The Society had found us, there was no other explanation. But how had they found us here at all? Was there a pony somewhere in the Stable that had ratted us out or did something else happen? No wonder everypony was on edge right now, so how were we supposed to deal with this?

“Why are they here?” Storm Wrangler muttered it was the same question we were all thinking but had no idea how to answer.

“I don’t know,” I admitted as I took a deep breath and looked over at Charcoal. “Have they made any demands yet?”

“Not yet, but they just arrived,” Charcoal said with a shake of her head. “We shut the door as soon as we realized what was going on. Right now we’re waiting to see what kind of move they make.”

“So, they might not be here because of us,” Neivi said as she adjusted her glasses a little. “But I don’t believe that this is just a coincidence. They’re after something in this Stable, and I don’t like this at all.”

“So, what tha heck do we do?” Storm asked as we all exchanged a look. “Ah mean, we don’t know what’s goin’ on out there. Somethin’ about all of this feels weird ta me.”

“Agreed,” I said with a sigh as I brushed my mane back a little. “Is there any way we can get in contact with them? An intercom system or something maybe?”

“Yeah, that we do have, but do you really think that’s a good idea?” Charcoal asked as she shook her head a little. “It feels like a trap, we can’t just invite them in you know. But at the same time, that door is built to survive a Megaspell blast, so it’s not like they can just walk in, right?”

“No, well unless they’ve already been here and can just teleport in here,” I said, a chill ran up my spine and I’m sure everypony else’s too at that realization. There wasn’t much stopping the Alicorns from just entering the Stable and just taking whatever they wanted. “So, what are they waiting for?”

“I don’t know,” Charcoal said with a shake of her head. “What should we expect if they decide to attack?”

I thought back to what Charcoal had said and what was going on around here. Why hadn’t they attacked the Stable, and why did they even know they were out there? Something about all of this felt wrong like the Society was acting differently than everything I had ever been taught about their tactics.

In fact, it was more like they were… wait, was that possible? That would explain some of their strange behavior when it came to this situation, there was only one way to find out though.

“What were they dressed like?” I asked as I looked at Charcoal.

“Excuse me?” Charcoal asked as she blinked in confusion.

“Were they dressed in black armored robes or something different?” I asked as my friends looked at me confused.

“What in tha nine circles of Tartarus does it matter what they’re dressed like?” Storm Wrangler asked as she tilted her head a little.

“No, they were different,” Charcoal said, she looked as confused as the others. “They were dressed in more ornate robes. They had symbols crossing them that I didn’t recognize as well as a pin that was shaped like a crescent moon. They didn’t look anything like that.”

“That’s not combat armor,” I said as I groaned a little. “They’re ceremonial outfits for major events carried out by the High Priestess. The problem is that it raises a lot of questions, they wouldn’t be in that unless…”

I let that trail off for a moment and looked over at Moonlight as my eyes went wide with realization. Goddess, they were here because of her, I had no idea how they knew she was here, probably a spy or something in the Stable, or the effects of those dreams, or something, but Moonlight had to be the reason.

“Moonlight, they’re here because of you aren’t they?” I asked.

“I was uncertain if my message had gotten through…” Moonlight said, looking to her hooves for a moment. “Please, open the door - if they are here for me, I must go out there and surrender to them, but they may be the guard that listened to me before I came here, then they’re friends.”

“Ah ain’t gonna let yah go out there alone,” Storm said indignantly for a moment. “If we’re openin’ that door then maybe we should try talkin’ ta them first and then if they’re really friendly we can let yah come out.”

“If they aren’t the ones that listened, then you going out there will be one of two things, neither of which is acceptable. I must go out there, alone.” Moonlight said with a sigh, looking to me. “You understand, right?”

“If they’re not the ones that listened, anypony who goes out will be killed or worse,” I said softly. “If you don’t go out there then it would be a death sentence.”

“Ah ain’t gonna…” Storm started to say when Neivi put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Storm, calm down, you know that this is our only option,” the Zebra doctor said softly. “Just trust Moonlight, she can take care of herself if nothing else.”

“I’ll go with her,” I finally said with a sigh. “The rest of you need to stay behind and hold the line in case they turn aggressive. We’ll be okay, just be careful, okay?”

“Ah don’t like it, but fine,” Storm said with a shake of her head.

“No, you need to stay here Firelight.” Moonlight said, sighing once more. “You do not understand if they are not the ones I hope them to be - you are even more likely to be killed them they are. After your interference in Nightingale, the High Priestess wants your head.”

I paused a moment at that and sighed a little. “I don’t like sending you out there alone,” I said softly as I placed my hoof on Moonlight’s shoulder. “You’re our friend Moonlight, and I don’t want you to risk your life out there alone.”

“They wouldn’t risk harming me - not as long as I have this.” Moonlight said, motioning to the breastplate she still wore. “Not to mention the high priestess herself couldn’t budge me with this - they stand no chance if they try and fight.”

Storm moved in close and leaned up as she gave Moonlight a soft kiss on the lips. “Alright Moonlight, Ah trust yah… just be careful fer me okay? Ah don’t want ta lose yah again.”

“Don’t worry Storm, they can’t make me go anywhere I don’t want to go.” Moonlight said with a soft smile, giving Storm a hug. “Stay here, here Firelight’s shield can protect you, worst-case scenario, you see me kick a lot of flank.”

“Alright,” Storm said and smiled softly. “Ah love yah Moonlight.”

“Love you too, Storm.” Moonlight said, giving that pegasus a soft kiss to the forehead before she faced the door. “Alright, I’m ready.”

“I’ll put the shield up the moment you’re out the door,” I said as Charcoal headed over to the door controls and I moved to the door. “Let’s do this.”

Charcoal nodded a little as she activated the door controls. The sound of metal on metal pierced our ears as the large gear shaped door opened up. Beyond I could see the gathered Alicorns, they were just like Charcoal had said. They weren’t dressed for battle, the question now became whether or not they were here to hurt Moonlight.

“Be careful,” I said to Moonlight and gave her a nod as I got ready to put the shield up around the hole where the door was.

Giving a nod to me before she turned and passed through the shield and walked out to the guards, a few moments before I could see her speaking to them, at first it appeared to be an argument. I looked back at my friends who were just as nervous as I was, what was going to happen? If this went badly, were they going to attack and take away everypony in the Stable for conversion?

No, if it came to that I swore to myself that I would do everything I could to stop them and save the ponies of Stable 27. There was a long moment of tension as we waited for some sort of answer from Moonlight, the conversation continued for a minute before something finally happened.

They laughed, I blinked in surprise, they actually laughed loudly enough that we could hear it from the Stable. Moonlight raised her wing and waved us over with it and I blinked a little in surprise.

“I think that means they’re friendly,” I said as I blinked in confusion. “What do you think we should do?”

“Let’s go, but stay on guard,” Neivi said and Storm nodded in agreement. I nodded and removed the shield as we cautiously walked out and towards where Moonlight was talking with the other Alicorns.

“Uh, hello?” I asked as I tried not to look nervous, these were Alicorns that could potentially turn on me at any moment.

“Firelight, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting to see the Firebrand here,” one of the Alicorns that I remembered as being part of another Wing said as she looked me over. “You’ve changed a lot since you left the Temple.”

“Yeah… I’ve been through a lot,” I said softly as I brushed my mane back a little. “You’re all really here because of the message she sent then?”

“The problem with me, is I am like a free radical in a finely tuned machine, being that every Alicorn under the High Priestess’ command has been literally and figuratively brainwashed.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “The fact that I remember life outside the Society, made it really easy to throw a lot of wrenches in the woodwork in a very short period of time.”

“She opened a lot of eyes to the truth,” the Alicorn said with a nod. “When we heard her call, our leader got as many of us out of the Temple and Haythens as would go before the High Priestess realized what was going on.”

“Your leader?” I asked and blinked a little in confusion. “What’s she talking about Moonlight?”

“Many of them still look to me like the goddess, and while they understand I’m not, they still look to me for guidance.” Moonlight said with a nervous chuckle. “It’s kind of like, being a mother to a whole hell of a lot of ponies who are opening their eyes for the first time.”

“You caused a lot of changes in the Society,” a familiar mare’s voice said as the group of Alicorns separated as another one approached. My eyes went wide in surprise when I recognized her as Starshine, the daughter of… no, I corrected myself, this wasn’t Starshine, this was Sparks, my sister, I had to remember that. “You don’t have to be so humble about it, we’re all here because of you Moonlight.”

“Sparks?” I asked softly as the Alicorn turned to look at me. Neither of us spoke for the longest moment, I don’t think either of us really knew what to say as I felt tears starting to well up in my eyes. “I… I can’t do this…”

I turned and ran off back towards the Stable. I wasn’t ready for this kind of thing, no matter how much I wanted to see her again. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to her again as I headed back into the Stable.

What was I supposed to do now?

I keep running through the Stable until I found myself in the atrium. I finally came to a stop, breathing heavily as I leaned against the metal wall of the Atrium, so many questions were running through my mind right now, but none of them had a good answer.

What was I supposed to do? I didn’t even know for sure if she remembered who I was, did Moonlight maybe do the same thing she had done for me? What if she hadn’t? What if I was the only one left who actually remembered what had happened to us?

What if she did remember now and she wouldn’t forgive me for failing to save her all those years ago. I wasn’t even sure if I could forgive myself.

“Firelight, are you okay?” Neivi asked from behind me and I turned to see my marefriend looking at me worriedly. “You scared them back there, why did you run off?”

“It’s… complicated,” I said as I bowed my head a little. “I didn’t think I’d actually see her again so soon after everything that’s happened. I’m still not even used to having these memories, Ember feels like she’s part of me but at the same time, she feels like a completely different pony.”

“Firelight, I know you’re scared about facing this,” Neivi said with a gentle smile as she placed her hoof on my cheek. “I don’t blame you to be honest if I was in the same situation I would be as scared as you are. But you don’t have to go it alone, we’re all here for you, I promise you that.”

“Thank you,” I said softly as I gave the beautiful Zebra mare a smile and rubbed my cheek against her hoof and smiled gently. “Still, it’s not exactly something that I’m not sure I’m really ready for. I don’t even know if she remembers me right now…”

“Firelight, she remembers you,” Neivi said with a sigh. “Its where Moonlight learned about you, remember? I didn’t stay long to hear a lot, but she seemed worried about you after you ran off.”

In my panic, it had slipped my mind that Moonlight had told me that, or maybe I had just figured it was a subconscious thing. Somehow that only did a little to actually allay my fears, she remembered me and I remembered her, so what was I supposed to do now?

“I don’t know what to do,” I finally said with a sigh as I closed my eyes. “I still don’t feel like the pony that she used to know as her sister even if she does remember both of us. I’m scared Neivi, I’m scared that she’s going to hate me because I failed, that she’s going to hate me because I’m not Ember.”

“I think given her situation, she will understand,” Neivi said as she shook her head a little bit. “But I have to disagree with you about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve always unknowingly carried a part of Ember with you, that’s what I think,” Neivi said with a soft smile. “You’re kind, protective, and you would do everything you can to help those you care about. I think more of Ember got into Firelight than anything else, and I doubt your sister would hate you.”

“So, what do you think I should do?” I asked.

“Firelight, if you don’t think you’re ready to talk to her, then you don’t have to,” Neivi said. “If you ask me though, you’ve got nothing to worry about. There’s only one thing you really need to know, she’s family, and she feels like she needs to help you.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said and sighed softly. “It doesn’t make this any easier, you know? Talking to her would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Harder than talking to me?” Neivi said with a slight smirk. “Though I seem to recall you running away from that too.”

“That… yeah, I’m not very good at talking to ponies am I?” I said with a sigh as I looked away. “I really am sorry about that Neivi, I guess it’s because of my upbringing in the Society. They trained me to fight, not really to do much else most of the time.”

“Firelight, just because you were raised by the Society doesn’t make you any better or worse than anypony else,” Neivi said with a gentle smile. “What makes you a good pony is that you want to help others and do the right thing. Unfortunately, you do also have a problem with your feelings as a result, but you make the right choice, eventually.”

“Aren’t you a little biased about what the right choice was when it came to you?” I asked with a slight smirk.

“Maaaybe,” Neivi said with a laugh. “But I’m still not wrong, and your friends are here with you to help you. Especially me.”

“Thanks, Neivi,” I said as I nuzzled her and wrapped my wings gently around her. “I’m so lucky to have you.”

We held that hug for the longest moment as I held her close to my chest. The warmth of her striped body pressed against mine was one that I never grew tired of. Maybe it was because I had never felt that kind of warmth before, at least that I could remember, or because of how much I loved her.

And I never wanted to let her go, she really was the best thing that had ever happened to me. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, soon enough I would have to get back to the others, but for now, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Firelight?” Neivi asked as we stood in front of the door that would take us to the Stable entrance and to my sister. “I mean, I’m sure she’d understand if you wanted to wait a bit longer.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I admitted with a soft sigh. “But I do know that I can’t avoid this forever. I’m going to have to face her eventually, just promise me that you’ll be by my side okay?”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” Neivi said with a smile as she nuzzled me gently. “I don’t think anypony would blame you for being scared though. Storm and Moonlight are waiting for you out there.”

I nodded a little and we pushed the door open as we walked into the entrance area for the Stable where Storm and Moonlight were waiting. The Pegasus looked up at us worriedly for a moment. “Are yah gonna be okay, Firelight?”

“Honestly? I dunno,” I admitted with a shake of my head. “Is, she okay? I didn’t scare her or worry her or anything did I?”

“Well, Ah ain’t gonna lie, she was a bit confused,” Storm said as she adjusted her hat a little bit. “Yah ran off unexpectedly and Ah think she was excited ta finally see yah again. What are yah gonna do now?”

“I guess I’m going to try and talk to her again,” I said with a sigh before I looked at Moonlight. “Is there anything else I should know about her?”

“You know about as much as I do, she’s very secretive, even in the dreamscape.” Moonlight said with a shake of her head. “But she knows who you are, and I think she’s already come to terms with everything. I mean, you woke her like you woke me.”

“I woke her?” I asked as I blinked a little in confusion. “I think I’d remember doing that…”

“You would if you remembered before you had your… bath.” Moonlight said, frowning a bit. “She was fresh from hers, and you started to plead to her, this I do know, and you broke through and made her remember.”

I blinked a little in surprise at that. I had actually woken her up? What did this mean? Could I do that to any Alicorn or just ones that were recently converted? I filed those questions away for later, there was something else that I had to wonder about.

“Why didn’t she tell me before?” I asked with a sigh. “Why did she spend the last 6 years lying to me?”

“It’s commonplace for a young pony to associate things. She remembered the pain she went through, and the pain that you trying to interact with her gave the both of you - she associated those together, and decided silence was better, to save the both of you any more harm.” Moonlight said, shaking her head. “She was afraid that if she tried to talk to you, let you know who she was, that the High Priestess would hurt both of you again, as a punishment.”

“That… makes sense,” I said with a sigh as I looked down at my hooves. “I can’t imagine what she’s been going through this whole time.”

“There is a more pressing matter though.” Moonlight said, Looking past me to Neivi. “We know that the transformation causes memory loss through trauma, and can be reversed shortly afterward. But talking to her, getting her to share these things - it may make you remember, not even the society knows how this whole memory recovery thing works”

“And if I do get my memory back… not all of it might be happy,” I said softly. “I may not even be the same pony I was before. Would I still see you as my friends? Would I still love Neivi?”

“And that is the concern that the Society was exposing in their research after me.” Moonlight said, putting a hoof to my chest. “There is no promise that if you do remember, that you’ll also remember these past 6 years of your life, or if you do, how much of it will remain as it was.”

“What do we do if she forgets the last 6 years?” Neivi asked with a frown. “She’s our friend, and while I do want her memory back… I honestly don’t know what to think.”

“Keep in mind, there is no promise, either way, she could remember everything crystal clear, or she may never get her memory back. That’s the thing, no pony other than myself and your sister have had this happen, and neither of us was available for in-depth study” Moonlight said, shaking her head once more. “All I can suggest is ask your sister to not speak of the past, not until we know more.”

“Will she do that?” I asked as I looked between them. “And how exactly would we study it? We can’t just turn somepony into an Alicorn against their will and try to get through to them.”

“Maybe against their will… but what if we had a volunteer?” Moonlight said with a sigh. “I don’t like it, but it’d help us understand, not to mention we have many Alicorns here, some from this very stable, and we can try and get their memories to come back to see what happens.”

“We’d have to find one that was transformed recently to increase our odds,” Neivi said as she sighed a little and adjusted her glasses. “Not to mention finding volunteers is possible if we had to do that. IMP can heal a lot of ailments, but there are a lot of ethical problems with it, especially if it doesn’t work.”

“We know we can recover memories, and that it can heal the elderly and the dying, so what’s so unethical about it?” Moonlight said with a frown. “We’d be offering those on death’s doorstep a new lease on life and many many years to live it, We’d be doing them a favor.”

“Can we actually guarantee that their memories will be recovered though?” I asked. “I mean, I did it twice, but with you Moonlight it was also with Citrus there. I, honestly don’t know if I’m comfortable with this if we’re not even 100% sure it’ll work.”

“True, but if you never try how will we ever know, do you really never want to remember ever again?” Moonlight said, cocking her head to the side. “Do you really want to stay as you are, with all you ever know is the Society?”

“Well, no,” I said with a shake of my head. “I would like to know more about the pony I used to be. Still, I’m a bit worried about the risks.”

“Well, you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.” Moonlight said, smiling a little. “To get your memory back we need to test and study, for Neivi to find a cure she needs to examine recently transformed ponies - Sure, we may not be able to recover everypony’s memories, but I think if they volunteered for it, they knew the risks and they accepted the things that they’d help us gain are far more beneficial than a few memories.”

“She is right, I’ve been working on a cure when I can but there’s only so much I can do,” Neivi said with a sigh. “And if they’re not exposed to the Society even if their memories aren’t restored they can re-learn who they are from those close to them. The process doesn’t make them into Society ponies, the Society just takes advantage of the memory wipe process to convince ponies to join.”

“Right,” I said with a sigh. “Alright, if you can find volunteers and expose them to everything that could give them a chance of recovering the memories, we can do that.”

“Now, my question to you - is when are you going to stop stalling?” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “Or are we going to stand here all day arguing the ethics of something rather than you go out there and talk to her.”

“You were the one who… never mind,” I said with a sigh as I looked back out at the hole that leads out of the Stable. “I don’t know if I can do this…”

“You’ll be fine Firelight, I’ll be right by your side,” Neivi said as she patted me on the back and smiled a little. “Come on, you’re going to do just fine.”

“I hope so,” I said as we walked through the Stable door together. I took a deep breath, I wasn’t sure what to expect honestly. Sparks was standing there talking with some of the other Alicorns when she looked back towards me and gave me a smile.

“Hey, Ember… or would you prefer Firelight?” Sparks asked with a gentle smile as she walked back over to us.

“Firelight is fine,” I said as I tried not to make eye contact with my sister. “I’m sorry Sparks, I feel like this is all my fault. Maybe if I had done something to save you we wouldn’t be in this situation, I barely even remember what happened back then, but I feel like I should have done more.”

“You did enough,” Sparks said as she placed her hoof gently on my shoulder. “You saved me, nothing changes that. You’re my sister and I just want a chance to save you, okay?”

“Not yet,” I said as I looked away from her and she blinked in confusion. “It’s not that I don’t want to know more about who I am, but I’m afraid that if Ember comes fully back, I’ll lose everything from the last six years.”

I looked back at my friends, and especially Neivi. She gave me a nod as she smiled a little at me.

“Yeah, a lot of bad happened, but recently so much good has come out of it,” I said as I looked back at Sparks for a moment. “I broke free of the Society on my own. I have friends, friends that don’t care about my past. And Neivi, she loves me unconditionally, she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t want to lose that.”

“I understand,” Sparks said as she hugged me gently. “I’d never ask you to give that up, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you, even if it's not the sister I remember. I just wanted to have you back.”

I smiled a little as I weakly hugged her. This wasn’t so bad, maybe I really didn’t have anything to worry about. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, with everything that was going on it was nice to actually know that I had a family out there. It took me a moment before I realized there was something else that I needed to know, but I didn't know if I should ask her just yet.

What happened to my parents?

“So, what are you going to do now?” I asked as I backed off just a little bit. “There’s quite a lot of you here.”

“Many of them want to go back home to Nightingale or one of the other settlements around here, some are from here in Stable 27 too,” Sparks said with a sigh. “The rest of us don’t have anything left to go to. Our settlements were completely cleared out by the Society or they moved on or were killed off by some other threat, so honestly… we don’t know what to do.”

I flinched a little at that. I hadn’t considered that possibility. The Society had ruined so many lives, I had no idea what to do honestly, I couldn’t leave them alone in the jungle, but what other options were there?

“We’ll figure something out,” I said with a soft smile. “I wish there was something else I could do though.”

“Didn’t Nightingale take multiple refugees from the raided or destroyed settlements?” Moonlight said, poking at my side. “I’d say they are refugees too.”

“It's true, Nightingale has enough space for them,” Neivi said as she walked up to us with Storm Wrangler. “It might get a little tight in some places depending on how many need a place to live, but we can manage.”

“Mah only concern is that ya’ll might make ponies a bit nervous,” Storm said as she adjusted her hat a little. “Even Firelight and Moonlight aren’t completely trusted in Nightingale after everythin’ that has happened. It’ll take a lot of convincin’ if we want ta make it work.”

“Except Storm - you’re failing to consider one thing, many of the Alicorns here were from Nightingale, to begin with - going home, seeing family and friends who recognize them may help get their memory back as well as ease everyone’s fears.” Moonlight said, smiling a bit more. “I mean, neither I nor Firelight was from Nightingale, so their apprehension about us is expected and normal.”

“Yah have a point there,” Storm said with a shrug. “We can talk ta them about it before everythin’ goes down. Alright, Ah’ll make sure that everythin’ is takin’ care of.”

“We would appreciate that,” Sparks said with a soft smile. “Thank you for being willing to help us out. I know that all of this is unexpected.”

“You’re family,” I said with a soft smile. “I may not remember you well, but I know that much. I just hope that we really can do everything we can to help.”

“Well, if all else fails I’m sure we can talk Soia and the others into letting them into the underground,” Neivi said thoughtfully. “It won’t be nearly as comfortable, but it would be somewhere to go at least.”

“I’ve had to live with that monster for the last six years, after that anything would be paradise,” Sparks said with a shake of her head. “Whatever is needed, we will be happy to do what we can to prove we can be trusted.”

“Any who are not comfortable living among the ponies of Nightingale can obviously set off and create their own homes of course. I happen to know of a plot of land that was home to a once great village, with a newly recovered town bell.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “Just, don’t be quick to tear down burnt buildings, there might be important things there.”

“I will tell them the news,” Sparks said with a smile. “Thank you, this is the best news we’ve heard in a long time. Moonlight, you may not be a Goddess, but you have saved a lot of lives here. Thank you, from all of us.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Moonlight said, smiling to Sparks. “We don’t know how the High Priestess will respond when she realizes that not only I - but a large legion of her soldiers have defected, she may cut her losses and leave us alone, or try her hardest to get us back.”

“Knowing her, I’m afraid that the latter is more likely,” Sparks said with a frown. “And things are going to get worse. To fight back, she’s going to have to go on a “recruitment drive” to recoup the losses before she can do anything.”

“Which means every settlement in the jungle and beyond is suddenly in more danger,” I said as my eyes went wide.

“Yes and no, but don’t be rash.” Moonlight said, sighing. “See, the settlements around here are unlikely to be targeted, simply because they are on alert, and with the weakened forces she has, she’s more likely to suffer losses. Not to mention the rise of a group that calls themselves the Guardians - I only heard a rumor, but apparently, they are massively powerful unicorns that can challenge an entire platoon of Alicorns.”

“So, what do you think she’s going to do now?” I asked as I looked between them. “Send out missionaries into the wasteland as they supposedly did on occasion to Lost Cove back in the day?”

“That sounds likely to me, especially with even the slightest idea of the ‘goddess’ having returned lending a lot of credence to her claims,” Moonlight said with a sigh. “But, at least I am out of her control.”

“So, what do we do now?” I asked as I looked between all of them for a moment. “We can’t stay here forever and Lemon Lime and the fillies are probably wondering when we’ll be back to Nightingale.”

“Moonlight, that’s up to you,” Neivi said as she adjusted her glasses a little. “Citrus and your daughter are here. Would you like to spend more time here with them or for another reason?”

“I think it would be best if I left.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “As much as it pains me, I know that me being here makes the stable very on edge, not to mention the whole, constant emission of low-level radiation.”

“Alright,” I said. “Moonlight, I think you should at least say your good-byes. Whenever we’re all ready we’ll head back to Nightingale, any objections?”

Neivi and Storm shook their heads as Sparks went back to talk to the other Alicorns and explain the plan to them. I just hoped that this really was going to work out for them.

“Thank you,” I said as I turned to Moonlight. “All of this is because of you, thank you for helping my sister and the others make it out of a bad situation.”

“I only did what I felt was right.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “Though my eagerness to do what’s right put a lot of ponies in danger, and as much as I can feel good for the few I saved, I have to question how many I’ve damned.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I said with a sigh. “It’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to stop the Society one way or another. And we’re going to need help for that, get the word out more. I’m sure if we talked to Vox he’d be willing to help with that, but we’re going to need something more…”

I paused a moment and looked thoughtful for a moment. I thought back to the past six years, a name came to my mind. Well, two names actually, but one of them had vanished from the airwaves right before the other one came back.

“What’s on your mind, Firelight?” Neivi asked.

“Do we know of any caravans or whatever that head north?” I asked and Neivi blinked a little in confusion.

“Uh, sure, there’s a few that have managed to avoid the Society and head to Neigh Orleans,” she said with a confused tilt of her head. “What are you thinking?”

“We need somepony who can start spreading the word of how dangerous the Society is on a broad scale,” I said and closed my eyes. “Is it possible we could get word to DJ Pon3?”

“I think I get what you’re onto there.” Moonlight said, tapping her chin. “Spread the word of the dangers of the Society, make it harder to recruit naive ponies, maybe even recruit some eager soldiers willing to put their lives on the line to shut down the threat”

“Even if DJ Pon3 won’t be able to get the word out as immediately as we’d need, Caravans can still spread the word,” Neivi said. “Many of these caravans have been trading with settlements for years, they’re trusted and their information will spread out. I think, either way, this might work.”

“Let’s just hope its enough,” Storm said with a sigh as she shook her head a little as she nuzzled Moonlight gently. “Are yah gonna be okay Moonlight? Ah know this can’t be easy on yah either.”

“I’ll be fine, in time.” Moonlight said, looking down at that armored plate she still wore. “I think we should go and find those Guardians next, they might have some information that can be useful against the Society.”

“I agree,” Neivi said. “We’ll head back to Nightingale and get the Alicorns worked out there and everything, and then that’ll be our next destination. Sounds like we have a plan for what to do.”

“Yeah,” I said as I draped my wing gently over Neivi and smiled.

It was time to go back to Nightingale finally.

Me, Neivi, and Storm made our way back through the jungle towards Nightingale. Moonlight had decided to stay behind at Stable 27 with the Alicorns to help collect her thoughts and she’d meet up with us back at Nightingale before we left to meet these, Guardians.

“Do either of you know what these Guardians are?” I asked as we headed down the rough trail that would take us to the settlement.

“Not really anything other than what Moonlight said,” Neivi said with a shake of her head. “They’re apparently from a settlement a ways away and the most we’ve heard are third hoof accounts.”

“If we’re gonna get any sort of help in dealin’ with tha Society, it would definitely be a good place ta start,” Storm said. “At least assumin’ that tha rumors are more than a lot of hooey. Still, we can’t fight tha Society alone, and tha Enclave ain’t gonna get involved unless tha Society gives them a reason ta get involved.”

“But they’ve gone after Nightingale in the past,” I pointed out. “And it’s now allied with the Enclave, isn’t that a reason to get involved?”

“Key part of that is in tha past, tha Enclave can’t do anythin’ that might spread their forces too thin,” Storm said with a shake of her head. “As long as tha Society doesn’t do anythin’ that can be seen as an act of war against tha Enclave, they’re gonna stay out of it.”

“But can’t they just…” I started to say but Neivi interrupted me this time.

“If they just attacked the Society it risks them escaping and claiming an unprovoked attack, the President is smarter than that,” she said with a shake of her head as we approached the walls of Nightingale. We were let through the gate without much trouble, it was good to be back here, it felt like I was back home.

Home, I never thought about just how much this settlement had come to feel like home since I had first arrived here.

“Alright, I’m going to talk to the rest of the Council about the Alicorn situation. You two go check on Lemon and the fillies, I’ll meet up with you later, okay?” Neivi asked as she started up a set of stairs towards the council building.

“Okay,” I said with a slight smile as I went and gave her a quick kiss. “I love you Neivi, good luck up there.”

“Thanks,” Neivi said as she headed back up the stairs. I turned around, though my eye lingered on her retreating flanks for a moment before I turned back to Storm who chuckled a little as I blushed deeply and tried to pretend like I hadn’t been staring.

“Yah know since ya’ll are a couple now yah don’t have ta be embarrassed about starin’ at yer marefriend’s flanks,” Storm said with a chuckle as she started up another set of stairs towards me and Moonlight’s house.

“Sorry, its a force of habit,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head a little as we walked. “If I’m being honest, I’m sometimes afraid I’ll mess up with her.”

“Yah won’t,” Storm said with a smile. “Neivi loves yah, and she’s tha kind of Zebra who would love yah no matter what. Things might not always be easy, and Ah can’t promise that there won’t be bumps in tha road, but what matters is that yah make up. There ain’t no such thing as a perfect relationship, just try not ta lose what yah have.”

“Uh, thanks, I think,” I said as I tried to piece together what the accented Pegasus had said. “Do you think the fillies have been okay with us gone?”

“Ah’m sure they’re fine,” Storm said as we approached the small house. “Ah’m sure that Lemon took good care of ‘em. Come on, Ah think yer gettin’ worried about nothin’.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” I said as I pushed the door open and smiled at the sound of little hooves running over to us as Dawn Star and Blueberry hugged me tightly. “Hey you two, sorry we were gone so long.”

“Is everything okay? Did you save Moonlight?” Dawn Star asked as Lemon Lime and Windchime came in from one of the adjoining rooms. “Tell us everything!”

I laughed a little as I ruffled the filly’s mane gently. After everything that happened, it was really good to see them again as I hugged them gently and gestured for Windchime to come and join us.

“Don’t worry, Moonlight is fine, she stayed back in Stable 27 for a little longer and will be back as soon as possible,” I said with a nod. “Did anything happen while we were gone?”

“Not really, Nightingale has been pretty quiet,” Lemon Lime said as she and Windchime walked over to us. “A few caravans came through and that’s about it. There haven’t been any more disappearances since the Enclave moved in, so that is something at least.

I breathed a small sigh of relief at that. The Society really would be stupid to get on the Enclave’s bad side at this point and for now, that meant that Nightingale was protected from them as long as it was under Enclave protection.

It meant that these three fillies were protected from them. I smiled a little and nuzzled them each in turn.

“Well, I’m glad everything is okay,” I said and sighed a little. “Storm, can you keep an eye on them? I want to talk to Lemon about something.”

“Yeah, come on, let Auntie Storm entertain ya’ll while yer momma Firelight talks with Lemon,” Storm said as she and the fillies started out of the room.

“I’m not their…” I started to say before Storm shot me a look and shook her head a little which silenced me as they headed into the next room.

“They really are starting to see you and Neivi as parents, kind of,” Lemon said as she shook her head a little. “I know that’s not something you feel like you’re ready for Firelight, but you’ll have to face it eventually.”

“I know,” I said as I brushed my mane back a little. “I don’t know if I can though, I’ve still got a lot that I’m trying to process, even more now that I’m back really. I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of responsibility and I don’t know how I can tell them that.”

“Firelight, just promise me that you’ll think about it,” Lemon said with a shake of her head. “They need some sort of stability in their lives. I know you two aren’t often in town, but I also know that there’s a lot you could do to help them. Its something to consider at least, now what did you want to talk to me about?”

I took a deep breath and explained to her everything that had happened in Stable 27. I saw her eyes go wide as she heard about it, it couldn’t be easy for her to process, not that I blamed her for that. It was hard to believe that all of that had happened and I had lived through it.

When I finally finished the old earth pony Ghoul frowned a little and sighed. “That’s a lot to take in, you know?” She asked and I nodded a little. “That explains why Moonlight and Neivi aren’t here at least, this is going to be a hard sell to anypony.”

“I know,” I sighed. “But there aren’t a lot of other options. These ponies are just trying to escape the Society and Moonlight trusts them, so I’m pretty sure they can be trusted. At least I’m sure that my sister can be.”

“Hopefully you’re right,” Lemon said with a shake of her head. “It sounds like Moonlight left more of an impression on them than we thought. Its still going to be a hard sell though, even if they’re refugees there are a lot of ponies who won’t immediately trust them.”

“A lot of them are from Nightingale originally,” I said with a sigh. “We think that it might be possible to reverse the memory wipe process, but at the very least they can start to reclaim their old lives that the Society took away from them. I just wish that I could do the same.”

“Firelight, what happened to you was wrong, but you’re trying to do do what you can to stop it from happening to anypony else,” Lemon said with a smile. “And from the sounds of things your sister is still herself. You’ve still got something you can get back, and plus you have a family here. You’re lucky really, my family died years ago and I can’t even risk going into Stable 27 to see Citrus or anypony else because of, well this.”

“Yeah, but we’re still with you,” I said as I placed my hoof on her shoulder. “We’re your friends, and while I know that’s not the same as having your daughter back, we’re going to be here for you whenever you need it. We’re your family just as much as you are mine.”

“Thanks, Firelight,” Lemon said with a nod. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“I think I have an idea,” I said with a chuckle as the door to the house opened and Neivi walked inside. “Any luck convincing the rest of the council to allow the Alicorns into Nightingale?”

“It took some convincing but they’re willing to give it a chance,” Neivi said with a sigh as she moved over next to me. “Though if this backfires, they’re going to have all our heads, you know that right?”

“I know,” I said with a sigh as I wrapped my wing gently around the Zebra next to me. “We’re going to manage somehow though. This is our best chance to help these ponies and give them a second chance at life. I just hope that it works.”

“Me too,” Neivi said as she rested up against me and closed her eyes a little. “Are you feeling okay Firelight? I know finding your sister again was a shock, are you sure you’re ready for this?”

“Honestly? I don’t know,” I admitted as I shook my head a little bit. “But I know that this is the best place for them right now. Nightingale has become my home, and I’d like to see it become the same for these Alicorns.”

“I’m sure it will,” Neivi said as she leaned up and kissed me gently on the cheek. “They’re going to be okay, we just need time to make sure everypony knows the situation.”

I nodded a little as Lemon smiled and headed back into the adjoining room as we stayed like that for the longest moment. We were going to have to face this future together, all of us, normal pony, Zebra, or Alicorn.

I just hoped that we could.

A few hours later as it started to get dark the Alicorns that had not stayed behind at Stable 27 or went to one of the other settlements had arrived. It felt like all of Nightingale had come to see the Alicorns arrive, some of them seemed nervous, others seemed curious. There was a buzz of conversation in the settlement as they waited for something to happen.

The gates finally opened as Moonlight and Sparks came in with the gates closing a second later. I smiled a little as we approached them and gave them a nod.

“How’d it go?” I asked.

“Well, some of the settlements weren’t easy to convince, but we got it worked out,” Sparks said with a nod. “What about Nightingale?”

“We’re willing to give it a chance at least,” Neivi said with a sigh. “I can’t promise it will be easy though. Still, you have the Council’s support and assurances that any trouble started by non-Alicorns will be taken seriously.”

“That’s good,” Sparks said with a nod as she looked around. “This is impressive, I had heard stories about settlements built out of the trees like this but I’ve never actually seen it for myself. It’s like something out of an old fantasy book.”

“I think we can thank the Zebra for that.” Moonlight said with a chuckle. “Though sometimes I think they read the same storybooks and modeled these off it.”

Neivi just laughed a little at that as she looked back at the town itself. “I always thought it was just the best way to keep protected from the wildlife on the ground, but you might be right.”

“So, what are we going to do now?” Sparks asked, her tone turning serious.

“We’ve got buildings set aside for you and the other Alicorns, like I said it might be a bit of a tight fit in places but we should have enough room for all of you,” Neivi said with a nod. “Those with families still in town will have the option to move to family housing once they start to be re-integrated into their families better. It’s the best we can do right now.”

“Understood,” Sparks said with a sad nod. “We’re just glad we have some place to stay, it’s better than being on the run from the Society at all times.”

“Are yah okay, Moonlight?” Storm asked as she trotted over to her marefriend. “Did ev’rythin’ go okay after we left?”

“I just asked for as much information on these ‘Guardians’ that the society had, not a lot - some are thinking it’s just a ruse to give ponies hope.” Moonlight said with a sigh. “Either way, we need to find them, even if they are just a ruse we have no know who we can count on and who we can’t”

“Now that you’re here we can check in to see if any of the traders in town have heard anything from caravans or something,” Neivi added and I nodded a little. “Really, even if it just turns out to be a rumor we might have the right idea here. The problem with fighting the Society is that settlements have almost always done it alone, we’re going to need friends if we’re going to do this.”

“Ah agree,” Storm said with a nod. “We can’t just rely on tha Enclave, they’ve got their own problems ta deal with. What we need is ta get tha settlements ta work more closely together, get an alliance of sorts goin’. Tha question is, how are we gonna convince ‘em ta do that?”

“We’ll figure it out,” I said and gave them a nod. “But for now, I think there’s a more pressing matter we need to deal with. Shall we welcome the new citizens of Nightingale to their new home?”

“Yeah,” Sparks said and looked at me sadly for a moment before turning to Neivi. “We’re ready whenever you are unless Moonlight has something to add.”

“No no, you go ahead - I still have a lot to think about, and things to consider.” Moonlight said with a slight smile. “You guys go on, I’ll be here if you need me.”

I nodded as Neivi waved to the ponies manning the gates as they opened back up to reveal the Alicorns outside. They were a much smaller group than before, though it was still a large amount of Alicorns. I wondered if we really would be able to help all of them as Sparks walked forward and took a deep breath.

“We all made a choice to leave the Temple because we believed in what Moonlight had told us,” she said as she addressed them. It was impressive really, she was young but she commanded their attention. “We left the only lives we knew because you decided that it wasn’t right. We’ve been given a chance to live among those that our former masters have wronged, and while this isn’t going to be easy for them or for us, we have to do everything we can to prove that we aren’t the monsters they think we are. I ask nothing more of you than I do of myself because this is our new home, one given to us out of kindness and generosity. We do not want to do anything to take advantage or ruin that kindness.”

She turned to me and smiled a little as I nodded. The Alicorns nodded in agreement and with Sparks at the lead they started into the city. They looked like they were just as much in awe of it as me and Sparks did, I wondered if any of them had actually gotten a chance to see the city like this.

The ponies of Nightingale stared at the newly arrived Alicorns and a silence fell over the area as both groups stared at each other. For a moment I was half afraid that this was all going to turn out to be a cruel trick, that either the Alicorns were going to attack or the ponies were going to attack them.

But neither of that happened, instead, out of the corner of my eye I saw a stirring in the crowd of ponies as a small Unicorn colt came into view. He looked at one of the Alicorns nervously for a moment before tears welled up in his eyes and he ran forward and hugged the Alicorn tightly.

“Mommy, you’re back!” He said as he buried his muzzle in her chest, I could still hear him crying. She looked confused as she stared down at the small pony hugging her. “I never thought I’d see you again…”

I was about to say something when it happened. The Alicorn wrapped her foreleg around him gently as she started to cry too. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes as she hugged the colt with her forelegs and held him close, stroking his mane gently as she did.

I didn’t know if it was a sign of her remembering something or if it was just some remnant of her old self shining through but this Alicorn seemed to recognize her son. I smiled a little at that and looked at Neivi.

“What do you think Neivi?”

“I think, we have a long way to go, but its a step in the right direction,” Neivi said as she nuzzled me gently and we watched the two stay there for the longest moment.

Such a simple thing, but it gave so much hope for the future.

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: The Negotiator.
Details: You've gained a better understanding of Wasteland politics and how to help settlements and ponies work together. You get an extra boost to speech when talking with members of friendly settlements or factions.