Fidgeting under the snug straps of my new grenadier battle saddle, I was hoping I’d get used to the horrid feeling of it chafing against my wings and inner thighs. Other than the odd feeling of being strapped up, my mind was still stuck on the fact that when they spoke about ‘caps’ as money, they actually meant it as bottle caps. Seems like an odd and flawed monetary system, but seeing as bits got you so little in the Enclave, I was hardly an expert at debating a good choice of worthwhile money.

We were supposed to return in a while when the bridal and trigger bit were finished being forged to pick up the weapon that’s supposed to go on my right, and stock the drop rigging on my left side with grenades. Still, I think thought this was the better choice, I just couldn’t help but think that I’ll never see a uniform like that for sale again. Like, ever. Such a shame.

“Alright then.” Violet sighed as she pushed open the door and trotted back into the muddy and surprisingly cold outside. With a whole metal forge going indoors, it turned out to be quite hot in there. “We’ve got some time to kill, so what say we go find something good to eat over at Hangar One?” Turning towards the long ice runway, she trotted out of sight momentarily.

Following her out, I found Buck leaning back against the wall of the dome. With a forward swing of his large forearms, he stood up and gave a long sigh. Smiling up at him, I’d hoped that he’d feel more like talking like we did before. In all this confusion of being on the ground, he was the most relatable to me out of the entire crew. Sure, he knew what was what down here, but like Violet said, he hasn’t been out there. With that, I decided to take another step towards opening up a friendship with him.

“What do you normally eat, Buck?” I asked, finding his gaze shift from a tired, undetermined look, to one of quizzical intrigue.

“Well, back on the Inuvik, I normally had whatever the daily catch was.” He shrugged before looking over to me. Oh, right. Non-ponies probably eat non-pony food. “If there are any proficient ice-fisher ponies around here, I’d love to see what they have to offer.” Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s something I’ll try to avoid.

“Goddesses I hope so.” Violet groaned and looked over to Buck with a smirk. “You know what I’d give for some grilled Salmon seasoned with some maple syrup and mint?”

I stopped in my tracks.

“You do know that we’re not supposed to eat fish, right?” I chuckled. Maybe it was just a joke and I missed the cue for the sarcasm. Trotting to catch up again, I didn’t get the response I’d thought I would.

Violet instead looked confused to high hell. “What? Are you serious?” As soon as she said that, she went wide eyed. “Oh, right! I keep forgetting that you’ve never had meat before!”

“Ponies are technically omnivores.” Buck spoke up. “While not the best substitute for food on your bodies, you can adapt to meats and fish quite well over a period of years.” Curling his paw up under his chin as we walked. “What was your normal diet above the clouds, Night?”

“Well…” I paused trying to think of every dinner I’ve ever had in Neighvarro City all at once. Only a few things came to mind. “We used to have vegetable casserole every now and again. Lasagna a few nights, quiche for others. Then when Mom died and Dad moved us to Four Peaks, we had to cut back like everypony outside the big cities.” Sighing, I still couldn’t really believe that they were both gone. “We only had the reprocessed nutrient packs that were given to us.”

“Wait,” Violet looked over in surprise. “Nutrient packs were only supposed to be for prisoners, emergencies, and field operations. They weren’t supposed to be for public distribution.” Looking to me with a softer gaze, she shook her head. “I had no idea that the cloud farming had gotten that bad in the last few years that they would resort to that.” Looking ahead, she gave a forced laugh. “I couldn’t imagine living on those everyday.”

“Every other day most days.” I sighed. “Would have been more if Dad ever had his shifts cut.”

“What?” Buck seethed. “How barbaric was this government to only feed you every other day rather than ask for help from below?”

“The Pegasi are a proud race, Doc. Too proud on most days, actually. We never asked or got help for anything unless it was spoonfed and shoved down our throats.” Violet grunted. “Which the radio says thanks to this ‘Lightbringer’ pony, actually fucking did that job for good. Must have been a hell of a spoon she used.” Letting out an agitated whine, Violet shook her head angrily. “You know what, Bombay? I’m buying you lunch today. We’re going to find the biggest, tastiest fucking steak you’ve never seen before and you’re going to eat some goddess damned good food for once.”

“As the crew doctor, I wholeheartedly agree.” Buck studiously nodded with a smile across his jagged maw. “Trust me, eating meat may seem odd to you at first. But I promise that even if you don’t feel like it today, you’ll grow to enjoy it.” Pointing to the Hangar that was looming closer with each step, I had a very familiar thought cross my mind...

Dear Celestia, what have I gotten into now?

“We’re going to have the best ‘fuck the Enclave’ lunch you’ve ever had!” Violet laughed and wrapped her wing around me tightly again.

I instinctively cringed at that. Neighsayers back above the clouds were ostracized and treated as social pariahs. Anypony saying it as loud as her was as risk of a public flogging even! But, that was my old life, and I needed to kick these thoughts out of my head. Groaning and looking up into the partly clouded skies, a single, fluffy white cloud in particular caught my eye. I don’t know why, but I got the odd sense of deja vu looking at it…

However, I was distracted as Buck started to pat himself down.

“You know what, I was in such a rush to leave that I now realize that I’ve forgotten my bag!” He chuckled and looked over to the two of us. “I’m just going to hop off and go grab it real quick if you don’t mind.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, Doc!” Violet rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll cover you if you need a few caps.”

“While that is most kind of you, I’d much rather have my bag…” Stepping away from us as both Violet and I stopped walking. “Just, I’ll catch up in but a moment!” Turning back, he started back at a quick pace.

“And I thought pegasi were too proud…” Violet muttered before throwing her wing back over me. “No matter! I promised you lunch, and that’s just what you’re going to get, mister!”

“Ma’am.” I muttered back to her.

“What?” Violet seemed startled by my response.

“Or miss.” I sighed. With all the trouble I’ve found myself in down here, Hispano was right. “Just please, don’t tell anypony I’m a stallion.” Looking up at her, I felt ashamed at what I was asking, even though I shouldn’t be. “If... ponies thinking I’m a mare does anything to give me an advantage, then I want them to keep thinking that I am one.” I needed all the help I could get on the ground.

“Oh, I see.” Violet nodded and offered a forced smile. I could tell that the proposition made her uncomfortable. Looking up at me with a look of concern, it was her turn to ask me an uncomfortable question. “Where did you ever get that idea? Was it Happy? If he makes you uncomfortable, just say the word and I’ll beat his mule muzzle in for you.”

“No, no…” I sighed and pushed myself to move forward. “It’s just… back on the Empirica…” Looking back at her to find that she simply sat with a look of disappointment on her muzzle. “Look, I trust the one who told me that I should embrace it. The ground… it’s big and dangerous, more so than I ever could have thought.” At that, her look of disappointment shifted to one more akin to understanding and she gave a soft nod.

“The way to survive down here isn’t to compromise, Bombay.” She got to her hooves and got back up to a trot, prompting me to follow along with her. “But if you don’t want me to tell anypony the truth, then I promise I won’t.” Nudging me with her wing, she offed a smirk. “Because us pegasi, we’re nothing, if not loyal. Right?”

Hearing that from a dashite was odd to me. No, that’s not true. It wasn’t, not anymore. Hispano and Violet were pretty much what I could say were my first ‘friends’ on the ground, which meant I couldn’t think about here like the Enclave wanted me too. Looking ahead to the doors that lead into the Hanger, I decided that as soon as I stepped through those doors, my old life needed to be left outside to rot.

Reaching out for the door however, I found it swing open quickly. Violet had better reaction time than I did, and quickly dashed herself upward out of the way. Me? Well, I took a rusty door to the muzzle and flopped over with a squeak. Given recent events, seeing stars fill my vision was better than the immediate darkness of unconsciousness, but I could feel the blood start to trickle down my sore nose.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t…!” The voice of a stallion rang in my eyes before he cut himself off. Getting my thoughts back in line, I shook myself off from the hit and realized that the stallion's voice was one I recognized. Looking up as the stars faded, I’m sure I turned pale.

“Salt Breeze!?” I squeaked. How… how could he have gotten out of that cave? A smile creeping across my muzzle, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was! “Oh thank goodness you’re alive!”

“Night?” From head to hocks, it really was the stallion I’d crushed on. Same black speckled white mane, same white-ish freckled grey coat. Same vibrant, bright blue eyes. “Shit.” Was all he said before turning tail and ducking around the side of the building.

“Wait!” I called out as Violet dropped down next to me. She helped me up, but the moment I had my hooves under me, I took off on hoof after him.

“Somepony you know?” Violet asked, easily catching and keeping up with me in her casual fight. I hardly heard her word as I was too focused on charging forward. Turning around the far end of the hanger, I lost sight of him momentarily. Damn he was fast on hoof for a pegasus! “The somepony from the Empirica you’d just mentioned?” She asked with a tone that I didn’t approve of.

“No.” I simply said between pants. “From Four Peaks.” My hooves beat down against the muddied ground, flinging all sorts of mud and filth up on me. The injuries under the soaked bandages stabbed at me, and I pushed all of the pain to the back of my mind. I wanted to catch up, ask him how he was here, why he knew where here even was in the first place! He said he knew about below the clouds, and I had to find out how.

“Oh... I thought they were all dead?” Violet muttered as we turned the corner around the hanger. Slowing myself slightly, my hooves bit hard into the dirt as I pushed myself to dart around the corner. Unfortunately, I slammed right into a very startled pink earth pony mare. The two of us went down hard into the muddy ground, both giving off our own pained whines and squeaks as we rolled to a stop.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The mare angrily shouted as she quickly pulled herself out of the mud. I was slower to recover, and my the time I did, she was basically on top of me. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

“Alright, alright. Enough.” Violet shouted as she descended from the sky and forcefully dragged the mare back from me. The mare resisted, but Violet’s strength kept her locked. “I said that’s enough!” The mare took a deep breath and glared at me. “It was an accident, okay?”

“Just watch it next time.” The mare seethed, not taking her eyes off of me. In that gaze, I felt more than just anger. Part of me wanted to look away, but I just couldn’t pull myself away. The mare’s bright blue eyes were so similar to his, so… exact. Without warning, the mare bucked back against Violet’s leg and snapped the bone with an audible crack. Violet screamed out as the mare shoved her down into the mud. The mare turned to me with angry eyes that almost glowed and pointed her hoof at me. “Leave me alone, Night.” No… her eyes weren’t just like Salt’s...

The mare was Salt somehow.

With Violet on the ground writhing in pain, and my mind reeling to figure out just what the hell was going on, now mare-Salt galloped off toward the tall, barbed wire perimeter fence. With a leap that was far outside the bounds of something and earth pony could do, she effortlessly made her way over the fence and into the forest beyond.

Turning towards it, I forced myself to move.

“Wait!” Violet screamed out at me between whines. “Night, it’s too dangerous. Don’t go after her alone!”

Even if Violet was one of the first friends I made on the ground, unfortunately, the drive to follow the mare overrode her wishes. Pushing off, I galloped towards the fence, pushing out my wings and flapping them hard. With as much of a kickoff as I could give off of the muddy ground, I took to the air and sailed just far enough over the barbed wire fence to clear it. Dropping back down onto the forest floor outside of the base, the wet soil was both less messy than mod, and full of foliage.

Perking my ears, I did my best to tune out Violet’s cries for me to stop and focused on what lay ahead. The sound of cracking sticks and brushed foliage ahead was my cue to continue. Putting hooves to dirt, I galloped onward.

If it had been the quiet afternoon it was supposed to be, I might have felt overwhelmed by the amount of green in here. I might have been awed by the different plants and trees that still flourished this far north, compared to the hellscape that most of Equestria supposedly was. Hell, unlike natural histories class, I might have even been interested in somepony telling me about it! But no, all I needed to do was focus on the sound of Salt ahead of me.

In a forest full of twisting branches, enormous trees, thick underbrush, and gnarled roots, it really shouldn’t have surprised me when my hoof caught on something and I tumbled along the ground. Yelping as I rolled through the foliage, I game to a hard stop when I rolled upside down into the base of an old tree. Opening my eyes, my vision was still spinning from the disorienting end to the chase. The sounds of hoofsteps anywhere around me were gone, but what wasn’t gone, was that same fluffy cloud I keep seeing in the sky.

“Hi!” Hispano’s leather flight capped head poked into my vision just above me so fast that it made me scream. “Geez, you don’t have to scream every time we meet up.” Flailing myself, I flopped onto the ground before realizing that I had nothing to fear from her.

“Wait!” I just realized that all hope might not be lost! “Did you see a mare running through ahead of me just now?”

“Mhmm.” She nodded with a smile, and pointing to her left. “She went that way.” Scrambling to my hooves, I tried to get going again. “Woah there, Mrs. Nelly. Take it easy.” Grabbing around my harness, she kicked up into the air and used the momentum to stop me from going anywhere. “Listen Night, have a seat. We have to talk.”

“Not now, Hispano.” I grunted and tried to go again. Again, she used her wings to gain the advantage and stopped me.

“I know what she is.” She spoke in a flat tone that made it very clear to me she didn’t want to have to tell me to sit down again. So I did so. Lazily hovering around me, she looked over me curiously. “But first, I wanted to congratulate you.”

“What?” I didn’t have time for this!

“You know, most ponies down here are so used to the clouds that they hardly look up anymore.” She laughed and pointed up to the small fluffy cloud above us. “What’s so special about one cloud when they all look the same, right?” Reaching over, she put a talon under my chin and tapped on it. “But you noticed us following, didn’t you?”

So, that cloud was the same one I’d seen at the end of the fight with the yaks. “Yes.” I nodded. “You work for Solomon, don’t you?”

She nodded and smirked. “Technically, only my dad does. But you... you work for Delilah.” To that, I wanted to open up my muzzle to explain, but she pressed a tallon to my lips. “No, no. Don’t speak.” Her gaze fell to a cold, uncaring one very out of place on someone as young as she was. “Now Dum Dum, I need you to give me an answer for me, simple ‘yes or no’ type deal. Understand?” I nodded and watched as she smiled slightly. “Now, you wouldn’t have happened to do something as stupid as to tell your employer what either my father or I look like, or that we’re following you all?” Dropping the smile, she went back to the cold glare. “Did you?”

Really, I had been meaning to bring it up I'd met them, but I couldn’t exactly tell Hispano I had been planning on telling Delilah in the first place. Instead, I simply shook my head.

“Whew. Oh, good.” She let out a sigh of relief and ran her talons across her forehead. “It would have been a shame to have to kill you over something as stupid as that.” Looking back over at me now, the cheery, excitable young griffin was back in charge over the serious one I’d just seen her as. “So! How you been? Enjoying the trip so far?” She giggled as I simply sat there. “Really neat trick you pulled back there with the Yaks!”

“What is Salt?” I asked flatly. Truthfully, I didn’t know how to be mean, so I tried my best to imitate her. When she nearly busted up laughing, I knew that it probably wasn’t something I could ever rely on trying to replicate again.

“What is he?” Hispano did her best to imitate a deep voiced stallion as she puffed up her chest. “Please don’t ever change, Dum Dum.” With a sigh she dropped from her effortless hover down onto the ground. “But since you haven’t told Delilah about us…” Looking at me with a giddy look in her eyes, she seemed as energetic as when I first met her. “which of course if you ever do, my father and I will just have to murder you without a second thought...”

“Get on with it.” I grunted. There was no hope in finding Salt again out here, but any information might help do something to explain just what the hell was going on around here.

“He’s a changeling.” She grunted and folded her talons across her chest.

I… didn’t know what to make of that. “A wha…?” I couldn’t even really formulate a question to ask to her. I mean, where does somepony even begin?

“A shapeshifter?” Hispano snorted and looked over to me with a raised eyebrow. “You know, he can copy the appearance of anypony he’s seen? Same as the old world infiltrators… ring any bells?” She was obviously expecting me to catch on, but I’d never once heard of monsters like those. “Some of them tried to take over Canterlot before the war? The Ministry of Awesome used them sometimes as infiltrators, same as the Zebras? Any of this ringing any bells up there in that head of yours?”

“Not a clue…” I offered as my only real answer, not sure why we wouldn’t have ever learned about them in school. Then again, Mrs. Chalk did say that they’d changed the textbooks before.

“Night!?” Buck’s voice drifted through the forest back the way I’d come, drawing both Hispano and my gaze over in that direction.

“Well, it’s been fun, Dum Dum!” Hispano smiled and hopped into the air. As she did, she flew forward and gave me a surprising hug before popping off of me just as fast. “Remember…” She said as she put a talon up to her beak. “Not a word about us.”

I nodded before getting back to my hooves. Quicker than I’d ever seen her move, Hispano put all that bubbly energy into flying straight up. Disappearing into the cloud above, I watched as she poked her head out and gave another smile and wave to me. Deep down, I felt it was a bit of a wrong move to hold back on Delilah with the info that they were following us. Still, if they were only observing, I didn’t really see a problem. So long as they didn’t actively try to hurt anyone on Delilah’s crew, and none of the crew found out about them, what was the harm of just letting them follow us?

“Night?” Buck’s voice was louder than before. “Oh please don’t have hurt yourself…” He spoke to himself in a worried tone.

“Over here.” I called out.

After a few frantic sounding steps through the forest, Buck pushed his way past the foliage and into sight. “What on Equis possessed you to chase after somepony all the way into the woods?” He sounded disappointed and relieved at the same time, but I knew he’d be. “Not to mention you left Violet all alone back there with a broken leg.”

“Sorry.” I simply sighed and hung my head. “I’ll… I’ll explain when we get back.”

“You’re damn right you will.” Buck grumbled. Without warning, his massive paws scooped up under me and curled around me. “And I’m going to make sure you don’t get into any more trouble, alright? You will not leave my sight. Understand?”

Nodding in his hold, I couldn’t really argue. Again, I’d gone off and fucked up.

“Okay, then we’re going to have to head back and get Violet to the Hauler.” Buck spoke as he picked me right up off the ground. Still holding me tight in one paw, he curled me under his arm and carried me as he walked. “I think I grabbed a bottle of Mrs. Spring Leaf’s bone mender brew before we left. Violet’s going to need it to get back in action.” Using his other paw to simply hack the foliage, branches, and really anything, away. I cringed as one of his swipes actually cut through a sapling as thick as my foreleg without an ounce of effort on his part.

“Hey, Buck?” I knew it wasn’t going to make up for anything, but my parents raised me right, so I at least had to try to apologize for everything that I’ve done wrong. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

“Why?” He stopped walking, but didn’t look down at me. He simply stared at the foliage ahead. “You don’t know how things down here work, so you make mistakes.”

“No… yes?” With a sigh, I tried to wrap my head around thoughts that I didn’t even really comprehend yet. “I want to succeed. I want to do well down here, but I just keep screwing up.” Looking up at him, he finally broke his stare and gave me a worried gaze. “I just don’t want any of you to hate me because I’m weak and stupid.”

“Night, you may be clueless, but you’re far from stupid.” I knew he was only trying to make me feel better, but I could appreciate him for it. “The one thing you need to learn about how to live down here is the one thing you haven’t had access to.” With a look ahead he swung his claws again and cleaved through more foliage. “Time.”

Slumping in his hold, I hoped that I’d even have a chance to get better at anything. With how everything tended to explode around me now, all it was going to take was one mistake, one missed step and I was going to regret it more than anything I ever have in my life.

“Besides.” Buck’s voice pulled me back out of my thoughts. “I don’t think anypony on the convoy hates you. In fact, I think they like you. Well, they’re starting to, at least.” With a shrug that bobbed me up and down in his paw, he smiled at me. “Hell, even for all the trouble you make, I like you. Even if you screw up, don’t be so worried that anypony is going to hate you right off the bat.”

Looking back into the forest behind me, I thought of Salt and knew for a fact that for some reason unknown to me, he’d come to hate me. But as much as I’d like to have gotten an answer out of him, it didn’t change what I’d be finding when we got back to Four Peaks. I guess I’ll never know how he survived, or why he ran.

“Hey, Buck?” I looked up at him again and and wondered something. “I wanted to say thank you.” I wondered why I should even care about Salt anymore. I had a place to be now, ponies who wanted me to have a place with them. “For helping patch me up in the Inuvik. For looking after me now.” Watching his vibrant blue eyes shift to one of understanding felt like it lifted a weight off of me.

“All I want to do is help, Night.” With another swing, he cleared out more foliage ahead as he walked. As the plants and saplings cleared away, I could see the large fence ahead. A Buck sized hole had been rended through it, and a few perplexed looking security ponies turned their annoyed gazes towards us. “Even if sometimes it’s a lot of effort to deal with in the end…”

“Fuuuuuuck!” Violet screamed out on top of my bed as Buck tweaked at her broken rear leg. The fleshy squelch as the broken bone slid back into it’s approximately correct orientation nearly made me gag and turn away, but Buck told me to not look away. “Goddesses, can’t you give me some fucking Med-X or anything?” She whined through heavy pants as she writhed herself deeper into my mattress.

“Not with the damage inside your leg.” Buck responded. “Now then, one more shift. Deep breath. Aaaand...” He hung as he twisted her leg and pushed it up toward her flank. The squelch this one made was almost masked by Violets pained scream. “There, we’re done moving it.”

Without warning, I found Violets forehoof grab me around my neck and pull me close to her angry, sweating face.

“I swear if you ever do that to me again, I’ll fucking gut you myself, Bombay.” She seethed before shoving me back against the sheet metal door. “I’m sorry, but I don’t like being left alone like that.”

“I’m sorry.” I know I’d apologize to Buck, but she deserved more than just a simple apology. “I should have listened to you.”

“Who the hell was that mare anyway?” Violet grumbled as she flopped back and rested. Buck held out a coffee mug full of black tar looking goop between his claws for her. Quite greedily, she took it in her hooves and guzzled it down. Nearly choking on it, she let out a fit of coughs before hoofing the cup back. “Wow, that tastes like shit wrapped in mold.”

“It was Salt.” I spoke up. “The stallion from my settlement.”

“Okay, that mare wasn’t like you in simply looking like another gender.” Violet cleared her throat out and coughed a few more times. “I know that the stallion you ran into and that mare were different ponies.”

“Not necessarily.” Buck spoke up as he rummaged around in the medical duffle bag on his lap. Carefully clasped between two claws, he lifted out a flat, square cloth with metal strips inset along it beneath thick leather straps. “While I am unsure of how they’ve fared after the war, Changelings could still exist and be disguised among us.” Looking over at Buck, a flicker of hope lit in my heart. While in all probability I won’t see Salt again, maybe I could find out what he was in more detail through Buck. “Though, you said it was the pony from your settlement, Night?”

I nodded. “I know for sure it was him. He said my name, so he has to remember me.”

“Bullshit. None of the history books mention anything like shapeshifting ponies actually existing.” Violet looked between us like we were crazy. “Changelings were a spook story. A myth concocted by the Ministry of Awesome and Ministry of Image back during the war to keep the stripes busy second guessing every piece of intel they got.”

“Like, that’s just your opinion, man.” A relaxed voice spoke up from the other side of the door. Turning around and opening it, I was met by Lucky’s relaxed face. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had a tie dye bandana holding back his long, dreadlocked mane. Also, he looked a bit… darker than normal. Well, darker for a zebra. “I’ve met a changeling. He was a really cool dude.”

Violet groaned at that. “You probably just hallucinated it, Gearbox.” Wait, Gearbox? “By the way, this is the new crew member, Bombay.” Violet hoofed at my back. “Bombay, meet Gearbox. He’s Boilers husband and the driver of this beast.”

“Hey, nice to meet you, man.” Gearbox grinned and limply held out his non wooden dowel foreleg for me to shake.

“But…” I looked back and forth between Violet and Lucky… er, Gearbox? “I’m confused.”

“Don’t sweat it, man.” Gearbox chuckled. Why did he keep calling me that? Was it zebra slander or something? No, that would be racist. Delilah told me not to be racist. “Lots of folks get us mixed up.”

“They’re twins.” Buck spoke up, finally giving me some semblance of an answer.

Looking over at him again, I just couldn’t get over how similar they really looked. Outside the fact that maybe Gearbox was black with white stripes and Lucky was white with black stripes, the two nearly matched down to their prosthetic. Speaking of which, the scaring on Gearbox’s missing leg went up quite a lot farther than Lucky’s did.

“Checking out my leg?” Gearbox laughed again, relaxing even more than before. “Everypony always asks about it, so I don’t blame you.” Giving his leg a shake, his prosthetic slipped off his leg and clattered to the floor. The ugly scarred stump looked lumpy and painful, sticking the meaty squelchy sounds back into my mind. “The universe took my leg when I was fourteen as karmic punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. Doctor said that I was lucky that the landmine didn’t kill me, but I knew what was really going on.” He tapped at his chest with his stump. “Karma. That’s what’s really going on.”

“Ugh. Enough with the Karma bullshit.” Violet moaned out on the bed. “You and Lucky have been going on about it for years, so can you two please give it a break?”

“If it’s not too personal,” Buck spoke up as he maneuvered the object he pulled out of his bag under Violet’s leg. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Go for it." Gearbox laughed again and waved his stump dismissively.

“How did your brother lose his leg?” Buck asked as he pulled the square up and around Violet’s leg. It took me a second to realize that the object he had was a splint of sorts. With ginger movements, he folded the straps through the buckles in the brace and secured them.

“Yeah!” Gearbox responded with just a little too much enthusiasm in his voice for a topic like limb removal. “Like, he lopped it off himself the same afternoon that I lost my leg. It was totally gnarly.”

Okay, that broke my brain a little. From as quiet as the room got, I’m pretty sure it broke Buck’s brain a bit as well. The next sound I heard was Violet facehoofing herself.

“You are both morons, you know that?” She grumbled.

“Like I said, that’s just your opinion.” Gearbox shook his head slowly. “But my bro and I? We’ve got a bond between us, a balance. An eye for an eye, hoof for a hoof. That’s how we’ve always been.” And obviously insanity is something they share as well. Honestly, if he hadn’t been supposedly married to Boiler, I’d have assumed he literally loved his brother…

After another moment of waiting for that revelation to come up, I gave a small, internal sigh of relief that it didn’t.

“Anyway, what did I come in here for?” Gearbox squinted and rubbed at his chin with his stump. “Oh yeah, man. Changelings are totally real.” Leaning down, with a little effort, he wiggled his stump into his prosthetic and stood back up. “Anyway, I heard you got hurt and wanted to say that if you ever needed any natural herbal remedies for pain,” As he spoke, he grew a big dopey grin. “I’ve got you covered, man.”

“No thanks.” Violet glared. “I’ll be fine without whatever herbal concoction you’ve got to offer me.” Pointing her hoof over to Buck, she smirked. “Got myself a modern medicine miracle worker right here.”

“Says the mare who just drank down a zebra bone mending brew.” Buck chuckled and leaned closer to Gearbox. “But seriously, you should tone it down with whatever drug you’re using.” Reaching up, he gingerly forced Gearbox’s eyelids open. Either he was that relaxed around Snow Dogs, or that drugged out of his mind, because he didn’t even flinch with the claws that close to him, let alone his eyes. “The long term effects could be incredibly severe if they go unchecked.”

“Nah, it’s all good, Doc.” Gearbox simply reached up and pushed the claws away from his tired looking eyes. “They’re all natural, so I’m not worried.”

“Yeah, cancer is all natural too.” Violet grumbled again. Why was it that I always got caught in a bunch of awkward situations. Then again, I’m the entire reason I keep getting into them because I’m the one who keeps causing all these problems…

Maybe Karma is a thing after all?

Looking at Violet, Gearbox shrugged. “I can tell that you’re aura is feeling pretty antagonized right now, so I’m going to let you chill and balance it out.” He closed his eyes and nodded over to Buck and I. “But it was really nice meeting you, Dude. Hope you and the Doc feel right at home together.”

“Yes, thank you.” Buck spoke up, reaching over and putting a paw on my back. “Say, Night. We should probably head on back to the Hanger and get you something to eat. Still have a bit of time before the bit for your saddle is forged.”

“Well, alright. You two dudes have fun.” Gearbox smiled as he got up. “You know, if you could, could you bring me a sparkle cola?” Him too? “I know my wife asked you for one already, but I’ve got a plan to surprise her with it later. It’d be really cool of you to get me a second one. I’d totes pay you back and everything.”

“You don’t have any money, Gearbox.” Violet sighed. “You spent it all on your drugs, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!” He laughed to himself. “Well, I got this really cool rug to trade if you dudes want it. It’s not much but... ” He paused, seeming to almost to forget he was talking in the first place. With a shrug, he just seemed to dismiss where he was going with it. “It’s just a really cool rug, you know what I’m saying, man?”

“I’ll… keep an eye open.” I nervously offered. With that, Gearbox turned around and headed back towards his own room. Not sure what good a rug would do, but it’s something I guess. Still, the more I can do for the crew now, the less they’ll hate me when I screw up again. Plus, it’s gotta be good for Karma or whatever, right? Looking over to Violet, she gave me an annoyed glare. Grabbing my saddlebags, I shucked them on over my battle saddle and looked back to Buck.

“Ready to go, big guy?” I smiled, more wanting to get out of this awkward situation.

With an effortless toss, Buck slung his medical bag around himself and gave me a nod. “Yes, however,” Turning to Violet, he pointed to her leg. “You need to stay put for at least another few hours. Any pressure on that leg is going to rebreak the bone before the brew can work on it.”

“Fine.” Violet crossed her hooves and looked at the wall. “I’ll just hover around here until you get back.”

“No, no.” Buck waggled his claw. “You have to keep it right there. No pressure means no negative pressure either. That is unless you want the Bone sliding back down your leg due to gravity.”

“Gah, fine!” Violet growled and harrumphed. “I’ll just sit here and do nothing then.”

“It’s just for overnight, and when I get back, I’ll move you into your own room. It’s not the end of the world.” Buck sighed before tapping me on the back. “Alright, let’s head out.”

It was about right then when I actually wished I could have turned around and told Buck that I changed my mind, that I’d rather stay with Violet for now. Because even if I knew she was disappointed in me, I felt she deserved to be kept company rather than go out of her mind in boredom. But instead, I found myself walking forward out of my room without a word. Sure, part of me wanted to stay, but even more of me wanted to get back out there.

Trotting across the shared middle space of the top deck, I glanced over to Delilah’s room. The temptation to tell her about Hispano and her father bubbled up inside of me. Turning my gaze back towards the sky above Fort Mac, I took me all of a half second to find that same, fluffy cloud sitting up there in the late afternoon sky. Sure, Delilah made them sound like anypony working for Solomon were our enemies, but that’s not how I felt about Hispano. A little brash, and lacking a sense of personal space, sure, but more than that, she felt like someone who was looking out for me. Not someone I could call a true ‘friend’ yet, but close enough that I thought there was at least room to grow.

Trotting down the stairs into the ice hold, I looked back up to Buck as I reached the bottom. He smiled as he looked down at me, and I returned it. On the subject of ‘friends’, I had a lot of growing to do down here on the ground, but I think I’d started to make inroads in ponies like Violet and Hardcase. Buck however, I couldn’t tell if it was because he’d felt an obligation to look out for me because he’d been my doctor, or if he’d actually had an interest to get to know me. Heading out with him though, might be the best chance I had to find out.

Walking back up to the hanger door with Buck, a slight breeze whipped at my coat and sent a shiver down my spine. The thought that Salt could walk right back out of that door again and I might not even know it honestly made me sad. I don’t know what happened back there, or why he’d suddenly felt like a whole different stallion to me. Maybe it was just the want to have some answers for once, or maybe it was more about what he’d said the last time I spoke to him. Could I just be stuck on the fact that he’d teased me into thinking that he actually felt the same way about me?

But like everything else, it just wasn’t my luck to actually get any answers at all.

“Night?” Buck spoke up. “You feeling alright?” Looking up at him, he wore a concerned look as he gazed down at me. “You’ve been quiet the whole way over here. Is there something on your mind?”

“Yes… no.” I sighed. Why couldn’t I just phrase things like I should? “Just still getting used to all this I guess.” While not untrue, at the very least with this explanation, he shouldn’t be worried about me. Why couldn’t everypony just let this go? Why couldn’t I?

Putting my head down, I pushed myself to walk forward. I didn’t care to look at the door, let alone think about anything that happened earlier. All I wanted to do was get some food and then go get the stuff for my saddle. On top of that, I was still supposed to meet up with Hardcase in the other hanger. Hooking my hoof around the handle and pulling open the door, I trotted into the enormously cavernous building.

The interior was well lit by both numerous large lights and large windows that ran all the way along both sides of the building. The huge interior was less surprising than I expected it to be though. Much like the market area of the Empirica, most of the floorspace to the hanger was taken up by shop stations, tents peddleing wares, and large cookstations that were full of sizzling food. Thankfully, there were less ponies around then on the Empirica, including the absence of somepony chasing me with silverware.

Hanging above along all the walls, were large round tubes that looked like they belonged on wartime aircraft. Hell, even a few rusty virtibuck hulls sat hanging from the ceiling. Shoddy looking cable and rope bridges criss crossed the whole upper part of the hanger, and dozens of ponies hung out, walked, or carried on with their daily lives above the hustle and bustle below. Looking around, I was surprised to see a purple coated unicorn up on one of the lower walkways waving down at us.

“Looks like we found Hardcase.” Buck spoke as he moved up behind me. As I waved up to Hardcase, Buck leaned in closer to me and whispered into my ear. “I know you don’t want to talk about what’s on your mind, but I ask you to please reconsider when we get back on the hauler.”

Ignoring his insinuations, I trotted forward towards one of the rope bridges that connected the hanging living areas to the floor. As I did, Hardcase trotted down it, causing the ropes to sway with each step. With a smile, he pointed toward one of the corner food stalls with his hoof.

“Hungry?” He asked, to which I eagerly nodded. “Figured as much. The first time I was here, I tried this Gal’s cabbage stew and it was the best thing I’d eaten in weeks. You have to try it!”

Looking back to Buck, the enormous Snow Dog simply smiled and nodded at me. “It’s all good. I’ll grab some fish and meet you two back here.” As he turned around, I caught his sad glance to me before he headed off. It sent a pulse of regret through me, like I’d just done something awful, but I couldn’t place it. I don’t know why he was so nice, I’d done exactly nothing to deserve it. I know he’d said he’d wanted to help me, but… I just couldn’t comprehend why he made such a big deal out of it.

As we walked, most of what was on my mind wafted away when the smell of cooking vegetables hit me hard. What sat before Hardcase and I was the largest cooking pot I’d ever seen in my life. As big as I was from muzzle to tail, it was nearly filled to the brim with boiling hot water. Chunks of chopped radish, carrot, and beets floated around in the murky water. A green unicorn standing at a counter full of vegetables made quick work of an entire cabbage with her two knives, reducing the large leafy vegetable to coleslaw consistency in mere moments. Turning around, she unceremoniously dumped the bits into the boiling pot before noticing the two of us.

“Howdy there, fella’s!” She smiled, wiping her brow with a forehoof. “You two lookin ta get a bowl-a-soup?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Hardcase smiled and nodded. “Tell me,” Hardcase lowered his voice and leaned in, forcing the cook to lean in as well. “Just how do you get it to taste so darn good?”

“Well, my husband grows a mean cabbage…” The mare whispered back before waggling her eyebrows. “But just between you and I, I add just a dash-o-love in with each batch I cook.” As the mare laughed at her own answer, I wanted to facehoof from just how corny that sounded. “But in all seriousness, Boxer has a green hoof.” Wait. I know it’s been happening a lot, but why did that name sound familiar? “Though, lately he’s been feeling a little off. I hope he hasn’t come down with some sort of bug.”

Shrugging off what was probably something I should actually care to remember, I found a large ceramic bowl shoved in my face by Hardcase’s magic.

“Well, don’t just stand there!” Hardcase chuckled. “Grab some soup while it’s hot!” Looking over to him, I watched as he floated some caps over to the nice cook mare and got some soup in return. “I’ll cover you this time, but you can just pay me back for it down the road.”

Taking the bowl in my hooves, I nodded and looked over to the mare. Once the caps Hardcase gave her had been levitated into a jar, she used her large ladle to scoop some of the boiling soup up and into my bowl. A few large chunks of what looked like carrot and… something white bobbed to the top. Before I could say thank you, Hardcase pulled the bowl from my hooves with his magic and lead me away with him.

Shortly, we returned to where Buck was seated. I’d expected to see a plate with cooked food in his paws, but instead I found them empty. He offered me a nervous smile as we trotted back to him, which I wanted to return, but found myself cut off when Hardcase spoke up.

“I thought you were getting something to eat as well, Doc?” He chuckled before taking a seat. As he did, he looked back at me and carefully levitated my bowl back to me. Taking it in my hooves again, the scent of it hit my nose and I nearly melted in ecstasy from it.

“Oh, yes. I did get something.” Buck smiled and rubbed at his headfur with his claws. “The ice fishers caught some very nice salmon this morning, and I couldn’t quite help myself.”

“Just scarfed the whole thing down, didn’t you?” Hardcase laughed before slurping noisily at his soup. “Atta’ boy.”

Pulling the bowl up to my muzzle, I gave the broth a small sip. For some reason, I’d forgotten it was still nearly boiling hot, and quickly gasped. “Goddesses that’s hot…” I whined, pulling a concerned look from Buck, and one of amusement from Hardcase who was eyeing me over the edge of his own bowl. “How can you drink this when it’s boiling hot?”

He gave his belly a rub with his hoof and finally came up for air from his stew. “Gut of iron, let me tell you.” Wiping his soupy muzzle off with his fetlock, he couldn’t hide the smirk he wore. “You’ll get used to it.”

Softly blowing on my soup, I hoped to Celestia that was true. Maybe I’d been spoiled by the apple pie bar thing I’d had earlier in the day, but I was starting to think that not everything was as tasty as that down here. Taking another sip, I nibbled onto one of the pieces of carrot in the broth and immediately was hit with more flavor than any Sparkle Cola I’d ever had back above the clouds. I couldn’t believe that any vegetable could taste this good, even when we had them in my mother’s cooking back in Neighvarro city!

“Told you it was that good, didn’t I?” Hardcase chuckled. I looked at him, puzzled as to what he meant by that. “You were moaning as you ate.” With the brightness of the blush that flashed across my cheeks, I’m sure everypony in the hanger could see it. “No no, it’s cool. I thought it was that damn good the first time I tried it too.”

Nodding, I wanted to talk, but instead I slurped at more of my soup. Every different vegetable that I happened to slurp up was a new and intense experience. Hardcase helpfully pointed out what each one was as I went. Cabbage of course, yams, celery, broccoli, a bit of cucumber, and last but not least, a potato. Which was odd, because this one was large and white with brown skin mixed in it when all of the ones I’d ever had above the clouds were tiny purple ones not even a quarter this size. And then like all good things, it was gone. I slurped up the last of the hot broth and sat back, contented.

“So, did you find out what that big thing earlier was?” I asked, looking over to Hardcase.

“Yeah!” He smiled brightly at that. “It was some sort of wartime spycraft. A spark reactor powered long endurance high altitude surveillance and reconnaissance stealth jet.”

“That’s a muzzle full.” Buck added.

“Well, it was called a ‘beholder’ or whatever by the crew in the flight hanger. With the rumors on the radio of a government reforming out in the southeast, they’ve decided to fly down to attempt to re-establish themselves with them. This was a military outpost after all.” Turning to me he tapped me on the chest. “Speaking of outposts, it turns out that we missed a couple Enclave Vertibucks this morning by a few hours.” Wait, actual Enclave vertibucks? “One of the flight crew said they were heading south to a newly established Enclave outpost outside of Cantercross.”

“We have to stop by then!” I smiled. “If I could talk to them, maybe I could tell them what happened at Four Peaks.” It… still didn’t change the fact that dad was gone, but he would have deserved to know why he lost his life. I deserved to know why.

“I’ll talk to Delilah about it. It’s an hour’s detour off the tracks we’ll be following at that point, but she might be up for swinging it.” He shrugged again and gave me a hopeful glance. “You know, seeing as this place sadly didn’t actually have that replacement part for the reactor. And trust me, I looked for it.” With a bit of a yawn, he stretched his forelegs out. “But, it’s about time I head back to hit the hay. Gotta be up bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“Well then, not to delay you, but if you don’t have anywhere else to be right away...” Buck grunted as he stretched himself a bit as well. “Night here has to go pick up the bit for his saddle there. He’ll need company, and I can’t go inside.” Buck looked over to Hardcase who looked perplexed. “Sensitive nose. Can’t handle all the chemicals in there.”

“Ah, right.” Hardcase nodded and smiled as he turned to me. “Well then, looks like you’re stuck with my ass for a bit longer than!” Why did he have to say that? Now my brain shifted over to remembering him as he lead me to his room. “You’re thinking about my ass, aren’t you?” How did he know!?

“I… uh…” I whined, blushing again. Goddesses damnit why! “Yes?”

“Good.” He nodded and pushed himself to his hooves. As he did, he floated our bowls towards a large cart full of other dirty dishes. “I think my flank is very nice. I worked very hard to get it to look this way, and I’m glad you admire it so.” He gave me a wink and nodded toward the door. “Now, let’s get going then.”

Looking over at Buck, who simply offered a shrug, I pulled myself up. Heading out towards the door, I quickly caught up to Hardcase’s behind. I mean, I was behind Hardcase. Averting my eyes to the mud and dirt as we transitioned to outside, I felt a tingling sensation on my chin that pressed my gaze back up.

“You aren’t actively avoiding looking, are you?” Hardcase laughed. “Look, I’m not bothered by it in the slightest.” He canted his head as he paused for a moment. “But, that’s so long as you understand that I’m not really into other ponies, got it?” With a simple nod, his magic released my chin. “Good.”

“So, when you say ‘not other ponies’…?” Buck spoke up as he stepped up beside me. “Does that mean you have an interest in another race?” Looking up to Buck, he seemed to fumble over his words. “I mean, if I’m going to be the doctor for you all, I’d like to understand what to expect down the road in terms of sexual health and whatnot.”

“Lack thereof for me, really.” Hardcase sighed, but didn’t lose his upbeat tone when he said that. “Can’t really explain it. Just never felt the need for a physical relationship.” Changing his gait, he stepped higher on his hooves and walked proudly. “Eeyup, only great friends and hard work satisfy this stallion!” Well, while the eye candy was nice, it was kind of a shame that it was untouchable. “Besides, Delilah frowns on those sort of things while we’re actively on the road. We stop into a town for a few days, sure, and she wants you relaxed and de-stressed for the next leg? She encourages it then.”

“Well, good to see her son took that bit to heart.” Buck grumbled.

“While Happy might be a bit of a creep, pain in the ass somedays, no pun intended, and a major horndog…” Hardcase cringed and looked back to the literal giant dog next to us. “No offence to dogs.” With a shrug from Buck, he continued. “He’s a good enough guy all around. I say don’t hate him until you get to know him.”

Can’t say I’d ever let him stay in the same room as me, let alone spend any time with that jerk enough to get to know him. The prospect itself was giving me a headache. Thankfully, after another minute or so, we were quickly approaching the large domes that housed the armory.

“Well, you two head on in.” Buck called out as he started to shift his own course. “I’ll head back to the Hauler and go check on Violet.” Looking at me, he glared. “When you get back, we talk.”

“Violet?” Hardcase asked, spinning his confused gaze to me. “Did something happen?”

Cringing, I really didn’t want to answer that. “Yeah, some… crazy mare broke her leg.” I gave a forced laugh before nearly diving for the doors to the armory. “She’s fine.” I offered, pulling the door open and holding it for Hardcase.

He offered only a shrug of indifference as he trotted inside. Walking back into the tent, the small chime that rang before sounded. Yet, the two of us sat there for a few moments, waiting for a response. The loud clangs of the forge that set a studious tone before, were also oddly absent. After another awkward silent seconds, the quick and heave hoofsteps of someone outside the back of the tent met our ears.

“Yes, just a moment!” The more hurried sounding voice of Galvin the minotaur chimed before he burst in. “Oh, right. You’re back for the custom bit!” Galvin nodded with a smile. It wasn’t his oddly upbeat demeanor that threw everything off, it was more about the pair of damp pink towels both around his waist and around his horned head. “The misses just finished them up about ten minutes ago.” Turning around, he quickly dipped back out from the back of the shop. If I hadn’t known better, I’d say he just stepped out of the shower.

Hardcase leaned close to me with a smile wide across his muzzle. “Oh, he’s totally getting some right now.” He spoke at only a whisper, so much so that I had to lean in to hear him. When I did, an odd, tire-like round shape on the bottom of one of the closest shelves caught my attention. Walking over to it, I noticed the bright red medical cross on it, and hoofed it out from under the pile of camouflaged rags it had been mostly hidden under.

“Huh. What have you found?” Hardcase offered as he walked over. Using his horn, he pulled the large wooden yoke out of my hooves. “Oh, I’ve seen one of these before!” The big black ring looked sturdy, and had reinforcing studs all around the outside, as well as a large steel ring on the back that still looked polished. “It’s a medical yoke from the time of the war. They used to stick these on big ol’ bastards to pull medical and casualty carts.”

That actually sounded neat, if a bit depressing. Not only that, but I think I just got the perfect idea for how to thank Buck for all he’s done for me. Reaching up and hooking a hoof through it, I pulled it out of Hardcase’s grasp and walked up to the counter with it. As I set it down, Galvin’s heavy hoofsteps returned.

“Alright, now I’m assuming that your other pony friend can show you how to hook all this up.” Galvin spoke, dipping back into the tent and setting the bit down on the counter. Along with those, were the few dummy grenades that Violet had wanted me to practice with, and the weird submachine gun she’d chosen for me as well. With a frown, he looked at the medical yoke I’d wanted to get. “Unfortunately, you only paid for what was agreed upon before. That will have to be a separate purchase.”

“How much is it?” I asked, turning and rummaging around in my saddlebags.

“Thirty five caps.” Galvin grunted. As he did, he nearly bobbed up and down on his hooves. “Think we can speed this up? The misses is waiting.” With a long sniff at the air, he leaned down. “If that’s all from Inuvik, there’s only one thing you have that I’d even take.” With a smile, he scratched at his horn. “Got any… prunes?”

“Prunes?” Hardcase laughed. “Why would you want those god awful things?”

“Awful!?” Galvin shouted. “They’re the warrior’s fruit!” He pointed his enormously well muscled arm at Hardcase with a glare. “Just because you aren’t tough enough to enjoy them doesn’t mean you should demean them!”

Rummaging around, I managed to find two well sealed bottles of scrunchy purple fruit. The moment I pulled them out of the bag to look at what was scrawled on them, they were out of my hooves and in Galvin’s hands.

“Normally I only buy them for fifteen caps a piece, but I’m feeling nice today. Five caps off the Yoke.” He smiled and held the two bottles up in the light to inspect them. “Now that our business is done, would you kindly get the hell out of my shop?”

“Yes sir!” Hardcase answered with a stiff salute. “Get back to makin’ the missus happy!” Grabbing all of my gear in his levitation, I quickly grabbed the yoke in my hooves and turned back towards him. He looked down to the yoke and then back up to me with a smirk. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

Fighting the blush creeping onto my muzzle yet again today, I pushed myself toward the doors out. “It’s just a thank you gift.” I mean, I’m just trying to be nice here! He didn’t need to deal with me when Delilah rescued me, and I just wanted to show him that I’m glad he’s been there for me.

“Well then, if that’s true…” Hardcase called out with a brighter smile as he trotted up beside me. “Then where’s my thank you gift?”

I chuckled and looked over to him. “I saved your life?” I was screaming in my head right about then. Shit! What if everypony sees this and thinks it’s not fair? How could I think about giving Buck a gift for his work, but none of the others?

Double shit. I forgot the sparkle colas.

Leaving the armory’s dome, I slowed myself down and turned to Hardcase. “Uh… can you wait for a minute or two? I kinda forgot to get something back at the Hanger.”

“Okay, but make it quick.” He nodded and pointed to the hanger. “Oh, and try not to get into too much trouble. Alright?”

Goddesses, I really hope that I didn’t...