(Stop me if you've heard this one, an alicorn and a synth walk into a bar....)

The nonsensical stray thought Vira picked up from her new employer filled the utter silence that greeted them when they walked into the Last Plank, relieving a little of the tension for her as what had been a fairly boisterous room full of drunken thoughts turned their eyes as one to the door.

'OUTSIDERS' beat back at her from their grim faces, making the green alicorn glad for Nick Hearts n' Hooves wry sense of humor. She was curious what the punchline of his joke would be if he had one, would they make a funny one? Thankfully a raspy old voice interrupted the silence and her contemplation, calling out loudly to break the spell that had fallen on the bar.

"Vira! There's me girl there fellas! Come on over here an' have a drink with me ya big filly! Bring yer weird friend too if ya please! Hitch! Another round of drinks for my friend!" Longfellow Steeds called from his corner seat, the bottle before him not quite enough to account for his bright and cheery tone, that was partially for his fellow islanders...

It seemed to do the trick anyway, the tension in the room relaxed as Virescent obediently trotted over, the standoffish Fog Harbor residents returning to murmured conversation around her crossing the room. She paused at the dark coated bartender's friendly reply, pausing in wiping a filthy rag over the worn wooden counter to eye her appreciatively and grin.

"Sure thing Longfellow, hell round of drinks on the house! In honor of my very first alicorn customer, and the fact we're all dead anyway! What'll it be there missy?" The owner of this musty establishment gave her a winning smile with his question, instantly changing the mood with his fatalistic generosity.

His thoughts were curious too, cheerily resigned to just what he said, he believed the residents of Fog Harbor were all on borrowed time, but seemed amused by his impending death and the novelty of an alicorn strolling into his bar before the end. Hmm... more than amused by the stirring thoughts he had as his eye traced down her curves as he waited for a reply, not alone on that score either. With the endorsement of a local and free drinks to smooth things over, Vira caught quite a few lewd fantasies of herself in compromising positions with several stallions and a mare or two in here, she was exotic...

Putting that aside with a whinny, Vira tilted her head in thought at the question he had posed her. Nopony else could place their order until she did, so she had to say something... but she never imbided alcohol, it had no effect and she didn't care for the taste. Technically she very rarely even needed to eat or drink, and as that was something that made her superior to normal ponies (no... not superior, different...) she didn't bother very often.

"Hmm... Ah! Do you happen to have one of those glowing... red... Sparkle Colas? The radioactive variety, I've had that once before." Vira finally answered, searching her limited experiences with pony beverages for one she had quite liked.

Another mental wave of 'OUTSIDER' came at her request, confusing her until the bartender laughed and dug behind him, swishing his red tail and chortling over his shoulder. "Sparkle Cola?! We don't carry that mainlander hooey here, this is a proper islander establishment missy! Here we are, if you insist on somethin' with no bite and little glowy, try a Zip and see if the local flavor doesn't beat Sparkle Cola any day of the week!"

An oddly shaped bottle floated over to her when his head popped up, glowing a pale green that shone through the bartender's crimson magic, complimented by Virescent's own green field of telekinesis when she accepted it and peered at the beverage. 'Zip! Emerald' stared back at her from the faded label, how odd... Even Vira knew Sparkle Cola, as it was ubiquitous in the wasteland, but she'd never heard of this kind of soda.

The pride it was offered with flowing off Hitch made her fairly certain it was as he said, a local flavor, something of the island. Given the expectant look he kept shooting her as he took in all the other orders, Vira cracked the top and stashed the cap in her packs. She wasn't sure if it counted as currency too since it was from something other than Sparkle Cola, but bottlecaps were bottlecaps. That done, she took a delicate sip and swished it around her mouth, surprised by the taste of celery and lettuce, along with the soothing tingle of rads dancing on her tongue.

"Mmm! Very refreshing, thank you! It is indeed just as good as one of those radishy Sparkle Colas." Vira bowed her head to the smirking bartender, enjoying his strange sense of pride and pleasure at sharing a local taste with her as she escaped the well watched exchange, leading the way to Longfellow with Nick following in her wake.

The rickety old wooden chair Longfellow kicked out with a hindleg under the table creaked ominously as she settled into the offered seat, but held and let her blend in with the rest of the patrons a bit, sipping her enjoyable drink and smiling at Longfellow tipping his own bottle of Wild Pegasus up to her.

"Ahoy Vira, hear you were a big help to all these fools out at the wall, good job lass. Found a friend too did you? Who's the tin can?" Longfellow slugged back a shot and eyed Nick suspiciously, his small table only had two seats, but Vira got the idea he wouldn't have offered the synth a seat regardless.

He sounded friendly enough considering he was talking to a pale synthetic pony, but his thoughts were wary and ...protective... He was concerned for her! Had an instant dislike of the robot in favor of watching out for her interests, making sure she wasn't taken advantage of, more of those strange paternal feelings he had for her sometimes that she so enjoyed.

"This is my new employer Longfellow, he came from Trotson to find a missing filly, he's a detective. Er... so am I now it seems, I'm helping him and getting a ride home in return when his case is finished. He's paying me and everything!" Vira tried to soothe that possessive grumble in his head, she liked having somepony concerned for her like this, but it was unwarranted here.

Nick helped her along there, tipping his hat to the dour stallion as he took his ordered drink and slugged the shot back with a wry grin, offering his card to Longfellow who squinted at the worn scrap of paper closely. "Nick Hearts n' Hooves mac, at your service. My new assistant and Captain Berry tell me you're the best tracker on the island, we hear you're the pony to see for a guide up to this Acadia place?"

"Acadia? Yeah... I'm 'bout the only one who goes up that way alright. I can see why he wants to go there, but what about you Vira? Thought you were just wantin' to get home." Longfellow returned Nick's card with a snort, thoroughly unconvinced by her new boss.

He cared about her... They had settled into a casual coexistence the last few days back on his land, but now that other ponies were involved, his feelings were easier to read. Again that paternal feeling flummoxed her, Virescent didn't know anything about fathers, all she had was her mother, these emotions were interesting and very warm...

But, well intentioned as he may be, she had made her own decision and hoped for his help. Not to mention she wanted to convince him to take in some of the local refugees for the Captain of this place, worried for his safety with the desperate townies and caring about his well being after she was gone. Longfellow was a good pony who cared, he shouldn't be alone as he was.

"I do Longfellow, and Nick has offered to take me. But I want to do this too, I have a job... I've never had a job before. I want to do things for myself, learn to be better. Nick is here to find a missing filly, that is a good thing to do and I can help. He's paying me 50 caps a day, which I can use how I want when I go home, he's a good ....pony... synth... he is good. You can help too, we need a guide to this Acadia place and you are the pony to see. Pleeeeease..." The sweet pleading in her voice cracked Longfellow's resolve, leaning down to stare directly at him and widen her eyes as she begged battered through the rest as he stuck his nose up and clenched his eyes with a grumble.

"Bah! Alright, alright! Enough with the puppy eyes Vira, I'll take ya already, just knock it off! Don't see why ya don't just fly yer big butt up there yerself though." Longfellow groused and crossed his forelegs over his chest in a sullen pout, but his thoughts were playfully resigned, he actually didn't mind helping her.

He made a good point Vira didn't know how to answer to try to weasel out of it though, it was true Virescent could simply scoop Nick up and fly straight to the top of the mountain. The fog that presented such a hazard to flying wasn't present that high up, so her only reason for walking was increasingly transparent.

Thankfully Nick answered for her, providing a reason that was sound and smart. "She could, but our missing filly left through the gates and walked. Might be she ended up hurt or dead somewhere along the way, or left clues as to why she's going there. Best to follow her backtrail if we can, instead of just skipping over it. We'd appreciate hiring you on as a guide to lead the way she would'a gone pally, plus anything you can tell us about where she went on the way would help."

Giving a snort and slugging back his whiskey bottle directly, Longfellow nudged Vira's own floating soda up with his hoof, taking a long drink together before gasping and slamming his empty bottle to the table and standing. "Not takin' money from Vira ta help her out, already done this much anyway. I'll take ya, and fill ya in what I knows... outside'a town... where there's less busybodies stickin' their snouts in where they don't belong. But you two do what I say, right? Ain't leadin' a couple mainlanders out there just'a get kill't, so I'm in charge."

Virescent fluffed her wings happily and nodded, agreeing to his terms with a wide smile and surprising herself by lunging into a bone crushing hug with the squirming old stallion. "You're in charge Longfellow, thank you!"

Watching the best tracker on the island, the famously gruff and grumpy hermit Longfellow Steeds, get lifted from his hooves and nuzzled by one big filly was so amusing the bar erupted into chuckles as he wheezed. Nopony messed with Longfellow, yet here he was getting squeezed like a teddy bear by an overeager mare nickering happily.

"Ok! Ok! Enough Vira! Yer ruinin' my reputation ya silly filly! Not ta mention yer about ta snap some brittle ol' ribs! Let's go already!" Longfellow fought and pushed away in her hooves, getting her to release him with a gasp and blush brightly.

Physical affection with normal ponies was going to take some getting used to, they weren't inferior... she knew that now, but they were ...fragile... Plus there was the question of when and where to engage in such behavior she had never really considered. She was happy and wanted to hug him, not thinking of who was watching or how he felt about it.

All very confusing... But his thoughts were still warm, if a bit flustered, and he led the way out as they followed. Vira shrugged and finished her rather tasty drink, interacting with others would take some practice is all. Another reason not immediately going back to Trotson wasn't so bad, when she found the male, she wanted to have a little more experience at least.

She liked hugs so far anyway.

"So, lemme get this straight pal. You're saying Acadia is a community of synths? Here?" Nick Hearts n' Hooves asked his guide curiously, adding to his notes as they slowly clopped down the empty streets of Fog Harbor's ruins.

"Ayup... keep to themselves mostly, they run the wind farm and built all the condensers powered by it. Provide em fer the rest of the island free o' charge, long as they get left alone. Fine with most of us too, odd lot... Alright, keep yer heads down, trappers hang out in these ruins..." Longfellow answered tersely, leading the way down the foggy path towards the looming mountain.

The larger tourist town outside of the walled Fog Harbor was empty and dead, creepier than most wasteland ruins Vira had seen in her life as well... The fog that blanketed everything absorbed sound and light, casting everything in a pale pinkish grey haze that made it look like another world.

The mild radiation of the fog was somewhat pleasant though... it counteracted what Longfellow told her of its necromantic properties anyway. She could feel it trying to sting and bite her coat, only for the minor drain on her health in the denser patches to be repaired by the radiation as quickly as it accrued. That aside, it still felt ...wrong... even for her, adding some weight to Longfellow's assurances the fog was 'evil'.

From what she could make out through the mist ahead, the ruined shops and buildings ahead had a lived in look somewhat... The smell she could pick up was unpleasant, blood and meat, dirty ponies... it went with the chaotic thoughts she started sensing as they drew closer, a scent that complimented the madness she could feel.

"Trappers? Like you are Longfellow? They seem more like raiders..." She asked curiously, already knowing whoever was up ahead, they were nothing like Longfellow, but interested in his answer. Sometimes she just had to pretend she didn't know what was obvious to her, an act to play through for the benefit of those not blessed by the goddess with her psychic gifts.

The old buck's answer was what she expected, a gruff laugh that was muted as they crept forward quietly. "Not hardly like me no more Vira, raiders is close enough as some of em are bastards by choice, for awhile anyway... Trappers what stay out too long in the fog go a little nutty though... I told you, the stuff is evil, gets in their heads and rots 'em out. You see one of them, you kill the poor bastard or run, they'll do the same to you if they get the chance, then tan yer hide and cure yer meat to boot. Aww shit.. looks like yer gonna find out one way or t'other... these bastards set up right across the road an' hoofin' it cross country's even more dangerous. You two ready for a lil' tussle?"

Looking to her boss, Vira watched Nick flick the cyllinder of his gleaming revolver open and check the rounds. The weapon didn't interest her that much, but the thoughts attached to it were intriguing... The synth stared at it a long second, thinking of a letter and.... and the male! He thought of Fast, the male alicorn sent him that weapon, returned it to him, along with something he was still struggling with. Interesting...

"Sure thing pally, let's try a little persuasion..." Nick chuckled back and took cover behind a dented old mailbox, nodding to Vira and shrugging back over his shoulder at a crumbling ruin of a bakery.

She had no weapons, so Nick thought of her as defenseless... While the protective feeling of responsibility from the odd robot was nice, Vira felt it best to clear up that misunderstanding early. She did trot to the cover of the shattered storefront, but held up a hoof for patience from her two companions as she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Four... Five minds up ahead.... Crazed thoughts of fog and blood, hunting and killing, murder and chaos... Something had driven them all irrevocably insane, making Virescent shudder at Longfellow's warnings about the fog on this island. How was it possible for weather to be evil? Impossible as it seemed, she believed him now that she felt it.

Crazy minds were also weak ones though, ones she could manipulate without much effort. Her horn glowed brightly in the gloomy shop that hid it from view and she smiled as the first shot rang out, opening her bright green eyes to nod to Nick and Longfellow moving ahead of her.

These Trappers viewed everything as either one of them, or something to kill and eat. It was a trifle to mess with that distinction, turning them on each other as they all saw prey instead of allies. The trick wouldn't last long, but their fortified camp built in the shoreside ruins erupted into chaos, providing an opportunity for her friends to take advantage of as she ducked out behind them.

A pair of the Trappers tumbled off the roof of a corner grocer as they approached, locked in a snarling struggle between a long fishing spear darting around in flickering orange magic, and a wicked hook slashing out from a burly earth pony's mouth. She got a glimpse as they fell to the street, dressed in the flannels and overalls common among the islanders, along with furs and leathers, bits of bone, severed ears were strung on a necklace of the earth pony who won the fight...

His curved fishing hook gutting his unicorn fellow snapped both of them out of the spell, the winner looking down in confusion at what had been a fine young filly screaming for mercy turned back into a gurgling older stallion. He didn't have long for his addled brain to try to cope with it at least, Longfellow's lever action rifle blew a ragged hole through his neck and he joined his victim on the cold asphalt.

The remaining three trappers were heavily wounded, but were coming back to what passed for their senses, angrily shouting and trying to scramble to cover and attack the real threat. Too little, too late though, Nick's revolver boomed and a dark brown mare was thrown back through the makeshift shelter built at the three way intersection of ruined streets, dropping the number of little red marks in Virescent's vision down to one.

That final hostile pony charged out from behind a rusting hulk of a chariot incorporated into their hovel, screaming an indecipherable howl of rage and swinging the wickedly barbed hooked pole in her mouth at her employer. Vira panicked at the surprise attack, afraid at how close he had managed to get to the unaware synth as time seemed to slow down with her indecision, then just stop entirely...

Ah.... The pip-buck again... S.A.T.S. had activated with her rush of adrenaline and the thought of not having enough time to stop the attack, now she had all the time in the world and marveled at the strange bit of arcano-tech on her leg. She really had to admit it, perhaps her mother had been wrong about pony technology.

Not that her children weren't ...not superior... but very advantaged over normal ponies, but if they had used technology like this along with their natural abilities? Or guns and armor too?

The Destroyer would not have stood a chance against the goddess, and the wasteland would be a very different place...

Would that be good or bad though? Before the answer was easy, now Virescent was surprised to find she wasn't so sure.

Another quandary for later, right now she needed to do something about that screaming raider ...trapper... heathen attacking Nick. With a little practice, Vira found the targeting system followed her eyes, clicking from one section of the glowing green outline surrounding the attacking pony to the next and giving a percentage to hit each part.

The head would be best, but it had fairly low odds to succeed. How did the male so easily make headshots if his pip-buck functioned the same? Maybe you got better with practice or something, she simply couldn't see having his success rate if the odds were accurate. Statistically he'd either have a lot of misses, or was the luckiest pony alive, 15% just wasn't a very attractive target for her.

The body gave the best chances at 80%, then the forelegs facing her at 60%, while the hindlegs mostly obscured by the body were around 20%. An easy enough choice anyway, torso it was. The pip-buck recognized almost all of her arcane abilities and presented them as options, but simple was still best until she got better at this, she selected her beam spell and accepted the waiting prompt.

Time resumed and again came that strange sensation of her magic being directed by something more than just her will. A bright emerald beam blasted from her horn and scorched a smoking hole through the trapper's leather chestpiece, unfortunately not quickly enough to stop his death throes from slashing out at Nick's leg, tearing through his rumbled coat and the pale plastic hide underneath.

"Oh no! No, no, no! I should have used a shield, I'm sorry Nick, are you... all... right?" Vira worriedly gasped and pranced forward to her limping boss, following him to the rusting chariot wreck and tilting her head in confusion as he waved her off and the swirl of magic surrounded his damaged limb.

An eldritch field reached out to the metal wreck he leaned against and the dead trapper, seeming to eat into the corroded steel and plastic of the vehicle, while the same happened to the trapper's clothing. With ample materials on hoof to use, the spell brightened as the damage showing gleaming silver bones, circuits and wires under Nick's hide slowly repaired, ending with his trenchcoat sleeve knitting back together.

"Neat trick, eh dollface? Got Fast to thank for that one actually, ain't worked so well in ages. Institute tech at its finest, with a little repair pony help." Nick grinned and tipped his hat to her surprised face, lighting a cigarette and chuckling at her widening green eyes as Longfellow trotted past them to check over their dead attackers.

Honestly, all he had to do was mention Fast Times and his new mare Friday was all ears. Nick wasn't sure whether to be jealous of that kind of devotion and eager interest, or worried for his friend running from a whole tower of mares just as determined to catch him. Vira was positively fascinated anyway, poking at the repaired limb and questioning him rapidly.

"The male? How did Fast do this? What happened? Fast knows such amazing magic? Did he cast some spell on you?"

Nick tried to ease her back, reloading his revolver and raising an eyebrow up to her prancing in place excitedly. "Easy sweetheart, nothin' so fancy. It's just a repair talisman, when I met him, I was in pretty rough shape, more a loose pile of detective parts instead of the handsome buck you see now. Ol' Fast put me right again and gave me a brand spankin' new talisman from one of those fancy advanced models. Long as there's parts around, I'm right as rain again in a few minutes at worst. I er... don't think he likes being called 'the male' either doll, just food for thought."

Longfellow barked laughter from the crude trapper shelter, going over the corpses and stripping them for valuables. "Filly's got a one track mind when it comes ta that feller, dunno how he made that kinda impression on her, but Vira's a mite focused on him. Didn't I try tellin' ya the same thing? Ya wanna change an' find a way ta this buck's heart, callin' him 'the male' ain't the way ta go about it Vira."

Virescent pouted at getting chided by both of her companions, scuffing the road and replying sullenly. "I am trying... It is a hard habit to break, the mother wanted to find a male very much, it's still hard not to think of him that way first."

Given the opening and a moment while Longfellow continued his looting, Virescent sat beside Nick and lowered her voice meekly. "Nick... Forgive me for overhearing, but some things I catch whether trying or not as I tried to explain. I couldn't help umm... a-about Fast... You just recently had something to do with him, didn't you? Something that is bothering you? A letter and your gun? Your old gun as you think of it apparently, that one there. A... hospital? You seem a bit upset on the subject still, did he do something wrong?"

Virescent pointed to Nick's holstered revolver curiously, she wasn't obsessed with the only male alicorn she had ever seen, but she was very interested in anything to do with him. Longfellow's paternally protective feelings and Nick's generous charity were nice feelings Vira was enjoying, but the male... he felt something different she longed to experience again.

It wasn't just mating and reproduction like the mother wanted, it was something more... something warm and kind and ...loving. The mysterious pony emotion of Love, the focus of so many sappy songs, tawdry romance novels, poetry, paintings and more, had always seemed a bit silly and strange to Virescent. But after getting just an inkling of it herself she was left flustered and very focused on the source, she wanted to feel it again, wanted to know all about the pony who made her feel it, to be a better pony for him and herself too.

Since this happened to involve both him and her new employer, it was doubly fascinating. It was rude to just dig around in Nick's mind and take the answers she wanted, so now she had to ask questions and hope he'd feel like sharing. Like most things, taking what she wanted would be easier and faster, but meant less somehow. Finding out through conversation was crude and slow, but it meant the other party got to share with her as they wanted, she had to earn trust and friendship to learn.

Longfellow interrupted Nick's pained expression by ordering them both onward, but trotted ahead through town and past a sagging, candy cane stripped bar attached to a dilapidated toll booth, not much of an obstacle to the narrow road winding up the mountain. The old stallion kept glancing back, but nodded to her and kept his distance, letting her and the detective have space that Nick apparently needed for a private subject.

She was worried she had offended him, or that he wouldn't tell her, which would be an annoying temptation to simply read the answers herself that she still struggled with. Thankfully he eventually gave a long sigh as they trudged up the mountain path, taking the revolver he thought of as Persuasion from his coat and letting it catch the dim light as he thought. An Ironshod's .45 caliber Peacekeeper by his thoughts, a weapon popular with police ponies from long ago.

"This is my old piece alright Vira, you nailed that one. Thought I lost it a long, long... time ago. Tell me dollface, when you listen in to my noggin, do you er... do I... Is it really a pony brain rattling around up there? Or just a few blown fuses rubbing together?" Nick's strange yellow eyes stared at her closely, an anxious tremble to his thoughts behind those black irises.

The question seemed important to him, but she wasn't sure how to answer his odd phrasing. Lately she had found that when she was confused or unsure, the truth seemed the wisest course. Probably why Honesty was one of the six most important virtues of ponykind.

"You have a pony mind Nick, I sense no difference between you and anypony else. It's rather fascinating actually, I had some exposure to the Institute and their synth creations, but I never saw one of the ...umm... cruder models... that looked like you with a real mind. The more advanced models that were at least partially biological were the same, even I can't tell they are synthetic copies. Only your appearance lets me know with you."

Longfellow's flicking ears were listening in and he turned back from eyeing a small campsite for creatures in the fog in surprise, just a few days with Vira had impressed on the old buck how accurate her unique gifts were. "Even you can't Vira?! Huh... that's somethin' then. Most of them ponies up ahead in Arcadia look right, but wouldn't figure they got workin' brains that can fool even you! Guess their hooey about wantin' ta be free ain't just some kinda malfunction or somethin' then. No offense there Detective..."

A look of tired relief crossed Nick's pale face, so Vira hoped she had done right, though she still sensed that turmoil bothering him as he answered. "None taken pal, thanks Vira... and I used to be prettier... Had me a plain old flesh and blood body once, used to be a real gumshoe back in the days when I didn't have to explain what that is to almost everypony I meet. Before the war I was one of Trotson P.D.'s finest."

That statement came with a rush of memories and thoughts that gave Vira pause, the world before the bombs... Images of the gleaming towers of Trotson, green grass and living trees, sparkling rivers of clear water, a metropolis of clean and fairly happy ponies not trying to kill each other to survive.

As she stared at Nick, a residual self image seemed to superimpose itself over his pale features, a pale grey coat instead of white, a brown mane streaked with grey, though his outfit remained the same. This was how Nick thought of himself once, years of getting used to his current form made it faded and temporary, but once he was a real, living pony.

A prewar pony too... something that led her back to her favored subject with a gasp. "Like the ma- like Fast! You are from before the end? The old world?"

She could do without his chuckling smirk at returning to thoughts of the male, but he simply nodded with a smile. "Yep, me and Fast even compared notes, one prewar pony to another, usually it's just me and ghouls that remember the old ways. I used to be Detective Nick Hearts n' Hooves of the Trotson Police Department, then I had a little lead assisted nap for a few decades and woke up like this."

"How? What did the Institute do to you Nick? Is that what's bothering you?" Vira asked quietly, just broaching the subject increased the pain her employer was struggling with, but she was honestly curious and picked her way cautiously forward through the conversation, waiting patiently as Nick thought.

"That's the question... I never really knew Vira, how or why they made me and stuck a detective's mind in this clanking chassis. You'd think if they were gonna copy a pony's brain, they'd pick one a little more worthwhile with a few less holes. They didn't exactly fill me in though, I just woke up alone in the wasteland thinking a few days had passed. The letter your favorite buck sent filled in a big piece of the puzzle for me just the other day, now I'm trying to figure out what kind of picture it makes." The synth detective's eventual reply was tired and sad, still holding back things Virescent could sense swirling in his artificial mind. He had seen something recently that threw his world into chaos, shook him to his core and had him obsessively turning it over in his thoughts.

Staying focused on his case, along with his new assistant and her problems, seemed to help him, concentrating on the present instead of the past and the things hidden there. That was something Vira could empathize with at least, the past could be painful, but there was nothing you could do to change it. The present and future might hurt too, but at least you had some input on them.

"The Institute has done many terrible things, I see that now... I don't like them either, what they did to you just makes me sure I'm right to feel that way. I like to think where one comes from is less important than who they are now too, f-for selfish reasons... but still. I've done many bad things, but now things have changed! I have a friend in Longfellow and you I hope, I have a job and a goal to find your missing filly, things can be better... no matter where we come from." Virescent answered earnestly, she had to believe that...

That somehow even she could change and be a worthwhile pony, not a minion or pawn of bigger powers playing on a larger stage. That her life mattered and she had some influence on its course. That if she chose to and tried, she could be better.

"You got a real knack fer pickin' screwed up friends there Vira, I shudder ta think what this buck yer taken with is like, nuttier than a fruitcake I imagine!" Longfellow's laugh made her feel a little defensive as they kept hiking up the winding trail, returning her attention to the old stallion and her worries for him in the process.

"He's not... well... Maybe a little. He does dress like a comic book character and enjoy theatrics, but I like him! Were he not odd, he probably wouldn't have helped me. I am free to choose whatever psychologically unsound ponies I wish to befriend, I like you after all Longfellow."

Virescent wasn't much of a joker, awkwardly attempting one and waiting anxiously for it to sink in for a beat. Hearing the old stallion suddenly sputter and guffaw laughter was a wonderful feeling though, well worth the risk. Laughter... another of those important virtues Vira had disregarded most of her life, but one she found she liked now. Not only was just the sound of Longfellow's chortling uplifting, she got to feel it too, a fuzzy ball of warmth in his heart that blew away a lot of cobwebs. Longfellow didn't laugh often, but she made him do so and it felt good!

"Alright, ya got a point there Vira. Course I don't think I'd complain if'n ya wanted ta jump my old bones half as bad as ya do yer feller! Friends is good too though." Longfellow gave as good as he got, making Virescent's cheeks burn at the hit scored.

She still didn't view mating the same way Longfellow or other normal ponies did for the most part, but spending enough time around the old buck had rubbed off a bit. Mating for pleasure was a new concept for her, and still closely tied to procreation now that it was a possibility. She was intrigued and wanted to try it, but only with the male.

Imagining doing so with the wrinkled old stallion teasing her now felt ...weird... He was still rather attractive, in a grizzled kind of way... and she cared for him, she liked hugs with him, and his soothing touch on her hoof or shoulder when she was upset. Trying to bring up all those funny, tingly feelings she associated with the male but with Longfellow instead just felt oddly wrong though.

Longfellow was like... like the goddess in a way, her mother. He was male instead, but those paternal feelings he held for her... Fathers. Virescent still didn't quite get fathers, but realized she viewed Longfellow in similar terms, thus imagining herself rutting the old buck was just weird. Apparently it was for him too, which was the point of the teasing, saying something ridiculous and sure to make her uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Putting aside his snickering with a whinny, Vira trotted closer and used it as an opening to work on him about what she was worried about where he was concerned. "I may not feel that way Longfellow, but perhaps other lucky mares do? If you spent more time with other ponies, you could find one!"

His gruff amusement dried up instantly, a door slammed shut in his heart and made her flinch at her mistake. They were just laughing and joking together, but he turned away gruffly and sped up now, grumbling back as they rounded another switchback on the mountain trail.

"Don't want one Vira. Yer friends enough for an old buck like me, mainly cause yer on yer way ta leavin', right?" He sounded so cold... why did that hurt so much?

"B-But... Even if you don't want a mate, you shouldn't be alone Longfellow. You helped me so much, you're kind and should spend time with others. There are many other ponies who need help back in Fog Harbor, couldn't you help them like you helped me? They could help you back like I did! Or like I tried to..." Virescent tried to keep the whimper out of her voice as her ears flattened, it hurt for Longfellow to turn so cold towards her, but she was actually concerned for him. She had to plow forward instead of getting scared off.

Easier said then done though... his agitation was increasing at the subject, glaring back at her and making her wilt under his hard stare. "You washed up on my beach, nothin' ta be done about it. They can take care of themselves far as I'm concerned Vira. I want peace an' quiet! Not a bunch of whiny ponies muckin' up my land, be undoin' the damage from yer clumsy assfor a week after you finally get gone. Gonna take you up to these kooks on their mountain, then wash my hooves of ya and everypony else, like I wanted 'fore you showed up!"

"Hey, mac... take it easy on her. Sounds like the filly's just worried about you, worse things in the world than a dame givin' a damn about you. I speak from experience, I'd be lost without Ellie holding down the fort." Nick spoke softly in that soothing accent of his, interrupting Longfellow's ire for a moment in her defense, but only increasing it.

"Don't need some machine tellin' me my business neither! Both of ya can keep yer noses outta my life, managed it pretty damn well for a long number of years, ain't gonna stop durin' the last stretch! Now hush up dammit, or just keep yappin' and let beastie come outta the fog an' shut you up for me!" The anger baking off Longfellow's back flared brighter, he was holding back still where Vira was concerned, the robot didn't get any such consideration though.

Sensing that as she cringed behind Nick taking up her defense, Virescent was only more confused. Longfellow was mad, wanted her to stop being a busybody and nosing in on his life, grumbling to himself in a fury and deliberately trying to be hurtful to make her stop, to make her mad so she wouldn't care what happened to him. But he wasn't willing to go as far as he would with others, he cared about her and couldn't bring himself to be truly cruel to scare her off.

What was the right thing to do? If they were friends, should she respect his wishes to be left alone? But if he stayed alone, it would be bad for him, maybe put him in danger... What he wanted seemed wrong, but was it her place to say so? Was it better to support her friend's bad choices blindly, or do what she thought best for his well being, whether he liked it or not? Even if it put their new friendship at risk?

Friendship was hard... and surprisingly painful... Letting a pony in just gave them the opportunity to hurt you more. Longfellow himself was struggling with the very same thought, the nattering and anger of the Harbor ponies meant almost nothing to him, but hearing the same from Vira dug deeper. Even putting on his usual defense of his choices and trying to push her away was harder and hurt more. Why couldn't the strange mare just wind up on some other stretch of beach...

A shrill scream ahead broke the tense silence that had settled between the three of them, snapping them all out of their brooding thoughts and worries thankfully. It came from a thicker bank of fog drifting across the road, something that gave Longfellow pause to turn back and issue a warning, only to nearly be knocked off his hooves by the big alicorn rocketing forward.

"Vira wait!" The old buck's hoarse cry held a note of panic he didn't like hearing from himself, dammit... he told them to only go where he said!

The opportunity to do something right and good was foremost in Virescent's mind though. Putting aside her worries and hurt at failing with Longfellow, here was somepony who needed help right now from real threats she could do something about, not ephemeral, future problems she couldn't.

The Eyes Forward Sparkle system even pointed them out for her, something real and definitely bad since they were displayed in red marks. Three of them moving around a fourth green dash, someone who wasn't bad and who needed help. She could be a good pony, she could help someone anyway!

The shadows resolving out of the fog were low and lupine, lunging and snapping at a bleeding mare trying to crawl away down the cracked road. Balewolves... monsters made of blackened deadfall from the forest and flickering with soothing balefire, twisted timberwolves of old Equestria.

A hard flap sent her soaring above them silently before she was noticed, then she simply tucked her wings and fell like a stone, turning one of the snarling beasts to kindling with all four hooves slamming to its back. The remaining two turned on the new threat instantly, leaving their wounded prey to circle the big alicorn cautiously.

This was something new on the island... Prey the balewolves had never encountered and were therefore wary of. It smelled of pony, but it was off slightly... bigger and stronger too, a threat that didn't smell of fear. It was still a pony though, food... With a few yips back and forth to communicate, they launched themselves at her as one, hoping to overwhelm the larger food protecting the smaller and feast on both of them.

With a thought Vira's bright green shield appeared around her and the wounded lavender mare behind her, the balewolves impacting the barrier bounced off harmlessly and prowled around her in frustration, snarling and clawing at the sphere surrounding her. They were testing it, a few stronger swipes draining more magic to keep it intact. If she focused and created her strongest shield, they could paw at it all day without making any progress, but the current protection would weaken under a dedicated assault once they worked up to it.

'They dare...'

A proud voice from the fog made Vira falter in surprise, spinning around and looking for the source. It couldn't be... Sensing the moment of weakness, the balewolves attacked in concert, slashing out with claws of curved wood and steel wreathed in balefire, first cracking, then breaking through her shield before she could focus again.

Vira managed to prance aside from the wolf that broke through, earning a long series of gashes down her flank, but not at her throat at least. The vicious beasts were strong... almost as tall as she was and consummate predators, the one that clawed her kept her attention while the second tried circling around to her rear, the flicker of movement behind her just enough to buck out of reflex and send it sailing back.

Before it could get to its feet again, a muted shot rang out behind her and sent the collection of wood and junk that composed its body clattering to the asphalt. She turned back gratefully to the source of fear and worry galloping through the fog, Longfellow and his rifle... coming to her rescue and worried for her, he did care...

"Dammit Vira!! Get outta there ya damn fool!" Longfellow shouted and paused to fire his long rifle again, less accurate, but throwing off the remaining balewolf from pouncing on her.

He seemed reluctant to proceed all the way into the dense fogbank she found herself in, the synth detective charging on at his side had no such reservations though. Nick ran ahead, the boom of his gleaming revolver much louder as he closed in and blew large holes in the snarling beast. Damage that quickly started regenerating, random junk and bits of broken roadway floating up to reform the balewolf's body.

"The heart! Ya gotta hit the heart!" Longfellow screeched and tried to line up another shot, blocked as the monster prowled around Vira, putting her bulk between them and looking for a way to claim its lost prey.

Virescent got the image in Longfellow's mind at his panicked cry, a hidden hunk of blackened stone deep in the chest of the balewolf, that's what he wanted to hit... Using his knowledge as her guide, Vira wheeled on the balewolf and blasted out a bright beam from her horn, scorching through the layers of detritus and vaporizing the cold heart of the beast. The last balewolf fell to pieces at her hooves to her relief, letting her finally turn to the wounded mare gurgling under her.

Nick joined her and they both looked to the bleeding mare with crestfallen expressions. Vira had saved her from a more painful death, but death seemed inevitable despite her intervention. Ragged claw wounds had torn through her chest, her neck, her stomach... a long trail of her own intestines marked her torturous progress crawling away on her hooves, her blood smeared down the crumbling trail.

Even if Virescent knew healing magic... there was nothing she could do. Not that she had ever bothered learning how to restore normal ponies, all her kind needed was sufficient radiation to heal, why would she bother learning how to heal weak, frail insects like this? Now she wished she had... that she could do something more than watch this mare die.

Getting a better look stunned her too, even before the balewolves vicious attack, this mare wasn't in the best of shape. She bore the burns and sores of radiation poisoning, her pale orange mane and tail were wispy and thin from lost hair. What bothered her most of all was the ragged, bloody scraps of cloth she wore, a green robe... the hooded garment of an initiate in the Church of Balefire... Here?!

"Damn... I keep a few potions on me, not that they do me any good, but don't look like it'll help this poor dame either... Hang on, think I got a Med-X somewhere too..." Nick reloaded his revolver and looked over the dying mare sadly, quickly coming to the same conclusion, they could be with her in her last moments, but little else.

"I can do that much, save your pony drug Nick... Ssshhh... it is alright, I will help you, a-as best I can, just relax..." Virescent cooed softly, her horn lighting up and touching the poor mare's fading mind.

She couldn't heal, but pain was just signals to the brain, cutting off those signals was a fairly simple matter for her. The wave of relief she felt as her magic took hold made her feel a little better at least, this mare wouldn't spend her last moments in agony anyway.

Her fading purple eyes looked up to her with reverent wonder, her cracked lips trying to form words and weakly spraying her muzzle with blood. Virescent shushed her with a hoof to her lips and shook her head sadly, reaching out to her to let her say her peace.

(Don't try to speak, I can hear you if you think it. It's alright, just... j-just sleep... let go.)

The mare's eyes widened and she gave a weak nod, that religious fervor Virescent could feel just increased as she replied in kind. (D-Divine messenger... H-Have you come to welcome me to the holy glow's embrace? A-Am I worthy o' child of the Goddess...?)

'GREAT AND POWERFUL'

Virescent's head shot up and she peered into the fog, catching a glimpse of a floating, ghostly head and stammering senselessly. The mother... how... No, the goddess was dead and gone, as this poor deluded mare would be soon. Her words and thoughts were of the Church Virescent had so recently been a leader of, filling her with dread and worry to find them here that she struggled to put aside, trying to soothe her last moments and usher her into... whatever waited for her.

Remembering the words she hoped to hear was easy enough, not so long ago Virescent had been everything this mare thought of her as, a divine priestess to give her last rites. (You are worthy, go with a clear heart into the embrace of the Goddess, ascend to a higher form through the power of the holy glow little pony, leave your dying husk behind and rejoice.)

A weak smile stretched across her muzzle as Vira gave a gentle kiss to her cracked horn. She held her mind the whole way, keeping back the pain and feeling the ember of her life slowly die out, fading away to nothing peacefully. Vira was surprised to find she was leaking again... hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she closed the mare's eyes.

Once upon a time, Virescent had reveled in feeling weak ponies dying, snuffing out that precious spark herself, now it filled her with so much pain to feel her go... She couldn't do anything but make her passing less painful...

"What'cha think yer doin' Vira! I said go where I say! Not take off just ta try ta save one of those nuts! Why'd ya... h-hey... hey Vira, w-what's wrong? Don't cry like that lass..." Longfellow's anger as he trotted up died on his tongue, taking in the weeping alicorn looking up to him desperately.

"I c-couldn't help her... She thought I was... I used to be like her, I told her what she wanted to hear, but I couldn't help her!" Virescent wailed back, wishing she could just be the uncaring mare she was before if it would take this pain away.

Her blubbering always affected Longfellow, he hated seeing a filly crying, those paternal feelings rose up again and he rose a shaky hoof to pat her back consolingly. "Enough of that Vira... you tried, looks like ya helped her go peaceful too. Can't take the world on yer shoulders like that, nothin' more ya could'a done... You jus' worry about you, one of these kooks gettin' themselves kill't ain't yer problem."

Now Vira found another reason for expressing physical affection, comfort... She lunged towards the contact of Longfellow's soothing hoof, hugging him tightly and curling her wings around him as she shuddered. Sniveling like a big filly in his ears and nuzzling desperately, anything to make this horrible feeling lessen.

"I have been that way before, o-only cared for myself and not others... I don't like it anymore, I don't w-want to be that way! I want to help and be better, but I couldn't help her, I can't help you either... I don't want you to die like her Longfellow, all alone... But I don't want you to be mad at me for asking you to change either! Why can't I help anyone right?"

Longfellow sighed in her grip, returning it hesitantly and stroking her sides, just like he used to with... She really was nothing but a big filly in some ways, a little girl in a big body, one he found himself caring about where he had managed to keep everypony else away for so long. He could honestly care less about this dead religious nut she was so worked up over, or those fools in Fog Harbor waiting for the fog to overtake them, but Vira...

Vira was different.

"Hush now ya big blubbering galoot, you helped her good enough, an' ya helped me... You quit yer cryin' now Vira, buck up an' I'll.... I-I'll think about lettin' some of them idjits on my land, if'n it'll make ya feel better... And if they keep their distance! A-An' don't go wreckin' the place like you do, yer big butt already did enough damage huh?" Longfellow's deep voice was a soothing balm, calming the shaking filly smothering him and managing to get a weak chuckle after a few minutes.

"I-I don't have a big butt..." Virescent nickered softly and wiped her eyes, peering down at her captive friend hopefully. "Y-You will let others join you? N-Not be alone?"

"Sure ya don't Vira... Yeah, yeah, I said I'd think about it, quit pushin' yer luck... An' only if ya quit that blubberin', got work ta get to don't ya? Other things ta do than worry about an old bastard like me, find that filly an' get off my island, go track down yer precious male an' ferget all about ol' Longfellow." The elderly stallion struggled his way free, covering his rosy face by straightening his ruffled peacoat and hat.

Virescent's head bobbed rapidly and she gave a weak smile, wiping her dripping muzzle on the sleeves of her tight sweater sheepishly. "I will not forget you Longfellow, you are my first friend... I want you to be safe and happy, even when I'm not here. H-Having a friend and worrying for them is new for me... s-so forgive me if I'm not very good at it..."

Giving a snort and tromping onward into the fog, Longfellow tossed his grey mane and called back gruffly. The warm, happy feelings in his head well disguised by his demeanor, but not from his psychic friend. "Yer good enough at it, I ain't too hot at friendship nonsense either, so we're a good match Vira. Now come on, we're almost there."

Vira watched him stride off, giving a start at the pale synthetic hoof lightly touching her own. The detective stood beside her, looking down at the dead mare and trying to console her too. "He's right dollface, you did your best, I think Fast would be pretty impressed. I don't know him very well, but I've seen that old buck's type plenty over the years. You did help him, whether it seems like it or not. Let's get moving before something else crawls out of the woodwork and tries to make a snack of us huh? Already got a bite out of you, hold still a minute, I carry this stuff for a reason."

Moving carefully, Nick unwound a roll of magical bandages from his packs and applied it to Vira's bleeding flanks, a wound she had forgotten in her distress, but his care reminded her of painfully. Having somepony tend her wounds and try to soothe her aching heart... feeling kindness and trying to return it was nice...

"T-Thank you Nick, I'm glad I met you too. You are my second friend, after Longfellow." Virescent sniffled and winced as she stood, her horn pushing back the fog as she surrounded the dead mare's scattered corpse in her magic, gently lifting it to the mossy ditch beside the road.

"I'm in good company then, you're a peach yourself sweetheart. Nice of you to try to save this mare, surprised to see one of those church nuts here, thought they were a Trotson flavor of crazy only." Nick's soft reply brought up her own thoughts on the subject of the dead mare, her expression turning grim looking at those green robes.

Vira scooped up a pile of loose soil and dumped it over the body, a poor, unmarked and shallow grave, but hopefully it would keep the scavengers away and let her rest in peace. Her reply was hoarse and wary, full of worry at running into a member of her old church here on Fog Harbor. "So did I... I don't know what she's doing here, but I don't like it."

Nick gave her a friendly pat on the back and chuckled, nudging her along to follow Longfellow and leave the foggy battlefield. "Welcome to the life of a detective's assistant sweetheart, mysteries around every corner!"

Thankfully the rest of the trip up the mountain passed uneventfully, giving Vira the opportunity to ask some questions with Nick's curious help. The major groups on the island were of interest to the detective, cryptically stating how 'You never know what the essential clue is going to be Vira' when she asked what his interest in the Church of Balefire was.

Virescent had been a high priestess in the Church and spread its warped message far during her time serving the Institute, but hadn't realized it had gotten quite this far. According to Longfellow, the robed cultists showed up a year ago, still in the early days of her missionary work in Trotson.

Finding the island of radioactive fog and an abandoned military base to the south as a cathedral, the local version of the Church of Balefire had grown strong, viewing Fog Harbor as a holy site, blessed by the divine glow with its mysterious fog. Neither Longfellow nor the Harbor ponies had a high opinion of them, and the feeling was mutual according to him.

Vira didn't pry too far though, both out of shame and a reluctance to admit she was once part of the group, and out of a sense of dread. If the Church reached this far, the Institute may be the guiding hoof behind them here. If at all possible, Vira wanted nothing more to do with the mad scientists at the moment. Someday a reckoning may come for how they lied to and used her, but they were powerful and insane, while Vira was isolated and ...afraid of them.

She better understood why Fast Times hated them so much now. If she had her way, she'd extract her vengeance on them someday, with the male at her side. Together...

Both Nick and Longfellow seemed to sense there was more to her gentle questioning, but she was grateful to them both for not prying into her past. Taking in their thoughts along with her own as the fog began to thin, Vira realized they all had their pasts nipping at their hooves, brooding thoughts that seemed to lighten and clear along with the strange fog.

As Nick was quick to point out when she brought it up, the fog was yet another mystery here. It had taken her some time to quietly whisper her strange experience to them, explaining how she heard the voice of her mother from the fog fearfully. Longfellow paused and gave her a long, searching look full of concerned thoughts, holding her frightened gaze with his firm one.

"Don't listen to the fog Vira. Shouldn'ta gone barreling off in to a thick patch like that, it's dangerous... No matter what you hear, don't listen." Was all Longfellow would say, but it had pained thoughts and an unbending tone of command to it. He was worried for her, speaking from long years of experience.

Putting the horrible soup behind them as they reached the top of the mountain, they were treated to a rather spectacular view. Even as a mare who could simply fly where she wished, Virescent had to appreciate the vista of the island spread below them. No wonder this place was an Equestrian national park, it must have been truly breathtaking when the forest was alive and the land not quite so obscured in pinkish grey mist.

The Starswirl Observatory appeared ahead of them when the mists cleared as well, a huge pale blue dome, decorated with stars and moons that corroded in the damp weather, a massive telescope sagged from its place atop the structure, rusting to ruin and all too forcibly reminding Virescent of the cannon that recently blasted a hole in her side, making her ribs itch with a wince.

A lot of post war additions had been made to the complex, lending it an intimidating air that slowed their pace. Walls of junk enclosed the large parking lot, a large gate stretched across the road and was guarded by a suspcious silver mare with a rich auburn mane, training a deadly looking heavy magical energy weapon battlesaddle on them at their approach.

"Alright you two, lemme do the talkin'. Told ya they're standoffish, don't zactly get a lot of company up here. Ahoy! Quit pointin' that blasted thing at me, it's Longfellow dammit!" Their elderly guide muttered instructions to Nick and Vira, then barked at the mare in the tattered black coat eyeing them warily.

Longfellow was the only islander to regularly make his way up the mountain and keep his sanity, making him enough of a known fixture to not be vaporized by beams of magic at least. There was activity on the walls and beyond Vira's fancy pip-buck could track for her, but only the mare atop the gate was visible.

Her thoughts were hard and cautious, locking on the two outsiders and calling back with none of Longfellow's friendly tone. "You're early Longfellow! You brought outsiders too! What do you want?"

"Ain't got no set schedule dammit! I feel like climbin' the mountain, I climb it! These two wanted ta ask some questions, gots a detective from the mainland, figured you might wanna talk to em, seein' how he's one of yours!" Longfellow grumbled back, nodding for Nick to step forward into the mid morning light and make his nature more obvious.

There was a pause when they got a look and Vira pranced up to her employers side. It wasn't a warm welcome or anything, a strange sense of surprise actually... The mare held a hoof up and muttered below the wall, a tense back and forth going on Vira couldn't quite make out even with heightened alicorn senses. Finally there came a wary acceptance and the gates opened with a squall, quite a few normal enough looking ponies from all walks of life in the wasteland could be seen keeping a tight hold of their weapons, but none were pointed their way at least.

Discovered Location: Acadia. Virescent shook her head at the flash of text in her eyes, that was strange... The pip-buck knew where they were? Wasn't Acadia a more recent name for this place?

The mare in the leather coat hopped down from her perch, trotting up to Nick and staring at him closely. There was a well disguised sense of wonder and surprise, but her face betrayed nothing as she spoke tersely. "Welcome brother, provided you're not doing the bidding of our former masters..."

"If you mean the Institute dollface, we ain't exactly on speaking terms no. Not here for companionship with my fellow synths either, I'm on a case. Have you seen this filly by chance? Goes by Sumi Ink, about 15?" Nick was unperterbed, reaching into his coat for the battered photo of their missing filly and hoofing it over to the familiar mare.

(She has... This is the one who met her in Fog Harbor Nick, she secrets those who come to the island here regularly...) Vira placed the stern mare after picking up her immediate reaction to the photo, this is the one she had spotted in the memories of some of the Harbor ponies, in the company of the pony they were seeking.

The mare made a show of staring at the photo a long time, but at least she didn't lie. "Maybe I have, it depends on who's asking. What's your business here brother, why are you looking for her?"

Nick didn't need Virescent to tell him the guardian mare was on guard and holding her cards close to the vest, though he appreciated his assistant's skills when she reported everything she got silently. Having a psychic mare Friday was definitely worth her pay. Playing hunches always worked out well for him, but now he had more than just a gut feeling to go on, confirmation of what he figured by his mind reading friend.

Putting on his best clueless detective routine, Nick lit a cigarette and smiled with a shrug. "Oh, how rude of me, my card sweetheart. Nick Hearts n' Hooves, of the world renowned Hearts n' Hooves detective agency! My assistant Vira and I are on a case, trying to track down a runaway for her poor distraught parents, let her know how much they love her, that kind of thing. We appreciate being pointed in the right direction, make our job a lot easier Miss....?"

The guard took Nick's card in her pale magic, turning it over and giving it a flabbergasted look. Granted Vira felt the same way when he did the same to her, you didn't really see many ponies with a business card in the wasteland, it was always that same poor, battered scrap of paper, but the effect was usually disarming.

"Name's Chase... A detective? Really? What say you Longfellow, you brought these outsiders here, do you vouch for them?" The Acadia guard released Nick's card, forcing him to catch it before it fluttered off as she turned to the older stallion.

Longfellow stamped a hoof and stood straighter at Vira's side, putting on a gruff voice as he replied. "I vouch fer Vira, she's my friend so no harm better come ta her or you'll have hell ta pay missy. The robot's one of yers, he's her boss, make up yer own damn mind on that score."

Vira felt a rush of gratitude towards her friend, leaning down to nuzzle his scruffy cheek over his surprised squawk of protest. He might be embarrassed at the display of affection while trying to sound tough, but she couldn't help it. It felt so nice to be cared about... He meant what he said, felt protective of her and would indeed make these strange synths suffer if she was hurt.

Having friends was good...

Chase turned back to Nick and gave him that odd stare again, the thoughts going on behind her steely pink eyes were confusing though. She felt familiarity.... but also suspicion? It was like she knew Nick somehow, yet didn't know him at all, at the same time?

Strange as that internal conflict was, it didn't concern their case. This mare knew Sumi was here, had brought her here herself! Virescent didn't like how evasive and cagey she was being, the temptation to just take over her synthetic brain and force answers out of her was hard to beat back, helped by Nick's soothing thoughts at least as she communicated her silent fury.

(Easy dollface. Sometimes the answers you don't get are as important as the ones you do. We're playing this by ear, I'll let you know if we need to get rough, right?)

(Yes Nick, sorry... She knows though...) Virescent glowered down at the smaller mare, whinnying her impatience.

"Alright, Dima will definitely want to see you. Come on, this way..." Chase finally deigned to answer in a huff, turning to trot off towards the long flight of stairs leading up to the observatory dome.

Some of the tension from the other synths watching the exchange evaporated at her pronouncement, as far as they were concerned, if this Chase said ok, it was ok. She strode off confidently, leaving Nick and Vira to hurry to follow. Vira only took a few steps before realizing Longfellow wasn't coming, turning back to her friend with a questioning look.

"Go on Vira, this is yer job, not mine. Can't have an old codger like me holdin' yer hoof everywhere. I brought ya up here, my job's done, you do yours." Longfellow's dismissal renewed her worries for the old buck, making her shift on her hooves indecisively, torn between her employer and her friend.

"But... You are going back? Without us? Will you..." Vira meekly replied, glancing back to Nick thankfully pausing some distance away and holding their escort up with meaningless questions.

Longfellow snorted and bristled under her worried gaze, waving her off gruffly. "Goin' home ta do what ya wanted dammit! You win ya pushy mare, I'll go talk ta Captain Berry on me way, pick me out one er two I can tolerate to come back with me. Quit givin' them puppy eyes, I swear yer worse than my wife! Be on yer way already! But er... y-you come back ta visit when yer business is done aye? Don't go runnin' off back ta the mainland without sayin' goodbye...."

He knew the hug was coming at his sheepish answer, bracing himself for it and still putting on a show of rejection that was at least partially honest, given how his old bones creaked under a lot of alicorn wringing him like a sponge. "I'll come and see you lots Longfellow, I definitely won't leave without saying goodbye!"

"Ack! Alright! Alright! Lemme go! If yer seein' me later there ain't no need ta get all sappy dammit! Get to work girl!" Fighting his way free, Longfellow gave her a crooked grin and trotted off, back down to the fog and the island below, humming a tune under his breath as he went with a touch more lightness in his heart.

Vira watched him go until his shadow dissolved into the fog, brought out of her thoughts following his by Nick's quiet cough. "C'mon doll, our mysterious host awaits."

Shaking her head clear, Vira pranced back to Nick's tail, following her boss and the synth guard up the winding stairs. She was on the clock now, putting her thoughts of Longfellow aside and getting down to business, she listened carefully to Nick's idle banter, probing for information subtly.

"So... A town of synths eh? Not something you see every day, thought the point of you fancy models was to blend in, why come right out and announce yourselves Miss Chase?"

"We came here to live as ourselves, not as ...copies... things made by the Institute to play a role, to be something we're not. Don't you get tired of playing detective? Who came up with that identity anyway, it's ridiculous..." Chase huffed back, getting a rueful chuckle from Nick.

"Well mom and pop Hearts n' Hooves had a lot to do with the broad strokes sweetheart, then I filled in the blanks over the years. I like to think of myself as more dashing than ridiculous... am I not pulling it off?" Virescent was impressed at how he let the mild insult slide off his back, smiling to herself along with his lighthearted thoughts.

The hard stare Chase gave him was confusing, a strange form of pity flowing off her thoughts. "You really believe you're... jeez, we get some bad ones sometimes, but I'd think you would have questioned an identity so outlandish on your own more. Dima will show you the way."

"And this Dima, he's in charge around here?" Nick pulled out his battered notepad and scribbled more of his chickenscratch, jotting down the name and looking up expectantly.

"No one's in charge like you think here, we're all equals. But Dima did start this haven for our kind and is highly respected, we follow him because we believe in him though, not because he orders us like some king." Chase upped her pace, clearly uncomfortable answering Nick's questions.

Of course her discomfort just encouraged him, continuing on in that same 'just passing the time' tone of polite interest. "Haven? So you're laying low here? On the run maybe?"

"Of course we are! If the Institute found us, they'd drag us back and shackle us again! Wipe our minds and enslave us with their programming, just as they would you. Trust me, I know, I used to be a Courser before I saw the way." Chase sounded flustered and upset, stating something she thought should be obvious to the fellow synth.

"Courser?" Feeling a little left out, Virescent tilted her head and questioned that term, not one she had ever heard her Institute contacts use before.

Nick answered for her rather than the mare who apparently used to be one. "Coursers are bounty hunters for the Institute Vira, nasty pieces of work, they hunt down rogue synths and bring them back in. Had to shake a few off my tail over the years, not somepony you wanna run into down some dark alley. If Miss Chase was one, she's not a mare to be trifled with."

Stopping at the rusting steel doors leading into the observatory, Chase gave a curt nod with a somewhat intimidating smirk, the cold thoughts running through her mind enough to even give the large alicorn pause. "No. I'm not. Keep that in mind you two, cause trouble here and I'm the one who solves it, permanently."

"Nothing to worry about sweetheart, we're just a couple of well behaved little lambs. Ain't that right Vira?" Nick chuckled and opened the door, holding it open for her like a proper gentlecolt of the old world.

Virescent gave an unsure nod and strode in first, ready to cast her shield in an instant in case some kind of ambush waited for them, but trusting her strange employer's judgement. "Yes, of course Nick. We'll behave..."

Their hoofsteps echoed down the long stone hallway inside, the observatory had power, but the flickering lights at the entrance didn't look to be maintained very well, lending the long passage a creepy feeling as they followed it towards a brighter chamber ahead.

There were quite a few ponies living here, Virescent could sense their thoughts all around them, if they were all synths as advertised, it was the largest collection of artificial ponies she had ever run across. To her knowledge anyway, one could never be sure who was a synth and who wasn't in the Commonwealth, the Institute's spies blended in perfectly, causing a good deal of paranoia among the residents of the mainland.

There were actually slight differences here though, a few discordant threads of confusion, self aware synths struggling with their own nature and trying to be something other than copies like Chase had said. By far the oddest sensation was the powerful mind waiting for them ahead, unlike any pony brain she had ever touched telepathically.

It was strong and still, like a vast lake with a mirror like surface hiding the depths below, peacefully reflecting whatever approached. It was still a pony mind ...somewhat... Virescent couldn't touch non-ponies anyway, but it was very different from any pony she had ever met, almost on the outside range of what she could make contact with at all. She sensed no malice or trickery from it, a kind of patient curiosity and peaceful welcome, but it was so strange and beyond her vast experience just its presence made her tail bristle.

"I don't like this Nick... There are secrets here..." Vira whispered down to the synth detective at her side anxiously, slowing her stride as they approached a vast space the hall opened out into.

Nick puffed on his cigarette and blew a long plume out in a sigh, "Me either dollface, got that impression myself. This is where the case leads though, we're not here to get wrapped up in crazy philosophies or synth havens though, focus on the filly Vira. You er... feel her anywhere?"

Vira paused at the question, grateful to put off those last 20 feet to what she could now tell was the shadowy telescope dome of the observatory, filled with blinking lights of arcano-tech equipment. Closing her eyes and casting herself out as far as possible let her retreat from that strange mind ahead...

"I don't know Sumi, so I can't be sure what I'm looking for. There are several ponies of the proper age... teenagers aren't hard to find, all that angst and heightened emotion... A few are fillies... One is different than the others, not as familiar with this place or those living here. She's some distance away, I can just sense her... communicating with her at this range is difficult though..." Virescent murmured softly as her psychic senses flitted throughout the compound like a ghost, narrowing down her search until it found one worried mind far below them.

Nick's pale hoof clapping her back broke her concentration, opening her eyes to look back at his impressed smile. "Great work doll, you're a natural at this line of work. We'll go meet this Dima and try going about things the nice way, but at least we've got a direction to go if they try to give us the bum's rush.

Giving a proud whinny and fluffing her wings at the praise, Virescent resumed their slow walk forward with the odd detective. She was glad she found him, that he had a soft spot for 'dames in the lurch' and he had taken her on as his assistant. It wasn't what she wanted at the time, but rolling with the punches wasn't so bad. She was getting taken with the idea of being a detective's helper, she was actually good at this and it helped!

Stepping into the round chamber at the end of the hall hesitantly, they were met by a cluttered space full of beeping, blinking, thrumming equipment festooning the curved walls. A wonderland of old world arcane science, things Vira could only guess at the purpose of, thinking to herself with a smile how much the male would like this... All this arcano-tech was right up Fast's alley.

The center of the room was just as packed with monitors, cobbled together computers and wiring, glowing gems and coils sparking with electricity. The large telescope above their heads was forgotten and dusty, the gears and armatures used to move it now taken up by a curved seat of some kind spinning slowly around the room, the terminus of a lot of cables and equipment.

It swung into view around the pillar of glowing equipment slowly, a soft, ethereal voice speaking as it came in a soothing tone that was somehow disturbing. It came from that strange, still mind... "Welcome travelers to a place of clarity and understanding. While you are in Acadia, synth-kind welcomes you, as long as you welcome us."

The moving chair stopped with a click and the pale pony lounging in it slowly stood, several cables winding down the arm of the furnishing detached from the strange occupant's hide with clicks and hisses. It hopped down and strolled forward into the light, giving them an opportunity to take in the bizarre leader of Acadia.

His outline was ...wrong... It was a pony shape, but bristling with strange parts and gems, gaps in his pale plastic coat showed metal bones and wiring beneath, spark cells were slotted into ports sticking from his flanks and chest, the back of his head seemed open and exposed as well, glowing dimly and oddly shaped with more tubes and gems poking from his head adding to his porcupine like outline.

The pale face in front was intact however, giving a soft smile radiating peace and patience as it looked them over. Seeing it betray actual emotion on hanging on Nick with its own yellow on black eyes actually relieved Virescent a bit, being exposed to the source of that strange mind just raised her hackles more...

It was like talking to a mountain... something ancient and passive, moving on its own timescale and removed from the concerns of ponies. When it saw Nick however, it was more like a normal pony, recognition and shock registered on those familiar features for a moment.

The face staring back at them was Nick's face... His double, with none of his animation or jovial attitude, not to mention fashion sense... but it was eerily similar.

"Nick? Is it really you brother?..."

New Perk Added!----------------

Horse Sense--------
---Your dedication to self improvement is paying off! You are a swift learner. You gain an additional +10% whenever experience points are earned.

Reputation Change!-------------------

Acadia -- Neutral
---Making it up to the secret refuge of synths on Fog Harbor has opened up the strange settlement to you. They might be standoffish and wary, but you're definitely not agents of the Institute, so they're willing to deal with you.

The Church of Balefire (Fog Harbor Chapter) -- Mixed
---While you were once a member in high standing on the mainland, finding the Church of Balefire here on the island is a surprise to you. You're not exactly sure you want anything to do with the cult either, there's no telling what kind of reception you'll get...