I entered the room, threw open the door with the aid of my armour, feeling the reverberations through the floor as the door struck the wall behind it. My eyes watered a bit as I took in the sight of Permittivity beside at the radio while peering at a map, surrounded by the civilian authorities and Desert Ranger higher-ups. We were deep underground, beneath the city, one of the two stables that the ponies of Paradise had come from. The air was bitter, lifeless, and at that moment, the nectar of the gods. I took a deep breath and advanced towards Permittivity. He barely had time to look at me before I picked him up in an embrace, and pressed my lips to his.

“I take it the meeting went well?” He said after I set him back down, the uniform he wore looking roughed up and tight-fitting around him.

“Well, you aren’t hearing any artillery are you?” I replied.

“I’m very deep underground,” Permittivity shot back. “But no, there aren’t any reports of fighting. So, tell us about this Phalanx?”

The rest of the room seemed to edge a bit closer, their attention on me increasing after the words hit their ears.

“Well, he seems like a pony we can trust for the time being,” I started before adding. “He really seems to like me. Respect me.”

“You’re someone worthy of respect, but that likely isn’t the only reason he’s built you up in his mind,” Permittivity said.

“You’re a symbol,” A stallion spoke up. I turned to him at the same time Permittivity did.

“Huh?” I asked without thinking. He nodded slowly at me.

“You’re one of theirs who left the ranks, fought a war and saved ponies from the enemies of the Rangers, and someone who’s been vocal about wanting a peaceful path for the future. That makes you a potent symbol to anyone in Sall’han, but especially for someone in his position.”
“I’m a symbol now,” I said, trying the words out in my mouth. They tasted acrid, like a bottle of wine turned half to vinegar.

“Indeed,” Permittivity said in a low voice, just before putting his hoof on my shoulder. There was a small clank as his hoof touched the steel pauldron.

“Why do you think you’ve gotten this far?” That same stallion asked, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was rhetorical or not. “You’re in the halls of power, you’re practically a general in your own right. You’ve been a symbol for all that time. It’s just now that you’re starting to see it reflected in others. They’re using it in the same way you have, just to ends that aren’t your own.”

“I don’t like it,” I said simply, honestly.

“That’s understandable, but a bit naive,” the stallion said before meeting both of our gazes. He was a thoughtful looking stallion, well aged, old but still showing a stature and vitality that age hadn’t taken from him. “My name is Elan, and I’ve been used in the same way before. I’ve used my clout, and my name for my own ends too.”

“Any pointers?” I asked in a hesitant voice.

“Be ready for the ponies that will use you, and remember that a word or a speech you make can change the balance, the calculus for them, not just calling them out or denouncing them, but anything you do will change your value,” Elan said with a practiced cadence.

“Thanks, I’ll try to remember that,” I said while rubbing the back of my neck with a hoof, while Permittivity was back to staring at the maps.

“Actually, I was meaning to ask you something,” he started as he heard my reply.

“Shoot, ask away,” I said with a nervous laugh. We were in a room full of ponies, and yet it felt like we were the only two paying attention to our little corner.
“May I come with you? I feel like a counsellor from Paradise is a good thing to have in the campaign to come, someone with the power to make policy and guide things along, especially after the bodies are done being piled up,” he asked softly and made a good argument.

“You know that we’re an independent organization, and the new army being built out of raw recruits are going to be led by Desert Rangers?” I asked, wondering exactly what this stallion intended by going with us.

“I know all of that, and frankly, I’m not very interested in trying my hoof at being a general, but I want to be at the table, to perhaps lend another perspective on things,” he replied softly, hope and exhaustion battling out behind his gaze.

“I don’t have any problem with that,” I said before something hit my brain like a stack of bricks being hurled through plate glass. “You’re the pony that planned the attack on the Rangers. You sent the secret orders by couriers disguised as pizza delivery ponies.”

“I played a part in the liberation of Paradise, and you’re repeating a common mistake that became a legend. The couriers were pizza ponies, I wanted to be lowkey, and feed the brave soldiers who fought on our behalf,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, you’re coming with us, even if I have to hogtie you and drag you along,” I replied with a bright smile. The dream team was coming together, another smart pony to help me make the right decision was never a bad thing.

“That won’t be necessary, even if the thought of being abducted by a pretty mare isn’t the worst fate I could imagine,” he smiled wryly at that. I flushed and bumped the older stallion on the shoulder.

“Don’t tempt me,” I said with a whisper into his ear while everypony else was in their own heads or distracted.

The next couple weeks went by in a blur of meetings, cocktail parties at the beach with dignitaries and rich ponies who thought giving the turncoat queen some gifts would be worth the money of hosting those parties. And well, the creation of an army from a nucleus of the Desert Rangers. To be fair, it wasn’t as messy as I would have suspected. Their stockpiles of arms and ammunition would have given the Rangers a run for their money. And their Rangers were trained to act as ponies higher in rank than they actually were. So, they already had a trained corp of upper enlisted and officers. That was a pleasant surprise.

There were quite a few pleasant surprises, one was the number of volunteers ticking up steadily as time went on. We had more than enough raw recruits to mould into shape, enough to keep Ironsight and Frostbite busy for months. We didn’t have months, that was the problem. The other pleasant surprise was that Phalanx’s rangers were a wonderful addition to the city. They were respectful, and polite to the ponies of Paradise, especially after Phalanx managed to get them all some bits that would spend in the city-

“Icepick, we have a Pegasus in the lobby that wants to speak with you,” one of my new lieutenants said to me. They looked tired and very caffeinated. The perfect image of a soldier.

“Send them in, make sure to frisk them,” I replied as I studied the reports sitting on the desk. Apparently, those documents Rosetta had been handed were the legit thing. Xuaith was actually making progress designing an armature to unite the spark spell and the amplification chamber. My attention was brought back to the present when I heard the sounds of knocking on the door. Our little office was underground, but the old stable doors had been replaced with more conventional ones in a renovation a decade ago.

“Come in,” I said towards the door. A moment later, my lieutenant opened the door, and let in a pegasus stallion wearing a dark hoodie and a pair of sunglasses.

“You know, you could’ve mentioned that this Pegasus was Phalanx, the leader of the Rangers camped outside,” I said towards the lieutenant, she blanched and made a rapid, apologetic nod.
“I didn’t actually think this would work,” Phalanx said with a laugh. My subordinate stiffened at the sound of his voice, a flare of recognition going off in her mind.

“It really shouldn’t have,” I replied softly. “Just, try better next time. You’re dismissed.” The lieutenant, Heat Pipe left the room, and as the door shut, I thought I could hear the sound of her cursing beautifully.

“So, why are you here? I honestly didn’t expect you to ever wear normal clothes,” I finished just as he trotted up to the front of the desk. He moved the sunglasses off of his face and placed them in a pocket.

“May I sit down?” He said respectfully, even as the grin on his face from the successful ruse stayed glued on.

“Sure, but don’t expect too much of my time,” I said to him as he dropped himself into the chair. It was an old office chair with wheels and padding that had seen better days. Mine was better.

“Well, let me start by saying, I’m not here on a personal basis. I’m a mere courier, tasked with giving you a piece of information,” he said in his sanctimonious way.

“Okay, so it’s not about shaking us down for more money for your troops to blow on shore leave,” I said with a deep exhale.

“Not this time,” he replied in a chirpy voice. “It’s from one of my trusted officers. And I was told not to reveal any more information than that, and a date and time.”

“I mean, sure,” I said before wondering all the questions that came up when the commander of your ally of convenience went all the way to your office on a mission that didn’t seem to make much sense.

“What’s it about?” I asked, staring into his brown eyes. There wasn’t a hint of deception, just nervousness and a bit of apprehension.

“It’s about mending the past, about our collective project,” he said before staring at something on my shelf. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Dark Rum, aged in barrel for a decade, back in Safe Harbour,” I told him before scowling.

“I’ll give you a drink, and I’ll take one too if you tell me who wants to meet with me,” his expression changed. Of course, he’d be the type who loved expensive booze.

“I already told you all I could, just trust me, it’ll be worth your valuable time,” Phalanx said before adding. “The Rusty Torpedo, eight O’clock tomorrow.”

“I have a bad feeling you’re actually an honourable stallion, damn, I like to bribe ponies,” I said with a laugh before standing up and grasping the bottle and the two glasses on the shelf beside it.

“Pardon?” He asked suddenly like I had made a particularly distasteful joke.

“It was a bad joke,” I said as I pulled the bottle and the two glasses to the desk, before pouring out two roughly even portions into the glasses. “Okay, now that you’re here, and we’re both getting evenly sauced, speak your mind.”

He picked up the glass with a hoof and brought the high proof liquor to his lips, before taking a petite, measured taste of the smooth rum. He smiled at the taste and turned to look at me.

“The world is changing Icepick,” he said softly, before taking another drink. I joined him, and pressed my glass against his. The liquid rocked back and forth from within the vessel, and a low chime of glass connecting with glass vibrated the air. “Technology is coming back, as fast as we can design it, and reverse engineer what we brought with us from Equestria. The Arabs are in a state of revolt, and the warlords to the south are growing bolder and bolder every year. They sense the decay, the breakdown of the old order.”

“That’s where you come in, to rebuild the Rangers, and crush the Arabs back into pliant peasants?” I asked in a tone that held no judgement. There was judgement in my mind, waiting for him to tell me exactly what I expected to hear from a conqueror.

“That’s where we come in, the two of us, and the ponies across all of Sall’han. I don’t want to fight another internecine war if it can be helped, and the best step we can take in that regard is to give citizenship to the Arabs under our sphere of control. That and recognize the Arabs outside as a sovereign state. That’s the only humane, and well, practical solution to the problems we face,” he replied quietly like he was telling himself these things to himself as much as me.

“Good answer, better than mine, honestly,” I said in a moment of candour. He smiled at me, softly.

“You’ve had bigger problems on your plate,” he said before taking another sip of the delicious drink. “Besides, working on problems like that, the strategic plans that animate the Ranger juggernaut was my old job.”

“The office of strategic intelligence, no wonder I didn’t recognize you, spooks don’t get a lot of recognition,” I replied, swirling my own drink, before imbibing more of it.

“Indeed, though I can’t say the same for you,” he said darkly before lightening up a smidge. “Would you like to know when I first read your name?”

“Shoot,” I said, before topping off both of our glasses. I scowled at the level in the bottle. Someone needed to invent a bottomless bottle of booze.

“Well, it was a report filed by Ironsight, when you were her Subordinate,” he started before meeting my gaze, and looking hungrily at his topped up glass. “You left on your own accord to go fight some bandits that were harassing farmers living on the fringes of the Senegral. It was one of the first times I was introduced to an alien set of ideas. The idea of protecting the Arab population, instead of subjugating them. They were flagged because of the insubordination, and because the next couple visits by our collection teams were peaceful, and without incident, other than a little bit of hero worship for the mare who had been their protector.”

“Really?” I asked suddenly.

“Indeed, they remember you, the knight in shining armour, the protector.”

“And that’s why you’re using me as a symbol?” I asked softly, with exhaustion in my voice, that I couldn’t remember feeling until that moment.

“You’re using yourself as one, the protector of Sall’han, the leader of the Equine Liberation Army,” he replied before laughing a little, more of a giggle than anything else. “You can’t even imagine the chaos that name gave us spooks, and that was before you managed to call the entire city of Paradise to arms.”

“But I think you’ve got me beat in terms of sheer headache,” I said with a laugh, thinking of the high commands reaction to learning their largest and best-equipped field army had gone rogue.

“Probably, but they had it coming. They wanted us to make an example of this city, to rain fire and steel on it, and raise our flag over the shelled remains,” There was bitterness, anger that flowed out along with his words. “I remember what we were supposed to do. The point of our subjugating, the fear, the heartlessness.”

“Homecoming,” I said with a laugh. It was a bitter sound, like the dream we had shared bad become a dark joke. In a way, it had always been one. That was what made it even more worthy of derision.

“I still believe in it,” Phalanx said with a dark certainty, like he didn’t want to admit that he still believed in anything so whimsical.

“Me too,” I replied, he looked surprised for a moment before smiling broadly. “We’ll do it.”

“If we win this fight, and build a system of trade and alliances that makes this fight worth it,” he replied smartly, before taking another drink.

“The world is changing, but I’m looking forward to it,” I said.

“I look forward to creating a better future, an alliance to make the world again,” he offered his hoof to me at that moment. I held mine out, and we shook, Pegasus and Earth Pony, Equestrians looking to go home. I smiled at him before picking my glass up. He did the same, we clunked them together one last time, before draining the dregs in a single breath. “To friendship.”

“To having a future,” I replied before he left. But not before affixing his sunglasses again, and drifting out the door just as he had come. I stared back down at my reports before lifting my hind legs onto the desk and taking a deep breath.

“Of course he’d be a spook.”

“That sounds odd,” Permittivity said from the edge of the bed. I was putting on a tight-fitting blue dress, with some stockings I had picked up in a store a few blocks away. For some reason, I wanted to dress up. He helped me with his magic, putting on stockings for me as I held a leg out at a time.

“I know right?” I replied as I watched him get out of bed slowly, wearily. We had a room next to my office, an old couples quarter from back when the stable had been in use. It was pleasant, even if the lack of windows and the low hum of the air recyclers was a little unnerving.

“And yet you’re dressing up like it’s a formal affair,” he said with a roll of his eyes as he helped me put another stocking up my legs.

“I dunno, maybe I just like to wear nice things to meetings with strangers,” I shot back.

“I mean, I’m not complaining, you look beautiful in that dress,” he said smartly, before trotting up to me, his horn still glowing, and wrapped his forelegs around my withers. Then, he kissed me.

“You’re a sweet stallion, and you should wear one of those nice jackets,” I said to him, pointing at the closet with a stocking covered leg. He smiled gently, before dragging over a steel grey jacket in his magic. He put it on with a speed that I would never have. Maybe our kids would though-

“Just don’t expect me to wear pants to a dive bar,” he said with a laugh. I smiled back at him.

“Why would I want you to do that? You’re best assets are on display without pants,” he shrugged before helping me with the final stocking. We had almost broken down into a pile of rutting pony when he had helped me put on the panties.

“Good point,” he said before pointing at the time on his little knock off pipbuck. “Don’t we have a meeting in a seedy bar to attend?”

The air smelled like, booze, fatty food and quiet desperation. I stepped inside and for once, no-one seemed to recognize me. I smiled at that. Permittivity was scanning the crowd on my behalf, which kind of brought me to the problem at hoof. We were looking for a pony without any knowledge of what they looked like-

“Icepick, I think that’s her,” I followed his gaze to the bar at the back of the long room. A mare in her forties, wearing a sweat-stained jumpsuit that looked suspiciously like mine sat on a stool, nursing a beer. “She looks like you, but twenty years older.”

I stared at her, the unshorn fetlocks, the bright blonde mane, and the coat just a couple shades darker than mine. My breath caught in my throat. Permittivity had to grab my foreleg and begin to pull me along before my legs started moving and my mind came back to me.

“Hey,” the mare said when we came up to her, picking the two nearest seats. “You’re dressed up pretty nice for a bar.” Was this just a coincidence, her manner was nonchalant, and her words were never what I would have suspected.

“And you’re dressed pretty shitty for Paradise,” I shot back, a little bit of annoyance and nervousness slipping out as anger.

“Fair enough, so what do you drink? I figure I owe you at least that much,” she said as I managed to get my legs to work for a moment. Long enough to climb into the stool. I turned to face her. Her own dark beer was half empty, and a couple of shot glasses orbited it like moons.

“I like that beer,” I said in a low voice as her blue eyes stared into mine. She smiled a little before looking over at Permittivity, just behind me.

“I’ll have one of those as well,” Perm said before nodding at the two of us.

“Sleeping with the enemy, I mean, I understand, he is quite a looker,” the mare said with a laugh, and a glance at Perm and then back to me.

“What the fuck?” I said out loud bringing a couple of extra eyes towards me.

“Language young lady,” she said with a laugh before letting her hoof drift towards my shoulder. “No, but really, it was gonna be awkward however we did this.”

“It’s really you?” I said quietly, not quite believing what was in front of my eyes.

“I mean, we do look a lot alike, I certainly noticed your buck checking me out,” she said before shooting him a look that I had shot him a number of times before. It was eerie seeing someone who looked so much like me. Permittivity coughed before drinking a bit of the beer that had been placed in front of him.

“I-” I tried to say something, but my words caught in my throat.

“It’s okay, I’m only so talkative because I’m drunk,” she replied with a laugh.

“Well, only one way to fix that,” I said as I pulled my beer into my hoof before downing half of it in one chug. I belched loudly and turned to look at my mother. “You could start with your name.”

“I’m Talon, I wear the armour, same as you, and I’m so fucking proud of you,” she said in an avalanche of words. “Goddesses, I’m drunk.”

“Yeah, I got that part,” I replied snarkily, before pressing my hoof to her shoulder tentatively, some part of me worrying that if I touched her, she would disappear again. “So…”

“Before you ask, we aren’t having any grandfoals yet,” Permittivity started before adding. “But we’ve been practising. A lot.”

“That’s such a weird idea, especially if you pop out a unicorn,” Talon said with an odd look on her face. “But it’s a brave new world. I can get used to the idea of a grand foal. Or five.”

“N-no,” I said in a stuttering voice. The two of them were smiling at me, and each other.

“Your stomach will never be the same, and I can blame you for that one, missy,” Talon said before taking another sip of her beer. I did the same, finishing it off and eyeing the bartender, ordering another round with the kind of telepathy that only existed in the halls of the intoxicated.

“The hips make up for it,” Permittivity said slyly. I swatted at his hoof, but he moved it out of the way just in time.

“Perm, stop hitting on my mom, and mom, stop hitting on Perm,” I said in a pleading tone. “It’s really weird.”

“Honey, this entire situation is kinda weird,” Talon said before softening her look. “But it’s what we have, and I’m glad you came.”

“I’m glad too,” I said as I looked at the bar. Another beer was already setting in front of me, and in an instant, I broke. Tears formed at the edges of my eyes-

She wrapped her hooves around me and rested her chin on my shoulder. When I looked up, she was crying too. I felt reassured, even as I felt her tears fall on my dress.

“I’m so, so sorry,” my mother said softly. “I wish I could’ve been there.”

“You were there when you could,” Permittivity said softly, letting his foreleg wrap around me, and touch her lightly. “I had a dream about it.”

“What?” Talon asked, taken a bit aback at the thought.

“Uh, Perm and I have each other's dreams, and sometimes, old memories too,” I said. She still looked confused. “Yeah we don’t know either, it just kinda happened, and it was before we met.”

“That must have been funny to watch,” she said with a laugh. It was a hearty laugh, there wasn’t an atom in it with any bitterness.

“Oh, trust me, it was quite startling,” Permittivity said with a wave of his hoof.

“Mom, he saved me from Tegarni,” I said in a low voice.

“And she saved me from Tegarni, and burned an oil field down when she thought I was gone,” Permittivity said.

“Okay, that’s pretty cute,” Talon said with a laugh. My expression became a frown as she laughed. “Grand romantic gestures and saving each other all the time. I like it.”

“Thank you?” Permittivity said in a bemused tone.

“Oh, you kids are welcome,” Talon said before beaming at me. “No but seriously, keep it up, you’re doing good work. But now that you mention it, I’d be down for taking care of a little shit for you two. I’ll spoil the everloving fuck out of them, that’s what grandmas are for, I think.”

“That’s correct,” Permittivity said with a smile, and a bump on my shoulder.

I teared up again, as the two of them looked at me with a love I had never expected from anyone. I shattered at that moment, all the pressure on me, all the uncertainty, everything began to flow out of me. And then, I felt the embraces from the two of them. My mother and my lover. Two things I never thought I would have.

“It’s okay, we’re here for you,” Permittivity said before pulling me towards him. He kissed my cheek lightly and I looked up at him. His eyes seemed to glow with kindness and affection. I had a family. And I could make it bigger. My heart opened as I remembered all my friends, all my comrades, even the ones who weren’t here anymore. My tears didn’t stop, but they started to die down.

“That’s why we have to win,” I said as I collected myself. A moment passed as the two of them looked at me. I wiped away my tears with the edges of my fetlocks. I stood up and raised my glass. “To victory, for Paradise, for Equestria!”

The ponies in the bar seemed to notice me at that moment, and the second round of cheers broke through the crowd. I smiled as I spun the stool around, and I raised my glass again. I drank heavily as I looked on at the energized crowd. I spotted a fair few Rangers from Phalanx’s army.

“To Homecoming!” I yelled out as Permittivity looked at me, supporting me, and Talon as she added to my words.

“To Homecoming!” The rangers in the crowd replied, and a moment later the Paradise ponies joined in.

“ELA, ELA, ELA!” A group of intoxicated ponies began to cheer from the back of the bar. They were joined by a chorus of other ponies, some less drunk, some sober as a gopher. I smiled at all of them and raised my hoof in the air.

“Thank you, thank you all,” I said as the chorus died down, and the stomping of hooves on the ground ended.

“No, you can thank us by kicking that Sombra guy back to the history books,” A stallion called out. He stood up and pointed at me, Talon and Permittivity.

“Yeah, kick their flanks.”

“Make sure to bring back a flag or something.”

“First Sombra, then, Home.”

I sat back in my seat and let the many demands, many suggestions, and at least one proposition for sex roll over me.

“I got this one,” Talon said with a sly look on her muzzle.

Talon got up and walked in a mostly straight line towards the buzzed stallion looking for a good time. He wasn’t bad looking, tall and broad. Talon waved backwards with a hoof towards Permittivity. And then, she bent down towards him, and grasped his withers with her forelegs, before kissing him deeply and waving her tail like a feline. In the corner of my eye, I noticed a tendril of blue magic holding a folded napkin. It slipped deftly into Talon’s back pocket.

The stallion gasped after the long kiss ended, and the crowd whooped.

“You know, I could always make you a sibling,” she said with a look back at me, the stallion smiling broadly at the implications.

“Just don’t do it here,” I said with a nervous laugh, not quite sure if she was serious or not.

“You’re not the boss of me,” Talon said in a faux outraged voice, before grabbing the lucky stallion by the collar and dragging him up to his hooves. “I’m drunk, happy, and looking to buck a stud half my age. You down?”

He nodded instantly, and eagerly. I smiled and looked away. Well, he might not have gotten under my tail, but my mother had fewer responsibilities, and hopefully an implant-

“Alright, I’m gonna take him back to my place. Goodnight Icepick, Goodnight Perm,” She started before looking back at the stallion she had chosen. “Nice meeting you, keep in touch, if you want to.”

“I know how to reach you,” I said with a smile. “Maybe someday we’ll get a phone line set up or something.”

“That’d be nice,” Talon said before starting the walk out the door. A few moments later, the two of them were gone. The crowd had mostly died down. And that was fine with me. Cheers and whoops were a lot nicer when you knew you wouldn’t have to keep doing them for too long.

“Score one for heredity,” Permittivity said with a laugh. I turned to him and looked into his eyes.

“I mean, we did both grow up in the rangers, so score one for environmental factors too,” I said slowly, a smile growing on my face. He wrapped a hoof around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest.

“Well, that just makes it a wash,” he said quietly. Permittivity bent his head down and kissed me on the forehead. He was so warm, I just wanted to stay against him forever.

“A lot of things end up that way,” I said, before craning my neck a little, and pecking him on the cheek. “But that’s okay. Everything is okay.”

“You know, she never paid for her tab, or ours,” Permittivity said dryly.

“Damnit Mom,” I said loudly, and turning back towards the mostly empty drinks. “At least she’ll have a fun night.” Permittivity had grasped his wallet and was pulling out paper bills, and dropping them on the counter. “Also, what did you slip into her pocket?”

“I slipped her a napkin with Page Turner’s address on it, and a time,” He stopped and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “And, you know, there’s nothing stopping us from having an equally fun night,” Permittivity said before finishing off his beer. I gave him a bump on the shoulder.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I said. He smiled ruefully. His tail started waving behind him. I smiled back. And knocked back the last of my drink.

“Great minds, you know the rest,” Permittivity said before hopping off the bar stool, before holding out a hoof to me. I waved it away and dumped myself onto the floor of the bar. “I’m technically a knight, so the chivalry thing is part of the job.”

“How did that happen? You never really struck me as the heavily armoured, feudal noble type,” I asked, wondering if he was talking out of his ass or if there was a really funny story there.

“Sombra knighted me before I left,” he said softly. “I mean, if we ever build a castle, it would be a little less weird.”

“I’m not complaining, I’ve always wanted to fuck a noble,” I said as he offered his hoof to me again. I took it this time, and together we started walking out of the bar.

“I should’ve mentioned it sooner, clearly,” he said in a bright tone.

“Yeah, you really should’ve mentioned the knighted by an evil deity thing sooner,” I said in a loud voice, a little bit of anger bleeding through. In response, he hooked his tail around mine, intertwining them as his ears dropped down.

“Clearly,” he said simply. I finished the tail wrap, and bumped my shoulder into his.

The walk through the city was quiet, there were ponies around, but they stuck to their little clumps. Their obligations. And so Perm and I started towards the little room we had been given. It was a few minutes into our walk that we spotted something that made Perm grin. There was a couple standing underneath a street life, holding each other and kissing under the yellow light. I stopped and stared, it was pretty romantic, standing in the brightest place-

“We’re going to do that,” Permittivity said before wrapping a hoof around me. His hooves began to tap a little as we waited for the couple to leave our spot. I couldn’t resist, I pulled him closer to me, and we shared a kiss on the spot. His hooves drifted over my dress, grasping at it, pulling me into him.

“Uh, hey,” One of the kissing ponies said to us. They had noticed us.

“Take your time, we can wait for our turn,” I yelled back. Perm took that moment to bury his muzzle into my neck, and nip my flesh enough to make me jump.

“Alright,” the mare with the stallion groping her said. Still, a few moments later they finished and started walking away from us.

“I think that means it's our turn,” Permittivity said before holding my hoof and pulling me towards the center of the pool of light.

I went along with him, looking around the empty streets for voyeurs. There didn’t seem to be any. That was fine with me, as we entered the center of the light. I held Perm, and pulled his muzzle into mine in one graceful motion. He pursed his lips and met mine, a moment later, his hooves drifted down my body, before finding my hips and squeezing them. I moaned into his mouth, and his tongue pressed into my muzzle. He had a hungry look in his eyes.

When we broke the kiss, he still had that look. I think I matched it. I wanted him, and he wanted me. It was a blissful situation. It felt right in a way I couldn’t quite put my fetlock on. Love and lust commingling, adding up to a greater whole.

“Want to retire for the evening?” He asked slyly, as I stared into those bright blue orbs. He was a beautiful stallion, I realized. Not perfect, and scarred by his time on earth, but who wasn’t?

“I don’t think that’s quite the right phrase,” I said smugly. He eyed me before snorting.

“I’ll concede the point, just this once,” Permittivity said as he stood back on his legs. I followed him up, wrapping my tail around his. I’m sure that my tail teased him a little too-

“Very considerate of you, stallion of my dreams,” I smiled at him before pursing my lips. He noticed the change.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked softly, concern and curiosity evident in his voice.

“That stallion, god, spirit or whatever, he sparked our love. It’s a move in a great game of chess. And I don’t like to be a pawn,” I said darkly.

“He might have sparked something, but I can tell the fuel was already there,” he said with a glance at my flank. I flushed a little at that, and bumped my shoulder against his roughly. “As I was saying, a little bit of magic isn’t the reason were together. Besides, in no game of chess are you a pawn. You’re more like a rook, moving forward and damn anyone that gets in your way.”

“I thought you were about to say I’m a queen,” I said. “You’re right though, I think we fell for each other, for each other, with maybe a little push from on high.”

“Exactly,” he said brightly. “Two damaged souls tied together with twine.”

“I didn’t know you were into bondage,” I said in a conspiratorial tone. He visibly winced. I smiled at his discomfort.

“You don’t use twine for bondage, my dear,” he said as he regained his momentum. His tail tugged at mine, and his rump smacked against mine. “You use rope.”

“Something tells me you want me tied up sometime,” I said huskily. He stayed stoic in the face, but I could tell that he was more than a little intrigued by the thought.

“The idea has crossed my mind,” he said. “But, something tells me you want to be tied up, played with until you’re begging for release.” He said in a playful voice, with just a tinge of excitement in it.

“I’m the type who’s willing to try anything once,” I said with a smile and a wink. He flushed, redness colouring his cheeks, even in the dark of the moonlit night. “Maybe I’ve been wanting to try some other things too…”

“L-like what?” He asked, curious and just as flustered. I mean, to be fair, I was feeling it too. All the kissing, all the teasing, it was working its magic on me. I knew if I lifted my tail up, I would feel a cold chill over my nethers. Wetness tended to do that.

“Well, you’re pretty thick, and I wonder what you would feel like in my tailhole,” I said with a smile. He looked like he had died, gone to Valhalla, and returned with a passion for anal.

“I would love to try that with you,” he said honestly. We were getting close to the entrance to the stable. I stopped in my tracks and pulled him into me. I kissed him deeply, watching him through half closed eyes. His scarred muzzle, his well groomed coat, and those lovely eyes. I could stare into them forever. Some part of me knew that this was the pair bonding part of me. Those instincts and chemicals, used for eons to make new little ponies. I didn’t mind.

“You’re beautiful, and everything I’ve ever wanted,” he said as we broke the kiss, just taking the long, lazy moment to hold each other and brace against the cold breezes, the salt in the air from the sea, and the overwhelming odds against us. I nuzzled his neck softly, pressing my muzzle against his collar bone, before placing a little peck against it. He held me tighter, I felt his warmth against mine, his beating heart running like crazy just as mine was.

“And I’m a kick ass politician too, right?” I said with a smirk. He smiled and looked at me.

“You’re certainly trying your hardest to become a queen,” he said softly, letting one of his forehooves gently caress my mane, before poking my ear back up as it dropped.

“What would that make you? A king isn’t a very good piece to be,” I said with a laugh.

“I’d rather be the consort of the queen, it’s much more dignified,” Permittivity said softly, right into my ear. I felt electricity shoot down my spine, and spill out of me.

“You just want to wear garish outfits and participate in palace intrigue,” I shot back. He nodded softly and looked down at himself.

“If I remember correctly, you were the one who wanted to dress up tonight,” He said as he got back to his hooves and started towards the stable entrance. A massive gear of a door was currently sitting open, guarded by a couple of security ponies. We knew them from experience at this point, and they let us through with a greeting and a smile.

The rest of the walk to our quarters passed by in a blur, the old stable was in night mode, with only a bit of light to spoil the feeling of a night stroll. Permittivity was by my side the whole time, feeling him beside me, it reminded me of our meeting and our sojourn through the desert. We had discovered each other back then, and looking back, we were already feeling things for each other. Sleeping beside him, and some early morning snuggles had made that clear…

I knew what we would do, and I was ready for it. My stallion and I. The stallion of my dreams and the destroyer. Somehow, it would all work out. Prophecies, the future, and maybe just our future. He looked at as the door appeared before us. Maybe he was thinking similar thoughts. Ruminations on the future- Well, for a while, I could forget.

The walk was pleasant, the air was drier than usual, and there was a gentle breeze flowing from the desert towards the ocean. I wasn’t dressed up in the late afternoon, and Permittivity was naked as well. The city was bustling around us like a hive of ants. But I had grown to like that part of it. Everyone moving around on their own business, living their own lives as they wished. A little piece of the past, an enclave of normality-

“What was it like?” I asked Permittivity as we crossed a street and were assaulted by the smell of a bakery.

“What was what like?” Perm replied softly.

“Living in a place that wasn’t burned, that was still full of hope?” I asked quietly. “Was it like this city?”

“I was only ever in the north, but yes, with the discovery of science, an ever increasing industry and a world that seemed to grow smaller every year- yes. Ponies who had never known war, who had never felt the ravages of starvation and abject poverty, that was what the empire was like in the years before the war. Paradise is a beautiful city, I see it too,” he finished with a sigh. He was mostly right, compared to his home, or mine this place was an island of peace in a sea of strife. They had been briefly under the guns of the rangers, and had been terrified by the Rangers at their gates. But that wasn’t the same thing. That was a taste of war, of death. I bit my lip and looked over at him.

“Do you think it can stay like this?”

“I think they’ve been very lucky, this world, or any world I’m familiar with is not peaceful. They’re still children playing soldier, and nothing short of real war will change that,” Perm finished abruptly.

“I don’t want that to happen. I want this place to stay innocent, it’s a piece of the past, of a world before the great war, the very thing I was taught from birth to fight for,” I said before pressing a hoof to his shoulder. He stopped moving and met my gaze. There was a pain in his eyes, some great knowledge that couldn’t be imparted. His burden to bear.

“There once was a great queen in a land far away, and long ago. She asked her wisest mares to create something that would make her pleased when she was sad, and sadden her when she was pleased. Soon after they presented her with a mirror inscribed with four words: this too shall pass. That’s what you have to remember, their days of peace were always numbered, but so are the days of war for everyone else. One way or another, there will be peace soon,” Permittivity said with a smile that seemed genuine, but the look in his eyes hadn’t changed.

“There were a thousand years of peace before the war began. Whatever peace we make, it can’t last forever,” I replied as the wind caught my mane and waved it back and forth behind my head. The sky had just begun to change in the east. Blackness would sweep across the land again, and then the sun would rise again.

“I’d be quite content with a millennia of peace, personally,” he snorted as he finished speaking. We began to walk again, as the light turned to a burnt orange in the west. “But I would settle for a lifetime.”

“That, that would be wonderful. All I’ve ever done is fight, or prepare to fight, or learn about the big fights of the past. I’m tired of it,” I said quietly.

“I am too, I’ve been weary of war for a long time now,” he said in a sombre tone. “But I was willing to pick up arms again. Once, for the wrong reasons. And now, for the right ones.”

“At least you weren’t destined to destroy,” I said with a laugh. A laugh that sounded more bitter than I intended to make it.

“We don’t choose to be born, or what our fate will entail. But between you and me, I think we could use some supernatural power on our side,” Permittivity said in a conspiratorial tone. “If I know one thing, it’s this: Sombra believes in the destroyer.”

“Well that’s comforting,” I said with a laugh.

“It’s something, it takes a lot to scare a god, and if he wasn’t exactly scared, he was reverent, very fucking reverent,” Permittivity said before bumping my shoulder.

“You know, I’d be a lot more down with this prophecy if I knew what the fuck was going on,” I said as we crossed the last street before our destination.

“There is a possibility that the vagueness is protective, that if you knew exactly what it meant, you would be worse off,” Perm responded in a curious tone.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said in a tone that was dangerously close to sulking.

“Maybe you’ll feel better when the prophecy is fulfilled?” Perm said with a grin. I rolled my eyes at him and pointed at Page’s bookstore.

“So your advice is to aim myself at whatever I want destroyed and hope that the freaky magic will help me?” I asked him sardonically.

“If you ask me, that’s pretty much what you’ve been doing all along,” Permittivity said with that same shit eating grin.

“Just roll with the freaky magic and eldritch forces, except this time, knowingly, got it,” I said as I pushed open the door. Page was sitting behind the counter, and she smiled at us as we trotted in.

“How have you two been?” Page asked us as we strode into the store.

“Busy,” Permittivity said. “But we’ve been worse. What have you been up to?”

“Same old, same old, except I’ve had a bunch of steel rangers come in here, looking for some of the old prints,” Page Turner said with a laugh. “I just carried them for the history really, but they came in asking for the old books specifically. Something about home, and wanting to know what it was really like.” I had a smile on my face by now. The more they learned, they more they knew about the equestria that was…

“That’s nice, they’re not bad ponies at heart, and the more they learn, the better they’ll be,” I said before trotting over to the counter itself.

“Right, that common heritage is probably why we don’t have Rangers running through the streets, armed to the teeth,” she said with something approaching reproach.

“Y-yeah,” I replied before meeting her gaze. “So, we might have a plus one.”

“Who would that be?” Page asked just as the doorbell rang. The three of us turned towards the door as a mare stepped in. Her dirty blonde mane, and charcoal coat were striking in the dying light of sunset. She smiled at Perm and I, before walking towards us.

“I had a feeling that you two passed me that note,” Talon said nonchalantly as she came to stop in front of the counter.

“I take it she’s your plus one?” Page Turner asked me softly.

“Yeah,” I replied before looking over at Talon. “You hungry?”

“Depends on the cook,” Talon replied with a laugh.

“Dalliance is an excellent cook,” Permittivity said before gesturing at Talon. “This is Talon, Icepick’s-”

“I can see the resemblance,” Page said before extending a hoof towards the other mare. “I take it you’re with the army parked outside the city.”

“I am,” Talon said.

“So, wanna head upstairs folks?” Page asked with a smile. She locked the front door with her magic and spun around.

“That’s what we came here for!” I said as I started to follow her. I glanced over my shoulder at Perm and Talon. The two of them were glancing at one another. “Coming?”

“Yeah,” Talon said before walking up the stairs. She pushed past me and I felt the tension in her form as we touched.

I shrugged and headed up the stairs, letting Perm take up the rear. The two of us reached the apartment at the top with the smell of cooking in the air. Talon was already sitting on the couch in the living room. On the other side of it was Page. They looked relaxed, and I breathed a sigh of relief before dipping into the kitchen to see what was being made. There I saw Dalliance wearing her apron, and Rosetta leaning against the counter, a beer held in his magic. I smiled at him and trotted forward. In my peripheral vision, I saw Permittivity walk into the living room.

“Hey! It’s a while!” Dalliance chirped at me before throwing her forelegs around me.

“Too long, too damn long,” I replied as I squeezed her back firmly.

“I guess being in charge of a whole lotta ponies has that effect,” she said with a laugh and a release of my barrel with her hooves. I let the older mare go, and smiled at her.

“Yeah, if I wasn’t committed to it, I’d let someone else run the whole thing,” I shot back before looking over at Rosetta. He seemed better, brighter and a little more calm than before. Getting over himself and seeing his family had helped him out I guess.

“I wouldn’t say that, you’re enjoying it a little, everyone would,” Dally said before gesturing at the pot.

“What’s in the pot?” I asked as I ambled over the refrigerator. A glow of reddish-pink magic appeared over the handle. A moment later it swung open and a sliced veggies and potatoes greeted me. “Good shit, I see.”

“Thanks, it’s been cooking for a while, it’ll be done pretty soon,” Dally said before turning around and pulling out two beers. She passed me one, and I popped the tap with a spoon. I took a drink as the smell of cooking food slowly filled the room.

“So who’s that cute mare that came up with you and Perm?” Dalliance asked me. I narrowed my eyes at her and coughed.

“That’s my mom,” I said.

“Oh, yeah, makes sense,” Dalliance said with a giggle. “Well, I guess we could saunter over to the next room.”

“Sounds good,” I replied to her and looked over at Rosetta. He shrugged and took another sip of his beer.

“I’ll watch the stew,” he said softly. I tilted my head at that. But his expression remained unchanged, a soft neutrality, a far off look in his eyes. He hadn’t been like that when I met him.

In any case, Dally and I trotted into the living room. Perm was surrounded by the other mares. Talon looked up at the two of us, and she smiled brightly.

“Hello,” Dally said while looking at Talon. The blonde mare blinked and looked over at Page.

“I thought you said you had a kid?” Talon asked.

“I do,” Page replied, and turned to the other mare. “He’s from another relationship.”

“Oh,” Talon said.

“It’s alright, his father died a long time ago,” Page said before looking at Dalliance. “Is it done?”

“Not quite,” Dally said before looking at Perm. “Swap me out.” She looked at him and then the plush, old airchair.

“Fair enough,” Perm said, flushing slightly, and keeping his tail tucked rigidly between his legs. “Where’s Icepick going to sit?”

“I’m sure she’ll figure something out,” Dalliance replied with a laugh. I wiggled my eyebrows at Perm. He blushed brightly at that. The older mare sat with the two mothers and he reclined in the chair. I trotted over and sat myself down on his lap. There was a soft groan from him when I landed.

“So what were you talking about?” I asked as I leaned back against his chest. He was warm, and a moment later I felt him wrap a foreleg around my barrel. His breath hit the back of my neck, tickling it a little, and I felt content.

“The battle to come,” Perm said.

“Fun stuff,” I said with a laugh. Perm grabbed the beer I had sat on the table and took a draw from it.

“So, he’s a spirit stuck in a mirror?” Talon asked, a look of playful disbelief on her muzzle.

“Stuck wouldn’t be the right word,” Permittivity said, before gulping down another bit of my beer. “He put himself in it, or at least, his soul in it. A ploy for immortality.”

“So are we going to blow it up? You have that balefire bomb, if I remember right,” Talon asked us. I coughed and shook my head.

“We disassembled the bomb,” I added. My mother’s face darkened a bit at that. But Page and Dalliance brightened.

“That’s a fucking trump card, why would you-” Talon started to say before I interrupted her.

“It’s the weapon that ended the world,” I said.

“He has them too,” Permittivity added in the silence that followed my words.

There was a sound of hoofsteps in the hallway as Rosetta came into the room. He looked at all of us, before double taking as he saw Talon.

“Hello?” He said to her. She waved at him with a hoof, before looking at Permittivity.

“He has balefire bombs?” Talon asked, her face turning a lighter shade of grey.

“Not exactly, but something equally powerful. At the bottom of everything, the smallest scale, much smaller than the wavelengths of visible light, there are atoms. The war I fought in, it was ended by weapons that utilize the splitting of those atoms, to create explosions that can wipe entire armies from the field,” he looked down. “That’s conjecture, I never learned exactly how these weapons operated, but that’s my educated guess. Suffice it to say that these weapons exist, I’ve seen them with my own eyes.”

“It’s why you came,” Rosetta said softly. The beer in his magic was nearly empty, and he threw his head back and imbibed the remains.

“If he loses here, he’ll still try for the final victory,” Perm said, his body shaking subtly at the thought. “My world will be bathed in fire, just like yours.”

“It won’t happen,” I said. “We’ll kill him.”

“That’s my girl,” Talon said beaming. “What’s the plan though, for fighting a thousand year old god.”

“We didn’t just disarm ourselves,” Rosetta said. “We kept the more dangerous part of the bomb.”

“Megaspells come in different flavours,” I said with a laugh. “We’re going to build the biggest spark grenade ever constructed.”

“Uh, I know you’re a qualified demo mare, but isn’t megaspell engineering a little above your paygrade?” Talon asked.

“We know a girl who knows a guy, and that guy is the most qualified arcane engineer in Sall’han,” I replied sardonically.

“Ah, one of those situations,” Dalliance said with a laugh. “Usually that guy for me is someone good with plumbing.”

“It’s pretty much the same principal,” I said with a laugh. “Networking, right?”

“Final victory,” Rosetta softly. I turned to look at him.

“What does that mean?” I asked Perm.

“In your world, when weapons that could split the heavens were used, both sides had them. Right now, there’s only one power in my world with that titanic power,” Permittivity said darkly. “A holocaust. Submarines driven into harbours on suicide missions. Missiles travelling long ballistic arcs into the Celestian interior. A victorious army marching into our old enemy’s homeland, and raising a flag over the ruins strewn with corpses.”

“Not if I can help it,” Rosetta said. Fire in his eyes, a tension throughout his body. He stomped the ground with a foreleg. “We cut the head off the snake.”

“That might not stop them,” Perm replied. “There were more ponies than Sombra that wanted a war. That want the final victory.”

We ate, we drank, and we enjoyed each other’s company. Through it all, there was a shadow cast over it. Not just the battle to come, that we had control over. The prospect of the deaths of millions to come. A world just like ours, dying just like ours. I smiled, and laughed, and tried to stop myself from thinking about it. Because, what could I do.

Author's Notes:

I had half this chapter written ages ago, but it took me a while to finish it. In any case, I hope you like this update. Things are coming to a close, faster than you'd think. Faster than I expected. I wouldn't be surprised if it's done within a year. Maybe sooner.

If you want to help support my writing, I have a patreon and a ko-fi!
https://www.patreon.com/Sunnydontlook
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And a new discord server for me to connect with my fans, and well, to hang out in: https://discord.gg/dxfCZzV