“I’m listening.” I said, holding up a hoof to stop Minty.

“Well alright. I can see what it is you’re planning and I can’t stop you. But since I caught you in time, I was hoping we could find a compromise?”

“I think-”

“Wait.” Pumpkin said, motioning for me to back off. “May I?”

I took a step back and nodded, motioning that the floor was hers.

“Who are you?” Pumpkin asked, focusing her gaze on a camera in one of the high corners in the room.

“What, has there been some kind of bargain sale for stable dwellers lately? I am DJ-Pon3! Lord and master of the airwaves, paragon of-”

“I got that the first time.” Pumpkin said impatiently. “Who are you really?”

“I’m afraid I might be missing something here little miss, so if you would be so kind as to explain I’m sure we could-”

“And you can drop the act.” Pumpkin said, the beginnings of a mean smile forming on her face. “And it is an act because-” Pumpkin’s horn began to glow as she took a deep breath. “I can do it too.”

The voice now coming from her mouth was deep and very familiar. Identical in fact to DJ Pon3’s

“Where did you learn how to do that?” The voice emanating around the room now sounded slightly panicked and definitely female.

“I helped develop it.” Pumpkin said matter-of-factly. “It and several other vocal templates for the Ministry of Magic. Spells that would have been stored in Twilight’s athenaeum or elsewhere in Tenpony Tower.”

“I don’t know where it came from, just that it has been passed down through the last five DJ Pon3s at least. You’re a pre-war pony? How?”

“Experimental stasis and life preserving spells in a contained life-support pod we built for the ministry of magic.”

“Wow. I’d love to pick your brain sometime.”

“So you are the real DJ Pon3 then?” I interjected before he could.

“That’s right Harbinger and now that-”

“Please don’t call me that, my name is Silvershine Sparkshower, or Sparks if you like.”

“Sparks.” Pon3 said thoughtfully, trying it out. “You don’t like what I came up with?”

“Honestly? It’s been a bit hit and miss. I did want recognition for what we did but not like this and it sometimes feels like I have to compete with a fictional version of myself.”

“Oh…I’m sorry I did that to you. Part of being DJ Pon3 is warning ponies of the dangers of the wasteland. Another part is recounting tales of heroes to give the ponies out there something to believe in, that the good fight is in all of us. Getting my info secondhoof probably only muddies the water on what really happens.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry to say that you’ll have to find yourself another hero. We’re here to silence this tower.”

“I know and that’s what I wanted to talk about. I don’t know you Sparks, not really but I feel I do through the actions I’ve reported. I’m trusting there’s a very good reason for what you’re doing and I accept that. But the ponies out there rely on me…on DJ Pon3. They need to know that no matter what DJ Pon3 is looking out for them. All I ask is that you disable the observational eye and leave the broadcast tower alone. I won’t see what’s going on in your neck of the woods but I’ll still be able to reach the ears of loyal listeners everywhere.”

“On one other condition.” I said, hoping that Pon3 would go for it.

“My turn to listen.”

“Could we get some privacy please?” I asked the room. Barring a few confused stares, the others dutifully took the lift back to the ground floor.

“I don’t know you either.” I said once the others were out of earshot, furrowing my brow as I struggled to find the right words. “But I cannot deny that the wasteland would suffer without you. To that end comes my last condition. No matter what you hear, no matter how bad it sounds you can’t report anything you hear out of Baltimare. If word gets out about what’s going to happen then ponies will die, good, innocent, misguided ponies and not just here in Baltimare but all across Equestria.” Pon3 was silent for a long minute before she spoke again.

“I understand. But I have a condition of my own. I’ll keep what I hear to myself, if you promise to give me an interview the next time we speak.”

“An interview? I told you I don’t like this kind of spotlight and now you want me to talk to the whole wasteland?”

“Not exactly. I want you and me to talk while the whole wasteland listens. Totally different.”

“I don’t want-”

“This interview isn’t for you Sparks, it’s for them. Ponies like you can mean more to others than family. Whether it was your goal to be a hero or not doesn’t matter. You’ve helped ponies and what you mean to them is worth more than any truth or otherwise you would hold for yourself. I know what it’s like to act like something you’re not but sometimes that is what we must do. Sometimes being honest means knowing when not to be.”

She had me. I had thought something similar when I first started playing hero. That what I represented was more important than what I was. To hear it from the DJ’s own mouth was frightening in many ways. Now I had to put my logic and Pon3’s faith to the test.

“Alright. You’ve convinced me. You have a deal Pon3.”

“It’s Homage, my name. I normally don’t get to talk to the heroes I report about. It’s been an interesting experience. Oh, and I’d call it a favor if you’d keep everything you learned here to yourself. Trade secrets and all.”

“I promise, Homage.” I smiled at the trust she’d shown me. It was enough to make me want to live up to her and everypony’s expectations.

“Thank you, Sparks. Oh and if you want a different moniker now’s the time. Otherwise, I’ll just make up another one.”

I paused a moment, thinking for what could have been hours when it came to me. It was so simple in the end. Drawing Starfall, I looked into my own eyes reflected in the blade and smiled.

“How about…the Silver Sentinel.”

Once our deal had been cemented it didn’t take Minty long to disable the observational eyes mounted high above us on the outside of the tower. It took an extra minute to explain the logic and the deal we’d cut to leave the broadcasting array functional. In the end I’d been forced to reveal and pull my new rank within the rangers to silence her protests. Once we’d cleared the sinkholes, I found the radio I’d been given and felt my stomach tighten painfully. This was it, time to see if any of this would play out by design. Steeling my nerves I made the call, got an acknowledgement and that was that. The die had been cast and I still wasn’t sure exactly what game we were even playing but I was committed now. Perhaps more so than I had ever intended.

“Now what?” Grim asked, though I’m sure the question was mostly automatic.

“Go back, get the kids, and go home.” Of course, it wouldn’t be that simple. Even in the incredibly unlikely scenario where nopony gets hurt, there would be difficulties waiting at the Bastion. Fear gripped my heart like a vice as I cast my gaze to the horizon. I hadn’t known 87 or the Brightcrest’s very long and yet I placed a trust in them that I usually kept for myself. Charlotte’s behavior at Wayfinder’s Landing told me how seriously she took her oath of service and even though I barely knew her I trusted her and Ray to follow my orders without question. 87 on the other hoof was in a league all his own. I don’t know what the life debt he owed me meant to him but the hard edge around his eyes when he promised to look after the children spoke more to me than words could. The pressure on my heart eased but the nagging dread I’d been trying to shake all day was still there.

“C’mon. Let’s hurry. Grim?”

“I got her.” He said reading my mind, pointing a claw over his shoulder where Pebble looked back at me with nervous eyes.

“Take her ahead to Eclipse, we’ll meet you there.” We couldn’t afford to bring her all the way with us. If it came down to a fight I didn’t know what we were going to do but getting her out of the line of fire would make it that much easier.

“Sure. I’ll scout around a little too until you get there.”

“Alright just…be careful.”

He smirked knowingly before launching into the air and disappeared into the low clouds.

“Are we expecting trouble?” Minty asked. I should have guessed she didn’t know the why of what we were doing but what could I tell her?

“I am.” I remembered the ‘traditionalists’ Lions and Quillwright said were within their ranks. Did we know who they were? How many? Had Quillwright’s secret mission born fruit without my knowledge? Could that be why Lions wanted to move ahead with his reformations so quickly? That wouldn’t explain his fear if that were the case. I swallowed the lump in my throat and did my best to shove my fears down and out of thought. Rangers would die today, by my hooves or otherwise.

“From who?” She pressed, taking a few steps closer. The pained expression behind her glasses told me she had her suspicions and I couldn’t help but shrink away from her. “From who!?”

“From your brothers and sisters.” Sunny said, inching forward to back me up.

“Why?” Minty’s angry expression faltered and a look of understanding replaced it. “No…he didn’t, he wouldn’t!”

“It’s what he thinks is best.” I said, remembering my courage.

“Y-you knew? You tricked me, both of you!”

“Keep it together scribe!” I thundered, putting all the authority I could behind it. “It is not, nor will it ever, be your job to question the Elder! What’s done is done and there’s no going back now. You don’t have to like it but it was the right decision. He knows it, I know it and now you must accept it, understand?”

“Yes.” She said through gritted teeth, her duty to the rangers winning out.

“Yes what?” I continued sternly.

“Yes sir.”

“Good, now let’s get moving.” I said, speeding into a trot and beginning our return to the Bastion. Minty, despite her small frame, managed to keep pace with me, a storm of thoughts swirling behind her eyes.

“Permission to speak freely sir?”

“No.” Whatever her reservations I didn’t want to hear them. Doubt already occupied too much of my mind. “Noodles!” I called and soon he was trotting beside me on my opposite side. “I have an idea and I’m going to need your wings to make it happen, can you do this for me?”

Noodles nodded and took to the sky once I’d given him his instructions. I just hoped he had enough time to get there and back.

Twilight was painting the horizon when the barn above Eclipse came into view and the dread I’d been carrying had been realized. Smoke wafted from the surrounding fields as fire consumed what little scrub grass there was. The barn itself had only one standing wall left and it too had suffered fire damage. What was happening here?

“Halt!” A tinny voice said as two power armored ponies trotted from behind the wall of the farmhouse to meet us. “This area is under the authority of the Circle of Steel. I must ask you to pull back immediately or be fired upon.”

“I am Sentinel Sparkshower.” I spoke. What were rangers doing here in the first place? “Report.”

“Sparkshower?” The first ranger said, exchanging a look with his partner.

“The one Freesia brought in.” The other said, recognition evident in his stance.

“Do you stand with the traitor Lions?” First asked.

Traitor? Then it was worse than I’d feared. These were the ranger Lions warned me about, rangers who must have discovered Eclipse on their exodus from the Bastion. Rangers who would storm stables and kill for trinkets. Something below us exploded and sent tremors through the earth. The regulators were fighting back! This battle wasn’t over yet. Three friendly blips were approaching from the south and my caution was about to be rewarded.

“Unfortunately, I do.” Before the rangers could bring their oversized weapons to bear, a green blast of magical energy slammed into the second ranger’s side, slagging the metal in the center and leaving the edges blackened and pitted. Turning to face the new threat, they left themselves open for a counterattack. Drawing and igniting Starfall, I swung it hard in a diagonal chop, cutting through the metal of first’s leg but not enough to sever the limb. The sound of metal-on-metal impacts drummed out a staccato rhythm as a storm of bullets were sent in second’s direction.

“LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND BE DESTROYED!” Came a booming, synthetic voice as two familiar robots and a pegasus ghoul rushed to our aid.

Sunny, not missing a beat, leapt over first, used his back to swing her body around and deliver a buck to second’s head with enough power to warp the metal of his helmet. Falling to the ground with a crash, second’s blip vanished as two more green bolts of energy splashed against first’s armor and continued to turn his protection to molten slag. I pulled Starfall back and swung again as first fired a missile from his battle saddle that the Sentinel took square in the center of its body. My second attack was enough to sever his leg and as he fell, I turned the point of Stafall’s blade towards his belly and pushed with all my strength. It made it part way through the armor, enough to draw blood but not the coup de grace I was hoping for. Sunny dropped back beside me and placed her hooves on the handle and helped me push it the rest of the way in and out the other side of the thick armor.

“Good show lads.” Cerberus said as it floated up to us, its three eyestalks twitching in what might have been excitement. “It’s a pleasure to fight with you again Commander.” It continued, snapping off the best salute it could with the pincers on one of its limbs.

“DAMAGE SUSTAINED. COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS REDUCED BY SEVENTEEN PERCENT. PROBABILITY OF PRIMARY FUNTION FAILURE; NEGLIGIBLE. GREETINGS COMMANDER.”

“W-what have you done?” Minty said, falling to her knees before the first ranger’s still form.

“We were afraid this would happen.” I said. “They made their choice.”

“You knew ponies would get killed and you still went through with it?”

“You want to debate this in a committee? Fine, but save it for later, right now I have to get in there and save the lives of my people.”

“These were your people too.” Minty said, her throat tight as tears gathered in her eyes.

“…I know.” I guess it wasn’t as easy as I’d thought after all. Did Freesia have to kill anypony? Was Freesia herself killed in the fighting? Had there been a fight at the Bastion at all? I drew the radio I’d called in our mission with but there was only static. Too many questions and not enough answers. One thing’s for sure, the more time I wasted worrying over might-be’s the more good ponies would die in the complex beneath me…on both sides.

“Everypony with me, double time. Eclipse is under attack.”

I was surprised to see that the elevator in the remains of the barn was still functional. On the other hoof, after the cave in during the Moletown expedition it was the only way in or out. As we reached the halfway point my EFS lit up with an ocean of yellow blips interspersed with red ones. There were almost twice as many friendly blips as hostile but I had to remember the damage one pony in power armor could do, especially in the close quarter fighting the hallways of Eclipse would demand. As the elevator came to a rest I was able to spot a few of the ranger’s support personnel. Lightly armored and armed ponies guarded the openings to the hallways that branched off this center room. Off to one side of the elevator was a pile of bits and pieces, more akin to a dragon’s hoard of valuables than battle debris. The presence of a blue robed scribe looking it over proved that it was gathered there deliberately. There was a sort of irony in starting a second battle in Eclipse where I ended the last one.

“H-halt!” The scribe said, fumbling with the weapon she’d probably never fired.

“Don’t do it.” I said, aware of the ponies around me also going for their weapons. The scribe froze, terrified eyes drifting over each of us until fear won out and she went for her weapon. She didn’t get it. One blast from Sunny was enough to end her life. From the edge of the elevator I heard Minty puke as she fell to her side trembling.

The other four rangers in the room heard the exchange and attempted to flee down the hallways they’d been guarding but didn’t get far. Noodles’ frumpy coat belied his actual agility as he shot off like a rocket and buried both his wingblades in the chest of the first ranger, a second or two behind him was Starfall, carving through the air like a disc to impale the second ranger. On the other side of the room Pumpkin had frozen them in place with a spell where they were efficiently dispatched by Sunny and her knife.

“Noodles take the elevator back up and bring the robots back with you. You better take Minty with you too and leave her up top.”

He nodded in a way I read as ‘you got it’ and did as he was asked, attempting to wordlessly console Minty as the elevator rose up and out of sight.

“Grim and the others are in here somewhere.” I said aloud, wondering how bad it was as a distant explosion rumbled down the opposite hallway. “Pumpkin you wait with Sunny and try to find the others once the robots get here. Send Noodles after us if he comes back, Aurora and I will head to my office and see about getting the security systems online in the meantime.”

“What do we do about the rangers?” Pumpkin asked, the uncertainty in her voice as evident as it had ever been.

“Kill them if you have to but give them a chance if you can.” I said, looking at the dead scribe with a heavy heart. Minty was right about one thing, they were also my people…once.

Pumpkin nodded and started to lead Sunny away when I stopped her with a hoof on her shoulder. I looked over my shoulder to see that Aurora was out of ear shot, leaned in closer, and whispered my true orders to Sunny.

“Unless they surrender completely, kill them all, no mercy.”

“Understood.”

As we neared my office the truth of the matter became clear to me. The scorched metal, the twisted, shattered remains of robots and the smell of blood told me what had happened. The robots had already activated and been neutralized. Though not without casualties on the ranger’s side. The gunfire in this part of Eclipse was getting louder and since heading to my office was now a moot point, I turned in its direction, towards the infirmary.

“Follow me Aurora.” I said, turning down the next hallway towards the noise.

“W-what should I do?” She asked. She seemed just as hesitant as Minty but Eclipse was her home as much as it was mine. She would hate every second of it but she would fight nonetheless.

“Leave the big ones to me.” I said, drawing Starfall but in its dormant state for now. “You focus on the others.”

“Okay.” She said in a shaky voice.

I almost shared her sentiment but I found that the closer I got to the infirmary and the danger Gunny could be in the less I cared where said danger was coming from.

“On the ground now!” A filtered voice shouted, followed by a crash and a shriek from a familiar pony. Willing Starfall to full power I turned my trot into a gallop as I sped towards the infirmary with death soon to follow. “We didn’t come to kill ponies!” The voice said as I came into view to see one of two power armored rangers push Gunny roughly to the floor.

“I did!” I shouted, pointing my blade at the closer of the two. The two must have never even considered the possibility that they’d be flanked as I charged and ran the first one through with all my strength before his companion could react. The heavy body slumped to the floor dead, taking Starfall out of my grasp and leaving me vulnerable. I quickly conjured a shield around myself as the second ranger’s chain gun spun up and spat a storm of bullets in my direction. The hail of gunfire was enough to stop my advance and I was forced to hold my position. With his attention on me the ranger failed to notice the shadow that darted into the room and brought his gleaming wingblades down on the mechanism connecting his large weapon to the battle saddle. Aurora too had crept to her position unseen as she clumsily swung the dormant Starfall she’d recovered at the ranger’s opposite battle saddle mount. With his weapons now disabled I gave the stallion a chance to surrender. A vain hope but one I had to hold on to regardless. Ignoring his hopeless situation the ranger turned back to the helpless Gunny cowering on the floor, evidently hoping to take at least one of us down before he fell. My heart burned like a furnace at the sight as I pumped magic into my horn and released it as a lightning bolt that connected with the back of his head, snapping it forward with a metallic clank, leaving the metal warped and glowing. In an instant Retribution was floating beside me as I sent a SATS assisted shot through the soft metal and into his skull.

“Y-you came back.” Gunny said as the ranger crashed to the floor, slowly crawling around the dead armored bodies. “We tried to radio you and-”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” I said, cutting her off from adding anything else. “Are you hurt? Can you stand?”

“I can stand.” She said, proving it to me rather quickly. “They attacked thirty minutes ago. The others are doing what they can but without the robots they’ll be pushed back to the rail line and from there-”

“I know, I know.” I said, pointing back the way we came. “Fall back to somewhere safe and I’ll…do what I can.” I didn’t wait for her answer. Calling Starfall back to me, we dashed out the door and headed deeper into Eclipse. “Good work you two.” I said to the two ponies behind me. Noodles nodded, his expression grim and resolute. Aurora still looked unsure but acknowledged the praise with a weak smile. The deeper we got the more signs of battle we started to see. At almost every hallway junction rested the bodies of regulators and rangers alike. Dotted amongst the bodies was the occasional robot, the entirety of my defenses wiped out by the rangers but not before they did their job as best they could. A rumbling boom from deeper in the facility got my attention and, with gritted teeth, I turned us towards it.

Sunny was like a force of nature. We entered into a long hallway leading to the living quarters and at the sight of six lightly armored rangers, she yanked her battle saddle off her back and flung it down the center of the corridor, flattening the two sentries at the mouth. Sunny didn’t give them a second as she jumped over the fallen two and tackled a third with enough speed and power to somersault all the way back to her hooves where she then used her victim to savagely bludgeon a fourth with her companion. In the span of five seconds Sunny had taken down more than half of their rearguard. The two remaining ponies at the far end of the hall were able to finally recognize what was happening and turned their weapons on us. The first didn’t get a shot off as I used magic to yank the gun from their mouth and spun it around to club its former owner in the side of the head. As the fifth ranger fell the last was able to fire off a few rounds that zipped through the space I’d just been standing as I teleported behind her and tapped a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t look.” I said as the mare predictably performed a one eighty and pointed her weapon into freshly empty space as I teleported back to where I’d been. Finishing her three sixty the mare barely caught a glimpse of Sunny before she jabbed a hoof into her throat, causing her to drop her weapon as she sputtered for breath. Seizing her by her midsection, Sunny continued to impress me by hoisting the ranger above her head and slamming her into the wall. An exchange of gunfire sounded from further ahead and I had to pause to try and still my heart. A few short, rapid breaths later I was a centered as I was going to get. I made it a few steps ahead when I heard a struggle break out behind me. I looked back to see Sunny holding a knife in her hooves as the last ranger tried to keep it away. Sunny, being the strong mare she was, slapped the others hooves away and drove her knife down and into her heart. The ranger’s body jerked once then went still with a quiet, gurgling death rattle.

“What are you doing!?” I said, trotting back to her to see that three of the others had their throats cut as the pools of blood inched closer to that of their brethren.

“Never leave an enemy at your tail.” She said, recovering her battle saddle and checking that the two under it were dead.

“They were defenseless.” I continued, the defense sounding weak in my own ears.

“Kindness is a terrible thing to carry in this wasteland.” Sunny said with a touch of sadness. “Kindness that will never have a mirror. What do you think they’d have done in your position?”

I tried to protest. I wanted to protest but found the sound dying in my throat before it could become words.

“Two more!” a ranger in power armor shouted from down the hall, having just come from another hallway, his headlamp casting our hallway with light. The other ranger beside the first took a step forward and a lid of some kind dropped off a tall box attached to his side.

“I got ‘em!” He said as a missile came speeding out of the box, its thruster fuel leaving black smoke in its wake. With nowhere to go in the hallway I swallowed my nerves and reached inward to my magic. The missile made it halfway to us before coming to a stop, its thruster sputtering as it was caught in the blue grasp of my magic. I couldn’t release it in any direction without doing some kind of damage either to ourselves or the facility itself. The bodies we’d passed on our way here flashed to the forefront of my mind and suddenly I knew what to do with it. The missile turned back towards its point of origin, guided by magical precision, and rocketed right back into the tube whence it came. The resulting explosion shook the whole of Eclipse. Or at least that’s what it felt like to me as the shockwave, funneled by the tight hallway, picked me up off my hooves and threw me three meters in the opposite direction. The floor rose up to meet me as the air was forcefully evacuated from my lungs by the impact. Through the ringing in my ears I could hear the Sentinels omnidirectional wheels as it and the other robot came up from our rear.

“The offices are clear Ma’am.” Cerberus had sustained some damage, one of his three eyestalks hanging limp and shooting out intermittent sparks.

“Are you alright?” I caught myself asking as I forced myself to stand.

“Quite fine Ma’am.” It said, rotating its remaining eyestalks in my direction. “I expect that my visual capacity is still greater than yours.”

Sunny leaned in towards the broken eyestalk and shrugged. “We better keep moving. Somepony is bound to have heard that.” She said, waving the Sentinel to take the lead.

We were following the sounds of combat, nearing the living quarters when we found our first group of regulators. They’d built a respectable barricade at the entrance to the living quarters out of the melted and fused metal bodies of destroyed robots. Seven rangers, three in power armor, were trying to blast their way past it when our approaching Sentinel gave away our position. I’d never seen a Sentinel in action before today and it surprised me with its speed, charging ahead of us and shrugging off all but their heavy weapons. The Sentinel slammed into the first power armored ranger and sent him careening into one of his less armored fellows with bone shattering force. From behind the barricade came several battle cries as nine regulators pushed down their own barricade and joined the fight. Blackhawk, Gumdrop and Pick were amongst them as they and three others piled onto the second armored ranger and forced them to the floor. Two of the less armored rangers fired indiscriminately into the crowd, hitting one of the regulators square in the head. Sunny blew past me and joined the others in the ponypile. Cerberus floated past me as fast as his thruster would take him, slinging green bolts of energy as he went. Terror filled my heart as I felt more out of place than ever. I never thought I’d have to fight, let alone kill anypony. Especially since it was these ponies who’d helped save my life when Sparks rescued me from Project Outlast. The longer I stood back and did nothing the more ponies would get hurt or killed. Swallowing the lump in my throat (unsuccessfully) I called upon my magic to do its thing. I ripped a pistol from one of the lightly armored rangers’ mouths and sent it right back into his teeth, taking him out without killing him.

The third ranger turned his weapons on the Sentinel and poured a storm of bullets into its chassis, slowly chewing up its armored plating. Two of the others reinforced him and added their weapons to the assault. From inside its bulky body came a popping sound followed by the sudden harsh venting of smoke that signaled something critical had been damaged. Recognizing its imminent demise, the Sentinel spun up its wheels and pinned its three attackers against the far wall hard but not hard enough to kill them. A spot on its back opened up and a glowing hot apparatus housing its spark battery and spell matrix popped out and began to glow brighter and brighter until-

*KABOOM!!!*

The resulting explosion killed the three rangers pinned to the wall and threw everypony else into heaps on the floor, two of the regulators didn’t rise again. Sunny recovered first, scooped up a piece of the Sentinel’s wreckage and plunged it into the neck of the first armored ranger still on the floor in an attempt to pry their helmet off. Teleporting to her side, I added my magic to her strength and with the screeching groan of overstressed metal we tore the helmet from the armor. The terrified expression of the mare inside made me hesitate and Sunny had seen it.

“Don’t flinch, don’t look away.” Sunny said as she drew her knife and placed it in my hooves. “An enemy is an enemy. A warrior’s duty is not to understand her enemy, but to destroy them.”

The knife felt cold in my hooves. I knew what she was trying to do, what she wanted me to do. In a way I had seen this coming. Sparks told me that a pony never gets used to killing, just accustomed to it. I had, up until this point, only fought in defense of my life or the lives of those I cared about. I wasn’t a warrior. The mare at my hooves was helpless, terrified, and I was expected to take her life even though they helped save mine.

“Don’t hesitate, look her in the eye.” Sunny commanded, taking the sides of my head in her hooves and forcing me to look at the mare. “Kill her.” Sunny whispered, the sound sending a chill down my back.

“I…I can’t.” I said. The knife shaking in my grasp. “They’re n-not bad ponies.”

“That doesn’t matter. Good, bad, they’re meaningless words to give action motive. A ‘good’ pony will kill if pushed. A ‘bad’ pony can use their experience for the sake of others. Labels like that serve none but the beholder. The truth of the matter is, good or bad, that this conversation wouldn’t be happening if she were in our position. Take what makes you weak and turn it into a weapon.” Sunny released my head and placed her hooves over mine, guiding them over the mare’s partially exposed neck. Even though my head was free my eyes stayed on hers. The fear was still there but so was a growing acceptance that there was no escape for her. Despite it all, despite how right she sounded, I still failed to keep the tears from showing. How was I supposed to turn kindness into a weapon?

“It’s alright.” The mare said, leaning back and exposing a bit more of her neck. “I knew this was wrong but here I am, I made my choice. Your friend’s right. If our positions were reversed then you would be dead and this conversation would have never happened. So what are you waiting for you stupid bitch! Kill me! Do it!” Despite the venom in her voice, despite the fire in her expression, her scared eyes never left mine, a reflection of my own.

“I’m so sorry!” Tears spilled from our eyes simultaneously as I slammed mine shut just in time to miss seeing the blade driven into her neck by my hooves alone. There was a brief choking noise followed by a warm wetness on my hooves. After a long moment her body gave a small twitch as her heart ceased beating and she lay still. I felt a hoof placed on my shoulder but refused to open my eyes. I was so confused and angry. It didn’t make any sense. How did everything lead to us killing the very ponies who’d given us shelter, equipment and medical attention? Though they gunned down the regulators without a second thought and deserved whatever came next, I still felt like I was betraying them somehow.

“Damn boss.” Came Blackhawk’s voice from behind us. Daring a peek, I saw that the remaining regulators had killed the final armored ranger and had the last one trussed up against the wall. “I forget how scary and intense you can be.” The tone of his voice suggested that this wasn’t the first time he witnessed her coaching somepony. Perhaps he himself had gone through something similar. Ignoring their stares, I looked back to the mare I’d killed and gently closed her eyes. Once the little I could do for her was done I reached in past her neck and took her dog tags, chain and all. I slipped the chain around my own neck and held the little plates up for me to see.

Cotton Candy
02671398
Blood Type O-
Steel Ranger – Knight

I would never forget what I learned here today. Let these tags be my eternal reminder.

“What happened?” Sunny asked, her attention on the mare leaning against the wall, her legs tied and mouth covered.

“She surrendered after we took this one.” Blackhawk said, kicking the power armored body they’d piled on earlier. “While you were…doing your thing.”

“Take her prisoner. We’ll deal with her once we’ve cleared out the rest. Blackhawk, Pick, with us. Gumdrop, take a few ponies and secure the elevator room.” Sunny ordered, waving for the other two to follow.

“Oh, we’ll take her alright, hehe.” One of the other regulators said with a chuckle, leering at the helpless mare.

“What?” I said, coming to an immediate stop and throwing a glare his way.

“Seems only fair.” He shrugged. “They took the lives of some of our boys, only seems fair we get to take…something from them.” He ran a hoof down her cheek only to be shoved aside by my magic. “Hey! What the hell do you-”

“Listen carefully. You will take her somewhere where she can be locked up safely and you will not touch her again. Clear?”

“I don’t know who the hell you think you are but-” With a glow from my horn his words immediately ceased to be as his hind legs snapped together and his whole body sagged closer to the floor.

“Are we clear?” I asked again, flaring my horn and applying just a bit more pressure to what I would take from him.

“Crystal.” He squeaked, his voice high and strained.

“You’re supposed to be better than this.” I said, giving him one last rough squeeze before releasing my hold on him. He collapsed to the floor face first, panting all the while. “Anypony else need a reminder of our job?”

Silence.

“Good.” It was bad enough we were forced to kill ponies who were our allies less than a day ago without us becoming monsters ourselves in reaction. I probably could have talked that stallion down without hurting him but I had frustration, among other feelings I couldn’t name, that needed venting and he’d crossed a line.

“Still no sign of Grim.” Sunny said, looking ahead in the direction of the cafeteria where I imagined the bulk of the fighting took or was taking place.

“Then he must be ahead.” I reached for the door controls but before I could use them the door opened and I came face to face with a familiar pony moving much faster than I was.

I dashed through the door as soon as it opened, hoping the explosion we’d heard hadn’t done too much damage. Except the doorway wasn’t empty. There was hardly enough time to recognize who it was let alone try to stop. We met face to face as she fell to her back, grabbing me as our momentum continued for one whole flip, leaving her atop me at the end with stars in our eyes.

“Ow.” Was all I could think to say, until the weight on me brought me back to the moment.

“Sparks?” Pumpkin said groggily, holding one hoof to her head.

“No time.” Sunny said, hauling us both up to our hooves. “Double back to the cafeteria.” She pressed, shoving us through the door I’d just came through. She waited by the door as she made sure everypony made it through, including Cerberus, before closing the door behind us.

“What about the Sentinel?” I asked, looking around at the ponies gathered. Aurora was introducing Noodles to Blackhawk and Pick was saying something to Pumpkin.

“I regret to inform you that he fell in glorious battle, Commander.” Cerberus said, his bombastic personality a bit more subdued than usual.

“Is that what exploded?”

“Yes, took out three rangers in the process.” Sunny said, leaning in closer so her next words would be heard only by me. “We took one prisoner, surrendered wholesale.”

“Alright.” I said, just as quietly before switching voices to address the others. “Everypony check your weapons, the next fight will be a big one.” In the end I guessed the ranger compliment consisted of thirty or less ponies and we’d nearly whittled that number down by half, not counting who the robots and regulators themselves might have killed. “Blackhawk, Pick, have either of you seen Grim? I sent him ahead of us a few hours ago.”

“Yeah, I saw him.” Pick said, nodding in the direction we were heading. “He had Gunny examine the filly he arrived with and took her to get something to eat. That was before the attack.”

“So he’s probably still there.” I said, more of an affirmation than question. White Noise was probably in there too if he was still alive. I thought it odd that my thoughts strayed in his direction. He was a strange stallion but he was genuinely doing whatever he thought would be most helpful, which at present was cook. With another life I cared about at stake my determination to drive the splinter rangers from Eclipse magnified. “Let’s do this.”

As we neared the cafeteria it became more and more evident that it, and perhaps even the metro tunnels beyond it, was where the fighting was thickest. Blood and gore spattered the walls on both sides and crumpled, eviscerated bodies lay in massive pools of connecting blood, the original owners impossible to determine.

“I warned you about dealing with the rangers.” Blackhawk hissed, apparently finding the courage to call me out.

“Is that what you really want to talk about right now?” I said, not bothering to look at him.

“What the fuck do you think!? Just look around you!”

“I see it.” I hissed back through clenched teeth. “You think I don’t? You think I don’t understand? Yes, you did warn me. There. Does that make you happy? Does that make the death make sense to you?”

“I…I don’t mean to question you boss…but-”

“Good instinct. Follow it.” I growled, taking a second to throw a withering glare his way. What did he know anyway? These weren’t rangers, not really, but I couldn’t blame the others for their perception. Once we were safe, I could explain what had happened…provided we survived. The sounds of battle were upon us as we came into view of the cafeteria’s forced open doors…and the five-pony defensive line who were clearly expecting us. In hindsight I recognized that our approach hadn’t exactly been stealthy. That and I knew rangers kept in radio contact. After a few explosions and lack of personnel reporting in they’d probably put two and two together to figure out what was happening. They may have even been expecting us personally if the next order from them was any indication.

“Target the filly!” One of the three power armor ponies commanded.

Reacting instantly, I willed Starfall to life and dove in Aurora’s path. I felt her collide with my hind legs as I deflected the first bullet into the wall in a shower of sparks as the high caliber round found something electrical. The impact brought me to an immediate halt and I didn’t know how many shots like that I could take. The first shot had shoved the flat of the blade against my chest and nearly tore it from my hold. The second bullet hit before I could bring the weapon back to a ready position, this time the force of the shot pushed my blade far from any kind of defensive position. By the second shot I noticed the others springing into action but too late to keep the third shot from disarming me. I thought I heard somepony call my name as the fourth shot found its home in my chest, breaking what I hoped to be only three of my ribs and throwing me to the floor. By the miracle of the late Lady Rarity’s craftsmanship the bullet that should have killed me, didn’t. Though not without doing a considerable amount of damage. Every new breath brought with it a sharp, stabbing pain and the very familiar tang of iron in my mouth warned me of more critical damage I couldn’t see. I heard Sunny give out an almost animalistic roar and I powered through the pain to lift my head to see what was happening. Sunny had her head pressed against Cerberus’ back, using him as a mobile shield deflecting or absorbing the bullets meant for her as she charged their line. Blackhawk, Pick and Noodles were close behind her and as soon as the two forces met they all picked one target and began a deadly series of one on one fights to which they were slightly outnumbered and considerably overmatched. I could also see Aurora and Pumpkin standing defensively over me, a slight shimmering wall before us. Aurora had her pistol in her mouth and Pumpkin’s shotgun floated beside her. I called Starfall back to me and forced myself to stand with a wheeze, blood trickling out both corners of my mouth.

“I’m…not dead yet.” I said, floating Starfall over my head and abandoning the safety of Pumpkin’s shield to join the others. I heard Aurora and Pumpkin call out to me but I pressed on regardless. I had to help them. Sunny might be able to match power armor with her own strength but the others couldn’t. I had closed about half the distance between us when I saw Pick take a power armored buck to his belly. My eyes widened in horror as dark blood exploded from his mouth as if he’d swallowed a grenade. He collapsed to the floor and was about to be finished off when I brought out Retribution and used SATS to fire three rounds into the eye slits of the ranger’s helmet. They weren’t powerful enough to punch through but I’d gotten his attention which was my goal from the start. Pumpkin yelped behind me as the ranger without a partner turned his attention to us and fired down the hall. One bullet hit Pumpkin’s foreleg, red blood blossoming up from the wound. Pumpkin retaliated with a blast of magic that floored the less armored mare and gave us that much more time to help the others. Noodles’ wingblades made short work of the other less armored ranger which allowed him to quickly pull Pick out of the way and engage the one who’d downed him. I felt Aurora land on my back where she snatched Retribution out of my magical grasp and fired it at the closest ranger, giving them multiple targets. Which in hindsight was a foolish decision. Three more bullets were sent my way, one ricocheted off my leg, the second hit me in the shoulder, and the third grazed my neck. My ribs protested under the rough treatment and I feared what might happen once the adrenaline wore off. With little recourse I continued my charge and brought my sword down on the ranger fighting Noodles. The attack carved a deep furrow in the armor of their back, inside which blood began to well up from the hidden gash underneath. Noodles saw this, tucked in his wings, corkscrewed through the air and masterfully plunged both his wingblades into the rend I’d opened for him. Paralyzed or dead, it didn’t matter as I moved to the next ranger. Blackhawk had lasted longer than he should have but even his luck couldn’t last forever and with a lucky kick the ranger broke one of his hind legs at the knee with the loud snap and wet crunch of bone and cartilage. He hit the floor hard with a scream, clutching at his wounded limb. I tried to intercept the next blow for him but the pain in my chest sapped my strength and when it came the hit disarmed me again and the residual force knocked me to the floor beside Blackhawk, taking Aurora down with me. The larger pony-tank hybrid reared up on his hind legs, ready to bring a massive armored hoof down on each of us. With a quick flash of blue light Pumpkin appeared in front of us, a magically conjured shield catching the hooves that would have crushed us. With obvious effort Pumpkin expanded her shield until it was large enough to topple the ranger from his precarious perch on his hind legs and send him crashing to the floor. With another flare of her horn the ranger’s armor began to shimmer, like a slight holographic overlay had been placed on it. Pumpkin floated her shotgun beside her and fired. To my complete surprise the ranger cried out, slumped back to the floor as blood splattered the wall behind them, and their blip disappeared. Pumpkin wasn’t done yet. Moving with unexpected grace she plucked the ranger she’d floored earlier and flung him at the last standing ranger, minus all of his grenade pins. Pumpkin then teleported to each of our remaining allies and brought them to my position in a rapid series of bright flashes, culminating in a shield over all of us. The unconscious ranger landed atop their companion’s armored back, who looked like they were moving to retreat before the multiple grenade explosion killed them both in a chain reaction that also detonated the drum of grenades being belt fed into the launcher mounted on their battle saddle. If Pumpkin had been two seconds slower, we would have been caught in the blast with them and poor Cerberus whose damaged chassis bounced off our shield and hit the wall, its missing limbs sparking as motors and servos tried to move absent appendages.

“I-I-It’s an hon-honor to die-die-die for the citizzzzens of Equestria.” Cerberus’ chassis gave a little shudder as his internal spell matrix failed and the quiet hum of his mobility thruster went silent. Then it occurred to me, I could hear. The sounds of fighting had stopped. From the shadow of the doorway a previously invisible pony appeared.

“T’would seem the expedition bore fruit after all.” A familiar, accented voice said.

“M-Mr. Sunshine?” I wheezed. Not a pony after all, but a zebra.

“Dats what dey call me.” He said back with a sort of creepy smile, sheathing a wicked looking blade in a crude sling tied to his foreleg. “You’ve certainly looked better my friend.”

“I’ve felt better too.” I said, taking shallow breaths. Pumpkin offered me her hoof and tried to pull me up and with some help from Aurora pushing me from the other side I made it to my hooves. I was right to fear the absence of adrenaline as my legs began to wobble and I nearly lost my balance. Pumpkin was quick to let me lean on her and that would have to do for the immediate future.

“You know my language? That is most unexpected, but welcome.” Sunshine said, waving for me to follow. The cafeteria was in about as rough shape as I could expect. Out in the tighter hallways the rangers seemed reluctant to use their more explosive ordinance. That did not seem to be the case here in the much more open room. Small black edged craters in the floor and walls indicated where grenades or missiles had exploded. “Mr. Coal is with your friends near the back. I’ll go now and tend to the wounded.”

I didn’t watch him go, instead my eyes drifted over the many still forms of the floor. Eleven rangers, five in power armor, lay dead on the floor and five survivors were on their knees along the far wall being watched by very angry looking regulators. I could see Grim, White Noise, and Orchid amongst the group of survivors near the prisoners and the vice gripping my heart loosened. Unfortunately, not for long. By the time we made it to them I’d counted twenty-seven dead regulators in this room alone.

Grim saw us coming and broke away from the others to meet us. “You made it.” He said with obvious relief. “We were falling back to the tunnels when we found them there.” He motioned with his head to Mr. Coal who was standing over the captured rangers.

“And Pebble?”

“I-I’m here.” A tiny voice said from nearby. I hadn’t noticed her earlier but she was standing beside White Noise with an oversized apron tied around her midsection and a lopsided chef’s hat on her head. “Junior Chef Pebble reporting for duty!” She said with borrowed enthusiasm, the approving nod and crooked smile from White Noise told me whose idea it had really been.

“I’m fine too boss, if you care that is.” White Noise added. His nonchalance really pissed me off and before I knew it he was on his back holding a hoof over his nose.

“Of course I care dumbass!” I said stomping my metal hoof for emphasis, the action eliciting a wince from me as the force travelled back up my leg and to my ribs. “For you, for her.” I said pointing at White Noise then Pebble in turn. “And them.” I finished solemnly, looking out at the bodies littering the floor. Ponies who’d believed in our cause, believed in me.

Grim stepped forward and placed a claw on my chest to stop me from doing anything else. Not that I was going to anyway.

“Go easy on him Sparks. He helped save a lot of lives today, organized our defenses here in record time.” Grim said as Orchid helped White Noise to his hooves.

“I’m not blaming anypony.” I said so the room could hear. “This just isn’t the time for levity.” I stared down White Noise as I spoke and he shied from my gaze in what I hoped was shame. “Secure the facility.” I ordered, switching to the commanding voice I was still getting used to. “Then gather the dead, strip them of everything and prepare them for burial. All of them.” I didn’t wait for acknowledgement as I noticed one of the ranger prisoners’ eyes on me and moved towards her.

“I see why you kept this place a secret.” She said, smiling with no joy. “Whatever would the Elder think?”

“Nothing of your concern, exile.” I said, using the last word as if it were a swear. “Identify yourself.”

The mare huffed and flipped a bit of mane from her eyes before stiffening and speaking. “Paladin Roundoff. Am I to assume my surrender was accepted?”

“Surrender?” Mr. Coal balked. “You gave up as soon as the odds were against you. I hardly call that a surrender. Saving your own neck more like.”

“How perceptive of you.” She said, every word delivered with contempt. “That’s what a surrender is. I’ll see to it that my people are disarmed.” She continued, directing the rest at me. “And for our return I’m certain the Circle would-”

“It seems you misunderstand something Paladin.” I said in a low voice, garnering the attention of the rest of the prisoners. “I’m not accepting surrenders.” As fast as I was able, I took Starfall and drove it through her open mouth, pinning her to the wall. She thrashed once before her body realized she was dead. I left her hanging there a moment, giving the other prisoners an opportunity to get in a good long look. “From you.” I concluded, looking at the next ranger in line as I willed Starfall to life with a sharp crack that split Roundoff’s skull in two. I called the blade back to my waiting hoof and smirked as the ranger twitched at the bit of viscera that spattered her cheek.

“Sweet Celestia.” Mr. Coal breathed, taking a step back.

“As for the rest of you.” I started casually, walking down the line of prisoners.

“Please, we were just following orders.” A shivering mare in armored, red scribe robes said from the end of the line.

“Oh well in that case all is forgiven, after all, good soldiers follow orders, don’t they? Even when they know they are wrong?”

“I didn’t kill anypony!” She protested; the tears that spilled from her eyes convinced me of that at least.

“Doesn’t matter, you’ll share in their guilt all the same.” When the last word left my mouth, I felt somepony tug on my tail. I turned to see Pumpkin and Aurora standing close behind me. Neither looked very happy and Pumpkin looked like she was trying not to be sick.

“That’s enough.” Aurora said, her tone definitely disapproving. “They’re beaten, we don’t have to kill them.”

“We should. Traitors and killers, the lot of them. It’s no less than they deserve.”

“Ponies don’t always get what they deserve.” Pumpkin said. Her and Aurora’s stares were enough to shame me, their very presence reminding me of what I didn’t deserve. Once again, I’d needed to be reined in, reminded of who I was supposed to be. It wasn’t right. It certainly wasn’t fair. They deserved to die…but right now? Here at my mercy? It wouldn’t be justice; it would be murder. The distinction wouldn’t have been important to me not too long ago. I was a killer and I’d accepted that, but a murderer? Not if I could help it.

“I know.” I said with a weary sigh. It was supposed to be easier to spare somepony than the alternative so why wasn’t it? I had all the answers to that question but if I pursued them again then there would be no staying my hoof a second time. “I’m going to offer you a deal.” I said, turning back to the red robed scribe. “You will forsake the Steel Rangers now and forever and join us. This place will be your home as it is mine and that means you will become regulators. You will assist in the repairs of the facility and, yes, defend it to the death if necessary. You will tell me everything you know about the Circle. Should you refuse, we will keep you prisoner until the time to decide your fate comes, as determined by vote.” I could sense several of the regulators smile at that. We all knew how they’d vote and so did the rangers.

“I…we accept.” She said, deflating a little as she did. I looked to the other rangers and all their eyes were on the floor, utterly silent.

“Sunny, disarm and strip them, then give them the…orientation.”

“Got it.” Sunny moved to red and hauled her up to her hooves roughly. “Get moving.” She shoved her towards one of the exits to the cafeteria, the other prisoners rising with difficulty and following.

“You’re different.” Mr. Coal said once the prisoners were out of sight. “Changed and not entirely for the better.”

“Are you really in a position to judge me? How many lives did you sacrifice to find Stable 50?” Mr. Coal was silent a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“It’s not the same, but you’re right, I’m in no position to judge. That’s sort of why we’re here actually, Sunshine and I. We were searching the tunnels for the remains of the expedition, trying to give some of the family’s closure. We heard gunfire, explosions, and that led us here. Between Sunshine’s cloak and Death Claw we were able to turn the fight here in your favor. Then you arrived and they surrendered.”

“Thank you, Flint.” I said, giving him a genuine and respectful nod. “Death Claw?” I asked next, looking over to Sunshine where he was hovering over Pick on the far side of the room.

“Yep. At least that’s what he calls it. Found some dead hellhounds in a big collapsed railway turntable station. Took one of their claws and made a damn effective weapon with it.” He nodded to one of the bodies in power armor and I noticed the deep, clean slashes through the metal.

“Is that what happened?”

“You bet. Blade cut through them like they were wearing nothing at all.”

“That’s very…”

“Unexpected? You’re telling me. Good thing we made it when we did.”

That was an understatement. If all the armored rangers in this room were cut down by Sunshine alone then there was a good chance we could have all died in this room if he and Flint hadn’t arrived when they did. A thought that I decided to keep to myself.

“So long as you’re feeling indebted…” Mr. Coal started, raising what remained of his eyebrows with expectation.

“Let’s hear it then.” I said tiredly.

“Don’t make that face. What I want is simple. A pass to come and go as we please. To use Eclipse to rest, plan, restock and trade.” He paused and looked around the room, a gloomy yet understanding expression overtaking him. “Once you and your people get back on your hooves that is.”

“That was…” Pumpkin started; confliction evident on her features. “Sparks I…I…” She was blinking back tears and was having trouble speaking around the frog in her throat. I stepped up to her, wrapped my hooves around her and held her tight against me to tell her that I was there for her. She returned the embrace with more fervor than I’d expected, something thin and metal jabbing me in the chest. I loosened my hold just enough to look between us to see what it was. Were those ranger dog tags? Pumpkin must have noticed me looking as her body heaved and a choked sob escaped her mouth. “I killed her Sparks.” She sobbed, burying her face in the crook of my neck. “I had to…Sunny…Sunny-”

“I know.” She didn’t need to say anymore. Sunny had done the same thing to me and I in turn did the same thing to Aurora. It was for the best, I had to believe that for all our sakes. “It’ll get better.” I half lied.

“I don’t want it to get better.” Pumpkin said, pushing away from me. “I want it to hurt, I want it to feel like this always. I don’t ever want to get use to this feeling.” With fire in her eyes and tears on her cheeks she vowed to feel every death she was responsible for as strongly as if it were the first. There was a strength under her conviction that eclipsed my own, in more ways than one. How had the goddesses or stars or whatever ever deigned to put us together? I admired her. She was as near an exemplar of ponykind as could be found in the wasteland. Or maybe it was just my growing attraction to her. Probably a bit of both.

“Do you think you can handle it?”

“No, but I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Good answer. If you ever need my help-”

“I know Sparks.” She said, standing up on her tippy hooves to nuzzle my face. “I know.”

Gunny’s wrath had been much more subdued than I’d expected after Pumpkin half hauled me back to the infirmary. Grim and Mr. Sunshine had also moved in to the room, putting their medical skills to good use to help our overburdened resident doctor and newly minted nurse Wisteria.

“You’re going to be sore for a day or two.” Gunny said, applying pressure to the area in question with her hoof, making me wince. “Your ribs are set and the internal damage was minimal so you should be back in shape in no time.” I decided to stay quiet and take my own advice, my eyes drifting to Sunshine’s patient. Pick was in worse shape than I’d feared. Several of his organs had ruptured and his spine had been broken by the attack, but he was alive and breathing…for the time being. Everypony else with minor wounds had already been treated by Grim before he moved into the infirmary.

“Thank you, Gunny.” Pumpkin supplied for me, helping me down from the bed.

“Gunny I-” I tried to say before she stopped me.

“I’m fine Sparks.” She paused a moment, looking down at herself. “We’re okay.”

“Thank goodness.” I said quietly, feeling some more relief come my way. Even unborn children deserved my protection, perhaps more so.

From across the room came a pained cry as Grim fought with Blackhawk to get a homemade cast on his broken leg.

“If you’d fought the rangers like this then we wouldn’t even be here.” Grim said, his annoyance beyond evident.

“Shut up!” Blackhawk countered, pushing the cast away from him like a foal refusing to be dressed.

Gunny rolled her eyes and moved to Grim’s table where she grabbed both of Blackhawk’s hooves and pinned them beside his head. “I never did like unruly patients.” Gunny said frostily, staring Blackhawk in the eye from above. “You aren’t giving my helper here a hard time, are you?” The look in her eyes could have frozen lava.

“N-no, of course not.” He said hastily. “Here let me help.” He continued, helping Grim affix it where it needed to be. “See? No problem.” Blackhawk smiled crookedly which did nothing to defrost Gunny’s expression.

“See that is stays that way.” Gunny said, thumping the cast with a hoof, her warning well understood.

“Y-yes ma’am.” Blackhawk said through clenched teeth, cradling the cast protectively against his chest.

Seeing my chance, I hopped off the bed and bolted out into the hallway, Pumpkin hot on my tail. Aurora, who’d elected to wait in the hall, noticed our retreat and fell in line behind Pumpkin as we passed her.

“All good dad?” She asked.

“Mostly.” I said with a shrug. “Doesn’t really matter, we gotta get back to the Bastion ASAP

“I’m coming with you.”

I opened my mouth to say otherwise but couldn’t bring myself to do it in the end. She deserved to be there as much as the rest of us.

“Alright.” I said, laying out our immediate plan. Grim and his ability to see better in the dark had been sent topside where he reported on the state of the Bastion. He couldn’t see much but confirmed the absence of fire which could be very good or very, very bad. A nagging feeling twisting my guts bade us leave despite the darkness of night.

Dawn was still several hours away when we made it to Books and Bridles, the store we’d used on our way to the Cathedral. Evidence of our presence was hard to detect over the evidence of others’. The exiles must have utilized this stop as well on their way to Eclipse. A number of heavy hoofprints led the direction we’d just come from, most likely the ponies who’d stormed Eclipse. However, an even larger number of prints had gone off in a different direction heading north. From the token interrogation of the captured rangers I learned that the defectors had taken to calling themselves ‘The Circle of Steel’ and nothing else. Overall unsurprising considering it had been less than a day since their formation. They must have known of a secure location somewhere north of here, something that Minty refused to elaborate on. I’d look into it once we made it to the Bastion…if there was anypony there. Other than the absence of fire, Grim also noticed the complete absence of lights. The odds that it was just damage sustained to their power systems was high but after the brazen attack on Eclipse I wasn’t about to discount anything.

The dawn came and went without incident though I still felt as tired as I had before we slept. As we approached the gates to the Bastion the damage became evident but wasn’t nearly as severe as I’d anticipated. It looked to me that, after some minor fighting, the circle used the breach in the south wall to abandon their comrades. That meant they hadn’t wanted to fight but had been forced to due to an irreconcilable ideological difference. Neither faction sought the others death, the almost superficial damage to the Bastion practically proved that. A memory from yesterday came to mind, the ranger looming over Gunny who’d said “We didn’t come to kill ponies.” How much truth had been there? They had killed ponies, let’s not get that twisted, but had it been as a last resort? Had the regulators forced their hooves by defending themselves? No. It was Eclipse they wanted. They might not have wanted our deaths but it would have been acceptable collateral. An enemy should never have your sympathy, deserved or not. Except, as I continued to learn, it was much easier to preach than practice. I was too eager to fight, to kill in the name of defense. Is that why my heart was so heavy? Most of them probably didn’t deserve to die but I’d delivered death to them without a second thought. That was it, the dissonance of it all. I billed myself a hero but acted like a killer. Because that’s what I was. Sure, I killed bad ponies and others who deserved it but killing was killing and more than once I’d reveled it, lost myself to the monster I claimed not to be.

It was too late for regrets now. The past was gone. I could only hope now that I’d learn from it but the simultaneous apathy and empathy warring in my heart warned me that I shouldn’t expect a thing. To my surprise the great gate began to rise as we approached. Waiting behind it was Star Paladin Sapphire, a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around one of her eyes. She beckoned us to follow her without a word and we did just that.

“It could have been worse.” Sapphire said, her tone hard but understanding.

“H-how many?” I asked, not really wanting an answer.

“Seven. They might oppose us but they were hesitant to do us and the Bastion harm. There was still some fighting but that hesitation saved a lot of lives.”

“And Elder Lions?”

“He ordered us to herd them towards the breach and when they started to retreat, he ordered us to stand down and let them go. I hope that mercy won’t undo us.”

“As do I Star Paladin.” Came the voice of Elder Lions, standing in the center of the training yard. I almost trotted over to him when he stepped aside and three figures I recognized rushed me as if they were being reeled in on cables.

“Papa!” The lead figure chirped as she leapt up and draped herself over my back. Ebon Glow and Ollie were quick behind her and practically surgically attached themselves to my front legs. I almost cried tears of joy as I scooped up the smaller two and hugged them tightly. Adria, not one to be left out, wrapped her claws around my neck and hugged me from behind. It was almost enough to banish the haze that had settled around my mind. Almost.

*Ahem* Aurora cleared her throat noisily, a look of annoyance creasing her brow. Playing along, I turned to face her and spread my front legs, giving her room for a hug while leaving Ollie and Ebon Glow dangling from them. Even she couldn’t hide a heartwarming smile as she dashed forward and jumped up to join Adria in hanging from my neck, the two of them effectively strangling me as they did.

“As promised, they are safe and unharmed.” 87 added, materializing from somewhere as he often did.

“Thank you.” I wheezed, struggling to find breath under the assault of fur and feathers as protesting muscles threatened to fail.

“Welcome back Sentinel.” Lions said, making his way closer to us. “As you can see it could have been much, much worse.”

The fresh memories of ranger exiles dead at and by my hooves seized my heart. Should I tell him? Paladin Roundoff had been right about one thing; I had kept Eclipses’ existence a secret but how much did Lions actually know? It occurred to me then that Lions had used my full name when he named me Sentinel despite my not having told him. Also, if they listened to DJ Pon3’s station like he implied then they might know about the regulators and by extension Eclipse. It wasn’t like me to worry this strongly but until that moment I hadn’t understood just how precarious my position was with either group. The truth would have to suffice…though maybe not the whole truth.

“Elder we encountered a group of exiles on our way back.” I started, slowly untangling myself from the hooves and claws still stuck to me. “They forced our hooves and many were killed. Others still traveled north, though to where I don’t know.”

Lions visibly deflated at the news, his features once again showing their true age. “That is most regrettable.” He said after a long silence. “No matter their allegiance I didn’t want to see them dead.”

Fresh guilt began to eat at me in that moment, showing me that I still had much to learn. Because I had wanted to see them dead. Erebus was right about me. I couldn’t blame him for this. The guilt, as painful as it was, was equally refreshing. Guilt meant that I still cared, that deep down the pony who left Stable 63 was still there, as clean and unmarred as the day he was born. It was becoming harder and harder to connect with that pony but the fact that he existed at all brought me some sorely missed comfort. Even as unrecognizable as I was, I was still me.

“I…I’m sorry Elder.”

“Don’t be. I knew in the end that ponies would die. I suppose the reality is harder to bear than I’d imagined.”

That was a pain I knew well. Standing in the cafeteria of Eclipse surrounded by bodies, all of them my allies once. I had failed them all and I didn’t even know most of their names. It was something I’d never forgive myself for. Not ever.

“Mourning will have to wait.” The Elder said, sounding just a bit more like his old self. “I’m sure you noticed our lack of communications. Their final act of defiance.” Lions gestured to a twisted and broken antenna array that rested against the base of the Keep that had been blasted from the roof by what I guessed to be a missile barrage. “It will have to be repaired if we are to move forward.”

I did my best to hold in a sigh and said. “What do you need me to do?”

Lions chuckled before addressing me. “I know I’ve leaned on you, perhaps more than I deserve, but you aren’t the only ponies at my disposal. The Lion’s Pride has already been dispatched to retrieve the array from Project Outlast.”

“O-oh.” I said lamely.

“Do me a favor and try not to look so relieved.” Lions said, clapping me on the shoulder. “I also wanted to say thank you. The griffins you leant us were instrumental in protecting the squires and Blossom is downright terrifying when she transforms. 87 too was the one who suggested we herd them out and AJ might be worth ten rangers. Honestly Sparks I don’t know where we would be if we never met. You’ve helped this old fool far more than I’d ever hoped. Because of you I may yet live to see my dream become reality.”

“I…don’t know what to say.” I said truthfully. It was actually a little embarrassing. Praise was low on my list of priorities, somewhere between proper mane care and knowing the difference between a soup spoon and a cereal spoon.

“That’s probably for the best, don’t want to get ahead of myself after all.” With that Lions broke away from us and returned to the Keep.

“Well…now what?” Grim asked and I had no answers for a change.

“We still have to escort Orchid back to Boulder City.” Pumpkin reminded us, accidentally setting our next course.

“Oh yeah.” I said with barely there enthusiasm. “Best do it now before the next crisis. Spread out, find Ray, Charlotte and Blossom and let’s get this…” I trailed off my eyes rising to the sky. For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw something silhouetted against the eternal grey curtain.

“What? What is it?” Pumpkin said, noticing my stare.

I tried to focus on it but when I did it just vanished. Had something been there? Was it just my imagination? My cheek began to tingle and I felt my attention drawn to something far away. A solitary image appeared in my mind; a great opening blocked by a wall of impassable darkness followed by three words spoken in my head by another voice.

“Trouble.”

Footnote: No level up.

Quest Perk Added: Sentinel’s Save – When defending an ally you gain an additional 3 Damage Threshold and attacks against you have their difficulty modifier increased by 1. In exchange damage received during this action is increased.

Next Chapter: Chapter Forty: Terror of Knowing Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 34 Minutes