“Eliza, give the captain an update.” Pastel called out as I walked onto the bridge with Ping. He threw up a stiff salute before going back to leaning against the radar consoles. Other than him, the bridge was empty, which I should have expected. With how Frescas had acted, I didn’t expect to see her up here until we were back towards Galloway.

“Certainly.” Eliza’s cartoonish smiling mare fuzzed onto half the terminal screens around the bridge. “During the captain’s absence, we have started to reconnect with the northern network. We have been getting reports of recent Sky Raider refugees crashing and attacking dozens of settlements across the north.”

“What? How are they still fighting?” I grumbled as I leaned back on the dark terminal that had been smashed by Double Delta’s face. How the fuck are they still causing problems? “I’d thought the megaspells were supposed to mean the end of them.”

“The megaspells the Sky Raiders launched were secured atop the base’s remaining stock of Gallop missiles.” Eliza’s face fuzzed away from the screens, and what looked like technical specs for a cone shaped missile took her place. “These missiles were designed as hypersonic interceptors that were originally meant to shoot down incoming zebra megaspells. That is the reason that we did not have much time to broadcast a warning to the north.”

“Their normal assets however, move a lot slower than those missiles.” Pastel grunted as he pointed to the screens.

Again, they changed to show the schematics and diagrams associated with their buzz bombers, as well as the one seater flying engines I’d seen after we left Filly Crossing. Mixed in with those, were several other designs of cloudships and skycraft that I’d never seen before. The terminals flicked from design to design at a pace that increased with each one shown, until it was almost a blur. Seriously, how many of these even made it past the prototype stage!?

“Their mass exodus from their home was well coordinated.” Ping speaking up brought the slideshow to a halt, and the frown on his muzzle became something just as disconcerting to see as the dozens of wartime machines that had just been displayed. “They had planned for this outcome, and acted swiftly when the call came to leave. The Factory had estimated that only a tenth of their remaining fleet would manage to evacuate, but that seems to have been in error by a factor of two.”

“So you’re saying that nearly half their fleet managed to get away!?” I blurted out. Why was I getting the distinct impression that while the Factory was more advanced than I could ever comprehend, they always had a really bad time trying to ‘predict’ anything accurately.

“Yes, it’s true.” Eliza’s mare popped back across the screens for just a moment before fuzzing away again to reveal a map of the north and it’s settlements. Dotted lines fanned out from the northeast where the Sky Raider’s home had been. “However, most of their forces have already reached their destinations, mainly focusing on striking smaller Puritan kingdom targets that remained untouched by their megaspell attack.” Small crosshairs appeared over a dozen or so small settlements before they blipped off the screens altogether. “Other Sky Raider assets seem to have either crashed due to mechanical or pilot error, which is somewhat of a relief. However, some still remain in flight towards other targets, including Mare’s Lake and half the northern settlements within range of their vehicles.”

A little over half the remaining lines flickered out before reaching any of the dots they’d been headed towards, including the ones headed south toward Cantercross. However, there were a good dozen lines still lit, with the majority of them headed straight toward Mare’s Lake and the smaller target of Galloway.

“What about the Rangers?” I watched as I spoke, finding Pastel’s plumage bristle up uncomfortably. “How did they fare? Did the megaspell that targeted them miss?”

“There is still too much magical radiation in the air there to maintain constant contact with them.” Ping sighed and shook his head. “While the Factory had assumed wrong with the projections for most northern targets so far, the amount of interference from around the airfield is consistent with a direct strike against it.”

“Well I’m not going to count them out yet.” Pastel grunted and hammered his balled up talon against the console beside him.

“He’s right, we shouldn’t assume the worst.” I was doing my best to sound optimistic, but I prayed to Celestia that unlikely as it was, they’d at least had the time to get to shelter. For the small Puritan village of Oatsville next to Galloway however, I could only hope that a few more of them had lead-lined shelters under their house like Neon Drift and Bloody had... “Eliza, set a course for Galloway. If they’ve survived, we need to help them.”

“Are you sure that is wise?” Ping did his best to sound nervous, and unlike before, I couldn’t be sure if he was being genuine this time or not. From the way Pastel glared across the room at him however, told me that at the very least, he didn’t care if Ping was genuine or not. “It’s not that I do not want to help them, but if the interference patterns are correct, than the levels of magical radiation saturation would mean that any assistance we could provide would be minimal without significant risk to the health of all crew members.”

“Grrrr, I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t change what I’m going to do.” Pastel grunted as he crossed his talons and shot a glare over to me. “If I’ve learned anything from my time around Night, even if I get sick, I’m still going there to see if I can help.”

“I’m going too.” I spoke up, pulling a surprised look from Ping, as well as a worried cartoon mare from Eliza as she popped back onto the screens. What? They honestly expected me to just sit around when there were those out there who needed help?

“Oh, how quickly you’ve forgotten Hispano’s words. It’s not even been a half an hour, and yet, you can’t help but try to rush to the aid of anypony who gets your attention.” Solomon’s amused expression flickered across the dozens of monitors that Eliza didn’t inhabit. “It’s disgusting, really. Being forced to watch you seek to help such weak ponies. You should simply let those foals suffer the consequences of their own mistakes.”

I don’t know how or why, but the greenish hue of the screen somehow accented his smug expression in a way that made me want to flail and destroy every fucking monitor that held him on it.

“Captain,” Eliza spoke up in the same monotone starkness as always, “with your current physical condition, you might find it better to oversee any support and relief operation from inside the confines of the Arcturus.”

“Yes,” Ping nodded furiously before beaming as smile back at me. “I can accompany Doctor Buck down in the Remora to provide aid.”

“As I said, I’ll be joining you.” Pastel pushed himself up off of the console he was on, and turned himself toward me. “Look, I don’t know what we’ll find down there, but I can assure you, that you’ll get a better response out of the Rangers if they see Frescas and I with them.”

“That is ill advised, Captain.” Eliza’s mare flickered to the frowning version of herself. “Projections show that once they arrive, there is a sixty seven point eight percent chance that former Captain Frescas will instruct the Rangers to take both Buck and Ping into custody. It would be an appropriate action if they were looking to gain bargaining chips to exchange for the return of the Arcturus.”

“She’s right, you know.” Solomon giggled from every monitor next to Eliza’s, “Such is the nature of ponies. Always wanting to be difficult…”

“You’re wrong.” I spat out, momentarily knocking Eliza’s mare from her frown to one with a fairly confused expression. “There is a zero percent chance of that.” Lowering my brow, I shot a glare across to the now stoic expression on Pastel’s face. “If the Rangers are in need of assistance, they will work with us, not against us.” I couldn’t be sure about that, but… if it came to it, I wouldn’t let them hold my friends hostage. Even if it meant holding the rest of their entire compound hostage.

“Are you willing to risk Buck’s life on that?” Ping asked as he reached out and placed his hoof on my side.

“No.” I shook my head as Solomon’s smirk transitioned into an even wider grin that reminded me of the hallucinated rant I had earlier. Yes, it would be easy to just threaten them, but I wouldn’t do it. Not if I didn’t have to. “We can’t just keep threatening everypony who we don’t like, especially not when they’re already in a position of needing all the help they can get. While it’s a risk, they know us, and I’m counting on that fact to buy us the goodwill we need.”

“In the face of overwhelming odds, on death grounds, there is no act a soldier will not perform to achieve his goal.” Pastel remarked flatly, not taking his eyes off of me for a second. Not even when Ping’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “What? Surprised that a Ranger can recite a passage of Zebrica’s prized ‘Art of War’?” He smirked as he brought his talons up and crossed them tightly across his barrel. “Rangers are scholars first, warriors second. But…” He paused as he finally tore his eyes from mine. “That being said, I think that it doesn’t have to be that way. You’re right, and as much as Frescas is loath to admit it, we need your help. If we can get to Elder Soursop, Frescas and I can explain that you’re here to stand with us.”

“Then it’s settled. Eliza, set a course for Galloway.” I shrugged and looked over at Eliza as she flicked up her smiling cartoon mare again.

“Aye aye, Captain.” Eliza replied as half the ship’s instruments lit up. “Course set, cloud drive set for full ahead. At that speed, we should arrive at the compound within two hours.”

“I will make sure that Frescas is brought up to speed with the plan, and ready to go.” Pastel nodded as he pushed himself up and off of the consoles. Stepping up to me, he reached out and placed his talon on my shoulder. “And… for what it’s worth, Night? While I’m with the others on not being happy you stole our ship... well, if it had to be anypony, let’s just say I’m relieved it was you and your friends.”

While I wasn’t really sure how to take that, I ultimately decided that it was a compliment. I offered him a nervous smile as he turned and headed off through the bulkhead and disappeared further into the ship. Which left me in here with a fairly unamused looking Ping.

“I know you mean well, however, should this prove problematic…” Ping shot me a sideways glance as he too stepped towards the door. “I will not hesitate to say I told you so.”

With that, he hopped through the bulkhead and disappeared down the hall as well.

Seriously, you’d think that Ping would’ve come to trust me more. Though… I guess it was fair to say that the both of us had made our fair share of mistakes, so I could somewhat understand. Still, the Architect wanted diplomacy with the outside wasteland, and there wouldn’t be a better place to start than with a group who knew more about advanced tech than anypony else.

“Isn’t that just typical?” Solomon snorted as Ping trotted off through the bulkhead. “Your so called ‘friends’ don’t ever seem to appreciate your particular brand of leadership. Not that it’s really all that unexpected, seeing as you’re not even that much of a leader in the first place...”

“Shut up.” I threw my head up and groaned.

“I wasn’t going to say anything more, Captain.” Eliza’s prompt response made me freeze up. Goddesses this was going to get annoying to keep explaining to ponies…

“Sorry, not you, Eliza.” I sighed and glanced over at the admittedly concerned looking cartoon mare. Raising my forehoof, I pointed up to my head. “Just… telling the voice in here to be quiet.”

“Oh, I see.” Her cartoon mare flickered over to one that looked somewhat apprehensive by virtue of her eyes blipping back and forth slowly. “If you’d like, I can call up Doctor Buck from the infirmary…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine.” I tried to wave my hoof in dismissal, but I could tell that she believed my words about as much as I did. I really wasn’t up for another chat about how I really need to head back to the Factory to get my head fixed. So, plan b then! “How are you doing, Eliza?” Shifting myself onto my haunches, I did my best to cross my hooves across my barrel and play it cool for now. “We haven’t really had that much time to chat recently, and I’m just wondering if you’re adjusting well to the Arcturus.”

That caused a few quick shifting expressions to flash across her screens before she settled on a neutral expression.

“Well.” She remarked sharply. “It has been an experience, to say the least. That’s um… it, I guess.”

And with that, her expression flicked off of the terminals. It left me in an awkward almost silence where the whirring and humming of the ship systems made it seem like she’d just up and left altogether. But I gathered that there was more to it than that, there had to be. Because you don’t spend your whole life living one way, only to then have it completely flipped around on you, and not have questions and remarks about it.

“Ah, finally, there it is.” Solomon chuckled to himself as he popped into existence where Pastel had been, leaning against the terminals in exactly the same way. “Something that the real me wouldn’t have a clue about. How it feels to be completely out of place.”

“Ummm, Eliza?” I asked, waiting for her to flicker up on one of the smaller screens with a sheepish expression. “Is there something wrong? Should I get Ping...?”

“No, no, that is not necessary.” Eliza perked up with that, speaking slightly faster than normal in her monotone voice. “I too am fine.” Her mare flickered again, switching to her frowning expression. “To tell the truth, I have been... afraid. This system is so different, so advanced, so… big. I haven’t even tried to look outside of the core systems I have immediate access to.”

“But… why?” I laughed as I tried to come up with a reason why a computer would have a problem with moving from what was basically a tiny room, into a whole house. “I’d thought you’d like having more room than your old body, as well as being able to move about the real world like you always wanted to.”

“Yes, but it’s not what I expected.” Her image flickered, shifting to a picture where her cartoon mare was crying. “As only a prototype, I’m a simple system, with a basic understanding of things. That was all that was needed to test my mining equipment.” Her image left the screens, changing them back to their normal displays again. “Some of these systems on board are so advanced that I don’t even know what they do. It’s like… imagine that you existed as an enlisted Enclave hoofsoldier for a few decades, only to be then given command of your own Thunderhead, and then were expected to command it flawlessly during trials the very next day.” That… would be a pretty daunting thing to have happen. But in my case, I could’ve always asked my... “Oh, I… I’m sorry, Night. I didn’t mean to bring up elements of your life in the clouds.”

“It’s fine.” I smirked as I tried my best to remember how my mom smiled at me right before she left the last time I saw her. “I was just thinking that you’re right. I can see how it would be hard, at least without somepony there to show you how things worked.” Goddesses, I missed Mom and Dad. “Maybe… there’s someone in the Factory who you can ask for help? There’s no shame in at least asking, you know?”

“Yeah, I think I will.” The smiling cartoon mare popped back up on the screens around me. “Thank you for taking an interest in me, Night. I don’t have many machines I consider my friends, but even though you’re organic, I consider you my best friend.”

At that, Solomon burst into uncontrollable and hysterical laughter.

“How pathetic is it that YOU are her best friend?” Solomon gasped out between laughs as he literally rolled across the floor at my hooves. “You two are perfect for each other! You’re both MORONS!”

Yup, it was already getting old.

“I’m glad we’re friends, Eliza.” I grumbled, trying to ignore Solomon’s loud as fuck laughter. Pushing myself forward, I dropped myself down onto my hooves and stretched myself out slightly. “But I think for now, I’m going to go see Buck about my head. Keep me updated if anything changes on the way to the Ranger base.”

“Alright, Night.” She responded in a less monotone, more squeaky voice than normal. It almost sounded… cheerful. “And will do, captain.”

Walking down the cramped hallways of the old cloudship was odd. While it wasn’t as somber as it had been just after the bombs, I still didn’t really feel welcome here. I’d passed the bunkroom, where Pastel was now having a heated argument with Frescas, and where Happy was having a hard time napping with their noise.

The thought of Ping being right, and that they’d turn on us the moment they got down there, flared right up in my mind.

“It’s going to happen, Night. You’ll see.” Solomon’s voice fell to a whisper again, but was accompanied with a wave of pain that washed across my head. The oh-so familiar throbbing headache I’d gotten too many times now, had returned, and only pushed me to move on.

I picked my hooves up as I trotted through the galley. The smell of freshly baked goods filled my nose, and I instinctively felt my wings flare out slightly. I smirked as Hispano’s apron adorned front half disappeared nearly entirely inside one of the ship’s ovens, retrieving a steaming tray of small, round looking biscuit-like things.

It’d never really dawned on me that she could do something like cooking, much less enjoy it as much as she looked like she was. To be honest, so far I hadn’t seen much of this side of Hispano, where she let down the front of being the daughter of a Talon merc, and was just a young griffon. And as odd for me to admit as it was, all dressed up in that apron, she looked so… cute!

The look of pride that had been plastered across her face was replaced with a firm blush as she noticed me trotting through.

“Not a fucking word, Dum Dum!” She snapped as I stepped through the next bulkhead.

“I didn’t say anything!” I called back with a giggle that turned into a groan as the throbbing in my head got worse. Still, I guess baking was yet another of Hispano’s many talents that I didn’t know about! Seriously, was there anything that she couldn’t do?

“One thing she will do, Night, is die.” Solomon again whispered into my ear, this time flaring up the pain directly in the back of my eye socket. I winced, slowing to a hobble as I reached the weapons bay bulkhead. Reaching up, I forced my forehoof up and applied pressure to my eyepatch, somewhat dulling the pain as usual.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you, Captain. Sorry, I’d just… wanted to rest my eyes for a moment.” Tofu snorted as she hopped down from a crude hammock she’d strung across one corner of the room. She gave a wipe of her tired eyes before freezing and sniffing the air a few times. “Goddesses, are Hispano’s scones done already? They literally smell so good.” Her stomach gave a gurgle that flushed her cheeks with a blush. “If you don’t mind, Captain… I think I’m going to quickly go take her up on her offer to try one...”

I forced myself to smile at her as she pushed past me and all but galloped off towards the galley. My legs somewhat gave out as I stood there, and I was forced to brace up against the bulkhead. Goddesses, this headache was getting worse than normal. But… Buck would know how to help, I just had to get to him.

Pushing myself forward, I half walked, half stumbled across the weapons bay and into the next hallway. The far aft of the ship was somewhere I hadn’t spent a lot of my time so far, but I at least knew the infirmary was just the next door down. Lucky for me, the door was open, and I could easily brace myself against it’s bulkhead as another forceful wave of crippling pain wracked through me hard enough that I let out a whimper.

Disappointingly, the small room was empty of the fluffy, handsome mass of furred Snow Dog that I loved. Instead, laying on the small medical bed, was the resting form of Double Delta. The bloody bandages that still wrapped around half of his head looked freshly changed, and while he didn’t seem to be awake, he was breathing and twitching his hooves enough that I knew he was still alive.

Good to know that Frescas didn’t kill him then…

“You’ll have a chance to do it yourself soon enough, Night!” Solomon’s laughing voice felt like it pierced my skull, and I nearly fell forward as I brought my hooves up to my head. I groaned out and shut my eye as my lungs seized up and my back forced itself to arch up sharply. “They’re all going to die, just like the others did! Hehe!”

“Shut… up!” I seethed as I squeezed at the sides of my head. Come on, Night! Pull yourself together! He’s not real, and while Buck isn’t here, you can fix this on your own.

Waiting until the pain somewhat subsided, I pushed myself off of the bulkhead. Stepping in, I made my way over towards the cabinets that held all of the infirmary supplies. I just needed something, anything to dull this pain, just for a bit!

My train of thought stopped as my eye fell upon a set of three syringes that were tucked neatly in a glass box on the counter. The thick black lettering still boldly and proudly sitting under the Ministry of Peace symbol called to me as my savior. Med-X. It wasn’t going to be as good as Chill, but it’d have to do...

“Oh, did you really think it would be that easy, Night?” Solomon’s voice brought with it another wave of pain.

It hit me harder than the last, and I felt my rear leg collapse from under me. I flailed my forehooves as I was pulled to the floor, dragging open the nearby cupboards and knocking a dozen jars down with me from the countertop. I cried out as the glass jars dropped onto the floor, shattering around me as I again forced my hooves up onto my head. I let out a scream of agony as I did my best just to endure what felt like my head attempting to split in half.

“I told you, Night!” Solomon’s voice echoed painfully in my mind, sending spikes through my hooves with each word. “The moment it got bad, you’d go running back to your filthy habit! And look at you, so desperate for relief that you were about to go behind Buck’s back and get drugged up without a second thought!” No, I need it, I needed... “Don’t LIE to me, Night! You CAN’T lie to me!” I felt tears stream down my face as his words sunk in with even more pain. It… it wasn’t like that! “It is EXACTLY like that! Or didn’t you notice that you’ve already done just what you set out to?”

Looking down with a sniffle, I blinked as I noticed that one of the syringes was still currently tightly gripped in my fetlock. The pristine and slender silver needle had been driven deep into my other foreleg, and the plunger was already depressed to its maximum.

H… how? Did I do that… myself?

Yanking it out, I tossed it across the floor. I let out a whimper as the empty glass syringe smashed, and the sound of quick hoofsteps came from outside the infirmary. A wave of warm numbness flowed over me, ebbing away the pain from my body, and giving me a moment where my mind sat in a state of pure clarity. I looked around, blinking away the tears from my eyes as I realized that once more, I was alone in my own mind.

“Night!?’ Happy called out as he all but slammed himself against the bulkhead. Heaving in panicked breaths, he ran his eyes across the mess of broken jars and supplies across the floor before looking over me. “Are you alright? Celestia, I’d heard a commotion, but… what happened?”

“My... h-head hurt.” I nearly fumbled over my own words as I forced them out. “Lost my b-balance and, well... “ I offered him a nervous smile as from the back of my mind I pleaded that he wouldn’t see the remains of the Med-X syringe among the scattered bits. “It was an accident, but the worst of the headache has passed.”

“Thank Celestia.” He offered a sigh of relief as he hung his head. “Thought you looked pretty bad when you wandered past the bunks. I wanted to make sure you were alright...”

“Y-yeah, thanks.” My weak, nervous grin widened as I noticed the prick of blood on my foreleg. Lifting it up, I brought it around the back of my head and rubbed the blood from it as I forced out a laugh. “I… hope I don’t make Buck too mad with the mess.”

“Pft, that guy loves ya’.” Happy rolled his eyes before offering me his normal sly smirk. “I don’t think you could ever piss him off, Night.” Oh, I think he’d be pretty pissed if he knew what I’d just done. And… he’d have every right to be angry. “Well, it’s good to hear you’re alright. Just… take it easy, okay? As much as I’ve been wanting to get back after Solomon, I… don’t want to see you push yourself to the edge, Night.”

“I’m sorry, Happy. I haven’t meant to go on one side job after another.” I forced the nervous grin off of my muzzle and did my best to replace it with a genuine frown. “I know you’ve been patient, and believe me, I want to kill Solomon just as much as you do…” I paused as he raised is forehoof with a shake of his head.

“Night, you don’t need to apologize.” Again, he sighed before looking down at his leather jacket and floral print shirt. “Do you remember, when we talked about me being different? Well, I think I finally am. It’s not what Ma’ would’ve been proud of, but… it’s still a better me, isn’t it?”

“You’re wrong, Happy.” I brought my hoof back down as my muzzle split into a soft grin again. “I think she’d be proud to see the progress you’ve made, even if it isn’t you following in her hoofsteps. And… well, as much of a pain in my flank as you’ve been this trip, you’ve still been right here by my side for it. Hell, it’s been you who’ve saved my life a few times now, and I think that says more than anything!”

That brought back the genuine smirk to the mule’s muzzle, and he let out a soft laugh.

“Yeah, you think?” He brought his forehooves up along the sides of his jacket and popped up the stiff collars like he kept doing over and over. Now that I mention it, why did he always put them back down again if he was going to just keep putting them up!? “But thanks, Night. With everything that’s gone on, I’m glad you still think of me as family.” He shifted his look up into a sideways glance as he furrowed his brow. “But don’t you think for one moment that I’mma let you forget about goin’ after Solomon, ya’ dig?”

“Yeah, I ‘dig’.” I smirked and nodded.

“Good.” He snorted and pushed himself off of the bulkhead. “Now, as much as it pains me deep down, we’ve got a bunch’a worthless fuckin’ toasters to save.”

With the clarity of my mind still around for the moment, his words shot me back to when we’d first arrived at Galloway. More specifically, to the fact that I still didn’t really understand why the others hated the Rangers in the first place.

“Hey, uh… can I ask you something?” My words perked Happy’s long ears, and he paused in the middle of turning to leave. “Why do you all, you know, hate the Rangers?” I’d hoped that didn’t come off too blunt, but from the way Happy scrunched up he muzzle, I wasn’t sure I’d succeeded. “It’s just, I never got an answer from anyone on the convoy, not before…”

“Well, if you need to know.” Happy snorted and slumped back against the bulkhead. “East of Brahman Beach, we had our own bunker of the power armored squares to contend with, lead by a fucker by the name of Elder Protos Polisher.” Crossing his hooves, he let his muzzle curl into a disdain filled snarl as he continued. “These weren’t your average hoarding Rangers, no, these guys are a breed that are all too common out there. Ones who wanted to cleanse the Equestrian wastes of all non-ponies. Real racist assholes if ya’ catch my drift.”

“And I’m guessing that meant they weren’t fans of your mom.” I found myself spitting out. While I’d interrupted him, he didn’t glare at me, instead simply nodding.

“Yeah, but as much as they hated us, the Elder knew he couldn’t hit her directly. So instead, he started by picking off the caravans that came and went.” Happy sighed as his eyes drifted, and his focus shifted to the distant past that only he could see. “When we started to use pony only caravans, he switched things up and started to pick on those on the outskirts of town at night. It started only by trying to scare them enough to pack up and leave. And well, it started to work. Over a few weeks, more and more families packed up and left.”

“But I’m guessing not everyone did that.” Again, I interjected. I won’t lie, I’d have been scared out of my mind if some powered armored ponies came into my home and told me to leave town or else. But after all I’d been through, I’d like to think I’d be able to stand my ground against them. “If they resorted to just telling them to leave, I’m guessing they were afraid of something.”

“Yeah, of what my mom would do if they attacked a citizen of our town. They were only about a hundred strong, compared to a couple thousand in our town.” Happy nodded to me. “Which is the only reason we were finally forced to act.”

“What happened?” I asked, finally drawing Happy’s ire and having him resorting to putting his hoof up for me to know to shut up.

“They never liked to talk about it, but… the ones who finally stood up to the Rangers?” Happy smirked as his vision drifted away again with a momentary smile. “Leaf Spring and Howitzer’s parents. They got it in their heads to argue with that numbskull when he broke into their house. Started lecturing to the Rangers that the Buffalo had lived on that land far longer than ponies. Which mind you, is true, but of course those toasters didn’t care. They made their choice that night. Half their neighbors heard the argument, but it was the whole town that heard the Ranger gunfire. And when all was said and done, my ma’ and the town had all the justification they needed.”

Oh, so that’s why they’d hated them, the whole time...

“Not all of those toasters were bad though.” Happy snorted with a hefty shrug. “One of the Ranger stallions felt guilty enough to tell my Ma’ that they knew they stepped over the line. He said that others in their ranks thought they should call for a truce between factions. He also said that in order to maintain discipline and end things once and for all, Elder Proto was going to order the whole base to come in and try to wipe out Brahman Beach in the morning.”

“Sounds like his change of heart was a lucky break.” I mean, for as horrible as they were, at least there were still noble ponies in other parts of the wasteland.

“Yeah, not for him. Town hung him anyway.” Happy shrugged and shook his head again. “Anyway, long story short, Ma’ rode up on their compound that night with a few heavy excavators and buried their bunker entrance before they could leave. Then she spent the next week drilling dozens of boreholes into their compound before dropping a few tons of mining charges down to blast the fuckers.” He smirked as he remembered the events in his head. “They really thought they were safe from the same ones who’d built their stupid bunker in the first place…”

“I hope that Galloway has seemed a bit better than that.” Double Delta’s groaning voice from behind me sent a shiver up my still numb spine, and I looked back to see him squinting under the soft infirmary lighting. He didn’t sit up, but his muzzle curled into a soft smile. “Oh, my head’s killing me, but I’m guessing from that that we’re still alive and kicking?”

“And on our way to Galloway as we speak, though, we still don’t know what the situation there is.” I offered to him, and visibly watched him relax with my words. “And I don’t know where Buck is, but I’ll direct him your way before we arrive so he can get a look over you.”

“I think Ping mentioned wanting to speak to him privately.” Happy offered as he again shoved himself off the bulkhead and onto his hooves again. “As for your hope, yeah, Galloway’s so far been better than I’d expected, with a few exceptions. Fuck, even with as annoying as it was first meeting them, if all the Rangers in the wastes were as tame as you guys? Well, they’d probably have more fucking friends, for starters.”

“Hah, that’s probably true.” Delta laughed before transitioning right into a groan. “Dad always had a way with skirting around the xenophobic side of the Ranger codex that most of the other advisers think is immutable gospel.” Carefully, he lifted his forehoof up to the side of his head and pressed it against it firmly. Funny, I knew exactly how he felt…

I looked around the room, perking my ears for a moment. Yet, Solomon still didn’t chime in, or even feel like he was still in my head. Guess the Med-X was at least helping.

But who knew how long that would hold up…

I’d been napping in my room for maybe an hour or so before Buck entered. It was nice to see him focused on his medical tasks again, but… maybe it could have waited a few moments until I woke up a bit more.

“Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself?” Buck asked me as he all but scooped me up off the captain’s bed. His metal paws were freezing to the touch as he basically ran them over my coat and through my mane.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I did my best to groggily fight off his advances, but there wasn’t much somepony like me could do against advanced machine parts. “Like I said, the headache subsided, and I’m fine.”

“Yes, but it looked as if a storm swept right through the room.” Buck huffed as he finally set me back down upon the bed. “But if you’re sure you’re alright… I guess that’s all that matters. I’ll try to make myself more available in the infirmary from now on.”

Yeah, about that mess I’d made… there’s no way he didn’t see the empty broken syringe on the floor. I really wanted to tell him what I’d done. We’d been down this road already, and it would never end well if I hid it from him. But the truth is I needed the Med-X, and I’m not sorry about that.

“What exactly did Ping need you for anyway?” I asked. I mean, Buck didn’t have to live his life in the infirmary, but it was odd to have him absent for so long. I wonder if Ping needed him for something specific regarding his investigation into the factory.

“I…” He scrunched up his metal muzzle as much as he could before starting again. “It’s difficult to explain…”

The door to the small captain’s quarters squealed as it opened, and Hispano poked her head in slowly.

“Oh thank you…” She let out a sigh of relief as she swung the door open all the way. “I thought you two might be spending some ‘quality time’ together that I’d hate to interrupt, but Eliza says she’s picking up a broadcast from Galloway. Thought you might want to come to the bridge for it.”

“From Galloway?” I spat out bluntly as I pushed myself off the small bed and back onto my hooves. “We’ll be right there.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but getting any sort of message from them had to be a good thing, right? Given what little we know, this means that at least somepony out there survived. Maybe if we were lucky, it also meant that there was still time to help.

At that thought, I felt my mind cloud again. I could almost feel like Solomon was trying to speak, but after another moment, the feeling subsided. The flat numbness I felt across my body from the Med-X clung to me tightly, and for that, I was grateful. Now if only it could hold out until after whatever is going on with the Rangers…

Both Buck and I carefully made our way up to the bridge, finding that it was already packed. Everypony on the ship was already here, and the moment the two of us walked in, Ping gave a nod to Eliza’s frowning face plastered on half the screens. Oh, that is definitely not good...

“This was picked up six minutes ago. I’ve done my best to clean up the message, but it’s going to be spotty.” Eliza spoke up as she flickered away, leaving an oscillating line to run across her screen.

“This is Galloway actual, calling any available Rangers or mercenaries in the area! We have our Paladins pinned down at the terminal entrance, and have a bandit class Skyraider craft still in the air. I repeat, we have a bandit class skycraft in the air! We need assistance!”

“That’s Coconut Curry…” Tofu gasped and brought her hoof up to the end of her muzzle.

“HQ, this is Alpha Assault in News Five. We are en route, bearing zero two five. E.T.A. thirty four seconds.” The sound of vertibuck engines whined behind the pilot mare’s response. From their call sign, I somewhat assumed that was the stripped down Vertibuck I’d talked to Tofu in when we’d been back at the base.

“Alpha Assault, this is Knight-Sergeant Apricot!” Hey, I know that voice! That was the big dumb guy in power armor! “There’s two squads of raiders firing from two downed condor sky transports on the runways. We're on damned near bingo ammo, and some of us are wounded. We’re in bad shape, so we need that bandit taken care of!”

“Sit tight, Knight-Sergeant, we have visual on the craft. Fire support incoming...” The pilot mare responded before garbled noises in the cockpit came through the transmission. “Hot damn! Scratch one bandit skycraft, HQ!”

You could hear the sighs of relief in the Rangers onboard with us, and I myself could at least relax for a moment. That is, until the sound of alarms going off in the Vertibuck’s cockpit came through.

“Shit, we're locked!” The mare called out as I could hear the Vertibuck’s engines strain through the static background noise. “Chaff! Chaff! Going evasi-…”

The radio cut out with a louder burst of static, and the transmission itself flickered off the screen. Eliza’s sad cartoon mare returned as the whole of the command center here was completely silent.

“I've heard enough.” Frescas grunted as she spun herself around to me. “They’re still holding on, but we need to get help to them now!”

“We are still ten minutes out from even coming around that side of the mountain,” Ping pressed his hoof against her, forcing her back just enough that he placed himself between her glare and me. “Not to mention, we cannot risk directly placing the Arcturus over…”

“They don’t have ten minutes, and fuck the Arcturus!” She slammed her hoof onto the console next to her, sending it through one of the glass screens with a scream. Sparks and smoke poured out from it as she ripped her bloody hoof back. With heaving breaths, she stumbled back into Pastel’s waiting talons. “I don't care about this stupid fucking ship, you will find a way to save them, or I will!

“Come on! Is there any way we can get help to them!?” Tofu whined as she stepped up beside Hispano. Surprisingly, she wrapped her hooves around Hispano’s side, throwing her a pouty face. “What about the arcane cruise missiles? Can’t we just launch a few from here?”

“We do not have a firing solution that would not risk killing the defenders.” Ping shook his head as he mirrored Eliza’s frown. “To narrow it down enough, we would have to put ourselves within their range to strike back at us with whatever weapon they used to take out Galloway’s skycraft.”

“What about using the Silverfish to designate the target for us?” Hispano squeaked as she snapped her talon. “All you’d need is line of sight, right?”

“While normally that would work, the magical radiation is still generating too much interference to get a clear signal.” Ping brought his hoof up to his chin, looking deep in thought for a moment before turning a curious glance first at me, then onto Buck. “The collar you wear however, might be able to amplify the signal your internal antenna is giving off. If we were both to board the Remora and get close enough, her idea would work. Using your inbuilt rangefinding sensor on the target would give me and the firing system enough data to create an accurate solution. After all, that’s how I was able to guide the missiles into the Pentex bunker.”

“But... that means Buck has to be staring out the open side of the Remora.” She squawked in a way that expressed the alarm I was too slow to capitalize on. “He'll be completely exposed, and there’s no way in tartarus that they won’t see him just hovering up there.”

There’s no way I’m going to use Buck as bait. End of story.

“I'll do it.”

Buck’s stern, but overall prompt response made me freeze up. I know he’d wanted to be more involved, but… this was asking too much. And besides, it didn’t matter, because...

“Night?” Buck’s voice in my ears again derailed my train of thought and forced me to look up at him. “I’m the only one who can do this, so I’m sorry, but as much as you’re probably thinking up a reason not to, I need to go.”

“But…” My mind sputtered and spun to throw out something, anything to call him out as wrong. While I couldn’t find any good reason, our talk earlier came up. “Fine. But you aren't going without me.” I spat out, raising my hoof to his muzzle as he opened it to speak. “No arguing. I don’t care if my flight suit is still wrecked, or if you’re concerned about my health as ‘captain’. I’m not going to let you do this alone.”

“Then as discussed earlier, Frescas and I will go with you as well.” Pastel grunted as both he and Pastel nodded.

“Well then, it’s a party.” Hispano grumbled as she turned her remarkably stoic deadpan to Tofu. Since when did Hispano start doing scary accurate impressions of her dad? “I'm guessing you're going to go as well?”

“I... am going to stay here.” Tofu’s meek voice squeaked out as a blush flushed across her face.

“Tofu…” Both Pastel and Frescas sighed at the same time.

“Like, literally, don’t.” She snorted with a light stomp. “I know I've always hated being posted on this stupid ship, but... I like it here now.” She looked across each of us, ending on both Ping and Eliza with a smile. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I belong on this crew. I want to go on adventures, to get out of my comfort zone, to explore who I am and figure out what it is I'm meant to do. Even if... that means leaving my home behind.” Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the floor hard and crossed her hooves with a huff. “So, tell my mom and my sister that I'm doing well and that I love them, but that I'm staying here.”

“Alright, if that's what you want...” Frescas admittedly shared a somewhat downtrodden look with Pastel before he nodded to her.

“Double Delta has also expressed his willingness to stay, as after returning from exile, he still does not feel at home with the Rangers.” Eliza spoke up as her mare momentarily flickered over to the smiling one again. His reason probably had more to do with being responsible for directly megaspelling them in the first place. He didn’t want to go home and explain himself, which really, was something I could somewhat agree with wanting to avoid... “However, not to bring it up again, but we may only have a short window in which to help Galloway.”

“Right, miss Tofu, get ready to load those missiles!” Ping called out as he all but pranced on his hooves to the bulkhead leading out off of the bridge. “Everyone else, to the Remora!”

Looking up to Buck and meeting his gaze again, I flushed a nervous grin across my muzzle. Goddesses I hope this wasn’t going to be yet another time I ended up crashing out of the sky. He shared a nervous smile back, pretty much confirming he felt the same.

Now, if only I could kill this pit in my stomach then I would be only mildly sure this wouldn’t end in disaster...

While the inside of the Remora was as cramped as always with all of us inside, the rapid ticking from Buck’s metal forepaw somehow made it feel more restricting. The nearly silent engines that carried us didn’t help, and the darkness of the interior didn’t lend anything to help calm the anxious atmosphere that was getting thicker by the minute.

Maybe when we got a chance, I should have the Factory install some lights in the Remora’s cabin at the very least…

But hey, at least Happy had ‘volunteered’ to stay behind this time. So I was at least assured that I wasn’t going to be hugged to death during our probably rapid, unplanned descent to the ground. Something again, which I was just beginning to accept as an eventuality that was just unavoidable.

“Are you sure Pastel will be fine out there?” Frescas offered as she gave Buck’s metal limb a sharp tap.

“As long as we keep this quick, he shouldn’t suffer any long term issues from magical radiation sickness.” Buck’s answer didn’t really help me feel any better about Hispano being out there for now as well, but again, I just had to trust him on this. “I’m more worried about how long those injured Rangers have been outside. Power armor only protects its occupant so long as it can remain pressurized.”

“Well, like Happy mentioned earlier, I’d better not end up sterile or some shit!” Hispano cooed through my comms headset. While it was cramped in the Remora, because of that, she insisted on flying. I mean, she’s not so big of a griff that we couldn’t have made room for her and her sister...

“We are approaching the targeting point.” Ping spoke up, swinging his eyes up to Buck in a way that the dim red that sat behind them seemed to glow even brighter. “Try to keep your gaze steady on the Skyraiders for as long as possible.” Shifting his glance over, the red glow stared right into me. “I hope this is worth the risk, Night.”

“Well, either it works, or it’s not our problem anymore.” I grumbled as I reached up and grabbed tightly around Buck’s paw. Goddesses, I hope this works…

The hydraulics in the Remora came to life, and the side doors to the craft slid open. I was forced to look away as a rush of warm, humid air forced its way into the craft, and the smell of burning metal flooded my nose and instantly threw my mind back to the explosion at Four Peaks. The stench itself was so thick that it felt like it stuck to my tongue and lungs, and every breath I took felt like it caked a layer of it to my insides.

Turning my gaze back out the door, I blinked as I looked over the hellscape that had replaced the farming plains that sat next to Galloway. A brightly glowing prismatic crater a hundred meters across sat gouged into the mud and dirt where the center of Oatsville had once been, and the ashen black ground around it had replaced the numerous fields of crops. Silver, lumpy glints in the crater exposed where more than a few houses had once sat with shelters like the ones that Neon and Bloody had used, now reduced to nothing but melted slag in irradiated and useless soil.

Sporadic gunfire from below pulled my attention back to Galloway, or more accurately, what remained of the old world airport. The blast looked to have brought down half the mountain over part of the base. A wave of rocks and dirt had swept away the northern hangars, as well as the hangar that had been used to store all of the old tech they’d collected. The tunnel entrance that lead off to Mare’s Lake was likewise missing, probably buried underneath a literal mountain of stone and dirt.

Two flaming wrecks, each about the size of Scar sat below us on the runway, as well as a third one that looked to be what was left of the News 5 Vertibuck. The remains of the massive cargo liners that the skyraiders had come to Galloway in lay twisted and broken, but the dozens of raiders who’d been in them still sat entrenched inside. Short bursts of gunfire came from within various holes and windows in the wrecks, firing across at the nearly completely buried remains of Galloway’s terminal and flight control tower.

Inside the blasted out windows of the tower, a few Rangers offered poorly aimed return shots at the raiders. One of the Rangers I could see from here exposed herself, showing off that she wasn’t even wearing power armor in the first place, just normal armor and a gas mask. She braced a long rifle against the edge of the tower windows for a moment before firing off a single shot that sent sparks up from the shattered cockpit of one of the downed planes.

“Galloway… fuck, it’s been totally destroyed.” Frescas gasped as she nearly forced herself right out of the Remora. Thankfully for her, Buck was quick enough that he brought his paw up and kept her from taking one too many steps forward.

“Alright, guys!” Hispano called out as she hovered her way up towards the open door. “I think the jig’s up! Might want to make with the explosions!” Gunfire from below started to pick up slightly, and the wind carried the shouts and calls from the skyraiders below. “Yup! Anytime now!”

“Alright, I need to concentrate.” Buck grunted as the magical radiation counter in his paw spiked with a stiffening of the warm winds coming from the glowing crater. Buck’s augments whirred as part of the mechanical half of his head split open, and his mechanical eye telescoped forward. A thick red beam shot out from it, highlighting just how much dust lingered in the air even from as far up as the Remora was hovering. “Alright, Ping, see if you can help boost the signal to the Arcturus.”

“Gladly.” Ping nodded, blinking away his normal eyes and bringing up the scrolling text.

“Ma’am, we’ve got movement in the skies.” The static filled voice of Apricot came through my comms helmet.

“Uh, Ping?” I called out to him, more than anything not wanting to get shot down by the Rangers we were trying to help.

“Attention, Rangers of Galloway.” Ping’s voice came through my headset as his eyes continued to scroll lines of code. “This is the Remora. We are bringing you fire support from the skies, and all assets on the ground need to provide suppressing fire until it arrives.”

“Acknowledged! And thank the goddesses for your help!” Apricot laughed through the radio before he cut his comms.

The bulky silver form of the dumbest power armored Ranger I’d ever met appeared in the tower window. His helmet was missing for the moment, leaving his exposed head and muzzle to shout something as the minigun strapped to his side spun up and fired. A tremendous line of red tracers burst from both his position, as well as from the two wrecks as the Skyraiders poured fire back at the Rangers.

“Almost…” Buck growled as he narrowed his real eye into a squint. An alarm filled the air from inside the Remora’s cabin, making Buck’s ear’s perk sharply, and making him lose focus. “Ground-to-cloud missile lock on us! I just need a few more...”

A sharp shriek filled the air as a white streak shot out from the northern Skyraider wreck. The missile they fired was fast, but it disappeared in a blinding pyrotechnical display that shot through the sky between us and the ground. The thumping roar of Galloway’s twin engined bomber filled the air as it banked sharply, dumping all of it’s flares as it roared past us.

As the flares fell, the streaking missile curved and shot directly into the side of the mountain. It exploded with another blinding flash, sending a light shower of rocks and debris down over the top of the Remora. Still, we held steady as Buck leaned forward and continued his intense focus on the Skyraiders below.

“Galloway actual and Remora, this is Maiden Flight,” The gruff voice of the pilot in control of the old bomber crackled over my comms. “We are bingo fuel, bingo ammo, and bingo care about who the hell these outsiders are. But if they can clear up our Skyraider problems, then Maiden Flight will help to keep the skies clear!”

“Targeting data acquired, transmitting...” Ping called out as his normal beaming smile pulled across his muzzle. “Thanks for the assist, Maiden Flight,” his voice cracked through my coms again as the whole of the Remora banked hard, nearly throwing both Frescas and I out the open side. “However, we’ll take it from here. Please proceed to a minimum safe distance.”

“You’ve got it, Remora.” The pilot called out again as the heavy skycraft’s engines picked up and pulled it away from the various pot-shots coming up from below. “Galloway actual, once these raiders are clear, see what you can do about clearing that runway enough for us to land.”

“Roger that, Maiden Flight.” Coconut’s voice responded as the Remora stabilized. “Remora, I need intel on just what sort of support is coming and when.”

There was a sharp burst of static over my headset before the now familiar low background hum of the Arcturus came through.

“Tubes three and five reporting successful launch. Tube two however is literally trying to ruin my fucking day. Clamps are jammed and there’s a failure on the manual override. Hope two shots is enough!”

“If not,” Hispano brought up her sister and racked the bolt as she hovered there with a big smile on her face. “Well, Pastel and I can always help the Rangers mop up a bit!”

“Tofu?” A different voice came over my headset, making both Hispano and I scrunch up our expressions. “Tofu, is that you? It’s your mother… hey!” The microphone sounded like it was stuck in the middle of a wrestling match for a moment before it cleared up.

“Remora, I don’t know HOW you got your hooves on the Arcturus, but when this is over, you WILL surrender it back to the Steel Rangers.”

“Ma’am?” Apricot’s disgruntled voice came over as the fire from the Rangers below continued. “Maybe now is not the best time to make demands!” That was about the smartest thing I think I’d ever heard him say…

“That’s the smartest thing that big lug’s ever said!” Pastel laughed as he hovered up to the open side of the Remora. His happy expression dimmed however as he looked over at me, and then over to Ping. “But don’t worry, please. We’ll make sure to explain everything to the Elder. You won’t have to worry about Coconut screwing things up.”

With a roar, the two streaking arcane cruise missiles shot through the air under the Remora. They arched downward toward Galloway, splitting up at the last moment. The two missiles impacted into the sides of the two downed wrecks, tearing through their thin metal skins. They disintegrated in two massive explosions, completely encompassing both downed planes in bright fireballs.

The heat and blastwaves from them washed over the Remora, sending my memory back to the sight of the enormous megaspell blast outside of Cantercross. But as the ringing from the explosions drifted off across the open and blasted plain, the soft ticking coming from Buck’s paw became the only reminder of it once more.

“Alright Frescas, get down there and make sure they’re alright.” Pastel called out as he held his talon out to Frescas. When she took it, he offered her a soft smile. “Find your Dad, make sure he knows you're okay, alright? I’ll join up once we’re done killing the last of these assholes.”

“Come on!” Hispano groaned out as she rolled her eyes. “We’re going to miss all the fun mopping up if we don’t hurry!”

“We’ll be fine, and... I love you.” Frescas offered to Pastel, giving a soft squeeze of his talon before letting it go. “Now go, finish off those bastards.”

We watched as both Hispano and Pastel rolled over and dove off toward the still burning wrecks below. I wasn’t sure how anypony could survive a fiery wreck like that in the first place, let alone another set of missiles exploding around them. But as long as it wasn’t any of us exploding twice today, then that was a win in my book.

To punctuate that, Buck brought his paw down on my back softly and pulled my attention up to him. I stared up at the augmented side of his face as his telescopic eye shrunk, and the case retracted to the normal shape of his head. The soft smile he offered across his metal muzzle didn’t say that he’d enjoyed what happened, but that he was just happy to have helped. And for me, that’s all I needed from him to know that for as much as I worried, he was going to be fine.

“Oh yes, I’m sure he’ll be perfectly fine when he finds out what you’ve done, Night.” Solomon remarked as he peeked his own twisted smile out from behind Buck’s.

Me on the other hoof? I still had a long way to go until I would be ‘fine’ ever again.

Author's Notes:

A bigger than normal thanks to TheFurryRailFan for really clearing this chapter up. It's been a hard few weeks on me, and he's stepped up yet again to help get this chapter into presentable shape. Seriously, thank you so much.