Cloud Seed and Buck sit in a booth with their backs to the back corner of this cozy neighborhood pub. There are many others more well known. Larger. More frequented and with more options and services. But for someone simply wanting to enjoy a drink with their friends, away from crowds, this bar is perfect. A gem as far as ‘hole in the wall’ places are concerned. They both talk with the others that join them, with Cloud Seed being rather social, and an ultra shameless flirt.

One of the mares he’s flirting with puts a cherry in her mouth, stem and all, and spits out the stem tied in a knot, onto the table in front of Cloud Seed, as she wiggles her eyebrows at him and slowly sucks on the cherry.

He smirks and one of his friends leans back against their booth seat as they start laughing uncontrollably. Buck sips on his drink and watches as Cloud Seed gives him a telling grin.

“She’s got some talent.” Cloud Seed leans towards his vanilla friend as he asks, “Should I show her?”

“Ohhhh please do, Mr. Repairpony,” Buck snickers

Everyone looks at Cloud Seed and he wiggles his eyebrows as one of the mares raises an eyebrow and asks, “Repairpony?”

His buddy taps Cloud Seed on the shoulder and grins. “Oh yeah. Best technician Stable-Tec has on their payroll.”

They look at Cloud Seed and the mare swishes her tail as she asks, “You’re a Stable-Tec employee?”

Cloud Seed shrugs. “Contracted with them, yes. But I get sent wherever needed… Sometimes get loaned out to the ministries or other companies if something critical needs fixed or they’re having trouble tracking something down.” He waves a hoof and smirks. “Applejack’s ministry has her hoof in about every company… and resources are thin, so makes sense for Apple Bloom to want to help out as much as she can.” He raps on the table a couple times with his forhooves as he looks around. “Okay so… First I’m going to need this… empty that is.”

He grabs the wide mouthed liquor bottle from the center of the table and pours the rest of its contents into the cups that are scattered around the tabletop before he sets it back in front of himself. “Okay.” He pulls out a couple bits from his pocket and sets them on the table before looking around at the others as he points a wingtip at the stack of bits. “I’m going to put all of these into the bottle… Then stack them all while inside of the bottle… Kay?”

One of the mares leans over and grabs a bit as she looks at it and a mare unicorn rolls her eyes as she says, “Oh that’s not really proving anything.”

Cloud Seed points at his head than at hers. “No horn. I won’t be using any magic to do it.”

She purses her lips to the side as she regards him and Buck laughs then says with a snicker, “Their reaction’s going to be magic though.”

The earth pony mare looking at the bit frowns and holds it up. “Something funny with the money?”

Cloud Seed shrugs then uses a wing and holds the bottle up. “Put in your own bits then. Doesn’t matter… one each. The more in there the harder it’ll be.”

One of the stallions at the next table chuckles. “Oh… just a bit grift, eh?”

“You can have it back afterwards, if ya want.” Cloud Seed shrugs. “No bigs.”

His friend drops a bit into the bottle and grins widely at him. “And you can have mine, this is going to be worth the entertainment value alone!”

Cloud Seed grins and shrugs as he holds the bottle up. The group starts dropping bits in one at a time until eight coins sit muddled together at the bottom of the bottle. He takes his own coins and puts them away as he says, “Just so you don’t think it’s the coins.” He sets the bottle in front of himself as he looks around. He points at it with a wing and says, “Okay, now I’m going to stack them all.”

One of the stallions raises an eyebrow. “Well… his hoofs too big for it…”

The unicorn mare rolls her eyes. “He’s got wings you know… probably can do it with his feathers alone.”

Cloud Seed flashes up his wings then tucks them back as he waves with his forehooves. “No wings either.” That earns him quite a few stares. He looks around and grins at all of them as he stands up and leans over the bottle. “Ready?”

The unicorn mare waves at him with a forehoof lazily. “Yeah. Sure.”

He brushes his lime green mane out of his face and to keep it from blocking the view. Then he grabs and holds the bottle with his forehooves, and slowly puts his lips on the neck of it. He looks at the earth pony mare directly across from him and slowly starts sinking his mouth down. Cloud Seed maintains eye contact the entire time, curling his hooves around the bottle to block the view and help hold it in place. Until he’s practically kissing the table. Movement catches his eye behind one of the bigger earth stallion gawkers and he sees a lime green young buck step around and stare wide eyed at the table.

The lime buck had been behind the group and had only started catching parts of the conversation and scene, but now it makes perfect sense to him and he starts quickly changing colors. Especially as Cloud Seed looks him right in the eye as the tinkling of metal against glass escapes his snoot. The lime green buck flushes from head to hoof before Cloud Seed gives him a wink.

He might as well have kicked the poor young buck.

The lime green buck’s head flies back as blood spurts from his nose, and he quickly stumbles out of sight to take care of his nose bleed.

Cloud Seed goes back to watching the others at his table as the tinkling in the bottle continues. Collectively the crowd’s eyes seem to get wider. Several of them start fidgeting, especially the earth pony mare directly across from him. A moment later he pulls back off the bottle, keeping his hooves in place hiding the bottle while he’s looking at his small audience.

He pulls his hooves back as he says, “Ta-daaaa.” He wipes a bit of dribble from his mouth as they all stare at the bottle in front of him. All eight coins, stacked neatly, in the exact center greet them. The unicorn mare looks up at Cloud Seed from the bottle, catches eye contact, and then blushes furiously as many thoughts seem to run through her head simultaneously.

The earth pony mare looks up at him with a smirk and shakes her head. “Nuh uh…. Not buying it.” She hops mostly over the table, grabs Cloud Seed’s cheeks with her forehooves, and starts giving him a deep tongued kiss.

Cloud Seed’s caught off guard and slides back a bit as she slides across the table and kisses him. But, as she starts pulling back, he gets a smirk on his face, then reaches up with his hooves, grabs her cheeks, and starts kissing her back.

Her eyes bug out and stare into his as he tilts his muzzle and digs in deeper. She’s unable to say anything, given the circumstance, but manages to mumble, “Mmmph!” She starts twitching and jerking lightly as he continues his onslaught. By the second time she manages an audible “MmmmMuah” her hooves have fallen limply from his cheeks. A moment later she’s gone completely limp and still, except for random twitching across her body, as Cloud Seed partially closes his eyes and looks into hers. When her audible noises are coming in time with her shivers in little weak sounding bouts of “MMmm…. Mmph” he finally pulls back and gently lays her head down on the table in front of himself as she lays there and pants.

Buck starts having a problem staying in his seat as he sits there laughing and nearly hyperventilating. “Welp… that doesn’t happen often though,” he says as he continues to snicker.

Of the others, the only one that’s managed to keep their jaw off the floor is the unicorn mare, who’s only managed it by biting her lower lip hard enough that a tickle of blood has started down her chin.

The earth pony mare on the table pants a bit as she looks up at Cloud Seed and grins. “So… your magic’s in your muzzle, huh?”

His friend falls out of the booth laughing as Cloud Seed simply shrugs with both of his forehooves in the air and to the side as he grins at her.

She looks him over and asks as she gives a swish of her tail. “So… Mr. Repairpony… Got time in your busy schedule to make a house call? I’m having some real concerns and could use your expert advice on pipes…”

Cloud Seed sits back down and looks at her at nearly eye level as he grins. “I think that could be arranged.”

“Oh?” she coos.

“Mmm hmm.”

She partially rolls sideways and uses a hoof to flop her foreleg around the unicorn mare’s shoulders. “Mind if I bring an assistant?”

The unicorn mare’s eyes bug out as she starts turning a variety of cute shades. Which only gets worse as Cloud Seed looks over at her and makes hard eye contact as he takes a drink from his appletini.

“Hmmm.” While staring the unicorn in the eye he darts his tongue into the bottom of the glass and fetches the olive from the bottom. He pulls the glass away and shows the olive, with the orange pit still in the center, being held in his lips, before the pimento pit disappears and he wiggles his eyebrows at her. “I’m used to loooong double shifts.” He gives the unicorn mare a wink. “A little magic goes a long way too…”

The unicorn mare’s eyes go to their widest before she slowly starts to sink to the floor, like she’d been inflatable and someone just pulled the plug. Her friend leans over the table and giggles down at her as she pokes her repeatedly on the shoulder with a loosely hanging forehoof.

Buck climbs back up to his feet as he points at the pair. “Dammit, Cloud Seed, you keep spilling mare everywhere and they’re going to charge us for just walking in the door!”

Cloud Seed opens his mouth to say something, but his PipBuck chimes. He looks at it and frowns as he says with a sigh. “Dammit… work calls.”

The earth pony mare lifts her head and stares at him with her mouth hanging open. “You can’t be serious!”

Cloud Seed nods. “Sorry. That’s the downside to being ‘on call’.” He downs the rest of his appletini and starts scooting by Buck. “Sorry to drink and run, but I gotta go see what they need.”

The earth pony mare slams her forehooves on the table repeatedly, almost like a foal tantrum. “This ain’t fair!” As Cloud Seed is walking around the table she asks softly, “Can’t I at least get another kiss?”

Cloud Seed looks at her, then at his friend and gives him a mischievous grin. He continues walking by, but then leans over and plants a kiss, right on her cutie mark, as she stares at him in disbelief. As he’s walking away he chuckles, “That’s for good luck!”

She stares at him with mouth agape for a moment before slamming her forehooves on the table again, repeatedly, in frustration. Then she bites on one of her own forelegs and uses it to muffle her various screams and obscenities as Cloud Seed makes his way to the door.

As Cloud Seed’s opening the door, the last thing he hears is her near sobbing moan, “Fuckn’ tease!”

“… treatment seems to be effective.” Sable’s voice comes from the darkness softly. “I do not know enough of his physiology to determine what lasting effects there will be.” She adds with a frustrated sigh.

“But… what was that?” Nahlah asks softly.

“I do not know, Subject Nahlah.”

“And you throwing us out, then throwing a workbench at the door to keep us out? What as that about?” Handy asks from decidedly further away.

“As you said, Subject Handy Hooves, to keep you out. We were on a tight time table according to what Gearing had said.”

“I don’t understand why though,” Swift adds. “Even amputated limbs have longer viability than what you were working with. Even without magic. So, why the rush when you were already working on it?”

Gearing opens his eyes, and is only able to peer out through the one. Most of his head, left eye included, is surrounded in a healing bandage. And, judging by the tingle he’s feeling, they must be magically infused. Though he’s not sure where they managed to get their hooves on one of those, given he had none in his cache.

“I’m not organic,” Gearing grumbles by opening his muzzle just enough to speak. “I’m a clockwork.”

The rest of the group turns to look at him from their position around the small electric light. Except Handy. He’s a respectable distance further away from everyone else.

Swift looks over at him and smiles lightly. “That’s not exactly a secret, just looking at you, Gearing.” She shakes her head and waves a hoof towards him. “But what’s that got to do with this procedure?”

Gearing lets out a long disgruntled sigh, but decides to just stay lying on the floor. Moving is too much effort at the moment. So he looks at them and replies, “Organic tissue is alive. Every cell. It has its own life, and will continue as long as it can. Even beyond that, it can be coaxed back to life with magic or treatment. As long as conditions are right. Even so, necrotic tissue has to be removed, or it’ll make the healthy tissue around it die.”

“Aaaaannnd?” Nahlah asks as she’s trying very hard to follow along with the train of thought.

“My body isn’t made of living cells. My body is made of metal that has been magically infused to allow it to grow and repair.” He shrugs. “At least that’s the running theory…” He closes his eyes and tries to listen around him, but his left ear is still feeling muffled, though it is also the side facing the ground and in a cocoon of healing bandages at the moment. He opens his eyes and looks at them as he says flatly, “If any part of me is disconnected from the rest. If it doesn’t reconnect. If it stays isolated, and too far from me… it’ll go inert.”

Handy points back and forth between him and Sable. “You and Sable keep saying that, what’s this ‘inert’ business?”

Gearing weakly shrugs his right shoulder. “Just as it sounds… inert.” He shakes his head. “It won’t be a clockwork piece anymore… it’ll be nothing more than a simple hunk of metal.” He points a hoof at himself and comments, “Brass in my case… but… it’ll never be able to be reattached again. Whatever connects it to me will be severed… my… soul? I guess? If you believe in that shit.” He shrugs again. “The magic will be gone from it… like a dead spark battery.” He waves a hoof around dismissively. “Never to be charged, or useful, again…”

He stares at the others and frowns as he adds, “And the time it takes for it to go inert, and stay that way, is far shorter than organic tissue dying… so… yeah… another perk of being an organic…” He closes his eyes and mutters, “Bastards…”

Sable walks over and lies down next to him, tucking her legs under herself as she uses a cable to begin caressing him. “How are you feeling, my love?”

“Like I had a fucking building dropped on me,” Gearing grumbles as he slowly tries to gather enough willpower to get back up to his hooves.

Sable rubs his shoulder, and starts trailing the cable up and down his sides as she comments, “I followed your instructions, and continued working. I reshaped your wings after completing the reattachment procedure. And, finally, began applying healing potions.”

“How are they?” Gearing asks, though he’s genuinely worried about the answer.

“Prep work seemed to be beneficial in coaxing the potion to focus on crystal growth and mending damaged metal framework.” She rubs a cable gently over his wings, and he can feel, to his great relief, the gentle caress as it passes over his unique stained glass wings. “Although, only actual testing can determine if they’ve recovered enough for flight.”

Gearing gives a bit of a groan, but starts stretching out his wings. Straight up. Fanning them out and moving them around as he stretches them and checks them for functionality.

Nahlah’s eyes go wide and she starts clapping quietly as she watches the various twinkles of light coming from his wings as Gearing manipulates them. She’d seen how his wings were before, and has been worried. She couldn’t fathom how anyone could come back from such injuries.

Handy walks closer to the group and asks, “So, we’ve burned most of the day. We going to try and crash here for the night, or continue on?”

Swift looks over at Gearing and shrugs. “I think that should depend on Gearing. If he’s travel worthy. He’s been through a lot.”

Sable nods and looks at Swift. “As if getting his wings shot up with a minigun, and a building dropped on his head wasn’t bad enough. Somepony managed to wedge a bunch of small balls of lead into his gears and plates.” She points a cable at Gearing and frowns. “He was not very cooperative in letting me dig them out.”

“They were itchy!” Gearing says defensively.

“All the more reason to get them out,” Sable counters. “They were impeding free gear movement and causing hitches. They needed to be removed like any foreign contaminate.”

Swift looks back and forth and puts a hoof to her chin as she thinks it over.

Gearing looks over at Swift, and decides to hurry things along. He lifts himself up, entirely, with his wings and performs a few wingups before casually lowering his legs and standing up with his hooves. “If you’re wanting to hang out here. Go for it. But no reason to stay on my account.” He sits down and gives it a dismissive wave of a forehoof as he grins.

But the effect of a nonchalant attitude is pretty much ruined given he can only look out at them with a single eye and his head being tightly bound in bandages.

Swift frowns as she looks at him and his sad attempt. She looks over at Nahlah for some form of support. Nahlah gives a double shoulder shrug as she says, “If he’s sure he can go on… He’d know better than anyone, wouldn’t he?”

Gearing nods as he looks around. “I can fight. And better than I could before treatment. As long as I don’t get another building dropped on me, I should be fine.”

Handy waves a hoof over towards Gearing. “Well… there we go… and the sooner we get going the sooner we can get back home.”

Gearing takes that cue to walk over to the pile of supplies and start sorting through them. Sable walks over to him and says apologetically, “I am sorry, but many of your supplies were destroyed, or lost during the conflict. We brought what we could here.”

Gearing nods as he starts loading up with his saddle bags and most of his gear. Though, he doesn’t put on his modified combat armor. It’s so damaged currently that what little protection it would offer wouldn’t be worth the liability it’d cause just having it on. He needs to repair it, and now is not the time for that. They need to get further along before he even attempts that. If he can make it to Megamart without too much more interference he’s sure he can either remanufacture this set, or, maybe, simply get another one.

The advantage of losing some of their supplies and salvage is they have less to carry. Though that is a small comfort when the thought of how much value was probably lost in the exchange creeps out of the shadows and points out the disparity.

As the others are heading out of the door, Sable stops Gearing with a restraining cable on his shoulder. He turns to look at her and raises his on uncovered eyebrow. “What’s up?”

She steps up closer to him and says flatly, “While you were unconscious, I used your PipBuck to monitor the radio waves and try to gather some information about our surroundings.”

Gearing grins at her. “Smart cookie…” He tilts his head and asks, “Anything of note? I guess so, or you wouldn’t have said anything?”

Sable nods and points at his PipBuck with her cable. “Given our recent conversations, and those you’ve had with others. I believe I have uncovered relevant data.”

Gearing sits down and waves a hoof at her to continue. “And, what would that be?”

“You seemed to take an interest in the pony known as ‘The Stable Dweller’, is that correct?” Gearing bobs his head around then nods. “I’m sorry to report. That, according to a radio transmission by one referred to as ‘DJ Pon3’, the Stable Dweller has prematurely terminated.”

Gearing lowers his hoof and asks softly, “How?”

Sable points towards his PipBuck again. “According to DJ Pon3, her life was prematurely terminated when she rescued a number of slaves from their captures. The slaves managed to escape the slavers, but the Stable Dweller sacrificed herself to make sure they got to safety.” She tilts her head and offers, “Perhaps she provided rearguard during the retreat, and was eventually overwhelmed? I am sorry, the information is rather lacking on the specifics. But the outcome seems to be confirmed.”

Gearing closes his eye slowly as he lowers his head. He shakes his head and lets out a soft grumble, “Didn’t I just tell Breaker Bar that all the heroes I knew of were dead?” He lets out a sigh. “Well… there goes another. Would have liked to meet somepony like that. That grew up with this world and didn’t just wake up in it. Yet still managed to allow some common decency in her existence. Enough to actually do something.” He shakes his head and stands up as he looks at Sable. “I guess that just leaves Security, huh?” He turns and starts heading out the door as he grumbles, “Start getting known. And you eventually get a target on your back. A price on your head even.” He shakes his head and scowls. “Someone tries that shit with me, and I’ll flip the script.”

He looks sideways and sees the curious look on Sables face. He grins and strikes his typical high-winged light-shattering pose. Though the effect is hampered with stiffness and bandages. “I mean I’ll go after them first.” He chuckles then starts heading out the door. “Win… Cheat if you have to… Can’t stop the mooks from showing up? Take out the boss who’s sending them. Remove their reason for fighting. Boom. Problem solved.”

They continue out, with Sable grabbing the minigun from the table as they pass, and, once they are outside, see that the rest of the group is waiting and conversing with a pair of Freight Cars members.

Orchid turns to look at the new arrivals and her eyes go wide. She points a hoof at Gearing as she looks at Silver Shoes. “Look! Look! His wings! They’re green! That’s so kool!” She trots in his direction and starts looking them over. To which Gearing obliges and flutters and fans out his wings for her to get a better view. Including giving another piss-poor high wing showing.

Silver Shoes lifts her hat to look him over as she says, “They certainly look better than they did earlier.” Then she nods her head down the lane. “You wanna fly ahead or stick with the rest of us?”

Gearing turns and starts heading the direction indicated as he shakes his head. “Nah. I’m not flying for a while. Gotta let them settle more before I try anything too crazy… like hauling my fat ass around.”

As they are being lead through the alleyways and streets of the industrial complex, they pass a segment of wall that’s familiar to Sable. Mainly for the fact that there’s less wall currently there than there was this morning.

Sable uses a spare cable and partially taps, partially rubs, Gearing’s shoulder to get his attention. As he’s turning his head to look at her she asks, “Gearing, some of your ‘equalizers’ may need to be examined. I’m afraid some may have been damaged during the crash.”

Gearing’s eye goes wide and he asks, “What? Why do you say that? What happened?”

Sable points at the wall and replies, “I used one of them on a group of hostiles. But, the timer was much longer than I expected.” She turns back to look at him and frowns. “They almost got away before it detonated.”

Gearing raises his undamaged eyebrow. “The lunchbox?”

“Yes!” Gauge bellows. “The limited edition Stable-Tec lunchbox! How could you do that, mmkay?!” Gauge whines.

Gearing spares him a simple glance before looking back at Sable. “That was by design. It wasn’t made to be a trap. It was a demo charge.” He waves a hoof as he rattles out, “For taking out columns, joists, vehicles, or other support structures.” He continues walking. “The timer was a bit longer for enough time to get away from the blast.”

Sable nods and continues walking alongside him as she says, “Ah. That was one of the ideas I had. But I was not sure. Thank you for the confirmation.” He simply smiles and nods. A few moments later she asks, “Are you upset that I used your equipment? I apologize if that is the case.”

Gearing rolls his eyes and leans sideways, bumping into her gently, as he says, “Far from it. I made them to be used. If you needed to use them to keep yourself safe. Well, I consider that an exceptionally good investment.” He leans over and nuzzles her cheek with his as he says softly, “Your safety and wellbeing are more important to me than any stupid possession.”

Sable happily trots in place for a few moments before bounding back up next to him and asking, “Is my darling Gearing feeling better? How are you recovering?”

Gearing sighs a bit and waves a hoof up towards his face. “Won’t know for sure until after I take the bandages off… but the rest of me is doing well enough.”

“Well enough?” She looks at him sideways and extends a spare cable towards him. She asks with a slight giggle, “Fooooor … ?” She uses the cable to start caressing his sides and back around his wings, ending with a firm groping of his backside.

Gearing’s eyes go wide and he lets out a cough, then hops with a jump as she gives his flank a playful smack. He leans over, applying a bit more of his weight than he would normally, as he nuzzles along her length. “For you? Tonight?” He gives her a kiss on the cheek and says softly, “Most definitely…”

Silver Shoes trots by at a faster speed as she grumbles, “Get a room, you two…”

Sable perks up and looks over at Silver Shoes. “Is there one available? Now?”

Swift flutters over head as she laughs, “Don’t encourage those two! Really!”

“Not unless you want to be out here listening to them go at it all night!” Nahlah chimes in.

Gearing rolls his eyes and dismisses it with a hoof wave. “We’re not that bad.”

Sable nods. “My Gearing is correct, we are not that bad.” Then she grins at Silver Shoes and adds, “We’re that goooood.” She waves a hoof towards Gearing and says flatly, “Well, he is anyway… I’m still trying to catch up and calibrate appropriately.”

Silver Shoes shakes her head, then she pauses and her ears start rotating. “What’s that noise?”

Gearing picks up speed as he lowers his head and tries to get out of the line of fire from the conversation.

Sable looks at Silver Shoes and smiles. “My darling Gearing has a cute little quirk…” She looks at Gearing’s steadily advancing form and smiles even wider. “His ears whistle when he’s embarrassed.”

Orchid puts a hoof to her muzzle as she says in a voice that turns into a practical squeak, “That’s so adorable!”

“Confirmed!”

They continue through the industrial complex at a steady pace. For once, and to Gauge’s relief at least, the complex is quiet. The fierce fighting is over, and now the complex has returned to a deathly quiet.

Fitting given the number of corpses that liter it now.

Silver Shoes leads them to the primary encampment of the Freight Cars. Despite any previous thoughts, it is far closer than any of them had anticipated.

Gearing recognizes the facility at even a quick glance. Not this one in particular, but the format and layout were pretty standard. It’s a train switching station. A transport hub where goods and creatures alike pass through on their way to other areas. This one being built here probably pulled double duty by helping to expedite delivery of whatever items that were made in the surrounding factories. Whether they were items of war, or general merchandise for the population, keeping the flow moving was always important.

The large area is surrounded by both a fence, and tall cement walls. The administration office makes an excellent housing option and, Gearing realizes, the walls meant to impede espionage, function spectacularly to keep most of the wasteland out. The place is a natural refuge. It makes perfect sense on why they’d pick it as a place to set up their base of operations.

Train tracks go in a variety of directions, and lead off to where he knows a giant turntable rests for turning trains and track switching. Most of the tracks have cars on them, some sitting isolated, others still linked together. All of them seem to be converted into some sort of mobile housing or, possibly, shops. He’s not sure. But many of them have a variety of signs on them that he knows were not standard issue on Equestrian Railways train cars.

Instead of having the front gates closed, they are wide open, and a variety of Freight Cars members mill about at the old public train station building. But all of them, despite their casual manner, are paying close attention to everything, and everyone, around them. They may be atypical guards, but they’re not someone to underestimate.

Silver Shoes yells through a customer service window into the back office as they are passing, “Where’s Conductor?”

“Check the admin building. I don’t know. Hell. Why?” an annoyed voice comes from the back.

Silver Shoes pauses and leans her head back to glare through the window as she says with a smirk, “Cuz I got Iron Hoof and need to make some introductions…”

An older unicorn stallion with his horn causing his conductor’s hat to perch precariously on his brow jerks his head out of an office door and stares at Silver Shoes through the window. His eyes zip back and forth, trying to see through the window, and catching glimpses of various figures passing behind her. Figures not wearing Freight Cars’ normal uniform. He nods rapidly and adds, “Administration building. If not there, check the pits. Lots of folks trying to impress Big Daddy while he’s here.”

Silver Shoes heads out of the station’s back door and starts leading them through the practical maze of train cars.

The group barely gets out of the train station before a chuckling voice comes out of the shadows nearby, “What’s this, Silver Shoes? Get some fresh meat?”

They all turn and see a large light purple unicorn mare step out of the shadows towards them. She’s so buff, with ridiculous muscle definition across her entire form, that the conductor’s jacket she is wearing is straining against the buttons and threatening to rip at any moment. Despite looking like it was tailored for some earth pony buck.

Silver Shoes looks at her and narrows her eyes as she says curtly, “Glimmer, they’re guests of Conductor, and Big Daddy…”

Glimmer walks over slowly, each step slow and deliberate as she examines them all one by one. “Is that so?” She pauses and turns as she faces Gauge, “Well hello there, gorgeous… what’re you doing back here all by your lonesome?”

Swift and Nahlah look at each other and simultaneously raise an eyebrow as they mouth, in unison, ‘Gorgeous? Him?’ and point a respective forelimb in his direction.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Glimmer asks as she starts slowly walking around him and taking in the view from various angles before stopping and sitting in front of him.

“Gauge… My name’s Gauge…mmkay?”

“Mmmkay with me, sweetness.” She leans in and asks in his ear, “How would you like a personal tour… Gauge?”

“Glimmer, don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Silver Shoes warns.

Glimmer looks over at her, then rolls her eyes as she waves a hoof dismissively and says, “I wasn’t planning on hurting him. Well… not unless he’s into playing a bit rough.” She reaches over and slaps Gauge on the rear, causing him to jump. “He’s a cutie.” She leans over and gives his cheek a kiss. “What do ya say, Gauge?”

Gauge turns and looks up at the mare. And up some more. Until he’s looking into the eyes of someone that’s more than a full head taller than him. He stares into her eyes then gives a crooked smile as he stutters, “S- sure… mmkay?”

“Mmkay,” she repeats before leaning down and giving him a muzzleful of her tongue. While he’s still stupefied, she flops him across her back and starts quickly trotting off as she says, “This one’s mine for the next hour, don’t bother knocking, I won’t answer.” Before she practically sprints off through the maze of train cars.

Gearing looks back and forth as he asks, “Should… we be concerned about that?”

Even the little blue pegasus in his head is conflicted as it looks at the detailed plans it has on the wall behind it and shrugs.

Silver Shoes tilts her head and says softly, “I’m… I’m not sure… honestly…”

“She’s usually more interested in fighting and breaking bones than a romp in the hay,” Orchid adds. She shakes her head and points off in the general direction they’d gone. “In all the time I’ve known her, that’s the fist I’ve even heard of something like that.”

Silver Shoes shrugs. “I thought she was one of those ‘fighting is sex’ types… this is a bit of a mind job for me too.”

Nahlah rubs her chin and asks, “Could she be coming into her cycle?” She looks at the other two Freight Cars members. “That could explain it?”

All of them turn to look at Handy and Gearing.

“Why you looking at me for?” Handy asks defensively.

Silver Shoes grins. “Figured an expert male opinion would be able to chime in with an answer.”

“Or nose, more specifically,” Nahlah adds with a grin of her own.

“I’m married…” Handy says lamely.

“And?” They all ask at the same time. Even Swift. Though she does it with a coy grin.

Gearing shrugs and shakes his head. “It doesn’t have the same effect on me as it does on other bucks, either way, obviously. But, I didn’t pick anything up.”

Swift and Nahlah look over at him and raise an eyebrow. And Gearing takes a step back as he looks between them. “Hey… my sense of smell’s just fine. And I know what a smell is even if it doesn’t do anything for me otherwise. Including that.”

Orchid looks at him and frowns as she asks, “Why? Gay?” She tuts at such a waste.

Sable scoffs, “As if!” She leans over and runs a lick up his cheek before starting to give increasingly deeper kisses.

Gearing goes along with it for a moment, before separating and kissing her on the cheek as he says quietly, “Later, I promise.” He gets a slap on the flank with a cable in return. He turns his attention to Orchid and smirks. “No… I’m just not organic… Can’t have the same biological problems, if you don’t have a biology.”

Orchids eyes go wide and she puts a hoof to her mouth as she says softly, “You poor thing!”

Silver Shoes nods and looks him over as she mutters, “Poor bastard…”

“Thanks… ? I think?” Gearing mutters before the group is led off towards the administration building again.

And towards their next challenge.

---

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