoved the old world candy into my muzzle and chewed. It wasn’t exactly a filling breakfast, but at least it was tasty. Looking back down at the bottle, I was tempted to polish it off, but hesitated when I grabbed it.

Shit, this might be a bottle dosed with Wave. And as thirsty as I was right now, I did not need to be hallucinating any more than I already was. Turning my gaze, I only glanced back toward the door. Cora was sitting patiently at it as I’d expected, but for some reason Violet had disappeared again. Kicking the bottle off my saddlebags, I threw them on and turned to leave.

Several knocks at the door prompted me to stop halfway across the room, and Cora turned to face the door. My ears perked as the sound of a key ring being used met my ears, as well as the soft ‘click’ of the deadbolt rolling back inside the door. Without a word, the door opened, and I was met with the smiling pink muzzle of the pony who I’d seen at the hauler and in the library.

“Yo, just the two bitches I was looking for.” He spoke up as all the other bulky and scarred up stallions I’d seen before crowded around behind him. “So, if you’re this survivor bitch I keep hearing about, how is it that you’re such a fucking lazy worker?” I cringed as he called me that. It had been different to hear it on the radio, but coming from his muzzle, it almost hurt to hear. “Well, you’ve got shit to answer for whether you like it or not. You and your merc here are coming with us. Mr. Wizard wants to have a little chat.”

Oh, what an adventure this was.

From the moment Cora and I had left the Inn room, we’d been stripped of our gear and bags, tied up, had our muzzles gagged, and had musty old burlap sacks pulled over our heads. I’d like to think there was some sort of point to it, but after a few minutes of being walked through the station and up a few flights of stairs, Cora and I were sat down on a bench seat and allowed to have the sacks removed. The six musclehead stallions who’d been escorting us stepped away through a narrow opening, leaving the smug looking bright pink stallion the only one left with us.

I blinked a few times as I took in our new surroundings. To my surprise, Cora and I had been loaded onto what looked like a small train sitting inside a tunnel. It was fairly compact, only two cars long, and held long glass windows that comprised pretty much the entire upper half of the cylindrical vehicles. The exception to this was a long metallic rib that held the interior lighting and split the remarkably clear window as it ran along the spine of the train.

The second the doors to the cars closed, a soft bing-bong crackled over the old speakers built somewhere into the metal spine above us.

“Welcome to the Cantercross Metro Monorail, we hope you enjoy the ride!”

“While you’re out, why not visit the Cantercross Science Center at the end of the line? Don’t forget that foals and seniors visit for free on weekends, and ask about our special membership discount for those enlisted in the Equestrian armed services! The Cantercross Science Center, in partnership with the Ministry of Arcane Sciences, thanks the enlisted of our great nation for their continued service to Equestria. We wish to return that favor by helping to build a better Equestria through the continued exploration of the arcane sciences!”

“So what are you waiting for? Come visit the Cantercross Science Center today, and experience the breakthrough magics that will help build a better tomorrow for all of Equestria!”
“Celestia, can you believe this shit? The fucking lies they used to peddle to ponies back in the day.” The pink stallion chuffed and rolled his eyes as the announcement finished. He took a seat on the bench across the train from us as it started to move. “Fucking morons. Is it any surprise they fucked everypony over in the end?”

He looked over at Cora and I expectantly, but both Cora and I simply deadpanned at him.

“Glad you two agree.” He remarked as he kicked back and brought his forehooves up behind his head. “Just relax. The trip won’t be that long.”

I wanted to ask why we’d been taken in, and my muzzle was itching just to open and say anything at all to this asshole. Lucky for him, the gag tasted like old oil and had a sour sticky taste to it that honestly made me want to gag every time I moved my tongue. Though, my inability to speak at the moment was probably a blessing. He’d probably just have some snarky response anyway that would make me want to smash his smug muzzle in even more than I already did. Fucking asshole.

The tunnel got brighter ahead as the train moved forward, and the edge of the tunnel gave way to the old brick buildings that sat around Gateway Station. This ‘monorail’ traveled along a pony wide strip of concrete that sat about ten meters up off the ground, and ran straight from the upper floors of Gateway Station. It stretched outward until it curved around into the streets that headed back towards the heart of Cantercross. Now traveling along a stretch of straight track, we boosted up to a faster speed than I’d expected from a train like this.

It was odd to me. Had it not been for the odd but soft droning that came from the motors that drove the train, the ride was the smoothest and quietest I’d ever felt. Not even skycarts could fly this smoothly, always being buffeted by the wind and such. Again, my mind was drawn back to the fact that my dad would have loved to have been here to experience this, but like pretty much everyone else in my life, he was dead.

Sitting on this ride, the calm that I felt from it sat wrong with me. Why the fuck did things turn out this way? Why am I the survivor, while everypony else around me gets to fucking die? Curse or not, it wasn’t very fucking fair, and I was sick of it. I get that I don’t get to say what’s fair, but if things aren’t going to go well for me, then at the very least those responsible for the horrible things in my life should at least fucking pay.

I was jostled out of my thoughts by Cora as the monorail followed it’s track around the edge of another brick building. As we came around the corner, my eyes fell upon something I hadn’t expected. The track turned again back the other way, running along the middle of an open tree lined boulevard. To our right, were the buildings of Cantercross, growing ever taller and quickly transitioning from old bricks, to modern steel and glass. To our left however, sat dunes of grass and sand that ended at the edge of a prismatic body of water.

The bay was a lot larger than it looked from our approach to the city, and it was almost a straight shot from here out to the open ocean. Several old and rusting ships sat anchored out on the open water, along with the countless rusting and partially submerged forms of ships larger than any ship that was moored back in Destruction Bay. Hell, some of them looked to rival the size of the Empirica!

Patches of prismatic and glowing chemicals dotted the wide body of water, most of them trailing away from the various sunken wrecks. Several smaller boats floated around freely across the water. More than a few of them had nets large enough that they trailed out to twice the lengths of the boats that cast them, and a few ships seemed to be far older designs, hoisting patchwork sails that let them effortlessly glide out toward the open ocean.

Again, Cora nudged me to get my attention. This time, he turned his head to look at what looked like an old billboard that was coming up on the side of the monorail tracks. I squinted at the grime coated advertisement, recognizing the letters CSC at the bottom of it, meaning it had something to do with the science center. However, when I looked over the add as a whole, it became pretty self-explanatory.

There was a single pony on the billboard, clad in a flowing blue cloak punctuated with a collection of white stars. He was a unicorn stallion with a coat that was a dark mustard yellow, a vermilion colored floppy mohawk mane, and a short goatee that matched it. Oddly, he also had a white stripe down the center of his smiling muzzle, which unlike with Happy, was a rare marking on full blooded ponies.

In the image itself, he was performing some sort of magic on a beaker of purple fluid. Stylized lightning bolts were shooting out of it, forcing an obscuring glare over the round pair of glasses he wore. Under the odd picture, were old and faded words that were barely readable if I squinted.

“Come in and explore the mysteries of arcane science with the world famous Mr. Wizard, only at the Cantercross Science Center!”

I froze as I read that. Wait… so either Mr. Wizard was a ghoul, or he was somepony who’d taken up the mantle of this guy? Why!? How could somepony who’d been dedicated or inspired by something like science be the pony ruling this city with an iron hoof? As if on cue, the knot in my stomach felt like it dropped out of the monorail and was hanging out at street level below us.

“Oh, so you noticed that old shitty billboard.” The pink stallion with us huffed as he crossed his hooves. “If you’re hoping he’s still as happy and nice as he was for those advertisements, fucking guess again. He must have lost that spark back before the war ended, cause from what I’ve seen working for him, is that he’s always been a gigantic fucking ass.” For a moment, the stallion scrunched up his muzzle and glared at Cora and I. “Neither of you fucking say a word about the shit I said in here. Got that?”

Okay, so Mr. Wizard was a ghoul then. Which actually gave me a small glimmer of hope to hold onto. I mean, pretty much all the ghouls I’d met so far had been nicer than ponies tended to make them out to be. Well, with the exception of Short Wave back at Pink Mountain. And Lex in Stone Town. Oh, and Dr. Cipher back at the bunker in Cannon City as well…

I guess I had met a few ghouls who sort of lived up to the hatred ponies seemed to hold toward them…

My train of thought crashed as the monorail turned again, plunging between a gap in two buildings that was barely wide enough for us to fit through. The moment we were between them, the glass ceiling of the Ministry of Awesome tower passed overhead, and the distinct turbulence of the quickening breeze buffeted the train carts. Ahead of us down the line however, sat the backside of the large bulky building I’d been at what felt like a lifetime ago now.

Looking up, the circular building that was built into the radiomast-like tower looked different from here. The middle section of it didn’t hold tinted glass from this side. From what I could make out, the inside was set up like somepony’s home, with furniture and art being hung between bookshelves that sat along the back walls.

The sight of it all disappeared as we passed under a couple of glass panes that had been replaced by sheets of old steel, and the Monorail jolted slightly along the track. The motors below us gave a shift in pitch as we began to slow, and a small circular door in the back of the science center folded inward to reveal a tunnel that the train could drive into. A light kicked on inside the dark tunnel, flickering to reveal the now familiar red and white flag hanging on the back wall that forced a shiver down my spine.

Why are you afraid?

A small voice in the back of my mind kicked at me as I stared at that flag. It was quiet, but I recognized it as… oddly, myself. With its near muted words, the nervousness I’d felt melted away, and it just clicked inside me.

Why was I afraid? Yeah, I was about to meet the pony who ran this whole miserable city, but… so what? Who was he to me other than a name that’s been muttered between others, and a W on a flag?

What more could be taken from me? Sure he could kill me, but he must want something more than to just murder the crap out of me for fucking up his setup in Destruction Bay. And if he does wants something, then there was a deal to be made.

Sure, I didn’t have the resources and business know-how that Delilah had, but I did have one thing that she had. A reputation. It’s not a lot to work with, but it’s going to have to be enough.

I’m the survivor, so maybe it was high time that title did something more for me than make me cringe.

If I had to guess, I would have to say that we’d been taken to Mr. Wizard’s house. The walk through the science center from the monorail wasn’t more than a minute to the glass elevators. From there, we were brought up into the circular building at the base of the large tower that stretched up into the clouding skies above Cantercross.

Through a small foyer that looked like it once held a small cafe in it, Cora and I were carried through a set of heavy wooden doors. Inside was the large open living space I’d seen from down on the monorail, pristine and untouched it seemed from the time before the bombs. Sparkling clean marble floors reflected the light that scattered through the clouds, and not a speck of dust lay on any piece of furniture inside this room.

“Alright, put them there.” The pink stallion ordered a few rough looking stallions to carry us across the floor. They dumped Cora and I down on an admittedly plush cream colored couch that was far too comfortable for me to admit. I watched as the pink asshole walked over to a small leather chair across from the couch and flopped into it. He took a moment to make himself comfy before he waved a hoof at Cora and I. “Take their gags off. They aren’t going anywhere for awhile.”

Two of the stallions walked over and roughly pulled the rags off of Cora and I, and I stuck my tongue out of my muzzle as I was finally free of the horrid taste. Cora let out a few coughs before straightening himself up. My eye drifted across the room, stopping curiously on a flat glowing panel on the wall above a door at the other end of the room.

“What’s Ouroboros?” It finally happened. After all the times I’d seen it, the question had worked its way out of my muzzle. For once, it wasn’t the fact that I’d said it at all that I’d been annoyed at. Rather, it was the answer I received that bothered me.

“What is Ouroboros?” The sharp voice of a stallion that came from behind Cora and I didn’t startle me as much as it made me cringe. It held a scratchiness that the ghouls I’d met held, but at a much softer level, allowing it to keep it’s nasal and sort-of higher pitch than average tone to it. “It’s the answer to all my problems, of course.” Like Delilah had been with me when she snapped, the voice of the stallion behind me was cold and hollow, devoid of compassion. “And by the time that clock strikes zero, it’ll be a problem of mine that the great survivor will have solved for good. I mean, from everything I’ve heard, there hasn’t been a community you couldn’t help out whenever you passed through it. And now that you’re here, well, how could I refuse such a generous offer? With the job I have in mind, it simply hasto be you.”

Alright, Night. You aren’t in any way prepared for this, but this is something you need to do. There’s no more safety nets, no more getting bailed out by others. It’s going to be a challenge, but you can do this because you aren’t just Bombay the pegasus, or the survivor. You are Night Flight, and that means doing whatever it takes to get through this.

So just open up your muzzle, and be the badass ex-enclave mare you know you are inside.

“You know, I’m flattered that the world famous Mr. Wizard I’ve heard so much about over the last few months, has taken such a profound interest in me.” I raised my voice slightly, straightening myself out against the ropes that bound me to try to project myself more. “I mean, you even invited me into your wonderful little home.” Looking over to the pink asshole lounging in the chair across from me, I gave him my own version of the shit eating grin he was currently flashing at me. “And here I’d been told by your associate that you’ve always been a...” I paused, watching his grin shrink before continuing. “a gigantic fucking ass, I believe was the delicate way he put it?”

“Messy may call me whatever he wants. As my apprentice, he’s earned that right.” Mr. Wizard’s slow hoofsteps moved closer behind me, slowly coming around the side of the couch.

“Yeah, bitch!” Messy nodded and shot a glare at me. “So shut the fuck up, or…”

A rotten and cracked mustard colored hoof raised up to silence him as Mr. Wizard walked out in front of me. Most of his body was obscured under the same starry cloak I’d seen in the advertisement, but he was in far better condition than I’d expected for a ghoul from before the war. Well, with the exception of the obvious bright vermilion wig he had topping the bare and skinless top of his skull.

The fake mohawk sat loosely flopped to one side on his head, shifting ever so slightly as he turned toward me. The old pair of glasses he wore sat at the middle of his muzzle, barely allowing his milky blue eyes to wander over me through them. A rough crack ran down the base of his horn, and a trailing scar followed it down the left side of his face to where his cheek split to reveal his yellowed teeth.

“You are a curious pegasus, you know that?” He spoke up as he studied me like I was some specimen to be categorized. His eyes stopped more than once as they gazed into my prosthetic. “If it weren’t for that stallion on the radio however, you would not dare to speak to me as you have.”

“Oh? And why’s…” I started to reply, but the cloth gag I’d had before stuffed itself into my muzzle without warning. Mr. Wizard’s magic brought the rag’s edges around to hold my muzzle shut again, and as if to be cruel, clamped down on my nose.

“For years, that stallion has remained impartial, only observing the wasteland as a whole.” Bringing his hoof up as he spoke, Mr. Wizard rubbed at the bare patch of muscle under his chin where I’m sure his old goatee used to sit. “Yet now, he seems to have taken an interest in you that is constantly impeding my progress. He’s shown himself to you before, I heard it on the radio a few nights back.” However, staring at that bare patch of skin was becoming less interesting by the moment, as I was starting to need to breathe again. Turning to me, he cocked a rotten eyebrow at me. “Why?”

The magic released from around my muzzle and I eagerly spit out the cloth again. I managed to get out a gasping breath before Mr. Wizard’s rotten hoof grasped under my chin and pulled me up to his impatient gaze. I stared at him, momentarily flustered as I thought of how best to answer him. So naturally, I opened my muzzle and just said the first thing that came to mind.

“Probably because things have a surprising tendency to go to shit when I’m around. And in the chaos, I somehow always find my way out of it.” I rolled my eyes and nodded my head softly. Why did he have such a vested interest in DJ PowerColt? What was he playing at? Time to see if I can loosen those cracked lips of his... “But I’m pretty sure that’s not news to you. I mean, you probably already heard that from Mrs. Tapit.” I let out a mock gasp as I forced a look of surprise to his unamused gaze. “Oh, right. I kinda blew up her shit and killed her. I hope that didn’t impede your ‘progress’ or whatever.”

“Oh Mrs. Tapit was a pawn. She didn’t mean anything in this game.” He leaned forward, spreading his rotten muzzle into a smile as his horn glowed slightly. “Would you like to see what this is really about?”

With a flash, a small object appeared in front of him. When I say it was small, it was a black rectangle about half a hoof’s diameter across at its longest, and made up of what looked like three rows of five small metal squares stuck closely together. Though, this one looked slightly damaged, printed on its cracked surface in small but easily legible writing, was Zzyzx NNP-S101.

“Have you seen one of these before?” He twirled the small object in his magic, pulling it in front of his old eyeglasses. “This is the secret to unlimited computing power. This... integrated magical circuit as I’ve coined it, has as much computational potential in it as an entire Crusader Maneframe.”

I let out a soft gasp as I realized that while I hadn’t physically seen one before, I knew exactly what it was. This little chip must have been the small black box thing that Pastel had mentioned back at the Ranger’s compound.

“You want more drones?” I watched as my question only seemed to amuse Mr. Wizard more than anything.

“Oh, I want so much more than just drones.” Mr. Wizard laughed as the small box flashed away in his magic, and he slowly walked over to the window that gazed out into the city. “I want to own this technology. I want to capitalize, monopolize this revolutionary chip. With it, I could build calculating machines that could design anything I wanted. Run fabrication equipment that could outpace the volume of the old world. Or even create advanced arcane weaponry that would be well beyond the capabilities of anything the Enclave or Steel Rangers could ever hope to acquire short of a megaspell.”

His words were terrifying, even if I didn’t know if what he proposed was even possible. The idea that he already believed it was put me on the defensive. I needed a leg up on him, something I could leverage against his proposal. Until I could manage to think up whatever that was going to be, I just needed to keep up the act and feign confidence. I mean, I’m no expert really, but I think I’m doing alright with that so far.

“Well then, it’s a good thing I know where a whole heap of megaspells are buried.” I forced a smirk at him, but if he bought it as genuine confidence, I’ll never really know. I was starting to realize that maybe Delilah hadn’t been the only one in the wasteland to have completely mastered the art of looking annoyed and indifferent at the same time. “Perhaps you were being facetious about actually needing megaspells, though it's hard for me to tell. You see, my last employer was also pretty bad with the whole telling jokes thing. So... I guess I’ll have to have a long talk with the local Steel Rangers just in case, you know?”

“You know what?” Messy shifted in his chair as his grin widened. “I think this bitch thinks she’s smart or something.”

“It would seem so.” Mr. Wizard’s tone dropped to one of disappointment as he turned to the pink stallion across from me. “Messy, do me a favor and bring our other guest out to us.” Looking back at me, the sideways glance he gave was probably supposed to unnerve me, but I couldn’t care anymore. “Maybe our survivor will find herself more willing to listen with him around.”

“You keep telling yourself that.” I rolled my eyes as an idea in my head forced it straight out of my muzzle. “Hey, I have an idea! While we wait for that idiot to get back, why don’t you help me understand some of the mysteries of arcane science? Like the mystery of how you turned from a stallion of science, into a rotten asshole who foalnaps ponies?” Okay, that might have been a bit blunt, but this wasn’t the time for half steps. I had to feign confidence or risk losing face altogether here.

Messy gave an annoyed sigh before pulling himself out of the plush chair under him. With a grumble, he trotted across the floor and out of sight. Once he’d gone, Mr. Wizard’s muzzle curled into a twisted smile as he walked toward the empty seat and sat himself down with a groan.

“Oh, that was a long time ago.” He shook his head and turned his gaze longingly out the window. Admittedly, I followed it, turning in time to watch a cloud move out of the way of the lowering afternoon sun as it glinted off the water of the bay. “I was still an important wizard back then, but I lacked one crucial thing. Respect.” With a snort, he turned his gaze to the floor, and then back up to me. “Something you will give me before long, or I will make things extremely painful for your friends.”

“Well, they’re pretty much all already dead.” Cora spoke up, pulling an outraged look from Mr. Wizard. “And I’m just the hired help, so you know I don’t care what you do. But by all means, have at it.”

“That’s a shame.” Mr. Wizard’s expression softened again, dropping to a somewhat neutral, flat one as he turned his eyes back on me. “If not your friends, then name your price.”

“Going to buy us off so quickly already? I…” Cora began, but quickly found himself silenced as his own cloth gag was almost forced down his throat.

“You aren’t part of this deal or conversation any longer.” Mr. Wizard snapped as his horn sparked. His magic died, and Cora heaved heavily as he forced the cloth from his beak. “Another interruption from you and I’ll have you fried up with some nice green beans for my next guests.”

“Oh, if we’re going to make a deal, he’s definitely part of it.” I nodded and flashed an overly confident smile to the old ghoul. “Same with Happy Trails, who I’m assuming is the other guest you spoke of.”

“I’m surprised you think you have anything to negotiate with.” Mr. Wizard’s flat expression was more unnerving than Delilah’s had ever been. Not just because it looked devoid of expression or care, but because it felt like it. “I worked in the entertainment business for a decade, so I know when somepony is acting, Miss Night.” There was just nothing in his words. No weight, substance, or anything from even my name as he muttered it.

“Well, I do know a thing or two you might not want getting out.” I shrugged and pressed myself back into the plush couch behind me. “Such as the fact that your pal Solomon set up the Road Crew so you could convince the public to be on your side in removing them. We wouldn’t want that little fact to slip out onto the radio, would we?” It was only for a split second, but his eye gave a subtle annoyed twitch to it that he forced back. And in a bit of timing that couldn’t be more perfect, I could hear a pair of ponies trotting up behind to the doorway behind me. “Oh! And thanks to your pal, Messy, I know that you grow your fruits in the old subways under the city. That would also be pretty damaging to you if it were to get out, right?”

It was slow, but the agitation inside of Mr. Wizard rose in the same way it had in Delilah. His steeled and furious gaze turned slowly as the hoofsteps behind me stopped. While I may not have been the best convoy guard, the one thing I did know how to do well was piss off the ponies around me. Now that I’ve greased the wheels, tell me what’s really on your mind, Mr. Wizard...

“Yo, Mr. Wizard, it isn’t like that!” Messy’s nervous voice pulled a satisfying grin across my muzzle as I closed my eyes. “I didn’t know who that bitch was before, so you can’t blame me for that shit!”

“What are you doing, Night?” Opening my eyes again, I froze as I stared into the curious gaze of Violet as she stood in front of me. Oh goddesses, not now. “Oh, is this a bad time?” She smirked as she shook her head. “You know you can’t do this. You aren’t actually Bombay. Besides, I thought you wanted to get rid of her for good?”

Shut up. Shut up! Shut up!

I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to force her away. It took a few tries, but she disappeared again, leaving me with the same curious look, but from Mr. Wizard. A small but worrying smile split his rotten lips as he sat forward on his chair. With a nod, he carefully pushed himself back onto his hooves. Turning away from me, his smile had bloomed into a wide yellow beaming grin that persisted as he trotted over to one of the bookcases that sat along the back wall.

“Oh, is that where this false confidence of yours is coming from then?” He reached up and snatched something off of the bookshelf before walking back over to his chair. “Do you know where the compound for Chill comes from?”

Fuck! I was so fucking close to getting answers out of him! How could he know I’d been hallucinating just by looking at me? That… that had to be impossible...

“It was an accident, really.” He raised his hoof as he sat down again, showing me a glass bottle that was completely filled to the brim with small white pills. “Back when I was stranded on the Marewaii islands at the end of the war, I took refuge in the recently completed Stable-Tec Research and Development lab. See, they were trying to solve a genetics problem caused by the poisons the bombs created there.” Waving his hoof over himself, he brightened his expression a bit as he spoke. “They didn’t want to let a monster like me in, but I convinced them I could help.”

“I’m an alchemist first though, you see. I knew nothing about genetics at the time.” Looking back down at the bottle in his hooves, he had an almost loving gaze as he beheld it. “But in trying to find a way to counteract the poisons seeping into the metro, I stumbled across the sap of the native punga tree, and learned what potential it had to offer.” Carefully, he reached up and twisted the cap off the old bottle before he tilted it so that he could peer inside. “I eventually fixed their genetics problem, but what thanks did I get for saving them? They took their solution, and kicked me to the curb. There was no room for monsters like me in the Marewaii metros.”

“Aww, did you…” I feigned a sniffle as I tried to cut in, but I didn’t even break his gaze. Wow, he was either completely lost in his memories, or he was literally that distant to any sort of mocking now. Maybe I’d missed my chance to get under his skin before, and he was on to me.

Instead of acknowledging me, I watched as he simply turned the bottle over in his hoof. Hundreds of small white tabs of Chill dropped onto the polished marble floors. They bounced and scattered about in every direction as my eyes couldn’t tear themselves away. The pains all over me spiked, and I winced as they came to a climax when the last pills skittered across the floor away from me.

“Do you want to know why Chill is so addictive?” Mr. Wizard’s empty tone carried in the silent open room, reverberating slightly as he stood himself up. “It’s because I designed it too be that way.” Stepping forward, he crushed a few of the white tabs under his rotten hoof. “As a final fuck you to the mirage ponies I’d helped to create over there. It’s the legacy I left behind. A legacy that they will remember once I’ve brought every inch of the north under my reign. Only then will I turn my sights onto those pathetic little islands and make those foals pay.”

“So this is all about revenge?” I spat at him, trying to focus myself, but my eyes had a mind of their own. Each and every time I tried to move my gaze up to his eyes, instead my own fell back down to the tabs as he took a step forward and crushed a few more.

“This is about respect!” His words hissed out, sending a spark through my mind. “Weren’t you listening earlier?” For a moment, I heard the same annoyance that Delilah had given me about not listening, and it gave me the focus to drag my eyes up from the pills. “You will help me to remove the stallion on the radio, and in doing so, he will teach me the secrets of producing these chips. With that technology finally mine, and those idiots and their federation to the south nowhere near a threat, I will rule over the north with the respect a wizard like me deserves.”

“N-night, is that you?” Happy’s pained and weak voice from behind me met my ears. Well, it was at least good to know that he was still alive, even if that didn’t really mean much anymore. “So nice to see a friendly face again. Seriously though, you should ask him to do a magic trick… urk!” He started to laugh before he made a choking noise that ended with Happy gasping for breath and letting off a light whimpering.

“I told you, he ain’t that kind of magician!” Messy grumbled. “Now shut up, or I’ll twist your head right off your neck.”

“You know what? Sure, I’ll help you.” I spoke up, immediately pulling relaxed smile from Mr. Wizard, and a tense look from Cora that I could feel burning from beside me. “But, I have two demands, and these are non negotiable. First is that I have a friend who’s going to die unless they get to Destruction Bay.” My words sunk into Mr. Wizard’s skin, making it tense up a bit and telling me he had no intention of keeping anything he was about to agree to. But that didn’t matter right now. “Arrange transport for him to get up there in the next day. Use the Black Beetle if you have to, but his life is, again, non-negotiable.” All I needed to do was buy us some time to find a way to get out of this. “My second demand is that you won’t give Prince Solomon any more of your support.”

“I must confess, those are more reasonable demands than I was expecting.” He flashed a rotten smile and held his hoof out to me. “I can accept these terms.”

His grin did nothing but confirm my feelings that he hadn’t even been listening to my demands. Either because he didn’t think I could actually pull off whatever job he had in mind, or more likely, that he didn’t intend to keep his end of the bargain. And why would he? He’d already duped the ponies of this city into believing the Road Crew were what destroyed the convoy, so why wouldn’t he try to deceive me?

“No, this whole negotiation was too easy.” Violet whispered into my ear with more than a hint of worry in her voice. “Night, you’re getting in way over your head again. You know that once you finish that job, you’re dead.”

It didn’t matter, I didn’t have a choice at this point.

“One more thing before you agree.” I simply reached out and pushed his slightly squishy hoof away from me. Before anything, I needed to get back to the question I had earlier. “Answer this; why me?”

“I have a theory about you that if proved correct, would mean you could get onboard the Ouroboros unharmed. If you bring me what’s stored inside of it, and allow me to achieve what I’ve waited far too long to?” Mr. Wizard breathed a heavy sigh of relief before turning around. “Then you’re goddess damned right we have a deal, and I will see to it that arrangements are made for your friend.” Alright, that went… “But, I wasn’t born yesterday. I need some insurance, you see. Some sort of collateral that will ensure you won’t just run away the second I let you off the leash.” Casting a flat glance over his shoulder, his eyes turned to Cora. “Your merc stays here. You can take your other friend if you need to be assisted in your task, but I am not enough of a foal to let you take a combat veteran with you.”

“Wha…?” Happy muttered before he gave out another whimper. With a painful squealing slide, he was tossed down to the floor where he rolled into my view beside the couch. He let out a heavy groan as he rolled himself back to his hooves. He was covered in welted dark bruises, and his floral print shirt was torn and bloody in several places. Still, he somehow found the willpower to force a genuinely happy smile at me. “Hey, Night. Thanks for coming to save me.”

“Enough.” Mr. Wizard snorted as he stomped his hoof. He cracked a few more of the pills on the floor, scraping them under his leg as he spun around. “Messy, get them fitted with collars and take them to see Tall Tale. He’ll make sure they’re briefed and ready for when the Ouroboros arrives.”

Turning he looked back at the clock on the far wall. As he stared at it, I could swear that the artificial hairs on his wig started to stand on end.

“Today is the day when I’ll finally put the foalish young unicorn I was to rest for good, and Mr. Wizard will take his rightful place as the most respected and important unicorn in the north.”

“Again, you know he has no intention of honoring that deal, right?” Violet yammered on into my ear as Messy led Happy and I through hallway after hallway back toward the monorail. I only gave her a quick, piercing glance to imply that I didn’t need her brand of shit right now in my head. “What? I’m just being realistic here.”

I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but talking to myself wasn’t going to do anything but confuse Happy and piss off Messy. Still, what was I going to do about this? The second the job was done, Mr. Wizard would probably have us all killed. I needed a way to break off from this job, and kill him first.

“Oh, and what do you think Buck would say to that plan?” Violet gasped as she hoverd ahead as Happy and I were walked back into the small cylindrical monorail car. “You promised him you wouldn’t kill anymore.”

I sat down hard on the bench seat Cora and I had ridden in on. My muscles ached, and my scars burned as I did my best to ignore Violet. Could I really be annoyed with her words though when they were simply my own thoughts? Maybe not, but so long as I was seeing her, at the very least she could be useful and throw out ideas for how to get out of this stupid situation we were in.

“So what’s this ‘job’ we’re supposed to run?” Happy however made himself useful for once as he took a seat next to me. He let out a whine as he did, wincing and trying not to put any pressure on the bruises all over him. You know, if anypony could use some Chill right now, it was probably Happy. Though, if I had any to give, I’d still take it myself and let him suffer for causing all this shit in the first place.

“Ouroboros is the job, dumbass.” Messy grunted as he stepped through the monorail doors. They dinged and shut behind him as he moved to his seat. “Or did you fucking miss the clock counting down on the wall back there?”

Like before, the monorail speakers chimed up and repeated it’s same announcement as during the last ride.

“But what the fuck does that even mean?” Violet spat out at me over the announcement as she smirked. I looked at her, confused before she crossed her hooves and deadpanned at me. “What? You wanted me to be useful or whatever.”

“What does that even mean?” I grunted as I turned my unamused glare to Messy. “I’ve seen the clocks all over, but I don’t even know what the fuck an ‘Ouroboros’ is.”

“It’s a wartime military supertrain.” Messy sighed, throwing his head back as he kicked out his hooves and slumped in the monorail seat. “Been running all over the north since the end of the war, but it hasn’t stopped anywhere in decades. Every time it comes around, it overrides all the rail line controls and forces all other trains off the tracks until it passes.” He cocked and eyebrow at us, looking between Happy and I with a somewhat nervous expression. “Last time somepony tried to get close to it, the guns on it melted their locomotive straight off the rails.”

“So, what’s so important onboard that Mr. Wizard needs me to get it for him?” This was already sounding like an impossible task.

“Do I look like I fucking know?” Messy grumbled and crossed his hooves across himself. “Mr. Wizard thinks the train is where the stallion on the radio is, and since you’ve got something to do with him, you can probably get onboard without getting shot to shit.”

But… I didn’t know DJ PowerColt. Sure, I’d seen his drones flying about, and he’s reported on me a few times, but… how the fuck did that let them assume I could board a train that never stops and kills those who approach?

“Well,” Violet sighed as she sat down next to Messy and mimicked his relaxed pose. “I guess now you know why Mr. Wizard might not expect that you can even pull this off.”

Well, for all our sakes, I couldn’t afford not to.

“Heh, this is going to be awesome.” Happy forced a smirk through his bruised muzzle as he looked over to me and clapped his forehooves together excitedly. “Don’t you get it? We get to pull a train heist, just like in the old movies! We’re definitely both going to be legends after this.”

“I’m so glad he…” Violet began as she apperated into the seat next to Happy, but I cut her off by opening my muzzle.

“I’m so glad you have the confidence that we’re going to pull this job off without absolutely failing.” I snapped at him hard enough that both he and Violet pulled back in shock. “But could you both please just shut your fucking muzzles and let me concentrate on how we’re even going to pull something like this off?”

Seriously, something like this was going to take a lot of planning to insure that both Happy and I walked away from this alive. And if that clock in Mr. Wizard’s house was correct? Well, we only had a few hours to figure that shit out.

“Yo, relax.” Messy called out as he slumped in his seat. “Tall Tale’s got this all planned out. All you’ve gotta do is listen to him and do your part, alright?” He reached out a hoof and jabbed it toward Happy. “But for once I agree with the bitch. Shut your fucking muzzle or I’ll toss your mule ass out of the monorail. Got it? We’ll be back at the station in a couple minutes. Once I hoof your asses over to Tall Tale, then you can yammer on all you want.”

So just to recap how fucked I was, I was supposed to rob a train that never stops and that has killed any and everypony who’s tried to even get close to it. All without any weapons of my own, my jump pack, and all with only the help of Happy and whomever this ‘Tall Tale’ was. Yeah, right now I could definitely use some of Happy’s confidence that this was all going to work out just fine...

Author's Notes:

As with every chapter, I really do have to thank TheFurryRailFan for his help in going over it to help smooth it out. Seriously, man, even if you think you're not doing much, you're a lifesaver.

And of course, a bit thanks to Kkat for letting us all use this amazing universe in our own stories!