Aurora, Spotlight, Manic, Starbreeze and White sat in the living room. Everypony was quiet. Each glancing at each other awkwardly as the minutes turned to hours. Eventually, Manic spoke up in a quiet mumble.

"They've been gone for quite a while now..." she said. They just looked at her before nodding silently. Aurora checked her clock HUD at the bottom left. The pixel sun was setting over a mountain and the moon was slowly peeking out from the other side. She then twitched her ear at the sound of distant humming. She stood up, causing the rest to look at her confusedly.

"I am picking up auto chariot activity." She checked her map, enlarging it. Spending the days as just a head and being taken around the community by the filly, her map had took the liberty of mapping out the place for her. And she spotted two familiar green dots accompanied by blue dots behind them. She trotted out of the house, making the rest follow her out of curiosity. Spotlight narrowed her eyes and scanned the horizon. She could make out a lot of sand being kicked up. But they could hear it now. The loud roars of the motors that were always accompanied by auto chariots. White dropped his ears and panic took over.

"Do... d-do you think they got arrested and now they are coming for us?" he asked. Manic snorted.

"Great, just what we needed today. More time wasted." She turned and trotted over to the fence leading to the backyard. But White stopped her before she could continue.

"Manic, no. We will not be facing the A.S.S. We will talk to them like civilized ponies. We don't want them to think we are hostile and a part of this cult rumor." She arched a brow in response.

"Yeah, you have fun with that. I, for one, don't want to deal with them." She smirked and waved to the others. "Anypony want to hunker down in a bunker I built? It's got a years' worth of supplies and stuff." No pony said anything. Manic shrugged. "Fine, more for me." She opened the fence, only to stop and glance over her shoulder. The roars were louder now and she could see four auto chariots jumping over a sand dune. She grimaced when she saw one of the leading chariots sitting two A.S.S. ponies. But the ones that were following them were... different. Aurora walked forward and stopped in their path.

The chariots slowed down and the leading one came to a stop just a few inches away from Aurora. The android studied the two. She only smiled when she saw one of them remove his helm and a quirky smile was returned to her.

"Sup?" Candlejack greeted.

"Welcome back." She said, watching the two hop out while the others rolled up in front. White balked when he saw the slightly malnutrition ponies stumbling out of the chariots.

"W-what is this!?" he exclaimed. Manic furrowed her brows while the two mares glanced nervously at each other. White turned to Candlejack, his expression clear with anger. "You were supposed to gather information about our predicament! Not free the ones that caused it!!" Candlejack shrugged.

"A.S.S. wasn't complying. So we had to take drastic measures." Zelori tossed off the helm and sighed.

"I apologize, young one. My brother can get carried away and when he is not entertained, he easily gets into more trouble..." she wasn't happy about what they had went through. But Candlejack grinned and walked over to help one of the older looking bucks out of the chariot.

"Oh relax, everypony. We are just doing a quick prison transfer. One that is guaranteed to help us in the long run." He pat the buck on the back, who nodded to him and looked over to White. White got low, ready to attack if anything happened. This buck... he knew him. This was the same buck that caused the whole thing to spiral out of control. But the buck smiled.

"White... it has been years since I've seen you and your family. My how you've grown." He then looked past him and over to Manic, who was hugging the fence. Her expression as a mix of worry and anger. "And this must be your little sister that you were excited to have. She is definitely growing up to be quite the mare." This made Manic cringe in disgust. What was even more unnerving was the buck's eyes.

"Hey, Constance. Keep your freak show eyes off my sis." White growled, walking in front of his view. Constance smiled and nodded.

"Of course, White. I mean no disrespect to the young filly. In fact, I haven't recalled seeing another pony in years other than these two that aided our escape." Manic suddenly roared.

"YOU SAVED THESE ASSHOLES!?!?" Everypony looked to her. Manic breathed heavily, her face steaming red. "You... had... one job... Candlejerk!" Candlejack arched a brow. Well that was a new one he hasn't heard before. But the stallion frowned.

"It's rude to shout in front of guests." He said. Manic stomped her hoof.

"Bullshit!! I can see the blood on your hooves!!" She motioned to Candlejack's hoof gauntlets, making the stallion look at them and wiggle it. The dried crimson glistening in the setting sun. "You slaughtered the A.S.S. in your sorry excuse of making things right!! And don't even think of bullshitting it!!" She bucked open the fence and turned. "Now I have to ensure that everypony here needs to be protected by them! Thanks for making my job any-bucking easier, Jackass!" Again, this was a new one for him. Candlejack frowned.

"Manic, just take a breather and listen to me." He said. But the filly barked back.

"No!! You practically doomed us!! Aretilla is going to send their biggest muscle at us and we are just a community of adolescents!! You just killed us!!" White trotted over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Manic, please relax. Look, we will find someway to deal with it, but right now, I need you to breath." Manic batted his hoof away.

"This is all your fault!!" She shouted. "If you hadn't sent them on this wild goose chase to stop our mother from haunting me, then we wouldn't have bothered to stir the hornets nest!!" She huffed and turned. "I can't believe you sometimes! Are you this much of an idiot!?" Spotlight frowned.

"Dear, that is unnecessary." Manic shot a glare at her.

"No, I'm done! I've had it with this! For all my life, I've been tormented by everypony here!! If it isn't going to be Aretilla slaughtering my career with corrupt politics, it's definitely going to be the bounty hunters they send after me. And if it isn't that, it's going to be the souls of the damned!" There were tears welling up through her anger. "Just once!! Just once!! I would love to not be the universe's target... I want to be a normal filly... I want to make friends, but even I can't seem to do that!" No pony spoke. White looked worriedly at her.

"Manic..." he said. But the filly turned, whipping her tail across his muzzle.

"Buck you, White! And buck... everything!" She stomped through the fence into the backyard, disappearing around the corner. White bowed his head before glaring at Candlejack.

"Thanks a lot, Jack." Candlejack sighed and rubbed his mane.

"Is everypony done bitching? Because I would like to put my insight on this." No pony seemed interested, but Candlejack stated anyways. "Sure, I may have gotten over board there. But how are we actually going to be able to stop all this if we have the A.S.S. keeping tabs on us?" White narrowed his eyes. "Think about it." Candlejack looked between everypony. "A.S.S. has spent a decade trying to bury any remains of the cult. It's obvious they don't want it coming back to bite them on the ass. But that's the thing! How can you all learn from your mistakes if you are just going to allow them to be buried?"

He kicked a small rock before nodding. "If there is one thing I learned in a year of prison, it's that you choose your cards carefully. Playing the wrong hoof could lead to many things unsavory. So I made a gamble." He glared at Constance. "And I'm putting my own life at risk for this gamble. It's going to go one way either way. Somepony is going to end up dead." He looked to Aurora. "Aurora, can you look through this?" Candlejack withdrew a small USB. Aurora took it in her hoof claw and examined it. "That is a drive that holds Manic's years of damages towards A.S.S. If we can find a way to wipe it all out, she won't have to worry about bounty hunters coming for her." White looked skeptical.

"Wait... A.S.S. are the ones that have been sending bounty hunters after us?" Candlejack nodded.

"I managed to look through the files before things got out of hoof. Your sister is as much guilty in dooming this community. Illegal testing of missiles. High levels of luradiation. Imprisoning ponies against their wills for the sake of science. She even cost millions in property damages." He shrugged. "And A.S.S. has been putting it off for years. It was only recently that they decided to send bounty hunters after her because she refused to pay for the damages." White darted his eyes in thought. He then balked in realization before falling to his haunches. Spotlight put a hoof around him.

"I... are you for certain? Manic... put herself in danger?" Zelori sighed.

"The tactics was subtle in retrieving as much information as we could. We risked it for the entire purpose of ensuring that the info they had on her wouldn't get out." She looked to Candlejack, who nodded.

"Based on what you all have told us about the A.S.S. they are a stubborn bunch. Tough shit and muscle being thrown around. And they have connections all around. So, we need to ensure that this info is only exclusive to the Detrot area. Which is where Aurora comes in." he smiled at her. The android studied the pegasus. She frowned slightly as the prompt on the breeding program obscured her view. Dismissing it quickly, she nodded.

"Very well. I will dig through the files and see if it traces back to S.C.P. If it is exclusive info, then we can erase the info and Manic will be cleared of all charges." Candlejack rubbed his mane.

"And if it isn't?" Aurora tapped her other foreleg and a compartment opened. Sliding the USB in, she closed it before speaking.

"Then if anything, we can use it to disband the A.S.S. in this area for illegal extortion of bolts." Zelori snorted.

"The latter is out of the question then." Candlejack nodded.

"Great! Now onto the next plan. Ensuring these ponies are well fed and contained." White looked at them. Constance bowed.

"I can assure you, my power over influence is only to these selected individuals. I cannot do anymore harm than a sandsprite." White furrowed his brows.

"I... still don't think we should be keeping them around. And I'm pretty sure there was another way that you could have done this... but..." Candlejack smirked.

"I aim to please. Even if it means going the extreme." White sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Just... please make sure that no pony knows about this? Let alone, bring anymore attention than you have already?" Candlejack stretched.

"Then let's get them moving. Oh, and maybe Manic can salvage parts from the auto chariots." Candlejack hopped into one and started it. The group went to work.

Having herded the auto chariots into the back yard that now had plenty of room thanks to the siblings taking time to organize the piles of scrap and junk, they began leading the cultists down into the garage where the containment boxes resided. They were spacey enough to house most, if not, all of them. However, to ensure proper comfort, Candlejack and Zelori had separated them. Constance had his own exclusive VIP containment box. White went over to the terminal and began taking a moment to understand Manic's written code.

Smiling when he saw the materializer asking for recipe inputs, he typed in the ingredients. The cultists watched in amazement as a slender tube arm descended. It seemed to take into account the amount of ponies inside and began to materialize a steaming hot bowl of rice and mixed beans. Without so much warning, they scarfed the food down like their lives depended on it. Some had tears welling in their eyes, stating that it had been years since they had a proper meal. The materalizer even was kind enough to give some second helpings while Constance smiled amusedly at his subjects. He then looked to Candlejack.

"Thank you. You're kindness will not be taken for granted." Candlejack snorted.

"Meh. This is just an ultimatum. Things are starting to get serious from here on and I want to handle it now rather than later." Constance chuckled.

"You are not very modest, are you?" Candlejack smirked.

"Modesty is overrated anyway. When you live in a world unbound by law, don't expect everything to go your way." Constance's eyes glinted.

"I see..." Candlejack frowned at him.

"Don't get any ideas, pal. I plan on taking down both the cult and A.S.S.'s influence on this community." Constance hummed.

"If you believe that is the correct choice, I am in no position to tell you otherwise. May the Princess's bless you on your crusade against the unjust." Candlejack sighed and looked over to Zelori and Aurora. He then spotted Starbreeze watching the activity from one of the containment boxes. He trotted over to her and tapped her shoulder, making her look up and blush.

'Ohmigosh he is so close!' she squeaked at the response. Candlejack arched a brow.

"Is... everything okay with you?" Starbreeze turned to face him.

"Y-yes! I'm fine! I umm... just wasn't expecting today to be... well..." she looked to the cultists. Candlejack glanced between her and the ones inside the boxes. He then nodded.

"Yeah. Things are going to get a little more serious now. So, I want you to stay here and gather as much information from them." Starbreeze balked.

"W-what?" Candlejack unfurled a wing and used it to lead Starbreeze over to Constance. She eyed the old buck wearily.

"You have more experience in the undead. So if you and him can get chummy and have him tell us how to burn the Necronomica without it backfiring, it will be a big help." Starbreeze was speechless. Constance hummed.

"The Necronomica isn't an entity to be trifled with, dear. But if you are interested in her ways, I will be happy to preach." Candlejack frowned and tapped the glass.

"Don't think you are going to be alone with her." He looked to Zelori.

"Sis. You keep an eye on the activity down here. Make sure they don't taint this kid's mind with dark magic. I expect you to use whatever zebra mumbo jumbo to fight it off." Zelori nodded, unholstered the rifle and making it hum to life. Candlejack nodded to Starbreeze with a smile.

"You are important in this part. So milk everything you can." Starbreeze smiled at him, nodding.

"I won't let you down! Then maybe we can get dinner afterwords?" Candlejack rubbed his chin.

"Well, food is important too. Okay then. Dinner it is." Starbreeze motioned triumphantly before realizing what she had suggested and agreed too.

'Oh... my...' Her thoughts raced with fantasies of the pegasus. However, Candlejack was already trotting over to Zelori and Aurora, furrowing his brows worriedly at Starbreeze.

"Please ensure she doesn't do anything reckless." He said to Zelori. She shifted her position with the rifle.

"We made it this far. I won't let it stop us now." She said with a small smile. Candlejack beamed at this before turning to Aurora.

"Alright, Aurora. You and I are officially going to be working together! And if you are going to be a part of my team, then think of this as your initiation." Aurora looked stoically at him.

"I was not aware this was a test to affiliate myself with criminals." She said. Candlejack grimaced.

"I... can't really blame you for that statement." Aurora studied her HUD as she replied.

"But after breaking you out of jail and aiding in an escape, I am as much responsible as a criminal in itself." Candlejack smiled.

"It's fun, trust me." Zelori snorted.

"Do not influence anymore ponies than we have today." She said. Candlejack shrugged.

"At least, some agree." Aurora watched as Candlejack trotted past her. She contemplated this before following after him.

Spotlight and White were standing in front of a hangar like garage. The metal door closed to the public. Spotlight knocked on the metal door.

"Manic, sweetie. Please come out. We just want to talk." She said. White knocked on it.

"C'mon, sis. Look, I know things haven't been going our way. And I'm sorry if I spurred that fire on, but you can't keep secluding yourself like this. It's unhealthy for you!" There was no response. White sighed and rubbed his foreleg with his other foreleg. "I just... I just want to see my own sister smile again..." Spotlight hugged him sadly, trying her best to reassure him. Candlejack and Aurora trotted over to them. White glared at him. "What do you want?" Candlejack frowned.

"Alright, buck up, kid. You really want to leave yourself vulnerable to the world?" he said. White growled.

"I don't need to listen to any sorry excuse you have for doing this. You were supposed to gather information, yet you just went ahead and murdered innocent ponies and freed the ones that have killed so many!" White gently pushed Spotlight aside and stomped over to him. "Do you think your morals are right? That everything is given to you on a platter?" Candlejack chuckled.

"That's funny coming from you. I am just doing my part in ensuring everypony is handled." White pointed over to the garage.

"Then how come my sister is no longer talking to anypony? How come she hasn't laughed or smiled? I bet everything on your help and so far, the hoof I've dealt has been bad.” He sighed. "If you really want to help us. Get my sister out of her abyss and make her smile again. That is all I ask. She is too young to be going through this and she needs to see the world for the positives." Candlejack studied the stallion. He then looked to Aurora.

"Rip it open." He said. White balked as Aurora nodded and trotted over to the garage.

"W-wait! What are you doing?! Stop!!" he shouted. But it was too late. Aurora popped out her hoof claws, stabbed into the bottom of it and with ease, bent the metal up and revealed a shocked Manic who was kicking back in the cockpit of a robotic bird like robot. She tossed aside the manga she was reading and sat up right.

"What the hell!!? Can't a filly be left alone!?" She glared at Candlejack. "Why don't you buck off already! I am getting tired of seeing your jerk face around!" Candlejack shrugged.

"Still have unfinished business with you. I need your insight on something." He asked.

"You want my insight? Here's my insight." She tapped a few buttons on her panel and the beak of the bot shot out in blinding speed. However, Aurora seemed to have predicted this and held out a hoof, clamping her claws over the projectile. The impact caused the sand to kick up, forcing Spotlight and White to shield their faces. When the wind of the impact blew away the sand, Candlejack was still standing in the same spot, arching a brow at Aurora who was looking stoically with her one hoof claw clamped around the projectile.

"Violence is unnecessary I believe." She said. Manic growled.

"Maid! Don't side with this pony! Did you forget that I installed programs in you that I will not hesitate to use if you do not comply!" Aurora shook her head and flipped the beak before stabbing it into the sand.

"I have not forgotten. I am concerned for madam's safety. And as your maid, it is my duty to ensure you are within reasonable care." She walked up to the bot, Manic gritting her teeth. "And I insist madam should refrain from harming guests. Now please, let us discuss some matters before madam's health deteriorates." Manic sighed and crossed her hooves.

"I'm not moving." Candlejack rubbed his chin and smiled.

"You're right. You don't have too. Because you are going to build something with that bot of yours." Manic snorted.

"I'm not going to do anything. You can't make me." She said. Candlejack sighed.

"Alright. I understand. But if you want to keep being stubborn without realizing that I have taken the liberty of retrieving your criminal charges towards A.S.S. and have an android that can delete the exclusive data from going into Aretilla's criminal database. Then good luck with the countless bounty hunters on your head." Manic eyed him. "I was also thinking about selling the data to the highest bidder. How much do you think ponies will pay to know that a young filly is a prodigy mechanic and have the blackmail to get her to do whatever they want?" Manic glared.

"You wouldn't..." she growled. Candlejack smirked challengingly.

"Oh really? You're claiming that towards somepony who just broke out a group of cultists still affected by a book and practically left this community defenseless. Face it, I'm the threat you made me out to be when we first met. So that makes you fully responsible for letting me out of the containment box and allowing me to walk around." He shot out his wings and displayed them. "Who do you think is the real bad guy here?" Manic wanted to protest. She wanted to deck this pony's face to New Fillydelphia and back. But he wasn't wrong either. Despite everything that has happened, Manic was also responsible for risking her home.

"Dammit all..." she bit her lip before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Fine. But don't think I have fully forgiven you." Candlejack smiled and waved a hoof slightly.

"I wasn't looking for forgiveness. Just cooperation. Now then, Aurora will handle deleting the data, but she requires a terminal to do so. Once the data is deleted, I need you to strip the auto chariots for parts. I want you to build me a much better chariot. With a few requests here and there mixed in." Manic puffed her cheek and glared. She will find a way to get back at this pony. But for now, she was partially curious as to what this pony was thinking. The way the stallion turned this situation around... it was almost as if he had thought about it ahead of time.

'But... there is no way somepony is that clever.' She grimaced in disgust when the stallion went to pick his nose with a wing, only to tickle something inside him and sneezed. 'Ugh...'

Manic plugged Aurora into a terminal along with the USB. Candlejack, now taking the time to study his surroundings, he couldn't help but notice the partially revealing outfit Aurora wore. Candlejack studied it, the dirtied black and white frills capturing her figure perfectly. Aurora noticed this and felt a small burn on her cheeks. The prompt of the program occasionally asking her to "put on a show", but she dismissed it. It was starting to become second nature to deny the request. The stallion caused it to activate more than the stallions back home. She couldn't help but remember when she almost lost herself entirely and "entertained" a stranger with a dance.

When she noticed her compromising position, she quickly got off from dancing on the stallion, ignoring the extra bit that her performance had caused and avoided the outside for a while. Aurora fidgeted when Candlejack wouldn't stop staring at her.

"P-please stop staring..." she said suddenly. Candlejack blinked.

"What?" Aurora blushed, her cheeks turning more cherry by the second.

"I-I would appreciate it if you wouldn't stare at me like that..." Candlejack shrugged and then focused his attention to the bot he was leaning against. Aurora had a strange sense to let the stallion keep staring at her. But she was having trouble trying to keep the progress bar on deleting the data to be halted by the program. Even Manic caught notice of this and frowned.

"Now I really wish I had found a way to get rid of that thing." She said. White and Spotlight were sitting on a tattered and torn sofa next to the table. White arched a brow.

"Rid of what?" Manic snickered.

"This android is a total mare. In more ways than one." Aurora blushed entirely now.

"M-Manic!!" she stated. White cocked his head.

"Really? I don't recall androids having genitalia. I thought they were ambiguous with looks." Aurora flared brightly. Manic waved a hoof at him.

"Well, true. But she seems to be a special case. Funny thing is, she's a virgin too." Aurora balked.

"C-can we please focus on deleting the data!" She whimpered when she caught the sly smile from the filly. 'I wish I could just delete my AI entirely...' She noticed Candlejack not paying attention to the conversation and felt a small relief from this.

"A mare, huh?" he said suddenly. Aurora stiffened and was suddenly blasted with prompts. Manic furrowed her brows and tapped on the keyboard.

"Aurora, please refrain from doing any of these things." She said. Aurora nodded quickly, her face steaming. What was even happening!? What caused this to suddenly spiral out of control!?

'Goddesses, if you are still watching over us, please end this pony's entire existence..." she whimpered. The minutes turned to hours. Manic stretched and looked over to see White sleeping quietly and kicking back while Spotlight snuggled up to him and was snoozing quietly with him. She looked over to see Candlejack doing pushup with his wings. She was slightly surprised to see him lifting his entire body off the ground with only his wings. He inhaled and exhaled with each movement. The sweat forming on his brow from what appeared to be a workout for quite a while.

Aurora was mesmerized by this, taking in his straining face as he apparently reached his resting point. He lifted his wings, catching himself in a hoof stand before letting his body drop and standing on all fours. He rolled his neck and shifted his wings, feeling the burn tingle on his sides.

"How's it coming along?" Candlejack said as he suddenly took a stance on two hooves and bobbed slightly in place. With random quick jabs, Manic went back to look at the screen.

"Well, if somepony wasn't so entranced with the other pony, then the progress should have ended about an hour ago." She eyed the android who was giving a quirky smile at the stallion. She then blinked at the realization that she was being addressed and blushed.

"I-I can't seem to prevent it from happening. Everytime I deny it, it pops back up thirty minutes later." Manic sighed and looked to Candlejack.

"Hey Candlejerk. Want to help speed up the process?" she asked. Candlejack looked at her and smiled with a nod.

"Sure. Anything to get this to go faster. I want to hurry up and get started with the next thing." He said. Manic nodded and motioned at the android.

"Can you sate her fantasy with a kiss or something? Her breeding program keeps getting in the way." Aurora steamed again. Candlejack rubbed his chin.

"Huh... never kissed a robot before. Guess there is always a first for everything." Aurora balked.

"W-what!? You can't mean to go through with this!!?" she said. Manic sighed.

"Look, we've been at this for two hours. I want to get started before Aretilla realizes that their monitoring station has been compromised." Candlejack arched a brow.

"You certain if I indulge her fantasy that it will go by faster?" he asked. Manic was having trouble trying to keep herself together. It was a mix of truth and curiosity. She hasn't seen a pony planting one on an android. But she just wrote it off as science sake and speeding up the process. If the program would be satisfied with it, then it will leave them alone. Aurora, however, was racing with thoughts of panic as the stallion walked towards her.

She couldn't move from her spot. She would risk having stop the process entirely. But at the same time, she wanted to retreat from the stallion. But...

'Wait... maybe the filly is onto something then. Why am I getting freaked out about this? I mean... I just met the pony. So it shouldn't really mean anything. He doesn't even look like he is interested in this in the slightest either." She calmed herself, still blushing. 'Alright, Aurora. For the sake of hurrying this up, I will comply to this.' She saw a prompt pop up and with hesitation, she accepted it. She stiffened and felt herself suddenly feeling attracted to the pony. Candlejack was amazed at how quickly the android went from being stoic, to panicking to suddenly looking a bit suggestive. Candlejack took a deep breath. The two leaned forward, their lips close to touching. There was suddenly a blip on the terminal and Manic beamed.

"Alright! It worked!" she shouted. Candlejack looked over and smiled, leaving Aurora to suddenly halt. Their lips hadn't connected.

"Well, how does it feel to be a free filly?" he asked. "Err... without the bounty hunters. The undead part I'm still trying to figure out." Manic frowned.

"I still haven't forgiven you." She said. White and Spotlight stirred from their slumber and with a yawn and a stretch, they looked tiredly over to them.

"What did we miss?" White asked. Manic sighed.

"We got one problem out of the way. Just need to do another request." She suddenly glared at Candlejack who was already making his way to one of the auto chariots. "It's going to be a long day. Why don't you just go home?" Spotlight smiled.

"I appreciate the concern, Manic. But I want to support you one hundred percent of the way." White nodded.

"Besides, I still have to ensure that you are still okay with... 'assisting' with the enemy." Manic snorted.

"Don't you have to go over the preparations for your rave tonight?" White took a moment to think about this before balking in shock.

"Aw, shit! I forgot!" White turned to Spotlight. "I had planned to meet with a friend of mine later and I have to be there!" Spotlight smiled.

"Alright, babe. But please becareful on your way." She said. White shook his head.

"You are coming with me! He's been dying to meet you in person." Spotlight wasn't sure how to react.

"O-oh?" White suddenly took her hoof and pulled her away from Manic, who watched a little spitefully as her brother dragged her idol away. She ruffled her mane before turning to see the android looking a bit... disappointed?

"Aurora? You don't need to keep yourself connected. I will need your help." She said. Aurora looked over to her. Unplugging herself from the terminal, she stood up and seemed to drag her hooves over to the filly. Manic grimaced. 'Yeesh. Don't know why she is disappointed about it.'

The night began and the air became cold. Candlejack with Aurora's help brought out a solarium generator to combat the cold nip. Manic, ordering them to place it in a particular space where it can keep them warm while they work, sighed tiredly and swayed a little in her steps. Candlejack noticed this. Removing a gem device from the auto chariot’s engine, he wiped his hooves on a dirtied rag and arched a brow at her.

"You okay?" he asked. Manic didn't reply. She only shot him a look of "don't push it". But Candlejack kept pressing. "Look, I doubt ghosts are going to attack you while there are others here with you. You can sleep and we will keep a look out." He said. Manic snorted.

"It's not the ghosts I'm worried about." She muttered. Candlejack frowned.

"Then those nightmares?" Manic sighed.

"What's it matter to you anyway? You practically killed us all, so why even bother?" Candlejack shrugged.

"Just want to hear a dead pony's last words." He said. Manic growled at him.

"I want to end your miserable life."

"Heh, I'm not ready to be killed yet." He replied. Manic looked at him tiredly.

"Why do you do that?" she asked. Candlejack blinked once at her. "Why do you laugh at death even though you are walking on its' line? It's just waiting for you to fall. So why keep fighting it?" Candlejack rubbed the back of his mane.

"Excuse me for the edginess here, but frankly death thinks I'm an amusing puppet." He said. Manic looked skeptically at him.

"Edgy doesn't even begin to describe you." She retorted. Candlejack laughed heartedly. Manic was confused by this.

"Yeah? And I take it I can't compare to yours?" he asked with an amused smile. Manic was suspicious, but kept her ground.

"I'm not edgy." She said.

"Reading those mangas definitely beg to differ."

"It's a hobby!"

"Sounds like a fun one, but seems very influential on young minds."

"I'm ten!"

"And I'm twenty-two. Doesn't mean I can't be a kid every now and then."

"You are missing the point!"

"What, that you create wonders of the world and yet want to prevent it from getting it into the wrong hooves so you let mercenaries and bounty hunters after you and your brother?"

"That's not-!" Candlejack shot her a glare.

"Not what? That you practically spent your filly hood developing harmful and damaging experiments? Put pony's lives at stake all for the sake of science? Corrupt politics doesn't even begin to describe how your career in Aretilla is going to turn out." Manic was baffled.

"W-what the... how... you... huh?" Candlejack snorted.

"I may not have the best ideas or morals. But I ain't stupid. I learned that the hard way." Manic was again skeptical.

"Oh, that's funny. How can you learn not to be stupid?"

"Roll with it." He said blatantly. Manic arched a brow.

"Roll with it?" Candlejack nodded.

"You are a damn bright filly, Manic. Just by hearing your achievements from your brother and seeing first hoof what you are capable of, you can definitely show up a few ponies that deserve the punishment." Candlejack motioned to the auto chariot he salvaged from. "I bet you can build a cannon that can bring back life. It's just a matter of time! But you can't reach something like that if these things are going to keep hindering you." Manic was stunned. She grit her teeth before barking back.

"S-shut up! Don't think those compliments will make me forgive you! And creating something like that is nigh impossible!" Candlejack sputtered and pointed to the garage.

"Impossible? Just look at what you have created in your years!" Candlejack then pointed at himself. "Me? All I can do is fight and be snarky. I've let other ponies die under my leadership. All because I was scared of what would happen. P.U.N.K. isn't just a title, it's a freaking death sentence! You are better than I am, Manic." Manic, again was stunned. “You had every right to be pissed off at me. Because I was scared of what would happen if we didn't get back alive with that info! Hell, I bet half those mercenaries were family ponies! And I just slaughtered them like nothing!" Manic shrunk back, her ears dropping as Candlejack walked towards her.

Putting his hooves on her shoulders, he forced her to stare into his stern and stoic orchid eyes. "I'm not asking for forgiveness, Manic. Because I have already stepped away from it years ago! But you... you still have a chance. And I plan on exploiting that so that way you can never end up like the sorry excuse of a pony like me and Zelori." Manic shuddered a breath.

"Z-Zelori too?" she asked. Candlejack grit his teeth and nodded.

"Zelori too... and I was the reason she did it. She thinks I don't know, but like I said, I ain't stupid." Aurora, who was rummaging through an auto chariot, remained quiet as she listened in on the conversation. "So buck up, kid. Because this world is going to throw everything it has at you. And ponies like me can't save you from the abyss. You have something that we and they don't have. You can laugh." Manic was speechless. Candlejack sighed and trotted away from them. "C'mon, we need to finish this up." Suddenly, there was a loud scream coming from the garage. Aurora hit her head on the hood of the auto chariot in reaction but remained stoic.

"Trouble." She said. Her map showed a dozen red dots underneath that were slowly vanishing. There was the sound of gun fire. Candlejack, Aurora and Manic galloped over to the garage.

Candlejack, Aurora and Manic arrived downstairs at a horrifying sight. The containment boxes were splattered in blood. Zelori was gritting her teeth, trying to comfort the shaken Starbreeze.

"What the hell happened!?" Candlejack asked. Zelori looked over to Candlejack, her color leaving her.

"J-Jack... I'm sorry I..." she said. Starbreeze whimpered and curled up closer to Zelori. Candlejack went over to the terminal and opened up the containment boxes. As they opened, Candlejack winced and covered his nose at a foul smell that came out.

"Ugh! What the hell... Aurora? Can you check what this smell is?" Aurora stiffened a bit, her mind racing through a database. With her nostril sensors picking up the smell and making her slightly sick in the process, the fast scanning pages stopped.

"It appears to be phosphor." She said. Candlejack frowned.

"Really? I doubt something like phosphor can cause ponies to spontaneously combust." He said. Manic shook her head, holding a hoof over her nose and muzzle.

"Mixed with the right chemicals, it can be used as an explosive. It also smells like turpentine too."

"It's Samedi..." Zelori said. They looked over to her. She was still caressing the shaken mare. "That... there was a mare. She was standing right there." Zelori pointed to where Candlejack stood. "She... had this very angry look on her. After she appeared, the cultists started... chanting." Candlejack trotted over to the box that Constance was in. Any remains of the pony was splattered or slowing sliding down the walls. He then balked when he saw a message written in blood.

The sin must be paid in blood.

Candlejack rubbed his chin before turning to face Zelori.

"Anything else?" Zelori shook her head.

"It just... happened so suddenly. I fired off a shot to try and silence the crowd... but they kept on chanting when the mare suddenly vanished and... well..." She motioned to the boxes. "They ended up... like that..." Candlejack bucked the side of the containment box.

"Dammit! Did we even get anything on how to kill the Necronomica?" Zelori looked at Starbreeze.

"Jack..." she needs to recove-." Candlejack dismissed it with a hoof.

"No, buck that! This needs to end now! What did Constance tell you before he died?!" Zelori grit her teeth, the color still leaving her. She bowed her head.

"The Necronomica... it grows in power with everypony that comes across it. It has been exposed to many. It cannot be destroyed..." Candlejack growled.

"There has to be more than that!! What else did he say?!"

"Jack." Aurora began. But Candlejack shot her a glare.

"Back off, Aurora." He looked back to Zelori. "There is a message on the wall in the box where Constance was. 'The sin must be paid in blood.' What does that mean?!" Zelori bit her lip, the blood trailing down it.

"Jack... please..." she said. Candlejack growled again before spitting to the side.

"What. Does. It. Mean." He stated. Zelori couldn't look away from his cold unforgiving eyes. Candlejack looked like he was on the verge to go on a murder spree. Zelori placed her head to the wall and closed her eyes. Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she spoke.

"The mare that killed them stated the same thing before leaving. I... I do not understand what it really wants. It took the cultists." Manic shivered and shrunk.

"M-momma is here?" Manic whimpered. Candlejack looked between the two. He then looked at Aurora, who was looking stoic as usual, but showing concern at the same time.

"Aurora, do a scan. If you can pick up any traces of anomalies, I want to know." Aurora looked at him.

"What are you planning to do?" she asked as she watched Candlejack trot over to the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and glanced over his shoulder.

"To put an end to this once and for all." He continued forward and made his way over to the garage. White's saddlebag laid dormant in the corner. Digging through it, he felt the leather skin cover of the book and pulled it out. Just a plain old book. No design or anything. Inside is the rambles of a mad pony. And beneath that is the book's true language of the dead. He put the book under his wing and stiffened. He heard the sound of clattering and hissing. He looked over to a pile that was next to the garage.

Without warning, the pile exploded. Candlejack reacted by backflipping with a flap of his free wing for boost and landed with a slide. What took his previous spot was a skeleton. Or... one that he was familiar with. The skeleton's eye sockets were glowing green and had black tendrils wiggling on the side. Candlejack took his stance and frowned.

"And this is why you don't play with the dead, Constance." He then smirked and made a motion with his wing. "I'm going to finish what your muse started." The skeleton screeched and all around Candlejack, the ground exploded. The once living cultists, now hallow and husks of bone and flesh, hissed and swayed around the pegasus.

One of the skeletons hissed and lunged at Candlejack. He reacted by hooking a foreleg over the extended skeletal one and jabbed on the bony muzzle, making the skeleton stumble back. Two more rushed him. But Candlejack was quick to react. Blocking one swing and countering with a jab, he then back into the one that got behind him, used his shoulder to straighten out the skeletal body, spun around with a hoof across the muzzle before grabbing the skeleton by the head and bringing it down on his hind knee. A loud crack of bone breaking reached his ears as the skeleton reared back before falling to the ground. Candlejack then focused on another that was coming up behind him.

Catching a skeletal hoof under his foreleg, he elbowed the creature in the ribs, forcing them to cave in before taking the caught hoof, rolling around the skeleton and planting a hoof down over its' back. Candlejack pulled with all his might, grunting when he succeeded in ripping out the skeleton's hoof from its' socket. It fell to the ground in a clatter of bones. Candlejack began wielding the skeletal hoof like a club and grinned.

"Batter up, buckers!" he cheered. The remaining skeletons rushed him, hissing venomously. Candlejack, in an amazing display of balance, finesse and acrobatics, the skeletons soon began to clatter to the ground. With a bob and a weave, he dashed behind a skeleton that had thought to use a metal pole for a weapon, only to look confused when the pegasus was nowhere in his sight. It turned to suddenly get a boney muzzle full of skeletal foreleg and its' head flew right off. It landed in front of the one skeleton that didn't move.

Candlejack breathed softly, the fight barely taking a toll on him but gave quite the workout. He tossed aside the bone foreleg and motioned a rude gesture at the skeleton.

"Is that all ya' cultists got?" He then smirked. "What's the matter, Constance. Do I have your bones rattled?" Constance made it hard to tell what his response is with the grinning skeletal smile. He then held up a familiar book and cocked his head. Candlejack blinked and looked back at his wing. He groaned. 'I guess I got carried away and it fell out.' He saw Constance open the book and hiss.

"Cloptuu Neighrada. Knickto." It screeched. The clouds suddenly darkened and the blue shining moon was engulfed. The glowing blue sand turning an ash gray. Candlejack shook his hooves and bobbed in place, rolling his neck. He looked over to see the others gallop out of the garage and stare in awe.

"Jack!" Zelori called out, heading over to him. She took a stance next to him. "What happened?" Candlejack nodded to the now floating skeleton being surrounded by a sickly green light.

"Let's just say, Constance didn't get very far in hell." Aurora held out a hoof to both a stunned Starbreeze and Manic.

"Wait here. I will aid the others." She said. She then galloped over to them and readied herself, hoof claws drawn. Constance hissed and green mist began crawling across the ground. Candlejack shivered as he felt the cold grow. His breath now visible more than what the night offered. Manic gasped, seeing that the ponies were slowly being covered in frost. She looked around, spotting the solarium generator. She grit her teeth before galloping over to the machine.

"M-Manic, wait!" Starbreeze called out. But Manic slid to a halt in front of the generator. She shivered as the cold began reaching her. Through shaking hooves, she fumbled at the dial before taking the starter line and pulling once, twice, thrice. The generator roared to life and she felt the relief of warmth overcome her. She looked back to see that Candlejack, Zelori, and Aurora shivering less. Constance's eyes glared evilly. Candlejack wiped his muzzle before leaning into a sprint on his two hindlegs. In three quick bounds, he kicked off the ground, rearing back and swung his forehoof out. Constance rasped a skeletal chuckle as his hoof collided with a loud thunk and shot him back.

Candlejack hissed and shook his hoof. Constance rose his hoof up into the air and the skeletons that Candlejack beat began reassembling back together. Candlejack slumped.

"Geez. And I was starting to think killing undead was fun. But now I'm seeing a whole new different light." Zelori suddenly was next to Candlejack, striking down a skeleton that had lunged at him before taking a hind hoof and crushing the skull. Aurora used her claw hoof to hook the ribs and tore them out before batting aside the skeletal creature. She looked over took one of the skulls and heaved it hard over to Constance. The skull shattered harmlessly off of the barrier that had been erected around the pony.

"A ward." She said. Candlejack frowned.

"Why do unicorns use cheap magic to help them?" Zelori didn't take her eyes off the skeleton as she spoke.

"The same reason you use your wings as a means of getting around." Candlejack slumped.

"That definitely helps in this situation..."

"Everypony!" a voice shouted. They looked back to see a giant robotic bird stomp out of the garage. Behind the cockpit was a stern looking Manic. She glared spitefully at the skeleton. "Get behind me." She said. Zelori gave her a worried look.

"Manic, you'll be hurt." She said. Manic shook her head.

"No! I'm done running! I'm done with this whole undead zombie bullshit! I want some sleep! And I want my goddess damned life back!" Candlejack smiled.

"I'm not complaining." He said. The three cantered behind the filly. Readying her Kiwi Bot, she pressed a few dials and buttons before gripping the handles. With a quick click of metal and whirring of gears and machines, a big barrel of a weapon extended on both sides of where the wings rose at even horizontal level.

"Hey, undead douchebag!" Manic called out. Constance glared at her, the skeletal minons reassembling themselves before facing her. "Eat luridium infused lead!" the barrels whirred and spun before blasting into a blinding green muzzle flash. The bullets ripped and tore through the skeletons, breaking them into even more pieces. Constance shielded himself as the bullets pelted his barrier. Manic kept firing. "Jack! When the barrier breaks, grab the book and say the words!" Candlejack arched a brow.

"But that won't stop them from coming back!" Manic glanced down at her dashboard and smirked.

"Trust me on this. It's time to end this now!" Candlejack studied the filly's resolve. The same feeling he had when Aurora confronted him at the hotel. Candlejack climbed on top of the wing and readied himself, nodding to the filly.

"Jack?" Zelori said. Candlejack looked back at her and grinned. Aurora watched the zebra mare sigh quietly before smiling softly. Indeed, an odd pair of siblings. Manic kept the pressure on. However, she was unaware of the skeletons that weren't in the line of sight. Three of them rushed her, but Aurora's map pointed them out and in quick succession, she shattered their skulls into the ground. Zelori fought off the ones flanking on her side. Manic felt the sweat drop form her brow.

The barrier was holding steady. Until a small crack could be seen. Candlejack's eyes widened, as if a predator sense kicked in. He took off and time slowed. The ward shattered around Constance. He hissed angrily before chanting the spell to create it again. However, before he could finish the first word, he gapped in surprise when he saw a maniacal grinning pegasus grab the book and brought his lower half in. Planting both hind hooves into the skeleton's face, he kicked off of it and a loud shockwave shook the other's to the core. Constance fell to the ground and watched as the pegasus hovered in the air. Manic looked at her dashboard, waited a bit and then pointed.

"Now! Say the words!" she cried out. Candlejack opened the book to no particular page and chanted.

"Cloptuu Neighrada Knickto!" his voice echoed through the yard. There was a rumble in the ground. Manic motioned for the two to hop on as she began to activate the bot's hovering function. Lifting off the ground, the ponies looked as the ground began to crack and open into a burning chasm. The skeletons screeched as some of them fell in while the others tried to escape. However, those that tried to escape were then grabbed by shadowy limbs.

"Go back to hell and be Death's bitch." Manic growled. Constance screeched angrily, making a beeline for the filly. But Candlejack zipped up in front of him and spun with a hind leg out, punting the skeleton back. When Constance landed, shadowy limbs grabbed him. He struggled to break free, but to no avail. Constance reached a hoof out, clawing the air as if desperately trying to call to the ponies. But they watched sternly as the skeleton got his just dessert. The limbs, in a burning green fire, melted the skeleton into the ground and before they knew it, all was quiet.

The ground closed back up and the clouds departed to reveal the night sky once again. Manic brought the bot down lightly. Candlejack remained in the air as he looked at the book. It seemed to sizzle and smoke, as if the power it once had had been fully drained. He then looked confusedly at the filly.

"I-is it over?" a whimpering voice asked. They looked to see Starbreeze creep out of the garage. Zelori hummed in thought before looking at the filly. Everypony was dying to know why this had worked. Manic exhaled and leaned back in her seat. Her eyes closed and pointed at the dash board.

"Witching hour. I didn't realize how late we have been staying up. But I read up on the paranormal and figured I'd give it a shot." Aurora cocked her head.

"You gambled that it would work?" she asked. Candlejack suddenly smirked mischievously.

"I guess reading all that manga wasn't such a bad thing as I thought." He said.

"It's a freakin' hobby, Candlejerk!" Manic snapped. Candlejack this time gave her a genuine smile. Manic studied the pegasus before returning it and placing her head tiredly against the seat.

"So... since we can't destroy the Necronomica... how can we get rid of the ghosts?" she asked. Candlejack rubbed his chin.

"I bet there is another way to cleanse the house. But the book? I have an idea on how to handle it."

Mr. Yaba whistled to himself. Trotting down the street, he looked up to the sky and squinted his eyes.

"Huh... pretty sure the clouds were acting funny earlier." He said with a shrug. Whisteling again, he trotted up and began fumbling through his keys. He then stopped and looked down. At the bottom of his door was a brown bag. Mr. Yaba looked suspiciously at it first. Looking both ways before leaning in cautiously. He read the small tag that was connected to the handles:

To Mr. Yaba. With love. Candlejack and CO.

Mr. Yaba snorted.

"Damn brats... they better not be..." He dug through the bag and stopped. Slowly pulling out a book, Mr. Yaba studied it. The familiar texture, the familiar design. The Necronomica remained quiet with only the faint whispers of the damned. Mr. Yaba frowned and dumped the book back into the bag. Trotting into his store, he opened up a safe that was behind his counter and tossed the bag in. Shutting the safe and locking it, he dusted his hooves off before whistling the same tune and getting ready to open his store.

Author's Notes:

The End of the Eclipse Cult Arc. But we are not finished just yet. Candlejack's fate is still being played out. Now begins the last of the Act 1.