“What the hell is wrong with you!? Get your hooves… off of me!” Frescas growled as she was dragged into the holding cell with the rest of us. She struggled against the same hoofcuffs that we all wore, and was rewarded by being thrown to the floor. The power armored pony who stepped back through the doorway kept his dual miniguns trained through the door as Frescas immediately spun around and tried to hammer her hooves right across the Ranger’s helmet. He of course let her hit him, and simply ignored her. “When the elder hears about this…”

“The elder is gone.” The booming voice of Coconut Curry came from behind the power armored pony at the door. The stern old mare’s voice alone commanded the armor to step back, and her own power armor clad figure stepped forward into view. Her already wrinkly and weathered brown skin now held jaundiced splotches to it, and her white mane had somewhat been stripped from the top of her head. “He made his choice to try to save those in that simpleton village once the warning came in, and he paid the price for his foalish mistake.”

“No…” Frescas gasped as she collapsed onto the floor. “Dad, I’m… I’m so sorry.”

That pulled a laugh from Solomon next to me, as well as an eerily identical laugh from Coconut.

“You’re sorry?” Coconut’s hollow laugh turned even colder as she leveled a sharp glare down her muzzle. “You let our prized possession, an irreplaceable piece of lost tech, fall into the hooves of these… outsiders. You should be glad that I’ve shown you mercy, rather than simply executing you for your incompetence.”

“You should know, she had no choice.” Ping offered as he sat next to me. He’d yet to say ‘I told you so’, but.. here we were, right where he said we’d be. And while I’d known we wouldn’t be welcomed back with open hooves, I sure didn’t think they’d straight up throw us in a cell…

“Quiet, stripe.” Coconut growled, pausing to study ping before lifting her muzzle to dismiss him. She shifted her hatred to the rest of us, with her narrow gaze falling and lingering upon Buck and his augments. “You, dog, where did you find that tech?” She visibly began to recoil in disgust the more she studied him. “Such a waste on a beast, but in the right hooves…”

“It’s what’s keeping him alive.” I stomped my bound hooves as I pushed myself to stand up. Okay, I’d had enough of this shit. “We came here to help, so will you let us or not?”

“You may help by returning what you stole from the Rangers.” She snorted and tipped her muzzle up at me. “If you comply, then we may just let you leave with your lives.”

“Look, Coconut, we can explain everything...” Pastel likewise stepped up like I had, but received a far more damning glare than any of us so far.

“Everything is already clear enough, bird.” Again, she let out a shockingly eerie, short lived laugh from her muzzle. “You outsiders are always so funny. You always think you can fit in with the Rangers. Well, that ends now.” Her power armored hoof stomped hard enough that it cracked the concrete floor under her, and made it perfectly clear to all of us just what kind of mare she was. “The Codex makes it clear that only family matters in the Rangers, and that only pure blooded ponies with us since the war are family. No more slaves, no stripes, no monsters, nor little lost birds pretending they belong. No cowards from above the clouds...” Again she turned her glare down to Frescas, “and definitely no daughters of those who weakened us with their perverted and bastardized interpretations of the Codex.”

Okay, seriously, why was it that after everything, this had to be the way she wanted to take things? Why was it that these types of ponies were all I fucking managed to run into? Oh, right, my curse.

“Stop blaming your ‘curse’ on mundane things, Night. Have you considered that maybe ponies have always been a horribly flawed race? Oh, that’s right, you already know that’s true.” Solomon laughed from behind Coconut, sticking his head out around the concrete cell doorway. “Maybe it’d be better off if you just exterminated everypony you found. Because there can’t be anypony to cause problems if there’s nopony left, right?”

Before I could once again tell him to shut his privileged, non-existent muzzle, Coconut’s magic flared up and leveled a hefty looking pistol at Frescas.

“Your father put us into this situation when he perverted the codex.” The snarl that accompanied her words made Frescas recoil and quiet her sniffling sobs. “and I will stand for that no longer.”

“He was a good pony!” She cried out, getting not even an millimeter of a reaction out of the old mare. Geeze, she’d been a fucking bitch the first time we rolled through, but I didn’t think she could be so cold. “If that’s how you’ve felt, for all these years you’ve been his second, then why…?”

Coconut’s revolver loosed a round that kicked up the mane on top of Frescas’s head. The shot didn’t hit her, however it had failed to miss the metal side of Buck’s head. Sparks lit up the room as the bullet scraped across his face, deflecting off only to lodge itself inside one of his metallic ears. With a displeased look across his muzzle, Buck flicked his mechanical ear a bit, finally dislodging it at about the same time the ringing from the shot left my own ears.

“He was a traitor.” Coconut snarled as she moved her pistol down to point directly at Frescas. “Worse than that, your father was a monster, letting lowlifes and lesser races in our ranks. He was nothing but a disgrace to the Steel Rangers.”

“No, he wasn’t a monster…” The weight of everything finally came down on Frescas, and she completely lost herself as she collapsed to the floor in tears.

“Look at that weakness.” Solomon’s churlish tone again made me want to snap at him, but with as ruthless as Coconut’s turned out to be, I wasn’t sure I could afford to do anything unexpected like that. “What? You’ll help anypony who even so much as looks at you with needy eyes, but you won’t move a muscle to help someone who truly measures up to your own unfortunate and pathetic life?”

“Come on, Coconut, lay off her.” Pastel grumbled as a wicked smile parted his beak. “This has never been about him or how he ran this place. This is all about you finally becoming the Elder,” Unlike Frescas, Pastel’s words sent a wave of emotions sweeping over the old mare, starting with rage, and ending with pure contemptment. “It’s about you being able to push your racist attitude back across the Rangers that the Elder had worked for years to remove.”

“Perhaps that is a perk of my new title, but that’s simply a boon attached to finally being able to put things back to the way the codex explains they are supposed to be.” With a careful and effortless shift of her magic, the barrel of her pistol shifted over to aim at the smiling griffon. “I’ve waited long enough for this day. I stood by for all those years as he ignored my advice, and now it's about time somepony cleaned up the place. Only pure ponies belong within the Rangers, just as the codex instructs. The rest of you creatures have made enough of a mess of the wastes as is.”

I don’t know if it was because I’d been losing my mind to the drugs, or if I’d actually found that funny, but a light laugh slipped out of the end of my muzzle.

“I’ve heard that shit before.” I grumbled as she shifted her glance over to me while still keeping her gun trained on Pastel. “Up above the clouds, that’s all the Enclave would ever feed us. That the other races of ponykind were weak for bringing about the end of the world.”

“Nah, the Enclave were racist, believe me. But they wouldn’t have gone this far with it. That’s why they kept everyone else above the clouds in the dark about the ground.” Hispano chimed in as well, shifting herself roughly enough that she commanded Coconut’s look over to her. “It’s not the Enclave she’s sounding like to me. All this talk about purity is starting to make her sound like one of those puritans…”

Hispano’s words died as Coconut shifted her pistol over to her. The mechanical click of the hammer being drawn back was a good enough signal for her to stop, and the rest of us held our breaths. Coconut’s angry glare washed over each and every one of us, and it wasn’t until she tilted her pistol up with a smirk that I felt like I could even risk taking a breath again.

“None of you outsiders are even worth the ammunition.” She offered under her breath as she moved to step back through the doorway. “Enjoy your time in here, as your executions will be very shortly arranged.”

“Coward.” Frescas seethed through her teeth as she pushed herself back up to even a half sitting position. “My father stood for what was right in the wastes. He knew that we couldn’t keep the chapter going all by ourselves, that’s why he allowed others in.” With tears still running down her cheeks, she turned and looked back at Pastel, who’s smirk died at the sight of her. “And I don’t care what you think, Coconut. He was right, we need them to help us carry on, just like I need Pastel in my life. He makes me a better pony, they all do.” Turning her gaze back, she met Coconut’s glare head on with a mirrored snarl pulling across her muzzle. “And until you realize that, you’ll never be an Elder that anypony respects.”

“Agree to disagree.” Coconut smirked as she sharply pushed her pistol forward, pressing it firmly against Frescas’ forehead. “Now then, Aguas Frescas, I’m going to give you one chance. Renounce yourself from the Steel Rangers, forfeiting your right to challenge me for the title of Elder. Or don’t, and I will let a bullet make that decision for you.”

My eye twitched as those words made me furious. Ponies like Coconut were exactly why the wasteland became as bad as it had been! If I only had my goddess damned battle saddle still…

“Then you would what?” Solomon’s laughter echoed in my head, making me wince as the pain behind my socket flared up. “Fuck everything up and get everyone killed? Don’t forget, you don’t save ANYONE.”

Solomon’s voice was cut off as Coconut’s pistol flashed once again, and this time, she didn’t miss. The back of Frescas's head flowered out in a spray of blood and bone as Coconut’s round tore through it. With the ringing hanging in my ears, I watched as her lifeless body slumped to the floor in a heap.

In the following instant, Pastel's cuffs had been torn off. His scream was lost behind the ringing, and he had all but thrown himself at the elderly mare. He was faster than I could’ve thought anygriff could be, and much faster than Coconut had expected. Her magic fizzled as his sharp beak clamped around her throat before she could react. Another spray of blood painted the doorway as he torqued, ripping a chunk of her throat out.

Coconut couldn’t even let out a gurgling gasp as she collapsed to the floor, where she joined Frescas as nothing more than a lifeless heap.

No no, this was all wrong!

Pastel spat out the chunk of flesh from his beak, shoving himself back off Coconut's corpse. He looked back at the rest of us, only having a moment to take a breath as he stared at Frescas's body with tears streaming down his crimson cheeks.

The ripping sound of the armored guard Ranger's minigun was jarring. The red line that tore through Pastel swung like a single clean slice from Happy's sword. I watched in horror as the griffon’s body all but fell apart to the tremendous burst of fire. More blood and gore showered us all as in just another in a line of split seconds, yet another person I knew was dead and gone. All that was left when the short spray ended, was a whole filled pile of crimson meat and feathers on the floor.

I didn't have even a moment to absorb the horrendous scene before us as the power armored Ranger stepped up to the doorway. He was drenched in rivers of crimson gore that slogged down his armor, and his hollow black-eyed gaze filled my mind with nothing but pure fear.

Time slowed to a crawl as his gun started to spin up again, and I opened my muzzle to call out to Buck, Hispano, and Ping.

The withering ringing of gunshots made me scream out as it swung across the room, shredding Ping, Hispano, and Buck to bloody bits right in front of me. It was like a nightmare, being forced to watch it happen while I could do nothing to stop it. They were all… gone.

As the withering fire finally made it’s way over to me, I felt nothing but anguish and terror rip through me as I was torn apart.

"Hey!" A hard smack across my muzzle left a stinging sensation that instantly scrambled my senses. Hispano huffed as her balled up talon was held out, ready to strike again. "Snap out of it, Night! You've gotta hold it together!"

Looking over I found Frescas sobbing on the floor, being comforted by Pastel as best he could through his restraints. At the door, Coconut was gone, replaced by the flat grey plating of the heavy steel door that locked us inside the cell.

It… what I’d seen... wasn't real.

"What happened?" I had to force myself to speak, to make myself hold on to reality as best I could.

"Miss Frescas renounced her claim for Elder, and agreed to permanent exile." Ping answered me with the same imperfect nervous expression he'd tried to wear before. "Are you alright, Night?"

"Y-yeah.” Like was becoming all too common for me now, I lied through my teeth. And by the way that both Ping and Buck shared the exact same cringe, I knew they could see right through it. “Just... we need to get out of here."

“You know what I like about you, Night?” Solomon’s voice was again just a whisper in my ear, but this time it carried with it the ringing of the gunshots in my hallucination. “The voracity, tenacity, the AUDACITY you present to the wastes as the ‘survivor’! You can be a force of nature at a moment’s notice! A true LEADER to those around you!” He paused as I blinked and he appeared to tower over me with a look of pure disdain across his muzzle. “And yet, most of the time, what are you? A scared, little lost colt, wandering around looking for what? Love? Acceptance? Yet another parental figure to lose?” He laughed to himself as I finally got a grip again and tore my gaze from him. “You could be so much more, you know that, Night?”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Pastel growled as he squeezed Frescas tighter with his wing. “We’ve been stripped of our weapons, and even if we could get out of here, the moment anypony in power armor shows up, we’d be screwed.”

“That’s not… entirely accurate.” Buck winced as he shifted his mechanical paws, effortlessly shearing off the restraints that had been placed on him. With a few clicks and whines, a section of plating on his left forearm folded outward, and the small, sleek energy weapon he’d had Sierra install raised up from inside. Oh I could just kiss him right now! “I haven’t had a chance to do anything other than run diagnostics on it, but from what I understand, it should be enough to get us out of here. Now hold still. Setting level seven should be enough to cut through...”

A short lived, pulsing beam of orange light streaked out from the weapon on his forearm. Sparks and the smell of ozone filled the room as the metal link to Pastel’s talon restraints were severed.

“Holy shit, Buck!” Hispano let out something between a squawk and an elated squeal as her wings flared out. “You’ve been holding out on me! Here, do me next!” Eagerly, she held out her own bound talons and locked her eyes on the small weapon as he swung it over. Again, with a short burst from the beam, her restraints were severed. Slowly, she lifted her freed talons up and stared at the melted bits of it as she let loose a giddy burst of excited laughter. She poked at the broken restraints, giving a gasp before sharply pulling back her talons. “They aren’t even hot, that’s fucking amazing!”

“Too amazing.” Pastel grumbled as Buck turned to me and pointed his gun at my own restraints. I marveled as the small beam melted through the steel cuffs without the slightest bit of discomfort on my end, and I couldn’t hide my own smile as my hooves were freed and I was finally able to throw myself into a hug around Buck’s furred chest.

“I’ve never even seen a weapon like that.” Frescas sniffed as she turned and fixed her gaze on the small weapon. “Where did you find it? Or is it something that the Factory made?”

“It is far more advanced than anything we could produce.” Ping remarked as he shifted his forehooves and simply tore through his restraints as Buck had. “That device was recovered by our operators, who scavenged it from an unknown skycraft which had crashed on the side of Foal Mountain over eighty years ago. It’s true origin is unknown, but other artifacts gathered from the same site point to the fact that it may not even be from our temporal realm.”

“Impossible.” Pastel rolled his eyes, letting them fall on Buck’s forearm again as it pointed down to Frescas’ restraints. With another zap of energy, Frescas was free. Of course like me, the first thing she did was turn and throw her hooves around the one she loved, bringing a bright flushing blush to Pastel’s cheeks. “Er, but now’s not the time to debate I suppose. We need to figure out how to get to our gear and get back to the Arcturus.”

“What?” Frescas pushed off of him with as much suddenness as she had hugged him with. “We aren’t leaving the Rangers like this. I don’t care if I’ve renounced myself, I’m not leaving her in charge to destroy everything the Elder... my father, worked for.”

“I agree.” Ping’s expression went flat as he shared a short lived glance with her. “For as much as I do not trust the Rangers, Coconut Curry as Elder does not factor well into a peaceful future for the north.” With a swift shift of his forehoof, Ping swung it out and jabbed it right against my side as I held onto Buck. It wasn’t a painful jab, but it was so uncomfortable that it nearly knocked me off of him. “As for you, Night. I must now inform you: I told you so.”

“That you did, Ping.” I grumbled as I released my grip around Buck’s warm form and let myself fall back onto my hooves. “However right you were though, it doesn’t help us to get out of here.”

“I think I can help with that as well.” Buck offered a jagged smile as he walked himself over to the sealed steel cell door.

“That door is six inches of naval steel we ‘borrowed’ from the wreck of a destroyer.” Frescas scoffed. “Even with as capable as your weapon is, it can’t cut through something like that.”

“Actually, on it’s maximum setting of sixteen and it’s dispersion set to wide, it is perfectly capable of vaporizing a pony sized tunnel through a meter of solid granite.” Ping’s muzzle split into his usual beaming smile, that started to sink as soon as he realized that neither Frescas or Pastel believed him at all.

Buck lifted his balled up metal paw to the steel door, and gave a light rapping against it. Even through the six inches of steel, you could hear as the power armored pony outside shifted and turned around. With a squeal, the door opened up sharply.

“What do you…” The pony in power armor stopped just short of finishing that sentence to instead back himself up from the door. “Shit, your restraints! I need backup!”

A cone shaped blue pulse fired from Buck’s weapon, washing over the Ranger and dropping him into an unmoving armored heap on the concrete floor.

“On setting two, this device is incredibly useful in non-lethal applications.” Buck smiled and easily plucked the unconscious Ranger up off the floor, dragging him into the room with us. “The nadion pulse it emits can temporarily disrupt nerve signals to the brain, and thus renders the subject unconscious for a period of about ten minutes. So while he’s down now, we don’t have all that much time if we want to stop Coconut.”

Now I could see exactly why Buck chose that little device over the others Sierra offered. To him, it wasn’t a weapon, but just another tool for him to carry around. Something else he could use to help rather than harm.

“Which is a mistake.” Solomon smirked as he leaned himself against the doorway with his normal smug look across his muzzle. “Why incapacitate and take risk that he’ll be a problem in the future? Even you think you should just kill him now to be sure you won’t regret it later, I can FEEL you thinking that deep down, Night.”

Maybe because not everypony is as eager to kill as you are, Solomon. And while I may have made a different choice if I were the one with that weapon, it wasn’t up to me. And besides, Buck is… the better one of us to make calls like that, even if he’s had his own problems.

“A pity then when you’ll end up getting him killed through your own ineptitude.” Solomon smirked before disappearing behind Buck’s lumbering form as he stepped into the doorway and peeked out. He looked back and forth down the hallway before pulling back into the cell with a scrunched up muzzle.

“While the interior of Galloway terminal and it’s magical fallout shelter was available in public records, this holding area doesn’t match any known section of the old world construction.” Buck frowned as he looked down to both Pastel and Frescas.

“It’s because we’re in an add-on to the original shelter, one Dad had built a decade back, when we started capturing slaves and taking down the slave traders.” Frescas grumbled as she got herself back onto her hooves with Pastel’s help. Her legs wobbled for a moment before she brought a forehoof up to wipe at her damp cheeks, but for as weak as she appeared, I could see the burning rage behind her expression. “We’re in cell two right now. If we head out left, take that hallway as far down to the right as we can and then turn left again, we’ll get back to the provision storage room for the old shelter. I’m sure that’s where they stored all our stuff until they can get around to cataloging it and adding it to the...” She paused for a moment before sighing. “Well I guess with the main storage hangar buried, I don’t know what will happen to it.”

“Look, with Galloway in the shape we saw it in, I’m sure that they’ve fallen back onto Raid Protocol.” Pastel brought his talon up to his beak, tapping at it with a glance over at me. “Which means that most capable assets are reserved for base perimeter defence, and what little they have to spare, is probably out trying to move and salvage what they can from the storage hangar.”

“That means internal security will be light.” Hispano rubbed her talons together, nodding and she saddled herself up right alongside me. “And with Buck here able to knock them out, we shouldn’t have a problem busting out of this place!”

“Well, there’s a small problem with that.” Buck winced as he turned and held up his forearm so we could all see the small weapon disappear inside of it. “Despite how useful it is, the device still draws from my body as a powersource, and I’ve just about used up all I can spare. And with this being the first time I’ve used it, I have no idea how long it will take to recharge.”

“Then we do this the old fashioned way.” Hispano’s beak curled into a smile. “Get to our guns, and kick that old mare’s ass on the way out.”

“That would not be advised.” Ping gave a wave of his forehoof before looking at Buck. “As I’m sure Buck will corroborate, Coconut Curry has already broadcast to the Rangers that she has assumed the position of Elder. Given the state of emergency the Rangers are already in, any transgressions we commit will only lead to reinforce her position and her ideals to them. If we are to depose her, it must be done non-violently. Otherwise, it is my suggestion that we simply make our way back to the Remora and leave.”

“So what you’re saying is that after all she’s done, you do want to get out of here and just leave without killing her? Or if we stay, we need to remove her as elder, but again, without killing her?” Hispano’s plumage bristled up as she all but flailed herself right into the air. “And how the fuck are we supposed to do either of those things exactly!?”

The room fell into silence as none of us really had an answer for that. Even worse, was with every minute we sat here, we were losing time to act at all. Ugh! Why is it that when I need to step up with an idea, I have no fucking clue about what to do. I mean hell, Delilah would probably have known what to do.

“Delilah wouldn’t have even put you in the position YOU got everypony stuck in. She wouldn’t have left you all without something to bargain for, but what do you have to offer her? Your animosity? Your incompetence?” Solomon’s voice echoed around in my head again, causing a short lived aching in the back of my empty socket to flare up. “You are nothing but a failure, Night. You always will be.”

Actually, that’s a good point! Delilah wouldn’t have gone to a negotiation without something to bargain with, and in this case, I didn’t have to either. You know, for as annoying as it was having Solomon’s voice stuck in my head, at the very least, he had been somewhat useful to me at times.

“Ping, I need two things from you. The first, is it possible for you to find a way to get in control of the Ouroboros through the radiation outside? I need to know if you can operate it’s systems as a last resort.” I turned with a smirk spread across my muzzle as my mechanical zebra companion dropped into a look of deep thought.

“It is possible, yes.” He nodded before looking back over to Buck. “If the drone in their tower is still intact enough, I may be able to use Buck’s yoke to boost and relay the signal from the Remora and Arcturus to reach it. Though any communication with the Ouroboros would be a one way transmission containing only simple instructions. I could instruct it to path towards Galloway, but it could take upwards of eight hours to arrive depending on the path it chooses to take.”

“I don’t need it to come here, I just need to know if you can tell it to build and launch a missile.” I paused as he froze up with a profound look of confusion across his muzzle. “If you can, then the second thing I need to know is if you can prepare a message using Coconut’s voice.”

“Ah, I see now. You’re going to play dirty then.” Solomon smirked as he trotted across the ceiling, hanging his head down in front of my smiling muzzle. “Perhaps I’ve misjudged you after all…”

With a few tweaks from Frescas and Pastel to account for Coconut’s normal cadance and vocabulary, my plan was almost ready to go. We’d easily made it out of the holding area, and had slipped through provision storage relatively quickly. And while our gear was sitting right out in the open for us to reclaim, if our plan was going to work, we needed to stay unarmed. This only has a chance to succeed if we can prove just how bloodthirsty and terrible Coconut truly was.

And while they weren’t kidding that the internal security was light, the second I poked my head out into the main bunker hallway, I’d seen at least two armed ponies guarding the end of it. Each one wore a battle saddle with a pair of hefty looking magical energy rifles that I was sure they must have stolen from the Enclave with how pristine they looked. Though, unlike their guns, their old combat armor was is pretty poor shape. Scrapes, dings, and more than a few patched bullet holes said to me that these sets must have been hoof-me-downs from probably the start of the war...

“Looks like Banana Muffin and Puff Pastry are guarding the way through.” Pastel mumbled as he hovered above me and took a peek around the corner. “If we’d had the time, I’d suggest we just waited until Puff needed one of her twenty daily bathroom breaks.” He shook his head as we both pulled back around the corner. “I swear, some of the slaves we’ve rescued have been better mannered than our own stock.”

“Probably because it was beaten into them.” Hispano retorted without a single ounce of hesitation as she flapped right over my head and around the corner. “Just chill, I’ve got this!”

“Hispano, wait!” I snapped in the harshest whisper I could get out, but it was too late. With a light giggle, she was gone down the hallway like a bolt. “Goddess damnit.”

“You there, stop!” One of the two guards shouted as they mouthed around the end of their saddle’s bit.

“Woah, woah, easy!” Hispano whimpered as she flared herself to a near hover, holding her talons up to them. “I… I didn’t mean to startle you. P-please, don’t shoot...” Coming down to the floor, I watched as her legs nearly crumpled under her, and she shivered as she lowered herself to the floor. “It’s just… it’s been so long… since I’ve been able to fly. My owner… he was so mean to me…”

“Alright, Banana, stand down. She’s just a kid.” The creme colored mare next to the bright yellow stallion shook her head as she relaxed her guard. Slowly she walked up toward the still shivering Hispano and leaned down with a soft smile. “Hey there, little one. We’re not going to hurt you, but you can’t be back here, okay?”

“Okay…” Shakily, Hispano pushed herself up on her paws again. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

I blinked. That was all the time it’d taken for Hispano to flare open her wings and all but jump right onto the head of Puff Pastry. With the full force of her body, she slammed the mare’s face down onto the concrete floor, and both Pastel and I cringed as the mare went stiff and flopped over.

Banana Muffin reacted quickly, and moved to chomp down on his firing bit. With a flash of her talons, Hispano lashed out and yanked the bit down away from his muzzle, flapping her wings and jumping to swing her around right onto the yellow stallion’s back. He bucked hard as she came down on him, and he gurgled out as she brought her talons around his neck.

With a spin, he unsuccessfully tried to throw her off, instead resorting to rearing up and slamming her against the wall. She gave out a pained whine as he bashed her back, but with each second that passed, the stallion’s attempts became slower and weaker. With a woozy stumble, the stallion finally passed out, flopping forward onto the floor with a panting and frazzled looking Hispano.

“I was wrong before.” Solomon nodded as he appeared in the corner of my eye. “You don’t play dirty, SHE does. You could stand to learn a thing or two from her.” Hah, for once I could agree with him on something. She sure is one little ball of feathered amazingness...

“That was the most reckless, irresponsible thing I’ve ever seen a Talon do.” Pastel growled as he hovered himself around the corner towards Hispano. “And unpredictable shit like that illustrates exactly why we’ve allowed ourselves as Rangers to become too lax around outsiders. What we should really be doing is taking notes, and better preparing ourselves.”

“You’re welcome.” Hispano huffed and shot him a sideways glance as she waved the rest of us over. I pushed myself around the corner, approaching her as she did her best to pat down the few out of place feathers around her neck.

“You alright, Hispano?” I asked as I hoofed at one particularly stubborn feather of hers just under her cheek. I don’t know if it was my question or my hoof that drew the blush I could almost feel, but all of her feathers bristled again out as she gave a light giggle.

“Of course I’m alright! Have you met me?” She rolled her eyes, letting them fall on me as I smirked at her. She lifted her talon, but paused for a moment before putting it back down. “Let’s… just get going. I wanna see the look on that bitch’s face when she realizes that everything’s over.”

“Hey, are you…?” I reached my hoof out, only to have her grab it with her talon and stop me just short of touching her.

“I’m fine, Night.” She sighed, pushing my hoof away. “Let’s just get this done, okay? We can chit-chat later.” With another flare of her wings, she pushed herself into the air and hovered down the hall after the others, leaving me standing there wondering what just happened.

“Maybe she’s realized she doesn’t need you anymore.” Solomon whispered into my ear. “Maybe she knows that if she follows somepony like you, all you’ll do is end up getting her killed.”

“And maybe I’ll just end up letting her strangle the life out of you too, Solomon.” I mumbled to myself as I pushed myself to catch up with the others.

It was… weird. The further we pushed toward the old Galloway terminal and it’s control tower, the fewer Rangers we saw at all. With each corner that we turned, I felt like we were walking deeper and deeper into some sort of trap. It also didn’t help that once we’d made our way through the bunker’s hefty blast door, the path ahead was lit exclusively with flashing red emergency lighting.

The newer and cleaner concrete gave way to the worn and stained concrete of wartime construction. The flashing red lights let off an audible buzzing that only made the stark silence of the hallway all the more unnerving. I mean, I get that keeping this place clean wasn’t a priority, but come on! Then again, from how the hallways of the terminal building had been covered in boxes of old world files, I guess that this was clean by comparison.

“Fuck, I don’t like this.” Pastel muttered as we stopped to check the final corner leading into the ruins of the old world air traffic control terminal. “Even with Raid protocol, where the hell is everyone?”

“The debris from the mountain above are still causing too much interference to eavesdrop on outside communications.” Buck answered with a note of concern in his own voice. Reaching up, he gave a light tap on his metallic eye, and it flickered to a bright white state. His eye beamed out like a flashlight, and cut through both the darkness as well as the blinking red lighting. “However, I can hear gunfire ahead. From how muffled it is, it’s most likely the Rangers firing from the mountainside rubble above the bunker.”

“What? I don’t hear a damn thing.” Hispano grumbled, spinning as she hovered along beside me, only to pause as she watched Buck’s mechanical ears turn and tweak slightly. “Oh, right, you have cheaty ears.”

Still, however cheaty his ears were, the news didn’t sit right with me. We mopped up the skyraiders when we’d arrived, so just what the hell were the Rangers shooting at? Did more arrive while we were locked up, or were their survivors of the megaspell that were seeking shelter?

“We should take advantage of this turn in events then.” Ping spoke up as he pushed ahead around the corner without even hesitating. “If they are in distress, it only helps our bargaining position.”

“Yeah, but if it’s something they need us to help fight, we just opted to leave all our guns back there.” Hispano flapped after him, prompting me to move to turn the corner with her to keep up. However, the firm grasp of a mechanical paw wrapped around me and held me still.

“Wait.” Buck snapped as his light swung back down the hallway we’d just come from. His mechanical ears perked, and he stiffened up, standing at attention as both he and Frescas sat staring down the hallway.

“Did… did you just see that too?” Frescas asked, taking a shaky step backwards.

“What is it?” I asked as I did my best to turn myself in Buck’s tight grip. Peeking my head back around the corner, the emergency lighting made it hard to see anything at the other end of the dark hallway, but I couldn’t help but feel a tingle of fear run down my spine from it. I don’t know why, but it felt like the dark there was moving, shifting ever so slightly, but… I couldn’t really be sure. “Buck… what’s down there?”

Before he could answer, a set of sparks flashed from the dark, far corner of the hallway. Arcs of white electricity crawled with a thick snapping noise along the exposed piping of the hallway. The arcs didn’t travel far, and shifted around as a luminous white orb pushed through the concrete wall. The electrical arcs emanated from it’s body like legs, almost like it was helping to drag the orb into the open.

It bobbed and wobbled as it found a rough center in the hallway, shifting as we watched it. Again, I couldn’t be sure, but I almost felt like it knew we were watching, as it paused before it’s electrical legs pulled it back through the still open blast door of the bunker. The snaps of it drained off, and it’s lingering brightness slowly faded away, letting the darkness and red flashing emergency lighting take back the hallway once more.

“I heard it again.” Buck whimpered as he too took a step back like Frescas had. “The screaming, like when we’d gone through the tunnel.” More than just the fact that his voice held a note of fear in it, the air around us felt like it dropped to subzero temperatures in just moments. “I have a hunch that whatever was in those tunnels, is no longer content to stay there anymore…”

“There…” Frescas brought up a shaking hoof, pointing back down the hallway.

The darkness at the end of the hallway shifted again, deepening to the point that even the flashing emergency lighting wasn’t strong enough to push it back. Right before our eyes, shapes resolved from it, forming into rough pony shapes made of pure shadow. They didn’t have eyes, or any real substance to their forms. But something deep in my mind told me that these things were the reason for the stories about ponies disappearing in the tunnels, and that Buck’s hunch was something we didn’t want being proven true.

“We should move.” I managed to force out of my muzzle. “Now.” Unarmed, and with no idea how to fight anything like these, this was not how I was about to let us all die.

“Agreed.” Buck’s mechanical grip tightened around me. His other arm swung down, scooping up Frescas as well before he dragged us all down the hallway after the others. “Ping, we have a problem.”

“Yes, we do!” Ping’s voice called back from down the hallway ahead. “Everyone, whatever you do, do not let the apparitions touch you!”

“What? Why!?” Hispano grunted as she flared out her wings, zipping back towards the three of us as we rounded the corner. “Fuck it, I need my sister.” I could see the look of determination in her eyes die as Buck dropped Frescas back onto the floor and swung up in time to catch Hispano as she flew past. “Hey!”

“We’ll come back for her.” Buck grunted, focusing on keeping her held tight as we continued to push forward. “I promise.”

“What’s going on?” Pastel called out as he too zipped over to Frescas as she got back to her hooves and charged straight into a gallop. He peeked his head back around the corner and nearly lost all color to his plumage. “Oh, shit. Not these things again!”

“You’ve seen these, these... things before?” Frescas whimpered as her forehoof was grabbed by Pastel and she was all but dragged right off the ground as he took flight to follow us.

“Yes, the misfits and I have seen them a few times in the tunnel, and only magical energy weapons seem to have any effect on them.” He grunted as he did his best to keep pace with Buck’s heavy mechanical stomps. “But why are they here!? They’ve never left the tunnel before!”

“It is only a theory, but the magical radiation from the megaspells may have bolstered whatever innate magic they are made of.” Ping’s voice didn’t come from ahead this time, rather, it came straight out of Buck’s muzzle. “Little about them is known by the Factory, however, we have surmised that they are made of negative emotions, and are thus drawn to it as a source of energy. This is why you must not let them touch you, as you will not survive the bonding process.”

“Oh fuck this shit.” Hispano whined and struggled against Buck’s paw. “I am not about to be a fucking battery for some magical bullshit monster.”

“Then I suggest we start running!” Pastel grunted as he flapped hard, carrying himself and a fairly startled Frescas right off the ground and down the hallway ahead of Buck and the rest of us.

As Buck gripped both Hispano and I tightly to each of his sides, I managed to get a glimpse back down the hall. The shadow ponies moved faster than any normal pony could, and more of them stepped right through the walls like they weren’t even there! Even with Buck’s augmented legs, he was barely able to stay ahead of them. And worse, was that with every moment they got closer, it seemed like the faster they were getting.

“You see that, Night Flight? These are what inevitability looks like.” Solomon’s voice made me blink, and right in the middle of the shadow ponies, he appeared, running right along with them.

No, there has to be a way out of this! After everything else, there’s always a way out. Maybe we just need to get to the rangers, maybe they have something in their arsenal that can fight these things! I mean, they’ve had to stay alive in that tunnel somehow, right!?

“Something in their arsenal? You mean the one that’s nothing but smoldering rubble in the irradiated atmosphere outside?” Solomon’s laugh was sharp and cold, and very nearly did it’s best to make my already terrified mind freeze solid. “Why do you persist with the idea that you can be anything more than the pathetic stallion you are? Why run from them when they too only feed on negative emotions, just as you do. Don’t deny it, some part of you loves the feeling of fear, of being pushed to the edge out of desperation! So why not give in and let them help you reach the highest high you’ll ever feel?”

That… was something actually! If they’re speeding up from negative emotions, then maybe, just maybe, something positive can slow them down!

“What?” Solomon snorted in disgust, “That was not what we meant! You need to give in, Night!”

“Buck...!” I called out as he scrambled to get us around another hallway. My voice was cut off as he barreled right through the stacks of boxes that lined the now familiar halls. Pastel and Frescas were just ahead, doing their best to weave through the clutter, but that was slowing them down to the point where if I didn’t act fast, we’d all be caught. “Buck, I know you’re busy keeping us alive, but bring Hispano and I together right now!”

Both Hispano and I whined as Buck’s massive mechanical paws brought us together, forcing us into an impromptu tight hug that let me feel just how fast Hispano’s heart was beating. Her panicked gaze settled on my own as she opened her beak to speak, but that was my chance. With a firm press of my muzzle, I leaned forward and did my best to block out the rest of the world as I kissed her.

I don’t think Hispano questioned why, but as her talons curled around me tighter, I could feel both of our sets of wings straining to push out against Buck’s grip. A blush flushed up both of our cheeks, and I could feel the tension melt out of Hispano’s body as we sat there locked together.

My thoughts raced, bounding back and forth between panic and pleasure. I tried my best to close my eyes and imagine the Brahman Beach I’d seen in my dreams. Just to think what it would be like once we were finally there. The three of us, together as a family.

I could hear the crashing of the waves on the shore. I could almost feel the sand under my hooves, and the warm breeze under my wings. Celestia’s sun beaming down it’s warmth as I laid with Buck and Hispano on the beach, not a single worry between us. It was going to be paradise, and all I needed to do was survive long enough to make it a reality.

The illusion in my mind slowly faded away as Hispano and I broke off for air, and our eyes fluttered open to meet each others.

“What… what the hell was that for?” Hispano huffed as Buck’s rapid pace slowed to a crawl when we’d caught up to Pastel and Frescas.

“They feed on negativity, right?” I panted lightly as I did my best to squeeze my hooves around Hispano’s warm form. “Thought maybe some positivity could make them lose interest.”

“That’s idiotic, Dum Dum.” She cooed softly as a contented smile pulled across her beak. “But… it’s not the worst idea you’ve had.” Leaning in, she planted a small peck on my already brightly burning cheek. “And if we’re going to die, then at the very least I’m glad that I got to have that short moment with you.”

“We’re not going to die!” Ping’s voice came through Buck’s muzzle like it had before. “I have discovered that Night is indeed correct! Positive emotions repel the apparitions! Hooray!”

Peering ahead past Pastel and Frescas, I watched as Ping stood completely still between the stacks of papers and files. His beaming smile wasn’t literally beaming, but the moment the shadow ponies stepped from the walls around him, they recoiled and dipped back inside.

“How the fuck are you that positive right now!?” Pastel snapped as we pushed toward the end of the hallway. The open door to the control tower was in sight, and even better, it was wide open for us.

“What do I have to fear?” Ping answered back as he turned and followed behind Buck. As he passed, he shot me a wink and let loose a little laugh. “In fact, I’ve never felt so alive!”

“That’s great, but the rest of us…!” Pastel roared back, but was cut off as Frescas wrapped her forehoof around his neck and dragged him into a firm kiss that stopped him right in his tracks.

“Just shut up, you big goof.” She forced out a laugh as she pulled back. With a quick flick of her hoof, she wrapped her fetlock around his talon, and it was now Pastel’s turn to be nearly pulled right off the floor. “Come on! We’re almost...!”

“HALT.” The booming voice of a power armored pony called out as they stepped into the open doorway ahead of us. The armor was caked in dust and scuff marks, but the one minigun that still sat bolted to it’s chassis still looked in near perfect condition. As much as I’d expected to be mowed down in a hail of buzzing gunfire like my hallucination, the Ranger instead stiffened up and stepped back out of the doorway as fast as he’d appeared. “Forgive me, Captain, and Captain Frescas! I had no idea you two were alive!”

Wait, I knew that dopey sounding power armored voice…

“Get to the control tower, Apricot!” Pastel shouted as both he and Frescas practically dove through the doorway and scrambled up the stairs.

“Yes, sir!” Apricot whinnied and took off right after them.

With the rest of us hot on their heels, Ping’s bright smile was doing just enough to keep the shadows from coming through the walls all the way. The winding stairs groaned under the furious steps of more weight than I was sure they were originally built to hold, and Buck struggled not to get tangled in the mess of wires that came down from the terminals still up above.

I will say this however, for having a mountain come down practically on top of it, the whole building seemed to have held up incredibly well! Up and up we climbed, and with each step, the unnerving ticking sound coming from Buck’s mechanical paw became louder and louder. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of galloping right out into a bunch of radioactive air, honestly, anywhere was better than cramped hallways right about now!

Then again… how many innocents are left down there? How many ponies didn’t know how to fight these things? All those worries however were pushed to the back of my mind as we burst into the control tower, and were nearly blinded by the bright light that hit us.

We pushed through the already open door to the control center, and rushed into the cramped terminal laiden room. With the windows having been blown out from the megaspell blast, and the roof having been torn right off, the daylight filtered in through a dull, almost prismatic haze. And while the haze worried me, I was surprised to see that each time one of the shadow ponies pushed through the walls around here, they were completely dissolved by the beams of radiant sunlight.

The scent of Ozone clung to the air from all of the burnt terminal casings, but the one thing I was happy to find completely intact, was the silverfish drone the Rangers had wired up to everything. Which reminded me, with those things down there roaming around, it may be the case that we wouldn’t even have to deal with Coconut Curry at all!

A dozen other Rangers in the now roofless room all turned on us the moment we came through the door, leveling their weapons at us. But the same as Apricot had, more than a few lowered their guns as they realized who exactly we were. One pony in a set of particularly beat up power armor stepped forward and removed their helmet.

“Outsider?” The green mare with a now sharply trimmed brown mane wore a weary but happy expression as she set her helmet down beside her. Of all the ponies I’d expected to find in Ranger power armor, Bloody Mounds was not one of them. “It is good to see you are still alive.”

“You know her?” Hispano whispered into my ear, loosening her grip on me as the power armored mare took a step closer.

“She and her husband were the puritans who took me in and hid me...” I nodded and looked about to the other Rangers, hoping Neon would be up here among them. However, when he didn’t speak up or say anything, I looked back to Bloody, and her somewhat hollow smile told me everything I needed to know. He… hadn’t made it. “It’s good to see you, but we have critical information for fighting these things. They’re repelled by positive emotions.”

“Hah!” Apricot gave a stiff laugh as he groaned and forced shut the heavy security door we’d come through. “With everything that’s happened today, if all we need is a bit of positivity, then we truly are doomed.” The rest of the Rangers nodded and gave their own forced chuckles, but looked to Apricot as he reached his hooves up and likewise took off his helmet. His luxurious mane and handsome appearance were somewhat marred by his matted fur and the rivers of sweat dripping down his coat. I guess that while the Ranger armor was tough, it didn’t have the kind of climate control that the Enclave suits provided… “Then again, Captain, we had been informed that you and Frescas had been executed by those that stole the Arcturus. And yet, here you are, so perhaps all is not lost.”

“Don’t lose hope, big guy.” Pastel stepped towards the armored ranger and firmly planted his talon on his side. “We live through today and maybe I’ll put in a good word for a promotion to paladin.” The words sent an almost visible electric tingle down the stallion’s neck, resulting in a smile rivaling Ping’s to pull across the armored ranger’s muzzle.

“Is this… all that’s left of us?” Frescas sighed as she looked across the other armed Rangers.

“No, ma’am.” A unicorn mare in a full muzzled gas mask stepped up. Her horn flared and pulled the mask up, revealing the sweat drenched orange face of Scribe Bundt. While I still felt somewhat sour about the fact that she’d arrested me the first time we were here, like with Bloody, it was at least nice to see a familiar face. She turned to Pastel and threw her hoof up in a tired, but stiff salute. “In accordance with Raid protocol, Captain Coconut and my mother led all non essential personnel to the shelter barracks. They radioed up the emergency code for us to activate the barracks’ magical field barrier, I assume due to those shadow pony things that keep cropping up out of every shadow. Though, at least for us, we seem safe so long as we stay in the sunlight. It’s why the roof’s missing, if you were wondering.”

“Yes, the magic around the barracks should keep them safe for now.” Pastel nodded and curled his talon around his beak. “Though, until we turn the barrier off, communication with them will be impossible. And we can’t turn it off until it’s remotely safe for them down there, which could take days for this radiation to clear.”

“It is not impossible to talk with them!” Ping chimed up as he turned to the silverfish and pointed at it. “It might be possible to use the drone’s broadcast hardware to amplify a signal enough to get to them, provided you modulate the amplitude to counteract the magical field constant.”

“Who the hell is this guy?” Bundt spat out with a cock of her eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.” Frescas signed and gave a reassuring sideways glance to the still smiling mechanical Zebra. “First off, we need to have a talk...”

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Everyone jumped as the heavy hammering hits against the sealed control tower doorway resonated through even the floor. As one, we all turned to the dark door, waiting, listening for any screams of agony from whatever unfortunate soul was locked on the other side.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

“Open the door.” I blurt out like usual, earning myself a half dozen looks that screamed I was suggesting something crazy. “Well? Open it!”

Apricot spun around on his rear hooves and jammed his armored forehooves against the release lever for the door. With a squeal, it shifted, and the door was forced open by yet another pony in power armor. They heaved in their armor, immediately spinning around once through to help shut the door again. Both Apricot and the other armored pony grunted as it shut with a firm slam, and the whole lot of us took a deep, radiation saturated breath of relief.

“Give me… a status report…” Coconut Curry’s booming voice and heavy heaving breaths poured through the speakers in her helmet. Because of fucking course she would live through all that shit!

“How the hell are you still alive.” Buck growled in a guttural tone that caught me off guard.

“Oh, so you did escape. Good. Good.” Coconut’s tone lowered as she spun around and stared at us. The soulless eyes of her helmet wandered between us, stopping on Frescas and Pastel. “You’re all smarter than I gave you credit for if you figured out the secret to repelling these monsters.” The whine of capacitors inside both of the magical energy weapons strapped to her armor hid very little of the mirth in her cold voice. “Sure, positive thoughts scare them off just fine, but where’s the fun in that when it’s our job, our responsibility to destroy the monsters of this world?”

“You’re the only monster here, lady.” Hispano snorted before tensing up as Buck gave her a squeeze that told her to shut her beak before she got us shot.

“Elder, what’s going on?” Apricot snorted as he stepped up beside her. He threw his massive armored forehoof up right at Pastel before glaring at her with a gaze that could melt steel. “You told us all that Captain Pastel and Captain Frescas were dead.”

“The truth was need to know.” Coconut snapped at him, forcing him to take a step back from her. “It matters not now, as they have both been stripped of their ranks, and are hereby exiled from all chapters of the Steel Rangers!”

“With all due respect, acting elder.” Scribe Bundt grunted as she deadpanned at the power armored mare. “But last I checked, due to her relation with Elder Soursop, Captain Frescas is perfectly eligible to challenge you for the title of Elder.”

“She renounced her claim.” Coconut hammered her hoof on the floor before pointing it right back up at her own armored chest. “I alone stand as Elder now, and you will follow my orders.”

“She renounced her claim at gunpoint!” Pastel shouted as he stepped up to defend Frescas.

ZOTT

The discharge of the magical energy rifles on Coconut’s saddle turned the room bright pink for a moment. The smell of burning flesh was followed by Pastel’s smoking form collapsing to the floor. Frescas let out a gasp of horror as we all stood and watched as, while he didn’t disintegrate, he didn’t get back up from the hits either.

Okay, that was it.

“You want to be Elder, Coconut? Fine.” I snapped at her, glancing over at Ping just long enough that he gave me a nod. Time to see if my plan would buckle the will of even a tyrant like her. “But just know, that is about to be a very unfavorable title to hold.”

“Your threats are meaningless.” Her cold tone was even more hollow than before, and while she had retorted to me, her eyes hadn’t left the crumpled form of Pastel. “Traitors to ponykind like yourself will be dealt with soon enough. But first...” She turned to Frescas, and the capacitors on her rifles hummed with charge once again. “I’m not about to make a mistake by letting you out of my sight alive again.”

“This is Elder Coconut Curry, of the Galloway Steel Rangers.” The voice of Curry came from Buck’s jaw, from Ping himself, and from every radio on every piece of equipment that the Rangers around us wore. “The events of the last twenty four hours are a wake up call. No longer will the Steel Rangers tolerate the filth that inhabits Equestria’s north. The megaspell rain that blanketed the north is only a first step in making Equestria pure once more.”

“What!?” Coconut’s voice boomed as she gasped and all but ripped her own helmet off. Her dry and flaking skin peeled off with the rough removal, and she whimpered as all but a few strands of her wiry mane still clung to her mottled and bruised scalp. “What… how…?” She muttered as she spun around, looking at each source of her voice.

“Those who run will be hunted down mercilessly. Those who submit will receive no quarter. Your lives are nothing to the Steel Rangers, and your existence is an affront to the progress towards a truly peaceful world.”

“What trickery is this!” The rage seething under Coconut’s skin came to a boil as she turned her burning, hate filled gaze on me. With a snap that I’m sure had to have been painful for her, she brought her armored hoof up at me. “You, explain how you’ve managed to synthesize…” She froze up at that, and with a horrified look of realization, she turned back and stared at Ping. “You. You were the one on the Oroborus.”

“Yes, I was!” Ping canted his head as his beaming smile didn’t waver for a single moment. “In fact, I remember that it was you who radioed the order to lock me away!”

“Yeah, about that train. You remember the Oroborus, don’t you, Elder? That train the rangers used to own, but like the Arcturus, I now own?” I couldn’t fight back the smugness I poured into my own words. And for that lack of control, I was rewarded with a trembling rage crawling across Coconut’s body. “I’m wondering if you remember just what it’s capabilities were…”

Just on cue, Ping picked back up on broadcasting ‘Coconut’s’ message.

“Take your time now to be with your families. Make whatever peace you must with yourselves, for judgement is coming. Today, a new megaspell apocalypse will cleanse this wasteland of the impure. Tomorrow, a new dawn in the wasteland will rise, and the Steel Rangers will finally fulfill their destiny and save ponykind from the wasteland that threatens it.”

“You’re bluffing!” Coconut’s muzzle curled into a maddening smile. “You couldn’t possibly have a megaspell, let alone the hundreds...”

“So you did forget what the Oroborus was built to do.” I laughed, cutting her off. It took a moment, but I think she finally recalled exactly what I was getting at. “Yeah, now I alone can call off the strikes. I alone can save the Rangers by convincing the wasteland that you were simply a mare who had a nervous breakdown.”

“No.” Coconut snarled and ground her power armored hoof on the dusty floor. “This was my day. You will not steal this from me!”

“You care more about a title than what the Rangers stand for? What was all that shit you spouted about the codex then?” Frescas sniffled as tears streamed through the prismatic dust that was starting to coat all of us. “For all that shit you said about my father ignoring the codex, you would selfishly watch the Rangers perish when you could save them!?” Her voice cracked as she finally collapsed to the floor over Pastel and broke down into sobs.

“Elder Soursop sacrificed himself to save us, puritans.” Bloody snorted as her gaze twisted into a glare aimed right at Coconut. “He convinced us that the Rangers use technology to help ponies in need, but if this is how you’re going to run things? Then fuck you, I’m out.”

“Good! Puritan filth like you has no place in the Rangers! Nor do any other monsters!” Coconut snapped before turning her gaze to the others in the tower who were looking increasingly unimpressed at her slow descent into madness. “Don’t you see, the codex wants us to exterminate them! We have been given the task of fixing the wastes, it is our responsibility! We are meant to put down anyone, anycreature who poses a threat to the future of all ponykind! So what are you waiting for? Gun these threats down!” Part of me was waiting for them to listen to her, but it was nowhere near the size of the part of her that expected them to listen. “So that’s how it will be then? Fine, unless you do as your Elder commands, you are all hereby exiled!”

Crunch

The back of Coconut’s armor sparked, and the whole suit went limp as Apricot’s own armored hoof completely tore out a rear plate of it. Coconut’s expression turned to panic as she leaned sideways and tipped over helplessly on the floor.

“You… you dare defy your Elder!?” Coconut screamed out, writhing and thrashing against the heavy suit pinning her down.

“You are no Elder.” Apricot snarled as he tossed the broken bit of armor into the corner. He turned his gaze to the others in the room. “Get her out of that suit and detain her.” I sighed as the others in the room moved over, and despite her frantic and loud protesting, actually listened to Apricot. With the ‘Elder’ being dealt with, Apricot turned to Frescas with a nervous frown across his face. “I uh… there’s no guidelines for this in the codex, but… I think your father would have wanted you to take up his mantle.”

“I… I can’t...” Frescas whimpered as she pulled Pastel closer to her.

“You can.” Bundt took a step forward, looking around at the other Rangers around her. “I don’t know where you’ve been, but your father, the Elder we looked up to, never gave up hope that you were still out there. He believed in every single one of us to put forward the best that the Steel Rangers had to offer, and we admired that about him. But more than anything, he believed in you, more than even I did, and you were like my fucking idol when I was a foal!” Leaning forward, she held a dusty and weak hoof out to Frescas, but as she did she wore a smile that said she didn’t have a single doubt in her mind. “So, trust me when I say I know you’ll be the best Elder for us all.”

A muttering of general agreements came from each of the rangers, none of which sounded particularly enthusiastic. But honestly, that may just be because everypony here just seemed exhausted. And how could I blame them? A megaspell, shadow ponies, and an attempted takeover by Coconut? Even if they hadn’t had the day I did, this shit is enough to have made me want to just sleep for a week.

“Ugh…”

A groan from the floor made all of us pause, and forced a gasp out of Frescas.

“He’s… he’s alive!” Frescas cried as she wrapped her hooves around Pastel, who let out a pained cry as she attempted to move him. In an instant, gravity reminded me it was a thing as Buck dropped Hispano and I as he moved to help the gravely injured griff.

“Shit, I can’t believe he survived that…” Apricot gasped as he walked over and using a single power armored hoof, picked me right up off the floor. “I always knew the Captain was a badass, but… damn.”

“Yeah, us griffs are as tough as they come.” Hispano cooed cooly as she stretched her wing out and used it to pull me right up against her again. “My dad’s taken more than a few hits from magical energy weapons ya know. They’re a bit overrated, really.” Wait, what? “Something like this? That’s just Tuesday for a griff.” How the fuck does anyone survive multiple hits from magical energy weapons!? A question which must have been written all over my face, because Hispano’s beak split into a smile when she glanced at me again. “What? You never wondered why his scalp looks overcooked and is featherless?”

“Really? I had thought he was related to some sort of bald eagle...” Buck called back as the medical implements in his mechanical paws continued to work on Pastel’s burns.

“What?” Hispano squawked and scrunched up her beak. “Bald eagles aren’t actually bald.” She rolled her eyes, smirking again when they landed on me. “And here I thought Buck was supposed to be the smart one.”

“Well to be fair, you’re both the smart ones to...” I let a laugh slip out with my words, but was caught off guard when Hispano pressed her beak against my muzzle.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t needed to keep the shadow ponies away this time, but I’ll be damned if just having her return the kiss from earlier was something I needed to have happen today all the same. The only thing that could make today any better, was that week’s worth of sleep I felt in dire need of.

“Thank you, Night.” Frescas turned to me, wiping at her matted cheek fur with a smile. “I know that this may be the last time we meet, but thank you, for keeping up your end of things. I promise, from now on, the Galloway Rangers will seek only to protect the north and it’s citizens.” Turning to Ping, her smile dimmed, but I could see something about her expression dismiss the thoughts clouding her mind. “All of them, no matter who or what they are.”

For some reason for just one moment, more than even a kiss from Hispano, just hearing that filled me with a satisfaction I couldn’t even describe. Like, for once, I’d actually done something right. And even with as fleeting as it was, I couldn’t help but to think…

Maybe, just maybe, Delilah was right about me after all.

Author's Notes:

An enormous thanks to TheFurryRailFan for his continued help in making sure these chapters are ready to go up. I know I say this pretty much every chapter, but seriously, you're a lifesaver, man.