The ponies meeting us were kitted out in a mixture of the old, and the new, old combat armour from before the great war, and barding made of flax and anything that could be made anew here. I watched as they approached, and noted their surprised looks when they spied the many of us who wore the shining power armour of our ancestors. My head turned to the right, beside me was Permittivity looking a little like one of these militia ponies, wearing that battered combat armour and little else in the heat of the jungle.

“They have a lot of guns,” Crescent Moon said from my left, her Arab contingent standing at rough attention behind us. She had made them into a relatively well-drilled fighting force and made them realize that being led by a smart mare was better than being led by an egomaniacal stallion like Tegarni-

“From what I’ve heard, their blacksmiths know how to forge weapons from stock steel, using only hoof tools,” Permittivity replied to her, looking over my back to meet the tall Arab mare’s gaze.

“That can’t possibly be as efficient as a stamped steel mill, or an actual manufactory,” Frostbite spoke up from behind us, his own power armour lending him an air of a knight from the past, the only give away was his accent, a provincial one from the empire of Perm’s land.

“It needn’t be as efficient, they don’t need to supply entire armies with assault rifles and equipment, as it stands, they were the strongest power on the island before you came here,” Zenji said from behind us as well, her naked body, only adorned with a minimal amount of jewellery and a small saddlebag set made a heavy contrast to our heavily laden forms.

“They didn’t need to, before now,” I said with a laugh. “No, but its good to know that they’re self-sufficient in terms of armaments.”

The only pony of standing not here was Rosetta, who was off conducting some treatments of ponies who had gotten ill from the jungle diseases rampant here, mostly Imperials who had no resistance to them. That was okay, this was a formal meeting between the leaders of a resistance group and a governing body of the largest city on the island. The city that we needed help from…

“No pressure guys, but we need to buy a couple of boats from them, at least,” I said to the assembled commanders. Ironsight took that moment to walk over from her position at the head of the group, her helmeted gaze looking at all of us, and none of us at the same time. The single armoured slit of her helmet, so unequine, so unnerving that it must have been intentional, came to rest on me.

“They’ve finished forming up,” she reported to us, as the ponies perhaps fifty metres away stopped moving, their sloppy militia training showing through.

“I can see that,” I said as we stood at the edge of the newly cleared lands. The city of Safe Harbour proper was visible from here, we were just outside the farmlands surrounding the lake, the ones that fed the city. “But thank you, we were just talking about the city itself. It’s an interesting place.”

“From what I can see, they’ve regressed technologically, even with a population equal to that of the Rangers,” She said coldly. There was that Ranger superiority, poking through, even as we watched a free city and its ponies demonstrate their defensive strength.

“I wouldn’t say that they built a lot of good civil infrastructure and taught themselves how to use sailing vessels and pulled barges to transport things up and down the river, besides, we shouldn’t fetishize heavy industry just because it’s heavy industry,” Permittivity replied, his opinion of the place gleamed heavily from his teacher.

“Plumbing is something we don’t have in a lot of Ramsgard, to be fair,” I said without realizing we had been included in the statement. I winced internally as I thought about my speech, and at the conditions of the average Arab living in the city-

“That’s barbaric,” Frostbite said loudly, before shrinking a bit as everyone looked at him.

“He’s not wrong,” Permittivity spoke up a moment later. “Every city and town in the whole of the empire has plumbing and a sewage system, it was part of the great leap forward instituted by the previous Grimkeep.”

“If only they had stuck to making the empire better,” Frostbite responded, a dark tone slipping into his voice.

“Hey, we know why that kinda thing stopped because an asshole spirit from the past living in an obsidian mirror woke up,” I said with a laugh, before bumping my shoulders against Permittivity, with his dour expression, and turning around to bump my shoulder against Frostbite, his face rolling with suppressed anger.

“The more I learn about this Sombra, the more I detest his existence,” Crescent Moon said. “Sending ponies to die in a war for nothing more than imperial ambitions.”

“Our place in the sun,” Permittivity said in a lilting cadence. Frostbite’s eyes widened at the remembrance.

“Well, I just send ponies to die when I want something to drink, or need a toilet unclogged,” I said to the assembled ponies, who laughed or chuckled a little. By now, the welcoming committee, the ponies from Safe Harbour and the militia groups in front of us had formed a small group and were walking towards us. The next couple moments were quiet, with all of us spreading out into something close to a line, and waiting for the delegation to meet us.

Finally, three ponies walked up to us. They managed a dignified pace, and their posture was perfect. So, nothing wrong with them at first blush. The tallest pony was a tan-coated stallion wearing a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles, other than that he wore nothing. To his right was a mare wearing a trim and well-pressed uniform. The horn on her head and pistol hanging from a visible holster gave her a firmly dangerous look. The last pony in the trio was a stout looking stallion, barrel-chested and mean looking, wearing a suit even in the musky heat of the ripe jungle air. They got to within three metres of us before the pony in the centre spoke up.

“Welcome to Safe Harbour,” he said simply. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“Our boat does too,” I replied instantly. The ambassador, or whatever he was cracked a half smile at that.

“Ah yes, the gunboat with a functioning spark reactor, you must tell us how you kept it running,” he paused and met my eyes. “That matter can wait though, first of all, my name is executive Blackwood.”

“Commander Icepick, of the-” I turned to look at my assembled commanders and confidantes. “What did we name our group again?”

“The Equine Liberation Army,” Permittivity said.

“The True Equestrian Alliance,” Ironsight said.

“Free Pony Front,” Crescent Moon said. All of them looked at each other for a moment, with looks ranging from annoyance to petty anger. I met each of their eyes and gave them an understanding look.

“Uh, you get the picture-” I started to say before the mare in the uniform cut me off.

“See, I told you, they’re a bunch of unorganized interlopers,” The mare said harshly.

“I dunno, our lines look a lot cleaner than yours, and I bet we fight a whole lot better than your militia,” I replied. “I mean, we’ve only existed as a group for a couple of weeks. So some of the details are a little sketchy, but we have a mission and a flag.”

“What exactly is that mission?” Blackwood asked with a note of curiosity=.

“Fighting the biggest threats to Sall’han, namely the forces allied with King Sombra,” I replied with an unassuming tone.

“What?” Blackwood said with a start. “I know that name, but from ancient history, the unicorn that forced an entire city into the void, before being defeated by Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yeah, ours did,” I said before looking over at Permittivity and Frostbite. “Theirs is the problem.”

“He’s real,” Permittivity replied coldly. “And bent on conquest of your world, and that little strip of ocean won’t stop him.”

“Only force of arms will,” Frostbite added after Perm finished. The two of them said nothing to another, but they were united in purpose.

“Is he still a unicorn with magic? How is he still alive, it’s been millennia since his demise in our world?” Blackwood asked with doubt rippling through his voice.

“If he was just a unicorn stallion, that would be the case, no, he’s a living artefact of the past, an ancient and powerful soul sealed inside an object of great power,” Permittivity spoke up, retelling his brief but informative contact with Sombra.

“How is that possible?” The militia commander demanded of Permittivity.

“I’m an electrician and a soldier, not a dark magician,” Permittivity said simply before continuing. “All I know is: I’ve felt his words in my head, and I’ve seen his power for myself.”

“Alright, assuming all of you devoted individuals are correct. What is your plan to defeat such an entity.” Blackwood asked.

“We fight,” I said to him. I stomped my hoof into the earth in front of me. The power armoured sabaton sunk deeply into the brown dirt. “Stopping him in particular, that’s a problem we’re still working on though.”

“I like your spirit, and if you’re right, I guess this entire balefire blasted rock is in danger,” Blackwood said before sighing and letting his posture slump. “There are rumours that you had a balefire bomb in your possession if that’s true, why didn’t that become your plan A for dealing with him?”

“We’re not the kind of ponies that want to end the world all over again,” Crescent Moon said from behind me. She had spoken up first, she had been the biggest opponent of using that weapon. “For we wish to save it, to liberate Sall’han from the ponies who enslave and use others.”

“Well said,” I responded to Crescent Moon quickly. Whatever our problems with one another were, we agreed on the important things-

“And who would those ponies be?” Blackwood asked curiously.

“The Steel Rangers based in Ramsgard and their Arab slaves,” Crescent Moon said automatically.

“The Arabs hiding in the desert who’ve been using others as pawns in their great game,” I replied, with a look towards Crescent. Before my attention went back to the ponies in front of us.

“The warlords in the south, with their petty despotism and medieval ways,” Ironsight spoke up for the first time with her words.

“That’s a long list of enemies,” Blackwood said.

“Yeah, and there’s like, barely one hundred of them,” The mare in the uniform said derisively.

“Well, we aren’t asking for an alliance, we’re asking for a trade,” I replied while meeting Blackwood’s eyes.

“What’s your offer?” He asked the buck to his side stirring to life as the executive said that.

“We know how to get spark reactors running again,” I said with a grin. “We can teach you this, and get some of your ships humming again. All we need are a couple of ships to transport us to the mainland.”

“You’re certainly straight to the point,” Blackwood said before the stallion beside him cleared his throat.

“We’ll need to hold a vote, until then, this fallow field can be your campsite,” The stallion said.

“Can we enter your city, take liberty leaves?” I asked, wanting them to give my ponies a break.

“If you’re disarmed, yes,” Blackwood said before continuing. “A few miles south there’s a ferry that takes ponies to Safe Harbour, I’ll let them give you a free pass.”

“Good,” I replied. “When will we know your decision?”

“You’re free to stay in Safe Harbour and argue your case,” Blackwood said before turning to the other stallion.

“I concur,” the other stallion said. The two stallions turned around and started walking towards the shore.

“I’ll be watching you,” the militia mare said before turning around with them. A few moments later, as soon as they were out of earshot, I turned and met the eyes of all of my commanders and confidantes.

“Well, that could’ve gone worse,” I said to them.

There was a round of snorts and head shaking at my words. I beamed.

“I’m just glad we’re not trekking through the jungle all day,” Frostbite said with a laugh.

“Trust me, the jungle would prefer it if you weren’t trekking through it too,” Zenji said with one of her more unreadable expressions. That lasted for a few seconds. Then her muzzle broke into a smile.

“This thing is a little too rickety for my tastes,” Ironsight said from behind me. I turned away from the bow of the ship, as much as watching a sail-powered craft slowly slip through the waves towards the large island at the centre of the lake, my old friend took precedence.

“That’s the ranger in you talking,” I said with a laugh. She had left her armour back at camp, as had I. The ferry was filled to the brim with ponies normally, and with a couple of extra additions made it feel very cramped.

“I mean, say what you want about us, but at least we never resorted to ancient technology,” Ironsight said with a huff.

“Fair enough, we only resorted to ancient ways of social organization,” I said with a laugh. “But we can use the fruits of that sordid century.”

“I never took you for an optimist,” She replied after a few moments. The sun was dipping down in the sky, the water reflecting the few sunrays left beautifully.

“I never had a reason to be an optimist before,” I said. “Five-year plans and a twisted society didn’t leave me with much hope for a better future, really. Seeing Paradise, meeting the zebra, and learning about the world, it’s made me hopeful for Sall’han, and maybe, just maybe the world.”

“Why do you assume we’ll win though, why do you assume the forces of freedom and equality will win in the end?” Ironsight asked me tonelessly, her curiosity and exhaustion hiding in the background, barely noticeable.

“Two reasons: first, I see the seeds of a better world everywhere. This city is a peaceful place, but they have things to trade, but they need experienced ponies and fuel to bring them up to Modernity. Both of which exist on the mainland. In Paradise, I see a blossoming trade city with new ships being built or refitted, being sent to re-explore the world. In Ramsgard, I think refineries and factories will build more than enough for all of Sall’han. As for the warlords, I think a unified campaign by some federal army would sort them out pretty quickly. They might be able to stand against Ramsgard, but not Ramsgard, Paradise and Safe Harbour-”

“You’re thinking a couple steps ahead there,” Ironsight cut me off, before pressing a hoof against my shoulder.

“No, this is the world I’ll help build, or die trying, that’s why I’m an optimist now, I have something to believe in, and I believe I’ll live to see it,” I paused and met my oldest friend’s eyes. “And then, when the world is at peace, and the first steps to rebuilding the rest of the world are complete, I can rest.”

“Okay, that kinda enthusiasm and fatalism, that’s the Icepick I grew up with. But honestly, I don’t see you resting well-”

“Well, my rest is another pony’s busy life,” I said.

“I’ve noticed,” Ironsight replied. “It’s almost like you’re a different person after you left, but I know that’s not true. You’ve grown, after losing your old chains. You always wanted to be the greatest ranger, but you never fit in.”

“Something like that,” I said as I looked away, towards the orange semi-circle on the edge of the tree covered horizon.

“No, but what do you want to do with the rest of your life?” She asked and I looked back at her. Her expression was pensive, and deep down I knew she needed guidance on that same question. Was I supposed to be some inspirational figure? Then I realized, to her, I was. I had broken my chains and led many others to do the same.

“I have a few ideas, running for office someplace, maybe running a police department, and popping out a couple of little Icepicks,” I paused and mused for a moment. “But that’s me, I’m my own pony Ironsight. What do you want?” She was silent for a while. The two of us just staring off the edge of the ship.

“I don’t know,” she said sometime later.

“Well, that’s your homework then, figure out what you would like to do,” I said to her after a moment's thought.

“I mean, I’d like to do Frostbite,” Ironsight admitted in a low voice.

“Well, that’s not exactly what I meant, but its a start,” I said before turning to her and meeting her eyes. “He is on the ship with us-”

“I know, my marehood knows, and you know,” she replied.

“Then go for it,” I said with a smile. I patted her on the rump as I turned my head to look at the cabin and the entrance to the lower decks. She baulked and turned a little red at my egging on.

“O-okay,” she said before turning around and walking off. I turned back to the setting sun. Iron had always needed a bit of encouragement, well, maybe she had encouraged me a few times too. And then there were those times we were out in the middle of nowhere, and horny…

I let out a deeply held breath. Maybe we’d break her armour down too.

The city came into view, lit by torches, candles, and little else. Darkness was the state of the city, and it felt medieval, yet there wasn’t the same abject poverty and disrepair that the Arab quarters of Ramsgard displayed. It was like we were seeing the world hundreds of years before, in the peaceful pre-industrialized Equestria of generations prior. At least, my idea of it.

Our ship came into the harbour part of Safe Harbour. The natural depth of the docks were immense and very useful. Soon enough the crew had secured the ship with mooring lines and we were ready to disembark. All told, Ironsight, Permittivity, Frostbite and Zenji had come with me to the city...

The dock was filled with many sizes of ships, some pre-war hulks with sails added to them, and a bunch of newly constructed vessels. We walked together down the pier, and into the part of the city built to service the dock’s activity.

“Ah, Safe Harbour at night, such a pretty sight,” Zenji broke the silence with her words. We were now into the streets, and on the lookout for an inn or anyplace that would rent us some rooms.

“It’s like they built a city based on some half-remembered ideas of how cities are built,” Permittivity said. “Still, it’s impressive that a load of refugees built all this.”

“I mean, there’s obviously a grid system in place,” I said to the other ponies.

“Nothing looks tenement-y either,” Ironsight said a moment later. The warm jungle air still covered us like a sea, but the smell of life and decay that the jungle had was gone. The smell of a city with a plumbing system replaced it.

“Hey, there’s a bar!” I said excitedly, as I looked over at the sign above a building. It looked like it was a place for sailors and other rough living people. Exactly my kind of place. “C’ mon, let's explore this place, maybe make a rousing speech or two!”

“I don’t drink,” Zenji said automatically. “In any case, I have business to attend to early in the morning.”

“Well, see you tomorrow,” I replied. I turned to look at everyone else. “Perm, I know you like a quiet pint.” He shrugged and walked over to me. “Ironsight, they probably have something fruity for you, because we’re right next to a jungle,” I said to her. She flushed slightly at the mention of her drink of choice. I turned to look at Frostbite, the stallion I knew the least-

“I haven’t had a drink in weeks,” Frostbite said.

“Then it’s decided,” I said loudly, before clapping Permittivity and Ironsight on the shoulders. I looked over my shoulder at the earth pony soldier. He smiled slightly at me. I knew it was forced. At that moment, I felt like I understood him.

The place wasn’t exactly lively, it was late, and many of the candle and lantern-lit tables were filled with quietly conversing locals. The four of us walked over to the bar, something that these ponies had replicated with their tools and memories. We drew some curious looks, as our saddlebags were out of the ordinary in this place. When we sat down, it was at the end of the bar. Four tall stools had our names on them. I sat with Ironsight in the middle, with Permittivity to my left, and Frostbite to her right. We were sandwiched by the stallions, something that in other contexts would be lewd-

In this context, it was cute. Well, that or the two stallions didn’t want to be anywhere near each other.

“You all on the same tab?” the bartending mare asked us when we finished getting seated.

“I believe so,” Permittivity said in his accented Equestrian.

“Uh, alright,” the pony seemed a bit confused by his words. I remembered the first time I had heard the accent, damn, it had been confusing. “What do you all want to drink?”

“Do you have whiskey?” I asked as I tapped Perm on the shoulder.

“Yeah,” the bar mare said. She was a yellow coated unicorn, wearing an apron. A black mane complimented her appearance. “I take it you both want some,” she said with a salespony smile. Perm and I nodded. The mare looked over at Ironsight and Frostbite.

“Do you have anything sweet?” Ironsight said in a low voice. I could barely contain my laughter.

“Have you ever had a mango before?” The bar mare asked sweetly. My gruff friend moved her head side to side. “Alright, I’ll make you something you’ll like.”

“I’ll have what they’re having,” Frostbite spoke up, and angled his head towards Perm and I.

“Sounds good to me,” the bar mare replied and curtsied slightly.

“Okay, I’m gonna steal a slip from you sister,” I said to Ironsight as she looked at the polished slab of wood beneath our hooves.

“What the fuck is a mango?” she said under her breath, just loudly for me to hear her. I shrugged and turned to look at Permittivity. He was sitting in the seat, but his eyes were periodically drifting over the other ponies in the room. There wasn’t a lot of trust in that pony.

“Here you go,” she hoofed over three glasses filled with a dark amber liquid. I took a sniff and smiled at her. Then she passed a larger glass, with a yellow concoction in it, to Ironsight.

Ironsight looked at it dubiously, before lifting it up and taking a slip. Her face lit up and she set it down, before pushing it a couple centimetres my way. I picked up the concoction and took a small sip. My face broke into a smile as the strange fruity taste lit up my palette.

“Weird, but pleasant,” I said after a swallow. Permittivity looked at the drink before raising a hoof. The barmare looked at him.

“I’d like one of those too,” he said before knocking back his whiskey.

“I didn’t take you for the fruity type?” I asked as I looked at him curiously.

“I’m strange but pleasant as well, so I thought it might be a good fit,” he said before resting a hoof over my shoulder and pulling me just a bit closer to him. I leaned into him, as I too drained my whiskey.

“I want one too,” I said to the barmare, who just took another glass out and started filling the two glasses with a fruity puree and a bunch of rum. A truly liberal dose of rum. When she passed it over to us, Perm and I lifted the glasses with our hooves and took a simultaneous sip. His leg pulled me closer after that, and before I could figure out his devious plan, he pushed his lips against mine. I opened my mouth in surprise, and let his tongue slip inside-

“Tastes just like the fruit,” he said as he pulled away. I flushed a bit at that, and at the stares of the other ponies in the room. Permittivity had either grown bolder recently, or he was already feeling the booze. I had an idea though. I turned around in my barstool, and Perm’s leg fell away. Ironsight had been even more surprised than me by our kiss.

I let my hoof slip over to her section of the bar before leaning against her. She turned and looked at me. Without missing a beat, I slid my muzzle next to her ear.

“You should offer him a taste too,” I whispered into her ear. She shuddered at the thought before turning towards Frostbite.

“Do you wanna try it Frostbite?” She asked quietly. He turned his head and looked at her quizzically for a moment. Before nodding at her softly. She pushed her drink towards him cautiously. A moment later, he picked it up in his hooves and drank a sip.

“Pretty exotic, definitely not something we had at home,” Frostbite said.

“Tell me about your home? I’ve heard it was cold there, but that’s about it,” Ironsight said a moment later. I smiled as I heard her speak. She had a way about her, sometimes she just needed a push.

“Well, my home is in a small farming village in the north of the empire. We only have a few months to grow all the produce we need for a whole year, so we work furiously to get it done. But we have all winter to rest, well, rest compared to the planting and harvesting seasons,” Frostbite said as he lifted a foreleg into the air. It was a meaty leg, strong from military service and agricultural life.

“It shows,” Ironsight said with a light laugh.

“Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” he said as he looked at her muscular legs on the table. She flushed and looked down for a moment. She flexed unconsciously, baring her muscles. Years of training and service had made her into a machine of muscle and tendon.

“T-thanks,” she replied shakily. His eyes found hers again, and an open smile appeared on his muzzle. Something had been warmed up in him.

“You’re quite welcome miss,” he said a moment later. She flushed a little at his words. “Honestly, I’m not sure why you took me with you, I’m not much of a negotiator or a speaker.”

“The reason is simple, you’re trustworthy, you’ve seen things on the other side, and- you’re a symbol for what we’re trying to achieve, for what we are,” I said a moment later, before leaning against Perm’s shoulder. He had already drained half of his mango cocktail. “Besides, you needed a bit of a break. You learned how to use power armour and got your unit ready to fight alongside us while marching with us through the jungle-”

“I just did what needed to be done,” Frostbite said coldly. He looked away before finishing his first drink.

“Well, consider the next couple days your rest period,” I said to him, before looking back at the drink in front of me. I raised it to my lips and imbibed. Permittivity was giving me a strange look when I turned my head.

“We were never like that,” he said simply. I gave him a confused look. “They don’t know anything about each other, and other than a vague attraction, they don’t have any strong feelings about one another. Contrast us, who from the beginning, had feelings to spare about each other.”

“Yeah, and those feelings were a lot of confusion, and a lot of anger at the other pony,” I replied. Before leaning into him as I sat back and watched Frostbite turn back towards Ironsight-

“I guess we’re on leave, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Frostbite asked Iron to which she set her drink down and cleared her throat.

“Uh, we could walk around the city at twilight, maybe eat some of their food, that would be nice,” Ironsight replied after a moment’s thought. She flushed a little at the implication that the two of them would be doing it together.

“That sounds pleasant, I’d accompany you, if you wanted me to,” Frostbite responded before raising a hoof and getting the bar mare’s attention. “I’d like another whiskey.”

“You got it,” she replied as she finished clearing an empty spot on the bar of all the dirty glasses on it. The light flickered slightly as a breeze went through the room as the front door opened.

Several ponies came inside, and they had an air of drunkenness about them. They were young, and all stallions. Without looking around, the group of ponies walked up to the bar, before sitting on the side of the bar right beside Frostbite.

“Company doesn’t sound bad at all,” she replied coyly. Before finishing her drink and looking up slightly to meet the tall earth stallion’s eyes.

“It’s a date,” Frostbite said quickly.

“Who the fuck are you?” The nearest stallion said to him. He was an Arab wearing a scarf around his neck, it looked like it was made from dyed silk, or something similarly expensive.

“A stallion having a drink,” Frostbite said. I leaned back and watched carefully how he would handle this.

“You sound like you’ve been gargling rocks, what the fuck is up with your words,” The Arab stallion replied.

“Rocks are better than the cocks you’ve been polishing,” Frostbite spat out. Instantly the stallion across from him started to move towards him, but one of his friends put a hoof on his shoulder. That was enough to arrest him for the time being.

“You better apologize for that, Haman doesn’t take that shit,” the pony on the other side of the angry Arab said, his rough voice was interestingly accented.

“Or what, he’ll make a fool of himself?” Frostbite shot back. “I’ve been around the block a couple times, there isn’t anything you lot could do to scare me.”

“I would listen to him, and go back to your drinks,” Permittivity said loudly enough to overpower the ambient noise of the bar.

“Another fucking one, did you both crawl out of the same pool of brain damage?” Haman said with a lilt in his voice.

“At least we have electricity where we come from,” Permittivity shot back, before lighting his horn up and sending a pulse of static out at a point a couple of centimetres above his horn.

“Is that little zap supposed to be intimidating?” The stallion behind him said. There was a bluster in his voice, confidence born out of drunkenness and his own limited experience.

“If you knew anything about how Electricity worked, it would be,” Permittivity said in a sardonic voice-

“I don’t know about any of that, but let's not make a mess of the pretty barmare’s place of work,” Frostbite said quickly. And before he had finished speaking his piece Haman nodded his head. There was enough coordination left in him and his four other friends that they felt confident. Well, that and the alcohol in general…

Perm started to get up, and so did Frostbite, and the Barmare let out a sigh of relief. I got out of my chair, I wanted to make sure that Perm and Frost didn’t end up killing any of them. That would be inconvenient for negotiations. Then again, just roughing up some rowdy hooligans would probably just give us some credit as to our veracity…

“Icepick, you don’t need to-” Permittivity started to say.

“I’m just gonna watch, think of me as a referee,” I replied sternly.

“I wouldn’t want to hit a hot mare anyway,” Haman said before kissing his foreleg and throwing it in my general direction. Okay, maybe I’d let the two of them rough him up a bit more than the others- “Except, maybe from behind.”

“Okay, you and I are gonna put em’ up, one on one,” I said as I locked eyes with the flaunty Arab.

“I relish the thought,” he said with a lick of his lips. Ironsight stood up and started towards the door, at the same time as the rest of us. But before she left, she looked back over her shoulder and threw a golden coin of considerable size onto the counter. Apparently, Perm wasn’t the only one willing to shake down a body.

Moments later, all nine of us were outside, with Ironsight standing nearest to the dull gas street lamp. I stood paired off against Haman, his jacket oozing dull reflections. The dark fabric contrasted against his cream coloured coat. If he wasn’t an asshole, he might even be attractive-

“Are you done ogling me?” He said with a bite. I scowled at him. The other six ponies were also paired off, the two imperials, three equestrians or half equestrians, and another Arab stallion were lined up at one another.

Before he could add anything else, I charged at him, before he even had a chance to block me, I had closed the two meters between us, and had lifted a foreleg at just the right second to channel all of my momentum into his chest. He yelled out in pain before sliding backwards on the dirt beneath us. Right as I was letting my leg lower down, he swung his left foreleg up in a high arc, smacking right into my withers. I spun around and got ready to buck him with my hind legs, but he danced out of the way.

Meanwhile, Permittivity and Frostbite had engaged the four stallions. Frostbite had charged straight ahead, deftly dodging the punches and kicks thrown his way, before barrelling into the biggest pony on their side, and tackling him to the earth, before starting to pummel his face in with his forehooves. Perm had taken the opportunity to follow up behind the bigger stallion, and land a couple glancing blows against the ponies trying to engage Frostbite. I could tell that his horn was lit, and the faint smell of ozone and singed hair told me that he was infusing his hoof strikes with a bit of charge.

I spun back around and looked Haman in the eyes. I was gonna have a bruise on my chin thanks to him, then again, I might have cracked his ribs. He smiled wryly, before yelling and running towards me. He looked like he was attempting my move, so at the last moment, I ran forward, and to the right. He slipped past me without so much as knicking my coat.

“I’m faster than you,” I yelled back. As he spun around, still running, and trying to keep his momentum up. I spun around and ran obliquely to him. He readjusted his aim and aimed right at me, but before he could hammer home a blow with his whole weight, I bucked out with both legs while jumping with my other legs. There was a loud thump as he slammed against the ground, even as my legs felt the shock of impacting his withers. I was thrown forward, like a pool ball. Still, I managed to catch myself and look over my shoulder at the poor stallion. He was still conscious, but he was lying on his stomach. His eyes were pained and as I walked around the side of him, before sitting my body down on his back, holding him down with all of my weight.

“Stallions,” I said as I dipped my head near his ears and nipped them.

I had a seat to watch as Permittivity dodged and exchanged blows with the other Arab stallion, his blows were harder and better aimed. Even if the other stallion managed to throw more of them. Finally, Permittivity threw his weight forward into a hook pushing the taller stallion into the dirt. The flash of light that accompanied the stallion’s fall was enough to half blind me.

The other stallion still had the will to fight was in the middle of circling Frostbite, the bigger stallion slowly pulling closer to him. When the other stallion tried to throw a punch, Frostbite pulled the leg closer to himself with his legs. The other stallion lost his balance and canted forward trying to catch himself. That was the moment that Frostbite threw his heavy uppercut, it had resounded with a thunk that I could hear from the top of the defeated stallion beneath me. A moment later all of our adversaries were on the ground, even if all of us were a little bruised and battered.

“You did better than I expected,” I said as I let out a breath and got back to my hooves. I looked down at the battered stallion before raising a hoof and holding it out for him. He met my gaze before letting out a pained breath. “Alright be that way.”

“Who the fuck are you ponies?” Haman asked in a voice that wasn’t far off from a whisper.

“The last, best hope of Sall’han,” Ironsight said as she trotted over.

“You just picked the wrong ponies to fuck with,” I added a moment later before turning around and starting towards to the victorious stallions. “Nice work boys.”

“Thank you,” Frostbite said as he dusted himself off with a hoof. The dirt from the road probably needed a bath to remove, but somehow, it suited him. Permittivity had pulled out a pack of cigarettes he had bought from a store on the way in, before lighting it with a single pinprick of electricity that arced off of his horn. The effervescent blue coloured the night, and for just a moment, I saw the reflection off his irises.

When I walked over to him, he offered the quarter consumed cigarette. I took it in my hoof happily, before taking a long drag on it as I watched the defeated hooligans get off the ground before ambling down the street and towards the rest of their lives.

“I’ve never actually been in a bar fight until this moment,” Permittivity said softly. Ironsight had gone over to Frostbite, and with a cloth from her saddlebag, she was wiping the surface of a break on his face. The stallion winced slightly as she rubbed the sensitive flesh.

“Nothing quite as satisfying, or as clear cut,” I replied as I passed him the burning cigarette.

“Fair enough,” he said quietly. “If only Sombra had a face to be bludgeoned. Or at least a physical form that was vulnerable.”

“Yeah, indestructible things do seem kind of bullshit, and that’s not just because I’m a demo mare,” he pursed his lips at that.

“No, I completely agree, that kind of object stands against the rules of physics and the philosophy of change that the path teaches us. It’s unnatural, truly,” Permittivity said before he took the last drag on the cheap cigarette. With a pulse of magic, he grasped the butt and snuffed it out against the earth beneath us.

“I mean, if it’s unnatural, dark magic keeping the soul of Sombra in the mirror, maybe we could attack that instead?” I questioned before leaning against Permittivity.

“Perhaps, but what would be able to harm a soul torn from its shell and placed in another?” He asked solemnly before sighing.

“Hey, at least it’s a start,” I said before pausing and looking into his eyes. “And tomorrow, we’re going to the potion factory, if anyone would know things about enchantments and how to remove them, it would probably be them.”

“That’s a good point,” Permittivity said quietly. “It’s tomorrow’s problem.” I laughed and bumped his shoulder. I smiled at him, before laying a kiss on his cheek.

When I turned my head, I saw that Ironsight and Frostbite were walking over to us. He was leaning against her, and she was supporting his weight. He was limping when he used his left foreleg. Well, that and her tail was moving back and forth behind her. I could tell she didn’t mind helping him.

“One of those stallions moved at the last second, and I stomped a stone pretty hard,” Frostbite said as they approached us.

“It happens, do you think you need to see a doctor right now?” I asked him as Permittivity eyed the limp.

“If it isn’t better when I get up, I might see a doctor,” Frostbite said.

“Alright, let's go find a hotel!” I nearly yelled before turning towards the street before us.

The door swung open, and Permittivity and I walked into the building. Zenji was with us, even if Frost and Iron were off at the local physician's office. Apparently, Frostbite had hurt himself pretty badly, and Iron had taken it upon herself to help him… For completely altruistic reasons-

A receptionist behind a beautiful desk made of dark wood eyed the three of us, before recognizing the Zebra with us.

“Hello, my name is Zenji. I’d like to speak to Xuaith,” she paused as the secretary stared at her for a moment. “It’s been such a long time.”
“Uh, I'll mention that to him,” the secretary got out of his chair and started towards the door behind him. A hard hat hanging from a hook on the wall behind the opened door was slipped onto his head. Before the door shut behind them, he looked over at all of us before nodding his head at an upholstered bench behind us. “Feel free to sit down, it could be a minute.”

A few minutes later, two ponies entered through the door behind the desk. The receptionist stallion, and a Zebra stallion wearing a thick protective coat and a pair of goggles around his forehead.

“Zenji!” He nearly bellowed as he saw our friend.

“The years have been long, Xuaith,” Zenji said as she hopped up from the bench and walked towards the slightly portly zebra stallion. He responded to her advances by throwing his forelegs around her shoulders and embracing her.

“I was worried I would have to meet you again in the next life,” the large stallion said before looking over at the Permittivity and I. His smile became a look of bemusement.

“Oh don’t be dramatic, neither of us are that old,” Zenji said with a laugh before noticing his interest. “These are my friends, the ponies who want to save the world.”

“I-I, wouldn’t have put it that way,” Permittivity said with a slight hitch in his voice.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I paused and met the zebra stallion’s dark eyes, so full of experience and a life already so full. “We’re trying to save multiple worlds.” I punched Perm’s shoulder lightly before standing up and offering a hoof to the alchemist.

“You’re from the mainland aren’t you?” He smiled at me and took my hoof in his before giving it a firm lift up and down. Then, he looked at Permittivity as he too got up from the bench. “You’re from another plane entirely, and yet you stand before me.”
“Powerful magics brought me here, the same powerful magics we came to ask you about,” Permittivity said in his clearest equestrian. He stood resolutely as he held out his hoof.

“I don’t know what Zenji’s been telling you both, but I’m just as clueless as most on how to bridge the gaps between planes,” he said with a sigh and a half glare at Zenji. She just smiled at him, before pointing at the coat he was wearing.

“I know your area of expertise, and its that area of expertise they came to ask you about,” Zenji said with that same enigmatic smile she always wore when it came time for serious business.

“Enchantments, how do they work?” I asked immediately after she was through speaking.

“That’s a broad question,” he said before lifting a foreleg up and behind his shoulders, gently rubbing there as if we had already caused some muscle tension.

“Specifically, can they be destroyed?” Permittivity asked him after a moment’s thought.

“Yes, anything in the world that can be done, can be undone, with enough will and energy,” Xuaith said calmly. “What do you need disenchanted? A cursed piece of equipment, a painting? Maybe a fetish?”

“A mirror capable of bridging the space between worlds, enchanted with the soul of a magical king long dead, but pulling the strings in my homeland,” Permittivity said with a flourish. Xuaith looked mortified, and his jaw hung open for at least two or three seconds.

“That’s a bit more- impossible,” he said with a dark look on his muzzle. “Then again, I’ve never dabbled in the darkness of soul magic.”

“So, it’s impossible?” I asked immediately, before stomping a hoof against the floor. The noise must have scared him a little, enough to bring him back to reality.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said after coming back to us. “The only thing to ever affect souls themselves, other than knowledge from the stars themselves were the megaspells that destroyed the world.” He paused and met each of our eyes with a pleading look. “And those, those could very well have been told to us by the stars to destroy us.”

“Ghouls,” Zenji said. “The ponies with their souls plastered into their rotting mortal forms, not able to pass on naturally.”

“That’s a moot point, we disassembled the only balefire bomb in Sall’han, and we promised not to use it on a city of millions,” I said to the assembled ponies. The moment I mentioned the fact we had a balefire bomb, Xuaith’s jaw dropped again.

“You mentioned megaspells before? What’s the difference between a megaspell and a balefire bomb?” Permittivity asked us curiously.

“A megaspell is any spell amplified millions or billions of times beyond its original strength, basically,” I replied before looking over at the zebras. “A balefire bomb is just that balefire egg in a special cradle, ready to turn a city into rubble and zombies.”

“She’s correct,” Xuaith said a moment later. “But I think I understand what he’s trying to ask-”

“The raw energy of a megaspell might be enough to disrupt bonds between the soul and the physical object it’s bound to,” Permittivity said. “But I don’t want to immolate the imperial city.”

“I honestly don't know a lot about megaspell construction, it’s a lost art,” Xuaith replied. “But I might not need to know about it, because it sounds like you have a megaspell amplifier in your possession.”

“What about a different kind of spell? Can a megaspell amplifier make anything earth-shatteringly powerful?” Permittivity nodded his head at me as I spoke.

“Exactly! Is there some kind of anti-enchantment spell?” He added a moment later.

“It depends on the kind of enchantment, some arcanotech made by Equestria before the war has a kind of magical circuitry that can be disrupted temporarily, spell matrix is the term. Other blessed or enchanted objects can be stripped of their power by powerful magical fields being applied to them,” Xuaith said before looking over at me. “You seem familiar with the concept of spell matrixes, judging by the look on your face.”

“Are you talking about Spark Grenades?” I asked him excitedly. “They shut down powered armour and terminals, and depending on how close the grenade goes off, it can take a reboot to restart them, or just replacing it because of burn out.”

“You have experience with working arcanotech, that’s fascinating,” Xuaith said with a touch of exuberance.

“They have many suits of powered armour from before the war, but they also would like to improve their bodies themselves,” Zenji added. “How many bone strengthening potions do you have in stock?”

“Not that many,” he admitted. “But that’s because most adults in the city and around the island already have their bones strengthened, along with their vitality improved.” Xuaith took a deep breath before looking back at us.

“So, do you have at least four right now?” I asked him, before looking at Zenji with new eyes. “Are you alchemically enhanced too?” She nodded at my words.

“What else can you improve other than bone strength?” Permittivity asked him as he evaluated the appearance of his teacher too.

“Well, we can make your skin and muscles more resilient, and make your lungs better at processing oxygen, so you could climb mountains and mitigate the thinner air, or breath air with smoke in it with less ill effects,” Xuaith said before looking at the two of us. “I can’t make you fit with these potions, but I can improve your physics by a significant, if not incredible extent.”

“How long does the process take?” My words had a hint of worry in them because honestly, this sounded too good to be true.

“For several days, you’ll be weakened and you’ll be insatiably hungry,” he replied dryly, before meeting both Perm and I’s gazes. “And then, it’ll take a few weeks for you to fully feel the effects of the potion’s improvements.”

“What are the side effects?” Permittivity asked as he flexed his body and thought about the effects of this upgrade.

“You’ll require more calcium and a few other trace elements. And a fair amount more calories, but by and large you’ll have these modifications for the rest of your natural, and probably extended lives. Though getting a new dose every decade or so wouldn’t hurt matters,” he said with a smile.

“You understand the amount of money you could make off of these things?” I asked him before bumping Permittivity in the shoulder. “Even just selling these things to the government of Paradise would be great.”

“I know, and we’ve been searching for new markets for some time, but we’re not financed well enough to go rechart the world, neither us, or the city of Safe Harbour,” Xuaith said before meeting my eyes. “We would, however, love to take some charts from you.”

“I can give you charts and a favourable mention, besides I don’t think it would take much convincing for most people when shown the effects of your potions,” I said to him. “Besides stronger soldiers would be a nice thing to have for the war to come.”

“Tell me more about this villain, what are his plans?” Xuaith asked.

“Well, he wants to conquer and integrate Sall’han into his empire,” I said before putting a hoof to his shoulder. “For all of the bountiful resources and technology here.”

“These potions, they could’ve saved many lives,” Permittivity said darkly. He had told me about the charnel houses of the great war. “Maybe we could’ve broken their lines, could’ve done more than thrown ponies lives away.”

“I see,” Xuaith said before deflating a little. “Have you tried negotiation with him? Perhaps giving him technology and technical aid.”

“He has dreams of an ever-expanding empire, bridged by portals and run by imperial citizens. If he desires it, he won’t stop trying to make it his,” Permittivity said in a low voice.

“Hence why you came to me in the first place,” Xuaith said with a groan.

“Yes, we need to kill a god,” I said with a smile. “Are you up for helping us?”

“I-I, I’ll do my best,” he said with resolve before turning to face the two of us. “Now, lets get those potions in you. It’s better to start the process and then eat a meal.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I replied. My stomach was growling.

“I concur,” Permittivity said. Zenji just chuckled a bit to herself.

“I know just the place!” she exclaimed.

“If you are that excited for it, then I’m on board,” I replied with a wry smile of my own. “Now take us to the potions doctor, we have a restaurant to eat at.”

“Oh, you think you’ll have the energy to walk there and back,” Zenji asked with a smile. “If only it was that easy.”

“How bad is it?” I turned to Xuaith for a moment.

“Imagine your entire muscle mass being used to the fullest extent possible without you yourself dying,” he said before laughing. “I mean, your jaws and body will still work, just realize that for the next three days, you aren’t going to be moving very far.”

“I see. Well, better get it done with now,” I said before turning back to Zenji. “Why’d you bring up the restaurant then?”

“Because I’ll get food from there, and bring it back,” she shot back politely. I snorted loudly and cleared my throat.

“I want the biggest thing they have,” I said.

“I’d love Calamari, if they have it,” Permittivity added a moment later.

“Good choices, very different, but good,” Zenji said before starting towards the door. “See you later.”

After she left, we were left with Xuaith. I met his eyes.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

At once, Permittivity and I said yes. We were lead back into the building, to start the treatment. Maybe these ponies didn’t have electricity- But a lightbulb wouldn’t make my bones stronger…

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the wait, I've just been busy with commissions and other such things. I hope you enjoy this chapter though!
Commissions are open by the way!

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