Route 33: Somewhere between Manehatten and Junction Town

Quite honestly, Jabari didn’t exactly know how to feel about this whole scenario, on one hoof he could understand Nimbus actually deciding to take a -hopefully- temporary retirement. But on the other, he didn’t have to like it. Nimbus seemed to be really one of the only calm and collected ponies in the entire NCR, who didn’t seem to be outwardly panicking by the state of things. He was like a… rock, Jabari supposed he could call it in the middle of an ever growing violent storm. To see him up and leave this state of affairs was definitely a shock, even if Jabari would probably recommend it for his own mental health.

In hindsight, he supposed, he should have seen this one coming a mile away. He’d noticed Nimbus had grown ever closer to cracking under the strain of the war with each passing moment. It was a matter of time before he exploded, as proven by the ‘rescue mission’.

“You going to be alright, Henri? I mean, what with the… uh...” Jabari asked, the young zorse’s eyes training to the hen’s new… appendage. Flexing it and giving it a small test as she unfurled it, the now partially cyber-griff gave him her best scowl. Jabari swallowed before saying: “Okay, I’ll just shut up now.”

“Celestia…” Henri muttered rolling her eyes. “If you’re going to treat me like some fragile eggshell that’s going to break, I swear ponies will be seeing how you look with a black eye. I’m not some hen who’s going to fall apart at the slightest provocation! Seriously, I’m still me.”

“...And I’ve yet to decide whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing yet…” Jabari muttered mostly to himself. Henri let out a small growl, and Jabari flinched before the hen threw back her head and let out a cackle.

“See, now that’s the spirit!” she laughed. “How’s Nimbus holding up? After… well… y’know?”

“And I thought we weren’t going to be treating ponies like they’re fragile eggshells going to break at the slightest provocation?” Jabari asked in a complete deadpan and a tilt of the head. “Is that or isn’t that what you said, or am I just mistaken?”

“Forgive a hen for being concerned about a friend, okay?” Henri asked. “Jeez… I’m just saying, he’s… well, he’s a friend and forgive me for being concerned about him.”

“He’s holding up as well as can be expected, I suppose,” Jabari replied. “If in all honesty, I’m more concerned about his brother, truth be told.”

“Yes…” Henri admitted her wings drooping slightly. “If therapists existed out here in the wastelands, I’d be recommending he’d pay a visit to one as soon as possible. And I’d also recommend he doesn’t go anywhere near a battlefield. If someone with Nimbus’ strength could crack under all of this pressure, -and he only received mild torture!- then I hate to imagine Clear’s mental state!”

“I’ll thank you not to compare me to my brother, okay?” Clear Skies’ distinctive upper-class accent rang throughout the room. “We’re entirely two different ponies.”

“And that’s what concerns us…” Henri muttered to herself as Jabari observed the stallion. It was clear where he got his name at any rate, considering, for the most part, he was almost pure white with a few lime green accents. Clearly, irony ran in the family as Stormy Skies -No, Jabari had not given up on his theory that the three were related- was about as clear in his intentions as day. Not as cloudy and mysterious as one might have expected.

At any rate, Clear Skies was an abject mystery to Jabari. Yes, he seemed nice enough but there was no getting away from the fact that he had signed up for Stormy’s regime willingly if only to protect his brother. It seemed to be one of the few traits the two brothers shared, willing to protect each other no matter what, and both held a passionate hatred for their -possible- father. Still, maybe Jabari was overthinking things, and maybe Clear was as kind as they came with no hidden motives. He was a handsome enough stallion Jabari supposed, or he was at one point. The look was sorta ruined being covered in burns, some having torn away at his coat. He probably would have been downright beautiful in another set of circumstances.

Jabari swallowed as he felt his heart rate spike. Lovely, just lovely. That was all he needed. A crush on his possible commanding officer. That just beat it all, really! Oh well, he supposed he could have picked worse ponies to start suddenly nursing a hard-on for.

“Okay, so you’re a Dashite right?” Henri asked. “So, where’s the brand? Both you and your brother by all rights should have it.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing really,” Clear Skies explained. “Stormy works a bit differently from the normal Enclaves, as I’m sure you’ve noticed…”

“Actually, no I haven’t,” Henri deadpanned. “They all work and look alike to me. You’ve seen one Enclave, you’ve seen ‘em all. For the betterment of Equestria my ass!” she grumbled bitterly.

“Annnnnnnnyyyyways,” Clear Skies said slightly afraid of the griffon hen. “Stormy’s brandings are different as well. He only brands you after he’s finished torturing you, to make even more of an example of you. He’s a sadist, pure and simple.”

Jabari shuddered, not really wanting to imagine having to grow up in that kind of environment. Sadly, he could definitely imagine given his own experiences. It was a wonder both of the brothers had turned out as well as they had. If he were talking about any other family, he would have called it a divine miracle. However, he honestly doubted Stormy carried any favor with Celestia, Luna, or Faust.

Henri meanwhile, had different thoughts. Maybe she was being paranoid. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn she could smell a rat. None of this made much sense to her, if Stormy hated Clear that much why not just kill him outright? And why leave his flank unbranded? Yes, it was possible Stormy was a sadist but it was also equally possible that Clear Skies was a mole.

She would have to keep an eye on him, that was for sure. Leaning over to Twilight, she whispered something in her ear, with the alicorn nodding before a small buzzing sound filled the air.

Jabari looked back to see Clear striking up a conversation with Gabby, the griffon beguiling the pegasus with stories about something or other. “You know that there’s something off about all of this, right?” Henri asked him.

“...If there is, should we really be talking about it within earshot of… well, you know?” Jabari whispered back.

“Relax, I’ve cast a silencing spell around us,” Twilight said. “So talk all you need to. They won’t hear us.”

“Good,” Henri said. “I think we both know that there’s something undeniably… off about Clear Skies here. Forgive me for sounding paranoid but…”

“...Only the paranoid survive, isn’t that the saying?” Jabari asked. “And I’d have to agree with you, to be honest. Something just… well, something just isn’t right about Clear. I can’t place my hoof on as to what exactly, but there’s just that little bit something off about him.”

“It’s his backstory, isn’t it?” Henri asked, and Jabari nodded in return.

“Yes, exactly,” Jabari agreed. “You could easily poke a few holes in it and call it swiss cheese! How do we know he’s not flat-out lying to us? Yes, he cares for his brother -that much is evident- but how much of it is real and how much of it is faked? Call me cynical, or what have you but I have my doubts about Clear Skies…”

“Only the paranoid survive,” Henri repeated. “Maybe Clear Skies is as ‘clear’ as he seems to be, and maybe he is a nice guy but after certain events of as of late I am not taking any chances.”

“Still,” Twilight murmured to herself. “Is infighting really the thing we need right about now? I mean… Our party is scattered and fractured as it is already, and just being paranoid about the other’s intentions isn’t exactly going to help…”

“Maybe not,” Henri agreed. “But I’m a realist. I call them as I see them, and when I smell a rat…”

“...You smell a rat.” Twilight sighed to herself in a resigned tone. More often than not, arguing with Henri was fruitless, really. The hen was even more stubborn than she was if that were even possible. She reminded her of Applejack, in some regards. If Calamity hadn’t been the new Bearer of Honesty, something told her that Henri might have ended up with that instead of Magic.

“Look, you think I like this either?” Henri asked rubbing her forehead in frustration. “I want to believe Clear is as transparent in his intentions as Nimbus believes he is. But trouble is, I’ve been around the block far too many times to just accept something at face value. I’ve lost friends due to being too damn trusting.”

This explained a lot, Jabari reasoned. He could easily imagine Henri was once a bright and happy sort, instead of the sour griffoness she was currently. Or maybe he was projecting, who was to say. But he was an optimist, so sue him. Maybe there still existed a friendly hen underneath all that dented iron. Of course, he could easily see what turned Henri into who she was today. She used to be a mercenary, after all. That life didn’t lend itself well to the trusting types. If you were one, it generally mangled that sense of trust pretty quickly. He had to laugh bitterly, wondering what things were possibly like in another life where war hadn’t claimed Equestria in its ugly grip.

Twilight would still probably be a Princess, because of course what else could she be? She was a natural-born leader if any of the historical records were correct. Hell, he possessed a copy of that journal of hers after it had been released to the public. Some pages were missing here and there, but he got the general idea of what pre-war life was like. It honestly broke his heart to see how bad things had gone downhill so fast.

“And all because of mistakes, miscommunication, and things left unsaid,” Jabari sighed. “It’s scary to think of how little things can add up into something so tragic.”

He then turned his thoughts back to his friends/family.

Henri… Now she was harder to pin. Might have been a babysitter, she bonded with children well enough even if she was particularly loathed to admit it. Nimbus? He probably would have been a member of the Weather Team he’d heard about, and Riptalon probably would have been something related to sports. Hoofball instructor maybe? He was burly enough to be a player at any rate.

Winter Breeze -and no, Jabari wasn’t sure why he was including her in this either- probably would have been a politician. Canterlot nobility even, he suspected. She certainly had a silver enough tongue for the job.

It made Jabari very worried indeed if he couldn’t pin down whatever he might have been in this hypothetical scenario.

“Well then…” Jabari said to himself. “Going around and moping about how things might have been is not going to help anyone! All we can do now is look towards the future and hope it happens to be a bright one…”

Tuning his PipBuck to the nearest station, Jabari smiled to himself.

We’re starting over
Build something new
We’ve been a long long time a-waiting but we made it through
We’re starting over
It’s a brand new Equestrian dream for me and you…”

As he hummed the song to himself, Jabari looked towards the skies and actually broke out in a small laugh. A new moon, he mused to himself. A time of new beginnings.

Sadly, new beginnings didn’t come so easy.

“Personally, if you ask me?” Soulshine remarked, the Steel Ranger tossing an empty cartridge aside as he reloaded and then fired a few shots off at the range. “Your brother is an idiot. If you ask me, attempting to reason with Winter Breeze is… lunacy. Plain and simple.”

“I dunno,” Clear remarked getting a feel for his weapon before firing off a few shots. “Forgive me for sounding treasonous here-”

“No, I won’t!” Soulshine said.

“...Noted. But forgive me if I try to get inside my brother’s head for a bit. He’s tired, so tired really. Can’t really say I blame him, all of this bloodshed -and I know there’s more to come- is so, so wearisome,” Clear said. “So gaining a few allies in the process or making peace with our demons does sound like a prudent course of action.”

“Even if said demons are the Enclave?” Soulshine asked. “Look, I owe him my life back in Flllydelphia, I do. But that doesn’t mean I have to like him. His personality leaves so much to be desired, and that’s not even getting into the ideas he likes to entertain.”

“It’s like the Lion and the Mouse fable in some regard,” Clear mused. “We protect each other, and as much as I hate to admit it, the Enclave has more military muscle than your NCR.”

“It could also be like the Manticore and the Frog,” Soulshine said. “We could just as easily get stung!”

Clear rolled his eyes. “You’ve been fighting in one dirty ugly war after another, I get it. You’re tired. But the Enclave? It’s been seeing the effects of these wars as well, it took a miracle just for Winter to pull it back together into any manageable state. Hell, I’ll wager she’s barely holding this together as it is,”

“You know,” Soulshine sighed. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing we’ve got the actual insight of a former Enclave soldier. I really just don’t know yet. But let me tell you this. I’ve been up close and personal with the Enclave, they are ruthless and they are merciless. As interesting as he is, your brother -and probably you for that matter- are the products of that government! So forgive me if I’m not so welcoming here.”

“Again, I say this to you. Sometimes, the only way to heal our wounds is to make peace with the demons who created them. Because these moments of crisis are also potential moments of faith. A time, when we either come together or fall apart…”

“Oh, yeah, we’re coming together all right. I mean, we’re even hearing rumors of bringing in bloody Blackjack into the fold,” Soulshine said irritably. “If anything, I’d say that means we are just that desperate. And as for the making peace with our demons thing? Forget about it,” he said.

“...Is it really so hard to believe that the Enclave you’ve met is only the vocal minority?” Clear Skies blinked.

“Yes!” Soulshine snarled. “Let me tell you about my daughter okay? Light of my life, bright young thing. Till she was kidnapped by soldiers in the middle of a battleground, while I was trying so hard to protect her. Found her three days later in San Prancisco, in a ditch! So you can take your vocal minority crap and shove it where Celestia’s sun doesn’t shine!”

“I’m… I’m… truly sorry,” Clear Skies murmured his wings drooping slightly.

“...Yeah, sure you are,” Soulshine growled. “You’re sorry alright. Well, apologies don’t make it right, they don’t bring daughters back. Are we clear on that aspect?”

“...Yes… Yes, quite clear.” Clear Skies stammered out before taking his leave. Not watching where he was going, he managed to march right into the former Princess Twilight. “Oh! I am so sorry Prin-Ma’am!” he quickly corrected himself upon seeing her stern glare.

“...I heard everything,” Twilight said. “Friendship is… fractured, and sometimes I do wonder if it was my fault.”

“Well, technically it’s everybody’s fault,” Clear said. “So, don’t feel sorry for just yourself. I can understand his grudge really. I suspect it’ll be a good long while before pegasi are ever trusted again. Not that we’re exactly helping matters along…”

“Yes, ponies do have a tendency to hold the ugliest of grudges, really…” Twilight sighed. “But we also make peace with them, even if it sometimes takes… longer than we’d like.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Clear noted.

“Yeah, I am. My father… he was the world to me, you understand? So finding out he gave into temptation and gave me a half-sister? It’s… ugly. Takes you a while to sort these kinds of things out, really. Especially as I’m no better…”

“You… you aren’t any…” Clear stammered. “Now that’s just nonsense!”

“Is it?” Twilight asked, the mare raising an eyebrow. She sighed and sat down on the rocks, her long etherial mane blowing in the wind. “I was dating Big Mac, in hopes of settling down with him at the same time I was dating Pinkie. I’m no better with temptation really. It’s a funny thing, that.”

“I… So I see,” Clear admitted. “I guess we’re all just no more flawed than anypony else, as if even you can fall to something than… Oh God, I am beginning to sound like that damn preacher of a commander, Stormy Skies.”

“...I’ve been hearing rumors around, largely from Jabari that you might be…”

“His son?” Clear asked. “Yeah, it’s entirely possible. I didn’t know my actual parents, neither did Nimbus. I never said a word about this to him, and neither did they. But I caught them one night, talking about how they found me on a doorstep. I said nothing to them about this, and so they never said a word to me. It honestly scares… no, sickens me to my core that there’s even the slightest possibility that I may share DNA with that madman.” he spat.

Twilight hugged him, before kissing his forehead in an almost motherly way surprising even herself. “Guess there’s still some of you left in me after all… huh, Celestia?” Twilight thought. “In any case, I suppose Henri can relax. There’s no way that Clear is a mole to Stormy…”

That thought gave her a small relief. Now, if only she could overcome that sense of oncoming dread.

That sense of dread was not unfounded, everyone knew after suffering a humiliation at Manehatten, -not to mention having his chief prisoner stolen- Stormy Skies would no doubt retaliate in kind. They didn’t have to wait long. “Gooooooddddd evening Equestria. Or, that’s what I wish I could say,” Homage’s voice sighed later that evening. “Remember that religious asshole who seems to be violating every word Celestia ever spoke? Yeah, I thought you did. Apparently, he’s gone down to 32 in Horseshoe Bay, or some of his little cultist friends have. Now… Now, listen, I’m mare enough to admit when I’m scared. If… if there’s anybody out there near 32, well... Please, do something.”

It didn’t take long for Clear Skies to get some support to rally a rescue mission. Sadly, it wasn’t a lot of support, as either nobody wanted to see the Nightmare Society again or they just didn’t like him. It physically disgusted Clear to think that the hatred for the Enclave was so strong, if he just suggested something it would be outright ignored out of pure spite.

Still, all the same he was on a Vertibuck heading for 32. He vaguely remembered the location, his brother having mentioned it in passing. Apparently, he’d helped to recover some children for them. “Is this really what we’ve sunk too?” Regina had bellowed. “Leaving our children to die just because some Enclave wash-out suggested going to rescue them? I know we’re spread thin as it is, but if this is what we’ve come to it shames me today. It shames me today to be your leader!”

“...You tell them, Regina…” Clear muttered to himself, as he slammed an energy cell into a ‘borrowed’ Novasurge Rifle. The rain poured outside in the fading evening light, reflecting his mood. It would be under cover of darkness that they struck.

Landing outside of the Stable, just behind a hill, Clear, Jabari and Henri all peered over the crest. Twilight was right behind them, casting an invisibility spell. Clear swallowed. The stable door had been blown wide open, the remnants of explosives scattered about. And bodies, probably security guards. “...Probably caught by surprise,” Clear muttered. “The Society must have either teleported in behind the doors or…”

“Please don’t speculate,” Jabari said. “I’d rather be spared the nightmares. Yes, there’s a trace of irony there, I know.”

“Something tells me you’re going to get nightmares either way,” Clear murmured before making a gesture with his hoof. “Move up, swift and silent now. Best we don’t risk attracting any…”

Then came a flash, and from behind him came an alicorn, and Twilight whirled around to meet it with her long almost lance-like horn goring it in the stomach. “...Attention.”

Inwards they went, nervously stepping through pools of blood. The lights were out, with the only emitted sources being the flashlights strapped to the group’s armor and weapons. “Hey… uh…” Jabari stammered out nervously. “Did you hear the reports about some Ministry of Arcane Sciences facilities were broken into?”

“...Is this really the time for gossip?” Clear asked.

“Sorry… but, you must admit it is concerning. Celestia only knows what’s in those places nowadays…” Jabari muttered to himself. “IMP, Power Armor and enough experiments to make even the most hardened mad scientist shudder.”

“You are really not helping the nerves, you know that right?” Clear asked.

“We’re traipsing around in the dark searching for Nightmare Society alicorns, in a possible tomb. Consider me officially scared out of my goddamn mind already, okay?” Jabari snapped. Something moved in the darkness, and he reacted drawing his shotgun and aiming it at the figure.

He relaxed when he saw it was only a mare, and if he remembered correctly it was that exact same mare Nimbus had ‘befriended’ a month or so earlier during his first visit. Sugar, that yellow unicorn mare. “Oh, thank Celestia…”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be thanking her yet,” Sugar said. “The bastard, his little cultists just stormed in here, barely had time to get some of the children to safety before they…” she swallowed.

“Before they what?” Henri pressed.

“...They’re taking the children. The Alicorns. I heard one shouting orders, not to leave until every last foal and filly in the stable is found.” Sugar whispered before the sound of hoofsteps against metal.

“Run, now!” Clear shouted as he saw three massive alicorns striding towards them. He let off a few shots of his rifle, but a shield was thrown up. Twilight then fired off a powerful beam of magic cutting through the shield and decapitating the lead alicorn of the trine. There was a sickening squelch as the head landed on the ground, Twilight crushing it under hoof.

“You disgrace the name Alicorn,” she said in a disgusted tone even as Clear fired upon the remaining two burning them to ashes. Twin high-pitched screams filled the corridor. Twilight swore. “...Damnit, now we’re really in for it. Those screams are going to carry right through the stable corridors and we’ll have them all on top of us! Run, now!”

“You don’t have to argue with me on that!” Sugar exclaimed as the group broke into a run turning tail down another corridor. “Great shot by the way, who are you again?” she asked of Clear.

“Nimbus’ brother/his brother.” Henri and Jabari said in unison.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh,” Sugar said before licking her lips. “That explains it. You know, he was a good lay. Like, really good…”

“Oh, I so do not need to hear this…” Clear muttered. “Like, I really don’t. I could go my whole life without hearing who my brother’s had sex with…”

“Shame really, he was a really good lay! Made me feel like a mare for the first time in years,” Clear grinned clearly enjoying this. “By and by, has he made that griffon his bitch yet?”

“Yes.” everyone said flatly as they ducked behind a corner.

“...And breathe,” Henri said. “So, Sugar, you said they were kidnapping children. Any ideas what for beyond the usual conversion? I mean, this seems like an awfully random action for the Society as it is.”

“...Do they need a reason beyond replenishing their numbers?” Sugar asked. “I mean, that little massacre I heard about over the radio was probably a good scare to them. Props to whoever gave them that kick up the ass, by the way. Remind me to thank ‘em.”

Clear and Jabari shared a look, quite sure the instigator of said massacre wouldn’t exactly be all too pleased with that thank you.

“But anyways,” Sugar mused. “At any other time, I’d continue nursing the random attack theory, but not today. They seemed to be awfully specific, picking out any children who weren’t unicorns. I’m not sure what to make of it… unless… no, it couldn’t be…” she mused eyes widening in horror.

“Couldn’t be what?” Henri demanded. “Well, out with it girl!”

“I’m nursing a theory, I can’t say for certain what it is just yet,” Sugar replied. “I’d just rather hope I’m wrong.”

Then, a yelp as she was dragged into the darkness by an unknown force.

“Sug-WOAH!” Clear shouted before he and the others found themselves inside someone’s quarters, the door shutting before runes began glowing on the side of it.

“Hastily done, but…” the zebra in front of them said as she did a few more runes. “They should work, that will keep them out. For a while at least.”

“Wait… Xenith?” Henri asked. “What are you doing here?”

“I was delivering pharmaceuticals when the raid hit,” Xenith said. “I was just barely able to get these little ones inside and those runes drawn.”

She gestured with a hoof to the bed, and raised the sheets to reveal several little foals and fillies hiding under it.

Henri hugged her whispering thank yous, and Xenith looked particularly awkward by this and frankly rather keen on being released. She even let out a comment of: “Please do not hug me.”

“This does however, raise a question,” Xenith stated after finally being released from the griffon glomp. “Why exactly are the Society Alicorns here? And no. The possibility of them just searching for new members to boost their numbers is not a thought. This seems too directed of an attack for that. Too bold, as going after Stables with their low numbers is too grave a risk unless there are forces greater at work behind the scenes.”

“Greater forces… Tch!” Clear drawled. “I don’t think we need to go out on a limb and hazard any guesses on what those might be eh?”

“Where are they keeping the children?” Henri asked.

“Command center, the overmare’s office from what I have overheard,” Xenith stated. “But there is no way you can get there via conventional methods. As soon as you would down one Alicorn, the rest would be on you like a pack of timberwolves. This, of course, presumes they do not jump you from the shadows and put you into an endless sleep.”

“Good thing we aren’t conventional thinkers, eh?” Henri asked flying up to a vent grating and ripping it free. “Clear, you and Jabari make your way through the vents, there should be a map of the place on your pipbucks. Xenith, you’re with me and Twilight.”

“...And this is supposed to work how?” Twilight asked. “I’m a very obvious target if you haven’t noticed.”

“Come on, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one!” Henri remarked. “Please don’t tell me you haven’t ever seen Star Mares?”

“Yes, but why would that… Oh. OH!” Twilight shouted before she changed herself into an exact duplicate of a Society mare she’d met in Manehatten. Henri and Xenith were soon shackled “Oh, that is clever!”

“You a hoofcuff mare?” Henri asked Xenith with a teasing smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

“...Please do not.” Xenith muttered looking skywards with a ‘Celestia please kill me now’ sort of expression on her face.

“...Oh, get your fat ass out of the way!” Jabari shouted as he and Clear began climbing into the vent.

“Only if you get yours out of my way first!” Clear shouted. “Seriously mate, lay off the sweets!”

“...You know if I was a mare I’d hit you right now, you do know that right?” Jabari asked trying very hard not to blush on how close Clear’s flanks were to his own.

“...What a team…” Xenith muttered. “It seems without Nimbus here, you are rowdier and more idiotic than normal. Which is saying a bit, believe me.”

“...Have you met us?” Henri asked. “We’re constantly braving danger, possibly because of a lack of common sense. This is pretty normal for us, as is.”

It was only after they left did Sugar realize something. “...Wait, was that mare Twilight Sparkle?”

“So tell me, does that thing actually work, or is it just for show?” Clear asked. “I mean, I’ve never seen you actually use it in the short time I’ve been with you.”

“...You know that could be taken so many ways right?” Jabari asked. “Oh, Sigmane would have a field day with us. But yeah, this damn thing works. Depending on how you use it of course. Firing it at someone from anywhere other than close range is like insulting their mother: it's just a lot of hot air and noise, and all it does is just piss them off.”

“I’m not stupid you know,” Clear asked. “I know how a shotgun works. I was just curious if you knew how it works or were just carrying it around for the show. Celestia, you are so snippy. At least tell me you know how to point and squir… Oh, let’s not even finish that sentence. Don’t ever quote it out of context, or… like, at all to me okay?”

“No promises!” Jabari smiled. “Ugh, let’s hope nobody hears us and if they do, they’re stupid enough to blame it on radroaches.”

Clear then suddenly shushed him, planting a hoof over his mouth. He then gestured downwards to the corridor below, where twin alicorns were walking below them. “Please don’t notice us, please don’t notice us…” Clear pleaded.

One alicorn briefly glanced upwards causing the two stallions to suck in a breath, but then changed her mind.

“Is it just me, Flashlight, or are we not getting told the full story about what is going on here?” she then asked of her companion.

“That thought has crossed my mind, yes…” the second agreed. “Windflame, it is very possible we are being had. We’ve been told to kidnap children, all for the greater good of further propagating our-”

“Please don’t put it to me like that,” Flashlight requested. “The way you made it sound, it as if we are…”

“...as if we are…” Windflame murmured seemingly befuddled before it hit her and she grimaced in disgust. “Oh. Oh yes, that is a disturbing way of putting things, now that you mention it…”

“Yes, quite!” Flashlight agreed with a similar expression. “But I know where you were going with things, or intending to go with them at any rate and I agree with you. It does seem like we haven’t been given the full story, doesn’t it? I don’t trust Stormy, not as far as I could throw him.”

“Neither do I,” Windflame muttered. “He has us raiding Arcane Sciences buildings, for the IMP. That much we know, but does he really intend on using it in the way he says he does? Now that is the question…”

Jabari swore to himself quietly, so that confirmed one of his theories. The Alicorns were trying to use IMP to create new members of their Society. He grumbled something under his breath, why couldn’t they just try and give natural birth to ponies like the non-insane members of their race?

“It all begs the question on if you could even tamper with IMP,” Flashlight noted. “It has been known to have been attempted but all that we’ve ever gotten from those attempts are cataclysmic failures, abominations to science and magic.”

“Yes, well…” Windflame muttered to herself. “Every time you tamper with IMP, you get a little closer to unlocking its secrets and so one day soon, -especially with a pony as stubborn as Stormy- you will be able to mold it as you like. Even now, the stallion’s in the labs working away trying to crack that code…”

Clear’s eyes narrowed, and he began to turn a vent corridor off towards the lab, as displayed on his pipbuck. Jabari went after him muttering something under his breath about revenge obsessed pegasi and how they were probably going to get him killed one day.

“You know, between your complaining, it’s a wonder the whole stable doesn’t know we’re in here…” Clear grumbled.

“...well, you could try shooting someone again,” Jabari snarked. “That’ll fix the problem!”

Windflame and Moonlight meanwhile continued onwards through the corridors only to run in smack-dab to Henri, Xenith and their ‘keeper’.

“Starshine?” Flashlight asked, tilting her head. “I thought you died in Manehatten, via that Twilight Sparkle wannabee.”

‘Starshine’ looked slightly miffed at this before uttering: “Well, reports of my demise tend to be… miscommunicated. That was my sister you’re thinking of.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Windflame commented.

“Well, we are technically all sisters, aren’t we?” ‘Starshine’ remarked. “But I found these two skulking around the Stable entrance. Figured I should bring them to you.”

“Put them in the cells, just down the corridor,” Windflame said. “Well, go on!”

“That’s impossible actually. Gas leak. Yeah, there was one of those. Basically we had… Uhh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, but uhh... everything's going to be perfectly alright, give or take a few repair crews. But putting them in there? Bad idea, not unless you want two perfectly fine future alicorns dead at your hooves.” ‘Starshine’ said.

“...Can you even make a griffon into an alicorn?” Flashlight murmured.

“...Well, IMP can do just about anything and everything so…” Windflame muttered to herself. “So, I couldn’t count it out of the equation just yet. Still, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this gas leak.”

“Yeah… Uh, it hasn’t made its way down the wire,” Henri said giving an awkward little wave. “So, you can’t turn us into alicorns just yet.”

“Please do not taunt the all-powerful magical mare cultists,” Xenith advised.

“Yes, I would listen to your striped friend,” Flashlight said before leaning in close to Henri with a menacing smile. The griffon hen shuddered. “Unless you want us to figure out a spell on how to turn you into alicorns without the IMP…”

“You on a mission from Gawd?” Windflame asked. “Like, some sort of mercy mission? An offering to appease us?”

“If you’re planning on eating me,” Henri said. “I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll give you indigestion.”

“A, I have no appetite for griffons,” Flashlight started. “And B, it is only the Great Nightmare who eats little ones.”

“L-Little ones!?!” Henri stammered out. “What exactly are you implying!?!”

Before Henri could get a chance to bust out of her restraints, ‘Starshine’ having had enough of this nonsense bashed both of her fellow alicorns over the head knocking them unconscious. She then shoved them both in a closet.

“A gas leak?” Xenith asked. “Really? That was the best you could come up with?”

She raised an eyebrow. Henri was soon to follow.

“Well, with any luck they’ll all be that dumb…” ‘Starshine’ muttered shaking her head at this. “Now let’s get a move on, hmm?”

Meanwhile, Jabari and Clear had somehow made it to the laboratories without being shot to pieces. Of course, when they got there they found a surprise waiting for them.

Jabari drew his shocksword letting it crackle with energy while Clear was just barely keeping himself from drawing his rifle. In the middle of the laboratory was Stormy Skies, the electric blue alicorn smirking.

“Well, my children. It’s so nice for you to have returned to the fold,” Stormy said in this warm fatherly voice that just so happened to make Clear Skies want to punch him in the face. “Especially you, young Clear Skies.”

“...Was he always this irritating?” Jabari asked his comrade in a low whisper. “Or did getting near godhood really push his ego beyond the scope of what was possible?”

“No, this is pretty standard shit for him…” Clear muttered back before turning his attentions back to Stormy. “Hate to break it to you but this child of yours? He’s gone and grown up, left the nest.”

“You always were a disappointment…” Stormy sighed. “And I had such high hopes for you, you always were far easier to control than your brother.”

“If you’re going to spank me,” Clear commented. “I’d rather you skip the song and dance, and get right to it eh?”

With that, he drew a pistol and shot Stormy in the leg making him scream out in pain. “...Would have aimed for the horn, but sure you would have created a shield in time…”

“DAMN YOU!” Stormy screamed even as his wounds began to heal. A wave of gold magic threw both Jabari and Clear into the back of the room, up against a wall. As they picked themselves up, Stormy sighed. “I hate to do this, but if it’s the only way to keep you co-operating…”

He clicked his tongue before a very familiar filly walked out of the shadows. “Starglow…” Jabari breathed. “...You son of a bitch!” he shouted at Stormy.

“Naughty words!” Stormy chided. “In any case, she wasn’t exactly hard to get ahold of, just a quick pop in and out of junction town before anyone noticed. You’d be surprised how often ponies don’t notice things going missing -including some of their own- in the chaos of war.”

“And just to keep you from moving…” Stormy then muttered largely to himself as he pinned Jabari and Clear to the walls with magical ropes. From a nearby monitor, he then saw Xenith and Twilight rampaging through the Overmare’s office freeing the children, Xenith using pressure points to knock out Alicorns while Twilight used her magic.

“Nimbus? Where’s Nimbus…?” Starglow asked, making Jabari’s heart break.

“Okay… it’s okay…” Jabari whispered. “Nimbus will be along shortly, I Pinkie Promise.”

He had no doubt that would be the case, as Nimbus despite all of his… issues seemed to care for the kid.

“NO, HE WILL NOT!” Stormy screamed slapping Starglow to the floor. “I’ll be taking my leave now… Clearly, this operation was a failure! But I’ve got enough proof of concept already to know my… larger plans will work.”

With that, he teleported out, leaving Jabari and Clear Skies wondering what exactly he was on about. “L-Larger plans? What the hell does he mean by…”

“Screw that!” Jabari swore. “He’s got Starglow! A freakin’ kid!”

“Tell Twilight and everyone to get out,” Clear said as he began mixing ingredients. “Like, right now. I’m going to either A, send these Alicorns running, or B, take them all out in one clean shot.”

Jabari didn’t know what he meant by that, but then again he didn’t exactly want to find out. The message was soon passed all throughout the Stable, and as Clear opened up a cabinet to reveal a gas mask he put his plan into action. Tossing a canister through a vent, it soon exploded and Clear made a fly for it, darting through corridors as he attempted to outpace a massive yellow cloud from behind.

Twilight and the rest of the Stable’s inhabitants had already made it out, those who were still amongst the living anyways. Screams erupted from inside the Stable, and Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she saw alicorns stumbling out of the main door covered in horrific burns before finally collapsing in the mud below.

“Oh dear Celestia in heaven…” Twilight whispered as the full scope of what had just occurred finally hit her.

“Mustard Gas…” Henri whispered trying very hard to look away, covering kids eyes with her wings. She tried so very hard to block out the screams, and finally looked up to see Clear atop a ridgeside, looking on as the Stable was choked by the gases.

“...Who are we, and what have we done letting you on this operation…?” Henri asked herself.

She thought back to before the operation was launched. And to what Regina had said. “I’ve gone over your thoughts on Clear Skies, and I have to agree. Until we get a proper psych evaluation on the stallion, in no way is he allowed anywhere near any form of weaponry. I trust Nimbus yes, but I don’t trust his love for his brother. It may be… blinding him to what he refuses to see.”

“That we may have a proper asset risk?” Henri had asked.

“Exactly,” Regina agreed. “So, whatever you do… Do not let Clear on any mission. Any at all…”

Henri was regretting her choice even now, as while they had been desperate for help to try and save 32 perhaps she should have fought harder to keep Clear Skies off the team. Now, she mused, she was paying the price for her error and lapse in judgment.

“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow…” Xenith murmured as she looked upon the stallion. Before, she would have compared him to an angel fallen from the heavens itself. Now, she could only describe him as a devil. A devil in the guise of a pony.

Author's Notes:

So... Apologies for the long wait. But yeah... I'd had a hell of a time trying to figure out how this chapter would work, really.

Seriously, this along with Clear himself was not one of my favorite subjects to write about, because it was so damn difficult to write, as Clear was so vanilla for the most part. Same with Starglow, in this and every chapter. There's a reason why I chose for her to get kidnapped, as she is possibly my least favorite member of the entire cast here.

Still, I think this may be the gayest chapter of this story yet, hell the only way I could make it worse is actually showing Riptalon being made Nimbus' bitch.