"So how was the trip? Didn't run into too much trouble I hope?"

Cloudy Dawn didn't respond to Silver Crescent right away; instead, she took a moment to down a good bit of the bitter drink she'd ordered while she thought about how best to answer the question. In truth, the mare had never had a Crimson Stallion and was rather curious about the taste. After one hearty swig of the stuff, she could honestly say she wasn't a fan. Then again, she wasn't much for alcohol anyway and the bitter shock of it definitely woke her up. After a second or two she set the glass back down on the counter, thanked Tabula Rasa for the drink, and turned to Silver Crescent. Keeping her grimace at the taste of her beverage completely internal, she finally spoke.

"I ran into a few hiccups here and there but it was nothing I couldn't handle," she replied easily, "the hardest part was convincing the conductor and engineers to do their job," she chuckled slightly, "that's actually a large part of why I was so late."

Something about Dawn's smile told Crescent there was a bit more to the story than she was letting on, but Silver let it go for the moment.

"Well, what's important is that you made it," he replied instead, "still, you can't really blame them for not wanting to run the train this late, even if it was still scheduled to run when you arrived at the station," he frowned, "getting anypony to do anything in the Old Capital is a chore and a half these days."

"Oh, it's not all bad," said Dawn, "there are still a few good souls here and there willing to lend a stranger a helping hoof," her smile wilted slightly, "...and not ask for all that much in return."

Silver Crescent didn't say anything in response to the statement; Both of them understood the implications and it showed on each of their faces.

"Not much love and tolerance to go around in these troubled times," Tabula Rasa casually commented from behind the bar, "it's sad, but unless the Elysian Fields bless us with some kind of miracle, that's the way things are gonna stay."

Dawn turned to see the pint-sized mare cleaning out one of the many empty glasses lined up in the back. She grimaced at Tabula Rasa's words, but the mare simply continued her work as if she hadn't said anything wrong. She hadn't really, but her words still rubbed Dawn the wrong way.

"I'm sure Equestria and its citizens will recover given some more time," Cloudy Dawn replied, "this isn't the first war this country's been through."

"But it is the first war Equestria's lost as far as I know," Tabula challenged, "and to an honest to Faust tyrant of all things." She set the glass she'd been cleaning back in its place and calmly turned to face Cloudy Dawn, "the war's been over for a while now and I hate to say it, but even if we'd won I don't think things could've gone back to the way they were—not after a war like that."

Dawn opened her mouth to reply but hesitated. A second later she sighed and looked away, unable to refute the barmaid's argument and honestly too tired to try. She knew Tabula Rasa was right; So long as Sombra was on the throne, Equestria and the creatures therein would never be free of his shadow and the future would remain bleak and hopeless. Perhaps the barmaid was right; perhaps Equestria was forever changed for the worst, but Cloudy Dawn couldn't bring herself to give up her vision of a better future. With that vision in mind she turned back to Tabula Rasa with a bit more strength in her expression.

"You may be right at that," Dawn replied after a moment, "Equestria... it might never be what it once was, but even so, I still have hope that things will get better eventually," she gave Tabula a mysterious smile, "...perhaps much sooner than any of us expect."

Tabula Rasa gave the mare an inscrutable look at the response, as though she couldn't quite comprehend the other mare's words. Something about the look unnerved Cloudy Dawn, but the strange expression passed so quickly it may as well have not even happened at all. Before Dawn could fully register what she'd seen, Tabula was giving her a soft, indulgent smile. It was the kind of patient smile a mother would give their foal who'd come dashing back into the house with bright eyes and muddy hooves. Silver caught the look and glanced over to Cloudy Dawn with a bit of worry, but if Dawn was offended, she hid it splendidly behind a gentle smile of her own.

"Well, it's nice to have hope if nothing else," Tabula said a few seconds later, "I can't really deny that the world would be a much darker place than it already is without hopeful ponies like you."

"Oh, I agree," Dawn replied, her smile widening slightly, "when you've reached the bottom and have nowhere to go but up, hope can be a valuable lifeline."

"Indeed."

With that, Tabula Rasa gave Dawn one last smile before turning to continue her work on the glasses behind her. The conversation, it seemed to Silver Crescent, was over, and from where he was sitting, it had ended somewhat awkwardly.

"So..." he began in an attempt to break the strangely tense silence between the three of them, "judging by your earlier statement about how soon we can expect things to start looking up, I assume you found something out?"

"Possibly," Dawn replied with a single nod towards the thestral, "I suppose you could say a little birdie sent me some very promising news."

"Oh?" Silver's bemused frown twisted into something resembling a smile, "and I suppose you called me out here to share that promising news?"

"Not here, no," Dawn said, shaking her head and casting a subtle glance around the bar, "this is a fine meeting spot and I've heard the cider is divine," she frowned at her still very full glass, "why I didn't simply order it is a question that will no doubt haunt me for the rest of the night..."

"Didn't meet your expectations, huh?" Tabula Rasa asked, chuckling as if the oddly strained conversation of only moments ago had never happened, "yeah, the Crimson Stallion isn't exactly renowned for its taste. Most consider it more a bitter medicine than a decent beverage."

"And after having consumed such 'bitter medicine' myself, I would have to agree with that assessment," Dawn replied before turning back to Silver Crescent, "...but as fine as the rest of the menu likely is, a pub is no place for discussing sensitive information."

"Ah, guess you have a point there," Silver nodded in agreement, "so we're heading out then, I take it?"

"Honestly, I'd like to stay a bit longer," Dawn sighed, looking around the bar, "I rarely get a chance to visit places like these nowadays. I can't remember the last time I was able to simply sit down and have a drink with a friend."

"I thought you weren't too keen on the hard stuff?" Silver questioned, "that change since last I saw you?"

"I may not be particularly fond of alcohol but I won't say no to a drink or two if I'm in good enough company," Dawn replied with a playful smirk, "that said, I don't have much time spend on pleasantries so yes, I think it's best we moved on for now," she turned her attention to the barmaid, lighting up her horn and pulling out a small worn brown bit pouch from her tattered cloak as she did so, "it was lovely meeting you, Tabula Rasa. I do hope you can forgive for having hardly touched my drink."

"No, don't worry about it; like I said, the Crimson Stallion isn't for everypony," the diminutive mare's polite smile twisted into a sly grin at the sight of Dawn's bit pouch, "and you can keep the bits. I'll just put it all on Silver's tab. I know he's good for it."

"My, what a kind soul you are!" Dawn gasped and raised a hoof to her chest as though pleasantly surprised, "it's been quite a while since I've received such hospitality."

"Yeah, she's a real saint," Silver muttered, "a mare so sweet and adorable it makes my fangs rot right out of my skull."

He shot the mare in question a flat look but both mares ignored him as they continued to say their goodbyes.

"Well, all kindness aside, we really have to speak again when I have more time," Dawn said as she returned her bit pouch to the inside of her cloak, "but for now, I wish you a good evening, Tabula Rasa."

"Yeah, it was... interesting," the barmaid replied with a nod and a small smile of her own, "make sure to try the cider next time if you ever come back in for a drink. Way better than a Crimson Stallion."

"I don't doubt that for a moment," Dawn laughed before gesturing to Silver to follow after her, "good night."

And with that, Cloudy Dawn and Silver Crescent turned and headed out of the pub. The rain had let up for the most part, but Dawn pulled her hood up nevertheless. As they stepped out into the humid night, the mare took a sharp right turn and led Silver back towards the train station. She moved quietly and with a purpose but not so quickly as to draw any attention to herself or her thestral companion. Silver said nothing as he followed behind, fully aware of the countless ears all around them.

Though it was fairly late, there was no shortage of creatures and crystal soldiers walking and patrolling the streets. Ever since the little town had become a major city it seemed like everyone constantly had somewhere to be no matter the time of the day. You'd need to head to the outskirts of the city to get any real privacy and even then complete solitude was never a sure thing. With that in mind, Cloudy Dawn made her way past the train station and into the abandoned warehouse district that sat at the very northern edge of Pone City.

The warehouse district had once been home to many of the goods manufactured by farmers and industrial workers that had moved into the then growing city. As that city grew, however, more and more workers started migrating further south. Eventually, a new warehouse district was built downtown. The mayor at the time deemed the complete destruction of the old warehouse district too costly after the construction of the new district so it was left alone and ultimately left behind.

There were some squatters and a few gangs that had made certain parts of the old district their turf, but on the whole, it was still a relatively safe spot for clandestine meetings compared to everywhere else in the city. It had the least amount of crystal soldiers patrolling the area at any rate so it wasn't any wonder Dawn had chosen to have their private discussion there... at least, that was the plan.

"Dawn," Silver muttered.

"I know," Dawn muttered back, her eyes still locked on the path ahead, "just keep quiet and keep moving."

There'd been some changes and updates to the train station, but the station itself remained where it had always been. It hadn't expanded with the rest of the city so the tracks cut right through the old warehouse district before heading out into the Equestrian wilderness. It was as the two made it past the worn and rusty chain-link fence that separate the old district from the rest of the city that both felt another presence following them a short distance away.

Beneath her hood, Dawn closed her eyes and her horn flared to life with a soft golden glow. Silver watched in silence as the mare grimaced in concentration. A moment later Dawn smiled and her horn flared a little brighter.

"Now isn't that interesting?" She opened her eyes and caught Silver's questioning look, but only shook her head in response, her smile growing amused, "you needn't worry about our extra tail, but I still think it's best we change our meeting spot. Get ready."

Silver had just enough time to brace himself before Dawn's horn flashed and they both vanished with a muted magical pop. They reappeared an instant later on scaffolding near the top of a partially built water tower that stood at the far northeastern corner of the warehouse district about 1200 yards from the station side entrance. Like the rest of the district, the tower had been abandoned, the construction halted two-thirds of the way to completion due to the mass exodus of workers from the district.

"I should probably be used to that by now," Silver grumbled once he'd gotten his bearings. He scanned the area for a moment before his eyes fell on the scaffolding he and Dawn stood on. He frowned at the way the wooden boards creaked at the slightest bit of movement, "kinda precarious, don't you think?"

"Oh it's fine," Dawn replied dismissively, "you've got wings and I'm not so delicate a flower that I'll be hurt from a fall of this height. More importantly, we've escaped our little add-on for the time being."

"You sounded like you knew who was tailing us," Silver commented, "mind sharing?"

"Hmmm..." Dawn hummed in thought for a moment before shaking her head and giving Silver the same amused smile from earlier, "no, I think I'll leave it to your imagination," she chuckled at the thestral's unamused look, "oh relax, Silver. If it'll put your mind at ease, I'm fairly certain they meant us no harm and simply let their curiosity get the better of them."

"...If you say so, Dawn," he finally sighed after a moment, "getting back to the matter at hoof, what's the word? Does it have anything to do with Selene?"

"As a matter of fact, it does," Dawn replied. Her smile fell into something more serious as she spoke, "evidently our friends in the Empire have gotten their hooves on some information regarding her whereabouts."

"And the info is on the level?"

"It was Philomena who delivered the letter to me," Dawn replied with the barest hint of a smile returning to her face, "we can trust that it's true. Or that it came from a trusted source at the very least."

"Ah, well that's a relief," Silver sighed, "so, what? They've finally tracked her down?"

"We can only hope at this point," Dawn cast a wistful gaze out over the countless darkened rooftops spread out beneath her, "Time Turner sent the message all the way from Manehattan. I'm supposed to meet with him tomorrow afternoon to discuss the details."

"In Manehattan?" the thestral's brows rose in disbelief, "he wants you to come all the way out there? You do realize—"

"He isn't really in a position to meet me anywhere else, Silver," Dawn interjected sternly, "remember, he's more or less the only pony we have left on the inside," she frowned, "and besides, according to his sources, Commander Willows is out of the country on military business and Chief Officer Sands and a large majority of the Special Ops Team are going to be too busy patrolling Equestria's borders by airship to interfere."

"So this might be the only chance we have then," Silver surmised, "well damn, I still think it's a bit too risky, but if it's the only opportunity we have I suppose there's nothing for it," he looked the taller mare in the eye, "just... be careful alright? It only takes on misstep to buck everything up."

"I'm fully aware of that, Captain," Dawn replied with a smirk, "I've been around a while and seen a thing or two."

"Not a Captain anymore, Dawn," Silver groaned, "and it should say a lot that I'm still reminding you about this kind of thing," he gave another long-suffering sigh before straightening up and joining Dawn in staring out over the dark and cloudy horizon, "so when are you heading off then?"

"I managed to get a decent amount of sleep on the train so I plan to leave as soon as we're done with this conversation," Dawn replied solemnly, "rather than snap directly over to Manehattan I think it wiser to save that kind of energy for if, or when, things go south."

"Ah, so you have been listening. Good to know," Silver joked before stretching out his wings, "well, if that's the case, I think I've taken up enough of your time. You've got places to be and I have a lead of my own to check up on."

"Oh?" Dawn raised an eyebrow, "do tell."

"No, I don't think I will," the thestral replied with a haughty grin, "not until I'm sure of what I'm dealing with."

"Killjoy," Dawn pouted.

"Don't dish if you can't deal," Silver shrugged. With a flap of his wings, he lifted himself off the scaffolding and turned back to Dawn, "stay safe out there, and don't forget to call on me if things get bad."

"I'll be sure to keep you in mind," Dawn promised, "go on, then."

Silver nodded once and took off into the cloudy night sky. Dawn watched him go for a long minute before letting out a deep sigh of her own.

"Well, here's hoping she hasn't been broken too badly..."

A sad and bitter smile crossed her face at the thought before she shook it away and vanished from Pone City in another brilliant golden flash.