Sword and Shield cruised overhead, cutting back and forth along the mountain range. They were looking for a positive ID on Outpost Rosemary. Their mission: Contact the outpost and hoof deliver the recall.

It was a risk since the recon team was a closed mission and marked missing. But because they had gotten a message from Shadow in the cave, General Shielded Vengeance had decided to send Sword and Shield below. Contact message only. Nothing more than leaving a direct message. It was a risk, but they had been contacted first. This was about getting them home, not past management of the team.

The Wonderbolt Colonel was on a mission with Cardinal Spitfire and Marble Falls double checking the validity of the message. But they didn’t have time to wait. The pictures were enough of a lead. Enough for General Shielded Vengeance to make a strong stance.

They were running out of dark. The sun would be rising soon. All they had been able to see was a cobbled together town in and through the neighborhood ruins. The plateau was visible, but there was no way to tell if it was isolated from the settlement below.

They landed on a ridge above the plateau and hunkered down. The opening to Rosemary was obvious, despite the fledgling light. Their hopes were shattered when the cobbled together elevator came up and brought a Unicorn and Earth Pony to the surface.

“Come on Shield,” Sword whispered, pulling him down to stop him from leaving. “Those are not raiders. Those are ponies making a living off the land. We know they were leaving them alone, to grow a settlement below, to cover their tracks. I don’t think those ponies would be able to physically take Rosemary. Its a stable after all.”

“What are you saying, that they gave them Rosemary?”

“Or combined with them. They had to be getting desperate. They needed support. If they were going to have to hold their own, it looks like the perfect place to hold.”

Shield let out a low growl, conflicted. “Fine. You are right. Shadow Flare would have made the move to save them by integrating into a calm community with family feeling.”

“Lets go,” Sword said, moving down the ridge. The light was still low enough that they had time to move with good cover.

They got below and changed out of their blackout flight suits into clothes recovered by the teams sent below several years. It hid their wings perfectly. They were armed with just their side arms, but Sword kept hers tucked away from sight. She was fast on the draw and it brought their threat level down.

The morning was in full swing by the time they came up trotting up the road and over the bridge.

“HALT!” A guard called from an elevated wooden post.

They halted in plain sight, never hiding their arrival. Two more guards approached them, sporting very clean and new rifles. One was wearing a battle saddle, the other was a Unicorn and didn’t need a saddle.

“What brings you here?” The Unicorn asked.

“Information,” Sword replied. “We come to find out if somepony came through here. A friend of ours.”

“Many people call ponies their friends, but seek to do them harm,” The Unicorn warned. “Pea Gravel is our leader, he will decide.”

They followed the Unicorn. The Earth Pony took of the rear, covering them with the battle saddle. In the center of the houses was where the settlement had been founded and where Pea Gravel was. They had to wait further back, so they couldn't hear the discussion that was happening. They were very protective of the settlement. Having a stable was something that many would stop at nothing to get.

Pea Gravel settled something and then trotted over to them. They had peaked the attention of many, drawing a crowd.

“You are looking for somepony?” Pea Gravel asked, looking them over.

“Yes,” Sword said with a soft smile. “One named Shadow Flare, and three others. Shadow Flare is a small, white and black pony. You can miss his size, but not his stark contrast.”

Pea Gravel was concerned. He gave a quick glance with his eyes towards the plateau.

“Four total?” Pea Gravel asked.

“A bigger pony, Thunder Clap. Grey with a tealish mane. Nor is blue and Apple Slice is like an apple slice, with a green mane.”

“Four ponies by that description were never here,” Pea Gravel asserted, giving the plateau another glance.

“We were sure they had at the very least come through here,” Shield replied. “We have an important message for them. Their friends are looking for them. We got separated.”

A gold coated, silver and pink maned Unicorn stepped over to Pea Gravel and whispered into his ear.

Pea Gravel cleared his throat. “Are you sure it was four?”

“When we got separated, there were eight of us,” Sword said confidently. “They had six, but we know that two died. It seems that we were presumed dead by them, as we should have been.”

“What Cutie Mark?” The mare asked.

“Three arrowheads,” Sword said with a nod. “And swords crossed with lightning bolts inside each.”

“And what meaning does that have?” She immediately followed up with.

Sword stuttered, finally admitting to not knowing. She whispered into Pea Gravel’s ear again. They exchanged whispers for a few minutes. She stared at Sword and Shield for a moment, finally telling them to follow her. They headed into a building, out of sight and sound of the others.

“We might know of who you speak of,” She said. “And if it is them, then we knew you might come. But I have kept their secret, even from the others. Unless you can verify that this, Shadow Flare, is the one we know of, you can’t know. You either already know, or you do not know. It isn’t something you just stumble upon.”

“And how would you know?” Shield asked, a bit rough.

“If it is the same pony, then we ran together for a bit. Ran together is putting it lightly. I know their secret. For it was they who got me here, to live free and safe. But it was three, not four.”

Sword and Shield exchanged glances.

“I am Sword, and my companion is Shield. This secret has been killed over. We know they were here. Whether you know that or not…”

The mare was adamant. “Do you want to do this or not? I keep their true secret. Not even the others know. It happened in our little group, and it wasn’t until the shit hit the fan that we would accidentally learn their secret. Their full secret. I am one of the only two alive who know it. And it goes to our graves with us. They did more than you can easily comprehend.”

Shield shook his head at Sword. She defiantly replied with a nod and shifted so that a wing slipped out from under her clothes. The mare flashed a smile and gave a nod. Sword put her wing away.

“Shadow Flare left,” She definitively stated. “My name is Ornate Charm. But he left Rosemary in our charge. Are you here to retrieve things from it?”

“No,” Sword replied. “If he locked things away, we have no idea how.”

“Well… you are supposed to know. Only I and another know him as Shadow Flare. The others know him as the watcher. He would spend time watching from the Plateau. He didn’t know he had been spotted on several occasions over the months.”

“He rescued me, and the other. So I got to piece together things more. He gifted us Rosemary. He had some debts to settle. He didn’t know if he would return. He left some things protected, data in a terminal and some rooms locked. He said you would know how to open them. I guess you never got that information.”

“Debts to settle?” Shield asked, still defensive.

“What I have been able to piece together is that the other two died. I was here, safe, for a good while before he came out and gave us Rosemary. He sounded more like a mare with a raspy voice than a stallion. And he wore clothing I had never seen him in. I never got a look at his cutie mark. There was no evidence of anypony else living there. And he was the only one to leave. He was in pain. Clear agony.”

“When they rescued me and the other, it was three of them. Shadow Flare, Thunder and Slice.”

“Fuck,” Sword swore. “That means Nor died before then. How much did we miss?”

“What timing was this?” Shield demanded.

Ornate Charm had to think. “Its been at least two months. I don’t know a direct date. I don’t know if any of us know a direct date. Its not something we broadcast. Having a stable is dangerous business. Tending it for him is another thing on top of it. Few know about it and only certain ponies are allowed inside of it.”

“Have you been inside?” Shield asked.

“My room is in 13,” Ornate Charm said with a nod. “I knew some things about him, that answered some questions about our watcher and who gifted it to us. Like it was a male, not a female. So I was granted access. Some here don’t even know we have a stable.”

“Tell us your tale,” Sword asked. “It sounds interesting.”

“I want him to be able to go home,” Ornate Charm said, her compassion clear. “I saw how much pain they were in. It wasn’t until after he left that I better understood what the importance of their mission that I ended up with them was. The other mare and I were left a ways out of Sanctuary and pointed in the right direction, while they walked east. They had to flip around to make it to there. And they had enough cover to get back. Forgive me jumping around a bit.”

“I know they have been hunted. Dahlia has been here three times since they dropped me off. A very persistent Steel Ranger, she is hunting them for their wings and something they did between them and the Steel Rangers. He said the Steel Rangers killed one in cold blood, and Dahlia killed another. I am guessing the fourth you mentioned was the one Dahlia’s dragoons killed.”

“We got to speak a bit. Its burned into my memory. That whole time is. I was quite smitten by being saved. Which Shadow Flare pointed out and helped point out how normal it was.”

“I know they were cut off, unable to go home. I know they were not told to come home and waiting for that coveted order. I know they felt left, abandoned, and had no idea what to do. I know they believed they would be shot if they returned without permission.”

“But I also know they knew the importance of the system. That it had kept them safe, so that what we face down here, was only horrible nightmares. They didn’t face bullets back home. They didn’t face death daily. They were safe back home because of the system. And that was important to keep strong.”

“Still, they were holding onto their hope. Shadow Flare has a wife. She will find the story hilarious. He gets mistaken for a mare quite a bit, and its probably saving his ass while he settles those debts. His Cutie Mark means Speed, Power, and Agility. One for each. He is a kind soul, who will not hesitate to crush you if forced, but hates it. His size hides a lot.”

Ornate Charm took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I think I said Shadow Flare’s wife will find this story funny.”

She launched into it all. Every detail she could remember. From the moment Shadow met them and how; until they had been left to find Sanctuary. It included highlights like their talks, how bad the K Rations were, and the lows like stitching Shadow up and the fight after the bank.”

Sword and Shield soaked up each and every word. They also were wearing audio recorders to make sure they recovered everything. A lot of information was coming at them quickly. They also learned that they had changed symbols.

Sword and Shield followed Ornate Charm out of the house to where Pea Gravel was working something out. It looked to be building plans.

“Thank you,” Sword said with a tip of her head. “Ornate Charm answered our question. It was indeed him. Unfortunately, it does appear to mean that three more died. Enough details were given to secure some solid evidence of that.”

Sword took a deep breath in. There was no smiling. “We will be heading home. We know about the information left. We know about that small gift he couldn’t carry with him. Home will learn of it. And if the time comes, home will send a group to retrieve it. But we hope he comes home before that happens.”

“We want to leave a message. Can we?”

“Yes,” Pea Gravel nodded. “Come, let us gather the ones who can be trusted with the full information.”

Pea Gravel led them down the path toward Rosemary. He was obviously hoping they would stop in. It was a lot to carry on his shoulders. But he was holding it well. It didn’t take long for them all to gather. Ornate Charm was there and the other mare she had identified as being in their party.

Sword spoke. “If Shadow Flare comes back, let him know he is clear to go home. As quickly and directly as possible. The gates know he is clear to come back. They all are. They are to report to General Shielded Vengeance. They probably were not aware that he was their superior. He is wanted back home. I hope the others did make it, for they all are welcomed, but it is important that he returns. The communication problem is just that. They all are deeply missed. I don’t think I can stress enough that he has to come home, no matter what happened from the time we lost communication. Fuck, tell him we last knew it was four. Nor, Slice, Thunder and Shadow.”

“I think we can get that across,” a purple mare smiled. “At least Ornate Charm and I can. The others should be able to as well. Be they will send him immediately to us two. They know we know their deeper secret.”

A stallion nodded in agreement. “We have enough to worry about keeping Rosemary safe for his return. They can keep that secret. We all can convey it back to him. We all saw his pain. We know he didn’t leave it lightly. Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Shield said definitively. “We don’t need to see. We need to get going back home. To carry the news of the others home. Besides, we don’t know how to access what he left. The communication failure didn’t get us that information, yet.”

“Safe travels,” Pea Gravel said with a smile. “In the end, we are routing for you. Friends of his are friends of ours. He left us with life. You are always welcome here.”

Sword and Shield wordlessly nodded. They trotted back to Sanctuary and then out, over the bridge. Out of sight and in the trees, they stripped out of the rags and pulled out their flight suits from their saddlebags. They put them on, reversed their saddlebags so they were the blackout bags, stuffed them with the clothes and hunkered down to wait out the other half of the afternoon and evening.

They were sleep deprived, but neither could sleep. They had stumbled upon more than just leaving a message. They had learned a lot more about the Inquisitors actions, and the land below. There was a chance they had learned enough to be able to drag the computer back out of the archive it had been sealed away in.

Sword and Shield disagreed on what to do with below, but they both wanted to get into Rosemary. They both wanted to bring the Inquisitors home. They had been the chosen ones to sort out the mishandling accusation. They had been robbed from the truth by time. They had a score to settle as well.

But this was probably their only chance to go below the clouds. And it wasn’t going to be public knowledge outside of a few individuals. They may have committed treason. But they stood proudly knowing that it was for a damn good reason. Even before they had gone below on this mission, when it was an order, they were ready to commit treason to leave a message.

They stood behind the Inquisitors.

Next Chapter: Chapter 87 - Lead Ins Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 54 Minutes