We swapped shifts over the course of the entire day. We had just passed Wheatfield, where Heart and Bell had to get off so they can prepare for the upcoming event. It had become night and the snow continued to fall. I looked up and leaned back, watching the flakes fall. The minor holes in the clouds shone down beams of moonlight, making the endless winter of The Empire look like a majestic land. When I dropped my gaze, I found to my disappointment to be back in the Wasteland. The barren fields of snow. Possible mass graves around us of ponies that had frozen to death or killed each other in cold blood or suicide. I looked over to Iris.

The pretty cool mare looked ahead, deep in thought. I imagined her flying through the clouds with the snow fluttering around her in the moonlight, making her more majestic than pretty. I smiled. She looked like a pony that could be one with the snow. She definitely had that silver tone and mane. I looked down at myself. The charcoal coated unicorn with the gold eyes and the once brown messy mane into a minor spiked fire streaked colored mane and tail with her faded black customized duster and bland stable barding underneath.

I sighed. I didn’t feel at all unique. Most ponies would assume I’m unique considering my mane is not a typical mane style or color. I also have a maiden inside of my head. But I still didn’t feel unique. Nor did I want to be. Though I feel as if you can’t really avoid being unique. My father once told me that everyone is unique in their own way. It’s what our destinies meant for us. I looked at my die cutie-mark. I frowned. What did my cutie-mark mean to me? I know I had told the story, but what did it really mean?

The age old question I asked myself for two years before giving up and moving on.

“You two, however, have a destiny beyond the reaches of even Harmony’s bearers themselves. Harmony may bring peace, but it is you seven that will decide the fate of this land.”

Fate. Is destiny really all that different from fate? I looked back to see the snoozing Sanity next to Comp, who was organizing our stock once again, before looking back. I sighed. I want to know the truth. I really do. But right now, I had other things to handle. The truth can wait.

“Having another one of your struggle thoughts?” Iris asked, making me jump slightly and look at her. She smiled.

“I… I guess.” I said. I blinked. “Well, I did notice you thinking too.”

“Wanna talk about it?” she asked. I rubbed my chin before nodding. Iris smiled and looked ahead. “I was just thinking about what my life has been like so far.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I mean, after seeing you fight that giant robot alicorn, the bar fights, the way you handle situations. You are just… incredible.” I flushed a little. Well, you’re incredible too! “And the way you managed to get thousands of people. Not just ponies, but zebra and griffins to work together along with Snow Dogs with an empire of their own. New Pegas was right. You keep this up, you might end up creating the perfect balance of harmony between everyone.” I shook my head.

“I’m not without faults though.” I said. “Everyone has a fault. I guess mine is just a bigger one.” Iris cocked her head.

“What makes you say that?” she asked.

“That week on the carrier. I was obsessed. I wanted to protect everyone and beat Sombra at his own game. I wanted to show what I was capable of.” I bowed my head. “I know I’ve spent my whole life trying to hide my family’s lineage. And now I completely exposed my family out into the open.” I snorted. “It also didn’t help that dad had been going around and leaving reports about us behind in ruins.” I gave a sad look. “All this time, I thought I had been hiding my family because of the war two centuries ago. When my ancestor, a courier, left the two sides into a stalemate. Because my other ancestors had gotten into trouble all over the Wasteland.” I sighed. “It was all really dad’s idea, to be honest. And then he went and gone off leaving us behind.”

“Are you mad?” Iris asked. I looked at her confusedly.

“What, about exposing my family?” I asked. She shook her head.

“About your dad, I mean. Are you mad that he left you all behind?” she asked. I said nothing and looked away.

“I don’t… really know.” I finally said. “I don’t remember much about him other than the times when he was around. He was always busy with his courier job. And whenever he came home, I would always be wrapped up in my studies along with my siblings. The only time when we actually were once a family was when mom was six months pregnant with Bell.” I brought my fore hooves up and hugged myself, remembering the happy moment. Just that one moment when we were all just a normal family.

We had a vacation off from lessons and dad happened to finish up his job. Post Box had nothing else for him for a bit and he went over to see us. Me, Lyon, Heart and a very young colt Stall sat on top of a hill that overlooked the town. It was on the special occasion when the sun would break through the clouds. I remember watching in awe as the town sparkled with the sun, the snow reflecting the light like tiny crystals. We had gathered on the hill just to get out of the stable. Mom smiled happily as I sat in between Lyon with Stall on his back on my right and Heart on my left. I beamed, seeing our dad trot up the hill.

We gathered in a small circle, mom and dad exchanging a kiss. She smiled and looked down to her swollen belly. We all smiled and chatted before finally quieting and looking over the hill and at the town. The sun had been covered by the clouds again, but for some strange reason, the clouds left a hole where the beam shined down on us. We felt the warmth embrace us and I smiled. And then we just stood there. We watched as the clouds slowly closed the sun and the beam vanished into the gloomy sky.

That moment there, was one I would never forget. Because we were all there. We had talked. Nothing serious or boring. We just talked. Bantered. And when we stopped to stare as the sun was covered up by the clouds, I felt happy. No, I was happy. No conflicts. No job deliveries. No dangerous situations. Just us standing on a hill overlooking the town during a special occasion of the sun shining down.

Iris shook me out of my thought. I blinked, feeling tears on my cheek. I was also smiling. I wiped the tears away and looked at her.

“Are you okay?” she asked. I closed my eyes with a smile and plopped my head onto her shoulder. I nuzzled it before speaking.

“Of course. Just thinking is all.” I said. Iris smiled and laid her head on mine. This is nice. Just this. With my friends in the wagon and me laying my head on her shoulder. I didn’t want anything else other than this. No conflicts. No dangerous situations. Just us and the moonlight shining down through the holes in the clouds. I smiled.

“You still didn’t answer my question though.” Iris cooed into my ear. She gave it a nibble, making me hum happily at the welcoming bite before speaking.

“Yes.” I said. She looked worriedly at me. “Yes, I am mad about it. He left us. Plain and simple. No reason and no confrontation. Just left us.” I sighed. “At least, that’s what I should say. Then, after realizing what my family really is. I just want to know one thing now. Are both dad and Lyon safe? Are they okay? That’s all I really want to know now.” Iris kissed my head.

“Well then, we will help you find that out.” She said. I looked at her. “We are your friends. And friends help each other no matter what.” I smiled, feeling my heart beat excitedly. I brought her in and locked my lips with hers. Yes, this is nice. Having friends beside me and being in love with a pretty cool mare. We pulled away and touched noses before looking back ahead, seeing the ecotone border down the road. I checked my PipBuck to see if I had any messages. The cartoon pegasus snoozed with an empty bag as a pillow. I blinked, seeing my EFS suddenly light up with red.

“Trouble.” I said, knocking the side of the wagon, stirring my sleeping companions. I narrowed and darted my eyes. They were all straight ahead and bundled together. We stopped in front of the intercom on the side of the road. I hopped out and was about to press it when a voice suddenly came through.

“Long time no see. Don’t worry, we have the whole place under our control. The turrets won’t kill you… yet.” I looked back at Iris. We both recognized the voice.

“If she’s here, then that means he’s here too.” She said. I looked at her worriedly.

“Are you… you know…” I began. Iris smirked at me.

“I’m done being their test subject. I’m my own free mare this time. And this time, I’m going to beat my resignation into them for good.” She smacked her hooves together. I smiled as I hopped back on the wagon.

“So, what’s the plan?” Star asked. I didn’t look back as I spoke.

“They will know that you are in the wagon. The turrets may or may not be disabled. But I won’t rule it out. As for the others, we will just have to be ready for anything.” I said.

“Hey Brick, mind if I see those pulse mines you salvaged?” I heard Comp ask. Me and Iris looked back to see Comp give us a smirk before hopping out with four pulse mines. I saw his blue dot slowly fade. I bit my lip. The Enclave have their own EFS. If Comp was planning on powering down their suites, then we need to at least keep all of them on us. I nodded to my friends before Rex pulled the wagon towards the waiting Enclave down below.

I noticed at least ten of them. Each with an energy rifle at the ready and aimed at us. Two Enclave stood in front of the gate. I looked to the side of the road to see a group of caravans and wonderers being put into a cage. I looked ahead and the snarling face of Viper Strike glared at us.

“Courier…” she growled.

“Viper.” I said with a bored expression. She barked.

“You better wipe that smug look or I’m going to-.” I cut her off.

“Or you’ll what?” I glared at her. “You do remember what happened last time you threatened me.”

“Bitch!” she roared. “It’s because of you we are left to do this damn grunt work! It’s because of you that precious projects have been ruined! It’s because of you that the Enclave is shamed!” I smirked.

“Gee, must have touched a sore spot.” I said. Iris nodded.

“Honestly, Viper. You are too constantly on your period.” She said. Viper hissed.

“You slut… think you can just ditch the Enclave? Think you can just walk away and live a fantasy with a wasteland whore?” she narrowed her eyes. “Cloudwing… don’t tell me you still love her! After what she has done to you!”

“Enough, Viper.” Cloudwing said. The handsome (and sneaky son of a mule) pegasus stepped forward. “Iris. Courier. It’s because of you two that you brought the Enclave to its knees. Years of research destroyed.” I shook my head.

“If I recall, Viper said you have a dozen other labs with Cloudchaser’s clones.” I said. Cloudwing narrowed his eyes at Viper, who sputtered.

“You can’t just-!” Cloudwing ignored her and looked back at us. Then his eyes looked at Iris.

“I’ll ask again, Iris. How much does this mare mean to you?” he asked. Iris growled.

“Stuff it, Cloudwing. I won’t be your soldier anymore. Courier made me realize that. And I trust her more than you lot.” She said. Cloudwing remained stoic.

“I see. In that case, I believe we can officially brand you as Dashite. You are of no longer use to the Enclave.” He said. Iris snorted.

“Good.” She said. Viper growled.

“Cloudwing. We didn’t come all this way just to tell them that!” she said. Cloudwing didn’t look at her as he spoke.

“We have what we need already, Viper. No need to follow them any longer.” He said. I narrowed my eyes. Something wasn’t right. Knowing these two, they probably had already caught us in the trap. I guess it’s time to get out of it then.

“Hold it.” I said. Cloudwing stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You honestly expect us to think you don’t have some other ulterior motive?” Cloudwing gave a small smirk.

“Hmm… I guess. But we really shouldn’t tell Wastelanders like yourselves.” He said.

“Then how come you haven’t released the hostages?” I asked with an arched brow. Cloudwing looked over to the caravan wagons and the ponies being held hostage. “And that’s not all I noticed.” I motioned to the turrets and to the station. The wall still hadn’t been patched when the Reaper punched through it the last time. And the terminal still hummed. It looked untouched after the encounter. More importantly, I didn’t see any of the RCE around being held captive. “What have you done with the RCE ponies stationed here?” Cloudwing rubbed his chin. Then he sighed.

“How astute. We gave them leave of this place. They are to return back to their station and wait for assignment at another post.” He said. I arched a brow. My fan must be heart broken. Come on, Comp. Where are those pulse mines? “Anything else you would like to address?” I darted my eyes.

“How about you just leave everyone alone?” Iris said. Cloudwing arched a brow at her. “Honestly, since when have you guys ever done anything to help anyone?” Viper snorted.

“Shut up, slut doll.” She said. I frowned, feeling even more insulted by the pegasus. Cloudwing sighed, ignoring her.

“We have been putting time and effort into helping others. To rid the wasteland of the poison. To save the ponies that need to be saved.” He said.

“Sounds like a lost cause.” A voice said. They turned to see Comp leaning against the wall coolly. I remained stoic. Comp, it had better be a good idea. It was, however, an idea I did not expect. Comp motioned with his head to the turrets. I saw the pulse mines placed on the base of the turrets. I also noticed him tossing a snowball up and down in his hoof. I smirked. Clever colt. “Lessons from our own demolition expert.” He said. He took the snow ball and tossed it up. When it came back down, it landed on a mine, setting it off. Again, it was unexpected. I hadn’t noticed the turrets were actually powered down. In fact, they were short circuited.

And Comp had connected some of the mines into the wires too. The mines went off in unison and the turrets hummed to life. The Enclave took off, only to get blasted with a disintegration beam. Cloudwing and Viper Strike immediately took off and away from the turrets. The turrets locked on and fired. Bad ponies begone. I gapped when an aural bubble surrounded them and the beams bounced harmlessly off. A streak of lighting blew the turrets to smithereens.

“What the hell?” Comp said in stock surprise. He quickly scrambled out of the way as a chunk of a turret piece fell where he had once stood. The ponies murmured and I darted my eyes. That lightning looked like it was being shot from over-head. That aural bubble… that lighting strike… I know those anywhere. I hopped out and quickly raced in the opposite direction of the border.

“Courier? Where are you going?” I heard Goldenlee shout. I felt my heart race. I was going to be given a second chance! I have to find out if he was really okay! I remember Sombra saying he took care of my brother. Whatever he did, I had to know if it affected him at all. I also noticed the aural bubble being pulled along. I followed the bubble and found myself standing on a snow mound. Viper’s and Cloudwing’s aural bubble floated gently down before popping and they plopped into the snow. I raced over to them and stopped just a few feet away.

“You!” Viper hissed. She instantly charged and tackled me. I rolled with her before pinning her down in the end.

“Shut up!” I retorted. I looked around. I blinked and looked at Cloudwing. He narrowed his eyes before they widened and he hopped away, turning in the process. I slowly backed off from Viper. Viper growled before following our gaze. There stood my brother Lyon. Tattered duster and hat. He peeked out from under the hat and I saw those same cold dead glazed eyes.

“Who the hell are you?” Viper asked.

“One who watches over.” Lyon said. Viper spat.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” she hissed. I stepped forward. Lyon watched me as I did.

“You’ve certainly changed, Curry.” He said.

“Brother…” I said. Viper balked.

“You’re brother!? What the fuck is this!? Cloudwing, let’s go!” she said. But Cloudwing didn’t move. He gritted his teeth and glanced down. I looked. He had stepped on a trap rune.

“Viper… don’t move.” He said. Viper blinked.

“Come on! You said so yourself! We don’t have time for them!” she said as she was about to turn.

“Don’t do it.” I said. Viper narrowed her eyes and growled at me.

“I don’t take orders from you.” She spat.

“But you do want to live to your full potential, don’t you?” Lyon said. Viper arched a brow.

“Viper, just don’t move. If you do, I don’t know what will become of you.” Cloudwing said. Wow, I had to hand it to him, he could be very wise if caught in a trap. I furrowed my brows and looked at Lyon.

“Why did you save them?” I asked. Lyon tipped his hat down, covering his eyes.

“Shiva told you herself. I know you are the smartest of us.” He said. I saw a small sly smirk. My eyes widened, remembering Mr. Marigold saying almost the exact same thing to me. I am the brightest of the bunch. He was talking about Lyon.

“The hell is going on here!?” Viper hissed. Lyon looked at her.

“An awakening that will soon decide Equestria’s fate.” He shifted his head to me. “Curry. As Keepers, it is our duty to bring the maidens together and keep them in line.” He said. “You already found one of the vessels. Now you have found another.” My jaw dropped as I looked at Viper Strike. Oh, you can’t be serious… I looked at him. He is! I shook my head.

“N-no… really? Her!? Of all ponies!? She’s a vessel!?” I exclaimed, my blood boiling. Lyon said nothing as he walked over to her. Viper shrunk back a bit. I could tell she wanted to move, but I guess Lyon’s presence was intimidating enough. I couldn’t help but feel victorious seeing the sharp tongued mare being shaken. And not by a maiden this time. But still… Celestia rain down a full rape train into me, I could not believe that one of my enemies is a maiden! I groaned. Oh no… please this has to be a dream. Lyon looked at Viper’s left wing. With his magic, he held it out. Viper flinched, but didn’t move. He then put his horn to her wing and a light flickered once. Viper crumpled to the partly snow covered dirt, unconscious. I sat on my rump and put my hooves to my head, gritting my teeth.

Why Viper Strike!? Why the pony that is the bane of my existence!? Why her!?

“Acerbus has been awakened.” Lyon said as he turned. He walked over to me, not even looking at Cloudwing. “You.” Lyon said, addressing Cloudwing. “I hear you have been causing my little sister and her friends’ grief. Let me show you what it means to provoke a maiden to release her spirit to the world.” The rune glowed and Cloudwing’s eyes suddenly widened. He screamed, rearing back and putting his hooves to his ears.

“W-what is this!? What are you doing to me!? Stop it!!” he shouted. The rune stopped shining and he crumpled to the ground, curling and whimpering. I was stunned.

“L-Lyon… what did you…” I began. Lyon tipped his hat down.

“If you want to know the truth. Go to the place where it all began.” He said.

“I-I know that. But what I’m asking is what did you do to them?” I asked. “And why Viper Strike? Why her!? If she uses her maiden against me, what will I do?”

“Acerbus, a word meaning darkness. Acerbus is the silent sister. The one that holds deadly intention. To embrace the world in an everlasting darkness.” He said. “These beings show no care for those who walk the land. They seek only to shape it in their own image. Yours is an eternal flame that never burns out. Your friend’s wants to build nature for what it once was. Her's wants to shape the land into eternal darkness. And Shiva into a beautiful white winter. I have awoken four maidens.” He put a hoof on my shoulder. “Even if you are enemies, you must find them. Befriend them or make them enemies. Once you do find them, a road shall open. There you will find the place where it all started. Our lineage.” He looked over his shoulder and I saw my friends race over the hill.

Sanity narrowed her eyes. I bowed my head.

“Lyon… why?” I asked. He said nothing. “Why us? Why did they pick us?” He looked ahead as he spoke.

“Oroboros. If this land is to be saved, the balance must be restored. Harmony will ignite the fate of Equestria.” I bowed my head, hearing him walk away in the snow. “Fate and destiny can be cruel, Curry. But you must learn to accept it. Otherwise you will fall into a despair of madness. Our ancestor died in madness. He had thought he had found his fate. He had thought he had accepted.” I looked back and saw him tip his hat again. His horn glowed and a rune phased into view, hovering in the air. I gapped.

“Lyon… you’re leaving again?” I asked. I bit my lip as he stepped forward. No! I galloped and threw my hooves around him. “Lyon! You can’t! After everything… come back to us! You are hurt!” Lyon looked at me with those cold dead eyes. I felt my tears welling up.

“I’ve made my choice, Curry. It is for your own protection as well as the lands. Sombra has stepped into the Realm Beyond. He has disturbed the balance. What you need to do is find the vessels I awoken. The road will take you to the place where it all began. There, you will know the truth.”

“Lyon, no!” I said as I pulled him back a little. “Don’t be like Starswirl! You have a family you can come back to! You don’t have to do this!” Lyon gave a small chuckle.

“Still naïve as ever. But I can see change in you.” He looked me dead in the eyes, his own eyes looking even glossier than before. “You have friends to think about. You must protect them and our family, Courier. You may be a maiden, but your purpose is that of freedom. You must free the land of the disrupted balance.” He smiled now and for a split second, I saw my brother with his luscious blue eyes twinkling. The brother I miss oh so dearly. I bowed my head. “I’ll see you again soon, Courier.” I just bowed my head, feeling the tears fall.

“Hey, you!” I heard Iris speak. Lyon stopped, but didn’t look back. “Don’t think you can get away without us backing Courier up.” I looked at her, seeing her smirk. “When we find you again, even if or before you find and awaken every maiden up, just remember who you are actually dealing with here.” I looked back at Lyon and saw him smile.

“Savior of the Roads. Yes, that is what people see you as now.” He walked to the rune. “I’ll be looking forward to our next encounter. Iris… make sure my sister doesn’t do anything brash. I’m counting on you to keep her safe.” I felt more tears well up as I watched Lyon vanish into the rune and it dissipated from thin air. I stood there, looking at the spot where Lyon had vanished. I turned, adverting my eyes from my friends as I made my way back down the hill. I took one last look at Viper Strike before sighing.

“You got to be kidding me.” Iris said as she grit her teeth. She slammed her hoof down, denting the floor of the wagon. We stopped for a break outside the burnt ruins of Tipson. We had saved the ponies. They gathered around, cheering. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to any of them. I plopped myself down into a corner and stayed silent. When we reached Tipson, I finally mustered up the courage to tell them what had happened before they had arrived. When I told them that Lyon had saved them because Viper is a vessel, Iris looked dumbfounded, turning it into frustration. “Why her?” I shook my head.

“Maybe because maidens pick us from the start?” Sanity asked. I shook my head.

“Oroboros.” I said.

“What’s an oroboros?” Comp asked.

“Oroboros is said to be the balance of the world. It is depicted as a giant snake eating its’ tail.” Star explained.

“Why is it eating its’ tail?” Comp asked as he rubbed his own tail, feeling somewhat nervous.

“It’s meant to represent balance.” I said. “The balance of the world. It’s what keeps everything the way it should. Fate and destiny tied together. It’s confusing to most people, so the philosophers created a diagram. They drew a snake eating its’ own tail around a star. The snake representing balance and the star representing everything else.” Comp ruffled his mane.

“But why a snake? Why not a bubble? Or a rock?” he asked.

“A bubble is too fragile and can break easily.” Star said. “A rock will just cover everything up, killing it. A snake eating its’ own tail is a perfect depiction. Because it revolves around everything, forming a... barrier in a sense. To keep the balance within stable.”

“And Lyon said that Sombra had stepped through a place he shouldn’t have been in and disrupted that balance.” I sighed and looked at Sanity. “And me being a Keeper, I can converse and travel to maidens.”

“So why not just travel and find them? Be done with it.” Comp said. I shook my head.

“I’m not that kind of Keeper. Lyon is already doing that. I’m tasked with finding them and bringing them together, whether I like it or not. And right now, I’m not liking it at all.” I said with a small hint of disgust. I can’t believe it. Viper Strike is a vessel to Acerbus, the Maiden of Darkness. A perfect fit for the cold hearted bitch of a mare that has tormented me and my friends. But also my own dismay. If she discovers how to use that power, and probably knowing her, she will unlock Acerbus as soon as she is asked. I growled. Sanity still needs to learn how to control Gaia’s power. I wasn’t ruling it out. She’s still afraid of what’s happening to her. I felt myself being kicked by two ponies on my shoulders. I blinked and shook my head and waved my hooves furiously.

“No! Nope! Nuh-uh! Not now!” I said, startling my friends. I sighed. “Listen… as much as this is starting to look grim for us, we need to suck it up and keep moving. We still have a wedding to attend to. And thinking about this now is just going to slow us down!” I smiled. “You know what I think? We can worry about it later. I’m sure Viper and Cloudwing will be disoriented after what has happened. And that gives the room we need to keep moving. And besides, I was told if I was ready to face the truth. I don’t know what truth, but right now, I want to enjoy these moments we have. Not sit and mope.” My friends looked baffled, leaving Sanity the only one to smile.

I couldn’t blame my friends for being surprised. They’ve been around me longer than Sanity.

“Are you okay, dear?” Goldenlee asked from the driver side of the wagon. I nodded.

“Then why are you acting so… positive?” Comp asked. I snickered. Oh, Comp. you and your attitude.

“I just want to do what’s right. And yeah, I bummed out about what had happened, but if you think about it, we won’t be seeing those two for a while and we can now not worry about them coming after us.” I said.

“And what makes you so sure they won’t just do that?” Comp asked.

“Because when Lyon woke up Din, I was knocked out for a day. It took a week for me to realize Din is inside me.” I said.

“So what happened to Cloudwing?” Iris asked. I frowned, making her wince. I was frowning because she had asked.

“I honestly don’t know. But whatever he did, it sure seemed to make him scared. And from the looks of it, they haven’t experienced Arcane Magic in their lives.” I said. Star rubbed his chin.

“Are you saying Lyon had exposed you to Arcane before?” he asked. I gave a slight nod.

“I wouldn’t say ‘exposed’. More like shown. I was curious about Arcane, but I just couldn’t get it right. So I stuck with illusion magic.” I saw Iris smirk.

“Well, I did promise your brother. So what the hell. Let’s get to a wedding.” She said. I smiled.

“You both are so confusing.” Comp sighed.

It was early dawn when we reached the hill of the road that over looked Las Pegasus. And when we did, I couldn’t help but frown. Strangely dressed pony corpses littered the sides of the road. By the smell, I would believe they have been dead for a while. Sanity looked ready to puke when she asked.

“What happened here?” I shook my head.

“I’m not sure. But what I find odd is the way they are dressed.” I said. Goldenlee, who had taken the driver reigns next to me, arched a brow.

“Whatever do you mean?” she asked. I pointed a hoof at one of the closer corpses we passed.

“They are in animal hide barding. Not much other then exposed torsos and limbs.” I narrowed my eyes when we passed a smoking robot. One that I haven’t seen before. Or… have I? “Star. Do you know what model that robot is?” Star peeked out and examined it with squinted eyes.

“By the looks of it, it’s an upgraded version of the wheeled Protect-a-Pony.” He said. An upgraded version? As we made our way closer to Las Pegasus, more of the smoking Protect-a-Ponys littered with the strangely dressed pony corpses.

“It looks like an all-out war happened.” Iris said in awe as she hovered along with the wagon. She had her Shadowbolt’s mask visor on and scanned the horizon. “And I’m picking up more faint red dots.” I checked my own EFS. She was right. Somewhere out there were faint red dots. As we passed, they vanished from the EFS. Seems like the living ponies were either on the verge of dying or taking cover. And the more I strained my ears, I realized how quiet it was around us.

“Protect-a-Pony at 12 o’ clock.” Comp pointed out. We looked and saw one of those upgraded looking robots wheel up to us.

“Halt. Identify self.” It asked. I arched a brow, seeing the cartoonish face of a gruff looking pony in a soldier helmet.

“Courier sixteen of the Crystal Express. I’m escorting this caravan to Las Pegasus.” I said. The helmeted cartoon pony face took a moment before processing what I have said.

“We have no records of a courier.” It replied. I arched a brow.

“No records? Are you implying me or other couriers?” I asked.

“We have no records of couriers.” It rephrased. Weird. Why would a robot ask for records on couriers? We are already aligned to the express. And our PipBuck’s had a small broadcaster built in to send a signal to robots like this that should automatically identify us. So why is it acting so strange?

“Are you… Did you come from Las Pegasus or were you involved in this?” I asked as I motioned at the littered corpses.

“That question is not valid. Unidentified caravan. Please turn back or be removed permanently.” It said.

“What is the meaning of life?” Star suddenly asked the bot. The robot suddenly began to smoke up. What the?

“The meaning… of… I don’t… error… error!” something in its’ monitor blew and it crumpled to the floor. I blinked and looked at Star.

“Huh, well I be damned I was right.” He said. “These were recently upgraded. So they are still faulty in general. And by the looks of it, it seemed they were hastily put together too.” I smiled. Our one and only egghead. Rex continued to pull the wagon as we rode down to the gates of Las Pegasus. We were stopped by one of the RCE, much to my chagrin.

“You in for luxury or business.” The ranger asked.

“Both.” I said. “We are here for the wedding.” The ranger cocked his head.

“For The Family?” I nodded. The ranger chuckled. “Well, I don’t buy it. Whatever the case, the rangers are here to escort anyone in except for fiends.” All of us exchanged glances.

“Fiends?” Sanity asked. The ranger motioned at one of the corpses behind us.

“They are the new raiders. After the Savior inspired a bunch of ponies to clean up the roads, the raiders were no more. Then all of a sudden, the Wasteland is crawling with fiends now.” He looked grim. “Fortunately, ya’ll don’t look like fiends. So welcome to Las Pegasus.” He nodded for a few other RCE to open the gates.

“Err… I hope you don’t mind me asking.” I said. “But what happened out there?” the ranger growled.

“Mr. House upgraded his damn robots. They are called Securitrons now. Damn things are packed with arsenal. Best to not get on their bad side.” He said.

“Oh that won’t be a problem.” Star said. I could see a small sly smirk. He waved us in and we were once again greeted with the lively streets of Las Pegasus.

I trotted along with Iris and Sanity at my sides. Me and Iris were going to introduce her to The Omaretas while the others find a place to park our wagon. We entered the Roulette Hotel and I gapped. The casino was even livelier than it was before and I noticed a few decorations around the area. A giant banner hung over head of the entrance congratulating Bucky and…

“Alabaster?” I said with a cock of my head.

“You called dear?” a voice said. We turned to see Al Capony being followed by two other mares behind her. She smiled. “Hello, Courier. Hello, Iris.” She said. Then, she looked at Sanity. “And you are?”

“Err… Sanity.” She said. Al Capony nodded.

“Well then. I welcome you back to the hotel. I’m about to go meet my uncle Stiletto. Care to join me?” she asked. I rubbed the back of my head.

“Err… I guess?” I said. She beamed.

“Splendid!” she suddenly lunged forward and took my hoof with hers and pulled me along with Iris, Sanity and the two mares trailing us. As we made our way towards the Ultra Lux Hotel, another hotel belonging to the Whitehoof Society, I couldn’t help but ask.

“I didn’t know your name was Alabaster Capony.” I said.

“It’s really Alabaster Mariposa. But I figure I want ponies to call me Al Capony.” She said with a smile.

“So, why Al Capony?” Iris asked.

“Well, there was once a young pony who was like a brother to my father. He went by the name Al Capony.” She chuckled. “A damn good Omareta too. In fact, father was going to have him take over the business when his time came.”

“Yet, Kingpin is still running the Omaretas and you are next in line.” Iris said with a smirk. Al Capony nodded. “Then what happened to Al?” She hummed softly in a sigh before speaking.

“He was outnumbered during a shootout with a gang calling themselves Cacophony.” I stiffened. “They executed him right there on the spot. Gave him no final words. No honorable death. Just plain executed him. Al Capony was the best member to The Family. He was well liked by everyone in The Family. And after his death, we went back to our own ideals.” I blinked.

“You’re making it sound like Al Capony had the Whitehoof, Omareta and The Pride to come to an agreement.” I said. Al Capony looked sad as she spoke.

“He would have too. I looked up to him when I was a filly. He was my hero. And after hearing him being executed by a low time gang, my father got into an argument with the other two and we fell back into what we are in now.” Then she smiled. “But even though my uncles have different ideas, we are still family. We are in temporary truce till my wedding is done.” She frowned. “But there is still a lot of preparations for the event. And Bucky…” she sighed. “Well, no point in talking about it now. So how have you been girls?”

“Want the long one or the simple one?” Iris asked as she looked to me. I sighed.

“Alright, long story short…” I told her what had happened in the past month. She listened intently and considered what we have done as an act of heroism. When I told her about the encounter with the cerberus Scruffy, she gapped.

“You took on a cerberus?” she asked. I furrowed my brows.

“Not really like hoof to dog. More like toss a flea jar at the king and in his zealous rage charge a small target and fell to a spiky chasm.” I said. I continued my story, leaving the details out about Iris being a clone of a two century old Shadowbolt and my encounters with the Maidens. When I finished, she was left impressed.

“I envy you all.” She said. I blinked.

“Why?”

“You all get to see all the action. While I have to play the head of a gang that cause nothing but trouble.” She smiled. “Although, I won’t lie that I do tend to sneak out every now and then disguised as a member and go in shootouts. But what you experience is nothing like here.”

“Unless you count the giant alicorn robot in Coltington Way.” I frowned. Al Capony chuckled.

“Well, you are all welcome here.” She said. “In fact, you are all part of The Family anyway.” I bowed my head.

“Great, I’m allied with gangs.” I muttered. I still don’t like being involved in gang related activity. The society and the organization they do is just too… well… just not my style. Although, I doubt I can get away with saying that now. After everything that has happened, I guess it’s all rubbing off on me. I was either liked or hated by gangs. And there wasn’t anything I could do to avoid it. There was that one option of do nothing. But I think I have mentioned not moving around sucks.

We entered into the Ultra Lux Hotel and I was once again greeted with an elegantly dressed stallion with a masquerade mask.

“Welcome, to the Ultra Lux. I’m afraid I must take your weapons from you. No fear though, you’ll get them back when you leave.” He said. Sanity and Iris didn’t hesitate to do that. Me however… I bit my lip and glanced at my weapons.

“C-can I just have the sword?” I asked.

“I’m sorry ma’am. But all weapons must be taken. It’s for everyone’s safety including yours.” He said. I whimpered and slowly gave Compassion to the stallion. “Thank you. Again, you will get them back when you leave. Please, enjoy your stay.” With that, he turned and trotted away towards stairs behind the counter where a mare looked over the ledger in a colorful masquerade mask.

“Relax, Courier. They aren’t going anywhere.” Iris said reassuringly as she patted my back. I bowed my head.

“I hate being unarmed…” I said. Iris nuzzled my cheek and put a wing over my back. We walked over to the counter where Sanity and Al Capony were talking to the mare behind the counter. When I lifted my head, I froze. The mare behind the counter did the same thing.

“You!” We said in unison.

Footnote: Max Level!