"One should never take more pride in something than resurrecting a work that was discharged and that time has destroyed. Go on, see if she'll start."
-Fiaura's Grandfather, when she was given her first car by him after they finished fixing it.

I lost myself in my work with the tank again. We were getting close for the spell matrix to start. I had managed to get the thing to cycle a couple of times manually, but was not able to generate enough power to keep going if I stopped turning the crank. Until we got it started though, there would be no putting the treads on. The great machine was far too heavy to push and it would need to roll forward to get onto its tracks. There was a presence in the back of my mind, always worrying about Nyota. Worried he wouldn’t come back, worried I had lost him.

No, he’ll be fine. He is a courier. He’s done this work all his life. He will be fine. I just had to keep reminding myself about once an hour while we kept working. I went to sleep that night, having moved my sleeping bag to be alone. It was not pleasant to sleep alone. I could only feel empty as I could not feel Nyota’s warmth next to me.

Wherever I was, was cold. This place was not familiar to me at all. My eyes fluttered open, and I saw that I was inside a broken tent, with tears in the fabric allowing waves of snow to slowly pile in on top of the sleeping bag I was inside of. Nyota poked his head inside, “Seventeen, we should move.” It was Nyota’s voice, but very cold and without emotion. It was like he was somehow robotic. Not the coldness or directness when I first met him, this was something different, something horrible about it. The kind of coldness that indicated he would kill you if it entertained him. “The tent isn’t going to hold against the cold out here.” My brain recognized the number as my designation. I groaned and I felt the presence of that thing, the thing Pink and I kept trying to keep at bay.

That presence was moving my body in this memory. Nyota was there too. “Right, Forty-One. How much further till we get there?” Seventeen looked at a PipBuck and then at Nyota, who she called Forty-One. So much for Nyota’s theory that this was his first time. The cold bit at my flesh, it was bitterly cold. I was wearing a Stalliongrad commissar jacket; I swore it looked exactly like Mad Mac’s. It was so close to his that I knew at that moment that it was actually his. I was wearing his jacket. Why?
Another breeze of biting chill ran across the two of us. I pulled the jacket tighter around my neck, as did Nyota. We moved silently through the snow, our hooves crunching the fluff and the howling winds the only sound between us. We were climbing a mountain pass, up towards an inner cave. Something about this place was very familiar. In a flash, Seventeen was gone and I was standing back to the day, the day the bombs and megaspells fell.

We were running up the autumn trail with dozens of other ponies. My mother was dragging me and my father pushing ahead of us to try to clear a path. A shotgun echoed out of the cave and a mega speaker shouted down, “If you are not on the list, you will be shot if you approach the lines. Go to your homes or personal shelters. You will find no salvation here.”

Rainbowrise led the way through the throngs of ponies, “We’re on the list! Please!”

With a flash I was back in the snowstorm. We were walking through a cave opening. In the depths of the cave I could see a light. We kept venturing deeper, old wooden planks and steel I-beams groaned and protested against the storm outside. They were ancient, Seventeen dated them back when the place was built, before the war. Several eroded steel walls with faded Stable-Tec logos poked out from the rock and dirt. Their rivets had started to fall apart at some point, letting the metal be eroded by the rock and dirt putting pressure down on them from gravity. The plating alone simply could never support the weight.

Within the depths of the cave, I saw it. A large cog shaped object, a Stable-Door. It was shaped like a cog for a transmission gear, with ripped and damaged tacky blue paint across the door with a scratched and damaged ‘43’ and the Stable-Tec logo on it. I looked at Nyota, worried, and he looked back at me. I heard Chroma Slip’s voice over a walkie on Nyota’s back, “Seventeen, Forty-One, are you both back? Did you get it?”
Seventeen smiled while taking the walkie into her hoof, “Yeah, we got it.” I felt something more sinister at play here. As the door started to open and a klaxon sounded a warning alarm, Seventeen took out a shotgun and checked to make sure it was loaded. “You sure about this, Forty-One?”

Nyota nodded, “Yes. The only way to be free, finally.”

The door opened and as the shadow of Chroma Slip appeared in a bright light, Seventeen opened fire. The shadow fell and another alarm sounded.

I snapped awake and looked around. Nyota’s hoof was on my shoulder. I looked up at him, surprise in my voice as I spoke, “Nyota?” I was very confused, not sure where I was. This felt like the second time he had woken me up in less than an hour. Even if the memory had us walking for several hours, it felt like minutes. Nyota was walking towards the door.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got coffee and breakfast ready. Come on, Sunny.” I was still trying to figure out if I was dreaming or this was real.

“Now you know a little bit of the truth. Want the rest?” The creepy feeling of Seventeen’s voice echoed in my head.

I pushed it aside, ignoring ‘it’. I lunged forward instead, just happy to see Nyota as my brain clicked on. I rose up and charged towards Nyota with all the energy of a child on a sugar high who saw their grandmother walk into the door with presents.

I, however, was the worst earth pony ever and I slipped, going airborne. My aim completely missed Nyota and instead had me on course with a trash can. Nyota grabbed me mid-air and yanked me down to the ground as he tackled me from my oncoming charge and I gagged from his leg around my throat. “Not the only thing you’ll be gagging on tonight!” Pink squealed with delight. I winced and I pressed against Nyota’s barrel for some comfort from her teasing. He held me close and fell onto his back to avoid me hitting the concrete or doorframe.

I was trying to recover and started to try to speak before I could say a word, Nyota’s hoof was in my mouth to shut me up. “Yes I know, I’ve been gone a week. I figured you would be busy working on the tank.” I went to try to talk again and this time he shut me up with a deep, passionate kiss. My entire body felt like electricity coursed through it as I melted into the affection.

Nyota chuckled and wrapped his hoof around me. “I was fine love, it just took an extra…” He trailed off as he realized why I had been worried. I held him tightly and sobbed. This was my Nyota, he was warm and wonderful. His hoof rubbed the back of my head gently. He kissed me between the ears and whispered, “Right, I would have been worried too. I’m here love, always will be.” His hoof pressed against my heart as I looked up at him and he smiled down into my eyes. “And I’m here too, right with you, even when you can’t see me.”

I repeated his words back to him, “Even when I cannot see you, I know you are here. In my heart, I feel your love.” I felt his smile broaden just a tiny bit as the two of us held each other in a desperately longed for embrace. I rubbed the back of my head as we separated and looked at Nyota, and slowly I just started laughing.

It wasn’t just from the comedy of the situation but also from the sheer insanity presented to us all. This was just too much for me and I finally needed to laugh until I cried. Nyota chuckled with me nervously at first and then finally he understood. He laughed with me; I’m not sure if he found it just as funny or needed the release. I was just happy he was okay and the release of all my worry and tension resulted in just laughing.

I realize it had been days since I laughed. Since I smiled, even. Yet here we were, our souls both warmed and the feelings of loss and despair draining with a renewed hope. I would have to tell him about the seance soon but for now, just feeling his touch. The electricity and life that gentle hold of my zebra—no, my stallion—kept all the bad news at bay.

I melted into him and was purring with delight as I pressed my head against the familiar small divot in his chest. My cheek pressing right against his scars, embedded in that wonderful part of his chest that told me even with my eyes closed, even if I could not smell the sandalwood virtually ingrained into his fur, this scar told me it was him. This embrace was going nowhere and I did not want it to ever end. My morning in his hooves, would be my entire day today.

The next morning, I thought it was a dream. I was waking up and Nyota was still holding me. He was awake but had elected to not get out of bed. Simply watching over me while I slept. My body did not enjoy the bedroll and sleeping bag entirely. Nyota had made every part of me sore, in the best ways. Now the cuddling and snuggling had helped after that fact. Okay, Pink, you were right… about the gagging. Pink just giggled and I could feel her grin. I didn't even have to look at her to feel that level of grin across her lips.

Nyota helped me up and once he was certain I was on steady hooves, we both went to the shower. The glorious feeling of cleaning myself off from head to hoof was one thing. The feeling of Nyota’s hooves working the soap deep into my skin combined with a hot filtered shower again did not make my PipBuck click even once; completely wondrous. My body melted under the torrent of water that cleansed me from head to hoof.

I looked up at Nyota and smiled at him, “Nyota.” My heart fluttered as I spoke. He was busy working to dry me off, knowing full well I was about to engross myself into grease and grime of working upon the tank again. I had to ask him, I had to ask for one thing. Something I knew both of us had passingly thought or felt. “When we get somewhere safe again, marry me.”

Nyota dropped the towel and looked like he had just been struck by a bullet to the heart. He stared off into space and slowly his eyes rolled from over my head to meet my gaze. I could feel my heart skipping beats as my hooves felt like anvils had glued them in place. My muscles grew rigid as I waited for an answer. I had not expected a proposal anytime soon; now I understood his deer in the headlights look. Both of us were starring slowly growing from shock to the realization of what I had just asked.

I bit my lip and waited for his answer. Pink was standing on the edge of her hooves with a bright expression upon her face, waiting for an answer just as much as I was. I could virtually hear the scream from her regardless of the answer, being held back by the anticipation. Nyota reached forward and brushed my wet mane out of my face and smirked, “Your wish is my command.” He leaned down and kissed me deep and lovingly, holding me in a tender embrace with one hoof while the other picked up the towel and put it onto my back to keep me warm for just a little longer.

Once we were done in the shower, I got up onto the tank. The turret was on and now we had to get the engine running. All the external work was done: Fresh road wheels that shined from the crystal parts they were made of. The tracks had been assembled, and they were heavy; the links locked together probably weighed in excess of a thousand kilograms. They were made of crystals and quartz as well and shined like diamonds when light hit them. We will have to paint those to make them less obvious, I thought as I was looking them over.

Pink was actually upset at this thought, “Why? They are amazing and look so pretty!” I was not going to argue with her. Nyota pressed against my side.

“What can I do?” I looked over at the kitchen from his question. Then back at him.

“You can help Lunar Spice and Bunny in the kitchen. They are okay cooks, but nothing like what you can pull off.” Nyota chuckled and nodded, heading for the kitchen. In some strange twist of fate, I’m sending my stallion into the kitchen and I’m going into the garage. I blushed at the idea and got out a wrench, my tail grabbed a spanner, and I got a screwdriver for good measure.

“Finally gonna get that engine started?” I knew this was going to be the hard part. Getting the transmission a new gearbox and differential, along with making the spell matrix based engine finally start again.

It’s just like the crane. It’s a machine, if you put everything into the right place it will work. It’s not like a pony where you have to coax, whine, compromise, and make deals. Either you have all the parts in the right place and they work or they don’t. I crawled up onto the engine deck, pulling the heavy covers back with Soot’s assistance.

The hinges groaned in protest, so I pulled out some grease and sprayed it upon the hinges to ease the rust as we struggled to break it apart. Inside was a mess! The spell matrix had multiple hoses broken, the connection to the transmission was completely severed and so the entire drive train would not connect to the sprockets that turned the treads and road wheels. I sighed and looked at the fresh spell matrix and all the drivetrain parts, then at the transmission. “Okay, I hope I have all the parts.” I looked over at Soot, “Remember, we must be very careful, I only have one set of replacement parts. If we break any of them, I do not know if I can fashion a replacement.”

Soot nodded and we started the slow process of removing the spell matrix engine. Getting deeper into the systems to remove the various parts from cooling radiator, to oil pan, gas tank, and everything else. This work was going to require more than I had bargained for. Scopola approached me and raised an eyebrow.
“Sunrise, where are each of us to be positioned inside the tank? There are six of us and only five seats.”

I paused and turned to Scopola, taking a wrench from my mouth and wiping the grease on a rag as Soot let out a string of curse words. I assume she struck her hoof against something or cut herself. “You okay, Soot?”

“Yeah, the freaking gear just stubbed my hoof.” She called back. I let out a sigh and took a moment to get down from the tank engine deck.

“Well, Scopola, looking at all our different talents.” I finished getting my hooves as clean as they would get. I made a mental note that Soot’s rag was mostly clean and she would need a bath. I’ll have to make her take one again. Pink snickered in the corner. “Well, I will be the mechanic. So the radio operator and co-driver position is best for me. This way I can move about the tank and fix stuff as it breaks. Quick Stitch is likely the best driver, his magic is much more sensitive than yours and, no offense, more flexible.”

Scopola nodded and motioned for me to go on. “Nyota is the strongest of us and fastest, he should be our loader. He will be able to move the heavy shells into place and not tire. Also since he will not be using magic, so there is not a chance of accidental detonation. Chifundo would be our gunner. He is not the most observant but he is by far the best shot compared to all of us; since Alguacil cannot fit inside the turret space.” I pointed at Scopola and pressed my hoof to her heart. “Which is why I am about to ask something great of you, you will be the commander. The one who helps me coordinate the rest of us and spots threats while directing our actions. I can help give unity but I will have to rely on your eyes. Even without your glasses you see so much better than I do and notice so many details I do not.”

I was right. Scopola had pointed out twice now threats to us. She had found camps for us. She had made sure every detail of our encampments made us all sleep very well. Scopola held up a hoof, “Shouldn’t I be on the gun? I mean..”

I shook my head, “If you wanna try to outshoot Chifundo, do so. But it is not your laser rifles; If your gun misses a shot you do not get another shot within less than a second. Nyota will take several seconds to reload. We will die during those seconds. I appreciate your abilities, Scopola, but I have put some thought into this.” I explained to her and gave her a tight embrace. “Chifundo is our best shot who can fit into the turret and your eyes are better than all of ours. We need you as a spotter first and foremost. You will also notice mines, traps, and ambushes before any of the rest of us.” I explained and patted her on the back. “Besides, you will get your scout badge in tank commanding.”

Scopola blushed at this and smiled back with a nod. We separated as she went to help Nyota and Lunar Spice in the canteen. I turned back to the tank, pulling out the hose and getting the pressure nozzle fitted back to it. “Time to get back to work.”.

My failure, I have to live with it. I have to Do Better. This will help protect them.

That night, Scopola Mina, Soot, and Chifundo were outside. I walked up while all three were shooting at distant targets and missing, badly. Soot, Scopola, and Chifundo stopped and looked at each other; confused. They were taking turns using a high powered hunting rifle that was a bit too big for them. Alguacil was scratching the back of his head, “All I did was change th’ rifle to somethin’ high powered, I ain’t expect all of ‘em ta miss.” I looked at the regulator with a raise eyebrow.

“Why are they all competing in a shooting competition to begin with?” I looked at this, very confused about the situation. I was trying to understand the situation, remembering the talk I had with Scopola Mina. Did she really come out here and all three of them had a fight and now Alguacil is settling it with a shooting contest?

“They’re settlin’ whose gonna be the tank gunner.” Alguacil tipped his hat to me. He was genuinely calmer and for once did not feel like he was staring at me like a predator weighing up prey. “I want’d it t’ be a weapon with all the recoil I could git. Ya know because of how the tank cannon works?”

I facehooved and shook my head, “Alguacil, the tank cannon recoils into the tank; not the gunner or the loader.” I shook my head and noticed that Scopola was trying to operate the rifle with her mouth instead of her magic.

Alguacil blinked with his good eye and it was now that I noticed his glass eye also blinked with it. Oh… oh wow, I was not aware that the eyelid still worked! He then looked back at the rest of them taking turns trying to hit the target.

Alguacil groaned and sighed, “Chifundo usually don’t miss; this is r’ally weird.” Chifundo took the rifle again, looked at me, and his eyes seemed to sharpen. I look a little confused by Chifundo’s sudden determination. He sighted down his shot and I saw just how far away the target was. I hit S.A.T.S. on it and my PipBuck told me it was over four hundred meters away. I released the spell without hitting a host and turned to Alguacil.

“Why are you setting it that far away?” I tilted my head at Alguacil.

Alguacil cleared his throat and held up the mostly intact training manual we had found in the tank. “It say’s the average tank fight is that far.” Alguacil looked at me with a gulp. The expression on my face was everything but entertained. I facehoofed again and furrowed my brow with a long groan.

“Alguacil, that is for tank-on-tank combat, how often are we going to—” A loud pang interrupted my talking and both Alguacil and I snapped to look in the direction. Chifundo from where we were to all the way down the many city blocks had managed to hit the target and the sound of the impact reverated off the vegetation covered buildings back to us. There was a distant twang as the metal target fell to the ground and bounced a couple of times.

We all collectively heard a loud growl, much closer than where the target was. The growl was very close to us. “Maybe y’all should talk ‘bout this inside?” Alguacil offered, and we all hastily left without speaking, scrambling to get back inside Upsville.

I sighed and looked at Soot, Scopola Mina, and Chifundo with all of them lined up in front of me. We were standing with my friends acting as a backdrop to the tank. “Okay, so, let me understand this. All of you wanted to shoot the gun and be the gunner?” They looked at each other, confused, then at me, then at each other. Finally there was some nodding between them, and then collectively said, yes.

“Okay look, I am not a dictator. But I am the one who read the tactics book, which any of you could read, and generally has been trying to direct our combat tactics as best I can. If you do not want to do a particular thing, please, you all need to express it.”

Scopola Mina held up a hoof like she was in a school classroom. I sighed and pointed at her, reminded painfully she was a Filly Scout. “Yes, Scopola.”

Scopola cleared her throat and lowered her hoof with a concerned expression, “Sunrise, it’s just that you are our leader. We look to you for guidance and well, we kinda all wanted to pone the gun. Ya know, be the one delivering the firepower, and I personally thought you would be in the commander seat.”

I nodded to her and turned to Alguacil, “Can you give me the manual, please?” Alguacil reached into his armored vest and pulled the manual back out. I took it from him and flipped to the page describing the crew positions. “The gunner’s primary job is to aim and fire the weapons of the vehicle. She must be focused upon this task and this task alone. The commander is tasked with looking for threats and identifying them for the gunner.” I paused and looked at each of them.

I let it all sink in and then let out a low sigh. “Scopola Mina, how often do you notice small details? Chifundo, you use a heavy bolt action rifle; that takes significant time to rechamber when you fire, regardless if you hit or miss.” I cleared my throat and looked at Soot, “Soot, no offense, but right now you are a passenger not a crew member. You are not strong enough to be a loader or tall enough to be a driver or commander, so you would be with me. Your tech expertise and smaller size will help worm your way into places to fix things that go wrong.” I explained all of this and then looked at all of them.

My concern was growing now. I had not wanted to be the leader in the first place. Yet here we were; with all of them listening to me. All of them now staring at me for some inspiration and Soot looking like I just wounded her dreams. “Look, we only have a limited number of rounds, and Chifundo is our best shot,” I paused and looked at Alguacil who had narrowed his eyes with a harsh glare. “Who can fit in the tank. I am not sure when we will get more ammo. Scopola, you are accurate by volume, and volume is not something we have when the weapon takes a bit to reload and we only have a few dozen shots.” I approached my friends and searched for the right words to say, the thing they were looking to hear from me.

Then I felt Chifundo place his hoof upon my shoulder, “Sunrise, you are right to seek, the wisdom from a leader so meek. But you are not at all weak, your power is stronger than even this mighty antique.”

Alguacil cleared his throat, “I wanna thank ya, for recognizing my marksbirdship. But yeah, there’s a reason they don’t make ‘em to let griffons fit in. Ya know, with Talons mostly siding with the other side.”

I raised a hoof to start to correct him and then lowered it. “There is that, and that it takes less materials to make a smaller vehicle. We did let some of the smaller griffons operate our tanks.” I winked at Alguacil and giggled. “You aren’t small, and Stormy certainly didn’t report you were small there, either.”

Alguacil squawked as we all broke into laughter. Even Lunar and Nyota from the kitchen were laughing. I finally took in a breath, “Right, I suppose we need to paint it and make sure all the rust is gone. Then we need to test to make sure those replacement plates covering the holes that were blown in it are secure.” I then looked up at my group of friends around me and Soot, “Then we’ll need to train in it before we start driving it across the wasteland.”

It was incredibly late by the time we had done everything. I was busy painting the symbol on it; The symbol that identified me. A pony angel holding a shotgun, descending from the heavens. I kept hitting it with the torch, making sure the design was welded into the tank. Even if someone else took it, they could never get rid of this mark without weakening the hull or replacing the side plating. I looked up to see that my activity wasn’t disturbing Soot in the slightest. She was covered in grease, welding ash, and metal flash, wearing a mechanics suit that had once been red, but now faded to orange. If not for the pockets and old workshop symbol on it, I would have thought it was prison garb.

I finished up the emblem and finished painting the rest of the tank in the soft green color. We found the paint in a few of the crates that this concrete warehouse had. In addition, the snowball cakes were delicious; I missed the taste of coconut. Just thinking about one made me reach to pull one out and take a bite, which quickly turned into me eating an entire snowball cake right off my welding flash and ash covered welding glove. “Ya know, that probably isn’t healthy for the kids.”

I glared at Pink, Excuse you? I could feel a mood rising, like someone judging me for eating was worse than my friends trying to tell me I was their leader and a dictator.

“I mean, you can be a little dictatory but only when ponies' lives are at risk. As for the cake thing, ya realize anything with enough preservative to last two hundred years while tasty as the day it was made is probably bad for you, not to mention I’m pretty sure babies can’t eat metal flash and welding ash; I’m pretty sure even I couldn’t turn that into a functional bakery confection if I tried.”

I wanted to yell at Pink, I wanted to get upset at her. Somehow, however, she was right. I took a moment and took a deep inhale. “Oh right! Pregnant mare hormones, yeah you umm… I am going to put this delicately.”

I glared at Pink in response, ready to tear her head off for where this conversation was leading. Put what delicately?

Pink put up her hooves in a show of surrender and nervously gulped. “Look, don't bite off the head of the messenger, that never works out. Just ask Ditzy-Doo; so many have tried and she is still quite alive and friendly despite it. You should just slow down and take a measure of yourself before you say stuff, okay? Your hormones aren’t you, but they have a lot of influence over you.”

I started to snap back and then stopped myself. My mind was conflicted and confused. I slowly tempered my words. You are my friend, I am sorry for being upset with you. You are probably right; I should not be eating stuff like this; I mean I removed the Med-X and am keeping it away because of them. My hoof drifted to press upon my stomach as I felt a warmth inside me. I listened closely until I could hear my own heartbeat; then I heard two more softer beats deeper within me. Both were faint and small, You are right Pink, I mm sorry for being upset with you. Let’s get Soot to bed.

I struggled to get up on the tank only to feel something pressing against my rump. The sensitive part of me flared with a both welcome and surprising sensation as I turned my head quickly to see who dared to grab my plushy rear. It was Nyota, using his head, snout, and hoof to help push me up, I remembered him doing that the day we met. Helping me onto the engine deck of the Sand Dog 3500; the exact same way. “You just could not wait to touch my butt could you?”

Nyota snickered and finished pushing me up onto the engine deck of the war machine. I scooped up Soot. She was so small. “That is saying something coming from you, you can carry her; she must be really tiny. Like a tiny little adorable, somewhat salty cupcake!” I groaned at Pink’s enthusiasm. Even if she said all of that in a tiny, squeaky, whispering voice.

I lowered Soot towards Nyota, “Here, take her, she is out cold.” Nyota gently pulled her down, standing upon his hind hooves. He made sure to support her head and shifted to put his body between her and the tank to protect her from hitting the metal if we dropped her.

Pink got extremely starry eyed and put her hooves up to her cheeks with a deep gasp. She spoke in a quiet tiny voice, even quieter than before. “Omg, you two are wonderful parents in the making!” I groaned at her and then sighed as Nyota started to carry off Soot. I used the road wheels and treads to get down from the tank as quietly as possible. We carried Soot to her bed and I tucked her in. Nyota and I bumped flanks as we made our way to where we would sleep. Once again, not really sleeping for another hour.

I had a dreamless night, a rare thing. There was not a lot to our next morning. It was agreed we would start practicing with the tank. I couldn't just expect everyone to jump in and know what they were doing, we had to make sure that we had practice.

There was no concern for things like fuel or wear and tear. A spell-matrix powered vehicle doesn’t require gas. Just grease, maintenance, and ammo. The crystal treads and road wheels would take ages longer to wear out than rubber and steel ones. We even had two practice rounds for Nyota to use for learning to load. They were basically empty shells but with extra weight in them. This way when he switched to the real thing, they would be lighter and easier to load.

The heavy tank treads cleared vines like they were not even there. Ripping apart the vegetation better than a weed whacker would ever hope to do. Scopola Mina made calls over the intercom of the tank, which was really a short-range radio set that each of us was wearing. It was the only way to hear each other from all the noise and racket the tank made as it rolled.

We made our way around the block of the warehouse several times, each time passing the guards outside as well as a group of onlookers who were exceedingly happy to see the vehicle moving. Once Quick Stitch got from confidence he started opening the tank up to it's higher gears. This caused a slight issue with the vines and vegetation getting caught up in the road wheels.

We started to hear the slapping of heavy thick vines against the hull at a constant rate. I groaned, "Quick Stitch, full stop. I think something is in the wheels." We were roughly at the furthest point from the warehouse on our practice route. I popped my hatch and climbed out, almost stumbling over the sloped frontal armor to get down. It took me using my hooves to brace against the front machine gun and the spare tread mount to not fall head over heels.

Several thick vines were wrapped around the internal road wheels, I groaned and checked them for flowers first. I wanted to make sure I wasn't about to get poisoned. Once I was certain I called over the radio, "Hey, careful not to move. I need to cut these vines out of the wheels." I got out my hammer and chisel to start smacking away.

It was a slow process but eventually I was down to the last vine. I suddenly felt the ground rumble and pulled myself free of the gearing immediately. My hoof reaching for my intercom button on my throat, "Quick Stitch! I said don't—" A manticore roar completely broke my thoughts and I snapped my head to the front of the tank. It was there, around forty hoof steps away and it was angry. I started to hyperventilate. The feelings of terror coursing through me. My friends on the other hand, acted like a team.

I heard my neck radio call out, “Manticore! Two O’clock!” The manticore hesitated as I froze up. The memory of going down the gullet of one flashed before my eyes. Then another memory of it having happened at least twice. It made me paralyzed with fear. My body couldn’t move as I stared with growing horror at those razor sharp teeth, the massive bat wings with ripping talons at their apex. The sharp claws that ground against the concrete ready to leap. The manticore started to take a step and stopped. I heard the hydraulics of the tank turret grinding to rotate the gun. The hull shifted with the turret, making it turn faster. I flinched as I watched the manticore with one eye, frozen in confusion while I kept screaming to make myself move.

The tank hull was now so close that the tank was going to crush me into it's treads and suspension. “Quick Stitch, halt!” The tank tread stopped traversing the hull with just enough inertia to knock me over. “Nyota, High Explosive!” The jolt of Scopola's voice a third time finally broke my stupor. I started scrambling to run behind the vehicle. The manticore snapped out of its trance too, seeing its prey running away. “Chifundo, FIRE!” Another roar and looked behind me. I watched it leap over my shoulder only for the cannon to fire. The creature was so close that the blast wave of fiery propellant buffeted the creature as my world hit slow motion.

I recognized this immediately, my tail was withdrawing from my PipBuck as Pink had slapped S.A.T.S. My ears were rippling with the deafening blast in slow motion. My body was being pushed against by the shock wave. I felt my hooves sliding just against the concrete and vegetation debris under me. The tank rocked backwards as I saw the sound wave in the aircascade across the metal. The manticore was already starting to fly backwards from white hot propellant gas out of the tank barrel. I saw the yellow marked shell flying out, big letters H.E. marked on it as it span in the air. I recognized my hoofwriting on the round as S.A.T.S. played out the death of this creature in visceral slow motion. The round slammed into the manticore and by the time it did S.A.T.S. ran out of charge.

The tank had accelerated forward just enough to turn slightly further towards me as the shot rang out and the blast roared in all directions. I hadn't noticed from watching the spectacle unfold till the upper hull blocked my sight. That slight turn made the blast of explosive death roll upward across its sloped hull. The angle of the hull cast the backblast that should have hit me up into the air. I shielded my eyes and winced, slowly as the wind and heat died down, I looked up and saw no manticore.

Then a leathery piece of a bat wing landed right on my nose. I yelped and scrambled back from it as more blood, pieces of manticore, and guts fell around us. Much of the former manticore splattered onto the wall of a nearby building. The remaining pieces burnt and charred crispy. The manticore was no more, completely annihilated by the tank’s main gun. Scopola Mina, Nyota, and Quick Stitch all popped out of their respective hatches. Chifundo popped out right next to Nyota and both of them were trying to get out of the tank through a hatch that was too small for them to be out at the same time.

“Sunrise! Hang on!” Nyota groaned against Chifundo who was sharing a hatch with him. Scopola and Quick Stitch both reached over to calm the closest zebra to them.

“Sunrise is fine y’all, the tank shielded her. Nice shot, Chifundo, I would give you a Filly Scout badge if I was allowed to for that one.” I looked up at Scopola leaning over the tank, her Filly Scout beret over the light padded tanker helmet as she clicked on the radio set. “Y’all alright down there, Sunrise?”

I nodded slowly and got back to standing upright. I looked over at the horizon and could see the setting sun’s colors through the omnipresent clouds above us. Just faintly. I had learned from watching the sky to judge when the sun was rising and setting since I’d woke up here. It surprised me, “The sunrise wanders the sky, I think I get your name now.”

I looked at Pink then looked at all my friends who were smiling with relief and patiently waiting for me to get back into the tank with them. Pink petted my cordite and ash filled mane. “You may wander everywhere but you will always come back to where you belong. You help brighten everyone’s day no matter when you arrive as they always know you’ll be back.” I smirked at Pink and let out a sigh.

I put my hooves into the road wheels, the noise of the engine making it hard to hear what Chifundo or Nyota were still arguing about. I clicked the radio while climbing into the co-driver seat. “I am climbing up, do not move the tank. We should head back inside now, before the light is all gone.”

Alguacil met us at the door to Upsville, he had several fish and squirrels on sticks. All of them cooked and even had a couple of sticks with what appeared to be a squid tentacle and a squirrel both on it. I winced at the thought of what that must taste like. “Everythi’g okay? I heard the explosion and cannon fire’n.” Alguacil approached us with the food and Lunar Spice appeared behind him; once Alguacil’s wing motioned him to come out.

“Is it safe right now?” Lunar Spice saw the tank rolling up with all of us having our heads poking out of the hatches for us, except Chifundo; we did not have a top hatch he didn’t have to share with Nyota.

“Yes, it’s fine; just a manticore that is well, mostly manticore bits now.” Scopola Mina yelled out and clicked her radio, “Should be fine here. Quick Stitch, kill it.” The rumble of the tank engine ground to a halt.

Alguacil nodded and pulled out the sticks with squid tentacles and squirrels on them. Lunar Spice rubbed the back of his head and grinned, “Yeah those T’Doshin fellows you mentioned said this is their favorite food and since the caravan came back with that suggestion; I kinda wanted to try to recreate it. Hopefully it is as tasty as they claimed it to be.”

I almost gagged at the thought as I climbed out of my hatch and helped Soot out too. “You’ve got to be kidding… me?” I was now thoroughly grossed out, they had wrapped the squid and squirrels in bacon. I winced heavily and tried not to throw up on the spot.

Nyota walked right up and took one stick then bit into it. He chewed it carefully as the rest of us approached and Alguacil did that griffon thing. The griffon thing where he shoved the entire stick into his gullet all at once and pulled out a stick completely cleaned of all food. Nyota chewed a bit faster and made an approving noise. “Oh, this isn’t half bad. A little rubbery, but I imagine squid is always rubbery.”

I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head. “I umm.. Where did you get squid?” Alguacil blinked as he swallowed down all the meat and licked his beak.

“Oh, well I found some fresh water ones at the river on the edge of blightwood. Figured y'all would like to try it too and scooped ‘em right out of the current. They were a bit feisty but in the end but I got like five and brought ‘em back to cook here.”

Lunar Spice puffed up his chest all proud and smiling, “And I cooked them up right as I could; at least according to the cookbook I’ve got.” I took a stick and winced.

Nyota nudged me as he held onto the stick still, “Well, Sunny, I don’t mean to be hasty, but you do need the protein and you never know if eating meat might become a necessary survival skill.” I groaned and looked at the stick with extreme apprehension. I looked to everyone else for help but all of them but Chifundo were trying the uniquely strange meal. They stopped to look at me and I groaned. I took a firm grip of the stick from Nyota and brought it up to taste it.

My stomach gagged and wheezed while my mouth reported that it was indeed savory, salty, and rubbery. I forced down my emotional response to be repulsed by meat and my stomach’s physical one; making myself swallow with a nervous smile. “Okay, it’s not all bad but can I have some veggies with it?”

Nyota rolled his eyes and nodded, “Only if you agree to finish the whole stick if I make you some.” Nyota trotted off with Lunar Spice and they returned with some stale cooked rice and a cup of coffee. I ate the stick meat as fast as I could and used the coffee between bites to try to reassure my stomach it was okay. Regretting this decision as I realized the coffee was clearing my pallet for more fresh tasting of the squirrel-squid. The bacon through, that was the good part. I would have to try it on its own when I get the chance.

Four more griffons came out, four I had not met before. Alguacil nodded to them, “I’d like ta present to yall: Grime, Grittle, Jerk Feather, and Glint. Th’ regulators I promised for ya Soot; they’ll get ta work setting up a new office here. In exchange fer making sure they ‘ave food and a bed; they’ll train yer militia and uphold th’ law here.” The griffons all nodded and the last one, Glint, spit. They were mostly just brown feathers, brown coats, and soft off-white eagle head in color. Alguacil cleared his throat, “They’re um… all siblings by the way, so they’ll also try to date any other griffons or pegasi yall have.” The four griffon all gave a salute with a light blush as they looked at each other. Their glances trying to figure out which of them would talk first.

“Right, well, if that is the case, I suppose I should give them a tour. Sunrise, will you and your friends be ready to head out tomorrow?” I looked at Nyota and then Scopola Mina.

Quick Stitch raised a hoof, “The healing potions I’ve been brewing will be ready tonight.”

Nyota shrugged, “Yeah if Lunar and Scopola can help make sure we’ve got some rations pre-made and set aside for the road.” Nyota motioned for Scopola and Lunar to follow him downstairs. They disappeared down the stairwell.

Alguacil took out a piece of paper and offered it to Soot, “Here read this over, the regulator’s contract needs to be finalized with the settlement and it will mean they christen this place ‘Upsville’.” Glint moved a talon to rub off the big yellow and brown sign with the letters UPS on it. I realized now that the former mail delivery company used to open this warehouse. They were calling it Upsville because of the sign on it, the sign on the warehouse doors they couldn’t change. I hadn’t noticed it before because of all the heavy dirt, grime, and dust; not to mention I had mostly tuned out the signs when I travelled. To me they did not mean anything anymore; they were relics of the Old World.

But yet, here they could result in the name of something. I wondered if The Roof came from one of these signs. Or if Silver Fang’s symbol on their walls came from something else that I simply did not recognize anymore out of context. My nostalgia aside, Soot was quickly flipping through the document and already asking Alguacil and the griffon siblings for clarification on certain parts.

It doesn’t make up for us killing ponies; even if it was in defense at the time. But at least it is a start.

“I think the most important lesson from Twilight ever is if someone genuinely renounces their evil ways, apologize, and works to fix their wrongs; then you forgive them, unconditionally.” I looked at Pink a bit awe struck and tilted my head confused. She smiled at me with a nod. “You should get some rest, actual rest; tonight. No screaming Nyota’s name.”

I thought you said you didn’t stick around and watch! I glowered at her while blushing furiously.

“Oh come on, Sunrise, even you would watch if you could and it was me.” Pink suddenly was running to the back of my mind and somehow there was an invincible concrete bunker there. I blinked in confusion as I could see her hiding in the bunker there.

Pink, get back here! When I get a hold of you— My thought trailed off as I realized I had no way to get into that bunker, somehow it was a part of my mind; I could not penetrate. At least not yet for some reason.

We spent another two days driving around, training with loading, firing, and driving drills. No more manticores but I had to be sure we were ready. Nyota and Lunar had prepared a meal fit for a goddess. Salted curry potatoes over rice; along with a dozen other rations ranging from beans to peas and carrots. All of them fresh not canned. It was the benefit of this place, while they were slightly irradiated and required special cooking, the crops grew here; even in the concrete.

I was going over the engine checks on the third day when Chifundo swung the turret around. I had to hammer into the deck flat to avoid the gun barrel knocking me clean across my head. “HEY! CHIFUNDO!” I cried out and then realized he couldn’t hear me over the spell-matrix noise. I did the only thing I could do as the gun lowered and rotated back, I rolled off the deck before it clocked me with a full body check.

I knocked on the side of the tank as the gun barrel closed the engine hatch right where I would have been. “Hey! Knock it off in there! What gives?”

Chifundo slowly poked his head out sheepishly, “I am sorry for the turret smack, we were only testing the slack.” I groaned and walked up the tank slope to get nose to nose with him.

My blood was boiling and I almost shouted at him as I got to touch him with my snout. Then I remembered Pink’s talk about hormones. I pulled back and let out a sigh to release my initial rage. “When I am finished with the engine check, okay? I know we drive off today but be careful.” We need more practice but hopefully we can get that on the way. The drive train of this thing was built to last and I just rebuilt it with much more durable parts. Hopefully we have enough time to learn how it works before we need to shoot the guns again.

Quick Stitch came out with a completely customized lab coat. He was a fashion disaster with flames around the edges of the coat and rainbow fuschia tie dye across the rest of the coat. That combined with his yellow, pink highlighted, heavily modified Ministry of Peace armor underneath it; this was almost unbearable to look at. I had to suppress a giggle while Alguacil squawked in surprise.

“What in tarnation? Man, and if Sunrise’s crazy graffitied armor weren’t loud enough. What are yall doing comin’ out lookin’ like that; competin’ for least stealthy wastelander?” Quick Stitch glared at him and Chifundo snickered a bit.

“I am not one to judge, but aren’t parts of that smudged?” Chifundo hopped out of the turret and walked over to Quick Stitch, rubbing at the curry stain then pulling out his canteen and using the water to wash the stain out. How he could pick out the stain from the rest of this clash of colors I had no idea. The strangest part of this lab coat was the cut slits in it to show off Quick Stitch’s pale green legs and the lace he had added around it.

“Wait did you make that for Ruby and Emerald to see you in?” I commented, holding my chin and looking on in curiosity. Quick Stitch couldn’t have flushed a darker shade of purple. I grinned at him and smiled. “If they like it, who am I to judge? Do what makes you and them happy.” Quick Stitch shot up his head and mouthed the words ‘Thank You’. He did this even as Nyota and Scopola were still snickering. I gave Quick Stitch a hug and felt pride fill me; proud he was willing to share this with the rest of us.

I nuzzled up against his cheek and whispered, “We only tease you because we do care. Just know that we will support you, regardless of what you do.”

Quick Stitch gave a weary smile and I swore there was a tear in his eye as his white ear twitched. His left ear no longer pressed to his skull as he relaxed. “Thank you, Sunrise. If you could help, I know they like rainbow and lace and well; I like lab coats.” I nodded and started trying to put together an idea on how best to use this information for a new lab coat for him. It was something I would need time with.

“Give me a bit to work on some designs, okay? You got an extra lab coat to experiment on?” Quick Stitch nodded and produced a white lab coat still in its plastic wrapping. I took this and decided I would figure out exactly what to do for his desires for Ruby and Emerald. That or I would ask Cross Stitch when I got a chance.

We clambered into the tank, and Lunar Spice came out to give us a few extra rations. The rest of the town gathered around. Their wounds were healed or mostly finished healing up; the scars we would leave would always be there. But four new griffons and a half dozen new ponies from a caravan would go a long way to help them rebuild. They were already working on a metal guard shack and reinforcing the door with an easy way to open it from the inside.

I leaned around the turret, waving back as we cruised down the road, towards the nearest railway we could follow north. At least those were Soot’s instructions. We still had to uphold our end of the bargain, help Soot reclaim her birthright. Hopefully, without any violence. Once we were out of sight, we closed the hatches and buttoned down. Alguacil rode on the back, keeping an eye out with his own radio and we could hear him taking flight when he was looking around for something.

I crawled back into the turret section and nuzzled up against Nyota. We did not need to speak to know what we felt towards each other. Soot rolled her eyes and jumped up to look out of the gunsight. Chifundo pushed her aside and motioned to my chair with the side-machine gun and radio. Soot hung her head and crawled down there. She started charting our position on the dusty, laminated map of Equestria pinned to the inside of the tank. It was going to be a long ride.