The thing about happiness is that you only realize you had it when it's gone.

By midday, we had arrived at the station. There weren't anymore troubles after our stand against the ferals at the checkpoint. A red marker would pop up here and there on my E.F.S., only to disappear shortly after. Probably a radroach or a radhog.

Something we had noticed was that the caravan that was supposed to be returning to Virtue from the station hadn't met us along the road, or the hill over the tunnel. I had only hoped that they decided to take the route on the opposite side of the checkpoint; the one we didn't take.

The station was more like a depot... Exactly that, actually.

A series of tracks left through a gate, while the rest of the compound was fenced off and barricaded. In the distance was a giant concrete building where all the tracks led to. There were windows along the top, some of which were shattered.

Canvas tents were pitched, and older buildings were reinforced with the scraps of whatever they had at their disposal. Some of them, however, may as well have been held together by duct tape and wonderglue.

The front of a steam engine was poked out of the blue, steel gates of the massive structure. The headlight sent a bright beam through the thin fog as it waited on the tracks.

Two NCR grunts waited at the front gate, eyeing us as we approached.

The caravaneer that hauled the wagon stopped before them, pulling out some papers. One of the grunts took them, reading them over carefully. With that, he turned around and proceeded for a desk near the fence. He grabbed a stamp and slammed it down on the bottom of the first sheet, then returned it to the caravaneer.

"Go." Was all he said as they stood guard.

Meanwhile, the guards on the other side opened the gate for us.

"What's with the extra security?" I asked, looking around in wonder as we made our way forward.

"Fester wants this place, so that he can 'expand his interests.'" Thunderwing said with a disturbed look on her face. "That wrinkly sack of flesh doesn't know when to quit. Fuck, if he had an opportunity to take the whole world, I'm sure he'd accept it in a heartbe..." She frowned, thinking to herself. "He's a ghoul..." She muttered as she rubbed her chin with a wing, trying to come up with an accurate statement. "I'm sure he'd accept it in someone else's heartbeat?" Finally, she shrugged and looked me over as she started to trail off from the rest of the caravan, towards one of the buildings with a poor excuse of reinforced structural support and integrity. "Let's get something to drink. I could use a bottle of whiskey or two, after a trek like that."

Two? Yeah, have fun dying from alcohol poisoning...

"Can I take a rain check?" I asked. "I really should go and figure out what's wrong with their train car."

She nodded with a faint smile. "Right. Forgot you accepted that mechanic job. Alright, I'll let you get to it, then. If you need me, you know where I'll be." She moved in for a hug, and I returned the favor.

After a short while, we parted ways. She walked off to the nearest bar, and I to the nearest soldier, who was just walking past the building across from the bar; his rifle holstered.

"Hey." I said casually as I caught up.

He turned his head to look at me, then stopped once he noticed I was trying to get his attention. "Yeah?"

I stopped before him, smiling faintly. "I was hired to help restore one of the train cars here to working order."

"Okay." He said simply.

There was a moment of silence as we stood there, looking at each other. The more the silence carried on, the more awkward it got.

"Well..." I cleared my throat. "Can you... tell me where to find the car?"

He pointed a hoof over to the giant building, before continuing on his patrol.

Two guards and a sentry bot stood at the entrance, behind a barrier of sandbags. The soldiers, upon seeing my approach, readied up for any trouble. I continued on my way, regardless. I wasn't trouble, so I had nothing to worry about.

"Who are you?" One of them asked.

"Just here for the job." I reached into my pouch, and within a fraction of a second, all their guns were on me. "Whoa, hey..." I froze, looking at the three. "I'm just pulling out a note..." I gently slipped my hoof out of the pouch and reached out to them; the paper to the job resting on it. One of the soldiers stepped forward, grabbed it, and read quietly to themselves.

"I'm just here to fix your car. Well... also because I came in with one of the caravans." I smiled sheepishly.

"Came here from Virtue, I imagine. Not gonna ask again. Who are you?"

I really didn't want to give my name out to anyone in the NCR, but... there was no way out of this, was there? Unless...

"My name is Churro."

"And I'm in charge of the NCR." One of them stated, glaring at me. "So how about the truth?"

I sighed before answering. "My name is Charger."

The two of them froze before looking at each other and whispering.

"Yeah, yeah..." I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Don't cream yourselves..."

They returned to me after a few seconds.

"Go on in and take care of the car, but if anyone in there finds you snooping around, you're going to be shot."

"The sentry will escort you to the car." The other guard replied, handing me the slip of paper. I stuffed it in my pouch as the sentry turned towards the door, rolling forward. The door was the same as the one for the library in Stable 32.

It slid down, granting access to the sentry, which I began following.

The inside of the building looked even bigger than it did on the outside.

There was an office to my left with two ponies inside, talking to each other. It looked serious, but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. They must have restored the windows to that part of the building, because they looked perfect. Maybe a bit dirty, but I didn't see so much as a crack in the glass.

The stallion paced around the room frantically, while the mare stood there, still and silent, and without a care.

Her coat was a dark purple, while her eyes were a slightly light shade of the same color. Her mane and tail were both dark blue, with streaks of purple. Her cutiemark was a ball of fiery light.

His coat was a dark blue; his eyes dark brown. His short mane and tail were a dark grey, and his cutiemark was a train.

The still one with tired eyes moved her mouth, and the stallion stopped his pacing to look back at her for a few seconds, before slamming his hoof down on the table between them, shouting. It was muffled, but I still couldn't really make out what he was saying. If only I could read lips...

His eyes quickly shifted from her to me, and she turned to look, keeping up that surprising careless attitude as her eyes met mine.

I quickly turned away and continued following the sentry.

The majority of the inside - at least, on the first floor - was the series of train tracks, all of which led to one circular pad that looked like it was able to rotate. I could only imagine it was to turn a locomotive around. That was a convenient thing to have around...

The sentry and I moved across the concrete walkway along the side of the tracks, towards that circular, metal pad.

There was a metal stairway that went up to a series of catwalks, which led into rooms formed by steel walls, floors, and ceilings. One of those led up to the windows at the top of the building.

There was also a bridge for hoof traffic on the first floor to get across the series of tracks to the other side, which was pretty much the same as the side we were on.

The sentry rolled down a small ramp and made its way to the platform that could potentially rotate. I stepped on soon after, and the sentry stopped and turned around to face me, saying nothing all the while.

Then the platform jolted, before rotating and... descending. Descending down a big hole underneath the building. Okay, this was unexpected...

Lights scrolled up the sides of the hole as we went deeper. After a few minutes, I looked up to find I could barely see the top anymore. There was only a small speck of light above.

Then the lift stopped abruptly.

I looked around my surroundings, only for darkness to greet me with its presence. There was the flicking of switches, and then...

With several loud thuds that echoed throughout the underground facility, came light. Flood lights, too.

I covered my eyes at the blinding view for a short while, until my eyes adjusted accordingly.

When I moved it away, I found myself in a station with several other trains much like the one above me, along with cars and engines, many of which had been stripped for parts.

Many of these locomotives seemed severely damaged, and in desperate need of repair. Some of them seemed to be in the process of it, actually. Though, at this moment, no one was down here but me and the sentry that guided me to my destination.

I followed as the sentry rolled down the set of tracks, which gradually dispersed into several other sets, a lot of which were occupied by many of the other locomotives.

"Sure they don't need help with a lot more than just a car...?" I muttered as I examined the broken machinery around me.

The sentry didn't reply, but I didn't expect it to anyways.

After several minutes of walking down the brightly lit tunnel, the sentry came to a stop at a car.

The car.

Okay... Now I knew why they wanted this thing repaired to working order.

I studied the massive barrels atop the car that were left bent and melted. The exposed wiring and circuitry that had clearly been fried. The armored sides that had been ripped open...

This wasn't just an ordinary train car...

This was a weapon.

I spent a good half hour or so examining the exterior of the car, before having the sentry go back and get me an extra set of hooves. There was no way I could do this alone. This was going to require a lot of heavy lifting, and... I was pretty weak for an earth pony...

A unicorn that was great with telekinetic magic was ideal for a job like this...

Didn't I hear something about the Lightbringer lifting a train car with her magic to crush her foes at some point...? Man... a unicorn like that would be perfect for this job.

The sentry rolled back to the lift, leaving me here in this eerie... place. Alone. It was already a bit discomforting being down here, but alone...?

I was starting to really hate the underground...

It wouldn't last forever, though. Someone would come back.

Besides... it wasn't like anything hostile was down here with me. This was NCR territory. I was safe. Well... for now, anyways. I still didn't know what the NCR's plans were for me, long term... Or why they hired Rivet to keep me alive... But I was certain it had something to do with the battery.

What would my value be to them if I hadn't come across it...? If I hadn't come across Para...?

Would I have even mattered to them...? To anyone?

A set of hoofsteps sounded along the concrete tunnels behind me, and I turned to see...

"FUCK!" I jumped back, bringing the rifle in front of me and nearly firing a shot at the pony... THING... before me.

She shook her head at me with a faint smile. "I missed you too, father."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked quickly, frowning at her. "How did you get in here!?"

"Do you really believe that your flawed species would be a problem for me? They do not pay enough attention. They are incapable. I could wipe them all out without any alarm." White Noise stepped forward, and I backed up. She walked past me, eyeing the car. "I am here, because you need help."

"And... what, you're just going to extend your hoof out of the kindness of your heart?"

"Kindness?" She smirked, looking at me. Fuck, her eyes hurt... "No. Kindness is a system built by the minds of the frail. The ones who could not bear the pain that words could deliver. Kindness is a weapon. Much stronger than this..." She looked back up at the car, then back at me. "Kindness builds sensitivity to the mind, and that makes weakness spread through generations. Who knew that sounds could cause so much heartache? Who knew it could cause so much destruction?" She laughed softly to herself, looking up at the cannon. "That is the fascinating thing about your kind. Your people had worked so hard on building a better way of life. Had built a system to tear themselves out of more primitive times. But in the end, you all went back to the way it all started. You could not ignore your primal needs. So your people pressed a button to reset the world. But even then, two generations after the fact, you are all still trying to hold on to your old ways. Even many of the zebra, your foes... the ones who pressed the button, have been trying to be what they think is better. But your history will only repeat itself over and over again, until there is nothing left to repeat." She paused and regarded me. "I am not here out of the kindness of my heart, for I do not believe in such a flawed system. Much like I do not believe in the idea of choosing sides. I am simply here to bear witness."

"Bear witness to what?" I glared.

"What do you think?"

"I don't know!" I backed away from her, noticing she was starting to get closer. "That's why I asked!" I groaned in frustration and shook my head, closing my eyes. "Look, if you're going to help me with the car, then let's get it over with."

"Oh, I think you misunderstood me, father." I looked over to her, and she continued. "I never said anything about helping with this..." She shook her head. "No, I am here to remind you of the importance of the container you carry with you."

"Again with the container..." I muttered. "Look, if I don't know what's in it, then it stays closed.

"Then have the one you call Petiole study it."

"Why do you want it opened so badly?" I frowned; my ears folding back. "What is so important about a little powder in a plastic container?"

She smiled and backed up. "Find out."

And with that, she turned into the black, squelchy thing I had regurgitated back in Saddle, before using its several dozen tendrils to escape the scene.

Not long after, I heard another set of hooves behind me. I turned to look to see a regular unicorn. Blue coat, pink eyes, and a lighter blue mane and tail. He had a railroad spike for a cutiemark.

"You needed help?" He said with a faint smile, looking me over.

The inside of the car was just as fried as the rest of it. There was a seat in the center that sat before a shattered computer screen. Along the interior walls were columns of shells, but most of them had exploded; probably when the transport caved in a little.

How in the fuck was I going to fix any of this...?

"What even happened for the car to end up like this?" I asked aloud as I gaped at the broken machinery before me.

Rails, the mechanic that came to assist me with restoration of the car, shouted between grunts, as I could hear him trying to remove the barrels of the turret above me via magic.

"No one really knows! Come on, you son of a..." He struggled to remove one of the barrels, before continuing. "We just... found it in the middle of nowhere. Hnnng!" I could hear him breathing heavily as if he were taking a short rest. "The crew that we sent with it was nowhere to be found. Assumed... dead!"

There was a sudden metal grinding, shortly followed by probably the loudest metal bang against the cement floor I had ever heard in my life.

My ears rang as I clenched my teeth, wincing my eyes. Sweet Celestia, my ear drums...

"Sorry about that! Got one more comin' down! Brace yourself!"

I sat on my haunches and covered my ears with both hooves, waiting for the second barrel to drop. Instead, I heard a muffled grunting again.

"Whenever this damn thing will come... loose!" He cried out. Almost immediately after, there was another loud grinding. I went to cover my ears again, as I had started to remove my hooves, but even then, when the barrel dropped, it made my headache worse. I was bound to get headaches anyways... Got them all my life, after all. Day after day, for as long as I could remember. I seemed to always have headaches or migraines. But there were times where it was more subtle.

Not like right now... Damn it.

I wouldn't be surprised if one more barrel drop would make me deaf.

"Phew!" He laughed under his breath.

I uncovered my ears and poked my head out. "Hey, I don't think the stuff in here is going to work. I'd need new hardware."

"Assuming there's anything new to remain on this radioactive rock." He chuckled, looking down at me with a gentle smile. "I'll see what I can hook you up with. Just see what you can do in the meantime, alright?"

I nodded and went back to the computer. The monitor may have been busted, but if I could get the computer itself to start up, then that meant progress. I could easily install a new screen, if I needed to.

... I definitely needed to. But one thing at a time...

Several hours in, Rails had let me get out for a breath of fresh air. I had managed to fix the majority of the computer with some of the spare parts he sent my way, but the screen was still a problem.

I had also fixed some of the column racks that held the ammo for the turret above me, along with patching up and fortifying the holes on the side of the car. It wasn't perfect, but I was working with what I had at my disposal. We both were.

All that was left that needed fixing were some of the wheels, the latch to connect to other cars, the screen to the computer, and the turret on the top. Everything else looked like it was set.

By the time I had seen the light of day, it was past 5 in the P.M. The sun was out, but the fog made everything look sickly. And it was still raining flakes of ash.

I left the train depot where the idle locomotive sat, and made my way to the bar that Thunderwing spoke of.

Thankfully, none of the soldiers gave me any shit for wandering about. Especially the ones at the depot entrance.

I entered the bar to see a unicorn cleaning out a few glasses with a washcloth. She looked up at me, rolled her eyes, then continued cleaning the glass that was wrapped in her magic.

At the right side of the bar counter, I saw Thunderwing; her right ear pressed against the surface as she snored quietly. One arm was stretched across the counter, next to a half empty glass of whiskey, while the other hoof dangled below her.

I pulled up a seat next to her, smiling. I wasn't expecting the tiles of the floor to scream when I moved the chair, so when I moved said chair, I grit my teeth to the sound. A second after, Thunderwing snorted, cracked open her eyes, wiped the drool from her mouth that pooled up on the counter's surface, and smacked her lips.

"Numb..." She muttered as she raised her head and looked around. She spotted the glass, gave it a tired smile, lifted it up with a wing, then gulped down the rest of what she couldn't finish before. She set the glass down and looked at the bartender. "Thas it fer naw..." She wavered a little before turning to me. Her eyes lit up a little. "Heyyy, is you!" She patted me on the back, smiling, but that was soon interrupted with an abrupt hiccup. "Where yoo been? I bee waitin' on yoo."

"I was working." I smiled sheepishly. I sure hoped I didn't act like that when I was drunk...

"Ah, work, smork, smirk, salami-" Her gibberish was quickly interrupted with a loud, crude belch. She paused, looked at me with a faint smile, and continued whatever it was she was saying. "Burp."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "I think you should get some rest."

"Yer pros ri..." Her slurs became too deep as her eyes started to force themselves shut. She slouched over, starting to snore before she jumped up and looked around. "I awake! Dun worry none 'bou me!"

I laughed under my breath and stood up. "Come on, Thunderwing. You need rest."

She leaned to the side, getting ready to fall over. I quickly moved over to where she was about to fall, only for her to lie over my back. I looked over at the bartender, smiling sheepishly. "Is there someplace I can take her so that she can sleep it off?"

"There's a bunk down the hall." She pointed a hoof down the hall that had been behind us for as long as we were sitting there. "15 caps a night. Not to mention she still didn't pay for that drink... or the other three."

"Right... How much is that gonna cost?"

"For the three? 90 caps."

... Oh...

"I... don't have that much on me..." I'm not sure I even had 15 caps.

"I'm not telling you to pay. I'm telling her." She glared at the unconscious mare on my back. "She always does this."

"Well... maybe we can work out a deal? See, I'm working on repairing the turret car for the train. Maybe you can let her off the hook this one time? And in return, I fix that car to make up for the payment?" Wasn't the best negotiation, but it was all I had.

She huffed and looked away. "Yeah, fine, sure, whatever..."

Okaaaaay then. Guess that worked.

I carried Thunderwing down the hall and entered a room at the far left. Inside was over a dozen bunks, all of which were empty.

I set Thunderwing down on the closest one to the door, making sure to keep her on her side. I fortified her back with a wall of pillows so she didn't end up choking on her own puke later. I was sure there was going to be a mess of the stuff later...

I stepped out and approached the bar, regarding the mare before me for the longest time, until she caught me looking. She caught my smirk as well, implying I knew something. I did. She didn't have to tell me. I felt the same way at the bunker. I knew exactly how she was feeling.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" She snapped.

"Let me guess..." I sat down upright, using my hooves to support my head as my arms rested on the counter that separated me from her. "You feel that what you're doing here is meaningless to the war effort. I mean... serving beer? At an NCR installation?" I clicked my tongue a few times and shook my head. "I get it. I do."

She froze, keeping her eyes locked with mine for a few seconds. In those seconds, I saw her expression start to change to a lighter tone. I could feel the way she thought about me start to change for the better. I wasn't just another guy looking for a drink.

But then she glared again.

"And what the hell do you think you're talking about? What is it you get?"

I smirked and leaned forward in my seat. "Buy me a drink, and I'll tell you."

She raised a brow at my expression, then shook her head, laughing under my breath.

"Alright, I gotta admit, you have me intrigued..." She smiled back faintly. "What's your poison?"

"I'll take a whiskey. May as well get something for yourself while you're at it."

"I don't drink on the job." She replied quickly, as if someone's pulled that card on her before.

Okay, backing off from that then. I shrugged as she levitated a bottle over to me. I went to grab it, but she pulled it away. I raised a brow at her, noticing she was still smiling... and glaring.

"Tell me first."

I nodded and leaned back a little, still keeping my own smile up. "Fair enough. You want to offer more than just serving drinks. You were promised to help this place better for ponykind. I was promised the same thing back home. Until I realized how fucked up everything there was." Annnnnd there went my smile.

She froze for a short while before letting her glare die down, and after a bit longer, she brought the bottle back to me. "Maybe you do understand..." She sighed, keeping her smile.

I opened the bottle and took a quick gulp, before coughing a little. "Have you tried getting yourself out of this job? Try and do something better?"

She hung her head down in disappointment. "Yeah, but... they won't listen... So I've been trying to save up enough caps so I can get far away from this place. Might go somewhere overseas, so long as the pirates don't hit whatever ship I'm on first. Might go to Hoofington, assuming the right side of the battle there wins. New Pegasus, maybe..." She shrugged and looked me over as she began washing another glass. "I don't have a set course just yet. But anywhere is better than this place."

... Well, now I felt like an asshole for taking that bottle.

I reached into my pouch and pulled out every last bottle cap I had saved up. There were only eight. It certainly wasn't enough to cover the bottle... but it was all I had.

"I'm sorry I don't have more..." I muttered, sliding them over.

"Hey, don't worry about it. That one's on the house." She smirked, eyeing the drink. She slid the caps back over to me, to which I hesitantly pocketed them.

"Well... thanks, I guess." I smiled faintly, though I still felt shitty about not paying her. Maybe I could change the topic. "What's your name?"

She blushed and looked down. "Whiskey River..." She replied quietly.

"Whiskey River?"

"I know... it's stupid." She shook her head. "That's what I get for having alcoholic parents."

"It doesn't have to be." I smiled, before taking another gulp from the bottle. My lips were already getting numb, and I was starting to feel a warmth in my gut. "I mean, it almost sounds like it could be the title for a song."

She laughed softly before her yellow eyes stayed glued to mine. Her rose colored mane obscured her vision a little, and so she brushed it away with her amber colored hoof. Fitting color for a fitting name, I suppose.

Fuck, Petiole was right about my new hoof fitting my name! I just proved him right!

"What?" I asked politely, smiling sincerely.

She smirked. "How long are you sticking around?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"If you're still here by nightfall, come to my place. It's right next door. I'll leave the door unlocked for you."

I felt myself turn red as I looked back at her, and she giggled under her breath.

"I meant for dinner. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Oh... right." I chuckled and took another gulp from the bottle. One quarter done, two to go.

I spent maybe an hour at the bar, before I decided I had enough to drink. I wasn't trying to get wasted, so I made an attempt to pace out each drink from the bottle. By the time I left, I was borderline drunk, and I had a little less than half a bottle left. The amber contents filled my gut with a satisfying, full warmth.

I wasn't much of a lightweight. Not like back then. White Noise was right about me. I did drown my sorrows with alcohol and cigarettes. Hell, even cigars, if I could get my hooves on them. It wasn't healthy, and I knew that. But it was all I could rely on, back then. And when someone goes through life using alcohol as a crutch to dig through the shit called life, it would be hard to quit old habits once they got through.

Even then, I wasn't really through, was I? I had entered a new chapter in my life, but that didn't mean I was through. I was still buried in shit, and it was piling up, weighing down on me. Crushing me, more and more each day. I was still digging through.

"Fuck, I need happy booze..." I said in a slurred tone as I slightly stumbled back to the massive building down the tracks. The train still hadn't left yet.

The two guards at the entrance let me in without question, and I made my way back to the sub levels.

Rails was snoozing with his back pressed up against one of the wheels of the car. I don't know how that would be comfortable, but to each their own, I guess...

I nudged his shoulder, and he opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he looked around. Finally, he focused on me.

"Oh hey, you're back." He smiled faintly. "Everything alright?"

I nodded, though that wasn't true. My mind was wandering to more dark, dangerous places. "How's the car coming along?"

He tapped his hoof against the steel frame behind him, smirking. "Could have her done by tonight, if all goes well. Just need to fix some of the gears in the turret, reroute the terminal to the guns, and fix the loading racks a bit more so that there's reduced risk of any jams happening during travel."

The holes had all been patched up by the looks of it, so that was one less thing to deal with, and I didn't think we'd have to work too long on the loading racks, seeing as I had already worked on the majority of them.

"Alright, then." I smiled. "Let's get to work."

It took a lot of patience and communication, but by the time we got it done, the time on my pipbuck read six past ten.

The car wasn't exactly restored to its former glory - I didn't need to see how it looked before to know that - but it was repaired. All the holes were patched up with reinforced metal plating, the doors at the front and back were working, the terminal inside operated just fine, and the turret was able to rotate both directions with no troubles.

We couldn't exactly test the ammo racks in here, so that was left to whoever was taking this out on the field. I only hoped it would help prevent this Fester guy from ambushing more shipments to Hoofington. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

Rails and I stood there, looking at our achievement, smiling. We were both exhausted. I imagined he had one hell of a migraine after using that much telekinesis magic to get things done around here. It was definitely needed, seeing as there were things that would have been impossible for us to lift by ourselves. He needed more rest than I at that point.

I probably wouldn't get paid as much because I had help, but I wasn't going to complain. He earned a payment for all the hard work he did as well.

He looked to me, and I at him, and the two of us smiled at each other. We both reached out a hoof and bumped them together.

"We make an awesome team." He said, looking back at the car, panting softly. I joined him at the sightsee once more.

"Hell yeah, we do."

He slouched and stumbled a little bit, before leaning against me. I looked back over, taking notice that his legs were shaking.

"Hey, you alright...?"

"Just... exhausted." He hung his head down, closing his eyes. "I'm not too strong with my horn just yet."

"Bullshit. You were lifting steel earlier."

"Okay..." He laughed under his breath. "Fair point... Let me rephrase..." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I can't use my magic very long before it drains me... I exceeded my capabilities today..."

"Do you want me to take you back to your place? You shouldn't walk back alone, if you're about to pass out."

He smiled faintly, keeping his eyes closed. "That'd be awesome, Charger... Thank you." He barely managed to lift his head up and open his eyes, all while keeping that smile. Today's work seemed to really take it out of him...

I smiled back faintly. "Here... put an arm around my shoulder." He did as he was told, which meant getting closer to me. "Let's get you home."

We continued on for a while in silence, until we got to the lift. As it started to ascend, he spoke.

"So... you used to be a Steel Ranger, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't remind me..."

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure..." I stared ahead flatly.

"I heard rumors that you were involved in Bristle's little circle. Is that true?"

"Eh... somewhat." I shrugged.

"What's he like?"

"He's a piece of shit. As are the rest of the ponies in his circle... and any other pony that chooses to follow him." I deadpanned, looking over at Rails. "Why would you like to know?"

He shrugged, but refused to look at me, as if he were in trouble. "Just trying to make conversation..."

"Well, choose a different topic then. I don't want to think about him. I don't want to think about the Steel Rangers. I just want to go my own way and find..." I stopped myself, and my body tensed up. Only then, did I realize my hoof was crackling with a soft electricity.

"Find...?" He raised a brow, glancing at my rear hoof.

I shook my head hard. "It doesn't matter. Please just drop it."

"Alright... Consider it dropped..." He hung his head down again.

When the lift brought us back to the surface, we made our way along the concrete path, back for the exit. I noticed the mare from the office earlier, standing right outside of the same room; a lit cigarette hanging between her lips. She seemed to be focused on us. Or maybe she was just looking in our general direction... It was hard to tell. She had a dead, careless stare...

My eyes went down to her flank again... That cutiemark had me intrigued. That ball of fire. I really wanted to know what it meant.

Was her talent light...? Fire...? What was it?

"That's Firefly." Rails went on to say, glancing up from the ground. "A lot of the things that happen here are because of her. This place would've fallen apart long ago if it wasn't for her taking initiative."

"I saw her in an argument with someone else earlier. What was that all about?"

He sighed. "Blitz... The two of them are always fighting. He's trying to keep everything under lockdown. Thinks that Hoofington isn't our problem. She feels differently. So far, we're still moving stuff out east, but Blitz hates it."

"So whose side are you on?"

He looked over and smiled. "Hers. From what I've been hearing, the war in Hoofington regards all life in Equestria, if not all of Equus. Everyone will be affected, no matter which side wins. Therefore, we need to do our part in making sure the right side wins. But Blitz..." He shook his head. "He refuses to look at the bigger picture..."

"But he's not in charge here."

Rails smiled nervously. "D-don't let him hear you say that..."

We stopped a few feet before her, and he spoke, regarding her. "Charger and I finished repairing the gunner car."

She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a long pull off her cigarette. "Thanks, you two. At least now I can sleep with a bit of good news for once."

"What is it this time?" Rails raised a brow as he spoke with annoyance.

She laughed under her breath and shook her head, taking another pull. It's more effective if you just eat them...

"Your loving father believes I should relinquish my power and stand aside, because 'I don't know what I'm doing. That I'm only tearing everything down, and will be a downfall to the NCR.'" She scoffed, then took another pull before continuing her vent. "He pulled the cutiemark card on me again and said my talent was tearing things down. I swear, I don't know what I ever saw in him... The only good he's ever done is help bring you into this world." She smiled faintly and caressed the side of his face with a forehoof.

His father?

Huh...

She continued after taking her hoof away. "I swear, if he keeps this up, I won't be held accountable for what I'm going to do to him..."

Rails sighed and hung his head down. "Just hang in there, mom."

"Believe me, I'm trying. But it's getting to look like it's him or me. Celestia knows he wants me dead as much as I want him six feet under." She regarded me coolly as she took another long pull off her cig, then turned back to her son. "So what's up with you two?"

Rails smiled wanly, looking back up at her. "Charger is taking me back home."

"He has a really bad migraine." I filled in.

"I can only imagine our bickering over power is helping with that." She replied sarcastically, before looking me over again. "You treat my son well, you understand? Or it'll be your balls in my Hearth's Warming tree."

"Uh... what...?" I raised a brow, and Rails blushed.

"Mom, don't say that. We're not... like that..."

"Not like wha..." I froze, realizing what they were talking about. "Oh..." Well, this was awkward...

"Mom, for the last time, I'm not gay."

She smirked, dropped what little remained of her cig, and stomped it out with a hoof. "If you say so." She began to stretch, and in the process, came the series of cracking from her bones. She sighed with a little more relief. "Well, I'm gonna go back in and replace your father's heart medication for Sildenafil, and not doing anything to resolve his erection issue. Should be an eventful night."

Rails rolled his eyes, laughing softly. "That's mean..." He gave her a calm look afterwards and nodded. "Good luck."

She smiled back wanly, giving him that dead-eye'd, yet cool look. For the time I had seen her, her eyelids were always half closed. "Thanks, homo." She gave him a wink, then glanced at me, gave me a brief nod, then turned around and opened the door to the office. She closed it behind her, and we continued on our path to the exit.

"Well, now you met my dysfunctional family."

"At least yours can joke around... kinda. All I have left is my sister, and she's a rapist. Hell, I never even met my mom. Or my dad. Apparently they were killed in combat before I could remember anything. And I recently realized that story is false, in regards to my mom. Still have no clue what happened to my dad."

"Oh..." He looked away. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Hey, don't worry about it, man." I smiled forcefully. "It's in the past now."

In the past... Man, wasn't that a lie...?

"Right..."

The rest of the walk to his place was made in silence. Things grew awkward between us after we had left the depot...

His place wasn't too far from the massive structure. When we got to his door, he opened it, turned around, and smiled faintly. I could tell right then and there he was trying to keep himself from passing out.

"Thanks for taking me home, Charger. Hope I see you around more."

I nodded and smiled; this time, with sincerity. "One more thing."

"Yeah?" He smiled back.

"Are you actually gay?" That smile of mine turned into a grin. He wasn't bad looking... and his mom? For a pony at her estimated age, she did good at taking care of herself. Especially under all this stress with her husband. I'd have fooled around a bit with her, there, if she offered.

"I..." His jaw dropped a bit, and he turned bright red. "Uh... I... I mean..." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof as he looked down at mine. "I've... experimented a bit... with one other. But it wasn't really enough experience for me to know for sure." He looked back up at me, smiling nervously. "W-why do you ask...?"

"As a bi-sexual, I was curious." I gave him a wink, turned around, and gave my tail a little flick in his direction after. My rump may have been armored, but it still made him even more flustered than he already was. I chuckled softly and gave him a little nod as I looked back at him. "Rest well, Rails."

"You too, C-Charger." He said with a warm smile as he disappeared behind his door. He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, and he seemed nervous. I could only imagine what he was getting ready to do behind that door.

I opened the front door to Whiskey's house on the side of the bar to see her at the dining table, eating quietly by herself. She seemed a bit bored, but after I pushed the door open and stepped inside, she looked up and smiled faintly.

"You came."

I closed the door behind me with a rear hoof. "Sorry if I'm late. We were trying to finish up the train car."

She nodded quietly, and I approached the dining table and pulled up a seat across from her. "Is it okay if I slip out of my armor?"

"Go ahead." She said with another little nod as she lifted a small glass of whiskey to her lips. She took a few gulps, coughed from the afterburn, then set it back down.

I stripped myself of my gear, put it on top of a wooden chest against the wall, and sat down at the other end of the table. There were some instamash potatoes, carrots, and four fancy buck cakes. I was kind of hoping for some meat, but... food was better than no food. Plus, this did look mighty tasty...

"Looks good." I smiled at her, and she levitated a glass of whiskey over to me after pouring some from a glass bottle. Wild Pegasus. The good stuff.

I took a drink from it before serving myself some of the food that was displayed.

"So, did Thunderwing ever wake up?"

"Only to puke." She replied as her ears folded back, clearly irritated. "And to bitch about how her head felt." She took another gulp from her glass. "Not my problem right now." She set the glass down, smirking as she put a hoof over her belly, licking her lips and closing her eyes. "Mm..." She closed her eyes, clearly satisfied by its warmth. "Gotta love the little things in life..."

"I'll drink to that." I said, raising my glass and taking a large gulp. I shuddered from the afterburn, as I did almost every other time I had alcohol. But hey! I didn't cough that time!

I had spent a few minutes eating the dinner that Whiskey had prepared, before going for another drink. However... my drink appeared to be empty. It wasn't like that earlier...

I swayed in my seat a little bit. The room started to spin, and my mouth was numb. I didn't even remember it going numb. Just, suddenly became numb. Weird... My gut carried a sweet warmth that was almost sickening.

I looked at the bottle of whiskey we had been drinking from, and found that most of it was already gone.

"Thas odd..." I slurred, looking at her. "I dun remember us drunkin' so mush..."

She laughed and shook her head. She was saying something, but my mind couldn't comprehend it. Her words were alien to me.

Time jumped ahead, and in an instant, I was out of my seat to the dining table and in the living room, dancing to some swing music that played on her gramophone.

Holy shit, whoever was shaking the room needed to stop right NOW!

Despite the sickness I was starting to feel, I continued dancing to the fast paced music. I couldn't control myself, or my thoughts! The alcohol was definitely in effect, now.

Whiskey sat on the couch, watching the show I provided, laughing.

I reached out a hoof, feeling myself smile, even through the numb sensation.

"C'mon, whiskey flank! Dance with me!"

I gave her a nickname now?

"No, no." She laughed. "I'm good."

"Ohhhh come on..." I took her hoof in mine and started to pull her out of her seat.

"No!" She shook her head, laughing a little more now. I could tell she was embarrassed. "I'm a horrible dancer!"

The needle of the record player jumped to a different song, and with it, time; our moods.

I was gazing into her eyes as she gazed into mine, smiling. We danced in the same manner that the soft, steady music suggested. Her hooves were wrapped around me, and mine around her.

Before I knew it, time jumped again, and I was back in the dining room, as if I had just been teleported. I witnessed the bottom of a glass that was shortly emptied of burn-throat amber goodness, and beyond that, a ceiling.

I lowered my head after gulping down the glass in one go.

"You good?" I heard Whiskey ask.

I turned around to see her looking at me with a wry smile.

"I'm awesome." I replied with a grin plastered on my face.

There time went again, hitting me more and more with unexpected jumps. Ugh...

Oh, whoa! Okay then!

This time, I was surprised to find myself lying over her; our lips locked with each other, and our tongues meeting. She tasted like whiskey, but I suppose I did too, at this point.

I closed my eyes, taking her embrace.

Fuck, the room was spinning more now than ever...

She pushed deeper into the kiss, and I started to roll off to the side. My initial plan was to swap places; her being on top, and me on bottom.

But my intoxicated mind didn't think that through.

Instead, I rolled off the couch, and seeing as I had a hold of Whiskey, she came with, about to land on top of me.

But time skipped again.

This time, we stayed on the floor. Sweating... Panting... Moaning...

A certain, fun part of me could feel her from the inside. And holy fuck, she felt amazing...

I opened my eyes to get a look at her up there, on me. Her bedraggled, rose colored mane hung over one eye as her horn pointed up at the ceiling. Her back was arched as she bounced up and down.

"Ahh, fuck... Whiskey..."

"Charger..." She moaned out in response, taking my forehoof in hers as she went at it.

I used my free hoof to caress her sweet, amber flank, over the two clinked shot glasses that resembled her cutiemark.

And then she changed.

Changed to Brug Mansia Petiole. Fucking me just like she did with Arum.

Get... get out of my head...

The next second... the next blink of my eyes, her tan coat changed to the same shade as mine. Her white mane changed to the same black as mine. Her violet eyes, to white noise...

She grinned down at me with malice...

Get out of my head.

I closed my eyes, mentally counting to five before opening them again.

The tan coat changed to white. The black mane to a dark blue. The eyes, from static to crimson, and her flank without a cutiemark.

GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

My heart ached... My eyes burned with hot tears as she smiled down at me, enjoying herself.

Suddenly, she stopped, noticing the anguish on my face.

"Hey, what's wrong...?" She asked softly. "Are you okay?"

I closed my eyes, hissing behind clenched teeth as I fought to not cry. I had already gone limp at that point.

"It's nothing..." I muttered, opening my eyes again. I was somewhat satisfied to see Whiskey River sitting atop me again. As much as I loved Snow Star... it hurt too much to see her...

"Hey, you can talk to me..." She caressed the side of my face with her hoof. "What's going on?"

I took a deep, shuddering breath. "I... I miss he-"

And then everything went black. All went silent.

Author's Notes:

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out there, everyone. Work's been busy lately. I got a promotion.
I'd like to address that it's been a little over year now, since the first chapter was released. And look how far we've come.
Blows a party horn with lack of enthusiasm
I got drunk on the anniversary.

Anyways, special thanks to Kkat for FoE, Somber for PH, the endless list of writers out there that help build the FoE universe.

Oh, and that reminds me. I've been meaning to bring this up. I know that Blackjack and Little Pip are mentioned in this story a bit, but I in no way ever planned to have this story canon with theirs. Not that it would be anyways.

Also, special thanks to the readers and fans out there. It's appreciated. And special thanks to Nylten for her wonderful work on art for RS, Pines for the reviewing, and Alchestbreach for leading the rebellion on the radios.

Oh, and special thanks to my friend Scraton, as of chapter 18, for letting me use his music.

Here's an invite link to my Discord server, in case you want to talk to me or Pines, and meet other people. Just a hang out place.

https://discord.gg/783mVdd

Tell me if it doesn't work. It should, but who knows?