Shadow, Thunder and Slice made it back to Rosemary safely. They used their wings to leave the swamp, but they transitioned back to hooves before they left the forest for safety. Shadow put DJ Pon3’s radio station on in the background.

The others knew about the note and backed his decision. Slice showed Shadow a program Storm had prepared for radio screenings. It was designed to passively screen military radio frequencies for key words and notify them if something popped up that they needed. It wasn’t hard for it to start screening the civilian station for Orange. The cloud terminal took a little adjusting, but Slice got it working to start screening.

The Stable door closing behind them, sealing them in, was a horrible sound. It grated in Shadow's mind. They were once more locked away from the world. Shadow didn’t bother to send a message when they returned. Their was nothing to read and nothing to say.

Shadow fell into a routine of checking messages in the morning, then making breakfast, and then tending the hydroponics lab. He couldn't get the noise of the Stable door locking them out of his head. Shadow would make a light lunch and then a solid dinner. In between Shadow was working with Kifo Herixleta on the art of the sword.

They rarely ate together as they all fell into separate routines. Thunder was above most of the time. Slice was elsewhere, doing various projects. Shadow couldn't keep track of him.

Slice had recovered physically, but he struggled with not having helped out with the Slog. He knew there was something he could of done for them, but understood why he couldn't. Still, Shadow and Thunder had been able to make an impact there, and he dragged them down.

Shadow was messing with a dying row of carrots when Thunder burst in, panting.

“Shadow! Slice left!”

Shadow looked at Thunder, not understanding and raised his eyebrow.

“Left left! Gone! I was up top, he came up and just took off. Nothing on him. Not even saddle bags. I chased him down, but he is too fast for me.”

Shadow scrambled to the Stable door. Thunder had left it open.

“He went North over the mountains!” Thunder called after Shadow as he bolted out of the lab.

Shadow took to the air and put everything into his wings. Slice was truly gone. Shadow gave up chase and circled back. He couldn’t track Slice. Slice had too much of a head start.

“What happened?” Shadow panted as he met Thunder at the Stable door.

“I was at the surface camp, like normal,” Thunder shrugged. “I… he just came out, but didn’t look at me. He wasn’t even off the blast doors when he launched. I didn’t get it until he turned north.”

Thunder shivered. “I… I was too slow. I didn’t get it and I should have figured it out. I didn’t see him when I made chase.”

“Its okay,” Shadow said slowly. “You couldn't know. I knew it was wearing on him. But he had nothing?”

“Not that I saw,” Thunder said shaking his head.

Shadow let out a long sigh. “Its almost night. Keep the Stable door open in case he comes to his senses. I never expected him to just leave. And he isn’t make a run at the gate, not without gear. He may be lost to the wasteland.”

“So are we,” Thunder said, depressed. “At least to the Enclave.”

“We have to hold out,” Shadow stated. The words felt hollow.

“For what? The only ones looking for us is Dahlia. And she wants to kill us.”

“Just, quit?” Shadow asked.

“I don’t know,” Thunder admitted. “Maybe it is time to stop being soldiers. Become a wastelander. We blend in now.”

“We can’t,” Shadow said softly. “Its…”

“Not what an Enclave soldier would do,” Thunder said defeated. “Its abandoning what we are. There is no honor in it. I was raised in a military family. My parents, my brother, its… against who I am. I can’t. I would have to brand myself. I can’t do that.”

“We will figure it out,” Shadow said. The words somehow felt more empty than they did before.

“I’m going to bed,” Thunder finally said, breaking the silence.

Shadow stood there, unable to think. His mind was completely blank. He finally was able to wake it up and go to bed.

Shadow jolted awake as an loud noise echoed through the Stable. Shadow dashed out, Mwokozi’s revolver drawn. Shadow almost tripped over a PipBuck. It was on the floor, in the middle of the hallway right at the start to the residential quarters.

Shadow picked it up. The screen was open to an entry.

I have nothing but my honor left. I will not leave and abandon my race. But I can not continue. I chose death over the wasteland. I made my mistakes down here. I killed when I should have aided. I was the evil they saw me as. I am not proud of what I did. I am not the hero I would be hailed as. What little honor I have left is because deep down, I know that I acted in ignorance and not in malice. But my ignorance came with a heavy price. A price I can no longer bare. I pray to the hidden stars that you make it back. For all five of us.

Shadow bolted to the main room and saw what he feared. Not much was left. There was a pin on a nearby table. Thunder had put a grenade in his mouth and released the spoon. It was better than a bullet. It was a guarantee. Shadow doubted he regretted it.

Shadow’s anger welled up and he threw the revolver all the way across the room where it careened over the railing at clattered to the floor below.

Shadow picked up the biggest piece and moved it to the hydroponics lab. Each manageable piece was recovered and put in the recycler. It had several days of waste in it. But Shadow didn’t have the strength to clean it out. It was only a little bit of food waste.

Shadow hit the button and walked out. He was soaked in Thunder’s blood. Another that the wasteland had claimed. Shadow was the last Inquisitor alive. Shadow activated the robots to clean up the rest he couldn't. They would also get the spots of blood that slipped off him as he walked to his room.

Shadow lost track of how long he was in the shower. When he finally shut it off he still felt dirty. There was nothing worse than being soaked in a close friend's blood.

The next day, there was no sign anything was amiss. The robots had deactivated and put themselves away. Shadow picked up and labeled the bag of fertilizer and brought it to his room. Shadow moved Storm’s bag into his room. It had been in Slice’s.

Shadow cooked a meal for himself. Just for himself. Somehow it felt right. He didn’t have anything to do outside of the hydroponics and his sword practice.

Shadow had no plan. There was nothing in his mind. He had no idea how long he could last without a plan.

As Shadow trudged on, Rosemary began to lose control. The ghosts were coming. It started with hearing noises. Ponies being active. And then he began to see the Inquisitors in the corner of his vision. They weren’t there when he turned his head. Even worse, the Unicorns started to come, stalking the outer edges of his mind. The Stable door sounded like it opened at least once a day. Shadow checked multiple times when he started to hear it. But that was all it was, a hollow sound still echoing through the empty corridors.

Next Chapter: Chapter 102 - Mtoaji Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 19 Minutes