“Well I can control most body fluids, sweat and tears. Certain hormones like adrenaline and such. My heartbeat and eye dilation...”

I continued until I looked to Xye and Solani, seeing they were both fast asleep. I chuckled a bit, feeling as though I had just given the most boring lecture in class. I moved over to the balcony and let the cold night air rush around me. Even if Nightmare Moon controlled the night, I still found it somewhat enjoyable.

A low grunt came from inside the room, and upon investigation, revealed that Xye snored in his sleep. Stifling a laugh, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a Sparkle-Cola, drinking its carroty contents and placing the bottle cap on the counter. How these managed to stay good after so long, I'll never know and probably didn't want to know, accounting for the amount of preservatives in some of the old snack cakes we found up here. Someone rapped on our room's door. I placed the rest of my soda on the counter and went to check it out. Opening it revealed a armored security zebra,

“hello, er salve,” he corrected himself hastily.

“No it's fine. What can I help you with?” I asked.

“Just checking in on everyone, seeing if anyone needs anything. Are you all good here?”

“Yeah, we're all setup here. I am, however, extremely bored, so if you had something to do that'd be nice,” I suggested.

“Well I don't have anything on my person, but down in the barracks a few of us are playing cards. If you’d care to join us, I'm sure they wouldn't be opposed.”

“Alright, lead the way,” I closed the door gently behind me so as not to wake the others and followed the zebra., “Name's Isu by the way.”

“I'm Xaige, but most just pronounce it like sage,” He told me.

We walked along the old halls, passing some repair ponies working on the elevators. I looked at the Zebra’s folded SAER, its paint matching the grey of his security armor, and remembered Chaser’s pistol. “Hey have any of you confiscated any old 10mm pistols from anyone today?” I inquired.

“Actually yes, some colt had got a hold of one. Said he even killed a few Guana before we took Doveport. Personally I would've let him keep it, serves him better than us anyway,” He admitted, “why do you ask?”

“Well, I know that Pegasus, one of my friends. You think you could give it back to me? I did find it after all,” I told him.

“Hmm, I don't know. I’m not exactly authorized to give away weapons, so you'll have to talk to the quartermaster about that.”

We reached the last flight of stairs and made our way to the barracks. The streets were lit by the many mounted lights we had placed this afternoon. A slightly blue hue coated everything. Making a left at an old diner, we had made it to the barracks. Opening the door we were greeted by twin beige, griffin males, a dark blue unicorn mare, and a burnt orange earth stallion.

“Bout damn time you got back, we were just about to skip your turn!” One of the Griffins told him.

“Who is the new guy?” The mare asked.

“Everyone, this is Isu,” he pointed to each member respectively, “those two are Jhekl and Hyd. That's Ocean Dusk and that's Sundance, but we call him-”

Everyone except Sundance suddenly stood up, “Sunny D!” they cheered.

“I hate you all,” Sundance mumbled after smashing his face against the table.

I chuckled a bit, “Well it's nice to meet you all.” Taking a seat from a neighboring table, I sat between Sundance and Xaige. I was dealt in and given a quick rundown of their game, One-O, in which you play different colored and numbered cards until you have none left. Simple... right?

I flew through the night sky alone in silence, the cold air whipping my mane. The only thing going through my mind now was my pistol and how I could get it back. I'd been flying for a good five minutes, my anger had subsided and I was finally on my way back to the hotel.

Flying in through the balcony, I saw the sleeping figures of Solani and Xye in their bunks, a grunty snore coming from one of them. Looking through the old cupboards, I found some old preserved foods; snack cakes, Sugar Bombs cereal, a half empty bottle of Wild Pegasus whiskey, and some other stuff. My attention went to the whiskey, examining the dusty bottle and its amber liquid.

“Fae, you can keep a secret right?” I asked.

“Well, of course!” With my digital accomplice assuring me she was on my side, I uncapped the bottle and took a few swigs, feeling the burn and taste assault my mouth. My face scrunched and I quickly put the bottle back where I got it.

“So how was it?” Fae asked.

“Bad and good, at the same time, if that makes sense.”

“Interesting,” She said simply.

The night went on and soon, the effects of the alcohol began to take hold. As I lay down on the sofa, I began my drunken ramblings.

“You guys are dumb,” I mumbled, tossing an old ashtray towards Xye and Solani, missing completely, “I'm old enough to shoot a gun, so I should be able to keep my gun.”

“It's still not safe for someone your age.”

I began to quietly shush the brain voice, “It don't matter,” I whispered, “it's mine.”

“But-”

“Shhhhhhuush, nah-ah, mine. Mine, mine… mine.”

“Maybe you should sleep, you've been up all day,” Fae suggested.

“You're right, I should go fly.”

“That’s not even close to what I said. Okay, uhm, before you go… you, uhm, dropped your pocket,” She lied.

“What, where!?”

“It's under the couch.”

For the next half hour, Fae led me on a wild goose chase for a pocket. I didn't even have any pockets to drop.

“That's a load of shit,” Hyd protested, “you two are teaming!”

Sundance waved a hoof dismissively, “Pshhhh nahhh,” whilst secretly giving me a hoof bump under the table.

“So you're tellin’ me, that you two ‘ave been winnin’, for the past six rounds mind ya, purely by coincidence?”

“Yes,” We said in unison.

Hyd suddenly planted his elbow on the table with a thud, pointing a talon at each of us, “listen ‘ere,” his voice had become mildly threatening, “I've ‘ad it up ta’ ‘ere. Now cut tha shit, before I throw this table onta tha botha yas.” He growled, mimicking the movements he'd take to flip said table.

“Oh give it a rest already!” Ocean Dusk interrupted. “Can you three settle down and just play the game?”

“Yea, I’m trying to get rid of this fat stack of cards here,” Xaige said, lifting his hooves with half the deck in between them.

“I'll be right back, imma get some booze,” Jhekl stated before heading to a refrigerator.

“But I'm serious, you two-,” Hyd pulled his claw back to his throat and quickly slid it across his neck.

“Jeeez, fiiine,” Sundance huffed, “It's my time for watch anyway. I'll be back later.” He grabbed his SAER and headed out of the door.

“Sorry to interrupt your gathering, but I kinda need your help back at the hotel,” Fae told me. “Chaser got into some whiskey and gotten himself heavily intoxicated. Can you hurry? I don't want him to get hurt.”

“Yea, I'm on my way now,” I told her, then looked to my new gambling buddies, “Well you guys, it seems like I'm needed elsewhere, it was good meeting you all. I'll keep in touch.”

I said my goodbyes to the group. Ocean Dusk and Xaige reciprocated their farewells, Hyd simply grunted while Jhekl waved over the opened door of the fridge. The moment I left the barracks, I galloped off towards the hotel.

Sprinting passed the front desk, I galloped straight for the stairs. As I climbed, I skipped steps and finally made it to the fourth floor. I raced down to the end of the hallway and opened the door to our room to find Chaser with half his body hanging lamely from the top of the fridge, his wings flapping lazily.

“Wha- what are you doing?” I asked incredulously.

“Fae said I dropped my pocket and I'm tryna find it,” He said drunkenly.

Looking around the messy room I saw his bag stashed in a corner. “Have you checked your bag?” I asked, pointing it out for him.

“Huh?” Chaser turned to look at the corner then slowly made his way back down from the fridge. Trotting over to the bag he examined it and prodded each of its pouches.

“Fae… they were here the whole time! Why'd you even say that stuff,” He grumbled, “Gosh you guys suck, I'm going back to sleep.” He threw himself into the flipped over couch and wriggled into it to get comfy.

“Oh thank the Founders you came. I don’t think I could've stalled him much longer,” Fae praised me.

“What happened in here?” I asked, looking at the room. He’d even pulled the paintings off the walls!

Fae explained all of Chaser’s delinquent activities as I replaced all of the furniture he’d moved. I set a few bottles of water beside him after I flipped the couch back over, he barely even noticed; he was going to be feeling the alcohol’s effects in the morning. With the room looking close enough to its former appearance, I lay on an old reading chair in a corner.

“Thanks for keeping him out of harm’s way Fae. I think I’ll turn in soon,” I let out a twenty second yawn I’d stored within.

“Wow, that’s the only yawn I’ve seen from you… ever!”

“Well of course. What? You thought I was lying?”

“Well, sort of, yes! It's just such a strange phenomenon.”

“I am a strange phenomenon, Fae,” I said, before gradually falling to sleep.

The sudden chirping of a bird, jolted me from my sleep. Looking around i could see the small orange bird perched atop an old pipe. Its song may have been beautiful, but I was trying to sleep. Grabbing a pebble in my magic, I tossed the stone towards the bird, scaring it off. I pulled my blankets back over myself and got comfortable again, only to be greeted by the songbird once again, now sitting right above my headrest.

“Really?” I groaned in annoyance. The bird paused to look me over, before continuing its song. I swatted at the ball of feathers, only to be greeted by a quick peck to my head. “You’re really pissing me off!” I growled.

The bird didn’t budge until a pillow swung from the top bunk and sent the annoying darling hurtling to the floor.

“Sweet Celestia, shut UP!” Solani yelled from above. The bird recovered from its tumble and slowly made its was back to the balcony. It glanced back, somehow managing to look sad, then flew off.

Great, now I feel like the dickhead.

Silence returned to us once more, but now I couldn’t fall back asleep. So here I was, thinking about how I’d wronged a bird just trying to spread its song to the world. Well… sort of. Solani had performed the finishing move, but still…

I trotted over to the balcony, looking around. I could see the small bird sitting at the ledge of another building. I whistled to the bird, only managing to get a quick glance from it. I whistled again, the bird still not paying me any mind. So I began to poorly mimic its song. The small winged singer soon began to sing its song and flew back over to me.

“Hey Fae, can you scan this bird?”

“Sure can! Scanning… scan complete! This is an Icterus Pectoralis, or Spot-Breasted Oriole. It is a mid-sized songbird and generally typical oriole. Introduced to Newshire before the war, the population has flourished and is widespread all over the island.”

“Interesting, so what are you doing here little guy?”

“This one's actually a female,” Fae corrected.

The bird tweeted a bit, but I understood nothing that came out of its beak.

“I think we've got some snacks lying around,” I motioned the spot-breasted oriole to follow me, and it flew onto my back. Trotting over to the cabinet, I found some very old grains and floated a few to the bird, who ate them happily. With everyone else still mostly asleep I filled a small bowl with grains and left them for the bird, then I lay down on my bed, pulled up my Pipbuck and started my old game.

The game loaded up and I appeared to be back in the dilapidated town.

Moss followed close behind as we traversed the ruins, picking up anything useful that I didn't see.

“Any idea where we should be going?” I asked.
“We could head back to Turntable, turn in the bounties,” Moss informed, “or we could find something nearby. Turntable is pretty far.”

“Let’s just go get our caps and be done with em.”

Quest notifications appeared on the screen. choosing to go to Turntable, I marked it as my destination.

Suddenly, the screen became static as a distorted voice echoed from the speaker,

“ThIS iS noT YoUR WOrld TO COnTroL!”

The screen went dark and my Pip-Buck’s holotape tray ejected a blackened tape. The smell of melted electronics filled the air.

What the fuck was that!?

With nothing left to do, I looked to the bird; who was making a small nest above the cabinets. I thought about whether to give her a name, but was much too tired to come up with one. Instead, I dozed off, the mangled electronic voice still echoing in my head.

The loud thud of hooves on wood jolted me from my nap, meeting muzzle to muzzle with Solani. She stared into my eyes, unflinching, un-blinking. I stared back, my sleepy eyelids making it much more difficult.

“You’re going to blink. Blink now, do it,” she taunted. However, I had a trick up my sleeve. I quickly ran my tongue across her nose, getting her to blink in surprise. Her cheeks darkened and she stammered for words, only to muster, “ch- cheater,” in protest. I simply laughed, and was rewarded with a rush of cold air as my blankets were pulled off my bed.

I reacted swiftly and used my magic to grab my blanket, encasing Solani within. She struggled to free herself from the magically infused cloth, managing to push her head through an opening.

“You’re cheating!”

“Pshh, no I’m not. This is totally fair,” I argued. I dragged the blanket across the floor and over to myself, her struggling making it hard to contain her. I tightened the fabric around her, a squeak escaping as her movement was restricted.

She glared at me, “I will get you back for this.”

“Mhmm, suuure.” I chuckled. I pulled her closer and gave her a kiss on the forehead, “I’d love to see you try.” I loosened my magical grip and the blanket collapsed around her. My bird friend softly landed on my shoulder and sang a small tune to herself. I looked up to where her nest was being built and saw it was mostly completed.

“That looks nice.” I praised, resulting in happy chirping from the bird.

“Is that the bird from earlier?” Solani asked, sitting beside me on the bed.

“Yea, I felt bad after you smacked her with your pillow, so I kinda, sorta, adopted her. The bird flew up and landed on the tip of my horn. She began to chirp angrily at Solani, almost as though she was scolding her.

“Oh, jeez. I’m sorry, I don’t even remember that at all. Please forgive me!” Solani pleaded.

The bird appeared at the top of my vision, tilting her head from above. I shrugged, “It’s your choice.”

The bird flew onto the mattress beside Solani and examined her, hopped around her completely and ended her examination of my friend on her outstretched hoof. Solani’s pleading face possibly won over the bird’s affections, as she began to chirp happily.

“Oh thank you! I’m so relieved,” She said, as if she had been holding her breath, “I thought you’d hate me forever.” The bird simply chirped and then flew up to its nest. “Have you named her yet?”

“No, but since she’s a songbird, I was thinking something music related. Maybe Melody?” I suggested.

“Nah, that’s too boring. Maybe Aria, short and sweet; even though the definition is the opposite.”

“Whats it mean?”

“A long, accompanied song for a solo voice, usually one in an opera.”

“You take that straight from a the dictionary?” Solani blushed slightly. I whistled and the small orange bird poked its head over the edge. I lifted my hoof and tapped it with the other, signaling for her to come. She flew from her perch and came to rest upon my hoof. Her head tilted slightly as she looked up at me. “What do you think about the name Aria?” The tiny melody maker seemed to think it over, then nodded its head. “Well alright, Aria it is.” The bird- er… Aria let out a few happy chirps as she flew around our heads.

“Why do I hear so much chirping?” Isu groaned from the corner. “So much chirping…” He rubbed his eyes and let out a very long yawn, “What’s with the bird?” Aria flew over to Isu and hovered in front of him.

“This is Aria, our newest addition to the home,” Solani informed him.

“Cool,” he regarded Aria for a moment as she hovered before him. “Nice to meetcha. So what’s her story,” Aria landed on the chair and began to chirp as if she was retelling how we met. Soon, Isu stopped her short, “I hate to interrupt, but I don’t speak chirp. Fae, can you translate?”

“I am sorry to say that I can not. However, I have heard that there was a Ministry Mare of Equestria who was able to speak with all animals, it was one of her special talents. If I had one of her guides, which will probably not be plentiful on Newshire, I could try to piece together a basic translation,” She informed.

So, instead of listening to Aria retell our story, Solani and I filled Isu in on recent events.

Somehow, even after everyone had woken up, chatted and ate a small breakfast, Chaser was still asleep. How he slept through all the commotion before-hoof, I’ll never know, but with that in mind, we decided to play a little prank on him. Grabbing a few markers, we closed in on our target’s face, poised to strike. “You do know I’m awake, right?” Chaser mumbled. We froze. His wing slapping the markers from our grasps.

“What the what?” Isu exclaimed.

“If you’ve been awake, why aren’t you up?” I asked.

“Cuz I have a headache. I may, or may not, have hit my head last night.”

“I see…” Isu said, picking up the empty water bottles.

“Pshh… headaches are an easy fix. One sec,” Solani said, before trotting over to her belongings. Isu and I followed and watched her from behind as she pulled out different colored bottles from a satchel. “No… no, definitely no. Ahah!” She exclaimed pulling out a teal mixture. She passed the bottle to Chaser, “here, only take a sip of this.”

Chaser balanced the bottle on a wing and pulled it to his mouth, taking the well-specified sip of the liquid before immediately recoiling at the taste. “What’s in that?”

“You probably wouldn’t understand if I told you.” She joked, taking the bottle back, “Now it should only take a few minutes to take effect, but your headache should be completely gone after that.”

Curious about her family’s potion brewing, I asked her, “so what's in the potion?”

“Hm? Oh, just some old herbs I collected. I had a lot of time yesterday to wander while you all were retaking Doveport. Fae helped too.”

I simply ‘Ah’d’ in response.

“Hey!” Everyone turned to Chaser, “does that that drink have any hallucinogenic side effects, or is this little bird real?”

Solani giggled a bit, “no, that’s Aria, she just showed up today.”

Aria chirped and flew around Chaser’s head. “Cool, now I have a flying buddy!”

With everyone finally awake and Chaser’s headache cured, we took a trot through town. I almost didn’t recognize it from yesterday, so much had been done. The town was alive! Children played, security made their rounds, and construction teams were hard at work. Walking past a refurbished diner, we saw they had actually got it back up and running, serving food and beverages to its patrons. The sudden honk of a truck caught my attention and I realized I was actually walking in the road. I moved back onto the sidewalk and the truck rumbled by, stopping a few blocks ahead and allowing the Expedition teams in the back to disembark.

We continued our stroll until we were met by an unfamiliar orange pony, who Isu appeared to recognize. “Hey Sundance!” He greeted.

“Hey, what’s up Isu?” He responded as they hoof-bumped.

“Just taking a trot around town. What about you?”

“Actually, I’m going to Xaige’s place, since I’m off duty at the moment. Care to join us in another rousing game of One-O?”

“Count me in!” Isu exclaimed, excitedly turning back to us, “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He waved goodbye as he and Sundance continued in the opposite direction.

Chaser let out a huff and began to flap his wings anxiously. “Hey, you think we can go explore? Walking around just isn’t my thing.”

“We’d have to go and pick up our SAERs and probably get some provisions if we’re gonna be gone for long,” Solani informed.

“And since Isu is away, we could actually let you borrow his while we’re out,” I added.

Chaser’s face brightened at that and couldn’t contain his excitement. “This is gonna be so cool! I’ll meet you back at the south tunnel, I gotta tell my parents.” He almost took off but remembered our new companion, “Aria, wanna tag along?” Aria chirped happily. “Alright, try to keep up.” Chaser took off into the sky. Aria, surprisingly, kept a good pace behind.

“So, you wanna go back to the hotel and pick up the SAERs, while I head to the quartermaster’s and pick up some necessities?” Solani asked.

“Uhh, sure that works.”

Solani whimpered, “wait, what? You answered that so quickly! Don’t you wanna stay with me?” her lower lip quivered as she made sad puppy eyes at me.

“But… you wanted to… what?!”

“Don’t you like me anymore?” she cried.

I don’t know what I did wrong, or what I said, but I didn’t know what to do.

“You hate me, don’t you?” she accused.

“I never even said that! It’s the opposite of that.”

“The opposite of liking someone is disliking someone.”

“And the opposite of hating someone, is loving someone.”

Her demeanor changed instantly, as did her voice, becoming more fluid and sultry. “So you love me?” she cooed.

I blushed furiously, “I… uhh, did I say that?” I stammered.

“Mmmhmm, and I’m about to take full advantage,” her tail flicked off of my chin as she circled around me. My heart pounded into my ears and I couldn’t move; she had me trapped.

Then, she started to laugh, “You shoulda seen the look on your face,” she wiped a tear from her eye, “priceless.”

“I hate you,” I said sourly.

“Nope it’s too late for that,” she teased, “you… love me.”

I blushed angrily, “Can we just go get the stuff?”

After our preparations had been made, we joined back up at the tunnel at the south end of town. It turned out that security had reinforced the tunnel and made it into a pseudo-military checkpoint. Upon reaching the checkpoint, several SAER armed guards watched us as another, probably of a higher rank, approached us.

“Halt, state your business,” She demanded. Her armor covered most of her cyan hide, her piercing green eyes reflecting years of experience.

“Just off to do a little exploration, is all,” I answered.

“Is that so? What group were you assigned?”

“Group D maam.”

She looked to Solani, “Group C.”

Then to Chaser, “Group E.”

The security officer took a moment to think, focused only on Chaser, “Fae, why does he look familiar?” A moment of silence passed us.

“Ya don’t say. Well, Chaser is it? It seems you need a small test before you’re allowed to leave, nothing too difficult. Follow me please.” We followed the security mare to a path leading behind some buildings.

“Oh where are my manners, I’m Sergeant Candy Floss.” We rounded a corner and were met by a makeshift firing range. “Alright,” her SAER unfolded, “you see that target down range?” We looked, seeing multiple painted targets. The mare fired her SAER into the farthest one, hitting it right in the center. “Do as I did.”

Chaser was stunned at her accuracy, as was I. His SAER unfolded and he took aim. After a few moments he fired, sending a beam into the target. It wasn’t centered, but it did hit the target on the middle ring.

“Shiii-Oooot, shoot,” Chaser corrected, “I’m better when I'm in the air,” he stated.

“Well then,” she whistled loudly, “Derringer report!” she yelled.

A small yellow pegasus zipped out of nowhere, and saluted, “Derringer reporting sir!”

“Show this rookie how to do it,” she said plainly.

“Yes sir!” His SAER unfolded and lay on the ground. He pulled out the Mouth-Grip and attached it to the gun, having already discarded the barrel, pulling out a Derringer-style SAER pistol. He held weapon in his mouth and took his place at a starting line.

“Derringer is one of our fastest rookies, beating out some of our more seasoned pegasus guards. IF you can get within five seconds of his time, you’re free to take back the pistol we confiscated from you, AND you’ll be placed in auxiliary instead of Group E.”

Chaser’s eyes lit up. He shook his head furiously and began to watch as Derringer prepared for his run.

“Derringer, ready,” His wings raised slowly, “Begin!”

Derringer sped off through the course, sending beams into the pop-up targets as he passed. Not skipping a beat, he stopped sharply and spun around to fire at a target that popped up behind him, then flapped furiously and continued through the course. The timer had only just reached fifteen seconds while Derringer sped passed the finish gate, stopping the time at 16.67.

“Well done Derringer, you almost beat your personal best. You can go back to your business.”

“Thank you, sir.” He saluted through his heavy breathing then flew out of sight.

“Alrighty Chaser, you get three tries, and since you don’t know the course we’ll do a quick gallop-through.”

I followed the security mare through the course. She showed me all of the targets, as well as where Derringer had hit them. Two burn marks rested in each target, he hadn’t missed a single shot.

“So tell me, why are you giving me this chance?” I asked.

“Since records show you aren’t completely useless in a fight, we’ve been told to give you a chance to prove yourself. I’m sure if you’re with your pals back there, you should be alright to leave,” she told me. We walked back to the starting point and I got my SAER ready, settling for a similar pistol mode. The timer reset as I stepped up to the starting gate. I took a few deep breaths and got ready.

“Chaser, ready,” I raised my wings, “Begin!”

I took off at high speed, fired at the first target and hit it with ease. Turning a corner, the next target popped out and I sent another beam into it. Racing down the course, two more appeared and I fired. I missed them both but quickly corrected my aim to at least hit one of them.

“Dammit!” I kept going and fired another volley into a target that appeared, hitting it dead on. Replacing my spark battery, I reached the hidden target that fell behind me. In my haste, I dropped the battery and wasted precious time. By this point, I already knew I wasn’t going to make time.

I waved my hoof above my head, signaling to cancel the run. The timer stopped and a seperate number below it had a additional number, adding another two seconds onto my already horrible time.

Rejoining the Sarge, she asked, “so what happened?”

“I missed a target and on the drop down target I dropped my replacement battery,” I admitted.

“Hmm, interesting. Well get ready and run it again, you still have two more tries.” I nodded and headed back to the starting gate, resetting the timer.

“Chaser, ready,” I raised my wings again, “begin!”

I shot off from the start and fired a few shots into the first target, then turned the corner and shot the second target. The dual targets extended and I fired, hitting them both. I reloaded the battery, almost dropped it but just barely recovered in time.

Firing into the drop down target, I continued through the course. Facing another small grouping of targets, I sent a hail of beams down range and collapsed them. Not stopping as I passed them, I sped through a corridor.A surprise target I hadn't remembered popped out later than my reactions were ready for.

My reflexes took over as I covered my face before the impact. Colliding with the target, I was sent tumbling through the air and crashed into a wall. Little Aria flew overhead with a fitful worried chirping as I regained my focus. I had messed up again and only had one more try.

I growled, both at myself and at the course. Flying through the open roof, I waved my hoof again and rejoined Candy Floss. She patiently awaited my explanation, “the hallway target caught me off guard, but I think I've got it this time.” I hoped I wasn’t bluffing.

“Last try, hop to it,” I walked back to the starting gate. Timer reset. I raised my wings and readied myself. “Begin!”

I burst into the course, getting past the first half with ease, reloading before the drop down target and taking it out. I continued through, taking out the small group and flying into the corridor. I steadied my aim for the surprise target and fired on it as soon as it appeared. Soaring past it, I was faced with the last two targets, one of which was half covered by a wall and the other up in a window. I fired at the one in the window, missing once but connected on the second, then fired at the half hidden target again, luckily getting a hit.

I sped to the finish gate and closed with a time of 18.58. It was enough to pass the test, just two seconds over Derringer’s time.

“Fhuk yesh!” I yelled around the mouth-grip. I saw Xye and Solani cheering off to the side.

Candy Floss trotted up to me with an approving grin, “well done, well-fuckin-done! To be honest I didn't think you'd fly that fast, so that certainly helped. I'm sure if you ran this course every day for another three months you'd easily break Derringer’s record, heck, maybe even two!” She pulled out a mouth-grip 10mm in a nice leather holster and held it out to me, “I think you've earned this back.”

I took the pistol and held it between my hooves. Welcome back. I thanked Candy Floss and strapped the holster to my forehoof. “If you ever wanna come back and try to beat Derringer’s record, you're always welcome.”

“I plan on it.”

Chaser and Candy Floss finished their talk,trotting back over to us. Once together we made our way back to the checkpoint.

“He’s good to go,” Candy told us, “just try not to get killed out there. Even the Ex. Teams have a hard time staying alive, so take this,” she pulled out a all red mouth-grip pistol from her bag, “If you’re in trouble, fire this flare up into the sky and we’ll try to get a rescue team together as fast as possible.”

Solani grabbed the flare gun before I could and stashed it away in her bag. “Thanks, we’ll make sure to put it to good use,” she assured.

“I hope you don’t have to. One more thing, since we currently lack a long distance radio tower to bounce signals off of, your Pipbuck’s broadcast feature will be significantly worse and will only broadcast about a half a kilometer. The radio station at the center of Carsas is infested with,” she seemed to search for the right word, but came up short, “something. Ex. Teams haven’t exactly given a lot of details, so don’t go near it.” Nodding our collective heads, she smiled.

“Alright, open the gate!” she yelled to her subordinates.

The large metal panels on the gate slid away from each other, revealing the vehicular graveyard behind. The lights above, while mostly broken, still produced enough light along the road.

“Be back before dinner, ya hear?!” she called out to us.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Chaser yelled back.

Funny, that’s something mom always told me before I left the house. Has it really been that long since I’ve heard those words?

The gate began to shut behind us as we continued along the median of the tunnel. The sunlight at the end of the tunnel was bright enough to blind us to what lay beyond, yet we continued anyway, inching closer to the world unknown.

Footnote: Level Up!

Group Perk Added! “When in Doubt, Tweet it Out!”: Your new feathery friend, Aria, will now accompany you through thick and thin. While unable to assist directly in combat, Aria can sense nearby enemies, and lead you in the right direction should you lose your way.

Xileel Perk Added! Animal Whisperer: You may not be able to understand them, but you sure can empathize. You gain a small chance to calm wild animals that have been wounded or trapped by others, as well as an even smaller chance to tame them. This chance increases with the amount of damage sustained.

Chaser Perk Added! Quick Reflexes: Your training at the firing range has enhanced your combat reflexes, allowing you to aim-down-sights and reload quicker with every weapon.

Solani Perk Added! Botanical Know-How: Your adopted parents taught you well. You can collect twice as many ingredients when harvesting wild plants and triple from farms!

Isu Perk Added! Know Thyself: After years of intense training with your Legion relatives, their skills have rubbed off on you. You can control some of your bodily functions and gain a small chance to fool biometric sensors, as well as a boost to Charisma against others.

Thank you all so much for the support! It really means a lot. Huge thanks, again, to fallout_equestria_official for the shout out on their Instagram. Also another huge thanks to Duskhoof, for helping with editing and proofreading. He’s really cool so go check him out on Instagram or FimFiction.